#to deal or do better to be liked ig. anyways this is the last tag cause i hit the limit lol

[chiisana-sukima]

nine people i want to get to know better

Thank you for the tag, @slutsons-blog! Starting a new post because I'm autistic and therefore mostly only care about the "Current Obsession" question, and want to ramble excessively as usual in that one.

Last song: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team: Pokemon Square because I'm currently playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon with my daughter. Otherwise I honestly couldn't tell you. Whatever was on in my car.

Fave color: Purple

Currently watching: Star Trek Discovery

Last movie: Knives Out

Sweet/spicy/savory: Sweet, tart, salty

Relationship: married x 27 years

Last thing I googled: the word "dependent", for spelling assistance. which is a good thing because I spelled it "dependant".

Current Obsession: it's been spn since 2016. Truly we are the Hotel California of media franchises. I did recently play Disco Elysium twice in a row in quick succession, and I follow the DE tag. I can't recommend the game highly enough.... but I can feel my Special Interest-level obsession with it fading already. Spn has never faded even a tiny bit and I wonder if it ever will.

@slutsons-blog I feel after reading that you're watching spn for the first time, that I did you a bit of a disservice with my Sam takes to you before in that I mostly talked about Sam's evolution as a character as the show goes on and very little about him from the first five seasons.

Gotta be honest and tell you that although I liked both brothers all along, I was a Dean girl until the end of s6/beginning of s7, when the balance of who gets whumped the most started shifting and my subconscious suddenly decided to switch allegiances. It's not that I liked Dean any less; my id just loves a sopping wet pathetic kitten of a man who has been sexually abused, and Sam got suddenly way more kitteny and pathetic after the Cage. So I don't actually have a ton of takes on "what to love about Sam in the early seasons". I do love early seasons Sam too--she is my beautiful baby princess--but my early seasons takes are a lot more inchoate.

I count myself lucky about my id's sudden defection though, because I think we have limited control of who our blorbos are, and having Dean as a blorbo is a tough row to hoe as the later seasons go along. You know how you noticed that in s6, Dean suddenly gets a lot more assholey without apparent reason? Unfortunately he never gets better again, and in fact keeps getting worse and worse as the years go by, until by the last seasons he is openly far more abusive to their joint child(-in-an-adult body) than John was to him and Sam. It's a realistic picture of what can happen when trauma keeps piling up on people, but it's also honestly pretty distressing, especially if he's your blorbo.

If one is in it for the ship, there's some good destiel content in the later seasons, but if you're in it for Dean, you're left either 1) dealing with the fact he's got extremely significant interpersonal problems that he never gets much of anywhere on solving and that negatively impact his chosen family in profound ways, or 2) pretending he's the same character he was in s1 and Sam is the same Sam from s1, only more boring, and Dean is just trying to put up with him because he was brainwashed by John (or ig 3- something in the middle between those two. But that seldom seems to happen in practice for whatever reason). These two versions of the show are poorly compatible, and that's how the Sam girls and the Dean girls end up in isolated silos. A few people manage to live in both, but not many.

Anyway, I feel like without the context of how Sam and Dean change in the mid to late seasons, the two fics I recc'd as Sam character studies are going to seem insanely Dean-critical, so if you haven't read them yet, you might want to wait until s10. In the meantime, the general recs are fun reads and hopefully do a good job of showcasing both characters earlier on.

Tagging (but I would be a huge hypocrite if I didn't specify there's no pressure to respond, since I almost always fail at responding to tag games myself): @adihildilid @aliusfrater @quietwingsinthesky @sammygender @ardentpoop

@peanutbutterandbananasandwichs @schizosamwincester @normalbrothershow @jellybracelet.

[urban-mutt]

Perfect Someone: Chapter 1 - Lalo Salamanca/FTM Reader (NSFW)

 Summary: You are a thief! You target old rich men. You drug them and steal from them while they're drink out of their mind. Your last operation didn't go as planned, and now you are an accomplice in a serious crime. And a plaything for your new sick friend.

Tags/Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Rape/Non-con, Date Rape Drug/Roofies, Rape/Non-con Elements, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Slurs, Transphobia, Homophobia, Violence, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcohol, Smoking, Drug Addiction, Vaginal Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Murder, Reader will be abused delulu and traumatized, FTM Reader, trans reader, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Manipulation, Daddy Kink, Forced, Angst, Inspired by Music, Biting, Age Difference emphasized, Sugar Daddy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, dead dove ig

anatomical terms: cunt

words: 2817

ao3 link

Author's notes: Inspired by my sims save and Sofi Tukker - Perfect Someone (And Melanie Martinez - Tag You're It)

You are a thief. You target old, rich men who think you are just a dumb young boy who wants some mature meat. You do want that, but none of them are your type. Even if they were… you can’t risk it. You lace their drinks with ketamine, and by the time you two are in a hotel room, the guy is long asleep. You take everything you can off of him and leave. Perfect. A huge amount of drugs and alcohol makes them forget anything happened, plus shame stops them from ever seeking you out.

You make pretty good money, but you still prefer living in hotels, using rental cars, and keeping cash or using crypto. Better safe than sorry.

Your lifestyle is a nonstop party. You remind yourself of Harley after she broke up with the Joker; though you never had an abusive guy throw you into the acid. Funnily enough, recently you met a guy who would 100% do that. You never wanted to be an actual criminal, bad person, or a predator. You never thought of yourself as one. You’re just a scammer, and who cares about old rich cis men anyway? They deserve it!

Anyway…

You were at your local scouting spot. Looking for a target. And then you saw him… 

Tall, well groomed, golden Rolex, golden chain, purple shirt with a few too many undone buttons. Gray hairs forming a white streak in the middle of his dome, mustache...

Black pants and— Ugliest fucking loafers you ever saw. They’re not just teal; no, they're CYAN.

This man is screaming, “I’m rich”!

You stroll over to say hello, but he seems too busy talking to someone else to pay attention.

You eye the unattended drink. Cis men never care to pay attention to such things. Too bad.

You order something for yourself and turn your back to him. You hear the glass being lifted and set down again. It's totally his.

He is distracted, the bartender is distracted, the DJ just arrived, and people seem to pay more attention to the upcoming show than anything else. Perfect.

You take a baggie of powder out of your pocket and turn around quickly to— To see your target mirroring you. 

You both freeze, holding your drugs, ready to lace the same drink. You pocket yours quickly, and he does the same. You stare at each other, waiting for this to resolve itself. You blush intensely in shame, and he smiles sleazily.

You don’t remember how you two ended up in a hotel room. Tearing clothes off of each other.

He didn’t even acknowledge your lack of a dick. How perfect. 

He was perfect.

No condom, no wasting time on foreplay. It was raw and wild. It did hurt a bit, but you like it, it’s fine. His cock is impressive, just like the ones you see in porn. Big and thick. Well-trimmed bush and shaven, ass, and balls. He sucked you good after filling you up, moaning into your cunt. 

A perfect man.

You catch your breath, looking up at the ceiling while he lights a cigarette.

As soon as you remember who you are, you get up on your shaky legs, trying to find your pants. 

“So, what’s your deal?” The man asks. 

“I steal from old guys.” You say as you put your pants on.

“And give it to the poor?” He chuckles.

“Yeah. I’m the poor.” You glare at him, putting your shirt back on.

“Wait.” He puts a cig in his mouth and gets up to pick up his pants and take out a stack of cash.

He counts out loud one thousand dollars and drops it on the bed.

“I’m a thief. Not a prostitute.” You frown.

“And I wanted to rape and kill you, so what?” He scoffs, sitting back down.

“Ah, great.” You say with sarcasm. “That what you do? Rape people and kill them?” You call out his bluff.

“Yeah.” He says. A bit too relaxed. 

It sounds too honest. You look down.

He chuckles. “What? Gonna snitch on me?” The stranger grins and exhales the smoke.

“No…”

This got real uncomfortable real fast. 

“Bueno entonces...” He nods and takes another five hundred and a pen. He writes something on it and adds it to the stack on the bed.

You take the money and see that he wrote his phone number on the bill, with a few “xoxo’s”.

“Fate is on our side today... I like you. Call me if you wanna see me again.” He lays back, watching you.

“As if.” You bark back and head out. “Bye.”

“Hasta luego, cariño.” You hear him purr before you shut the door behind you.

Okay. Great.

You have no interest in unpacking thoughts of how close you were to death that night.

You put all the cash on your crypto wallet, including the one with his number. No way you're gonna call that freak. Not gonna report him either; you’re not that evil. Besides, you are a criminal yourself.

And trans. And gay. No. No cops. Never. 

You try to forget and move on. You take a little vacation, just a week, to get back on track. Spending your time everywhere, but the usual scouting spots. It is better not to be a regular. You are a man, but that damn vagina between your legs still makes you a vulnerable one. People will have more reasons to report suspicious someone if they're gay, trans, or of color. (Choose your difficulty setting.)

So it is kinda understandable that you never saw that guy before. His looks are quite unique. He has a tattoo, too. Easy to remember. Hope you won't see him ever again.

After that week, you come back to town. The desert is beautiful, but money is not endless. 

You stand by some bar table in the corner of the club, watching the room. Your favorite song is playing, you move your hips to the bit while thinking.

This one is too young. This one is obviously a poser. This one already has someone. 

Sparse. Maybe changing venues soon won't be a bad idea.

A sudden scent hits you. Guh— you won't mistake that for anything. You cover your drink and turn sharply to see him. He stands closer than you expected; it makes you jump. You were so deep in your thoughts that you didn’t even notice.

“Hola.” He purrs.

You move away. “The fuck you doing here?” He leans onto the table too. “Same thing as you. Hunting.”

You frown. “You do. I don’t ‘hunt’. I scout.”

“Call it whatever you want, but really... It is the same thing. You are a predator.” He reaches out to take your drink. You let him take a sip.

“I’m not. Fuck off. There’s nobody here anyway; I gotta go.” You shake your leg in tension.

“I like that one.” He points at a girl who looks barely 18. “She’s alone, drinking, looks too young to be here, and probably is.”

“And?” You ask.

“And?” He scoffs. “She won’t notice how I will put some K in her drink, and then I’ll drive her out and rape her and then burn her body.” He talks casually.

You shiver in discomfort.

He keeps talking.

“I always pick young ones. Very easy targets.” He chuckles, still watching the girl.

“That’s why you picked me?” You mumble.

“¡Sí! I thought you looked suspicious, but I couldn’t tell why. Now I see that you preyed on me too... Why, by the way?” He turns to you.

You shift your posture uncomfortably. “You look rich and old. That shirt was Gucci; I could see that from a mile away. You really should be more stealthy.” 

“Yeah? And you look like a sissy slut. Thought you were a man.” He teases you.

You show him your teeth. “Well, since you’re bi, why complaining?”

“I’m not bi. I’m gay. I get off on the power, mostly… when it’s a girl.” He takes another sip.

You turn to him fully. “Was that drink even yours?”

He shrugs. “I thought it was yours.”

You both were silent for a bit.

“We’re worthless.” You prop your head on your hands. 

You watch the girl that he spotted leave the club.

“There she goes. You lost her.” You follow her with your eyes.

“It’s fine. I like talking to you more anyway.” He finishes your drink. “Want anoth—”

He is interrupted by some white fella coming right up to your table and almost yelling, “Dude, get off of him; he’s taken!”

You both are confused for a second. The guy is clearly really drunk. Looks bland, like British food. 

You look at the freak you've been talking to; he looks back at you and winks. Okay, what plan do you have, sir?

“He is not taken, and I’m not trying to take—” 

Guy interrupts him again.

“He is clearly uncomfortable! Are there not enough bitches in your country?!”

Before this derails, you decide to speak up.

“He is my fuck buddy! We're actually just looking for a third.” You lean forward, all fake flirty. 

Guy looks flattered. “Oh, yeah? Uh… Sorry! Then— Uh…” He tries to speak through a drunken haze.

Old man glances at you, grinning.

You keep pushing.

“Come on! You’re cute! Thanks for trying to protect me. There are a lot of bad guys around! You want to drink with us?” 

“S-sure, man.” He mumbles.

Your new creep friend is glowing with something evil. “Then I’ll go get us something!” 

He walks off, leaving you to keep glazing that drunken dummy.

He comes back with three drinks. He gives everyone their own, because one is clearly already laced. 

You two kept feeding the guy booze. His name is apparently Dave, but why would that matter? You don’t even know your new crime partner’s name!

The rich freak drives you three to some shitty motel and makes you go and rent a room while they wait.

You come back with a key. You go up to the room quickly.

You didn’t know what you were expecting.

Your crime partner lays Dave on the bed. Taking poor man’s clothes off. You notice a big knife on your friend’s belt. It wasn’t there before. Lube in his pocket? Wait, you’re not actually fucking that guy, are you?

You stand by the door awkwardly.

Dave clearly changed his mind. Of course, he was just too drunk to say “no” when in the club. Now he’s too high to resist. He is trying, though.

“Hold him.” Your partner commands.

You don’t move. 

“Hold him.” He repeats.

You walk around the bed and hold the guy's wrists together while your friend zip-ties him to the bed. He grins and giggles. You let go when he’s done and step aside.

“Bring a towel.” The man commands again.

You go to the bathroom to quickly take one. He gags the poor guy with it before actually… getting to it.

You wanted to look away, but it's like a car crash. A poor guy tore his throat while trying to yell. His ass bled even though your partner used lube. He was just too rough. You had to turn away when he was choking the guy to death, though. You started crying. You shouldn’t be here. 

Fuck around and find out? You did. Honestly, whatever else happened was a blur. You sat on the floor, dissociating silently. The man taps your shoulder.

“Ay.” He says.

You turn around, shivering.

He gives you what seems to be Dave's belongings. 

“This is yours.” He sounds so calm.

Your hands shake, but you take everything.

“And…” He takes an extra out of his back pocket. It looks like a lot of money. “This too.”

You take that too, putting stuff in your pockets and trying not to sob. One sob breaks out, though. Stranger pats your head. 

“It’s fine. You can go. I’ll take care of the rest.” He says.

You get up and run to the door, trying not to look at the body. You're frantically trying to unlock the door, but you fail.

He grunts and walks over. You let go of the door and back into the wall right next to it, covering your face.

You feel his hands rubbing your shoulders. 

“Hey! You’re okay. If I really wanted to do this to you, I already would.” His voice is soft and kind. Too soft. Too kind.

The smell of him is poison. You feel nauseous. You will never be able to smell lavender again. Who else smells like that anyway? Lavender, musk, and however axe deodorant smells. Now also sweat and blood. 

“Are you listening?” He asks again.

You just tremble, not able to say much.

“Okay, listen. You go outside and sit in the car while I take care of this mess. Then we will drive into the desert and dump the body. Then I will drive you home. You clearly can’t go by yourself.” He speaks very clearly and slowly, making sure you understand. 

“I-I— I don’t— I don’t have a— h-home.” You’re barely able to speak, choking on your sobs.

He frowns. 

“Fine. Go to the car.” He gives you the keys.

Like, you won’t just drive away?

Yeah, you won’t.

You sit in the passenger seat, sobbing. 

He puts the heavy body in the trunk, and you two drive away. You run out of tears by the time you reach the place he wanted to dump the body. He just throws it off a cliff. It was wrapped in a blanket like a cocoon. He dumps the rest of the sheets too.

As if anyone will look for that guy... If they ever investigated anything, that fucker would already be in prison. Along with you. 

He comes back; he doesn’t say anything for the rest of the drive, and you actually fall asleep soon. Too exhausted to stay up.

You wake up when he picks you up and carries you inside a house. You don’t move; you let him do it. He lays you on a spacious couch and covers you with a couch blanket. You still don’t move, but you don’t pretend to be asleep either. 

He walks away and comes back with a glass of water, which he sets in front of you on the coffee table. Then he leaves upstairs. In his room, probably.

Too tired, you take the water, but then set it down before drinking. You wouldn’t wanna be next. You turn away and try to sleep more.

It isn’t a problem; you are too tired to stay alert. 

You wake up when it's bright. Seemingly untouched. You sit up. Water is still in the same place.

You look around. His house is huge. Pretty too. You hear his footsteps. He walks into the living room with some breakfast. He sets it in front of you.

“You really should drink that water.” He sits down on one of the chairs across. 

You look up at him, scared.

“I would already kill you by now; come on.” He throws a hand up, annoyed.

You look away and take the plate.

“Really, what did you think we were going to do to that guy?” He chuckles. “Or you just didn’t think the sausage was really made that way?”

You don’t respond, but eat and drink.

He nods and looks you up and down. 

“I’m Lalo.” 

You clear your throat.

“Y/N.”

He nods again. “Nice to meet you, y/n.” Lalo scratches his chin. “Well, y/n, why don’t you have a home?” 

You swallow your food before responding, “Safer that way.”

He laughs at you.

“Nah. It’s not.”

You blush. “And you would know?”

“Baby, I was born into this. I was doing it before you were born. I know.” He grins proudly.

“Don’t call me that.” You point your fork at him.

“Stay here.” He ignores your request. “I have extra bedrooms.”

“No.” You finish your food and put the plate down. “I’m leaving, and we will never see each other again.”

“Querido, America is too small for that! You’ll have to skip the country.” Lalo shrugs.

“Who are you? Really?”

Lalo raised his eyebrows playfully and said, “Nobody. Just a friend.”

“Yeah…” You relax in your seat.

“Seriously, though, stay. I’ll pay for everything you need.”

“And I give you?...”

“Sex and maybe...” Lalo responds, “We can go out like yesterday again. Just… I want you to help and not cry in the corner.” 

You frown, thinking.

He keeps talking.

“Or you can come back to your old life and occasionally bump into me, knowing you got blood on your hands now and that nobody will ever be by your side anymore—”

You interrupt him.

“Nobody was by my side before.” You mumble.

Lalo grins and leans forward.

“Then let's be friends.”

[dustalive]

Hello everyone🗿

This is my lil page where we gettin a bit freakay😎 (I'm JOEKING🥺)

I'm Dust, or thats the alias I went w over the years (it started w my COD username way back then🦅 Explanation incase of confusion under the cut, bcs I am NAWT roleplaying Dust😞)

⌖Mind that english aint my first language pls🧐

⌖any pronouns, cs I kinda don't care and I'm fine w everything online👍

⌖I do art, but I am really slow w my stuff so I won't be posting consistently, and my artstyle may vary😔

⌖If you would want to commision me, pls let me know so I know if I should make an paypal acc

⌖This will prob be an multifandom acc, cs it might vary in what fandom I am in. Fandoms, fav characters etc. under cut!

⌖I will be posting about stuff I only feel like drawing at the moment or what I am most invested in rn, its currently undertale🗿

⌖This is a safe place for everyone<𝟑 🍉

DNI pedophiles, zionists, homophobes, racists, nazis, comshipping, if you actively hate religions and openly spread blasphemy, etc. I don't condone any hate on here. I don't have anything against proshippers as long as you aint toxic or nasty in a way (same goes for shipping in general!!)

Tags, socials and other🥳

You can use my art as pfp/other as long as you clearly credit me! Don't repost my art!! (Unless you have permission)

#dustalives art for my art RAHHH🦅🦅

#ask dust for asks🦴

#dust yappin for yappin and rambles🗿

#dustalive for my sona/oc Dust!

@dustalive on the new Cara art app^^

@dust_alive is my tiktok, I posted DC on it tho

Thanks for reading!

About fandoms, fav games/characters and own alias/character "Dust" under cut->

Fandoms

Undertale, DC, Sekiro, Ghost of Tsushima, JJK, COD, HonkaiSR/(Genshin)

Fav games🗣‼️(yes, this is very important)

Undertale | Batman: Arkham Knight | Ghost of Tsuhima | Sekiro | Detroid Become Human | The last of us | COD: Cold war | Resident Evil: Biohazard | Zelda: Twillight Princess, OG Slatoon, Super Mario Glaxay (Nintendo games🔥)

Fav characters

Killer, Horror (UTMV), Red Hood (DC), Choso (JJK), Boothill (HSR), Sekiro (Sekiro💀), Joel (TLOU)

Regarding my own Alias "Dust": ->

⌖It's now part of my own character/sona, and a separate character from the dusttale!sans (Bcs no, I am not roleplaying as Dust😞). Just wanted to clarify that for future confusion. If it gets confusing to interract with a post (bcs your reaching out to me, and dont mean Dust!Sans if he is involved), you can also just call me Alive ig, but I prefer Dust if its possible, ty!

⌖She is me, but at the same time not, if that makes sense? Ig she is the better version of me that I want to be but can't (her backstory is still related to me tho), as she still has stuff to her character that are directly linked and connected to me, but altered in how she got them, deals with it (such as scars, mental stuff? Dont want to get spesific). But ofc she still has the same character traits as me🗿 I dont want to ruin this character by making them cringy w trauma I can't relate to, or too edgy. And yeah I said she is my sona but I see her more of an oc if that makes sense? Anyway, this is not an direct sona/oc post so I'll keep it short!

Heres my lil sona🦅

[sugarsnappeases]

tag game

okay showing up so late and likely with a lot of rambling but thank you so much for the tags @fxreflyes and @static-radio-ao3 love seeing little insights into ur lives <333

fave colour: red/pink!!

last song: i've had chappell roan's album, the rise and fall of a midwest princess, on repeat all day to try and somehow magically imbue myself with the strength to write my essay (which i've done now! mostly! gonna look it over tomorrow but it's basically done!!) but the specific song that's playing as i hit post is femininomenon!! a classic and a banger

last film: i rewatched pirates of the caribbean 2 w one of my friends (who had never seen it before can you guys believe that?!?!) and it's still as brilliant as ever, four and a half stars on letterboxd (there's no rhyme or reason behind my star system on letterboxd like i do it on the vibe in the moment and am now wondering why i didn't give it five stars??)

currently reading: okay so boring answer is 'the decameron' by boccaccio, i'm studying him for the second part of this term and really shot myself in the foot bc i didn't realise how fucking long it was (nearly 700 pages) and i have NO time ever so it's gonna be a little miserable over here in roughly two weeks when my first essay on him is due.... seems interesting tho i've read like 40 pages so far.... more exciting answer is anna karenina!! started reading it in the holidays (when i should've been reading the decameron lol) and have only read like one part and a bit so far bc i never have the time for fun reading during uni :(.... gimme like three months tho and i'll get back to you guys, i really enjoyed the bits i have read and will absolutely have some marauders-related thoughts once i have the full picture (incapable of not linking all media to them)

currently watching: i just finally started watching the sex lives of college girls, which was soooooo long overdue, i've watched two eps so far and am loving it a lot, think it's gonna be slow going tho bc. busy :(... i also rewatched the first two eps of new girl a couple days ago bc sude and i were talking about it and i felt it had to be done... wanna do a full rewatch bc it's been so long but alas, again, time is of the essence, and also i'm always very slow at tv shows... anyway

currently craving: like. spare time. ig?? no more essays?? that's the main thing that i think would make my life exponentially better.... we're at 3/8 now tho so like... slowly crawling through them.... also every time i've gone to tesco recently i've been eyeing up the raspberries, just waiting for them to go on some kind of clubcard deal so i can pounce, raspberries are my fave fruit but they're always so fucking expensive the world is so cruel to me

coffee or tea: tea!!! always!!! can't stand the taste of coffee and i think that much caffeine would send me into like cardiac arrest or something. but also i'm not huuuuuge on tea either (not very british of me ik) like i only ever drink it when i'm w other people who are drinking it or when i'm writing an essay and need some willpower/energy/to procrastinate a little... like i'm not a cup of tea at all times of day kinda gal at all

not sure who's been tagged so soz if u've already done it but no pressure tags for @quillkiller @themuseoftheviolets @stillagoodwitch @inevitablestars @sixlane and whoever else wants to <33

[vwritesawholelothm]

Oh btw I saw you had a P&F fic and I wanted you to consider my two brainrot ships;

Montycarl and Vanesstacy

So Monty Monogram and Vanessa Dpofenshmirtz dating was easily one of my favorite arcs in the show, but I also wasn't too upset that their relationship ended, since it was kinda built not to last in the first place and we see that in their first date episode.

It also seems like they kinda know and acknowledge that, they're just dating for fun and don't have any intention of becoming too serious with each other.

I think that's also why the breakup is so unceremonious that it doesn't even happen on screen, it was just healthy and mutual.

So, why ship him with Carl and her with Stacy?

Let's start with Vanesstacy, because these two are absolute certified badasses! They know what they want, they go after it confidently, and they've both had to deal with Candace's nonsense.

During one of the best Monessa episodes which was a Halloween special, Stacy is one of the many scarlet pimpernels at the party and covers for the couple -

By dancing with Vanessa.

I mean come on that writes itself! Also worth noting that in this scene when Major Monogram approaches them, Stacy recognizes him, and then you remember that oh yeah -

Stacy learned the truth about Perry and has been keeping it secret from her best friend and her family for several episodes now.

And honestly that must be draining and kinda stressful, I mean if only she had a peer who also knew the secret and wasn't as close to the Flynn-Fletchers so they could talk about OWCA and Perry specifically...

Oh wait.

So yeah, this ship is absolutely wonderful.

As for Montycarl, the show actually does a better show making a case for them than I ever could.

They tease each other and bicker like people with a history already, their dynamic is funny as hell with Monty being his dad's golden child when that kind of attention is the last thing he wants and Carl having so much stake put into seeing Major as a father figure that he organizes a whole night to attempt to get Monogram to thank him, and enlists Monty's help to do so.

And you know what's more amazing? Monty agrees! Sure we're told it's because Carl is leveraging his knowledge of his relationship with Vanessa over him but throughout the episode we can tell that his father's lack of acknowledgment towards Carl really bothers Monty.

Monty hasn't been around long enough to interact much with a lot of characters, but Carl is easily a character he interacts with often, and every time they do there's some kind of chemistry.

Also Carl wants so badly to be Major's son and if he just married Monty he'd be his son in law so like...

Anyway yeah, I fucking love both these ships and their wonderful dynamics.

That's all.

I kept this in my inbox as a prompt ig? Even tho it's mostly just a ship pitch lol. But yes, I've written some Vanesstacy and Montycarl!

Monty/Carl link:

Vanessa/Stacy link:

Those should take you to whatever fics I have tagged with each ship, and hopefully it'll remain consistent as I write more of them in the future!

[redysetdare]

Every issue i have with season 3

Putting under the cut because this is a Rant and i will be angry and critical and I know not everyone likes that.

also LMK S3 spoilers below...obviously.

Even after sleeping on it though, I realize how much some decisions of season 3 have really irked me.

1st thing being the samadhi fire and how they handled it as a whole. Now I’m not too pissy over the fact they changed the backstory for it, Monkie kid is kind of notorious for not following journey to the west for to a T but the way they handle the fire DOES kind of leave a ton of questions continuity wise. Like how in season 2 Tang DOES mention Red son’s original story but if the Samadhi fire was taken from him then that story shouldn’t exist....and if it was before the fire way taken then by the shows logic the dumping of an entire ocean shouldn’t of extinguished it - because the fact is that the fire CAN be extinguished, it just took an entire ocean to do it. Because in the book the fire is a blue flame that cannot be put out by water and instead gets strengthened from it and can travel OVER the top of water. but i digress this is more of a pet peeve.

The main issue i have with the Samadhi fire is actually who they gave it to... which was Mei. My first issue with them giving it to Mei is that 1. it felt like they HAD to change the Samadhi fire’s entire origin for it to make sense and it felt like a forced change because they realized it wouldn’t fit what they wanted to end up happening. second issue is that they LITERALLY TOOK RED SONS THING AND GAVE IT TO ANOTHER CHARACTER???? Red son was right there, they legit could’ve just used him but instead they bent over backwards to make it MEI????  Like literally Red son’s whole story in journey to the west is that he forged the samadhi fire over YEARS and YEARS of perfecting and training his fire abilities and is the ONLY ONE to wield it and they TOOK THAT AWAY FROM HIM??? 3rd is.... what’s even the deal with her having it? her grandpa held it so now she holds it too??? did her parents both have the ability to be the ring to or does that pass down once they have a kid? WHY DID THE FAMILY JUST NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS???

Literally if they wanted Mei to do something cool they could’ve done a billion other things but instead they decided to give her an extremely powerful fire which now is like.... nice she was a dragon before but now she’s gonna be super OP with dragon AND samadhi fire....if she knows to control it now then how will anything be a threat ever with how strong they made that fire?

2nd big issue: This season did not feel like it was about MK and it was frustrating that he didn’t actually get focused on in what is HIS OWN SHOW??? We never got to see him fully get back his powers, in fact we only saw shrinking, gold vision, shapeshifting, AND A SINGLE CLONE APPEARED BUT NO EXPLANATION ON HOW PARTY CLONE EVEN FUCKING GOT THERE? Now i can get if they didn’t want MK to be a focus but it felt like they were trying to make him a focus along with everyone else, which doesn’t work in a 10 episode span (and no u cant tell me he was the focus of the 4 specials because HE WAS NOT.  THAT WAS ALL MEI)

Idk i think with the vision we saw of him from lady bone demon in season 2 you think something more was planned for his character but ig the team forgot about him exploding into blue flames in those visions... I just feel like they had planned more  but then switched it around on us.

another issue is Macaque. ohhh Macaque.... idk i think them bringing up that YES HE DID DIE IN JTTW and his connection to the bone demon like that was interesting. i have no issues withthat. ITS THE ONE LINE THAT TANG SAYS ABOUT REDEMPTION THAT GETS ME. MACAQUE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN LABELED AS REDEEMED. I’m sorry but i’m firmly of the belief that he has literally done too much to be redeemed simply because he helped the group ONCE to fight a greater evil. that is not redemption. can it be the START to redemption? definitely. but they just kind of.... added him to the group as a friend as if he wasn’t trying to kill and traumatize MK for 3 entire seasons. also the group being like “oh we know you aren’t in it for yourself” was stupid because Macaque has ONLY been shown to be in itt for himself and we just have to be told that “no guys look he really isn't” and then are not shown it or even hinted at that being the case anytime before that? right. That just comes off as sloppy writing to try fulfill either fan desire or they are rushing characters to points they want them to be.

Overall this season felt like it was poorly written and rushed beyond belief and part of me knows it was because they are on a 10 episode season model but also all previous seasons did just fine on a 10 episode model - so why does this one feel so BAD? It felt like they were trying to shove too much into one season that it felt like it jumped around with no real idea of WHERE or WHAT they wanted to focus on and would have to twist things to work in their favor instead of just...going the simple route. it just... it didn’t feel like monkie kid if that makes sense. this season doesn’t feel like a monkie kid season. this doesn’t feel like the last two and ik the stakes are higher but...it still should’ve felt like monkie kid. it shouldn’t be leaving me feeling like i didn’t watch monkie kid.

 i feel like maybe if they had more episodes then maybe some things could’ve been fix but i think the main issue is in the story decisions that the team decided to go in that just...really ruined this season for me.

and like... i love this show. i adore it. it’s my biggest hyperfixation and is so dear to me...so to have it be so disappointing really sucks. because my brain just can’t stop thinking about how disappointed i am over the season.

and maybe I’m way off the mark. I know this is 100% my opinion and are my issues alone with this season and maybe i’m analyzing my issues wrong but they are still my issues. I didn’t go into this season planning to be disappointed. i looked at the season with high hopes and excitement that just...got killed off. a show shouldn’t do that.

[crumbledcastle28]

Chapter 13: An Understatement

Warnings: blaster fire and descriptions of battle, mentions of injuries, Mando gets pretty hurt and the reader is a wreck (as usual)

Author’s Note: Enjoy Chapter 13!

Mando’s POV

All Mando could think about was you.

Did you protect the child? There’s no way you leaked their info to the Empire and betrayed them, right? Were you dead?

Somehow, the third option scared him the most.

As if this could not get any worse, Moff Gideon opened his mouth yet again.

“I have just received word that you seem to have a very valuable asset on your side,” he said, and Mando knew exactly what he was getting at.

He was referring to you.

Mando’s mind raced a million miles a minute. The Empire were after you, and they had to know you had the child with them. You could hold your own, he knew that, but against an entire regime of soldiers?

Mando knew you would rather die than get the child caught, he would do the same thing, but he wanted you alive. That’s all he wanted.

“It’s ironic, really,” Moff continued. “You put your trust in the Empire to get away from the Empire.”

Moff Gideon could insult Mando all he wanted. He could insult his religion, his creed, his past, but something about him referring to you as “the Empire” when you had worked so hard to get away from it rubbed him in all the wrong ways.

You had helped Mando start to put his violent ways aside, but you weren’t here now, and Mando wanted to kill the Moff where he stood.

“It’s time you face the fact that she will return to where she belongs. My side. I hope her betrayal does not hurt your feelings too bad,” Moff said, and Cara scoffed.

Mando’s last button had been pushed.

“She didn’t betray us, Cara,” he said sternly, and Cara rolled her eyes.

“Oh, so you’re on her side? The Empire’s side?,” she responded, and Mando tried to keep his cool.

It wasn’t really working.

“We are on the same side,” Mando snapped back. “It’s time you realized that.”

You would not betray him. If you were any other person in the galaxy, Mando would start to give up now. But you showed him, in the very brief time you were together, that even people with the worst pasts can still have good hearts.

You made him feel like an idiot. Like a joke. He hadn’t genuinely cared for a person since his parents, but then the kid came along, and then you came along. It’s like the galaxy was showing him perfect prizes, but the game was impossible to win.

But the very worst part of it all, was that Mando was willing to try.

What had you done to him?

Your POV

To say this day did not go as planned was an understatement.

One second you are running for your life, the next you are being scooped up by a metal hand. It happened so fast you barely even had time to register you were lifted off the ground and placed onto a speeder bike.

Once you finally did register what had happened, you immediately thought it was the Empire’s doing, so you turned around and aimed your longspear at the driver.

“Please don’t,” the droid responded. “Me being dead would make this much worse for you.”

The nurse droid, you thought to yourself. From Kuiil’s house!

You were in such a haze of mourning and sadness those couple of days, you barely remembered meeting the droid. You even forgot it rode on the ship to this planet!

You relaxed a bit and lowered your longspear, smiling internally at the thought that a piece of Kuiil was still alive, but you didn’t put your guard down.

You hadn’t put your guard down in days, so it’s not like your overall body language changed that much.

You made sure the child was ok, and once your head finally cleared, you realized Mando was trying to reach you again.

“Kuiil, Y/N, somebody come in.”

The droid picked up the comm device before you could get it, and responded in a very monotoned voice.

“Kuiil has been terminated.”

That ought to make Mando feel better, won’t it, you thought to yourself.

You were going to take the comm device out of the droid’s hand, but you froze when you heard Mando’s tone of voice speaking through the comms again.

“What did you do?” he asked, and you swore you could hear the venom dripping from his mouth.

It always surprised you how scary Mando could really be when he tried.

“I am fulfilling my basic function,” the droid responded.

“Which is?” Mando asked.

“To nourish and protect.”

With that statement, the droid sped up the bike, and you held the child in your lap. He looked up at you with confused eyes, and you could tell he was asking why you weren’t going home.

“We are going to save him little guy,” you said with a stroke to his ear. “We will be home before you know it.”

You smiled lightly to yourself, and before you knew it, the speeder bike was roaring through the town and taking out every trooper in sight.

Blaster fire surrounded you and you tried to focus on what was ahead.

Mando was trapped…. But where?

Finally, you squinted your eyes and saw a regiment of soldiers ahead, and you knew Mando and the rest of the team were trapped inside the building.

“There!” you yelled, pointing to Mando’s cage, and the droid turned you and the child around for protection while he continued to fire.

It was slightly disorienting at first, because you honestly didn’t expect that to happen, but you felt better about the child’s safety.

This droid is no dummy, you thought to yourself. Kuiil did a good job.

Your heart pulled slightly at the thought of Kuiil, still laying out in the desert, but he would get his proper burial.

You just had to make sure Mando didn’t get one of those first.

The droid finally slowed down, and you took the opportunity to jump off the speeder bike and dive behind a pillar.

You got the child situated in your arms well enough so he could be protected, and started making your way out of your hiding spot.

You knew you couldn’t fight with the child in your arms, that’s just stupid, but you did reflect blaster shots from the troopers and took as many out as you could.

You had to start making your way to Mando somehow, but out of the corner of your eye, it seemed Mando was coming to you.

Mando charged out into the open with Karga on his tail, and he fired at will. He kicked and punched the troopers who were close enough to him, and you couldn’t help the smile that graced over your face at the sight of him.

You couldn’t see it, but Mando was smiling too.

You stuck close to the buildings surrounding you, slowly making your way around to where Karga was, but the chaos was insane. You could barely see where the shots were coming from, let alone where you were sending them.

You looked around to find some other way, but what you did see was way better.

Mando was running to a huge cannon, and you watched him rip it off the tripod and start firing it at the stormtroopers.

Your hopes were on the rise.

You saw a dark black death trooper place a detonator on the wall of Mando’s former cage, and you panicked when you realized Cara was still in there.

You started to make your way over there when the explosion hit, but you were far enough away so that you didn’t feel any wave from it.

You continued to make your way over to her.

Your senses were going so crazy, that you didn’t even feel Moff Gideon enter the scene.

What you did feel, however, was the pain Mando felt when the Moff fired a shot directly into his helmet.

It hurt like hell, and you heard Mando cry out in pain.

You turned back to where Mando was, and you saw him take aim at Moff with his canon.

This is it, you thought. Moff Gideon is dead.

You wish you hadn’t been trained in the force so well, because the very next thing you felt was the pride in Moff’s chest when he realized how to take Mando out.

Your eyes widened and panic struck you like lighting.

Moff is gonna kill him.

“Mando,” you screamed, but it was too late.

Moff Gideon had already fired at the generator next to Mando, and you had no choice but to dive for cover. You shielded the child with your body, and you were lucky enough to not feel the effects of the explosion.

But Mando felt it all.

When the dust cleared, you saw Cara dragging, his body back inside while Karga and IG-11 followed her in.

You didn’t care about anything in that moment. And if you would have known merely weeks ago that you would run across a battle field with no armour and a child in your arms, you would have smacked yourself silly.

But you did it anyways.

You made it to the door right before it closed, and you stopped in your tracks when you almost ran right into Cara’s gun.

It was pointed right at you.

“Get out,” she said, and you raised the hand not holding the child in surrender.

“Cara please,” you plead. You could see Mando laying on the floor behind her, and your heart was breaking.

He was badly injured. You could feel it.

“You can kick me out as soon as you’d like. I promise. Just let me see him,” you ask.

The tears were starting to cloud your vision and you tried not to let your voice crack. You didn’t want Cara to think you were trying to manipulate her.

But your Mandalorian was dying behind her.

“I promise,” you say, and she finally lowers your blaster.

“Thank you,” you respond, letting a breath out of your mouth as you do it, and you run to kneel beside Mando.

Of all the pain you’ve experienced in your life, you had learned a lot about it. You had learned that you personally deal better with pain when you have something to squeeze in your hand, like a pillow or the arm of a chair. You’ve learned that there are people in the world who enjoy making others feel pain, and no matter how many times you try, you just can’t understand why. You’ve learned that bacta shots work wonders for physical pain, but mental pain is almost impossible to numb.

But worse of all, you’ve learned that watching people you care for in pain is the worst pain in the world.

And this one hurt.

Tag list:

@leahkenobi @pinkninja200 @farfromjustordinary @440mxs-wife @bookloverfilmoholic

[loveablejeekies]

hellooo hope you’re doing fine :)) ur an amazing writer btw like no joke <3 anyways this past few days have been super boring with no tea and imma req an angst with either xiaojun or yangyang (you pick :D) the plot can be anything you would want it to be :)) also, take ur time aightt 🌸✨

LET'S TRY AGAIN.

-ˏˋ plot ˊˎ- : ❛ there’s only one thought inside your head; you will always end up alone, yangyang was just a distraction. or was he? ❜

-ˏˋ tags ˊˎ- : ❛ post break-up, making up (kinda), reader has their issues, mentions of ghosting people, open ending? you guys can imagine how it goes next ig. ❜

-ˏˋ reader ˊˎ- : ❛ gender neutral. ❜

-ˏˋ genre ˊˎ- : ❛ (medium?) angst. hurt/comfort. ❜

-ˏˋ wc ˊˎ- : ❛ 1.173 (1.1k) ❜

-ˏˋ notes ˊˎ- : ❛ thankyou for the really nice compliment, i appreciate it lots 💖😭 i chose yangyang for this bc i was in my yangyang feels ahah, hope you like it! (also thankyou for understanding that I’m a busy person and can’t just write a request that quickly 🤧😘) this is kinda short and also way less angsty than you wanted it to be, I think, sorryyy. ❜

raindrops fall on reddened cheeks. the wind blows through the trees’ leaves and in the distance somewhere, cars are heard driving by. there’s a certain quiet though that you bask in.

rain is therapeutic for you. you’re not really sure when it started being your drug, but there were always times where you’d feel prolonged sadness in you. when that’d happen, you’d wait with anticipation for when the skies would crack open and rain would start falling. it’s something cleansing. you find comfort in it.

you feel alone but there’s something comforting about standing outside in the rain, listening to the sound of rushing water hitting down on the pavement with tiny pat, pat, pats. you’re soaked to the core and you feel cold, yes you do. but you keep standing in the rain as if it’s a sunny day, without a single worry in your mind.

“you’re gonna get sick.”

you swear the angels start singing and the sun rises as soon as you hear that voice. the deep low-toned voice of yangyang hasn’t changed one bit since the last time you heard it. his words slur together and drawl out in a laid-back manner, as if he’s got all the time in the world.

he looks like an angel, brown hair brushing his forehead, looking as soft and fluffy as you remember them to be. yangyang isn’t wet, unlike you. there’s an umbrella held in his right hand, protecting him from the merciless rain. as he steps closer to you, you start studying his features in case anything’s changed since the last time.

“didn’t you hear me, angel? said you’re gonna get sick.” he smiles and your heart clenches painfully in your chest. you think a pitiful, small sound escapes between your lips because you suddenly start coming to the realisation that yangyang’s right here, within arms reach and he’s smiling.

“yang-” you whimper tearfully, feeling another sound get choked up in your throat. his smile turns sad and you can see his eyes get filled with tears as well. you can’t keep looking at him so you turn the other way, breathing unevenly through your tears.

his touch is light when his knuckles brush against your cheek. he steps closer and there’s no more rain falling on you anymore, his umbrella protecting the both of you. you don’t know why he’s here. why he’s being so nice to you after everything that you’ve done.

your romance with yangyang was beautiful but short-lived, the cause of your breakup being you. or your mental health. that’s no fucking excuse. you just, you had this toxic habit of getting into relationships and then letting your insecurities fuck things up. you moved on from each relationship, your past partners were more than happy to let you go once they realised that they don’t have to deal with your bullshit anymore.

your relationship with yangyang was short-lived but different.

you thought you were doing well. you thought your mental health was getting better. you tried putting in more work into understanding yourself, into healing, into loving who you are as a person. you fooled your own self into thinking things were fine.

and then one day you woke up, yangyang’s arms tight around your waist as he slept and you- you panicked. you quite literally panicked and you can’t even begin to explain the reason because you don’t even know the reason.

you had gotten up and left before yangyang had even began to stir from his slumber.

you broke up with him through text, following that with two months of ghosting. they were painful two months for you and you can’t even begin to imagine how painful they must’ve been for yangyang.

he really shouldn’t be here now. he shouldn’t be smiling and touching you softly, he shouldn’t be looking at you with those eyes. love-filled eyes. you didn’t deserve them or him. you were cruel and heartless and undeserving of love and anything nice. you shouldn’t have ever gotten to know how his kisses taste or how his hands on your body feel or how his words touch your heart and how his eyes admire you- you should have never gotten to know him at all because you’re undeserving of anything he gives-

“stop.” yangyang’s voice is firm and a second after he pulls you into a tight embrace. “i know what you’re thinking and you need to stop, (name).”

you shake your head before you can even register it. there’s a tightness in your chest and your breathing’s weak, your heart feels heavy, your head feels as if it weighs a ton. you don’t understand why he’s here.

soft fingers tilt your head upwards, despite how heavy it feels and how much you uncooperate with the movement yangyang has no problem making you look at him in the eyes. he leans close and gives you one kiss, two kisses, three. by the time the fourth kiss comes, you just let yourself fall into it. your eyes close gently and when yangyang kisses you next, you kiss back.

this kiss lasts longer than the previous ones, both of you starting to feel the effects after two months of not being with each other. you don't know how yangyang feels exactly but you press tight against him, arms wound around his waist as you selfishly steal as many kisses as you can.

you're selfish, you admit that. because yangyang should hate you, he shouldn't want anything to do with you after everything but he's here and despite all, he's kissing you and you will take what you can so you kiss back.

when you both pull back breathlessly, your eyelids flutter open to look at him in the eyes again. he looks so nice with his flushed cheeks and red-kissed lips.

"I don't understand why you're here."

you don't need to elaborate further. yangyang's face softens and falls into an undeciphered expression for you. he pulls you close with his left hand, the other hand still holding steadily on his umbrella.

"because I love you, idiot." yangyang smiles broadly, eyes alight with fondness and tenderness. "I love you and we'll work through this together, I'll help in any way I can. because you're it for me, (name). I swear you're the one for me. I'll do anything and everything I can to keep you."

there are stupid tears blurring your eyesight when yangyang pulls you into him again. there's a salty taste on your lips when you kiss him again. his right hand falls to his side and abandons the umbrella, both hands rising up to your cheeks to hold you steady.

and as the rain falls down on the two of you, locked in each other's embrace and exchanging bittersweet kisses, you realise that maybe yangyang is right, perhaps that's why the universe brought you together again like this.

maybe you're the one for him and maybe he's the one for you.

and maybe you'll get through all of it together, after all.

[writingtoforgetreality]

The Moment I Knew (Dean Winchester x Reader)

Request: hi! i LOVE ur writing and i’m not sure if requests are open, but i’ll shoot anyways. Could you do a dean x fem!reader where she gets hurt really bad on a hunt and tries to hide it from dean because she thinks he’ll make fun of her or think she’s weak?(enemies to lovers idea ig) and he finds out because she faints in his arms or something and he’s just like so mad at himself for not noticing and he’s really worried about her during the healing process and she’s confused cause she thought he hated her and AH i’m sorry it’s so specific i’m just in a mood🥺❤️ (by @rxvxr), [Supernatural-Masterlist]

Summary: A seemingly easy werewolf hunt got out of hand & left you injured. In order to avoid Dean getting angry at you, you hid your wound from him. It was not as bad as it looked, right?

Words: 1,975

Warnings: language, a little bit of angst, injury, blood, fluff

If you like my work & wanna support me: a coffee would be highly appreciated ❤

“You’re not coming on this hunt.” Dean stood his ground. Your frustrated groan showed him that you were not giving up that easily.

“Yeah, I am.” you crossed your arms over your chest. He turned around & walked closer to you. His face was way too close but you would not step back.

“You can’t handle this.” he spat out with venom in his voice.

“I’ll be fine, Dean.”

“You’re annoying, do you know that?” he threw his head back in frustration.

“Likewise.” you joked.

“Dude, let her come with us.” Sam joined your conversation, seemingly done with his older brother. “She’s skilled enough. Besides, three people are better than one.”

“Thank you very much, Sam.” your smile only grew wilder when you saw Dean rolling his eyes. Maybe you had not been in this business as long as they had been. But you knew that you were good enough to tag along on a werewolf hunt. After all, you had learned from the best. Sam, you meant. Of course. Dean? Meh, he was alright. But he hated you so you hated him. It was as easy as that.

The hunt was harder than you thought it would be. Werewolves were not that strong usually. But you kind of did not expect three of them to be there. Which left one monster for each of you. How you ended up with the strongest one of them all? You were not quite sure but that asshole landed a few pretty good hits on you. Blocking out everything around you, you hoped the brothers were luckier than you. Right when you wanted to shoot one of your silver bullets, its claws hit you right at your stomach. You groaned at the sting but you were too shocked to really feel the pain just yet. A look down was enough to realize that you had been hit pretty bad. As far as you could tell, there was a lot of blood coming out of you. An awful lot of blood. But if you stopped focusing now then your cause of death would be a werewolf. You needed to focus. Your vision started blurring slightly. A loud gunshot made you flinch. Eyes widened at the now dead werewolf in front of you. Turning around to check for another possible threat, you were only met with a very pissed off Dean. He did not even acknowledge you. Instinctively, you closed your jacket to avoid his disappointed stare. Your wound was not that bad, you would manage just fine. You could deal with your injury back in the bunker.

“So much for you can handle it, huh?” Dean mocked you. Usually, you always had a comeback. Not right now, it seemed. The adrenaline from the hunt had disappeared completely & the only thing you felt was the burning sensation that was caused by your wound. Dean raised his eyebrows when you stayed quiet.

“Dean, let her be. We didn’t expect three of them.” Sam argued.

“Yeah & we handled them just fine. She could’ve gotten herself hurt.” Dean eyed you up & down, shaking his head shortly.

“But I’m fine, Dean.” your voice was more quiet. Something both brothers were not used to from you.

“Great. Then I won’t feel bad when I tell you that this was incredibly stupid. I told you to not come along but no…No, you said you were skilled enough. Skilled enough? That was worse than what an amateur would do, (Y/N). You wanna get yourself killed or what?” his voice raised & your eyes trained on the ground, too embarrassed to look into his green ones anymore. Not even Sam tried to argue with him. He simply went ahead & left Dean & you standing alone.

“I’m sorry.” it was almost inaudible but he heard you clearly due to the calm night in the woods.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it, (Y/N).” he scoffed. You waited a few seconds if he had to say anything else. When you were sure that he was done, you wanted to follow Sam back to the Impala. The first step you took brought you dizziness. The second one made dark spots appear. Dean noticed you wavering & when you did not answer after asking if your were okay, he made his way over to you. Right when he reached you, your body was met with darkness. For a second, Dean panicked. But when he felt one of his hands sticky with whatever liquid, he breathed out a quiet “Fuck”. He opened your jacket & saw the three long & deep gashes adorning your stomach. Wasting no time, he picked you up bridal style & ran over to the Impala where Sam was already waiting. All the while, Dean whispered sweet nothings to you. You did not hear it but he needed to say them. More for himself, really.

“What happened?” Sam was just as shocked as his older brother.

“She did get hurt.” the man carrying you explained. “Come on, Sammy. You drive.” he handed Sam the key & got in the backseat with you. Carefully as to not hurt you any more. Putting more pressure on your wound, he hated himself for lashing out at you like that. He simply did not want you to get hurt. Hence why he suggested you staying behind. Well, it was not really suggesting. It was more like forcing you & then, when you did not agree with him, being mad at you. If only you knew why he was acting that way towards you. Tonight, the one thing he did not want to happen happened. You got hurt. Not because you were not strong enough. Dean knew your abilities were similar to theirs. No, you got hurt because he left you out of his sight. Usually, whenever the three of you went on a hunt together, he made sure to keep you close by. Not that he ever admitted it. Sam had picked up on that & teased him like crazy. You, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious to it all. After all, you hated him, right? Having to look at you like this, it broke his heart. Mainly because Dean blamed himself. If he paid more attention, he could have avoided all of this. After waking up, you would hate him even more & he would not even blame you. He was the one who yelled at you. But wait a second. Why the hell did you tell him that you were fine, when in reality, you were in pain? Your injury was not really a minor one. He instructed Sam to go faster. The sooner you all made it back to the bunker, the better.

Your entire body was on fire when you opened your eyes. Your attempt to sit up was cut short when you felt pain shooting through you. Wincing audibly, you looked down. Only then did you remember what happened. The werewolf hunt. One of them sliced you open with its claws. Dean yelled at you & then? What happened then? You could not recall it. All you knew was that you were back in your own bed in the bunker. The door opened & your head snapped up. Eyebrows furrowed when Dean entered. You expected Sam but Dean? You thought he was pissed off still. If you were honest, it was kind of your fault. If you had told them that you were hurt right away then you probably would not be in this situation.

“Hey.” he whispered even though there was no need to.

“Hi.” you matched his tone, unsure if you were about to experience another scolding from him. Dean walked over to the bed & sat down, careful not to touch you.

“How are you feeling?” he did not look at you which confused you even more.

“Um…Well, I’ll live.” you chuckled uncomfortably.

“Why didn’t you tell me that one of them hurt you?” his eyes locked onto yours & your mouth opened & closed a few times. What could you possibly tell him?

“Didn’t think it was that bad.” that was what you ended up with. A lie.

“Hmm, I don’t believe you. Why didn’t you say anything?” he repeated. Sighing loudly, you thought you would say the truth. It did not matter anyway.

“I didn’t want you to look at me like I’m weak or pathetic.” you looked down at your hands that fiddled in your lap.

“Why would I do that?” he was confused now.

“Well.” you glanced at him again. “You kinda told me to stay behind & I said I’d be fine. Look where that brought me. And I know you sorta hate me so…” you trailed off.

“I don’t hate you.” he wasted no time with his response. You stared at him questioningly & he knew he had to explain himself. “I don’t hate you, (Y/N). I’ve been an asshole, I know that.” you interrupted him briefly.

“Self-reflective, I see.” you teased playfully.

“What I wanna say…I just don’t wanna see you get hurt. And last night showed me that all of this can be over way too soon. I guess I was scared of losing you.” he admitted, watching you closely for your reaction. You were shocked at his statement.

“It takes a lot more to get rid of me, Dean.” you smiled warmly at him. Usually, you would have teased him but he was so serious in this moment, you did not want to ruin it.

“You’re one of the best hunters I know. It could’ve happened to all of us, this werewolf. Man…” he put his face in one of his hands, then chuckled. “I’m really bad at this feelings crap.” you laughed & shook your head at him.

“You’re getting better.”

The following weeks were different. The way Dean acted towards you was foreign to you. The teasing did not stop but you two shared another thing now. Though you had yet to figure out what exactly that was. Dean went out of his way to care for you which, if you were honest, was because of your wound taking an awful lot of time to fully heal. You spent a lot of days in pain that not even pills could numb. Sam was teasing the two & for the first time, you could actually tell that he was. Apparently, you were way too focused on Dean’s “hatred” towards you that you did not notice the younger brother’s teasing. The atmosphere in the bunker was not as tense anymore. The three of you lived comfortably together. Sometimes, you had to stop & think about your journey with Dean. It was actually the plot of a Disney movie. Two people had hated each other (at least they thought they had) until one of them got hurt & the other was scared of losing them. After that, their relationship changed into something way deeper, way more understanding.

“(Y/N)?” Dean entered the kitchen where you were currently sitting with a cup of coffee in your hand. You hummed for him to continue. “You’re still annoying as shit. You know that, right?” you broke out in laughter, Dean joined in a second later. Motioning for the cup you set up for him, he walked over & sat down next to you.

“Hate to break it to you but I won’t change.” you smirked at him.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.” he pressed a soft kiss on top of your head & threw one of his arms around your shoulders to pull you closer to his body. Your eyes closed in content. This was where you were supposed to be. In Dean’s arms. And it took you both long enough that you could not live without each other. At least you had each other now. Finally.

Published (04/27/2021) by Cathy

Tags: @hollymac79, @spnbaby-67 (thanks for your support <3)

[crescentfool]

hiii! tysm for leaving such sweet tags on part 2 the yukari/ryoji hcs list, i had so much fun reading through those :) im flattered you still remember part 1 considering it’s been six months & i had pt2 in my drafts for ages but i thought of you while writing it; it’s getting comments like yours that keeps me going <3 it took me a while to upload since ive wanted to add onto it—i can’t get enough of those two—but ig i can always do that in a part 3. or a fanfic…? point is, the popular girl dealing with her bestie’s weird-ass boyfriend driving her up a wall is always my jam, especially when she ends up lowkey being in on his BS with him (much to the shock of the whole school) while the MC’s like “maybe i liked you two better when you hated each other” loool

HII HII mimi thank you so much for stopping by to the ask box!!! it's always a lot of fun for me to leave tags when i come across posts that i enjoy- especially ones related to writing! hcs and aus are always such a joy for me to read, especially if it involves ryoji 😳

honestly, the yukari and ryoji friendship hcs have very much been living rent free in my mind since i saw that first post about them playing minecraft together! they'd float across my brain at least once or twice a month and i'd go "YEAHH THIS IS WHAT THEY DESERVE!"

so in that respect, im flattered to hear that you thought of me while writing the second part- and if you ever consider writing more for them (fic or hc list form, or any medium really, shitposts are also included in that LOL), im always down to see it! 👀

but YESS that friendship dynamic... literally chef's kiss tbh. i love unlikely combos of friends and i think yukari and ryoji represent that rather well! its nice thinking that over time, yukari can warm up to ryoji's silly antics (i am sure he has an infinite amount of them, lmao). plus, i feel that yukari can show ryoji a lot of cool things as well, whether if it's her perspective from being popular, or just some hobbies that she's into!

and i think it's especially funny that you added the MC to the mix too in that last remark... must be weird for minato or hamuko to observe yukari laughing with ryoji over something stupid rather than yukari being like >:c or something at him 😂 (i'm terrible at words help!). in any case i am sure that all three of them are getting along great!

ANYWAYS i uh. did not mean to take this long to respond to this ask nor did i mean to make it very long but i guess that's what happens when i want to express my gratitude back and acknowledge asks properly, haha. but seriously, thank you again mimi, not just for the inbox visit, but the hcs! it's always a pleasant surprise to see whatever people are up to in the p3 fandom and i appreciate the yukari and ryoji hcs very much~ (and have a very lovely day!!)

and for all you other people who are wondering, what the heck are these hcs you are talking about? here go read them here from mimi's blog: part i | part ii

[eltanin-malfoy]

The Portend (His Royal Highness II)

word count: 6.7k

warning(s): cursing, anxiety

a/n: hi all! i just wanted to say that i know this chapter’s length is SO different from the first one’s but that’s because that one is, again, 2 years old and was written all at once. the other chapters will also be fairly long from here on out. i hope you enjoy this one!

taglist: @drawlfoy @war-sword @lilyreachelcassidy @socontagiousimagines @andreasworlsboring101 [@kaibie @regalillegal @mayorofzillyhoo, i know you all wanted to be tagged in the full-length HRH and this is pretty much it ig. please let me know if you’re still interested and want me to add you to the permanent tag list for this series]

reply to this post or send me an ask/dm if you want to be added to the tag list for the series or for all of my fics!

HRH - Table Of Contents

Y/N placed her palms flat on her desk as if doing so would bring any sort of change to the absolute hurricane that had begun its wrath within her stomach. She tried to imagine she was somewhere else for a second. Why would any rational human being do this to someone? That too to someone with as much responsibility as she had. Oh, right… she’d forgotten. Prince Draco was far from rational. Far from being a human being, even.

She looked down at the paper trays with guest lists upon guest lists kept before her, shifted them to the side and planted her face on the wood. That’s better , she thought. Now no one else can see how fucking ridiculous I feel right now! She tried to think about what the hell she’d done to him to make him act so horribly towards her. What could she have possibly done in a past life that would have resulted in her having to face such a… conundrum? She’d thought it was hard enough having to bargain with the King and Queen over how much detail could possibly be squeezed into cake decorations but had no idea a situation even more stressful could and would arise.

How could she let herself get so weak? How could she not bring herself to be assertive? She could have just said no, right? It wasn’t that hard. He hadn’t been nice at all. She took a deep, deep breath, trying desperately to calm her brain. It had begun to run from thought to thought, imagining every possible scenario that could go wrong. She had so much work left to complete on her own, and god knew how much attention and criticism she might face at and after the ball.

And the way she’d freaked out in front of Draco as well! She was sure he must’ve been at least a little put off by how strongly and emotionally she’d reacted so quickly. God, not that that should matter that much but… if they were supposed to work together for a highly publicised ordeal, they had to get along, right? Right? She hadn’t meant to do that. It’s just that he’d already shocked her a bit by slipping into her office so unexpectedly. And then he’d gone on and rushed to… that . Not to excuse what he did but perhaps she should’ve realised she didn’t need to panic so much over it either. She knew she was having a hard time with her anxiety…

Nevertheless, she brought her hands to the edge of the table closer to her and pushed herself up. She looked forwards, turning slightly to face the window she was looking out before everything turned to shit. The scenery was still gorgeous, albeit not that comforting anymore but looking out at the wide expanse of a beautiful garden would bring just about anyone some tranquillity. She had been thinking about how lovely the weather was today, how nice it would be to go for a walk after she’d finished up with her work. Maybe she could even head downtown for once and meet some old friends. But no, no one was happy just giving her a single moment of peace. Even fate was bent upon just giving her as much to stress about as was possible.

She looked down at the paper trays she’d just abandoned. Administrative work could distract her a bit, couldn’t it? All she had to do was send RSVP reminders and reach out to the guests and performers coming in from out of town about their travel and accommodation details. As well as request the performers for the outlines of their performances and send them contracts saying they’d stick by the approved setups. They couldn’t have a repeat of last year’s embarrassing The Hobgoblins’ performance. To be very brief, it had gone sexual. (The King and Queen’s expressions during it were still popular reaction gifs) She picked out one of the lists and opened up her laptop, finally beginning the work she’d been putting off all morning. It seemed so much easier and more comforting now that she had the much more disturbing dilemma on hand. She corroborated the list in front of her, adding ticks and crosses to the list to mark invitees as having confirmed or not. She then compiled their contact details and created a template for emails to send to those that had yet to confirm their attendance and travel itineraries. After this, she did the same with the list of performers, making sure to add enough information to their emails regarding the outlines they should send back.

And there… most of her work was done already, wasn’t it? Now all she had to do was proofread these, make sure all of the addressees were receiving the appropriate emails and well, press send. It shouldn’t take too long and then she could… She could get back to stressing about the problem fucking Draco had landed her in, goddammit! She was right back there again, her stomach beginning to swirl dangerously. She tried to take in a few deep breaths, forcing herself to get back to work. It wasn’t that hard. It wasn’t that hard!

Never mind, she couldn’t deal with it right now. She… Well, she needed a break. Or maybe she just needed to leave work early today. It was fair game after what the hell Draco had just unloaded on her. It was time she gave her intern some actual responsibility anyway. He was a sweet little fellow, straight out of university. Had his head in the right place but wasn’t particularly good with all the practical work yet. She’d assigned him some random organisational task she knew wouldn’t take her more than a minute and wasn’t going to bother checking because she thought it was simply too easy. Hopefully, he’d been able to do it to her standards.

She sat back in her chair and raised her hands up to her head, stretching out her fingers and breathing in and out deeply through her mouth. She was going to do this. She was really going to handle this (easier) bit of the work off to the intern and he was going to do it just fine. Just fine. Maybe she might have to assist him with it a little bit but it was going to work. It would work. Yes, it would. She shook her head to try and shake off some of her anxiety and stood up, closing her laptop’s screen and picking up the tray of guest lists. She walked out of her office and into the large room outside of it, which had a small group of cubicles placed in the middle.

While the rest looked rapt in their work (an exaggeration, to be sure, a lot of them were chatting with their co-workers and eating snacks), she noted her dear intern was just sitting idle which both made her feel hopeful and worried. He was sitting with his laptop closed, one hand tapping on the table’s surface, the other holding his phone.

“Hi, Colin!” Y/N said and he jerked forwards in surprise, dropping his phone to the floor. “Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”. Colin shook his head as he picked it up and looked it over, “It’s no problem, miss… My phone is just fine. Are you alright? I know the prince was just in your office, he came to ask me where it was first! I was so excited and I asked him for a picture but he said he was in a rush! I can’t believe I’ve managed to have a conversation with one of the royals already!” Hmm… “have a conversation” was probably a stretch but… she chose to ignore that. The boy was definitely an optimist and she couldn’t fault him for that.

“That’s lovely, Colin. I’m sure you’ll get to talk to him and the others again. I had some work for you if you’re up to it.”

“Yes, of course! Does it have anything to do with the prin-”

“Let’s calm down there, Colin. I trust you’ve completed what I assigned you earlier?”

“... Oh, yes I have!”

“That’s great.”

She set the paper tray on the side of his desk and he looked at it for a few seconds before looking up at her again.

“So… what do I have to do?”

Y/N gulped and laid out the lists for him, beginning to explain to him the meanings of the markings she’d made and the emails he had to look through and send off.

***

Beep, beep.

Y/N kept her phone pressed between her shoulder and her ear as she walked around her apartment. She was holding a large iced vanilla latte in one hand and her purse in the other. She knew she needed to set something down but felt too jittery to do anything but pace around with her stuff. It was probably partly inspired by the amount of caffeine she’d drank that day but hey, that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Today was also a terribly tense day, wasn’t it?

Beep, beep.

She took a nice long sip of her latte, relishing in how nice and cold it was. She had the air conditioner on and had taken off her blazer but it still felt like she was this close to overheating. This sudden heatwave throughout the country was absolutely unwelcome as far as she was concerned.

Now if only Pansy’d pick up so she could get some clarity on the situation. Suddenly the dial tone ended and she heard the crackling of breathing through the speaker.

“Hello, Y/N?”

She smiled and finally set her purse down.

“Hi, Pansy! It’s so nice to finally hear your voice. Are you free to talk?”

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting, I was just sending off this email but now I’m free for a bit, yes. And Jesus, Y/N, is something… up?”

“Oh, nothing… it’s just… the prince really got me gobsmacked today.”

She hears her gasp over the phone.

“Oh my, the prince?! Well then… I certainly wasn’t expecting that. Although, I suppose… it’s not so far off for the prince to bother you when you’re working at the palace...”

“Pansy… that’s beside the point.”

“Yeah, okay, so… what happened? You have to tell me now.”

“I will but you need to promise me you won’t get mad or jealous of me or anything. I didn’t choose to be a part of it.”

“Of course I won’t be mad. Why would I be?”

“Well, you know, your history and… how you were off your trolley about him as a teenager?”

“Oh, bugger off, babe. That’s not even true anyway.”

“Oh, really? I can vaguely recall someone crying and taking care of him for weeks after he was attacked by that bird he harassed in the first place.”

“I was just… overemotional.”

“Right.”

“So what, okay? So what if I liked him for a while? There’s nothing there anymore. Even waking up to him the next day after the… you know what between us, I was just repulsed. And you thought he was fit too! So. And I feel like I only just liked him because I thought my parents would be happy with us together.”

“That’s… fair. But yes, you’re right, I’ll get back to my story then.”

“Yes, please.”

Y/N started to unbutton the collar of her shirt, beginning to feel hot again. She took another sip of her latte.

“Well, basically, I was just sitting in my office, you know, minding my own business, when Mr Royalty just busts in and starts talking to me.”

“Oh, dear.”

“Yeah, I know right? Anyway, he got straight to it and asked me to be his date to the coronation ball.”

“Holy shit! That’s… never mind, but you said no, right?”

“Well… at first, yes. But then...”

“You what? That’s so unlike you, Y/N, come on…”

“I know, okay… I shouldn’t have. I just started to feel bad for him and I... Should I get out of it? I’m thinking I will. It’ll be stressful, won’t it? I just… I don’t know what to do about it, okay? I’m lost. Help me.”

Pansy fell silent for a second and Y/N undid the whole of her button-down, setting her drink down onto a table as she headed into her bedroom to look for a lighter change of clothes.

“You know the first thing I’m going to tell you is you owe him nothing. I know you felt bad for him but he really shouldn’t have asked you that with no context or anything. He was the one in the wrong here for sure. It’s sweet of you to accept his offer but you don’t have to keep up on it if it’s really stressing you out so much. Also, the fact that you accepted such a spontaneous offer makes me a little sceptical of the power play there...”

“You’re right. Also, I think it definitely wasn’t nice of him but he wasn't mean about it or anything. He was definitely adamant but eh....”

She set her phone onto her bed and turned it to speakerphone, opening her wardrobe and taking out a t-shirt and some shorts.

“At the same time… when we look at the positives, they are fairly significant. You’ll likely have to give in… not that many hours in exchange for a pretty fun night. You know the service at royal events is amazing and if you’re literally the date of the guy the event is being thrown for, the King being crowned that night… I’m going to guess you’ll get so much from that. You’ll obviously get some… fame and have to pack on some PDA there and what not but that means free stuff, great clothes, who even knows what else. You’d just have to work extra hard for that time and balance the work, but I thought you said you were done with a lot of the stuff already.”

“That is … true.”

“But you’re not happy with that, are you?”

“You don’t have to say it like that. It’s just… actually I don’t have a counterargument for that. The perks do sound pretty good.”

“Right? But you know, there might be criticism or hate or something you might get.”

“Well… I’ll also get paid to advertise things after that, won’t I? And free things and VIP invites to places I wouldn’t even have been able to enter before.”

“Well, yes, but… maybe that’s something of an exaggeration, you know. Not every brand or group or whatever is that fixated on how much publicity they can get.”

“... I mean, aren’t they?”

“Okay, yes, they are. I think you should do this.” Y/N laughed as she took off her skirt. She sat down on her bed in her underwear, lying down so her head was near her phone.

“This was a very helpful call. Thank you.”

“I do agree, I think I was a huge help.”

“I concur. Again.”

“Thank you! Now, can I request an invitation to the ball as well?”

“Pansy!”

She giggled and sat up, crossing her arms. “Of course I’ll get you an invite, Pans!”

“Great. I was expecting that. I’m not missing you floundering around, having a… Cinderella moment for the world.”

“A Cinderella moment?”

“You know, getting a chance to dress up like a princess for a night? It’s weirdly literal too, it’s just for the night and then you go back to being normal again. Unless… the prince charming decides…”

“Shush up!” Y/N felt her face beginning to heat up. Not for the second time in one day… She sighed. And… partly because of the same person too.

“I’m sorry, darling. I hope I didn’t say too much there. You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah of course. It’s just a problem I’m starting to recognise with me. I keep getting more aggressive and emotionally charged than I mean to be.”

“I get that… you could try meditation, you know. Or you could join my yoga class, it’s pretty relaxing. The teacher has a nice butt too.”

“Pans!”

“Y/N!”

***

Her evening was fairly relaxed after that. The call with Pansy had seemed to fix the problem. Well, not exactly “fix”, more like change the way she looked at the issue so it felt all the lighter. And it worked pretty much the same. She began to feel so much better about the decision she’d made. After all, even if it was destiny or whatever, she’d been chosen for a reason, right? She’d managed to get Draco’s number off of Pansy. (“ It’s from… way back when so forgive me if he changed his number to get me off his back or some shit. ”) And… on a caffeine high, she had decided to text him almost right away.

Hi, your royal highness!

It only took a few hours but soon she was privy to:

Where did you get this number?

Got it from a friend. It’s Y/N btw :) should’ve said that before.

Oh, right! That makes sense. How’re you doing?

I’m alright, thanks. What about you?

I’m okay.

Listen, I was thinking about what happened today.

And now I’m wondering if we could meet tomorrow? Morning, if possible? It’s urgent.

Y/N squinted down at this message in confusion. What was this suggesting? Was there something wrong? Was he going to retract his offer? She knew there must be some kind of administrative work they’d have to log but was it really that serious already?

Sure, I’ll be free to meet before 9:30.

That is not what I was thinking of when I said morning :(

What, do you wake up at 4 o’clock or something?

No, I meant that that was too early!

She rolled her eyes. She should have seen that coming. He wasn’t exactly known for being put together. Or spiritual, for that matter.

We can call now if you really want.

No, it’s okay. It’s better we talk about it in person. I should try and wake up earlier anyway.

As you wish.

So I’ll meet you tomorrow then. Let’s say, 9 am sharp?

Perfect. I get dropped to the main drop off point at that time anyway.

Great. See you xx

See ya x

Y/N set her phone on her counter and put it to charge for the night. What the fuck? What was happening? The sleep she’d been looking forward to seemed to have suddenly drifted away. What was she going to have to worry about tomorrow morning?! She shifted under her sheets, turning where she lay to face the other side and look out her bedroom window. It was a clear, clear night. If she looked hard enough, she could probably see the edge of the royal estate. But then again, she really didn’t want to. She turned to the other side and just stared at her closet.

She wasn’t sure when her mind got tired of imagining potential disaster scenarios for the next day but Y/N woke up to the sound of her alarm ringing at 6:45 am. She reached over to her nightstand and turned it off, sitting up in bed and looking out the sun already shining bright in her window. It was barely May but the days had already begun to increase in length.

Since she’d woken up with ample time to complete her routine, she did everything she could to pamper herself, spending almost an hour in the bathroom. She even changed into her nicest formal clothes after, a white pantsuit with dark detailing. She packed her work bag with the essentials, her laptop, her water bottle, her royal admin ID, her wallet, stationery and her phone. She felt very prepared for once. Whatever was coming her way would be taken care of as needed.

She had a comfortable trip from her apartment building to the estate, the state-sanctioned car ride feeling a lot less bumpy than usual. It was still just as clear as it was last night, but the car’s windows were tinted so the sun’s rays felt like they barely even touched it. There was only the slightest hiccup when the driver slammed the brakes too hard all of a sudden and made Y/N’s face hit the seat before hers. OUCH!?

It didn’t take very long for the car to get to the palace, stopping at the main entrance pavilion. She didn’t notice anyone there yet and checked the time. It was still only 8:53 am. She had enough time to walk to the administrative wing, leave her things there and come back with time to spare. She walked through the hallway and towards the next hall which she knew led her to-

“Fuck me!” “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. Hi, Y/N.”

She had her hand on her heart, trying to slow down her breathing as she looked at the blonde who had bumped straight into her. He had his hands in front of her to catch her if she fell. Thankfully, she had just missed falling.

“What the hell is it with you and giving me heart attacks?”

"I promise you that wasn’t my intention.”

“Well, I’d sure have hoped it wasn’t.”

She sighed and dropped her hand to her side, looking up at him with an eyebrow raised.

“So?”

“So, yes. Um. Can we walk or something? I don’t want to be standing here and have someone walk in on us?”

“... Draco, what do you have planned exactly...?”

She looked up at him quizzically and smirked. He managed a small smile but shook his head.

“God, get your mind out of the gutter! I just mean… this is stressful, okay?”

“Well, I’d like to drop my things off at my office if you don’t mind.”

“Alright, I’ll wait for you by the admin wing’s garden exit.”

“Done.”

***

Y/N had decided to leave her blazer on her chair and all her belongings except for her phone on her desk. Hopefully, Colin was good enough as a guard or she was getting robbed. Either way, she could spot a tall blonde’s head nervously bobbing above the hedge next to the exit. His face was a concerning shade of pink, goodness could only hope he’d put on an adequate amount of sun cream.

“Draco?”

“Yes, hi.”

He managed out, looking toward her walking out now.

“Are you okay? You look… red.”

“I’m fine.”

“I mean, are you sunburnt?”

“Oh…?”

He brought a hand up to touch his cheek.

“No, but that’s a good point. Let’s stand in the shade.”

She stopped where she was and he walked in to meet her. She felt her insides begin to do the jitterbug in anticipation. What could possibly have him so on edge? What was wrong?

“I’m really very sorry about yesterday. I wasn’t exactly thinking very straight when I came to see you. In hindsight, I know it got on your nerves and everything and I should’ve been a lot better at telling you about it.”

“It’s no big deal now, honestly.”

“Okay, but that’s not exactly why I called you. The thing is, there’s going to be a lot of PR work at this ball. I didn’t realise it before but Mother told me she’s arranging a meeting with our publicist for us today. And the publicist is never there just to take the piss. This is serious now. Like, even more than I thought it was.”

“I- what do you-”

“It’ll be very pressing, I would never hold it against you if you decided to pull out.” He stared into her eyes with a pensive expression on his face and Y/N felt whatever response she had been planning just vanish from existence. She pretended to have comprehended everything he said, but could only really think of saying one thing right then… That’s what she said... but that would be inappropriate. He soon got conscious and looked to the side and she felt the cogs in her brain begin to work again.

“The thing is my mother was getting a little impatient with me and telling me it was time for me to tell her who my date for the ball is. My parents have been begging me to find one unless I want to risk an arranged marriage, it’s a long story. So, I told them I’d find a date for myself and that they don’t need to worry. The truth is, I didn’t actually bother to find one and it was starting to get a little late. You know there’s only one month left till... right, you know. So… she came to talk to me about it over lunch and she told me I had to tell her who it was so she could arrange everything for us. I started to think about whom my parents would be okay with me going with and whom I would be okay with and well… you were on top of the list.”

“I’m hoping that’s a compliment.”

“It- it is. I told her your name and she was satisfied with it, I think. And then I was scared she’d come and talk to you immediately so I ran to you first and just asked you about it then. Again, I’m sorry it came out as forcefully as it did. I didn’t mean to… get you stuck in this whole thing.”

He took a deep breath and looked back at her again. Her stomach seemed to begin buzzing as she felt her anxiety grow. This was not going to go as smoothly as she expected, was it? The queen, and most likely the king as well, knew. Although that wasn’t exactly unanticipated, it gave everything a sense of finality. Like, she didn’t have much legroom here at all.

“Anyway, that's what happened. I’m sorry, again.”

He looked at her as if he was waiting for her to yell at him. She wasn’t intending to and just turned to the side, trying to calm her racing heart. She needed to make a decision, didn’t she? And who knows what kind of problems would face her, either way, she decided to go? It seemed like teasing to dangle this lux option in front of her just to draw it away. Draco annoyed her.

Looking at how strangely afraid of her he looked, she couldn’t help but notice how very much he started to look like the Draco she used to know. Little and arrogant and scarily afraid of his parents getting upset with him.

“You’re fine. I… I’m going to need some time.”

“That’s okay. You can take as much time as you need. The problem is, I have no idea when today my mother is going to pull you out for the publicist meeting.”

Y/N huffed slightly and covered her face. So, what was she going to do? What was she going to do?

“I’m in.” She’d set her mind to it, hadn’t she? She’d made a promise to the prince, and his parents knew of it already. She’d already told Pansy she was going for it. Well, all of those things and also the prospect of fulfilling a childhood princess fantasy seemed more enjoyable than anything. There was something so gratifying in that idea, dressing up well and being pampered and showered with affection and just… pretending to be a princess. What could be more fun than that?

“You’re sure?”

The answer was nothing.

“Yes.”

Most likely.

“Well, I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

“So do I.”

***

It still hadn’t really sunk in yet that she was actually going to do whatever this would entail. Sure, she’d been dreaming about it the day before but it seemed completely different now. Her gut seemed to be calmer now, signifying that perhaps her intuition hadn’t been completely off guiding her in the direction it had.

What’s sad was Y/N was still lost about this after Narcissa had whisked her away into one of the palace’s many giant bedrooms. She was sitting on the bed, still in her work clothes, stressed after having had to explain to Colin how to decide how accommodations would be settled for the guests and the performers coming. She’d been expecting the meeting with the publicist and Draco to happen but she was lost as to what was taking place right now.

Narcissa approached her with a clipboard and a pen. “Now, dear, I just need you to sign these first.” Y/N took both from her and glossed through the texts.

A non-disclosure agreement and an employment contract…

“I’m sorry, your majesty. Do you mind me going through the documents before signing them?”

“Absolutely not, sweetheart. Though do try to rush, we have appointments we need to get to in time.”

“Thank you, ma’am. Honestly, ma’am, I’m not too aware of legal jargon like this. Could I please ask you to explain the purpose of this agreement?”

“Well, when any…”

She seemed to want to say a word but held it back, twisting her tongue around in her mouth as she thought of what to say.

“Person unfamiliar with our ancestry and our policies gets… involved with a member of the family, we have them sign one of these in order to protect our privacy.”

“I see…”

That seemed very… imperialist of them. She began to skim through the document, trying her best to understand it based on what little knowledge of this she had. It all seemed par for the course except for the last clause.

“I’m sorry again, ma’am. The others make sense to me but this one: 11. Covertness, it’s quite vague, the “other actor”…?.”

“To be transparent, the King and I posed the covertness clause as a protective measure. We don’t need Draco learning about this agreement and growing wary of all of us. We’re doing it to protect him more than anything. You are not to revert any of this portion of our meeting to him and he mustn't ever come to know of this agreement or the contract at all.”

The Queen suddenly seemed scarier than she ever had in all the years she’d known her.

“Well, that’s- I’ll have to think about that for a second.”

She started looking through the employment contract. It was similar to the one she currently held, nothing too special, except for the fact that it detailed that she was entitled to a lump sum of £200,000 at the end of the event, assuming she kept up her end of the agreement. She paused for a moment and just stared at that number.

“Is this a misprint by any chance, ma’am?” The Queen leaned over and looked at where she was pointing, then shook her head.

“No, it is not.”

She took a deep breath. That would be much more than enough to have her set for life and for a private event planning business alongside. It would take her 10 years to even come close to earning as much. She continued reading the document. She was supposed to participate in a few publicity stunts, make it clear “she had good intentions” and was supposed to disconnect from the prince entirely after the affair was over. Those terms didn’t sound too harsh, now, did they? A little acting and ghosting for 200 grand? It didn’t sound like much. Even a real big shot actor wouldn’t get paid half as much for such little work. And the part about her leaving the prince alone after was a little strange, but she supposed it made sense, what with the royals’ obsession with keeping their family all blue-blooded. Draco had been the poster child for that kind of thing growing up. And she likely didn’t have an ounce of it in her.

Why were they even that desperate anyway? This seemed huge. It might boost the prince’s reputation a bit but… what else was there to this? She knew the country was not doing the best in terms of international relations but did this really hold that much weight along those terms? Surely, there was something here she was missing. Regardless, 200,000 quid for a little work and a lot of fun was too amazing an offer to turn down. And so, Y/N signed both papers and handed them back to her. Jesus Christ, Draco’s impulsive decision was about to get her rich. Quick. She certainly hadn’t been expecting this.

She handed the clipboard back to the Queen who smiled and took it back quickly, setting the papers into a folder which she kept in a decorative paper bag. Not a bad hiding place at all. She walked outside for a few minutes, before reentering, followed by a squat old lady well-dressed in mauve and a younger woman wearing similar clothes. The Queen ushered towards either of them and began speaking.

“Madam Malkin and assistant, this is miss Y/L/N, the crown prince’s date to the coronation ball, miss Y/L/N, this is Madam Malkin, the family’s official stylist and designer, and her assistant.”

Y/N raised her hand out for her to shake, and she did so, firmly. “It’s so great to meet you, Madam.”

“Pleasure as well, love.”

She retracted her hand, looked over Y/N’s outfit and began whispering to her assistant.

“Well, to be very honest, I feel we don’t have to worry about my wardrobe as much. I know I probably don’t meet the royal standards but… I was planning on buying this really nice dress online anyway. I could show it to you and have you approve it if that would be fine.”

The Queen looked at her vacantly, her eyebrows raised and her nose pinched in the slightest. Then her expression settled and she exchanged a look with Madam Malkin before looking back at Y/N. Madam Malkin maintained an unamused expression, then began to speak.

“ I hope you know we’re not going to let you just wear a dress you bought online to the ball… We’ll tailor one for you. And your other clothes will be picked from contemporary designers ourselves.”

Y/N just looked at her silently, nodding and blinking slowly in assent.

***

An hour or so of Y/N having to change into various clothes behind a divider and then show them off to the pair of them passed quickly. It was very fun knowing she’d get a bunch of very nice clothes out of this (even custom made underwear so her clothes fit her right over them!), and she thought the royal family was really being very generous with all of this. Lots of money and clothes? There had to be some kind of catch, right? Something that would make this hard to keep up with? What was it? Just the stress of all the work that’d pile up? That didn’t seem like enough. Everything was not going the way she was anticipating. It was going a hell of a lot better. Mostly.

The actual meeting she’d been waiting for all morning was finally occurring. She was seated in a meeting room opposite the Queen and Draco and their publicist. It was weird seeing them like this. It seemed like a strange grown-up parent-teacher conference.

“So, our point is, we need to have you both make it clear to the public that there is a strong relationship between the two of you.”

The redheaded man droned on at the head of the table and Y/N looked over at Draco who glanced at her as well before both turning to look at the man.

“It’s Percy, right? I’m just a little… I’m sorry if I just don’t know my current affairs well enough for this but… why?” Y/N gulped, crossing her arms tightly after asking this question. It was quite bold of her for sure. She could only hope she wasn’t violating anything by asking this. “She’s not wrong.” Draco chimed in, ”You never had to do anything like this, mother.” The Queen smiled but shook her head. “Things just aren’t the same anymore, are they?” She looked over at Percy to continue.

“We now live in a world of social media and tabloids and none of that will work towards the image we need to create.”

Draco seemed to be satisfied with that and just looked at Y/N silently, who could only really do the same at this point. “I’m sorry, again, I… think I’m missing something here. What “image” are we trying to create?”

Percy and the Queen exchanged a long look, where she pursed her lips and shook her head somewhat disapprovingly. She then nodded and he began to speak.

“Miss Y/L/N, to be very frank, the kingdom isn’t doing amazing. In terms of international relations and funding and… most importantly, resources and trading. We’re afraid we’re losing allies and we cannot risk anything. We not only need to increase viewership and publicity of the ceremony and the ball, but we need to raise the reputation of the family and the prince in the public eye. It’s… a trend at King’s coronation balls for royals or other elite families to offer their daughters’ hands in marriage to the crown prince or king. Our prince is bent upon not getting into an arranged marriage and having to reject offers is a lot more publicly disgraceful than you might anticipate. As you might know, the country wasn’t even on speaking terms with one of its neighbours because centuries ago a crown prince rejected an offer for marriage and an alliance with them. We cannot risk having that happen when we’re in as dire straits as we are.”

Y/N could only look up at him with her mouth agape. They were serious. This was why it mattered so much to them. This was why she was being paid to do this. In case they offended an ally or just any other country. Because of the prince’s idealistic desires for romance or whatever it was. Although she couldn’t really fault him for that, his father hadn’t had to do the same and she’d heard the conditions for some of those alliances and the situations they landed themselves in the future were never that positive.

She nodded up at Percy. “I understand. I should probably read a bit more on the news and the family anyway. I tend to avoid it.” Percy barely seemed to notice her response and started to talk about strategies and actions that needed to be taken. The meeting ended with Draco and Y/N agreeing to keep up with their public profiles and maintain a good reputation on them. They were supposed to interact more publicly for the time being while Percy laid out more intricate publicity stunt plans.

As she left the room and started to walk back to her office, thinking about what work she had to do, someone tapped at her shoulder gently. She turned around to see the very same prince that had dragged her into this mess staring down at her.

“Again, I’m sorry.”

Him saying that like this made her feel guilty now.

“It’s- it’s really okay. You don’t have to say that.”

“I feel like I have to. You’re barely getting anything for doing this for us.”

“That’s- that’s not true. I’ll have my fun, won’t I?”

“Well, whatever it is, what I told you yesterday, the offer still stands. I’ll get you anything, I’ll buy you a mansion, whatever you like.”

“Not that I’d ever decline you giving me anything… you really don’t need to. Thank you for the offer, though.”

Y/N bit her lip and smiled up at him, waving him off as he made to leave, pretending like that was really the truth. She watched him as he walked to the other end of the hallway. She was going to have to keep up this lie all the way till the event. It definitely wasn’t going to be easy. She began to clench her jaw, setting a hand on the wall as everything rushed through her head.

This was exactly like Cinderella except she had no evil stepmother or fairy godmother or glass slipper or a prince charming on a quest to find her, just a lump sum, publicised PDA and more acting than she realised. And absolutely no way out of seeing the story through anymore.

a/n: there will be a hell of a lot more draco in the next chapters, stay tuned!

[calumthoodshands]

I’m so very late to do this so first of all thank you annie ( @ijustdontlikepeople ), maddie ( @faeryphilia ), kelly ( @theloverofmine ), maya ( @calumsash ), monse ( @lukemichaelcalumashton ) and adri ( @cringeycal ) for tagging me. Jeez that’s a lot of people??

catch up tag game: tag nine people you’d like to catch up with or get to know better

Favourite colour: sigh i did a long ass post about that once but for better reader experience i’m just gonna say orange like the sunset. Did peeta mellark say that once or am I hallucinating anyway that’s my phrase now deal with it bread boy. Lemme drown in that warm colour. It’s so comforting. I want an orange dress now. Also maddie I’m FASCINATED that yellow is your favourite colour @faeryphilia i think you’re the first person i know whose favourite it is. Amazing

Currently reading: The song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller! After a recommendation by my best friend i went for it and i’m yet to be disappointed. It’s so beautiful i want to cry. Where’s the achilles to my patroclus??? Hello aye yo god(s) it ME!! *aggressively slams credit card on a table* i think it will be one of my favourite books once i finish it. It reads like being sucked into a beautif greek story where it’s unfortunately very hot but also very pretty. Also achilles has gold hair how sick. Two dudes, sweating in ancient greece. K-i-s-s-i-n-g. Sign me up.

Also @cringeycal your book covers made me laugh loks like good entertainment tho so you go i guess

5 songs I’m listening to:

BEAUTY IN DEATH by Chase Atlantic

Killing me by Jacob Whitesides

My favourite part by Mac Miller and Ariana Grande

Baby by VONA

Every Hour by KIAN

Last movie: Tarzan! I watched it when i was too young to remember shit so i rewatched it and it took me like 20 minutes to realise that i was not, in fact, watching the jungle book. I’m not saying similar fucking plot but i am. Apart from that a very entertaining movie. Teach me your moves gorilla boy. Also jane has my heart she’s awesome and has a damn attractive voice somehow? Don’t quote me on this please. Over all good movie with a good message, awesome characters. Funny. Yeah 8/10 i’d say. I don’t understand why tarzan had to wear something but it’s fine ig. Kids movies and such probably hm. Doesn’t make sense tho

Last TV series: Love, Victor, which had the meanest ending. I’m very mad. And i can’t even watch the second season!!! RAGE. It’s very very soft and cute tho. Vibes. Can recommend

Sweet, spicy, savoury: sweet. Unfortunately there is an unhealthy amount of chocolate in this house at all times. They get refilled. Quite constantly. They get emptied. Also quite constantly. Yes. That should answer it

Tea or coffee: neither. I hate tea. Despise it. Don’t comment maddie thanks. Coffee is also rather uhhh. A cappuccino maybe every once in a while that’s it thank. Iced coffee i’d take tho

Currently working on: finding a uni? Fic wise: my france cake au (sorry to everyone waiting on the chapter) (it’s being worked on promised), the soulmate au idea, the uhhhhh dark establishment idea, angel au,, yes. I’m working. I should be working. Someone tell me to work please

Tag nine people you’d like to catch up with or get to know better

So i feel like everyone did this already but i’m gonna try anyway with @lucasotteli @calmfolklore @ladybugnoah @staticsounds @talkfastcal and @redrattlers ? I can’t count to nine i’m bi sorry

[petri808]

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 22 | 23 | 24

thank you so much for your patience with this late chapter! I had some frustrating family drama pop up so I wasn't able to finish it until today. Enjoy!

“Lucy, Lucy, Lucy!” Levy plops onto the couch next to her friend. She grabs the blondes arm and shakes it. “Omg you won’t believe what happened today at school!”

“What? What? The teacher you hate croaked?”

“Pfft, I wish. No! I met Natsu’s roommate! Well, technically I’ve known the guy for like a year from school, we were lab partners, remember Gray, I think I mentioned him, anyways, yeah, he totally gave me all the details I wanted to know!”

But at the name Natsu, Lucy frowns and sits back. “Lev, you know I just wanna move on from this...”

“Just hear me out, I promise it’ll be worth it.” She leans in, “trust me.”

Lucy rolls her eyes. “Okay, fine. Spill. What did Gray have to say?”

“So... starting with that Touka chick. Everything Natsu said was true. You’re not the first girl she’s harassed over him, in fact he offered to contact the other girl if you’d like to ask the person yourself.”

“That’s not necessary, I believe it.”

“He also confirmed that the profiles you saw on Ig are fake and how she’s been stalking him for a couple years now.”

“So Gray’s just his roommate?”

“No, he said they’ve been friends since middle school, so he knows Natsu well.”

“Anything else?”

“The stuff he told you about his family are true. Um, he works at a place called Yousei Mart, and that he’s an idiot but a good guy that is just really naive sometimes. The more he talked, the more I remembered him mentioning his roommate before. Like venting about stuff. Anyway, he said Natsu’s been completely distressed over all this and he thinks you should give his friend a second chance. I think so too, Lu, cause I believed him that Natsu’s a great guy and this whole Touka business is just unfortunate.”

The blonde pulls her legs up onto the couch, wraps her arms around them and rests her chin on her knees, thinking about everything she’d learned. Did she really want to deal with the baggage? What if Touka continues to harass her or them? It would be unfortunate to lose a guy like Natsu, because he really did seem like one of the good guys. She pulls up the memories of him on the train when he’d cornered her... ‘he was really devastated...’ and to do what he’d done, the amount of time he spent chasing and waiting for her, he must really like her to go that far.

“Well, Lu? What do you think?”

She’d definitely be using a higher standard to judge him, so he’ll need to be very convincing to gain her trust a second time, but, “I guess it couldn’t hurt to give him another chance.”

“Then there’s just one last thing for you to do.”

“Ugh,” she groans, “call him.” Lucy picks up her phone and dials Natsu’s number, but he doesn’t pick up. So, she hangs up without leaving a message. She made the first call, now it was his turn to respond if he wanted a second chance.

Approximately thirty minutes later an out-of-breath Natsu is on the phone. “Sorry Lucy! I was in class and the teacher is a real dick about cellphones.” He’d literally run out the room the second the lecture was over to call her back.

“It’s fine, I thought that might be the case.”

“Did you wanna talk to me about something?”

“Yeah, first have you spoken to your roommate at all today?”

“Um... no, why is something wrong with him?”

“Well, in that case...” she pauses and takes a deep breath. “So, turns out your roommate and my roommate have a class together, actually have had several, so they know each other and today they talked about us.”

“Really...” guess he’ll be calling Gray after this phone call!

“Look, bottom line is I believe my friend and since she believes your roommate about you and that girl... I’ll give you another chance. But remember! It’s not because I trust you yet it’s because I trust them.”

“I’ll take it! I understand totally and I promise I’ll do anything to prove to you that you can trust me.”

“I mean, I’m not sure how, but...”

“Um...” Natsu thinks fast, “are you busy right now?”

“Now? Um, not really...”

“I gotta run or I’ll be late for work, but can you meet me at Yousei Mart near Haramachi park as soon as you can?”

“Why?”

“Please?? I’ll buy you dinner too for coming.”

‘Ugh...’ “Okay, I’ll get ready and head over.”

“Thank you!! I’m just really happy you’re giving me a chance Lucy. Okay, I’ll see you soon!”

Lucy hangs up the phone and lets her roommate know she was heading out to see Natsu. The location he’d asked her to go to was several blocks away and takes her 20 minutes to get there. So, as she walked, she did her best to keep her cool. Half of her was thrilled to try again while the other half still apprehensive. Natsu had sounded so excited too, she could almost picture the man doing a victory dance the moment they’d ended the phone call. But where was this place that he wanted her to go to? She knew it was like a convenience store, maybe that’s where he works? Must be if he’d said he needed to get to work and still wanted to see her.

“Irasshaimase!” Lucy hears as she enters the store. A bit odd for a convenience store, but welcoming, nonetheless. She’s greeted by an employee, a red headed woman.

“May I help you find anything?”

“Actually, I’m here to see Natsu. He asked me to come.”

“Oh! You must be Lucy! Please, follow me,” the woman gestures, “he’s in the back working on inventory. My name is Erza by the way and we’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Really?” Hopefully nothing bad...

“Oh, yes. The pretty blonde he met on a train. The guy can’t shut up about you,” Erza laughs. “It was just weird, well new because we’ve never seen him so excited over a girl before.”

Lucy blushes from the compliment. “How long have you worked with Natsu?”

“Hmm, four years, I think. He started when he was still in high school, but I’ve been here a little longer.” They reach the back area and find Natsu hunched over some boxes tagging items. “Here he is, Natsu, your friend Lucy is here.”

“It’s okay for me to be back here?”

“I don’t see why not,” the woman shrugs. “We’re a pretty tight-knit crew here, like a family, so it’s also pretty lax how things are run.”

“Oh. Okay, thank you Erza.”

“You’re welcome. Stay as long as you like.”

Once the woman goes back to the front, Lucy turns to Natsu who was waiting patiently. “Well, I’m here. What did you want me to see?”

“That was part of it,” he smiles. “You said you didn’t know if you could trust me, so what could be better than introducing you to people who know me best. And people like Erza, she’s got no problem telling it like she sees it. If I was an asshole, she would have been the first to tell you to run away.”

“Yeah, she mentioned you’ve been co-workers for a few years. She seems nice, but I can see what you mean cause she looks tough too.”

Natsu laughs, “that’s an understatement. Oh! Come with me,” he grabs her hand and pulls her along, “gramps is still in the office, so you should meet him!”

“Gramps?”

“He’s the owner. Real name’s Makarov but he tells us to call him Gramps. He really is like a grandfather figure to us. Gave me a job at 17 and I’ve loved every minutes being here!”

She follows along, allowing him to hold her hand. Lucy couldn’t lie that his larger hand was nice and warm, and it felt snug and secure together. ‘Stick to your guns woman!’ She chides herself in an effort to fight the emotions bubbling to the surface. What was it about this man’s damn smile that made her heart thump!

Natsu knocks on the doorframe before going in. “Gramps! There someone I want you to meet.”

The older make looks up from his paperwork. “What is it brat, I’m busy here.”

“Be nice old man, this is that girl Lucy I told you about.”

“Oh... the elusive Lucy you’ve sold your soul for.” He snickers. “Welcome, my dear, it’s nice to finally meet the woman who wrangle our Natsu.”

“W-Wrangle?” She sputters. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. We barely had one date.”

“I’ve known this kid for a few years and he’s never so much as looked at a woman. I thought he was gay for the longest time till you came along.” He grins. “And by the looks of you, he lucked into a good one.”

The blush on Lucy’s face increases. “I don’t know about that. I mean I’m nothing special.”

“Lucy,” Makarov leans into his desk, “may I call you Lucy?” Once she nods, he continues. “Never sell yourself short if someone gives you a compliment. Take it from this old geezer, when a man is willing to give you his heart, that means you’re pretty special in their eyes.”

She had nothing else to say against such logic. “Thank you, gramps.”

“You’re very welcome,” he smiles. “Now get out, I have work to do.”

For a few more hours, Lucy hangs out with Natsu in the back while he works, and as promised, he buys her a bento dinner from the restaurant next door. Throughout the evening, his co-worker Erza and one more named Mira drops by to check on them or add to the conversation. She learned a lot about him from them because they were not shy about embarrassing the man. It was hilarious!

But best of all, Mira is the sister of the girl who was harassed by Touka. According to the woman, Touka had started off with the same tactics when she’d thought Natsu was seeing her sister Lisanna. Showing up, trying to talk to her, coming off all sweet and innocent. But Lisanna had a boyfriend who eventually scared the girl off. With Mira’s help, Lucy could finally be confident that Natsu had been telling the truth all along.

When the store closes, Natsu insists on walking Lucy home due to the late hour. He pays for them to take the train to make it a faster and safer trip. So, once settled in their seats, she sighs and turns to him. “I believe you now,” her voice is kept soft and low from the other travelers. “You were telling me the truth.”

It was like a wave of relief washes over him, but in that moment, it wasn’t time for an I told you so, so he just grins. “Movie date next?”

[fencesandfrogs]

cloudtail’s daughter: jayfeather

alright, strap in, it's time for jayfeather. i've been holding it in on him for what feels like forever now; he's ya boy's favorite character

also, aside from dove and ivy, he's the character with the highest volume of changes to canon. even above cloudtail and brightheart, because they continue their lives, it's not a big deal. and lion and cinder go to the tribe, but like, that's it. (i'm figuring out if jay goes with them over the course of this essay. i think i said he did in holly? but he literally hasn't been mentioned once in that arc because there's a lot going on.) anyway lion and cinder don't get up to anything. but jay's priorities shift and we see that in his books. i'm really excited to write him but i need to finish arc 1 lmao.

but first, same deal as always. this is part of my cloudtail's daughter au, where dovekit and ivykit are born to cloudtail and brightheart. i don't know how well this will read preemptively, but i suspect it will be rather dependent on the others. cloudtail's daughter: dovewing and/or the long post that explains it are both good places to start, see the cloudtail's daughter tag on my blog.

[2.5k words, 14 minute read, one of the last warriors essays on this blog. i'm going to finish out with my character essays and then everything will be on new sideblog. so check out @mallowstep for more.]

section one: the leafpool business

at the beginning of this series, leafpool and jayfeather are on bad terms. they will stay on bad terms for basically the entirity of the book series. while one of my main complaints with po3/oots is the lack of acknowledgement of adoption, jayfeather has been lied to by his mother and his mentor, something neither hollyleaf or lionblaze have to contend with, and then his sister kills herself over it. obviously she doesn't, but from his perspective. so he blames leafpool because he was really close to hollyleaf and now she's gone, and it's his first real loss, and there's so much going on.

and so he's a grouch and he's unhappy and he's just trying to function when his whole support system has been dismantled over the course of what, like, a quarter moon? yeah so dovekit and ivykit are like "wow what a grouch he sucks" the same way they don't realize prey is dying of thirst & etc.

for the most part he's j chilling and then hollyleaf comes back and man is it some family drama. unfortunately it's postponed til book 4 because hollyleaf and jayfeather have journeys but anyway i'm getting ahead of myself, because this section should end and unlike the hollyleaf essay i want to actually have decent organization.

section two: hollyleaf is away (but jayfeather doesn't get to play)

holly, cinder, and dove go to deal with beavers. we only get jayfeather through lionblaze in the books, but jayfeather is...conflicted. he got his sister back and lost her again and oh i should say. i think jayfeather and hollyleaf are the closer pair of the siblings. not that they don't love lionblaze the same, but you know how cats pair bond? like, it's usually a trauma thing, but even in feral cats, you see very close friendships. anyway yeah so for other au's i've been sorting siblings n denmates into pairs for this purpose (mostly jaywing au because there's a lot re. dovepaw and jaypaw and remember they are reincarnated siblings they've got a close bond going.) and it's kind of...i don't know my point is jayfeather misses his sister because she's like, his best friend too. or she was. and then she died and now she's back and she left again, and lionblaze is more concerned about cinderheart, so jayfeather just comes off as grouchy all the time. but really he's lonely and sad.

so yeah, jayfeather is kind of moping around camp and then the tree falls and whoops now briarpaw/light is parapalegic.

and uhh this goes more or less as in canon but we don't get pov which is fine bc u can sub in canon. but jayfeather? he's still a sad boy but now he's a sad boy with purpose and that makes all the difference

yeah he's close with her. they're sweet. it's sweet. he's pressured by brambleclaw to take an apprentice. he's bristly and angry and "you're not my real father" you know?

beaver crew gets back. jayfeather, who had missed holly, is back to being angry for...angst and plot purpose, really.

but you know, when you love & miss someone and they leave and they come back and somehow that's worse because now they can leave you again? and you can't tell them you want them to stay because you're angry and hurt but you want them to stay? god i'm excited to write these chapters i love emotional turmoil.

he's protective of briarlight, he's trying to keep dovepaw from being a medicine cat, hollyleaf is apologizing but he's not ready to hear it and lionblaze and hollyleaf are beginning to reconnect and it feels like betrayal. so when cinderheart and lionblaze go to the tribe, he tags along. everyone, uh, strongly encourages he go. he is the big grouch.

section three: time travelling times

okay so the timeline for these books is...messy. if you track the chronology of my writing, it's messy. which is to say, i was thinking i could put forgotten warrior and distant whispers over the same time span, but that actually doesn't work, as i review my notes for FW because a big part of it is ivy and holly's relationship. so. fake news. whoops. that sucks.

or maybe it doesn't? idk i don't usually tell linear stories. i like messing with emotional impact of events. so writing 600k of very linear story telling is very not easy for me. but i'm trying.

right so basically the official order of events until i change my mind again is as follows (names abbreviated as DIHLJC because they're all unique): DCH returns from beavers, DILCJ go to tribe with some other random warrior undecided, J + rando return, JH start awkwardness (beginning of TFW, middle of DW), DILC return (end of DW), time travel stuff (middle to end of TFW). hopefully that was intelligble, but it is admittedly 85% for my own benefit.

alright so we've covered during beavers, now jayfeather and hmmmm let's say, uhhhh, let's say they go with, literally any interesting background character, uh, bumblestripe! he doesn't do anything in this au bumblestripe goes with them. also since his name starts w b i can still write DIHLJCB and have things be unambigious. and it means there are fewer bs in thunderclan and trust me you don't know how frustrating the existence of like 6 b characters is.

alright so we really have 3 sets of two pairs of cats here. maybe i won't go w bumblestripe, bc he doesn't have an existing relationship w jayfeather. i dunno. i'm a big fan of jay & briar, whether as a ship or just besties, but that's just out, and hollyleaf can't come a) because i said so and b) honestly maybe she can? actually wait hold on that solves my problems. hot damn so 6/6 of the pov cats go to the tribe and this will be one of the only times all six characters are plot relevant at the same time. but i'm going george r r martin on it and seperating the books not by time but into DICL + JH because they're two completely separate character arcs that happen to take place at the same time. (don't worry i'm going to resolve the fallen leaves thing. in this essay ig bc i've already covered hollyleaf.)

okay so yeah hollyleaf is sent bc jayfeather isn't planning on staying w tribe for long time. just short time. and he's all "firestar why"

"well jayfeather," firestar says, "you don't talk to your family."

"i talk to dovewing," jayfeather says

"you're not related to her," firestar says

"there's a whole prophecy about how i'm related to her," jayfeather says

"you know about that?" firestar says

and that's how the cat gets out of the bag.

so anyway. jayfeather and hollyleaf are sent because...hold on, spinning the wheel of reasons for a character to go on a field trip...because...because...because...because...jayfeather had one of those dreams. i don't know. rock or something. now he's going.

they get there, and this is where the books get a lil time wonky, bc jayfeather and hollyleaf stay for like a moon, during which jayfeather goes back in time. i think.

i haven't worked out the details and probably won't until i do an updated au synopsis because it's hard to keep track and i'm more concerned about character through lines. like, jayfeather does this and he feels sad, and hollyleaf is sad about her ghost boyfriend, and they're travelling back together, and hollyleaf is his sister and she doesn't make him feel like he needs protection and lionblaze is bad at that, and they start to talk again.

and yeah, they bond. again. it's kind of, on top of their old bond? like they don't repair anything, they bond like strangers. but it's not nothing, and that matters.

so jayfeather gets back, and we're moving into book five, and i don't remember when the last time i made a section break was or what number we're on, so...sorry.

section ???: old man yells at cloud

alright it's finally jayfeather's moment. you know, he's one of my favorite characters, and he only gets a book and a half. "but mateo," i hear you saying, "doesn't every character get a book and a half? and more importantly, 6x1.5 is 9, so how does every character get a book and a half?" well, yes, every character does, but dovewing and ivypool are relevant in books 1-3 and 6, cinderheart in 1-3 and 5, lionblaze in 1-3, and hollyleaf in 2-5 (and has a critical role in 1 and 6, just no character development), while jayfeather is just really essential to books 4-5, and has a background role in 3. that means he's about equal to lionblaze. he's equal to lionblaze. as far as the numbers go, i cannot tell you. it's a mystery.

right so the reason for this is because (a) jayfeather doesn't do that much in oots. i love him, but he's not, like, super important, and (b) he's going to work better in these books if he's concentrated. because his big theme is his relationship with hollyleaf and the past. they're both kind of stuck in it but in different ways. and that prevents them from ever properly healing. so jay never has a full arc in this. i mean he has a full arc, it's just not a satisfying one. and that means he's sort of got to be put in the containment units.

so anyway, he gets his real big moments in the fifth book, when he's reuniting starclan. i think this is one of the riskier decisions on my part: we'll see whether or not i can deliver on him the way i plan to. but i think i can pull it off so that his arc is more meaningful condensed as such.

right. so. jayfeather is decided. he is going to fix starclan. because dead cats need to get thier shit together and he dgaf.

he spends a decent amount of time arguing with yellowfang and bluestar, because basically no important cats have died. at least we're in omen of the stars so it still makes sense? i have no idea why yellow/blue are still so important. please kill more important cats. it makes us feel things.

but feathertail is also probably going to be involved, i don't know. i haven't read these books (specifically, books 4 and 5 of oots) in forever so i don't really remember what happens. but he's kind of, super done with everything. i think he'll probably try to get the support of mothwing and kestrelflight (which is canon i believe?) and try to work as a team. i feel like there's weirdness w shadowclan too i should sort out.

so yeah, there's some medicine cat bonding, everything is OK, sol is happening? but cinderheart is dealing with that. jayfeather is naturally very upset about disconnects with sol but like he's also dealing with stuff i...i really need to reread outcast and sign of the moon. well, they're on my list after "all of these fucking riverclan novels like why they don't show up in the main series but i still have to read a bunch to be able to write them that's not fair."

alright, well, with that very vague description of what happens, moving on, the prophecy gets revealed to the clans at a whole in like...the ending eighth of this book. trying to maximise the amount of exposure to other clans without messing with the pacing.

so jayfeather and undecided warrior B (definitively not hollyleaf) go to windclan. jayfeather is...very unhappy about this. he does not want to leave. thunderclan is his home, and he's blind, and it's really hard to adapt to a new space and he thinks everyone is going to treeat him badly.

and well, if you've read my culture posts, windclan is....very pro-medicine cats and pro-prophecy cats. funerals. mourning. prayer. is probably the best place to start, but to get to the meat of it, start with general clan culture. to summarize, windclan: religious. but kind of like catholics, they don't believe in an individual connection with starclan. only leaders, and medicine cats, and very rarely members of prophecies have a connection. so. jayfeather. he's twice over. that's very cool to windclan.

so cats are kind of falling over themselves to help him, and like. i mean jayfeather is a grouch and he hates that he needs someone to help him through the territory, but at least they don't treat it like a chore, or like he's pitiable. this is a desirable task. apprentices want to know about his powers. and kestrelflight is a respected part of the clan, arguably more important than onestar, and jayfeather has never really gotten over being shoved in the healer hole as a child like it was lesser or easier to be a medicine cat, and so it's a big change.

and yeah. so i mean. an unobservant reader might say jayfeather has sufficient ego. he does not need stroking. they, of course, would be wrong.

jayfeather has a complex, but it's not an ego issue. he's...he's been denied everything he's wanted, and he's jaded, and weary, and he's never really believed that his clan views him as able and equal. in canon, at present, he's lost almost every cat he's every cared about. alderheart is his strongest remaining tie, and his fear at losing him, but willingness to let him leave, is very telling.

so yeah, jayfeather enjoys being accepted. anyone would. he doesn't really have confidence issues, but....argh. i know why this is good i swear it'll come out in the writing.

anyway, that's...that's pretty much it. jayfeather? done.

[shyvioletcat]

23. “Just pretend to be my date.” elorcan light the sparks

I’m getting really excited about this au, just FYI...

Masterlist

~~~~~

“All I’m saying, Lorcan,” Fenrys said around a mouthful of his sandwich, “Is that you should have some fun.”

“I don’t need your opinion, Moonbeam,” Lorcan bit back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“When was the last time you went on a date? Or even just, you know,” Fenrys asked after swallowing his sandwich then waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“What if I don’t want to date?” Lorcan countered.

Now Vaughan lent forward, brows high. “Is that true? Don’t lie to us.”

Great now they were ganging up in him. Lorcan stayed silent, but that was answer enough for them it seemed.

“Come out with us tonight then,” Fenrys said. “See what we can find.”

Lorcan just rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to see what he could find, he knew what he wanted. He just didnt know how to get it.

“We’ll all go!” Vaughan suggested eagerly.

Rowan scoffed from where he sat. “No thank you.”

“Wedding planning, is it?” Fenrys said.

“As a matter of fact yes,” Rowan admitted, but didn’t seem disappointed by the fact.

“Already on a tight leash then. Such a good dog,” Lorcan muttered.

“There’s no leash,” Fenrys chimed in. “The lucky bastard is just in love.”

Rowan grinned. “Exactly.”

“Rowan’s out, but everyone else is in, no buts,” Fenrys declared fixing Lorcan with a stare that told him he would not give up until he agreed to come.

“Fine,” Lorcan growled.

~~~~~

They had ended up in a bar on the nicer side of town. The place was brighter, smelled cleaner, than some of the other places they frequented. Drinks were a little more expensive but they tasted better too.

The night was turning out as miserable as Lorcan felt, the skies were letting out a downpour. So much so the steady stream of rain could just be heard over the music and the voices. Well, from where Lorcan was sitting at by bar. By the door. It wasn’t even late yet but lorcan as considering leaving, they’d come here as soon as their shift had finished and they’d been here for a while. Fenrys, Connall and Vaughan had all gone chasing after one drink, and that was when Gavriel had excused himself, claiming he was too old for such pursuits. He was probably right.

So that left Lorcan to mope at the bar by himself, pointedly ignoring anyone who looked his way. He’d been nursing the same drink the whole time, no desire to lose himself in alcohol tonight. 10 more minutes and then he’d go, Lorcan decided.

There was a burst of noise from the door as it opened. The rain must be pelting down outside. The emergence of a soaking wet figure confirmed his suspicions. It was a woman, most likely ducking in here to escape the weather. It took him a second to recognise the small figure and dark hair, but when she turned Lorcan looked away quickly.

It was Elide.

He didn’t know what to do, whether or not he should call her over. He took a glance around the bar, all his friends were occupied. But then his eyes connected with someone else, someone who was vaguely familiar. She was pretty with red hair, and she smiled at him when she caught him looking. She was one of the girls from that night they’d gone out for Vaughan’s birthday. One of the girls Aelin had lied to. She was part of the reason he hadn’t dated in a while, the redhead and her friend seemed to know everyone and spread the false information around.

But the way she was looking at him, the way she smiled as she began to stalk over to him, she either forgotten or didn’t care. Lorcan looked away, hoping that she would take the hint. He chanced another glance at Elide and it seemed she had spotted him too, because she gave him a smile and flicked her wet hair over her shoulder and started walking towards him as well.

And here he was. Caught in the middle. What cruel twist of fate was this?

He hoped Elide would reach him first, leaving the redhead to take the hint and leave. But given her behaviour with Rowan the last time, he wasn’t too hopeful in that regard. He’d been all too eager to chase her that night, but once was enough when it came to dealing with her vapid personality.

Elide did reach him first, soaked to the bone but still smiling. “Fancy meeting you here,” she said as she occupied the empty stool beside him.

Lorcan glanced over his shoulder and Elide followed his gaze. As he had suspected the redhead hadn’t given up her pursuit. Elide didn’t baulk though, she just asked, “Not a friend, I assume?”

Lorcan shook his head, “No.”

Elide gave him a smile he couldn’t read, then she put her hand palm up on the bar counter and wriggled her fingers. Then she whispered, “Just pretend to be my date.”

~~~~~

Elide thought she had sent Lorcan into shock from the look on his face. It took him only half a moment to comply though, and more gently than she expected he took her hand. She gave him a smile that she had seen Aelin give Rowan a hundred times, and he returned it with what could only be described as a grimace. That had Elide had laughing, louder and more obnoxiously that she would normally but the non-friend redhead had reached them and it was time for a show.

“Hey, handsome,” she said, ignoring Elide completely.

Elide moved their entwined hands to draw her attention to them and she saw the redhead’s eyes narrow.

“This new? I don’t remember you being attached last time we met,” she said with a disarmingly pretty smile and a tilt of her head.

“Very new,” Lorcan said, as he gave Elide a sideways glance. No doubt meant to be endearing, but he just looked awkward.

Elide held in her sigh, she needed to get this over with before Lorcan blew their cover with his tactlessness.

“If you don’t mind, we’re in the middle of something,” Elide lent her chin on Lorcan’s bicep. Good gods, he was solid muscle.

The redhead’s eyes flashed with a flicker of anger, she’d lost and she wasn’t happy about it.

“Just some advice,” she said, a look of triumph on her face replacing the anger. “You might want to make sure he gets checked before take it all the way.” Then she gave a pointed look at Lorcan’s crotch and his face went a deep shade shade of red.

Elide watched her walk away, brows high and a slightly incredulous look on her face as she sorted through exactly what the slighted woman had implied. Lorcan dropped her hand as the redhead disappeared from sight. That made Elide look at him.

“What —“

“Nothing,” Lorcan said and took a sip of his drink.

“As your girlfriend a think I’m entitled to know,” Elide said, failing to stop her amused smile.

“It’s not true,” Lorcan said.

Elide elbow on the bar. “What, pray tell exactly, isn’t true?”

Lorcan turned towards her, not returning her smile which only made Elide smile more.

“We were out for Vaughan’s birthday a few months ago. Her and her friend joined us. They were pretty keen on Rowan and when Aelin came to pick him up she got angry. I called her a bitch, she told them I had herpes.”

Elide tipped her head back and cackled. Then asked through her laughter, “What?”

“She told them I was her ex and that I’d given them to her. I swear it’s not true,” Lorcan said so earnestly Elide almost felt sorry for him.

“Well,” Elide said but started laughing again. Lorcan’s lips twitched up in a ghost of a smile, then he turned to her.

“What has you stumbling in here soaking wet?”

Elide had been so distracted by the recent events she had almost forgotten about her sodden state. “I was heading for the bus top to get home and the rain came out of no where, this was the first place I could find that was open. Did you know there are practically no awnings along this entire street?”

“I did not,” Lorcan added. Then there were a few beats of awkward silence before he said. “Do you want a ride home?”

The offer came as a surprise and Elide sat up a little straighter.

“I don’t want to ruin your night by ending it early, I can just wait the rain out,” Elide said, now feeling a little awkward herself.

“I was about to leave anyway,” then when he saw her questioning look he added, “truly.”

Elide thought for a moment, the rain was coming down pretty heavily and the streets were getting slick. She really didn’t live that far.

“Yeah, okay. That would be great.”

~~~~~

You’ll find the incident Lorcan is referring to in the Drabbles section of the Striking Matches masterlist under drunk Rowan says the wrong thing. 

Tags:

@fucking-winchester-trash // @literary-licorice // @galyxsy // @tangledraysofsunshine // @highqueenofelfhame // @3am-reading // @soup-that-is-too-hawt // @aelinfire-bringer // @nalgenewhore // @highladyofthesith // @http-itsrebecca // @sleep-and-books // @average-girl-at-best // @alifletcher2012 // @westofmoon // @sleeping-and-books // @ttakeitbacknoww // @armixers-unite // @mariamuses // @chocolate-eating-bitch-queen // @velarian-trash // @queenofxhearts // @princess-galathynius // @heroesofterrasen // @ladyofstoriesandmusic // @empire-of-wildfire // @camerooonchiu // @crackedship // @lowhangingtreebranches // @over300books // @yourwhisperingshadows // @thesirenwashere // @tswaney17 // @impossiblescissorspeachpaper // @cat5313 // @judelovescardan // @flowerspringsea // @chaoticskyy // @the-regal-warrior // @fanfictrash3000 // @blueeyes425 // @starseternalnighttriumphant // @bamchickawowow // @thehuntressofmoon // @giorgia-the-trashpanda // @flora-and-fae // @thereaderandfangirl // @illyrian-bookworm // @lovemollywho // @someonemagical // @ella-enchanted27 // @littlehoneyybee // @artic-rowan // @acer6437 // @ariadneswake // @exersize-me-i-dare-u // @clockworkgraystairs // @chemicha // @wifeofchrishemsworth // @meltalgel-ig // @gay-book-nerd

[revengeisalwaysanoption]

A little something for @busybeingmakebelieve, hoping that IG prompt will become a longer fic <3 The quote in bold comes from prompt #57 on Maritombola 11 ****************************** What. The. Fuck. Abort mission. Drop the phone on sofa, face down, and maybe everything will go back to normal. The direct messages and the follow back from 'gotnoshame' will be gone, when he picks it up again. What a fitting username, by the way, with all those shirtless pictures in his gallery and the Instagram stories from the gym. Damn. He was never supposed to get into this so deep. Marti had followed that account to have something actually interesting to look at on his feed, instead of Margot the cat or Luchino's culinary adventures. Unexpectedly, however, the guy wasn't just hot. He could draw, he was a decent singer - though his music tastes were questionable... Cremonini's 'Buon Viaggio', really? - and often shared interesting insights on a lot of different topics. Literature, movies and TV shows, politics. Current events all around the world, sensitive issues such as LGBT rights and mental health. Helpful advice on how to take care of yourself when your brain wasn't cooperating, but also some tips for the people around you. Words that made Martino try harder to be there for his mum, even though he still struggled.

Little by little, he had become a comforting presence in Marti's life. One he couldn't do without. Which was stupid, since he didn't know a single thing about him apart from the fact that he was hot, sharp witted and kind hearted. He found himself wishing he knew a lot more about the person behind 'gotnoshame'. After a whole day of reading through the comments and exploring the profiles of people who had tagged him, all he had managed to get were a name and a location. Nico, from Rome. Sweet and cheeful Nico, who seemed to be quite a tormented soul behind those megawatts smiles. If the last quote he had shared was anything to go by, of course. "I, myself, am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions.” (Augusten Burroughs) It didn't feel right to 'hear' him talk about himself in such a derogatory manner, so he sent him a direct message. What was he thinking? "Oi! The video of you playing the piano that you posted earlier really made my day, so please refrain from being so negative about yourself." "Yessir. Glad I could be of service. Anything else?"  He had answered, in a matter of a few minutes. "Actually, I promise I'll try to be more positive on one condition." "Let's hear it." "You actually using Instagram, my dear 'mr220501'. I mean, how can anyone have just a couple of photos of themselves when they look so fine?" Shit. Marti hadn't noticed a new follower on his poor excuse for an Instagram profile. He wouldn't even have one, if it hadn't been for his friends' well-intentioned pestering. When finally dares to look at the screen again, the messages are still there and the '????' 'Did I scare you off?' 'I didn't mean to, I'm sorry.' that have been added afterwards make him feel a bit guilty about taking so long to answer.

"Well, by not being raging narcissist, I guess?" He regrets it as soon as he sends it. He's trying to say that he'd feel like a self-centered asshole if he filled his own profile with selfies, not that Nico is to blame for doing that.  He quickly types that out, before he can be misunderstood."Not that you're one. Anyway, you got yourself a deal: more selfies from me, less negativity from you. I'm Martino, by the way."

"Niccolò, but you can call me Nico ;) ... you can come by and hear me play live, if you'd like, once we get to know each other better." He's a bit surprised at how fast things are moving between them, but he can't say that he minds too much.

"Do you flirt so shamelessly with all your followers?" "Only with my cutest one ;)” He scoffes at the phone, feeling his cheeks getting all red and hot. So much for not taking this too seriously. He could really fall for this guy. He probably already has. Fuck.