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#and of course the worst (the best) friend possible XD

ridiasfangirlings · 3 months

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I'm sure you've been asked this, but imagine post-ROK, yata starts realizing with the help of other people that his feelings for fushimi mayy be more than just platonic. And then he asks fushimi out at the worst possible time like at his job and it totally catches fushimi off guard

I can totally see Yata just blurting it out at the worst possible time, like Fushimi is swamped with work and there are a bunch of witnesses and Munakata is probably there smiling and making everything worse XD I imagine Yata spends at least some time trying to convince himself that these feelings must just be platonic, he’s just happy to have his best friend back that’s all. Some of this could really be even just Yata having been actually crushing on Fushimi since middle school and so it really doesn’t occur to him that he’s in love because his feelings never changed, he’s been unaware for years now that he was in love. The other Homra guys can totally see it though, Yata coming back to the bar after going drinking with Fushimi and talking about what a great time he had with Saruhiko. Chitose laughs and shakes his head all you’re crushing hard huh, Yata’s like wait what crush no, it’s just that Saruhiko is so cool, that’s all. Akagi adds that it definitely sounds like a crush and the whole Homra alphabet agree, like come on Yata we know you’ve been in love with him since you guys joined up as snot-nosed middle schoolers. Yata doesn’t want to believe it, all but I’m a guy and he’s a guy and anyway we’re friends, and the Homra guys are just like that shouldn’t matter and anyway it’s so obvious to everyone that you’re in love.

Yata definitely wrestles with this for a bit, like he’s got the one two punch of discovering his sexuality and realizing that he’s been in love with his best friend for ages, and probably also worrying like what if those guys were wrong and this isn’t love and I screw things up just when me and Saru were becoming friends again. But eventually he has to admit it to himself, that when Fushimi’s rare smiles make his breath catch and his heart pound, he really is in love. So now he has to figure out how to tell Fushimi, he’s never confessed to anyone before and he doesn’t really know how to do it. He’s also still a little worried about getting rejected, like Yata thinks he’d be fine with it and would be friends with Fushimi anyway but what if Fushimi gets skittish about the whole thing and doesn’t want to be Yata’s friend anymore.

Maybe what spurs Yata on is he walks into the bar one day and Kusanagi tells him there was an incident at S4, Fushimi was injured. He’s okay but refusing to go to the hospital because there’s work to do and Awashima was wondering if Yata could help with that. Yata barely hears the last part, brain immediately latching on to ‘Saruhiko was injured’ and he grabs his skateboard and heads straight for S4. Imagine him rushing into the office where Fushimi is rebuffing Hidaka’s attempts to get him to lay down, complaining that it’s just a minor head wound and he needs to finish this paperwork first. Yata yells his name across the room and Fushimi freezes, looking up all ‘Misaki?’. Of course everyone is staring at them now as Yata rushes over to him and starts fussing, like you’re bleeding idiot why aren’t you resting what if something happened to you. Fushimi clicks his tongue, not sure why Yata is even here, and then Yata gives this relieved sigh as he says he was so worried and finally he just blurts out ‘I’m in love with you.’

The entire room goes dead silent and imagine Fushimi’s face getting red as he’s like what are talking about, Yata says he didn’t mean to just spit it out but he wasn’t lying either. Yata suddenly realizes that they are the center of attention and also Saruhiko’s King is smiling and he’s all awkward now, grabbing Fushimi by the wrist like come on let’s go to the infirmary and we can talk while you get your head bandaged. Fushimi’s brain is still rebooting so he lets himself be dragged off and he doesn’t even complain, staring at Yata like he’s seeing something entirely new for the first time.

#sarumi #Talking K #and now all of S4 knows you're gay #Yata realizes later maybe he should have done this in private #but he was so worried and in love he had to say it #Fushimi drags him off to complain at him in private and they end up making out in a conference room

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detective-pandaman · 6 months

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Water 7 Arc: Luffy and Usopp (Manga and Anime Comparison) [Part 1]

Spoiler alert: Don't keep reading if you haven't reached Water 7 Arc (Manga Chapter 333 or Anime Episode 236)

I've decided to start with this scene in particular because it shows a lot of changes that are absolutely core in the characters personalities in my opinion.

Please let me know your opinion about it or if you wish to add anything ^^ (and remember to have mercy on my English xD)

There is a lot to unpack, so I will be going page by page and directly comparing it with the Anime. 14 pages of manga compared to Anime.

(Manga reads from right to left, but the Anime screenshots are organized to read from left to right ^^U)

Before starting the comparison, a little reminder of what we are dealing with:

Luffy was informed by Galley-La shipwrights that the Going Merry could not sail anymore, and that he has to change ships. He strongly and emotionally refused to believe it and also refused to leave Merry behind, as it would be like leaving a companion... until Iceberg cuts the conversation short by doubting his capabilities as a Captain, and Luffy takes that comment to heart. (Manga Chapter 328)

On the other side, Usopp has been beaten twice by Franky's men, one while being robbed and another one while trying to recover the money he was robbed. He feels extremely guilty and like he can not face the others.

Luffy and the others found Usopp badly hurt, and broke Franky's Lair to the ground in the rage caused by seeing the poor Usopp hurt.

Luffy ends up deciding that leaving the Merry is the most responsible thing to do to protect the others. Then they all go back home.

Of course everyone is very emotional at this moment when Usopp finally wakes up, but they are trying to lift the spirits:

Now let's start the comparisons.

Luffy wants Usopp to not feel responsible for the decision he has to make (because he is not, obviously), and tries to treat the subject with positivity and cheer Usopp up. But it's still Luffy, and he is not the best with words, even if he never has ill intention, and he is also still emotional about it. But he is trying his best to maintain the smile.

Usopp is having probably one of the worst days of his life, and he is waking up to one big fear of him being a reality.

For the first 2 or 3 panels we get this (which already doesn't feel the same):

Then suddenly, we get the reactions of the others with absolute silence. The problem is... the Anime just chooses which reactions they have, because the Manga sure didn't show them!

Everyone looks tense or displeased. Specially, Nami looks dissappointed with Luffy's way of treating the subject, and Chopper seems about to start crying.

In my opinion, these reactions of the rest of the crew are completely out of character for this moment. Let's understand that they already talked about the subject and agreed with Luffy, not only because he is the Captain, but also because it's the logical thing to do.

But we are just getting started with this page.

For some reason, they decided to show Usopp making jokes about the subject, and the others just... let him talk and talk. (the reason is filler, I know)

In the Manga, Usopp tries to understand the situation as fast as possible, because it's no joke to him. He understands that something is happening or Luffy wouldn't even think about something like that. He immediately blames himself for the problem, shaking and panicking.

Also, Luffy's expression in the Anime? Why do they make him look angry at Usopp? Why would he look at his panicking dear friend with such a severe and angry look?

Finally we can go to the 2nd page:

Things start to heat up.

As you can see, all the conversation in the Manga is fast, without them stopping to look "judgingly" at one another. What the rest is doing is trying to calm them down.

Luffy hurries and tries to explain the money has nothing to do with their problem, but is getting frustrated that Usopp is pulling his tongue to say the whole truth or he won't stop blaming himself for it.

Luffy doesn't want to say out loud that Merry can't be repaired (because for him saying something out loud is making it a reality). But he also doesn't want Usopp to feel responsible when he is not, so he has to choose... and he chooses to free Usopp from guilt.

Let's remember Luffy is a very mature guy in many ways, but is also very emotional and empathetic. He feels the pain of the others and his own, and is probably overwhelmed, so he explodes.

Also, we can see how Sanji and Chopper are physically trying to stop them from escalating the situation. Sanji holds Luffy's shoulder, not only stopping him, but also grounding him so he can calm down. Chopper tries to make Usopp sit back and rest.

You can see how they don't think any of them is wrong right now, they just want them to stop fighting and talk calmly.

Now let's look at what the Anime does with this page:

We get angry faces of Zoro and Sanji for some reason, when they are clearly not angry, just worried...

Luffy and Usopp's expressions are also way more angry and violent than what they should be.

The scene keeps escalating and none of the others is really getting in the middle...

For some reason, Usopp is disrespecting not only Luffy and his position as Captain verbally and physically, but also Choppers medical advice... completely out of character.

And then we start a really stressful and completely fabricated scene:

Usopp screaming over and over demandingly until he makes Luffy angry enough he explodes... from anger.

Luffy didn't explode from anger in the Manga. He just wanted to end the problem. He is not angry at Usopp at all, he is stressed.

And also, Usopp wouldn't do any of this to Luffy.

And we never saw Sanji and Chopper getting in the middle. Why?

3rd page:

The problem seems to have stopped. Usopp is shocked by the revelation, but seems to have calmed down.

Luffy had to recognize out loud what he didn't want to say, but he assumes the problem is going to be over. They all do.

We can still see how Sanji was trying to calm Luffy down by contact, but stops when he sees he calmed down. He is very involved in all the interaction, even if he has been silent until now.

Sanji, Nami and Chopper look shaken by how out of hand things had gone for a second (because in the Manga it is fast).

Then Usopp insists.

Zoro doesn't seem pleased that Usopp talks back again.

Going back to the Anime's adaptation:

Again, Luffy looks angry and not desperate to solve the problem they are having. He looks down on Usopp, still in a defensive position.

Actually, none of the expressions are correct. They have all gone from surprised or shaken to just frown.

Was it that difficult to respect their expressions? They fill everything else with random content, but now that they had specific panels with their expressions, they decided to not put them.

Any semblance of closeness between Sanji and Luffy is completely erased.

4th page:

Usopp starts to be clearly illogical, and he knows it. But it's not out of malice, it's just his insecurities making him talk like this.

Luffy can't understand why he won't let it go now that he has the whole information, and tries to explain the situation again, in case he didn't get it. Again: he is not mad with Usopp, he is stressed.

But Usopp is too affected by everything he experienced in that horrible day to try to be rational, and it's normal and human to do so.

In the Anime:

Again, the facial expressions are completely exaggerated in the worst way possible, or straight up wrong.

At this point I'm begging the Anime to stop making them look at each other with hate.

5th page:

They all know he is saying nonsense, and start to notice there's a lot more behind everything he is saying.

Let's remember Merry is a gift to Luffy from Kaya. Also he saw the Klabautermann of the ship and believes Merry has a soul... But not only that. Usopp feels inadequate in the group. He feels like he's not enough for them, and is probably thinking that the ship, with which he shares so much, is receiving the treatment he "deserves" to receive.

The rest of the crew just don't seem to know how to aboard the problem.

In the Anime:

Again with the expressions and positions completely wrong.

Luffy and Zoro just look angry.

Sanji has lost his concerned look for a serious one and also gives his back to the whole situation. We can't see Nami's face. Chopper is not attending Usopp as urgently...

6th Page:

Luffy has sat down and is not discussing this as a friends quarrel anymore, he is starting to act like a Captain. He is not angry, he is firm.

He points out that what Usopp is saying is illogical, in a strong tone. Nami (probably) is surprised by the change of tone of Luffy. Usopp still doesn't want to listen, starting to really disrespect his Captain by giving him his back and ignoring what he says.

Sanji calls Usopp out, with his hands on his hips, clearly showing support for his Captain and disapproval of Usopp's attitude.

This is one of the first times Luffy has to put his foot down as a Captain. He usually doesn't need to. And Usopp is practically disobeying orders.

In the Anime:

Luffy's expression is completely wrong again. They keep showing him angry, not firm.

Also he is not sitting, which adds to them completely missing the change in Luffy's attitude.

The composition is also showing a weird tension, in which Usopp looks almost like a victim of a bully.

Sanji calls Usopp even softly for what we are used to hear from him, like he is trying to support him more than scold him.

And again... Luffy's expression is a complete miss.

Not only does he look like an angry child more than an adult that is discussing something serious, they also changed his nervous sweat for angry veins.

And this are all the images I can put in a post, so this will continue in Part 2 ^^

#water 7 arc #one piece manga #one piece anime #monkey d. luffy #usopp #going merry #roronoa zoro #nami #tony tony chopper #sanji #black leg sanji #vinsmoke sanji #comparison

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tomatette · 3 months

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Ooh, I'd love to know about the Loki fic!

Lol, that's a super old one. Basically, Loki wants to play a prank on Thor, but it backfires.

When Loki wakes up after blacking out, he finds himself in a world very everything is the same - but not. Because while things might look the same, people are most decidedly not. Or to be more exacty: They are the opposite of what they usually are. That makes Thor a pretty sadistic guy, who likes to slap Loki around for fun.

Doesn't sound pleasant? But the worst thing is that, when Loki looks into the mirror, he can see himself back in his "homeverse". And that Loki is the counterpart to Sadistic!Thor, and just really awful and unpleasant all around, and now unleashed onto Loki's "homeverse"

Anyway, it's just really very complicated, and I don't think I will ever write more on it. And because of that, I'll just slap it under the cut. It's un-betad, raw material, so don't expect all too much XD

When Loki woke up that morning, dark clouds were looming in the sky outside the window next to his bed, and the air smelled strongly of ozone. He threw off the covers and thought to himself: “What a perfect day to play a little prank on my beloved brother and his adoring little friends.”

For a midsummer day, the marble was surprisingly cold beneath his bare feet when he padded over to the bathroom adjoining his rooms. He barely noticed it, though. His mind was otherwise occupied.

What could he possibly do that would outshine every single of his past mischiefs? It had to be something that would reveal just how much of an unbearable fool Thor was, he pondered. Because, infuriatingly, nobody but Loki seemed to see. Least of all the Bootlickers Three and this uppity wench, Sif.

Thor never became tired of calling them their friends. And wasn’t that just the best proof of his idiocy? Because, clearly, even a blind man could see that Loki was merely a tolerated presence in their little sworn-in circle. Only there, because Thor insisted on dragging him along - usually without even bothering to ask for Loki’s consent, of course.

And, oh, how was he fed up with this whole wretched business. With their distrustful glances whenever they thought Thor couldn’t see. Not that Thor would see, even if they did it right under his nose. He was completely unheeding towards his friend’s faults - or his brother’s for that matter. Each snide comment meant to cut Loki was waved away with a good-natured laugh and a jovial slap on the shoulder. Loki, though, never forgot even a single of their slights against him. And it made him want to pay them back all the more.

But how? How?

He caught sight of his reflection in the mirror over the washing basin, and after a moment a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Oh … Yes, of course.

Swiftly, he stormed back into his bedroom and opened the drawers of the intricately ornamented chest that held worthless baubles as well as some of his most valuable possessions. Things cluttered to the floor left and right, while he rummaged around the drawers, one after the other, without finding what he was looking for.

Until, finally, he did.

With a triumphant huff he unrolled the parchment and let his fingers trail over the ancient runes, faded from age, like a lover would caress their beloved’s skin. He had found it in a cobwebbed tome about the history of Seiðr. It had slipped out between the pages and come to lie right in front of Loki’s feet. And one glance had sufficed for him to realize that it was very old - and likely also very powerful.

Loki had spent long hours perched over the parchment in flickering candle light, trying to decipher the meaning of those runes that looked simultaneously exasperatingly familiar - and not. Eventually, he’d been pretty sure he had a relatively good grasp of what this spell was about - relatively meaning there were some details left he had not been able to translate and chose to interpret according to the information he possessed.

It had been a bit of a let-down, honestly. Apparently, all this spell could do, was alter reflections in specular surfaces, which wasn’t really all too thrilling. At the time he’d been so angry for having wasted precious time on something so utterly useless that he’d thrown the scroll into one of his drawers, intent to forget about it as quickly as possible

Now though …

He took the parchment, leaving behind the havoc he had created without sparing it a second glance, and went back to the bathroom. This spell was positively perfect for what he wanted to achieve. They would so regret ever having messed with him.

Ever.

In front of the mirror, he smoothed his features into something a little less smug and more appropriate to the task he was about to perform. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let his mind reach for the strings of Seiðr running through his body. He channeled the energy, let it stream through his arms and his hands, until the magic poured out from his fingertips like clear water.

His lips started moving almost on their own accord, incanting the words in the foreign tongue of the Ancients. He felt the power like an electric current pulsing through his veins. It was a heady sensation, and for a moment he was almost surprised that a simple spell would provoke such a strong amplitude of his Seiðr.

Then, all of a sudden, the magic flow became a torrent, and Loki choked in surprise and pain. He was on fire. A cold blue fire that burned him from the inside out.

A scream tore free from his throat.

His vision went white.

Then, nothing.

When Loki came to, he was lying on the bathroom floor, his face pressed uncomfortably against the cold tiles. With a deep groan he rolled onto his back, the ceiling above him moving in and out of focus.

What in the nine had happened to him? His head was pounding just like that one time Thor had managed to coax him into having a brotherly night out in town. What his brother had conveniently forgotten to mention was that he had invited their friends to come along. After an agonizing hour of being squashed between the bulks of Thor and Volstagg and forced to listen to Fandral bragging about his latest amorous conquests, he just couldn’t take it any longer. He had ordered his first alcoholic beverage of the evening - and far from the last. He couldn’t remember anything that had happened after the sixth, except for waking the next morning feeling like something that should have rightfully been dead.

But he didn’t drink last night - or did he?

Anyway, the light was far too bright for the precarious state his head was in. All he wanted was to crawl under a rock and die. His only hope was that Thor and their friends were suffering in a similar fashion and …

He remembered so suddenly, it stole his breath away for a second; the spell, the dizziness, the pain. With a moan he pushed himself up into a sitting position and closed his eyes until the pounding between his temples slowly subsided. Eventually, he could think again, without feeling like it would break his brain.

“This had better be worth it,” he muttered through clenched teeth and picked himself up from the floor. Pain or no, he would go now to check on Thor and if it was the last thing he’d ever do.

As it turned out, he didn’t have to make the effort to find his brother, because his brother found him before he could even so much as stumble from the bathroom.

“Loki,” he growled, and his face was positively murderous. With three steps he stood in front of Loki - towered really, even though he wasn’t that much taller - and put his left hand around the back of Loki’s neck.

Now, that was a gesture Loki was painfully familiar with. Thor loved to just wrap his fingers around his nape and bring their faces close together. But this … was different. Never had Thor’s fingers dug quite so painfully into his vulnerable flesh, and the way his eyes flashed was almost … menacing.

Loki managed to break free from his brother’s hold and quickly danced back. “Thor,” he hissed. “What in the nine has gotten into you?” Glaring, he rubbed the tender spot on his neck where a bruise was almost guaranteed to bloom. “Damned brute!”

“I should’ve wrung your neck while I was at it,” Thor growled, the words but a low rumbles, his eyes flashing with something akin to madness. He stepped closer again, Loki backing away from him instinctively, until his back was hitting the wall.

What was going on?

Thor was an asshole at times. He could be cruel and hurtful, but usually didn’t realize what he was doing. That was what made him so insufferable for Loki. The incapability to understand the consequences of his own actions.

This though … this was different.

Loki had never been scared of Thor. Had never had a reason to fear him, no matter what. But right here, right now, he could feel a tingle of unease creep up his spine.

“Loki, you wretched little cunt. What did I tell you about touching my things?”

“What?” The word was out before Loki could stop it. He was just too flabbergasted. It wasn’t like Thor at all to speak to him - to anyone - like this. The big oaf was honorable to a fault. Even when he was really angry, he would probably be all shoves and bluster.

Not like this.

Never like this.

“Give it back, you thieving snake,” Thor growled, stepping even closer, until Loki could feel his brother’s hot breath on his face. “Or do you need another lesson in obedience?”

He resisted the urge to avert his eyes. It was never a good idea to show weakness in the face of a predator. And those were exactly the vibes Thor was giving off at the moment. A terrifying beast of a bear, vicious and bloodthirsty, waiting for the right opening to go in for the kill.

Loki schooled his features into an expression of indifference. “I have no idea what you are talking about”, he said. “I doubt very much that you possess anything I might need or desire.”

Obviously, it had not been the right thing to say, because Thor’s stare hardened even further, his eyes as cold and cutting as shards.

“Tonight,” Thor hissed. “I give you until tonight to return it to me - otherwise I will make you regret you were born.”

The fist to the stomach came as a surprise and knocked the breath out of Loki. He doubled over, gasping and wheezing. Tears of pain and humiliation sprang to his eyes, yet he managed to stay on his feet until he heard the door to his rooms fall shut with a resounding bang.

Then, and only then, he allowed himself to drop to his knees, clutching his abdomen and fighting back the bile threatening to climb up his throat.

Something was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

And he would have to find out what it was, because he had no doubt that his brother would otherwise make good of his words.

After this rather disturbing episode with Thor, Loki came to the decision it would be for the best to lock himself up in his rooms for the time being. He didn’t think that even the thick oak door could keep Thor from getting in if he really set his mind to it. But doing so would Loki at least give a fair warning and some time to prepare - for what, he had no idea.

The matter of the fact was, though, that his door didn’t have any locks. He stared at the exact point where he just knew the metal bolts used to be. But as much as he tried, he couldn’t even find the slightest hint of them ever having existed.

Now, that was decidedly weird.

With a frown he stepped back into the room and, for the first time since he woke up this morning, took a real look around.

The differences were small - a vial occupying a spot where it didn’t belong, the framed picture of Thor and himself as young boys that he kept on his nightstand for whatever reason, missing - but they were there. And now that he had noticed them, they were practically glaring in his face.

Shaking his head, Loki went back into the bathroom and tried to remember what exactly had happened before he lost his consciousness the night before. He closed his eyes and leaned heavily on the rim of the washing basin, letting his head hang between his shoulders..

The spell. Something must have gone wrong with it - but what? And how did it explain Thor’s strange behavior? The misplaced things?

He shook his head and opened his eyes to examine his face in the mirror - what exactly he was hoping to find there he didn’t know..

But all that was reflected back to him was the empty bathroom behind him.

Well, and his own face, obviously.

His own face that looked back at him with a smug grin. Only, he wasn’t smiling.

“Loki? Are you done in there?”

He flinched violently at the sound of Thor’s voice. But something wasn’t quite right. It took Loki a moment to figure out what was disturbing him. And when he did, eventually, it didn’t make any sense whatsoever.

Because Thor’s voice seemed to come from the other side of the mirror.

His brows knitted together in confusion. The other Loki smiled.

“I will be with you in a minute, brother”, the reflection called over its shoulder and turned back to Loki. “He’s such a guileless idiot, isn’t he? So much nicer than my Thor - but the lovely bruises on your throat suggest that you already made his acquaintance.”

Loki stared at his reflection in disbelief. “What is this?” he whispered. “What are you?”Mirror-Loki clucked his tongue. “Aren’t you supposed to be the clever one? I am you. And you are me, I guess. Only that you are not. But it’ll be more fun to let you figure out the details yourself.”

#ask game #loki #thor #pre thor1 #unfinished fic #mine

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elvenbeard · 11 months

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House party scenes 5/5: Kerry and V

Finally getting some good sleep after all the guests have left again xD

I can (and do) talk about them for hours on end already... and I wanted to in this context too, obviously.

Like... Kerry doesn't have many close friends, not even, say, Denny, who lives next door and who he has a long history with, seems to be someone he's particularly close to. Yay for depression causing you to neglect (or even destroy) your friendships (or preventing you from forming them in the first place, cause "why would anyone even *wanna* be friends with me, I'm the worst human on earth").

For some reason though, Vince wanted to be with him, despite seeing him at his worst from the get go. It took Vince a while to realize that Kerry is hiding a lot of his hurt behind his coolness and "I don't give a fuck" attitude, and he's doing it very well (years of practise). Thing is... Vince does exactly the same thing, hiding all his vulnerability and softness behind the sleek, sneaky bastard persona he's built for himself. So, when Vince doesn't jump ship (literally), and stays, throughout the craziest shenanigans, throughout Kerry opening up about his demons, he realizes "damn... he might be the one" - or at least someone who really gets him and listens and understands where others wouldn't.

And then Vince starts introducing him to this gaggle of other misfits that somehow all found each other in this whole chaotic mess. And then they all treat Kerry like he's one of them just by association, even though he doesn't feel like he should belong, no matter how much he wants to belong somewhere again. The whole "something will come to an end and something new will begin" thing really takes on huge dimensions for Kerry's standards, beyond "just" a new album and "just" some new perspectives and "just" some new acquaintances, friends, love... It feels like a new life altogether, and he wouldn't have expected that to be even possible at his age anymore.

Of course, not everything is always perfect. Two people with big issues, big egos, with big trouble talking about feelings, struggling with mental and physical health and all kinds of stuff is not gonna be easy everyday. They have to put in work into their relationship to make it work, but with Vince, Kerry is certain for the first time in his life that it's really worth it all. And to Vince, the relationship with Kerry is honestly the healthiest he's ever had, once they worked out some initial communication issues. They don't just cure each other's issues with their love obviously, there's no such thing as magical healing dick. But they bring out the best in the other, and can just be themselves around each other without expectations, without putting on their masks, because they've seen and known each other at their worst from the start. That's what makes their bond so strong.

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #cyberpunk vp #cyberpunk 2077 vp #kerry eurodyne x v #kerry eurodyne #male v cyberpunk #my headcanons #otp: to bad decisions #vincent ezaki #my vp

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elizabethrobertajones · 2 years

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One of the things that's Frog Canon, that I never shared here because it took like a year or two to actually start talking FFXIV on tumblr… Possibly does explain why I keep saying unhinged things about Aymeric and wandering off XD

So, when you do the tourney and Thancred watches the whole thing unfold, then turns to you and says with equal parts awe and disdain, that Aymeric has to be in love with you, there's some important Frog Canon lore that has to be taken into account. Namely that she did actually already bed Thancred immediately after the Leviathan fight, or, at least, immediately enough after to get to the Limsa inn room. Since then she's considered Thancred her absolute closest friend and confidante, so Thancred bitching to her about other people being madly in love with her is completely normal best friends who know everything about each other's love lives giving each other shit type behaviour.

Frog's response to that, which is NOT a canon dialogue option but I know in my heart actually followed that exchange, is "LMAO if you're so obsessed with him why don't YOU swive him for me?" And Thancred threateningly waved a finger in her face and said "DON'T THINK I WON'T" and then they laughed and carried on their business.

Then of course not long after Frog is being called away from Ishgard and they're divvying up things that have to be done, and Thancred looks at Frog with an evil smile and then looks to Aymeric all nobly and is like "I will stay here and help with the Gnath thing which I have experience with, actually, and report back to you about that :)"

And Frog looks at him like. No. Bitch. No. You can't.

Thancred smiles back again because it's too late, the cutscene is over, the main quest pulls Frog away. She's now a helpless leaf in the wind to whatever whims of the post Heavensward quests and Thancred is staying in Ishgard alone and unsupervised and spending time with Aymeric after THAT sort of energy that I've already projected onto them every which way?

She is in HELL and that hell is the way Aymeric yelled when Thancred collapsed at their important accidentally starting the eighth Umbral Calamity summit? She never asked but now she KNOWS Thancred won.

The worst thing is later when Frog hangs out with Estinien and Thancred at the same time - any time they're in the same room it's torture. The only people in the world who could and would tell her what Aymeric is like in bed and she can't bring it up because the psychic damage about throwing away her shot and giving it to THANCRED. THANCRED.

[insert her screaming into a pillow and then assuming her neutral WoL smile again like nothing happened]

Anyway she's completely normal about the whole thing and actually was totally swept off her feet by G'raha's insane flirting technique at the start of Shadowbringers so why is she even upset you know? She's fine. And normal about this.

Just. You know. Wishes G'raha wouldn't sit directly in front of Aymeric at other future important summits.

#...#listen #I played this game right after/during an insanely turbulent time #it was probably healing #I just think that it's really unfortunate that Frog considers Estinien Thancred and Y'shtola her best friends #it's a very volatile combination #other people pick different combos and it's very much a personality test #I think I failed this one #ffxiv #shadowbringers spoilers

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twistedtummies2 · 7 months

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If your twst ocs ended up in the event with Stitch and Gantu, how would they act towards the little blue alien? Hope they won't piss him off like Ace did... Stitch likes to bite his butt from what I've seen 🤣

Well, I think ALL of them would have the same basic reaction. That basic reaction being an immediate gut response of thinking Stitch is adorable...aaand then realizing he's a little troublemaking gremlin. XD Now, the difference is in how all of them EXHIBIT this reaction. Nakoda would instantly see Stitch as a food source. Naturally, he's going to regret that, since I'm 99.9% certain him attempting to hunt Stitch will result in him getting his tail tied into knots. From that point on, he's going to be a big ol' sourpuss of a serpent; at best he'll be annoyed by Stitch with every waking moment, at worst he'll be plotting to devour him again as soon as he finds an opportunity...or so he says in-between nursing his poor, aching coils. Billy would just wanna snuggle Stitch sooooo freaking much. XD Like...he just thinks he's the cutest little thing EVER, he just wants to pick him up and squeeze him and nuzzle him and cuddle him and d'awww. Of course, snuggling Stitch will probably lead to him getting bitten or punched in the gut or something...but Billy won't be TOO angry. Either he'll pout and scold his "little friend" for "not being very nice," or he'll whimper and sniffle because that really hurt! Eventually, though, I think Stitch might learn to put up with him, and Billy would at least TRY to give him personal space. Keyword being "try": personal space and Billy do not mix. Elias would find Stitch funny, I think. He's honestly most likely to get along with him, since I think he'd be the sort to know when to play and when to step back, so to speak. Eli isn't against doing a bit of mischief himself (he's the Phantom Blot, after all), and he doesn't particularly care for water, either. Plus, two "dogs" have to stick together, don't they? ;) I think Grit would be similarly casual, albeit for different reasons: in his case, I think he'd see Stitch as a possible valuable asset, so he'd do his best to stay on the little creature's good side. Over time, that might translate to more real feelings. Reno, Maelstrom, and Theodore I think would all have the same immediate response to Stitch, which is to be bored by and act dryly toward the adorable little monster...uuuntil Stitch does something naughty to one of the others, at which point, each of them would snigger and smirk, and decide right then and there the little rascal isn't so bad. >:) I am 100% convinced James will be the one Stitch bites in the booty, if not Nakoda. Smitty will have to be the one who pries Stitch off. XD To make a long story short, Smitty and Stitch would probably get along okay - not too dissimilarly to Billy - but James would be somewhere between fear and loathing when it comes to the tiny blue monster. Perhaps Matthew Satyr won't be his only nemesis anymore. :P

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till-you-scream-and-cry · 2 years

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Hello! If you still take blurb requests from the prompt list, can you write "2. I remember everything (Call me by your name)" with Thomas? I think an angsty plot could fit better the prompt but it's your choice 😊

hello, yes I made it into angst, a very very sad one (what's new xd) enjoy ❤

#2. “I remember everything” + Thomas + angst

Coming back to Rome wasn’t easy. You still had some bad memories, aching wounds and demons connected with your hometown. The last time you were there you felt that you got your heart ripped out. After avoiding it successfully for over two years, it was time to go back. You finally graduated from university in Milan, and staying there for longer made no sense. As hard as it was, you missed that city, some of your old friends and family.

You arrived with a giant rock at the bottom of your stomach. None of your friends was in town, even the best friend you rented a flat with. You unpacked your bags and sat on the floor, feeling that your eyes are filling with tears. You knew who could make you feel at home. But you also knew that it was more than impossible. Sitting alone in an empty room seemed like the worst possible solution. You sighed deeply and shook your head. You needed a walk, some wine and dinner.

You got dressed, fixed your makeup and sprayed on some of your favourite perfume. Well…his favourite. You needed as much comfort and confidence as humanely possible, and they always worked. You took a tram and after a few minutes, you were back on the streets of Trastavere. A deep breath and one look around made you smile. You were home. The noises, the traffic, smells, the light, it all made you feel alive again. You turned your head and looked at the Tiber. The sun was setting, drowning the buildings in orange light. Suddenly you felt a sharp sting in your chest. You were here, but you were alone.

Your feet were moving against your will, leading you to the bar you used to spend long hours in. They had the best pasta and cheap drinks, what else could a sad girl ask for? You were walking, not even noticing people bumping into you, curious tourists stopping in the middle of the road to take photos. It was annoying in Milan, but oddly comforting here. As you got closer to the bar, you noticed one empty table outside. And then your heart stopped.

He was sitting there at the table next to the empty one which caught your attention. His blond hair was fluffy and messy as always. His long legs were tangled underneath the table. Thomas was laughing, holding a lit cigarette in his slender fingers. You froze, staring at him, not even noticing Vic who sat next to Thomas. She nudged him in the side. He looked at you and his smile faded away. You didn’t know what to do, so you just sent him a pale smile and turned around, walking away fast.

“Hey, wait!” You’ve heard a familiar voice behind your back. You stopped and turned around. “I didn’t know you came back.” It was difficult to judge if he was happy to see you or simply disappointed. He didn’t know. Nobody told him. But why would they? Everyone knew how it ended, and how ugly it got for both of you.

“Well…i’m back.” You said coldly, trying to control the amount of emotions in your voice.

“Can we talk?” He asked, awkwardly pushing his hand to the pocket. It could barely fit.

You nodded and let him lead the way. You walked to the barrier where you could watch the river and the last rays of sunshine disappearing behind the horizon.

“So…you graduated?” He asked, playing with his rings, leaning back against the barrier, watching you with attention.

“I did. And now I’m here.” You said and cleared your throat. Looking into his eyes was unbearable. “You guys are leaving on tour soon, right?” You asked, trying your best to stay composed.

“We are.” He looked down.

“Were you ever happy? With me?” You asked before your reason managed to stop you. “Were you? Or was that all in my head?” Thomas frowned and sent you a look people send to an abandoned puppy. You hated pity more than anything.

“Of course I was…”

“No, please, don’t say it just to comfort me.” You scoffed and crossed arms on your chest. “I’m sure you don’t even remember how it was.”

“I remember everything.”

The sadness in his voice tore your heart apart. This sentence was full of both, the love you once had, and the pain of saying goodbye. Thomas stepped a little closer, so close that you could feel the cigarette smoke on his clothes. He wrapped his arms around you and placed a soft kiss on the top of your head.

“You smell like berries…” he mumbled, making you tear up.

He let you go and wiped the single tear from his cheek. Thomas smiled and fluffed his hair.

“We should catch up, grab some wine maybe. I’ll find you once we're back. Goodbye for now”

He turned around. You saw him wiping his eyes before he crossed the street. Thomas hated goodbyes and knew you won’t take one either. He promised a meeting, but both of you knew deep down that it will never happen. That it all broke you too much. That there's no coming back.

#maneskin fiction #maneskin blurbs #thomas angst #thomas raggi fiction #blurbs #prompts #my writing

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lxvefrxmthextherside · 1 year

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𝕬𝖓𝖘𝖜𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖉

@heartxshaped-bruises asked: Ⓐ [ trev // em ] of course xD

ꜱᴇɴᴅ ᴍᴇ Ⓐ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍʏ ᴍᴜꜱᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴀᴛᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱ:

ᴀᴛᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴠᴇɴᴇꜱꜱ:

repulsive || hideous || ugly || not attractive || unappealing || not unattractive || meh || no preference || ok || mildly attractive || nice looking || cute || adorable || attractive || pleasant on the eyes || good looking || hot || sexy || beautiful || gorgeous || hot damn || would tap that || perfect || godlike || holy fuck there are no words

ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ:

grating || irritating || frustrating || boring || confusing at best || awkward || unreasonable || psychotic || disturbing || interesting || engaging || affectionate || aggressive || ambitious || anxious || artistic || bad tempered || bossy || charismatic || appealing || unappealing || creative || courageous || dependable || unreliable || unpredictable || predictable || devious || dim || extroverted || introverted || egotistical || gregarious || fabulous || impulsive || intelligent || sympathetic || talkative || up beat || peaceful || calming || badass || flexible

ʜᴏᴡ ʟɪᴋᴇʟʏ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ꜱᴇx ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇᴍ:

not if they were the last person on earth and the world was ending || fuck no! || never || no way || not likely || not sure || indifferent || I’m asexual || maybe || probably || it depends || fairly likely || likely || yeah sure || yes || would tap that || hell yes || fuck yes! || wishing that could happen right now || as many times as possible || we are already having sex??

ʟᴇᴠᴇʟ ᴏꜰ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱʜɪᴘ:

never in a million years || worst of enemies || enemies || rivals || indifferent || neutral || acquaintance || friendly toward each other || casual friends || friends || good friends || best friends || fuck buddies || bosom buddies || practically the same person || would die for them || true friends || my only friend ||

ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ɪᴍᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇᴍ:

I hate them so much || I don’t like them || I don’t trust them || they annoy me || they’re weird || I’m indifferent || meh || they seem alright || they’re growing on me || truce || I think I like them || I like them || I’m not sure if I trust them || I trust them || they’re cool || they’re genuine || I think we’re going to get along || I really like them || I think I’m in love || oh fuck they’re hot || I love them

ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ɪᴍᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇᴍ:

ʜᴏᴡ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ᴋɪꜱꜱᴇʀ:

worst kisser ever || terrible || bad || awkward || just okay || alright || pretty good || good || makes me moan || excellent || exciting || oh god they’re good || I dream about it || fucking amazing || absolute perfection || we haven’t kissed

#answered: trevor #heartxshaped bruises

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walkingcontradiction42 · 1 year

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@sunny-lie-melody tagged me to talk about about my fav musicians/bands. Thank you, I will try to keep it as short as possible xD

Itchy

I don’t really know why I enjoy the music so much, but sometimes bands just click on first listen? I guess it’s the catchy guitar riffs and very sort of early 2000s pop punk vibes I really enjoy. Also they have done a lot of great lyric work especially on the new german albums. That being said I think the most important part is that all of them are really very sweet and kind people (and also a bit crazy?). I don’t think any other band I know has so much fan interaction. Also this band is the reason for so many very good friendships. The concerts really just always feel like a family meeting. <3

Donots

Ok this one might be down to my specific obsession at the moment. Went to the concert with my best friend two weeks ago and it really was a blast. Still one of the best live bands I know. I especially enjoy their old english stuff because it feels very nostalgic and upbeat. But same as with Itchy I also do appreciate the lyrics on the newer albums. Also Ingo makes the worst dad jokes ever. (That being said I’m in the Donots mindspace right now and I think most of it is Charlie’s fault anyway?)

Die Ärzte

Oh well here we go. As you might notice I’m a bit into the cult of weird german punk bands? I think once you know one of them you get to know all of them. Die Ärzte and I have a much longer history though. They’re my parents favourite band and it was basically all we listened to when I was younger. It’s still a very wild experience to listen to one of their songs and be like ‘hey where do I know this from I never listened to this before?’ (yes they have a loot of songs). And I feel like I am reapeating myself but truly they have the best fucking lyrics you will ever listen to and nothing can cheer me up like a random Ärzte song that contains only bullshit. They’re the masters of bullshit inside and outside of songs.

My chemical romance

I used to get really sad about the fact that I didn’t get into mcr before their breakup. Now after finally seeing them live this year I feel a lot better about it. It’s probably the band my sister and I share the most interest in. I don’t think I even have to say a lot about it. Yall know why they’re amazing. Just great music and so much sadness. And Gerard’s gender of course. Also shoutout to the random guy that hugged me while we were both crying during famous last words.

Green Day

Working myself up to probably the most important band in my life. I might not listen to them as much as I did, but still they somehow find their way in my top five every wrapped. It feels really cliché to say it, but they got me through some real shit when I was younger and I thinks that’s why I still feel so strongly about them. Also their music just really slaps, heavy guitars, so much variation and classics. I have to admit lyrics are not always the strong point here, but I can overlook that. That being said please go listen to warning. It is so underrated my favourite album of all time and I could write whole essays just about why. Also Billie bicon Armstrong was the reason I figured out I was queer so yeah thanks for that.

Feel free to ramble about your favorite bands as well :)

No pressure tags: @date-mate-re-animate @spineless-lobster @20-1-18-4-9-19 @alwayscomewhenyoucall @rippedorigami

#tagged #sorry this took so long but whelp deciding on bands is hard #also for all ye non german folk go check out german bands #theyre cool as fuck

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miyu-writings · 1 year

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Fairy Tail Reread 2023 part 3

This isn't going as well as I expected. RL sure is kicking my butt. And being quite terrible. *sigh*

I started this part in late February but then March was... that month was definitely the worst. Yet. And so two months had suddenly passed and, yeah.

Anyway...

Here we are in the Eisenwald arc!

We start with the self-appointed "strongest team" of Fairy Tail. They do impose respect, right?

Of course that Eligoal doesn't give a fuck.

And then Erza, the apparent leader (because she's so scary lol), tells Natsu and Gray to go after him. She believes in them. Pity that the pair's animosity is... stronger.

They are not convinced.

Except when Erza is looking, then they're super buddy-buddy (and it's so silly and cute and dumb, seeing them like that! I love it!).

This will never not make me laugh...

Anyway. Divide and conquer is the motto and so that's what happens. The team is split.

And then we see Erza's badassery full on. She's so damn cool. And short-tempered. And able to kick ass!!!

Just look at her! So badass!

(Not that anyone expects less, of course.)

But her interactions with Lucy are a bit... imposing and cold. Understandable as she doesn't know the newcomer. But Erza has done her part and isn't about to have Lucy (and Happy) resting on her laurels.

And then we're back to the duo of dumbasses. This is a clear show of their dynamics. They're so dumb! I just love them.

Like... aren't they just the best of friends? xD

But if nothing else, their love for Fairy Tail is true and strong. It's their home and family and whoever dares to so much as touch it, will pay.

And then, another side to their dynamics...

Accomplices in assholery who realize they're showing their true colours (i.e., that they're friends and do care for each other).

And then, comes the scene that kind of took me on a very unexpected path...

Gray going...

And then,

pretending it's nothing. I apologize but this made me go "huh..."

I like this kind of dynamic, okay? And the stupid brainrot took over and still is here. And I'm biased. Sorry.

Moving on...

We're following Gray and he showcases that he has some smarts/common sense because while searching he does go to where the sound can be amplified. And there's the enemy. Gray is able to see that there's another layer to the whole situation.

///

We cut to the Guildmasters' Reunion.

It's quite nice that we're being introduced to a bunch of new characters and for the most they're each a character.

Master Makarov though gets a message that nearly kills him. I swear, as much as the guild loves their master, they really don't care for the amount of near heart attacks they give him! All the stress over the news of the latest bout of destruction and how the Council will want to get his ass... poor Makarov, can't catch a break.

///

Back at the station, Erza is doing the right thing, which is making the civilians leave for safety as much as possible. But the next obstacle soon appears.

We then cut to Gray who's fighting a foe who, a priori, is not too easy. But he gets more information. Eligoal's goal is to keep them inside the station so the wall of wind has been erected. They're like mice in a mousetrap. And the wall of wind is not even someone as strong as Erza can surpass. Not by pure strength. And the sense of urgency is rising.

Gray is able to parse together the real plan - to attack the Guildmasters' Reunion. And they're there being distracted.

The bad guys fighting Gray does get a bit too much into his feelings, and doesn't realize that Gray has been mostly dodging and defending so he can suss out the info. He thinks he's doing great but Gray has been pretending all along and gives him a blast of ice to the face and that's that. He looks a bit scary but it's the seriousness of someone wanting to harm the old man.

No-one does that!

Gray and Erza are together again and share the information and try to find a way out. And the idea that they have isn't too bad but... bad guys stay bad.

We're then catching up with Lucy and Happy. They are so dumb here. So silly. I do like how they were at the beginning.

Of course that Natsu is punching a wall the next time we see him. Yes, he's strong. Yes, he's dumb too so punching a wall is easier than opening a door. That's our Natsu.

Even the bad guy is like, "wtf??". We love to see it. 😂

But that allowed the enemy to have an opening. And here we're shown once again how resilient Natsu is. After being kicked like that, he's just comically going "wtf? you again?" and just have his punchy-jolllies. Kageyama was surprised because no ordinary mage would hit like that. And at that I'm just "newsflash, bb, this isn't an ordinary dude."

But punching yielded results (when doesn't it?) and Natsu learns that Eligoal isn't around anymore. Then the team is back together with time for more punching (or threat of it) and the bad guys really have no honour.

And that brushes a core point of the Fairy Tail guild. Guildmates are family and you're supposed to go to bat for them until the last consequences! Backstabbing (literally!!) is one of the worst things you can do. Honestly, that's not a bad lesson to take. As oftentimes the friends one chooses are as important - if not more - than family. And Fairy Tail is a family.

So they see red!

And poor Lucy, she only didn't run away because she's stuck there with those lunatics.

////

Eligoal tries to cover his tracks.

////

The team works together to be able to get rid of the wall of wind. Each having their contribution. And then Happy proves himself useful. Seriously, him and Lucy have such a fun and silly dynamic at the beginning. Also, Happy know's what's up! He has the key!

And a bit more of the celestial magic is teased. Also, no-one expected Virgo to look like that. Being after their owner's tastes, indeed. xD

Love how no-one seems to be surprised - except Natsu. Also, that slight thing of Lucy being a Domme? I did not expect that the first time I read this. Lucy the dominatrix. I'm sure there's fanfic out there for that...

Anyway, we also see how fair Natsu is as a character. He helps his enemy who was treated unfairly. Sadly that'll bite him in the ass more often than not.

The fanservice has to happen. And I find it funny that we're kind of seeing things from Gray's PoV - he's not immune to pretty girls and pervy things.

Welp! Natsu has disappeared.

And suddenly he's facing Eligoal - how fast can Happy fly, I wonder...

Time for a fight!!!!

And poor Happy, passing out.

////

The carriage, all these magical things from the beginning. They were such fun tidbits! I miss this Fairy Tail, that's so full of interesting and new things, so full of wonders.

Even if it takes a big toll. Poor Erza, she was tired after kicking ass previously. Then keeping going until her magic reserves have been maxed out. It's not good. But it was nice to have Gray kind of imparting the spirit of Fairy Tail to others. They do try to spread the word about unity and all that.

We cut back to the fight and, as the French say, ça va chaufer! Things heat up!

So many serious fights with Natsu - and we're just at the tip of the iceberg in regards to his powers. It's very curious.

Wind against Fire - who wins?

Things are not looking good for Natsu. That wall of wind thing is messing with him quite a lot. But as much of a hothead as Natsu is, during the fights he's learning. Even if it's a bit simple-minded (he kind of seems to be throwing a fit over not being able to approach Eligoal) but, it works. Magic that's enhanced by feeling. Looks like it's stuff that's been forgotten in the current world.

Happy's watching and he once again holds the key. He's such a troll!! Pissing Natsu off. xD But it works! Natsu kicks ass and wins!

Eligoal is K.O.

All because Happy said "leave it to Gray, he's stronger and he'll deal with this"... such a troll - and I love him for that.

But, the suspicious flute is emitting a suspicious smoke. Mashima showcases this pretty nicely. The worst is yet to come, it seems.

The others arrive, it's congratulations all around (Gray isn't convinced lol).

Natsu demanding to borrow Lucy's clothes... tbh, I wonder how that would look on him. Heck, on him and Gray! The poor girl had the two rivals demanding her clothes. Now I want to see them raid her closet. I wonder how they would look like... (hm, that's something to think about writing... xD)

With this, the team seems to have sorted things out. It's all good and reports need to be made. Clover is nearby and all.

Of course that idiot Kageyama had to do his shit. He thinks he's a big baddie now.

////

There is Kageyama, in Clover. All so smart that he has the Lullaby and all the guildmasters - those pesky old people - are together in the buildings. And he's such a sneaky person, no-one saw him coming. Nu-uh...

Oh, except for the drunk old man who's poking at his cheek. I'm sure it's annoying. More so as he doesn't seem to have all the marbles.

But, it's Makarov! The Master of Fairy Tail.

Kageyama really has been unlucky, just meeting with that guild today. They're like flies, all around him. Being annoying.

He's even told to play the flute.

But.

Thoughts get in the way. Not only of how things were with his friends but also the valuable lessons he had, given by the aforementioned flies.

It's the knife's edge moment for him.

////

The team arrives and, just look at that, the guild masters are teaching a lesson to Kageyama.

(On another note, I feel a bit uncomfortable about the portrayal of Bob, Blue Pegasus' master. The repulsed expressions by Natsu and Gray when he's also going "you're so cute". I'm sure Mashima was playing it for laughs but something doesn't sit well with me. Moving on...)

Makarov, as the good mentor figure he is, teaches a lesson.

Nothing changes. The weak remain weak. But that weakness might become a strength. After all, Men are weak. [Someone has been watching Lord of the Rings] That's the reason for the existence of guilds, to protect their friends. That's why we come together.

That's inspiring and, quite the spirit of the whole story.

And everyone's listening and seeing while Makarov speaks.

It looks like Kageyama isn't all that rotten to the core, because the Master's words reached him. The strength is in friendship, not cursed objects.

I love how Makarov gave this speech and didn't quite notice all the people listening. He really is surprised to see his children over there. xD

Erza's hugs hurt.

Natsu doesn't respect his elders haha.

Oh shit! The smoke from the flute turned into a gigantic eldritch creature!

Shocker of the century.

A soul-eating gigantic eldritch creature.

(What do souls taste like? Natsu... Never change...)

Zeref.

Here we are introduced to a name - a shadow - that will overshadow so much of the story.

He's a scary dude, if you go by this creature. Notorious for his evildoings.

But, when the evil creature is going to attack, someone jumps into action right away.

I adore how these three just go. The Master is shocked.

The fights happens, and the three mages have the chance to show what they got. Erza and Natsu strong in the attack, Gray protects some old geezers.

Makarov is proud. A proud dad.

And then Gray creates an ouverture for the others to attack.

These three work so damn well together!

I miss them. Together.

Alas, despite all the good work, Fairy Tail is and will always be notorious for its destruction ability. This time, is no different.

Poor Makarov.

In the end, this panel encapsulates the lighter side of the story pretty well.

Natsu just doesn't know when to stop.

/////

Back to the Magic Council, the latest events are being discussed.

Siegrain has a point but he looks so mean.

And then we read Lucy's retelling of the events that happened afterward. She's writing a letter to her mother. Lucy's happy for being part of the strongest team in the guild - it's so telling. xD

And then, lowkey the days of everyone hanging out at Lucy's begin. They had started with Natsu but it's not hard to see that before long her place will be the hangout outside the guild.

Still, it's quite a shocker to see a nearly naked Gray lounging in her sofa.

Natsu and Erza are about to fight!

It's an event, over there. Oh, poor Lucy, learning that Mira was saying some bullshit about the strongest team. She's new, she doesn't know everyone at the guild yet - or their power levels. Such a rough awakening.

The fighting's exciting, Natsu's doing well but Erza's mostly evading his attacks. It feels quite like child's play.

But they're stopped.

And Erza's now under arrest. Ufff.

/////

So sorry about the delay. Hopefully the next part will come by faster. Galuna Island always holds a special place in my heart.

#ft reread 2023 #fairy tail

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ao3komorii · 3 years

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Tangling with the Lifeguard (Pool Party Sett/Reader)

The Pool Party Sett story is done! I’ve gone with a beach!AU sort of setting where league races exist in a modern-day beach sort of place. Also sorry to any MF or Syndra mains, they don’t really come out the best in this xD Hope you enjoy, and as always, there is a smut warning for the end!

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The sun was shining high in the sky, crystalline waters lapping against the shore as beachgoers took advantage of the perfect summer day. Taking in the scene from your place in the shade of a tree on the border between the beach and parking lot, you let a smile grace your lips as you mused on just how much this place seemed to not change, even after so many years.

The last time you had set foot on this beach, you had been twelve years old, full of excitement and unaware of the harsh realities of the adult world. Your parents had brought you here for that summer, now thirteen years ago, the beautiful beach an unforgettable experience. You had left after that summer with treasured memories, and a new friend, that same friend the very reason why you had returned to Port Navori beach after so long.

Taliyah had been the same age as you, with fairly lax parents who let her roam the beach by herself, even as the small twelve-year-old she had been. You had bonded instantly, spending almost every day together, and keeping in touch through letters, and later emails and text messages.

You had long said that you had wanted to come back and visit the lively beach town, but the timing hadn’t been right, not until this year.

You were done all your schooling, and had quit your high-stress, low-pay job, and as Taliyah had said on your last phone call, you had no reason not to visit. Her parents had been travelling the world since they retired, so you would have her house all to yourselves.

In your absence, Taliyah had become a fairly accomplished surfer in the local scene, working at an ice cream shop on the beach to support her expensive pursuits. She had been so insistent that you couldn’t find yourself able to refuse her offer; work in the ice cream shop with her in the day, and then spend the rest of your time catching up with each other. You had missed your friend dearly, and had accepted the offer without a second thought.

And now here you were, waiting at the beach’s edge for Taliyah to show up. She had told you to dress for the beach, sounding casual as was her usual, so you had worn a swimsuit with a short, flowy shoulderless dress on overtop. Unwilling to look like a lobster by day’s end, you had carefully layered yourself with sunscreen, and now all you needed was for your friend to get here already. Just when you were about to get out your phone to text her, an excited call of your name had you re-stowing the phone in your bag and looking back to see your friend bounding across the parking lot towards you.

Taliyah, dressed in a two-piece water suit and carrying a tropical-flower-print surfboard, came to a stop before you, leaning her surfboard against a tree to free her arms to tackle you in a hug.

“You’re finally here!” she grinned, surprising you with the strength of her hug. “We’re gonna have so much fun!”

“So what’s first?” you asked as you pulled back from the hug.

Taliyah hummed. “I guess I’ll show you the shop.”

You followed her onto the beach, recognizing the small bright blue building from the pictures she had sent you before. Taliyah took you around the back, fishing a key out of her pocket before unlocking the door and leading you into the small room.

There were large tubs of ice cream in the middle of the room, the walls lined with containers of various toppings and machines. On the back wall from you were two windows, glossy menus pasted to the doors that would display out when they were opened. Upon walking closer to the menu signs, you noticed something.

“Hey, it says we open at nine, but it’s ten-thirty…”

“It’s fine,” Taliyah replied with a shrug. “The owners are pretty chill. If anyone complains, I’ll just tell them I had to train the new employee.”

You playfully rolled your eyes. Sometimes you really envied Taliyah’s ability to be so carefree. Her calm energy was a big help for you, having got advice from her on numerous occasions over the years.

Taliyah came over to where you were, eyes flitting boredly to the menu boards before turning her attention back to you. “So I’m thinking we get you taking orders while I make them.”

“Works for me,” you agreed. It certainly sounded easier than figuring out what a poro float was supposed to be. You never knew ice cream stands had such fancy options now, used to the simple menus of ice cream cones and bars back at the shops in your hometown.

You were about to open the order windows when you were stopped by a rustling noise from the back of the store. You turned to see Taliyah digging in a cardboard box in the back corner, pulling out some folded-up fabric that was the same sky blue as the stand.

“Didn’t think you’d get away without an embarrassing uniform, did you?” Taliyah teased, tossing some of her fabric pile your way.

You caught the bundle, unfolding it to find an apron with Poro Palace Frozen Treats in pink bubble letters, little white fuzzy animals dotting the apron. There was an accompanying blue visor hat that looked like something out of a kid’s store. You reluctantly slipped both items of clothing on, looking back to find that Taliyah had done the same.

“Stylish, huh?” she smirked, striking a modelesque pose.

“We look like we work at an amusement park, Tali,” you laughed.

“Feels like it sometimes with all the annoying kids that come by,” she replied. “Okay, you can open it up now.”

Taliyah settled herself down in a chair in front of the section of ice cream tubs, and you reluctantly turned to unlatch and open the windows, unsure of exactly what you were getting yourself into.

The small room lit up with the outside sunlight streaming in from your window to outside, the immediate glare of the sun making you wish you had worn sunglasses.

Almost immediately, the masses were upon you. You noticed a woman with several children in tow who perked up as she laid eyes on you, striding over to you with her children right behind her, pushing each other as they scrambled to be the first one to get over to you.

You heard Taliyah groan behind you. “Get the pen ready. They always have the most annoying orders.”

You rose an eyebrow, but picked up the pen and notepad that sat beside the cash register as the woman came to a stop before you.

“You know, I’ve been waiting for an hour already. You young girls don’t know how hard it is for mothers,” the woman complained, not letting you get a word in edgewise. “Alright, tell her what you want.”

“I want a brownie sundae!” a small boy with blue hair who clearly intended to make full use of his outdoor voice shouted. “But with cotton candy ice cream and pop rocks and I want only blue candies!”

“Uh…” The kid was talking too fast for you to write, but luckily Taliyah had your back, a got it ringing out from behind you.

You weren’t sure how you had managed to get their orders out before they melted, messing up their total several times before Taliyah had to come and help you out. With a last snide look and a fistful of blue napkins, the mother and her little terrors left the stand at last.

“She’s the worst,” Taliyah said, bringing your weary gaze her way as she cleaned off an ice cream scoop. “I accidentally put one red candy in that kid’s sundae once and he screamed until I remade the whole thing!”

You winced. “Feels like we got off easy today.”

“Yeah,” Taliyah agreed. “Helps that they order the same thing every time, so I’ve got some practice.”

“Are they all this bad?” you asked, turning away from the window after seeing no potential customers nearby.

“Not all of them,” she replied with a strained smile. “I swear the heat just brings the jerk out in some of the people here.”

Speaking of jerks… your conversation was interrupted by an impatient-sounding throat clearing noise from behind you. You whirled around to see a redheaded woman with heart-shaped sunglasses and a revealing swimsuit leaning against your counter. She was staring at you like you were gum she had stepped in, flipping some hair over her shoulder when she knew she had your attention.

“Five cherry snowballs,” she said, dropping a few coins on your counter, some of which bounced and hit the floor. “To the red umbrella, thanks ice cream girl.”

Without any further interaction, she turned on her heel and strutted away, hips swinging as she went, leaving you wondering what had just happened.

You slowly turned back to face Taliyah again. “Um, do we usually deliver?”

“Nope,” she answered. “Not to people like that anyways.”

“But…” you protested weakly. You knew Taliyah got away with a lot here, but you didn’t want her to lose her job because some rude girl complained to her bosses. “I’ll just take them over and next time I’ll just say we don’t deliver.”

“Still tempted to put rocks in their snowballs,” Taliyah joked as she set about piling the scoops of red ice.

Soon you had a tray with five cherry syrup-coated piles of shaved ice in little plastic bowls with accompanying little plastic spoons stuck in the side of the dishes.

“I’ll be right back,” you said, heading past Taliyah to the back door, opening it to find yourself back out in the mid-morning heat.

The sand still felt uncomfortably hot underfoot, even with your flip flops on. With how hot it was out, these would have to be delivered as soon as possible to not be a puddle by the time they were eaten. Your only problem was that you had no idea where to go.

The redhead had said that she would be at the red umbrella, but of course nothing at this ice cream stand would be that easy. Standing just outside the hut, you were treated to a veritable rainbow of colored beach umbrellas. You counted at least ten red ones scattered across the beach, none particularly standing out to you. You didn’t have many options, and were forced to go with the most tedious one; checking every red umbrella until you found the girl and her group.

The first umbrella had been a bust, as had the next five. The sixth had led to a sweaty old man who told you that you were just in time to help him sunscreen his back. By the time you had hurriedly fled from that creep, it had been about five minutes of searching, the snowballs on your tray looking considerably droopier than they had been when you had left the shop.

You stared down at the tray of melting treats, unsure of what to do now. Should you go back and have Taliyah remake the snowballs? Try a few more umbrellas and hope you got lucky? You really hadn’t been anticipating this much stress when you had agreed to work here with Taliyah for the summer.

You frowned at the now-more-water-than-ice treats, your decision made. You couldn’t serve these, not as melted as they were. You would go back and help remake them and see if Taliyah had any insight as to which red umbrella was the right one. You turned around to head back to the stand, only to trip on your overheating flip flops and fall forward with a cry.

You had closed your eyes with a flinch as you fell, but opened them with a start as you heard a grunt from right in front of you. Looking up from your position in the burning sand, you felt like your heart was going to stop in your chest.

Standing before you was the most attractive guy you had ever laid eyes on, with fire red hair and a pair of black animal ears that looked soft to the touch. He was dressed in a tight pair of swim shorts, a lightweight red jacket tied around his waist. He had a flower lei around his neck, but that was the only thing that he wore on his top half, his insanely-well-built torso on full display, a torso you realized with horror was currently splattered with red syrup and shaved ice.

You looked from the hot guy to the ground, the sand around you speckled with plastic cups, spoons and napkins, your tray turned upside down in the sand. You slowly risked a gaze back up, only to see the guy staring down at you from behind his pink-tinted sunglasses as a clump of ice fell from his stomach to the sand just in front of your hands.

Embarrassment forced you to spring up, grabbing some stray napkins from the ground and dabbing them against the mess of syrup and ice on the man’s abdomen.

“I’m so sorry, I–” You looked up from your apologizing to see the man silently staring at you, your hand freezing in place as you realized that you were basically feeling this guy up through the napkins, the realization making your cheeks burn with shame and embarrassment.

“I’m really sorry!” you cried out, pulling your hands back. He still hadn’t said anything, and you realized that you couldn’t just stand here like an idiot, your flight instinct kicking in as you reached down to grab your tray before moving around the man and fleeing in the direction of the ice cream stand.

“Hey, wait!”

The man tried to grab your arm as you passed, but you were faster in your embarrassment-fueled retreat, and soon the hot stranger was far behind you. You didn’t stop running until you were back at the shop, the empty sand-logged tray clutched tightly to your chest, your heartbeat pounding in your ears as you shut the door, making eye contact with a confused Taliyah.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked, getting up to approach you when you didn’t respond. “Talk to me. What happened? If that snob said anything to you–”

“No, no, she didn’t,” you replied weakly, sinking to the floor with your back against the door. “I didn’t even get to her.”

“Then what happened?” she pressed, bringing you a glass of water and prying the tray from your hands at last.

She ushered you to your feet and down into her chair, taking a seat on one of the counters. You took a deep breath, taking a sip of the water before recounting the events of the past ten minutes to Taliyah, who listened silently.

“…I didn’t know what to do, so I just ran,” you finished, setting your water down to bury your face in your hands.

“It’s no big deal,” Taliyah replied gently. “Everyone has embarrassed themselves in front of someone. Remember that time I tripped over my board in front of that group of tourists?”

“I covered him in cherry syrup, Tali,” you groaned. “I don’t think I’m cut out for this.”

“It’s your first day,” she stressed. “You’re bound to mess some things up.”

She stood up, returning to the shaved ice machine. “Now how about we remake those snowballs and then I’ll–”

Taliyah had frozen in place, a plastic cup in her hand as she stared straight ahead.

“Tali?” you questioned, standing up. “Are you–”

“That guy you dumped the snowballs on,” she quickly interrupted. “Did he have majorly cut abs and animal ears?”

“Uh, why?” You felt a jolt of fear shoot up your spine as you followed her gaze to see the man from earlier currently approaching the shop, well-defined abdomen now minus the sticky mess you had spilt all over him. “Oh god, it’s him!”

You and Taliyah exchange wide-eyed glances before you dove down out of sight, hiding behind the tubs of ice cream like they were a fortress.

“Please get rid of him!” you begged. “I’ll do whatever you want, I just can’t face him!”

You heard Taliyah sigh. “Fine, but this means you’re coming stone hunting with me tonight.”

You agreed immediately, even if the prospect wasn’t overwhelmingly appealing. Taliyah was always eager to add to her collection of shiny stones, but was so picky that it often took hours to find just one stone that met her standards. But right now you were so desperate that you would have promised her anything just to make the angry hot guy go away.

From your position behind the ice cream tubs, you could only hear Taliyah’s voice clearly, the general noise of the beach preventing you from hearing what the furry-eared man was saying. You wanted to peek out from your hiding spot, but found yourself chickening out. You really didn’t need him catching sight of you and making Taliyah’s job even harder.

You had gotten so in your own head with panic that you had completely tuned out of your surroundings until a hand waved in front of your face and you realized Taliyah was crouching in front of you, calling your name.

“You okay?” she asked worriedly.

“Is he gone?” you replied quietly.

“Yeah, he’s gone,” she confirmed, standing up and grabbing your forearms to pull you up with her. “Now help me remake those snowballs and then I’ll fill you in.”

You bit your lip as you scooped shaved ice into a row of plastic cups as Taliyah readied the cherry syrup. Soon you had five pristine-looking snowballs on your slightly-sandy tray, the sight of them bringing you back to your moment of collision with the cute guy.

The tray was snatched from your field of vision by Taliyah, who headed over to the rear door. “Be back in a few. Try not to freak out too much while I’m gone.”

And then the door was closed and you were left alone. Looking over at the order window, you decided that you were probably safer to just resume your position behind the ice cream tubs, unwilling to risk being out in the open in case the guy decided to come back.

While she was gone, you couldn’t help but fret over exactly what had been said between your best friend and the mysterious hot guy. She didn’t seem to be upset, so clearly their conversation hadn’t been that intense. Or maybe it had; Taliyah was a fairly relaxed person, so it would be difficult for a random angry customer to really get to her. But that didn’t quite make sense either; if he had yelled at her, you would have heard it over the noise of the beachgoers. All you were doing was overthinking yourself to death, exactly what Taliyah had told you not to do.

And it was there you remained until Taliyah returned, closing the door behind her and placing the serving tray in the sink before she turned her attention to you at last.

“Calm down, it’s fine… I think,” she said.

“You think?”

“Well he didn’t seem mad,” she explained. “He asked if a girl that looked like you worked here and I said you went home sick. Said he’d come back another time.”

“Another–” Oh god. Was he really so angry that he was willing to come back just for the chance to yell at you?

“I can see you freaking out,” Taliyah scolded. “Don’t. You’re fine. Musclehead or not, he’s not going to kill you just because you spilled shaved ice on him.”

She was probably right; hot shirtless guys on the beach likely had more important things to do than yelling at clumsy ice cream shop workers. By tomorrow, he would probably forget you ever existed, and you could go back to enjoying your time working alongside your best friend.

The rock collecting that night had been long and boring, at least for you. Taliyah hadn’t found any rocks she liked enough to take home, only ending the search after she had found some sea glass that she had deemed acceptable to add to her collection. You could only hope that you wouldn’t owe her any more favors any time soon, unsure if you could survive another late night rock hunt.

The next morning, you entered the shop alongside Taliyah, who put her bag down and began to set up the day’s supplies. Considering it was ten minutes past opening time and Taliyah had insisted that she didn’t need help setting up, you decided that you might as well just open the order window for the day, hoping that mom and her group of demon kids wouldn’t be waiting out there, only to unlatch the widows and see something arguably worse.

The window had only been open a peek, but it was enough for you to see the large figure of the man from yesterday standing ten feet or so from your shop, his back facing you as he stared out at the beach. In your brief glimpse, you also noticed that the jacket wrapped around his waist had a white plus sign in a circle as well as the word lifeguard in white blocky letters above it. Oh god, of course you had gone and pissed off a lifeguard on your first day here.

You shut the barely-open windows with a too-loud slam that made you wince before you quickly locked them again and rushed over to Taliyah.

“Tali, he’s here again!” you hissed.

“Huh?” she replied, pausing her task of refilling a container of sprinkles. “Muscle guy?”

You nodded frantically and Taliyah frowned, putting the sprinkles down and approaching the order window herself. You watched as she opened the window ever so slightly, peering out for a few seconds before closing it back up.

“Well… can’t say I was expecting him to actually come back,” she said evenly.

“What do I even do?” you asked, staring at the order windows like they would burst open at any second and reveal you to the clearly-determined lifeguard. “He’s a lifeguard, Tali! What if he bans me from the beach?”

She rolled her eyes in response. “He can’t just ban you from the beach. Lifeguards don’t have that much power. If they did, I would’ve been banned a long time ago for all the times I’ve surfed after hours.”

“Then what does he want with me?” you asked, looking away from the window.

Taliyah shrugged. “You’d have to ask him that.”

“But what if I… don’t?” you replied weakly. “He’ll give up eventually, right?”

“I mean, maybe?” she said. “But it might be easier to deal with him now and get it over with.”

You saw her point, but it wasn’t her that was being pursued by a tall, muscly lifeguard with a vengeance!

Taliyah clearly caught the reluctance on your face and sighed. “Fine, I’ll switch with you for today. Now let’s go over how to make the basic stuff before we open.”

True to her word, Taliyah had allowed you to hide in the back making orders, telling the lifeguard guy that you were off today. You watched him walk away from behind the shaved ice machine, hoping that your ordeal was finally over, but your hopes were quickly dashed the next day as you went to open the store again, only to see the same broad back facing you from just outside the shop.

Taliyah had reluctantly agreed to switch again that day, and the day after. But by day four, even the promise of helping her scavenge for rocks again wouldn’t get her to agree to switch.

You closed the window again, turning to Taliyah with pleading eyes, but she was having none of it.

“It’s been four days,” she said, arms crossed. “Clearly he’s not giving up. You should just see what he wants.”

“But…” The thought still terrified you. You knew you deserved to be yelled at for what you had done, but it was made that much worse by the fact that the subject of your plight was just about the hottest guy you had ever seen.

Taliyah shook her head at you. “Okay, but I’m not doing orders again today, so if you want to keep hiding from him, we’ll have to move onto plan B.”

Plan B, as it turned out, was a mascot suit of sorts; three fluffy poros stacked on top of each other like a snowman. A poro each made up your upper and lower body, the last poro being the head of the costume. You looked incredibly awkward, the arms and legs of the costume hairy and tipped with little brown claws. You were momentarily stunned by the sheer lengths you were going to just to avoid this guy, but you were already in the costume, so you reasoned that you might as well follow through with it now.

Taliyah put the costume’s head on you and your world was plunged largely into darkness, minus the mesh one-way view out of the top poro’s eyes. You were helped to the back door, some fliers for the store shoved into your hands.

Taliyah helped you walk out front, and you were pretty quickly swarmed by kids. You couldn’t see the lifeguard guy, but the relief that coursed through you was short-lived, swallowed by the immediate explosion of business brought on by your costume.

One thing you hadn’t considered in your haste was the heat. You weren’t sure if it was the costume or if today was hotter than usual, but very quickly you found yourself becoming a sweaty mess under the weight of the dense, furry costume.

The longer you were in the costume, the worse you felt, but you were determined to stick this out. So you handed out fliers and posed for photos with children while Taliyah ran the stand.

You wished that you could wipe the sweat from your face, but you weren’t sure if you could even reach up to remove the costume’s head yourself due to the awkward shape of the costume. So you endured the ever-increasing heat, only feeling wearier as the time ticked by.

You waved goodbye to a group of kids as they left with their ice cream cones, the sweltering heat really bearing down on you. As you went to turn and head back to the stand to ask Taliyah to help get the head off, a wave of dizziness crashed over you. You took one step towards the stand, and then another, and then it all went dark as you felt yourself falling forward, too weak to stop your descent to the ground.

You woke up with a heavy head, feeling foggy with confusion. The last thing you remembered, you had been heading back to the stand…

Immediately, you realized that you weren’t at the ice cream stand, and you weren’t wearing the poro suit, or even your beach dress. Sitting up in the cot you laid in, you found that you were wearing only your swimsuit.

As you sat up, a blue ice pack that you hadn’t realized was there fell from your forehead and into your lap. Picking it up, the pack only feeling slightly cold, you turned to look around the room, still unsure what exactly was going on.

You were in a room of some sort, guessing it was afternoon by the minute amount of light filtering into the room, even through the closed curtains. There was a fan gently whirring above your head, but otherwise the room was silent.

There was another cot beside yours, and a table nearby with a few red first aid kits stacked on it, some bandages messily spilling out of one of them. There was a sign pulled over the door, the side facing you reading come on in, we’re open.

You got up from the bed, shuddering with disgust when you noticed just how sweaty your whole body was. The bed squeaked as you got up from it, your knees hitting a bedside table between the cots that you hadn’t noticed had been there. On the small table was a glass of water, as well as a white fan that was emblazoned with what looked to be a group of cats waterskiing.

You picked up the fan, letting out a small laugh at the silly-looking cartoon cats on the fan. It looked like something you could win at a carnival booth.

“If you can laugh, then I guess you’re feelin’ alright.”

A deep voice from behind you made you jump, fingers fumbling the fan, which fell onto the floor with a clatter that was only made louder in the quiet room. You turned to look behind you, only to fall off the cot in shock when you saw the very lifeguard you had been trying so hard to avoid standing in the doorway of a small office you hadn’t noticed was there.

“Hey, careful!” He quickly crossed the room to squat down in front of you, taking your elbow and helping you back up onto the cot. You were too stunned to resist and found yourself falling into his chest as a wave of dizziness hit you.

“You okay?” he asked, and you tried to nod, but your head was spinning too much to focus. “Hey, hold still.”

He placed his hands on your shoulders, keeping you steady against him until you were able to regain your focus. When he was satisfied with your condition, he pulled back, releasing your shoulders and instead reaching out for the glass of water on the table next to you.

“Drink,” he instructed, handing you the cup before standing up. “I’ll be right back.”

He stared at you for a moment before finally turning back and heading into the office at the back of the room.

You watched him go, feeling on edge, but complied, bringing the glass up to your lips and taking a long drink. The last thing you wanted to do was give this guy more reason to be upset with you. You were surprised at just how refreshing the water felt, and you had soon downed the entire glass, placing it back on the table when you were done.

“Alright, lay back down,” the lifeguard instructed as he returned.

“What?” you replied. What was he going to do to you? How had you even got here? Where was Taliyah?

He stopped before you, furrowing his eyebrows as he looked down at your shaky, terrified form. “Are you–”

“I’m sorry!” you exclaimed, bowing your head. “I didn’t mean to spill the snowballs on you! If you need to yell at me, go ahead. I’m sorry I didn’t just come out sooner and–”

It had occurred to you mid-ramble that he had yet to say anything, and you cut off your babbling, slowly looking up to find him staring at you with what you could only describe as a bewildered look on his face.

He blinked. “Is that why–”

“I’m so sorry!” you interrupted, bowing your head again. “If you want to ban me from the beach, I get it!”

“Ban ya from the beach?” he replied with a bark of laughter. “The only thing I wanted to do was get your number.”

“My… what?” You had to be hallucinating. There was no way he had just said that.

“Lay down first,” he spoke sternly, and you complied, still feeling stunned by his words.

Once you were laid down, he picked something up from the bed, which you recognized as another ice pack. He placed it on your forehead, the cool pack immediately flooding you with a feeling of relief. Closing your eyes, you let out a tired sigh, suddenly feeling fatigued.

“Get some rest, princess. We’ll talk when you’re up again.”

You took his advice, the cooling from the ice pack lulling you back to sleep, your eyelids too heavy to keep open.

When you woke up again, you felt infinitely better, your head clearer and body feeling less overheated. The ice pack on your forehead was room temperature, and it was now dark outside. There was a light illuminating your left side as you sat up in bed, turning to see the office in the back with its light on.

The cot squeaked under you, which was responded to by the squeak of a chair from inside the office, the red-haired lifeguard emerging from the office and approaching your bedside.

“Feelin’ any better?” he asked, and you nodded, biting your lip nervously. “Got you some more water.”

You looked over to the bedside table to see the water cup refilled and took hold of it, grateful to have something to focus on other than the intimidatingly muscular man before you.

You drank the entire glass before you forced yourself to finally address the situation before you. “Um… why am I here?”

“You passed out,” he replied bluntly, taking a seat on the cot next to yours. “Overheated yourself in that rat costume.”

“They’re not rats, they’re poros,” you replied, unsure of what to say.

He let out a huff of laughter. “Poros that important to you that you’re willin’ to fry yourself for ‘em?”

“No, that was…” you trailed off. Well, you might as well just admit it. If he had gone out of his way to care for you after you had passed out like an idiot, then he deserved the truth. “I was avoiding you. I was scared you were going to yell at me. My friend didn’t want to keep covering for me at the window so I decided to wear that stupid poro costume.”

“So that’s what that was about,” he replied. “And here I thought you were avoidin’ me ‘cuz you weren’t interested. Gave up on gettin’ your number and then got news that someone passed out from heat stroke.”

You were still having a hard time comprehending the asking for your number part, so you instead chose to focus on the other half. “Heat stroke?”

“Not sure what you expected, wearin’ that costume in this heat,” he said. “Can’t say nobody’s ever been afraid of me before, but giving themself heat stroke just to avoid me is a new one.”

He sounded somewhat self-deprecating, and you immediately felt bad. You had clearly misjudged him, and realized that he hadn’t even mentioned the snowball incident himself.

You forced yourself to meet his eyes, even with as awkward as you were currently felt. “I’m sorry for giving you so much trouble, and for spilling snowballs all over you. I’m just really sorry.”

He laughed. “Ain’t nothin’ for you to apologize for. I’ve had worse get on me since I started workin’ here, and usually it ain’t from a cute girl.”

You tensed in your seat, tearing your gaze from his to look down at your feet, your cheeks feeling warm.

“Hey, don’t go overheatin’ yourself again,” he scolded, standing up from the bed. “If you’re not interested, that’s fine, but I think it’s best if I take ya home. Don’t need your friend yellin’ at me again if you pass out on the way back.”

As much as you wanted to deny his assertion of you being not interested, you couldn’t muster up the courage, so you instead quietly accepted his offer of help. You would have to ask Taliyah what he had meant when you got back.

It was surprisingly cold on the beach at night, the icy breeze sending shivers along your skin. You stared out at the dark ocean waves, entranced by the water crashing against the sand, when your focus was broken by some soft fabric being laid over your shoulders.

You turned to look over your shoulder to see Sett just behind you on the steps of the lifeguard office, the jacket that was usually around his waist now laying on your shoulders.

He caught your curious look and raised an eyebrow. “You nearly cooked yourself to death today, I ain’t about to let you freeze yourself to death now.”

“Thanks,” you replied quietly, reaching a hand up to keep the jacket around your shoulders.

Your feet met the soft sand as you followed Sett towards the parking lot. The beach was totally empty, an odd contrast to how things were in the daytime. It felt weird to actually see the shape of the landscape unobscured by giant beach umbrellas and a sea of bodies. You only looked away from the empty scene when you realized that you had left the sand, and Sett was staring expectantly at you.

“…what?” you asked, getting the feeling that he had said something that you had missed.

“Which way?” he repeated with a quick glance at the street ahead of you.

“Oh right,” you replied. “My friend lives on Sandstone Way.”

Sett’s ears perked up. “By that tacky souvenir shop?”

“Yeah,” you laughed. “Right by there.”

You giggled at Sett’s assessment; you had noticed the eye-hurtingly brightly painted store when Taliyah had walked you to her house from the train station. She had rolled her eyes at the store as you surveyed the display of t-shirts with embarrassing designs on them, stating that sometimes they got some good rocks in, but it wasn’t worth the amount of tourists always asking for directions when she was walking around the neighborhood.

Looking over at Sett out of the corner of your eye, you were struggling to think of anything to say. He was dressed in just his sandals and shorts, his sunglasses forgone and giving you a clear look at his golden eyes that seemed to glow in the dark.

“So this your first summer here?” Sett asked, breaking the brief silence as you walked side by side. “I know I’d remember you if I’d seen ya before.”

“I was here for a summer when I was a kid,” you answered. “But everything looks so different now. Maybe I just saw this place differently when I was a kid.”

“Nah,” he dismissed. “It never used to be this busy here. Tourists bring money to this place, but it means it’s always loud around here.”

The conversation was slowly helping you feel more comfortable with the intimidatingly handsome lifeguard. You felt dumb for putting so much energy into avoiding him.

“So have you always lived here?” you asked.

“Born and raised,” he answered with a grin that you couldn’t help but feel looked a little sad. “Ma used to work at the boating shop… and the laundromat… and the candy store.”

“All at the same time?” you asked incredulously.

Sett shrugged. “Didn’t have much of a choice. Pa ran off on us when I was a kid, and it wasn’t like anyone would hire a fatherless runt to work for them.”

“Sounds like it was hard,” you replied. “Did you ever find out where he went?”

“For his sake, I’d better not,” Sett sneered. “I heard ma cry missin’ that scumbag more times than I can count. There ain’t a family here for that bastard to come back to.”

“How is your mom doing?” you asked as you turned onto Sandstone Way, passing by the tacky tourist shop, the flashy paint on the walls too bright even at night.

“She’s doin’ good,” he answered, finally looking happy with a satisfied smile. “Got her to quit her jobs when I started workin’ enough to pay the bills.”

“You’re a good son,” you complimented him. “She’s lucky to have you.”

You smiled at him, coming to a stop before Taliyah’s house. “Well, this is me. Thanks for walking me back.”

“Take care of yourself,” he said. “I don’t wanna see you passin’ out again.”

“I’ll try not to,” you replied. “No more poro costumes for me.”

“On that topic,” he purred, leaning closer to you. “You never gave me an answer.”

“An answer?” you squeaked, flustered by his sudden closeness.

“I’ve been tryin’ to get your number for days now,” he replied, and you did your best to supress a shiver from running up your spine. Was this real life?

You wet your lips with your tongue nervously, unable to miss how Sett’s sharp eyes watched the movement.

“I, um, I don’t have my phone on me,” you said, immediately realizing how dumb you sounded. You didn’t need your phone on you to tell him your number! You hastily made to amend your statement. “…but if you come by the stand tomorrow, I’ll give it to you!”

“Oh?” Sett’s grin was wide, gold eyes flashing dangerously. “I s’pose I could find some time to stop by. See you then, sweetheart.”

Sett turned to walk away, but you stopped him with a call of his name. “Wait, your jacket–”

“Keep it for the night,” Sett replied. “I’ll get it from you tomorrow.”

You reluctantly agreed, stunned silent by his bold flirting, his jacket sitting warm on your shoulders as you watched him walk away. You stared at his broad back until he was out of sight, only then turning to head inside, knowing Taliyah would be waiting.

The next morning she was still on you as you spent some extra time getting ready.

“I still can’t believe he gave you his jacket,” she teased with a grin. “I mean, I figured he was probably into you, but–”

“You what?” you replied as you paused styling your hair.

“I kept telling you to talk to him,” she replied. “No guy like that is going to wait outside your work for days in a row just to yell at you for spilling ice on him. But I didn’t think you’d believe me if I told you.”

“I just feel so stupid giving myself heat stroke just go avoid him,” you lamented.

“Yeah,” Taliyah frowned. “If I had realized it was that hot out, I never would’ve let you go out in that thing.”

“It’s my own fault for being so dumb,” you insisted.

“But hey, it all worked out, didn’t it?” Taliyah grinned as she slipped on her water shoes. “You’ve got a hot lifeguard coming to visit you at work today.”

“Don’t remind me. I’m still super nervous,” you said, adjusting your beach dress over your most flattering swimsuit.

“You’ll be fine,” Taliyah replied. “He’s clearly super into you. You should’ve seen him when you passed out yesterday.”

“What?” You had been so tired last night that you had only told her the basics before crashing for the night, completely forgetting to ask her what had happened yesterday.

“Someone got him when you collapsed,” she told you. “You should’ve seen his face when he pulled off the poro head and saw it was you inside the costume! I tried to come with, but he told me he’d handle it. I maaay have threatened his life if anything happened to you, but just a little.”

You laughed. So that’s what Sett had been referring to.

Taliyah came up from behind you as you stared at your appearance in the mirror, resting her chin on your shoulder and meeting your eyes in the mirror. “Relax, you look great. Fuzzy ear boy isn’t gonna know what hit him!”

“Fuzzy ear–” you sputtered, laughing at Taliyah’s choice of words. “I guess his ears do look pretty fuzzy.”

“Well if he lets you pet them, tell me how soft they are!” she teased, pulling back from you to grab her bag. “Now let’s go. You’ve got a boy to meet!”

You somehow felt even more nervous today than you had the few days you had spent avoiding Sett. You were still having a hard time wrapping your head around the fact that a guy that looked like he had walked straight out of a fireman’s calendar was coming to your little beachfront ice cream stand for the sole purpose of getting your phone number. And his jacket, which was folded neatly on the countertop beside you.

You weren’t exactly sure when he was going to come. Usually, he would be there waiting outside in the morning before you opened, but all you had opened up to today was a sparsely-populated beachfront, no handsome lifeguards to be seen. By two in the afternoon, your anxiety had begun to get the better of you.

“Stop pacing,” Taliyah scolded you. “He’ll be here.”

“But what if he decided not to?” you said, taking a deep breath to try and calm yourself down. “What if this was just a joke?”

“Then I’ll go kick his butt,” she responded plainly. “He’ll come. Relax.”

You were about to reply, when a ding of the service bell at the order window had you spinning around, ready to take an order, only for the words to die on your lips when you laid eyes on the well-muscled lifeguard with the fuzzy black ears just outside the order window, sending a grin your way.

“Here to pick up my order,” he said, leaning an arm against the window.

“Your… order?” you replied, too entranced by his appearance to properly make use of your brain.

“A pretty girl promised me her number if I came by,” he replied, looking down at you through his sunglasses.

“I… right… I…” You turned back quickly to see Taliyah staring expectantly at you, mouthing the word number at you. Right.

With slightly shaky hands, you reached for the small notepad at the front counter, taking that and a pen in hand and trying not to focus on the fact that Sett was watching you as you began to write.

Double-checking that the number was right, you handed the paper to him, your fingers touching as he took it from you. Remembering about your other promise, you reached over to grab the lifeguard jacket from the counter beside you. You went to hand him his jacket, surprised when he didn’t take it from you.

“What time do you get off?” he asked, and you answered a quiet six. “Give it back to me then.”

With a short wave and a grin, Sett made a show of stowing the phone number in his pocket before sauntering off and leaving you standing there slack-jawed.

“See? Was that so hard?” Taliyah called from her seat at the ice machine. “Now you just have to keep it together for your date.”

“I don’t know if I can,” you said, leaning back against the counter.

“You did last night, didn’t you?” she countered. “He’s just a guy. A really hot guy, but still. Don’t freak yourself out. You deserve a nice guy. It’s just a bonus that he has more abs than spiders have legs!”

You let out an amused huff. Taliyah was right, as she always was. You needed to get over yourself and let yourself have a good time tonight.”

But for now, you had customers to deal with. You and Taliyah let out a shared groan as you saw the nightmare mom and her army of brats heading towards you. You both returned to your posts, hoping their overly-complicated orders would be right on the first try this time.

Taliyah let out a yawn, stretching her arms high above her head before beginning the process of cleaning up for the day. After the last customer left, you hastily closed the order window, not wanting to give anyone the chance to come and beg about how it was only five minutes past closing and they’ve been wanting a banana split all day. You had learned your lesson from that mistake on day two.

Once the order windows were closed and locked, you joined Taliyah at the side counter, helping to return all the different containers of toppings to their rightful places. You found your hands moving slower, your nerves slowing you down in order to prolong the inevitable.

Taliyah eventually got tired of your pitiful attempt at stalling for time and gently removed the container of blue sprinkles from your grasp. “Just go, I’ll finish up here.”

“Are you sure?” you asked, and Taliyah sent you an unimpressed look. “Okay, fine, I’m going, I’m going.”

“I hope you know I expect all the details later!” she grinned as you made your way to the door, hesitating with your hand on the door handle for only a moment before opening the door.

It was mercifully less warm outside today than it had been yesterday, not to mention that you were also minus a heavy mascot costume. Yesterday hadn’t ended too badly for you, but you would still prefer to not end today in a hospital if you exacerbated your current heat-sensitive state.

You weren’t sure if you preferred if Sett was already there, or if you got there first to wait for him; neither option seemed to abate your nerves. But of course, the lifeguard was prompt as always, leaning against one of the beams that held up the awning above the order window.

You didn’t think you had been making much noise walking along the sand, but he seemed to hear you, turning to face you with a grin as you approached.

“Ready?” he asked as you came to a stop before him, tucking some of your hair behind your ear in an effort to keep your cool.

“Yeah,” you answered, impressed that your voice hadn’t come out squeaky with how nervous you were.

“Good,” he replied, before his grin turned teasing. “Was half expectin’ ya to come on our date in that rat costume.”

“Poro!” you corrected again, trying not to get flustered by his mention of this being a date. You weren’t sure what else it would be, but you couldn’t help the butterflies that fluttered in your stomach when he had acknowledged the obvious.

He surprised you by taking your hand, pulling you along with him as you tried desperately not to stumble and fall into the sand.

The beach crowd was beginning to thin out, people heading home or to one of the many beachfront restaurants nearby. Watching as a kid packed up his sand toys, you wondered if one of those restaurants was where you were headed as well. Sett hadn’t told you anything about what the plan was, and you found yourself curious when he led you to the bright white lifeguard office.

At first, you had thought that maybe he had forgotten something, at least until you followed him into the small building to see what looked to be the table that had previously held all the first aid kits, now decked out in a soft-looking purple picnic blanket. On top of the makeshift picnic table was a spread of various tasty-looking finger foods, the scene completed by two chairs pulled up to the table, cushions with a starfish pattern placed on the seats.

You were perhaps too dumbfounded by the sight, as you snapped out of it to Sett calling your name, looking over at him to see him looking surprisingly tense. You should probably say something, you realized.

“It looks great,” you said, meaning every word as you looked over the table. “Are those cabbage rolls?”

“Ma helped me make ‘em,” Sett explained, looking bashful for the first time since you had met him as he raised an arm to scratch at the back of his neck. “Helped me with all of this, actually. Never done anythin’ like this before.”

“You mean a picnic?” you asked curiously.

Sett chuckled. “Picnics. Dates. Not a lotta women ‘round here who wanted anythin’ to do with a fatherless half-breed.”

You had a hard time believing that; you had noticed several mothers checking him out as they packed their family’s stuff to leave the beach. But the hint of something sad in his eyes made you reconsider. You had no memory of seeing someone like him that summer you had spent here, but it wasn’t like that was a surprise to you. You and Taliyah had been in your own little world at that time, only ever spending time with each other.

“Well I’m excited to try your cooking,” you said, figuring a change of subject was for the best.

Sett grinned as he sat down. “Should be decent. Haven’t poisoned anyone since high school.”

Your eyes widened, hand freezing on its path to grab a cabbage roll, startled eyes darting to his.

Sett let out a bark of laughter at your alarmed face. “Relax. Wouldn’t poison ya. Maybe those kids that keep swimmin’ into the boating zone, but not you.”

“Thanks… I think?” you replied, biting your lip as you stared down at the cabbage rolls, weighing your options.

“Wasn’t real poison anyways,” he scoffed, taking some rolls from himself. “Not my fault sugar and salt look the same.”

You laughed, grabbing some food for yourself at last. “I suppose they kinda do.”

“Ma didn’t wanna hurt my feelings, but I knew when I tried some myself,” he explained.

“It was nice of her to try,” you offered.

“Too nice,” he said. “Ma is always too nice. Never said anythin’ bad about my old man, even after what he did. Had to work three jobs for years because of that bastard, but not a word.”

“Well I’m sure she’s glad she has you,” you commented. “Even if you give her food poisoning sometimes.”

“Once,” he corrected, taking a bite. “Learned my lesson the first time.”

You followed his lead, finding the food to be entirely poison-free, and actually the best home-cooked meal you had eaten in a long time. The conversation moved to swapping work stories, and you were unsurprised to find out that the mother and her the demon children had been a thorn in Sett’s side as well.

“They really buried sleeping sunbathers in sand?”

“Five times in a day one time,” Sett grouchily confirmed. “Last time Braum went to handle it. Said I would bury those little assholes under the sand if I had to go yell at them one more time.”

You sympathized with his pain. You felt lucky that you had only experienced the tip of the annoyingness iceberg with that group of little terrors.

“Braum?” you inquired as you both left the lifeguard office, the beach now fully dark.

“Fellow lifeguard,” he answered, nonchalantly taking your hand in his as you made your way off the beach. “Bald, giant moustache, even bigger than me. Better at the whole gentle-but-firm thing than I am.”

“Oh, I think I’ve seen him before. He comes by for poro pops sometimes,” you said, mind drawing a picture of the surprisingly friendly man in the small purple swim bottoms with a weakness for poro-shaped ice pops. “So are you the head lifeguard then?”

Sett considered your question. “Guess I am the boss of ‘em. All of the other lifeguards are always comin’ at me with problems to solve. The extra pay doesn’t hurt either if I wanna keep momma from feelin’ like she has to work.”

“Say thank you to her from me for the dinner. It was really good,” you said as you passed by the familiar tacky souvenir shop.

“She’ll be happy to hear it,” he replied with a soft smile that made your heart thump in your chest. “I know she wishes she had more to cook for than just me.”

You both came to a stop before Taliyah’s house, and you sneakily glanced over just to make sure Taliyah wasn’t peeking out from a window, which she wasn’t. You turned your focus back to Sett, only to find him closer than he had just been. How was he so good at sneaking up on you?

A large hand came up to cup your jaw, thumb brushing against your cheek, and your face was tilted up towards Sett’s. You were glad it was dark out, because otherwise you knew your reddening cheeks would be obvious.

“Still afraid of me?” he asked, voice low, lips so close to yours that you could make out a small scar that crossed over his bottom lip.

“No,” you answered, making no move to pull away as you stared up into his eyes. “Not unless I was about to taste your high school cooking.”

“Smart,” he replied with a smirk. “But I’m talkin’ about right now, because if you don’t turn and run into that house, I’m gonna kiss you.”

Your bag almost tumbled from your grasp, but you held fast as you stared at Sett, whose own had already become half-lidded. You had no words to describe how much you didn’t want to run right now, so you didn’t use any, instead angling your face further upwards, trying to make your willingness abundantly clear.

With a grin, he leaned down and kissed you.

Pulling back slightly, he dove back in, his other hand coming to your waist to pull you against him. You happily leant into him, your hands on his firm chest.

When he pulled back again, you opened your eyes at last, feeling almost as dizzy as right before you had passed out from heat stroke.

Sett looked content, and you were only hoping you looked half as composed as he did right now. He leaned back in to give you one more peck before pulling back from you entirely, the cold from the air outside immediately apparent as soon as you were minus his warm hands against your skin.

“Think I’ll stop by tomorrow,” he said. “Been cravin’ a cherry snowball for some reason lately.”

Sett was a man of his word, you learned, though you were less happy to see him the next day when he asked if he could order a cherry snowball served like last time, and then laughed as you had proceeded to sputter like a broken machine.

His visits became daily, sometimes bringing Braum with him, who continued to surprise you with the sheer amount of poro pops he was able to consume in one sitting. Quite a few nights a week, you had found yourself all around Port Navori with the half-Vastayan lifeguard. You were surprised at how supportive Taliyah was being, considering you had originally come here to spend time with her.

“Gives me more time to surf,” she answered with a shrug when you had asked her. “And maybe that boyfriend of yours can convince you to stay here after the summer is over.”

“Boyfriend?” you yelped, and Taliyah raised an eyebrow.

“You aren’t? I thought he would have made it official by now. It’s been over two weeks… have you guys even done it?”

“Taliyah!” you scolded her, switching back to professional mode as a group of people approached the stand.

As you helped prepare their orders, you couldn’t help but think about what she had said. You and Sett had kissed quite a lot actually, but he had yet to do more than that. But it was far too embarrassing a subject for you to have the confidence to broach, so you had resolved yourself to just be content with things as they were.

It was just your luck that right then was when Sett had decided to make his daily visit to the stand, approaching the counter as the other group left.

Taliyah apparently wasn’t done pestering you for the day as she sped to meet him at the counter before you could get there yourself.

“Hey!” she greeted Sett with a sly smile as you stood frozen behind her, nervous about her motivations. “You’re on your break, right?”

Sett raised an eyebrow. “What about it?”

“Well,” she said, in the voice you knew meant that she wanted something. “There’s a surfing contest I entered, and it’s almost my turn and it won’t even take that long and–”

“Tali!” you interrupted, rushing over to the counter.

“All I need is an hour,” Taliyah insisted, before pulling you beside her at the counter. “And she needs some help while I’m gone since lunchtime is when most of the people come by.”

“I’m fine, I–”

“I’m in,” Sett cut in, eyeing you with almost palpable smugness.

“Awesome!” Taliyah replied, immediately shucking her apron and hat onto the floor in her haste to get out the door. “Have fun, see you after I win!”

“Taliyah!”

Your call of her name fell on deaf ears as she already had her board and was out the door, leaving you standing at the counter with Sett still leaning against the counter.

Sett reached up to pull his sunglasses off, tucking them into his packet, his golden eyes fully uncovered and sparkling with mischief, the sight alone making you feel weary.

“Well? You gonna invite me in?” he asked. “Not sure I’d fit through the window.”

You scrambled to meet him at the back door, not wanting him to try and get into the shop through the order window that was less wide than he was. It was a strange feeling to open the back door of the shop to a guy that was almost too tall for the doorway, and another thing entirely to try and corral him into behaving as you tried to keep the ice cream stand functioning while Taliyah was gone.

“Aren’t lifeguards supposed to set a good example for others?” you huffed, wiping ice from your apron. At least he hadn’t made things truly equal and put cherry syrup on the ball of shaved ice he had pressed against your neck.

“Not when I’m off the clock,” he answered. “Besides, it’s my once in a lifetime chance to see what workin’ one of these is like.”

It would definitely be only one time if you had anything to say about it. If the almost-hour with him here had taught you anything, it was that Sett was not cut out to work in an ice cream shop.

The scoops of ice cream he doled out were easily twice the size of the ones Taliyah did, which made for happy customers, but a less happy bottom line if he was here for more than an hour. He was also lacking Taliyah’s patience, and you were forced to sideline him when an especially picky middle-aged woman came by who insisted you remake her smoothie four times until it had an acceptable pH level. The woman’s complaints had miraculously stopped the moment Sett had approached the window himself, becoming so invested in flirting with the handsome lifeguard that she had snatched her next smoothie attempt from you without complaint, not even glancing your way as she batted her eyes at him, only leaving when he excused himself with an excuse of needing to make more orders.

You approached Sett to check on him and found yourself pulled down into his lap as he leaned back in the chair.

Huffing, he pulled you against him, nuzzling against your neck. “Don’t know how you deal with that. Couldn’t pay me to make her damn smoothie one more time.”

“You get used to it,” you replied. “Don’t you deal with worse as a lifeguard?”

“Yeah,” he grunted. “But nothin’ sayin’ I gotta be nice when I deal with ‘em.”

“That’s true,” you laughed.

“If anyone complains, they can go somewhere else. Ain’t another beach within a hundred miles as well-run as this one,” he bragged, kissing at your neck.

As much as you were enjoying his sudden affection, you knew time was running low until Taliyah would return. You made to pull back to tell Sett that, but were instead pulled into a kiss that took you a few breathless moments to find the strength to escape.

“This Friday,” he murmured, face inches from yours. “There’s a party at the pool. You should come with me.”

You had heard about the exclusive pool parties on this beach from Taliyah, but hadn’t expected to ever get an invite. The pool, which was at the far end of the beach from the ice cream stand, was as exclusive as it got. Gated with walls so high that you couldn’t see in, it was the membership-only place to be for all of the elite in the beach town of Port Navori.

“Is that… okay?” you asked hesitantly.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” he countered, and you didn’t really have an answer. “It’ll be fine. Come. Have some people I wanna introduce ya to.”

The door burst open at the same time as you nodded your agreement, revealing Taliyah clutching both her dripping board as well as a shiny blue ribbon.

“You won?” you asked, trying to disentangle yourself from Sett, who reluctantly let you up.

“Easily!” Taliyah gloated. “Nobody else stood a chance. So how were things here?”

“The money ain’t worth the drama of this place,” Sett griped.

Taliyah laughed. “Smoothie lady come back with a vengeance?”

“I’ll take kids buryin’ sunbathers up to their ears over this any day,” he replied with a grimace, standing up and stretching.

At his mention of ears, Taliyah had brought both hands up to her own head about where Sett’s were on his head, and you quickly waved at her to cut it out before he saw. Thankfully she did, but you could tell that you were going to get asked if you had pet his ears yet as soon as his fuzzy ears were out of earshot.

“I’ll text ya the time when I know it,” Sett said, giving you a quick kiss on the head and a two-fingered salute to Taliyah before heading out the back door.

“So?” Taliyah asked, pulling the chair up to the ice cream station after she had stashed her prize ribbon in her bag. “Are they as soft as they look?”

“I didn’t pet them,” you answered.

“It’s been over two weeks!” she complained. “Has he at least asked you to be his girlfriend yet?”

You shook your head. “He did invite me to a pool party with him on Friday at that fancy pool.”

“Really?” Taliyah responded, eyes wide. “You have to tell me what it’s like! I mean, I’ve seen satellite photos, but it’s not the same…”

“I’ll probably be too nervous to remember any of it,” you grumbled.

“This is your chance!” Taliyah encouraged. “By Friday it’ll be three weeks. You need to ask him if he sees you as his girlfriend or not.”

You reeled back, waves of anticipatory anxiety rolling over you. “I don’t want to scare him off. What if this is just casual to him and I’m too dumb to see it?”

“Then you’ll know,” she replied. “I know you. It’ll eat you up if you put this much energy into a guy without knowing how he feels about you. So ask. If he says no, then at least you’ll have an entire store’s worth of ice cream to drown yourself in after!”

Taliyah was right. She was always right. You knew that you couldn’t keep whatever this was up without knowing where you stood with him. The more time you spent with Sett, the more you wanted, and if he intended to keep things casual, you would rather know sooner so you could make an informed decision.

So that would be the plan then. Go to the party, have a good time (and get some photos of the pool for Taliyah) and then ask Sett about the state of your relationship. Sounded easy in theory. You could only hope you could muster up the courage to go through with the plan when the time came.

After hearing that the party was to start at four, Taliyah had gone all out, closing the stand at two so she could help you get ready to impress the snobs. You hadn’t put up too much of a fight, happy to have her help and her company, as your nerves only climbed higher the closer it got to four o’clock.

“You’ll be fine,” Taliyah said as she styled your hair. “You’ll only feel worse if you don’t get an answer from him. And with how good you’ll look at the party, he won’t be able to say no!”

“Thanks, Tali,” you replied gratefully. “I promise I’ll get you a bunch of photos of the pool. And whatever else you want.”

“What I want is for you to stay here for good,” she said. “So really I’m just doing myself a favor by helping you. This place has been a hundred times more bearable since you’ve been here, and I want it to stay that way.”

“Still,” you persisted. “I feel bad that you’re going to so much trouble. If you want anything, just let me know.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Taliyah dismissed with a wave of her hand. “You should get going, don’t wanna be late to the fancy pool party.”

She practically shoved you out the door, and then you were alone, walking down the mostly-empty sidewalk. As you walked along the street, you couldn’t help but dwell on the possibilities. What would happen at the party? What would Sett say?

If he told you that he wasn’t looking for anything serious, what would you do? It was hard to have an answer for until you were in the moment, since a lot of it would depend on what Sett’s answer would be.

You walked through the parking lot, and then onto the beach, passing by kids building sandcastles and games of beach volleyball as you walked towards the end of the beach where the pool was. As you made your way to the fancier end of the beach, you began to notice the differences that marked the split between here and the side of the beach that you were usually on.

The shops on this side of the beach were much fancier, the sand littered with designer beach chairs and umbrellas. It was crazy just how different two ends of one beach could be.

The pool was noticeable from a great distance, or at least the wall white walls that surrounded it were. At least you weren’t going to get lost and miss the party entirely.

You approached the pristine white stairs that led from the beach up to the pool entrance, equal parts excited and apprehensive. The entrance was an open doorway, covered by a deep blue curtain and guarded by a muscled bouncer in white. The sight alone was intimidating; why hadn’t you just asked Sett to meet you beforehand?

You plastered a reluctant smile on your face before approaching the man. “Hi, I–”

“Name,” he interrupted, not looking up from his clipboard, sunglasses too dark for you to see his eyes.

Well it wasn’t like you hadn’t expected some level of standoffishness from the elite side of the beach. Keeping your smile up, you told him your name, waiting the prerequisite few moments for him to leaf through the list.

He seemed to have found what he was looking for, as his hand with the clipboard went to his side and he moved over to the curtain, pulling it to one side to allow you to enter. He had said nothing further, but seemed to be staring in your direction, so you took that as your cue and walked towards the now-open entryway and into the pool.

The entryway led into a hallway with pristine white walls, soft lighting hanging overhead. You could begin to hear chatter as you got closer to the end of the hallway, exiting into an explosion of sight and sound.

The pool was huge, and there seemed to be an intricate gold pattern on the tiles at the bottom. The pool was surrounded by lounge chairs and umbrellas, tropical foliage bordering the inner walls around the pool.

There were people all over, in and out of the pool. There was also a bar in the center which seemed to be very popular, as many people were carrying around intricate-looking cocktails.

More than the scenery or the people, your eyes were scanning the area for Sett. You checked your phone again to make sure, finding that it was the time he had told you to be here for. Maybe he was just running late or…

Your rising concern was broken up by the tap of designer wedges on the granite heading your way. You looked up from your phone to see two girls heading towards you, one of which you realized you had seen before.

The stuck-up redhead that had been the reason you had been out on the beach to spill the snowball on Sett in the first place was striding towards you, not a hair out of place underneath her likely-expensive sun hat. At her side was a lilac-haired woman in a swimsuit with a plunging neckline that was color blocked with various shades of purple. Together they made quite a striking pair, but your previous encounter with the redhead had you wishing that Sett would get here soon to save you from the impending conversation.

“Look, Sarah,” the purple-haired one sneered as they came to a stop before you. “So eager to pretend she’s one of us that she rushed right over.”

You took a step back, but that only seemed to embolden them.

Sarah lowered her sunglasses, staring at you like you were in her way. “Sad when they don’t know their place, Syndra.”

“Sett invited me here,” you replied defensively.

The women exchanged a pointed look before Sarah raised an eyebrow at you, a hand on her hip. “You ever think about why that was?”

“What?” you replied, unsure of what she was getting at.

“She doesn’t get it,” Syndra said with a cruel undertone in her voice that unnerved you.

“Look around,” Sarah said sharply. “Really look. Do half the people here look like they belong?”

You looked around, not sure what you were supposed to be seeing. A man with a hook-nose sat at the pool bar, flanked by women in skimpy bikinis. A humanoid form that seemed to be made of water conversed poolside with a large purple man in a ratty straw hat who was holding a ukulele. What were you supposed to be noticing?

“Sett is too nice to break it to you, so the job falls to me,” Sarah said with a smirk. “This is our annual loser fest. Charity case race. Bring-a-freak-to-work-day.”

“Pig party,” Syndra supplied.

“Yeah, pig party,” Sarah repeated, noticing your confused look. “Don’t know what that is? Poor thing.”

“I don’t–”

“It’s pretty simple,” Sarah interrupted. “We take half the summer to find the biggest freak we can, and then we bring them all together and crown a winner, and by the looks of you, Sett is really going for the top prize.”

You gasped, eyes wide, suddenly feeling like you were going to be sick.

“Aw, you really thought he liked you, huh?” Syndra mocked with fake sweetness.

“He didn’t… he never…” you stammered, clutching your bag to your chest.

“Well duh,” Sarah replied haughtily. “He wanted to win. Do you tell a pig when it’s about to become bacon?”

“What is meaning of this?” Braum accused, storming up to your group. “I have not heard of such a thing!”

“Need-to-know, Braum,” Syndra dismissed.

“And you didn’t need to know,” Sarah added.

You felt numb. This whole time… is that why Sett wouldn’t ask you to be his girlfriend? Why he never did more than kiss you? All this time, he had just seen you as a prize pig for an ugly date contest? It all made sense now, why he had been so desperate to get your number. He had never liked you… it had all been one sick joke. You should’ve known; nobody as attractive as Sett would ever see you as anything but a freak. And was too cowardly to come and tell you the truth to your face.

“Look, she’s crying,” Syndra taunted. “Don’t cry! Soon you’ll be queen pig!”

You couldn’t do this. You couldn’t stay here with all these people who saw you as less than human as your heart was breaking into pieces. You were so, so stupid, now wanting nothing more than to cry in peace. So you did, turning and running as fast as your legs would take you out of this awful place.

“Bye, piggy! We’ll ship you the ribbon!”

You heard Braum shout your name, as well as the cruel laughter of the women, but you didn’t stop running. Not when you got to the beach, nor the parking lot or the tacky souvenir shop, the sayings on the gaudy shirts too blurry to read through your tears. Your feet didn’t stop until you were at the doorstep to Taliyah’s home, out of breath, tears running down your cheeks.

The door opened, Taliyah’s face appearing in the doorway. “Hey, did you forget– wait, what happened?”

“Settrigh, stay still!”

Sett frowned, but did as his momma requested, allowing her to tie the ends of his hair after she had finished arranging it. He loved his ma dearly, but he really didn’t have time for her to redo his hair ten times right now.

It was getting way too close to the start time he had given you, and with how nervous of a person you were, he had intended to be on time, but that was before his mother had discovered the reason why he was cutting their visit short today.

Ma was aware that he had been seeing someone, had been ever since Sett had needed help making food for their first date.

“You do intend to let me meet her, Settrigh?” she asked, stepping back once she had fixed his hair to her satisfaction.

“Yes, ma,” he answered, standing up from the chair.

He wasn’t exactly surprised by his momma’s eagerness, considering this was the first girl he had ever dated, let alone considered introducing to her. This world was shallow; he had learned that early in life, which may be why he found himself so drawn to a girl who had put her all into having nothing to do with him. You broke up the monotony in this busy beach town and gave him something to look forward to other than seeing his ma for the first time in a long time.

Sett knew he was working on a time limit. You had mentioned that you had planned on only visiting Port Navori for the summer, and the summer was half over already, which meant his chances to convince you to stay were also halved, which is where tonight came in.

He had been taking things slow, not wanting to come on too strong and scare you off like he had watched happen to many a beachfront pick-up artist. He had been unwilling to rush things and lose you, but the slip of the calendar into August had forced his hand.

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit apprehensive as to how today would end. How would you take him asking you to be girlfriend? He could only hope that he hadn’t misread you entirely.

He didn’t go to the pool parties often, but it seemed like a good way for him to introduce you to his friends, as they didn’t often all gather outside of those parties. He knew you would likely feel out of place, but Braum would be there, and he intended to stick by your side the entire time. And then after the party, if things went well, then maybe he would end the night with you as his girlfriend, but the party would be the first step.

As he left his ma’s house, he found his mind turning to the party. If you were wearing that red swimsuit you had worn last week, then it was going to be a difficult night for his self-control. His desire to take things slow had really taken a hit then, his only saving grace being ma’s lecture on being a gentleman pounding in his head as he tried not to look at how your chest was half-busting out of your top as you leaned over to pick a thread off of his glove. You were really too hot for your own good, which made him all the more eager to see you.

He knew he was running late, the party having started at least ten minutes earlier. It wasn’t his style to be late, but he was also pretty helpless to defy his ma. He only hoped that you hadn’t given up on him and left.

He took the shortest route possible, which included a short trek through some bushes that left him more leafy than he would’ve liked, but it was all forgotten when he spotted the stairs that led up to the pool entrance.

He was able to bypass the doorman who was only half as big as he was and seemed to be wary of interacting with him, stepping out of the way as Sett approached. He pushed past the curtain, hurried steps heading down the hallway. You hadn’t been waiting outside, so clearly you had been able to get in. He tried to fight back the excited grin that wanted to take over his face, but it was a losing battle as he entered the pool area, eyes immediately scanning the area for you.

“Your cruelty is unimaginable!” Braum’s booming voice carried easily through the air. “That girl has done nothing to be deserving of such treatment!”

What had Braum so worked up? Generally he was an easy guy to get along with, easily Sett’s most tolerable co-lifeguard. Not much phased him, which was a little concerning. But Sett had other priorities, the most important being locating you.

You weren’t in the pool, and didn’t seem to be sitting in any of the chairs. Maybe you had gone to the bathroom and would be right back–

“Well how else was she supposed to know Sett is too good for her? She clearly wasn’t going to see reality without a little help.”

Sett’s ears perked up, his attention snagged by the mention of his name, but especially by the latter half of the sentence. He turned around to see Sarah Fortune with Syndra at her side, who had her arms crossed and looked bored. In front of them was Braum, looking more irate than Sett had ever seen him.

“What’s this about?” Sett asked in a warning tone as he approached, the fur of his ears standing on end, leaving him feeling like he wasn’t going to like where this was headed.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Sarah dismissed, flipping her hair behind her shoulder with a flick of her head. “We just showed a daydreaming little clout chaser the way out.”

Sett’s eyebrow rose. “A what?”

“Your ice cream girl,” Braum cut in. “These two have told her that this is a party for pigs. They have told her that you intend to bring her here to win ugly contest, and then she had run off.”

“What?” Sett growled dangerously, but the two women remained nonplussed.

“We did you a favor,” Syndra stressed. “If we get a reputation of letting just anyone in, then we’ll lose all status as members of the ruling class of the food chain. So we decided to throw this little pig party to make you come back to your senses.”

“You’re one of us, Sett,” Sarah added. “This pool doesn’t have room for little nobodies who don’t know their place.”

“Rather be a nobody than whatever the hell this is,” Sett snarled angrily, the full knowledge of the truth turning his bad feeling to a mix of simmering fury at the two women, and worry for you. He hated himself for being late and allowing this to happen to you. “Save your concern and don’t talk to me again.”

“But we were–” Syndra started, but Sett wasn’t in the mood.

“If you even look at her again, you’ll have me to deal with. And unlike that girl you just bullied outta here, I ain’t so nice.”

With that, Sett turned on his heel and stormed towards the exit to go do his best to fix this mess.

Braum quickly followed behind him. “My friend, I am sorry I could not stop them in time.”

“Ain’t your fault,” Sett replied. “Wish I’d have known. Gotta go see if she’ll even talk to me at this point.”

“I wish you luck,” Braum said as exited the hallway and emerged out into the sunny late afternoon.

Sett parted from Braum, taking the stairs two at a time as he surveyed the area, trying to see if he could catch sight of you. He quickly crossed the sand, making a beeline for the ice cream stand, even if it seemed like a longshot. He passed by a group of kids throwing sand on an older man sleeping on a towel, but ignored it and kept going. If anything was on fire, Braum could put it out. Sett’s sole focus right now was finding you and hoping you’d let him explain himself.

His chest felt heavy with anger and regret. How could he have let this happen? He hadn’t realized how cruel those women could be, and it had led to them making you believe he thought you were some freak he was using for convenience, which could not be farther from the truth.

Seeing those two talk about you like you were a pariah had brought him right back to when he was younger, to what he had endured at the hands of people just like Syndra and Sarah. People who had ostracized him, did their best to make him feel like he didn’t have a place here. Sett-the-beast-boy-bastard; the words had haunted him for a long time.

He had grown tough in response to the years of bullying, but you hadn’t. This was your first exposure to how awful this place could be. He and ma had dealt with it for years after pa ran off; he had nearly gotten expelled from school after a particularly bad fight with a kid that had made one too many nasty comments about his ma to his face.

Sett stopped, letting out a frustrated sigh as he saw the large closed sign on the front windows of the ice cream shop. So that was a bust. Without giving the store a second look, he continued on towards the rocks and then up to the parking lot.

There was only one other place to try. Chest tight, Sett followed the same path he had the night of your first date, the same path he took every time he walked you home. The walk there was one long blur, his feet unable to stop moving until the familiar house was in sight. Without a moment’s hesitation, Sett approached the front door, rapping his knuckles against the wood. When no answer came, he tried again, and after a few moments, the door opened to reveal Taliyah, who glared once she caught sight of him.

“What do you want?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Is she here? I need to talk to her,” Sett said, urgency bleeding into his voice.

Taliyah sighed, stepping outside and closing the door behind her. “You’re lucky I’m even talking to you after this. You don’t deserve to talk to her if that’s how you let your friends treat her.”

“They ain’t my friends,” Sett argued. “If I’d have known they were gonna pull that shit–”

A sly smile lifted the corner of Taliyah’s lips. “Good answer. If you had said anything else, then I’d be slamming the door in your face right about now.”

“Then can I–”

“Talk to her?” Taliyah interrupted. “Nope. Not a good idea.”

Sett’s face must have taken on a darker quality, because Taliyah retreated back a step, raising her hands in the air in mock surrender. “Relax, tough guy. I didn’t mean it like that. But she’s a little too upset to talk to you right now.”

The information only made Sett feel worse. He wanted so badly to talk to you, to do what he had wanted to do before this mess had happened and make you his girlfriend. You had never felt farther away than you did right now.

“Give me some time to calm her down. I can get her to be at the pier at seven, then the rest is up to you,” she said, levelling him with a stern look. “I know this wasn’t your fault. That’s the only reason I’m giving you a chance. She really likes you, so try not to make her feel any worse than she already does. Bye.”

And then Taliyah was gone, retreating back into the house and leaving Sett standing on the doorstep.

“Brought you some water,” Taliyah announced as she entered the room, glass in hand.

“Who was at the door?” you asked.

She shrugged. “Someone looking for my dad. Told them he’s not here.”

You nodded. It was probably too much to hope that it would be Sett. You winced as you thought his name. You hated how much you wanted to see him, someone who had used you to win some popular kid ugly date contest.

So it had all been a lie then? All the things he had told you about his life, his family? Every time he had kissed you, was he picturing kissing one of those girls instead? Is this really what popular people did for fun? You felt stupid for falling for it, for falling for him. You were so stupid.

With some prompting from Taliyah, you took a sip of the water. After she had made sure you had drank the whole glass, she sat down next to you, taking the glass from you and setting it down on the bedside table.

“I should have known,” you croaked.

“Known that popular girls are bitchy? Maybe,” she responded.

“That it was too good to be true,” you corrected.

“You’re acting like you’re eighty,” she scolded. “There are other guys out there. Ones who don’t have shitty friends.”

“Yeah, I know,” you replied. “But I really liked him. And I didn’t even get to pet his stupid fuzzy ears.”

“Well if you’re joking, then you must be doing okay,” she said. “How about we go do something to take your mind off of things?”

You frowned, and she rolled her eyes. “Not right this second. I’ll give you until six-thirty to get yourself ready to go.”

Taliyah got up off the bed and headed towards the door. “I’m not gonna let your night be ruined because of a couple of snobs.”

She closed the door, leaving you alone with your thoughts again. You laid back on the bed, intent on taking some time before you got ready to just veg out. As much as the notion of going out didn’t excite you right now, it was probably better than being a mopey mess all night. There would be other guys; it was just a shame that you had liked this one so much.

Two hours later, you were walking down the street with Taliyah. Your getting ready to go had consisted of washing your face of all the smeared makeup from your crying, brushing your hair into a semi-decent state and then watching dumb cat videos on your phone until you felt like you didn’t want to crawl in a hole and die.

Taliyah had assured you that you didn’t look bad, which you might have believed if you hadn’t seen yourself in the mirror as you were leaving, but at this point you were beyond caring about how you looked right now.

Taliyah had refused to tell you where she was taking you, and so you were forced to follow her down the familiar path towards the beach, unsure of where it was you were being led. Part of you was worried that you might run into Sett, but then the more rational side of you took over; he was likely back at that pool, partying it up with those girls and lamenting that you had run off before he could win his ugly date prize. It was crazy to realize just how flawed your judgment had been.

You had expected to be walking onto the beach, as it was where you two usually spent most of your time, but Taliyah didn’t go to the parking lot, instead heading towards the rockier section of the beach. You hadn’t been over here before, only vaguely aware of the area as a prime fishing location, bait shops and the like lining the street across from this part of the beachfront.

She took you past the fishing spots, down to near the end of the beach, where there was a small pier that went about thirty feet out into the sea. Like most of the beach at this time on a weekday, the pier was empty, most of the fishermen also having headed out with their day’s catches.

Taliyah led you down the pier to the small bench at the end of it, pushing you to sit down. When she didn’t do the same, you looked up at her, confused.

“I’ll be right back,” she said. “I’m gonna go grab something to help cheer you up. You just enjoy the view for a bit.”

You decided to follow her advice, staring out at the water. There wasn’t much to see other than some boats in the far distance and some buoys bobbing in the water that marked the swimming section from the boating section.

It was kind of nice in a way, the calm waters helping you to relax as you watched the waves roll in and out. You stayed like that for a while as you allowed yourself to zone out until you began to wonder how much time had passed. Pulling out your phone, you saw that it had been almost twenty minutes, and yet there was no sign of Taliyah as you looked around.

You had assumed that she went to get you two some food, which likely was still the case. Some of the places here tended to have rather large dinnertime crowds, so a twenty minute plus wait wasn’t exactly unusual. You had no idea where she had gone, so all you could do was wait. If she wasn’t back by seven, you would just text her and ask what was up.

You let yourself be taken in again by the rolling waves as you continued to wait, trying to recall what kinds of restaurants there were on the beachfront. It couldn’t be that fish and chips place; Taliyah had spent a full half hour last week complaining about how stale their food was. Or the taco place, since it had been closed for renovations for the past week. You had been trying to think of a third option when your concentration was broken by someone taking a seat next to you on the bench.

You looked over, expecting to see Taliyah back with some food, but instead nearly jolted off of the bench when next to you was the very man you were out here trying to forget.

Just seeing him when you were feeling so pathetic sent a jolt of you weren’t sure what up your spine, your flight instincts screaming at you as you made to stand up, only to be stopped by a firm grip on your wrist.

“I know you don’t wanna see my face right now,” Sett said. “But I can explain.”

“Explain what?” you replied meekly. “Those girls explained enough.”

“I haven’t,” he insisted. “Just listen for a minute. Then you can leave, or punch me, whatever you want.”

You took a look around, still not seeing Taliyah anywhere. You weren’t sure what he could have to say that would make much of a difference, but you sat back down, and he let go of your wrist.

You turned reluctantly to face Sett, waiting for him to talk first.

“Never told ‘em to do somethin’ like that,” he said gruffly. “Didn’t even know about it ‘til I got there and you weren’t there.”

“But they said…” you started, taking a breath to keep yourself calm as you prepared to recount the hurtful words. “They said you were only spending time with me so you could win their whole ugly date contest.”

Sett’s eyes narrowed, the skin of his knuckles tightening on his curling fists. “First I’ve heard of it. Ain’t no way you’d ever place in an ugly contest anyways.”

His words threw you. “Wait, so you don’t think I’m ugly?”

He snorted, a grin playing at his lips. “Well I was plannin’ on askin’ you to be my girlfriend after the party, so nah, I don’t think you’re ugly.”

“You–” you gasped, pulse skyrocketing. This was not how you expected this conversation to go. You were half convinced you were experiencing auditory hallucinations until Sett reached over, pulling you into his side.

“This is my fault,” he spoke lowly. “If I hadn’t been late, I’d have been there to stop that from happening.”

“What happened when you got there?” you asked quietly.

“Braum told me what happened, then those two tried tellin’ me they did it for my sake,” he growled. “I thought I was used to seein’ through bullies from how I grew up. Doesn’t matter now, they won’t be botherin’ you anymore unless they wanna find out why momma says I got her temper.”

“Why were you late anyways?” you asked.

He groaned, leaning his head back against the bench. Even with the sun mostly set, you could clearly see a pink tone to his cheeks.

“What is it?” you pressed, curious about why the intimidating lifeguard was suddenly being so shy.

He let out a long sigh, finally meeting your eyes. “Ma was doin’ my hair.”

You looked him over, realizing that his hair did seem to be tied differently today. The only thing that looked the same was his ears, just as fluffy as they always looked. You could almost hear Taliyah’s voice screaming in your head to pet them. Speaking of Taliyah…

“Taliyah!” you gasped, trying to extract yourself from Sett’s grip, but failing. If Taliyah was to come and see you here with the guy she had taken you out to forget about… “My friend, she’ll be back any second and–”

Sett laughed, and you were immediately left with the feeling that you were missing something.

“She ain’t comin’ back,” he said amusedly. “I’ve got you all to myself for the night… if that’s what you want.”

“Taliyah set me up?” you breathed, not having suspected a thing.

“I asked her to,” Sett explained. “Wasn’t about to let you go ‘cuz of some shallow assholes.”

Taliyah was much sneakier than you had given her credit for, you realized, but you couldn’t bring yourself to mind right now. Though that didn’t mean you weren’t hungry, your previous stress melting away and removing the only distraction from your empty stomach.

“So,” you hummed. “Are you still going to ask me to be your girlfriend?”

You still had no idea what would happen by the end of the summer, but you really wanted this. You wanted him.

“Yeah, was plannin’ on it.”

You had thought about it all the way back to Sett’s house. Was it really for the best to go back to your city when the summer was over? Back to your parents’ house to find an equally demanding and unfulfilling job?

The more you thought about it, the more you wanted to stay. Taliyah was here, Sett was here, and other than your brief nasty encounter at the pool earlier, this summer had been the best one you’d had in a long time.

Sett seemed intent on giving you more reasons to stay as he was on you pretty much as soon as you entered his house. You had been standing in the entryway, looking at a picture of what must have been Sett and his mother when he caught you off guard, picking you up from behind.

You yelped, turning your head back to face him just in time for him to dart forward to snatch a kiss.

“You’ll have time to look around later,” he said as he walked down the hall, nudging a door open with his shoulder and then taking you into what looked to be his bedroom.

Once again, you were scarcely granted a look around before Sett had overtaken your attention yet again. You were swiftly carried over and deposited on the bed, Sett eagerly caging your body down against the sheets with his own.

“I wanted to go slow,” he said against your ear. “Didn’t wanna mess things up. But that’s not what you want, is it?”

“No,” you gasped as he snaked a hand under your dress, and then under your swimsuit bottoms. “I… I want…”

“This?” he inquired, thumb brushing against your clit, causing you to jolt against him with a breathy moan. “Waited a long time to hear that.”

Seeking more room to work, Sett pulled back to reach down and pull down your swimsuit bottoms, tossing them to the side. You watched with reddening cheeks as he returned his attention to you, head disappearing under your dress next.

His first lick against your pussy felt back-archingly good, but you didn’t have a lot of room to move with Sett’s hands holding your lower half in place. His tongue felt slightly rough, bringing pricks of pleasure-pain along its path.

Closing your eyes tight, you tried not to squirm, but it was difficult as Sett’s tongue prodded inside you before moving back to sucking at your clit. It felt good, almost too good, but you found yourself wanting more than his mouth against you.

“Sett,” you moaned. “Please…”

You weren’t sure if he got the message until you reached down to grasp at one of his hands. He pulled back from you, wiping one forearm against the wet lower half of his face as he sat back. His position on his knees on the bed allowed you a good look at the decently-sized bulge in the front of his tight swim shorts.

Sett caught your eyes, reaching one hand down to cup his cock through his shorts. “All you, sweetheart. Still think I think you’re ugly?”

You somehow managed to shake your head, speechless from his ardent display of his body. Sett seemed to bask in just how speechless he had made you, a sexy grin overtaking his face as he stared down at you.

“Couldn’t ask for more than this,” he said. “But if you want more…”

He was such a tease. With a burning face, you relented.

“Could you just put it in me please?” you asked, too shy to make eye contact.

“Can do,” he replied, and you could easily hear the smug satisfaction in his voice.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sett stood up from the bed to pull his shorts off, wincing slightly when he pulled the tight fabric over his painfully-hard cock. Tossing the shorts to the floor, his attention quickly returned to you.

Giving his cock a few slow strokes, he watched you sit up on the bed. Feeling a burst in confidence from his display, you reached down to the hem of your dress’ skirt before pulling it up and off your body, Sett’s hungry gold eyes unable to look away from you as you moved onto your swimsuit top.

Once your top was off, Sett struck, pulling you towards him. Sitting at the edge of the bed, he pulled you onto his lap, reaching around to your front to cup your breasts as his mouth went straight to your neck. His hands were warm against the sensitive skin of your breasts, rolling your nipples under his thumbs as his teeth scraped against a sensitive spot on your neck.

You felt his hard cock under you and shifted yourself against it, Sett letting out a deep groan in response. You could feel how wet you were, but this wasn’t enough. You needed to fuck him, needed this building tension to come to a satisfying end for you both.

You turned in his lap, looping your arms around his neck and leaning down to kiss him. Sett was happy to meet tongues with you, one hand resting on your ass until you pulled back from the kiss.

You met eyes with Sett, who began to help you lift yourself up, lining up his cock with his other hand. When he brought you back down onto him, you both sighed as you were fully seated on his cock at last.

“Nothin’ else would feel as good as you,” Sett groaned as he began to help you move and up and then back down onto him. “Never wanted any girl as bad as I want you.”

You were much less coherent, moaning out his name as your hands grasped against his chest. With a further burst of confidence, you reached a hand up to his ear, running your fingers along the fur and enjoying the resulting groan, the next upward thrust of his hips hitting even better into you. Maybe you would leave this out at Taliyah’s interrogation later.

“There,” you moaned as he shifted you in his lap, his cock hitting even deeper inside you. “Right there, Sett.”

“You’re so tight,” he groaned, pulling you down into a rough kiss as he held you close, thrusting up into you as you eagerly moved along with him, needing to make this gorgeous man under you cum.

Sett came first, stilling for a moment before pulling you slightly back to put a finger to your clit, letting you cling to him as you followed him over the edge.

Once you had both come back down from the clouds, you were set back gently on the bed so Sett could run off to grab a cloth to clean you up with. You watched him leave the room, still having a hard time comprehending just how you had ended up this situation.

You definitely had some phone calls to make tomorrow. Your parents would be surprised, but you would probably focus on the Taliyah part rather than the new boyfriend part of your reasoning. Taliyah would be overjoyed for sure; you’d have to thank her for her meddling when you saw her.

As Sett returned, you realized something.

“Wait, is your mom home?” you asked in horror. You hadn’t made any effort to be quiet during sex, forgetting about his mother until he re-entered the room.

Sett laughed at your mortified face. “I don’t live with ma, so no.”

“Oh god,” you breathed in relief. “I was worried I was too…”

“She ain’t here,” he replied as he joined you on the bed, handing you the cloth he had grabbed. “You can be as loud as you want.”

You dropped the cloth, burying your head in your hands, Sett’s amused laughter ringing in your ears as you tried to content with just what you had signed yourself up for.

#xreader #readerinsert #league of legends #league of legends x reader #lol x reader #league of legends sett #sett #pool party sett #sett x reader #smut #pool party sett x reader

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pies-writes-and-more · 3 years

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the first time saying I love you p. 2

Warnings: nothing! Maybe some swearing but all fluff!

Characters: Iwaizumi Hajime, Oikawa Toru, & Tsukishima Kei, all with a Fem!Reader

A/N: Thank you so much @livy384 for asking for a part 2 of this idea!!! I was so excited to see someone wanted to see more of one of my headcanons haha. So here you go lovely!! A big thank you as usual to my inspiration babies @thisnoodlewritesao3 and @satan-ruler-of-hells <3 Also I’m sorry I know Oikawa’s is shorter than the others but I’ve never written for him or thought about writing for him so i’m so very sorry if it sucks xD

pt. 1

Iwaizumi Hajime Who says it first: Neither of you

It was supposed to have been a really cute date - Iwaizumi had remembered you telling your friend that there was a market near by that you’ve always wanted to go visit, but never had anyone to go with. Naturally, Iwaizumi tucked that information in the back of his brain and planned.

It was a Saturday and Iwaizumi had somehow managed to get himself away from practice, making you smile wide when he asked if you wanted to spend the day together. You knew he felt a little bad lately, being so busy with volleyball, and as much as you never blamed him for it, you were happy to be spoiled with his presence. When he started walking you towards the market, your eyes went wide, looking at all the cute stalls that you wanted to visit and the items you wanted to check out.

“Iwa!” You grinned up at him, shaking his arm excitedly. “How did you know I wanted to go here?”

He just shrugged and gave you a smile, patting your head gently, “Let’s find some cute things for my cute girlfriend hm?” You beamed and happily took his hand, the two of you going around to each stall.

There was too much to look at honestly and you wanted nothing more than to carry bundles of everything home. Iwa managed to sneak away from you for a second while you talked to a stall owner, picking out a necklace for you and holding it close to his chest for a moment, just thinking of you. Meanwhile, you managed to find a beautiful lucky charm to give him for his next game. He never really needed it but you always liked the gesture of being the one to give it to him anyways.

It was a perfect date so far.

And then Oikawa showed up.

“Iwa!” He grinned, waving from afar. You laughed, realizing that Oikawa had most likely followed you guys here. You never minded him tagging along on your dates (though the girls that followed him were sometimes a bit extreme), but Iwaizumi on the other hand... never seemed too happy to see his best friend.

Iwaizumi groaned loudly, annoyed at himself for casually mentioning that he’d be bringing you here this weekend, “Why are you here?” He grumbled, glaring at his friend as he made his way over.

Oikawa just pouted, “I just wanted to make sure you were being nice to Y/N!”

“When am I ever mean to Y/N?”

“I dunno, but you’re mean to me and I’m your best friend so I just assumed it was how you show affection,” Oikawa chuckled and gave you a wave, “Are you two having fun?”

You nodded and glanced around at all the other stalls you still wanted to visit, “There’s so much to look at! Are you looking to get anything, Oikawa?”

The boy just smiled and looked around, “I dunno, I’ll have to look around some! What did you two get?” He asked, nodding at the little bags and packages you were holding.

“Oh! I found this cute little decoration for my parents’ kitchen,” you explain, showing off some of the little knickknacks you found. “I wanted to find some sort of accessory for myself. Maybe like a barrette or a bracelet,” you admitted, eyes drifting away again as if you would be able to find something from where you were standing.

“Like this?” Oikawa asked, peeking into Iwaizumi’s bag and pulling out a little jewlery box, opening it to see the necklace that Iwaizumi had bought you.

“You asshole! Give that back!” Iwaizumi’s eyes went wide, realizing he had had his eyes locked on you the whole time you were talking because you were just so cute, he hadn’t even noticed Oikawa practically pickpocketing him.

Oikawa’s bottom lip just stuck out again, huffing and holding the item farther away from his best friend, “Why are you so mean? If you bought it for her, shouldn’t you give it to her? What, were you just going to let her buy something else for herself and waste her money?”

Iwaizumi’s whole face was red. He didn’t want to yell out his whole plan to the market, let alone to Oikawa when you were standing right there, laughing at the whole encounter.

“Stop being so shy, Iwa,” Oikawa cooed, smiling as he looked at you, “I’m sure she thinks it’s really cute that you buy her things to show her you love her!”

“Shittykawa, please shut the hell up,” Iwaizumi glared at his friend, still trying to grab the box away from him.

“Aw don’t put words in his mouth, Oikawa,” you giggled, smiling up at your boyfriend and his friend, “I think he just does it cause he’s sweet.”

Oikawa noticed the way you were so quick to dismiss his words, glancing between you and Iwaizumi, completely confused, “What do you mean?”

“Oikawa, I swear to god, please go before I kill you,” Iwaizumi was practically clawing his hands up to Oikawa’s neck, his whole body feeling flustered.

“Iwaizumi, did you tell her you didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of your friends? It’s okay! She can know I know! It’s not like you don’t talk about it all the time.”

“Talk about what?” You asked, growing more confused as the conversation went on.

“About how much he loves you! He talks about it all the time with the team!” Oikawa beamed, finally letting Iwaizumi grab the jewelry box from his hands.

Your eyes go wide, looking over at Iwaizumi, who seemed suddenly very concerned over kicking some dust on the ground. His whole face was red, eyes looking literally anywhere but at you.

“You love me?” You squeaked out nervously.

“No! I-I mean, yes but- hang on,” your boyfriend groaned. He had the whole thing planned out, he had wanted to tell you a whole speech about how much he loved you and now that whole plan was absolutely ruined.

Oikawa’s body froze as he watched the two of you, sheepishly laughing, “Oh... I spoiled it didn’t I? That’s what the necklace was for hm?”

“Shittykawa, if one more word leaves your lips-” Iwaizumi huffed, punching his arm with an annoyed look on his face.

“I’m sorry, Iwa! I didn’t mean to spoil your first love confession! But honestly, I’m such a big part of your life, maybe it’s better this way-” Oikawa grinned, obviously trying to lift up some of the tension.

“I’m going to count to three, and if you’re not gone by the end of it, I will literally bury you alive.” There was something different about this death threat, a growl in Iwaizumi’s throat building with his anger.

Oikawa’s smile tensed and he just turned to you with a little wave, “I suddenly remembered I have to be literally anywhere else but here. Have a nice date! Please convince him not to kill me!”

You had never seen Oikawa dash away so quickly, his figure gone almost immediately after waving goodbye.

Iwaizumi seemed so angry, all you could was offer a small smile, “You okay?” You asked softly, touching his arm gently.

He seemed to relax a bit at your touch, sighing and just turning to look at you, “Yeah. Please don’t listen to anything he says. He’s literally an idiot.”

You smiled shyly, rocking on your heels awkwardly, “So... you don’t love me then?”

Iwaizumi’s eyes widened immediately, shaking his hands in front of him quickly in denial, “N-No. I mean. Yes. Just don’t listen to him. But yes, I love you.” He hesitated for a moment, seeming to watch your eyes. “Unless you don’t love me back, then we can just pretend none of this happened,” he mumbled shyly, rubbing the back of his head.

You couldn’t help but giggle, pushing his arm playfully, “You idiot. Of course I love you.”

He blinked in surprise, staring at your face and trying to make sure you weren’t just joking with him, “Oh. Well in that case, this is for you.” He handed you the small box holding the necklace, watching as you open it to find a small pendant of your favourite animal. “The heart ones just seemed so cheesy,” he admitted with a shrug. “But I hope you think of me whenever you wear it.”

Your heart literally grew three sizes, this boy was being so cute and sweet. You nodded up at him happily, still admiring your new necklace, which was exactly what you had hoped to find at the market, “I will.”

He whispered another “I love you” to you as he helped clasp the necklace behind your neck, pressing a kiss to your cheek from behind and sending a tingle down your spine.

He said “I love you” to you every hour after that - if his surprise was going to be spoiled, he was going to spoil you with those words over and over again, never wanting you to forget how he feels about you.

Oikawa Toru Who says it first: You

Oikawa was literally the worst person to study with - he was always so distracting. How could someone who barely looks at his notes during your study dates be in Class 6? He was always busy with volleyball anyways, so how was it possible that he had any other time to do work?

“Hurry up and finish your work so we can go do something fun,” Oikawa hummed with a smirk on his face, having already finished his homework. He refused to let you look at his answers, or even help you, because “how are you supposed to learn, Y/N?” Smug ass look on his face how rude. “I might just have to go on some adventure on my own while I wait for you to finally finish.”

You just roll your eyes and mumble something about hating him making him laugh.

“Aww, is someone pouting?” He teased, ruffling up your hair happily. “I’m sorry, baby, I just love looking at your cute concentration face!”

You rolled your eyes, glaring at him playfully, “You’re refusing to help me because you want to look at my face? Take a picture why don’t you.”

“I already have,” he beamed, showing you the new background for his phone. You did not look the least bit attractive in your opinion, but Oikawa was smiling so happily at the photo, how could you argue?

“You’re an idiot,” you mumble with a huff, scribbling a half-assed answer on your sheet of paper.

“Aw come on, Y/N,” Oikawa smirked, sliding closer to you and tilting your chin up with a singular finger so you were forced to look him in the eyes. “You know you love me,” he teased in that fake sultry voice of his.

Normally, you’d just get a bit flustered - there was just something about those bedroom eyes of his eyes that made you squirm. But here, just sitting here with him and realizing that even when he took ugly pictures of you, this perfect pretty boy still wanted to be with you... you realized there wasn’t a single person you’d rather be with right now. Or ever.

“Ya you’re right,” you smiled up at him, pulling away from his teasing look and turning back to your homework. “I do love you.”

The expression on his face was probably photo worthy and later, you’d wish you had snapped a picture of it. The utter shock was enough to send all the blood flying out of his face, a nosebleed soon ensuing.

“Oikawa! Are you okay?” You asked with wide eyes, rushing to get tissues.

“F-Fine! I’m fine!” The fact that all the blood was rushing to his rosy cheeks probably wasn’t helping his nosebleed, only making it flow faster.

The two of you laughed when his bleeding was under control, Oikawa blushing enough to look like a marker colour, “You can’t just say stuff like that to a guy, Y/N! That’s so mean! Teasing me like that.” He pouted, crossing his arms like a child.

You tilted your head slightly, watching him for a moment before saying, “Teasing? What do you mean? I meant it, Oikawa, you idiot.”

His eyes would just widen and suddenly homework wasn’t all that important anymore.

“Oikawa! it’s due this week!” You insisted as he dragged you out of the house, your hand firmly held in his.

“Too bad! We’re going for ice cream!” He declared with a grin. “Oh and Y/N?”

“Hm?”

“I love you too. Idiot.” His smile was as wide as ever but there was a genuine love in his eyes as he looked at you, soon leaning down to press a kiss to your cheek.

But don’t worry, later he’d help you with your homework. As long as you said “I love you” to him one more time.

Tsukishima Who says it first: Him

Tsukishima says he loves you in actions more than he does words at first, throwing you snacks that he carries with him specifically for you, when he notices you getting hungry. He’ll bring an extra hoodie or wear one when he knows he’ll get too warm for it, because he knows you like to be comfy and warm. He offers to come over and study with you when you’re getting nervous over a test, holds your hand and squeezes it gently if he notices you getting anxious over something, and he walks you to and from home every day.

He loves you. And even though you can feel it through his actions, you weren’t quite sure if he was ready to hear that you loved him too.

Honestly, you would’ve been fine just going about your relationship the way that it was. But of course, what good would having upperclassmen in his volleyball team be if they didn’t annoy the shit out of him and talk about your relationship?

Tanaka had been going on and on in the club room about how badly he wanted a girlfriend, pouting to himself because he was still unsure of how Tsukishima, a salty brat, managed to get a cute girlfriend like you before he did.

“God it must be so nice to have someone to hug and hold hands with and tell them ‘I love you’ every five seconds! If I had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t let her leave my presence until she knew how much I loved her!” Tanaka was saying, Noya nodding aggressively in agreement.

Tsukishima’s ears perked hearing this, pulling his gym shirt over his head as he got ready to head home for the night.

“How did you do it, Tsukishima?” Noya asked randomly, a grin on his face. “I bet you’re secretly super romantic aren’t you? You got her flowers and chocolates and stuff huh?”

“How did I do what?” Tsukishima asked flatly, glancing back at them. The second years shared a look and then looked back at him, both tilting their heads simultaneously.

“How did you first tell Y/N you loved her,” Tanaka explained, his eyes narrowing as he watched Tsukishima’s eyes move away from them. “Wait a minute, you haven’t told her yet?”

“Tsukishima! You asshole! Don’t you know how lucky you are to have such a cute girl on your arm? Always doing cute things for you like that time she made you a bento box? Or when she comes to our games and always cheers the loudest for us?” Noya’s yelling was soon turning into a tearful whine, still upset that he didn’t have these things that Tsukishima did.

The blond boy just tried to turn away, packing up his things as his upperclassmen moaned.

“Tanaka, Noya, leave the boy alone,” Sugawara scolded. “I’m sure Tsukishima’s going to tell her on his own time! Aren’t you, Tsukishima?” His voice was so sweet, as if he was only trying to help him out, but Sugawara’s eyes told a different story - one where he was really trying to pry an answer from the first year.

All eyes were on him once again and Tsukishima was silently wishing he had left earlier without getting dressed. The question loomed over the club room like a raincloud, pressure on Tsukishima’s answer building the more the silence lasted.

“Sure,” he answered finally before leaving the room, shifting his bag on his shoulder slightly. He hadn’t really thought about it before. Why hadn’t he told you yet? He knew he loved you, it’s not like he was an idiot in denial over it. He had spent a good year in denial but he wouldn’t admit it. He knew he loved you but why hadn’t he said anything yet?

The idea of telling you made his whole face feel hot but why? It’s not like he hadn’t sent you songs about love, or watched those sappy romantic movies with you and thought about you the whole time. So why hadn’t he said it? It was just three words after all, wasn’t it? Three little words.

There you were, waiting for him again outside of the gym. You had that cute little smile on your face that you always had whenever you caught his eye. He loved that smile.

“Ready?” You asked happily, him holding out his arm for you slightly and you link yours with it and just look up at him with those gorgeous eyes. He loved your eyes.

“How was practice?” You asked as the two of you walked and he told you all about how annoying Hinata and Kageyama was, you always laughing when he expressed his annoyance. He loved your laugh.

At some point while you two were walking home, Tsukishima felt himself stop. He could feel Tanaka and Noya’s words starting to get to him, an uneasy feeling in his stomach making him feel... different. He knew if he didn’t say it now, he never would.

“Tsukishima?” You blinked up at him, noting the way he stopped so abruptly. “Are you okay?”

He took a breath - if you were going to reject him, that would be fine. Everything would be fine. No it wouldn’t, he heard that little voice in his head say. What the hell would we do without you?

Despite his conflicting thoughts on the matter, Tsukishima pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to silence them as he managed to get out weakly, “I love you, Y/N.”

You just stood there for what felt like forever. Why weren’t you saying anything? His heart fell a little as you just stared at him, your face not betraying any of your emotions.

“What?” You squeaked.

He sighed frustratedly, unsure if you were trying to give him a way to go back on his words, or if you were really this deaf. “I love you,” he repeated himself, his voice louder and firmer this time. If he was going to get rejected, it wouldn’t be because he backed down. He would make sure of it.

But soon your lips were curling into that smile that he loved, your eyes were sparkling up at him, and a giggle fell from your lips, “I-I love you too, Tsukishima!” You beamed, hopping a little where you stood in excitement.

He couldn’t hide how happy that made him. His lips turned into a smile and he reached up to pat your head, his arm wrapping around your shoulders, “Alright, stop looking at me like. It’s late, we should get you home,” he told you, scolding you as if you had been the one to stop first.

But it didn’t matter. Because Tsukishima Kei said he loved you and those were the last three words you had ever expected him to say, even though you had felt the same all this time.

For the first time ever, Tsukishima actually took the advice of his upperclassmen and made it his promise to himself that he would never let you leave his sight without telling you “I love you”, even if it had to be over text because he wasn’t quite ready to say it in front of everyone else yet. But he would tell you over and over again, because even when he was annoyed at you or in a bad mood, Tsukishima loved you and he didn’t ever want you to think otherwise.

Haikyuu taglist (let me know if you’d like to be added!)

@scphiredrafts @aurumk @devilkittymusic @thisnoodlewritesao3 @satan-ruler-of-hells @trashy-simp @jeppiet @lucyheartfilias-wife @darkvadeeer @haikyuutothetop @wolfishwriting

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slashingdisneypasta · 3 years

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Gotham Villains x Hotel Owner!Reader || Headcanons

Explanation / Topic: You run one of the cities dingy hotels except this one, in all of its glory, is only ever visited by bad guys. Your hotel is well known as the place rogues hide away in when they're planning or they're just out of action for a while because you refuse to give up information to the police no matter what (Its proprietor-client confidentiality! Ha ha) and you're treat them fairly (Although- on the kinder side of course)

These are the many ways they show their gratitude, no matter how small.

Character involved: Most, if not all, of Fox Gotham's rogues. Except Ra's Al Ghul because he bores me. Nevertheless, not just the Legion Horrible's like the picture might lead you to believe- that's just the picture with the most villains that I could think of.

Warnings: Probably too much fluff. I'll make a sequel to this with the less-then-pretty, nitty grotty details of this hotel too probably XD

Barbara likes to invest every now and then, "Just making sure my affairs are in order baby- gotta make sure my hidey hole's still there when I need it." but she always adds a little something for you to buy yourself 'something pretty' (Since your style is SO plain, according to her but then again who isn't plain compared to her XD). This little something is always upwards of a hundred dollars. She's such a sugar mommy you cant convince me that she isn't-

Butch (Or Cyrus Gold, or Grundy. he has too many names) has made it clear that if you ever need help, you can always call him and he'll be there. Very gangsta about it. He's such a big, tough guy but such a softy on the inside XD When he had Grundy brain, he still had some kind of tracker in his mind like dogs do that took him 'home' (To your hotel), dragging Ed along with him. He gave you a big, bone crushing hug when he got there.

Dr Strange is not allowed in as he'll steal your guests and experiment on them.

You don't know Ecco too well yet and vice versa but when she turned up with Jeremiah and Jervis- you definitely appreciated her presence more then that of Jeremiah's. You were still sore over Jerome and didn't trust this new brother. Still, you complimented the bullet in Ecco's skull, saying it was pretty cool, and now she loves you XD When she's in the neighbourhood she occasionally likes to pop in and say hello; Spread a little chaos, you know the deal.

Honestly you probably new Bridgit long before Strange forcing upon her the heat resistance thing and her becoming Firefly. She of course didn't remember you but soon *warmed* up to you after you gave her one of the few rooms with a fireplace and easily forgave her when she accidentally set the couch in her room on fire (I mean its for sure not the worst thing that has happened within these walls- no worries). She has been known to go around lighting the fireplaces for you under the pretence of having fun (Which is true) but also so that you can worry about one less thing. Firefly is also one to come chat with you if she's bored.

Fish Mooney obviously doesn't stay with you very often at all, because this lady can find better dwellings (As, no offense but your hotel is kiiiiinda dingy. What can you do about it, though? You house rogues and a lot of them don't have a lotta money) but she still absolutely appreciates what you do. She'll send bad guys that she does business with that have deeper pockets then your usual client, your way. She's also kind to you, which to me is even better honestly haha XD

Headhunter stays with you a lot when he's on business and often reminds you that you get a discount from him if you require his services. Hey, you keep him in milkshakes! He's gotta repay you somehow.

Okay, the twins. You knew Jerome first and got off to a bad start with Jeremiah due to that. Still, we aren't talking about relationships; We're talking about nice things. So moving on. Just assume that you warm up to the brainier twin.

These two are hard XD Cuz their 'good' and 'bad' sides kinda blur together as they're so unpredictable and don't really care about anyone.

Still, I can see Jerome being pretty light with you and valuing the fact that you can keep up with his banter- so he keeps you alive. You're basically his mother actually, despite the possible lack of age difference. Like, he wants to show you stuff he does and tell you about chaos he's created.

And Jeremiah honestly appreciates that you'll listen to his long speeches (You've gotten pretty good at just sitting and nodding your head and you've perfected the art of the well placed understanding noises like 'Hmm' and 'Ah!' and 'Oh dear' in your line of work)- so obviously, you're invaluable to him. Must keep you around. I mean, Ecco listens, but does she really understand? That is the question.

When he's around, Jervis is very polite and gracious. He'll duck into the kitchens after dinner and start helping you with the dishes and clear dining tables, he'll ask you how you are and mean it (Like, he'll stand there and discuss it with you), he'll try to keep Jerome from barging into your room in the early hours of the morning, etc. Just nice things like that ^^

Magpie tries not to steal from you... Haha XD Like, she'll pick up a pretty clock off a mantle piece and then go to leave with it... then realise that this is yours and go 'Oops!!' and put it back, giggling nervously.

... When she leaves you still find various items from other places in the hotel, in her room, but still. The fact that she tries is enough!

Mr Freeze is a pleasure to have around, of course!! He's quiet, he nods to you when he passes, and he's there to freeze assholes that harass you (And then take them outside so they don't melt all over your carpet). A respectful dude. He has frozen Jerome multiple times... particularly when Jervis has been unsuccessful in persuading him not to wake you up at 3 in the morning.

Ivy gets so happy whenever she sees you. Lots of hugs and telling you all about how she's been. Her energy is enough to cheer you up, and on your birthdays she always brings you a new plant that has meaning to her. Like, a sunflower for how kind you are, a Ficus for abundance, etc. Always in a pot of course, never dead. So of course, you have to take care of them but its a small price to pay for the sweetness ^^ And the not being murdered thing.

Like Mooney and Barbara, Oswald doesn't stay often due to having that mansion from his father but he remembers your kindness from when he would fall on hard times before that (And after the fact, too of course) and whenever he's making some kind of mafia deal he always ensures your and your hotels safety in the contract.

Pyg / Lazlo (I cant decide which name I like best XD) is just very polite, like Jervis. Gentlemen. Also his impressions- God. Have fun with that. He might just do your favourite Looney Tune character if he's in a good mood.

With Ed... look, if you even try with his riddles without being prompted, he'll do anything for you. It's well documented. I'm not sur about nice deeds, cuz Riddler's kind of a dick, but he'll for sure send you a birthday card every year! Christmas probably too ^^

Scarecrow: I will not spray you today. You: Gee thanks. // No but seriously, he's quiet about his gratitude but he is definitely once of the good ones ^^ Would absolutely take it upon himself to come save your ass if you got abducted.

Tabitha... well, you know how Headhunter will you get a discount if you want someone killed? Tabitha will do it for fucking free.

Hey, if you feed Victor (Zsasz), you have a friend for life. He will bring pizza and just hang out together. He is also willing to murder someone for you.

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greetings-and-salutations · 2 years

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12 Days til Christmas - Hogwarts EDITION

Hi! I'm so excited to do this because I'm terrible at deadlines, but recently I've been feeling inspired, so I am intent on reaching this goal!

And, you know, spreading some holiday cheer with some of your favorite Harry Potter characters. XD

So, please, ENJOY!

(and come back every day until christmas for more!!!)

(Gif not mine)

Day 12: “I Want to Love You” - Draco Malfoy

(Y/n) gets more than she bargained for when her parents force her to attend a Christmas Party at Malfoy Manor… (arranged marriage)

Day 11: “Kiss Me” - Fred Weasley

(Y/n) gets caught under the mistletoe at the Weasley Twins’s Christmas Party…

Day 10: “Hogwarts for Christmas” - Remus Lupin

When (Y/n) received a letter stating that she must stay at school for the holidays, she thought it would be the worst Christmas of her life, until a certain werewolf makes it his mission to make it perfect…

Day 9: “Hush, The Movie’s Starting” - Ron Weasley

Inviting her boyfriend over to watch Christmas movies doesn’t seem like it would be such an ordeal to (Y/n). But, Ron Weasley can be very dramatic…

Day 8: “I Blame You” - Sirius Black

When decorating for Christmas the Muggle way goes wrong, James, Sirius, and (Y/n) gain a memorable holiday that they won’t soon forget…

Day 7: “It’s Really Coming Down Out There” - George Weasley

A holiday get away goes horribly wrong when a raging snow storm traps George and (Y/n) in a log cabin in the mountains.

Day 6: “Christmas With You” - Draco Malfoy

Draco’s nervous to spend the holiday break alone for the first time, but, quite possibly, more nervous when he decides to invite (Y/n)…

Day 5: “Look How Happy He Is.” - Fred Weasley

In response to his mother’s relentless nagging him to get a girlfriend, Fred and his best friend, (Y/n), hatch a plan to trick her into thinking they’re together. Of course, fake dating is much easier when both parties are already in love with one another. (fake dating)

Day 4: “Merry Christmas?” - Ron Weasley

(Y/n)’s been invited to spend Christmas with the Weasleys. What could go wrong?

Day 3: “You Should Be So Lucky!” - Part 1 - Sirius Black

(Y/n)’s seventeenth birthday is coming up, and by extension her mark. She’d be more excited though if she wasn’t spending the special day all alone at Hogwarts. Well, alone, with the Marauders… (soulmate au)

CHRISTMAS EVE: “Until I Have To Go” - Remus Lupin

Remus wishes things could be different when his time of the month rolls around on Christmas Eve…

CHRISTMAS: “I’m an Idiot” - George Weasley

Finding a date for the Yule Ball is hard enough without all the drama that comes with being in love with your best friend, George Weasley…

Tags: @electriclcvewp @dracoismydramaqueen @sadlittleghosty

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queen-yalo · 3 years

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FFXV | Headcanons | S/O getting hurt during a battle

Request: Okay then 😌 May I request HCs of the chocobros (separated) with a S/O that gets really hurt in battle? Like, almost dead xD Ohhhh and for extra angsty points, they argued before the battle 👀🔥 Pfff I forgot, with a fluffy ending in the end, like you wanted 😅💕 [by @kirahhhh]

A/N: This is the stuff I need!! ♥ Hope you enjoy!

Pairing(s): Gladiolus Amicitia x reader; Ignis Scientia x reader; Noctis Lucis Caelum x reader; Prompto Argentum x reader

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• Gladio could be an ass sometimes, no doubt about that. You always knew he was protective and slightly on the jealous side... but sometimes it just got ridiculous and constricting. You couldn’t take this anymore. While you didn’t want to break up with him, something needed to change. So, you tried talking to him about it. Of course he would dodge all your attempts to talk this out with him. He would never admit that he was jealous. Or that this jealousy was just so intense because he was SO afraid to lose you. He felt so stupid for being insecure like that. But he couldn’t help it.

• So naturally, you two ended up fighting. And fighting with Gladio was never pretty. You two would yell and scream at each other, throwing around insults and finally going over to ignoring each other. It was always a hell of a mess until you two would sit down and actually talk it out, which would usually happen the next day. In the end you could never go long without each other.

• Until that one day where stuff went down before you two could make up. What was supposed to be a normal hunt, nothing extraordinary, ended up being a fight for life and death. Who could have known that a damn Behemoth would lurk in the forests? Gladio could punch himself for not checking beforehand. At least all of you got out of the fight alive. More or less as he had to admit when he saw the huge gash along your side where the Behemoth got you with his horns.

• Gladio hated himself. Why did he say all those awful things to you? How could he ever let that happen? Why didn’t he protect you? You deserved so much better than him. What if those words were the last thing he ever said to you? What if he couldn’t apologize and make things right? Could he live with that kind of guilt for the rest of his life?

• He stayed at your side until you finally woke up. He was a mess. He actually tried to break up with you. Gladio was ready to let you go - to protect you. From himself and this lifestyle. But you wouldn’t let him. It took some time but in the end you convinced him that this is what you wanted. All you were asking for was a little more reason and communication when things didn’t go well between the two of you. Gladio was more than ready to work on that. You both were. It goes without saying that you both never had a fight like that anymore.

• Ignis spent a lot of time at the Citadel. It was frustrating sometimes. You always seemed to be on second place. Of course you knew that his jobwas important. But sometimes... just sometimes you wished you would feel equally important for him. It was almost impossible to really fight with Ignis. He could stay incredibly calm, even in the most stressful situations. Arguments or fights were no exceptions. But even Ignis had his limits. And when he felt like he was about to snap he “officially” ended the discussion and would simply ignore you if you tried to bring that topic up again.

• But there was one time where Specs just... exploded. Not in public of course, but once you two were in the private of your own home. You went out with a friend of yours. A male friend to be precise. On a night that was usually reserved for you and Ignis - but he was working. Naturally you didn’t see a problem with spending that now free time however you wanted. If Ignis could turn you down for work, you could go out with someone else, right? It’s not like this was a date or something. Just two friends having coffee.

• But Ignis was livid. You had never seen him like this before. He was yelling and swearing... and at one point you just walked out. You wouldn’t let him talk to you like that, nor would you get down on his level and talk back like that. How dare he? Treating you like property, pushing you away all the time only to act like he owns you when things don’t go his way?

• When you left, Ignis finally cooled down. This wasn’t fair. It wasn’t and he knew it. He knew he was acting irrational. But he couldn’t help it. He had been botteling up his emotions for too long. He wanted to spend time with you. He hated disappointing you by cancelling yet another date. He hated it. But alas - what could he do? He had a duty to fulfill. But then again... he didn’t want to let you down. He was scared to lose you, which is why he snapped when he saw you with your friend. He couldn’t stand the thought of being without you. The thought of you finding comfort in another man’s arms. No. He needed to talk to you. Now.

• Unfortunately... he was too late. You got involved in a fight just around the corner and were badly injured. Someone tried to rob a bank. Yes, you were able to stop the robber... but at what cost? Ignis was heartbroken when he stood next to your bed at the hospital, watching your unmoving form, being kept alive by those various tubes and machines. It was horrible. Would you ever wake up again? The doctors were unsure. Ignis knew you were strong... but... well maybe that was his punishment for being a disappointment.

• He was so relieved when your eyes fluttered open after countless, excruciating days. He half expected that you would tell him to leave as your eyes landed on him. But to his surprise you smiled at him. Weakly... but it was there. Ignis knew as well as you did, that this was neither the time nor the place to talk about what happened between you two. For now you were both glad you had each other again. Life wasn’t finish with both your stories yet.

• “Princes will be Princes.” Prompto once said. And when it came to this... there was no Prince like Noctis. He was a spoilt brat. And sometimes he acted like one too. And sometimes... that was driving you crazy. He could have the worst attitude if something happened that he didn’t like. It was ridiculous. Frustrating. Nerve-wrecking even. It was like he turned into a pouty 4-year-old. You couldn’t talk to him properly, let alone reason with him. All you could do was to accept his pouting and wait for it to go away... or do what he wants to make him happy again.

• You were so sick of it. Sick of that man-child always getting his way. Sick of always having to act like you were okay with his tantrums. And one night, you had enough. You snapped. Yelled at him. Called him out on his ridiculous behavior. And what did he do? He yelled back. It wasn’t pretty. You had never seen him like that. Did you go too far? No, it was about time somebody did something about his antics. Maybe snapping at him wasn’t the right way to behave. But him telling you that he didn’t need you and that you were annoying anyway, was definitely worse.

• You two had your occasional quarrels, but it never escalated into a fully blown fight like this. Neither of you knew how to deal with that, so you both did what you thought was best: Ignored each other until the other one would cave. Who would have thought, that a Granhorn would run you over before you two could sort things out?

• Yes, your head wasn’t fully in the game when the five of you went hunting - understandably. And the fact, that this Grandhorn was hidden, until the very moment it came out of the bushes and trampled you, didn’t make it any better. You instinctively curled in on yourself and wrapped your arms around your head, but you still took quite a bad beating. Bones were breaking, skin was tearing, and you felt all of it.

• Noctis panicked. This wasn’t supposed to happen. You weren’t supposed to get injured like this? How dare you? He yells at Ignis to do something, to fix you. He can’t stand the slight whimper that escapes your throat, it tears his heart apart. You shouldn’t suffer. Not mentally, not physically. And now you were suffering in both ways - just because of him and his incompetence to deal with his life. He wanted to slap himself. It was all his fault.

• Noctis refuses to leave your side once Ignis patched you up and tucked you into your sleeping bag at the camp. Night had already fallen, so driving back to Insomnia was much too dangerous. The men just hoped that you didn’t have any internal injuries and that you would make it through the night. Noctis felt helpless as he watched your unconscious form, your chest barely rising and falling. His hand stroked your hair gently as he made the decision to never let it come to a point like this anymore. He didn’t want to fight with you. He didn’t want you to hate him. He was determined to fix things as soon as you woke up. Until then, he would just sit there next to you and read you some of your favorite stories. That was the one thing he could do for you right now. After all, you loved listening to his voice.

• Fighting with Prompto was almost impossible. Almost. After all, he was a very soft individual and needed harmony at all costs - which is the reason he never talks back, even if he’s being pushed around. He never speaks up and he does everything to make everyone happy... without looking out for himself. Yes, it was great that he always wanted to maintain the peace and harmony within the group - but at what cost?

• You were trying to help him with his insecurities, supporting him whenever possible, teaching him to stand up for himself and his opinions. But when it came to it, Prompto always caved and took the easy way out of a confrontation by backing down. This happened one too many times now.

• Yes, you were angry. Yes, you yelled at him. Yes, you were a tiny bit unfair to him. And yes, it was unexpected that Prompto found his voice right in that moment. Of course you were glad, that he finally stood up for himself... you just wished it wouldn’t have been like this. It was ugly. You were screaming at each other, throwing around harsh words and nasty insults - neither of you deserved that.

• Prompto felt incredibly bad when you slammed the door shut as you left. He had such a bad conscience about lashing out at you like that. It wasn’t like him. What had gotten into him? Was it because it was a generally stressful time currently? Or was it because you were constantly trying to change him? He had to talk to you about that. He knew that you weren’t actually trying to change him, you wanted to help him. But maybe... just maybe it was a little too much. He needed to make things right with you. Now.

• He sprinted after you - but it was too late. The only thing he found was your unconscious, bleeding form in the middle of the street. Prompto was freaking out. What was he supposed to do? Get you to safety. Get you to a doctor. Find whoever did this. Thoughts were racing through his head. He tried to sort them, tried to find the right thing to do. But... he only came around when someone was calling for help and tending to your wounds.

• It had been the worst couple days of his life, until the doctors finally said that you would be alright. It was close. Too close. But you would make it. You would come back to him. Until then, he would sit right next to you and read your favorite stories to you and tell you about his day, how he finally managed to assert himself in a certain matter. He could have sworn that the corners of your lips twitched slightly when he told you that. Even when being in a state like this, you were still showing Prompto, that you were there for him. You truly were the best thing that ever happened to him.

#final fantasy xv #final fantasy 15 #final fantasy xv headcanons #final fantasy 15 headcanons #gladiolus amicitia #gladiolus x reader #gladiolus amicitia x reader #ignis scientia #ignis x reader #ignis scientia x reader #noctis lucis caelum #noctis x reader #noctis lucis caelum x reader #prompto argentum #prompto x reader #prompto argentum x reader

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