#all the new news about dark crisis is making me want to actually jump off a cliff it's so bad

[michaeljoncarter]

it really is starting to feel like every single person at dc has somehow just completely forgotten how storytelling works on a fundamental level. like i genuinely believe 99% of the problems they’re having could be solved if all the writers and the entire editorial staff was forced to take a middle school reading class

#eta since im p sure this is getting recced to people as just the first part: theres a longass addition in the notes lol #all the new news about dark crisis is making me want to actually jump off a cliff it's so bad #and ive been catching up on modern stuff and like #comparing marvel and dc rn is genuinely painful <3 #like i don't super love a lot of what marvel's putting out right now #but idk man #like marauders is probably my least favorite of what ive read in the past few weeks #but even in that everyone feels like a solid character with an actual personality and a history that's referenced #the way they're written is super annoying but you can at least tell the person who's writing them has actually bothered to read up on them #continuity is still a little messy but at least it... exists. and there's a canon to draw from instead of just 'everything is canon!' #u g h #im holding back a whole novella length tirade about this god god god

[btsgotjams27]

busted | jjk

Your husband comes home with a new gift and you’re not happy with it.

✨ title: busted | ✨ pairing: biker!jungkook x f!reader ✨ word count: 851 | ✨ rating: m/18+, minors dni ✨ genre/au: fluff, light smut (?) | parents, married ✨ warnings: language, jungkook is having a quarter-life crisis, mentions deceased parent (jungkook’s), they have two small children, jokes about cheating, kissing, groping, fingering, breeding kink(?), reader is turned on by jungkook’s outfit, allusions to sex ✨ a/n: i can't believe jungkook is giving us writers such good content. ily bby. i apologize to @bngtnbrat & @gguksflowers b/c i didn't give you what you actually wanted LOL. i got lazy and didn't want to write smut. don't hate me.

"And where did you come from?" you asked, eyeing your husband from head to toe. "And what are you wearing?"

Jungkook jumped back, doe eyes widened, clutching his chest when you turned on the entryway light. "Holy shit, babe–you scared me." He was dressed in black, not unusual for him - but it wasn't his everyday outfit. He donned a moto-style canvas jacket, skinny jeans, and boots.

You stood there with a deadpan expression, arms crossed, waiting for him to answer. You wanted to see how he'd get out of this one.

He looked at his outfit, confused about why you were fussing over it. He was trying to play it cool and keep his seventeen thousand dollar Harley Davidson purchase a secret. "Why aren't you asleep?" He deflected, evading your questions, and he would never hear the end of it now.

You took a step closer to him, squinting at the orange letters etched in his jacket. "Why does it say Harley Davidson on there?" You already knew what Jungkook was up to, but you needed him to verbalize it.

The low rumbling of a motorcycle could be heard from outside when you checked in on your baby boys. Wondering who the hell bought a bike in your neighborhood. Was it your obnoxious neighbor, Taehyung? Did he finally bite the bullet and make the purchase?

When you peeked through the blinds, a person on an all-black motorcycle was sitting in your driveway. Someone must be at the wrong house, you thought. They pulled off the matte black helmet, lightly ruffling their long, dark, wavy locks - revealing it was not a random stranger but your husband. 

Jungkook gently pushed himself off the bike and glanced at the darkened house in front of him. You quickly stepped away from the window, hoping he didn't see you. Your eyes fluttered shut for a moment, and a deep sigh escaped. You told yourself that you wouldn't blow up on him.

Jungkook shrugged. "Just a jacket I bought," he said casually, brushing past you and setting down his backpack.

"Huh--" You turned to him. "Where's your helmet?"

Busted.

He stopped dead in his tracks, beating himself up because you caught him red-handed. Jungkook slowly turned to face you, guilt written all over his face. He knew he couldn't lie anymore. Scratching his temple while dodging your gaze, he muttered, "It's hidden in the bushes."

Taehyung left for the weekend and forgot to give Jungkook the code to his garage. That's where he's been storing his new purchase.

When the two of you started dating, he expressed that owning a motorcycle was a dream of his, but with getting married and having two small children under the age of five - it became a pipe dream. A van was more plausible, not a motorcycle. So Jungkook never brought it up again until his mother passed away. Then there was endless talk about buying his dream bike because life was too short to not buy things that made you happy.

It's not that you didn't want him to have one, you wanted him to have everything he could ever want, but again, the two of you were responsible for little humans now.

"Is that why you've been going out late at night? To ride your bike? Thought you were cheating on me." You were relieved when you discovered it was a bike, not another woman.

He lightly chuckled, holding his arms out for you, bringing you flush against his chest. "I could never cheat on you, baby. You're the only one I want, the only one I'd want to carry my babies," he grinned, peering down at you.

"Kook–don't," you whined when he groped your fleshy cheeks under your oversized shirt. "The kids are sleeping." He was shameless, really, and wanted to fuck you anytime, anywhere.

Was this his way of apologizing for the bike? Fucking you into oblivion?

He connected his mouth to yours, letting his warm tongue find yours. He smiled when he pulled away, causing you to whimper. "Then you gotta be quiet, don't you?"

You broke away from his embrace, playfully hitting him in the chest. "We need to talk about this, you know?" you grumbled. "You're not gonna get away with this."

He chuckled, leaning in and trailing kisses across your jaw, tugging you closer into his frame. "Not gonna get away with what? My bike or you?"

You mewled when his hand found its way into your underwear, lightly touching your already sensitive bud. "Your... bike," you stuttered, eyes fluttering shut at his touch. Jungkook's never been shy regarding affection; he'd always give you hugs and kisses, even with the kids around.

"Can we talk about it later?" he asked, giving open-mouth kisses along your neck, gripping your waist, pressing you against his hardened length.

You had to admit, you liked him in this outfit. Who knew you'd be so turned on by a stupid motorcycle jacket and skinny jeans? God--you're easy.

Jungkook started removing his jacket, but your hands stopped him. "This--stays on." He flashed a shit-eating grin. "Everything stays on."

✨ next ~ busted again

#jungkook fanfic #jungkook fic #jungkook drabble #biker jungkook #bts fanfic #bts fic #jungkook x you #jungkook x reader #jungkook smut #jungkook scenario #jungkook imagine #jungkook #jeon jungkook #bts jungkook #jungkook fluff #jungkook x y/n

[melanieph321]

Ruben Dias/Trent Alexander Arnold x Reader - Dark Rivarly Part 4/15

Part 5 and 6 are already out on my Patreon for FREE!

Reader is Trent Alexander Arnold's twin sister. The two have been inseparable since childbirth, more so now when Reader is fresh out of university looking for a job, crashing at her brother's place whilst doing so. One day Reader gets a job offer that she cannot refuse, however it would mean working for her brother's biggest rival in football, Ruben Dias.

Enjoy!

"You want me to be your what?"

"Stylist." Ruben repeated.

The shop was supposed to be closed as the time was currently fifteen minutes past nine. But apparently Ruben had sent for you earlier that day, however there had been some miscommunication between him and his assistant, ultimately leading to Ruben returning to Grandma's shop, looking for you personally.

"I'll pay you twice as much as you're getting here." He said. Clueless to the fact that Grandma wasn't paying you at all, working you like a slave.

"But why me? I'm not a stylist." You asked, still shook from the way he had barged into the shop, surprising you in the dark.

"Look, I'm in a bit of a crisis. My stylist just quit on me." He explained.

"She did? Why?"

"He actually. And I guess I sort of fired him."

"Oh. And why is that?"

Ruben looked to his feet, hiding his blossoming cheeks. "Well, after my appearance at the award ceremony in Portugal the other day. People..." He coughed. "My teammates to be specific, started calling me the leprechaun of Manchester City."

"Hmm. I wonder why?" You smiled.

"I'll admit that going with the green suit wasn't the best fashion choice I've ever made." He nodded. At least he was able  to see the funny side of it. To you Ruben had initially come off as someone who couldn't take a joke. Like his assistant for example. "I should have listened to you when you tried to warn me. But that's why I'm here, to listen to you, as my new stylist."

"I see." You said, folding your arms. You began circling him like a shark. "Even though I have no experience?"

He shrugged. "You seem to have enough fashion sense."

"Right."

You were currently wearing blue jeans and a Levi's t-shirt, complemented with a pair of run down sneakers. Ruben must really be desperate for a new stylist. You wondered how you could use this in your favor.

"And you didn't freak out when I came into your store the other day. Most people would have begged for an autograph or a video of me giving a shout out to their business. You didn't ask me to do any of that."

"Right." You nodded. In the back of your head you were laughing. "So you need someone unafraid to tell you like it is. For example when you make horrendous fashion choices and so on?"

"Exactly." He nodded. "I need someone just like that. I've worked with so many people that call themselves professionals but just end up kissing up to me. It's money wasted on my side, since I get people kissing up to me for free every day."

"Alright big boy, enough about your complaints of being rich and famous."

Ruben frowned. "I wasn't complaining."

"No?" You looked at him skeptically.

The corner of his lips twitched. "Okay, maybe I was complaining a little."

You chuckled.

"So this job offer, what else does it include?"

"What do you mean?"

"Beyond my salary I mean. What are the other benefits?"

"Well, you get to come with me to all of my events, football games and such."

You rolled your eyes.

"What? You don't like football?

"It's not that, I've just had enough of it in my life."

"Because of your brother?"

"What?" Your heart jumped.

Ruben laughed at your startled reaction. "It's just that when you mentioned him. It just seemed like he is a very passionate Liverpool fan."

"Right, a fan." You chuckled. "I guess you can say that."

"Yeah, some people get like that. I say it's bad for the sport when people get too personal about it. At the end of the day it's just a game."

"Tell that to Grandma." You muttered.

"What?"

You perked up "Nothing! So when can I start?"

Ruben's face lit up. "I'll have my assistant send a car for you tomorrow. I need to shop for a new wardrobe after firing my former stylist. I can't trust to wear anything he's made me buy."

"Hold up." You paused. "You're shopping for a whole new wardrobe. Like entirely new clothes?"

Ruben nodded. "Even socks."

"Right. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"I'll see you tomorrow..." Ruben stepped up to you, offering his hand. "I didn't get your name."

Heat rose to your face. "It's Y/N. Y/N, Arnold."

"Nice to meet you Y/N Arnold, I'm Ruben Dias. Your new boss."

A thousand thoughts roamed through your mind, firstly how handsome Ruben looked up close. However you quickly shook that thought away. It was a dangerous thought. A thought that could lead to something messy. You wondered how Grandma would take it if you quit working at the shop. Technically you wouldn't need to quit, but you couldn't tell her that you were working for Ruben Dias, a Manchester City football player. What would your family say? What would Trent say?

Trent....

He would be outrageous. Betrayed to the bone, just like he betrayed you. The thought amused you, sincerely because it would be the ultimate revenge. The perfect revenge.

********************************************

"Look at her Ruben, she's too young, too inexperienced."

"She's perfect Miranda."

Less than twenty-four hours later, a car was sent to pick you up from your grandmother's address. You were taken to some obscure boutique in Manchester that was highly praised for their men's couture. Ruben named his budget and left you to it, whilst he and his assistant sat back discussing your arrangement as if you couldn't hear them.

"It's a gamble Ruben, if something goes wrong she'll...."

"It won't." He said sternly. You were surprised how much he was pushing to keep you, even though his assistant clearly thought otherwise. "Trust me, she's the right person for the job."

"I'll believe it when I see it." His assistant muttered. Just then you came baring a mountain of clothes.

"A little help." You groaned.

Ruben stood, unhanding you the many items. You had gone all out, picking out outfits for every occasion, casual and formal.

"I guess I better try these on." He said.

"Yes, and remember, black can never go with blue, nor red with white."

"Got it." He nodded and disappeared into the only dressing room in the shop.

"Ruben might think that this is a good idea, but I don't." Miranda, Ruben's assistant said.

You sat down next to her.

"Hiring a young girl like you to be his personal stylist can only end in heartache and I'm not talking about my heart or Ruben's."

You pondered her words and thought carefully how to respond. "I'm Y/N, by the way. I don't think we were probably introduced that day, you mistook me for my colleague Jennifer."

Ruben's assistant looked down at your outstretched hand as if you were offering her a shot of poison Ivy. Either way, she was too professional not to shake it. You startled her with your firm grip, making her meet your determined gaze. "I take it the term personal assistant, doesn't really require me to have a personal relationship with whom I'm working for. I'm only here to do my job and go home, no?"

His assistant searched your face, eyes narrowed. A sly smirk then twitched the corner of her lips. "That would mean a job well done, yes."

"Good." You let go of her hand. "Then we're both on the same page."

For you this arrangement was strictly business. Strictly revenge to be exact. There were no other strings attached.

"Yeah, this is what I'm talking about."

The curtains to the dressing room flung open and Ruben stepped out wearing a leather jacket, gray turtleneck and a pair of dark jeans that fit him a little too well.

"I like this look. Good job Y/N."

"Pleasure is all mine." You smiled.

His assistant stood. "Shall we take some pictures for your Instagram?" She pulled out a small camera out of her purse. A Canon camera to be exact, with the ultra lens. What seemed odd to you was perfectly normal to Ruben, who followed his assistant out of the shop and onto the streets. He began posing in front of the camera, leaning against a brick wall, whilst Miranda snapped a couple of shots.

"Are these for Ruben's Instagram?" You questioned.

"Yes." He answered, since Miranda ignored you. "People would love to see the outfit of the day, it's also the fastest way to get a response, see if you've done your job well." He winked.

You were still frowning. "Why aren't you smiling?" You asked.

"Huh?"

"In any of the photos. Why so serious?" Your words made him chuckle just as his assistant snapped a shot. Miranda groaned as she looked at her camera, examining the image.

"What? He looks good." You said, peering over her shoulders.

"He looks unprofessional." She said, "The brands that Ruben is working with won't want him beaming at the camera like a foolish boy."

"I bet the fans would love it." You said, to which Miranda turned to you with the nastiest of glares. Luckily Ruben appeared behind the both of you, his attention drawn to the image of him beaming like a foolish boy.

"Keep it." He said. "Y/N is right, the fans will love it."

You had the sudden urge to stick your tongue out at Miranda, however you managed to contain yourself, turning to Ruben and bowing your head with courtesy. The way he was looking at you, a stupidly boyish smile on his face, told you that doing your job was going to be harder than you thought. However it was all for one cause, to make Trent pay for what he had done.

#fanfiction #football imagine #ruben dias #man city #manchester city #footballer imagine #footballer x reader #ruben dias x reader #football angst #ruben dias imagine #trent alexander arnold x reader #trent alexander arnold #liverpool fc

[gin-juice-tonic]

Hey Gin this might be a silly thing to ask, but how did you realize you were trans? Cause ever since I saw your trans Stan and Ford I think I had some sort of relivation, it started with just really enjoying the art you drew to me feeling some sort of envy. Either that I want to dress more masculine or that I actually want to be a man, cause honestly when I look at your trans stans I just feel so much gender envy (jealousy?) And on my last period I had a whole crying fit over it starting, which has never happened before. I just don't know if this is actually what I'm feeling or if it isn't. I've had thoughts of telling my mom and fearing the consequence. This is just all so new and I'm honestly scared. I figured I'd ask you since I look up to you and from what I've seen you are quite wise. I don't really know why I have so much self doubt and constantly flip flop over things. It's frustrating, I just wish I could be certain about something for once. Sorry about this, I'm a mess really.

It’s not silly to ask. My answer is unfortunately a little silly, because I’m a goober. I also typed A LOT so its all going under a read more

So, I was 16 and on tumblr even more than I am now, and I was (still am) friends with a trans woman who reblogged a post that was like “Just trans girl things: eating dark chocolate because it has substances similar to estrogen” and I went “Haha i guess I should stop eating it.” followed by “…why do I feel that way” and THAT was followed by quite the crisis.

Trans men weren’t as well known about back then, so I was like “Well, it means nothing, since only women can be trans”. And then I found out men could be trans too and that pushed my crisis further along. And I started to think. About how I liked when people defaulted to male pronouns for me on the internet, or how when i was a kid I would use a crazy amount of shampoo to make my hair look short and flatten my chest in front of the mirror and look at it. Things like that. And I got upset because “no i can’t be trans that’s impossible”. I would google things like “how do you know if you’re trans”, “quiz to see if you’re trans”, ect.

But the idea of being seen as a man was exciting. It was tantalizingly exciting. And I knew it could be possibility for me someday, and I knew that made a part of me happy and I couldn’t un-know it.

Final straw was a nonbinary person I had been following made a post about how they were going to start taking testosterone. And instead of feeling happy for them I just got mad and started sobbing to myself. Because I was so extremely jealous. So jealousy absolutely has its place in figuring things out.

You should think. Think about attaining the things you’re envious about. Does this make you happy? It’s okay if it’s upsetting or scary at the same time. Change often is. But if it makes you happy, excites you, gives you hope for the future, it’s worth thinking more about.

-

You don’t have to jump into telling your mom right away (and I wouldn’t really recommend it till you’re a little more sure of yourself). You can go at whatever pace you want to. I didn’t tell my mom (or anyone in my real life at all) till I was like, 20. And I’d known for 4 years at that point. You’ve sent me a tumblr message, so I’m assuming you’ve got an account here. I’d say asking your friends on this website to address you as male would be a good way to ease into things. And you can see if you like that or not.

For how you dress, again, you can ease into it. Personally it made me happy to dress in athletic clothing (especially tank tops- to show off my non existent guns), or to dress like a greaser (Though I preferred a black t shirt to a white one), or a golfer. None of those things particularly scream ‘man’ but they were man enough to me. You can find things man enough for you. If you want to try out a binder and think you can get one without anyone noticing, my first ever one was a Tri-top from Underworks. They’re like $30 or so. I was able to get away with buying it because I was a cosplay nerd so I just said it was for that.

If you’re the type of person who owns makeup- you could try to find some time alone just to have an experiment of mimicking drag king makeup, or makeup for cosplayers doing male characters. I did that once early on, and while it looked admittedly goofy, it made me ecstatic at the time.

-

Er sorry for things getting so long. But I just want to say lastly that self doubt is both normal and okay. And thinking far in the future (ie- things like coming out to people or hormones or anything like that) might scare you. But you can take things one step at a time if you want to. Play with just looking at clothes, making outfits on pinterest or whatever, imagining scenarios where people address you as male, thinking of names you might like. See what makes you happy, and expand on the things that do from there.

And regardless of what you discover, in the end you will have learned more about yourself. And that's always a good thing.

#long post #VERY LONG IM SORRY #ask stuff

[whatsnewalycat]

Just Dumb Enough to Try

Chapter 5: We're Going to be Friends

Word Count: 3.2k

Pairing: Javier Peña x F!Reader

Rating: Explicit (18+ only)

Warnings: angst, swearing, smoking, alcohol use, pining, existential crisis, abandonment issues, mental health spiral, attempts at jokes, movie nerd shit, i just wanted to call javi a narc

Series Summary: In 1993, you met Javier Peña in San Antonio. You made an emotional and physical connection with him. Now it's 1998 and you're starting a new chapter of life in Laredo with your fiancé. And who else walks back into the picture, but the man who left you high and dry five years ago.

Chapter Summary: Our heroes go to on their first (unofficial) date.

Notes: Oops I projected too much onto this character and made myself sad. I'm still trying to figure out how to format all these notes/ summaries/ disclosures/ links in a way that doesn't make my eye twitch. If you have any ideas, or any general comments on the story, let me know!! Chapter title from "We're Going to be Friends" by the White Stripes. Spotify playlist for this chapter. Cross-posted to AO3 here (UN: glitter_diety). Update weekly on Sundays.

[ First Chapter ] [ Previous Chapter ]

151 Fir St N, Laredo, TX

June 3, 1998

You walk back and forth in front of the phone, arguing with yourself about whether or not you should see if Javier wants to go with you to your Wednesday movie.

Pro: Company. Aside from your excursion to the Pour House on Monday, you’ve essentially been alone. Dan worked late on Monday and Tuesday, and today he’s going straight to softball in San Antonio after work. You desperately needed to talk to another human.

Con: Movie selection. You want to see Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and you’re not ready or willing to negotiate that detail.

Pro: You like being around him. You two got off to a rocky start, but seeing him on Monday was really… nice. And you are actually looking forward to spending time with him.

Con: You like being around him. The crush you’ve always had is still lingering, which seems dangerous.

You shove that last thought to the back of your brain and quickly pick up the phone to dial the number he gave you on Monday. It rings twice before he picks up with a curt, “Yeah?”

“Hi, Javier. It’s your favorite Minnesotan,” you say, then cringe at your low-effort attempt at being cute.

“Hello, beautiful. How are you today?” His tone makes a 180 from the initial greeting.

Heat rises to your face because did he just call me beautiful?

“I-I’m just seeing if you have any plans for tonight. I’m going to see a movie… if you, um, want to come with,” you sputter.

“Are you asking me on a date?” he teases. Your heart leaps into your throat and you’re practically sweating, your face is so hot.

You throw your head back, “I swear to god, I will hang up right now.”

He laughs on the other end, “Yeah I’m free, let’s do it. I’ll pick you up?”

—

You jump up into the passenger’s seat of Javier’s dusty red pickup truck and slam the door closed behind you. Glancing over at him, you notice he’s wearing aviator sunglasses, a tan short sleeved button-up, and dark jeans. The radio is off, which you find curious. No radio?

“You live on a dirt road or something?” You question, fanning away the cloud of dust that puffs out of the upholstery when you sat down.

“That and I use this on the ranch all the time.” He shifts the truck into reverse and backs out of your driveway.

“Good thing I’m wearing all black.” You joke, trying in vain to brush your dress off. “How is that- working on a ranch?”

“It’s not exactly what I would have chosen for myself. But it’s something to do. I spend a lot of time working with my dad, which is nice, mostly.”

You admire that he has a good relationship with his dad. Chucho doesn’t look like the most approachable person, but he’s been very kind every time you’ve talked to him. Like father, like son, you suppose.

There’s no A/C in the truck so you roll your window down. Then you kick your feet up onto the dashboard to make yourself more comfortable as you watch the scenery go by your window. He doesn’t scold you to get your feet down, which is appreciated.

“If you could do any job, what would it be?” You ask, loud enough for him to hear you over the rolled down window.

His tilts his head to the side, furrows his eyebrows, “I’ve thought about it a few times. I’d like to be a private investigator. A little more mellow than DEA, still get to use my brain. Not as much bureaucratic bullshit.”

“Huh. That would be a really good fit for you. You should do it,” You peer over at him, then look down and start to pick at your nail polish.

He clears his throat, “Have you ever been to this movie theater?”

You don’t look up from your nails, just continue to chip away at the lavender polish, “I go every Wednesday.”

“Why Wednesday?”

“Dan has softball on Wednesdays. He doesn’t like going as much as I do, so I usually just go by myself when he’s not home,” you explain.

He shifts in his seat and looks over at you, perplexed, “How do you keep finding the people who don’t like movies? First that horrible person you lived with, what was her name?”

“Javi, you spent more time with her than you did with me, how do you not remember?” you ask in disbelief.

“My memory from that time is shit. I do remember I didn’t like being around her other than uh…” he trails off, likely realizing he’s within close proximity to the elephant in the room.

“The fucking?” You prompt.

“The fucking, yeah,” he couldn’t keep a boyish grin from breaking out on his face, “Not like you…“

What the fuck does that mean?

You pull your feet off the dash so you can sit up straight and stare at him, waiting for him to finish the thought. He doesn’t. You blurt out, “What do you mean not like me?”

He presses his fingertips to his lips and shrugs, “I like being around you.”

You grin and blush immediately, then settle back into your seat and admit, “I like being around you, too.”

A comfortable silence falls over the cab of the truck until you remember what spurred this conversation in the first place, “Her name is Michelle.”

He snaps into a finger gun, “Michelle, that’s right.”

—

By the time you’re settled into your theater seat, there’s about 10 minutes to showtime. There are a few other people scattered throughout the theater, but it’s mostly empty, which is typical for Wednesdays. Javier sets his pop down into the cup holder between you two.

“I can’t believe you got a tub of popcorn that big and nothing to drink,” he comments, grabbing some popcorn out of the container in your lap and tossing it into his mouth.

“I don’t really like pop. Besides, you’ll share with me, right?”

“What did you just call it?” he snickers.

“Pop”

“ Pahp ” he mocks your accent. You smack him in the chest, as a playful gesture, but your heart skips a beat when you make contact with him.

“Yeah, I’ll share my pahp with you,” he laughs while taking more popcorn.

You start laughing with him, “Shut the fuck up, Javier.”

“What’s this movie about?”

Oh. Oh, shit.

“I didn’t realize until just now that… I asked you, a fucking narc… to come see a movie entirely about heavy drug use,” you giggle nervously, not sure what to expect out of him. He doesn’t strike you as someone overly judgmental about drug use, but he was literally a narc, so…

“Of course you did,” he starts laughing again, “Incredible.”

“We can go see something else if you want,” you tell him half-heartedly, knowing it’s not really an offer you’re willing to follow through on.

He scoffs, “What? No. I don’t care if it’s about drugs,” then pauses before asking, “Did you call me a fuckin’ narc?”

A woman walking up the aisle stops next to the row you’re in and calls out, “Javi?”

His head snaps up to her and he squints, “Beth?”

Beth steps into the row and shuffles closer… so they can talk… directly over you.

“Hey, this is my friend-“ he tries to introduce you before she cuts him off.

“We’ve met I think, you’re Dan’s fiancé?”

You nod.

“Interesting,” Beth says in a- is that a snarky tone ? She turns her attention back to Javier, “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you, did you get any of my messages?”

You sink into your seat and grimace, trying to disappear into your popcorn tub.

Javier holds eye contact with Beth, jaw jutting and body rigid, before admitting, “I did.”

Damn that’s cold.

Beth’s nostrils flare, her eyes roll, and she lets out a cold laugh, “Wow. Ok. Well, don’t bother calling me when you get bored of her,” she gestures to you. You sink down deeper into the chair.

Javier doesn’t say anything.

Then she awkwardly shuffles sideways out of the row, which looks… objectively funny. People in their seats crane their heads around to see what the commotion is as she stomps out of the theater.

“What the fuck, Javier?” You whisper to your companion, who is sulking. He doesn’t respond.

You’re suddenly so relieved to have a significant other as stable as Dan. But you also know the pain of rejection that Beth is feeling right now, so you have a duty to advise him that he’s being an asshole.

“Speaking from experience,” you say delicately, “maybe you shouldn’t just… drop off like that anymore on people. It… it feels shitty, you know?”

He looks down at his hands and sighs, “Yeah, you’re right.”

He lifts his head to face you. His gaze softens and his dark eyes search yours. The way he’s looking at you places a weight on your chest. Your whole face feels like it’s on fire and your eyes drop to your popcorn.

Thankfully the lights dim to black as the movie trailers start. You shake the bucket of popcorn at him. He releases his breath in a sigh ‘ if I have to’ as he takes a handful. You smirk and then pick up his pop to take a drink.

—

The two of you chat animatedly on the way home about the chaotic drug-fueled adventure of Hunter S. Thompson. He seems to like it, even though he’s a ( former - as he argues) narc.

When the truck’s headlights bounce over the front of the white rambler as Javier pulls into your driveway, you turn to him and say, “Thank you for coming with me. I had a really good time.”

“I had a really good time, too,” he peers through the windshield at the house, “When does Dan usually get home?”

“He stays with a friend, since it’s such a long drive.”

“Do you want any company?” He offers quietly.

Do I want company?

As if someone else shoved the memory inside your brain, you remember what it felt like to be wrapped around him. Your skin aches at the thought of being touched by those hands again. This twists your stomach in knots.

Just friends. This is what friends do. It’s fine.

There’s a tingling in your center that reminds you that you’re a liar. You don’t heed its warning when you raise an eyebrow at him and smirk, “Only if you promise to behave yourself.”

“Me? Always.” He kills the engine and winks, which causes you to scoff immediately. You both hop out of the truck and he follows you into the house.

You take off your shoes and walk into the kitchen, shouting back at him, “Do you want a beer?”

He replies in the affirmative so you grab two of them out of your fridge before returning to the living room. He’s standing shoeless in front of a large bookshelf with his hands shoved into his front pockets, grinning at either your knickknacks or books. Either way, it’s endearing. You pass one of the beers to him, then open your own.

“You have a lot of Halloween stuff.” He observes, referring to your skeleton and jack-o-lantern figurines, then points to a picture of you as a toddler, “Is this you?”

“It is.” You nod. He looks like he’s trying to absorb all of the odds and ends you have on display, which tugs at your heart a little. You interrupt his studying, “So what do you wanna do? Wanna play cards?”

He snaps his attention back to you, “Sure.”

You find a deck of cards and sit down in front of your couch, one leg folded over the other underneath your coffee table. Javier sits across from you, also on the floor. The two of you play rummy and talk about how you and Dan met and came to be in Laredo.

“No shit? You were in softball?” he laughs. “I wouldn’t have pinned you as a sports kind of person.”

“I’m really not, I fucking hate softball,” you shrug. He flinches backwards a bit and his eyebrows furrow. He’s confused. You clarify, choosing your words carefully, “I only joined because my therapist at the time wanted me to join an activity so I could… meet people. I didn’t really have any friends here… once Michelle stopped talking to me.”

He nods and lays down his discard, “Was that because of us?”

Us

Your cheeks start to burn and you don’t move your eyes from the cards in your hand. Your stomach flips when you remember how it felt to kiss him. You try to keep a poker face (card pun) when you draw a card and nod yes.

“I’m sorry,” he sighs. You discard.

Your eyebrows press together as you put your hand face down on the table to think out loud, “It’s not your fault. I knew what I was doing, and I don’t regret it. I think maybe… everything happens for a reason. And maybe this all was supposed to happen so I could… meet Dan.”

You both seem to ponder this for a bit. Before you met Dan, you were planning to move back to Minnesota once you finished the masters program at UTSA. What would have happened if you didn’t join a stupid softball team as a Hail Mary to appease your therapist? You’d be back in Minnesota. Probably living with Claudia or in a cramped apartment back in your hometown. You wouldn’t have met Dan.

I wouldn’t have reconnected with Javier.

Shaking your head like an etch-a-sketch to get out of this rabbit hole, you look up at your opponent, who also seems to be stuck in his thoughts. “It’s your turn,” you remind him gently.

“Oh shit. Sorry,” he pulls a card and brings focus back to his hand. He lays down his play, discards, then glances up at you, “You really think everything happens for a reason? Like fate?”

You frown as you pick up from the discard pile, “Yeah, I think I do. I think… I’m always exactly where I need to be.”

He hums acknowledgement. You concentrate on your play, lay down all of your cards except one, so you can discard it.

“Rummy,” you grin.

“Fuck off,” he throws his cards down to light a cigarette.

During the next game, he tells you a little about his time in Columbia. Broad strokes stuff, mostly, about his DEA partner and the basics of what they did.

“Were you able to make any other friends down there, or just your partner?” You ask absentmindedly while trying to figure out your next move.

“Just Murphy. Well, and his wife, Connie. Everyone thought I was an asshole,” his head tilts sideways thoughtfully, “Easier that way, though.”

You shrug and deadpan, “You are kind of an asshole.” He throws his hands up in a what the fuck did I do? gesture. Laughter bubbles up out of you. Once it settles, you’re a little more serious, “But really. I get how it’s easier that way. It’s like… if they stay away they can’t hurt me and I can’t hurt them. It’s not as scary.”

He nods his head vigorously and exclaims, “Exactly!”

You smile from ear-to-ear. It’s sort of amusing that this man, who used to chase Pablo fucking Escobar’s cartel down, is agreeing with you that vulnerability is terrifying. Even though you’re overwhelmingly attracted to him, which makes you feel all kinds of conflicted; you sense a friendship blossoming. And, ironically enough, instead of feeling shellshocked like you normally are at the concept, you find it makes you giddy. You realize that you really do like being around Javier.

You kick his ass in two more hands of rummy before he decides to head home.

“Thank you for your company today,” you tell him while he puts on his boots in the entry way. You turn on the living room tv and settle into the couch with a blanket wrapped around you.

“Anytime. Have a good night,” he opens the door to leave and pauses to glance up at you, cocooned into blanket, and chuckles.

As he’s closing the door you call out, “Goodnight, Javi.”

Your chest flutters and your relax into the softness surrounding you. All things considered, that was probably the best case scenario of him hanging out with you when Dan wasn’t here.

You tilt your head and wonder what you’re going to tell Dan about Javier. Surely, you’ll have to say something. Beth will tell Kim (if she hasn’t already) that you were at the movies with Javier fucking Peña, Kim will tell Dan, Dan will assume the worst (assuming he gives a shit at all).

Sure, you don’t have anything to hide technically, but don’t I, kind of? You take note of how you feel so magnetized to him, the way your stomach flips if he looks at you for longer than one second, how effortless it is to be open with him…

There’s no way he feels the same, though, so it doesn’t matter. Even if he did, you don’t think you could bring yourself to trust him not to abandon you. Hell, you’re not sure if you can trust him to not abandon you strictly as a friend.

Easier that way.

Even though you hesitate to let down your guard with almost anyone, this fucking guy totally disarms you. It makes you wish you had more time with him; you contemplate calling him tomorrow. Panic starts to rise from your chest into your neck. You absolutely cannot call him tomorrow. There’s no way he would want to spend two days in a row with you .

The voice of your ex-girlfriend Mel echoes in your head, “I can’t spend every day with you. I’m not that kind of person.”

You recall the dozens of times you've been called needy or annoying. 

The pit in your stomach grows as you picture the way your father would grimace when he could hear you laugh, or the way he would become snippy with you after spending an extended amount of time with you.

There’s a sharp pain in your chest when you remember your own mother hasn’t wanted to spend more than 10 minutes in the same room as you.

Even Dan stays away from home as much as he can. When he is home, it seems like he avoids you. When you’re invited out with him and his friends, you understand that you can be too much. If you talk too frequently, laugh too loud, say or do something odd , you see him grimace, the same way your father did. So, you sit quiet. He talks for you. It’s less embarrassing for both of you that way.

And each time I lose myself a little bit more.

See, Javier just doesn’t know how to tell you yet that you’re being a nuisance. If you get close enough, though, he will. It’s something you can’t bear to go through again. One more person you enjoy being around that can’t stand you.

All of the good feelings you cultivated today wither and die. A great emptiness takes their place. You sink deeper into this cavern until nothing can touch you anymore. No one can hurt you here.

Easier that way.

[ Next Chapter ]

#narcos fic #pedro pascal #narcos fanfiction #pedro pascal characters #narcos #javier pena #pedro pascal character fanfic #javier peña x you #javier peña x reader #javier peña x ofc #javier pena fanfiction #javier peña #javier pena x oc #javi pena #javi peña #jdett

[entity-unknown7]

(I know I don't post often at all but I love my oc's a little too much) @a-pr0per-full-0n-gay-crisis

A little too different

I step through the doors, trying not to draw attention to myself. I know the other angels wouldn't notice but the gods definitely would.

I walk through a group of people, just trying to get to the other side of the clouds. I eventually make it to the other side, only to be caught.

"Sorin? I thought you were taking care of the younger angles..?"

I turn around to see none other than the God of innocence, Mijitsu-No. His white hair hangs over his face as he looks down at me. I can feel the disappointment coming from him..

"I was! I uh- I left Pria to look after them for me as I go down to earth to.. uh... look after the north shrine!"

I practically fail to get out.

Mijitsu looks down at me with confusion and I smile nervously.

"Oh.. that's fine then. Just don't get yourself into trouble. You know what happens.."

He tells me. Reminding me of what the other gods would think. Lucky for me, Mijitsu is easy to manipulate.

"Of course! How could I forget? I'd never want to disappoint my own creator!"

I say with a smile on my face.

Mijitsu smiles slightly and pats my head.

"You truly are one of Yorokobi's angels.. you run along now."

With that being said I immediately run off. Not that I don't want to talk to him or anything. I'm just going to see someone.

I jump down to see myself in a forest. It's not completely dark, but the sun is setting. I start walking to a small lit up area. There's just a few fairy lights hanging from a tree right above a small blanket.

I look up to see a figure coming up to me. Purple hair, red horns and stars in their eyes. Who else would it be?

"Late?"

"No. Just a minute."

I smile. Their my friend. My only friend actually. I appreciate their company yet it feels strange to lie about were I was going to a God like that..

"I brought one of my books. The super cool witchy one."

They say proudly.

"Really? I could never own a book like that.."

I say.

"Seriously? You can't even own books where your from?"

"Uhm- no.. I cant."

"Dang.. if I were you, I wouldn't want to be an angel."

"Well it's not like I can change that.."

"I can probably help. We can start small if you'd like."

"Small? What's small?"

"Well.. with white hair like yours, it would be easy to dye."

Dye? Like, change what I look like? I'd actually like that.. if I don't get caught...

"So? What about it, babes?"

"I- uh.. yes!"

I immediately responded. I didn't know what to say.. My friend then pulls some hair dye and scissors out of their bag. Why do they just have that on them..?

"Don't ask. I'm just prepared."

I hold my hands out as if saying that I won't ask about it.

"Okay! What ya thinking? I currently have pink.. green, blue and purple. Obviously."

"Uhm- could I pick two..?"

"Of course!"

"Can I do pink and green..?"

They nod and step behind me as I sit on the small blanket that's placed out.

"I'm just gonna cut it a bit.. okay?"

I nod. I just assumed that I should just see what happens. I just hope I don't look too bad..

A good hour later. I wash my hair out with a nearby creek. I then shake out my hair and my friend hands me a mirror. I take a look at my new, short yet still wet hair.

It's way shorter than it was. It's a bright pink with a few streaks of a neon green.

"You like it?"

"Yea. I do."

#poggers #pogtopia #angel #frienship #i dunno #lmao #lmaooo #idk lmao #help lmao #lmfao #lmao ok bye

[plutobutartsy]

ohoho i shall be (evil face)

di i demand to be the first to be informed about new oc developments!!!!! >:(

but in the meantime i'm kicking down your door and making you listen to my oc rambles (also tagging holly @swanconcerto cause she seemed interested hehe)

for one i found a drawing of Briar c:

this is like his fancy special occasion outfit he doesn't normally dress like that (to Evie's chagrin). he usually dresses in like a casual dark academia style? lots of sweater vests and black but also red sometimes!

i only have old drawings of Evelyn that don't match how i imagine her anymore so :((

okay anyway i wanna ramble about them being cute together so !!! first meeting!!!

they first met at the grocery store that Briar works at and like. it was a mess.

yes, Briar usually pretends to be very arrogant but he's still at the very least polite to the customers

so imagine the crisis his manager goes through when Evie comes in and Briar is just unbelievably rude to her😭

she comes up to him and asks if he can show her where the flour is and he's like "find it yourself or ask somebody else" and then he fucking bolts to the break room

it's not on purpose okay he's a loser and saw a pretty girl and his mind just shut down so he acted on reflex

meanwhile Evie is all like "okay wow this is the first time i worked up the courage to ask a worker for help and this happens. what if i die."

Briar's manager jumps in and helps her and then immediately rushes off to scold Briar

the only reason he didn't get fired on the spot was because this is the first time this happened and also Briar just looks like he's ready to pass out right then and there so the manager takes pity

Briar is panicking because "nooOoOOoooo i was a dick to the pretty girl i have no chance now" and Evie is panicking because "omg i must have said something wrong oh god this dude hates me now i can never come back here"

they're so fucking stupid i love them

Evelyn avoids the grocery store for a while because she's absolutely MORTIFIED but her efforts all went to waste because Briar shows up at HER place of work

total accident btw because he was also completely mortified, but his sister is a regular there and recommended it to him

(it's his 3rd sister btw!! the 20ish one who likes bugs, she's probably the closest with Briar out of all 4 siblings)

Evie sees him come in and almost fucking explodes on the spot

Briar sees her behind the counter and goes through 25 stages of grief at once

it's right after lunch rush so they're basically alone safe for the old lady sitting in the corner and Makena in the back room

Briar wants to apologize but he just can't lol but he does manage to not be inncredibly rude again

it's like really fucking awkward i can't lie HAHAGDD

but when he goes to order he asks for Evie's recommendation and she's like :O so he doesn't hate me??

he actually sits down at the counter even though he finds it terrifying

and anyway he really likes the pastery she recommended him so he's like "wow these are rly good do you guys get them delivered or do you make them yourselves?"

and Evelyn fucking loses it because !!!! i made those!!!!!!!!! and she's just so happy and goes on a ramble about how she tried a new recipe and these are a bit of an experiment and oh she was just so scared nobody would like them

and then BRIAR is in his head all like "!!!! if i come here again!!! i get to talk to her AND eat delicious stuff she makes!!!!!!!!"

like he doesn't even care that it has no nutritional value for him lol

more silly shenanigans once they get closer/start dating

so much food omg he cooks for her and she bakes for him

words of affirmation is deffo a love language they share

Briar's is also gift giving and remember his family is loaded

Evie can't go into any store with him because the second she looks interested in something he already bought it

Evie is big on physical touch. ALWAYS holding hands. a billion forehead kisses. like thank god they don't go to the same school because they would make everybody SICK

they're both so impressed by the others powers

Evie makes something float and Briar loses his mind because WOW THSTS SO COOL!!!!

Briar and vampire speed. he's like a 10 year old trying to impress his crush in p.e. like "look how fast i can run!!!" it's very silly but Evelyn still claps for him

there's like a lake near them in the woods and Evie is like "hear me out what IF you throw me across all the way to the other side of the lake and then you run there and catch me can you do that??" and Briar's all like girl you are insane

but they do it anyway and it's Evie's favourite thing

Evie takes him to broom races and he almost died when he saw just how fast she actually flies on that fucking stick with no safety nets whatsoever

also takes him with her on some regular flights and he likes the view but the height is also scary. like he trusts her fully but GOD

Evie was devastated when she found out that vampires can't turn into bats

#cosmic communication #stella's super cool ocs

[jf-md]

Begin Again

This year is a huge emotionally turbulent, I'm hoping that I could discover my balance and harmony. I was kind of stuck within myself.

On the inside, I was struggling to make sense of who I was.  I just had a complete existential crisis. All my sense of belonging, all my validation—my identity, everything—was so wrapped up in workplace. But, my recipe is always have fun at work and don't take things too seriously. Working in a bar, I treat them like a theatre, being an actor, etc...

And another recipe is the person you're working with to fill in my bigger holes: the big impact: Big Mac Joshy Boi Tom Smith Nele Patrick [VERY NICE] Effie the bar bois [ Rob, Shuka, Kynan, Sam, Dan, Scotty] Belle Nat Yao [ as a bar manager ] And when the people who you're working with was gone, I felt like I had no purpose. I just wasn’t worth anything without work, and that was scary. Instead of taking the time to really learn something new or do something new, I got very wrapped up in misery, wallowing, chaotic and go reckless. It was a really sad time.

I had trouble with my personal relationship, former lover, which I haven't met like a decade. As the 10 years of wound to open up and closed, I realised that I've got bigger hole to fill in, I quickly fell back into my old chaotic patterns, throwing myself into alcoholism and drugs. I’m classically good at avoiding things, I just didn’t want to deal with my issues. And those are things I’ve been running from since I was 21. It was super personal and I didn’t really realize how personal it would be. I’d only really learned how to show emotion when I was bartending, because I didn’t feel worthy enough to feel those things as myself. I was just so uncomfortable in front of the people who used to care about me. I still struggle with being open—really open—about just how much lonely I am. I was scared in all the right ways. There were definitely grey areas. The way I was living was not sustainable. I went self-destruct and decide to go crazy from March till my 31st birthday and stop point after the major disturbance are gone, but I couldn't stop myself. There’s an element of feeling invincible when I’m on drugs. I put myself in danger in those moments because I don’t care about my life. I would climb anything and jump off stuff…it felt feral. It’s a scary thing to the people around me who cared about me. I struggled to make the most of the support although I've seen my psychotherapist for 7 years with my mental health issues. I love my friends so much, but it felt like a lot of the time, they were shallow relationships only because I wasn’t able to be honest about the things I was going through. I didn’t want to burden anyone. It was also like, What if people leave? And my old besties I’ve known since I was 13, those 4 witches from Saarfend, also my besties, who's been looking after me when I turned into violence, helping me out to be a better person, coming to one of the witches wedding. 4 of us sat on the same table for dinner, they looked at me and said, "You deserve a chance to have joy, you arsehole hyena."  I hate to be the youngest person among their circle. fk me. l have moments in my lives that I'd rather weren’t photographed and shown to everyone. I just kind of pushed everyone away, which made me realize how much I was in a bad place. I always thought that the work needs to be done when the times are bad, but actually the work needs to be done when they’re good. The work needs to be done consistently. It’s never going to be fixed or fully healed but I’m okay with that, and that’s the difference. Before I was always into the quick fix of healing, going to a day getaway, and that helped for a minute, but it didn’t ever really get to the nitty-gritty, the deeper, scary, dark stuff, My persecutor alter.

Other changes I've making are incremental and cautious but right now it’s too much. Good drugs medication was not a good option for me because I have too many side effects with the history of my medication.

[cloudenthusiast2]

To be a human - Scaramouche x reader - Part 5

You knew committing to a relationship with Scaramouche would be no easy task but you loved him dearly and unlike others, you believed he wasn't evil. But as a mortal and the devoted protector of your village you were too much of a good person, too much of a human compared to him and your differences slowly start to show.

Previous: Part 4

Length: not too long:)

Trigger warnings: blood, fighting

You slowly opened your eyes.

The clouds that were orange and pink not so long ago now had turned dark along with the sky.

You've just realised how long you have been sitting on the cliff.

The chilly weather suddenly felt genuinely cold and a shiver ran down your spine. You wore light clothes not suited for a night in Liuye's mountains.

'I should start heading back' you thought. But you didn't move.

A few days have passed since Scaramouche left but it still felt like the wound he caused was wide open. You avoided every interaction with others and luckily they were considerate enough to let you be. No one gave you requests or tasks, they dealt with their problems themselves so you could be alone for a while.

A little guilt stung your chest. You said you would always protect them yet you were selfish enough to only think about yourself for days.

On the other hand, you also felt a little burnout. You still loved the village as much as you used to - maybe even more, now that it was the only thing left that you cared about - but you didn't want to go back to your previous way of living. Even though Scaramouche wasn't a part of your daily routine, everything felt so empty without him. Just thinking about him made you smile any time and you could always look forward to his visits. And when he was actually there, he made everything feel shiny and wonderful.

He sure was the grumpiest man but that just made his soft moment worth even more. How delighted you felt when he laughed at your stupid jokes or gave you a smile that wasn't teasing or (too) smug. When he first held your hand you couldn't stop grinning for days.

You let out a quiet chuckle as you remembered your beautiful memories together. For a few seconds the grief was gone with your smile but when it finally faded away the sorrow became even sharper in your heart.

But it actually wasn't that painful any more. It still hurt really deeply but now you could at least think of the benefits of the new situation.

Something that you always hated about being with Scara was that the village lived in a low-key but constant fear. They were all afraid of the fatui. And for a good reason, as you realised after their last visit.

Now you could at least keep them more safe. They didn't have to be afraid of your lover and his power any more.

You stared at the dark sky one last time then shook your head. You stood up, getting ready to head back to the village but your mind was still invaded by thoughts of Scara.

The rocks under your shoes jingled as you took a step forward.

Another step, another sound of them tinkling together.

Another step and a scream.

You flinched and immediately glanced at the rocks. But they weren't the ones making the desperate sound.

You stared in front of you, your mind numb and empty without any thoughts.

Another scream. Human voices strengthening and getting louder and louder in the distance.

You looked up slowly, turning your gaze to where the village was. It was pitch black. Until red dots started lighting up.

'Oh no' you whispered to yourself.

The realisation hit you and your whole body froze for a moment.

'Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no...'

You finally moved, grabbing your polearm off your back. Then you started running.

There was no time to safely climb down on the mountainside. You threw yourself off the cliff, slashing through the cold air and landing on your weapon. Running and jumping again like your whole life depended on it.

It probably did. The village was the only thing you wanted to live for after Scaramouche left.

Terrible guilt stabbed your heart. You couldn't believe you neglected the place and people you once swore to protect. You couldn't believe you actually forgot about them and selfishly only cared about your wounds even though they needed you.

And now they were attacked.

Fear crawled up on your spine as you jumped up from a cliff. You were pretty close to the village now.

Out of breath, you heart beating at a crazy speed but you were ready to take any monsters down.

You landed on your spear, slipped and fell painfully. But you were up on your feet in a blink of an eye, sprinting again.

The village was in a worse situation than you had imagined.

You ran through the gates and stopped, looking around to see where your help was needed the most.

It was needed everywhere.

Your eyes grew wide open.

The houses were on fire, burning and lighting up the night. People were running around in chaos, monsters chasing them. Abbys mages sent whole blaze bombs after them. They set everything on fire.

An abandoned child crying on the stairs. Her father fighting a mitachurl with a single hack. Mothers desperately trying to find their family.

The blood red flames reflected in your eyes as you stood there, numbed by the terrifying destruction.

You moved on your own as you clenched your fist around the spear.

You jumped at the speed of the light. One moment you were still standing under the gates and the next you flashed your way through a group of hilichurls.

There were just corpses left behind in your way.

An old man cried for your help when he saw you. He was trying to protect his house from an abyss mage.

You landed behind the monster. It heard the noise and tried to turn around.

But before it could've even moved an inch, your whole body strained then let loose. Hydro bursting out of your veins, it broke through the mage's shield in an instant.

It fell but never reached the ground. Your spear cut through it in mid-air.

'Thank you!' The old man panted, his entire body trembling. 'I...'

'Leave the village!' You yelled through the discord of screams and roars. 'Go to the bamboo forest!'

'But my house...'

'Leave. Now.' You ordered in a way that it was impossible to disobey.

Then you moved on.

Your aura was filled with tense hydro vibrating in the dark. It strangled the monsters with one touch but suffocated you as well.

But you didn't feel the pain at all. Everything inside you focused on the fighting and precise killing. You flashed from one side of the village to another, trying to save the people you swore to protect.

But even though your strength was almost non-human in these minutes of crisis it still felt incredibly lacking.

The whole village was on fire at this point. The abyss mages did not care about their puppets, they burned hilichurls as well as people.

Because there were so many of them.

You stopped for a moment to catch your breath and looked around desperately. There were so many monsters. And so many people you still needed to save.

The heat was unbearable. Sweatdrops streamed down your face despite the constant hydro aura surrounding you.

Suddenly the ground started shaking and you nearly fell over.

A lawachurl slammed his fists down. It let out a huge roar and turned to the closest person to it.

A frightened cry left your lips as you recognised the tiny figure.

Little Yu.

She rose her arms, shielding something behind her. She seemed almost fearless as she looked straight into the gigantic monster's eyes. But it was still a ridiculous try to stop the lawachurl.

It lifted its fists into the air, getting ready to cause another earthquake.

It swang it...

But before it could have reached the ground, you appeared in front of him out of blue.

Your spear cut through its left fist. The monster shook and roared in pain. It tried to grab you but you quickly dodged and sprang back.

The lawachurl let out a deep growl and slowly straightened up.

You couldn't help but feel ludicrously tiny compared to the huge figure. It started to manifest its geo shield. You stepped back in slight panic and glanced at Yu behind you.

'Y/n!' She cried out, grabbing the edge of your coat. 'I'm so happy you're here! Please protect us!'

You finally recognised the figure behind her. It was her wounded mother kneeling on the ground, bleeding out. Yet, the look in her daughter's eyes was brave and now hopeful.

She had faith in you. They all had their faith in you.

This thought was the only thing giving you strength.

You grabbed her arm and leaned closer to her as the lawachurl started walking towards you in the background.

Your heart was beating so fast it felt like exploding, the blood streaming in your veins hot and tense. But you still managed to sound calm when you spoke to the child.

'Listen carefully to what I have to say. Do you remember the spot where you met me and the harbinger a few days ago?' She nodded. 'Collect as many people as you can from the village and the bamboo forest and go there. Hide and don't come out until you're completely sure the monsters are gone. Do you understand?'

'Yes' she answered. But she still seemed hesitant.

'What is it?' You asked hastily for the lawachurl was getting closer to you with every passing moment.

'Will you be alright?' She asked, locking eyes with you.

'Of course' you gently pushed her backwards to her mother who seemed to have regained her consciousness. 'Now go!'

She nodded and helped her mother stand up. You made sure they got out of your zone safely.

Then turned around.

Just in time to see the lawachurl slamming down its fists.

You dodged and jumped upwards. Spun in the air and stabbed your spear infused with hydro into the monster's thick skin.

You landed safely on the ground with the bloody polearm in your grip.

The lawachurl roared so loudly that his voice shook the mountains. It swang towards you blinded by the pain but you dodged again.

You straightened up directly in front of it. Clenched your teeth together before quickly telling a quiet prayer.

You were ready to face all monsters.

#cliffhanger go brr muhaha #cloudenthusiast #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #scaramouche genshin #scaramouche angst #scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #angst #genshin angst

[the-iceni-bitch]

Hi love! I spun the wheels for your 3k celebration and here are my results :)

- one night stand/anonymous sex

- bryce langley

- i’m here to fuck your brains out

- i’m not here for small talk

- tell me why i just found them in your drawer

Ok, ok, ok. I can so see this for Bryce! And I was a little unsure how I was going to fit in the third prompt but I think I'm happy with my solution.

Straight smut and semi soft!dark (non-con panty stealing, stalking), so no minors!!!

God, you hated charity events.

If you had to listen to one more rich asshole talk your ear off about the plight of the white man you were going to jump off a balcony. The complete lack of self awareness as they wrote giant checks to help feed starving children in third world countries would have been laughable if it wasn’t so depressing.

At least there was an open bar, which you were taking full advantage of. You weren’t entirely sure how many whiskey sours you had tossed back, but you were actually laughing while some salt and pepper asshole who was definitely having a midlife crisis regaled you with stories of sailing around the world. Maybe you should slow down.

“Christ’s sake, Dick, you lying to another pretty thing about sailing to Brazil?” You felt a warm hand on the small of your back and turned to see a very pretty, younger man smirking at the dumbass who was trying to impress you. “He barely made it to South Carolina before running back with his tail between his legs.”

“Oh no!” You fully turned away from the older man with a sloppy grin, placing your hand on the new guy’s chest as you giggled. “That’s so pathetic.”

“Uh, excuse me.” Dick did not look happy with this turn of events, pouting when you glanced at him sideways.

“Go back to your disappointed wife, Dick.” The way his eyes were raking over you made you shiver, arousal flooding your panties as you sucked your bottom lip between your teeth. “What’s your name, gorgeous?”

“It’s Y/N.” You gasped softly when he stepped closer, his hand running up your spine until he was running his fingers through your hair. “Yours?”

“Bryce.” His lips brushed against yours and your knees buckled, your hands gripping his lapels to keep yourself upright. Yeah, you definitely should have slowed down. You had never come apart so fast for anyone in your whole, kinda slutty adult life.

“Hi Bryce.” How were you supposed to focus on anything when his mouth was tracing your jaw like that? “Um, enjoying your night so far?”

“Listen, gorgeous, I’m not here for small talk.” He pressed you even closer and leaned forward so he could murmur right in your ear. “I’m here to fuck your brains out.”

“Oh.” Your voice was upsettingly small. “Cool.”

Neither of you said anything for the next two hours. Not when he had you pinned to the wall in the corridor and devoured your mouth with his while the two of you dry humped each other. Not when he drove the two of you through the city in his Porsche at an inadvisable speed while you swallowed greedily around his cock. Not even when he ate you out like a starving man while you were sprawled across the stairs to the second level of his penthouse apartment, but that was mostly because he had shoved your panties in your mouth to gag you.

You finally made it to his bedroom and he ripped your dress down your shoulders, leaning back to let you step out of it while he worked on stripping off his tuxedo. The tiny huff you let out when he tossed you on the bed made him grin, each small wanton sound that feel from your lips only serving to make his cock ache even more. And, god, what a fantastic cock it was. You practically started drooling when he finally stepped out of his pants and you got a good look at it, it had been to dark in the car for you to really appreciate just how yummy he was.

“Wait, Bryce.” You placed a hand on his chest when he bent over you, not wanting to lose yourself in another one of his kisses before it was too late. “Condom?”

“Are you fucking serious?” He looked slightly annoyed when his eyes met yours, but you weren’t backing down from this one. “You didn’t seem to care about a condom when you were swallowing my cum an hour ago.”

“Yeah, well I can’t get pregnant from swallowing.” You murmured, trying not to moan when you felt his shaft ghost over your clit. 

“Aww, pretty thing like you isn’t on birth control?” The smirk he was giving you was absolutely wicked. “That seems awful irresponsible.”

“Bryce, ah, shit.” His mouth started tracing your throat and made it very difficult to stay firm in your stance. “I’m serious, if you don’t have a condom, I’m pulling the plug.”

“C’mon gorgeous, I just wanna feel you.” He flicked his tongue out to lap up an errant bead of sweat and grinned at the whine you let out. “What if I pull out?”

“Oh god.” You were practically suffocating from the attention he was lavishing on you, finally grabbing his hair and yanking his head up so you could look him in the eye and regain some control of the situation. “No condom, no pussy.”

“Ugh, fine!” He pouted when he rolled off you, pulling his nightstand drawer open and drawing out a small foil packet. “Happy?”

You just grinned at him when he knelt between your legs again, brushing you fingers over his nipples and running your knees up his sides while he rolled the condom over his length and scowled at you. That scowl disappeared pretty fast when he gripped your hips tight and pulled you down on his length, his eyelids fluttering as a low groan left his throat while he curled over you. 

When his hips finally met yours you dropped your head back against the mattress, locking your heels together at the small of his back and letting him nip at your throat as he started moving his hips. It was just enough to drive you crazy, but all you wanted was for him to fuck you like an animal until you were screaming.

“Goddamn it.” You dug your fingers into his scalp and yanked his face back up to yours. “I thought you said you were gonna fuck my brains out.”

The only warning you had was his feral snarl and the way his pupils dilated even further and then every thought was flying out of your head when he bent you backwards and shoved your chest into his face, his teeth digging into your soft flesh and making you scream while his hips started slamming into you violently. 

His teeth were marring the soft curves of your chest as he fucked into you viciously, the tip of his cock punching you in the cervix with each brutal shove. It barely took anything for you to come apart with a sharp cry, your vision whiting out as your entire body tightened around him. The way he was holding you to him had your body bent in a series of odd angles, making every wave of pleasure that coursed through your system feel a thousand times more intense. 

Your orgasm didn’t even faze him, his hips still pistoning into yours at a wild rhythm that pushed the breath out of your lungs until you were a panting mess. He just kept sucking and biting at your breasts, the skin of your chest slick with your sweat and his saliva as your cunt throbbed around him.

One of his hands moved under your hip and tilted you so he could somehow drive into you even further and a coil you hadn’t even realized was gathering snapped. Your body jerked frantically underneath him, your pussy clenching around him so hard he couldn’t stop himself from filling the condom with a muffled growl. 

“That good enough for you, gorgeous?” He was grinning wickedly when he lifted his face to gaze at you. “C’mon now honey, did I fuck you stupid?”

“No.” You panted, returning his smile when he moved to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. “But maybe we should go another round so you can try again.”

“Oh, I knew bringing you home was a good idea!” He called from the bathroom. “I’m gonna turn that pussy out.”

You were still smiling when you moved to grab another condom from the nightstand, your face freezing when you got a look at the pair of soiled panties that was nestled inside. That wasn’t totally weird, lot’s of guys probably kept little souvenirs from their sexual conquests. 

What was weird was that they looked an awful lot like the panties you thought your washer had eaten a few weeks ago, and when you picked them up to examine them closer you felt bile rise in your throat when you spotted the tiny rip you had told yourself no one would notice because of the pattern of the lace.

“Bryce.” You rose on unsteady legs and staggered to the bathroom, confusion and fury coursing through your veins. “I’ve been missing these for weeks, tell me why I just found them in your drawer.”

“Ah, fuck.” He only looked mildly perturbed when he got a look at what you had clutched in your fist. “Why’d you have to go snooping, baby?”

“Don’t call me baby, how did you get these?” Your chest was starting to feel tight as panic took over your system. “Have you been in my house?”

“Do you really need me to answer that, Y/N?” 

You realized you didn’t. You’d noticed weird shit happening for a few weeks. Things not being where you’d left them. Pieces of clothing missing. Weird deliveries of flowers or fancy pastries from a supposed secret admirer that you just chalked up to the slightly creepy guy who had been flirting with you at work.

“But, why?” You had never even seen Bryce before tonight, this didn’t make sense.

“I saw your photo from the save the polar bears, or whatever, event last month in the Times.” His shrug was dismissive as he started stalking towards you. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so beautiful looking so annoyed at one of those things. Mostly because they’re all hookers.” He didn’t seem to mind that you were in the middle of an anxiety attack, wrapping an arm around your waist and shushing you softly as you started to cry. “But you weren’t a hooker. You were a little spitfire. Everything I found out about you just made me want you more, which reminds me, you’re gonna need to make some serious updates to your online security settings.”

You were sobbing into his chest now, only barely registering what he was saying as he moved a hand up to run through your hair absentmindedly.

“I still remember the first time I was in your house. I admit, I lost myself a little once I was in that cute little bedroom of yours, thought for sure you were gonna notice how messed up your sheets were after I jerked off in your bed.” You cringed against him at that admission, you were pretty sure you remembered that day. “It was so hard to keep myself from just taking you right away, but I wanted to make it organic. You know, have our relationship grow and evolve the right way.” He gripped your chin and tilted your head back so he could glare into your eyes. “Then you had to go and ruin it.”

You whimpered when he suddenly lifted you and started to carry you to the bed again, your body frozen in shock. He basically threw you onto the bed, the look of rage on his face softening slightly when he watched you curl around yourself then climbed in next to you. 

“Oh, shh, it’s ok, honey.” He cooed against your hair, stroking your arm softly as you continued to cry. “I forgive you. I’m gonna make you so happy.”

#natalie writes #3k wheels of filth drabble celebration #bryce langley x female reader #dark bryce langley #bryce langley x y/n #bryce langley x you #bryce langley smut #bryce langley x reader #bryce langley #chris evans #chris evans character #chris evans smut #eighteen plus #eighteen and over #do not interact if you are a minor

[bluejayblueskies]

for the kiss prompts series? 67+jontim (or really Tim+anyone?) 🥺

67 - When One Stops The Kiss To Whisper “I’m Sorry, Are You Sure You-” And They Answer By Kissing Them More

i stuck with jontim! takes place pre-canon when jon and tim worked together in research, featuring mutual pining <3

cw for alcohol

.

“Okay, that was hands down the worst holiday party I’ve ever been to,” Tim says as soon as they’re outside the Institute, tugging on the tie around his neck to loosen it. It’s adorned with little reindeer and it lights up. As Tim had so eagerly demonstrated the moment he’d met up with Sasha and Jon.

 Jon doesn’t like parties in general, so he doesn’t think he’s the best judge of what makes a party good or bad. He takes a guess. “Because of the alcohol?”

 “More like the lack thereof,” Tim grumbles as they start toward the tube station. “I know it’s a work party, but come on. Not even spiked eggnog? Not even wine? What kind of person has a party without wine?”

 “Elias, apparently.”

 Tim groans. “Don’t know what I was expecting, really. The man looks like he’s never had fun in his life, ever.” Tim slings an arm around Jon’s shoulder and pulls him into his side as he walks, and Jon tries to pretend like his heart rate doesn’t skyrocket at the contact. He’s just glad it’s dark enough out that Tim can’t see the flush of heat across his cheeks. “So, then. Back to mine?”

 Jon’s heart rate has, apparently, not yet reached maximum speed. “What?” he manages to say, his pulse hammering in his ears. He’s just glad that the word comes out mostly normal, if a bit choked.

 “The night’s still young,” Tim says, oblivious to Jon’s internal turmoil, “and I’m still in need of a drink or three, especially after all of that. I’ve got a batch of eggnog in the fridge. I’ve also got a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon—that fancy brand you like.”

 Tim knows what brand of wine you like, one part of Jon’s mind supplies. The other part says, Of course he knows what you like; you’ve been friends for a year and a half. It doesn’t mean anything.

 “Oh,” Jon says. “Yes, I’d love to- er, that- that sounds… nice?”

 He barely holds back a wince. Very smooth, Jonathan.

 “Great!” Tim says, unbothered. He pulls Jon a little tighter against his side, and when Jon shivers, it’s not just from the chill of the night air.

 In the time it takes them to get to Tim’s house, Jon has relaxed a bit, settling into a comfortable rhythm of laughing at Tim’s jokes, offering his own awkward attempts in return, and letting the warmth of Tim’s laughter soak into him like the summer sun. It’s fine, he tells himself as Tim puts a hand on his shoulder, lingering just long enough that Jon can still feel the weight of it when Tim pulls away. It’s the same as always, he tells himself as Tim grabs his hand on their way off the tube, gently guiding him through the late-night crowds and into the bite of the open air. (Tim doesn’t let go until they get to his house, which Jon tries very hard not to have a minor crisis about.) It’s just Tim, he tells himself as Tim places a hand on the small of his back as he reaches around him to grab the glasses from his kitchen cabinet. (Jon almost drops the bottle of wine he’s holding. Which would have been quite embarrassing.)

 It’s not even like this is new. This tightness in his chest, the way his breath catches a bit every time Tim smiles at him, the way he sometimes finds himself staring at Tim’s lips and wondering if they’re as soft as they look. And Jon’s not naïve. As much as he despises the word itself, he knows that at some point, he’d developed quite a potent crush. He just tries very, very hard to ignore it.

 Because, well. He hasn’t been in a relationship since Georgie, and while their breakup had been unspectacular by most standards, it still ate a hole in his chest filled with a nagging certainty that if they’d remained just friends, he wouldn’t have had to go through the pain of falling slowly out of contact with her. And he doesn’t want that to happen with Tim. So it doesn’t matter how badly Jon wants to hold Tim’s hand and curl up into his side and kiss him. He’ll ignore it like he’s been doing for the past three months, and it’ll be fine.

 But it’s getting harder and harder. Especially at moments like this one, with Tim pressed up against Jon’s side on the couch and his voice right next to Jon’s ear as he points out his favorite parts in the movie they’d put on. Jon’s unsure if the heat in his cheeks is from the proximity or from the three glasses of wine he’s consumed, and he’s fairly certain that Tim’s on his fourth glass of eggnog. Tim’s glass is shaped like a little reindeer head, which he thinks Tim had said is a reference to something. He’d been too busy looking at the way Tim’s rolled-up shirt sleeves showed his forearms to process what, exactly, it was a reference to.

 “You know,” Tim says, cutting through Jon’s train of thought, “I never really understood the whole ‘love at first sight’ thing.”

 Jon’s heart jumps into his throat. “Sorry, what?”

 “You know,” Tim says, shifting from his position against Jon’s side so he can set his glass on the table before propping his feet up next to it. His socks have felt reindeer antlers on the sides of them. Jon’s beginning to notice a theme. “One person lays eyes on the other and boom. They’re in love.” He gestures toward the screen, which is currently displaying a quite detailed kissing scene. Jon looks away, face burning. “Do people really do that? Just know that they love someone with- without knowing anything about them? Feels a bit shallow, if you ask me. You’ve got to just go based on- on physical appearance or something.”

 At a loss, Jon says, slowly, “Yes, I… I suppose?”

 “Right.” Tim nods once, like he’s settled something. “Me, though, I need to know somebody first, you know? Always used to get me in a bit of trouble in uni, falling in love with my best friends and all that. But isn’t that how it’s supposed to be? Your partner is your partner, yeah, but they’re also your friend.”

 “Right,” Jon says faintly. His heartbeat is hummingbird-fast, and he thinks his hands might be shaking just a bit. “Tim, what—?”

 “It just- it doesn’t make any sense!” Tim turns to face Jon then, his cheeks flushed and his hair a bit messy from where he’d tugged some of it free from its bun. “It’s like- like, I love the way you look, yeah, but also- also the way you laugh and the way you take your tea and the types of books you read as a child. You know, the things that make you you. I fall in love with all of the little things, piece by piece, and then I’m just- just in love. Full stop.”

 Jon thinks he might actually be dreaming right now. Or dying. One of the two. “Um,” he says, the word choked by the lump in his throat. “Are- are you using the universal ‘you,’ or…?”

 Tim is quiet for a moment. His eyes are heavy on Jon’s face, as if searching for something. Then, sounding very much like a man who’s just decided to jump off a cliff and hope that there’s something below to catch him, he says, “You, Jon. And I promise that it’s not the rum talking.”

 “Oh,” Jon says quietly. “I… I see.”

 He realizes a beat later, when Tim’s face has folded ever so slightly inward and he’s begun to move away, how dismissive that had sounded. Quickly, and a bit panicked, Jon reaches out and wraps a hand firmly around Tim’s upper arm, like if he doesn’t hold on tightly enough Tim will slip away. “No, it’s- I’m, sorry, I just- I didn’t—”

 Jon makes a noise of frustration, because of course, now that he needs them, the words won’t come easily. His eyes find Tim’s face—the gentle slope of his nose, the small birthmark by the corner of his eye, the five o’clock shadow across his jaw—before settling on his lips. And before Jon makes the conscious decision to do so, he leans forward and kisses him.

 Tim makes a surprised noise against Jon’s mouth, something low and breathy. After a moment, Tim pulls back, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry,” he says, more hesitantly than Jon’s ever heard him before. “Are- are you sure you—?”

 Yes, Jon wants to say. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I’m sure about this. I’m sure about you.

 Instead, he leans forward and captures the rest of Tim’s sentence with his lips. After a moment, Tim’s hands go to Jon’s waist, pulling him close, and Jon slips his hands up to the sides of Tim’s face, feeling the heat of Tim’s skin against his as he kisses him and kisses him and kisses him.

 At some point, weeks later, Tim will joke that they have Elias to thank for them finally putting an end to the mutual pining, and Jon will give a full-body shudder and say that he would rather not think of Elias when remembering their first kiss, thank you very much. But for now, Jon holds Tim close and kisses him and lets the light, giddy feeling in his chest overtake him until it feels like he’s weightless and floating, grounded only by the feeling of Tim’s hands on his hips and the way Tim smiles against his lips and whispers, softly and reverently, I love you.

 I love you too, Jon says, resting his head against Tim’s shoulder to hide his smile and to try to breathe around the affection blossoming in his chest. I love you, I love you, I love you.

#tma #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #tim stoker #jontim #my writing #my fic #ft. some demiromantic tim! #anyone who guesses what the glasses reference is gets a gold star #on that note: this is my last kiss prompt!!! i've done it lads

[shtern-and-art]

I have more questions because it's no longer 4am lmao.

Does Skeppy fear any animals? I just wanna know if there's any sweet moments of Skeppy clinging to Bad whilst he tries to calm him down.

I'm guessing Bad still hates things like littering and woodcutters but would he ever act particularly strongly about it or would he have more control?

I like how Rat seems to tolerate Skeppy because Bad likes him but would she ever get jealous if Skeppy started pettting another dog?

I have a horrifying image of Bad just spider climbing up a tree to fetch Skeppy. I don't know why but I feel like dude wouldn't even need branches lmao.

What other supernatural creatures/people do they come across? Were there any that were especially dangerous and did they befriend any?

Is Bad much physically stronger than Skeppy? I keep thinking of Skeppy being a little shaz and Bad just one-arm picking him up and slinging him over his shoulder XD.

Does Bad ever get nightmares of the day he became the forest spirit?

How far would Skeppy take stealing? Would he steal something he knows the owner has genuine attachment to? Would he do everything in his power to steal something for Bad even if it means getting hurt?

Who's more likely to protect the other?

Skeppy just minding his business looking at one of Bad's textbooks, turns his head and Bad's just having a tea party with a freaking bear. Surprised the man hasn't had a heart attack yet XD.

What's your favourite thing to imagine them doing?

Is Bsd an adrenaline junky? Or is he scared of more dangerous things like bungee jumping and mountain climbing.

What would their reactions be to rollercoasters?

Do they have a favourite date-night activity?

Everytime I think of this au it brightens my mood!! Thank you for making something so heartwarming!! <3

Glad to see you again :D And yaay, questions!

My pen pressure broke again, I can't finish any sketches for this ask rn, but here's a couple of old messy designs.

1) Comforting and nightmares

Skeppy has a normal, I’d even say adequate level of fear towards wild animals, whilst Bad has it in negative numbers. And, yes, this fun juxtaposition leads to a lot of unfortunate moments of Skeppy nearly dying from heart attack when some of Bad’s animal friends show up unexpectedly, or Bad goes all out for his tea-parties with wild bears or smth.

So, yes, sometimes the comforting hugs are necessary! And no, none of them ever play up the dramaticness of the situation just to drag out the nice comforting moment They do n o t. That’d be very silly and unnecessary, and will deserve a lot of teasing. So, it’s all serious. Not only for the first couple minutes. Yes.

But If you’re looking for comfort-after-actual-hurt – Bad does have to hold and comfort Skeppy, when the stress of trying to not fuck up the good stuff around him gets too strong. And after the nightmares where they are hated and chased by people. Those dreams do not come often, but when they do, Bad is there to hold Skeppy, whisper in his hair that he is alright, that they’re both alright, and that they can handle everything that’s going on right now.

And Bad himself, well. After leaving the town, his nightmares about the night of the ritual stopped almost completely. They come rarely, only when the anxiety gets really bad. Before, in the forest, Bad had them pretty often. It’s one of the reasons he mostly slept not as himself, but in the minds of the animals.

2) Littering

Bad will not maim someone for not getting a candy wrapper in a trashcan, especially if there are people around. But if someone leaves a big mess in the nature, or even (*gasp*) does it regularly, Bad can and will try and teach them a lesson. As in: pull a cautionary (and probably slightly terrifying) prank on the misbehaving person.

It doesn’t always work out as Bad intended, and may even scare some people off anything relating to nature for good, but, according to Bad, it’s still “a fun and useful little hobby to have :3”.

3) Rat

Rat takes a looong time to warm up to any other animals that infringe on her territory. And Skeppy might be a little shit (and his own rights for Bad are debatable) but he is Rat’s territory still (by approximation from Bad). So, she can gatekeep Skeppy a little bit. Not as much as she does Bad, but the man gotta know his place – Rat comes before other dogs for him too.

4) Tree climbing and strength

Oh, Bad can an will climb down a tree like a full-on creepy creature he is: head down, using only his claws, with Skeppy tucked under one arm. Maybe not even upside down, if Skeppy is lucky, and wasn’t too annoying about wanting to stay up on the tree for the night :D

5) Meeting other spn creatures

Oh, that’s a big question (: Yes, they do meet other cryptids, befriend some, and get in trouble with some, and deal with a handful of new and old spn troubles :D

I always thought that Bad and Skeppy’s life after the main story can make a series of short stories (or one big episodic one) dealing with exactly that: the guys traveling around, meeting other cryptids, learning more about themselves and the world, trying to build a life between human and supernatural crisis going on. Just like In The Dark it can based on the mix between the real life and the minecraft-verse events.

I wanted to focus more on finishing the main story first, though, so these stories are not as sought through, I didn’t even write down any of them yet :D

But if you have more concrete questions, ideas, or suggestions (about a specific person, or a specific thing happening) – write me, I’ll think about it, and how it can work with the theme and worldbuilding I have in mind.

6) Stealing + Protectiveness

Skeppy can sometimes forget about, ahem, moral principles, or human decency… emphasis oh “human”. He’s nature and different worldview it gives, it seeps through in his life and actions even more with age. Especially after he’s been away from actual people for a long while. So, I guess, he might at times steal something that is very important to someone, or do something that could be considered weird or rude in general.

And if Bad really needs something, or is in danger – all rules are down. If there is no one to reality check Skeppy, he might proceed to walk on heads, and commit risky and reckless crimes just to help or save Bad.

They both are quite bad with that, the protecting each other thing. Bad, tho, can be more fiscally violent in his protectiveness.

7) Adrenaline and rollercoasters

Well, it’s not that Bad likes adrenaline specifically, he’s just very curious, likes to try new things, and is almost unkillable. So he can just- just go for everything that’s interesting for him with reckless abandon, and if it goes wrong – welp. Bones can heal limbs can regrow, and the cool abandoned caves will not explore themselves. He’ll have to learn to ease up with lack of selfcare though. Because Bad can’t always leave Skeppy to fend for himself, while he heals, and Skeppy does NOT like seeing Bad getting hurt so much, and not caring about himself at all.

This probably comes back to Bad dealing with his spn nature and learning to make peace between it and himself. And to his anxiety, and unhealthy coping mechanisms.

And hey, it’s the same for Skeppy and his lack of adequate moral compass at times :D

There will be a lot of tension and growing they’d have to do in regards to all this.

Also Skeppy is the one who’s really into chasing the thrills :D Man spent nearly half a year annoying probably-murderous-forest-spirit just for little not-boring fun, jeez :DD

Rollercoasters are a no go, tho. They go up in the air, real high, and, once again, Skeppy and highs do not mix, they do not mingle, they will not have tea parties (with or without bears). Unless, of course, Skeppy really needs to prove something. Then he’ll go on a ride, and die an honorable death, and will never admit he screamed all the way through it.

8) Dates

(*insert an innuendo from Skeppy here*) But, ahm, actually I’d say they love going on picnics: getting food, and hanging around in the nature for a while.

And I honestly donno what I like to think about the most… I just really enjoy the vibe and the atmosphere of the whole story, and how Bad and Skeppy interact in general.

It all is a real delight to write about :D

---

In The Dark - masterpost

#mcyt #mcyt fanart #badboyhalo #skeppy #skephalo #In The Dark #shtern talks #..... #dang i talk a lot don't i #:DDDD #but really #getting these asks getting to write more about this AU - always makes my day

[theclockworkmonk]

Taller

Written for @kataang-week

Day 1: Height Difference

Words: 1,546

Read on AO3

Readon FF.net

******

Despite the ever-present cold, Katara wiped sweat from her brow as she stood back to look proudly at the building made of ice she had just finished. The Southern Water Tribe was swelling faster than anyone had anticipated, and now looked much more like its northern counterpart, with actual streets, canals, and buildings carved with waterbending, instead of the hodgepodge of tents and igloos that Katara had grown up in.

A large part of it had been personally built by Katara herself, and if she was being honest with herself it had long since become unnecessary. A migration of people from the Northern Tribe had come to help rebuilding, swelling the population, and even some Earth Kingdom natives had taken up residence, hoping to establish trade between the two nations for the first time in a hundred years, but they still weren't enough to compare to the population of a proper major city, so large sections of the construction Katara had been working on would remain empty for the foreseeable future.

She knew why she kept going, though. It took her mind off how much she missed Aang.

They had gotten a few months together in peaceful, laugh-filled bliss. But ironically, the same newfound peace that had allowed her to finally slow down and sort out her feelings for Aang, was also what made her finally realize how homesick she was. She had been running all over the world for close to a year, never really having time to think about Gran Gran or all the other people she had left, but as happy as she was in her new daily routine, it still didn't feel like home. Plus, her father had been away from home even longer than she had, and she wanted to make up for lost time. So when he had told Katara and Sokka that he was about to make the journey south, they had both known that they had to join him.

But the world still needed their Avatar, and they needed him in the thick of things, not at the bottom of the world. A hundred years of tension and hostility between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom hadn't vanished overnight, and new fighting threatened to break out every day, even if it wasn't being ordered by the Earth King or Fire Lord, so Aang had his hands full with his duty as peacekeeper and mediator. He couldn't go home with her.

It had broken her heart, and she hadn't known how to tell him she was leaving, but of course she hadn't needed to. With a smile, her sweet boyfriend had been the one to bring it up, insisting that she needed to go with her family, or Sokka would surely cause some kind of catastrophe without her there to look after him, and promised that he would follow her as soon as he could.

That had been seven months ago, and while the pain of missing Aang wasn't as sharp anymore, there were still multiple times a day when she thought about looking down into his gray eyes, or how nicely he fit curled up against her as they lounged on sofas or grassy hillsides.

And her inability to get Aang off her mind certainly wasn't helped by the fact that everyone in the tribe was constantly teasing her about being the Avatar's girlfriend. Every time she would walk past a group of younger girls, they would giggle loudly with each other and, if they were feeling bold, ask if the Avatar was a good kisser. Even Sokka was still coming up with new immature jokes every day; one would think he would get tired of it by now.

So here she was, enjoying her rare piece of solitude on the outskirts of the ever-growing ice city, making it even bigger.

"You know, the basic idea of going home to your family is to actually spend time with your family." Sokka's voice from behind her made her jump.

"Only if Gran Gran stops making wedding plans for both of us," she answered over her shoulder with a laugh.

"You're in luck, it's actually far worse than that," Sokka sighed, putting an arm around his sister's shoulder. "Her target has shifted, now she's of the opinion that it's time for Dad to find another wife."

Katara spun away from him to face him and her mouth gaped open. "WHAT!?" she shrieked so loudly it echoed off of the surrounding ice.

"Yeah, so stop being a loner and come back with me, we need a united front to squash this," said Sokka, and Katara was more than willing to start following him back towards the center of the settlement.

They were approaching their family's hut, right near the edge of the ice shelf where most of the villagers were still clustered, when something made both of them stop dead in their tracks.

To the north, across the water, she heard the distant sound of a loud, low roar. The unique sound of the roar of a sky bison.

Katara and Sokka looked at each other and their faces split into wide grins. They forgot their current familial crisis and ran towards the edge of the ice, waving frantically at the dark dot growing bigger in the distance. Katara was jumping up and down by the time Appa came in for a landing and she could make out Aang's beaming face. The bison's feet hadn't even touched snow yet when Aang leapt off his head and landed in front of Katara, and they both threw their arms around each other and shared a passionate kiss, trying to pour seven months worth of affection into it.

Katara felt like she was floating. She couldn't stop a very girly giggle rising up from her throat as she pulled Aang's face down to kiss him harder—

Wait. Down?

Her eyes snapped open and she suddenly pushed him away to arm's length.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she looked up and down at her boyfriend. No, she hadn't imagined it. He now had a few inches on her. He had shot up so far so fast that he looked like he had been stretched like taffy, his build skinnier than ever and lanky.

Aang frowned in confusion at her reaction. "What's wrong?"

"You're taller," said Katara, like this was a grave betrayal on his part.

"Than what?"

"Than me."

"I've always been taller than you!"

She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at him to say, Really? But Aang maintained his completely straight face. "Aang, everyone knows, I'm the tall, intimidating waterbending master, you're my tiny, adorable squirrelmunk of a boyfriend."

"What? NO!" Sokka's voice called from Appa's side.

Katara and Aang turned to see Sokka's look of despair. He had finally noticed Aang's change after helping a very grumpy and now-actually-blind Toph down from Appa's back and onto the ice.

"Ugh, I know, right?" grumbled Toph. "I've had to switch from short jokes to skinny jokes, which aren't nearly as fun."

"But I've got seven months worth of short jokes I've been sitting on!" Sokka whined pitifully. He, Toph, and Zuko had greatly enjoyed making fun of Aang for being shorter than his girlfriend.

Katara looked triumphantly back at Aang, daring him to keep the charade up, but he couldn't keep it in anymore and his face broke out into a mischievous grin, and soon he was laughing heartily, which Katara joined him in, despite her best efforts.

"Okay, you got me," said Aang. "But in my defense, I never expected you to get this….upset about it? I actually thought you'd be impressed, and maybe more than a little attracted. Is it really a bad thing that I'm taller than you?"

"Well I don't know….maybe," she said with a pout she hoped looked cute. "You were the perfect height for me to kiss you on the forehead. Now I have to pull you down." She did exactly that and planted a kiss in the center of his arrow. "See? Far too much effort."

"You're right, I'll miss that," admitted Aang. "However, if I may make a counterpoint," he pulled her close and easily planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Hmmm," Katara hummed in contentment, closing her eyes and smiling. "I suppose we can make due with that."

Their romantic moment was interrupted by Sokka and Toph doing a loud duet of simulated vomiting noises.

"Oh, like you wouldn't be doing the same thing if Suki were here!" said Katara nastily.

"Yeah, sorry Sokka, but the Kyoshi Warriors are providing additional security for Zuko," said Aang more kindly.

Sokka's face fell, and he sighed. But then, his face lit up and he gave a wicked smile that Katara didn't like at all. "Well, there is one upside to that. That means all the attention will be on you two."

"What attention?" asked Aang.

Leading Toph with one hand, Sokka placed his other one on Katara's shoulder and started leading her back to their family hut.

"Come on, sister, with the Tribe's biggest golden couple reunited again, it won't be Dad's love life that Gran Gran is sticking her nose into."

Katara groaned and considered jumping into the ocean.

#kataang #kataang week #kataang week 2021 #aang x katara #katara and aang #aang #avatar aang #katara #fanfic prompt #atla fanfic #ao3 fanfic #atla #avatar: tla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #height difference #forehead kisses #kataang-week #kw 2021 #day 1: height difference

[rogueyami]

Haikyuu!! Fic Recs

I love reading fanfics, and I have so many bookmarked that I want to share. Hope you all enjoy and give these writers all the love. All of these are completed works, and they are a mixture of one shots and multi chaps.

Kagehina

where the night goes by bigspoonnoya (M)

Summary:

When their bond loses the immediate context of volleyball, they're left to consider why it's still so vital and important.

Meeting again, by chance, six years later.

Somewhere to Belong by Esselle (E)

Summary:

Once a year, all the villages that follow the way of the sun offer up one of their own to be taken to the sun god's divine temple. Kageyama Tobio, an orphan and loner, never wanted to be chosen—and until the sun god appeared, no one ever wanted to choose him, either. All Tobio wants is to find a place he fits in. What he actually gets is another story entirely.

by this time next year by reeology (T)

Summary:

"I got offers from two universities," Kageyama announces, pointing at his chest with his thumb. "I'm going to play volleyball at Keio this spring."

"You still have to pass an exam, even if it's an easy one," Takeda-sensei hurries to add, although he is beaming and bursting with pride at his fluffy little crow chick taking off to play volleyball at a university level.

"I'll pass," Kageyama says with the same kind of confidence he uses when he tells Hinata he'll get the toss to him. He looks straight at Hinata, and Hinata jerks and turns red, wondering if maybe Kageyama knew he was daydreaming about something as stupid as the way Kageyama talks to him during a game. But then Kageyama just points at him and says, "You'd better get in, too."

Hinata, stupid, naive, idiot that he is, grins wide and nods and says, "Yeah!"

He doesn't know what he's in for.

Not Alone by seconddaysea (E)

Summary:

"I'll visit you," Hinata says. "So you're not allowed to get lonely, you got it?" He turns so they're facing each other, hands warm against Tobio's back. "I'm already lonely," he replies quietly, and he presses his face against Hinata's heart, squeezing his eyes shut, because if this is a dream he doesn't want to wake up.

maps, from me to you by tothemoon (T)

Summary:

This is a (non-chronological) account of the memories they make out of millimeters.

Iwaoi

we can do better than that by spaceburgers (M)

Summary:

Oikawa and Iwaizumi go on a road trip during the summer after their high school graduation. It doesn't go as expected, but maybe that's not such a bad thing after all. 

we shine like diamonds by whiitemists (T)

Summary:

Oikawa is nine when he first hears the word. The boys on the playground whisper it like it's dirty, like the way they daringly mutter the word fuck and then look over their shoulders to check their parents hadn't heard.

"You know Abe-kun from class?" they snicker, hands cupped around their mouths like they're passing along a filthy secret. "I hear his older brother is... gay."

here comes your man by newamsterdam (T)

Summary:

Iwaizumi’s left his cell phone on the bench, and while Suga keeps his gaze away from Iwaizumi the phone lights up with a new message.

Iwa-chan, it reads, Have a good day today! Good luck! <3 <3 <3

Suga chokes. It’s hard to imagine anyone calling the scowling and fierce Doctor Iwaizumi “Iwa-chan.” But marriage probably comes with all sorts of liberties.

Mrs. Iwaizumi must be quite the doting wife, Suga thinks. Delivering hand-made bentos and sending along loving messages.

No one really knows much about the new surgical resident, Doctor Iwaizumi, other than the fact that he's married. Suga's determined to find out more, and make a friend of him in the process.            

just hear me out by loveclouds (T)     

Summary:

To stimulate Japan's low birthrates and take most of the guesswork out of dating, a beeper system was biologically developed in people's wrists, an audible confirmation to show romantic compatibility.

Iwaizumi's beeper has been going off for Oikawa since they've been kids. Oikawa's has only ever been silent.

 Call Security! by DeathBelle  (T)    

Summary:

Oikawa Tooru is attractive, charming, and irresistible.

He thinks so, anyway, until he meets the mall's new security guard.

In which Oikawa has a crush, Iwaizumi has no interest, and a chain of shoplifting incidents brings them together.

Bokuaka

(Don't) Touch Me by DeathBelle (E)         

Summary:

Akaashi has always had an aversion to human contact, but earlier in his life it had been bearable. It isn't until his last year of high school that it becomes intolerable. By the time he enters college, any skin contact has the potential to send him spiraling into a breathtaking panic attack.

He reconnects with Bokuto in college, and he seems to be the only person with the ability to calm Akaashi down. He finds himself relying on his old captain more and more, especially when Bokuto deems himself Akaashi's own personal guardian. Despite their connection, he can't touch Bokuto, either; no matter how badly he'd like to.    

Upstairs by yoogiboobi (E)    

Summary:

Bokuto first sees his neighbour at the supermarket, three days after he's moved into his new place.

[...] 

For about a second, a heartbeat, he's met with a pair of dark, piercing eyes, with what is probably eyeliner, looking back at him. It really is just a split second before his hand knocks down three cereal boxes that hit him square in the head, effectively making him break eye contact and drop his groceries to the floor.

In which some of the first things Bokuto learns about his upstairs neighbour are the colour of his eyes and the sound of his moans.         

bang! now we're even by Authoress (E)

Summary:

Akaashi only has two rules when it comes to his profession. One, complete the job as swiftly and cleanly as possible. Two, never trust anyone who smells like blood.

Rule three is to shoot Owl Eyes in the face should he ever come across him, but Akaashi never tells anyone about that one.

Crisis Converted  by valiantarmor (E)    

Summary:

Akaashi Keiji is just a normal cop with a penchant for getting himself into trouble, when quite suddenly he finds himself with a big promotion and a brand new partner.

But his habit of finding trouble hasn't gone away -- if anything, it's only gotten worse. 

cracks in the pavement will lead you home by deusreks (M)    

Summary:

Bokuto often thinks about Akaashi, especially when he’s running. It’s like his legs know where they’re supposed to take him. He grows into a habit of running a lot, just to keep that feeling going. Cracks and holes in the pavement aren’t fun to jump over if the final reward isn’t seeing Akaashi’s face.

An alternate universe with a little bit of magic and a lot of growing up.         

Ushiten

died in my dreams by MTrash (Makaria) (T)

Summary:

If anyone asked Ushijima how it came to this, he wouldn’t be able to formulate a proper answer.

Ushijima likes his quiet, his order, and his solitude. That is, until a loud, talkative and a little chaotic cyber tech convinces him that that's just plain boring.

while i nodded, nearly napping (suddenly there came a tapping) by pseudoanalytics (T)     

Summary:

Of course if there was one thing that could be counted on, it was Ushijima’s blunt, total honesty. “Do you think Tendou is attracted to me?”

Reon froze. “T-Tendou?”

“Yes.”

Tendou was notoriously hard to read, but Reon kind of figured that he wasn’t the type to be anything less than painfully overt with romantic affections.

“I... I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I think if Tendou was attracted to you, he would let you know,” Reon said. “I'd guess he just considers you his best friend.” He hoped his answer would satisfy whatever frenzy the guy had worked himself into so Reon could finally take advantage of his last precious hours of sleep.

But instead, Ushijima visibly deflated in front of him. “Yes. That’s what I thought too,” he said miserably.

Oh, Reon realized. Oh no...

Executive Excursion by DeathBelle (E)    

Summary:

Tendou is fun, quirky, and interesting.

Ushijima is none of the above.

It's no surprise that Ushijima is drawn to Tendou's magnetic personality. What's surprising is that Tendou seems to like Ushijima, too.

With a little support from his coworkers, Ushijima decides to take a chance and ask Tendou on a date. The results are better than expected.

fascinating facts about geckos by miracleboysatori (T)        

Summary:     

Ushijima Wakatoshi.

That’s the coach’s name. And he’s the new biology teacher on campus, so not only is he incredibly beautiful, he's also smart as hell.

Tendou can tell he’s completely doomed.

Affection, and other Quantifiable Actions by badbavarois (T)   

Summary:

(He's a monster) Ushijima Wakatoshi isn't a monster.            

Misc/ Other ships

but not for spring to well up by tookumade (T)  OsaSuna 

Summary:

After ending a relationship with a fiancé, Suna returns home and tries to heal from heartbreak. Here, he finds friends in the form of the Miya brothers, and learns patience, forgiveness, and what happiness means to him.           

the more things change by deadseasalt (E)  OiKage   

Summary:

“So let me get this straight. You went to the Meiji-Chuo game and saw your old crush and after watching Meiji bring Chuo to a crushing defeat, you realized you were still crushing on him big time?”

Kageyama wishes he could spit in Tsukishima’s drink. “It’s not a crush.”

Tsukishima laughs. “You poor dumb fuck.”

Third Impression by DeathBelle (E) Kuroo x Semi

Summary:

If Semi has a type, Kuroo isn't it.

After their first meeting, Semi concludes that Kuroo is smug, presumptuous, and a little too flirtatious for his own good. Their second encounter doesn't change his mind, and Semi does his best to avoid a third.

Kuroo has other ideas, and Semi finds himself tricked into an impromptu tutoring session with Kuroo himself.

It doesn't go as badly as Semi expects.

Mannequin Men by surveycorpsjean  (E) BokuAkaKuroTsukki

Summary:

The modeling world is full of hungry wolves, constantly clambering over the other, snarling and desperate. They fight, and they kill, trampling over anything in their path.

In this case, Akaashi fell in love with the wolves.

Efflorescence by h_lovely (E) MatsuHana

Summary:

"Are we flirting?"   "Do you want to be?"

[Efflorescence (n.) a state of blooming, flowering, and development.]

#haikyuu!! #haikyuu fic recs #fic recs #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu #hq #kagehina #iwaoi #bokuaka #ushiten #matsuhana #oikage #sunaosa #osasuna #kurosemi #kuroo x semi #bokuakakurotsuki #bokuakakurotsukki #all of these are such great fanfics #i hope to make more of these #i still have more for each ship and for diff ships as well

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen [chapt. 6]

[Donnie x reader]

sfw, chapter 5 here

Come on, save it, save it, Donnie chanted to himself later that night, at home and tucked away in his room trying to figure out how to neutralize the situation. He paced along his bed back and forth, phone in hand as he wracked his brain thinking about how he'd get her to let it go. He could tell her that she was...overtired? Go the stereotypical route and say it was just her eyes playing tricks on her? Try to play it off as human teenagers messing around on the roof?

She'd gone to bed already. He hated that he couldn't pursue the subject until morning, her morning, but by then, he'd be tired. When she woke, he slept. But he needed to get it resolved as quickly as possible, so he reckoned it was time to pull an all nighter. Luckily, that wasn't anything he wasn't used to.

He figured he'd get the preliminaries out of the way so he could get right to it when she eventually texted back.

"Good morning

I know you're not awake yet but I figured I'd get an early start today.

I want to know, what exactly did you see last night?"

He shut his phone off and set it down on the bed, fingers rubbing his temples. Depending on her answer, this would either be difficult, or near impossible.

The rest of his time was spent just waiting around for her to finally wake up, dodging all his brothers and trying to occupy himself with something. He was fiddling with the radio he kept on the floor next to his bed when his phone notified him of a message. Turning the volume up, some old-school rock played softly. He didn't always keep music on when he worked, which was what he was doing felt like, but something needed to fill the silence. It also made it feel more casual to have the radio on, for both himself and for whoever might stop by his room.

"Good morning to you too

That was...sudden??"

How nice it was to read those words coming from someone who wasn't his family. Not that they said it like that often anyway, but the small gesture hit differently.

"I'm just really curious about what you said you saw."

Curious? Not quite. More like dying to know, and not because he fancied himself some cryptid hunting.

"That's fair I guess

But don't laugh, ok?"

"I'd never, [y/n]"

"Well

Okay

They were big

But no like not the overweight kinf, not even just 'tall guy' kind of big

kind*

You know?"

Yeah, I aware. I'm 6'8" and have a giant shell on my back.

"They?"

He was hoping she'd only seen one of them. Maybe it would have been easier, but, of course, that wasn't the case.

"I think there were two

Idk it just looked really weird, it was dark but the silhouette from the light made them look bulky, I don't know what it was"

Lips pursed tight, he looked up from his phone, and all of a sudden that music in the background was suffocating. He quickly reached over and shut it off. He needed to be able to divert all of his attention to one thing. Except, even though he should have been spazzing over her spotting them (even if just for a split second), a concern crept up in the back of his mind that made him scoff at himself. The need to know was too great.

His eyes fell on his scaled, three-fingered hand as he typed.

"Did it scare you?"

Perhaps it wasn't what he should have been focusing on. But he was. He knew she hadn't seen much, but what if she quipped that it was frightening, or gross, or…?

"I don't know, Bo

I guess it was kind of freaky

Uh, do you actually believe me? That I saw something?"

"'Freaky?'" he repeated to himself in a whisper, brow ridge furrowed. What was I expecting?

He had to shake himself of whatever was going on in his head at the moment, because there were more pressing matters at hand. Like what he was going to answer her question with. Theoretically, he could go two routes; one, invalidate the experience and try to walk on the line of telling her that it was not real without making her feel crazy. And then probably get mad at him. Or two, go along with it, if he didn't have the heart to do that to her. The answer was already here; he let out a deep sigh. Two, it is.

Nothing could make him want to make her feel that way, even if it meant he'd have to put in a little extra effort in fixing his mistake.

"I wouldn't doubt your judgement, [y/n]."

"Thanks

That makes me feel a lot better

You're a really good guy, Bo :)"

Freezing, he sat and stared at the screen before slowly taking the phone away from his face, lips moving, but no sound coming out. He had no idea what to say; all he could focus on was the fact that the girl he undeniably liked thought he was a good guy. And that, presumably, it meant she might have liked him as well. Big on the "might", he realized as the logical part of his mind took over once again. Regardless, he licked his lips and got to preparing a worthy response. He didn't want to come off as flustered as he felt. Donnie was aware he was not particularly suave—he took solace in the fact that she couldn't see his face or hear his voice. He contemplated on acting a bit more "cool guy" than he actually was, but wanted her to like him for him, not a facade. Which was a major contradiction to all that he had done up to that point, but the least he could do was be the person he was on the inside!

"You there?"

"Sorry, I got distracted…

You really think so?"

"That I think you're a great guy?"

"Well...yes."

"Totally. 100%"

His heart was going, he was stammering to himself, and a new feeling enveloped him. He was no stranger to the different emotions; he'd gotten familiar with many of them. Because though he didn't always show it, he had a lot of feelings. These, he felt most viscerally. But he had to get back on track. If he could push last night's incident under the rug, all would be well. More well than it already was, considering.

"Thank you, [y/n]

To be honest, I've never had a friend like you

So, do you want to talk more about what you saw? I know I'm switching tracks quickly, it's just very….interesting."

It was a jarring and awkward subject change, he knew that, but he desperately wanted to get it out of the way. The sooner, the better.

"I suppose

You seem pretty interested in it"

Maybe she wasn't hanging onto the experience like he'd thought she would. There were so many tales of people seeing inexplicable things and becoming enraptured by the experience that he guessed he should only expect the worst, but it appeared that she was not so obsessed. Crisis averted?

"Not too much, I was just wondering

We can forget about it."

"Oh, I'm not going to forget about it, Bo"

There it is, he thought, not surprised.

After thirty minutes of attempting to throw her off without coming off as suspicious himself, he had to take a breather, reorganize his mind. Only to come back and find that she had to go take care of things, and that she'd talk to him later. He'd done as much fixing as he could; at that point, it was as good as it was going to get. The thought of being looked for by his unknowing friend loomed about in the coming weeks as they did their patrols, when they would pass by her residence, and the times that he snuck off to stop by himself. Sometimes accompanied by Mikey, but he tried to keep it as solitary as possible. Soon, watching her on her balcony from that roof became part of his routine. He vaguely thought sometimes that watching her like that could be considered creepy, but that ship had already sailed.

For the third time in the last month he was there yet again, on the same roof, watching the same balcony, watching the same girl. Sometimes they texted, sometimes they didn't. The times he wasn't talking to her as he sat there were the times he daringly crossed the threshold onto the fire escape. There were only a few instances of that. But did he still feel out of his mind doing so? Yes. The window only looked into part of the living room and kitchen, but he felt scandalous to do it. Most of his time there was spent only with his shell against the wall next to the window, just out of sight. He could always hear her faint but noticeable footsteps coming and could easily vault the railing and climb up or drop down. She couldn't get past his keen hearing unless she knew to tread lightly.

Mikey was with him once again, this time out to look for scrap rather than patrol. He'd been buddied up with his younger brother more often ever since their talk that night in Donnie's room. They only stopped by because they were already out and had a viable excuse.

"Does she know about us? Like, me, Leo, Raph..." rambled Mikey, curious, as he practiced one of his new moves with his skateboard. He kicked up onto the ledge of the roof and skidded before hopping off, tucking the board under his arm. "You guys have been together like, what, two months? And she doesn't even know your name."

Fiddling with the strap reaching around his shoulder, Donnie replied matter-of-factly to hide the embarrassment that was ailing him at the thought, "Okay, for starters, we're not 'together'. And secondly, she hasn't mentioned voice chatting in a while."

"And?" He got back on his board, zooming by Donnie.

"My name? It just hasn't come up," Donnie shrugged.

"Call her, then!" Mikey smiled, still preoccupied with his board and trying out his new tricks. Donnie gave a light scoff and shook his head. His brother passed behind him where he sat leaned against the water tower.

"I don't want to just call her out of nowhere, Mikey, she might be asleep."

He also didn't want his brother there when he did.

"You gotta not be so shy!...oh, look, in the window. Right there. See? She's up," he quipped with a small smirk. The curtain was drawn, but the light had turned on at some point, and they could see her silhouette moving past. Donnie looked over his shoulder to say something but felt a hand slip into his pocket on the other side, stealing his phone right off of him. He was fast, but Mikey was faster in jumping into his board and gliding all the way to the other side of the roof with the fussy turtle hot on his trail.

"Mikey, quit it!" Donnie barked, lunging toward him for the phone.

"You'll thank me later!"

The two wrestled for the phone, Mikey holding it just out of reach as he tried to navigate the screen without dropping it.

"Come on," grunted Donnie as the tussle led them near the edge, where Mikey held it precariously over the alley below. His glasses were jostled off his face when a stray hand bumped them, causing them to fall amongst their feet. Squinting, he partially knelt down and searched for the pair while still looking at his brother and his phone, trying to stretch his arm long enough to snatch it. "Really?" he groaned, "just give me the phone!"

Donnie slung out his staff and used the other end to whack his wrist from underneath just as he pulled away from the edge, losing his grip on the phone. Mikey tried to catch it but it bounced off his hand, going right over the side of the roof and plummeting down into the alley.

Mikey froze. Donnie finally found his glasses.

Laughing nervously, Mikey turned back to him, "Whoops…"

When he didn't immediately find the phone on the ground, Donnie knew what happened. He looked over the edge, and there it was, sitting on the pavement in the alleyway. The building wasn't incredibly tall, but enough to do some major damage. He'd have to switch for one of his spares if he didn't want to deal with a busted-up screen.

"I don't need your 'help', Mikey, so leave it alone next time," Donnie said and gave him a narrow-eyed look, huffing as he leaped down to retrieve it.

Mikey may have been insistent, but he knew then it was time to stop. All he wanted to do was help. For his shy, flakey brother to come out of his shell (no pun intended). Donnie, at that time, had the biggest shot out of all of them for something unique and good. He hadn't yet worked out the logistics of how to bridge the gap between the two, but it was a calling of his to help him along.

Donnie watched for people from behind a corner before creeping out to get the phone, which was face down on the concrete. No doubt cracked to all hell if not completely shattered, though it did have a case.

But as he got closer, he heard a voice. From the phone.

He picked up the phone timidly and shot a glance up at the roof, where Mikey was peeking over the edge in apprehension. Without a word, Donnie activated the taser in his staff, pointing it at his brother and zapping it briefly. He flinched and retreated out of sight.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Bo?" she asked again, tone riddled with confusion. "What was that?"

"Uh, yes—hol—hold on, please," stammered out donnie, flying around the corner and pressing flat against the wall as a group of laughing people passed by the alley. "Just one second," he said nervously. Above him, Mikey was rapidly motioning for him to get up there, eyes wide and body trying to stay low. Baffled, Donnie gestured back at him, mouthing at him to keep his pants on for one more minute while he made his way up.

"Hey, what's going on there?" she inquired, concerned.

A street cat abruptly skittered out from between his legs from the dumpster he stood next to, and he had to stifle a startled yelp. He hopped up onto the nearest fire escape, trying to control his breathing. "Hey, hello…[y/n]," he half-chuckled, distracted by working up the building one-armed as he kept as quiet as possible.

"What was all that? And who's 'Mikey'?"

There was suddenly a shout—Mikey's shout—and his stomach did a jump. He sputtered as fast as he could, "I'm sorry [y/n] but this really isn't a good time, and I mean it really isn't," he pulled himself up onto the roof, and there was Mikey, fending off men clad in black, "so I have to go, but—"

"Don, dude! I need help over here!" cried his brother, sliding out of the way as a sword was jabbed towards him. He countered with a harsh uppercut to the man's chin, sending him stumbling backwards. The blade fell to the concrete with a clank.

"'Don'? Bo, what the hell?! Who is with you? And—"

Donnie jumped into the battle, a mix of nine or ten armed men with swords other weapons, and Mikey trying to stave them off, swinging his chucks with nothing short of reckless abandon. But he still didn't hit himself with them.

Ending the call, he secured the phone in his pocket. He wailed the guy closest to him in the side of the head with the heavy staff, then kicked him in the chest. The man fell to the blow, and Mikey ducked underneath the length of Donnie's weapon just in time as the two came together. Stray bullets flew past them, some colliding with their shells as they spun around for protection.

"How was it?!" Mikey yelled over the clamor, breathless. Donnie sidestepped from the rapid hit he sent towards the human to his left.

"What are you talking about?!" Donnie loudly questioned, flummoxed of what could have been going on in his brain during a fight. "We're kind of in the middle of something here!"

"Your phone call!"

"Yeah, the hell's the talkin' about, Don?" a gruff voice cut through the jumble.

Both of the boys whirled around to see their older brothers there, weapons drawn.

"Oh, right. As soon as I saw those bad guys coming, I let them know," said Mikey casually to Donnie, throwing his fist into the face of the man coming up behind him. "You know, standard biz."

With the rest of the team there, the fight was over twice as fast. Some groaning in pain and some unconscious bodies littering the area, along with their weapons. Leo finished the last one and sheathed his swords, eyes on their tallest brother while Raph kept watch around them. Donnie swallowed as Leo approached him.

"Don, you said you were going out for scrap metal," Leo stated.

In the background, Mikey grabbed his skateboard and was going to try to kickflip over one of the knocked out guys, but Raph yanked the board from him, growling. He checked all of the men to make sure they were down and would stay down.

"We were...just on our way back?" Donnie answered. Nearby, there was a small pile of scrap he'd collected, though definitely not enough to justify being out that long.

"So you stopped at your friend's place?" Leo deadpanned, crossing his arms. "Didn't you think that this could get her in trouble, too? Her apartment's right there, dude!"

Mikey budded in and corrected him, "Ah, we stopped by [y/n]'s. And nah! It's all good."

Donnie's face twitched. "Of course I thought about it! That's why I've only come here three times since, and only thirty minute intervals!" he bit back, throwing his hands up. The rest of his brothers all looked at him and his specificity. "I'm not naive, Leo."

The leader pushed past the both of them, signalling that it was time to leave, and they followed. Not before Donnie got what little metal he had collected and put away his staff, tucking the stuff under his arm. Raph joined alongside Donnie as they ran. "What's with all the secret' stuff, Don? First, ya hide it to begin with, then, ya make out like you were done, and now you get jumped by Foot guys by her place when you shoulda been gettin' scrap!" he said. "How were we supposed to cover for ya if you're lyin' even after we let you off?"

"Technically, I did get some!" Donnie remarked. He held up a piece of the scrap for him to see, and Raph snorted. "But..."

Well, his question would be a little harder to answer.

Next block was the nearest manhole, where each turtle swiftly jumped in, knowing by heart (and years of wandering) most of the sewers and the way back home. In some tunnels was Mikey's telltale graffiti, but it was scattered throughout the place enough to not be a giant arrow to their hideout. In the last portion of the run was the tunnel they always slid down, and once they were actually home, Donnie knew what was coming. Master Splinter was already waiting for them by the time they arrived.

"Uh-oh," Mikey said upon seeing him, sinking behind his brothers. Raph pushed him back up front.

Dropping the scrap in his arms, Donnie squeaked, "That's not good." He quietly cursed how high pitched his voice became when he was nervous.

"Yeah…" Leo cleared his throat, looking down at his hands clasped in front of him. The situation had an awkward tension for everyone in it, save for Raph, who was immune to it by then and Splinter himself. "We took care of the soldiers," he added more seriously. "Got out of there before too much attention was drawn.

"The police may be able to handle them from here, but it will not make a dent in the Shredder's forces," explained Splinter, grave as he paced along the line of brothers. "He owns the city. Until I say so, there will be no venturing to the surface. You are all lucky to be unharmed."

"That ain't it," Raph piped up. "But they'll be bringin' the big guns, next time."

"Oh, I am well aware."

"Um...of which thing?" the nervous turtle questioned, exchanging glances to Raph and then Mikey.

Splinter raised his brows knowingly, and that was all it took for Donnie. The floodgates of his signature anxious chatter opened. He grabbed the edge of Mikey's shell and pulled him over into the spotlight with him, "I met someone over an online game and we started texting after a few weeks, and—and Leo found out and I said I would stop, but we never told you," he gestured toward their brother in blue, who refused to make eye contact, "so I told her that it was through and then Mikey somehow convinced me to go back on it," he sucked in a breath, and Mikey grinned uncomfortably, "and then we started talking again and I don't know why, but I went back there to her apartment building and it was just…stupid."

There was a cumbrous pause. Donnie was stiff as a board, Mikey couldn't look at any one thing too long, Leo stood in his polite but awkward stance, and Raph started to whistle.

As poised as ever, Splinter spoke. "I know."

All four pairs of eyes shot to their father.

"What?"

"Uh..."

"Huh?"

"Wait."

They expressed their collective confusion at the same time, and Splinter chuckled. Donnie wanted nothing more than to be able to retreat into his shell, but that was physically impossible. "Nothing gets past me, especially not you and your nervous habits, Donatello. You are scratching that spot on your neck again, son."

Flinching, Donnie pulled his hand away. He'd be damned; Splinter was right.

But unbeknownst to them, there had been spectator of their fight on the roof that night.

————————————————————————————————

shh do not think too deeply about this my children

a/n: haha plot device go brrrr

i need to finish this cursed fanfiction

#tmnt #tmnt donnie x reader #tmnt Donatello #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt 2016 #tmnt 2014 #tmnt bayverse #tmnt x reader #tmnt donnie #donatello #donatello x reader #tmnt donatello #tmnt leonardo #tmnt raphael #tmnt michaelangelo #fanfiction #tmnt fanfiction #writing #tmnt leo #tmnt raph #tmnt mikey

[quiet-onset]

New Suit

Pairing: Sam Wilson x Black!Reader

Word Count: 3.8k+

A/N: it’s been forever since I’ve posted, but I have been writing since I was stuck at home with covid 😅 Hopefully I can post something else next week too! ANYWAYS, this fic does not have any TFAWS spoilers and (as usual) does not give a fuck about Endgame, meaning our favorite dysfunctional couple Tony and Steve are alive. Steve simply passed on the mantle. Enjoy!

So Sam was Captain America. And he was proud of that fact. 

The day that Steve decided to retire and give him one of his most prized possessions was a day Sam would never forget. A whirlwind of emotions had swelled in his chest. Shock, unworthiness, gratitude. But after talking it over with Steve — and surprisingly enough, with Bucky — Sam agreed to take in the role.

The thing was, no one knew yet. At least, no one outside of the Avengers facility.

Immediately after Thanos, there weren’t really any Avengers level threats. Most threats could be handled by one team member, and it was usually one of the newbies — Peter, Scott, even Wanda. That being so, Sam didn’t have much of a reason to even make public appearances. So he didn’t.

Sometimes, he’d stand in the training room, the red, white, and blue shield strapped to his arm, and just stare in the mirror. Something felt wrong. Out of place. Like the reflection before him was almost right, but he still couldn’t tell what was wrong. Tony had caught him one time as he stepped into the room, a sports bottle full of ice cold water in his hand. “Mid-life crisis?”

Sam jumped at his loud voice and almost scrambled to detach the shield from his arm, like a kid caught with his grubby little hand in the cookie jar. “My bad, I’ll just—“

“No no, keep it on.” Tony waved a hand. “I gave it to Steve, he gave it to you. It’s yours, no give backsies.”

Sam nodded but took the shield off anyway. He decided that he didn’t need to train anymore and headed toward the door. “I’m just gonna go put this back.”

“What is going on with you, Wilson?”

“What do you mean?”

Tony raised a brow, “What do I mean? You staying cooped up in this facility. Barely training with the shield. Opting out of assignments. That’s what I mean.”

“There’s not much of a need.”

“There is. You just don’t see it yet.” Tony walked toward him. “Look, I know being the new Cap has you freaked out—“

“I’m not freaked out.”

“Sure. But Steve chose you and that should be good enough.”

“It is.” Sam huffed as he turned the shield in his hands. “I don’t know, man. I just… It’s just hard to believe. Hard to put in action, I guess.”

“Well, seeing is believing.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Head to room 626 when you get a chance.”

“What’s in room 626?”

“You’ll see.”

—

Sam exited the elevator on the sixth floor to loud muffled music. Looking around, he realized he’d never even been to that part of the facility before. The white walls and obscure art seemed strange and misplaced in a building full of superhumans. Too clean, too elegant. 

Each of the rooms seemed that way too. Sam paused in the hallway, glancing through some of the glass doors with people’s names painted neatly at the top. Hardwood floors and marble countertops in each room. So impeccably clean that even dust bunnies wouldn’t dare step foot inside. 

Yet, when Sam approached room 626, he realized this was where the loud music was coming from. Different from the other rooms, this one was messy and colorful. He slid the glass door open, flinching at loud volume. 

He recognized the track — his father used to listen to it all the time when he was growing up. He could almost hear his dad’s deep voice teasing him: “You don’t know nothin’ ‘bout this, son. This was before your time.” Of course Sam knew the song. His dad was the one who put him on. Still, Sam’s dad always got a kick out the playful fight he put up. 

The long, seemingly endless hallway was painted a blinding white. He could make out a peculiar smell as he walked toward the end of the hall. Wet paint or fumes, he wasn’t really sure. He just pulled his shirt over his nose and kept looking for… well only God really knew. 

Finally, he arrived in the main room and saw you and your controlled chaos. You had ten or twenty different fabrics pinned to one wall and sketches of different outfits pinned to the opposing one. Against the back wall were mannequins wearing your works in progress. And just in front of Sam on a large wooden desk were schematics and what looked like engineering tools. Soldering iron, wires, circuit boards, and the like.

Everything seemed like a tornado of colors, clothes, and fabric. But you? You were as cool as a cucumber with your expensive looking spray painting mask strapped on as you sprayed the back of a jean jacket with bright pink paint. Sam chuckled when he heard your muffled voice sing along to the song, not noticing his presence. “Sherry bay-yay-by. Sherry, wontcha come out tonight.”

Sam pulled his shirt back down with a small grin on his lips, debating whether he should disturb you. In the end, he decided to save you the embarrassment, but by then, you’d already moved on to the next verse. You dropped your voice down low in an attempt to sound just like Nick Massi, singing, “Why don’t you come on.”

Sam let out a loud laugh, only covering it with his hand as you jumped, finally realizing someone else was in the room. “Sorry.” Sam chuckled. “Didn’t mean to interrupt your concert.”

You pulled the mask over your head, revealing a nervous smile. You jogged to the desk and grabbed the remote to switch off the stereo. “Concert’s a flattering choice of words.”

“Well you were really nailing that Massi.”

You raised a brow as you set down the can of spray paint. “You listen to Four Seasons?”

“Growing up, it was a staple in the Wilson household.” He offered his hand. “I’m Sam, by the way.”

“Y/N.” You shook it, an impressed smile on your face. “So what can I do for you, Sam?”

“I’m actually not sure. Tony just kinda sent me up here.” He raised a brow when you gasped, amused with your excitement. He smiled as the cute squeal that pushed past your lips. “I assume you know what that means.”

“I’ve been asking him forever if I could design your new suit!”

“New suit?”

“I mean, if you’re okay with it.” You added.

“I just don’t see why I need a new suit is all.” Sam shrugged as he looked around at all your work. He knew, way deep down in the rational part of his consciousness, that he needed a new suit. There wasn’t anything wrong with his Falcon suit, but wearing a new suit seemed too definite. If he put on a new combat suit, it meant that he was fully stepping into this new role. That he would be Captain America in more than just name. People would look at him, at his suit, and recognize that he was the Captain America.

“How about this?” You stepped toward him, prepared to bargain. “Let me make you a suit. If you don’t like it, I’ll just give your Falcon suit an upgrade. Deal?”

He let out a nervous chuckle at your offer. He had nothing to lose, really. Either way, he got upgrades. Still, he looked over at you and decided he couldn’t be the one to snuff the ambitious look in your dark eyes. He shook your hand, smiling softly at the triumphant grin that broke across your face. “Deal.”

“Great!” You were bouncing on your toes when he agreed. You practically raced back to your desk and started shuffling through your sketches and until you found the folder you were searching for. You handed them to Sam, “You can come back tomorrow morning so I can take your measurements. Till then, look through these sketches and tell me what you like.”

“So you’ve been working on this for awhile?” Sam asked, briefly flipping through the many colorful sketches.

“Ever since Tony told me about you.”

He let out a breath of amusement through his nose. Of course it was Tony, trying to set things in motion before Sam was even sure of what he wanted. Still, he knew Tony was trying to help. Sam gestured with the folder. “I’ll take a look.”

“Cool. Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.”

— 

When Same woke up the next day, he found himself immediately thinking about meeting with you later. He felt weird. Nervous, even. Whether it was due to the idea of a new suit — of being Captain America — or seeing you, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he felt like a swarm of butterflies had flown from his stomach to his throat and decided to make a home there.

After stepping out of the shower, which took twenty more minutes than usual, he fumbled around for something to wear. What was he supposed to wear to fitting anyway? Sweats? Jeans? As his mind wandered, he thought of you. Rather, he thought of how you would see him. Maybe I should wear the green shirt, he thought. Girls always seem to like the green shirt.

He paused. Why was he thinking that?

He’d just met you. He knew a total of two facts about you: your name was Y/N and you listened to Four Seasons. That was hardly enough for Sam to be worried about how he looked for you. Yet, there he was, slipping on the dark green shirt that seemed to stretch ever so slightly across his broad chest. He settled on a pair of dark jeans before heading down to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

As he stepped into the communal kitchen, Bucky was already sitting at the island, back facing Sam. He had just returned from his daily run, still in his sweatpants and white T-shirt with a cup of coffee in front of him. “There’s still fresh coffee in the pot.” Bucky mumbled into his cup as he flipped to the next page of the newspaper.

“Thanks.” Sam walked past him, slapping the newspaper into Bucky’s face as he walked by. “Why are you reading a newspaper?”

“To keep up with the news. Like a normal person.”

“There are these great new things called cell phones. Most people read the news on those now.” 

“Well, I’m not most people, am I?” Bucky lowered the newspaper and furrowed his brow at the sight of Sam. “What girl are you trying to impress?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Green shirt.”

“What about it?”

“That’s your ‘I want a girl to like me’ shirt.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sam scoffed as he poured a second cup of coffee. “This is just a shirt.”

“The shirt.”

“I’m not having this argument with you.”

“Not much of an argument when you know I’m right.” Bucky smirked. “Who’s the second cup for?”

Sam paused as he realized he’d been caught, but quickly recovered with an eye roll. “For me. So I don’t have to come back and hear your annoying ass voice.”

“Mhm. Tell the girl I said hi.” 

“Screw you.” Sam left the kitchen to the sound Bucky’s chuckles, reluctant to admit that he was right. Moments later, he was waiting for the elevator, tapping his shoe to distract himself from the butterflies that were starting to flutter around again. When the doors slid open, Tony briefly greeted Sam before stopping and pulling off his glasses. “Green shirt?”

Sam stepped past him. “Shut up.”

Every step closer to your workspace had him jittery. Not only was he forced to deal with these unfamiliar feelings for you — if that’s what they were — but he was finally being confronted with his new position. One step closer to replacing Steve. To being Captain America. Yet, he couldn’t deny, he could envision himself in some of the suits you had sketched for him. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

When he entered 626, there was loud music playing once again. Another old song he recognized, Van Morrison. He smiled at the thought of you dancing around your space again, singing along to Brown Eyed Girl. It wasn’t so much about him catching you in the act. It was nice, a privilege really, to see the natural you. Eyes closed, arms up, hips swaying. Seeing how you act when you believed no one was watching was like strangely endearing.

And there you were, almost matching his wandering thoughts to a tee. You were setting up for work, once again not noticing Sam’s arrival. You danced across the room as you moved things from place to place. You began to sing out the words as you prepared to lift your tri-fold mirror. Sam broke from the trance and called out your name. You jumped and placed a hand over your heart, laughing quietly when you saw it was only him. “Caught me again.”

“To be fair, you seem pretty easy to catch with the way you get lost in music.” Sam smiled, placing the coffee cups on your desk, far from any of your papers. “Let me get that for you.”

“Oh, you don’t have to—”

“It’s no problem. Just tell where you want it.”

You stepped away from the mirror, tossing a stray braid over your shoulder with a smile. “Just over there, in front of that pedestal. Thanks.” When he went to lift it, your eyes were drawn to his arms, watching his biceps flex. You caught yourself before you could begin to stare, heat rising to your cheeks as you went to look for your measuring tape.

“Oh, by the way, I brought you a cup of coffee.” Sam mentioned as he set the mirror down. “You know, if you drink it? I didn’t know what you put in it, if anything, so it’s black. Is that okay?”

“That’s perfect, actually.” You sighed happily. “I’ve been trying to replace coffee with loud music in the mornings, hence the dancing.”

“Of course.” He chuckled in response.

“And while I love to blast Morrison at nine in the morning, it’s not the same without a hot cup of coffee.” You took the cup he offered with a smile. “Thanks for thinking of me.”

Sam couldn’t help how his heart skipped a beat. “Don’t mention it.”

You took a sip, “So, you ready to get measured for your new suit?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“Great, just step onto the pedestal for me, and relax.”

“Got it.”

It was quiet as you brought the tape measure under his arms and around his chest. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but Sam was sure his nerves had to be radiating out of him. The butterflies were beating against his ribcage as you pulled just tight enough on the tape measure. You took note of the number and bent over to write it down on your notepad. Being so close to you, Sam felt himself tense up as you measured around his waist. You chuckled and looked up at him. “You gotta relax.”

“I’m relaxed.”

“If you don’t loosen up, your new suit is gonna be super tight in all the wrong places.” You joked. “Talking usually helps.”

“About what?”

“Anything.” You shrugged. “Like why are you so opposed to a new suit?”

Almost as if it was a reflex, Sam tensed up again with a nervous and playful chuckle. “Way to get me to relax.”

“I’m just saying.” You laughed, adjusting the tape once again. “It’s not like you’re not qualified. I mean, Steve chose you.”

“Yeah, he did. I wish it were that simple in my mind.” He admitted.

“What’s your mind saying?”

“What isn’t it saying?” Sam rolled his eyes at himself. “It’s just… I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do.”

“I don’t want to put that on you. That’s not your job.”

“It’s not.” You agreed with a chuckle. “But that’s not why I asked. You can tell me.”

Again, with a wave of confusion, he felt the tension melt away. He didn’t know why he felt this way, like he could tell you anything and everything. There was a familiarity about you, like you were someone he’d known his entire life despite only meeting twenty hours ago. His father probably would’ve called you an old soul. Maybe in some other lifetime, in another universe, you knew each other. Or maybe, this was just fate coming to pass. Destiny finding, not two halves, but two wholes — putting them together like some sort of experiment to see what would come of it.

“It’s just… how am I supposed to follow after Steve?” He asked. “He has such a huge story, this legacy just hanging over my head. He’s been saving people since before either of us were born. And now here I am, some dude from the Air Force that met Steve completely by accident, about to take up his shield. It just seems unbelievable. Literally.”

You nodded as you measured around his left thigh. “First, let me say that your feelings are completely valid.”

“Why do I feel like you’re about to decimate everything I just said?”

“Not decimate!” You laughed. “Just gently prove wrong.”

“Oh, in that case.” He smiled down at you.

“Shut up.” You snapped him with the tape measure before measuring his other thigh. “Steve is not the only one with a story. I mean, Sam Wilson, the guy who grew up in Harlem, lost his parents and his best friend, and still managed to not give up? The guy Steve Rogers trusted with his life almost immediately after meeting him? The same dude who stole a top secret government project and used it to become a superhero? I think that’s pretty badass.”

Sam considered your words with a small smile. Sure, he may have seemed normal — maybe even mundane — to himself, but the fact is that he had also been through a lot. Just like Steve, Sam realized that his life was no walk in the park. Not many people couldn’t have lived Sam’s life and come out the other side not just okay but strong. He wasn’t Steve Rogers, but that didn’t matter. He was Sam Wilson, and maybe that was okay. 

“You’re good at that.” He commented quietly, looking down at you. He just about caught himself staring at you. The bright smile across your ruby shaded lips, the almost childlike excitement in your eyes. And your eyes — jesus. They were the same color as his, a dark brown. Yet, he couldn’t help but find yours so much more interesting.

“At what?”

“Talking to people.”

“Not everyone. Just...” You shook your head as you stood up straight. There was something indecipherable in his eyes — or maybe you wanted to believe it was. Still, it was there. Admiration, confusion, gratefulness? You weren’t sure. But the intensity of his stare made heat spread across your cheeks one more, and you ducked your head, moving to the side to measure the length of his arm. “Just people like you.”

Minutes later, you finished his measurement and moved on to the designs. You and Sam went through each and every one, noting his likes and dislikes. As time went on, it became very apparent that he was ready to be Captain America. Even if he wasn’t sure yet, you were. Much too soon, every detail of his new suit was planned out, and it was time for Sam to go. 

“If I make this my top priority, I can have your new suit finished in two weeks, tops.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Sam said bashfully. “I’m sure you have other work to do.”

“None as exciting or as important.”

“Now you’re just stroking my ego.” He joked.

You scoffed painfully, “Like you need me to do that.”

You walked beside him, down the hall and to the elevator. He couldn’t help but wish he had some sort of excuse to stay, but leading the Avengers meant a mountain of responsibilities. Still, he wanted to see you again. Not for work and not for designing a new suit. He wanted to get to know you away from the fabric and tape measures. He wanted to find out how someone as sweet and breathtaking as you could even exist in a world filled with such evil left and right. So, he rocked back and forth for a moment before turning to you. 

“And um, Y/N?”

“Yes?”

Sam fully intended to ask you out just then. But he felt like he couldn’t move. A feeling of nervousness he hadn’t gotten since he was a teenager, he was frozen. Staring at you like a deer in headlights, his brain screamed at him: Just ask her, you dumbass! Then, the elevator announced its arrival with a ding and broke his concentration. He cleared his throat and smiled nervously. “Thank you again. You’ve been a huge help.”

You blinked in confusion but stammered out, “Glad to be of service.”

It wasn’t until a few days later that Sam had gained the courage to do what he should’ve done in that moment. 

The city was in danger — some high-level Hydra threat — and the Avengers were needed. Everyone rushed off to suit up, including Sam. That’s when he saw it. You had just finished his suit, and it was more than Sam could’ve ever imagined. A shiny white breastplate with red decals on the torso, blue pants lined with bulletproof material, and to top it off, his signature red wings. That was something he wanted to keep. They reminded him of his humble beginnings, of what made him the man that Steve chose to be Captain America. 

And Captain America he was. 

Sam was aware of all the stares he got as he fought the Hydra agents and ended the crisis with the rest of the team. He knew it would take some getting used to. But he was pretty sure — no, extremely sure that he could do this. He could be the symbol that the public needed. 

He strolled back into the Avengers Complex, handing a handcuffed Hydra agent off to be questioned, when he saw you. You were usually there waiting, ready for feedback on your new toys and inventions. But what Sam said surprised you. 

“Hey Sam,” You started. “Did your new suit fare well? I was already thinking of some modifications based on —“

“Would you like to go out with me this Saturday?”

You blinked, lowering your clipboard in shock. “What?”

“Would you like to have dinner with me on Saturday?” He smiled wide and unabashedly. Then, with no hesitation, you smacked him on the arm with your clipboard, making him bark out a laugh. 

“Took you long enough.”

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