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joelsdagger · 3 months

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all the things i would do

read on ao3 | resources on how to help Palestine here <3

pairing: joel miller x f!reader

summary: porn no plot. joel finds an article of clothing of yours and there’s nothing holding him back once he gets his hands on them.

rating: explicit, 18+ MDNI

content warnings: [Post Outbreak], established relationship, implied age gap (25+ years), joel is canon age, slightly domestic joel (blink and it’s gone), joel has a panty kink, panty sniffing, masturbation (m), soft dom!joel, fingering, oral (f receiving), unprotected p in v sex, pet names (use of baby, sweet baby, sweetheart, love), smidgen of fluff (these two are so in love it’s sickening), an inkling of a size kink (but in my head joel’s at least 6’5, he’s a BIG big man in my brain), joel’s filthy mouth, praise kink, hint of sub!joel, nipple play, one use of the word ‘Daddy’ (moots don’t look at me I couldn’t help it), slight tummy kink/tummy worship, cum eating. No use of Y/N. No physical descriptions of reader other than having hair long enough that it’s past her shoulders.

word count: 3.1k

A/N: so, a few things before we get started. i’m new to writing fics and this is my first time publicly putting out a fic that wasn’t just for shits and giggles for my friends and i and i’m so fucking nervous like the amount of times i’ve panicked over this is a little embarrassing to admit but we ball. that being said, i love and welcome constructive criticism as long as you’re nice about it. there was an alternative version of this, it’s more like a deviation (literally sitting in my drafts as we speak) but reader is more involved in the situation, if y’all still wanna read that, just let me know and i’ll work on getting it out for you guys. finally, shout out to @skrunkly-scrimblo for encouraging me to actually write this all those months ago and for all your brilliant ideas and encouragement and practically holding my hand through it since day one, @aurasjournal for being such a gem and helping me with the cover for this fic and hyping me up, and thank you to @papurgaatika and @nevergoingbacknowshine for being so kind and encouraging and listening to my 3am rants when i was anxious. another big thank you to kat, aura, and naya for beta reading and helping me during the editing process. all four of you have been absolute sweethearts despite me being a pussy about posting this. okay i’m done rambling, enjoy some of the filth that constantly plagues my brain <3

Joel’s eyes blink open slowly, the sun peeks into the bedroom through the curtains across the room. For a moment he searches for you beside him, but remembers you’ve already left for the day out on patrol duty. Joel harrumphs, still bothered over letting you and Ellie bully him out of his patrol duties. “You’ve been hurting yourself too much baby,” You had told him a few weeks ago over breakfast. “Yeah, you’re an old man now. You fall over one more time and you’re done.” Ellie snickers from her seat in the kitchen. Joel just rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to the dishes, but you had caught the small grin on his face when he turned his head back to the sink. Against the two of you, Joel never stood a chance.

Joel drags himself out of bed towards his dresser to grab a new set of clothes. He throws on a blue shirt that fits a little snug on his well built form, the thin material stretches over his broad shoulders, across his strong back, and pulls taut over his biceps and he grunts as he pulls a pair of dark wash jeans over his strong, thick thighs, securing them in place with a distressed leather belt that he’s had for years. Once he’s dressed, he takes in the mess in the room. He notices both of your clothes from the night before are still scattered around the room. He bends down to pick them up, he grunts as his knees pop when he stands back up. He starts gathering them up to toss them into the hamper already overflowing with clothes. The last article of clothing out of place is yours. Your black lace panties on the armchair in the corner. He grabs them and his eyes widen when he feels it, the center still wet from him making you come earlier. His cock instantly hardened in his jeans.

Joel turns on his heel and in just a few long strides he’s in your shared bathroom. He deliberately avoids the mirror, knowing that if he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror he’ll disgust himself even more. Briskly, he sets the laundry hamper on the tile near the bathtub. Joel brings the thin black lace up to his face, closes his eyes and he sniffs them, breathing you in completely. He groans at the scent of you. His cock painfully hard now. He knows he shouldn't but he can't help it. He’s addicted to you and he knows he can’t wait til you get home. He knows he can’t wait to have his way with you, dig into you any way that you will let him. So, without another second of hesitation, Joel unbuckles his belt, a clink from the metal hitting the edge of the counter, unzips his jeans and takes his thick, heavy cock out, and then brings your soaked panties to his angry, leaking tip. His precum meets the wetness of your panties and he hisses at the feeling. With the wetness of the gusset of your panties acting as a lubricant, Joel begins to slowly stroke himself, wanting to take his time, savoring every feeling, relishing in it. Joel soon becomes too desperate for release, he quickly loses control, his hips moving faster to fuck his hand, his hand tightening around his cock, the grip almost painful now. His eyes are screwed shut, as he throws his head back, the night before instantly replaying in his head.

He had just gotten out of the shower to find you sprawled out on your stomach on your side of the bed, ankles crossed in the air. He rakes his eyes over your form until his eyes land on your ass. You were wearing the panties he was currently fucking his hand with. You didn’t notice him stepping out of the bathroom, too busy looking at the photo album you had just put together. It’s relatively new, most of the pages empty, yet you were looking at the photos you had taken earlier that week at the Tipsy Bison. The one that had your attention was a photo of you and Joel that Ellie had taken. Neither of you looked at the camera, the photo had captured you mid-laugh, head tilting back, eyes shut, it was a full belly laugh at something Joel had said. Joel’s arm was around your shoulder tucking you into his side, smiling down at you, a rare type of smile, one reserved only for you.

Leaning on the entryway, his arms crossed over his broad, tanned chest, he smiles at the view. You’re in nothing but your panties in his bed, in his home. His feet move without thinking, walking over to you. He brushes your hair over your shoulder, tracing his fingers over your soft supple skin down your back and over the lace of your panties, and lightly pinches your ass. “So pretty sweet baby,” he says shyly, almost like he’s speaking to himself. You turn your head to look up at him, smiling. Wordlessly, he took the photo album from your hands, placing it on your nightstand. He gets in the bed, carefully sitting on his knees while attempting to avoid loosening the off-white towel around his waist. You roll onto your back to face him, his silver curls still damp from the shower as water still drips onto his strong shoulders. He combs his hair back after a shower and the ends tend to curl up around his ears. It’s been months since you last cut his hair but you like his hair longer, you had whispered to him in the darkness of your bedroom, your naked, sweaty limbs tangled up together between his sheets. From that night on he hasn’t asked you to cut it for him. He likes it because you like it.

While you’re busy ogling him, Joel’s hands immediately reach to trace the floral lace pattern before toying with the little satin black bow at the center front. His rough, calloused hands slide up your bare thighs, wrapping his large hands around your thighs and he pries open your legs, his hazel eyes locked in on your center like a bullseye and you notice the cocky smirk he’s got plastered on his face, pleased with himself that he’s already got you wet for him.

He brings two thick fingers to slide over your covered cunt. He feels the wetness on the material and he pulls back to look up at you and finds your attention on his fingers. “What a mess you made, pretty girl,” he murmurs. You’re watching the movement of his fingers, entranced by his fingers teasing your pussy as he glides them up and down your slit. He clicks his tongue at you, “so wet for me huh baby? Always so wet for me. So perfect,” he smirks to himself as he gently pulls your panties to the side, revealing your aching, needy cunt. He lowers his head placing gentle kisses on the soft skin of your inner thigh, his lips tracing and peppering your skin all the way towards your center, his mouth hovering over the place you need him most and you shiver beneath him.

“Joel,” you whisper, he chuckles seeing you all worked up for him. “Baby please,” you whimper.

“What is it baby?” he tuts, “use your words, sweet girl,” he tilts his head slightly with a smug grin on his face. His fingers move up and down your folds.

“N-need them inside me, p-please,” you whimper as you claw at his forearms, clutching them for stability.

“Alright baby, lemme taste her first,” He lays flat on his stomach, moves his arms under your legs, and hoists them up over his broad shoulders. He lowers his mouth onto your cunt and the tip of his tongue licks through your folds. He hums at the sweet taste of you on his tongue. He flattens his tongue and licks a long thick stripe and he groans lowly, the vibrations making you squirm under him.

“Fuck, more baby,” you beg. You gasp at the hook of his nose bumping your clit. Your hands fly to his hair, eyes closing swiftly, brows furrowed as you let out a loud moan.

“There she is,” he smirks. He flicks his tongue over your clit. His eyes slip closed as he relishes in the noises leaving your mouth, like music to his ears. Your hips buck up into his face, selfishly grinding your cunt for more. Joel’s eyes flicker back up your face, “eyes on me sweetheart,” he murmurs. Your eyes snap open to watch him as he brings his fingers back up to your cunt, two thick fingers dip into you and you can hear the wet squelch as he eases his fingers in, simultaneously, he circles his tongue around your clit. He pumps his fingers slowly in and out of you, his tongue lapping at your cunt. You feel the pressure building up more intensely inside of your belly and then you’re chanting his name as he curls his fingers inside you, petting at the spongy spot he knows will break you. He closes his mouth around your clit and he sucks hard.

“Fuck, Joel, yes yes,” Your hips bucking up into his face, your legs start to shake as you come on his face and your cunt tightening around his fingers, a loud strangled moan filling the air.

“That’s my girl,” he says as he watches you gasp above him, pressing a quick kiss to your clit. Your eyes flutter open just in time to see him removing his fingers, all wet and shiny, and putting them in his slick covered mouth, sucking them clean.

Softly, he grabs your ankles, pulling you down towards the edge of the bed eliciting a giggle. His favorite sound…well one of his favorites. His favorite being the next sound that comes out of your mouth when he quickly pulls your panties down. He sees the wet shine of your cum in the center and his face lights up with glee. “You made such a mess ‘a your panties, baby,” he tuts before tossing them across the room. He unties the towel from his waist and lets it fall and it pools around his legs, revealing his thick, heavy cock, the tip angry and beads of precum seeping out of the slit. You place your hands around your thighs, slowly pulling them apart, presenting your already spent pussy to him once again and he groans roughly.

He leans forward, his fingers running through your folds once more, and you quiver at his touch. He gathers your cum on his fingers and strokes himself twice before he dips the wide tip of his cock inside of you. A whine leaves your lips. That. That was his favorite sound. He doesn’t push in further… he doesn’t move an inch. He’s teasing you…wants you to ask nicely for it. Like clockwork his voice laced with honey he says “Ask for it baby, ask for my cock.”

Desperate, you whine again “please joel… I need your cock.” Your needy fingers trail lightly over his soft belly, sitting up slightly, you place soft kisses from his belly button down to the dark patch of hair above his cock, his body trembles at the feeling of your lips ghosting over his belly and a breathy moan escapes his lips. He laces his fingers with yours, bringing your hands near your head, his large form encompassing your smaller frame, he lowers himself down over you, his lips brushing against yours. “Baby, please. Please fuck my pussy” you mewl. He pushes his cock deeper, deeper, and deeper til the head of his cock kisses your cervix, provoking a loud groan from him against your ear as he nestles himself into you, where he belongs.

“See baby all you had to do was ask politely” Joel cooes. He drags his hips back, leaving only his tip inside you once again and you clench around him. “Fuck, goddamn you’re fucking tight,” he grits. Slowly he starts thrusting his tip in and out.

You whine again, “Baby don’t be mean. I want all of it.”

“Shh..I know baby, I know,” he soothes. Then in one long single thrust, he wedges his cock back inside of you to the hilt, bottoming out into your cunt, hitting the spot that only he knows with a loud ragged groan into the crook of your neck. His cock is stretching you out, feeling every twitch, he’s everywhere and it’s overwhelming. He hitches your legs up towards your chest, opening you up more, your chest pressed tightly against his, he drags the weight of his cock languidly between your slick, moaning at the wet sound of his balls slapping against your ass fills the room.

When you look up at him it’s like you can see a lightbulb go off in his head and before you know it, Joel’s large hands grab the swell of your ass, he picks you up, and repositions you both so he’s on his back and has you sitting on his thick cock. He wants you to ride him. In this position you can feel him in the deepest parts of your belly and it hurts just a little bit but you find pleasure in it, you always have.

Leaning forward, you place your hands on the headboard and arching your back a bit more, Joel's head falls back down onto the pillows. At the sudden change of the angle, his eyes shut for just a second before he’s snapping them right back open. He doesn’t want to miss a single thing. He wants to see it all. He watches how your breasts bounce as you move and quickly, he leans up to catch a nipple in his mouth. He’s licking and sucking all over your pebbled nipple and then his teeth graze along the hardened peak before swiftly pulling it between his teeth. He moves onto the other and he flicks his tongue over your nipple, he sucks and nips at it lightly before he lets your tit fall from his mouth, admiring the slight bounce of your breast before his eyes lock in on your face, watching your face contort and your mouth open while you seek your high. It's his favorite thing, watching you like this.

“Jesus Christ, look at you, you’re takin’ me so well,” he groans.

The grip of his hands on your hips tightens but doesn’t guide you, just seeks some ounce of control. You lean forward more so your clit brushes ever so slightly against the dark patch of curls at his base. The friction makes you approach your orgasm quickly. Joel’s eyes flicker down to where you two are connected, taking pleasure in seeing his cock splitting you open, watching as it disappears deep inside of you.

“That’s it, baby. Fuck….use me. Fuck yourself on daddy’s cock, atta girl,” You roll your hips faster, grinding harder on his cock, greedy and desperate to come again. “C’mon baby, come all over my cock.”

His words and your clit repeatedly pressing against him make your hips stutter and you clench around him as your orgasm finally washes over you, harder than before. Your body goes limp on his chest. Joel doesn’t let up, he grabs your thighs and lifts his hips, relentlessly fucking his cock up into you. His cock slams into you so hard the wet slapping sound of your bodies fills the room.

You turn your head and press your lips to his ear, nipping at his earlobe, you spur him on “c’mon Joel, come for me baby,” you softly rasp. “C’mon baby, for me, do it for me love,” you whisper and he whimpers, his thrusts becoming faster, more erratic. You bite down on his shoulder to muffle the whines that leave your mouth as he fucks into you harder, your walls tighten around him, his cock twitches inside you before he hastily pulls out with a long pained groan and with his cock between your bodies, his cum spurts out, thick and warm, coating his stomach. A moment passes and you lower your lips down his chest, feeling the rough edges of his skin underneath your lips as you pepper open mouthed kisses along his strong torso, the soft skin of his belly, over the jagged scar on his lower abdomen, all the way down his happy trail, you feel him shiver beneath you.

You sit up on his thighs, locking your eyes with his, you bring your fingers down to his cum on his stomach. You look back up at him, your gaze meeting his as you swirl your fingers twice in his spend and bring your shiny, sticky coated fingers up to your mouth, closing your lips around your fingers, sucking them clean. His mouth agape, he’s staring back at you while you use your fingers to lick up his cum, “dirty girl, one’a these days you’re gonna gimme a heart attack woman,” he groans.

The memory of it all…you riding him, your naked breasts bouncing, his cock impaling you, watching it disappear inside you over and over, your cunt clamping down around his cock and the echo of your moans as you came last night playing in his head sends him hurtling over the edge.

His cock twitches in his hand, his other hand slamming down on the counter, he groans your name raggedly and his thighs quiver as he comes hard into his fist, harder than he ever has when jerking himself off. He pumps his release into your panties, hot, thick ropes of his cum painting your panties. His cum spurting out seemingly endless for a man his age.

If you were here in front of him he would pull the fabric up over your thighs, making you wear your cum filled panties before going about the rest of your day.

But you’re not here so instead he brings the cum soaked panties up to his face, eyeing his spend and your wetness for a moment. He stops himself and contemplates the idea in his head as he eyes the glistening sheen over the center. Just as quickly as the thought infiltrated his head, he decides against it and bunches up the thin material and tosses them in the old laundry basket sat in the corner of your shared bathroom. Joel tucks himself back into his jeans, washes his hands, limping slightly as he walks out of your bedroom and closes the door behind him leaving your laundry for another day.

#joel miller #joel miller smut #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller x reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x y/n #joel miller one shot #tlou fanfiction #tlou one shot #the last of us fanfiction #my writing #noelle writes #noelle's workshop

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going-to-ikea-for-the-fries · 1 month

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It's a Match! || poly!141 x Reader

[Chapter 23] || [Chapter 25]

Pairing: 141 x gn!Reader Words: 1.8K~ Summary: While overcoming recent heartbreak, you decide to join Tinder in search of a rebound. Your friends advise to just Swipe Right indiscriminately... What happens when 4 soldiers from the same squad match with you? a/n: just cute little moments w/ a lot of banter bc ofc

Chapter 24: Pokémon?

“So, yeah, now, even their Captain wants to…” You trail off awkwardly as you press your lips together, looking at the dropped jaws on the other side of the brunch table from you.

“Hun, I don’t- We might-” Leah starts as she stares at you, blinking away the surprise as she holds the utensils.

“Right?” Mia retorts as she stares at you. “The candle I lit for you worked too well, I reckon…”

“No, really, we girlbossed a bit too close to the sun… Manifested this too hard.” Leah adds, making Mia agree eagerly.

Your face warms up and you lower your head, taking a sip of your tea. You definitely shouldn’t be having this talk about your love and sex life inside this French bistro… but alas.

“Four? I mean… Four fwb would be understandable, you know?” Mia adds and Leah nods.

“But four boyfriends?” Leah adds. “And they’re all friends, and work together?”

“They’re not my boyfriends!” You retort as you say sharply, your face burning up a bit.

“Oh yeah? Are you seeing anyone else?” Leah retorts, ever the more logical of the three of you.

“No, but like, when would I have the time for that?” You retort and that earns chuckles from all three of you.

“Good point.” Leah concedes as she sips her own warm cappuccino.

“Regardless, they literally BEAT-” Mia lowers her voice when she realize she’s being too loud. “they beat Ethan’s arse for you.” She whisper shouts. “Fwbs don’t do that, boyfriends do!”

“Right!” Leah agrees and gestures at them. “They’re absolutely your boyfriends.”

“I hate you both.” You retort and shake your head, amused, which causes all three of you to break into giggles.

“So, which one of them is, you know-” Mia asks in a mischievous tone just as you just ate a bit of omelette, causing your eyes to widen as you stare at her.

“I feel like I’m being mocked.” You quip.

Once again the two of them erupt with laughs. “I’m sorry, hun, but we’ve gotta live vicariously through you!” Leah says, Mia nodding in agreement.

“Nooo, you’re taking the piss out of me!” You reply with a chuckle.

“C’moooooon! Gossip with us! We barely see you nowadays!” Mia begs as she puts her hands together in pleading.

“Oh bloody hell…” You retort. “I don’t know-”

“Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease!” Mia begs.

“Alright! Gosh, I was going to say ‘I don’t know because I haven’t been with all of them yet’!” You reply.

“You haven’t?!” The girls say with a loud gasp that attracts loads of side-eye from the other patrons. You’re probably going to get kicked out soon.

“Will you shush?” You scold them, eyes widened and lips pressed together. “No, I haven’t.”

“You’ve got to!” Mia tells you.

“We’ll get there, we’re taking it slow.” You reply.

“Babes, they beat up your ex-” Leah tells you. “They’ve all slept over at some point, they pick you up from work every day, as long as they’re in town-” She continues to list, counting with her fingers.

“Right, you’re skipping through all the loops. There’s no ‘taking it slow’!” Mia adds. “Hop on those cocks, bloody hell!”

“MIA!” You scold her with a dropped jaw.

“Oh, don’t play coy now! You’ve got four boyfriends!” Leah retorts and narrows her eyes at you, sticking her tongue out now.

“Right, collecting them like trading cards.” Mia adds, causing the three of you to laugh again.

“They’re like Pokémon, you’ve just Gotta Catch’Em All!” Leah adds, causing you to cover your mouth to hide a snort of a laugh.

“Fuck you both, honestly!” You quip playfully. You missed them, missed the laughs they’ve provided you.

“No, but really now.” Leah says once you’ve all calmed down. “They make you really happy, we can see it.” She looks at you with a warm smile on her lips.

“They do.” You confirm with a sheepish nod and smile.

“I really hopes it works out between you and them.” Mia adds. “It’s so nice to see you smile this much!” Her tone is sincere and sweet.

“Thank you…” You say softly. “I hope so too.” You tell them.

“It better, or I’ll go after them with my pipe!” Mia warns, referencing an inside joke between the three of you, a piece of rusty pipe a repairman left behind at her flat after fixing her bathroom sink, which she now uses as her ‘signature weapon’.

“Right, you’re gonna pipe four soldiers?” You joke a bit, sarcastically.

“Oh no, hun, they’re the ones piping you!” Mia adds and you all lose it laughing again.

“So when are we going to meet them?” Leah teases.

You shouldn’t have been surprised that Kyle would answer your texts so quick.

You also shouldn’t have been surprised that he brought Johnny in tow.

And yet you were.

You texted Kyle your location and in less than 20 minutes he was jogging up the pavement, Johnny hot on his heels. You could see them coming through the window.

“Bloody hell…” You mutter as you watch them turn to go through the front door of the café/bistro.

“What?” Leah asks and before you can say anything, they both turn to look at where you are, finding Kyle and Johnny strolling right in and in your direction, cute little smirks on their lips.

Your friends recognize them immediately, of course, you had shown plenty of pictures, especially when you had just matched them on Tinder… But seeing them in real life is always different.

Kyle’s pretty boy-ing as usual. White v-neck to show off his collar bones and defined chest, grey jeans, white Converse and a black denim jacket overtop of it. He has his cutest smile on, pretty lashes fluttering as he comes to stand by your side.

“Hi, lovie…” He greets you and leans down, kissing the top of your head, before turning to greet your friends. “Hey, I’m Kyle!” He says politely.

He barely has time to say anything else before Johnny, throws himself onto the free chair next to you, the last one at this table for four, his arms wrapping around your shoulders.

“Mo leannan, ye look so bonnie…” He says before gripping you around the jaw and stealing a direct, open-mouthed kiss from you. Your eyes widen the moment he does, causing you to carefully hold onto his beefy forearm, returning the kiss to the best of your (embarrassed) abilities.

Just as you’re pulling away, you can hear Kyle justifying the kiss to your flabbergasted friends. “Forgive ‘im, he was raised in a barn.”

“Haud Yer Wheesht! I was not!” Johnny retorts as he turns to look at your friends. “Hi, I’m Johnny.” He adds as a greeting, a lopsided smirk on his face, as he reaches forward to… shake hands with your friends.

Johnny smells strongly of deodorant. That Lynx body spray shite he always sprays on himself. It’s not bad, but it’s strong… You’re only lucky the leather jacket he’s wearing conceals it a bit.

It’s an old thing, maybe a couple of decades’ old, the leather starting to wear out over the shoulders, and he’s paired it with a light blue hoodie, dark jeans and black combat boots.

“Was too.” Kyle retorts, a bit childishly as he comes to stand by your side, his hands caressing your bare arms in the t-shirt you’re wearing. “You three been having fun?” He asks you and your friends. Ever mature and considerate, he is.

Your friends are still just staring. Sure, they knew you haven’t been lying to them as you told them about your relationship with these men but it’s one thing to hear about it, the other to see it.

“Yep, we had fun, Gaz…” You say softly, catching the way Johnny’s just serving himself to the dessert you haven’t yet touched on your plate.

“You really were raised in a barn.” You tell him. “Don’t even ask permission to eat my food?” You scold him, which causes him to smirk again.

“Either I stuff my mouth with food or with you. And I’m still civilised enough to know the last one is frowned upon to do in public.” Johnny retorts, then his smile grows into an impish grin. “Unless you’re into some… kinky things.” He winks.

That causes you to sputter and look away, grumbling under your breath as his ever-present tendency to make dirty jokes.

“I like ‘im!” Mia announces suddenly as she stares at Johnny.

“I knew you would. You two think the same.” You tell her and shake your head. “Which is why I only asked Kyle to come.” You add and stare at Kyle with a cocked brow, as if questioning why he didn’t come along.

“He was on his knees begging to come. What was I supposed to do? Leave ‘im behind?” Kyle quips, a playful smirk on his lips.

“Was not!!!!” Johnny retorts. “I just figured out he was coming to see you and joined in!” He adds. “Plus, my feelings are hurt you didn’t want me to come!” He tells you with a fake pout.

“Oh, piss off, it’s not that I didn’t want you to come!” You say simply. “It’s just that you’re…”

“A dickhead.” Kyle finishes for you.

“NO!” You scold Kyle. “I was going to say ‘Intense’.”

“Intense? That feels like a euphemism for something bad, mo leannan!” The Scot tells you as he pops a macaron into his mouth.

“That’s ‘cause it is.” Kyle replies for you.

“It’s not- Kyle!”

“And your friends already like me, don’t ye?” Johnny turns his attention to the girls.

“Yes, we do!” Mia replies and nods.

Leah still hasn’t shaken out of her stupor. “My God, there’s two of them.” She says as she looks back and forth between Mia and Johnny.

“I know… I know…” You soothe her in a playfully annoyed tone.

“So, Johnny, is it?” Mia quips and leans forward to whisper conspirationally. “Give it to us straight. How does it work?” She points vaguely at you and him and Kyle.

“Mia!” You scold her this time. “I thought we were past those topics?”

“‘Those’ topics?” Kyle asks as he lowers himself near you to listen in better. “And what topics would those be?” He adds, as if he’s not perfectly aware they mean you guys’ sex life.

“Oh my God, Kyle, not you too!” You whine as you look at him.

“Nae, it’s fine that they’re curious!” Johnny quips on the other side. “I’ll gladly tell ye all about it!”

“Johnny!” You scold him again, sounding ever the more exasperated.

“Oh, you wouldn’t have anythin’ to tell either way, you dickhead.” Kyle retorts. “I’m the only one that has all the tea to share.”

“KYLE!” You scold him too, your head going back and forth between the two men flanking you.

The banter continues, your friends seemingly absolutely engrossed in the two sergeants, the way they’re making you sweat, and almost begging for the side of the gossip you had swiftly evaded earlier in the brunch.

“God help me survive this-” You murmur to yourself, feeling crescently embarrassed as everyone on the table takes the piss out of you. “I hate you all… I should’ve just invited Simon…”

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@severenswife , @enarien, @agoodmoviekiss , @l0lziez , @whos-fran , @greatstormcat , @openup-yourmind , @neoarchipelago , @sodavrr , @cutiecusp , @lilliumrorum , @c-nstantine , @kneelforloki , @comeonatmebruh , @codsunshine , @waiting-so-long , @captainquake42 , @gazspookiebear , @mynameismisty , @reap3erslov3 , @reaper-chan666 , @poohkie90 , @kitwithnokat , @stick-the-dumbass , @mothsdrabbles , @justanerd1 , @thesinsoflust , @thriving-n-jiving , @blckbrrybasket

#ikea writes 💚#it's a match! fic #cod modern warfare #cod fanfic #captain john price #john soap mactavish #kyle gaz garrick #simon ghost riley #text story #cod x reader #call of duty x reader #cod smut #141 x reader

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steventhusiast · 6 months

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STWG daily prompt 25/10/23

prompt: no prompt, must be 480 words or more

pairing/character(s): steddie

part 2 to this post

Ever since that night at Hawkins Police Station, Eddie’s felt oddly fascinated by Steve Harrington.

Before, he wouldn’t have noticed the former king as he silently slinks around Hawkins and Hawkins High, but now? Now it’s like he’s everywhere.

Eddie leaves the trailer park to walk through the woods at night and bumps into Steve, the bags under his eyes heavy as always and eyes blinking back sleep like he’s fighting it. Eddie goes to his dealing table behind school and notices Steve sitting by himself behind some nearby bushes, head tilted back to lean against a tree and eyes closed as he listens to the world. Eddie goes to the Hideout to bother the manager about letting his band play there sometime, and sees Steve sat in a booth in the corner, a couple empty glasses littering his table and a (clearly) fake ID ready and waiting on the table for anyone who questions him.

Eddie’s starting to think they’ve accidentally existed within the same spaces ever since Steve’s fall from grace, and Steve’s just better at fading into the background than his years as Keg stand King would have most believe.

But he doesn’t get the chance to talk to him again until a few months later. He’s at Frank’s diner with Gareth, Jeff and Freak when he sees Steve walk in, shoulders hunched in a little and face carefully blank. He’s alone.

Eddie lets himself drift out from the heated conversation the others are having (a debate about which monsters their next DnD session will involve once they enter Saltmarsh), and watches Steve as he makes his way over to a booth in the corner, a few tables away from any other patrons.

A waitress makes her way over immediately, and Eddie can just about hear her as she greets Steve with a pet name (honey), and smiles like she sees him regularly. Steve says he’s waiting for someone, and his voice is a little wobbly.

A couple minutes later, Eddie’s just let himself become reabsorbed and amused at the turn of the debate amongst his friends when Chief Hopper enters the diner. On instinct, Eddie’s back straightens a little, and his friends give him triplet looks of suspicion.

“What’ve you done now?” Jeff asks with a roll of his eyes, and Eddie frowns at him in mock offence.

“I’ll have you know I’ve done nothing. I think the Chief’s here for someone else, actually.” He defends himself, just as Hopper walks by. Hopper scoffs and shakes his head.

“Yeah, not here on police business, for once. Stay outta trouble and outta my business, Munson.” He says quietly, and Eddie just watches him as he predictably walks over to Steve. Before he sits down opposite Steve in the booth, Eddie watches Hopper clap a firm hand down on Steve’s shoulder and squeeze, resulting in Steve’s tense posture relaxing a bit.

Very fascinating.

Last time, Eddie didn’t get the chance to see their dynamic, so he can’t help but watch.

“You don’t have to be so paranoid he literally said he’s not here on police business.” Gareth teases him after a couple more seconds, poking him in the side harshly.

“Hey! I’m intrigued by,” Eddie gestures over at the booth, “all that. Sue me.”

The boys’ follow his gesture and seem to only then notice Steve Harrington in all his shaky glory (see? Like Eddie said, he’s good at blending into the background). They frown.

“Huh, what’s up with that?” Freak mutters, and everyone shrugs.

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”

The boys roll their eyes at Eddie’s words, and all say something along the lines of ‘sure you will, Ed’ in the least confident voices they can muster. It only eggs Eddie on.

And when Steve gets up to go to the bathroom, he sees his moment.

He’s going to have an actual conversation with Steve Harrington.

Maybe even try to become his friend. And, wow, that’s a thought Eddie from two years ago would’ve shuddered at.

But Eddie from right now is just thinking of ways to have a conversation that won’t send Steve running again.

He’s got this.

tagging anyone who explicitly asked in the first bit to be tagged if there's ever more: @devondespresso

if you want to be tagged if i ever write more, lemme know :)

#steddie #steddie ficlet #steddie drabble #steve harrington #eddie munson #stwgdailyprompt #dailydrabble #stranger things #mywriting

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pasukiyo · 9 months

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OH MY, WE REALLY WERE TIMELESS

bradley "rooster" bradshaw x f!reader word count: 3743 words warnings: fluff summary: down the block there's an antique shop and something in your head said stop, so you walked in... note from author: fun fact, i went to denver night 1 for eras tour and this was my surprise song after listening to it nonstop the week leading up to my show... i had literally talked about how much i fell in love with this song and how it was my song the day before my show and the fact that taylor performed it proves it's my song!! so of course, i had to write about it...

“You got me sushi for lunch? You spoil me too much.”

She chuckled as she rested her phone between her ear and shoulder, opening the door to the local sushi place with her hand not holding the plastic bag. “It was more for me than you,” she replied, taking her phone back in her hand as she made her way back to her car.

“You know, you can just admit that you love me, it’s alright,” Bradley said into the receiver, and she rolled her eyes as she unlocked her car, swinging the door open to toss the takeout bag into the passenger’s seat. “Yeah, well, wouldn’t be wearing your ring if I didn’t, right?” She tittered, climbing into the driver’s seat, her phone once again pressed between her cheek and shoulder as she started the engine.

“Yeah,” Bradley sighed. “That, and you wouldn’t have let me fuck your brains out like last night.”

Her cheeks burned at the memory as she placed her phone down, letting the call connect to the Bluetooth instead, her lips curling into a smile. “Just can’t help yourself, can you, Mr Bradshaw?”

Bradley’s laughter permeated the car as she backed out of her parking space, “no I cannot, Mrs Bradshaw.”

She chuckled as she drove down the street, stopping at a red light and propping her elbow against the car door, her fingers on her lips. “So are you on your way now?” Bradley asked, and she hummed in reply.

“Yeah. I’m just now leav—“

Her words caught in her throat when her eyes set upon a building down the block, gaze locked on the old, rusted sign that read ‘ANTIQUES.’ The silence was filled with Bradley’s voice, “babe? Hellloooooo? Still there?”

She blinked when the car behind her honked their horn and she realized the light had turned green, her fingers tightening their feel on the steering wheel. Her heart pounded on her chest, unable to shake the voice in her head telling her to stop.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she turned, parking in front of the old antique shop, sighing as she shifted the car into park.

“Hellooooo? Mrs Bradshaw? My wife? Love of my life?”

“Um… I’ll be there soon there’s just… there’s just something I need to do really quick,” she finally replied, reaching for her purse.

“Oooookay… see you soon?” Bradley said, audibly confused.

“Mhm, yeah,” she replied, turning the engine off and bringing her phone back to her ear as she climbed out of the car. “See you soon. Love you.”

“Love you too…”

The call ended as she pulled the door open to the shop, the smell of old books, dust, and wood polish wafting to her nostrils, her shoulders heaving when she sighed. The older woman at the counter looked up from her book, her eyes crinkling when she smiled and waved. Giving a small smile in return, she waved back, her eyes settling on a sign on the counter, a cardboard box just below.

‘PHOTOS……….25 CENTS EACH’

Looking away from the older woman, she stepped closer to the cardboard box, the smell of musty old paper filling her nostrils but she didn’t grimace or cringe away. She pushed her phone inside her purse and began to sift through the photos, a lump forming at her throat as she eyed the different black and white photographs.

There was one of a bride, the date on the back reading 1933. Another of two lovers, their faces lit up in smiles as they sat on their front porch, the back captioned ‘July 1962. Our first house!’

Her lips curled into a soft smile, her fingertips ghosting over the pale faces of the two lovers, their hands laced together over the arms of their chairs.

Her heart skipped a couple of beats and she breathed a chuckle, thinking back to when she and Bradley officially moved into their first house together. It was mid-July, the San Diego heat was unforgiving and by lunch, the two of them were drenched in sweat, panting from the amount of moving furniture they had been doing.

They had finally settled on a place to set down the couch, muscles aching as they plopped down side by side on the cushions, fluttering their eyes closed as they caught their breaths.

“You should’ve just let Jake and Javy come help,” she panted, rolling her neck to turn and face him. Bradley grumbled as he pressed his lips together, rolling his neck on the back cushions and squeezing his eyelids shut tighter. “Absolutely not. There is no way I’m letting Hangman into the house,” Bradley shook his head and she rolled her eyes. “We still could’ve used the help. And they offered.”

Bradley peeled a single eyelid open and cocked an eyebrow to his hairline, “what do you mean? We’re doing great,” he replied, shifting his weight. She rolled her eyes as she glanced down to his sweat-stained gray tank top, laughing as she gave his belly a few pats.

“Sure big guy, I just love being absolutely drenched in sweat and not being able to feel my arms. Or legs for that matter,” she sighed, giggling when he caught her wrist, tugging her closer into him. “Yeah, I know you do,” he grinned. “Just like last night, right?”

Furrowing her eyebrows, she rolled her fingers into her palm to form a fist and knocked him on the shoulder, causing him to laugh and tug her down into the cushions with him by the wrist. She couldn’t help but break her glare and laugh as he pulled her weight on top of him, his hand curling around the back of her head, the other gripping her hip through her shorts.

“Jesus, you just can’t help yourself, can you Bradshaw?”

Bradley smirked and leaned in, pressing a teasing kiss to her lips, his mustache tickling the skin just below her nose.

“No I cannot, future Mrs Bradshaw.”

She chuckled to herself as she set the photograph back down on top of the pile of Polaroids, sifting through the old, feeble paper before another photograph caught her eye, and she had to stop and smile. This one was of a teenage couple standing in the driveway, leaning against the hood of a car in their finest clothes. Their hands were locked together, the girl’s head on the boy’s shoulder, each giving the camera a bright smile. On the bottom of the photograph was a date written in black ink: ‘April 1958. Prom.’

A lump formed at the base of her throat at the memory the photograph brought back, the first time she ever saw Bradley. Girl’s night had decided to move to the small, seaside bar that was the Hard Deck, the sky was void of blue, small flecks of white littering its dark canvas instead. It was a quarter past eleven by the time she and her friend had stumbled in, but you’d never guess it was nearing midnight with how crowded and lively the place was.

Her friend had taken her by the hand to lead her towards the bar, dropping it when they arrived and leaving her to wrap her arms around herself instead. Her eyes wandered among the sea of people surrounding her, she was never one for crowds— and they were pretty much shoulder to shoulder with everyone in this little bar.

She glanced back to where her friend was in front of her, blinking when she realized her friend had completely forgotten about her, choosing to sidle up to a man with dark, buzzed hair instead. Her face fell at this and she threw her arms to her sides, a furrow in her brow.

So much for girl’s night.

She scanned the bar and the other surrounding tables for any free seats, unfortunately coming to no avail. Her chest heaved when she huffed, running her fingers through the hair atop her head as she swung her head back around, fully intending to call out her friend for leaving her alone.

That was, until she stopped, her gaze landing on someone entirely new instead.

Suddenly, the bar didn’t seem so lively or crowded, nor did the noise seem to drill a hole from her ears into her skull. All at once, the crowd seemed to slow, and so did time as her eyes locked onto a pair of hazel eyes across the room, her limbs locking in place.

It was a man in an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, exposing the white tank he had on underneath, a pair of aviators hanging off the neckline and teasing a sliver of the skin of his chest. There was a mustache above his lip that on anyone else, she’d have scrunched her nose at but on him… it was just perfect. He was perfect.

And he was staring right back at her.

And then he was coming closer.

All she could do was stand there and wait, feeling color burn her cheeks with each step he took closer, feeling as if she’d burst into flames when he approached, his fingers wrapped around a bottle of beer. His lips were full and pink and shiny with a mixture of saliva and beer, and when he swiped his tongue between them before murmuring a “hello,” his deep, rich hazel irises studying every feature of her face, she knew she was done for.

“Hi,” she replied breathlessly, her chest heaving with a breathy laugh. The man looked around, a furrow in his brow, “you didn’t come with anyone, did you?” He asked and she giggled again, eyeing the ground and shaking her head. “No, uh… my friend over there ditched me,” she said, gesturing to where her friend sat with the man in a Navy uniform at the bar. He turned to gaze at where they sat, the corner of his lips quirking when he tittered. “Coyote,” he mumbled beneath his breath before turning to face her once again. “Thank God. So there’s no one I have to worry about? No boyfriend, husband?”

She cocked an eyebrow at this, trying to suppress her grin. “Are you making a move on me, aviator?” She eyed the aviators still dangling off the neck of his shirt. He followed her gaze, breathing a laugh, “would you turn me down if I was?”

He seemed closer now. Normally, she’d shy away. But already with him, she didn’t think being this close was such a bad thing.

“I don’t know. You got game?” She asked, looking up at him, their eyes surging into one another’s. The man grinned, “oh, I got game.”

They spent the majority of the night sidled up together in the corner of the building, able to snatch a table away from everyone else and most importantly, away from his fellow aviator friends. He told her his name— it was Bradley— and they talked for hours upon end about anything and everything and she was practically spilling her entire soul for a man she had met mere hours ago but somehow, it just felt so right.

Before either of them knew it, the noise in the bar seemed to die down as the crowd began to slowly but surely spill away— neither her friend nor this Coyote Bradley spoke of in sight. By one in the morning, it was only them and a few other drunks downing as many beers as they could physically handle at the bar. Soft music played through the speakers, her eyelids growing heavy but still, she didn’t want to leave. If she could stay here in this bar with Bradley forever, she absolutely would.

“Are you alright?” Bradley finally asked, noting her heavy eyelids, “want to call it a night?” She smiled, rolling her straw around her drink, shaking her head. “No,” she admitted, kicking her shoes against his. He humored her and gave her foot a playful nudge back, tilting his head up to the ceiling, humming. She cocked an eyebrow at this, “what?”

Bradley glanced back down at her and grinned, “I love this song.”

She paused to take a moment and listen to the song, smooth jazz and soft lyrics permeating the nearly empty Hard Deck. She pointed towards the ceiling, “Chet?”

Bradley’s grin widened, “Baker.”

It was then that Bradley rose from his seat, downing the last droplets of beer left in his bottle before setting it back down on the table, outstretching a hand towards her. She eyed his hand curiously before glancing back up at him and his stupidly handsome smile and his stupidly handsome mustache.

“What are you doing?” She questioned, prompting him to shake his hand around, gesturing for her to take it. “Come on, the dance floor is all ours.”

She could feel the scarlet creeping to her cheeks at this and she shook her head, gazing down at her fingers where they cuddled with one another on the top of the table. “I don’t dance,” she replied, to which Bradley groaned and rolled his eyes, snatching her hand with his anyway. “Bradley!” She shrieked as he hoisted her out of her seat, dragging her towards the open floor.

“Come on, all you have to do is follow my lead.”

She whined as he pulled her into his chest, her muscles stiff when he slithered a hand around her waist to rest on the small of her back, encasing her hand with his free one. Her heart was pounding and she was so sure he could feel it against his chest, only adding to the heat pooling in her cheeks.

“Your hearts pounding,” he noted as he began to sway them back and forth gently to the music, and she scowled, glaring up at him. “Thanks, I hardly notice,” she replied, sarcasm lacing every syllable but still, she couldn’t help but laugh, feeling herself becoming more and more relaxed. Bradley joined along, gently pressing her in closer to his chest, letting her rest the side of her head just above his heartbeat.

“Yours is too,” she said in hardly a whisper, but Bradley breathed a chuckle. “It’s because you’re so good at dancing,” he remarked and she rolled her eyes. “Please, this is hardly dancing,” she tittered and Bradley pulled away just enough to catch her gaze, his pools of hazel spilling into her own.

She thought her heart skipped a couple of beats.

“Well whatever is it, I think I’d like to do more of it,” he said. “With you, of course.”

Her vision was glossy and wet with tears now and she sniffed as she dropped the picture back in the box, backing away from the counter to glimpse around the old shop. There was a dark, dusty bookcase in the corner, books scattered about its shelves and the overwhelming smell of old paper and cedarwood made her scratch her nose. Her eyes lined the spines of the books, looking for any stories she recognized.

That was when she came upon a book covered in cobwebs, the spine reading ‘ROMEO AND JULIET’ in bold, faded gold letters. She sniffed again as she recounted the old tale, a story of a romance torn apart by fate. It was strange, the way the tragedy made her feel now.

She couldn’t help but let her mind wander, couldn’t help but put herself and Bradley in Romeo and Juliet’s shoes. It was silly– so ridiculous– for her to think this way, to think that even in the 1500s off in a foreign, even if she were forced to marry another man, that she would still find her way to Bradley.

She could feel a tear drip down her cheek and she blinked the blurriness away from her vision as best she could, wiping her face as she backed away from the bookshelf, her arms wrapped around herself. And when the haziness was gone from her vision, her eyes caught on a framed photo on the wall, a man in a uniform and his wife embracing in the midst of a crowded street. She blinked down to the year written on the bottom of the frame, 1944.

Her heart was bursting at its seams– never up until this point had she come to realize just the extent of her love for Bradley. She wasn’t sure what it was about this old antique shop that made her feel so connected to Bradley, as if there were a thread of fate tying them together. But somehow she knew– she knew in her mind, heart, and soul– that they were supposed to find this. Each other. She knew that even in a different life– whether that’d be in a crowded street in 1944, a quiet neighborhood in July of 1962, a school dance in 1958, or in a foreign land in the 1500s– he still would’ve been hers, and they would’ve been timeless.

She wanted him to be her past, present, and future. She wanted to love him even when their hair turned gray, and she wanted to have a cardboard box full of photos of the life they made just like the one on the counter. She wanted to sit on the front porch with him some day in the future with their grandchildren playing around in the yard, holding hands as they went through photographs they’d taken throughout the years, and Bradley would say “oh my, we really were timeless.” And somehow, she knew that was their future. It was almost as if she could reach out and feel it.

She sniffed again and reached back into her purse to fish out her phone, gazing down at the photo of her and Bradley on their honeymoon she had saved as her home screen wallpaper. She took a few moments to simply stare at the picture, to reminisce on the memory before unlocking her device, finding the phone app and pressing on Bradley’s contact.

“Hello?” Bradley said into the receiver as she turned, walking past the counter to reach the exit. When she rested her hand on the door handle, however, she turned to look at the older woman behind the counter to find that she was already staring back.

The woman smiled at her, and she smiled back.

“Babe? Are you there?” Bradley asked again and she turned, pushing open the exit door. “Yeah, yeah. Sorry, I’m here,” she replied as she made her way to her car, tugging open the door and slipping inside. “Thank God. Thought I was a booty call for a second there,” he chuckled and she scowled, tossing her purse into the passenger’s seat beside their lunch.

“Please don’t say booty,” she sighed as she started the car engine, connecting the call back to the Bluetooth. Bradley’s laugh permeated her car, “I want to see your booty. When are you bringing me my lunch?” He whined and her lips curved into a smile, dropping her forehead against the top of the steering wheel and shaking her head.

“I’m on my way now,” she chuckled, buckling in her seat belt and taking one last look up at the old, rusted antique shop sign. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay, you better hurry. But don’t hurry too much. Can’t pay another goddamn ticket.”

“Yeah, and whose fault was that?” She tittered as she back out of her parking spot, making her way down the street towards the Naval base. “Let’s not turn this into an interrogation now,” Bradley replied. “Anyways, I’ll see you soon?”

She smiled, “yeah. I love you.”

“Love ya too, darlin. Can’t wait to see your boot–”

She rolled her eyes as she ended the call before he could finish his sentence, her heart still pounding against her chest, every feeling she felt in the antique shop still weighing heavy in her chest. Before she even knew it, she was pulling into the Naval base, ID in hand. At last, she had made it to base, taking the takeout bag and her purse with her as she exited her car, a lump forming at the base of her throat.

She made her routine walk through security and down the hallways before she finally reached the lounge she’d always meet Bradley in and when she pushed open the door, there he was, sitting at a table near the back, watching the sports highlights playing on the television. Jake and Javy were there too, as well as a few other aviators she hadn’t seen much of too.

“Mrs. Bradshaw in the flesh!” Jake exclaimed when he caught her eye from the other side of the room and she watched as Bradley’s head shot up, his lips curving into that stupidly handsome grin of his. “You got Rooster sushi?” Javy gaped as she walked by, setting the bag of takeout on the table in front of Bradley as he stood, cupping her face in either of his hands to give her a peck on the lips. “When was the last time anyone’s ever brought us sushi, Hangman?”

She chuckled as she settled herself down into her seat, wringing her hands together as Bradley rolled his eyes at them. “One of the benefits of having the best wife in the world,” he shrugged before settling himself down in his own seat across from her, tearing open the plastic bag to fish out the carry-out boxes.

“God, you really do spoil me too much, babe. Gonna have to train extra hard after you treat me like this,” he practically moaned at the sight of his favorite roll when he opened the styrofoam box, but all she could focus on was him. She could feel the familiar sting of tears burning the outskirts of her eyes, her chest burning with the same thing she felt in the antique shop.

Bradley must’ve sensed there was something different in her, for after he stuffed his cheeks full of sushi, he glanced up at her, furrowing his brows at her tear-filled expression.

“Ish somefing wrong?” He asked through his mouthful and her chest heaved with a laugh, shaking her head and wiping at the tears lining her eyelids. “No, nothing’s wrong,” she tittered, reaching for his hand where is rested beside his takeout box. He let her fingers slip between his, although still bewildered as he looked up at her. “Then what is it?” He questioned, and all she could think to do was smile.

“I’m just… I’m just really glad we found each other.”

a/n; so yeah... in conclusion, timeless is my song!

TAGLIST

@oliviajdjarin

#bradley bradshaw x y/n #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #miles teller #top gun maverick imagine #top gun maverick #rooster top gun #top gun #Spotify

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verai-marcel · 2 months

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Your Hearth Is My Home (BG3 Fanfic, Astarion x Female Reader, Part 24 of 28)

Summary, Notes, Tags, & Part 1 are here.

AO3 Link is here, my sweet.

Word Count: 4,380

Act III, Chapter 3 - The Torment

The next morning started off like any other. However, you were surprised when Wyll, Karlach, and Jaheira came back in the late afternoon with a tall, muscular, and bald man with a small rodent on his shoulder. Karlach and Wyll were following the other two with expressions of awe.

I wonder if he’s an associate of Jaheira’s… that would explain why Karlach and Wyll are fawning so hard.

The man saw you and grinned broadly, waving cheerfully at you. Your seal pulsed strongly in return.

Who exactly is this man?

Coming up to the group, you smiled warmly. “Welcome back, everyone. Who’s our new friend?”

“I am Minsc!” Then he held out his hand for the little rodent to hop onto his palm and held him out to you. “And this is Boo, the mighty miniature giant space hamster.”

When the hamster looked at you, your seal pulsed again, sending heat waves through your blood. You looked back up at Minsc, and the power ebbed away.

What. No way. It was the hamster that is the powerful one here?

Boo chittered, and while everyone else was looking at the creature, you noticed that Minsc was listening intently as if he understood every little squeak.

“Oh, yes, of course,” he mumbled. Then he gingerly brought Boo back to his shoulder. “Boo is looking forward to sampling your fine dishes and to hear your singing. Karlach and Wyll have been praising your talents!”

You blinked. “Um, alright, I’ll do my best,” you said, directing your reply to the little hamster. Looking into its eyes, you suspected you saw understanding, and even more, satisfaction.

Welp, that was strange.

You learned from the others that the underground guild in the city and Jaheira had made a deal: she got help finding Minsc, and in exchange, they had chased the Zhentarim out of the city. You breathed a sigh of relief.

So I didn’t need to worry about them after all. Thank the gods. Or rather, thank Jaheira.

Karlach patted your back. “I’m relieved. One crime group is enough for this city, hah!”

You laughed, hiding your nerves. “Yup, good riddance.” And now they’ll never know.

Leading the others to the campfire, you served them some drinks and some snacks and listened to them regaling you with their adventure, which had taken them all across the city, even to the deepest bank vaults. They had even found Mol and a couple other tiefling children in the Guild, running their business, and doing quite well for themselves.

“Oh good, I’d like to go back to the other tiefling children and let them know Mol is safe,” you said.

“I can do it,” Karlach said with a smile. “I’m sure Wyll would want to see them again too.”

Wyll nodded, and you caught his soft look as he watched Karlach.

Oh ho, his love grows.

After their story, you rooted around through the pile of loot for any extra bedrolls or fabric to make a tent for the newcomer. Just as you had managed to find enough rags to weave together, you heard the alarm bells on your belt chime softly.

Turning toward the entrance, the others had arrived looking a bit worn out. As they joined the group at the campfire, Shadowheart relayed what had happened.

“We literally went to hell and back. But now Lae’zel has a way to free Orpheus.”

The githyanki nodded with a slight smirk. Oh, she’s quite pleased.

“And we may have a change of accommodations,” Gale said. “The Elfsong has an upper floor penthouse available if we wish to use it, for a discounted fee.”

“Are there enough beds for everyone?” you asked, sweeping your hand towards everyone, including Shadowheart’s parents, Isobel, and Aylin, who were hanging back, listening in.

“Plenty of beds,” Gale replied.

“And why the discount?” you questioned. Inns don’t give discounts unless…

“There might have been a murder on that floor, and that might be scaring off the guests.”

Everyone looked at Gale.

“Look, just because one person died there doesn’t mean we should stay out in the open for the remainder of our time here.”

After some thought, the group began to mumble agreement.

Wait. Then that means…

“So you won’t be needing me any further,” you quietly said.

All eyes turned to you.

“Well, of course we need you, darling.” Astarion walked up to you and patted your head. “You still have to feed me.” He gestured towards everyone else. “And these fools couldn’t clean worth a damn.”

You glanced at everyone else, who were mostly shrugging sheepishly.

“And who’s going to take care of the giant pile of souvenirs that Karlach and Astarion keep pilfering?” Wyll joked.

“Some of those are from you too!” Karlach shot back, lightly shoving Wyll, who only laughed.

“The point is, you’re part of the team,” Gale said softly. “We need you just as much as anyone else.”

You turned back to Astarion, who nodded and took your hand, holding it gently, his thumb rubbing circles over your knuckles. Leaning closer, he whispered in your ear, “Besides, you promised you would stay with me, didn’t you?”

You nodded.

“Good girl,” he murmured before pulling back. Turning to everyone else, he shot them all a triumphant grin. “So, shall we upgrade our accommodations?”

***

By the time you all had finished packing and moving everyone’s things out of the harbor and to the Elfsong, the sun had just dipped below the horizon. Yet the tavern was already loud and lively, full of music and drinkers. Gale went to the front desk and paid for the new lodgings, holding up a key triumphantly to everyone before leading the group upstairs.

“Probably best if I keep a low profile. They used to know me all too well in here,” Astarion muttered to you as he helped take the packs up the stairs, attempting to blend in with the others. You watched his back as he went up the stairs, walking closely to the floating disc as it hovered behind Gale. Your eyes wandered down the line of Astarion’s body, down his back, his hips, his—

Gods, what am I doing?

You shook your head and re-focused on the back of his head, but he had already caught you staring, as he looked back at you with a knowing smirk.

“Admire all you like, darling.”

You immediately looked away and huffed.

His sly grin stayed on his face throughout the rest of the unpacking.

***

Since you didn’t need to cast warming cantrips any longer, you could spend your time sorting the loot pile and going out to the market to sell whatever you could, and buying fresh groceries. You were actually excited to see what kind of fresh vegetables and herbs you could get, now that you were in a large city.

“You’re sounding happy,” Shadowheart said as she approached, kneeling down next to you while you polished some of the tarnished jewelry with a rag.

You stopped humming and smiled up at her. “Well, I can finally catch up on some inventory management,” you said, pointing at the rather large pile of knick knacks and herbs. “You lot seem to have sticky fingers.”

“It’s how I grew up,” Karlach said as she joined the two of you, sitting cross legged on the other side of you. “Take everything of value and sort it out later for pocket change.”

You nodded. “That’s fair. I just haven’t had much of a chance to go through it all lately, and it seems like everyday you come back with more.”

Gale suddenly came up and tapped Shadowheart’s shoulder. With one look, her eyebrows furrowed and she got up.

“We’re going to plan our next trip into the Undercity. We’ll probably need to split up if we want to stop the murders and find where Orin is hiding.”

You nodded and watched as everyone gathered around the table in the main sitting room on the upper level. Remaining in the lower area near the fireplace, you continued to sort through everything, catching bits and pieces of their conversation.

“...have to find where the Bhaalspawn…”

“...Orin’s base might be…”

You finished sorting what you could, and pulled together all the random coins you had found. There was a significant amount, so you didn’t feel bad about ordering room service tonight.

“I’m going downstairs to order us a meal to be brought up, are there any requests?”

***

As you came downstairs with a long piece of paper full of meal requests, you ran into a familiar face.

“Lakrissa!” you said with a bright smile.

She called your name excitedly and gave you a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“We got a room upstairs, at a discounted rate.”

“Oh, the murder room. Well, I suppose that wouldn’t bother your group much, would it?”

You laughed. “Nope, not after what they’ve seen. Oh, I need to put their supper order in.”

Lakrissa smiled and took your order for you, telling you to wait by the stairs for her while she gave it to the kitchen. When she returned, she gave you a wide grin.

“Follow me,” she said quietly as she nodded toward the back staircase.

She snuck you up to the rooftop, where you heard a soft lute and a familiar voice.

You smiled, afraid to stop Alfira’s singing. She was swaying softly to her song, her back to you and Lakrissa, the gibbous moon shining brightly above her head. The two of you enjoyed her song until the end, applauding her just as she turned around.

The bard smiled, pleasantly surprised to see you. You hugged, and the three of you caught up on each other’s lives since the Last Light Inn.

“Would you join me for a song?” Alfira asked. “If you have time, that is.”

You turned to Lakrissa. She nodded. “You’ll have time. With the amount of orders you put in, you could sing out here for a half hour and it wouldn’t be done.”

The two of you figured out a song you both knew, and while she played and sang harmony, you took the lead, letting your voice carry on the rooftop, and letting the tingling feeling on your spine travel through your body, through your lungs, through your throat. You felt almost as if you could layer your voice if you pushed your power through yourself hard enough.

On the last lyric, you let your vibrato go longer and harder than you ever had, leaving just enough breath to end the song on a delicate sigh.

A raucous applause startled you, and you turned to see all of your companions standing behind Lakrissa, who was wearing a sly grin.

“You cheeky woman!” Alfira said to her as Lakrissa came up and placed her hand on the small of her back.

You were distracted from their cute banter by everyone else’s compliments. You shyly bowed.

“Boo says that was a most wonderful performance, rivaling the great opera singers from Waterdeep!”

You flinched involuntarily at the mention of Waterdeep, but you acted as if you didn’t. “You’re too kind,” you said with a smile.

Lakrissa tapped your shoulder. “I can go check if your food is ready, but would you all want to eat up here? It’s a beautiful moonlit night!”

You turned to everyone else, who seemed to be enjoying themselves, catching up with Alfira and admiring the view.

“That sounds lovely.”

As she went downstairs, you spotted some tables and chairs scattered around the rooftop and had an idea. You took a deep breath and began to hum, walking to the furniture and tapping them lightly. As if they suddenly gained sentience, they hopped and began to follow you, arranging themselves into a nice group formation.

Everyone had gone silent, watching you work. You paid them no mind, singing a song about faerie lights, touching the leaves and vines around the area, making them glow orange and pink and purple. Lost in the sensation of the magic and the music flowing through your body, you spun around and swayed your arms, letting the lights glow brighter as your power pulsed against your skin.

Suddenly Astarion was standing next to you, his hand on the small of your back, pressing on your seal. He kissed your cheek and pulled you close, interrupting your song.

“I couldn’t help myself darling,” he said a bit too loudly as he dragged you away from everyone else. Karlach tried to peek, but Shadowheart shooed her and the other onlookers back to the tables to wait for their food.

Away from the crowd, Astarion whispered into your ear. “Your seal was glowing brightly through your clothes.” His hand pressed harder against your back. “Be careful.”

You looked up at him, surprised at his look of concern. “Oh. Thank you,” you murmured. It didn’t feel like burning this time, though. It felt… powerful.

He guided you back to the tables just in time for Lakrissa and another worker to bring the trays of food for everyone. Using your party as an excuse, she stayed behind and ate with you, along with Alfira, who entertained you all with music through the rest of dinner.

It was a wonderful evening, and you treasured it.

***

The next morning, the others left, but came back within an hour to talk to Dame Aylin. You overheard something about a tower and a wizard who had put a price on her head, and she immediately charged out the doors. Isobel followed the group out to follow her.

You turned to Shadowheart’s parents. “Erm, well, I was about to go out and get groceries. I should be back soon.”

They nodded and told you that they would let the others know if they came back before you did.

Out in the city, you felt relatively safe, anonymous in the large crowds. You walked over to a jeweler and bartered away some of the found gems and trinkets for a great price, adding to your coin pouch. Heading down to the marketplace, you managed to get an excellent cut of venison from the butcher and some fresh herbs and vegetables. Holding the bag in your arms, you headed back to the Elfsong.

Halfway there, your seal pulsed. You immediately looked around.

A man, with a patch over his eye and a large sword at his side, scratched his arm, his sleeve lifting up to reveal a tattoo of a legless dragon in flight. It was a tattoo you recognized with ease.

A Zhent!

You quickly began to walk away, turning a corner beyond the Elfsong, unwilling to make the mistake of leading someone straight to your home base. Instead, you walked through the graveyard, then past the tombmaker’s shop. Just as you were rounding the corner to make a loop back home, you heard a familiar voice calling your name.

Turning around, you were met with Gale, smiling and waving his hand to you.

“Can you follow me for a moment? I have something to show you,” he said, gesturing for you to follow.

Your seal pulsed with a stinging heat.

“Um, let me put these groceries away first.”

“We haven’t the time,” he insisted, coming closer to you.

Gale would have offered to carry my groceries for me by now. This isn’t him!

Without another word, you turned to run.

The doppelganger grabbed the collar of your shirt and pulled hard, choking you. Dropping your bag of groceries, you pulled at your collar, trying to get some air, but they were strong. One arm wrapped around your mouth.

“You’ve got wits, but no power. Pity,” a woman’s voice hissed in your ear.

You felt a sharp pain to your temple, and then you felt nothing at all as everything went black.

***

Astarion and the others returned to their room in the Elfsong, ready for a long rest. Upon entering the room, however, he smelled something distinctly… vile.

“Welcome back,” said the creature posing as his hearth witch. Though she looked like her, she definitely didn’t sound like her. The soothing warm tone of her voice could not be replicated by any other.

“You’re not her.” Astarion glared at the shapeshifter, disgusted that she would take the form of his beloved.

Orin pouted. “How could you tell so quickly?”

“I could smell your stench a mile away.”

Everyone looked on in horror as a crazed, maniacal grin grew on their hearth witch’s face. And when she twisted back to her usual form, everyone felt a fear and anger that they could not swallow down.

“If you want your precious friend, then kill Gortash for me and bring me his netherstone.” She disappeared in a burst of pink petals, her insane laughter bleeding away.

Astarion could barely contain his rage. “We don’t have time, we have to find her now,” he snarled.

The others agreed.

“Don’t worry Astarion, we’ll find her,” Wyll said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Orin won’t get away with this.”

He nodded as he tried to keep a level head. But it was so, so hard.

If Orin touches her… she’ll feel her madness. She’ll feel everything.

***

You woke up to a world of pain, your entire body feeling as if it was on fire. You shifted and gasped in agony.

Then your memories of the last 24 hours returned, and you nearly vomited. You had so, so many cuts across your body. Your clothes had been sliced to shreds, and your skin along with it.

The crazed cackle of your captor drew your attention. Orin licked her knife with glee. “Your blood is the sweetest,” she murmured.

And then she wrapped her hand around your neck. You let out a hoarse cry of agony as her madness seeped into you. No amount of mental guarding could keep out the intensity of her insanity.

c̵̝̽u̵̩͌t̵͇͛ ̷̗̕c̵͉͌ṵ̵͝t̴̝̓ ̵̫͋m̸͙̚a̶̧̾i̴͈͋m̴̱̀ ̷̳̔m̸͇͛a̸̢͝i̸̗͗m̴͎͝ ̴̡̒m̷͍̈́ṵ̶͗r̵̝̾d̷̜̄e̸̤͋r̵̹͝ ̷̮̓m̸̳̊ủ̵͚r̸̖͑d̷͈̿e̴̞̐r̸̻͋k̶̜̋i̷̪͊l̶̝̔l̸͚̀k̴̫̃i̶͈̓l̴͇̀ĺ̶͙K̴͉̍Ȋ̶͜L̸͈͛L̵̫͌ ̴̢̀K̸̯̈I̸͍̿L̸̘̍Ľ̶̪ ̶̘̈K̴͇͘I̴̬͐L̶͚̀L̶̤̓—̸̟̀ ̵͉̏

You squeezed your eyes shut to drown out the voices in your head.

“Who knew you would be so sensitive to just my mere touch! Such a delight to torture.”

You could barely hear her words beyond the pounding of blood in your ears. Is this what she constantly felt? Wave after wave of darkness, followed by an alternating current of rage, a frenzied, frenetic need to hurt, to kill.

It was so dissonant from your usual emotions that you were having a physical reaction. Your blood pumped harder, spilling more from your wounds. You were weakening, your limbs feeling heavier with each passing moment.

“Let go of me!” you cried, your hands wet with your blood as you tugged weakly at Orin's arm.

She only laughed. “Why should I? Your agony is the sweetest candy on my tongue.” Grabbing your wrist and twisting it painfully, she brought the inside of your arm to her mouth. While she stared at you with her crazed glare, she licked your blood, savoring it, smearing it all over her lips.

“No!” You shrieked, trying to jerk your arm away. It was a useless endeavor; she was far stronger than you could ever be. “That blood is not for you!”

You tugged harder, the blood making your skin slippery. Her grip tightened until you felt your bones begin to yield, the pain making you keen.

“You make the most lovely sounds when in pain,” she murmured, letting go of your wrist and your throat. Placing the tip of her knife at your collarbone, she grinned maniacally. The sharp tip pierced your skin, the slow, burning sting making you whimper in pain.

“Let me hear you sing in agony once more—“

“My lady!”

Orin immediately grabbed the servant by the throat. “How. Dare. You. Interrupt me!”

“There…. are… intruders…” the servant gurgled.

You looked up, grateful for any distraction that kept Orin’s knife away from your collarbone. In the distance, you could see your companions as they charged down the stairs. A sense of relief flooded you.

Your friends. They were here. Thank the gods.

All of the stress and the injuries suddenly overwhelmed you, and your vision blurred. Did Orin just transform into a beastly creature? The party threw themselves into the fray, fighting off the other cultists while Karlach and Lae'zel focused on Orin.

The last thing you saw was Astarion rushing past the beast towards you, calling out your name.

***

It had been a hell of a battle, and Astarion barely remembered it. Once he had secured his beloved in a safe corner, he had lashed out, stabbing Orin until she screamed in agony. Then he sprinted back, picked up his little hearth witch in his arms and brought her to Shadowheart, who immediately healed her wounds. Her clothes were shredded to tatters, and even after her wounds had closed, she was still out cold.

“She may be mentally overwhelmed,” Shadowheart said.

He only nodded before setting off at a hurried pace to get back to the Elfsong, cradling her closely.

After they got out of the Undercity, she finally spoke to him again. “I'm surprised by how far you've come, Astarion. I didn't think you'd ever care so deeply about anyone.”

“I didn’t think so either,” he replied carefully. “But she managed to weasel her way in.”

“It's funny how the little things do so much. A warm meal, a soft touch, a gentle smile. She's brought us all out of our shells, made us feel safe.”

“Yes…” He looked down at his love. “She feels like home.”

Shadowheart didn’t miss the softness in his eyes as he spoke, gazing at his witch.

***

“Seems strange, doesn't it?” Shadowheart mused while she sat with the other around the communal table, snacking on some cheese.

“Well, they're lovers now, right? I wouldn't let anyone touch you either.”

Shadowheart frowned, even though she felt a bit tickled by Gale's protective comment. “That's fair. But he barely let me finish healing her before snatching her away.”

Gale shrugged. “Some people go a little crazy when they fall in love. I certainly don't blame him for acting this way. She's been kidnapped twice now, right under our noses.”

Nodding, Shadowheart grew quiet for a moment. “What do you think he meant when he said her skin was sensitive?”

Karlach suddenly lifted her head. “I asked her about why she wore gloves all the time and she said it was a secret. Maybe she just has super sensitive skin!”

The others just accepted that conclusion and moved on to other topics, but Shadowheart kept chewing on the thought.

What if…?

***

You regained consciousness as Astarion was lifting you in his arms. You felt his worry for you through your bare skin before you realized that he had taken his shirt off, and you were fully naked.

“What’s going on?” you mumbled.

“We rescued you,” he answered, his voice soft. “And now I’m giving you a bath. You’re covered in blood.”

“Oh.”

Astarion slowly lowered you into the tub, the water immediately turning red as the dried blood on your skin was washed away. The warmth was soothing against your freshly healed body and you started to relax. But the moment Astarion let go of you, the pain from before came rolling back. When Orin had held you down, her madness had borne down on you, unrelenting, and it returned now in ripples of mania.

You struggled to stay alert, but you could feel your mind slowly dissociating. Your consciousness faded as you battled the memories.

b̸̫̅͆ͅl̴̛̼̳̎ǒ̶̭́͜o̵̢̔ḋ̵̘̈́ ̷̢̬͌͘b̸̮͖̔l̸̙̬͘o̷͕̩̿̊o̸̬̐d̶̛͉ ̷̙̰̔c̷̢̩̈́ų̵̰͝t̶̖̲͆̿ ̷̭̬͝c̴̬̙̃u̴̱͋́t̶͆̆ͅ

“Darling?”

s̷̖̍l̵͕͋i̵̗͒̾c̴̻̫̔̀ē̶̝ ̴͉͝͝s̵̝̋̅l̸̠̏́i̴̳̚c̷͚̎̒e̸̜̜̒ ̵̹͂̎ͅh̵̤̋̐ư̶̥͌r̵̖͚̆t̶̡̬̋ ̸̤͓̌h̵̗͑̓ų̵̙̾͊r̸͖̍̀t̶̼̎͘ ̸̙̐̍m̷͈͝a̷̘͎͗̊i̵̩̦̊̌m̷̳̗̿̈ ̵̞̂m̶͚͍͒͠a̵̠͚̚i̴̭͋̏m̶̹͖͊̓

Suddenly your mind went blank as Astarion pulled you out of the tub and into his embrace. You wanted to chide him about getting his pants dirty with the bloody water, that you were naked, that this was wholly inappropriate…

But when you felt the overwhelming feeling of love and protection around you, it silenced everything else. The echoes of Orin's insanity, the screams of your own mental state, everything.

All you felt was Astarion's love for you, and it brought you back to the present.

And you cried.

“I've got you, my sweet. I've got you,” he murmured as you shook uncontrollably.

“I hate this!” you cried. “I…I'm weak. I'm helpless. I didn't… I didn't want to be a burden!”

Astarion hushed you gently, nuzzling your cheek with the tip of his nose. “What's that irritating thing that Gale always says about burdens?”

It took you a moment to remember. “A burden shared is a burden halved?”

“Yes. That.” He guided your chin up to look at him. “We both have our share of burdens. I accept yours, just as you accepted mine.”

“So you can say nice things,” you teased through your tears. “You won't abandon me?” you asked quietly.

“You're the heart I thought I had lost,” he quietly confessed. “So don't even think for a moment that I'd ever let you go.” He held you tighter. “You're mine, burdens and all.”

He coaxed you back into the tub, and kept at least one hand on your skin as he helped you get clean. While you knew you were healed, you sometimes saw the cuts that Orin had inflicted as an afterimage on your skin. You had to shake your head and force the vision away from your mind.

While you were fighting the demons in your head, Astarion bathed you, dried you off, and took you to bed, wrapping you up in his arms, against his bare chest.

“Will you be alright?” he asked softly, his gaze full of concern.

You took a deep breath. Would you? Orin did a hell of a number on you. It was unlike anything you had ever experienced, and you had seen some strange things in Waterdeep. Hells, you had faced a vampire lord and survived.

And yet…

“I’ll be alright,” you finally said.

He raised an eyebrow.

“I really will,” you insisted. “It may take some time, but you’ll be here to help, won’t you?”

His eyes softened. “Of course, darling.”

It wasn’t until you were mostly asleep that you realized that you were still naked, skin against skin with Astarion.

And yet, it was the most comfortable you had ever been with him, his arms wrapped protectively around you.

---------------------------

Act III, Chapter 3 End notes: Sorry for the lateness, had to work double digit hours every day this week at work, but finally got some time to edit and post this chapter! I’m really leaning into that hurt/comfort trope here and I regret nothing. But I think this will be about as much as I can write in terms of injuries, because honestly, our dear little witch needs to catch a break.

Also a bit of behind the scenes here: I absolutely killed that Zhentarim plotline, because it wasn’t working for me and it does get conveniently taken care of by Jaheira in the game. And I was thinking that HW was being a bit paranoid; she hasn’t seen a Zhent in years since the last time she was in the Gate. Also, the masked lord has basically forgotten about her, but she doesn’t know that.

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you thought of this chapter!

Tags List: @numblytemporary @xalphafox @avitute @stormyjane7 @kmoon21

#bg3 #astarion #astarion x f!reader #baldur's gate 3 #writing #bg3 fanfic #female reader #bg3 spoilers #your hearth is my home #cw: blood #cw: injury

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apuckishwit · 1 year

Text

Pining!Eddie and Wingman!Gareth

A preview of chapter 25 of Rolled a 1 on the Check, Rolled a 20 on the Save by APuckish_Wit on AO3

Eddie is awoken by sharp rapping on his front door, at an hour that is entirely too early to be conscious when he has nothing scheduled for the day.

He groans as he rolls over in bed, dislodging Gandalf from his back with a grumpy mrrow. He runs his hand over the cat’s head in apology, grabbing his phone from his nightstand and squinting at the screen. “The fuck?” he mumbles.

“Eddie! Eddie I know you’re in there! Open up!”

Gareth.

“The fuck,” he mumbles again, with more feeling this time, rolling out of the bed and not bothering to throw on a shirt over the boxers he slept in last night. If Gareth wants to bother him at ass o’clock in the morning, he can damn well deal with Eddie not feeling like getting dressed just yet. Smacking his lips and grimacing at the sticky crust of drool at the corners, he pads out to his living room and opens the door, scooping Gandalf off the floor with practiced ease when he makes his predictable break for the freedom of the hallway.

Why he wants to get out into the hallway is anyone’s guess, as he always immediately starts scratching and yowling to be let back in if Eddie closes the door behind him, but he tries every time.

“Dude, seriously? You couldn’t put some clothes on?” Gareth scoffs as he shoves past Eddie, not waiting for an invitation.

“You have literally seen me naked,” Eddie says, shutting the door and letting Gandalf slip from his arms.

“Not willingly!”

Yeah, it was kind of hard to get privacy in a studio apartment with a postage-stamp sized bathroom…but Gareth had been letting him couch surf there for free, so he hadn’t exactly been able to complain.

“So, not that I’m not happy to see you, but what errand is so momentous that it requires you to come knocking on my door at this obscene hour?” He shuffles into the kitchen and hits the switch on the coffeepot, before pulling the fridge open and examining the contents. “You want a bagel?” he asks after a moment, digging a bag of poppyseed bagels, some cream cheese, and strawberry jam out.

“Nah, I ate on the way over,” Gareth says. He’s making himself at home at Eddie’s small kitchen table, pulling notebooks, pens, and highlighters out of his messenger bag. Eddie raises an eyebrow, propping his hip against the counter while he waits for his bagel to toast.

“Are we doing homework?”

Gareth spins a pencil in his fingers the way he used to spin his drumsticks, stabbing it towards Eddie with a determined glint in his eye. “Yes. We are coming up with a gameplan to figure out if you have a shot with Steve.”

Eddie blinks. “We’re doing what now?”

“You heard me. You’re pining, Munson. Like, I haven’t seen you down this bad for someone since Jackson.”

Eddie winces at the mention of his ex—his longest relationship to date, the man he’d been considering introducing to Wayne. He’d been ready to talk about moving in together, maybe even getting engaged, when Jackson had blindsided him by taking a job overseas. Hadn’t even talked to him, first, hadn’t even told Eddie he was considering it. He’d tried to spin it as not wanting to be influenced on such a big decision about his future. His future, not their future.

Yeah, they hadn’t lasted long after that.

Gareth’s face softens a little. “Sorry,” he says, voice sincere and contrite. ��But the point stands.”

“Gar,” Eddie sighs, raking a hand back through the tangles of his hair. “We’ve talked about this. He had a long-term girlfriend—like, high school sweethearts shit. He hasn’t said anything, but I’m pretty sure he’d have married her if she hadn’t broken it off with him.”

“Valid data, but not conclusive,” Gareth counters. “Jeff had a couple long-term girlfriends too, and he and Aidan are going strong. Also bi people exist, Eddie.”

“I know that! And Jeff was so far in the closet before he met us, he was having tea with Mr. Tumnus,” Eddie says with an affectionate laugh. “Steve does not give me that vibe. The closet vibe or the bi vibe.” He fixes a couple of coffees to his and Gareth’s liking, and then sits down across from Gareth with his breakfast. He takes a couple morose bites of his bagel. “Dude, look. I appreciate it. I really do. But I did the whole ‘falling for straight boys’ thing in high school and it never brought me anything good. Steve’s a really great friend. I’m fine with that.”

Gareth tilts his head, staring at Eddie with narrowed eyes. “Uh huh. Anyway, so Jeff, Aidan, and I went back and watched all your streams with him. Side note, Aidan thinks he sounds hot, is he hot? I don’t care, but Jeff and Aidan really wanted to know.”

“So hot,” Eddie sighs, though he doesn’t mention how he knows. That video was public knowledge, but he doesn’t feel like getting teased for cyberstalking. “Like…he’s beautiful, man.”

“Mmhmm,” Gareth hums, making a notation on his notebook. Eddie huffs, reaching across the table to grab the top of his pencil.

“Gareth, seriously. I love you so much for what you’re trying to do, but there’s no point. I’ll get over him, eventually.”

“Ah, but you haven’t heard my rationale, yet.”

“Oh, there’s a rationale? Do tell.”

“I will. And that rationale is…we think he’s flirting with you, too.” It’s not quite a record-scratch moment, but it comes pretty close. Eddie freezes, staring at his best friend. Gareth smirks at him, leaning back in his chair. “Yup. All three of us. We watched all the streams you’ve put up, and we each wrote down any time we thought Steve was doing something we’d interpret as flirty and when we compared notes, they were almost identical. And that’s not even counting all the people in your views who think there’s something going on between you two.”

“You…you guys ran an experiment about this?” Eddie asks slowly, unsure if he’s grateful or horrified that his friends care so much about his (non-existent) love life.

Gareth waves him off. “Sort of. Point is, as two men in a committed relationship and one man who spent a not-insignificant amount of time in high school trying to sus out if people were serious or just messing with you when they were making eyes at you—we think this bears further investigation.”

Gandalf curls around Eddie’s legs, meowing pitifully until Eddie picks him up and swipes a smear of cream cheese onto his thumb for Gandalf to lick. “I don’t know,” he says, voice wavering even to his own ears. “I feel like I would have noticed if Steve was flirting with me.”

Gareth snorts into his coffee. “You absolutely would not. You put the moves on anything with a pulse, but you’re always shocked as fuck when anyone reciprocates.”

And that’s…okay, yeah, that’s a fair point. Still, Gareth doesn’t have to say it out loud and shit. “Rude,” he mutters, taking a drink of his coffee.

“But accurate. So, how ‘bout it?” Gareth hovers his pencil over the notebook, waggling his eyebrows. “Even if we’re wrong, at least you’ll know.”

Eddie gnaws on his lip a moment, scratching behind Gandalf’s ears. There are a myriad of reasons not to rock the boat—not least of which is the fact that he’s still not convinced Steve is anything but straight. That—that would’ve come up in their conversations at some point by now, wouldn’t it? And even if he’s not, how compatible are there lives, really? They live on opposite sides of the country, and Steve seems pretty set on building a life in Chicago.

Not that—not that Eddie’s, like, super invested in Seattle. He can do the work he does anywhere, really, and Chicago is a hell of a lot closer to Wayne. Not that…whoa, not that he needs to be thinking in those terms right now. Or ever, really.

Just…

He thinks of how easy it is to talk to Steve. How much he likes reading to him, listening to him ramble about how his favorite teams are doing in their playoffs as he putters around in his kitchen. How much Steve seems to like listening to him go off on any of the subjects that have caught his attention, asking thoughtful questions and remembering important points weeks later. They are so, so different, but they just mesh, making room for each other in their lives and being happy with the space they each take up, and all without ever having met face to face.

He shouldn’t encourage Gareth. He is rapidly realizing that Steve is pretty much everything he’s ever wanted in a man, but he is not lucky enough for life to have just dropped someone like that in his lap and have an actual chance with them. Life only works that way in his stories and games.

Still…would it hurt to know for sure? If—if there is a chance that Steve would reciprocate his feelings.

Oh holy fuck, if he did reciprocate…

“What do you have in mind?” he asks, leaning forward as Gareth’s grin turns as pleased as a cat who’s caught the canary.

#my writing #Rolled a 1 on the check Rolled a 20 on the save #steddie #snippets #Oh I'm having fun with this chapter

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monacodaydreaming · 2 years

Text

Against All Odds | Part One

The continuous stream of notifications and the dull light of your phone screen pulled you from your sleep. You blinked your eyes a few times trying to moisten them as they were dry from having been shut for so long. You reached out in the darkness and grabbed your phone whilst sitting upright in your bed. Your eyes widened as the notifications on your phone wouldn’t stop. One after one they just kept coming, from TikTok, instagram and even messages from your friends. You looked at the time on your phone to see that it was three in the morning.

You unlocked your phone and went straight to your messages, hoping that these would shed some more immediate light on what was going on.

Annie: Ells?

Annie: Ellie are you awake?

Annie: Have you seen what’s going on!!

Annie: God your phone must be blowing up

CeCe: I CANNOT FUCKING BELIEVE IT

CeCe: ARE YOU STILL BREATHING?

CeCe: OMG CAN YOU ANSWER ME PLEASE !!!!

Milo: Lewis Fucking Hamilton wants to meet you.

Milo: Mate, I need you to answer me

Milo: Fuck me this is wild.

Your eyes widened as you read over the first text again. ‘Lewis Fucking Hamilton wants to meet you’. You immediately closed your messages down and went straight to instagram, you clicked on your profile and you couldn’t believe what you were seeing before you. You had gained over 30,000 followers. You had an endless stream of notifications.

“What the fuck is going on?” You spoke out into the darkness. You clicked onto the explore page and typed in Lewis Hamiltons instagram handle. From a quick glance at his page you couldn’t see anything directly having been posted about you. You clicked on his profile picture and began watching his stories. They were currently in Australia as the first race of the season would be happening this Sunday. You continued clicking until you came across a post of a reel that looked familiar popped up. The reason it looked familiar was largely to do with the fact that it was yours. Your eyes widened as you read over the words that appeared alongside the repost of your video.

‘I want to meet this girl @_ellsdrives’

This could not be happening. You closed down your instagram app and went to your phone to dial your best friend.

“Ellie! Jesus, I thought you might have just spontaneously died.” Milo spoke into the phone. “Are you okay?”

“It’s three in the morning....I’m freaking out a bit I won’t lie.”

“I’ll say.”

“I was asleep, I only got back from New York a few hours ago.”

“You know he even mentioned you in a press conference right?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Yeah, I’ve been watching all night.”

“Why aren’t you sleeping Milo.”

“Insomnia, anyways I’m gonna send you a clip. It’s mad mate, he says your full name and all.”

“What?” Your phone buzzed in your hands at a video from Milo. “I’m just putting you on speaker for a sec.” He only hummed in response. You clicked play.

‘I love finding talent on social media, I think it’s honestly a great way to find the next generation of drivers. I think as the world progresses you have to think of new ways for people to get into the sport. I was on instagram the other week and I discovered this young girl, only about 25. Errr Ellie Love her name is….incredible driver, such an incredible talent and an obvious love for cars. These people are the future.’

The clip cut there. “I don’t even fucking know what to do right now.” You spoke back into the phone.

“If I was you I would watch the clip about 5 more times, and then message him on instagram obviously.”

“Saying what?!”

“Saying anything Ellie, literally anything! Saying thank you so much for reposting my video…saying my phones been blowing up non-stop….saying you’re a huge fucking fan.”

You rubbed your temples, feeling a migraine coming on. “I need to get some sleep Milo, what are you plans tomorrow morning?”

“Nada. Breakfast?”

“Please” you pouted through the phone.

“I’ll pick you up at 10, we can go to Minnow.”

“I’ll see you then tank.”

“See you then mush.”

When you woke the next day, you refused to look at your phone. You got up and got ready without taking a glance at anything on it other than the time. When Milo rang you at 10am to say he was waiting outside you slipped your phone into your pocket and headed down to meet him.

“If it isn’t the newly world famous Miss. Love” Milo said a little too loudly for your liking as you opened the passenger door.

“Shut up you knob people will hear you.”He only laughed at your words, starting to drive off as you did up your seatbelt.

“How did you sleep?”

“I didn’t” you groaned, and it was true. Since you got off the phone with Milo last night you tossed and turned until you need to get up to meet him.

“I can’t believe this is happening to be honest with you.”

“Well that makes two of us. I don’t understand why he’s said what he’s said on TV?” You paused looking over at Milo. “I feel like I need to watch the full thing to understand the context.”

“He was asked about his age and how much longer he felt he would be driving for. Then he mentioned about how he knows he can’t go on forever, but how him and Toto already have an understanding that even after he retires from racing he wants to still be involved with the team.”

“So what he’s looking to recruit his own replacement?”

“I guess…in some ways yeah.”

"But he can't retire..not yet anyway." You were looking blankly straight ahead. "He's Lewis Fucking Hamilton"

"He is Lewis Fucking Hamilton."

You had eaten breakfast, continuing to chat shit with Milo. Still refusing to look at your phone.

"Okay, it's time. You need to message him."

"I'm scared."

Milo looked at you blankly "Why are you scared."

"I don't know" you poked your phone that was on do not disturb on the table. "Just am."

"Come on mush. It's time."

You sighed "okay, okay." You tapped the screen, it coming to life showing the thousands of notifications that were there. You unlocked it and went straight to instagram, immediately checking your profile to see what your follower count was now.

"Christ alive. I'm up to 56k."

"Fuck off"

"This is insane" Next you went and searched for Lewis again this time clicking on the message icon on his page. You paused over the screen for a little while before you began to type out a message.

@_ellsdrives: Mr. Hamilton...you have got a lot of explaining to do. My phone has been blowing up non-stop. Just wanted to say thank you for reposting my video..and even mentioning my name in that press conference. I'm honestly a little starstruck right now.

"See what you think of this please" You handed your phone over to Milo and watched him read it whilst taking another swig of your coffee.

"Yeah good good, send it!" He passed your phone back to you before quickly looking at his watch. "They'll still be awake over there at the moment."

"Okay, I'm sending." You hit the send button and then decided it was time to look through some of your notifications. You had been followed by not only Lewis Hamilton on instagram, but two other F1 drivers as well. "Milo. I'm freaking out." He looked at you concerned "Pierre Gasly and Sebastian Vettel have followed me on instagram as well."

"You might have just become the coolest person I know."

You playfully threw your napkin at him from across the table. "Mate, I was already the coolest person you knew. No doubt."

"True true."

You were back at your flat scrolling through your social medias when you received a direct message from the man himself.

@lewishamilton: sorry to catch you by surprise. I was just amazed by your talent. We're in Imola next weekend for our next race. Mercedes would like to fly you out. What are your plans?

“Miss Love?” A man wearing a suit, holding a little sign with your name on it approached you.

“Yes!” You answered with a bright smile on your face. “But please, it’s just Ellie.” The man smiled at you in return. “And this is Milo.” You turned slightly introducing Milo to whom you assumed was your driver.

“Please, follow me. I’m going to take you straight to the circuit, but will drop your bags at the hotel for you.” He reached out to grab your suitcase and started leading the way to the car. Since the initial conversation with Lewis, things had got a little crazy. Mercedes had invited you and a friend to fly out to Imola and meet the team. Naturally you were bringing your friend Milo with you who was a huge F1 fan like yourself. You couldn’t believe how quickly the actual day had come around.

When you got into the car, you were greeted by a young woman named Melissa. “Hi guys!” She beamed brightly at you both. “I’m Melissa and I’ll be taking you down into the paddock today where you’ll be met by Toto.” She started to hand you both something, but you were still too focused on what she just said.

“I’m sorry, but did you just say Toto?” You were baffled.

“Yes.” She smiled. “If you could just wear these round your necks, these will get you through the gates and they’ll just let everyone know that you’re VIPs with Mercedes this weekend.”

You looked down at the VIP pass that was in your hand with a picture of yourself that you had to send over earlier this week.

When you arrived at the circuit you and Milo thanked the driver and followed Melissa down to the gates where you scanned your passes to gain entry into the paddock. As you and Milo both went through you couldn’t help contain the little squeal that came out of your mouth. You did a little jump in front of Milo who laughed at your actions. You apologised to Melissa and continued to follow her through the paddock.

Walking down the main strip was a surreal experience. It was something that most people only got to see on TV. Never in your life did you imagine that you would be here yourself, as a VIP guest of Mercedes.

As you were walking you noticed a familiar face heading towards you from the opposite direction. It was Pierre Gasly. Time seemed to slow down a little as you took in the man in front of you. He was looking at his phone. First thing you noticed is that he was taller in person than you thought he might be and in many ways he was way more attractive. You were a little shocked when his head raised and his eyes locked with yours. He abruptly stopped in his tracks and a smile overtook his face.

“Ellie?” He questioned. You were gobsmacked.

“Yes?”

“That is so weird! I was just watching a video of yours on instagram!” He turned his phone screen around to show that he was in fact watching a video of you driving.

“Well that’s a bit surreal for me I’m not going to lie.” You noticed as his eye line moved to Milo who was stood behind you. “This is Milo” You introduced. Pierre held out his hand to shake.

“Nice to meet you Milo.” He redirected his attention back to you. “Lewis mentioned you would be here this weekend. I have to run, but I hope to see you again later. I want you to take me for a spin around the track.” He dropped you a wink.

You were left in disbelief unable to say anything as he walked away, without looking back. You and Milo began following along behind Melissa again. “Pierre Gasly knows who you are.”he teased in a sing song voice.

“If you don’t shut up right now I’m going to knee you in the bollocks.” Milo let out a loud obnoxious laugh at your words.

#f1 #formula one #f1 imagine #forumla one imagine #f1 one shot #formula one one shot #pierre gasly #pierre gasly imagine #pierre gasly one shot #pierre gasly fanfic #pierre gasly fanfiction #lewis hamilton

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bi-bats · 8 months

Note

ok so. long list, you can pick and choose, yknow the drill. im a curious person. anyways!!! for the ask game: 7, 10, 25, 26, 35, 43, 48, 65, and Get It Together, Boys for 76, please! <3 <3 <3

Bean, you are such a gift 💖 We all know I'm going to answer all of these, both for you and because they're fun!!!

7. How do you choose which POV to write from?

The POV chooses me actually 😂 it's never really something I consciously decide? There's usually just someone whose inner dialogue I think we need to be hearing the most and that's usually the POV I slide to (which has also backfired on me before, because when I wrote the first chapter of the chokehold damitim fic it wasn't supposed to be damitim at all but being in Damian's perspective made me realize it had to be adkjfadsjkfl I'm gonna have to stay out of Damian's perspective in the jaytim version tbh)

10. Cltr+f "blinks" on your WIP & copy paste the first sentence/paragraph that comes up

The damitim fic is actually literally the only fic with unposted content that has the word blinks in it?? This is from the next chapter:

Tim looks up at him, rolls his eyes in a flash of green, and sighs, “Jesus, Damian. I’m an adult, I can cross the street without you holding my fucking hand.” Damian blinks at him once, twice, and then he moves. He walks around Tim, leaving him in front of the bed, and feels Tim’s eyes on him as he makes his way to the microwave and pulls out his dinner.

25. What fic do you wish you got more of a response on?

What Are You Waiting For? Honestly I just love the way it flows and the writing, but also it isn't finished and I haven't updated it in like two months so I'm not really surprised lmao

26. Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

probably Non-Refundable Plans because the way it keeps bouncing from funny to serious and also all of the unhinged behavior from everyone all around 😂 I would make an argument for Rooftops and Bookshops because of the before and after, but I also hate the writing in that fic now. Seriously, it's one of my least favorite works now.

What I can tell you is that the fic that will be the wildest ride is Know Yourself. No doubt in my mind.

35. What is one essential thing to remember when writing a villain?

The villain HAS TO HAVE A GOOD REASON FOR DOING WHAT THEY'RE DOING!!!! This is SO important to me. "Every villain is the hero of their own story" NO. NO THEY AREN'T. THEY DON'T NEED TO BE! SOME VILLAINS ARE TOTALLY FINE BEING THE VILLAIN AND I LOVE THAT FOR THEM!! IT'S ACTUALLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE TROPES "YOU WANT ME TO BE THE BAD GUY? FINE." LIKE YESDSSSDDFSDFAJFJK AS LONG AS THEY CAN JUSTIFY THEIR ACTIONS TO THEMSELVES THAT IS A GOOD VILLAIN. WE JUST NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHY THEY'RE DOING WHAT THEY'RE DOING.

43. Do you take a sadistic joy in whumping your characters, or are you more the "If you hurt them I would kill everyone and then myself" kind of person?

Oh, I saw this question and was like "there's no way anyone doesn't know the answer to this." 😂 I whump them to death daily. I whump them for breakfast, I whump them at work, I whump them while I'm sleeping. I'm actually whumping them rn in my head tbh 💖 Sadistic joy. It's like a stim toy to me.

48. What do you look for in a beta?

Someone who's going to be honest! Point out my typos, tell me if phrasing is clunky or doesn't work, tell me if a CHUNK of writing isn't necessary and needs to go. I want to make it better. But it is also lovely to hear the things that work! I basically love a beta who points out the things they like just as much as the things they don't (which doesn't necessarily mean it has to be an even mix instead of one more than the other, I just think of it like an art critique)

65. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

I'm looking forward to GETTING MY SHIT TOGETHER ON THE KONBART FIC I REALLY WANT TO FINISH IT AJKSDFALSK I LOVE WRITING BART AND I LOVE WRITING KON AND I LOVE WRITING THEM BEING IN LOVE

76. Did you have any ideas that didn’t make the final cut of Get It Together, Boys?

I wrote that fic in like three days aksdjflaks honestly not really? But looking back at it, I would've really liked to dig into their book club a little! It would've been fun to show some of their conversations about books.

Thank you thank you thank you Bean 💖 I hope you enjoyed the responses!!

#🫘 this was a terrible idea #batsasks

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backtothestart02 · 1 year

Text

Muse | Chapter 25 [9.01]

A/N: Yep, that sneak stirred a chunk of dialogue out of me. This chap immediately follows the sneak peek.

...

[9.01]

One literal second following his farewell to Chester and Allegra over coms, Barry appeared in his and Iris’ home just as Iris was finishing putting on earrings to complete her ensemble.

“I’m back!” he declared, frowning when he saw no one on the first floor. “Iris?”

The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs immediately followed his vocalized confusion.

“That was fast.”

He gave her a long, hard look before settling on, “Wow.”

Iris rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

“You saw me before you left a minute ago.” She lifted her chin, as she came within inches of him, encouraging him to kiss her, which he did. “And you said the exact same thing then.”

His smile was dazzling.

“I can be wowed by my wife more than once, can’t I?”

Her eyes sparkled.

“So, who was the bad guy?”

“Captain Boomerang, I think.”

“A new one?” she asked, intrigued.

“Yeah.”

“And is he in Iron Heights now?” she asked, bending down at a nearby table to snatch her purse.

Barry’s eyes were glued to her ass.

“No, he got away.”

Iris looked at him over her shoulder, and he made no attempt to look away from that delectable curve, enhanced by the velvet fabric.

“Babe.”

“What?” He frowned, meeting her eyes now.

“Don’t you think you should try to go catch him? Or at least have the team work on it?”

His frown disappeared, as a gorgeous smile reappeared on his face.

“We have dinner reservations. I told Chester and Allegra to take the rest of the day off.”

She blinked.

“Babe. You can’t just-”

“Don’t worry about it,” he cut in, extending his elbow for her to loop her arm through. “Now come on, Mrs. West-Allen, I’m hungry.”

Reluctantly, she tucked her arm through his.

“And not just for food,” he muttered.

She laughed.

“Oh, you’re expecting to get laid, are you?”

His smile was explosive as he opened the door for them to walk through.

“I just know my wife.”

She snorted.

“You’re that irresistible?” she deadpanned.

His smile did not fall even a fraction of an inch.

“To you.”

Her mouth fell open for several seconds before she could respond, frozen outside their door in the hallway.

“Fair.”

#westallen #westallen fanfiction #backtothestart02 fanfiction #muse #chapter 25 #9.01

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theangryjikooker · 9 months

Note

I'm not really a vminie, other than that I enjoy their bond and sometimes blink several times in amazement at them, but if I could maybe build a little on what your last anon asked and maybe throw a few of my big vmin eyebrow raises into your ask box to maybe start a discussion? I honestly think it's really healthy for jikook shippers/believers/whatevers to get into the weeds on vmin ship tumblr or twt. You could pick any ship for what I'm about to explain, but taekookers tend to be explicitly nasty, yoonminers just straight up explicit, and the rest of the ships just don't have the presence to create a good deep dive (except for maybe namjin? who wants namjin deep dive blog recs?) But vminies are mostly normal. They think their ship is in love (or at least used to-- huge drop off in those blogs and twt accounts posting in the past year or so, for obvious reasons) and they base their theories around that. They're rarely super disparaging towards the other members, and the vmin bond is so open that they don't need to really create insane theories. They just vibe. They also seem to be handling the more recent proof that their ship isn't real extraordinarily well without falling into delusion. I would say none of the other big bts ships would do the same. (and I have proof tkkers wouldn't). But for anyone who really thinks Jikook is real (I'm like 75/25 myself), I think it's valuable to look another narrative, with a lot of genuine contradictions in it to the 'standard' jikook one, straight in the face and take in how perspective can change something. It's healthy. These spaces so quickly fall into echo chambers.

off the top of my head, my big vmin eyebrow raises:

vmin have zero physical boundaries. open affection, sometimes truly bafflingly so. all over eachother and almost never pull away. (jikooker: of course they don't pull away, they're not hiding anything. do you see the way jimin leaned so naturally into jk but then saw the camera--. vminie: vmin go 2 seconds without touching eachother challenge failed)

they literally acted out being boyfriends on more than one occasion (jikooker: it was s roleplay! you know how tae is! vminie: they're trying to tell us!)

4'oclock, scenery, and sweet night. 4'oclock is explicitly about jimin and has been confirmed so on MULTIPLE occasions by the members. That in and of itself is insane (i wrote a long long letter to the moon one night but it wasn't as beautiful as you PLUS namjoon's moonlight movie ref, whew), but if you then look at the lyrics to scenery and sweet night the lyrical parallels and common themes paint a pretty crazy picture. Vastly beyond any song jikookers have ever managed to tie to their ship, except for maybe the serendipity i am you you are me. (jikooker: tae is just a lazy songwriter of course he's using the same themes, you don't know his live. vminie: LOOK AT HIM ALL HIS SONGS ARE JIMIN CODED HES CRAZY)

I also think jikookers could use a solid rewatch of older bangtan content. I'm watching BV2 right now and the amount of time that Jimin spends hanging off Tae/they spend together is truly incredible. In Jikook spaces all I got out of it was a few scattered fragments of interaction (Jungkook spends WAY more time gravitating towards Seokjin in Hawaii at least by my read)

Do I think vmin is real? No, for obvious reasons. But I think paying attention to the way a ship can generate these narratives is important for all shippers.

Co-signed 100%. I always find discussing Jikook and Vmin and the difference in their dynamics really interesting. What I covered isn’t anywhere near the level of discussion I could go into, and a few followers I’ve exchanged DMs with know what I’m talking about lol.

I also need to watch the BV series again and have been planning to. It’ll be nice to watch them with fresh eyes.

#TAJ asks #anon submission #vmin #jikook #kookmin

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staynoonaz9290 · 1 year

Text

Temptation - S2 (Ch. 24)

Where Maddie and Lila are back six months later, still managers of Stray Kids, navigating the world of incubi, and worse… Dealing with unexpected feelings

Group: Stray Kids

Pairing: Each SKZ Member/Fem! Reader (Third Person-Lila and Maddie)

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Warnings: Sexual Content (a LOT of sexual content-please don't read if this makes you uncomfortable), Sex with multiple members (at separate times), Sex-to-survive (Incubi/Succubi), Desperation, Oral Sex (M-Given/F-Given), Fingering, Language, Supernatural Love, Excessive Drinking, Crack Fic, Age Difference, Slight OOC, Slight Angst, Love Triangle

Word Count: 2,850

Main Masterlist | Stray Kids Masterlist

COMPLETE

23 | 24 | 25

“Holy… are you serious?”

Maddie’s eyes were wide as she stared at Lila, the two of them sitting in the library together, the younger describing her entire night with Chan, moment by moment.

“So you- and your veins glowed?!”

She was fascinated- she’d known incubi were supernatural, but wow- Lila giggling at her enthusiasm.

“Yes, and then my hair was all up in the air… It was like Beauty and the Beast!”

Maddie laughed, watching her best friend run a hand through her hair.

“And now you’re…” she trailed off, Lila nodding slowly.

“Yeah,” she replied. “Now we’re bonded.”

They were quiet for a moment, Maddie still smiling because she just couldn’t get over how happy she was for both of them.

She didn’t think she’d ever met two people more perfect for one another than Chan and Lila.

“Is it weird?”

“It’s so weird,” Lila said excitedly. “Look-”

She blinked her eyes a couple times, and when she opened them again, they were bright blue, Maddie jumping in surprise.

“What the-?” she laughed again. “He turned you into a succubus?!”

“That’s what I said!” Lila blinked again, grinning as her eyes shifted back to green. “But no, it’s just… an effect I guess. Since the color means love, it sort of… comes and goes when I think about him. Or see him…”

She trailed off, the blue flickering again before it was gone, Maddie pressing her lips around another smile.

“So…” she asked mischievously. “How was the sex?”

She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, Lila rolling her eyes even as her cheeks started turning red.

“It was…” she paused, eyes shining. “Literally amazing…”

“I bet,” Maddie said with a giggle. “Was it like- Did it feel different?”

“I mean…” Lila was smiling demurely. “Yeah.”

Her best friend spent the next several minutes recounting every single detail, Maddie staying mostly quiet, just listening, totally engrossed in the story.

“-and he can be like, as rough with me as he wants,” Lila added, still looking a little amazed. “It doesn’t… It doesn’t hurt, it’s like it only makes it better.”

“Whoa,” Maddie nodded, impressed. “I’m jealous. That sounds fucking awesome…”

“It was…”

Lila trailed off, expression content and happy, and when she looked back at Maddie, her eyes were shining again.

“I knew I liked him a lot, even loved him,” Lila admitted softly. “But I didn’t know until that moment just how… in love I really was.”

Maddie grinned.

“Yeah bestie, I think I could’ve told you that…”

Lila smiled, hitting Maddie lightly with the pillow in her lap as both of them giggled.

“No, but honestly… this is so great,” Maddie said sincerely. “You guys… you really deserve each other…”

Lila looked a little shy, tucking her hair behind her ears.

“Thanks Maddie.”

But she was still smiling, all pink cheeks and messy hair when her eyes met Maddie’s once more.

“So…”

“Your eyes are blue-”

“Oh, right-”

Maddie giggled as her best friend blinked a couple times, her eyes fading back to green.

“It’s so tricky to control,” she admitted with a laugh. “I get why the guys have such a hard time. Anyway. Did you… happen to talk to Hyunjin last night?”

Maddie’s eyes darted from Lila’s, and she swallowed hard.

“Nope,” she replied bitterly, popping the “p” sound.

When she looked at the younger again, Lila’s smile was fading a little, eyes darting between her own.

“I’m sorry, bestie.”

And Maddie was looking away again, messing with a loose string on her comforter, the empathy on the girl’s face bringing a small lump to her throat.

It had been almost four days, and Maddie had no idea how much she would miss him.

Hyunjin’s stupid smirky face and annoying, know-it-all quips to everything she said.

The way he made her laugh- the kind of laughing that had her gasping for air- and his touch upon her skin…

Against all odds, Hyunjin made her happy.

And these last few days without him had only made her reluctantly all too aware of it.

Even worse, being without Hyunjin wasn’t the only thing preoccupying Maddie’s mind…

Jeongin

She was still thinking about that hug they’d shared yesterday next to the coffee machine. How she’d held him tighter than she’d meant to- how, honestly, she hadn’t planned on hugging him at all…

How the urge had struck anyway, when Jeongin had been kind to her as always, an understanding in his eyes that broke her heart so much, she could hardly bear to see it-

And when she had hugged him, she hadn’t just been saying sorry; letting him know she still adored him and wanted him around…

But in a way- it felt like she’d also been saying goodbye…

“It’s okay.”

She waved everything away quickly, not wanting to spend another minute thinking about this mess. Lila had come to her with great news, and- to be perfectly honest- Maddie was more than happy to focus on that instead.

“I’m not raining on your parade with this middle school drama,” she joked, grinning and hopping up from the bed.

“Okay…” the other replied, sounding hesitant.

“Let’s go get some coffee,” Maddie insisted, motioning for Lila to follow her, moving towards the door. “ We can celebrate!”

Lila agreed with a nod, and together they walked out of the room, heading to the kitchen.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that day, Maddie and Lila found themselves hanging out in the living room, a majority of the guys in there with them.

They’d spent that morning drinking coffee like Maddie had suggested, and- this being day two of everyone’s much-deserved vacation- they’d all been lounging around for hours.

Maddie was sitting between Seungmin and Jeongin on the big sofa, playing the mobile game they’d gotten her oh so addicted to-

“Aw, Seungmin, why did you-?”

“I know, I know,” he cut her off before she could keep complaining, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. “I’m getting some health now.”

Jeongin chuckled on her other side, and when their eyes met, Maddie smiled for a moment before looking back at her game.

She felt slightly awkward; after all, they’d literally made out just two nights ago, Jeongin had made his feelings even more conclusive, and Maddie had yet to give him any sort of response…

Just a cryptic hug in the kitchen, and her pulling back to look at him…

And Jeongin’s expression telling her he might already know her answer.

Yet, he was still there sitting beside her, playing this game as if nothing had happened at all, and Maddie wasn’t sure if she should be feeling guilty or not.

Either way, she still definitely did.

She glanced up from her phone, looking around the room at everyone else.

Felix and Changbin were sitting side by side on the floor, sharing a package of Oreos and silently watching whatever movie was on TV, while Han and Minho were leaning against Seungmin’s legs, and- mainly Han- was making tons commentary.

Lila and Chan were together on the love seat, arms pressed together as if they were purposely trying not to cuddle- too much PDA- but they might as well have been, because the aura around them was so…

Love.

It was the kind of thing you could feel now, when you walked into a room with them; affection, fondness, contentedness.

And Maddie was so happy for Lila that it really helped with everything else…

Like the fact that Hyunjin was nowhere to be found.

Her stomach twisted a little as Maddie’s eyes darted back to her game, watching her small avatar zoom across the battlefield.

Maddie knew Hyunjin wasn’t there because of her; that if she wasn’t in that living room right now, Hyunjin would be sitting where she was, his own phone out to join them in the game, laughing at Seungmin’s frustration and Jeongin’s silent stealth.

She knew there wouldn’t be a weird emptiness that always came when one of them was missing and maybe the room would be a little less quiet.

It’s his choice, Maddie reasoned with herself. You never told him he couldn’t be here.

But her own thoughts didn’t make her feel any better, and her mind was starting to wander again, wondering…

Maybe it was time she tried talking to Hyunjin.

She knew she made him angry, and she knew he’d been going out of his way to not be near her- giving the very clear message of leave me alone- but Maddie wasn’t one to always listen to requests, and maybe this drama had gone on long enough.

Maybe she needed to be the bigger person here and just say something, before they went so long without talking that it became the new norm-

“Hey.”

Maddie was instantly startled, dropping her phone in her lap before quickly picking it back up, an immediate jolt in her chest-

Hyunjin

It’s like he’d known she was thinking about him.

His arrival surprised everyone, and Maddie looked over automatically, turning at the same time as Jeongin, her heart already racing…

Maddie hated how quickly her stomach flipped at just the sight of him- hair slightly in his face again, wearing a white long sleeved shirt and black skinny jeans…

She had this sudden urge to stand up; to tell him they were both being stupid and they really needed to talk-

But despite her looking right at him…

Hyunjin’s eyes were purposely avoiding her own.

“Hi,” Felix smiled hesitantly, and she watched him give Hyunjin a small wave. “What’s up?”

Hyunjin smiled back- like he couldn’t help it- but the expression didn’t meet his eyes, and she felt another pang in her chest when she noticed that-

“Do either of you have an extra contract?” his voice was a bit low, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I can’t find mine anywhere.”

And just like that, time seemed to stop for a moment.

Maddie felt like she’d been slapped.

She looked away instantly, her insides tensing as she tried her best to keep her face neutral, eyes locked on her phone screen.

But she could see the device shaking just slightly in her hands; her heartbeat loud in her ears as she felt the rush of blood through her veins, making her face hot-

Hyunjin was going to meet with another girl.

She saw a sudden movement out of the corner of her eye- Lila, who was scowling a little, opening her mouth as if to say something- but Maddie gave a quick, subtle shake of her head, meeting her best friend’s eye.

It’s not worth it, she said without words.

Lila snapping back would do nothing; she knew that stubborn expression on Hyunjin’s annoyingly perfect face all too well.

“What do you need that for?”

Han was looking up at Hyunjin in slight confusion.

“Yeah…” Changbin had turned around, eyebrows furrowed deeply. “I was about to ask the same thing.”

And as much as Maddie appreciated them- felt loved and cared for- the way they kept glancing at her was making the heat of her face worse, her cheeks burning so bad she was touching them with her hands, scratching absentmindedly at her hair so it could come off casual-

She glanced at Seungmin, who was silent and staring, then Jeongin, who was shifting beside her.

He looked irritated- more irritated than she’d ever seen him- and he turned from Hyunjin to look at her.

His gaze darted along her face; she was sure it was bright pink and that surprised him-

Maddie never blushed.

But she found herself shaking her head again, not sure if Jeongin would even say anything but telling him not to, just in case.

There was a ringing in her ears- quiet but there- as if the world was slightly muffled, and Maddie swallowed hard around the rock that’d lodged itself into her throat-

Minho was shifting on the floor beside Han, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a stack of folded papers.

Maddie chanced a glance at Hyunjin again, but he still wasn’t looking at her, eyes fixed on Minho’s movements, and she was quickly turning away, running a hand through her hair.

Something caught her eye, and she was surprised to see Felix looking right at her, so much concern in his gaze that the corners of Maddie’s eyes began to burn, and she hurriedly looked away, the lump in her throat getting a little bigger-

“Here you go.”

Minho was casual as he stood up, handing it over.

“You sure you need that?”

Maddie was surprised by Chan, who was looking very pointedly at Hyunjin across the room, his face both questioning and serious, nodding at the paper in Minho’s outstretched hand.

There was a certain silence that followed Chan’s words, a few of them glancing her way again, and that only embarrassed Maddie even further, as she fought the urge to hide her face in her hands-

But instead, she was turning to Hyunjin on instinct, the man glaring back at Chan and looking aggravated.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

He yanked the contract from Minho’s fingers, and for a second, his eyes flickered to Maddie.

She didn’t know what her face looked like or have time to even react before he was turning on his heel without another word, walking away.

His footsteps were loud in the vast entryway, and Maddie stared at the spot he’d been standing, cringing when the man left just a few moments later, slamming the door hard behind him.

Such a hush fell over the room that Maddie’s ears were ringing even louder, and she was avoiding everyone’s eyes, her phone trembling worse in her hand, vision going blurry as she stared at the screen, trying very hard to seem normal-

Jeongin was moving again beside her and when Maddie looked up, she could see him searching the features of her face, clearly worried.

And for whatever reason, that seemed to tip her over the edge, Maddie’s throat getting tight, her eyes burning again, more heat rushing to her face.

She was about to cry.

Standing up rather clumsily, she shoved her phone into her pocket, fixing her shirt.

“I’m just gonna uh- go to the bathroom-”

Maddie didn’t know why she’d even spoken- her voice was weird and strained, like someone was choking her- and before she could be humiliated any further, she rushed out of the living room.

She could feel every pair of eyes on her, and that made everything so much worse, Maddie swallowing hard, moving faster, rounding the corner and pushing the door open to the bathroom.

Closing it as quietly as she could behind her, Maddie stopped at the sink, hands on the counter, and hanging her head as she finally let her tears fall.

It felt like Hyunjin had just broken up with her.

She knew it was stupid- that they had never been anything- she’d just realized her feelings for him last week- and this entire thing was a disaster from the start.

But Hyunjin hadn’t needed a contract in six months.

Yet he’d asked for one so casually, like it hadn’t been just them all this time.

Right in front of her.

Like he doesn’t even care

Maddie was swallowing hard again, grabbing some tissues and wiping her tears, even as more spilled from her eyes.

She didn’t want to think about Hyunjin with another girl.

She didn’t want to think about him moving on so quickly and easily, like everything that’d transpired between them…

Was nothing.

Maddie was- unfortunately- his manager, too, and she couldn’t stop the logical side of her brain reminding her he hadn’t fed in four days.

He was probably running very low.

But did he have to do it like that?

Ask for a contract in front of everyone, knowing she was there, that she would hear, and she would be hurt-

Hyunjin was being an asshole.

She shouldn’t be crying over him like this; she should be mad and done with him, glad he’d given her a reason to stop thinking so hard about him all the time-

And yet.

Maddie didn’t want this to be over.

She couldn’t stand the thought of all of this ending now- that things would never be the way they were, that this… whatever it was, was done with and Hyunjin was ending it-

It was like taking everything away had given Maddie the solid answer she’d been looking for all along.

Despite everything…

She wanted Hyunjin.

And of course, this was apparently what was needed to make her realize it.

She groaned, burying her face in her hands; angry at him, angry at herself, angry that this drama had happened in front of all of their friends-

Glancing at her reflection, Maddie looked a little pathetic, and she quickly wiped the rest of her tears away, deciding she needed to take a shower and clear her head.

Turning away from the mirror, she sighed heavily, tossing the tissues in the trash and grabbing a towel from the closet.

Right now, Maddie really needed to think.

To Be Continued...

23 | 24 | 25

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thescarletgarden1990 · 1 year

Text

I posted 3,945 times in 2022

81 posts created (2%)

3,864 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@loekas

@songofthewinterrose

@shi-saa

@fatui-harbingers

@adecila

I tagged 473 of my posts in 2022

#scarlet has mail - 25 posts

#sanremo 2022 - 22 posts

#my fics - 21 posts

#eurovision - 21 posts

#sanremo - 21 posts

#esc 2022 - 19 posts

#tomakeitbeautifultolive - 17 posts

#dracula daily - 16 posts

#anon - 16 posts

#25 aprile - 16 posts

Longest Tag: 125 characters

#it's hard for me to pinpoint the change but holy fuck my mom's more open-minded than half gen-z tiktokers like wtf went wrong

My Top Posts in 2022:

Yo guys, Achille Lauro has been around and like that for even longer than Måneskin. I will even sustain my opinion that his Me Ne Frego at Sanremo 2019 paved the way for Måneskin's victory with Zitti e Buoni at Sanremo 2021, and, consequently, at Eurovision. Have some fucking respect, he's not copying Måneskin and he is not Måneskin's cheap version.

59 notes - Posted May 12, 2022

Me: stomping my feet, crying and pouting because my fave fics aren't updated.

My own wips:

89 notes - Posted August 17, 2022

Foreign Affairs | Chapter 2: Relations with the Queen

Plotted and written with @tomakeitbeautifultolive ❤

Without hesitation, he grabbed it from her hands and put it to his lips. He shut his eyes, savouring the cool cream as it flowed into his mouth. Gods, Dany thought, just look at him. In a way, he was a sorry sight. In another, though… she found his compromised state almost suggestive. There was a slight sheen of perspiration on his smooth skin. With his eyes closed, she could really appreciate his thick lashes and the way the spice plumped up his lips. There was a furrow to his brow, an expression somewhere between pleasure and pain, that seemed to make her mind wander…

He opened his eyes and mused, “Who, in their right mind, would enjoy that?”

She considered the question, and all the safe ways she could answer. Instead, she simply said: “Lovers.”

Jon blinked.

She smirked. “The heat, they say, inspires passion…”

He just looked at her, blankly—as if merely acknowledging passion, as an idea, was forbidden. Daenerys frowned. That damned vow. But for all Jon’s mouth couldn’t say, his eyes spoke the truth— they were conflicted with both longing and guilt.

“I can taste it,” he finally said. “The sweetness. I’m almost tempted to take another.”

She raised her brows, lifting the tray once more for Jon. As he indulged in a second bite of cake, she commented, “I wasn’t sure you were temptable.”

He held her gaze as he chewed, perhaps mulling over her words. She watched his mouth as he swallowed, his tongue flitting out to lick the jam from his lips. How they must burn, she thought. Sweat began to bead his brow, nose, and cheeks—but if he still suffered from the heat, she could no longer tell.

“Neither was I,” he said.

101 notes - Posted June 17, 2022

Foreign Affairs | Chapter 1: An Ambassador’s Appeal

Plotted and written with @tomakeitbeautifultolive ❤

“I believe the queen means to entertain a wealthy merchant tonight,” Tyrion explained, gesturing at their suddenly lavish surroundings.

“From Qarth,” Jon said.

“That’s quite a lucky guess.”

“I overheard,” he admitted. “The queen mentioned something about a Qartheen dress.”

“I see.” A familiar, almost mischievous smirk grew on Tyrion’s face, then. “Are you very familiar with Qartheen customs, Lord Commander?”

Jon shrugged.

Tyrion let out a chuckle. “I daresay its fashion, in particular, is most unique.”

Yet Jon wondered, how exceptional could it be? By now, he had seen all manner of gowns. No doubt, the queen would look every bit as magnificent as her manner of address, but—

The thought died in his head as the Queen finally made her entrance. All the air left his lungs at once. He could hardly breathe, hardly believe what was currently bared to his eyes, quite literally.

110 notes - Posted April 20, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Diversity wins! The fascist that just won the elections will be the first female premier of Italy! 🥳

149 notes - Posted September 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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kariachi · 1 year

Text

Next round of new pokemon opinions! 33-43

Capsakid

Have you ever watched Puff the Magic Dragon? Remember the living sneezes? They’re all I can think of with this one. It’s green though, sorta like it you took one and turned it into a kind baby dino? With an eggshell hat? It looks like it causes problems on purpose. Grass type, Spicy Pepper Pokemon. The more sun it gets, the spicier it becomes, and people use it’s shed front teeth to add heat to dishes because this gen is more food focused than some dogs I’ve owned.

5/10, it’s not bad, but I can’t put it higher, not with the association and the fact people eat it’s teeth. I’ve found my line.

Scovillain

We have a grass/fire dual type! Once you give Capsakid a fire stone it becomes this fucker, with a vaguely humanoid dino-body and two heads on stalks. The red head breathes fire, while the green head is so spicy it’s become vicious and goes on unstoppable rampages.

5/10, it’s just, not better or worse than it’s preevo

Tadbulb

It’s a tadpole, it’s a lightbulb, it’s got a big dopey smile, how can you say no? It’s the EleTadpole Pokemon for fuck’s sake, pure electric type. It’s German name is Blipp. It used electricity to float, floats higher during thunderstorms, shakes it’s tail to generate electricity, and it’s response to danger is to blink on and off to warn it’s allies. Precious sparky baby.

8/10, is baby

Bellibolt

Give Tadbulb a thunder stone and it becomes, wait for it, the EleFrog Pokemon! I do love Bellibolt, not just for being out only decent electric type so far this gen, at least that I’ve seen, but also for being adorable. Looks like a stress toy. And the teal and orange go well together. It generates electricity in it’s belly button by expanding and contracting itself, then discharges that power through the eye-like organs on it’s head.

8/10, is squishy sparky frog

Varoom

The Single-Cyl Pokemon, a steel-poison type. It’s like a one-cylinder engine but built partially out of rock. It’s not bad, but that’s all it is. Ah, the pokedex says that the metal parts are it’s real body, and it clings to rocks so it can convert them into fuel. Also that stories say Varoom came into being when an unknown poison type possessed an engine in a scrap processing plant.

7.5/10, I kinda wanna take it home with me I don’t know why

Revavroom

The Multi-Cyl Pokemon. It’s got a proper face along with more cylinders, and also has converted it’s rocks into a little car. How sweet. Oh it’s specifically an 8-cylinder engine, it converts poison and rocks into gas and then ignites it to power itself, it revs itself to scare off other pokemon, it’s mouth is on top of it’s head.

7.5/10, I think I’m a Varoom line apologist now

Orthworm

The Earthworm Pokemon, pure steel type. It’s literally just a robo-worm. That’s it. Robo-worm. Mecha-worm. Has a new ‘Earth Eater’ ability, heals instead of taking damage when it’s hit with ground-type moves. Lives in deserts and eats iron to keep itself in good repair, apparently tendrils come from it’s sides that it uses to punch enemies into submission. Boxing-worm.

5/10, it’s a robo-worm

Tandemaus

The Couple Pokemon, normal type, they’re simple bipedal mice that come in twos. Just, white mice. Two of them. That count as one pokemon like with Exeggcute. Um, that might be weird shading or one might have a blue top and the other blue pants. I don’t know. Aww, pokedex says they always stick together and split their food evenly, and also work together to steal pieces of material for their nests.

6.2/10, not a very interesting design, but I’m a hopeless romantic at heart

Maushold

The Family Pokemon. It literally just adds one or two more little tiny mice. Usually two but 1/24 evolve to just have one. Apparently they just randomly evolve after hitting level 25, whether they’re in your party or the box. That’s too damn accurate. One of the pokedex entries for each form describes how the little one(s) just appeared one say and while it’s assumed they’re related nobody is quite sure. Meanwhile one of the entries for the 1 Bab form notes how they make nests with multiple rooms for multiple purposes, while the 2 Bab form notes that the big ones protect the little ones during battle, but when things get rough they all come together.

6.5/10, still not big on the designs, but the lore, I am weak

Cetoddle

Is a tiny, less colorful Cetitan with big eyes and only one horn. Well, ‘tiny’, it’s like 4 ft tall, but still. Is baby. They’re distant relatives of Wailmer that came on land a long time ago and now live in pods of around five individuals.

6/10, for being cute

Cetitan

Give Cetoddle an ice stone and it evolves! We’ve all seen this land-whale fucker. It’s big and spiky and makes Cetoddle look like a toddler. Personally not big on it, but then I’ve never liked cetaceans in general. It’s central horn generates freezing temperatures, it’s built of fat and muscle, and it wanders snowy regions.

4.5/10, not my taste and without the cuteness factor

~~~

There’s interesting ideas out here, the question is what hits and what doesn’t.

#scavio pokemon opinions

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angelofthequeers · 2 years

Text

Ladybug and Reine Nuit: chapter 26

Volpina III

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

Chapter 25 | Chapter 27

“What the heck?” Ladybug yelps from on her balcony, where she’d just been about to transform back. Why is there a massive meteor hurtling towards Paris? Is there another akuma? One who can summon meteors? Whatever. Why it’s here doesn’t matter right now.

She yo-yos across Paris so fast that her arms ache with the effort, frantically trying to think of just what the heck she can possibly do about a literal meteor. But when she’s nearly reached it, there’s an orange blur zooming past her and up to the meteor. The blur turns into a girl with long brown hair and white tips, dressed in a bright orange, white, and black fox costume with long fox ears on her head and a flute strung across her back, who catches the gigantic meteor and hurls it back into space…all by herself.

What?

“I am Volpina! The only superhero Paris needs!” announces the fox heroine as the Parisians cheer for her. As Ladybug frowns at Volpina from a nearby roof, Reine Nuit lands beside her.

“Uh, right, like this isn’t suspicious at all,” Ladybug says in lieu of a proper greeting. “I confront a girl called Lila in the park for lying about being my friend and being a hero called Volpina with a fake necklace…and now here she is?”

“I mean, how else do you explain it?” Reine Nuit says. “I don’t believe it either, but…if this Lila girl is new…”

“How optimistic of you,” Ladybug says dryly. “And how do you even know who I’m talking about?”

“Same school, remember? Everyone knows about Lila Rossi. Besides, I was…at the park in my civilian form. Not that you would’ve seen me!”

Ladybug blinks at the revelation that her partner had also witnessed the confrontation. “Then you would’ve seen how fake her necklace was!”

“Hey, girls!” In a blur of orange, Volpina lands in front of Ladybug and Reine Nuit. “Glad you dropped in! I need a hand. Come on!”

Volpina flies off. Ladybug and Reine Nuit exchange a quick look, come to the agreement to follow her for now, and leap after her. When they land behind a chimney, Ladybug’s eyes widen at the sight of a purple-suited man on the next roof over.

“Hawkmoth?” Reine Nuit gasps.

“He never shows up!” Ladybug says. “Something big is going on!”

“We can take him down, but it's gonna take all three of us,” Volpina says. “We’d better make the most of our skills!” She smiles at Reine Nuit and says, “By the way, it’s great to meet you, Reine Nuit. I love your outfit!”

“Uh…thanks, Volpina,” Reine Nuit says, frowning at Ladybug.

“Something about this isn’t right,” Ladybug says. “First the meteorite, now Hawk Moth appearing. Both on the same day.”

“Yeah, that’s odd,” Reine Nuit says. “Especially since we saw someone called Lila claiming to be Volpina in the park earlier today.”

“Then you should know I’m the real deal,” Volpina says with a smile. “How else could I be a superhero if I didn’t have a Miraculous?” She holds up her necklace and adds, “It gives me the power of flight and super strength,” as Ladybug narrows her eyes at it.

“How on earth do flight and super strength relate to a fox?” Reine Nuit says. “Ladybug and I make sense –”

“Look, he’s getting away!” Volpina points. Ladybug and Reine Nuit whirl around to see Hawkmoth vanish in a flash of purple, just as Volpina flies after him.

“What if she’s pulling our strings?” Ladybug says.

“Even if she is, do you really wanna give up the possibility of capturing Hawkmoth?” Reine Nuit says. Damn, but she makes a good point. “Catch now, question later?”

“Sure…but I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

When Hawkmoth finally lands on the top of City Hall, the three of them stop on a nearby rooftop to plan their attack.

“Ladybug, go to his left,” Volpina says. “Reine Nuit, you take the right. I’ll come from behind!”

“Day one and you’re already taking over,” Ladybug says shortly.

“I hope you don’t mind, but Ladybug and I are gonna stick together,” Reine Nuit says. “We can still surround him once we get close.”

Something flashes in Volpina’s olive-green eyes, but it disappears so fast that it could have just been a trick of the light. Then she’s smiling. “Sure! So long as we catch him, right?”

She flies off to the right. Ladybug and Reine Nuit exchange a quick look, then start to creep around to the left of Hawkmoth. But when they’re just about to leap up and catch him, Hawkmoth disappears!

“Where’d he go?” Reine Nuit exclaims. A flicker in the corner of Ladybug’s eye catches her attention, and she whips around to see Hawkmoth re-materialising on a chimney. With a groan, she swings over with Reine Nuit leaping with her, but he vanishes and reappears on the next one over.

“What the heck?” she says. “How is he doing this? Isn’t the Butterfly’s power akumatisation, not teleportation?”

“Something about this whole thing stinks,” Reine Nuit says. And that something is revealed when they land on a large green target mark, which turns red and summons a swarm of missiles and torpedoes aimed right at them.

“I wouldn't move an inch if I were you,” Volpina sings, appearing on the chimney in front of them. “See, it really didn’t make a difference if you split up or stayed together. And at least now you can say that we know each other, Ladybug.”

“I knew this stunk!” Reine Nuit growls. “We both knew that necklace was a fake! Ugh, how could we be so stupid?”

“Because the thought of catching Hawkmoth was just too good to pass up, as I knew it would be,” Volpina grins. “I tell people what they want to hear, and they jump to dance to my tune.”

“You're not a superhero! You're another one of Hawkmoth's akumatised victims!” Ladybug says.

“Well, everyone else thinks I’m a superhero,” Volpina says. “So you won't be able to call me a liar anymore because everyone will think you're the liar! And Adrien will see that I truly am Volpina!” A purple outline appears over her face. “But before I get rid of you two, you’re going to give me your Miraculouses.”

“Never!” Ladybug and Reine Nuit snap.

“Do you really think you two have a choice?” Volpina says, then points at a nearby building. “If you don’t, I’ll take that building down!”

Ladybug and Reine Nuit say nothing, mentally calling Volpina’s bluff. With a smirk, Volpina plays a little tune on her flute and shoots an orange ball of light at the building, which starts to crumble with a loud crashing sound.

“No!” Reine Nuit holds out her ring hand, giving Ladybug an apologetic look. Ladybug sighs and reaches for her earrings…but just before she can take them off, a piece of the falling building hits a pigeon, and the entire thing disappears in a puff of orange smoke and a flute tune to reveal that the building is perfectly fine.

“An illusion!” Ladybug gasps. “Just like the meteor and Hawkmoth!”

“Of course!” Reine Nuit says as Ladybug destroys each illusory missile with her yo-yo. “Foxes are sneaky and deceptive! Your power is just lies!”

Naturally, when Ladybug tries to catch Volpina, the fox villain disappears just like the missiles when the yo-yo touches her. Reine Nuit groans.

“This sucks,” she says. “How the hell could we fall for something like that? We should’ve known that Hawkmoth wouldn’t just come out like that!”

“Because we wanted to believe it,” Ladybug says, resting a hand on her shoulder. “That’s why her lies work. But we don’t have time to wallow in self-pity, pretty kitty. I have a feeling that after what she just said, she’s going to Adrien’s house. Let’s go!”

When Ladybug and Reine Nuit finally arrive at the Agreste mansion, Ladybug holds Reine Nuit close to her and lowers them down to hang upside-down outside Adrien’s window, her body tingling with warmth under her suit where she and Reine Nuit are tangled together. Sure enough, in Adrien’s room, Volpina is crowding him by the back wall, while he watches her with wide green eyes; warm and open as opposed to cold and deceptive like Volpina.

“You can call me Volpina,” she’s saying. “I'm sorry about the scene in the park earlier today. Chloé no doubt got upset and jealous that I was more powerful than her idol.”

“Hmph,” Ladybug huffs.

“Easy, angel bug,” Reine Nuit says. “You’re the one controlling the yo-yo, remember?”

Rolling her eyes, Ladybug reels them up to the roof, where the yo-yo is attached. She holds up three fingers; once she lowers the last one, the two of them leap down and through the window to confront Volpina.

“You’re jealous that I’m better than you, aren’t you?” Volpina growls, whipping around when they land behind her. “You’re not going to ruin our date this time, Ladybug!”

“Date?” Adrien blinks. “It wasn’t a date. I was helping you with your history homework. If I’d known you thought it was a date, I would’ve set the record straight.”

Volpina snarls at him.

“Excuse us, but we need to have a chat with this super liar,” Ladybug says to Adrien, who dashes to his bathroom and jumps inside, slamming the door shut behind him.

“You really need to stop deluding yourself with your lies,” Reine Nuit says to Volpina. She swings her staff at Volpina, who bats it away with her flute and then leaps out of the way of Ladybug’s yo-yo before playing a tune to create an entire room of Volpina illusions. By the time Ladybug and Reine Nuit clear them and the orange smoke dissipates, Volpina is gone.

“Reine Nuit!” Ladybug gasps and points out the window, where Volpina is smirking at them while dragging Adrien along by the wrist.

“Is it just another illusion?” Reine Nuit says. Ladybug runs to check Adrien’s hiding place.

“He’s gone! She really does have him!”

“Then let’s follow him!”

Although they’ve lost sight of Volpina and Adrien by the time they’re outside, the loud, familiar wailing near the Eiffel Tower as they draw close brings them straight back to her. Volpina is hanging off the side of the Tower, dangling a petrified Adrien by the wrist, while Chloé screeches and sobs at the base.

“Ladybug!” Chloé cries when Ladybug and Reine Nuit draw level with her. “That fox girl totally kidnapped me from my spa day and now she’s going to kill my Adrikins!”

“Why should I hurt you physically when I can threaten your precious Adrikins?” Volpina calls. “You’re going to regret ever double-crossing me, Chloé Bourgeois!”

“Do something!” Chloé bellows. Ladybug and Reine Nuit exchange long-suffering looks and then leap up the Tower, pausing a short distance from Volpina and her hostage when she starts waving Adrien around in the air.

“Hey, I thought you liked him!” Reine Nuit says. “Didn’t you want to date him?”

“Not as much as I want to see you two on the ground under my foot!” Volpina giggles at Adrien. “No hard feelings, right?”

“You have to be bluffing,” Ladybug says. Her mind races furiously, trying to think of what to do and where the real Volpina could be…but is this really just an illusion? Can she even be sure? Wait. Of course she can!

“You wanna bet on that?” Volpina releases a finger on her grip on Adrien. Ladybug gasps at the sight.

“Hit her! She’s a fake! Adrien can’t be in danger!” she shrieks rather hysterically, all common sense flying out the window at the sight of her best friend in such danger. Reine Nuit nods and throws her baton at Volpina and Adrien, who disappear with faint music and a puff of orange smoke. “Ha! I knew it!”

“There!” Reine Nuit points at a blur of orange that’s scaling the Tower opposite them. Ladybug swings after her partner, and her heart flatlines when they get to the tip of the Tower and she sees that the real Adrien is safe and sound, albeit tied tightly to a metal beam. Felix is perched on his shoulder, no doubt recording the action since Adrien can’t exactly use his arms.

“Hey, guys,” he says in a resigned voice after Reine Nuit prods him to test him. “Don’t worry, I’m used to being the damsel in distress by now. Hawkmoth wouldn’t let her actually hang me over the Tower for some reason, so I’m just bored.”

Ladybug can’t help but laugh in sheer relief. But it’s cut short when Volpina plays a tune and once again summons clones of herself, making herself utterly indistinguishable from them. There’s only one thing Ladybug can do now to end this.

“Lucky Charm!” A chocolate ice cream falls into her hands, and she blinks and unwraps it with a, “Huh?” But when the foil inside the packaging gleams in the sunlight and makes her hiss and cover her eyes, she knows what they need to do.

“Get ready, Reine Nuit!” she says. Reine Nuit nods.

“Cataclysm!”

Ladybug aims the glinting foil at the Volpina clones. All of them remain unaffected…except for one, who gasps and covers her eyes. Reine Nuit springs into action, corroding the metal beams above the real Volpina to trap her in a makeshift cage, and it’s a simple matter to take Volpina’s necklace, then free and purify the akuma. Once Miraculous Ladybug has fixed everything, Volpina melts away in a purple-black mass to reveal Lila.

“Lila?” Ladybug kneels next to Lila and smiles. “I’m sorry for what Chloé did. I’d like to be friends with you for real this time…if you like. You don’t have to lie to get people to like you –”

Lila snorts. “Forget it, Ladybug. I don’t need your pity. Or your lectures.”

“Ouch…” Reine Nuit says. “Uh…I’ll get her to the ground if you want?”

“Thanks, kitty,” Ladybug sighs. “I’ll take Adrien home.” Despite Lila’s rejection, Ladybug can’t help the smile that spreads across her face when Adrien hugs her and thanks her for saving him again, then holds on tight so that she can leap away and take him home.

#aotq fic #aotq: reine nuit au #miraculous ladybug #ml fic #marinette dupain-cheng #alya cesaire #chat!alya #volpina #lila rossi

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