#if any of you clowns take this you better link it back to me

[tadfools]

Make sure to check your kid's Halloween candy this year!!! I just opened my son's snickers bar and found an astral tadpole that could have unlocked his illithid potential!!!!

#baldur’s gate 3 #bg3 #baldur’s gate iii #bg3 memes #bg3 shitpost #baldur’s gate #if any of you clowns take this you better link it back to me #If I see another one of my posts on Instagram I'm gonna be mad #halloween

[sinning-23]

Glass Chandelier

Warnings; 18+ swearing, some hints at masturbation, buggy is a drama starter, sanji is failing at keeping his hands off your body.

Link to Chapter 3

Enjoy-

Chapter 4

"Wow, you got another one? Already?!" A fourth and more....irritating voice speaks.

You tense again, brows angled down. Firstly, who was speaking, and second what the hell did he mean another one?

"I mean at least she's not ditsy like the rest of you idiots."

You raise a brow at Sanji then the rest of the so-called crew. Zoro sighed heavily, taking the bag you hadn't seen previously off his hip and slamming it rather aggressively onto a barrel.

The reveal was far more interesting than you anticipated, a severed head adorned with a large red nose and a red and white striped bandanna. It beams up at you, the face paint around its lips only accentuating his cheshire grin. You mutter a light 'the fuck...', leaning in a bit to truly try and figure out what the hell you were looking at.

“Not too close sweetheart, I bite.” It wiggles its brows, the innuendo making you scoff.

“Dickless and still talkin'.” You shoot back. The clown head is quicker.

“My mouth can do plenty honey, trust me.” It flicks its tongue and...detaches it?!

Oh wow gross-

“Why are you even speaking right now? Unless you have something useful to say, shut up.” Zoro interrupts.

The clown head rolls its eyes and does an awkward hop/shuffle to turn and look at the map.

“This one knew where to go without me even saying anything. Which meannnss?”

You tense, shuffling back and forth a bit, truly debating if you should punch this thing in the mouth or, better yet square in the nose. That'd shut it up. At this point Zoro has his gaze locked on you, it's somewhat unreadable but serious no less. Next is Luffy, then Usopp, and lastly Sanji. Wow, staring contest of the goddamn century.

"She's obviously been there before and could even be working for the bastard. God you guys are stupid. If I were you I'd ask pretty crucial questions before just throwing any random board my ship."

Luffy is quiet, looking from the map, and then back to you.

"You're already dealing with the aftermath of that as we speak HA! You'll end up doing it again if you keep bringing these random broads. " The clown head speaks, that same grin on his face.

"Yeah well, it's not like the fishy bastard took a chunk out of this 'broads' shoulder. You were stuck in a fuckin bag for that part though, huh Ronald Mcdonald?" Ouhhh the irritation in your voice is wicked.

His jaw drops as he fiends offense. This jackass has been active for no more than 5 minutes and he's already worked his way under your skin. Speaking of which, it's practically melting off as the rest of your 'crew' continue to stare for an answer. The clown had a point, they hadn't asked any questions and you'd just ended up being aboard with Sanji.

"Now's a good time to start talking," Zoro speaks finally, his hand ready at his sword. The last thing you wanted was tension among the people you'd most likely be spending an extended amount of time with. Despite this, your finger itches towards your picks in response.

"Oh yeah 'cause you talk plenty, don't you. I know the way because I've seen Arlong before. I made an assumption if you were even listening that he MIGHT be there still. That'll be the last time I call myself trying to be helpful. Or is 'useful' more of a term you'd like?" You'd hardly realized how close you'd gotten to the man, the sneer ever-present on your lips. Sanjis' at your side, giving a touch over your hips to try and reel you back.

It's quiet again but that clown's laughter rings loud and clear enough to offset the current debacle.

"Ha! Struck a nerve there. Listen, she is right though, you're gonna head in that direction. We get to the island and sing kumbaya, I get my body you get the girl, and everyone's happy!" He jokes, hobbling again to turn his head.

What a fabulous start to the tip. A panic attack and almost a fight. Simply fucking splendid. God, you needed a drrink.

-

It's dark now, and you hadn't left this room since you'd found it hours ago. You needed to reset. Gods know the longer you stay and interact with these strange characters you'd fucking explode. For some odd reason, in your newly adopted quarters you can still feel his phantom touch.

It lingers, something you make note of. The small of your back tingles, as does your waist and shoulder. Your neck and chin tinge and tingle in delight, resulting in a shiver that shimmies its way up your curves spine. Oh right...that's why they so prominent right now. Becaus you were filthy and couldn't help but let your fingers slip past your panties.

The ship rocks and creacks and with each splash of waves against the hull, much like the waters, you drip.

Promiscuous and touch-starved.

How long had it been since someone had been gentle with you, let their hands ghost over your skin. It didn't matter, you'd found ways to satiate the need, even if it was just temporary. You freeze when there's a knock at your door.

You take a breath, notn quite trusting your voice.

"One moment."

Slipping on a spare night dress in a hurry, you open the door.

-

She's beautiful. Her eyes were low and glossy, and her pupils were blown wide. Her chest rises and falls as the ruffles on the nightdress adorn her body so prettily. What is it she reminds me of? I can't seem to put my finger on it.

"I saved you a plate. Luffy was supposed to come tell you but he sid you didn't respond." I speak, seeing her breathe catch for a second.

Her lips part just a pinch and it finally rings in my head.

A doll.

"Thank you. I'm sorry I couldn't join you sooner, bad attitude still."

I smile, my hand clenched in my pocket. Fuck my palms are sweaty. Shaking my head in response, I panic at the silence that follows. It was just like earlier when we first parted. I wanted to ask her if she was okay. If anything I'd know what a panic attack looks like and with the way her face seemed paler than before, and her hands shook, I couldn't be far off. Or maybe it was just sea sickness. Didn't matter, some things just were my place to ask. But I can't catch the question before it's out my mouth and in the air.

"Are you alright?"

She breathes heavily, shoulder slumping in exhale as she avoids my gaze. There it is. Whatever it was she was either gonna tell me a half-truth or a lie.

"Splendid."

Lie

I nod looking down the hall as if it'd help me escape and prevent any further questions I had from prospering. I was wrong.

"Fancy a drink?"

It's simultaneous and we laugh, so natural and her laugh is damn melodic.

-

Sanji was without a doubt one of the most talented chefs you'd ever had the pleasure of eating from. The food in front of you was proof of that. You can't help but melt at every bite of the dish before you, it was just so freaking good. Maybe it's cause you haven't had a proper meal in about a day or two as well. Mix that little fact with the wine he keeps pouring and you're done for.

Conversation flows easily, the two of you letting whatever comes to mind simply pass with each moment.

"So, about what he said earlier.." Sanji begins, inhaling from his cigarette as you swallow down the wine you'd just drank.

"The clown or Zoro? Either way, they were right to be cautious. I'm not a threat that's for sure though." You explain.

He hums in response, leaning against his hair with spread legs. Fuck his thighs look good strained against the fabric of his slacks.

"It's been a long time since I've been on a ship. I... I was on one years ago and I traveled to the exact island were going to. Arlong was stationed there and I guess I just never forgot my way back." You explain, tracing the rim of the glass. Not like you had a choice to forget where it was...

"You don't have to explain to me. We've both got trauma, we grow and we get better. You seem to have gotten better." He admits, gaze unwavering.

"Damn, I should be an actress then cause I'm one traumatic event from falling apart." You spoke as he laughs

Sarcastic humor seemed to be his forte and you couldn't help but feed into it, each giggle that slips past your lips creeping its way closer to a full belly laugh. And when he smiles like that, so pretty it makes your chest squeeze. His piercing peeks out just a little, mouth wide with a smile as he tilts his head back.

You sigh, sipping at the wine again, your both a bottle in, the second one nearing its end.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you're spoiling me Sanji." You hum, his smile was still present, blue eyes scanning your frame.

He stands, taking your empty plate before approaching the sink and speakng.

"You think so? Pretty girls shouldn't have to eat alone. Thought you'd like company" He admits, washing the dish, awaiting a response.

You finish off your glass and set it in the sink. He pauses for a moment, realising just how close you were, almost pressed against his back.

"Not a girl blondie." You whisper, the wine definitely sinking into your system if it hadn't before.

He swears, squeezing the sponge and plate. Any harder and it'd shatter.

The veins in his forearms are strained and you let yourgaze linger. As if your thought weren't far from ur at the moment this was only making it worse. You reach around him, just barely missing the curve o his hips.

"What're you-"

"A woman."

You shut the water off, stepping away from him with coy smile

"Thank you for the meal and the wine. It was lovely, Sanji."

He swears again, trying to cove it up with a laugh and another smile. Too late, you can see right past the facade.

"Ah, of course. Get some rest, Y/n"

Safe to say you love how Sanji says your name.

-

Morning comes quick and docking is quicker. Sanji is carrying the clown head sack this time and he doesn't seem too thrilled about it. You figured it best not to these him cause you could very well end up carrying the damn thing yourself if you didn't find his body. You manage to slip into some extra clothes, considering the ones you were wearing when this little excursion started were thoroughly torn from the fight.

Your shoes weren't practical but they'd have to do for now. A simple cream-colored blouse with a neckline that dipped almost too far down paired with some pants that were almost too tight was what you sported. Until your next docking point, you'd definitely have to make this last and maybe not have it get fucked up in a fight.

Though you didn't know much about this 'Nami' besides her name, you could feel whatever anxiety from the rest of the crew sink into your skin and turn your tummy. No one really spoke. Well, besides Usopp trying to convince everyone that he should go back to the ship.

You try keeping pace, Luffy and Zoro at the front, Sanji in the middle, Usopp and yourself lagging behind. Since he was the only one really talking, it wouldn't hurt to chat back.

"Soooo Nami, you guys know each other long?" You ask, slowing down so that you're side by side.

"No, but it feels like I have. I know she wouldn't do this to us just because. She's not that kind of person." He speaks, eyes solemn. If you were thinking correctly, each one of these 'crew' members, yourself included was picked up from somewhere else.

"I see. How did you end up on this crew anyway?" You ask, opening a door you had no idea about.

Usopp was about to tell you the story of a lifetime.

Authors note: heyyyy everyone here's chapter 4 a little longer than chapter 3. I'm really trying to like build this up before we get to the super 18+ parts but uhhh we got our first little taste lol. As stated before lmk if you'd like to be added to the taglist :D

Taglist: : @waannty @strangermeats @nymeriiia @noom147

#x reader #one piece #one piece live action #i don't care he's hot #headcannons #one piece x reader #smut #opla #hes so hot #sanji #sanji x reader #opla sanji x reader #sanji live action #one piece sanji #opla x reader #slowburn #strangers to lovers #glass chandelier #reader is black #vinsmoke sanji #black leg sanji #sanji opla #vinsmoke sanji x reader

[yujo-nishimura]

Red Hair or Red Nose? - Part 5

This is the last SFW part of the story - depending on your decision I will continue with either all three of them being very infatuated by each other or Y/n choosing one companion for the night. ;) We can also make her strong and independent and let her go back to the ship - I am open to any suggestions.

Enjoy the 5th part of the story! <3

PS. Sorry for being too lazy to put the link to the other parts and thank you all again for reading.

"Yeah, what if...?" After what feels like an eternity, Shanks finally responds. He abruptly halts the movement of the three of you, tightening his arms around you and creating a barrier between you and Buggy. In the midst of the stumble, he guides you gently but firmly against a corner of a nearby building.

"I can assure you, I'm a better kisser than the clown over there..." Shanks whispers, his words resonating close to your face, intentionally loud enough for Buggy to hear. Your heart races in your chest as the unexpected turn of events unfolds.

With Shanks now in such close proximity, he leans in and begins to kiss you, his lips pressing gently against yours. Caught off guard by the alcohol-induced haze and the surprise of his actions, you find yourself momentarily paralyzed, unable to react as the warmth of his lips meets yours.

In that electrifying moment, you find yourself reciprocating the kiss with equal fervor. Shanks' tongue delicately dances along your lips, his movements both cautious and resolute, ensuring that he doesn't cause any harm. He is convinced that this intimate exchange will make you feel as if you're melting away, and he's proven right.

A rush of sensations floods your body, weakening your knees once again, while a fiery heat ignites within your stomach, mirroring the intensity visible in Shanks' eyes. Your excitement is palpable, making it difficult to catch your breath. Grateful that he has you pressed against the wall, your arms raised, you desperately restrain yourself from fiercely embracing him, fearful that you might reveal just how much you crave for him and his body.

Immediately Buggy's outrage flares up, and his disconnected hands, empowered by the devil fruit, find their way back to you. With a forceful grip, he cups your face, abruptly halting the kiss and pushing your head to the side. Before he forces you to meet his gaze, you catch a glimmer of satisfaction in Shanks' eyes. It becomes evident that he not only enjoyed the kiss but relished Buggy's jealousy even more.

"I'll be damned if this monkey can kiss better than me," Buggy exclaims, his voice laced with determination. "Normally, I wouldn't touch anything that his lips have touched, but I believe it's time to prove a point...!"

Now standing beside both of you, Buggy positions himself as an active participant. Shanks willingly releases his hold with a grin, as if he's thoroughly entertained. Caught between these two captivating figures, you feel like a playball, too weak, intimidated, and excited to move. The tension in the air is palpable as the dynamic between them intensifies, and you find yourself drawn deeper into their entangled game. You cannot stop smiling, somehow you are still enjoying yourself.

Buggy forcefully pushes Shanks away, retracting his hands back to his body. With a surge of determination, he takes control, pressing his body against yours. In an exhilarating moment, a mixture of surprise and excitement escapes your lips in a shrill shriek before Buggy's mouth meets yours.

His kiss is passionate and fervent, though slightly sloppy. The intensity of the moment eclipses any lack of finesse, and his stubble grazes against your skin, adding an intoxicating sensation. Lost in the embrace, you surrender yourself to the magnetic pull of this man. The heat emanating from his body envelops you, their closeness creating an irresistible connection. The taste of heaven and rum lingers on his lips, leaving you longing for more, captivated by the sensations coursing through your being.

Breathless he draws away from you, leaving you breathless just as Shanks did. "So, sweet cakes, who was better?" he playfully inquires, his eyes gleaming mischievously, leaving the decision in your hands.

#buggy the clown x reader #buggy x reader #buggy x you #buggytheclown #one piece buggy #one piece #red haired shanks #shanks one piece #shanks x reader #shanks x you #red hair shanks #akagami no shanks

[linaselandbasil]

Vampire Kareshi ch.3

Ch.1, Ch.2, AO3 link.

University au, Bloodweave.

Have fun reading yall!

...

After a long shower, a careful trim of his beard, cutting of his nails and a few drops of cologne, he felt ready. He put the wizardly robes on, he was looking great, feeling giddy. But also he's going to throw up from the stress.

"Wyll I'm nervous." He finally turned to his friend after a few minutes of checking the time and waiting for an 'im here' text.

"But you want this, so get yourself together. " Wyll was looking at him pacing in the room, comfortably sitting on the couch with a can of some disgusting sugary death drink in hand.

"I do. I'm just not used to stuff like this! Do you think he's going to kiss me?"

"I don't know. I'm sure he will if you ask him to. But make sure you don't kiss him too soon, wait until the end of the night."

"Um, okay."

"And don't be afraid to flirt. He will probably be put off if you just take all the compliments and don't give any back, it would make it seem like you're not enjoying yourself."

"Understood." A notification sound rang aloud in the room. "It's time... Thank you for lending me your fancy cologne, it won't be forgotten!" He checks the message.

'I'll be there in a few minutes, cant wait to see you darling.'

Darling... DARLING!

'The feeling is mutual.'

"Are you not going to get going?" Wyll asked, confused as to why his friend was just watching the parking lot from the window.

"I'll teleport, it makes an impression!"

"You can do that?"

"Of course, what kind of wizard can't teleport? Oh look, he's there!" Wyll scampered to the window to finally see this mistery man.

"That... My father has a car like that, just who is this guy?"

"He said his father was Cazador. I suppose that should tell you something."

"Cazador Szarr? I'm not surprised he has a son I've never heard about, I'm sure he has a couple more he himself hasn't seen."

"I see. Well, it's lovely talking to you in our shared livingspace that I see you in every single day, but I think it's time for me to get going! Until next time!" He bowed and walked into a portal that was freshly opening up behind him.

In the ambiguous space between the two portals he found himself a little stuck. Oh no...

...

Astarion checked himself out in the selfie camera, carefully inspecting his visage. He'd do it in one of the many mirrors of Cazadors displacer but he cannot, for obvious reasons.

He was startled by a loud magic magicing right beside his car. He was not eager to get out and see what's up on account of him being in the possession of survival instincts, but when a hand with a pretty ring on it reached out, he became intrigued.

"A hand? Please?"

"Oh, Gale! It's you!"

"Can you help me out?" He grabbed the hand and began pulling. No use. In the meantime Wyll was watching all of this go down from the window and thought 'That's one hell of an impression you're making.' He pitied the both of them and reached into the portal to give Gale a good push. He has 9 strength, so he's not much better off than the other two but it did the trick!

Astarion could barely keep standing as the human fell into his arms. "So you're a wizard?"

"Yes, I am! An apprentice of Elminster and a graduate of the Wizarding academy of Waterdeep! I'm working on my second degree here in Baldur's gate." He straightened up, proud as could be. Suddenly as he was faced with the elf, all his nervousness faded into oblivion. Standing this close, Gale also noticed that the elf was not by much, but still a little shorter than him. He seemed taller on camera, not that Gale is complaining.

"I wouldn't have guessed you were a wizard! This is interesting to say the least! I must say, you look positively delectable, darling."

"So do you." Gale looked at the vampires outfit, which was hard to see as it was mostly black. What Gale didn't fail to notice was the way it glittered as it was illuminated by streetlights. "You look much more solemnly dressed, I must say I feel like a clown."

"Oh no, you'll be fine, I'm the weird one for dressing for the casket I was always destined for. I felt like I didn't wear this black jacket enough, so I put an outfit together just so I can wear it."

"I'd say it was a great idea, you look... Pretty." The wizard fiddled with the sun motifs embroidered into the robes of summer.

Astarion opened the door of the car and beckoned him in. He did so without a question. Astarion followed shortly after, starting the car once again. "Thank you. But let me warn you, this gift is particularly hard to open, the zipper on this top always gets stuck!" Astarions sharp gaze was solely fixed on the road ahead, but he can definitely tell Gale was flustered beyond belief.

"I- I see... "

"You're cute, I'll stop, I can see that you're a bit uncomfortable."

"No, continue! I'm just not in my element, not much experience you see!"

"I understand." He started the car, all he could think about was how much he he wished that Cazador didn't like this one.

...

To Gales surprise, he wasn't over or under dressed, he was perfect. That didn't make him feel any less strange though.

A couple of guests he spoke to seemed to eye him with interest, then with disappointment as they got nearer, he wondered what that was about. Maybe they didn't like that he seemed to already have a pair.

"Darling, care for a drink?" Astarion appeared right besides him, speak of the devil. He's quiet as a kitten, but Gale didn't know he was supposed to get spooked so he didn't.

"I've had plenty already, thanks." He looked around at the other guests, who were behaving very very improperly. He's not that kind of girl.

"Hmm, you know, these people are quite the company, but I'd prefer yours alone. Would you like to find us a dark corner to slink away into?" Astarions arm was wrapped around his, the human could hear the sequins of Astarions jacket scrape against his robes rough outer layer.

"Sounds like a fantastic idea, let's go!" Gale didn't like these sorts of gatherings, he was eager to be in peace at last. The pale elf pulled him in the direction of the hallway, which was clearly not to be explored by the attendees.

Servants rushed back and forth through it, paying the two of them no mind. It was a lot darker than the ballroom, giving the illusion of privacy, but believe me, someone's always watching in the Szarr Palace.

On the balcony, the air was cold, but refreshingly less stinky than inside.

"Finally, a moment to ourselves, I almost wish we didn't even come to the party, hiding away in the gardens would have been just as good." Astarion said, inching closer to Gale. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"I would." Gale did some wizardly magic hand gestures at the sky and gorgeous swirling colorful lights appeared. Gale leaned into the railing and noticed Astarion immediately got cozy very close to him, they were touching, it was to the wizards liking but it still got his pulse all the way up.

"Fascinating. Can you also make a bed appear?"

"I can, although maybe that would be untimely, considering this is our first date."

"...True. You want another date after this? I hadn't been on a second date in a long while." Gale was quite surprised to hear that.

"Why not? I thought people were begging for your attention."

The charming smile came back to the face of the pale elf. "You know what? Let's not talk about that! Tell me about yourself!"

He thought for a second, there's a lot to say. "Um, I have a tressym, her name is Tara."

"I love cats." Astarion got real cozy, putting an arm behind Gale and watching the magic show.

"Me too, don't call her that to her face though. It's like me calling you a mosquito man." Astarions smile dissapeared, he looked at his date.

"... What."

"Because, you know, vampire?"

"YOU- You knew?" He put some distance between the two of them so he cam properly glare at the human.

"Of course I knew! You're not quite as subtle as you think and I'm a wizard, I know a thing or two about the undead."

"That's fair, how silly of me... It's almost midnight, isn't it. Almost time." Something is weird about him all of a sudden. Gale senses some sort of magic in the air that doesn't belong to him.

"For what?" The vampire stood up, pulling Gale with him. "Astarion?"

"Follow me."

He almost ran. Briskly walking through the dark rooms, back through the ballroom, into a weirdly placed door and straight dark hallway. Gale was never an athlete, he was wheezing. Through all this, he barely noticed the magic getting stronger. At the end of this hallway there was a room, which Astarion barged into, pulling the wizard along.

"Astarion, it was about time you arrived." Said someone whom also appeared to be a vampire. "Come closer."

Astarion dragged him towards the man, which Gale tried to resist but couldn't. "Are you Cazador?"

"Oh, you recognize me? How fun!" He stood up, towering over the both of them. He looked like he smelled something foul, but quickly schooled his face.

"Must have noticed my blood, let me assure you, it's not tasty!"

Cazador furiously glared at Astarion.

"I swear, I didn't tell him!" His tone was calm and collected, but still. He was afraid.

"I figured it out myself, you guys are not exactly masters of deception." Gale was often jarringly confident in his.... Well, everything. He thought that since he was in on some kind of secret, the vampire would spare his life.

Well, it wouldn't be smart to attack a mage.....Cazador is not the smartest, or the prettiest or nicest, but he's not attacking Gale of Waterdeep. Not that he knows who Gale, is, he hadn't left his palace in decades. "You're dismissed."

Astarion then dragged him out of the room and back to the balcony, completely ignoring his questions. This is so weird.

...

"So you can safely teleport back to your dorm? If not, I promise I'll pay for the taxi, just don't do it drunk." The vampire leaned into the railing of the balcony.

"I'll manage. I didn't have that much!" Gale adjusted his hat and awkwardly looked at Astarion, who was being eaten alive in self loathing and dread. He didn't show that, only a tiny bit of worry slipped past his walls for the wellbeing of someone he was ready to let Cazador drain dry.

"I'll trust your judgment, I was never any good at magic." They stared at each other, waiting for the other to say something.

"Is it appropriate to kiss on the first date?" Asked Gale, trying not to sink into the tiles from shame.

Astarion was about to say 'first base is missionary' but held his tounge. "Do you want to?" He asked with a grin you'd want to wipe off of him with a well balanced bitch slap.

"I do."

Astarion stepped closer, got on his tippy toes and kissed him. On the mouth. He put his hands on Gales arms, keeping him in place. Gale was still as a statue though, there was no need to hold him.

When it was over, Gale had a goofy grin on his face and got very very very red. A portal opened behind him and he slowly backed into it, feeling the vampires hand gently slide off of his arm.

"Goodbye, I'll text you."

"See you, hopefully soon."

...

#baldur's gate #baldurs gate 3 #bloodweave #gale of waterdeep #gale dekarios #astarion #astarion ancunin #bg3 fanfiction

[ashes-writing]

stranger things ● the new girl ● g. emerson

warnings

swearing, bullying, jason carver -and jason carver getting an encyclopedia to the back of the head from Gareth. idk where this came from, tbh but my grumpy lil drummer dude's tag is dying and I can't just let it happen so... enjoy ig?

word count

1019 exactly. One shot... for now.

summary

Jason Carver's annoying voice prompts you to stick up for school freak Gareth Emerson which in turn gets you backed into a corner of your own. Gareth to the rescue. -- ashes doesn't know whether to say this is fluff or not?

taglist

-- if you want to be added to my stranger things taglist again, please go ( here ) to add your name otherwise I don't tag.

@tbmunson - bestie you knew i was tagging you. this is about our boy.

@allelitesmut

other links

masterlist ● gareth's masterlist ● about + rules

“Where do you think you’re going, freak?” Jason Carver is standing in Gareth’s way, blocking so that he can’t sidestep or avoid him. And that fucking sneer, it has Gareth’s fist clenched at his side. When Gareth doesn’t say anything, Jason repeats himself. And he gives Gareth a little shove. “Where’s your friend, freak?”

“For the last fucking time, Carver. I don’t know where Eddie is. Nobody’s seen him in days.” Gareth answers, glaring up at Jason. Standing taller, a fist clenched at his side. If they weren't on school grounds, Gareth would've swung already because Jason's been at this for almost a week at this point. It's starting to get more than a little old and Gareth Emerson is losing the minute amount of patience he possessed to begin with.

The whole thing catches your attention as you stand nearby, trying to reapply your lipstick in the mirror you have stuck to your locker door. Without turning around, you speak up, addressing Jason. “Let him go to class, shitbag.”

“What’d you say to me, little girl?”

“You heard me. I didn’t stutter and you’re not deaf.” you deadpan, shoving the tube of red lipstick back into your zippered makeup bag. Once you’ve set this onto the top shelf of your locker, you whirl around, facing Jason.

Gareth is taking this all in.

Jason smirks at you. And he steps closer. 

You step closer too. And you’ve got your head tilted, you’re gazing up at him, a look of boredom on your face. Then you smirk right back at him. “I said let him go to class… shitbag. Better? Did you hear me that time, jackass?”

“Do you know who you’re talking to?” Jason asks, a stunned look on his face as he studies you for a second or two. You’re a new girl, so he gives you just a little leeway. You obviously haven't learned how things work here in Hawkins yet.

“An asshole?” you question. Gareth can’t help it when it happens, and it’s maybe not his smartest move, but he chuckles quietly. Jason whirls around, grabbing him by the collar and shoving him up against the locker hard.

“You’re laughing, freak?” he questions, the menace in his tone unhidden.

“Oh my god, look.. You can knock it the fuck off with this alpha male bullshit. If he said he doesn’t know where the guy is, he doesn’t fucking know, pinhead. And he's only laughing because it's funny. You're a walking joke, dude. Not anybody's fault but your own.” you roll your eyes as you speak up from behind Jason, arms folded over your chest. Jason drops his hold on Gareth’s shirt and Gareth starts to make a hasty retreat.

Jason’s got his sights set on you now. And the closer he steps to you, the more unsettled you are by the way blue eyes seem so empty and cold. His body bumps against yours and he’s towering over you and you find yourself wondering why in the fuck you thought it’d be a good idea to intervene in the first place and you’re questioning all your life choices that brought you here, to this point. 

He steps closer all over again and you give him a shove back. Jason rubs his chin. “Are you screwing that freak?”

“Is that any of your business, clown shoes? I mean… he’s probably a better lay than you.” you smirk as you shove him away again because he’s stepping up to you. He’s trying to corner you and you know it. You’re not stupid.

Scared but not stupid.

You gulp when you feel the cool metal of the locker at your back and you throw up a hand to keep space between your body and Jason’s.

“Something has to be going on between you two, I mean.. C’mon. And you go to all this trouble and he leaves you alone with me? Not much of a man, is he?” Jason’s leaning into you as best as he can and you roll your head, moving it so that you’re not almost nose to nose with the guy.

You raise your knee, just like your mom’s always told you. And as your knee is just about to smash into his groin, a thick textbook smashes right up against the back of his head. “Fucking let her go, asshole.”

As Jason slumps down to catch his breath you lock eyes with Gareth Emerson as he stands there, chest heaving in and out because he’s angry. Cheeks flushed, blue  eyes practically glowing with anger.

The anger is gone in a split second when you lock eyes with him as you’re taking a few deep breaths of your own to calm down and pull yourself together again. He kicks at Jason who is still hunched over, stepping up to you. Into you. You don’t realize exactly how short you are -or how much bigger he really is compared to, until he’s checking you over in concern while he’s swearing and chewing you out for butting in on the confrontation in the first place. 

“You shouldn’t have done that.” he rambles, gazing at you in confusion as he asks a second later, “Why the hell would you do that, huh? He’s losing his damn mind lately.”

You shrug. “I’m fucking sick of the way him and his friends think they own Hawkins. And his voice was annoying me. Are you done nagging, dude? I’ve gotta get to Home Ec before I get my fourth tardy and my ma gets a coronary.” and you step beneath the way he had his arm outstretched, his hand palm down against the locker you still had your back to. As you vanish down the hall without another word, Gareth stares after you intently.

And then he chuckles to himself quietly and shakes his head. Jeff snickers from beside him and nudges him in the side. “What was that about, man? Why’d you come into Mrs. Hardesty’s class, grab an encyclopedia and run back out?”

“Jason fucking Carver.”

“Shit.” Jeff shakes his head. “Wait.. what happened?”

“He cornered the new girl because for some reason, she stuck up for me?”

Jeff’s brow raises. “She doesn’t talk though.”

“Oh, trust me.. She talks. She’s actually kind of mouthy.” Gareth blows at a curl as it springs down and into his face. 

“Did she say why she stuck up for you?”

“ Kind of, not really? All she said was Jason’s voice annoys her.” 

Jeff chuckles. “C’mon, we better get to class. Hey, have you seen Eddie today?”

“Nope. I wonder where the hell he is. He’s already missed two days, man.” Gareth muses as the two best friends disappear into their shared homeroom class…

#gareth emerson #gareth emerson imagine #gareth emerson fanfiction #gareth emerson fanfic #gareth emerson fic #gareth emerson x you #gareth emerson x reader #gareth emerson x yn #<- my writing ● gareth emerson #<- warnings ● swearing bullying confrontation protective!gareth..kinda? and female!reader. #fandom ( stranger things ) | season ( 4 ) | character ( gareth emerson ) #-- idk where this came from but this is me.. trying to bring life back to gareth's tag.

[j0kers-light]

His Lighthouse: Push and Pull (LedgerJoker x f!reader)

Push and Pull

Image credit

series summary:  

Y/n is an aspiring writer living in Gotham City and struggling to find her next muse. Her recent novel is getting all the buzz, earning her far more attention than she signed up for. But when a chance encounter results in her nursing The Joker back to health, will she find the time to write another best seller or will her own story become front page of the Gotham Gazette?

chapter summary:

With the official girl’s night over Y/n finds herself in unknown territory with a low social battery. As night’s events are revealed how will Joker talk himself out of this one?

author’s note:

The level of research I had to put in for this update was. Phew! If you wanna know the exact jet used here, it’s a Learjet 45. I even listened to airport tower communications and mapped out the flight plan like an idiot. And what for? Just because. If you want to know the exact house Y/n and Joker stays at.. well! Zillow to the rescue! Link in the story below! 

I want to thank everyone who sent out messages and words of encouragement when I was struggling with my writer’s block. I feel so much better and I hope you enjoy the chapter. It’s an important one. Think of it as the calm before the storm.

Taglist!

@blackreaderatrisk   @twinkledinkle @clemdango04 @l3ejm @tears-of-amber @what-an-angell @kaidennnnn @darthjokerisyourfather @thatsnoteii @dollster @cheetahspy​

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!  

Last Chapter  | Next Chapter 

The room was calm despite the tense situation. The hour was growing later by the minute but no clues had presented itself towards their goal.

Jim thought the entire interaction was pointless but if Batman was entertaining the Clown's story, who was he to voice an opinion? They had already let Joker out of the straightjacket he wore so he could drink properly.

Probably not the best idea since any more freedom would be an open invitation for Joker to escape the precinct altogether. Give him an inch, he'll take a mile however this version of Joker was definitely off kilter and could care less.

Everything about today wasn't normal but Jim decided to keep quiet and wait things out. Maybe Batman saw something in between the lines of Joker's elaborate story.

Their main concern was for the mysterious girl captured in the blurry Polaroid, yet the longer Joker talked, it seemed she was beyond saving.

For what sane girl would willingly let Joker into her home and bed? It didn't make any sense how this woman went from fearing Joker in her own home to having public sex with him in a span of weeks. It was obvious that Joker was omitting pertinent information since the course of events were too spaced out but if it were true, that was even more concerning. At this point he was bragging or worse, wasting everyone's time to bid him enough to escape.

Either way, nothing was gained during this lengthy tell all and her whereabouts were still unknown.

Jim looked up hearing the cowl's modified voice speak. "I don't believe this."

Batman always kept a levelheaded no matter how dicey the situation but even his world renown patience had worn thin. He looked ready to resort to violence to get the answers he sought if not for Joker's exaggerated sigh echoing out in the interrogation room.

Joker was ready for all of this to end. "...and why... not?" He sighed.

"You? Capable of love? Don't fool yourself."

That quip made Joker sit up in his chair. Batsy never took things face value. It was all so tiresome.

"Whyyy is it so hard for you to believe that? Is it because you haven't experienced the emotion yourself? Oh and how could you? Not too many girls can handle the late nights and endless secrets. Trust meee. I know. At first I didn't ~believe~ either until my Light came along and made me see. Her sweet smile and infinite warmth washed over me and I..."

Joker stopped short and smiled to himself, scaring almost everyone watching the live feed. It wasn't his normal jester-like grin. This smile was genuine. Forlorn. Remorseful, but it was gone before anyone could study it further.

Jade eyes flickered back to their sworn enemy. "I fought soooo hard but I learned to accept it. To accept her. To uh.. trust.. and fall."

Gordon scoffed in the corner. He had been quiet for so long Joker almost forgot he was in the room. Almost.

"Fall where? Into madness? Or maybe into another vat of chemicals?" Jim teased. Hearing a nutjob like Joker ramble on about love was disturbing.

"RighT... into her arms. Loving her is the best decision I've ever made. She's perfect."

"If she's still alive, why won't you tell us where she is?" Gordon shouted. He was letting his emotions and lack of sleep get the better of him.

It's what they wanted to know all day. When booking found that picture on Joker, the clock started ticking. She could already be dead but closure would do her family some good– but if she were still alive? Then she was a treasure trove of knowledge. She could answer the age old question as to who the man behind the makeup was.

And Joker knew that. His enemies knew that too which ultimately made you a target and his greatest weakness. It was one of the reasons he turned himself in; to save you. He would always protect you even if the outcome broke your heart. He was protecting you now by only telling them necessary bits and pieces to keep this charade going.

Like Joker would ever tell them who you are. If Batsy and Commissioner Mustache wanted to know your identity so badly, they better find out elsewhere.

He was doing his best at retelling the last few months spent with you using a pseudonym but he was running out of vague stories. Everything after the trip to Atlanta was personal accounts that couldn't be fabricated no matter how much he twisted the truth to keep you anonymous.

They would know who you were if he continued. So he had to get crafty. Batman was playing checkers; Joker was playing chess. He just needed a little more time..

"Aht aht ahttt, Commissioner. If you're following along then you should have an idea by now. Anyways. Where was I?"

"Euphoria." Batman's raspy voice mentioned.

Joker spun around and grinned at his bestie. "See! Someone's keeping track around here! Hmm.. Euphoria. I got her into some trouble that weekend.."

The sunlight peeking through the open curtains roused you awake.

You grumbled and tried rolling over but the sheets were too entangled around your body for you to complete the motion. It made you feel trapped and you shot up wide awake to escape its clutches.

You looked down at crisp white hotel sheets holding your body hostage. They were the least of your concerns. You began to question where you were. The last thing you could remember was the finance office at the club, not a lavish hotel room with a missing lover. That part wasn't concerning. Joker never woke up in bed with you. It was a habit you were learning to accept. He left you alone more times than you'd care to admit.

Not knowing your surroundings was the bigger issue here. The foreign room was spacious and stylish, unlike any hotel you've ever seen, granted you rarely stayed at any.

This one had hardwood floors and it honestly looked more like a luxury apartment than a hotel. Past the big windows a breathtaking view stole your attention. The view of Midtown Atlanta was fast paced even this early in the day but nothing like Gotham.

The noise level was vastly different.

You set about to explore the place but quickly noticed you were naked. You remembered Joker cut your dress last night and it sparked a thought; what did you wear out of the club to get here. The possibilities had you rolling your e/c eyes.

Right as you were about to leave the bed, you heard a low beep and a door closing somewhere in the suite.

Even though you were in a completely different city your hackles raised, assuming the worst. You couldn't find anything to use as a weapon but braced yourself to fight should someone try and kidnap you again.

When Florence strolled through the doorway wearing a white hotel robe you relaxed but not for long. She looked like a woman on a mission and you were her sole target.

"Okay hear me out!" She began, "I know I got drunkity drunk last night and did some very.. very questionable things—" Flo shuddered, as if remembering whatever deplorable acts she did all over again. "I know what I saw!"

You weren't surprised by her drunk morning after regret, however her words made your anxiety skyrocket. "W-Which is?" You tried to stay calm and discreetly cover yourself to no avail.

Hungover Florence was just as perceptive as sober Flo. She immediately noticed your lack of attire and it only fueled her ire.

"I saw you creep up those stairs last night, Y/n! Neo told me there's only some office n' seedy sex rooms up there. So tell me what's good? Wait, wrong question. Was he good?"

You went pale like a ghost. "WHAT kind of rooms?"

"Stop deflecting whore." She clapped her hands after each word and immediately regretted it the moment her head began to pound worse.

She whined when you raised your voice. "You can't drop sex rooms in a conversation and not expect me to react! I-I got lost and... an employee guided me out after the club closed."

These little white lies have got to stop, Y/n. Your angel on your shoulder whispered.

You'd debate with your subconscious later. Right now you had to deal with an angry Florence.

"Bull__t. Then how you end up naked in a hotel room if you just 'got lost'?"

The devil on your other shoulder snickered. Good question, I'd like to know too. "I uh..."

Florence massaged her temples, sighing. "Ohhh my god. Just admit you had sex with someone! Was it that waiter from earlier?" Your entire body froze thinking she somehow remembered Joker.

"Listen, he was cute, but why isn't he here providing aftercare and s__t? Pause. You've been acting real sus lately. Red and I have been patient trying to deal with your weird behavior but this?" She waved her long acrylic nails at you. "This is totally unlike you."

You filed her comment about Joker being cute away for another day. She was opening up a can of worms that should've been left alone.

"Ohh okay so I'm not allowed to be flown out and dicked down by random men?" It took her a minute to get the insult but when she did, Flo blinked rapidly and scoffed.

"Neo isn't some random guy, Y/n!"

"You're right, my bad. He's a 'client.' You braid his hair a few times and suddenly you know him! C'mon Flo. You're trying to scold me but all I see is the pot trying to scorn the kettle!"

You don't know where this argument came from but you refused to back down and apologize. She could do anything with no judgment, but the moment you took a risk and had fun it was bad? Florence was a hypocrite if she didn't see how she was treating you right now.

Unfortunately she waved your speculations away like a pesky gnat.

"I'm built different! You're.. well you're you! You sit around the house and do boring s__t. I'm supposed to be the reckless and irresponsible one out of the group!"

Her reply rang loudly in the hotel room. You let her words fill the space before carefully choosing your own.

"So.. I'm not allowed to have fun?" You mumbled. You ducked your head, already starting to overthink things. Your mood bar automatically set itself to self-doubt.

Florence instantly sobered up. She cursed after realizing what she said.

"What? No. Wait! I mean.. ugh! Yes! Yes you're allowed to have fun, Y/n! It's just, not that kind of fun?" Flo's reply faded off into a question as she racked her brain for the right words. "What I'm trying to say is—"

Your eyes stung hearing the truth. Your dry, empty laugh cut her off.

"Hm, just like high school huh? Boring book nerd stuck being second best to her cheerleader friend. Glad to know things never change."

Florence cringed. "Y/n..."

Neo walked in with his annoying swagger and lofty demeanor; you were saved by the bell. He was dressed for the day despite it being bright and early. He quickly read the room. "Everything aight in here?"

Neither of you spoke. He noticed your teary eyes and somber mood and wisely took your side.

He didn't take his eyes off of you when he replied to Florence. "Ayyy Ma, I ordered room service. Go eat ya hangover away."

Flo being the independent woman she was spun around to protest; however, she was immediately shot down by Neo's hazel gaze.

You watched in awe as she backed down without further preamble. Florence always had the last word in an argument. Neo's gaze lingered on her as she left the room and eventually your suite. The door closed with a soft click leaving you alone with the 'club owner.'

If Florence was more sober, she never would have left you alone with him and she would've questioned how he got into your room without a key.

A shame you knew more about Neo than Florence ever would. He didn't need a key to come and go as he pleased. It wouldn't phase you if Joker owned the hotel behind the scenes. Your mind was already a storm of negative thoughts. You decided not to think about the finer details at present.

At least Neo kept his distance, sensing your sour mood. It was one less thing to worry about.

"You good.?" He asked.

"Like you care." You bit back. You yanked the sheets around you tighter. If he noticed he didn't comment on it.

"I don't– but I'd rather not have my neck snapped if Boss comes back and finds you crying and thinks I'm to blame." He made a valid point that dried your tears.

Joker wouldn't hesitate resorting to violence if you were in distress. No need to give him an excuse for murder. "Where is he by the way?" You changed the subject.

Neo chuckled and leaned against the grey dresser. "Damage control. Boss and Frost are out destroying any potential evidence of him being here last night. He is a wanted fugitive after all."

He didn't want to tell you the truth just yet until they came back with the all clear. Thankfully you didn't pry into it. It seemed like you had enough on your plate as is.

"I keep forgetting that. He makes it so easy to forget." You shifted on the bed causing Neo to respectfully look away when he saw a flash of bare skin.

Again, he didn't want to end up dead if Joker came back and assumed he was making a pass on you. It didn't help that Neo flirted with you the first time the two of you met.

Joker hadn't forgotten. The clown was hyper territorial over you, bordering on being yandere when it came to people eyeing his Bunny. They traveled nine hundred miles just because Joker was overprotective.

Frost tagged along to make sure Joker didn't start a killing spree simply because someone stared at you for too long. It turned into quite the daunting task after your racy performance with Florence. Too many people almost died trying to dance with you if Frost hadn't intervened.

Frost had enough of preventing blood on the dance floor after the nth person tried approaching you. He gave up and suggested that Joker just take you away. No murders to cover up and everyone had fun. Crisis averted.

Joker wanted to tease you a bit longer before heading back to the hotel but your friend showed up and thwarted his plans.

He forgot he wasn't supposed to be here when Neo called your group of friends up to the private lounge. Apparently this was Neo's original plans that he refused to cancel back at the laundromat. It all worked out with some... setbacks. Neo hoped it would be resolved quickly before it became an actual problem.

He returned to the present to toss a duffel bag on the bed that you failed to notice until now. You squeaked when it landed in your lap. He smiled at your icy glare and said nothing as you unzipped the compartment to look inside.

Much to your surprise, your favorite toiletries and a few other basic essentials were inside. "Where..."

Neo stood to leave. "You're welcome to join Florence for breakfast if you want. I won't force you after whatever happened here." He waved in general at the little spat you had with your Haitian friend. "She's on the twenty third floor. Room ten."

"Wait!" He stopped to raise an eyebrow at you. "What room am I in?" You asked.

He flicked the hotel keycard in your direction that he pickpocketed from Florence. You answered your own question by reading the room number printed on the back.

The Ritz- Carlton. No wonder everything was dripping with opulence. Of all the hotels in Atlanta, Joker would choose a high profile one.

Did he even care about being recaptured anymore? The best way to blend in was to act normal. It gave you more questions than answers for your already over processed brain. "Hey Neo, does Joker–?" You looked up but he was already gone.

"They come and go so quickly in Oz." Your stomach decided it wanted attention and growled in the now silent room. "Yeah, yeah pipe down. I'll feed you sheesh."

You pulled with all your might to detach the bed sheets from their corner prisons and then walked into the luxury bathroom to relieve yourself.

The room was gorgeous with a walk-in rain shower, real marble countertops, and an adjacent soaker tub. It was nothing like your custom built bathroom back home but it made you question how much a night here cost. With your WHB royalties you could afford it, but that didn't mean you wanted to foot the bill.

You found a complimentary robe identical to the one Florence wore in a separate closet and shrugged it on after washing your hands. It smelled like fresh linen with a hint of vanilla. It would have to do since you didn't have any clothes to change into.

All thanks to Joker. He must have some kind of grudge against your clothes. You knew it needed to end. At this rate you'd actually need all those clothes Bruce bought you..

You slipped your hotel keycard into the robe pocket and slid into the complimentary hotel slippers to ride the elevator down to Florence's suite. Just because it was on a lower floor didn't mean the amenities were lesser than. It was still classy and screamed of wealth.

You rasped your knuckles on the door and patiently waited. It opened to the sight of Florence wearing clothes that Neo provided for her trip back home. You wished your man would give you clothes instead of running them.

She took one look at you and opened her mouth to reply but you weren't here to socialize. You were socially drained and your stomach growling louder by the second was your only priority.

This wouldn't be the first time you shut Florence out and it wouldn't be the last. She'd get over it sooner rather than later.

Neo wasn't kidding when he said he ordered room service. It was straight out of a movie with a rolling tray, silver dome serving dishes and fine china. You opened one and steam hit your face from the fresh array of food. You picked up a plate and proceeded to load it up with your choices.

"Are you seriously gonna snub me for the rest of the day?" Florence asked behind you.

Your silent treatment was notorious and it hit hard knowing you could go days without talking. Living alone for so many years gave you lots of practice.

She rushed over and fixed her own plate before sitting down at the formal dining table across from you. You were busy going through the motions and didn't notice Florence was trying to get your attention. You silently ate your food, lost in a sea of thoughts.

Florence was still pushing her food around when you finished your portion. She panicked when you wiped your mouth clean and stood to leave. "Y/n wait!"

Neo came out of the bedroom, raising an eyebrow at the tense air in the room. What was up with the two of you this early in the morning?

Then you spoke up startling them both with your monotone voice. It was safe to say you were dead inside. "Enjoy your flight back to Gotham."

"What? Y/n what are you talking about? We're flying back together.. N-Neo already bought us tickets!" Florence cried out and begged him to intervene with exaggerated mannerisms. He chose not to get involved.

You sighed and looked away. "No thanks. I'll find my own way back."

"Y/n, don't be reckless." She winced when her choice of words sank in.

"Can't. That's your job, remember?" You padded over to the door and stepped back into your slippers. You patted your pocket, making sure your room key was still inside.

Florence was calling your name but the door was already slamming shut behind you as you headed back to the elevator. You needed some time alone.

The hotel suite was much colder when you returned. It looked nearly identical to Florence's but a few well placed details distinguished the two rooms to the trained eye.

It didn't matter to you. Your next stop was the bed and it would be the same no matter where you went. Your social battery was at negative zero percent and Joker still being M.I.A didn't help things. You strolled past the kitchenette and dining room in the suite to the bedroom but you screamed at seeing an intruder.

Joker laying spread eagle on the bed was not what you were expecting.

His jet black shirt and slacks was a stark contrast against the pristine white sheets. Last night he blended in with the club's shadows but during the day he looked far more intimidating, like a devilish businessman ready to crush a company with a single phone call.

His disguises were uncanny. His green hair ruined the illusion though. It was currently shielding his eyes from your view but when he lifted his head after hearing your startled cry, they were sharper than any knife boring into your soul.

"Nice robe Bunny." Joker grinned and eyed you from head to toe.

"T-Thank you. Some idiot destroyed my dress last night." You said in between catching your breath.

"Watch it..." He didn't take kindly to your word of choice but pressed forward. "I couldn't resist."

You said nothing as you prepared to walk back out but Joker rushed over and plucked you from the air like you weighed nothing and threw you on the bed. The wind was knocked out of your chest upon impact and Joker used your shock to his advantage to begin untying your robe.

His intentions were clear as day. The man was insatiable.

You blinked in shock and parted your lips to tell him off but Joker saw it as an invitation to kiss you senseless. Your hands flew to his shoulders as he devoured your mind and soul with one kiss. As much as you wanted to pour the same sentiments into the exchange, your heart wasn't in it today yet you knew not to deny Joker.

However the clown was anything but attentive. He parted for air and frowned at your listless gaze staring back at him.

You blinked owlishly at his emerald orbs. When the hue became too much to bear, you averted your gaze but Joker would have none of it. He saw a different kind of desire in your eye and sought to fulfill it.

"Where do ya wanna go?" He sighed. He brushed a stubborn curl off your forehead.

You weren't expecting such a sweet gesture from him. "Huh?"

Joker rolled his eyes and lied down next to you, resting his cheek in his palm. "When it's you against them, you run. I can seeee iT in your eyes, Bunny. You can't physically escape so your mind does."

He tapped your temple with his knuckle. It caught you off guard how easily he identified your dissociation. Florence didn't notice and she knew you for years.

Mindful of your mood, Joker chose to pick up your dainty hand in his much larger one. He stopped to admire your brown skin against his pale complexion and grinned at the contrast.

The two of you were so different, but blended so well together.

"Sooooo. Where. Do. You. Wanna. Go?" He kissed each of your fingers while keeping eye contact with you.

The romantic gestures, Joker acknowledging your meltdown and his devout patience through it, brought tears to your eyes. You felt trapped. Florence's words struck a nerve and you wanted out but you were miles away from your sanctuary. You would have to settle for the next best thing.

You curled up to Joker's chest with a wet sob.

"I want.. I want to get away. S-Somewhere quiet and peaceful."

Joker was at a loss seeing this version of you. Was this how you acted when you disappeared into your room? If so, you were a pathetic sight. A sight he wanted to dote on and protect.

He knew you were vulnerable and sensitive right now. He didn't know if you needed space or affection. He rested his hand on your head despite his uncertainty. You didn't shy away from it.

He surmised you were burnt out from partying last night and from what Neo explained to him, you also had an argument this morning with Florence.

Joker knew with your current mental exhaustion, you would lash out at anyone just to get away. He would have to tread carefully to not upset you. He didn't want to be iced out either. Joker had to curb his own selfish desires and be the mediator for once. He never had to calm someone down before. He didn't know how to comfort others.

So far he was doing good just by holding you close. You were dozing off in Joker's embrace when he asked you again.

"Mm sorry. Can we go to the beach?" You glanced up at his profile.

His scars were on full display from this angle but they didn't scare you. Waiting for his response did. It sent millions of butterflies swarming in your gut. As the minutes ticked by in silence you anticipated his rejection.

He mulled it over completely unaware that stalling was causing you more pain. Joker wanted to try lifting your spirits with a pop culture reference but it took him a minute to remember the quote correctly.

"You wanna go outside? Why Y/n look at you, as fragile as a flower!"

He rolled over to hide the infectious grin taking over his face but you didn't see it that way. Joker turning his back on you felt like a hard no. Your first reaction was to break down completely, but then your mind processed his poor attempt at a joke, forcing you to backtrack.

He felt you climb on his back and turned his head your way. There was a dangerous gleam in Joker's eye making it luminescent. "Ah, careful there Princess."

You flushed at the position you were in. The nickname and warning sent a chill down your spine but you shook it away.

"I'm going to ignore the fact you watched a Disney movie to know that quote— but I'm serious, Joker. Just you and me. Please?"

The moment you said the word serious he was all ears. You let him shift your weight around so he could lay on his back with you straddling him proper.

His hands found their natural place on your hips and he smacked his lips before gazing up at you. Your adorable pout could ruin him. He liked when you smiled, not all sad and abysmal. He really had to fix this mood of yours before he took you back to Gotham.

"You forget... I'm a want-ed criminal." He tapped your thigh peeking out from the robe in some Morse code that you couldn't decipher.

"That hasn't stopped you before. Plus, I wanna go to the beach at night." You explained. His eyebrow dipped in confusion.

"At night?" He echoed back.

"Yes. I wanna hear the dark ocean waves crashing onto the shore and feel the stillness of the night embrace me." You closed your eyes and held yourself while swaying with a dreamy smile on your face.

Joker watched you fondly, picturing it himself.

"Hmm. Have I ever told you you're goood with words?" He grabbed the back of your neck to drag you down for a kiss.

For the first time this morning you laughed. Joker relished in the sound and let it wash over him. He could listen to its twinkling bells and never tire of it.

"I think once or twice." You kissed his cheek, knowing the skin there was sensitive. "Can we though?"

Joker winced at the affectionate touch and retaliated by pushing your robe off your shoulders to pool around your waist. You shivered from being exposed but let Joker do whatever.

"Can we.. whaT?" Joker sat up to kiss your neck, trying to get you in the mood.

It wasn't working and you tried rolling away but he kept you perched on his lap with his strong grip. You weren't going anywhere he didn't want you to.

"Nope. Nooo more running away from meee. Yeah sand and salty water. That sounds.. relaxing. You sure about this?" Joker sighed after a while.

He finally undid your robe and bared you fully to his gaze. The canvas of your body was painted with splotches of eggplant and indigo, the after work of Joker's possessives— ranging from love bites to his heavy handprints. Two days worth of lovemaking was imprinted on your skin and he brushed each mark with the tips of his fingers in morbid fascination.

His favorite? The ones on the dips of your hips.

He loved grabbing you by the waist and keeping you close so the bruises there never seemed to heal. You wore them proudly. If anything, they tickled whenever Joker pressed down on the dark blemishes like he was right now.

"Y-Yeah. Let's.. mmm, let's make the whole day of it. We can stay at ahh... at a hotel on the coast and f-finish what you're trying to start." You breathed out.

Joker leaned back so he could see your face. A dusting of red took over your features although he could tell you were still emotionally drained.

"Why don't you wanna do it here? I bet, you're uh, weT already Bun–"

"I-I've never been to a beach before." You confessed. Joker saw you look away. Your entire demeanor was closed off again. Sex wouldn't fix your mood so he stopped trying.

"Well. That? That's gonna change today, doll. Every city girl needs to uhh, experience a day at the beach!" He mimicked your uncertain nod with his enthusiastic one.

You were closing him out again and he didn't like you all melancholic. Joker liked his Bunny in high spirits so he decided to go all out to make you happy again. He smacked your bum to get you off of him. "Go get ready."

When you didn't move, he tossed you on the bed and started patting his pockets for his burner phone.

You were left trying to stabilize your balance before you bounced clean off the bed. Joker's mood came and went so quickly, it was hard to tell when he would be affectionate or apathetic.

You watched as he called up Frost, dismissing you completely, until he turned and snapped his fingers at you in warning. "I won'T say it again, doll."

You didn't need to be told twice. Paired with Joker's sultry dom tone and his dark business attire, you quickly obeyed. His sharp green eyes followed you as you grabbed the toiletries bag Neo brought and scurried into the bathroom with your discarded robe.

Unfortunately you tripped halfway there and caught yourself, quoting some kind of Blüdhaven phrase he heard once or twice. Joker smirked at your quirky personality slowly creeping back up to the surface.

By the day's end he hoped you were fully back to normal. Well, your definition of normal at least. His focus shifted back to his phone when Frost repeated himself to get his Boss's attention.

"Great idea Frosty! She'll love that.."

The bathroom door clicking close transported you to a different state of mind. All was quiet here amongst the marble and bright lights. The big mirror in front of you beckoned you over and you did, to take in the state of your hair.

You determined your curls could last another day despite Joker constantly pulling on them all last night and then going to sleep without a bonnet on. It was a miracle you would gladly take since you had no other way to fix them. You peeked into the duffel bag provided to you and debated on taking a shower or a quick wash up.

Joker was busy on the phone and he didn't specify how much time you had so with a grin you grabbed the loofah and the bottle of shower gel and approached the shower with glee.

Joker was still in the bedroom ironing out the itinerary for the day when Frost brought up a very good question.

"Which one she wanting to go to?"

Joker hummed out loud. Wasn't every beach the same? Same sand, same water, just on a different coast. So did it really matter which one? He was good with geography and racked his brain for the nearest shoreline in Georgia but stopped short.

This was about you. If he picked a random beach and you didn't like it, then what was the point? His Bunny had particular tastes so he would honor them.

Luckily you didn't lock the bathroom door. Joker burst through it on the hunt for his squeeze. You weren't near the sink and a peek in the tub— you hadn't drowned yourself, that's good to know. The only place left was.. there.

You saw the glass door slide open and turned to face Joker. You were rinsing off and dashed to cover yourself as he stared in awe.

"Mmm I don't see the point, doll. I've seen.. every.. single inch of ya. Tasted it too." He licked his lips, remembering.

You shielded yourself out of habit. "W-Whatever. What do you want?"

Joker arched an eyebrow at your tone. You were still defensive. "Do ya care which one Bunny?"

He watched a trickle of water trail down your legs and barely heard your request for him to clarify.

"I'll be more clearER then." He stepped into the shower and tactfully avoided getting wet while keeping the phone in his hand dry as well. "Which beach?" He slurred his words on purpose to provoke you.

Your mouth quivered trying to think while Joker eyed you like that. You couldn't avoid his ardent gaze no matter how hard you tried. In the end you rambled off the first shore on your mind.

"I a-always wanted to go to Martha's Vineyard. There's a pier there with the most picturesque view I've seen online. I think it's called Aquinnah Cliffs or something like that."

Joker blinked at you, holding the phone. He knew exactly where it was. "That's in Massachusetts."

"So?" You tucked a few stray curls back under your shower cap and spun around to finish up. You made your choice. The conversation was over.

Frost couldn't believe what he was hearing and snickered on his end of the phone.

Yeah, you had Joker wrapped around your finger. No one ever talked to the Boss like that and survived, let alone dismissed him so flippantly. Frost would have paid good money to see Joker's face right about now. In the meantime, he made himself useful and checked to see if there was a house in the area that the gang owned and spoke up.

"I'll contact our operations nearby and get things sorted out." Frost said in farewell.

Joker glanced at the phone in shock. He didn't agree to this! And much to his irritation, Frost had already hung up. Who was running things around here? He heard the shower come to a stop and he narrowed his eyes when you stepped out like the Birth of Venus with steam curling around your body.

You were a true goddess indeed. You hesitated at the entrance with a sheepish look. "I didn't grab a towel."

Or maybe just a ditzy mortal wench sent to drive him even more insane.

Joker exhaled through his nose and stood his ground. A tense stand-off occurred with you dripping wet and him eyeing you expressionless. "Joker.. I'm creating a puddle on the floor. Can you please hand me a towel?"

So what if you ordered him around a bit? He was still in charge. Your pretty white teeth biting down on your lips was oh so worth bending to your will. And so was the award winning smile you gave him.

He grumbled but grabbed a towel and all but threw it at you. "Thank you." You smiled again when you caught it and began to dry off.

You bent over to dry your legs and he groaned at the arch in your back.

Since when was drying off sexy or was it simply because you were doing it? His sex drive was nonexistent before he met you but now everything about you aroused him. Did you drug him with something? Was it healthy to be this attracted to someone?

You straightened back up and patted your arms, blissfully unaware of your alluring prowess. "Hey. What was Frost talking about on the phone? Do you have an operation in Massachusetts?"

You were under the impression that Joker only terrorized Gotham City. You yanked your shower cap off and shook your curls back to life in the mirror. You saw Joker walk up behind you in the reflection but continued grooming yourself.

"They're still pretty, Sugar." Your hands froze. Joker and his infinite nicknames for you. It never fails.

You cleared your throat and went to grab your lotion off the counter. "You didn't answer my question."

Joker smacked your hands away and started lotioning you up himself. He began with your shoulders and locked eyes with you in the mirror.

"You reallyyyy think I would limit my fun to just Gotham? Pffft. Come on, Bunny! I'm a national threat." He nipped your neck and massaged the lotion down your back.

You let that sink in as Joker moisturized your body. You thought of all the suffering he caused so many people yet when he was with you, Joker was anything but kind. He treated you with the utmost respect and went out his way to be nice. Sure, he was still The Joker and at times his words were like a double edged sword, but he always kissed the wounds and made them better in the end.

You glanced down at the faded cuts on your hands he gave you weeks ago.

It was almost fully healed but the mental reminder was permanent. You craned your neck in the mirror and saw the endless love bites and scratches that adorned your skin. Joker was sour and then sweet but could you overlook how he treated others?

He could love on you endlessly but once these months spent together passed, he would return to his terror across the country. Could you live with knowing the man whom you considered a lover enjoyed murder and destruction? What would your mother think if she knew the company her daughter kept?

You could see your father's disapproving head shake now. If he hated your high school boyfriends, what would he think of Joker? Absolutely the worst. Mom would try to convince me to move back home and Dad would get himself killed trying to threaten Joker somehow. You thought.

You let out a shaky sigh and failed to see Joker finishing up with his task. He said your name but your eyes were unfocused, staring ahead beyond this bathroom. Where did your mind go, he wondered? Somewhere he could not follow. He called your name again to no avail so he used his last resort. Fear.

The bottle slamming loudly on the sink scared you out of your rabbit hole. Joker's frown greeted you in the mirror.

"When you're done uh, float-ing, there's a dress for you on the bed." He walked towards the door leaving you bereft. "Be ready to go by 1pm."

Then you were left all alone and more unsure of this fragile relationship than you ever been.

By the time you splashed some water on your face, Joker was gone. You clutched the robe tighter around you as you searched the suite for him. With a heavy heart you trudged back to the bedroom but stopped short seeing a flash of color on the white sheets.

A ruffled floral dress was carefully laid out on a wooden hanger. At the foot of the bed, a pair of pink ribbon stilettos brought the whole outfit together. You walked over to inspect it closer.

You knew your closet like the back of your hand. Seeing a piece from your most recent summer haul put a smile on your face.

"And he says he doesn't plan things." You sighed. Joker made it hard to hate him when he did things like this. Maybe you could overlook his flaws after all.

You were twirling around in your maxi dress when three loud knocks sounded from the hotel door.

"J-Just a second!" You had already packed the duffel bag Neo gave you and zipped your evening bag inside of it. Besides that, you had nothing to your name. You were just waiting around for Joker to return.

You looked through the peephole to see the back of Neo's braids and rushed to open the door. "Aren't you supposed to be flying back to Gotham with Florence?"

A glance at the clock in the room put that day around noon.

He scoffed. "Business first. Pleasure later. Walk down to the lobby, you're already checked out. There's a car waiting to take you to the airport. Be discreet." You nodded and heaved your bag onto your shoulder, ready to walk out the door if not for Neo grabbing your arm.

"I'll take care of Florence but call her later tonight if you can. She's blaming herself for your sh__ty attitude."

In that moment you viewed Neo a lot more differently. It seemed like he actually cared about your friend, which baffled you. You knew his stereotype well. Neo was all about himself, however he was proving your assumptions dead wrong.

"I will and thanks, Neo. I mean it." Your smile was faint but it still made him flustered.

He faltered with his response and let his grip on you fall. Who knew getting on your good side would be so easy? He nodded his head towards the elevator down the hall and off you went, following his instructions to the letter.

You blended in with the posh hotel guests filling the lobby and no one stopped you when you walked straight out the door. A sleek black town car with the correct license plate was waiting for you. You half expected Sebastian to be your driver but when you opened the door you were thoroughly disappointed to see an unknown female at the wheel. She kept her head straight ahead when you said hello.

Based on her demeanor you knew she was either under Joker's employ or threatened to keep her mouth shut. Definitely the latter. He wasn't joking when he said he had pull outside of Gotham.

Just how dangerous was Joker? A part of you didn't want to find out.

The fifteen minute drive to the airport was anticlimactic but you still entertained yourself with your phone, catching up on last night's group chat and answering a few social media messages. Morgana and Barbara made it back to Gotham safely and Florence's departure time was scheduled for 4:15pm.

You were reaching your own method of transportation if Atlanta traffic would allow. The chaotic mess that was the international airport tacked on another thirty minutes to the travel time.

Oddly enough your driver turned onto a different section of the airport that looked restricted to the public. "Hey.. where are we going?" You asked her.

She kept quiet as she pulled the town car up to a private tarmac near a small jet. The car shifted to park and she idled in silence, waiting for you to leave.

"Okay.. since you're not talking. Thanks for the ride, I guess." You rolled your eyes and grabbed your things but stopped when she finally spoke.

"Be careful."

Your hand wavered on the door handle. Her warning shook you up a bit. It was like she knew something you didn't. You left without a response.

The charter jet looked big on the outside but once you stepped aboard it only had eight seats. You placed your duffel bag on the nearest one and heaved a sigh until you heard someone behind you.

"D__n, Bunny. Don't yoooou look..." Joker leaned on a seat and openly checked you out.

When he saw that dress hanging up in the guest bedroom closet, he needed to see you wearing it. He found matching shoes still in their original box in the back and instantly fell in love.

He didn't know what compelled him to bring a change of clothes for you. Maybe a part of him wanted to spend more time with you outside Gotham city limits. Seeing you now he was glad he brought a few things.

Too bad he didn't have access to your jewelry collection; you needed some gold on to truly complete the look. Joker rounded the seat and you got to see another one of his disguises.

"Oh." You never seen Joker look so casual before. Sure, he wore t-shirts and sweats around the penthouse but that was loungewear and you two weren't out in public. This was better than any tailored suit he could wear.

Joker wore a tight white tee over distressed grey ripped jeans. He hid his dyed hair under a baseball cap, turned backwards of course, and you saw a flash of silver hanging around his neck. He tied the ensemble together with crisp white sneakers and his mischievous grin. You followed a prominent vein on his forearm up to his biceps that were on full display in his tee. This man could make anything look good, it was illegal.

He bent down to push your jaw closed with his finger. "Like what ya see?"

You nodded mutely. Joker smiled wide before walking towards the cockpit. That made you sober up fast. You jumped to your feet to follow after him.

"Joker! Wait! Did you steal this plane?" He said nothing as he sat down and started messing with the controls. You looked on in horror when the dash lit up in an array of lights and controls.

"Noooo silly. I'm.. borrowing it!" He flipped on the main engine switch and you panicked further, hearing it whirl to life. "Excuse me... what is you doing?!"

He snorted at your improper use of grammar. It meant you were nervous. He'd take any emotion rather than the lack thereof.

"Starting the engine. We can't fly without any power dear. Or fuel. Lots of that.." He chuckled to himself as if this was all another joke.

"I'd buckle in if I were you." He tossed your way. You were still standing by the cockpit door.

Joker sighed when you failed to move. He grabbed your wrist and dragged you down into the co-pilot seat and handed you a headset. You took it with shaky, sweaty hands. He fastened your seatbelt for you but everything was happening way too fast for you to comprehend.

The only thing that did make sense was the plane's cabin door closing with just you and Joker inside.

"Where's our pilot, Joker?!!"

He smacked his lips, ignoring your hysterics in favor of contacting ATC. "Atlanta Center this is.. uh, L0LJK holding short of Runway 26 Romeo, to MVY."

It all sounded like Chinese to you but some gut instinct told you to keep quiet.

There was a period of silence as Joker continued messing with the controls but finally Frost's voice came over the radio. "Just go."

You heard a scuffle on his end before the feed went dead yet Joker paid it no mind. He checked to see if you were secure, (you were way too quiet for his liking) before responding back via protocol.

"Cleared for takeoff. Runway 26 Romeo L0LJK." It was his official signal to start moving the plane. You glanced over at his giddy smile and erratic behavior. A madman was your pilot. A literal madman. You were gonna be sick.

You looked out the window as the plane taxied to its designated strip and started gaining more and more speed. It was such a common thing on a commercial flight but alone with Joker you felt each bump on the runway as you barreled down it. He was running out of tarmac and the plane was still on the ground.

That snapped you out of your stupor. "I-I-I c-changed my m-mind! I don't wanna go!! Let's stay h-here in Atlanta for the w-weekend!"

"A bit too late for that sweetheart." He chuckled lowly. The end of the runway inched closer and closer.

"JOKER I'M SERIOUS!"

"So am I." He whispered. He jerked the yoke up, pulling the plane into the sky at the last minute. Your screams filled the cabin along with Joker's maniacal laugh. Your head lolled back in your seat as you fainted.

The skies were clear and Joker followed procedures to get the jet to its average cruising altitude. It didn't take long but he couldn't afford to glance over and check on you during his checklists. He heard your body startle awake thirty minutes into the flight, and he breathed a bit easier knowing you were okay.

Once things were steady, he finally stole a gander at you.

"Y/n? Talk to me, doll." He clicked his tongue at your lack of reply and waited for you to fully come to. Your eyes were still closed and your breath in short, quick pants.

"W-Where? Oh. H-How? When did you learn how to fly?" You mumbled out. Joker shook his head at your broken sentences as you struggled to get your bearings straight.

"There's a– loT you don't know about me, Bunny. It's bet-ter that way."

You eyed him sideways after that cryptic response. You had to admit while you lost your marbles, Joker looked so at ease up here hitting buttons and navigating the skies almost... like..

You remembered the flash of silver you saw around his neck and decided to keep your theories to yourself. Joker eyed you out of the corner of his eye. He knew your mind could operate faster than the speed of light when you were lost in thought. There was no such thing as wishful thinking with you.

Things were calm and he felt confident enough to switch the controls over to autopilot to free up his hands.

You heard his seatbelt click loose and your e/c eyes darted over to him bending at the knee to unbuckle you. "No! What're you–"

Joker covered your clammy hands with his own. "Calm.. down, Y/n. It's safe ok? I joke around but I would neverrrrr risk your life like.. this. You trust me, hmm?"

Trust. Such a precious gift easily broken. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath before drowning yourself into pools of emerald.

Joker's eyes were so clear as he tried to convince you. He knew you were more guarded than ever due to your lackluster mood. He could only hope that you actually trusted him when you finally gave him a hesitant nod. "O-Okay."

Joker repeated it back to you and rested his hand on your knee. It was shaking uncontrollably. You didn't notice.

"It'll take us four hourss to get to the, uh, Vineyard. You want something to drinK?"

"I didn't see a galley onboard." In fact, you only saw a single door at the end of the plane, most likely the lavatory, and the standard row of seats.

This jet was obviously for short business trips, nothing more. Your head nodded against your will. Joker didn't move, he was reading your body language to better understand your thoughts.

"Sweetheart. You thought I would starve you for four looong hours? I brought our own drinks and snacks." He smiled and went to grab them from his bag.

You snorted at his antics. "But you don't make plans."

"I don't!" He laughed from the back of the plane.

The initial shock must've worn off since you were talking more however; you were still somber and socially withdrawn. That would change once the plane landed. He would make sure of it.

Speaking of. Landing was less stressful since you knew Joker was more than capable of operating the plane.

He gave you some (insert favorite snack) and a bottle of water about halfway to the island and you looked on in amusement as he inhaled four Frosted blueberry PopTarts straight from the box. You hoped whoever flew the plane next didn't care about crumbs and fruit filling smudged all over the controls.

Joker contacted the Vineyard's airport tower requesting permission to land and kept things professional using the plane's actual call sign this time. Apparently he knew when to be serious. Within minutes, the Ground granted access and Joker landed the plane at the island's main airport.

He went through the final post flight procedures to power off the plane before rounding on you.

"Listen carefully Y/n." He didn't stutter or enunciate any words differently; he meant business so you kept quiet and listened. "From now on until we leave, don't say my name in public."

"But.. how am I supposed to address you?" You asked. He unbuckled your seatbelt and helped you out of your seat.

Such a gentleman. He yanked your co-pilot headset off your head, pulling your hair with it. When he wants to be. You mused.

"I'm your bodyguard. Your shadow. People don't talk to their shadows now do they? I do, but I'm far from normal, doll " He led you past the row of seats towards the cabin door. "If you need to address me, look me in the eye."

He pushed the door open and the afternoon sunlight entered the jet. You could smell the saltwater in the air but his request had you turning around. "How will you–"

Oh. Your eyes instantly met Joker's. The intensity of it threatened to burn you alive.

"I'm always lookin' at you, Y/n." He swept his arms down the stairs. "Ladies first."

Your heart swooned.

You ducked your head so he couldn't see the flush spreading on your cheeks and took the stairs one at a time in your pink Louboutin's. You stepped onto the concrete tarmac and placed a hand in your hair when a strong gust of wind blew.

It danced in your hair and played with the helm of your dress. To Joker, you were exquisite. He almost dropped the bags he carried down the stairs overwhelmed by your natural beauty. You were so unaware of it.

No one was around but that wouldn't last. Joker was sans makeup so he quickly donned sunglasses and his face mask from his back pocket to cover up. And right on time. He watched the car he had Frost call ahead pull up next to you.

You backed away from the unmarked Mercedes SUV even when the driver rolled the window down and recited a code to Joker. He responded back in kind and dumped the luggage in the trunk. Thankfully you hadn't noticed it yet.

He spotted you still standing off to the side and grinned. "Good girl. Never assume everything is under my control."

You did a double take at his concealed face. You didn't know how to respond so you just thanked him for holding the passenger door open for you.

He closed it and rounded the vehicle to speak to his henchmen. They exchanged a few words and to your confusion, they handed Joker a box of sorts before jogging up the plane's stairs.

They automatically retracted, closing the unknown goon inside.

Joker hopped in the car, narrowly avoiding hitting you when he tossed the parcel into the backseat and buckled in. You stole a peek at it, an unmarked recyclable brown box with clear tape. You heard the impact as it landed on the floor. It had weight to it.

"What's that?" Joker pushed the gear shift into drive and spared you a, don't ask, type of look.

"Okay..." You dropped it.

He jerked the car into motion and you quickly came to the conclusion that Joker was a reckless driver. You briefly considered offering to drive but you didn't know where to go. You rarely traveled outside of Gotham City since you moved there from Blüdhaven, but Joker drove the SUV around like he lived in Martha's Vineyard his entire life.

The bustling city portion of the island quickly turned into lush forests and two lane streets the further he drove. It was only a twenty minute drive but the ride was all scenic and you sat in the passenger seat in awe of the most affluent island in the East Coast. It truly lived up to its grandeur.

The pavement soon gave way to smooth gravel as Joker maneuvered the vehicle onto a private driveway. Nothing but greenery lined the long drive and it felt like the path was carved straight from nature. Just as you thought he turned down the wrong road, a house emerged from the foliage.

"Woah.." The acreage was massive.

Joker purposefully slowed down so you could take in the sight of the two story cottage style home peeking through the tree line. You saw the detached house and itched to explore.

You didn't waste any time and bolted from the SUV the second it rolled into park. The lawn was manicured and stretched into the surrounding forest but your feet carried you up to the front door, not caring about how it was already unlocked, to check the place out.

The main house was jaw dropping. Original wood beams lined the high ceilings and each big window offered up natural light and a taste of the picturesque landscape outside.

The kitchen was beautiful and distinctively vintage with its Robin's egg blue accents and natural wood finishes. Everything was polished and fresh to your senses. Someone obviously cleaned up in preparation for your arrival. By the time Joker caught up, you had already explored the main floor and terrace and kicked off your heels somewhere along the way.

The grass stained the soles of your feet as you took in a deep breath of serenity. This is what you needed. Just a moment away from the city and all of its heavy bog. You were still breathing in the fresh air when a pair of arms wrapped around you from behind.

Joker said nothing as he held you close and you leaned back on this broad chest, sighing. "How long can we stay here?"

A gust of wind blew and tousled your curls again. Joker tightened his grip on you lest you float away.

"Peak season hasn't started yeT. The current population is under thirty thousand ish, sooo we got all the, uhh, privacy in the world. At least for the weekend. Buuuut I can't stay away any longer from my errr, operations, doll."

You giggled at his exaggerated words and played with one of his hands wrapped around your middle. "Why not? You don't trust Frost to run the show for a few days?"

He lowered his voice in your ear. "Ex-act-ly."

You got the feeling that Joker never lowered his guard and had fun— and not his twisted version that involved murder. Did he ever stop and smell the roses? He was way too tense standing behind you; like something was gonna jump out and attack any moment.

"You never relax, do you?" You turned in his arms and cradled his cheek so he could look down at you.

With your heels off, Joker easily towered over you and the height difference made you feel safe. His words from earlier stuck with you.

"I'm your bodyguard." He was doing a fine job at it. Your e/c eyes dropped down to the mask he still wore and slipped it off of him. It was just you and Joker here; no need to hide.

He couldn't help licking his lips, now free to your gaze. "Never." He mumbled. "Except... when I'm with you."

Your creative mind took his confession and spun a narrative. Of course his brand of relaxation was removing his identity at the end of the day.

You doubted he removed his signature makeup before you two met like he does now. He explained he could go weeks at a time, just touching up the paint as needed, to keep up appearances. Now Joker went days without applying and it was definitely liberating.

Although the same man remained, Joker could finally relax and be himself.

He would have never shopped in a grocery store in broad daylight or entered a club of his own accord before he met you. You freed him in more ways than you'd ever know. He could let go and just be a man falling in lo—-

Joker sneered and pushed you away.

It wasn't like you two were having a moment or anything. You wrote it off as another one of Joker's unpredictable mood swings and caught your balance in the grass with no hard feelings. Joker had his back to you but you could hear him mumbling to himself about what to do with you.

Now who's the one distancing themselves? You thought wryly.

You knew he would need some time and turned back around to catch the afternoon sun sitting on the horizon. Everything felt more simple out here and you wished this could be the norm. In a few more days you would have to leave and return to Gotham and deal with book deadlines, the upcoming GothCon, and countless other matters again.

But for now, in this rare moment, you were simply Y/n enjoying a slice of paradise.

"Food. I gotta feed my Bunny. Yeah, food is a good idea." Joker nodded to himself before addressing you. "So whaddya say we grab a bite and uh.. go from there? Hey. Y/n?"

He stumbled down a mental rabbit hole but now you were lost in one of your own.

He kept quiet and studied you instead. Your eyes were closed and the golden sun reflected off of your skin in the best way, but Joker couldn't think so freely. Not after he almost said that word.

His emotions almost got the better of him. You almost made him fall. He couldn't afford to think like that, especially considering the circumstances. Five months. You can't get attached to her. He vowed to himself.

But he already was. Just one look and he couldn't resist your magnetic pull. He said your name and you instantly gave him your undivided attention. He looked at you expectantly.

"Oh! Okay y-yeah let's go then. Don't forget I wanna visit the pier once it gets dark."

Like he could forget the sole reason he flew four hours. The things he did for you. You walked up to him with a faint smile on your lips.

The day wasn't over yet and you were almost back in good spirits. Maybe this trip was exactly what you needed after all.

Dinner with Joker was straight out of a romance novel.

The restaurant was busy even during pre-season and it forced Joker to fall back as you requested a table for two with extra private seating on the balcony.

GCN broadcasted Joker still being at large daily and you didn't know if that coverage made it to the other states or not. Regardless, it made you paranoid to have him out in public but he brushed off your concern with an eye roll. He was in full disguise in a completely different state.

He was more concerned about Two Face hunting you down than Batman catching him. There was a time and place for that concern and it wasn't here at the dinner table with you.

The food was delicious, fresh seafood caught from down the road and the service was beyond excellent (even if you knew Joker somehow bribed them beforehand).

Sometime after the appetizer was ordered, he took off his mask and acknowledged your presence. He would turn his head away anytime a server came to the table but swiftly returned his focus back on you once they left.

Joker lived up to his name and kept you laughing well until the sun began to set. From his point of view, you were absolutely stunning, backlit by the sunset with your natural curls dancing in the sea breeze and that dazzling smile of yours shining brighter than the twinkling lights overhead.

Any negative thoughts that originally poisoned your mood were long gone. You were back to being the awkward, yet joyful Y/n that he knew and lov—

Sigh.

You made it so easy for him to let go! Joker tried so hard to pretend he wasn't out wine and dining the most beautiful woman in the world and making her laugh at his stupid jokes. He tried so hard.

He couldn't fall into this fantasy where things were perfect and normal with you. It would only hurt in the end when he had to leave, but it felt so right to (for once) be a normal guy out enjoying a girl's company.

No madness, no crime; just you and him.

You slid your hand across the table into Joker's. "What happened next? You gotta tell me!" You asked, still laughing.

He almost forgot the end of the story after hearing your bell-like voice tinkling in his ear. What was he saying? "I uh..

"Hold that thought, the check is here." You expressed your gratitude to the waiter who came by with the bill. You were about to open it when Joker snatched it out of your hand.

"J—" You slapped a hand over your mouth for almost saying his name aloud. He arched an eyebrow and kept the check out of your reach. "G-give that back."

He glanced at the bill and reached into his back pocket to grab a wad of money.

You looked on in bewilderment as he rounded to the nearest dollar and shoved the total inside along with a hefty tip. You didn't know he was carrying cash and.. so much at that. Your poor debit card felt useless sitting in your purse now.

"You uhh wanted to see the beach?" He asked out of the blue. A glance at your phone put the time around nine o'clock. "Yeah, but it's still early." You replied.

"What time are ya planning this nightly escapade of yours hmm?"

Good question. You brought a finger to your chin in thought. Joker groaned out loud at your lack of foresight.

"By the time we get there it'll be dark Y/n. We should go back to the house so you can ahh.. change. Can't visit the beach dressed like that."

He wiggled his fingers in your direction and you looked down at your attire in confusion. "Like what?"

"Like a fuc— ahem. Li-ke a doll." He sucked in a breath, "The heels.. the heels can stay."

You scoffed and sat further back in your chair. "Just the heels huh? You got a foot fetish I need to know about?"

He stared at your dainty feet wrapped up like a literal present in your designer shoes. "If it's your feet thennnn, yes."

You laughed outright. His logic was so elementary at times it was ridiculous. "Unbelievable."

Joker caught himself smiling along. He had no shame making another joke at his own expense.

"What can I say? I'm a man of.. distinguished taste. And I loveee sweets." He made a show of licking his lips and eyeing your body.

The innuendo made you flush garnet red. There wasn't a quick comeback queued up in your brain so you dug your own grave saying, "Why don't you order dessert then?"

"Oh I did, Bunny. I'm taking it to-go." He took one last sip of his drink (sighing loudly of course) before standing up and offering you his hand. "Are ya ready to go?"

Smooth. Real smooth.

You chuckled lowkey to yourself but let Joker be a gentleman and help you up. You heard him curse when you bent down to grab your bag that you purposefully dropped on the floor.

Joker wasn't the only one who could be a tease. He was onto your schemes by the time you straightened up with a coy smile. Yeah, you were back to normal.

Riling Joker up was like waiting for a bomb to go off. You knew it would blow, you just didn't know how massive the explosion would be. Or when the timer would hit zero.

He put his mask back on and walked with you to the entrance to retrieve the SUV from the valet. He didn't give them a chance to hold your door open, that was his job thank you very much!

"Your chariot awaits, Princess."

He said it so loud almost everyone outside heard but it was a mere whisper to how loudly Joker smacked your behind.

The motion helped you up into the vehicle with an adorable flush to your complexion. Joker winked at the speechless valet attendant before getting in the car as well.

Provoking Joker was definitely worth the risk. Too bad his bomb was far more destructive than what you anticipated.

Joker teased you the entire ride back to the house. He held your thigh, squeezing way too close to your heat that it ached and he used both hands to turn the wheel right as you whimpered in need. The lingering heat from his hands burned more than anything.

He didn't spare you at stop signs either. He would call your name (and like an idiot) you faced him, only to have his lips faintly brush against yours in a phantom kiss. By the time you tried leaning in to claim your prize, he would abruptly accelerate and laugh at you scrambling in the passenger seat.

You slowly acclimated yourself to his horrid driving skills. At least it wasn't as terrifying like Frost's. Did they learn how to drive together? You shuddered at the thought.

Joker saw you shudder and wondered what you were thinking about but kept quiet as he turned down the house's private driveway.

"You're seriously forcing me to change. Into what? I don't have any clothes because someone didn't tell me I was spending the weekend out of town!" You yelled after he turned the car off.

He raked a hand through his hair, a clear sign of his irritation yet you stood your ground. All of the island's stores and boutiques were closed, leaving you no other choice but to keep what you had on.

He had enough and turned to face you. "When you twist your uhh ankle? I don't wanna hear you complaining' mkay? And I'm not carrying you." He added before you could open your mouth. "I mean it." He growled.

The low baritone sent shivers down your spine. "F-Fine! You wanted me to keep the heels on anyway. It's a win-win situation all around." You tapped the clock on the dashboard. "It's getting late. I want to see the pier now."

You were asking for it now. Joker cracked his neck and turned the SUV back on to drive you to the beach. He'd fix your bratty attitude later. Who wanted to visit a beach at night anyways? And people thought he was crazy. You bounced in your seat as if proving his point further.

When he finally arrived at the Moshup trail parking lot, you could hear the ocean crashing onto the rocky shore louder than ever. You wanted to see it for yourself and moved to open the door when it auto locked. "Joker.."

"Look at me." You heard that voice before. Assertive, serious, and a bit scary if you were being completely honest.

Joker didn't mess around whenever his voice lowered the way it did. You felt his hands tremble as he cupped your face. "I... I reallly don't want you hurtin' yourself okay Bunny?"

You could barely see his green eyes pleading with you with the car lights off. Just like on the plane earlier, Joker was serious and it scared you with how desperate he sounded.

Your safety really mattered to him. You nodded slowly. "Okay. I-I'll be careful."

Ten minutes later...

Joker sighed to himself watching you prance around the beach while holding your long discarded pink heels in his hands. After you tripped on a rock, he ripped them off your feet in anger, going on about you never following his instructions.

Whatever. You were now free to run as you pleased. Not a single person was around due to the late hour but you wouldn't have it any other way.

The moon was the only natural source of light save for the rotating beam atop the lighthouse a few yards away. It stood proudly amidst the cliffs, a true beacon in the night. It was the exact scene you described to Joker back in Atlanta. The rocky cliffs, the pitch black ocean crashing every odd minute or so against it, and the briny taste on the breeze. He stood by as you spun in circles and tossed sand in the air like a freaking kid.

He could get used to this.. to seeing you happy. Joker looked away for a mere second but his eyes immediately found you when he heard your loud peal of laughter. You were dancing in the moonlight to music only you could hear and he was totally transfixed by it. You looked so carefree, so innocent; he wanted a piece of this to remember him by.

He was glad he brought the Polaroid camera he found in the house here. It was the perfect tool for the job. Joker called out your name over the waves. You turned to face him the exact second he took the picture.

You shied away from the delayed flash and jogged over to his side. "Joker, what are you up to now?"

He waited until the photo printed and shook it a bit to help speed up the development process. It was grainy and incredibly dark, but the nearby lighthouse did well to highlight your frame enough.

In short, Joker captured the ultimate moody photo of you.

He could make out your wild curls framing your face and a hint of your eyes staring straight into the camera if the photo were more clearer. But your smile was and that's all that mattered to Joker.

You didn't know what to expect when you nuzzled into his side but a dark dud wasn't it. "Aww it didn't come out that good." You tapped the pic.

"No. No.. it's perfect." He hadn't looked up from it yet.

"Uhh.. don't you think it's way too dark?" You critiqued. That wasn't what Joker saw but he couldn't summarize it better himself. He finally looked at you with a crazed gleam in his eye.

"That.. haha! That's the point, Y/n! The beach is dark but only you stood out. Just you. You're.. you're glowing.. from within. You're. You. Only you.."

Joker's speech was slurred as if he were drunk. He dropped the camera unexpectedly to kiss you. You gasped in shock but knocked Joker's hat off so you could bury your hands into his brownish green locks. You stumbled back in the sand as Joker pushed forward in his fervent pursuit.

Joker's kisses were always electric however you felt every fiber of his being— morphing with yours, here and now. You felt his desperation, his primal need to have you close, in this messy clash of lips and tongue. Moans and short whines escaped you as Joker swallowed them up to claim your lips with his own.

He broke away with a guttural groan. "You're the light in the darkness." He mumbled on your lips. "My light."

You were speechless. Your ears heard his confession loud and clear but your heart was lagging far behind.

Joker sounded so sincere as he held you tight, (almost too tight), while his forehead rested on yours. You never heard him so out of breath before but sure enough he was struggling in more ways than one.

He muttered something under his breath and dropped to his knees right there on the sand. It took you ages to process that action for what it was.

"J-Joker what are you... mmfph!" He shoved your dress up and bathed your midsection with affection.

"I ahh.. I don't think w-we should um d-do this here." Despite the uncertainty in your voice, your hips bucked into his touch even as you glanced around for any prying eyes.

He knew your reservations and chuckled. "It's a private.. beach.. Y/n." He teeth grazed your hip bone before he glanced up at you. "Baby doll.. look at me." You felt his nails dig into your inner thighs begging for attention.

No one was around. You had to trust him. You looked down and all you saw was a kaleidoscope of green staring at you with utter devotion. From Joker's perspective all he saw was a goddess bathed in light, blessing him with everything and nothing.

"You're the light. My.. light. Mine. So beautiful and all mine." He hooked one of your legs over his shoulder and tugged your panties down with his teeth.

He had to be high or something. Maybe his dinner was spiked because there was no other explanation for Joker's sudden behavior. He was acting like a sinner reborn between your legs and kept chanting your name along with variants of 'his Light' in between hot, airy moans.

You had seconds to grab ahold of Joker's shoulders before he sucked your clit like a man starved. It took every ounce of your strength to stay upright as Joker worshiped your body and doused your soul in desire.

As the dark ocean waves crashed against the shore; so did you in like manner.

Flashbacks from the night danced across your mind as steady, lulling arms carried you into the house.

You were in and out of consciousness, between the past and the present, but you could still see a pair of eyes darker than pine hovering above you. The urge to touch, to feel his skin pressed against yours outweighed the fact he was pining your wrist into the sand.

Indescribable pleasure possessed your body and your lover's grip tightened as a result. Over the roaring waves you could hear his broken voice straining in your ear, desperately pleading with you to understand his decree.

"My light, all mine.. You... you complete me.."

You prayed he was telling the truth.

Joker pushed the bedroom door open with his foot, mindful not to jostle you too much and wake you up.

You were out for the count yet you never looked more breathtaking. Cheeks still flush from your orgasm and hair askew, his eyes roamed your features as he gently laid you down on the bed.

Joker could admit that he went overboard this time but something in the air clouded his senses and he couldn't stop once he started. You tasted so sweet and your screams of pleasure were like music to his ears. He took great care not to ruin your dress, (he loved it wayy too much) and used it as a blanket of sorts against the grainy sand. You were too precious to damage, he knew that now.

Something changed between you and Joker on that beach. Something catastrophic.

Joker made sure you were tucked into bed and this time, he remembered to put your bonnet on but found himself tracing your parted lips with his thumb.

He drew back when you moaned his name in your sleep. Your hot breath on his skin stirred up his desire for you again. He chose to creep away to make a phone call and allow you to rest. The original plan was to spend the night here and fly back to Gotham the following morning, but after his.. revelation, he couldn't leave. Not now.

There were things that needed to be addressed here. Joker couldn't leave until you and him talked it out. No more running away. He had to redraw his boundaries and reset his ground rules with you in the equation. And that would take some time.

The phone picked up on the third ring and for once Joker let Frost speak first. "Did something happen?"

"No. You see, there's been a uh... change of plansss. Keep the others from, uhh, killing each other? I'll be back on Monday."

Frost began pitching a fit right as Joker hung the phone and turned it off for good measure.

Frost could hold things down for three days. This would be the perfect exercise to test Frost's leadership skills! Joker considered it a vacation, long overdue.

Once his contact with the outside world was officially cut off, Joker stripped down bare and crawled into bed with his ray of Light.

#ledger joker x reader #ledger joker #black!fem!reader #heath joker #joker x y/n #joker smut #reader insert #yandere #Long Reads #a03 writer #romance #angst #cross posted on AO3 #cross posted on wattpad #his lighthouse

[jgnico]

I think it's because there are these theories about south and north that Nanami was mentioning, so people are speculating that Gojo should head north as someone whose identity isn't only strength or the strongest but as a person that renewed himself. Idk, while i like the idea, I don't think it's plausible because it would be too much luckluster and fanservicey. Not what Gojo's arc was about tbh idk

I'd love to read some of those theories, if you have links to them. The most I've seen have been centered around RCT and the characters that can use it either reviving Gojo (not possible, imo, but Gege could turn me into a clown with any new chapter released) or Gojo healing himself (see prev parenthetical). A meta focused perspective would be a breath of fresh air, if you have some links to pass along.

But I do have my own ideas about the meaning of North-South conversation.

My take away is that, much like Nanami, Gojo would have chosen to go South at the time that Nanami originally asked for Mei Mei's recommendation. Both of them are characters that always looked toward their past as guiding factors in their life, to the point where each of them saw someone that they'd lost shortly before their deaths -- Haibara for Nanami, Geto for Gojo -- but when the deciding moment came later on, as adults, they chose North instead.

Before this moment, Nanami is thinking about Malaysia, quite literally somewhere to the south of Japan, but he quickly moves himself away from that train of thought to focus on the students still in Shibuya. For a period of time, he left the Jujutsu world behind, but he never went south like he truly wanted, because he wanted a reason to go back. And he found that reason in teaching Yuuji.

Gojo, by becoming a teacher, never even attempted to leave the way Nanami did. He stayed north, in Japan and in Jujutsu Society, because he wanted to make a better place for the next generation. Choosing to go South is the selfish option here, which is further highlighted by Mei Mei cutting her losses in Shibuya and going south to Malaysia herself.

Side Note: Gojo coming back would be the South option for him. I think that people see them as teenagers here and think that that represents their old selves, but it doesn't, especially when you view the afterlife as new start, a concept that we already had laid out for us when Jogo died.

Choosing to start anew doesn't have to apply to them directly, which is why Nanami references Haibara pointing toward Yuuji when he talks about it. Starting anew is held with the students, a goal that Gojo's generation is passing along to Yuuji's generation. Gojo's dream has always been the future of the students, and while yes, the motivation behind that dream is rooted in his past, he still chose the future before himself.

Going north, which both Gojo and Nanami inevitably chose to do, isn't about them coming back as new people. It's about them putting trust in new people. It's about change -- a new start -- coming from the hands of the students, something that the story has always been about.

Or, in Nanami's own words to Yuuji, "You've got it from here."

#i find it interesting (and telling) that so many people have taken the nanami portion of this chapter #completely differently than how I belive gege meant it #but i've said that already in a previous meta so i didnt want to repeat it here #nanami portion of the chapter isn't meant to be taken literally #its added emphasis and context to pre established ideas when it comes to gojo as a character and the themes of the story #jujutsu kaisen #jjk spoilers #jjk meta #gojo satoru #nanami kento #answers #anon #nicos meta #meta answers

[snobgoblin]

sobs that's a great request...

CHAOTIC ACE (GORILLAZ) X READER

rated: PG probably I dunno. nothing sexual

plot: see above image

(this was saved as a draft like over a month ago and to continue working in it I had to post it privately (too many drafts to keep taking breaks) so if the times are weird that's why)

Ace was sooo excited like really excited like the kind of excited you get when Gorillaz actually drops lore instead of teasing you with the thought of lore

and you know why?

he got to take his amazing date to go look at a bunch of junk at the gym... if he wanted to do that he could've just stayed home but this junk was DIFFERENT

SO! he picked you up in the car he found at the dump that one time it's NOT stealing if they obviously didn't want it anymore

and you both walk in. and everything's perfect. he's so handsome. you're so [PREFERED TERM OF ENDEARMENT] and you're so excited to be in each other's company

THEN BOOM

there's somebody that DOESNT approve. how homophobic (gender neutral) THE GOT DAMN SECURITY GUARD

"Ace?"

"Yeah"

"Of the Gangreen Gang?"

"Yeah" He had his arm linked with yours, and he pulled you closer, nervous

"No way bub. Last time you guys were here you busted a Mesopotamian vase, an expensive one. AND disturbed a mummy. Not to mention you guys stole that uh, candy cane and made Sedusa all big and stuff. She crushed my candle making business! I haven't recovered. Now I'm doing this!"

"Ah... yeah, kids do that."

The security guard raised an eyebrow

"Well, if it makes ya feel better I got a uh... this is my parole officer. Yeah- the jail thought I could use a little culture so they're showing me around," he lied. he was good at that. sometimes. let's see if this was one of those times. you nodded along to try to help "Yeah, soon as I step outta line uh, yeah"

The security guard shrugged. "I hear that about 10 times a day. And you frankly I don't get payed enough to care. Go ahead, get yourself arrested again. see if I care" he waved a hand

Ace pulled you in tight and quickly went in. he had one hand over his face, he stopped. "Yeah I... guess I shoulda expected that. Sorry about that toots."

You patted his back, reassuring him. "It's ok. You're not like that anymore. Let's just have fun ok? Stop moping" you smiled at him, held his hand, and he smiled back. then you guys went to go look at some paintings. Ace giggled whenever he saw any nudity, and you couldn't help but do the same.

it was fun until-

BOOM. POWERPUFF GIRLS COMING IN THROUGH THE WALL. they destroyed a painting of an orange with hyperrealistic eyes and teeth... for some reason

"STOP RIGHT THERE GANGREEN GANG!" Blossom said

Bubbles blinked "Where are the rest of them?"

"Probably wrecking stuff somewhere else" Buttercup accused

Ace yelped and hid behind you. "I CAN EXPLAIN! WAIT A MINUTE"

People were staring. Waiting for another ppg victory

Buttercup was about to do something, but Blossom held her back "He's got a hostage! Be careful!"

"HOSTAGE?" His voice cracked "KID, THIS IS A DATE. THE GUYS AINT EVEN HERE, HONEST... if threes a crowd, eheh, six must be a parade. Nah, i didnt bring the guys, you gotta believe me"

Blossom looked suspicious, and turned to you. "Is that true?" Ace clung to you.

"Ace is my boyfriend, yeah. We've been dating for a while. I got a ton of pictures on my phone if you don't believe me" You smiled and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze

Bubbles looked down at her feet "Are you SURE... he's kind of..." She didn't finish the sentence, but Buttercup giggled

Blossom just sighed. "I don't know why you would want him, but it's not our job to question it. I've got my eye on you Ace, so don't try anything. GIRLS! Let's go do something more important."

The girls flew out again, this time breaking a painting of a sad clown on their way out

You turned around, as Ace was still hiding behind you, and you cupped his face in your hands. He looked terrified. Before he could even speak, you told him it was ok, and he didn't need to apologize again. And that, if anything, you were probably gonna get arrested today for breaking some assholes nose. He laughed and gave you a hug, and you tried to go back to what you were doing before. He kept apologizing to you, but you told him it was ok. You look at the statues next. Ace didn't like the Medusa statue.

There were a lot of weird looks, a lot of people holding their kids closer to them as you walked by, but there wasn't another outburst, thankfully

You guys had fun despite what happened. But, Ace told you the next date would have to be somewhere without people

#wip #ok i know i said i would use a brain cell for this one but i dojt think i have one im so sorry #fanfics #x reader #ace copular x reader #ace copular #ace gorillaz

[twigg96]

Ok so since you did dethklok, I was thinking, hear me out- rockso, magnus and dick nubbler with a pregnant s/o?

Yesssssssss

@incrediblejuniper I love this so much!!!! All the babies 💕💕💕💕

Rockzo did not believe the news when he first heard it. No. Seriously. He nearly took Toki’s head off in a drug fueled rage when he congratulated him. Some would call it denial. But Rockzo knew it as fear. His partner even suggested a paternity test to ease his fears of it not being his. But that just made him all the more anxious. If it did turn out to be his. Then that meant real commitment and that was just NOT something Rockzo did. He tried his damnedest to try and convince his partner that he didn’t have anything to do with the kid. He tried to convince them it was emasculate conception and they just magically got pregnant after doing so many drugs they were chosen by a higher power to get clean… (that didn’t work especially because they already were clean when they got pregnant). Next he tried to blame them for cheating. Which brought into question the paternity test again so he quickly dropped the subject. However no matter how hard he tried to distance himself from the baby he always loved his partner. He never left their side and even attended a few doctors appointments (much to the other doctors dismay especially when he would scream things like “just give it some C-C-C-COCAINE baby!” Or “Damn baby! He’s going to do have to do WHAT to get the baby out?!”) Rockzo even came with his partner to the hospital when they first went into labor. And even though he wasn’t allowed in the birthing area, mostly due to his clown costume, he screamed his support from the waiting area. Once baby was born Rockzo was the first allowed to see his partner and their baby as per his partner’s request. Rockzo never felt so loved before in his life to be trusted in such a whole way as his partner trusted him. And although he knew the baby wasn’t his (it was) he would raise it as if it were.

Dick could be a real fucking asshole sometimes. When he received the text from his partner that just said “I think I’m pregnant…” he just wrote back. “Omg hope you feel better soon!” With a link to the local abortion clinic. But when his partner tried to call him after that. He blocked them. Dick didn’t do long term commitments. And babies were like 18 years of long term. So that was a hard pass for him. However… his partner was extraordinarily persistent. They followed him to work after knowing all the routes he’d take. They’d wait on the sidewalk to talk to him. Only to have him cross the Highway to get to the other side. They contacted him on every social media platform and through every friend they had begging to just talk to the man. It wasn’t until his partner was rushed to the hospital in month 8 that he spoke to them again. He was their emergency contact and after they had collapsed at the supermarket and placed on bed rest they needed him by their side. Knubbler went straight to work. He surprised his (rightfully so) fuming ex by silently taking charge. He made all the food. Cleaned the house. Made tea just like how they liked it. Snuck them snacks and craving food they had been craving the whole pregnancy. And when finally the silent game broke and they asked how he knew any of this, Dick confessed that he had kept tabs on them. He loved them more deeply than any ocean he could explode his eyeballs in. A month later their baby was born and Dick was proud to call himself a father.

Magnus and his S/O had been trying for a baby. They had been together 12 years and married for 6 before they ever decided that it was a good time for them. They had just moved into a house with 4 bedrooms. One was turned into an office for Magnus at the moment but his partner had a feeling they would have to move it into the study in a few years. Magnus’ S/O surprised him with the news after he had returned home from work one afternoon. They made a snack and brought out some “milk for him to drink.” It was in a baby bottle and around the top was tied a little tag that read “for Daddy”. Magnus had never been so happy. He started to sob, pulling his partner in carefully as if they were made of glass he held them tight and whispered that he would never let go of what was precious to him again. Magnus was the perfect gentleman durning his partner’s pregnancy. He did his best to help out as best he could around the house. He did tons of research on home remedies for morning sickness and pregnancy symptoms to help ease the pain for his love. He massaged their body, and made love to them whenever they needed him to and wanted to know he still loved him even when their body was changing. He rubbed oil on their tummy and kissed sweet nothings into their skin. Magnus went to every single appointment. Never missing one. The doctors said it was a miracle but Magnus simply said it was love. His partner never had a single issue during labor or delivery of their first. The baby was the best behaved baby the nurses had ever seen. The ease of it all was why Mags and his S/O tried for their second so quickly.

#thank you for the ask! #thank you so much for the ask #thank you sooooo much #please follow them #please check them out #metalocalypse #babyklok #dethklok #magnus hammersmith #dr rockso #dick knubbler #these daddies are too much lol

[theneighborhoodwatch]

an update

apologies for any erratic or otherwise concerning behavior on my part that you may have noticed, neighbors! i won't get into the gritty details, but as it turns out, i May have been experiencing a nervous breakdown over these past few weeks. not because of welcome home, mind you. it was a number of things in my personal life, and i've been feeling much better since i've been finally able to address it - but it has made me Reevaluate a few things wrt how i've been going about things here, so i'll be going over those in a quick little numbered list under the cut:

i am no longer running or even in the discord server. one of the moderators, @/doctorcottonghost, offered to take it off my hands, and i accepted. ergo, i will no longer be able to answer any questions about whether or not invites or open.

in a similar vein, i've removed the "community areas" section on my links page. i do not think it was doing me any favors to be Constantly Aware of these large swathes of people. if you came from r/WelcomeHomeNeighbor, however, you are still free to peruse my observation document and send in questions/findings/etc. once my inbox opens back up (and do see if they need more mods over there!)

i do not plan on abandoning the observation document! i will still update it to the best of my ability as each update comes. i love archiving/cataloguing/etc., so it's a source of great joy in my life (and i really need to move the backup links section to its own page, anyway. it's been hard to find time for it since my computer broke.)

more of a reminder than an update, and i'm aware that i have no Actual control over people's actions, but i'll restate this in no uncertain terms for anyone who cares (at the risk of looking like a bit of a kiss-ass): please do keep clown's boundaries in mind - TL;DR: no public nsfw, no merch. both of these are subject to change in the future. that's it. do not exaggerate, do not try to find loopholes, and for the love of god, do not threaten people into following these boundaries or spread misinformation just to make it seem like you have a point. if you see someone continue to ignore these boundaries while they are still up - or even your own personal ones! - after being informed of them, be a goddamn adult, use the goddamn block button, and don't give them any more of your time or attention. (and probably report them, if we're talking about merch.)

i may need more time before i open my inbox back up. i haven't been in quite the right State of Mind for deep speculation, so i want to get through the more lighthearted stuff first before working my way up to those. once i've cleared everything out, i'll probably open my inbox back up - but anon may stay off for some time.

and i think that's everything! now i am going to have a nice big dinner and then i'll come back and Attempt to answer some asks. i've also taken down my more mopey posts from the past 2 days, so i don't clog this blog. have a nice evenin'.

#public notice #i'd tag this with soapboxing but eh. it's only one part of this post

[fathomlessbabbling]

Smile, a Charak RPF fic, Chapter 5.

This is a work of RPF. If you are uncomfortable with this kind of fiction, I encourage you not to read.

A03 link here

The rest of the night went by without issue as Tarak, Ram, and their now good friend Tomas showed them a wonderful restaurant and a nice place to relax with a few drinks. Tarak’s admission to himself in the changing room was enough to ease his mind of the fear he had harbored in his chest over the last few days. The more Tarak pondered about it, this worry that weighed so heavily on him had truly been with him for much longer but only presented itself when RRR wrapped filming, and the Awards tour had finished. Tarak was in a better place mentally to put that aside and enjoy his night with his new friend and his… crush? He was still trying to think of how to identify Ram now that he admitted that the connection he felt was deeper than the ‘best friend’ title could signify.

Tarak raised his glass of bourbon on the rocks in a toast. “Let us cheers our newfound wonderful friend Tomas. Long may he know that haters gonna hate, hate, hate-” As much as Tarak wanted to finish singing the Taylor Swift song with his toast, Tomas’s groan made him let out a deep husky laugh.

“Ugh. Why do you do this to me? That song drives me nuts!” Tomas whined with a smile on his face and his head in his hands.

“Welcome to being friends with Tarak. This is the man who, when we were on stage promoting RRR, reached over and pinched me in the side as I was complimenting him on his professionalism! ” Ram proclaimed with a large grin on his face. He sat with his arm over the back of Tarak’s chair and giggled as Tarak recalled the memory and laughed even harder.

“I remember that! Jakanna just laughed and said it was like working with children!” Tarak continued to snicker to himself.

“I can definitely see why,” Tomas quipped as he joined in the laughter.

As the laughter died down, Tarak actually held his glass up for a toast, “Seriously, though. Thank you, Tomas, for being wonderful, showing us clowns around town, and helping us on a fantastic first day in beautiful Los Angeles.”

Ram clinked his glass of vodka soda against Tarak’s, “I’ll happily drink to that.”

Tomas sheepishly smiled and joined in the toast, “Here’s to two of the most fun people I’ve ever had the pleasure of showing around the neighborhood.”

The three men sipped their drinks in celebration. Ram slowly rose from his seat as they continued their conversation, “I have to go use the facilities. Don’t get too drunk while I’m gone.”

Tarak held up his glass that was once filled with bourbon but now barely had any left, “I don’t know if I can keep that promise, baby.”

Tomas almost spat his drink out. “What did you just say?”

Tarak felt a wide grin spread across his face, and his cheeks flush, “Baby. I call him baby.” He then immediately started to laugh at how that must sound.

Ram tried his best to hold his giggles back as he spoke. “And I call him baby back. Baby one and baby two.”

Once again, the three laughed before Ram finally started moving towards the bathroom, leaving Tarak and Tomas alone at the table. As the laughter died down a little, Tomas looked to Tarak with an appraising look.

“How are you doing? Since our talk earlier, that is?” Tomas asked with genuine care in his tone of voice.

Tarak took a moment to think, but his smile didn’t fade as he nodded. “I’m doing much better, I think. It is strange to admit to yourself that you may love outside the norms you were taught as a child. It may take time to grasp it fully, but I am happy,” Tarak smiled wider, “I am happy to have been able to understand something about myself that I thought was a defect or something similar. In truth, I am just glad to have this connection to Charan.”

Tomas’ eyes squinted as he smiled, raising his glass to Tarak. “To understanding ourselves.”

Tarak nodded, clinked his glass against Tomas’, and sipped the bourbon, enjoying the heat after he swallowed. “We should probably cut ourselves off. We have to be up early for that lunch tomorrow.”

Tomas nodded, “Not a bad plan. I’ll take care of the bill,”

Before Tomas could protest, Tarak waved down the server who had brought them their drinks and presented his card for payment. “Thank you so much for everything. I will close out all three of our tabs.”

Tomas’ face went from shock to a faux grumpy face that made Tarak laugh.

“Rude.” Tarak laughed as that was the only word to come out of Tomas.

The black SUV pulled up to the hotel doors, and Tomas looked into the backseat at Ram and Tarak, both having the sway of someone with a nice alcohol buzz. Before speaking, he inwardly thanked himself for only having one drink because this sight was entertaining.

“Alright, gentleman. We have reached our destination. I will be back tomorrow morning at eleven to pick you guys up so you can meet with Kevin. Go get some good sleep!”

Tarak leaned forward and squeezed Tomas’ shoulder, “Thank you for a wonderful day, Tomas. Go home to your Mateo! Tell him Tarak says hello!” He then climbed out of the SUV as Ram also said his goodbyes.

As the two of them watched the SUV pull away, they both waved with a twinkle in their eyes as the drinks they had earlier hit a little harder than they had planned. The two men turned and looked at each other and couldn’t help but stand and giggle for a moment before making their way inside the gaudy lobby of their hotel towards the elevators. As they walked, Tarak reached over and pinched Ram in the side just as they passed by some other hotel guests, which made his friend jump and contort at the tickling touch right in front of them.

“I’m so sorry. My friend is a child,” Ram said in a low voice as he glared at Tarak with a smile on his face, the hotel guests giving Ram a look before stepping away.

Tarak walked a little faster to the open elevator, hoping to avoid Ram’s revenge. This escape plan was futile as once he stepped inside, Ram entered right behind him. Tarak instinctually covered the sides of his ribs to protect himself from pinches while giggling like a schoolboy. Ram hit the button for their floor and glared at his friend.

“It was too tempting! You would have done the same!” Tarak said in a higher pitch, waiting for Ram to strike as the doors to the elevator closed.

Ram smiled and laughed at the truth that Tarak spoke. “You are right. If I could, I would pinch you while you meet with Steven Spielberg.”

Tarak’s expression turned to one of overdramatic shock, “Betrayer!” he spoke before giggling some more.

The two of them continued to snicker at their almost drunken buffoonery as the elevator arrived on their floor. As they walked, Tarak slung an arm over Ram’s shoulders and felt his friend put an arm around his waist as they approached their room. Tarak fiddled with the keycard to unlock the door as Ram found his time to strike. Just as Tarak opened the door, he felt the pinch he had hoped would have been forgotten in the elevator ride and immediately shifted his body to avoid the tickle while laughing and stepping inside. He whirled around with a smile on his face as he held his hands in a defensive posture while Ram stalked towards him almost like a hunter, a goofy expression on his face.

The door behind them closed, and Ram leaped at Tarak to continue tormenting his sensitive ribs, but Tarak’s strength was too much for him as his wrists were caught and held in place. The two men giggled as they play wrestled with each other, Tarak’s strength and history of winning these fights proving an advantage as after a few moments, he managed to pin Ram down to one of the beds, luckily Ram’s, with his arms above his head. Tarak straddled his friend's waist, still giggling as he secured his win. “Do you give up?” he asked with a husky, out-of-breath voice.

Ram struggled under his grip, but eventually, the wiggling subsided. Ram looked up at Tarak with an expression of defeat. “Alright. You win,” he murmured dejectedly.

Tarak eased his grip on Ram’s wrists, allowing them to move freely. Ram placed them on each of Tarak’s quads. Something about that touch slowly caused the smile on Tarak’s face to change. He was still seated on his friend, both arms on each side of Ram’s head for support. It took a moment to realize that neither of them had moved or spoken for a long while. They remained in that position, simply looking into each other’s eyes.

This moment seemed to stretch time and space for Tarak. A million different thoughts flew through his mind, all about how beautiful Ram really was and how he didn’t want to admit it in the past. There was nothing outside of himself and Ram in this position that mattered. Tarak wanted nothing more than to lean down and kiss Ram, but he realized he hadn’t breathed in a while and felt himself inhale shakily.

“Are… you alright?” Ram asked quietly, his eyes not leaving Tarak’s as his expression also changed. Something about his eyes made his gaze deepen.

“Y-Yeah. Yes. I’m alright.” Tarak answered, his throat feeling dry. He blinked and shook off the thoughts in his head, not wanting to possibly ruin what he cared so deeply for. Tarak lifted himself off Ram and sat on the edge of his own bed a mere foot away. “Sorry for lingering. The bourbon had me a little dizzy.”

Ram let out a small groan as Tarak’s weight was removed, and he could sit up. Tarak noticed a little grin on his friend’s face as he found a more comfortable sitting position. Tarak caught Ram’s gaze and instinctively looked away, feeling a blush start to form on his cheeks.

“You and your bourbon are a perfect recipe for chaos,” Ram snickered.

Tarak found his smile and laughed in response, “What can I say? It’s my poison of choice. Unless you were making coffee,”

Both men giggled momentarily, and a comfortable silence fell between them. Tarak found his gaze magnetized to the warmness of Ram’s eyes. After allowing the moment to remain, Tarak eventually rose from his seat on his bed. “We should probably get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.” Tarak spoke in a low, shuddered voice.

Ram nodded, looking like there was something he wanted to say before choosing to leave it unsaid. The two men took turns stepping into the bathroom to change into proper pajamas instead of just underwear. As they did, Tarak felt something hanging in the air between them, a strange energy that made his heart flutter even more when he caught Ram glancing in his direction as he prepared his bed for a good night’s sleep.

Both men climbed into their beds, and Tarak turned off the lamp that was on the wall. As darkness filled the room and both men got comfortable, Tarak’s eyes hovered over the dark shape of his best friend in the other bed. He strained his eyes as he tried to determine what position Ram was sleeping in, then lightly shook the curiosity off. Don’t be creepy, Tarak. He thought to himself. As a few moments of trying to find sleep passed, he eventually turned back to look in Ram’s direction, his eyes adjusting enough to see his head poking out from under the covers. In a moment of something between weakness and boldness, Tarak called out quietly from his bed.

“Are you still awake?” Tarak whispered,

There was slight movement before he heard a whisper back, “Yes. What is it?”

Once again, Tarak found himself in a predicament where he only wanted to confess his feelings, climb out of bed, and lie next to Ram. He was so tempted, finding that the voice of reason in his brain was apparently having trouble reporting in until the last moment as Tarak replied.

“I think… You are going to do wonderfully tomorrow. Kevin is going to love you,” Tarak clutched his eyes shut in defeat.

Tarak then heard some movement from Ram’s side of the room before his voice broke through,

“I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without you here, Tarak.” Ram’s velvety voice spoke out from the mass of blankets that was a bed.

Tarak took a moment and absorbed each word, smiling deeply and closing his eyes to the feeling. He would do anything for the man in the other bed to be happy and successful. Tarak knew he wanted to say more, to reveal what was in his heart, but he was thankful for the words that reached his ears.

“Good night, baby one,” he heard Ram say in a sleepy voice, making the sweet feeling in his chest more palpable.

“Good night, baby two.”

***

Both men had awoken extra early to make sure they would be ready in time for Tomas to pick them up. Ram managed to awaken at eight and immediately jumped in the shower to ready himself. Tarak noted that Ram took a little longer as he assumed some meticulous beard grooming was happening. Eventually, Ram did step out of the shower wearing the bathrobe from the day before, now freshly cleaned. Before he could let himself be distracted again by the beautiful man, Tarak retreated into the bathroom to diligently clean himself and prepare. He quickly disrobed and jumped into the shower, deciding it would be best for a cold shower this morning to help him fully awaken. The coldness of the water thankfully further prevented any thoughts of Ram. After feeling clean enough, he stepped out and continued his morning routine.

Unlike his friend, however, Tarak had little patience for making sure his beard was as immaculate. His face was mere inches from the mirror's glass, and he moved his head in every possible direction to ensure his beard was even and not crooked. As he moved, Tarak released more than one grumpy curse in Telugu. After several minutes of making the tiniest adjustments to his beard, Tarak heard Ram’s voice on the other side of the door.

“I can hear you from out here. Do you need help?”

Tarak growled, “No. I can do this myself. We should have gone to a barber yesterday,”

He heard a muffled chuckle and instinctively glared at the dark wood of the door, “Come on, Tarak. I can assist you. I don’t want you to take all day.”

Tarak grumbled as he reached for the door handle, then looked down and realized he was still completely naked from the shower. He quickly grabbed the bathrobe and secured it before finally opening the door.

Of course, he already looks positively radiant. Tarak grumpily thought to himself. All he has to do is wake up, comb his hair a little, and he is ready to meet the bloody Queen of England. Ram stood in the doorway wearing the outfit he had bought from the shop the day before. Even though Tarak chose to suffer through a cold shower, there was a feeling of heat in the pit of his stomach as he took in the sight of his beautiful Ram.

Ram paused momentarily, moving Tarak’s head in a few directions while examining his beard. After an appraising look on his face, Ram stepped into the bathroom and took the razor. Methodically, he lifted Tarak’s head and gently touched up the lower part of his friend’s beard. With each touch, Tarak’s nerves threatened to jolt in excitement; the hands of Ram softly dragging across his neck almost drove him mad. All he could think was what the feeling of Ram’s lips on his neck would feel like if his hands were this soft. As he stood with his head craned to look at the ceiling, he slowly clutched his eyes shut in an attempt to will his lower extremities to behave. Finally, Ram lowered Tarak’s face and inspected the beard lines on his cheeks. Tarak had experienced this closeness with Ram before while shooting a particular scene in RRR where the character of Bheem was being groomed to attend the party at Jenny’s invitation. However, instead of a look of naive curiosity on Tarak’s face, it was a look of restraint as Ram’s hands caressed his cheek.

Finding it far too difficult to continue this torture, Tarak eventually spoke up. “I really only needed help with my neck. Thank you for all of your assistance, baby.” His voice was breathy, and he mentally kicked himself for sounding like a child.

“Are you sure? There is one spot I can fix-” Ram tried to continue,

“Oh! I can see it. I’ll take care of it.” Tarak quickly asserted that he could handle the rest.

Ram shrugged with a smile and stepped out of the bathroom, checking his watch. “We have about an hour before Tomas gets here. If you are ready by then, take all the time you need.”

Tarak felt himself melt a little at that smile once again, nodding as he closed the door to the bathroom. He glanced down at the tent in his bathrobe that would have slowly parted if Ram had not left when he did. After Ram’s touching, his thoughts were of wrapping him up in a tight bear hug and pinning him to the door. Tarak groaned quietly as he willed his arousal to calm, doing his best to push such thoughts from his mind. Instead, Tarak focused on the small part of his beard that Ram had pointed out, trying to mimic Ram’s attention to detail as he evened it out. Confident that his beard was well groomed, Tarak stepped out of the bathroom to finish preparing for lunch.

***

The two men were at the main entrance ten minutes before the scheduled meeting time, and, to their pleasant surprise, Tomas was already there waiting for them. The three hopped into the familiar large SUV and felt the excitement build as the vehicle pulled away from the hotel doors and onto the street. Some small talk was exchanged, but Tomas could tell that his two backseat guests were nervous. As the SUV pulled up in front of a beautiful modern restaurant with ‘Cecconi’s’ labeled above the large open double doors. The two men in the backseat stared out the window at the building as if they were staring at the gates to Mount Olympus.

With the car parked, Tomas turned around in his seat to lock eyes with the two men, a comforting expression on his face.

“You are going to do fine. Just breathe and be yourselves. Kevin is a very nice guy. Plus, this is just a casual lunch. The business talk will probably be in a couple days,” Tomas spoke gently, realizing that maybe fifty percent of what he said was heard by the two men, making him chuckle.

Tarak turned to Ram with an excited expression. “You ready, Charan?”

Ram took a moment to take in a deep breath, nodding in reply to his friend.

Before they stepped out of the car, Tarak placed a soft hand on Ram’s thigh and lightly squeezed. “You were born for this, baby.” He spoke sweetly and smiled when Ram’s nerves visibly relaxed. Tomas smiled and looked at Tarak’s eyes, noting that particular sight.

The two men stepped out of the black SUV and approached the door, seeing a hostess standing behind a small beautiful wooden desk. She looked up and smiled at the two men, “Welcome to Cecconi’s! Kevin just arrived a moment ago. Let me lead you to your table.” she spoke sweetly and very professionally, which made Tarak smile and nod. Ram looked like he felt more than a little stiff.

They were led through the interior of the restaurant and past several tables. As they walked, Ram whispered to Tarak and gestured to a table on the other side of the room, “I think that is Jake Gyllenhaal.” Ram’s perception made Tarak giggle as he glanced in that direction, inwardly confirming that it was, in fact, Jake Gyllenhaal. I wonder how many other celebrities come here for lunch. Tarak thought to himself as they walked.

The hostess led them to the patio, where they saw the man they had come to meet sitting at one of the tables. Unlike some of the other guests, Kevin was wearing a simple blue polo and a baseball cap with jeans. Kevin glanced up as the hostess approached with Tarak and Ram and rose with his hand out,

“Wonderful to see you both! You guys made it!” Kevin said with a smile.

Ram and Tarak both shook Kevin’s hand, Ram speaking up first.

“It's wonderful to meet you, sir. This place looks wonderful! The food smells great,” Ram smiled that charming smile, but there was a minor shake to his voice,

“Thank you so much for inviting us,” Tarak said with a bright smile as the three men sat at the table.

“Of course! This is one of my favorite spots to get lunch. Their green eggs are my favorite,” Kevin said with a smile.

The polite conversation followed with all three men enjoying their lunch. Tarak noticed that Ram still seemed a little nervous as time passed. Knowing he needed to do something to ease his friend’s mind, Tarak slowly moved his foot under the table to lightly press against Ram’s. Since he couldn’t hold his hand, he would try and communicate the same calming feeling with his foot. As he smiled at Kevin’s current story of his time in LA and his favorite spots, he stole a quick moment to glance at Ram and give a comforting smile. As he did, he saw Ram’s eyes lock with his, and a smile spread across his face as he tuned back into what Kevin was saying. A moment later, Tarak felt Ram’s foot push against his own, almost an unspoken gesture of thanks.

Kevin eventually shifted the conversation away from the small talk as he used his napkin to clean off excess crumbs from his face from his toast. “So, I know that we are going to meet in a couple more days to discuss particulars, but I wanted to let you know the role we had in mind for you,” Kevin said, looking at Ram.

Ram leaned in slightly, his expression shifting to business mode, “Absolutely. I’d love to know more.”

Kevin smirked and continued, “We are going to be working towards a relaunch of the X-Men to fit into the greater MCU, and we are looking to fill out our cast. We want to include a particular character from the comics named Indra. He is one of the students at the academy. This would start as a minor role that would eventually grow with future films.”

Ram smiled and nodded respectfully, allowing Kevin to explain further. Tarak couldn’t help but take in the sight of Ram speaking with Kevin, a mammoth producer in Hollywood. It warmed Tarak’s chest to witness the moment that Ram’s career would change and grow. He looked on almost like a proud parent or spouse.

Kevin glanced at his watch and let out a sigh, “Ugh. I’m so sorry. I’m going to have to cut this a little short. One of our trailers got leaked, so we must officially prepare to show it at the upcoming comic convention next month.”

Ram nodded, “Oh, I completely understand! A producer’s job is never done, right?” Ram joked,

“Haha! You aren’t kidding for sure.” Kevin stood again, offering his hand to the two men, “It was wonderful meeting the two of you. I promise we will have more time to discuss everything in a few days.”

Ram eagerly shook Kevin’s hand, “The pleasure was all ours, Kevin. Thank you so much,”

Tarak also shook Kevin’s hand with a grin on his face. He then signaled one of the servers as they passed by the table. “I am going to take care of the check for the three of us.”

Kevin’s eyes widened as he smiled, “Oh, you didn’t have to do that!”

Tarak shook his head with a smile, “It is my treat. You showed us yet another wonderful place to visit for some delicious food. It’s the least I could do.”

Mr. Feige smiled and had an appraising look for a moment, “Well, thank you, Tarak. I gotta run. I will let Tomas know when we have a meeting set in stone,” Kevin said as he stepped away from the table and waved to the two men.

Once he was out of sight, Ram sat back down at the table and sighed as though he had an unbearable weight on his shoulders.

Tarak sat back down as well, looking to Ram with a worried expression, “What’s wrong? You did great!” he said in a comforting voice.

“I was so nervous the entire lunch. I don’t know if I was participating in the conversation as I should have been. I couldn’t tell you what we discussed before he started talking about the role.” Ram finally uttered. He held his head with one of his hands and stared at the white tablecloth.

Tarak sighed with a smile and reached over to lightly take Ram’s chin in his hand, turning it so he could look directly into Ram’s worried eyes. “I promise. You did wonderfully. He even specifically brought up the role he is considering you for. He wouldn’t have done that if he wasn’t serious about his consideration for you,”

A moment passed where Ram’s eyes still held onto some of the worries, but Tarak was pleased to see a light smile play across his face. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Tarak.” his voice was low and sweet, making Tarak’s eyes squint.

I don’t know that there are words to explain how beautiful you are. I don’t know if there are enough stars in the sky to match how many ways you make me happy. There is no need to dream as long as I am with you. So many possible responses to Ram’s confession entered Tarak’s mind. He wanted to admit them all. To sit and say each one until night fell. There wouldn’t be one wasted moment.

Instead, Tarak chose to lightly cup Ram’s cheek and smile a little wider, almost hoping that this small gesture would satisfy his desire to pour everything in his heart out for Ram to see. After letting his hand linger and feeling the need to pull it back for fear of onlookers, his breath hitched as Ram placed his hand on top of Tarak’s. That little act made Tarak’s mind race. They had done this a million times before; it was their normal behavior. But after the last few days, it made Tarak’s heart dance in his chest.

In this moment, as Tarak took in the sight and feeling of Ram’s cheek in his hand, a terrible and dangerous thought entered his mind. What if? When this question came to the forefront of his thoughts, Tarak felt heat spread throughout his body, his nerves slowly numbing. What if Ram felt the same way toward me? Tarak repeated in his mind as he tried his best to memorize the feeling of the pristine beard of his best friend in his hands, the texture of his soft skin, and the eyes of Ram staring right back at him with that sweet smile.

Tarak felt his expression shift, his smile changing as it did the night before, and his breath shuddering for just a moment. Everything in his body wanted to pursue this hypothetical scenario to whatever conclusion there would be. Just as Tarak’s mouth opened slowly to take that step and ask the question that could ruin everything, he and Ram felt their phones vibrate in their pockets. Tarak slowly retrieved his hand as his wits returned to check his phone to see Tomas's message to him and Ram.

T: Where are you guys? Kevin left a couple minutes ago.

Tarak smiled as his mind began working correctly once again. He quickly typed that they were leaving before looking up at Ram.

“You ready to celebrate the start of the next chapter of your career?” Tarak asked with an excited tone,

Ram nodded, and the both of them rose from their seats and walked towards the exit. As they walked, Tarak inwardly thanked the heavens for not allowing him to be foolish enough to take such a risk with his beloved friendship with Ram. Yet even as he was thankful, much of his heart hurt with yearning. With each step, his limbs regained feeling, and he felt himself settle back into reality as they approached the familiar vehicle their guide sat in.

The two men climbed inside, and Tomas looked back excitedly. “Well? How did it go??”

Tarak spoke before Ram could underplay his performance, “It went wonderfully. Kevin divulged a little insider information on what Ram was being considered for.”

Ram waved off Tarak’s compliments. “I worry that I was a little overly nervous, but I do also think it went pretty well.”

Tomas smiled brightly, “Fantastic news! I’m always glad to hear it!”

Tarak smiled. “I think we should celebrate. What do you recommend, Tomas? It’s the middle of the day, and the weather is beautiful.”

Tomas smirked a devilish smile, clearly already having something in mind. “What would you guys say to a beach day? Mateo has been bugging me about catching some sun and unplugging for a while. I don’t have any other appointments or talent to cart around town anyway,” He said in a playful tone.

Ram’s eyes lit up, “I love the beach!”

Tarak laughed, “Mateo has the right attitude! In fact, bring him along! I want to meet this Mateo!”

Tomas’ eyebrows shot up, “Really?”

Ram shrugged, “Why not? The more, the merrier.”

Tomas laughed and shook his head, “You two are definitely the nicest talent I have taken care of since I started this job,” Tomas said as the vehicle pulled onto the street.

***

The SUV stopped by the hotel, so Tarak and Ram could change into proper beach clothing, finding their swimsuits and a tank top to wear with their sandals. They also brought a small bag with a couple of water bottles, sunglasses, and some sunscreen, just in case. They then quickly stopped by Tomas’ apartment and watched as Tomas stepped out wearing his own beach clothes with his Mateo. Mateo was a taller man with a thicker build and had long hair kept in a bun. He walked alongside Tomas while holding his hand. Before he stepped into the car, Mateo pulled Tomas into a fleeting yet passionate kiss. Tomas then opened the trunk to place a small cooler and a couple of beach blankets inside.

As Mateo settled in the passenger seat, he gave a slightly nervous wave to the two men in the backseat. “Hey there! I’m the husband!”

Tarak chuckled at the greeting, “Hello, the husband! I am the Tarak, and this is the Ram!”

Ram rolled his eyes at Tarak’s joke and smiled, “Wonderful to meet you, Mateo. Tomas has said so much about you.”

Tomas smiled as he closed his door, turning the car on. “Don’t worry, I only told them terrible things about you.”

Mateo made a face, “You would,” he said in a tone that made all the men laugh.

It didn’t take long before the SUV was parked at a small parking lot next to the beach. Tomas opened the trunk to retrieve their supplies. The four men walked along the beach and laughed as they continued their small talk, finding a suitable spot to set up their blankets under one of the large umbrellas and a couple of beach chairs available.

Ram had put on his sunglasses and handed Tarak his pair, “So, how did you two meet?”

Mateo smiled at Tomas and explained, “We met at a coffee shop. He sort of cut me in line for coffee and-”

“Hey now! You cut me in line. If you’re going to tell the story, tell it right.” Tomas grumbled, smiling to himself.

Mateo laughed, “We cut each other in line and managed to make small talk. We pretty much hit it off right away. After a few days of idle chat, I asked him for dinner. Little did I know how picky he was.” Mateo glanced in Tomas’ direction once again, expecting a snarky response.

“I took Matt Damon to that restaurant, and he got food poisoning from it! I was wary! So sue me!”

Tarak laughed at the two and how adorable they were but found all attention diminished from them as Ram removed his tank top, and the beautiful, sculpted muscles of his chest and back were in plain view for all to see. He looks like he should be on the cover of a magazine. Or a romance novel. Tarak thought to himself, stunned in place by the sight.

“Hey, Tarak! How about a bottle of water? It’s extra hot out, I wouldn’t want you to be thirsty,” Tomas said rather loudly to break Tarak out of his trance, tossing him a cold bottle of water from their cooler. Ram retrieved one of their own water bottles from their bag.

Tarak thankfully smirked, shaking his head from the spell Ram’s beautiful body had him under. He took a drink and also removed his own shirt, stretching a bit as his own chest and back were exposed. His muscles still ached from the other day's workout, but not as painfully. He quickly sprayed the sunscreen over his furry chest and arms to be on the safe side. Then, he turned away from Ram to set up one of the blankets on the sand.

As Tarak fought against the wind to have the blanket settle without being blown away, he heard Ram speak behind him,

“I’m going to go and get into the water for a bit.”

Tarak noted a strange inflection in his voice and turned to see Ram already on his way to the water’s edge. He then heard Mateo and Tomas snickering and glanced in their direction, his eyes narrowing.

“And what’s so entertaining?” Tarak inquired, his eyes still narrowed in a faux grumpy face.

Tomas took an extra moment to respond as he shook his head. “You two are hilarious and cute. That’s all,”

Mateo nodded, “It’s true. I’ve known you two for twenty minutes, and I think you guys are adorable together.”

Tarak felt his cheeks flush, “Together- Oh no. No, we’re not…” Tarak slowly silenced himself as Mateo’s expression didn’t change. His eyes then looked to Tomas irritated, “You told him, didn’t you?”

Tomas opened his mouth to explain, but no words came, and he hung his head. “I’m sorry, Tarak. I only told him so I could get another perspective involved to help you if needed. Please forgive me.”

Mateo sat up a little from his blanket, “It was my fault. I asked how the day went yesterday, and I kinda poked and prodded for a full rundown of the situation. My lips are sealed. I promise.”

Tarak wanted to be upset but nodded. He could tell that the two of them meant well and genuinely cared. As he finally laid back on his blanket, he felt the dam of thoughts of the last several hours about to burst.

“I need to figure out how to control myself. It’s like I’m an animal starving for food around him. Whenever he shows a bit of platonic sweetness toward me, I want to pounce. Its happened multiple times since we arrived here. We have only been here for a couple of days! How am I going to be able to get through this without ruining everything?” Tarak grumbled. Both Mateo and Tomas nodded in understanding but shared a look between the two of them. Tarak caught this exchange, and again he felt his eyes narrow. “What now?” he asked in a grumpy voice.

Mateo looked at Tomas and took a long drink from his water bottle.

Tomas sighed before he looked at Tarak with a genuine smile on his face, “Okay. Tell me more about these interactions.”

Tarak spent the next few minutes divulging, with some explicit details about his physical reactions missing, the several encounters he had with Ram that had his mind spiraling. With each one, the eyebrows of both Mateo and Tomas rose higher and higher.

“You were on top of him, and he gave no intention of pushing you off?” Mateo asked with a slightly incredulous tone to his voice.

“No. We just stared at each other for a few moments.” Tarak replied.

“Wait, let's go back to yesterday morning. He saw you in your boxers, and you said his behavior changed a little. Changed how?” Tomas asked.

Tarak’s head wobbled as he tried to think of how to explain. “He looked like he was flustered. He blushed a little and looked away.”

Mateo and Tomas shared a look and were about to continue speaking when they saw Ram approaching and opened their cooler to present a bottle of margarita mix and tequila, quickly changing the subject.

Ram wandered back with clear signs he did more than just dip his feet in the water as droplets were running down most of his body, his swimsuit clinging a little to his form. Tarak quickly distracted himself by accepting one of the margaritas and taking a big gulp, choosing to instead stare out at the horizon. The drink's coolness combated the sun's heat rather well, as Tarak felt a chill run down his back.

“How’s the water?” Tomas asked,

“Surprisingly warm. It was nice to step into the waves.” Ram said, a strange smirk on his face as he lay on one of the available blankets.

Tarak saw Tomas nudge Mateo a bit with his elbow. A moment later, Mateo started conversing with Ram about his workout habits, mentioning that he really liked lifting weights. As Ram was distracted by Mateo’s mention of healthy habits, Tarak felt his phone vibrate. It was a text from Tomas.

T: Do not react to this message. Why haven’t you pounced, exactly?

Tarak put on his best poker face and feverishly typed a reply.

NTR: What do you mean? These interactions are no different than before I started having these thoughts.

Tomas’ response came quickly.

T: That’s my point, Tarak. What if these moments happened before this because Ram has been feeling the same way about you that you do for him? What if he is waiting for you to say something?

Tarak felt his heartbeat quicken, unsure what to send back.

T: Mateo and I saw him check you out when you took your shirt off, almost exactly how you checked him out a second beforehand.

Tarak had to read that message several times before it sunk in. Before he could respond, Tomas sent one final message.

T: Just think about it. Maybe by talking about it with him, things may work out differently than you think. Now relax and enjoy a couple of drinks.

Tarak slowly put his phone away, suddenly hyper-aware of his position in relation to Ram on the beach. His eyes looked over in Tomas’ direction. Tomas took a long drink from his margarita while looking directly back at Tarak, signaling to do the same. Tarak savored another taste of the cold drink as his mind whirled in his head. That question he had at the restaurant returned with a vengeance in his mind.

What if?

After much internal debate, Tarak came to a decision. His heart began beating a mile a minute, but he was resolved on the next action to take.

Tonight. I will talk to him tonight.

@vijayasena @kaagazkefool @stars-in-the-distance

#rrr fandom #ntr jr #charak #ram charan #rpf fic

[the-witch-of-one-piece]

Hi happy halloween! If I could place a request for Ace x Fem! reader with clowns? please thanx! :0)

Hey anon love! Of course, I could do this for you! Awww this one was really sweet to do 🥺 Ace is such a sweet boy I swear! I hope you enjoy anon babe! Tw: Clowns

WC:556

Ace x Fem Reader: Clowns SFW

“Tell me why you don’t want to go this way again?” Ace looked over at you.

 “It will take us longer to get back to the ship going that way..Come on we can go this way.”  you gave a weary smile. He tilted his head, raising your brow at you. He was thinking you were fine just a few mins ago and now you seem to be avoiding going in the direction you both came from.  Your eyes were avoiding the direction for one specific reason, something that you couldn’t come face to face with since you were a kid. From the painted smiles on their face to the overly large shoes they wore. You never spoke about this to anyone because you were embarrassed to say you were scared of clowns.

“That way leads towards the other side of the beach _____, come on.” Ace grabbed your hand giving it a squeeze, his freckle face smile looking at you.

You really couldn't say no when he was smiling like that at you. “O-okay.” as you both begin to walk towards the way of the group clowns, your other hands reach for his forearms holding onto it. Looking at your feet trying not to look at them, the closer you got to them the bit more tighter your grip came which caught Aces attention. Before he could speak he saw a happy go lucky clown smiling walking towards a close approach.

“Hello there!”  the clown giggled with a goofy laughter “would you care for a balloon?!” You began to freak out a bit hearing the clown twisting the balloon as he began to make it into the shape of the animal. Your heart began to race rapidly the moment the next thing you knew it you buried yourself into Ace’s chest, your arms wrapping around  him tightly. It began to click. The strange behavior from earlier and wanting to go around.  It didn’t take long after that for the clown to finish the balloon animal  in the shape of a giraffe.

Ace thanked them “______, come on let's get going so we can get you out of here.” he softly whispered to you. Your arms linked onto his arm once more. When leaving the area you began to feel better and more relaxed.

“I’m sorry about that back there I don’t know why I-.” your voice trailed off when Ace looked at you.

“You know you could have told me you were scared of clowns.” Ace smirked in his other hands and held the balloon he brought it towards you. 

Accepting the balloon from Ace you “ I was embarrassed of being a grown adult and scared of clowns.” you are scratching the back of your head.

“There is nothing wrong with that. I think a lot of people are scared of clowns too, not just you.” he tousled your hair.  “But I promised babe I will protect you from any clown.” his smile softened as he spoke “you could bury yourself in my chest anytime something fears you.” he was trying to make you laugh

Letting out a chuckle “Thank you, Ace.”  you leaned in and kissed his cheek causing your freckle face boyfriend to turn red. “I promised to protect you as well.”

‘Why the hell is she so cute.’  he thought to himself.

#one piece ace #fire fist ace #portgas d ace #ace #ace x reader #one piece #the witch of one piece #one piece scenario #one piece x reader #one piece x reader insert #portgas ace x reader #portgas d. ace #Fluffy October event

[allie-campbell-bradshaw]

Chapter 3: Oath

A/N: Welcome to the third chapter of Top Gun: Baby, a love story following Bradley Bradshaw and Allie Campbell. This story is sequential, so if you have not already read the first few chapters, please go back and do so! All links to chapters and their mood boards can be found on my masterlist. I am dozens of chapters into this story and I absolutely HATE going in and editing these. I promise my skills in writing improve as we move forward. Like any story, the first few chapters are used to build background. Once Allie comes into the story, it gets WAY better. I had so much anxiety editing this chapter you have no idea! I mention this in my notes for every chapter, but just in case you missed it– I do not give permission for my work to be re-posted without credibility. If you do want to post this story to your page, please be sure that you tag my account or at least mention its original source in your post. Again, thank you for being here and I hope you enjoy :)

Warnings: Swearing, Angst against a loved one

Chapter Three: Oath

BRADLEY’S POV

I was already finished getting changed into my white works, holding onto my copy of Reef Points as others were still messing with their white fabrics and dixie cup hats. This is the official “handbook” if you will that all Naval Academy students have to have memorized by the end of Plebe Summer. All it is are facts and details about the USNA and Naval missions, histories, and traditions. Like a textbook that you use for a college course.

Lucky for me, I was able to get my hands on one earlier this year thanks to Hollywood, another naval man that flew with my dad. He contacted me after I received my acceptance letter and promised that if I ever needed anything, he would help. That was code for “If you want me to put in a good word, I’ll do it”. I am a man of my own integrity and have every intention of creating my own repudiation. What the fuck am I saying? There’s no way anyone generational can create their own rep in this field. I am and will forever be known as “Goose’s kid”. It fucking sucks. I hate it, and am headstrong enough to prove them wrong with any misconceptions they might have of me, but I know for some navalmen, that will be excruciatingly difficult. I want to do this on my own. I want to prove that I should be here, not just that I could be here because of my dad.

Within the next few minutes, we were assigned our ICAO Company. A group of ten women were assigned to the Alpha Company. Natasha was one of them. She gave me a wave as she walked over to her quarters, in her dress whites, which fit her perfectly. I looked like a clown. I hated the uniforms, but didn’t want to complain too much, because there was a point in my life where I thought I would never get the chance to wear them.

I was one of the last to be called to a group, assigned to the November Company. Once we made it to our quarters, which was on the first floor of the building, I heard an Officer yell out “102 Bradshaw and Frasier”. Someone Frasier, whoever he was, was going to be my roommate for the next four years. 

I walked forward and made eye contact with him as he walked to the front as well. “Looks like it’s us!” He said in a comedic tone. I could already tell he was going to be a character. Honestly, I would’ve preferred it this way. I would rather be with someone goofy like me than be with a hardass.

We walked into the room and noticed that there were 2 sets of bunks. Whoever Frasier made his way to the one on the right, so I made my way to the one on the left. The bunks were made of a deep gray metal and the room was covered in tan white paint. There were two white sheets on both ends of the beds, a fitted one and a flat one. Both polyester. Score! I loved polyester sheets. My mom would surprise me on random occasions and take me to a hotel to sleep when I was younger. Most of the time it was when I did something good in school, like scoring a 100 on a big test or reporting a bullying situation to the teacher. I was considered a tattle tale when I was younger, but I didn’t care! I got to sleep in a hotel and swim in their pools! So, you bet your sweet ass when I found someone getting pounded at recess, I was the first one to run to the teachers and alert them of the situation. I would do ANYTHING to get to sleep in those polyester sheets! Damn, I was a hot dog.

“I’m Bradley.” I introduced myself, holding out my hand.

“Emmett.” He said with a big smile on his face, gripping my hand and giving it a light shake.

“Nice to meet you.” I said, watching him as he put on his sheets.

“Quit staring at my ass man.” He muttered out with a corner of the fitted sheet in his mouth, swaying his hips from side to side as a way to show off his backside.

I let out an airy laugh as I turned to make my bed. I was going to like this guy. He was equally as well humorous as me. Just maybe a little more immature.

“So what’s your story?” I asked him as I focused on my sheets.

“Buy me dinner first.” He quickly responded. I chuckled at his remark and shook my head a little. I stayed quiet, waiting for him to respond, which he eventually did. “My mom caught me and my buddies getting high and told me that I had two options: report my dealer to the cops or enlist in the military”.

I shot up from my bunk, looking over at him, his hands here resting on his hips in a way too casual way for his recent admission.

“What?!” I asked, still in disbelief.

“No, I'm just kidding,” He said, turning back around, “Well, not about the getting high part. She found my bong and I knew I was fucked. So when she confronted me about it I was able to shoot back with the ‘I’m already planning on applying to the Academy’ card. Which was true! I was already going anyway, it just bought me some leverage”. 

“I maybe wouldn’t share that story with the Officers on base”.

“Oh yeah I know! They think I got the idea in church. Sitting in the front pew, on my knees, getting the idea all of a sudden, saying it was God talking to me. They ate that shit up”. Shit that was good. My admissions essay was about him, and my mom, and my dad. Basically how my whole life has been a fucking mess. I was able to buy myself some pity, but his essay topic, now that was just genius! “What about you?” He asked me.

“It’s generational” I said to him, which was just the abridged version of all of my shit events. I tucked the pillow case in the pillow and threw it to the edge of the bed.

“Cool!” Emmett exclaimed sarcastically. “You look a little old to be here”. He stated boldly.

This caused me to smirk and let out yet another airy laugh. “I’m 23.” I answered coldly again.

He had his hands back on his hips, looking at me as though I had more to add to our encounter. “Well, this has been a fascinating conversation” he remarked, yet in another sarcastic tone. “Got a girl?”

I shook my head as I adjusted the sheets on my bed.

“Yeah me neither.” He said quickly.

“What!” I exclaimed, turning to him, “How does a guy like you not have a girl!” I was saying it more in a sarcastically joking tone, but there was some truth to it, because he was quite fun.

“I know, it’s not fair.” he said slyly. 

Just then, someone barged into our room. His eyes were a piercing green, his muscles protruding out of his solid black shirt, he wore navy green cargo pants and boots. His skin was a deep color of brown. “Ladies!” he yelled at us. He was definitely our detailer, the man in charge of training us for the summer.

“That would be us!” Emmett responded. Shit!

“Never speak unless spoken to!” The detailer screamed in his face. Emmett immediately went cold. “Now drop down and give me 20”. Before I could blink, Emmett was on the ground, doing pushups. “YOUR NOSE TOUCHES THE GROUND!” He screamed. Emmett went down further, until the tip of his nose grazed the tiled floor.

“And you!” He yelled to me, in less of an angry tone since I didn’t do anything wrong, “15”!

I got down quickly and did my push ups in perfect posture. The tips of my toes were on the ground and I went low until my nose was touching the floor. I couldn’t see him, but I saw an adjustment in his shadow, telling me that he was impressed with my performance. 

We both finished at the same time, standing up and looking at him. “You always stand at attention when being spoken to!” Both of us stood up, sticking our chests out, making sure to mirror each other so that if we messed up, at least we went down together. The detailer sighed and let out a “Jesus” before walking over to us and adjusting our postures to what it should be.

“My name is Denzel Housemen. You will call me sir until I tell you to stop”. He finished adjusting me and I made sure to memorize the position my body was in, holding my stance until I was told to stand down. “When I am not near you, assume that I’m close. I can approach you at any time of any day. So be ready”. He said as he adjusted Emmett.

He took a step back and examined both of us, “At ease gentlemen.” He said smoothly.

Both Emmett and I dropped our stance and looked at him, ready to go down whenever we should. We heard yelling coming from other quarters and assumed that everyone else was becoming acquainted with their trainers.

Denzel looked me up and down. “You must be the Bradshaw boy.” He stated, confident in his answer.

My face pulled down, knowing that he knew about me and the story of my family. “Yes, sir.” I said quietly.

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” He started to scream at me.

“Yes, sir!” I yelled back, audible with clear diction.

“We expect great things from you”. He said calmly, before acknowledging Emmett. “Oh yeah, the kiss ass ‘found my calling at church’ admissions essay. Mom bust you for drugs or something?” He asked.

Emmett was about to answer and then froze, opting not to answer. “I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!” Denzel yelled at him.

“No, sir!” Emmett yelled back. 

I had to bite my tongue hard, fighting back with everything I had not to laugh.

“Well, you both seem very intelligent. We’ll see if you last the night. Follow me gentlemen- and in proper posture! Pivot on your feet when you make a turn and never look down. I promise I will let you know if the ground erodes from the Earth”.

Emmett and I followed him as he made his way to the commons area. Men and women were lining up in their white works, standing at attention and facing forward. Most parents had stayed for this portion, the most important portion. The oath of office.

Right at 18:00, a Commandment of Midshipmen began the ceremony. They first informed us about our statement of intent and then ordered us to raise our right hand and repeat after him.

I looked over my left shoulder and saw Natasha, she raised her right eyebrow quickly, moving it up and down while she raised her right hand. I smirked at her and then looked over my right shoulder, he was standing right at the end of the row I was in, which only had 3 of my classmates separating us. Although he wasn’t beaming with happiness, he didn’t look upset or angry either. One could say he looked proud. 

I shot him a disapproving look before raising my right hand, keeping a sharp glare on him as I repeated after the commanding officer;

“HAVING BEEN APPOINTED A MIDSHIPMAN IN THE UNITED STATES 

NAVY,

 I SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL SUPPORT AND DEFEND THE 

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

AGAINST ALL ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC; 

THAT I WILL BEAR TRUE FAITH AND ALLEGIANCE TO THE SAME; 

THAT I TAKE THIS OBLIGATION FREELY, 

WITHOUT ANY MENTAL RESERVATION OR PURPOSE OF EVASION; 

AND THAT I WILL WELL AND FAITHFULLY DISCHARGE THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE 

ON WHICH I AM ABOUT TO ENTER, 

SO HELP ME GOD.

I closed my mouth and continued to stare at him, keeping my right hand raised as people cheered around me. I was now in the Navy. He lost. I won.

He didn’t cheer. He didn’t even smile. Instead, he looked at the ground before shifting his weight and walking away. Having no intention of staying any longer.

Yeah, that’s right. YOU lost. I won!

#naval aviator #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradsaw x reader #rooster fanfic #top gun fanfiction #top gun #rooster imagine #maverick imagine #jake seresin #love strories #pete mitchell #natasha trace #natasha x reader #writers on tumblr

[astheswarmitcalls]

PART 3: RETURN TOUR WARDROBE - CAMPY AS FUCK

This is the third part of my 4-part analysis of MCR5, the Masterpost for which can be found here. Link to next part found at the bottom of the post. If there's something I missed, or you'd like to add your own spin/elaborate on something I brushed over, by all means I'd love to hear it!!

So for Campy As Fuck, we’ve got a great range of costuming that seems incredibly intentional and costuming that seems so stupidly fun. Deep political commentary can coexist with just doing things for the bit and because you simply want to. Gerard did say that this tour "was the most fun we’ve ever had. Every day it’s like clown city!" Also, for my own ease of reading, costumes that were designed by Marina Toybina will have an asterisk (*). I’ve also had to do a fair bit of research for this and found some things that I haven’t heard anyone else talk about.

In an interview with Marina Toybina, she said this:

”I didn’t know if they had a designer. Then he did mention Colleen (Atwood) was doing something for him.”

I don’t think it’s common knowledge that Colleen Atwood also worked on the tour outfits. She did the costuming for The Black Parade and Danger Days, so it’s fantastic to see her back for the tour, and it explains some gaps in the costuming. Toybina only did 11 of the characters Gerard portrayed onstage, some of the outfits are DIYed, and a few of them I speculate could be Atwood’s work.

META-MAN: “I feel so powerful!”

The first outright Costume in the reunion tour. At this show in Milton Keynes, Gerard had this white suit splattered in blood and tattered, white mask with the Meta logo drawn on their forehead. Pretty clear-cut commentary on Meta, how you shouldn’t let corporations own your identity and such. Gerard went on a 4-minute spiel on his feelings about Meta-verse. Here’s an abridged version of it here:

“We don’t want your meta-verse. We don’t want you having every single detail of our lives, and CONTROL over it… living your life on a screen, and giving everything- giving these corporations everything. And living in a new and beautiful and EXCITING, virtualistic fucking world. I feel the same way that David Lynch feels about watching a movie on your telephone… I’m not judging, there’s no judgement. You do your thing on there, I’ve done my thing… Look, there can be great things to share on there… Just don’t give those bastards EVERYTHING! Keep some for yourself and the people you love.”

To me, this is reminiscent of the ethos of Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. The Fabulous Killjoys fight against Better Living Industries or BL/ind. (hah! Get it?!) who have seized utter control of Battery City in post-apocalyptic 2019 California. The story encompasses topics of capitalism, consumerism, corporations, and corporate greed.

Not any clear ties to MCR5 here, aside from maybe talk of corporations, but there doesn’t have to be. This works beautifully as a little statement piece from Mr. Way here.

CLOWN GERARD: “They are gonna have to bury me in this motherfucking filthy clown suit.”

Gerard Way is a filthy fucking clown. This is unbelievably fun, and so far removed from the established MCR lore.

I think clowns also embody the spirit of the return tour: they’re getting silly and having fun with it and not taking themselves so seriously. I’m vaguely reminded of Hesitant Alien, and the psychology of Lola. They would look right at home next to a clown, methinks.

Again, no clear MCR5 ties as it’s not necessary. This is just so fucking fun.

UNCLE FESTER????:

The ghoulish/skeletal makeup is familiar to MCR. This whole look though? It’s something.

That raincoat-poncho-thing appears to be that earthy green that’s appeared throughout the tour, albeit a lot grosser. ‘Doug’ is written on the front which is a nod to MCR’s producer. The silhouette of this entire fit reminded me of Uncle Fester from The Addams Family. The themes of that franchise (death/decay/vermin/rot/reanimation) wouldn’t be so far removed from the themes of MCR5. That being said, I don’t know if Gerard is even a fan of The Addams Family so we’re definitely reaching.

CLOWN GERARD (REPRISE):

Unlike the previous clown outfit which was very circus-y, this reads a lot more like Joker. They’re both sort of decrepit jesters, but this has a little less whimsy than the former.

The shirt they’re wearing is a Watchmen tee. Watchmen and Joker are both rooted in comic books. Gerard loves comic books. Maybe it’s that simple. Clowns are not familiar to MCR in the slightest. I did say that the clowns popping up could be symbolic for how fun the tour is for the band, but I’m reminded of something Gerard said after the release of Revenge regarding the attention they had garnered.

“There’s a fine line between being treated like a demi-god and a circus monkey. It’s almost the same thing”

Dressing up like a clown because you feel silly and jovial is all fun. Painting clown makeup on your face to comment on the way you feel you’re being commodified and treated like an attraction is scathing.

CRYING BLOOD GERARD:

More religious subtext here. MCR’s first album ‘I Brought You My Bullets You Brought Me Your Love’ features a song called Lady of Sorrows. The Lady of Sorrows refers to the Mary mother of Jesus in Catholicism. Gerard and Mikey were both raised Catholic, something Gerard has said ‘is some scary shit.’ So the Lady of Sorrows is depicted crying for all the sorrow she has suffered (Jesus dying etc.), with statues of Mary being known to, through some sort of divine miracle, cry real tears or blood. The black sclera contacts are a real nice touch.

Jesus’ story is technically one of rebirth? Which appears to be a very explicit theme of MCR5?? And the Virgin Mary could almost make the cut for FEMCR as a historical (??) woman who is mythologised and experiences a lot of tragedy? There’s layers here, both with the religious iconography and what may be a Virgin Mary cosplay.

SKELETON!!!!:

Now this? THIS is so fun. Skeleton iconography is very familiar to MCR through The Black Parade. This is so campy. It’s giving shitty Halloween costume. Back during The Black Parade it was fairly common for the band members, Gerard especially, to don skeleton face paint for performances. Case in point:

Skeletons are very at-home with MCR. The skeleton one-piece, however? It’s skewing away from those traditional themes of death, grief and illness that are present in TBP. This skeleton is silly and fun and campy. Skeleton Gerard reads as another nod to MCR’s established aesthetic, to what the band represented before, and yes, we are going to acknowledge it exists but we are moving on from that. You wanted The Black Parade? You wanted skeletons? Sure! Here’s our frontman in this stupid skeleton suit from Party City.

MY CATMICAL ROMEOWNCE:

Babe. BABE. Can I be real for a moment? Can I speak freely for just a second? I love you so much, but you are so fucking weird.

In all honesty though, I do think this is at least alluding to the established motifs of MCR. Gerard spoke on tour about the stray cat they took in during quarantine who brings them dead rats. The Foundations of Decay refers to vermin, and there’s rat iconography on the set as well as Gerard’s weird rambles about rats. They had a shirt spray painted with the word ‘rats’ one night, and this may be the follow up to that. I will say the neckline on that sweater is incredibly Wine Aunt, and we love to see it.

As I’ve stated before, we are the rats. We are the vermin swarm. Mr. Way?? Are you out to get us or what?

BLACK SWAN:

This costume is really cool, but I have not watched Black Swan so there’s not a lot I can say about it. From what I gather it’s about ballet and about the ballet Swan Lake and there’s themes of perfectionism. I skimmed the Wikipedia page and that was about it. If might go watch the movie, come back and rewrite this entire bit.

When I was researching however, I DID come across Black Swan Theory; a metaphor for the reality that just because something has not happened does not mean that it cannot occur in the future. (Britannica). So something that has not happened? And may seem unlikely but is not an impossible occurrence? Like, mayhaps, a fifth MCR album? Think about it for a little.

(If you're familiar with Black Swan and you have stuff to add, please please please by all means I know there's probably a lot I'm missing here.)

WATCHMEN REFERENCE?:

A not-so-subtle-but-not-so-obvious reference to Gerard Way’s appearance at Comic Con in 2010:

The inclusion of the bullet through the skull I think is reminiscent of the iconic Watchmen smiley face.

Watchmen tackles themes of nuclear warfare and war. It’s incredibly rooted in a real-world narrative, and explores and deconstructs heroes/superheros in a grounded setting. The narrative of MCR5 is going to be more raw, more realistic in this sense. With references to 9/11, and functioning as an almost meta-commentary on the band’s rebirth itself, we’re moving away from a concept that’s fantastical like in Revenge, and to something more akin to TBP. Watchmen is also explicitly about war, which is an established theme for The Foundations of Decay and the backdrop of the Return Tour.

As A DC/’Superhero’ Comic, that grounded, grittiness that’s not so common to typical superhero comics is a lot of what Watchmen encompasses. Gerard has talked extensively about how much Watchmen influenced them as a writer and a person. It’s likely this might just be an ode to an incredible piece of art, but the themes of MCR5 and Watchmen marry into each other quite well.

*BAT GERARD:

Now this? THIS is Camp. The big, black boots, the gloves, the WINGS. You wanted vampires? How about bats? How about a stupid, slutty bat costume?

No connection to MCR5 this is just delightful.

*CASINO GERARD:

The sparkly gold tux? It’s fantastic. ‘The house always wins’ was written on the drum that night and is in reference to casinos. To make a profit, the ‘house’ needs to be skewed against the players. We’re a few neurons off from turning that into a grand metaphor for capitalism.

This night they performed a Frank Sinatra cover. I totally dig it.

*SHEET GHOST GERARD:

Oh man oh man oh man-

As is with basically every costume in Campy as Fuck, it’s just stupidly fun. This may be one of my favourite ones. It’s just so fun. The references to the undead and spirits and ghosts seem familiar from The Black Parade, but this still feels wholly new.

HELENA/REVENGE-ISH GERARD:

This feels almost like nostalgia-baiting. MCR wants us to draw connections between the colour palettes of this outfit and the Revenge age. The stunt they pulled at WWWYFest was a much more obvious play on the toxicity of nostalgia culture. The black with little pops of red is so reminiscent of the band’s Revenge uniforms, and I think this is paying ode to that. Also their flower is so big it looks a little silly.

I read this as an ode to Helena; the black with the red flowers. MCR keeps toeing that line of familiar and new and I adore it.

*GERACULA:

VAMPIRE TIME BABEY!!!

It’s already been established that vampires hold significance in the MCR mythos. They’ve written 5 songs, maybe more, that are about or use vampires as a metaphor. To my knowledge, vampires have been referenced in MCR since the first album, but we haven’t seen them appear in music videos or in costuming. UP UNTIL NOW!

Gerard Dracula. Geracula. I believe this is a costume recreated from the 1931 movie ‘Dracula.’ It’s the traditional, gothic vampire that MCR loves. It’s also incredibly Camp. Vampires have thematic relevance to a lot of MCR’s messages, about addiction, but I suppose as undead they’re sort of a symbol of rebirth? I’m pushing for this to have MCR5 ties but it really doesn’t need to, it’s so fun.

RED SKULL? PHANTOM? I DUNNO???:

So! I’ve been pointing out allusions to military/anti-war commentary with the green and camo throughout the entire tour thus far. This could be read as a reference to The Ghost of You music video (set in WWII) with the military uniform, or something that could just be Fun, but it feels far too intentional for that. Why the bright red? Why not black or green?

Hear me out: this is the man who stands upon the hill in The Foundations of Decay. He’s the military leader, the one who has endured the battles and gets to be canonised in death. He’s in red and black because that was the unofficial ‘uniform’ for My Chemical Romance and their fanbase. He’s our leader and we are his devotees, his mob, his minions.

That one is a fairly big stretch, but we’re trying to cover as much ground as possible. It’s like monkeys and typewriters, maybe if I ramble for long enough, I’ll write Shakespeare.

I think this outfit may be a Colleen Atwood costume; it’s too high quality to be store bought but doesn’t appear on Toybina’s Instagram.

God sorry this one was so, so long, I promise the next part won't be. I think.

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#mcr #my chemical romance #mcr5 #mcr5 theory #mcr5 is real #oh god this post is so long #so sorry about that one

[greetingsapartment]

my very very very long introduction to the welcome home fandom + set of rules

hello everyone!!!!!!

i got into welcome home a little while ago now, and i have finally gotten enough courage to put my headcanons and writing out into the world! and of course, you can request! (when the askbox is open ^_^ of course!!) i do have a few obvious or not-so-obvious rules though, as per every blog! rules below the cut :) it's long!

you CAN; ✦ ask for '(character) and reader'! it is the only thing i specialize in after all on this particular blog lolol, types of pairings that that i don't do are in my 'cannot' section, and if your idea is not there, dm me and i'll see if i can do it! :o) ✦ if you guys have anything in particular you'd like to share, i would love to hear it! i encourage it!! i like hearing everybody's ideas on things! personal headcanons, ideas or thoughts on a character or two, it's all a-okay with me! you can even ask me what i think on a character @:) ✦ ask for fluff, some light angst, hurt/comfort, go wild with it! headcanons galore!!!!!! ✦ ask more than once!

✦ just send silly stuff into my askbox LOL, try not to blow it up though!! you CANNOT;

✢ ask for NSFW, incest, or anything of the like. the first of which (NSFW), clown themself has prohibited because they're not 100% sure if they're comfortable with it yet, and the rest of it is just a blatant, heavy no. ✢ ask for anything on gore or anything TOO heavy on a dark subject. please DM me if you're curious what goes over the line, it's just that i am a person too! sorry if this disappoints!! :( ✢ ask for anything other than GN reader. sorry :( i just prefer to stick with GN as it applies to everybody who might pass by my post, and if they decide to read it, i want it to apply to them!

✢ ask for oc/character :( again, i'm sorry! there's nothing wrong with that kinda stuff, i've just never been too good at it, as i don't know much about your oc! established characters have always just been easier for me, but i could change this in the future! ✢ ask for character/character yet! it's still undecided for me as i'm not quite sure how everybody feels on some ships, as even when all some ships are completely normal, the shipping discourse is REAL across every fandom.

✢ ask for frank x reader (romantic) or eddie x reader (romantic), sorry to all frank and eddie simps out there💔just not my place! extra info i will have to update my set of rules and the characters i will write for as time goes on, as new information will inevitably come out, and my writing may be TOTALLY out of character as well! but this blog is simply for fun, and as time goes on, things will change :) and i will adapt accordingly! if i get anything wrong about the characters, please do inform me in DMs! i will resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and make an attempt to edit, or delete the posts in the worst case scenario! i do keep myself updated on them to the best of my abilities, but sometimes i will miss things! even if it is something small, do not hesitate to inform me that that character actually HATES that food, or dislikes being around that kind of weather! and please link me to the source of the info you found if possible, or try to direct me better to it! if and when i receive a request for a reader with any disability or condition, i will try to write it the best i can, even if i do not personally have it or have ever experienced anything like it. if there is anything i can do to improve on my writing with certain subjects, DM me! i will take whatever you give and do my best to include it :) please do not criticize me too heavily for my writing skills. i am still improving on it as we go along, so try to hold back on anything like that! i am not the fastest at getting requests done, but i will definitely try, and i am hoping life doesn't get too busy! if the askbox is closed, do note that it is probably because i have at least 5 or more requests in it, and i need to sort through them, and take my time! or i may just want to write for myself atm! i hope that is reasonable :) i am a HUGE julie fan, if you request for her i am more likely to leave a huge chunk bitten out of my monitor and have eaten all the key caps to my keyboard with only the letters "J U L I" and "E" left. i love writing for julie LOL 😭😭😭 that is it, from what i know! do what you will with all of this, and enjoy yourself, neighbor!!!!!

#welcome home #welcome home x reader #gender neutral reader #wally darling x reader #julie joyful x reader #and more!!! #i forgot how to do rule posts so sorry if this is way too long lol #just wanna be precise!

[arcplaysgames]

is our academics score currently "fucking dumbass mcgee" or something, who else in a fucking kimono have we seen lately, goddamn

MAGICIAN SOCIAL LINK: GET. Yosuke as the Magician is.... interesting. I am not going to say he's a terrible Magician or make any assumptions, because remember when i said Yukari didn't make sense as the Lovers and then she turned out to be the Most Lovers Ever?

but at the moment Yosuke ddddddddoesn't have any of the hallmarks of what I would consider the Magician. He's active, I guess, but seems more compelled by external forces than by his own drive. also there's a severe lack of control and stagecraft to him. he's a bit sad clown but that's the extent of his performance.

The Magician is someone who is very active, who can throw themselves into situations and usually ride on luck and charisma and passion. They get in over their heads easily but also have a certain set of tools (internal or external, the Magician is very explicitly associated with physical focii like wand and athame and chalices, etc) that make them highly effective.

The Magician is someone who is a very mortal person, but who can feel the magic around them like a charge in the air, and they lift a tool to let lightning strike them, then channel that into their work.

Junpei hit that note right off the bat, reckless but effective, and later plagued by Imposter Syndrome (the perfect ailment for the Magician). Yosuke, I dunno yet. We'll see.

[/CARTOMANCY RAMBLINGS]

someone with some sense. points to Chie!

except she's........... not in the TV? she's fine? Chie calls the inn and gets her on the phone.

Patient. We're being patient. We're giving Chie a chance. Yukari wound up being great and we're going to let Chie blossom into a rad person. Yep.

there's a moment of Dojima being in a dour prime time crime drama, but I don't have patience for that and Chie too. The cops know nothing because "supernatural tv murders" doesn't come standard in their Clue games. Whateverrrrr.

oh thank god a character welcoming me back home, i needed this, thank you. i miss iwatodai.

Aaaaaaand Yukiko's in the TV now, and is on a Bachelorette-style show looking for a MAN and she has on SPECIAL LINGERIE and sigh.

yo i got FASHION

SAD ABOUT NANAKO HOUR IS EVERY HOUR. man, i had to take on a lot of adult responsibilities too soon, but I didn't do that at fucking six years old. Dojima, you suck.

YOSUKE IF YOU LIVED IN THE US YOU'D BE DEAD ON THE GROUND RIGHT NOW. YOU CAN'T JUST BRING A FUCKING KATANA TO A FOOD COURT AND SWING IT AROUND. you're only allowed to do that with guns in Open Carry states.

cannot overstate how you're not my dad. i would venture to say you're barely nanako's dad.

aw yeah that's right i've turned on dojima now. i don't care how nice your voice is, your daughter deserves better and you suck.

TO BE TOTALLY CLEAR

THE COPS SUSPECT YUKIKO OF MURDERING THE FIRST DEAD LADY

THE ONE LEFT ON A TV ANTENNAE

she's like 16 and refuses to eat steak, where exactly is she getting the ability to put a grown-ass body on a roof, did she rent a crane????? bruh.

I MISS YUKARI. SOB. where are the smart people.

Anyway. I finally have the Velvet Room and

wait its unfriendly girl who bumped into me who is apparently new in Golden!

lmao margaret is BRUTAL

can i have a social link with margaret because she's cool and has a great voice and i'm shallow and would love to hang out with another old soul of the weird metaphysical liminal limo.

please god lemme out of these tutorials and into the main routine already i'm withering, i'm dying.

#p4 #persona liveblog