#it's annoying when it's broken and then you need to go fish it out

[mushroomteddy]

when I finally gave in and downloaded a popular modder's cc and half of their stuff is broken in my game...smh, this is what you were battling so hard for your right to paywall?

#pants being half invisible and messing with legs #2 out of 6 of a hair set not working #bed frames and hanging plants not rendering #uuuugh #I'm annoyed cause these are the people that paywall most of their stuff or have months long early releases #also this is the only reason why i don't like having too much cc in my game #it's annoying when it's broken and then you need to go fish it out #and messes with everything #also does anyone else have this issue that every single lipstick cc looks fine in cas but turns dark brown in live mode? #the sims #ts4

[nsharks]

bleeding blue | apocalypse au

part eight —other parts

pairing: Simon "Ghost" Riley x fem!reader words: 3.2k tags: death. blood. zombies of course. reader menstruates. single dad ghost. there will be sex but it isn't here yet. slow burn!!! enemies to lovers. summary: After losing your companions, you run into a skull-masked man and his daughter. They are your last hope for survival. a/n: let's see how this trip goes

A neon-yellow lighter. A comb with a few teeth broken off. A deck of cards. That is what you have scrounged so far in this little convenience store that Blue convinced Ghost to stop in— the only stop in the village he will allow on the way to the military base. She spotted a rack of magazines from the window and the child in her begged him.

Fuckity fuck, Ghost. Please. Please. Please.

You’ve decided to sweep through the aisles to make this forced trip at least a little worth it for you. Broken glass and dust lay under the soles of your boots. All the food in here is gone, of course. The lighter you found can be useful.

Oh. You also found a corny romance book. You are in need of something to read, too. You left behind your old copy of A Farewell to Arms. You imagine that it was flattened to something unrecognizable by the mass of Greys.

You go to the aisle for toiletries. Again, these shelves have been licked almost clean. You fish your hand all the way to the back to see if anything could be there. You didn’t have time on your first trip to do much searching for anything other than medicine.

What your hand manages to knock against is a box. You pull it forward to inspect it. Gold packaging. Faded letters. It’s a box of condoms. First, you feel annoyed. It is useless to you. Expired, anyway. But then some memories come to mind along with a stir in your stomach.

Sex. Right. At one point, these were useful to you.

What you had told Blue the other day was mostly the truth. Coursework and exams meant that a steady relationship wasn’t on your mind back then. You were too young for it, anyway. You liked going out. You liked dancing with your friends. You liked meeting new people and sipping on drinks that were sweet enough to go down without a wince.

But what you didn’t tell Blue, and what you haven’t thought about in a long time, is that the last guy you had sex with was a little more than just someone you enjoyed the company of.

You trace your finger over the letters on the box, recalling the buried memory. A few weeks before the outbreak, you met him at a pub. He chatted you up. He was kind-eyed and sleek. A few years older than you. A jaw like the man in Blue’s magazine.

You didn’t even go home with him that first night. You just spent hours talking. And then texting. And then he took you out to that sushi place you loved in London three times because he saw that you were obsessed with the sashimi. He teased you for it. Finally, he invited you to his flat. He was different. He didn’t touch you until you touched him. You can remember it, that last time. The kissing. You whispered in his ear to take you to his room. He pulled out a box of condoms just like this.

The morning of the outbreak you remember telling your sister you might want something more from him.

She was thrilled to hear it.

There were a few people you texted that day to see if they were okay. Your parents, some close friends, and him. You never got a response from any of them. As you fled with Paul towards the forest, you’d dropped your phone. You only realized it later than night when you wanted to take it out and read over your old messages with him as a source of comfort.

Anyway, he was never your boyfriend, and he is now likely dead. Or Grey.

You haven’t thought about him for at least three years. Just another singed thread of an old life, unimportant to you now. Those losses are easier to deal with than the losses you had to actually witness.

You are just about to put the box back when a poke arrives on your shoulder.

“Hey, Twix, look what I found.”

Blue holds a solid stack of magazines against her chest. In her other hand, she holds up two bracelets with plastic, pink beads on them.

“Bracelets,” she smiles. “One for you and one for me.”

You raise a brow, then glance around. You spot Ghost at the front counter stuffing his backpack with cigarettes. His own treats, you suppose.

You look back at her. “Are you sure?”

She nods and offers one to you. As you slip it over your wrist, subconsciously hiding it under the sleeve of your coat, she says, “One of the books Ghost read to me talked about friendship bracelets. That can be this for us. I mean— we’re friends, right?”

“Oh. Um. Do you want to be my friend?”

“Well,” she slips her own bracelet on and waves her hand about, “Grim is my friend and he never saved my life before or gave me chocolate. So—” her voice turns hushed as if sharing a secret, “—I guess you are a better friend than him, huh?”

You bite a smile. “I guess so.”

Then, her eyes drift to the box still in your hand. “What did you find?”

“Huh?” You raise it up, almost having forgotten about it, and feel a warmth spread over your cheeks. “Oh, nothing, really.”

“What is it?”

“I-I don’t know, actually,” you splutter quickly.

“Maybe Ghost knows.” She rounds her lips as if ready to call for him but you shush her.

“No, no. Don’t ask him."

“Why not?”

“Because he—” you slide your eyes around, looking for the right excuse, “Because he doesn’t care for me, okay? I don’t want to bug him.”

“It’s not that he hates you or anything,” she assures you, sighing. “He just doesn’t trust you. Really, he isn’t so bad. He let you play would you rather with us, right?”

She is referring to the game that consumed the four-hour walk to get here. As you stepped over the same tree roots from your first journey, Ghost and Blue began a rather dark game of would you rather. Asking each other which gruesome death they would prefer. A humor she must get from him, you figured. Blue finally asked him: Can Twix play, too? He flashed you a look, jaw stiff, and you wanted to hide as you watched his eyes process this new name his daughter has chosen for you. To your surprise, he allowed it. Maybe to keep her calm, entertained, or both. You can’t say it wasn’t awkward for you, though.

Before you can protest again, she calls his name, and you regret not just telling her what they are.

He is quick to make his way over.

“Twix found something but she doesn’t know what it is,” Blue chimes, taking the box from your hand and passing it to him. You inch backward, your spine pressing into the shelves as you watch him realize what it is. Then, he offers you an unreadable glance, probably wondering why the fuck you would be looking at these.

His eyes shift back to her.

“Well,” Blue clicks her tongue. “Is it useful?”

“No.” He hands it back to her.

“What is it? Do you know?”

“Jus’ nothing useful,” he repeats, and she huffs, giving you an apologetic look and mumbling a sorry before tossing the box back on the shelf.

“Got ‘em all picked out?” He nods to her magazines.

She nods. “Yeah, I found some good ones.”

“We’re leaving, then.”

A clear sky hangs over your heads as you continue moving south. On your solo trip, you spent hours perusing Ribchester's streets, whereas now Ghost cuts right through, wanting to search the base before nightfall and then find somewhere safe to sleep.

There is no rain today, luckily. Even though it helps conceal your human scent, it also helps hide their rotten one, making it hard to detect them. It also can make shooting arrows trickier.

There is a light wind that howls like a moaning widow through the empty buildings, drowning out the sound of all three pairs of booted footsteps. Just as you told Ghost, there aren’t many of those fucks here. Their smell lingers in the air but most of them are probably trapped in the buildings and cars. Still, you keep your bow armed and Ghost clutches his handgun. Only one finds you here, but it isn’t much of a threat. A slow and pitiful one with a twisted leg that drags as it clambers out from an alleyway.

It catches the human scent, its pale eyes pointing toward the three of you.

They love the smell of living flesh. From your experience, they love the smell of fresh blood even more, but luckily none of you are bleeding, or else more of them certainly could've been drawn out like cockroaches.

Upon one look at it, you can tell this Grey must have been infected years ago, a woman tattered without any hair left on her skull. The thing is, the longer they have been infected, the longer their muscles have been rotting away. They grow slower.

For some reason, Ghost doesn't pull the trigger of his gun even though you know he sees and smells it like you do. He doesn't even reach for the axe tucked at his waist. You have never encountered Greys with him. You suspected he'd be quick to kill them. Confused, you aim your arrow and close one eye for precision, but a firm hand falls on your arm and forces you to lower it.

You give him a furrowed look.

He drops his hand and nods to Blue, who has been sticking close to his side.

"All yours, kid."

"Do I have to?" She puckers her lips in disgust and touches the fabric of his black coat.

"Good practice for you."

"With my knife?" she sighs dutifully. "Or the gun you gave me?"

"Knife. Save the ammo.”

The Grey is still a few paces away, but slowly trudging closer, enough that its flayed snarls sound over the wind.

Blue pulls out the knife from her pocket. You stand back and watch as she hurls it towards the head, but the blade pierces its neck instead, splitting the stringy flesh and exposing a larynx.

She winces.

"S'okay. You've got another," Ghost says.

She nods and reaches for the second knife strapped to her ankle. This time, her knife finds the skull, audibly cutting through bone and brain.

“Good. Now go get ‘em.”

You understand why he made her practice this. They don’t encounter them often in the forest, but he still wants her prepared— get her used to doing it on her own for the day she might not have him there. It is a reminder of what it means to be a parent in this world, and you don’t envy him for it.

Blue twists her knife out from the skull, some chunks of grey brain bubbling out, and she scrunches her nose but doesn’t seem too bothered. Before she runs back over, she mouths words to it just as you have seen her do to the dead animals. You can’t make them out.

“Sometimes I wonder what it’s like being one of those fucks,” she announces as you keep walking. She taps a finger to her temple. “I just wonder if you still remember your old life or have dreams and stuff. Or does your brain just not work at all?”

“They aren’t people anymore,” Ghost reminds her gruffly.

“I know, I know.”

“I don’t think they have dreams,” you quietly add. “They don’t sleep.”

“But maybe they are sort of sleeping,” she says. “Like sleepwalking. And maybe they are dreaming the whole time about things they remember from being a human.”

“No,” Ghost says. “They’re as good as dead. Don’t go thinkin’ like that.”

“I’m not saying I feel bad about killing them. I know they aren’t real people anymore,” she mumbles, kicking at a rock. She looks at you. “Twix, what would you do if you got bitten?”

Ghost mutters a Jesus Christ under his breath.

The question throws you off, even though it is something you have mulled over often. You hesitate, before honestly answering, “I think I would just kill myself.”

“Ghost would, too. Well, actually, our plan is for me to shoot him in the head and then run back home. Right, Ghost?”

He hums his response.

It must be a plan he reviewed with her before leaving.

A plan that he has ingrained into her brain from an age too young to fully comprehend the potential reality of it.

There are another ten kilometers to walk to get to the military base. The sore toes cramped in your boots and the growing blister at your heel wishes Ghost took the truck, but whatever his emergency plan is, it must call for every drop of fuel he has.

The terrain transforms back to soil and trees as Ghost departs from the road, and the rotten smell in the air remains faint. The game of would you rather resumes, but Blue quickly grows bored of it. Instead, she begins to poke at you with some questions as she likes to do. She seems to be more comfortable doing it in front of Ghost. It’s not like he can keep her away from you out here.

“So, Twix, how old are you exactly? You never told us.”

You tell her.

“Shit balls, Ghost,” she nudges a hip to his side. “You really are an old man.”

“Fuckin’ hell. I’m not.” He nudges her back, a bit too hard, because she practically stumbles, but it only makes her laugh more. “I’m just your old man, kid.”

Luckily, her questions stick to the minute things, and she doesn’t bring up sex again. Your favorite animal. If you have any tattoos. You should see how many Ghost has. Of course, you have only ever seen the skin of his hands a few times and the skin around his eyes.

The sound of rushing water is what quiets her.

You make it to a river.

Ghost leads you to where a bridge must have been on his map, but all that remains of it is a narrow beam of rusted metal and nothing to hold onto.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Dad.”

Blue peers down the cliff and you take a look with her. The water isn’t moving too fast, but it must be freezing, and walking around in wet clothes is a sure way to get hypothermia. Ghost doesn’t have much of a choice.

He has her walk close in front of him and keeps both hands firm on her shoulders. You don’t have anyone to help you. You tighten your core to keep yourself upright, watching each step you take. Right, left, right, left. The wind dissuades you with nudges against your left side. You pause for a moment and look up.

They are already across.

You hear Blue shout just as your left foot slips. Air whirls around you and your arms instinctively jut out to grab hold of the beam. You hang from it, breathing hard from your nose. Your bare hand clutches the sharp edge and earns you a cut into your palm, but the pain is easy to ignore. Your ears ring. You muster all your strength to hoist yourself up, but it’s not quite enough, and you almost lose your grip.

Hissing, you look down at the water that laps between rocks beneath you. Maybe you should just fall in. Your skin prickles as you imagine the icy water engulfing you and soaking your clothes.

Hypothermia. Another real threat in this world. You recall the chapter from one of your textbooks. It can set in quickly. There wouldn’t be enough time for you to make it back to the village and search for dry clothes. You should’ve brought your extra pair of old ones. You didn’t even think—

What ends up engulfing you is warmth.

You are pulled up with ease and drawn close to a hard chest. Ghost locks an arm around your waist to steady you and naturally, you lean into his hold, your boots finding their place again on the beam.

You pant. For a moment you just stand there, before you start walking again, this time with him close behind you as he holds your shoulders just as he did with Blue. Because of the proximity, you can detect the rise and fall of his chest against your back. Underneath his thick coat, the muscles of his core are tightened just as yours are in order to keep his balance.

He couldn’ve just let you fall. Blue must have asked him to help you back up.

You find your voice when you are almost across. Blue watches with her hands tucked in her pockets.

“Thank you,” you tell him.

What he tells you, warm brass in your ear that arrives in the quietest voice you’ve ever heard from him: “Don’t become a liability for me out here, Twix.”

It unnerves you, the message that lies in his words. What he means to say is he has no problem leaving you behind if he has to. Letting you die.

But what unnerves you even more is the shudder that hums through your spine from the soft drawl of his voice in your ear, uttering this new name for you when he has never even once used your real name, and the way that his filtered breath works its way down your neck. Even though he has growled threats of murder in there multiple times, you find yourself not minding if he has a few more to offer just so you can hear his voice like this again. So quiet. Probably so Blue doesn’t hear.

But he doesn’t offer anything else.

Maybe you are just in shock. Maybe you are just glad to not be freezing, and his warmth has given a confusing relief. You swallow the strange thought and find a nice burial spot for it next to your grief.

When your boots make it to the soil, his hands drop and you turn around to face him. Annoyance finally finds you. Of course, his help arrives at the same time that he warns you of the limited supply of it he is willing to offer.

Through your teeth, you say, “I won’t.”

#simon ghost riley x you #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley #ghost #cod #simon ghost riley x reader #fanfiction #call of duty #zombies

[simpcityy]

My Little Spawn Pt.2 (Dadstarion X Child!Reader)

Summary: Astarion was finally free from Cazador after being kidnapped by a mindflayer but he was stuck with one annoying task, you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Baldur's Gate 3 or any of its characters.

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: Use of (Y/N), Cazador, language, violence, spoilers for those who haven't gone far in the game....Uhhh...I think that is all.

You sat by the river bank, looking at the fishes as everyone was once again getting ready to go back on the road. Hearing footsteps you look seeing Astarion crotch near you. “Here, drink up before anyone sees us.” He hands you a small goblet with blood.  You grab onto the silver cup and drink it all in one gulp. Astarion looks around making sure no one was watching as he wipes your mouth with his sleeve “There now we are both less cranky.” He smirks, washing the cup right away. “I feel much better now” You look at him savoring the taste of the bitter blood. “Now I promise I won’t run off!” You grin showing your sharp fangs. “Easy on the smile now, I can see your little pathetic fangs.” He boops your nose before walking back to his tent. Walking around the camp you collected some flowers near the riverbank before looking around seeing everyone has left besides Karlach. “Hey! Where did everyone else go?” You pouted walking to her. The tall woman smiles looking down at you, “It’s just the both of us, little soldier. We think it’s best if one of us stays at the camp with you. It’s dangerous out there.” She chuckles seeing you cross your arms. “But we can take this opportunity to get to know each other.” She sits down on the ground. “Hmmm…”You look at her, was she part of the game as well? You did promise Astarion you would win this game for them. “Okay!” Sitting down next to her, you look up at her “Tell me about you! I wanna know why you have a broken horn” You pointed. “That will be a tough one…let me see if I can give you the kid friendly version.” 

“Why in the hell did you accept this charity work when our goal is to get this thing out of our heads?!” Astarion frowns after Tav was done talking to Zevlor. “Hey, Halsin can be our ticket to healing us after seeing what Nettie was going to make us do. We need to rescue him.” Tav looks at Astarion, “You are welcome to switch places with Karlach and look after (Y/N)” They crossed their arms. Astarion stops whining, “ On second thought I rather do this than babysit a child.” He mutters. “You know, you two seem to know each other.” Gale began to poke. Astarion rolls his eyes “Stay out of my business will you wizard? The child must have seen me somewhere in Baldur’s Gate and felt much safer with a familiar face. “ The elf shrugs and walks around the grove seeing what he can take. Shadowheart walks around as well. “It’s going to be harder to travel with a child, the dangers we will face.” She comments “We can’t leave them either since they also have the tadpole. Poor child” She hissed something glows on her hand hurting her. Astarion ignores her, thinking back how your life is. It’s already over since Cazador made you a spawn. “Yeah…poor kid” He mutters and walks further into the Grove. 

You lay on the ground in Astarions tent, after hearing Karlachs story, you look at the sky admiring it. You wonder why didn’t papa let you step outside the big palace. He would always warn you to stay away from the windows and never step foot out of the palace. The sky was beautiful, you want to keep admiring it after you go back home. Maybe if you convince him, he’ll let you at least see it outside of the window. “Papa…Mama…” You whisper thinking back to them. Rubbing your eyes, you were met with Astarion looking down at you. “Aww did you miss me little creature?” He smirks laying down next to you. “I miss papa” Sitting up you play with his hair. “Of course papa…hmm (Y/N) what did you mean about mad like papa?” He leans on his side looking at you. You look down “I remember papa getting mad at mama…” You whisper the memory fresh in your mind. “Mama…and do you know what Cazador was mad at?” He once again began to play with your hair, a habit he’s been getting. “I couldn’t hear…they were talking very lowly but I saw papa grab mama’s neck and then he took a bite on it. I wanted to check on mama but papa said she was going to sleep and took me home with him in the big castle.” You retold the story. Astarion only watches you retold it, he hums thinking. Must have killed her in front of her and took in the child before turning them into a spawn. “ I see, I bet you miss your mother.” He looked at the sky as it was setting down. “I do but papa says she was a terrible mother…I don’t know why but I don’t want papa to get mad at me?” You play with the dirt only for Astarion to stop you. “Careful you’ll get dirty.” He sighs before looking at you. “How are you? Blood wise little spawn.” He dugs into his bag to pull out another small vial of blood. “Gimmie!” You try to reach for it only for him to pull back. “Drink a little, this should last you till the morning.” He gently tips the vial on your mouth giving half. 

The next day, Astarion sighs sitting on the ground watching you chase a butterfly as he was replaced, Karlach taking his spot. You giggle chasing the small insect. “Astarion! When will I be able to see papa?” You walk over to the pale elf. “I don’t know.” He groans “This the 5th time you’ve asked me, don’t ask me again, got it?” He fixes your shirt before seeing a hole. “Where did you get this from?” He tuts. You look down shrugging. “Children I swear.” He mutters “ I’ll patch it up tonight.” He looks at his small kit. You grinned, “Thank you!” You wrapped your little arms around his neck. He tense up, before slowly rubbing your back, “Yeah yeah, now go back to chasing this pointless butterfly.” He gently shoves you away as you run off to chase the poor butterfly. How can a little spawn like yourself make him feel different?

   Night came rolling, You were asleep on your side of the tent. Astarion looks around and sees everyone asleep. He slowly got up and walked over to the Tav leaning in before seeing them awake. “Shit…” He mutters and backs up. (The rest is history for us Astarion Fans)

You woke up to the sound of chatter. Sitting up, you noticed everyone around Astarion. Getting up, your little legs walk over clinging on to his pant leg. “ And is (Y/N) a vampire Spawn as well?” Tav looks down at you. Astarion sighs “Yes, Cazador, my old master also made them into a spawn.” He looks down at you. Hearing the name Cazador, you grin “He’s my papa!” You bounce happily. “But she’s so young” Gale looks down at you, “Will she be needing blood as well? Right away, We don’t bite out of nowhere okay?”

Astarion frowns seeing Gale already showing you manners on being a spawn. “Yeah yeah, we bite before asking, don’t we (Y/N)?” He pulls you closer to him and away from Gale. You only nodded still clinging on to his pants. “ Has she taken blood yet?” Karlach looks over to you smiling “For a little spawn they are rather adorable.” She chuckles as you get distracted chasing once again a butterfly. “Why don’t they have red eyes? Where did Cazador bite them?” Astarion goes to speak but stops as they were right. “I…I don’t know…” He looks at you before walking over  “ Come here.” He gently stops you and looks at your (E/C) eyes before looking down at your neck seeing nothing. “(Y/N) I need you to tell me the truth, where did he bite?” He looks at you sternly. You only tilt your head “Bite…he only bit mama…” Upon hearing you, his eyes widened and stood up, backing a bit. “What is it?” Tav walks over. “They are a Daywalker. Dhampire’s….You…they…Cazador…” He whispers trying to make this all sense. “When has Cazador been…involved with a human…” He whispers looking at you. “Especially to have you…” He looks down at you as you stare back at him, only one thing crossing across his mind. 

What did he get himself into

~~~~~~~~~~

Important Author's Note: Thank you so much, it seems all of you are loving this, please do be patient. This story will start off slow but all the action and more secrets will be out in the upcoming chapters. I also have another idea, what about a fic where Astarion was married to the reader before he was killed and now that 200 years have passed he sees her again. Would you guys like that? I have another Astarion Fic as well in my blog called Hunted Past so please do check that out. Thank you everyone! Stay safe and stay hydrated!

-Axie

#baldurs gate fic #baldurs gate 3 #dad astarion #dadstarion #dadstarion x child reader #karlach #shadowheart #gale dekarios #astarion x child reader #father figure astarion #bg3 fanfiction #bg3 astarion

[simpforboys]

I GOT YOU WITH REQUESTS.

this is kinda angsty.. but what about neteyam and you having a really good relationship until he sees someone kiss you (you did not reciprocate but neteyam was too mad to hear you out) and so you guys break up and now youve been like enemies but theres always that sexual tension and one day when you reach a heated argument he fucks you dumb and keeps telling you that youre not gonna find anyone better than him🏃‍♀️💨

fmokx

fmokx: jealousy, envy

neteyam x fem!omatikaya!reader

summary: a misunderstanding can lead to broken hearts… and backs.

warnings: smut! angst, fluff ending, breeding kink, dirty talk, mean!dom!neteyam, sexual tension, lovers to enemies to lovers again, jealousy, creampie, foul language, oral (f + m receiving), neteyam’s side eye (bc its scary)

aged up!neteyam (around 20-21)

yunoi: you-no-eye

envy.

it’s amazing how much envy can cause a person to do horrible things.

envy filled yunoi as he saw neteyam flirting with you.

yunoi, a strong hunter of the metkayina clan, saw you when you arrived with the sully family to awa’atlu.

he had long curly hair, a strong jawline, sharp cheekbones, and big eyes.

he had heard the rumors that you and neteyam were going to mate, but the sky people attack interrupted the ceremony.

and yunoi wasn’t going to allow neteyam to take you officially off the market.

“rewon (morning), y/n.” yunoi bowed his head to you as you went out to help find some berries for breakfast.

“hi, yunoi.” you bowed back, a mutual sign of respect to acknowledge the hunter.

yunoi would give you constant looks, only an idiot would not see how much the man was interested in you.

and it pissed neteyam off.

neteyam would openly hold your hand in public, trying to scare yunoi off. but yunoi wasn’t going to back down without a challenge.

“why don’t you join me for a swim? i can show you around the reef properly.” yunoi stared down at you, a deep smirk on his face.

“no, thank you. i have to get back to my family for breakfast.” you politely declined, wishing the man would leave you alone.

“are they really your family, though? rumor has it, you and neteyam aren’t officially mated.” yunoi raised his brow bone at you.

your ears fell in annoyance.

“yes, they are my family. they took me in, didn’t they?”

“more like they brought you to me.” he smirked at you.

you pushed your braids out of your face, tail swaying lowly. you were tired, annoyed, and wanted to eat.

“what do you want from me, yunoi?”

“i want you. you as a whole.”

neteyam had been curious as to what was taking you so long, but when he saw you speaking to yunoi in the distance, he hid behind a tree to see the interaction.

he watched as yunoi grabbed your hand, pulling you into him as he kissed you.

neteyam’s face scowled from the sight, but he didn’t get to watch the rest. he turned back, stomping angrily back to the pod.

you shoved yunoi back by his chest, your hands touching his tribal tattoos as you cringed.

“get it through your thick skull that i will not be with you. i will always be neteyam’s.” you scolded the boy, turning around so your tail could whip him.

but yunoi smirked, knowing neteyam saw the scene.

too annoyed to finish your berry picking, you wandered back into the pod. neteyam watched as you came in.

“what the hell was that?” he asked angrily, nostrils flared and ears turned upward.

“ma neteyam-“ you went to hold the boy, needing some comfort, but when he flinched away from you, you stood dumbfounded.

“do not. i saw him kiss you.”

“that is true. you saw him kiss me, not the other way around.”

“i cannot believe you. after everything we have been through.” neteyam scoffed at you, starting to walk out of the pod again. his braids swayed roughly as he walked.

“you are being irrational,” you barked back with annoyance. first yunoi, now neteyam.

you went to grab his forearm, but neteyam pulled it away from you.

“we are now nothing. go run back to that fish-lipped skxawng (moron).”

and with that, neteyam dove into the ocean and left you. your hands were shaking in frustration as you threw down the woven basket you were holding.

you walked away angrily, lo’ak furrowing his brows.

“y/n-“

“no.” you kept walking, letting your anger get the best of you.

lo’ak didn’t take it to heart, knowing his brother probably did something stupid.

➽─────────────────❥

the sullys soon realized something happened between you and neteyam.

you did not speak, began sleeping on opposite sides of the pod, and would brush past each other with a scowl.

and while all you wanted was for the boy to realize his mistake, neteyam was too blindsided by rage.

neteyam stood against a tree, his arms folded over the other as you helped tsireya feed the ilus.

you laughed with the girl, almost getting your hand nipped.

everyone throughout the village heard about you and neteyam within days. men would approach you, trying to take you out as girls would do the same to neteyam.

while neither of you would admit it, the jealousy that radiated off of the both of you was insane.

“are you going to stop giving y/n a side eye?” kiri asked her brother.

“she is a cheater.” neteyam said back, his voice low.

“is she really? or did you just not allow her to explain what happened?” kiri stared at her brother’s emotionless face as his ears fell flat.

“i saw that skxawng (idiot) kiss her.”

“but did she kiss back?”

neteyam rolled his eyes at his sister, seeing the way a tall fisherman gave you a smirk as he gave you more fish.

“look-“

“she is a beautiful person, neteyam. of course men will be fawning over her. but remember who she’s always wanted to be with.”

neteyam huffed, not responding.

“she’s always wanted to be with you, incase you didn’t get that through your big skull.” kiri teased.

neteyam rolled his eyes once more, this time playfully.

“yeah, i got that.”

that night, during dinner you and neteyam sat on opposite sides. you sat on your knees as you ate, thanking neytiri for the food.

the tension was thick and you could feel neteyam keep looking at you.

you two would accidentally make eye contact, you looking away as you kept picking at your food.

the family ate in silence, maybe because they were too afraid to speak.

you helped neytiri put everything back neatly, and when the family eventually fell asleep, you woke up to your arm being tugged.

you growled lowly, seeing neteyam tugging you awake.

“shhh,” he placed his finger over his lips. you complied, following him out and over a few ways away from the closest marui pod.

“what do you think you’re doing?” you questioned him, seeing his braids sway as he walked with passion.

he turned to look at you, his silhouette illuminated by the eclipse. he had an expression on his face like he was holding something back.

“hello?” you asked once more, growing aggravated at the boy.

“you can’t just wake me up in the middle of the night and not say anything, skxawng!” you insulted, rolling your eyes, ready to leave when neteyam grabbed you.

“y/n…” his chest was rising and falling, his once glowing eyes now dark. his pupils were blown wide, he looked not like himself.

in one sudden motion, he grabbed your jaw and kissed you. you immediately kissed back, missing the way he felt on your skin.

he kissed you like it was the last thing he’ll ever do, tugging on your queue which caused you to whimper in his mouth.

“you gonna be a good girl for me?” he asked, his lips dangerously close to yours.

you nodded, whines leaving your throat. neteyam stared down at you, pushing you down to your knees.

he untied his loincloth, the material falling into the sand to unleash his throbbing cock. it looked like it had been hard for hours.

“suck it, c’mon.” he grabbed your jaw, opening your mouth and forcing his cock down your throat.

your pussy gushed as he fucking your throat. you held his thighs as he gripped your hair.

tears fell from your eyes as you gagged around his cock, but the noises he made made it all worth it.

“you love sucking my cock, huh, baby? missed it didn’t you.”

you nodded against him, spit dribbling out of your mouth. “don’t you fucking dare touch yourself.”

neteyam ordered when he saw your hand reach for your loincloth. you whined at the man as he took his cock out of your throat.

“don’t be fucking needy.” he slapped his dick on your tongue a couple times, allowing you to catch your breath before shoving it inside once more.

neteyam’s hips were snapping angrily. something must have triggered him from the time you went to sleep til now, and you would be lying if you were to say you weren’t enjoying it.

neteyam bit his lip as he whimpered, loving the way your lips wrapped around his cock. “such a pretty baby…” he cooed.

when he was close to cumming, he ripped your head off of him. his eyes were like a reptile, about to attack its prey.

“neteyam-“ you breathed out as he pushed you down onto the sand.

juices were rushing down your thigh, soaking your loincloth as he finally untied it. “pretty pussy… too bad i’m going to destroy it.”

you moaned as he blew air directly onto your sensitive clit, back arching as he smirked.

“fuck, fuck, fuck,” you panted as he finally sucked on your clit, humming against it.

neteyam was not taking his time with you. he was quick, wanting you to come so he can finally claim you as his.

“c’mon, y/n.” he urged on, two fingers thrusting in and out of you. he curled them towards him, causing you to scream out.

neteyam’s free hand went to cover your mouth, his cock twitching as you clenched around his fingers.

“so good, ‘teyam. so good.” you praised, pulling his braids as he whimpered against you.

the lack of pleasure you hadn’t received in months was driving you insane. the way neteyam ate you out in an animalistic manner, your head was spinning.

“i’m gonna cum-“ you warned, but neteyam pulled away.

you growled at the loss of contact, pissed that he stopped when you were so close.

“shut the fuck up.” he slapped your cheek, not enough to hurt you, but enough to make you adjust your attitude.

“gonna fuck this whore pussy, okay?” he looked at you, and while he was in total domination, he waited for you to give him a nod of consent.

your head fell back against the sand as he slipped inside of you, his cock burying itself in your cervix.

“fuck!” you practically screamed out, feeling neteyam bite on your shoulder.

he felt your pussy clenching around him as you adjusted, the motion causing his head to ring.

within seconds, he was rutting his hips into yours. you were a moaning mess, nails digging at his back.

“take that fucking dick,” he said. the pleasure was too much as you tried to push back.

he grabbed your body, holding you tightly against him so you couldn’t move.

he was panting against you, looking into your eyes as you pulled him into you again. you kissed him feverishly, thrusting your hips upwards to get him deeper.

“you’re never going to find anyone better than me. got that?” he said between thrusts.

you whined, nodding against him.

“say it.” he gritted out.

“i’m never going to find anyone better than you, neteyam!” you screamed out as he rubbed your clit.

“i’m going to put a fucking baby in this little cunt, okay?” he said.

“yesssss…” you were being fucked dumb on his cock, not even hearing what he was saying.

“you want me to give you my babies?”

“yes, give me your babies!”

“who’s this pussy belong to?” he asked, his ears perking up as he was yunoi looking out of his pod. neteyam smirked as he rubbed your clit faster.

your limbs were practically attached to his, legs gripping onto his waist.

“answer me, y/n.” neteyam made sure to say your name loudly so yunoi could hear.

“it’s yours! my pussy is yours, neteyam!” you were so close to cumming, you were panting against him.

“cum on my cock, baby. i’ve got you.” neteyam held your hips as he came in you, your pussy convulsing against him as your eyes rolled back.

you were shaking, dizzy, and panting as you were up with eywa for a few moments.

when things seemed to calm down, neteyam pulled you against him.

“i’m sorry, ma y/n. i should’ve listened to you.”

he buried himself into your neck and collarbone as you pet his hair.

“it is okay. let’s just promise not to do it again, yeah?”

neteyam nodded against you.

➽─────────────────❥

the next morning, the village was confused to see you and neteyam all lovey again.

“what is happening?” yunoi’s friend, latiska, asked.

yunoi was scowling, but he knew his place now.

——

tags: @mayhemories @useryourbut

#simpforboys #neteyam sully #neteyam x you #neteyam sully x reader #best boy neteyam #neteyam sully smut #neteyam #neteyam x reader #neteyam angst #neteyam x y/n #neteyam fluff #neteyam smut #this is rushed #avatar 2022 #avatar 2 #avatar #avatar way of water #this is filthy

[life-is-more-than-just-a-game]

♠️ What a day off of games with the aib males can look like. ♠️

A/N: Sorry, I've been absent for two days now, but for good reason. I wasn't feeling too well mentally and needed some time to myself because something happened that put me in quite a hole ... 🥲

Still, I've been thinking about what I could post here next, so I've prepared a few headcanons that define what I think a day off of games with the male characters might look like. 🙈

I hope that some of you are still around and will read through it. Feel free to let me know what you think about it or if you think any of them might have other interests! ✨

Characters: Aguni, Arisu, Chishiya, Karube & Niragi.

POV: gn!reader

Warnings: Not given.

A g u n i

It depends on what time we are in.

If the beach still exists, Aguni is often prevented from doing anything with you outside if he already occupies the number one spot.

You would have to live with the fact that you would hardly have any time just for the two of you, because someone from his troupe would always want something from him.

If he realises that this is bothering you - or he is annoyed by it himself - he will turn his boys away and say that they should leave him alone for the next 2 hours as far as possible because he has better things to do.

In general, no matter what time loop we are in, I would say that Aguni would adjust to your needs.

I have the following typical scenario in mind:

Aguni: "So there are no games waiting for us today. Any ideas what you want to do in our day off?" Y/N: "Uhm ..." Aguni: "Come on, you must have been in the mood for something." Y/N: "Yeah, but I really don't know for what I am in the mood for ..."

Nobody said it would be easy with you, but let's be honest: it's the Borderland, what excited yet relaxing things could you do here so far?

If you really don't know what you want to do, he would give some suggestions.

Aguni: "We could go to the pool." Y/N: "Too cloudy for my taste ..." Aguni: "We can do some sports together." Y/N: "Now your expectations are set far too high!" Aguni: "What about fishing?" Y/N: "Can't we just get some fresh air and go for a walk together?" Aguni: "..." Y/N: "..." Aguni: "You knew very well what you wanted to do, didn't you?" Y/N: "Without my lawyer, I won't say anything."

A r i s u

If you want to do something, then Arisu is definitely the right person.

The boy is always up for a lot of nonsense and fun activities.

This is probably also because he doesn't want to constantly think about the terrible circumstances that are happening here.

He has got used to life here, but living in constant fear doesn't get someone anywhere and only has a negative effect on oneself.

So, if he is being trapped in a world that could take his life sooner or later, he at least wants to live every day as if it were his last.

You will not regret spending time with him.

He comes up with the wildest ideas, starting with taking a closer look into the various broken buildings.

Of course, he would still be cautious of entering any places just like that- not that both of you suddenly find yourself in a game, because that's what you're trying to avoid today.

Y/N: "A-Are you sure we should do this, Arisu?" Arisu: "Nope, but you only live once, so let's check this building out- maybe we'll find some interesting things in here." Y/N: "Would you define 'corpses' as interesting ...?" Arisu: "Wow, you really managed to ruin my fun."

You still wouldn't be able to stop him.

Investigating the building would include lots of laughter and piggybacks when your feet get tired from all the walking over ruins and debris.

Eventually you find out that this building was a former arcade.

You can definitely pass the time well there.

Arisu: "Would you like a game of billiards?" Y/N: "I'm going to rip you off so bad, love."

C h i s h i y a

Listen, this boy is a damn lazy piece of shit.

When there aren't any duties don't expect him to do something special.

He has no problem putting his feet up for a day and literally doing nothing.

Feel honored if he spends his time with you at all.

No matter where you both would be, he would find ways to just doze off and relax while you - after all - lie in his arms and enjoy his closeness.

It's nice that he can do that, but you can't.

Y/N: "We've been lying around here all day." Chishiya: "Well realised." Y/N: "I'm bored." Chishiya: "Then do something."

He would definitely be a great help to you.

Jokes on you, no, he wouldn't.

Y/N: "But I wanna do something with you today since we have enough time finally." Chishiya: "We do something, darling." Y/N: "Idiot, that's not what I meant!"

Making you pout is one of his favorite things to do.

How could he be bored if you let him get on your nerves so easily?

In contrast to you, he has something to laugh about and something to amuse himself with.

Nevertheless, he would at least agree to a compromise:

Chishiya: "How about this? We'll use the time now to laze around and in the evening we'll take a look at the neighbourhood together and see which places are damned by games this time." Y/N: "We don't take part in any games, our visas count enough days for us." Chishiya: "Who said anything about taking part in a game?" Y/N: "So, if I let you lounge around now, you will promise me to stay up late with me?"

Damn, you love the nightlife.

Chishiya: "That's a deal."

K a r u b e

To me the funniest but most chaotic one.

During the day, at least.

I can well imagine that Karube and you had already planned the day ahead the evening before.

But what would life be like if everything went as planned?

The morning is pleasant. You wake up together and after a intense cuddle-round, you start your routine as usual.

Unfortunately, Karube realizes that he can't find something.

Something very important when it comes to following his routine.

Karube: "Honey, d'you know where my cigarettes are?" Y/N: "I don't know where you put them yesterday after you got ready for bed."

In the end, it all comes down to searching your whole accommodation for his cigarettes.

I mean, when you do smoke yourself, they can be important for you too ...

If not, well, then you are a very nice and good person!

Y/N: "Did you found them?" Karube: "I would have told you when that would be the case." Y/N: "Sure you didn't throw the box away because you smoked you last one yesterday evening?" Karube: "I know my pack of cigarettes inside out, there were at least three more in there."

You can guess where this is going.

You spend the whole forenoon looking for his damn cigarettes.

You turn the whole accommodation upside down.

Both of you look under every stone.

In every room.

Two times- minimum.

Y/N: "Karube, fave it, you don't have any- ... Darling ...? Karube: "What is it?" Y/N: "What's that in your pants pocket ... at the back of your butt?" Karube: "Uh-... Oh!"

Now he remebers ...

Karube: "You found them! That's right, I put them straight in my jeans yesterday so I couldn't forge- hey!" Y/N: "Yeah, I threw your boxer shorts at you!"

N i r a g i

Oh, my dearest reader-chan, please stay close to him no matter where he goes.

When he has nothing to do, he will go through the city streets looking for people to annoy.

He would look for trouble and find it- even if there's no reason for trouble, he'll just make it happen himself and find his reasons.

I don't know how, but at least you managed to stop him from taking his gun.

That's something you should be very proud of.

However, that doesn't stop him from doing anything and we know that.

So please. Stay. With. Him. Thank you!

In any case, you walk around the area together and check it out a little.

You'll talk about pretty trivial things every now and then, but that's still more pleasant than just talking to each other all the time.

When you meet someone, Niragi is ready to provoke them directly for no reason.

Thank god you had a firm hold on his hand or his arm so you could quickly drag him in another direction to avoid the innocent people.

Y/N: "Oh, look!"

Yes, you also like to pretend to see something that you would find interesting.

… In partially empty shop windows.

Niragi: "What the fuck should I look for?" Y/N: "See the rocks there?" Niragi: "You kidding me, right?"

The nice thing is that he would still look to something you tell him to look at.

There could actually be something interesting there.

Well, most of the times at least.

It's nearly impossible but who know?

Y/N: "OH, SEE WHAT I HAVE FOUND TH-" Niragi: "What is it this time? Another boring and ugly stone you think it's fascinating?" Y/N: "No ..." Niragi: "Oh, what is it this time then?" Y/N: "The tree there."

He will touch his nose and look at you angrily- but not without laughing afterwards at your amiable stupidity.

Damn, he loves you so much for what you are, he can't even be bothered.

#alice in boderland x reader #chishiya x reader #niragi x reader #arisu x reader #arisu ryohei x reader #chishiya shuntaro x reader #niragi suguru x reader #alice in borderland #aib #alice in borderland headcanons #arisu headcanons #chishiya headcanons #niragi headcanons #alice in borderland x you #arisu x you #chishiya x you #niragi x you #chishiya shuntaro alice in borderland #aib headcanons #short headcanons #alice in borderland blog #arisu #chishiya #niragi #aguni headcanons #karube daikichi #karube x reader #aib karube #aguni morizono #aguni aib

[aoioozora]

Simon.

Part 10

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9

Character: Simon Riley / Ghost Content: Biker! Ghost x Fem! Reader, strangers to lovers, fluff, civilian au

Note: Took me too long just to get down the first draft but editing it was pleasant. Please enjoy my hard work :')

“Last man left, you broken hearted, let me treat you right…  Shorty if you need me, I could pull up any night.  You just say the words, girl, I don't need a reason…  Give me something more than just a lover on the weekend…”

Johnny's soft singing filled the quietness of the afternoon as he, Gaz, and Simon sat together on the dock, fishing rods in their hands, staring at the distant, hazy hills and the rippling water of the lake. The ladies were left to nap in the tent, while the men had their ‘boys time’, and what better way to spend it than fishing.

“Johnny,” Gaz called, shifting ever so slightly in his picnic chair so as to not disturb the movement of his fishing rod.

“Hm?” 

“Stop singing, you'll scare the fish away.” 

“Nonsense. Am no’ even singin’ tha’ loud.” 

“Yeah, but you will get louder as you go on, so shut up.” 

Johnny groaned and stopped singing. The three sat in silence again, waiting for a fish to take bait. Johnny and Gaz were relatively comfortable sitting still, as they knew that when it came to fishing, patience was the highest virtue. But Simon was antsy, and his knee bounced like a low dribbled basketball on steroids. 

This was visible in Johnny’s periphery, and he grew increasingly annoyed at how it distracted him from enjoying the slower pace of the lazy afternoon. Having enough, he delivered a hard slap to Simon’s knee, and the victim let out a bellow of surprise.

“What the fuck, Johnny?!” Simon snapped, nearly getting out of his seat, ready to throw hands.

Johnny shushed him. “Stop shaking so much, ye absolute lemon,” he chided under his breath, “Whit's oan yer mind?”

“Nothing,” Simon looked sideways as he muttered quietly, now sitting back down. 

Johnny and Gaz looked at each other and then rolled their eyes. Gaz quipped, “I don't know if you know, but when you shake your knee like that, it means that something’s bothering you.”

“Aye, he's right. I've seen it too,” Johnny agreed with a nod, “So, whit is it?” 

Simon hesitated. 

“C'mon, mate,” Gaz tried to encourage Simon, “No secrets, remember?” 

Simon let out a sound that was half a sigh and half a groan. He turned to Johnny, “Fine! Johnny, do you like Lindsey?” 

“Aye, I do?” Johnny answered immediately, raising his eyebrows at the question, “I thought I made it obvious?”

Simon narrowed his eyes. “I mean, for real? Do you really like her or are you just messing around like you always do?” 

“Why do ye want tae ken?” Johnny’s voice now grew a little quieter.

“____ asked,” Simon answered, sitting back and sighing. He glanced at his friend, who was looking back at him. “She wants to know if you're serious about her. And from the looks of it, she won't take kindly to you playing around.” 

Johnny's lips pursed into a thin line when he heard this, and he too sat back in his chair, now silent and thoughtful. Gaz and Simon stared at him, waiting for an answer. 

“I do like her, she's bonny,” he answered quietly with a shrug, the look on his face a little distant and dreamy. 

“You say that to every woman you talk to,” Simon retorted, though he was a little surprised by the rare look on his friend's face, a look he'd seen only once. 

“No, no. Wait,” Gaz hushed Simon, “He's not done.” 

Johnny shifted in his seat and continued, now a little solemn, “Am serious. I like her… a lot. She's bonny, and cute… she has nice hair and,” he smiled a little, “a face like a mouse. Squeaks a lot like one too.”

Simon glanced at Gaz, who looked back at him with a smirk on his face. They waited for him to elaborate.

“That's all ye will get,” Johnny huffed, sitting back on his chair. In reality, the attraction he felt for Lindsey couldn't be put into words. Something about her bashfulness, her feistiness, her cute pouts and frowns, and particularly her glowing, gorgeous green eyes that reminded him of the rolling Highlands tickled a spot in his heart that he had long closed away. 

Gaz began teasing Johnny, giving him light and playful pushes and shoves. Johnny, a little embarrassed, swatted his friend’s hands away while laughing and trying to counter Gaz’s teasing. Simon watched their banter, particularly looking at Johnny. He found his best friend’s behaviour peculiar, something he’s never personally seen before. 

He knew Johnny to be a smooth talker, a man who knew just the right words to say to make a woman fall head over heels for him. Johnny’s normal behaviour with a casual crush or fling was to talk incessantly and excitedly about them as if to overcompensate for the shallow feelings, but when it came to Lindsey, it was almost surprising to see him so solemn, so quiet, so thoughtful, even dreamy. 

Simon was more-or-less now convinced that his best friend really did like Lindsey and let out a sigh of relief on behalf of ____ as he turned his focus on the still waters. 

When the Gaz-Johnny banter died down, Johnny then turned to Simon to ask, “Whit about ye?”

“What about me?” Simon returned, confused. 

“With ____, ye lemon. How’s it going with her?”

He paused, sitting back on the picnic chair and tucking an arm under his head as he shrugged. “It’s going.”

“Where?” 

“Somewhere.”

Johnny and Gaz looked at eachother. “Whit ye mean?” Johnny raised a brow, “Stop bein’ so vague.”

“I think she likes someone else,” he mumbled, staring ahead across the lake with a blank, expressionless look, trying to sound like he wasn’t bothered.

The two looked at each other again, incredulous of what he claimed and unconvinced by his tone of voice. “Impossible,” Gaz quipped, “Have you seen her? The way she looks at you tells me she wants you to eat her whole or something.”

Johnny snorted at that and then backed Gaz up with his own observations. “Did ye ken I sent her tae help ye out with the wood? Ye should’ve seen her face. She flew aff.” It was a bit of an exaggeration, but Johnny needed to get his point across.

Simon turned to Johnny, raising a brow and shaking his head. “No way. You’re just saying.”

“No mate, I’m serious,” Johnny answered, now getting a little impatient as he stared at Simon, annoyed by his best friend’s obstinance. “Ye never dae this, Simon, but if ye want somethin’, ye gotta ask, ye ken?” 

“Ask what?”

Johnny groaned loudly. “Ye fuckin’ doughnut, ask her if she likes ye.” 

“You’re off your head,” Simon retorted, “I’m not so daft to take a risk that big.”

“Then ask her if she likes that bloke,” he reasoned, only to see Simon giving him the side-eye. Johnny, finally losing his patience, gave his friend a slap on the back of his head. “Just fuckin’ ask her. Don’t be such a pussy. Imagine the endless possibilities, Simon, imagine! If ye weren’t such a fuckin’ pussy.”

“Alright, fine!” Simon relented as he rubbed the back of his head, having enough of being called a pussy so many times for one day.

Johnny looked at Gaz and shook his head like a disappointed parent, making Gaz smile and shrug. The Scotsman turned back to Simon and gave him one long look, saying with a sigh, “I havnae seen ye like this before, mate. Yer usually fearless.”

Simon rubbed his cheek, particularly the scarred one. “No experience in this department,” he admitted.

“Hm,” Johnny exhaled, allowing his eye to linger on the long scar on his friend’s cheek, the reason for his inexperience.

When the last rays of the sun set behind the hills, the men ended their fishing, sadly returning with only a small handful in their bucket. Simon was sent to the tent to check on the ladies while Johnny and Gaz decided to head to the cabin to gut the fish and prepare a marinade so that they could grill them over the fire later.

“____? Lindsey?” called Simon as he entered the tent and moved towards the room they occupied. There was no answer.

He took hold of the zipper to open the entrance, but hesitated, not wanting to possibly catch them in a vulnerable position somehow. He cursed his upbringing, that he never had any sisters he could barge in on to annoy; unzipping this entrance would be a lot easier otherwise. 

He called once again. No answer. He didn’t want to be called a pussy again, so he slowly unzipped the entrance a little and peered in. 

In the dim darkness, he could vaguely see the two ladies fast asleep, cuddled like a litter of kittens. He shook his head, thinking to himself, “Women can do the gayest things and nobody bats an eyelid.” But that was the least of his concern at the moment, for when his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he noticed that ____ cuddled Little Simon to her chest.

Bigger Simon immediately zipped the entrance close and stood there in a daze, unable to stop himself from imagining replacing Little Simon, having the privilege of his arms around her waist, her arms around his neck, and his face nestled in her chest, no space between their bodies, cuddled and breathing each other in. His dirty little mind took it a step further and imagined him and her naked, but he caught himself and shook his head, feeling his cheeks start to burn. 

“Get a hold of yourself, Simon,” he reminded himself, “You can’t think of her like that.” 

He took out his phone and decided to wake the ladies up in the worst way possible: using the jarring sound of the alarm. They woke up immediately; as expected, Lindsey did not appreciate being woken up and mumbled some curses at Simon, while ____ was a little disoriented from the heavy sleep, even asking what year it was.

Before long, the five were soon seated on the wooden benches in front of the blazing fire pit under the now darkening sky, watching the fish grill over the open flames. Johnny and Gaz passed the time singing as he usually did, while Lindsey, though not a singer herself, tried to join. 

Johnny eventually did not want to sit still, so he snatched Lindsey by the hand and coaxed her to dance with him. 

“No!” she exclaimed with flaming cheeks as she saw the three others looking at her with teasing grins.

“C’mon Jolene, yer no’ dancin’ alone! Am here too!” He noticed that she was trying to pry her hand out of his grip, which made him hold on tighter.

“Have some fun for once, Linny!” encouraged ____, smiling widely.

“Ye heard her,” Johnny grinned and pulled Lindsey to her feet. “We’ll dae it ceilidh style!” 

Before she said another word, he already wrapped an arm around her waist and started hopping around with her and twirling her around while singing ‘Highland Girl’. Though she had been and danced in enough ceilidhs before, she still scrambled to hold on to Johnny’s shoulder and manage to keep up with his quick pace and tempo of the song. Though she stumbled occasionally, he kept her from falling, and her constant slip ups didn’t keep him from losing his patience or energy. 

“I didn’t know that I fell in love, in love with my Highland girl,” he sang, and he just had to gaze at her with those big blue eyes of his into her green ones. Time slowed for the both of them as he pulled her closer to himself and grinned out of sheer joy at the way her freckled cheeks flushed red both out of shyness and exertion, and at how the fire cast a warm glow over her face and her fiery red hair that swayed as they danced. 

He felt his chest swell as he looked at her, really and genuinely feeling like he was falling in love with this Highland girl in front of him. Lindsey felt no less. Their friends watched on, cheering, teasing, and encouraging them to keep dancing, happy to see the two so close to each other.

____ watched fondly, her eyes softening at how Lindsey eventually smiled and laughed as she danced with Johnny. Simon, who was sitting close next to her, saw the warm look on her face and smiled to himself.

“So,” he began, now leaning close to her so he could whisper, “I asked Johnny.”

“Mmhm,” she nodded eagerly, smiling. Simon noted the twinkle in her eye and could already tell that she knew what the answer would be.

“He does like her,” he confirmed, watching her closely for her reaction.

Her face broke into a bigger smile and she turned to the dancing pair, a fonder and warmer look in her eyes. “I can see it,” she answered, voice light with relief.

Simon couldn’t help but stare at her smile and at how the fire brightened up her eyes. His own dark eyes softened and his shoulders relaxed slightly as he watched her.

By this time, Lindsey needed a break and Johnny let her have one, though he wanted to dance some more. He danced with Gaz next, who was happy to oblige. 

As Simon and ____ watched them and laughed, he discreetly lifted his arm and put it on the back rest right behind her, though he was itching to put it around her shoulders and pull her closer to him. She noticed this, and instinctively moved closer to him. He gulped harshly, feeling his entire body go stiff. 

Wanting to make some small talk, he asked, flashing a boyish smirk at her, “You sleep alright, darling?”

“Yeah, like a log until you came in with your wonderful alarm,” she nudged his side with her elbow, feigning annoyance. 

He chuckled. “You're welcome.” 

There was a pause and he saw her take out her phone. His attention was turned back to his dancing friends until it returned to the lady next to him when he heard her giggle. Wondering if she too was watching the dancing, turned to her to make a comment about it, but instead found her giggling at her phone. A quick glance told him that she was texting someone, and a slightly longer, nosier glance told him that it was Alejandro. 

He drew in a sharp breath, clenching his fists slightly. His earlier anger shot up again, and he pulled his arm off the back rest, and crossed it over his chest, now deciding that watching the fish grill was more interesting. When she was done texting, he asked, 

“How's Alejandro doing, by the way?” Not that he cared. 

“He's alright. He was texting me just now. Said he didn't see me come out of my place this weekend to go out so I told him I was out camping.” she explained. 

Simon's arms crossed tighter. “What a fucking stalker,” he thought. 

“He said he wanted to join us next time.” she added. 

Simon's brow furrowed. He regretted even asking about that man. “I see,” he said through his teeth, appalled by his audacity, especially when he wasn't a close friend of hers. 

Now was his chance to ask her about what she thought of him, and he took it immediately. “I'm curious about one thing, darling,” began Simon. She looked at him attentively. “Do you… like him?”

She looked at him with surprise and then exclaimed, laughing, “No! Goodness, no, Simon. I don't.” 

Simon couldn't hold back a sigh of relief. “You don't?” he asked, hiding his excitement, “I thought you did. He seems cool.”

She looked at him, an eyebrow raised. “You think he's cool? I thought you didn't like him. Especially after how nicely you greeted him when you first met him.” 

He shook his head, chuckling. “I said I would be the “protective boyfriend”, so that's what I was doing.” He felt his face turn hot, a little afraid of how observant she was. “Either way,” he decided to steer the conversation in a slightly different direction, “I was thinking you liked him, and so I thought that if you did, I could stop pretending to be your boyfriend and get out of your way. And you wouldn’t have to come with me to my family reunion.” His face started turning hotter again as he felt like his words were coming out all jumbled up. 

She chuckled again. “Oh, no. It's nothing like that. He's just a neighbour to me, just a friend.” 

He smiled. ��Alright then.” Simon exhaled slowly; he was tired of how volatile his feelings had been in the course of that single day, soaring high only to dive down deep and then to soar again. 

The fish was soon grilled and everyone feasted on them. After that, the marshmallows came out, which they put on skewers and toasted over the fire. 

Johnny announced, “We should play ‘Simon Says’!” which earned the chuckles of everyone except Simon. 

“Not this again,” Simon rolled his eyes as he sandwiched the gooey marshmallow and a piece of chocolate between two biscuits to make a smore.

“Come oan!” Johnny coaxed, “Yer no fun!”

Simon relented, “Alright, alright,” 

Johnny grinned and the others sat ready looking at Simon, ready for his orders. 

Simon cleared his throat and said, “Simon says… stop playing Simon says.”

Everyone collectively groaned and protested, making Simon chuckle uncontrollably. 

“Och, sod off, mate! I’ll make Gaz Simon,” Johnny declared, shaking his head at Simon, who was more than happy to oblige.

Gaz took the place of Simon and ordered everyone to do the most outrageous actions, even a whole dance routine that the ladies completely butchered, until everyone’s sides started to hurt from laughing too much. Johnny had to take over soon enough to end Gaz’s reign of “terror”, and everyone had their turn as well.

After a few more games and marshmallows eaten, Johnny decided he'd sing one last song before they'd extinguish the fire and head off to bed because he “wanted to sing ye all tae sleep”.

Over the silent air, the fire over the crackling wood danced with the gently blowing breeze whilst the chirp of insects filled the relaxing silence. The four, tired from playing and laughing, sat still, waiting to hear Johnny. 

He began softly and sweetly to sing,

“Oh, my love said to me, “will you meet me by the sea?”  You can kiss me underneath the misty moon…”

He stole a cheeky glance at Lindsey, who frowned at him and shyly looked away. He continued, still looking at her, 

“She is stunnin’, she is pretty, she's as warm as amber whisky,  And as bonny as a heather on the hill.”

____ smiled and giggled at his openly flirtatious display. She was so focused on them that she didn't see how Simon stared at her. 

“When I was a young boy, my mother said to me,  “Find yourself a pretty lass, don't take her love for free” From the fields of Aberfeldy to the shores of Loch Maree I know that she's the only one for me.”

His arm went over the backrest of the bench again, right behind her, and when she leaned against him just a tad, he felt the irresistible urge to put his arm around her shoulders and hug her, this stunning, pretty woman, who was warm as amber whisky and more bonny than a thousand heathers on a thousand hills.

The singing made everyone slouch in their seats out of relaxation, and Simon sat back with a sigh, letting his itchy arm lightly graze against her shoulder. The lady next to him was highly aware of his closeness, and again, she thought of the moment at the arcade. She looked up at him, only to find him staring right at her with his lips slightly parted. She met his eye, feeling a flutter tickle her stomach.

“Simon?” she called softly, lightly tapping his thigh. 

He blinked, realising he was staring. “Yeah?” he asked, turning his head away slightly, embarrassed to have been caught.

“You’re staring,” she teased, echoing his own remark to her when they went out before. 

He chuckled. “Sorry darling, I was just…” he met her eye, “thinking of something,” he said, giving her a fond smile.

“Was it me?” she wondered, but instead smiled. 

They listened to the rest of Johnny’s song, and by the time he ended, nearly everyone was sleepy and yawning. Johnny thanked his audience for listening to his constant singing, pretending to be a famous singer ending a concert, even exaggeratedly bowing to them and earning chuckles and soft applause from his friends. They extinguished the fire and took their plates back to the cabin to wash and gathered their snacks to seal and keep them away.

Just as they gathered in the tent to retire for the night, Johnny announced, “Remember lads, we’re hiking tae see the sunrise tomorrow, so ye all better be ready! We ride at the asscrack of dawn!”

“Alright, that’s enough screaming now. Let’s sleep.” Gaz caught Johnny in a chokehold and pulled him into one of the two rooms in the tent. 

“Make sure tae kiss the homies good night!” Johnny called out laughingly from the room. He even blew a good night kiss to Lindsey, but she just rolled her eyes and went inside the other room in the tent, huffing and blushing. 

The men and ladies exchanged their good-nights and tucked into their sleeping bags. From all the noise in the other room, the ladies could tell that Johnny still hadn’t settled down. Eventually, Simon and Gaz had to scold him, and he soon quieted, making the ladies in the other room giggle to themselves.

Lindsey didn’t take too long to fall asleep, but ____ was wide awake thanks to her very heavy afternoon nap. It was past eleven-thirty when she took out her phone to work on the novel and jot down chapter outlines and her notes and observations of Simon, which would eventually be twisted and bent into a shape fitting for Frederick. Sleep still didn’t come to her, even much past midnight. 

Tired of staring at her phone in the darkness, she closed her aching, strained eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Sleep would not come anytime soon so, “I suppose a walk would help,” she figured.

Tucking Little Simon under her arm, she carefully slipped past her sleeping best friend and out of the tent without a sound and walked over the damp grass towards the lake and stood at the dock, watching the water ripple under the moonlight and the faraway hills bathed in it. Basked in the gentle light, she looked up at the distant stars, twinkling without a care, and inhaled the cool air of the night. She walked by the pebbled banks for a while, enjoying their soft clatter as she stepped over them, until a soft breeze brought in the clouds, making a light rain descend. 

Not yet wanting to go back to the tent, she made her way to the cabin to sit on the porch to watch the world and the rain go by. In the dim darkness, she saw a large shadow sitting on the wooden bench. 

“Hey, you can’t sleep either?” asked the familiar rough, gravelly voice of the shadow.

“Simon?”

End of Part 10.

Part 11 coming soon :)

Simon lore in the next chapter! Leave a comment if you want to be tagged for the next part :) Thank you for reading <3

--

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@mxtokko

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@xoxobooksstuff @suhmie @whenyouwannafindlove @dontyouworrydaddy @0chemicalwaste0

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#call of duty #aoioozora writes #Simon series #cod x reader #cod x you #cod x y/n #simon ghost riley #simon riley x reader #simon riley x you #simon ghost x reader #simon ghost x you #simon ghost riley x reader #simon ghost riley x you #cod #cod fanfic #call of duty fanfic #cod fluff #fluff #fanfic #fanfiction #fanfictions #cod ghost #ghost cod #cod ghost x reader #cod ghost x you #cod ghost fanfic #ghost call of duty #ghost simon riley #simon riley

[tangledinink]

whoa, i wrote a thing. the first chapter of my tmnt "sorry, teenage mutant what now?" au is live on ao3, or can be read below the cut!!! complete with sketchy title card and dumb chapter title. do i have any real experience writing fics??? no!!! am i gonna do my best anyway!?!? yes i am!!!

“Did you drink all the milk AGAIN!? Dude!—"

“What?! You know I need an exact milk-to-rice-chex ratio in order to enjoy my breakfast, Leo!”

“Have any of you seen my dance bag? It’s not where I left it!”

“Why do you need it, anyway? Isn’t dance on Thursday?”

“Leo, today is Thursday.”

“What? No, it’s not. If it was Thursday, then my American Literature essay would be due, and I haven’t even started it yet, so there’s NO WAY—“

“If my toaster is destroyed, I will be making whichever child is responsible pay for the replacement!” The warning rang out over the general chaos of the morning.

“Oh shoot—“ Yoshi could hear the frantic scrabble of a belated attempt to rescue the burning pop tart, which Yoshi could smell from all the way in the living room. Parked in his reclining chair, the TV playing in front of him, he munched contentedly on his own breakfast which he had acquired earlier before his teenage sons descended upon the kitchen. He was not much of a ‘morning person,’ but it was a necessity if he was to eat in any sort of peace in the mornings.

This was a typical morning in the Hamato household.

Yoshi was used to it by now. The bickering, the bumbling, the hectic last-minute "wait I forgot something's--" it was all just a part of the routine. Sure, it had been a bit exhausting at times when they were all still children, and he had to scramble about like a madman each morning to ensure they had everything they needed to get where they were going. But at this point? He could more or less just ignore them and allow them to work things out by themselves, only occasionally needing to step in and offer a bit of guidance. He had always been a bit of a... Hands-off parent, for better or for worse, but he was fairly certain that he had finally found the rhythm of things over the past several years. Not that that made him a perfect parent by any means, there had certainly been plenty of occasions--

"APRIIIIILLLLLL O'NEIL!!!" The battle cry and hearty thud of his poor front door put a sudden end to his narration, and, though it happened near every day, he startled in response, just barely avoiding dropping his tea.

"April!" He bellowed from his chair, turning just enough to peer into the kitchen, where his honorary fifth child (as if he needed any more…) and next-door neighbor had just appeared. "How many times must I tell you?! If you break my door, I will--!"

"Aw, c'mon, Yosh, you know I gotta make a bold entrance at the start of the morning, or my mojo is gonna be off for the whole rest of the day! Besides, I haven't broken the door yet, and it's been how many years?"

“Bah! Haven't broken my door yet, maybe, but what about my bed frame? Or my printer? Or my third-favorite koi fish figurine?!"

"Oh, you wanna play that game now?" O'Neil countered, narrowing his eyes behind scarlet frames, crossing her arms across her chest and cocking one hip to the side. "Okay, then, how about my window? Or my mom's antique vase? Or my literal entire bathroom--"

"Okay! Okay, enough!" Yoshi spluttered with a dismissive wave of his hands. Dammit. The fact he was technically responsible for his sons’ occasional partaking in light property destruction was still, in his opinion, the most unfair and annoying part of parenting. "Fine! Break down the door for all I care! Burn the entire place to the ground! See if I do anything about it! Teenagers..." He muttered with a scowl, shaking his head and returning to his program, an exaggerated scowl on his face. The kids, to their credit, knew well enough by now not to take his rants and mumblings too seriously and quickly re-engaged themselves in whatever gossip and chatter they had previously been wrapped up in.

Yoshi smiled just the tiniest bit, listening with one ear as Donatello explained to a devastated Leonardo that it was, in fact, Thursday, bringing up evidence on his cell phone, and Raphael and April pulled Mikey's dance bag out from inside the oven, where he had forgotten it for the third time this past month.

This was not where he had imagined his life would take him when he was young. Not even close.

He would not trade these moments for anything at all.

By the time his television show was ending, he was just finishing off his tea and shoveling the rest of his bagel into his mouth. Game shows, he had found years ago, were an excellent means of timing routines, and he had it to a science by now. He pulled himself to his feet, stretching and cracking his back loud enough that his children yelled at him from the kitchen, before shuffling his way into the kitchen to begin the work of chasing the teenagers out the door.

"Alright, come on, shoo shoo! You are all going to miss the subway and be late!" He scolded, occasionally swatting at a stray child with his sleeves. "And do not forget anything, because I will not bring it to you!"

"Dad--" Leo began, his eyes blown up huge and pleading. "I don't feel well, I'm pretty sure I've got, like, a tummy bug, or something? Sooo, I should, like, probably stay home--"

"You are not skipping school just because you forgot to do an assignment." Yoshi immediately responded.

"What?! Noooo, Daddy, please, I'm really sick!"

"I was not born yesterday." He scoffed, shooting his son an unimpressed look. "And I have seen you do assignments in far less time! Besides, I'm sure April and your brothers would be happy to help."

A chorus of groans rang from around the table.

“Enough bellyaching! Come on, out of my house! Let's go, chop chop! Anyone who stays home today will be giving me a pedicure!”

That threat always worked. On cue, everyone fell into action. The boys gulped down any remaining breakfast still left uneaten, (whether it was theirs or not,) in between conversations, TikTok videos, and, in Leo's case, loud mourning about the day of the week. Donatello began to long process of buckling up the seventeen different straps on his chunky boots, Michaelangelo passed out lunches to each of his family members, narrating his culinary decisions as he went, and Raphael hurriedly tossed bowls, spoons, and plates into the dishwasher with clatters and clunks.

"I can't find my eyeliner pen-- Nardo, did you steal it? Did you go through my bag?! You DID, didn’t you!!! I am going to delete all of your Minecraft save files--"

"What?! I cannot believe you would make such an accusation, I would never stop to such petty thievery--"

"Mikey, hurry up and grab your skateboard if you're gonna--"

"OW, Dad, Donnie pulled my hair!"

"Oh, what are you, five?"

"HEY, both of you knock it off because Raph makes ya!”

"Wait, did we have a quiz in geometry today--? Because I did not study!!! Raph, this note had better be a joke--!"

After a few final moments of mayhem, Yoshi finally managed to get all five high schoolers out the door, closing the door firmly behind them with a loud sigh.

He loved his children. Truly, he did. But thank god for school.

Grumbling a bit to himself, he got to work straightening the remaining mess left behind. His sons were more than old enough to clean up after themselves and help out around the house, but that still didn't necessarily mean they did it particularly well. Maybe by their late twenties, they'd start to figure that out, if they were anything like their father. He swept up spare crumbs and wiped down the table, putting cereal boxes away in the pantry where they belonged and closing cabinet doors left open.

Boys.

Truthfully, he had very little room to complain and he knew it. Compared to the first four years of parenthood, things were a breeze. Sure, there was still plenty of work to do, but aside from the occasional exhausting day or difficult conversation, he could practically just put things on autopilot by now. He could hardly imagine how his younger self used to get through each day.

Well, perhaps he could, because, if he was being completely honest, he didn't really "get through" most days back then as much as he was bodily dragged in and out of them. But he had realized long ago that lingering on his past shortcomings was not in anyone's best interest.

With school, extracurriculars, friends and neighbors, babysitters, and a shit-ton of parenting classes on his side now, in addition to the general concept of the passage of time, given that his children were no longer children and now teenagers, he had at his disposal something that he had not had even a scrap of for years before "the move."

Free time.

It had been nearly ten years since "the move." Ten years since he and his sons had donned these disguises and bodily forced their way back into society on the back of lies and forged paperwork. Or, well, he had forced his way back into society. His children were just along for the ride-- and new to it all.

Not that you would be able to tell now, he thought to himself, smiling ever so slightly. Ten years… They had lived this way for a long time now.

It had been so long… Some days, he nearly forgot that he was anything but a man.

--------

"Donnie, here, it's your turn."

Donatello sighed loudly, pausing in whatever he was doing on his phone, (Scrolling through Twitter? Purchasing uranium off the dark web? They were equally likely,) but accepting the laptop shoved into his hands anyway.

"Why am I getting the impression that my turns are longer than everyone else's?" He questioned, his brows pinched with gentle annoyance as he glanced at the other four, all piled together on the subway. There wasn’t enough space for all of them, but even finding a couple of open seats was a near miracle this time of day, so they could make do. Stacking Mikey on Raph's shoulders and denying Leo a place to sit, seeing how it was his American Literature essay that they were taking turns writing, did the trick.

"Because you're the smart one," Leo said, his arms wrapped around the nearest subway pole, leaning so he could read over their shoulder. "This is the consequence of referring to yourself as a 'genius' all the time."

"I'm pretty sure I've always made it very clear that I'm a man of science, not literature." Donnie quipped in reply, even as he hunched over the screen, his fingers tick-tacking across the keys.

"Hey, I'm helping too! That whole third paragraph is mostly me." April protested, crossing her arms and slumping against Donnie, purposefully jostling them a bit in retaliation.

"Me too!" Mikey chirped from atop his brother's shoulders, slumped forward to avoid smacking his head on the roof. "I changed all the punctuation to fourteen-point font to make it longer!”

"Smart." Donnie hummed, not looking up, in such a tone that it wasn't quite clear if he meant it or not. Mikey beamed at the praise nonetheless, a bright grin lighting up his face as he crossed his arms over his brother's forehead.

"Look, it doesn't have to be good. It's just gotta be three pages before third period." Leo said. "I mean, Donnie could also always just hack into the school's gr—“

"Hey!" Raph barked. "We all agreed that that was for emergencies only!"

"Okay, okay, fine!" Leo sighed, a bit of sulkiness saturating his voice, holding his hands up in mock surrender. He reluctantly accepted the laptop when it was passed back over to him, propping up a knee to balance it on and hunching over to type.

"I thought Mikey set up that whole system with you. With the reminders and that agenda app and everything?" April questioned, glancing up at Leo curiously-- perhaps suspiciously.

"He did. I've just been..." He paused, hesitating in his words for just a second. "Busy."

"Oh no." April groaned.

"Not again." Donnie sighed.

"Who is it this time?" Raph asked, quirking a brow.

"What! I have noooo idea what you guys are talking about--"

"Leo."

"Okay, fine. Chase DeFerro." Leo muttered, his eyes immediately flicking to the side to avoid the inevitable reactions of his family.

"Chase DeFerro?"

"The same Chase DeFerro from five months ago?"

"Didn't you two have, like, a horrible break-up?"

"Didn't you block him on, like… Everything?"

"Didn't you say, and I quote, "If I ever have to even see that nasty bitch again in my entire life, it'll be too soon, and I swear to god I'll chop off--"

"Okay, okay! Hey, come on! That was five months ago. Things are, like, totalllyyyy different now!" Leo insisted.

“You said that about the last, like, three guys you’ve dated,” April said, unimpressed.

"Leo, have you ever stopped to consider that, perhaps, your need to constantly be in some kind of a relationship may have some kind of deeper connection to your own feelings of self-worth and the way that you assign value to--"

"Whoa there, Doctor Feelings! Chill! It's not that deep!" Leo scoffed, shooting Mikey an annoyed look. Ugh, he knew he shouldn't have brought it up. "Seriously. I'm just bored, okay? Quit trying to read into it."

"Bored?" Raph echoed, looking at the other with big eyes. "Leo, you can't treat love like it's a game like that! Come on!"

"It's not love, Raph, it's high school dating." Leo scoffed, giving a dismissive wave of his hand. “Anyway! Look, I'm only, like, fifty words short and then I'm home free. Who's got the next turn?"

"Fine." April sighed, rolling her eyes. “Only because your girl here writes a killer BS essay conclusion. But you owe me. Hand it over."

True to her word, the last-minute literature assignment was wrapped up shortly, and the remainder of the train ride was instead occupied by chatter and gossip, discussing upcoming tests and assignments in school, rumors circulating the hallways, and plans for weekends and far-off holidays. On the occasion it got too loud to hear each other properly, they’d sign to each other instead, and then switch back once it quieted down once more. The five scrambled their way off the subway when they arrived at their stop, making their way up the stairs and back to street level.

Leo inhaled deeply as he hopped up the final few stairs, his sneakers giving a satisfying thud on the concrete below them with each step. He had no complaints about the subway, (well, no more than the average person, anyway,) but there was always just something especially refreshing about getting to breathe fresh air after spending any amount of time underground. Even if the fresh air was New York City air. Call him crazy, but he'd never get tired of it.

The group began the final length of their journey, closing the three-block gap between the subway station and their high school-- most of them on foot, Mikey on his skateboard, though he was less skateboarding and more standing on his skateboard and hanging onto the back of Raph's shirt so his older brother would drag him along. Leo wondered absently if he could get away with that, too, before April's voice finally snapped him back into reality.

"You busy after school today?"

"Until six!" He replied, stretching his arms back to lace his fingers behind his head as they walked. "Dee and I have gymnastics."

“Next competition is tomorrow.” Donnie hummed, not looking up from his phone. "So we're getting in the extra hours."

"You know we've got a rep to uphold!" Leo sing-songed, his mouth stretching into a wide, smug grin. "Gotta keep that flawless record for the rest of the season."

It was very well known, to anyone who ran in such circles, that the Hamato Twins were all but sure to take the top two places in any gymnastics meet that they showed up to-- it was just a question of in what order they would do so. Of all the various sports that they participated in, gymnastics was just about the only one where it was truly a coin flip. The only other two extracurriculars they shared were swimming, where Donnie consistently took first place, and martial arts, where they both knew Leo was more likely to come out on top. But gymnastics? It was anybody's guess, and they flip-flopped from first to second just about every other event. For just a moment, Leo caught his twin's eye-- coz he knew he was thinking the exact same thing right now.

Coz he knew they both wanted to win.

Coz they both wanted to rub it in the other's face.

(Of course, they both also knew that the only reason they got to have this little song-and-dance to begin with was because Mikey was still in the age bracket below them. Wouldn't everyone be just so delighted to finally see the Hamato Twins usurped in the coming season... By another Hamato.)

“And Raph has work… Ugh! Y’all are too damn busy!” April huffed, leaning her head back and wrinkling up her nose.

“I’ve got a little bit of time.” Mikey chimed in, leaning over just enough to offer April a grin. “I don’t gotta be at dance until four. I was gonna go work on that mural I’ve got going up north. Wanna come?”

“Beats sitting at home doing homework.” April reasoned, giving a shrug. “I’m in!”

“Shweet!”

Leo smiled a tiny bit. Though he did, in fact, have complete confidence in his little brother’s ability to traverse the city safely, it was still kind of nice to know he’d be with someone else. If, for no other reason, then to know that Raph would now worry about Mikey at least 80% less during the coming evening.

“Alright,” Speaking of worrisome older brothers, Raph began his typical pre-school speech as they approached the front entrance. “No one be late. No one skip class.” Who, him? What was that pointed look for? He would never… Get caught more than once in a week. “And no one get in any trouble. Don’t do anything Raph wouldn’t do.”

“Yes sir!” The four of them barked in reply as they approached the entrance of their high school. Mostly, they were all just making fun of him. But Leo figured humoring him wouldn’t hurt, especially if it helped him chill a little bit. Raph had always taken his role as “the biggest brother” pretty seriously, ever since they were really little, though Leo wasn’t exactly sure why. He was always the one in charge whenever their dad wasn’t around, and Leo suspected he had a hard time ever completely dropping that mindset.

I mean, don’t get him wrong, Raph was just as capable of fucking around, goofing off, and getting into shit as the rest of them, for sure, he just sometimes wished he could… Relax a little. It wasn’t like anything bad was gonna happen, but Raph always kind of just had this air to him like he was expecting enemies to leap out from behind the corner and attack them at any moment. Like he always had to protect them all. Which Leo could get, sure, but, like… Wouldn’t it be kind of cool if someone did try to start some shit with them or something, just so that they could see the look on their face when they totally kicked their ass? Leo could only imagine it’d be pretty hilarious.

The five of them went their separate ways, parting with various promises to see each other at lunch, after school, at home, etc. April and Raph went one way, Mikey went another, and Leo and Donnie split off in a different direction still, heading towards the East Wing.

And as they cleared the corner, Leo whipped around to face Donnie, stabbing them in the side with a spare elbow. “Last one to homeroom gets second place at gymnastics tomorrow!” He declared, immediately taking off down the hall.

“Wha— Leo! This is unfair, I’m wearing platforms! You know I’m wearing platforms!” Donnie shrieked in protest, even as he broke into a run behind him.

Leo whooped in reply, throwing himself over the railing of the nearest staircase, knowing his twin brother was right on his tail.

-----

“Come on! Harder!!! SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!” Raphael roared, pumping a fist in the air. “LET’S GO! GIVE IT TO ME!”

The gaggle of six-year-olds in the water in front of him, all clinging to the pool wall, giggled loudly in response to his over-the-top encouragement, kicking their legs even harder in a flurry of limbs and dousing him in chlorinated water.

“Whoa, whoa, okay! You gave it to me! I surrender!” Raph chuckled, holding his hands up to shield himself. “Alright, alright. Good job, team! You did great today. Okay, let’s wrap up—“

“Raph! RAPH!”

“What?”

“Raph, we gotta do the ferry!” Penelope, the loudest of his students, insisted, her face all screwed up with determination. The other four children nodded along fervently. “We can’t get out until we do ferry!”

“Oh, RIGHT. Ferry. Sorry, Raph almost forgot!” He chuckled, thunking his own forehead with the butt of his palm, feigning forgetfulness, as if he hadn’t always intended to do their usual wrap-up game. Class ended with a game of “Ferry” every time, without fail, especially given that he touted it as the ‘reward’ that they had to work for each week by following directions and working hard. He shifted slightly in the water, turning his back on the kids still clinging to the wall. “Okay— hop aboard”

The five elementary schoolers squealed in delight, launching themselves off the pool wall to clamber over the teenager instead, climbing over his broad shoulders and hanging off of his arms. Raph gave a soft little ‘oof,’ at the impact, though it was mostly for show, snorting softly in amusement as Penelope all but climbed on top of his head. Reminded him of Mikey.

“Okay— GO!” She shouted once she was sure all her cohorts were fully boarded, the whole group buzzing with excitement despite the fact that they did this every week. Raph gave a soft hum of acknowledgment, slowly setting off on their lap around the pool. In the shallower end, where they started, he didn’t even really have to swim at all— He could just walk with his body lowered enough in the water to give the illusion of swimming. Or, more precisely, the illusion of ‘ferrying.’

“Welcome everybody to Penelope’s Ferry Ride. I’m Penelope, the tour girl. Over there’s the Empire State Building.” Penelope narrated happily from her perch, gesturing to the bleachers. “And over there is the Statue of Liberty.” The pool noodles. “And over there’s the Milky Way. And that’s the, uhhh, the Big Bridge…”

“Wait, how long’s this ferry ride? Raph didn’t sign up for no world tour!” Raph protested teasingly, to which Penelope sharply shushed him before continuing her narration. The other children bubbled with laughter at her increasingly ridiculous tourist attractions and descriptions. Reminded him of Leo and Donnie.

Raph chuckled softly to himself as he moved into the deeper end of the pool, transitioning into an easy breaststroke to keep them all afloat on their way. It was, admittedly, a bit more difficult to swim with five kids on his back than it was on his own, but Raph was a strong swimmer. This was no problem. Besides, it’s not like he was in a rush or anything.

Honestly? This was his favorite part of these lessons. No worrying about everyone paying attention or being involved. No worries about anyone wandering off when he had them all on top of him and undoubtedly accounted for. No stressing about remembering the lesson plan or rules… He could just swim. He knew it sounded dumb, but sometimes, with all the kids piled on top of him like this, he felt like some sort of big plodding swamp creature, floating lazily down the river with the world on his back.

He took his time about it, but he eventually made his full lap around the pool, coming to a stop by the stairs and gently chasing the kids off of his shoulders.

“Alright, come on, squirts. Ferry ride’s over.”

“Nooo!” Penelope whined, clinging to his head. “One more lap! PLEASEEE!”

“Hey, come on, you know the rules! If you don’t listen to Raph, you don’t get a ferry ride next week!” He warned, slowly peeling her off of his back. “Go on. Get outta here.” He insisted, though fondly, smiling a bit as she huffed and scowled… But she got out anyway, joining the rest of the kids running to their parents, all with towels in waiting arms, listening to the children excitedly chatter about what they learned today.

Raph smiled just the tiniest bit. He remembered when they had been that small, taking swim classes here. He, Donnie, and Leo had all been thrilled to take to the water, adoring each and every lesson.

They all loved it— Except Mikey. He recalled listening to his littlest brother scream bloody murder as their father attempted to coax him into the water, trying everything from reason to bribes to threats of consequences.

“You don’t need to like to swim, Michelangelo. But you need to be able to.” He remembered his father saying. “I need to be sure you will be safe if you ever end up in the water by yourself.”

If anyone asked, he’d tell ‘em that he took the job just to make some extra pocket money. But, at least a little bit, that was kinda why. He liked the idea of helping to keep people safe. Even if it was just teaching kids how to doggy paddle.

Doing all the small talk at the end of the lessons with the parents was definitely his least favorite part, however, and he always found himself kind of stammering and stuttering his way through it. After some short, “Oh, yeah, she’s doin’ great!” and “For sure, perfect behavior’s!” tossed at some parents, he was, thankfully, able to duck away into the office, his own towel flung over his shoulders to try to avoid tracking water everywhere.

“All done?” The office receptionist, Jessica, chirped in her usual friendly demeanor, glancing over at the other as he entered.

“Just about. I just gotta clean up as soon as the kids are all gone and we’ll be done.” He replied, ruffling his hair dry.

“Did you remind the parents that we’re closed next week?”

Raph froze.

“… Uhhhh…”

Jessica sighed a bit, glancing over her shoulder to give him a look. “I reminded you before the lesson started!”

“I know! I just— Raph forgot, okay? I can only hold so much stuff in my brain at one time before stuff just starts to fall out! I was thinkin’ about swimming stuff!” He defended. “‘Sides, it was your job to remind me to remind them! So obviously we both dropped the ball.” Jessica didn’t look quite convinced, but Raph was pretty sure his logic was solid. “Can’t we just, like, put up some flyers and send out an email and all that junk?”

Rolling her eyes, Jessica turned back to her computer and began to type. “Yeah, yeah… Can’t really do flyers, but I’m working on that email.”

“Why not? Just put a sign up on the door.”

Jessica looked over at him again, raising a brow. “You haven’t heard about the paper shortage?”

Raph blinked slowly.

“… The what.”

“Yeah! It’s a whole thing. I dunno, I guess there are, like… Paper thieves or whatever robbing all the paper stores and stuff in the city? We haven’t been able to get any new orders in for a few weeks now.” She explained.

“Paper thieves?” He echoed, incredulous. “And they... steal paper.”

“Yeah. They steal paper.”

“Who the heck steals paper?”

“I dunno! I just saw it on the news.” Jessica shrugged. “I guess the police are working on it or whatever.”

“I guess.” Raph said, shrugging a bit, though he still couldn’t help but find the whole thing a bit amusing. I mean, come on. Paper thieves? It was only paper. -------

"Dadddd!" Mikey called as he swung his way into the door, kicking his shoes off into the general direction of the pile where shoes were typically kept, tossing his duffle bag to the side. He'd come back for it later and put it away, he swears. "I'M HOMMMEEE!"

It had been a long day, in between school, painting, and dance practice, so it was almost nine by the time he got home, but he didn't really mind. He liked being busy! If he didn't have stuff to do, it was just, like, all the energy would build up and up and up in all his limbs and his body and his chest like something sticky and hot about to boil over, condensation gathering at the top of his skull, and then he just went kinda crazy. That makes sense, right? He was pretty sure his brothers were kinda like that, too, so he figured it was probably mostly normal. He sometimes wondered if that was why their dad let them sign up for so many after-school activities. The only downside was the limited time leftover to tackle homework and personal projects. Walls weren’t just gonna paint themselves, after all!

"What's for dinner?" He shouted across the house, shucking his backup off and beginning to unpack, collecting his various textbooks and notepads.

"Oh, since you were not home, Michelangelo, I have had no choice but to cook for our family--"

"Dad."

"But do not worry, my son, I am making the most delicious meal--"

"Dad."

"Boiled liver and onions! You boys' favorite! With chopped earthworms, yum yum yum!"

"DAD! You're not funny!" Mikey yelled, even though there was laughter in his voice. Their dad did this bit every time, and he hated how it was always kinda funny.

"Pizza is on the table." His father called back, and Mikey let out an excited cheer.

"YEAH BABY! That's what I was hoping you'd say!" He shouted, hopping up to his feet and beelining it to the kitchen. His brothers had clearly already done a round, based on the empty boxes and missing slices, but he knew they wouldn't dare leave him without his fair share. That's youngest child privilege. They knew damn well that he’d cry at them.

"How was school today, my son?" Dad always asked about school first and everything else second, every time.

"Id'was gooh'." Mikey mumbled, in between the pizza slice already hanging out of his mouth, piling several more slices onto his plate. "We're readin' th' O'ssey--"

"Orange, I cannot understand anything you are saying."

Mikey spit the half-chewed pizza slice back out onto the plate, which earned a really fun look from Dad, and he grinned.

"Sorry! We're reading the Odyssey in English class, which is fine, I guess, but it's kinda a lot to get through, so we're translating it to, like, real human words, annnndddd we gotta do a group project presentation thing, and I like all the people in the group project but you KNOOWWW how group projects are." He reported, rapid-fire, giving a dramatic sigh. "Oh! And I got my Algebra test back and I got! A seventy-nine!"

"Oh! Very good, Mikey. I am glad your studying paid off." His father replied with a small smile, and Mikey beamed. "And how was dance?"

"Awesome! I killed it, as per use'." Mikey said proudly, puffing out his chest a bit. "Miss Vega said that I just gotta tighten up my turns and I'll be all ready to destroy the competition next weekend!"

"Excellent. Good job, Orange." His dad said with a chuckle, patting Mikey's shoulder before making his way back into the living room, no doubt to reunite his butt with his beloved reclining chair and put on some TV series that no one else in the family appreciated. Mikey grabbed three more slices of pizza while his dad’s back was turned, and then scampered off, heading deeper into the apartment.

Considering they lived in New York City, they lived in a pretty spacious abode. Mikey couldn't remember a time in his life when there wasn't lots of room to stretch out and run and jump around. He remembered, back when he was really little, some of the hallways being big and long enough to even echo-- though he sometimes wondered if that had just been his imagination. Some of the stuff they would make up back then was pretty wild. Their dad had bought this big old brownstone apartment way back when they moved into Brooklyn, buying up the entire building so that they had all four floors, plus the basement, to themselves. Mikey recalled, vaguely, all the renovations that had gone into it when they first moved to New York, adjusting the fixer-upper into something where four very active children could be raised without feeling cramped. The building was tall and skinny, slotted neatly in with the rest of the city, and Mikey had always loved that. This meant it they had the perfect hallways for running back and forth through, and there was a surplus of staircases for him to slide down or jump over. The hardwood floors were perfect for both Tokyo Drifting and dance practice. They each had gotten their own rooms as they grew as well, with himself and Raph on the second floor, Leo and Donnie on the third, and their father taking the master bedroom on the ground level.

But the best bit was the basement. Lovingly dubbed "The Lair," their dad had designated it the hub for childhood shenanigans, (and now, teenage activity,) from the get-go, all but sacrificing the space to his sons from the moment they moved in. The house was technically his, sure, but the basement was theirs, like, for real for real. Arcade games and consoles lived down here, hooked up to the big TV on the wall and surrounded by beat-up beanbags. Raph's weight-lifting equipment was in that corner there, and Donnie's bigger, more mechanical projects were over there by the stairs, (with the yellow tape and the "do not touch" signs.") This big wide open space here with the mirrors on the walls and the punching bags mounted on the ceiling was perfect for both martial arts, acrobatics, and dance practice, depending on which kind of matting they laid out. And, best of all, the Lair was the one place in the house where their dad had reluctantly conceded that, yes, Mikey. You may paint on the walls.

The Lair was typically the best bet for finding any of his brothers, especially if they weren’t holed up in their rooms, and Mikey did think about heading down there, too… But, as very tempting as it was to hang out with brothers first and do math worksheets later was, he was pretty sure he could get through his homework in, like, thirty minutes, tops, and just get it all out of the way. Plus, this way, he didn't have to worry about anyone else making any grabs for his dinner.

With this in mind, he tromped his way up the stairs, nudging his sticker-adorned door open and dumping all his stuff on his desk, immediately shoving the previously-abandoned pizza slice back into his mouth again. He flipped open his textbooks, switched his speakers on to fill the space with some chill lofi beats to study to, and nudged his desk lamp awake as he settled in to get to work.

His workload had been pretty light recently, with way fewer teachers than usual handing out paper worksheets and questionnaires to bring home, so it didn't take him very long to get through all the assignments and readings. (Also, lowkey, it was times like these that he was, like, wow. Thank god for Adderall.) He was nearly done with the last of his work when he suddenly paused.

Dang. Artistic inspiration was truly a cruel but wondrous mistress. Okay, homework later. He scrambled for his phone, rewinding the song playing over the speakers. Ooh, yeah, okay-- That bass? Oh, hell yeah, this was really good! He could absolutely see the movement in his mind's eye-- he could picture the way the color swooped along with the beat and brightened along with the melody. Oh-- and what if he added some black outlines? What was the title of this song again...? Maybe he should look up the artist. He wondered if this would be better as a direct homage to the artist, (maybe the title up on a wall, in big curved block letters, yellows popping along the edges to pull it into the foreground, and that red in the center to sink it in--) or if this should be a more narrative piece. It made him think of that one movie that they watched two weekends ago-- with the spy and the watering can factory?! And this one line, about the lightning, he could just see the way he could paint a figure to answer that directly. Was it too ambitious to do a zig-zag line of action? Oh, but if he had the leg out like that...

He flipped the page of his notebook, his pencil skritching feverishly on the sheet as he moved to put these thumbnails into reality while they were still ticking through his mind in a slideshow. He paused only to command Spotify to play the song on repeat, his tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth and his eyes narrowed. Ohmigosh, yes! This would be perfect. He couldn't believe he had never thought of this before. This song had been on his playlist for how long? He had just kind of been spacing out until now, but suddenly, he was so excited about this project.

And it would be the perfect excuse to use those metallic spray paints he's been hoarding! He practically vibrated with excitement, thumbing the paper with a grin. Oh, that would look amazing. Just a bold streak of shimmery color, bursting out from the composition, like an explosion, he could see it so clearly--

Half a thought later, the spiral-bound notebook in front of him burst into flames.

[ next ]

#sorrywhatnowau #fidgetwing #tmnt #rottmnt #tmnt human au #human turtles #fanfic #tmnt fanart #tmnt fanfic #tmnt fanfiction #rottmnt fanfiction #if anyone wants to beta read for me be my guest lol #guess r/n i gotta nobody on that which is probs not #the best play lmao #sorrywhatnowfic #long post

[birdmenmanga]

well okay but Miorine Rembran has got to be one of the most well-written tsunderes I've ever laid my eyes on. It works not only because of Miorine's background context of being a dueling trophy and a slave to her father's desires but ALSO because of how it bounces off and interacts with Suletta's complicated baggage of social anxiety and being manipulated by her mother.

based on her past it makes sense that she has trouble connecting with other people, because she's only ever been objectified and her own desires and wishes were never respected. of course someone who grew up like this is going to be prickly towards others, is going to be reluctant to trust them and constantly suspect ulterior motives. it makes sense then, that even when she falls in love with suletta she never explicitly makes it clear. not only is she not used to expressing affection at all, in some ways being true and honest about her feelings just makes her easier to manipulate.

Exhibit 1: Prospera knows that Miorine genuinely cares about Suletta, and that's how she's twisting her arm behind her back to get her to become the president of the Benerit group.

Miorine isn't stupid. She knows that her love for Suletta is a glaring weakness of hers. To advertise it, when her place in the power struggle is so precarious, is idiotic. It's much safer to pretend that she doesn't love Suletta, that it's all just a marriage of convenience, because they won't be exploited so easily that way.

(Check it out!! A solid, in-universe justification for tsundere behavior!! Instead of just some woman randomly being a bitch to the flawless main character because the scriptwriters needed to check off the "tsundere" box on the list of harem tropes!! [good video on the flanderization of the tsundere trope])

Then, of course, there's Suletta's whole deal with Prospera's manipulation. Suletta's social anxiety is probably her most easily exploited weakness— while she's a superb pilot, she feels like a fish out of water when it comes to social interactions, and her experience with El4n, when he suddenly makes an about-face and starts calling her annoying after being extremely courteous towards her, sows the seeds of doubt in her mind.

Uh-oh! Miorine, are you sure about that last line? Not that you were thinking of "betraying" Suletta at this point in time...

When Suletta starts feeling useless towards the end of season 1, she even explicitly articulates the thought that "everyone was nice to me, but it's really just all in my head" to her mother.

If you recall, Miorine confronts Suletta right after her phone call with Prospera, saying that she'd heard everything. So she knows that this is Suletta's weakness, and believes that this is the key to freeing Suletta from Prospera's grasp. If Suletta views all the good things she has in life as a by-product of obediently following in her mother's teachings, the link of causation must be broken. Even if she follows in her mother's orders, she should not be allowed to find happiness. And when she realizes these two things aren't connected, only then can she truly start to live.

It's no easy feat, but Miorine knows that she has all the cards in her favor. The earth house's initial distrust of her when Suletta had full faith in her bride, for instance, will be confirmed (the interaction she had with Ojelo, when Miorine was gone for 2 weeks to figure out what she wanted to do with Gund-ARM, and he went "who knows, maybe she just left us behind!" and suletta goes "she wouldn't do that" and he goes "oh yeah? you haven't known her long enough to know that." stands out to me in particular). What Suletta had perceived as apathy from Miorine (entrusting her greenhouse to a third party, and overall trying not to rely on Suletta) can be pushed further.

it's just such a lovely subversion of the typical tsundere trope where the takeaway viewers often get is "yes means yes, but no also means yes"— I said it right from the start, Suletta, you were just a shield to me, so why did you distort the sparks of kindness and affection from the sea of my apathetic behavior into something more when I never explicitly said anything about that? why did you think that "no" would magically turn into a "yes"? didn't you learn anything from el4n? from everyone?

#just thinking thoughts... #the witch from mercury #gundam #g witch #miorine rembran #suletta mercury #everything is so delightfully constructed for a sulemio divorce arc and I'm vibrating with excitement #that being said. I am going to RIOT if sulemio endgame doesn't happen #that confirmation bias is going to destroy suletta! ! ! ! #this was going to have a better conclusion but I forgor. :skull:

[crappymixtape]

steve harrington • multi-part // series

( LONGER, SERIALIZED OR MULTI–PART FICS, NOTED IF COMPLETE OR IN–PROGRESS, STEVE x YOU // mature content marked appropriately )

🏘 SOFT, SWEET, SOUNDS – ONGOING? ( part 1 ) ( part 2 ) a roommate!steve series that started with one lil soft, smutty blurb and has now shifted into a whole thing – steve’s still your roommate and you’re still friends, right? or is there something more and you two are just too chicken shit to put a label on it? • 18+ | ( 1.5K – roommates -> something?, tiny fluff, medium smut, lots of idiocy, steve x you )

❄️ A VERY MERRY MIXTAPE ( HOLIDAY SERIES ) – IN-PROGRESS a series of little holiday blurbs featuring steve and eddie throughout the christmas & winter season – varies between ST canon, modern!au, and everything in between // three requests and three original prompts.

"gold & glitter" REQUEST -> ❝ i’m thinking a little rich!steve harrington, a little spicy somethin, somethin and a holiday play – spicy is right, steve takes you to see the nutcracker, but you don’t even make it to the first act • *18+  | ( 3.1k – smut with a dash of fluff, rich!steve x reader )

"baby it's cold outside" REQUEST -> ❝ what about 🎁 exchanging presents with steve?? i just know he’s a thoughtful gift giver! – it’s been snowing all day, enough to snap the power lines and make the lights go out, and when steve comes over to build you a fire you can’t think of a more perfect time to exchange gifts | ( 1.8k – just honestly pure fluff, sneaky hurt / comfort, modern!steve x reader )

"i want you the most" REQUEST -> ❝ what about caught under mistletoe at a christmas party with steve. at least fluffy, maybe a wee bit more smutty? – steve's never been kissed under the mistletoe, what kind of girlfriend would you be if you didn't make it memorable? *18+ | ( 1.8k – established relationship, tiny bit of fluff, lots of snark, sprinkle of smut, steve x reader )

🦇 COME BACK TO ME – COMPLETE ( part 1 ) ( part 2 ) ( part 3 ) REQUEST -> after steve gets his heart broken by nancy, tommy dares him to try something different as a rebound, someone who isn’t his type at all, and at first he’s doing it to prove a point, but when the upside down gets involved he realizes just how he really feels • 18+ | ( 5.4k – violence / upside down, lots of angst, some fluff, enemies to lovers-ish, steve x reader, king!steve x reader )

🧢 YOU'RE NEVER FAR BEHIND – COMPLETE ( part 1 ) ( part 2 ) // 🎶 playlist on spotify 🎶 REQUEST -> when your dad calls and needs your help at home in hawkins you can't say no, but when you arrive back in town you uncover a friendship you thought you'd lost a long time ago | ( 10.5k, angst, fluff, best friends to strangers to friends to lovers, steve x reader, steve x you )

💫 SOMETHING INFINITE – IN-PROGRESS // 🎶 playlist on spotify 🎶 your mom is out of town for the summer on business and she sends you to live with your aunt joyce and her husband jim in hawkins while she’s gone. joyce works at the library and jim is the town sheriff – the kids, will, jonathan and el slowly warm up to you and it’s after you get in with them that you really start to feel at home, but there’s one person who just annoys you to no end. one person you’d love to just boot off a cliff – steve fucking harrington.

"part one : maybe the world won't end" – steve steals a car and somehow you wind up in hawkins, indiana, a meet cute without the cute  *18+ |  ( 2.8k, angst, verbal abuse, enemies to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader )

"part two: perfect on the surface" –  you start your summer job at the library with your aunt only to find your new coworker is someone, an annoying someone, you’ve met before | ( 2k, angst, enemies to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader )

"part three: just wanna see you" –  finally a day off and you’re all heading to the lake to fish and swim and drink and it feels like summer and fresh starts and you’re surprised to find you get one of your own ( 3.3k, angst, tiny bit of fluff if you squint, enemies to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader )

"part four: the house that built me" – a history of you and steve and your families, all the broken pieces you’re both trying to gather up and put back together are more similar than you think *18+ | ( 2.3k, angst, enemies to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader ) // warning note: the themes written about in this piece can be especially triggering – brief mentions of loss of a parent, neglect, unplanned pregnancy, and other heavy content – read with caution please and be gentle with yourselves!

"part five: easier to pretend" – part five of something infinite – are you and steve finally figuring each other out? it’s obvious you drive each other crazy, but is it possible you’re starting to like it? | ( 3k, angsty fluff, enemies to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader )

"part six: and it's such a shame" – ferris wheel at 8 and another chance to see where this thing with steve is taking you, but when his friends find out will he be able to handle it?  | ( 4k, fluff, lots of angst, enemies to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader )

"part seven: i'll promise i'll pinky swear" – steve tries to decide what it is he wants, to keep burying everything down deep and keep it locked away or crack open his chest and trust you with his heart | ( 4.1k, angst, enemies to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader )

"part eight: say you'll stay" steve did what he thought was right and you're giving him a second chance, but can you both finally open up and be honest with one another? *18+ | ( 6k, smut, a little angst, a little fluff, enemies to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader ).

"part nine: you could have mine" you were unafraid to face steve head on when he fucked up, but now it’s your turn to face the music and it scares you | ( 2k, tiny angst, lil fluff, enemies to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader )

🛠 COMING SOON!

🌻 NOBODY GETS ME, YOU DO – UNDER CONSTRUCTION when steve started dating nancy and got pulled into the upside down you fell in with tommy hagan after carol leaves for college, but it sucks and tommy sucks and you hate it and you're only doing it because it makes not being with steve hurt less. a friends to lovers line filled with plenty of drama / angst / fluff and smut – smut marked appropriately

"nobody puts baby in the corner" – steve has always been your best friend, nothing more, but when you have a falling out with tommy he finally realizes what’s been there all along •  *18+ | (  3.2k, fighting / physical violence, sad, fluff, angst, friends to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader )

"this is how it ends begins" – everything between you and tommy comes to a head after you discover what he’s been doing behind your back, will steve be there to catch you? or will he just make it worse? | (  2.4k, angst, friends to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader )

#steve harrington #stranger things #steve stranger things #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #stranger things fanfiction #makeacrappymixtape #steve x you #steve harrington x fem #steve harrington smut #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington stranger things #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington angst #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington fic #steve harrington x reader smut #steve harrington blurb #steve harrington series #steve harrington masterlist #averymerrymixtape #asks #requests

[tintinwrites]

nothing’s new | Joel Miller x Reader

A/N: I hope everyone has a happy new year and that you do amazing things!

Rating: 18+ this is smut

Warning: THIS IS SMUT! This includes a hint of a blow job and P in V sex. Reader is AFAB and their body parts are mentioned heavily, but no gender is mentioned. Smoking cigarettes. Naughty words.

Word Count: 3,441, apparently!!

Summary: It’s New Year’s Eve in Jackson and you and Joel are the only ones not celebrating.

GIF Credit: ^^^^

——————————————————————————

You sighed to yourself as you stared up at the stars glittering in the sky, the silence of the outdoors only broken by muffled music and laughter coming from inside the church hall.

Everyone in Jackson was celebrating the start of the new year with midnight just a handful of minutes away and while you wanted to join in, something was just…missing.

Of course, you spent so many new years just trying to survive that you couldn’t celebrate those, but you’d been part of the community for nearly a year now. You had a semi-normal life when you weren’t patrolling. You had friends and neighbors.

But it still felt so…empty.

Your gaze lowered to the unlit cigarette you held between your fingers when the noise from inside the church hall suddenly became much clearer. You straightened and looked back to see the door was opened, Joel Miller half way out it.

Joel had been there just a tad longer than you and you knew him a bit; he was Tommy’s brother and worked in patrol as well, though you’d never been partnered with him. You heard the watered down version of the story of him and Ellie. But there was never really a reason for the two of you to do more than exchange small talk or simply nod at each other in recognition when you crossed paths.

Besides, he mainly kept to himself and more often than not seemed a little grumpy, so you didn’t want to bother him.

He was cute, though. Handsome in a rugged sort of a way. You’d even venture to consider him hot when he was freshly showered and wearing just the right flannel…or sweaty and covered in dirt in a potato sack.

There was just something about him, even if he was a little bit unapproachable.

A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes as he noticed you standing there, probably staring at him. “Didn’t know you were out here.”

You smiled softly. “Yeah, I just needed a little alone time.”

“Shit. Sorry,” he mumbled, starting to step back into the church hall. You couldn’t tell if he was embarrassed for intruding or annoyed that you got there before him.

“I can be alone with you here.” It wasn’t as if he was going to be talking your ear off or anything.

He hesitated and glanced back into the hall, but some uproarious laughter seemed to make him decide to step outside fully. The apparently funny conversation was muffled once more as the door creaked shut.

The two of you stood in a surprisingly comfortable silence for a few moments, you looking at the sky as clouds covered the stars and Joel surveying the empty town.

“You smoke?”

You glanced at him in confusion so he nodded at the cigarette in your hand and your brow softened. “Oh! Honestly…no. Someone gave them to me and I didn’t want them to go to waste. So I just kind of hold them and hope that’s enough to relieve stress which, as I’m saying it, sounds real fucking stupid.” You felt embarrassed to admit it to him, because he was hot and you now portrayed yourself as a total loser.

Well, maybe you were a loser, but you didn’t want him to know that. Who didn’t want a hot, mysterious, probably emotionally unavailable man to regard them highly?

He held his hand out, silently asking you to give him the cigarette.

You shrugged and handed it to him, watching as he fished around in the pocket of his jeans with his free hand. “Do you smoke?”

“Here and there. I’ve mostly quit.” He procured a weathered, yellow lighter out of his pocket. “Found this a few weeks back, it still works well enough.”

He put the cigarette between his lips and cupped his hand around the lighter, flicking it until it sparked a flame before lighting the cigarette. He returned the lighter to his pocket and took a drag, turning his head away so he wouldn’t blow the smoke at you.

“Can I try it? I’ve held them long enough and it sure as shit never actually relieved my stress.”

He offered it to you and you grabbed it, taking a long drag like you’d seen other people do.

But other people were smokers and you weren’t, so you immediately began to cough as soon as the smoke hit your lungs. You put one hand to your chest and doubled over, tears pricking your eyes from your uncontrollable coughing.

You felt Joel tug the cigarette from your outstretched hand that was hurriedly trying to get rid of the evil, little stick and you swore you heard him snort, but you were too busy coughing to be certain.

Finally, fresh air replaced the smoke in your lungs and you were able to straighten up, breathing shakily. You could see amusement in Joel’s eyes, though he kept himself pretty composed; most likely to maintain his grumpy demeanor rather than for your benefit.

“That’s awful. How do you even manage to get addicted to nicotine in the first place so you can relieve stress?”

“Practice,” he said simply before taking another inhale.

“It doesn’t even taste good. Bleh.” You stuck your tongue out as if the chilly night air could fix it.

Silence fell over you both again, still comfortable. It wasn’t long before Joel was dropping the cigarette butt and extinguishing it beneath his boot.

“So you really came out here to hold a cigarette?” Joel asked so nonchalantly that you weren’t sure he was talking to you. He was looking straight ahead like he wasn’t, but you were the only one out there.

But he was asking you a question and staying instead of returning inside or going home. Maybe the hot, mysterious, probably emotionally unavailable man didn’t think you were a loser.

Did you mention he was hot?

You found yourself briefly distracted by the profile of his face, watching little puffs of air pass his lips from the temperature outside rather than a cigarette.

Having the chance to actually talk to him and know he was more than just some grumpy guy actually made him more attractive to you.

“Yes. No? I mean, yeah, like I said, it’s my lame attempt at stress relief, but I also just…needed to get out of there.” You highly doubted he wanted to hear your thought process. “What about you? What brought you out here?”

He didn’t answer for a moment and you thought maybe you shouldn’t have pried. “Celebrations aren’t my thing.”

You nodded and warred with yourself as you decided whether or not you wanted to push the conversation further. Maybe he did want to hear your thoughts. Maybe he understood.

“I don’t…get it.” You weren’t sure whether or not to go on, but felt confident when he glanced at you. “I mean, New Year’s and all that stuff. Well, I do get it, we’re trying to live our lives fully and normally, but I just…I don’t know.” You sighed, pulling at a thread on the hem of your jacket. “Nothing ever changes. Nothing’s new. Don’t get me wrong, Jackson is amazing and probably the safest place to be, but that clock’s gonna strike midnight and everything’s gonna be the same. We’ll still be living in a world full of the infected, stuck in one town, having to choose careers that don’t lead anywhere, and nothing will have changed. I’m probably not even making sense…”

“No. That makes sense.”

So he did understand. You smiled a bit to yourself and looked at your hands. “I wish I felt differently. But sometimes shit like this just feels so meaningless.”

He made some noise that you thought might be affirmative, but you didn’t want to push your luck and spook him by trying to get him to open up about his own feelings.

Even you weren’t admitting fully why you didn’t want to be inside. The celebration was meaningless, sure, but you were also hyper aware that everyone had someone to celebrate with.

Maybe it would mean more if you had someone by your side, but you were alone and when the clock struck midnight, you would still be alone.

Nothing would change.

Through the door came the muffled sound of everyone beginning to countdown from ten, which you knew meant that it was nearly midnight. Funnily enough, after your rant about how useless it all was, the thought of kissing Joel popped into your head.

He was hot, and he understood, and you were lonely. It wasn’t like you were going to build your life with the man, but even just a few hours with someone at your side might help that emptiness the old holiday brought.

If you kissed him, it wouldn’t be to celebrate the new year. No, it was a convenient way to make a move on him now that you’d gotten to know him the tiniest bit. If you didn’t make a move now, you knew you would be too anxious the next time you saw him, and you would only get more anxious from there. You couldn’t lose the chance of a fun night with someone as hot as Joel.

You imagined that he was lonely too and that was why he was so closed off. You’d never seen him with anyon anyway.

The countdown hit three and you knew it was now or never. If he didn’t respond, you would just never speak to him or look at him again and you would move out of Jackson to avoid the humiliation. So what?

As you heard everyone begin to celebrate, you turned and kissed Joel before you could talk yourself out of it.

He was warm and he smelled good, but he was definitely not kissing you back. You kissed him for maybe four seconds before you pulled away awkwardly, refusing to look him in the eye.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, I should have asked before I did that, it’s just that you’re hot, and we were talking, and I’m lonely and…God.” Well, you had a good run in Jackson, but now you had to go so you didn’t have to look at Joel and know he probably thought you were a pathetic idiot.

You turned to run off so you could really solidify his opinion of you, but he grabbed your chin and turned you back, capturing your lips in a firm kiss. You would almost call it desperate if you didn’t know any better and if you were in your right mind what with him kissing you.

Your knees buckled a bit and you grabbed onto his arms for stability, closing your eyes as his tongue touched your lips to deepen the kiss. You granted him access easily, moaning softly.

Cigarettes seemed a little more appealing when you were tasting them through Joel.

He drew back and gave you a quick kiss, while you stood there with your eyes closed like a fool. You felt something cold hit the end of your nose and you blinked your eyes open, meeting Joel’s dark gaze. You could tell what fell on your nose by the new specks of white quickly accumulating in his hair.

“It’s snowing,” you said stupidly as if he didn’t know, but you weren’t sure what to say. You were a little stunned by him kissing you and how good he was at it.

He looked around briefly before his eyes met yours again. “Your place?”

Oh. He actually wanted to have sex with you.

You hoped you weren’t totally crosseyed and dumbstruck as you nodded simply, gesturing in the direction of your neighborhood.

He pushed you ahead of him, which allowed you to snap out of your stupor enough to lead him to your home. You weren’t gonna skip out on a night with Joel by not knowing how to get to your damn house. You would definitely leave Jackson if you got this close to fucking someone so attractive when you were so lonely only to forget you lived two streets down.

Joel was on you as soon as you entered the front door of your small house, pressing you against the wall and cupping your face to hold you still as he kissed you again. You could feel the bulge in his jeans for the briefest moment before he was pulling away a bit, still kissing you while he hurriedly pulled his coat off.

You were doing the same as well as kicking your boots off, not really caring where anything landed at this point.

Your fingers found the buttons of his flannel when he broke off the kisses for air and you slipped your hands under the shirt to push it off, palms gliding over his skin that was still warm despite the weather. It was soft too, unlike his hands which were a bit rough and calloused.

He grabbed the hem of your shirt before you could go for his belt, so you abandoned your quest and lifted your arms to help him. He tugged you away from the wall, one arm around your waist as his free hand reached around you to grab the hooks for the plain bra you wore. He fumbled for maybe a few seconds before he managed to unlatch it, pulling it down enough to reveal your breasts.

“Jesus Christ,” he breathed out, yanking your bra the rest of the way down your arms to join the pile of forgotten clothes on the floor.

He went for the button of your jeans and you went for his belt at the same time, which merely caused you to slap your hands together in a bit of a tangle. The chuckle he let out was soft and short, but made you want him all the more for finding the humor in it.

He reached your jeans first and undid the button and zipper with ease, slipping his hand underneath both them and your panties. You fell back against the wall so you could stay standing as he gently cupped your cunt. He felt around experimentally before he touched your clit, rubbing light, little circles with those aforementioned rough hands you were growing to appreciate.

“Fuck, you’re warm.” He kept his eyes on your face, watching your lips part and your eyelids flutter as he touched you.

“Yeah…” You were currently too dumb to form something clever or sexy to say, not that it mattered. The silence as you both hardly spoke was unnoticeable with the desire and need thrumming between you.

“Been a while,” he said in a way where you couldn’t tell if it was a statement for him or a question for you.

Probably both.

You didn’t realize you closed your eyes until you were opening them again to look at him. You reached out to unbuckle his belt, tugging it out of the loops of his jeans and hearing it smack the floor.

When you went for his zipper, he pulled his hand out of your pants and grabbed your wrist. “I’m too old to be doing this against a wall anymore.”

“Wall sex always gave me a cramp in my hips anyway.” You grabbed his hand to guide him down the hallway toward your bedroom, briefly forgetting he was a grumpy old man as you tugged him along.

You stopped him at the foot of your bed and met his eyes meaningfully, moving down to your knees and undoing his pants. When you tugged them down along with his underwear, he groaned and you gasped.

“I’d be grumpy too if I had to pin this thing in my pants…”

“Shut the fuck up.” He was lighthearted about it, sounding like he wanted to laugh.

“I’m just saying, it’s big.” You allowed him no retort, wrapping your hand around his cock to stroke him slowly.

He let out a breath slowly and tilted his head back, which encouraged you to press gentle kisses to his tip and along his shaft. You flicked your tongue out against his tip and felt him shudder.

He didn’t let you get much farther than that before he was grabbing and, much to your surprise, throwing you onto the bed. You heard he dealt with lifting dead bodies back in Boston which probably made him able to lift anyone. Which was…morbid.

He had kicked his own boots off at some point back in the foyer and now he shed his jeans and underwear fully, reaching out to pull yours off by the cuff. They were a bit snug so he ended up pulling you down the bed a bit, and you couldn’t help but giggle a little.

Your underwear was on the floor next and then he was climbing onto the bed, pushing your legs back so he could fit between them. Now he explored you, his hand gliding along your thigh, up your side, until he reached your breast and cupped it almost greedily.

You whimpered, rocking your hips so you could rub against his cock as he played with your breasts. “Joel. Please.”

He glanced at you and slid his hand between you to stroke his cock, kissing you hard as he pushed his tip inside you. He shuddered and paused for a moment. His forehead pressed against yours to break the kiss like he needed to focus, eyes closed tightly as he gave slow and shallow thrusts, easing into you fully.

“Fuck,” you hissed when he was finally filling you, gripping onto his biceps tightly.

Then he started to move, quickening his pace until he was all but pounding into you. The headboard of your bed slammed into the wall with each thrust, but you couldn’t give less of a shit about it. Not when Joel was grunting and panting above you, his cock hitting all the right spots. You weren’t even embarrassed by the way you were whining like a porn star in those old pornos some creep smuggled into Jackson.

His lips found your neck, sucking and biting and kissing, the scruff on his face scratching the delicate skin there. You were so sensitive, every single touch felt like fire in the best way possible.

One of his arms left your grip so he could rub your clit and you practically arched your back, crying out in pleasure. You were already pushed over the edge, squeezing his cock tight as you came, hearing him mumble curse words somewhere in the distance beyond your own little world.

He pushed one of your legs back farther so he could thrust even deeper, keeping his hand there and squeezing tight.

It didn’t take him long either. You blinked at him as you came down from your high and he lost his rhythm, movements desperate as he started to fill you.

He groaned softly, his hips starting to slow until he stopped completely, letting your leg go so he could practically collapse onto you. His hair tickled your heaving chest as he lazily kissed at your skin.

You didn’t think as you moved a hand into his hair, stroking it and playing with it. “I’ve never cum that fast before.”

He glanced up at you. “Like I said, it’s been a while.”

“Wanna do it again?”

He chuckled and pulled out of you carefully, rolling off to lay beside you. “I need a little recovery time and I’m not usually up this late anymore. Wake me up in an hour.”

You were honestly a little surprised he intended to fall asleep there, but you weren’t bothered by it. In fact, you kind of liked it.

As you laid there and watched him, you couldn’t help but think that you had been wrong earlier.

Sure, new years didn’t change everything; you were still in a world where you had to fight to survive, but that didn’t mean nothing changed. Lots of little things could be changed and that could make all the difference to keep someone going.

That was probably why Jackson had a celebration. Because they had food, and water, and love, and fun. Even though they couldn’t control the world around them, there were things they could do to make it a little easier to handle. All they had to do was make those things possible.

You couldn’t say that you and Joel would be best friends or lovers from here on out, but just that moment of human connection made everything a little more bearable and a little less lonely.

It was something new in a world where everything always seemed to be the same, and that was what you both needed.

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #the last of us fic #joel miller fic

[drmaddict]

Like a Schoolboy

Summary: Dimitri and Hoppers niece are a thing. Hopper finds out.

Wordcount: 1.335

Warnings: use of (y/n), fluff

"And this is my niece (y/n)."

Dimitri had blamed it then on the stress of the last few weeks. He hadn't given it a second thought. A survival instinct of the body. After all, he had expected to die not just once in the past few weeks.

A reproductive instinct. That was all it was, why he was immediately attracted to this much younger creature.

It probably wasn't even that far from the truth, but it just wasn't the whole truth either.

(Y/n) Hopper had done it to him. First purely out of physical attraction. Later for other reasons.

He had met her. He had seen the stubbornness in her. The same as in Hopper, only better hidden. Had recognized her intelligence. Not so hidden as in Hopper. He had found kindness and tenderness, as well as strength.

She had helped him settle into this new world. She had been a friend to him. She had even given him a home. Hopper's place had gotten crowded, when Joyce and the kids moved in, so Dimitri had ended up at (Y/n)s place.

And now Dimitri was laying here in this soft bed with her by his side, wondering how it had actually come to this.

He pulled his arm tighter around her and buried his face lazily in her hair. Breathed in her scent. He wasn't keen on the day Hopper would find out about them both. He wanted to never leave this little bubble of secrecy. He wanted to dwell in this unpolluted world of affection and infatuation. Only with her. No one else to disturb them. A little peace and quiet.

But he especially didn't want to get up.

"Not yet." he grumbled, trying to keep her from leaving the bed where he wrapped his arms tighter around her.

She laughed. "I have to go to class."

"Don't have to."

"I don't think my professor feels that way."

He grumbled. "He's an idiot anyway."

"Dimitri." she sighed with a laugh.

He pulled her close once more and breathed in her scent before letting go.

"Aren't you helping Hopper today anyway?" she asked, standing up.

He grumbled into his pillow in agreement, as he watched her get dressed with one eye. He grinned sleepily at the sight of the bruise on her shoulder.

"I thought you enjoyed beating up the rookie cops.", she grinned, tossing him one of his shirts. It hit him square in the face. He didn't bother to pull it off his head.

He grumbled. "I just get to explain.", he spoke through the cotton.

"About that jackass last time?"

"Da."

Dimitri didn't really need to prove to this greenhorn that he had no idea, but he had seen fit to bring him back down to earth. He was helping Hopper teach the new police students hand-to-hand combat techniques. The greenhorn was strutting around like a puffed-up rooster.

But with a broken jaw, it was hard to talk.

"It would have been different in Russia."

He felt the mattress beside him lower. The shirt was brushed off his face. (Y/n) smiled at him. "America takes the fun out of everything.", she grinned, brushing his hair out of his forehead.

He leaned slightly toward her touch. Enjoyed the tenderness.

"Come on. Get up."

"What do I get in return?"

She kissed him on the tip of his nose.

"Not very convincing.", he murmured with a smile. She grinned back and kissed him on the forehead.

"Colder."

A kiss on the cheek.

"A little warmer."

He reached for her face and pulled it to him. Kissed her on the lips without haste. Just her and him and-

"Dimitri get your ass out here!"

-Hopper.

He dropped his head into the pillow with an annoyed groan. There was an emphatic pounding on the apartment door.

"I'll get it!", laughed (Y/n).

Dimitri pulled his T-shirt over his head as he also heard Hopper walking down the hall. Dimitri had barely fished his underpants off the floor and put them on when Hopper was suddenly standing in front of him.

Time stood still for a few seconds. Hopper stared at him. Dimitri stared back. The waistband of his underpants still in his hands.

"What are you doing here?" asked Hopper tensely.

"I... live here.", Dimitri answered dryly.

"What are you doing in my niece's bed?" he now asked again.

(Y/n) stood uncertainly in the doorway."The folding sofa is broken. Doesn't extend right anymore, you know..."

Hopper turned his face to her angrily. She put on an unconvincing smile.

It didn't help anyway. No one who saw this room could even draw wrong conclusions.

The sheets were rumpled. So were Dimitri and (y/n). Their clothes lay scattered on the floor and Dimitri knew for a fact that he had at least two dark spots on his neck. His little vampire had taken hold again.

Dimitri stood up with a sigh. "Go ahead. Hit it."

No moment he had uttered the words, his friend's hook threw him back onto the bed.

"Uncle!" he heard (Y/n) exclaim.

"She's my niece!" roared Hopper, throwing another punch.

"I know!" groaned Dimitri.

"Uncle!"

"You're my age!" Punch.

"I know."

"You touched her." Punch.

"Yeah."

"You fucking-"

"UNCLE!"

Dimitri saw (Y/n) clinging to Hoppers arm, trying to stop him.

"(Y/n) he did-" Hopper began, but was interrupted by (Y/n).

"Didn't do anything I wouldn't have let him do!"

"That's not the point!"

(Y/n) looked at him wearily. "Stop hitting him."

"No!"

"Let us settle this.", Dimitri interjected, smiling at her as best as his face would allow.

"By beating each other to a pulp?"

"Is the Russian way." he shrugged. "Gotta get it all out once. Deserved it."

(Y/n) stood in front of the bed and pinched the root of her nose. "Fine. I'm off to college." She reached for her bag. "When I come back, he better just have a few bruises or I swear to you BOTH, that Russian prison was shit compared to what I'm doing to you."

She gave Dimitri a hard kiss on the forehead and punched Hopper on the shoulder before whistling out of the room.

They both looked after her.

"Your niece is really something."

"Yes she is.", Hopper agreed with him.

Dimitri looked toward the bedroom door with a smile as the next punch hit him. "She's twenty years younger!"

"I know."

When (Y/n) came back that afternoon, both men were sitting on the supposedly broken folding sofa.

Both were holding a beer. Dimitri had a package of frozen peas pressed on his forehead.

"I don't know. Somehow it all started there.", Dimitri said, taking a sip from his beer bottle.

"What started?" asked Hopper.

"That I really fell in love with her.", he sighed.

"In love, huh?"

"Like a schoolboy."

"Women... Do with you what they want."

"True words."

They both toasted to each other, when they noticed (Y/n).

(Y/n) tossed Dimitri a tube of salve. "For the bruises.", she explained.

He reached for the small tube and looked at it closely.

"Are you guys done?"

Hopper held up his bottle. "Reconciliation beer." He excreted the rest and set the can down. "I've got to go anyway. It's waffle night.", he declared and left, not without hugging (Y/n) once more.

"Waffle night?" asked Dimirti.

"Eleven loves waffles more than anything. It's kind of her thing.", (Y/n) explained, reaching for the small tube. She squeezed some of the translucent mass onto her fingers and leaned over him. He dropped his head against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes. (Y/n) tenderly spread the ointment on the bruises. Dimitri heaved a sigh at the cool sensation.

"In love, huh?" asked (Y/n) into the silence.

"Like a schoolboy.", Dmitri confirmed without looking at her.

(Y/n) smiled and kissed him softly on his bruised lips. "Love you too. You stubborn, Russian idiot."

"Your stubborn Russian idiot."

#fluff #enzo x reader #enzo x you #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fic #dimitri antonov #dimitri antonov x reader #dimitri antonov x you #enzo stranger things #enzo stranger things x reader

[kazimakuwabara]

Lovers and Fools

Summary: Sanji searches for Usopp on the battlefield. The men both try to hide their pains from one another. The two are foolishly in love. (was thinking of tarot cards for some reason? Sanuso, 2.4+ k words.)

****

“Sanji! Look on the left side, I’ll take the right!” Luffy shouted out his instructions, his voice carrying that authority that made others want to shut up and listen. Sanji’s spine went rigid, his body tense and coiled waiting for the last of Luffy’s orders; like a trained beast, ready to obey its master’s whims. Luffy fished around in his pockets and tossed a small Den Den Mushi to Sanji, who caught it easily with his left hand.

“We’re looking for Robin, Jinbe, Brook, and Usopp! Call me if you find any of them!” Luffy instructed and then pointed over the charred ongoing battlefield of the marine-occupied island, out to the sea where Sunny bobbed up and down on the rising waves. “Franky and Nami are already aboard the ship waiting for us! Zoro and Chopper are already spread out searching too! Let's find our friends and bug out!”

“Yes, Captain!” Sanji breathed, and then his wound up body released, and he was running across the sand, bounding in great leaps over the sands and leaping over the Marines that lay prone along the way. His blue eyes scanned for familiar clues, familiar shades that made up his friends. A skeletal hand. Darkened skin. A bright yellow yukata. Dark curls and a long nose. Anything that belonged to his friends.

But Luffy had long faded away, and he found no trace of his friends. No trace of the faces he longed to see, one in particular tugging at his heartstrings.

Several times Sanji skidded across the battle-worn beach, kicking over debris when he thought he caught something familiar. 

Robin’s thin hands? No, it was some Marine's thin hands.

Jinbe’s blue skin stained with blood? No, a flag that had tangled on a plank of wood.

Broken bones on the rock? No, it was only scattered pieces of shell.

A dark-haired head of curls face down in the water, the curls matted with kelp? No, it was another Marine. 

Sanji had rolled him out of the water anyway and stared at the face to ensure it wasn’t Usopp. He’d let out an annoyed puff of breath at the gasping face and shook the unconscious Marine angrily.

“Where’s Usopp?” He snapped to the Marine, not caring that the man could not answer him back.

“Sanji!” The Den Den Mushi called from his pocket, “Sanji!”

“Yes, Captain!” Sanji snapped into the small snail that had taken on Luffy’s exuberant appearance.

“Zoro found Robin. He and Chopper are returning to the ship with her. Jinbe is with me, and Brook is out. We need to get him to Chopper... Any sign of Usopp?”

“No, Captain!” Sanji admitted, clutching the little Den Den tight, “Did you see Usopp anywhere in battle? Did you see any place he could have gone?!”

“He was staying in back, picking off people from behind,” Luffy answered, his voice not nearly as worried as Sanji’s. “I was sure it was somewhere on the left.”

“Then I’ll just have to go more inward of the island! Get to the ship Captain, and head to the docks. Usopp and I will be there!” Sanji promised.

There was a pause of silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, and then Luffy agreed, “Alright Sanji! Don’t you two let me down! You both better be there!”

Sanji was up and running again, but going beyond the sands of the beach, and closer to the natural greenery of the island. There were fewer enemies out here, and they were still from unconsciousness or loss of life. Sanji didn’t bother to check which. There were thick bushes and long pieces of grass that went to his waist. This would be a perfect place for a sniper to hide.

Sanji ran along the grass line, looking for something his untrained eyes had only been told about.

“Broken grass normally means someone’s hiding there,” Usopp whispered to Sanji on watch one night. The two had started chatting, and Sanji had commented how Usopp could always seem to spot people who seemed so well hidden. And without ego, Usopp had whispered, “Look for broken grass. Bent blades. Disturbed shrubbery. A break in the grass that doesn’t seem quite right.”

Usopp had tapped the tip of his nose, “That’s how you can spot someone hiding!”

"Then I'll know where to find you when you steal snacks from my kitchen!" Sanji teased.

Usopp clasped a hand to his heart, and gasped dramatically, "Have a heart, Sanji! If you would make me snacks, I wouldn't have to steal them!"

"Why would I make you snacks? Are you so special?" Sanji snorted, reaching out for Usopp regardless. He cupped Usopp's cheek, and felt the blush warm his palm. Usopp smiled at him in the darkness, his eyes shining like stars.

Sanji pulled, and Usopp came to the chef's arms, wrapping the man up in a hug.

"You know I'm special!" Usopp boasted.

Sanji swept some of Usopp's curls back behind his ear. He hummed, and very gently agreed, "You are special."

Smiling like the heavens, Usopp teased, "So you should make me snacks."

“Usopp!” Sanji whispered desperately as the memory of the sniper, smiling at him in the darkness, started to slip away, “Usopp! Usopp, where are you!?”

And just when he needed to find it the most, he spotted it. A gap in the long grove of overgrown blades that didn’t make sense.

Sanji ran to it, bursting through the green, certain Usopp was on the other side. Praying he would find him.

And he found him.

Tucked down in a bed of grass was Usopp, but he was not alone.

Usopp was lying on his side, his hand stretched for Kabuto that was just out of his reach. His black curls, speckled with the salt from the sea and beach looked like a universe full of twilight. It spilled and curled around his head in a darkened halo, flowing around him beautifully, even in a tussled state. His long lashes were closed, and his brow furrowed with slight distress.

A Marine had one hand tangled in the darkened stars of Usopp’s hair, while the other hand was clinging to Usopp’s thin neck and squeezing. The lawman was panting with exertion, clearly just having managed to overwhelm the sniper. Sanji had burst in on the end of Usopp's desperate fight.

"Enfoiré! Laisse-le partir, espèce de monstre! Espèce de tas de merde de porc!” ripped out of Sanji like an outraged battle cry, before one of his powerful legs thundered into the Marine’s face.

Sanji stomped on the man's face, his feet on fire as pounded the Marnie’s face into ash.

The Marine had been taken so unawares he couldn’t even fight back.

When Sanji came to his senses he turned to Usopp, who was still lying on his side. The grass around him spoke of a struggle. That he had been taken by surprise and had been fighting for his life. Sanji fell next to Usopp, his stomach churning full of acid as he feared he was too late. He picked up Usopp, the young man’s neck falling frailly in the crook of Sanji’s arm, his curls spilling like ink around them.

Sanji gently cupped Usopp, holding his universe in his hands, and prayed that it wasn’t coming to an end.

“Usopp! Usopp!” Sanji urged, a thumb gentling over Usopp’s cheek, tucking a wispy curl away.

Usopp’s eyes did not flutter.

Sanji arranged the sniper carefully in his arms and lap, looking for wounds. Usopp was battered, and a bit bloody, but the worst of it might have been his bruised throat, or even some unknown element Sanji could not discern. He needed to get Usopp back to Sunny, back to Chopper. Sanji pressed his mouth to Usopp’s and breathed in a desperate puff of air. He was rewarded with Usopp choking and coughing in his face.

Usopp struggled at first, his legs curling in on himself, as one arm shot out to protect his head, while his other hand clawed out to try and struggle against Sanji.

Sanji caught Usopp’s wrist, straining against Usopp’s struggling arm. He dragged the clawed hand to him and kissed Usopp’s fingertips, and the sniper let out a choked frightened sound.

“No! No, Usopp! Usopp it’s me! Mon ami! Mon coeur! It’s Sanji!!” Sanji cooed in a low voice, “Open your eyes!”

Usopp stopped struggling and shifted to peek out from behind his arm. He turned wild eyes onto Sanji, his dark orbs panicked and frantic. When he recognized Sanji, his clawed hand gentled and cupped Sanji’s face.

“S-Sanji!”

Sanji pulled Usopp to him in relief, hugging the sniper tight. “Dieu merci, Dieu merci! Tu vas bien? Ma bien-aimée, dis que tu vas bien!” The words spilled out of Sanji’s lips as he pressed kisses into Usopp’s temple, the sniper letting himself be pulled into Sanji’s embrace.

“Sanji… Sanji… words…” Usopp whispered, his voice hoarse. He was gently reminding his lover, that he did not understand.

“You’re alright! Are you alright? Are you hurt?” Sanji whispered frantically, holding Usopp in the crook of his arm as he looked his sniper over.

“No worse than usual…” Usopp lied, wincing as the laugh he tried to give hurt him. He touched his throat, and then admitted, “Though… if you hadn’t shown up… I might have-”

Sanji snarled like an animal and dragged Usopp closer to him. He framed Usopp’s face with kisses and glared out at the Marine he had stomped into dust, wishing he had inflicted more violence on the man.

“Sanji,” Usopp breathed, his voice sweet in a way that made Sanji feel whole.

Sanji tilted down, gliding his tongue into Usopp’s waiting mouth, his lover receiving him with yearning. Sanji kissed Usopp, the sun to Usopp’s universe. He warmed his lover with his mouth and affection, holding Usopp close until the Sniper was tilting away.

“S-Sanji! I’m having trouble breathing enough already, thank you very much!” Usopp joked, delight hidden in his words.

Sanji kissed his brow a few more times, before whispering, “Come on, come on. We’re bugging out. Captain’s orders.”

Sanji rose, trying to bring Usopp with him. Usopp winced as he got to his feet, his hand flying to his throat, and then he stumbled forward. Sanji caught him before he fell, shifting and adjusting Usopp until he was draped over his back. Turning into Usopp’s cheek, Sanji scolded, “I thought you said you weren’t hurt!”

“I’m not!” Usopp insisted, looking pained.

But Sanji could see it for the lie it was this time.

“Must you worry me?” Sanji griped.

Usopp crossed his arms around Sanji’s shoulders, his hands sliding down to cup his heart. He nuzzled his nose and chin into Sanji’s throat, and in a soft endearingly sweet voice whispered, “I don’t want to worry anybody.”

Sanji squeezed a hand over Usopp’s wrists, admiring the strong tendon and smooth skin beneath his callused fingertips. “Then tell me the truth about your well-being the first time Usopp!” Sanji peppered Usopp’s cheek with two more anxious kisses before he got to his feet. He leaned forward, shifting his hands under Usopp’s thighs and shuffling the man forward. Usopp allowed himself to be manhandled and slid his legs further around Sanji’s waist. 

Sanji tried not to let Usopp’s grinding hips distract him but from the sniper musing note of, “There’s smoke coming out your ears,” Sanji wasn’t so sure he was managing to play it cool.

“Hold on tight Usopp, the others are waiting.”

Usopp made a soft little sound in the back of his throat and nestled his cheek in the crook of Sanji’s neck further. Sanji felt his legs take flame, like his desire, and took off for the beach, heading for the docks to where his crew would be meeting them.

His legs burned with each powerful pump of his stride, a streak of fire burning behind him. He felt like he was running on air as he flew away from the place where he’d found Usopp. Past the battle-worn island, and the Marines that littered the island like ship-wrecked debris. In not even half the time it took to find Usopp, Sanji had sprinted until he reached the docks and now ran along the wooden boards calling out to Sunny who was sailing alongside.

Franky waved at them from the rigging, a hand cupped to his mouth, “Jump when ya get to the end bro! Luffy’s gonna catch ya!”

Sanji flashed a grin, and picked up the speed, hugging Usopp’s legs tighter to him.

Usopp had gone tense, and he shifted forward against Sanji, trying to use his body to protect Sanji’s side, his hands still desperately clinging to his heart. “Sanji, a sniper!” Usopp whispered, his voice desperate.

A bead of light hit the side of Sanji’s eye line, and he felt an intrusive bubble of anger fuel him as he realized Usopp was squirming and moving so much to try and shield him from an incoming shot.

“No!” Sanji growled, leaning forward for that last push of speed. He jumped, but turned shifting his back and Usopp towards Sunny as he leaped in the air. A crack filled the air, and Usopp took in a sharp intake of breath before his wail filled Sanji’s ear.

“Sanji!”

From the ship behind him, Sanji heard his name repeated, and something burned into the core of his body just a moment before Luffy’s arms coiled around him and Usopp both.

“Franky! Get us out of here!” Luffy snapped once he had both Sanji and Usopp on the deck.

“I got it! Coup de Burst on its way!” Franky snapped, thundering off towards the wheel.

Usopp had shifted, so that now Sanji was cradled in his lap, his wide eyes scanning for injury.

Sanji had his hand pressed to his hip, and felt blood seep between his fingers as his wound burned. He smiled up at Usopp as he lay sprawled in his lover's lap and under his shadow.

“Sanji, Sanji! Are you hurt?!” Usopp cried his voice choked with emotion.

Sanji smiled drunkenly up at Usopp, his moon, stars, his sky, and beyond.

“Ah, Mon coeur I’m fine… though, I think I’ve been shot.”

“Sanji!” Usopp yelped, curling his arms around him, before wincing at the overuse of his own injured throat.

“Chopper! We need some help over here!” Nami shouted, sinking next to Luffy and reaching out to put concerned hands on both Usopp and Sanji’s arms. “The idiot lovebirds hurt themselves!”

#kazi fanfic #Sanuso #one piece #usopp #sanji #action adventure #established relationship #romance

[vodika-vibes]

Trials of the Goddess

Summary: It's been over a year since the eternal winter has been broken on Pabu, and you've finally adjusted to the new normal. Unfortunately, there are some things about Pabu that Crosshair doesn't know about.

Pairing: Merc!Crosshair x Reader

Word Count: 5366

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023

A/N: The most recent installment of my Magic and Knights AU. I've never written Crosshair before, well, not a lot of Crosshair, but I like to think I sort of know what I'm doing now, lol.

Divider by Saradika

It’s been over a year since the curse of Eternal Winter was broken over Pabu, and slowly life has returned to normal. Or, as normal as it could be since there are so few people who remember what life was like before the Winter Queen.

But things have returned to normal. 

Though you’re not sure you’re a big fan of this new normal.

Oh, you definitely don’t miss the snow and the cold. You much prefer the tropical weather, and the fact that it never gets cold anymore. You also greatly enjoyed donating all of your cold weather clothes to more northern nations that needed them.

And you really, really enjoy being able to have a wardrobe that's mostly swimsuits, shorts, tank tops, and sundresses. 

The cons are that you eat so much fish now. So much. It’s awful. Almost every meal has some sort of fish, and you’re so tired of fish. Also, you hate having to repair the fishing nets.

At least the ones your family uses are made of rope, though that does mean that you’re repairing them weekly. And you’re talented enough with net repair, that the neighbors have started paying you to repair theirs as well.

Which wouldn’t be a problem, if it wasn’t for the fact that one of your neighbors uses wire in his fishing nets, and the wire has cut your fingers to shreds.

You scowl at your bandage covered fingers, and then shake your head, “I’m heading out!” You call over your shoulder to your family.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come out with us?” Your older cousin asks gleefully, “It’ll be fun!”

“No thanks.” You reply as you make a face, “Have fun though.” You wave at your extended family, and then hurry out of the house before someone can come up with some reason you should go fishing with them.

As soon as you’re on the street you veer left, and follow the walkway to a small set of wooden stairs that lead up the cliffside. You kick off your sandals, and pick them up, before you run up the stairs. 

At the top of the stairs you follow the trail for about a mile, and then you step over a small stone wall and follow a path that you only know about because you know the man you’re meeting.

You duck under a fallen tree, and grin when you see a hammock stretched between two trees. A hammock with a slender man with silver hair laying on it. You hurry over to him, not bothering to try and make yourself sneaky. 

You lean over the hammock and grin at him, “Found you~” You say in a singsong voice.

He doesn’t bother to open his eyes, but he does roll his toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other, “It’s not like I was hiding from you.” Crosshair replies dryly, and then he pulls his toothpick from his mouth and flicks it at you, “You’re in my sun, sweetheart.”

You make a disgusted face as his toothpick bounces off your cheek, “There is no sun, Cross. You’re surrounded by trees.”

He sighs, “You know, I came up here to be alone.”

“Great! I’ll be alone with you!” You counter cheerfully, that finally makes him open his eyes, and he pins you with a glare.

“You’re incredibly annoying, you know that?”

“It’s part of my charm,” You reply, before you lightly grip his arm and tug, “Now, come on!”

“What? No. I don’t want to go anywhere,” Crosshair grumbles as he settles more firmly in the hammock, and slips a new toothpick into his mouth.

“But Cross,” You lean over him and pout, “They finally reopened the stairs to the Lookout!”

“Don’t care.”

You pout even more and he just closes his eyes, “If you want to go to the Lookout, then go. Don’t get me involved.”

You huff and reach out to poke his cheek, “I bet Tech would go with me.” You say.

“I recognize that you’re trying to manipulate me, and it’s not going to work, sweetheart.”

“Okay. Then I’m going to go get Tech. Right now. Here I gooo-” You say cheerfully, as you spin on your heel and start walking away.

You don’t even get three steps before you hear the hammock creak loudly, and his hand wraps tightly around your wrist. He tugs you back against his chest and you muffle a laugh when you feel his breath against your ear, “You’re such a fucking pain, kitten.” He grumbles, “Put your damned shoes on, the steps up to the lookout are stone.”

“Aww, I thought you said I couldn’t manipulate you,” You tease as you tilt your head to look at him.

He rolls his eyes and reaches out to flick your nose, “I’m saving you from having to spend an afternoon listening to my twin. You should be thanking me.”

You laugh, “Oh, my hero~”

“Yeah, yeah. Shoes, sweetheart.”

You grin at him and drop your sandals to the ground, before you slide them on, “There. Shoes.”

“Those aren’t shoes. They’re deathtraps.”

“You’re just grumpy that I’m making you walk.” You reply, “I think they make my legs look amazing. What do you think?”

Crosshair sighs, as though you’re asking him for a huge favor, and he takes a step back to stare at your legs. “Hm…” He tilts his head, and drags his gaze down your legs, and then back up, “Not bad. Maybe if you had some heels-”

You bump him with your shoulder, “Maybe you should wear some heels,” You grumble good naturedly, before you skip ahead of him, forcing him to take several long strides to keep up with you. 

“I thought we were going to the lookout together,” Crosshair chides as he flings his arm over your shoulder.

“We are! But you’re so slow-” You yelp when he tugs you and you stumble for a moment, “Mean! Mean Crosshair!”

“Not my fault that you don’t know how to walk, sweetheart.” He counters as he moves to walk in front of you, and he smirks at you over his shoulder, “Keep up, why are you walking so slow?”

You pout at his back, and jog over to him so you’re able to wrap your arms around one of his. He grumbles a little, but doesn’t shake you off, which you take as a win.

It’s not a far walk to the stairs leading to the lookout, and you frown when you see the stairs. Like Crosshair said earlier, they are made out of stone, but there’s no railing.

“Worried about falling, kitten?” He asks in your ear, causing you to shiver.

“Of course not,” You shoot him a bemused look, “I’m with you, after all.”

He blinks at you, slowly, and then he huffs and tugs on some of your hair, “Disgusting. That’s the grossest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“You’re so dramatic,” You reply as you tug him over to the stairs and start to climb them.

“You know I can leave right?” He points out, as he climbs the stairs behind you. 

“But we’re already here!” You say cheerfully as you bounce from the stairs onto the landing at the top of the stairs, “The Lookout!” You spread your arms wide, and he rolls his eyes. 

“Why’s this place so great anyway?” He asks.

“Because-” You take his arm and pull him away from the edges of the cliff, and further inland, “There’s a lake.”

“Pabu is literally a peninsula. There’s water everywhere.” Crosshair replies.

“But this is special water!” You lead him further in, until you come to a crystalline lake. It’s peaceful, and there, in the center of the lake, on a small man-made island, is a massive statue of a woman. “Ta-dah!”

Crosshair looks around, and then he sighs, “Alright. I’ll bite. What’s with the statue?”

“Hm?” You turn and look at the statue, “Oh, right. It’s a Goddess of Love.”

“A goddess,” He repeats, deadpan, “of love.”

“Yep.” You tug him over to the shore, and then sit down on the white sand. You take a moment to pull your sandals off and then bury your feet. “The story goes that a pair of lovers came up here to meet up in secret, against the wishes of their families.” You explain, “And the goddess was so moved by their devotion, she gave them the chance to prove their love to each other, and her, by giving them a series of trials.”

“Lame.”

You glare at him and fling a handful of seaweed at him, “Not lame! Romantic.”

“Yeah, I’m not about to let anyone, let alone a goddess who doesn’t exist, determine if my love is real or not.” Crosshair flicks the second toothpick of the day at you, and you squawk indignantly as it lands in your hair.

You flick the toothpick away from you, once you pick it out of your hair, “Come on, Cross. It is romantic! Sticking together through thick and thin, proving your love-”

“It isn’t romantic.” He says the word like it’s a curse and you don’t bother to muffle your laugh, “It’s condescending at best.”

“I think it’s romantic,” You reply.

“Yeah, until you’re the one having to prove your love to someone who doesn’t know you.” 

You roll your eyes at him, and reach up to tug him down onto the sand next to you, “Will you stop being a grouch for 10 minutes and just enjoy the atmosphere with me?”

“I suppose it is kind of nice that there’s no one around,” Crosshair admits after he folds himself, gracelessly, on the sand next to you.

“See, I told you-”

“It means that I can do this,” He adds with a small smirk as he leans in and steals a quick kiss, before he pulls away and settles comfortably on the sand.

You squeak, and then scramble to your knees, “No! Wait! I wasn’t ready!”

“You snooze, you lose, kitten.” He replies.

You fling your arms around his neck, “but Cross, don’t you want a kiss too?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“Wha-” You’re unable to finish your word when there’s a loud crash of thunder, causing you to flinch against him. 

Crosshair straightens, and he taps your arm twice, causing you to drop them to your side. His sharp gaze is locked on the island with the statue. “Time to go, sweetheart.”

“Okay,” You push yourself to your feet, only to yelp as the ground gives way beneath you, and you fall. It’s some comfort that you see Crosshair falling too. Though it’s only some comfort.

You hope that he doesn’t get hurt.

You squeeze your eyes shut as the dizzying array of lights and colors threatens to make you sick, and then you’re hitting solid ground, and you huff out a breath of pain as you land hard on the sand.

Slowly you roll from your back to your side, and then push yourself into a sitting position.

You’re still at the lake, though you’re alone now. You nervously clutch at your hands, and flicker your gaze around, “Cross?” You call, “are you here?”

You gingerly get to your feet, and inch towards the treeline, “Crosshair?”

“Ah, there you are.” You jump at the familiar voice coming from the opposite side of the clearing.

You spin on your heels and sigh in relief. “There you are. What happened?” You duck down to grab your sandals, only they’re not sitting in the sand. You stare at the sand, bewildered for a moment. You could have sworn…

“Sweetheart?” You jump again, and whip around to look at Crosshair.

“Sorry?”

He smiles at you, a proper smile, and you fold your arms over your chest, “I asked if you’re alright, sweetheart.”

Your blood runs cold.

Crosshair calls you sweetheart like it’s an insult. He’s rude and crass, and flicks toothpicks at you because he thinks it’s funny. He’s never smiled at you, and he’s never verbally asked if you were alright before.

He also calls you kitten when you’re alone, and likes to whisper in your ear like you’re the only two people in the world. And sometimes, when it’s just the two of you, he looks at you like you’re the most important thing in the world to him. And he always knows if you’re alright or not, because he’s Crosshair.

“Sweetheart?” He asks again, taking a step closer to you.

You stumble back away from him, “Who are you?”

He pauses, and then smiles warmly, and you fight to hide your tremors, “It’s me. Your Crosshair.”

Trap. Traptraptrap. You take several large steps back, until you’re standing in the water, “You’re not Crosshair.”

He blinks, “Are you sure?”

“Yes! You…what did you do to him!?”

He tilts his head to the side, “He’s not hurt.” He takes several steps towards you, only to stop when you step further back into the water, the water now coming up to your knees. “I could be Crosshair, if you wanted.” He cajoles, “I would make you happy, and safe.”

You shake your head mutely, your arms folding tightly around yourself.

His face twists for a moment, something dark and dangerous crossing his features as he takes a stalking step towards you. 

You yelp and stumble further backwards, just as three arrows fly from the treeline and slam into Fake Crosshair’s chest. He releases a noise that no human throat could ever make, and then dissolves into goo on the sand.

“Get over here!” Crosshair’s voice is sharp, and your head snaps to the treeline, where he’s crouching in a tree.

“Cross-” You wade out of the water, and half run over to him, “I can’t find my shoes,” you blurt as you reach his side, the fact seeming very, very important for some reason, “They were there and now they’re not and-”

“I have them.” Crosshair interrupts, his gaze flickers over all of your exposed skin, likely looking for any injuries, “They were with me…and the fake you I had to deal with.”

“I…fake me?” You ask.

“Yeah, she was acting like me, and it pissed me off, so I stabbed her.” Crosshair replies as he hands you your shoes. “Well, and because she was trying to convince me that she was you.”

You slide your sandals back on, and then look up at him, “Can we go now?” you ask.

His gaze scans your face for a moment, and he nods, “That’s the plan, stay behind me.” He pauses when you grip the back of his shirt, and he glances at you over his shoulder.

“Sorry, do you need me to let go?”

“Hold on to the hem of my shirt, not the middle of the back,” is all Crosshair says in return. He waits until your grip shifts, and then he starts walking. 

He carefully leads you to where the stairs are, only for him to stop and curse loudly. “Cross?” You poke your head from around him and look up at him.

“The stairs are gone.” He says.

You release his shirt and step around him so you’re standing next to him, and you peer over the edge of the cliff and you frown. “I don’t even see the ground.”

Crosshair grabs your shoulder and pulls you away from the edge, “I noticed,” he says shortly.

“Okay, so…so maybe we have to go back to the statue?” You offer as you nervously wring your hands. 

Crosshair reaches out and grabs your hands, “Stop that. If you’re going to worry anything, worry my shirt.”

You immediately grab the hem of his shirt, and start rolling the soft material between your fingers. 

“And your suggestion is a valid one, I suppose. Though I don’t like it.”

“You don’t like anything,” You quip weakly, a small smile lifting your lips.

His hand comes up and presses lightly against the top of your head, a small bit of tenderness to help settle your nerves, and then he moves his hand back to the stock of his crossbow, “Stay behind me.”

You slide your hands to the back of his shirt, “I will.”

He glances at you, a small smirk on his lips, “Good girl.”

You flash a small smile up at him, and allow him to lead you back towards the lake.

The pair of you stop on the shore, and look out at  the statue, and Crosshair releases a frustrated sigh, “Do we need to get to the statue?” He glances at you, “What happened, in the story?”

“Um…the couple disappeared and were never seen again.” You admit.

“You could have mentioned that this was a horror story, kitten.”

You duck your head, “It wasn’t supposed to be real, Cross.”

He scoffs, “Any other stories that we should probably know about?”

“Um…there’s a couple of others,” You admit sheepishly.

“You’re fucking joking.”

“Sorry.”

He sighs deeply and pinches his nose, “Alright. It’s fine.” Crosshair looks around for a moment, “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

You nod and release his shirt.

Crosshair is only a few feet away when you see something alarming. Dozens of weapons, all of them aimed at Crosshair.

You move before you can even think it through. Your hands come out and press against his back, and you push with all of your strength. Crosshair stumbles out of the way, annoyance crossing his face as he turns to yell at you, only the words die in his throat as he watches the first volley of arrows slam into you.

You crumple to the ground, still and silent. 

Crosshair rounds on the attackers, and fires off a series of arrows, moving faster and his aim truer than ever before. 

And then he’s kneeling next to you, his touch is gentle as he rolls you from your side onto your back.

“Come on, kitten.” He growls, fury warring with fear on his face.

A warm glow envelopes you, and then fades away into nothing, and you release a gasp, rolling back onto your side and coughing loudly. “C-Cross-?”

He roughly pulls you to a sitting position, “What the fuck were you thinking?!” He snaps, he runs his hands down your arms and sides, checking for injuries.

“They,” You cough again as you try to catch your breath, “they were going to hurt you.”

“I don’t care! You don’t do that. You don’t get to do that. Never again.” Crosshair orders. 

“But-”

“No. No buts. You will give me your word that you won’t do that ever again.” His hands are painful on your shoulders.

You stare at him, eyes wide, “Okay. Okay, I won’t do that again.”

His grip loosens around your shoulders, “You promise.” He demands.

“...yeah, I promise.” He releases a shaky breath and his forehead drops against yours, “Sorry for scaring you.” You whisper.

“It’s fine,” He says gruffly, his hand pressing against the back of your head, “Come on. We need to get to the island.”

You nod your agreement, but before you get to your feet, you pull him in for a kiss. Slow and lazy and proper. You’re pretty sure you just died, you feel like you’ve earned it.

Crosshair chuckles under his breath, “Alright, kitten. Feeling better?”

“...actually, yes.” You admit.

Crosshair helps you to your feet, his grip just a little too tight for comfort. You scared him, so you don’t begrudge him his anxiety.

“Good. Now, how do we get to the isla-?” He pauses mid sentence, his gaze locked on the lake. There, right next to where you’re standing, is a small boat. 

“This feels like a trap,” You whisper to him.

He grimaces, “Get in the fucking boat.” Crosshair says shortly.

Oh, good, he agrees.

You climb into the boat with little hesitance, after all, you are with Crosshair, and he’d never let anything hurt you. You sit on one of the benches in the boat, and dig around the bottom for some oars. 

The ease of several months of practice is the only reason you didn’t topple over when the boat started moving as Crosshair pushes the boat from the shore into deeper water.

You offer him one of the oars you found, “You do know how to use this, right?” You tease lightly.

He raises a single brow, takes an oar, and dips it into the water. And then he smirks and flicks water at you causing you to let out a disgruntled noise, “I think I can figure it out.”

The pair of you manage to cross the lake in short order, and you hop out of the boat to help Crosshair pull it out of the water. You ensure that the oars are stored in the boat, and then you turn to him with a nervous smile, “I think the statue is up there,” You motion to a ridge that was not noticeable from the shoreline.

Crosshair was scowling up at the ridge, and you can’t help but wonder if he’s seen something that you haven’t.

“Cross?”

He glances at you, and his frown deepens. “Stay with the boat.”

You blink in surprise, “Shouldn’t I go with you?” You ask, “I mean, if this is a trial, like from the story-”

You stop when he presses his hand over your mouth, “Absolutely not. There’s something unnatural happening here, and you will stay here until I figure out what it is.”

“What if you get hurt?” You ask, your voice muffled by his hand.

“Then I get hurt.” He replies unconcerned.

“But-”

“Are you going to stay here?” Crosshair asks, “Or do I need to put you back in the boat and push it into the lake?”

You whine low in the back of your throat, “Are those my only options?”

“Yes.”

You shoot him an unhappy look, “Then I’ll stay here.”

He guides you over to a rock and firmly sits you down, “Good girl.” He checks his weapons, “I’ll be back shortly. Probably.”

A petulant pout crosses your face as he walks away, following the trail up to the ridge. 

“Aww, he cares about you a lot,” 

You yelp and topple off of the rock at the sudden voice to your left.

“Oh! Oh gosh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to frighten you!”

You gape up at the strange woman standing over you. She’s stunning, though her features seem to shift and change as you stare at her, “Who are you?” you ask.

“Oh, I’m Poppy. Hello!”

“...hi?”

Poppy beams at you and you feel guilty for having been startled by her, “Do you think you can help me?” She asks as she folds her hands, pleadingly, under her chin.

“I…Crosshair was very specific about me staying here.”

“He was!” Poppy beams even more, “And it was very adorable, but I really do need your help. And so does he.”

You slowly get to your feet and Poppy lightly takes your arm, “What do you need my help with?”

“You’ll see! It’s not far, I promise.” Poppy half drags you out of the clearing, and down a thin path that you wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t shown you. “Just down here.”

She leads you to a cave, and then she leads you into a cave. The walls are covered with dark green ivy, and there’s flowers of all sorts growing across the floor and ceiling, “What…what is this place?”

“This is my home,” Poppy leads you to the very back, where a stunning marble statue sits…covered in wicked looking purple vines, “My shrine.”

“Wait, you’re-?”

Poppy smiles, “Many years ago, I chose to watch over this island and the people here with my partner. But one day these vines appeared…” She gestured to the vines, “And my power waned to the point I wasn’t able to stop that awful winter.” She sniffles, “The only good thing about that awful winter is that fake me wasn’t able to hurt anyone, but then the winter left, and she killed you! So naturally I had to save you!”

“Oh, uh…thank you, then.”

“You’re very welcome!” Poppy beams, though it fades quickly, “I gifted you a fraction of my power, just a fraction, enough to heal you, but it drained me something awful, so now I need your help.”

“With what?”

“The vines. I need you to remove the vines. Please.” Poppy lightly touches your arm, “It’ll hurt, little one. But, please-”

You come to a decision immediately. You can’t not help someone who needs help, it’s not your nature.

So you walk over to the statue, reach out, and grab a vine. 

It’s like grabbing a red hot wire; the vine sears into your skin, and you can hear the skin of your hands burning, but you don’t let go. Instead you tighten your grip, and you rip.

The smaller vines pull away with ease, dissolving into ash as soon as they land on the consecrated ground, but the larger vines are more troublesome. They twine around your arms as you rip them out, searing dark burns into your skin. Each one is more painful than the last.

But finally, finally, the last vine falls to the ground and dissolves into ash. The cave fills with a warm light, as though the sun has finally risen after a very long night, and Poppy laughs. 

“Finally,” She says through her laughter. She reaches out and touches you, and the pain fades, and the burns slowly turn into a delicate looking ivy tattoo, “There, my brave little ivy, no more pain. No more fear.” She leans in and kisses your forehead. “All will be well. Stay in here…you will be safe.”

“But…Crosshair?”

Poppy smiles, “All will be well.” She promises, and then she’s gone, leaving behind the delicate scent of flowers. 

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

Crosshair grunts in pain as he dodges another blow from the so-called Goddess his Kitten told him about. His lips curl in disdain as he moves out of the way from another attack.

Had he known that his day was going to devolve from spending time with his person to fighting demons, he would have brought more than just his crossbow and hunting knife.

What’s the saying, hindsight is 20-20?

At least his kitten is safe, the demons seem to have no interest in her. Though, he’s willing to bet that if he doesn’t survive, then that will change. All that means is that he better not die.

The demon he’s fighting stumbles back for a moment, even though Crosshair isn’t anywhere near her. “No.” She hisses, “NO! Go and find the girl!” She shouts to her shadows, which take the form of him and his brothers, “Kill her!”

“Shit.” Crosshair turns his attention away from the main demon, to dealing with her underlings, only the moment demon!Hunter tries to leave the ridge, he’s cut in two.

“There’s no need to fret,” A strange man stands on the edges of the clearing, something coldly smug on his face, “You’re little lady is just fine. She’s somewhere where these fiends can’t touch her.”

“No…no. You cannot be here. You’re sealed away!” The demon snarls.

The man’s grin becomes vicious, “Crosshair, is it?”

Crosshair raises a single brow, but doesn’t bother to answer.

“I need you to shoot the statue. Right in the heart, if you would.”

It’s a weird ask, but he’s done weirder things, all things considered. So Crosshair lifts his crossbow, takes aim, and fires.

His bolt flies true, and slams into the statue’s heart.

The granite cracks, crumbles, and then completely shatters. And Crosshair blinks in surprise. The statue of the woman was gone, and in its place was a statue of a man, wielding a sword and dressed in armor. 

Crosshair lowers his bow, and the strange man chuckles and steps into the sunlight. “Well done, lad. Well done indeed.” The man stops next to Crosshair, his smile is kind, though there’s a hint of danger in his gaze, “You’ve done enough for now. Let’s send you to where you belong.”

“Where I-?”

There’s a flash of light, and Crosshair swears, as he immediately closes his eyes.

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

You scramble to your feet when the cave fills with a cold light. Cold, but somehow you know it’s not a threat. The light fades, and you heave out a sigh of relief when you see who’s standing in the cave with you.

“Cross?” You hurry over to him and fling your arms around his neck, and he grunts in surprise. “Are you okay?”

His hand comes up and presses between your shoulder blades, “Yeah. I’m fine.” Crosshair extracts himself from your grip, making you whine, “What’s this?” His fingers trail over the ivy tattooed on your arms.

“Um…the statue,” You motion to the gleaming white statue, “Was being smothered in vines, so I removed them, but they burned me really badly. So Poppy turned the scars into tattoos.”

“...who the fuck is Poppy?”

You blink up at him, and then you point to the statue, “That’s Poppy. She went somewhere else, though.”

“I did indeed,” Crosshair instinctively shoves you behind him, and Poppy giggles, “Oh, darling, he reminds me of you.”

There’s a man standing next to her, tall and broad, “That he does. Those demons won’t trouble anyone ever again.” He says firmly, “And, thanks to you both, this nation will never have to worry about an eternal winter again.”

“Because we’re awake now,” Poppy says warmly, “Which means we can go back to protecting what is ours.” She claps her hands, “But, we need to get you both home.”

The man smiles slowly, “But I think we can take care of that.”

There’s a bright flash of light, and everything fades away.

*********

“I’m heading out!” You call over your shoulder to your family.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come out with us?” Your older cousin asks gleefully, “It’ll be fun!”

“No thanks.” You reply as you make a face, “Have fun though.” You wave at your extended family, and then hurry out of the house before someone can come up with some reason you should go fishing with them.

Once you’re on the street, you turn and follow the road. You hurry past the forest, and over to the stone staircase that leads to the lookout. You carefully go up the stairs, and as soon as you’re standing on the grass at the top, you kick your sandals off. 

You duck down and pick them up, and then you follow the path lined by pretty white flowers away from the lookout, and towards the lake. You stop on the shore of the lake and you turn your attention to the island in the middle of the lake.

Alight with dozens of different flowering trees, the pair of statues looking out over the lake, and over Pabu as a whole, radiate a sense of warmth and love, and you grin at the statues.

And then you turn and race along the edge of the lake, until you’ve circled half of the lake, and only then do you dip into the dense trees. 

There, hanging from two massive trees, is a hammock. And laying on the hammock, is Crosshair. You drop your shoes on the ground next to the hammock, and lean over him, a grin on your face, “Found you!”

Crosshair doesn’t bother opening his eyes, instead he just snakes his arm around your waist and pulls you so you topple over on top of him. He then adjusts you so that your head is tucked under his chin, “No more adventures, kitten.”

You giggle and bury your face against his neck, “But I haven’t told you about the Volcan-”

“Shhh.” He presses his hand over your mouth, “We’re sleeping now.”

You giggle even more, and press your nose against him, “I suppose I can take a short nap.” You close your eyes, as the soft, delicate, scent of flowers fills the forest around you.

And you know that if you were to open your eyes, the forest around you would be blossoming with every flower known to man. After all, you and Crosshair are Poppy's favorite people.

#star wars #tcw #tbb crosshair x reader #crosshair x reader #star wars au #magic and knights au #star wars fanfiction #x reader fanfiction

[zoros-bandana]

GOODDAY!! may I get hcs of zoro (and anyone else you want) reacting to uhhh batshit crazy s/o that likes bombs and guns and is always causing big explosions on purpose whenever they are in battles to piss off the marines. they also get along with usopp and make new weapons together

Zoro x Crazy S/o Headcanons

(SFW) Zoro x non-specified gender s/o

Much like Zoro carries around his swords, his S/o carries around guns in holders and grenade belts

One of the main qualities he loves about his S/o is how strong and determined they are, a quality he matches with himself

A lot of mental energy is used to perfecting how his S/o attacks and builds weapons so he admires how smart they are in their own unique way

Is sometimes jealous of their relationship with Usopp as they spend a lot of time together joking and making insane weapons together while he is training

If his jealousy gets the better of him, Zoro will try and understand his S/o's craft, maybe even asking to learn how to fire a gun or the weapon they build with Usopp

Exchanges sparing battles for gun shooting lessons

S/o is always causing chaos around the ship; meal times = food fights, other people napping = target practice with items placed on their head, food needed for dinner = blowing up the fish in the aquarium/shooting wild animals when docked, door won't open = shooting off the lock with their gun, something on the ship broken = being used to help build a weapon

Zoro naps a lot more, when he can, since most of his spare time is either used stopping his S/o from blowing stuff up or being interrupted from his nap due to an explosion or gun shot waking him up

When sleeping together, his S/o is very restless and dreaming of blowing things up, tossing through the night, and making 'boom' and 'pow' sounds in their sleep (Zoro is too busy snoring to realise)

Even though they seem chaotic and wild, Zoro is the only person who can ease them and be their safe place (they're just as stubborn and emotionless to the rest of the crew so they have each other to be vulnerable to)

In battle Zoro has to be in two minds, half of him focusing on his own battle and the other half keeping an eye out on his S/o so they don't go 'crazy' and start blowing everything up

I feel like 'crazy' mode in battle makes the S/o have a maniac laugh - alerting the crew that things are about to get really bad

When his S/o goes 'crazy' Zoro can have either two responses to their behaviour

The first, he agrees with their behaviour and lets them go about their business the same way he would let Luffy, just standing back observing with a proud look on his face

The second, and most likely, he is annoyed at their wild antics and will try to tackle them down to stop from causing more damage, yelling at them at how crazy they are being and need to calm down

With the second option, I can see his S/o being strong to have to be able to be so reckless and being a match for Zoro, so a lot of the time it will end in them physically fighting for a while until one of them calms down or gets tired

Or Nami steps in to smack them on the head and tell them both off

If they get lost, which happens a lot, and they come back to the crew after some time, it is obvious they have been in some kind of battle - with other pirates/marines or each other - as they are both covered in bruises and blood and wounds

When his S/o gets 'crazy' in battle and runs out of weapons they become very creative and make weapons and bombs out of anything they can find - and somehow, even if the items they collect don't make sense, it always makes a working weapon (cue the astounded Zoro look from the header)

Can become very bossy and rope other members into helping with their explosives (most likely Luffy or Usopp) so their weapons become stronger

If his S/o is significantly smaller than him, I can see Zoro dragging them around over his shoulder while they’re kicking and screaming away from a battle scene

They're always wishing to make their guns better so will go to Franky for help in building special advances for the guns like a longer barrel or a bigger space for bullets etc

Both Zoro and his S/o always manage to balance each other out in the end, with Zoro being very laidback and introverted, and his S/o being very chaotic and extroverted

#doves requests #the header photo fkn kills me so of course I had to use it for this request #one piece #one piece x reader #one piece x y/n #one piece scenario #one piece imagine #one piece headcanons #zoro #zoro x reader #zoro x y/n #zoro scenario #zoro imagine #zoro headcanons #roronoa zoro #roronoa zoro x reader #roronoa zoro x y/n #roronoa zoro scenario #roronoa zoro imagine #roronoa zoro headcanons

[newwwwusername]

Awesome! I'm glad that you enjoyed it ^^

So for the request I was thinking of a little bit of an AU where, at the party, they have an argument about Sam, but James Storm's off to talk to him anyway and Isaiah doesn't see him for the rest of the night as the regular events of the episode takes place

When Isaiah, Jane and Isabella find him he's more worse for wear then he is in the show (concussion, broken arm, gonna leave it up to you ^^) and when Isaiah helps him up and out of the hole he was thrown in he admits that, with the way the two of them left off, James wasn't sure if Isaiah would even look for him

They reconcile and Isaiah takes James to get checked out at the hospital and something to eat afterwards, and that's where my ranting ends lol 😅

Author's note : Tbh I'm kinda surprised anyone even saw my other Goosebumps (Disney+) fic cause, at the time of typing this out, the fandom still hasn't been canonized on AO3 lol but I am very happy to pioneer the tag for it 💪 Hope this suffices as a request fill. Also keep in mind that, at the time of writing this, I still haven't watched episode 6, so (while I doubt any of this stuff will specifically come up in episode 6 since we're well past it by now) if anything is inaccurate due to context in that episode, just keep that in mind.

"I just don't think you should be lying to him about liking something if you're tryna get closer with him" Isaiah told the shorter boy. James scoffed and rolled his eyes. Isaiah was supposed to be proud of him for finally making a move on Sam, not scolding him for the iffy way he went about it!

"You don't get it" James replied, glad that everyone around them was drunk and not really paying attention. "I really like this guy and I don't wanna mess it up"

"And you think the best way to go about that is to start on a lie?"

"I don't get all the chances you do, Isaiah!" James said, exasperated. Isaiah leaned back, confused.

"The fuck does that mean?"

"It means that you're a conventionally attractive straight dude" James went on. "You have the entire pond of fish to pick from. I'm limited to about five dudes. Honestly it's a miracle I even like one of them"

"Look, all I'm saying is I think that-"

"I don't need your advice, Isaiah" James cut him off, annoyed. He stood up and began to walk away. "I got this. Just leave me be"

----------

James really wasn't doing well.

For one, his stomach hurt (a mixture of hunger pains and the pain that naturally comes along with eating/drinking dirt water for sustenance) really bad. His left arm had also been broken at one point by one of his duplicates, and his focus was just on not dying in that mine, though that seemed hopeless.

Isaiah wouldn't want to come look for him, not after the fight they had last time they spoke, and no one else was as close to him as Isaiah, so they wouldn't want to waste their time looking for him, if they even realized that something was wrong to begin with (it didn't take a genius to figure out that he probably had some duplicates taking his place in the real world).

Then, Isaiah did arrive and promptly smacked him in the head with a rock.

James saw stars for a moment and was sure that he had a concussion or something, but that was hardly his focus at the time. No, his main focus was that Isaiah was there. Isaiah found him. He'd be okay.

----------

After all the duplicates were killed, James was helped out of the mine and back into town.

Margot and Isabella seemed to get the hint that James wanted to talk to Isaiah one-on-one, so they walked a little bit ahead to give the two of them space, which James was quietly grateful for.

"I didn't think you would look for me" James admitted, his speech slightly slurred (something which tipped Isaiah off to the fact that the boy probably had a concussion).

"Why wouldn't I look for you?"

"Hm?"

"Why wouldn't I look for you?" Isaiah repeated.

"We got in a fight" James shrugged. Isaiah felt his heart break. Sure, that argument hadn't been fun, but something like that would never prevent him from looking for the other boy should he go missing.

"James, I care about you so much" Isaiah told him. "A little fight isn't gonna change that. Friends fight, it happens. You matter to me more than that"

"Oh"

"Now, let's get some food in your stomach, and then we're taking you to a hospital" Isaiah said, patting his friend lightly on the back. "I think you have a concussion, and also your arm is definitely broken"

"Yeah, you're probably right" James chuckled. "We can be broken arm buddies!"

"Sure, bud"

#fanfiction #fanfic #goosebumps #goosebumps disney plus #disney plus goosebumps #hulu #disney plus #this was a request #injury #concussion #james goosebumps #isaiah howard #goosebumps 2023

[vyl3tpwny]

ANTONYMPH (Vylet Ponystep Remix)

art by @astroeden

—

So I just released my remix of Antonymph, and you can read my original Tumblr post about the original song here if you want to.

There's a lot of substantial stuff going on under the surface with this remix that can be broken down into two major things:

Breaking out of burnout

Fulfilling a childhood wish

The former of these things is something that I've been dealing with since the release of CUTIEMARKS. I suppose I don't necessarily mean I've been experiencing burnout in that I haven't been working on stuff. Rather, the response to CUTIEMARKS (especially seeing the reviewbombing done over RateYourMusic) left me feeling like I wasn't quite good enough for some reason.

I think I'm good enough though, I don't think this feeling occurs because there's any merit in these thoughts. Rather, I feel oddly self conscious now about appealing to the more widespread music critic world. A lot of music in the spaces I create in (namely electronic dance music) is often looked down upon in the 'higher echelons of music enjoyment'. Paired with the fact that I do very colourful pony music, it makes me a rather big target for people to come down on.

Going into making Fish Whisperer, I specifically set out to make a project that would both criticize and appeal to the critical music consensus. I've done my part in doing that, now, and I feel more able to try and work through these feelings of self consciousness. This remix is one of the first things to aid me in doing that. It ties in very heavily with the fact that it's a style of dubstep that has been considered "uncool" and out of trend since probably 2015 or 2016. It's a really melodic, complextro-ey, Bend +/- growl type of song.

I used to try making this style of dubstep rather often. However, a quick tour through my discography revealed to me that I actually never completed and released something in this style for the near decade I've been releasing music publicly. I came to this realization only after I had actually completed the remix. This takes me to the second point I established, in that I am now fulfilling a childhood wish.

It's a huge deal to me to finally release something in this style of music. I haven't really innovated on it much and it's hardly more than the sum of its inspirations, but it also makes me super happy anyway. I was not skilled enough or had the attention span to actually accomplish a song like this when I was younger, and when I finally was able to, it was already out of style and not worth pursuing at the time.

So here I am pursuing it.

I think the whole thing of trends in the EDM community is really annoying actually. In some cases in can drive new ideas to new heights, but it can also really oversaturate other things even though there are really cool things to support it. Things like Big Room and Future Bass are considered really cheesy and silly right now, but I think that's because nobody is innovating on those things and making them fresh. I think that needs to happen, I want to see lots of genres become consistently innovated and reimagined. You see this happening widespread with a lot of genres that seem to have this trend agreed upon, like the rise of breakbeat inspired stuff in the indie electronic scene again. I think we should just consistently innovate things. Sound is kind of infinite, so it's always possible.

Anyway. The Antonymph spirit of everything is to create things for yourself and to feel as whimsical and in love with the smaller things in life as possible. I think I'm going to do a lot more music that is considered out of style and not very trendy in the EDM community. And I definitely need to regain my ability to not care what critical people think of my work. I can improve the fundamental stuff on my own time. If people really get upset at me for the styles and content matter that I write about, so be it. I'm writing for the weirdo in the corner of a school dance, not the people dancing.

Love you poniez.

P.S; the art that @astroeden made was inspired by the galaxy dubstep cat that showed up in every other dubstep compilation in 2014 or something. (You can see the full art on her page instead)

#vylop #antonymph #fluttgirshy #mlp #my little pony #fim