#polar whirlwind

[yourlocaltoad]

Assets used for Polar Whirlwind's Character page (skylanders.com, 2013/2014)

#not art #skylanders #skylanders website #skylanders spyro's adventure #skylanders whirlwind #polar whirlwind #whirlwind character page

[midnight-darkfrost]

Polar Whirlwind

#skylanders #skylanders spyro's adventure #skylanders giants #whirlwind #polar whirlwind #dragon #dragon art #digital art #digital illustration

[fyeahspyroandcrash]

#skylanders #polar whirlwind #whirlwind

[ba1laur]

when i was little i was obsessed with polar whirlwind but couldnt get her in my country n then years later she magically popped up on a random online store here just for me

#skylanders #whirlwind #polar whirldwind #fanart tag #art tag

[medeaied]

ON MISTER AND MISSUS MERCY. i mention archibald too much to not talk about him or offer insight into the marriage between archie and lillian. rest in peace my woke king, you were the only normal parent ever.

this post makes mention of the following: miscarriages, adultery, pregnancy, emotional abuse, and murder. please read with caution.

THE [ RIGHT ] HONOURABLE ARCHIBALD "ARCHIE" VINCENT MERCY, ESQ. ( b. january 18th, 1785 - d. summer of 1846 ). archie's lot in life was set from birth; the third son of the baron mercy - he would never inherit the title or estate. from an early age, it was impressed upon him that his lot and life would be that of a working gentleman, and that he would have to earn the luxuries he had grown up with. though well out of the line of succession, his parents - the baron and baroness mercy - were present, and encouraged their youngest song to follow his passions and find something that he excelled at. a studious youth, archie was never one to rebel - and held a healthy respect for his father and his position; as well as the honour that his family inspired and had earned via a spotless reputation.

it was only natural for a archie to pursue a degree in law at oxford university, then - entering at sixteen years of age in 1801. law careers, at the time, were one of the few lucrative options for wealthy young men - and one of the very few acceptable ones to wealthy society and the landed and unlanded gentry; and for a young man with a good family name and a good head on his shoulders, it was wildly believed by his family, friends, and acquaintances that he would do well there - and he did. it was at oxford that archie met the future lord ( and judge ) edward turpin ( b. 1781 ); four years ahead of him in his courses. eager for a leg up and a helping hand, the two, for a time, became close - though it did not take long for the two to chafe; with archie finding turpin's proclivities for lavish and wild parties hindering to his own studies. archie had never been the most social man on god's green earth - and muchly preferred to focus on his future. eventually, the two drifted and fell out of contact.

after graduating oxford in 1805, with archie passing the bar exam with ease. he began to work as a junior partner at lawrence graham, llp; headquartered in london. a hard worker, archie made partner in 1809; and senior partner in 1811. while a quite man outside of court; in court, archie was powerful, decisive, and charismatic - defending his clients with ease. now secure in his position and an independently wealthy man, archie turned his sights inwards, to his own life. he had always thought of himself as a family man - he had the means to support himself and others, and no one to share it with. in that same year, he entered society with the intent to find a wife. while there were a few half courtships attempted; no one caught his eye that year - and in 1812, he returned to the season. the earlier half went the same as 1811 - some decent starts, but ultimately no match. by the summer, archie had grown weary of the season - and apprehensive about once again entering the season. he was not a grand conversationalist; and much preferred being at home. in the later months of the social season, lillian fitzwilliams caught his eye. young, beautiful and vivacious - lillian was an expert conversationalist who had attracted many a suitor; and could make even archie mercy feel at ease enough to get him talking. it was a simple trade: the fitzwilliams were not gentry, but they were wealthy - and archie could provide them entry into the world of london's elite through their eldest daughter. the match was sensible - and all agreed that they were both a striking couple and an excellent one at that.

the two were married in the spring of 1813 - it was not a love match, but archie was confident that they might become friends, at the very least. this soon proved to be difficult - lillian was his opposite in every way. where archie wished to stay at home after a long day of work in court, lillian wished to - and was always - be out. and while she could be charming, lillian could be cold in turn - and was prone to starting arguments, which perplexed and frustrated archie to no end. unwilling to be at home for long periods, archie spent longer hours at his work. he had hoped that children might lighten the mood in the house and bring them closer - but that proved difficult as well. after almost 10 years of trying and 5 miscarriages, lillian asked archie that they cease trying, as she could not take it any more, in 1822. archie agreed.

by 1823, archie's devotion to his work was rewarded; and archie was made the right honourable judge mercy; and was appointed as circuit judge in the crown court of england; serving at the old bailey. the appointment brought with it prestige, substantial funds; and allowed him to cross paths with an old school friend - judge turpin. looking to move to a more fashionable area of town, archie inquired as to if any properties near hyde park were for sale - and ironically, there was: 59 lancaster gate; the manor next to turpin's. archie was only too happy to put an offer down; and lillian and archie moved in that year - celebrating their success - with a little bit too much wine; and archie is overjoyed to welcome their first child, elizabeth, in 1824.

as i mentioned previously, archie does recognise his faults. he is an absent husband, and while he has tried to make amends with lillian, it never quite works out - but he is devoted to his children; and is the sole stable parent in the children's lives. he loves all four of them dearly; and is a buffer between the children and lillian - especially the girls, who he adores. of course, 3 out of 4 of the children are not his - something he does not know or suspect.

the barker incident in 1830 left a sour taste in archie's mouth - and he began to become aware of turpin's less than scrupulous activities and the way he took advantage of his position and the power it gave him. while the two are on speaking terms ( as archie has no desire to run afoul of the man ); archie is distant - and has been slowly gathering evidence of bribes, bad rulings, biases, and cover-ups turpin has taken and made over the years; hoping to eventually indite turpin and have him removed from his seat of power. progress has been slow - as the man is well-connected, and archie often finds himself stonewalled.

in addition, he mislikes lillian's proximity to their neighbour - and while he supported his daughters being johanna's playmates in their youth, he does not wish them ( or his sons ) to be around turpin for too long. and yet, he finds himself in a very strange 'family unit'; one in which he quietly seethes in.

by 1846, archie feels as though he is ready to finally present an inditement against turpin - but wishes to get his own house in order beforehand; sending his eldest son alexander into navy service in order to get him into shape and prevent the boy from turning in to a wastrel and a rake, as well as remove christopher, his youngest, from turpin's mentorship. the only thing that archie is able to do, however, is send alexander to his new post - having gone to a new barber after hearing a lawyer in court commend a mister todd of fleet street. archie vanished in the summer of 1846 - and was presumed dead by november of that year.

ON ARCHIE'S RELATIONSHIP WITH LILLIAN. oh my god, they were roommates. their marriage is not a love match, certainly - and some days it is barely a partnership. while drawn to lillian's charm and beauty, archie is often frustrated and confused by lillian's outbursts and the way she treated their children ( especially their daughters ) when they were young. partly, he does blame himself for the current state of the household, the children, and their marriage - he knows he was absent as a husband and more concerned with work; and attempted to rectify that absence with his children to varying degrees of success, as he loves them dearly and wishes to see them grow up well and enter the world as good, hardworking people. in addition, archie was not in the habit of denying lillian anything she asked for; and just as he believes that lillian has spoilt their eldest son, archie knows he has spoilt her and enabled her behaviour, and has only now begun to put his foot down. while lillian and archie have every capability of working in tandem for the long term, they both live mostly separate lives under the same roof by 1846; presenting a united front for both public and private events - or when it is required of them for family affairs. lillian and archie are simply too different to truly be compatible at the end of the day - and have long since grown apart and stopped trying to be any closer.

#i feel like these images really sum them up LMAO. polar opposites. #archie being frenemies w turpin is so funny to me like bro is SEETHING after he has to interact with him for more than 4 minutes. #CANONS. like a house in a whirlwind; and all aboard powerless to stop it.

[16woodsequ]

100 Asexual Books Rec List

For this list the goal is fiction books with a main character or significant secondary character that is on the Asexual spectrum, or non-fiction books about being Aspec.

Junior Novels

1. Rick by Alex Gino An eleven year old boy starting middle school begins discovering his asexuality admist the school's rainbow spectrum club. Also features transgender and crossdressing side characters, as well as a LGBTQIAP+ supporting cast.

2. Sal & Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Alberto Pablo Hernandez In order to heal after his mother's death, Sal learned how to meditate. But no one expected him to be able to take it further and 'relax' things into existence. Turns out he can reach into time and space to retrieve things from other universes. Asexual Sal.

3. Hazel's Theory of Evolution by Lisa Jenn Bigelow Hazel knows a lot about the world. But even Hazel doesn't have answers for the questions awaiting her as she enters eighth grade. What if no one at her new school gets her, and she doesn't make any friends? What's going to happen to one of her moms, who's pregnant again after having two miscarriages? Why does everything have to change when life was already perfectly fine? Hazel (main character) is asexual and aromantic (it isn't said in the book, but it is specified in the author's note at the back of the book).

4. The Trouble with Robots by Michelle Mohrweis Evelyn strives for excellence. Allie couldn't care less. Together, these polar opposites must work together if they have any hope of saving their school's robotics program. Allie is asexual and/or aromantic. Junior graphic novel.

5. This is Our Rainbow by Editors Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby Featuring contributions from Eric Bell, Katherine Locke and A.J. Sass, this first LGBTQA+ anthology for middle-grade readers presents stories of queer fantasy, historical and contemporary stories for every letter of the acronym.

6. Every Bird a Prince by Jenn Reese After she saves the life of a bird prince and becomes their champion, seventh grader Eren Evers must defend a forest kingdom, save her mom, and keep the friendships she holds dear--if she is brave enough to embrace her inner truths. Eren is aromantic (and I'm guessing asexual, though that isn't discussed).

YA Fiction

7. When Villains Rise by Rebecca Schaeffer With her best friend, Kovit's, life in danger, Nita is determined to take down the black market once and for all. Latina asexual and aromantic main character (Nita).

8. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee Henry "Monty" Montague was bred to be a gentleman. His passions for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men, have earned the disapproval of his father. His quest for pleasures and vices have led to one last hedonistic hurrah as Monty, his best friend and crush Percy, and Monty's sister Felicity begin a Grand Tour of Europe. When a reckless decision turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt, it calls into question everything Monty knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores. Aro/ace secondary character (prequel to a Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy).

9. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee A year after an accidentally whirlwind grand tour with her brother Monty, Felicity Montague has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh and enroll in medical school. A highly loved book in regards to asexual portrayal, Felicity’s journey does a fantastic job of exploring the struggle of navigating a world where marriage is expected of women in order to function in society. Even more refreshing is Felicity isn’t just avoiding getting married out of a sole rebellion against the patriarchy (though those themes are also present), but simply because she doesn’t have an interest in sexual or romantic relationships at all.

10. Silver in the Mist by Emily Victoria Asexual Devlin has grown up in the shadow of her mother’s impressive spy network—and the shadow of the kingdom, too. A magical mist is eating away at their borders, weakening their magic and making them vulnerable to attacks. Devlin is tasked with infiltrating the royal court of the wealthier neighboring kingdom, but when she befriends their most powerful magic wielder, she discovers an ancient mystery that may hold the key to defeating the mists for good. Victoria prioritizes strong friendships between queer characters and an examination of wealth disparity in this fantasy full of twists and turns.

11. Not Good for Maidens by Tori Bovalino Beneath the streets of York, the goblin market calls to the Wickett women-the family of witches that tends to its victims. For generations, they have defended the old cobblestone streets with their magic. Knowing the dangers, they never entered the market-until May Wickett fell for a goblin girl, accepted her invitation, and became inextricably tied to the world her family tried to protect her from. Told through dual narratives in different timelines, the book essentially has two protagonists: Lou and May. Between these two characters, we have some great queer representation for both asexuality and bisexuality.

12. A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger Themes of magic, family, asexuality, and traditional storytelling dominate in Lipan Apache author Darcie Little Badger's delightful and uplifting second YA novel. A Lipan girl named Nina collides with Oli who is from the land of spirits and monsters. But some people will do anything to keep them apart. This is a wholesome, elegantly written read guaranteed to warm your heart! 

13. Arden Grey by Ray Stoeve Arden Grey is a novel about different kinds of abusive relationships, as well as the strength of family and friendships. Following her parents' separation, Arden is depressed and coming to accept herself as being on the asexual spectrum.

14. It Sounds Like This by Anna Meriano Yasm Trevi didn't have much of a freshman year thanks to Hurricane Humphrey, but she's ready to take sophomore year by storm. That means mastering the marching side of marching band--fast!--so she can outshine her BFF Sofia as top of the flute section, earn first chair, and impress both her future college admission boards and her comfortably unattainable drum major crush Gilberto Reyes. But Yasm steps off on the wrong foot when she reports an anonymous gossip Instagram account harassing new band members and accidentally gets the entire low brass section suspended from extracurriculars. Rep: Biracial Latina fat asexual-questioning cis female MC, Jewish gray-aromantic gray-asexual male side character with ADHD and APD.

15. One for All by Lillie Lainoff In 1655 sixteen-year-old Tania is the daughter of a retired musketeer, but she is afflicted with extreme vertigo and subject to frequent falls; when her father is murdered she finds that he has arranged for her to attend Madame de Treville's newly formed Acadaemie des Mariées in Paris, which, it turns out, is less a school for would-be wives, than a fencing academy for girls--and so Tania begins her training to be a new kind of musketeer, and to get revenge for her father. Rep: disability, asexuality, sapphic side characters, POTS and PTSD.

16. The State of Us by Shaun David Hutchinson When Dean Arnault’s mother decided to run for president, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone, least of all her son. But still that doesn’t mean Dean wants to be part of the public spectacle that is the race for the White House—at least not until he meets Dre. The only problem is that Dre Rosario’s on the opposition; he’s the son of the Democratic nominee. In a moment of solidarity and high emotions, Dean tells Dre that he has been questioning his sexual orientation. He isn’t sure if he’s asexual or demisexual. Dre puts a messaging app on Dean’s phone so they can stay in touch.

17. Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her a longer sentence on the debtor ship where she’s been held captive for years. Instead, the man she saved offers her unimaginable riches and a new identity, setting Amaya on a perilous course through the coastal city-state of Moray, where old-world opulence and desperate gamblers collide. Amaya wants one thing: revenge against the man who ruined her family and stole the life she once had. Desi, demisexual female protagonist. 

18. Camp by Lev AC Rosen It’s Randy’s fifth year at Camp Outland, a camp where queer teens get a chance to be themselves. Hoping to win over Hudson’s heart—who’s masc and straight passing and only seems to date other guys like himself—Randy has spent the past year reinventing himself: workout regimen, new haircut, new carefully curated wardrobe. His friends and camp counsellor all think it’s a terrible idea, but what can they do but support him anyways?

19. Little Thieves by Margaret Owen Once upon a time, the daughter of death and fortune was a teenage girl and she was the worst. Little Thieves is, as the dedication says, for the gremlin girls, never has there been a more gremlin girl than Vanja Schmidt. A brilliant and brazen swindler, Vanja could give Kaz Brekker a run for his money. But Vanja has bigger fish to fry. As her body rapidly turns into the gemstones she craves, Vanja must put things right and face her greed head on all while juggling her engagement to a terrible margrave, an investigator with his own magic, and the princess whose face she stole. Vanja’s relationship with junior prefect Emeric could not be more demisexual if it tried, with both sides of the romance experiencing asexual spectrum existence in different and complimentary ways. One part Germanic fairytale, one part ensemble heist, Little Thieves is an unhinged romp of a book.

20. Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller by Meredith Ireland Rom-coms and the asexuality spectrum...two great things that go great together. Kelsie and Eric have been competing against each other their whole lives. But desperation forces them to work together. Kelsie’s best friend stopped talking to her and Eric wants to rekindle his relationship with his ex-girlfriend, and since both will be at UPenn at the same time, Eric and Kelsie decide to go on a road trip together. Sparks fly.

21. You Don't Have a Shot by Racquel Marie Valentina "Vale" Castillo-Green's life revolves around soccer. Her friends, her future, and her father's intense expectations are all wrapped up in the beautiful game. But after she incites a fight during playoffs with her long-time rival, Leticia Ortiz, everything she's been working toward seems to disappear. Queer asexual biracial (Colombian, Irish) protagonist.

22. Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong In 1931 Shanghai, two Nationalist spies pose as a married couple to investigate a series of brutal murders causing unrest in the city. Rep: demisexual Chinese protagonist, bisexual Chinese protagonist, bisexual Chinese main character, Chinese trans woman main character, aromantic asexual side character; (Chinese-Kiwi author).

23. The Spy with the Red Ballon by Katherine Locke Siblings Ilse and Wolf hide a deep secret in their blood: with it, they can work magic. And the government just found out. Blackmailed into service during World War II, Ilse lends her magic to America’s newest weapon, the atom bomb, while Wolf goes behind enemy lines to sabotage Germany’s nuclear program. It’s a dangerous mission, but if Hitler were to create the bomb first, the results would be catastrophic. Gay demisexual Jewish protagonist.

24. Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria Cassa, the orphaned daughter of rebels, and friends Alys, Evander, and Newt, fight back against the high council of Eldra, which has ruled for centuries based solely on ancient prophesies. Alys, an apothecary-in-training and the level-headed one of the crew. She identifies as asexual.

25. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia Eighteen-year-old Eliza Mirk is the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea, but when a new boy at school tempts her to live a life offline, everything she's worked for begins to crumble. Asexual main character, not explicitly stated in the book.

26. Technically, You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson When a guy named Martin Nathaniel Munroe II texts you, it should be obvious who you're talking to. Except there's two of them (it's a long story), and Haley thinks she's talking to the one she doesn't hate. Demisexual main character.

27. Now Entering Addamsville by Francesca Zappia Zora Novak is framed for a crime she didn't commit--in a town obsessed with ghosts, will she be able to find the culprit and clear her name before it's too late? It's a brief mention, but Zora is ace.

28. Fully Disclosure by Camryn Garrett In a community that isn’t always understanding, an HIV-positive teen must navigate fear, disclosure, and radical self-acceptance when she falls in love–and lust–for the first time. One of Simone’s best friends in the book, Claudia, is an asexual lesbian. The unwavering support she gives to Simone is heartwarming, and she is also openly sex-positive—which flips the script on its head regarding what most people would assume of asexual people.

30. The Art of Saving the World by Corinne Duyvis When Hazel Stanczak was born, an interdimensional rift tore open near her family’s home, which prompted immediate government attention. They soon learned that if Hazel strayed too far, the rift would become volatile and fling things from other dimensions onto their front lawn—or it could swallow up their whole town. Hazel Stanczak identifies as asexual, though she spends time in the book questioning it. The book presents a unique way to show that there is not one single way to be asexual—that it exists on a spectrum and can look different for each person.

31. Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting–working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she’s asexual). Alice is done with dating–no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done. Alice is a biromantic and asexual black woman who starts off very confident in her identity as asexual, yet has experiences that have her questioning her orientation and how to talk about it.

32. In the Ravenous Dark by AdriAnne Strickland A pansexual blood mage reluctantly teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion among the living and the dead. This book features Japha, an asexual nonbinary character who serves as the best friend to the MC.

33. Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate Life at Paloma High School is much like any other high school, with petty drama, judgmental assholes, and mind-numbing schoolwork. Until it isn’t. A scandal emerges: a student and teacher had an illicit affair. At the center of the scandal are seven teenagers, each with their own secrets, whose lives are transformed as a result of this scandal. One of the characters can be read as asexual (and possibly neurodiverse). He never explicitly labels himself as such, but the way he describes his experiences of [non-]attraction strongly point to him being on the ace spectrum.

34. Quicksilver by R. J. Anderson Tori thought she had left her past behind when she and her family started a new life in a new city. But then Sebastian Faraday reappears in her life to tell her that she’s not quite as safe as she thinks: the relay is still operating and a genetics lab is trying to track her down to figure out the secret behind her unusual biology. Tori is going to have to use all of her considerable technical expertise to escape her past and live the normal human life she’s always wanted to have. Asexual main character.

35. Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie Aisha Un-Haad, seventeen, and Key Tanaka, eighteen, have risked everything for new lives as mechanically enhanced soldiers, and when an insurrection forces dark secrets to surface, the fate of humanity is in their hands. In Hullmetal Girls, Aisha is not only ace/aro but she is also happy with her identity. Crucially, so is everyone else.

36. Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer Nita's mother hunts monsters and, after Nita dissects and packages them, sells them online, but when Nita follows her conscience to help a live monster escape, she is sold on the black market in his place. Aro/Ace main character

37. Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp When Corey moves away from Lost Creek, Alaska, she makes her friend Kyra promise to stay strong during the long, dark winter, and wait for her return. Just days before Corey is to return home to visit, Kyra dies. The entire Lost community speaks in hushed tones, saying her death was meant to be. And they push Corey away like she's a stranger. With every hour, Corey's suspicion grows. Lost is keeping secrets-- but piecing together the truth about what happened to her best friend may prove as difficult as lighting the sky in an Alaskan winter. Aro/Ace main character.

38. If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann Winnie is living her best fat girl life and is on her way to the best place on earth. No, not Disneyland–her Granny’s diner, Goldeen’s, in the small town of Misty Haven. While there, she works in her fabulous 50’s inspired uniform, twirling around the diner floor and earning an obscene amount of tips. With her family and ungirlfriend at her side, she has everything she needs for one last perfect summer before starting college in the fall. …until she becomes Misty Haven’s Summer Queen in a highly anticipated matchmaking tradition that she wants absolutely nothing to do with. Aro/ace secondary character.

39. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland An alternate history where the Civil War was put on hold when zombies started to rise. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn't pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose.But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems. The word asexual is not used, but that fits with the setting, and the explanation goes into a fair amount of detail, also ruling out that she likes women instead.

40. Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia defends the Gray Sisters by awakening the revenant bound to a saint's relic, even though she runs the risk of being possessed permanently by the powerful ancient spirit. Non-explicit romantic asexual main character. Fantasy.

41. Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace A postapocalyptic ghosthunter escapes her dire fate by joining the ghost of a supersoldier on his quest to the underworld Aromantic asexual main character. Dark fantasy/dystopian.

42. Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno While anyone would love to have a bit of magic, what happens when magic turns dark? Georgina Fernweh will come into her magic someday soon. Before she does, Georgina faces a tragedy that tests the islanders' trust. In this book, Georgina’s best friend Vira is aroace, and it’s addressed somewhat in the story at different points. There is a sweet strength between Georgina and Vira, full of loyalty and support that is lovely to see.

43. The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson In this moving and complex narrative, Lou learns to draw boundaries, stand up for herself, all while coming to terms with her demisexuality.

44. The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow One-third of the human population has died and now the world is about to end. Ellie, a fat, Black, disabled, demisexual girl with access to an illegal library teams up with a music-loving alien to risk their lives to save the world.

45. The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl Pohl serves up a veritable smorgasbord of queer fairytale goodies in Grimrose Girls. This tale as old as time follows four students at the prestigious boarding school Grimrose Academy—Ella, Yuki, Rory, and newcomer Nani. When the former three’s best friend dies, all four girls are swept up in a dark and twisted mystery full of old fairytale magic. They must work together to unravel the secrets between them and break an ancient curse that dooms them to a fairytale ending (and not the fun kind). Yuki’s aromantic asexual identity is explored in her relationship to expectations, beauty, and friendship throughout the novel.

46. Radio Silence by Alice Oseman Frances has been a study machine with one goal. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside. Then Frances meets Aled, and for the first time, she’s unafraid to be herself. So when the fragile trust between them is broken, Frances is caught between who she was and who she longs to be. In this book, Aled identifies as demisexual while Frances identifies as bisexual. The story really pays homage to the importance of friendship, and romantic storylines move to the background in a way we don’t often get in YA literature.

47. This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria Forced to serve her country’s ruling group, Karis wants nothing more than to find her brother. But family bonds don’t matter to the sole focus of unlocking the magic of an ancient automaton army. Karis is ace and other LGBTQ+ characters are introduced throughout.

48. Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand A horror novel centered around three girls facing off against an unseen monster that preys upon the young women of the island of Sawkill Rock. Features a black asexual girl fresh out of a romantic relationship, as well as a f/f relationship.

49. Love Letters for Joy by Melissa See Less than a year away from graduation, seventeen-year-old Joy is too busy overachieving to be worried about relationships. She’s determined to be Caldwell Prep’s first disabled valedictorian. And she only has one person to beat, her academic rival Nathaniel. But it’s senior year and everyone seems to be obsessed with pairing up. One of her best friends may be developing feelings for her and the other uses Caldwell’s anonymous love-letter writer to snag the girl of her dreams. Joy starts to wonder if she has missed out on a quintessential high school experience. She is asexual, but that’s no reason she can’t experience first love, right?

50. Not Your Backup by C. B. Lee Part 3 in the Sidekick Squad series by C.B. Lee. Follows a questioning aromantic asexual latinx superhero sidekick fighting to prove her worth on the team despite her lack of superpowers, all admist the team's battle against the corrupt League of Heroes.

51. Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller Noble-born Emilie des Marais, 16, wants to become a physician, a role usually forbidden women of her class because of the corruptive toll the magical "noonday arts" exact. Common-born Annette Boucher wants to escape her domineering parents and master the less physically costly "midnight arts" of illusions, divination, and scrying, normally reserved for those who can afford the expensive education. At Emilie's urging, each girl takes the other's place. Miller (Ruin of Stars) writes in lush, dense prose that can require a careful read, but her protagonists' awareness of privilege and desire to challenge the status quo shines through. LGBTQ representation--including gay, trans, and nonbinary characters (Annette identifies as asexual biromantic)--further widens this tale's appeal.

52. Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor A secret beats inside Anna Thatcher's chest: an illegal clockwork heart. Anna works cog by cog -- donning the moniker Technician -- to supply black market medical technology to the sick and injured, against the Commissioner's tyrannical laws. Determined to earn his father's respect, Nathaniel sets out to capture the Technician. But the more he learns about the outlaw, the more he questions whether his father's elusive affection is worth chasing at all. This YA novel features an aroace character gradually coming to accept his orientation in the midst of everything else that is happening in his life. Perfect for older teens who also enjoy WLW representation and dark themes.

53. Aces Wild: A Heist by Amanda DeWitt An all-asexual online friend group attempts to break into a high-stakes gambling club and commit a heist together. Includes a male asexual character navigating what love looks like for him, an aromantic asexual Latinx gender-nonconforming boy, a Vietnamese American and German asexual nonbinary teen, and a black asexual girl.

54. Planning Perfect by Haley Neil Summer vacation quickly becomes complicated for Felicity Becker as she tries to plan a perfect wedding for her mom, figure out her feelings for her friend Nancy, and wonder what dating will look like for her as an asexual person.

55. Ace of Hearts by Myriad Augustine Everyone around Alvin seems to be obsessed with one thing-- sex. Alvin finds it uncomfortable to think and talk about it and he knows he isn't ready and may never be. His friends, however, think that all Alvin needs is to hook up with the right guy. But the closer Alvin gets to being physical with someone, the more he's uncertain that this is for him and he begins to wonder if he's asexual. Can Alvin find the love that's right for him?

56. Beyond the Black Door by AdriAnne Strickland Everyone has a soul. Some are beautiful gardens, others are frightening dungeons. Kamia comes to know more about her identity as she decides to battle the forces of evil, no matter the cost... Asexual and demi-romantic main characters. Dark fantasy. Kamai is asexual, but isn’t aromantic—she has an interest in relationships that isn’t always depicted for those who are ace.

57. Loveless by Alice Oseman A queer coming of age story featuring a romance obsessed aromantic asexual main character discovering her sexuality and coming to terms with what that means, and a variety of other queer characters that support her on her journey.

58. Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman Rumi Seto spends a lot of time worrying she doesn’t have the answers to everything. What to eat, where to go, whom to love. But there is one thing she is absolutely sure of—she wants to spend the rest of her life writing music with her younger sister, Lea. Then Lea dies in a car accident, and her mother sends her away to live with her aunt in Hawaii while she deals with her own grief. While not the main focal point of the book, Rumi does grapple throughout the story about where exactly she lands on the ace and aro spectrum—and whether she has to label herself at all.

59. Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee In this queer rom-com, a transgender teen must decide if he's dedicated to romantic formulas or open to unpredictable love after an internet troll attack on his blog compels him and a fan to start fake-dating. Through an unlikely friendship with sweet, grounded Devin, who is Cuban American, asexual, and experimenting with pronouns, Noah--initially self-centered and standoffish--learns to value communication and empathy.

60. The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath In 1904 Norway, Asta runs away from her horrible fiancé to live with her two best friends. The three misfits set out to win the annual Christmas sleigh race to prove that they belong together. Queer asexual hard of hearing protagonist with heterochromia of Norwegian descent.

61. Forward March by Skye Quinlan How can band geek Harper have the chance of becoming the First Daughter with a fake dating profile? However, Harper does know that the drumline leader swiped right. Come along with Harper as she explores her truth during her last year of high school. Asexual-questioning cis female MC with anxiety and asthma.

62. Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger What if America had monsters, magic, and interdimensional beings? For Elatsoe, this is real, and she has to uncover her cousin's murder! She can do this with the help of her ghost dog, Kirby, but has to remember not to wake human ghosts. Aromantic ace main character. Paranormal mystery. Casual representation which extends to Ellie’s identity as Lipan Apache. This identity is asserted more often and firmly than her asexuality, and Little Badger drops in nuggets of education for us settlers about what Indigenous people, and the Lipan Apache in particular, suffered at the hands of settlers.

63. All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages by Editor Robin Talley A collection of short fantasy stories, featuring a variety of queer characters across multiple sexualities and genders. Features an asexual roller-skating girl from the 70s struggling to explain her identity to her crush.

64. Black Wings Beating by Alex London Twins Brysen and Kylee live in a world that revers the power of the falconers, but in a world where war approaches, they aren’t safe. Hunted for their power, they work together to trap the Ghost Eagle. Kylee is an ace character, focused on protecting her brother.

Graphic Novels

65. A-okay by Jarad Greene Eight grade can be tough, especially if you have acne and bullies, and lose friends. But our relatable asexual and aromantic protagonist, Jay, pulls through. This is a relatable memoir with colorful artwork.

66. How to Be Ace: A Memoir of Growing up Asexual by Rebecca Burgess A comic memoir detailing the author Rebecca Burgess's experience with growing up asexual in a world obsessed with sex. Also talks about her experiences with her own mental health and OCD.

67. Jughead, Volume 1 by Chip Zdarsky A comic book reboot of the Archie comics centered around Jughead Jones. Follows an aromantic asexual main character in typical Archie-style shenanigans. Part 1 of a 3 part series.

68. A Quick & Easy Guide to Asexuality by Molly Muldoon A charming introduction to asexuality, created to shed light on the misconceptions surrounding sex and being asexual. Told by writer Molly Muldoon and cartoonist Will Hernandez, both on the asexual spectrum.

69. Is Love the Answer? by Isaki Uta A poignant coming-of-age story about a young woman coming into her own as she discovers her identity as aromantic asexual. A complete story in a single volume, from the creator of "Mine-kun is Asexual."

Domestic Fiction

70. Have You Seen Luis Velez by Catherine Ryan Hyde Raymond Jaffe feels like he doesn't belong. Not with his mother's new family. Not as a weekend guest with his father and his father's wife. Not at school, where he's an outcast. After his best friend moves away, Raymond has only two real connections: to the feral cat he's tamed and to a blind ninety-two-year-old woman in his building who's introduced herself with a curious question: Have you seen Luis Velez? Mildred Gutermann, a German Jew who narrowly escaped the Holocaust, has been alone since her caretaker disappeared. She turns to Raymond for help, and as he tries to track Luis down, a deep and unexpected friendship blossoms between the two. Raymond is asexual (to be precise, he is aroace) And he is depicted as kind, loving, sensitive and realistic.

Fantasy

71. In the Lives of the Puppets by TJ Klune In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots--fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They're a family, hidden and safe. Protagonist: Vic, A curious, loving, & asexual human.

72. The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon In the mid-21st century major world cities are controlled by a formidable security force and clairvoyant underworld cell member Paige commits acts of psychic treason before being captured by an otherworldly race that would make her a part of their supernatural army. Demisexual main character.

73. The Perfect Assassin by K.A. Doore Divine justice is written in blood. Or so Amastan has been taught. As a new assassin in the Basbowen family, he's already having second thoughts about taking a life. A scarcity of contracts ends up being just what he needs. Until, unexpectedly, Amastan finds the body of a very important drum chief. Until, inevitably, Amastan is ordered to solve these murders, before the family gets blamed. Amastan is asexual and, as it turns out, homoromantic.

74. The Bruising of Quilwa by Naseem Jamnia Firuz-e Jafari was able to escape the slaughter of traditional blood magic practitioners by immigrating to the city-state of Qilwa. But now a terrible disease is spreading through the city, and Firuz believes it comes from ineptly performed blood magic. Now they must find a way to break a cycle of prejudice in order to survive. From the author: it's about an aroace nonbinary refugee healer who is trying to cure a magical plague in their new home while hiding their blood magic.

75. The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk The Midnight Bargain is a story "set in a world reminiscent of Regency England, where women's magic is taken from them when they marry. A sorceress must balance her desire to become the first great female magician against her duty to her family. Ysbeta has a clear goal for her life: to discover and share magic. Besides loving learning for its own sake, Ysbeta is asexual, and wealthy in her own right, so the bargaining season offers her literally nothing.

76. Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire Set in a world where a group of children have the ability to find and enter doorways into magical worlds, and now must find who's targetting them for this ability. Lead by an female asexual main character, with a trans love interest. First book in a series of novellas.

Science Fiction

77. The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis She's a priestess of the Sisterhood, traveling the stars alongside the soldiers of Earth who own the rights to her body and soul. When her former captain abandons her, First Sister's hopes for freedom are dashed and she is forced to stay on her ship with no friends, no status, and a new captain she knows nothing about. When the Mother, leader of her order, asks her to spy on Captain Saito Ren, First Sister discovers that sacrificing for the war effort is so much harder to do when your loyalties are split. He climbed his way out of the slums to become an elite soldier of Venus, but now he's haunted by his failures and the loss of his partner Hiro. But when Lito learns that Hiro is alive, but a traitor, and he's assigned to hunt Hiro down, and kill them, Lito must decide what he is actually fighting for - the society that raised him, or himself. As the battle to control Ceres reaches a head, Lito and First Sister must decide what - and whom - they are willing to sacrifice in the name of duty, or for love. Hispanic panromantic asexual protagonist (Lito).

78. Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace Mal is one of many war survivors in the old town working multiple jobs to scrimp by, one of which is her team's streaming video game play. The team lives with several other roommates in a converted hotel room run by Stellaxis, the company that owns half of town, and is the only legal provider of drinkable water. When Mal catches sight of an elusive SecOps character, special non-player characters (NPCs) modeled after Stellaxis' twelve bioengineered operatives, the team pursues her inside the game to catch her on video for two seconds before their power curfew kicks in. By the time Mal heads down for her daily ration of water, they've secured a lucrative contract, involving an in-person meeting and a conspiracy theory, paying them to capture images of the three living SecOps characters. When Mal returns to find out why the next payment failed, she becomes involved in a fracas that will endanger everyone she knows. Aroace main character.

79. To be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers Four astronauts set out to explore the galaxy. This journey spans centuries and many worlds. A thought provoking read that explores the themes of loneliness and sense of purpose. Excellent cast of diverse characters and vivid world building. Chikondi is asexual and the text is careful to note that his relationship to the protagonist is no less emotional or vital than those she shares with people she is sexually involved with.

80. The Circus Infinite by Khan Wong What better person to take down a crime boss than a mixed-species fugitive! Join Jes on this exciting tale of espionage, torture, demolition. Sex-averse panromantic asexual lead character

Historical Fiction

81. Kaikeyi by Vasihnavi Patel The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she is raised on grand stories about the might and benevolence of the gods. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, her own worth measured by how great a marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear. Desperate for some measure of independence, she turns to the ancient texts she once read with her mother and discovers a magic that is hers alone. Kaikeyi is asexual and aromantic. Although the words "asexual" and "aromantic" aren't used in the book.

Western

82. The Complete Lady Ruth Constance Chapelstone Chronicles by L. C. Mawson If you’re looking for steampunk magic, the Lady Ruth Constance Chapelstone novellas are the place for you. Read them individually or all together in this compendium. Chapelstone is interested in her inventions, not love and romance.

Paranormal

83. The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Homes by Joseph Fink Told in a series of eerie flashbacks, the story of The Faceless Old Woman goes back centuries to reveal an initially blissful and then tragic childhood on a Mediterranean Estate in the early nineteenth century, her rise in the criminal underworld of Europe, a nautical adventure with a mysterious organization of smugglers, her plot for revenge on the ones who betrayed her, and ultimately her death and its aftermath, as her spirit travels the world for decades until settling in modern-day Night Vale. Asexual secondary character.

Romance  

84. All the Wrong Places by Ann Gallagher After his three ex-girlfriends in a row leave Brennan because he's not fulfilling their sexual needs, he seeks out advice from Zafir, the owner of a sex shop. Zafir introduces Brennan to the concept of asexuality and slowly something more blossoms between them.

85. That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert Rae needs a fake date to take to her ex's wedding and convinces Zach, a close friend who has recently discovered that he is demisexual, to play along.

86. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood In an attempt to convince her best friend that she really is over her ex-boyfriend, grad-student Olive panic kisses stern associate professor Adam in the hallway. (Olive is coded as demisexual/graysexual, but that label is never used in the book).

87. Far From Home by Lorelie Brown The oddest of odd couples finds unexpected joy in Brown’s warm, sweet contemporary romance. American citizen Rachel, a not-quite-asexual assistant film producer struggling to make a living in L.A., is drowning in student debt; Indian immigrant Pari Sadashiv, a lesbian logistics manager, needs a U.S. green card to advance her career. When Rachel offers to marry Pari in exchange for funds, it’s just party banter at first—but what’s to stop them from crafting a friendship with legal and financial benefits? Their platonic plans quickly go awry as Pari’s mother moves in to help plan the wedding, forcing them to live their lie. As Rachel feels herself awakening to an attraction she didn’t even know was possible, Pari has to decide whether she can live with the possible fallout of Rachel’s tentative first foray into same-sex love.

88. Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun Last Christmas, Ellie met Jack in Powell’s when they both went for a copy of Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, and over a cute argument over “shared custody”, and Jack poking gentle fun at Ellie (who had been crying alone and talking to a footstool as if it were her friend) they start to bond. Jack asks Ellie for coffee, and then they end up spending the whole day together. This is a big deal for Ellie, who is demisexual, and rarely develops attractions to anyone. And then Jack breaks her heart. Fast-forward to this Christmas when Andrew, the landlord who owns the building she works in, asks her to fake-marry him so he can access his inheritance, and shenanigans lead to her agreeing to this and to going home with him for Christmas, and surprise! Jack is Andrew’s sister.

89. The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun Tech wunderkind Charlie has never really been interested in dating, but agrees to join the cast of reality show 'Ever After.' While there he finds himself charmed by his producer, Dev, and questioning his sexuality. The Charm Offensive includes a conversation discussing asexuality and its spectrum.

90. Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky Wren Roland has never been kissed, but he wants that movie-perfect ending more than anything. Thanks to Mateo’s boyfriend, he learns about demisexuality and realizes that when he came out as gay, he had not finished realizing truths about himself and intimate relationships.

91. How to be a Normal Person by TJ Klune Before The House on the Cerulean Sea blew up, Klune wrote this quirky and delightful story of two asexual people finding each other and their happily ever after.

92. Soft on Soft by Mina Waheed This super sweet, low-angst romance centers on two fat, queer women of colour (one Black and one Persian-Arab) who fall in love and find their happy ending with hardly any drama. There’s also anxiety representation. It’s just pure fluffy romance goodness. Demisexual protagonist.

Non-Fiction

93. Ace and Aro Journeys: A Guide to Embracing your Asexual or Aromantic Identity by The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project What does it mean to be ace or aro? How should I approach the challenges that come with being ace or aro? How can I best support the ace and aro people in my life? Join the The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project (TAAAP) for a deep dive into the process of discovering and embracing your ace and aro identities. Empower yourself to explore the nuances of your identity, find and develop support networks, explore different kinds of partnership, come out to your communities and find real joy within. Combining a rigorous exploration of identity and sexuality models with hundreds of candid and poignant testimonials -- this companion vouches for your personal truth, wherever you lie on the aspec spectrum. You are not invisible! You are among friends.

94. Being Ace: An Anthology of Queer, Trans, Femme, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection by Editor Madeline Dyer Discover the infinite realms of asexual love across sci-fi, fantasy, and contemporary stories From a wheelchair user racing to save her kidnapped girlfriend and a little mermaid who loves her sisters more than suitors, to a slayer whose virgin blood keeps attracting monsters, the stories of this anthology are anything but conventional. Whether adventuring through space, outsmarting a vengeful water spirit, or surviving haunted cemeteries, no two aces are the same in these 14 unique works that highlight asexual romance, aromantic love, and identities across the asexual spectrum

95. Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen A non-fiction research book about the asexual perspective on society's facinations with love and sex, and the misconceptions about what being asexual really is and what it means to a person.

96. The Invisible Orientation: an Introduction to Asexuality by Julia Sondra Decker An introduction to what asexuality is, both for people who don't know what that means and for people that may be questioning their own sexuality. It aims to puts asexual people's experiences in context, as they move through a very sexualized world.

97. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe A graphic memoir about author Kobabe's growing from adolescence to adulthood, as e explores eir gender identity and sexuality. Features a gender queer and asexual main character that uses e/eir pronouns.

98. Ace Voices What it Means to Be Asexual, Aromantic, Demi or Grey-Ace by Eris Young This is the ace community in their own words. Drawing upon interviews with a wide range of people across the asexual spectrum, Eris Young is here to take you on an empowering, enriching journey through the rich multitudes of asexual life.

99. I Am Ace: Adice on Living Your Best Asexual Life by Cody Daigle-Orians Tackling everything from what asexuality is, the asexual spectrum and tips on coming out, to intimacy, relationships, acephobia and finding joy, this guide will help you better understand your asexual identity alongside deeply relatable anecdotes drawn from Cody's personal experience.

100. Sounds Fake But Okay: An Asexual and Aromantic Perspective on Love, Relationships, Sex, and Pretty Much Anything Else by Sarah Costello and Kayla Kaszyca Drawing on their personal stories, and those of aspec friends all over the world, prepare to explore your microlabels, investigate different models of partnership, delve into the intersection of gender norms and compulsory sexuality and reconsider the meaning of sex - when allosexual attraction is out of the equation.

I haven't read all of these books, so I can't guarantee all of them. But I did my best researching all of them. I was making this list on my own and I was amazed that I could find over 100 books with asexual characters and I wanted to share it!

The Aromantic Book List is now out!

Tagging some people who were excited about this list: @sweetspiderstew @majorgenerally @shayberri789 @53rdcenturyhero @knightoflodis @neonghost39 @rosaazulina

#asexuality #asexual #ace pride #ace #acespec #books #book rec list #asexuel #ace books #asexual books #asexual positivity #asexual characters #asexual spectrum #asexual pride #reading list #list #rec list #book list #lgbtq #lgbtqia #lgbtq community #queer

[99hook]

Chaotic Collaborations

Synopsis: The whirlwind of two polar opposites, a story line and unmistakable tensions in between

Warnings: pining, cursing, injury, depictions of blood, protective!hook, jealous!hook, angst, fluff eventually

A/N: welllll after who knows how long I’ve finally managed to conjure up the sunshine!reader x coldhearted hook fic! This was actually so fun to write I got carried away and it takes a drastic turn lmao I hope you love it babesss, enjoy!

(Takes place during the Hook and Jack rivalry)

(Also this shit is extremely long and I’m finishing it at 2am so bare with me if there’s grammatical errors, I’m sleepy lmao)

You were originally ecstatic over the shot at your very first story line when Tony pitched the idea to you. You’d been in AEW for a little over a year and had been hoping that you’d get a little more substantial tv time outside of your typical matches sometime soon, so when Tony called you to his office with an idea that was brought up to him, you couldn’t agree quick enough.

That was until the person you’d be doing the storyline with walked through the door.

The coldhearted handsome devil, as he frequently gets called. Someone you were somewhat familiar with due to seeing his matches in the viewing room from time to time, or him sitting alone in catering every so often, typically with a hatred look towards the whole world on his face.

A man you never considered approaching for the simple fact that he gave the impression that he was not to be fucked with, or even smiled at, for that matter. He was the last person you’d expected Tony to bring in.

“Hook, glad you’re here again. I know we’ve already been over this but now that we have your future partner here, I wanted to give you both the rundown. Have a seat.” Tony points to the chair next to you. He steps in, a hoodie over his head shadowing his eyes that glance at you before he silently takes a seat.

He brought a sudden energy to the room with his presence, one that made you feel a tad bit uneasy. Intimidated, more so.

“Y/N, Hook is who I’m pairing you with for this storyline. It’s come to my attention that the two of you are both crowd favorites and apparently a lot of fans want to see you two together. It would be great for the ratings and for both of your character developments.”

You nodded along, wanting to look over at the man next to you to see what he thought of this, though you kept your eyes on Tony. You knew that fans liked to talk about how you and some of the talent should pair up together, and there were a lot of edits on instagram of you and certain wrestlers that they shipped, but Hook was the least of your expectations.

“I’ll be putting you both in a group chat where I’ll send you segment and promo schedules and concepts, so keep your eyes out for that. Next week, during your match with Anna, Jack Perry is going to come out with the FTW title and hand it to her, and that’s when Hook will be coming out after him. The fans will think it’s all part of their feud until he comes to your aid when Anna hits you with the title while Jack and Hook are fighting on the ramp. That’s going to be the start of the entire storyline leading up to a tagteam match between the four of you.”

You listened intently, not wanting to miss a beat of the instruction. The storyline made a lot of sense since you and Anna did have some on screen animosity to begin with, and hook and jack have been at each others throats for some time now, so you could see the relevance to having Hook as your alliance.

“I’ll be sending you both a text soon on more details.” Tony said before he excused you both from his office. Hook silently got out of his chair and headed through the door without sparing you a glance. You weren’t sure if that meant that he was displeased about the storyline or if he just collected the information and went on his way.

You decided to try to talk to him when you both got into the hallway, but quickly wished you would’ve let him keep walking.

“Hey!” You jog up to him, reaching his side. He glanced over at you for a split second before he fixated his sights ahead. He didn’t greet you back, and that alone made you feel a little uneasy, but you still attempted to make conversation.

“I know we’ve never talked before, but since we’re about to do this whole storyline together, I guess I should introduce myself and all.” You managed a nervous chuckle, but he kept a straight face.

“I’m Y/N.” You continued on, feeling your nerves start to get the better of you, which is when you start rambling, usually.

“I mean, obviously you know that now since Tony said it, but, anyway, i just wanted to break the ice a little. This is all pretty new to me. I’ve never done a story line before so-“

That’s when Hook stops in his tracks, turning to face you. His stare was cold and jaw set. He showed no emotion, nothing at all, really. The way he looked straight into your eyes made you immediately shy away from that gaze. Your eyes dropped to the gold cross sitting over his chest similar to the one you had tucked underneath your shirt that you wore as a good luck charm.

You wanted to pull it out and show him that you had one too but something told you he wouldn’t care about that at all.

You glanced back up into his eyes, the ones that were strongly fixated on you, managing to push past the nervousness he made you feel until you heard him say, “Let’s save the talking for the scripts.”

He held his eyes on you for a second longer before he turned on his heel and headed down the hallway. You didn’t bother to follow. It was clear that Hook didn’t care to make conversation with you, and he wanted to make sure you understood that.

———

You were sitting in catering with Skye and Willow, oblivious to their conversation due to the thoughts that kept swirling around in your brain. It had been a week since that very first interaction with Hook and tonight you were going to be starting the whole storyline.

Skye noticed how you barely paid attention to the conversation and decided to ask you what was going on. You had yet to tell them about the storyline since talking to Hook, or attempting to, didn’t go over so well.

“What’s going on with you?” Skye’s voice reached you, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You could’ve said it was nothing to save yourself the conversation but they were going to know about the whole storyline tonight, so you decided to spill it all.

“Tony’s giving me my first storyline.” You say, watching as a smile spreads across both of their faces before the confusion sets in.

“You don’t seem too excited?” Willow commented.

“I mean, I am, but… Well, okay, so you know how Hook and Jack Perry have that whole rivalry going on right now?”

The girls nod slowly, clearly they were still a bit confused.

“And me and Anna have a match tonight, so Jack’s going to come out and hand her the FTW title so she can knock my ass out with it,-“

“So then Hook is going to come out to save you.” Skye figured. “So is it like, an on screen dating kind of thing?”

“I don’t think so. Tony said we’ll end up teaming up against them, so I’m pretty sure it’s just alliances.”

Willow’s lips spread into a smirk before she looked down.

“Are you nervous about it or something? You’re the one who said you wished you’d get your shot at a story line and now you’re talking like you don’t want to do it.” Skye said, but you hardly heard her when the man who’s been racing through your mind came walking through the catering doors.

Willow noticed your eyes immediately finding him, following him as he headed around the perimeter of the room to take his seat in the very back.

“I think she’s nervous.” Willow grinned, clearly with insinuation but that’s when you quickly tore your eyes away from the man in question and back to them.

“No, it’s the fact that I tried to talk to him after we left Tony’s office, y’know, introduce myself and break the ice since we’re going to be working together, and he literally looked me dead in my face and told me to save the talking for the scripts.”

Both of their jaw’s dropped and Willow’s eyes cut over to the man, shooting him a look he didn’t see since he was on his phone.

“That’s fucking rude.” She said.

“Yeah, and we haven’t spoke since.”

“I mean, he kind of does look like that type of guy. He’s always by himself, always looks like someone pissed in his cheerios, maybe he’s just a dick. I’d just stick to the storyline and don’t bother with him outside of that if he’s going to have that kind of an attitude.” Skye says before she grabs her phone and stands up from the table.

“Anyway, I gotta go. I’ll be watching your match from the viewing room tonight though. You’re gonna do amazing.” She smiles before she heads out, leaving you and willow at the table.

“I agree with Skye. Just try to enjoy your first storyline despite his negative attitude.”

You nodded, then your eyes adverted over to the back of the room, for some reason you felt strongly compelled to steal a glance of him, only to find his eyes locked on you.

You felt your stomach twist suddenly and looked away immediately, but you could still feel the powerful gaze he possessed burning a hole through you, and you weren’t sure if that meant you should look back again, maybe try to go talk to him, or leave the room all together.

“Oh my God, he’s staring at me. Don’t you fucking look, Willow. Don’t make it obvious.”

Willow didn’t, but it was clear she wanted to. You could practically feel his dark eyes on you from way across the room, and you couldn’t help the way it made the pace of your heart quicken, out of the sheer nervousness that his presence hasn’t failed to make you feel.

“He’s leaving now.” Willow whispered as her eyes followed him around the room before she dropped them to the table. “He’s gone.”

————

You couldn’t help but to be nervous but you attempted to put it all aside as you clutched you ribs, lying on the canvas after Anna kicked into your side, probably a little harder than she should have. You knew what was coming as soon as Jack’s music hit and he came running down the ramp with the FTW title in hand.

You grabbed Anna’s feet before she could reach him, swiftly making her fall flat against the canvas in an attempt to protect yourself from the inevitable. That’s when Hook’s music hit and a sudden pop from the crowd made your ears ring.

He didn’t run down the ramp like Jack did, but it took him only a few seconds to get his hands on the man. Hook snatched the title and threw it to the floor before he threw a series of punches to Jack’s chest, while you and Anna were throwing punches to each other’s jaws. She was hitting you with a force that felt a little more personal than just entertainment purposes. You wondered if she meant that or not.

She grabbed your wrist and slung you against the turnbuckles, hitting your back so hard you sprung foward and fell to your knees. It was all planned, but you were taking one hell of a beating.

That’s when Hook and Jack had the referee distracted enough for Anna to grab the belt. Just as you were getting on your feet, you felt the impact against the side of your head knocking you down flat, staring up at the bright lights of the arena as she pinned you.

The three count came fast and her music rang through your ears. You laid there like you were dazed and confused and thankfully she didn’t actually hit you with it too hard. You had a little pain but nothing like it would’ve been if she would’ve intended to knock you out cold.

The crowd was booing jack and Anna both, but they roared with cheers when Hook slid under the ropes. You felt a warm hand sneak beneath your shoulder before he helped you sit up. There was no script to go off of so you weren’t sure if anything should’ve been said, but nobody would’ve heard over the thousands of screams piercing your ears.

Taz was on commentary hyping the interaction up for the added affect of the viewers watching on tv.

“I don’t know when those two became friends, but I’ll tell you one thing, Y/N has a good one in her corner. If Hook has your back, you know you’re gonna be alright. Jack and Anna better watch out now boys.”

Hook leaned down and grabbed your hand, pulling you up to your feet. The crowd was absolutely wild, and it was a reaction you really didn’t expect. He silently nodded towards the ramp as he let go of your hand. You walked ahead of him, slipping out of the ropes and making your way towards the tunnels, clutching your side and your head for the added affect.

You looked over your shoulder to find hook close behind, his eyes locked on you the second you spared a glance. Just before you reached the tunnels, you heard his voice, somehow over all the commotion around the arena.

“Wait” he caused you to turn around, now inches apart from you. Your eyes widened when you realized the closeness, before you felt his hand grab yours again and hold it up in the air, turning you towards the crowd that was on the verge of losing their minds.

He pointed at you, nodding as he took in the reactions. You were trying to soak it all in but it all had you confused. Assuming he was really good at selling, you tried to ignore the fact that his harsh words had been running through your mind for the past week, but due to that, you didn’t expect all of this.

He dropped your hand and nodded towards the tunnel, letting you lead the way. As soon as you got away from the chaos in the arena, you turned around to face him. Part of you wanted to ask why he was so rude to you last week but the other part of you was screaming for you not to.

Hook’s brows knitted together when you looked up at him. The last thing you probably should’ve been thinking about was the first one that came to mind simply because your brain did that sometimes.

He was wearing a black hoodie, black pants and looked like the walking depiction of darkness with the way his hair casted over nearly half of his face. Meanwhile you had on all white ring gear coupled with white nails and the comparison must have looked nothing less than polar opposites when you stood side by side.

But then you heard him say, “Are you just gonna stand there and stare at me?”

That’s when you realized you’d just been staring up at him, feeling your cheeks immediately burn beneath your skin when he called you out for it. Hook saw the way your face flushed and a rosy tint dusted over. Then he noticed a gold cross sitting against your chest much like his own. He didn’t comment on it, obviously.

You wanted to redeem yourself but couldn’t muster words at that point and he stared down at you awaiting a response or simply for you to move out of his way, which is exactly what you did.

The second you stepped to the side, he slipped past you, brushing your shoulder on his way down the hall. You stood there with a bit of a dumbfounded look on your face as you watched him leave without sparing you another glance.

———

Another week passed by and again, you and hook hadn’t spoke, but your tagged photos on instagram were nothing but you and him from Dynamite the week prior. It was funny how many fans were going crazy for a duo that was anything but when you weren’t on cameras.

You’d looked down at your phone when it buzzed and a text from Tony came through. You were put in the group chat with a 363 area code and debated whether or not you should save him in your contacts.

The text was the instructions for a segment later on. You and hook were going to be spotted talking in the hallway. He sent the full script and with only an hour to memorize and apologized for the last minute scheduling.

You were typing back when another message popped up. It was from hook, nothing but a short and simple reply saying, “All good” meanwhile you’d typed almost a whole paragraph about how it was okay, don’t apologize and you were going to get to memorizing right now. Needless to say, you deleted that and typed back, “No problem, I’ll have them memorized.”

You then scrolled up the long message, unsure if you could actually sell this with such a short amount of study time. You didn’t want to screw up on live tv.

Your lips moved as you read over the lines. It would’ve been way easier if you could actually rehearse them with someone but clearly hook wasn’t going to be down for that and Skye and Willow both had the night off, which was the reason you were sitting alone in catering.

You tried to focus but you felt that feeling again. Eyes on you, unavailable. He was somewhere in the room and you could feel it. He was staring at you again, and you didn’t even have to find him to be able to tell that.

You couldn’t keep your mind on the script now that you knew you were being watched. You wondered why he was staring in the first place. What was his problem with you after all?

The temptations got the better of you and you finally tore your eyes from your phone, only to find him sitting directly across from you at the next table over. Like you already knew, staring.

He didn’t bother to snatch his gaze off of you. He was shameless about the way he watched you. You couldn’t help it when your nerves grabbed strong hold of you and out blurted, “Are you just gonna sit there and stare?”, loud enough for the people around to hear, earning their attention.

Hook didn’t acknowledge them. He didn’t even blink. Didn’t move a single muscle and that’s when you decided to get up and walk over to him, despite the way his dark eyes made you want to take off running.

You approached his table and took a seat directly across from him. He tilted his head back slightly and crossed his arms over his chest. His brows raised in an expectant manner and you could feel the eyes of talent all around focused on the two of you.

“Why do you keep staring at me?” You called him out the same way he did to you last week in the tunnel. He kept a stoic expression as his eyes dropped down to your phone in hand on top of the table. He decided to avoid your question to ask one of his own.

“You think you can sell that segment later?”

Caught off guard, you felt your brows knit together, looking down at your phone which served as a reminder that you needed to be studying those lines.

“I’m gonna do my best.” You answered honestly, looking back at him. “Are you not going to go over your lines?”

“I already know them.”

“The text just came in like five minutes ago.” You pointed out.

“And I already know them, and yours.” He coolly states before he grabs the bookbag from the seat next to him and stands up. “Don’t mess up.” He says before he tries to leave.

“Wait!” Your voice didn’t do you any favors when it came out a little squeakier than you intended, but it kept him there. “Can you help me go over them?”

He stared down at you, face unreadable as always. There was a pause before he said, “If I didn’t have to get ready for my match, maybe I’d consider.” Then he headed out of catering, leaving you alone at the table.

———

You headed down the hallway where you were supposed to shoot the segment. Hook was already there, leaning against the wall with his phone in hand. He had his ring gear on, a couple red marks on his chest and sweat glistening off his skin. He must have just came back from his match.

Nobody else was around yet. You slowly walked over to him and stood against the opposite wall in front of him. He finished typing something before he picked his head up and looked down at you. You did your best not to spare him a glance as you continued going over your lines.

“It’s a little late to be trying to memorize them now.” You heard him mutter.

“I think I have them memorized, actually.” You look up at him, now leaning back with arms crossed. His hair was absolutely unruly and you couldn’t help but stifle a laugh when you saw it up close. The way it was standing straight up over his head reminded you of Chicken Little.

“What?” His brows knit when he catches your reaction.

“Sorry” you shake your head and wipe the smirk off your face. “It’s your hair.”

“What about my hair?”

“It’s like, standing straight up.” You point out, watching his eyes squint at you.

“It’s hair. It does that.” He deadpanned.

“Mine never does.”

“That’s ‘cause Anna’s always pulling yours out.” He bantered back, and for the first time you thought maybe you saw his lips tip up in a smirk, but as soon as you caught it, he wiped it away.

“She is not always pulling it out. That was one time. And that was so long ago, how do you even know that?”

Silence suddenly filled the hallway. He didn’t have an answer for that and thankfully for him, the cameraman made his way around the corner just in time.

“Alright, ready?” He calls out to the both of you. You take one more quick glance at your phone before shoving it in your pocket and taking in a deep breath.

Hook pushed himself off the wall and whispered, “Don’t mess up.” Before he stood behind you, close enough that when you turned around, you had to put a little space between you.

“Action.”

“Y/N.” Hook suddenly spoke. “You can’t let anyone walk all over you in this company. It’s time for you to take control. You need to start fighting fire with fire.”

He was right when he said he had his parts memorized. It was so effortless to him. He went from one persona to the next in a matter of seconds.

You tried to hide the surprise on your face and snap into character. He eyed you skeptically, you could clearly tell he was expecting you to mess up.

“I don’t want to play dirty, Hook. That’s gonna be my karma when it comes back to bite me.” First line down, you didn’t think it was too bad.

“Or maybe Anna Jay and Jack Perry’s karma is us. Did you ever think about that?” He raised his voice and took a step foward unexpectedly, backing you against the wall. You were suddenly flustered but knew you had to force that away.

“Jack knocked me out with the same title Anna hit you with. My FTW title. They’re cornering you and you’re allowing it! What’s gonna happen when you’re in the hospital with a concussion next time and I can’t save you?”

His chest started heaving as hot breaths fanned against your skin. He was way too good at this.

“What do you want me to do, Hook? You want me to be evil like they are? That’s not me!”

A second passed and you saw the way his eyes dropped down to some other part of your face, suddenly making you self conscious about whatever caught his attention. Then, he leaned in even closer, his chest brushing against yours when he inhaled.

“If you’re gonna be with me, you have to be tougher than this. That sweet, innocent personality of yours isn’t going to get us anywhere, and I’m not gonna stand by while you let yourself get assaulted every week. It’s time to start fighting back, Y/N.”

Half of that line, you didn’t recall memorizing. It threw you off a little bit, and thanks to that, you couldn’t remember your final line. You suddenly got anxious, mouth falling open with no words coming out. Hook picked up on this, not letting too much time pass before he tried to jog your memory.

“You don’t have anything to say? You’re okay with these people tormenting us? You want them to take everything from us?”

You hoped he could hear you silently thanking him. You knew that wasn’t a line but he kept it going for the sake of embarrassing yourself.

“If you want me to fight back, then let me do it my way.” You recited, shooting him your best glare for the dramatics. “I’m not turning cold for you, but that doesn’t mean I can’t beat her ass so bad she’ll wish she never stepped foot in a ring with me.”

His lips turned upwards in the faintest hint of a smirk and this time you were certain on it before he quickly brought that straight face back for the camera and nodded his head saying his last line.

“I’m gonna hold you to that.”

“Cut”

The camera man left you and hook in the hallway. As soon as the camera wasn’t on you an enormous weight was lifted off of your shoulders, finally able to take a deep breath, but the air around quickly got suffocating all over again.

Hook didn’t move. He was still standing close enough to you that you felt pinned to the wall. He held those infamously dark eyes on you for a moment, studying you. In his mind, he didn’t see the value of having you as a partner. He couldn’t understand why he got paired with someone who looks like they’d cry the minute someone raised their voice.

You just appeared to him as a sweet, innocent person and not in the way that he intended for it to be a compliment. Sweet and innocent wasn’t his thing. He needed someone just as coldhearted and vengeful as him.

Nevertheless, he was with you now until this storyline ends and his dad told him during a conversation they had a few days prior, that he needs to look at things a little bit differently. Taz seemed to think that he needed someone like you by his side. The coldhearted handsome devil needed a conscious and in his dad’s mind, a babyface with the reputation of being a walking ray of sunshine was the angel on Hook’s shoulder.

He carefully considered his dad’s perspective, but then aroused ideas of his own. A concept that he pitched to Tony that you had no idea what was coming. Plans to take your squeaky clean image and transform it into something greater, something more complimentary to himself.

You eyed him, swallowing past a thick lump accumulating in your throat before you managed to speak in a voice almost weary.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

Hook’s head tilted to the side, as if he was intrigued by the simple question. Your wide eyes reminded him of a skittish puppy ready to bolt, and he was surprised you haven’t yet.

“I thought you had your lines memorized?” He countered your question.

“I did, until you decided to improvise.” You quickly blurted, feeling like you exaggerated that defense. His brows raised slightly from beneath the thick hair against his forehead before he took a step back, putting space between you for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

“See you next week.” He muttered before he disappeared around the corner.

———

Two nights later, as you got cozy in bed, just about to doze off, your phone buzzed with a text from that same area code you recognized as Hook.

“been talking to my dad. you need to learn redrum. im in the hotel gym”

You glanced at the time, nearly baffled when you realized it was one-thirty in the morning. You texted back a quick reply.

“Right now? This can’t wait until tomorrow? And why do I need to learn your moves? I have moves of my own.”

You stared at the message until the delivered turned into read at 1:32 and locked your phone until he texted back.

“im going to bed at 2”

You stared at that simple little message and knew it was basically him not giving much of an option. You huffed as you slid out of bed, never minding to change out of your sweatpants or do anything with yourself for that matter. It was almost two in the morning. You should be asleep.

The elevators brought you down to the first floor. You headed across the lobby towards the gym. You could hear the sound of a punching bag being hit three times each even through the closed door.

You walked in, to your surprise finding Hook and Taz both. Taz was keeping the punching bag steady while Hook threw his fists into it, but that came to an abrupt halt when taz spotted you first.

“Ah, there she is.” His voice echoed through the empty room. “Didn’t think you’d actually show.” He chuckled, turning to his son. “Tyler and I have been talking about that upcoming tagteam match between you and the goofballs, we think if the crowd saw a double redrum they’d go nuts.”

You glanced at hook, now with the new knowledge that his name was actually Tyler, and for some reason that’s all that registered in that moment. He was looking at his dad, not even sparing a glance in your direction until Taz gave him a strong pat on his bare back and said, “I’ll leave you to it son. Your mother’s waiting for me.”

You held the door open to let him through, offering a faint smile. Taz stopped before he left the room, looking over his shoulder at his son, “Polite too” he commented, and you weren’t sure what that was supposed to mean but didn’t ask either. “Don’t hurt him too bad.” He muttered with an amused grin before he headed out.

You closed the door and stepped a little farther in the room. Taz seemed to have taken that lighthearted energy with him when he left because once again, the air was thick. It felt hot and heavy in your lungs and it made no sense to you why that was always the case when you were around him.

He stood at the front of the room with his hands on his hips. He looked like he’d been at it for hours what with the way his cheeks were bright red and sweat was covering every visible inch of his body, and drenching his hair.

“Do you always work out at two in the morning?” You asked as you drew a little closer, feeling like you were physically walking on eggshells.

“I go to sleep at two.” He replied, rather breathlessly. His eyes adverted down to your t-shirt and sweats, and the fuzzy slippers you put on before you left the hotel room. “Apparently you do too.”

“I was almost asleep when you texted.” You defended yourself and your cozy loungewear. “I’m not going to throw on a whole outfit just to come down to the gym.”

“Real shoes either.” He countered.

You looked down at the slippers and then back up at him. “They’re comfy. I don’t care.”

“Clearly.” He nodded. “Doesn’t matter. You familiar with any of my moves at all?”

You could’ve told him that you’d watched some of his matches in the viewing room before but something told you that he would think you were weird for that, so you simply shrugged and said, “kind of, not really.”

The way he eyed you made you think he knew you were lying.

“Never seen me do redrum?” He questioned, raising his brows.

“Maybe like one time.” You lied again, and that’s when his eyes narrowed, as if he was reading right through the bullshit.

He pushed his hair back and let his hand fall to his side with a smack to his hip before he stepped away from the punching bag and over to a bench, grabbing an almost empty water bottle and chugging the rest.

He crumbled the plastic before tossing it in the trash can halfway across the room and walking back over. He stood in front of you. It seemed to you like the man didn’t know the definition of personal space.

“Are you familiar with a half nelson at least?”

You shot him a questionable look, feeling the sarcasm dripping from his question.

“Pretty sure everyone is.” You crossed your arms, deadpanning on him in an attempt to dish it right back. His lips fold in and that’s when you couldn’t help but notice a dimple on his right cheek.

“Alright then-“ he held his arms out to his sides. “Put me in one.”

You shot him another look, wondering if that was a serious request or not. He stared at you, clearly waiting. It didn’t seem probable since the man towered over you.

“How do I do that when you’re like, six foot tall?” You asked, holding your own arms out. “I’m obviously too short to reach.”

“Size doesn’t matter. It’s the way you utilize your body. Anna’s taller than you, how do you expect to put her in a choke? Wait for her to get down?”

“I wasn’t planning to until you said I needed to learn your moves. I have a couple of my own.”

“And clearly they don’t work too well.” He counters comebacks quickly, you realize.

“If you can’t reach, use your legs first.” He instructed, suddenly having a more serious edge to his voice. “If that means you have to jump on their back, then do that. I’ve had to a time or two.” He shrugged before he waved you foward.

You dropped your arms and eyed him skeptically. An uneasy feeling was trying to take over simply because the thought of wrestling around with a man twice your size didn’t seem like the smartest idea.

“You’re not gonna sling me over your shoulder or something, are you?”

You caught the brief flash of confusion that crossed through his eyes before they returned to that cold stare he perfected.

“No, Y/N.” He huffed in annoyance. “I’m not gonna do anything but let you take me down. I’m gonna fall foward though, not back, so if you go flying off of me that’s on you.”

In his mind he was wondering why you were so apprehensive about this. Did you really think he was going to hurt you? He might not be all that friendly but he didn’t have intentions to harm you. Either way, he pushed past those thoughts and focused on the task at hand.

You nodded in understanding before you circled around him, taking a step back for more momentum when you sprung foward. Your legs wrapped tightly around his waist, knees locking in underneath his ribs and you heard a low grunt reverberate through his throat.

“Am I hurting you?” You loosened your legs but felt his hands grab them, keeping you wrapped tightly around him.

“Nope, always keep your legs tight. I’m good. Lock it in.”

You did as you were told, snaking one arm beneath his jaw and the other under his arm, bringing it up and pushing his head down until you felt him falling foward with a low, “Fuck” beneath his breath.

You held on tight as his knees hit the floor and he tapped on your arm quickly. You unwrapped yourself and stood back up, offering your hand to help him to his feet, but he ignored it.

“Was that right?” You asked, feeling somewhat prideful about the way you just brought a six foot tall, two hundred pound man down to his knees with his own finisher.

He nodded, rubbing his neck. “Yeah, that was right.” He cleared his throat. He then eyed you with a somewhat unreadable look on his face, eyes slightly narrowed.

“What?” You asked.

“You’ve never seen that before?” He resorted back to his previous question from earlier.

“I told you I have once.” You reminded him, but again, human lie detector comes out of him and it was evident.

“Most people don’t get it right the first time after seeing me do it more than once.”

“Well I did.” You shrugged, watching as he peered those eyes at you, reading straight through the bullshit once more just to hum in response.

“Not very believable but alright.” He muttered before he walked over to the bench and sat down, grabbing his hoodie and tossing it over his shoulder. You felt your clothes sticking to your body with sweat that wasn’t your own and peeled the fabric from your skin, just for it to stick right back.

Hook noticed this. “You got a little sweat on you.” He comments obviously.

“Do I? I didn’t notice.” You sarcastically replied, and another unreadable expression played on his face, one that had you wondering what he was thinking, but you didn’t ask. It returned back to that blank, emotionless look moments after.

“I have a match Wednesday.” He said as he ran his hand through his unruly hair. “You should probably be ringside.”

“Did Tony say that? I haven’t heard anything.”

“I’m saying that.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, looking up at you. Your mouth clamped shut with that response. He clearly saw the mixed reaction playing on your face and made it a point to clarify.

“The more we’re together, the more we’ll sell.”

But something told you otherwise and you weren’t sure what. Something was nagging at you about his actual motives. If you remember correctly, he didn’t seem too pleased about being paired up with you to begin with.

“I didn’t think you cared so much about this storyline.” You tested. “You seemed really unhappy about it when we were in Tony’s office. And after, especially.” You referred to the first little conversation, or lack there of, in the hallway.

He looked down at his knuckles and a few scars on them before he looked back up at you.

“If we have to do it, I want to at least make it good.” He said, ignoring basically everything you just said. “That means we need to sell it. So we need to be seen together a lot more. Nobody’s gonna believe it if we’re only shot on segments and nowhere else.”

You nodded, understanding that fact.

“So when I have a match, you be there. When you have a match, I’ll be there.” He then stood up and threw on the black hoodie you always saw him wear at work before he walked past you, muttering a low, “see you Wednesday” under his breath before the gym doors shut behind him.

———

“Sounds like he wants to fuck you.” Willow bluntly stated after you told her and Skye all about what’s been going on lately. You felt your cheeks practically burn your skin but looked away in an attempt to hide it.

“Agreed.” Skye adds in. “Looks like someone’s not so coldhearted after all.”

“No, he definitely is.” You affirm with a quick nod. “He’s just good at selling a storyline. He’s a different person on camera than he is elsewhere.”

“He looks pretty angry all the time to me. On camera and every time I pass his grumpy ass in the halls” Willow chuckled and you couldn’t help but do the same. “And if he’s trying to sell the story purely, I don’t think he’d bother getting you down to the gym at almost two in the morning.”

“Well it was to teach me his finisher for when we have that tagteam match.” You justified, but they didn’t buy it.

“That could’ve waited for a day time hour, Y/N.” Skye tried to convince you, but there was no use in that. You looked at the time and realized his match was starting soon. You got up from the seat, thankful for an excuse to leave the conversation.

“I’m needed ringside.” You tell them, noting the smirks on their face before you left.

Hook was already in the gorilla waiting for his music to hit when you finally got there. His back was turned and head hung as he pushed himself back and to against the bars.

“Hey.” You breathlessly said, due to nearly racing to be in time. He turned his head, looking over his shoulder as he kept doing what looked to you like mid air push ups, assuming it was just something he did to get amped up.

His eyes adverted down to your shirt. You didn’t have a match tonight so you didn’t bother throwing on your ring gear. He was wearing all black this time, and you were wearing a bright yellow top and black shorts.

“Hey sunshine.” He said with a condescending, mocking tone as he eyed your apparel.

“Sunshine? Why? Because of my shirt?” You asked. “Was I supposed to match you or something?”

He shook his head and dropped it, exposing that dimple again. He pushed himself off the rails to stand up straight, looking down at you rather dramatically with the way he dropped his head.

“I didn’t say anything about your clothes.”

“You insinuated by the way you looked at my yellow shirt, then called me sunshine.” You pointed out, watching an amused grin spread across his lips before he dropped his head to cover it. You know you weren’t mistaking.

It was then that his music hit and the pop of the arena was already ringing your ears. He headed through the tunnel and you followed, unsure what you were actually supposed to do now that you were here.

The crowd went crazy when hook came out, but nearly insane when you popped out right behind him. He stopped at the top of the ramp to look amongst the sea of faces, and you endured it all next to him. You turned to look at him, only to find him staring down at you.

He nodded towards the ring, signaling for you to take the lead, so you did. On commentary once again, Taz was hyping it up for the viewers at home.

“That’s hook right there folks. The coldhearted handsome devil. He’s being accompanied by one of AEW’s crowd favorites, Y/N for this match. These two have been joined at the hip ever since Anna Jay knocked her upside the head with the FTW title. They’ve got each others backs, I’ll tell you that much.”

If you could hear commentary it would probably make you laugh just how much his dad sells the storyline.

You stopped at the end of the ramp and waited for hook to walk down. He stopped next to you for a moment, the cameraman panning in on the two of you taking in the crowd reactions before he nodded towards where you would be standing, signaling for you to take your place while he rounds the ring.

When the bell rings and the match gets started, you watch on from where you stood leaning against the canvas. You’ve seen a few of his matches but never up close. It was clear exactly why he was favored in this industry. His quickness and agility was otherworldly. He was fast thinking and cleverly destructive.

He made quick work of getting his opponent down. It had only taken about three and a half minutes and the redrum was locked in, and seconds after, his music boomed through the arena.

You clapped genuinely, watching as he got to his feet and slipped out the ring on your side. He nodded towards the tunnels and by this point you already knew to take the lead while he walks behind you. No idea why he prefers it that way, but you didn’t question.

When you reached the stage, you stopped and turned to face the crowd. He got up next to you and looked at you questionably when you grabbed his wrist, even though he already knew what you were going to do.

You raised his hand in the air and listened to the crowd explode. The pop was unlike anything you’d witnessed yourself, and it was doing a pretty good job at bringing your confidence level way up.

“Probably one of AEW’s most unlikely duos. The coldhearted handsome devil and Y/N look like night and day standing next to each other.” Excalibur mentions on commentary.

“Their appearances may be complete opposites but don’t let that fool you my guy. These two are a force to be reckoned with.” Taz adds.

You get halfway through the tunnel when you look over your shoulder to find hook trailing closely behind you.

“Good job.” You smile at him, though he doesn’t return the smile back. You didn’t expect him to, anyway. He hummed in response and dropped his head, ruffling his hair.

Just then, a text came through to your phone. You pulled it out of your pocket and read the group chat message.

“It’s Tony.” You tell hook. “He said me being ringside was a nice touch for whoever’s idea that was. Want me to tell him it was yours?”

“Nah.” He shortly replied. “Did he say anything else?” He asked, seeming a little curious.

“No.” You told him, watching as he nods once. “What do you think we’ll be doing next? Another segment? When even is this tagteam match happening?”

“Ask him.” He mutters.

He wasn’t saying much all of the sudden which confused you. It was like he retreated into a shell after he decided he didn’t like the outside world for the two minutes he experienced it.

“Are you tired?” You asked, noticing the questioning glance he gave you.

“No?”

“Oh. You sound tired.” You added as you headed down the hall with him, unsure where you were actually going since you just got caught up in talking to him.

“Not tired” he sighed, giving you the impression that he didn’t want to talk at all anymore. Or maybe he never even did in the first place.

“Alright well, I’ll see you next week then.” Your voice was far weaker than his was. He slowed down but didn’t stop, muttering “alright” before he kept walking down the hallway, leaving you standing in the middle of it for what felt like the hundredth time watching him leave.

———

A text from Tony came through two days later. It was a graph with the ratings for Wednesday night’s show and apparently the interactions with you and Hook brought a lot of attention on.

You were typing a reply when another message came through. It was next weeks plans for the two of you. Reading over it, you couldn’t help but to be confused. Apparently you were supposed to interfere in one of Anna’s matches that Jack was going to be standing ringside for. This time, you were going to be the one using the belt against her after hook takes it from jack.

Sounded like heel work in your opinion.

You didn’t reply due to the fact that you weren’t sure what to say, but hook did. His message came through a few minutes after the text was sent and was nothing but a simple okay emoji.

That night, you received a text from hook. It was short and simple like all the other ones had been.

“you own any black clothes?”

You felt like you could feel the sarcasm through the screen. What kind of question was that?

“Why?” You replied, not having much time to close your phone before another one came through.

“so we can match”

You understood the reasoning but weren’t super thrilled about black of all colors.

“Do you own anything other than black clothes?” You retorted. This time there was a pause between messages.

“what color do you want to wear, y/n” if you were standing in front of him having this conversation you just knew he’d have that bored look on his face. You thought for a minute about a reasonable color. Then decided on one he probably would glare at you for.

“Got anything yellow?” You grinned to yourself knowing that he was probably going to roll his eyes at that one.

“no.”

“Fine… Blue?”

“no.”

“Red?”

“no. wear black wednesday”

You stared down at that message for a moment debating on what to say back. You looked across the room at your suitcase overflowing with clothes but you already knew the only article of clothing you brought with you that was all black was a dress you wore to go out in. Nothing reasonable for the show.

“I don’t have anything black suitable for tv.”

“how would something not be suitable? just wear it”

You sighed deeply as you walked over to your suitcase and pulled out the dress that you only wore once simply because it rode up way too high all night long. You threw it on the bed and snapped a picture, sending it to him.

“This is it and I’m not wearing it.”

There was a couple moments that passed before you received a message back.

“i don’t see the issue”

“It’s revealing.”

“so is your ring gear but you still wear it?” You stared at that message wondering why you were standing in the middle of the room arguing with that man right now. And still, you continue to do so.

“That’s ring gear. That’s different.”

This time, a good five minutes pass by before he replies. You had just tossed your phone on the bed when you figured he was done texting only to grab it almost as quickly as you tossed it when your phone buzzed again.

“ill bring one of my hoodies then”

On the other end of the phone, Tyler was sitting at a restaurant table with his dad going over the next couple of weeks.

Taz was the one who told him that the two of you should match and it would probably do good at winning over the crowd and the viewers, but he was thinking more along the lines of his son wearing something other than the typical black attire he exhausts.

“It’s funny seeing you two up on that stage” taz chuckles as he digs his fork into his pasta. “You’re like the moon and she’s the sun, for now at least”

Tyler’s eyes lifted from his phone. He was staring at the three little dots while he awaited your response. He said he’d bring you one of his hoodies and for some reason he was apprehensive about sending that message. It felt like odd territory to him to be letting you wear his clothes, but apparently all you had was a little black dress you didn’t feel comfortable wearing.

“And I’ll tell you another thing, when you two team up in that ring, the fans are gonna lose their freakin’ minds”

Just then, a text came through and for some reason a slight smile landed on tyler’s lips, until his dad called it out.

“Who’s that?” He questioned, trying to lean foward to steal a glance at his son’s phone. He was quick to lock it and stuff it in his pocket.

“Y/N.” He muttered before he dug his own fork into his food.

“Have you talked to her about the turn yet?” Taz asked, and Tyler froze for a second.

“Nah, not yet.”

“She doesn’t know?” He questioned, looking a bit taken back. “What does she think the plans for you two are? You have to tell her, son.”

“I’m pretty sure she’ll figure it out on her own.” He grumbled, leaning back in his seat and dropping the fork against his plate.

“Tyler” taz shot him a look, “It was your idea. You need to be the one to tell her straight.”

And it was his idea. He approached Tony shortly after he left you in the hallway that first time the two of you talked, and pitched the idea that you should have a heel run by his side. Tony wasn’t apprehensive at all. To him, and to Hook, the idea of an America’s Sweetheart type of personality completely doing a 180 with the coldhearted handsome devil was golden.

It was just that he told Tony that he’d talk to you about it and never did. Plans had changed from the originality of the first idea and you had no clue about it.

“What’s gonna happen when she’s supposed to go out in front of thousands of people as a heel, and she’s thinking she’s still this babyface character?” Taz reasons, making Tyler drop his eyes to the table.

“She needs time to prepare. It’s not easy going a complete 180 son. Especially not if you wait until last minute to tell her.”

He retrieved his phone from his pocket and read your message back.

“Thank you” was all you said. His thumbs hovered over the screen before he finally managed a response. It was hard to put it into words for some reason and when he realized what it sounded like, he had to send a double text for clarification.

“can you come to my room later”

“to talk. it’s kinda important”

———

Later meant way later than you expected when Hook sent you the text letting you know what room number he was in at midnight.

Regardless of how tired you were, you were way more anxious than anything to figure out what was so important. You reached room 235 and knocked on his door. You heard some shuffling around before he opened it, hair even messier than usual and eyes low, like he was on the verge of passing out himself.

He stepped back and waved you in. You walked in and eyed him as he walked around you. He didn’t sit down anywhere and you didn’t make yourself comfy either. This was awkward. Probably the most awkward encounter you’ve had with him yet.

Truth was that he was a little nervous. He didn’t know how you were going to take the fact that this entire time, you were working on a heel turn without even knowing it. And he was the one behind it all.

He looked down at you, leaning against the wall as he contemplated the best way to go about the conversation. He never really got nervous about anything so this was fairly new and rather uncomfortable for him.

“Did you get that message from Tony about Wednesday?” He started off by asking, and you slowly nodded. You eyed him, trying to read an unreadable man.

“What did you think about it?” He was doing a good job at reading you though. Wasn’t hard since you had a tendency to wear your emotions on your face. He could tell you were skeptical of him in that moment by the way you stared at him solely. He’s seen that look from you a couple dozen times already and the only other one he can recognize that easily is the look you give when he makes a smart comment to you.

“You mean about me using the title to hit Anna? It sounded like heel work to me.” You told him, watching as he nodded.

“Cause it is.”

You blinked twice. “I’m not a heel.”

“I talked to Tony about this storyline a while back. We agreed it’s a better idea if you have a heel run with me.”

You stared up at him, a bit lost. The original idea was for the babyfaces to win in the end, since jack and Anna were already heels. Now it turns out that you had a whole new character transition coming you didn’t even know about in the first place and frankly, you were unsure how to feel.

“Wait so this whole time I’ve been working on turning heel? And you knew that and didn’t tell me?” You peered your eyes at him, glaring. “Why not?”

“Never had the chance, I guess.” He shrugged.

“Never had the chance?” You felt your eyes form into small slits. “You had plenty. How come you got to decide what I do with my gimmick and I didn’t even get the chance to give my opinion?”

Just then, a voice popped into his head, belonging to his dad. Women don’t like when you lie to them, son.

He didn’t intend to lie. It just happened that way. He kind of assumed you’d catch on with the whole heel turn thing and not ask questions but now that he knows you a little better, he knows better than that.

“Your goody two shoes persona wasn’t working well for you anyway, Y/N. We knew it wouldn’t sell for a storyline like this so we came up with something better. If Tony pitched the idea you wouldn’t be getting all fired up at him”

“It’s not the fact that I’ll be turning heel, it’s the fact that nobody told me. Especially you.” You pointed out. You weren’t even mad about the new plans. You would’ve agreed to it anyway if that was the first idea Tony pitched, but you were walking around with no idea what was coming for you and that alone made you more nervous than you needed to be.

“Maybe you didn’t realize, but this is my very first storyline. The last thing I want to do is blow my chance at another one and I’ve been going around absolutely oblivious to the fact that I’m expected to do a whole heel turn in who knows how soon, and you just let me look stupid when you were the one who unrightfully came up with the idea in the first place!”

You rarely yelled at people and he rarely ever got yelled at. It was heightening the tensions between both of you and he expected as much, but didn’t foresee you chewing him out this bad.

“You’re not going around looking stupid! Tony gives you the rundown every week. You know what’s coming and if you didn’t by now you would’ve figured it out.”

You were somewhat baffled by his defensiveness. There was no true justification to what he omitted and he probably knew that full well and just didn’t want to admit he was wrong.

“Yeah, like last minute!” You shout, not meaning to be as loud as you were but you couldn’t help it. “This means something to me, Tyler!”

The use of his name took him back a little and you didn’t mean for that to slip in the first place but for some reason Hook wasn’t the first name to come out in that moment.

Just then, there was a knock on his door that caught both of your attentions.

“Go away” he shouted, but that’s when his dad’s voice reached both of you.

“Open the door, son.”

He rolled his eyes as he walked over. Opening the door and taking a step back so taz could walk in. It was strange to see him wearing pajamas but you ignored that.

“I can hear you two across the hall. What is going on in here?”

Tyler looked at you for a second before he looked back at his dad. “She’s not happy about the heel run.”

“No-“ you stepped forward, correcting him. “I’m not happy about being lied to.”

Taz gave his son a look. A stern I told you so kind of glance.

“Alright” taz held his hands up, “I get that, Y/N. I told this man that he needed to let you know what was going on and not at the very last minute. He doesn’t listen to nobody but himself and half the time that steers him wrong.”

“Clearly.” You huffed out, crossing your arms.

He turned to Tyler and shrugged. “This one’s on you bud. Make it right but keep it down. We don’t need to draw attention.”

You nodded and taz made his way back out, leaving you and Tyler alone once again. He dropped his head and ran his hands through his hair, thinking.

“I’m not happy about this.” You state.

“Couldn’t tell.” He muttered under his breath. The fact that he had the audacity to be sarcastic was mind blowing to you. It made you actually want to scream at him but the last thing you wanted was Taz to come back and give you both some sort of lecture or something.

Tyler picked his head up, tired eyes landing on you. “I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. It was a half ass apology but the only one he’d ever given. He never really cared to give anyone that type of respect, or what he thinks is respect in his mind.

“There was no reason why you kept it from me.” You remind him, watching him nod.

“I know.” He sighed.

“And I have a right to be mad right now because my whole entire image is about to change dramatically and I haven’t even been prepared for it.”

“Yeah, but you’re not doing it all on your own. You’re doing it with me. I’m turning too.”

“Yeah, but you had time to prepare for that.” You pointedly state. “How much time do I have? Literally I’m about to start at the next show and I didn’t even realize it.”

“It’s not something you really have to prepare for, Y/N. You just go out there and put on a show. It’s not much different than what we do right now.” He walked around you and made his way to the bed, sitting down on the edge.

“It’s different for me. I’m not mean in general. I need to practice.”

You watched a weird look cross over his face, bringing his lips up in a faint smirk. “You’re not mean?” He quirked a brow. “Not even a little bit?”

“No?” You shrugged.

You heard a low chuckle before he looked down at his phone in hand. You sighed when you realized that this conversation was probably going nowhere fast and the best thing you could do was accept the reality of the situation and work with what you’re dealing with.

“Since you seem to think it’s easy becoming a whole different person, tell me where to start.” You plopped down on the chair awkwardly positioned halfway across the room. His eyes lifted from his phone before he tossed it to the side.

“It’s just acting, Y/N. It’s not like you’re becoming a different person all together. It’s literally one day out of the week that you put on a tough face and sell a gimmick. There’s nothing complicated about it. You’re complicating it yourself.”

You glared at him and the annoyance that was so evident in his tone. He sighed and leaned back on his hands, his eyes lowering by the second.

“I guess just start acting like you hate the world. Go out there and give everyone the biggest eat shit look. Be a little more aggressive in the ring and more no fucks given outside of it.” He advised, watching you nod before you stood up from the chair.

“So basically, be more like you.” You pointed out. Before he could respond to that, you held up your hand to silence him. “Got it.” You said before you left his room.

———

“Doesn’t make sense why he didn’t tell you.” Skye says as you and her head down the hall towards catering. “It’s literally your gimmick changing.”

“I know.” You roll your eyes. You were sick and tired of thinking on it. At this point you’d decided to stop wishing you would’ve known beforehand, since clearly there was no changing that, and take the bull by the horns.

Even though Tyler told you that nothing really changes, everything was about to. Your persona, your ring gear, especially your attitude. You had a lot of winning over to do and you were determined to use this transformation to the best of your ability. No matter how bitter you might feel about the fact that he kept the whole thing from you for weeks.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m gonna be a good heel. I’ve been thinking about all of it. I have tons of ideas and I’m starting to actually get excited about it.” You told her, rounding the corner.

“Speak of the devil.” Skye muttered. “Want me to wait up for you or are you good?”

“I’m good.” You nod as you watch him slowly approach with a black hoodie on and one draped across his shoulder.

He got a look from Skye as she passed by but he didn’t pay attention. He pulled that hoodie off of his shoulder and handed it to you wordlessly. You eyed him as you took it from his hand and threw it over your own shoulder. You hadn’t spoke since that night in his room and he’d been meaning to ask you if you were still mad but never ended up doing so.

The look you were giving him was telling him the answer is definitely yes, you’re still mad.

“I’m going out tomorrow to get some different clothes for my heel era so Ill give this back to you after we’re done tonight.”

“Alright.” He nodded, watching as you pull the hoodie off and hold it up to see it better. Clearly it was going to swallow you whole.

“This might as well be a baggy dress on me.” You pointed out as you held it against your body, showing that it falls nearly to your knees. He noticed the same thing.

“You can cut it if you need to.” He shrugged. “To make it fit decently.”

Your brows knitted together as you looked back up at him. “If I’m giving it back why would I cut it?”

He shrugged again, looking down at the large hoodie covering you whole.

“You can keep it. I don’t really care. Might need to match again sometime later.”

For some reason he was being nice and it was strange to you. You’d chalked it up to the fact that he feels guilty for lying to you. As he should. You tossed the hoodie back over your shoulder.

“I’ll deal with it. You can have it back later.” You say before you brush past him and head down to catering to meet up with Skye.

“What happened?” She asked when you took a seat. Her eyes adverted to your shoulder. “Is that his hoodie he was just wearing?!” You could see the thoughts rolling around in her mind and quickly shut them down. You slung the hoodie down on the table.

“No, not the one he was just wearing, Skye. Just one of them.”

“You’re wearing his clothes? What did I miss in the last five minutes?”

“Nothing.” You shake your head. “He texted me a few days ago telling me I needed to wear black so we could match and I told him I didn’t have anything. So he brought me his hoodie. I’m giving it back right after our interference and getting some new clothes tomorrow.”

She held a weird grin on her face before she looked down at her phone. “Mmkay.” She chuckled.

“What?” You peered your eyes at her.

“Nothing it’s just- it’s funny.” She shrugged.

“What is?”

“The fact that you pretend to be so annoyed by him but you’re willingly going to wear his hoodie.” She pointed at the clothing on the table. “It’s funny.”

“I don’t pretend to be so annoyed by him. He actually does annoy me. I tried to be his friend but he’s so hot and cold all the time. He will be a decent person one minute and an asshole the next, it’s exhausting.” You rambled, making sure she got the point but judging by the smirk on her face, she didn’t buy it.

“Right.” She nodded. “Well it’s almost nine. You should be meeting up with lover boy for your interference in a few minutes.” She teased, earning another roll of your eyes as you stood up from the table with a huff. “Don’t forget his hoodie.” She said before you snatched it up and headed out of catering.

He wasn’t there when you got to the gorilla but you knew he’d show soon. The directors were standing by, seemingly waiting for Hook so they could send you both out at the right time.

You took that time to toss the hoodie on, and it did nothing at all for your figure. It was far baggier than you expected, so much that the sleeves swallowed your hands.

You heard footsteps behind you tracking fast and turned to face the man in question. He took one look at you and his lips turned up in a smirk he was clearly trying to hide.

“This thing is huge on me.” You deadpan.

“I told you to cut it.” He reminds you. Then he reaches down to the ends of the sleeves and rolls them up so your hands are exposed. “Can’t fight if you don’t have fists.”

You stared at him while he rolled the other sleeve up. When your hands were exposed you pulled your hair out of the hood and did your best to make yourself decent before the music hit. As much as you could given the circumstances, at least.

Tyler held his gaze on you for a moment longer before he tore it away the moment your eyes connected, looking down at the floor and fluffing his hair. For once, you matched. You’d noticed his gold cross pendant he was wearing and remembered the one you had on yourself.

“Funny.” You said dryly. “I have one too.”

You pulled the necklace out from under the hoodie and laid it against your chest. He looked down and nodded. “I noticed.” He said, just as your music hit.

You turned around and got ready for your first appearance leading up to a heel turn. You didn’t want to psych yourself out about it, but you felt a little nervous.

“Never thought I’d be coming out to this type of song.” He commented from behind you.

“It’ll be changing soon, evidently.” You muttered before heading down the tunnel.

Anna was staring at the stage when you and Hook came through the tunnel. He threw on his best scowl and it made it a little easier for you to mimick him. Jack came racing up the ramp, hook moving you to the side before he lunged towards Perry.

He snatched the belt clean from jacks hands and tossed it over to you. The crowd went completely and utterly insane as the boys backed down the ramp, throwing punches everywhere they could visibly see of each other’s bodies.

You raced towards the ring as anna was sliding out of it, calling jacks name over and over in an attempt to get him away from hook, and as soon as she had noticed you getting close, she turned around and you slammed the title into the side of her head like she’d done to you weeks prior.

She fell to the floor and Jack immediately rushed to her aid, screaming and cursing you and Hook as you held up the title and shouted back, “This is gonna be his. You just wait! It was always his!”

A proud smirk from hook was caught on camera but you didn’t get to see it. He knew that there were no lines to this. You just came up with something and the fast thinking was what really got him.

Jack then got up to his feet and raced towards you both, but hook stepped in front of you and held his arm out, blocking Perry from getting any closer.

On commentary, everyone was eating the whole situation up.

“Looks like the coldhearted handsome devil has made quite an impact on Y/N!” Excalibur shouted through his headpiece. “This is wild!”

“That it is my friend. I said it from the start. Those two are an absolute force to be reckoned with. God help jack and Anna. Wouldn’t wanna be those clowns right now.” Taz chuckled.

You and hook walked back up to the stage and just before you were about to head through the face tunnel, he grabbed your wrist and nodded his head to the left.

You looked up at him, realizing it was happening this soon. You heard the commotion from thousands around the second you let him lead you through to the heel side, in your mind, you made it official. You were no longer the babyface you’d been for over a year. The transition was starting faster than you’d expected but, it felt a tad bit easier to have someone doing it with you.

“That’s not a shock to me. I could see that coming with those two. Bonnie and Clyde of AEW.” tony announced from commentary.

“Y/N and Hook have made their impression here tonight, and they’re just getting started boys.”

You couldn’t deny that you had an adrenaline rush running ramped. He turned around to let you catch up to him before you entered the hallway.

“How’d it feel?” He asked.

At that moment you almost felt thankful to him for pitching the heel turn idea to Tony in the first place but then you remembered how he kept it from you for weeks. Either way you were able to not let that bother you for the time being.

“Kind of exhilarating. Did you hear that crowd?” You say as you round the corner. There’s looks being sent your way from multiple talent. In your mind it’s judgement but in all actuality they’re wondering how long you and Hook have been hooking up on the low.

“Yeah, they loved it.” He says. He walked a little slower than usual. Usually he was ready to get to the shower but he didn’t mind talking to you a little before that today. He wouldn’t tell you that though.

“I didn’t expect it.” You say. Just then someone calls your name. You turn around and find that it’s Ricky. He reaches his hand out to dap hook up but his eyes stay on you.

“That was fucking crazy what you did out there.” He tells you, making a grin spread across your lips. “I never expected you to turn heel, especially not with my man Hook.” He throws his arm around hooks shoulders, and he stiffens them immediately.

“Next time you’re on I need a heads up so I can watch in the viewing room. Both of you.” He looks at Hook who suddenly has a stiff jaw. He picked up on a vibe Ricky was emitting and he didn’t like it. He didn’t know why but he wanted to get you away from him.

“Thanks Ricky.” You smiled before he nodded his head and gave Hook a pat on his back. “Good choice man.”

You didn’t miss the way hooks eyes followed him all the way down the hall. He suddenly looked like he reverted right back to the version of him you had an unfortunate encounter with weeks ago.

“You okay?” You asked, but he didn’t look at you until Ricky was out of his sights. Then he turned back started walking. You followed close behind, reaching for his arm when you realize you were being ignored.

“Hey” you stopped him. He turned to face you but kept his head down, staring at the floor. “Why do you suddenly look so mad? What just happened?”

“I’m not.” He picked his head up. You could see it on his face. It was clear as day whether he wanted it to be or not.

“You are though.” You attested. “Did he do something to you? I thought you were friends.”

“Can you drop it?” He quickly cut in with a sharp tone. You took a step back, almost feeling like his words forcefully pushed you away. He noticed the distance you put in and his eyes seemed to have softened, but only for a mere second.

He turned back towards the hall and muttered, “see you next week, Y/N.” Before, once again, he left you there watching him go.

———-

“Clearly jealous.” Willow nods dramatically.

“Obviously.” Skye agrees.

“That’s hard for me to believe.” You tell them as you adjust your ring gear. You had a segment to shoot tonight in the ring. It was going to be the first time you actually talked in front of the crowd and you were beyond anxious about it. Tyler was going to be in the ring with you but he wasn’t going to say anything and the fact that you hadn’t spoken to him since that last conversation made you even more nervous.

“Because he wants you.” Willow smirked. “And if you haven’t already heard, everyone is talking about it.”

“Who’s everyone?” You asked as you strapped the laces on your new shoes. It was going to be a little difficult to break in another pair but you assumed that was the price you pay when you turn heel and can’t wear bright, glorious colors anymore.

That was the whole reason you donned an all black attire tonight. Black nails to match. It was never something you expected to wear but if you were going to be a heel you were going to rock it.

“Everyone as in everyone in this building right now.” Willow says. “People keep wondering how long you’ve been secretly hooking up under everyone’s nose.”

“But we’re not.”

“Not yet.” Skye points. “I give it two more weeks and you’re going to send us a picture from his room.”

“I give it one and a half.”

You rolled your eyes and stood up from the bench. “It’s not gonna happen. It’s nothing like that.”

“Then why did he suddenly get all weird when Ricky came up to you?” Willow raised her brows. “Skye, please tell me, why would a man do that?”

“Because he’s jealous. Because he wants you.” She answered, and you shook your head back.

“Whatever. I have to go. I have a segment in the ring in about ten minutes.”

“Good luck. We’ll be watching from the viewing room.” Willow calls out as you head through the door.

To your surprise, Tyler was already waiting for you when you reached the gorilla. To his surprise, you looked like a certified heel. The new attire and dark makeup, it looked way too natural on you.

He had on that signature black hoodie which reminded you of the one you had laying across your bed that you forgot to give back to him.

“Shit, I forgot I still have your hoodie.” You blurted, watching his dark eyes linger down to your attire before they made their way back to your face.

“Told you to keep it.” He said. It was clear he was in another one of his moods again tonight. It was really starting to bother you how he switches so fast, but right now the last thing you needed was to get in an argument and forget your lines. This time you knew you had them memorized thanks to staying up until three am studying them.

“I’ll give it back next time I see you.” You mumbled before music started playing and a song he recognized, but not as your own reached his ears.

“You changed the music?” He asked as he stepped to the side to let you lead.

“I’m a heel now, remember?”

You slid past him and made your way out. It was strange knowing you could no longer interact with the fans. Usually you’d blow a kiss or tag their hands but now you practically ignored them. At least they were engaged and supportive of this new you, so it seemed. Or maybe they were just going crazy over the two of you. Either way, you weren’t the ones getting boo’d.

You plastered a scowling look on your face and tried to keep it there as you made your way to the ring. Hook followed closely behind you, trying not to bob his head to your music.

You slid under the ropes and he took the steps, but you both met back in the middle. You took a minute to take in the reactions from the crowd. It was something you had to try hard not to smile about. Which was going to take some work.

Tony Schiavone handed you a mic and you snatched it from his hand, all for the dramatics, of course.

“Ladies and gentlemen, if you haven’t already noticed, you’re looking at two of the absolute best AEW has ever had to offer you.” You pointed at Hook who nodded his head, stepping side to side on his feet.

You weren’t being boo’d, which came as a thrill to you. If they were eating it up you just wanted to give them more.

“When Anna Jay and Jack Perry made the unfortunate decision to target us, we made the decision to fight back, and what you saw last week when I knocked that bitch out with Hook’s FTW title-“ you paused to make sure the fans were taking it all in, “It was just the beginning.”

You looked over at Hook who continued to nod, chewing on a piece of gum as his eyes scanned the crowd.

“And when Anna recovers from that blow to the head she took from me, I’ll be waiting. And as for Jack, well” you chuckled darkly as you nodded towards your partner, “Let’s just say Hook was some fun things planned for him.”

He looked over at you, and you could see a faint smile on his face before he ran his hand over his lips.

“You see, I realized something a little while ago. You know, after Anna smashed the FTW title into my head?” You reminded the crowd of weeks ago.

“It’s that being nice gets you used and abused. All the times I’ve let that bitch get away with attacking me, I regret it. I really do, but it’s alright, because it will never happen again.”

The crowd popped when you took a pause, but you had to keep that cold expression on your face.

“So Anna Jay, Jungleboy, if you’re watching from the hospital, I just want to say, get well soon. Please.” The camera panned on you and you shot a mischievous grin before you dropped the mic and heard the crowd scream their lungs out.

Your music hit and Hook walked over to the ropes, holding one up for you to slip through.

You headed towards the stage, trying not to let a smile break out. You felt his arm brush yours as he walked alongside you.

When you disappeared through the tunnel you huffed out a deep breath. “Fuck that was exciting.” You chuckled as you placed your hand over your racing heart.

“Fun isn’t it?” He asked as he squeezed into the space next to you.

“Yeah, really fun.” You said before rounding the corner to find Skye standing there. Her match was next but you’d forgotten that in the mix of everything. Her eyes lingered to the man next to you before they fell to you with a smirk plastering her face.

“That was hot.” She remarked as she walked up to you. Tyler stopped when you did, to your surprise and Skye’s.

“You think it was good?” You asked.

“It was perfect. You are doing the damn thing, isn’t she hook?”

You could see what she was doing and tried to send her a look but her eyes were on him instead.

“Yeah, she did real good.” He nodded. That’s when she looked at you again and caught the look you sent.

“You two are a good duo. Can’t wait to see what comes next.” She ran her hand over your arm before she brushed past you.

Tyler looked back down at you and you hoped he didn’t pick up on Skye’s insinuations. He did, but he didn’t mention it.

He started walking when you did, and again, you saw all the people around with their eyes on the two of you. You wondered if Skye and Willow were right. Did everyone think you and Tyler were hooking up? And if so, why? You didn’t think you gave that impression at all. It was just acting, like Tyler told you.

Truth is that Tyler had been approached quite a few times, being asked about you more often than not. He never gave anyone a straight answer, which obviously left them to make their own assumptions.

“Everyone keeps staring.” You whispered.

“They’ll do that.” He muttered back.

You were heading towards the locker room when Jeff Hardy came around a corner, a smile brought to his and Hook’s face when they saw each other.

“What’s up man.” Jeff greeted, “And ma’am.”

“What’s up” hook nodded.

Jeff’s eyes adverted between the two of you, then landed back on Hook. “When are we gonna see this duo beat some ass?” He asked, “I’m ready for it.”

“Whenever Tony calls the shot.” Hook shrugged. “I’m ready too. I think we both are.” He glanced at you. Jeff brought a full fledged smile to Hook’s face pretty easily. One you hadn’t seen from him in all the weeks you’d been around him.

“It’s highly anticipated. From a lot of people, actually.” Jeff chuckles and hook drops his head, seeming to try to hide that smile that you evidently caught.

“We can tell.” He says.

Jeff’s eyes switch back to you again before he looks back at Hook. Both men were grinning from ear to ear as if they had some sort of secret telepathy going on.

“Alright well I’ll see you around brother, and you maam.” He nodded his head and you nodded back.

“Alright bro.” Hook said before Jeff walked around the two of you.

“Best friend?” You teased, watching as he brought his hand to his mouth, physically wiping away that smile.

“Something like that, yeah.” He said as the two of you made your way towards your respected rooms.

“Kind of cool how everyone likes our heel turn. I thought we’d get hate for it.”

“We still might, but it’ll be alright.” He shrugged. You reached the end of the hall that branches off into two opposing directions and it hit you that this was the first time he hadn’t left you standing in the middle of it.

He stopped and turned to face you, adjusting the collar of his hoodie.

“You did good out there.” He tells you, surprisingly. “You should think so too.”

You were somewhat dumbfounded at the fact that he actually complimented you without underlying sarcasm. You smiled even though you didn’t mean to, assuming your lips had a mind of their own.

“Thanks.” You say as you suddenly feel the air getting thick, but not as suffocating as usual.

Hook nodded before his eyes adverted to the empty hall behind you. He didn’t have anywhere to really be, but he told you he did.

“I’m gonna go shower.” He lied for no reason. You just nodded. You felt your hands clamming up, sweat spreading across your palms and didn’t like it.

“Alright well, see you next week?” You didn’t know why you asked. Of course you’d see him next week. It’s been like that for a while now.

“Yeah.” He nodded before he brushed past you, heading one way while you headed the other.

————

A text from Tony at eleven in the morning got your attention that following Saturday.

“This is it. Big match Wednesday.” Was all it said.

It felt like you’d anticipated this whole thing for so long and now that it was coming you weren’t sure how to feel. You stared down at the message until another one came through, but not on the group chat.

“you ready?” He asked, clearly referring to Tony’s previous message.

“No lol” you replied back, but you were being honest.

“you’re ready” he quickly responded, and all you did was stare at those words for a minute to long.

Why it was making you nervous, you weren’t sure. Probably because it was your biggest match to date and held a lot of value to your current heel run but, what happens next? What happens when you and Hook beat Jack and Anna? Is there even going to be a you and Hook anymore?

Lots of questions were left unanswered because you were too hesitant to ask them. You just decided to play it by ear, but the thought of a heel run all on your own wasn’t very appealing to you. As much as you didn’t want to admit it, having Hook alongside you, sort of paving the way for all your antics made things less worrisome and a lot more fun for you.

You truly couldn’t picture doing it without him and that alone was something you never expected.

Another text came through and you were surprised to find that it was Skye. She sent you the picture from AEW’s instagram account when they announced the tagteam match on Wednesday.

“This is your biggest match yet girl. I’m so proud of you. You’re gonna kill it!”

You smiled down at your phone and typed a couple hearts back. The support you had made things a little easier but your nerves were still trying to get the best of you, and you assumed it was going to be that way until the match was over.

————

It was anticipated and highly talked about all over the internet. You were constantly being tagged on twitter, instagram and TikTok. It seemed like the whole world was awaiting this match and the time had finally come.

You were heading towards the gorilla with a racing heart. You kept trying to tell yourself that this was just like any other match, any other opponent but it wasn’t. It was your first match as a heel, first match as a tagteam and longest tv time to date. You had a couple moves you were expected to pull that you never had before and there was very little familiarity around the entire situation.

“Hey” you heard a deep voice from behind you. You turned around to find Ricky standing there.

“Hey” you smiled, adjusting your black wristbands.

“Good luck on your match tonight. Just wanted to say that.” He grinned, and it was then that you picked up on a vibe that you weren’t all that into. You took a small step back but kept your politeness.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” You say. Before you can turn back, he asks another question. One that catches you off guard.

“Hey, are you and hook like, a thing?”

Your brows knitted together but you wiped that look away quickly. You were about to respond when you felt eyes on you, and just like all the times before, you knew Hook was around.

Ricky’s eyes adverted above your head and that’s when you felt warmth radiating against your back.

“Y/N, you ready?” His deep voice reached you, making your heart flutter for some reason.

He held his eyes on Ricky as you turned around to face him. You could see that familiar expression like before. Jaw set and teeth clenched. It was then that you realized Skye and Willow were right. Hook was jealous. He didn’t get that way at all when Jeff approached the two of you. It was just Ricky.

You spared the man a glance over your shoulder and caught the disappointment on his face, but you couldn’t take enough time to think about it when you had a match in a few minutes.

“What was he talking to you about?” Hook muttered next to you.

You felt a little nervous to say it, but when his eyes landed on you, it urged you to tell him.

“He wished me luck on the match and… he asked if we were a thing.”

His jaw throbbed and you caught it, but by the time that happened you were already reaching the gorilla.

What you didn’t know was that Ricky had been coming up to him asking the same thing, and at one point he expressed that he wanted to ask you to go out with him. He thought he made it clear when he glared the man down but evidently he didn’t make it clear enough. Either that or Ricky just didn’t care, which was what Hook was now figuring on.

He knew he couldn’t get distracted. A lot was riding on this match for you and he didn’t want to ruin that. He pushed the thoughts out of his head and turned to face you instead.

“Ready?” He asked, but he could tell that you were anxious. You still had those wide, round eyes that reminded him of a puppy and as much as you might be good at playing a heel, you just weren’t that person on the inside.

“Ready as I can be.” You nodded, attempting to collect yourself.

Jack’s music was almost finished and you knew that meant it was time for you and Hook to come out. You took in a deep breath and he noticed that it was shaky.

“Something that helps me when I feel under pressure is thinking about the look on the faces of all the people who ever doubted me when they have to watch me prove them wrong.” He blurted, shrugging a shoulder.

You thought on that. Remembering back when you first came to AEW and had no foothold in the industry. All the mean, offensive things you’d heard about yourself start replaying over and over again in your mind and to your surprise, you felt a little bit of adrenaline surge.

“That’s helpful, actually” you tell him, noticing the right side of his mouth tipping upwards.

Just then, the intro of Chairman’s Intent boomed through the speakers and Hook nodded. “Remember that if you get nervous.”

You nodded back before he stepped to the side, as he usually did, to let you lead the way.

You headed out with him trailing right behind you and held your eyes on both Anna and Jack standing in the ring, amping each other up.

The glares being shared between the four of you was making for great tensions arising in the arena and the crowd was intensely engaged in all of it, which made you happy, of course, but you couldn’t show that.

You headed in one direction and he headed in the other, you both circling the ring with eyes on your opponents.

When you passed each other, he held his hand out. You tagged it as you walked past and that simple interaction had the crowd bursting with cheers.

You met up at the steel steps and he stepped back, waving you to go first. You stepped up onto the canvas and slipped between the ropes, Hook following. He didn’t lean against the turnbuckles like he usually did but you assumed that was because this wasn’t one of his typical matches. He stayed at your side and shot daggers to jack and Anna.

You and Anna were going first. You walked up to her, showing no signs of intimidation as you stood toe to toe. She smirked down at you before forcefully pushing you a foot back, making you stumble before you caught your footing.

You wiped that grin off of her face when you delivered a harsh slap to her cheek and from that point on, the two of you were rolling around the ring, throwing fists and kneeing ribs until Paul said it was enough.

You put some separation between you two and that’s when she tagged Jack, so you went to your corner where hook was waiting with an extended hand, eyeing you as you approached.

“You good?”

“I’m good” you slapped his hand and he hopped over the top rope, lunging towards back with a force that knocked him off his feet.

The crowd went wild at his explosiveness and the energy in the arena was absolutely riveting. It could’ve given you a high at that point.

You watched as Hook clotheslined jack right over the ropes, and when he hit the floor, Anna hopped off of the canvas. Hook jumped down and grabbed jack by his hair, but that’s when Anna came behind him and jabbed her elbow into the side of his neck, bringing him down to his knees.

You hopped down and raced over, grabbing her from behind and spinning her until she slammed into the barricades. Hook watched for a moment before he returned his attention to jack.

The two of them were back in the ring while you and Anna threw punches on the outside.

She was way more aggressive than you were, making you feel the urge to hit a little harder. You heard Hook shouting and you both looked up, finding that Jack had used Hook’s redrum against him, but Hook was trying to fight it, and failing.

You kicked Anna back and created enough space to slide under the ropes and break the hold. Hook fell to his knees and jack rose to his feet, walking you back towards the turnbuckles before you felt annas hands around your ankles and your face crashed into the canvas.

You lifted your head to see blood stains dripping from your mouth. Your tongue slid over your teeth to see if one was broken but all you tasted was metallic.

You glanced up to see Hook’s eyes on you. He was in the middle of getting jack ready for a German Suplex when he got distracted by the blood pouring from your busted lip.

He snapped back into it and slung jack over, then got back to his feet like he didn’t take a harsh landing himself and walked over to you.

Kneeling down, he scanned every inch of your face. This wasn’t planned and you both knew that. There was concern in his eyes that quickly turned into undoubted rage when jack grabbed Hook’s shoulders from behind and slammed him down to the canvas.

It was only then that he realized you were bleeding but by that time, it was too late for him.

Hook rose up quickly and threw his fists into jacks jaw. He stumbled back, falling against the turnbuckles and hook just didn’t stop.

Paul had to separate the two, and you when he did, Jack shouted out, “I didn’t know she was bleeding man!”

You got back up and saw the look on Anna’s face when she noticed all the blood leaving a trail from your lip to your chin. She didn’t mean it, and you weren’t mad. Accidents happened all the time, it’s a part of the business.

Hook’s eyes followed you as you walked around the ring back over to your corner, and tensions seemed to have died down when he saw that you were okay.

You held your hand out for him, knowing you and Anna were the ones finishing the match and he hesitated a little bit before he tagged you in.

“You alright?” He asked, and you nodded before you hopped over the top rope.

Anna lunged foward and you stepped to the side, letting her slam into the turnbuckle. Hook smirked at this, it was a classic move.

You grabbed her by the back of her head and slammed her down on her back, watching as she clutched her neck and rolled around, before you pulled her back up.

You knew what was next and had to remember what Hook said that night that you learned you’d be using his finisher to end this match.

Anna was a good bit taller but since you brought a six foot man to his knees, you knew size wasn’t an obstacle.

She turned her back in an attempt to create some distance and you quickly sprung forward and hopped on her. Jack immediately slid under the ropes but that’s when hook raced in and wrapped his arm under his jaw, immediately making him wobbly at the knees.

“Lock it in!” Hook shouted at you as he hopped up and wrapped his legs around jacks waist, effectively bringing him down to the canvas.

You dug your knees into Anna’s sides and reared back, holding on tight when your back hit the canvas and within only seconds, they both tapped out and Hook’s music bursted through the arena, though it wasn’t too easy to hear over the eruption of the crowd.

You kicked Anna’s limp body off of you and looked up to see Hook’s extended hand. You took it, helping you to your feet before he held both your hands in the air.

His eyes would’ve been scanning the arena but they were focused on the blood smearing your skin instead. He nodded towards the tunnels and you lead the way, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand, and feeling the sting of an open wound.

“That was a hell of a match right there boys” taz exclaimed from commentary.

“That it was, taz, those two know how to bring the energy to an arena” tony chipped in.

“I’ll tell you what, I wasn’t too thrilled about the new attitude from Y/N at first, but she’s toughened up a lot since her and Hook teamed up.” Excalibur adds.

“He’s coldhearted and she’s following in his footsteps I guess” tony chuckled

“No, I’ll tell you this much. I’ve had many, many conversations with the coldhearted handsome devil and with Y/N myself and those two simply have like minds, like-personalities and like-spirits. We should’ve seen this one coming boys, it was bound to happen.”

As soon as the arena was behind you, you felt his hand on your shoulder, turning you to face him. His eyes were trained on the laceration but you quickly covered it with your hand.

“It’s fine” you tell him. You wanted to continue feeling the rush that the big win gave you, wondering why he didn’t seem excited at all.

“I don’t care about the cut, I’m too pumped up right now” you tell him as you head through the tunnel with a little pep in your step.

“It’s deep.” He says as he catches up. “I think you should go make sure you don’t need stitches”

“It’s just a cut, it’s fine Tyler.”

Accidentally once again, you said his real name. Once again, he felt a little taken back by it, but tried not to show it.

“It’s bleeding a lot.” He keeps on, like it hasn’t stopped at all.

You wiped the blood with the back of your hand and he grabbed your wrist to show you the crimson covering your skin. “That is a lot.”

“I’ve had worse, seriously. I’ll just go wash my face and hold a gauze to it for a couple minutes and it’ll stop.”

Before he could object again, Skye and Willow were both racing up to you. Their arms engulfed you and you felt the giddiness arising within you again. You glanced over at Tyler who was watching the whole group hug with an evident, proud looking smile.

“You are the baddest fucking bitch” Skye says when they unwrap their arms. “That shit was so good I would watch it a hundred times!”

You couldn’t contain the smile breaking out, and that’s when Willow asks, “Does your mouth hurt? That was a nasty fall.”

“Yeah but she got up and kept fighting cause she’s a bad fucking bitch” Skye grins.

“It’s fine, I don’t even feel it I’m too happy right now” you say as you glance back over to see that Tyler was no longer there. Your eyes adverted all around but he had disappeared elsewhere.

“C’mon, we’re gonna get you cleaned up.” Willow grabs your hand and pulls you along. “Oh, and we’re going out tonight to celebrate you.”

————

You stumbled through the hotel doors at one in the morning, wobbly on your feet with willow and Skye by your side. You’d went out to a bar on the north side of town and downed way too many drinks that you could actually remember but you were still on a high from your match that you didn’t even realize how drunk you actually were.

You were all three laughing amongst yourselves about nothing in particular when you caught sight of Taz coming out of the hotel gym.

He had an amused smirk on his face when he approached the three of you.

“Ladies, looks like you had a good time tonight.” He said as he eyed all three of you before focusing on you specifically.

“You took a nasty fall, Y/N, my son was just telling me about how you were too stubborn to get it checked out.” He chucked. That’s when your eyes lingered over to the gym doors.

“Yeah but it’s fine” you slurred. “I was so pumped I didn’t even feel a thing.”

“Be careful about that adrenaline rush, it can sneak up on you sometimes” he said.

“Okay. Is he in there?” You pointed to the gym, stumbling a little bit.

“Tyler? Yeah, he always does his workouts at this ungodly hour.”

When you heard that, that’s all your attention was focused on. You looked over and Skye and Willow who already knew what you were thinking, but they didn’t say anything except, “Well see you tomorrow girl”

Taz eyed you before a smirk came to his face and he shook his head with a low laugh. “Alright, I’m off to my room. Tell my son he needs to stop calling me down to the gym at anytime past midnight and call his tagteam partner from now on instead.”

You nodded, a smile willingly spreading across your lips before you headed towards the gym. You opened the door to find him sitting on the weight bench staring down at his phone, and right as you saw that, your phone buzzed in your pocket.

He looked up at you, brows knitted but with amusement in his eyes.

“That’s weird, I just texted you. Do you teleport now?” He asked, then cringed to himself. That was stupid, why did he say that?

You chuckle nonetheless as you stumbled in, thinking you weren’t noticeably drunk but it was way more obvious than you thought.

“Have fun?” He asked as he watched you head over to the bench across from his and sit down.

“I did” you grinned sheepishly. “It’s been such a good day, actually.”

He nodded back, eyes lingering to the laceration on your bottom lip that was already healing.

“I just ran into your dad” you tell him, swaying side to side.

“Did you?” He smirks, and you wished your vision wasn’t so blurry.

“Yeah, said to tell you stop calling him down here so late and call your tag team partner instead” you hiccuped.

He dropped his head. “Of course he did” he said as he shook it. You watched as he ran his hand through his hair and fluffed it out.

“Hey” you catch his attention.

“Hey” he says back.

“What’s coming next?” You asked the question that’s been running through your mind for a couple of days leading up to the match. “You know, we won tonight. The rivalry doesn’t really have anywhere else to go. So what does that mean for us? Are we done being partners now that we’ve beat them? I mean I know you still have the FTW title to win back, and I can be there ringside for it… if you wanted”

His eyes dropped to your fingers fidgeting over your lap.

“I don’t really know. What do you want to happen?” He asked, knowing already that he has thought about this same exact thing and the idea of the two of you no longer being a duo didn’t sit right with him, but he hadn’t mentioned anything to Tony and Tony hasn’t said anything else either.

“I want things to stay like they are” you admitted with another hiccup. “We have fun, don’t we?”

He had to keep in mind that you were drunk and now probably wasn’t the best time to take anything you said to heart, but it was hard for him not to.

“Yeah, we do.” He nods.

“So let’s call Tony and tell him we’re going to keep doing this heel run together” you pulled out your phone and read the text that was floating on your screen from Tyler earlier.

“can you come to the gym, i want to talk to you about something”

“Wait, what did want to talk about?” You asked. He shifted around and straightened his posture as he rubbed his palms over his sweats.

Before he texted you that, he was having a talk with his dad about you. It wasn’t often that Tyler came to him for advice on women but he didn’t really know who else he could trust.

He admitted that even though he tried to fight against it, he’d fallen pretty hard for you and it was starting to eat away at him. He didn’t have the impression that you would feel the same way, even though Taz completely disagreed with him on that.

He told his son that he would bet a million bucks that the feeling was mutual, claiming that a connection like the two of you have is undeniable and if he’s ever listened to anything taz told him, it needed to be that.

“You two remind me of myself and your mother when we were young” he recalls his dad saying. “We were too stubborn to admit we had feelings until we got drunk one night and it all spilled out”

“Tyler?” Your voice broke him out of his own thoughts. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

He never had to have a conversation like this before. He never really wanted anyone for more than just a fun night before. His adams apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly and tried to keep his nerves under control.

“I- uh-“ he rubbed the back of his neck as he inhaled deeply. Letting it all out in a quick huff.

“I been thinking a lot about me and you, and I don’t want to stop what we’ve been doing, but I do want to start doing more” he danced around the confession and you couldn’t quite piece it together.

“Like… how?” You asked, a little lost.

“I want to be with you.” He blurted, feeling his cheeks burn the minute the words flew from his mouth. His eyes scanned your face, studying it, searching for a reaction but you were blank faced and for once he couldn’t read you.

“You want to be with me? Like, be with me?” You were sure you weren’t hearing him right. Maybe everyone else thought you and Tyler were a thing but you never thought it was actually going to be an option.

“Yes, I do” he boldly stated, holding his eyes on you, watching as all the conversations you, Willow and Skye had over the last couple of weeks flashed through your mind and you couldn’t believe they were right the entire time.

“But if you don’t feel the same way, it’s okay, I’ll still do the heel run with you and we can forget I ever said anything.” He lowly muttered, waiting for what felt like an eternity for you to say anything back.

“Or if you’re already into someone else, like Ricky or something-“

“I’m not” you blurted out. “I’m not into anyone else.”

You couldn’t ignore the way your heart was beginning to race and your skin felt like it was engulfed in a million small fires. You stared back at him, your eyes lingering to his lips when his tongue slid over them.

A bunch of feelings you’d suppressed out of sheer denial suddenly came rushing in and it was now impossible to force them back again. All the tensions between the two of you, the anger and the confusion over the last few weeks was quickly diminished by an even stronger feeling of pure anticipation and desire.

The space between the two of you was too much and it was if Tyler had that same thought when he stood up from the weight bench and extended his hand. You took it, and he helped you to your feet.

You were unsure what to do with your hands when he let go but it became easy to find a place for them to rest on his waist when his finger curled beneath your chin, angling your head up, lips would’ve been brushing against each other if you were just a little taller.

His eyes were soft and a sprinkle of hazel appeared against the dark brown, and you realized you never noticed that before now.

He took in every inch of your face with a slow and meaningful gaze before an easy smile spread across his lips and a dimple soon followed.

You felt butterflies erupt in your stomach and spread through your whole body when he leaned in. You rose to you tip toes and your lips met gently, slowly, and tenderly. The way they fit like two pieces of a puzzle, moving in sync and pure harmony had your head spinning.

The taste of mint lingered on your tongue long after his lips were no longer on yours and you didn’t want it to vanish anytime soon.

He looked at you with eyes of adoration, his fingers slipping from your chin and pulling you into his chest. You buried your face into the fabric of his t-shirt, taking in the scent of cologne that you recognized from his hoodie you never gave back to him, and that’s when you remembered it.

“I still have your hoodie.” You chuckled, feeling his chest rise and fall with a low chuckle of his own.

“Keep it. It’s yours. It’s been yours since I gave it to you.”

———-

From that night in the hotel room gym on, you and Tyler were always together at the arena and outside of it. Your heel run was going strong. You were an undefeated tagteam that nobody wanted to step in the ring with.

After two weeks of keeping your love life on the low, he decided he wanted everyone to know. You were walking back from another successful match, standing on the stage when he grabbed your hand and spun you to him, placing a kiss to your lips that made the whole arena erupt in screams and chants of your conjoined names the fans came up with.

“Bet nobody saw that coming” Tony sarcastically remarked from commentary. “AEW’s modern day Bonnie and Clyde”

“Looks like you need to set an extra plate at the table when the holidays roll around, Taz.”

“I’ll gladly do that my friend.” Taz grinned as he watched you and hook exit through the tunnel.

“We’ve never seen the coldhearted handsome devil show any sort of emotion whatsoever… except with her!” Excalibur exclaims.

“Guess he’s not so coldhearted after all” Tony chips in.

“Oh no, he’s coldhearted son, but not towards her. Everyone else including myself gets the cold shoulder from my man, but she’s something special to him.”

Tyler walked you to the locker room and leaned against the wall. A soft smile stays on his face whenever the cameras aren’t around now.

“You looked gorgeous slamming Britt’s head into the canvas.” He taunts, earning a laugh from you.

“Thanks, I didn’t really try” you bantered back.

“Never have to.” He grins as he leans in and brushes his lips against yours before they fully connect.

“Everyone knows now” he says when you pull apart.

“They probably already did. We’ve been caught making out a lot” you remind him, earning that dimple you love so much to appear.

“True. I’m glad we don’t have to hide it anymore. I can officially call you mine.” He grins.

You place another gentle kiss to his lips before you whisper against them, “I’ve been yours this whole time”

#hook aew #aew hook #hook imagine #tyler senerchia #hook nation rise #hook x reader #hook #send hook #aew hook angst #aew hook fluff #aew hook fanfic #aew hook imagine

[wasabidottie]

SO. Schlatt x really girly and doll like fem reader . She only wears any shades of pink and white ! With bows and cute skirts, schlatt calls her little lamb, really like mushy romantic stuff! (Nsfw is okay if yiu do that :3!)

a touch of pink (Jschlatt)

a/n: ahh thank you sm for the request, i hope i did it justice :)

Schlatt had never been one for frilly, pink, or cute things. His life had been dominated by bold statements, brashness, and the relentless pursuit of his goals. But then, you had entered his life, a whirlwind of all things soft, delicate, and feminine.

You were a vision in pink and white, your wardrobe filled with an array of pastel shades, cute bows, and twirly skirts. Schlatt had affectionately dubbed you his "little lamb," a nickname that had stuck and was used far more often than your real name.

After you and Schlatt had decided to move in together, it became apparent that the two of you were polar opposites when it came to interior design. His home was plain and functional, a stark contrast to your love for all things cute and colorful. But you had a way of bringing your unique style into his life without overwhelming it.

Hints of your personal style started to appear throughout his house. A light pink throw blanket draped over the back of the couch, fluffy white pillows with cute designs found their way onto the living room chairs, and a dainty vase of fresh flowers adorned the dining table. You'd even convinced Schlatt to paint a wall in the bedroom a soft, rosy shade of pink.

Schlatt's fans couldn't help but notice the changes in his home. They often poked fun at the addition of pink, the plush cushions, and the occasional delicate trinket. But Schlatt didn't give a damn about their opinions. To him, the hints of your style were a reflection of your presence in his life, and he cherished every one of them.

He loved the feeling of coming home to a space that you had both created. Your personal touches transformed the stark environment into a cozy, inviting haven. And despite his tough, no-nonsense persona, Schlatt couldn't help but be smitten by the way your style had woven itself into his life.

Schlatt sat on the couch, engaged in a casual conversation with his friend over the phone. The topic veered towards the changes in his home, and his friend asked with a chuckle, "Does all that pink stuff ever annoy you?"

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, you had been arranging some of your knickknacks, contemplating whether to rearrange them for the umpteenth time. Your ears caught Schlatt's conversation from the other room, but only snippets. The words "pink stuff" and "annoy you" struck a chord, causing your heart to race.

Your mind leaped to conclusions, misunderstanding the context entirely. You thought Schlatt was talking about your girly decor and how it might annoy him. The thought of imposing your personal style on him and potentially irritating him flooded your mind.

With tears brimming in your eyes, you hastily started removing the cutesy decorations, your heart heavy with self-blame and guilt for what you perceived as forcing your taste on Schlatt. The rosy wall, which had been a testament to your shared compromise, became a target for repainting in your mind.

As you rearranged the room, placing the decorations in a pile, your tears fell freely. You felt selfish for wanting to express your personality in the space you shared with Schlatt, believing you had overstepped, misunderstanding his feelings towards the decor.

Unbeknownst to you, Schlatt had finished his call and was now looking for you. He followed the trail of removed decor items, leading him to the bedroom, where he found you on the floor, surrounded by your treasured knickknacks, your cheeks stained with tears.

"Hey, what's going on, little lamb?" Schlatt's voice was soft and filled with concern as he crouched down beside you, his arms instinctively reaching out to comfort you.

You looked up, eyes red and puffy, and tried to explain through your sobs. "I-I'm sorry, Schlatt. I heard you talk...I thought you didn't like the decorations, so I was removing them. I'll repaint the wall, I didn't mean to impose this girly stuff on you."

Schlatt's heart sank as he realized the misunderstanding. He wrapped his arms around you, holding you close as you cried. "Hey, hey, no, no, it's not what you think. I love the way you've made this place feel like home. It's you, it's us. I'm sorry, I should've been clearer. I love what you've done with the place, it's perfect because it's yours."

He gently wiped away your tears, looking into your eyes with sincerity. "I love your style, I love you. You're not forcing anything on me, you're making this house feel like our home, together."

He held you until your tears subsided, reassuring you with words of affection and promises that your personal touch was more than welcome. In the end, the misunderstanding only strengthened the bond between you and Schlatt, reinforcing the understanding and love you shared. He led you to the living room, guiding you to the comfortable couch, ensuring you were seated before settling in beside you. The soft light from the evening sky peeked through the window, casting a gentle glow into the room as the rain outside continued to pitter-patter against the glass.

"Hey," he murmured, his voice a soothing melody, "come here." He tucked you against his chest, your head resting just beneath his chin, feeling the rise and fall of his breath in a comforting rhythm. He wrapped his arms securely around you, offering solace and warmth, his fingers tracing calming circles on your back.

You snuggled into the safety of his embrace, feeling his heartbeat against your cheek, the familiar sound reassuring and comforting. The lingering warmth of his arms around you was like a protective shield, a cocoon of affection that encased you both.

Schlatt buried his face in the crook of your neck, planting gentle kisses on your skin. "I love you, little lamb," he whispered, the endearment rolling off his tongue in a tender caress. "I'm sorry if I made you upset. I'm not great at expressing myself sometimes, but I adore everything you bring into our home."

You lifted your head, meeting his gaze. His eyes were soft, filled with a sincerity that made your heart flutter. "I love you too, Schlatt. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's alright. I'm the lucky one here," he replied, his thumb tracing gentle patterns on the back of your hand. "You make everything better. You make me better."

The two of you sat together, wrapped in each other's embrace, the rain adding its soothing background music. Schlatt's arms around you were a sanctuary, a safe place that felt like home. You could feel the love he held for you in the way he held you close, in the tender way he kissed your forehead.

"I don't usually show this side of me to anyone, you know," Schlatt remarked, his voice laced with a hint of vulnerability. "But you... you're different. You bring out this side of me."

A feeling of contentment washed over you. You nestled into his chest, feeling the warmth of his love enveloping you, as the world outside faded away. In that moment, you knew that you were both each other's safe harbor, a haven of love and understanding. The misunderstandings had only strengthened your bond, reinforcing the affection and commitment you held for each other.

As you basked in the comfort of each other's arms, you felt a sense of tranquility and belonging. This was your love, your life, and it was just as beautiful as the pastel hues you adored. In this shared embrace, with the rain pouring outside, you knew that there was nowhere else you'd rather be.

#jschlatt x reader #schlatt x reader #chuckle sammy #jschlatt x you #schlatt #jschlatt #schlatt x you #chuckle sandwich x reader #Pink pink pink #Girls girls girls #Glitter glitter glitter #Twirls twirls twirls #sry idk

[grandlinedreams]

You probably hear this a lot, but your writing is amazing. I’ve spent hours just going through your works and they all tug at my heart. Is it possible to request a lax x reader where he realizes he’s been overworking the reader a bit to much. Like, asking her to do something while she’s already working on something else he asked for. And maybe poor reader gets frustrated but tries to hide it.

Hiya!! Thank-you so much, it really does mean a lot to me that people enjoy my rambling hehe ㅡ but also absolutely, I can do that!! I hope that this is to your liking bb!!

He doesn't mean to, you know he doesn't.

But you're still a human, and there's only so much that you can do at a time ㅡ and Law tends to forget it. Sure, he delegates tasks to the others, but you seem to be the one he entrusts more difficult ones to and you're honored, truly ㅡ you just wish it weren't so much all at once.

Case in point, he's sent you out into the main town of this island for supplies, both crew-related and not, the list varying wildly from pantry staples to medical supplies.

You don't mind, you tell yourself firmly. After all, he's done so much for you ㅡ the least you can do is take on whatever he asks of you without complaint.

It's a whirlwind of activity as you flit from place to place, amassing a pile of neatly wrapped packages, boxes, and brown paper bags that only seems to grow with every stop. (How you're going to get all of this back to the Polar Tang is beyond you, you have no nifty powers like your Captain.)

Your muscles ache by the time you find a second to rest, studying the remaining items on the list and eyeing the sack full of berries that Law had sent you out with. You're almost done ㅡ and you smile to yourself, pride tempered by the abrupt growl of your stomach. Right ㅡ you haven't eaten yet today.

"I'm making good time," you mumble to yourself, "so I could grab lunch..."

Neatly folding the list, you tuck it into your pocket along with the money for said items, retrieving your own pouch of personal coin and set off to find something to eat.

The closest place ends up being a little shop with a refrigerated display case showing off various sandwiches and salads, along with neat rows of carefully shaped onigiri. Your expression lights up.

"Could I get two of the grilled salmon onigiri, please?" Given that he'd been in the middle of studying when he sent you off, you have no doubts that Law has yet to eat anything either ㅡ and since you're using your own money, he has no room to complain, either.

It's as you're watching your items be wrapped up that you become aware of the low 'purururu' from your pocket, rummaging to retrieve the tiny transponder snail. It's made in your Captain's likeness, from the tiny speckled cap to the shadows under its eyes.

Hurriedly handing the waiting cashier the berri needed, your attention shifts back to the snail as you answer it. "Captain?"

"[Name]," Law answers, "have you finished getting supplies?"

"Well no, Iㅡ"

"Good, I need you to add a couple more things." You bite back a groan of weary annoyance. Of course there's more. It takes a second of fussing to find the list, mouthing a "thank-you" when you're handed a pen to scribble it down. "Have you got it?"

"Yes, Captain." There's the click on the other line, and you huff. "Wouldn't kill him to say 'thank-you'..."

Food stacked as carefully as you can on the pile of purchases, you set off to resume retrieving the rest of the (now longer) list.

"Do you need help with that?" Concerned, the last store owner watches as you struggle to lift the massive pile, parcels at the top wobbling.

"No, I've got it. Thank-you though," you answer, trying to keep the strain out of your voice as you stagger off in the direction of the Polar Tang, muscles straining under the weight.

How you manage to get everything onto the submersible, you don't know ㅡ only that your body aches something fierce by the time you've hauled the last armful onto the deck.

Vision obscured by the boxes in your arms, you jolt as your boot hits the corner of a box and makes you scramble to correct your balance.

"Gotcha!" Fingers snag in the back of your shirt to keep you from falling over, but there's nothing to be done about the sway of the items on top ㅡ the food you'd picked up for yourself and Law ㅡ and you watch as your food topples from it and busts open on the deck.

Wonderful.

"You good?" Penguin peers at your face, finding you staring silently at the mess of food on the floor. Law's onigiri, at the very least, remain neatly wrapped on the stack of boxes. "It's okay, we can clean it upㅡ"

"[Name]." Both you and Penguin look up to find Law standing by the door, taking in the stacks of supplies before he continues. "I needㅡ"

Need. Need, need, need ㅡ frustration mixes with exhaustion in the way you tremble, snatching the onigiri from the pile and striding towards Law.

"All due respect, Captain," you say flatly, shoving the food into his hands, "but either ask someone else, or do it yourself."

And then you're gone, trying not to stomp your way to the bunkhouse. Law turns, startled by the way you've talked to him, the thinly veiled insubordination ㅡ and then down to the pair of onigiri, smell of grilled fish reaching his nose.

"To be fair," Penguin pipes up, "you've been running [Name] pretty ragged lately. They're usually the last one to go to bed and the first one up, so maybe...go a little easier on them?"

Law frowns. Has he been asking too much of you as of late? You've never complained, simply offered a "yes Captain" and continued on. Tasks got done, things completed. But then again, you shouldn't have to complain for him to know it's too much for one person to handle.

It's guilt that has him turning to head for the bunkhouse, knocking tentatively before he opens the door and steps in.

Your back is to him, blanket tugged up around your ears, and he can see you tense as he approaches. "If you're coming to tell me my punishment for talking back," you say, "I'll accept it."

You sound so tired, and it makes Law feel even worse for continuing to add things to your seemingly never ending task list. "I'm not going to punish you," he says. "If anything, I think I'm the one who deserves punishment for not noticing how hard I've been working you."

"I don't mind." You still won't look at him. "It's just a lot to handle at times."

"I know." Law plays with the wrapping of the onigiri. "And I apologize. I rely on you for a lot, and I appreciate what you do for me, for this crew." He pauses. "I also apologize for not saying that enough."

You're quiet for several long moments before you roll over to look at him. "I forgive you."

A small smile tugs at Law's lips. "Good," he says, "but I need you to do one more thing for me." You frown as you sit up, eyeing him warily before he offers you one of the onigiri. "Eat with me?"

You blink, then take it from his hand and meet his gaze, an answering smile curving your own lips. "Of course, Captain."

#ㅡmine. #one piece x reader #one piece scenario #law x reader #trafalgar law x reader #ㅡanswered. #anonymous

[delirious-donna]

They Call Him The Reaper [Hanma Shuji]

an: after many discussions on discord with @unknownspecies over Shuji and especially soft Shuji in the past few days, this idea was born. A huge thanks to Zoya for helping a ton with the inspiration and characterisation.

pairing: Hanma Shuji x female reader

warnings: SFW, suggestive at best but only in one section, canon level violence mentioned, fluff, photographer timeline Shuji, soft Shuji, self-indulgence

Masterlist

They call him the Reaper.

A title bestowed upon him when he was only an adolescent. A delinquent with seemingly no moral compass, little compassion and a desire to watch the world burn, but only after being the one to strike the match. Nothing but a thug with no qualms about being used by others to enact their worst ideations.

Even now, in his mid-thirties, the namesake remains.

Sure, he isn’t the most upstanding citizen, but he is a far cry from those youthful years when he would pull the wings off insects just to watch them writhe. He found his passion, and it wasn’t taking orders without question. Perhaps those years helped him capture the world in a way that others couldn’t, a unique take on the subject of his photographs that no one but he could draw out because he didn’t see the world like anyone else. 

His studio was full of his favourite shots, landscapes blown up to cover large sections of the walls with small intimate photos scattered around in what seemed like a haphazard way when, in fact, there was a logic and pattern that only made sense to him. Photos taken with a polarizing filter caught your eye amongst the raw scenes on display. Natural sunsets stood out against a sea of cityscapes with twinkling lights, the pure magic of the sun outshining any number of neon lights that covered the glittering buildings.

It was safe to say that he had an eye for photography, and his fully booked calendar only highlighted that fact. However, he hadn’t entirely turned away from his criminal past. He would still lend out favours to those he called friends and they weren’t many. Those that did make the exclusive list were some of the most powerful men in the entire country and the majority of their wealth was stained in crimson, not that he cared.

An enforcer, a dangerous presence or sometimes the kindling to spark the flames of a dispute that had taken too long to reach this point. He played the role well, and it would be a lie to say he didn’t enjoy it when he was called upon. His fingers itched for a good fight often, and whilst he could now channel that energy in other, less violent ways, sometimes nothing could quell the bloodlust than a brawl where his knuckles split wide and smears of his opponent's blood covered his golden-hued skin.

Of course, he was still the Reaper. To be feared simply from how he smiled when he entered a room. It didn’t matter who occupied it or how high up the tree they might be, his smile was crazed, a warning and a threat rolled into one. The wolf called in when things were growing arms and legs, when attention was being drawn and a conclusion was needed sooner rather than later.

One flash of his perfectly white and deadly sharp teeth was enough to silence a room and he got off on that feeling. A glance at the stark black ink decorating the backs of his hands was more than ample to strike fear into the most hardened criminals. They all knew the atrocities those hands had committed, the blood that had long been washed away but still evident on the slender fingers by reputation alone.

An animal. A hired thug. A monster.

Except, he wasn’t those things, at least, not to you. He was gentle, a good listener and a whirlwind of his own making. Not always, and he had his moments when he was far from gentle, but you loved those times nearly as much as you coveted the soft times.

He liked the sound of rainstorms and would pull you to bed simply to lay in his arms and talk whilst the heavy thud of raindrops pelted against the roof and lashed the windows. He was a curious creature and often questioned you over things that seemed trivial but somehow were important to him. What had you eaten for lunch in middle school? What had you wanted to be when you were a kid? Which was your favourite ice cream flavour? 

You’d laugh and press your hand against his shoulder in a playful shove, he couldn’t seriously want to know those things but he truly did. His nose rubbed into your hair as warm laughter met your ear, the arm around your waist tightening until you yielded and gifted him the answers he sought. Did he remember them? You weren’t sure and you didn’t test him on it, it was enough that he had asked in the first place.

The man called the Reaper thought about you and not just when he needed something from you. It had taken some time to sink in but the evidence was plain to see as the little trinkets grew on your vanity. He had an uncanny ability to sense you weren’t in the best of moods, perhaps it was a hard week at work or your monthly cycle kicking your ass. It didn’t matter the reason, simply that in these instances he would appear on your doorstep with that wicked grin curving his lips and a small bag or box in hand. It was never a random item either, always something you had previously spoken about like the hobbies and interests he teased you over or an item you had lingered at whilst out together.

Someone considered a monster couldn’t be that sweet, but he was. Perfect he was not but soft, measured when it counted and open with his affection. He didn’t shy away from twining his fingers with yours, thumb stroking over your knuckles while you swung your joined hands happily. What a funny pair you made when out walking, but he didn’t mind one jot when you had a spring in your step or you pulled him to stop over something you had spied. Maybe you couldn’t see the secret smile that he wore only for you but the ghost of it caught your eye now and then.

For everything that made him hard, dominating and the master of his universe, there was a parallel to be drawn. All you had to do was look within the box tucked away beneath his bed to know that to you, he was no monster to be feared. Inside a frayed box that had been opened and closed so many times that the stiff cardboard was now peeling in places, scuffed and overused, was a thick stack of photos. Polaroids and glossy photos sat in a jumble and the subject of every single one… you.

Some only showed the curve of your shoulder as the morning sun streamed through a bedroom window to bounce off your skin and the rumpled white sheets. Others were candid shots that you remembered fondly. Being chased around your apartment whilst he snapped photos that you tried playfully to avoid. Bright smiles and splayed fingers across the lens blurred the surroundings but did nothing to dampen the happiness they exuded. You’d blush at the intimate ones carefully thumbed by long fingers. Hair spread out on pillows like a halo, features twisted in bliss and uncaring for the camera poised above you. 

Yes, there were lewd images of the two of your bodies joined and the decadent mess such a joining resulted in. Streaks of saliva on heated flesh, a pink tongue painted in creamy white, a hand painted with ‘punishment’ wrapped around an eager throat and other things that made you blush to even think of. 

He even kept the photos you had taken, the ones from a lazy Sunday morning when you had grabbed his camera and snapped away at his tousled hair and carefree expression. Capturing the curls of smoke that rose from one of his morning cigarettes and asking him to try and blow smoke rings just to amuse you. The ones where you kissed his cheek and peeked at the camera with a wink and others where you made stupid faces together until you couldn’t breathe from the laughter.

Despite it all, the violence he was capable of and the times he tested your patience and sanity to the very limit, he had stolen your attention but you had gifted him your love.

They called him the Reaper, but you called him Hanma Shuji.

#delirious writes #hanma shuji #hanma x reader #hanma shuji x reader #hanma shuji fluff #soft shuji #shuji x reader

[halcyonwrld]

— FAIRYTALE ENDINGS

PAIRING. Lisa Manoban x Reader

After finding a cherished memento, you begin to think of the past, the present, and where your future lies with your girlfriend. (0.9K)

TAGS. childhoodbesties-to-lovers!au, insecurity, toothrotting fluff

Being with Lisa is the best thing that could’ve happened to you in life.

You two are like magnets; despite being so polar in relation to each other, you couldn't help but attract. If she was the sun, you were the moon. If she were flowers, you'd be a lone breeze. If she was her, and you were always like this, there shouldn't have been a fairytale ending in the cards.

There probably shouldn’t have even been a story to begin with.

But here you both are. Together for nearly a year now, going steady.

Proof of this is the polaroid you take into your hands, something you’ve found on the floor due to the insistent autumn breeze.

You brush away dust with the pad of your thumb and scan the row of photos.  This day was sweet. Taken on your third date. You went to a carnival just on the edge of town. The Ferris Wheel, the gimmick games, the prizes--- it was perfect. Everything that your younger self would've never been brave enough to experience alone.

Something you could hardly face then, as you left early after swarms of people began to overwhelm you. 

Lisa's cheek lands underneath your thumb. Her smile forever immortalized.

(You were disappointed in yourself that day, mad you’d ruined the date before it truly had a chance to really start off. But Lisa never blamed you. Never got upset. Instead, she got you dinner, took the scenic route back home to cruise, and sang her affection for you to the stars.)

Speak of the devil —or in this case, your angel— and she shall appear; Lisa smoothly wraps her arms around you from behind with a hum, peeking over your shoulder.

She gasps, and you watch in the vanity how she practically lights up the room.

“Oh my gosh, I forgot about these, this night was so fun…” A light touch on your wrist, fingers running over the frayed friendship bracelet on it—the one she made all those years ago— as if trying to remind you of your history together.

“Can I put this in the back of my phone case, please?” she begs, giving you puppy eyes like you’ve ever had the heart to deny her of anything.

You pull away to hand it to her, “You know I don’t mind.”

Lisa’s smile widens impossibly. The corners of her eyes crinkle with her hardly constrained enthusiasm.

It’s only after she realizes her pockets are empty— does she give you a swift peck on the cheek before scampering out of the room.

Heat flushes you from the neck up. You sit on the unmade bed, dazed with a muted rush of tenderness. How does she still manage to make you feel so lovesick way after all of these years?

You’ve always been content with fading into the background of people’s lives. Like a side character. Nothing more than a ghost in your own life as well— but Lisa has never once left you on the back burner. Never once made you feel like a second option. You don’t know what you did to deserve her unwavering devotion, but it’s always overflowing, and all you know how to do is take.

Lisa zooms back into the room muttering to herself, pulling you out of your reverie. Her phone is still missing. You catch a dismayed: why does this always happen, and something like: there’s only so many places you can put your phone Lalisa and then, an annoyed: well it must really be downstairs if it’s not up here because—

You catch her by the wrist before she can move too far and spin herself into a whirlwind. With a placating smile, you hand her the phone that was lost under the heap of ruffled blankets behind you.

“Oh… thank you,” she breathes, exasperated, appreciative.

You’re hardly expecting the way she bends and kisses your forehead, a smile in her voice as she murmurs, “My savior.”

Savior. Maybe that’s what you are for her. Have always been. The one to pull her back in when it all gets too much. You don’t like the odds with your luck, but deep down, you hope it’s somewhat true. Pray it’ll continue to be enough for someone as bright as her. Someone who would be perfectly fine without you.

Lisa plops down at your side, cracks open her phone case, then abruptly pauses, fingers twitching. She gives you one of those weird Lisa looks. The ones you can’t read. Then she places a comforting hand on your thigh. You don’t know what has prompted this; your silence never feels unusual to you. Just that same old tired thing. But Lisa just has a “sixth sense for these things”, her phrasing, not yours.

“You okay?” she asks, voice softened by delicate worry.

Your heart fawns over with that same tenderness from earlier, and —spurred on by a sudden surge of adoration— you lean forward and kiss her square on the cheek. You pull back with a smile,

“I’m always good when I’m with you.”

It feels as cheesy as it sounds. Feels stupid. Wildly vulnerable. Too loud and too unlike you and too this and too that, but it’s everything. What the two of you have formed— and will continue to no matter the hurdles along the way, that’s what matters. What you both will continue to make matter. That’s why you’re here, sitting together in bed together on a quiet November afternoon when you could be anywhere else, with anyone else.

And, there's no ending sweet enough to compare with the way Lisa flusters under your affection, burning brighter than any star you've ever seen.

#blackpink x reader #blackpink imagines #blackpink fanfic #lisa manoban x reader #lisa imagines #kpop x reader #kpop imagines #gg x reader #gg imagines #lisa x reader #halcyonfics

[thebearer]

I love your writing sm I look forward to seeing your fics/blurbs everyday, hope all is well in school.

Imagine willow and teddy as teens what would their dynamic be like?? Would they argue a lot, would teddy be the protective older sister over her in high school.

thank you!!! that is so sweet ahhh!! and yes school is good so far lol. just started but hope the semester is good.

willow and teddy have such differing personalities that i think they'd either vibe entirely or butt heads so bad. like it depends on the day and the mood. some days it's peaceful and you and carm don't have to parent too much, other times... it's like they're possessed.

usually it's teddy who comes in at drama on level ten and willow is just like ... really lol?

it's usually the usual "that's my shirt" "no it's not" and then it's just insane from there. you'll just be chilling and it's like the screech of "mom!" that has you startled and running only to see them both bitching about a shirt lol.

then they'll be fine after a while. it's a whirlwind to you lol.

in school, when they're in school together, willow takes more after carmen. quieter and keeps to herself, whereas teddy is more outgoing- a lot more. it's like polar opposites lol.

sometimes, it can make willow a target bc she'd just easier bc she's quiet and won't necessarily pop back. teddy will though. rest assured. esp when willow's a freshman and teddy's a senior and one of the weird older senior guys keeps trying to go for her and makes her uncomfortable. teddy has to embarrass him a little bit in front of everyone to get him to stop. she can make fun of willow, but no one else can ok? lol.

#thebearer #carmen berzatto #dad!carmen berzatto x mom!reader #dad!carmen berzatto #willow natalia berzatto #dorothea “teddy” berzatto #carmen berzatto x reader #bearblahs #carmen berzatto fluff #the bear #carmy berzatto x reader

[incorrect-skylanders-quotes]

Master Eon: Before we start letting everyone in, one last check on everything. Decorations?

Hugo: Secure, reinforced, and impossible to tangle.

Master Eon: Good, the last thing we need is another High Five incident. Refreshments?

Hugo: Most of it's here already, Finn's still on his way with his contributions.

Master Eon: As long as he arrives, he makes some excellent enchiladas. Music?

Hugo: Picked it all out personally! Here, take a listen!

Master Eon:

Hugo:

Hugo: I... probably should've listened to the whole thing...I, uh...I need to make a quick adjustment.

(Hugo begins to frantically change the songs on his playlist)

Master Eon: [sigh] Well, hopefully the party turns out better than last year.

——

Cynder: Wow, Everyone's outdone themselves this year, the Academy looks amazing!

Spyro: Yeah, but it's not just festive decorations and music that makes a holiday great.

Cynder: And what would make it great?

Spyro: Spending it with the greatest dragon you know?

Cynder: [laugh] I guess that would.

Spyro: (pulls Cynder close with his wing) Shall we find somewhere less crowded?

Cynder: I suppose we shall.

(Stealth Elf watches the two head off, following after them)

----

Sonic Boom: Whirlwind! I see you're trying a new look.

Polar Whirlwind: Yeah, I keep forgetting this happens every winter. Not sure why. It does have its uses though.

Sonic Boom: Really? Like what?

Lightning Rod: Whirlwind! Did you carve "Lightning Rod is a big stupid poopoohead" into my custom-made Christmas statue again?! Where are you?!

Polar Whirlwind: (digging into the snow) If he asks, I was never here.

----

Golden Queen: Ugh, Chompy Mage, what are you wearing?!

Jingle Bell Chompy Mage: I am wearing a Santa outfit like I was told to! Yohoho, I look festive!

Chompy Puppet: You sure do, Chompy Mage!

Jingle Bell Chompy Mage: Aww, thank you Chompy Puppet!

Golden Queen: You look like you kidnap children, change into your regular garb at once!

Golden Queen: ...And they called us evil, whoever made him dress like that is the true criminal!

----

(Stealth Elf is peeking through a window)

Eruptor: Hey Elfy, what're you-

(Stealth Elf covers Eruptor's mouth and drags him down)

Stealth Elf: Shhh, They'll hear!

Eruptor: Who?

Stealth Elf: (pointing at Spyro and Cynder) Them!

Stealth Elf: I hung a sprig of mistletoe in the Library, and I'm waiting for both of them to notice and kiss!

Eruptor: Are they even dating?

Stealth Elf: Yes! No, it's... [sigh] that's exactly why I'm doing this! No one here knows what in Skylands is up with those two, and they refuse to clarify! Are they dating? Platonic? Platonic with benefits? None of us can figure it out!

Stealth Elf: Well, not today! I'm getting to the bottom of this once and for all!

Eruptor: ...okay. I guess I'll leave you to it. (backs away cautiously)

----

Wolfgang: Hugo, mate, we gotta ask ya something.

Hugo: About what?

Echo: It's the music. I get it technically counts as something Christmas-y, but "Broccoli Guy and Chill Bill's Cool-iflower Festivity Mixtape" is still really weird for a party playlist.

Radio: 🎶Tis the season to be Troll-y, falalalala lalalala-🎶

Hugo: I was short on time! I had no better choices!

Wolfgang: Really? Aren't there thousands of Christmas songs out there?

Echo: And we have the Skaletones on speed-dial, couldn't get them?

Hugo: (storming off) Well, if you're not satisfied with my choices, then why don't you pick the songs out!

(Hugo storms off, leaving Echo and Wolfgang with the stereo system)

Wolfgang: ...I have a really horrible idea. (whispers it into Echo's ear)

Echo: That's awful. Let's do it!

----

Mags: Glumshanks! Glad you could make it!

Glumshanks: Thanks for the invitation. I'm actually kind of looking forward to this.

Mags: You better! This party's been a par-tic-ularly fantabulous jig!

Boomer: Mags, have you seen the fireworks? Buzz and Cali won't let us set them off and someone hid my secret stash!

Boomer: Oh hey, aren't you Kaos' lapdog?

Glumshanks: Not for tonight, at least until 8:30. Though, I'm not exactly sure what to do here.

Boomer: Well, worry not my fellow troll! C'mon, let's find some fireworks and set them off!

Glumshanks: I- that sounds kind of fun, I guess. Sure, why not!

----

Holiday Wash Buckler: (staring at his watch) Where the barnacles is Chompy Mage? He's late for our matching Santa outfit photoshoot!

Merry Snap Shot: Beats me, guess he forgot.

Jolly Bumble Blast: I hope not! The bees aren't too happy about looking like flying peppermints, let's just start without him!

Chompy Mage: I am here! Sorry for being late!

Merry Snap Shot: Mate, where's your Santa dress? Didya forget about the theme?

Chompy Mage: Golden Queen told me to not wear it, she also said something about kidnapping infants and how you all should be imprisoned!

Merry Snap Shot: You gotta be joking, after all this time, she's back to evil?! And on Christmas too?!

Jolly Bumble Blast: So...that's a no on the Santa photos?

Merry Snap Shot: (pulling out his Traptanium Bow) 'Fraid not, Skylander duties come first. Now, let's have a little chat with Goldie...

----

Missile-Tow Dive-Clops: Lob-Star, nice colors!

Winterfest Lob-Star: As to you, Dive-Clops. It appears that we match.

Missile-Tow Dive-Clops: Hey, we kinda do! Y'know, it's funny, me and Eye-Brawl were gonna do something like this, but when the headless giant heard he'd have to wear red and white, he ran off! We're still looking for him...

(meanwhile)

Eye-Brawl: For the love of the Ancients, it is just one day! I didn't complain when I wore that pumpkin for Halloween!

Headless Giant: (refuses in headless silence)

Eye-Brawl: You are so impossible!

----

Smolderdash: (walking past some snowmen) Roller Brawl? Where are you? You told me to meet you here.

Snowler Brawl: (jumping out of a snowman) Boo!

Smolderdash: (falling backward) Gah!

Snowler Brawl: [laughing] Gotcha! I saw the snowmen and I couldn't resist!

Snow-Brite Stormblade: (popping out of the Christmas tree) Ooh, you were hiding in random Christmas stuff too?

Dec-Ember: (climbing down from the hanging lights) I thought I was the only one doing so.

Smolderdash: W-wha...why were you all...[sigh] nevermind.

----

Tree Rex: Looks like the next song's coming up. Wonder what'll it be?

(Some very familiar music plays)

Terrafin: By the Ancients, not these! I thought we got rid of all the copies!

Flynn: Hey, Christmas 4 Bad Guyz 2 is a bop! Especially since I was a part of it!

(Echo and Wolfgang start laughing as Terrafin and Flynn start arguing)

----

(Spyro and Cynder are cuddling together in the Library, laying on a sofa with blankets)

Spyro: So, when should we rejoin the festivities?

Cynder: Mmm, I think we could wait a couple more minutes.

Stealth Elf: (thinking to herself) Come on, come on, come on, kiss, or don't! Just look at the dang mistletoe!

Cynder: Spyro? I never get to say this to you a lot, but... I-

(Cynder is interrupted by a loud explosion of fireworks)

Spyro: ...Huh. Guess Boomer found the fireworks after all. What were you going to say, Cynder?

Cynder: Oh, well, I was going to say... I'm-

(Cynder is interrupted again by the sounds of fighting)

Stealth Elf: You gotta be kidding...

Golden Queen: (bursting through the Library doors) For the last time, I said HE looked like he kidnapped children! If you saw him wearing that horrid costume you would agree!

Snap Shot: Save it for the Cloudcracker guards, Queenie!

(Snap Shot and Golden Queen continue fighting, knocking each other through a window in the process)

Spyro: That was odd.

Cynder: Yeah. Anyways, l-

Spyro: (noticing the mistletoe) Hey, what's that?

Cynder: It looks like...

Stealth Elf: Yes, yes, yes!

Cynder: ...Holly.

Stealth Elf: What.

Spyro: (plucking the holly from the ceiling) Hey, it is. Guess someone mistook it for mistletoe.

Stealth Elf: ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I SPENT HALF THE NIGHT DOING THIS FOR NOTHING?!! GAH!

(Stealth Elf storms off)

Cynder: Sheesh, guess Stealth Elf isn't having a good Christmas.

Spyro: Wonder what she was doing by the window...

Cynder: Eh, probably not important. But, as I was saying...

Cynder: I'm lucky to have met you. All those years ago, after the fighting, you were the first to believe in me, that there was more than darkness in my heart. You led me down a better path, and I'll always be thankful for that.

Spyro: I'm glad I met you too, you're one of the best Skylanders around! Fighting Kaos, defeating Malefor, I'm not sure how we'd ever have done it without you. Plus, I got to know the best dragon around.

(Spyro and Cynder kiss)

Spyro: Merry Christmas, Cynder.

Cynder: Merry Christmas, Spyro.

Spyro and Cynder:

Spyro: So...are we dating?

#skylanders #incorrect quotes #incorrect skylanders quotes #source: original #Boomer #Bumble Blast #Chompy Mage #Cynder #Dive-Clops #Echo #Ember #Eruptor #Eye-Brawl #Flynn #Glumshanks #Golden Queen #Hugo #Lightning Rod #Lob-Star #Mags #Master Eon #Roller Brawl #Smolderdash #Snap Shot #Sonic Boom #Spyro #Stealth Elf #Stormblade #Terrafin #Tree Rex

[south-of-heaven]

kabuki warriors x younger reader where reader is a member of the kabuki warriors but while the older two are loud extroverted kinda crazy reader is quiet introverted gets embarrassed easily and reader “hates” physical touch while the older two love it

The three of us || Asuka x Reader x Kairi Sane

Summary: Asuka and Kairi are your polar opposites. Somehow you make it work.

A/N: Omae is a Japanese term of endearment. It basically just means "you" but that is a very intimate thing to call someone in Japanese culture.

Asuka and Kairi, your two vibrant and extroverted partners, always seemed to live in a world of bold colors and lively adventures. Their laughter echoed through the shared spaces, their vibrant personalities shining like a beacon. And then there was you, the quiet introvert, content to observe their lively world from the sidelines.

The contrast between your reserved nature and their exuberance was stark, but somehow, it worked. Asuka and Kairi cherished your calm presence, and you found comfort in their vibrant energy. Deep down, you loved the touchy-feely nature they brought into your life – the constant hugs, playful touches, and affectionate gestures. It was a warmth that wrapped around you, creating a cocoon of security.

Yet, there was a part of you that couldn't help but blush when their enthusiasm spilled over into public displays of affection. Asuka and Kairi were unapologetically loud and expressive about their love for you, not holding back on the public affection. They'd steal kisses, throw arms around you, and intertwine fingers, oblivious to the world around.

While you cherished these intimate moments, the spotlight of their love occasionally made you squirm. Your introverted tendencies craved privacy, a space where your emotions could unfold without an audience. You found yourself blushing at the slightest touch, especially when Asuka or Kairi would draw you into a hug or sneak a quick kiss when no one was looking.

One day, after a particularly bold display of affection in public, you pulled them aside with a shy smile. "I love how much you both show your love, you know that. But maybe we could keep some things between just the three of us?"

Asuka grinned, wrapping an arm around you, "Of course, Omae. We want you to be comfortable."

From that day forward, a delicate balance was struck. Asuka and Kairi toned down the public displays, reserving the most intimate gestures for your private moments together. The three of you found a rhythm that celebrated both the extroverted energy and the quieter, more reserved moments.

And as you navigated this unique dance of personalities, you realized that love, in all its forms, thrived in the understanding and acceptance of each other's differences. In the midst of Asuka's loud laughter and Kairi's exuberant spirit, you found your place – the calm center of a whirlwind of love that enveloped you completely.

#wwe fanfiction #wwe x reader #pro wrestling #wrestling #wwe #wwe asuka #asuka x reader #asuka x kairi sane #asuka x reader x kairi sane #kairi sane x reader #kairi sane #pirate princess #the empress of tomorrow

[star1117-archives]

𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 - 𝐏. 𝐒𝐇

❏ Pairing : park seonghwa x m!reader

❏ Genre : angst + hurt/no comfort

❏ W.C : 1646

❏ Warnings : badboy!y/n, nerd!seonghwa, mentions of alcohol consumption + drug use, shitty parents on both sides, intimacy, crying, homophobia, forbidden love (?), one gay joke, Seonghwa referred to as babygirl once, a lot of profanity, kissing, semi-rejection (?), school age reader + seonghwa

❏ 𝐀/𝐍 : 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄 + 𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 ♡ -𝟏𝟔’𝐬 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐒 𝐃𝐍𝐈

❏ Network : @cacaokpop-fics

© 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟕-𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. Do not steal, plagiarise, translate, repost or use my work in any way, shape or form.

YOU WERE A BAD INFLUENCE.

To be honest, when Seonghwa had told you his parents forbade him from seeing you, it didn’t surprise you. You’d heard just how amoral, depraved, and disgusting you were from almost all areas of life; your teachers, ex-friends, exes, hell, even your parents. Your own mother had told you she hopes addiction drives you to an early grave. Lovely woman. It had come to a point where you simply didn’t care about opinions anymore. You were gonna live your life, and you were gonna live it to the fullest, because fuck consequences. What’s life if you can’t have fun? Because that’s not living.

It was this mentality that you lived by, which made it even more confusing when a shy boy tapped your shoulder one day, holding a few books and his cheeks tinted a light shade of pink. While you were notorious in your school for your behaviour, the boy that introduced himself to you was your polar opposite. Park Seonghwa, the exemplar student, the goody two shoes, the bookworm. Surprisingly enough, he had asked you a simple sentence. A sentence that had started this whirlwind of a friendship. A sentence that started a fire within you that couldn’t be contained.

“Show me how to live.”

You sighed as Seonghwa sniffled, head hanging forward. The two of you were sat on your favourite park bench, the one you both frequented when the weather permitted. It had a beautiful view of the lake, and the way the sky burned with ambers and peaches when the sun set made the place look ethereal. As tears rolled down Seonghwa’s cheeks, you bit your cheek to contain your anger, wrapping an arm around him and lightly pushing his head into your chest.

“Don’t be a baby, Hwa.”

His eyes glistening, Seonghwa looked up at you with a glare, bottom lip wobbling.

“But I’m never gonna be able to see you again! They don’t want me anywhere near you Y/N, how can I still spend time with you?”

Ruffling the top of his hair, you chuckled at his words, trying to stay lighthearted. In actuality, the fears Seonghwa was expressing were gnawing at your insides. The thought of being without him felt foreign, it felt wrong. But you couldn’t tell him that, he’d just freak out even more.

“Seonghwa, your parents forbade you from drinking. What did we do two nights ago?”

Seonghwa smiled faintly at this, his voice barely above a mumble as he spoke.

“Got shitfaced.”

Mockingly, you cupped your hand to your ear, lowering it to him.

“What did you say, babygirl?”

“Got shitfaced! And stop calling me that!”

You let out a wolffish laugh at this, scoffing before replying.

“Stop acting like a pussy and I won’t treat you like you have one.”

Before Seonghwa opened his mouth you raised your hand, cutting him off.

“Moving on. Yeah, we got shitfaced! We got so shitfaced you puked all over that cat!”

Seonghwa shook his head in pure horror, eyes wide as if he was still haunted by the ghost of the sight.

“Don’t remind me, I’m trying to actively delete that from my memory.”

“Whatever.”

An idea then came to you, and you turned quickly to Seonghwa, the other pushing up from your chest as you began speaking avidly.

“Hey, they also forbade you from smoking! What did we do at that house party last week?”

Seonghwa broke into a wider smile, arm going onto the backrest as he recalled that night with a fond face.

“We got high as fuck.”

You let out a laugh at this, slapping his arm and ignoring his protest.

“That’s right! Higher than the fucking sky!”

Seonghwa brow soon furrowed however, his body tending once again.

“But what does that have to do with anything?”

Rolling your eyes, your voice took on a patronising tone.

“Your parents have forbidden you from doing things before, Hwa. We’ll be fine.”

Seonghwa bit his lip before nodding, holding out his pinky finger.

“Pinky promise?”

“Miss me with that gay shit.”

Seonghwa slapped your chest and you chuckled again, interlocking fingers.

“Aaaand seal it with a kiss!”

While Seonghwa moved his thumb against yours, your heart pounded within your chest. It dawned on you that you couldn’t be certain what the future held, and for the first time, that thought scared you. Where before it had brought a loose canon like you comfort, now you had something to care about. Someone to care about. You wanted to show him the world but still keep him wrapped in cotton wool. You wanted him to have everything his heart desires. But most importantly, a selfish part of you wanted him to love you just as much as you loved him.

So, you did something stupid.

Seonghwa didn’t know how to react when your lips crashed onto his. I mean sure, the two of you had been intimate in a platonic sense, but this was a whole new level. From this close, he could see the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, he could smell the intoxicating scent of your cologne, he could taste the mint and cigarettes on your breath. But most importantly, he could feel how your heart raced as you embraced him, he could feel the way you shook with fear as he didn’t reciprocate, wanting the embrace to end but simultaneously not wanting to pull away. When you eventually did however, the look of shame on your face broke Seonghwa’s heart.

“I-.. Seonghwa… I’m sorry, I just thought-“

“You thought what?”

Your face burned at Seonghwa’s tone, eyes now welling with tears of your own. His eyes scrutinised you, and you hated it.

“That you… liked men… liked.. m-me.”

Seonghwa sighed, his head falling into his hands for a second before he pulled up and looked at you with teary eyes once again. It was a stab in the heart knowing you had caused him such pain.

“Y/N, we can’t.”

Grabbing his hands, tears began to roll down your cheeks as you cupped Seonghwa’s face, sniffing when he tried to turn away.

“Seonghwa, please. You make me feel things I’ve never felt before. You- you give me purpose. You make me wanna change myself, become better for you.”

Seonghwa had begun crying again, shaking his head as his nose tinted a deep shade of red. Despite the mumbled, faint protests now leaving his lips, you persisted.

“I’ll-I’ll clean up my act. No more fucking about, I’ll settle down and-and I’ll focus in school and-”

“They would never talk to me again, Y/N!”

Pulling out of you grip, Seonghwa stood up, wringing his hands as he paced back and forth, breathing scattered as he tried to order his thoughts into coherent sentences. You in the meanwhile had become blank with shock, watching him move without a word. Eventually, Seonghwa finally turned to you.

“I’ve loved spending time with you, Y/N, I really have. You’ve made me feel alive for the first time in my life, that I was living instead of just… doing as told. I-… I’ve never felt so… free.”

You looked up at him expectantly, a smile beginning to form on your face. Coming to a stand, you closed the distance between the two of you.

“So.. you-”

“If my parents knew how I feel about you, they’d kick me out.”

Your expression brightened, tears still falling as you cupped his face with both hands. The sunset reflected with such brilliance in his beautiful eyes, and even the tears running down his cheeks didn’t prevent him from looking like an angel. Speaking with fervour, your thumbs wiped away the trails of tears, your voice shaking with emotion.

“We’ll figure it out, Hwa, together. You gotta give us a chance.”

Seonghwa gave you a weak smile, pressing his lips to your cheek before burying his face in your nape, taking in your familiar scent as your fingers interlocked. Your voice was faint as you whispered those fateful three words.

“I love you.”

You wrapped your free arm around him, holding him as close as you possibly could, scattering a plethora of kisses along any bare parts of him your lips could reach. You muttered ‘I love you’s onto his skin, taking in the sweet smell of his shampoo, the softness of his skin. When he eventually pulled away, you were a snivelling mess, gripping his jumper lightly, voice broken and hoarse. You were a broken shell of a man, and it only drove the stake deeper.

“Please, Hwa. Don’t give up on us. Give us a chance.”

Seonghwa gave you a sad smile, brushing your hair back so he could kiss your forehead again.

“Y/N, there is no us. I love you, but we can’t.”

He grabbed your head and pushed it into his shoulder, partially to comfort you but to also hide your tears. He couldn’t bear to see your red eyes.

“It’s best if we stop seeing each other, it’ll only hurt too much.”

You nodded into his jumper, wrapping your arms around his waist, your tears soon soaking through the material.

“Just… hold me. Just for a little longer, please.”

Seonghwa sighed and patted your back, pressing a kiss to your head.

“I’ll never forget you, Y/N. You’ll always be my first love.”

“I’ll never forget you either, Hwa.”

You inhaled his soft, sweet smell one more time before your world came crashing down as he pulled away and waved goodbye. The words were too much to say, hanging over the two of you like a heavy blanket, suffocating you. As Seonghwa walked away, your throat constricted and your breathing became laboured. You fell to the ground, shaking with your head in your hands. You had ruined everything, just as everyone had always predicted.

He was gone, and with him, your heart.

SFW TAGLIST !!

@violetwinters @m4rsluv @multidreams-and-desires @jaeyunnies @like-a-butterfly1026 @jwnghyuns @soft-teddybear @galaxybam2 @a1sh1teruu @softkpopplace @plutoneu @hijirikaww @deja-vux @xuxibelle @waezennie @a-soft-hornytiny @lynnsqueendom @anowamij @xye-weirdo @owjohny @csngf @leo-seonghwa @shinestarhwaa

Join the taglist here !! : 𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪

#the archives ━━ [📚] #seonghwa ━━ [🐉] #angst ━━ [🌑] #fics ━━ [🎶] #seonghwa #park seonghwa #seonghwa angst #ateez seonghwa #atz seonghwa #atz angst #ateez #atz #seonghwa ateez #male reader x ateez #ateez x male reader #male reader ━━ [💙]

[nahkyl]

tell me more about these different omega spectrum 🎤

You know, this is why I adore you all. Because you're just as wonderfully weird as I am.

Sometimes, I don't know, it's like I pick up vibes, you know? I pick up vibes. Like, I've delved into every aspect of a person's public persona: watched every documentary, every interview, observed their interactions in various situations with different people, so I have a decent grasp on their character (though you can never truly know these people, emphasis on never because, let's face it, they're strangers). So occasionally, I'll have this fleeting thought like, "Oh, they're totally an omega. No doubt. Oh, that one's definitely an alpha." But it's all in good fun, you know? I never take it seriously because I'm not into that red pill ideology okay ? I refuse to categorize people based on fictional sub-genders. People are complex beings, and reducing them to such simplistic terms is just... well, narrow-minded and unidimensional.

But then, I catch myself thinking, "If they were a character, they'd be this insert sub-gender," you get me? It's a bit controversial for the conservatives because, hey, these are real people we're talking about, but come on, we're hanging out on Tumblr. Our thought process is weird by default.

Anyway, getting to the point, let's discuss why I believe Max and Kylian embody different ends of the omega spectrum:

Kylian's just so incredibly kind. His approach to the world is rooted in a deep-seated kindness and a genuine desire to make the world a better place. I mean, he radiates sweetness, love, and nurturing vibes. He's altruistic to the core, always eager to give of his time, his energy, his love. Especially with children, he adores them, cherishes them above all else. He's a mama's boy, the quintessential middle child—adorable little brother, protective yet teasing older brother—the pride of the family. And he's pretty. Those big eyes, that infectious smile, those adorable dimples. And his physique? Envy-inducing: meaty thighs, glowing skin, legs for days, a butt that makes ME jealous. He exudes confidence without a hint of arrogance. He knows his worth, excels in what he does, and when underestimated, he turns it into motivation. But woe betide anyone who threatens his loved ones. He's not one to care about his reputation, but when it comes to family and friends, it's personal. You can see it in the way he carries himself, how he basks in praise but doesn't seek it out, how he effortlessly puts people at ease and draws them in, eliciting protective instincts from those who know him.

Max, on the other hand, is the polar opposite. He's a force to be reckoned with, a whirlwind of energy and ambition. He's not one to simply accept praise; he demands it, commands it even. There's a fire within him, a burning desire to be recognized, to be celebrated for his talents. He thrives on being the center of attention, craving the spotlight with every fiber of his being. But beneath that intense exterior lies a surprising depth. He's not just about seeking glory; there's a complexity to him that many overlook. He's fiercely independent, unapologetically himself, refusing to conform to anyone's expectations. He's confrontational, yes, unafraid to speak his mind no matter the consequences. But there's also a kindness to him, a loyalty to those he holds dear. He may come off as brash and unyielding, but underneath it all, there's a warmth, a sincerity that shines through. He's quick-witted, with a sharp sense of humor that catches many off guard. And he's so pretty. Pretty eyes, enticing lips, skin beging to be marked. He's not afraid to take risks, to push the boundaries of what's possible. In a world full of conformists, Max stands out as a beacon of individuality, a reminder that true greatness lies in being unapologetically yourself.

They're similar yet so different. In my book, they're best friends because they're both hardworking, dedicated individuals who've sacrificed so much to pursue their dreams and know what it means to fulfill the promise of high potential. And they plot to drive their mates absolutely NUTS.

#kylian mbappé #max verstappen #partners in crime #do not take any of this seriously pls