#like it was this HUGELY emotional moment that were just supposed to brush off i guess

[robbyykeene]

literally johnny threw robby so hard into those lockers he was knocked unconscious for like five minutes. accident or not it’s the only scene in the entire show of parent physically hurting their own kid and i just think its insane that in a show that purports to be about the cycle of abuse it just. never gets mentioned ever again.

#such a disservice for johnny. are we supposed to just forget it happens? #bc to have him never apologize….they write johnny as someone who just hates his own kid fr. hes only in it to make himself feel better #which is coincidentally exactly what he tells robby in s5 but its supposed to be a GOOD thing lmao #its mind boggling #ck rewatch #like it was this HUGELY emotional moment that were just supposed to brush off i guess #bc they decided to turn this show into algorithm

[bubbles-for-all-of-us]

Butterfly III

a/n Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who reads and who interacts. Means so much! Let this be a little birthday gift from me to you!!

summary: When Joel thinks that his life is over his little butterfly sends him a new reason to stay alive. The only problem is that he doesn't know how to love but when you are the meaning of love itself how can he not fall.

Chapter I and II can be found on my blog. Tumblr ain't letting me add links to posts.

warnings: mention of vomiting, past trauma, pats accidents, forceful substance use.

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"Do I add this as well?", Ellie asked, picking up yet another can and showing it to you. You turned slightly towards her, but your eyes didn't even seem to meet the thing she was holding as you hummed. "Good, although I thought you would chase me for this one around the kitchen as well," Ellie chirped, teasing, but nothing happened. When you had just stepped into the house from the garage, the smile you had on your face seemed to hide the hurt almost completely, yet the more time passed, the more your face grew darker.

Ellie shifted awkwardly, not sure if she was supposed to comfort you now or if it was better to just let it be. She had seen you upset with Joel only once before, and even that didn't compare to this. The first time you brought her to your apartment in QZ, you had talked Joel's head off. Talked, not shouted. And your eyes didn't look so lifeless. Ellie wondered if you even knew that you were still holding onto canned ravioli and a tiny knife as you stared ahead.

The girl shivered slightly, stepping closer to you and reaching for the knife, muttering something about a sticky surface. "Ah, yes, sorry," you said as you turned to hand her the blade, your gaze falling to the floor. Ellie wanted to speak up again, maybe with a joke even, but you quickly ran your hands through your hair. "Would you be good on your own for a bit? I'll… go to the bathroom, and then I'll finish this," you muttered after taking a deep breath in. Ellie nodded quickly, stepping out of your way, but as you moved to walk past her, she caught your hand. "Everything is okay, right?", the girl asked quietly, and you once again bit the inside of your cheek but managed to pull a cold smile on your face as you cupped her cheek gently, making her smile at you in return.

Locking the door behind you, you slowly slid down the door. Cold tiles hitting your palms. The voice inside your head kept screaming at you to keep going. To not let this hurt you, but how could it not? You loved that old fucker. You loved him so much, and because of that, you chose to give him space and not tell him anything. No emotional attachments - Joel had warned you the first time you two crossed the line from being two broken people sharing an apartment to something way more.

In the beginning, you told yourself that the attraction that suddenly blossomed in your chest was simply the aftermath of being touch-starved for so long. That it was nothing but an orgasmic illusion. A pink fluffy cloud, that would eventually dissolve into grey nothingness. But there was something more. In those moments when Joel would slip up. Where the comfort you brought him would be enough to make him forget that he was supposed to not care for a minute.

"What are you doing, woman?", the apartment was dark, only the street lights casting yellow shadows across the place. You curved your hips, moving your hands to the side as you twirled like a snake. A bottle of hard liquor in your hand. "Dancing," you mumbled, brushing your hands over your body as Joel continued to watch you from the bed. "There's no music," he said coldly. "Use your imagination. Oh right, it's rusted; gears don't turn anymore," you chittered back, taking a sip from the bottle in your hands. You both had a successful day. A huge pile of ration cards lay on the kitchen table. That was a big victory nowadays. Meaning that starvation won't be knocking on your doors any time soon.

"At least put something on; it's cold here," Joel said bitterly, yet a gleam of concern was there. You could sense it. "Look at you giving a fuck, Joel," you cooed at him, stepping closer to that bed as he motioned for you to hand him the glass bottle. "I don't, but you'll get sick, and then good luck getting better," you just roll your eyes at his words. You watched Joel take a sip, his arm muscles flexing as he brought the bottle closer to his lips. You were so caught up in him that you didn't even notice when Joel caught you by the hand and dragged you on top of him. With a shriek, you let him carefully flop you onto the bed before he towered over you, wrapping a blanket that covered his body over your body instead.

You let out a playful giggle. Even in the dim light, you could see Joel's sidelong grin. "You're way too beautiful for your own good," he muttered quietly, studying your face, fingers carefully tracing the side of your jaw. "Did Mr. I have no feelings, just call me beautiful?", you said teasingly after letting out a gasp. Joel only gave you a side eye, but the smile was there. Evidently there. No one could convince you otherwise. "Sorry, meant unbearable," you moved to hit his chest, but Joel grabbed your wrist and kissed you along the pattern of the butterflies.

A hand came up to quickly cover your mouth as a sob slipped past your lips. You knew that the sensible thing to do was turn on the faucet and let the water absorb the sounds of your cries, but you couldn't. Couldn't find the strength to get up. Couldn't find the strength to care. You were fragile. Always have been. Just having someone like Joel by your side made you childishly believe that you could concur the world. Now your only hope was that the bathroom was far away and that the sound would not reach the ears of anyone who might be inside.

But it was not, and the moment the pained cries echoed through the house, Ellie's head snapped towards the bathroom. A cold shiver ran down her back. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to react. Ellie never had a family. Parents. She had never seen one in action. It was truly stupid, but there were moments where she found herself imagining that you two were her parents. It was a weird family, honestly, but Ellie had heard other kids say that their fathers were always the cold ones. She knew clinging to either of you was dangerous. People leave. They leave all the time. They especially abandon her. Another cry echoed, and Ellie quickly took off.

Joel hasn't moved. Standing in the middle of the garage and murdering the only victim he had—the wall that towered in front of him. Did he regret it? Yes. Was he going to apologize? No. There were many moments in your ten years together where he knew he should have said those words. Where he should have said sorry. But you had clicked back together as if nothing had happened. If you let it slide, he did as well. Joel's main excuse was that this was not a normal world. There were no longer the same rules that applied. But he knew deep down that before all of this nonsense happened. Before Sarah died. He would have never allowed himself to treat a woman like that. That was not how he was raised. Not how he would have allowed Sarah to be treated.

Joel stepped outside. The sun warmed his skin, but his heart was nothing but an ice block. He stopped by the door, fidgeting with the handle like a kid who had gotten in trouble and was afraid to own up to what he had done. Now more than ever, Joel wished he had stayed in the garage. The exact moment his eyes fell on Ellie, who was sitting under the table with her hands covering her ears, pressing so hard that her skin was practically turning white. Bottom lip quivering. Joel instantly moved closer to her, but not even a step later halted when he heard the weeping.

A shiver ran down Joel's back. That kind of shiver made the ends of your fingers tingle. That kind of shiver made your skin feel wet and clammy. He had disappointed you before. Made you snarl at him. But never cry. Joel expected tears from you often, especially at the beginning of your days together. But even if a slight gleam of tears would hurt your eyes, you would never, ever have had a single tear roll down your cheek. His heart twisted at the sound.

Stepping closer to the table, Joel reached for Ellie. The girl jumped at the sudden touch, not expecting it since her eyes had been closed and her ears were covered. Joel was glad he had pressed his other palm to the top of her head, expecting her to threat and jump up in the process. His actions shielded her from banging her head on the table. "Go upstairs, close the door," Joel said firmly after he drew Ellie from under the table. Once Ellie was on her feet, Joel paid her no mind as he strode towards the bathroom door. He fidgeted and brushed his fingers against one another as he contemplated his next move. This was a breaking point neither of you had reached before. Joel knew you needed him. You needed him to shoot anyone who might attack you. He needed you to protect him as well. Needed your calculated brain. Needed your medical knowledge.

You felt like you couldn't breathe. The tightness in your chest seemed to only grow. Your initial hope that letting out the frustration in tears would help was not enough. Not enough now that Joel has ripped open all the wounds that you have been carefully patching up for years. "Open the door", a sob broke down in your throat at the sound of a sharp voice. Followed by a harsh banging on the door. Your cries were silent. Gulping air as you tried to ease your breathing. "I won't repeat myself," "Get fucked, Joel!", you yelled back, standing up carefully and leaning onto the sink.

You were afraid to open your eyes and see how pudgy they were. But you did. And here it was: a scared, lonely, abandoned woman. One who always needed protection. At least, that's what every man you met told you. A no one. "Fucking, Y/N, open up, or I'll break the doors," Joel's voice echoed again, but you paid it no mind. You didn't need him. You didn't need anyone. You had survived on your own. Blinking your eyes, you looked up again. But now, instead of you, it was Ellie's reflection that you saw. Instead of you, it was her. Her being torn piece by piece. No, you couldn't allow that to happen. You backed away quickly, forgetting the shelves behind as your body collided with them, sending different products, bottles, and random trinkets falling to the floor.

Joel's mind went numb at the sound of that. "Y/N, Y/N," he yelled frantically, as he pushed his body against the door. Slamming his shoulder onto the wooden surface. He had been in a position like this before, and it was more than enough to awaken the same fears. You knew each other's history. Well, at least the biggest chunks of it. Nobody ever truly puts themselves on display. It required too much.

Joel will never forget the evening he arrived home earlier than he was supposed to, and may all powers above be praised for it. The doors were broken, and Joel pulled his gun out in an instant. The apartment was a mess. Drops of blood covered the floor. Bootprints were all around the place, but the room now seemed quiet. Joel rounded the corner, noticing the light coming from the bathroom. He would have shouted your name, but in case someone was still there, it was better to approach them in silence.

Yet no one was there; it was only you. You were lying on the ground. There were shredded pieces of broken glass everywhere, and there was way too much blood. "Y/n ", Joel let go of the gun as he kneeled to you, turning your body so you would be on your back. Your forehead had a big cut, and there were tiny bits of glass glistening up there as well. But it was the pale, almost blueish color of your skin that worried Joel the most. You were somewhat conscious, yet it was easy to see that something other than the beating had happened here. You muttered something under your breath. But Joel shook his head as he leaned closer to you, "A what? What is it?", he questioned again, hoping you had enough strength to guide him. "P-p-pi-ll-s", you breathe out, hands messily knocking the empty bottle on your side. Terror rushed through Joel. Someone must have forced-fed you those. A whole bottom, if not more. As he moved towards the toilet, Joel picked you up, pulling your body against his. "Open up," he said frantically, not waiting for you to respond or follow through with his orders as Joel shoved his fingers down your throat. You let out a loud gag before all of your stomach content came up.

Joel held onto your the whole time. One hand pushes back your hair, the other loosely wrapped around your jaw. Yet even minutes after you vomited, he wasn't satisfied with the amount of content that left your body, "Come on, you need to get it out of your system, love." You tried to fight his fingers, which once again inched towards your lips, but you simply did not have enough strength.

That night, Joel finalized the thought that you couldn't love him. And if you did, he wouldn't allow it. Because the second-most important person in his life was on the verge of dying. He was almost too late. Joel couldn't afford to lose you. Couldn't be the reason you were in danger. He couldn't be the reason someone might point a gun your way. No, even if he wanted nothing more than to allow himself to be yours, he couldn't. The price was too high.

The door cracked in two, and Joel showed his hand through the hole, fidgeting with the lock from inside. He practically fell into the bathroom, frantically looking for you. Memories were still swirling around. Still imposing that same old threat. You just stood there holding onto the wall, watching the broken pieces beneath you. Jole stepped through it all, even if you reached out your hand to stop him. Not wanting him to injure himself while striding on all of the sharp objects. But Joel didn't care. Catching your face between his hands while watching you. Breathing heavily and watching you. You were here. You were alive. Joel's hands moved to examine your body, but you pushed his hands away.

His pleading eyes met yours. You knew he needed this. That's how he chased his demons away. But who was going to chase yours? Your hands came in contact with his chest. A light shove. Then another one. Then your hands formed into fists as you hit his chest. Joel did nothing. He just stood there, letting you do what you wanted. What you needed to do. "Fight back your shit," you spat at him, hitting him again but he was doing nothing. Angry tears fell from your eyes. Slipping down your flushed cheeks. "Fucking, Joel," you cried out, taking his shirt between your fingers and tugging, but he just watched you. You let out yet another cry, legs bucking as the last ounce of frustration seeped from your body.

Joel's arms were right there immediately. Holding you up and closer to him. Even if you tried to push away, Joel only held you tighter. Pressing your head closer to his chest as you shook. His eyes looked up at the ceiling in the hope of keeping his own tears from falling. "It's unfair", you crocked out, "I know, I know, love, and it's all on me", Joel said calmly. God knew he didn't want to let go of you. Ever. "I care about you," he whispered slowly, even though he knew this wasn't the time. This would only make it worse. You snorted, slowly pushing away from him, "Do you, now, do you?". Joel nodded almost shyly as if he wasn't believing himself. "Really? Cause it looks to me that you care only when it's fitting for you", crossing your hands over your chest, you stepped away from him, Joel let out a frustrated sigh.

"You don't know half the stuff", he followed you out of the bathroom, "Yes, the usual. You don't know. You don't understand. You haven't lived. Anything else?" You twirled your hand in the air, heading towards the stairs. That's when you noticed Ellie. Big, glistening eyes staring at you. She was trembling. Your face fell, especially when you heard Joel grumbling right behind you. When he came into view, you raised your hand firmly, "We won't be doing this in front of Ellie; she heard enough." Joel's cold features returned as he gaped at the girl. "She's irrelevant", "She's a child. Would you do this in front of Sarah?" The words slipped out of your mouth, and you knew straight away that this was not the way to go about this. Poking and stabbing each other in the most painful places was a low behavior at most.

"You selfish bitch", Joel stepped closer to you as you move away, back hitting the wall. "You're walking on a really thin ice", his finger was angrily pointing at you, but once he got in a couple of steps distance from you, Ellie slipped right in front of you. The knife she was fidgeting with earlier on was now pointed right at Joel.

It was easy to see she found Joel's behavior threatening, but… Your fingers slipped up Ellie's hand, gently holding onto her wrist, making her lower the blade. "He would never harm any of us, bug," you said softly, your eyes moving back to Joel, who just stood there frozen. "El, sweetheart, Joel would never lift a hand", you pulled her closer to your chest, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "You…", she muttered", "You stay away because I don't care about you just as much you don't care about me", Ellie's words were trembly, but her now angry eyes pierced right through Joel. He said nothing. Watching Ellie for a moment before turning around and leaving with a harsh slam on the door.

Joel returned way past midnight. In the dark, quickly opened the first can he found. Not bothering to warm it up as he forced it down. The fact that Joel knew that Sarah would be shaking her head at him now only made the tension worse. Joel ran a hand over his face, putting pressure on the throbbing temples. You would hate your old guy, wouldn't you? - he thought to himself, looking at the broken watch on his wrist.

Joel wasn't surprised when he didn't find you in your shared bed. That for him, however, meant cold sheets, a restless night, and more thoughts that only you seemed to keep at bay. He crept towards Ellie's room. Pushing the handle as quietly as possible as he opened the door. The nightlight he had made last night was giving him a clear vision of the room. You had both of your arms wrapped around the girl. Spooning Ellie as she clung to your arms as if the whole world depended on you. Both of you looked peaceful. Joel draped another blanket over both of your legs. Kissing the three of his middle fingers before pressing them to your forehead. Not daring to lean in to kiss you.

He didn't allow himself to watch you even for a moment. Instantly turning to check the window before stepping into the hallway. Joel didn't close the door fully. He needed to be able to hear in case something happened. Sinking on the edge of the bed, he found himself wondering if he should just sit outside the room you two were in instead. Most importantly, he blamed himself for giving in to the desire to touch the butterfly. He should have admired you from afar. Now even if all was fair in love and war, Joel had lost them both, and now there was nowhere he could hide. Now he'll have to pay the price, and it was going to be a big one.

#joel miller x reader #joel x reader #joel miller imagine #joel miller the last of us #the last of us imagine #the last of us x reader #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal imagine

[illyrian-dreamer]

Remnants of a star

Cassian x reader

Summary: Despite the many years since the loss of your mate, hiding your feelings on the anniversary of their death is impossible while you try celebrate Starfall with your new love, Cassian.

Surprise surprise, it’s more angst from me! Loved writing this for @starfallweek 🌟

A huge shout out to @writingsbychlo @azsazz for pulling such a magical event together – thank you for bringing Starfall to Tumblr!! ❤️❤️❤️

Words: 1,520

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“Sweetheart, you’re crying.”

“Am I?” Bringing shaky fingers to your cheeks, you felt the wet tracks they left behind. Cassian nodded with tight lips, pulling your hand gently from your face an encompassing it with his own.

Forcing a laugh that came out a lot breathier than you’d hoped, you brushed your tears away quickly. “Oh, I’m sorry. I suppose it’s the stars,” you said, raising your hand to the luminous streaks sparking across the night sky. “They’re so beautiful, it made me emotional.”

Cassian kept his eyes on you, his gaze burning as you looked anywhere but back at him. He stepped behind you then, gently snaking his arms around your waist and resting his head on your shoulder, his breath warm in your ear. You clenched your eyes shut – you knew you hadn't done a good enough job to fool him. But he played it cool, nonchalant even, respecting your privacy in the face of the rest of his family.

“How about we get out of here doll?”

You shook your head quickly. “No Cass, it’s your night with your family.”

He hugged you tighter, kissing your temple before murmuring into your hair. “And there’ll be a thousand more Starfalls to come. C’mon, I know the perfect place.”

You were just about to tell him to go join his brothers and that you would excuse yourself alone, before the sound of wings flaring filled your ears.

“Cass–”. You were cut off as Cassian launched the both of you to the sky, knocking the breath from your chest as he hauled you up, moving swiftly to cup your knees.

Clinging tightly around his neck, you stared ahead in awe as he gracefully weaved between the glowing spirits as they speared past you, leaving streaks of light like temporary strokes of luminescent paint. Clenching your eyes shut for just a moment, you tried to appreciate the beauty of Starfall, despite what had happened on this night all those years ago.

Cassian kept his eyes forward, concentrating to not disturb the stars on their journey. Long strands of hair were pushed back in the wind, his expression, while focused, still soft and kind. 

Cassian was everything good in the world. He was too good for it, and too good for you. It was instinct to snake your arms around his neck tighter, pulling yourself closer to him, as if his broad chest could smother you whole. How long could you hold him, both physically and in your heart, knowing you would never be good enough for his love?

After a short flight, Cassian landed gently in a part of the mountains you had never visited before. The night was quiet here, and you could see the occasional glow of a falling star through the tops of the sprawl of mountain ash trees – their canopies stretching so tall you had to tilt back to see. The terrain was unlike anything you had seen in Velaris, it was where forest met mountain. Around you, glowing insects fluttered softly, filling the void around you in a charming way.

All in all, it was a beautiful setting. But why had he bought you here?

“Where are we?” you asked.

“A favourite place of mine.” he answered with a smile, before focusing his eyes on you. “Doll, what’s going on?”

“I’m sorry,” you said, looking anywhere but at him. You had broken your own promise – spoiling Cassian’s celebration with his family despite your own feelings for Starfall. He was a good male, if not the best and he deserved to celebrate freely. Instead he was here, coddling you.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. What–?”

“No I do, I do Cass,” you interrupted him, blowing a sharp breath through o-shaped lips as you tried not to crumple right there and then. Bouncing one knee, you tried to blink away the frustration and anguish you felt at yourself, as tears began to well at your eyes.

Cassian moved closer, cupping your face in his large hands. “Hey, hey. Sweetheart, it’s all right.” he soothed, rubbing gentle thumbs over your cheeks. “What’s got you all strung out, hmm?”

“I’m selfish, I know, I'm sorry–”

“What in Cauldron’s–? Y/N, you are not selfish.” Cassian was frowning deeper now.

You shook your head in response. “It’s your special night with your family. I’m ruining the whole thing, and it only happens once a year, but I’m making it about me and–” Cassian’s eyes darted between your own as your rambles turned to blubbering, the Illyrian in front of you becoming more of a blur as you began to truly cry.

Even through your tears, you could sense the glow from the stars above fade as two large wings came to shield you, offering comfort, sanction, a place with no shame. Large hands left your face, instead pushing gently at your back to bring you closer to his chest, his arms firm as they wrapped around you.

So you held him back – tighter than you’ve ever held anything, as if the stars could take him away and make him one of their own, just like they did–

Cassian pulled back, looking down as he brushed away your tears before holding your chin in his calloused fingers. “You want to tell me where this is coming from, doll?”

Your lip trembled as you took yet another shaky breath. “It’s… the anniversary.”

Cassian frowned. “The anniversary?”

You dropped your gaze to the ground, your shoes covered by your gown, the beauty of the shimmering fabric an odd contrast with the mossy ground beneath you. “Yes,” you said eventually. “The anniversary of my mate…”

“Ah.” Cassian answered, knowing already. You looked up at him now, his big brown eyes focused on you, soft and patient and understanding. “You never told me it happened on Starfall.”

“It’s not a detail I like to recall.” You took a deep breath, preparing for the pain you knew it would cause to explain. “Each year I spend this night alone, watching the stars from my home and searching for the brightest one – the one that I know is them. But I’ve never found them, on the one night a year when I’m meant to, on the one night of the year where the Cauldron spares the living – instead it punishes me.”

Cassian sighed then, bringing his hands to your arms, grounding you before you could lose yourself to memories of lonesome Starfalls – the gut punching heartache when the last of the stars would shoot past, and another year of trying to connect to your passed mate in the only way you knew how, didn't happen yet again.

“This year, I promised myself I wouldn't look. And I feel so guilty. Guilty that I'm not looking for them, guilty that I still want to even though I’m here with you. I love you so, so much Cass – you’re the best thing in this world. You don't deserve someone like me, who still searches for a past love in the stars.”

Cassian shook his head, before levelling a look at you then. “They were your mate, Y/N. And they were taken from you. I can't even begin to know how much that must hurt, especially on a night like this.”

And although the relief of your confession helped ease the clench in your heart, Cassian's understanding made you cry harder. “I don't deserve you,” you whispered through sobs.

Strong arms pulled you into his waist. “And I love you,” he replied cooly.

You blinked up at him, unsure of how his love prevailed in a moment like this. “But Cass, we’ll never be mated.”

“I don't care.” A strong hand was bought to your jaw, cupping your face as Cassian leant in, softly placing his lips over yours. Something stirred inside you, like the faint remains of a broken bond finally being put to rest. It warmed you, and your skin felt alight as you kissed him back, kissed him hard, hands sliding to grip the roots of his hair as you pulled him to you, closer, never close enough.

Pulling away for just a moment, you looked up at the handsome Illyrian, his wings uncurling from around you as the rest of the forest was revealed. It was beyond your belief that there was a male capable of loving you so, despite everything you had told him.

“What are you thinking now, doll?”

“That I love you so much it hurts,” you said, a faint smile on your lips.

Cassian chuckled softly. “C’mere sweetheart,” he said, pulling you into a bear hug, swinging with you and kissing your hair.

A star so bright it lit the both of your faces shot above the tree tops, streams of it’s light finding the forest floor through the canopy. You smiled knowingly, tears of contentment staining your face as kissed Cassian again and again.

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General acotar tag list:  @itscaitymoore @timecharm @kennedy-brooke @icey--stars @xtreme-shipper  @cosmic-whispers @jazmin2211 @psychobookaholic @fieldofdaisiies @marina468 @shadowsingersmate24 @auggiesolovey @thefandomplace

#cassian acotar #cassian #cassian x reader #cassian x you #cassian one #cassian one shot #cassian starfall #starfall #starfall week #velaris #acotar #cassian fanfic #acotar fanfiction #cassian angst #cassian fluff #acotar angst #acotar fluff #acotar fanfic #acotar one shot

[hearts4juzi]

Why do you think Helluva Boss is better, in terms of writing?

OOOH i have a LOT to say about this.

I think it's a lot less rushed. it FEELS a lot less rushed. And thats not saying its all perfect, it went pretty fast too, but not as fast as hazbin.

For example, hazbin had this big deadline and they had to fit in angels arc, the carmilla/vaggie situation, the heaven stuff, AND charlies shit with her dad. So despite it being a comedy, they had to stuff a LOT of things together, which means theres less chance for filler which means it gets rushed. (bc honestly, it feels less like a comedy and more like an edgy teen humor show BECAUSE they're stuffing the comedy in while rushing to get all the important lore bits in)

so helluva boss feels more like a comedy. they have serious moments, but it leaves space for jokes and humor that dont feel out of place (for example, in the hh finale they kept making jokes that rlly didnt fit? like charlie profusely apologizing to angels who are slaughtering her people? or when pentious died and it was a joke but we were supposed to take it seriously???)

helluva boss has episodes with less emotional baggage in them, like the pilot, murder family, spring broken, and CHERUB, and the harvest moon festival, all in season one. and while they do HAVE emotional moments, theyre not super heavy. then you have episodes that feel like a mix, like truth seekers and loo loo land. and then you have heavy episodes like ozzie's and queen bee. its much more balanced (and im focusing on s1 of hb bc its unfair to pit a two season show against a one season show.)

also also also, and this is smth i complain about a lot, Hazbin Hotel is OBSESSED with making their characters as likeable as possible. unfortunately this falls on characters who DONT DESERVE IT. Like angel dust. When he harassed husk, it was supposed to be humor and funny and whatever, but when husk snapped at him, he was the bad guy suddenly. and angel still never apologized. and im not saying hb doesnt have that issue (ESPECIALLY with stolas) but i think its handled better.

blitzo is a good example. i have complaints about the circus situation, but in the end hes still not a good guy, excuse or not. he's rude, he's nosy, he's dismissive. he hunts his sister down despite her making it very clear she doesnt wanna see him. and he brushes off stolas and even uses him under the guise of a sweet date. in general, blitzo is just waaay better handled than angel dust is.

i also like the villains more? theyre not made out to be a joke as much as the villians in hazbin (per my earlier statement about all the humor being stuffed in) crimson is made to be genuinely intimidating, striker, while mocked a lot, is still a very serious villain, mammon is a big joke on purpose, and it makes sense! and then other antagonists (verosika, one and two, ect) are made out to be funny because theyre NOT big villains, they're just bitches who have beef with imp. the worst villain in hb is, of course, the one woman, stella. but thats a conversation for another ask.

meanwhile the hazbin villains are sooo dumbed down. our most serious villain was lute. adam was a huge joke and relatively annoying at times? like most of what he did was watered down by bad jokes (like killing pentious??? ppl seem to forget adam beat alastor without even tearing his clothes and its because everytime hes on screen theres a terrible joke about to be made) and the vees are just??? eh??? i dont have a TON of complaints about velvette aside from how little she actually did to the point where she hardly feels like a villain? shes moreso just annoying. and then vox hypnotizes people and hes like. evil ceo type shit but thats overshadowed by his crazy ass beef with alastor because again, he didnt do much else. and then val had that stupid scene with vox that i hate so so so so much. hes made out to be funny when he SHOULDNT BE!!! They dont take val's character seriously its weird. ick. and also we didnt have many villains to even go off of? helluva boss gave us lots of characters to work with in season one, and all of them are unique in some way, and had time to shine and will have more time to shine later because the story isnt rushing. hazbin INSISTED on concluding this arc in one season when it really shouldn't have. they didnt have the time to do it, and they tried anyway. helluva boss is better because they gave it TIME. striker is introduced in season one and we KNOW he'll come back because he got away! and he does! and hes great because they gave him TIME to be there and be gone and be there and be gone.

and now he's our most recurring villain. and i think hes awesome. crimson didnt actually have a lot of time to vanish and come back, but hes also new so its a bit different. and he had two episodes in between showing up and disappearing, and the second one had more focus on striker anyways.

i think that while hazbin is a 4/10 for me (5 if im being generous), helluva boss is a 6 or 7/10. the worst part about the helluva boss writing is stolas's family and how the women are written tbh.

tldr: helluva boss is better paced and the characters are better, and hazbin hotel is too rushed and forces these characters onto you

#tzu rambles #tzu asks #tzu rants #hazbin hotel criticism

[cheeriecherrymain]

Incorrigible Flirts And Besweatered Men [Chapter 8]

Pairing: TA!Viktor x fem!Reader

Rating: T

Warnings: Mentions of manipulative/controlling parents

Proofread: Not even a tiny bit, no beta we die like men

Chapter Summary: You and Viktor have a quiet afternoon in the hotel AKA Viktor takes a nap, you take a bath, and then you two have an emotional chat

You stand in the entrance to the bedroom for several moments, hiding your face in embarrassment. Your skin burns hot with mortification, and you want nothing more than to evaporate into the walls and become one with the uninspired beige paint.

You can’t believe you hadn’t asked your cousin to make sure there were two beds - she would have understood, surely! Even if she believed you were in a relationship with Viktor, she wouldn’t have asked any questions about your chosen sleeping arrangements.

You stay hidden, even as you hear Viktor wander up behind you to see the situation for himself.

“I’m sorry,” you whine, finally pulling your hands away from your face.

He settles his hand on your lower back, a gesture you suppose is meant to be comforting - but it only flusters you more.

“There are worse ways to sleep than next to a beautiful woman,” he tells you softly, though the amusement in his tone is quite obvious to you. “You said you don’t snore, so I don’t see an issue.”

Your heart warms by a fraction when his touch slides over to your hip, and Viktor nudges you closer. “If you really are uncomfortable,” he says, “I’m fairly certain that the couch in the lounge is convertible.”

“I’m not going to kick you out of the bed!” you protest immediately, squirming in his hold so you can face him with a stubborn pout. “You’re doing me a huge favour by coming with me this weekend. I’m not banishing you to the couch.”

His lips curve into a wry little smile that has your heart fluttering wildly in your chest. “Well, you deserve a decent place to rest, since you’re going to be around so many people you dislike. I’m not kicking you out, either.”

“We’ll just have to share, then!”

“Oh, how terrible.”

Your face erupts into flame again, and when you try to speak, the only sound that comes out is a slightly pathetic squeak. You quickly turn away from Viktor and storm back into the front room of the suite, fetching your suitcases as an excuse to take a moment to breathe.

When you return to Viktor, he’s already made himself comfortable on the bed - sat on the edge and sprawled backwards in his best mimicry of a starfish.

“How did we start out with me being the incorrigible flirt, and you being pretty and flustered,” you ask as you set both your suitcases down, “And now we’ve completely switched?”

Viktor sits up slightly, propped up on his elbows, to fix you with an incredulous, slack-jawed look. You can feel the accusation radiating off of him, though he doesn’t seem angry or upset.

“So you were doing everything on purpose!”

You stare back at him with wide eyes. “Of course I was doing it on purpose!” you tell him. “You’re handsome and I like talking to you - I wanted to get to know you better! The fact that flirting with you also made you turn a lovely shade of pink was just a bonus.”

He says nothing after that - playfully rolls his eyes and flops back down on the bed. 

You start unpacking. A couple days’ worth of comfortable clothes, one or two things more suited for the weather; you can’t imagine you’ll be going anywhere aside from the wedding venue, but you always felt more comfortable being prepared. Everything else is either formal or pajamas, or-

Your heart skips a beat when your fingers brush against soft burgundy silk, and your gaze darts over to Viktor. Thankfully, he’s more interested in laying down, and doesn’t notice you hastily stuffing the rather sensual little nightgown into the back of the hotel dresser.

You’d packed it in a moment of daydreaming, thinking of all the ways you might be able to charm him on your weekend together - but now that you’re here with him? Your heart beats faster just by being in his presence, and you’re not so sure you could wear something so saucy around him. 

Would he even want something like that?

You shake your head to rid yourself of your thoughts, and pull out the last article of clothing you’d packed: your dress.

It was still wrapped up in a plastic sheet, to keep any debris from marring it, but the hem peeks out from the bottom. Flowing navy satin that you’d tailored to fit your body perfectly, and painstakingly sewn over soft tulle dotted in gold stars.

It looked like the night sky.

You hang it in the closet, smiling quietly to yourself when you think about Viktor’s reaction. He always appeared to be in some kind of awe around you, never missing an opportunity to tell you how lovely you look - even on that one afternoon when you’d been in the library, in an old sweater and leggings that had stains from your breakfast, bags under your eyes and hunched over like a shrimp. 

He would undoubtedly think you were stunning, wearing something so fine.

At least, you hoped.

“Hey, Viktor?” you ask quietly, turning towards him.

When he doesn’t say anything, you take a couple steps closer.

“Vik?”

Once at the side of the bed, you’re able to get a closer look at him - and it’s with a warm sort of glee that you realize he’s fallen asleep. Deep, even breaths drawn in and out, the ever-present crease between his brows now smoothed. He looks as peaceful as he does exhausted, you think.

Tenderly, you brush chocolate strands from his forehead, and lay a light kiss on his hairline.

Then, with the quietness of a mouse, you grab a change of clothes and disappear into the spa-like bathroom.

—

When you’re finished in the bath, you’re more relaxed than you’ve been in months. The hotel hadn’t been stingy when offering up a platter of fancy scented oils and colourful bath salts - you had no idea what the benefit of any of them were, nor what combination they were meant to be applied in, so you’d dumped a little bit of everything into the water and let yourself soak.

The smells, the bubbles, the pearlescent opal liquid swirling around, and the jets pressing into the stiff muscles of your back - it had all provided a very rejuvenating experience. You’d nearly fallen asleep for a moment at the end, and that’s when you’d decided it was time to stand up and dry off.

You pull on your comfiest leggings and a soft cardigan, and tiptoe out of the bathroom. Viktor is usually quiet, but when you stop in the doorway to listen for a moment, you can’t hear any signs of life.

One peek into the bedroom confirms that he’s still out.

You know it’ll be harder for him to sleep overnight, if you continue to let him nap now, but you don’t have the heart to disturb him yet. 

You silently pad across the room to where you’ve stashed your suitcase, and grab your carry-on bag, where you’d packed your textbooks and homework. You supposed you could also try to work on your music, but with all the extra preparations you’d been doing throughout the week, you hadn’t had the time to get ahead in your classes.

Viktor can sleep for now, you think, finding a quiet spot in the lounge. I’ll wake him up by five thirty.

—

You’re not entirely sure how long you’ve been working through equations. As soon as you’d opened your textbooks and gotten down to reading, the quiet environment had soothed you into a flowing state of focus - reading and repeating numbers, rewriting theories from memory to compare to the original, noting your own understanding of how everything worked together.

You’re certain that you’ve already gotten through at least two classes worth of information, diligently writing and tidying your notes.

“I thought this was supposed to be a vacation?”

Viktor’s voice comes from just over your shoulder, startling you so badly that your pencil falls from your hand and down to the floor.

You quickly reach down to grab it, and come up to stare at Viktor with a guilt-ridden expression.

“I couldn’t afford to miss an entire weekend of homework,” you explain, setting your pencil in your notebook before closing the pages. “With all the last-minute dress-making, I didn’t get the chance to get anything done ahead of time.”

He looks as though he wants to say more, but his expression softens after a couple seconds, and he nods. You watch him for a moment while he crosses the room to find a spot on the couch, and once he’s gotten comfortable, you follow him.

“Did you have a good nap?” you ask.

Viktor takes a few moments to comprehend your question, and you’re unable to help the little smile that dances across your face.

“It was sufficient,” he finally replies, stretching his arms upwards until a series of cracks travel up his spine.

You wince slightly, but you’ve no room to scold him into assuming a better posture. “I didn’t want to wake you,” you admit. “You were out like a light, so I figured you must have really needed the sleep.”

“It will be a little more difficult to sleep tonight, but…I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless.”

You tuck your legs up beside you, and lean into Viktor’s side. As if by habit, he drapes his arm over your shoulders, and rests his cheek on the top of your head. It’s a quiet moment, that you both fit comfortably into; breathing slowly, feeling the warmth that radiates from the other.

“Mm, dinner’s in half an hour,” you mumble sleepily. “It’s provided while we’re here. Breakfast, too. Or we could order room service.”

Viktor makes a soft noise and begins to idly trace his finger in little patterns across your arm. “We could…” he says, thoroughly tempted by the thought of holing up for the night and enjoying a meal together. “But it might do us some good to get out for a little bit, even if it’s just…downstairs.”

You hum in agreement. At the very least, you wouldn’t both be fast asleep by seven.

However, neither of you make any sort of movement, or any kind of stir to suggest movement. You’re content where you are, pressed against his side, your head having slipped down to rest on his chest.

You can hear his heart fluttering.

And then:

“May I ask you a question?”

You mumble an affirmative, and he continues.

“You don’t get along with your parents, this much I know. And from what you’ve told me, they’re not the best people. But…is there a specific reason the three of you are at odds?”

Ah.

There it is, you think, and all at once your pleasant mood darkens.

You knew that you would have to have this conversation with Viktor eventually - that you’d have to explain your past, and the hell your parents had put you through. You knew he would probably be the one to ask you about it, too, what with how curious he was as a person.

You knew you’d never really be ready to talk about it.

But you trusted him.

He’d supported you so far, through every decision you’d made and every action you’d taken - he’d gone so far as to outright help you with your struggles, whether they pertained to your class or not.

You could trust him.

“Yeah,” you say quietly, squishing your ear harder against his chest. “As you’ve probably gathered, they’re…controlling. Not just with school, though. They’re controlling over everything I do.”

Viktor’s right hand finds yours where it lays on his thigh, and he links your fingers together.

“They always wanted me to be educated,” you explain. “And I- don’t get me wrong, I know what kind of privilege I’ve had growing up - to afford the private tutors, and extracurriculars, and the summer school programs. But they pushed me so hard! They said they were doing it out of love, and that they wanted me to be successful in life, but- god, I found my first grey hair when I was fourteen, did you know? I have a whole streak that I dye, now!”

You sniffle quietly, and Viktor strokes his thumb over your knuckles to comfort you.

“They’re the ones who made me afraid of failure,” you continue. “They’re the ones who made me feel like I’ll never be enough - for anyone. I don’t even have friends anymore, because my parents chased them all away! Every time I’d get close to someone, they’d intervene. Friends are a distraction, they said. They’d make some phone calls, and then my new friends would suddenly just…ignore me. Stop talking to me at school, pretend I didn’t exist. Except for…”

Your heart squeezes in your chest, and the tears drip past your lashes and down your cheeks. It had been so long since you’d thought about her, since you’d told anyone about her…

“Except for Vi,” you tell him wetly, your voice quaking. “I was a little bit older than her, but we…we got pretty close. She was from the undercity, she showed me what things were like - and we got up to so much trouble together. If my parents knew about her, they would have thought her the worst kind of influence on me.”

You laugh quietly.

“But she was the best kind of influence. We got up to so much shit, and I didn’t realize how dangerous some of it was until much later - didn’t realize how lucky we’d gotten in a lot of situations. She never had much, but she showed me how to live. I experienced so much because of her, got so many new perspectives on life.”

You sigh.

“And then my parents found out. They always do. I was so careful in making sure they didn’t follow me, I kept my grades up so they wouldn’t notice anything was amiss! But they…found out. And Vi disappeared - literally disappeared. She left a younger sister behind, and she was just…gone. I begged my parents to tell me where she was, but they wouldn’t tell me anything! Just looked down at me with their stupid fucking smirks and told me that everything was just a coincidence! As if I hadn’t been watching them pull strings for years!”

A hopeless sob wracks your frame, and Viktor all but pulls you into his lap. He holds you tightly while you cry and cling to him, rocking slowly and smoothing a hand over your back in lazy circles. How easily you fall into his comfort, how easily you fit at each other’s sides…how much you care about him…

…and how you’d brought him here, knowing all that your parents could do.

“I’m selfish,” you whisper, when your sobs turn to small hiccups. “My parents could ruin your life, and I brought you here.”

Your heart aches at the thought of Viktor losing everything because of you. Because of your selfish choices, because of-

“Do you really believe you have so much control over me?” he asks suddenly. His tone is light and questioning, carefully neutral as if he worries you’ll take his inquiry the wrong way otherwise.

“Huh?”

“Our relationship,” he says. “Do you think you have the ability to control me? Though I am often entranced by you, this is not some…some Pied Piper situation.”

You frown slightly in confusion. “What?”

“The story?” he says again, “Of the man with the magic flute, who lured a bunch of children to their deaths?”

The horror must be apparent on your face, because he’s quick to continue, “It does not matter - my point is this: I do things because I like you. I do things because I want to spend time with you. And yes, sometimes I make some risky decisions because of these facts, but…those are my choices. I am the one who is choosing to reciprocate your advances and flirtations, despite knowing that it could prove detrimental.”

He gently takes your jaw in his hand, and pulls your gaze to his. “I am here because I choose to be here. I know the risks as well as you do.”

Your lip wobbles slightly, and you resist the urge to start crying again. 

“Even with everything that my parents could do to you,” you wonder, “You’d still want to be seen with me?”

He nods then, leaning forward ever so slightly to rest his forehead on yours. “I am choosing you. I want to be with you, and I am marginally sick of waiting. We can’t be seen together once we’re back home, but…we have this weekend. And I would like to spend it as your partner.”

You stare at him for several seconds, nearly cross-eyed with how close he is, but you find no dishonesty in his eyes - only warmth, and affection, and a surety that makes your stomach do flips.

The decision is easy, you realize, and tilt your head up until your lips meet.

#viktor x reader #viktor arcane x reader #arcane x reader #TA!Viktor #fem!reader #Incorrigible Flirts And Besweatered Men #now kiss

[souein]

Pinch of Salt

“You would think people can do just simple nice things to each other and that would be enough. No one really expects grand gestures.” Little shifty guy complained while slurping on the noodles. Shang Qinghua, he introduced himself earlier. Luo Binghe didn’t expect any customers at the Northern Dessert this early on Sunday, but here this guy was, already engrossed, almost drowning, in a large bowl of noodles. Mobei Jun wasn’t around, apparently leaving the restaurant to Shang Qinghua, who unashamedly helped himself to several premade meals.

“I’m taste testing.” He explained, and Binghe didn’t question him.

In between slurping and chewing, Qinghua grumbled his grievances to Binghe as he was the only available set of ears in the proximity, and most of the heated opinions were about Mobei Jun himself. It was after some attentive listening and deducing that Binghe realised this guy was Mobei’s boyfriend. Which was quite surprising. Mobei Jun wasn’t exactly his friend, but Binghe interacted with him enough to form an impression of a cold impenetrable wall without any emotions other than devotion to work and readiness to do it right.

Mobei Jun was initially introduced to Binghe by his father. A bodyguard, Tianlang Jun said. An extreme, Binghe thought. He couldn’t fathom what would he need a bodyguard for, not to mention he was perfectly capable of standing up for himself.

“You can never be too careful.” Tianlang Jun waved him off. “At the very least, you can always ask anything of him. I’m not always in town and this is my way of keeping contact with you.”

“Can’t we just use a phone?” Binghe sighed already admitting there was no arguing with his father.

They reconnected after fifteen years of never even suspecting about each other’s existence and now Tianlang Jun strived to be protective and indulgent in his own way. They met at least once a month, the man’s main business requiring his attention in the capital. But it was more than Binghe ever hoped to have. He never entertained a thought of finding his biological parents, presuming they either died or abandoned him. His mother, who took him in from the streets, was his only family, and it was the height of a blessing for Binghe, something he felt extremely grateful and lucky for.

“I only asked him once, just once!” Shang Qinghua continued, bringing Binghe’s back from his musings. “Will you make me some noodles, I asked. And what had he done?” He held Binghe’s gaze for dramatic effect. “He opened the whole freaking restaurant! What am I going to do now?”

“It looks to me like you are quite enjoying yourself.” Binghe observed not comprehending the problem.

“No! I mean, yes. But he opened it just for me! For Valentine’s Day! Who even does that? What am I supposed to give him for White Day now?”

Binghe perked up at that. He almost forgot but indeed there was supposed to be White Day soon. He tuned out Shang Qinghua for the sake of dreamily looking out the window wondering what his Shizun would prepare for him. Will he even remember? Shen Yuan didn’t seem too fond or aware of romantic traditions and gestures.

It was a huge gamble when Binghe made his own move on Valentine’s Day, ready to back out at any moment, brushing everything off as just a normal day between friends. It could have easily worked with the way his Shizun never suspected in the slightest about Binghe’s feelings. He was so shocked when Binghe gave him chocolate, but that was exactly what Binghe just couldn’t take anymore. He wanted to bare his soul, to scream of his feelings, for his beloved to understand, to finally see what he truly meant for Binghe. It would have been enough, he was prepared for a kind rejection, his Shizun was always so kind. He hoped to at least stay by his side anyway in any capacity he’d be allowed. To think that they were actually dating now… it was unthinkable.

read more on ao3 (9k words)

#svsss #mxtx #my fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #bingqiu #bingyuan #scumbag villain self saving system #valentines day #white day #shen yuan #luo binghe #tianlang jun #modern au #high school au #moshang #shang qinghua #mobei jun

[jacks-obsessions]

Because I Love You!

Guts x Reader

AN: Sorry, this took so long, but I'm glad it's done, I really liked working on this fic.

TW: none

Word Count: 2,005

Summary: Guts is acting weird so you confront him causing him to confess to you.

You were a bit frustrated because Guts wouldn’t let you fight he would actively put himself between you and the slightest danger. You could hold your own you had said multiple times but he had just brushed you off, never gave you a reason why, and nothing you could say would pry out the answer. Well, that was until the incident. You were attacked, which was expected, what wasn’t normal was the fact it was two apostles. Now you’ve fought an apostle before and it did not end well, but when Isidro ran into the fight, you had no choice but to run after him, Guts yelled for you to stay back but you knew the kid would get himself killed. So you did what you had to and ran after him, you got Isidro out of danger, but you got hit and that’s the last thing you remembered. When you woke up you were in a bed, they must have gotten to the village you were heading for, looking over you saw Guts. Who was fast asleep, you smiled happy he was resting, but the smile twisted into a wince. You hurt, a lot, and it was not fun. What had happened? You tried to think back to what had happened, but nothing came, guess that’s that. 

It wasn’t long before Guts woke up and the moment he noticed you were awake he was bombarding you with questions. He was anxious about you, looking like he was about to break something, and his voice was raised in his frantic state. This scared you, causing a yelling match. “Why the hell would you not listen to me!?” Guts seethed. “Because you never let me fight! Why do you do that!?” You yelled back. “Because I love you!” Silence. You both didn’t know what to say, what was there to say? You looked at Guts but he wouldn’t meet your eyes, to him he had just made a huge mistake. After the eclipse Guts didn’t want to share his feelings for you, scared that if he did you would betray him or get killed, and he knew he couldn’t handle either of these things, he knew very well that he was barely holding himself together. “You… love me…?” It was a quiet and straightforward question, but it shook Guts to his core.

Guts stayed quiet, looking down at the floor, what was he supposed to say? He didn’t want to say anything, to be honest, but he knew he needed to say something. “I… uh yeah, I love you.” He refused to look you in the eyes fearing rejection. “Guts, look at me, please?” Your voice was so soft, he felt at ease and so he looked. He was met with a soft smile and kind eyes, why was he scared, to begin with? He forgot. You were so kind to him, you would never hurt him, he was safe with you. “I love you too.” Your soft voice was so loud at that moment. All at once, every emotion he held back came rushing forth, he leaned forward and hugged you, it was a firm hug. Guts didn’t expect you to hug back. He never thought he’d want to be touched again but here right now? He could stay in your arms forever. Guts wasn’t expecting your lips to find his forehead, it took him a bit to process before he gently grabbed your chin so he could properly kiss you. His kiss was soft, he wanted this moment to never end.

Then you did something that surprised Guts, you deepened the kiss, he could have cried. You wanted him as much as he wanted you. Now Guts was pent up, so when you deepened the kiss he got a little rougher, your reciprocation meant so much to him. His hands found your hips as you wrapped your arms around his neck. Warmth spread throughout his chest as you pulled him closer, he wanted more; he pushed you further onto the bed crawling after you. Guts caged you between his arms as he continued to kiss you, he was surprised when you griped his hair, he never realized that his head was sensitive until now. Guts groaned as you continued to tug his hair, his hips bucking against you, you moved your hips to meet his. This would have continued if there wasn’t a knock at the door, Guts quickly but reluctantly got off of you, before telling the person to come in. Serpico came in with a concerned face but it quickly melted away when he saw you were awake. “How are you feeling?” He asked softly. “Oh, I’m doing fine, just sore.” You said with a laugh, which helped Serpico to relax more.

After a while you convinced the party that you could travel, Guts was the hardest to convince, but you managed. Finally, you were on the road again, Guts stayed by your side occasionally putting his hand on the small of your back to guide you, it was cute how he did small things to keep you next to him. Now you weren’t getting mad that he was putting himself between you and danger, knowing this was his way of showing his love for you made it easier to handle, he was just scared that he’d lose you. As you traveled you were able to get Guts to rest more, which was amazing since he needed it badly, though he only agreed to sleep if he had you next to him. Guts was very protective and it could be overbearing at times but in the end, he would back down if you gently told him off, though he would pout about it. The others had picked up on Guts’ affection for you and they were, to say the least, excited that Guts was happy again. Farnese, Schierke, and Ivalera would do little things to make sure Guts got his quality time with you.

Guts watched over the party as they slept with you by his side using your knife to whittle away at a stick, Guts felt at ease that you were next to him, he’d occasionally glance at you to reassure himself that you’re still there and okay. That was something Guts had to do a lot, part of him could never rest after the eclipse, and part of him would never believe you were truly safe. “Hey Guts, does this look like a face?” He was surprised by this question as you held up a crudely carved face on the stick. “Um, I guess?” Your pout told him he was wrong before you could. “That’s not a straight answer.” Guts chuckled and roughed up your hair a bit as you stuck your tongue out at him playfully. “It looks like a monster’s face, is that good?” He questioned with fake exasperation, he felt warmth blossom in his chest as you giggled at his dramatics, he smiled before saying you should rest. “You should, I’ll keep watch, I’m not ti-.” You were cut off by a yawn, Guts chuckled and patted the ground next to him inviting you to sit next to him, you crawled over and curled into his side before he wrapped his cape around you.

Guts planted a kiss on your forehead before leaning back and letting you drift off to sleep. He kept watch as you slept, and when Serpico woke up to take up watch duty he let the sound of your soft breathing lull him to sleep. The next morning everyone was rousing and figuring out the day’s plan when Ivalera noticed you nestled in Guts’ cape, the elf then got Schierke’s attention who made the kind of face you make when you see something truly cute and unfortunately, Puck noticed too and began to loudly point out the fact that Guts was letting this happen. This woke you up and in a confused daze crawl out from the warmth of Guts’ cape as Ivalera scolded Puck for waking you. The group got on the road once more while Puck kept singing loud and off-key love songs much to the chagrin of everyone else. Guts and you would hang back and he would steal the occasional kiss from you. After a long day, your party settled down to eat, and Isidro who had yet to pick up on the fact that your and Guts’ relationship had changed finally snapped at Puck.

“Would you shut up!?” Isidro shouted at the elf as he sang a very loud song about a beast and a human falling in love, the elf paused for a second before sticking his tongue out at the boy and continuing his song. “Why are you singing?!” The boy was angry and confused. “I think Puck is just happy that Guts and y/n are happy together,” Farnese said causing Isidro to pause and think for a very long time. “Wait… what?” He was confused yet again, Ivalera groaned before explaining what was going on, the look on the boy’s face was exceptional as he finally got what was happening. “What… ew that’s gross.” He made a face because he like most little boys thought the relationship was gross, Puck laughed and began to tease him, the two going back and forth at each other for a good while. You chuckled at this, you had found quite the weird bunch of people, but it was home and you felt content with them. Guts glanced at you and saw your smile, he could only guess what you were thinking of but he did know whatever it was it was making you happy. 

As the party continued on you stopped in a village to eat and rest, Puck and Isidro ran off immediately and were quickly followed by the others, leaving you and Guts alone together. The two of you went to the inn you would be staying at and once alone Guts pulled you in for a kiss, it was soft and loving, he treated you like glass. He was terrified that he’d hurt you, after everything he’s been through he can’t risk hurting you, but you on the other hand knew your limits and urged him to deepen the kiss. It surprised him but he did indeed deepen the kiss, his tongue making its way into your mouth, warmth spread through your chest as he pulled you closer to his body. Even now he was being careful with you, part of him wanted more to get a little rougher but he was too scared of hurting or driving you away, so he kept things simple. You gently pushed Guts onto the bed and straddled his hips, gently threading your fingers through his hair, watching for his reactions and making sure he was comfortable. You knew Guts was still skittish when it came to physical touch so you took your time and watched his reactions, making sure to stop if he seemed uncomfortable. 

Guts loved this feeling of being cared for, you were so soft with him something he never had before, you were so kind and stayed by his side even though he wasn’t always there for you. You understood he needed to take things slow, that he was trying his best, and that he did love you and the others in his own way. Your touches were so soft and delicate. “You know how much I love you, right?” You cooed as you ran your fingers through his hair, Guts leaned into your touch, he closed his eyes and enjoyed your touches. “Yeah… I know you love me.” He murmured as his breathing began to even out, soon he was out cold, you smiled as he began to snore. Climbing off of him you slipped into bed with him and smiled, Guts didn’t sleep as much as he needed to due to the brand and the fact he was so focused on protecting the party, so this was just what he needed.

#guts x reader #berserk x reader #berserk fic #berserk commission

[jacksmysterylabyrinth]

I have even more confounded feelings about Chapter 5, now, and it’s hard to know how... to put it... so I’m gonna ramble about it and see where that goes

I felt Makoto’s struggle that bit more on the second run, and it feels as though that the bulk of feelings ‘cracking through at the eleventh hour’ is the point since that’s his... breakdown. Vivia foreshadowed this theme and imagery extensively in his chapter, right down to the ‘cracking of a mirror’. This is peak ‘wits end’ mood with his mask - both figurative and literal - fully broken

...and the battle itself even felt more satisfying than I remembered it. And gods the music. The music in this confrontation is so bloody good. There’s even a sadness to the first part of the music which makes it even better.

Everything leading up to the Labyrinth was fine, or at least it felt it, as far as being ‘dragged along’ goes, while just being a tad bit heavy on the exposition. It’s some time during the battle with Makoto but moreso approaching the end, that the pacing gets... reeeally off. It becomes more a matter of how much they can convey rather than how to convey it, and it’s just text, text, text.

At times like that it’s harder to even process what’s there in the moment. Because of that, Makoto’s intrinsic connection to Number One aka the Yuma we know, and their shared struggles- the pinnacle of this whole thing, feels... so... empty, unless you’re really focusing on that. It’s lost in the ether of ‘puzzle time’ and ‘exposition dumps’ even in the emotions they share. Objectively you know that it’s there, but you have to focus to keep it in your sights, especially when you might have other things on your mind- like the UG influence that later gets brushed under the rug despite having CAUSED all this mess to begin with!?!

And speaking of caused- I needed to see this mess unravel from Makoto’s early days, because going to the extent of kidnapping death row inmates was a huge extreme from making a belt of rain clouds to protect people. I doubt that he would have jumped to mass murder right from the get go, he was under a whole lot of pressure from being left alone with a massive conspiracy he was literally created from, and seeing as we know now it’s very possible to make humane stuff that’s nutritious for homunculi in the current day, we need a better grasp of the position Makoto was in where this wasn’t possible and he wasn’t getting any help from anyone. Something that isn’t so easily summed up by... scattered white noise in a Reasoning Death Match, ffs. 

This is especially important if Makoto is supposed to be ‘a Number One who took an especially wrong turn’, doubly when the reason Yuma turned to Shinigami’s death-bringing power in the first place was because he had his back against the wall and couldn’t handle things alone, the way he was...

The whole ‘fabric of Makoto’s existence unravelled in one Mystery Labyrinth puzzle’ also makes it feel as though his experiences are being confined solely to what’s said. No flashback, no video or anything of the sort, just... text. Not having anything physical does make an amount of sense due to, well, his escape and position as CEO part of the conspiracy. But... even so, forcing things into text bits and text bits alone for him, isn’t an excuse when even for the freaking Nail Man storyline you’d have stuff in pictures despite there not being physical evidence of the urban legend in particular. 

Makoto. is a fucking. UG. Homunculus. Homunculi are a big deal in this universe and the emergence of the perfect one feels like a footnote with how that fact blends with every other piece of text in this Labyrinth and even more so when Yuma has his dive and everything turns to focus only on him regaining his mental strength and defeating Makoto. The UG conspiracy loses a large amount of its weight, which is a tragedy when it’s made and destroyed Makoto.

This is just as, if not more egregious than the Epilogue where you learn that the MDs supposedly ‘killed’ were alive all along, and events involving them goes into the wall of text mess which just feels plain exhausting and forced, to the point that it lessens the feeling it’s trying to convey, especially when they just outright say almost verbatim that they were ‘taken to the side for the main cast to take the stage’. That’s a bit too on the nose for how it’s overly-centering Yuma’s personal journey here (and this is coming from someone who enjoyed his meandering journey where he’s going off on his own meeting people he won’t know for very long, and trying at being a detective- with those stories themselves not exactly blending into ‘mastermind’s path laid out’ which it made a habit of doing in Danganronpa series).

In other words, it’s not so much the content but the way it’s put across that kind of makes it... unsatisfying? Like, it’s not a bitter taste and I have some good feelings about the overall, good enough that I ran through the game again and felt very happy about doing so. But I think some of the things particularly with Makoto’s reveal just didn’t have the impact on me that I would have liked because of how the story didn’t seem to know what to prioritise about it first, even when it otherwise knew what it was saying. 

Which... is kind of the problem with over-ambitious projects, I guess

#raincode #raincode spoilers / #spoilers of the endgame variety. naturally #okay i better head out I just wanted to slam thoughts down again #offgame writing

[suck-my-tomato]

(post modern)

[text] I just want you to be happy.

@quiet-kunoichi

Ever since Kimiko came back into their lives, his own had gotten rocky. Cora was not a fan of his ex-girlfriend being around, hanging around and often coming over whenever the group would get together to watch a new movie or binge some Netflix show. The pair were also the only two in the group that were sober, staying away from all drinking and drugs because of their toxic past with it, so the holidays that were centered around drinking have lately been with each other to be good influences. Last night was New Years Eve, one of the bigger drinking holidays and of course Cora wanted to go out, and did without the Uchiha. So what else was he supposed to do? Kimiko came over, as did Shikamaru and Kiba so it wasn’t a date or anything. 

Since day 1 with Cora, Sasuke tried to be the best boyfriend he possibly could and it resulted in him being taken advantage of and bending himself in half to please her. In moments like this, he could have simply not mentioned Kimiko being over because it truly did not hold any importance to the conversation or he could have answered ‘just the regular’ and saved himself a huge fight but when Cora texted him a little after midnight, clearly drunk, asking who all was over, he answered honestly with everyone’s name. 

Not even five minutes after he texted the names of all the people to Cora, she called. Sasuke answered in front of everyone, and Kiba even paused the movie so Sasuke wouldn’t miss any, and the yelling on the other side of the phone was louder than the music blasting. ‘Why is she there, Sasuke? I want an honest answer. You’re fucking her, aren’t you?! I KNEW you were. You’re such a -” This is when Sasuke decided to get up, dismissing himself with an awkward wave of the hand and hurrying off to the bedroom to finish up the call and take whatever heat she was going to give him. What he thought was going to be a quick ten minute yelling conversation turned out to be over an hour. It was taking so long that his friends texted him that they were going to head out, good luck and that they’ll see him later. The only person that didn’t text him was Kimiko. 

After it was all done, Sasuke felt rather defeated. Cora chewed his ass out about being disloyal, a toxic ‘piece of shit’ and a string of other colorful language. She was drunk, is what Sasuke kept telling himself, and didn’t truly mean anything that she was saying. The others have questioned why he was with her, and he never had an answer for it. Though, now as he laid on his bed with just the silence of the night to keep him company, he thinks it is because she is the toxic one and after having only known toxic relationship after toxic relationship for so long, it is just something that he yearns for. It is familiar and feels like home. 

[1:24am] Thanks for coming, sorry it ended so poorly. Happy New Year. 

He sent the text to the group chat, watching his phone as all the replies came in and, again, noticed that Kimiko did not send him anything. Sasuke sighed, not feeling much emotion anymore, and went to go get ready for bed. It was during that moment, as he just finished brushing his teeth, his phone chimed and it was a text from Kimi. 

[2:06am] I just want you to be happy. 

A habit he had picked up after stopping drinking was biting his nails when nervous, unhappy or getting anxiety, and one of those emotions was starting to stir inside of him. If he had to pick what emotion was on top, it was probably anxiety. His biggest fear was losing Kimiko, for the billionth time. 

[2:12am] I know. I just don’t know how to handle this anymore. I need to end things with her before I relapse. 

#quietkunoichi #verse; postmodern

[joy-of-life88]

Can I love again? [a Roman Reigns story] 7 First steps

After I woke up from this meaningful dream, I spent almost an hour thinking about everything James had said. It was hard for me to wrap my mind around his words, but deep down I knew he was right. I deserved to have something in my life that made me as happy as I was then.

More and more words came back to me. That they would send the right people into my life and that the two of them were guiding me. Was that the reason I had applied for this job and gotten it? Was that why Roman had come into my life?

That was probably exactly the reason. Someone knew that I needed a strong person by my side to not only accept my past, but to leave it completely behind.

At some point that night, totally exhausted, I snuggled back against Roman's side. With a deep sigh, I relaxed. At that moment, I decided to listen to my boys and take the next step into a new life. I had no time to lose. Because honestly... I had no idea how much time I had left. Nobody knew how much time they had left.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, I immediately saw Roman's worried eyes. Judging by his look, he was probably waiting to see if I would immediately break down again. Never in my life had I met someone so compassionate. Even James had often had trouble understanding what was going on inside me.

"Hey." I said quietly with a small smile.

"Morning. How are you feeling?" he asked right away.

I raised my hand and brushed some of his dark hair out of his forehead.

"Actually... actually, I feel a lot better. But I'm sorry you had to see that," I explained to him.

"It's okay, really! I knew something was bothering you. And I wanted to be there for you because.... I like you a lot, Y/N." he murmured in a deep voice.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am for that. And just for your information. I like you, too. But I have a lot of baggage and I can understand if that's too much for you," I replied with a frown.

"Fortunately, I'm pretty strong. But now, jokes aside. I know you've been through a lot, but you were strong enough to overcome that storm. It didn't drag you down. And believe me, it would have destroyed a lot of people. But not you, angel. You're still standing. And that means you're a remarkable person," he said, almost making me cry again.

"I'm not so sure," I said softly and lowered my gaze.

Roman lifted my head with his index finger so that I had to look at him. There was so much understanding and warmth in his gaze. That look was enough to make me feel all warm and protected.

"Don't say that. Don't doubt yourself. You deserve to live your life." he replied calmly.

"Yeah, I've heard something like that before," I murmured as a sad yet hopeful smile formed on my lips.

"What do you mean?" wanted Roman to know.

"Let me put it this way... A voice in my head told me tonight that it's time for me to start a new chapter and that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be," I said, although I had no idea if it made any sense to him.

"Did your angels speak to you?" Roman asked me.

I could only nod, because when I thought about it, I didn't trust my voice. It made me emotional, but I knew it was the right thing to do. And there was only one way to find out if I was ready.

"Listen, I know I still have a long way to go. But um... I think I'd like to take these steps with you. It's okay if you don't want to, of course. What I'm trying to say is... do you want to go out with me?" I replied, stuttering uncertainly.

Roman started grinning broadly and I couldn't help but return that grin. He was really cute.

"I'd really like that. What do you say we go out for breakfast together?" he asked me as he put his warm hand to my cheek.

I nestled my face into his hand and enjoyed the feeling for a moment. It was so pleasant.

"Sounds good to me," I replied.

For the first time in over two years, I felt light. The dream lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. It gave me the confidence for the first steps into a new chapter of my life and maybe even into a promising future.

#roman reigns #wwe #wattpad #My writing #can i love again

[mrs-cameron]

in my business (part 9)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8

Masterlist | “The cold shoulder”

pairings: slowburn rafe cameron x reader

word count: 3.1k

warnings: swearing, mentions of drinking, i suuuck at fluff

summary: After finally being in Rafe Cameron’s arms, you feel like you’re both comfortable enough to open up to each other. Once the Menzies name is mentioned again, you’re not so sure anymore.

Rafe twitched in his sleep, breathing out loudly as he looked at his surroundings, disoriented for a moment. He glanced at you sleeping peacefully beside him, head turned from him.

Not a dream, this time. You were right there in his sheets.

He caught himself thinking there was no other person he’d rather be with. Terrifying news for Rafe Cameron, your fuckboy next door who coincidentally haven’t been caught with any girl over the past month. He had a fluttery feeling in his stomach when you turned to the other side as his eyes ran over your figure.

A couple of minutes later, he still watched you when you finally opened your eyes. You stared blankly at the window, squinting when the sun shined on you.

“I see your lashes moving,” he whispered. “Turn to me. Good morning.”

“Ew, why are you staring at me,” you replied as your voice cracked, closing your eyes and not moving a bit. With a huge smile on your face, too.

As he hugged you from behind, his nose bumped into the back of your head. “Because I want to.”

You blushed, lightly rubbing your eyes. “Stand in line, sir.”

“Did someone say a line,” you threw a pillow at him.

Without taking his eyes off you for a moment, he leaned for a kiss, brushing his lips against yours before you finally pulled him closer. Rafe felt like your lips stretched out in a gentle smile and he had a feeling as if his heart was about to explode.

The whole night you and Rafe were practically glued to each other, speaking a lot yet practically about nothing. The two of you avoided talking about the charity dinner and anything related to Ward Cameron, really. Focusing his attention on you, Rafe felt like he could escape the real world by simply being around you.

The alcohol you drank that night has come to light, you felt as if you were spinning even though you haven’t moved a bit. You were laying for a while in silence, enjoying each other presence. Rafe took pride in finally having you by his side, even though it took an emotional breakdown to get there.

“What time is it?” You habitually scanned the room with your eyes to find your phone.

“Oh shit,” Rafe giggled. “We forgot our phones at Tanneyhill.”

“Pick up already,” Sarah marched across the room, holding a phone to her ear.

After you and Rafe ran away, she was left alone with Topper and the obnoxious company of old businessmen she wanted nothing to do with; Topper, on the other hand, was given a perfect opportunity to catch her alone.

Their conversation, as expected, did not end well. Topper ended up calling Sarah names, pressuring her to admit to things she didn’t do behind his back.

Her main reason for blowing off your phone, however, was to question you about the last night. Even though Sarah picked up the tension between you and Rafe a while ago, yesterday’s event was the last straw that tied it all together.

“Sweetheart,” Ward knocked on the door before coming in. “I see you’re calling Y/n, but they both left their phones here,” he handed Sarah your phone that he had muted earlier.

“Oh,” she replied, taking it and seeing her six missed calls. “Can I have Rafe’s phone too?”

“Are you seeing him soon?”

“Yeah,” she supposed she would. “This New York course that you talked about yesterday… did Rafe even know about it?”

“He didn’t, but it’s not like he has much of a choice anyway.”

“Dad, what if he doesn’t want to?”

“Sarah, your brother is almost twenty. He doesn’t get to just sit around and get everything handed to him,” Ward raised his voice.

“Why don’t you listen, for once? Please,” Sarah asked. “You’re not solving his problems, you’re only creating new ones. He’s not even allowed in his own house!”

“Sometimes a parent knows better,” Ward hesitated to give Sarah the phone, twisting it in his hand. “You’ll understand when you grow up.”

“And what, do you plan on just sending him away?” He dumped the phone on Sarah’s bed, leaving the room without the answer.

“Sarah must have called a thousand times,” you finally faced Rafe as his eyes fixated on your sleepy self.

“Who cares? She’ll survive a day without you,” he complained, “but barely. You wanna go out?”

“Like, where?”

“I don’t know,” he took your hand, putting it on his chest. “Somewhere far away.”

“Oh, like not the Cut?”

“Hell no,” Rafe laughed. “I don’t tolerate plebeians around me… and you,” he specified. “Tell Maybank you’re off-limits,” he smirked at you, placing his hand on your cheek as you put your leg on him, pulling Rafe even closer.

“Jokes on you, we were never a thing.”

“Who’s we? Like, Maybank and you?”

“Oui,” you giggled.

“No way.”

He pulled you for another kiss, tracing circles on your back with his fingers. You ran your fingers along his cheek, dropping lower, to the neck, and throwing your head back as he trailed kisses towards her collarbone.

“Your pants are on fire,” he said. “Probably why you don’t wear any.”

You frowned. “M-kay, I shut up. Let you fantasize about me and JJ,” you mocked him, removing your leg as he quickly grabbed it again, putting it back onto him. “Since you don’t want to listen.”

“No-no,” he murmured. “Keep talking.”

“So nosy, always prying into my personal life,” you whispered, sitting on the bed and looking down at Rafe as your fingers intertwined.

“Oh, I’m obsessed,” he replied.

You sighed loudly, breaking contact with the Rafe again as you started to get out of bed, getting tangled in the blanket you stole from him earlier. Before you could break free, Rafe held you close from behind, placing you right back on the bed under him.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

Who would’ve thought your uncle’s apartment would be the number one spot for the summertime?

After taking your sweet time with Rafe, you both decided it would be a good idea to unwind somewhere, money Rafe took from his father’s safe last night could’ve easily provided just that. Getting ready to spend the whole day with Rafe on the Figure 8 doing whatever, you still needed to show yourself at home first.

Before dropping off there, you went back to Tanneyhill for a moment to have your phones back... as a side mission?

Stealing Sarah’s clothes was the number one goal. As you entered the house in Rafe’s oversized t-shirt, holding your dress from the night before in a wrinkled paper bag (the only one Rafe could find). Not the best look to show up to your parents, right? You were preparing a strong alibi.

Wheezie let you in, rambling about being bored in the house now that everyone, even Sarah, was gone. Rafe's little sister made no comment about you in his clothes, saving it for Sarah, you guessed. She continued on complaining about her swimming class and you and Rafe silently listened, leading you upstairs to her older sister’s room.

“Thanks, Wheez,” you said after she handed your phones back.

“When are you coming over? You promised we’d watch this show together,” Rafe rolled his eyes at his little sister.

“I will,” you replied. “Maybe sometime next wee-“

You were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening, the three of you focused your attention on hearing what was happening downstairs. “No, we absolutely can renegotiate,” you listened Ward screaming.

“He should’ve been at work the whole day,” Wheezie said.

Rafe looked at you, reaching for your hand. “We’ll wait till he leaves,” he said as you took it, quickly leaving the room.

“Just stay with me this once?” Wheezie buried her face in Sarah’s pillow, sighing as loud as she could, except no one to hear her.

He led you through the hallway to one of the upstairs bathrooms, the confusion you felt at the moment was written all over your face. He closed the bathroom door after you entered the room.

“You want me to hold it for you or something?”

Rafe chuckled, reaching to a small window in the room. You figured where he brought you, finally. It took him a moment to finally open the shutters as they were stuck, and when he did, he finally turned to you. “Just trust me.”

“Cameron,” you whined. “You seem to forget who my best friend is. I’ve been on your rooftop already.”

“Then you have nothing to be afraid of,” he replied, standing on the windowsill and sticking his head out the window.

Rafe finally made his way outside, stepping on the old roofing material and trying to find balance. He turned to you to see if you’re getting out safely.

“I’m fine,” you noticed.

“Just grab my hand,” he insisted.

And you did, following him to the inclined roof surface. He sat down, taking his light jacket off and putting it near him. “Here,” he motioned.

“Thank you.”

You looked around the Tanneyhill’s backyard, workers seem to never leave this place. Whether it was to maintain the landscape, deal with the consequences of a hurricane or do another unnecessary makeover of the yard; they could always rely on being employed by Ward Cameron.

This time around, they were changing the stone tiles, loud construction noises bothered the whole neighborhood.

“I thought you just renovated the whole area,” you commented, fixing Rafe’s jacket under you.

“Rose didn’t like it,” Rafe replied. “She’s been complaining about it since spring… dad must’ve finally given in.”

Watching the workers, you noticed that one of them was JJ, running around with buckets of water in his hands.

“Look at this,” Rafe drew your attention.

One of the roof tiles had “T + S” carefully carved into it. Topper’s handwriting, most likely. You ran your fingers over the letters, examing them.

“Well that… didn’t age well,” you twisted your lips, catching Rafe’s stare. “Should we add a hook so a T becomes a J?”

“Topper will hang me,” Rafe grumbled, looking at the view. “Hmh.”

“What?”

“Maybank,” he tensed. “He’s probably hanging here more than I do.”

“And I was hoping you wouldn’t notice him.”

He hummed. “So… is there anything between you?” Rafe bowed his head slightly, rubbing the nape of his neck.

You smiled kindly, his jealousy wasn’t annoying you anymore. “No. I wasn’t interested in him like that, that’s all.”

“You were sneaking out together at Midsummers,” he remembered his need to follow you.

He also remembered walking through a long dark hallway in hopes of catching you alone, hearing your giggles with another male voice was what he got instead.

“Sarah asked to meet him because he had a note from John B,” you explained.

“Sarah asked to meet him..” he repeated after you, pursing his lips as he felt relief. “And the outdoor cinema?”

“Ah, this time. Yeah, we were totally planning to fuck,” you said in a serious manner, nodding your head as Rafe squinted at you, rolling his eyes.

“Watch your mouth,” Rafe ordered. “I blame this shit on Sarah.”

“Ah, man. So no double dates with John B and Sarah?”

He laughed at your face, you protruding your lower lip to demonstrate your resentment.

“JJ would never,” you laughed.

Rafe put his hand on your shoulder, catching the yellow leaf in the air before it could fall on your head.

“You kind of saw the end of it. When we fought there,” you pointed to the area with lounging chairs, now hidden under the plastic covers. “We figured we’re better off as friends,” you paused. “If we’re still friends, really.”

“What you’re saying is, I’m stupid,” Rafe nodded, turning to you.

“Yeah, basically,” you mocked him.

“Do you think I should go to New York?” Rafe suddenly changed the subject.

Even though you felt relieved he was the one to start talking about the matter, no answer came to your head.

“I can’t decide for you. But… I need you to tell me what you think,” you asked him, intertwining your fingers with his.

“I don’t want to. It still feels like a better option rather than staying here with him.”

And without you.

“Listen… You know you can always take a step back if you don’t feel like it.”

“If so, I’ll have a fucking foot pushing me ten steps forward… for-Ward,” he let out a small laugh. “Besides, if dad already secured me a spot, I don’t have much of a choice.”

“Well, when you decide… you, Rafe,” you emphasized. “Tell me, please.”

“Don’t worry about me. You’re leaving soon too, you don’t have to, y’know-“

“I want to.”

Rafe and you both noticed Ward Cameron pacing toward one of the family’s boats. He greeted the construction workers without stopping, in rush to get a ride.

“The horizon is clear, it seems like,” Rafe said. “But it’s good here. Let’s stay for a while.”

You put your head on Rafe’s shoulder, leaning against him. He pulled you closer, shielding you with his hands.

“We’ll be alright, Rafe.”

________

Taking your time with Rafe, Wheezie joined you for a while on the roof. Even though Rafe was annoyed at the third-wheeling, you couldn’t say no to her.

Finally, you drove to your house. Anxiously tapping on the door of the car, you looked over to see if your parents are outside.

“It shouldn’t take me so long,” you said.

Leaving Rafe at the front of your house, you quietly opened the door, walking as though you were afraid to wake someone up even though it was already noon.

“Long lost daughter,” you heard your mother’s voice from behind.

“I stayed at Sarah’s,” you turned to her, pointing to your outfit. “Sorry for not calling.”

“Figured,” your mom replied. “I have no time for the angry talk. Please make yourself look presentable, we have the Menzies over. We’re having lunch together, you’re going.”

You frowned at your mom. “And Carter?”

“Yes. Now you feel like going, don’t you?”

“I don’t…” you shook your head, not being able to reply as she interrupted you.

“Lunch is the least you can do when they offered to transfer all your stuff to the mainland by their helicopter,” your eyes widened at your mom’s words.

“Oh God, it’s not necessary,” you hesitated. “Haven’t we figured out the way to transfer everything already?”

“God, Y/n. It’s no consolidated shipments we’re talking about. It is a private helicopter, we’re not saying no to that.”

“I have Rafe waiting for me outside,” you added.

Your mom sighed at your words. “Well, invite him with us or call him off. I don’t care,” she continued. “You’re going with us. Wren is coming soon and Carter and his mom are already in our living room.”

Not something you expected from today, but when did anything go the right way for you?

Rafe would’ve never sat at one table with Wren Menzies again. He was used to being forced to face people he didn’t like, you simply didn’t want to be the one to put him in such a situation.

You quickly paced towards Rafe while he waited for you outside his car.

“Okay, listen. We can’t go anywhere right now,” you said. “Us and the Menzies are having lunch.”

“Oh.”

“What if you come with me,” you took his hands, squeezing them lightly as he shrugged.

“As your what?”

“Well… as my date?”

He quickly dropped your hands, running his through his hair as he looked over to your house.

“Or not, Rafe, it’s whatever,” you added.

Shouldn’t have said that. Shouldn’t have said that, fuck.

“Let’s just drop them.”

“Rafe, I can’t. They helped me so much and they’re helping me move too. God, I’d be so lost without them.”

Rafe squinted, looking down at you. “Then go.”

“I don’t want to leave you like this.”

“Then don’t go.”

“You can come with me, Rafe. Fuck whatever the older Menzies says, you know my mom will have your back.”

“And the younger one,” Rafe paused. “Is he in there?”

“He’s inside, yes.”

“What do expect me to say,” Rafe mumbled, hiding his facial expression from you by turning away. “Let’s go somewhere else. Anywhere you want to. Please.”

“I- I can’t, Rafe.”

“Why the fuck not? What’s going to happen that you’re so afraid of?”

You frowned, leaning on the car. “You’re putting me in a very awkward position right now,” you commented. “I don’t like it.”

“Right back at you,” he replied.

You stood in silence for a moment, processing the conversation. “Then go back to the apartment. Call me later,” you suggested.

Rafe ran his hands through his hair. “Right. Tell Carter I said hi.”

“Stop!” You raised your voice for the first time. “It’s just lunch. I’ll be back in, what? Two hours.”

Rafe’s entitlement to your time bothered you. With all the options he had, the problem could be solved in a heartbeat.

“Fine, I’ll go,” he shrugged.

“Call me in the evening, okay?”

Rafe hummed, staring blankly at the road. He opened the door of his car, getting in as you silently observed him.

“Why the cold shoulder?” You huffed, angrily closing the door for him, the window rolled down fully.

“You must’ve misread me,” he replied in the same manner.

You stepped away from the car. “I'm tired of having to read you every time, you know. Drive safe.”

“Have a nice lunch,” he started the car, still not reciprocating your stare.

You’ve been waiting to catch his look at least once before he drove away, noticing the car of Wren Menzies and wondering how long it’d been parked there. But Rafe didn’t look back; your face dropped when his car was lost to sight.

You hid your hands in your sleeves, zoning out for a bit. You didn’t even notice Mr. Menzies coming to you.

“Y/n! Hi, why don’t we do inside?”

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” you stumbled. “Sure. How are you, Mr. Menzies?”

“I’m good,” he answered, smiling. “Where did you disappear last night?”

“Oh,” you brainstormed the ideas for a reasonable excuse. “Rafe got sick, needed to get him out.”

Slumping through the whole lunch, you felt offended. In your eyes, you weren’t in the wrong. You did not deserve the resentment you got from Rafe, especially not after feeling like he finally opened up to you. The feeling that slipped through your fingers so fast you had no chance to have a grasp of it.

You’d just wait for his call in the evening, when, after reevaluating the situation, Rafe would tell you he was sorry. He’d tell you weren’t stupid for calling him his date. Fucking hell, you should’ve said that. He would tell he overreacted.

If only he had called.

a/n: (awkwardly enters the room) heyy, hey. how y’all doing?

i feel like a mess lately and my writing is the same, and i’m sorry for making you wait so long for this part. the next part is the last one, and i hope i’ll be able to put everything into words and not disappoint you. as always, thank you for supporting this series, you’re the best ❤️❤️

Part 10 (last one😢)

tag list: @mentalpolaroids @pogueslandia @iixbella @taylathornton @theepoguelandia @hopebaker @littlementalpolaroids @ilovejjmaybank @mildkleptomaniac @stilynskii @obxlife101 @thatshithurted8 @classygirlything21 @futur3milf @bibliophilewednesday @tinawhynot @rafeseggplant @dalmanara01 @blondiekook @lemur46 @spiderlaufeyson @john-benderr @poulterfilms @glors3 @exenestea @darlingisntit @loveylangdon @28cnn @riot-race @starkey-babie @hockeybabe87 @jemimah-b99 @blissfullysin @maddyasleson @painlesslies @lazyunknownwerewolf @questionmymentality @poguesbau @barrysjumpsuit @millavalntyne @jessiq31 @bitchespinosa97 @asmalltowngirl @wtfkie @hayleyy-l @vinniehcker @rivercourt-always (please cyberbully me if i forgot to tag you)

#fanon rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron fanfiction #rafe cameron x y/n #rafe cameron #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron series #rafe cameron angst #rafe cameron x you #obx imagine #outer banks fanfiction

[anotheranimestan]

Steamy Nights

Shouta Aizawa steaminess + suggestive language

Please note that y/n is obviously of age in this one

wc: 2.4k

Tell me why I got 🦋 when writing this loll. This man is fineee

Stretched out on Aizawa’s couch, you were waiting for him to get home after another long day of teaching. A little while ago he’d given you a key to his place, which was a big surprise since he values his privacy so much. Since you hadn’t been able to see him for a few days, you figured tonight would be the perfect time to use it. Work was really taxing on him lately and you knew he was stressed. Probably over stressed. To make the most of the night, you decided to set the atmosphere.

The apartment already had Shouta’s personality all over it. Lots of dark furniture and wood. Absolutely no harsh lighting, just a few dim lamps. His walls were scattered with some paintings he’d bought on your art show dates together. Old books and blankets everywhere. His sweet cat usually curled up in her corner.

He had a drawer full of scented candles. Your favorite was the cinnamon one but he claims it’s too sweet for him. Although you highly doubted he’d even notice the difference, he just holds random stubborn opinions sometimes without any good reason behind it. Just wanting things to complain about. Most people found his pessimistic grumpy attitude unattractive but...he’s just moody. An exterior shell. Inside was was soft and sweet.

You’d just finished lighting a few of the cinnamon candles and putting on some of his favorite music in the background when you heard the door click open.

He’s always so light on his feet. Sometimes if you weren’t paying close attention he’d come in and scare the life out of you on accident.

You rounded the corner, excited to see him.

“Hey Eraserhead.”

You always called him by is pro name when he’s in his hero costume. People usually assumed it was out of respect or privacy but he knew the real reason. You were teasing him. You disliked his hero name and his hero outfit. Recalling the day Present Mic convinced him to use it, you’d pestered him relentlessly to put more effort into it. Insisting he’d regret it one day. He said he didn’t care...but now look at him.

“Please y/n, when are you going to stop calling me that?” He said rubbing his eyes. He was low energy as usual.

“After you change it.”

“I can’t change it.”

“Exactly.” You whispered smugly.

He sighed. No matter how many times you had this conversation you would always win. Rightfully but he wouldn’t admit it.

You drifted over to greet him properly. Brushing the hair out of his eyes and placing a sweet lingering kiss on his cheek.

And as for his boring, baggy costume...you understood it’s purpose. He wore it to stand out less, aiding in his fight style. But it was still a pain since you couldn’t properly hug him in it. The capture weapon was always in your face and you could hardly feel his body through the layers.

His modest attire duped most people. Making his tastefully well built body underneath a best kept secret. Which you supposed was an upside. Only you (and Present Mic for some reason) had ever really gotten to see him shirtless.

“I’m going to change.” He said kissing your forehead. He knew exactly what you were thinking.

He reemerged from his room a few minutes later. Wearing a droopy black shirt and sweatpants that were loose around his hips. You could see the dipped lines of his V. Just north was his lightly defined six pack. And just south was unfortunately concealed under black briefs and his untied waistband...

He caught you staring.

Feeling red and exposed you quickly redirected your attention to something else. “So are you hungry babe? I could make something?”

He declined.

“Okay...what about grading assignments. Do you want help to make it go faster?”

Declined again. Apparently he worked straight through lunch to finish that already.

You were beginning to feel useless. You’re supposed to be making him de-stress but it’s like he was so self-sufficient there was no room for you.

You sat next to him on the couch, his arm wrapped around you. You brushed some hair behind his ear. His long dark hair was always messy from his constant naps. Plus, you constantly running your fingers in it doesn’t help that situation. He was quiet. Massaging his temples. You could see the tension on his face. It made your heart twinge with pain. Just then you noticed his ear fully. He had at least six piercings on this one but he wasn’t wearing any of his earrings. Usually he’d put them on when he wasn’t at work but he didn’t tonight. And you knew exactly why.

“Babe. I have an idea.”

“And what’s that?” He played along.

He would take them out when he secretly wanted one of your amazing head massages. You always focus on his ears and temples just like he liked so he’d left out his earrings hoping you’d get the hint. This man could never just ask for something in his life. Luckily you could read him like a book.

“Come on.” You purred. Pulling him with both hands off the couch. He complied wearily.

Aizawa didn’t spend much of the money he made from pro hero work on lavish things. The only times he splurged was to buy you nice gifts. However, you did convince him to purchase one nice thing for himself. You knew he wanted it anyways but was just too stubborn to actually buy it.

A jacuzzi tub. He loves hot baths after a day of dealing with his “problem children” students. It was the only thing that could get his muscles to relax. And the moisture from the steam felt nice on his eyes.

Making sure to bring a candle and the speaker with, you lured him into the bathroom.

“Want to take a bath with me?” You asked sweetly.

“I wouldn’t mind that.” A tiny smile spread on his lips. You were too irresistible to deny.

“Okay you run it and I’ll go get the wine.” You sang excitedly. “But don’t make it so hot. You almost burnt my skin off last time.”

“It felt normal to me.” He said casually.

“Yea because you’re a psychopath.” You quipped before springing to the kitchen.

You guys had two types of favorite wine. One was for your long deep discussions about art and literature. Or when asks for your advice on dealing with his students because he knows he’d just lose his temper and expel them without your ideas. And the other, the pricier and far more potent one, was saved for special moments. Just like these. You poured your glass full, of course, but you filled his to the tippy top. Not only did he need it, but Lord knows tipsy Aizawa was sexy.

When you returned, he was crouched over testing the water temperature. His face gently lit from the soft glow of the candle in the dark room.

“I made sure to cool it off. No psychopaths here.” He teased trying to sound bored. But his voice was noticeably happier than when he’d arrived.

You instructed him to take a few sips of wine, desperate to get that show rolling.

“I know what you’re doing.” He said with an amused little smile. He swapped the cups in your hands so you now claimed the full one.

“Good. So then you should know exactly how to play along.” You said as you switched the glasses back with a wink.

He sighed in defeat. But that rare smile was still adorning his cheeks. He took a few y/n-approved size drinks.

His hair was falling into his eyes again. You set your glass down on the tub edge and pulled him into you. He wrapped his arms around your waist while you pushed his hair back and secured it in a clip.

“I didn’t know you were coming tonight.” He said softly.

“I know. Now that I have a key I wanted to come bother you a bit.”

His eyebrow raised at the word bother.

You panicked slightly. Hoping he wasn’t actually bothered that you’d come uninvited.

“That does sound like you.” He said as he kissed your nose. “I hope you do it more often.”

Your heart spasmed.

“Really? You do?” Your insecurities ears’ perked up.

“Why wouldn’t I want that?” He said in his deep sleepy voice.

A happy little smile broke its way through. You could only shrug in response.

You slipped your hands under his shirt and pulled it up slowly. Dragging your knuckles along the dips and bumps of his abs as you went. Gently you pulled it over his head. He helped by raising his arms which just made the rest of his muscles flex. Your heart started beating a little faster. No matter how many times you saw him he always made you flustered.

Your eyes were glued on him. His tattoos were now completely visible. Another best kept secret. They trailed around his shoulder, back and half his chest. You placed some honeyed kisses on his collar bones as you pulled down his sweatpants and briefs to leave him fully undressed. He was mouthwatering type sexy. The candlelight was highlighting all his high points in the best possible way. The music was perfectly complimenting your emotions and the sleepy eyes staring at you so lovingly were severely compromising your thought process. There were a lot of things you wanted to do with him suddenly but you focused your eyes on the goal here. A relaxing, hot bath.

Bath bath bath.

Reluctantly containing yourself you pried his hands off your waist and nudged him towards the water.

“Okay okay, go on.”

“You’re coming too right?” He said as he grazed your bottom lip with his thumb.

You nodded, butterflies erupting in your tummy.

He laid down in the water and took some more large swigs of wine. His glass was half empty before you’d even taken your first sip. He watched you undress with intent in his eyes, soaking in every curve and dip of you as well. He reached an arm out to you once you’d fully unclothed. He wanted his hands on you immediately.

But you had a goal here. Bath. Massage. Focus.

You slipped in behind him so that he laid between your legs. His broad shoulders nearly covered your whole body when he leaned back against you.

The tub was huge. Easily fit you both and could probably add another person.

“And now for my favorite part.” You announced as you switched the tub on its low setting. The rumbling under the water sending tiny vibrating waves around the whole tub.

Definitely worth spending his money.

Your hands rubbed every inch of him you could reach. His abs, the thick muscular sides of his waist, his biceps. You alternated between hugging his neck whispering cute things in his ear and massaging him.

Of course he was practically falling asleep as you spent time on his ears and temples. His head was heavy against your chest. It was so cute. You loved when he fell asleep on you.

But you knew he was keeping himself awake. He was rubbing your legs and the backs of your thighs. Squeezing and kneading them gently. Placing kisses on your arms and hands whenever he got the chance.

After about 20 minutes and one refresh of hot water, both your glasses were empty. He’d drank most of it since he’d downed the last few sips of yours too.

Wanting to see his handsome face again you shifted and positioned yourself to sit on his lap, thighs wrapped snuggly around his waist. After making sure you were fully comfortable, he leaned back against the tub and closed his eyes. He pulled you close and trailed circles with his fingertips up and down your back under the warm water. He loved the weight of you on him. You both exhaled a deep stress relieving breath.

The steam was working its magic, the rumbling of the jets felt so good massaging your legs. And his heart beat, you could feel it through his chest. It was slow and steady. Making you drowsy off him.

He noticed you were lost in thought, stroking his hair and tracing your fingers along the lines of his tattoo. He took advantage of this time to soak in all your features, watching you under drooping lashes. The flush of your cheeks, the delicate arrangement of your beauty marks. The far off expression on your face, he knew it well. He loved observing you when you were like this. You were beautiful.

“Relaxed yet?” You purred. Starting to tease him with soft kisses.

“Almost there.” He replied before catching you to deepen the kiss. Your soft skin and body heat was melting him away. He wanted more. Using both hands he pressed your back into it.

He savored your lips for a long while, becoming more and more passionate as the seconds ticked by and the wine hit his bloodstream.

You felt him shifting underneath you. Squirming slightly from the pressure that was building up. More butterflies. His hands clamped down around your hips.

“Okay your plan worked.” He smiled into your kiss. Eyes still closed.

“I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re referring to.”

He tapped his finger against the empty wine glasses.

You started sucking on the sensitive spot under his ear. You knew tipsy Shouta always got turned on by that.

His arms both constricted tightly around your waist. His hips were pressing up into you now with impatience.

“Let’s go to my room.” He concluded. You giggled, causing your lips to vibrate against his sweet spot. You heard the soft moan from deep in his throat.

He stood up keeping you wrapped tightly around him, carrying you with ease.

He half-heartedly patted you both down with a towel, his hand not losing contact with your ass for a second.

Before he could whisk you out of the bathroom you grabbed the speaker and candle again.

The scent wafted into the air around you.

“Mm that smells good.” He said distracted for only a moment before his lips gravitated to your body again.

“Oh really. So you do like it.” You said with the smuggest tone. “You’ll never guess what scent it is Shouta.”

He didn’t reply. Too distracted with kissing your shoulders.

“Cinnamon.” You said with as much sass and emphasis as you could muster.

He paused. Caught. How did you always get him like this?

He pulled back rolling his eyes with a smile. Nose to nose now, you pressed him further with a smirk.

He cocked an eyebrow at you. Looking directly in your eyes he said, “Mhm. Keep this same energy when I take you in there.”

And just like that he’d knocked down your resolve and your whole body started fluttering.

He carried you into his bed and you two “relaxed” for the rest of the night.

~~

😳 the way I want to be y/n.

#aizawa shouta #aizawa imagine #aizawa fluff #aizawa smut #aizawa headcanons #aizawa x you #aizawa x y/n #aizawa x reader #mha aizawa #aizawa sexy #aizawa sensei #aizawa fanart #aizawa fanfiction #aizawa drabble #my hero academia aizawa #aizawa angst #shouta aizawa x reader #mha shouta #shouta fluff

[heyhihellowhatsup0]

Hooked On Your Feelings - Chapter Two (FWB! Tom Holland x Reader)

SERIES MASTERLIST

Warnings: Some angst, language, eventual smut in future chapters, fluff

Word Count: 5255

Summary: After a bad breakup, making an agreement with your womanizing neighbor, Tom to be friends with added benefits and no strings attached seemed like the perfect idea. Until things become messy, emotions caused your agreement to crumble.

A/N:  I am HYPE to post this new chapter! Omg I just love writing this series so much its so fun writing Tom like this lol. Also low key...this chapter has an easter egg to a pervious series of mine and I’m v curious if anyone catches it but probably not because its superrr tiny but either way I hope you guys like this one! Obviously, smut is in this chapter! DM me to be tagged and I cannot wait to hear everyone’s thoughts! (Also .gif is not mine. DM me for credit please, I found on google!) Thank you xx -N

“What happened to that girl you took home the other night from The Lace Rabbit?” Harrison asked as he ordered his lunch before he took a seat at the table with Tom. It was typical for them to meet up during the week on their lunch breaks and catch up when they were not busy being wingmen for the other while bar hopping on the weekends. 

Tom shrugged off Harrison’s question as he took a bite of his sandwich, “She got a little clingy so I had Y/N help me get rid of her,” he smiled as he said your name out loud. His friends knew of you as the hot girl who lived next door who bailed him out of sticky situations. Always teasing Tom how he could never actually get you. The irony made it all too funny for him, “How’d it go with that blonde girl?” he asked to change the subject off of him.

He didn’t know if he should bring up the two of you sleeping together with Harrison. Harrison was his best friend and wouldn’t judge but he knew he’d give Tom shit for it. He’d want to know details of your arrangement or how it came about, if you were really that good and Tom didn’t feel comfortable answering that. Not if it was about you. He didn’t want his other friends knowing about you in the way he did. That was personal between you both and he wanted to show you he respected you.

“It didn’t,” Harrison admitted while taking a sip of his water. He let out a chuckle as he felt himself blushing, “Forgot her name and she spilt her drink on me. Can’t say I didn’t deserve that one,” he at least knew when he was in the wrong.

Tom cringed into his sandwich as he let out a cackle, “You definitely deserved it, mate,” he laughed with another bite. His phone vibrated in his pocket but he chose to ignore it, knowing like clock work what it probably was. It was going to ruin the rest of his day and he at least wanted to enjoy lunch with his friend before getting pissed off for the day.

“She’d probably love you,” Harrison teased. 

“Fuck off,” Tom rolled his eyes with a laugh. “I’m not taking your angry seconds.”

“Don’t knock angry sex til you try it,” Harrison smirked knowingly. 

Tom shook his head as he once again ignored the phone ringing, “I think I’m good, thanks,” he brushed it off with another eyeroll. 

He didn’t know why he suddenly felt weird talking about their last venture out at the club. Maybe it was because Tom knew where he ended up after that girl had left and he knew what that meant for the both of you. But Tom wasn’t done with his bachelor days, and even you knew that. Hell, you practically insisted since this was a no strings attached deal.

It just felt strange not telling Harrison about you. Like it was a weird secret. But at the same time, he felt oddly protective of you. Not wanting his friends to see you as some girl he was getting laid with. Or worse, a potential love interest. He knew it wasn’t going to happen. Hell would be freezing over before Tom decided on any sort of long term obligation. But he knew his friends and he knew they wouldn’t see this is a simple agreement between two friends. And he didn’t want to deal with that conversation.

Staying quiet was the better option. For his own sanity. And...well, would you care if he told anyone about this? Tom figured that was another rule he’d have to ask about. He didn’t want to overstep any boundaries and he knew you had a list of rules as well that he was happy to follow. As long as that meant one thing and one thing only: non-exclusive.

Harrison noticed Tom’s phone buzzing for the third time. And Tom ignored it for the third time. He checked the message with a huff of his breath before turning the screen face down on the table, going back to his lunch before he had to get back to work.

“Clingy girl?” Harrison nodded towards Tom’s phone. 

Tom shook his head, “My mother was supposed to visit this weekend but you know the routine,” he mumbled into his food, not even wanting to respond to her.

“Let me guess,” Harrison began, knowing exactly where this was going since he knew Tom’s whole story inside and out. Including the bits he hated to discuss which was mainly his family, “Going skiing with Clint in Veil instead?” he questioned knowingly.

Tom scoffed out a laugh at his guess, “Surfing with Clint in Malibu but same shit,” he corrected as he tried not to let it get to him. But even Harrison could tell he was getting bothered by it once again and who could honestly blame him.

 Always the same story every time no matter what and Tom grew tired of her antics. He couldn’t even blame Clint for it anymore considering she’d been this way since he was a kid before he was even in the picture. Only now she would just use him as the perfect excuse to get out of coming to visit.

He knew he shouldn’t care anymore but he couldn’t help it. It wasn’t something easy for him to simply let go of. It was his mother. And no matter how many times he’d try she would always give him back the bare minimum and it always made him upset. She was his one final connection to him and she could care less about any of it, so why did Tom? It always got under his skin and he loathed that it did.

But he would still invite her. No matter how miserable it made him.

“Well at least now you’re free this weekend,” Harrison broke his thought while he gathered their garbage before they headed back to work, “The usual at The Lace Rabbit this Saturday then?” he suggested with a knowing smile to try and get Tom out of his mood.

Grabbing his phone, Tom clutched it tightly as he inhaled sharply. Knowing his change of plans meant doing his normal routine even though he was looking forward to the slight change this weekend, which now just seemed bleak to him

.

“Yeah,” Tom agreed as he tapped your name on his phone but hesitated when he saw his mother trying to call for a fourth time, “The usual this weekend.”

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

Your chest tensed as you got into your car after your extremely long day in the office. Everything around you felt heavy and you couldn’t wait to get home as soon as you could but you found yourself still frozen in your car. Unable to move as the moments from earlier this afternoon invaded your thoughts once again while you tried your best to move in. Even though you knew you were completely grief stricken and didn’t know what the hell to do.

The promotion was yours, at least you had thought it was by the way your boss would constantly hint at it. You knew it was never a definite thing, but you were confident in the hard work you had put into your job and knew you were a top contender for the spot. You worked longer hours, took on extra tasks, you even worked on the occasional weekend to get your work done. Taking every precaution necessary to prove that you were the best fit for the role.

Everything felt like it was lining up for you. Co-workers were giving you a pat on the back for your work accomplishments, your boss was taking note of everything you were doing, and you overall felt really good about where you stood for the potential position. So imagine your surprise when you attended the big luncheon and your boss announced his undeserving son was getting the spot instead of you.

It was both nepotism and misogyny rolled into one and it made your stomach turn the longer you had thought about it. None of it made any sense and it was far from fair. You knew you were the one more deserving of the position, the whole office knew it. Even your damn boss knew but he chose his damn son over you and it felt like a stab right to your gut.

You felt so betrayed and beside yourself as you finally decided to head home. Tears streamed down your cheeks while you tried to focus on the road but you just couldn’t ignore the facts. How were you going to be able to show up and take orders now from your boss’ son? You knew the job more than he did and it felt like a huge screw you.

On your drive home, you tried to make yourself feel better by putting on some music to distract yourself but nothing helped. You felt beyond defeated and frustrated right now you didn’t know what was going to make you feel better at the moment. It felt like the world was against you. Between finding Justin with another woman and your job, you were really batting one thousand lately and you weren’t sure when you would catch a break.

Things were not going how you planned at all. The thought of just quitting your job and starting all over again crossed your mind but the fear of the unknown kept haunting you. You didn’t know which direction to go in or who to turn to for advice anymore. You were slowly drowning and you needed someone to throw you a goddamn life jacket already.

You were relieved to finally be home. Maybe some peace and quiet would make you feel a little better, you thought to yourself while you kicked your shoes off and turned some music on for yourself. Trying to put the day behind you and focus on the present moment while you got changed into more comfortable clothes to unwind.

You jumped out of your skin when you heard a knock at your door, not expecting anybody to come by right now. Pulling your hair up into a bun, you headed back towards the door and looked through the peephole. To your surprise, you weren’t really surprised at all. You were actually sort of relieved when you opened the door and saw Tom standing there holding a pizza box.

“That better have extra cheese,” you asked with a narrowed expression while you invited him inside with the pizza that he would always bring you even in normal times. 

Placing the box on the kitchen table, Tom opened it with a grin as he showed you the pizza pie with cheese practically oozing from the crusts, “Figured it was an extra toppings sort of day,” he admitted, knowing he really needed the escape from reality. Even if it was just a pizza.

“Tell me about it,” you sighed as you grabbed a piece closest to you as Tom handed you a paper plate. You headed over towards your refrigerator to grab you both a few beers while Tom leaned up against your kitchen counter as he devoured his slice, “I’m guessing you had a bad day judging by your pizza presentation?” knowing there wasn’t really any particular reason he’d be coming over with it today. Unless if he wanted something?

You slowed your pace back from the fridge wondering if he was going to pick up on how you were feeling. You weren’t entirely sure if you wanted him to notice. Whenever you and Tom had a pizza night it was merely to gossip about your lunatic neighbors or watch a game together. You talked about casual things but never really gone into depth or prying into each other’s lives. Why did it feel like suddenly you wanted something different? Would sex change that much in your friendship?

“We can just ignore that...we don’t have to talk about unimportant stuff,” you waved it off. Tom didn’t need to hear about your miserable day. And you didn’t want to pry into his. 

He swallowed the last bite of his slice, “If something makes you upset, it’s not unimportant,” he noted. But when he noticed you just looking at him, he raised his hands in surrender. “Ignore my philosophical ass. But I’d like to hear about your day, you know,” he laughed it off. 

What the hell was he doing? He thought to himself. Don’t let personal shit ruin this. Enjoy her company. That’s it. 

“I didn’t get the promotion,” you told him. You had mentioned to Tom a while ago that your boss was hinting at it but you never went into detail with him about it. You weren’t used to Tom actually wanting to be open or the other way around. And you’d be lying if you said you weren’t slightly surprised Tom even gave a crap about stuff like this. 

Tom frowned at your answer and he felt his heart sink a bit when you told him the truth about your bad day. He didn’t know much about your job but he was sure you were a hard worker. He saw how much you loved your job and how passionate you were about it when it would come up. You would share upcoming projects with him from time to time and he would see the look on your face whenever you explained them to him. So hearing that you were passed by for a promotion was upsetting to him.

“I...shit, Y/N,” he put his pizza down as he walked over towards to give you a hug. Sliding his hands around your waist he pulled you into him as he felt you relax against his chest, “You didn’t deserve that,” he added softly.

You allowed Tom to embrace you, his warmness comforting you a bit before you pulled away and started crying when telling him about your boss’ son getting the job instead of you. Making you laugh by calling him every name in the book, you and Tom finally found a common ground as you kept venting to him.

Tom pulled away slowly, his hand resting at your chin while he licked his lips, “You’re boss sounds like a fucking prick, I hope you know that,” he told you reassuringly. The small smile you formed when he spoke made him want to keep making you feel better, “I’m glad you’re smiling,” he blushed at his confession.

Stretching your mouth wider, you flashed Tom a playful yet overly wide grin to deflect the attention he gave to you. The two of you laughed as Tom pulled away with a loud chuckle, shaking his head at your sudden silliness, “That has to be the most hideous smile. But we’ll work on it,” he told you through his laughter.

You rolled your eyes before going back to your pizza, giving Tom a look as you nudged him, “Not gonna tell me about what happened to you?” you finally asked.

Tom tensed as he tried to brush it off with a simple shrug into his pizza. The thought of his mother’s texts and ridiculous apologies and excuses continued to drive him crazy as he mumbled into his bite, “It’s stupid shit,” he told you as he swallowed the crust he was chewing, “Mom stuff, not important,” he added bluntly.

You could see the look on his face and could tell it was important to him but you didn’t want to force him to talk about it. Tom was never one to bring up his family ever to you and that was the first time you had ever heard him even mention his mother. He never spoke of his father, at least to you, so you just assumed both were out of his life for whatever reason and it was none of your business to ask.

 And Tom refused to admit it but he wanted you to ask about him. Spending hours upon hours at bars, turning his focus always onto the girl; because he knew no girl would ever want to go home with a self righteous, egotistical guy. It was never something Tom minded to do, especially with complete strangers who he would never open up to in a million years. It might have been the recent development he had with you but there was something refreshing he felt around you and as much as it freaked him out, he didn’t seem to mind.

But diving into his mommy issues with you now seemed too much to deal with right now. You were dealing with more than enough problems with your job and your miserable ex-boyfriend, he figured you didn’t need to hear his bitching right now anyway. He came here to get away from those shitty thoughts, not open those wounds further. 

Tom came here for a distraction.

Licking his lips, Tom perked up as he looked at you fervidly, “Wanna have sex?” he asked matter of factly. He figured he didn’t need to beat around the bush since you had your arrangement but maybe he was a bit too direct with his request. Tom cleared his throat as he tried to save the night, “I-I mean, I just figured since we both had shitty days that maybe we could uhm-”

“Thought you’d never ask,” you cut him off with a smirk and you perked up as well, nodding as you smoothed out your hair. Standing back up as you turned your back towards him, removing your shirt in the process, “Let’s go,” you called over your shoulder as you headed towards your room.

“Oh, we’re jumping right in,” Tom mumbled to himself as he practically fell off his chair to follow you into your room, tossing his shirt beside yours as he practically froze already seeing you completely undressed, “Christ…” he breathed out while taking you in. 

You rolled your eyes as you walked over to him, bringing your lips to his now bare shoulder, “You’re really acting like you haven’t seen me like this the other day?” You laughed against his skin while you began to suck a bruise against him, hearing him let out a gasp while your hand snaked into his pants sneakily, “Beginning to really like this whole friends with benefits thing we have,” you laughed as you found Tom’s lips.

Practically growling into your kiss, Tom lifted you up and lowered you onto your back on your bed. His lips traveled from yours, to your stomach, dipping his tongue into your belly button as you moaned quietly before he brought himself down between your thighs. His lips peppering your inner thigh before he got straight to the point because this whole arrangement meant no foreplay. Another plus for Tom.

“Darling, I think you may be the best friend I’ve ever had,” Tom breathed out a laugh as he pressed his tongue flatly against your clit. Sliding two of his fingers into your core while he slowly pumped in and out of you, “This is what got me through my day today,” he told you before he brought his mouth back to your core.

You arched your back while your fingers went towards Tom’s curls. His name began to fall from your lips while he lapped his tongue carefully, letting it slip inside of you as he continued to tease you with his mouth. His fingers sliding into you again, adding a third as he moaned against your center; allowing the vibrations to roll throughout your entire body.

“Mmm, oh, fuck...!” you cried out, yanking gently against Tom’s hair as you felt the coil beginning to burn from inside of you. Biting your lip to stifle another moan, “Fuck...yo-you’re really good at that,” you breathed out with a small laugh which turned into a whimper.

With his head peering up at you, Tom flashed you a cocky smile with a playful wink as he licked your folds teasingly, “Did you seriously doubt my abilities to make you cum with my mouth, Y/N?” he raised his eyebrow while pumping his fingers now tantalizingly slow, “You’re gonna pay for that comment,” he said to you.

“Just...shut up and make me cum, Tom,” you told him through another gasp as you felt his teeth drag teasingly against your already throbbing bud. His lips wrapped around it as he sucked more harshly, doing exactly as you had asked him to do, “Ungh...oh god, okay. Yeah, keep doing that,” you instructed as you began to grind your hips against his mouth.

Tom took it as a challenge and picked up his pace, beginning to flick your clit faster while he continuously sucked on it. His three fingers now entirely coated in your warmth as he felt you clenching around them. His pants feeling tighter from his hard on while he knelt at the end of your bed trying to bring you to where he wanted.

His free hand splayed against your stomach, holding you in place while he felt you trying to squirm around from the way he was making you feel. Rubbing your clit in between his breaths, Tom looked up at you as he licked a solid stripe down your center, “Let out how you’re feeling from today and cum for me, Y/N,” Tom commanded. 

Your eyes shut as you did exactly what Tom had suggested. Completely coming undone from beneath him while you released as much of the tension from earlier as you possibly could but in the most amazing way. Your eyes rolled back into your head while your back arched as Tom’s tongue continued to work you up while you were at your highest point.

Letting out a breathy laugh as you started to come down from it, feeling Tom begin to kiss his way back up your stomach with a smug look, “Don’t give me that look,” you rolled your eyes at his cockiness as his tongue traced along your neck, “I could do what you just did to myself, you know,” you tried to knock him off his high horse a bit while he pretended to be wounded from your words.

“Ah, but you didn’t. Did you?” Tom reminded you as his lips found yours. His hands still in between your thighs as he brought them between you both, showing you his coated fingers while he tasted you off of them, “Tastes like I made you cum because you wanted me to,” his smugness only elevated as he pushed himself off of you as he laid on his back on your bed.

“Need I remind you that you came to my place like a porno with a pizza looking to get laid,” you retaliated as you shifted so you were now hovering over him. Your hands guiding towards his belt buckle to get him out of his restraintive pants. The pleading look on his face made you just as smug, “Sounds like you want me to do just about the same thing, am I right or am I right?” you sang in his ear.

Tom helped you get the rest of his pants and boxers off, feeling himself spring out as he stared back at you with uncertainty, “Did you...just call me a porn star?” he questioned as the two of you let out a laugh.

“You wish, Tommy,” you teased as you ran your tongue down his abs, placing small and open kisses against his stomach as you made your way down to his legs while your hand carefully gripped his hardened length, your thumb running the pre-cum around his tip while you already heard him gasping for you.

Gripping your bedsheets with one hand, Tom reached around to create a makeshift ponytail to hold your hair. Cussing under his breath as he watched your mouth wrap around his tip, swirling your tongue around it while your eyes searched for his. He was really trying to hold it together but you were already driving him crazy.

“Let’s see what you got, Y/N,” Tom challenged you with a heavy breath as he tightened his grip around your hair, “Sometimes, girls think they know exactly what to do but-OH FUCK!” 

His words were lost as soon as your mouth went straight down to his base. Suctioning as hard as you could before coming back up his cock painfully slow. Moaning your name as his chest began to heave, Tom felt his thighs start to quiver from under you. Even just watching the way you were working on him was enough to make him whimper right now.

“Fuck...okay, yeah I take that back,” Tom gasped as his nose crinkled up while his other hand white knuckled the sheets, “God, your mouth is fucking perfect. Why haven’t we done any of this shit before?” he was in such a fucked out haze, he wasn’t even sure if anything he was saying made any sense at all. But he felt his stress from earlier going away finally. Even if this was just a short state of bliss, he was grateful for it anyway.

“You really want me to answer that or would you just prefer me to keep sucking your dick?” you sassed while you kitten licked his tip. You watched from the end of the bed as Tom bucked his hips into your mouth to try and get more contact from your lips but you pulled away from him and just kept licking his tip.

God, you were good, Tom thought to himself.

‘K-keep going,” Tom finally breathed out, flinging his head against the pillow to brace for the impact.

Hollowing your cheeks, you pushed yourself all the way down his cock. Your tongue flicking the base in between as you began to feel him throb inside of your mouth. You could tell he was close so you moaned softly into his cock, watching as Tom shuddered from the sensation you just sent through him.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Tom cried out, moaning your name as he rutted his hips into your mouth. His pupils blacked as he felt the heat rising in his body, “Shit...I’m gonna cum, Y/N,” he warned as you pulled away, running your hand down his shaft as he began to come undone for you.

His warmth spilled out into your hand and down his cock while he let go finally. The stress somewhat leaving his body as it did yours while the euphoric high peaked for him. Your lips crashed against his while his tongue parted your lips to find yours, tangling them together as he moaned against your mouth while riding out his high finally.

You waited for Tom to catch his breath before you smiled against his lips, placing a small peck against them as you pulled away with an even bigger grin, “Yeah, you’re welcome,” you gave him the same arrogant tone he gave to you moments earlier before you pecked his lips again.

After taking some time to get yourselves together mixed with the continuous fooling around underneath the sheets, you and Tom finally decided to get up and end the night. Even though he didn’t want to leave, he knew he probably shouldn’t overstay. Primarily, Tom was adamant about never spending the night at a girl’s place that he slept with. That made things complicated and he didn’t want complicated. But since you and him had rules to not make things messy, he wasn’t sure if that applied to you. For now, he wanted to play it safe so he got himself dressed again.

You pulled on an oversized t-shirt, realizing both of your hair looked a mess. Luckily you were already home and Tom was down the hall so it didn’t really matter. You wanted to say something to Tom, that you were thankful he came by tonight. You were thankful even before sex was on the table. It felt nice to have him as an ally to swing by with a pizza when he didn’t even know you needed that.

“...is it weird to say I’m glad you came by?” you gestured towards your bedroom while you walked with him out into the kitchen where the half eaten pizza was left, “I know we haven’t really made too many rules about it but…” you trailed off with a nervous laugh as you smiled at him awkwardly.

“Like we said, zero weirdness,” Tom reminded you as he padded his way over to you. He grabbed a leftover crust from the box and shoved it in his mouth, clearly starving already from the workout you had just given him. He smiled while he chewed lazily, his mouth still filled with pizza crumbs, “But I’m happy to come by when we have shit days...and make you cum as well,” he smirked deviously. 

The door opened as you smiled back, “Doesn’t have to be just bad days, you know. We could...screw whenever we feel like it,” you told him, hoping that it wasn’t too much.

“Did you just say screw?” he whipped his head towards you with a loud laugh.

“Alright then, I guess I’ll just leave you to the girls who leave you unsatisfied then,” you fought back.

Tom leaned against the door with his mouth gaped open, “They do not...leave me...unsatisfied?” he questioned himself, knowing that that was true, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

“Then why are you here?” you placed a hand on your hip, feeling the smile pulling at your lips while you messed around with him. You certainly weren’t in this mood earlier before Tom came around.

Pressing his lips together, Tom rolled his eye at you, “Fine...we can screw...whenever,” he leaned in closer to you with his eyes big as he mimicked your voice when you said it, “As long as we keep this thing strictly what we intended, you can use me whenever you need, Y/N,” and he meant it.

You didn’t back away when he sealed his words with a soft kiss, paired with his trademark grin. Tom pulled away slowly, taking in the moment as he wished you a goodnight quietly before kissing you against the cheek, “Like I said, best friend I ever had,” he said softly once again.

“Am I interrupting something?” A voice broke from behind the two of you. Both of your eyes widened towards each other as you both simultaneously pivoted your heads towards the staircase where the voice was coming from.

Tom closed his eyes with a groan, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to ignore Harrison staring at the two of you with a crooked grin. Making it known to Tom that explaining this was going to be a lot tougher than he had imagined.

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#tom holland #tom holland x you #tom holland x reader #tom holland smut #heyhihellowhatsup0

[noteguk]

a little while | kth | m

↳ inspired by the song “a little while” by yellow days. 

— summary; in which Taehyung realizes that he was wrong in thinking that being friends with benefits with you wouldn’t backfire. 

— contents and warnings; angsty smut!!, pretty much pwp, taehyung is emotional, fwb au, Taehyung x reader, protected sex, dirty talk (honestly like one sentence), unrequited feelings, kind of soft sex :( taehyung is whipped and sad about it 

— words; 2k

— author’s note; I’ve been feeling kind of stuck with my other wips so I wrote this drabble to unwind :) idk if I plan to write more of it but who knows!!! My two functioning neurons are very unpredictable. 

That was supposed to be easy. 

That was all that Taehyung could think about: you two, whatever you had going on; that was supposed to be easy. It was the whole point of even starting something like that in the first place. It was the entire motive behind why anyone would ever accept a friend with benefits — no strings attached, no clingy calls, no emotional baggage. It was supposed to be a quick situation, convenient; Taehyung was supposed to see you every once in a while, maybe even forget about you, until he decided that he wanted to get his dick wet again. 

It was supposed to be easy. 

“Is this okay for you?” Taehyung asked, leaning a bit closer to your face. He loved staring at you like that: with your hair sprawled on the pillow and your pouty lips inviting him into a kiss. He had grown used to having you under him, and it had quickly become one of his favorite pastimes. “Want me to go faster?” 

You shifted around under him, your hands moving up to rest on his shoulders. “It’s alright, I like it slow too.” 

And he could only nod, because his mind was thinking too many things that he could not say. It was supposed to be fucking easy, but somewhere along the way, Taehyung had ruined everything. It was just a matter of time before the whole situation went up in flames and he managed to lose both his friend and what might just be the love of his life in one go. 

Because Taehyung had broken the first and most important rule of having a friend with benefits: whatever you do, don’t catch feelings. 

And now he was rocking into you slowly, sensually, actually making love to you instead of the way he usually fucked — fast, rough, with your loud moans filling his lungs until he found his high. It was ridiculous. He felt nauseous. 

Worst part was that he was almost sure you didn’t feel the same — and the “almost” was because there was a small fragment of hope inside his chest that really tried to convince him that he had a shot. That maybe the way you looked at him showed something beyond hunger and lust. Maybe you actually cared for him. Maybe you wanted more and you weren’t brave enough to tell him. 

“Actually, could you go a bit faster?” 

Your voice shot him straight back down into reality. Taehyung only nodded, mumbling something that not even he understood before burying his face on the crook of your neck and raising the speed of his thrusts. The world around him felt suffocating and confusing, not even your honeyed moans against his ear could raise his spirit. 

Still he tried to ground himself, his hands digging to your hips as he closed his eyes, focusing on the drag of your walls against his cock. The feeling was overwhelming, dizzying, earned a low groan from him as he continued to fuck you like you deserved to be fucked. Taehyung managed to pretend that everything was alright for exactly two minutes before you spoke up again. 

“God, that feels so good,” you cried out. His cock throbbed inside you at your words, his mind spinning at the sensation of you growing tighter. Taehyung was obsessed with you in every way, completely enthralled by how your body reacted to his, so eager to feel more. “Want you to kiss me, Tae.” 

You always asked that when you were getting close and Taehyung was always fast to do it. His lips were on yours before he could even think about it, his tongue crawling inside your mouth as he groaned against the kiss. God, he could make out with you forever, it wasn’t even a joke. 

Taehyung was absolutely whipped and that was a problem. 

He removed one hand from your hips and trailed it down your arm slowly, reaching your hand and intertwining his fingers in yours. He moaned against your mouth, feeling his orgasm building up on the base of his spine, and pressed your hand down on the mattress as he continued to bury himself inside you. 

“Tae,” you sobbed his name so beautifully that he swore he could cum right at that instant. “I’m so close.” 

“It’s okay, baby, you can let it go,” he said, his voice so deep that you felt it vibrating inside your chest. “I got you. Cum on my cock for me. Wanna feel you.”

And you did, because it was like the universe was mocking him about how perfect you could be. Taehyung groaned — both in pleasure and in frustration — as your pussy clenched around his aching cock, your thighs trembling on either side of his body while you cried out his name. It was a flawless melody composed just for him: your voice dancing in the air, the lewd sounds of your wetness as he continued to thrust in and out of you. 

Taehyung, just to top it all off, committed the huge mistake of actually making eye contact with you as you came down from your high. It suddenly was too much: your hooded eyes, your parted lips, the blissful expression that covered your features. You were too much. 

“Fuck, baby,” Taehyung cursed. He closed his eyes, paying full attention to his growing pleasure. “You’re so beautiful.” 

He didn’t really mean to confess that out loud, but you didn’t seem to mind. You smiled, that gorgeous, drowsy smile you always gave him after he had made you cum, and Taehyung swore he was in heaven. “Are you gonna cum?” You asked, earning an eager nod in return. His hair was a mess over his eyes, sweaty and disorganized, covering his gaze as he looked down to see where the two of you met. You were made for him, your pussy was made for him, and he couldn’t take that idea out of his mind. “It’s okay, Tae, you can cum.” 

Again, the universe was mocking him, because within a few seconds he was doing just that. Taehyung pressed his forehead against your shoulder and spilled himself inside the condom, wishing profusely — pretending, almost — that the latex barrier wasn’t there, and that he was filling you up with his cum instead, making you his. And that was enough to prolong his high a little further, his cock throbbing as he dove into that fantasy. 

But, eventually, it had to end. 

The silence that followed was thick and overbearing, but comfortable regardless. Most of the time it went like that: with the two of you basking in the afterglow of your orgasms, drowning in the heat of one another without saying a word. Taehyung did not know what went on inside your head, but he knew that he needed those few seconds of silence to reset his thoughts, to try and bury the emotions that ever so gradually started to build up. 

Basically, he had to take a moment to remind himself that he had absolutely no chance with you. 

You sighed deeply, your fingers diving into Taehyung’s soft locks. He had collapsed against your chest, trying to regain his breath and, at the gentle caresses of your fingers, you felt his heart leap inside his chest, pounding against your skin. 

“That was nice,” you said daintily. He only hummed in agreement, worried he would slip and say something he didn’t mean to. “I have to go, though.” 

Just like that, Taehyung felt like he just got stabbed in the fucking jugular. He whipped his head away from your chest faster than he could think (after all, he should’ve enjoyed a few extra seconds of boob time if he had the chance) and his mouth fell open for a moment before his words finally came out. “Don’t— Don’t you wanna stay the night?” 

If you thought that his plea was desperate, which it was, you didn’t let it show. You smiled, leaning back to you could shift into a seating position on the bed. The two of you were facing each other then, so close and yet miles apart. “I don’t think I have the energy for round three,” you answered playfully. 

Taehyung had two conflicting answers fighting in his head. The first one was that it wasn’t for sex, something along the lines of “actually, I might be in love with you and I don’t want you to go”; the second one was the one that you wanted to hear: “it’s okay, I’ll do all the work anyways”. And, yet, as the brave battle continued inside his mind, he was left to stare in silence as you jumped out of the bed and started seeking for your clothes.

“Besides,” you continued, “I have that research presentation tomorrow.” 

Oh yeah, that stupid research thing. The reason why you had to schedule that Emergency Unwinding Session with Taehyung in the first place. His initial bliss, but his final demise. How poetic. 

“It’s fine, I get it.” Taehyung watched your little wiggling dance as you placed your pants back on. He would’ve teased you about it if his heart wasn’t in absolute shambles. “Can I see you later tomorrow, then?” 

You didn’t even hesitate to twist the blade. “Won’t happen. It’s Yongsun’s birthday and we are going to this fancy sushi bar downtown,” you said. The universe truly hated Taehyung and you were completely dressed by the time you leaned in to place a kiss against his forehead. “But we’ll figure something out. I owe you a third round.” 

Taehyung forced out a laugh, trying to brush away the storm cloud over his head. However, he couldn’t even convince himself that he was fine. “Sure. We can figure it out.” 

You hummed and ran your fingers through your hair, trying to make it a bit more presentable. “I have the copy of the keys that Jimin gave me, so you don’t have to worry about locking the door. Just go to sleep and I’ll lock it on my way out.” 

Taehyung simply nodded because he seriously didn’t think he could say anything without completely confessing his emotions. They were so bottled up that he felt them building up in his throat, like a shaken bottle of soda about to explode. 

“See you, Tae. Thanks for tonight,” you said on your way out of his room. 

He responded with a timid, “See you,” that he was a hundred percent sure you didn’t even hear. A few seconds later, the sound of his front door closing was like thunder echoing around his empty room. 

Taehyung sighed and threw himself back against the mattress, covering his eyes with the palm of his hand. He was so fucked. So fucking whipped. He just wanted to scream against his pillow until it all went away, but he knew that it wouldn’t. He couldn’t confess to you because he was sure that you didn’t feel the same, and he couldn’t let you go because he was selfish: he wanted you one way or another, even if he had to disguise his emotions and pretend that everything was fine. 

He removed his hand from his face and stared up at the white ceiling, at the slices of moonlight that came from his open window. Taehyung decided that he would just continue faking that he was fine with the idea of being friends with benefits with you. But could he do it? Could he keep it up? For how long? Taehyung had endured those acting sessions for a bit too long then, and he didn’t know how much he could take before he reached his breaking point. 

He groaned and rolled around on the bed. He just wanted to sleep. 

That was supposed to be easy.

#bts smut #taehyung smut #smut #angst #drabble #pwp #taehyung pwp #taehyung #kim taehyung #x you #x reader #bts angst #taehyung angst #smut drabble #taehyung x you #taehyung x reader #reader insert #bts x you #bts x reader

[alwaysmarveling]

When You Try Your Best but You Don’t Succeed...

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Warnings: Mentions of death

Word Count: 2k

Summary: When your mission goes wrong, Nat’s there to help

“What’s up, Rogers? How’s my girl?” Nat smirked, talking to her friend and coworker through the phone. The heavy sigh she heard on the other end caused her face to drop and her spine to straighten.

“We’re coming back, Nat.”

“Is everything okay? You weren’t supposed to be coming back for another week. Is Y/N okay? Is she hurt?”

“Physically, she’s fine. Just the normal cuts and bruises. Mentally… Nat, there were kids.”

“How many?” Natasha asked, her voice now unreadable.

“Ten. Eight of them made it, but… we couldn’t get to the last two. She tried, but the damage to the building was bad, and… she tried. I had to physically pull her out before she could get herself killed.” Natasha’s arm trembled slightly as she lowered herself down on the sofa in her room, listening carefully to every word coming through the phone’s speaker.

“When will you guys be back?”

“We’ll be back in about an hour. I think Y/N’s sleeping right now, but I’m not sure.”

“Okay,” the redhead nodded. “Thanks for letting me know. Steve,” Natasha paused, “how are you doing?”

“I’ll be okay. It hit her the hardest.” The woman nodded to no one in particular as she played with the end of her hair, her glance not quite meeting the floor.

“Alright. Take care of yourself.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve teased. Natasha smirked as she hung up before returning her thoughts to your predicament. Your relationship with the spy was relatively new. The two of you had been together for just about three months now. Before that, you had been close friends, but emotions had never really been a huge part of your relationship. Nat knew you needed her now, though, and she’d do her best to be there for you.

---

“Hi, Steve.” Nat waved at the super soldier as he entered the compound’s living room. Steve gave her a small smile before retreating to his own room to freshen up.

“Hey, ba...” She took in your weary, blood-covered form, the smile she had put on for Steve quickly vanishing. Steve had told her you weren’t hurt, but she was not expecting you to be that bloody or that dirty.

“I’m fine, Nat,” you reassured her, giving her a weak smile. By the time you had finished speaking, she was already there, holding your hands.

“You don’t look fine,” she murmured, brushing a hand over your face before stopping to cup your cheek.

“One shower and I’ll be as good as new,” you tried again, your voice cracking on the last word. “I should go,” you whispered, dropping her hands and rushing out of the room before she could stop you.

---

“Y/N?” Natasha knocked at the door tentatively. “Are you okay?” You sniffed, wiping the tears that were making their way down your face.

“I’m fine,” you called out, turning off the water. How long had you been in the shower for?

“I, uh, I got dinner ready. If you’re hungry.”

“Sounds good, I’ll be out in 5 minutes,” you replied, towelling yourself off. You wanted nothing more than to stay in bed for the rest of the night, but your shower had already been suspiciously long, and you needed to prove to Natasha that you were okay. Well, you needed to make Natasha think that you were okay.

It wasn’t that you didn’t trust Natasha. You were just very aware of how new your relationship was. An invisible force was pushing—or more like shoving—you to let her hold you in her arms and tell you that everything would be okay, but you didn’t want to overstep any boundaries in your relationship. Taking a deep breath, you threw on a light t-shirt and shorts before meeting Natasha in the kitchen.

“Hey, I made your favorite,” Natasha announced as you padded into the room.

“Thanks, you’re the best.” You winced slightly at your response, not sounding quite as convincing as you would’ve liked.

“You sure you’re okay?” Natasha asked gently. You didn’t know about the phone call she’d had with Steve, and she wanted to give you the chance to tell her yourself.

“I’m fine. The mission was just tiring.” Natasha rubbed your arm comfortingly.

“I’m sorry. Maybe we can just watch a movie tonight and cuddle?”

“Nat, I...” you didn’t know how to tell her that you wanted to be alone without sounding off; you never said no to cuddling with her. She tilted her head slightly when you didn’t continue. “Yeah,” you sighed, “that sounds great,” you agreed, spooning some of the food into your mouth.

“I’m glad you came back early, love. I missed-” You dropped the spoon at her first sentence.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this, Nat.”

“Babe, wait-” You didn’t turn around as you fled the room, not wanting her to see the tears that were streaming down your face.

---

“Y/N,” Natasha sighed. “Please let me in.” Natasha had waited 15 minutes before following you to your room. She put away the food she was sure you’d be asking for later, threw on some pajamas, took two bottles of water from the kitchen, and grabbed her laptop and one of the oversized sweatshirts in her closet for you. All she needed was for you to let her in.

“I’m sorry, Nat, I- I’m really tired, and I think I’m just going to go to bed,” you called through the door. You mentally smacked your forehead at how unconvincing that sounded, your sniffles obviously heard through the door.

“Y/N, please,” she responded softly. “We don’t even have to talk, just… please, let me in?” You sighed, wiping your eyes and smoothing back your hair, trying to make yourself at least a little more presentable. Since she was definitely aware that you were upset, the least you could do was not show her just how upset you were. But when you slowly opened the door and met Natasha’s worried gaze, you couldn’t help but break down. “It’s okay,” she murmured, closing the door softly behind her and wrapping her arms tightly around you. “I got you.” The two of you stayed like that for a while as you just enjoyed the feeling of being in her arms. Her scent and warmth kept you grounded, reminders of all the beauty in the world when you could only see the ugly. When your sobs quieted down, Natasha pushed you away slightly to get a good look at your face.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” she asked softly.

“I- I don’t know,” you hiccuped. Your throat was dry and your voice cracked, but you weren’t focused on that. Nat was, though.

“That’s okay,” Natasha reassured you, squeezing your shoulders. “Here, put this on. And drink some water, okay? And I brought my laptop so we can watch your favorite movie.” You couldn’t tell if your heart warmed or sunk at her actions, and you stared at the sweatshirt and water bottle that she offered you. “Y/N?”

“I don’t deserve this,” you whispered, tears filling your eyes yet again. The redhead sighed, placing her things on the bed before taking your hands up in hers. She pressed her forehead against yours, forcing your eyes to meet her emerald orbs.

“Sweetheart, please listen to me. I know that you want to save everyone, we all do. None of us would be here if we didn’t. But the reality is that we can’t. No matter how perfect we are, how trained we are, or what powers we may or may not have, there’s always going to be people that we can’t save. We’ve known each other for quite some time, yeah?” You nodded slowly, still not meeting her eyes. “Then trust me when I tell you that you deserve this. Hell, you deserve so much more than this. You put 110% into everything that you do, and nobody doubts that for even a second. I wish everything that you did would work out perfectly, but it can’t. You have to forgive yourself for this. Please, believe me, love.” You didn’t respond for a moment, taking the time to wrangle up the billions of thoughts swirled around your head but vanished the second you tried to focus on any of them.

“They were kids, Nat. I tried so hard, I-” At that, you began to sob once more and allowed Natasha to pull you into her.

“I know,” your girlfriend shushed you, her heart breaking at the cracks in your voice. “You always try your hardest, and that’s something I admire so much about you. But listen to me. You saved eight of those kids. Because of you, that’s eight little girls and boys who get to go back home to their families and grow up to become amazing adults. You may feel like you failed now, but without you, none of those kids would get that opportunity. Not one of them. Okay?”

“Okay,” you said softly. “Thank you,” you mumbled, giving her one last squeeze before you let her go.

“You’re welcome,” your girlfriend smiled. “Now, put this on,” Natasha ordered, throwing the sweatshirt at you. When you cocked your head to the side, she smirked. “You didn’t think I was leaving you alone, did you? I said we were going to snuggle and watch a movie, and I meant it. Unless you don’t want to.” The crinkles around the corners of her eyes began to recede, her smirk faltering.

“I’d love to,” you responded, giving her a peck on the cheek. “You’re very sweet,” you complimented her as the two of you climbed into your bed.

“Only for you,” she whispered, winking at you. The spy pulled you in close to her side, pressing her lips to the top of your head before pulling the blankets tightly over the both of you. “That’s a nice goose egg you’ve got there,” she murmured, referencing the growing lump on your head. “Do you want me to get some ice for it?”

“I’m fine, Nat. Everything’s just superficial.” Natasha hummed, running her fingers gently over it.

“If you say so,” she said reluctantly. “I guess you’re still somewhat attractive with it.”

“Hey!” You smacked her across the stomach. “You’re supposed to be supportive.”

“I’m just kidding, babe. Very attractive. Makes you look less like a dork and more like a badass.”

“Oh, shut up and watch the movie,” you grumbled, pushing yourself further into your girlfriend’s torso.

“Nat?” you spoke up, the movie now halfway over.

“Yeah, hon?”

“Steve told you about the mission, didn’t he?” The redhead pulled her eyes away from the screen to look at you.

“Yeah, he did. Is that okay?” Her voice was steady, but her face was unsure and vulnerable. You paused, considering your answer.

“Yeah, I guess it is,” you finally responded. “Although I need to tell that old man to get his wrinkly ass out of my business,” you said, your lips curving up slightly at the corners.

“He’s just looking out for you, babe. He loves you,” she teased, squeezing your cheek. The two of you fell silent for a moment, neither of you really paying attention to the various images flashing across the screen.

“Do you?” you asked softly, looking into Natasha’s green eyes.

“Always,” she whispered, leaning down to meet your lips.

“I love you, too,” you giggled, breaking the kiss.

“I love you more, you dork.”

“I thought I was a badass!” you whined, turning away as Natasha pecked your lips again.

“Mm, you are. My badass.” The two of you smiled at that, and you pulled Natasha’s head down to meet you in another kiss. The pain of losing those two kids was still there, and it would take some time before you were able to truly forgive yourself, but having Natasha with you made things a little bit easier.

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff x fem!reader #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff #avengers x reader #marvel #mcu #I wrote something #alwaysmarveling

[vivithefolle]

Can I join your anti-Hermione club? Is there an application form? (In all seriousness, I'm so glad there's someone on Tumblr who is anti-Hermione for good reasons. It drives me absolutely insane how much the fandom worships her. I respect her intelligence, but there are so many absurdly unethical things she does. The hexing of Marietta Edgecombe - I researched it, it's both against contract law and would almost certainly be considered assault - was crazy, and even crazier was that it's excused.)

Hahaha, no application form needed, just a lot of bitterness and a touch of rage.

Something that really annoys me is how people are trying to tell me I'm doing Hermione-bashing when I give her the what-for. Or try to say "but she was a teenager :(". Really, freaking really? So when Hermione scars people on the face she's being a teenager but when Ron is pissy for a night in fourth year he's a total asshole? No, nope, not gonna let that lie.

My issue is that Ron's mistakes are teenager-sized; making an ass of yourself during a soirée, dating someone you're not really interested in because you're flattered by the attention, getting mad at your friend over silly stuff, saying stupid things without thinking... teenage mistakes. Those are teenage mistakes. (Something could be said of his leaving on the Horcrux Hunt but. Bitches. Voldemort himself (a part of him at least) was there singling him out for torture. Not to mention the heavy blood loss, the fact that his family's in danger, etcetera... But of course nobody is willing to accept those circumstances, nooo, it's only Ron who's the sole responsible for leaving absolutely, right, "Hermione is a teenager :(" and "Harry has PTSD :(((" but Ron isn't allowed to have problems of course. Fucking hypocrites.)

Meanwhile Hermione wakes up everyday and chooses violence and not for good reasons. I mean when your first reflex to distract someone is to set them on fire surely that indicates some issues? (Later on she forgets that she can use magic to light a fire... against a plant. I mean. How. How do you come to the conclusion that you should light a person on fire to "distract" them but cannot apply that reasoning to a goddamn killer plant.) The thing is people just... because we're constantly told that Hermione is intelligent/has good grades/works hard, people are quick to assume that she's obviously the most mature one in the room. But being a hard worker isn't necessarily a "proof" of maturity. It's just that people's expectations are that "a studious kid" is a mature kid, but really what they mean by "mature" is "doesn't annoy me to hell and back by playing noisily".

There’s this huge manipulation that plays on people’s expectations: being coded as “the studious girl” people are told through stereotypes that Hermione is smart, mature and logical… and the text is quick to try to reinforce the idea by having her spout definitions (=”smart”, for a degree of it; it’s mostly good memory), scold others for being rowdy (=mature, except that she’s not above it all either and a big part of maturity also involves REALIZING YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES which, Hermione’s don’t, so oops) and have her solve some puzzles or explain things (=logical… but sometimes her reasoning is based on emotion and she just tries to find evidence to justify why she thinks it’s right, rather than go from one thing to another).

When people try to brush off the fucked-up things Hermione did with "well she was a teenager" or "it was the war effort"... no. Fuck no. She didn't have to wipe her parents' minds and memories, there was the Order, the Dursleys were treated better than Hermione's parents for God's sake. But the only thing that matters about Hermione's parents is that they can be conveniently sacrificed to let us know how brave their daughter is right, it's not like she's in anything called the House of the Brave or something, it's not like she's constantly being thrown in mortal danger and is scared but keeps pushing forward, no we absolutely HAD to have a plot point that involves Hermione destroying two people's identities so we know how brave she is (how was any of it brave? Bravery is risking yourself, not the life of two innocents who barely know what's going on and are in no position to fight back).

And with the Romione fandom trying to push back to "nooo but she was a teenager m'kay she had her reasons for everything"... You want to get back to the Dark Ages where Hermione can do anything to Ron and it's his fault for not being perfect enough for her? Because that's how you go back to the Dark Ages.

In concept I love Romione. In the books I love it till about Book 3 (and even then that's pushing it because Hermione's utter disregard for Ron's pet sits very unwell with me, BUT okay fine she's still a child, it's her first pet, she has no idea how to own a pet and she's not used to being mindful of others' feelings. Then she gets validated by the plot because Scabbers was Pettigrew and somehow that means Hermione wasn't horribly callous to Ron's feelings or anything... meanwhile had it been Ron buying Crookshanks and Scabbers being Hermione's pet everyone would have been like "but who cares that Ron was right in the end, do you see how horribly he hurt poor Hermione's feelings!!!"...

It's just. No more excuses. Hermione is fucked-up. As a person, not just because of the war. She had a vicious, vindictive streak that only got enabled through the books because she never was called out on it. And I mean, I'm all for standing up for yourself, or for slapping Draco Malfoy's bitchy ass ferret face. But fuck. When you're doing the magic equivalent of an acid attack on someone's face, when you're physically abusing someone you're supposed to love AND THREATEN TO DO IT AGAIN AS IF IT WAS SOMETHING CUTE OR QUIRKY, when you're brainwashing your own parents into compliance because you can't be bothered to lie to them or make the Order get them... You know how many fics I've seen that take the "I did actually Confund my examiner" exchange from the Epilogue and run away with it to make it so Ron gets in a horrible car accident or invent entire collapses of the Statute of Secrecy as a result of an investigation connected to this "ha ha look it's funny Ron cheated on his exam" moment? Why don't I ever see a fic talking about how Hermione erasing her parents from existence leads to the destruction of Wizarding society through the legal bullshit that follows? Because Hermione dear, did you think to alter "Wendell" and "Monica"'s birth certificates? Their marriage contract? Their VISAs? Their bank accounts? Otherwise you've just turned your parents into homeless vagrants hopelessly lost in Australia who can't ever find a home anywhere because they simply don't exist in the eyes of any government. But hey nobody ever thinks of that because it's so much easier to nitpick everything Ron does. The only thing folks notice about Hermione nowaday is Emma Watson's boobies.

... I'm sorry, I just... Ugh. People.

#vivi answers #ask #hermione granger #hermione granger critical #hermione critical #ron weasley #ron weasley defence squad #ron weasley defense squad #harry potter #harry potter series #hp fandom #hp meta