#so excited to make new friends and meet old online friends | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zzeraphilm · 3 days

Text

Fight For Me (II)

Part one Kuroo Tetsurou x Reader (GN) word count: 3,803 Summary: When industries collide, Kuroo is reunited with the one that got away. But nobody is pleased to see each other.

“Oh Y/N!” Alisa Haiba screeched, bringing her old friend into a hug. “I’m so glad you took the role! Ah I can finally have a friend amongst my team.”

With a laugh, Y/N only rubbed their friend’s back lightly, not to crease her outfit that will soon be shot in the new YSL photoshoot. It had been back in Melbourne did Y/N L/N and Alisa Haiba became acquaintances. At first it took Y/N a while to realise how they recognised Alisa, thinking it was just because they saw her face plastered on every major billboard on their way to campus. But the illusive fantasy of a celebrity was shattered when she spoke in her accented English and their high school memories came flashing before their eyes. From that day forward, their worlds collided.

After a gruelling last ditch push to complete their masters, Y/N was lucky to have Alisa as one of their few friends in Tokyo. Since coming back to Japan, Y/N had forgotten how lonely the city could be. How they would blend into the crowd of faces, becoming another statistic on a long list of residents. They hated the city, they hated how the streets they used to walk down during high school remain untouched, how the faces of the shop owners only grow older, their frowns sagging to the floor. Getting out of Japan felt liberating, to come back to it all Y/N found themselves wallowing in the same self-pity that they found themselves suffering with during their teen years. Alisa was a reminder of the world outside of the city, she allowed Y/N to follow her on trips and try new exciting things to brighten their full life. When Alisa became the face of YSL Japan and her modelling career expanded beyond Asia, Y/N was thrilled to join their friend at the request to be her assistant public relations secretary.

If I could get Alisa to be the most known face across the globe, I can finally start my life again, out of Tokyo.

The desire to finally leave Japan behind, leave their past behind and explore the world beyond. Maybe, that could get rid of the sour taste in Y/N’s mouth every time they thought of Tokyo.

Despite their extensive years in academia, books could not compare to reality. Piles and piles of paperwork, emails and meetings meant Y/N lived and breathed the Haiba siblings. Being a part of Alisa’s PR team meant being a part of Lev’s, it was a given to see the fellow Nekoma alumni at work. At first, Y/N was resentful. Nekoma was supposed to be long past her, just a floating memory of guilt and regret. Lev was advised by his sister to not pester Y/N about high school, about anything related to Nekoma especially anything about Kuroo. The first few months with the Haiba siblings were stressful. Lev was growing increasingly popular amongst younger fans, booking him on daytime television to speak about his latest projects was a breeze. More fans meant more fan meets and thus more work for Y/N.

More work means bigger reach, and getting even closer to leaving.

With winter around the corner, Y/N knew there would be an exponential growth in events that would need to be covered. Press conferences, online campaigns, brand collaborations. Whenever Y/N closed their eyes, all they could see was the Haiba siblings plastered on the inside of their eyelids. Amidst the pile of work, Y/N noticed a oddly hand written note;

‘Please please pleaseeee consider this one! I wanna work with Kenma and Chibi-chan T^T’

Lifting up the sticky note, the title page screamed out to Y/N.

“Bouncing Ball Corp ft. Hinata Shoyo and Lev Haiba.”

“Helloo~”

“Where’d you get this plan from? Who gave it to you? Is this some kind of joke? You’re a high end luxury brand model with limited television guest appearances, what makes you think I’d let you represent sports now?” Y/N’s voice boomed into the phone, causing Lev’s eardrums to burst and bleed from the noise shattering scolding on the other end of the call.

“Kenma gave it me! He said his team told him it would be good to reach out to other famous people who knew!” He whined.

It was partially the prospect of being with Kenma and Hinata again, but more so, he craved the feeling of slamming a volleyball with his bare hands again. After years of maintaining his pristine image, his calloused hands had smoothened out, as soft as a baby’s bum. He was yearning for the thrill of the game again.

“No. This proposal makes no sense anyways. Who even wrote this?”

“Well it was someone on Kenma’s side! Anyways, he’s got a hugeee following on Youtube and Twitch! All people talk about on Twitter is his stuff! Y/N you’ve always wanted a big international gig, and I’ve found us one! Please, please, please, pleaseeee!” If Lev wasn’t in public he would’ve been on his knees begging, kissing Y/N’s feet till they said yes.

Indeed, all Y/N needed now was a major international break for the siblings, if they could book either a global brand ambassador position or an American modelling debut, then Y/N could finally relocate to anywhere but Japan. The Tokyo smog blocked their lungs each daily commute to work, the buildings never changed and the familiar scents of old stores and parks they used to frequent as a student became sickening.

“Give me Kodzuken’s contacts and we’ll see.”

It was a wild goose chase to get the right person to contact. Email, after email. More and more useless contacts that lead Y/N to no helpful responses. Different representatives of Kodzuken and Hinata Shoyo till finally the Japanese Volleyball Association. After two weeks of this ordeal, Y/N was finally sent through to the person in charge of organising the project. But of all people, it just so happened to be Kuroo Tetsurou. Shit.

Despite getting to chase around his old volleyball rivals across the world for scouting, interviews and just regular catch ups. Kuroo hated the mundane parts of his job, emails and project meetings. Managers up his arse about deadlines. His fingers were beginning to cramp into a contorted version of itself with all the typing he had to endure. He swore his email page was burned into the scleras of his eyes.

Ping.

Another one to the read later pile. It was fifteen minutes till the end of his shift, he wasn’t going to stay for overtime this week, he had made plans with Kenma tonight. After weeks of rejection, the self-made entrepreneur finally was willing to leave his room to grab a drink with his long time friend. Before he could shut off his monitor, he read the Sender’s name.

L/N Y/N.

Holy fuck.

He thought he had buried the last sparks of affection he had for Y/N the morning they blocked them. But no, like a phoenix, the embers within him burst into an inferno. Nothing could quench the burning desire he held inside. Kuroo had forgotten where he was, he was no longer stuck in a mechanical cubicle with the robotic tapping of keyboards echoing throughout the room. He was back in his Nekoma uniform, back with Y/N by his side. He could smell them, touch them and most of all kiss them. Their laugh was ringing in his head, he was high on their perfume. Kuroo begs to any mighty power above him or anyone who could hear his heart, for his yearning to cease. He thought he could leave it all behind but his body, no his soul calls for Y/N.

A few clicks was all it took and he plummeted to the pitiful man he once was without Y/N. His eyes darted at the few sentences, he could hear Y/N’s echoing in his head reading to him.

I hope this email finds you well…Lev Haiba…with Bouncing Ball Corp…please contact me…best regards L/N Y/N.

By some wicked power that festered inside him, Kuroo saw this as a sign from the universe. Finally letting Y/N back into his life. He could once again feel true happiness, the love that had left his heart with a gaping void for the last few years.

Within a few weeks, each team was able to schedule the first table reading for the promotional video. The main plan to have it filmed over a course of two weeks, just in time before the Olympics in Tokyo. Time was of the essence and the only reason why Y/N was pushing themselves to succeed in this collar was the promise of a better life for themselves. The table reading was in a spacious meeting room curtesy of the Japanese Volleyball Association, the room stretched far beyond any hall Y/N had seen before. A titanic monitor casts its shadow over the table, a long aisle of varied refreshments framed the corners of the room. The chairs were individually cushioned, the carpet was soft with the richest woven fibres from the farthest corners of the world.

Y/N had arrived with Lev and multiple representatives from his team, Kuroo was stood under the frame of the entrance door, his jaw ajar. To Kuroo Tetsurou the mere sight of Y/N took his breath away, all he wished to do was run as fast as his legs could take him and embrace them with the strength of a thousand suns. Claiming them to be his all over again. He didn’t notice that Y/N’s face was getting closer and closer towards him, till they were stood shoulder to shoulder, face to face.

“Mr. Kuroo, a pleasure to be working with you.” Y/N held out their rigid hand.

“…Y/N,” he whispered, as if saying their name aloud was punishable by death.

“My name is L/N. I expect you to refer to me as such. We will see you inside.” Five seconds. Their reunion lasted five seconds, Kuroo couldn’t help but watch Y/N’s figure walk away, the closest he’s ever been to them, and all he can have in return is the sight of their back.

“My god, they’re as beautiful as the day I lost them.” Kuroo uttered.

The meeting went as smoothly as planned. Any issues were discussed thoroughly and everyone was confident in the project. But Kuroo paid no attention to any of it. His eyes could not keep off of Y/N. The way they’d speak so eloquently, unlike how childish they were in high school. He admired Y/N’s new found maturity, this chic version of his love, he was still entranced by their allure years after their split. However, his eyes would dart to the presence of Lev Haiba next to Y/N. A deeply rooted feeling of jealousy to the boy he once considered his underling. The Haiba siblings could see and be around Y/N every waking hour, yet the only time he had with them within his reach, lasted only five seconds. It wasn’t fair. He had assumed that Y/N had no more ties to Nekoma, so the thought of Y/N never cross his mind, till now. Seeing them beside Lev Haiba, sparked a new fire within his chest. Distant memories would flash in Kuroo's mind, younger versions of themselves, a first year Lev begging to meet and be around Y/N, his partner of three years. Jokes that he would push aside, confirming how Y/N was separate to volleyball and he had no intentions of merging these two sides of him. Yet there they were, in union with each other. Y/N and volleyball. He felt sick.

“I understand that the sport is the focus of this project, but we mustn’t ignore the everyday audience who aren’t fans of the sport.” Y/N spoke with a tinge of spite, they never mentioned the sport by name. In case the moment they uttered its name, they would be shackled down to its legacy for all of eternity.

“Lev is the public’s rising heartthrob, for both his looks and his humour, use it.”

“Aw! Thank you Y/N!” The half-russian man tried to coddle Y/N only to be pushed back into his seat by them.

Kuroo Tetsurou was torn. He wished to be the one to coddle Y/N. He hated how formal this all was, never had he thought of Y/N as this pragmatic android that spouted the same endless bullshit his co-workers would repeat. He wanted to see them laugh again, he wanted to bring them crying on their knees from tears of laughter. Maybe if he did that stupid impression of their father that always made them laugh, maybe then Y/N would go back to how they were in school.

The meeting came to a close and the rounds of production was set in stone. Kuroo’s work continued to pile, he couldn’t stay on set with the boys anymore than a day and any moment he did have on set, Y/N was never there. Filming ceased and everyone returned to their original teams, muttering away on their desktops and laptops to meet the deadline their bosses’ had set. Lev Haiba went back to modelling for big brands, Kenma increased the number of live-streams in the weeks forward after having a week off for filming. Whilst Hinata was preparing the announcement of him joining the Japanese National team.

Kuroo was stuck in his monotone cubicle again. The sight of his friends succeed in things beyond the mundane 9 to 5, that he was a slave to, was not an idea that came to mind at first. Originally, he loved the thrill of working behind sports promotion. But now, as a settled employee, he felt his life drain by the second. Only the thought of Y/N pushed him, once the project is uploaded and succeeds, he could see them at the celebratory party. If everything goes to plan. Then he could finally speak to them. Apologise. Tie everything up in a pretty bow so he could feel, complete.

The promotional video saw millions of views and trending hashtags across multiple social medias. They had, of course, prepared for this case. Releasing behind the scenes content, exclusive photographs and interacting with online fans.

It was as Y/N had planned, down to the T. It was like a weight was lifted off their shoulders, they knew within a few days the money would come rolling in through sponsors and new deals for their company. The Japanese Volleyball Association along with Bouncing Ball Corp allowed the teams to work in a private office space for the collaboration to increase cross communication. Y/N had spent night after night working endlessly on multiple PR plans that would cover all of Lev’s possible mishaps. The moment everything succeeded, they crashed. Their face plummeted to the keyboard and drifted into a deep slumber.

Y/N was at the entrance of Nekoma High, their uniform was slightly creased because they forgot to iron their shirt the night before. First day of high school and they already felt nauseous. They hated how their uniform sat on their frame, they hated how they had they ended up in a school where most of their old middle school classmates joined them. They felt stuck in an endless cycle of the same boring, mundane life they always lived.

“Ya gonna go in?”

The light spring breeze blew the tall boy’s black hair to fly upwards, revealing his other eye. He quickly flattened it to hide his forehead. He looked ridiculous, his jumper was slightly too big for him, his parents probably went a few sizes up awaiting for his eventual growth spurt.

“L/N c’mon, let me copy your English homework! Just this once!” Kuroo pleaded, training behind Y/N like a cub to its mother.

“Kuroo this is the fourth time! Remember last time, the teacher called your mom in for a meeting about you cheating!”

The boy had grown to tower over Y/N now, he was freakishly taller than the day they first met. His long limbs made him be twice as fast as well. “I’d much rather get told off for copying than get told off for bringing nothing at all.”

With a huff, Y/N couldn’t help but chuckle. Their dynamic was a breath of fresh air for Y/N, who previously was so used to an isolated world. But by Kuroo’s side, Y/N felt like they belonged. Somewhere within Kuroo’s circle, Y/N had a place fit just for them.

Kuroo would always tell people that he asked Y/N out first, that he prepared a romantic dinner at his place and popped the question as if it was their last night on earth. In truth, Y/N caught him amidst his plans and cut him to the chase. But Kuroo Tetsurou, the ever-so secret romantic, wanted everyone to believe that he swept them off their feet.

“If we’re going to be together we’ve got to do good morning and good night texts,” he huffed whilst Y/N’s arms cradled him into a tight embrace. They laughed in response for his childish acts, as a way to get back on ruining his plans on asking them out, Kuroo insisted on being as romantic as he could be with them. Holding hands, spooning, kisses in public. He didn’t care for the stares, he didn’t care for the whispers. He was happy. Y/N was happy.

“Y/N,” Kuroo’s face was so close yet each time Y/N reached out their hand, it faded into nothingness.

“Y/N! Y/N!” He kept calling their name yet Y/N couldn’t reach him.

“Tetsu?”

A sudden jolt caused Y/N to shoot back up, their shoulders were covered with a distinct black jacket. Beside them was of course, the man who emerged straight from their dreams. Kuroo Tetsurou.

“Sorry but, they’re shutting the building soon. You shouldn’t sleep here, it’ll hurt your back. I know that very well,” he chuckled beneath his breath.

Y/N hadn’t realised this before, but Kuroo’s eye bags had sunken deeper into his face. He had more noticeable crows feet and the wrinkles between his eyebrows had settled in already, quite concerning for a man still as young as him. He had changed his cologne again. He went back to the faint powdery scent, with hints of elderflower. The cologne Y/N bought him for their second anniversary. They didn’t know they still made that scent. His hands were still as calloused as they were years ago, bulging veins decorated his wrists and forearms. He maintained his built form, Y/N could see it through his button up shirt. He hadn’t changed much but was still an entirely different person.

“I was just tired Kuroo.” Y/N shimmied out of the man’s coat to return it, but Kuroo remained still.

“It’s weird to hear you call me that.” He chuckled, “I was always Tetsu to you.”

“Yeah well that was when we were kids.”

Kuroo smiled, a sad empty smile that held the years of regret that he harboured. Kids in love, he thought.

“I’m going home now, thanks for waking me.” Before Y/N could step out of the office door, Kuroo grabbed their wrist. He knew this was the last time he would ever see them, he sensed it. The moment they walk out that door it’ll be over. He had to fight, it was now or never.

“I’m sorry Y/N. I’m sorry for how I treated you all those years ago. I’m sorry I didn’t pay attention to you. I’m sorry I was never there for you.”

Disgusted. Pained. Relieved. Scared. Y/N’s stomach felt like a pit of snakes colliding into each other, trying to consume one another but failing miserably. Kuroo Tetsurou was a shell of a man now, the pain of heartbreak that lasted an eternity was killing his body slowly. He hadn’t mourned Y/N properly. He hadn’t mourned their relationship properly.

“Why?”

“Huh- What?” Kuroo asked, dropping his grip on Y/N.

“After all these years. Why are you apologising to me now.” You could hear a pin drop from the deafening silence between the two.

“Because I love you. I’ve always loved you Y/N, I won’t ever stop loving yo-“

“Shut up.” This was straight out of teenage Y/N’s dreams, the Kuroo Tetsurou who was begging them to stay. The Kuroo Tetsurou that they used to cling to in hopes of a final embrace. He was finally right in front of Y/N. With glassy eyes, proclaiming his undying love to them, his body craving Y/N’s own. He was right there, and he was pathetic.

“You don’t get to talk to me like that. If you did love me, you would’ve done this the night we ended it. But no, you barely said anything to me. In fact what you did, hurt me more than our actual split. You left me. You left me alone. Not just in our time together. I was never included in any part of your life beyond me. Despite being together for three years, I was completely, utterly alone." Warm tears that Y/N had suppressed for years began to arise from the dead.

“I thought you wanted me by your side, that you needed me because I had a place in your life. But you proved me wrong time and time again! I came second to everything in your life! Not once did I feel like a person to you. You took me for granted.”

It was like a slap in the face for Kuroo Tetsurou, he hadn’t realised it till now. In his eyes, Y/N was someone he once wanted to possess, to have and hold forever. He saw them just like his old pair of glasses he lost down the coach pillows. It took a few blinks to realise in front of him, was a person who had seen love and loss, found liberation and had it taken away. A person who had worked their life away to see the riches of their hard work. When they were in Nekoma, Y/N would always cheer him on from the sidelines, he thought it was fine. He thought they were okay with just watching them afar, he knew they didn’t really like volleyball but he didn’t care to talk about it anymore. He didn’t care. He didn’t care for having Y/N meet his teammates and hang around them, he wanted to keep them to himself. He didn’t care. His indifference was his demise. After over five years, he realised this.

“I have lived a thousand lifetimes since I left you. I think it’s time for you to do the same Tetsurou. Stop clinging to the past.”

Kuroo Tetsurou, the man who yearned the joys of his youth, could see clearly now. Y/N didn’t look back at the man. They picked up their bag and stepped out the door. Phone in hand, ready to dial up their friends, to celebrate a life well lived.

#kuroo tetsurou #kuroo x reader #kuroo tetsuro x reader #haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu angst #hq x reader #kuroo tetsurō #kuroo tetsuro fanfic #kuroo tetsuro angst #anime #anime and manga #anime fanfic #anime x reader

235 notes · View notes

irisinluv · 3 months

Text

Yandere Stardew Valley- Sebastian

I've been playing some Yandere Stardew mods recently. While I love them..... I feel like they do my husband (Sebastian) wrong. The citizens of Pelican Town are telling me that they can't hang out with me because Sebstian threatened them. That they've noticed some weird behavior. That he's physically violent. I disagree with all of these for Sebby.

He's our hot programmer boyfriend who lives in his basement bedroom, and only emerges to enjoy a smoke break, or to go see his friends. Now, while again, I do enjoy playing the mods...... I think his cannon behavior sets him up to be the perfect chronically online yandere. Pelican Town isn't exactly the most connected (6 out of the 11 rivals have access to a computer), but there's still potential. Obviously they're gonners if they have a computer. Sam finds himself doxed after making a comment about the gifts you gave him this week, and poor Haley's socials are blowing up with hate comments- from her personal insta to her photography blog.

But what about the other 5? The ones who are more disconnected? Well. It's easy enough to get Shane fired from joja. A little email to Morris from "HQ" saying he either fires Shane or his own pay gets docked..... well. Suddenly, everyone's favorite alcoholic doesn't even have a job anymore. Elliott suddenly has all these taxes he hasn't paid on his little shack..... beachfront properties cost a lot, you know. The parents stop letting Penny watch their kids after some..... explicit photos get leaked. It doesn't matter that they're edited. These people don't know about Photoshop. All they know is apparently Penny's making ends meet to support her mother..... and there's a new favorite subject to gossip on between all the older women. The other rivals are equally taken care of. All you need to focus on now is how Sebastian is the only reliable option in the whole damn town.

And he knows you so well, doesn't he? You, who lived away from it all until now. You, who WAS connected to the internet. Who had their entire life detailed through Facebook updates and Instagram posts. Honestly, Sebastian thinks that maybe he DOESN'T need to leave Pelican town... looking at the life you lived before coming to the valley, he thinks its much easier to keep you safe when he can control everything that goes on. There were too many factors to your old life. Too many parties to go to, coworkers to talk to, ex-boyfriends/girlfriends worry about. No. Sebastian thinks that city life isn't fit for the two of you to start you life together.

While he enjoyed seeing the trip down memory lane of who you were before becoming the farmer, and learning more about your likes and dislikes, he much prefers this version of you. The version of you who he found bouncing on their toes outside his door, excitedly shoving a frozen tear at him. Who eventually became the only person he was genuinely excited to have come barging into his room unannounced. And the thought of moving into the farm with you was all together far too tempting. He can picture it already. He'd set up a little area to work on his bike, he'd help out around the farm for you (he saw your hands covered in scrapes and splinters one day, and you sheepishly told him your fences had started wearing down.... but fixing a fence was another first for you. So you ended up scraping yourself up a bit on the old wood. Now, Sebastain, who, while he doesn't enjoy it, grew up with a carpenter mother..... well. He's going to make sure you never have that many splinters again.) Oh and he can already imagine it. The two of you, far away from the rest of the town, from prying eyes, no one to hear what you two would get up to as he helped you relax after a long day of working the feilds.....

This fantasy would sustain him until you eventually asked him to marry you. I don't think he would rush anything. To you, and the rest of the citizens, he was just normal Sebastian. Showing up for band practice, playing pool at the bar (although he seemed to play much better when a certain farmer came to watch). He just realized that the best way to control all the factors in town would be to remain anonymous. Avoid suspicion. After all. In a small town like that, it would be all too easy to turn against him if he decided to publicly threaten someone. And how would you react if you came to drop off some fresh sashimi to your boyfriend, only to find him being dragged out of his house by Clint, with Marlon standing nearby, ready to ship him off to face justice in the adventurers guild? No. That wouldn't do. He can't add any more stress to you like that. He'd remain the puppeteer, pulling the strings of the valley.

This isn't to say Sebastian never stalks you in person or anything like that. He can't help himself. He's a night owl. He knows the villagers schedules, has since before you even came to town. So, he knows he can get away with digging in the trash to find the straw you threw away at the bar. And if someone does hear him.... well. Linus is going to be everyone's first thought. He does, however, start adopting a stricter routine as far as monitoring your house after you mention how you sell your produce.

Sebastian was rightfully horrified when you explained that Mayor Lewis comes by your farm at night to collect anything you wish to sell. How it's such a relief to be able to just chuck things in the the bin as you're rushing to bed at 1:50 in the morning, only to get up first thing and start your day again, and not have to worry about lugging all your goods to the store. Sebastian won't criticize you for the lack of sleep..... no. That's not what's worrying. What's worrying is that this old man who has a gold statue of himself and who gets it on in the bushes with his secret girlfriend (of course Sebastian knows about that) is showing up to your house sometime after 2 am. His mind flashes back to his fantasy of the two of you, completely alone on the farm.... and then is mortified as this fantasy morphs into a nightmare where he looks up from bed with you, and sees Lewis' wrinkled face peering through the window. Yea. No. Sebastain installs some hidden cameras to make sure Lewis doesn't get up to anything funny while you're defenseless, asleep, alone..... ok he might need to get a new mayor elected. The old man might just have to go. Perhaps to a home outside the town. Regardless, he makes sure Lewis stops coming by as frequently. Frustratingly, he isn't able to completely stop it, but that'll be an easy fix once the two of you are married. He'll act surprised, "wow Lewis, that's so kind of you to help out the farmer all this time. But hey, don't worry, I'll take over. I'm up late anyways, and it's the least I can do!" But Sebastian still wakes up in a cold sweat and frantically rushes to check the cameras, making sure you're OK. That Lewis really is just checking the shipping bin.

Once y'all get married, he shows a bit more of that possessive side to you. But you chalk it up to just bedroom spicy time, and honestly find his hand tightening on your waist as Elliot asks you to read his latest poem hot.

Just. Yandere Sebastian brain rot.

#yandere #yandere stardew valley #yandere blog #yandere imagine #tw yandere #obsessive yandere #stardew valley #yandere sebastian

163 notes · View notes

seren1tyhaze · 1 year

Text

sunflower dreams

PAIRING: haechan x afab reader

WORD COUNT: 3k

SUMMARY: you have a new roommate who spends most of his time teasing you during the hours of games you play together online with your friends, but when it comes time to pick a new bed for your room, a sunflower shaped one seems like the perfect way to crack through his bratty exterior.

THANK YOU: A very belated happy birthday to our hyuckie and all my haechan smut lovers out there <3 Once I saw this photo on twitter I knew exactly what I would write for his birthday and I sincerely hope you all enjoy this brief drabble. @strwbrysunday as always, you know what I want to say to you. I'm so glad you enjoyed this <3

WARNINGS: explicit smut, angst, weed smoking, vaping, breakup flashbacks

PLAYLIST: Sunflower, Vol. 6 by Harry Styles - Stronger by NCT Dream - Sunflower (P.E.L) by Choi Yoojung - Sunflower by Vampire Weekend

“What the HELL is in here?!” your roommate nearly screeched as he struggled to drag the heavy object in front of him over the door frame of your apartment.

“It’s for my room, I just need help getting it in there and then you can go back to your lame solo queuing and getting your ass kicked by 12 year olds,” you shouted back over the large cardboard box, tucking an annoying strand of hair back into your ponytail.

Hyuck huffed and tossed his phone onto the couch so he could pull the box easier. You could see his forehead over the top of the box as you pushed, sweat gathering at his brow under long, black bangs.

To be fair, the box was way bigger than you had thought it would be. The listing had said “minimal assembly” which you thought meant it would somehow not be huge - but it turned out to be the opposite. You felt slightly guilty that you had had to get Hyuck to help you come drag the box upstairs and inside.

You smirked deviously, hoping Hyuck’s annoyance would soon be replaced with excitement when he found out what you had ordered for your bedroom. The two of you had recently become roommates after you had ended things with your toxic ex and his roommate had taken a new job in another city.

“You’re letting a girl move in?!” Mark had exclaimed over the steaming hot pot, nearly choking on the clear glass noodles dangling from his lips.

“Mark, chill,” Hyuck had replied, rolling his eyes before dipping a thin piece of beef into the spicy broth in between them. “She’s cool and you know she’s better than half our friends at Valo and on the court.”

Hyuck wasn’t wrong, Mark had watched you pull through as the match MVP quite a few times and was always first picked whenever they played pick up games on the weekends at the gym.

Similarly, Johnny had almost blown a gasket when you had shared the news in a final screaming match the day you were supposed to be meeting your landlord for final checks of your unit. It started with him complaining that you hadn’t cleaned the kitchen well enough before he started asking about where you had moved to.

“Lee Donghyuck? That little twerp?” he had spat at you, looking you up and down, making you suddenly self conscious in the thin tank and sweats you had thrown on for the early morning appointment.

“Leave him alone, Johnny, he’s very nice to let me sublet the extra room at his place. Plus it’s all the way across town which means you don’t have to run into me,” you had rolled your eyes, glancing down at your phone to check the time, wondering how long you were going to have to talk to this asshole.

“I always knew he was desperate to fuck you,” Johnny mumbled. Jealousy and hatred laced his tone, and before you could ask for clarification, your landlord appeared in the doorway.

The two of you finally managed to drag the huge box down the hallway and you immediately grabbed your box cutter, desperate to get to work and get rid of all the extra packaging.

“I’ll leave you to it?” he commented, his statement coming out more as a question as he watched you begin to tackle the large box.

“Yeah yeah, I promise, I’m good! I’ll text you if I need help,” you added, pulling out a copious amount of bubble wrap and tossing it behind him.

“Please don’t,” he quipped back, turning on his heel and closing his door behind him.

Soon you could hear him yelling at Jeno to stop running ahead, knowing they had to be back grinding Fortnite ranks together and failing miserably. The two of them were awful at working together in duos and the only time they were even remotely successful at clearing out teams quickly was when you and Jaemin played with them in squads.

You laughed lightly, rolling your eyes and finally placing your hand on a dark green, velvety pillow. Ripping the plastic bag open, you placed the pillow on your desk, beginning to unpack other pieces of soft, yellow cushions.

You had been scrolling through Pinterest one afternoon at work, hoping to find some ideas to decorate your new room. While you were able to take most of your furniture from your shared apartment with Johnny, the bed had been his, so you desperately needed to find a new one. You had been sleeping on a thin air mattress for the last couple weeks and Hyuck was tired of hearing you complain about your back.

The minute you had laid your eyes on the piece of furniture housed in the giant box you had just hauled in, you knew you had to get it. It matched your style perfectly and was also perfect in so many other ways.

The parts were awkward to fit together without a second set of hands, but it didn’t take too long to assemble. Once you stuffed all the packaging back into the box and pushed it back out into the living room, you stood sweaty but proud in front of your new, giant sunflower bed.

It was round, so it was hard to say if it was King sized, but it seemed pretty close based on the dimensions. The center was dark brown and fuzzy, with giant yellow petals spanning across the frame. You had already had your best friend crochet you some smaller sunflower and leaf decorative pillows that she had dropped off earlier that week. She had also shown up with a small panda plushie with a matching leaf on its head, giving you a long hug in your doorway and reminding you of how strong you were for finally dumping Johnny’s stupid ass.

Grabbing your towel, you headed to the bathroom to shower, letting the hot water cascade over your aching shoulders and scrubbing your body and hair quickly, desperate to take a nap in your new bed. When you passed Hyuck’s room again, you heard him still yelling at Jeno, but based on his call out it sounded like they were playing League and you decided against disturbing him. He would see your new furniture eventually and the growing pit in your stomach was preventing you from showing him anyways, nervous for his reaction.

Once back in your room, you dimmed the lights and put on your chill playlist. You lit some candles on your desk, followed by a blunt, letting the haze flow through the afternoon light streaming through your blinds. As soon as you had ordered the bed, you had found other matching decor for your room, hanging some lighted vines from your ceiling, cascading down the corner near the bed, blending into pale pink and green sheer curtains covering the window. A small mushroom side table held crystals, an ashtray, and your phone charger next to your bed. You smiled, looking around your new space that felt safe and unique to you.

During your relationship with Johnny, you felt like you had lost parts of yourself that had previously brought you so much confidence. He hated when you gamed with the guys, complaining that they were all flirting with you and in the midst of heated comms he would often unplug the router, blaming it on a power surge.

Whenever Jungwoo would come over for face masks and binging the latest season of Single’s Inferno, Johnny would watch with a chilly gaze from the kitchen, sharpening his chef’s knife before slicing up an apple. His possessiveness broke your relationship apart and while you still missed him, you would never miss that disease that plagued your time together.

After you slipped into a soft set of sleep shorts and a cropped tank, you finally let yourself fall onto the center of the large flower. The mattress was as comfortable as all the reviews had said, maybe even more. Taking a long, final drag of the blunt, you extinguished it in the ashtray and curled up into the pillows, smiling as you moved the small bear to your bedside table.

The soothing music, weed, and scent of your favorite candles made your eyes heavy, watching as the hazy smoke flowed through the rays of light across your ceiling, sun warming your bare legs. You don't know when exactly you drifted off to sleep but before you knew it you were stirred awake by a soft knock at the door.

“Hey…did you need any…” came Hyuck’s voice as the door swung open, barely giving you a chance to adjust your shirt that had ridden high up your side, exposing the underside of your breast. The waistband of your shorts had also ridden up your waist in your sleep, exposing much of your thigh.

“Oh…I uh, sorry I didn’t know you were sleeping,” he stuttered, moving to blow out the two candles on your desk, nervously avoiding eye contact with you.

“It’s okay, I should have said something but didn’t want to interrupt your game,” you replied groggily, lifting a heavy hand up to your eyes to rub at them.

“Wait…is that…”Hyuck trailed off, finally noticing the bed design. He looked adorable in the afternoon light, hood pulled up over messy hair, small sections of pink peeking through the black locks.

“A sunflower, yeah,” you replied with a smile, sitting up and leaning back on your arms, neglecting to adjust your shirt, chest pushed out at your new position. You dragged your legs up lightly, digging your feet into the fuzzy brown center of the bed and swaying your knees lighty as you spoke.

“A sunflower,” Hyuck repeated, unable to keep his eyes from dragging up and down your half naked body and damp hair. You looked ethereal in the golden hour sunlight and he let out a sigh before pulling his lime vape pen to his lips for a long drag. He kept eye contact with you through the cloud of smoke, a small smile breaking out onto his lips.

The bed was “perfect in many other ways” due to Hyuck’s gamer tag, SunnyFlowerz, one he had made years ago but had stuck. He had accumulated some sunflower related items over the years, including some stickers on his pc, a bright neon light that hung on the wall behind him and always visible on call, and the small crochet holder he kept his vape in. Some of the guys teased him about it but he always had new facts about the resilient flower to share, including how they track the sun and can self-pollinate.

You knew all these things because even before you had started dating Johnny you had always been intrigued by Donghyuck, the loud, whiny friend who sometimes had hot pink hair and laughed at all your stupid jokes when getting high in the park. You had thought about him late at night or as you touched yourself in the shower more times than you cared to admit. The first thing you had thought of when you saw the sunflower bed was how getting fucked by him in the middle of it would be the sweetest revenge you could ever imagine.

But now in the moment, with your legs inching open wider under Hyuck’s tense gaze, you knew it was more than revenge. You wanted to fall apart underneath him and the way he was looking at you right now confirmed he wanted it too.

Pulling one hand back over his shoulder, Hyuck pulled his hoodie off in a swift motion, dropping it to the floor as he stepped close to the bed, pausing at the edge as his shins touched the soft yellow petals.

“Is this for me?” he asked, dragging the back of his hand lightly against your bare calf.

“Maybe…” you trailed off, shivering slightly at his touch and pulling your chin up, silently begging him to come closer.

Dropping his knees to the bed one by one, he crawled between your legs, caging you in as he crowded over you, tight abs tensing as he leaned over you. His hair was dangling in his eyes, darkened with lust.

Your breath caught in your throat as he brought a hand up to your chest, playing with the thin strap of your shirt, pushing it down to expose your collar bone.

“A pretty flower, all opened up for me,” he murmured, dipping down to nip lightly at the skin of your neck, already on fire from the gentle touch of his fingers.

You felt your core tighten and breath pick up, desperate for him to touch you. Leaning your head back, you opened up more of your neck for him to mouth at, letting out a light moan as he dragged his lips up and down the column of your throat, laving his tongue over a particularly sensitive spot.

“I’ve wanted this for so long,” you can’t help yourself from mumbling and you swear you can feel him smile against your skin.

“You hid it so well, PandaBare,” he hissed out mockingly, using your own gamer tag, causing you to flush.

“Maybe I have something to show you too,” he added, standing up on his knees to pull at the waistband of his loose gray sweats.

You sat up further on your elbows, gulping and eyes widening. You watched as he first pulled down the sweats and then moved achingly slow to slip his thumbs under the band of his black boxers.

“If you’re about to try to impress me with your massive cock, Lee Donghyuck, you should remember that I used to date the Johnny Suh,” you replied, rolling your eyes at him, even as your heart picked up speed in your chest.

He merely chuckled, ripping down his boxers suddenly, half hard cock springing out and demanding your attention.

Your eyes widened, not at the sight of his arousal, but at the black ink on his hip bone, suddenly visible to you for the first time. You had been to the pool with the boys a few times, but never seen this far below his shorts.

“Is that…” you croaked out, equally as speechless as he had been in your doorway earlier.

“A panda bear? Yeah, it is,” he smiled, running his thumb over the small line art before moving over you again.

“Guess we both weren’t fake flirting on vc then…” you sighed as everything flooded into place in your mind.

Hyuck had been the first to offer you a place to stay and none of the boys had dared say anything in opposition. Even your best friend had encouraged you to move in.

He was always the first one to ream out a sexist team mate on voice chat when they complained about a female voice in the lobby. He always sent you a game off your wishlist on Steam for your birthday, saying he did it for everyone, even if you knew he hadn’t gotten Mark a gift in years. And if Johnny’s reaction had told you anything, it seemed like everyone had been picking up on the vibes for a long time.

“We’re both idiots,” he laughed out, dipping down to finally capture your lips with his, pressing warmly against your mouth.

Your hands flew immediately into his long hair as he yanked down your shorts, grinding his bare crotch against yours. You moaned loudly into his mouth at the feeling of him against your core, wrapping your legs around him tightly, drawing him closer to you.

“Wait,” you gasped into his mouth, reaching your hand over to fumble for your phone.

“Important Twitter update to post?” he asked, cocking a brow as he lifted up, toying with the edge of your top and letting his fingertips brush across your nipples that were peeking out under the neon green fabric.

“No, I have something better,” you said slyly, opening your camera and pulling Hyuck back down on top of you by the back of his neck. Holding the phone out, you snapped a slightly blurry photo that clearly showed Hyuck’s muscular and bare back with you spread out underneath him on the sunflower bed.

You tapped into a phone conversation you hadn’t messaged in in a month, sending off the photo without a caption before letting your phone fall back to the bed.

“Oh you’re evil,” Hyuck laughed maniacally, crashing his lips against yours and snaking a hand between your bodies to drag a finger through your dripping folds.

“Hold on, send him another one like this,” Hyuck murmured against your mouth, kissing down your throat before pulling his face between your thighs and smiling up at you.

You grabbed your phone eagerly, arching your back and tugging your bottom lip between your teeth in ecstasy as you snapped a few photos and videos. A loud moan escaped your throat, causing you to drop the phone and focus back on Hyuck and the long night that seemed to be ahead of you as he pulled his tongue slowly up to your clit, moaning into you in pleasure.

Yes, the sunflower bed was for Hyuck. But also the perfect fuck you to the man who had broken your heart and spent so much time gaslighting and manipulating you.

Across town, a loud string of curses rang out in a tiny apartment, causing Taeyong to rip his headphones off in concern and push open Johnny’s bedroom door. Without replying to his friend, Johnny glanced down at the small sunflower tattoo on his arm and threw his phone violently across the room, knowing the screen most likely shattered as it bounced off the wall.

His angry, jealous comments he had made when he last saw you had been right. Hyuck had always wanted to fuck you and while this was the first time, it looked like this wasn’t going to be the last.

#nct smut #nct x reader #nct fanfic #haechan x reader #haechan smut #hyuck smut #hyuck x reader

500 notes · View notes

am-i-the-asshole-official · 5 months

Note

🍏 to find later

AITA for sending my friend $100 as a wedding gift

(She used to use Tumblr but deleted her blog years ago so I feel comfortable sharing this.)

My (28 NB) best friend T (26 F) got married sometime within the last year or so. We had known each other for about 8 years at this point after meeting online and sort of dated on and off for about 4 of those years. We loved each other very much, I even flew out to meet her in person, but the distance got to be too much for her and I understood that and we still stayed close friends. We helped each other through bad breakups with toxic friends and lovers, and when she told me she met someone (G, 24 M) and things were getting super serious with him I couldn't have been happier for her.

The thing is though, G has always been jealous of how close T and I were. T had been upfront with him that I was an ex and that we've been romantically and physically involved in the past, but we had both assured him that nothing was going on between us anymore and that we had both moved on. But that didn't stop G from constantly thinking I was going to try to steal T away from him despite living half way across the country (I was on the west coast and T and G live in the south).

About 2 years ago, my family started making plans to move to around the same area they live in. Not super close but a day's trip, think LA to Vegas. I wasn't thrilled about the move but it was cheaper and my grandmother lives out here and she needed our help, so I did my best not to object too much to it. Besides, I figured this way I was closer to T and that I could finally meet G face to face, hopefully to settle this bad blood he seemed to think was between us and help him realize that I wasn't going to try to steal T away from him. Especially since by this time G had already proposed. Around this time though, T had told G that she had send me some rather revealing photos showing off some new body mods she had gotten, purely out of excitement. I hadn't asked to see them, she offered and said it should be fine, and well, turns out it wasn't. G got pissed and almost called off their wedding. They stayed together though and worked through it, and then a few months later T disappeared on me. Stopped responding to my messages, blocked my phone number, everything. I was already at a low point in my life because of the move and this made me get lower. After the move I got drunk one night and realized that T hadn't blocked me on Twitter so I ended up messaging her, and she got back to me immediately and explained that G had told her that if she didn't cut contact with me then he was going to leave her because he didn't think I had ever actually gotten over her and that I was going to try to steal her from him. I was hurt but I understood, especially since T was at a point where if G left her she'd have to go back to a very toxic living situation. I told her I still considered her my best friend, she still considered me hers, and that was the last time I talked to her.

Now, here's the part where I might be the asshole. Last November I was checking my Venmo to make sure my info was up to date and I realized that I still had T on there to send money to. Not only that, but T had changed her last name to G's, meaning that they must have gotten married by now. So, I decided to send them $100 as a late wedding gift. T is still my friend and I was happy for them, and I didn't mean anything bad by it, but for the last two months I've been worried that G would be upset and that it would have opened up years old wounds.

TLDR; My friend's new husband doesn't trust me and wanted her to stop talking to me, and in response I sent them $100 and a congratulations, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

76 notes · View notes

tgmsunmontue · 16 days

Text

Online & Anonymous 8/16

Hangster. Explicit. Years before they meet in person Bradley and Jake strike up a friends-with-benefits relationship online. And then something more like an actual relationship.

Odd year = Bradley's POV and Even year = Jake's POV

>>Bradley chatting (bold and italics)

>>Jake chatting (italics)

2005/2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

2013 – Bradley

When he gets the invitation to Top Gun he almost vibrates out of his seat in excitement. He keeps telling himself it’s excitement and not terror. He’s already going to be turning thirty this year, and while he might be a bit older than some of the other attendees he knows he’s unlikely to be the oldest. However he is older than his father was when he attended. He’s already older than his father was when he died and the idea that his father was married and had had a kid is mind boggling to him, because he doesn’t feel anywhere old enough to have either of those responsibilities, even if he’s coming around to the first one whenever he thinks about a potential future with Jas.

>>I got invited to a thing. An elite training thing. It’s sort of a big deal.

>>I’ll probably be busier than usual.

>>Like what?

>>Wait. Rangers? Delta Force? Pararescue?

>>Yeah. Something like that.

>>Fine. Keep your secrets.

>>You’re the one that said you want to keep some stuff for when we meet.

>>Can I change my mind?

>>Ask me again in 24 hours.

>>You’re pretty impulsive.

>>You like me being impulsive.

>>That’s true. I do.

>>Don’t want you to regret it though.

>>End of May isn’t that far away.

>>Assuming nothing happens again.

>>Yeah well. Fingers crossed.

>>Thinking about finally meeting you is the only gets me through some of my worst days.

>>No pressure.

Bradley squeezes his lips between his teeth, wonders if he should apologize.

>>There is no pressure. I’m just… being honest with you.

>>I’ve had to lie about do much for so long, that even now it’s…

>>Well. I’ll never lie to you. Even if I think it’ll scare you.

>>This is where I get to be myself.

>>But you don’t need to worry about me not liking you.

>>I already love you.

>>Okay.

>>Well.

>>In the interests of being honest, do you want to know a secret?

>>Of course.

>>I’m scared of meeting you.

>>Why?

>>What if you’re not as perfect in person as you are through my phone?

>>Well, I’m not perfect.

>>At all.

>>Do you want me to share some of my gross habits with you?

>>I can do that if you think it would help.

>>Yeah. Go on.

>>Well, a recent one which drives my roommate absolutely batshit crazy, is I leave my moustache hair clippings all over the sink.

>>You have a moustache?

>>Yep. A new one. That long leave period I had last year when we were meant to meet up the second time? I started growing it.

>>Keeps my upper lip warm.

>>Do you look good?

>>I look like my dad.

>>Makes me feel closer to him.

>>I broke down and cried when I caught my reflection because I thought it was him.

>>I think mine is better, but I just wish he was here to joke with me about it.

>>Teach me how to take care of it.

>>All I’ve had are YouTube tutorials and it’s not quite the same.

>>If you’re watching online tutorials it definitely looks good.

>>Vain motherfucker.

Bradley laughs but doesn’t bother disputing the fact, he likes to look good, and taking pride in his appearance is something that is necessary because it reflects on the Navy. He can’t say that specifically though.

>>What about you? Annoying habit?

>>I leave empty bottles and cups everywhere.

>>Not in the mess hall obviously, but everywhere else.

>>My friends despair of me.

>>I try and remember when I’m elsewhere, but I just keep forgetting.

>>Awful Southern manners.

… … …

His seventeen-week stint at the Navy Fighter Weapons School begins and he doesn’t think he’s ever worked so hard in his life. He studies every waking moment, spends time with the ground crew asking questions about particular aspects of their jobs and their experiences, uses them to piece together a better understanding of the planes, although he’s already got an excellent understanding of most things, his obsession and upbringing in his youth meaning he’s knowledgeable about odd things, which sometimes get a raised eyebrow from one or two of the instructors. He does his best to ignore them.

He and Jas have discovered SnapChat and started using that, not for conversations, just for staying connected and sending tiny little snippets of their day to each other, letting him know he’s thinking of him. Shots of morning coffee, books where he carefully covers the titles when it’s related to flying, the sky when it’s particularly pretty, his empty bed with the simple caption wish you were here.

The seventeen weeks come to an end, he comes out on the top and he feels so much. He survived for a start, which is something he can admit now that he was worried about. God, he wants to ring Mav and Ice, and not just to brag, but to hear them be happy for him, although a part of him accepts he definitely wants to rub Pete’s face in it, that he is good enough. Of course it throws everything else into sharp relief and he wishes more than anything he could talk to his dad. He’s sitting in the lounge, just staring at the photos of previous Top Gun classes and 1986 is right there, an image that conjures so many mixed emotions.

“Lieutenant Bradshaw. Thought you’d be out celebrating the win.”

“Sir.”

“Seriously. I’m surprised to see you here and not with the others.”

“I will celebrate. Just. Having some mixed emotions sir,” he admits.

“You don’t think you earnt the win?”

Bradley blinks, because he’s not sure there’s a way to answer that question the right way, without sounding like he’s

“I think it was an honor to be invited here and challenged by fellow aviators who are excellent in every respect. I worked hard and flew well. Just. Did you know my father died at Top Gun? During a hop?”

“Bradshaw. I did wonder. Thought it was in bad taste to ask.”

“No-one asked, but I suspect some are aware. No-one brought it up, sir.”

“No, they’d probably take your lead on that. Well, I’ll leave you to it Lieutenant. Have a good evening.”

“Thank you sir.”

… … …

>>How did you go?

>>Well, I didn’t wash out and I completed it.

>>That’s a pretty low bar.

>>Didn’t wash out? Pretty sure you smashed it.

>>I love your faith in me.

>>I love you.

>>Of course I have faith in you.

>>What I don’t have faith in is the universe and its apparent desire to fuck us over.

>>I’ve been invited to my own elite training thing.

>>Like, I can’t turn it down, it’s pretty much an order to go. And it’s an honor to be selected, but the timing could not be fucking worse.

>>I’m so sorry.

Bradley is so disappointed he’s close to tears, but he also knows that when these type of opportunities are offered to you, you cannot turn them down. Ever. Not directly. Except he sort of just did, and his mind is

>>I understand. I totally understand.

>>Doesn’t stop me being disappointed though.

>>I was really looking forward to finally meeting you.

>>You and me both. Waited this long though right?

>>I am getting really sick of us having to say that.

>>I’m starting to get very sick of waiting.

>>I feel like we’ve waited long enough.

>>But I was offered something, I might see if I can backtrack my decline.

>>Shit. Did you turn something down because of me?

>>Well, I asked if I could think about it for a day or two. I was intending to turn them down, but I think I’ll accept it now.

>>Not if I don’t have meeting you in May to look forward to.

>>Nick. I don’t want you turning down things which could help your career just to meet with me.

>>I’m not going anywhere.

>>This goes both ways. I don’t want you turning things down either.

>>I’m sorry – did you just miss the bit where I said I can’t meet up because I’m taking up a training opportunity?

>>Yeah, but you thought about turning it down.

>>Next time don’t think about it, just accept.

>>I’ll always understand your desire to put your career first.

>>What about when I don’t want to anymore?

>>Also this applies to actual guys you sleep with and could have a relationship with.

>>Don’t you dare use me as an excuse to not pursue something if you think it’d be worth it.

>>Then the same applies for you.

>>Fine. Although the guys I’ve been sleeping with have yet to impress me with anything worth writing home about. Or well…

>>Sharing with you. My fantasies are definitely far more interesting.

>>Still think it’s your useless superpower, ability to hook-up with the worst possible guys and just have bad sex.

>>It’s okay. We’ll practice plenty in person when we meet.

… … …

The offer to stay on as an instructor is there, and he’d said he’d think about it. However he really doesn’t want to stop flying, but he also doesn’t feel like he has the necessary skills to train other aviators yet, which is why he’s seriously considering staying to learn from the Top Gun instructors. When he raises his concerns about wanting to keep up his flying while also wanting to build up his experience with teaching and training to a set syllabus he gets a considered look for his troubles.

“You’re not very much like your father or godfather are you Lieutenant.”

“Excuse me sir?”

“I know who you are Lieutenant. I flew with both your father, and Maverick. You remind my far more of Iceman. Cool and collected, little bit detached from emotion when you’re flying.”

“Sir,” Bradley states, because he’s not sure if he’s asking a question or not. Whether it’s simply an observation or a compliment.

“I’ll see what we can figure out.”

The experienced tutors seem to take his interest in training with enthusiasm, recommending readings and setting homework. He learns that some of them have gone on to do Masters degrees in learning or development. He hadn’t expected quite a thorough background as he’s getting, but it’s good. He’s permitted to take flights early in the morning as long as he clears his flight plans with his commanding officer and also has at least three others awake and at least one willing to act as ground crew. He makes decent deals with several of the instructors, some who just prefer being on base that early to prepare for the day and doing it while he flies around is acceptable to them, especially when he agrees to try out any particular maneuvers and tactics in different planes. He loves it and it’s his routine for three weeks before the next Top Gun intake arrive. He shaves off his moustache and then regrets it almost immediately, but he can grow it back the next time he has a decent amount of leave to go unshaved.

… … …

There are twelve naval aviators and Bradley has read all their files. He’s flown with a few of them before, one of them being Bambi and another Coyote. Then he knows Slipper, Knocks, Frank and Truffle. It leaves the other six as unknowns, although he does recognize the names. He has to admit it’s almost more intimidating than going through Top Gun himself, being expected to command the attention of other aviators for lessons, people known for challenging the status quo. The fact that he already knows half of them actually makes it worse, because he knows they won’t hold back. Not that he expects any of them to hold back, but he’s read their files and they’re all good and more than deserve to be here.

It’s a little awkward, he’s not sure whether he is meant to be hanging out with the instructors, or whether he’s somehow part of this Top Gun class as well. So he finds a weird middle ground, friendly and professional with the instructors, happy to act for them, following their instructions and carrying out flight moves as an example or acting the part of bogey for tactical training. He is even more professional with the Top Gun class, slightly cooler but still friendly enough that he doesn’t think it pisses any of them off, although Bambi does roll her eyes at him more than once and Coyote gives him a quirked eyebrow.

He and Jas continue to exchange snaps every day, although they both poke fun at the seemingly endless monotony of their current day-to-day lives. Bradley’s same mug of coffee everyday wishing him good morning, and it hasn’t escaped his notice that Jas seems to be in his time zone for the first time ever. Or at least for the first time since he really started paying attention and using Snapchat. They haven’t made any long-term plans to meet-up, not until next year and that’s too far away for Bradley to even know where in the world he’ll be let alone what weeks of the year he will have free which makes him feel a little more irritated than usual.

“So, your score is the score I have to beat huh?” Jake Seresin says, and Bradley can’t help the immediate spike of annoyance at the words. He shouldn’t, because they’re Navy, competition between them all is something that is drilled into them from the beginning. More so for the USNA, but Bradley’s been around Naval Aviators his entire life and knows how they are, for the most part. Bunch of egotistical adrenaline junkies. Himself included, although he likes to try and temper his own ego by being as friendly and hopefully genuinely likeable as possible. Of course, being professional and maintaining some sense of distance can be difficult when he just wants to roll his eyes and tell the guy to grow up.

“Just concentrate on your own flying and don’t worry about beating me.”

They’re all good pilots. Of course they are. But Jake Seresin just seems to take the cast of egotistical and break the mold. He’s just so full of himself and the most annoying part of it is that it’s completely justified. He is that good, but he also gives off waves that he doesn’t feel like he has anything left to learn and Bradley knows he can’t be the only one feeling a little frustrated with his attitude sometimes. He asks the other instructors, in a round-about way, and he gets amused looks and told that he’ll learn to manage that with experience.

Then there is how Seresin looks. He’s very nice to look at, Bradley isn’t going to lie to himself about it, and he wouldn’t kick him out of bed, however he’d have to like his personality enough first to invite him there, and that isn’t happening anytime soon. Definitely not while they’re at Top Gun, even if he thinks he could ask and get accepted, he doesn’t want to get a reputation for sleeping with students, that would be disastrous. It doesn’t stop him jerking off and thinking about Jake Seresin’s lips around his cock and he sends a couple of pictures to Jas during and after, telling him he misses him.

… … …

Seventeen weeks feels like the blink of an eye and also, somehow, the longest drawn-out torture ever. He’s glad he has flying everyday, because somedays it’s the only thing that keeps him sane. Seresin seems to ask endless questions, some just bordering on disrespectful and he knows the other instructors find his frustration amusing, because he catches their poorly hidden smiles when he privately expresses his frustration to them, so he starts ignoring it as best he can.

He doesn’t think he enjoys training and teaching enough to want to make this his career, not if every class is going to have people like Jake Seresin in it. He can’t bring himself to whine about it to Jas, not when he knows he’s so busy with his own specialty training, so he does the next best thing and rings Natasha, exchanging pleasantries before just launching into the complaining when she asks how the training aspects are going.

“I just can’t seem to teach him anything! He just rubs me the wrong way.”

“Well, you definitely want to be rubbing something…”

“Jesus Natasha!”

“What? It’s not going to get you kicked out or anything anymore…”

“I’m not going to sleep with him!”

“Would you? If that were an option? Is he hot?”

“I don’t know. Have you met Jake Seresin?”

“Oh. Definitely hot. He’s also Javy’s best friend.”

“Javy huh?” Bradley asks, wanting to steer their conversation away from his inconvenient attraction to the most annoying person he’s ever met.

“Shut up. At least I know what the guy I’m interested in looks like…”

“Yeah yeah, whatever. I had noticed they were pretty tight.”

“Yeah. Tight as brothers. Academy and flight school buddies. Hopefully Javy’s actual brothers are nicer.”

“Well, they aren’t currently here driving me fucking insane, so that’s already a point in their favor.”

“How is Javy doing?”

“He’s good. Everyone here is good. You should be here.”

“I’ll get my turn.”

“Yeah you will.”

… … …

“You know, the other instructors, they call you a rooster, because you get up so early so you can get up and fly before class.”

Bradley grunts, because if he ignores him, maybe he’ll go away. He knows the other instructors call him that, and he doesn’t mind it, because there are far worse nicknames he could have landed himself with. This one has been an almost affectionate one, given to him with a ruffle to his hair and a wink.

“I wanted to see if you’d be interested in getting a drink.”

“With you?”

“Yes.”

“No, that wouldn’t be appropriate.”

“We’re the same rank,” Seresin states, but Bradley is shaking his head.

“I’m still an instructor.”

Seresin’s lip curls, and it’s not in a nice way, but he’s stepping back, hands out in a no harm no foul gesture and Bradley hates that he looks good even when he’s looking pissed off.

“Your loss.”

“I think I’ll live.”

… … …

When the seventeen weeks come to an end, he finally allows himself to socialize with Bambi, taking her out for dinner as an apology for being so formal and professional for the last four months. Allows, for a given definition of allow, for her to sweep the floor with him at both darts and pool. Then he takes her back to his place where they make a video call to Natasha and have a proper catch-up. Of course the first thing Natasha asks is if he’s slept with Seresin yet which has Bambi cackling and telling her all about the times Seresin seemed to be an ass solely to try and get Bradley’s attention.

… … …

>>You ever wonder what would happen if you did something different?

>>Only every fucking day.

2014 - Jake

#online and anonymous #Hangster #Sereshaw #hangman x rooster #Top Gun Maverick fanfic

49 notes · View notes

emberfrostlovesloki · 1 month

Text

Criminal Minds June Prompts - First Meetings/Dates

All Photo Credits at the End

Good evening loves! We made it to Mayl! Here are some more Summer Prompts for June. This prompt list is inspired by the always amazing, @imagining-in-the-margins, who always make the best prompt lists. Her current prompt list can be found here (linked). I won’t write for all of my prompts, but I might for a few. I decided to go with a theme for these June Promts and it is First Meetings / Dates, and there are a few in here that I am very excited about.

The rules for using these prompts are that there are no rules! You could use any Criminal Minds characters, OCs, reader inserts, etc. You could draw, write, make mood boards, or imagine anything else. I have included 30 prompts for each day of the month. I also get inspiration from plain old words, so I’ve included 10 Summer words that might inspire something. Lastly, I’ve included a few dialog and art prompts too. If any of these prompts inspire you to create, I’d love to be tagged to see what you have made. This is all just for fun. I wish everyone a great start to the month. Please know I’m proud of you wherever you are right now - Love Levi ❤️

You can find all the prompts below the cut

General Prompts

Characters A and B try to decide on a first date spot, but they don’t seem to have the same taste in anything, so they have to compromise.

Character A sees Character B having a meltdown for no apparent reason in public, so they go to make sure Character B is okay.

Character A doesn’t believe in ghosts until they move into their new house/apt. Things get strange, so Character A invites Character B over for the first time to investigate.

Character A doesn’t believe in romance until they set eyes on Character B for the first time.

Character A is dressed for the wrong occasion, so Character B gives them a hand with a wardrobe change.

Character A is on a run and gets hurt, so Character B gives them a hand.

Character A gets called on a case to help the BAU. They didn’t expect to fall in love with a member of the team.

Character A struggles with vertigo and Character B catches them before they can hit their head.

Character A can’t let go of the past and neither can Character B, so they decide to meet again and pretend it’s the first time.

Characters A and B go to a pride parade together and Character B has a revelation about their identity.

Character A gets arrested at a protest, and Character B helps them out of their legal troubles.

College tours are awful and draining as a parent until Character A gets a look at Character B, who has another kid on the tour.

Insomnia keeps Character A up at all hours, they keep seeming to run into the same person on their nighttime strolls.

Character A goes to pick up a roll of photos that were developed. They end up getting the wrong person’s [Character B] and Character A sets out to find whose pictures they are.

Learning a new language is hard for Character A until they meet their new language tutor. Character B.

Character A is a hostage negotiator, and when they find out they are negotiating for a member of the BAU [Character B] the stakes are raised to a hundred.

Character A is in the park when a dog comes up to them, Character B is running around looking for their lost dog when they find their dog with a pretty stranger.

Character A is getting married, but Character B knows a secret and feels they must tell Character A before it’s too late

A middle-grade science fair brings Characters A and B together for the first time.

Character A has agoraphobia and character B, an online friend, agrees to meet them in person to help them try and meet new people.

At a local fair, Character A has their palm read and is told they will meet the love of their life that evening.

Character A lets their child paint their nails which leads to an interesting interaction with Character B later that day.

Characters A and B fight over an item at the grocery store. When they see each other again the next it’s a bit awkward.

An Amazon delivery driver sees some scary/suspicious things delivered to a house, thankfully they live next door to an FBI agent.

Amnesia fic.

Character A gets rudely told to shut up. Character B comes and finds them after to say they’d love to hear them talk more, maybe on a date.

Character A is reading a book that is very complicated and unintentionally throws it into the lap of an expert in the subject in the park.

Character A is trying to learn how to knit. They are expecting to class to be full of older ladies and are surprised when they see Character B is the instructor, who is young and attractive.

A member of the BAU takes swimming lessons with Character B.

Character A catches Character B saying they are touch starved, so Character A finds a way to fix that.

Word Prompts

Summer

Last Day of School

Summer Camp

Date

Flower Crown

Rock Star

Finish Line

Chemistry

First Time

Reckoning

Dialog Prompts

“Sure it’s a date. Wait, it’s a date!"

“Now hold on a second. Did you just call me pretty!”

“Listen, at weddings a single girl/guy is looking for one thing, a good time."

“Is there really a difference between pleasure and Joy?”

“Life will never be the same without you.”

“Run as if your life depends on it because it does.”

Art Prompts

Any member of the BAU in a swimsuit

Any member of the BAU with a pet or animal

Any BAU kid running to Uncle Rossi

Any member of the BAU blushing uncontrollably

Text Break Banner by @cafekitsune

Tag list: (🩷) @tgskitten @geminitapestry @silk-spun

Want to be added to my tag list? Please check out this post (linked)

Want to send in a request? Please check out this post, CM Request Post (linked)

Photo Credits

Top: Left (@emilyinsuits) Center (@kafkasdiariies) Right (@flowersforfrancis)

Middle: Left (@ancientsstudies) Center (@mickisnotclever) Right (@ex-injuria-jus-non-oritur)

Bottom: Left (@ex-injuria-jus-non-oritur) Center (@psykopaths) Right (@tokyocyborg)

39 notes · View notes

redgoldsparks · 2 months

Text

March Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Reviews below the cut.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 4 by Ryoko Kui

I'm reading these books so fast I can barely remember which parts of the plot happened in which volume but know that I am still having a great time!

Delicious in Dungeon vol 5 by Ryoko Kui

Oh, this story has taken a darker turn, and also just introduced a whole bunch more characters. Will I be able to keep track of them all? I hope so!

Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb, read by Anne Flosnik

Unfortunately, this is definitely the weakest Robin Hobb book I've read so far. I was expecting to like it less than the glorious, 5-star previous trilogy, but I actually think I'm going to skip the rest of the Rain Wild Chronicles and read summaries online to get to the next Fitz books. This book follows five main POV characters. This works fairly well for the first half, when the characters are all in different physical locations. However once all of the characters meet up, we start getting the same scene from multiple different POVs, which feels extremely repetitive. Also, almost EVERY SCENE includes a flashback, often a lengthy flashback, sometimes to something that happened only the previous day and could have been told as present-moment action. This writing choice baffled me. It's something I can't remember struggling with in any of Hobb's previous books, but by the end it was driving me up a wall. The book also moved very slowly; the stakes feel lower, and the character far less emotionally true than in the two Fitz trilogies. Disappointing, but I will keep moving forward towards the next part of the series I want to read.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 6 by Ryoko Kui

Damn, a lot of characters get murdered in this volume! Good thing almost everyone who dies in the dungeon can be revived. Also, very excited to finally meet the cat ninja I've been seeing fan art of since before I even started the series :3

Delicious in Dungeon vol 7 by Ryoko Kui

I am still completely caught up in this series. I love the glimpse of Senshi's past revealed in this volume, and the lore of the dungeon that is still being revealed. There was a line in here about how the dungeon leaves you alone if you don't ask much of it, but that if you have strong desires it throws even more obstacles into your way. Our heroes have such big goals right now, but they're marching ahead regardless!

School Trip by Jerry Craft

A satisfying new installment in the New Kid series from funny, talented, charming Jerry Craft! I appreciated how this volume started to complicate some of the students who had been left a bit one-dimensional in previous books. Several people stood up to and called out a bully; new friendships were built; and Jordan Banks left Paris even more inspired than ever to follow his dreams of becoming an artist. This series has a lot of jokes, but also a lot of heart!

A Frog in Fall (and Later On) by Linnea Sterte

Minor frog is less than a year old, and is dismayed when winter begins to steal all of the light and warmth from his world. Instead of bunking down safely with his mentor to wait for spring, he sets out on a journey with two vagabond toads passing by on a quest to make it all the way to the tropics. They tramp through the Japanese countryside, encountering tree spirits, new friends, dangers, and views the likes of which minor frog had never even imagined. This is a gorgeous book; every page worth pouring over, an economy of line and detail building a beautiful and mysterious world of talking animals and miniature packaged foods. Made me want to draw.

Dark Rise by CS Pacat read by Christian Coulson

In 1820s London, orphaned Will tries to earn enough as a dockworker to survive- and evade the killers pursuing him. Violet dresses in her half-brother's clothes and sneaks onto a ship in the Thames to watch a man be branded with his master's mark. Katherine excitedly anticipates her engagement to one of London's richest and most mysterious lords; his gallantry nearly makes up for the fact that he's twice her age. And in the bowels of one of that lord's ships, James tortures a man for information. All of these characters are 16 or 17 years old, but all of them are tangled in an ancient conflict between the Light and the Dark which stretches back into an age of magic before history. This is CS Pacat's YA fantasy debut, and it contains a lot of tropes very familiar to both YA and high fantasy- there are shades of both Tolkien and Rowling in this. Its fast-paced and action-packed, but especially in the first third of the story, the characters all felt fairly thin. None of them have quirks, hobbies, career hopes, relationships outside of immediate family, school, or work; or much more than a brief sketch of past. It took until the mid-way point for what I consider Pacat's major strengths as a writer to emerge: intense, homoerotic interpersonal sparring between characters operating under major power imbalances. Every scene in which the seductive, manipulative, powerful evil gay faced off against the good boy chosen one crackled with energy. Unfortunately, there were only four of these scenes in the whole book. It ends on a cliff-hanger, because of course it does, with a tempting set up for book two; but that doesn't entirely excuse the fact that the first 50% felt like set up. I will definitely keep reading, but long-time Pacat fans should take note that this is toned down version of what I expected based on Captive Prince.

Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls (re-read before event)

What an accomplishment! I savored every page of Feeding Ghosts, absolutely floored by the labor and courage that went into the writing of this book. The inking is gorgeous, the history is clear, digestible, and devastating. This book threads the line between honesty and compassion in a way that I appreciate so much in any memoir, but especially one dealing with family. Hulls lays out the story of three generations of women starting with her grandmother, Sun Yi, a Shanghai journalist who faced intense persecution during the rise of Communism in China, who penned a popular and scandalous memoir and then suffered a mental breakdown. This left her only daughter, Rose, a student at an elite boarding school with no parental figures and no other family to lean on. Eventually Rose earned a scholarship to an American university and in the end moved her mother into her California home. Sun Yi haunted that home during the author's own childhood. The unexamined trauma and codependency of Sun Yi and Rose drove the author to the extreme edges of the Earth, seeking freedom from their ghosts. But in the end, she stopped running from her family history and turned, instead, to face it. Shelve this book with Maus, Fun Home, Persepolis and The Best We Could Do. Re-read it for a second time and got even more out of it on a second pass.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 8 by Ryoko Kui

Laios and company realize that their encounter with changling mushroom rings had more consequences than they'd realized- its the body swap episode! This visual humor is contrasted against increasing dangers from both above and below, as nastier monsters and political machinations begin to close in on our heroic adventuring party. I'm now over halfway through this series and almost feel like I should start reading it more slowly to savor it, but I'll probably just keep devouring it instead.

Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and Leuyen Pham

High school senior Val grew up knowing her family was unlucky in love; for generations, relationships in her family have ended in heartbreak. Her childhood love of Valentines Day ends with a shocking family revelation and what feels like the beginning of a curse. Then her Vietnamese grandmother sweeps her off to a Lunar New Year celebration in downtown Oakland and a pair of cute lion dancer boys catch her eye. Could one of them break the spell on her heart? This story offers a classic and satisfying rom-com, with Val torn between an outgoing, rich, but flaky boy and a broody, shy, loyal one. The story takes several kdrama style twists and includes ghosts, saints, red envelopes, confessions, fights, reunions, tears, and kisses. For a comic, its wordy; the pages are dense with small panels and thick with dialogue, but also illustrated with such warm, humor, and realism. I really liked that the story included as much of Val's relationship with her family and best friend as romance. And the lion dancing scenes practically leap off the page with color and energy!

Witch Hat Atelier vol 10 by Kamome Shirahama

This series remains as visually stunning as ever but I'm struggling with how every single book expands the cast. There are so many characters now that I don't care about that much, and have trouble remembering from volume to volume. I wish the story line would stick more closely to Coco, her classmates, and their main mentors!

Delicious in Dungeon vol 9 by Ryoko Kui

Oh the stories are all converging! The savior at the bottom of the dungeon is probably a demon! Ituzumi saves the day! I am still having a great time reading this series.

A Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson read by Abby Craden

A short, very queer, very poly retelling of Dracula focusing on his coven of enthralled lovers. I liked the way the book breezed through history, as the dysfunctional little family moved from one major European city to the next, with snatched moments of glittering joy interwoven with violence and plague. The story is fairly simple, and has a happier ending than I expected, or honestly think the characters deserved.

City of Dragons by Robin Hobb

I DNFed the previous book in this series and just read a summary online before skipping ahead to this one. I think that was a very good choice for me. This third one was more engaging and a bit more action packed, with some cool discoveries about the city of Kelsingra and the nature of Elderlings. But the Rain Wild Chronicles as a whole do not stand up to the quality of the Farseer books. There are so many POV characters that a few of them get only two or three scenes in this whole book. I don't feel that I deeply know any of these characters; while at the same time watching Hobb pair them off at an extraordinary rate- in the last book five sets of characters got together and in this book an additional two couples are developing feelings for each other. Between this and a kidnapping, a birth, a murder, and a lot of blackmail, this series feels like a soap opera.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 10 by Ryoko Kui

Almost two TPKs in this volume, yikes!

Delicious in Dungeon vol 11 by Ryoko Kui

You know shit's getting serious when the character who has been the series main villain up until now is partially devoured by a different, worse villain. Exciting changes coming to this dungeon under it's new lord and master!

Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle

When Becca gets invited to sit with the popular girl clique at her new high school, she's thrilled. But the friendship turns bloody and complicated when she learns that her new friends are actually werewolves who need to kill and feed on a human once a month. If she joins them, Becca will gain superhuman strength and a pack; she'll never have to fear a male predator again, because she will be a predator herself. I loved the queer rep and the twist on werewolf lore; I wish it had been a little longer and more developed. Give me multi-page transformations sequences!

Delicious in Dungeon vol 12 by Ryoko Kui

I love seeing all these plot lines come together! Building towards a wild climax.

Delicious in Dungeon vol 13 by Ryoko Kui

I went out and *bought* vol 13 of this series because my library didn't have it yet, that's how hooked I am. And now I have to wait until JULY for the final volume! (But also, thank goodness I didn't get into this series any sooner or I'd have a much longer wait).

#book reviews #books #reading #comics #manga

37 notes · View notes

footprintsinthesxnd · 2 years

Text

Callsign ‘Troublemaker’

Pairings: Jake Seresin x reader

Summary: When Bradley Bradshaw meets his namesake. Part 1 ‘Next Thing You Know’ can be found here or on my master list.

Warnings: mention of parents death, has a happy ending, Bradley and Jake bromance

Huge thank you to @callsign-phoenix for proofreading for me.

The days at the hospital seemed to drag by and Jake couldn’t wait to get his wife and son home and settled in. When the day finally came he was so jittery and excited that (y/n) had to tell him to calm down as they got into the car.

“Jake, chill out. You have so much energy. What's gotten into you?” You laughed, settling into the passenger seat, still sore from her surgery but growing stronger by the day.

“I just can't wait to get him home, into his little room.”

Jake had spent so much time decorating the nursery. He had gone for the theme of planes, of course. The walls were alive with all the different aircraft on a beige background. The little wooden cot was nestled in the corner and above it hung a mobile with little jet planes on it. Bradley had found it online and now his namesake was going to enjoy it.

The drive home was slow, Jake barely going about 20 mph. “For a fighter pilot, you certainly don't know how to drive fast, the speed limit is 40, Jake.”

“I know. I know, but we have precious cargo,” he said, glancing into the backseat at your sleeping son. He looked so peaceful, tiny hands scrunched up by his chubby face, little eyes closed tightly. Jake had been your rock during the first few days of parenthood. He took to it like a duck to water and he loved every moment of it. During your pregnancy, Jake had read all the baby books he could get his hands on but the thing he enjoyed the most was skin-to-skin bonding time. You often found yourself waking up in the hospital bed to see your husband slumped in the chair, shirtless and with your baby boy resting on his chest. The sight of them together made your heart swell with love.

When you pulled up the driveway, you sighed with relief. It felt good to finally be home, in your own clothes and your own bed. Jake rushed around to help you out of the car and lead you to the front door before going back for Bradley. When you opened the front door, you were met with loud cheers. The Dagger squad had crowded into your small living room, cheering and clapping as the couple entered with their newborn. Phoenix stepped forward and embraced you tightly. “God (y/n), don't you ever do that again. You have no idea how stressed I was.” She rambled, continuing to hold your shoulders firmly.

“How do you think I felt, Nat? She's my wife.”

“She was my best friend first, Bagman.” you laughed, smiling at her.

“I'll try not to do it again. I promise.”

“You better had.”

The great of the squad all greeted you, hugging the new parents and making a fuss of the little boy. Even Mav was in his element, humming quietly and rocking Bradley gently after he started crying.

“You’re a natural, Mav,” you said quietly, watching over his shoulder at your sleeping son.

“The old man's still got it in him then.” A familiar voice said from behind you. Turning you came face to face with Rooster. He wore one of his signature Hawaiian shirts, a bunch of flowers in one hand and a book in the other.

“Mum always told him that Mav was good with me as a kid. Apparently, he was one of the only people that could stop me from crying if I had a tantrum.”

“I still can.” Mav joked, gently placing your son back into his arms before greeting Rooster. Once Mav headed over to talk to Phoenix and Bob, Rooster approached you.

“How is the little troublemaker getting on?”

“He's good. Keeping us on our toes but we wouldn't have it any other way.” You looked down adoringly at your little boy, who was still peacefully sleeping in your arms.

“And more importantly, how are you feeling, (y/n)?” He placed his hand on your arm supportively.

“I'm tired and still a little sore, but mainly I'm just relieved.” you smiled up at him. “I wanted to thank you for everything the other night, Bradley. I know that we couldn't have done it without you, Jake especially. I'll never be able to repay you for it but just know that it meant everything to him that you were there.” You gave him a side hug, careful not to wake the sleeping baby in your arms. Bradley hugged you back gently, placing a soft kiss on your head.

“Honestly, it was nothing. I’d do it all again in a heartbeat, anything for my wingman. Although I hope I never have to. Keep out of trouble, (y/n).”

You nodded, “Thank you, Bradley.”

You stood together silently for a moment before Bradley realised he was still holding the gifts. “Oh, these are for you,” he handed you the bunch of flowers in his hand. They were stunning, a mix of all different colours.

“Oh thank you, you didn't have to.” you told him. “Jake, could you pop these in some water for me?” you asked, passing the flowers to your husband.

“Sure,” he took them from you and placed a kiss on your cheek, before turning to Bradley.

“Hey, Chicken.”

“Hey, Bagman.” The two men greeted each other with a hug before Jake disappeared into the kitchen.

“I umm... I also bought this. It was something my Mum and Dad did for me when I was little and I've treasured it ever since my Dad died. I just thought you could keep all his memories and pictures in here and if anything happened...” he stopped himself seeing your worried face. “Not that anything will. I will look after Jake with my life if I have to. I just thought that if anything did, at least he will have all his memories of Jake in here.”

Bradley handed you the book and you sat down in the chair, placing it carefully on your lap. It was a brown leather photo album.

Engraves on the front in gold letters read:

‘Baby Seresin’s photo album’ and underneath it read: ‘Callsign - Troublemaker.’

You gasped, placing your hand over your mouth, tears filling your eyes.

“Bradley, this is beautiful. I can't believe it... I love it, Bradley, thank you.”

You stood up, embracing him tightly as a few tears escaped down your face.

“Hey Bradshaw, are you upsetting my wife,” Jake called jokingly, coming over to join you. You showed Jake the album, trying to dry your eyes. Jake stared at it silently and you watched as a few tears slid down his cheek.

“Roo, I...” he choked out, trying to find the right words. Bradley could sense how choked up his friend was and placed a hand on Jake’s shoulder.

“It's ok, Jake. I know.” Jake nodded and pulled Bradley into a hug.

“Thank you, brother,” he mumbled into Bradley’s shoulder. The two men embraced before pulling apart and Jake composed himself. You could see the look that passed between them, it was something more than just friends. You always understood the importance of having a wingman and that when they were flying Jake and Bradley always looked out for each other. Bradley was as much part of the Seresin family as his namesake.

“Ok enough of the chitchat. When are we going to find out this little guy's name? I know it's a good callsign, but I feel like we can't keep calling him ‘Troublemaker’ forever.” Phoenix exclaimed from across the room, pointing amusingly at you and Jake. “Spill the beans.”

With your son resting in your arms, you took your husband's hand, squeezing in gently.

“Should we tell them?” You asked.

“YES!” a chorus of shouts filled the room as the crew gathered around.

“Well,” Jake began, clearing his throat. “(Y/n) and I came up with so many names but when it came down to it, there is only one name that we felt would truly fit him. So everyone…”

“Meet Bradley!” You both said together, excitedly revealing your son's name to the group. Everyone was silent until Bradley spoke up.

“You… you called him Bradley. You named him after me.” His voice was shaky and you could see the unshed tears glistening in his eyes.

“Yes, Brad. After everything, it’s the least we could do.” Bradley nodded slowly, a large smile growing across his face. You both grinned back at him. Jake wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you into his side.

“Thank you, Bradley.” He said, smiling gratefully at his wingman.

“You’re welcome.” With that little Bradley let out a small cry before he unleashed an earth-shaking wail. You began to rock him gently, trying to comfort him.

“I think your namesake wants you, Roo,” Phoenix said, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“His name is perfect, (y/n).” She said, smiling at you.

Bradley held out his arms and you carefully placed your son into them. He rocked the baby slowly back and forth, humming the song that Mav had earlier. The little boy’s cries became quieter until they were just whimpers. “Well, little man, I think we are going to have a lot of fun. Don’t you, ‘Troublemaker’.” Little Bradley cooed, lifting his tiny hand and wrapping it around Bradley’s thumb.

The rest of the squad was congratulating the Seresins, but Jake wasn’t paying much attention, he was too busy watching his wingman with his son. The two most important men in his life shared a very special moment. Jake knew he’d won the jackpot when Rooster became his wingman, but he didn't realise that he was also going to gain a best friend and godfather to his son as well.

Tag list: @callsign-phoenix @blue-aconite @green-socks @mayhem24-7forever @topguncortez @averyhotchner @a-reader-and-a-writer @imjess-themess @alexxavicry @boringusername3 @untoldshortsofthefandoms

#top gun maverick #jake hangman seresin #bradley rooster bradshaw #natasha phoenix trace #jake seresin #jake seresin x reader #next thing you know #hangman x reader #bradley bradshaw x reader

686 notes · View notes

staticofthetv · 11 days

Text

Take two!

Favourite frames from the new B-Side chapter, featuring some analysis because I have coherent thoughts this time 'round :D

Beware, spoilers below for the B-Side as well as the manga

@veiled-bird that goes for you too, you're nowhere near meeting this guy yet

First up, I love this chapters art. It reminds me of when I was little and asking my dad to help my brother and I beat the last level of episode 3 in lego star wars tcs

Also the chapter title? I have so many thoughts, they'll be discussed more in depth further down but they will be discussed /pos

Numbers weapon 1 mention!! I'm very excited to (hopefully) get more lore about it. Although I am curious if it's like a contact lens or something, I thought it was closer to a surgical implant or maybe some weird side effect from using numbers weapon 1. Mostly because I don't think he's been drawn with normal eyes yet in the manga (at least from what I remember)

Either way very much hoping we get some more numbers weapon 1 lore in this :)

This whole scene but specifically "what good does a test proving I'm abnormal do" hits so hard, especially as someone diagnosed with ADHD in my late teens. Having that feeling of there's something wrong with me for so long and being brushed off every time because I didn't act like the stereotypical 10 year old boy with severe ADHD (a psychiatrist literally told me and my mum i probably had adhd but she wouldnt diagnose me,) I did start to kind of give up on ever figuring it out.

Narumi was incredibly relatable to me in the main manga (not because I'm a badass, I'm very lame lmao) because of the behaviours he exhibits, hyperfocusing on games, constant dopamine seeking (through videogames and online shopping,) needing to be fiddling with something to better process the information being given out, etc.

Narumi is also incredibly smart, its stated explicitly that he got top scores in the entrance exam and I can't imagine those tests are anywhere near easy. It gives neurodivergent kid being told they just need to apply themselves to do better in school/make friends/just function in a neurotypical way in general.

This also comes from his being kicked out of several orphanages, and then even after joining the defence force (especially after being told by Isao that they take anyone that can show skills and results) getting kicked out by the second division and every platoon in the first until he ends up under hasegawa. Considering the title too this is 100% supposed to read as the classic "troubled kid" (many of which are neurodivergent) that not many are willing to put effort into helping. Isao is giving him a way out of the life of having no home to go back to, only to be struck with the threat of getting kicked out once again a year later. Narumi is a very skilled and capable fighter and no one in their right mind would argue with that and it once again all comes down to being labelled as too difficult, hard to work with, never paying attention

This chapter just hits so close to home with me

Baby Mina!! I know there's a decent amount if it in the manga but it's still weird to see her with short hair. I love her so much

There are many more words of appreciation I have but all thought went into dissecting Narumi's character lol

And so being kicked around by hasegawa begins

I love his face here, top tier expression

And here we see Isao solidifying the thought of skill and results being all that matters, there's no way Isao was going to let Narumi get kicked out, especially not after showing aptitude for handling numbers weapon 1. I like to think at this point he does also care for Narumi, I think he sees a lot of Kikoru (or what she could be) in him and especially he sees himself in Narumi. And even though he's only ranked captain Isao would clearly fight to keep Narumi on the force (he probably already had to for Narumi to get transferred to the first division instead of just being dropped when he didn't mesh with the second)

This is also the beginning of Isao and Narumi's mentor/mentee relationship, Isao knows exactly how to handle Narumi and his child prodigy-ness and help him reach his potential as a defence force officer. I think that's part of why Isao shows little care for how Narumi handles himself when off duty, it may be that he knows he can't change Narumi in that way, it may be that he himself just doesn't care for all the professional decorum, either way Isao plays the very important role of being Narumi's main support while he's in the defence force (until Isao dies anyway, whoops.) Narumi needed a space where he could not only be himself but be accepted for it and have the trust of his peers and superiors that he would get the job done when he needs to, and whether it was on purpose or not Isao provided exactly that for him.

This also ties back into the earlier ramble about Narumi being the typical undiagnosed neurodivergent "troubled kid"

(Also the origin of what Narumi says to Kikoru ~9 years in the future :D)

Omg jaeger is canon? Kaiju no. 8 and pacific rim crossover when? /j

Another interesting tidbit about Narumi is his self confidence, he knows he's capable and isn't afraid to tell people that. He says playing support is annoying but what I see is someone that knows he can do better placed somewhere else and has decided to take that into his own hands. He won't get kicked out of the defense force but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets into a shit ton of trouble for taking Isao's words to heart and disregarding his orders, even though I do think he'll be an asset to the battle and perform better being closer to the front lines.

Poor hasegawa has his work cut out for him keeping Narumi in check (a captain and vice-captain match made in hell)

#kaiju no. 8 #kn8 #gen narumi #kaiju no. 8 b side #i love this goofball #theres no way hes neurotypcial #and i have so many thoughts about it #just look at him #he probably listens to mcr #skrunkle teenager #feat. mina isao and hasegawa #theyre all great #i only have the braincells for one character analysis tho #tumblr deleted the original post before it could finish uploading so this is my second attempt #please work i will cry if it gets deleted again #i have thoughts #and they need to be shared

23 notes · View notes

pisshandkerchief · 10 months

Text

When I got into Fall Out Boy on the tail end of last year I never imagined I'd be here. I remember learning all the lore and getting to know the band in the middle of the Stardust release cycle, feeling a little out of the loop, like I was late to the party (kind of like how I felt with MCR). but you guys have made me feel so welcomed and loved, even if I'm so much newer here than the rest of you. I'll never forget getting excited over every new song teaser, laughing and joking about every new music video and TikTok from the band, watching everyone be so supportive of Joe on his mental health break, being so happy when he felt good enough to come back. I'll never forget watching all the interviews, picking them apart with my mutuals, seeing first hand all the love and respect for each other the members of this band have. To get a little personal here, I was in a tough place in my life when Stardust was first announced. I was in my senior year of highschool, and for awhile I didn't have a phone, so I had to keep up with Tumblr at night, on a shitty old computer. At school I would listen to every song teaser in class and talk to some of my Tumblr friends on Google chat about it because it was my only option. I remember as soon as Stardust came out I downloaded it onto my old iPod and listened to it every night to fall asleep. It was so important to me to have this thing I could connect with people over. To witness this band who love each other so much, who pour that love out in every interview, who spread it to the world through the music they make, who are so open and honest about their mental health, who say that it's ok to feel despair, to be frustrated with the world, that sometimes life does feel meaningless, but you can find pleasure in the details, you can always pick yourself up and keep going, because there will always be people who want you whole: that meant the world to me. I bonded with one of my closest friends, Charlie, over Fall Out Boy. The first vinyl I ever bought was the gold special edition of So Much (For) Stardust. The first concert that I actually wanted to go to, that I chose for myself, was the Fall Out Boy show I went to with Charlie (this was also the first time I had the privilege of meeting an online friend in person. it's an experience I'll never forget, and one I hope I get to repeat).

This has gotten rambly, but what I'm trying to say is this: there is so much love in this community. Love for the band, love for the music, love for each other. I may not have been with Fall Out Boy for very long but I know this is going to stick with me. I feel so honored to be experiencing perhaps the best (and definitely the happiest) era of Fall Out Boy as it happens. I feel so honored to be experiencing it with all of you and I hope that we stay in touch. I don't have the words to describe how much this album, this tour, this band, has meant to me already. Thank you. All of you. Fall Out Boy forever 💜

87 notes · View notes

drgngutz · 1 month

Text

Coast - Luffy x f!soulmate!reader

Prologue

I've decided to cross post this from wattpad, since the teaser I posted seemed to be received so well. If you like this, and would rather get updates right away, I'll post the link to wattpad on my master list :)

I'll be starting a tag list for people who want to be notified for updates and don't use wattpad.

Hope u enjoy, <33

The bustling city created noise all around me. Over the years it's become the background for my rambling thoughts. The rapid and angry beeping of cars, which were always dodging the just-as-angry pedestrians, was as common of an occurrence as the construction going on across from the orphanage's scrawny apartment building. There was rarely ever a time of silence in the big city. The endless annoyance tended to grate on my nerves, and the days were passing slower and slower. A constantly parentless child in her last weeks of high school, there was barely enough money to make ends meet, much less move somewhere quieter. The side job at the convenience store wasn't working out, and having to care for the other kids in the orphanage with such a small amount was getting me nowhere.

Sighing, I stopped my trudging footsteps and turned my head towards the underside of my arm.

'Hey, I caught you! -M.D.L'

It made me feel worse every time I saw it; the fancy script that tattooed my forearm, close to my wrist and scribed in black ink. The perfectly unmarred scrawls used to make my stomach flip in excitement when I looked at it, but now it was just a constant reminder of what I was lacking. My own soulmate; just another person that didn't seem to want me.

Most people find their soulmates early in life, since we're gifted the markings of a soulmate at birth. The marks are hereditary depending on what kind you have, ranging from first words spoken (like my own), to seeing a glowing red string attached to their fingers; it all depends on what kind you inherited from your family. People can discover their soulmates as early as ten, though it's globally averaged they meet each other around sixteen to seventeen years old.

I was seventeen now, and in my final year of high school, so everyday that passed without hearing those words, the more nervous I got. It was possible that I would never meet them with a soulmate mark that didn't give me any information. I couldn't track them, find a picture of them, or communicate with them. Some people on this overpopulated earth are unlucky enough to never meet their soulmate; even unluckier people are born without a mark to match with someone else's. I was more scared of the first option.

No matter how many times I posted online, searched the match websites, or attended special 'soulmate conventions' where thousands gathered in order to meet new people, I still hadn't found mine. Most of the students in my classes had found theirs, and more than ever I felt the peer pressure of needing to find mine. The few friends I had whispered behind my back, some were pitiful, some just flat-out criticizing me for not finding them yet; not that they really counted as friends anymore. To make matters worse, the women who ran the orphanage often reminded me that it was only a matter of time before I would have to leave and make a home of my own. There were years wasted with foster families who I hoped would give me a way out spilled down the drain, only to never stay for too long. Then, I was back at square one.

The soonest way I could leave this place would be with the support from my soulmate.

Leaning against the railing of a bridge that I crossed to-and-from school, I stared up at the gloomy sky, feeling the beginnings of rain build up into a thin layer of moisture on my skin. The cars sped by, whirring with life as they switched between lanes or sped past others who were going too slow for their liking.

If I could speed past this point of my life like those cars, past the dullness of each passing day, past the hopelessness of my future; I would take that chance in a heartbeat. I could open a new chapter of my life, try to find some sense of self, maybe get the chance to find my passions. I loved the kids at the orphanage, them being my only 'family' left in this world, but it wasn't the same when compared to the idea of finding the one person you belong with. Someone who wants you for all that you are. I've been looking for that my whole life.

A low creak sounded, then a snap! Soon, I didn't have the support of the railing behind me.

Blinded by my brief desperation, I didn't readily take notice that I was starting to fall backwards; Stunned silent as I watched the metal rail of the bridge swing in disconnection above me. Small pieces of the metal followed my tracks as I began the plummet towards the rushing waters of the river below.

Stomach in my throat, I couldn't scream even if I wanted to. Falling silently to my death, heart racing, the delayed fear kicking in when I heard less of the rumbling cars and more of the rushing water beneath me. I finally started to understand that I was going to die.

My hair whipped around, a gust of wind blowing it into my eyes. I closed them instinctively, gritting my teeth with all of my muscles tensed so tight that they began to cramp.

I couldn't breath, couldn't see, couldn't feel.

The river below me flew and clashed with a ferocity; like the gnashing teeth of a beast.

It all went numb.

And then, I couldn't hear anything.

...

Slowly, I could register a difference. The soft sound of rushing wind around me. It was a lot warmer, coupled with the lack of the river noise from before. It was almost... gentle.

"Am I... dead?" I hadn't realized the words were said out loud until I felt my lips move, barely hearing my whispers over the wind, which was billowing harshly and picking up speed.

Opening my eyes I was met with a bright blue sky, the sun shining through the fluffy white clouds that were splattered across the scene. A small bird crossed the sky in front of me, blocking the rays of the sun for just a moment before it was out of sight again.

I blinked, wondering if I really was dead, before gazing at the (h/c) hairs that were flowing around my view.

Dazed, I took a glance below me.

It looked like a very large body of water; an ocean, to be exact.

What the hell was an ocean doing in the city?

Speaking of the city, there was none. It was vast, open space. Not a single landmass in sight. So, I was falling towards the ocean. An ocean that just sort of appeared, and not the river that I was previously about to drown in.

It took another moment before realizing the repeating danger; I was falling. Falling towards my death a second time. And at this height, a height much higher than when I had fallen off of the bridge, all of my bones would break and be pushed into my body. If the current didn't kill me, then the internal bleeding definitely would.

Tears bubbled up in my eyes. When my brain and body caught up to each other, I realized how close I had gotten to the water, and I was screaming shrilly before I could stop myself.

Terror ripped through me. After just having to accept the idea of dying in my fall off of the bridge, I was now flung into another gruesome death; but this time my brain had enough time to understand what was going on. There was no surviving this. I was either in hell, or stuck in my last moments; experiencing the fear of my own death on repeat. My vision was blurry as I choked on a sob.

The water was getting close... close, closer still.

Did I really have to go through this again? Was there no way I could survive this?

The instinctual, fearful process started again when I got within two-hundred feet of the water. I could hear the gentle lapping of the waves, now.

My teeth and eyes clenched shut, muscles tensing again to brace for the pain, heart racing for the incoming impact.

This was it. I was going to die. Again.

When the waves became the only thing that I could hear anymore, I felt a sudden pressure around my abdomen.

I was yanked to the side with a whiplash that was near breakneck speed. Grabbing at the squishy material around my waist for some sort of support, I opened my eyes right before I whacked into something solid. With a cry, we were both sent sprawling to the ground.

A low groan vibrated the object that I was now laying on, warm and firm, before I repeated the same sound; body aching from the fearful tension and then the rough collision. The surface beneath us rocked side to side, and I had to place a hand on the wooden boards beneath us to steady my trembling body before I fell over. Now on my knees between his thighs, I heard a shuffling in front of me.

Shaking my head, I opened my teary eyes to find the face of a boy right in front of mine. When our gazes met, he broke out into an enormous, adorable smile.

"Hey, I caught you!"

Chapter One

#luffy #luffy x reader #monkey d. luffy #one piece #monkey d luffy #one piece luffy

34 notes · View notes

povlvr · 2 years

Text

2 • Operation: Coffee ... Snack Mountain & Emergency Ice Cream | OPERATION: FAKING IT ...?

2 • Operation: Coffee … Snack Mountain & Emergency Ice Cream | OPERATION: FAKING IT …?

Description: After you move into the tower it's time for your coffee date, will it be awkward or run smoothly? How will the public & your friends react to the news that you & Bucky appear to be a couple?

Pairing: Beefy Bucky Barnes x Female Avenger Reader

Word Count: 5.3k

Warnings: Cute Bucky, swearing, suggestive language 18+ (no smut).

A/N: I really can't keep my word count down, sorry guys!!

Series Masterlist

[Previous Chapter] [Next Chapter]

---

Moving into the compound was a complete snooze fest, Tony rolled his eyes at you after you refused to lift a finger, you had found your old skates when packing so naturally brought them with you & decided to take them for a spin whilst everyone emptied the moving van.

It didn’t take long with the combination of slick floors & lack of practice for an incident to occur, you had hurtled down the hallway & crashed into something full speed & before you knew it Bucky had you thrown over his shoulder marching you to the kitchen to Ice your knee, Pepper immediately confiscated your skates due to them being a ‘health & safety hazard’, it's not your fault the guy you fell over came out of nowhere.

Bucky insisted on you leaving everyone to unload all the boxes whilst he patched you up & offered to help you unpack once they were done, he was being so sweet to you to try & get you to stop sulking but kept snatching your phone away whenever you tried to order some roller blades online. Rude.

You were chatting as you unpacked your belongings in your new home, you had separate rooms on the same floor so were sharing the communal space, your rooms were identical empty boxes, much less cosy than your apartment & not one single plant to brighten the shell up which made you sad. Bucky handled your possessions with such delicacy it was adorable, how anyone could think this teddy bear of a man was dangerous clearly were clueless. The look on Bucky’s face when he got to your lingerie was hilarious, is uncomfortable & horny a facial expression? or did he unlock a new one? You made a note to ask Bruce later, he would know.

As the afternoon took over you could feel yourself being aware of the time, knowing you had to be at the coffee shop around 3pm. Bucky sensed your apprehension & reassured you that it would just be a hang out with hand holding, he suggested treating each planned event like a mission; you would agree to the plan before embarking, execute said mission & then have a quick debrief back at the tower to make sure everything was ok & you were both comfortable with the date. Todays would be an easy one, sit & have a coffee together, hold hands for a few minutes then back to the tower. Simple.

You checked yourself in the mirror before heading down the lobby to meet Bucky, you tried to match his style somewhat so chose a pair of black skinny jeans, your trusty lace up ankle boots, a cropped high neck vest & oversized open shirt. It was warm in the city so you could forgo a jacket & it was pointless carrying a handbag with Tony’s credit card loaded onto your apple pay, you were set & oddly excited for coffee & pastries.

It turns out walking next to someone as large as Bucky closely was difficult, your shoulder kept knocking into his side & due to the solid nature of him it hurt, a lot, he could see you wincing in pain whenever it happened so he tucked you into his side & draped his arm over your shoulder, you couldn’t help wrap yourself around him, it felt a natural position for your arm instead of being awkwardly squished up against him you reasoned. Plus, he smelled heavenly.

The coffee shop was irritatingly busy, Bucky would stare menacingly any time you were bumped into & would get especially annoyed whenever you apologised to whichever imbecile bumped into you instead those who did the bumping apologising to you, in order to prevent an escalation, you gravitated into Bucky’s space, people seemed to give him a respectful amount of distance & you wanted to believe it was due to his size but you suspected they knew who he once was. As you got to the front of the queue you stood contemplating your order deciding between a frappachino or hot coffee, you thought Bucky would assume you were an idiot if you got anything too frilly so went with a simple iced coffee, two arms appeared either side of you on the counter caging you in, although he wasn’t pressed against you, you could feel his body heat radiating behind you, as Bucky placed his order you leaned back looking up at him & rested your head on his shoulder, you wondered how on earth someone is so pretty at every angle.

There was a slight squabble as you tried to pay, the barista looked amused at the sight of two Avengers battling their respective payment methods despite one being a whole foot taller & wider than the other. Bucky insisted that a lady never pays on a date & even if you knew it wasn’t a real date, it surprisingly made you feel cherished by him, you did relent but made him buy two Portuguese Tarts as part of the deal, he said they looked burnt you told him to shut his trap & trust you, it was a whole ordeal but eventually you got your coffee & patisseries & took a seat.

Your conversation flowed naturally & any worries you had about it being awkward faded, you weren’t aware of your surroundings or if anyone was taking pictures at that particular moment because you were completely transfixed by Bucky experiencing the wonder that is a Portuguese Tart for the first time, as the flaky pastry touched his pink pouty lips his eyes closed & his head tipped back groaning in sheer bliss, you loved being right but your smugness was short lived, in a split second Bucky’s hand reached out, quick as a flash to the remaining tart on the table.

‘No, don’t you dare Bucky.’ You warned, you weren’t exactly a Joe with food, but you’d fight to the death for the tart currently being stolen from you in broad daylight.

‘Come on Bambi, one isn’t enough.’ You jumped into action, grabbing the Super Soldier’s wrist blocking him from chowing down on your treat.

‘It will have to be, quit it, you’ll crush it if you’re not careful, one is plenty. Just order more…gahh’ you twisted yourself around & managed to bite down on half of the pastry whilst whisper yelling ‘VictoRRRRYYYYYY’. With you distracted Bucky made his move, pulling you towards him to the point you were practically sat on his lap, with your combined hands clutching the pastry near his mouth he took the remaining amount with smug look on his face, wrapping his lips around your fingers practically sucking on them. It should have annoyed you but that really wasn’t the affect it was having, you were overcome with arousal, it was pulsating throughout you like lightening, from the tips of your fingers connecting you to him, shooting through your entire being.

The eye contact was intense as you reached out with your thumb to wipe the pastry flakes that were caught in his stubble at the corner of his mouth, he was mesmerised by the action, it was such an intimate touch, but his brain had already short circuited with you on his lap & fingers in his mouth moments before so when he moved his head to quickly kiss the pad of your thumb he shocked himself. It felt right but his brain was screaming at him for being so bold.

After swiftly removing yourself from Bucky’s lap & returning to your seat hoping no one caught that moment on camera you moved forward with the planned hand holding portion of the mission. You reached out & placed your palm out towards him, as he took the cue he gently intertwined his fingers with yours.

‘It’s a bit weird if we just sit & hold hands not talking.’ You pointed out.

‘Right, right … well what do you do on a first date? Can’t say I’ve been on one for a while.’ Bucky admitted stroking his thumb against your palm.

‘Trust me when I say I’m not an expert. I guess you get to know each other, trade traumatic childhoods, life goals, that kind of thing.’

‘When was your last date?’ He was surprised he asked, he wanted to know but also really didn’t. You were friends, it had always been platonic, but Bucky knew he was jealous when you spent time with other people, men specifically but he just thought it was because he wanted to hang out with you, nothing more or deeper than that.

‘erm a few months ago, it didn’t go anywhere. I think he just wanted me to introduce him to Nat. That’s what usually happens.’ You shrugged in defeat at your pathetic dating history.

‘Have they told you that or do you just assume?’ you noticed how pissed he looked at your admission & how he kept clenching his jaw.

‘One guy did, said I annoyed him when I kept suggesting things we could do & then asked for her number. It’s not my fault he didn’t want to have a road trip to NASA at 3am on a Tuesday.’

‘I’m going to need his name, address & social security number Bambi.’

‘Bucky!! We’re trying to improve your reputation, if you went after every guy who was shitty to me you’d have no time to scowl.’

He narrowed his eyes at you ‘I don’t scowl.’

‘Sure you don’t, ok smoulder.’

‘That’s better.’

‘What about you, when was your last date?’ Why were you hoping it was in the 1920’s?

‘Steve set me up last year, I ended up having to cancel the first time because something came up.’

‘That hero life.’ You added.

‘Yeah ... yeah so when Steve made me rearrange, she wasn’t very nice.’

He doesn’t know why he lied, cancelling had nothing to do with a mission, you had asked him if he wanted to go to the arcade with you & despite him insisting to you that it was closed, he knew you would go regardless so didn’t want you going alone & then being disappointed when it was closed. Plus, he wasn’t about to pass up whatever hair-brained wild plan you would come up with in the split second after you realised it was closed & so he cancelled last minute.

You couldn’t help giggle, ‘What did she do?’

‘I took her to a nice place & she turned her nose up at it, told me to keep my glove on & scolded me for wearing my leather jacket instead of a dinner jacket.’

‘Ok, I’m going to need her name, address & social security number.’ You were livid, especially about the glove.

You didn’t see his full smile often, his smiles were usually reserved & measured even at something funny but to experience the Bucky Barnes unadulterated smile complete with adorable nose scrunch was special. It filled you entirely with warmth.

‘Bonnie & Clyde eat your heart out.’ He chuckled.

‘Yesssss, Tony has no idea what he's unleashed pairing us up. Plus, that is officially our next Halloween costume. What can our puppy be?’

Our. That sounded good to Bucky. ‘The car?’

You let out a little squeal ‘We’ll win best dressed for sure we’ll be that fucking adorable.’ Bucky couldn’t help but laugh at your enthusiasm & get caught up in it himself.

‘Doll, I don’t think there’s a competition at Tony’s parties for best dressed.’

‘Just you wait, I’ll make him have one, that crown is ours.’ You nodded in confidence that you could make Tony Stark do whatever you wanted.

‘I’ve never asked you how you’re so close with Tony. He acts like your dad & you have him wrapped around your finger.’ He may have admitted to himself the night before when he was packing up his one bag that consisted of 60% knives that he too was wrapped around your finger, probably always has been.

‘He’s like an honorary dad or protective uncle depending on the circumstance, when I joined SHIELD I hacked Jarvis his old AI & he found out, mainly because I wanted him to; I was far too qualified for the job & bored to tears so decided to send him on scavenger hunt to find me, mainly for my own amusement but also to showcase my skills, I swear I made him fly to Timbuktu & he still didn’t cotton on I was fucking with him. Once he calmed down he transferred me to the team, set me up my own lab then proceeded to spend more time in it than his own especially when he was hiding from Pepper, he was oddly protective then just started acting like my dad. I allow it because I find it funny when he tells me off, plus he buys me stuff.’

‘He’s not the only one, Sam & Steve act like your big brothers, in fact I don’t think I have ever seen you pay for food or a drink, maybe your superpower is getting men wrapped around your finger.’

‘That would be so cool, I’d turn into a villain immediately though with that kind of power. I’d have you all lined up on your knees.’

‘Don’t need to be a villain for me to do that Doll.’ Shit, Bucky’s eyes practically bulged out of his head the second he said it.

You suddenly became aware of the pulse between your thighs, how your legs felt like jelly & how your face was heating up past boiling point, Bucky’s subtle flirting was pretty standard & something you mostly ignored, but Bucky’s blatant flirting was something to behold. The image of this man on his knees for you unlocked a new kink for sure but you couldn’t decide if this flirting was just for the mission, genuine or most likely another innuendo he had no clue of. Sweet innocent Bucky.

You brushed it off & as you finished your coffees decided whether to tell the team about the mission or to keep them on their toes & have fun with them, it didn’t take much convincing to sway Bucky to your plan. He was already on board, but the case you put forward about being able to hide in each other’s room undisturbed & watch movies & not having to sit with other people all the time were perks he hadn’t thought of.

You text Tony to let him know to keep the mission top secret, you knew he would revel in playing along & lording it up over the others that he had known since the beginning. Before you left you ordered a batch of tarts to the tower for Bucky, he had missed out on 70+ years of fine patisseries, so you wanted to make sure he caught up without wrestling the next one out of your hands.

The walk back to the tower didn’t feel long enough, the sun was peeking through the skyscrapers creating shards of light fracturing onto the sidewalks, as Bucky glanced at you he swore you looked like an angel, he didn’t know you were thinking the same when you switched sides to hold his vibranium hand & looked up at him bathed in light. Life felt peaceful in those moments with Bucky, even in the hustle of New York, you couldn’t help but get excited for walking your dog together & taking them to parks to play. It was going to be the best summer ever you concluded, maybe you could convince Tony to lend you his yacht.

The silence was deafening in the common room when you & Bucky strolled in casually holding hands, you could see Tony smirking at the dropped jaws, both Natasha & Sam jumping up itching to ask all the questions flooding their heads, before they got chance you turned to Bucky & without thinking he pulled your hand up to his lips kissing your hand again.

‘Thanks for today Bonnie.’ His intense eye contact was magnetic, you couldn’t focus on anything but him.

‘Anytime Clyde, I’m going to go finish unpacking, I’ll see you later?’ You winked bringing out a blush & cheeky smile from him before wrapping your arms around him in a hug.

‘Just knock if you need anything.’ He whispered into your hair.

‘Good luck with them.’ You both chucked as you pulled apart & you left for your room.

… meanwhile

‘Are you all seeing what I think I’m seeing?’ Sam practically exploding from excitement.

Natasha looked on in suspicion ‘mmm not what I expected to see today.’ You were an open book & one she could usually read by looking at the cover, you & Bucky both appeared to be in your own little world unaware of the peanut gallery gawking at you, but she would have known if something was going on, you would have said something.

‘The Black Widow herself didn’t know. Can’t say it took me that long to work it out.’ Tony’s gloating had her rage levels spiralling.

‘Bucky probably asked your permission to ask her out knowing him, he wouldn’t dare without your blessing.’

‘Nope I figured it out, the signs were all there.’

‘You guys know I can hear everything you’re saying’ Bucky turned to face the room once you were out of earshot, when he saw all the gawping faces he regretted not coming with you, why was he the one to take all the questions when it was your idea to mess with them? He told himself to be vague & not look Natasha in the eyes.

‘So how long has this been going on?’ Steve asked as softly as possible, Bucky hated the kid gloves he handled him with at times, like he thought he was going to crumble at the slightest thing.

Sam was the complete opposite & was always abrupt with him to the point of revelling in his annoyance anytime he opened his mouth, ‘How in hell did you get her to say yes to a date?’

The shrug Bucky gave wasn’t enough info according to the collective, he could see Tony texting you laughing at your responses, he was jealous he wasn't the one you were texting. The why’s & how’s remained unanswered & he didn’t even begin to acknowledge the ‘about times’ that were thrown around, he mapped his exit before his parting words.

‘She is nice to me, doesn’t treat me like I will break, we’re good for each other, you might think we’re not compatible, but her excitement & enthusiasm is exactly what I need, I don’t feel as though I was ever the winter soldier when I’m with her.’

He assumed being dramatic might stop the questions, yes there could have been some truth in what he said but he stormed out before he could see if it had shut them up, he figured the whirlwind he left behind could be dealt with by Tony who was engrossed in conversation with you.

Tony sat back in contemplation once the super soldier had left wondering if maybe somewhere deep down he chose you because he thought you’d eventually get together. He worried you worked too much to meet someone & the ones you met all seemed to think you were too much but if you were ever in the tower outside of your lab you always seemed to have Bucky following you around like a puppy.

‘Look guys leave them to it, it shouldn’t work the brooding quiet super soldier with the talkative hyper computer nerd the size of a thimble, but it does. Look at the way they look at one another then tell me you didn’t see it before.’ & just like that Tony left for his lab.

---

You forgot how boring it was living at the tower, at least with your apartment you had the whole place to roam which would inevitably lead to you finding something to fiddle with, fix or strategize a solution to a logistical problem that you encountered, your one touch coffee system that could deliver a cup of coffee to your palm without so much as moving from the sofa was your pride & joy, Tony offered to programme a suit to do the same but it felt a little bit servant-y to you which gave you the ick plus a suit hovering in your apartment 24/7 was all kinds of freaky & a midnight scare waiting to happen. You were tempted to go to your lab to fiddle with something in there, but you were banned from working past 8pm on Tony’s orders after him finding out you worked 72 hours straight one time, you could override his command lock but thought getting up to mischief with your super soldier would be more fun. You didn’t have a scheduled date for a few days, so it would be a normal hangout just the two of you, you pulled up his contact in your phone hoping he wasn’t busy.

Once you made your way down to the lobby you saw Bucky leaning against a pillar, he wasn’t wearing his usual black on black on black gear of jeans, t-shirt, Boots & leather jacket. He had switched his usual coat with a tan bomber leather jacket, it brought out the warmth in his hair & skin, he looked hot. As you bounded towards him he held out his arms & without thought you let him draw you towards him into his embrace, you were tiny compared to him, so his hugs were all encompassing.

You looked up smiling practically squished into him, ‘hi.’

‘Hi, you ready to go?’

‘Yep’ as he released you from his hold his hand traced down your arm to grasp yours, it didn’t even occur to you not to link your fingers with him.

‘Do you wanna take the car or bike?’

‘Ooh bike, but don’t go too fast, I heard about someone once who once went flying off when they were cornering & the driver didn’t even notice until they arrived.’

As you walked towards the garage Bucky explained to you each reason why that was total bullshit but still promised to stick to just below the speed limit. He couldn’t help but kiss the tip of your nose with your squished-up face from the helmet he secured under your chin, you just looked too adorable not to, he reasoned to himself that he would probably do that when you were his friend so now was fine. Little did he know there was a certain red headed former assassin watching your every move getting more & more intrigued by the minute at what she was seeing.

You clung on to him for dear life once you were on the bike, you could tell how painfully slow he was taking it for you which made you feel bad for how tightly you held him, it wouldn’t shock you if you had bruised his ribs by the time you arrived.

Going to the movie theatre at night when it was quiet was one of your favourite activities, you’d usually have the whole place to yourself, tonight you weren’t so lucky, whilst there wasn’t a big crowd there were definitely some noticeable stares. You felt bad knowing Bucky wasn’t keen on attention, so you decided to divide & conquer, he was tasked with gathering the snacks & you were getting the tickets ... on Tony.

You doubled over laughing at the sight of Bucky clutching to what can only be described as a mountain of food in his arms, his giddy face you decided was your favourite, he looked so childlike & sweet.

‘I didn’t know what you wanted so …’

‘You got one of everything?’

‘Pretty much, I’ll eat whatever you don’t, trust me.’ He looked bashful like you were about to tell him off for getting so much, Bucky Barnes was adorable & you adored him, seriously why didn’t people see him how you did?

Somehow you managed to get to your seats without dropping any food & thankfully the seats next to you were free to store the goods, you chose some candy, cookies & popcorn, Bucky could deal with the pizza, hot dogs, burgers & ice cream but insisted you share some popcorn. You were quite early for the screening time, so you had time to chat & eat before the lights went down, as the previews began you lifted the arm rest separating you from Bucky, if you were sharing popcorn it was just easier to be closer, nothing to do with wanting to be close with the hunk next to you, of course.

Bucky’s arm made it’s way around you as you tucked yourself into his side, as he stroked your arm absentmindedly he could feel the goose bumps his touch created along with your breath hitching & eyes closing, he leaned down placing his lips next to your ear & whispered to you in his deep voice.

‘Are you cold doll?’ his lips were brushing the shell of your ear & you couldn’t help but shiver, why was Bucky suddenly turning you on when you hadn’t ever thought of him as more than a friend? He caught the way you shifted on your seat & felt himself growing at the sight, he loved how responsive you were being to the subtlest of touches, he wondered where these thoughts were coming from & what you’d be like filled full of him. Before all the blood in his brain travelled south & he did something stupid he sat forward pulling off his jacket draping it over you, as he leaned back he placed his arm around you manoeuvring you to his side with a kiss to your temple. He thanked whichever god invented the reclining seats right there & then as you wrapped your arm around his side & nested your head in the crook of his neck.

The movie was hard to pay attention to, the warmth & safety of Bucky relaxed you entirely & your brain was in a fuzz, you weren’t even going to acknowledge how horny you were, thankfully with the decibel level of the theatre you managed to stay awake, why do they insist on it being so loud? Bucky had noticed how quiet you were throughout the film, you usually commented on all the inaccuracies or guessed the plot, getting it wrong in the most ridiculous fashions, the amount of westerns that were about to be invaded by aliens in your head was concerning.

When the lights went up he wanted to kiss you, really kiss you, your half open eyes & dramatic pout that they dare turn on the lights & declarations that you were blind stirred something in him, he wanted you, he wanted this. For real. It hit him, he knew he had been enjoying the closeness & making you squirm but filed it away as not being with anyone in so long but having the overwhelming urge to sniper out every light bulb in the theatre just so that you wouldn’t strain your eyes made him realise it ran a bit deeper than that.

Why it only took a week to realise he didn’t know, he had firmly placed you in the friend category a long time ago, yes you were gorgeous, but you were an even more gorgeous friend to him. He had seen you in your bikini & not felt a thing more times than he could count, but now thinking about it got him hard, he covered your eyes with both his hands telling you it was to stop the light blinding you, but he would be mortified if you saw how hard one thought of you got him. He looked at you giggling whilst his hands dwarfed your face, how could he have been so blind?

It had been a quiet morning in the tower, you had faced a barrage of questions from Natasha that proved your suspicions that she had been spying on you as had Clint in the vents apparently, creepy. Although you were glad to be proven right & that someone was laughing at you when you walked into a door when you weren't looking where you were going. It was totally worth it though having been immediately scooped up into a solid set of Super Solider arms & you sore head kissed better, you wanted to lie & say your lips hurt, you saw him looking at them. Maybe you banged your head harder than you thought if you even for a second thought Bucky would kiss you properly, he would have probably made you go to the infirmary instead of taking the hint.

Once you made it to your lab you were busy reprogramming one of Tony’s suits to bring you your morning coffee, giving him a name felt less servant-y & yes, it would be creepy in your apartment but there were many closets in the tower where Gerald your new coffee friend could live. You felt your phone buzz & tried to calm down your giddiness when you saw the name on your screen.

Bucky knew you were working so understood you not being able to messaging him back immediately, he kept trying to stop himself going down to the lab & hanging out with you when you were busy but he really wanted to, you would let him too even if he was a complete distraction. He was lost in a daydream when he heard your footsteps outside his door, they were delicate & bouncy, solely yours then you gently knocked. He should have been embarrassed at how quickly he opened the door, the hinges were practically ripped off & you were stood there with a beaming smile just for him.

You launched yourself into his arms, jumping up so he would catch you as you wrapped yourself around his neck, it felt weird being so high up but you were the hugger & he was the hugee so you needed to be taller, his face was buried in your hair & he inhaled the comforting scent that was so intrinsically you.

Even though you didn't want to tell him you knew he needed to hear it from you with a reassurance that you didn't feel that way so you reluctantly whispered ‘A red flag is a personality or behaviour trait that would make that person a bad partner, don’t listen to what they say Bucky Bear. They don’t know you like I do.’ You held his beautiful face in your hands & made sure to look him in his eyes before pulling him towards you & giving him a big kiss on his cheek.

‘I thought you were in the lab?’

‘I can’t be making coffee robots when my big bear is sad, no way, not the kind of girl I am.’ You shook your head as you said it.

‘Coffee Robot?’ you were still being held up by Bucky like it was a totally normal occurrence, it certainly felt it as he took each of your ankles & wrapped them around him. The minute you jumped at him he was turned on with thoughts of slamming you against the wall & pushing himself into you, so your legs dangling down swinging about as he held you kept catching on his growing cock, you hadn't noticed you just looked at him questioning your insane invention with your gorgeous doe eyes whilst he manoeuvred you limbs like the good girl you were.

‘Yeah, a robot who brings you a coffee anywhere you want at the touch of a button. Come on, I’m taking you on an ice cream date, Tony’s set up our personal supply. I have the code & then I’ll tell you all about Gerald.’

‘Gerald?’

‘Yeah Gerald my coffee robot. He can be our coffee robot, I’ll put the app on your phone too.’

As he walked with you towards the kitchen wrapped around him like a little koala he suddenly didn’t care what was written about him, yeah the red flag thing once explained probably was true but when he had the personification of sunshine willing to eat ice cream & talk coffee robots & creepy spying friends he knew you didn’t think he was one & that’s all that mattered.

---

A/N – I kind of want the reader to think of Bucky as sweet & innocent when it comes to dating & sex, she doesn’t know the horny beast she will bring out in him until it’s unleashed on her which gives him free rein to flirt up a storm & make her flustered with her being clueless for what she’s in for, also, she isn’t innocent & clueless about sex at all she just underestimates her effect on Bucky.

TAG LIST:

@enchantedbarnes @anonymously-ominous @criticaltrinket @enlyume @getofffmydick @sebsgirl71479 @nash-dara @tanyaspartak @blithecapricorn @cjand10 @spicoli-waves @happytimeunicorns @ifilwtmfc @sarapolare @buggy14 @ka-x-in @lokisasgardianvampirequeen @justab-eautifulmess @openup-yourmind @namelessav @queen-mal @teambarnes72 @nikkig496-blog @mooievis @julesclues @giftedyoungster3000 @beware-my-thorns @redbarn1995 @povlvr @intense-sneezing @l3itchy-but-cute @capswife @littlelizardlizzie @readerofwords616 @morganmofresh @buckyslucky @mochie85

485 notes · View notes

beanieman · 1 year

Text

A Very Specific Scenario That Reminds Me Of YTTD Characters But I Don't Elaborate On Why

Sara Chidouin - You're at the library looking for a book that calls to you. There's no specific genre or title you're looking for, just a sense of wanting something to read. Standing between the shelves, you spot some friends looking for a book. They greet you with a wave before you group up for a joint search. The idea seemed great until you get kicked out of the library for causing a disturbance.

Joe Tazuna - You tell a joke in a crowded room. Everyone laughs and looks at you like you're the funniest person in the vicinity. You'll spend the rest of your life chasing that high.

Gin Ibushi - A stray cat approaches you on the street. It's fluffy body rubs against your leg as it happily purrs in affection. For a moment you think it wants to go home with you, then you recall the leftover sandwich you have in your bag from lunch. You throw a part of the meat to the cat and it runs off with it quickly. You'd be offended if you weren't so amused.

Keiji Shinogi - You people watch as you sit on the park bench. You see a couple walking their dog walking hand in hand. You hear siblings loudly arguing about who will get the front seat. You taste smoke as a woman walks by with a cigarette, her hoodie looking made out of a soft fabric you can imagine the texture of. You smell cheap cologne as a man passes through. He meets your eyes and nods as if he understands what you're doing. It's the most relaxing part of the day.

More Undercut

Alice Yabusame - After seeing a picture of someone attractive online, you decide to cut your hair to mirror their style. The scissors are gripped tightly in your hand as you raise the blade to the strands of hair you no longer want to have. As the first cut removes a chunk of hair, you gasp to yourself, realizing you didn't mean to take off quite so much. Your next step is to quickly Google the names of hairstylists in your area, hoping one of them will have an appointment open for tomorrow.

Reko Yabusame - An energetic song plays over the car radio as you drive toward your road trip destination. Friends sit in the seats beside you sharing inside jokes and telling stories you've all created together. A part of you can't wait to get there and see what adventures await you, another wishes the moment would never end.

Nao Egokoro - You're a child on a summer afternoon who's been playing the pool for hours. The water is pleasantly warm, and your hair reeks of chlorine as the adult present asks if you want a popsicle. A grin races across your face as you enthusiastically request your favorite flavor.

Kazumi Mishima - You find an old journal tucked away in your dresser that you decide to read. You see the words and know they were yours, but they no longer belong to you. The version of you that wrote those logs is long gone as you've changed into a different person through the years. The realization couldn't be more bittersweet.

Q-taro Burgerberg - You struggle to lift the large box from the floor, your arms aching as the weight resists your grasp. You're about to give up and let someone else complete the task when a stranger greets you with a friendly smile and offers help. With their assistance, the box is moved with ease, their presence only lasting a brief moment longer as they wave goodbye and continue with their day. You still think of them from time to time.

Kai Satou - It's your first time cooking a new dish. Ingredients are laid out on the counter along with a recipe you plan to follow step by step. You're excited to try something new and nervous about what could go wrong. Even still, you do your best, and despite a few small mistakes, you're able to make a wonderful meal that makes you proud.

Kanna Kizuchi - The night should be dark, but you see a small light hovering by your face as the humid summer air engulfs you. You hold your hand out and let the small firefly land on your palm. It glows a vibrant light that makes you feel like a small child once more catching fireflies with your brother until your Mother calls you inside. You're torn from the memory when the bug flies off your hand toward the other lights shining vibrantly like a star.

Shin Tsukimi - You take a nap in the late afternoon and don't wake up until the moon is high in the sky. After a brief period of confusion, you walk through your house for a glass of water and realize everyone else went to bed long ago. You're the only one awake and decide to play on your phone until sunrise or sleep greets you. The bright light of your device illuminates your face as you open an app and start to scroll.

Dolls

Ranmaru Kageyama - Your finger hovers over the send button as you look down at the text and read the message you wrote once more. It's a simple line of "Hey. How are you?" meant for a friend that faded from your life with time. A thousand questions and worries race through your mind as you wonder if it's worth sending, before eventually deciding against it.

Naomichi Kurumada - You settle into your seat at the theater for a movie you've looked forward to seeing since it was announced. The lights dim and you look up to the screen in joy as the title card flickers in. You glace at the people around you and they all share the same excited energy.

Anzu Kinashi - Your friend recommends you a new media that seems like it would be your thing. You only have to indulge in this media for a little bit to understand that this is going to be something that sticks with you. A rush of excitement pulses through your brain as you text friend to say how much you enjoyed it before looking for fandom content.

Mai Tsurugi - It's a major holiday and your family hosts. You wake up with the scent of food wafting through the air and the sound of a Hallmark movie is playing in the living room. You jump out of bed to help in the kitchen with a giddy feeling you only have at certain times of the year.

Shunsuke Hayasaka - You cross another item off your to do list as the late afternoon arrives and you aren't done with your chores. There's plenty left to do, and a frustrated sigh leaves your lips at the realization you're getting very little down time today.

Hinako Mishuku - Jack-o-lanterns cover the street as kids excitedly knock on each door looking a trick or treat. You put on your costume to greet them and hand out the candy they desire. Once the last child has left into the night you turn on your tv and flick through the various scary movies playing to decide which one will thrill you with scares tonight.

#This Is A Writing Exercise Before I Have To Do Something Similar For Class #YTTD #ranmaru kageyama #naomichi kurumada #Anzu Kinashi #mai tsurugi #shunsuke hayasaka #hinako mishuku #Shin Tsukimi #q taro burgerberg #Reko Yabusame #Nao Egokoro #Gin Ibushi #Kai Satou #Alice Yabusame #Joe Tazuna #sara chidouin #kanna kizuchi #keiji shinogi

121 notes · View notes

alinacapellabooks · 7 months

Text

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT! THE TENGU AND THE ANGEL RELEASE DATE!

Hello, hello, dear followers, and all else who are viewing this post! I have some very exciting news for you all! My debut novel, The Tengu And The Angel, will officially be releasing on Kobo, and Amazon, on the tenth of December, 2023, so there'll be plenty of opportunities for you to grab your copy! Oh, but why would you want to grab a copy, you might ask? What's the book about? Those are brilliant questions, my friends, and I'm going to tell you the answers right now!

The Tengu And The Angel is a friends-to-lovers romance about two roommates falling in love, and learning to let go of their pasts. Eighteen year old Kunio Yoshioka has just fled his abusive mother's home in Northampton, and he's journeying up north in search of a new home, and a fresh start in life. He's armed with nothing but his dreams of being a successful artist, and his vivid imagination. He thinks of his new adult self as a tengu; strong, proud, and capable of things his child self could only dream of. Twenty year old Nathaniel seems to have it all; he's gorgeous, he lives in a beautiful apartment in the centre of Newcastle, and he's the owner and founder of Black Rose, a Victorian gothic online boutique. Kunio thinks of him as angel; he's faultlessly polite and kind, and he goes above and beyond to help him when they first meet, even though he doesn't know him. He's also painfully insecure, and he lives under the thumb of his toxic 'best friend', Theo, who uses his mental illness to control him. When Nathaniel takes Kunio in, the two form a close friendship, which slowly blossoms into love. Can the two of them learn to put their pasts behind, and make their relationship work? Get your copy, and find out, in December 2023!

Meet The Characters:

Kunio:

Nathaniel:

25 notes · View notes

look-at-the-soul · 1 year

Text

Look at the soul - Part 8 Count on me

Cillian Murphy x OC

Series masterlist

Song: Count on me by Bruno Mars

As usual, we meet new characters 🥰 thank you SO much for your support, for your thoughts and feedback, it means everything 💕

“I won this time.” Cillian approached Marianne after rehearsal, she was sitting in the front row with her laptop on her lap.

“Hey, yeah… someone decided to ask a million questions today and I couldn’t get out earlier.” She explained with a worried expression.

“It’s alright, we need to remember your studies are a priority.”

“But I asked around and apparently, I can change my program to study in a hybrid method, like half my credits online half in the classroom, so I filled a form and they’ll check my status to see if I can fit the program, they’re starting it and only had like two or three students sign up.”

“That’s incredible! I hope you can make the change, but are you sure it won’t mess up with your studies?” He wondered how she’d be able to keep up with everything.

“No, because it’s the same program, professors, well all of it, that way I can have more free time to do it all.”

Cillian crossed his arms. “And what about your tests?”

If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea

I'll sail the world to find you

“I’d take them online as well as the courses.”

“But how? You don’t have to be in the classroom?” He just couldn’t picture it.

“Technically no, they upload the test with four or five possible answers and you get your score right away.” She explained.

Cillian lifted his hands in a surrender motion. “Maybe I’m just too old for this.” He chuckled.

“What? That’s ridiculous… you’re not old.” Marianne shook her head.

“Can’t you see the white hairs?” He huffed taking the seat next to her.

“I have friends younger than me with their entire head white, that has nothing to do with age.” Suddenly she was aware of the masculine scent emanating from Cillian. He was too close. “Anyways let me show you this, I made a budget for the rest of the year so you can use for the different projects.”

As she started to show him a few tools, he was in awe of the information for him; graphics, proposals for the new equipment, an analysis cost-benefit of the upcoming projects, this was mind blowing!

“How the hell can you do that?” He asked squinting his eyes, a deep frown showing.

If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see

I'll be the light to guide you

“What?”

“That thing, when you show me one thing and then another.”

Switching from one file to another, Marianne showed him what buttons she pressed. He made it seem as if she was doing a magic trick.

“Now, if you want to consider buying the equipment overseas, I made this.” She showed him another analysis comparing the investment.

“Wow, this is super organized!” He admitted leaning back looking from the screen to her surprised. “I’m speechless.”

“I tried to make it easy to digest.”

“Thank you, it seems like we both have good news then.”

Marianne saved the document and looked up at Cillian as he stood up.

“Now, come on stage cause I want you to see something.”

“What is it?”

Cillian was pleased to hold it between his hands.

“Guess?” But she couldn’t imagine. “I just got the first printed poster for the promo.” Cillian unfolded the paper carefully and took a few steps back so she could see it completely.

“That’s amazing!” Lee praised joining them on stage, excited to see how everything was developing on time. “Can I take a picture?”

Cillian nodded and raised the poster above his head so it would cover his face.

“What do you think?” He asked moving the paper a bit down, so now only his eyes were poking over it.

Marianne took a moment to register the image, it felt surreal. “I can’t believe this.”

Her green eyes sparkled under the bright lights of the theater. It was one of the photos Cillian took from her as the two roles that represented Adria, looking straight to the camera it was the fearless woman in the red dress in contrast with the woman in the reflection of the mirror with a sad look in her eyes, vulnerable, hit by life over and over.

It was hard to imagine it was the same woman of the script, not only by the character’s differences, but because Cillian had been able to capture Adria’s essence and the gaze from each character when in reality it was the same woman.

We'll find out what we're made of

When we are called to help our friends in need

“It was a good idea ask you to take the photos.” Enda approached them, taking the poster from Cillian’s hands.

“You just did that so you didn’t have to hire and pay for a photographer.” Cillian laughed.

His lifetime pal was right though. “Yeah, but you did a fine work either way.”

Hiding his hands inside the back pockets of his jeans, Cillian looked down. “All credit belongs to Adria.”

Marianne immediately jumped in. “Ah non of that, you were the one making magic with the camera.”

“Right, I’m going to check the sound again, it was horrible today.” Enda adjusted his glasses on his nose and walked away. Once he was out of their sight, Cillian took the permanent marker from his pocket and handed it to Marianne.

“I’ve to be the first one,” Cillian gave her a smile, “can you sign it for me?”

She was beyond surprised, speechless even. His request took her by surprise.

“It should be the other way around, isn’t it?” She raised her eyebrows. “Me asking you for an autograph?”

“Look, as much as I enjoyed portraying a woman in a film, this is a character I’d never be able to play. And unfortunately for you, it’s not my face in the poster, so you’re the one who needs to sign it.” He carefully put the paper on the table in front of them.

“I’ve never signed anything… what do you write?” She looked up at him for guidance.

“Just my initials a circle or a line or whatever…” he chuckled, “but don’t do that, write something nice.”

“Well in that case, I’ll need to take my time to get inspired.” She added with a dramatic hint.

But a phone call interrupted their chat, it was Selene, her classmate, so she moved a few steps away to talk to her. Cillian was trying to define what was happening, because her facial expressions were full of worry.

“Everything alright?” He asked when Marianne approached him again.

“No, we’ve to do a project in teams, but one of the members just let my classmate know he was quitting school, wanted to travel the world and then work in his father’s company.” She sighed frustrated.

“Fuck.” Cillian tried to understand the way she felt.

“My thoughts exactly, now Selene and I have to do everything.”

“What’s your project about? Can I help you in any way?”

You can count on me like one, two, three

I'll be there

She felt a rush of adrenaline, they had very little time to complete the assignment. “We’ve to build a business case about well… a business, doesn’t matter the category, explain the process to the classroom and propose different goals and alternatives to reach them.”

Cillian looked at her trying to figure out a way to help. “Can you use my production agency? My secretary must’ve the monthly balances.”

His proposal made her nod eagerly. “Yes because I could include the investment you did on the play as part of the company to show some way of expansion.”

And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two

And you'll be there

“Then it’s all set… tell me what you need.”

That’s when Marianne’s smile faded away. “I’d have to ask you for an interview, or you can tell me whoever I can talk to, it doesn’t matter my professor isn’t going to corroborate the authenticity of the job position.”

He realized she was mortified. “It’s no big deal, I’m happy to help.”

We'll find out what we're made of

When we are called to help our friends in need

“Oh my God, thank you! Thank you, it’s only a few questions and it can be just by voice.”she felt at ease when Cillian smiled. “When would you like to schedule it?”

“Right now? Unless you’re busy with something else.”

Marianne could barely hide her excitement, this was extremely important for her and it meant the world that he was willing to help her. “Yes, whenever you can.”

“I‘ll see you kids tomorrow, have a boring meeting with the PR.” Enda waved at them and walked away.

“How about we go to the studio? So you can see where everything is done.” Cillian then asked, taking his jacket from the seat.

“Sure, I promise you it’ll be quick.”

As they moved to the studio, the conversation flowed naturally.

“The other day I was walking down the street, on my way to buy some groceries and I found a little antique shop, there was a beautiful painting, but it was listed as if it was a Rembrandt or a Van Gogh and of course I couldn’t afford it, or I wouldn’t have anything to eat for the rest of the course,” she laughed and the sound caught Cillian’s attention, because it was one of those genuine laughs, “so I showed Lee the picture I took of the painting and she’s doing a replica for me!”

“Really? That’s incredible, I didn’t know she could paint.”

“She’s very artistic, you guys did a great job taking the photos for the promotion of the play.”

Cillian nodded, it was easy to work with her because their ideas matched. “It’s like talent comes naturally in different areas.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I know about copyright and all, but in the art world the prices go out of proportion. And I fell in love with the paint.”

“I can assure you, you’re not the first nor the last one to do it, beside if it ended in an antique store, the original owner didn’t care much about it.”

“That makes me think of the one that got destroyed at an auction.”

“Bansky right?” He immediately recalled watching it on the news, as it was destroyed by a hidden shredder inside the frame. “That was crazy.”

“It was beautiful, simple, but beautiful.” She expressed moving her hair back, a hint of orchids filled the air around him, filling his nostrils. “The little girl, reaching for a balloon that’s floating away…”

“Wonder what was the artist’s intention to do such thing, it’s something stupid right?” He felt comfortable express his thoughts to her.

Marianne shuddered. “Unconventional would be the best way to describe him.”

“Doesn’t makes sense.” He added holding the door open for her. “Nothing makes actually.” The sound of his phone interrupted their chat, Cillian pressed the button to answer, listening to the man at the other end. “So that date works for you?”

Marianne noticed the huge grin on his face as he was humming.

“Alright man, I gotta start scouting locations around and I already have the general idea, the demo is fantastic!” Another pause and he indicated her to turn to her right in the corner. “Talk to you later, thanks Danny.”

Cillian sighed pleased with the information he just got, and turned his head to look at her through his Ray Bans.

“We just signed to produce a music video for a rock band I like, it’s a great hit.”

Marianne now understood his smile. “Congratulations! That’s some great news!”

“Thank you, is a good opportunity.” He was excited about it, but decided to not ask her yet to get involved in the project, not yet.

Arriving at the studio he showed her around first, the cabin where they recorded, the sound machine, it felt like his second man cave.

“Would you like to read the questions first?” She already had a draft, so it was easier to adjust the questionnaire to his business.

Cillian frowned. “No, just shot.”

She chuckled and placed her cellphone between them, setting the recording app. “Starting in three, two, one.”

“Action!” He joked.

“Mr. Murphy could you tell us a little bit about how you started this business?”

“The Mister part made me feel old, can you cut it off?”

Marianna suppressed a small giggle but nodded at him.

“Hi Cillian, thank you for accepting this quick talk, could you tell us about how you started this business?”

Cillian adjusted on his seat and looked up at the silence sign in the corner. “I love my job, but somewhere down the road I stumbled across being behind the scenes, as I started learning what’s happening in the background, th-the things we don’t see on screen, I fell in love with that part of the process.” He looked at her intensely. “But I’m always in one corner, I care too much or I don’t at all,” he chuckled, “so I decided to explore that side of the business because I had a lot of free time and I was a good part of the day in the studio anyways with my stuff. So I talked about it with a couple of friends who are experts in their fields and they were happy to jump in this ship.”

“Can you elaborate a little about your main projects?”

“Yeah, we finance and produce independent films, advertisements, records…”

“That’s amazing, the magic behind the scenes…”

He gave her a genuine smile.

“What was the biggest challenge you faced? The struggle that almost made you quit?”

Cillian leant his body forwards, towards her, one of his hands over his thigh.

“People not believing in my dream, saying it was just one of my hobbies. But it’s always being like that, you know? People never take you seriously until you make it.”

“I’ve seen some of the projects and it’s mind blowing.”

“You’ve?” He asked surprised.

Marianne nodded. “I was curious about the audiobook you recorded and I listened it until like two or three in the morning. I also loved the promo video you did of local food in Ireland, it was mouthwatering. I wanted to take a bite of each plate.” She laughed.

Cillian was taken a back by her words, he didn’t know she had been so involved with his company to the point of seeing the projects. And he rarely got a compliment over it because he was usually behind the scenes.

“I take every project seriously, love being involved in every little detail to be able to deliver a good quality work.”

“What’s next for you?”

“There’s a video already in post production about tourism in the country, the finest places to visit, the hidden little gems… it’s beautiful. We’ll present it to the client in a few weeks and there’s another one I’m particularly excited about, but unfortunately due to confidential agreement I can’t share more at the moment, but it’s about music.”

As they finished working on the questionnaire, Marianne told him she would call Selene, to let her know the interview was done.

“Can I use your laptop in the meantime? I’ll be quick.”

Marianne already had her phone next to her ear, so she nodded before trying to reach her classmate.

As Cillian opened the icon to search, he found her email open already, his eyes were glued in one in particular.

Change of medication?

Cillian moved up to close the tab, but his fingers hesitated. He didn’t mean to intrude in her personal email account, but it caught his attention.

Feeling a rush of guilt, he looked over his shoulder to make sure Marianne was out of sight. But curiosity won him over, he really needed to know why would she need another medication since she never mentioned being sick.

There wasn’t a lot of information, at least it wasn’t clear, she just mentioned feeling her chest tight at times during the night and that she couldn’t exercise because she felt short of breath. The doctor answered he was out of town for a couple of days but would schedule her once he got back.

He also mentioned she should go back to her previous medication and look after any other alarm sign she could notice.

Cillian stared at the screen for a moment, he couldn’t see a signature or phone number. And it wasn’t clear if she was getting any better. Clicking finally on the red x at the top corner, he felt a vein in his temple starting to pulse.

Was her sickness something serious?

Should he worry about her health condition?

“All set, she will take care of the analysis and proposals for the project and I can work on the business case,” Marianne came back with a smile, oblivious of his thoughts. “I was thinking of using the play as my baseline, you’re super involved in the project and I could easily make it fit as one of the ways to expand your company, sorry I’m talking too much.”

Cillian looked into her eyes, debating between asking Marianne directly or not.

****

Next part

A/N: Still with the slow burn… but I promise you, there will be some action, can you feel them more integrated? Let me know!

Tag list: @lyarr24 @gypsy-girl-08 @cillmequick @zablife @prettylittlehoneyeyesxoxo @kettlechips3 @heidimoreton @forbidden-forest-witch @kaitebugg03 @thenattitude @forgottenpeakywriter @onlydeadcells @babaohhhriley @lonelyweeb0044 @lovemissyhoneybee @ange-thoughts @already-broken144 @shelbydelrey @cutecurly-hair @winchestergirl22 @moral-terpitude @elenavampire21 @lespendy @kittycatcait219 @stevie75 @esposadomd @sloanexx @shaddixlife @rangerelik @peakyscillian @woofgocows @cillianlove @imichelle-l-rigby @emmanuelle19 @sydneyyyya @cljordan-imperium @mrkdvidal1989 @flippittygibbitts @adaydreamaway08 @pono-pura-vida @elk96 @shelundeadxxxx

#That’s what Cill said #cillian murphy #cillianmurphy #Cillian Murphy x OC #cillian murphy fanfic #cillian murphy fan fiction #cillian murphy imagine #Cillian Murphy x reader

40 notes · View notes