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bloatedandalone04 · 1 year

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The End of Love

➪the one where you break up but still love each other. (requested-ish)

Warnings: angst, fluff, break ups, swearing, gaslighting

Inspired by the song 'The End of Love' by Florence + The Machine

Word Count: 3.3k

Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine <3

The buildings intimated you in the best way.

You look up and have to squint, even though you were wearing sunglasses. The sun was high and had no clouds whatsoever to hide behind, making the heat shine down on you.

It didn’t bother you, though.

How could you be bothered when you had the perfect guy next to you? The same guy who had been next to you since junior year of high school, as well as the guy who promised you that university wouldn’t change anything between the two of you. Oh, how you wished that were true. You wished you knew how bad things would end. Maybe if you did, you could’ve saved yourself from the heartbreak.

But that was later.

Right now, you were in awe.

“I knew it was going to be big, but I never imagined New York being this massive,” you say, barely able to catch your breath. “How will we find the time to explore everything before school starts?”

“We have all summer,” Ethan says as he wraps his arm around your shoulder. The two of you continue to walk down one of the many streets that made up the big city, your eyes looking everywhere in hopes to take everything in all at once. “And even when school starts back up again, we’ll still find time to explore together. We’re going to be fine.”

“You promise?” You ask and tilt your head up to look at him.

Ethan laughed and nodded, leaning down to kiss you quickly. “I promise,”

You were three seconds away from pulling your hair out.

You knew education after high school would be hard but you weren’t aware that it would be this fucking brutal. You were tired and stressed and annoyed and about this close to throwing your textbooks at Sam and Tara as they once again got into another argument.

Gripping your pen tighter, your mind goes back to Sam’s apologetic smile and her kind words of, “I’m sorry we were so loud earlier. We’ll be more quiet next time, Tara just frustrates me sometimes,” and then fast forward to an hour later when they began bickering again.

You tried to focus your attention on your school work, but your mind was somewhere else completely. You look over at your phone and debate whether or not to pick it up and send Ethan another text. He probably wouldn’t answer it, anyway, as the last three you’ve sent him had been left on delivered.

Six whole hours had gone by since you sent the first one, another three since the second and just one since the last. He had to be busy, right? Maybe he was trying to get some work done, too, and turned his phone off or something.

Still, it would’ve been nice to receive just one text saying that he couldn’t talk right now and that he’d call you later.

Instead of unlocking your phone when you reach for it, you toss it even further away from you on the bed in hopes the distance would make it so you didn’t feel the need to constantly keep checking it.

You would just keep disappointing yourself if you were to open your messages and see the same stupid words.

Delivered an hour ago. Three hours ago. Six hours ago.

Seriously, what the fuck was he doing that was so important he couldn’t find the time to send a quick text?

God, when did you turn into this kind of girlfriend? The one who drives herself crazy when she doesn’t receive a text back in a reasonable amount of time? Ethan never gave you a reason not to trust him, so why were you getting so annoyed at his lack of responses?

You take a deep breath before going back to the notes you took in class today. Though, as soon as you began reading, your phone went off and you grabbed it within seconds.

Eth <3: hey, sorry for not answering :/ i’ve been stuck in lectures all day and left my phone at the apartment. i just got home now

It was embarrassing how quickly you began typing a response.

No worries, glad you’re alive

Eth <3: haha

Your brows furrowed at his unusual short response and your thumbs started moving again without a second thought.

What are you doing now? Want to come save me from The Bickersons? The sisters aren’t getting along at all today

After hitting send, you set your phone back down and go back to reading over your notes, relieved at the fact that you were able to get into contact with your boyfriend.

During the middle of your mini study session, your phone went off again and you were surprised to see that it had been a full forty five minutes since you sent the last text.

Eth <3: sorry, babe, i can’t tonight. i’m going to that frat party with chad

Eth <3: maybe we can hang out tomorrow?

Disappointment settled in your chest as you read over the two messages again, your teeth sinking into your bottom lip. Hang out? It seemed weird for your boyfriend to suggest hanging out when he usually always just showed up or sent you a text that let you know he was on the way. There was never any planning, just doing.

You shake off the weird feeling that bubbled in your chest and answer his text.

That’s okay, I just miss you :) Tomorrow works for me

Eth <3: miss you too <3

You held back a scoff and tossed your phone to the end of your bed. Ethan’s short replies were unusual and made a sinking feeling form in your heart at the very real change that is currently happening in your relationship.

The next day came, and once again you found yourself unable to reach Ethan.

Hey, when did you want to hang out?

You cringed when you sent that text as you never referred to spending time with him as ‘hanging out’.

Half an hour went by before you sent a second text, and another hour before a third.

Did you want to check out that breakfast place we were talking about?

Are you even awake yet?

You assumed he wasn’t when another hour passed with radio silence on his end. Believing that was better than the alternative; he was ignoring you.

It was hard to believe that a whole twelve hours went by before your phone went off.

Eth <3: i’m so sorry, i forgot we had plans. i’ve been studying all day for that test on friday so i wasn’t near my phone

Plans? That’s news to you.

As far as you knew, Ethan asked you to hang out then completely ghosted you.

It was then when you found yourself slipping away and not bothering to reach out first anymore. It was a sad realisation that you two would go days without speaking or seeing each other and the only time he would talk to you was when you started a conversation or asked to spend a day with him.

The effort he was putting in was non-existent and you quickly found yourself putting in less and less effort as well.

You didn’t know what happened, but you knew when it happened.

You two were so happy during the summer, but now that school had started again it was as if you were dating a ghost. Though, really thinking about it, you were sure a ghost would respond to you more than Ethan does at this point.

An entire month went by with very little contact between you and Ethan, and to say you were losing hope in the relationship would be the biggest understatement of the century.

A total of fifteen texts were shared and you had only seen each other nine times. What kind of relationship were you in? It wasn’t normal at all and it wasn’t like either of you to be so distant with each other. You couldn’t help it, though. Ethan had failed to stay on top of replying to texts and it hurt you more than you cared to admit.

Though, the lack of communication was not just his fault. You had stopped texting him daily and instead only sent him a message every few days, some of which went unanswered completely. Instead of going over to his place or having him come over to yours, you only really saw him in between classes or at a party, and even that was rare.

Like the other night, both you and Ethan were invited to a frat party without either of you realising it. When you bumped into him and saw your boyfriend for the first time in five days, you were brought back to the good times you used to have with him. It was easy to forget how bad things had gotten.

You ended up staying with him for the rest of the night and the two of you acted like you were in a normal relationship still and ignored the very obvious tension that hung in the air.

It was nice to pretend for a night.

A day went by and you were back to not communicating once again. And the cycle continued.

You considered it a miracle when you both found the time to spend a day with each other, though you two were both far from how you used to be. Ethan moved around your apartment with the hesitation of a stranger, and you couldn’t think of one thing to say to him that would start a conversation.

Now here you were. You were sitting on the couch with Ethan right next to you, yet you felt so far away. There was an overwhelming sinking feeling in your chest and you knew what was coming. It was inevitable at this point, you both felt it.

It wasn’t working out.

School got in the way.

We’re going in different directions.

We’re just too busy.

It didn’t make you feel any better.

But then again…who actually felt good about ending a relationship where you used to be so happy, one where you two were so good together?

The silence was overwhelming and both of you were too scared to be the first one to talk as you knew that when one of you did…it would be over. A nearly three year relationship just over. It hurt to think about, let alone allow it to happen.

With a shaky breath, you look over at him to find him already looking at you. You give him a sad smile and he returns it, refraining from reaching over and taking your hand in his. Instead, he bit back his hesitation and mumbled, “This isn’t working out, is it?”

You look away quickly, biting down on your lower lip as you slowly shake your head. “It’s not,”

There it was. The end.

Ethan sighed as he played with the sleeves of his henley. “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep that promise,” he said quietly.

Your mind went back to the summertime and his promising words of ‘Even when school starts back up again….we’re going to be fine’.

But you weren’t fine.

His apology had your eyes watering and your lip quivering. Turning your head away from him so he wouldn’t see your face, you let a few tears fall. It was too much. You had thought you’d prepared yourself for this. Your relationship this past month was more like a friendship, and you were sure that things would be so different when you were over for good. The only reason you even saw him this month was because you both felt guilty about not putting in enough effort and just decided to push aside the tension and act like everything was fine.

Would you ever see him again after this?

The thought had another sharp stab pierce your heart.

You shrug your shoulders in response, quickly wiping your eyes with the palm of your hand. “It just got too hard to keep up with. Life got in the way,” you hated the words you were saying as you refused to meet his eyes. “We tried, didn’t we?”

You weren’t sure why you were asking him that as you knew you both put in a poor effort to keep the relationship going. But Ethan knew this too, yet he didn’t want to say the truth, either. “We did,” he completed the lie with a simple nod of his head, something you missed as you still didn’t look over at him.

The silence returned and you shifted uncomfortably. Never did you ever think you’d be uncomfortable while in the presence of Ethan. Things really have changed.

In hopes to keep him in your life just a little bit longer, you ask him another question and try to ignore the way your voice cracked, “We were good together, right?”

Ethan’s reply came instantly. “Of course we were,” and it wasn’t a lie.

Sure, the end of your relationship was hard, but the beginning was amazing, the middle was when you had some of the best days of your life, and the decision to end it was mutual. Not many couples can say that their breakup was mutual.

You nod at his words, taking a chance and reaching over to grab his hand. Ethan let you as he knew this would be one of the last times he would be able to touch you.

A teary exchange of smiles later had him getting up and leaving your apartment and finally you were able to bury your head in the pillows to muffle your sobs, the harsh reality of what just happened hitting you hard.

Two weeks passed and you weren’t over the breakup. You feared it would take many months for your heart to heal even a little bit, but you were okay with that. The ache you felt when you woke up was bearable as it meant your love was real and it happened.

Sure, it was over, but it happened. And that was enough to keep you going.

You skipped a lecture today to stay home and catch up on some reading. Well, you were supposed to be reading but here you were, laying on the couch and scrolling through your phone with the book open on your chest.

That Summer in New York <3

You don’t know how many times you’ve read that caption of your last post with Ethan on your Instagram. The various photos did nothing to soothe the ache in your heart, but they did bring you the smallest bit of comfort.

The post was from the same day Ethan promised you’d be fine when school started, and the memory of that day was what kept you going. It was a good day, one filled with laughs, love and exploring the big city with your boyfriend. It was hard to think of that day being one of the last good ones you had with him.

Fuck, you missed him. Just like how you felt during the last stretch of your relationship, you felt worse now that it was truly over.

The amount of times you had to stop yourself from texting him were countless, though the high twenties would be your guess. You hadn’t seen him since the breakup, with the exception of his past self in the photos on your page, and all you wanted to do was check if he was okay. Was he sad like you? Happy? Fine?

Like yours, his Instagram was still full of posts of the two of you as it seemed like he, too, couldn’t bring himself to delete them. It brought you the smallest amount of joy to know that the wound was still fresh to him like it was to you.

Your mind went back to before you two were even dating and you realised that you started out as friends. That got you thinking; if you were friends before your relationship, who says you can’t be friends after it?

And with that, you open your texts and type out a message before you could stop yourself.

Hey! I was thinking about you today and wanted to know if you were wanting to get together sometime? As friends :) I miss you and don’t want to not have you in my life

Before you could tell yourself that you sounded too desperate, your thumb hit send and you were left with the same message that used to haunt you.

Delivered one minute ago.

It was only ten minutes later when your phone went off and you sat up quickly, setting the book down and grabbing your phone from off the coffee table.

Ethan: you read my mind

Ethan: i miss you, too

The smile that formed on your lips was the biggest you’ve had in months and you quickly typed back a reply, not caring at how needy it made you look.

Great, we’ll set something up for the end of the week?

A reply never came as quick as his.

Ethan: definitely, can’t wait

You were now in a much better mood as you stood up from the couch and peaked your head in Tara’s room. She was on her bed, playing on her phone when she looked over and immediately sat up. “Hey, Y/n,” she said, the smile on your face making one form on hers. She hadn’t seen you look this happy in a while, so she wasn’t about to decline when you asked her if she wanted to go get brunch together.

Tara was beyond excited to see your true, happy self slowly coming back. She knew how hard the breakup hit you and to see you begin to put yourself back together had a permanent smile on her face.

Fall was just around the corner and the air was chilly, but that was the last thing on your mind as Tara guided you towards the new restaurant that had recently opened. She went there with Chad and couldn’t stop talking about how good the food was.

You listened with a smile on your face but within seconds your legs stop moving and your smile drops.

Tara, who continued rambling about the food, stopped walking when she realised you were no longer next to her. She backtracks and stands next to you, placing a comforting hand on your arm. “What? What is it?”

You were looking off in the distance, unable to answer her as you felt tears spring to your eyes. Tara furrowed her brows at that and tried to see what you were looking at, and when she did, her hold on you tightened.

On the opposite side of the street was Ethan.

You knew the first time you saw him after the breakup would hurt, but you assumed it would be because of a completely different reason than the one you felt now.

You assumed it would hurt because you hadn’t seen him in weeks and you missed him, not because he was currently locking lips with a girl.

“Y/n,” Tara said quietly, her hand moving down to properly hold yours. Tara had a feeling that the reason you were so happy was because of Ethan and a possible reconciliation, so seeing this had her mind going blank and her jaw locking.

You couldn’t take your eyes off the scene and you watch as Ethan’s hands grip the girl’s waist and she leans further into the kiss. Her hands caress the sides of his face as she moves closer to him and that was when you decided you’d seen enough.

Tara tugged you away and you let her. The two of you turn your back to your ex as she guides you back in the direction of your apartment, missing the way Ethan pulled away just in time to see you walk around the corner.

#ethan landry #ethan landry x reader #ethan landry imagines #scream 6 ethan #ethan scream 6 #scream 6 #scream 6 x reader #scream 6 imagines

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ghouljams · 2 months

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Hi friend, it’s been a while. I hope you’re doing well o/

I was reading your headcanons and worldbuilding ideas for a/b/o and they’re so refreshing ! It actually gave me a few ideas, inspired by our own world. Wholesome, but realistic too. I hope it’s okay for me to share them with you, I’m not sure if I’m… Idk, « enough » ? To post this on my blog ? But yeah, inspiration struck.

In an a/b/o universe, I think it would be easy for many people to lose to their instincts, so you *have* to be labeled as alpha, beta or omega, for your own safety at least. And these categories, these moulds, would probably be associated with many struggles in day to day life, and many clichés. So…

People with hormone problems having to go through very long tests to find which category they fall into. Struggling with stupid doctors and people being « convinced » they actually are not what the last test results said, so they are pressured to go through it all over again. Being misdiagnosed so many times because of the uncertainties these hormones imbalances come with.

Very « conservative » people forcing their points of view on others. Alphas being mocked by others if they show even the slightest « weakness », because alphas are supposed to be the rock for everyone around them or something, place the whole world before themselves. Many people believing betas are actually not a thing, just lazy, cowards or something when they have an important role in society, but people are dumb, and society never helps with those things ; being accused of hiding a hormonal problem, or wearing perfumes/taking scent suppressants to escape their roles as alphas or omegas. Said omegas being pressured into being obedient people, to please others and never offend anyone, constantly being told they’re weak so they have to quickly find a pack that can protect them.

« Two alphas/betas/omegas can’t be together, it’s against nature ! », « One has to lead and the other has to follow, this is how real instincts work ! »

Gender roles « debates » being mixed into those ideas. Religion too.

Those clichés making finding a satisfying job to be a nightmare for so many people, leaving them miserable and struggling because they can’t seem to find a place in a job they know they would love, since they’re « not part of the good category for this ». LGBTQA+ people, poly people, straight people… Constantly being told how to be « perfect » according to the categories they fit into when it’s so far of what they actually want ; identifying as other categories. Even being « coached » on how to act « properly » in their home, even in bed, when they’re not interested in having a relationship, romantic, sexual, or both, at all.

Which goes with more and more people, especially teenagers and young adults, to fight to free themselves from all those entitled idiots and clichés. Fighting to get an easier access to health products or basic human rights (maybe paid « heat » leaves, stuff like that), because let’s face it, the government and big companies of all types wouldn’t give a shit about those things since the « original » system brings them so much money and other new opportunities to do so.

Marches in the streets with people suppressing their scents and holding signs saying stuff like « a/b/o - it doesn’t matter », « we’re all humans », « fuck society’s archaic roles - let us be free ». Rebellions. Social media movements, new ways of educating kids, trying to open people’s minds in general.

Books being written and spreading new ideas to make the world more tolerant. People burning old books of all genres to protest against the clichés and try to make things change, brandishing school books in front of their cameras before tossing them into the flames.

People from older generations supporting all of this too, because they, too, are tired, and want to be themselves. Defending kids who are being humiliated by their own parents in public for « throwing a tantrum » when they were just asking for « something they shouldn’t even think about because of their role ». Teens from conservative families running away and finding solace in their old neighbours’ living room, drinking and eating comforting foods while letting all their frustrations out, the neighbours listening to them, encouraging them and giving them advice. Becoming the parents the kids always wanted to have.

Kids bringing back their crying friend at home to ask help from their really cool parents, because said friend is tired of his own and doesn’t know what to do.

People finding their real family away from theirs, no matter their age.

Stuff like that. Both infuriating and wholesome. Human.

Yeah I’m feeling kind of rebellious right now. Thank you for sharing your amazing « non-conventional » a/b/o thoughts, Ghoul. I was tired of always seeing the same toxic tropes being used without any actual thought behind them. I mean, people write what they want, of course, but it’s not my jam. Not anymore.

Lots of love on you friend 💚

- Mii

As I've said in other posts there's not "submissive" expectation for omegas in my au! They're actually probably seen as the more aggressive/dominant endotype.

My au isn't a progression of the traditional au it's its own thing entirely just borrowing the terms. So there's not really a "traditional" way of doing things, that's evolved to be more chill over the years, it's a separate universe entirely. I think that's tripping people up lol

I love all your ideas Mii! Some of them fit neatly into how I'm structuring my au and others feel like better fits for the traditional omegaverse. So I'm going to use your post to talk about what I think is "wrong" with society in my omegaverse!

Since I've said before that Beta was the dominant endotype for most of human history (since most people don't fall into the stereotypes) I think there's a lot of "Are you sure you don't want to just mark beta?" Style doubts that are cast on low O hormone omegas or low A hormone alphas. Getting tested for hormone balances is pretty common, and most of the time you can tell by smelling someone, but that doesn't stop people from trying to push low hormone endotypes towards beta designations.

There's definitely a lot of pressure on alphas to be peacekeepers, and they'll end up with a lot of problems that aren't theirs, constantly trying to solve everything for everyone because they feel bad saying "no." I think it's very common for alphas to be people pleasers, often putting their pack before themselves, and having a tendency to extend the borders of their pack outside their immediate friends and family. It's not uncommon for "lone" alphas to get depressed because they don't have anyone to care for.

I think Betas can sometimes get a lot of "Well thank god you can keep your emotions in check" jokes and nudging. Which sure, they're supposed to be better at thinking things through, but that's the stereotype it doesn't mean anything for the individual. There are probably a good amount of emotional Betas that have been broken up with because their partner "thought they'd have a better handle on all that" just by virtue of being a beta.

Omegas have a reputation for being nosy. It's hard to be curious as an omega because the stereotype is that you're going to butt in on people's business with unsolicited advice. It's probably difficult to offer acquaintances advice without being labeled "that omega".

Sliding along the spectrum is believed to not be a thing, even though it's probably pretty common. Hormones change as we age, and react to different environment, it's not uncommon for someone's hormones to fluctuate and for them to move around their usual designation. People like Ghost who move from one end to the other are believed to be a medical rarity, and he's had to keep his condition pretty hidden to avoid getting published in a medical journal.

The army is pretty populated with alphas and betas because they're considered the easiest to train. Omegas are seen as testy and aggressive, territorial and not willing to listen to people, so the military avoids recruiting them. That's not to say there aren't omegas in the military, they just get a lot of attention during basic training to "break" that aggressive attitude.

Betas are seen as the ideal for politicians and people will often run ads against other endotypes relying on the sterotypes of omegas being territorial or alphas being reactive.

There's always push back on birth control and medical leave, but for the most part since everyone gets a week of being unable to work every 3-5 months due to their heat/rut most companies have medical leave. You have to request it though, and if you have irregular cycles it makes it hard to request off in advance.

#ghoul speaks #a/b/o #omegaverse #everyone is sending me really cool ideas that go along with traditional omegaverse aus #but don't really work in mine #because mine is not even close to the traditional au #mostly because I hate conservative aus and religious talking points

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hidingoutbackstage · 1 year

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I mean it btw when I say it is such a fucking breath of fresh air how much Leon likes Ashley in a game where literally everything else, the narrative, the other characters, the game developers, a lot of the fandom, hates her. Ashley is constantly having her body violated and being tossed around by the villains as if she’s an object to be won or take possession of rather than a person. There is a game mechanic where the player can look up her skirt. A male character we’re supposed to like calls attention to her boobs within seconds of meeting her. Fans hate her screams because they’re “annoying” even though it’s a valid game mechanic to rescue her, the whole objective of the damn game.

And yet despite the whole world, in universe and out, being against her, Leon is always on her side. Nothing he ever does is anything short of nice towards her. They could have easily made him fed up with her, cross with her, or objectify her as well, but they didn’t. The first thing Leon does when he finds her is assure her that he’s there to help her, in a very kind and encouraging way, as he knows she’s already been through a lot. If Ashley dies or gets kidnapped when you play, Leon let’s out an “oh no,” that sounds genuinely upset. He genuinely gets scared when she gets captured in prewritten story moments, he worries about her coughing up blood, he hugs her when they’re reunited after her capture and when she tries to apologize he tells her it’s okay. When they’re cornered by enemies he says something witty to reassure her that even though they’re “sandwiched alright” he’ll get her out of there. He tells her to run and hide without ever being mean, because he’s doing it for her safety, and she obliges. He gets genuinely angry when he finds out Krauser kidnapped her just to get in good with Saddler, as she’s also nothing but a means to an end for him. He gets upset when Saddler gains control of Ashley through the Plaga and leads her away from him. He uses the machine to get the Plaga out of his chest, just in case it doesn’t work, he doesn’t want to put Ashley in danger. They hug again. Even when the writing made Ashley say some dumb shit and ask him out, he turns her down in a nice and polite way, instead of saying yes or saying no in a disgusted or upset way. He’s so good to her it genuinely makes me so happy for her to have that

#sid rants #resident evil #ashley graham #re4 #leon kennedy

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blancetude · 2 years

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Of Rain & Lilacs

Alpha!Jungkook x Omega!Chubby!Reader

❝ I broke my rules for you. ❞

* This is a chapter prequel for an upcoming series ‘Autumn Leaves’ OT7 x Omega!Chubby!Reader

**NOT PROOFREAD**

𝔰𝔶𝔫𝔬𝔭𝔰𝔦𝔰: When Jeon Jungkook first met the strange Omega everyone had been whispering of she looked every bit like a delicate butterfly, not knowing he would eventually pluck her wings.

𝔚𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰: strangers to lovers to estranged (?) Angst, Eventual Comfort, Fluff, Verbal & Physical Bullying, Fat Shaming, Eventual Dubcon Smut-ish, Lots of Tears

𝔐𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱

If you were to ask your high school classmates to describe you in one word they would all say the same thing: Strange.

Now fast-forward four years later and ask your university peers the same thing. This time they would all say: Definitely strange.

Growing up you always knew you were a bit different. If it wasn’t your mother constantly reminding you to stop saying good morning to all the trees you passed or apologizing to a rose bush for picking a drying stem off of it because people don’t like different, they’ll laugh at you.

Your father would console your mother telling her it was you just being a kid, that you’ll grow out of it when you presented, but that was just the beginning.

Nights were filled with screaming matches from your mother as she picked at your clothes and hairstyles deeming them embarrassing to your family, that your siblings are too ashamed to be seen with you cause who wears huge sun hats and knee-high boots together? It was already bad that you’d presented as an Omega in a long lineage of Alphas.

Your family lived in an uber religious rural town in the countryside so imagine the utter scandal you caused at age 15 when you showed up to church sporting a pink buzz cut with cute little red hearts after your mother yelled at you the night before for wanting to give yourself an undercut.

You still traced the scar on your arm you got after your father threw a bottle at you for daring to humiliate him like that.

Their constant ill-treatment didn’t stop after you’d graduated and moved to a university 6 hours away however. The occasional phone call from your mom or bother telling you that you wouldn’t amount to anything would remind you that yes they were still (unfortunately) alive and well.

At least now when you walked through the halls of your school in your rainbow waistcoat, people would whisper when you’d walk by and not saying something to your face.

“Hey freak! Come here!”

Maybe you spoke too soon.

Choi Gaeun. Her name means “kind” and “beautiful” you could scoff at that. Sure she looked like she stepped straight out of a magazine but she was anything but kind.

Gaeun has got it out for you since you’d moved into the city. You’d barely spoken a full sentence to the girl before the whole campus had your name spilling from their lips with sordid slander attached.

“Hellllooo? You stupid or somethin?”

You sighed and clutched your purse, ready to escape any venom dipped words Gaeun was ready to toss your way but you were too late.

You almost escaped but Gaeun was faster. She had put a perfectly manicured hand on your shoulder and shoved you back down onto the bench you were enjoying your smoothie on.

“Aren’t omegas supposed to be obedient little rats?” The Alpha girl sneered, her posse of other rich Alphas from elite families lingering behind her like ducklings.

“What do you want Gaeun?” You muttered, hand clutching the strap of your fuzzy purse tightly as you looked around nervously.

It was fruitless to expect anyone to help. Most of the other students either ignored the situation, quietly watched from a distance, or asked if you were okay after the group of bullies were out of sight.

You just wanted to enjoy your smoothie in peace before your next class but Gaeun’s life goal was to ruin any chance at peace you desired.

“Oh so it does speak, at least it’s not completely stupid.” Another girl, Jangmi if you remembered correctly, laughed from Gaeun’s left.

Gaeun crossed her arms in front of her busty chest, her eyes looking you up and down.

“Oh I’m sorry, did I interrupt your conversation with the grass?” A chorus of laughter erupted behind her as you shrunk into yourself.

Sticks and stones, sticks and stones.

“I-I have to go to class…” you made a move to stand but was pushed back down again, this time hard enough that you dropped your smoothie all over yourself resulting in a lot of unwanted stares and laughter shot your way.

A deep flush burned your ears as you frantically took your sweater off and tried to dab the mess away all the while Gaeun pointed and laughed loudly.

“Are you okay?” The crowd hushed as the one and only Jeon Jungkook, prized Alpha and most sought after student on campus, pushed passed the hoard and kneeled down in front of you, picking up your soiled purse from the ground.

“Kookie!” Gaeun chirped, her voice going up several octaves as she twirled a bleached strand of hair between her nimble fingers.

Jungkook looked back for a brief second, shooting her a friendly smile.

“I’m oka-“

“She’s fine!” Gaeun stepped between you two as Jungkook and you got up. She was quick to dust off your shoulder as if that would do anything and bat her expensive eyelashes at the star Alpha.

“She‘s just a clumsy little thing, right?”

You fought the urge to roll your eyes at her desperate change of attitude. You were certain she would bark if Jungkook asked her to.

Gaeun pinched your elbow hard at your lack of response making you quickly nod your head and look down at your ruined shoes.

Jungkook didn’t look all too convinced as he handed you your purse, a frown weighing heavy on his handsome features.

“But your cute sweater is all sticky now…”

Your head snapped up in surprise, not expecting the simple compliment from the most popular Alpha on campus.

Gaeun’s jaw clenched for a brief moment, a sure sign that you would pay for it later.

Before you could mutter a thank you the heavy bells rang out through the stone walls, signaling the start of your afternoon class.

Most students who stayed to watch the scene unfold were now rushing to make it to their assigned buildings.

“Oh! We have to go!” Gaeun was quick to hug Jungkook’s toned arm to her chest, not shy to press herself against him flirtatiously. “We need to go to class Kookie!”

When she saw that you weren’t moving she shot you a warning glare, her eyes flashing a dangerous shade of red.

You tensed at the silent threat and scooped up the rest of your things, wanting nothing more than to make it back to your tiny apartment and mourn your soiled sweater in peace.

“Wait, you can’t walk around like that- here.”

A tiny gasp left your lips when Jungkook slipped off his dark green hoodie, his shirt riding up just enough to tease his firm stomach.

Your eyes shot nervously between his extended arm and Gaeun’s equally shocked expression.

If you took his offer you’d no doubt be mauled by Gaeun and her pack of mindless followers, but if you didn’t take his offer you’d hurt the kind Alpha’s feelings AND have to suffer the walk back to your place in a goopy sticky mess.

Jungkook didn’t really give you a chance to make a decision before he was gently helping you tug off your garment, his sweater now drowning your much smaller figure.

Your mouth open and closed, no words coming out as you tried to thank him but also save your neck as Gaeun’s raspberry scent was turning dangerously sour.

“There, much better!” His lips turned up in the most breathtaking bunny smile you’d ever seen. “See you around okay?”

And with that the boy turned and walked away, a now pouty and whining Gaeun tugging on his arm looking like a child throwing a tantrum.

You felt like your feet where melting into the ground holding you hostage. Did that really just happen? Did Jeon Jungkook of all people on this ridiculously huge campus give you his equally ridiculously huge sweater?

You would convince yourself it most definitely was a dream if it wasn’t for the scent of fresh rain and lilacs that gripped your entire being, your knees suddenly becoming wobbly and your heart rate speeding up.

So this was the smell of an elite Alpha.

Sure you came from a family of pure Alphas who had a wide variety of scents but nothing compared to Jungkook’s scent.

Jungkook’s scent seeped deep into your bones, turning your brain into mush until all your omega could pitifully whine was Alpha, Alpha, Alpha.

Oh this was not good at all.

You shut your stupid Omega instincts that preened for the boy away as you scurried off in the opposite direction to your apartment. The sooner you took the delicious smelling garment off the sooner your mind would stop racing with foolish thoughts of a certain Alpha.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

The next morning you paced back and forth in your one room apartment, fingers nervously fiddling with the sleeve of your cardigan as you thought of ways to approach Jungkook and thank him for lending you his sweater yesterday.

You had baked him cookies as a thank you, said treats were packaged in a frog patterned bag with a silky purple bow holding it shut.

It wasn’t too childish was it?

What if he didn’t like cookies, what if he didn’t even want his sweater back cause you washed it and now it smells like you and he doesn’t want his lover to think he’s two-timing them and you’d unintentionally home wreck a beautiful relationship–

You rushed to your bedroom and dove head first into your nest, desperately gathering as much blankets as you could and rolling yourself up tightly in them.

The weight of the comforters gently eased your nerves that were building up into a panic attack.

You hummed to yourself as you willed your emotions to still, not wanting to ruin your day before it even started.

Jeon Jungkook wasn’t like Gaeun. He wouldn’t make you feel icky and sad like she did. His smile was friendly, not condescending like everyone else’s.

After a few minutes you unraveled yourself from your safety cocoon and gathered your things, ready to thank your savior.

Or maybe not.

You only had one class with Jungkook in the afternoon but it was almost impossible to approach the tall boy as he was always surrounded by numerous admirers.

You couldn’t blame the small crowd that followed him everywhere, I mean he was Jeon Jungkook for God’s sake.

Jungkook came from a family of Elite Alphas, much like yours. Elite Alphas were the top of the food chain, many becoming A list celebrities, doctors, or important business people.

To be born into an Elite Alpha line was nothing short of a great honor. Except for you.

Omegas weren’t rare but being born an omega from an Elite Alpha line certainly was. Omega’s we’re almost always looked down upon if they weren’t anything but obedient little caregivers. The highest position an Omega could have was a model, but only because they were already seen as objects to dress up and gawk at.

You got the short end of the stick Gaeun would tell you often. Not only were you an embarrassing Elite Omega but you were fat, nasty, ugly.

Sure you were curvier than the average student on your campus, your thighs thicker, hips wider and tummy softer but you weren’t a monster.

You always knew that although you had Elite blood running through your veins, it meant nothing as long as you were an Omega.

You peeked around the corner of the wall you were trying to hide behind from as you watched Jungkook bid his friends goodbye, no doubt making his way back to the Alpha dorm for his zero period.

Waiting three Mississippis, you half jogged down the hall to catch up to the raven-haired boy, slightly out of breath as you called out to him.

Jungkook pulled his earbud out from his right ear before turning, his head slightly tilted in surprise before he gave you the same friendly smile from yesterday when he saw who called him.

“Oh! Hey cherry!” You stopped before him, now it was your turn to tilt your head. “Um, cherry? Why am I- oh!” You awkwardly laughed and lightly smacked your forehead with your palm.

“Cause of the cherry smoothie I spilled all over myself yeah-“ oh this was painful.

Jungkook laughed lightly, clearly meaning the nickname with no ill intent.

“Was it that obvious it was cherry? Oh no did I really walk around smelling like that?” You thought out loud, Jungkook quirking a pierced eyebrow up in amusement at your rambling.

“No it wasn’t that strong you smell more like-“ He suddenly leaned in close giving you a clear reminder of how much larger he was compared to you. “Old books and sweet coffee. Cute.”

You squeaked and jumped back, your eyes wide as Jungkook leaned back, loud laughter rocking his shoulders happily.

You frowned and pushed the bag containing his sweater and treats into his arms.

“I was going to thank you for helping me yesterday but now I’m second guessing my decision…” you grumbled at the boy.

Jungkook wiped an imaginary tear from his eye before catching the bag in his arms.

His big eyes sparkled in interest as he dug his inked arm into the bag, pulling out your gratitude cookies.

“What’s this?” He smiled inspecting the cute packing.

“I’m bad at words so I hope you like cookies.” You explained with a shy smile.

Jungkook wasted no time in shoving the rest of the bag under one arm, his fingers working open the bag and popping a whole cookie into his mouth, moaning softly at the sweet taste.

You willed any improper thoughts away as you watched him savor his treat.

“These are really good! Did you make them?” He spoke around the cookie, looking like a happy bunny chewing away.

You blushed lightly at his praise, your pigtails bouncing as you nodded happily.

“Yep! I call them. Smeaches!”

Jungkook stopped mid bite into another cookie as he looked down at you muddled.

“A who?”

“A smeach!” You corrected him, “a sugar cookie but with a smidge of peach so you know, smeaches.”

You stated it so matter-of-factly that Jungkook almost felt foolish for questioning you.

There was a pause between you two before the Alpha erupted into another fit of laughter, getting the attention of a few passing students wondering why he was even talking to you.

“Smeaches, oh man that’s the best thing I’ve heard all year.” He groaned as his laughter was starting to cause an ache in his tummy.

You tried to look offended but his laughter was too infectious so you joined in with your own light giggle, happy that Jungkook liked his gift.

“Thank you for this…” he looked a little unsure, eyebrows raised a bit as he tried to remember your name.

“(Y/n)!” You introduced yourself with a shy smile.

“Oh right! Sorry I know we have a class together, I don’t know why I didn’t introduce myself to you sooner. I’m Jungkook. Jeon Jungkook. It’s a pleasure.”

He held out a hand for you to shake which you didn’t hesitate to do, trying not to think too much about how his hand practically swallowed yours whole.

Of course you already knew his name, I mean this is Jeon Jungkook we’re talking about, who didn’t know him?

“The pleasure is all mine Jungkook.” You politely stated, a bit reluctant to drop your hand to your side awkwardly.

“Then, I’ll see you around yeah?”

You tried not to show the disappointment on your features as he took a step back, fixing the bag that was under his arm.

Maybe this would be the last time you got to talk to him, considering his popularity and how hard it was to get him alone.

Oh well, you paid his kindness forward that’s all you needed to do anyway.

“Yeah, see you!” You waved him goodbye, watching as he continued down the path to the dorms, happily munching on the cookies.

Except it wasn’t the last time you would run into the Alpha.

It wasn’t even a week since your last talk that he plopped down onto the bench next to you in the courtyard as you were writing a paper for your sociology class, catching you completely off guard.

He didn’t come alone, happily introducing you to his Beta friend Yugeom.

You learned that they were both majoring in Ethnomusicology, something that had you thinking he couldn’t be any cooler than he was now.

The three of you chatted for a bit before you needed to head to your next class, a promise to finish your conversation another time.

Slowly but surely your path would cross with Jungkook’s a friendly relationship blossoming between you both much to your excitement and Gaeun’s frustration.

Her bullying got worse the more you and Jungkook spoke to each other. What started off as verbal harassment was bleeding into a shoulder shove here or a jab from her elbow there.

You willed yourself to ignore her as much as possible. You were used to her commenting on your looks and bizarre mannerisms but when she poked your exposed arms and told you that nobody wanted to see a fat pig running around, you’d hug yourself and walk away as fast as you could, not daring to let her see the tears stinging your eyes.

You couldn’t help that your body was shaped different, that the trees bid you good day, that the clouds and the sky smiled back at you and that you were positive the stray cats you fed understood you.

You had a friend or two growing up but it was nothing compared to how Jungkook almost seemed to seek you out, a new friend trailing behind him waiting to meet the odd omega he would often bring up.

Even his friends thought you were strange. Not in a bad way of course, in an almost refreshing kind of way.

You weren’t afraid to speak your mind, you always gave them weird but yummy home baked treats and you didn’t seem to swoon over the fact that they were Alphas.

Most other people would try to use their sub-gender as a means to talk to them, always with the intent of mating or being close for future connections but you weren’t like that at all. You liked Jungkook and his friends for who they were.

Jungkook often thought about how it seemed like this was the first time you even had friends to begin with.

#jungkook x reader #bts fanfic #alpha jungkook #omega reader #chubby reader #female reader #abo au #non idol au #college au #bts x female reader #angst #kpop fanfic #reader insert #blancetude #blancetudefics

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momoliee · 8 months

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Finished Can Ci Pin, time for a review! [Warning: this review will contain some spoilers!]

Priest…that was brutal. You murdered me in cold blood. That was CRUEL. When was the last time a danmei had me crying this hard?!? I genuinely didn’t think you had it in you to do us all like this😭

To start off the review, I will first talk about the plot. The series spans 7 novels, two of the novels being split into two parts along with the extras, resulting in a total of 10 installments, making it one of the longest danmei novels that i’ve read, along with 2ha by meatbun and tgcf by mxtx. It takes place in a futuristic sci-fi society that exists in space, in a world run by technology and Ai with humanity inhabiting not one planet, but instead 8 whole galaxies (no there are no aliens in this series). I guess the reason why it’s incredibly underrated and overlooked, despite being one of Priest’s best works ever (literally on par with sha po land, mo du and lie huo jiao chou), would be its unique and niche genre, not preferred or sought after or appreciated by the majority of the danmei readers in both the chinese and english fandoms. Nevertheless, if you got some time on your hands, i would definitely recommend you give it a go! Priest makes it super easy and uncomplicated to settle into the world with her incredible world building skills (think of the steam punk universe of sha po lang), and the whole plot literally revolves around politics, war, and the struggles between different parties for power, which is smth that’s already pretty popular within danmei!! and the aesthetics are pretty cool too!!! think spaceships and astronauts!! also there are elements of mystery and comedy and action!! come on yall!!!

Now let’s get into the ACTUAL review. In a world where the Interstellar Union is constantly being tossed around like a tennis ball between the Eden Committee and the Military Council (think of the IU as the king/emperor/ruler, the Eden Committee as the prime minister of the government, and the Military Council as the marshal or commander of the military), the struggle for power led to centuries of underhanded and unethical and inhumane tactics and practices being brewed under the surface by all parties involved. On the surface, there was ‘peace’, peace that came at the expense of others, peace that was no thicker than a hair strand, ready to snap at any given second. Our main characters happened to be born in the century in which this fragile and delicately maintained peace is finally shattered, everything fell apart and no more secrets were kept hidden as all was exposed. The story follows so many threads that priest has managed to weave slowly here and there from very early onwards. The first two novels, priest spends them introducing several different plot lines and several different ‘problems’ and ‘issues’ that she later on ties together into one thick huge interwoven heavy plot in the fourth book. Most readers end up abandoning the story after reading the second novel, feeling that the pace is too slow, everything that’s happening is too random and left up abruptly without a satisfying conclusion, there is no one consistent plot line to follow, and the whole thing feels very overwhelming. However, after reaching the fourth novel, where the plot pace is suddenly picked up dramatically and everything becomes set to motion, it is clear the build up was very necessary or else the whole series wouldve turned into one big jumbled mess. There are time skips within the novel, one in the beginning and one in the middle, the one in the middle sort of splitting the series into a ‘before’ and ‘after’. The last detail i’ll mention regarding the plot, would be that the war doesn’t exist between just two sides, it exists between our main characters, the union, two other parties, and the internal strife between the split factions of the union. so you can….already imagine how complicated and intricate this is.

Now onto the characters. There is Lin Jingheng!!! The Man of The Hour. Aloof and cold on the outside, soft and kind on the inside. Ruthless and Merciless on the outside, a big mother-hen on the inside. A former commander turned mafia leader, his heart dead set on revenge, his body a weapon hes sharpened over the years, his life absolutely disposable to him. Keeping his distance, staying away from everyone, closing himself off to the world, he only ever had one goal in mind and it was to tear apart the union that took away his loved ones. Hes the best at what he does and he knows it, and he will absolutely use himself up to the max. He will not hesitate to make cold and harsh sacrifices, if it means he can logically get to his goal as efficiently as possible. Watching him grow as a character, watching him develop attachments and warm emotions, watching him slowly let out his inner child, was worth it. I absolutely love how the more he developed as a character, the more feelings he started expressing, the more bonds and attachments he started to form with those around him, the more he loved, the stronger he got. Unlike what he initially thought, love and affection and care did not hold him back or make him weaker, it only made him stronger and more invincible, ready to take on anything now that he finally has a purpose, now that he has people he wants to protect and more importantly, return to. An absolute favorite of mine, a true gem. His character is easy to grow fond of, and definitely enjoyable to be around.

Next is Lu Bixing, aka, my absolute favorite. Starting off as the naive, charismatic, funny, hyperactive and handsome little engineer and scientist, neither the series nor priest are kind to him😭😭😭😭 priest, you’ve truly put our sunshine boy through a LOT. i’ve cried several times. tears were shed. Lu Bixing underwent a dramatic character development due to extreme pain and trauma (im still recovering from this) and was stripped off of many of his most endearing character qualities to become a sharp blade ready to take on the world. but despite everything, the seed of kindness in his heart wasnt gone, all it needed was a bit of rekindling and healing and by the end of the series, we had our beloved son back again!!! His character started off well, drifted off the rail due to the harsh circumstances, then came back again, stronger and more mature than ever but still retaining his flirty and bright and active spirit and personality. I absolutely LOVED his healing arc, i love how no one gave up on him even when he gave up on himself, and i love how he came back to us again. Priest truly did his character justice, and didn’t let him off to be this “forever cold and heartless because of my trauma” character, the way many other authors wouldve.

One more thing that i loved, is how priest gave detailed and thorough attention to the side characters in this masterpiece of a work. Priest has managed to make sure that almost every important character in the series had a whole backstory and arc going for them, making you care about all of them and get attached and grow fond, even if some of those characters were already dead years before the novel even started. Priest dedicated several extras to some of those already dead but important characters, and it was the best decision she couldve ever made, making you all nostalgic and sentimental while reading.

Now onto the romance, definitely in my top 5 favorite danmei parings. The commander and his engineer. If Lu Bixing was a crown prince, then Lin Jingheng would be his knight. If Lin Jingheng was a sword, Lu Bixing would be his shield. A relationship that is also a partnership, where theyre both standing on equal ground, where they both need each other’s strengths and talents, where they both trust each other endlessly both on and off the battlefield, whether it be with each other’s lives or with each other’s hearts. It’s like those countless queer quoted shows and movies where two generals or two soldiers go through everything back to back, except this is a danmei so they DO end up together and it doesn’t end up being dismissed as a ‘friendship’. I love their hot and cold dynamic, i love how well they complement each other and how they somehow complete and balance each other. i love how they bring out the worst and best in each other. i love how they always wanna live one more day to come back to each other. Also Lu Bixing’s attempts to win over Lin Jingheng in the beginning were a 10/10 entertainment, definitely had us all, readers and side characters, rooting for him and cheering him on to get that cold commander’s heart!!!

This series will make you laugh, make you cry. There are intense action scenes, complex war and politics scenes, brutal bloodshed scenes and extremely funny and light hearted scenes. Even the romance gets its fair share of attention, the relationship building up at a perfect and reasonable and natural pace, as you grow to love the characters individually then love them together. it was cute, adorable, embarrassing, sexy, angsty (oh the ANGST) all at once!

Would definitely be rereading this, would definitely be giving this a 15/10.

[Here is my favorite scene from book 2 (i hope the humor convinced yall to pick up this incredible series!!!)] :

#danmei #can ci pin #sha po lang #mo du #lie huo jiao chou #priest #lhjc #spl #silent reading #danmei recs #danmei priest #the defectives

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retphienix · 3 months

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honestly the most universal truth about my experience in warframe is that with anything that needs grinded my preference has always been "Endless mission > Constantly redoing a short mission"

And the fact so many of the grinds in warframe are outright player hostile to that kinda sucks ass

I mean even the fundamental design of how endless missions exist (for the most part) is against that and that has always bothered me, like why even bother having the enemies get stronger if no rewards are accompanying it? Not even like, noteworthy increased credit drops- anything! The fact rotations universally cycle back to AABC instead of offering anything worth a damn to continuing beyond that first C is annoying!

Some aren't though! Thank you, Disruption, I'm so so so so so sorry that I hated you at launch, you have truly come around to being something I adore <3

But then you have like "Eidolons vs Orphix" where the "go fast, restart, go fast, restart, go fast" option is the only viable one because the other one is not just "slightly" worse, it's EXPONENTIALLY SPIT-IN-PLAYERS-FACE WORSE for like, no good reason.

You have the annoying grind I did for the first time in like 2 years recently, grinding lith relics (the relics themselves) since the most efficient way is to just keep doing the void capture over and over, yippee 40 seconds of gameplay, my favorite lol Where's my endless mission that gives tons of liths, hmm? Where's the defense mission where wave 10 gives 3 relics and wave 15+ gives like 5 since 5 waves equates to 5 minutes on average anyway, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

The recent operation being "Redo this mission 10 billion times" instead of any sort of endurance deal that I can just keep doing until I'm done doing it, that was a touch lame. EXTREMELY rewarding but representative of the "just keep redoing it" format for rewarding content instead of any sort of relevant reward for endless missions.

If it's fast, it's rewarding as all hell, like cracking relics on base chart.

If it's slow, it's like DE forgets to incorporate scaling rewards for the time put in- what happened to endurance defense and the like? I'm nostalgic for good endless content (even though that was more a symptom of there not being rewarding content but I digress).

We really do have like 2 endless formats that at least attempt to be rewarding in the entire game, and isn't that just a fucking joke?

Disruption with its endless BC rotation where you can choose between B or C and just keep fighting forever- nice!

And Arbitrations- which are lacking in evergreen rewards to keep people doing them- but they ARE on the same mentality where endurance = endless C rotation, that's something! And like steel path you are 'passively' being rewarded via vitus essence which is another thing I wish was further explored in endless mission types (more of the passive thing- more steel essence for going longer etc).

Sadly, I don't see Warframe really throwing much of a bone my way. The game as a whole is all about speed now and it's great fun! I just want some more love tossed towards endurance of all forms, from going 20 minutes in survival to going 60 minutes for the hell of it, gimme something worth the effort my guy.

If you would have told me nearly ten years back that the game would still be following AABCAABCAABC rotations for endless missions I'd be like "what? Surely not! Surely they reward you for going further :D" and I'd be wrong.

thank you Disruption and Arbs for being the exception, may you both be granted nodes/shop options that increase your viability even more! (beyond just relic farming :()

#warframe #RetPlays

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fennelockley · 5 months

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The Giggle novelisation is phenomenal! I've never read a book like it, it's really unique in it'd story telling! And it's also specific to the Ebook medium, so it will be interesting to see how the physical novel will differ.

I just wanted to rave about my favourite parts and the new lore that's been added (because it's surprisingly given us alot more information regarding the Toymaker and his reality!)

First things first - the book is told from his perspective. I'm absolutely feral for that. We don't get a lot of introspection, but its the first time something has ever been told from his perspective so it's wonderful. He's a very quirky narrator that uses a mix of emojis, playing around with chapters and sending you back and forth, and using games within the story. He'll talk directly to the reader too. Its like official fanfiction, its wonderful.

He also constantly refers to himself as handsome...

Understandable.

There's also a chapter (2 pages), that has him rambling about his early days and when he first met the Doctor. Refers to himself as a boy, literally like describing a child and his playthings. It's cute and sinister.

Once we get to the Hide and Seek scene, alot of new things get added. There's a good 6-7 additional chapters that has Donna running around and some really interesting scenes.

We also get this menace of a paragraph

Very classic of him.

There's also one chapter in the corridor chase that takes you into a room, which turns out to be the void. And the whole description of it, it's never ending darkness and cold. And about how even his own realm succumbs to it eventually.

I'm an absolute sucker for science fiction that takes on existential matters, and pushing the limits of what we know. And there's something chilling about how even an individual as insanely powerful as the Toymaker, can't even keep the never ending decay of life and matter at bay.

Science fiction at its best.

Which leads to this little taunt...

I'm obsessed with the imagery this provokes. We all know he lives outside of the known universe. But the concept that there's even an underside to the universe, and he lives there like some hellspawn... brilliant. And again with the words used, there's not alot of stories or characters that can say something as bizzare as this so casually, and to him it's just life.

We also get him referring to himself as a God..

Through out the whole book, there's loads of instances when he pulls completely unexplainable stunts and breaks the laws of physics and is just "I decided to make it exist". Just so causal about everything, this is normal life to him.

And lastly, this mind blowing paragraph..

He mentioned it in the episode, but its elaborated here to specifically mention the Black and White Guardians.

Which is a really really interesting piece of information. Because according to some sources, the Toymaker "only" holds equal power to them, he's supposedly a guardian like them too.

Here? No. He defeated them and tossed them to the side with the same effort as he would a mortal.

I'm greatful that they kept his exact origins and power level vague. I like these little tibits that through you off and think "damn, he can do that?" Or it contradicts other sources. Because he's best when he's inexplicable, we shouldn't be able to explain him... because he doesn't want to he understandable, he likes being unreachable and unknown.

It's a wonderful book, and I'll be getting the physical copy when it releases, because this one was designed with being an EBook in mind... so what's the physical one going to be like?

#the toymaker #the giggle #doctor who

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askmerriauthor · 11 months

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Hyrule's Future - Letting Go of the Past

ToTK lore chatter, mild spoilers below the line break.

I've mentioned it before, but something I really enjoy about both BoTW and ToTK is how they've addressed the timeline as a whole. The games basically scoop up all the events of the past titles, toss them into a blender, and dump out the rendered scraps into a big pile together. So it's become unclear exactly how much of the established lore is actually true and how much of the Legend of Zelda is just actual legend.

This has some interesting implications for how exactly Hyrule will grow going forward from the BoTW/ToTK point, especially considering Nintendo has confirmed that the BoTW-style games is what they want to aim for as a series standard. It also makes for a facet of story telling specific to these games' direction that I really enjoy. That, for all the importance of history and heritage in the Legend of Zelda, the way forward is letting go and accepting change.

There's a bit of a gag going that Link is essentially the Tony Hawk of Hyrule, in that just about nobody recognizes him and he's constantly being "mistaken" for the Legendary Hero Link. NPCs flat-out don't know who he is at all, or brush it off as a funny coincidence he "just happens to have the same name as the Hero", or even gaslight themselves into refusing to believe he could be the genuine article. Very few NPCs in the game actually know who Link is, what he looks like, or properly acknowledge what he's done.

A bit of the same happens for Zelda. While it seems that everyone knows who she is by reputation, if nothing else, everyone is also very easily fooled by the doppelganger Zelda running around causing chaos post-Upheaval. Zelda is essentially a new entity in post-Calamity Hyrule; everyone knew of her as a legendary figure holding back Calamity Ganon, but actually having her around as a flesh-and-blood person working to build a new future for Hyrule is a new thing for the general population. So much so that, for the youngest and newest generations of kids in Hyrule, they don't really hold interest or reverence for the past whatsoever.

Another thing we come across around ToTK is rumors. Things like the fabled "Master Gourd", or characters gossiping about legendary beasts, weapons, and ghost stories. People fear the notion of a vengeful spirit lurking in the wilds, or a man speculates that the ghosts of slain Gerudo haunt the alleys of their town. Others dismiss the very idea of ghosts outright as fanciful nonsense and "unscientific" when there are very clearly actual ghosts in existence within the setting. The establishment of a newspaper and the ability to quickly spread long-form written information across Hyrule is a new thing and welcomed eagerly by the citizenry, but it's up to intrepid reporters and researchers to find the information to report. And, as is shown in several quests, sometimes they get things completely wrong and end up utterly confusing the whole situation.

What this all culminates toward is a very clear indication that the lore of Hyrule and the literal legends of Zelda, in all their forms, is entirely unreliable narrative in-universe. How much of Hyrule's own past has been completely lost to time or disaster? How much of it has mutated through repetition or been exaggerated far beyond what it originally was? The events we've played through in previous titles have been pretty wild in many cases, often cartoonishly silly; were those events actually things that happened, or just outlandish retellings and mixed-up tales? Are the drastic tonal differences between "Twilight Princess" and "Wind Waker" a case of different times or were they simply the personal preference in delivery as told by a given narrator? Are the repeated instances of many characters sharing names and natures truly coincidental reappearances, or are they because a person became a symbol and popular story element that crossed over into different tales? There's a firm sense in ToTK that Hyrule is growing toward a new future of its own making and that the past, while very much an important part of the world's identity, is far from set in stone. That it shouldn't be given so much power and importance over the future that's yet to be seen.

In ToTK, the heroes and the citizenry are looking toward the future. They're building - not rebuilding, but starting new. Side quests like Cece's mayoral race emphasize the importance of making a sustainable balance between the old and new. Mattison's parents respect the old traditions of the Gerudo by letting their daughter go off to learn of her roots in Gerudo Town, even as it pains them to do so, and even as Gerudo Town itself is changing from its old ways. The established language itself is being updated as the new generation of Gerudo kids abbreviate it (much to the chagrin of some elderly Gerudo). Link, a man, is freely admitted to defy the Gerudo's core "no voe allowed" law because of his proven loyalty to their people - a boon that was denied a hero of the Gerudo in the past, as we learn from the side-quest exploring their history.

Throughout all the communities we see a shift from the old to the new without tossing out their roots. The Zora welcome new leadership and combining of communities. The Rito show a proven rise in the next generation to maintain their way of life. The Gorons work with their changing environment and industry, maintaining a firm inter-generational cooperation throughout. The Gerudo gradually open themselves up to greater interactions not just with men, but with the world in general, joining more into the core of Hyrule rather than secluding themselves to their old ways. The Sheikah - by far the most deeply rooted in traditional standards of all - are rapidly changing with the times and set themselves at the bleeding edge of social development. Paya taking the Sheikah in a new direction as their chief, Impa stepping aside for the greater good, Purah and Robbie and Josha recycling all the old Sheikah Tech in order to build new Skyview Towers and develop technology that everyone - not just Link - can use and benefit from. The Zonai culture itself holds core belief in proving one's potential in rites of passage, of growing and rising to challenges, of building and progressing by use of the foundations laid by those who came before. Even the Bargainer Statues, seemingly beyond-ancient spirits or gods who predate even the Zonai, are all about helping the lingering souls of the dead move on without judgment or criticism. In the past, we see Zelda, Mineru, and Rauru all surrender themselves to a necessary change, giving up what they knew and held dear, in order to help move toward a positive future for all even if they wouldn't be there to benefit from it themselves.

It's the villains and antagonists we meet who are stuck in the past or who can't see a sustainable way forward. The Horned Statue - a demon who was petrified by Hylia for its crimes - emphasizes that it proudly refuses to learn its lesson and thus remains a statue for all time. In Hateno Village, Cece and Reede are at extreme ends of valuing vapid, short-sighted progress and hollow, rigid tradition because of pride, even while lying to themselves and others about their true feelings on such things. Kohga and the Yiga Clan are straight-up trying to undermine Hyrule as a society and ultimately end the world itself, abusing the progress of technology and tradition alike to achieve those ends. But these are minor compared to the big man himself.

Ganondorf is very much an anchor on the ship of progress. He's not just stuck in the past; he's literally defined by it. He is the past and an outright denial of the future. His entire M.O. is establishing a state of unchanging chaos, as contradictory as that may sound, where nothing ever advances from the state he's put it into. He saw a flourishing utopian society as an affront - an effort to control him, a waste of "potential". Rather than join it and grow with it, he rebelled and destroyed it. His transformation into the Demon King and birthing of monsters into the world ensured a cyclical status quo of endless strife. Every Blood Moon, the monsters rise anew, undoing any efforts to purge them from the land. After he was sealed, his sole goal was to return to his heights of power. When he was challenged and defeated by Link and the Sages, he was so consumed by his attachment to the past that he literally threw away everything that made him who he was in order to try and retain that power. Ganondorf refuses to let Hyrule grow in any fashion and, in the end, his utter destruction is necessary in order for the world to have any hope of moving forward.

I like that as a theme. There's an emphasis on respect for the old and new alike. That it's important to understand one's history and roots, and that there's wonders to be found in the past. But that the future too holds so much, that change is inevitable. That it should be welcomed rather than scorned or feared, and that embracing that undeniable momentum is the way to thrive. That sometimes what we think we know isn't the truth and we need to be accepting of new ideas or corrections to our previously-established beliefs.

That digging in your heels and latching desperately to the past - to the lore, to the legends, to the canon - ultimately does more harm than good.

#totk #botw #totk speculation #totk spoilers #legend of zelda

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nemesis-is-my-middle-name · 2 years

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hypotheticals for a continuation to gligar emmet/silent loyalty

so obviously the first thing that happens is emmet goes and Gets Help. probably in the form of lady sneasler, who is confused and delayed a bit because her Noble Senses say something weird. about emmet. namely he looks like a regular gligar but for some reason his soul is human??

so yeah. What Happened, anyway, is that in this universe, things that are entirely of the distortion world can’t naturally exist in our world, because they lack two vital things: a physical body and a soul. giratina’s solution was to borrow some from elsewhere. a single person would just be dead, or regular possessed, but giratina accidentally grabbed two humans, decided to take one part from each of them, and tossed the scrap bits out of the distortion world, where emmet’s stray soul landed in an unfortunate gligar that was flying too close to the rift

(yes this means emmet’s real body, and all of ingo’s memories, are somewhere in the distortion world being test-driven by giratina. don’t worry about it)

one side effect of the soullessness is that ingo still remembers Nothing, which emmet doesn’t get to find out until he wakes up and explains his situation to the pearl clan

...yeah, after that he sorta gives up on trying to communicate anything, because even if he could figure out a way to write or otherwise explain "i am emmet” “i am human”, it wouldn’t even mean anything to ingo

meanwhile ingo has No idea why this weirdly clever gligar is determined to hover around him, but having a pokemon partner is far preferable to being alone in hisui, so he’s not exactly complaining

(even if he feels a little guilty about having basically nothing to give in return)

emmet, having all his memories but no way to communicate, is aware of just how much is Very Wrong here, and really wants to fix it and go home but. has no idea how to achieve that. so mostly he’s just super keyed up with nervous energy that has nowhere to go

he’s also got this sort of thing over time of, like, he’s a pokemon now, he’s capable of taking and dishing out attacks, he has to get stronger so that both of them can survive. and his “training” is occasionally detrimental to his health

(i’m leaning towards him being a HA gligar/gliscor? bc that then puts added incentive on him to jump into any poison attacks, and also if he evolves and depending on how you hc the mechanics of poison heal to work, you could get all the nasty side effects of poison but also have him be seeking it out in battle despite that because it keeps him up longer)

and then, yknow, there’s the whole thing he’s trying not to think about which is the feeling of suddenly being trapped in a pokemon body and also being completely cut off from human contact. he talks to lady sneasler a lot, and the rest of ingo’s team once they get added, which helps with the loneliness-in-a-crowd feeling, but still having to be a spectator in every other conversation and not really getting treated like a person is not fun

meanwhile ingo is. well, yknow, canon. he’s lost, confused, something is Wrong and the constant looming knowledge of that kind of distracts him from being like, functional. his brain is static. he’s doing surprisingly well for having No Soul, after the initial disorientation in the temple, but he does seem less. emotive, present, than he should.

which is why it’s a good thing he has this gligar which is, again, weirdly determined to help him and also extremely perceptive to what he’s feeling, sometimes even before he himself notices. if only he had literally any way to pay it back for being so kind

especially because it seems near-constantly distressed and/or frustrated by this unknown thing it still hasn’t figured out a good way to communicate

a lot of it goes, plotwise, the same way as canon—ingo becoming sneasler’s warden, picking up the rest of his team, etc. they settle into sort of a routine, even if it’s sort of perpetually unsatisfying. i’mmm putting some of the random concepts under a readmore so this doesn’t get any more stupid long

noble debate about what to do with the Gligar-That’s-A-Person and the Person-That-Isn’t-A-Person. also trying to determine if either of them are threats, since they also seem to have been heavily influenced by the rift. is it safer to just take them out now?

the clans Also don’t trust this gligar that doesn’t act like one

i think zoroark rely on memories/souls to hunt people so they don’t know what the fuck to do with either of them. do they attack? which one??

the aforementioned “emmet goes a little too far with training” and ingo has to beg him to stop

also, him trying to decide whether to evolve (even stronger, but also bigger/scarier?)

conversely, emmet has to be the one to remind/pester ingo to do normal things like eat and sleep consistently

4x ice weakness that’s gonna hurt

also as mentioned above- what if poison heal doesn’t necessarily negate the effects of a poison, it just also turns it into energy at the same time, you’re still very poisoned. but hey now in battle it’s useful to be poisoned

i don’t remember if it’s canon or conjecture but i still like the idea that alphas with their glowing red eyes have been strengthened-and-frenzied by giratina/the distortions. so like, that happening to emmet. possibly while he’s investigating the rift/distortions to see if they hold the key to fixing things

also, lady sneasler gets frenzied and attacks them both

#the nemesis speaks #swift writes #submas #yeahalright here take the bullet points #gligar emmet

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stressedjester · 2 years

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I hate aoex fan theorists now that I'm older because they literally ignore canon and 90% of their theories revolve around pseudo incest or turning the story into a shitty creepypasta and it's weird

Like. Shiemis mom has had her backstory explained. She's not secretly some goddess or whatever. She was literally just another descendant of Shiemihaza

Shiemi is not secretly one of the demon kings kids, she's rins love interest and it'd be fucking weird theorizing she's his cousin for no reason. Her power comes from being a "true" vessel (imo I think its solely bc of her strong personality. Kato constantly makes that a point)

No, other than Abel Franken (even that's debatable bc he could just be a clone), not every bg character is secretly Mephisto's kid with some secretly huge purpose in the story. That would be bad writing

No, Yukio is not secretly someone else's son other than Satan. Did you forget thats the whole reason his body can be used as a portal? That his insecurities literally come from being Satan's kid?

And Mephisto/other demon kings are not fallen angels especially when it is EXPLICITLY STATED demons and angels are essentially the same thing and it's literally only humans making the distinction

Like. It pisses me off. There's so much explained, and WAY more parallels that could add to more interesting theories (like parallels between Rin and Yukio and Mephisto and Lucifer, or between Rin and Arthur and shit about the Order), but everyone who makes theories in this fanbase just tosses in "info" that doesn't even exist in universe because they think confusing or twisted = better

Just write a damn fanfic and make ocs instead of acting like your weird theories are canon and looking down on fans who dont believe all your theories. There's no harm in it as a hobby but when you try to enforce it as canon in fan spaces, treat other fans as stupid, or literally just use it for writing out your thinly veiled fetishes it's irritating

#this isnt even @ a single person its like every theorist i see #yall arent the next matpat chill out #meffy rants #aoex #tw incest mention

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questioned-quetzalcoatl · 2 years

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30 Days of OTP: Day 24, Making up Afterwards

Rating: K+

Verse: Canon

AN: What came of the perfect couple's argument? Well when your partner has a face like James's it's hard to stay too mad for long. :,D Densen is Denmark btw

The constant text messages from James are not going to sway him. They should, but they’re not going to. Kainga knows that he should apologize, he knows – after James shouted it at least a dozen times – that James just wants to know why. But James had said some hurtful things too, a lot of it concerning Kainga's mental acuity.

Every morning he wakes up to texts on his phone from a usual spam of James, most likely intoxicated throughout the slur of things he was saying in the couple of voice recordings he sent. Kainga had done nothing but leave him on read, this was all one big fucking mess and he felt ever so slightly bad about storming out on James a week prior. There are too many times that James told him not to do something, begged him not to, and he did it because he thought it was right, thought it was what needed to be done. Clearly, those were poor decisions and they all hurt James more than Kainga ever wanted to.

His phone beeps again. He only notices it because it was just one this time rather than an onslaught of messages.

[TEXT] James: Can I please just see you?

Kainga frowned and tossed his phone to the other side of the bed. Only succeeding in curling up more into the sheets and feeling even worse.

After three days of near sleepless nights and this odd, kind of hollow feeling in his chest, Kainga is ready to apologize. He wants to tell Janes all the reasons why, wants to try and make him understand, but he doesn’t know how. Kainga just doesn’t know what to say or how to do it. He’s not sure if he’s going to be able to say it to James’s face without remembering just how angry the other is about all this. Like it’s been festering in James for months – years – and Kainga can’t take this anymore.

If this empty feeling isn’t enough to make him want to apologize, than it would definitely be the itch. By day four, Kainga feels like he’s going to go insane. He is almost constantly pacing, back and forth across his room and he can’t stop thinking about what James is doing, if he’s still angry, if he misses him too, if he’s as affected by this fight as Kainga is.

On day five it reaches a nearly unbearable level and more than once James catches himself with his hand on the bedroom door, ready to go out and talk to James without knowing where to start. He wants to talk to James, he wants to see him and he doesn’t want to lose everything that they had.

He only realizes now how much he needs James.

[TEXT] Kainga: I need you

James knows his usual bus stop, as well as his route from University to back home. He'd usually drop him off at the bus stop in the mornings where he had to leave for study, after all he was a student. Sharing a Latte and a kiss before James watches him disappear on the bus, sometimes even running along side the bus as it left the station. Acting as if he wasn't going to see him for another decade when he'd come back in his arms later tonight at this same stop.

The cozy smell of the freshly made expressos from the nearby café, the air wafting with lightly caramelized and almost nutty scents. He couldn't help be reminded of him as he waited. Being here alone was more than unnerving to him, but he knew that Kainga would be here. And sure enough, he spotted the Tongan in his coat and scarf and his whole outfit in different shades of blue, getting off the bus with his backpack hanging off his shoulder. Most likely Piri had been giving him lifts instead, the walk was rather hefty.

They make eye contact and seeming so, everything else in the world around them fades. Seeing James manage an awkward smile at him, Kainga's heart somehow manages to relocate itself from his chest to his throat before he can even say a word. James had already bought them both drinks that sat steaming in the evening chill that grazed the air.

That was a good thing right?

"James-" Is the only thing the Tongan can manage out at this point. Stopping himself from completely bursting into tears right then in front of him. He only grips to his backpack tighter, feeling that over bearing urge to kiss James's stupid fucking face. The one his missed so dearly. They share a few moments of painful silence before Kainga speaks up again. "You do realize Densen is dating Piri now, right?"

"I know."

"And you do realize that Piri left is phone on the bus the other week right?"

"I know..."

"You also should know then that only Piri would send stuff like stupid pet names, winky faces and kisses at the end of his texts, right?"

James nods, sinking lower in his seat in embarrassment and shame every time he nods and replies to Kainga, trying to figure out what the look on his face even means as it’s a strange mix of melancholic and bitter. He then clicks his tongue, looking at James and actually smirking.

"Kainga look I'm sorry okay, I wasn't- I wasn't thinking straight. It sent me into a panic."

"You know you're a moron for thinking I'd ever do such a thing. Getting back with Densen after I said that'd I'd always choose you over him, right?"

James could only weakly nod as Kainga approached him, running his hands up and around his neck as their faces got ever more closer to each other. Kainga letting his lips trail right into James's, gripping his shirt and standing up on his tippy toes to reach his mouth for a warm kiss.

"Yes, I know I'm a moron." James murmured on his lips, it felt like heaven to finally be back kissing Kainga's soft lips. The lips that curled into a grin and replied smoothly.

"Yeah, but you're my moron."

#30 days of zeaonga #hetalia #aph new zealand #aph #aph tonga #hws new zealand #zeaonga #hws tonga #hetalia oc #ao3 fanfic #30 day otp challenge

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mishaismyspiritanimal · 2 years

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Dean vs Joey in Man vs Food

Muted Background noise of TV playing friends in the background.

“Are you sure this is going to work Sam?” Dean asked skeptically.

“According to the research, it looks like this was the spell the Men of Letters used to be able to travel to different locations. But we need to practice just to make sure it works properly. “

“I don’t know man, what if we end up somewhere weird, and cut off from baby, how are we supposed to get back dude?”

Sam Sighs. “We’ll be fine, worst comes to worst we’ll boost a car. I've got bogus plates in the bag just in case. Now quit bitching and let’s try this. Just think, if this works, you can just take out the impala for fun instead of constantly dragging it into danger.”

Dean glares at him, “you know she’s a lady Sam don’t insult her by calling it an it. Let’s get this over with already.” They gather components and begin to assemble them. The brothers chant together and toss in the last ingredient. They are immediately yanked by the spell and somehow swirled through the ether, the last thing they heard was the sounds of the TV playing I’ll be there for you.

Sam and Dean take a look around, and they look at each other. They had appeared in an alley behind what appeared to be a restaurant, in the middle of New York.

“What the Hell Sam?! How the hell did we end up friggin New York?” Dean asked with frustration, as he started to walk towards the restaurant. “Never mind I don’t want to hear it. I told you this was a stupid idea.”

“I don’t know Ok Dean let’s just figure out where we are.” Sam replied.

Walking into the restaurant, the first thing they see is a man who looks oddly familiar sitting at a table in what looked to be Maternity pants. Looking around they see a bunch of camera people, and a prop board saying Man Vs. Food L&B Spumoni Gardens. Dean is grabbed by a director who appears agitated.

“Thank GOD you’re finally here man, we thought we were going to have to cancel. Go go, sit next to Joey, we need to get this filming going now.” And pushes him to go towards this Joey guy. As Dean gets closer to him, he turns around to Sam in a panic.

“Dude,” Dean hissed. “That is Joey freaking Tribbiani. HOW the hell is he here, in the real-world Sam? What the hell did that spell do dammit?!” “I don’t know but for now just sit and play your part. Maybe we are being messed with by something I don’t know” Dean waves his hand in Disgust. “Just try and find a way to get us out of here. Call Cas, maybe he can find a way to mojo us back home”

Dean reluctantly sits, and Joey turns to him.

“I know it could be intimidating for regular people to be around celebrities but... relax, I'm just like you! Only better looking and richer.” and he holds his hand for a shake. Dean shakes his hand and says,

“I am familiar with your work, though I honestly am having a hard time believing you're sitting here right now. So, what’s the deal with what's going on here, my brother kind of forced me here and I’m at a bit of a loss as to what the hell is going on.” Joey looked at him in disbelief. “Dude, how are you NOT familiar with Man vs. Food?? It’s the GREATEST show ever. I feel like I have been preparing for this challenge my whole life. It’s a pizza off! Whichever of us eats the most pizza wins free pizza for a year! How great is that? Huh, huh?”

Even though he wanted to be gone from this weird ass situation, Dean perks up at the mention of food. “Well, I’ve been known to pack away a pie or 2, I got this in the bag. Bring on the PIE!” He hollers towards the producers.

Joey Scoffs. “This is my thing dude, you’re going down! It’s so on”

And as he’s talking the producers yell for silence. Sam Slips out of the way attempting to try and find Cas. If they can even find Cas, since they somehow seem to be once again in the universe of a TV show. Damn Magics. As Sam slips out the Pizza is brought out from the Kitchen, and placed down between them. Deans' eyes widened. This pizza could easily feed at least 10 people. But Dean could never resist a challenge so eat he must.

Joey and dean immediately start digging in to what’s in front of them, both bantering back and forth as they ate. There was no time limit on when they had to finish, it was more a who could last the longest. 2 hours had gone by at this point and both men were getting sicker and sicker but neither willing to give up. Joey glanced at dean leaning back and holding his stomach. “I don’t know about you man, but this, this is my personal Everest. I don’t think I can ever top whatever happens here today. Also, who are you? HOW do you eat the way you eat?”

Dean stared at him, and then shrugged his shoulders. “Spent a third of my life going hungry. Shrink would probably say I overeat to compensate for lack of food growing up” and then he blinked grabbed his stomach and debated if he could keep going. He grabbed another slice and took a bite groaning. Where the hell was Sam dammit. He needed to get out of here or he was going to puke everywhere.

Heading towards hour 3 both Men were losing traction. They had already brought out giant pizza number 2, and the 2 men were fading fast. “Oh man, here come the pizza sweats” Joey said wiping his brow. Dean nodded his head in agreement. Right as he was about to announce defeat Joey groans, turns and thrusts his hand out. You win dude, you were a slice ahead of me, and as much as it kills me to admit I cannot eat another slice. Guess I will just have to get free pizza some other way.”

Dean attempts to stand up, but can’t and just puts his head on the table and groans. This was a mistake, and if he survives, he’s going to kill Sam for getting him in a situation where he quite possible can never eat pizza again. The producers start motioning for Dean to get ready to be crowned the winner when there is suddenly a commotion. Sam comes striding up, miraculously with Cas in tow.

“Excuse me just for a second sir, I have a uh, nurse here, who just needs to examine the men to make sure they didn’t do any damage to themselves.” Sam pushes Cas forward who has a scowl on his face. Dean smiles weakly up at him, and tries a cocky grin. “You missed it man, I won a pie eating contest. Pie? Pizza Pie. I guess the moon hit my eye and I had to eat all the pizza pie. Think you can do something about this wanting to die feeling though?” Cas glares and growls “I should leave you both in pain for being idiots, but that would hinder our getting home plans” He touches both men on the forehead and instantly both feel better.

“Woah!” Joey yelled. What are you some kind of magic mojo man? Cas looks at him and then looks at Dean. “I merely tricked your mind into thinking you hadn’t stuffed your face. Consider yourself lucky. Dean, let’s go” Dean is hauled up and dragged out while the crew scrambles to get Joey into the winner's circle. As the boys walked outside, Sam sheepishly looked at Dean. “Ummmm, so Cas figured out what went wrong and how to fix it. Apparently, the spell was supposed to be done in complete silence to not be tainted. We accidentally left the TV on and kind of merged realities with Friends. But Cas figured how to unmerge the worlds so to speak.”

Dean glared at Sam and said, “never again Sammy. I am never NOT driving somewhere again. Let’s get the hell home already”

#gish2022 #fanfictionthroughtheages Friends supernatural deanwinchester joeytribianni

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saintobio · 3 years

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i know this is unlikely to happen but like would u ever consider writing a part two to the gojo one shot where reader is happy now and gojo feels like shit. my heart needs it 😭

how to break a toxic ex-boyfriend’s heart

drabble to casanova

cw. profanity, reader gets slut shamed once, implied stalking, gojou and his toxic behavior

Gojou barely made an effort to try and win you back after you disappeared from his life like a ghost—blocking his number, deleting him in all of your social media accounts, and even going as far as telling the landlords to ban him from entering your apartment. He tried to reach out to you but your stubbornness only irked him more. Fine, he thought to himself. Fuck you, then. You didn’t give him a chance to explain so he believed that it wasn’t his fault anymore. He wasn’t acting out of spite and Kellie was just a one-time thing so if that was what you were mad about, you should have confronted him about it. You should have communicated with him instead of locking yourself away from his existence without a single fucking word.

He told himself that he shouldn’t feel bad because the two of you were on the verge of breaking up anyway. He would be damn stupid not to see how the spark had died down and how the usual happiness he felt when he saw you had already faded long before you ghosted him. “Fuck,” he laughed to himself. You actually fucking ghosted him. How did you even have the guts? You were just a clingy girlfriend who constantly wanted him around. Satoru was sure as hell that you would be running back—no, crawling back to him. It was only a matter of time until you would swallow your newfound pride back to where you found it because Gojou knew for certain that you would find an excuse for him.

You always have. You always let him do things that normally would have already made you leave, but because of your weak and naive self, you ended up enduring it all for love. It’s only a matter of time, he reminded himself again. He was already preparing the words he would say to you once you beg to have him back again. Surely, you couldn’t live without him. He was the only man that could amplify your world in red and blue—two colors that signified as complete opposites but make up a beautiful combination of purple just like his mastered curse technique. You once told him that you two were the perfect match, right?

And while he was unbothered with your act of rebellion, he continued with his life and had fun in his young, single life. No restrictions, no jealous girlfriend to worry about. He fucked more girls every weekend now that he didn’t have you constantly keeping an eye on him because, for all you knew, he hated it when you monopolized him.

He hated you and your audacity to think that you had him tied around the neck and then suddenly dropping him like a piece of trash that you carelessly tossed around.

He wasn’t being too unreasonably angry. Heck, he wasn’t angry because you ghosted him so don’t get him wrong. Maybe his thoughts were killing him a little because he did miss you around, but you brought this upon yourself to leave him so be it.

Gojou didn’t care. You would come back around. He didn’t care so he spent his weekends partying and getting intoxicated from the feeling of being free. He didn’t care so he met with other girls and fucked them in their beds only to leave the next morning without remembering their names. He didn’t care, he thought, he didn’t care that he was up all night thinking about why you still hadn’t contacted him 6 months after you disappeared from his life. He didn’t care, but he was missing the feeling of having someone looking forward to see him every day. He didn’t care, but he wanted to see that beautiful innocent face again that always looked at him with familiar fondness as if he was your universe and he was all you ever needed.

Satoru shouldn’t care, so why was he banging at your door, tipsy at broad daylight hoping that you would let him become your whole world again? “Y/N, open up.”

The surprise he had when another guy opened your door caused his pique. Who the hell was this punk? He was looking at Gojou with a strange, hostile gaze and Satoru’s knuckles felt cold but he held himself back until the guy asked, “Who are you?”

“Who the fuck are you?” Satoru returned the question back to him, standing tall and domineering in front of the guy. While pressing his palm flat on the door, he sent a stern look towards the stranger. Austere and unrelenting. “What do you think you’re doing in my girlfriend’s place?”

The toolbag was quick to raise his hands up in surrender. “Dude, she never told me she’s got a boyfriend,” he reasoned, stepping out of the door to leave. “I just met her at a club. I don’t plan to stay for long. I was just about to leave.”

At a club? Since when did you go to clubs? Gojou narrowed his stare, a look of distaste that was a warning in itself. “Get the fuck outta here before I deal with you the hard way.”

Gojou was fuming when he entered your apartment for the first time again in six months and saw you in your silk robe with splotches of dark mascara all over your eyes. You looked like you had too many drinks last night, but... since when did you drink? Since when did you start hooking up with random guys? Since when did you have your dresses discarded on the living room, looking like the type of clothes that the girls he slept with would wear?

Since when did you become one of them?

“What do you think you’re doing here, Satoru?” you hissed, which you never did before, and he was left in surprise with your antagonism. “You’re not welcome here.”

Before he knew it, he was grabbing your forearm harshly. “The hell’s up with you?” he gritted, “Are you a slut now? You tryin’ to get back at me by sleeping around?”

Where was his cute, submissive girlfriend that blushed whenever he would bring her flowers on weekends? What happened to his sweet girlfriend who would give him a kiss as soon as she saw him?

Did he really destroy you that much that you’ve changed?

A laugh of sarcasm escaped your red lips. “If I’m a slut then what are you?” you simply replied, never once looking straight into his ocean eyes as you walked past him towards the living room. “Get out of my place, Gojou. We broke up. You’re a piece of shit.”

“We never broke up,” he retorted, following you around with furrowed brows. “If anything, that was a cool off. What makes you think you can act around like this?”

You sat on the couch before faking a gasp, “Oh, we never broke up? Because I actually fucked one of your friends last week. So does that mean I cheated on you?” There was a nasty grin on your face, a grin that enjoyed the vexation on his. “Too bad, then. I guess that makes us both cheaters.”

Satoru’s rage made him pull you up so you could look up at his furious aquamarine eyes that were searching for yours. You could see it, you could see just how desperate he was at finding the old innocent girlfriend he used to treat like garbage. “Drop the act,” he warned, tightening his hold on your arm as he stared daggers at you. “I want us back, so drop this stupid act.”

For a minute, he saw the shift in your eyes. He saw how you softened back to the old you, back to the docile girlfriend he never realized he loved this much all along. He couldn’t understand why his heart was hurting just by merely looking at your face, touching your cheek, and leaning in for a kiss. A kiss that you barely returned, pulling away only for the unforgiving expression to reappear on your angelic face.

“Baby,” he spoke, stroking your cheek. Yes, he’s got you. It was easy to manipulate you. He was your weakness and you would just fall back into his arms again. “You still love me, right? I never took them seriously—”

“If you’re looking for her,” you interrupted, the word ‘her’ being yourself, “she’s gone. Now get the fuck out.”

Gone. No, you weren’t.

Because even if you kicked him out of your apartment that day, he still followed you around. He made time for you. He knew which time of the day you would leave for your classes. He knew when you would spend your afternoons in your favorite cafe with your friends. He knew when you would come home at night while he was watching you from afar. At most nights, he was tempted to just walk into your apartment and fuck his frustrations on you because how could you be so okay without him?

You were still you. Delicate, radiant, and all-smiling like the first time he met you. You were still the sweet girl that he learned to love, but the only time you were different was when you were in front of him.

Gojou didn’t expect that the tables would turn. Even more, he wasn’t expecting to see you one day holding hands with fucking Kento Nanami. He wasn’t expecting that he would see you making out with the blond at the same house he cheated on you with Kellie.

The next thing he knew, he was pulling you away into the bathroom and slamming you against the wall—his eyes burning holes into your skull. “Why are you with Nanami?”

“Because I’m dating him.” Nothing but nonchalance in your tone. The sweet girl who used to be deeply in love with him was now with someone else. “Get your hands off me.”

And before you could leave him alone in the bathroom, you gave him one last look.

“Did you even dress up today?”

His face hardened at the sight of your smirk that followed a low, condescending chuckle.

“I think you stopped trying to look good, Satoru. Do better.”

#uuh this is too long for a drabble idek anymore #gojou satoru x reader #gojou satoru x you #gojou satoru angst #gojo satoru x reader #gojo satoru x you #gojo satoru angst #jjk x reader #jjk x you #jjk drabble #jjk angst #gojo angst

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shurisneakers · 3 years

Text

harmless (vii)

Summary: Bucky volunteers to go stop a small time villain, but nothing can prepare him for what exactly he has to deal with. (Bucky x villain!reader, drabble series)

Warnings: cursing, existential crisis, frustrated bucky, dramatic reader, lil bit of angst, clint barton being a lil shit

Word count: 3.4k

A/N: hey shoutout to @ugherik for suggesting a spin on the “A PLATYPUS!??!“ [perry puts his hat on] “PERRY THE PLATYPUS!???” thing. i used it in here, it’s a really small part and probably missable but i tried!! also i like the next chapter better than this one, i just wanted to put this here so it doesn’t seem abrupt <3333

here’s

my ko-fi

if you’d like to support my writing <333

Previous Part || Series Masterlist

Bucky can’t stop staring at the mirror.

He wishes it was for narcissistic purposes. He had enough reason for it to be. His age may be a hundred but he had the youthful exuberance of a very drained sixty year old.

But no, it wasn’t because of the steel cut jawline or thousand gigawatt smile.

After last week’s mini-spiral, he does what almost half the videos on TikTok warn him not to do.

He got a haircut.

Everyone’s reaction stopped him from following it up with an ear piercing, but he can’t confidently say he didn’t at least consider it once. Maybe a neck tattoo.

He pulls at a lock of hair. It’s not even longer than his finger.

What did he do-

“It’s just a haircut, man,” he says to no one in particular, almost like he’s trying to reassure himself.

He runs his hands through his hair. It takes lesser time than he was used to.

Steve had told him he looked good. But then again, Steve wore a fugly costume 90% of the time, what did he know?

Clint acknowledged it and didn’t outright call him ugly, which he supposed was a compliment. Wanda simply smiled at him.

“FRIDAY?” he reaches out.

“Yes, Sergeant Barnes?” comes the automated reply.

“How are you?” It took him some getting used to her, given that she was constantly listening to everything, and in general seemed to go against the universal idea of privacy.

But his therapist told him he needed to form friendships.

She didn’t mention it had to be human ones.

“As good as ever. Is there anything I can help you with?”

He wants to ask her what she thinks of his hair until he realises fashion advice from a faceless AI is a new low for him. Maybe ‘Do you think I should crawl into a pit and die?’ would be more appropriate.

“Never mind,” he dismisses instead. “Any messages for today?”

“A reminder to buy a harder bed because you can’t keep sleeping on the floor.” Ah, that was on Sam’s recommendation three months ago, but he wasn’t going to stop any time soon. “And a text from a contact named Nuisance saying to meet them at the attached location in thirty minutes.”

“Where is the location?”

“The local sports centre.”

“Isn’t that closed today?”

If he had to go out in public looking like this, maybe he could wear a cap and sunglasses and no one would recognise him. Unfortunately, as he was reminded several times before by anyone with an iota of common sense, it was a stupid disguise.

Beanie it was, then. Bare minimum.

“It is, yes.” Fewer citizens to worry about.

“Okay.” He hesitates in front of the mirror again, adjusting the hat on his head. “Thank you, FRIDAY.”

“You’re welcome, Sergeant.”

He stares at the little tuft of hair at the front that refused to stay down no matter how much he shoved it back.

“Come on, man,” he exhales in slight despair. “Whatever.”

____

The lock of the door leading to the pool is easy enough to pick. He can see how you got in without a hitch even though it was closed.

The deck around the pool was absolutely drenched in water. No one was using it, there was no reason for water to splash out unless it was deliberately kept like this.

He catches sight of you easily, being that you’re the only two people there. You were standing at the end of the hall, head ducked as you scrolled through your phone.

The door closes behind him with a soft thud.

You don’t look up from your mobile when you start talking, “What do you think 6 year olds like?”

Because James Barnes, carbon dated to 1917 and therefore certified young person, would definitely know the answer to this question.

“I don’t know. Lego?”

“Just how much money do you think a teacher makes-”

You stopped mid-sentence, finally lifting your head to catch his eye. He stares back at you, steps faltering when you don’t move.

"Who are you?" you squinted.

What

"It's me," Bucky says, tugging off the dumb beanie and using it to gesture vaguely towards himself. Fuck, he shouldn’t have worn it, it was ridiculous anyway-

"You sound like him..." You narrow your eyes. “You don't look like him.”

Great

He rolls his eyes before putting on a mock scowl. Can't have Bucky Barnes without a sense of eternal disgruntlement.

"Oh hey, that is you." You grin. "You got a haircut."

“I did.” He suddenly feels the awkwardness increase. His fingers fidget with the beanie.

“Nice.” You nod in acknowledgement.

He wants to hit himself at the words that just spill out before he could think about it. “You hate it.”

“I never said that,” you snort. “And since when does my opinion matter?”

“It doesn’t.” But now he wants to know what you think since he didn’t trust anyone else to tell him honestly.

“Must cut down on time in the shower, huh?”

It did.

He shrugs. He shoves the beanie into his back pocket.

“Was it a crisis haircut?” How did you kno- “Are you going to get bangs next time?”

“Shut up,” he says lamely, a dull burn in his cheeks.

“I know a place where you can get hair dye for cheap. Not technically FDA approved, but I think purple streaks are a good place to start-”

“What are we doing here?” he interrupts, sighing.

“Skinny dipping. Take off your shirt, Barnes.”

“Funny,” he says dryly, eyeing your shoes when you straighten up.

Ice skates.

“Fine, pants then.” You don’t make any effort to move from your end so he does, walking closer to you.

“What are those for?” He doesn’t hide the annoyance from his voice when he points at your feet.

“Oh, these?” You look down at them. “Yeah, I’m going to freeze the pool.”

That seems... mild compared to the shit show you wanted to do last time.

“For?” He halts where he is.

“’M gonna take my friends ice skating.”

“Is that all?” He wants to make a comment about the fact that you have friends but bites it back.

“Today is just a trial run. Tomorrow I’m gonna go freeze the East River.” There it is.

“The East River is not your personal ice skating rink.”

“Not yet it isn’t.” You lift up a middle finger.

It was too early for you to flip him off, even by your standards.

He raises an eyebrow.

Your face scrunches in confusion. You follow his gaze to your finger. “Oh yeah, no, that’s a freeze ring.”

Only then he notices a ring around the finger. From where he was standing he could make out the blue stone that adorned it.

“Joy.” He rolls up the sleeves of his black bomber jacket. “Let’s get this done with, then.”

“No no, wait.” You hold up your hand and he complies, having nothing to lose anyway. You pull out your phone and press a few buttons before shoving it back into your bag and tossing it aside.

The soft sounds of a piano start playing from a boombox near the corner of the room. A child starts singing following a series of knocks.

His eyebrows furrow. “What the fuck is this?”

“The Frozen soundtrack.” You beam at him. “I thought it was fitting.”

He doesn’t know what that is and at this point, he’s too afraid to ask. He can vaguely make out the lyrics being about a snowman but he isn’t too concerned.

He takes one step forward. You immediately point your fist at the ground in front of him, forcing him to jump back when a blast hits right in front of his shoes. Suddenly he gets why the floor is covered in water.

It sounds like a series of cracks as the water starts freezing over, a layer of ice now separating him and you.

"You ready?” The mischief was woven in your voice as the blasts continued throughout the deck, effectively turning the entire floor into ice.

Bucky takes a step tentatively forward. Not bad. He takes another. Okay.

The third one is when shit starts to hit the fan. His hands shoot out to hold onto his balance when his footing slips from beneath him.

His Nike sneakers aren’t used to snow. They’re used to well manicured lawns and pavement trips to Starbucks and marble floors of the compound. Not swimming pool decks covered in ice.

He can hear you singing in the distance and every time he looks up you’re a little further away, making sure every inch of space is frozen.

It takes him a while to get over the initial fear of breaking his skull and just move forward swiftly with short steps. A goddamn penguin is what he looked like.

“There you go, you’re getting it,” you chirp as you whiz past him. He reaches out to grab at you, only to miss by an inch. He staggers, arms flapping wildly to regain his stability.

He hears crackling beside him. He gets a second or two to watch ice crystals spread through the water before turning it completely solid. You step onto the now frozen pool, testing your weight with one leg before cautiously getting on.

A triumphant smile emerges on your face. “Awesome.”

He manages to press himself against the wall as a form of support.

There is no point to this whole thing. He knows this. It’s been well over 6 weeks and there is genuinely no point to this.

He realises it again when he moves from side to side, body erupting into a waddle.

Why is he doing this. He doesn’t get paid extra. He doesn’t get any kind of compensation. All he gets is more wisecracking geniuses, embarrassment and the mortifying ordeal of getting caught imitating a penguin.

The song changes to a woman singing about doing something for the first time, forcing him to pay attention to it. He hears something about ball room and balls and tunes right back out.

Bucky manages to find his way to the actual pool since that’s where you’re twirling around, opting to land on his mental arm in case things go wrong. He takes a sliding step forward, followed by another. Maybe he can do this.

“If a 200 pound super soldier can stand on this, I suppose it’s strong enough,” you muse, watching him slip and slide as he tries to invent makeshift ice skating.

Unfortunately, his method doesn’t have any brakes, so while he’s too busy trying to move forward, there’s no way to actually stop. He finds this out very soon when he almost launches himself off the edge of the pool.

Something yanks him backwards and back onto the ice.

“Honestly, this is utterly useless since you can’t really do anything but it’s the most fun I’ve had all week,” you admit when he goes sliding towards the middle, arms flailing.

“You had to pick fuckin’ ice of all things.” He thinks that maybe he’s getting a hang of this. He can definitely move faster than what he was doing like, 10 minutes ago. It’s not like you were going anywhere, anyway.

“I like to keep things spicy.”

He stays where he is to glare at you. You mouth the words to the song, watching his every move whenever it interested you.

Okay, change of plan; a temporary distraction till he figures out how to actually get the ring from you. He settles on skating towards the edge of the rink slowly, taking a step off, slipping almost immediately when his foot comes in contact with the deck.

“Where are you going?” you yell over the music initially but immediately break into song when it ends in a crescendo.

He takes a knee, lifting his metal arm up before driving it into the ground. It shatters magnificently, leaving small shards of ice at his disposal.

He picks up one of them, waiting for you to complete your dumb twirl. He takes aim, and-

“Ouch, what the fuck?” You stop your off key singing to rub your shoulder where the ice hit you.

He wordlessly picks up another piece to throw at you, hitting you squarely in the leg.

“Stop that!”

He may not be able to move as fast but he can definitely throw.

“Give me the ring,” he commands, stretching his arm behind his back before releasing another piece to hit your forearm.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” There’s nowhere you can skate to avoid his stupidly good marksmanship.

“You gotta do what you gotta do.” He shrugs, breaking another patch of ice to replenish his ammo. “Hand over the ring.”

“Over my dead body,” you shriek when a particularly big piece lands next to your feet. You knew he missed that shot on purpose.

“I feel like I’m finally acting my age,” he says casually, finding your darting about in order to avoid him more fun than he initially thought. “Can’t throw pebbles at meddling kids so this is the next best option. Thanks.”

“If you acted your age you’d be in a casket, Barnes,” you hissed, finding that skating in zig zags helped your cause, but not by much. “I’d be- you bitch- I’d be more than happy to help you get there.”

You raise your arm, ready to send another blast to freeze the water that was starting to melt around him, hopefully, keep him where he was if it froze around him.

He flinches. You notice immediately, hand dropping slightly when you realise what it looked like.

“I’m not gonna freeze you,” you say, softer than you intended. From what you knew, he had enough and more experience with that and you weren’t going to contribute to it.

He swallows thickly, giving himself a little shake of his head as if to jolt him out of his train of thought.

Another piece of ice hits you in the leg. You let out a string of curses at him.

“The more ice you make, the more I have to throw at you, Y/N.” He waits for you to regain your balance when you nearly take a stumble.

“Shut up, you’re so immature.”

“Remind me whose plan this was again?” No point waiting for you to regain your balance when you fall over only a few seconds later.

He gathers a few shards in his beanie, tucking it into his belt like a little makeshift rucksack just in case before venturing out on the main rink again.

It’s more difficult for you to stand without railings to guide you, giving him enough and more time to make his way towards you, staggering and skidding.

Both of you looked ridiculous.

“Stay away, fiend.”

“Ring first.” He holds his hand out in front of you. He even considered pulling you up if you just made things easier.

Next thing he knows he’s on his ass on the ice beside you.

“I hate you,” he groans, watching as you inch away from him on your knees.

He doesn’t really have any other options so he shoves aside the humiliation and gets on his knees, using his arms to drag him along the ice.

“For the love of Christ, none of us are winning here. Just give me the ring.”

The bitch from the soundtrack sings about letting it go but he won’t.

“Never,” you shout, sliding away from him as fast as possible.

You make use of the fact that the top layer of ice is starting to melt, using the ring to freeze it again. His knees and fingers get stuck as the water freezes over but he has super strength. It barely takes him a second to free himself.

“Great,” he huffs, just settling down on the ice, ignoring the sting of cold that was spreading through his limbs. Running after you wasn’t going to work; he needed a way to get the ring.

“You won last time, I’m not letting you win again.”

“Are we seriously keeping score?” He watches as you scramble towards the edge.

“No one likes a loser, Bucky.” You use the pool stair railings to pull yourself up.

“Explain why you have friends then.” He can’t help himself this time.

“Hardy har har.” You roll your eyes.

He doesn’t make an effort to move. Instead, when you take a step back into the rink, he raises his arm and pummels it into the ice, just to annoy you.

The ground damn near shakes, pushing you dangerously towards losing your balance again.

“Are you crazy?” Your arm shoots out in front of you to keep you from falling headfirst.

“No.” He does it again. This time there’s a crack in the ice. “I’m just very tired.”

“If the ice breaks we’re both gonna be underwater, you moron!”

“Fine by me.” He shrugs. “Freeze it again. I’ll just find different ways to ruin it for you.”

You glare at him. He raises his arm above his head again.

“Fine! Fine, stop.” You eye him as he lowers his arm.

He reaches for his stash of ice pieces from earlier, throwing one at your shoulder again.

“Boy, I swear if you don’t stop doing that-” you duck when another one comes at you. You had no idea he could be this annoying.

It suddenly hits him, like a lightbulb going off in his brain. He wipes his hands off on his jacket, getting on all fours before slowly managing to pick himself up again.

He looks at you, tilting his head slightly like he was studying you.

“What?” you ask suspiciously, eyeing as he starts inching closer towards you. “What are you thinking?”

It’s like watching a newborn deer stumble its way through the world, albeit more gracefully, until he starts picking up speed. The motherfucker was going to mow you down.

The skates are useful but not so much when an extremely determined bumbling oaf is barrelling towards you, his speed beginning to match yours even without equipment.

You don’t know why you’re running, you don’t know why he’s chasing after you but when you see the end of the pool you take a sharp left only to have him knock right into you, sending you both sprawling.

You land half on top of him, breaking your fall but it doesn’t stop the very loud groan that escapes your mouth. He’s already in the process of sitting up straight, giving you less time to analyse what just happened.

“What the fuck was that for?” you speak through gritted teeth. “Fuckin’ acting like the both of us have free healthcare.”

“You refused to give up.”

“So your plan was to tackle me like a quarterback?” You threw your hands up.

“One part of it.” He drags himself to the edge, away from you.

“There's more to your monkey brained plan?” He doesn’t look at you. The ice around the pool has more or less melted, letting him gain proper footing on the floor before he stands up.

“Oh, yeah.” He turns to you. “The other’s a trick I stole from Stark.”

Bucky holds up the ring. Your jaw slightly drops, eyes searching your finger for the now missing piece of tech.

“Suppose that’s two points for me?”

You’re impressed. You also want to stab him. So you do the next best thing.

“When I imagined you holding a ring in front of me, the circumstances were very different,” you comment.

“Bye, Y/N.” He spins on his heel, not even giving you a second’s worth of reaction. You found it amusing.

He heads towards the door, clothes all wet. He empties out melted ice water from his beanie before stuffing it into his pocket. Just when he’s about to leave, you remember something.

Do you mean it genuinely or just because it has an effect on him?

“Just for the record, Barnes, about your hair-” you call out, earning his attention from over his shoulder. “I think you look really good either way.”

The world may never know.

You swear you can see the corners of his lips quirk upwards before he turns around again.

He slips on a block of ice, cursing and clenching on to the door to keep him upright, quickly yanking it open and leaving before he has a chance to embarrass himself further.

Smooth.

Next part

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #mcu fic #bucky fic #bucky barnes fic #bucky fluff #bucky barnes fluff #bucky angst #bucky barnes angst #harmless fic #winter soldier x reader #Winter Soldier #bucky barnes #bucky

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maddiwrites · 3 years

Text

The Hybrid (I)

Pairing: JJ x Reader

Summary: The Pogues rekindle their friendship with their old childhood best friend and JJ’s first crush, Y/N. Old feelings resurface for JJ and Y/N, possibly leading to a summer neither one of them could ever forget. Due to past trauma, Y/N is reluctant to let anyone into her heart, but JJ never backs down from a challenge, even if he knows it will come back to haunt him in the end.

Note: Thank you for being patient with me as I slowly write this series. I had this idea a long time ago and I’m not finding motivation to write it but the inspiration comes and go. I smile with every comment that is left on my fics and I’m so grateful for this community. Thank you for letting me pursue my creative writing without judgement. Love you guys! (Also, yes. If you didn’t see my last note, I based YN’s family off of the Gilmore Girls characters. That’s who I picture as them.)

Word Count: 8k

Masterlist Prologue

You wake up to someone falling on your bed next to you with a dramatic sigh. Knowing exactly who it is, you choose to ignore her and try getting back to the dreamless sleep you were peacefully having before you woke up.

That is, until she sighs again.

You flip onto your back and stare up at your ceiling fan that’s quickly spinning above you. “What, Rory?”

“How did it go with Andre and that boy?”

You look at her with one brow raised. “You woke me up to hear about Andre’s love life? That hardly sounds like you. You don’t care about high school drama or hookups.”

“You’re right,” Rory says. “But I thought I would ease you into what I actually need to tell you.”

You turn on right side and look at your sister confused. “What?”

She sighs. “The cafe’s basement flooded last night. Mom needs us there to help her clean up and take inventory on what’s salvageable.”

You turn back on you backside and close your eyes, exhaling a deep sigh. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Unfortunately not,” Rory says and pats you twice on your covered thigh as she sits up. “Come on. I made you pre-cafe coffee. It’s sitting in the kitchen.”

You throw your sheets off of you and trudge to the bathroom to brush your teeth and clean your face. It’s about 8 a.m. At least you were able to get about six hours of sleep.

Last night, it was hard to let your brain rest to fall asleep. You kept tossing and turning, thinking about the blonde Pogue who walked you home. You missed how easy it was to talk to someone who you felt truly knew you. Your banter rolled off your tongue easily and you never had to worry about offending him because you knew him like the back of your hand. You knew what he could take and what he couldn't.

Talking to him brought back childhood memories you had hidden deep in your mind. How JJ would constantly poke you until you ripped into a smile on days that were grey. How you used to steal John B’s bandanas until he was chasing you around his house to get them back. How you would draw a mustache and a unibrow on Pope’s face when he fell asleep by the water.

Those days felt like they were decades ago. So far away, you didn’t know if you’d be able to reach for them again. If it was even possible to get back.

You thought about texting him. Thanks for walking me back. We should all get together soon! You had written out. But then you deleted the whole message, telling yourself it was because you didn’t know if he even had the same number. But deep down, you were just afraid of the rejection.

Its been about three years since the four of you had been together in one place. You don’t know what they’ve been through or if they’ve changed. They for sure as hell don’t know what you’ve been through. You don’t know if they're dynamic has changed. Clearly you and JJ can still joke with each other but what about John B and Pope? You heard about John B’s father disappearing at sea, most people believing he’s dead, but John B holding onto hope that’s he’s alive. You always thought about calling him to reach out and offer your condolences. But for the same reason you didn’t text JJ, you never called. It didn’t feel like your place. They had Kie for that now. A little part of you felt jealous of her, like she had replaced you and any memory of you. She seemed nice, but she wasn’t you.

“Ready?” Rory pops her head in to your room as you slip on a cropped plain white zip up jacket over your cropped black tank.

“As I’ll ever be,” You say and snag the car keys out of her hands. “Don’t even think about it. I’m driving.”

Rory rolls her eyes. “I want to get there safely.”

“And I want to get there quickly.”

“Fine. But we’re taking my car. It actually has doors.”

For your sixteenth birthday, your grandparents gifted both you and Rory your own individual cars and even let you pick them out. Rory chose a black 2020 Honda Civic for it’s safety features and reputation for longevity as if she was planning on handing it down to her future kids. And you picked out a white 2020 Jeep Wrangler with a hard top that pops off along with the doors for a very open and thrilling ride. Everyone but you called it a death trap, but you found it to be the perfect summer car.

You park Rory’s boring Honda Civic in the back of the cafe in a lot used specifically for employees. The cafe is already booming with teens and families, waiting for their morning coffees and fresh pastries. Kids your age are running around behind the counter with sweat dripping down their brow bone to get everyone’s orders out in a timely manner.

In the back of the store, your mom walks up the steps from the basement with two large trash bags and immediately notices the two of you. “Oh good. You’re here. Rory, help the girls behind the counter. The dishwasher’s broken and poor Hailey is hand washing everything. Y/N, come with me downstairs.”

“Why does Rory get the fun job?” You grumble and follow your mom back downstairs after she tosses the two trash bags.

“Because she’s actually nice to the customers.”

“Treat others how you would like to be treated. Isn’t that what everyone always says?” You smirk. You never agreed with the phrase ‘the customer is always right.’ It’s complete bullshit and being the employee shouldn’t mean letting yourself getting verbally abused by a ‘Karen’ on the other side of the counter.

The basement is used for the cafe’s storage, lined with wooden shelves Steve put together that hold to go cups, back up espresso machines, boxes of coffee and food and ingredients, etc. Now all the boxes are dark and sopping, creating puddles on the concrete floor.

“Oh my god. Mom. How did this happen?”

“Jenky water pipe busted in the middle of the night,” Steve walks down the stairs and passes your mom a knowing look. It didn’t surprise you that he was here. He’s the jack of all trades. Owns his own automotive shop, builds a lot of his own furniture, actually cooks a decent meal, and has the same outlook on customer service as you do. He was probably your mom’s first call. “Talked to the plumber. They can’t get here until at least noon.”

“Noon? We’ll be underwater by noon. I might as well turn all my employees into a swim team,” Your mom says.

Steve shakes his head. “I was able to hold the leak until he gets here. You should be fine.”

Steve was the first person that actually helped your mother out when's she moved to the Cut. Six months pregnant, she pushed her car into his automotive shop after it broke down on the side of the road. Their banter was similar to the one you and JJ have. He helped save your mom money by building yours and Rory’s cribs, changing table, and dressers. And ever since, the two of them had been connected by the hip, although they both refuse to admit it. You think the pair are just trying to deny the love they clearly share for each other. And you think the main reason for that is because of the incident four years ago with your mom’s ex boyfriend. No thanks to you.

“Look at you constantly building your resume,” You smirk at him.

Steve scoffs. “It’s more than what you’re doing.”

You roll your eyes. Steve is the closest thing you have to a father. He practically helped raise you with your mom. He’s the one you turn to whenever a fight with your mom goes too far, which isn't too often but it happens. He usually lets you stay at his house for the night to let you cool off. But he’ll never sugar coat his advice when it comes time for him to give it. Even if you don’t ask for it. He knows growing up with Rory has been challenging. She was clearly your mom’s favorite, or at least that’s what you thought. She has a 4.0 GPA with a realistic dream to get into Brown University and study journalism. She played by every rule, never got into trouble, and spent most of her free nights getting ahead of her school work or staying late at the cafe with an open book from the library across the street. She was an absolute angel to everyone else, making you look like her evil twin.

You glare at him before turning to your mom with crossed arms. “What do you want me to do, Mom?”

“Actually honey. Can you go to Heywards and grab more coffee filters and napkins. The water soaked right through the plastic wrapping on our last box.”

You nod, leaving your mom and Steve to clean up the basement themselves. Before heading out, you sneak behind the counter and make yourself a quick coffee to go.

“Where you going?” Rory asks as she reaches behind you to grab a banana for her customer at the register.

“Heywards to grab a couple things for Mom.”

“Oh. Make sure to grab toilet paper while you’re out. I think we’re almost out of it.”

“Got it.”

Heywards is only a short drive from your mom’s cafe. It’s the closest convenient store that isn’t crazy pricey. It’s where your mom gets all her supplies whenever she runs out of things before shipment gets there.

You use to always come here when you were younger with the boys, each of you, even Pope, stealing a small bag of chips or a candy bar here and there. Little did any of you know, Mr. Heyward caught your thieving hands every time but never said anything.

The bell above the door chimes when you walk into the store. You know this place as well as you know the cafe, finding the toilet paper and coffee filter immediately.

When Mr. Heyward looks up from the counter, his smile grows. He can pick you out of a crowd anywhere, but he hasn’t seen you in a long time. Last time he saw you, you had braces and overgrown bushy brows. Now you had bushed hair and shaved legs.

“Hi. Mr. Heyward,” You grin shyly at him. You don’t know how he’s going to react to see you, unsure of what Pope might have told him about you.

“Little Miss Y/L/N? Is that you?” Heyward smiles widely, pulling your own lips into a wider smile. “I haven’t seen you for a long time.”

“Yeah, I’ve been busy with school and my mom’s cafe...” Both of those things were a lie. You just avoid the Cut to avoid the Pogues.

“How’s the fam?”

“They’re good,” You say as Heyward hands you your bags. “Mom says hello by the way. I’m actually taking these to her store now.”

“Well, don’t be a stranger. We miss your smiling face around her. Anette, too.” Heyward says, mentioning his wife.

“Tell her I said hi.”

“Of course, darling.”

Heyward and Anette always had a special place in their heart for you and Rory. They’re not one for gossip, but they knew a little bit about what your mom’s been through and have heard plenty of stories about your grandparents. They always thought, despite your mom’s background, that you and your sister were raised impressively. Anette always hoped that one day Pope and Rory would get together. Everyone always wanted their child to be with Rory.

As your about to leave the store, the bell chimes again with another customer. Only it’s not another customer. It’s Pope and John B. They don’t see you at first, and you wonder if maybe you can sneak out without them seeing you. But something about that felt wrong. Especially because Heyward would more than likely mention to them that you were here.

Pope sees you first and stops in his tracks. “Y/N?”

“Hey, guys. Long time no see,” You smile at both of them. You bite down on your lip awkwardly when you meet John B’s stare. You don’t know if you should mention anything about his dad’s disappearance. But what would you say? Sorry? What good would that do?

“How’ve you been?” Pope gives you a small side hug, then John B.

You shrug. “You know, living the dream.”

“How’s life as a Hybrid?” John B smirks.

You roll your eyes playfully and groan. “Oh god. Never call me that again.”

You may be considered a Hybrid by everyone else, but you would never put yourself into that category. You grew up a Pogue, the same way everyone else did around you. The only thing tying you to the Kooks are your grandparents.

“Why?” John B smirks. “I wish I was a Hybrid.”

You smirk back. “Maybe you will be one day. I hear you have a Kook of your own for arm candy.”

You saw a faint hint of blush on John B’s cheek at the mention of his girlfriend but you don’t mention it. “Sarah, yeah. She’s not like the other Kooks.”

“I would hope not. Her brother’s a dick.”

“Yeah,” They laugh.

“We miss you, you know.” John B says. Pope looks at you, trying to read your expression. John B’s not wrong. They do all miss you, especially Pope. He felt like you were the only one who really understood him. Of course his other friends are great, but you actually took the time to try and understand his passions. Like forensic science.

“I miss you guys too. It’s been a while.”

“Well, hey. We’re actually all getting together tonight at my place. Nothing big. Just a bonfire and a couple beers. You should stop by,” John B says.

“Yeah,” Pope says, immediately getting hopeful that you’ll show up.

Your smile falters. The invite makes your heart swell and your lungs contract. It’s an invite you’ve been wanting for three years. And now that you have it, you don’t know what to say. It’d be different if it was just the four of you like old times. But now there’s Kie and Sarah and although you have nothing against them, you’re afraid they won’t accept you. The thought of your boys picking them over you terrifies you.

“Okay. Yeah, sure. I’ll try to swing by later.”

Pope smiles wide and looks at his friend to see his reaction. John B grins and nods, almost impressed that you had agreed. But he saw the twitch in your lips when the question was asked.

“Great. I guess we’ll see you later then.”

You nod. “Okay. Bye guys.”

You suck in a deep breath when the fresh air outside of Heyward’s store brushes over you. Your heart thumps wildly with both excitement and nerves when you’re finally able to collect your thoughts. You don’t know what you’ll do tonight, but the possibilities can change your entire summer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You spent the rest of the day mopping up the cafe’s basement and rearranging the shelves. You smelled of sweat and coffee grounds by the time you were done and dreamt of the shower you would be taking when you got home.

Rory drove you home after the two of you closed up the cafe for the day. Neither of you said much. Rory was exhausted from running around behind the counter and you were too busy thinking about whether you’d go back to the place you used to call your second home.

You took a longer shower than usual, still pondering what your night would be like. Your head was telling you to stay home but your heart pulled you in the direction of the Cut. You yearned to hear about what the future held for Pope, and listen to John B retell stories of when you were kids, and be able to stare into JJ’s bright blue eyes without him noticing.

You changed into a pair of jean shorts and a plain red cropped tank. Rory walks into your room as your brushing out your hair and looks at you as if you lost your mind.

“Are you out of your mind? You can’t wear that,” She says.

You brows scrunch together in confusion. “What are you talking about? I wear shit like this all the time.”

“Not to the Country Club, you don’t.” That’s when it hits you. Today’s been so hectic, you forgot what day it was. “It’s Sunday.”

Sunday dinner at the Country Club is now a weekly commitment forced upon you by your grandparents. Each week, your mom, sister, and you are forced to spend one dinner with your grandma and grandpa. This is basically your mom’s payment back for sending you and Rory to Kook Academy. Only they actually pay for the dinner. It’s usually the longest two hours of your entire week. It’s hard to listen to your grandfather rant about Real Estate and your grandma slyly critique your mother in almost every aspect of her life.

“Shit. I completely forgot,” You say.

“Well, you better change. We’re leaving in about five minutes,” Rory says then plucks a gold necklace from your dresser. “Oh and can I wear this tonight?”

You sigh. “Sure.”

You change into a baby blue wrap around dress and pin your wet hair into a half up half down due. It’s gonna have to work for the limited time you have to get ready. After applying a thin layer of makeup to look the least bit presentable, you meet your mom and sister by the front door.

“Finally,” Your mom says when she sees you.

“Sorry. I didn’t realize it was Sunday.”

“It’s okay, honey. I just don’t think I can handle another late remark from Mom today.” She looks you up and down and grins. “You look great.”

Despite the many fiery fights you and your mom can have, she is also your best friend. It’s kind of like a love hate relationship. Steve says it’s because you’re exactly like your mom - almost like a sixteen year old version of her.

You really hope that isn’t true. You’re not ready to have a kid in two years.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Your grandparents are already sitting at a round table in the corner of the country club by the two tall windows that reach up to the ceiling with a view looking out into the golf course. The best seat in the house for the richest a holes on the island.

“Lorelai,” Your grandmother grins, but you can instantly tell it’s sarcastic. “Did you have to walk here?”

You speak up before your mom could. “Sorry Grandma. It’s my fault we’re late.”

Your grandparents are hard on your mom but easier on you and Rory, especially Rory.

“Well, you’re here now,” Your grandpa says. He’s usually the mediator between your mom and grandma. Although he’s usually sucks at it. “Sit. Sit.”

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, JJ shuffles through his many coworkers with his apron in one hand and a piece of fried calamari from Miss Carol’s appetizer in the other.

“JJ -” She scolds and slaps his hand away from going in for a second piece.

“Good evening Miss Carol,” JJ smirks and makes his way to the area between the kitchen and dining room where most of the servers and bust boys hang out. Some of the boys slap him on the back or shove him by the shoulder, chuckling to themselves. “What’s going on boys? Busy crowd?”

“What are you doing here? You never work Sundays,” His friend, Mitch, says.

Luke Maybank was behind on several bills - worse than it’s ever been. They already shut off their electricity and JJ wanted to make sure the water wouldn’t be next.

But JJ shrugs nonchalantly. “Little extra dough can't hurt.”

“Well, you picked a good day,” Raymond walks up to the blonde, rolling his sleeves. “You got Kook Royalty and their Hybrid offsprings in your section.”

“What?” JJ looks through the small square Plexiglas on the swinging door. He knows exactly where to look and immediately sees you sitting with King and Queen Kook, looking absolutely miserable, pushing around your food with your fork.

“Damn, Maybank. Almost broke your neck - you turned so fast.”

“Shut up, Easterling. I was just seeing how crowded we were,” JJ lied. He really just wanted to see if you were here. And now that he sees you are, he’s a little nervous to do his own damn job.

Raymond Easterling chuckles. “Yeah, I know what you were looking at. But don’t get your hopes up. There’s a reason Kooks call that girl the Heart Sucker. Not even the high and powerful JJ Maybank could get a piece of that.”

The guys around JJ and Raymond chuckle and nod in agreement, hearing the stories of how you’d reject every single guy that’s ever asked you out. Sometimes you’d go on a few dates, trying to push yourself out of your comfort zone, but then things would quickly become too much, and you’d get overwhelmed.

JJ didn’t like the way Raymond talked about you or how the others laughed at your expense. His hands clenched into fists, tempted to throw a punch in Ray’s cocky face. The guy’s just being a jerk because he’s one of the guys that got rejected by you, he thought.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” JJ shakes his head and ties his apron around his waist to distract his hands.

“No?” Raymond challenges him. “You think I’m wrong? You think you could pull the infamous Hybrid over there?”

JJ glances back through the window. You’re looking at your grandma with a clearly forced grin. You’re twirling your hair between your fingers, a habit you picked up when you were little to do when you’re bored. JJ would find you doing that in school all the time.

You’re gorgeous, he thought. It’s no wonder that almost every guy on this island has tried to make a pass on you, including JJ himself, but his remarks always come off as playful, afraid of actually telling you how he feels about you. His fantasies about you went further than just getting you between the sheets. He could picture getting married, having children, and growing old together. Years ago, the two of you would talk about your future. Neither one of you cared about money or fancy jobs. All you wanted was to be free - of this island, of each other’s families, of responsibilities placed on you from birth. You hold the same values as JJ, and he’s never met another person like you.

But JJ has a hard exterior. No one other than his best friends know his true heart, and he wasn’t going to let someone like Raymond Easterling find out about his soft spot for you. He would never hear the end of it.

JJ looks at you one last time. You’re talking to Rory, your face in his direction. This time you’re smiling, probably discussing something other than your grandparent’s expectations of you. He’d kill to see that smile every single day.

What’s the worst that could happen? You reject him? Yeah, that might kill JJ inside, but maybe you’d still be his friend, or continue to be acquaintances like you are now. As long as he gets to see you, he’d be okay. There was always the future. But who knows? Maybe you’d say yes? He’ll never know unless he tries. Right?

JJ fakes the same cocky grin that Raymond wears. “I haven’t failed yet.”

The guys around him whistle and shake their heads with smiles.

“All right, Maybank. Let’s make a bet. I’ll give you one hundred dollars to get Y/N Y/L/N in the sack by the fourth of July.”

JJ scoffs. “You like giving away free money?” He ignored his racing heart at the thought of being that intimate with you.

Raymond nods. “Okay. Let’s put your money where your mouth is. Get her to say ‘I love you’ by the end of the season and I’ll raise you an extra hundred and cover all your dishwasher shifts in September.”

JJ raises his brows with surprise. No one offers to take the dishwashing shift. Sometimes the boys are pulled back there when the kitchen is short staffed and it’s easily one of the worst jobs at the Club.

This bet was almost too good of an opportunity to pass up. “Deal.” JJ says.

The boys shake hands on it and the other guys whisper to each other about how intrigued they are to see this play out.

JJ wipes his sweaty palms against his apron and pushes the door open to approach your table, hoping he can hear you over his thudding heart.

“Good evening folks. May I take those empty plates out of your way?”

You look up at the voice you know so well and a smile raises on your lips. JJ meets your eyes and he winks at you, splattering your heart in flutters.

“Please.” Your grandmother pushes her plate away from her, stuffed with filet and red wine.

“JJ,” Your mom grins up at him. Growing up, your mom always had a soft spot for the blonde Pogue. She’s heard the stories about his father, mostly from Steve, who actually grew up with Luke Maybank, his cousin. As a child, he was sent to live with Luke Maybank and his single father. Lets just say, he’s not surprised by the way Luke turned out. “Look at you. You’re all grown up now. Last time I saw you, Y/N was still pushing your head in the sand for stealing her popsicle.”

“Yeah. I quickly learned no one should mess with Y/N and her food,” JJ says.

“Never stopped you though,” You smirk at him.

“Lorelai. Who is this?” Your grandma asks, disregarding the boy himself.

“Mom,” Lorelai gives her mom a warning look. “This is JJ Maybank. He went to school with Y/N and Rory.” Lorelai knew to play it safe with her wording. She didn’t know where you and JJ stood. It’s been so long since you’ve seen him and she knew better than to ask.

“Nice to meet you,” JJ says politely. “I’d shake your hand but mine are kinda full.” He motions to the plates in his hand.

“That’s quite all right.” Your grandma’s smile is so forced, it makes you uncomfortable.

“I won’t hold you up. Has your server been around with the dessert menu?” JJ looks at you. “We have chocolate cake tonight.”

Heat rushes up your neck. Not because of the cake itself but because JJ remembered your favorite dessert. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles. It was safe to save you were a choco-holic. The boys use to make it for you every year for your birthday. It usually came out burnt, none of them ever remembering how to properly make it. But it was all you needed to feel like a very special girl.

“Your favorite,” Rory elbows you.

Your grandma cringes. “Sounds like diabetes on a plate.”

“Mom,” Lorelai scolds.

“What?” She asks, not understanding the concept of a filter.

Now heat rushes to your cheeks for an entire different reason. “He did. We’re not doing dessert tonight. Thank you, though.”

JJ nods but feels disappointed by the way your face flinched at your grandmother’s comment.

“My pleasure,” He says like he was taught to do and excuses himself to drop the plates off in the back before he can say anything else that would probably get him fired.

Your mom looks at your with raised brows. “He’s cute, honey.”

“Lorelai, please. He’s the busboy,” Your grandma says.

“He’s a good kid, Mom.”

“If you’ll excuse me,” You stand up. “I have to use the restroom.”

Rory gives you a knowing grin as you walk away from the table. When you walk into the hallway between the dining area and the front lobby, you immediately feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. Sometimes just the presence of your grandparents and their pompous judgements can be suffocating. You do your best to bite your tongue around them, excusing yourself when you feel yourself getting heated.

JJ catches a glimpse of your light blue dress out of the corner of his eye when he rounds the corner to collect the plates off a different table. He looks over his shoulder at Raymond, who’s staring at the blonde watching you, and winks.

“Hey, Y/N,” JJ says, walking up to you.

You look up from your phone and immediately smile. “Hey. I was actually hoping I’d catch you out here.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” You nervously tuck a piece of hair behind your ear. “I’m sorry about my grandmother. She can be...”

JJ shakes his head. “Hey. It’s okay. I work for Kooks almost every single day. I’m use to it.”

You sigh. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Don’t apologize for something you can’t control,” JJ says. “Besides, that’s probably the nicest she’s ever been to me.”

You hide your face in your hands. “Stop. You’re making it worse.”

JJ laughs and takes your wrists in his hands, slowly pulling them away from your face. Your eyes shoot up to his, immediately feeling a tingling feeling run through your skin, straight to your heart.

“It’s okay. I promise,” He says softly. His voice is so sincere that you have no other option but to believe him. It almost makes your feel guiltier, wondering how much bullshit he’s been through with ungrateful Kooks that it’s so easy for him to forgive and forget.

“Okay,” Your voice is a whisper, taken off guard by how close he is to you and how he still hasn't let go of your hands.

In that same moment, JJ realizes he’s still holding you and gently removes his hands. He coughs awkwardly and scratches the back of his neck, where sweat begins to bubble. Why is he so nervous?

“So um...” You say, suddenly feeling nervous too. “You going to John B’s tonight?”

JJ’s eyes shoot up in surprise. How did you know that? “Yeah. I’m heading over there after work.”

“I saw him and Pope at Heywards earlier today and they invited me over. I wasn’t sure if I should come or not.”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

Because it’s different now, you wanted to say. But you didn’t because you feel like the elephant in the room would only grow. And you didn’t want to admit you were nervous to meet Kie and Sarah outside of school.

You shrug. “I don’t know.”

“You should definitely come. The boys miss you.”

You pretend like a little piece of your heart didn’t just break when JJ didn’t say ‘we.’

“What time do you get off of work?”

“Around 9ish.”

You nod. “I can pick you up if you’d like and we could go together?”

Your heart races after you suggest it. What if he says no? Why were you feeling this way? This is the same kid you use to make fun of for pouring milk into his bowl before his cereal.

“Yeah. That’d be perfect.”

“Great!” Your phone pings with a text from Rory, telling you that your grandparents are wondering where you are. “Shit. I have to get back. I’ll see you at nine?”

“See you then,” JJ nods and turns back to the kitchen. When his eyes meet Raymond’s, he’s reminded of what he agreed to. Almost surprised how quickly he forgot about it. You were able to take his mind off of anything without even trying. He clears his throat to get rid of the giddy grin he was wearing after talking to you, wanting to look tough and casual in front of his coworker. “Easy.” He says to him. But that felt anything but easy. He could vomit with nerves.

“There’s still plenty of time for you to screw up, Maybank.”

JJ huffs. He’s not wrong.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You drive up to the front of the country club and park in front of the main entrance. It’s 8:57. You’re early and will look eager. So you wait until 9:06 to text him that you’re here.

You changed into a pair of dark washed denim shorts, a yellow cropped tube top, a grey flannel, and navy converse. You changed your outfit about four times before deciding on your first one, not wanting to look too casual or too dressed up.

For the last three years, you wondered when the four of you would get back together as a group. You wondered if it would ever happen. And now that two Kooks are involved, you feel more nervous than excited.

You jump when the passenger seat door opens, lost in the depth of your own head. JJ smiles, not seeing your reaction.”Cool ride,” he says and looks around the interior.

“Thanks,” you say, pulling out into the road.

“I got you something,” JJ says.

You glance at him with furrowed brows. What could he have possibly gotten you since you saw him last? A book mark from the Country Club’s gift shop?

JJ reaches into his backpack and pulls out a plate with clear wrap around it. Your mouth drops when you see the chocolate cake on a plate in his hands, the smell immediately hitting your nose with pure delight.

“You saved me a piece?” You jump in your seat excitedly.

“Had to hide it good too or else Miss Carol would have had my ass handed to me,” JJ jokes and even pulls out two forks. He undoes the wrapping and cuts off a piece. He waits until you hit a stop sign and says, “Open up.”

You look at him and immediately open your mouth. He gently places the fork between your lips and you take the piece of cake off with your teeth. Like a baby.

Your eyes close with pure pleasure. “Oh my god. That’s amazing.”

“Miss Carol does know how to bake a mean cake,” JJ says and takes a bite of his own.

“Another one,” You say, glancing at the cake again. Like you said, choco-holic. “Please.” You say when JJ teases you by holding the fork away from you.

JJ laughs. “I like hearing you beg.”

You slap him in the arm with the back of your hand. “In your dreams, Maybank.”

“You got that right, Y/L/N.”

The two of you finish the cake with only a few bites each. Small but rich in chocolate that leaves you craving more. You were gonna have to meet this Miss Carol woman.

After he puts the plate back in his bag, JJ reaches for the aux cord, but you quickly slap his hand away. “Hey. What do you think you’re doing?”

“You’re seriously gonna make me listen to this the entire way to John B’s?”

You scoff. “I’ll have you know Blink-182 is one of my favorite bands.”

“It’s also soccer moms’ favorite band,” JJ laughs at you.

You turn up the volume, blasting ‘All the Small Things’ and point to your ear. “Sorry. Can’t hear you!”

JJ rolls his eyes but laughs along with you, even bopping his head to the beat. You drive with the windows down, dancing and singing along to a bunch of throwback songs with JJ as if the two of you have been doing this forever.

You pull up to John B’s and park behind his dad’s old van, better known as The Twinkie. When you turn down the music, JJ looks at you with a shake in his head. “Next time, I’m driving.”

“What was wrong with my driving?”

“We’re in the Outer Banks, Sparky, not NASCAR.”

You scoff and follow behind JJ who’s leading the way up John B’s driveway. As you get closer, you smell the smoky scent of a bonfire nearby and eventually hear John B’s laugh mixed in with a female’s. Your smile falters as nerves gather in the pit of your stomach.

“What’s wrong?” JJ asks.

“Nothing,” You say, but JJ easily catches your lie and gives you a knowing look. “What if they don’t like me?”

“Who? Pope and John B? I’m pretty sure they like you more than me even after three years -”

“Not them, you idiot,” You shove him playfully by the shoulder as you two let yourselves inside. “Sarah and Kie.”

“Don’t you go to school with them?”

“Yeah, but we don’t talk,” You say quietly, not wanting them to hear you.

“Hm.”

“What?” JJ shrugs. “Nothing. I just didn’t think you cared about what other people thought.”

“I don’t,” You say quickly. “But they're your best friends. It’s different.”

“You don’t need their approval. You technically were here first.”

“Yeah, but I’ve been replaced,” You try to say it as a joke and even throw a smirk in there.

But JJ stops in his track and looks at you seriously. “No one can replace you. Not even if they tried.”

You open your mouth to respond, but you’re at a loss for words. It’s not a common occurrence that JJ gets all serious on you. Warmth covers you like a blanket and the longer he holds your stare, the weaker your knees become.

“JJ! Is that you?” John B calls out from the backyard.

“Yeah,” JJ yells back. He opens the fridge in John B’s kitchen. “Want a beer?” He offers to you.

You shake your head. “No thanks.”

For the first time, you take in John B’s home. It looks the same as it did three years ago, only a lot messier. The pull out couch looks like its been used recently with blankets and sheets tossed about on it. Empty beer cans and cigarette butts are thrown messily on the coffee tables and the air smells faintly of old marijuana.

JJ leads you out to the back where four people are gathered around a fire. Three out of the four immediately smile when the two of you approach them, but Kie’s eyes narrow and her head tilts with confusion.

Shit, you think.

“You came!” Pope laughs and hops up from his beach chair and embraces you in a hug.

You laugh, not expecting the embrace, but welcoming it all the same. John B’s next, giving you a quick hug and shaking his head.

“I gotta say, I didn’t think you were going to come,” John B says.

“You can thank me for that later,” JJ says jokingly.

“Actually when I heard JJ was coming, I almost changed my mind and stayed home,” You joke and smirk JJ’s way.

“Just like old times,” Pope says, looking between you and the blonde. The banter felt like the yall never separated in the first place.

“Hey, you know Sarah and Kie, right?” John B points to the girls. Sarah stands up to say hi, and eventually Kie follows her, not wanting to look rude, but stays off to the side, keeping her distance.

“Yeah,” You wave awkwardly.

“Hey!” Sarah says sweetly. “I didn’t realize you guys use to all hang out.”

“Y/N grew up down the street,” JJ explains and sips at his beer.

“You want a drink or something?” Pope asks you, not knowing JJ already did.

“No thank you,” You say again.

“You don’t drink?” Kie asks. It was the first thing she’s said to you.

“Not usually,” You say and hold her stare. You try to get a read on her, but she’s had to get a tell on. You can’t tell if she just doesn’t like you or just doesn’t know you. Either way, it makes you uneasy.

“Here, I’ll go grab you a chair,” Pope says and walks to the side of the house to grab another beat up beach chair.

As the night goes on, you feel the tension in your shoulders loosen and your body feel lighter. Most of the night was spent retelling childhood stories the four of you shared. Sarah would laugh at most of them, occasionally rolling her eyes at her boyfriend from the stupid shit he would do, although it sounds like he’s no different to you now.

You talked about the time you and JJ stole a golf cart for a joy ride on Figure Eight, or when you and John B pranked Pope by putting a dead fish in his locker, or how you and John B learned how to play guitar from youtube tutorials.

Midnight came around quickly and exhaustion was slowly taking over your body. It’s been a long day between the cafe flooding, dinner with your grandparents, and now this.

JJ was the first to notice you slowly fading.

“You okay?” He asks you quietly as everyone else is caught up in conversation.

“Yeah,” You say, lazily grinning at him.

“We can leave if you want,” He says.

“You’re not staying?” You ask. It sounded like everyone was planning to spend the night here. And as much as you wanted to, you just didn’t feel comfortable enough yet.

JJ shrugs. “My dad’s out of town tonight. It’ll be nice to have the house to myself.” Before you can say anything, he stands and brushes his hands against his pants. “All right, losers. We’re out of here.”

“Aw, you’re leaving?” Sarah pouts.

“Yeah, I’m beat and Y/N’s my ride home,” JJ says.

You were glad he didn’t call you out for being tired. You didn’t want to look lame in front of everybody, especially Kie.

“Thanks for having me,” You say to everyone. It might have been John B’s house, but it was everyone’s night you intruded on.

John B stands up to hug you. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

You nod. “I won’t. I promise.”

Pope hugs you next. “Text me when you get back safe.”

“I will.”

“Bye!” Sarah waves and Kie exhales a ring of smoke from her blunt.

You wave at them before following JJ back to your car.

“Nuh-uh-uh,” JJ says. You didn’t realize you both walked to the driver’s side.

“What? No.”

JJ nods and holds his hands out for your keys. “I’m not dying tonight.”

“You’ve been drinking and smoking all night,” You say. You didn’t think JJ was drunk or even that high, but you were not going to let a teenager with an ounce of alcohol in his system get behind the wheel. “Next time. For now, hold on to the cupholder.”

JJ sighs dramatically and goes to the other side of the car and hops in the passenger seat.

This time you keep the music quiet, listening to the hum of the radio instead of your phone.

“Take a left,” JJ says.

“JJ, I know where you live. And it’s not left.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

You snicker. “Not in the slightest.”

JJ rolls his eyes. “Just take the left.”

You hold your hands up in surrender and take the left turn. He directs you for a couple more miles until he has you park in front of a 24 hour diner.

“What are we doing here?” You ask.

“I’m in the mood for a milkshake.”

“We just had cake!” You say.

“Come on, Sparky. Show me what that mouth can do,” JJ smirks.

You go to hit him again but he takes off running to the front entrance and pulls the door open. You chase after him, almost running into his back at the front host stand where JJ safely smirks at you in triumph.

“Two please,” He says to the hostess.

The old cranky woman leads you to a booth off to the side next to a window without a word.

A couple minutes later, a waitress walks by and asks if you’re ready to order.

“Yes. One chocolate milkshake and one black and white milkshake,” JJ orders for both of you, already knowing what flavor you’d want.

“And fries, please.” You say. The waitress nods, takes your menus, and walks off. JJ raises his brow at the extra order. “What?” You shrug. “Just showing you what my mouth can do.”

JJ scoffs. “What a tease.”

You playfully kick his shin under the table.

“Did you have fun tonight?” JJ asks.

“Yeah,” You answer. “Felt like old times. The girls are nice too.”

You were about to only mention Sarah, but you didn’t want to cause any issues with Kie. Not yet at least. Maybe she just needed time to warm up to you.

“See? I told you they wouldn’t bite.”

A couple minutes later, the waitress comes back with your milkshakes and fries.

“How’s John B doing? You know, with the whole Big John thing?” You ask delicately, unsure of how JJ would react to you pestering about John B’s business. “I didn’t want to ask and bring the mood down,” You explain yourself although you don’t need to.

JJ shrugs. “He’s in denial I think. Won’t sign a death certificate until he sees a body. He could be worse, though.”

“Yeah,” You say softly. You don’t know what you would do if you were in that situation. In a way you felt lucky that you never knew your dad at all. It would be harder to lose him, knowing who he was.

You take a fry and dip it into your milkshake before taking a bite. This makes JJ freeze and look at you like you have two heads.

“What?” You say with your mouth full.

“I can’t believe you just did that.”

“Don’t knock it till you try it,” You say and give him a look to do it.

JJ reluctantly picks up the fry and dunks it into his milkshake. He looks at the fry questioningly before popping it into his mouth. Somehow the sweetness of the milkshake and the saltiness of the french fry complement each other beautifully and his widen in pleasant surprise.

“Oh wow,” JJ says.

“Told you,” You smirk.

You spend the next hour catching up, trying to fit the last three years into an hour. JJ does most of the talking because you want to know more about what John B, Pope, and JJ have been up to. Your life was so boring and depressing, you didn’t want to bore JJ with the details.

You drive JJ home and talk for a few minutes more when you park. He seems to be procrastinating getting out of the car, but you don’t mind. You could talk to him all night, suddenly not feeling tired anymore.

“All right. I’ll let you get home before the sun rises,” He says and opens the door. He pauses when his feet hit the ground and he looks back at you. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“I have to work at the shop, why?”

“Well, there’s a storm coming in. John B and I might go out to surf the surge before it hits. You still surf?”

You scoff. “Do I still surf?”

JJ holds his hands up in surrender. “Just checking. You think you can handle the surge?”

“Let’s not forget who the better surfer is, JJ.”

“I didn’t. It’s still me.”

“You wish.”

“So I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Now you have a point to prove. You have to show JJ that you’re still the better surfer.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” You agree.

“Great, it’s a date.” He winks and shuts the door before you can tell him otherwise.

You giggle to yourself as JJ walks up the front yard and stay there until he you see he gets in safely.

You pull out of the driveway, wishing he had asked you out on a real date. One that didn’t involve John B.

Tag list: @super-funky-bisexual @sunsetswithjj @moniamaybank @throwawayfish @poguestyle17 @5am-cigarette @jjpouggues @fly-away-from-here @buckys2thicc

#JJ Imagine #jj fic #jj maybank imagines #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank #jj obx #jj fanfiction #jj maybank imagine #outer banks imagine #outer banks imagines #outer banks fic #jj maybank one shot

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