#lizzywrites

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･god knows I tried…

•Islam Makhachev x Reader

(Basically your a assistant at aka and Islam loses his mind) I wish I knew what to write here omg no warnings I guess except this is my first time writing so bare with me… I can’t believe I’m actually posting this might log off forever hahahah.

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You didn’t realize you had become a problem until way later…


Because at first you’re just the new assistant at AKA, bright smile, clipboard in hand, hoodie sleeves pushed up as you run towels and bottles back and forth like it’s second nature.

To you, this is just a job, fun and exciting and of course a little tiring like any other job would be as well.

To Islam… it’s something he doesn’t have a name for yet.

He grew up with rules. Real rules. Old ones, mountain-deep ones, the kind that follow a man even across oceans. He knows how to lower his gaze, how to keep distance, how to be respectful, how not to let his eyes linger on any woman who isn’t his wife.

And he is married.
He reminds himself every morning.
He presses the thought into his chest like a stone he refuses to drop.

But none of that stops whatever this is, this stupid, warm, pulling thing inside him that shows up the second you step into the room.

his mind has no choice but to think of you… and he knows he’s not alone it’s not like he’s stupid your beautiful obviously and very smart and charming many men would find that attractive. But to him this wasn’t just attraction he became obsessed with you and the version he had build in his head since he was to damn scared to meet the real version of you. Others weren’t so scared since they just didn’t care that much for example:

Usman walked past you once while you’re picking up hand wraps from the mats and murmured to Zubaira in Russian, “Она красивая, да?” (She’s pretty, yeah?)

Zubaira smirks, shrugs, “Как кукла.” (Like a doll.) they laugh like teenage idiots after, knowing you wouldn’t understand what they said.

Both of them go quiet real fast when Khabib snaps a look their way, sharp as a slap.

“Be respectful,” he says under his breath. “Don’t act like fools.”

They nod like guilty teenagers, and Islam listened to the whole conversation while keeping his head down because if Khabib had any idea what was going on in his own mind… God. He wouldn’t just scold him. He’d drag him straight back to Dagestan by the ear and never let him leave again.

Because the truth is… Islam noticed you long before anyone else did.

He noticed the first day — the way you smelled like vanilla, but not the cheap kind. More like… walking past a bakery. Sweet, warm, like pies cooling on a counter. And boy does he crave sweets during weight cuts more than anything, and now he craves you in that same low, aching way that sits behind his ribs and won’t leave him alone.

He absolutely hates it, he hates how you make him feel because he’s never had to worry about these stupid things ever before.

He catches himself wondering about the smallest details like your eye color, because he’s only seen it in tiny careful glances, never long enough to really know.
Your life — what you do when you go home from the gym? 
Your family — if they’re strict like his, or if they let you do whatever you want.
If you think of him at all like ever?

Is he as fascinating to you as you are to him?
Or do you just think he’s some stiff, conservative Russian guy who barely talks and doesn’t know how to act normal around women?

Sometimes he thinks you must. Because every time you walk by, he either looks too fast or not at all. And he hates that he doesn’t know which one is worse.

There’s one day he’s wrapping his wrists before drilling takedowns and he hears you laugh at something DC said in the hallway — this bright, easy California sound he’s never been around in his entire life, and he feels the noise right under his ribs.

Like a bruise.
A soft one.

And later that night, when he goes to wash before prayer, he scrubs rougher than usual, water splashing up his arms, trying to wash the feeling off. Trying so desperately to wash you off him and every thought he’s ever had about you.

He whispers his prayer with a tight throat, trying to center himself.
Trying to remember who he is, where he’s from, and what he owes the people waiting for him at home.
His wife.
Her family.
His own.

None of this is supposed to be happening.

But then the next day he walks into the training area and you’re there again, hair pulled back, sleeves rolled, smelling like vanilla and clean laundry as you always do. It makes him so angry that he can’t escape you and he wished more than ever before that you just left already so everything could go back to how it was before.

But since he knows that won’t be happening and he also knows that as long as you are around him all the time he won’t forget about you so he might as well know it all.

He wants to know your favorite movie.
If you like spicy food.
If your parents are proud of you.
What you dream about.
If you’ve ever looked at him the way he looks at you — quick, guilty, hungry for something he can’t name.

And the worst thought, the one that hits him hardest… is simple:

what if she sees how he looks without really looking… what if she knows what he thinks of her and how much he thinks of her…

Because it’s not just at the gym.
It’s not just when he sees you.

It’s when he lies awake after a long training day, staring at the ceiling, feeling your laugh echo somewhere in the back of his head.

It’s when he catches the scent of something sweet on a passerby at the grocery store and has to walk the other direction before he gets angry at himself.

It’s when he closes his eyes during prayer and tries to focus but your face slips in anyway, uninvited and soft and warm and so terribly, disastrously human.

So one day it had to happen it was simply not avoidable anymore.

One afternoon, after sparring, he sees you struggling to carry a box of new gloves, trying to push the door open with your shoulder.

and of course he remembered the whole interacting with women thing but he also remembered what kind of a horrible man he would be if he just left a woman struggling by herself.

So he decides to do what a real gentleman man should do in this situation.
He holds the door open.
You look up at him — really look — and your eyes catch the light in a way he’s never been lucky enough to see before.

Brown?
Hazel?
Something in-between?
He suddenly wants to know. Badly.

“Thanks,” you grin, a little breathless. “Didn’t realize they ordered so many today.”

He nods, eyes dropping too fast.
“Is ok.”

Your laugh comes easy. “you really don’t speak more than two words huh?”

And he feels it again — that bruise under the ribs.
Deepening.

“ah whatever, thank you Islam“ you say already having given up the conversation since that’s not really something Islam does like ever, until you hear him clear his throat like he’s finally going to say something.

“you here by bike?“ he says awkwardly looking down at the floor.

“yea I kinda always am, it’s not that far like 25 minutes if I’m going slow. Why?“

“Do you need ride home today? You work so much and you seem tired” he asks before thinking. The words slip out too fast, too raw.

You blink. “Oh. Um… sure, if you don’t mind.”

He minds.
He minds in a way that feels like a sin.

But he wants it anyway.

That night in the car, he hears himself talk more than he has in weeks. About home. His mother. His village. The pressure. The expectations. His religion and how proud he is of it — how it keeps him grounded, but also the small quiet ache that lives in him now, ever since you arrived. He even gets brave enough to tell you just how much he admires your freedom and the way you live almost without rules and that sometimes he wonders what he would be doing if he could bend the rules even just a tiny bit.

You listen.
You really listen, and it does something to him.

And when you tell him gently, almost whispering,
“Maybe you’re allowed to do what feels right… even if it bends a rule or two,”

He feels it like a hand around his heart.

At your apartment, neither of you move right away.

He stares at the steering wheel, then at you, then back down again like he’s fighting with something bigger than both of you.

Finally, he forces the words out, soft and rough:

“I think about you. Sometimes”

His throat works as he swallows.

You don’t speak.
You just watch him, waiting.

He looks at you then — really looks — taking in everything he’s never let himself hold onto before. The color of your eyes. The curve of your mouth. The softness he’s been running from.

Quietly, like a confession:

“Maybe you can help me understand… what rules I want to bend”

You look up at him softly and tell him “I can try my best, if you let me…“ in a comforting way.

So comforting that in the warm glow of the dashboard lights painting his face gold, Islam leans in slow, hesitant, trembling like he’s crossing a lifetime of rules in a single breath.

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My first fanfic on here. I've had so may ideas the past few days but my writers block has ensured I couldn't write any of them. I finally got something out though, and I'm genuinely proud of it. Hope you enjoy. Oh, and the readers character was given a name as I was writing this, but feel free to substitute it with your name. 

Pairings: SBI x adopted! ender dragon hybrid!named character, Dream x named character(somewhat)

Word count: 800ish

Content Warning: a somewhat descriptive death. nothing gory, just could be uncomfortable I guess

“Why are you doing this?” Wilbur cries out, shielding himself from Anna’s advances and knocking her down to the ground.

“You know, I didn’t always want to be the villain. But you made me do this. You didn’t give me a choice, Wilbur. You or our brothers. I guess this is how it ends, huh.” She let out a dry laugh. “Well, if you’re going to do it, then you might as well get it on with. Otherwise, I’m not going to stop. Not now, not ever.” 

Dream just watches in the background, taking in the exchange between the two siblings. Techno stands beside him, a cold glare on his face.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry I didn’t give you the support you needed, or the attention you felt you deserved. I was busy running a country, and I’m sorry I didn’t have time for you.” Wilbur's passive aggressive words make even Dream cringe.

Anna fumes, the steam practically gushing out of her ears with how angry she is. The black scaled wings attached to her back open fully, leaving Wilbur entirely in shadow and blocking the light in the surrounding area.

“All I ever wanted was a brother! Someone that I could talk to! Someone who could help me with my problems!” She turns to look at Techno now. “Someone who could explain to me why all the other kids were always so scared to be around me! But instead all I got was three people who couldn’t stand me and an adoptive father that didn’t know how to handle me! I never cared that you didn’t have time for me when you became president because by then it was already too late! I hate you! All of you! This is why I’m doing this. Because why not. It’s not like I have a family. I’m alone, just like I always was.” And with that final sentence, Anna places the torch to the redstone, igniting the line of TNT in the area and flying high above the clearing where they were all gathered.

She watches from high in the air with a satisfied smile as the announcements pop up for all of their deaths. All except Phil. He remains alive, hidden safely behind a wall of obsidian that he put up quickly.

Dropping to the ground of the crater with a heavy thump, she pulls her sword out of it’s scabbard hanging at her waist.

“Anna, you don’t have to do this.” Phil backs away from the young girl, wings fluttering nervously, unable to allow him to take off due to damage suffered during the explosion.

“Yes, I do. You never tried with me. You never listened to me, or allowed me to be me. Instead, you were so insistent on making me someone else that I forgot who I was in the first place. Earlier you said that this wasn’t me. Well, you’re wrong. This is me- the real me. You just didn’t know that because you tried to make me into who you wanted me to be.” Anna lunges at the older man, their swords clashing in a fury movement. 

It’s over quickly though, for however good Anna is at fighting, her father is ten times better, having been the one that taught her and showed her how to defend herself. Phil stands over her, the tip of his blade pressing into her neck and his foot resting gently in the middle of her chest to hold her down.

“I’m sorry for how I raised you. I could have done much better, and I realize that. Just don’t hurt your brothers. With the exception of Techno, they don’t realize what it’s like to be outcasted for something you can’t control. You don’t have to do all of this. You can still walk away. You can still fix it.” Phil says, his tone gentle with the girl who continues to glare up at him.

“No I can’t. It’s too late. And there was never anything to fix in the first place. After all, I was never truly a part of the family. Goodbye Phil.” Anna says, watching as Dream shoots him from behind, the arrow puncturing his chest smoothly and exiting through the other side.

He falls onto the ground heavily next to Anna, eyes falling shut peacefully.

“C’mon. They’ll definitely have seen the announcement. We need to move.” Dream helps Anna off the ground, handing her her sword and turning away from her to get the compass pointed in the right direction. “You did good though. I’m proud of you.”

This episode was a lovely break from Steven’s “baggage,” instead focusing on the growth Lapis has had. It was visually beautiful, with a touching new song from Lapis, and an interesting contrast from gems that remind her of her old self.

However, I feel this episode has been a little neglected in the fandom as far as the things it tells us about Steven and the world around him. Remember, Future is primarily about Steven’s arc and anything revealed about another character is bound to reveal something about him as well. “Why So blue” has been overshadowed by more dramatic episodes that had Steven’s anger and negative feelings at the forefront. This is no surprise, as seeing Steven’s issues manifesting so intensely is still such a new thing for the fans to process. This episode has Steven acting closer to his lighthearted, optimistic “old self” than any other one in SUF, and I wanted to delve into the implications of that. Let’s break down some things the episode establishes…

1. Despite his “outbursts,” Steven is still a Pacifist at heart.

This look was all it took for Lapis to regain control of herself. In this episode- this moment- is when he really seemed the most like “Classic Steven.” He’s not shouting at her to stop, or joining in the fight. He is just believing in Lapis’s growth and giving her the space to come around on her own. I don’t think the Steven we saw in “Guidance” would have done that. Part of this shift is due to his personal growth, but it’s also probably because he is falling back into his old role of pacifying hostile gems, which is what he knows best and what he’s comfortable with. That isn’t healthy, especially considering how much we’ve seen him panic when he doesn’t have someone to fix in later eps. However, it’s still a relief to see that fighting is not his first recourse despite his new “pink” powers making an appearance almost every episode.

2. Our Lapis is far stronger than your average Lapis. It is unclear if she was designed to be this way or if it is a result of her trials. Regardless, the Crystal Gems should be very grateful she’s on their side. She has the potential to rival a Diamond in combat.

She fixin’ to mess y’all up.

3. Steven has had growth over the course of SUF.

I bring this up because I think even though Steven is facing a very real personal crisis regarding his growth, he’s still had positive changes since the original series, and since the start of Future.

Lapis: I wish I hadn’t done that. They just remind me so much of myself. It’s infuriating.

Steven: Give yourself a break. You’ve grown a lot. It’s not your fault they’re stuck in their ways.

Contrast Steven’s attitude in this scene with his attitude towards Jasper back in Little Homeschool, after agonizing about his inability to change her:

Are you just going to sit here…waiting for someone to give you a purpose? Because I’m TRYING to give you one!

There have been obvious parallels between Jasper and Steven in this series, as Jasper is possibly the only character almost as stuck in the past as Steven is. I don’t know if Steven is self aware enough to realize that Jasper set him off so easily because he saw himself in her, like Lapis did in the HW Lapises. What he has realized is that not all gems will change in the way he imagined they should, and that’s ok. Him and Jasper, as far as we know, are not exactly friends, but they have an understanding of each other. Jasper may always be stuck in her ways, and Steven has apparently made peace with the fact that her bitterness is not his burden. He even sees value in the fact that she sees the world differently from him, and wants to learn from her.

This was a huge point of growth for Steven. All he did through the main series was try to fix people, and it’s obviously taken a toll on him. The only problem is now that he’s let go of his need to fix others by leaving Little Homeschool, he doesn’t know how to do anything else.

Steven has moments of self awareness regarding his issues (in between all the repression, avoidance, and denial) throughout SUF. One is in this moment with with Lapis, where he articulates that you can’t blame yourself for someone else not wanting to change and grow. He admitted to the Rose Quartzes that he’s “not fine,” but vehemently says the opposite to anyone else. He admits to Pink Pearl that he has “baggage,” although he won’t elaborate. He admits to Amethyst that his need to control others is a problem. He admits to his friends- under extreme duress and prodding- that he is having a hard time coping with cange. He opens up to “Cactus Steven” more than anyone, but after how that turned out the next time he opens up won’t come very easily.

My point is, Steven is still growing as a person, but it is a slow process due to all the trauma he is processing, compounded with having powers just as volatile as his emotions are.

4. HW gems are having a hard time letting go of the old caste system.

He’s half Diamond. Maybe we should half listen.

If the Lapises were really listening to Steven in the first place, then their primary motivation for listening to him would not be him being “half diamond.” The whole point of him overthrowing the empire was to create an equal society where Diamonds wouldn’t dictate what everyone does anymore.

How can the thing we’ve always done just suddenly be wrong?

Everyone is having trouble adjusting to this new equality in practice, including Steven. This is a massive, ancient, complex dictatorship that is now adjusting to a new government created by a human teenager. A Diamond is the one teaching and leading the new way things work, so of course it’s a mixed message for HW gems who have him telling them everyone is equal, but also that they no longer can do what they want to if it impedes his vision. I certainly wouldn’t want to be in Steven’s position. It would make most people uncomfortable to tell someone that the thing they were created for- that they also take joy and pride in- is now not only obsolete but morally wrong. Hooray for minors dealing with the nuances of cultural sensitivity in their galactic imperialism!

“He’s smaller than I thought.

Funny that this was the same thing said by the Rose Quartzes. It’s probably hard for any gem to imagine a Diamond that is not massive and imposing, but Steven is still pretty small even for a human (and still shorter than Connie). I can imagine this is why Jasper was so quick to reject him as her Diamond. Steven does not project the towering picture of immortal and flawless power as the other Diamonds have, and this is inevitably disappointing to gems that have long valued that image.

You really expect us to dance and sing like Pearls?

Gem society was not lacking in the arts, but they were strictly reserved for the elite and those who served to perform for them.

It’s interesting that Peridot had no idea what music was, and I presume this is because she was in a lower status than Lapis. The problem is not that the HW Lapises were unaware of artistic expression, but that they found it beneath them. The Lapises take pride in being instruments of power and destruction, the opposite of how everyone perceives Pearls. It’s no surprise they perceived such a heartfelt song from a fellow Lapis as “pitiful.”

Despite the fact that Pearls were very close to those in power, they had none of their own, and even Peridot considered herself above them when she first arrived from Homeworld. Pearls were created to be objects. Status symbols. Pretty little ornaments. Music boxes. And gems created for more “practical” purposes than entertaining the elite and opening doors would see anything associated with Pearls as beneath them.

5. Hot take: Lapis’s approach wasn’t totally in the wrong.

Lapis: We’ve just got to force them to stop. They’re not nice like me.

Steven: Ummm *avoids eye contact*

Lapis: Exactly.

The HW Lapises- much like Jasper- valued physical power over other virtues. Lapis beat herself up a lot for her loss of restraint, but communicating a bit with a show of the type of power the Lapises valued was enough to get them to listen. Steven’s approach alone clearly wasn’t working.

Sometimes people think so differently from you that you have to meet them halfway to have any hope of getting through to them. Steven did this when he agreed to fight Jasper.

I think the main reason he feared Lapis taking this approach was because he knew her past. He knew how hard she was to reign in once she got started, and how drastic she could be in confrontation. I mean, that’s why we have the entire Malachite story arc.

Restraint takes strength! Patience takes strength! Ugh, I don’t have the strength to deal with you.

However, Lapis has grown past that stage of her life, where her trauma ruled all her interactions with others. She has friends- like Steven and Peridot- who keep her grounded. She has developed healthy coping skills and outlets for her processing her emotions. This is why is so concerning to see Steven doing the opposite. The more fragile his mental state becomes, the more he distances himself from his closest friends and interests.

Lapis had the self awareness to realize she was slipping into old habits and losing control, and removed herself from the situation to cool down. That is huge for her.

Not every gem is going to want to go to Little Homeschool, and there’s probably a lot of them that still like fighting and destruction- especially if that’s what they were made for. Era 3 is so bent on avoiding violence that there isn’t really an outlet for pent up aggression (which Steven could use as well, btw). I think starting up some kind of gem dojo would be a great alternative instead of just expecting every gem to like the “softer” things like dancing and making meep morp.

Also, just imagine Jasper as a dojo master. Hell yeah.

6. Most people probably do not realize that Steven is struggling.

Wow, Steven. It took you a whole 5 seconds to make a new friend. You’re getting rusty.

I found this quote from Lapis telling. She still sees Steven as being able to make and keep friends effortlessly. In “Room for Ruby,” she was actually relieved to hear Ruby’s immediate love for earth was all an act, laughing and saying “No one could be that well adjusted.” The only exception to this rule for her seems to be Steven. She looks to him for stability, just like she did in the fight with the other Lapises.

In reality, Steven is terrified of his friends moving on and changing, while also being resentful if they don’t recognize he has changed. He has unresolved trauma that is eating away at him and causing him to have emotions he doesn’t know how to handle. However, most people probably see Steven as he presented in “Why So Blue-” gentle, charismatic, and carefree. It is not uncommon with mental illness to be “high functioning” in public and then come undone the moment you are home around your immediate family.

Even after the very public display of his stress in “Little Graduation,” none of his friends were like “dude, you’re scaring me, please go to therapy.” They saw one incident, but not the whole picture, so none of them seemed to really grasp how bad things are going for him. This is because Steven is still pretty adept at putting up a positive front most of the time.

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⋆.ೃ࿔*:･you’re also just a man…

•Usman Nurmagomedov x Reader

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y’all… I tried to write smut omg please don’t be too hard on me I cringed to death during this. Hope y’all enjoy tho🥹

- Warnings: smut (MDNI) 18+, idk what else to put here… nothing too dramatic though some soft smut. Not prove read so probably lots of missing commas 🫩

Summery: basically you and Usman have a love hate type friendship but his overly confident personality makes you curious.

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You and Usman had been friends for a while now — not by choice, but more by accident.

You’d been working out at a local gym in San Jose ever since you turned eighteen. Every now and then, you saw a couple of high-profile people around, since AKA wasn’t too far from the gym. Cain Velasquez would show up occasionally, and so would Daniel Cormier and a few other guys from the team, but they always kept it low-key, trying hard to blend in with everyone else.

That, however, was definitely not the case the day a whole herd of bearded men walked in like they owned the place. You recognized one of them instantly — Khabib Nurmagomedov. You didn’t have to be a superfan to know who he was, especially after you’d done some UFC research once the AKA guys started showing up. You also recognized Islam Makhachev, though he seemed quieter, letting Khabib do all the talking to the poor receptionist trying to sort out a dozen guys without memberships.

But nothing prepared you for the little shit who separated himself from the rest of the group.

I forgot to talk mention it on here, but I need to. If anyone cares to know/cares to read what I have to say then keep reading. 

If you follow me, you might have noticed that my profile picture is skydoesminecrafts old channel icon. It pains me to say this as I used and still do greatly enjoy their videos, but I will be changing it. Now, this may not seem like a huge deal, and you may have already scrolled away because I’m rambling. But with this change also comes the change in content that I’m going to write. I will not write for skydoesminecraft, team crafted, or any involved with them such as sky media offices or whatever it was called. This is a late post, as everything came out a while ago but I feel this necessary to say because it’s important to acknowledge. 

Adam was a huge pillar of the community back in the day, and I bet that more than half of the people who watched minecraft videos watched theirs. They were outed as an abuser, a rapist (not sure if that’s the right word but it’s the one I’m going with), and a manipulative person who uses those around them for “help” while continuing to perpetuate the bad habits that they needed help with in the first place. And this is all coming from their old friends, people they’ve made videos with and even their ex wife and ex girlfriend. 

A Universe who saved a galaxy

Couldn’t save himself, you see

Hybrid son of a Diamond

Human son of a Rose

Was saved when a small human

I’ve had this half-baked post in my drafts for a while now, and I figured it was about time I finish it with episode Mr. Universe coming out tomorrow. My feelings on this man are complicated.

Yeah, we need to talk about this heart throb. More specifically, we need to talk about what made him leave his family so completely that they were not aware of his new last name or the fact that he had a son.

Alright, so imagine you’re Rose Quartz. You’re impulsive, and you always do what you want. You fall in love with every earthling you meet. You’re especially fond of human men. You also have a pack of seven lions that follow you around in the desert. One day a Lions dies, as happens far too soon with all earthlings. You hold it in your arms, weep over its body and, intentionally or not, you resurrect it into a pink, practically immortal being. Eventually the rest of the pack dies, and Lion is left alone save for the times you steal away to visit him. You give him a belly rub and check on the many secrets left in his mane.

Eventually, even you will leave him. You are with child, and so you will die as his pack did.

The Lion is left alone in the desert for over a decade, waiting for your return. You never intended to make a huge amount of “Pink” animals. It would draw too much attention from the Diamonds. However, you at least intended to preserve the rest of Lion’s pack, or even just a single mate or companion. In fact, you probably would have preserved more life than you should have. You wouldn’t have the restraint not to. You loved them all too much.

Here’s the thing, though. You can’t. In resurrecting Lion, you created a psychic link between him and yourself. Still being new to organic life, you didn’t fully understand your limitations in your ability to heal them, but as each other lion in his pack fades away, you realize that this link can only be created once in your lifetime. Your gem simply doesn’t have the “hard drive space” to maintain a constant connection to your own little pocket dimension with more than one being.