#I don't have credit cards so the only way I can get stuff is through getting gift card to things

[autumngravity]

Fuck you Audible. I just want to use your freaking service but NOOoooOooOoo!!! you give me no way to switch my account from Amazon to Google Play. I can't get a gift card to make it even easier for me to use. So I can't use it at all.

[rafeandonlyrafe]

virginity

words: 3.2k

warnings: 18+ only!, smut, virgin!reader and virgin!rafe, kind of bullying at the beginning, very cute and fluffy rafe, reader is implied to be a kook, first date, female receiving oral, fingering, p in v sex, protected (for once! yay) sex

taglist: @drewstarkeyslut @thelomlisrafecameron @f4ll-for-you @dilvcv @drudyslut @dreamingwithrafe @jjmaybankswifes-blog @rafescokenostril @jjsmarijuana @jjmaybankisbae @seeingstarks @angelofcigs @cece45450 @babygorewhore @vanessa-rafesgirl @michelleisheres-blog

“oh my god, bridgette, you'll never guess who asked me out!” you squeal, flopping onto her bed.

“ooh, umm… kelce?” she guesses, but you just shake your head no, the smile on your face growing.

“rafe!” 

bridgette sits up instantly. “rafe as in rafe cameron?” you can tell by the look on her face that she's skeptical.

“the one and only.” you nod.

“but um… he doesn't date?” she says, genuine confusion in her voice.

“i thought you said he was basically a rich frat boy?” you sit up, now thinking over the interaction, but there's no way to confuse “will you go to dinner with me tomorrow night?” as anything other than asking on a date.

“well, yeah, he parties and stuff but he doesn't… date. he's never had a girlfriend.”

“well, ive never really had a boyfriend.” you shrug. “and don't say jonathan because he does not count.”

“yeah, but you have an excuse, y/n. your parents moved you all over the country, you didn't have time to date until your parents settled here a few months ago.” bridgette counters, and she does have a point. you've never been in one place long enough to form a true relationship. “i think rafe just doesn't date because he doesn't like any girls enough.”

you frown, thinking over her words. “well i guess that means he likes me enough to ask.” you say quietly.

bridgette shrugs. “good for you. he better take you somewhere expensive, boy has MONEY!” she says, causing you both to erupt into laughter. “oh…” bridgette suddenly quiets. “i wouldn't tell evelyn. she has the biggest crush on him, she'd get so jealous if she knew you asked him out.”

-- the next day --

“hey dad…” you say in a sweet voice, fluttering your eyelashes at him.

“oh god, y/n, what do you want?”

“can i borrow your credit card?” you ask with a whine.

“y/n, you are an adult! you can’t keep borrowing my credit card! what do you need anyways?” “a new outfit… for a date tonight.” you whisper the last part, but your dads eyes still bulge open.

“a what?” “come on dad, all my outfits are so revealing, don’t you want me to buy something more covered up? or should i wear that pink skirt mom got me-” “no!” your dad cuts you out, fishing his wallet out of his pocket, slapping the credit card into your hand. “something that doesn’t show too much skin, y/n.” he warns, and you nod and run out to your car before he can lecture you or ask you any more questions about the date.

--

you look through the rack of dresses, trying to find one that you like and would feel comfortable in tonight with rafe. you don't want to give him the wrong idea by showing up wearing a dress that's more suited for a club or party.

you have some hangers already in your hand of dresses to try on when you hear a shout of your name. you look up to see evelyn and her two best friends following her. 

when you moved to the outer banks, you quickly assimilated into the social scene and learned that evelyn was the queen bitch, super wealthy, but not at all likable, with an insane amount of possessiveness over rafe, despite him never even showing interest in her. evelyns first words to you were to stay away from him, but you won't let her intimidate you away from this date.

“what are you shopping for?” evelyn asks, her lips smeared in a bright red shade of lipstick that contrasts her light hair.

“a date tonight.” you reply, keeping your eyes mostly on the clothes, trying to convey that you're not interested in whatever show of dominance she's attempting.

“i heard about that. how did you scam rafe into taking you somewhere?” she asks, her friends snickering behind her.

“he asked me, actually.” you hum, keeping your body language disinterested, despite feeling your heart start to beat faster. “I guess he likes me.”

“that's real funny, y/n.” evelyn says, placing her hand on the rack to stop you from looking. “because rafe is mine.”

“should i call him right now?” you look her in the eye, your temper reading on your face. “should I have him tell you what you already know? that he's not interested?”

“you are such a bitch!” evelyn yells, and the storekeeper finally becomes aware of the situation, heading out from behind the counter and towards you. “i will ruin you for stealing him.” evelyn states before turning and stomping out of the store, her entourage falling in step behind her.

“miss, are you okay?” the shopkeeper asks.

you hum and nod, knowing that whatever they plan on doing won't work, evelyn may have popularity because of her money, but everyone knows not to trust a word out of her mouth. “can i get a dressing room to try these on actually?” you ask, picking up a dress that you think would be perfect for tonight.

--

the doorbell rings and you give your father a glare, already having warned him to stay in the living room and let you answer the door. the last thing you need is your father scaring rafe before your date has even begun.

you open the door, letting out a breath of relief when rafe is also dressed up. you realized while buying the dress that you didn't actually know where you were going for dinner, you just assumed it would be on the fancier side.

“wow.” rafe let's out a gasp, “you look beautiful.”

you blush, smoothing out the front of your dress, giving you an excuse to break eye contact and look down at yourself. “you look really handsome too.”

“let me help you down the stairs.” rafe extends his hand, and you subtly wipe your palm against your dress before placing it in his, accepting his help out the front door as these are new heels (you couldn't resist when your dad gave you his card).

rafe keeps your hands locked together as he leads you towards his truck, of course opening the door for you and helping you in.

you smile at rafe as he gets into the driver's seat. “im excited.” you tell him honestly.

“me too.” rafe grins, keeping his eyes on the road as he takes off but reaching over your tangle your fingers together again. “im nervous too though.”

“rafe cameron did not just admit he is nervous.” you gasp, making rafes smile grow as he shakes his head.

“i really like you.” he explains further, making you smile and lift his hand to your face, pressing your lips to it in a kiss. 

--

“how's your food?” rafe asks, taking a bite of his own. you ordered salad, too nervous to eat anything else in front of rafe. since he admitted how he felt about the date, it felt all the more real.

“it’s really good!” you say. “thanks for taking me.”

rafe smiles at you, his eyes containing a warmth you haven’t seen before. “so, where did you live before moving to the outer banks?”

you had told rafe before that you moved around a lot, but never got into the specifics, so you spend most of the dinner telling him all the states that you’ve lived in and responding to his questions while asking some of your own.

rafe accepts the check and pays for you without question, brushing off your thanks before leading you out of the restaurant, his hand firmly placed on your back.

“do i need to get you home by any time?” rafe asks when you get back in the car.

“no.” you shake your head. “i don’t want to go home yet either.”

rafe smiles at you, reaching over to place his hand on your thigh as he drives towards his house. you hum softly to the music, glad for the short drive before you’re walking into tanneyhill. rafe informs you that everyone else is gone, so it’s just you two.

“should we watch a movie?” rafe asks, gesturing towards the couch in the living room.

“sure! you pick though.” you say, not wanting to have to make the choice. rafe sits down on the couch and picks up the remote, navigating to some comedy you haven’t seen before. you sit down next to him, close enough for your thighs to be touching.

rafe wraps his arm around your shoulder, letting you get comfortable against his side.

the movie is decently funny, but you’re far more focus on being tucked up against rafe. at a funny scene, rafe lets his laughter loose, and you can’t help but turn and look to him, watching his face light up.

rafe notices you watching him and his laughter softens into a smile. “can i kiss you?” he asks.

you nod, turning to face him as rafe places a hand on your cheek, bringing your mouths together in a kiss that quickly turns more passionate as you deepen it. you shift again so that you straddle rafes lap, placing your hands on his shoulders as you continue to kiss, your dress pooling on his lap.

“y/n-” rafe gasps when he pulls away, realizing both of you went a little overboard when your lips first touched.

“i have to tell you something rafe.” you say, realizing the compromising position you’re in and not wanting to give him the wrong idea.

“what is it baby?” rafe questions, his hands falling to rest on your hips.

“i’m… i’m a virgin.” you admit.

rafe lets out a sigh, like he’s relieved, which causes your brows to scrunch together in confusion. “i never thought i’d say this to you but i am too.”

“what?” you question. “i thought you were known for partying and flirting and stuff!” “yeah, i used to flirt a lot but i was never serious enough with anyone to sleep with them… not until you.” “oh my god.” you coo, leaning forward to press your lips together again. rafe wraps his arms around your waist, pulling your chests closer together.

“i would lose it with you, baby. if you want.” rafe says.

“i-yes. i want that.” you nod.

“tonight? now? only if you’re sure.” rafe says. “i know we’ve only gone on one date, but it feels… right.”

“i agree.” you nod. “i’m not saying we are going to be together forever based off one date but i want to lose it with you. together.” 

“let me take you upstairs then.” rafe stands effortlessly, with you clinging to his front as his arms hold you steady. you press soft kisses to his neck as he carries you, feeling equal parts nervous and excited for what is about to happen.

rafe sets you down on the end of his bed before stepping back, admiring you in his bedroom, especially knowing what you are about to do together.

“can i take your dress off?” rafe asks, and you nod, letting him come up and grab the bottom of your dress. you lift your hips so he can pull it up and over your head, and you let out a silent thanks to god that you wore matching underwear.

“you’re so gorgeous.” rafe says, looking down at you with glossed over eyes. you can tell from the tightness of his pants that he’s not unaffected by seeing you like this.

“sit down, let me take your shirt off.” you tell rafe, grabbing his hand so he sits next to you on the bed. you tug his shirt off, admiring his muscles as you run your hands over them. rafes hands stay on his knees, waiting for permission to touch you now that you’re scantily dressed.

“do you… do you want to take your pants off?” you ask, glancing down at his crotch. “it seems painful.” you giggle.

“yeah, the zipper hurts.” rafe admits, unzipping his pants and pulling them down his legs so he’s in just his underwear, his cock straining against the fabric, a small patch of wetness already growing.

“do you wanna lay down? i want to kiss you some more.” rafe asks.

you nod, moving up the bed until you can rest your head against the pillows. rafe crawls over your body, his eyes mesmerizing every inch of bare skin until he can press his lips against yours, the kiss is passionate but slow and deliberate, building up gradually until you’re moaning against rafes lips.

you reach behind your back, unclipping your bra before taking it off, flinging it somewhere in the room to be picked up later. rafe gives you a final kiss before looking down at your bare chest.

“oh fuck.” he groans, reaching with one hand to grip the underside of your breast, holding it in his palm as he slides down, his mouth falling open onto your nipple. you let out a moan as rafe explores your chest and what makes you moan the loudest.

he plays with your nipple with his tongue, then teases around it before ultimately sucking it into his mouth before switching and repeating on the other side.

“is that good?” rafe asks, and you give an enthusiastic nod. “really good.” “should i…” rafe looks down at your underwear, and you give another nod.

“you’re going to have to um… finger me. to open me up for you, ya know?” you cringe at your words, but you know it’s true and don’t want your first time to hurt.

“yeah, yeah of course.” rafe tugs at your underwear, his eyes staying between your thighs as he tosses the fabric to the floor. you take a deep breath before spreading your legs, putting your cunt on display for him.

“so sexy.” rafe praises you, moving so he’s lying between your thighs. he spreads your folds open with two fingers before using his other hand to rub his pointer finger over your pussy.

he traces around your clit before bumping it, making you flinch at the sudden pleasure.

“was that good?” rafe asks, and you just let out a moan in response when he doesn’t wait, rubbing over your clit again.

rafe smiles, moving his finger lower to your entrance before circling around that as well. he presses against your tight ring of muscle, thankful that you’re already quite wet as you relax and give way, letting his finger slip inside.

he begins to thrust it in and out slowly, building up speed as it becomes easier for him to move.

“try to add a second.” you tell him after a minute.

rafe nods, managing to work a second finger inside of you, but he can tell by the way your forehead scrunches that it’s not as comfortable as one, so he leans forward and presses his tongue against your clit.

“oh fuck!” you scream out as he flicks the tip of his tongue over and over, allowing you to focus on that instead of his fingers thrusting in and out of you.

rafe even makes a point to separate his fingers some, widening them to open you up even more. you don’t even flinch this time as his tongue stays playing with your clit.

“i’m ready.” you pant. “i’m ready, i need you rafe.”

rafe nods, moving to kneel between your legs, not sure what the best position to put you in is, but you seem to have it already thought out as you take a pillow and put it under your hips to raise them so he can stay kneeling on the bed.

rafe works his underwear off, and your eyes widen when his cock is revealed, regretting telling him you were ready after just two fingers. he grabs the condom he must have tossed onto the bed earlier and rips it open, sliding the latex down his length.

“if you need more time…” rafe trails off.

“just go slow.” you say, knowing he will stop at any point if you really need him to.

rafe moves closer, holding himself in his hand as he lines up with your entrance. his head pushes in easily, but the further forward his hips move, the more you struggle, but rafe sees it and slows down until he’s finally fully seated inside of you.

something sparks in that moment, realizing that you have both lost your virginity and it has rafe bending down over your body to press your lips together. you appreciate the kiss as it gives you even longer to adjust before rafe starts rocking into you slowly.

“that feels good.” you reassure rafe, all feelings of pain now gone.

“you feel good.” rafe says, unsure how he’s able to keep so much control over himself to not go feral in this moment, but he likes you too much, cares too much to move any faster and potentially cause you pain.

he keeps up the slow movements, moving from just rocking to actually thrusting as he starts to pull further out. 

“faster.” you whimper, eyes sliding closed as you focus on his length inside of you.

rafe doesn’t question you, needing to move more himself as he begins to speed up his thrusts, pushing his hips forward harder as well.

“i-i’m sorry i don’t know much longer i’m going to last.” rafe admits.

“it’s okay just touch my clit again.” you say. you would do it yourself but your body feels weightless right now, and you’re not sure if you can raise your arms up.

rafe nods, gripping your hip with one hand but letting the other roam to your cunt, rubbing his thumb over your clit as he tries to hold back his orgasm as long as possible while still pushing his cock into your heat repeatedly.

you let out your moans with freedom, knowing that there is no one else in the house to hear you. rafe begins to grunt and you feel him swelling inside of you and you know that he’s close.

rafes body falls forward, his thumb still moving on your clit but his cock stilling as he cums, filling up the condom as he pants heavily.

“y/n!” rafe finishes with a call of your name. you are so close to your orgasm, and you surmise rafe must know as he stays inside of you, rubbing faster until you cum, your body arching off the mattress, even underneath rafes weight as your high hits you with a shout.

you manage to reach to push rafes hand away, needing the overwhelming pleasure on your clit gone as your orgasm works through your body.

rafe curses when your cunt pulsates around him, but waits until you’re done to pull out. he flops to the side, pulling the condom off and tossing it into the trashcan next to his nightstand.

“how does it feel to no longer be a virgin?” you ask.

“felt good to finally use that condom i’ve been keeping in my wallet since i turned 16.” rafe laughs, reaching his arm out to pull you closer to him. “but seriously, i’m glad i lost it with you.” “i’m glad too.” you smile, pressing a quick peck to his lip. “and maybe i should have asked you this before we had sex but… will you be my girlfriend?”

“oh my god, yes!” you squeal.

[misseviehyde]

STUDENT BODY

Your girlfriend Natasha was really worried about what was going to happen to your relationship once you started to attend different universities. She'd heard that long distance relationships could be really challenging and difficult.

Sure - it was always possible to communicate online and see each other that way, but without physical intimacy even the healthiest relationships would falter. But Natasha was always full of clever ideas.

"Listen babe. I've had an idea. My family have been guarding a magic scrying mirror for generations. I can use it to astrally project my spirit into another person. It's frowned upon to possess another person, but if it's just so we can talk and touch and stuff, I don't see the harm. Make sure you choose someone who is a real asshole though, that way I'll feel less bad about possessing them.

***

A month later you headed to University and began looking for someone suitable for Natasha to possess. It didn't take you long to find your target. Chanel Grey was the obnoxious, entitled sorority president of the most exclusive sorority on campus and perfect for your needs.

It didn't hurt that you had a huge crush on the busty bitch and the thought of your girlfriend inside that smoking hot body was kind of appealing. Chanel was a total asshole as well, so your girlfriend needn't feel bad about possessing her for a while.

You waited until Chanel was out shopping on her own one day and followed her to the mall. She usually had her team of funkies with her, but today she was flying solo and this was your best chance.

Ringing Natasha you waited patiently as she prepared the mirror in her bedroom. "Okay babe, I'll see you in a moment or two I guess."

You hung up and watched Chanel as she browsed through an expensive rack of designer clothes in one of her favourite stores. Suddenly she put a hand to her head as if she were dizzy. Then with a grunt her eyes rolled up into her head and she swayed on her feet slightly.

Moments later she shivered and her eyes came back into focus... only they seemed different somehow.

Chanel looked around, then spotting you walked confidently over. "Heya babe. What a body you found for me. I wasn't expecting you to pick anyone this hot."

It had worked. It had actually worked. Natasha was now inside Chanel!

She giggled and admired herself in a mirror. "Wow - this bitch is super stacked. She must have boobs three times the size of mine. And how fit is this body? Guess she must work out."

Natasha stretched, clearly enjoying how it felt to be inside Chanel. She then did a cursory check of her body, checking her pockets and her handbag.

"And I'm guessing she's rich too. I would never be able to afford a store like this. I'm guessing this is her Daddy's credit card. I mean I could try accessing her memories to check, but that can be dangerous. It can cause memories to get entwined."

You nodded not really understanding what she was saying but agreeing nonetheless.

"Only problem you've made for us is that someone is bound to notice us talking if we aren't careful. Chanel probably wouldn't be seen dead with someone like you. I wish you'd picked someone a little bit more low key even if they did have smaller boobs."

Natasha grabbed your hand and dragged you into the store. She pulled you into one of the dressing rooms and began fumbling at your belt.

"I know I said no sex, but this body is making me super horny. I don't think Chanel is a virgin, especially if those XXX condoms she is carrying in her handbag are anything to go by."

Giggling Natasha pulled out your cock and she smirked when she saw it was already rock hard. It looked so naughty in Chanel's lightly tanned hands - another woman's hands.

"Wow, guess you like Chanel's body too. Don't try to pretend this isn't what you wanted when you picked her as your target. Guess you now get to be sucked off by little Miss Popular."

With a giggle Natasha slid her pink glossy lips round your dick and began to suck. It felt good... really good and looking down you couldn't believe you were getting a blowjob from the most popular girl at uni. Turning to look at the dressing room mirror, you couldn't believe how hot it looked to see Chanel Grey's pretty head bobbing up and down on your cock. She was so fucking hot and now she was your slut.

Suddenly Natasha hesitated and her eyes went a little wide for a second. A moment later she attacked your dick with a fresh wave of enthusiasm, only this time it felt even better! Natasha was doing something with her tongue you had never felt before and her lips seemed tighter than ever. She was also making eye contact now and little groaning sounds and together it was all too much.

You began to cum and groaning you ejaculated into Natasha's mouth. It felt really good and it was a big heavy load. "Mmmhppphhh," gurgled Natasha happily.

To your surprise, she swallowed all of your load. Normally Natasha hated the taste of cum and would spit it out, but now she was inside Chanel, she seemed to enjoy it. Delicately wiping her pretty lips, she smiled and let go of your cock.

"Mmmh, sorry if I zoned out for a second there baby," she grinned. "I accidentally accessed Chanel's memories on blowjobs. Damn but she knows her stuff and she's sucked some good dick. Bigger than yours I guess."

You felt a sudden irrational jealousy. It wasn't like Natasha had actually sucked someone else's dick, but her having those memories seemed wrong somehow.

"I wish we had time for you to fuck me properly, but we'll get busted if we stay in here any longer. Come on."

Sorting out her hair and makeup Natasha indicated you should wait a moment and she slipped out first.

You waited a few minutes, then slipped out too. Looking around for Natasha you cursed as you saw her with a group of hot looking girls. She'd bumped into Chanel's friends! She made eye contact with you for a second then shrugged. Desperate not to blow her cover she decided to just go with it and helpless you watched her walk away with them - just like the real Chanel would.

****

Hours passed when your phone began to buzz. You weren't expecting a phone call from an unknown number, but you answered and it was Chanel's voice on the other end.

"Sorry about that babe. I couldn't get away from those bitches. I had to access more of my... I mean Chanel's memories just to convince them I was her."

Natasha began to explain how she had spent the rest of the morning with the girls doing hot girl shit. Hair, makeup, nails, coffee, more shopping.

Natasha usually hated all that kind of stuff, so you were surprised to hear genuine enthusiasm in her voice.

"I was pissed off that you chose this body for me at first. But the longer I spend as Chanel, the more I'm starting to enjoy being beautiful and popular. It's a unique experience. I understand how this body possession could get quite addictive. It's said that if you astrally project for too long your soul can bond with the wrong body and you get stuck forever. Imagine that. Imagine if I was Chanel permanently."

Her voice was joking, but also had a strange undertone to it.

"Of course I'm only doing this for a bit at a time so should be safe. I'm gonna hop back to my own body in a second. First though I've been horny all morning and haven't got off yet. Chanel has quite the selection of sex toys and I thought you'd like to listen. Right now I'm lying on her bed playing with myself."

You felt your cock stiffen as Natasha began to describe what she was doing.

"Mmmmh I'm touching Chanel's big bitchy tits and rubbing her tight pink pussy. Her soft hair is all around me and I feel like such a hot slut. Her pussy and clit are more sensitive than mine, you'd love this tight pussy. I have a finger inside myself. It feels so fucking good. I can't believe how wet I am already. Ooooh fuck yes."

Natasha began to moan and pant, you imagined her arching her back and gasping like a slut as she played with herself. You wished you were there, you were so jealous.

"Yesssss, yessss, I fucking love this body. I'm gonna cum so good in a bit. Mmmmh think I'll try this big thick dildo to help me get there. I want you to imagine it sliding inside my tight cunt, stretching me out baby. Chanel's tight pussy gripping every inch as I begin to pump it in and out. Ooooh fucccckkk."

Wet sounds of pleasure and pants and moans of lust came down the phone and you began to pump your own cock faster. This was so fucking hot.

"Ooooooh fuck, it's never felt THIS good before. Mmmmmh my new body was built for sex. Ooooh shit I can take it deeper than ever before, I feel like such a hot slut. My pussy is gonna explode! Ahhhh ohhhhh fuckkkk."

A screaming gasping squealing squirt of pleasure blasted down the phone as Natasha began to cum and you creamed your own belly with more of your own cum. The thought of her enjoying Chanel's body was just too erotic. That had been so hot.

"Mmmh, think I might play with myself a bit more before leaving her body. She won't properly remember everything she did when I was in control, just the gist. It's her brains own mental defense helping to keep my possession secret. She'll think she did all of this. So long as I don't do anything too out of character - I can have this hot little body whenever I like."

And with that she hung up...

***

For the next week you looked forward to your girlfriends daily possessions of Chanel. As Natasha predicted, the popular girl didn't seem to notice anything amiss and she certainly didn't show any indication she recognised you at uni.

It was strange to see that pretty face look at you blankly. The same face that hours before had been sucking you off or kissing you. To your shame you began to fantasize more and more about Chanel's beautiful features and soft sexy voice than Natasha's body.

But there was frustration too. Mostly the possessions seemed to involve a quick blowjob or handjob, then Natasha would go off with Chanel's friends. There was never anytime to have proper sex. Natasha even refused your offers to eat her out or finger her. You had never actually gotten to see Chanel's pussy.

Her popularity and prestige made it hard for you to spend any time whilst she was Chanel and you began to regret choosing such an exclusive target.

Natasha was acted weird too. She seemed to have accessed more of Chanel's memories for some reason and even when in her own body was acting more aloof and haughty. She'd started working out, stopped wearing her glasses and she sounded like she was starting to treat everyone like a real bitch.

She also seemed to be enjoying hanging out with Chanel's friends and living the life of a popular bitch more than she should. Her stories began to focus more and more on how much she had enjoyed hanging out with her girls and bullying the losers on campus, than the chance to be with you.

You were shocked the first time she described bullying someone. Shocked at how full of glee and enthusiasm she was.

"Some dumb little bitch dared to get in my way in the store. Can you believe it? She walked right out in front of me and when she saw who I was tried to apologise. I pushed the little loser into a clothes rail and knocked her over. She won't dare complain to the Dean, she knows I'd destroy her life. I left her crying in the shop - it was SO funny."

The possessions were supposed to bring you both closer together, not push you further apart, but now you were really starting to worry. Natasha had even insisted you set up a monthly payment to Chanel's bank account so she could buy even more clothes and things - but she never wore them for you.

The first real betrayal came when you found out that Natasha had been possessing Chanel on some days and not even telling you. She accidentally let slip a story about having dinner with her girls and you realised she hadn't told you she was available that day.

"Oh yeah? So? I sometimes slip back into Chanel when you're not around or I just feel like some me time. Her body fits me like a glove these days, I can hop in with no resistance anymore and I enjoy living her pampered life for a bit. What's your problem with that loser?"

You were shocked to hear the venom in her voice.

"Oh did I call you a loser? Sorry babe - that's what Chanel thinks about you. I've been accessing more of her memories and it's hard to fight off her impression of you as a nerdy, worthless, loser. I mean - of course I don't think that about you. Anyway gotta go."

She cut you off abruptly and that was the end of that.

***

The next betrayal happened soon after.

Natasha had stopped giving you blowjobs when she possessed Chanel, saying she was too busy or didn't feel like it. If you were lucky, you'd get a disinterested handjob from her and even that was becoming rarer.

It was like Natasha no longer cared about possessing Chanel to spend time with you, but simply so she could BE Chanel. It was also clear she had pretty much accessed all of Chanel's memories now and it had affected her.

Natasha's old speech patterns were gone. Whether she was inside Chanel or not she now spoke like a bitchy valley girl. Now when she called you 'babe' it was with a hint of mockery and her pretty lips always had a cruel bitchy sneer and her eyes a glint of malice. She held herself with a haughty arrogance and her body language had become like that of a spoiled ballet dancer.

"Just look at me. I'm so fucking PERFECT," purred Natasha as she admired herself in her stolen body. "Sorry 'babe' no time to give that tiny dick of yours a blowie. I have to meet the girls for some shopping. I have a new set of lingerie I'm desperate to try. See you later loooooser."

Despite Natasha's increasing distance, the dirty phonecalls continued and it had become the only source of your sex life. You'd listen to Chanel/Natasha moaning down the phone-line and telling you about fucking herself whilst touching yourself.

Recently though Natasha had told you that you weren't allowed to cum unless she said so. She also would cut off the phone unexpectedly, or sometimes not even ring at all leaving you blue-balled and desperate.

Then out of the blue she contacted you to tell you she had an idea how you could spend more time together.

"I've been telling all my hot friends about my cute sissy male friend... in other words you! If you go along with it and play the part, then I'm sure we can hang out more. All you gotta do is come over and act like a girly gay boy and the sorority will accept you. Maybe you'll even finally get to fuck me."

Natasha took you shopping and made you buy a load of new outfits. They were much tighter and more feminine than you were used to. Skin tight jeans, a crop top that showed off your body. You looked completely different. "There. Now you look more like a twink. We'll get your hair dyed blonde and styled, then get you into some of my panties and no one will believe you're straight."

You couldn't believe you were going along with it, but told yourself it would be worth it to spend more time with your hot girlfriend in her sexy new body.

She led you back to the sorority house and the girls swarmed you. You remembered what Natasha had told you, so you acted as camp as you possibly could. Strangely it came quite naturally, like you'd been putting on a masculine front for years and this was actually who you truly were.

To your surprise you began to have fun - gossiping, giggling, hanging out with the girls. You didn't even feel horny anymore.

Eventually Natasha showed you up to Chanel's amazing bedroom. It was quite a palace - as befitted the head of a sorority.

Lying on expensive silk sheets, she made you strip and try on her panties. You were a bit uncomfortable when she suddenly took some photos of you, but she promised they were just for fun and she'd delete them later.

Soon Natasha had images of you dressed in her bra, panties - wearing her makeup. It was like playing dress up it was fun.

You had hoped that she would now lock the door and offer to sleep with you at last - but to your disapointment she told you that she was tired and that the girls would get suspicious if you didn't come out soon.

Putting on your new outfit, you left the house feeling dejected - and yet strangely satisfied. It was like something was awaking inside you.

You wondered what tonight would bring...

***

After your dress up session, you hadn't been expecting more contact from Natasha, so it was a surprise when your phone rang that evening.

She sounded horny, there was a slutty catch in her voice and an excitement you couldn't quite place.

"Mmmmmh, heya 'babe'. So I'm lying here in some new expensive lingerie and I also picked up a new toy at the Mall. Wanna listen to me get off?"

Without waiting for your permission you heard the rustle of clothing and Natasha's breath catching. "Ohhhh wow, it's like nine inchs long or something. This really is a magnificent 'toy'."

You heard Natasha moan and soon there were sucking, slurping and popping sounds coming down the phone. It was unusual for her to simulate doing a blowjob, you imagined her lying on her back with a dildo in her mouth. She was doing a great job, it almost sounded like a real dick she was sucking.

Then you heard a grunt of pleasure. A male grunt. Did she... was she ACTUALLY sucking another guys cock? You angrily asked her causing her to giggle.

"Of course not babe, you must be hearing things. Mmmmhhh I'm here all on my own and I'm soooo fucking horny right now. Ohhh shit he's, mmmmh I mean I'm putting it inside me and it feels so good."

You heard the sounds of heavy breathing, then a soft wet slapping sound that grew harder and faster till it was soon the hot sound of hard male flesh slapping against soft female buttocks.

"Ooooh fuck YESSSS. You fuck me soooo good, I mean... my dildo fucks me so good. Ahhhhh ohhhh fuck, this feels amazing."

You were sure you could hear grunting and laughing as Natasha's moans of pleasure grew and the sounds of hot heavy fucking filled your ears.

It sounded like she was bent over on all fours now getting railed hard. Her breathing was heavy, you could hear the bed squeaking and shaking.

"Mmmmmh imagine if there really was a guy here fucking me. A big stong Alpha Jock with rippling muscles and a big dick?"

The slapping increased and Natasha let out a gutteral moan of pleasure.

"Making me cum in ways you never could. Ooohhhh fuck, what would you do about it then you fucking loser? You'd probably just jerk off to the thought anyway. You're so pathetic. Isn't he such a fucking cuck baby?"

Male laughter filled the line and the phone slipped out of your numb hands as the screams of ecstasy pumped out of your phone and you jerked off to the sound of your girlfriend getting pumped.

***

"Of course I didn't fuck a guy last night," laughed Natasha as you confronted her later. "It's all in your mind, you're just losing it. You pay me to pretend to be your girlfriend right so that's what I do. It's all make-believe."

You gawped at her in shocked amazement.

"Don't you remember loser? You wanted to pay me regular amounts to roleplay as your girlfriend and pretend she'd possessed me. I've got the monthly payments to prove it."

You shook your head in disbelief. No - this wasn't right. She WAS your girlfriend.

Chanel/Natasha laughed. "Oh come on. I knew you were mentally unstable, but seriously? You actually believe I'm your long distance girlfriend possessing this body? I mean - magic isn't possible loser. Fucking hell, I was worried you were losing your mind, but this is the final straw. Our little arrangement is over. I'm not pretending to be Natasha anymore and don't try to cause any trouble. I have photos of you dressed like a sissy loser I could release at any time, not to mention proof you've been paying me to pretend to be your girlfriend. It's over 'babe'."

Laughing Chanel walked away shaking her head.

***

Picking up the phone you desperately rang Natasha's cellphone. You were so confused. Was Natasha really possessing Chanel or had you invented the whole thing in your head.

No one answered so you called Natasaha's sister. She sounded upset on the phone.

That's when you found out that Natasha had been in a coma for nearly two weeks. Apparantly her family had come home one day to find her slumped over a table, totally unresponsive. It was like she wasn't there anymore - zero brain activity.

"We tried contacting you, but you didn't answer any of our calls or get back to us. What the hell is going on?"

You hung up - stunned.

Running over to the sorority house you banged on the door and demanded to be led to Chanel. You found her in her bedroom dressed in sexy lingerie and looking particularly bratty.

You accused her of abandoning her body, of becoming trapped inside Chanel. You begged her to leave Chanel and go back to her old body before it was too late. How long before her family decided to switch off the incubator and let her old body die. You begged and pleaded.

Chanel just looked at you coldly.

"Listen here you fucking loser. There are two possibilities you are describing. In one, I'm actually your stupid long-distance girlfriend who has become addicted to being a hot popular girl, absorbed all of her memories and replaced her. In this scenario I'm a body thief who loves what I have become and doesn't give a shit about you or anyone else.

In the second scenario, you're a crazy repressed sissy who has gone off the deep end at University due to the shock of his girlfriend falling into a coma. Full of unresolved guilt, you've created an elaborate fantasy pretending that I'm actually her - when in fact I'm Chanel Grey, popular girl and sorority president and that's who I have always been.

What I wanna know is - how in either of these scenarios you think it ends well for you? I know which scenario the police and everyone else will believe. I have photographic evidence that you're a pervert who wishes he was a girl. I have payments into my bank account for role-playing your girlfriend, and I can detail all the times I sucked your dick for money.

You have nothing. No evidence, no proof that any of this is true. You just sound like a fucking crack-pot.

Now why don't you get the fuck out of here before I call my new boyfriend over and get him to beat the shit out of you?"

What choice did you have? You turned and ran.

***

Chanel Grey watched the pathetic sissy loser she had just bullied turn and run with a thrill of sexual pleasure. She enjoyed being mean to people and indulging her cruel whims. Toying with this loser had been really fun.

Walking up to the mirror she examined her perfect reflection.

Who was she?

She was Chanel Grey. She was rich, spoiled and popular. She had a boyfriend with a big dick that was coming over to fuck her.

Nothing else mattered really.

THE END

[heavenlymorals]

Why are you always trying to paint Arthur as a misogynist? When he clearly isn't??? I like your posts by why do you hyper fixate on stuff like that?

Hello anon and thanks for the ask.

Well, quite simply, I "paint" Arthur as someone who actively believes in and enforces gender roles because he does so in the game. It's a part of his writing and his character. The canon Arthur is NOTHING like how the fandom here on Tumblr portrays him as. That's also a reason why I started making these posts because I honestly hate when fanon becomes the accepted truth of characters and not the actual canon. It happens all the time.

I'm a very pragmatic person and this will show in my posts. I don't care about what characters COULD be and I focus more on what they ACTUALLY are. That's why my retrospective posts are usually looked at through a psychological, sociological, cultural, feminist, and/or literary point of view. I look at characters and learn things about them through their actions and words, as well as the time period that they are a part of. I do not care at all about making characters seem morally better, especially when it comes to historical attitudes because those historical attitudes aren't as historical as we make them out to be.

They still affect us every single day and only recently have we started pushing back- that's also not mentioning cultures where these attitudes are STILL encouraged, which then changes the way people think. Understanding historical attitudes allows us to understand not only our own cultures better, but people as well and why they do the things they do.

Now let's talk about Arthur. Arthur is a man born in 1863. Women couldn't even get a credit card by themselves without a man till 1974. To put it quite simply, he lived in a time era where women had almost 0 rights and those women who did succeed in life usually had some sort of male support. People supported this system, both male and female. Did you know that when the suffrage movement began, most American women didn't give a fuck because they believed that was men's duties, not their own? Point is is that even if Arthur is a lot more lenient regarding this stuff, he still actively believes in it because of how pungent it was in the society he lived in.

The first mission we have with the female gang members is heading to Valentine. The first thing he says to them is whether Miss Grimshaw could spare them from their domestic chores, already showing that in the gang, the girls' main duty is the domestic work and that Arthur supports this. Later in that mission, when he chases down Jimmy Brooks, he puts Uncle in charge of bringing them back home, even though he is an old ass man and they are three young, healthy, and capable women. In one mission, you got two examples of Arthur being an active encourager of gender roles.

And then there is Sadie- when she expresses her frustration over the work she has to do, he tries to shut her down. When she gets her pants, he mocks her: "You get a pair of pants and all of a sudden you think you're Landon Ricketts?" When she asks Dutch when she can go robbing with them, both him and Dutch laugh her off. When they bust John out of prison, he does it with her cuz literally no one else would help him and when they escape on the boat, he gets visibly annoyed that she doesn't take his hand. There are even more examples of things like this when he antagonizes her, but that's just the main game.

And there is the antagonizations of women performers. "Women shouldn't be doing this." "Go make someone some supper." "Go back to the kitchen." "This ain't ladylike." I'm sorry, but these need no explanations. His antagonize lines are just as canon as his greet lines and the fact that he says stuff like that shows that he believes in gender roles. It's an active part of his belief system.

There are so many more examples of this and the majority of them are subtle but I come from a culture that still treats its women like the 1800s treated theirs so when I ever pick up on these things, it's cuz I've lived it before.

And my final point- this is a historical game. Rockstar made sure to be as accurate as they can in regards to the time period- so characters not only react to historical attitudes but they are a part of it as well. Same goes for Arthur. He's a historical character with a historical background and historical attitudes- and that comes with the good, like chivalry, and the bad, sexism. You shouldn't play a game like RDR if you're expecting characters to feel modern in their thought processes.

Thank you and have a great day.

[ghostradiodylan]

[s k i l l ]

So, we talk a lot about Quarry headcanons and what could have been on the Brainrot Discord server that Kat made and one of the things I keep thinking about is how they gave (at least some of) the characters these sets of skills that never really impact gameplay, and I think it would be really cool if they did. Like, if there was more variety in who could be sent on which path. Switching Kaitlyn to the Hackett house path with Laura and Ryan to the scrapyard with Dylan being a popular one for fanfic, but also, idk, maybe Dylan won't let Ryan go without him so he ends up on the Hackett house path too? Maybe Abi steps up to go with Kaitlyn to the scrapyard and has to figure out the crane even though it's way out of her skillset, maybe Emma and Jacob can actually come back and link up with the rest of the gang instead of being stuck out in the woods for so long, stuff like that.

I'm just thinking about what their skills might be and how that might impact the game. Also keep in mind that if the character you most need for a task ends up up dead before that task comes along, it's going to be carnage for everyone else, which would up the replay value significantly IMO.

Kaitlyn: Shooting. She's a MUCH better shot than Ryan, if we can believe the Shooting Stars scoreboard (four of the actual children attending the camp score higher than him), but we never see that in the game? What if the aiming mechanism was actually different between different characters? What if there were shots you could make more easily as Kaitlyn, that were harder to pull off as Ryan?

Ryan: Agility. Guy does a lot of running and jumping, what if there were timed segments that were easier to complete as Ryan within the allotted time, or else something consequential happened? Good luck if you ended up plodding along with Jacob instead, now Abi and Nick are both mauled and turning, or something like that.

Dylan: Tech. Dylan's the physics nerd who slays at the crane game. What if you could bring him to the Hackett house and he could figure out the electric circuit puzzle in no time, but that meant someone else had to help Kaitlyn in the scrapyard? Maybe Ryan can still save Jacob without him but he takes too much time and the Hacketts catch you and pick off one of your party.

Jacob: Strength. Jakey's probably the buffest of the dudes, so maybe there are times you need a pair of strong arms or legs and Jacob's the only one who can come through. They also show us him picking locks but he never does that in an impactful situation, so maybe he'd have a lesser talent for that as well.

Abi: Stealth. Okay, so Abi runs and hides? Maybe she's awesome at hiding, then? Maybe she can get through parts of the game undiscovered by the werewolves that other characters can't. Maybe her being short AF means she can fit into hiding spots that you can't cram the leggy bois like Dylan and Nick into.

Emma: Observation. Emma's always watching and analyzing everyone's behavior and documenting things on her phone. Maybe she can find evidence or tarot cards others can't, or put pieces of the mystery together in ways no one else thinks of. Emma's a badass in the game, but it would be cool to see her 'documentarian' side come in handy prior to the credits rolling, too.

Nick: Climbing. I completely made this up because we don't get to see Nick do much besides try to pull his crush, suck face on a dare with Emma, and get mauled, but we do know he takes kids through the ropes course based on his dialogue with Abi, plus he's tall so he's got long arms and legs! Maybe he's the aerial expert. Maybe he can scale fences and get important items down from trees. Maybe he can climb up and free other characters who get stuck in those snare traps. (Obviously this assumes someone else can be the Designated Werewolf Victim, which I also think would improve the game.)

This also assumes Laura and Max keep their current roles, but I'd be up for that to be changeable too. It's not that I necessarily want a higher number of choices available, I just want the choices we can make to actually impact the gameplay and story arc more! Anyway, that's my Quarry ramble for the day (unless I come up with another one). Anyone else have thoughts?

[realdirtfacts]

Selling your merch and shipping from home with Fourthwall

I've been selling @shiftythrifting Junk Boxes - our curated secondhand mystery boxes - since 2017 using different platforms with different levels of success. I moved to Fourthwall in 2022 and my teeny tiny business has only grown since then! FW is free to use and you get ALL the money from your home sales save for the credit card processing fees. I don't miss the fee structure from our previous hosts, so I thought I'd write up a little guide on how easy it is to get started.

Things you need to start shipping from home:

A scale, and it doesn't need to be an expensive or large one! Even a kitchen scale works for small stuff.

Packaging and packing materials for the product(s) you're selling.

Access to a post office and/or a printer.

Funds set aside for postage. You'll get this money back with your Fourthwall payout when the month rolls over.

(Optional but handy) A ShipStation account.

Make yourself a store if you haven't already. You can sell print on demand, digital stuff, and your own inventory in one place but today we're talking about selling from home, so add a product and pick the middle option.

You can customize everything about your product on this page, from adding size and color variations, the materials used to make it, size charts, inventory, and more. Get an accurate weight of what you're selling in its packaging and add that here. Hit save and you have your first listing. Gonna be selling a variety of products? You can duplicate the listing with the meatball menu! Change the name, photos, and anything else that needs changing and have your second listing up in a couple minutes.

Didi protip: I like to put people's reviews right in the listing. Lots of photos help sell your product, but there's nothing like a positive review from fans!

Fourthwall's Collections feature lets me put my Junk Boxes in their own little section where I can set them to hidden or mark them sold out if I get sick or am on vacation. This lets me easily turn the self-fulfilled part of my store off while folks can still purchase print on demand and digital stuff and sign up for memberships.

Didi protip: If you are in the US, the US postal service will pick up your outgoing packages free of charge on any regular mail day. Just set up a pickup on USPS.com!

When you've made your first sale, you can either make the label yourself or connect directly to ShipStation through Fourthwall's app integration. That's brand new and I love it so far. My labels pop up in ShipStation about 24 hours after a purchase, giving people a little window of time to adjust their order or make changes before I ship it.

At that point, all that's left is handing it off to the postal carrier of your choice! Boom, you're done!

A final note from me, I moved ShopShifty to Fourthwall so I could have one address for ALL my merch instead of splitting it between Patreon, a print-on-demand store, and the Junk Box store. It's proven to be the best choice I've made in years and has saved me a ton of money in marketplace fees, Paypal's cut, and web hosting charges. This has genuinely been the easiest way to sell my merch!

[clairelsonao3]

ETA: Thank you so much to the person (people) who already bought me a Ko-Fi. You are true gems. 💕

So, my bank account is down to $0. I just got unceremoniously dumped from the freelance job I was hoping would get me through the month. I'm at rock bottom, behind on my credit card payments, and really sad and scared that my life has come to this.

I also have an MFA and have been a professional writer, editor, content marketer, journalist, and ghostwriter for nearly 15 years, and I am actually very good at what I do, not that you would know it.

My clients tell me things are slow this summer, as if my rent and bills somehow also take a vacation.

The worst thing of all is that the prospect of soon self-publishing my book is the only thing that's keeping me going right now, and I'm starting to get scared that I won't be able to afford to do it when the time comes. I can do it cheaply, but not for free, at least to any quality.

So: I can beta read. I can edit and proofread your stuff. I can ghostwrite nonfiction and fiction. I've never done writing commissions before, but why not? All for low/negotiable rates, say .003/word for editing/beta and .08/word for writing.

I also have a Ko-Fi.

So yes. This is a request for work, tip money, kind words, and reassurance that I don't, in fact, suck.

Also, please reblog if you can. I would really appreciate that.

And it's a thank you. I would never normally do this, but I've gotten a lot of support from this community, so I've decided to take a deep breath and put myself out there in a way I can't with my IRL friends.

And to anyone else struggling: I'm thinking of you and here for you. You don't suck, and this is temporary. 💕

[i-cant-sing]

How do you're ocs treat Reader to a self care day?

Theodore is beating his chest with thunderous hands and opens his arms wide and that is your cue to fucking jump on him and let him cuddle you- cuddle the sadness, the depression, the fatigue OUT OF YOU. At least thats his idea of self care (that and shooting people... and breaking stuff... and causing chaos and destruction) but he'll compromise and do whatever you wanna do, as long as he gets to grumble and hold your hand (at least, he loves physical intimacy). Honestly, u can get him to agree anything u want if u just give him a kiss on the nose- and he will instantly melt. He will still complain, thats non negotiable.

Dimitri is a man of money. He will spend his entire account on you if it pleases you, and if retail therapy is your thing, girl u just hit the jackpot. Of course, hes down for seggsy times too, but thats really his idea of self care and if you wanna do something else, he can put his needs aside for now even though he promises you would've felt 100000 times better by the time he was done with you. But like i said, he's a rich guy, he will give u his credit cards and money if u wanna do something else. Hell, he's even rained them bills on you. "Do you want to jump on a pile of money, pchelka? Hm? I can arrange that for you, darling." (pchelka = little bee)

Eros... the golden boy, the charmer. He will literally sweep u off your feet with how sweet and caring he is omg he will actually drop everything he's doing the moment he hears you sigh out the wrong way. Like you take one breath way too deeply and he's right in front of you, holding your face ever so gently and asking you whats wrong. And you dont even need to tell him anything because he's just so darn smart and he can read you like an open book and thus, he knows what you need. He knows if its a "retail therapy" kinda day or "stay at home, do face masks and watch comfort movies" or "take long bubble baths together" kinda day. Please rant to him, he pays close attention to all of it and has the best and most appropriate reactions and... he just loves your voice. And the thing with Eros is that he doesnt just make it a self car day- no, its a self care days/week/months or however long HE deems that you need it. He's the best, i love him.

Magnus is... not the dude u wanna self care with. Like dont come to him and say "can i have some space/leave the house for a while because I desperately need some me time." because to him that means he needs to STEP TF UP and be there more for you as if u werent already tired of him breathing down your neck 24/7. "Hm, what did you say? You want some space? Oh but angel, that's not what you need. No, silly! God made us for each other, we're soulmates! And we need to be there for each other, in sickness and in health! Aww but I don't blame you for getting confused about what your body needs! Its what happens when you dont have a baby in you. And it has been a while since we had our last! I think its time for baby number 8! :D" And you best believe the cult members are glaring at you through the windows of your house, pointing their pitchforks at you to fucking follow your husband to the bedroom and let him put another baby in you or they will come in to help him do just that (and maybe beat u up a little when he's gone for baby shopping).

You say self care and Lucifer's mind goes to torturing souls and eternal damnation. But thats what he likes, and now that he likes you, he will let you express your preferences. I mean, personally he would kinda try to get u into adding more oil into the fire that burns souls, but he knows you dont like it when they scream... maybe he can pull their vocal cords out?? Hm, maybe. Lucifer allows u to do whatever you wanna do as long as you do it in hell/within the premises of his home(castle, really. Real edgy dark, satany theme going on). One time, you wanted someone to just hold u and since Lucifer is the only one who is allowed to touch you, you climbed into his lap and let him hold u for hours as he sat on his throne, and he swears he's never felt more content in his life than with you softly snoring in his arms and shuffling closer to him every now and then, with him carding a hand through your hair and kissing your soft cheeks.

[aceofwhump]

Hi Ace! Any advice for this newfound adult? (18)

ALSO ALSO I love your page so much its literally one of the bestEST!!! In my eyes you're like a whump celebrity! 😀🔥

Asdfghjkl omg thank you so much!!! You're too kind! I'm glad you enjoy my blog! And hello! Welcome to the adult world! It sucks! lol sorry. I'm not the best at adulting at all but sure I can share some advice. Some things I've learned since turning 18:

Other adults are just as dumb as you feel. We're all drowning and have no idea what we're doing so it's okay to feel like you have nothing down and don't know what you're doing. Cause we all feel like that. We're all just kids trying to make our way in the world.

Work should not be the center of your world. Work is supposed to be the place you go to make money so you can live your life. Don't let it take over your life. Don't let the frustrations of work destroy your mental health. No job is worth that. If it gets to be too much and it's affecting your health, it's time to find another job.

Maintaining friendships can be harder as you reach adulthood because schedules get crazy and people move and such but it's so worth the work. It won't be as easy as it was in high school because you're not gonna see people every day. You have to work hard to make time to see people and remember to text your friends every now and then even if it's just a "hey I'm thinking about you" or sending them a funny gif or video. Make the effort. Reach out to people you care about. Tell them you care about them.

Now I don't know your home life but as someone who still lives with their parents and has never moved out, THAT'S OKAY TO DO. You are not required to move out as soon as possible just to say your an adult. Life is hard and expensive and sometimes it's nice to have people to come home to.

Don't worry about what others think of you. Wear what you want, enjoy your hobbies whatever they may be, eat what you want, live you life for yourself. Not for others. You'll be happier. Trust me.

Go out there and try things!! You're young! Do things! You never know what you might find until you look.

Learn how to budget but remember that it's okay to spend money on "stupid stuff" that makes you happy. Go ahead and buy that stuffed animal or toy you've wanted since you were a kid.

Lists are very helpful for keeping track of important dates, chores to do, bills to pay. Makes lists. Keep them up on the fridge or a bulletin board above your computer.

Take care of your health. Brush your teeth, try to eat healthy, go outside for a walk, etc.

The best advice I got concerning credit cards was this: use one for big purchases but only use it when you have the money in your bank account to pay for the item. So like, go buy a chair with your credit card and then as soon as you can, pay the credit card bill with the money you should have in the bank. That way you don't end up going into massive credit card debt because you're spending money you don't have.

Be patient.

Be open to new things and meeting new people.

Be kind but take no shit. You never know what the other person is going through and we all handle stress and fear in different ways. It never hurts to just be kind when you can. When you can't be kind? Take no shit. Don't let someone walk over. Stand up for yourself.

Wear sunscreen!!!

Find a hobby. And I mean something you do just for yourself that has nothing to do with making any money. Create something. Learn to crochet or knit or make things with wood or draw or build legos or sew or cosplay or write or make movies or photography. SOMETHING that lets you use your hands and that you do just for yourself because it makes you happy. It's also a great way to meet people. Most of my friends I've met through my hobbies. Hobbies are great for your mental health

Put the phone down sometimes and just be in the moment. Just enjoy life for a bit without thinking about taking photos for social media.

Work hard but don't kill yourself. It's good to work hard and have a good work ethic but remember to take a break and don't push yourself beyond your limits.

GO THRIFTING!!! I can't say that one enough. People tend to look down on places like Good Will, Savers, and thrift stores but I can buy a brand new couch for like 30 dollars at these places. I have bought an entire wardrobe for next to nothing. Go thrifting. You'll find some really great things for cheap.

Ask for help when you need it. It's not shameful to ask for help. And that's for everything. Don't understand something at work? Ask a coworker or manager. Not sure how to cook something? Ask a friend or family member if they know how. Struggling with your mental health? Ask for help from a friend or family member. ASK FOR HELP

And finally, there is no deadline or boxes you need to mark off to be considered an "adult". You don't have to get married, buy a house, have kids, etc. to be successful at adulting. Live your life how you want to live your life.

Good luck nonny!!!!

[lilyisprtty]

¤¸¸.•´¯`ᕼYᑭᑎOTIᑕ ᗪᗩTᗩ•¸¸.•..>>

​🇸​​🇾​​🇵​​🇳​​🇴​​🇸​​🇮​​🇸​⦂ Being one of the strongest jujutsu sorcerers along with sukuna, him being the 'king of curses' while you're the 'queen of curses',

​🇼​​🇦​​🇷​​🇳​​🇮​​🇳​​🇬​​🇸​⦂ sadistic sukuna, toxic and manipulative behaviour from reader and sukuna, fem!reader, teasy touchies , bitter sweet fluff, implied murder and stuff, blood, gorey and graphic themes in the end

​🇵​​🇦​​🇮​​🇷​​🇮​​🇳​​🇬​​🇸​⦂ Ryomen Sukna x fem!reader

​🇮​​🇳​​🇹​​🇷​​🇴​⦂

One part of the modern times that Sukuna loves, is that the drinks have surely adapted, and Sukuna loves drinks. Always going out for a drink or two 8 after a battle. Another thing Sukuna loves about drinking, is that whenever he's at the bar, you're there too. Hips swaying towards him as if you were hypnotising him.

This was the case now. As you sat down next to him, crossing your legs and pushing your hair back, Sukuna watching as it all falls back in place.

"Hey there Queen of Curses."

Sukuna greets, smirking wide, your gaze on his thick canines.

"Hello King of Curses."

You greet back, you guys think its ultimately cheesy that humans actually called you these things, but it's only funny when you guys call each other that.

"Y'know what I'm here for."

You hum, resting your elbow on the bar and resting your chin on your palm.

Watching Sukuna nod with a giddy smile before slamming his fist upon the bar, making your elbow bounce off of it for a split second. He yells,

"Shots!"

​🇨​​🇭​​🇴​​🇷​​🇺​​🇸​⦂

Half way through your little drinking session with Sukuna, and since you guys can handle shots like water, you've now got 2 vodka and rum bottles sitting next to you like water bottles. You and Sukuna are laughing your heads off, knee smacking and all.

Finishing off your laughter from a previous joke you chuckle,

"I'm gonna get another rum bottle."

You state, raising your hand up to the bartender standing a few feet from you.

"Order what you want, motherfucker in fact, put it all on my tab."

He insists, slapping his credit card down on the table dramatically as you laugh hysterically at his dramatic flare

You're not wearing the usual jujutsu sorcerer outfit, the women's body you consume is what humans call a whore. Constant dresses that if you bent down, you could see the beautiful black panties she has on. Skirts that if you sat down, her thighs would basically pop out. All black though. You didn't complain, you don't care about fashion, but boy did Sukuna care about yours.

"You keep looking at me."

You yell over the music. Smiling at him, playing with the bottle in your lap. You're wearing a Colette mini dress. You didn't think much of it when you were eating someone's flesh mere moments ago.

"How can I not when you look the way you look, huh?"

He yells in response, his grin was always wider then yours. Always. Always showing you his enjoyment. As he says those words he traces your body with his eyes.

"How do I look, Kuna?"

You tease, tilting your head, saying his nickname, the nickname that only you bothered to call him, the nickname that makes him want to rip your head off just to hold it close and kiss your lips.

"Hypnotic."

He says, tilting his head upwards in a superior manner, his eyes never removing themselves from your gaze. Before you could respond, Sukuna gets called over by Gojo, a friend or an acquaintance of his. He flashes you a wink before heading towards Gojo, standing next to him with arms crossed, both him and Gojo facing and looking at you from the back of the bar.

"Watchya want."

Sukuna interogates, both guys have their eyes locked on you as they speak.

"Who's the girl? She looks like a good one."

Gojo hums, implying you're a good girl.

Sukuna glances at Gojo for a second before his stare returns on you.

"She's not a good girl. Nah, she's naughty."

The men both chuckle amongst themselves, this tiny conversation only tells Gojo that Sukuna wants you. So he has no choice but to let it happen. Gojo presses a hand upon Sukuna's back, gently pushing him towards you. Mumbling a 'see ya.' as he walks back towards you.

"Welcome back, you were in the middle of complimenting me and I think we should get back on that."

You kid, making him laugh as she sits down.

"Nah, don't wanna kiss your ass too much."

He reminds himself, watching a fake frown appear on your face.

"Don't pout. Bitches pout."

He grunts, looking at those pretty lips snarl at him.

"Don't complain, tiny dicked men complain."

You shoot back, watching his eyes widen.

"Watch it, my dick does more damage then both our strength combined. Could split ya open."

He mutters as he sips his vodka bottle watching you roll your eyes and scoff.

"Is your ego bigger then it?"

You ask, tilting your head as you watch him roll his eyes and flip you off, his claw facing you as you flick it away with a giggle.

After mere moments of silence, you watch him turn to you, striking up a conversation.

"Look, It's just me and you in this club."

Sukuna begins, referring to the dying down bar, calling it a bar out of sarcasam.

You nod, responding,

"Gojo's here, and it seems Sugu-"

"Nobody matters to me except for us."

He says. Interrupting your argument.

"Us?"

You repeat.

"Us."

He clarifies.

​🇻​​🇪​​🇷​​🇸​​🇪​⦂

Laying at the beach in this town you find yourself in with Sukuna, another common place you guys hang out in. Only at night. The beach isn't enjoyable in the mornings.

"Y'know,"

You begin, your hair laid upon the sand and your arm over your head, Sukuna next to you, mimicking your position.

"I think I'm better then you. At like, being the whatever of curses."

You say, a wide grin on your face, implying your better at him then what you guys do. Torturing humanity.

Sukuna audibly scoffs,

"Girl,"

He begins, the sass in his voice lingering,

"If you didn't notice, this is my world. There's still a lot you gotta learn."

He snarls, his arms coming onto his chest, crossing in frustration. You giggle at his sassiness.

"But I'll make you feel better, what's mine is yours, so thanks to me, you're at the skill level you're at."

He jokes, turning his head to look at you, his cheek getting embraced by the sand.

"Uh? No? Everything I got, I worked my ass for, I deserve it."

You dismiss, scrunching your nose up at him in disbelief.

"These clothes, I worked my ass for."

You joke, knowing you didn't spend a penny on these clothes.

"You can keep all the shit you're wearing! Everybody knows its fake."

He jokes back, watching you cackle at his humour.

In the bathroom of the bar you and Sukuna normally meet up at, but somethings different.. this time, you're pressed up against a sink and you have Sukuna attached to your mouth.

His hands gripped onto where your ribs are, his claws digging into your flesh as yours dig into his neck, blood beginning to drip down both your mouths,

"Shit."

Sukuna groans, realising he bit your tongue, not like a nibble, he bit a chunk of that shit, making you whimper and whine, not because your scared, but because he's so fucking hot. The blood spreading across yours and Sukuna's cheeks, what a blood bath.

​🇦​/​🇳​⦂ THISS WASS HELLLLAAA RUSHED BUT ITS OK I HOPE U GUYS LIKED IT!

[sighthounds-and-sketches]

Let's talk about flying to pick up a puppy by yourself

And some ways to make it easier on you.

Your prep starts honestly, about a week before baby actually comes home. Maybe 2 weeks.

For my pre-flight prep, I first picked out a flight carrier. I went with the one my breeder recommended.

It has expandable sides, and a little storage pocket. And it's resistant to chewing. I'm really glad I didn't buy a cheaper one, and I can't stress enough that it's cheaper to buy a quality one the first time than have a zipper break or a tear in the middle of your trip. My trip in total was 4 flights and 4 hours in the car, with him being with me for half of it and having the longest layover of my day. I could only really let him out a couple times, so this next part was incredibly helpful.

I mailed the carrier to my breeder,

at her behest. This was *huge* because the siblings got their scent on it and he was acclimated to being in it before I got to him. It acted as a secure place for him to ride in the car and for his first few nights here, he slept in there through the night.

And now that he's in his crate, the removable pad with scents on it has been instrumental in establishing the crate as a safe place for him.

Video of why I'm really glad I got the durable carrier.

Please consider what you're wearing that day.

Wear clothes you don't need to fuss with *at all* that's normal airport protocol- but I can't stress this enough, you're carrying the puppy in your arms through the TSA checkpoint and other people will be fussing over him. Make sure your appearance and personal bag is no fuss.

See: jeans, hoodie, puppy treat and potty bag that can be shoved into my personal Item, and a no fuss backpack.

In my personal travel bag I kept:

Pee pads, his food from the breeder, a change of clothes in case of incidents, a portable battery to charge my phone, collapsible food and water bowls, collar and leash incase one wasn't provided, and SEVERAL toys in there.

The toys were great for waiting in the terminal. I'd expand the sides of the crate and introduce a new toy to him to help him run a bit of energy out before we had to board.

Peepads: Even though airports have animal relief areas, chances are they're either kind of gross or your dog may be a little too young for it to be safe. I was traveling through one of the busiest airports in the world, and nobody was checking jack shit so I opted for potty breaks to occur in bathrooms with pee pads. He didn't end up going but it's better to be prepared.

I flew Delta and used Skymiles accumulated from our credit card with them that we pay off monthly, so the only thing I paid for out of pocket was 95.00 to bring Argos on board. My flight only costed 20k miles total, and that was only a small portion of what we'd accumulated over the 6 months we've been using the card. I think it's worth considering if you're planning to fly to a breeder. It enabled me to go anywhere in the country that Delta flies and not worry about costs.

Day of hack: double check your flights on the airlines app and switch your seat if possible. I swapped one of my return flight seats to an empty row for 15.00, which meant I could have my carryon and him with me at the same time and that was very nice for readjusting where my stuff was and taking a damn nap. Because at this point, I'd been up for about 18 hours and still had 7 hours of traveling before I'd get home.

I think my last thing is that if you're like me and you do have an invisible disability- ask if you can preboard. Dont be afraid to say "hey, i have this problem and standing in the heat while carrying a bunch of stuff is potentially going to cause an episode. " The employees were extremely nice, and willing to work with me. Ultimately, I went through all of this because he's a service dog prospect and will hopefully help.

Small things for me specifically prior: ate in the morning and right before I picked him up, he was able to chill in his carrier while I ate dinner at a restaurant in the airport- didn't make any sounds. He slept the whole time. I don't think I couldve eaten in the food court, too much to carry between him and my main bag.

I think that's it. I may add to this if I remember anything I forgot.

Edited to add: for my besties with miscellaneous illnesses-

A baggie with your medicines is IMPORTANT. Do not forget some dramamine, advil, Tylenol, whatever, pack it if there's a small chance you'll need it!

I ended up getting migraine symptoms like 5 hours into travel, and that was not a day I could afford to have blurred vision. <3 remember to take care of YOU on the journey.

[2346khith]

Dear Supporter,

I hope this message finds you and your family in good health. My name is Eman Zaqout from Gaza. I am reaching you out to seek your urgent help in spreading the word about our fundraiser. I lost both my home and my job due to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and we are facing catastrophic living conditions. 💔

I kindly ask you to visit my campaign. Your support, whether through donating or sharing, will help us reach more people who can make a difference. Thank you for your continued support for the Palestinian cause. Your dedication brings us closer to freedom. 🙏🕊

Note: Verified by several people as 90-ghost and aces-and-angels. ☑

For those who see this please, visit their blog and reblog their blog’s posts so they  get more attention and if you have the money to spare please donate.

Also I apologize, but I do not have the ability to donate to you. Trust me if I had the ability I would but I don't and I can't. I have no bank account or credit card to transfer money to and no job to gain any money. Every time I ask my parents to help they shut me down so this is the only way to help you. Please forgive me.

[arcaneglitch]

I Nearly Got Art Scammed

Hey guys. I wanted to share this story with you as a precautionary tale for artists that take commissions. It's one of those things you think will never happen to you until it does

So here's how I was almost a victim of an art scam and what you can to prevent scams from getting the better of you

This one started on ArtStation, which makes sense as a target since it's primarily a portfolio site for artists rather than a typical social media. It began with a standard question about commissions.

Nothing out of the ordinary, right? I replied that I was and asked if she would like a link to my commission form. In hindsight, her response should have alerted me that something was off because she didn't ask for the form. Instead she offered to pay $300 for a drawing for her son's birthday (just over a month out).

Still, if you're an artist desperate for commissions, you might overlook any oddities. We corresponded a bit more, sorting out details about the piece. That's when she sent this:

That's the first warning sign. These days, it's practically unheard of not to have an account set up with an online transfer service (think PayPal, Zelle, etc). Still, you might write it off as someone being a bit old-fashioned.

This is where the first tip comes in: be specific about how you accept payment and don't immediately compromise

At that point, we switched to email. She agreed to a pose for the commission on November 9th, then was silent. Two days later (November 11th), I emailed asking her to confirm additional details.

She didn't get back to me until November 14th.

This is another indicator of a scam (listed as one of the warning signs in articles). If someone was confirming details for a time-sensitive commission, it's highly unlikely they'd go radio silent for days, especially when they were responding consistently before.

A day later, she emailed to tell me that there was a problem with the check.

I replied and she gave me the details.

What she's attempting to do is execute an overpayment scam. They typically involve generous offers paid through atypical methods such as credit cards or cheques. Then the scammer will admit to some mistake with the payment (as above) or admit to overpaying you from the start while giving you a fake excuse. The excuse she came up with was fairly detailed, but I don't think there's any reason someone wouldn't be able to cancel a cheque that hasn't been cashed.

Later, she sent me this:

Also typical of an overpayment scam. You're asked to refund the extra money through an online transfer (she suggests Zelle later). If you follow through, you'll discover that the scammer either used a fake/stolen credit card or that their cheque bounced.

DO NOT SEND THEM MONEY. If you send them money, you will not get it back. Same goes for whatever you might have sold to them.

The part that tipped me off was her telling me I could send the money back through Zelle. Not that the stuff leading up to that wasn't fishy, but that's what drove it home.

She revealed that she has access to an online transfer service, yet she didn't offer to pay for the commission that way, despite it being much more convenient. I suppose one could argue that she wanted to send money from a specific account that wasn't set up with Zelle. But if that was the case, she could pay from the Zelle account and then cover with a transfer from the other one at a later date.

I asked her if reimbursing her was the only way, suggesting that using Zelle would be easier. She completely ignored the suggestion.

Again, in what situation would you not be able to cancel a cheque that has not been cashed?

By this point, I was pretty much positive that it was a scam. I shared screenshots of the emails with another artist friend of mine, and she agreed that it sounded like a scam.

In my last email to the scammer, I told her that it sounded like a lot of hoops to jump through and that I typically collect payment through online transfers. I said that unless we could work out an alternative form of payment, it sounded like she needed to find someone else.

Anyway, I figured I'd share the story here. Hopefully, it'll help my fellow artists and warn people about the dangers of scams.

Thank you for reading! You can find more information on overpayment scams here and here is a link to spotting the signs of an art scam.

[lostlegendaerie]

Sunday blues under the cut

I'm going through my Google docs and my favorite (recs) AO3 bookmarks and like. there's something about the nostalgia here that's making me really sad for some reason and maybe it's because I've been so much less engaged with fandom stuff since I left Twitter.

Like I still read constantly and comment when I can, but maybe it's because of the culture that tends to softly discourage reblogs with comments (as opposed to Twitters endless streams of little public discussions, at least back in like 2019-2021) that I feel extremely disconnected.

I've got my little pockets of two or three friends here and there but a group? A fandom? A place where I felt like part of a community of likeminded people?

I don't know. I think I'm just back on that same old "I want to write something that matters to to someone" train and the only thing I've written with that level of plot and teeth is the fucking Genshin fic and I'm just. I wish I didn't care so much about making friends! I wish I didn't have to fight so hard to feel like I belonged! But Katsucon put into sharp relief that I don't have nearly the amount of IRL support that I need to be okay. I'm the mom friend to 80% of the people I know, and the other 3 individuals cannot be expected to keep helping me out of every crisis I have.

I don't know what happened to me in the past few years. I know some things have gotten better. But I miss so, so much just having a group of people to get EXCITED about creative projects with - or even just being able to hang out in person and not worry about how many annoying stupid things I've done in the past hour. God. GOD.

I know that I'm still talented. There's still something worth keeping in this body. But I feel like I've lost my ability to showcase it or share it in a way that isn't just Laurel (whom I love) doggedly trying to keep my sense of worth above water.

The only thing I feel like people like me for is my credit card. And it's something. It helps the people I love. But. God, I wish I could be something else.

[thefriendlyferretwriter]

A new side of you: summer evening

Pairing: Eugene 'Flash' Thompson x Reader

Summary: Getting closer traveling around the evening city of New York.

Warning: 12k words!, fluff, tension, awkward, Ned third wheeling, non-canon stuff (Rhino has enhanced sense of smell when he doesn't in the comics)

A/N: Sorry again for taking a long time in-between chapters but hopefully you'll like it, enjoy!

Tags: @wheelerzluv @loxerclu8 @ray-of-sunrise @m00nkn1ghts

"It's actually not that cold."

We are distancing ourselves from the yacht the lights brightening our path toward the evening streets.

The music is getting distant and my ears are focusing on the sound of our feet padding on the ports' wooden planks and the water rippling through the wood poles.

Passing a certain area, Flash stops dead in his spot.

"Wait, where are we going?" he asks feet firmly planted on the ground, standing awkwardly.

"The bus stop is right there, why?" I answer with a frown, not knowing exactly what we are apparently doing wrong.

"But my car is right there," he notifies us to his car parked in front of the stone wall beside the staircase leading to the street.

"Yeah but you don't know where we're going," I argue.

"You could always tell me the way."

"Well, we only know the way through the bus, you know a particular stop and a distinct building, I can't really tell like that by street names."

He stays silent, probably judging.

"Anyways, better not bring your car around there at this hour, you never know how quickly you can lose your tires until it happens during a 2-minute errant," I say getting closer to him and sliding my arm around his, linking our arms and tugging him towards the stone stairs instead of his car.

I feel him tense up, standing straighter and looking ahead at the bus stop like it's a target.

We don't have to wait long as the bus can be seen approaching our stop from afar. When the doors open, Ned zooms in front of us and swipes his card sitting himself ahead of us.

"A ticket please," I say as I swipe my metro card and take a few coins out of my wallet.

The driver looks at me and my small puddle of change before sending a look in Flash's direction. Exchanging my money for a card.

"You don't have to pay I can just use my money," he interrupts as I hand him his card.

"You have change in your wallet?"

"I have my credit card."

"Pocket change goes faster to get yourself a ticket. Plus, you're the birthday boy you don't have to pay," I say with a smile and a cheeky wink.

Sitting down, I take in the sight of the boat's light under the darkness of the outside. Flash really went out there this year with the spotlight.

It aggressively contrasts with the dead of night, barely lighted up by the few street lamps. I feel the seat beside mine shift and turning my gaze from the window I see him shifting around and sending me a quick awkward smile before looking elsewhere.

The bus's engine rumble as the bus starts back up. I look at the port sliding out of my vision.

we reach a corner before turning into a street and a question pops up in my mind making me turn my head around toward him.

"Have you ever taken the bus before?" I ask a bit agitated.

We make eye contact before he frowns, "Why do you ask?"

"It's just. I always saw you getting to school in cars, either yours or someone else's."

A strange look passes his eyes, "Oh! um yeah Once. I was like what, thirteen? And I wanted to go to a convention but my dad wouldn't let me to go."

he messes with his jacket's pockets, "I failed some grades and I was grounded so when he sent me to my room I stole some cash from my mom's purse and left through my window."

It sounds like a touchy subject.

"How was it?" I try to switch his attention.

"How was what?"

"The convention."

His eyes lose the fog but still manage to be elsewhere a happier place.

"Oh that was cool," he says with a smile, "saw a lot of people, discovered a lot of games that were to come and I even met a group of guys, they were cosplaying the Avengers and they were missing one of their buddies so I got to cosplay Hawkeye."

"How cool," I say remembering that the Avengers were the number one cosplay the year they assembled for the first time to save New York.

"Sounds cool, did the costume fit you?"

At that, he chuckles awkwardly but still reaches out to his phone and turns it on. Scrolling through it, he turns it towards me and I get to see the picture of five guys posing as what people call today the OG six.

"Like a glove. It's a shame, I'm not a fan of Hawkeye."

I gasp, "Hawkeye is such a cool guy!"

Analyzing the picture's small details I notice he is silent and turns my head to him to catch him looking back at me in silence.

"What?" I ask losing my smile in fear of having messed up.

"Nothing, just, I always forget that you mingle with the Avengers that's all."

I don't know what to say, should I be offended? He always made a mockery out of my 'internship' that would only be fair to let my sarcasm take over. But again, it feels like we are moving on to a clean slate since we interacted back at the wedding; my sarcasm could potentially put us back on hostile ground.

I decide to stay silent. Nowadays I don't know if his words are compliments or jabs anymore so with the fact that I am trying to spend a nice evening in his company I'd rather believe it is a compliment.

With the bus' incessant shake I take the initiative and catch his wrist in my hand stabilizing his arm and taking a closer look at the picture.

His hand grips his phone harder probably securing the device in his hand to make sure it does not fall.

"They are missing a black widow," I say smiling.

He hesitates, "Yeah? well, next time I'll keep you in mind if they're missing someone."

"It'll be an honor."

Taking my focus away from him I sense him smiling to himself and making eye contact with a laughing Ned who turns his phone to me showing me a video.

That's how the bus ride continues, in a comfortable silence rocked by the bus and chatting from time to time.

A nudge on my knee takes my attention away from the window and brings me to look at Ned who then stands up letting me figure out we are getting to our stop.

"Come on," I say catching Flash's arm in my hand and dragging him out of the bus.

The wind attacks us as we jump out of the vehicle, the summer evening getting a bit chilly.

"Okay, so where are we going now?" He asks watching Ned walking ahead of us.

"It's just up that corner."

"What is it exactly?"

"Delmar's is …well it's Delmar's," I chuckle, "But it's just our first stop of the evening, to get a bit of food."

"We could've eaten back on the boat before leaving," he inform.

"Yeah but then you would have never tasted the Queen's best sandwiches."

"Sandwiches, huh? You're spoiling me, Parker," he says with a smirk.

I burst out laughing finding it impossible to keep it to myself.

"Okay, be smug but check it out first and then you'll see, you'll thank me," I say confidently.

Turning the corner I almost walk into the door that closes up right in front of me. I open it and see the culprit running to the back of the shop where the shelves create a small maze of different delicacies.

"Little Miss Parker! What are you doing here at this hour?! The streets are dangerous around this time," he says full of delight even at this late hour, "And who is this? You're bringing me new customers now? You're too good to me," he shouts hands on his heart.

"Hello Mr.Delmar," I shout laughing, "No we are just stopping by to get some food, where's Dominic?"

"At home, he has a daughter you know? Can't spend all his time in here."

"Oh so you're the one behind both counters tonight?"

"Yes, and I see you need some quality food so what can I get you ladies and gentlemen?"

Turning back to him I see that he is scrutinizing the menu above Mr.Delmar.

"Huh, I'll take a number five," I jump in leaving a bit more time for Flash to decide.

"And Leed will take a number three with tomatoes and pickles?" He asks with a smile already knowing our command by heart.

I smile and nod back without needing a response.

"Would your friend like some recommendations?" He asks Flash directly.

He looks back at Mr.Delmar before realizing the man is waiting for his order to start preparing.

He lets out an 'oh' and some humming looking at the menu and feeling bad for his hesitation. I walk to him and intertwine our arms bringing him closer to the counter and pointing out the best options.

"Number five is a safe option but you can still ask to have in a few things you want, pro tip? ask to get your bread to be grilled a little bit so it's warm and crusty," I say trying to appease him in his uneasiness.

He hums again and looks down at Mr.Delmar, " You know what? tonight I'm gonna let you choose for me. Surely you're the expert."

"Oh, you want to be adventurous tonight? Alright then give me a few minutes and your orders will be ready." he beams.

"Great! Thank you Mr.Delmar!" I say dragging him along with me by our arms.

Walking us to the back of the store I see Ned appearing and disappearing in between the shelves.

"Is that a toy stand?"

"Yeah," I draw out, "It used to be just sandwiches and a few snacks but then Mr.Delmar noticed people would come in expecting to find last-minute formulas, diapers, or even pre-made cakes!" I say pointing at a plastic container containing the cake with a happy birthday message.

I start my usual walk, like clockwork, and unconsciously detangle my arm from his walking ahead.

Chips, chocolate, candy, walking I don't notice that I've lost and left Flash behind to do his own shopping. My eyes travel from top to bottom before they freeze on an item that isn't supposed to be there.

In between the mochis and Reese's bars lying there all alone and out of place is a digital Spiderman watch probably meant for the toy stand.

It lies there, an intruder around all the treats.

I look left and right and pick up the item. It is wrapped in plastic and decorated cardboard. The two dollars and twenty-five cents are scratched and a bit sticky but it doesn't happen to have been opened.

"Hi there."

I jump, not expecting anyone to approach me let alone a stranger.

"Oh, hi."

"What do you have there?"

I don't know him, I've never seen him around and he isn't much older than me but the way his gaze keeps running up and down my figure is making my skin crawl and side-eye him.

"Um, snacks, lots and lots of snacks," I chuckle trying the calm tactic.

"Yeah, looks delicious," he laughs to himself.

He walks closer to me, too close for my comfort and reaches out for a bag of candy purposely brushing his arm on my shoulder.

I rush back and he starts smiling, "No need to be scared I'm not gonna attack you."

"I know I just prefer my personal space," I say a bit on edge, the urge to punch him in the face apparent on mine.

"My bad, 'was just trying to be friendly."

I don't answer and leave him to the awkward silence by himself as I turn back to the shelf ignoring him.

"So you come here often?"

I stay silent.

Getting my watch I get ready to turn the other way when I feel pressure on my arm.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Away from here," I say firmly as a warning, snatching my arm off his grasp.

"No need to be a bitch I'm just being friendly," he says his tone switching from nice to sinister.

He's offended?! He's the one harassing me!

His eyes travel from me to behind me as his scowl softens down to a frown.

I turn around, preparing myself to see Mr.Delmar ready to dismiss the confrontation. Instead, I see Flash approaching with a blank face.

"Can we help you?" he asks drily standing beside me as I subtly hide the watch from his view.

I feel his arm sneaking around mine, linking them together.

"My bad dude didn't know she had a boyfriend," he says putting his hands up in defense.

"Oh, so it was okay to harass her as long as you thought she didn't have a boyfriend?"

"I wasn't harassing her, was just talking,"

"How about you go talk to someone else, oh I know! How about the cops parked across the street," he says with a broad smile nudging his head towards the store windows.

Looking in the direction he glanced at I see two cops ordering from a food truck right across the street.

"Damn, whatever she's not even cute," the scum spits out before spinning around and vanishing from our aisle.

"You got everything?"

I look at him to see his gaze still fixated on the end of the aisle before looking back at me.

I quickly look back at the shelf and snatch a pack of candy, "Yeah."

He looks back at me and gently walks me back the other way.

Turning the corner Ned is walking towards us with confusion.

"You okay?"

We make eye contact and I faintly nod my head.

"Yeah, let's just pay up and leave," I say dragging Flash along and tossing my pack of sweets in the small basket before taking Ned's arm as well.

Passing the aisles and walking toward the counter I see the scum paying up for his thing when his eyes catch the three of us. Sending a dirty look, he shakes his head and scoffs before beading his goodbyes to Mr.Delmar.

When he is out of the way and the place is cleared out the last of our sandwiches is slapped down on the counter.

"A number five, three, and a mystery sandwich for the adventurous little man!"

I take the basket from Ned and put it down to be scanned up.

I take my wallet out as the steady beep of the item emits from the register.

"I got it," Flash says reaching for his back pocket.

"Oh, would you look at that a bunch of cash that is way quicker to pay with than a card," I smile handing the small stack of dollars before he can slip his card out.

He looks at me frozen and with his mouth ajar as I hand him his sandwich. He stands there a few more seconds before Ned nudges him into motion and they start walking towards the door.

I watch them pass the door and turn back around to grab my own meal. I throw a 5-dollar bill beside the rest of my cash and receive a frown from Mr.Delmar.

Turning around making sure nobody is looking back toward me, I swipe out the watch and show it to him, turning it around to show the price tag.

He smiles and winks at me in understanding, packing the last of our purchase in a bag and handing it to me he slides the money to himself.

"Good evening, Miss.Parker."

"Good evening Mr.Delmar!" I shout passing the door with my bag.

Walking to the bus stop I see Ned and Flash looking at the food truck more precisely the officers waiting around for their food to get ready.

"What are you two looking at?"

Before I can have an answer Ned stands up from his seat on the bus bench and crosses the street towards the officers.

"What?"

"We can hear the police station in their car and Leeds is curious."

Looking back at Ned, I watch him tap one of the officer's shoulder.

I shrug and tug at his wrist as he frowns at me. With his arm in the air I rip open the watch's packaging and throw it in the bin on the side.

Enveloping his wrist with the digital watch I see his frown deepen before he registers what it is. He's silent as I fasten it on and stares at it when I drop my hands to my side.

His wrist stays in the air and he pulls it closer to his eyes examining the gift.

"I liked it and it was cheap so I thought, why not?" I chuckle.

He doesn't answer and instead gazes up at me.

He doesn't get to answer me before Ned jogs back to us.

"So, what do you got?" I ask him with a smile.

"Huh, no nothing they just basically said I need to get a life."

"What happened?" I ask.

He pauses looking at both of us, "Well we were waiting for you and I was looking at the food truck. Then I saw the officers looking stressed and their car's radio started blasting off with a code telling every officer in the area to stay on their foot."

"How d'you know that?"

"Flash told me," at that, I turn my gaze to him. He looks taken aback and goes back and forth looking between Ned and me before understanding the silent question I'm asking and straightening himself up if it's possible.

"I learned the NYPD's code on the internet."

Both of us stand, mouth agape and still in our place.

"What, it's not complicated, it's interesting and you can keep up with the police."

"Why would you want to keep up with the police?" Ned beat me to the question.

"We're in New York. It's better to know what's happening in the street," he says after a second of silence.

His eyes shifting between the two of us reassures me to know that Ned doesn't believe this explanation just like me.

Seems like he does not want to answer and sits on the bus bench waiting.

I sit by his side and meet eyes with Ned who too thinks his refusal to answer is strange. Focusing on something else I decide to rummage through the plastic bag and hand him a bag of candy.

He grasps it with a smile leaving the previous awkwardness to rest and tear through the bag presenting it to me so I can serve myself but I don't get to as the bus approach and instead decide to steal the bag from him to stuff it back inside the plastic bag.

I move us along to the open doors, following behind and swiping our card I see Ned already seated on the side of the bus where three seats are lined up, and where he is already seated in the front seat.

Passing him with a pat on the shoulder, I sit behind him and spot Flash sitting behind me as I watch the outside scenery of New York City's evening.

I feel a tug at the back of my head. Turning around I look behind me thinking I'd see the strand stuck in the bus seat but instead, I'm met with Flash's gaze meeting mine as I see him sitting back in his seat a bit slouched.

"A bit of your hair was sticking out," he says running his hands up and down his jeans.

"So you tugged on it?" I ask with a smile finding his thought process funny.

"No, I just wanted to-never mind," his eyes hold a secret that I can't get access to.

A tap on my shoulder brings my attention to Ned who is sitting sideways on his chair and switching his gaze from me to flash and back to me cautiously.

At the edge of my seat, far away from Flash's earshot, Ned starts talking close to my ear, "The cops are on the lookout for an inmate who they think broke out of jail."

The news shocks me and sends me sitting straighter before composing myself and bending back again listening closely to Ned's re-telling of the event.

"You remember that guy you threw into the armored van?"

The memory brings out a cackle from me, "Yeah, that was funny in my head. The money thief being arrested because he's stuck in a van full of money that he tried stea-" my explanation is cut when Ned's face doesn't morph into the amused face I expected.

Instead, I'm faced with a blank stare waiting for the end of my story and I decide to leave the explanation for a later time, "Yeah, that guy. I think his name was like Rhino or something?"

"Yeah, well apparently he wasn't found during the morning roll call. They're still searching but if he's out there I'm ready to bet that he's trying to find y-"

"How do you know all that?"

"They told me to scram but they never said I couldn't eavesdrop."

"Everything's okay?"

I snap my head around to stare at Flash who's inclined in his seat, supporting his body by leaning his forearm on my seat waiting for an explanation or a heads up.

"…Yeah!" I say with confidence sitting up, "We're just talking about," I look at Ned with distress, the color draining from my face when I realize I don't find an excuse worthy enough.

"Spiderman," Ned says without any hesitation.

A cold sweat travels my body, slithers up my spine, and stops at my brain as my head whips back toward Ned with panic.

"I was talking about the fact that since superheroes started spouting out of nowhere it would be logical that if a guy broke out of jail they would go after the one who put them there, like Spiderman or Iron Man," he says nodding back and forth between us both and emphasizing the Spiderman while looking at me.

Nodding I look back at Flash hoping he buys the story made on the spot.

With a frown, he nods and I can see that he's confused but decides to go with the flow, "Sure that makes sense."

Subtly breathing out a sigh of relief I sit back fully on my seat slouching a little bit so he doesn't see me out of breath.

My brain is on overdrive, the possibility that Rhino is out there looking to find Spiderman and causing havoc in his pathway makes me break another sweat.

"You sure you're okay?"

The question makes me raise my head, his body hunched over my seat and his face close to mine.

"huh," my eyes keep scanning his face, "sure, I'm good," I say my voice low and anxious to speak any louder in fear of attracting any attention around.

He's very close and I see a smile gracing his face. My eyes keep watching him and with each swing from eye to eye I figure he's also analyzing mine.

It is only when I feel a tug at my hand that I leave his face and look down to see that he has reached toward the plastic bag to grab a bag of treats.

Looking back up at him, his smile reaches his eyes before he leaves my line of sight and sits back in his chair tearing the packaging up he grabs a mochi full of iced sugar.

I jolt from my seat and rush in front of him, "No wait!" I say in a hushed but agitated voice.

"What?" he says concerned, looking around as if he had just broken a law.

"It's full of iced sugar you're gonna put it everywhere!" I hiss as I kneel, putting my hand under his chin to prevent any mess.

"That bad, huh?" he says cockily.

I raise my eyebrows, a silent scolding to just eat the damn treat.

He looks down at my hand grazing his chin and gazes back at me causing me to doubt my gesture, instead, I bring up the plastic bag on his lap and open it gesturing to go ahead.

With a doubtful smile, he brings the snack up and takes a bite half of the icing falling onto the bag.

He hums and chuckles with his mouth full realizing my scolding wasn't in vain.

A tap on my shoulder makes me turn around and look up at Ned who notifies me that the next stop will be our exit cue.

"So, is one of you gonna be a gentleman and tell me where you are taking me?" he says griping the bus pole to stand up beside me as we approach the bus doors.

"You'll see, from what I heard it's quite noticeable in view," I answer balancing myself without the help of a pole to not fall over.

"From what you heard? you're taking me to a place you've never been before?" he says gripping my arm as we come to a full stop.

"Well," I try to find a decent explanation for my thought process, "Well you know I heard about it a few weeks ago but I never had the time to visit the place so when you said you wanted to have fun I remembered it," I say as we step out.

"Bold, a surprise sandwich, and now a surprise location you don't know about."

I feel the air behind me where the bus drives off.

"Hey I also read the reviews, it's a good place," I say, "Plus, you love your special sandwich, don't you?" I genuinely ask.

"Touché," he says taking a bite before choking on it looking up at our destination.

The reviews weren't lying, the laser game is flashy, and just the entrance would make one believe a carnival is located inside.

"That is flashy," he wipes the corner of his mouth after coughing out the piece lodged in his throat.

"Flashy for Flash," Ned chuckles to himself.

Walking up my shoes go from a hard cement floor to a berber flooring as blue as the night sky depicting an endless pattern of space.

Hearing a loud bang I swiftly turn around back to the street and see a man dressed up in a suit standing back up. The steel shutter being the cause of the disturbance I notice that the arcade is placed right across a bank.

"Bit late to work, right?" Ned wonders aloud.

"No, depends on the day. Some banks stay open late at least once a week," Flash says as if it was a common fact.

"Okay how do you know so much?" Ned asks with frustration or is it genuine confusion by his sudden knowledge.

"My dad works in business, he deals with banks a lot," he shrugs, clearly not enjoying the subject of his father or his father's business.

A tug at my hand makes me turn back around. Looking down I pause at the realization that it is Flash's hand tugging at me and making me move from the entrance to the front counter where a guy barely older than me; maybe even my age with a summer job like me.

"Leeds, follow."

I sneak a peek at Ned who is still standing at the door ignoring us or simply not focused enough to be able to hear him.

"Hum here, take this we'll join you in a second," I say handing him a few bills and squeezing his shoulder before walking up to Ned.

When I take place beside him he senses my presence and speaks up, "Look at the logo isn't that the bank that Rihno guy tried to rob?"

Squinting, I do recognize the logo and chuckle, "Yeah," I say linking my arm in his, "But don't worry bad guys like Rhino are not smart enough to escape from jail AND follow up with a plan that failed once."

I drag him alongside me toward Flash who is standing beside the register counter close to the laser game entrance with his arms crossed.

"Done daydreaming Leeds?"

I squint my eyes and Ned completely ignores him walking ahead.

Passing him, I flick his ear.

"Ouch! What? I was just joking."

Walking ahead I roll my eyes but slow down as he calls out to me and catches up.

He takes my hand and drops something in it. Looking down I recognize the dollars I gave him prior.

"Wait, how did you pay-"

I cut myself off in realization. I don't know whether to be angry or disappointed.

"I told you, you don't have to pay that's why I gave you that!" I say frustrated.

"Wasn't enough!" he says defending himself, " Plus if you continue paying you'll end up broke."

"I'm not broke!"

"Well you're gonna be," he mumbles as I huff and walk ahead of him.

Ned keeps the door ahead open and walking through it we meet a group of people of various ages all scattered around the room.

we husher up and stand against the wall close to each other.

"I can't believe I couldn't even keep at least one bag," Flash says defeated plopping the last candy he managed to sneak in into his mouth.

"Wait they threw our stuff?!" I ask panicked.

"No no, they just put it aside until we're done."

I sigh in relief, closing my eyes and leaning back against the wall.

"But you're not broke, huh?" I hear a whisper and look to see Flash leaning down to my ear.

He is close once again and the lack of distance gives me flashbacks to our kiss. My eyes keep switching back and forth from his eyes to his lips and seconds feel like minutes.

I turn away clearing my throat and look around inspecting the room.

A bright red sign above the door tells us a session is still going on. As for the rest of the space, it is quite sober, a few benches placed around to wait for the current session to end. The walls are covered in thick wire mesh with hangers that are there probably here to hold the laser game equipment.

A group of kids are here scattered around and probably here for a birthday with one of the kid's mother tagging along to supervise, I can see a group of three girls and a couple on a date, maybe a first date even.

"Hey, I know you!" Flash says loudly bringing all the eyes in the room onto him.

His eyes are throwing daggers at one of the kids and if a look could kill…

"Oh shit," the kids seem to recognize Flash as well as the mother berates the kid for his language. Flash points an accusing finger at the smaller kid.

"Yeah, I recognize that voice! You're the guy who keeps trolling people on the D&D server!" he calls out confidently.

The kid looks appalled and most of his 'friends' look in between one another in confusion.

"Once we're in, you're next buddy!"

At that the kid slides behind the mother who sends a nasty look at Flash along with an offended scoff. I nudge his shoulder and place myself in front of him.

"Sorry! he's been a bit stressed lately. He doesn't really know how to handle it," I make up an excuse looking back at him with large eyes.

"Hey it's not my fault he started it!" he shouts motioning to the kid.

At that, I sent him a death stare of my own as the red sign atop the door starts to flash letting us know the previous session is now over.

I move him backward as a staff member enters the room.

I get a bit of a cold sweat before realizing that he entered the room to help the people undress from their laser game attires and not to throw Flash out for threatening a child.

It gets a bit crowded with people all around trying to slide in and out, and more complicated when elbows start to swing as the previous players try to undress from their equipment for the new players.

I get handed a vest from a player who hands it with a smile. Taking it with hesitation I analyze the device with a frown, "Shouldn't those be disinfected in between sessions?"

Flash turns around with his vest already on and approaches me sliding through the few players left trying to squeeze out of the room.

"Here let me help you," he said, taking the vest from me and passing it over my head. The tissue feels heavy on me and I don't get to wonder before he starts circling me with his eyes and bending to secure the many clips to keep the equipment on.

"You've done laser game before?"

"A few," he answers mindlessly securing yet another clip.

I feel his hands on my neck and freeze before I understand his intention to free my hair from under the vest. I believe he would back up but he stays firmly in front of me and I can't help but make eye contact. His eyes however end up drifting from mine to focus on my forehead.

I frown wondering what has his attention when his hand moves to the base of my hair and I remember the bandaid on top of my earlier injury.

"I did a bad job, shouldn't have placed it so high up," he says putting pressure on the side of the bandaid smoothing it once again against my forehead, "It's crazy it looks almost healed."

"Yeah, I guess-" I get cut off as the employer stands beside us asking if Flash could help a few of the customers as the poor guy is struggling to get the cluster of kids to behave long enough to get them geared up.

Getting separated I'm joined by Ned as we examine each other's gear and check if we're secure before another employee enters the room. He takes place in front of us and waits to attract the room's attention his colleague walking up beside him.

I look around and gradually see the rest of the room starting to pay attention to him. As the volume goes down it takes a few beats of silence before the man speaks up enouncing the rules and the normal flow of a laser game match.

My attention gets taken away by my curiosity as I look around.

The group of girls is barely keeping it together, tip-tapping their feets almost unable to keep their excitement in. Only one of the two people that makes up the couple is paying attention, the girl taking mental note as her supposed date seems entranced by her, devouring her with his gaze.

My eyes reach Flash who isn't paying attention either. His eyes are focused on the man but I recognize that empty glint in his eyes, the same one I see once in a while during class when I look around telling me he is lost in his head.

His stare is redirected toward me as we lock eyes and the glint in his eyes switches up as he flashes me a grin.

My ears start to register the game's instruction but my eyes stay glued on him, those eyes that usually irk me are now void of all mischief they used to hold and it's a feeling that fills me with satisfaction.

The man's booming voice brings me out of my daze and a cry of approval from the room makes me focus back on my surroundings.

A crowd mobilizes around the door to the laser game room as the sign lights up to indicate a new session when I get shoved ahead by Ned who too cannot keep his composure hopping to the door. A hand lands on my arm and I look back to see Flash back on my side.

"You okay there? You seemed out of it."

"Yeah I'm fine, what about you? it looks like you weren't listening," I answer as we are squeezed through the door to the darkness of the neon-drenched place.

"Of course I wasn't listening, I've done laser games before I know the rules but it's different for you, why weren't you listening?"

"What? I was!" I say standing still in front of the door as the rest scattered around.

"Oh yeah? What team are we on?"

At that, I stay silent.

"Blue," I say proudly pointing to the luminescent lights on my vest.

"And who else is on the team?"

…Damnit!

"Ned, the group of girls, and the two lovebirds," he says pointing and nudging the middle of my forehead as a sort of gentle scolding.

"So we're against the birthday group."

"A few of them were put in our team to balance things out," he says dragging me away from the door.

I get to learn about the rules for a second time as he walks me through them. Skipping wall to wall, aiming at adversaries and targets.

It's fun and exciting, skipping and running around, hiding and attacking. We were hit a couple of times but all in all, I'm content and having a good time with Eugene Thompson out of all people. I also get to be the witness of his vendetta against the other birthday boy a bullet landing right in the middle of his vest and a grimace adorning his face as slurs fly out of his mouth.

Before I can ask where a toddler like him learned such language I get dragged away by my hand by Flash to turn a corner as backup shows up for the opposing team.

It's hard to believe. A few months ago the perspective of spending time with Flash Thompson would have given me a migraine and I would have had to have a pep talk to have both of us in the same room.

turning around I look back and forth trying to keep my laugh at a low tone to not attract any unwanted attention from the opposite team before I bump into his back. Turning around he catches my shoulder and maneuvers me aside hiding us from the rest.

I put my hand in front of my mouth to muffle another laugh leaning against the wall as he bend sideways to check if we were followed.

"Did they follow us," I say close to another fit of giggles.

He shakes his head, his beaming smile so strong it forces his eyes to squint.

After a moment where we manage to calm down the laughing fit comes right back as we hear amidst all the voices a specific one holler in a very high-pitched tone how a certain Tyler can eat shit.

The laughter is so hard that we find ourselves leaning on one another for support.

My guts hurt and I try to talk through my laughter, telling Flash we should stay in movement.

"Oh my-" I say breathlessly laying my head on his shoulder, "I feel like I'm dying."

No response from him outside of an agitated gasp to catch his breath.

My head still planted on his shoulder I feel us lean aside so he can check again if our exit was trailed.

He smells nice. I never noticed, even back in the yacht' bedroom my mind didn't get to focus on his perfume as I was too distracted by his lips.

It's soft but I can tell that at first the scent was strong when it was applied. It's calming and unnerving even as I accidentally snuggle a bit longer than I should.

I notice that we both calmed down and I don't feel either of us shaking with laughter.

Raising my head, our eyes meet in silence.

We are close, forehead to forehead as a voice booms in the place scolding a participant who is apparently violating the rules. It does not take my attention from him and from the way he gets closer brushing his nose against mine I can tell that he is not bothered by the screaming either.

His lips brush against mine and that same feeling of electricity comes back traveling inside my body sending the butterflies in my stomach in a storm.

The feeling is so intense that I need to hold on tighter to his arms to convince myself that I'm not hallucinating.

His lips stay here atop mine just brushing and I understand that he's asking me to do it, he's silently asking me to kiss him first this time.

The first time was rushed almost like instinct an impulsive idea he couldn't help but act on but this time he's waiting almost out of breath making sure he has my consent first, like a confirmation I feel the same.

The feeling of him fades as my body feels like it's falling into the abyss. That feeling I have when I'm in costume, the one I feel when something bad is about to happen.

I back away and look around to hear my surroundings. Nothing but the usual cheering, screaming, and the pitter-patter of feet yet this feeling doesn't go away.

Creating distance drives Flash to back up as well as if I burned him. I can see him fidgeting and trying to say something but he doesn't get to as we both jolt, startled and holding on to each other with a scream.

The shadow gets clearer and I recognize Ned and exhale with a relieved cry.

"Damnit Ned, what's wrong with you?!" I shout exasperated.

"One of those kids is a damn sniper I swear I'm ready to bet he's part of the FBI!" he says frantically looking behind him over and over again.

"Damn Leeds. It's a laser game," Flash says with a concerned face.

"He's crazy!" he repeats with just as much power.

The building shakes and forces us to find our balance and I catch myself holding on to Flash's wrist and grasping Ned's shoulder to not fall.

A huge buzz resonates through the place, one that isn't the final buzz to declare the end of the game.

"Customers and staff are asked to evacuate the area calmly using the emergency exit located at each end of the building."

"What's going on," my question echoes through the many hallways of the maze as others probably ask themselves the same question. I already see people regroup, finding allies and opponents to scurry out as another hit sends the building shaking.

"Okay that's so not an earthquake," Ned says with urgency.

"Let's get out of here," Flash says slipping his wrist out of my grip and joining our hands.

We don't get to take a step before we are sent to the ground with violence, the wall comes crumbling down in pieces as a towering figure appears covered in darkness.

The brutality of the fall thankfully sent us into a corner where the figure can't see us.

Sitting up with a headache for the second time today I look down to see Ned shaking his head to clear it and putting pressure on the side of it as I feel the side of my head being cradled.

"You okay?" I make eye contact with Flash who whispers scanning my face for any injury.

I nod urgently before standing up and running toward the nearest wall that would allow me to sneak on the faceless figure. Leaning over, I recognize the shadow to be Rhino who must have found a way to escape the authorities and get his hands back on his suit.

Feeling a tug on my arm I turn around to see Flash trying to hurry me in the opposite direction.

A scream erupts and the idiot rushes headfirst into another wall creating more chaos.

"Come on we got to get out of here," he says tugging me urgently.

A cry for help resonates and I spin around trying to locate where the scream came from.

Too many questions in my head. I don't have my suit, how do I do without my suit? I can't just go help with my face uncovered, how do I do this?

Another high-pitched cry lets me know that the person who needs help is a girl and is balling her eyes out crying out about being stuck.

I turn back to Flash and address the both of them, "You two get outside and wait for the cops, once they get there you tell them where we were I'll go get the girl and I'll bring her back right here, okay?" I say sternly making sure the two of them understand.

"No no! We get out of here and when the help gets here we'll tell them we heard someone needed help."

"She's stuck, I'm not leaving her alone here with this lunatic!" I say firmly.

He pauses, his eyes switching back and forth between me and the hole created by the metal-suited criminal, his brows scrunched up and worry swimming in his eyes.

"No, it's too dangerous. Damage's been done to the building and their alarm has gone off, firemen, ambulance and probably cops are toe to toe to get here, they're way more trained for that type of thing the only way we can help is to get out of here and be out there when they arrive to tell them about her."

"She's stuck, meaning she can't get out she might be hurt or debris might be crushing her," I say angrily trying to keep my tone down to not give out our location.

"Yeah well guess what? you might get crushed too because if that guy's big enough to crush you to begin with imagine the impact with a massive armored suit!" he says frantically looking back at the destroyed debris left behind by Rhino.

"I'm not going to fight him I'm going to get the girl and get out of here, you two go!" I say walking ahead through the debris.

I turn around to walk away when I feel his hand grabbing my wrist and turning me back around to him.

It must be the look in my eyes because the second we make eye contact he seems to be unable to protest.

I turn and start walking again as I feel his fingers holding onto me till the end as my wrist slides out of his grasp.

I hear him protest behind me telling me to come back here before he gets cut off by Ne. I don't get to know what he says to him before the voices fade and I'm left focusing ahead of myself to not come face to face with Rhino.

Stepping over a pile of broken scraps of wall I focus on my hearing to try and figure out where the girl is all while smoothly moving from hiding place to hiding place.

I come across a few items including a backpack where a piece of cloth hangs out from the opened zipper.

Grabbing it I recognize the pattern of a scarf and mentally fist-bump myself for finding a cloth to stop any potential bleeding wound.

Shoving the fabric into my back pocket, the tail of the scarf drags along the ground as I move along crouch walking.

I see a thick sweater protrude from another piece of debris. Snatching it I come to an abrupt stop when I hear another rageful howl before a flash of tarnished silver makes me fall on my ass a huge rumble forcing yet another wall to come crumbling down.

"Where is he?!" I hear Rhino's words echoing along the remaining walls he hasn't yet destroyed.

Who is he talking about? Spiderman? He can't possibly know I'm here…did he figure it out?! How did he find me?!

Clutching my fists I decide to raise myself and leave the crouch walking behind determined to find the girl as soon as possible.

With how silent the place has become I'm convinced she's around the area Rhino just left and hushed when the criminal showed up, baited by her scream of distress.

"Where are you," I ask in the void of the room that I just entered through the punctured wall.

That's when I hear it, the audible intake of breath and a panicked question.

"Is he gone?" comes the frail voice buried in a mountain of broken wall scraps.

"How did you end up down there?"

"I was playing and then I heard a huge crash and before I knew it I was under all of this."

"Are you hurt?"

"No but I'm trapped and I can't lift those," she says with a frustrated grunt trying once again to lift one of the wall remains.

Looking at the structure burying the girl I observe that her current situation is nothing short of a miracle as all the wall pieces are piled up in a way that each piece balances each other out.

"Okay, alright so what we're gonna do is you're going to stand as close as possible to me and then I'm gonna lift this one and you'll see, the rest of them will slide off."

"It's too heavy you can't lift it."

That's a great point. My frame doesn't allow me to go around displaying my real strength.

"Never underestimate the power of adrenaline," is the excuse I manage to find on the spot as I try to balance myself grabbing a strategic piece of the wall amongst them all.

Putting pressure on it the piece is lifting as plaster dust falls down the pile. As the pieces slide off I can throw mine back in a swing.

In a coughing fit, the girl grabs my hand as I extract her from the pile.

Hidden by her forearm to cough and rub her eyes I grab it to get a clearer view of her face.

"Are you okay?"

She doesn't answer but nods, coughing.

"Okay, what we're gonna do now is get out of here," I say holding her shoulders so she pays attention to me rather than the chaos around us.

"He's coming this way so you're going to go to where I was, there is a direct exit."

"Wait what about you? what are you gonna go?"

"I'm just gonna check if everybody is out, don't worry I'll be right behind you," I say as I push her back to the exit.

She walks ahead carefully and when she turns the corner of a wall that hasn't yet been destroyed I snatch the sweater previously tied up around my waist and throw it on hiding any evidence of my chest.

Another crash and I look back making sure I get the time to swap up the scarf and cover my face and hair rolling the fabric all around and tucking it safely behind my head safely hiding my identity.

A dry thug and loud stomps lead me to turn around and face a wall that I know will come crumbling down in a matter of seconds.

Before the walls' crumbles can harm me my arm protects me from the cement dust as the wind is knocked out of me and my body is sent backward smashing against another wall that hasn't yet been torn down by the brute.

"I knew I recognized that smell."

Standing back up with a grunt the prospect of Rhino locating me by sniffing around town forces bile to pile up my throat.

"Ew, that's gross," I say deepening my voice to not give myself out.

Rhino is just a criminal but even a criminal can convince and reveal to enough people that Spiderman is not actually a man.

My voice is also strained from the hit I received when I was smashed against the wall leaving me to be unrecognizable.

I lean against a pole that probably keeps this roof in place as another pained moan escapes me.

"I was gonna finish what I had started before being arrested," I silently cheer as It seems I have accidentally sent the idiot into a villainous monologue.

"Since the bank across the street is the one that was supposed to and did receive the money I thought why not finish what I started."

Breathing in and out with difficulty I can already feel my cracked rib healing with another huff.

"And then I smelled it, that obnoxious smell I remember picking up on when you threw me in that truck."

"Yeah, that was hilarious because see you wanted to steal from the truck but you ended up inside the truck and-" my chuckle is cut short with a pained grunt as my rib is still mending itself.

"We'll see who's laughing when you're six feet under!" he hollers running at me.

Jumping up I propel myself in the opposite direction through Rhino's back landing clumsily still clutching my side.

"I think you're giving yourself too much credit man. I don't think you can punch me hard enough to send me through the ground," I say avoiding jabs after jabs.

I hear sirens and realize I need to take care of Rhino before they can enter the building and see someone else other than the blue&red vigilante going toe to toe with the armored Rhino.

Blocking another hit the force of it sends me to my knees pushing against his weight of him.

Trying to focus on not getting plummeted to the ground my ear buzzes continuously drawing my attention behind me to the electric panel placed behind the counter which is still standing after all the damage caused to the place.

The perfect placement.

When I feel the smallest shift in strength from Rhino I push back with all my force sending him stumbling backward and tripping on a pile from his destructive strike.

Putting distance between us I walk back to the counter climb on it and stand face to face with him.

"See?" I say motioning to my unscathed self, "Untouchable. Of course, that's not a surprise an idiot like you who can't even stand still could not possibly get rid of me."

His only response is a cry and an angry balled fist connecting to the ground, shaking it up.

"Look at you, a little baby having a big tantrum because he's clumsy," I seal the deal with a smirk.

And I get the exact reaction I expected as the brute hurls running like a savage toward me.

When I can feel the breeze of his enraged speed caressing me I bolt up and stick myself to the ceiling leaving the brainless idiot to go headfirst into the panel.

The sound is enough but my curiosity drives me to look upside down to see the Rhino passed out and fuming.

"Dude, you're toast," knowing he can't hear I can't help but make myself chuckle.

My laughter is cut off short when I hear in the distance the sound of the entrance's metal door banging open and a choir of yells invading the place.

Instead of letting go and falling to the ground to get away with the risk of my poor disguise being questioned by the authorities I instead decide to crawl away to a quieter place before falling back down on the ground and letting go of the secondhand vigilante costume.

Fleeing the scene I come out of the alleyway where I throw my 'gear' into the dumpster and walk out to an ocean of red and blue lights. A group of firemen enters the building following the hoard of cops and a booming voice attracts my attention.

"Where were you?!"

My head whips around before my shoulders are grasped firmly and I am turned to a frantic Flash Thompson.

Speechless I'm only able to look at him with a dumbfounded look like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Huh?! Where were you?!" he says shaking me, "You said and I quote 'I get the girl and we'll join you outside', she got out and you weren't with her so where were you?!"

"Rhino was coming so I told her to run and I lured him away before hiding so he couldn't find me," I explain lying as best as I can grabbing his upper arms to steady both of us.

"Oh, and that's supposed to make it better?!"

Out of explanations, I can only shrug my shoulder with an awkward smile.

He scoffs exasperated and let go of me to pace back and forth at a loss for words too.

Not knowing how to make it better for myself I decide to stay silent and just let him pace around trying to calm down.

An officer walks up to us, "Were you inside this building?"

I nod with a frown looking at Flash and Ned for reassurance.

"We're gonna need you to come with us with your friends to the station we're gonna need your statements."

At that Flash tenses up even more walking up to the officer and pleading.

"No wait! Can't we like give a statement later? We like really need to go."

Agreeing with him it's Ned who walks up to the officer and manages to make us look less suspicious.

"We just went through a lot of stress and we're expected somewhere so we'd appreciate it if we could give our statement later on, maybe stop by your station tomorrow or something?"

"I'm gonna ask my superior, please stay here I'll be right back," she says walking back as I halt her with a request.

"Wait, in case you're allowed to let us go could you please drive us there?" I question.

Flash looks at me with an incredulous expression sliding his hands down his face probably in an attempt to wake up from what seems to be his worst nightmare.

"We would feel safer escorted by the police."

"I'll see what I can do," she says with a warm but swift smile before walking away.

With the sound of her footstep fading in the chaos-packed background, Flash approaches me with his hands out.

"Why would you do that?!"

"Because it's better this way. We get back to your party and we get escorted by the police. When you're in this kind of situation cooperating is the best option."

Before he can answer another officer walks up to us to confirm our request of being escorted back as well as asking us to give out our numbers.

"We'll contact you and settle a date and time to pass by the station, have you been examined?"

"Oh um, no there's no need I'm alright."

"No, he's right let's get you checked out," Flash says tugging me towards one of the many firetrucks.

"No no, I really don't need to get checked out. I didn't get hurt I swear I'm fine, no bruises, nothing."

"It would be safer miss."

"I swear I'm not injured, I did not fight Rhino I just hid in the toilets."

"Yeah no shit we can guess you didn't go toe to toe with the guy, would still be smart to get you checked out."

"No, I swear I'm fine no need. It'll only waste time."

"It would only take a few minutes," the officer tries to resonate.

A shrill sound attracts our attention and the sigh of Rhino passed out on a stretcher makes me noticeably tense up.

I'm not used to this I usually don't stay so close after a save. I'm used to watching from afar as the bad guy gets taken away and I'm also in costume but right now the lack of Spiderman attire is making me feel exposed as if anyone could just turn around and point at me saying I was the one who knocked him out.

"Hey, it's okay."

My eyes are drawn back to Flash who is gripping me back tightly like a reassurance probably thinking it's the sigh of Rhino that scared me.

"Let's get you checked out and then we can-"

"I am fine!" I affirm.

My outburst throws a pause and I'm frozen on the spot feeling a bit guilty.

His expression is unreadable, I don't know whether he's angry, scared, or disappointed. How am I surprised that I can't read him? I shouldn't even be able to read him.

"Okay, okay I get it, no check-up," he says his eyes softening as well as his tone.

Letting go of my arms I catch myself missing the feeling but it is not gone for long as he places his hand on my back to guide me to the police car.

"You're alive!"

My breath escapes me as I'm attacked with a violent but warm embrace.

Looking down I recognize the hair of the girl I rescued earlier.

"It's her! the girl who saved me!" she says turning around to a woman who jogs up to us.

"Are you quite sure?"

I frown wondering exactly why this reaction. The woman must notice my expression bringing the girl back to her by the hand.

"Sorry it's just," she hesitates," With the story she told I imagined you to be…bigger."

Bigger?

"My apologies I did not mean to sound rude but," she hesitates again, "Nevermind I should've known. You know how kids are, full of imagination I mean."

"No, I did not lie! She saved me! I was stuck under a pile and she lifted that one HUGE block and got me out!"

Fortunately, my face cannot get any whiter but it doesn't stop my face from falling.

"You must have the wrong person," I turn around to see Ned taking a step forward, putting his hand on my shoulder, "She's not strong, can barely lift chairs at school so I can't even imagine a piece of broken wall," he chuckles turning to Flash for validation.

"Yeah," Flash says with a frown, "Parker is not the type to lift a tone I think you might have embellished things."

He looks from the girl to the woman, "Adrenaline does that a lot."

"I'm not lying!" the girl screams as the woman holds her back asking her to calm down.

"I'm not saying you're lying. She saved you but she did not lift that HUGE block or most likely it wasn't as heavy as you think it was."

"Excuse me," we are interrupted by the police officer, "the car is over there, we'll be driving you back."

"I'm not lying," the little girl whines sadly as I am hurried away by Flash.

I feel bad not being able to back her up but the circumstances are perfect to keep my identity hidden.

I bend down to enter the car and sit comfortably in the middle of the back seat right in between Flash and Ned.

"Are you sure the address you gave me is the right one?"

Looking through the wired wall the officer messes around with their console as the last door of the vehicle is closed and we are finally surrounded by a comfortable silence.

The car moves and my eyes are drawn to the unconscious body of the Rhino.

"I didn't learn police codes to keep up with them," Flash says softly beside me.

This statement wakes me, "What?" I answer with just as much discretion so the conversation can stay private in the gorged car.

"You were weirded out earlier when I said I learned the NYPD's codes by heart and I'm not an idiot I saw that you didn't believe me."

I look down uncomfortable.

"I found-well I heard about a website," he says trying to maintain eye contact, "And at first it was cool, it was all about fans of Spiderman."

He must notice my frown because he hurries his explanation as if he was his own lawyer.

"But then there was that one guy who added me to another group chat except this time it wasn't the same, those guys weren't fans they were like stalkers. They were asking weird questions and one said he was actively trying to find him using the police radio."

My eyes double in size and a chill rushes through my body rising my blood temperature.

"It's not like I learned the codes, I just read through the messages and it was so disturbing that I think the codes just ended up stuck in my head I guess," he finishes avoiding any eye contact, fumbling with his hands.

"I told them it was weird, that they shouldn't do that because they could end up stalking and walk up on him during a mission and end up hurt or dead, not just them but also him."

I stay silent letting him finish up his story his eyes clouded up like earlier in the evening during our first bus trip.

"We argued through text and most of the people in the chat ganged up on me and I just left. Well after I reported their accounts but I don't think anything was done about that though."

I don't know what to do, how can I tell him he didn't do anything wrong when I don't even know what he possibly could've done wrong in this situation.

"You seemed ashamed of it, why?"

Raising his head he doesn't seem to know how to answer me.

"You saw someone doing something wrong that could put not only put themselves but others in danger and you tried to put an end to it," I try to reassure him as best I can.

He maintains eye contact without a word before he slowly nods and I believe I spot the ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

The soft noise of the car's movement mixes in perfectly with the chatter which lulls me to sleep.

"I was told by one of my colleagues that you were in there, you were very lucky," I hear the officer ask from the front seat.

I tiredly nod the simple motion making me drowsy as I lean my back my head with a sigh.

The conversation is unintelligible as I feel myself falling in and out of consciousness.

I jolt awake when a hand lands on my neck and moves my head from the headrest to a shoulder. Groggy, I try to protest wondering why the sudden change of position when I am cut off.

"You'll hurt your neck go back to sleep now."

My argument dies on my tongue as the haze of sleep crashes back on me. I fall into the kind of sleep where you don't really snooze and can still hear everything going around you but can't get rid of the veil of slumber.

And so that is how I spend the rest of the travel in and out of consciousness, half listening here and there to the discussions going on around getting more and more comfortable on his shoulder.

As the speech gets louder I frown and grunt sleepily, my hazy brain still trying to grasp the reality around me.

"What's going on?" I barely manage to get out in my half-asleep state.

"The call on my radio sounded close to the address you gave me but I wouldn't have guessed it was the exact same location."

Looking out I see the familiar sight of the sea and the port as well as the brightly light yacht surrounded by multiple police cars.

"Uh oh."

"What is going on?" Ned chimes in.

The guests are divided into small groups like herds of sheep looking around. Some are confused, some are annoyed, or simply bored, officers are scattered trying to question or count the heads all looking frustrated and exhausted.

"My parents are gonna kill me," he says looking through the window overstepping in front of Ned sending him to sit far back into his own seat.

The pang I feel in my heart is painful and the realization that I'm at fault makes me scooch back into my seat. The shame being too much to handle I yank the car door open needing a breeze of fresh air.

The outside cold bites at my cheek as I breathe in deeply.

"Flash! Where were you?!"

I turn around noticing one of our classmates looking frantic.

"I stepped out for a little while what the hell happened here?!"

"I swear it wasn't me! some guys from another school sneaked and used the fireworks."

"What fireworks? there weren't any fireworks."

He hesitates looking at the birthday boy with squinted eyes full of worry "It was McCoy," his question almost sounds like a question.

Flash looks up and like me breathes in deep, "Damn McCoy stresses me out even when I throw him out."

The classmate walks away escorted by one of the many officers around as our personal chauffeur of the night approaches us and singles out Ned telling us they'll come back once Ned gives his point of view of the night.

"I'm so sorry," I say my voice quivering without my consent.

Turning back to me, he frowns and looks at me up and down.

"If I hadn't offered to go out this wouldn't have happened."

He approaches me as I fidget with my hands, "And If we didn't go to the laser game we wouldn't have almost been killed by Rhino," I say wiping my nose who's beginning to tingle.

His frown somehow deepens, "What are you talking about?" he says firmly.

It's my turn to frown, "Well your night is ruined now and it's my fault."

His frown softens to leave place for an eye roll.

"Parker," he says annoyed.

"It's true if I hadn't proposed you'd have still been here and could have stopped those guys from-"

"It was my decision to stay or go but I wanted to go. I could've just said no but I didn't."

It might be the first time I've ever seen Flash Thompson take the blame for anything.

"But it's your birthday I shouldn't have taken you away from your party-"

"Oh my god!" he says irritated taking me by the shoulders and hurrying me aside to a corner where fewer people can eavesdrop.

"Listen Parker none of what happened tonight was your fault okay? I decided to follow you because I wanted to and we both know for a fact that this psycho who started crashing the building didn't just appear out of nowhere just because of because of you."

I internally cringe. Oh if only you knew.

"And it's fine. Okay, it's still sucks, but I had fun and if I stayed I would've been bored out of my mind anyways so I guess you could say you came and saved me from the most boring party ever."

His hands move from my shoulder to my face as he finishes his speech.

Speechless, I'm unable to answer as the warmth of his hands is comforting against the harshness of the outside cold.

The honesty of his speech and the tenderness that shows in his eyes throws me off balance.

When my eyes make the quickest contact with his lips I quickly switch my gaze to anywhere else.

"You're parents are gonna kill-Oh no!"

My yelling directs both of our attention toward the target of my panic.

"Is that your Aunt May?!"

I spin around to somehow hide from her and try to find an out.

"Forget about your parents I'm gonna die before you!"

"She's pointing very angrily behind me which means she's pointing at you," he informs me, "Hi Miss Parker!" he says with fake enthusiasm and a high-pitched cracked voice.

My whole body tenses up and I take all my time turning back around not daring to make eye contact.

Flash is still standing between the two of us feet planted in the ground.

"Flash get out of my way."

"For sure," he says hurriedly stepping aside.

"So get this. I get a call, right? And I hear that not only was there an incident at this party but I also hear that you weren't at the said party which right then reassured me since I believed you weren't in danger," she shouts all over the place with frantic movement as if she was telling a scary story around a campfire.

"But then my logic sense came back and I told myself 'Wait if she's not at that party, where could she possibly be?'"

The lump in my throat is starting to hurt and I go back to avoiding eye contact.

She's now silent and it's clear her question is not a rhetorical one.

"It was my fault."

I turn to him with confusion that quickly turns into irritation.

"Not it wasn't," I say firmly.

"An accident happened and she was hit," he says pointing at my forehead that I try to hide with panic written on my face.

Why is he aggravating the situation?!

As expected Aunt May panics walking to me and analyzes me up and down focusing on my forehead where the bandage has managed to stay attached through my baby hairs, the second hand suit, and the attack.

Startled by the sigh she trots up to me inspecting the area closer.

"It was an accident but the person who did that refused to apologize and would not leave the party so I thought the best would be to step out so there wouldn't be any more tension and then Leeds proposed to go take a look around the city," he lies skillfully through his teeth.

"But then we were at this place and that guy Rhino showed up-" May starts to panic again but is cut off for the rest of his speech, " BUT we're okay we got out before any of us could be harmed and we were escorted back here with the police to make sure we're safe," he finishes his rant with what I could only describe as a marketing grin motioning to our surrounding as if all of this isn't as bad as it looks.

A sigh escapes May as she closes her eyes and tries to let go of the tension inside her.

I am smothered by a hug from her letting me in turn lose all the tension in my own body.

Embracing her back I breathe out not once noticing how I've been stiff since my run-in with Rhino. The tension leaving my body I close my eyes and let myself fall deeper into her arms hugging her back.

Opening my eyes my gaze traces back to Flash standing there looking at us with sympathy.

I mouth him a 'thank you'. I don't really know what the thank you is for but it feels right to say it.

A cop approaches him and I let go of the hug to investigate hoping he won't get in trouble.

"He didn't do anything," I intervene, "Actually, he wasn't even there!" I protest.

Met with blank stares from both of them I have second thoughts.

"Alright I'll make sure to write that down on my report but I will first ask Mr.Thompson what happened from his point of view," the officer says with a pointed look as if asking me to stop talking to avoid damaging his case even more.

The previous anxiety on my face falls to an awkward open-mouthed, "Oh."

"Yeah," Flash says.

"Now how about we go home and leave the nice officer to do his job?" May says loudly holding my shoulders and silently telling me to mindlessly agree to what she says.

With a similar fake smile Flash gave earlier, I giggle and nod like a puppet to get myself out while making sure he doesn't get in more trouble for my indiscretion.

"Let's go get Ned."

"Um I'll be right with you," I call after her my hand in hers.

She seems confused but nods regardless.

When I'm sure she's far away I trot back around.

"Hey, Flash!"

I catch his attention as he walks back to me reassuring the officer he'll be back in a moment.

"What is it?" he ask curiously and a bit in a hurry.

…

I don't know what to say.

"I. I-just."

I'm fully out. What should I say? I'm sorry? Thank you?

I'm still looking for my words when his finger begins mingling with my bandaid once again.

"I really did a shitty job with that," he chuckles eyes focusing back on mine.

I feel that peace again, that comfort I never thought possible around the obnoxious Flash Thompson.

"I should probably go, Officer Davis isn't gonna wait around for me forever."

"Oh yeah of course!" I agree.

I see that Aunt May is looking around for me by her car with Ned beside her looking around as I still try to find the right words.

Looking back at him I find myself analysing his face and figure out I don't need words.

"You okay?" he asks.

Taking a few steps I am standing just a few inches away. Before he can question my motive I lay a kiss on his cheek, right below his eye.

I step back, a feeling of Euphoria invading my body, "Happy birthday."

He does not answer frozen in place and rigid like a pole.

Oh no, did I mess up?

"Are you okay? Aren't you gonna go with officer Davis?" I ask worried.

"Mister Thompson?" talking of the devil.

"Yeah! Let's go!" he shouts turning around and hurrying into the car.

The euphoria dissipates and the regret sets in. What a way to end such a nice night in a fiasco.

I really messed up.

A new side of you: Waltz of emotions

[inchidentally]

Firstly just want to say I love your posts and opinions <3 Sorry this is a bit long, I only lurk around so I wanted to share my thoughts with someone (if that’s alright!)

As a Lando fan through all his teammates, I really love his dynamic with Oscar the most. I love that Lando always brings up how good Oscar is (even though everyone in the world loves to spread the narrative that Lando is washed because a rookie beat him*), and I love that Oscar is always supportive of Lando’s achievements too. They both put the team first before all else, and what happens in the race will stay in the race (no hard feelings after). Despite what the media pushes them to say or the narratives in articles, they both have a quiet understanding of each other and a lot of respect. What they have now is really sweet and I’m really hoping none of this would change for the years to come, even if they have a race winning car. Of course as a Lando fan first, I want him to win all the races, and I’m sure Oscar fans want Oscar to win all the races, but I hope that everyone can also learn to let what happens in a race stay in the race, just like them. For me anyone who shades/hates on either of them in any way just gets an instant block, I don’t want to hear it <3

*I hate how people always turn to shitting on Lando instead of saying Oscar is also good and equally competent?? I know Lando is supposed to be more experienced but he’s also young and he’s apparently never allowed to make mistakes. And I think not giving Oscar the credit is also disrespectful to him.

I also do hope this year they are even more comfortable with each other and will hang out more outside of races (even if they don’t share it). More than the media stuff, I am always so much more happy when they do something on their own, like how we found out Oscar was also in one of the planes from the recreating Instagram photos video, or that photo of them playing cards, that photo of them eating together in the paddock, or “what happened in Vegas stays in Vegas” that still haunts my mind….. (hate Vegas GP though, burn it).

tldr; Oscar is good for Lando and Lando has always been good in Oscar’s eyes, and can next season come faster

tysm anon and I'm sorry to be so late replying !!

god I am the same anon - I don't personally have favorites bc his dynamic with Carlos and Daniel was so much abt him being the baby duckling (and that on track Lando struggled privately w insecurity so much his rookie season whereas his confidence was building separate from what Daniel was experiencing). but what I love about the Oscar era is the way Lando just like, blossomed into McLaren being his home and his team when Oscar made such strong gestures to acknowledge Lando that way.

like so many ppl questioned Lando's ability to be in the senior/experienced/leadership role and wondered if he'd always prefer to be a little brother for a couple more years yet (and I think Lando wondered that too).

god yea I am so happy to leave ppl who try to pit teammates against each other in their own filth. like, enjoy being full of impotent rage ig?? bc apart from a VERY few instances these teammates are always able to be professional - and if they were already friends, remain friends. not only has Andrea instilled this from the start with Lando and Oscar, neither of them literally ever has had a history of friction w teammates or w each other. we've been through Monza before their relationship had even gotten settled so we're fine lol

and anon so far I'm genuinely amazed at how much content we're getting of them, of their own volition and McLaren's sm. the McLaren media fell off so hard right when the double podiums happened so I was worried that was how it was going to stay for 2024. hopefully stays this way!