#I got the job right after I finished the program! I got into college and was offered a (small) scholarship

[itspileofgoodthings]

Years ago, I asked you what the different alternate universe Maria’s were doing with their lives. Are the answers still the same?

OOOOOOF yes.

but now I’m in the period where I have to face that I do not, in fact, have multiple lives so I have to figure out what I’m doing with my one wild and precious life and the sort of (for me, at least) ease of following a particular school-related completion course that wasn’t too hard to commit to or finish has come to an end and I am at a crossroads where it’s just like—you could choose. And on some level, in the next few years, you need to. Low-key terrifying and I hate it.

[johnbrand]

Mists

It had been a lot easier for Miles to get into the groove of the gym than he had anticipated. When he had first entered, the recently-graduated meek college graduate had originally planned only utilizing the treadmills. Miles wanted to stay fit while he applied for new jobs, and nothing more than that.

“Hey shrimp, over here!”

Miles immediately went red, pivoting towards the bellowing voice. A shirtless jock was waving him over to a small booth near the front. Trying his best to stay calm, Miles approached, the hulking figure of the other party looming over his skinny frame as he drew closer.

“I assume you’re new here?” the jock grunted.

“How could you tell?” Miles replied.

“It’s Shirtless Saturday bro!” the jock chuckled. “Mandatory requirement of the gym, should’ve been in your membership details. Helps encourage self-positivity or whatever.”

Miles took a quick scan around the gym to confirm, taking in all the shirtless, muscular, sweaty bodies. To his further embarrassment, he found a certain part of his midsection perking up a bit in response. Miles could not believe there were so many hot guys in one space.

“Uh…ok…” Miles mumbled, slowly removing his top article. The jock snatched it from him once he was finished, placing it in a waste bin behind the booth.

Before Miles could complain, the jock stopped him. “Trust me, most dudes go shirtless every day here. Our gym mists the place every five to ten minutes, like produce at a grocery store. Keeps everyone cool and fresh.”

As if on cue, a spray of mist rained down from the ceilings, trickling onto each one of the shirtless men at the gym. A coating fell onto Miles, absorbing into his hairless, near-translucent skin. Figuring it was time to move on, Miles nodded and left the station. Although instead of finding himself at the treadmill, his feet led him towards a workout bench. He did not even realize his mistake until the soft buzz of another coat of mist fell onto his body.

Rubbing his head with a meatier palm, Miles took in his surroundings, trying to make sense of the situation. Once again he found himself boning up as he took in all the attractive men working out. Believing he had regained a sense of direction, Miles got up from the bench, placing his weights aside before once again moving across the floor. However, his body sat him down at a machine, a leg pump to be specific. Miles did not notice this until another wave of mist rained down. He also did not notice the muscular definition that expanded from his calves, quads, and buttocks.

The pattern continued slowly, all without Miles’ intention or attention. The jock from the booth followed along, bemused as with each spray Miles shifted from one machine to the next, his frame piling on pound after pound of muscle. After a while, the constant misting began to affect more than just Miles’ figure. One coating helped calm the poor boy’s nerves, granting him the confidence to swagger rather than scurry across the gym floor. Another vocalized this transition, literally, with Miles grunting and groaning with each exertion like every other lunk.

The jock could almost predict each wave that followed. The masculinized features, the carpet of hair, the constant rearranging of a larger, yet dormant package. The jock had noticed Miles’ excited pecker right away, knowing his fagginess would eventually be washed away. Yet that conversion was the only wave he could not predict: did it come after the spray of manly conformity or the vapor of fraternal commitment?

In the end, it did not matter. Once a person walked into the building, they became a permanent member of the gym. The jock had been serious when he stated the gym’s mists kept everyone “cool and fresh”. Miles just did not realize that the gym’s definition of “cool” meant a stereotypically masculine, arrogant, heterosexual perspective; and “fresh” reflected a more casual discretion.

A final layer of mist hailed down from above, programming Miles to carry on to the chest press. Unlike the previous coats however, this one stayed on the surface, as no more could be absorbed. It now remained as sweat on the undeniably straight man’s skin, reproducing before dropping back into the floor. From there, it was absorbed and then processed back up into the sprinklers above. A water cycle of pure, heterosexual testosterone. 

But Miles did not know this, nor would he ever. His past self was forgotten history, now nothing more than just another straight bro.

[queers-gambit]

Affirmation King

prompt: ( requested ) attending university as a full-time student is hard, but your boyfriend makes some of the stress worth it.

fandom masterlist: FX's The Bear

word count: 3.1k+

note: author gives unsolicited advice in the form of sharing a citation website to make college essays a little easier! this is not meant as promotion or anything, it's just your author trying to share a resource they know of.

warnings: cursing, small hurt large comfort (reader snaps a little at Carmy but he handles it like a fucking pro), author gives unsolicited college advice in the form of a recommended website, reader is in a masters program and not undergrad, fluff.

The 16 inch screen glared into your retinas, fingers feeling numb from the hours pounding away at the loose keyboard. When the screen started to warble and darken, your head ducked down slightly to try and preserve your visual; glaring up at the offender when they pressed the screen closed after forcing you to retract your hands.

"You're cute and all, but not so cute as to interrupt me like that," you deadpanned, eyes wide and burning from your lack of lubrication via blinking.

"You've been sat here for hours, it's time for a break."

"Funny when I say that to you, it's always, 'Get outta my kitchen.'"

Carmy smirked, "Come eat something."

"Let me finish this essay and - "

"No, it's time for a meal."

You felt your irritation spike, narrowing your eyes slightly, "I'm on a deadline, Carmen, so either be fucking helpful and productive or get the fuck out of my space. I've got work to do and you're just slowing me down."

He offered a patient look, asking, "Is that what you really wanted to say?"

You paused, then shook your head, "No... May I try again?"

"Of course," he nodded.

"I appreciate you trying to... Alleviate some of my stress," you spoke slowly, stringing the sentence together in realtime, "but this project isn't something I can ignore right now, so, I'd like to finish this thing before we do whatever else."

"Better," he teased, knowing you ran a short fuse when stressed out and overworked. "What's got you riled up?"

"I have this 20-page paper due."

"20 pages!?"

"It's not that bad, honestly, once you have your thesis together," you chuckled dryly. "it's just time consuming and meticulous."

He frowned and stepped forward to press a kiss to your forehead, mocking in a sarcastic tone, "You're doing amazing, sweetie."

"I'm so tired," you pouted up at him. "Do I really need this degree? This is so much stress for such a little thing such as a piece of paper that cost me $50k just to say I'm allowed to join the work force."

"Hey, hey," he laughed. "Just remember what you're working towards. You're one assignment closer to your internship turning into a full-time gig, right?"

You nodded, "You're right. I want that job so bad... I just hate how busy I feel - it's like, how can I remember to eat let alone write 6 different response posts to my classmate's work?"

Carmy nodded with empathy, "Just remember that end goal, baby. Keep grinding, keep moving. Almost at the finish line, right?"

"Right," you nodded with a smile. "Thank you, angel face."

Carmy smiled at you before softly asking, "Want me to bring you anything? Something to eat, drink, a condom?"

"Stop quoting Mean Girls at me!"

His hands shot up in defense, deflecting, "I was just trying to be a gracious host. If the missus wants anything, I'll make sure she has it."

"Pretty sure 'missus' is a term used for wives - " His groan made you laugh lightly, then covering, "No, thank you, baby, I'm okay. I should only be about another hour or so...?"

"All right, yeah, sure. I'll start dinner in 30, okay?"

"Sure," you smiled, already distracted again as you lifted your screen again to stare at the Word document that had been haunting your hard-drive for about 3 weeks now.

"Hey," he interrupted, "don't forget your glasses."

"Thank you," you mumbled, reaching for the special, blue-light filtering glasses Carmy had gifted you when you first started your Master's program. He claimed staring at a computer screen was going to cause long-term damage (he read an article) and got you a pair, which, you had to admit, made a huge difference.

Your hair was raked into a new bun as you reread the last of your essay, trying to get back in the academic mindset in order to finish the last bit of your assignment. There were textbooks spewed around your work table; laptop plugged in, highlighters and pens and notebooks within reach and a nearly-finished bottle of water was set to the side. You wrote ferociously once you got back on the right mental track, feeling your headache stir to life as you blindly reached for your water bottle.

However, when you picked it up, you blinked in mild shock when the bottle was heavier than before. Glancing over, you realized Carmy had replaced the bottle because there, under where it had sat, he left you a handwritten note:

replenish what you lost from crying!

You chuckled, knowing you were a stress cryer and when tackling big assignments like this, you were ten times as stressed as usual. Still you worked, even putting your headphones on to play soothing background noise - like rainfall. Your neck cramped, back ached, temples throbbed, and hands were cramping. Still you worked, using sticky notes to flag the important quotes you wanted to use from your textbooks and notebooks. Your stomach growled, your eyes begged for reprieve, chest felt tight, and shoulders were too tense.

Still. You. Worked.

Deadlines were important to you, and while you were a professional procrastinator, you always turned everything in on time - no matter your mental state. You could smell whatever Carmy had started cooking, focused on writing as you only used spellcheck as you went - and still you worked. You knew you surpassed the hour limit you told Carmy, but you couldn't stop, you were so close to finishing, it almost put tears back in your eyes, but this time out of relief. You only paused to look at online sources and apply chapstick, cracking your tightly-wound knuckles, and when you finished the last body paragraph of the essay, grinned to yourself.

All that was left was your conclusion, to create a bibliography, and to edit - but you were almost home free!

Suddenly, you jumped in fright when a hand planted on your shoulder; whipping around to see your boyfriend's own startled expression. "Sorry," Carmy apologized with a wince when you removed your headphones, "didn't mean to scare you, just wanted to check on you."

You nodded, 'Yeah, no, I'm almost done. Like give me 20 minutes, almost done-almost done."

He smiled softly, "Dinner's ready when you are."

"I'll be there soon, thank you, angel face."

"Can I help with anything?"

"Uh," you cocked your head, "you know what? Maaaaybe..."

"Really?" He grinned, perking up. "You never let me help!"

"It's not really work, per se," you amended, "but would you mind letting me read this out loud to you - see if it makes sense? The mark of a good writer is to act as if the audience knows nothing about the subject and make them understand, and you're exactly that."

"Lemme hear it," he nodded, taking a seat, "I might not be much help but I can still try."

You agreed and finished typing the outline of your conclusion, then scrolled to the top of your word document, and explained to him what your class was before starting to read. He listened intently, sitting on a spare stool with his elbows resting on his knees; keeping him leaned forward to provide his undivided attention. You managed to reword a few sentences, only noticing they didn't make sense when you read them out loud. Once or twice, Carmy even offered an alternative phrasing you liked - making the changes and rereading, then continuing through your assignment.

By the end, you were able to beef up the conclusion and Carmy was grinning at you in pride. "That's real good, baby," he complimented, "it all made sense and rolled nice together. I think that has to be an 'A'-worthy paper."

"You should be the one grading theses, my professor's the worst," you frowned. "It's why I got so in my head, I got a fucking 76 on my last essay and need to do really well on the next few to help average my grade."

"What about the tests?"

"We don't have any, this class is all about writing material and turning it in," you pouted.

"Hey," he spoke seriously, making you look at him in question, "I'm really proud of you."

You giggled nervously, "Oh, yeah? Why? What for?"

"For doing this," he nodded to the desk. "Look at all you're doing, baby, there's no way I'd ever be able to keep up with this kinda shit. You're doing such a great fucking job - I want you to remember that. What you're doing ain't easy, but you're handling this like a pro."

"I cry, like, everyday..."

"So what? You still get shit done while emoting - call that multitasking, baby."

"Got me there."

"Seriously, though, you're not told enough what a fantastic job you're doing; how strong and resilient you have to be to deal with this kind of stress day-in and day-out. I see the hard work you put in," he promised, "and I want you to know how fucking proud I am of you. It's all gonna be worth it one day, but until then, I love watching you grind through school. I might not take the classes with you, but I'll help however I can, whenever I can."

"Thank you," you whispered. "It's really nice to hear... I feel myself burning out and it's nice to be reminded that what I do now will influence my future. Validates me in feeling stressed out, you know? Sometimes, I feel silly 'cause, like, there's so many bigger things to be upset about and here I am, stressed out at a place that's guaranteed to stress me out..."

"It's not silly, it's normal. College ain't easy," he reminded, "and you're just trying to keep yourself afloat."

"Yeah, but there's bigger things in life than something trivial as my education."

Carmy scoffed at you, shaking his head, "Ain't no way."

"What?"

"My girl just said her feelings are trivial... Nah, she said her emotions about her education is trivial," he shook his head again. "Should wash your mouth out with soap - talkin' crazy like that. Baby, you know, first and foremost, your education is high on our priorities list, but your emotions? You think they're trivial? Nah, if anything causes you to have any emotion, it's valid - it's not something silly or redundant."

You pouted slightly, "You always know what to say."

"Hungry?"

"You're the perfect man," you laughed, looking at your document again and humming. "Okay, so, lemme just cite my sources and turn this in."

"Then you wanna have date night?" He smirked.

"No, no, I'm so tired - "

"I meant we can stay in."

"Oh, then count me in!"

"Change into something cozy when you're done, we can watch a movie with dinner. Yeah?"

You agreed, accepted his kiss of encouragement, and then took his leave to reheat the dinner that had surely cooled off. It didn't take long to cite everything when you used an online citation source website - that IS N O T plagiarizing! It's a handy-dandy tool you discovered your undergraduate freshman year by an actual professor. It was as simple as choosing which style, APA or MLA, and then to either paste the URL of the website you need sourced or you type in the book's information. Hit the generate button and BAM! A perfect citation for your bibliography every single time.

Or if you didn't like that, you could always just Google citation examples and do your best to write it out yourself. But the website, Citation Machine dot net, was a great tool. After perfecting your in-text citations and saving your work, you uploaded it to your university's assignment portal, crossed the essay off your to-do list, and stretched on your feet.

Cleaning up your space minimally, you hustled to your bedroom to get a quick hot, relieving shower, change, and then met Carmy in the kitchen. "Hey," you sighed with a soft smile.

"Hey, doll. All done?"

"For tonight," you groaned, "but tomorrow's a new day with new assignments."

"That's a future problem we'll handle at a later time," he eased, showing you your dinner plate. "Ta-daaaa!"

You grinned, "Oh, baby, this looks amazing!"

"Yeah, well, I kinda figured as a full-time student right now, nobody was gonna remind you what incredible job you're doing, so, I'm more than happy to step up to the plate. And what better treat than your favorite meal, huh?"

"Thank you," you whispered, pecking his lips.

You often thought his love language was "food", but then you realized it was technically under the acts of service and quality time. He loved cooking for you - it was like a gift. He loved cooking with you - it was time spent bonding. He loved introducing you to new dishes - it's a present! He loved when you let him give you a culinary lesson - it was time well spent.

"C'mon," Carmy lead you to the living room, both crashing on the couch you had been gifted from your grandmother's house when she was put in a nursing home. Normally, you wouldn't have splurged on something like this, but considering it was free, you and Carmy were happy to use it. Settling together on the couch, you got cozy under a shared blanket and Carmy flicked some movie on for background noise, but instead of watching, he just asked you about your coursework.

You told him what you could, shaking your head and huffing about how annoying your program was. How hectic. How jam packed and fast-paced it all seemed to be. How your head felt like it was spinning. How you couldn't nail down workable coping mechanisms and just felt totally out of control. You were spiraling.

You needed this rant session.

Carmy listened intently.

He never once tried to say, "oh, but if you had time management," or anything like, "if you do THIS instead..." or some bullshit, "my way works better." His bright and wide blue eyes watched you the entire time, sighing when you got to the end of your meal and vent session.

"It just feels like, I turn in one assignment, I get three more right after. Turn in those three, and all of a sudden, there's another 10!"

"Does the syllabus say anything about that?" He wondered.

"No, it just said what our reading schedules were and when major assignments are due. But those dates all got shuffled around that it feels like a train wreck. You know, if the original schedule was kept from the syllabus, I wouldn't feel so worked up! It's the rearrangement and added assignments without warning that's throwing me off."

"That doesn't sound easy," he validated. "Anything I can do to help?"

"No, you're doing more than enough," you whispered, pecking his lips. "Thank you for dinner."

"I made dessert, too."

"No!" You gasped with a grin.

"Mhm - wait here. I'll grab it."

"Wow, dinner, movie, and dessert?" You teased, "I'm being spoiled tonight."

"You've been working your ass off for weeks now," he smirked, standing from his seat to pick up your plates, "this is the least I could do. I know I said it, but you know how good a job you're doing, right? Damn, baby," he chuckled, "ain't no way I could ever handle shit like that on the regular."

"I could't do what you do, either."

"We all balance our crazy different. Want some tea? Wine?"

"Tea would be great."

"Comin' up."

When Carmy returned, you pulled the blanket back to let him sit again with the dessert plate between you both; two steaming mugs of tea sat on the coffee table. "What's this?" You wondered, seeing a sort of pastry.

"Marcus told me 'bout this," he chuckled. "Kinda like a poor man's version of this one thing he makes. So, look, it's Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, right? In the middle, there's raspberry preserves - or jam if you want that instead. It's baked then drizzled in melted white chocolate."

"Wow, you got all fancy on me," you beamed.

"Hardly, more like I was a little impulsive after hearing your essay. Figured you could use some dessert - you really earned it, baby. You always earn dessert," he grinned, "but tonight, you were kickass. Know that? Hear me?"

You shook your head, "This is nothing compared - "

"Hey, hey, nah," he interrupted, "nah, nah, don't do that, don't try to invalidate or downplay yourself. Look, shit is always hard in college, right? But you handle it so well, I can see the work you're putting in and the little reward you receive in return, and know that shit's gotta add up for you. But my baby just keeps cool, does her work, and does what she can to earn the grades she does. Right?"

"I mean, I try to..."

"You succeed. C'mon, lemme hear you say it. 'I kick college's ass.'"

"I kick college's ass."

"'I work hard.'"

"Carmy - "

"Saaay it!"

You huffed, "I work hard."

"'I'm an incredible hard worker.'"

"I'm an incredible hard worker."

"'I am only human.'"

Another breath in, repeating, "I am only human."

"'I am a success.'"

"I try to be a success."

"That wasn't the quote."

"Well, I don't know if I'm succeeding because grades aren't finalized yet and I have - "

"No, no, no," he smirked again, "you're still successful 'cause you're doing such a kickass job. You could get a fucking 'D' on something, and guess what? You're still successful 'cause you don't let this tear you down, you learn from mistakes and apply whatever lessons you learn to your upcoming assignments. Some people say you might even learn more from losing and failing than from undisputed success. Look, I'll be honest, I thought my job was hectic as shit, but hearing your essay tonight? Goddamn, you're not just beautiful, but so fucking intelligent, too. Baby, I was shook - that sounded like some academic paper that college kids need to defend their thesis or some shit. Something scholarly, not some assignment you gotta hand in by a deadline so you just wrote down whatever. So, give yourself credit and tell yourself you're a success."

With a long, deep breath, you answered earnestly, "I'm a success."

"Good girl," he muttered, handing you a fork finally. However, unlike Mikey all those years ago, you didn't launch your utensil at anyone and used it to cut off a corner of pastry.

You moaned when you tasted the gooey goodness. You managed through a mouthful, "Mmhhh! Mhm! Mhm! If you make this every time I have some assignment pissing me off and stressing me out, I'm afraid I'll get used to this treatment."

Carmy grinned, "You deserve whatever dessert you want, whenever you want. Huh? Yeah? Lemme hear you say it."

With another grin, you mused, "I deserve whatever I want, when I want it... And however I want it!"

"Atta girl!"

"You're so fucking corny," you laughed lightly, feeling as if you were falling in love with him again, "but thank you, my Affirmation King."

requesting rules and masterlist

The Bear masterlist

[allthingsfangirl101]

Out of The Blue – Keys

Masterlist

I walked into my apartment and kicked off my shoes. I went upstairs and changed into a pair of leggings and an oversized flannel. The second I got downstairs, I collapsed onto the couch.

Right out of MIT, I got a job as a traveling coder. I meet with business professionals and owners and help them build their websites. After the first meeting, everything I did could be done from home.

I grabbed my laptop off my desk and took it to the family room. I put on the TV show I was currently binge-watching and slowly started working on my newest project. I was finishing up for the night when I glanced over and saw how late it was. I was just about to close my computer when it dinged. With furrowed eyebrows, I checked my email.

Walter McKeys.

My heart flipped and then plummeted into my stomach. I haven't talked to Keys since college. We were in a lot of classes together. We constantly studied together and helped each other with our homework. I was the one who gave him the nickname "Keys". He gave me the nickname "Buggy". He used to say that I was annoyingly good at finding and getting rid of computer bugs.

Memories came flooding back as I read his email.

Hey Buggy, It's been a long time. I'm sorry for this random email, but I've been thinking a lot about you lately. That's probably weird. To be honest, I don't really know how to explain why I'm emailing you. I've never been very good with words. I'm only good with code. You know that. How many times did we have to do a presentation and all I could do was the coding part? You were always the one who did the presentation and the talking part.

Sorry. I'm email-rambling. Anyway, I've been having this issue with a code and AI. I finally made the connection and figured out the problem. I only figured it out because of you. I know that doesn't make sense, Buggy, and I'm sorry. Please watch the video attached and maybe, just maybe, it'll make more sense.

Sincerely, Your Keys

As I finished the email, my breathing was unsteady, almost coming out in short gasps. I reread it over and over again, my mind spinning with questions. I opened the attachment, but for some reason, I couldn't play it. When I finally pressed play, Keys popped up on my laptop screen. From the looks of it, he was at his office late at night.

Why would he film this at his office and send it to me despite how late it was?

That question made me finally press play. I held my breath as Keys started talking.

"Hey, Buggy," he smiled at the camera. "I know this is kinda weird, but I need to get some things off my chest. I'm not sure if you know this but for the last year, I've been working for Soonami on a game called, "Free Life". Lately, I've noticed something. . . Strange. Before I explain, I need to confess something. A while ago, I created a game with a friend of mine called, Life Itself. To be honest, Y/N, I used part of your code from our senior project."

Keys looked away from the camera and sighed. When he looked back, my chest tightened at the look on his face.

"I'm really sorry, Y/N," he whispered. "I should've. . . I changed it a little bit. Your code was focused on programming. All I did was adapt it for gaming. I'm sorry. I know I should've called and asked for your permission. I really hope that doesn't make you hate me."

He cleared his throat and took a minute to get his thoughts back on track. "Anway," he continued, "Soonami bought "Life Itself". They claimed to have shelved it, but my friend Millie found proof that they didn't. For you to understand what happened, I need to introduce you to Guy."

I smiled when his scream split and I saw the character he started talking about. "He's supposed to be an NPC, but something changed. Now, from the beginning. . . Guy's behavior is much more complex than it should be, thanks to our code."

My heart jumped when he called it "our code".

"But he's still stuck in "Free City,"" he continued. "He's still stuck in his life, this loop. And then, something changes. He comes to life. Why? And then I remembered. One of the characters from "Life Itself" was this guy that I nicknamed, "Lovelorn". And he was someone who was designed to never meet the right person. It was essentially the building blocks of the character. But he never stopped hoping that he would meet "the girl of his dreams". So I had to base this girl off of someone. . . and who better than the person that I was sitting next to every day? You."

My breathing sped up and I felt my heart jump back into my throat as he continued to explain to me what was going on.

"But then, one day, he meets Millie in "Free City", and once he sees her. . . he can never be the same. He was supposed to feel doomed, but instead, he feels alive until eventually, he is alive. Millie changed him. You wrote the code that was able to be changed by one person. One connection. You brought him to life, Y/N. You wrote the code that brought him to life. And he was alive because he met the one person he'd been waiting for his whole life. And I had to make it realistic, so. . . I based it off of. . . You. The woman of his dreams. . . she was the same as mine."

I hit the pause button, my heart beating against my chest. I ran my fingers through my hair as I tried to put my thoughts together.

"But Millie is the one who met him," I mumbled under my breath. "She's the one who brought him to life. . . I just wrote his code."

I grabbed my bag and headed to my car but stopped when I realized what time it was.

I went to bed but as soon as I got up, I found Soonami's address. I anxiously drummed my fingers on the steering wheel as I got close. I signed in at the front desk and headed up to the offices. The entire time I was in the elevator, I kept repeating what Keys said in the video.

"Hello, gorgeous," a guy smirked. "I'm Mouser. And you are?"

"Not looking for you," I said harshly. "Where's Keys?"

"Not here," he shrugged. I sighed as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"You got an address?"

* * * * *

When I pulled up to Keys' apartment complex, my nerves made me freeze. I wasn't even sure what I was going to say to him when and if he opened that door. I barely found the courage to park my car and head up to his place.

I got to his door but hesitated before knocking. I held my breath as I waited for him to answer. The longer it took him, the closer I got to turning around and running away. I was just about to when the door opened.

"Y/N," Keys stuttered.

"Hi," I said, my voice softer than I wished. "We need to talk about that video."

He sent me a small smile and nodded. I took a shaky breath when he opened the door and moved aside for me to come in. I walked in and instantly started nervously playing with my hands.

"Have a seat," he invited me.

"Nice place," I mumbled as I looked around but didn't sit down.

"Thanks," he chuckled, clearly embarrassed. He cleared his throat before attempting to break through the tension. "So, that video. . ."

"Millie brought him to life," I cut him off. "Not me."

"It was your code," he shrugged with a small look on his face.

"You said I was the woman of your dreams," I continued, "but your friend Millie is the one who brought him to life. Not me. So according to that, she should be the woman of your dreams."

"But she's not," he said, slowly taking a step closer to me. "Millie has a lot in common with you. She loves bubblegum ice cream, swingsets, and Mariah Carey. So yes, Millie is the one that Guy ran into, but it was the similarities that he fell for. In fact, if you had run into him in the game, you would have brought him to life."

"Keys, this is. . . I don't understand. . . I just. . ."

I cut myself off when he leaned in, his face inches from mine. "I know I was rambling," he whispered, "but there is one important part in what I said."

"What are you talking about?"

"I've had a lot of time to think about this," he continued. "You're the woman of my dreams, Buggy."

Before I could say anything, Keys leaned in and gently pressed his lips to mine. My mind was swimming as I slowly kissed him back. He broke the kiss with a small smile on his face. We looked into each other's eyes as we struggled to catch our breaths.

"I know this was completely random," he whispered with his forehead pressed to mine, "but I couldn't stop thinking about you, Buggy. Every day I fixed the coding issues with Free Life, I thought about you. I haven't stopped thinking about you since the night we graduated from MIT."

"That video. . ." I whispered but didn't continue.

"Was my cowardly way of admitting my feelings for you," he said with a small chuckle as he leaned back. I held my breath as he reached forward and gently grabbed my hands, slightly pulling me closer.

"Say it," I said under my breath.

"Say what?" He asked, slightly tilting his head.

"Confess to me what you confessed in the video."

Keys smiled as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

"You are the woman of my dreams," he whispered. "I created the character Lovelorn and kinda based him off of me. I designed him to never meet the right person because I was worried I never would. As I was creating him and "the girl of his dreams", I started basing her off the first girl that came to my mind. You. I thought about what I felt as we sat next to each other and worked on our senior projects. I thought about how I felt when you helped me with my code. I thought about how badly I wanted to be more than just coding partners. You, my dear Buggy, are the woman of my dreams."

I grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his. I felt him smile as he tightened his arms around my waist and kissed me back. We let out matching laughs as we fell back onto his couch. He hovered over me, looking deeply into my eyes.

"I've missed you, Buggy."

"I've missed you too, Keys."

[meowmarkie]

first snow — jsc

you were out buying drinks at a convenience store to celebrate your most recent achievement, however, fate had other plans which involved the one Jung Sungchan and a couple of snowflakes

pairing. . . sungchan x female reader

genre. . . fluff

prompt. . . love at first sight

requested?. . . yes!

The wind was coldly blowing through your face, sending small shivers down your spine. Cold didn’t agree with you — but it was still better than hot climates, in which you’d sweat non-stop.

Yet another year was coming close to an end and the imminent question about new year resolutions was popping around in your head, even though said holiday was still a month away. After all, what had you done this year that was somewhat meaningful to you? That’s something worth thinking about.

Well, you did manage to get into the most prestigious psychology program in Seoul while working part time as a barista. Not many people you know can juggle college and a job at the same time, so it’s safe to say that’s a solid achievement.

Nonetheless, you were walking down your street, hands filled with convenience store plastic bags. The good college related news arrived earlier in the day, but you were only having time to celebrate it a few minutes past 11 pm. Your day wasn’t busy at all, it was actually your best friend who only finished her activities at such time in the night. 

After walking for a while, you felt a sudden vibration coming from your jacket’s pocket — it was probably your best friend calling. 

Once you had your phone in your hands, the time it showed stood out. It was precisely 11:11 pm. An angel number.

Usually, things like horoscopes, angel numbers and tarot cards weren’t your cup of tea but you did, however, believe in fate. You believed there was a reason for you to have seen such numbers together.

Before a line of thought could be finished, you suddenly felt yourself bump into something large and big. It turns out you hadn’t stopped walking while checking your phone and you probably bumped into a wall. Such realization came after your butt hit the ground with a loud “pof” — Thank God it was winter.

“Are you okay?” A sweet voice called out, making you look up again, mildly confused since the walls you know don’t usually talk. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there”

You got up quickly from the ground, expression filled with embarrassment. Now that you knew you were dealing with another human being, the situation became 4 times more stressful than before.

“I’m… Fine”

As soon as you both lock eyes, something in the air shifts. The cold wind suddenly turns warm and it feels like it’s day again. The stranger’s eyes were the kindest you had ever seen in your whole life, and in just a mere second, you managed to feel safe exactly where you were.

It was as amazing as it was strange to be feeling such things. It was also even more exhilarating to know that somewhat, it went both ways. A magical thread of connection was formed in this beautiful wintery night.

“Here, let me help you” He said, getting your bags off the ground and handing them to you. “Please hurry home, the weather forecast said that-” His train of thought was interrupted by a mountain of snowflakes that started pouring down from the sky, making him frown and pout a bit.

“What’s wrong?” You said, after noticing both his frown and the sudden increase in the wind to snow ration.

“I live very far from here, and the weather report said to expect a blizzard today… I can’t believe this year’s first snowfall is going to be that aggressive”

His sad expression broke your heart, and you didn’t even know his name! What absurd thing, you thought, to be this connected and empathetic towards someone you just met, and bumped into?!

“Okay, first things first. What’s your name?”

“Oh, right! I didn’t introduce myself, sorry, I’m Sungchan, and you?” He said, smiling warmly and offering you his hand.

“I’m Y/N, nice to meet you!” You gladly shook his hand after introducing yourself to him. “Would you like to wait it out at my house? I know I just met you, but I wouldn’t like to be in your position if the tables were turned, and I’d be really thankful if someone offered me a place to stay” You were a certified yapper whenever you felt nervous, and right now, you were about to piss your pants out of nervousness. 

Here’s the thing, you never knew how to maintain your composure around pretty boys, and Sungchan was just… Breathtaking. It was almost dizzying to look at him for even more than a minute.

You didn’t think someone could ever feel as strongly as you, but right now, Sungchan was there to prove you wrong. He was completely starstruck after gazing upon your beautiful and delicate figure.

“I really don’t know how to thank you. I’m gladly accepting your offer!” He promptly took the bags out of your hands, in order to make things lighter for you. That’s when he noticed the bottles of Soju and the mini-sized bottle of champagne. “Ooh, so we’re celebrating, huh? What’s the occasion?” You two started walking quickly towards your house, making small talk.

“I just got into Seoul’s most prestigious psychology program at SNU! I worked really hard for it” This was an insane accomplishment, you thought to yourself. Pride is not a strong enough word to describe your feelings.

“No way! I’m also a freshman there!” Sungchan’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Wow, the universe really wanted us to meet, then! That’s nice.”

After talking for a few more minutes, you both finally arrived at your house. Your best friend was waiting for you — worried sick — at the door. She then noticed the very tall man’s presence, which was explained right after her noticing him.

Your best friend seemed to get along with him really well, making you feel happy and at ease — she was hard to please, that one. 

This whole situation made you think back to your new year’s resolutions. One thing was missing from your bucket list, one of your prioritized goals: that was, falling in love. 

And now, some weird intuitive feeling tells you that Sungchan can help you accomplish said goal

hey guys! i hope you like this and don't be shy to request other things! just make sure you follow the rules ;)

[gabessquishytum]

DILF Dream/College Athlete Hob

Dream is an active alumni and a sports booster for his alma mater - Orpheus goes to the school, but he's in the renowned music department.

It helps that Dream is rich, but he enjoyed his time at university and is happy to fundraise and work towards a more diverse and inclusive institution, on the alumni side (and the sports boosting keeps him from meddling in the music department ~ so Orpheus doesn't get mad at him.)

Hob plays rugby, on scholarship, so he's always attending booster events with a butterfly bandage holding an eyebrow cut closed or a busted lip, a little crusty with blood, and because he's on scholarship, his jackets aren't quite tailored enough, so he always looks one hand gesture away from busting his seams (Dream can't help but find it charming,,,,,,,,and wanting to get him better fitted clothes).

Hob loves looking at Mr. Endless( and imagining him letting Hob hold him up against a wall as he fucks into him.). The silver at his temples, the smile lines, DILF Alumni Endless is beautiful and is really nice to the students who have to work the events chatting with guests. And sometimes it looks like Mr. Endless is just as interested in Hob as Hob is in him.

But Hob is a student and Dream a rich alum, it would be wrong for them to get together. But god, the things Hob would do to, and with, that man.

Then Hob busts up his knee his last semester. Thankfully, he's already got into his grad school program and it didn’t rest on his rugby playing - 'cause he's not doing that anymore. He'll walk again, but playing a sport where he runs and sets himself up to be tackled......yeah, no more of that. Maybe when he's finally an alumn himself he can finally make that pass at Mr. Endless. (And unfortunately, the knee probably won't let him fuck Mr. Endless up against that wall anymore.)

AHHHH yes I love it <3

Imagine Hob’s first alumn event after he finishes his grad programme!! He's a few months into a brilliant job as a sports journalist for a big broadcaster, and although he's definitely not having a lecture theatre named after him, he's happy to make a small donation and show up to encourage the bright young students. And maybe also to oogle Mr Endless.

And Dream is definitely oogling in return. Hob’s suit is a lot nicer now, and he looks very distinguished with his fancy cane. He's a bit softer around the edges but his rugby playing physique is still extremely worth staring at. Dream stares plenty... until Hob sidles right up to him with a grin and a wink.

They chat about Hob’s blossoming career, and about how Orpheus is getting on so well too, but the whole time Hob’s heart is beating fast because he thinks he might actually have a chance! Mr Endless has more silver flecked through his hair than ever, and frankly Hob would risk his bad knee by grovelling in a bathroom stall and worshipping Dream’s undoubtedly gorgeous cock.

Mr Endless would never allow such a thing. After the event is over he fully intends to whisk Hob off to the fanciest hotel in the area. He's a gentleman, and he thinks that Hob deserves to be wined and dined. After all he's been the star of Dream’s fantasies for a while now - he deserves some kind of reward.

If Dream can get him sweating, bruised and maybe with his lips swollen, just for old times sake... he'll be a very happy man.

[sensei-venus]

Baby Issues- (Poly! Demetri/Yasmine/Chubby!Reader)

(Unedited) (Yasmine being Yasmine, Strange Dreams, Pregnant Reader Mentioned, Demetri Sarcastic, Sweet Reader, Mention of Moon/Hawk) ( @gemini-sensei )

“Awe Yas don’t act like that! Isn’t he the cutest little baby you have ever seen?!” Reader gushed as she held the newest member of the Moskowitz family. She gently bounced the little Moskowitz boy in her arms. He gargled a little and tried to tech for her face. A smile spreed across her lips as she made little sounds at him.

Yasmine rolled her eyes a little and looked over at Demetri. He only gave her a blank look before going back to his conversation with Hawk. Moon gave a small laugh as she watched her friends face turn.

The blond was never great at hiding her emotions and Moon loved that. She always seemed to know what Yasmine was thinking.

“Oh come on now Yas, you’re going to want one of your own soon enough. I can feel it in my bones.”

Yasmine snorted “I think I’m good for the moment. All babies do are eat sleep and poop. Oh and make huge messes, they throw up on you and poop on you and even pee on you! You think I want that right now? Uhh no thanks.” She withered at the thought. Baby’s were a hassle and she wanted no part of it. At least not right now.

Everything seemed to be going so good for her right now.

She was doing great in design school at a very high in college in the area. In a fast track to early graduation from her program. Reader finished her schooling already and was working a nice remote job from home. Demetri was doing great at his start up tech company. He just got a promotion along with a hefty raise. Not to even mention the fact that her parents had paid off the comfortable house they had started to rent but now own after their wedding only about a year ago.

They did not need to be thinking about babies.

————————————————————-

Well that’s what she thought at first.

But days after the trip to Hawk and Moon’s place, it’s all she could think about.

It started the night they got home from the couples house after a very long visit.

Yas had just gotten done with her skin care routine in the bathroom when she walked into their room. Reader was in bed with Demetri talking about the days events. She was wearing her cute little night gown while telling the man all about how cute the baby was. Going on and on about how adorable he was, how she could see a mix of both Moon and Hawk in the little one. It was adorable to see her so worked up over something.

Demetri just sat there with a small smile while listening to her. His eyes half closed as he got more and more tired. Her rambling was quite cute though.

“He was so tiny! He’s a healthy little guy but he felt so small in my arms! I wonder if all babies feel like that?”

“Do you think he eats alot? I know baby’s have tiny stomachs at first and I never asked Moon about it. She probably knows that stuff better than I do.”

“Do you think we should get them a baby basket or something? I know we got them stuff when we went to the baby shower but who knows. Maybe they already need more diapers and wipes- oh what about clothes? Should we get them more clothes?”

The comments just continued for the rest of the night until the lights finally turned off and they all fell asleep.

But then Yasmine’s dreams started to get weird everytime she fell asleep. Dreams of random things, stupid dreams, funny dreams, sweet dreams, all of those were gone. Replaced by ones of Reader. Weird dreams, in Yas’s opinion, that were never brought up in her mind before.

“He’s kicking, Yas feel!” Reader giggled while reaching out for Yasmine’s hand. Demetri was already by her side feeling her belly. Yasmine’s eyes grew wide as she looked at her wife. Her once chubby and soft belly was now round and hard. Popping out in the nice dress she was wearing. Demetri grinned as his hand creased her tight belly. Yas’s hand was pulled over to be placed on Reader’s belly. Her cheeks grew red at the strange feeling.

For a moment in time she could swear she felt something move under the skin.

“I can’t wait to meet him. I can’t wait for us to finally get me out son.”

Yasmine woke up with a slight gasp. Her eye lids shot open. She rolled over, looking towards where her husband and wife were sleeping next to her. The darkness of the room hide them from her but she knew they were there. With no hesitation her hand quickly scanned over the body next to her.

Soft skin drifted under her finger tips, soft rolls over the belly she traces. She could feel the way Reader softly breathed under her fingers.

Her fingers soon dug ever so lightly into the soft belly of her wife.

Nothing stuck out to her, no hardness, no bump.

No movement of any kind.

Her eyes fluttered back closed.

————————————————————

Yasmine gripped at the tiny tin foil packet that she grabbed from the bathroom cabinet. She flipped it around a little. There were already multiple small punches in the foil. Multiple pills already gone from the days before.

The sound of feet walking though the bedroom echoed into the bath. They stopped at the doorway, a voice filled the room.

“Oh are you looking for your birth control pills? I think they are next to mine in there. I think those are mine.” Reader said sweetly as she entered the big bathroom. Yasmine held herself back from almost dropping the small tin. She nodded before stuff the tin back into the cabinet. She didn’t even look at the other girl as she flees the bathroom.

Reader watches in confusion as she leaves.

She didn’t even take her own pills with her.

—————————————————————

“Why would you even think that!?” Yasmine screeched from her side of the bed. She had basically cocooned herself in one of their blankets at this point. She almost hissed at the other two people in the room.

“Babe you have been acting strange for weeks now. We just want to know what’s wrong with you.” Demetri replied as he sat on the edge of the bed. Reader slowly moved to roll over on the bed and lay next to the girl.

“Yas you have been so…unfocused the past few weeks that it has us worried. We can’t even have sex without you acting all weird about it. We just want to know what’s wrong.”

“She has been acting weird, especially during sex…” Demetri mumbled.

Minutes passed in a long silent pause.

Something seemed to click in Reader’s mind.

“Yasmine….do you want to have a baby?” Her words were filled with pure curiosity. A new look of interest crossed her face. She smiled as Yasmine retreated even further back into her little blanket cocoon. Face fully a blazed by now.

Demetri pulled himself onto the bed more, resting by Yasmine’s feet. With a brow raised he looked to Reader saying “Yasmine? Wanting a baby? Wasn’t she just saying she didn’t want one, especially right now just a few weeks ago when it was brought up?” Yasmine couldn’t take it anymore. The constant talking and false ideas were starting to get to her.

“It’s not me! I don’t want have a baby! I want Reader too! I want Reader to get pregnant okay! Why do the both of you have to be so dumb, especially you, you stupid nerd!” Yasmine screamed and rolled over. She shoved her face into one of the pillows. She wanted to scream right now. She had just confessed one of her deepest secrets. One of her deepest ideas that she had been struggling with for almost a month now. Thats all she wanted right now.

She wanted to see Reader all swollen with Demetri’s baby. She wanted to hold THEIR baby. She wanted to see Reader coo and baby talk their little one and not the Moskowitz kid.

She just wanted their baby.

“Is that really what all of this has been about? You want me to get pregnant?” Reader said ever so softly as she cuddled into the girls side. Demetri was quick to do the same. He crawled across the bed as wrapped an arm around the two women. His long arms stretched to pull them both in, Yasmine groaned as she was pulled up out of her small ball. A grin fell on his lips as she looked down at her.

“You want me to get Reader pregnant?”

“Don’t you even fucking start.”

“Yasmine I’m being serious about this. Is this really why you have been acting so funny?” Demetri said in a serious tone. His eyes where trained on hers, love and affection where the only things he gave off. No humors tone no judgment filled their voices as they looked for her real answer. 

There was no hiding the truth anymore. Reader had hit the nail on the head.

“Maybe. Okay yes, that’s why. All I keep thinking about is Reader having our baby. Ever since we went over to see the Moskowitz baby it’s the only thing I have been able to think about. At first I didn’t want a baby. Mostly because baby’s are a lot of work and I was a little scared and also we have all been doing so well recently. Wool and school and been doing so great for all of us, a baby would complicate all of that for us. But then I started really thinking about it.” She paused before going on. “What if we CAN have a baby? What if this is actually the perfect time for us to have one? We have money, a home, time, we could do it. I just know we can.”

She unraveled herself from her blanket and sat up.

“I keep thinking of Reader holding our baby too and I love it. I can’t stop thinking about how much we would love them. How well taken care of they would be with us as their parents. I know Reader would be such a good mama and Demetri would be such a good daddy too.”

Reader held the girl tighter “You know you would be a great mom too right.” She giggled a little.

“So we should start trying for a baby then?” Demetri remarked which caused Yasmine to hit him softly in the chest. He groaned a little and backed off.

“Don’t even try to start something with me right now.”



[captainsy-cookiemonster]

Welcome Home

Prompt: Okay! You gonna love this A sandwich.... between....*drum rolls* Mike and Touch Starved!Will … They both brothers, and Mike is a horn dog, while after 3 month parted Will needs a hard release after a stressful business agenda😘😘

Summary: while your one roommate is away, things get steamy with your other roommate. it just so happens that the roommate who was gone comes back while you’re fooling around with the other one. this is fun.

Pairing: bi!Mikey x unnamed OFC x bi!Will Shaw

Warnings: dom x switch x switch, f2l, threeway, p in v sex, oral sex, unprotected sex, cumming inside (on, uhh both ends), grinding, little bit of degradation, implication that Mikey came in his pants while OFC was grinding on him once, my first time writing a threeway, me picking up a wip after moooonths and a very draining semester, hints at a possible polyamorous relationship?, rules of physics? is this even possible? we don’t ask these kinds of questions here sir, the female character is not described beyond having “grip-able” hair however you want to define it, for the sake of not being called inclusive enough for a reader i chose to make her an unspecified OFC

Names used: bunny, good girl, sweetheart, slut, good boy (Mikey), sir (Will)

A/N: I hope you don’t mind that I changed your prompt a little bit. I didn’t really feel comfortable writing them as brothers, so I made them all roommates. Thank you so much @wolvesandhoundshowltogether @littlefreya and @luna-aestas for helping me when i got stuck or felt it sucked. You girls are amazing ❤️ not beta'd much. Typos we're going down swingin'!

Word count: ca 4k

Title: Welcome Home

Writers live off validation. If you liked it please like, comment and reblog 💕 thank you for reading 💖

It started as roommates. As a guy in his junior year, with friends mostly in higher semesters, Will was suddenly left with an empty apartment and a rent that was far too high to handle all by himself. 

That’s when I came into play, a little freshman who happened to not have gotten a dorm room on campus. It was especially convenient since I got a job at the little café just across the street once I was accepted into college. The wage was just enough for rent and food and I was lucky my parents still supported me.

A few weeks into the semester, another boy joined our little arrangement. Mikey was trouble, which, in a way, was good because that meant he was rarely home. He was always out partying, slept during the day, and missed most of his courses. But at least that meant it was quiet when Will and I  had to study or do homework.

That was two years ago. The three of us have become close friends, almost like family. The boys grew protective of their little barista, who would bring them their favorite coffee whenever I came home. They were almost like big brothers. Well… Almost.

Will has finished his bachelor’s by now and is currently building his own startup, while part time working on his master's program.  So he’s still living in the apartment with the two of us.

Well actually… not right now. He had to go away for three months. Something to do with his business, I can’t really remember. 

Three months alone with Mikey have been... interesting, to say the least. And fun. Lots of fun. Take that however you want.

Right now, we're lounging on the couch, watching some silly movie. I couldn't tell the name even with a gun to my head. It’s late, and Mikey's soft, but progressively more daring caress is using up all the focus I can muster. His hand snuck into my shorts and is squeezing my buttcheek. I bite my lip to stifle a whimper and press my thighs together. He does it again, drawing the same reaction from me; except this time, I bury my face into his chest. I can practically feel his smirk and look up to glare at him. I don’t even meet his eyes before his lips catch mine in a sloppy kiss. 

In a scramble of arms and legs, he pulls me to straddle his lap, his hands kneading my ass while mine paw at his chest and neck, tug at his hair, and grip his shoulders. It’s messy. It’s clumsy. It’s desperate. I want more. I need it. I need to be closer, need to feel him everywhere. 

I start grinding my hips into his crotch, feeling him grow. His hands on my hips urge me on, but instead of speeding up, I slow down. Giggling and out of breath, I break the kiss.

“Nuh-uh, remember last time? Not gonna happen again.”

Mikey huffs and rolls his eyes. “That was one time!”

Laughing, I shake my head and lean down to kiss him again. His hands are everywhere, on my ass, my hips, then sliding up my back underneath my shirt. With skilled fingers, he unclasps my bra, pulling the straps off my arms. As it falls between us, I take it and blindly throw it into the room behind us. Faintly, I hear it hitting the floor before my attention focuses on Mikey’s hands sliding up my tummy and letting his thumbs brush over that spot on my ribs. 

I gasp and grind my hips down harder, making him chuckle. In response, I capture his bottom lip between my teeth, tugging and sucking on it a little before releasing it. Can’t have the boy think he’s got the upper hand in this.

But he still thinks he does. His hands find my tits, and the triumphant grin on his face…

“Oh! Your nipples are hard! Is this turning you on, baby?”

Ugh! That boy! 

“No, Mikey. Obviously not.” I roll my eyes and snort. “And what about you? I’m sure you find it absolutely terrible to have me grinding in your lap, hm? As hard as your cock is.”

“Hatin’ it.” He grins and pinches my nipples. “You know what I’d like better?” He leans in, his breath hot against my neck. “If the two of us got naked.”

“Hm, yeah… Now that you’re saying it… that does sound like a good idea.”

Scrambling to my feet, I’m quick to slide down my jogging shorts. I’m about to take off my shirt, when Mikey gets up and stands right in front of me… Entirely naked. Damn, he’s quick!

“Lemme do it?”

I just nod, lifting my arms to assist him, but of course, he takes his sweet time, letting the tips of his fingers glide up my skin underneath the fabric. Of course, he has to squeeze my tits when he reaches them, but he lifts the shirt over my face too quickly for me to glare at him. It doesn’t stop me from trying, though. Once the shirt is off my body and Mikey sees my face, he can’t suppress a chuckle and quickly kisses the tip of my nose to make the glare disappear. To his credit, it works. A hot flush gathers in my cheeks, and I quickly turn around, searching the room for… Damn.

“Be right back,” I tell Mikey over my shoulder, taking off my panties to toss at him, but I’ve already dashed through the door before I know if I hit him or not.

Not even a minute later, I come back to the living room, finding Mikey still where I had left him, with my panties in his hands, grinning to himself, most likely proud of himself for getting me to soak them that much.

“What do you want with that?” he asks once he notices I’m back, eyes on the towel in my hand.

“Well… I thought that Will would appreciate it if he didn’t come home to cum stains on the couch.” I shrug.

“Ohhh, yeah… Probably.”

He takes the towel from my hand and puts it down on the couch, then sits down on it. Mikey pats his thighs, signaling for me to sit, but I look at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh!” He grins sheepishly, realizing what I’m looking at and quickly tosses my panties to the floor. He doesn’t even manage to pat his lap again before I climb on top of him. With one hand on my hip, the other on my neck, Mikey pulls me closer until my lips meet his, and the length of his cock rubs against my pussy.

I start to grind my hips into him, throwing my head back at the friction. I feel Mikey’s breath heavy on my neck, then his soft lips on my tender skin. His hands grip me tighter as I move on his cock, pulling my hips deeper into him. By now, the hand he had on my neck has wandered to the back of my head, tugging at my hair to keep my throat exposed to his kisses. I’m sure my neck will be covered in hickeys tomorrow. There’ll be bruises on my hip, too. Fuck! The thought of carrying his marks makes me even wetter. 

“Bunny, I need you,” Mikey pants against my neck. I nod, and he lets me go, so I can sit up. He grips his cock to guide himself in as I hover above his lap, steadying myself with my hands on his shoulders.

“Ready?” I ask.

“Just a second.”

Oh… yeah… Mikey and tits, how could I forget? With my chest on eye level, of course Mikey has to bury his face into it, peppering kisses all over my boobs, sucking and biting at my nipples until I’m a whimpering mess, swaying my hips in the search for friction, inches away from his cock.

“Okay, ready.” He grins, his free hand coming up to my hip to help me ease down on him.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! No matter how many times we do it, I’ll never get used to his size. The delicious stretch of being seated on him all the way has me panting.

“Good girl.”

“Mhh.”

For a moment, I just sit there, resting my head against his shoulder while feeling him pulse inside me. I smile against his skin when he begins to gently stroke my back. His hands shift down to my waist when I start to roll my hips slowly. He squeezes my hips, making me lift up and brace myself on his shoulders. 

Gasping, I relish in the feeling of his cock stroking every spot inside me. I go faster. Harder. His hands shift even lower, grabbing at my butt and guiding my movements. 

"Fuck," we sigh in unison, before breaking in a fit of giggles. With heaving breath, I smile at him, wiping a strand of sweaty hair from his brow before cradling the back of his head in my hands, leaning in to kiss him. He kisses back instantly, tongue swiping along my lower lip to request entrance. Opening my mouth for him, I let his tongue explore my mouth, sucking on it and trying to fight for dominance. We both moan into the kiss, the movement of our hips growing more sloppy, rushed.

"Hey, uh… Oh."

We jump at the familiar voice. Wide-eyed, we turn towards the door, where we find a very flustered looking Will. The thud of his bag hitting the floor makes my eyes snap to his hand that dropped it, then the prominent bulge in the front of his jeans. Once my eyes find his face again, I can spot the hint of a smirk playing around his lips.

"Uhm." Mikey's voice is a little shaky. I feel him twitch inside me. I look back at him, raising my eyebrows in question. He gives me a nod and grinning, I nod back. 

"Will! C'mere." I turn towards him and gesture for him to come closer. He hesitates for a moment before finally taking determined steps towards Mikey and me. 

Standing in front of us, Will leans down to meet my face. his hand reaches up to caress my cheek and I lean into it, missing the gentle touch when his hand wanders down. I gasp when I feel his fingers lightly squeezing my throat, my eyes fluttering shut when he gets even closer. His kiss is still rougher than expected, his tongue claiming dominance right away. I feel myself clenching around Mikey’s cock, a new wave of wetness soaking his lap. Will breaks the kiss way too soon. I try to chase his lips as he pulls back, but he keeps my head in place with his hand around my throat. Smiling while I pout at him, he turns to Mikey.

“Has she been good?”

I feel Mikey shuffle to sit up straighter. A moment passes before he can answer, stunned and with his mouth hanging open slightly. “Yes.” Another moment before he adds an uncertain “...sir?”

Will just nods before finally sitting down right next to Mikey. “You’re gonna be a good girl for me too?”

All I can do is bite my lip and nod. As a reward he grabs my neck again and pulls me in for another deep kiss that leaves me breathless.

Feeling Mikey’s cock twitch inside me, I start grinding on him again. Hot breath against my ear and suddenly there is a pair of lips sucking on my neck. I whimper against Will’s lips when Mikey starts to graze his teeth over the sensitive skin below my ear.

Once Will allows me a moment to breathe again, I kiss my way down to his neck. It’s so much rougher than Mikey’s, the well grown out stubble leaves my lips tingling. I feel him turning his head and his Adam's apple bob against my kiss. At first I think it was to give me better access, but from above me I hear the unmistakable sound of a hesitant but needy kiss. 

Are they- ? Oh fuck, why is that so hot?

Mikey must have felt me squeezing around him because a moment later his hand that was still on my body pushes me to adjust on his cock by the small of my back, nudging against that spot, making me gasp. Being so focused on the changed sensation inside of me, I haven’t even noticed how my nails have started to dig into Will’s chest, until I hear his groan. It wasn’t a pained groan, more like he was enjoying it. Maybe even a little too much. I took that for a sign to take the next step and while he and Mikey are still making out, I start to unbutton Will’s shirt, kissing and nibbling at every inch of skin I uncovered, making sure to scrape my nails down his chest as I go. The lower I go, the more he tangles his fingers into my hair, pushing me further. Once I reach the waistline of his jeans, nuzzle my nose against the thick hair of his happy trail and look up at him with big eyes.

“Can I?” I ask, with my hands on his thighs, close to his crotch.

“Can you what? C’mon, be a good girl. Use your words.”

Wow, those three months really changed him.

I swallow a little nervously and nod before I try again. “Can I take your cock out? I wanna taste it.”

Waiting for an answer, I watch as Mikey sucks on the side of Will’s neck, making him throw his head back and groan.

“Please… sir?”

“Yeah, sweetheart, you can.”

With eager fingers I unbutton his jeans and fumble a little before I manage to pull down the zipper. Already starting to drool with anticipation, I tug at his boxers. He lifts his hips to help me and finally I’m met with the sight of his hard cock springing free.

He is a bit thicker than Mikey, but they’re about the same length. Taking hold of him, I give the head a gentle little kiss before sticking out my tongue to collect the small drop of pre cum leaking from the tip.

“Mmm, good girl,” Will hums and strokes my hair. “Suck on it, c’mon.”

I nod before I take him in my mouth, just the head, suckling on it and toying with it a little with my tongue.

The moan that comes out of his mouth… I’ve never heard anything sexier. It has me squeezing around Mikey unconsciously. 

“Fuuuuuck,” I hear him mutter into Will’s neck. 

The wave of confidence that washes over me at the fact I’m pleasuring not one but two men makes me take Will deeper into my mouth. I hollow my cheeks and press my tongue against the underside of his cock, slowly taking more of him. As I keep bobbing my head up and down his grip on my hair becomes tighter and more and more moans fall from his mouth .

The tingling sensation that spreads through my body from that makes me try to take him even deeper, until I start gagging and my eyes begin to water. By now, my nose is pressing into his hip.

“I can’t… I can’t!” I suddenly hear Mikey wheeze. Will immediately lets go of my hair and I hurry to get off Mikey’s lap.

“What is it?” 

I’m stunned at how calmly Will asks that while I’m staring at a panting Mikey, almost panicking.

“I fucking need…” he wheeses again. Both Will and I stare at him, anxiously waiting for him to continue. “... to get off!” 

I let out a sigh of relief, watching Will chuckle and playfully nudge Mikey with his elbow. The younger man smiles sheepishly and scratches the back of his head.

“I was serious about it, though. So-” he drags out the word “- can we like… get started?”

 I nod slowly, feeling their eyes on me, and look towards Will for guidance.

“How do you want to do this?” He asks me gently, and I shrug, unsure. “Okay then, c'mere.”

While I get closer, he stands up and rearranges the towel so it covers most of the couch and drapes over the armrest, causing Mikey to jump up as well.

“Now, can you get on your hands and knees for us?” Will nearly coos, still it feels like he’s giving no room for discussion. “Isn’t she such a good girl for us?” I can hear him ask Mikey, now behind my back, and I can only imagine Mikey nodding while giving Will puppy dog eyes. “And you? You’re gonna be a good boy for us and let her suck you off.” Again, no room for discussion.

I shuffle closer to the couch's armrest, balancing my weight on my elbows on it, and give Mikey a reassuring nod. He swallows a little nervously, looking at Will, who's getting into position behind me. I lean forward to give Mike a small kiss to his hip bone, then nuzzle my face against the base of his cock. He cups my cheek with one hand, stroking his thumb across my bottom lip when I lean into him, while his other hand grips the base of his cock. I open my lips a bit and suckle on the tip of his thumb as he gently brings my face and himself into position. He pulls his finger from my mouth and I open my lips wider, giving the tip of his cock a little lick, looking up at him through my lashes to see his reaction. He groans and throws his head back. That’s when I take the head in my mouth and start playing with it with my tongue.

Behind me, Will puts a hand on my hip to hold me steady, with the other, he grabs is cock and swipes it up and down on my lips, coating himself in my juices.

“Fuck, you’re so wet!” He groans and pushes in a little. I let out a moan around Mikey’s cock, making him shiver in response. Will slowly keeps pushing in, a deep moan escaping him once he bottoms out. I can only whimper around Mikey’s cock, feeling so full already. 

“Now just stay still, baby, we’ve got you,” Will says, if a little bit strained. I nod as much as I can and look up at Mikey, who’s still holding my face. He pushes himself a little bit deeper into my mouth. I can still taste myself on him as I suck. Will starts moving, thrusting in a slow and steady rhythm, pushing me down on Mikey’s cock with every time his hips meet mine. Again, I moan around Mikey, whose hands start wandering to my hair and grips it to push himself further down my throat. My eyes begin to water when Will picks up the pace, making me take Mikey even deeper. The room is filled with the beautifully filthy sounds of the two men groaning in erotic harmony, skin slapping on skin and my strangled moans as I gag around Mikey’s cock.

“You’re being so good, bunny,” Mikey praises, breathing heavily. “So good for us,” Will adds. “Letting us use you like a little slut.” I can’t help but whimper at that, squeezing around Will’s cock. 

“Oh? Did you like that?” Will leans down closer to my ear, whispering, “You like it when I call you slut?” I nod as much as I can with Mikey in my mouth. “You’re so filthy. Nothing more than a toy for us to use.”

He fucks me harder, making me whimper and take Mikey even deeper. Tears are beginning to stream down my face, but it all feels so good. I can’t help but clench around him, the coil in my belly starting to tighten. 

So it takes me by surprise when Will suddenly slows to a stop. A little out of breath he says, “This isn’t it. Let’s take this to the bedroom.” 

Mikey nods, pulling from my mouth and Will picks me up, carrying me over to the bedrooms. My mind is far too lazy to see whose bedroom we end up in when Will tosses me onto the bed with a bounce.

“Let your head hang over the edge. Yes, just like this, good girl.”

I watch upside down as Mikey kneels down by my head, positioning himself. I open my mouth widely, obediently and he pushes his cock back into my mouth. Closing my eyes, I start sucking on him again as Will climbs up over me, kneels on the bed and grabs my thighs. He doesn’t make me wait long and thrusts back in in one smooth movement. I moan loudly around Mikey’s cock when he bottoms out, finally feeling full again. Complete, in a sense.

Before he begins to thrust, though, he pulls my hips up onto his legs, making me arch my back and take Mikey deeper down my throat. All three of us moan in sinful harmony, skin slapping and wet slurping composing a filthy melody of bliss. With the new angle, I can feel the burning coil tightening faster as the tip of Will’s cock strokes all the spots perfectly, the base of him rubbing against my clit. My moans rise in pitch, even muffled by Mikey fucking my face. His hips begin to stutter, he’s close as well. Will, of course, notices that and picks up his pace, fucking me faster.

Fuck! This feels so good!

Mikey’s groans mix with little gasps as I feel him twitch. He’s close, I can tell. I use my tongue to play with him, eliciting little whimpers from him.

“S-sir, ‘m so close… can I cum? Please?” Mikey begs between little gasps and whines.

“Go a-head,” Will tells him, his own voice strained as well. I brace myself, sucking Mikey harder. A few more thrusts into my mouth and he stills, whimpering loudly as his warm load hits my tongue. I swallow it down eagerly, but gasp when he pulls out of my mouth. I take a few deep breaths as I watch him stand and jerk himself, another, smaller load landing on my chest.

“Fuuuck,” he groans.

“Good boy,” Will praises him, doubling his efforts now, fucking me even harder. His hand comes up to my chest, grabbing and kneading my tits for a moment before swiping two fingers through Mike’s cum and bringing those fingers down to my clit, drawing slow but firm circles around the little bud. I cry out, clenching hard around him. The coil keeps growing tighter until it… Snaps. With a high pitched moan, I fall over the edge, white hot bliss carrying me as my body writhes in pleasure. Through a haze I can hear Will groan and feel a warmth spreading inside me. I open up my eyes to see him hovering above me, dipping his head down to meet my lips in a passionate kiss. I kiss him back eagerly, letting our tongues fight for dominance until we need to stop for air. Will sits up again, reaches out an arm and pulls in Mikey for a just as passionate kiss. I watch them, a satiated smile on my face. I get up on my knees, squeezing between them to kiss their necks and chests alternately. Once the part, the three of us collapse on the bed naked and panting, a tangled mess of limbs. 

“You know…” Mikey breathes heavily, “we were going to throw you a welcome home partly…”

Will chuckles at that, “You still could…”

I just shake my head, giggling. “Let’s just order pizza.”

[gx-gameon]

Gotta ask how's Seto's relationship with the rest of Yugi's friends in this au? How'd the gang take the news that Seto and Yugi were dating? What about when they got engaged and married on the same day?

Okay so we are actually going to see a lot of this in the story itself.

So right now I’m editing all the rough drafts I posted here. I think I have three more to do and then it’s brand new content.

I think I’ll have somewhere between 2 to 3 more chapters from there. I have them all scripted out I just need to actually write them.

That will finish the first arc of this au. Jaden getting adopted and the afterlife adventure.

It will also be the end of the first book.

I think from there we will go into the second arc which will focus on two things. 1) Jaden and Atem adjusting to life 2) Yugi and Seto

The story will set up Gx season one. I think it will take place over Jaden’s first year or two in the family and then we will time skip to Gx.

I might do some one-shots with young Jaden and the DM crew in the time skip eventually (like Seto and Yugi’s proposal/wedding. But that could also be the last chapter so arc 2 I’m still scripting the second arc.

So we are going to have a whole little adventure dedicated to the two of them.

But it boils down to Seto realizing he has feelings for Yugi starts trying to so affection, as only Seto Kaiba can.

Jaden and Yugi are getting harassed by paparazzi? Now they had a security team following them ‘from a distance’

Things like that.

Problem: Yugi thinks this is Seto sending people to follow them to get him or Atem to duel.

He goes over to Seto to be like. ‘Hey we’re friends now. If you want something from me, like a duel, just ask me. Don’t send a goon squad to follow me. It’s freaking Jaden out.’

Seto hears two separate statements. ‘If you want me ask.’ And ‘security is scaring Jaden’ he will take care of that later.

He takes care of number 1 first and asks Yugi out. Yugi’s brain kinda breaks. Looking back he can see how everything Kaiba has been doing can be seen as either sweet or flirty in the most Seto Kaiba way ever. Because of this, and the fact that he’s not used to people actually flirting with him, made him totally miss the fact that he was being flirted with? Courted?

(All the people who flirt with him at tournaments actually want Atem or so he thinks. It’s hard sharing a body with someone for years because people outside their group don’t know. Yugi just naturally assumes that anyone that flirts with him really wants Atem, because Atem’s confident and wonderful. Yugi still has only kid insecurities.)

Seto also has no idea how to human when it comes to things like dating. He was raised to conquer businesses. He’s pretty sure your not suppose force people to date you (Mokuba said no) and your not suppose to pay them. So he has to get Yugi’s attention some other way. Mokuba is the point of reference and reason. “Do something nice for him. Talk to him. Show him you care.”

But he’s Seto, rich boy, Kaiba and he’s pursuing Yugi, if I’m near anything expensive I’ll have anxiety about breaking it, Muto. Yugi, for better and worse, isn’t interested in his wealth.

What is Yugi interested in?? Games and his friends.

He already hired Yugi and Atem to Kaiba Corp.

this is before he started pursuing Yugi. It was because he over heard them taking finances once. Its was going to be hard having Yugi, Atem, Solomon, and Jaden in one house.

He can’t just give them money, Yugi and Atem would refuse. He thinks Solomon might burn it to prove a point.

Yugi is going to college, Atem though is new to the world and still figuring out his place. Seto offered him a job at play testing games. Atem will probably beat all of them, but it will help show the flaws in the program, were things are to easy or to hard, and no one knows how to think outside the box quite like Yugi and Atem.

Atem is skeptical at first, thinking the job is just dueling Seto all day long. Which fun but no. But after hearing the actual job and pay. He takes it. (He talks with Yugi before doing so and they agree)

Later at the end of Yugi’s semester they have a final project to create a game. Their freshman so it’s not suppose to be that impressive. Yugi knocks it out of the park. Like a few tweaks and it’s ready to be sold.

He starts getting offers from other businesses. Pegasus, Zigfried, and others to higher him.

Seto isn’t losing his rival to another company. (And ya maybe the crush played a role but you can’t say Yugi didn’t earn his spot) so he highest Yugi as a game designer.

This makes there failed flirting worse and better. Because some co-workers think Seto only higher Yugi because he likes him. This gets swiftly shut down because of Yugi’s skill at his job, but there are still whispers of favoritism. They are also the most entertaining water cooler gossip of all time. Especially once they start dating. They go through all the proper channels to make dating an employee as ethically sound as possible. (They’re 19 and have known each other forever, it’s not surprising to outsiders. But Seto is still a CEO and held to certain standards when starting a relationship.) but all the other workers get a free show of watching their boss trying to flirt with his boyfriend.

It back to topic. They already have jobs so he can’t offer them that and they won’t take money without reason.

Yugi is interested in games and friends. So Seto will play games and ‘help’ his friends.

Problem. All these people are used to Seto only doing ‘nice’ thinks when he wants something (which he wants something but he’s genuinely not trying to trick them, he for once is trying to be nice) and they are not having it (Seto’s over here like I get it but let me grow as a person)

He’s trying to flirt with Yugi. A part of liking Yugi is being around his friends (preferably getting a long with them) everyone thinks Seto is finally joining the friend group but they are wary (some more than others, Joey and Tristian)

He’s someone who only knows how to show he cares through taking care of someone (you have a problem he removes it) (his love language is acts of service you can’t convince me otherwise wise)

unfortunately he’s not the best at telling people what he’s doing or asking them how they want help. He will learn but it’s ruff in the beginning.

Leading us back to. ‘Hey your goons are scaring my kid. Can you maybe call them off? If you want to duel just ask.’

‘Will you go out with me?’

They talk it out. Seto revealing all the nice things he’s done.

‘So is this why you hired me?’ ‘No I hired you because you’re competent. But I do like you because you’re competent.’

‘The goon squad?’ ‘Reporters weren’t leaving you and Jaden alone so I made them leave you alone.’

‘Joey’s sponsorship?’ ‘I wouldn’t have offered if he was going to embarrass me. He’s not on our level but he is, (big sigh) a good duelist. You value your friends so I value your friends. He earned his spot in the pro leagues. Money should be the thing that stops him from entering.’

This is also the time that Seto reveals he’s started planning duel academy because he wants Jadne to be able to have a ‘normal’ high school experience. Plus it’s a solid business move and the more he looked into it the better it was. He’s actually making 5 schools all around the world. It started out of love for Jaden but will now help so many kids.

And look Yugi always had a crush on Seto. But they have both grown and changed as people. To see Seto now verse the Seto he knew at the start of season 1. He’s grown a lot.

They talk out a lot of things. Mainly Seto’s instinctual need to fix his loved ones problems vs actually talking to them about what they want/what he’s doing.

The do end up on that date though.

Now everyone else’s reactions….. that’s a story for another time.

[luashinazugawa]

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My Brazilian Girl

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─̸─̟Warnings: None, just a beautiful romance💗

─̸─̟┈┄ Wow!😱 I'm so glad I wrote this, I wasn't planning on doing anything considerably big, so there will be a part 2! probably roll SMUT in the next chapter. Enjoy and I'm reading all the ideas you sent me and planning your plots, this will probably end up becoming a series.💗

Sorry if I hear mistakes, I'm not fluent but I did my best! 🇧🇷

Explaining some things you can read: Paraná is a Brazilian state, located in the south.

Bora!, it's a slang used throughout Brazil, which basically means let's go!

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It had been 2 months since you got your British citizenship, you had been in London for 2 years and arrived in the city decided to have a life outside Brazil, after all you got an exchange program to finish college in London, and you already saw yourself in an internship at a small local team in the city that was financed and supported by a few companies. As soon as your college and internship ended, you found yourself looking for a permanent job, lucky for you the coach of the football team had a contact at Tottenham, who was one of the great supporters of the team. You found yourself so grateful for that kind man, and the team of young people with a bright future ahead, all of whom would stay in your heart.

You knew that it would be difficult to get that job at Tottenham as a physiotherapist, after all you only had experience with the team of young athletes supported by them, and they would probably have more qualified people in front of you, who probably already worked in other clubs. You felt like running away from your interview that day, but luckily for you everything worked out, as the coach of the team where you trained was a good friend of your new boss in physiotherapy, whose name was George.

After that day you went through a few more conversations with some of the club's staff, to sign all the legal paperwork, and terms of employment; What has been 3 days since your interview, but lucky for you you would only work the other week, and today was already that day. You were so excited and nervous, you had little knowledge of the Tottenham players but you knew Son, Harry Cane, Emerson and Richarlison.

As soon as you arrived at your work environment, you found yourself organizing your own room to get ready for the athletes you were going to attend, and after that you changed your clothes for the uniform left to you by Tottenham in your room. Your living room was cool so you wore a black tank top and team shorts, you didn't know if you wore the full outfit so you just got the shorts and your white lab coat instead of the jacket.

You found yourself looking in the mirror for a few seconds, and then you smiled when you saw the Tottenham crest on your shorts. "I really don't know if I should wear this lab coat… what if it's too formal?" - I was soon taken out of my little conversation by the door being opened, as soon as I turned around I was face to face with 2 athletes, these being Son and Richarlison, God help me not to panic! Son had one hand around Richarlison and his arm around her neck.

"We are so sorry Doctor..." - "y/n please, what happened?" - I said worried going to them and helping Son to sit Richarlison in my chair, as soon as I sat down he touched his thigh hissing in pain.

“We were at the gym talking after training and God, we were sitting on the floor and Ivan was going to put the gym weight in the right place, but he accidentally fell and landed on Rich thigh" - He said running a hand through his hair, he was worried about Your Friend.

"We haven't found anyone else from the physical therapy team, could you take a look at him?"

"Don't worry, I'll take a look." - I nodded and knelt beside Richarlison, before touching him I looked at him "I'm going to lift your shorts a little ok? And let me know if anything hurts" - He nodded and I gently pulled her shorts up As far as I could, the area was starting to swell and turn red.

With subtle touches I felt the area with both hands, and as soon as I touched it lightly he hissed in pain "Sorry...I'll finish now, Son, can you tell me how heavy the object was?" - I get up going to the drawers and taking out a refreshing spray that would relieve the local pain, and then going to the small fridge that had ice packs.

"I think it was a 4kg...it wouldn't break a bone like that right?" - The Korean said leaving close and giving me space to kneel again beside Richarlison, and so I passed the spray.

"It doesn't hurt a lot anymore when you fall, which leaves the place swollen and painful, it's like hitting your thigh accidentally... hold the ice pack now, okay? It will help to deflate.." - I held his front and he took a while to take more accepted putting on his leg.

"I'm relieved that it's nothing serious, I'll let our colleagues know, our training starts soon, but I'll pack up his everything and take him to his apartment" - he smiled at me and then touched his friend's shoulder who stared at him. "I'll be right back, okay?" - Son said slowly to Richarlison who nodded in agreement and soon left the room.

And so I took a sheet and started making a situation report. "Doctor I...play?" - Richarlison said and I looked again, I didn't understand what he said because I was distracted "Can you repeat that?" - then he did a kick with the other leg. "Play...sabe (You know?)" - He said staring at me, and I then realized, of course, Son said slowly because Richarlison wasn't so fluent in English yet.

I let out a small laugh at my mistake, and he stared at me blankly. "Oh desculpe Richarlison, não sabia que você não era tão fluente em inglês (Oh sorry Richarlison didn't know his English wasn't fully fluent)" .

He then stared at me surprised by the sudden Portuguese "Você fala português, que impressionante, você é Brasileira(You speak Portuguese, how impressive, are you Brazilian girl?)" - Richarlison let out a relieved smile.

"Sim sou Brasileira mais vivo em Londres a 2 anos, sou do Paraná, nascida em Curitiba (Yes I'm Brazilian girl but I've been in London for 2 years, I'm from Paraná, born in Curitiba)" "Que incrível... bem vinda ao Tottenham (How amazing..welcome to Tottenham Doctor)" - He extended his hand and I approached him squeezing, both with a smile on your face.

"Me chame de Lua por favor, como esta sua dor? (Call me y/n please, how is your pain? )" - I said softly touching her wrist to withdraw her hand and then ran my fingers gently over the area.

"Suportável agora.. (Bearable now..)" - He said and then we stared at each other for a few seconds "Isso é bom.. (That's good..)" - I quickly broke the look embarrassed, but kept my composure.

"Quero que venha aqui todo dia pois presciso avalia-lo ate o inchaço sumir e faremos exercícios para ajudar na recuperação, lamento dizer mais nada de treino por 3 dias e nesse período não faça muita força ou exercícios. (I want you to come here every day because I need to evaluate you until the swelling is gone and we will do exercises to help with the recovery, I'm sorry to say no more training for 3 days and in that period don't do too much strength or exercises)".

"Esta bem y/n (It's ok y/n)" - He said my name with so much good that I could swear his smile had ulterior motives.

"Bem.. prescisa de muletas por hoje certo, não quero nenhum peso sobre sua perna (Well..need crutches for today alright, don't want any weight on your leg today)" - I walked over to the corner cupboard where there were two pairs of crutches, I picked them up going to him.

"Vamos achar Son, esta de folga Richarlison (Let's find Son, he's off today Richarlison)" - He agreed and then got up with the support of his hand on the chair and then stood on one leg, when he got up he was so close to me that his chest his collided with my breasts. We both stared at each other again and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, God this room was cool but why is it so hot right now.

His gaze was so serious but at the same time so calm about me. "B-bem deixe-me..ajudar (W-well let me..help)" I said and pulled away a bit putting the crutches under each of his arms.

"Sim... e obrigada y/n (Yes..thank you y/n)" - he said softly "É..so meu trabalho (It's..just my job)" - Said silly and soon the door was opened, we both looked and saw that it was Son.

"I took his things Doctor, bora? (Let's go?)" Son said with a smile to his friend and I couldn't help but laugh hearing him say bora.

"Bora! Bye y/n vejo você amanhã (Let's go! Bye y/n see you tomorrow)" - Richarlison said with a smile to me and I waved to both boys saying goodbye.

As soon as they left I fell to my knees on the floor with my face in my hands.

"Oh God... what a hot man... "

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Leave a comment to know what you think!

[roxygen22]

Still Here

Chapter 2

Summary: Flashback to your breakup with Timothée your senior year

C/W: Breakup

A/N: I have nothing against stay-at-home parents and homemakers. Both are their own noble full-time jobs. This is just a story about a young girl wanting to break free. And yes, the irony is not lost on me that the reader ultimately ends up in the exact situation she was running from in the first place.

Catch up on the previous chapter here.

<><><><><>

Life was stagnant in your small hometown in Tennessee. There was nothing to do, nothing to see except trees and buildings that had been around since the 1800s. The height of entertainment for teens like you was pasture parties or meeting your friends up at the Sonic drive-in for "happy hour." After high school, the boys usually either worked for the local steel mill or lumber yard. They may opt to continue their education through the area trade schools, but that was the exception, not the rule. The girls...well, the girls typically got married and had babies.

The townspeople were closed-minded traditionalists and stuck in old habits. Families, including yours, had lived there for generations. You were lucky to even find someone to date who you weren't related to by blood or marriage, and that was only because Timothée's family was a more recent addition to the town census.

You yearned for more. You were made for more. You felt it in your bones. You had no desire to be a doctor or a nurse, but you were fascinated by biology classes and a whiz in physics. And you wanted to help people. The school counselor fanned the flames by introducing you to biomedical engineering as a potential degree program.

You wore a groove in your dirt driveway with the number of times you walked to and from the mailbox every day, multiple times a day. The response letters from your numerous college applications were due in any time now. Your efforts usually yielded nothing except for bills or ads for your parents. But today, there was white envelope with your name, along with a blue and gold logo in the return address: UCLA.

Your hands shook. Your heart was about to pound its way out of your chest. The world silenced around you as your tunnel vision bore into the paper in your hands. You plunged a finger under the lip of the envelope to break the seal. You took a shuddering breath as you drew the paper out.

"Dear [Y/N] [L/N], we are happy to inform you..."

You didn't even finish reading before you started screaming and dancing in the driveway. Then you took off running back to the house to share the news with your mother.

<><><><><>

Your parents were proud of you, but of course, they were not eager to see you pack up and move across the country. You tuned them out until they said something about being in for a rude awakening because you didn't know what life was like out there, to which you said, "That's the whole point."

You grabbed your car keys and stormed out the door. You were determined not to let them kill your excitement. They just couldn't picture a life for you outside of their bubble. You drove around the backroads with your windows down and music loud, trying to drown out the replay of your parents' conversation. Without much thought, you eventually found yourself driving around the town square. You saw Timothée's truck outside of the hardware store. You checked the time - he should be finished with his evening shift soon. So you parked and walked over, lowering the tailgate to sit.

The two of you had been friends as long as you could remember and sweet on each other for years. You became an official item when you were sophomores and had been joined at the hip since.

Seeing the store's door open shook you from your thoughts. You saw him exit, head down and hands in his pockets. Right on time. You loved how his face lit up when he saw you across the street. He checked for traffic, then jogged over.

"Hey, baby! I wasn't expecting to see you tonight." He pecked your lips with his and placed his hands on your knees.

"Hopefully, it's a pleasant surprise," you replied with a raised eyebrow and a playful smirk.

"Oh, very. The highlight of my day." He kissed you once more, deeper this time, and flashed that crooked grin you loved so much. "Though my curiosity is piqued by this unusual visit on a school night."

You held out the envelope for him to see. "I got in, Timmy. And they are awarding me a full ride! My parents won't have to worry about how to finance things and I won't have to take out student loans."

Timothée took the envelope in hand and brushed his thumb over the logo. "California, huh?" he asked quietly.

"Last I checked, that's where Los Angeles is located," you chuckled.

"You're serious about this, aren't you?" His brows were furrowed, and his typically full lips pressed into a thin line.

Your mouth fell open in shock. Why couldn't anyone just be happy and excited for you today? "Of course I'm serious. That shouldn't be a surprise. You even encouraged me to apply to out-of-state schools!"

Timothee held a hand to his forehead and stepped back. "Yes, because I didn't want you to wonder if you could get in. But, I didn't think you would seriously consider packing up and moving across the country if they accepted you!" he shouted and threw his hands in the air.

Your voice seemed like a whisper compared to his current tone. "If I don't leave now, I will never get out of here. I HAVE to get out of here. This place is a black hole. It eats your hopes, your dreams, your ambition. I have a lot to offer the world, and I can't do that from here. I don't want to be stuck, like our older friends, my cousins, my PARENTS. I'll just end up with a baby on my hip playing Suzie Homemaker and making nothing of myself."

"Starting and taking care of a family isn't nothing, [Y/N]. I thought...I thought we would be together forever. That WE would have that family."

"One doesn't preclude the other, Timmy. Come with me."

Timothée quietly scoffed as his eyes fell. "I have no prospects in California."

"And there's nothing for me here."

His head shot up in shock. The hurt was evident on his face. "Nothing? NOTHING?! Wow, [Y/N]."

"Timmy, that's not-"

"Just go, [Y/N]." His lip wobbled. "Obviously you think you are too good for this town. Too good for me. It's better that we call off...whatever this is...now so you can completely start over."

<><><><><>

Chapter 3

Masterlist

<><><><><>

Tag List: @croatianprincess

[venusmage]

FAQ Post!

I've gotten a good amount of repeat questions the past few years and thought I'd make an FAQ. No need to RB or anything, this is going to go in my pinned post!

I still always happily will take questions, this is just for folks who might want to just find the answer without going through the extra effort. These are mostly about art and TTRPGs :)

ART STUFF

What brushes/programs/hardware do you use?

Almost all of my regularly used brushes come from either Retro Supply or True Grit Texture Supply! I'm not sponsored or affiliated, just really like the quality of their products. They have sales fairly frequently and I've never had any complaints. I also use quite a few products by Ittai Manero.

Right now I primarily work in Procreate on an iPad Pro. Procreate is my favorite art program and I'm quietly hoping they eventually make a desktop version.

I very recently also got an XPPen Deco 01 V2. Partially because there's some art programs on desktop I want to learn (Aseprite, Blender) or programs that have superior desktop versions as compared to mobile (ClipStudio). I'm also teaching some grade-schoolers digital art and wanted to have the same kind of tablet as them (I haven't used a screenless tablet for over half a decade). As of right now I'm very happy with it! For the price it's an easy recommendation.

I mainly use ClipStudio in this instance, and the brushes linked above both also support the program (aside from Manero). However there's a huge user-base that upload free assets constantly that makes ClipStudio so great. I especially like painting in it for some reason!

What's your opinion on AI art?

I don't like it, obviously, but I get how people who lack the context and education on why it's bad wouldn't get it. I also think that some other artists fearmonger a little too hard regarding it and it has the unintended effect of making the situation and it's nuances even harder to understand. I talked about it here.

Did you go to art school? Would you recommend it?

I did, I have a BFA in illustration and graduated from CCAD in 2018. Every art school is unique and my experience with art school and the benefit it gave me is VERY different from how I believe it may be for others. As of right now I think there's a lot of good cheaper online resources than private art education in general. I did have a wonderful time there though, and it's availability helped me eventually escape a domestic abuse situation - so my feelings are a bit complicated.

Do you have a dream art job?

I'd love to be a college-level art teacher. Funny I know, considering I just said art school isn't always worth it. I just deeply enjoy the craft and discussion surrounding art in general. I'm tempted to make art videos one day to scratch that itch.

What's your favorite/least favorite part of the drawing process?

I hate sitting down and getting the sketch started (hello ADHD...) And flatting. Linework/sketch cleanup and finishing details for color are where it's at for me.

What made you interested in art?

My grandfather was a painter, sculptor, and stained glass maker. He will always be one of my biggest inspirations. In terms of media, there's a ton - but I started internalizing art as a skill after seeing the Shivering Isles DLC concept art by Adam Adamowicz. I started appreciating how art can be weird and beautiful and whatever you want after reading Evan Dahm's Rice Boy (and the rest of his work). I also had a particularly beautiful book cover for A Wrinkle in Time by Leo and Diane Dillon when I was little and their art rewired my brain chemistry. At the time I said Adamowicz was my most impactful inspiration but on reflection I really do think it's the Dillons. I talked a little about it here.

(2023-24) Commissions haven't been updated in a while. Can I get some more information as to why?

I have a post here about it! If you're one of my clients, please feel free to reach out to me if you have any further issues. I apologize for the delay and am more than happy to work out something with you if you're unhappy with the wait. I'd advise messaging me here or on discord - the latter of which is linked in the post.

TTRPG/DND STUFF

What system is your DnD game running?

I'm running my game using a modified 5e ruleset. 5e happened to just be the first TTRPG system I learned and I also really enjoy Forgotten Realms as a setting - though I take extensive liberties with both. I'll probably be moving away from WoTC's products and the system after this campaign, though. I already change lore so much the setting has a lot of differences.

What materials do you use in your DnD game? Do you play online or in person?

As much as I'd adore to get to play IRL with my friends at some point, our game is currently online. For our current campaign I recently made the switch from Roll20 to Foundry VTT. If you're an online exclusive DM and have the money to buy the one time license, I would recommend it!

A list of what I use to run my current game:

Foundry VTT

Discord (A custom server for Voice Chatting/Private DMs/Memes and art sharing/Scheduling)

Epic Isometric (On Patreon. Digital isometric maps and tokens. Have been using them since at least 2020 if not earlier. Will be making tutorial videos soon!)

The Dungeon Sketcher (Also on Patreon. Also isometric maps and tokens. The artist frequents Epic Isometric's discord server where we all share custom assets we've made, too. His stuff blends in pretty seamlessly with EpicIso)

Vile Tiles by Gabriel Pickard (Found on the Roll20 marketplace, but you can use the assets in any VTT. For theater of the mind and RP backgrounds)

Artstation (Our game is not streamed, so I tend to use backgrounds I source from concept artists for RP backgrounds. If you stream a game, obviously always ask the creators of your assets if you can use them.)

Procreate/An art program (I draw the PC/NPC portraits for our game myself)

Milanote/Any note-taking method (Milanote is just what I use to plan the game, since I already use it for other hobbies and commissions as well.)

Do you stream your game? Is there someplace I can find out more about it? Are you looking for players?

I am not looking for players! Our game is also not recorded or streamed - mostly because I'd get some serious DM stage-fright. I also like it being a relaxing experience for myself and my friends where we're performing for ourselves, instead of with the pressure of a potential audience.

However, I do have a toyhou.se world where information on the game is available - including session recaps! If I ever get the time I also want to draw fun comics and little animations of what happens because my friends are very inspiring to me and DMing has quickly become a favorite hobby.

You can also search the words "Seven Asunder" on this blog and you'll find relevant posts here.

Can I use your art/assets/ideas in my own game?

I can't really stop you. If it's not recorded, streamed or monetized and you're not saying you created anything I made yourself, I legitimately don't care! This even includes using character art I've made. I just would like to politely request you don't post any of it publicly to avoid confusion and to respect my players - many of the NPCs in my games are also characters they create and I cannot give permission for them (obviously). It also would kind of suck to see one of my own beloved characters supposedly "belonging" to someone else.

Essentially, I understand taking inspiration and having "placeholder" images/artwork for characters in a game. Not all of us have time or resources to have custom art! Just don't take one of my or my players' OC's designs and start saying they're yours publicly , pretty please :)

Once commissions are over and I find the spare time, I intend to release free-to-use (personally and for streaming) art packs for folks' games. I also highly recommend the patreons I linked above.

[knighteclipsed]

happy anniversary!!

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is. Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing! Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Template originally by Neffi!

Name: Kano!! (i often stylize it as 'kano!!' bc lowercase and exclamations cool)

Pronouns: they/it/he (but really, so long as it isn't 'she/her' and it isn't unclear who is being referred to, i don't really care what i'm called 😂)

Birthday (no year): May 6th!

Where are you from? What is your time zone? I've got Haitian heritage, but I was born and raised in Georgia of USA! Timezone is still TOAST✨

(more under the cut,)

How long is your roleplay experience? As long as my TOA experience pretty much :joy: (So, uh, basically just over 2 years HAHA) I did do some roleplay on like. Amino when I was 11. but i didn't really enjoy it or do it much willingly haha

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? My sister was super baller (she would do Minecraft roleplay on her computer) :sungals:✨

How were you introduced to TOA? Dewa's Dimitri art showed up in Tumblr's Dimitri hashtag!! I scrolled through the blog, saw it was a roleplay one, and my Instagram-pilled mind thought she had stolen someone else's art :crylaugh: (I, uh, quickly realized while trying to confirm that the art style was consistent and the subject matter was too niche [thinking of Dimitri dancing with someone at the Ethereal Ball], so whoever this 'mun' person was must've just been really good haha) Over the course of roughly 4 or so months, I learned how narrative rp worked, encountered some of the other blogs in TOA and even followed the masterlist itself! I ended up joining when I saw the previous Linhardt had just been booted for inactivity fdnsjkfnsd

Do you have any pets? Nope! I do have a plant though. I named her Vyse (yes, after the Valorant agent HER PETALS LOOK LIKE VYSE'S METAL FLOWERS) 💞

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) Spring! Winter is much too cold for my taste, and summer is good but certainly pushes my tolerance for heat haha. My birthday's in spring though, which tiebroke between it and autumn haha.

What is your IRL occupation? I'm a college student! (The job search is real.....)

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? Writing. Reading. Roleplay 😂 (Offering actual info: I love programming! I draw a lot. I like making/listening to music. Love and light <3)

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Baldur's Gate 3 GWAHAHA. (i have a lot of unfinished saves on other games tho: Hades(? made it out several times tho), Triangle Strategy, and the first Ori fnjkdjskf)

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: i don't. pokemon. i did once use Mew (the discord bot) tho and i really liked my Wartortle :] i also have a giant holographic Espeon card and the eeveelutions are unsurprisingly my bias GWAHAHA Honestly tho my answers are probably the same as last year--dragon and dark. Squirtle, Wartortle, Gible fndsjkf

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! (Optional bonus challenge: if you filled this out last year, try not to repeat what you said back then!) I shared my programming endeavors last year! Also some math stuff so--I play a shit ton of D&D. I've got three regular campaigns going on; might be four if my workload isn't too much :weary: I DM one of those games and am a PC in the other two--the fourth would also be a game I DM, which is why I'm working with my schedule to solve this fdnsjkfn

How did you get into Fire Emblem? Played Smash Brawl on the Wii, was suggested by Kai (WHO WRITES KLIFF RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH) to play more characters than just Sheik, and while he was wrong to suggest Ike, he was right about Marth. Later I followed him to Fire Emblem Heroes, then Sacred Stones, and then Three Houses--that's when I properly became an FE fan haha.

What Fire Emblem games have you played? Finished (in order): Three Houses, Sacred Stones, Engage Started (in order): Shadows of Valentia, Awakening demo, Binding Blade in Japanese, Binding Blade in English, SOV again, Genealogy of the Holy War, Awakening (the full game), also Shadow Dragon in English--that's it i think :joy:

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: First was Sacred Stones! My first finished was Three Houses tho haha. Favorite is one of those two or Engage idk GWAHAHA

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! I think Valter successfully stole first place, then Dimitri, Amber, Diamant, and then Linhardt or Selena (FE8) fndsjkf

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! Dimitri! I picked his allegiance in FEH as a joke (I wanted someone to ask and myself to respond 'he's pretty :]' bc imo it'd be MAD FUNNY but then we got 3H for real and I ended up liking him a lot GWAHAH)

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 Dimitri. Diamant. no one else i don't think but maybe if I ever play Fates something might happen with Kaze 😂

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: N/A - Fates: haven't played but it would probably be Kaze - Three Houses: Dimitri; Yuri is the next on my list but if we aren't looking at my completionist ass he'd be competing with a Dimitri rerun 😂 - Engage: Diamant! And probably Diamant again haha

Favorite Fire Emblem class? idfk i told someone Mortal Savant recently. it might be Wyvern Knight tho they're scrunkly :softsmile:

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? Either a sword user or a mage! I would be playable, and I'd be strong in magic stats while pretty weak physically. (Imagine a swordmaster like that fgndjsfnsdf) No idea what class specifically but I'd probably be unpromoted on recruit!

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? (Black Eagles, Blue Lions, Golden Deer, Church of Seiros, Those Who Slither in the Dark, unaffiliated civilian, other - for example Almyran) Blue Lions. long live King Dimitri 🙏✨

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? Boons - probably Reason and Authority? Banes - Heavy Armor fndjkfn maybe Axes as well!! Budding Talent - Flying (the fear of heights go crazyyyy but i do love the thrill 🥺)

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? (Firene, the Kingdom of Abundance; Brodia, the Kingdom of Might; Elusia, the Kingdom of Knowledge; Solm, the Queendom of Freedom; Lythos, the holy land of the Divine Dragon; Gradlon, the desolate land of the Fell Dragon) I'd be a Brodian sniveling about the cold 24/7 (affectionate)

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?) Separate letters! It's intuitive to me.

Current TOA muses: Valter and Selena (FE8)!

Past TOA muses? Linhardt as of last moon, Colm as of a year ago in two days!

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Linhardt! And I could totally see him coming back, but he'd need a longgggg nap first fndjksnf

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) People with really strong emotions seems to be the trend? Even in the case of Linhardt and Selena (who are generally more muted in their expression), they have strong determinations; characters that are particularly tragic are also to my liking. (Also if their dialogue is scaaaaawy I'll probably end up liking them HAHA) Not really changed since last year haha.

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? Not really? Though I will say my ability to write Selena is kind of a miracle; I generally have a difficult time understanding femininity and womanhood, but maybe it's that Selena is trans that makes it a lot more intuitive to me dfnjksf Either way, she's a good bridge into woman writing I like her a lot :softsmile:

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) Last time I just wrote I like dialogue! With the question slightly rephrased--I like confrontational scenes a lot actually fndjskfnds I realize a lot of folks find confrontation difficult/stressful to navigate, but I am mildly insane and slurp that shit up onb!! Say something absolutely horrendous! Slam someone into a wall (or the floor or some furniture) GWAHAHA!! (For the sake of transparency: Don't actually just walk into my inbox and start fighting my muses. I value the narrative a lot and would rather it come from somewhere and not be Too much fndsjkfnd I talk about this on Valter's mun page especially.) I like when characters don't get along! It's interesting! I love conflict! The big downside to this being my favorite is that you have to be really careful to navigate people's boundaries, but I'm willing to sort that out--just chat with me!! I only bite friends!!

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? Two answers for my present muses: for Valter, I want him to betray Maria (bc he's a fucking asshole and I want him to deal with the consequences of that fndsjkfns); for Selena, I'd really like a Glen here :oldplead: (this is not a scenario but genuinely if she found out Glen died actually she would be very sad!! get her with the emotions 🫵)

Favorite TOA-related memories? Nat and Dewa recognizing me as the Linhardt reserve just because I kept liking all of Dewa's stuff (including an arena thread with Nat's Linoan) 😭😭😭, Sirius rolling Valter as his liege in KKE, Colm getting dressed up by old ladies par Lloyd (Midsommar), Ree asking N if he was okay with writing body horror (Unscripted), Selena failing to kill "Vigarde" (AO), Valter and L'Arachel taking a million years to leave a burning classroom!!, Linhardt's Whole Friendship with Sophia, Linus slamming the Moonstone into a wall (and the floor), Valter getting chased by a giant Pikachu (Midsommar), Selena and Mlear :softsmile: (and by extension: Selena meeting Flear :crylaugh:), Valter beefing with EVERYONE (and also maybe stabbing Alfred? (he didn't)), Colm and Pelleas friendship 🥺, and the list goes on!

Present or past tense? Generally past tense? It changes mid-post a lot though; actions my muses are actively committing as present tense, but actions immediately past are generally. past. fndsjkfn It makes sense to me i prommy 🙏✨

Normal size text, small text, no preference? No preference! But I write in normal text unless asked to write otherwise; I don't take issue with the default size

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉 Chat y'all already know.

[violivs]

NMTDaily: And So It Begins

- Beatrice’s first vlog! What an opening line, I love it lol. I remembered the hand wave on “hello, people of the Internet” having a wider arc across the screen than it actually does, funny enough! Glad I didn’t specify the wide wave when I referenced this line in MARRIED, the fic I posted on the 25th.

- “I’m not too old for Halloween”, girl after my own heart!

- Always thought it was interesting that Bea’s mother is American. I wonder how/why they decided that. It’s the kind of super specific detail that makes Bea feel so real, because who would make that up? It’s also interesting that it means Bea and Ben’s families are both somewhat international. Another parallel for them, another thing they have in common.

- I bet the Aunties’ wedding was the cutest thing ever, imagine Hero and Leo standing up with them! That’s probably the last time all of the Dukes were together before the story starts.

- I’m surprised Bea’s parents moved because her dad got a promotion. I would have assumed her mom did, because we get the impression of her as the high-powered businesswoman. But good for Bea’s dad. Is it canon that he’s a university professor? (Promotion = tenure?) Or did I make that up for fanfic and/or confuse him with Ben’s parents being professors in canon? Listening for that. Maybe Bea’s dad was actually also a business person all along and that’s how her parents met. Who knows.

- Bea says Australia like I say Indiana, lol (no hate to anyone from Indiana though! Just another of those inborn rivalries with the neighbor, like the Oz/NZ one.)

- “A great science program” I forgot Bea was a science person!

- I always loved the set decoration in this room, I remember it’s Hero’s room, and it’s so artsy and cozy and pretty. Love the wall art.

- “Leo and I are in charge of the house for the next six months” Excuse me, does this series really only take place over six months? Well, it ends in the first week of November, so that’s seven full months. I think it felt like it lasted a whole year when it was airing though. Time slowed down during a certain arc for sure.

- “in-joke with myself!” Classic. I kind of love that the text on screen saying “good one Beatrice” is Bea talking to herself again in-world, but out-of-world it’s kind of the Candle Wasters talking, interacting both with their own main character and with the audience. Meta.

- “Sorry my life is so boring” are like, THE famous last words for an LIW protagonist. Honey, you got a big storm coming!

- I was always so incredibly impressed with Beatrice’s independence, her comfort with leaving her parents and essentially being on her own before she even finished high school. I was alone in a college dorm hours away from home when I first watched this, second semester of freshman year if I’m not mistaken, and I could barely believe I’d managed it. I couldn’t imagine doing that any earlier than I had. I thought she was so brave and cool. I think Bea actually shows more hesitation and nervousness than I realized she did in this episode, both because she’s not used to vlogging yet and because being in a new place is nerve-wracking, but I still think she’s so brave.

- It’s so interesting that in a reversal of the play, it’s our Beatrice who comes from away to Messina to start the story, instead of Benedick and the other men returning from war. Of course, we’ll see how the boys’ arrival on the scene is modernized soon enough!

- Harriett does such a great job making you care about Bea and like her right from the start. You just want to keep listening to her talk. I can’t wait to do just that over the next seven months.

- The Benedict Cumberbatch crush is a stroke of genius, but what are the odds that there happens to be a super famous guy named Benedict that you can reference who is at peak relevance in the exact year your MAAN modernization premieres? Truly, this series as it exists could only have happened in 2014. It was the perfect time and the perfect people. What luck.

- Oh, this is the wider arc hand wave I was remembering! It’s just at the end of the video and not the beginning. Funny!

- Covering the camera with her hand and ducking out of frame at the end of her first video is a direct parallel to what Bea and Hero do in their final NMTD video, sliding out of frame and all. Love that.

- I can’t believe how much there is to talk about even with these early episodes. These posts are gonna get so long they’ll have to go under a cut for the later episodes!

💖🦩🥭

[builder051]

NaNo 2024 day 8: A hairbrained scheme

Avengers Infinity Saga canon/missing moment

Right before they put the time through the Scott

Humor without plot

————————

Bruce sits behind the control panel in his lab. Scott’s van is backed into place in front of him, and many wires and cords run from its trunk to his computer.

That’s not his focus at the moment, though. A video chat window dominates his screen.

“You sure you don’t want to come?” Bruce implores.

“Nope.” Tony replies succinctly. “I already told you. And I haven’t changed my mind.”

“It’s still not too late. We can delay launch until you get here,” Bruce offers. “Come on. The team’s back. We need you to help save the world.”

“I need to be in the backyard,” Tony says. “Got to blaze the fire pit. Morgan already has the tent. We’re camping out tonight. You know, play a little banjo, melt some marshmallows. Way more important than your hairbrained scheme.”

“Can I get your blessing at least? If it works, I’m taking all the credit.” Bruce tries for a light, friendly tone. He doesn’t want to be angry with Tony. He doesn’t want to be angry at all. “If it fails… Well, it was Scott’s idea.”

Both men laugh, but they quickly sober when they make eye contact again. Tony’s hand comes into the camera view, and the feed cuts off.

“Hey!” Scott calls from across the lab. “Why were you laughing at me. This is a great idea.” He gestures at the van. “I’m the only one with an idea.”

“I didn’t mean to make you feel bad,” Bruce says. “It’s just…Tony. He’s spent too much time alone. I think it’s an entrepreneur thing.”

“So he’s really a no go?” Scott asks. “For sure?”

“Yeah,” Bruce sighs. He closes the tab for the video chat and returns his attention to the time machine’s programming. “At this point, he may as well be on another planet.”

“He still covers the insurance, right?” Scott squirms in his vermillion hazmat suit. “If I die on the job, somebody’s got to get the payout to Cassie. I, uh, haven’t been great at that college fund thing. Do a cashier’s check. And delivery receipt.”

“You’re not gonna die,” Bruce reassures. “It worked last time.” He taps a few keys, finishing up the last line of his equation. “You survived the dust after all.”

“Mm.” Scott nods. “Will it be like jet lag, do you think? If I come back all woozy, wave some horseradish under my nose. That’ll kick me out of any kind of time coma.” He takes in Bruce’s blank look. “You have condiments here?” He tilts his head toward the fridge in the back of the lab.

“I don’t know,” Bruce says. “Natasha does the groceries. I usually eat out.” He hovers his finger over the power switch. “It’ll go fine. You ready?”

“Wait!” Scott stalls. “We should get something tonight. To celebrate, you know? After this thing works? Your treat. You have Doordash?”

“We have to actually do it first.” Bruce flicks the switch. The equipment in the back of the van lights up. “Then tonight we’re eating on Tony’s ticket.” He grins at Scott. “Do you like s’mores?”

[silver138]

Perfectly Flawed - Chapter 23

word count - 1.9k warnings - one curse word Summary: Lina, Penelope, and Spencer uncover some things…

As Gideon and Elle head towards Hotch to fill him in on what we've learned, I rush back to the room Penny and I are in, eager to see what other information can be uncovered. I'm walking in and about to start searching for answers to the latest questions we have when I nearly run into Spencer, who says, "Lina! You're back! Hey, Garcia, she's right here!"

Entering the room, with Spencer right behind me, Penny spins in her chair to face me and says, "Ah! There's my right-hand woman. Lina, what did you find out while you were out?"

"Uh, h-hang on, Pen...Spence, did you want to read this real quick? I think I took some decent notes..." I say, handing him my notepad as I quickly start looking up any info I can find on these five people, starting with Roxanne Waters.

"Y-yeah...wow, these are pretty thorough..." I hear him mumble as I start pulling up what Ms. Waters has been up to since high school.

As Spencer brings Penny up to speed, I find that Roxanne's been bouncing from one thing to another, first with different majors in different colleges, never finishing more than a semester in any one program, to different jobs within the same company.

"How has she been able to stay with the same company, yet gone through so many different jobs?" I muse to myself, nodding when I see her father owns the company. "Hmm, makes sense..." I say, sighing.

"Uh, here's your notepad, Lina," Spencer says, setting it on my desk and pulling up a chair as Penny wheels over to see what I've come up with.

"Ah, checking out the resident Mean Girl, Class of '96?" Penny says, looking over at my screen.

I nod and hum in acknowledgment. "Mmm-hmm. Seems like she was kinda...flitting from one thing to another, never committing, until...I don't know, maybe her parents got fed up and just gave her a job? See? That's her dad's modeling company," pointing at her workplace files. "But she's still going from one thing to another, an assistant to everyone from the CEO to the various managers..."

I bite my lip, and Penny asks, "What were the jobs of the first two victims?"

As I pull it up on my screen, Spencer quickly reads, "Ashley Naldi is a journalist, and Jennifer Wilcox is a fashion designer."

"Looks like Ms. Naldi works at Vogue, and Ms. Wilcox just had some of her work featured in the October issue," I say, scrolling through the information, stopping when I see something that could be damning.

"Says here the models were from the Waters' agency, it's possible Ms. Waters was there during that shoot..." I say, cross-referencing between different windows, trying to see if any of the dates line up.

"Found something! October 11th through 15th, some receipts indicating Ms. Waters stayed at a hotel in the same city where the photo shoot was taking place!" Penny says, turning from her computer to look at us.

I hum and say, "Yeah, but the shoot was for 2 weeks, she left after one? Did different models come in?" I continue scrolling through receipts and plane tickets, following the trail. "No, it's looking like she was the only one to leave, and someone else from the company came in to finish the shoot in her place..." I reveal.

"Do you think something happened to make her leave or need to be replaced?" Spencer asks, looking over from my screen to Penelope's.

"Not sure, but that's something else to add to the list of questions..." Penny says, tapping on her keyboard. 

"Do we know what hotel Ms. Waters is in while she's here?" Spencer asks, and I quickly pull it up.

"Yup, seems she's staying at the same place the reunion's being held, the Ritz-Carlton," I tell him, starting to check on where Sabrina Sadler and Lucas Davies are lodging as well.

"You checking the areas for the profile there, Reid?" Penny asks, turning in her chair to look at him.

He hums and starts, "Mmm-hmm. Hey, Lina, where are Sabrina Sadler and Lucas-"

  "-Davies staying? Already got it. Ms. Sadler is at The Georgetown House, and Mr. Davies is at the Sonder Georgetown C&O." I cut in, getting a smile from him when I turn to face him. I blush and shrug, saying, "I...kinda figured it'd be prudent to look up where they were staying too, just in case."

He continues grinning at me for a moment, then goes back to the map he has spread out on a spare table, marking all the relevant spots. His mouth bunches up to one side, deep in thought.

"What are you thinkin', Doc?" I ask him, turning around in my chair to face him.

"The crime scenes aren't that far from each other, so the unsub is probably somewhere in the 1 to 5-mile radius. It's more likely they're closer rather than farther away..." he says, tracing over the map with his fingertips and frowning slightly.

"That's good, right? Less area to cover to find the unsub?" I ask.

"In theory, yes. But this part of the city is so densely packed with people, it'll be near-impossible to keep people away to properly comb the area to find him..." he says.

"But, they're still gonna send people to patrol it, right?" I ask, standing up to look over at the map.

"Well, probably for at least a little while, if only as a precaution so there aren't any more attacks," Spencer says, sighing and sitting down in a nearby chair.

Penny looks over at us and says, "Hey, why don't you two go get some coffee, maybe grab something from the vending machine, and I'll tell Hotch and the others what we've found,"

I look over at Spencer, then back at Penny, and ask, "Um, are you sure? Shou-shouldn't we stay here, try to find anything else?"

She gives me a smile that's more of a grimace and says, "Well, for the time being, we're kind of...on pause. Until something happens, or someone decides to offer any more information, we're kind of on standby."

Spencer looks over at me and shrugs, then turns to Penny and says, "Alright. We'll be back. Thanks, Garcia."

Smile growing wider and more playful, she says, "Well, if you really want to thank me, you can grab me a pack of Skittles from the vending machine," and hands him some change for the machine.

I grin and grab some money as well, and say, "Yeah, that's doable. Be back in a bit, Pen."

  Following Spencer out of the room, we make a stop to grab some coffee, then head to the vending machine. Spencer gets Penny her Skittles, and I spot a pack of Twix and swiftly punch in the code for it. After I retrieve and open it, I ask, "Hey Doc, want one?" holding the package out in offering.

He gives me a small smile as he deftly snags one of the bars, giving me a quiet, "Thank you," as we head back.

  I grin and say, "No problem, Doc." taking a bite from my bar.

After we head back to Penny, Spencer hands her the Skittles, which she gleefully takes, ripping the bag open. "Have I ever told you that you're my favorite doctor, Reid?" I give Penny an amused look, raising my eyebrows. She gasps and says, "Ohmigosh, that's right! There are two of you now! Sorry, Lina!"

"It's ok, Penny. Just means I gotta work harder," I say with a small laugh.

"Well, far be it from me to try to deter you from that..." Penny says, grinning.

Hotch then comes in, giving a quick, hard rap on the door, and says, "Reid, Garcia," He takes a small pause, then adds, "Aschebrooke. You all can head home, but safe to say we'll be coming back in tomorrow. Rest up, we're going to need to bring our A-game to find this unsub before he does more damage."

"Will do, Sir," Penny says, as she starts putting the computers on standby for the night.

Grabbing my purse again, I help Penny with the computers, as Spencer leaves the room with Hotch. After everything is set for the night, Penny and I make our way to the elevators, and on the way there, I see Hotch talking to Spencer, a hand on his shoulder. Spencer nods and gives him a tight smile, then walks towards the elevators, satchel slung across his body.

We take the elevator down and, waving to Penny as we leave, Spencer and I start walking to the station. As we walk I ask him, "You ok, Doc?"

"What do you mean?" he responds, hands in his pockets. 

"Dunno, guess I'm just...checking in? I don't know about you, but I'm going to try my best to get those crime scenes out of my head so I can sleep tonight." I say quietly.

His demeanor softens, and he takes his hands out of his pockets and runs a hand through his hair. "Yeah, it's...quite a lot at first. Sorry to say it, but you tend to get used to it after a while."

"Well, I know I'm new to this, but, if you need to talk about anything, or just...need to get your mind on lighter topics, you can text or call me," I tell him, smiling gently at him.

A small smile emerges on his face, and he says, "Thank you but, shouldn't I be saying that to you?"

I shrug and say, "I suppose, but that's...just...kind of what I do," 

"On a different note, you're going to be able to sleep in your own bed tonight instead of in a hotel, so that's gotta be a nice change, right, Doc?" I say, which causes Spencer to give a small chuckle.

"Yeah, that is going to be nice, I've got to admit!" he says, grinning.

Reaching the station, we go to sit on the bench to wait, but the Metro pulls up, and instead, we board and sit down. Letting out a small breath, I gently rub at my temples and stretch my neck to loosen my muscles, then turn to look at Spencer.

"So, your usual tomorrow?" he asks me. I nod and go to tell him he doesn't have to, but he stops me and says, "I've gone a week without a coffee buddy, I'll gladly get yours, too. And some decent coffee, at that."

I flash him a smile and say, "Thanks, Doc. No one else would drink coffee with you?"

He sighs, shaking his head and saying, "Not really. Not after the first cup, at least."

I snort and say, "Ah, well, there is that..."

Riding in silence, I see my stop coming up, and, signaling for the Metro to halt, I give Spencer a small wave and tell him, "I'll see you tomorrow, Doc."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lina," he says, returning the wave with a small smile as I head off the vehicle and start on my way home.

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