#I have a lot of thoughts on this I apologize for rambling about things I could never fully understand

[a-substantial-trash-pile]

Catalyst

so in my au which i'm totally not using to cope or anything haha, after realizing that curly isn't going to do anything about jimmy, anya confides in swansea and he goes Protective Dad Mode. i'm calling this the "Responsibility AU." ramble below cut.

swansea doesn't immediately go after jimmy with an axe or anything because 1. they're not in a high stress life/death crash situation and 2. anya specifically requests that swansea not enact violence upon jimmy after swansea says, and i quote, "i'm gonna beat his ass." anya just wants to feel safer and more supported on the ship—she doesn't want swansea to get in trouble even if jimmy does deserve to get destroyed by 10000 punches.

what swansea can do is watch out for anya and make sure she's never alone in a room with jimmy. if there's a situation where she has to be alone with jimmy (like the psych evals), she and swansea have a system where she can signal for help. with anya's permission, swansea asks daisuke to help look out for her too (without telling him the details as to why since that's anya's right to share or not). daisuke has already picked up at this point that something is wrong based on how much more hostile swansea's become towards jimmy, and he trusts his boss, so he agrees without much question.

anya, feeling less alone now that she has people watching her back, gains more confidence to stand up to jimmy. which makes him angry because his unwanted advances are being denied and swansea and daisuke keep getting in his way. he just can't understand why he's being treated as the bad guy here (this is because he is a delusional asshole).

meanwhile curly is slowly realizing that he needs to actually do something here because the tension in the crew is palpable and increasing by the day. also swansea is being mighty passive aggressive to him and talking about "responsibility" a lot. curly keeps trying to talk to jimmy about it but the guy just keeps downplaying it and blaming everyone else but himself. and curly is realizing that his friend isn't who he thought he was.

it all comes to a head one day when an angry jimmy tries to confront anya alone and swansea steps in. things get heated, people start yelling. curly show up to see swansea and jimmy on the verge of fighting with anya and daisuke trying to hold them back respectively. curly breaks up the fight. jimmy storms off. curly follows him and finds him trying to get the gun from the case in the cockpit. curly asks him why he's doing this and jimmy claims it's for his own protection because he feels "threatened by swansea." he tells curly to give him the code. curly, the sheer wrongness of the whole situation hitting him, finally calls jimmy out on all his bs. jimmy just laughs in his face, still believing that he's not in the wrong and curly doesn't have the guts to do anything anyway. so the captain fires him on the spot. jimmy snaps and he and curly get into a fight in the cockpit. jimmy is trying to crash the ship and curly is trying to stop him. then the rest of the crew show up and anya knocks jimmy's ass out with the gun case. swansea is so proud.

they throw jimmy in the cryopod so they don't have to worry about him pulling anything else and he can be properly dealt with once the stupid delivery is over. everyone's like, "wow that was a close one—could you imagine how messed up it would be if we ended up in a crash because of jimmy? thank god that didn't happen." curly makes swansea the copilot until they can get a replacement and swansea's like, "goddammit as if i don't already do enough shit around here."

anyway my whole goal here was to get rid of jimmy early so i can have beautiful Found Family shenanigans in space with the rest of the crew. apologies and healing and happy times will happen. no the whole getting laid off thing doesn't happen. no i don't have an explanation for it. sorry for the essay.

[alchemicalterror]

I'm going to be honest, I have no idea who you are, but you seem very nice! I saw that you're researching the human fear response- I'd love to hear more about your work if you have the chance!

It ain’t that weird to be surprised by anonymity at this point in my god damn career, you teenage pain in my…

… Ahem.

Hi. Uh, apologize for the informality of all this, I confess you caught me at something of a loss - it is not very often that I get asked after my research without some layer of presumption or prior bias coloring the inquisition, and the sheer novelty of the situation had me reeling this morning when I woke up to such a refreshing email.

If it's all right with you, I'm gonna just ramble a bit at the camera with my coffee, since where I started and where I'm at has gone a little bit off in the weeds, and stream of consciousness is really the most organic way to get this all down these days; transcript below.

My work with the human psyche is, yes, with the human fear response in a manner of speaking - but I am not so much studying how people respond to fear in and of itself, so much as I am studying the therapeutic benefits of using episodes of intense fear as a means of breaking through repressed memories, opening vulnerabilities surrounding trauma, and helping people with anxiety or other fear-related chronic disorders navigate the tangled nests of their own thought processes to help better identify the cores of their issues so that, when they are in a calmer frame of mind, those newly-identified and articulated 'problem areas' in their past or thought processes could be more directly addressed and worked on in a controlled and clinical setting.

I began this path of neuroscientific study back when I was in university about twenty years ago now, and upon graduation, I initially had quite a bit of grant money and backing from the scientific community to pursue this line of inquiry, though most of that has dried up due to some red tape incidents that, for the sake of this explanation, I'm not going to get into at the moment if that's all right.

However, the process has shown a lot of promise, and I have made a lot of headway even though I am now limited to pilot-study sized focus groups and self-funded research, and am forced due to circumstances to make do broadly with volunteers and short-term clinical trials rather than the years-long therapy treatment plans and relationships I had hoped to establish when I began this journey all those decades ago. Despite setbacks, the research itself has been moving at a steady, if rather slow pace, and has proven incredibly promising, and the few folks that have stuck with me for repeat exposure and study have made a lot of headway with the issues I've been trying to address.

I am not currently licensed to practice any of my experimental therapy techniques in a live clinical setting, so my work in outpatient therapy and clinical psychiatric work is not related to my research, and is more just work I do to pay the bills, as a man's gotta eat and pay his employee and feed his kid and whatnot, but I did publish a paper back in '94 before things went tits up at my original research facility y'all could likely find on my initial findings if you want to pursue the topic further.

If that damn thing's behind a paywall or something, lemme know, I got it around here somewhere. Never pay for knowledge that oughta be free.

[shimmershy]

Hey shimmer! Here’s a question, which other UT characters do you think Chara would get along with?

Definitely Undyne, for one. They seem really impressed by her in their narration, and I think they'd really respect her for her passion and sense of justice.

I think they'd get along with Papyrus too. He'd be fun to hang out with, and they'd appreciate his optimism. Plus I think they'd really enjoy puzzles.

I'm really on-and-off about whether they'd get along with Sans. Because, on one hand, I think they're a big fan of jokes and puns themself, but like. They're clever about it. They'd probably think Sans's puns are Bad and Lame, and they'd be put off by his general demeanor and laziness. BUT, at the same time, I think they'd be able to relate to how much he cares about his brother. They would Tolerate him.

I don't know if they'd get along with Alphys super well. They wouldn't hate her or anything, but like. I feel like it would be a situation where you put two people who have self-worth/anxiety issues in a room together and they just end up stressing each other out. But maybe they could still get along, I don't know.

Napstablook, on the other hand, seems more chill, even if they're not super confident in themself either. I think Chara would get along with them. They could vibe.

Probably not Mettaton, though? They just don't have a lot in common, and they'd probably find him kind of annoying. (Too dramatic.)

Their relationship with Flowey would be very rocky. They would very much hate him at first, but it would be more complicated post-pacifist especially. They would want to get along with him, I think, but a lot of things would make that complicated. They would mostly just bully each other.

They'd still consider Asgore and Toriel to be their parents, and they'd appreciate their company. They'd like gardening with Asgore, and baking with Toriel maybe. It would probably be complicated with them too, though.

[goldiipond]

thinking about how easily ray was willing to make an exception to his firm ‘i can only save emma and norman’ stance once don and gilda are actually in on the escape. the fact that, during his ‘deal’ with norman in ep 5 ‘we can bring don and gilda too’ isnt a condition norman had that ray begrudgingly agreed to but rather one that ray brought up completely unprompted.

ray has spent years coming to terms with the fact that saving everyone is impossible, years putting emma and norman over everyone else because they were the most precious people in his life and because risking a bigger escape could get everyone killed. he thought it was better for the others to live ignorant, happy lives until their shipment than to get killed on the outside. 

ray never had that same ignorant bliss the others had, emma and norman lost it after seeing conny, and while don and gilda aren’t given the full truth at first, they are given enough to have that illusion shattered for them as well. i just think a lot about how ray knows what it’s like to be trapped in that house without that happy illusion, and the moment don and gilda lose it, he can’t allow himself to push them away anymore.

[hikayunas]

the fact that hikaru often gets reduced in the fandom to nothing more than 'horse' jokes is something that's always stuck with me. it's a bit ironic, in a sad kind of way.

hikaru being 'the horse' isn't just some joke thrown in for laughs -- it's her coping mechanism; the way that she dehumanizes herself and creates a mental disconnect to separate herself from the things she does, and to place herself in the role of being a tool for yuna's use. hikaru may not necessarily want to kill people for promised blood's goals, but if yuna wants it, then the horse certainly does, can, and will.

it's not as great of a coping mechanism as she believes it to be -- it certainly does get her through the harder parts of life as a futatsugi magical girl, and it's become something of a personal playful nickname among the ranks of promised blood -- but it's textbook dehumanization. she's not thinking of herself as a human being, but instead as an animal, as a tool, a weapon. she cheerfully agrees when ao calls her an empty shell, grinning and chirping back that with yuna-san, she's full.

everything hikaru -- the horse -- does is for yuna. she's not her own person; she's not a person at all. yuna-san is promised blood's general, and a general needs her loyal horse. the horse won't need to feel guilty for the blood on her hands and at the tip of her saber at the end of the day. she was made to do this. she is not her own person; she's not a person at all.

all of this to say -- hikaru's character being turned into 'horse' jokes by a lot of the fandom is something i think about a normal amount.

[rainworld-enot]

Since you replied, I'll elaborate (jk, I was gonna do that anyways) enot's funky little trait is spawning those singularity eggs every cycle, so if enot was engineered by an iterator, it's obviously meant to be ascendy. but the egg doesn't actually permakill or ascend anyone, so it's a failure. But it does succeed in a different way. It warps reality! this is best showed in the dating sim thing, as every time the egg is used, or cracked, it causes some pretty weird reality-bending (in one case, just making a whole new universe) in the standard game it just acts like a regular singularity bomb, but you could also interpret that the weirdness of the Enot campaign is due to the egg's influence. Enot on their own is (mostly) like a regular slugcat. It's when they bring along the egg that things get all funky and, of course, the dating sim setting itself! you unlock it by ascending as Enot, which implies that rather than truly ascending, they ended up resetting the cycles in a new alternate universe or timeline, and the routes where they end up using the egg causes further weirdness... and most notably, Saint knows about this and has tried to break the cycles using it! it's implied it just resets the cycle instead, though. So, thanks to enot your au could technically be cannon! (Thx to bluenightold for putting this in my brain. And sorry that this is excessively long :( )

You're good with having it really long- I like reading people's rambles as a whole!

Void in general causes reality warping properties, we can see this in general with echos, singularity bombs, and karma flowers which all have void fluid in them from what we can see of the effects.

Even Rubicon has this odd effect of changing properties of things, and is probably closer to the void freaking the fuck out from Saint... Saint-ness. We can see the creatures with void in them as a whole tend to have a lot more energy and movement. given the destruction too it's likely that void has a stupid amount of energy but also highly corrosive by all means.

It's very interesting as a whole, given the fact this means there's an unnatural vs natural power sources issue within the game and likely has been in affect in the past given that the emergency power batteries (known as Rarefaction cells)! which act nearly exactly like singularity cells if destroyed via a leviathan if not a bit worse. probably a bit more of the aftershock (best word to use I suppose) is affected and twisted much worse to the point where artificer can not survive the aftershocks... but given it's literally warping everything with the amount of energy produced, it's like a much worse version of breaking the wind barrier in a way. Probably a very painful death given everything.

Saint is definitely fucked up! and I love it. it's very fun to imagine the relationship of em in my own hc and aus of these lil guys :)!!

[heyitslapis]

Walked out of work today bc long story short a guest decided that she was gonna lecture me/use me & my "abhorrent, disrespectful attitude" as an example of a lesson for one of her student & I decided that standing there & being belittled wasn't worth it

[neverendingford]

.

[legallypumpkinn]

One of my favorite parts of the argument against AI is how little most everybody arguing against artificial intelligence actually knows what the fuck they’re on about.

Artificial intelligence on its own contributes a SHITTON to your daily life online. What is today considered “artificial intelligence” versus what artificial intelligence started off as (being a way to use machines to make scripts more efficient) are two tenuously connected concepts. Does your phone occasionally autocorrect when it thinks you’ve spelled shit wrong, until it eventually gives up because you keep using the “misspelling”? Do you like when your social media feed shows you posts by people you don’t follow? That’s, arguably, AI - the machine is seeing patterns in behavior, so, to save both the user and the machine time, it makes this pattern easier to access, rather than the user having to take possible minutes to search for what they wanted rather than it simply showing up first thing.

AI is not inherently evil, in the same way as knives are not inherently evil. What is evil is when people take shit to input into their scripts or whatever that is not theirs and then essentially clone said stolen artifact with dna from a multitude of other stolen artifacts and then pass it off as their own work. But that is NOT what the majority of machine learning is, and demonizing people who are using this learning to be more efficient (without taking shit that isn’t theirs!!) are not the people we should be fighting.

In case you're still reflexively on the fence when I proclaim that the conversation about AI has progressed to a truly batshit level of reactionary mythology, people on twitter are currently calling out the animators for Spiderverse for using a digital interpolator to assist with lining, because a documentary used the term "machine learning" to describe it.

Apparently using digital tools is taking work away from real artists. I am excited for 6 months time when the discourse has evolved into "all movies should be hand-inked on the inside of Palaeolithic caves to escape the corrupting labour-stealing influence of the pencil".

(Yes this is currently a minority opinion in this instance, largely because people just really like Spiderverse. But the fact that these arguments are being seriously made shows how far off the deep end this conversation has gone. These types of arguments for blanket technology bans already made little to no sense due to the double standard applied, and this demonstrates that by removing the double standard and taking them closer to their logical conclusion - all labour saving tools are bad, especially if they involve a spooky computer algorithm).

[thebestandworstdayofjune]

snapdragons mean i'm sorry

summary: you own a flower shop down the street from Wade and Althea, and now Logan's apartment. You and Logan had grown quite close, until you hear him complaining about you through the door. A week later, he shows up at the shop, groveling wc: 2.0 k a/n: sorry about the delay with this one, things have been a bit crazy! I really enjoyed writing for worst!Logan, I think I'm considering a part two for this as well. This fic is based on this request! warnings: lots of hurt and comfort, reader uses she/her pronouns, confused and groveling Logan, Wade being a meddler, slight spoilers for the end of Deadpool and Wolverine

You were two seconds away from chucking the bouquet that you were working on clear across the room. Instead, you gently set the flowers down on your workbench and tightened your pony tail. Heaving a sigh, you snatched the broom out of it’s place leaning up against the doorway and made you way to the front of store. 

Usually, being surrounded by all of your flowers and specially curated knickknacks brought you a sense of peace. But so far today you’d broken two vases and stabbed your thumb on rose thorns maybe more than you’d ever done in your entire life. 

Being friends with a superhero (singular) was much less stressful than you’d thought it would be. Wade would stop in to the shop around once a week to buy flowers for Vanessa, always with a quick joke or two before being on his way. It wasn’t until he’d saved you from an attempted mugging a few years back that you’d really become close. And you’d been there for a lot. Through his break up with Vanessa, when he was nonstop moaning about how deeply he hated selling lightly used cars, and whenever he needed a second opinion about a new hair system he was perched on a second stool that now had permanent residence behind the counter, right next to yours. 

Being friends with superheroes (plural) was bringing a new host of issues. Namely, an accelerated heart rate and trouble forming your words in front of Wade’s new roommate. Wade had warned you that his new acquisition was prickly when he’d stopped over to invite you to the Welcome Home Pizza Party Palooza, according to the hand drawn invitation he’d proudly presented you. He’d lured you in with promises of meeting his new dog before dropping the bomb that there was an introduction to his roommate included in the package deal. You’d already agreed, and Wade was too busy rambling about how you were being moved up to from side character status for you to intercede with a made up reason you could no longer attend. 

You historically didn’t do well with meeting new people, and someone who was likely to snap at you at some point throughout the evening, by Wade’s estimations, was an even bigger hurdle. Even though you had worked yourself up enough to feel slightly sick to your stomach, you’d arrived at the party, armed with flowers for the new roommate and a mini bouquet of dog treats for Mary Puppins. Wade and Al’s apartment was full of familiar faces when you’d arrived. You were caught up in a conversation with Peter and Yukio for a few minutes before they’d asked about the flowers all but forgotten in your hands. You admitted they were a welcome home present, and Peter kindly pointed out where Logan was standing across the room. You’d thanked him, and made your way across the room. 

When you reached him in the kitchen, you stood quietly behind him, working up the courage to make your presence known. Ultimately, it was unnecessary, because he quickly turned around and greeted you with a crinkly-eyed smile that made your heart flutter against your better judgement. You’d shyly handed over the flowers, stuttering through the explanation of owning the shop down the street and apologizing preemptively if he didn’t like them, expecting a strong rebuttal. He certainly looked like the type of man to rebuff the offer of flowers in fear of appearing unmanly or some other nonsense. Instead, he took the flowers from you gently, thanking you. He turned away, searching through the cabinets before pulling out a novelty beer stein decorated with My Little Pony characters with a huff. Logan made quick work of depositing the bouquet in the beer stein, but he frowned at his work, clearly unhappy with the vase options. “So you’re the florist that he’s obsessed with.” 

You smiled to yourself, glad to hear that Wade wasn’t only kind to your face. “Are you kidding me?” Speak of the devil. Wade slung an arm around your shoulders, depositing your typical drink of choice in your hand. “More like worship the ground you walk on. I may be Marvel Jesus but I’m your disciple. The things she can do with a chrysanthemum.” He moaned in a way you had never heard someone while talking about a flower, of all things.

Logan shook his head, but before either of you could respond, Wade noticed Vanessa coming through the door and was at her side in an instant. You’d stood with him in the kitchen for a few moments, silent but comfortable. It wasn’t long before Althea had called everyone to the table, where you took your usual seat next to Althea and Vanessa. The evening had been comfortable and you couldn’t help but notice how naturally Logan and his daughter Laura fit into your strange little family. 

The next day, you’d stopped by their apartment armed with another bouquet, this one beautifully arranged in one of your favorite vases you kept in stock. You couldn’t shake the image of how disappointed Logan had looked with his options the previous night. Al had ushered you inside quickly, letting you know that the rest of the roommates had left her in the name of picking up some necessities for Logan. You’d dropped the vase on the kitchen counter, ruffled Mary Puppins’ hair and saw yourself out. 

Logan had come by to thank you at the store, startling you where you were working in the back. You’d fumbled one of your vases, sending it crashing to the ground. Logan was quick to usher you onto a stool, locating a broom and making quick work of the glass. You’d insisted you could take care of it, but he’d shot your down insisting that he would heal right up if he managed to cut himself and he didn’t feel like a trip to the ER. It should have stung, but there was a lightness to his voice and a twinkle in his eyes that instead had you fighting down the hear rising to your cheeks. 

After a few weeks, it was routine for you to stop by a couple nights a week after work, armed with a fresh set of flowers for the vase and some take out. Logan very well could have taken some home with him, as often as he was stopping by, but somehow you’d always get to talking and forget to bundle some up for him. He was immensely helpful around the shop, able to reach things on high shelves and move heavy pallets you would get in much more easily than you were able to. Wade’s stool had quickly become Logan’s but you didn’t much mind. 

Your hand had settled on the doorknob to their apartment, when two familiar voices faded in through the closed door. It was instinct to pause, you hand’t really meant to snoop. But the words hurt all the same. “I really am fond of her, but she could really stand to let up on how often she’s hanging around me.” Your heart started to hammer, frozen in the hallway. 

“I hear you peanut,” Wade was quick to respond. “Cling-ville USA, population her, amiright?” 

“Fuck off, you’ve been obsessed with her as long as I’ve known you.” Your heart sunk. Isn’t that what Logan had said, the first night you met? Wade was obsessed with you? As quietly as you could, you dropped your hand from the doorknob and backed away down the hall, hoping that their conversation was loud enough to drown out the sound of your retreating footsteps. You’d retreated down the hallway, quickly shooting Wade a text that you weren’t feeling well and wouldn’t be able to make it. 

You hadn’t seen them since. You knew it shouldn’t have mattered, but it stung. You’d moved their stool into the far back corner of the shop because as silly as it sounded, it made you sad to look at him. Thankfully, there had been a steady stream of customers to keep you busy for a while. But now, you were dead and your thoughts were drifting when the bell on the front door rang. You sent a silent thank you to the universe and rushed out to the front of the store. But the customer waiting for you was the only one you were reluctant to see. 

You hated to admit it, but the image of Logan standing in the middle of your showroom, shoulders slumped and one of the most regretful looks you’d ever seen on anyone was almost enough for you to forgive him on sight. Close but no cigar, one could say.   

“Hey, sweetheart” he said sheepishly, hands shoved into this pockets. 

If this is how he was going to play it, so be it. “Hey, Lo. Where’ve you been?”

“Laura needed some help at the mansion, and they roped us into a mission. Meant to call but,” he shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. “Got a bit busy.” You nodded, doing your best to remember that you were mad at him. Stopped by for some flowers, if you have a minute.”

You nodded curtly, shocked that he wasn’t bringing up the obvious tension. He wasn’t one to beat around the bush. “What kind are you looking for?” 

“Eh, whatever you think says ‘Sorry, I fucked up’ the best” he shrugged, making his way behind the counter. 

“Who else did you piss off?” You asked, arranging a few more pieces of greenery into the bouquet he had requested. Even if you were frustrated and moody, you couldn’t bring yourself to make something you weren’t proud of. 

“Where’s my seat sweetheart?” He asked, before taking a pause. “What do you mean who else?” He asked, cocking his head to the side. 

“What do you mean ‘where’s my seat’?” You mocked, doing a poor imitation of his gruff voice. 

“Okay, you’ve gotta catch me up here, sweetheart because I clearly missed something.” 

“Wouldn’t wanna cling on too hard, are you sure you want me to do that?” You snarked, dropping the bouquet on the table and storming over to him, poking your finger into his chest. “I heard the both of you complaining about me last week.” 

Logan’s hand wrapped around yours, drawing it closer to his chest. “I was coming in here to apologize for being gone for a week. But I’m happy to double the order to make up for the confusion. If my math is right, bub, you overheard me complaining about that fucking dog insisting on sleeping on my bed. Even after I told Wade to keep her out of my room.” 

“You love her.” 

“Yeah, you know me too well sweetheart.” 

You smiled up at him, soaking in the warmth of having him this close, when something clicks in your head. “Are you telling me that you waltzed in here and asked me to make my own apology flowers?” If you hadn’t already decided he was off the hook, the way his mouth turned down into a little pout would have sealed the deal. 

He hesitates for a few moments, eyes glancing around the shop seemingly in search of an answer. “Didn’t want to give the business to someone else.” He shrugged, bashfully.  

Against your better judgement, a few giggles slipped past your lips, which had been firmly pressed together. A few more, and then you were laughing so hard you were having trouble breathing. You leaned your head against his chest, taking measured deep breaths to curve the laughter “I can’t believe this,” you gasped, wiping a few tears away that had spilled onto your cheeks.  You grinned up at him through the tears, taking in the way his eyes warmed when he smiled. 

“Could have been worse,” he shrugged, mischief making his eyes sparkle. “Could have gone with Wade’s suggestion.”

“I have to know.” 

He slipped both his arms around you, pulling you in close. “Wanted me to jump out of a cake.” 

You snuggled in close, leaning your head on his chest. “I would like to see it.” 

“Then we’ll have to see what we can do about that.” 

[kofureene]

scarlet nexus is a game that makes me feel smart. idk if my literacy skills just got better or people r dumb and snx is actually easy to understand cuz it is not rare that i get absolutely bamboozled by how people interpret some plot points

[holydramon]

honestly I’ve been thinking about fic projects I want to do for a while lately. like my digimon adventure au has been living in my head rent free for years now and it’s still something I’m really interested in doing one day even if it’d be very long and take a lot of work.

[astralhope]

(I apologize in advance for the length of this reblog and for my probably nonsensical ramble. I'm very sorry)

It's been ten years since I properly watched the finale, but I was thinking about this recently, and I think that this shows that Astral is ready to use extreme methods and play the part of the “bad guy” if that means helping Yuma. He didn't like to do it, but if that's the price for getting Yuma on his feet again and bringing back his energy, so be it, even if this would have brought the risk of making everyone hate him, of making Yuma hate him.

Simply asking Yuma to duel against him probably wouldn't have worked, since it was through duels that Yuma had lost most of his friends, so Astral needed a way to make sure that Yuma would duel against him. Because there was a very high chance that, after everything that had happened, Yuma would have never dueled again, and Astral didn't want him to give up his favorite thing and his Kattobing. He knew that saying that would make Yuma fight him with all his strength, and in that way, he would have remembered his love for dueling and their promise, and that was Astral wanted, even if that would have hurt both of them in the beginning. And it's bad, of course it's bad that Astral had lied to him, even if his intentions were good, but I think that this was the only way he could think of to help Yuma (even if the method he used wasn't the best).

In that so out of character phrase you can see how much Astral was ready to go against the person he was until now (because Astral would have never hurt Yuma on purpose like that), to risk everything they had built until that moment for a chance to bring back Yuma's energy. He put up an act and lied for the first time in order to duel against Yuma because he wanted to shake off the sadness that was weighted on Yuma's heart during that same duel (that's why, during the duel, Astral urged Yuma to remember their promise and also why he dropped the act when Yuma understood what Astral was trying to do).

Most of Astral's choices were made for Yuma's well-being, and this one is not really different, even if, again, the method wasn't the best, and I'm sure that Astral wasn't happy at all about lying to Yuma, even if it was his idea. All of this, the lie, the act, the duel, Astral had done that because he cared about Yuma most than anything, and he couldn't just leave Yuma in that state.

(I don't remember the Kazuma's scene really well, but I don't find hard to believe that he had pushed Astral in that choice. And when Astral asked Kazuma if he was okay with him breaking Yuma's heart, I can't help but believe that Astral's heart was breaking as well)

I have to admit that it still hurts me that Yuma really believed Astral's words after everything they went through together, since the way Astral had acted in that scene clashed against how the way Astral acted until that moment (especially because some time before Astral had said to Yuma that he wanted to leave behind the proof of his existence in Yuma's memory) and the fact that Yuma wasn't very suspicious about all of this is weird to me, he should knew Astral better than anyone, but it is also true that all the events that have led to that situation were still heavy on his heart and mind, so I understand why Yuma hadn't been able to see it until the duel (take this paragraph with a grain of salt because I don't remember if in the episode Yuma really doubted Astral's words, so please correct me if I'm mistaken. I also want to make clear that I'm not criticism Yuma in any way, it's just that it makes me sad that he really believed Astral would have done something like that).

And about Vector, I still think that the two situations aren't really comparable and that if Vector wouldn't have force the hand while Yuma and Astral were forming Zexal, Astral wouldn't have been corrupted, and that all that situation wasn't just Astral being mad at Yuma because Yuma had lied to him (I mean, it was mostly that, but there were other stuff as well that I think we should take in consideration), but this is an argument for another time, because I have already ramble enough, I haven't rewatch Sargasso yet and I can talk about one anxiety-inducing argument about Astral only one at time 'cause my mind can't take more than one at once.

I'm very sorry for the long ramble, I hope it makes sense somehow, and I know that I should have rewatched the episodes before speaking... but the ending is just too painful for me to watch. Sorry again for all of this.

as an Astral lover, genuinely curious about people’s take on this

cause to me, I am kinda baffled by the sheer audacity of Astral pulling this insane manipulative lie ( no matter how “good intentioned”, it was still a lie, and a manipulation. Cause we learn later he it was just a trick to ensure Yuma dueled him and got his “kattobingu” spirit back )

It just seems so??? Out of character???

And especially after he had such a literal conniption regarding Vector's similar tricks and manipulative lies ??

[chaosandmarigolds]

yeah yeah Simon Riley with an equally badass partner sounds great but-

pre-k teacher?

Simon swore he had never seen something so...perfect in his life, and he had seen something pretty amazing things for all of the horrible things

Simon who is pretty certain he isn't good for you, after all he towers over you and whenever he does come by to help Price with a bake sale the kids stare up at him as if he's quite literally...a ghost

Simon and all of his scariness that melted away when you smiled up at him, a sweet thank you on your lips as you took the box to help clean out your classroom for the summer

Simon who told price he would find a way home on his own so he could stay to help you get all of the decoration down from the walls and get everything packed away

Simon who would snatch something he deemed too heavy with a hoarse, 'I gotchit, luv' not even realizing the pet name slipped out because it felt so...natural

Simon even though he tried to make your son sit on the small patch of carpet and keep him entertained with his book- he ended up becoming a playgym and babysitter while you did most of the heavy lifting

Simon who found your son to actually be pretty neat, unlike a lot of other children, telling the kid very censored versions of his time in the war as the little guy sat atop of his shoulders

Simon tried to very politely decline the dinner invitation (plus ride home) once the room was all packed up but gave in when you aptly took his hand and began to drag him to your car

Simon sat in the passenger seat as you apologized for the toy car that lay in the seat as you buckled your son into his car seat, smiling at the small photo that sat snug on the car screen

Simon encouraged the boys to sing along to the obscure children's song while you scolded him for it in the form of a light pat on the leg as you drove to the nearest child friendly restaurant (chick-fil-a or something along those lines)

Simon who paid for the dinner against your many denials and used it as the perfect excuse to hold your hand as he tapped the card against the reader

Simon who watched in wonder as you helped your son get his little boots untied so he could go play in the play area, your delicate hands and smile upon your perfect face...

Simon listened intently to everything you rambled about, from the happiness of teaching and why you chose it to your son and how he was the greatest blessing in disguise you had been given- funny, because he thought that about you

Simon when he heard that you would have to find a nanny for your son for over the summer since you'll need a second job wouldn't let that be for even a millionth of a second

''ll watch 'em, luv."

"Simon, that's so kind bu-"

"No buts, like the lil' guy, no problem."

Simon who does like the little boy you call your son, but who was mainly using the free babysitting as a reason to see you

Like it?? Part two is right Here!

[goldfades]

★ DOWN BAD ─── PB⁵ ft. UCONN WBB MANAGER

❪ requested -> "Paige would totally bring manager y/n to Minnesota so that she can meet Paige’s family. Paige ofc would introduce her as a “friend” at first. Manager and Paige’s family would hit it off. Especially with Drew. They both would bully Paige and Drew would expose Paige by saying sum shit like ‘Paige’s talks about you a lot’. Paige would give the biggest side eye 😭 though deep down she loves that her brother and manager are bonding." ❫

─ pairing | paige bueckers x fem!reader

─ warnings | just some banter and fluff, nothing else!

⇨ missing out on updates? check out my wcbb masterlist!

YOU AND PAIGE WERE laying on her bed, listening to Drew's rambles about the school project he was doing. Paige kept sending amused glances your way, however she quickly noticed how enamored you were with Drew's story.

You were spending a few weeks in Minnesota with Paige because she insisted you had to meet her family. However, it wasn't a meeting your family thing, it was more of introduction to the idea. It was easier for both of you that way, the pressure was off and it was simply just another vacation. Being in Minnesota with Paige felt comfortable and familiar, even though it was your first time meeting her family.

As Drew animatedly recounted his project, you couldn't help but be captivated by his enthusiasm. His passion for the matter was contagious, and you found yourself getting drawn into his story despite your initial intention to just be a supportive listener. Paige noticed the spark in your eyes as you listened to her little brother, and she couldn't help but smile at the sight.

Paige watched how you nodded with every word, and occasionally threw in your own thoughts about the project, it was adorable ─ you were completely engrossed in the conversation and she was completely engrossed in you.

"Paige, are you even listening to me?" Drew's voice echoed as Paige was pulled out of her trance, her gaze slowly moving back to Drew.

Paige kept smiling as she glanced back at you. "What? Y/N's listening, isn't that enough?"

"You could at least look at me, y'know," he sighed dramatically as you finally caught her affectionate gaze.

A blush slowly began to rise on your face, mirroring the warmth in Paige's eyes. You tried to refocus on Drew, but the intensity of Paige's gaze made it hard to concentrate.

You shifted slightly, meeting Drew's gaze with a bashful smile. "Sorry, Drew," you apologized, your cheeks tinted with a warm hue. "What were you saying?"

Drew rolled his eyes playfully but couldn't hide the smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "Nothing, it's okay. I can see you're more interested in looking at each other."

"Drew!"

You laughed as you shook your head, Paige sending her little brother a playful glare. "I guess attitude does run in the family,"

"Yeah, I guess it does." Paige smiled as she nudged you gently, a silent exchange of affection passing between you.

Drew watched the interaction with amusement, groaning in mock exasperation. "I knew Paige was gonna be distracted when you visited but not to this extent," he muttered as Paige kept glaring at her little brother.

Your eyebrows flew up as you smirked, sending Paige a glance. "Oh really?"

"Yeah well she's kinda obsessed with you. Every time we call, not only do I have to hear about her problems but yours too, I feel like I already know you even though we met like two days ago," Drew explained as he leaned back on the bed, feigning a dramatic sigh. "She talks about you so much, Y/N this, Y/N that-"

"Shut up, bro," Paige groaned loudly as you laughed along with Drew, finding his teasing both amusing and endearing.

Drew grinned mischievously, clearly reveling in his sister's reaction. "What! It's true, you can't even deny it."

Paige shot Drew a mock glare before turning to you, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment but her eyes sparkling with amusement. "I swear he's exaggerating."

You chuckled, reaching out to gently squeeze Paige's hand. "It's okay, P, we know you're a little down bad for me."

Paige's jaw dropped but before she could respond, Drew sighed loudly before responding. "Yeah, yeah everyone knows that, can we get back to my project?"

"Whoa, whoa let's backtrack. Me? Down bad?" Paige exclaimed, shooting you a playful look. "You wish, Y/N."

You couldn't help but laugh at Paige's reaction, enjoying the playful teasing between the three of you. "Don't worry, P. It's a good thing, right Drew?" you reassured her with a grin.

Drew nodded with a grin as he joined in on the teasing. "Yeah, definitely a good thing. From what I've heard, which is a lot, trust me," he paused for dramatic effect. "Trust me, you do a lot for the team so it's obvious Paige's gonna be in love with you."

You and Paige both bursted out laughing at Drew's exaggerated commentary, unable to contain your amusement at his antics.

Paige playfully swatted at Drew's arm, a mixture of embarrassment and amusement coloring her cheeks. "Oh my god, Drew, stop exposing me,"

You grinned, feeling a warm sense of warmth with both Paige and her brother. "I think Drew might be onto something, P," you teased, nudging Drew gently. "But don't worry, your secret's safe with us."

Paige rolled her eyes, but there was a playful sparkle in them that belied her protests. "You two are crazy," she said with a laugh, leaning in to bump shoulders with you affectionately.

As Drew began talking about his project (which slowly turned into Fortnite), you kept listening intently as Paige rested her head against your shoulder. You both exchanged glances every one in a while, a soft smile on your faces as you shared this comfortable moment together.

↳ make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated !

↳ thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[verstappen-cult]

# PINING IN ANTICIPATION | MV1

Neither you nor Max know how it started but it made you feel better and that was enough for him.

Pairings: Max Verstappen x Fem!Reader. Content Warnings: +18, cursing, smut, unprotected sex, cockwarming, a lot of feelings, hurt/comfort.

Gwen’s radio message. . . 💬 : okay, so, this was gonna be a porn without plot kinda drabble but this thing came out instead. please don’t expect anything fancy because i really suck at writing smut.

Max opens the door before you could even start to question yourself.

He’s surprised to see you knocking on his door at two in the morning. You start to regret coming to him when you see him rub the sleep from his eyes. “Y/N? What are you doing here?” You look down, choking on a sob. “Hey, hey, what happened?”

Max is by your side in a second, wrapping an arm around your waist to guide you inside his apartment. He doesn’t let you go until you’re sitting comfortable on the couch, tucking your legs beneath you. 

“Did something happen?” 

“Had an awful fight with mom,” You fidget with your fingers, the corners of your eyes already filled with tears. “she said really mean things.”

Max reaches out and grabs your hand, thumb caressing the inside of your wrist. It’s not the first time something like this has happened, he’s very familiar with the relationship you have with your mother because it is pretty much the same relationship he has with his father. Actually, when you first met, you bonded over the awful parents and experiences you had as kids. 

“Couldn’t stay home alone.” You say, shyly. “I’m sorry for coming at this hour.”

“Don’t worry about that.” 

The silence stretches between you two. Max looks carefully as you get lost inside your head, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular. He can almost hear your thoughts. He knows what you need, the only thing that makes you feel better and gets you out of your head. 

Max doesn’t know exactly how it happened. One moment you’re in the brink of an anxiety attack and then, in the blink of an eye, you’re sitting on his cock, face buried into the side of his neck as he rubbed your back up and down.

It wasn’t sex because you didn't kiss, there wasn’t some awfully awkward dirty talk and neither of you came at the end — well, not that you know. If Max had to lock himself in the bathroom after you fell asleep because he was still so painfully hard, it’s definitely not something you need to know; he still feels disgusting and will take that secret to the grave. 

You didn’t talk to each other for at least two weeks after that. Max wanted to reach out but you were ignoring him, and he wanted to give you space to sort your head out. And when one day you sat down next to him and started to apologize and ramble about not wanting to lose him because he’s just so important in your life, Max was finally able to relax because you were fine. Everything was fine. 

You had a long conversation. And it was that day when Max learnt that what you did was called cockwarning and it was actually something people do to feel better. For you, it was about feeling physically as well as emotionally close with the other person, so, that is why it was so easy for you to do it with Max, you felt safe and you trust him. You also explain to him how, when things are just too much, feeling that deep pressure inside of you as well as the warmth emanating from a body under yours is, somehow, enough to stop your mind from reeling with questions, and feelings, and emotions. 

Max actually googled it. He opened an incognito tab and typed the words. He doesn’t know how much time he spent reading about experiences and actual studies about something that he had never heard of before. But it was like you said—many people do it because they feel safe that way, others because they don't want to think and it’s the only way they can relax and go into something called sub-space — Max didn’t do research on that because it was too much information and he just couldn’t handle it — while others do it just because they like it, no real meaning behind. 

You promised it wouldn’t happen again.

And, well, you should’ve known better. 

After the second time, you came to an agreement. Max would help you because he’s that good of a friend and cares about you. And because he didn’t want you to be looking for somebody else who could help you if you already felt safe with him. 

He never found it weird, and you appreciate that. 

So, now everytime you feel overwhelmed and can’t get out of your head on your own, Max is there to help you. Even if all you want is to just sit on somebody’s cock and pass the time, relax. He doesn’t care. 

It’s good that after the second time he was able to gain some control and not embarrass himself and you in the process. Max still feels like, one way or another, he’s taking advantage of you and you’ve lost count of how many times you’ve had to assure him that it is not like that and if you ever feel uncomfortable you will tell him. 

“Y/N?” He rubs the palm of your hand but you don’t look at him. You don’t react, not when he lets go of your hand and kneels in front of you and not even when he cups your cheek with his hands. “Hey, Y/N, I need you to get out of that pretty head of yours. Could you do that for me?” Max sighs in relief when he finally sees your gaze focusing on his face after what feels like hours. “There we go, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

The corners of your mouth go up to form a sad smile. 

“You need my help?” Max asks, thumbs caressing your cheekbones. You nod, but that isn't enough. “You know we don’t work like that. I need words.”

It’s not the first time that the way he speaks to you sends a shiver down your spine. You’ve just become pretty good at ignoring it. 

“Yes,” You breathe out, closing your eyes to center yourself and stop the whine threatening to leave your lips. “I need you.” 

“Good,” He almost says Good girl, but holds his tongue. “You want to go to the bedroom?”

You shake your head. You don’t feel strong enough to walk there. “No, it’s okay. We can do it here.” You say in a small voice. “I’m really sorry for coming. “I’m fine, okay? I just need to relax an—”

“Hey, don’t, okay? I told you to come to me when you needed me. Night or day.” He reassures you, but you still feel like crying. “You think you can wait for me? I need to go get something.”

“No! Wha—why?”

Max tries not to laugh but you’re pouting and he finds it cute. “I need to get the lube,” Your pupils are wide and a faint bush covers your cheeks, because he doesn’t finger you to help make things easier, even though he has said he’s okay with it, you’re not. “I’ll be back in a second.” He leans to leave a kiss on your forehead before dissapearing.

You hide your face in your hands, breathing in and breathing out just like your therapist taught you. Only when you feel like you won’t pass out, you decide to speed things up by removing your jeans. 

You don’t like feeling like this. It’s almost comical that after all this time, knowing how your mother is and how always will be, she still has so much power over you. A few mean words and you are ten years old again. You can’t hate her, she’s your mother after all, but you’ve tried, only God knows how much you’ve tried to hate her and not come back running back to her when she tells you some nice things. It’s a vicious cycle that not even with therapy you’ve been able to stop.

When Max comes back he finds you sitting on the couch only in your underwear. You avoid making eye contact, feeling a little embarrassed for not wearing your cute lingerie. You chastise yourself for going there because this is not about sex, and it’s definitely not the first time that Max has seen you like this. 

When you look up, he’s already watching you. “You okay?” You nod, not trusting your voice. 

You break eye contact when Max moves his hands toward the waistband of his sweatpants. 

“You need help?” 

You see Max smiling from the corner of your eyes. “No, I already took care of that.”

Max is quick to shove his sweatpants down his thighs and join you on the couch. He pats his thighs and opens his arms for you, and you’re immediately moving to straddle his lap. You steady yourself grabbing Max’s shoulders, hovering over his lap and looking up to the ceiling as he busies himself opening the lube and dripping some over his cock. 

Your heart skips several beats as you look down to find him stroking himself to spread the lube. You’ve seen him do the same thing at least four times but you still feel like passing out every time you see his big and skilled hand move. Not for the first time you let yourself wonder how would his fingers feel inside of you. 

Max grabs your waist with one hand and uses the other to run the tip of his cock through your folds. You close your eyes and stop breathing as he, finally and slowly, sinks into you. You bite your lips trying to get used to the stretch, Max rubs circles on your lower back as he lets you adjust. You’ve done this quite a few times but you’re still not used to it. 

“You can—” You sigh, opening your eyes but Max is not looking at you. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He focuses his attention back on you, and smiles. You try to smile but your expression changes when you move all the way down, a whimper leaving your lips at finally having his cock buried deep inside of you. 

Max groans, grabbing your waist with more force than normal before letting go and, instead, grabbing the cushions by his sides. 

You lose the grip and wrap your arms around his neck, immediately resting your head on his shoulder and relaxing against his body. “Thank you.”

Max makes a weird noise, but you feel him nod. He lifts his hands and places them on your waist, fingers already caressing your back, sides and neck. 

Max turns his head just enough to be able to leave a kiss on your cheek before going back to his initial position. He reaches for the remote and turns on the TV, choosing to put on some comedy film as a background. 

The only thing you can feel and think about is his cock inside of you, making you feel so full, and the warmth emanating from his body, grounding you and, at the same time, making you feel like you’re floating around. There are no bad thoughts, you’re not thinking about the fight you had with your mom anymore. 

You’re not actually too lost inside your head, the walk to Max apartment helped you clear your mind a bit. You’re still a little shocked by the words and things your mother did, definitely, but once you reached Max building, you were feeling a lot better. If you ended up coming up anyway, well, Max offered to let you sit on his cock overwhelmed or not and you wouldn’t let that offer pass. You don’t know how much time you have together because one of these days Max can find a girlfriend and you will have to go out and look for somebody as understanding as your friend. 

The mere thought of Max with another girl makes you want to throw up. So, you shut your thoughts off. 

You don’t know how much time passes, but your legs start to feel numb and your back hurts, so you shift your weight which makes Max whine, cock twitching inside of you. 

“Sorry.” You whisper, stopping your movements. 

“No, it’s—just,” Max closes his eyes tightly, and you can see a drop of sweat slipping down his forehead. “You just—” He groans, unable to say what he so badly wants. 

You move from your place on his shoulder, eyebrows raised in confusion. “What?”

“Nothing,” Max’s voice is hoarse and the smiles he gives you don't reach his eyes. “Just—lie back down, come on.” He pats your back but you don’t move. 

“Max, tell me.” He shakes his head, dropping his head on your shoulder. “Max, it’s me.”

He sighs, straightening up. His sudden movement makes you both moan. 

“It’s just that,” He takes a deep breath and looks you straight in the eye. “You feel really good.”

His confession makes you want to close your legs which, for obvious reasons, you can’t. You feel your face burning but try to play it cool, like his words didn't have an effect on you. 

“Well, I mean, your cock is inside of me,” 

Max's laugh is strained. “Yeah… I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable because of this. If you want we can stop and I—”

“Max,” You cup his jaw, feeling the stubble under your palm. “I’m good.”

Max closes his eyes again, this time letting his head fall backwards against the couch. “You know the first time we did this,” He swallows, and you’re mesmerized by the way his Adam's apple bobs. How would it feel to kiss it? “I, God I can’t believe I’m going to say this out loud.”

“Max, come on. Just say it.” You let your fingers fall from his jaw all the way to his neck, just above his Adam’s apple. You can feel under your fingertips how it moves when he swallows again. 

“You will think I’m a perv,” He opens one eye, when you smile reassuringly he opens both. “Please don’t think I’m some kind of pervert but… I had to lock myself in the bathroom to,” He shrugs, doing the movement with his fist. 

“What?” You tilt your head. 

“To jerk off!” He says, frustrated. One of his hands leaves your waist to put it over his eyes.

You blink at Max. 

He looks back at you between his fingers.

His confession makes you feel that something you’ve been trying to ignore ever since that first night. 

“That is totally normal.” You don’t want him to feel bad, so reassuring him that it’s okay is actually the only thing you can do. “As I said, you’re buried inside of me, if you didn’t feel anything then that’s a problem.”

Max sounds a little more relaxed when he laughs again. 

But then there’s silence and eye contact. The only sound in the room coming from the TV and your heavy breathing. 

You feel that shiver running down your spine again, desire pooling in the pit of your stomach. 

“I’m sorry, I’m making this all awkward.”

“No, no. It’s good.”

Max raises his eyebrows in question. 

You decide not to answer with words. Instead, you shift your hips, Max cock impossible deep inside of you. 

“Oh fuck,” Max groans, closing his eyes tightly. His hands grab the cushion by his sides again but you want those hands on your waist, your breasts, all over your body. 

“Max,” You whine, grabbing at his shoulder and feeling how tense he is. 

“It’s okay,” He breathes in and out, just like you were doing not so long ago. “it’s okay. I’m sorry.”

You frown, “Max.” You try calling his name again, when he opens his eyes you can see how much his eyes have darkened.  

Max sucks in a sharp breath when you steady yourself by grabbing his shoulders to lift yourself up, pulling almost all the way out and letting yourself fall back down. Max’s moan is obscene. 

“I’m sorry, sorry, oh God, I’m sorry,” You babble, hiding behind your hands. What the fuck are you doing? “I didn’t mean to.”

“Hey,” He calls your attention, taking your hands and pulling them away from your face. Max cups your jaw guiding your face to look at him. “You want this? I need you to tell me because,” Max gaze falls to your mouth and he brushes your bottom lip with the pad of his finger. “I want to fuck you so bad.”

You nod, but then remember that he likes to hear you. “Yes,” That’s all Max need because he’s wrapping his arms around your waist, almost hugging you, and lifting you to pull out and then fuck back in. It nearly leaves you breathless. 

You gasp, grabbing onto him for dear life. It’s inevitable for you to look down and watch how his cock pulls out and then back inside, stretching you so good. 

“Look at me,” Max says, grinding his cock deep inside of you. And you have no choice but to look back up at him. The expression of pure pleasure on his face makes you clench around him, which takes another obscene moan out of him. 

He feels so good. 

You want to tell him how good he feels. How good he’s fucking you but you’re only capable of incoherent sounds, moans and whimpers. 

“Max,” You choke on a moan. One hand leaves your waist and slips under your shirt to pinch at one of your nipples. You actually have to put a hand over your mouth to avoid screaming. 

“I want to hear you. Please, let me hear you.” Max practically begs and how could you deny him that? The next time he does it, you let him hear you. And probably the whole building too. “Good girl.” Your cunt squeezes him tightly as he rolls his hips into yours. “You like that, don’t you? You like being my good girl?”

“Yes, yes,” If you had the strength you would be bouncing on his cock, but you can barely hold onto him as he fucks you nice and hard. “Max, Max.” His name falls like a mantra from your lips. The squelching sound of him pounding into you, mixed with the moans and groans fills the air around you. 

“You feel so good— fuck, so fucking tight.” Max groans into your ear. His thrusts are deep and rough, causing your eyes to roll to the back of your head and nails dig into his skin, knowing you’ll leave marks that will last days. 

Max leans closer and licks a stripe of sweat from your neck and, somehow, is enough to make you hit your peak. You walls clench around him, like you’re actually trying to suck the life out of him.

“Max, Max I’m so close,” At this point you don’t even know if you’re whispering or screaming, but Max hears you either way.

Max expertly finds your clit and, right on cue, your orgasm comes crashing upon you, warmth washing all over your body as Max keeps on fucking you, searching for his own release. 

“That’s my girl,” Max breathes out, movements faltering. “I’m gonna come, fuck, gonna come inside of you.” Max feels his orgasm like he’s experiencing it for the very first time, like he was waiting for this moment his whole life. And he probably was, really. 

Max squeezes his eyes shut, hips stuttering and your name falling from his lips as he spills inside of you. Your whole body gives up. You’re glad Max is there to hold you close to his body. He pants in your neck, both of you trying to catch your breath and thinking about what the hell has just happened? 

“Did so good for me, sweetheart.” He whispers, leaving a kiss behind your ear. He doesn’t move more than to settle against the cushions with you on top of him and his cock still buried inside of you. And you feel so dizzy and stuffed full of his cum that the only rational thing you think about doing is to lift your head and kiss him. 

Max whines into the kiss. He doesn’t care that the kiss is messy because you can’t coordinate and are so tired you feel your body going limp, but he lets you kiss him until you need to catch your breath. 

He smiles softly at you. “That was good, uh? I bet you don’t even remember why you came here in the first place.”

“Oh, shut up!” Max likes making you blush, so he won’t ever shut up. 

“You know,” He brushes a strand of hair out of your face, fingers lingering on your neck. “You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. I always wanted to—“ He sighs, and you lean into his touch. Max feels like his heart is about to explode. “I didn’t think I could ever have a chance with you.” 

“What are you talking about?” You squeak because surely he doesn’t mean what he’s saying. Because that would mean— 

“I’m saying that you are,” He kisses your cheek. “the most,” Now, he places a kiss on your chin. “beautiful, and smart, and sexy,” Max leaves kisses all over your face. “girl I’ve ever seen in my life.” Finally, his lips find yours, but it’s quick and not enough. You want to keep kissing him for the rest of your life. 

“Max,” You whisper, tears in the corners of your eyes. “You—I,” You groan, letting your head fall against his forehead. “You know I’ve been crazy for you my whole life, right?” 

“No, that I did not know.” He’s teasing you, you hear it in his voice. “Well, maybe I had my suspicions.” 

“Max! You never say anything?” A thought crosses your mind and you feel mortified. “I feel like I took advantage of you now.” 

“What did you say to me? You would’ve told me if you weren’t comfortable. And I would’ve done the same thing.” You pout and Max can’t help but think, again, that you’re the most beautiful girl in the entire world. “When all of this cockwarming thing happened, I thought it was the only way I could be close to you. And I was helping you in the process, so I was more than happy with being just that.” 

“I didn’t keep coming back to you because of my feelings,” You start saying, playing with the collar of his shirt. “but because I’ve always felt safe with you. I knew—I know I can trust you. I mean, that became clear when you offered to let me sit on your cock the first time.” 

“I did not do that!” 

“You totally did!” You laugh with your whole body because you’re that happy. But that makes you shift your hips which makes you wince at feeling Max softening cock still inside of you. 

“You good? It wasn’t… too much?” He sounds insecure, you see it on his face too. It’s cute.

“It was pretty good, Max. If not I wouldn’t have let you fuck me.” Max rolls his eyes, chuckling, and you rest your head on his shoulder one more time.

“You want me to pull out?”

“No, just—hold me, okay?” Max makes a pleasing sound, lips finding your temple. 

“Always.”