#I’m not that proud of this but I didn’t have ideas. I wanted to incorporate shulkers but i didn’t know how
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
voiarc-draws · 1 year ago
Text
Tumblr media
hermit horror week day 3; season 5
chasing glory
26 notes · View notes
thatsatricky1 · 3 months ago
Text
𝐙𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 | 𝐥.𝐡𝐜
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
“So let me get this straight.” Y/n started off sitting with her legs crossed on the bed while Haechan was on the end of it head dangling off the side.
“You want us to go as ghosts, by using some cheap white bed sheets on us, but then at the party we take the sheets off to reveal that we are actually dressed as Velma and Shaggy from Scooby Doo.”
Haechan nodded, his face slightly red from the blood rushing to his head from where it was dangling off the bed with a proud grin on his face.
“Genius right? I can’t wait to see Chenle’s look on his face when he insults us for our bad costumes only for us to be wearing a better thing underneath.”
“And you picked Shaggy and Velma from Scooby Doo?” She questioned out, causing Haechan to finally pull his head up from the bed, cheeks still flushed red.
“Scooby Doo is a masterpiece, I will not be taking any sort of negative response in return.”
“Right so you want to match as Velma and Shaggy who were once in a relationship, then broke up and then stayed as friends.” Y/n pointed out causing Haechan to blink at the realisation of how ironic that was.
“Okay in my defence I didn’t really think about that part, but it would be kind of easy for us to act out.”
“Hyuck, the boys don’t know we dated before.” She hummed out only for Haechan to shrug.
“Well technically we aren’t exactly like Velma and Shaggy.” He responded, moving to crawl over to her, resting his head against her chest without any restraint on Y/n’s side.
“Why’s that?” She questioned hand automatically carding through his soft hair.
Haechan practically melted at the familiar touch, eyes closing.
“Because unlike them we clearly still like each other. And unlike Shaggy I’m going to get you back.”
🔎
“Come on did you see Chenle’s face though.” Haechan laughed as the two of them made it back home after a taxi ride home.
“You mean when he went into detail how overdone Shaggy and Velma was for Halloween in the early 2000’s?” She retorted, flashing him a smile when he immediately started grumbeling at her not entertaining him.
“Will you be on my side for once?”
“Maybe if you pick a better costume next time.” She shrugged walking into his bedroom while taking off her red kitten heels that had been digging into her Achilles heel the whole party.
“It was a good idea.” He stubbornly replied following her onto the bed grabbing her right foot slipping her long orange sock off.
“Yeah?” Wad her only response as she took off the glasses putting them on Haechan since they were his to begin with.
“Yeah.” He doubled down while opening his night stand to grab a plaster.
Haechan opened the tiny packet before placing the plaster right on the red area on the back of her foot, having already picked up on it at the party from how much she’d been shuffling on the spot.
“I could think of some better ideas.”
“Well we’ll go with that next time then, but don’t slander our mystery incorporated ghoul busters again.” He hummed out moving on to her left foot.
“Hyuck?”
At her calling out his name he looked up, his glasses slightly sliding down the bridge of his nose while doing so.
“Yeah?”
“Wanna try again?” She asked out quietly, but he knew what she meant, his stomach tightening having wanted this since the day they’d parted.
“Zoinks.”
Tumblr media
𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @rotinyzen @wonyoungmywife @snflwrhaerecs4u @thegreenlynx @serinebsblog @delululi @molensworld @morkiee @marvelahsobx @kaciebello @kgneptun @bluedbliss @haechansbbg @officiallyjaehyuns @bunnychui @audreybub 
(This Taglist is used for all my nct context so if you’d like to be tagged in my nct content please comment or write to me to be added)
𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: Did I make this a bit too goofy most likely, but all of them are. Haechan on that Shaggy and Velma defense agenda.
𝐁𝐨𝐨 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐰:
Tap
𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭:
Tap
57 notes · View notes
jaazzpur · 1 year ago
Text
Morningstar family redesigns
I kinda wanted to expand on my choices for my redesigns for fun
Tumblr media
So first, Lucifer. I really don’t have a lot of issues with his original design, I think it’s fun and fits within the Hazbin universe! I just wanted to reimagine him.
I always liked the idea of Lucifer having curly reddish hair, something about his fall turning his hair red (this design isn’t 100% biblically accurate as it is just for fun), but I toned down the red to be closer to his original blonde since I also like blonde Lucifer, and I figured he’d liked to keep his hair neat so I decided to put it up and take away the hat
I wanted to keep the ring leader theme in his outfit, but I wanted to further incorporate the snake element in his design since I think he’d be proud of his fall (hence why his suit looks burnt and torn, and he shows off his burnt arm, I figured he’d do this intentionally to remind others of his rebellion)
Lastly I changed the entire family’s main colors to purple, as biblically out of the 7 sins Pride is purple and since he’s supposed to rule pride in the show I figured he’d be more purple themed then red, pretty simple🙏
Tumblr media
Next Lilith, I think she was the only one out of the three where I didn’t really like her original design. Not only because she didn’t have much going on, but she also looked really similar to Lucifer, to the point where they almost look blood related.
I think Viv’s choices for Lilith were a bit odd, as she had SOO much potential that just wasn’t used.
I kept her blonde hair but I gave it some tan undertones and I put it up into a semi-low slicked back pompadour inspired by some hairstyles you might see young women have in the early 1900s or late 1800s, but I gave her a little down section that fades into a dark purple and looks somewhat feathery due to one adaption of her describing her as a “screech owl”. I kept the purple theme somewhat like the original and plus she technically rules over pride as well, I would have loved to have given her a red theme if pride was red.
Tumblr media
Based on these different adaptations of Lilith a took inspiration from each, giving her a flame-themed dress and the upper body of a beautiful women yet still somewhat demon-like, I also put some fluff at the bottom of her dress since I thought it looked kinda like smoke puffs and clouds. Her stomach is covered with gold rings that look somewhat like a snake belly, and I gave her a necklace with a style inspired by some eastern jewelry, the jewels on her necklace are each the color of one of the 7 sins which I thought would be a fun touch and a little bit of a “showing off” of her role as the queen of hell.
lastly I kept her horns since she is meant to be a succubus, but I stylized them a bit to look less like those big ram-like ones since I didn’t really like how odd they looked against her head. I also gave her long slender fingers that faded to a black naturally as in biblical lore she steals babies from mothers and I thought making her hands that she stole the children with look creepy and eerie yet still beautiful was a nice touch.
Tumblr media
Lastly, Charlie! Again, I didn’t really have a problem with the original design. I changed her suit color and theme to prides color, put I made her hair curlier and more red/orange like her dads, and I wanted some parts of her suit to resemble his a bit hence the buttons and the back of her suit going out like her dad’s (but a bit shorter for convenience.)
I imagine her being a bit showy so I kinda decked her out in silver, I thought it’d also be a fun mirroring of how her mom is covered in gold. Her shoes are pretty similar to the original, I put a little split at the front of the shoes in the dark purple since Viv has said she has little hooves which I’m not sure is true but I thought it was a fun idea so I kinda hinted at it with that
I changed her irises (is that what they’re called?) to look more snake-like like her dad, and I gave her little horns since I thought they were cute and I wanted her to maybe show them on purpose because she wanted to blend in more with the citizens of hell so they might feel less intimidated by her presence as the princess, that’s also why I didn’t give her a crown :]
Tumblr media
Overall this was just a fun little project I did out of curiosity and boredom, these designs aren’t made to criticize or taunt vivziepop since like I said I love her designs already
322 notes · View notes
Note
Imagine being Ruggie sister who somehow got in to night raven as a student and everything progress on and them as a Ramshackle perfect due to them being a kind person like Tanjiro and strong yet but of a nerd liked Deku with a unique magic of growing plants
What's more she a home maker due to them living in the slums ( like meding clothes, cooking, fixing things as she can, using home remedies when sick and help their bother with the kids at home ) with Ruggie and too working hard to get out of there as they wanted to be a doctor
Let's say due to their genuine kindness Leona, Malleus, Idia, Jamal, Carter and Riddle have a unhealthy obsession crush with Ruggie sister who doesn't share the same romantic feeling and only sees them as a friend
Tumblr media
Ruggie's Little Sister Reader | Yandere Twisted Wonderland
Perfectly built for Ramshackle, you happily take to it despite your brother’s insistence you stay next to him in Savvannaclaw. But you’ve never been one to listen to your big brother and you can definitely handle it. You probably fare better than the original in terms of dealing with Night Raven. Because you know how to sweet up boys with mean attitudes, maybe a little too well:
Tumblr media
Leona Kingscholar
“Look herbivore, don’t try to boss me-”
“Who’re you calling herbivore!? I’m talking to you, about this lazy cat behavior!”
“Lazy cat-”
“(Y/n) please–”
“No Ruggie, you baby him far too much! I’m stepping in!”
He at first really hates you
Like really 
You do all the things Ruggie does just not for him
In fact you make him do things that make him tired
It’s a pain 
But for whatever reason he’s getting especially happy when you praise him
Only for you 
He’s violent with anyone who comments on the work you have him doing
Its the only reason he keeps in your good graces and thats enough for him
“I’m proud of you, Leona! Now come I’ve cooked up some fillet mignon and it has your name on it!”
“It better. I’m never doing my own laundry again.”
“Hahaha yes you will.”
Ruggie is nervous about this but appreciates you picking up the slack
It sometimes bothers him how much time his employer starts spending with you
But he’s not too worried Leona understands his desire to protect you
“Huh?! You got him to do that?! What should I expect, you are my little sister.”
“Don’t act like I’m not the cooler one of us two.”
Tumblr media
Malleus Draconia 
“Ah horn-dude, I was just looking for you.”
“Horn-dude? And you were looking for me?”
“Yeah I was thinking of adding some gardenias, and maybe some vines for decoration. I wanted your opinion since you like coming by here so often.”
“The vines would pertain to a more beautifully abandoned image…but that might just be my preference.”
“Oh thanks so much, Horns!”
His crush is so obvious 
Talking about you often to his guards and mentor
And whenever anyone goes to talk to him he finds some odd way to incorporate you into the conversation 
Trust me its weird for everyone when he starts talking about you during potions when their dissecting magical creatures
he can’t stop trying to talk to you
But he usually ends up just staring at you from the distance
Waiting until your instincts pick up on his presence
And your forced to invite him to join whatever your doing
“Ah! Horns didn’t see you over there! Do you want in? We’re making paper flowers for the festival want to join?”
“I would love to!” 
“What?! Horns?! (Y/n) why are you lettinghimjoin giving him more paper!? I know what I’m doing!” 
“Sure you do.”
Ruggie’s scared out of his mind 
How did you get mixed up with this overpowered monster
He can’t do too much now without knowing he’s going to die
But if it means saving you from certain doom aka Malleus Draconia it might be worth it
Tumblr media
Idia Shroud
“Alright that’s enough!”
“W-what?!”  
“No more games before you finish cleaning your room! Ortho and I can help but–”
“Actually (Y/n)-san, I recently pulled up a study that states letting children clean their own rules helps instill better habits when their adults!”
“Ortho!?”
“Oh great idea! Well we’ll be just outside! Come on Ortho let’s plan out our cosplay!”
“Yes!”
“G-guys?!”
He hates that you mother him
But he absolutely loves it when you mother him
He cries about being in the dreaded friendzone kidzone
But boy does he love the way you pat his head or let him cuddle into your chest
He loves the food you make during marathons
Or how you’ll let yourself be distracted by the games you really like
He gets drastic if you spend too long out of his reach
So he sets up cameras+ 
So he takes any opportunity to speak with you
So he puts others in horrifying accidents
“Heeheh by the time I’m done you’ll be the best girl-gamer in the space. And then it’ll be a given for you to never leave the ultimate guy-gamer!” 
“Ewww keep my sister out of your nerd schemes!” 
“Eeep! An enemy has appeared!”
Ruggie thinks he’s a nerd with no game
But nonetheless he knows Idia’s smart but not street smart
“Hishishsishi can’t set the trap if you don’t have the button! Hardly even noticed me swiping his gadget.” 
Tumblr media
Jamil Viper 
“I appreciate the help, (Y/n).”
“Of course, you’re always running yourself ragged…I wanted to do something for you.”
“...I really appreciate the lunches you’ve made for me…it’s been a while since I’ve eaten a meal by someone else.” “Well just give me a call I don’t mind cooking for you or lending a hand.”
He’s smitten nbyond comprehension
Now going out of his way to hypnotize anyone else into a corner when it comes to talking to you
Its the least he does out of retaliation
He knows all his flirting and hints go right over your head
But your still cute 
Until you do get it he’s pulling the rug out from any and all competitors
“Hey (Y/n), why don’t you join me in the kitchen? Maybe, show me how you made those potato crisps?”
“Sure, Jamil I’d love to!”
“Ah ah! Not without me you’re not!”
Ruggie knows Jamil’s like him but smarter
Sly and sneaky
Powers aside Ruggie’s sure Jamil’s problematic for your safety
“Don’t think for a second, I’ll let you have them! I'm not that fond of snakes!”
Tumblr media
Carter Diamond 
“Wah~(Y/n) you’re so photogenic! Will you pose for me one more time?”
“Well alright. If it’ll make you happy.”
“It’ll make me more than happy!” He loves how oblivious you are 
He absolutely hates it+
But your just so cute 
He guesses he can forgive it 
And hey while your learning the ropes he’s more than happy to keep you close
“Hey hey don’t forget to keep up our streak!”
“Streak?”
“Yeah we’ve been sharing our photos throughout the day of what we’re doing.”
“Yup! It’s a great way to keep track of her!”
“Ick-!”
Ruggie knows he’s slippery
When it comes to tailing him Cater’s good at giving the slip
“Not on my watch. I’m not giving you the chance, to trick my baby sister.”
Tumblr media
Riddle Rosehearts
“That’s entirely unreasonable, I’m not doing that!”
“Grrr (Y/n) these are the rules I thought you would respect that.”
“And I thought you would know to relax!”
He thinks your sweet but totally unreasonable
So he guesses you both have something to learn from each other
You more than him obviously
While he doesn’t think highly of your brother he knows your different
And you belong to him
He’s not going to take ‘no’ for an answer
If this is a battle of wills he’d win it
Even if that means subjecting your bad influences to being beheaded
“Riddle! You can't just put that collar on my brother like that!”
“Yeah I’m not even apart of your dorm!”
“Don’t be mad at me for enforcing rules. I know you know the very least of the rules. It shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that your brother just doesn’t measure up. Which means you should leave him before he drags you down.”
Ruggie is peeved that such a prick is after his sister
But he’s not worried 
He’s definitely not cool enough to keep your attention
Not to mention he’s so easy to anger 
It’ll be fun to rile him up
“Hishishishi so mad oh so fast! You’ll barely survive dating them if your this easy.”
843 notes · View notes
1d1195 · 2 years ago
Text
Traditional VII
You can read the rest of this series here: Traditional
I've heard lots that we're excited about this part, please keep that in mind as you read and try not to hate me by the end of it. Also, a huge reminder I don't know much about business terminology, concepts, or situations.
“Oh, love?” He said quickly right before she hung up.
“Yes?”
“I’m so proud of you,” he told her.
Can you bring this file in? FYI Harry’s mad. Don’t be alarmed.
:( be right in
She hated when Harry was mad. Nothing made her more nervous than when he was angry. She had only seen it a handful of times. Fortunately, it had never been directed at her. She was hoping to keep it that way. But moreover, she hadn’t been an immediate witness to his temper either. In the six months she had been at Styles Incorporated, she had only heard him yelling through Niall’s phone or from an office she passed. Unbeknownst to her, whenever he yelled or got frustrated, Niall did everything in his power to ensure she wouldn’t be around. He did it regularly because he knew his track record with the interns before. But now he did it because he was Harry’s best friend and as his best friend, he knew how much this girl meant to him, even if Harry wasn’t fully aware yet.
Of course, there was nothing to get mad about outside company walls. So, when he was angry, all she felt was worry and sadness. If Niall needed her help mid-meeting and he was mad, then it was dire.
Taking a deep breath, she glanced at the meeting title on Niall’s schedule one last time. The meeting was held for the last three hours of the workday with the anticipation of finding a solution within the first hour. But they hadn’t so it was now approaching hour two. She grabbed the appropriate folder making sure the name on the meeting in his schedule matched the folder in her hand. She had looked over that file with Niall not too long ago. Like an epiphany, she knew the reason for Harry’s anger. She wished she had told Niall this morning all the research she had been doing before he went about his own business. Or at least asked what his thoughts were on what she had done. Unfortunately, since landing in front of Harry and Niall this contract issue had been all-consuming and there hadn’t been much downtime for her to get a word in to either of them while at work. It was especially too late now. She had no idea what they had discussed up to this point. Grabbing the folder off Niall’s desk she hurried down the hall to the conference room. As she was told on her very first day, she knocked and entered. But her heart was beating out of her chest like she was in trouble. She entered in the middle of Harry’s rant, and she made eye contact immediately with Niall who sent her a quick wink to keep her calm. No one looked at her except for Niall. The idea of even glancing in Harry’s direction made her too nervous to do anything.
“— as I’m concerned we can stay here all night until we figure out a plan!”
The venom in his voice made her uneasy. She was so shocked that the man that previously rubbed petroleum jelly all over her body and kissed her like she was made of porcelain could produce such a sharp tone that it made her almost visibly cringe. There were at least fifteen people seated around the large table. No one looked at Harry. They all typed rapidly on their laptops looking for solutions.
“If someone doesn’t come up with something in the next five minutes, I’m going to start firing someone every 10 minutes until the end of the day,” he growled out.
Naturally, Niall was seated beside Harry at the farthest end of the table from the door. He was the only one who looked calm. She didn’t know how he could sit right next to him so unaffected. Must have been nice to be his best friend. She walked slowly. As if she walked that slowly, Harry might not see her. She didn’t want him to see her. She was worried he would get mad at her reflexively. Which didn’t make any sense because it didn’t involve her at all. But it didn’t matter. His anger made her sad solely because she cared so much about him—whether he knew it or not.
“What if we ask one of them to le—”
Harry turned his head like he was in a horror movie and just possessed by a demon. He spoke toward the person about to say (arguably, even from her perspective as a lowly intern) the dumbest thing she could have ever imagined someone saying at this moment in time. “You’re not about to recommend that one of our biggest clients leaves?” He snapped bitterly. She flinched almost imperceptibly at his tone. “What the fuck am I paying the lot of you?” He grumbled under his breath.
Everyone was avoiding eye contact with everyone else, not just Harry. “Does anyone have a semi-intelligent idea, or should I start firing people?” She couldn’t believe how harsh he was. But that’s why he was the boss, and she was just an intern. “Someone better say something useful in the next fifteen second or everyone—”
At the same time Harry spoke, she handed the file off to Niall. The silence was approaching near deafening. “Thank you, darling,” he whispered.
Without her realizing, her anxiety of Harry’s anger proved to be too much for her. The need to find a solution, offer a solution bubbled out of her mouth without her brain’s consent, she spoke just as Harry was about to fire the whole group. She wanted it to be whispered to Niall but her brain, as always, was so wrapped up in Harry that her mouth bypassed all rational thought. It took her a moment to notice it was her own voice speaking. “Why don’t you just have them partner together so it’s a mutual agreement between them?”
The moment the words left her lips, she slapped her hand over her mouth with an audible smack. She closed her eyes and refused to make eye contact with anyone. “I... am... so sorry,” she glanced finally at Niall. His eyebrows were raised in surprise, lips parted in shock. Like he was just as frozen in disbelief as she was. The outstretched folder in his hands hadn’t even fully made it into his possession yet. If she thought the room was silent before, nothing compared to the ear-piercing quietness now. After another moment suspended in a long pause, Niall turned to Harry.
“That’s not a bad idea,” he mumbled. Harry appeared shocked by her outburst as well. In fact, for the first time all day it seemed, he was speechless. His eyes were scanning her like he had only just noticed she was there. Maybe she was lucky, and walking slowly did make her invisible.
“Go on,” Harry said. She could tell he was still wildly irritated, but he bit back his frustration once he realized it was her. That made her nervous in itself; she hoped no one paid any mind to how he lessened his tone. She swallowed the lump in her throat.
“I-I don’t—” She shook her head.
“No, go ahead,” Niall said encouragingly and rubbed his forehead at the same time, so he was covered when he winked at her without anyone else at the table seeing behind his hand.
“Uh...if...you partner them before you ask for what you want out of a merger...then it avoids a conflict of interest,” her voice wasn’t unsure, per se. She was confident she was correct. But she was terrified of Harry. Well...not...her Harry. Not that he was hers...but the version of him that cared for her in some capacity. He would never make her feel stupid or question her.
“Oh, we can’t seriously be taking an intern’s advice,” a woman at the other end of the table said. She glanced at her and could feel her own face warming in embarrassment that she was so thoughtless to say anything.
Harry’s head snapped toward the woman at the other end. Since she specifically did work for Niall, she knew nearly no one other than Harry and a few people from IT and HR. She didn’t even know the name of the woman that somehow took offense to her idea. “I’m sorry, did you have an idea?”
“There’s no way she knows what we’re talking about. She’s not even supposed to be here. This meeting is confidential.”
“Love, d’you have anything to attend to, or can y’stay for the last bit of this?” Harry asked.
“Oh, I don’t have to stay,” she shook her head quickly. Trying to keep Harry, Niall, (and now) this woman happy was her first priority...even if she hated the woman at the other end of the table. The last thing she wanted was for someone to notice Harry treated her differently. “I was going to tell Mr. Horan abou—”
“Niall, is she busy or can she spare a few minutes to stay and chat?” Harry asked, interrupting her.
“Mr. Styles, this meeting is confidential!” She would really like to know what she did to piss this woman off.
“Does anyone have a better idea?” Harry asked. It was silent.
“You should stay, darling,” Niall smiled gently as he murmured the words to her. He stood quickly and gestured for her to sit. He leaned against the windowsill, perched the folder on his lap and flipped through the first couple pages scanning for information.
No one answered Harry’s question. Specifically, the woman at the other end who was glaring at the now empty seat beside Harry. “Then, please sit,” Harry said quietly. But it was really an order. So, she sat uncomfortably. She never left her office without a pen behind her ear, which she was more grateful for than ever. Taking the writing utensil from her ear, she pulled it into her lap and fiddled with the cap opening and closing it quietly so she wouldn’t let it click but still allowed her to fidget awkwardly.
“Please continue,” Niall said from his spot by the window. Harry started pacing the length of the wall across from the window. Near the door to the hall.
She cleared her throat. She wanted to sound confident. Part of her wished she wrote it down. “Well, Mr. Horan had mentioned the dilemma...so I researched some similar cases,” she explained.
She spoke for a couple minutes. People were listening to her intently. She even surprised herself, but she thought of the research she had been doing when Niall mentioned the stressfulness of the most recent contracts and why this one of all things was going to be dire if they didn’t come up with a solution. All she wanted was to help; specifically, she wanted to help Niall the most (ergo Harry as well). Plus, she liked research. A few people had minor questions, curious as to what cases she looked up or how she even knew in the first place of where to look. “Well... one of my professors was big on conflict of interest, so I emailed him to ask.”
Niall and Harry made eye contact from their respective corners of the room. She was too nervous to look at either of them to notice the look that passed between them.
After speaking for so long, she finished her little monologue with a summary. “If my understanding and research is correct, this is definitely more of a legal process and problem we would—excuse me, you would have to go through. What I found, however, if you have the two clients for a partnership on this project, then you no longer have a conflict of interest. You do have to fill out a disclosure form and—”
“And lose a ton of money,” the woman at the other end grumbled. “Why are we even considering this?”
Harry didn’t speak. He was still pacing. He had had his hands clasped in front of his face; his index fingers pressed against his lips. Her heart was racing. Niall put the folder in front of her. On the very top paper Niall had written on a sticky note: you’re doing great :)
She took a deep breath. “Yes, there would be a pretty significant loss...but as far as I can tell by my research, the only other option is to lose one or both of the clients. Which I think would be arguably detrimental,” she concluded and pressed her lips together. She bit the inside of her bottom lip to keep her from saying anything else.
Harry spun on his heel at the sound of her accurate conclusion. For one miniscule moment he held her gaze. It was so brief if she wasn’t so in love with him, so attuned to catching where his eyes were looking, she might not have noticed. “Do you all recognize how this was an actual helpful contribution to our situation?” He asked rhetorically once more.
“Losing money is helpful?” Who spit in her coffee that she had such an attitude? And why was it directed at her idea? Did she not know that a business like this was a group effort? Her heart was hammering against her chest so fast; the idea that someone thought she was stupid made her feel so embarrassed.
“Losing the least amount of money is helpful,” Niall remarked casually looking up from his folder.
“Thank you,” Harry said, and it was a surprised sounding thank you. One that she hadn’t ever really gotten from him. Most of his thank yous oozed with kindness. This one was flat. Like he was trying to not show how truly thankful he was for her.
“Get up,” Niall whispered quickly as he leaned toward her to grab a document out of the folder. He didn’t mean it maliciously and she could tell that. In fact, she was quite grateful he told her what to do because she wanted to run out of there. She would have thrown herself out the window to escape if that meant she could get away from the awkwardness of Harry’s anger and that woman’s anger. She stood and Niall put the piece of paper in front of his mouth and directed his speech against it so it would go toward her ear. “Go get the disclosure form, check your phone. Great job,” his voice was so low, but she didn’t miss how the seriousness emphasized how proud he really was.
She exited around the opposite side of the table as Harry made his way back to his original seat. She left the room and breathed a sigh of relief getting out of there. She could already hear Harry chattering away on the other side. Almost immediately her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was Niall.
HOLY SHIT.
Oh my God...
Oh. My. GOD.
Good or bad?
I’m freaking out!
GOOD. I’M SO PROUD. Bring the form back in, you don’t have to stay, knock and give it to Harry.
Do you want me to fill it out?
Darling, if you fill it out, Harry might not be the only one who falls in love with you.
*
She was practically bouncing in her apartment when she got home. She felt so light, so excited to contribute something of worth to Harry’s company. She cleaned and danced around the whole place feeling like she could truly do anything. Once cleaned, she pulled the laundry from the dryer, and she was bouncing to the music in her headphones while she waited for her leftovers to reheat in the microwave. She was going to fold laundry and snuggle up with a good book after eating and having one of the best days of her professional life thus far.
She emailed her professor back and thanked him for the help, told him how grateful she was, and the advice was so helpful that she really thought she might get a job at the end of the year.
I had a GREAT day! She texted Louis and Eleanor.
Oh yeah? Did Harry finally fuck you?
Louis, can you just...? Eleanor sent an eye roll emoji to their chat. She giggled. Not even Louis being cheeky could embarrass her right now. What happened, love?
So, she sent a few voice messages and told them all about the woman that seemed to hate her for no reason. All about how Niall was impressed. Her professor was impressed. Maybe most importantly, Harry was impressed.
Of course, she hates you. Harry values you and your opinion. She’s JEALOUS. She didn’t want to believe Louis. The idea that anyone would be jealous of her was laughable. But it created a pang in her chest because there was just no way that anyone would ever think Harry would willingly be with her in that way. That he would see her in the light that could possibly make people jealous.
Don’t forget we’re proud of you too, love :) Eleanor replied.
Her phone rang at that moment with Louis at the other end. “Hey,” he said softly.
“Hi, are you alright?” She asked curiously hearing the gentle tone. It was very unlike Louis to sound so quiet. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she listened alertly for signs of trouble.
He chuckled. “Yes, babe. Promise.”
She pressed the phone to her ear with her shoulder as she folded her laundry. “Then—”
“I’m so proud of you,” he whispered. She stopped folding. Her heart fluttered and she rolled her lips into her mouth. Louis wasn’t one for long loving speeches. She only ever heard his big speeches all of three times. Once when her brother died and he spoke at the funeral, the next when he found out how she had been living for the two years since his passing with her parents, and finally when he told Eleanor how much he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and she snapped pictures of him sliding a ring into place.
This, apparently, was going to be the fourth time. “I didn’t video you, because I know you’re probably fighting back tears already, so I just want to say this and then I’m going to hang up immediately because if I even hear a sniffle I’m going to run over there, and you know how I hate running.”
She smiled because if she laughed or breathed, she would have started to cry.
“Your brother would be unbelievably proud of you. Actually, I know he’s proud of you. Prouder than anyone—prouder than Eleanor, me, Harry, Niall, your professor...everyone. You are incredible. Your parents have no idea who they’re missing, and your brother is...wow,” he said simply in awe. She let the tears silently flow and she nodded, trying not to breathe into the phone because she didn’t want to bother Louis by making him run. Her heart ached so badly. Nothing was fair about this moment. Her brother should have been there. But she loved Louis so much for being there for her, for cheering for her when no one else did. “Okay, I’m gonna go now so you can cry in peace. I love you, babe, always and always.”
“Me too!” She heard Eleanor from the back.
“Talk soon,” he said sweetly, and the call ended.
She released a noisy sob and brushed the tears away. Unfortunately, she didn’t cry in peace for longer than thirty seconds. Niall was calling her before she could catch her breath. “Hello—?”
“I’m so sorry to bother you darling, I know you probably just got settled at home, but I was just wondering if you could send Harry and I the artic—are you crying?” He asked. She accidentally let her sniffles get the best of her as she tried to calm herself while he spoke. She even turned the speaker away from her mouth to hide it as best she could so that he wouldn’t hear. It clearly didn’t work. “Darling, are you—?”
“What’s wrong?” Harry was at the other end. “Love, are you okay?” The worry in Harry’s voice melted her already breaking heart. She sniffled again trying to regain her breathing so she could respond but all the words were choked off. “Kitten, please,” he begged anxiety so evident in his voice she could almost taste it.
“I-I’m fine,” she whispered sniveling like a child. “I’m—"
“No, you’re not,” he sounded like he was shaking his head and trying to convince her that she wasn’t okay. “Love, do y’need help? Are y’hurt?” She imagined him pacing Niall’s office. Squeezing his phone and in the right circumstance she believed Harry was strong enough to bend the metal frame.
“No!” she said hurriedly before Harry had paramedics breaking down her door. Or more than likely, before he broke down her door himself. “I’m okay,” but she was hiccupping on her uneasy breaths so much she couldn’t get all the words out fast enough, in one breath, to assuage his worry.
“Kitten, I don’t—”
“It’s just...my brother,” she croaked and let the tears of sadness but overwhelming kindness from her best friend flow some more. The last thing she wanted to do was worry Harry. She squeezed her eyes shut trying to force the tears to stop and she pressed her hand over her mouth so hard as she (very unattractively, in hindsight) snorted around a sob.
“Oh,” Harry almost sounded relieved. She nearly heard the sigh of relief deflating his tense shoulders. He figured she wasn’t hurt and that made all the difference to him. “Oh, m’so sorry, love,” he whispered. “M’glad you’re alright. Can y’jus’ call us back when y’feel up to it in a bit? Take your time, really s’not imp—”
“No, no,” she took a deep shaky breath. “No, I’m alright,” she sounded a little more confident.
“Love...” he cooed again almost disapprovingly. “S’okay. It doesn’t—”
“No, it’s alright,” she sniffled. “What do you need?” She asked.
Harry sighed. “The articles or the cases y’found. Our lawyers wanted—”
“Sure, sure. One second, I should—” she hiccupped on her own breath again but continued as if she didn’t interrupt herself, “—have sent them after the meeting.”
“It’s alright, y’didn’t know,” he answered softly. She hurried to her bag by the door with her laptop inside. Grabbing it she made her way to the kitchen counter and flipped it open. She liked listening to the way he sounded on the phone. His breath was comforting. It occurred to her she had never spoken to him on the phone since that first day at Styles Incorporated.
They were both silent while she booted up her laptop, save for the occasional sniffle. “One second.”
“Take your time,” he repeated. She released a shivering breath and Harry sighed like he was in pain. He didn’t think she lied to him on any kind of regular basis, but he thought she might if she was worried, she would upset him. So, while he hated the idea of her mourning someone so close to her—especially when the consequences were obviously much worse than he would ever know based on her brief retelling of the situation—and he couldn’t necessarily make it better, he was grateful she wasn’t hurt by someone else.
“Okay,” she gasped again trying to regulate her breathing. “Sorry,” she said awkwardly. “I’m forwarding you the email—” shaky breath, “—I sent my professor and his responses so you can see the progression of our talk,” punctuated sniffle, “so you know why I have these certain cases.”
“Thank you, kitten,” he murmured quietly. His heart broke a bit more hearing each hitch in her voice as she spoke. “Have a great night.”
“You too,” she responded quietly.
“Oh, love?” He said quickly right before she hung up.
“Yes?” She sniffled.
“Thank you for the meeting today. Y’did a great job. I’m...” he chuckled. “I’m so proud of you,” he told her. “I couldn’t say it in the meeting, of course... But m’really, really proud of you. I don’t think s’an exaggeration t’say y’saved a huge piece of the company. It was very impressive.”
Her heart felt like it was breaking all over again. “Thank you.”
“Sleep well, love,” once he hung up, she finally released all the cathartic cries and tears she bottled up since Louis spoke to her.
*
As good as her day was after the meeting—where she felt she actually, confidently did well—the following day was equally (if not worse to the same degree) terrible.
It started off okay. She was still riding her good day high from yesterday all morning. Niall was out of the office on many meetings and calls thanks to her. All of which he was grateful they were even happening, and he periodically sent her messages saying he was really looking forward to his afternoon coffee because he had been so busy, and it was all thanks to her. Since Harry stole the phone from him the night before he still hadn’t gotten a chance to congratulate her in person on one of the most amazing meetings he had ever been to.
She always looked forward to coffee. Mostly because she would catch a glimpse of Harry when she delivered his tea to him and after having such a good day yesterday, and impressing him at that, she was really looking forward to seeing him for a minute. Especially before their movie night tonight.
However, returning with their afternoon coffee was exactly when her day turned sour. Her coffee didn’t taste very good. It was minor, but it dampened the thrill of getting Starbucks.
Additionally, her bank sent her a message asking if she had purchased $200 worth of merchandise overseas. “Oh, fuck,” she hissed as she set the tray of drinks on her desk while she replied to the message. So now she had no debit card for a week and she wasn't big on using her credit card if she could help it. So much so that she left it at home unless she was traveling.
But those were still minor inconveniences in comparison to the remainder of her afternoon. She delivered her tea to Harry’s office as she always did at the same time and frowned as he wasn’t there. Not wanting to look like a psycho stalker, she exited his office quickly, leaving the tea on his desk and made her way back to her office.
She never really brought it up around Harry and Niall, but as part of her university’s end of the deal at this internship, she had to write reflections periodically about her time at Styles Incorporated. Therefore, when she didn’t have anything pressing on her plate from Niall, she would write a few sentences here and there on her personal laptop.
But her laptop didn’t turn on.
“Okay...” she sighed rubbing her hand on her forehead as she planned her next steps to buy a new laptop...without debit card access to her account.
“He won’t sleep with you.”
Her head snapped up to the sound of the woman that clearly disliked her from yesterday. She still didn’t know her name. “Pardon?” She shook her head in surprise.
“Harry,” she stated rolling her eyes. She stood in her doorway of the small little office inspecting it with distaste. It was small but perfect in her eyes. To this woman however, it was a garbage can. Her nose practically upturned as if it had the same stench as trash. “He won’t sleep with you,” she repeated.
She blinked as if she had misheard her. “Wh-what?”
“The whole innocent-look on you is overdone and tiring,” she said. “Harry doesn’t sleep with people that work for him. Especially the interns.”
Her lips parted in shock. “I don’t—”
“Everyone wants to sleep with him,” she rolled her eyes. It sounded like she tried and failed. “Don’t think just because you’re all buddy buddy with his best friend and second in command that you’re special. There have been plenty of interns before you and there will be plenty after. You’re not special. Harry doesn’t fuck plain girls.”
Her heart shattered and she felt her face warm in complete embarrassment, but she couldn’t move or speak.
While she trusted Harry way more than she trusted this woman who obviously had it out for her, it was her worst fears said out loud. She knew she was plain. She knew that people like Harry didn’t go for girls like her—especially when he had done this before, and she was already so insecure about how she looked and how their companionship worked. “Just because you had one good idea doesn’t make you special or smarter than the rest of us,” she repeated.
She wasn’t special. She heard it loud and clear over and over.
“I’m sorry,” she said because what else was she supposed to say?
“Pathetic,” she snorted, rolled her eyes, and like a movie, she bumped into her desk and spilled her coffee clean across her already broken laptop, all over her desk, and spilled some onto her skirt. Perhaps the only highlight of the day was that her skirt was plain black, and the coffee tasted bad. So, it wouldn’t stain obviously for everyone else to see with the remainder of the workday...and it wasn’t a waste of coffee. She gasped at the coldness, but she supposed it was better than hot coffee. Make that the third highlight. The coffee spilled from her desk to the floor, and she glanced back up and the woman was gone.
She got up in hurry to head to the breakroom, get paper towels and try to calm herself. But of course, she slipped a bit on the spilled coffee whacking her arm so hard on her desk she was sure it would bruise. That was the last straw.
She sat in a heap on the floor for a moment trying to process the last hour of work and how good yesterday was compared to how horrible right now was. “Hey darling, how’s my schedule look this afternoon?” Niall called breezing by her little space, and she didn’t even realize she was crying and still sitting next to a dripping puddle of coffee when Niall turned back from his desk and coffee to see her sitting there. “Darling, you okay?” He asked nervously. She stood and sniffled shaking her head. Smoothed her soaked skirt and pretended like she was fine not looking toward Niall.
“Yeah,” she sniffed awkwardly. “Spilled my coffee.” She was no snitch.
“Oh, jeez. Sorry, darling. I’ll go get you some paper towels—”
“No, s’fine. My mess,” she mumbled, and she tried to use the mouse for the desktop but since coffee covered the length of her desk it wouldn’t move fast enough for her to click through. “Uh...” she shook her head. “I’m sorry...” she croaked. “My computer—”
“Hey,” Niall said gently, and his voice was closer. He was right behind her. “S’alright, don’t... Hey,” he said grabbing her wrist as she tried to figure it out, tried to find a solution like she always did. “Darling,” he cooed.
It broke her. It was too much, so much of the day went wrong so quickly it threw her. Niall’s quiet voice was kindly soothing, and it was all she could take in that moment. “I’m sorry,” she whimpered.
“Oh, hey,” he sighed and turned her around and wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. She accepted it because she felt like if she didn’t her body would give out. She pressed her hands over her eyes as he held her and gently rocked. He didn’t pay any mind to the coffee that was probably getting on him yet again because of her. Her arm ached and she just wanted to go home so bad. “Shh, it’s okay,” he promised, and she shook her head. “Hey, what happened, love?” He asked gripping her shoulders and pushing her back a bit so he could try and look into her eyes. She shook her head.
“S’nothing.”
“Darling, it doesn’t look like nothing—”
She sniffled more and kept the part of her face covered. “It’s so stupid,” she hiccupped feeling like an idiot for crying in front of her boss.
“I’m sure it’s not,” he said encouragingly and pulled her back to his chest so he could let her cry. And she did for a good minute feeling the slightest bit relief.
But then naturally her day got even worse.
“Niall, I thought you—” instinctively, she ripped away from Niall her face warming as Harry saw how cozy Niall got holding her. Comforting her. She dared a glance at Harry.
For the first time in six months, he looked mad at her. “Sorry,” she whispered to Niall...or Harry. She was sorry regardless. There was nothing to apologize for, but she remembered when Harry saw Niall squeeze her arm. This was a thousand times worse.
“Yeah, sorry,” Niall shrugged. “We—”
“What’s wrong?” Harry wondered but his voice was tight. The air was so tense it felt like she couldn’t breathe. He wanted to be worried. She could feel it. Him asking was a chance to clear up the comforting. She should have just said it. But there was jealousy and sadness blocking his concern for her. It made her so anxious she felt tongue tied.
“She—”
“Let her talk,” Harry snapped. Niall may have been his best friend but that meant he knew when to speak and when to stay silent.
“It’s nothing,” she whispered.
“It doesn’t look like nothing,” he ground out.
“Harry, stop,” Niall said immediately coming to her defense.
“Then tell me what’s wrong,” she didn’t look up, so she didn’t know Harry was staring at her. Waiting for her response. It never came. Her lower lip wobbled, and she glanced at Harry momentarily. Long enough to see how angry he was.
But she didn’t miss the hurt hiding in his beautiful, sad green eyes. “I’m fine, it’s nothing.”
“Your turn,” he spat at Niall. Harry wasn’t thinking rationally because all he saw was the sweet girl sobbing into the arms of his best friend. He was upset about the company stuff, even with her brilliant idea it was still nerve wracking to have so much of what he spent most of his 20s on, in such a fragile state. Topped with the girl that clouded all his dreams upset and crying to Niall...all his irrational brain could think was that they fell in love working in such close proximity to one another. Plus, Niall was often more even-tempered and nicer than Harry was on a regular basis.
He scoffed at Harry. “Harry, no way,” Niall shook his head. “You know—”
“Apparently, I don’t know fucking anything,” he snarled. She visibly flinched at his tone. She shook her head, but Niall beat her to the punch. Besides, she couldn’t defend herself even if she tried to talk because it would be lost on broken sobs.
“Jesus Christ, Harry, don’t be a dick,” Niall rolled his eyes. Obviously if it was anyone but Niall he would have been fired on the spot. But as his best friend he supposed he had perks. “She was crying when I got here. She won’t even tell me what’s—”
He didn’t even let Niall finish. “My office,” he snapped and stormed out of the room.
She had a whole new set of tears flowing and she covered her face again. “Darling, don’t,” Niall rolled his eyes and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “He’s...he’s just the jealous type,” he whispered. “He’ll cool off. “Don’t stress,” he promised and headed out the door.
Once he left, she let herself have a small pity party while the coffee continued to pool on her desk and floor. Eventually, eyes cast toward the floor, she grabbed paper towels and started cleaning. On her hands and knees, she sniffled and wiped up the mess under her desk and she heard her phone vibrate from on top of her desk. It was Harry. Her heart rate increased rapidly, and her hands shook as she opened the message.
Don’t come over tonight.
Her heart broke.
*
Niall was unapologetically kind to her as the bad Thursday turned into a bad Friday. If wearing a skirt that didn’t stain was the highlight of her day yesterday, today it was Niall kindly asking nothing of her and reassuring her every time she forgot some simple tasks was today’s highlight.  She blamed Harry entirely for her restless sleep. Makeup could only do so much to hide the dark circles and bags that accumulated beneath her tear-reddened lash line.
Niall closed her office door to block out the hall and everyone from the rest of the floor. “You okay, darling?”
“He hates me,” she whispered.
“He is an idiot,” he said seriously. “You shouldn’t even forgive him.” She appreciated Niall’s effort, but it was lost on her with how sad she was. It felt like they were breaking up and they weren’t even together. “Can you tell me what happened? I can help,” he promised.
She shook her head. “Nothing,” she mumbled.
She should have just told him about the stupid, mean woman from the meeting. Niall would have probably marched right to Harry’s office requesting authority to fire her. Which was exactly what she didn’t want. He sighed sadly. “Alright, well...m’gonna just give you some space. Don’t worry about anything. Just take it easy...or go home early.”
She nodded. “Maybe after coffee,” she mumbled.
“Sure, darling. Whatever you want. You’ve earned it. Whatever it is.”
Niall grabbed his laptop, his bag, everything like he wouldn’t be back either. “Niall,” she whispered.
“Yes, darling?” He still gave her space not looking even though he wanted to assure her that everything was fine.
“He’s gonna fire me,” she sniffled.
Niall shook his head. “Absolutely not. I’d quit.”
She snorted a breath of laughter. It wasn’t much, but it was something. “Go home and sleep, love. That’s official intern work,” he said.
She nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you dare apologize for his idiocy,” he shook his head. “Don’t give him all this credit. You have made his life so much better and if he wants to be mad then he should know of all people it shouldn’t be directed at you.”
She felt her lips tremble with a bout of fresh tears ready to spill. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, darling. I hope you tell me soon so I can help.”
She nodded but said nothing.
*
She texted Niall that she left his coffee and Harry’s tea on his desk. Then she messaged Louis and Eleanor.
Are you guys around? I’m heading home early.
It’s anniversary weekend, babe!
Shit.
Oh fuck, I am so sorry. Of course. I’m just feeling a little cloudy. Heading home. Have a great time. I love you both so much :)
She was impressed with her hiding skills. Thankfully, texting was a lot easier to hide her emotions. She walked home from the office. It was over two miles, but it would be cleansing, and she could always call for an uber if she got tired.
Maybe go to Harry’s if you’re feeling poorly, Louis suggested. She closed her eyes and sighed, wishing she could.
Yeah, good idea!
She assumed Louis would see right through that given she hadn’t once thought to purposefully bother Harry once in six months. So, she assumed the call that vibrated in her hand was Louis.
“Listen, I’m really—”
“Who the fuck answers a phone like that?”
No, no, no. NO. Her stomach dropped to her feet, and she froze mid step. The person walking behind her bumped into her, but she stood stalk still as the voice at the other end of the line processed through her ear drum. Her jaw dropped open, it felt like it would unhinge from the shock.
This could not be the same terrible day. What came after terrible? That was the word she needed right now to describe the last twenty four hours.
“Mom,” she breathed.
“Your father is dying,” she stated. “Not sure if you care. But thought you’d want to know in case you wanted to cash in on your inheritance,” she snipped. Her words were clipped, clear. Not slurred or confused at all. She wondered if it was hurting her to not have alcohol in her system. She heard the distinct sound of hospital beeps in the background.
It felt like someone was ripping her heart directly from her chest. “I’m sorry, what?” She whispered.
“For the love of God,” she hissed. “Your father is dying. Say goodbye if you want.”
The call ended.
Her hands were shaking. She somehow managed to put the phone in her bag. She was suddenly extremely aware of how cold it was. Or maybe it was the feeling in her chest.
She turned on her heel and headed back for the building. Work was the only thing that was going to occupy her mind but really, she just wanted to see someone who cared for her at that moment. For the first time in six months, she came to the sobering conclusion that she was really alone. There was no one to help her because there was no one that cared for her in that way anymore. Anyone currently in her life would find her bothersome and she couldn’t do that to them.
She couldn’t. She couldn’t see anyone. Niall was giving her space—and in turn appeasing Harry. Regardless of how much he liked her, he was still her boss. She couldn’t expect his comfort. Her brother was dead, and her dad was soon to be. Even if he wasn’t, her dad and mom hated her since her brother died. Louis and Eleanor were her best friends, but they had lives to live; she couldn’t bother them on their anniversary while they were out of town.
And Harry…
Well, Harry hated her guts.
--
Taglist: @tpwkstiles @matildasatellite @jessitpwk @jerseygirlinca @stylesfever @soachibstel1 @tiredinwinter @ameerakane20 @kimmi-kat @avasversion @youcouldstartacult @likeapplejuicenpeach @manrocket-mo @novalunosisting @golden-hoax @harryssky1
I'm sorry if I missed anyone in the taglist. Please let me know if you'd like to join, if it didn't work, if you no longer want to be included etc. :)
419 notes · View notes
disgruntledkittenface · 11 days ago
Text
Tumblr media
Annual Writing Self-Evaluation 2024
Thank you @haztobegood for tagging me!
1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 8
2. Word count posted for the year: 62,372
3. Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction, British Royalty RPF, BBC Radio 1 RPF, When Harry Met Sally (1989)
4. Pairings: Harry/Louis, Zayn/Harry, Louis/Prince William, Nick/Harry/Louis
5. Story with the most:
Kudos: i’m going out tonight (139)
Bookmarks: i’m going out tonight (29)
Comments: When Harry Met Louis (41 comment threads)
6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): When Harry Met Louis. I came up with the idea to write this because I was just trying to think of a rom com that I could make really, really gay. It became a lot more along the way, and I’m proud of the way I was able to incorporate history and different attitudes toward marriage, while keeping it a rom com and rounding out the characterization and story. 
7. Work I’m least proud of (and why): It’s not that I’m not proud of it, but I think I feel the least close to i’m going tonight. That one came about because I wanted to write for the Taylor Swift fest, so I found a song that I could come up with an idea for, as opposed to having an idea that just worked for it. 
8. Share or describe a favorite review you received: Someone commented on When Harry Met Louis that it made them think about lesbian culture, which they didn’t expect, and I just loved that. Writing girl direction has been a journey for me, and that kind of felt like the culmination of it. 
9. A time when writing was really, really hard: I’ve had a really hard time writing in the last month. I’ve been having a hard time with this being the first holiday season without my mom, and then my mother-in-law fell when she was alone in her home and declined really fast after that, and I’ve just kind of given up for the moment.
10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: LISTEN. Everything about I regret you all the time surprised me. I was surprised that I was inspired in the first place, how quickly it came together and how it just worked. #louilliam forever, I guess.
More under the cut.
11. A favorite excerpt of your writing: Honestly, all of A Haunting in Doncaster. 
12. How did you grow as a writer this year: I kind of feel like I grew as a person while writing When Harry Met Louis, so maybe that translates into growing as a writer?
13. How do you hope to grow next year: Right now, I just hope to continue writing. I haven’t been around as much this year, everything has just been weird and off, and I kind of feel like I don’t go here anymore. I feel like because I haven’t been putting much into the community, I’m not getting as much out. But I really enjoy writing and the world building in this fandom. 
14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): I feel like this year it was fest mods for giving me inspiration and a reason to think of an idea and follow through with it. 
15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: When I was outlining When Harry Met Louis, I knew I wanted Harry’s family to be, like, lightly (or politely) homophonic. I struggled when I got to the point of writing the fic where I had to address it, and I realized that I was kind of working out how I felt about my own parents, who I never got the opportunity to come out to as bi. 
16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: I’ve probably said this before, but one thing I love about writing is that the more specific it is, somehow the more universal it becomes. Like the most specific detail you can think of will be the thing that the most people relate to. (Is that even wisdom? I don’t know, be specific if you want to relate to people!)
17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: I would like to be able to write the Harry/Sutton (from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) fic that I tried to start for Harry Rare Pair Fest. Also, I’ve been rereading old Mary Higgins Clark novels and it made me want to write a witness protection program AU. 
18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read.
@uhoh-but-yeah-alright @louandhazaf @homosociallyyours @kingsofeverything @allwaswell16 @louisandtheaquarian
13 notes · View notes
muniimyg · 5 months ago
Note
heyy idk if anyone ever asked u this before so i am gonna ask lol !
which one of your works do u love the most and why :>
not in order
your universe: i rlly liked the concept. its an easy read, characters are easy to digest, but it also had that element of push and pull in terms of their romance. it’s not really meant to be specific and super detailed (again because it’s supposed to be an easy read), so when i recall little concepts like their names (ace & aki), their contact names (fermented cum), and their setting in general was really fun for me. i’ve always liked writing uni au’s but this one hit the spot. i also remember it fondly because my readers were super into it! the interactions made writing the story so fun and it’s how i got close with 2 of my favourite readers 😋
nonsense: god this jimin was so sexy to me. the idea of 2 virgins being each others fwb ,, and then add the enemies to lovers vibe because of academic rivalry?? sounds like a lot but their dynamic jus worked. it flowed so well and even tho the story has the least interactions; i had such a good time writing it. i remember writing majority of it at the airport during my trip to toronto. it felt like i was truly writing for fun and didn’t feel much in terms of the pressure to make it as good as my last fic or to update as consistently. overall so precious to me because of the process!
left on read / close to you / all at once: ok let’s get into it LOL
lor jk’s lore is so sweet to me! like wdym you’re a ppl pleaser and the only person you want to actually please hates you 😭 the sunshine boy x grumpy girl duo is elite to me. the first draft i had of them was made soooo long ago. it was supposed to be the first fic i ever posted but it turned out to be the 3rd or smt.
c2u jk is iconic. like in terms of growth as a writer, i think this fic showcases that. from the way i write smut to the actual flow and pacing for this fic—i’ve honestly never been so proud of myself. not to mention how much this fic was supported. i was literally going thru it, thinking i was done writing fanfics cos i was a) out of ideas b) didn’t think there were anymore readers for me (silly, i know) but it was so interesting to see how suddenly all eyes were on c2u jk. i’m beyond thankful for the readers i met along the way and all the laughs. i felt like i was able to explore more in terms of my freakiness but also push my content quality. it’s also one of the very few smau i have that the texts are mainly focused between jk and oc so incorporating that comedic relief was hehe haha
aao jk i feel is like if lor and c2u jk had a baby. i impulsively wrote and posted aao jk cos i felt like i had to cleanse my mind from how nasty c2u turned me. he’s so funny and comforting, i’m so glad everyone got the boyfriend feels! i also had such a fun time writing it and was impressed with myself for keeping up with the updates and flow. it was meant to be a one shot but obviously it turned out to be even more… wouldn’t have it any other way 🌟
my other faves: please love me kth, chaebol jk (it pissed so many ppl off LOL), and bbydaddy jk… paraluman is pure trauma but has to be on this list because IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW.
25 notes · View notes
words-4u · 2 years ago
Text
calvins or nothing
Tumblr media Tumblr media
pairing: ben chilwell x model!reader; timothée chalamet x reader (platonic)
warning: slight smut at the end (blink and you'll miss it)
wc: 1.6k
a/n: anyone who knows me knows how i feel about timothée so thank you to @halaxxx, i had so much fun writing this and getting to incorporate my two fav things!
being a model isn’t as glitzy and glamorous as people think it is. It’s a cutthroat industry but for whatever reason, you were lucky enough to have landed in an agency that you loved and book shoots that were exciting. 
today was one of those days.
you were handpicked to shoot with timothée chalamet for his upcoming ‘calvins or nothing’ campaign. you were a huge fan of films so you’ve seen most of his work and loved them. you were told to keep a tight lip on the shoot because of timothée’s high profile so all you could tell ben chilwell, aka your boyfriend of 9 months, was that you were doing an underwear shoot. you might have left out the part that you’d be photographed with another man but there was no point in telling him since you couldn’t even tell him who it was.
at least that’s how you were trying to rationalize it in your head. truth is you didn’t want him to be worried about something he shouldn’t be. this comes with the job and sometimes it isn’t the ideal situation but it has been and always will be strictly professional.
you walked on set wearing your cover-up, just a simple bathrobe, before making your way to timothée who stood by himself scrolling through his phone. there was no way you were gonna spend the next hour with this guy being basically naked and not introduce yourself. he was already topless and in his jeans with his calvin briefs showing. 
“sorry to bother,” you began. “my name is y/n. i just wanted to introduce myself before we started the shoot.” 
his green eyes flicked up from his phone and in one motion he locked it, shoved it in his back pocket and stuck out his hand. “yes, hi! i’m timothée but you can call me timmy if you want.”
you shook his hand and smiled. “it’s nice to finally meet you! i love your films, especially your latest one, bones and all? it was phenomenal.”
he began shaking his head, his loose curls moving freely. “enough enough,” he nervously chuckled. 
“no, i mean it! me and my boyfriend were sobbing at the end of it. you ever seen a professional footballer cry at a film? it’s the funniest thing,” you laugh. yes, you had to make sure you subtly dropped the b-word in case the frenchman had any funny ideas.
“oh that’s sick! not the crying part but the boyfriend being a football player. what club does he play for?”
“chelsea,” you answered with a proud smile.
“you’re lying!” timothée eyes widened. “dude, that’s my team! who is it?!”
you couldn’t help but giggle at his reaction. “It’s ben chilwell.”
“ah, what a guy!” 
“i know!” you sighed with content. “hey! you should totally come to a game whenever you’re back in the city. ben would love you!”
“i think i’d have a fangirl moment,” he whispered jokingly. 
it was then that the photographer announced that she was ready and turned on loud pop music. you took off your robe and handed it to an assistant behind the camera. the only clothing item you adorned was a white calvin klein underwear. this shoot was probably the most revealing one you’ve ever done but breaking the ice with timothée earlier took the edge off a little.
you and timothée stood against a grey backdrop and the photographer started firing off instructions. 
“closer together please!”
“yes! timothée, put your arm around y/n!”
“y/n, press yourself against him!”
you moved closer and put your boobs against timothée’s bare chest with only your nipple pasties creating a thin barrier.
you snaked your arms around his torso and arched your back the tiniest bit. “you can put your hand on my lower back,” you whispered. 
“oh, okay,” he moved his hand to your lower back with his fingers slightly grazing the top of your ass.
“OH YEAH, THAT’S THE MONEY SHOT!” the photographer yelled out which caused you and timothée to break out with laughter.
five outfit changes and hundreds of poses later, you were finally done for the day. you thanked the crew and made sure to grab timothée’s number because he seemed like a genuine guy and you were serious about the invite to a chelsea match.
with photoshoots, unless it’s in a magazine or a runway, you never know when the pictures drop so there wasn’t much time to prepare your boyfriend. to be fair there is never a good time for a man to see pictures of his girlfriend wrapped around another man while topless.
a couple months later, ben was getting ready for training when he felt his phone vibrate. he was getting a couple of twitter notifications so he opened the bird app. one tweet he was tagged in read: @BenChilwell ur gf is sooo hot wtf
ben smiled because he already knew that but the smile quickly faded as he pressed on the tweet and saw what they were referring to.
Tumblr media
ben had forgotten how to breathe for a second. he couldn’t believe his eyes. here you were practically naked hugging timothée chalamet, one of the hottest stars in hollywood and one of your favourite actors.
he sat down before the empty locker room started to spin. when was this? why would you keep this from him? did you like being pressed up against timothée like that? did you enjoy it more than you did hugging him?
then rage hit him as he noticed timothée’s hand placement. how dare he placed his hand on your ass like that? didn’t he know that you had a boyfriend?
ben knew he was spiralling but he couldn’t help himself. this was probably the worst time to have seen this (it would have been better if he didn’t at all be honest) right before a full day of training.
he took a few deep breaths collecting himself before tying up his sneakers and heading to the gym. 
you didn't get many off days but when you did, you spent it at home in sweatpants and one of ben’s shirts. your day would have been better if you and ben never left the bed but duty called, the man had training. before he left, ben had made you a cup of tea just the way you liked it and gave you many sloppy kisses so you were content and completely oblivious to the fact that the calvin klein twitter account had put up your photos with timothée and the internet was eating it up.
you had a productive day cleaning the house, getting work done and reading nearly a hundred pages of your book. 
it was nearing 6 p.m. so you made your way to the kitchen, put on some post malone and got to work on dinner you and ben. it was about half an hour later and you were dancing to one of your favourite songs, candy paint, before the music stopped abruptly. 
“wh—oh hi bennny,” you turned around and saw your boyfriend leaning against the kitchen entrance holding your phone.
“i was listening to that, you know?” you shuffled over to him and took your phone out of his hand to resume the song but when you went in to kiss his cheek, he backed away. 
considering he still hadn’t made fun of your dancing and now avoided the kiss, you had a strong feeling that something was off. “babe, what’s wrong?”
“i don’t know you tell me… or better yet i’ll ask timothée, you know, your new mate,” ben’s voice was filled with quiet rage.
“so the calvin klein campaign is out,” you stated.
“yes, it's out. for the whole world to see. and you’re fucking naked!” he was starting to raise his voice which he never did with you. 
“okay, we can discuss this like level headed adults or not at all because i won’t stand for you yelling at me,” you replied. you loved ben with your entire heart but there are some things you wouldn’t accept. “so do you want to talk about it?”
ben rubbed a tired hand over his face and nodded.
“okay, then let’s take this to the couch,” you suggested. you made sure you turned everything off in the kitchen before going to him.
you took a quick breath before you began. “ben my love, i am a model. this is my job. everything and everyone was professional to a t.”
“okay, cool. it’s your job, i get that and i support it, you know i do,"
you nodded because it was true. ben was your biggest fan and supported from the day you two began dating. he catually slid into your dms to tell you you looked great walking down a runway almost a year ago.
"what i can’t support is my girlfriend pressing her naked body on a man she told me was attractive not too long ago,”
“first of all, timmy is a friend—"
“timmy, yeah? you’re on a nickname basis with him?”
“let me finish… second of all, you are right,” you come clean. “i made a mistake not telling you that day because i didn’t want this, for us to argue over something so meaningless. i know now that i was only delaying the inevitable and i am sorry but timothée was nice and respectful and understood my boundaries,”
“boundaries? what boundaries? his hand was on your arse,” he scoffed.
“it was on my lower back,” you corrected him but leaned inro his ear to say, “because my ass is reserved only for you,” 
in a swift motion, ben had managed to pull you into his lap which made you laugh. you ran a hand through his dryish hair. “my ass, my heart. it’s all yours, ben james chilwell,”
he smiled for the first time that day. a relief washed over him hearing those sweat words but ben wanted to make a point. he trailed his fingers up your legs.
“so you’re absolutely not interested in timothée?” he questioned.
“how could i be when i have you?”
“good answer. tell me one more thing,” he said as his fingers made it to the top of your thighs and cupped your heat over your sweatpants. “what about this? who does this belong to?”
you let out a slight moan. “you...only you,”
“that’s what I thought,” he smirked before he captured your lips with a searing kiss. you kissed back with equal force while grinding on his hand.
within a matter of moments, what you two were arguing about was forgotten because all you really wanted to do was be wrapped up in each other.
Tumblr media
hope you enjoyed x
p.s. pls look at this ben chilwell edit i found last night WITH A TIMOTHÉE INTRO?! it couldn't be more fitting lmao
317 notes · View notes
xserenemeadowsx · 2 years ago
Text
Unconditional Love (Chapter 1)
By xSereneMeadowsx
Summary: (Bowser x Female Reader) “You show love through acts of kindness and understanding. If you force someone to be with you, they’ll grow to resent you,” she spoke with a fire in her eyes. “I didn’t ask you to lecture me! You will help me win Peaches back and I will do as I see fit!” He roared with irritation as his eyes glowed with fiery. Y/N is a young woman who works as a singer/waitress in a karaoke bar. One night, she meets the infamous Super Mario Brothers and learns of their adventures. Her world changes in the most unexpected of ways. From meeting a princess of mushroom people to meeting a king of anthropomorphic turtles, Y/N is in for more than she bargained for.
*Heads up: This takes place after the 2023 movie in a sort of alternate universe incorporating potential ideas for what could happen after the movie.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1
The cage swung and shook as the creature inside it paced and growled in anger. How could he, the King of the Koopas let himself be shrunk down in size and caged like a bird? It was ridiculous and humiliating! Bowser, the once feared and proud ruler of the Koopas, grumbled. He was sick of looking at the iron bars before him. To him, they were mocking and irritating. He did have his piano which he greatly enjoyed playing, but even so, it did nothing to appease him entirely. If only he hadn’t gotten lost looking into the princess’s deep blue eyes. The same eyes that showed nothing but hatred and disgust for him.
Bowser couldn’t help himself and be attracted to Peach, Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. As he had previously described to his troops, her heart shaped bangs, her immovable tiara, and the way she would float in the breeze drew him in. Her hatred of him made him love her more as well. He had to win her heart back somehow. He wanted his happily ever after with the fairy tale wedding and to rule side by side with her. He sighed with annoyance when thinking back to the two plumbers that ruined everything for him. They had nabbed the Super Star and used it to beat him down. That was his star! He had taken it rightfully away from the Penguin Kingdom!
He shook his head and mentally spoke to himself. ‘No matter. I will get myself another Super Star…as soon as I get out of here.’ He sighed. ‘Kamek should have been here by now. I’ve been waiting in this darn cage for 3 weeks now! I’m over it already!’ He gently tapped his head against the bars, gripping onto them tightly with his claws as his red eyes closed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In another part of the world, Kamek, a fellow Koopa and wizard to Bowser, had been working on a spell to help free his lordship. He had seen his majesty get taken away as soon as the princess fed him a blue mushroom shrinking him in size. He then witnessed Toad, a mushroom person, picking up Bowser and putting him in a jar. He was horrified and frustrated to see his king be treated in such a way. He vowed to free his master as soon as he could. He needed the perfect spell to sneak in and get Bowser out. He had been hard at work perfecting a spell that would make him invisible and unable to track. It would allow everything he did to be silent as he moved around and figured out a way to free Bowser. He had worked on a spell that could, potentially, help break locks too. He hadn’t practiced the spell for very long as it was new to him. He hoped if he needed to use it, everything would go smoothly with it.
Kamek was very close to perfecting the invisibility spell now. He needed to make his wizarding hat invisible as it didn’t turn invisible like the rest of him, and his clothes did. He sucked in a deep breath and let it out, focusing again on the spell. He stood in front of a mirror hung up on the wall of his workshop, waved his wand and chanted, “Beetle dee do, beetle dee dawn. Make me an invisible spawn!” Green sparkles began to swirl around him from his wand and slowly, he started disappearing. As he stared into the mirror, witnessing his body turning invisible, he looked at his hat as it too began to finally disappear.
“Yes! At last! It is perfected!” Kamek jumped up and down in excitement. “Do not worry Sire. I shall free you soon!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Ah man! I’m running late!” A young woman ran frantically around her apartment as she grabbed her work clothes packing them into a small duffle bag. Y/N knew her boss wouldn’t be happy with her being late. She had only had this job for a week, and they were extremely strict about being on time. She understood that well and always strived to be on time. Unfortunately, time got away from her along with sleep and she ended up getting ready much later than anticipated.
She had hurriedly fixed her (hair length and hair color) hair by curling it and applying basic but pleasing makeup for her eyes. She dabbed on light foundation and blush while putting on a neutral color of lipstick. She wanted to wear something that said natural, but not overbearing. She wasn’t one to wear heavy makeup, so she always did it lightly. Y/N sighed as she made quick work of zipping up her dress and putting on her 2-inch high heeled sandals. She grabbed her jewelry, a matching pair of earrings and necklace, and put them on. The earrings and necklace were silver in color along with her sandals.
Y/N practically ran out of her apartment as she grabbed her keys, purse, and duffle bag. She locked the door and made her way towards the elevators. She would’ve taken the stairs, but she didn’t want to risk tripping down the stairs. Never again did she want a repeat of what happened a couple of days ago in these very same shoes. It was so embarrassing, but she was thankful that someone stopped by to help her stand up again.
The elevator doors chimed open, and she stepped inside. She turned towards the buttons to press the first-floor button. The elevator began its descent only to stop after passing a couple of floors. She groaned as the doors opened and an older couple slowly made their way in.
‘C’mon, please move faster,’ she thought irritably.
The older couple took their time stepping inside, the man helping his wife in who had a walker. Y/N felt bad for getting irritated, but this was not helping her. She was going to be so late at this point. She knew it was her own fault though so she could only blame herself. She gave the couple a polite smile as she made as much room as she could for them. The elevator finished its journey to the first floor. As soon as the doors opened, Y/N bolted out of the elevator and outside of the building to her car. Thankfully, she was able to park her car in a close spot to the building. That didn’t happen too often with how packed the city could get with residents and tourists.
Y/N opened her car door and threw in her purse and duffle bag onto the passenger seat as she then ran around to get to the driver’s seat. Buckling her seat belt and turning on the ignition, the car sounded off and sped away from the parking spot. She looked at the car clock and realized she only had ten minutes to spare to be at work on time. She did her best to maneuver around the cars and to be first at any stop light. Not an easy thing to do, but she quickly learned the ways of navigating in no time.
Brooklyn was a city that Y/N never expected to move to. Sure, she thought New York would be an interesting place to visit, but to live there? She wasn’t sure about that. It was expensive and making a living in such an expensive place could prove to be difficult if you didn’t have a high paying job. She was very thankful and lucky to get such a break. She always loved singing and wanted to try to purse a career in it. Finding out about a karaoke bar called Heart and Soul Karaoke Bar greatly helped her.
Having done research online about the place, she was happy to see the mostly positive reviews from the customers and employees who currently or previously worked there. It sounded like they really took care of everyone and provided decent benefits to the workers. Y/N applied, had two phone interviews and one video interview. After the video interview, she got a call saying they would like to have her join their team.
Y/N was absolutely delighted in getting hired for the job. She knew this would be life changing both mentally and physically. It made her nervous that she would have to move away from her parents and family who all lived in (name of state/country). She had lived in the same area as all of them for so long. However, she was grateful for all the help she received in getting everything moved to the apartment she found in Brooklyn.
Seeing the bar in sight and seeing she only had a minute left, Y/N pulled her car into her usual parking spot, grabbed her bags, and dashed to the door of the restaurant as she locked up her car. She was grateful to have a fob for her car. She was greeted by her manager who stood at the podium with his arms crossed.
“Hi Mr. Winters,” Y/N said with a bit of an awkward smile.
“Y/N. You just barely made it here on time,” he said with some disappointment.
“I’m very sorry sir. I’ll do better next.” She looked into his brown eyes seeing them slightly warm up to her.
He gave her a small smile. He knew she was usually very good about being on time. This was obviously not the best day for Y/N. “Now that you’re here, go put your bags in the locker room and get up on stage. The musicians are all ready for you.”
“Yes sir,” Y/N said with a relieved smile. She thought her manager would’ve been much harsher with her.
Y/N made her way to the locker room, did the combination for her locker, and put her bags in. Before closing the locker door, she looked at the little mirror that hung on her door. She ran her fingers through her hair quickly. Satisfied that her hair didn’t look too wild now from all her rushing, she exited the locker room and made her way to the stage.
Lights illuminated the stage showing the silhouette of Y/N. Her (favorite color) dress shimmered under the lights along with her jewelry. She grabbed the microphone from the stand and said, “I deeply apologize keeping all of you waiting for me. Thank you for your patience!” She turned toward the musician at the piano and nodded her head to him. The musician nodded back and began playing. The violins joined in and soon, Y/N’s voice chimed in with the toon.
The words from her lips came out with much ease thanks to all the practice she had been doing. She spent a lot of time working on memorizing the lyrics. The musical notes from the instruments flowed in rhythm as she continued singing out the words of an artist from many years ago. As the song came to an end, the audience clapped and cheered.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Y/N smiled as she took a bow.
“Sing another song,” a voice called out from the audience.
Y/N got slightly flustered. Yes, she was to sing the song she finished, but then she was supposed to help the waiters and waitresses this evening. “Um, well…” She saw Mr. Winters give a nod of approval for her to sing another song.
“Okay. Sure, I can sing another song.” She went over to the musician on the piano and whispered in his ear, “Play the acoustic version of Iris By Jada Facer.”
The musician nodded in understanding and began to play the melody. Y/N had very much enjoyed this version of Iris. It was very calming and heartfelt to her. She closed her eyes and really began to get into the song and the piano sang its notes out with her voice. The song soon came to an end and applause could be heard.
“Thank you!” Y/N took a bow. “Would anyone like to come up on stage next?”
“I do!” A young man with auburn hair exclaimed.
“Come on up then! Show us what you got!” Y/N’s (eye color) lit up with happiness.
The young man stood up from his table in excitement and took the mic from Y/N’s hands as he reached the stage. Y/N stepped off the stage and quickly made her way to the locker room to change out of her dress and into her work clothes and shoes. After changing, she walked out of the locker room and grabbed her notepad and pen making her way over to her tables.
The evening had flown by quickly for Y/N. Since it was a Saturday, she knew the night would be extremely busy. Customers left and more kept coming in. It was the last hour of Y/N’s shift and she had to take a seat at an empty table.
“Hey now, no slacking off on the job,” Y/N’s coworker Maria said.
Y/N chuckled, “That goes double for you then. Says the one who is also sitting at a table.”
Maria laughed and Y/N joined in with her. “Oh man. I am tired. I can’t wait to get home into my pjs and snuggle under the blankets.”
“You and me both Maria. I am wiped out!” Y/N got up from the chair she was sitting in and stretched her limbs. “I’m glad we only have a little less than an hour left of-“
Before Y/N could continue her sentence, the front door opened indicating another customer had walked in.
Y/N walked up toward the front door, “Hi, welcome! How can I help you?”
The customer in question appeared to be very…out of sorts. He looked like he’d been through a heck of a day. His red shirt was a little disheveled and the overalls he was wearing only had one strap on. His red hat with the letter M on it was a bit crooked on his head. “Uh, yeah…we need a table…please…” His voice only proved how worn out he was.
Y/N gave him a confused look. “You and who?” There wasn’t another person with this man dressed in red.
“Huh?” The man turned behind him only to see he did indeed come in alone. “Oh no! Where’s Luigi?! He was right behind me a second ago!”
Y/N, sensing the urgency in the man’s voice, wanted to help him out. She turned to Maria. “I’m going to help him look for this Luigi. I’ll be back as soon as we find him.”
Maria nodded in understanding and Y/N then turned to the man. “I’ll help you look for him.”
The man smiled. “Thank you! I appreciate it! My name’s Mario by the way.” He held out his white gloved hand for her to shake.
“Y/N,” she introduced herself and shook his hand. “By the way, you might want to fix your overall strap.” She pointed toward his left shoulder.
“Huh?” Mario glanced to where Y/N pointed at. “Oh! Yeah, I should do that.” He blushed out of embarrassment and snapped the strap back in place. Y/N giggled at him.
Y/N and Mario then walked out of the restaurant and Y/N asked, “Where were you two coming from?”
“We had just finished up a job when Luigi suggested coming to this place to eat at. We came from a couple of blocks over here.” Mario started walking in the direction he and Luigi were coming from and Y/N followed behind him.
“I see. What is it that you two were doing if you don’t mind me asking?” The outfit made Y/N curious.
Mario looked up at Y/N who was a few inches taller than him. “Luigi and I are plumbers. We were fixing up a sink for a client before walking over to your restaurant.”
“Ah, okay.” Y/N looked down at him and then something registered in her mind. He did look familiar from somewhere. “Wait a minute…aren’t you and Luigi The Super Mario Brothers? I recall now seeing a commercial with you two in it.”
“Yep, that’s us. Always at your service.” Mario smiled at Y/N.
Y/N giggled, “Glad I could call you for help if it’s ever needed.”
“Anyway,” Mario said. “We’re almost to the house Luigi and I were at.”
It was a little more of a walk and then in front of Mario and Y/N was a tall white condo. It had large windows and when looking at the windows, a large chandelier could be seen.
“Wow, talk about high class,” Y/N commented.
“It is, but the folks are really nice,” Mario said. “Lu! Lu! Are you around here? Answer me!” He was starting to worry more about his brother.
“Luigi! Where are you?” Y/N called out.
“Lu! L-“ Before Mario could continue, a man dressed similarly to him but wearing green came out of the fancy condo.
“Mario!” Luigi said.
Mario ran up to Luigi and hugged him. “Mama Mia! You had me worried sick! I thought something bad happened to you!”
Luigi let go of Mario and looked down. “I’m sorry. I just realized I forgot the tools and so I came back to get them.” Luigi was indeed carrying the plumbing tools he and Mario used.
“Well, why didn’t you call me?” Mario asked, a little annoyed.
“I did try to call you, but you didn’t answer,” Luigi replied. “I really didn’t want to leave the tools behind and so just went back to get them anyway.”
“You did call me?” Mario felt around in his pockets only to discover his cell phone was not on him. “Ah…I must have left it in our car…” Mario looked embarrassed and awkwardly chuckled.
Luigi sighed. “Well anyway, I’m alright. Want to head over to the restaurant again?”
Mario turned to Y/N who had been silent during his and Luigi’s exchange in conversation. “Would the place still be open?”
Y/N smiled at Mario. “Yeah, it should be fine if you two still want to come in.”
“Uh, who is she?” Luigi asked confused.
“Oh! Sorry! I’m Y/N and I work at the Heart and Soul Karaoke Bar.” Y/N stuck her hand out to Luigi.
“Ah. Nice to meet you Y/N.” Luigi shook her hand.
“Shall we?” Y/N asked.
“Yes!” Mario and Luigi replied excitedly.
Y/N laughed. “Let’s a go then!”
Mario and Luigi looked at her puzzled.
“Sorry, I was thinking about your commercial again and I remembered you two had those accents. Couldn’t help myself.” Y/N giggled.
“I see,” Mario said smiling at Y/N.
The brothers and Y/N all made their way back to the restaurant and as soon as the door opened, Y/N led the brothers to a table. She grabbed a couple glasses of water and gave them to the brothers. She then took care of their food order and helped the chef that was still in the kitchen cook the food. Y/N wasn’t an expert in cooking, but she helped with what she could so that the chef and the other kitchen staff could be finished with their closing duties faster. It was much closer to closing time now.
Y/N brought the food to Mario and Luigi and asked, “Do you mind if I join you?”
Mario and Luigi shook their heads no.
“Not at all,” Mario said. “Thanks for helping me out earlier.”
Y/N sat down next to Luigi who sat across from Mario. “You’re welcome.”
“How long have you been here for?” Luigi asked.
“I’ve been here for a week. I moved up here two weeks ago,” Y/N replied.
“Ah. Where did you move from?” Mario asked.
“I moved from (name of state/country). It was…an interesting move,” Y/N said.
“How so?” The man in green looked at Y/N with his full attention. Mario did the same.
Y/N began, “Well…I almost lost one of my suitcases. I was flying out of my hometown and had most of my things delivered by air in the weeks prior. Anyway, I got on the plane, flew to Brooklyn, and landed in the airport. When I got off the plane and went to baggage claim, I couldn’t find my suitcase.
“I almost thought I had gone to the wrong baggage claim area. I looked at the signs to see that I was in the right area. I went to talk to some of the airport staff about my missing suitcase. They helped me out and then, as we were walking through the airport, I happened to spot someone with my suitcase.”
Mario and Luigi stared at her in anticipation as she continued her story. Y/N took in their expressions and laughed. “It’s not like I had anything special in it if that’s what you two are thinking. It just had my clothes and other personal belongings.”
“Ah, I thought maybe you would’ve been like a secret agent or something and the case would’ve had important information stored in it,” Mario gave Y/N a smirk.
“What, do I look like the secret agent type?” Y/N smirked back.
“I would say so yeah,” Mario said.
“Uh Mario, we should let Y/N finish her story,” Luigi said.
“Oh yeah. Sorry about that,” Mario apologized.
“No worries,” Y/N said, smiling. “So, the staff member that was with me, he and I walked up to the girl with my suitcase. The girl was so embarrassed that she made the mistake of thinking my suitcase was hers. Turns out, we had the exact same suitcase! We all went back to the baggage claim area and found hers.”
“Glad nothing worse happened,” Luigi said.
“You and me both Luigi,” Y/N replied. “Sometimes, people will have freakouts and blow up. I’m glad that the girl didn’t. She was very nice about it and kept apologizing to me about the incident. Turns out, she had a 13-hour flight and was extremely exhausted. I would be too if I had flown that long.”
“That’s quite the story,” Mario said. “I’m happy everything got sorted out for you and that girl.”
“Yeah, me too.” Y/N covered her mouth as she yawned. “So, tell me about yourselves,” She was very curious about the plumber brothers.
“Well, what do you want to know?” Mario asked.
“Anything you would want to talk about,” Y/N replied.
“This could take some time,” Luigi said.
“I think it’ll be worth it,” Y/N said optimistically.
“Alright,” Mario said. “Well, we did have an interesting event you could call it happen to us over a month ago…”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bowser groaned as he leaned against the iron bars of his cage. This was all too much. The waiting of being rescued was agonizing. He shouldn’t need rescuing. Trespassers and anyone else who dared get in his way should be the ones needing rescuing. Just as he closed his eyes and let his mind wander on how much longer it would be before anyone came to his aid, the door to the room he was in opened. Bowser opened his eyes and looked to see that no one was there. It couldn’t have been a breeze blowing by. The toads were always heavily guarding his room too. They wouldn’t let just anyone in. What, or who, could’ve opened the door? He tried to peer through the iron bars. Night had fallen and the room was dark, so it wasn’t too easy to see. Especially since the room had no windows.
“Sire,” a familiar voice called out.
Bowser furrowed his eyebrows. “Kamek?” He was a bit confused. He could hear Kamek but couldn’t see him.
Kamek saw Bowser’s puzzled expression, “I finally mastered an invisibility spell and put the guards to sleep.”
Bowser was impressed. “I see, good work.”
“Thank you Sire,” Kamek said. “Now, let me just get this lock figured out.”
“Make it fast,” Bowser said. “My patience is already wearing thin.”
“Yes, my King. I shall work at this quickly.” Kamek began fiddling with the lock and tried to use a few different spells to see if the lock could be broken. “Hmm…this lock is very different from what I expected.”
“Don’t tell me that I’m still stuck in here for another long period of time,” Bowser was beginning to rage. “I can’t take this height and this stupid cage anymore! Get me out of here!”
“I will Sire, I promise,” Kamek said trying to calm the king down. The spell that was still new to him came mind, “I haven’t tired that spell yet.” He looked at Bowser. “My King, please stand back as a far as possible in the cage.”
Bowser had a slightly nervous look on his face but did what Kamek said. He hoped this wasn’t going to be painful. He ducked down and held his head down.
“Yellow bellow light, grant me a key for this lock tonight,” Kamek chanted the spell. His wand glowed red, and a yellow light shot out of it and into the lock for the cage. The lock came undone and fell to the floor.
Bowser, hearing the lock fall, cautiously looked up to see that the door had been opened. He smiled the biggest grin he could muster, “Yes! Finally!” He pumped his fists in excitement.
Kamek’s heart filled with joy upon seeing Bowser happy. “I’ll change you back to your normal size at your place. For now, I will need to carry you.”
Bowser rolled his eyes, annoyed. He wanted to be big again now, not stay shrunken down. “Very well.” He figured Kamek would’ve done what he could and if this was all he could do for now, he would go along with it.
Kamek reached out and gently grabbed Bowser, holding onto him close to his chest. “We’ll be taking my broom out of here. It’s just outside of the castle doors.”
Kamek opened the doors with his wand and carefully got onto his broom while still holding onto Bowser. “We’ll be back home in no time.”
“Good. I can’t wait to be my normal size again,” Bowser said. “I have some plans in mind on how to get Peaches to fall for me.”
“Excellent Sire!” Kamek exclaimed. “I look forward to hearing all about them from you!” The two Koopas flew off into the night with the light of the moon as their guide.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In her room, Princess Peach awoke in a cold sweat. Her dream felt very real, and she had a sinking feeling. It involved Bowser succeeding in ruling over the Mushroom Kingdom and all of the toads becoming his slaves. She was sitting on a throne by Bowser as they both looked down at the toads working tirelessly to build a new kingdom. She hoped it was nothing more than a nightmare. ‘Please don’t be real,’ she mentally tried to calm herself down.
Perhaps she could invite Mario and Luigi for a visit. It had been a while since she last saw them. She knew Toad would be excited to see them again too. She decided first thing in the morning that she would invite the brothers for a visit.
Link for Chapter 2: https://www.tumblr.com/xserenemeadowsx/718697625594003456/unconditional-love-chapter-2?source=share
72 notes · View notes
bleushark · 1 year ago
Text
og spider gang (the laocoön group)
Tumblr media
for an assignment in one of my art history classes, we had to recreate one of the artworks we looked at, so i chose the sculpture laocoön and sons (aka the laocoön group, amongst other names) i’d include the sculpture but yk artistic nudity
i did not need to put in this much effort but it was really fun and i’m really proud of it !
uh more thoughts below the cut cuz i have a lot of stuff to say about this waha
i knew i wanted to do a greek sculpture, cuz they were the most dynamic pieces of art we’ve looked at in class so far. we discussed the use of heroic nudity, and how that technique is still used today in the form of superheroes wearing tight suits. so combining a greek sculpture with a superhero felt so perfect! choosing spider-man was easy, since he’s my favorite superhero. in the assignment description, my professor said we could modernize the artwork. spider verse felt so perfect since the first movie revolutionized animation and inspired many artists to incorporate some of the movie’s style into their own artwork- me included. the idea of itsv miles, peter, and gwen fighting doc ock as laogoön and sons came naturally from there!
while i wasn’t trying to replicate the art style, i tried getting the proportions of the characters down the way they are in the movie, as well as the small, slightly different screentones of each character. i finally found some perfect screentone brushes to do so! if u want them lmk and i’ll link them :D i couldn’t get the proportions exact since i didn’t have time to study the movie, but i did my best using the art book and some screenshots… i still got them to a point i was happy with tho :D
38 notes · View notes
meteor752 · 1 year ago
Text
This is Halloween
We’re just a few days away from the new life series, and judging by the status of a server I’m on and Trafficblr as a whole, none of us are quite ready
But I do what I gotta do, and the spoopy season is upon us, so here we are
I said I would be making Halloween costumes for the kids a few days ago, and I’ve slaves away all night and day preparing this presentation
No but fr, I had fun. Hope you like em
Tumblr media
Liana as Mumbo Jumbo
We’re starting out strong boys. Liana considers Mumbo her biggest financial rival, so their relationship is very, well, rivalesk. At least on her end. Mumbo’s still confused. She probably spent the entire Halloween night imitating him the best she could in a half mocking manner, and both her dads found it hilarious
Tumblr media
Wes as a cat burglar
Because what is Halloween without someone in a tight latex cat suit? Wes was 100% forced into this, and as much as he’s a little uncomfortable, he also finds it kinda fun. Jassy def tried to make him wear heels as well, but his balance is shit. He also managed to talk his way out of the tail, since he already has one.
Tumblr media
Gertrude as a mobster
Well, she is a king, might as well expand on the brand. Absolutely slaying too, I need to put her in more suits. She probably spent the entire Halloween night sitting mysteriously in some corner, “smoking” her fake cigar.
Tumblr media
Johnny as an angel
Cute ironic costume. This was actually suggested by someone in my dm’s, so I thank thee for the idea. The little wings were probably hand crafted from chicken feathers that my lad spent months on, and he’s very proud of them. He’s using the wreath crown to hide his horns as well, they ruin the angelic look. The lyre was borrowed from Novo as well, and he absolutely does not know how to play.
Tumblr media
Jassy as a ghost
Can you just put a sheet on your head and call it a day? Yes. But is that any fun? Fuck no. Chains will be rattling all night, and she’ll be throwing them around left and right. The white makeup is probably crappy af too and will start to come off after like, half an hour, but she still looks pretty fucking cool. Will try to scare as many people as she can.
Tumblr media
Jekiv as the real monster
A lot of Cleo designs incorporate the classic stitches across the skin, and Jekiv does have that as well on some places where his skin has just come off. But dressing as “Frankenstein’s monster” would be too easy. No, let’s go for the true villain of that story, Viktor Frankenstein himself. It’s a bit fitting too tho, since Jek is a necromancer. He’s just a lot nicer to his creations, amongst other things
Tumblr media
Novo as little red riding hood
His gf is a wolf, and the reasoning for his costume ends there. Very disappointed that Gert didn’t want to go in a couples costume, but oh well. The red hood is strangely comforting to him as well, what with his mom and all. He’s girlbossing
24 notes · View notes
azure-firecracker · 3 months ago
Note
2,4,7!
The game is here.
2) Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?
Oooh! Given my proclivity for angst and intensity, I feel like a survival fic might be fun (or a lighter version where they like…go camping lol).
I’ve always loved the 5x1 structure so I’d love to do one of those.
I also love the 3rd party POV trope and think it’d be a fun experiment, especially for txf.
4) How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now?
I have 3 circling constantly (aka daily) in my brain: one is Raise Your Voices, one is outlined, and one I mentioned in a post a while back but haven’t outlined.
In my writing ideas note, I currently have ideas written down for 14 oneshots and 10 longer stories. I also have 8 phrases in there that are not actually story ideas.
7) Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.
Oh how you indulge me.
This is probably longer than a snippet lol.
She heard his sharp inhale over the tape, the hitch in his voice, the tears that were starting to seep into his speech, the same tears that were beginning to flow freely down her face. She hardly even noticed.
“But I don’t know where to go. What can I believe in now?”
“Me,” she wanted to respond. “I came back, didn’t I? You say there’s nothing in the universe that would make you give up on me. Did it ever occur to you that the reverse is just as true?” Scully had a complicated relationship with miracles, but sometimes she thought that there was some higher power– be it God or fate or something else entirely– stitching her and Mulder’s lives together, helping them escape death every time they nearly fell into its jaws. She had no clear recollection of those missing months, only bits and pieces, but she was certain that she’d wished for Mulder during those days, that she would have moved heaven and Earth to return to him if she could.
Perhaps something or someone had heard her pleas. Perhaps It knew that, just as Mulder would give everything to save her, she was willing to devote her life to repairing his broken soul, even if it took everything she had, even if there was no hope of success.
Perhaps whatever was out there knew that Mulder was the only one who would go to the ends of the Earth for her. Perhaps It knew that she was the only one who would tear her life apart just to bring him back.
From Caught on Tape.
I’m really proud of this fic as a whole because it was so hard to write. It’s all angst and introspection and rawness that we rarely see in the show, so keeping everything in character was a lofty task. I feel like I was also able to incorporate things I learned from other writers in here - playing more with philosophy and internal monologues and poetic structure. Overall just a piece of writing that I’m proud of!
Ty for the ask you’re the best🩷
3 notes · View notes
romanceandshenanigans · 1 year ago
Text
Writer Q&A Game
Thanks to @clairelsonao3 for tagging me!
1. What motivates you to write?
I'm not exactly sure tbh. It almost feels like a compulsion. There are days where I simply do not feel good in my body if I haven't written anything. Then there are others where I can't bring myself to write because I'm too tired or too distracted from life. Honestly the second I get a clear head and enough time to myself, I'll start writing.
2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)
This isn't from my WIP, but from a fanfic I wrote a while ago. I want to try to find a way to incorporate it into something. Not sure where though.
“I know this seems like it’s coming out of nowhere,” he said, “but promise it’s not. I’ve had a long time to think about it.  A few years, actually. I guess, I just didn’t realize how deep I was in it until about five minutes ago.”
She kept silent, but the simple fact she hadn’t told him to get out gave him the confidence to keep going. . 
“I meant it when I said I’m crazy about you. I like that you take your sugar with a drop of coffee.  I like how you sing to yourself when you’re happy.  I like that you never seem to get cold.  I like that you never lose your head under fire, but still need me to get rid of spiders. I like that you can laugh at yourself.  I like that you can laugh at me. Hell, I like that you’re perfectly willing to slap my face if the situation calls for it.
I like so many things about you Liz, and that’s just the stuff I found out on accident.  I can only imagine the stuff I’d learn if I started loving you on purpose."
3. Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?
I really do enjoy writing Finn. The boy just makes my smile.
Close second is another OC which I wrote for fanfic who I want to save and put someplace else, Lucy. She's my softest girl who has a lot of love to give. Might figure out a way to put her in this regency setting somewhere, but who knows.
4. What process of writing do you enjoy the most?
The first draft spree. The moment when you get an idea and you have write it down as quickly as possible. It's rough and definitely will need some editing, but that rush cannot be topped. It just feels satisfying to exorcise even the smallest of scenes out of my body.
5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)
Dialogue, hands down. It's at least the part I've gotten the most compliments on.
6. What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?
I've only just started to dip my toe in, but I really do love answering asks. I like seeing other writer's process and knowing I'm not alone. It's just fun!
7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)
I've been using Scrivener and it's really helped me keep everything organized. I have a very conspiracy board way of drafting, so having all my random snippets in one place really helps.
8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)
Not sure world building is my strong suit for this current WIP. I suppose I'm enjoying expanding the world of the theatre, but I admittedly need to do more research.
9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?
Write anyway. It doesn't have to be the scene that's giving you trouble. It doesn't even have to be for the piece you're trying to focus on, just don't get out of the habit of writing. Once you lose that momentum, it takes a long time to get it back.
10. Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters
Gotta give a shout out to @clairelsonao3 for being so welcoming in my introduction to the writeblr community. And @janec23, for being one of the few specifically romance writers to reach out.
But I really can't begin to thank all the people who have followed me from my fanfic blog over to this one. It really means so much to know people are interested in reading anything I put out there.
@flapjacques, @jo-harrington, @can-of-pringles, @handahbear, @auroramagpie, @justanothersadperson93, @sad-cat-hours, @ghostface001, @theowlwhocameback, @mattmurdocksscars, @roruna, @everything-intertwined, @sweetjedi, @arcanerazil, @vibratingbonesbis, @delirious0pandemonium, @llovelykenobi, @geek-girl7, @mixedupanddown
Know that I love and appreciate you all.
I'm also going to leave this an OPEN tag to anyone who wants to do this, and especially invite everyone who I have tagged above. (and
25 notes · View notes
kallie-den · 2 years ago
Text
Lifestyle Journalism Ch. 2
Emma is a journalist investigating abuses of mind control, but when  she encounters Amara, a personal trainer with ties to the elite, she  finds her intelligence and her career slipping away. Will her friend  Mel’s warnings reach her in time? And who is really behind Amara?
Chapter 1
If you enjoy my work and are looking for more, or you want to support me, I strongly encourage you to check out my Patreon! I  write erotica full-time, which means I need your patronage to keep  creating, and my Patrons also get benefits like early access to my  stories, extra stories, and the ability to vote on what I write next!  So, if that sounds good to you, head over and join the couple hundred  patrons I already have :)
---
A little over a week after Emma’s first encounter with Amara Rodriguez, she once again found herself stepping into the personal trainer’s apartment. Amara greeted her, as ever, with a warm, friendly, encouraging smile.
“Hey, Emma!” she said brightly. “Ready to work up a sweat?”
“You know it!” Emma replied, just as brightly. She followed Amara into her home gym and immediately started changing into the bright pink workout outfit Amara had lent her.
This was the fourth time she’d come to see Amara, and already, it was all becoming a habit. She showed up, got changed, asked Amara a few questions, worked out, and left. Emma wasn’t sure how to feel about that. It wasn’t supposed to be a habit, after all. Her interview with Amara should have been a one-time thing. But somehow, every time, she ended up exhausted and disoriented, struggling to remember what she had been meaning to ask. She barely remembered the second half of any of their sessions. It was getting frustrating.
But it wasn’t all bad. Amara seemed happy to keep meeting up with her - just as long as Emma kept up their bargain. Exercise in exchange for questions. Even that was starting to feel like a win-win. The day after her first session with Amara, Emma’s body had ached like hell, but after a week, the benefits of regular exercise had already started to appear. She felt more energetic, less sore, and more confident. Mel’s home-cooked dinners were helping with that too, probably. As it turned out, a healthy lifestyle felt pretty great!
Emma didn’t even mind that she was struggling so much with her investigation into abuses of mind control and hypnosis in the city’s fitness scene. Somehow, whenever she sat down and tried to focus on her work, she ended up feeling far too light-headed and distracted to make any real progress. Muckraking was starting to feel boring, somehow, and whenever she reviewed her notes at the end of the day, they were always riddled with typos and mistakes.
That should have been eating at her, but… it wasn’t. Emma just felt good. It was irrepressible. Perhaps it was the power of exercise. Perhaps she was simply warming to the idea of taking a break from her work, as Mel had proposed. Either way, Emma wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“OK, Emma.” Amara clapped her hands; Emma knew that meant they were ready to get started. “How are you feeling?”
“Good!” Emma replied, truthfully. “I think I’m getting the hang of this whole exercise thing. I actually went out for a morning jog yesterday.”
“That’s great! I’m proud of you.” Amara smiled. “We’ll make a regular gym bunny out of you in no time. Although, it would be remiss of me not to mention that, if you truly want to level up your exercise game, there’s one thing that really does the trick: hypnosis.”
A shiver ran down Emma’s spine. “Yeah?”
“It’s what most people pay me for,” Amara told her, smiling. “And it’s part of my regular service. Hypnosis is great for self-improvement. It makes it easier to focus. Easier to push yourself. If you wanted to, I’d love to start incorporating it into your workouts.”
“I… I dunno.”
Emma found herself a lot more indecisive than she would have been a week earlier. She was a lot more alert than the average person to the dangers of being hypnotized by a stranger, but Amara didn’t feel like a stranger. Emma trusted her. In particular, she trusted her exercise advice. Maybe hypnosis would be a big help. It wasn’t like every single hypnotist in the world was some rich asshole trying to turn people into helpless drones, after all.
But there was something else. Another factor, putting its finger on the scales: Emma had started finding hypnosis incredibly, incredibly hot.
Hypnosis wasn’t exactly an uncommon kink. Far from it. Given how the rich and elite wielded it as a tool of power, it was an easy thing for people of a certain persuasion to end up fetishizing. That was new to Emma, though. Somehow, recently, whenever she was blowing off some steam in private, she found her thoughts turning in that direction.
She couldn’t stop thinking about how it would feel to slip under someone’s hypnotic spell. The particular fantasy that kept haunting Emma was all about having the smarts and quick-thinking she was so proud of stripped out of her head, and being turned into one of those dim-witted, brainwashed bimbos that sometimes clung to the arms of powerful hypnotists. She fantasized about being stared at, posed, and put through the motions of dancing, or exercising, or performing, always while she was naked, or else wearing something pink and skintight.
It was embarrassing. But it also made her cum like nothing else, and a tiny little part of her was shivering in anticipation at the thought of finding out what hypnosis actually felt like.
“It’s OK if you don’t want to,” Amara added. “I know you’re wary, and that’s totally understandable. I won’t push it on you. It’s just that I think it could really help, especially with the concentration problems you keep having with our interview.”
Emma blinked and looked at her. “It could help with that?”
“Of course,” Amara assured her. “There’s nothing like hypnosis for giving you a little clarity of mind.”
That was all the excuse Emma needed to succumb to temptation. She remained a little skeptical but, deep down, part of her wanted to give hypnosis a shot. She wanted to indulge this new desire of hers. If it did help with her work too, that was just a silver lining.
She’d just have to make sure Amara didn’t notice how aroused hypnosis was making her.
“OK,” Emma said, a touch breathlessly. “OK. Yeah. Let’s give it a shot.”
Amara reached over and clapped her on her shoulder. “Atta girl.”
Emma blushed.
“So, um, what do you need me to do?” she asked, hoping to hide her embarrassment. “Do you have a pocket watch I should be staring at? A metronome? Do I look deep into your eyes?”
Amara laughed. “Only if you think they’re pretty. I like to do things a little differently. Have you heard of kinesthetic inductions?”
“Hypnosis with movement.” Emma nodded.
“That’s right,” Amara said. “Let me show you. Close your eyes.”
Emma was a little unprepared for how quickly things were moving, but nonetheless she obediently closed her eyes. A moment later, she felt Amara take her hand and lead her a few paces away, to stand on one of her exercise mats.
“Good,” Amara told her. “Now, focus on your body. Just like when you work out.”
Emma nodded. That was easy. Amara was even talking to her like she did when she was working out, in that voice that was so confident, so soothing, so easy to obey.
“Good,” Amara repeated. “I want you to visualize where you are right now. The room around you. The way you’re standing. The way I’m standing. Picture it all, in your mind’s eye. Can you do that?”
Emma nodded again. “In your apartment,” she murmured. “In your gym. You’re holding my hand.”
“Very good,” Amara said. “Keep your eyes close. I want you to notice the way that, already, your mental image is starting to fade. We forget things so quickly with our eyes shut. Where exactly are you standing? What’s right in front of you? Which exercise machine is that, over there in the corner? Maybe you remember. Maybe not.”
As soon as Amara mentioned it, Emma’s mind’s eye was starting to blur. Where was she standing? Amara had guided her to walk a short distance with her eyes closed. How many steps? How far had she moved? She wasn’t quite sure.
Emma started to feel a little dizzy. She squeezed down tighter on Amara’s hand.
“I’m here,” Amara said soothingly. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”
She reached out and rested a hand on Emma’s side, steadying her. An immediate wave of calm washed over Emma. Amara’s touch was familiar. She was used to Amara touching her and guiding her when the personal trainer was showing her how to exercise properly.
This was no different. She just had to let Amara guide her.
Amara tugged gently at her hand, and Emma took careful, tentative steps after her, moving where she was guided. With each step, it became more difficult to picture exactly where she was standing, and, with that reference point gone, everything else started to dissolve into mist.
“It’s getting harder to picture, isn’t it?” Amara seemed like she could read Emma’s mind. “That’s OK. I want you to simply let that happen, Emma. Take some deep breaths, and let your mental image of this room fade away.”
Emma did her best to obey. Once she accepted what was going to happen, it all started to fade away much, much faster. Soon, Amara’s touch was her only lifeline.
“It’s only natural,” Amara continued. “Images fade. Memory fades, and it’s OK to forget. Forgetting means less distractions. Less distractions means it’s easier to stay focused. And we want you nice and focused, don’t we Emma?”
“Yeah.”
Emma nodded too. That was a mistake. Nodding triggered a wave of dizziness. She felt like she was about to lose her balance and stumble, but Amara steadied her - this time, by placing her hand firmly on the top of Emma’s head.
“Focus, Emma,” Amara encouraged. “It’s OK. You’re not going to fall over. I’ve got you. Nice, deep, calming breaths.”
“OK.”
Amara’s words were already having a deep effect on Emma. As soon as Amara told her to be calm, she was calm. Emma realized she was rapidly slipping under hypnosis. That thought excited her, making her heart race even as her breathing slowed.
“Keep your eyes closed,” Amara repeated. “Look around, in your mind’s eye. What do you see?”
Emma made one last attempt to reconstruct the room around her. She failed. It was gone. She simply didn’t know where she was, where Amara was, where anything was - and without those reference points, it felt like the walls around her had all receded into infinity, leaving her standing in a void.
“Nothing,” Emma replied. Her voice sounded like it was coming from very far away.
“That’s right,” Amara said. “There’s nothing. Where are you? Where are you, that there’s nothing?”
It took Emma a long time to answer that question. “I’m… nowhere?”
That didn’t seem right, but it felt right.
“You’re nowhere,” Amara confirmed for her. Amara’s voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once, and unlike Emma’s, it was intimate and close. “And all this nowhere? All this nothing? It’s all inside your head.”
“Yeah…” Emma breathed. She felt so much more empty.
“There’s nothing inside your head.”
“Nothing… inside my head…” Emma echoed dreamily.
“And when you’re nothing and nowhere,” Amara continued, “there’s no up.”
She used her hand to tilt Emma’s head upwards. The sensation of her orientation changing was disorienting, but strangely, Emma didn’t feel dizzy. She had Amara. Amara was her anchor.
“There’s no down.” Amara tilted her head down. “There’s no left. There’s no right.”
As Amara moved Emma’s head around, Emma was haunted by the phantom sensation that she was spinning, even though she knew she wasn’t. She was standing still, in place. But the spinning wouldn’t stop.
“And if there’s nothing,” Amara went on, “if you’re nowhere, then there’s nothing beneath your feet at all, is there?”
“N-no,” Emma whispered.
The void was deepening. Maybe she was spinning after all. She didn’t know. She couldn’t tell. There was nothing.
“And that means,” Amara concluded, “there’s nothing to stop your fall.”
Before Emma could comprehend the meaning of her words, she felt Amara rest a hand on her chest and push. Hard.
Emma fell backward, far too disoriented to catch herself. She was nowhere and nothing. She was spinning, and there was nothing beneath her feet. Nothing to catch her fall. Even as her brain screamed at her that she was falling, Emma turned as limp as a rag doll. To her, she was simply falling into a void, and the void went on forever and ever.
She never hit the ground. Amara was right there to catch her, wrapping up the journalist in her powerful arms and supporting her entire weight. But for Emma, the sensation of falling never stopped. It went on and on. There was no end to it. Nothing. She simply kept sinking.
Carefully, Amara tipped her back upright. Emma found her footing again, but only by instinct. Her head was blank.
“Open your eyes,” Amara instructed.
Emma obeyed, blinking a few times as she was dazzled by the sudden brightness. Having her eyes open did nothing to stop the sensation of infinite falling. Her vision was strangely distorted; it was like she was looking at Amara from down a very long telescope. Everything besides the personal trainer was indistinct; out of focus.
“You know that you’re completely hypnotized now,” Amara told her. It wasn’t a question.
“Yes,” Emma answered. An electric shiver raced down her spine.
“Good.” Amara was smiling. “This is what falling feels like, Emma. Falling into trance. I want you to memorize it for me. And whenever I tell you to ‘fall’, it’ll all come rushing back. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good girl.” Amara clapped her hands together sharply. “OK, Emma. Time for our interview.”
Emma blinked again, the loud noise helping to shock her back to awareness. But the sensation of falling was still there in the pit of her stomach, and the void that had been all around her was now inside her head. It was all so strange. Could she really interview someone like this?
Amara had said it would help, though. Emma couldn’t muster enough willpower to disagree.
“O-OK.” Emma set her hypnotized mind to the task of trying to come up with a question. “Um…”
“Why not start with something nice and casual?” Amara suggested. “Just to get warmed up.”
“Right.” Emma was grateful for the advice, but she still found herself drawing a blank. Her thoughts were unbelievably sluggish, and the simple knowledge that she was hypnotized right now was a thrilling distraction. “Like… uh…”
Amara laughed gently. “Why don’t you ask me my favorite color?”
As soon as Amara suggested it, it clicked into Emma’s head as the perfect question. “What’s your favorite color?”
Amara tilted her head to one side, amused. “Pink.”
Emma blinked. She’d never seen Amara wear pink; her workout clothes were always black. “Really? I’m surprised.”
“Pink is just such a lovely, bright color,” Amara explained. “I love looking at it. Don’t you? Doesn’t it just make you feel happy? Bubbly? Full of energy? It’s perfect for working out.”
Emma nodded, eagerly absorbing Amara’s words. Clearly, she had been right about hypnosis. Concentrating on what Amara told her was proving effortless.
“Just look at you, in those pink clothes,” Amara added. “You seem a lot happier whenever you put those on. It puts a smile on your face. Maybe even makes you a little giggly. Pink is great.”
Again, Emma nodded. She felt like she knew exactly what Amara was talking about.
“How about you?” Amara asked. “Got a favorite color?”
Emma was surprised by the question. She’d never really thought about it before. But one obvious answer came immediately to mind.
“Pink,” Emma replied, still in that distant, vacant tone of voice.
Pink made her happy. Pink made her bubbly. Pink made her full of energy. It made her smile and giggle.
“Oh?” Amara cocked an eyebrow. “Guess I nailed it with your workout gear. Looks like we won’t need to find you anything else after all.”
“Right,” Emma agreed. Pink was perfect. Why would she need an outfit that wasn’t pink?
“Next question?” Amara prompted.
“Yeah.” This time, Emma tried her hardest to come up with something. She couldn’t let Amara give her all the questions. That would be embarrassing. “Um… what… what do you like so much about exercise?”
It was lame, she knew. Another softball. But better than nothing.
“That’s easy,” Amara answered. “There’s so much to love about it. It’s good for you, right? Exercise is very healthy, and I love feeling healthy. Who wouldn’t? Who doesn’t love knowing that they’re giving their body the best? Not just exercise - diet, too.”
That made perfect sense. Emma nodded.
“Just look at you, for example,” Amara went on. “I can tell how much better you feel, now that you’ve been living a healthier lifestyle. I’m sure you can too, deep down. Regular exercise, better meals… it’s honestly a little bit addictive.”
Her words struck a chord with Emma. It was like she couldn’t even imagine Amara being wrong. She could feel it too. Addictive.
“And the raw sensation of exercise? That’s definitely addictive,” Amara added. “It’s physiological. All those endorphins, bubbling up in your brain while you work out. I just can’t get enough of it.”
Emma nodded eagerly. She’d noticed that as well.
“It makes it so easy not to think. Overthinking is such a problem, isn’t it?” Emma nodded emphatically at that. “It’s so hard to ever truly shut our brains off. Thinking too much causes so much anxiety. So many problems. Sometimes, it’s nice to make ourselves dumb instead.”
Emma shivered. Something about the word ‘dumb’ echoed deliciously through her body.
“I can imagine it’s the same for you,” Amara suggested. “It must be nice for a brainy journalist like you to stop thinking for a change.”
“Oh yeah,” Emma replied, with genuine enthusiasm. “It’s… it’s nice to be dumb.”
“Yeah?” Amara’s smile curled. “You like getting dumber?”
“Getting dumber feels good.” The words came to Emma’s lips effortlessly, like a mantra. And there it was again - that delicious shiver.
She was starting to love being hypnotized. After all, hypnosis made her dumber.
“Good.” Amara laughed gently. “But that’s not all, you know. I also love the attention.”
Emma’s ears perked up. “The attention?”
Amara nodded. “Absolutely. Working out gets you a lot of attention. Who doesn’t love a girl who’s in good shape?”
She flexed slightly, demonstrating. Emma’s eyes widened.
“But,” Amara added, like it was an afterthought, “you must already know all about that.”
Emma was sure she didn’t. “What do you mean?”
“You love attention, don’t you?” Amara said. “After all, you’re a journalist. Journalism is all about being in the public eye, right? Getting readers? Making big headlines?”
“I… guess.” Emma had never thought about it that way before, but she supposed Amara had a point. It did always feel good when one of her stories broke big. It was rewarding. “Yeah.”
“It’s natural,” Amara affirmed. “Attention feels good.”
“Yeah.” Emma was quickly growing more comfortable with that.
“You love attention.”
“Y-yeah,” Emma conceded. “I love attention.”
That brought forth another shiver of excitement. She was discovering so many new things to love recently.
“And exercising is a great way to get it.” Amara shrugged. “Well, there you have it, Emma. That’s why I love working out. Health, attention, and getting to dumb down a little.” She grinned. “I’m sensing you get what I’m talking about.”
Emma did. She really did. She understood Amara perfectly.
“Anyway, that’s probably enough warm-up,” Amara said. “How about you ask me one of your real questions, Emma?”
“O-oh! Um. Right.”
Emma frowned. Despite how focused she felt, she was still having trouble remembering what she was supposed to be asking Amara. Her head was swimming with fantasies and thoughts - about exercise, attention, hypnosis, and so much more. Her investigation was starting to feel like a distant priority.
Her investigation. It came back to her in a rush. Emma decided to go for the big question, now that she had hypnosis helping to sharpen her mind.
“I… I think that some personal trainers are exploiting people using hypnosis,” Emma said slowly. She needed to get this right - even if she still felt like she was falling. “Using the pretext of exercise to turn them into perfect, brainwashed slaves for whoever is truly controlling them. Amara, have you ever mind-controlled someone against their will like that?”
She wasn’t expecting Amara to admit to anything, just hoping that she might volunteer some information, or give something away in how she reacted. The last thing Emma had expected was for Amara to answer:
“Yes. I’m doing it to you, right now.”
Emma twitched, alarmed. “E… excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Amara sounded deadly serious.
“That’s… that’s funny.” Emma giggled nervously.
“I’m not joking,” Amara insisted. “I’m brainwashing you against your will, right now.”
A shiver of danger raced down Emma’s spine. The sensation of falling that she was still feeling in the pit of her stomach turned much worse, and her head was throbbing with sudden vertigo.
“But…” Emma said, frowning. “You asked. I… I let you.”
“Yes,” Amara replied calmly. “That’s what you think. Because I made sure you’d think that way.”
“B… but…”
Emma felt like the floor was once again collapsing beneath her feet. She wanted to argue, but her thoughts kept turning back to one, deeply troubling question:
If Amara was telling the truth, how would she even know?
And the worst part was, she couldn’t run. She couldn’t fight. She couldn’t assert control.
She was hypnotized.
She was so deeply focused that all she could do was stare at Amara, dumbfounded, as Amara continued to reshape her reality.
“Fortunately,” Amara continued, “you don’t need to worry about it. Because you don’t really care.”
Emma frowned. How could Amara say that? Of course she cared! This was exactly the kind of thing her work was devoted to.
Amara noticed the way Emma was starting to twitch and shiver. “Calm down,” the personal trainer said soothingly. “Remember, Emma. This is just an interview.”
Somehow, that made perfect sense to Emma, and she was instantly calm. The obvious, glaring contradiction in her circumstances and her reactions didn’t even register with her.
“Right.” She replied dumbly. “Just an interview.”
Of course. She’d carried out hundreds of interviews. What was there to be so worked up about?
“Just an interview,” Amara repeated. “You know how interviews work, right? You ask the questions. I give you the answers.”
“Right,” Emma said again. It was obvious, when Amara explained it to her like that.
“I just gave you an answer,” Amara explained slowly. “Would you like to ask me a question about it?”
“Uh…” It took Emma a long moment to think of something. Even the events of a minute or two ago were becoming foggy. “Yeah. Yes. Um… why… why don’t I care?”
It felt like a very strange question. But it was the only one that seemed to fit, given the answer Amara had supplied her with.
“Well, let’s see,” Amara replied, smirking. “You told me that you came here for your investigation, but that was a week ago, and you keep coming back. You don’t seem to do a whole lot of journalism with me. You just spend most of your time here working out. Isn’t that right?”
Emma mentally reviewed their last few sessions. It was. “Yeah.”
“That’s where all your time and effort is going.” Amara nodded. “Working out. So, isn’t that what you’re really here for?”
Emma’s brow twitched, but Amara’s logic was undeniable. Or at least, she couldn’t make herself think quickly enough to find fault with it. “Yeah…”
“You’re really here to work out,” Amara affirmed, cementing that thought into Emma’s mind. “Not for your investigation.”
“Y-yeah…” Emma agreed, with only slight reluctance.
“So,” Amara concluded. “You care about working out. Not about your investigation. Not about your journalism.”
“I…” That was a harder pill to swallow. Emma’s head started to turn from side to side in instinctive denial. “I… don’t…”
“Relax, Emma,” Amara chided. “Remember. It’s just an interview. Relax, and fall.”
Emma fell. Emma was always falling, and once again, she was still.
“If you cared so much,” Amara told her, “wouldn’t you spend all your time interviewing me, instead of working out?”
“Yeah…” Emma agreed dreamily. It was so easy to accept what Amara told her. Much easier than thinking for herself. Hypnosis made her too dumb to think, and she was so deeply hypnotized.
“So,” Amara pressed. “You don’t care.”
“I… don’t… care.”
Hairs raised on the back of Emma’s neck as she finally agreed, warning her of the danger. But moments later, she felt amazingly free. It was like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She didn’t care.
“You don’t care about your investigation,” Amara repeated. “Not compared to working out, anyway.”
Emma nodded. It was getting easier to accept with each passing moment.
“And that’s why you don’t need to worry about being hypnotized,” Amara concluded. “About being brainwashed. It doesn’t matter to your investigation. You care about working out. And hypnosis is very, very good for helping you to work out.”
“Right,” Emma agreed. It all seemed so much simpler now, and she was grateful to Amara for explaining it to her. She was learning so much from this interview.
“Speaking of which,” Amara said, grinning. “I think it’s about time we get to the real reason you’re here.”
She reached up and clapped her hands together in front of Emma’s face. To the hypnotized journalist, the sharp, loud sound was like a thunderbolt, jolting her back to awareness. Immediately, the details of the conversation she and Amara had been having started to recede from memory - but that bubbly new lightness remained.
Emma didn’t care. She was just here to work out! It was such a relief.
“So how was hypnosis?” Amara asked.
“Great!” Emma replied brightly. She didn’t remember much of their interview, but that wasn’t very important.
Hypnosis was good for working out. And hypnosis made her dumber. And getting dumber felt good.
“Glad to hear it,” Amara said. “Ready to get down to business?”
Emma nodded. This was what she was here for. Her pretty, pink outfit was filling her with energy, and the knowledge of how healthy she was being put an extra spring in her step. She loved working out.
Especially because each exercise left her just a little bit dumber.
“Well, before we get started, I have an idea,” Amara said. “You’ve got your phone, right?”
“Sure.” Emma slipped her phone out of one of her pockets, before giggling absently. “I… don’t know why.”
She had a strange feeling that she’d brought her phone here to take notes on her interview with Amara, but that seemed silly. The interview wasn’t important. She was here to work out.
“Fortunately, I do,” Amara laughed. “Do you have an Instagram account?”
Emma nodded. She’d started it for her work, although it had more or less fallen into disuse. Which made sense, since she didn’t really care about her work very much.
“Time to put it to good use!” Amara mimed holding up a phone to take a high-angle selfie. “You love attention, right? Show your fans a nice peace sign!”
***
A couple of weeks later, Emma was in Mel’s apartment, working out. That was nothing unusual. Emma had ended up practically moving in with her best friend. It seemed to make sense - Mel had the space, enjoyed her company, and Emma was already obligated to be there every evening for dinner. Why bother heading back to her own place each night?
The exercise was normal too, now. Emma’s thrice-weekly sessions with Amara were no longer enough. Not even close. Working out had become an obsession for Emma, and accordingly, she had taken up jogging, bought an exercise mat and a set of home dumbbells, and had a whole series of exercise routines she kept to diligently, morning and night.
Working out was her calling. Emma understood that now. It felt good, on so many levels. Better than her old work ever had. These days, she barely even thought about journalism.
“Emma!” Mel called out, from the kitchen. “Food’s ready, babe!”
Emma quickly finished up her set and headed over to the dining table, where Mel was serving up a meal of grilled chicken breasts, lentils, and some green vegetables. Fortunately for her, Mel seemed more than happy to cater to her newfound love of health foods.
As Emma sat down, she whipped out her phone and took a couple of quick pics of her meal. They’d go down great on her Instagram. Emma’s socials had really been blowing up, ever since she started posting about her fitness journey. Making connections with other, similarly-minded girls was so much more fun than all the boring, serious stuff she’d been using social media for before.
“Um… hey, Emma?” Mel called out. “Earth to Emma? Your food’s gonna get cold.”
“Oops!” Emma giggled, putting down her phone.
She’d been distracted, checking on the comments and views on the pre-workout selfie she’d posted earlier. It was funny; Emma had never really used Instagram much before, but now, she constantly caught herself scrolling for hours and hours, hopelessly lost in the thrill of all that attention.
Emma loved attention.
“Emma, are you doing OK?” Mel asked. Emma realized her friend was staring at her with concern in her eyes.
“Sure!” she replied brightly. “Don’t I look like I’m doing good?”
Mel nodded. Emma knew there was no disputing that. She was in the best shape of her life. Thanks to all that exercise, her body had become sleek and toned, shedding all the puppy fat she’d been carrying around before. She was starting to look like a model.
“I just…” Mel pressed hesitantly. “You seem a little… distracted lately.”
Emma giggled again. “I guess.”
It was hard to deny, but Emma wasn’t troubled by it. She felt great.
Mel wasn’t to be dissuaded by Emma’s upbeat mood. “Hey so, how’s your investigation going?”
“Uh…” Emma blinked. “My… investigation?”
“You know, that fitness piece,” Mel prompted. “Abuses of hypnosis. Stuff like that.”
“Oh!” Emma giggled. She hadn’t so much as thought about it in days. “I guess it’s… like… what do you call it? On the back burner!”
“I see.” Mel tilted her head, staring at Emma intently. “I’m surprised. You seemed so passionate about it!”
“I guess.” In truth, Emma barely even remembered. “But, like, priorities change. I figured you’d be totally pleased! You were telling me to take a break.”
“True,” Mel conceded. “I’m glad you’re taking some time off, babe.”
“Uh-huh!” Emma agreed. “Anyway, I think I was kinda wrong about some stuff.”
“Yeah?”
“I was soooo worried about hypnosis.” Emma giggled. “But now I, like, know better! Hypnosis is great.”
Hypnosis made her dumber, and getting dumber felt good.
“Right…” Mel said pensively. There was an odd look on her face. “I… you’ll still be careful, right? People still know you as a serious journalist. I really wouldn’t want someone, um, taking advantage. Say, when you’re out jogging, or on your way to Amara’s.”
Emma just giggled yet again. “You worry so much!”
“I guess I do, babe, when it’s about you.” Mel’s face relaxed into a smile. “Anyway, I’m glad to have you around more often. It’s nice. And I sure don’t mind the view.”
Mel winked, and Emma dissolved into yet more giggling. She knew what Mel was alluding to. Her dress sense had certainly taken a turn. She was currently wearing a pink sports bra, and a pair of pink and white dolphin shorts - and that was it. Nothing else.
All the better to get the kind of attention Emma craved. It was the same reason she’d started getting serious about makeup. Whatever made her Instagram selfies blow up harder.
And of course, attention from Mel was nice too. Very nice.
“O-K!” Emma chanted as she finished her meal, before bouncing up out of her seat. “I’m gonna get ready to take another jog around the block. I’ve still got, like, a little more energy to burn off.”
“Sure thing, babe,” Mel replied. “Just… remember what I said, alright? Be careful.”
Emma giggled. “You got it, bestie!”
She could tell Mel was worried, but she wasn’t really sure why. As far as she was concerned, it was all very simple.
Exercise felt good. Exercise got her attention. And exercise made her dumber.
Getting dumber felt good.
It was as simple as that.
What was there to worry about?
***
“Four!” Emma chanted, counting her sit-ups as sweat dripped from her brow to stain the pink exercise mat underneath her. “Five! Six! S… s… um…”
“Seven,” Amara reminded her, smirking.
“Right.” Emma giggled. She was turning into such an airhead. “Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten!”
“Alright!” Amara reached down to help haul Emma to her feet. “Great session today. Good job.”
“Yay!” Emma bounced in celebration, before reaching for her water bottle and taking a nice, big mouthful. As she did, she looked at herself in one of the mirrors lining the walls of Amara’s home gym - and liked what she saw.
After weeks of healthy living, she’d decided it was time for a small makeover. Emma had gone blonde, and she loved it. She’d been buying lots of new clothes, too. All pink, of course. Nice, bright colors like pink and blonde were perfect for her new mindset. And accessories like her pink water bottle and pink hairband really helped with her Instagram engagement.
Emma was rapidly becoming a social media diva. She just couldn’t help it. She loved the attention.
For that matter, she could see Amara checking her out in the mirror too. That made Emma giggle and preen. She loved all kinds of attention, and she knew lots of girls who loved her new, athletic body.
It was kind of a shame that Amara seemed reluctant to put the moves on her. The tall, buff personal trainer was incredibly hot, and Emma’s sex drive had been through the roof lately.
“OK!” Amara announced. “Let’s do a quick breathing exercise to cool down.”
“Sure!” Emma replied brightly. She was up for anything, and she knew what breathing exercises meant.
Hypnosis.
“Emma,” Amara said slowly. “Fall.”
Emma’s eyes fluttered as she let the bliss of trance take her. It was such a thrill, knowing that one little word from Amara was all it took nowadays.
Emma loved hypnosis. Hypnosis made her dumber.
“I want you to take some deep breaths for me, Emma,” Amara began. “And as you do, feel your heartbeat gradually returning to its steady, normal rhythm.”
Emma nodded sleepily. She was already so deep. All of this was completely familiar; they did it at the end of every workout session now.
“Now,” Amara continued, after a few moments, “I want you to take an extra-deep breath for me. And as you do, I want you to think about all the things that have been distracting you from your work-out goals over the past few days. Whatever those might be - stray thoughts, random pieces of information, unhelpful memories - I want you to feel them all gathering up in your chest as you inhale.”
Emma nodded again. This, too, was a familiar exercise. At the end of all their workouts, Amara helped her to forget things. This time, a whole bunch of old memories came to mind; for some reason, Emma kept catching herself reminiscing about high-school English class. She’d read so many books back then! Books with big, long words she didn’t understand anymore. She gathered up a bunch of thoughts about politics, too. It was annoying how they buzzed around in her mind whenever she caught the news.
“And now, breathe out,” Amara instructed. “And as you do, imagine all of those thoughts that you’ve been gathering up being pushed out of your body. Imagine them blowing out of your lips, and feel them slip out of your mind at the same time.”
Emma breathed out, and all those thoughts and memories left her, turning into nothing more than thin air.
She sighed happily and giggled a few times. She loved getting dumber like that. It made it so much easier to focus on working out! Plus, the way Amara used hypnosis for it was so hot. It was like one of her naughty little fantasies come to life.
Emma felt like, maybe, a long time ago, something about that might have bothered her. But at this point, she really couldn’t remember.
And she liked it that way.
Amara clapped her hands to wake Emma out of trance. “Perfect,” the personal trainer said. “I think we’re done for the day. Unless you want to ask me any more questions, that is.”
Emma tilted her head to one side, curious. “Um… questions?”
“You know,” Amara prompted, “for your investigation.”
Dumbfounded, Emma simply blinked. “What investigation?”
A grin slowly crept across Amara’s face. “Actually, don’t worry about it.”
“OK!” Emma accepted that at once. She loved not worrying about things.
As Amara watched the former journalist gather up her stuff, she reached for her phone. It was time. Emma was absolutely perfect. Amara sent one, simple, fateful message to her employer.
She’s ready.
---
I would like to express my gratitude for the generosity of  all those who  support me on Patreon, and to give a special thanks to  the following  patrons in particular for their exceptional support:
Artemis, Chloe, J, Secret Subject, Kathryn, Lucy, Dex, orangesya, Red, dmtph, Ember, Seph, MegatronTarantulas, Vanessa, Matt, Jeremy, Mattilda, Emily, William, ntad, Flluffie, Scarlett, Silgon, The Flock, ourladyoflilacs, Luna, Abigail, steb, Hypnogirl_Stephanie_, nicholas, Sue, Alan_, mintyasleep, Noelle, Lavender, Madness, Michael, Tasteful Ardour, Michael, Matthew, Full Blown Marxism, Anonymous, GrillFan65, Huge_Nerd, ZephanyZephZeph, Tram345, 8947jts, Chris, Breadloaf, Kyle, Emma, Jack the Monkey, Paul, Willow, Shadows exile, Drone 8315, Matthew, Alex, Madness, Sam, Selina, Daniel, Bubble_Butt, Francesca, WhyamIhere, John, Sarah, Crittergang, Setcab, Erin, Elysium, Bacon Man, Flintnsteal, JessieGinger, Arik, John, bluaph, Alexander, Kyle, Morriel, Jack the Monkey, Sola, NewtypeWoman, Envy, hellenberg, shoktherapy, L, Jim, Black Star, Kay, Michael, strange item, John, Praxis Memetics LLC, Frank, William, Olives, Christopher, Queenfisher, Charlotte, Faun, Riley, Brinn, Brendon, B, Jackson, Kyle, Dennis, Nandi, Jeff, Sanya, David, Morder, Myles_EXVS, Jade, Skylar, Foridin, gabbermoth, Jennifer, Selina, Jonas, Violet, Slifer274, paxDulcetGirl, Roxxie, Hal, Devi, Phoenix, Laurel, Kyle, Ivy, Jim, Michael, Bryan, Joseph, June, Yaoups
Finally, special thanks to ntad for commissioning this story!
30 notes · View notes
roseghoul26 · 3 months ago
Note
I usually never message on here but had to message bc !!!!!!
So I’ve been reading Ivy for a WHILE now, I literally save reading each chapter for a good day (I only do this with fics I absolutely ADORE and do not want to finish too quickly bc I know I’ll never get them back again..sigh 😭) and a good day only. Finally got around to reading Chapter 12 and the way you wrote that was CRAZYYYYYY. The build up, the way you carried it all out? Obsessed!!! Also I generally steer away from fics that feature TB!Arthur because I’m too much of an emotional wreck to read those and I actively avoid that part of the game when I replay, it just brings up too much in me that I’d rather just block it all out and keep my healthy Arthur. So when you dropped that in the Chapter? Sobbed. SOBBBEDDDDDDDD. Bawled my eyes out so hard it had me biting down on my hand in fear that I was going to WAILLLLLLL if I didn’t 😭you wrote that part SO WELL.😭😭 Fic was too good I had to keep reading and oh my, you did not disappoint. Still am yet to read the rest but myyyyyyyyy gosh, really do NOT want to get to the end of this fic. 🥹 I hope you know that your writing goes CRAZY, evokes so much emotion in people and has it living rent free on a daily in my brain
oh. wow.
you've actually left me speechless, anon.
it's been a bit since i've finished that fic, and i am still so incredibly proud of it, but i haven't thought about it much in recent weeks (new projects and such). but reading this just brought back all that excitement and love i had for writing that fic (can i feel nostalgic for something that ended only a couple of months ago?)
honestly, chapter 12 was the one i was most worried about writing because of just how many plot points there were, how many things i had to tie up and incorporate. so THANK YOU.
as for TB!Arthur, i, too, tend to steer away from those fics unless I'm in the mood for emotional devastation. but damn the angst is really fun to write
I have no idea if you've finished the fic by the time I posted this, but I really, sincerely hope you enjoyed it. i say i write for myself, which is mostly true, but it is so gratifying to get this like this, to see other people enjoy the story that i came up with while listening to taylor swift alone in my room (lmao). thank you so much for this, for your wonderful praise, much love <33
maybe once i've finsihed the fic i'm working on right now, i might dust off the old reader insert shoes. how I've missed arthur morgan...
2 notes · View notes
pagegirlintraining · 1 year ago
Text
AO3 wrapped (writer’s edition)
Well, this was a lovely way to close out the year. Here goes:
1. How many words have you written this year?
An unbelievable 331,924 👀
2. How many works did you publish this year?
12 in total. 6 are oneshots, and of the rest I’ve finished 4.
3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?
I’m extremely proud of Oh, Those Summer Nights. The dialogue in this one flows so beautifully, I love the way I got to incorporate some of my favorite places in Stockholm, and it just altogether has this magical atmosphere about it.
But also, for entirely different reasons, Vi har bara varandra, det är allt vi behöver. Because I wrote a freaking story in Swedish, what even?!
4. What work of yours has the most hits?
Overall it’s Dancing Through Life with a little over 22k, but considering we didn’t start publishing The Prince And The Popstar until August this year, the 16k on that one feel worth mentioning. On a chapter basis they’re also very close to one another.
5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?
The Prince And The Popstar. For sure. That one blew both of us away I think.
6. Favorite title you used?
Both One, two, three, four, five, sex on my mind and Stop the world (I wanna get off with you) fit so nicely with what the respective stories are about.
7. If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most?
I haven’t actually checked, but it’s probably Sabrina Carpenter from Prince and Popstar alone 😂
8. Pairing you wrote the most for this year?
Wilmon. They’re also the only pairing I wrote for.
9. Favorite pairing you wrote for this year?
Same answer as 8.
10. What work was the quickest to write?
Copy and Pasta went from a batshit idea to a fully-written thing within 4 hours, that’s got to be a personal record.
11. What work took you the longest to write?
The writing process of Prince and Popstar was very spread out because both @the-amber-fox and I had lots of life stuff happen in between. All in all it took us 4 months to even have enough to start posting, and then another 3 to finish it.
12. How many WIPs do you have in your docs for next year?
I have two new ones I firmly plan on writing, and one idea I’m not so sure about yet. Also two I plan on finishing next year.
13. What’s your longest work of the year?
Based on the amounts of them that were written this year, it’s The Prince And The Popstar. Then again I only wrote about half of that, so it may also be The Time Of My Life with 45501 words and counting.
14. What’s your shortest work of the year?
Vi har bara varandra, det är allt vi behöver (714 words) for obvious reasons 😂
15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you?
Dancing through life (don’t look at me, I swear I will get myself to finish that epilogue at some point🙈), The Time Of My Life and Killing me softly (with his song), which still hasn’t gotten a second chapter yet but is very much not abandoned.
16. What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?
Alternate Universe. Who else is not surprised?
17. Your favorite character to write this year?
I swear, the answer to this changes every time I think about it. For now I’ll go with my Dirty Dancing AU version of Simon, because he’s somehow the version that feels closest to canon Simon even though plot wise the story is the farthest from canon. That’s a nice mental stretch to keep up.
18. What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?
Can you hear me laughing? It’s Wilmon all the way.
19. Which work of yours have you reread the most?
It’s probably a tie between Copy and Pasta (short, sweet, always cheers me up) and the already existing parts of The Time Of My Life (it’s two of my favorite things combined, has my favorite version of Wille I’ve written and some beautiful Wilmon moments I really like revisiting).
20. How many kudos in total did you get this year?
4448.
21. Which work has the most comments?
Per chapter it’s The Prince And The Popstar.
22. Did you do any collaborative works this year?
Yessss 😍 I realized the other day that I’ve written four complete works with my darling @the-amber-fox this year and could not believe it. They’ve been some of my faves to write, and that’s hugely thanks to her, so thanks 💜
I also got to write the first chapter of Killing me softly with the amazing @ishotforthestars . Mayyyyybe we’ll get back to that one for a special occasion…😁
23. Did you write any gifts this year?
I sure did. Got to cowrite two birthday presents, for and with @the-amber-fox and @ishotforthestars respectively. Then another birthday present for @omaremioo and a Christmas present for @zee-has-commitment-issues .
24. Did you receive any gifts this year?
Yes again. Got a lovely birthday gift and the very best Christmas gift this year (Thanks, Foxy, and thanks times two, Elin 😂🫶🏼)
25. What’s your most common category?
M/M unsurprisingly.
26. What do you listen to while writing?
When I do it’s either my ever-growing annual playlist or the cheesiest 80s ballads for intimacy scenes.
27. Favorite work you wrote this year?
I think I’ve had the most fun with Prince and Popstar, but the most moments of giddy pride with The Time Of My Life. That’s all I can say for this one.
28. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?
I can’t possibly choose a favorite, mostly because I’d have to reread all of them and I don’t have a whole week off to do it😄 so I’ll go with something that, while pretty simple, resonated with me a lot when I reread it: “Just because that’s what he expects doesn’t mean it’s what you need to give him, Simon.”
29. Biggest surprise while writing this year?
Learning that despite what I’d been told before, I seem to have a knack for comedic writing.
15 notes · View notes