#Play Stupid games and win Stupid awards

[xxxsimplyhookedxxx]

The Target Boycott's about to Hit INSANE New Levels! | Buddy Brown

[cyarsk52-20]

FACTS ALMA!! She better worry about herself!!!

I was waiting for somebody to clear her ass. You came and delivered!!! Thank you!!! her ass was frucking cleared!

Someone posted 2 days ago that it was time for leftists & libs to unite against TFG 🤯

A day late & a dollar short MFer said we need to unite now.

Now?!?

Now that it's too fucking late!

We begged & pleaded w them;

we warned about the stakes.

They sneered at us

now should have been Nov 5th

now is too late !

now there’s no Palestine and Gaza gonna be a beach resort for Trump and his friends

because yall didn’t listen to us who warned you this happened.

now black folks are going to mind their black af businesses while sipping Starbucks coffee and eating McDonalds because it’s our way of saying Fuck The movement and those who support it.😡

If there’s any doubt that I’m glad to not support free Palestine movement then I have no regrets now

The only thing that I feel so bad for is the innocent Palestine people caught in the crossfire. They have my sympathy. But not the movement who sacrificed them for “revenge votes “ against Kamala

[yamumsyadadd]

missing sister

Keira Fae Walsh. The midfield maestro, record breaking transfer player. She was adored by all. At 10 years old, her world changed. 

September 27 2007, Noah Elle Walsh made her entrance into the world. Keira had overheard her parents talking about their “happy little accident” and how they were so excited for Keira to be a big sister. Keira herself was excited. 

The day after her birth, Keira visited her parents and new baby sister at the hospital. The tiny, one day old, 6 pound baby was placed into her arms. From that day, Keira promised to love and protect her. No matter what. 

A year after Noah was born, Keira joined the Blackburn Rovers Girls’ Centre of Excellence. Blackburn became a second home to the Walsh family. It’s where Keira got to continue player football, and develop into the player she was today. It’s where Noah took her first steps, and where she first realised her disdain for the sport. All of her parents time was spent on Keira and football. 

By 2014 things were going great for Keira, not so much for Noah. Their parents had put Noah into football at Blackburn Rovers just like they had done with Keira, however Noah had no intention of playing. Noah preferred to write, draw or play the piano, sports were simply not her thing. 

Most weekends were spent travelling to watch Keira play, if the game was within driving distance then you could bet the Walsh family would be in attendance. 9 year old Noah hated it. Every minute of it. Instead of having sleepovers with her friends, or going to the mall or park with them, she was made to suffer through the hours in the car and then the 90 minutes of a stupid game. 

In 2015, Keira signed her first professional contract and in the same year bought home her first girlfriend. Lucy Bronze, she was nice. Really nice. Over the next 8 years, Lucy would become a sister to Noah and when Lucy and Keira broke up, it hit her hard. 

2016 was when things changed. Manchester City had won the league, it just so happens that the celebrations fell on the same day as Noah’s 9th birthday. Every year it was the same tradition, the birthday girl would pick a restaurant and everyone would go. However this year, Keira and her parents would be celebrating Manchester City’s league win meaning Noah would be left at home with the babysitter and an empty to promise that they would make it up to her. 

2017 was much the same, Keira was winning awards, playing amazingly and very much in love with Lucy. The whole family was. On the nights when Lucy would stay over, all three of them would climb into bed and watch a movie. More often than not, Noah would fall asleep between the two. Her two Bestfriends, and despite her disdain for the game, also her two hero’s. 

When Keira got the chance to captain Manchester City in the 2017/2018 pre season, every single person who interacted with their mother would know about it. This is also when Noah started to really realise that it was all about Keira. It wasn’t necessarily Keira’s fault, but it didn’t help that she never asked about Noah’s hobbies. 

At Christmas in 2017, Keira announced that her and Lucy were going to be buying an apartment together and Keira would be leaving. Lucy wasnt even living in the country at the time, she had left to go to Lyon. The selfish side of Noah thought that this meant her parents would finally spend more time with her, come to her piano recitals or come to her school art shows. She was wrong though.

The awards truly started to flow in for Keira. If you were to meet their parents on the street, it would seem that they only had one child, not two. Noah was sure that they didn’t know anything about her, Keira liked to think she did but she truly didn’t. 

Noah was winning awards too. For her art and her piano skills. Her teachers at school loved her, her friends and their parents too. The blonde hair, green eyed girl was adored, just not by those who she truly wanted. 

No matter how much Noah protested, her parents dragged her all over the country to support her old sister, sometimes even making her go to France to support Lucy. 

The 2019 Women’s World Cup was where the family truly split. It was held in France over the summer. Smack bang in the middle of the World Cup was meant to be Noah’s national piano recital that could get her into the junior Royal Northern College of Music. Her parents didn’t care though, not truly believing their youngest daughter had the chance to do something like that. 

Noah was miserable in France, fighting with her parents everyday, crying herself to sleep and withdrawing from her friends. The 12 year old simply couldn’t understand why her parents couldn’t believe in her the way they do to Keira and even Lucy. 

England won all their group stage games, then they won the round of 16 game. In the quarterfinals, they were set to play Norway, it was an important game and Noah was told time and time again they she had to be there to support her sister and her girlfriend. Lucy scored that game, their parents were so extremely proud of their daughter and Lucy. Jealousy and anger seeped through Noah’s bloodstream. 

England lost the semifinal against the US and then lost the Bronze medal game against Sweden. That was it. The next week was spent consoling Lucy and Keira. No one noticed how Noah had retreated. Barely eating, not taking off her head phones, nose always in a book or in her sketches. 

As Noah got older, her parents stopped forcing her to go to Keira’s games. They barely forced her to live in the same house as them. Covid lockdown forced Noah and her parents to spend more time together. The world was shutting down around them. Noah’s hopes to get a scholarship in London (which her parents were yet to know about), were put to the side. 

Keira barely spoke to Noah, assuming Noah didn’t want to because she was a teenager. Leah Williamson however had become a confidant to the teenager. Leah tried her hardest to get Keira to pay more attention to Noah, but it didn’t work. Keira was struggling with the distance between her and Lucy and struggling with the aftermath of the World Cup. 

By the 2021 school year, Noah had turned into a very independent 14 year old. Most weekends she would catch the train to London for her piano lessons which she paid for by selling her art. Her parents nor Keira or Lucy were any the wiser. Leah however, had caught her in the city centre one day by herself. After promises to not tell her parents or Keira or anyone for that matter, Noah would spend Friday nights at her flat and Leah would take her home after her lessons. 

It tore Leah apart. Keira was off in her own little world, without a clue what was happening with her little sister. She tried to subtly tell Keira but it wasn’t working. She would have to pull out the big guns before something happened. 

By the summer of 2022, Keira and Lucy had won the Euros and Noah was regularly going to London for piano, she had received a scholarship to receive lessons from the London Piano Institute. All that was needed was a signature from her parents. However it doesn’t go to plan, the day Noah planned to present the forms to her parents, Keira had called around. 

She would be joining Lucy at Barcelona for the upcoming season. It was a record transfer fee, not only for Barca but for women’s sport. Noah was proud of her, even if it wasn’t said out loud. Barcelona were the best of the best, after an impressive Euros she deserved it. 

Noah threw the papers in the bin, giving up on her dream to go to London. She felt like she would forever be in the shadow of Keira. Maybe that was Noah’s destiny. 

Once Keira and Lucy left, Noah had completely changed and withdrawn. She no longer had contact with her sister or Lucy, she refused to speak to her parents and to Leah. Her birthday was yet again forgotten by her family, only her friends celebrating with her. 

Noah was left to her own devices, her parents frequently travelling to Spain to support Keira, leaving Noah in Manchester, alone. Not that she minded, she made friends with the older kids at her school, often skipping school to hang out with them. She started partying and exploring her sexuality. 

A few months after Leah tore her ACL, she was sent by her parents to Leah’s flat. They all decided that Noah could help Leah around the house. Basically being a maid to her. However, this isn’t what Leah wanted. She lied to Keira, to the Walsh parents and even her own. 

Leah wanted to learn the piano. She wanted her best friends little sister to teach her how to play. Noah would be patient, and calm with her. She knew Noah loved the piano and that London would be a good change for her. 

For the month that Noah spent at Leah’s flat, she returned to her usual self. Playing the piano everyday, finding new joyous things to draw, teaching Leah everything she knew. When she returned to Manchester, she felt great. She had a plan to convince her parents to let her move to London. It didn’t work, instead it caused a massive fight between the three of them. 

Noah retreated again. She went back to partying with her friends, skipping school, started to vape and occasionally dabbing in drugs. The summer of 2023, was spent away from the family home, going back once a week to get clean clothes and money then disappearing again. If her parents cared, they never said anything. 

It was fine until they cornered her one weekend with the exception of her joining them in Australia for the World Cup. Her parents didn’t care when she said no and told them she had plans. They told her she had to drop everything to support her sister and her country. It was a very very long few weeks in Australia. 

Keira didn’t notice the change in her sister, Lucy however, she did. She took her out for a few hours, grilling the 15 year old on what was wrong. It took a while, but Noah broke. She told Lucy everything. Lucy had always had a suspicion about what was happening, but Everytime she asked Keira she got nowhere. Now that the pair weren’t together, Noah felt safer telling Lucy. 

Lucy approached Keira, knowing it had to be done gently. She sat Keira down and told her everything Noah had said. Something in Keira changed after that. The lingering stares, the forcing of a conversation, the extra long and tight hugs. Keira even bought Noah down from the stands after their loss to Spain, wanting to introduce her to her Barcelona teammates. 

Once back in the UK, Noah went off the rails. Completely abandoning school, staying out drinking with her friends. She’d gotten herself a new phone and with that, a new number. She’d disconnected herself from her family all together. It took a week, which was shorter than Noah anticipated, until her parents noticed. They had called the police, called Lucy, Keira and Leah. 

The police found her, passed out in a park with her friends. They ignored the pleas to not force her back at her parent’s house. It took a few days, but then Noah was gone again. Again, they called the police. The police returned her home. This routine happened for six weeks until her parents had had enough. Forcing Noah to pack her belongings as she was going to Spain for a while, to live with Keira. 

————————————————————————

Keira Walsh

Lucy and I are waiting at the baggage claim. We have your bags, no rush though. 

Great. She bought Lucy along. Ma and dad didn’t tell me how long I’d be here for, just that they had had enough. Which is funny because they never gave a shit before. Basically my whole life it’s been them and Keira. Me on the outside, even when Lucy was around she’d get treated better. 

“Hey Noodles.” Keira pulled me into a hug. It was awkward, for the both of us. Once she let go, Lucy was next. Hugs were certainly not something I enjoyed. 

“The car is this way. Lucy will drive us back to mine and then she’ll stay for dinner, if that’s alright with you?” 

“Yeah whatever that’s fine.” Dinner was the last thing on my mind. Living here, in a country that I don’t speak in the language, without my friends, would be pure hell. I wanted no part in this. 

The drive to Keira’s apartment wasn’t long. It was a tense drive though. Both Lucy and Keira tried to make conversation with me but realised pretty quickly I wasn’t in the mood for that. 

“So this is the apartment. Your bedroom is through the hallway there, opposite is the bathroom and my room. I put fresh towels in your room for you. If you want to have a shower before dinner, go ahead.” 

It wasn’t a small apartment by any means. It was bigger than their Manchester one, nicer too. The room had a queen sized bed in the middle, two side tables and a desk, some generic artwork on the wall above the bed but other than that, it was a typical guest room.  I very quickly grabbed what I needed for my shower. The flight was only two and a half hours but doing that after being hungover and having a massive fight with your parents wasn’t the best. 

When I remerged, Lucy and Keira were talking in hushed voices in the kitchen. No doubt about me. They quickly stopped when they saw me. 

“Help yourself to dinner, we got a variety because we weren’t sure what you wanted.” 

Nodding my head, I did as they said. Dinner was awkward. It was just like the car ride. I spent the majority of it pushing food around the plate. 

“Why am I here?” I spoke softly, curious but not wanting to know the real answer. 

“Ma and dad thought you needed a change of scenery.” 

“No. I meant why am I here, at your apartment.” 

“Well where else would you go?” 

“To my friends house. To Leah’s. Anywhere but here.” 

“You’d prefer to be with Leah over me? I’m your sister?” The hurt was evident in her voice. 

“She’s been more of a sister then you have ever been.” I regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth. 

“What’s the supposed to mean Noah?” 

“Forget it. I’m going to bed.” 

“No Noah! Come back here now!”

“Kei, leave it. She’s clearly going through something and needs time.” Lucy spoke up for the first time since they all sat down for dinner. 

“What if she runs away again? She doesn’t know the city? Her phone won’t work.” 

“Then we will find her. Me, you and the team. She’ll come to training tomorrow, we can ask Ale or Mapi to watch her while we train then we can sort out her phone situation, alright?” 

Keira nodded. Unsure what to really say. Had she been that bad of a sister to not realise what was happening? When did things change between the two of you? 

No matter how hard I tried, sleep didn’t happen. I didn’t want to be here, in the city or in this apartment. Keira was acting like everything that’s happened is my own fault. 

The sun started to slowly seep through the curtains, and I heard Keira’s alarm go off. Followed by her getting into the show. I knew she would be in here soon, I doubt she trusted me enough to be left alone. Right on que she knocks on the door, letting me know Lucy will be here in 20 minutes. 

I waited until I heard Lucy come in the apartment before I started getting ready. Slowly I made my way out. 

“Good morning. Are you ready to go?” 

“I just need to brush my teeth.” I walked back up the hallway and into the bathroom. Not hearing the conversation or the confused looks between Keira and Lucy. 

“That was easy? Why didn’t she fight it? Ma and dad said that she’s been fighting with them over everything?” 

“I don’t know Kei. Maybe Mapi and Ale can get some answers out of her?” 

The drive was again, silent. Neither girls attempted to make conversation with me, I was grateful for that. If I had to be at this training ground, I would not make a noise. Keira hurried in first, presumably to get change first so I wouldn’t be left to wander. 

“She’s worried about you Noodle.” 

I stopped dead in my tracks, “why does she care now? Why do either of you care now?” My voice started to get louder, Lucy looked around, spotting her teammates getting out of their cars. 

“Noods cmon. Let’s not do this here.” 

“Why! You don’t want all your teammates to know that you and precious Keira left me! I don’t want to be here, in this stupid fucking country. You and Keira don’t want me here so let me leave!” 

“What’s going on?” The heavily accented voice stunned me for a moment, I’d completely forgotten that there were others around by the time I was done. 

“Nothing Ale. Sorry for the yelling.” Keira was very quickly by my side, probably been alerted by her other teammates. 

“Noah, this is Alexia, our captain and who you’re going to stay with today while we train.” 

“Hola Noah.” She stuck her hand out for me to shake. 

“Are you kidding me? I don’t need a fucking babysitter.” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. 

“Noah! Use your manners!” 

“Keira it’s fine. Let’s go then. I will show you around the place.” Keira and Lucy shared looks as I was ushered away by their captain. 

Neither of us spoke. Alexia just kept walking until we reached an empty conference room that overlooked the field. Slowly the team started to walk out onto the field. The silence was deafening, until Alexia broke it. 

“I have a little sister. She’s 26 so not as young as you are but I know it’s hard for Keira.” 

“All due respect, you don’t know shit.” She quirked an eye at that, eyes burning into the side of my head. Admittedly, I understood how people were intimidated by her but I wasn’t going to let her know that. 

“I do know Keira is worried about you. Lucia too. I know you were sent here and you’re upset about that but don’t take it out on Keira or Lucia. That’s not fair.” 

“Not fair? You want to know what’s not fair Alexia? My whole life it’s always been about Keira. Keira’s football, Keira’s awards, everything is about Keira. My ma cried for a week when Keira said she was moving out, then cried again when Keira said she was moving to Spain. None of them care about me. It’s all keeping up appearances. I bet if you asked Keira what I enjoyed doing she wouldn’t be able to answer. To Keira and my parents I’m just some annoying accident that they pretend doesn’t exist, so I’m so sorry if I hurt your precious Keira’s feelings.” 

I violently wiped the tears that came out. We sat in silence for the next half hour. I knew it wasn’t fair to lash out at Alexia, but no one was listening to me. No one ever listened to me. 

“Vamos. I have physio and you must come.” She made her way over to the door, waiting for me to get up. 

“Why are you not training? Aren’t you supposed to be the best?” 

“My knee hurts.” Her response was stern, clearly a soft spot for her. “Sit there. Don’t move please.” 

the more I watched her the more I realised we had something in common. We were both struggling. I pulled out my sketch pad, deciding now was the best time to get some stuff drawn. 

On the bike next to Alexia was a younger girl, she didn’t look too much older than me. Taking a mental photo of the imagine in front of me I got to work. After an hour, the younger girl came walking over, scaring me a little when she spoke because I was so into my work. 

“Hola, me llamo Jana. ¿Cómo te llamas?”

“Jana no habla español.” Alexia spoke up from the weights. 

“My names Noah.” 

“Nice to meet you. What are you working on?” At this point, it was just a bunch of messy lines. There wasn’t much to see or make out. 

“it’s nothing yet.” 

“Show me when you’re done?” I nodded. Not really planning on going through with it, “I have to leave now. Adiós Noah!” Her smile was infectious. 

No one disturbed me for the next little while until Alexia informed me she was going to the next room and for me to follow. She seemed to be fine talking about her knee, considering I didn’t understand a word of the fast Spanish they were speaking.  

“Vamos! We are done and we leave now.” 

“Leave? Where are we going?” Keira and Lucy never said anything about leaving, in fact they said the opposite. 

“My home. Let’s go, Olga is waiting.” She gave me a push out the door. 

“Who the fuck is Olga?” 

“Language Pequeño. Olga is my girlfriend. She will not hurt you. Keira said yes.” 

“Keira said yes to a stranger taking me in her car, to her house, where another stranger was waiting?”

“I am no stranger to Keira and you are know stranger to me. I know a lot. Vamos I am hungry.” 

Alexia’s car was fancy, really fancy. Definitely the nicest I’ve ever been in but I guess it makes sense when you’re as famous as she is. She riddled with her Spotify before driving off. It was a quiet drive, she didn’t push for conversation which I appreciated. 

Her apartment building is near the beach, looking over the coast of Barcelona. Seemed like a fitting place for her. As we pulled into the garage she started talking. 

“Olga, my girlfriend, doesn’t speak the best of English. She is very nice though.” 

“Keira and Lucy yell at me for talking to strangers so it’s fine.” 

“You’re a, sabelotodo, you can talk to her. Just slowly. Or I will translate.” 

“I don’t know what you said but thanks?” She laughed. We made our way upstairs, and into her apartment. 

“Jesus Christ this is fancy.” 

I could hear her groan from the hallway, “language Pequeño. Please take your shoes off.” 

I very quickly listened, throwing my shoes haphazardly near hers, then walking straight over to the big windows in her living room, ignoring the body on the couch. 

“Hola amor. Este es Noah. Lo está pasando un poco mal, así que mientras estoy en rehabilitación va a pasar el rato conmigo. Puede que no hable contigo, pero te prometo que es una buena niña.”

(Hola amor. This is Noah. She’s having a bit of a rough time so while I’m doing rehab she’s going to be hanging out with me. She might not talk to you, but I’m promise she’s a good kid.)

“¿Habla español? Mi inglés no es bueno, Ale.”

(Does she speak Spanish? My English isn’t good Ale.) They both turned their heads to me, I was too busy staring at the coast to pay any attention. 

“Noah, say hi please.” Alexia’s voice was soft. 

“Hola, soy Noah.” I gave a small shy wave. Both of them looked at me shocked. 

“¿Dijiste que no habla español?” Olga was dumbfounded. 

(You said she doesn’t speak Spanish?” )

“¿Ella no? ¿Keira y Lucy dijeron que no lo sabía? Noah, you speak Spanish?”

(She doesn’t? Keira and Lucy both said she doesn’t know it?)

“No. That girl from the gym, uh Jana? I remembered what she said and just said the same thing. Obviously replacing her name with mine because I’m not Jana, I’m Noah.” 

I pulled my sketch book and pencils out and started the draw the imagine in front of me. Olga and Alexia were engaged in a conversation behind me but I couldn’t understand them, not that I particularly cared anyway. 

After what felt like 5 minutes, Alexia interrupted. 

“Pequeño, come wash your hands please. Olga made lunch.” Abandoning my book and pencils I got up and followed her. We all sat at the table, Alexia started bringing the food out. 

“Gracias for lunch Olga.” 

“Mira, te lo dije. Es una buena niña”.

“You are okay.” Olga beamed at me. 

“Welcome, you’re welcome.” I smiled back, she seemed nice enough, obviously if she was with Alexia she couldn’t be a horrible person. 

“Ale, pregúntale qué estaba dibujando, por favor”.

“Olga wants to know what you’re drawing.” 

“Just the view out the window.” 

Alexia translated it back, then Olga said something else, so bloody fast it just sounded like one noise. 

“She would like to see it. If that’s okay, if it’s no that is fine.” 

“Okay.” I shrugged, getting up and walking back over to my book. I handed it to her and let her flick through it. Thankfully it was relatively new so there wasn’t any depressing stuff in it. 

“Ale and Jana, no?” I knew exactly which one she was talking about. I nodded my head and continued to eat. 

“Good. I like.” She flicked to the next page which was of the view outside. “Ale, ven a ver esto. ¡Es tan bueno!” (Ale, come look at this. It’s so good!”)

“You drew this just now?” Her eyebrows were raised, there was a look in her eyes that I couldn’t place. 

“Yeah? It’s not finished yet or prefect-“

“¡No, no! Esto es genial. Se ve perfecto. ¡Díselo a Ale! Dile lo genial que es.” (No no! This is great. It looks perfect. Tell her Ale! Tell her how great she is. )

Olga look excited, it worried me a little bit. “Olga loves it. She says you’re very great.” 

“Oh, um, gracias?” 

Olga placed the sketch book back on the table, we all continued to eat our lunch. It felt a bit awkward afterwards, alexia announced she was going to shower and then we would watch a movie until Lucy and Keira came. I helped Olga clean up from lunch and as we sat down on the couch, she pulled out google translate. Clearly wanting to have a conversation with me. 

“I have a proposition for you.” I urged her to continue, she typed quickly. “Alexia loves her mami and sister. If I gave you a photo of them, would you draw them? I will pay you of course, but you can’t tell Alexia.” 

I took her phone, “yes, but I don’t want money. Will you teach me Spanish instead? I don’t think I’m leaving anytime soon.” She agreed, throwing her arms around me and hugging me. 

Usually, hugs make me anxious, claustrophobic and uncomfortable, but there was something about this hug that didn’t. Maybe because it was full of appreciation and happiness and not out of obligation. 

Alexia came back and we all got comfortable. I sat in the middle, alexia joking it was so I didn’t run away, not that I’d get very far here. After 10 minutes of watching Lilo and Stitch (with the Spanish subtitles), my eyelids started getting heavy. My body finally realising what sleep is. It very quickly overcame me and I fell asleep with my head in alexia’s lap. 

Keira and Lucy arrived just after 5pm, they had some media things today which meant that they were later than normal. 

“Hola Keira y Lucy. Noah está dormido en el sofá con Ale. Entra”.

“Gracias” both girls softly said as they slipped off their shoes. The sight in front of them was not what they were expecting. Noah looked so small, and so peaceful snuggled into Alexia. 

“Noodle, hey kiddo you gotta wake up. We’ve got to go home.” Keira spoke, softly pushing hair out of my face. 

“Kei?” 

“Yeah baby. Come on. Do you have everything?” 

I groaned as I got up. That was a good sleep, at least for me it was. “Um I just need my pencils and book.” I very quickly gathered my stuff up. Saying a quick goodbye to Olga and Alexia and walking out her front door, Lucy was hot in my tail. 

“She’s a good kid Keira. She showed us her drawings, I think she’s better than Maps.” 

“Thank you Ale. I mean it. I’ll see you tomorrow. Tell Olga I said thank you too.” 

The ride back was quiet. We made small talk about our days but once we got inside Keira’s flat I beelined for the room I was staying in. Olga had sent me the photo of Alexia, her sister and Mami and I wanted to get a head start on it. It needed to be perfect, that meant it would take hours and hours. 

I was so lost in the artwork that I didn’t realise what time it was until Keira came in to tell me to get ready. With one look at me, she knew I didn’t sleep. She didn’t push it though. 

Alexia took me away as soon as we arrived, this time to the cafeteria. 

“We eat, then go to the gym. Get some food please.” The concern was evident in her voice, Keira probably told her I didn’t sleep or eat anything since I left her house yesterday. 

I sat down with a small bowl of fruit and a piece of toast, alexia sighed when she saw the little amount of food I had, “we will work on you eating more and better.” 

The morning was the same as yesterday, I sat and continued my drawing of Alexia and Jana, expect this time someone else interrupted. 

“Hola Poco Walsh. I am Mapi.” She sat down next to me, a child like smile on her face, “you draw alexia and Jana?” 

I turned the page towards her and her eyes almost popped out of her head. “¡Dios mío, eres tan bueno! ¡Muy, muy bueno!” 

“María, déjala en paz, por favor.” 

“Aye capi, we are friends yes. She draws good!” 

“Vamos Pequeño, we leave now. Say goodbye Maria.” Mapi said goodbye straight away, I laughed at her enthusiasm. 

Alexia’s car was warm, soft and safe. The sound of the engine and the soft music out of the radio lulled me into a sleep very quickly. She woke me up when we arrived and we went upstairs. I threw my shoes off, remembering yesterday when she said no shoes in the house, then threw myself onto the couch. 

Alexia smiled, announced she was going to shower and then walked off. Her couch was like a big cloud, it engulfed me and I easily went back off to sleep. she woke me back up after an hour, shoving a plate of food and a bottle of water in my heads. It was quiet for a while until Alexia spoke. 

“Why are you angry with Keira and your parents? I heard what you said to Lucy yesterday.” 

“Did you know I played the piano?” 

“Nena, that’s not what I asked.” She was stern. 

“I know, but did you know?” 

“No. But I only just meet you.” 

“Keira has known me all my life and I could bet £100 that you know more about me than she does. You probably know more about me than my own parents.” 

“I don’t think I understand nena?” 

“My whole life has been about Keira. Travelling to see Keira play, missing piano recitals because Keira is playing. I remember when Man City won the league, it happened on my birthday and my parents said we couldn’t go out because Keira won. That was the start of them missing my birthdays. I was 9. Then I got into this music school in London that offered lessons on Saturdays, so I could sell my drawings to pay for it and catch the train to London for my lessons. I got into this school and was going to ask my parents to let me go but then Keira said she was leaving for Barcelona. Then they would leave me at home, alone so they can go to Spain for Keira. Keira never cared but Lucy did. So did Leah. But then Lucy left too and I guess it just became too much. They only i was gone after the World Cup, which they forced me to attend. So it’s just been me, in the shadows and Keira never said anything or cared.” I didn’t realise I was crying until the tears dropped onto the table. 

“Oh nena, come here.” She pulled me into the tightest hug I’ve ever had. “I will talk to Keira yes? We can fix things?” I nodded my head against her chest. She let me cry for a minute before dragging me into her bedroom, pushing me onto the bed and then walking away and coming back with a change of clothes. 

“Put these on, then we will watch a movie.” 

I did as she said, climbed back into her bed and got comfy. After she picked a movie and put English subtitles on, we both relaxed. I ended up falling asleep, again. This time in a warm, comfy bed. 

[everytimewetouch-dot-mp3]

high profile megacelebrity luo binghe who is deeply in love with his acting coach(sj)’s younger brother, shen yuan. sy is literally Just Some Guy compared to lbh—he’s had a couple recurring minor roles on popular tv shows and a number of award winning stage performances, but he turns down movies, interviews, tv main character roles, etc.

he turns down basically every role he’s offered until his asshole friend asks him to voice the teacher in his in-progress xianxia video game. sy’s been tearing the story to shreds since airplane first brought it to him, so he agrees.

(it’s only so he can see firsthand what a nightmare it’ll be!! definitely not because airplane is his closest friend and of course he wants the project to succeed and knows that his name unfortunately carries a liiiitle bit of star power)

it’s not until he arrives in the studio to get covered in little mocap balls that he realizes who else is in this stupid disaster of a game. luo binghe (his favorite actor??? airplane you asshole why didn’t you SAY luo binghe was playing the lead???????). video game set romance ensues.

[bronzeyslcve]

take charge - lucy bronze

pairing: lucy bronze x female reader

theme: smut

warnings: smut, minors dni, fingering, strap-on use, oral sex, praise kink, gag use, orgasm control, submissive lucy, pet names, use of y/n

summary: lucy has always been the dominant one out of the two of you throughout your entire five year relationship. when leah tears her acl, Sarina gives you the armband for the World Cup. Something about you in the armband turns lucy on and suddenly, she wants you to take control in the bedroom…

notes: based on this request, thank you sm anon! whilst writing this, half of it didn’t save so i had to rewrite most of the match part so sorry if it’s really bad <3

─────────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆─────────

It was heartbreaking watching Leah tear her ACL, the three letters confirming to you and all of your England teammates that your captain would miss the World Cup. You had no idea who Sarina would give the armband to, you thought Millie would receive it, or even Lucy, she deserved it more than most in your definite non-biased opinion. But Sarina had other plans. You were announced as the captain for the World Cup. Naturally, you were honoured to not only represent your country but to know hopefully captain them to a World Cup win, it was a childhood dream come true and Lucy couldn’t have been prouder of you.

So far, you had lead the team through the group stages, having won all three matches and you couldn’t be happier. You had noticed a slight change in Lucy ever since your first game against Haiti, but you put it down to just tournament nerves. Not knowing what was really going through her head. Having no clue that seeing you lead all the girls on the pitch, wearing that armband and being much more commanding and even more confident then you normally are, has been doing things to her.

All this week, you had been preparing for the game against Nigeria. You weren’t stupid, you knew it was going to be tough. They’re physical. Way more physical than the Lionesses but you were all ready. Or that’s what you thought. You played in the left-wing back position, which allowed you to cover the back and push up a little, which you loved doing. You had a good link up going with Georgia but Nigeria were quick to break it, quick to have you marked down and so you could do nothing, not really, except for telling your girls what to do.

Rarely, anger was never an emotion you dealt with on the pitch. You never got angry, not really, the last time you had it was the champions league final back in 2020 for an unjust foul committed on you that should’ve been a penalty, but it wasn’t awarded. However, watching you get awarded a penalty in the 31st minute and then having it taken off of you in the 34th just really pissed you off. You thought it should’ve stood. But it didn’t. When you’re angry on the pitch, you get a touch more aggressive, more loud and much more pissed if things don’t go your way. And that’s exactly what starts to happen.

The last minutes of the first half are basically just filled with you shouting at the girls, telling them what to do, putting challenges in on the Nigerian players, but still being careful to not get carded for them. When you come off for half time, Lucy is the first one over to you, putting her arm around your waist, whilst you two walk back through the tunnel. All of the fans knew about your relationship, I mean the pair of you never made any effort to hide it, meaning you could be more open with some of your affections.

“That should’ve been a fucking penalty,” you huff, as you walk towards the changing rooms, Lucy’s arm never leaving its position of being wrapped around your waist.

“I know baby, I know. Don’t threat about it though, we’ll be okay, we have you, you’re playing exceptional as always,” Lucy reassured you, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of your head, ignoring the feelings stirring inside of her from watching you get angry on the pitch. From wearing that armband. You have absolutely no clue how much you’re turning her on.

“Luce, I’ve hardly done anything,” you sigh softly as you make your way through the changing room and sit down at your cubby, which is conveniently next to your girlfriends.

“Yes you have. The passes that you have managed to make have been perfect, you’ve kept the left locked down and you’ve been commanding us really well.”

You smile softly at her and she presses a gentle peck to your lips before whispering against them lowly, “It’s very hot actually,” before she leaves to use the toilet to adjust herself.

Sarina gives her usual half time speech, telling you all on how to improve, then about ten minutes later you’re all back on the pitch. The knowledge that Lucy finds how you’re carrying yourself on the pitch hot, sends sparks flying through you. You weren’t thinking about that, not at all, but now, it’s in the back of your mind and you can’t help but want to impress her just a little more.

By the 83rd minute, most of the girls are tired. Nigeria’s physicality is just knackering the entire team. Sarina still hasn’t made any changes and it’s annoying you a little bit, your team are tired, substitutions need to be made. That’s why it doesn’t surprise you as much when frustrations get the better of Lauren James. Sure, her stamp on Alozie was completely unnecessary, but you understand why she did it. You’re frustrated too, however you have the maturity, which Lauren lacks and needs to work on, to time your tackles right, to not foul a player as said tackles you have committed have all been completely legal. Yes your frustrations did get the better of you in the 73rd minute leading to you getting a yellow card, but that was only for talking back to the ref, who you now had down as being a wanker, you didn’t like her. You knew the red card was coming to Lauren, a blind idiot would know, but that still doesn’t mean it didn’t hit the team hard. Being forced to drop to ten whilst you’re already struggling isn’t really an ideal situation.

The last eight minutes were utter hell for England. Scrappy, sloppy, whatever the commentators want to call it. You are extremely lucky to be going into extra time and not home. There were multiple shots from Nigeria that could’ve gone in but didn’t.

When the first fifteen minutes of extra time roll around after the short break, Nigeria’s tactics are slightly different. They try to test you, try to exploit the left side which they haven’t for the entire game. However you’re successful at keeping it locked down, not letting them get around you, which means they take back up their usual routine of going down the middle or the right.

In the 98th minute, a diagonal ball that’s just completely ignored by Millie could’ve easily been scored, it was a big chance for Nigeria. A huge one, it could’ve won them the game. But it didn’t. That still doesn’t mean that you didn’t have a few stern words with your vice captain. Millie understood and she was incredibly apologetic, knowing she fucked up, her words, not yours, she’s tired. All of the girls are, you couldn’t blame her that much, so you just remind her to stay alert and on her player, that’s all really.

You notice Nigeria decide to attack down the right, and Lucy isn’t doing all that well. She seems distracted by something. You’ve never shouted at Lucy on the pitch before, but you just have to, she has to lock that right side down, you can’t concede.

“Luce, c’mon snap out of it, stay on her!” you shout at your girlfriend and Lucy is quick to react. She improves her marking of Ajibade instantly and doesn’t let her past her, locking the right down just how you wanted. Yet again, you had no idea what you had just done to Lucy. The way you commanded her stirred something primal within her, but she was quick to snap out of it: remembering your earlier words, not wanting to disappoint you. It was a weird feeling for Lucy, but she was sure that if you asked her to do anything: she’d do it for you.

The first half of the extra time comes to an end and you have a little break, having a quick gel and then a word with the girls to just play their best and for now push through the pain and the tiredness for their county. For winning this game and for hopefully winning the World Champion title in a few weeks time.

The second half of extra time kicks off and it’s an improvement from the first, you have a second substitution now, so more fresh legs and Beth England is an excellent player.

In the back of your mind, you know that ever since Lauren’s red card you’ve had less possession and have not had a single shot. You pray to change that. You want one to end up in the back of that net, not really wanting to have to end up with going to penalties. But it seems like fate has other ideas. There was a couple of chances that England had in that last half, but unfortunately none could connect. So penalties it is.

A few minutes break is allocated for a breather to discuss who would take the penalties and in what order. It would be Georgia, then Beth, then Rachel, then you, then Chloe and then Alex for the first six, if all six are needed of course. Then the rest of the girls were also ordered, if more than five had to be taken. You had taken a few penalties in your time, all in shootouts, and you’d scored all of them. So you were pretty confident in yourself.

You stood next to Lucy at the end of the line, one arm wrapped around her waist as you watched Georgia set up to take her shot, hoping, praying it would go in. It didn’t, but you were still proud of the midfielder nevertheless she’d played a good game, and you had every faith in Mary in saving the one. Which she doesn’t even need to do because Oparanozie misses the target.

All of the England players scream when Beth slots it perfectly in the back of the next. 1-0 to England. When Alozie steps up to take Nigeria’s second, you hold your breath and when she skies it, you sigh in relief. Lucy quickly pressing a soft kiss to your head.

Rachel scores the next one, slamming it into the top left corner, however Ajibade also scores her one too. 2-1.

Usually when you take penalties, you’re not nervous. Not at all. But you can feel them tingling away around your body. You set the ball down and then close your eyes, quickly taking a moment to breathe, to block out all of the sound of the fans, and to focus on where you’re going to try and slot the ball. When you open your eyes, you focus on the opposite spot, to throw the keeper off, focusing on the bottom right.

You take in a breath and then strike the ball, to which it slots in beautifully in the top left hand corner. The keeper diving completely the wrong way. You run up and jump into Lucy’s arms, her pressing a soft kiss to your lips, which makes fans in the stands go wild. That’ll be in TikTok edits later, but you don’t care. After you, Ucheibe scores hers for Nigeria and then Chloe’s up.

You squeeze Lucy’s hand, if this goes in you’ve done it. You’re through to the World Cup quarter finals. And of course, Chloe Kelly slots it in and England are through. After an incredibly challenging, tiring game, you’d done it. England through to the next round, thank fuck. Nigeria put up a good fight, it was crystal clear they wanted it just as much as you did, the game truly could’ve gone either way.

After consolidating the Nigerian team, you get into the team huddle, standing in between Sarina and then Lucy on your other side, listening to the gaffer give her little post match speech before you have to give yours, a little bit of that aggressive, more dominant edge still clinging to your voice. As Lucy listens to you, she feels that urge cross her body again, the one that’s willing to do whatever you say. To be your good girl. It’s a weird feeling for her. Lucy has never, ever felt this way before. She’s not submissive. She never has been. But seeing you, like this, all commanding, angry and dominant it’s doing things to her and suddenly she craves for you to take charge of her, like you’ve done on the pitch.

After you’ve said what you’ve needed to, you look over at your girlfriend and notice that tiny glint in her eye which means she’s turned on, that makes you raise an eyebrow slightly, wondering how and why. But you just shrug it off, listening to what some of the other girls have to say about the game whilst Lucy’s eyes are fixed on the captains band sitting on your left arm.

A few hours later, you finally manage to get away from all of the girls, Lucy saying the pair of you need an early night. You make it up to your room, and then she’s on you, her lips immediately seeking out yours, kissing you passionately, but not rough like she normally is.

“Put your kit back on, especially the armband,” she breathes against your lips, causing you to furrow your eyebrows.

“You want me to put my dirty, sweaty kit back on? Seriously?” you ask, your tone incredulous, confused beyond belief.

“Mhm, please Y/n, put it on,” she begs, her eyes pleading with yours.

You look at her gone out. What the bloody hell is happening? Lucy had never ever begged you to do anything (unless it’s get her cake) in the entirety of your five year relationship. It takes you a few seconds to deliberate the idea in your head but with a soft sigh you nod and grab your bag that you brought up here earlier, just after the game before the dinner you’ve just had, to get it out of the way.

“Do I have to put my pads back on?” you question as you strip from the England gear you currently had on, getting back into your football kit from the match earlier.

“It’s up to you Y/n, you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Lucy states softly as she watches you intently, her eyes glued to the armband that’s now sat back on your left bicep and she swears she feels her knees going weak.

You nod and decide against putting them back on, not actually needing them for whatever you’re about to do. The answer she gives you is not “very Lucy”, usually she would’ve told you exactly what she wants. For extra measure, you put your hair back up into the style of a rather neat bun, much neater than the ones Lucy does in her hair are. You look at yourself in the mirror quickly before glancing back at the brunette, something about seeing yourself in the armband has made that sense of pride and dominance return, exactly what Lucy wanted.

“This what you wanted hm Luce? Want to get me in my kit so I could take charge?” you had finally caught on to what she wanted, it just all clicked and fucking hell, taking charge in the bedroom, of Lucy is an incredibly hot thought.

“Please y/n, I’ll be a good girl, I promise, I need you,” she whines, her usual dominance having completely melted away. It’s almost like another woman is stood in front of you.

“Dirty girl, getting turned on by seeing me get all angry and aggressive on the pitch. I should just leave you here, wanting and not getting anything,” you hum before gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ears, a direct contrast to your words.

“No, please, don’t, I need you baby, I’m so desperate, please.”

God she sounds so so so pretty when she whines, when she begs. You’ve never heard it before, and you want to hear more of it, you’ll make sure Lucy does her fair share of begging before she gets anything from you.

“You sound so pretty when you beg Luce, what you desperate for hm? What do you want me to do?” you ask, fully aware that you’re being a tease, but you know she’ll do what you want.

“I want you to fuck me, please Y/n.”

A small groan slips past your lips at her admission, normally you’re the ones saying those words, begging her to have her way with you. Now it’s the other way around and you love it and of course, you’ll give her exactly what she wants, eventually.

Your lips find hers, kissing her rather hungrily before you start to trail your kisses down the column of her throat, occasionally dragging your teeth over her skin, making her shiver.

“Fuck baby, please stop teasing,” Lucy pleads, her head tilted back slightly, allowing you to have slightly better access to her neck.

“And why should I do that hm?” you question before connecting your lips again, the kiss all teeth and tongue, with you in full control. Your lips stay intact as you reach the edge of the bed, only breaking apart for a few seconds to push her down gently, before kissing her once more.

Lucy whimpers into the kiss, wanting so much more than she’s currently getting, needing you to push her over the edge and give her the orgasm she so desperately craves, that she so desperately needs.

Momentarily, you break the kiss to take off her top, and then her sports bra, carelessly throwing them over your shoulder. You ignore her boobs, for now, going back to roughly making out with her. She lets out another little whimper into your mouth a few seconds later, needing more.

“Is there something wrong Lucia?” you hum teasingly, using her full name which you know has an effect on her, knowing full damn well what she wants.

“I need more Y/n,” she mewls, now having taken to squeezing her thighs together to get a touch a friction.

When you see what she’s doing, you click your tongue in disapproval before then gently pull her legs apart, slotting yourself in between them.

“Oh really? Is what I’m doing not enough for you?”

“N-no, please, give me more.”

Puppy eyes was the last thing you’d expect to see from Lucy, but god they do look adorable. And you find yourself giving in, very slightly to what she wants. Your mouth finds her right boob, gently kissing over it before flickering your tongue over her nipple. After a few little flicks, you tug it between your teeth, then run your tongue over it, soothing the small amount of pain. Your hand finds her left one, kneading the flesh delicately ahead of your fingers twisting and lightly pulling at that nipple, whilst the other one gets taken properly into your mouth for you to suck on.

A mix between a moan and a whimper leaves your girlfriend’s throat and it sounds beautiful, like music to your ears. You keep up with what you’re doing for a while before pulling away and kissing down her chest, littering it with love bites, then you move onto trailing your tongue down her stomach to the waistband of her joggers. Quickly, you get them off of her, leaving her in just her boxers, a very noticeable dark wet patch on the front of the dark cotton.

“Fuck look at you, I’ve hardly touched you and you’re soaked. God if I’d have known if me being captain would make you this needy, I would’ve begged Sarina to have been captain for the Euros too.”

That makes Lucy whine again and squirm a little, wiggling her hips, trying to get you right where she needs you.

“Stop teasing me, please baby,” she whimpers once more, growing stupidly needy.

At first, her whines and her begging you sounded perfect, you loved them, but now, they are getting on your nerves very slightly, just like yours must do to her. Now you realise why she doesn’t like it when you’re whiny and are begging her insistently. Not when you have a plan in place of what you’re doing and she’s just being so goddamn impatient.

“No, stop fucking begging,” you practically growl, but she doesn’t listen, whining a little more and bucking her hips up to almost remind you where you’re so desperately needed.

“Please baby, I need you, it aches, fuck me, please.”

You raise your eyebrows at her so blatantly ignoring you, your hand finds your captains band on your arm and you tug it down before forcing it into Lucy’s mouth.

“There. Now we’re all nice and quiet hm?”

Lucy moans around the gag of your armband and it’s the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard, you just hope that you get to hear it again. Sure enough, when your mouth finds her inner thighs after pulling down her boxers, that same noise spills from her throat.

A small smirk tugs onto your lips as you kiss, lick, nip and suck at Lucy’s inner thighs, not darling to inch just that little higher and run your tongue through her soaked folds. Admittedly, you were savouring every second of this, you’d never ever taken her like this. She’s always been sat on your face and there was no time to tease her, so you’d never properly gone down on Lucy.

When you finally do decide to give her a little of what she needs, languidly swiping your tongue over her drenched slit, avoiding her clit like the plague, the prettiest little sound slips around the gag of your armband, something like a moan mixed with a small cry.

You go back to then sucking at her inner thighs, just wanting to tease her a touch more before you really give her what she wants. Lucy’s frustrated, but she doesn’t vocalise it, not whimpering around the gag, nor does she show it, her hips remain planted on the bed, hands screwed up in the duvet: not daring to touch you without your permission. For her your dominance was exhilarating, your armband in her mouth silencing her was what she thought was the hottest thing ever and the sheer confidence you have in taking charge does in fact have her incredibly needy; evidenced in just how soaking wet she is.

After a few seconds, when you see no physical reaction from Lucy to your teasing, you smile and lean up to press a soft kiss to her cheek.

“Such a good girl for me hm? Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll give you what you want,” you coo before dipping your head back down towards her dripping sex.

Those two words, “good girl” have Lucy literally melting in a puddle for you. Involuntarily, her pussy clenches around nothing, clit throbs with need and the moan she lets out - which is slightly muffled - is perfect.

At the revelation that Lucy has a bit of a praise kink going on, you smirk, you’re going to use that to your advantage. As your tongue once again swipes over her slit, your eyes remain locked onto your girlfriends, watching how within seconds of your ministrations, they roll into the back of her head.

“My good girl,” you husk against her cunt before your lips find her clit, sucking just how she likes as one of your fingers teases around her entrance, not dipping inside just yet.

The possession mixed with the praise has Lucy letting out another moan around her gag and as soon as your lips finally find her clit, a muffled cry tumbles from her lips.

You continue with sucking her clit, pushing just one finger inside of her, groaning into her pussy as you feel just how tight she is, how warm she is. When she’s in charge, Lucy rarely lets you finger her, she always forces you to use your mouth and nothing else, it’s because she’s never been much of a receiver. Always giving. But when she’s does want something, the quickest way to get her off is to eat her out, so she’d make you do just that: so she could get back to fucking you quicker.

Slowly, you pump your finger in and out of her, a second one soon joining the first, feeling her walls stretch a little to accommodate it. You can already feel Lucy getting closer to the edge, so you slow down even more. You want to draw this out. You want to prep her to take the strap.

“Doing so well for me sweetheart, think you can take a third for me?” you ask her softly, pulling your mouth away from her clit for just a few seconds, still fucking her with your fingers.

Eagerly, Lucy nods. She wants to take it, to be your good girl, she knows she can take them too. You smile at her and then once again dip your head back down. Your tongue swirls over her clit gently, before you go back to sucking the sensitive nub.

A third finger slowly joins the second two, and your curl up all three of them, causing the right back to let out another muffled cry around the gag. The stretch for her is perfect, the feeling of taking three of your fingers is sensational, it feels like heaven. With each thrust of your fingers, Lucy can feel them hitting her g-spot, which makes her face contort with pleasure.

You speed up your fingers and your sucking, determined to push her over the edge, wanting to make her cum hard. Lucy’s knuckles turn white with how hard she’s now clenching the duvet, her back arching slightly, eyes now squeezed shut, stars dancing behind her eyelids. With what sounds to be like a moan of your name around your armband, she comes undone, harder than she ever has done. Just like you wanted.

Your movements slow, gently rocking your fingers inside of her, so she can ride out her orgasm. You press a gentle kiss to her clit before pulling your mouth of her, so you can murmur gentle reassurances to her as she comes back down from her high.

“You did so good for me sweetheart, such a good girl,” you state softly whilst gently easing your fingers out of her, which you clean by sucking on them.

The sight of you sucking and moaning around your fingers, coated in her cum, has Lucy getting worked back up again, which you obviously notice.

“You need more hm?” you tease as you ease your armband out of her mouth, pulling it back on to your left arm.

“Please, w..want you to use the strap,” she admits breathlessly, her voice slightly hoarse from your armband being in her mouth for so long, her eyes watching as you put it back where it belongs: slightly wet from her mouth.

“Hmm, do you think you deserve it?”

Lucy simply nods as she watches you pull down your shorts, the underwear you’re wearing are very damp, a clear sign of your own arousal.

“Me too, you’ve been my good girl after all,” you hum, pressing your lips to hers, giving her a soft peck.

When you’re at home, the strap usually resides in the bedside table, and Lucy always wears it. When you’re on camp, you have it in a bag that sits in the wardrobe with all of your other toys. You give Lucy a few more pecks, before getting off the bed and walking over to the wardrobe. The doors are slightly ajar on it as you must’ve forgotten to close it after grabbing your kit bag from it earlier.

You find the bag which is sat in the back of the cupboard and pull it forward, undoing the zipper on it. There’s not many toys in there, you have way more at home, but neither you nor Lucy were going to weigh your suitcases down when you flew out here, to Australia, with sex toys.

The harness gets pulled out of the bag and then so does a seven inch sleek black dildo that you’ll clip into the front of it. You make your way back over to the bed, the two items in hand and then nestle yourself in between Lucy’s spread legs.

You set the things down onto the mattress and then remove your shirt, tossing it somewhere in the room, leaving you in just your sports bra and underwear.

From the countless times of watching Lucy put the strap on, you know exactly what you’re doing. Your underwear come off and then you attach the harness to your hips. The brunettes eyes beneath you are fixated on your own soaked cunt, which you’re not even thinking about, your full focus is on giving your girl exactly what she needs.

“See something you like sweetheart?” you taunt whilst clipping the dildo into the slot at the front.

“Mhm, you’re so beautiful Y/n. Can you take your bra off, please?” she asks softly, her hand coming to paw at the material gently.

You smile and gently take her hand, kissing her knuckles before letting it go and removing the final item of clothing, which also makes Lucy smile.

“That what you wanted Luce?”

“Yes, y..you look perfect, I love you,”

“I love you too sweetheart.”

You gently kiss her forehead, then her cheek, the tip of her nose and then her lips. You kiss her for a few seconds, it’s gentle, unlike your earlier, more rougher, demanding ones.

After those few seconds, you pull away and then adjust your positioning, running the head of the dildo through her folds, which causes her to gasp.

“Fuck baby, please, n-need you,” she whimpers as you line the tip up with her entrance.

“Shh sweetheart, I know, you’re being so good for me,” you croon before you slowly push the strap into her, your eyes fixated on her pussy swallowing it, the sight getting engraved into the back of your mind.

In all honesty, you thought Lucy had never looked more beautiful. Her eyes almost closed, lips parted, one hand gripping the sheets, the other now gripping onto one of yours, her hair sprawled out against the pillows, her face contorted in sheer pleasure, her abs slightly tensed, the sounds escaping her and the way her pussy looks swallowing your goddamn strap. This was something you were going to remember for a long, long time.

“Shit Luce, you’re so tight, doing so well for me,” you grunt as you start to slowly thrust in and out of her, your eyes moving up to her face, to watch her reaction to your movements.

The praise has her letting out a small whimper, which turns into a loud moan as you start move. Her hand that’s in yours grips it a little tighter, for her it feels weird, she feels so full, stretched so beautifully, she could definitely get used to the feeling.

“F..fuck, feels so good Y/n. Harder, please,” she begs softly and it’s impossible to not give her what she wants, after all she has been good for you.

You increase the force of your thrusts, little grunts occasionally tumbling from your lips, like the ones that you make when lifting in the gym and Lucy fucking loves it. She loves hearing the little noises you’re making, knowing you’re enjoying it just as much as she is.

“Taking me so well, my good fucking girl.”

Lucy’s eyes roll into the back of her head, the praise making everything so much better for her, she can feel herself getting closer, her small moans getting louder, her walls gripping your strap tighter.

“Baby I’m close, p..please don’t stop,” Lucy pleads, her legs shaking slightly from the force off the orgasm that’s she’s so close to letting go of.

“Not yet sweetheart, hold it for me,” you demand softly whilst pushing your strap deeper into her, your hips snapping slightly faster. Selfishly, you don’t want her to cum yet, for it to all be over. You don’t know if you’ll ever get to experience this again, to watch Lucy take your strap, to be the one on top, the one in charge. So you just want to draw this out for as long as possible and you know Lucy will listen to you.

Lucy doesn’t complain, she just simply nods, opening her eyes properly to look at you. To her you look perfect. Your eyes are completely darkened with lust, watching her, your hairs up in that damn bun, some of the strands coming loose and sticking to your forehead and your captains armband is sat snug around your left bicep: you look like heaven to her.

“Look at you, look so fucking pretty taking my cock,” you practically growl, your eyes now back to watching her pussy take the toy as you pound into her faster, which makes her moans even louder.

“Y/n, please c..can’t hold it any longer,” she whines, her hand tightening in yours to ground herself as she knows her orgasm is going to be intense. She can feel it.

“Fuck, cum for me sweetheart, cum all over my cock.”

With a sudden cry, Lucy comes undone, her legs shaking slightly from its intensity, her eyes now rolled back, her back arched a little and her face contorted up in sheer bliss. You don’t know where to look, her face, her cunt, at the way her abs tense. You keep your eyes on her face, watching how it twists with pleasure, your hips slow down, still gently rocking the toy in and out of her, allowing her to ride out her high.

“That’s it sweetheart, such a good girl,” you hum, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead before ever so gently easing the toy out of her sensitive pussy, revelling in the way it grips your strap harder, as if it doesn’t want you to leave.

Once the toy is out, you quickly undo the harness and then toss it off, throwing it onto the floor. You then lay down next to your girlfriend, wrapping your arms around her gently, allowing her to cuddle into you, whilst you pressed gentle kisses all over her face.

“T..that was incredible,” Lucy managed to exclaim a few minutes later after coming down from the most incredible high she’d ever experienced.

“It was, my god you looked so beautiful Luce, who knew seeing me be captain could get you so worked up,” you couldn’t help but tease, watching as she responds by playfully rolling her eyes.

“Hm, I don’t know what can over me, it was just like hot, watching you take charge of everyone on the pitch y’know?”

“Mhm, I think I’ll beg Sarina to let me be captain forever now if that happens every time after we have a game.”

Lucy swats your shoulder playfully, her eyes watching as you pull off the armband and toss it onto the nightstand.

“No, I couldn’t focus on the game at points because all I was focused on was you baby,” she points out with a small smile, her lips gently pressing a kiss to your cheek.

“Oh really?” you ask, rhetorically, as you think back to the game earlier that day which feels like it was years ago. “That actually makes a lot of sense, I knew something else was going on earlier, it has been the entire tournament,”

“Yep, ever since the Haiti game. I’ve been wanting you to take charge for a little while now,”

“Well I definitely want to do it again,” you suggest with a little smirk crossing your lips, making her chuckle.

“Ditto baby.”

With that, it didn’t take the pair of you that long to fall asleep, all tangled up in each other, your bodies exhausted from the match you played in earlier and then the incredible sex you’d just had. As you slept, there was one thing you both knew for certain: you’d been taking charge much more often.

[ventismacchiato]

stuck with you — delusion !

˗ˏˋ profiles ´ˎ˗

scaramouche — was a trainee alongside you in your guys’ younger years. both of you were constantly in battle for the top rankings. he debuted a year before you which caused a lot of envy and disdain between both of you since you trained longer. he became an idol to follow in his mother’s footsteps. known for staying late to practice and overworking himself to the point of exhaustion. probably passed out on stage in his younger years until his group forced him to chill. the main vocalist and visual of the group. nepotism made him the most popular member but also his demeanor. the only member in his group to release a solo album. also goes viral for replying to your posts to add fuel to the fire. surprisingly also very chronically online, he’s always lurking on twitter and replying to the most outlandish fan posts. makeup artists always fight to get to work on him since he has glass skin and the prettiest features. [🐈‍⬛]

childe — auditioned because he thought it would be fun and wanted to give scara company since they were school friends before this. #besties! managed to get in and decided to stick it out as an idol. fans dug around and found out his family is super rich. he spoils his group members a lot. main rapper of the group and helps with lyrics. the most genz idol, gives keeho from ph1 vibes if you know of him. loves to do stupid vlogs, which causes fans to be alarmed at how messy their shared dorm is. will also play games during lives and his fans always bully him in them, they never let him win. [🦕]

aether — leader of the group, also the only responsible one who knows media training. twins with lumine so they tend to collaborate a lot. another vocalist and helps childe with production. stylists also fight to work with him because they love to do his hair. models for brands on the side, imagine calvin klein photoshoots omg. trained in ballet and dance so he helps with choreo for the group. goes viral a lot because locals think he's a girl. i know he doesnt talk a lot in game but imagine he has the lowest voice out of everyone so its a crazy juxtaposition from his cute face, kinda like felix from skz if u know of him. shares clothes with lumine so they share outfits a lot, rocks a crop top. also plays games on live but unlike childe his fans will wait for him and let him win. [🌼]

kazuha — falls asleep while getting his hair and makeup done. sells weed to venti on the downlow, no clue who his dealer is. the most calm member out of all of them and disputes the silly fights everyone gets into. always looks like he isnt one hundred percent there during award shows. ‘kazuha zoning out for ten mins’ compilations. is not afraid to get drunk and gets super flirty and clingy when he does, goes live with xiao a lot and will drape himself over him when hes inebriated. super flirty during fancalls and fanmeets, takes fan service very seriously. will put the cat ears on during fan meets and let fans poke his dimples. [🍁]

delusion — the only other idol group underneath sakura entertainment at the moment. a four member male idol group known for their vaguely gothic and r&b dance pop. think of enhypen’s brand. have been a group for about four years, members range from 22-23. their initial fame was due to scaramouche debuting in the group, since his mother ei was in a popular idol duo in her younger years with yae. ei is now the ceo of the entertainment company that delusion and windblume are under. fans came to see if the son of such a popular idol could live up to their expectation. their debut album Wonderstruck got them to their popularity today.

stuck with you !

masterlist — prev | next

fandom name for windblume is bloomies! and fandom name for delusion is visions! i think visions would call themselves delulus for fun tho

manager for windblume is lisa, and manager for delusion is jean.

lowk love the delusion album cover i think i would be a vision in this universe i ate that up,, also supposed to say delusion idk why there’s an s

going to introduce two soloists later to spice things up, but i won’t spoil who for now! one of them is scara’s ex 🤗 also if you don’t fw the side ships just pretend they're faking it for the camera, i wanted to switch it up for myself so i don’t get burned out from writing the same pairs

synopsis — after the disaster that was the live award show, where you and scaramouche got into an argument on stage after both of your groups got a tie for top artists, your guys' PR teams have been in shambles trying to scrape up your mess. that's when the idea to send you both off with some other idols to a remote location for a survival dating show to mend your public image comes up. before you know it your bags are packed and you’re on a plane to a remote island. the only obligation is you need to end up with scaramouche at the end of the show, whether you end up liking him or not doesn’t matter to your managers as long as the show’s ratings stay high. whatever you do in between to get there is up to you!

notes — was supposed to post this earlier but i ended up playing stardew for five hours so mb y’all 😇 but now we can finally get into the story

taglist is closed! but feel free to join my discord server where i’ll ping you for every update!

taglist — @na1lea @cindywasneverhere @lunavixia @sheraeera @aestherin @mlaakai @camvrin @retiredmommylover @iheartpieck @crystalcrys @cartierfiles @loveariel @silly-ez @mochipls @pomeiu @chuuismylife @flowerypesky @creammpuff @justanothertiredreader @boxdisappeared @kissmiere @kissingkzuha @webbywill @kazusboyfriend @s3xpistolss @pjsucks @bunns-wonderland @lordbugs @localgirlywithnolife @kosumos @danfelions @yotraumainthebuilding @featuredtofu @pinxeajin @herebyaccident0 @haeunoo @scaradooche @pglt19 @chemiru @childesbabygirl @simonisferal @shutingstar @vxcmx @domimiki @ttalgi @esuz @tokkishouse @kitsuvil @scarasmood @ihearttori @nomurahayami

[wlntrsldler]

Hi!! For ur song challenge could you write cinnamon girl with Jamie Tartt 🤍

cinnamon girl | jamie tartt

based on the song cinnamon girl by lana del rey

description: your ex did a number on you. now you're letting the ghosts of your past control your relationship with jamie.

pairing: jamie tartt x f!reader (she/her)

warnings: language-- it's ted lasso, what did you expect?; sad!jamie, insecurities, miscommunication-ish, emotionally abusive ex

word count: 4.2K

ted lasso requests are open | main masterlist

In your last relationship, your ex constantly made you feel replaceable. At first, it started out as snide remarks from his friends that he laughed at, never once defending you or your relationship. 

“Oh, Y/N, be careful with that one, nobody can tie him down.” 

“He’s slippery, girl. Keep an eye on him.” 

“You’re his girlfriend? Wow, props to ya. I couldn’t ever commit to someone like him.” 

You tried to brush it off, ignoring the sting of his laugh after each comment. He didn’t even deny it. And the worst part? He would make comments comparing you to his exes even without the presence of his friends. You knew how he was. When you first met him, it wasn’t lost on you how he flirted with everyone and everything that would let him. You knew he had history, which you’d later on find out was not history, but more of an ongoing thing, with the people in his inner circle. 

You felt stupid for staying in that relationship for that long. You knew what he was doing and what he was saying wasn’t okay, but you had been stuck in the cycle for so long that you were convinced that nobody else would put up with you the way he does. That was until you accepted a job as a Business Relations Assistant at AFC Richmond. 

It was weird at first to be surrounded by strangers who cared more about your well-being than your partner of a year and a half did. Since Higgins introduced you to the crew, you received “How ya doing, Y/N?” in passing from Sam, hugs as a form of good morning from Dani, and the occasional grunt– complimentary, not derogatory– from Coach Kent. It was simple, little things, but these moments of care and acknowledgment came without an expectation of something in return. They simply wanted to make you feel welcome.

Your love life before dating Jamie was a mystery to the team, Jamie included. They didn’t even know that you were dating someone for so long until Keeley came into the locker room to tell the boys to be extra kind to you since you were going through a breakup. Shaking off their initial shock, the team agreed to shower you with love when they saw you after Isaac gave them an aggressive in tone, yet filled with flowery words about how you were a great addition to the team, pep talk. 

By this point, you and Jamie had built a solid rapport, somewhere between acquaintances and friends. You were courteous when you’d run into each other at Nelson Road, even walking side by side until your paths diverged, often talking about the lovely, or horrific, weather you were having. During bus rides to games, he would sit on the window seat beside Sam, in front of you, and would always ask you to be the tie-breaker for one of his many ridiculous polls. You’d always end up siding with him, not because you agreed, but because Jamie grins up at you like he just won the lottery. Even though you didn’t agree that burgers were better than pizza, you’d say they were just to be on the receiving end of one of Jamie Tartt’s award-winning smiles again. 

It took you a while to open up to people again. Your life revolved around your partner and that meant that many of the friendships you had faded in the background while you were with him. But after the breakup, Keeley and Rebecca played a huge role in helping you step out of your comfort zone. They listened to you talk about your relationship as often as you wanted until you were out of words and out of cares. These talks would happen over a glass (or ten) of wine in Keeley’s living room with some sappy romantic comedy playing on mute in the background. For the most part, you had forgotten about your ex. Soon enough, you were saying yes to invites from Isaac or the coaches for team outings.

That’s how you found yourself kissing Jamie Tartt on your front porch after a night at Ola’s. 

When you pulled away, a goofy smile plastered on your face, you saw Jamie’s flushed cheeks that he tried to hide by pretending to cough into his elbow. You shoved his shoulder playfully, unsure if this was just a cruel dream that you’d have to wake up from soon or if this was real life. 

Jamie, who seemed to be thinking the same thing, realized that this was real life when your hand met his shoulder. Feeling more confident, he placed his hands on your hips and pulled you closer once more. He whispered against your lips, “Been wantin’ to do that for a while.” 

“Yeah?” You asked in shock. You would’ve never guessed that Jamie liked you in that way. “I never noticed.”

“Sam was right,” he chuckled, shaking his head that he was bringing up his teammates while he was inches away from a pretty girl’s face, but he knew he had to tell you this so you knew how serious he was about you. You weren’t just a one-night stand and this wasn't an "I had too many drinks tonight," mistake. “I’ve been flirting with you for ages. Sam said that you were oblivious to it but for a while, I really thought you just didn’t fancy me back. I’m really glad that I was wrong.” 

“I had no idea you liked me.” 

“Are you joking?” he scoffed, grinning widely. It was the same smile he shared with you on many bus rides. “Why do you think I always ask those stupid questions on the bus? I couldn’t give two shits about whether or not the team preferred Chinese or Italian food, or if they put both socks on first and then their shoes, or one sock and one shoe at a time. I only made those up so I had an excuse to talk to ya. Have a whole notes app full of questions and everything.” 

You threw your head back laughing, imagining Jamie deleting questions that he already asked you. You wrapped your arms around his neck, “You could’ve just talked to me, you know.” 

“Yeah, but you make me nervous,” he blushed, the tips of his ears turning bright pink. “You’re really pretty and proper fit. Plus, you never call me stupid even when my questions are fucking dumb. You’re always so nice to me and you’re loads of fun.” 

You cocked an eyebrow, trying to make sense of the situation. Jamie Tartt was nervous to talk to you? “Jamie, you do realize you’re a world-class footballer, right? Like rich and famous and can get anyone you want?” 

“That don’t matter to me,” he said, shrugging. “Want you, that’s all.” 

It was a strange feeling to hear that from him. You haven’t been wanted in a long time, at least not like this, not in the way that Jamie was looking at you like you are somehow the most incredible thing he’d ever have the privilege of getting to see. He looked at you like he was thanking whatever deities were responsible for reincarnation for allowing him to experience you in this lifetime. If the next fifty lifetimes were filled with nothing but suffering for him then so be it, as long as he had you in this one. You haven’t been wanted this purely before– wanted for who you are and not for what you can offer, not for the potential of what you could be. 

You kissed him again. 

Six months after your first kiss, you and Jamie were going strong. So far the relationship has been a secret to the public and the media. The team, though, found out a month into your relationship when Jamie got injured during training and you ran out of your office onto the pitch, ignoring Beard’s confused remarks as you sped past him. 

Jamie was lying on the pitch, forearms covering his eyes, trying not to think about the shooting pain from his ankle. You shoved Jan Maas and Richard away from Jamie, which made them protest, but quickly understood why you were in such a hurry to get to Jamie. You kneeled beside him, running your fingers through his hair. 

“Hi, baby,” you whispered, “You doing okay? How bad does it hurt?” 

He moved his arms at the sound of your voice. His eyes met yours and he immediately reached for your hand, threading your fingers together. “‘M okay, I think. Ankle hurts like a bitch, though.” 

You continued to tend to him as much as you could but quickly remembered that you two weren’t alone. Your eyes widened as you began to look around the circle that was forming around you and Jamie. 

“Fuuuuuuccckkkkk,” Jamie mumbled, realizing that you two now revealed your relationship to the team. He looked at you apologetically, “Sorry, bub.” 

“Oi, Bumbercatch!” The team’s attention shifted over to Isaac who had a smirk on his face. He held out his open palm, “You owe me ten pounds.” 

The team erupted in cheers, almost forgetting that Jamie was indeed hurt and would probably have to sit out a game or two. You looked down at Jamie and shrugged your shoulders, “Seems like they’re taking it well.” 

He laughed, propping himself up to sit up, “I’m glad we told them.” 

“Me too,” you replied, pressing your lips together. 

“I’m going to fucking gouge my eyes out.” You heard Roy say, though there was a hint of a smile in his voice. In sync, you and Jamie held up your middle finger in Roy’s direction, which earned the both of you a signature Roy Kent grunt in return. 

Much like your reveal to the team, your reveal to the general public was also just an accident. You were spending the weekend at Jamie’s flat as part of your six-month anniversary celebration. You just pulled up to his place, using one hand to unlock his door with the key he had made for you, and the other hand was used to carry in your large duffle bag. You heard him speaking in his living room and assumed that he was on a call with one of the lads. 

“Baby, I’m here!” You called out loudly, hanging your coat on his coat rack by the door. You walked toward his living room to find him staring at you wide-eyed, jaw hanging low. You giggled, “What’s wrong, love?” 

“I’m on Instagram live.” 

“Oh shit,” You mirrored his expression, facepalming. “I’m so sorry.” 

On Jamie’s screen, hundreds of comments about the interaction began to pop up. 

Holy shit???? Who was that?!!!

Jamie has a girlfriend!!!!! NOOOO THAT SHOULD BE ME!!!!

Does that voice sound familiar to u guys? I think that’s Y/N, I recognize her voice from Keeley’s stories. 

Jamie looked at you, trying to figure out what the best course of action was. You tilted your head as if asking, “Should we just do it?” He nodded, a huge smile taking over his features. 

“Well,” he began. “Cat’s out of the bag, I suppose. Get in here, love.” 

You spent the next thirty minutes answering questions from his fans on Instagram live. Some of the team even joined for a few minutes to fangirl over your relationship in the comments which made the two of you laugh. The next day, Jamie decided that it was time to make your relationship Instagram official by posting a photo from your anniversary dinner. It was a picture that cut off right above your lips, still giving a hint of anonymity, although many people already knew. You had your glass of wine in a cheers motion with his own. The caption read: “just us two. happy six.” 

The picture got more than two million likes in the first hour and hundreds of comments speculating who the girl in the picture was. You decided to comment on the post the day after, hoping that most of the hype around it was calming down. You rolled over Jamie’s side of the bed, smiling softly as he slept peacefully. 

You commented, “just us two (and the entire afc richmond team, including the coaches and admin) (so really just us two and fifty people). love you beyond words.”

You stayed in your little bubble of love for the rest of the weekend. After your social media launch, you stayed off the internet until you got back to work on Monday. When you finally checked social media, you were surprised to find that most of the public’s opinion of your and Jamie’s relationship was positive. However, there was one tweet that caught your eye. 

“Y/N Y/L/N is strong tbh. If my partner had the history of Jamie Tartt, I’d sleep with one eye open to keep an eye on him.” 

You frowned. You knew Jamie wasn’t like that. He would never do that to you, at least not now. He talked to you about how he used to be before you met him. He talked about how shit of a boyfriend he was to Keeley, how he was too much of a prick to be friends with the lads, but he also talked about how he grew from that and how he was no longer that person. And you believed him. It’s Jamie, of course, you believed him.

But that didn’t stop those voices in your head from taking over. Voices that sounded an awful lot like your ex’s friends who made those sly remarks. Voices that told you that you were replaceable. Voices that told you Jamie could do better, that Jamie should have better. Voices that drowned out the loving words of your boyfriend who loved you so much it hurt. 

The distance started out subtle. It started with telling Jamie that you had to get to Richmond earlier than normal because you had expenditure reports to look over. He even suggested that he'd go to Nelson Road extra early for you, but you refused. He pouted but reluctantly agreed to let you drive yourself to work instead of him picking you up. Jamie was upset that he no longer got to spend his mornings with you, but he was understanding and knew that it was for your job. 

Then, you started cutting your kisses short. During date nights, which used to be filled with lingering kisses that were surely too heated to be deemed acceptable PDA, you started to give Jamie quick pecks on the lips before pulling away. He didn’t want to make you uncomfortable so he let it go and settled for the short kisses, even though it didn’t feel enough for him. Typically, you’d spend the night at his place after your dates, but recently you’ve been asking him to take you home, blaming the expenditure reports once more. Jamie, trying to be ever-so-understanding, drove you home, and slept in his own bed alone with a frown on his face. 

The final blow for Jamie was when you didn’t sit next to him on the bus to Tottenham. He sat patiently on the aisle seat, craning his neck up to see when you were coming in, as he knew you preferred the window seat. His eyes lit up when you entered the bus, smiling widely as you approached him. 

You refused to look him in the eye as you pointed toward the back of the bus, “Sorry, Jamie. Rebecca wants to talk about something so I think I’m gonna sit with her today.” 

“Oh,” he cleared his throat, trying not to show his disappointment. He didn’t want to force you to sit next to him. Of course, you were allowed to sit with Rebecca. It’s just that he missed you so much. He hasn’t seen you in a few days. You’ve barely replied to his texts. He felt like you were slipping away and he didn’t know what to do. “Yeah, yeah, ‘course. I’ll see you at the hotel, yeah?” 

You nodded, offering him a small smile. He smiled back sadly. When you walked away to sit in the back of the bus, Sam nudged him, asking him to scoot over so he could sit next to him. Jamie felt nauseous, and he blamed it on the fact that he hadn’t sat by the window in months, but he knew the real reason why. 

Throughout the entire bus ride, you kept sneaking glances at Jamie. You couldn’t see him too well being so far back in the bus. Rebecca, who was shocked to see you beside her instead of your boyfriend, was looking at you with a questioning expression. She closed the notebook she was writing in and crossed her arms. 

“Alright, spill,” she tutted, leaning back in her chair. “Why aren’t you sitting with Jamie? What has he done?” 

You shook your head, “Nothing. He hasn’t done anything.” 

“Then why do you look like the living sunlight was sucked right out of you?” You didn’t say anything. Rebecca sighed, rubbing your back comfortingly, “Whatever is happening. You need to talk to him about it. Nothing good is going to come out of you keeping things from him. Trust me.” 

You knew what Rebecca was saying was reasonable. It makes sense to talk to Jamie about things that were bothering you. The thing was, you had already convinced yourself that Jamie would be better off with anyone else but you. It’s not that you thought Jamie would ever cheat on you or compare you to his exes because that’s not Jamie. You knew this. But you couldn’t help but think about Jamie realizing he deserved better than you. 

It will only make things easier on you if you mentally prepare yourself for it. It was inevitable. After all, you were replaceable. 

By the time you arrived in Tottenham, you were feeling more anxious than ever. You knew you were sharing a room with Jamie as it became an unspoken rule since you first told the team about your relationship. You watched as Jamie exited the bus, trailing behind to create as much space between the two of you as possible. After Higgins distributed the keys, you took a deep breath and headed to the lifts. 

Jamie had gone ahead with Sam and Dani since you were standing to the side with Rebecca. In the elevator, Rebecca squeezed your hand in support and offered a kiss on your temple. When you arrived on the 10th floor, you waved goodbye to Rebecca and made your way to the room. 

Jamie was quietly unpacking his things when you walked in. He turned around, eyebrows furrowed and a frown tugging on the corners of his lips. You wanted to walk over and kiss the creases on his forehead away. He cleared his throat, “I can take the couch if ya want so you can have the bed. I know you’ve been working hard on those reports so you deserve a good night’s sleep.” 

“It’s alright, Jamie. I can take the couch. You have a game tomorrow that you need to be well-rested for.” 

“No, it’s fine,” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He sounded defeated. “‘M not letting you sleep on the couch. You can take the bed and I can just stay with Isaac or Richard or something.” 

“No, Jamie, this is your room.” You said, standing your ground. 

“No it’s not!” He exclaimed, finally reaching his wit’s end. He stared at you, a look of frustration and brokenness evident on his face. He dug the heels of his palms into his eyes, trying to stop the tears from breaking free. “It’s our room! And I just... I just don’t understand what I’ve done wrong. What have I done wrong?”

You took two hesitant strides towards him. Jamie looked at you, hopeful that you’ll touch him again, this time without him making the first move. He missed feeling you draw sweet nothings on his skin with your fingers. Or the feeling of your lips on his jaw as you try to wake him up in the morning. Or the feeling of your arms wrapped around him in a warm embrace. 

You stopped short in front of him. His heart dropped. “You haven’t done anything, Jamie.” 

“So why do you keep pulling away? I feel like I haven’t talked to you in ages. Like a proper conversation. I haven’t kissed ya in days and it’s killing me. I feel like I’m losing you.” 

It was then, with Jamie staring at you with pleading eyes, that you realized how stupid you were being. You ran to him, broken sobs escaping your body, as he stumbled back, unsure of what was happening. Jamie engulfed you in his arms, kissing your head as he tried to console you. You spoke into his chest, feeling the rapid beating of his heart, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Jamie.” 

“Hey,” he cooed, pulling you away. He led you to the bed to sit you down. You sat criss-crossed on the bed, wiping your tears with the back of your hand. You didn’t even want to imagine how much of a mess you must look like right now. He reached over to place a hand on your thigh, rubbing circles to help you calm down. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on, hm? What’s the matter?” 

“I’ve been such a dick to you,” you confessed, sniffling silently. You placed a hand on top of his, giving it a light squeeze, “I’ve been avoiding you.” 

“Yeah, I gathered that,” he tried to joke, offering you one of those award-winning smiles you were a goner for. “But what I don’t know is why. Talk to me, please.” 

“D’ya remember when Keeley told you guys to be extra nice to me because I’d just broken up with someone?” 

Confused, Jamie nodded his head. “Yeah?” 

“Well, there are things I want to say to you, but I don’t really like talking about it. Took me ages to even open up to Keeley and Rebecca about how bad it was,” you trailed off, looking away. You suddenly felt so small under Jamie’s gaze, like you were unscrewing the top of your head to give him a full view of all the fucked up things in there. You felt so exposed, but you knew you couldn’t keep this from him anymore. It was affecting him now, too. “My ex, he used to do this thing that kind of fucked me up really bad. He used to compare me to his ex-girlfriends and it made me feel like shit. His friends used to make these jokes about how he was a playboy and would probably get tired of me soon or would make condescending comments about me staying with him because they knew nobody could really tie him down. Like I was stupid for being with him or something.” 

Jamie frowned, internalizing your words. He looked down on his lap, lip quivering, “You think I’m like that? Like I’m just playin’ with ya?” 

Your eyes widened. You quickly shook your head, “No, not at all! I just… I was with him for over a year and when you hear those things said about you enough times, you start believing them. I got in my head thinking that you could and should do better than me and it made me pull away from you.” 

Jamie remained quiet, but the expression on his face changed to a more neutral one. You continued, “I figured it would be easier for you to come to the conclusion that you deserve more than me if I gave you the space, you know? I was trying to help you realize that I’m replaceable, but it backfired on me because now you think you did something wrong– which you absolutely haven’t.” 

He sat there, not saying a word, trying to comprehend what you just told him. He blinked, “Babe, that’s absolutely mad.” 

You couldn’t help but let a laugh escape your lips as a teasing smile made its way to Jamie’s face. He followed suit before wrapping his arms around you and pulling you down to lie on the bed with him. He rolled the both of you over so he was hovering on top of you. Jamie nudged your nose with his, “Don’t get me wrong, your feelings are valid. I would kill that prick and his twat friends if you let me, but love, you are everything I’ve ever wanted. You are not replaceable to me.” 

“It’s just hard to hear you when there’s so much nonsense noise in my head, you know?” you whispered, holding his face in the palm of your hand. “Sometimes those pesky voices are just so loud.” 

“Well,” he got up off of you and propped himself next to you. He gave you a cheeky smirk before leaning back. Then in the loudest voice he could manage, he yelled, “I love you! I love you! I love you, Y/N Y/L/N! There is nobody else for me. I love yo-” 

Fearing that he wouldn’t stop anytime soon, you covered his mouth with your hand, laughing loudly at how ridiculous the whole situation was. Jamie’s eyes twinkled with something you’d missed over the last few days and the sound of his muffled chuckles was like music to your ears. You removed your hand from his mouth. 

“Loud enough, do ya reckon?” he joked. Then, he looked at you seriously. He inched closer to you, sighing in relief when you didn’t pull away. “But seriously, love. Whenever those voices come creepin’ back in, just let me know, yeah? Talk to me. I don’t think I can handle another day like that again. It was my own personal hell, to be honest.” 

You wiped the tears from your eyes and nodded. You placed your lips on Jamie’s, allowing your kiss to last as long as possible before you had to pull away for air. You snuggled against him, basking in the scent of his cologne. “I promise I will, Jamie. I love you.” 

“I love you, too.”

[hathay]

first years playing ‘just dance’ hc’s

(just a small little fun rambling)

♡ace♡

- takes it so seriously (because it was literally his idea)

- dances his little heart out (he’s literally fucking sweating someone please tell him he’s not gonna get an award for beating everyone)

- competes with all the other first years and gets so upset if they beat him

- a showoff. he wants everyone to be jealous of how bad he beats them

- secretly tries to record the others to try and blackmail them

- wants to play all the time. y’all are just hanging around ramshackle doing nothing? guess we have no choice but to play ‘just dance’ ace says

♤deuce♤

- honestly doesn’t wanna play at first

- but…once ace taunts him about beating his ass in the game, he’s all for it

- he’s very stiff if we’re being honest,

- he’s so hesitant he doesn’t wanna look stupid and wants to get the moves right

- he stresses out bad at first because he just wants to be so good at it

- he has a lot of fun though it turns into so many laughs for them

❆epel❆

- is so excited

- dances so viciously

- he is EVERYWHERE

- (def gave ace a bloody nose once after swinging his wii remote right into his face)

- is FORCED to wear a wii remote strap attached to his wrist

- will be so absolutely smug if he beats everyone (it’s what he deserves)

☾jack☾

- you want him to what?

- jk he def knows what just dance is he has little siblings who have forced him to play

- with his siblings he’d just stand there and move his one arm (and somehow win against them regardless)

- but with the other first years?? he tries so hard after ace challenges him saying he wouldn’t be able to beat him anyways

- at first he’s so stiff but he actually surprisingly has good rhythm if he’d just let his guard down a little

- (he doesn’t wanna look silly yk how he is)

- totally ends up a sweaty mess ready to keep dancing even after everyone is completely slumped

♞sebek♞

- ur funny. he’s so stiff.

- sure he may know how to fancy dance, but fun letting loose dancing??? forget it

- he will try though.

- it will take so much convincing but he’s the same as the other guys, once called a few taunting and challenging names, he’s red in the face and ready to make the other first years eat their words

- (lowkey wishes he was winning but won’t tell anyone)

- will not by any means admit he is having a great time

- he’s definitely gonna tell silver about the “extreme exercise” he went through with the first years and how he “dominated them by any means” (he ranked the lowest)

[indierpgnewsletter]

Hearts of Wulin does wuxia melodrama so well

Apart from Urban Shadows 2e, I’m also playingHearts of Wulin with some lovely folks. For those who don’t know, Hearts of Wulin is a game of wuxia melodrama. There are a lot of wuxia games out there that are focused on the gravity-defying wirework and the martial techniques (with their ornate names) and sure, that stuff is fun but I have no interest in those games. Hearts of Wulin shines because of that second part – the melodrama.

Melodrama falls in a weird space for me because primarily, it makes me think of the kind of bollywood movie I don’t watch. The movies I avoid like I’m allergic to them. But why do I like it in games?

Melodrama is about grand emotions, simply felt. (Drama is when the emotion isn’t simple, I guess.) It’s about heightened feelings played completely straight, no winking irony. I’m not proud of my how essential that irony is to me – how difficult it is to not be embarrassed by simple emotion – but that sadly is the case.

Hearts of Wulin understands that melodrama is appealing but is hard to sustain. You have a scene of love or vengeance – it’s big, it’s over-the-top but then what happens? Passionate people push towards climactic outcomes. How do you go big but not immediately end the story? Hearts of Wulin has a very simple answer: you run away. Through its move design, it creates a loop where players are constantly wrestling with their big, stupid feelings but before they can say the things that need to be said, the scene ends. This is the key: big emotions, never spoken.

I cannot overstate how fun this loop is. At the start of the game, you entangle yourself with other characters into these fraught situations and then you spend session after session, going right up to the point of resolution and then being pulled back. It’s the same formula behind award-winning Starcrossed.

The interesting thing is that running away can be played seriously or ironically. It might be a poignant retreat or it can be chaotic, panicked fleeing. Regardless, it releases the tension (without eliminating it) and stops the game being one-note. We tend to play it for laughs, mostly. Because it’s very funny. And also, aforementioned fear of emotion.

There’s lots to say about this game including how it has much more empty space than most PbtA games (no moves for everything!) but this is its core genius. I’m putting it alongside Pasion de la Pasiones on the metaphorical shelf for games that are definitely someone’s favourite game waiting to be discovered.

[gachawolfiebloom]

Two Hearts In The City of Love

Chapter 17: Dancing Under The Stars

It was the last day before their vacation ended and the crew was going to celebrate with a big party at the Eiffel Tower tonight. Dancing, games, food, and the big fireworks show at the end. Three was adjusting his tie when Meggy casually let herself in. "Hey are you guys almost ready? Tari and Luigi are waiting downstairs." He nodded and said "Yeah I'm almost done and Four is still getting ready in the bathroom." Meggy gave him a thumbs up and said "Alright. I'll go check on the others." She shut the door and went over to Mario's room.

When Three was finally satisfied with his tie, he went over to the mirror and took a brush to fix his hair. It was a little bit longer than his normal length of hair, but Four thought it looked nice like that (and said it was cute). Speaking of Four, was he still in the bathroom? Three couldn't hear anything and started getting worried. "I should check on him to make sure he didn't pass out or something." Just when Three was about to knock on the door, it slowly clicked open and Four was standing there with a blue suit and bowtie. It looked similar to his spy outfit except a little more fancier. Three stood there, admiring how handsome he looked while Four gave him an awkward smile and said "Be honest. I look stupid don't I?"

"N-No...you look nice. Amazing even." Three placed a hand on his cheek while smiling and blushing. He had never seen Four this so well dressed before. "Thanks. I'll admit I felt a bit awkward since I don't normally dress like this." Three softly took Four's hands and said "It suits you." Four giggled and gave Three a quick kiss as he laughed and said "Come on idiot. Everyone's waiting."

Meggy knocked on Mario's door and called out "Are you ready Red?" Some heavy grunting came from inside as Meggy gave a confused glance. "Mario? Are you okay?" She was answered by the sounds of pushing and shoving. "Alright! That's enough! Stop messing around!" She slammed the door open to find Mario squirming while Mr Puzzles was pinning him to the bed, trying to fix his suit. "Stay still idiot! I just need to fix your bow!"

"Nooooo! Mario hates wearing these itchy clothes!"

"Uhhh...what's going on here?"

Mario and Mr Puzzles immediately whipped their heads around to find that the nosy squid had busted them. "Meggy! How much of that did you just see..." She laughed nervously and said "Not that much...I just came to say we're almost ready to go. Is Mario ready?"

"One second." He plastered a smile and fixed Mario's bowtie while he was distracted. "There! Now you're ready!" Mr Puzzles was wearing a much more gentleman-like suit than his normal attire. He enjoyed getting all gussied up, but Mario was not too fond of it. Especially when he wasn't supposed to get his new clothes dirty. "Why does Mario have to go to this lame-o party anyway? Can't he just stay here and play some MarioKart!" Meggy shook her head and said "This is a friend event! That means everyone is coming, including you!" The fat Italian crossed his arms grumpily as Mr Puzzles sighed and said "You go ahead. I better deal with him."

Bob stood in the hallway wearing a bowtie while Boopkins was reading off some cue cards in his hands. "Alright, how would you ask her to dance?"

"WANNA DANCE BABEE?"

"What would be a good pickup line?"

"SHOW ME YOUR BOOBIES~"

"If she wants a drink you should..."

"GET HER BEER!"

"You certainly are the gentlemen type aren't you?"

The two turned to see Three approaching with his boyfriend, hand in hand. They had smirks on their faces as Four said sarcastically "Oh yeah, you're definitely going to win the best man award." Boopkins hid his face behind the cards as blush crept on Bob's cheeks as he yelled back "S-SHUT UP! I'LL PROVE YOU WRONG! CHICKS DIG THIS SORT OF THING!"

"Well good luck with that. And if anyone's going to win that best man award it will be me because I know how to treat my love~" When Three said that last part, he scooped Four into his arms and pulled him close enough that their noses were touching. Four felt flustered and said "Three! Not in front of our friends!" He simply dismissed it, seemingly not caring so much about what the crew thought anymore. Just as long as he could show everyone what a sweet and loving boyfriend he had. "Awww are you embarrassed that our friends are watching?"

"N-No...I just-"

Four was at a lost for words, but it really didn't matter anymore as Three had started nuzzling into his neck, giving multiple sweet kisses. He became super ticklish, laughing and squirming as he croaked out through his giggling "S-Stop it Three!" Smg3 playfully continued as he loved the little noises his lover was making. Boopkins squealed of cuteness while Bob wrote down some notes. "KISSING WITHOUT CONSENT."

Soon enough, Mario and Mr Puzzles were coming out of their room when they noticed the adorable couple. Mario sighed and said "Ahh gay love..." Mr Puzzles was involved too as his eyes turned to hearts and his mouth grinned. "Oh what marvelous content! The romance, the love interest, the passion! All the great workings of a scene set in Paris!" Mario smugly grinned at him and said "Oooo TV man wants someone too!" His smile then faltered as he scoffed and said "Why should I have a relationship!? Nobody ever cared about me anyway..."

"Mario does!" His heart monitor blush rose as he stared wide eyed at him. "Y-You what!?" The Italian immediately realized what he said and covered it up. "Wait! Mario didn't mean it like that! TV guy is a good friend to him! Not a boyfriend or anything...hahaha...heh." Mr Puzzles cooled down as he breathed a sigh of relief and said "Oh good. I thought you meant something else." Mario went from awkward to bubbly as he pulled out his favorite dish and said "Besides, Mario already has his one true love!" Mr Puzzles felt his eye twitch as he said "Of course...spaghetti."

As Three let go of Four's neck, they looked passionately into each other's eyes. "My sweet blue prince~"

"My affectionate tsundere~"

Bob was getting impatient and said "CAN WE GO NOW!? I'VE GOT BETTER THINGS TO DO THEN WATCHING YOU SUS GAYS ALL NIGHT!" Three turned his head to face Bob with a ticked off expression, still holding onto Four. "You're just jealous that I found someone better than that pink sucker!"

"BIRDO IS NOT A SUCKER!"

...

Meggy stepped out into the lobby when she saw Luigi and Tari talking by the door. "There you are! The boys are almost ready, just-" She stopped mid sentence when she saw what Tari was wearing. The blue haired girl had on a flowing, sparkling dress, mixed with a combination of blue and white. It really suited her. "Meggy? Are you okay?" She shook her head and said "Yeah! You just look...really beautiful Tari."

"Aw thanks..." Tari blushed and her cheeks glowed as Meggy smiled back at her. "I like your outfit too." Meggy looked down as her outfit wasn't as formal. Just a simple ruffled skirt with a white shirt. "Thanks. I hope you don't mind, but I don't really like dressing all that lavishly."

"That's okay. I'm just glad I'm spending this evening with you. Large crowds can freak me out." Meggy took hold of her hand softly and said "There's nothing to be worried about. If anyone gives you trouble, they'll have to answer to me!" She winked playfully when Luigi politely interrupted them. "Excuse me, but do you know if Mario is ready. My brother always picks a fight when I try to get him gussied up."

"Oh yeah. Mr Puzzles handled that. He must really have a way with Mario if he doesn't even behave for you."

Luigi felt his eyebrows furrow at the mention of Mr Puzzles. "That's uh...good..."

"WAHOO! PARTY TIME!" Luigi and the girls looked behind to see the others coming down. Three and Four, holding each other's hand while Four rested his head on Three's shoulder, Bob and Boopkins arguing over what strategies to use on Birdo, and Mario clinging to...Mr Puzzles. Luigi tried not to pay attention to them as he asked "Great we're all here! Everyone ready to go?"

...

After a short drive over there, the crew arrived at the foot of the most popular landmark in all of France. The Eiffel Tower, lit up and loud music blasting from up above. "Well this is certainly something." Meggy said as she looked at Tari, who was squeezing her hand. Bob didn't have time for hesitation as he headed straight toward the entrance, yelling "MAKE WAY FOR THE V.I.P!!!"

A guard stood at the door as Bob tried jumping over the rope, but was pulled back. "Can I help you sir?"

"LET ME IN!"

"Do you have a ticket sir?"

"UHHHHHH...."

Bob's turned cross eyed until Luigi came up with the rest of the crew and handed the guard the tickets. "Sorry about that. He's with us." The guard looked Bob up and down and asked "This clown?" Bob's eyes turned red as Boopkins held him back from attacking the man and Three said "Unfortunately...yes." The man awkwardly let them in as Bob kept glaring at the guard as the went up to the viewing platform, where the party was being held.

Once they got there, just looking at it alone was enough to overwhelm them with all the things you could do. There was a bar, dance floor, arcade games, even a kids corner where they played Cocomelon. Mr Puzzles' eyes flashed to stars and he beamed in astonishment. "Now this is a party! Such entertainment! The perfect setting for my tastes! Come on Mario! Mario...?"

He looked over to see the fat Italian, joining the kids corner and laughing with the babies at the stupid Cocomelon channel. "Ugh..."  He reluctantly went over and yanked Mario away from this nonsense, but the Italian wouldn't leave. "Let Mario go! He wants to watch the funny!"

"I am not going to be seen hanging out with some idiot who watches this slop!" Mario gripped onto a couch as Mr Puzzles was now tugging his legs at full force. "We should be rubbing elbows with our people! Not these mind babbling dribblers!"

"Boooo! That's boring! Didn't TV guy make this once?" Mr Puzzles stopped and let Mario go has he crashed into the couch and onto the ground. It took a few seconds for him to recover, but when Mario realized he was free, he made a beeline for the TV. "Yippee! See isn't this fun TV guy!" He didn't hear a response.

"TV guy?"

He looked behind him to see Mr Puzzles rubbing his arm while his screen had darkened. In this situation you'd think Mario would simply brush it off and continue watching his program, but he didn't. He forgot all about what he wanted to do in the first place when he saw his...friend was upset. Mario slowly approached him and reached out for his hand. "Hey...it okie. Tell Mario what's bugging you." Mr Puzzles pulled his hand away and gripped his chest. Finally, after sad silence between the two, he whispered "Puzzlebox..."

"Huh?"

"Puzzlebox...was born out of a dark time...I wasn't thinking straight and let my reputation get destroyed all because I was desperate."

Mario felt worried as he tried to hold Mr Puzzles' hand again. This time he let him. "Mario's so sorry..."

"I was hoping this night would help me leave my past behind. To promote myself and get back on top. Turns out it's just doing the opposite..."

Mario felt shattered. How fragile Mr Puzzles' heart was and how he was basically just stomping it out on the ground with his stupid antics. With sadness in his eyes, Mario wrapped his arms around Mr Puzzles' as he flinched and felt his screen getting hot. This hug with Mario felt more meaningful than the last. One that didn't just show how the Italian cared for him, but also really liked him. Their fingers slowly intertwined as Puzzles formed a small smile. "Heh...thanks buddy." Mario looked up and exchanged a warm smile back.

"I must've looked so stupid when I pulled up to you in that crazy coupe..."

"Mario's done WAY more stupid stuff than that!"

The TV man chuckled as Mario egarly took his hand this time and pulled him towards the other guests. "Lets-a go mingle with the fat cats!"

...

Bob was chugging down a beer while surfing the crowd for his favorite dark web streamer. "ANY SIGN OF HER?" Boopkins was peering through binoculars, standing on the counter and shook his head. "Nooo sorry Bob." Luigi soon came over and asked "Hey have you guys seen my bro?"

"Uh...he's hanging out with Mr Puzzles." Luigi rolled his eyes as this was the second time that sketchy TV was brought up. "Why are they hanging out so much? Mr Puzzles hates Mario!" Boopkins shrugged and said "I don't know. Maybe they're.-"

"EVERYONE SHUT UP! THERE SHE IS!"

Bob interrupted as he pointed down to Birdo flaunting out on the dance floor. He gulped down the rest of his beer and slammed the empty bottle on the counter, rushing off and bowling people over. Luigi and Boopkins stared wide eyed at him until someone behind them said "That dumb*** will see anything and get excited." Mr Puzzles came up with Mario happily walking besides him. "Oh there you are Mario! I was worried you were..." He stiffened when he saw the both of them holding hands. "What...are you doing to him?" His voice grew cold as Mr Puzzles' head tilted in confusion. He looked down and noticed his hand holding...

Immediately, he yanked away from the red Italian, making him concerned. "Are you okie? Why did TV man let go...?" Nervously stuttering, he said "I...just have to get a drink! Yeah!" Quickly, he reached over for a glass and poured himself some random flavored wine. "But you don't even have a mo-" Luigi stopped himself when a thought in his mind pieced together why Mr Puzzles suddenly felt so flustered. Mr Puzzles sipped his drink awkwardly as Mario just kept staring at him, worried he did something wrong.

"So anyways, where were we!" He shouted out before anyone could question his strange behavior. "Mario's right. Something seems to be bugging you." Boopkins replied as Mr Puzzles cut him off. "Who me? Why I'm never better! How about we get something to eat? I'll get you spaghetti Mario! My treat!" The fat Italian's concern vanquished as he cheered and ran off, leaving Mr Puzzles to pursue after him. It was just Luigi and Boopkins again.

"Poor Mr Puzzles...he looks stressed. I wonder why he felt so distraught when he saw-"

"I know why he did that."

Boopkins turned to a guilty looking Luigi, staring off into the direction the two fled to. "You do? What?"

"Mr Puzzles...he-he's...in love with...Mario."

Boopkins gasped as Luigi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "All this time I thought he was planning something with my brother, but he really does love him."

"A-Are...are you sure?"

Luigi nodded and said "And I'm pretty sure Mario loves him back." Boopkins felt taken aback, offering a hand of reassurance to the green Italian. "The truth is...I was jealous of them. I was hoping something would come between them, but instead they've grown closer. But now I see that...they deserve each other."

Boopkins gave him a tiny hug and reassured the green man "Oh Luigi, just because Mario likes Mr Puzzles doesn't mean he won't stop caring about you. You're his brother and brothers are always there for each other!" Luigi smiled and said "You're right. I'm happy for him."

...

Three and Four were chatting off to the side. Mingling in crowds wasn't really their speed and the couple wanted to spend some quality time with each other before they headed back home. "And then he refused to pay! What a jerk!" Four laughed and turned his attention from his handsome boyfriend to the twinkling stars in the sky. "Wow it's so pretty!" He leaned on the balcony railing as Three soon joined him. "It reminds me of the night we confessed." Four sighed as Three stared lovey eyed at him. "You mean the night I won the heart of the most special man in the whole universe~" Four blushed as Three leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I always knew you cared about me Three. Although, I do wonder..."

"Hm?" Three's trance of heartfelt love turned to confusion as Four asked "What happens when we go home? Do we continue being a couple or will we go back to...before?" Three didn't understand the question. "What do you mean? Of course we will!"

"But we started off so distant. At first, we were unsure about this trip...but now-"

Three shushed him with a finger over his mouth and gave him the most sincere speech that Four had ever heard that could have easily tied with the ones back in his states of insanity. "Four. This wasn't some stupid pity thing. I really do care about you and I'm sorry it took this long to open up to you. Things might have been tense between us, but I would never ask you to give us up so things can go back to normal. I wouldn't trade you for anything Smg4."

Four listened closely with rosy cheeks as he threw himself around his boyfriend, whispering "I wouldn't either. Thank you Smg3." Three graciously returned the hug as he was proud of how far they had made it.

Just then, the stage lights dimmed and a slow song started playing as guests grabbed a partner to dance with. Three amusingly rolled his eyes as this was starting to feel like one of those cheesy romance movies that Mr Puzzles' had put them through. He pulled away from the hug, disappointing Four, but then stuck out his hand. "Care to dance my prince~" Four felt his heart pounding as he daintily grabbed Three's hand, letting  his love lead him to the dance floor. He was trying to keep it cool, but his mind was screaming out in squeals of excitement.

"OH MY GOSH! HE'S ASKING ME TO DANCE! WE'RE GOING TO DANCE!" 

As they arrived in the middle of all the couples, Three carefully took hold of Four's waist while holding still holding his hand. They began twirling around as neither of them took their eyes off each other for a second. Three took it up a notch by spinning him around and Four felt butterflies in his stomach. The internal panic rising up in him made Four trip, but Three caught him in that tango dance move (oh you know the one).

Heart beats fast Colors and promises How to be brave? How can I love when I'm afraid to fall? But watching you stand alone All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow

"Are you alright Four?"

"Yeah...I'm good."

Three swept Four back onto his feet as they carried on with the dance. Four wasn't as flustered now as both of them kept looking sweetly into each other's eyes. There was no way things could go back to how it used to. They loved each other two much. Four leaned softly into his chest, resting his head on the bearded man's shoulder as he stroked his hair delicately. "I feel like I already am home."

...

Mario was dancing with a thousand bowls of spaghetti while Mr Puzzles facepalmed himself. "Well there goes my dignity..." He glanced over at Mario, who was getting sauce stains all over his cheeks and gloves. "Ugh...you slob." He grabbed a napkin from the counter and clapped Mario's face closer so he could wipe the smudges. "Here. I'll get it for you."  Mario felt his cheeks rise up as Mr Puzzles cleaned the red mush off them. "You're lucky you didn't get your nice suit dirty." Mario didn't say a word as Mr Puzzles wiped off everything except the stains on his gloves.

He moved his hands from the Italian's cheeks to his palm. "This isn't going to come out." He let go as Mario felt heavily disappointed. That was until he noticed Mr Puzzles was slipping off his gloves. "If you want, you can borrow mine. But you can't get any sauce on them! This is my good pair!" All the big nosed Italian could say was a small croak of "O-Okie..." He watched as the TV man slowly removed each finger from the glove and when he whooshed them off, Mario's face glowed bright red.

Mr Puzzles' hands were the same dark grey as his neck, showing the wire marks that connected his body to that magnificent TV box of his. He had never seen Mr Puzzles without his gloves before. The flustered expression only rose more as Mr Puzzles gently removed his sauce-stained hand wear and replaced them with his. They felt warm, soothing, comforting. As Mr Puzzles grimaced at the dirty gloves and stuck them in his pocket, he noticed the Italian slowly panicking to himself. His face was basically a tomato now and he kept staring at the dashing gloves that were now covering his hands.

"Oh come now Mario! They aren't that bad!"

He shook his head and blinked, acting like nothing had happened. "Wow. What was Mario doing?" Mr Puzzles chuckled and said "Heading over to the luxury lounge you moron. I'd still like to promote my productions before we have to go." Just before they could make their way towards that area, they noticed the lighting change and the music had turned softer. "Ooooo is it a scary monster?" Mr Puzzles crooked his eyebrow until he saw couples starting to dance and two meme guardians heading toward the dance floor. "Oh you have got to be kidding me..."

"Mario wants to see! Mario wants to see!" He began scrambling towards the stage while Mr Puzzles grabbed him by the waist. "Mario! It's a slow dance! I know these from movies! Two people who are love interests grab each other and twirl each other around!"

"Sounds fun! Are we gonna do it!"

"NO YOU BOBBLEHEAD!"

"But...Mario thought you wanted to spend the night with him."

Mr Puzzles was about to retort something, but stopped when seeing the man's big sad eyes. He lowered his stern finger and faltered. Bob and Birdo ran past them as he said "OUT OF THE WAY LOSERS! MY LADY WANTS TO DANCE!" Mr Puzzles studied the crowd as he watched Birdo gushing over Bob with love eyes, then over to Smg4 and Smg3, who were dancing beautifully with more love for each other than he had ever seen.

He really wanted to ask Mario to dance, but he couldn't be seen with the likes of him...right? He turned over to Boopkins and Luigi, giving them a "What should I do? " gesture. Luigi saw Mr Puzzles trying to look for his advice. Mr Puzzles looked really uncomfortable. He would probably be disgusted dancing with Mario. Yeah...they should just sit this one out. Luigi was about to tell the TV man to not go for it when he saw the sadness in Mario's eyes. He hesitated.

"I'm pretty sure Mario loves him back"

No that wasn't true. He was just telling himself all those things because he was jealous and terrified of seeing harm coming to his brother. Boopkins was right. They should be together and he should be happy. Luigi smiled and mouthed to Mr Puzzles "Do it. He wants to dance with you."

Mario was about to walk away when Mr Puzzles took a deep breath and held out his hand. "Wha-" The Italian looked up to see Mr Puzzles with a sweet smile on his face. Could he be..? "Care for a dance Mario?" His blue eyes sparkled as he cheered and gladly took the hand offered to him, dragging Mr Puzzles what had to be the millionth time tonight to the dance floor. It felt a bit self conscious for him to be dancing around all these people. I mean, a TV and a human. Mario didn't mind. He started busting out some wacky dance moves as Mr Puzzles groaned. "That's not how you do a slow dance. I'll show you."

He reached his arm out before he stopped in his tracks and asked "Can I..." Mario saw what he was doing and slowly nodded as Mr Puzzles grabbed his waist while locking fingers with the other hand. Mr Puzzles led the dance, spinning sand swaying slowly. He had known these moves from tons of romance films, but never thought he would be doing them with Mario of all people.

Time stands still Beauty in all he is I will be brave I will not let anything take away What's standing in front of me

The music and crowd slowly got drowned out as all they could focus on was each other. Mario had a goody smile on his face while Mr Puzzles' eyes were heart shaped. Their heads slowly moved closer and closer, leaning forward as they closed their eyes and...

"SUP LOVEBIRDS!"

Mario and Mr Puzzles jolted away from each other from the sudden scare of Bob appearing out of nowhere. "Bob!? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be dancing with Birdo?" He shrugged and said "YEAH BUT SHE BOUNCED. GAVE ME HER NUMBER THOUGH." He held up a scrap of paper that had a flirtatious message written with the phone number. "That's greaattt..." Mr Puzzles mumbled and a little annoyed that this is what stopped them from-

"WAIT...WERE YOU TWO...ABOUT TO KISS!?"

"NO!"

Mario and Mr Puzzles shouted in unison as Bob narrowed his eyes. He then threw his arms up and cheered "HAH! I KNEW IT! BOOPKINS OWES ME 20 BUCKS NOW!"

"Shut it talking blanket! What did you want anyway?"

"THE GUYS WANTED ME TO TELL YOU THAT WERE ABOUT TO WATCH THE FIREWORKS SHOW!"

He ran off towards the others, yelling "PAY UP GREEN BOOGER! I SAW THEM! THEY WERE JUST ABOUT TO SMOOCH!"

Both the TV and Italian exchanged awkward glances with each other. Were they actually trying to kiss back there?

...

They arrived at the balcony to find Bob giving Boopkins a noogie, Meggy and Tari holding hands, and Smg4 resting his head on Three's shoulder. "Where...uh..are we supposed to go?" Mr Puzzles quizzically asked before Luigi waved them over in a cheerful manner. "Over here! I saved you seats!" Mario happily came over to hug his brother while Mr Puzzles whispered "Thanks...Luigi." They stood there, trying not to look or speak with each other until Mr Puzzles broke the silence. "Did...did you see-"

Luigi quickly nodded his head which caused a profusion of embarrassed blushing to fill his screen. "We weren't...doing that...no we wouldn't."

"It's okay. I don't mind."

He gave a small pat on his shoulder and then went over to stop Bob from escalating anything too far. Mr Puzzles sighed and leaned onto the railing, watching the stars with his head in his hands. Mario wanted to join and started playing with the railing, swinging back and forth while crying "Weeeee!" Then he decided to do something really stupid. He hoisted his waist onto the bar and lifted up his hands and feet. "Look TV guy! No hands or feet! Mario's a superhero! Duh duh duhhh!"

One second after Mr Puzzles glanced over, he instantly freaked out and screamed "MARIO GET DOWN! YOU MIGHT FALL!" The Italian scoffed and said "Mario's not gonna-" In that moment, bended down too far and slipped off. "FALLLLLLL MAMAAAAA!" He shut his eyes, not wanting to see the pile of mush he would soon be when he felt something grab his leg.

Mario peeked his eyes open to find a panicked Mr Puzzles, gripping hard onto his leg and quickly pulling him up. "Holy crap Mario! I thought you were gonna die!" He said nothing and looked down on what would have been a long fall. "Don't you know anything of being self-cautious!?" Mario was still coming down from his adrenaline as Mr Puzzles heaved a sigh and said "Let's just...sit somewhere else." All the fat Italian could say in that moment was a shaky "O-Okie...d-dokie..." They got up and told the others "Were finding another spot because this idiot doesn't know how balconies work."

Nobody really put up a fight and shrugged it off as they all pretty much wanted their alone time. Soon the fireworks started and it wasn't long before they filled the sky with the colors of blue and red. It reminded the boys about their certain someone. Tari pointed up to the sky and said "Wow! So pretty!" Meggy nodded and said "Yeah...its nice to end the trip off with this."

"Meggy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For everything. I wouldn't have made it through this trip...or even my life without you."

"Awww thanks bluejay."

Meggy quickly shut her mouth when she realized what she just said. Did she just call Tari by a nickname? The blue haired girl didn't seem to mind and responded back "You're welcome...inky." Meggy felt her cheeks rise up that Tari had given her a nickname right back.

Boopkins eyes twinkled like the stars in the sky. "It's so beautiful. Right Bob?" His mesmerized stare of the sky was replaced by concern when he spun around to see Bob swaying with nausea. "Bob? Are you okay?"

"I-I'M F-FINE..."

Luigi soon noticed and told him "You look drunk."

"I-I'M NOT DRUNK! Y-YOU ARE!"

He swayed for a few more seconds before collapsing on the ground and let out loud snores. Both green bois looked over their hungover friend still Luigi turned to the fish and said "We should probably go..." Boopkins nodded and said "Yeah. Let's get you to bed Bob." He began dragging his best friend by the foot while Bob made some sleepy small talk. "I DON'T NEED TO GO TO BED MOM. YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME..."

Meggy and Tari saw the strange sight and asked Luigi what was going on. "He just passed out from intoxication. Don't worry, once he gets plenty of rest he'll be better for the plane ride back." The girls watched Boopkins dragging Bob very slowly as they got up and said "Here. We'll help." They saw Three and Four admiring the fireworks together and figured they still wanted some time for themselves. Smg3 stared at the vibrant bright red and cool blue in the sky and said "Even the fireworks agree we're meant for each other~"

"Hey! Lovebirds!"

They spun their heads around as Meggy pointed and said "We're calling it a night! When you're done can you get Mario and Mr Puzzles?" Four gave them a thumbs up while Three dismissively said "Yeah yeah sure squid. Now leave us to our private business will you." He then went back to teasing his boyfriend as Meggy just shook her head and propped up Bob's.

...

Mario just kept jumping and bouncing around while Mr Puzzles drummed his fingers on the counter. The cold wind with the rhymic sounds of clicking was spiraling him into his thoughts, except those were soon shattered by the sounds of "WAHOO! WAHOO!" He growled and shot back "Can you stop that!? You're going to get yourself hurt!"

"Mario's not going to get hurt! TV man needs to take a chill pill!"

"You could have gotten hurt on the balcony!!"

"But Mario didn't because you saved him! He knows that TV man will always be there to catch Mario!"

Mr Puzzles felt his heart beat louder when Mario said that. "It...It was just a one time thing. I couldn't care less if you died." He crossed his arms and faced the other way as Mario crooked his head. "Is TV guy still upset about the kiss?"

"What do you think."

"But Mario thought you wanted to-"

"WELL YOU THOUGHT WRONG!"

His sudden outburst made Mario back up, seeing the fury in his eyes. "Why are you even still defending this!? The whole night I just wanted to promote myself with where I though I belonged. Classy people, promotions, that sort of stuff." Mario listened closely with a frown still on his face. "But instead I've been your babysitter, just making sure you wouldn't get hurt or humiliate us and we-"

His words stuttered in that sentence as he stared into the Italian's deep blue eyes. "We..."

"..."

"Nevermind. I'm leaving. You can walk yourself back."

He adjusted his shoulder cuffs and excused himself, not even bothering to fight the idiot no longer until a soft voice came from behind. "A boyfriend..."

"What?"

"What Mr Puzzles did...isn't that like a boyfriend?"

His eyebrows furrowed as he asked in an unreadable tone "What the hell are you talking about?"

"TV guy said he looked over Mario...and he danced..and smooc-"

He cut off Mario's sentence with a hushed finger. "I get it already."

He tried to avoid contact, but it was clear he had thought about this as well and what it really meant for him and Mario's relationship. "I...I wouldn't know. I've never had a boyfriend."

"Neither has Mario! Strange huh?" the Italian said while picking his nose.

"Yeah...it's a mystery." Mr Puzzles rolled his eyes until he felt Mario grab his hand and speak in the most genuine voice he had ever heard before. "What Mario is trying to say that...he's sorry."

His screen softened.

"Mario always screws things up. He always thought it was just a funny joke, but after seeing how TV guy reacted..."

Tears started to form in the Italian's eyes, about to cry like a baby and yank his hand away. That was until Mr Puzzles wrapped his arms around him and squeezed him tight. "Don't apologize Mario. I know you don't mean it." Mario felt flustered, his cheeks heating up as he hid in the crook of Mr Puzzles' shoulder. The embrace felt so warm and fuzzy. Both of them secretly liked it, but neither said a word.

When they let go, the hug made Mr Puzzles' realize how cold it had gotten. He shivered and clung onto his arms as Mario noticed and started pulling the cuffs off. "Does...Does TV man want his gloves back?"

"Nah. You need them more than me. Besides, my circuits generate the heat I need."

They stood in silence for a few more seconds before Mr Puzzles said "Guess I better go huh?" Mario nodded in disappointment, hanging his head as he hoped this conversation would have turned into something more. And that's when it happened. Mr Puzzles had started walking away when he sung back around, ran up to Mario, and pressed his screen against the Italian's lips. Mario flinched in surprise as he could do nothing but watch the exact moment he had actually did it.

Finally, Mr Puzzles backed off, allowing them to catch their breath as he smiled and said "Well see you later handsome~" He walked off, knowing that the speechless state Mario was in was punishment enough. The fat Italian was just standing there in shock, trying to collect any thoughts he had. His mind was usually just a spinning version of himself, but in that moment alone it was replaced by something new. Love.

Oh my god...he just kissed a TV didn't he?

Oh well, he could always put it off. I mean Mr Puzzles didn't say they were boyfriends...yet.

Author's Note: OMG I DID IT! I FINISHED TWO HEARTS IN THE CITY OF LOVE! I really hoped you all enjoyed this project as it was a great experimentation for couple moments I wanted to do with Smg34, try out Puzzlevision episodes, and even try writing more Marware. Next up is the Tangled Au. I have already started working on the first chapter, but I don't expect it to be finished until November. If you were wondering what song the crew was dancing to, it was a thousand years by Christina Perri.

The End~

[it-could-be-fun-tho]

My Ninjago Headcannons! (some of them are actually cannon, but idc)

• Jay has naturally red-ish, curly hair and decided to not try to tame it and grew it out starting at Season 8; extremely high pain tolerance (relating to Skybound); ADHD, and lots of energetic outbursts; he can be smart when he really needs to; self-esteem issues; good with anything mechanical; very curious + clever; video game genius; listens to kahoot music on repeat

• Cole isn't very flexible (compared to the other ninjas) because of his muscular body; sweet-tooth; loves food, not very good at cooking, ofc; loves playing and listening to music; good taste in music; literally the BFG; makes a good father figure; really kind; gets back at anyone who hurts people he cares about; literally besties with Kai; grounded and down to earth

• Nya, like Cole, is a terrible cook; tends to rant a lot; Kai's babysitter when he gets mad; sharp, pointed features; EXTREMELY stubborn; exceptional with hands-on situations, but not really good with technical and mentally challenging situations; pretty intense

• Lloyd is also Kai's babysitter when he gets mad; has an extreme sweet-tooth, which outstands even Cole's, because of his Oni heritage; the Responsible One™; somewhat energetic, like Jay; DON'T GIVE HIM COFFEE WHATSOEVER; gets teased by most of the ninja for his short height; has the mentality of a child

• Kai has a, surprisingly, good sense in fashion, and is good at doing hair; hot-headed, ofc; average cook; loves to fight, and is pretty good at it; average cook; Overly Protective Older Brother™; sharp, pointed features; terrible dancer; jumps to conclusions and miscommunicates a lot more than the average person; loves roasting people, but mostly Jay though; kinda stupid; insanely extroverted

• Zane has a very sweet personality; if there was an award for "Best Smile" he'd definitely win it; despite being the smart and logical character, he ends up being the wildly oblivious; pretty tall; accidently roasts people really hard; quite an agreeable person; has most control over his elemental powers out of all of the ninja

[coveredinmetaldust]

The discourse around the OceanGate situation is making me really fucking mad. You are getting a lot of posts like this one where people are decrying how inhumane it is for people to meme on the situation instead of grieving for the kind of people would work you to death if it meant a 0.002% stock price increase.

Yup, these fucking losers are equating willfully creating a death trap and killing 5 other people instantly to a car accident.

I don’t even entirely disagree that yes, it is tragic. I’d rather they didn’t die from an implosion caused by their metal death-tube crumpling in on itself because the arrogant shithead CEO decided that all these safety standards other subs adhere to were getting in the way of innovation. Obviously it would have been preferable to find them drifting on the ocean surface a day later shaken but ultimately unharmed.

No, I’m mad about how blatantly lopsidedly this flavor of moral outrage is always applied. You never see these people on Reddit, Twitter, etc crawl out of the woodwork to denounce the people saying “well he was no angel” when a person of color is gunned down by the police. You never see these same multi-paragraph posts decrying how immoral it is to say “play stupid games win stupid prizes” when this shit happens to the poor, disenfranchised, etc.

You don’t see it, because the people currently on their high horse are the same people who would call you a fucking idiot if you were on this submarine.

If the entree fee was $250 and five working class people were killed I can guarantee you'd see these same people joking about Darwin awards instead of saying stuff like this.

But no no, suddenly now is the time to stop victim blaming and start grandstanding while clutching at pearls. Now is the time to get indignant and accuse people not of feeling empathy and being inhumane sociopaths. There are now were entire call-out topics on Reddit where they organized and briggaded anyone who dares to say anything bad about these poor billionaires. Where the FUCK was this outrage during, I dunno, pick any one of the numerous fucking examples of brutality and/or exploitation occurring within the last three years. Oh right, these dopey fucks were too busy wagging their fingers at the victims and telling them to take Personal Responsibility™. Too bad, if only they were born rich—then maybe these paragons of virtue on social media would go to bat for them.

But you know what the worst part of this discourse is? I can’t quite put it into words, but it’s so blatantly fucking obvious to me that all of this is insincere—this is actual virtue signaling. You can just tell by the tone, the regurgitated talking points, the slimy smug indignation. This is false empathy over people they couldn’t care less about and won’t even remember in a week, because the point isn’t to being a compassionate person.

No, this to grandstand and get that dopimine rush by calling people out. This is being done to score points for some political ideology and Own The Libs/Commies/Socialists/[insert any slightly left of center ideology]. This is so the Panglossian shitheels of social media can maintain the status quo and feel superior by stamping out any act of defiance or rebellion.

None of these of these people seemed to care about how disrespectful this kind of disaster tourism is for the victims of the Titanic. (Victims, who, were mostly lower class since the wealthy were the ones who were allowed to escape.) They don’t care that these rich assholes were profiteering off a tragedy and making a spectacle out of visiting a mass grave. No, they save that smug, condescending, and cynical response for the people who call out these rich assholes.

It makes me want to throw my computer into the ocean.

Now, if you are one of these people I’m screaming into the void about, and you genuinely do not understand why people are memeing the situation so hard, you need to take a step back and recognize that this is, objectively, an absurd and cartoonish situation. This could have easily been a plot for an episode of The Simpsons. This whole goddamn situation reads like something thrown together by a room of writers who were trying to out “yes and” one another until one stopped everyone and said: “Woah woah, hold on. The CEO’s wife is a descendant of the Titanic victims? Isn’t that just a little much?” And then everyone else ignored this person and just kept fucking going.

In short: it was the perfect storm of absurdity, coincidence, hubris, tragedy, and stupidity.

But that's just a surface level explanation which ignores the context of the last hundred or so years. Ask yourself: "why are so many people so unsympathetic towards these particular victims?" Well, there are a multitude of reasons that contributed to how we got to this point and this guy does a much better job of explaining it than I ever could:

[astyrial]

an interviewer's somewhat relevant past love life osamu miya x fem!reader (meeting?) synopsis: you recognize your interviewer word count: 1k warnings: this is so stupid, made this in a fever dream masterlist | requests are open

    "so, why would you like to work at onigiri miya?" the owner of the shop crosses his arms in front of his chest, his apron pulling down a little as he does so.

  you sigh for a second, looking up at the ceiling as if you're contemplating some major decision. as if you didn't just need a job and liked the food so you figured it would be free food and money. as if you absolutely loved working in food industries and how customers treat the workers. 

  "because i love cooking, i've been cooking since i was a kid," you lie straight through your teeth, giving the owner as a sweet smile, "i am currently in my last year at university and i recently stopped working at a fast food restaurant due to complications. but i would love to continue working with food until i finish my masters."

  the owner nods along, seemingly unaware of the lies leaving your lips. he looks down at your resume, making it seem as though he’s just now noticing that you went to inarizaki high. "you went to inarizaki?" 

  you lower your eyebrows, a little confused at his sudden perkiness. he leans forward some and rests his crossed arms on the table between the two of you. a smile rests on your face, not wanting to talk about your time in high school, "uh yeah, did you also go there??"

  "yea, my brother and i did. we played on the volleyball team. so you must've been a sophomore when we were seniors then? in ‘02 that is,” he tilts his head, waiting to see if you recognize him due to his prestige in high school.

  despite every fiber in your being wanting to forget the miya twins, you suddenly remember who the owner is. you didn't know the twins very well, especially because you didn't run in the same groups. but you knew atsumu miya's infamous draw on women and how people would go to the games just to see him. 

  osamu never had the same reactions from people, but still got roped in with his brother. enough so that when you finally went to one of the games, they were acting totally obnoxious. and now that same osamu is sitting in front of you, interviewing you for a job. 

  "i must've been, i think i could've heard of you. i'm not sure though, it's just been so long," you let out a dry laugh, shrugging your shoulders in denial. 

  he nods, raising his eyebrows in surprise, "oh well, you're right. so, i assume you like onigiris then? i think it'd be awfully hard to work here and help curate recipes if you don't like them."

  "oh you don't need to worry about that, i've had your onigiris before! they're really good!" you give him another award winning smile. 

  every impulse in you wants to say they're not the best you've ever had. they're actually pretty good, but not good enough to make you instantly apply just to eat the food (that part is just a perk). he seemingly beams at your words, soaking up the idea that you're this enthusiastic person. 

  "thank you, i started making them while at inarizaki. are you positive you never came to our games or anything? or met us, cause now that i'm thinking about it, i think we've met each other," osamu nods, an annoyingly good looking smile on his face as well. 

  was he trying to bait you? figure out a way to say you shouldn't be hired? you narrow your eyes a little, wondering if you're meant to say yes or no. "really? i honestly don't remember a whole lot from my high school years. i'm sure if we did meet, it would've been nice. so about the position... what 'cooking' would it entail?"

  osamu purses his lips, "i agree, i must be thinking of the wrong person or something. uh you would be shaping the onigiris and setting them in their baskets. but like did anything interesting happen your sophomore year? i know sophomore year can be pretty influential for people!"

  "i've made a few onigiris in my day so i can totally do that for this company! uh, my sophomore year? i mean my friend moved that year and so we didn't have any classes together, but nothing else that i can think of..." you keep trying to keep the conversation on track, but finally you snap, "i'm sorry is there something going on? i came here for an interview, not for a look into my time at inarizaki."

  "it's just that didn't you have a secret admirer? one that put letters in your locker?" osamu pushes your resume to the side, his eyes wide.

  you stop for a second, wondering how he could know that... unless he was that weird stalker dude! not really a stalker, but the letters always seemed ominous and you totally thought it was creepy. "that was YOU? i thought you were like stalking me or something!"

  "you thought i was STALKING you?? what part of my elaborate love letters said 'stalking'?" 

  "the fact that some of them talked about seeing me after class? there was never a name or identity?? or maybe the fact that you never actually said you liked me!"

  osamu rests his head in his hands, unsure how to continue the interview when it's so insanely awkward. he could just tell you to leave, that maybe it's not best the two of you work together. but you're also not getting up from your seat and saying you wouldn't still want to work there. 

  he raises his head and waves his hand a little, "well i thought i explained it, but i must've not have... but if you'd still like the position it's open for you. if you can get around the whole 'sophomore year stalker but not really' fiasco that seems to have taken place."

  "well i do need money so yes i will absolutely take the position."

  “okay.. um well, welcome to the team, y/n.”

[nightmarerodent]

i have a hc that kung jin has glasses but normal wears contacts and the kombat kids don’t know. can you do them realizing jin actually needs glasses after he loses his contacts so he has to wear his frames?

(i’m literally projecting none of my friends know i have glasses)

You are in luck because I headcanon that Takeda actually started needing glasses after Reptile shot him with acid and got really insecure about it so let’s play with both.

“You’re over thinking this,” Jin said for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour, “I may not be able to read minds, but even I can hear you spiraling in that pretty little head of yours.”

“I’m being realistic. What use am I in a fight if I can’t see?” Takeda continued complaining.

The shinobi had been holding himself up in his room for the last few days sulking, mourning the loss of his once perfect vision. After Reptile gave him an eye full of acid in Outworld, his vision had begun to blur. Luckily Jacqui was right there with an eyewash solution that prevented any serious permanent damage. His vision would hopefully return to normal with time, but for now glasses were needed to get around.

“Well, your dad-”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Takeda snapped, cutting the Shaolin off. It would seem the topic of Kenshi had gone back to being a sore subject.

“Alright, alright,” Jin put his hands up in surrender before taking a seat next to his friend at the foot of the bed, “Just pointing out the obvious.”

“He has Sento. It’s different.” Takeda insisted.

“Didn’t you fight him off blind though? With just your hearing and telepathy?”

“Not the point…” Takeda sighed dejectedly, “I’ve trained my whole life for this, it’s the only thing I know how to do, and now because of some stupid mistake I… I feel like a liability now.”

Jin remained quiet after that confession. It was true. Takeda has only ever been trained as a warrior. He couldn’t be reassigned like the girls or become a sage like himself if injury prevented him from doing his job effectively. The Chujin would be rendered useless and fifteen years of training would be washed down the drain. His friend was way over thinking this, Jin knew, and Grandmaster Hasashi would mold a position within the Shirai Ryu to fit his favorite student regardless, but the idea that he was now something to be pitied was a daunting feeling Kung Jin was all too familiar with.

That’s when the idea struck Jin. A genius play he knew his friend would appreciate. He’d just have to convince the shadow warrior to come out of his hide hole and rejoin the rest of them for training tomorrow.

“Your contacts should be here in a few weeks though, right?” He asked casually.

“Yeah, I guess,” Takeda mumbled, “I’m benched from any sparring until then though.”

“I still think you should show up though. I mean, did you catch how Jacqui was looking at you yesterday? It’s like she wanted to take everything off you but the glasses.” Jin snickered.

“Yeah, well- Wait, really?” Takeda’s cheeks turned slightly red with blush.

This was so easy. He’s a genius. The great Kung Jin’s masterful deception strikes again. He’s so clever it’s almost unfair.

“Absolutely, and since you do owe me a favor, I’m thinking about using this to my advantage. Have you distract her tomorrow so I can hopefully pull out a win.” Takeda opened his mouth to say something but Jin swiftly cut him off, “You don’t need to do anything. Just be your normal, sexy self, yeah?”

“You want to use me as a psychological weapon against my girlfriend?” Takeda did not sound impressed.

“Absolutely. You game?” Jin gave him his best award winning smile.

Takeda just rolled his eyes.

Still, Takeda found himself walking into the training room the next morning, geared up a ready, even though he knew the General would have him sit out so he doesn’t brake the only thing giving him clear sight. Cassie, Jacqui, and Mr. Cage were already there and chatting amongst themselves. Jin, always fashionably late, was nowhere to be seen. Jacqui was naturally the first to spot him, her face immediately brightening.

“Hey you,” she walked up to him, not at all hiding her wandering eyes or even attempting to conceal the less than PG thoughts that briefly flashed through her mind, “I was worried I wouldn’t be seeing you today.”

“Jin convinced me sulking in the dark wasn’t doing me any good.” He confessed.

“Good,” she gave him a quick peck on the lips before dropping her voice to a whisper, “Because if it were up to me, we’d both still be in there.”

Takeda found himself burning up at that confession, and he probably would have said something if General Blade didn’t decide to walk through the training room doors at that moment. Instead Jacqui pulled away with a wink and Takeda was left standing there dumbly and reeling. He recovered quickly however once Sonya’s booming voice brought them all to attention.

She reminded Takeda that though she appreciates his enthusiasm to train today, he was barred from doing so until further notice. He bit his tongue and said nothing. Then she demanded to know where Kung Jin was.

“Here Ma’am! Right here!” Jin’s voice rang out as he rushed in, “Sorry, got caught up with something.”

Someone probably would have told him off for being late again if everyone wasn’t so caught off guard by his appearance. Right there, standing before them and a bit out of breath, was a Kung Jin wearing glasses. Fucking glasses. Takeda did even know he needed them. They’ve known each other for how long? And he’s never once realized?

“Jin, what the hell?” Sonya demanded.

“Lost my contacts. Can’t find them anywhere. It’s going to be a few weeks until I can get some replacements. Sorry.” Jin explained.

General Blade rolled her eyes and all but dismissed him, not wanting to deal with the Shaolin’s antics any more than she already had to, and directed Cass and Jacqui to square up and prepare for their sparring match instead. Not before Cassie could snap a quick pic of the boys in matching specs first though.

Johnny patted Jin on the shoulder before making his leave. His ex may not be amused by Kung Jin, but Johnny could clear as day see this was Jin’s attempt at making sure his friend wasn’t feeling left out and he appreciated the young man’s efforts.

With a smug smile, Jin took a seat next to Takeda and upon notice that his friend’s eyes haven’t left his face since his dramatic entrance, snickered to himself.

“You’re staring Bug Boy. Got something to say?” He smirked.

Takeda floundered, “I uh… I just- I didn’t know you had glasses. How long have you uh, when did-”

“-I start needing them?” Jin finished for him, “I’ve always had them. Nearsighted since I was a kid. I just usually have my contacts. I guess that’s why you’ve never noticed.”

Takeda just assessed him for a moment before cracking a small smile, “And this is your big reveal? Stumbling in late, pretending you’ve lost your contacts?”

Jin mocked offense, “Excuse you! I did lose my contacts, thank you very much. Spent all morning tearing my room apart looking for them.”

“So this isn’t you trying to make me feel better?”

“Absolutely not. Couldn’t give two shits about you.”

Takeda actually laughed at that and playfully punched him in the shoulder, “Shut your dramatic ass up. I hate you.”

Both were left smiling for the rest of the day.

[jhugas]

‘JUST FOLLOW ME’- Jung Hoseok

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

Please be aware that English is not my native language, if you have any correction, don’t be scared to tell me! And if you have any tips, I’ll gladly take them! Have a good time :)

Pairing: Soloidol!Hoseok X Soloidol!Reader, Idol au, rivals.

Main genre: smut (making out)

Then: slight angst

Summary: You and your rival, Hoseok, have to make out in front of the paparazzis to make them believe you’re dating. How will this go?

Warning/tags: making out, idol rival fake dating, public make out, filmed make out, paparazzis filming, rivals forced fake dating.

Word count: ~1k

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

You’re a very famous idol, known internationally. However, you’re not the only one, Hoseok, your very first rival is also very famous internationally.

It all started in 2013, the year you both debuted. You debuted in different companies, but your debuts were in the same month. And the two companies being rivals, they putted pressure on you two to be the biggest solo Idol:

“Dance better than him!”

“Make your debuts more impactful than hers.”

“Look at the views! Is he doing better??”

“Pff, her music video isn’t even well made.”

“WE will be better than them.”

You both knew each other very well since you were analyzing and criticizing each other since your debuts. And you both knew very well that you hated each other, the dirty looks you two were giving weren’t lying. Somehow though, your fans never noticed.

Turns out, your achievements are almost the same, views almost identical, and fandoms having the same amount of fans. If your fandoms were always fighting, it would be alright… but that’s not the case. They’ve been begging for years to have a collaboration.

“Imagine y/n X Hoseok!!”

“I would love to see them have a duet”

“I think they are secretly dating.”

They always believed that those dirty looks you were throwing were seductive and shy.

“Just look at how he looked at her!!”

“When she looked away while he was staring at her💞”

And all of this brought you here… in front of him, your back against the car and his hands cupping your face.

Due to you two not winning as many fans as before, the companies thought that making you two fake date, kiss in front of the car and “getting caught by the paparazzis” on purpose, would bring more fans to the both of you, “assemble” your fandoms. So here you are…

It’s late, maybe around 9pm, the award ceremony just ended and now you have to get in your role. You go outside in front of the black car that’s supposed to be for him, and you wait… it is a warm night, honestly nothing to complain, you won so many awards. You stand there silently, looking around to possibly see him as the paparazzis are trying to guess what you’re doing here.

“They have no idea” you think to yourself, and that’s when you saw him. He approaches you with so much confidence that he looks stupid.

“What is wrong with him”. He finally catches up to you and puts a hand on your shoulder.

‘Hey baby, what are you doing here?’

He gently asked with a soft voice, tired from his previous performance.

‘I was waiting for you…’

You force yourself to smile.

‘You know we can’t talk here. We should go somewhere else’

You have to follow the script. The dialogue is very important as fans will try to read on your lips. You have to play the stupid game 100%.

‘No, I wanna talk here. No one can see us.’

People can definitely see you, that’s the whole purpose.

‘What do you want love?’

He asked with a sweet voice, squinting his eyes to show his concern.

Silence.

‘A…’

Say it. He looks at you so carefully. It’s almost as he actually cares.

‘A what?’

He whispered nicely. That wasn’t in the script. Was he actually trying to help you? To make you feel comfortable?

‘A kiss. I want a kiss.’

You eventually managed to say these four words.

‘All you had to do is ask…’

He said in a playful tone before smiling and leaning in. He puts his hands to cup your face but you stop him.

‘Are we sure? Is this really a good idea?’

You whispered. Your lips being so close to his, almost touching and hiding behind his thumb so that no one can read them.

‘Just follow me’

He whispered back, then slowly pushed his soft lips against yours.

He doesn’t wanna lose any time. He wants to finish this the quickest possible. He takes your top lip in between his and you do as he said: follow him, follow along.

His hands moving up and down your curves, and sometimes pulling you aggressively by your waist to bring you even closer. Your left hand on his shoulder and your right one sliding to his hair, messing up the work of his hairdresser. He licks your lip, he doesn’t hold back nor stop. You suddenly pull back to breathe.

‘What are you doing?’

He asked aggressively.

‘Breathing, give me two seconds’

You answer trying to catch your breath. He scoffs. He watches your body up and down, slides his hands under your thighs, and lifts you up. Your legs around his waist, he leans in and kisses you again passionately.

You finally relax and give in, kissing him back with passion. Accepting the fact that he was carrying your whole weight, lifting you up from the ground, and in front of so many paparazzis knowing that almost everyone will see you in this position.

He takes a step back and opens the door of the car as he kisses you now from your jaw to your neck. He gets inside the backseats, your legs still around him, and lays you down softly. You grab his neck as the only thing paparazzis could see right now was his feet still out the door. He pulls back, gets to the door then closes it, locking you both in the car.

You’re still laying on the seats and he looks at you, hair messy and lips tinted by your lipstick.

‘You okay? They’re not supposed to see us right now’

He asked with siren eyes, breathing hard.

‘Yeah… I’m alright…’

You answered, noticing the bulge in his pants. You laugh inside.

‘Are you okay??’

You asked back.

‘Yea’

He licked his lips then bit his bottom ones.

‘I’m alright.’

Thank you for reading !