#Stretch Film Making Machine
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gireportstory · 2 months ago
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Global Stretch Film Making Machine Market Size,Growth Rate,Industry Opportunities 2024-2030
Global Info Research announces the release of the report “Global Stretch Film Making Machine Market 2024 by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2030” . This report provides a detailed overview of the market scenario, including a thorough analysis of the market size, sales quantity, average price, revenue, gross margin and market share.The report provides an in-depth analysis of the competitive landscape, manufacturer’s profiles,regional and national market dynamics, and the opportunities and challenge that the market may be exposed to in the near future. Global Stretch Film Making Machine market research report is a comprehensive analysis of the current market trends, future prospects, and other pivotal factors that drive the market.
According to our (Global Info Research) latest study, the global Stretch Film Making Machine market size was valued at USD 901.4 million in 2023 and is forecast to a readjusted size of USD 1275.2 million by 2030 with a CAGR of 5.1% during review period. Global key players of stretch film making machine include Brückner Maschinenbau, W&H, Lindauer DORNIER GmbH, Gruppo Colines, JSW The Japan Steel Works, etc. The top four players hold a share over 50%.
China is the largest producer, has a share about 51%. In terms of product type, multilayer film manufacturing machine is the largest segment, occupied for a share of 78%, and in terms of application, food processing industry has a share about 32 percent.
The Global Info Research report includes an overview of the development of the Stretch Film Making Machine industry chain, the market status of Industrial (Single Film Manufacturing Machine, Multilayer Film Manufacturing Machine), Food Processing Industry (Single Film Manufacturing Machine, Multilayer Film Manufacturing Machine), and key enterprises in developed and developing market, and analysed the cutting-edge technology, patent, hot applications and market trends of Stretch Film Making Machine.
Regionally, the report analyzes the Stretch Film Making Machine markets in key regions. North America and Europe are experiencing steady growth, driven by government initiatives and increasing consumer awareness. Asia-Pacific, particularly China, leads the global Stretch Film Making Machine market, with robust domestic demand, supportive policies, and a strong manufacturing base.
Market Segmentation Stretch Film Making Machine market is split by Type and by Application. For the period 2019-2029, the growth among segments provides accurate calculations and forecasts for consumption value by Type, and by Application in terms of volume and value.
Market segment by Type: Single Film Manufacturing Machine、Multilayer Film Manufacturing Machine
Market segment by Application:Industrial、Food Processing Industry、Agriculture、Others
Major players covered: Brückner Maschinenbau、W&H、Lindauer DORNIER GmbH、Gruppo Colines、JSW The Japan Steel Works、Huabao、SIMCHENG、Chyi Yang Industrial Company、Changlongxing、Macro Engineering & Technology、XHD、SML、Jinming Machinery、Dongsheng、Matila Industrial Co., Ltd.、Hengtuo
The content of the study subjects, includes a total of 15 chapters:
Chapter 1, to describe Stretch Film Making Machine product scope, market overview, market estimation caveats and base year.
Chapter 2, to profile the top manufacturers of Stretch Film Making Machine, with price, sales, revenue and global market
share of Stretch Film Making Machine from 2019 to 2024. Chapter 3, the Stretch Film Making Machine competitive situation, sales quantity, revenue and global market share of top manufacturers are analyzed emphatically by landscape contrast.
Chapter 4, the Stretch Film Making Machine breakdown data are shown at the regional level, to show the sales quantity, consumption value and growth by regions, from 2019 to 2030.
Chapter 5 and 6, to segment the sales by Type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2019 to 2030.
Chapter 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, to break the sales data at the country level, with sales quantity, consumption value and market share for key countries in the world, from 2017 to 2023.and Stretch Film Making Machine market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2025 to 2030.
Chapter 12, market dynamics, drivers, restraints, trends and Porters Five Forces analysis.
Chapter 13, the key raw materials and key suppliers, and industry chain of Stretch Film Making Machine.
Chapter 14 and 15, to describe Stretch Film Making Machine sales channel, distributors, customers, research findings and conclusion.
Our Market Research Advantages: Global Perspective: Our research team has a strong understanding of the  company in the global Stretch Film Making Machine market.Which offers pragmatic data to the company. Aim And Strategy: Accelerate your business integration, provide professional market strategic plans, and promote the rapid development of enterprises. Innovative Analytics: We have the most comprehensive database of resources , provide the largest market segments and business information.
About Us: Global Info Research is a company that digs deep into global industry information to support enterprises with market strategies and in-depth market development analysis reports. We provide market information consulting services in the global region to support enterprise strategic planning and official information reporting, and focuses on customized research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, database and top industry services. At the same time, Global Info Research is also a report publisher, a customer and an interest-based suppliers, and is trusted by more than 30,000 companies around the world. We will always carry out all aspects of our business with excellent expertise and experience.
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thyme-in-a-bubble · 2 months ago
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pop that cherry
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a/n: woop woop! here's the little slutty story that you guys voted for when i asked what you wanted to see happen next in this au ৎ୭
summary: “hey, I get it,” he flashed you a comforting smile, “I’m a complete stranger. You just shook my hand two seconds ago and now we’re expected to bang in front of a bunch of other people you also don’t know,” his broad thumb swept over your knuckles, “you just have to decide if you wanna pack up your things, go home and chalk this up to just a fun experience, a lesson learned about what corners your sexuality and such does and does not stretch to,” he uttered with sincerity, “or you can come back inside and we can make some magic happen. It’s up to you.” 
warnings: camgirl!reader x various, pornstar!ari levinson, roommate!bucky barnes, porn director!bruce banner, smut, porn au, college au, reader’s porn name is cherry blossom (UrLittleCherry), filming pornography, reader's first time doing professional porn, kissing, masturbation, toys, oral, fingering, voyeurism, exhibitionism, dirty talk, size kink (pornstar!ari is famous for his monster cock, you're welcome), belly bulge, manhandling, multiple orgasms, squirting, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, facial
word count: 3832
∼ gentle reminder that feedback, but especially reblogs are the way you support writers on here ∽
sugar & spice au masterlist | 101, intro to the au
masterlist | join my taglist 
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Curled up and melted on your mattress, you absentmindedly scrolled through your phone. Your puffy pussy, hidden between your still trembling thighs, clenched in dull soreness from the fuck machine frozen by your feet and still glistening from the show you’d put on only moments earlier. 
“Hey, pretty girl,” a familiar voice emanated from your doorway, “I didn’t know you were done streaming.”
Lazily blinking up at Bucky as he leaned against the frame, “yeah, just signed off a few minutes ago,” you exhaled, “did you just get home?” the question flowed from your lips and he swiftly nodded in confirmation, “how was class?” 
“Oh my god, don’t get me started,” your roommate let out a groan and pushed himself off the wall, his stride swiftly carrying him the short distance to where you laid and plopped himself down beside you.
A soft smile tugged at the corners of your lips as you felt him press a slow peck to your exposed shoulder. 
“Do you need help lifting the toy back in the closet or–,” Bucky’s kind offer was then cut short by the shuttering gasp that suddenly crawled out of your lungs. 
“Oh my god,” your eyes grew to the size of saucers as you stared down at the message you’d opened on your phone, “oh my god!”
“What? What is it?” he propped himself up on a forearm to peek over your shoulder. 
“I–…” your eyes scanned the email wildly, “this can’t be real, right?” you cast a glance back at your friend. 
“Let me have a look,” and you swiftly handed him your phone before hearing him skim through it, “dear miss Cherry Blossom, bla, bla, bla… we here at Smash Studios really love your vibe and were wondering if you would ever consider doing professional pornography, because if so, then we would love to work with you,” his blue eyes flickered a moment longer over the screen before they fluttered up to meet yours, “no, I think it’s legit.”
“Holy shit…” you breathed, an airy giggle then bubbled out of you as this was quite the news to take in, even when one wasn’t still hazy from haven fucked one silly in front of hundreds of people. 
“You think you wanna do it?”
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“Beautiful, gorgeous! And look right here, up there, yeah, that’s it…” 
Sharp clicks shuttered the camera and shot throughout the massive house as a photographer snapped the last of the stills for the shoot. You were posed perched and kneeling on a bed with your right hand buried in the already tiny crop top, you’d brought as one of the outfit options, and held up high to reveal your tits. 
The groan of floorboards creaking then found your ears and your gaze swiftly fluttered towards the door where the salt-and-pepper-haired man, who you’d come to learn was the head of the little porn studio, crossed over the threshold. 
“How are we doing in here?” Bruce adjusted his glasses before stepping further into the room. 
“I think we’re about done,” the photographer lowered the camera from his eye and cast a glance to his boss, “think we got the shot.”
“Great,” Bruce clapped his shoulder as the other man passed by and exited the room. As you tugged the short t-shirt back down into place, you met Bruce’s gaze before he asked you, “how are you doing? You ready?”
Though your mind was way too preoccupied to offer him an answer and instead blurted, “has he arrived?” as you scooted off the bed and felt the tiny shorts you wore ride up enough for your grasp to float down to adjust. 
“Not yet, I’m sorry,” he tilted his head, “trust me when I say that he isn’t usually this late. He wouldn’t have the stellar reputation he does if he was. But we can still begin without him and just fix it in post if you’re–”
Someone then poked their head and announced, “hey Banner? He’s here. I just spotted his bike roll up the driveway.”
Feeling your heart thump in your chest, you heard Bruce clap his palms together, “great!” before you followed him out of the bedroom and through the pristine halls of the rented modern mansion. 
Just before your bare feet began to conquer the long staircase, your absentminded grip tightened on the glass railing as you looked down at the open living room, clearly visible from the wide balcony, and spotted the figure that then sauntered in. 
“So sorry I’m late, traffic was literal hell.”
Ari Levinson. 
With sun-kissed brunette locks flowing from his head and a motorcycle helmet nuzzled under his burly arm, the infamous pornstar was not only blessed with a smile that could make anyone swoon, but also a dick so huge that any sane person would be downright terrified by the idea of having it split them apart. 
Though that wasn’t what had stopped you in your tracks, what had made your palms embarrassingly clammy when he soon shook one of them once you’d somehow made your way down the stairs. 
Why did your very first partner have to be someone you’d obsessively been getting off to for years? 
You were barely listening to what the people around you were saying as you couldn’t rip yourself out of the trance you’d snapped into. 
“I’m sorry, what?” you soon blinked, trying to avert your gaze. 
“I asked if you were ready,” Bruce patiently repeated. 
“…for?” you breathed, feeling as if you were inside of a giant ethereal cheese bell, making the entire world around you seem blurry. 
“For the shoot,” Bruce’s words still flew straight over your head, “I said that I was thinking that I’d do the filming myself, if that could make you more comfortable since you’ve already met me. That way it’ll just be me, the two of you and then Sam in the corner doing audio.”
“O-okay…” you said quietly, feeling your cheeks heat up as Ari let his gaze linger over you, an observant brow soon twitching as he spoke up. 
“Wait, actually,” he placed a palm on Bruce’s forearm, halting him as he reached for the bulky camera resting on the white couch, “do you mind if I grab a quick smoke break first?”
“Yeah, sure,” he nodded, “let’s just all take five before we begin.”
It caught you completely off guard when the object of your distraction walked by you and paused to murmur in your ear, “come with me outside for a second, will you?”
Shadowing him all the way out of the tall glass door and onto the terrace, you watched him lean his frame against the fence and tilt his body for you to slot in beside him. 
“I don’t actually smoke,” you uttered softly as you let your fingers ghost over the railing. 
“Oh, neither do I–, or well, that’s not completely true, I do, just didn’t need one right now.” 
“So then why did you ask for a smoke break?” you cocked a brow. 
Blowing out a swift breath, Ari then twisted to face you more and gazed directly down at you. 
“You mind if I hold your hand?” he held out his own palm.
“Oh, uhm,” your glance flickered down to his upturned hand before you carefully placed your own atop of it, “okay.”
His warm fingers swiftly engulfed your own as his stare stayed fast upon you.
“So, this is your first time, huh?”
“Oh, no, I'm not a virgin, I–” 
“I meant porn, sweetheart,” he tilted his head to be more at your level. 
“Right,” you averted your gaze as butterflies soared in your stomach, “yeah, I haven’t really done this before… I mean, I’ve some stuff, I’ve cammed for a pretty long time now and even recorded custom videos for some people, but no, I haven’t really taken this step before…” 
You were staring down at his large hand engulfing yours as he then said, “you know, it’s okay if you don’t wanna go through with it. This field isn’t for everyone, in fact, only very few thrive in this environment, and if it’s not for you, then it’s okay.”
“Oh, no,” your eyes flickered up to find his as you urged, “I wanna do this, I really do. I’m sorry, I guess I just kinda got a bit more nervous than I expected.” 
“Hey, I get it,” he flashed you a comforting smile, “I’m a complete stranger. You just shook my hand two seconds ago and now we’re expected to bang in front of a bunch of other people you also don’t know,” his broad thumb swept over your knuckles, “you just have to decide if you wanna pack up your things, go home and chalk this up to just a fun experience, a lesson learned about what corners your sexuality and such does and does not stretch to,” he uttered with sincerity, “or you can come back inside and we can make some magic happen. It’s up to you.” 
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“So, Cherry,” Bruce purred behind the camera as he knelt on the floor beside where you sat at the foot of the bed, “I can’t believe we finally convinced you to come have some fun with us. I gotta tell you, you are just a fucking dream come true…”
“Oh, thank you,” you smiled, kicking your feet slightly as they dangled over the edge. 
“But you must get that all the time, I mean, look at you.”
“It has been known to happen on occasion,” you chuckled, thinking back to all of the lewd compliments the viewers of your streams generously tossed at you. 
“So, a little birdy told me that this is your very first time fucking on camera. Is that true?”
“Yeah, it is,” you bit down on your bottom lip, “I’m so ready to pop that cherry.”
“Oh, you are, are you?” he smirked, panning the bulky camera over your frame as you tilted your head in a nod, “you’re just ready to show the whole world what a perfect slut you are?”
“Think it’s about time,” you giggled in response. 
“Well, then why don’t you do something for me and stand up?” he shifted back a bit as you got up from the bed, “and now, I’ve already seen it, but can you please turn around and show everyone how fucking perfect your ass is?” a grin stayed fast on your face as you slowly spun around. Your butt was barely covered in the tiny shorts that clung around your hips, so when you twisted and let the camera catch that part of you, Bruce quietly groaned, “wow…” and he shifted his grip to let one of his hands float up towards you, “can I touch you?” 
“Sure,” you arched your back a bit to make his palm’s journey that much shorter. 
“Damn… this has got to be one of the greatest booties I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” he offered your softness a brief squeeze. His fingers first dented one cheek, then the next, before his grip caught your waistband and tugged your shorts up just a tad bit more, making the fabric momentarily rub against your covered pussy.
His flat palm then scooped around your hips and guided you back to face the camera.
“Do you wanna see my boobs?” you smiled as you blinked down at him with big doe eyes, your hands gently grazing over the hem of your crop top.
“Oh, yes, please,” he virtually begged as he let his warm palm stay glued to your waist. 
Peeking down, you slowly lifted the shirt up and let your tits quite literally spill out as they jiggled slightly from the release of how fiercely you let the cotton graze over your skin. 
“Jesus christ…” you heard him utter as your palms fluttered down to play with them, squeezing the soft peaks gently before Bruce’s fingers sneaked up to pinch one of your nipples.
Once you’d put on a show and pushed the tiny shorts down your legs, the crotch of which had been slightly soaked since you weren’t wearing any panties underneath, you rested back down on the bed and spread your legs wide for the camera, grinning as the older man asked you to play with yourself. 
“Oh my god… I gotta tell you, I am so hard right now,” you watched how intently he stared at the small monitor, getting a closeup of how your fingers rubbed your little clit, “you have no idea how tough it is not to just fuck you right now, it’s crazy…”
“Oh yeah?” you giggled, the melody of your want echoing throughout the room at every teasing touch you offered yourself, “how bad do you wanna fuck me?”
“So fucking bad…” he uttered in a nearly hypnotise tone. 
Continuing to circle your puffy pearl, your fingers briefly dipped down to tease your entrance, only shyly slipping inside before you swept back up. 
“You know what?” Bruce said as he then began to twist a bit to get the open door to the room into frame, “I have a little surprise for you,” and perfectly on queue, Ari appeared at the threshold, burly chest on show with just a pair of jeans hanging low on his hips. 
His stride was slow as he only stayed in the doorway a moment before sauntering over to where you sat, melted back and resting against the one forearm that propped you up. 
“Hey,” he smiled and plucked up your face as soon as it was within reach. 
“Hi,” you managed to utter just before he bent down and pressed his lips to yours in an unhurried and gentle kiss. 
He kissed you as if he had all the time in the world, like some dude wasn’t pressing a bulky camera closer to the intimate act, but like he was the lead in a PG romcom. 
When Ari withdrew, he let himself linger in your warmth, ever so slightly nuzzling his nose against your own as your fingers kept up the dizzying pattern you drew between your parted thighs. Tilting his head, his touch traced the length of your arm till his reach came down to aid your efforts, making you gasp from the way he caressed you. 
“You,” he nudged his nose gently against your own, “look like you’re in need of some cock in that little mouth of yours.”
Letting out a soft chuckle, you said, “you read my mind,” before popping the button of his jeans and tugging the zipper down. Even though you’d seen his famed cock numerous times on screen before, it truly was something else to witness it in person. A breathy, “holy shit,” left your lips as you tried to wrap your fingers around his girth, though he only let out a soft laugh at the way your eyes grew wide. 
Ceasing the caress he drew between your thighs, he instead grabbed the base of his heavy length with his fingers still glossy from your arousal. As you stuck out your flat tongue, he tapped the weight against you for a second before you tilted your chin and wrapped your lips around the bulbous head.  
As you disappeared into the meditative motion of slobbering all over his cock, gradually taking more and more of his intimidating length, your frame twisted to lay on your side and face him more. 
Blinking up into his hooded eyes as the corners of your lips burned from the severe stretch, you felt his hips begin to move, rolling to meet your every bob, till his fingers tangled in your hair and he got to take over completely, fucking your face till slobber dribbled down your chest and rained down on your crop top, still tugged up and framing your tits. 
His free hand then snaked its way back down your body and cracked your legs open wide for the camera to see as he plugged your pussy up with two of his fingers, making you moan around his girth as the tip of him bruised your throat. 
When he yanked your mouth off of his cock, he did so with a gravelly growl, like he could have lived in your silky warmth and it pained him to say goodbye so soon. 
“Come here,” he grabbed you and flipped you around for your frame to face him as his feet stayed planted on the side of the bed. Kicking his jeans the rest of the way off, you panted up at him as you scooted even closer, nearly letting your butt hang off the mattress’ edge as you laid already crumbled and folded before him, utterly bewitched by the anticipation of what his legendary size must feel like stretching your poor pussy out. 
Shimmery spiderwebs of your nectar clung to him as he then let you feel the weight of him tap against your puffy pearl, briefly skimming through your folds before he found your eyes and tipped down, nudging to catch your weeping entrance. 
“Oh my g-god…” you gasped, all of the air escaping your body to accommodate as he slowly pressed just the tip inside. Your cunt clung around his dick as he gave you a second to catch your breath. Your pulse throbbed in your pussy as your silky walls moulded around him and your thighs gently trembled from the intensity of it all. 
“Fuck,” he groaned as he gave you another inch, “you feel so good,” gently stuffing more of his length inside. 
His grip dented your trembling thighs as he held you open for the camera to see how you struggled to take his cock. Even when the tip of him kissed your cervix and made you feel as if he was all the way up in your fucking throat, when you hazily gazed down to see where he split you apart, there was still a generous inch of him that your little pussy just couldn’t take. 
As your eyes lingered a little longer, you too caught sight of how a dull bulge formed in the lower part of your belly, perfectly timed with each of his mind-numbing thrusts. 
When you then tumbled over the edge, nearly blind from the overwhelming pleasure, your pussy couldn’t help but accidentally gush around Ari’s girth, simply because of how mind-boggling he felt. 
“Oh, shit,” you panted. Still in your orgasmic daze, you swiftly cast a worried glance up at Bruce steady behind the camera, “I’m sorry,” you briefly broke the scene as Ari too paused his movements as you breathlessly spoke, “I really tried not to squirt, I know that wasn’t part of today’s plan, but–, fuck…” your eyes fluttered up to find Ari’s, “your dick’s just so goddamn big,” you hazily giggled. 
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Bruce’s voice washed over you as you watched a smile tug at Ari’s lips, “that was just an unplanned bonus.”
“Wait, so you’re not mad?” your neck twisted to cast a glance at the director. 
“No,” he swiftly shook his head and flashed you a reassuring smile to calm the obvious anxiety that had bubbled up inside of you. 
“Oh, good,” you let out a sigh, “sorry, I just got nervous for a second. Okay, alright, we can keep going.”
“You good?” Ari checked before he cracked out of his frozen form. 
“Yep, yep, I’m okay, I’m wonderful,” you chuckled and let the last bit of nerves wash away. 
“Alright,” he dipped down to press a soft kiss to your lips, before his hands guided your arms around his neck, slinking them around him. 
His grasp then scooped down under you and he effortlessly plucked you up off the bed, a shy yelp bubbling up from your lungs as he picked your frame up to cradle you in his arms, his massive cock still lodged inside of you, though when he settled you in his strong hold, it felt as if he found a mystical way to slide even deeper. 
Moans flowed from your lips and vibrated against his skin as your neck soon gave up and lent your cheek to smoosh against his fuzzy chest. 
“There you go,” he stood up tall and bounced you in his arms like you were a toy, just a cocksleeve for him to get off with, “there you fucking go…”
As he picked up the pace and truly gave you a taste of how a real pornstar pounded a pussy for the camera, your eyes screwed shut tight and you felt yourself float away on a cloud, curled up in Ari’s burly arms and surrounded in a storm of your collective moans. The existence of the video camera even faded from your reality as you peeled your eyes open and peeked up at Ari from the pillow of his pec, knowing full well that he too could feel how you began to clench around his cock once more. 
“You gonna cum again?” he repeatedly lifted you up and down on his fat girth, “you gonna be a good girl and cream all over my cock, huh?”
Blinking up at him, your brows crinkled in pleasure as you nodded, “uh-huh.”
“You think you can squirt again for me?” his grip dug into the plush of your ass hard enough for it to leave marks. 
“I-I don’t know–”
“Oh, I think you can,” he switched up his pattern, slowing down slightly and dragging you all the way up till his cock nearly slipped out of you, only to sink you back down in such a rough, yet intensely slow manner, that it made your eyes roll in your skull, “just listen to that,” he smirked at the soft sloshing sound that sinfully echoed as his fat girth repeatedly slid against your g-spot, virtually bullying it till you surrendered, “it’s like she’s begging me to just spend the rest of the day making her gush over and over again until you fucking pass out…”
A shrill cry escaped your form as you let go once more, shaking in Ari’s grasp as Bruce knelt down to capture your sinful drizzle.  
You nearly felt drunk, like you were hours into the best party of your life, when you eventually found yourself planted on the floor, quaking legs unsteady beneath you as you blinked up at Ari, looming above you and furiously fucking his fist. 
“You want me to cum all over that pretty little face?” he grunted as you hazily stuck out your tongue. 
“Yes,” the corners of your lips blissfully curled up into a grin, “please–”
Even though your bones had turned into jelly and your pussy clenched in soreness, the drawn-out moan that rumbled in Ari’s chest as hot ropes of his cum then shot out and painted your features sent tingles throughout your body and filled you with a desire to just wrestle him back down onto the mattress, hit rewind and do it all over again. 
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© 2024 thyme-in-a-bubble 
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literaryvein-reblogs · 3 months ago
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Writing Notes: Horror
Horror is a genre within creative writing that relies on one thing: instilling a sense of fear in the reader.
The horror genre is multifaceted—there is a kind of horror for every kind of person.
For some, the most effective scare is the idea of being trapped in a haunted house. For others, it’s being chased by a serial killer on Halloween.
Some of the best horror comes from scary things that can manipulate an audience’s feelings, creating a sensation of uneasiness and fear that stretches beyond consciousness and permeates deep within the psyche.
Horror writing is sometimes categorized within the broader category of thrillers, but not all horror follows the thriller structure.
Classic horror fiction—whether expressed as a novel, novella, short story, or film—will tap into topics that reliably frighten most humans.
Common topics include ghosts, werewolves, vampires, zombies, serial killers, murderers, and the fear of the unknown.
These horror tropes can often devolve into clichés.
A downside of horror’s popularity is that many horror books and movies recycle old content in non-creative ways, but when properly executed, horror stories can thrill audiences and even provide commentary on the human condition.
Horror Subgenres
1. Apocalyptic - In this subgenre, the world is ending or society is collapsing. When this happens, it’s usually because of some creature, demon, or religious event (while climate-oriented apocalypses are more sci-fi).
2. Body Horror - Involves the mutilation, experimentation, or violation of the human body. It can focus on disease, dismemberment, infestation, sexual acts, or a complete transformation of the physical form.
3. Comedy - Horror and comedy seem so at odds with each other, but they work so well together (kind of like spice and chocolate). A trademark of comedy horror is how the protagonist somewhat stumbles through the story, arriving at the end through luck and ridiculous happenstance rather than skill or growth.
4. Cosmic/Lovecraftian - With its origins largely attributed to H.P. Lovecraft, cosmic horror makes us feel small against a threat that is ancient, massive, and incomprehensible. Cosmic horror looks at intergalactic entities, ancient gods, the machinations of the universe, and how helpless we are against it all.
5. Dark Fantasy - Another crossover, this time with the fantasy genre. In dark fantasy, you have elements of magic, fictional creatures or worlds, and everything else that makes fantasy great, plus you add in a good dose of scares. This can also involve other subgenres, like body horror.
6. Dark Romance - Another crossover genre, dark romance takes the feel-good romance genre and makes it horrific. While this subgenre can simply include morally questionable characters and a grittier tone than most romance, it can also include kidnapping, forced confinement, BDSM, psychological and physical abuse, and sexual violence or sex where there is no consent. Bear in mind that it still needs to include the tenants of romance stories, though.
7. Extreme Gore - Not for the faint of heart, this subgenre includes books that have detailed torture scenes or otherwise disturbing and depraved acts. This genre is all about shocking your audience with how awful your characters act or are treated.
8. Folk Horror - Embraces urban legends and folktales. These range from old pagan gods in the woods to weird rituals performed by isolated groups or villages. Sometimes there is a supernatural element to them, even if the “supernatural” is simply perceived or believed by some characters (e.g., Midsommar).
9. Found Footage/Documentaries - Though this subgenre is more common in films than books, found footage and documentary horror stories are about a crew of people recording their experiences, usually unaware of the true danger they are about to face.
10. Gothic - The great-grandparent of modern horror, gothic horror is the brooding, atmospheric genre containing what most of us would consider classics (e.g., Dracula and Frankenstein). Sometimes you throw in a dash of romance, but these tales tackle topics like death and mortality.
11. Post-Apocalyptic - After some world-ending disaster, how horrifying have things become? Post-apocalyptic horror shows us a world without rules or structure. It can contain unrealistic elements (zombies, demons, etc.) or realistic possibilities (cannibals, gangs, and so on).
12. Psychological - Places the spotlight on trauma, mental health, manipulation, phobias, and everything else that causes you to become stressed and anxious. Home invasion stories (i.e., The Strangers) fall under this subgenre.
13. Slasher - Involves violent horror that is more about a single killer stalking and eventually killing a group of people (traditionally targeting teens and using a blade). This subgenre isn’t necessarily as violent or gory as others, but uses suspense to make the reader hold their breath.
14. Splatterpunk - Is known for its disregard of limits when it comes to violence—both physical and sexual. Gore and depravity are grossly abundant.
15. Supernatural/Paranormal - Some folks separate these two subgenres into different categories, but there is so much overlap that they’re basically the same. If you have to, think of supernatural horror as stories that involve werewolves, witches, vampires, and other monsters. Paranormal horror, on the other hand, involves ghosts, demons, and haunted houses.
Tips for Writing Horror
1. Read more horror. There’s no better way to understand what a good story looks like than to read one for yourself. Read as much as you can so you are aware of what other horror writers are doing.
2. Focus on your own fears. Much like comedy, horror benefits from authenticity. So get personal: If you can scare yourself, you can probably scare an audience.
3. Create three-dimensional characters. Write characters whose character flaws feed the action of the story. All good literature and film contains well-wrought characters with desires, emotions, and a backstory. The more human you make the characters of your story or screenplay, the more their missteps and bad choices will resonate with an audience.
4. Recognize that the real can be scarier than the surreal. Sure, you can make up an army of googly-eyed bad guys or plant a severed head in your main character’s bed, but will you really scare your reader? Not necessarily. In most cases, psychological horror sticks with audiences far longer than a jump scare or gross-out moment in a slasher film. Toying with people’s real-life fears tends to scare them much more than just grossing them out.
5. Use the environment. Scary movies and television shows can use jump-scares as an easy way to frighten an audience, but writing scary literature requires its own method of manifesting fear. Setup your environment in a vivid way to fully immerse your readers into your setting. Vividly describing an enclosed space can elicit feelings of claustrophobia. A dark and quiet house becomes more frightening when a character suddenly hears the creak of an upstairs floorboard. Being an outsider in an unfamiliar place, like a small town with no cell phone service and where everyone knows each other, is already unsettling—and if you add a malicious paranormal force to such a setting, you can enhance the feeling of isolation and ramp up the anxiety of the scenario.
6. Write longer sentences. You can heighten your readers’ fear by writing paragraphs with longer sentences. Periods provide natural pauses for readers to take a breath, but if you stretch out your sentences, you build anticipation for the reader—which they might not even realize until they reach the end of the sentence. By using tactics like this, you immerse the reader into your horror story, making them feel what the main character feels and creating a heart-pounding connection.
7. Make your readers breathe faster. Whereas long sentences can amplify the intensity of a story, short one-sentence paragraphs can force your readers to take more frequent breaths while following your narrative. Crafting abrupt lines builds tension in your scary story writing, making the readers’ eyes move more quickly down the page searching for the relief that the protagonist is safe. This can make your audience breathe faster, contributing to the feeling of panic and anxiety.
8. Leverage fear of the unknown. Fear of the unknown is a common theme that can be tracked throughout many of the best stories in horror fiction and horror movies. When there is something that negatively affects us that we cannot control or properly identify, it creates a feeling of panic and dread. Teasing your readers with something not quite definable or a bad guy no one knows how to stop can increase the level of tension and fear when writing horror stories.
9. Lean into dark imagery and your readers’ collective imagination. Consider what images might be frightening to a reader (and yourself). How much of a description of a clown do you need in order to make a reader feel uneasy? How large and grotesque does a rat need to be? Leaving some of these images more general than specific will allow a reader to fill in the blanks with what is most horrifying to them. Example: If you read the word beast, what do you see in your imagination? Most words carry connotations and personal connections. Allow your words to work for you to create the maximum scare.
10. Want tension? Sprinkle in some foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is a powerful tool in your writing arsenal, but it is particularly effective in horror, especially when writing in third person. Foreshadowing is when an author alludes to a future event by showing us something now. The key to foreshadowing is to use it sparingly. We want to up the tension and the fear our readers are experiencing while they yell at the oblivious protagonist not to open the door. We don’t want the reader to know every single thing that’s going to happen. 
11. Focus on the moment where things shift. You should consider a pivotal scene in your story idea and try to build around that scene or that moment where the plot actually “shifts.” Sometimes that could be reflected in a realization by the protagonist. Other times it can be represented in some type of ironic twist at the end. By looking at that singular element of your story idea, you cut away the fat so that the reader is left only with the most resonant part of the story.
12. Establish the mundane. Mundane is just a fancy way of saying normal, but the message still rings true. Most story structures tell you to start by establishing the Ordinary World: what our protagonist’s normal life is like. This is important for showing us how important the larger conflict is, because it threatens the protagonist’s normal. In horror, establishing the mundane is arguably more important. In a story where connecting with the character and empathizing with them over the godawful stuff you, the author, put them through, the reader needs to understand just how bad life has gotten. Then you can take both your characters and your reader from a place of comfort and familiarity and plunge them into whatever shadowy hell you’ve concocted.
13. Choosing your POV. By choosing to write your story from a first-person perspective, you are putting the reader exactly where your character is. There are 2 types of third-person POV—limited and omniscient. It is advisable to stay away from omniscient. Part of writing a good horror story is withholding information from the reader, which third-person omniscient doesn’t really allow for. Considering the pros and cons of the different points of view, choose the right one for your story.
14. Avoid clichés. Clichés are boring and predictable, and a horror scene that is predictable is likely to not be scary. A good horror story can still use familiar horror tropes, but a great horror story makes them its own. Look beyond the obvious when trying to write a scary scene—what is something readers wouldn’t expect? How can you surprise them with fear? Use enough of the existing tropes to be identifiable as horror, but make sure you insert your own originality into the mix. One of the reasons people gravitate to genres in general is because they have certain expectations for what should happen in the story. Look for ways to flip archetypes on their heads.
15. Practice. If you’re struggling to get a handle on writing a good story that’s scary, practice with story prompts (see some sample prompts below). Writing prompts can expand your range of thinking and open up new avenues of imagination that you hadn’t thought of before.
Horror Writing Prompts
A scary doll comes to life.
A scene from a nightmare comes true the next day.
Days go by, and your parents don’t come home.
You feel yourself slowly becoming a monster.
Your friends start to disappear, and no one else notices.
You’re lost in the woods, and you don’t know how you got there.
You’re inhabited by a ghost that controls you and makes you do crazy things.
You have no reflection in the mirror.
The teacher is a monster, but no one will believe you.
You hypnotize your brother, and you can’t snap him out of it.
A fortune teller reveals that you are evil.
Someone follows you home, and it’s your exact double.
You find a diary that tells the future.
Every time you wake up, you’re a different person.
Your parents explain that you are actually an alien from another planet.
You know someone is watching you day and night from the house across the street.
You realize you are shrinking.
While reading a scary book, you realize that you’re a character in it.
Someone is living in your mirror.
Everyone knows the new neighbors are vampires, and the kids invite you over for a sleepover.
All the cats in a small town vanish in the middle of the night….and all that remains is a set of big, scary teeth smashed into a car door.
A group of friends takes on the zombie apocalypse.
Strange things start happening after the grandfather clock starts to speak.
You finally meet your child’s imaginary friend. Who turns out to be a serial killer.
When a local police officer goes to investigate the haunted house down the street, he finds a young girl who died decades ago.
Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ⚜ Writing Notes & References
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kidrat · 1 year ago
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having feelings about trans Gwen,,, like there's the 'superhero leading a double life' allegory for being closeted, which ppl have noted, but there's plenty I haven't seen anyone mention yet! like, the fact her dad has a trans patch in support of her means she's out.
She's a young trans *girl* (as opposed to a trans woman) living as her authentic gender in a loving home. she went to her school dance in a dress. she did ballet! which of course boys can do too, but often times when people are assigned male they don't get the chance to explore feminine hobbies. It's really lovely that someone, likely Gwen's dad, supported her enough to let her have those girly experiences and memories, whether she was living as a girl when she took dance up or as a gnc boy.
While it's subtle rep, I still think it's awesome to imply a character like Gwen is trans. Trans girls don't always get to have a childhood. Transmisogyny fetishizes transfems and presents them as always victimisers, never victims. They're barred from girlhood and it's connotations of innocence, vulnerability, lovableness.
Not that Gwen isn't a hashtag strong female character! And not that she hasn't had to grow up fast in other ways. She Is Literally Spiderwoman and she plays the drums and has agency and expresses negative emotions. But she's also a teenager, and she gets to be hugged and comforted, and to be set up for a soft friends to lovers relationship with another teenager, a cis boy who respects her and only knows her as a girl and thinks she's amazing and draws her in his sketchbook. That is not a role the media often lets trans girls have!!! It's lovely to think young transfems might be able to see themselves in a character consistently shown as worthy of affection.
Of course, the fact that Gwen is in the closet about being spider-woman is even sadder knowing this is her second rodeo. Lots of us have hesitated to come out a second time because our parents were supportive about the first thing and well, putting something else on them feels like taking the piss or hoping for too much.
Something else I wanted to talk about is how Gwen being trans effects a reading of her Peter's death, especially taking into account the new information this film gave us about this. There's this gendered switch happening, where Peter passes on his usual role to a woman. What's more, he has to die for her story to happen. She loves him, and never wanted him to die, but she's blamed for it anyway. Her father talks affectionately about the dead Peter, calling him his daughter's best friend. He talks about him like a son. He vows revenge on Gwen for killing him. It's a fantastic allegory for how some transphobic parents hate their out trans children for 'killing' the kid they had before.
I think with the above in mind, maybe we can see the subtext of Gwen's arc with her dad in this film as that of a supportive parent who's nevertheless got some biases left that hurt his trans daughter, who doesn't speak up for fear his acceptance is conditional.
I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that protecting a trans daughter is this Captain Stacy's motivation while he's working as a cop. Obviously there's the text that he wants to be a 'good cop' to work against the institution's bigotry, and he displays the trans flag on his work jacket. His quitting the police is a fantastic story beat because it makes a point about the real world while also serving a lot of the analogies going on.
Good cops quit. They realise you can't be a well intentioned cog in a bigoted machine. It doesn't matter if you're a bigot or just taking actions a bigot might because you're working within parameters set by bigots. It's an important message. Within a trans reading of the film, I'd also see this plot moment as Stacy realising he can't protect his trans daughter if he's still playing by the rules of a society that see her as threatening and duplicitous. He's then able to stop seeing her on some level as having killed his son.
They're able to be close again because he has completely rejected the cis culture he was a part of, rather than just decrying the worst parts and slotting Gwen in. She no longer has to worry that he'll rescind his acceptance if she's too trans, and so he gets to know all of her because she can let him into her world without self-editing.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on Gwen after watching Across The Spiderverse two hours ago lmao.
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misswynters · 3 months ago
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Gym Confession
tom taylor x gn! reader
word count: 1.3k
a/n: the fic i’m writing for aeron/benji/reader is taking forever so here’s another one!@benjicotblckwood
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The early morning sun peeked through the windows of the gym, casting a warm glow on the equipment. You and Tom Taylor had made it a habit to work out together whenever your schedules allowed. Today was one of those rare days where neither of you had any pressing commitments, and you were determined to make the most of it.
Tom was already at the gym when you arrived, warming up with some stretches. He flashed you a bright smile as you approached. "Hey! Ready to get started?"
"Absolutely," you replied, returning his smile. "What's the plan for today?"
He glanced at his phone, where he'd made a rough outline of the workout. "I was thinking we could start with some cardio, then move on to strength training. How does that sound?"
"Perfect," you said, feeling a rush of excitement. Working out with Tom was always fun; his enthusiasm and positive energy were contagious.
You both hopped on adjacent treadmills and began your warm-up. As the treadmills hummed beneath you, Tom started to talk about his latest project. "So, we've just wrapped up filming, and I think this one's going to be really special. The script was incredible, and the cast was amazing."
"That's great to hear," you said, slightly breathless as you picked up the pace. "I can't wait to see it. You're always so passionate about your work."
Tom grinned, clearly pleased. "Thanks. It means a lot to hear that from you."
After the cardio session, you moved on to the weight machines. Tom adjusted the settings on one of the machines and gestured for you to take the first turn. "How about we start with some leg presses?"
You nodded, positioning yourself on the machine. As you began your set, Tom stood by, offering encouragement. "You've got this. Keep your back straight and push through your heels."
His supportive words and watchful eye helped you maintain proper form, and before you knew it, you'd finished your set. Tom took his turn next, and you returned the favor, cheering him on.
"Come on, Tom! You make this look easy," you teased, watching as he effortlessly completed his reps.
He laughed, the sound bright and genuine. "Don't be fooled. I'm working hard here."
The two of you moved through the rest of your workout, alternating between different exercises and machines. Between sets, you chatted about everything from favorite movies to weekend plans, the conversation flowing naturally and easily.
As the session drew to a close, you both found yourselves at the stretching area, cooling down with some light stretches. Tom reached over and handed you a bottle of water. "Here, you need to stay hydrated."
"Thanks," you said, taking a grateful sip. "I think that was one of our best workouts yet."
"I agree," Tom said, his eyes meeting yours with a warm, genuine expression. "I always look forward to these sessions. It's nice to have a workout partner who pushes me and keeps things fun."
"Right back at you," you replied, feeling a sense of camaraderie and appreciation. "You make it so much easier to stay motivated."
As you both finished your stretches, Tom glanced at his watch. "Hey, I've got a bit of time before my next appointment. How about we grab a smoothie or something?"
"That sounds great," you said, smiling. "I know just the place."
You both headed out of the gym, the sun now higher in the sky, promising a beautiful day ahead. The nearby smoothie bar was a favorite of yours, known for its delicious and healthy options. As you walked, Tom fell into step beside you, the easy conversation continuing.
When you reached the smoothie bar, you both ordered your favorites and found a table by the window. As you sipped your drinks, Tom leaned back in his chair, a contented look on his face.
"Days like this are the best," he said, his eyes reflecting a sense of peace. "Good workout, good company, and a great smoothie to top it off."
You nodded in agreement, feeling a similar sense of satisfaction. "Couldn't agree more. It's nice to take a break and enjoy the little things."
Tom's gaze softened as he looked at you, his smile gentle. "You know, I'm really glad we do this. It means a lot to have you as a friend and workout partner."
"Same here," you replied, your heart warming at his words. "Here's to many more workouts and smoothies together."
Tom raised his smoothie cup in a mock toast, and you clinked yours against it, both of you laughing. It was moments like these that made you appreciate the special bond you shared, built on mutual respect, support, and genuine friendship.
As you finished your drinks and prepared to head your separate ways, you couldn't help but notice the way Tom's eyes lingered on you a little longer than usual. There was something in his gaze, a hint of unspoken tension that hadn't been there before.
Later that week, you and Tom found yourselves at the gym again, ready for another workout. This time, there was a slight awkwardness in the air, a tension that neither of you had addressed yet.
Tom adjusted the settings on the bench press, his movements more deliberate than usual. "Let's start with this today."
You nodded, sensing the change in his demeanor. As you took your turn on the bench press, you could feel his eyes on you, watching your every move. When it was his turn, you stood by, offering the same encouragement he always gave you.
"Come on, lord of the north. You got this," you said, trying to keep the tone light.
He managed a small smile but didn't respond with his usual banter. Instead, he focused on his reps, the silence between you growing heavier with each passing moment.
After finishing the set, Tom sat up, wiping sweat from his forehead. He glanced at you, his expression conflicted. "There's something I need to talk to you about."
You felt a knot form in your stomach. "Okay. What's going on?"
Tom took a deep breath, his eyes searching yours. "I... I've been feeling something more than just friendship between us. And I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to ruin what we have. But it's getting harder to ignore."
Your heart raced, a mixture of emotions swirling inside you. You had always valued your friendship with Tom, but now you were forced to confront feelings you hadn't fully acknowledged.
"I don't want to ruin what we have either," you said softly. "But I can't deny that there's something there."
Tom's eyes softened, relief washing over his features. "So, what do we do?"
You took a deep breath, trying to steady your racing thoughts. "I think we need to be honest with each other. We can take things slow and see where it goes. But whatever happens, I don't want to lose our friendship."
Tom nodded, a small smile forming on his lips. "I can agree to that. Slow and honest."
The tension between you eased slightly, replaced by a sense of anticipation and curiosity about what the future might hold. As you continued your workout, the unspoken understanding between you added a new layer to your interactions.
Later, as you cooled down with some light stretches, Tom reached over and gently squeezed your hand. "Thanks for being honest with me. It means a lot."
You squeezed his hand back, feeling a sense of connection that was deeper than ever. "Thank you for bringing it up. I'm glad we talked about it."
As you both left the gym and headed to the smoothie bar once again, the conversation flowed more easily. There was still a lot to figure out, but you knew that with honesty and openness, you could navigate this new phase of your relationship together. Sitting at the same table by the window, sipping your smoothies, you felt a renewed sense of optimism.
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canmom · 2 months ago
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Animation Night 189: Nonphotorealistic
There is a funny trend in animation-related terminology to define things by what they aren't. Animation is any technique for creating film that isn't live action. Limited animation is any style of 2D animation that doesn't follow the conventions of Disney's 'full animation' on 1s and 2s - a category that includes a wildly diverse range of approaches and techniques, as this wonderful history by Animation Obsessive describes.
In 3DCG circles, there is a similar term: nonphotorealistic. Which describes, naturally, anything that isn't trying to look like a photograph of a real scene. There has been a real boom in this of late, and just like the other terms, it really doesn't narrow it down very much. Other terms like 'hybrid animation' add a bit more hints.
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Of course, if you've been anywhere near animation in the last few years, you'll probably know another term: 'Spiderverse style'.
There is no denying that Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (2018) by Sony Pictures Animation was an absolute landmark for animation. (I wrote about it way back on AN21, focusing more on the cultural angle.) The ludicrously stylish film pretty much set the direction for animation in the 2020s - making a bunch of money and awards and thus finally throwing open the door to 3DCG animation that doesn't look like the style set by Pixar/Dreamworks in the 2000s. Its sequel, Across the Spiderverse (2023), was even more ambitious and successful (despite a troubled production involving a lot of needless crunch). We'll be showing that soon in a Spiderverse double bill so look forward to it!
So perhaps not surprising that when people see the use of graphical styles, 2D elements, limited framerates and the like in 3DCG these days, Spiderverse comes to mind. In its wake have come various films and series that apply these and related techniques: 3DCG animation is more varied than ever, and it's cool.
It isn't really a style, tho.
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Here I'm indebted to youtuber Camwing who has made a nice video overview breaking down the animation of recent movies in this vaguely defined paradigm. Among them we have The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021, also Sony), Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022, Dreamworks), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023, animated at the French/Canadian studio Mikros animation), and of course over on Netflix you got the wildly popular League of Legends spinoff series Arcane (2021, Fortiche Productions), and the romance film Entergalactic (2022, DNEG), tying in with an album of the same name.
None of these films has exactly the same style, but they all pull from a related bag of tricks. The core techniques are animating on reduced framerates for a 'snappy', high-clarity feeling, the combination of 2D and 3D elements in some fashion, and taking inspiration from traditional media such as paintings or comic books.
For example, Arcane and Entergalactic both use the trick of 2D backgrounds/projecting paintings onto 3D geometry, inhabited by 3D characters with a stylised shader. Arcane is dripping with 2D visual effects. Puss in Boots drops the framerate during its action scenes - the opposite of the old paradigm of full animation, where fast actions would get more frames. Spiderverse draws 2D expressions onto its 3D models to push them further, and is full of all kinds of colourful stylised rendering - screentone effects, kirby dots, outlines, the works.
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It's tempting to link this to 2D-in-3D animation, and certainly many of these films apply this technique - this is the major niche where Blender has found its way into industry pipelines. But using 2D isn't mandatory to count here. For example, TMNT Mutant Mayhem has an incredibly striking storybook-painting style, accomplished largely by clever shader work and a strong sense of graphic design. Genndy Tartakovsky's canned 2014 Popeye project was planning to use a ton of 2D-style posing and squash-and-stretch, accomplished largely with rigged 3D models. There are many paths to take!
And mind you, I haven't even covered one of the biggest angles here. Search for nonphotorealistic 3DCG on Youtube and what you'll probably find most is information about cel-shading - aka 'anime style'. This has also advanced considerably in the last few years, with the techniques pioneered by Arc System Works in Guilty Gear such as editing the normals of characters for more precise control over shading, and minute adjustments to break up the mechanical feeling of 3D, becoming widely copied in both games and films. (And particularly, animated porn.)
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Vtubers in particular have really run with this technique, generally speaking using cel-shaded models with edited normals, inverted eyes, etc. etc. to try and get the feeling of an anime character come to life. [You can see a lot of these state of the art techniques if you download Pixiv's free VRoid Studio software and import the model into Blender using the VRM plugin.]
Naturally this kind of cel-shaded approach has found a particular home in Japan. In anime, the biggest champions of it are certainly Studio Orange, whose hybrid approach involves planning out shots with 2D animation before matching them with the rigs. We've covered their adaptation of Houseki no Kuni in great detail on Animation Night 97; their Trigun reboot was perhaps even more popular. But cel-shaded techniques, 3D previs and the like have also made their way into big films like Eva 3.0+1.0 (AN66).
Although this type of rendering aims to recreate the look and feel of 2D animation as much as possible, it always ends up being something new: character models that would be too complex to draw, an ease to 3D movements and camerawork that would be challenging in 2D, and generally a new hybrid style. This is good! 2D animation is already very good at being 2D animation - it's fascinating to see what 3DCG becomes with that inspiration.
So with that brief overview, where does that take us tonight?
I'm not quite ready to do a Spiderverse double bill tonight, so instead the plan is to check out a couple of recent American franchise films that are taking on the new suite of techniques. I've mentioned them up above, but let me introduce them more fully here.
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Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a sequel to a fairly unpopular spinoff about a side character of the Shrek franchise (AN75). Not, on its face, very promising - which is why it is all the more striking that I was told on all sorts of sides that I must watch this movie. I'm finally going to make good on that.
The title character is a kind of feline musketeer type, now facing the end of his swashbuckling career as he's lost 8 of his 9 lives. Not wanting to hang up his hat, he goes on a quest to restore them. What makes it stand out its the action scenes, which go all in on the anime-influenced, extreme perspective and lighting, limited framerate style that we're discussing above. Apparently it looks sick as shit.
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a fresh reboot of the venerable TMNT franchise, which pretty much describes itself in the title: four turtles (named after Renaissance painters, of course!) live in a sewer as ninjas, led by their aging master who is a rat. Starting as a comic book, it became one of the iconic toyline-driven TV shows of the 80s - but it's still going! Indeed, Turtles has been on a roll of late (at least going by animator scuttlebutt), with Australian studio Flying Bark Productions turning a lot of heads with their neo-Kanada School style (and for really stretching the definition of 'storyboard').
This new film takes a different approach to the bombastic action of Rise. It focuses on a new origin story for the turtles, telling a kind of coming of age story - but what makes it unique is the animation style and cinematography. Cinéma vérité is not a phrase you really expect to be associated with ninja turtles, but the film seems to really go all out in a way you wouldn't really expect from a franchise movie, shooting the young turtles in a handheld style and focus heavily on character. Marcel Reinhard's shader work, allowing the animators to isolate lights to specific objects and characters and introducing graphical elements of cross-hatching, stippling, etc. etc. to the lighting, gives it a uniquely painting-like feeling, augmented by a lot of 2D creativity in lighting and effects.
Turtles has never really been my thing, but this film looks unique enough that I really want to see it - and I hear it's a good film too.
So that's our bill for tonight! Puss and Turtles. Let's see what the big studios have been cooking of late...
Animation Night 189 will be starting around 10pm UK time (roughly three hours hence) and carrying on til about 2-3am same! We'll be on twitch.tv/canmom as usual. Hope to see you there!
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s1aywalker · 5 months ago
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꒰ა ♱ ໒꒱ straight to video. ꨄ
↷ ✩ —— video store clerk sam monroe headcanons. (nsfw 18+)
warnings: smutty smutty smutty. minors do not interact or else i'll collect your kneecaps. porn (duh), masturbation.
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𝜗𝜚˚⋆ sam monroe who lingers and hangs back a little too long in the furthest section of the video store every time he has to put away the lazily disinfected x-rated returns back into their designated slots.
𝜗𝜚˚⋆ sam monroe who makes a bad habit out of scoping out the newest releases when he unboxes them before they hit the shelves. it's not usually anything super crazy— the same old titles with "busty" and "hot" in big bold letters. most of the covers are on the classier end, displaying lingerie clad women tantalizing the potential renter with what lies within. but some of them... some of them lacked any subtly at all.
𝜗𝜚˚⋆ sam monroe who has to take a sneak peek at all the dirtier titles that occasionally came through their doors. the ones marketed as more "hardcore" that don't bother teasing or leaving the viewer wondering— instead showing blondes with fake tits on the cover, one or two or more cocks shoved into their mouths, full cunts on display and leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination before even hitting play.
𝜗𝜚˚⋆ sam monroe who doesn't always bother checking the most interesting ones out. they don't even make it out of the fucking store, let alone into the privacy of his own bedroom. he's instead taking his pick and inquisitiveness into the back room at the end of his shift when he should solely be focusing on putting a rewind on the stack of returns. the ones that are being dragged along under his arm with the selected gangbang in brand new condition that he gets to test run first.
𝜗𝜚˚⋆ sam monroe who puts his curiosity before his nonexistent work ethic because he's known to be impatient, and immediately feeds the tape into the mouth of an older model vcr that brings the film to life with a mechanical whirr.
𝜗𝜚˚⋆ sam monroe whose impatience in question forces him to press fast forward as he sits on the shitty couch with stained cushions from spilled lunches and dinners. forwarding and forwarding until he finds a scene that makes his whole body react and his dick twitch, and he knows he has to make this quick.
𝜗𝜚˚⋆ sam monroe who lets the explicit sounds of pornographic moans and skin against skin fill the space of the small room, and he's about to add to the harmony of it. his fingers are quickly undoing the buckle of his studded belt and letting it fall open just as the film plays at a normal pace, and he can't reach his hand into the confines of those baggy hot topic bought tripp pants fast enough.
𝜗𝜚˚⋆ sam monroe who works his wrist at a deliberate and desperate pace that might've left burn marks if he weren't a seasoned, jerking off professional. he's trying to match the rhythm of the video playing out before him of a stretched cunt getting repeatedly fucked and hammered into, while her stuffed throat can't make any sound other than lewd gurgles. he doesn't even know what this chick really looks like, he didn't catch enough of the beginning. but he also doesn't fucking care what she looks like. his eyes are too busy glued elsewhere and he refuses to let them screw shut.
𝜗𝜚˚⋆ sam monroe whose teeth are clicking against the labret pierced through his lower lip as he sucks in harsh breaths in between groans, and bites at the skin while his chest heaves with whimpers. "c'mon please, please, please—" he's not sure what exactly he's begging for... the sweet release, he supposes. every tug and stroke from his fist brought him closer and closer and—
𝜗𝜚˚⋆ sam monroe who doesn't waste much time after cum coats his hand. the mess is lazily wiped on his shirt after he shoved his cock back into his boxers and it's like nothing happened at all. he reaches to rewind the tape back to the beginning until it clicks and the machine spits it back out, and it's shoved back into the pristine sleeve to be put aside before he moves on to the stack of returns.
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ayekittyk4t · 6 months ago
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pollinate
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pairing: plug eren x afab reader
desc: you always make decision with eren that are on a whim. whether it’s him taking you to get a tattoo or him filming you, it’s never a normal routine.
content warning: established relationship, tattoos, needles, petnames ( princess, baby, etc…), a little dry humping, filming, oral sex (male receiving), hair pulling, spit, one slap on da face, lmk if i’m missing any lol
an: y’all this a lil rusty but it’s okay i guess. i had to oil up this rusty ol machine, but i hope y’all enjoy. more plug eren and reader to come. even tho this really didn’t have anything to do with him being a plug. it’s just part of the series/ collections idk. take it as you will.
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sometimes, you think about some decisions you’ve made and wonder how stupid they were. you’d lay there, dealing with the consequences of your actions and repeating what may have been the alternative route. all the what if’s that would’ve been your reality. however, now that you’ve made that decision, all you could do was think about such things. and at this very moment in time, you’re laying with a very permanent decision.
eren had said you’re a baby for whining. but he had plenty of tattoos in various places, so his word didn’t matter to you. you do suppose that this was your decision after all, so you sit with the pain with your eyes screwed shut. that is what you were repeating in your head as you fought through the last few minutes of your tattoo session.
a lotus flower. eren had once said you were his lotus flower. you had no idea what if meant, but it had stuck with you. he said that you were a beautiful lotus flower on a bright green lily pad, sitting on calm water. he’d say this to you once in a while. and on whim, you decided to get it tattooed on you tonight. right on your sternum.
what a bad decision, because you were in a lot a fucking pain.
“awe, my princess is a little weak.” eren teased, petting your head to calm you down. you opened your eyes, squinting from the bright tattoo studio lights and looked at him with annoyance. from where you were laying and where he was behind you, his big smile almost looked like a frown. you know eren all too well though, he’d never frown in your pain. more so smile in a peculiar pleasure.
the constant puncturing of the small needles in your skin had been a pain. along with the buzzing of the tattoo gun. your head began to throb, so you shut your eyes. eren noticed, seeing how your jaw clenched and the way you swallowed hard. and despite finding a freakish pleasure in your pain, his heart tinged with pain of his own. with that, he moved his fingers to your temples and started messaging them. instantly, you felt calm.
“you’ll be fine, (y/n).” he says low and smoothly.
“yea, because you done.” mikasa said excitedly as she turned off the machine.
you opened your eyes to be directly looking into erens. he smiled big, his canines peeking through. his hands then fall to the side and you’re already missing his touch.
the table you’ve now laid on for god knows how long begins to fuel your discomfort. you wiggle around a bit, lifting you hips to stretch. mikasa let’s you know to stay put as she cleans you up and applies the second skin to avoid any infections.
“you’re all done.” she exclaims with a big smile as she clasps her hands together in excitement.
upon those words, you sit up, zipping your sweater up just enough to leave some room to look at the lotus in the mirror. feeling somewhat lightheaded, you stumble a bit as you hop off the table. eren grabs a hold of your arm, saving you from a fall and hold you close to him. looking up at him, you smile as he leads you to the mirror.
standing in front of the mirror, you inspect the permanent flower on your body. mikasa captured you vision well, and you were so happy about it.
“you look beautiful, baby.” eren says, standing behind you. you smile to him in approval through the reflection of the mirror.
-
the candlelight flickered, soothing your heavy eyes to shut and fall to sleep. you’re tired, using eren chest as a pillow. you listened to his heartbeat and inhaled his scent. it soothed you even more.
then you do it again, inhaling louder. your stomach caves in from how deep you took in erens scent. holding your breath for a bit, you breathe out with a low hum.
“what are you doing?” he chuckles, looking down at where your head rested.
you shoot up, lifting yourself from your comfort, “i’m addicted to the way you smell.”
“you’re fucking insane.”
rolling your eyes, you sit up. unzipping your sweater to take a look at the new ink on your skin. you couldn’t stop looking at it. admiring it. showing it off every few minutes. you felt tough. this pain was nothing, you thought. you could get a ton of tattoos now.
“will you take a picture for me?” you say suddenly, looking at him with doe like eyes. maybe part of you knew eren wouldn’t want to due to the placement of the tattoo. but you’d thought it’d be different since you’ve been dating for a while, and he always took pictures of you.
he was your personal photographer after all.
eren squints his eyes at you, his tongue poking at his cheek, “why?”
“because i want to post it.”
“for who?”
your mouth drops, and you match his judging gaze, “for all the other men who want me besides you.” the attitude is apparent in your tone as you rolled your eyes dramatically.
“watch your tone.” he’s no longer squinting his eyes, his brows are now furrowed and he spoke with a slight irritation in his voice.
“for me. who else?” you poke his forehead, and eren shoos you hand away.
you catch onto his attitude, realizing he’s not playing around anymore. it wasn’t a joke to him. he was somewhat a bit upset at you. this always happened. eren is short tempered, but you’re patient for him. all you could roll your eyes, again, and move on with your night.
“fine,” you sit up, grabbing your phone off the side table by your bed. “i’ll take if myself-”
just as you were about to get off your bed, eren wraps his arms around you and pulls you onto him.
“hey,” you scramble a bit and get up, acting as if this wasn’t a normal occurrence with eren. but it was.
“don’t worry about it, baby. i’ll take them for you.” he grabs a hold to your phone in your hand, his other hand gripping to your waist and squeezing.
you frown at him, “i’m sorry. c’mon, let me take those picture for you.” he’s sitting up, resting his back again the headboard. you squeeze your thighs around him, trying not to tip over.
“you sure?”
“yes.” he said lowly, his eyes shifting from yours to your body. your cheeks heat up once he looks at you. no matter how long you’ve been with eren, you never stop to get nervous around him.
you feel his hands inch up and down, thumbs pressing circles into your stomach. he looks back into your eyes, and you blink like the flustered girl you were. he begins to unzip your sweater, covering you just enough so your chest wasn’t showing. eren pushes the sweater a little off your shoulders and you shift you hips a bit. you feel him harden below you.
with the phone still in hand, eren unlocks your phone to take a photo.
you straighten up, arch your back and lift your hips a little. click. he take the photo. resting back down into erens lap, you whimper as his hard on makes contact with your clit. he groans quietly, lifting his hips to hit that spot again.
“no, one more picture. i want a a lot to choose from.” your placing your hands on his stomach, pushing him into the bed and leaning forward. click.
“smile.” he laughs a little, watching you blush once again and snaps more pictures.
“take nice ones, eren.”
“i am, baby.” he shifts your phone to your face and you hear your phone ding, letting you know your being recorded.
“hey!” you whine, pushing the phone, “stop playing.”
“i’m getting impatient, princess.” he groans, eyes shifting to his hard cock. “you keep teasing me.”
erens tone gets a bit whiny. though, you should be slightly annoyed, you fun pleasure in this. the way his gaze on you is now hungry, but you’re in control. and the way he groans when you rub yourself on him and he’s thrusting up for more.
you’re stomach bubbled in anticipation. you wanted to keep going for your own pleasure, but something about seeing eren whine and beg for it excited you. you felt your cunt throb. this would be new.
dropping the sweater off your shoulders, you expose your tits to him, nipples hardening from the cool breeze of the night. he reaches out to squeeze your tit, grab his hand and place it back to your hip. the phone still in his hand recording.
“c’mon, princess. let me touch you.” he whines, lips quivering.
you smile, not saying a word but instead rocking your hips against eren. dragging your clothed cunt against his cock foward feverishly, and moving back slowly. you continue this for a while, fast then slow. teasing eren and yourself. letting out soft whimpers while doing so.
then, you stop. you lift your lips away from eren and all his pleasure is gone. he thrust his hips in the air trying to find satisfaction in that. but it’s useless.
looking at eren, you see he’s holding the phone to the sealing. reaching out, you adjust it just enough so you’d be in the view. you lower yourself on the bed, hooking your dainty fingers on the waist band of his pajama pants and pulling them down. as your free his cock, he groans as it slaps against his stomach. you shove two fingers in your mouth, letting spit drip down them to moisten his length. thick and long, his tip leaking precum. you spread your spit around the tip, wrapping your hands around him and stroking. with your free hand you, play with his balls.
“fuckin-”
eren is cut off as he feels your wet tongue drag along the length of his cock. you swirl your tongue on the tip before wrapping your plump lips around it, then he feels the warmth of you mouth take the entirety of his cock. slowly, teasingly, he feels you inch down to the base. your nose shoved up against him. you look at him and hallow your cheeks.
he looks down at you, and moans lewdly. teeth grinding, sucking in deep breaths, brows furrowed and cheeks blushing. the grip on your phone he has as tight, the white of his knuckles peeped through.
he huffed and frowned. your hair was covering your perfect face. with his free hand, he moved the hair out of your face, wrapping his hands enough to tug you back a bit. you let his cock slip out of your mouth, a sting of saliva connected you to him drips down your chin.
“don’t drop the goddamn phone.” you spat out, more salivia slipping past your mouth. you lick your lips and swallow hard.
god, you’re so fuckin’ messy.
“never, baby.” he rasps, tugging on your hair once again. you moan at that. it hurt so good that you felt slick drip from your cunt.
at that, you spit again on him, taking him back in your mouth. he hits the back of your throat and it stings, but it brings you bliss. shutting your eyes, you bob your head against him, sucking hard once you get to his tip. your fast, no longer teasing him. you had a goal and that was for him to spill inside you.
your hands moved at the same speed as your mouth. filled with your spit and his own precum, the slick just added to his pleasure. eren loved your messiness when you sucked his cock.
“so fucking good, princess.” eren says through his teeth.
you look at him, his hair dishealved and almost out of its tight little bun. he’s so close. his chest is rising and falling, and his breath is shaky. you only speed up noticing this, looking him in the eyes. taking him in fast, hallowing your cheeks harder and adding more pressure on tongue as you reach his cockhead.
“ah fuck-, fuck baby.” he thrusting his hips into you mouth, his cock hitting the back of your throat. you gag, but inhale deeply through your nose and continue to reach your goal.
and in seconds a thick, warmth fills your mouth. eren groans loudly thrusting his hips so you get every last drop of his cum in your mouth. that salty, thick liquid coats your mouth. you release his cock from your mouth, pursing your lips together and swallowing hard. he’s a mess, chest rising and falling. you and him are warn down, but you take it into you hands to clean him up.
you lick your spit off the length of his cock and take his tip in your mouth on last time. you suck hard, releasing it with a pop. eren looks at you with a lust filled gaze.
“let me see.” he’s referring to his cum. he wanted you to take it all. eren releases his hand from your hair and grips onto your chin. he squeezes your cheeks and moves the phone to record the inside of your mouth. you stick your tongue out to prove you swallowed it all.
“good fuckin’ girl.” he gives you a small smack on your cheek in approval.
“now show the camera your pretty little tattoo.”
you listen quickly, sitting up above eren. the bed squeaks from your quick movements. you feel the slick between your legs drip down your thighs. eren moved the camera back onto your chest, he’s running a hand up to your chest and squeezes your tit. you didn’t care if he was touching you now. his touch ignited something in you. it always did. either way, you broke him down just a bit. at least for today.
“that’s my slutty princess.”
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sycamorelibrary754 · 7 days ago
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Trick or Treat
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Summary: You and Natasha celebrate Nikolai’s first Halloween with your family and friends. 
Pairings: Natasha x Reader, Avengers x Reader
Genre: Fluff
Word Count: 3.7k
Warnings: None
A/N: As always, this story can be enjoyed independently, but if you're curious about the family's rich backstory, check out my ‘Home is Anywhere You Are’ Holiday Series. Happy Halloween!
The digital clock cast a faint blue light in your dimly lit bedroom. You gathered all the necessary sewing supplies from your closet and carefully retrieved the baby monitor from your nightstand. Natasha was still lost in slumber, and you were determined to keep it that way. Her late-night training sessions meant she often didn't return from the compound until midnight. "So much for semi-retirement," you thought with a wry smile. Nevertheless, it allowed you time to get started on your family’s Halloween costumes before Nikolai woke up. He had recently started sleeping longer stretches at night, so you knew you had a small window to work.
You and Nat decided to channel your inner witches and style your costumes after your all-time favorite Halloween film, Hocus Pocus. The plan was for you, Natasha, and Yelena to dress up as the Sanderson sisters while baby Nikolai would be Max. As you looked at images from the movie on your iPad, you heard a tiny meow from the corner of the room. Liho hurried into the room and hopped onto the loveseat beside you. 
You couldn't help but smile and say, "Your Binx costume looks great, Liho. Did you make it yourself?"
You carefully began to measure and cut up the softest, coziest fabrics, envisioning the adorable little costume you would create for Nikolai's first Halloween. It felt like just yesterday that you had unexpectedly given birth to Nik at the Barton's on Easter, but seven months had flown by in the blink of an eye. He was reaching a new milestone every day, getting closer to crawling and constantly scooting across the floor in his adorable army-crawl style. Natasha couldn't resist capturing every precious moment on her phone, and she filled the team group chat continuously with Nik's videos and photos.
You wanted Halloween to be just as magical as it was when you were a kid. Your mom used to handcraft all of your Halloween costumes, and now, as a mom yourself, you understand just how unique that tradition was. You've never been as skilled with a sewing machine as your mother, but you're giving it a shot. 
"Ouch," you hiss as a bobby pin pricks your fingers. Well, if anything, the blood spots might add to the spooky charm of the costumes.
An hour later, you could see the fruits of your labor taking shape. The room was filled with the colorful fabric of the costumes, each piece carefully pinned into place. You had meticulously sewn the primary layer of each outfit. Each stitch was a step closer to bringing your creative vision to life.
“Hey there," a familiar, raspy voice said.
You looked up and saw your wife shuffling into the room. Her socked feet padded along the floor, and sleep was still evident in her eyes.
"Good morning, honey," you said, kissing her lips. "I thought I’d start the Halloween costumes before Nik wakes up."
"Mmm," Nat hummed. "I’m looking forward to seeing how they turn out. I've never had a homemade costume before. Well, except for the ones Stark makes."
Nat settled into a nearby loveseat, tucking one leg under her body as she watched you work. The hum of the sewing machine filled the air as the needle danced up and down, leaving a trail of perfectly spaced stitches. Your fingers moved precisely, gently yet firmly guiding the fabric through the machine. Your movements were fluid and precise.
You paused to change the thread, and Nat saw the intricate patterns and textures unfolding on the fabric. Your focus was intent, and your brow was slightly furrowed in concentration. The air was filled with the scent of fabric, and the soft whir of the machine created a soothing background hum.
Suddenly, Nikolai’s soft whimper emitted from the baby monitor as if on cue. 
“I guess that's the end of this work session,” you sighed, about to rise from your chair. 
“It’s okay, Y/N. I got him,” Natasha said, touching your shoulder. 
Thanks, sweetheart," you replied.
A few moments later, you heard Nik's bedroom door creak and Natasha's voice coming through the baby monitor.
"Good morning, my malen'kiy mal'chik
(little boy)," Nat said softly.
You could hear Nik responding to Natasha's voice with baby babbles. 
"Hey, Nikolai. Look at my big boy! Did you have a nice sleep?" she asked.
You heard your wife humming a gentle Russian lullaby, the same one she had sung to him since he was born, before saying, "Shall we go see Mommy, huh? Let's go, little one.”
Natasha strolled into the room, gently holding your son in her arms. The little red bedhead hair on his head is a beautiful reminder of your wife.
"There's Nikolai!" you say with a smile. "Hi, baby."
Nik reaches for you, his Y/E/C eyes sparkling as he smiles at you and wiggles his legs. 
As you hold your son in your arms, he reaches for a strand of your Y/E/C hair.
You carefully turned him around to face forward and asked, "Do you want to see your Halloween costume?"
You show Nikolai the purple tye-die fabric you used to sew his shirt, and he eagerly reaches for it, attempting to put it in his mouth.
"I think he approves," Natasha remarked with a smile.
*^~^*
After dedicating several more days to carefully sewing and enduring a few more pinpricks, you finally finished the Halloween costumes. On Halloween day, Yelena arrived early to play with Nikolai before the three of you got ready for the evening. It was going to be a quick night. Natasha had promised Melina and Alexi that you would stop at their place before heading to the compound for Tony’s annual team Halloween party. There would be enough time for everyone to dote on your son and maybe even sneak some candy for your secret chocolate stash that Nat pretends not to know about.
Nikolai was all set and looked adorable in Max’s vibrant tie-dye shirt, splashed with shades of purple, green, and red. The soft baby sweatpants added to his cozy ensemble, and to top it all off, he sported a pair of baby Nike Air sneakers.
Yelena called from the bedroom, “Okay, I am ready for my grand entrance.” 
“Enter away,” Natasha yelled as you both sat cross-legged on the floor while Nik played on his Activity Play Mat. 
Yelena made a vibrant entrance into the room, embodying the enchanting spirit of Sara Sanderson. Her stunning blend of pink and purple gown hugged her figure with a corset-style top that perfectly showcased her lively and playful energy. She truly stood out as the youngest and most captivating sister—something she delights in, reminding everyone after your deep dive into Hocus Pocus. A luxurious purple cloak draped elegantly over her shoulders while her long, flowing blonde hair tumbled down her back in soft waves. The finishing touch? A striking dark nude lipstick that added an alluring flair to her already magical look.
“Wow, you look fantastic, sestra!” Nat exclaimed.
Yelena shot back with a playful smirk, “I know, right? You outdid yourself, Y/N!”
You felt your cheeks heat, a mix of pride and a bit of shyness as you tried to brush off the compliment.
“Your turn, you two,” Yelena said. “I’ll wait here with the man of the house.”
You and Natasha scampered off to change into your costumes. Meanwhile, Yelena sat down next to Nikolai.
Yelena leaned closer, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Let’s play along and rave about their costumes, but deep down, we both know mine’s the showstopper, right, little Nik?” 
Your baby boy gurgled happily, his laughter bubbling over like a secret only they shared. in response. 
"That's what I thought," she replied with a knowing smile.
 “Okay, we’re ready!” Natasha called out a few minutes later, her voice echoing through the hall.
Yelena responded with equal enthusiasm, “So are we!”
Natasha was the first to enter the room, embodying Winnie's character. She wore a striking green-and-purple dress that flowed elegantly around her, the colors vivid and eye-catching. The matching cape billowed as she moved. The Hocus Pocus Spell Book was clutched in her hands, its worn cover hinting at countless magical secrets. She styled her red hair perfectly, teased it high, and held it in place with impressive hairspray, creating a dramatic silhouette. Excess blush on her cheeks gave her an almost doll-like appearance, while bright red lipstick completed the look, making her smile pop against her fair complexion.
You followed closely behind as Mary, capturing the quirky spirit of the middle sister. Your outfit boasted a fabulous, mismatched patterned dress that swirled with a rainbow of fabrics and colors. Atop your head sat the iconic hairdo, resembling a strangely shaped ice cream cone. A deep red cloak cascaded over your ensemble, adding an air of mystery. Eerie accessories—like dangling charms and spooky jewelry—clattered softly with every step. Your dark eye makeup dramatically framed your eyes, enhancing the playful spookiness of your costume. Your bright red lips completed the transformation, making you feel utterly enchanting.
“Wow, you two look incredible!” Yelena burst out. “Don’t you think so, Nikolai?” Yelena said, looking down at the baby.
Your son erupted into gleeful laughter, his eyes sparkling with delight as if he genuinely grasped every word his aunt had shared. 
"I couldn't agree more!" Yelena chimed in, giving your son a playful wink that made him giggle even harder.
After a whirlwind of Halloween family photos, everyone piled into the car for the drive to Melina and Alexi’s house.
“Are you ready to see your babushka and dedushka, Nik?” Natasha asked, her eyes sparkling in the rearview mirror as she glanced back at your son’s eager face peeking from his reverse car seat.
“Mama’s right, buddy,” said Yelena with a playful smile. “Get ready for a mountain of cheek-squeezing and an avalanche of snuggles and kisses. They can’t wait to spoil you!”
“Have your parents ever celebrated Halloween?” you asked, tilting your head curiously at Natasha.
She let out a long sigh. “Well, there was that one year back in Ohio when they got creative and turned every room in our house into a different trick-or-treat stop. They didn't want the neighbors to see us, so it was like a private haunted tour.”
“So, basically, the answer is no,” Yelena quipped, her expression as deadpan as ever.
Sometimes, it's easy to forget the weight of Natasha and Yelena’s past. Their childhood was an elaborate illusion, where genuine memories were just a flickering mirage. You couldn’t wait to create new memories with your son. Each moment was a chance to build something real and joyful that could help your wife heal her inner child, too.
*^~^*
As you parked the car in front of Alexi and Melina's home, an impressive display of Halloween decorations immediately caught your eye. Towering above the porch were two enormous inflatables—one was a bright orange pumpkin, its mischievous grin glowing against the dusk, and the other a ghost, swaying gently in the evening breeze, its expression delightfully eerie. 
The porch was draped with thick, wispy cobwebs that shimmered in the fading light, creating an elaborate, spooky atmosphere. Jack-o'-lanterns flickered with candlelight, casting playful shadows that danced on the walls.
“Oh my God,” you murmured, taking in the scene with astonishment.
“Wow,” Nat addedsaid, her eyes sparkling as she tried to draw Nikolai’s attention toward the decorations.
“Sure,” Yelena saidchimed in, her tone an uninterested contrast to the festive surroundings. She was unimpressed but unable to hide a slight smirk as she surveyed the porch.
You rapped your knuckles against the front door, the sound echoing in the quiet evening. Inside, you could hear the faint rustling of movement.
“Who’s there?” Alexi’s voice called through the door, a hint of playfulness lacing his tone.
“It’s us, Dad!” Natasha replied, her voice bright with anticipation. “Open the door!”
A mischievous grin crept across his face as he asked, “What’s the password?”
“For God’s sake,” Yelena exasperated. “It’s not a password, you doofus.”
“Yes, it is! You must request a trick or a treat!” Alexi exclaimed. 
“Oh my God,” Yelena muttered.
“Come on, he's having fun,” you said, playfully nudging your sister-in-law.
“Trick or Treat!” You all said in unison. 
“There it is!” Alexi exclaimed, his voice bubbling with excitement. As the door creaked open, a gust of cool air brushed against him, revealing the striking scene behind it. He stood proudly in a tattered suit, his face painted a ghostly green with jagged scars across his cheeks. Beside him, Melina embodied the essence of Frankenstein's bride, her hair teased into an unkempt frenzy, and her tattered and white gown seemed to flutter like a ghostly veil. Together, they made a captivating, spooky pair.
“There’s my little champion!” Alexi boomed, a wide grin lighting up his face as he knelt to get a closer look at Nikolai. “He’s growing bigger and stronger every day, just like his grandpa!”
“Wow, you two look fantastic!” you said.
“Thank you, so do you three, darling,” Melina replied. “I wasn’t sure about the hair being a bit much, but your father insisted it was the way to go. Now, hand me, my grandson!”
As Natasha gently placed Nikolai in Melina's arms, his expression shifted. When he saw her, his lower lip quivered, and a loud wail escaped him.
“I guess the hair was too much, Mama,” Yelena teased as she patted her mother on the shoulder and strolled past her into the warmth of the house.
“Wow, I’m impressed,” Natasha exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as she examined the candy bowl. “Full-size candy bars? The kids are going to remember this house!” 
Melina chuckled, shaking her head. “Let’s just say your father went overboard at the store. That’s the last time I let him handle the Halloween shopping.”
“But look at the stash!” Alexi declared, brandishing a handful of full-size Reese’s, Kit-Kats, Snickers, and even a king-size bag of M&M’s. “I love America! You’d never find treats like this back in Russia!”
You, Yelena, and Nat took turns answering the door. A parade of enchanting costumes continuously greeted you. Wizards, witches, ghosts, and even a flawlessly dressed Black Widow appeared—though she had no clue that Natasha Romanoff herself, had just handed her a Kit Kat bar.
After snapping some more entertaining family photos to frame and cherish, you bid farewell to Alexi and Melina and made your way to the Avengers' Compound for more Halloween hijinks. 
*^~^*
The compound's exterior was bathed in an eerie orange glow, with cobwebs covering the walls and jack-o'-lanterns lining the walkway. As the elevator doors slid open, you were met by an enveloping darkness—the common area was shrouded in shadows.
“Friday, what’s going on with the lights?” Natasha called out. She held Nikolai snugly against her chest, his head nestled against her shoulder. The silence that followed left her question hanging in the air.
“FRIDAY, vklyuchi chertov svet! (Turn on the fucking lights!) Yelena shouted, her patience wearing thin.
A playful smirk danced across your lips as you teased at your sister-in-law. “Oh, come on, she’s not Russian.”
Yelena shot back, her eyes narrowing, “She’s not even a she!”
Out of nowhere, Clint jumped out, dressed as a mummy. His voice booming, “Boo!” 
The three of you leaped a foot into the air at Clint’s sudden jumpscare. Little Nikolai burst into tears, his tiny hands clutching Nat’s costume desperately. Streams of glistening tears cascaded down his cheeks as he buried his face deep into Mama’s neck, seeking the comfort and safety of her warm embrace.
“What the hell, Clint?” you shouted in disbelief.
With a calm demeanor, Natasha passed little Nik into your arms, “Here, hold our son, Y/N. I have to kill my best friend.” 
Natasha fixed her piercing gaze on Clint, a look she typically reserved for her enemies. “Come here,” she said, her voice low and determined.
“It was just a bit of Halloween fun!” Clint protested, inching backward with a sheepish grin.
Yelena stepped forward beside her sister. “You’re going to regret I didn't kill you the first time, Barton.”
“Uh-oh,” Clint muttered, the realization dawning on him.
Suddenly, the room burst into brilliant light, illuminating the rest of the team. Everyone's eyes were glued to Natasha and Yelena as they sprinted after Clint, who was darting around the furniture in a desperate dance of evasion.
“Why are two Victorian ladies chasing Clint?” Tony asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Dressed in a sleek, high-tech vampire costume.
“What in the world are you talking about, Mr. Stark?” Peter exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief as he fiddled with the bow and arrow on his Kate Bishop costume. “Those are the Sanderson sisters from Hocus Pocus! You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
“Ooooh… right, I don’t know what that is,” Tony admitted with a sheepish grin, his vampire fangs showing.
“Come on! It's a Halloween cult classic from '93!" Kate added as she fumbled to peel off the Spider-Man mask that clung stubbornly to her face. "Seriously, Peter, how on earth do you breathe in that thing?”
“Yeah, well, I was a bit preoccupied with taking over Stark Industries and having sex to catch up on movies,” Tony shot back.
“Ladies!” Steve suddenly shouted, his commanding voice cutting through the chaos. Natasha and Yelena halted as Clint dove behind the super soldier dressed as a patriotic zombie.
Meanwhile, Wanda approached you with a warm smile. The redhead looked fantastic dressed as Lucille Ball. She wrapped her arms around you and gently rubbed small circles on Nik’s back, soothing him as his tears slowly faded. He reached out for the Scarlet Witch, tiny fingers grasping at her.
“You are amazing!” you cheered as Wanda tenderly embraced your son.
Wanda smiled, a twinkle in her eye. “Lots of practice,” she replied, her voice soft and reassuring. 
*^~^*
Colorful cocktails flowed freely, with standout creations like the "Avengers' Punch," a fruity concoction brimming with berries and citrus, and the bold "Hulk's Smash," a vivid green drink that packed a punch. 
The buffet table was a feast for the eyes, adorned with creatively named dishes courtesy of Pepper. Guests indulged in "Iron Man" sliders—juicy mini-burgers topped with zesty sauces—and "Super Soldier" salads, artfully arranged with fresh greens, colorful veggies, and a rainbow of dressings. To satisfy every sweet tooth, the selection of "Gamma-Sized" desserts included towering cupcakes and decadent orange and black sugar cookies.
Cradling Nikolai in your arms, you couldn't help but smile as you watched Thor energetically bob for apples. Each time he emerged from the bucket, his face gleaming with water, an apple clenched between his teeth, Nik erupted into giggles. 
“Nikolai Odison!” Thor exclaimed, his voice booming with warmth as he wiped the drops of water from his face. With a playful grin, he scooped your son into his strong arms; Thor chuckled as he looked down at the little boy. “How’s my little namesake? Not giving your mommies a tough time, are you?” he asked. 
“He's growing so fast,” you admitted, a mix of excitement and disbelief in your voice. “We think he might start crawling any day now.”
“Once that little guy is mobile, you two are done for,” Sam teased, adjusting his Sherlock Holmes cap with a knowing smirk.
“I know, right?” Natasha sighed, a playful grin on her face. “That’s why all of you will take turns babysitting in the future. 
“Anytime, you two,” Bucky said with a playful grin, effortlessly spinning the bowler hat from his Watson costume around his finger like a basketball, its brim catching the light with each smooth rotation.
“Excuse me?” Tony interjected with an exaggerated hand raise. “Hi! I don’t babysit. I’ve got my own little one to keep alive,” he said, gesturing to Morgan.
“Fair point,” Natasha replied in mock seriousness. “But then I guess we should fill Pepper in about some of your party boy dalliances.”
“Ha! She’s fully aware,” Tony shot back, a cheeky grin on his face. “Who do you think had their clothes dry cleaned and called a car for them the next morning?”
“Even for Mardi Gras ’96?” Natasha asked, arching an eyebrow playfully.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Tony said, leaning in as if bracing for the punchline.
“Try me,” Natasha replied, her expression unyielding.
After a moment of silence, Tony relented. “So, what bedtime stories does he like?” 
“Goodnight Moon is reigning supreme right now,” Natasha said, smirking as she lightly tapped Tony’s cheek in appreciation.
*^~^*
As Yelena finished sampling a colorful assortment of candy from Morgan’s overflowing Halloween loot bag, the vibrant wrappers crinkling in her hands, you could sense it was time to head home. Nikolai let out a tiny, adorable yawn, nuzzling his head into the comforting curve of your shoulder.
Fortunately, you had the foresight to pack his cozy pajamas, so you gently changed him, the soft fabric a perfect embrace for his sleepy frame. After completing the task, you exchanged quiet goodbyes with everyone. By the time you and Natasha dropped Yelena off at home, little Nik had already drifted into the sweet world of dreams, his soft breaths a lullaby to the peaceful night.
Once back home, you and Natasha took extra care as you cradled your baby boy. Together, you placed him carefully into his crib, ensuring he was nestled snugly beneath his favorite blanket. With meticulous silence, you both tiptoed out of his room, the faint glow of the nightlight casting a warm, soothing light as you closed the door softly behind you.
You both removed your costumes, the vibrant colors replaced by cozy pajamas as you settled down for the night.
“So, what do you think of Nikolai’s first Halloween?” Natasha asked, snuggling up next to you in bed.
“It was magical,” you replied, a contented smile spreading across your face. 
“I agree,” Natasha nodded eagerly. “Those photos will be the cutest addition to his baby book.”
With a playful sigh, you added, “The only thing I regretted was not bringing any candy home.” 
Natasha raised an eyebrow, a teasing grin playing on her lips. “Oh, you mean for that secret stash hidden in the lettuce crisper?”
You smirked back at her, feigning innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
Natasha raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re not interested in any of this chocolate I brought home?” She held up a tempting selection: a Hershey Bar, a pack of Reese’s, a bag of M&M’s, and a Kit Kat, all glistening with sugary allure from beside the bed.
Your eyes sparkled with excitement at the sight of the treats. “Oh, I never said that!” you replied, a grin on your face.
“Thought so,” Natasha teased, leaning in closer and pressing a soft kiss against your lips. “Happy Halloween, Y/N.”
“Happy Halloween, Nat,” you returned, a warmth blooming in your chest as you savored the family moment—and the candy.
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en-rev · 7 months ago
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Enhypen x fem 8th member reader
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Summary: En o'Clock ep 68, except you’re the 8th member of ENHYPEN
Note: Episode had to be changed slightly for the story. You are younger than Jungwon but older than Niki. You were also a part of Sunoo, Jay, and Jungwon’s group for the previous episode. 
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After completing the tasks that the diary had set out for your group, you were carrying  a box of snacks as you walked in Sunoo’s tracks. All of you were checking out the building in awe as it seemed like a fun and luxurious place to stay for filming. 
Setting down the box you check out the tub by the window in what seems to be the entertainment area, “Wow, it's beautiful here” you talk to yourself as you gaze out the window. Hearing Jungwon run up the stairs, you turn and watch Sunoo as he mentions he also wants to see what's upstairs. Following Jay as he skips up the steps, your eyes widen as you see an air hockey table. “Oh my god… One of you needs to play against me in air hockey.” you let out quickly as you’re already searching for the puck. Looking up to see your members looking at the vending machine in the room you hover over them to see what they’re trying to win. “Do you think it’ll work right?”... “No, probably not”...  Sunoo and Jungwon converse before being immediately disappointed seeing that the snack they tried to win was nowhere close to being grabbed by the claw. You almost giggle at how quickly they walk away from the machine. 
As you all gather around the next machine, you begin to hype up Jay as you realize what it is. He jumps up and down as he prepares to throw a punch at the game. Seeing him finally throw the punch your mouth immediately drops… yeah he was strong but that seemed a little intense… you mentally make note to not really piss him off. “Woah, a 930! That's cool” Sunoo and Jungwon say as they begin to walk towards another section of the place. “I bet the other’s are gonna be all over that machine” you say as you follow behind Jay again. Seeing nothing but workout equipment you immediately head up to see what's on the third floor. Peering into the rooms and seeing the beds you smile as you skip down a little to find your own room. Being the only female member definitely had its perks. Looking in you also saw your own bathroom, you punched the air in excitement as you looked at the luxurious looking bathroom. Sunoo walks into your room, also wanting to check out what you were being given, “Wow, you’re too lucky” he practically pouts at how good your room is, knowing that you don’t have to share. “Should’ve known you would get the best.” Jay sighs in defeat as Jungwon laughs at him in amusement. 
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Settling down again as we wait for the others to arrive, you slowly travel around the room to check out what's there again while dancing to yourself. Jungwon attempts to call the other members to show them the house they are staying in but they dont answer. “Oh, well…” he stretches. Pouting at his disappointment I point out something outside, “Ohhh! Look there's a bunch of stuff outside” you say as you run out the door with Jungwon quickly following. He smiles brightly as he grabs a water gun, looking at all the other things there are outside. “Lets fill these '' he says as he's already crouching by the pool, filling up the toy. You grab another one and begin to fill it up, smiling at the thought of messing with your members later. Sunoo and Jay come to check out what we're doing before heading to the lawn area to take pictures. “Hey, do you think I could stay on top of them without falling?” you ask with a large smile, pointing at the pile of floaties he was stacking together. He laughs loudly and stands, “You would not be able to” he practically wheezes at the thought of you trying. As Jay photographs Sunoo in the background shaking your head with confidence, “Watch this” you say as you practically fall onto the floaties he piled up. Not expecting one of your legs to miss almost completely, your right leg is in the water up to your mid thigh, your jeans feeling scratchy against your skin. Letting out a scream as you grip into the floaties and raise your leg out of the water, trying to avoid getting even more wet. “My mic! Jungwon please…. Get me up!” you shout in panic as you struggle to stay afloat on the water floaties. You hear Jay's loud laugh as he hunches over and takes pictures of you, half soaked struggling to stay afloat on floaties that are practically submerged in the water. Sunoo’s hand flies to his mouth as he laughs at the scene before him and Jungwon is on the cement laughing at your struggle. 
They laugh more before they try to help you out of the water, Jay grabs onto the back of your jeans and Jungwon is holding onto your arm as they try to lift you. Sunoo laughs as he records the scene to show the others later. “Yah, hold still or else we’ll drop you” he explains as he attempts to pull you up with one arm, Jungwon is still laughing at you as he pulls the floaties closer to the edge. Just as Jay has you in the air by your jeans, he struggles as he attempts to pull you back to land…. But your jeans begin to slip a little. Editors edit an emoji over you as a sliver of your underwear shows, and it almost looks like Jay is giving you a wedgie. “JAY!!!” you scream as you go to pull at your jeans, causing you both to yell as he loses his grip and you're submerged in water, almost dragging him down with you. The three boys laugh as you submerge quickly with a gasp before making your way to climb out of the water. Standing up everyone can clearly see the mic under your shirt, and how it definitely is ruined at this point. Though, knowing you, those things would inevitably happen. Seeing them almost red from laughing, you run towards them while shaking your body as an attempt to get them wet. You all laugh before you grab under your shirt to remove the mic and show it to them while pouting, “I should’ve known it was a bad idea” you sign out as they enjoyed how the events played out. “I’ll go get changed” you state before grabbing something to dry yourself with and head up to change into some swimwear. 
______________________________________________________________
After you had changed you were chilling in your room while scrolling through your phone for a bit. You heard the others messing around outside before they also came in to change. You were braiding your hair as you heard the boys karaoking downstairs. Chuckling, you finish braiding your hair before you rush downstairs in your swimming clothes which are similar to Sunoo’s except your top is a dark blue color. Rushing downstairs you go to join singing but stop in your tracks as you see that the rest of your members have arrived. You immediately almost burst out laughing seeing how half asleep they are. Jungwon in excitement begins to give the others a tour of the place as you stay downstairs and converse with Sunoo, finding out that he was pushed into the pool earlier by Jay and laughing at how he tells the story to you. 
Once everyone gathers outside, you’re immediately in the pool attempting to do a handstand underwater as Jay is living his aerobic swimmer fantasies. Sunoo is in the water and immediately begins to mess with Jay as he swims underwater. They play as you swim back and forth in the pool, you’ve always found the water to be relaxing. Deciding to lay on a floatie you peacefully lay there as you drift around calmly in the water. You hear Heeseung playing basketball, Jungwon, Jay, and Sunoo playing and splashing each other, pushing each other into the water. After living with all of the guys for so long, it's become easy to block their loud yells out, and you begin to drift into a light sleep as you lay your head onto the floatie. 
Hearing a bunch of splashing brings you out of your sleep and you shoot up as you see them all jumping in, causing your floatie to almost tip over. Raising your head up you look and see everyone is in the pool and your eyes widen. When did everyone decide to get in? Shrugging slightly you continue to float on your floatie as you watch niki do flips into the pool, and enjoy seeing everyone having a good time. Flipping off of your floatie you swim underwater before approaching Jake from underneath. Jumping out of the water right in front of him you attempt to scare him, startling him as he tries to back away from your sudden appearance. Everyone laughs and he chuckles before splashing some water at you, before continuing to float around on the donut floatie. Swimming you approach Niki as you’ve barely interacted with him since he came and begin to splash him before running away, you both laugh as he tries to get revenge before getting on the shark floatie with you pushing him. 
Eventually, everyone begins to play together, everyone underwater as you all participate in a breath holding challenge. However as everyone goes face down into the water, you plug your nose and go under, but keep your eyes above to watch everyone. Seeing Sunoo begin to drift and grip the wall, you almost laugh before seeing Jay rise. Sunoo quickly rises after and laughs at how they’re the first ones to lose before they notice you. They immediately notice you with your eyes above the water and begin laughing. “Hey, isn’t that cheating?” Jay suspects as he looks to Sunoo for confirmation. He just laughs before Jake rises, from the water, disappointed that he wasn’t first place. Still holding your breath, with your mouth underwater as your eyes still watch everyone else, you manage to keep holding your breath. Honestly it wasn’t very hard… however an idea struck you. You and Sunoo were honestly like telepathically linked, and you gave him a mischievous look, one he recognized well. Sunoo smirks and begins to climb out of the pool,“Let’s go wash up.” He states quickly, and like the flash, all three of them were rushing inside with you deciding to give up the contest and run after them, forgetting that you didn’t actually have your own shower to use whenever you wanted. 
______________________________________________________________
As the other members in the pool celebrate holding their breath for a long time, their victory is short lived. “The other’s went inside to go wash up” Jungwons eyes widened, and Niki realized that his victory was in vain. He lets out a whine before plummeting into the water, pretending he was dead. Heeseung and Sunghoon laugh at his reaction, even though they were also disappointed that they would be showering last. Jungwon shakes his head at the camera, “It was Y/n’s idea huh?” he asks, raising his eyebrows. They quickly furrow when they tell him it was Sunoo, each of the other members in the pool’s eyes widened. “Oh no! She’s rubbing off on him” they exclaim, knowing that you were always playing some sort of shenanigans. Niki slaps the water and quickly jumps out of the pool, running into the house. The others in the water laugh, knowing he was probably going to go bother you for ruining his victory. 
______________________________________________________________
As you prepare your shower, the door to your personal room was locked. Gathering your pajamas and skincare before you get into the shower, you sing to yourself quietly before falling to the floor in fear as someone begins to pound on your door. All your items fly into the air as the door shakes, and you feel the vibrations on the floor. “Yah, you scared me!!!” You shout while trying to peek under the door to see who it is. “I was supposed to shower first, I won! But because of YOUR influence, I have to wait now!” Niki taps a foot angrily on the floor and you almost laugh out loud at how silly it looks from the sliver of space you can see under the door. You laughed, imagining what his face might look like right now and are practically wheezing. He always looked cute when he was angry. “I’ll let you use mine after I’m done!” you shout as you enter your bathroom. 
Unknown to you, Niki stands at your door defeated. He slumps over, and his head hits your door and he stands there for a while before he runs suddenly. Now it was time for Sunoo to be bothered as he showered. 
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This one is a lot shorter and probably less interesting than my last post but I tried to write something. I also didn’t proofread, so sorry if there are any mistakes. Also I’m trying to get better at making my posts better looking. If you have any suggestions on something I should write, let me know and I'll see what I can do! :)
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wishesunderthestars · 1 year ago
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Eunoia // Ch. 25
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eunoia (noun): beautiful thinking, the possession of a well-balanced mind, which exhibits goodwill and kindness
Pairings: Hybrid! BTS x reader
Summary: You are a world famous director and you have dedicated your life to your job.You have everything you could ever dream of; wealth, recognision, talent, your friends and family. But loneliness isn’t cured by success. So what happens when you somehow rescue seven hybrids? Can they fill the void?
Genre: Angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, eventual smut
Word Count: 9.2k+
Warnings: past abuse, past sexual abuse, cursing, past violence, mentions of blood, panic attacks
Masterlist
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Trained in waking up early and pulling all-nighters because of filming, you were used to witnessing the sun rise. Usually, you didn’t pay it much attention. The sun rose every day and you had other more important things to do than watch it go through the same motions. You were rushing to leave, making coffee and answering texts on your phone or you were too tired to do anything other than go straight to bed and close the blinds.
You had forgotten how beautiful it was, how the quiet of the early morning glowed in soft orange. Only you and Seokjin were awake, snuggled up on the large white couch on the balcony on the main floor. Your feet were laying on his lap and his arm was wrapped around your waist.
You had woken up early, fading images of the red ballroom and empty eyes haunted your sleep as much as you tried to bury them during the day. Thankfully, Jimin hadn’t been there when you had woken up, drenched in sweat and grasping wildly at the sheets to remind yourself that you were at the Castle. That it had been more than a week since you had been in that ballroom.
It would go away. It had to. It was over. Nothing happened to you. You would get over it.
 You got up, stretched your sore muscles from all the walking the previous day and put on some music to take your mind off the long green dress and paddle numbers, and started your day. No one else was supposed to be awake so early in the morning but when you went to the kitchen to make yourself a cup of coffee, Seokjin was already there, mixing pancake batter with a large wooden spoon. 
Putting your arms around him, you had watched him work until he sent you away, claiming that you were distracting him. It wasn’t your fault that his neck looked in desperate need of kissing and that your mouth had trailed downwards subconsciously. Since you weren’t wanted in the kitchen, you went outside to the balcony to savor the sharp air before the sun appeared on the horizon.
Seokjin joined you soon with two cups of coffee. “It feels like a mug of hot coffee would be more appropriate, but the weather’s too hot,” you had joked.
He had made your favorite iced coffee in the way too-expensive coffee machine you had purchased when you first got the house. Another one of your impulsive purchases. But it was worth it. It made some of the best coffee you had ever tasted. The only coffee above that was made by a small coffee shop nestled in a quiet alleyway in Paris. The perfect amount of milk and sugar, not too sweet and not too bitter. 
You were both a little tired from your little trip to the lake. A sweet kind of pull in your chest, not easily noticeable. You had returned as the sky grew darker and had ordered takeout for dinner, which you enjoyed spread around the garden. Surprisingly, almost everything in the baskets had been devoured during your time at the lake. Alice had been reluctant to leave but you had promised her that she was welcome to visit you again soon. She had hugged each of you tightly—even Yoongi, who didn’t seem to mind at all—and promised that she would be back to play more.
“She’s a little hurricane,” Seokjin said. He was glowing with the sunrise stroking his face. “She reminds me of you a little. Was that what you were like when you were little?”
“I was never that cute,” you joked. Your aunt would argue but while Alice was a hurricane, sweeping up everyone in her way and winning them over, you had been a nightmare, difficult to handle, not listening to anyone, and independent to a fault. “Or that social. I would like to believe that I contributed a little to the shaping of her personality but honestly, her parents are both amazing. They raised her really well and she was already incredible to begin with. She will become a much better person than me.”
He looked down at your legs resting on his lap. “That will be hard. You are probably the best person I know.” He shrugged as if what he said didn’t matter, as if it didn’t make flowers bloom in your chest.
You caressed his cheek, prompting him to look at you. “That might be a little worrying but thank you. You are one of the best people I know too. Shhhh,” you quieted down his protests. “If you can say that about me, I can say that about you.”
“I haven’t done anything special. Nothing like you. You-”
“Stop that.” You laid two fingers on his lips and he obediently stilled them under your touch. “First, you don’t have to do anything special. Who defines special either way? Some of the kindest, most loyal, amazing people I know show these qualities in small ways, that doesn’t make them any less special. Second, who says you didn’t do anything special? Who was there for Jungkook when he distanced himself from everyone else? Who cooks for us every day and takes care of us? Who is always trying to cheer us up when someone is feeling down? Who-?”
“Enough, enough,” he interrupted you, shaking his head. His human ear and cheeks were stark red at all the praise. “I know I’m amazing, that’s enough.”
You laughed and captured his lips in a kiss. Warmth, more comforting than what the sun could provide, filled your insides as you tangled your fingers in his soft hair. He opened his lips for you and you slowly explored the inside of his mouth. You had always enjoyed kissing but nothing compared to the kisses you had shared with your hybrids the past few months.
Lazy mornings were rare for you. There was always one reason or another to be running around the house in a hurry to leave or lock yourself in your office. You were hostage to an endless need to always be productive. That’s what mornings were for. Maybe you had been completely wrong because this one was one of the best mornings you had ever experienced.
Seokjin heard the footsteps on the stairs before you did, turning his head around to watch Jungkook, Jimin, and Namjoon climb up. You called for them and Jungkook and Jimin ran to you, squeezing themselves between you. Namjoon followed laughing and sat down next to Seokjin, throwing an arm around his shoulders.
Hoseok, Yoongi, and Taehyung appeared soon and Seokjin left to go plate the breakfast and bring it to the balcony. You didn’t eat on the balcony often, mostly because of the low table that made it a little uncomfortable, but no one wanted to move. Jungkook and Namjoon went with Seokjin inside to help but when you moved to do the same, Jimin wrapped his arms around your waist tightly and wouldn’t let you go.
“No, you are staying with me!” he exclaimed and proceeded to bury his face in your belly, purring.
Hoseok looked at you in amusement and you shrugged your shoulders, used to Jimin’s antics by now. The three of them took one of the other two couches while the five of you remained squeezed in one. Yoongi looked adorably rumpled from sleep, messy hair and heavy eyes, the stark opposite of Hoseok, who was wide awake and energetic as usual. Taehyung wasn’t the statue he was the first few days but he remained perfectly kept and quiet.
You filled your plate with three pancakes and your favorite toppings and dug in. The conversation returned to your trip to the lake.
“When can we go again?” Jungkook asked, chewing his pancakes with passion.
You cut another piece of your pancakes. “You can go whenever you want, it isn’t that far from the house.”
He pouted. “I meant all of us together.”
“That’s… a little harder,” you said. “I’m back at work next week and I have a full schedule. You can go together though. John and Alice could join you even if I’m not there.”
Jungkook’s bottom lip stuck out even further. “It isn’t the same without you.”
“If there is a day I finish work early, I might join you.” You could barely drag your feet back home most days after work and the trek to the lake would feel like hell, but you would try for them.
Namjoon seemed to know exactly what you were thinking. “You are too tired after work for that. After working for so many hours we can’t expect you to trek down to the lake. You come back after the sun has set or just as it’s setting, it would be exhausting for you to walk for half an hour down to the lake in the dark and then in an hour or so walk back again.”
You wanted to protest but you knew he was right. Although your work wasn’t physically demanding, you spent long hours on your feet, instructing the actors and the crew and checking in with different departments. By the time you were home even dragging your feet to the garden for dinner was a struggle.
You reached for Jungkook’s hand, rubbing your thumb in circles to soothe him. “We’ll figure something out, yeah? If I take a day off–When I take a day off,” you corrected yourself, “we can do something fun. We could go to the lake or we could do something else. Los Angeles is full of places to visit and activities to try.”
Jungkook seemed to think about it for a few seconds before perking up and asking if you could visit a gallery he had seen on the internet. You were quick to agree as Jimin joined as well, asking you about all the places he wanted to visit. You had told them before that they were free to go out without you anywhere they liked, you had printed their papers just in case so they could have them in case the Hybrid Services asked any questions, but they had yet to step further than the Castle grounds and the forest alone. John could also accompany them but no one had taken you up to your offer.
As you were finishing breakfast your phone started ringing. One of the producers of Six of Crows was calling.
“Sorry, I have to take this one,” you said, answering the call.
You ended up having to go down to your office to look up some files on your computer. As the premiere date approached, you would be getting more calls like this. Post-production was finished by now and the movie was nearly ready to be shown on the big screen but there were still a few tiny details that needed fine-tuning.
Ending the call, you checked your emails since you were already in front of your computer. You would probably go to the studios later in the day to speak with a few members of your team on the Raven Cycle project. You wouldn’t stay long but it meant that you had to schedule your day around it. Your break hadn’t ended yet you were already overwhelmed with work. Your to-do list stretched on and on, seemingly endless.
Your back and neck were getting stiff because of all the sitting and lounging around. You should start doing some exercises again. During your break, you had only been to the gym once and it was only two floors down. You should get back into the habit but you were great at finding excuses not to go. You were too busy, too tired, too preoccupied.
There was a knock on the door. You looked at the time at the bottom right corner of your computer screen and realized it was four hours later.
“Come in,” you called. You rolled your neck and heard the little pops. You desperately needed some exercise. And a massage. And an improved posture probably.
Hoseok opened the door with his elbow as he carried a tray inside your office. “I come bearing gifts,” he said with a wide heart-shaped smile. It was like the room instantly brightened. If the sun was personified, it would be Hoseok.
“What have you brought me?” you asked, making space on your desk for the tray. You had to look through some of your old files and they covered most of the surface. You stacked them into piles quickly, to be organized properly at a later time.
“Jin made fruit salad and we have some leftover muffins from yesterday. Jungkook made the juice, it’s banana and cherry!”
The fruit salad was a mix of mango, strawberries, watermelon, blackberries, peaches, and berries. A vanilla muffin was next to it and a tall glass of juice. “Everything looks delicious. Thank you.”
You moved to grab the fork and winced when you pulled on your stiff muscles. Hoseok’s smile faded. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry,” you were quick to say. “I’ve just been sitting in this chair a lot these past few days and my back is complaining. Really, that’s on me.”
“I…” He hesitated for a moment. “I could give you a massage if you’d like. I’m not a professional but I… I used to give massages to my past owner often. He was an idol so he danced and performed a lot and I had learned from masseurs how to do it. I could do that for you if you liked.”
“You don’t have to. It’s just a stiff back, it’ll go away when I stop sitting all day.”
A massage sounded like heaven at that moment but you could do without it. Giving massages could be tiring and Hoseok didn’t have to do that just because you had bad posture and had stopped going regularly to the gym. If you really needed it, you could pay a masseur to come to your house. It seemed silly so you never did, but you could.
“I want to,” he said eagerly, his tail standing at attention. “I can make you feel better, I promise. If you’re comfortable with that, of course.”
You searched his face for any sign that he didn’t actually want to do it but you found nothing. “Okay, then. I would love a massage right now.”
“Yay! I will do my best,” Hoseok promised. “Let’s attack those muscle knots! Gently of course.” You giggled as he came to stand behind you. He pretended to crack his fingers before settling them on your shoulders. You were wearing a shirt with spaghetti straps and his hands were warm on your bare skin, which buzzed in anticipation. “Lean forward a little. Yeah, that’s perfect.”
He dug his fingers on either side of your neck and you had to bite your lip to stop a very embarrassing sound from slipping out. It sent a current through your whole body like you went numb to everything except the feeling of his hands on you. He kneaded your muscles, progressively adding more pressure. You closed your eyes, your body relaxing, losing some of the tension.
“That feels good,” you said, trying to keep your voice steady.
“I told you.” You could hear the satisfied smile on his face even though you kept your eyes closed.
One by one, your strings unraveled and your body felt lighter, as if you could float away if he pulled his hands away. He worked on the knots on the back of your neck and around it before he moved on to your shoulders and shoulder blades. You had received massages before–you had visited spas with friends on several occasions–but this felt different. You forgot about work and all the things you had to do, all the million little things that were hanging over your head, and for a moment you let yourself relax.
♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩
The forest was still, bracketed by the almost black of the night. There were no lights that Yoongi could see coming from inside, even though you said there were multiple holiday homes around the lake. The Castle stood alone, like a real castle guarding the forest.
Hoseok was humming along to a pop song that was playing on his phone, it was at a low volume so his humming was almost as loud as the music. It was late into the night, everyone in the house having already retreated to their rooms. Yoongi didn’t care much about the song, it was generic at best. The vocals weren’t great and the beat was the same beat that every song used this summer with a little tweaking. But Hoseok liked it so he didn’t say anything.
The fox hybrid was sprawled on his bed, his eyes half closed as he moved his head to the music. His silk nightshirt had ridden up to expose a sliver of smooth tanned skin and Yoongi’s eyes kept being drawn to it.
“Anything interesting out there?” Hoseok asked. Yoongi shrugged. “You have been standing there for half an hour. Don’t look at me like that, you have.”
He raised his eyebrows, doubting that it had been that long, but moved away from the balcony door, sitting down on his bed. “It’s the same every night.”
“And you still look every night.” Hoseok turned off the music and stretched. His shirt rode up higher.
Yoongi looked down at his hands. “It’s calming. There is something about the trees and the lake, being away from the city. It’s quiet.”
His ears picked up the soft shuffling before a weight dipped into the bed next to him. “It’s nice, isn’t it? Has it really been only five months since we’ve been here? Less than that? I can’t imagine living in the city again, too much noise.”
Yoongi had lived his whole life in cities, he was used to their noise and the way it never went away. The sound of cars and motorbikes, people talking and shouting. It was never quiet. Not the way it was out here.
He wanted to tell Hoseok that he would never have to live in the city again but he couldn’t. On one hand, your job could lead you anywhere and Yoongi had a feeling that wherever you went, they would follow you, just like Virginia. On the other hand, although some part of him insisted that this was permanent, that this life they had built here wouldn’t be taken from them, he knew that the world wasn’t so kind. Sometimes, he stayed up at night thinking about it while Hoseok dreamed. He gazed at the forest to remind himself that they were still here, in this small paradise on earth, and then contemplated all the ways this could end. His mind wasn’t kind to him on those nights.
“Virginia was like this too,” Hoseok continued. “I miss it a little. The countryside was pretty and the house too. Almost like a fairytale. Do you think we’ll go back again?”
Hoseok’s hand was fidgeting on his thigh and Yoongi grabbed it to still it. “Maybe. She will have to film another season after this one. If this show is as successful as they say, there will be a few more seasons to come. They built sets and everything there.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” Hoseok scooted closer to him and laid his head on his shoulder, their hands intertwined. “Do you think she will rent the same house? I want to go back there. It felt like home.”
Yoongi refrained from telling him that wherever he was, it felt like home. It was something someone more expressive than Yoongi would say, instead he said, “We can ask her. I don’t think she’ll mind. If it isn’t booked at the time, we could stay there again.”
“I’ll recruit Jiminie, she can’t say no to him,” he said, nuzzling closer to Yoongi’s neck, almost scenting him.
“She can’t say no to any of you.”
Hoseok hummed, his breath warming Yoongi’s skin and the scent of cinnamon tickling his lungs. “She wouldn’t say no to you either. If you ever asked her for anything.”
Yoongi didn’t know what to think about that. If he believed it. Yoongi had been trying to do better, trying to be a better person than he had been at the beginning. He would hate himself if he ever put you through what he had before. He would be making it up to you for his whole life. He wasn’t the same as the other hybrids, the same courtesy shouldn’t be extended to him.
Hoseok’s lips brushed his neck, light as a feather, and Yoongi shivered at the touch. Scenting each other wasn’t something new, they had been doing that since they escaped the ring. Before that, they would brush their wrists together through the bars of their cages, longing for the small comfort of each other’s scent. After Yoongi had disappeared, Hoseok had been touching and scenting him more as if he was afraid that he would slip through his fingers.
Some nights, Hoseok would crawl into his bed in the middle of the night and cling on to him. “Stay,” Hoseok would say. He didn’t tell him what his nightmares were about, he didn’t have to.
Yoongi vowed to himself to never leave him again. He would bite, scratch, and kick his way to him if he ever had to.
He had a lot to regret about that first month. He hadn’t only hurt you, he had hurt everyone else too. His own nightmares persisted, leaving him clutching the sheets, with his back to Hoseok, staying deadly still so he wouldn’t wake him up. So no one would know that those days still haunted him even though he wasn’t the one who had suffered.
In some of his dreams, the hybrid ring got to him before you did and punished him for escaping, before stabbing an injection in his neck and hauling him to the ring for one last fight. In others, it was Hoseok that they took and those were worse. They found him when he was looking for him and Yoongi could do nothing to stop them, voiceless with his feet rooted to the floor.
In some rare ones, he never made it out of the house. Namjoon threw him against the wall and held him there, looking more like a vengeful god than the real Namjoon. His sharp teeth gleamed viciously as he sunk them into Yoongi’s neck, breaking the skin and ripping out everything that was keeping him alive.
Hoseok pulled back, his eyes searching Yoongi’s face. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Thinking.” Of course, Hoseok would notice his thoughts spiraling. Yoongi had mastered hiding all emotions from his face but Hoseok could see right through any masks he crafted.
“You looked a little lost there for a moment,” he said, drawing closer to him again. “You can talk to me, you know.” He spoke almost jokingly but he couldn’t hide the tendrils of hurt in his voice. “I know you like to keep some things to yourself… But I’m here for you. I would never judge you, I swear.”
Yoongi was a coward. After his talk with Jimin, he had been planning to tell him everything but he kept putting it off. It was never the right moment, it could wait.
“I know,” Yoongi said quietly, squeezing Hoseok’s hand. “I want to tell you. I think you deserve that after everything.”
Hoseok frowned. “It isn’t about what I deserve. I just want to know so I can help. So I can understand you better. Nothing you say can ever change the way I see you. Nothing. You were there for me when I thought my life was over, that everything was over. You saved me, Yoongi. I would have died in there if it hadn’t been for you. I would trust you with my life. But sometimes, when you don’t tell me things—important things—it makes me feel like you don’t trust me at all.”
Yoongi’s heart gave a terrible bang. “That isn’t true. I trust you. I trust you more than anyone. I trust you more than I trust myself. It’s just… It’s hard to tell you when I want to forget.”
“I understand,” Hoseok said, his gaze falling on their joined hands on Yoongi’s lap. “But I don’t think you can forget either way.”
“You’re right, I can’t. And I never will.” It was too big, too cruel. For worse or for better, it had changed who he was to his core. He was who he was because of what had happened to him and Jimin. He had met both Jimin and Hoseok because of that monster. “But I want you to know now.”
So he told him everything. He detached himself from his words and numbed his feelings, because he was afraid that if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to sleep. He started from the beginning, from his first owner to the terrible end. He couldn’t look at him as he spoke, focusing on their connected hands. Hoseok’s scent soured until Yoongi could barely recognize it. But he had to power on.
When he was finished, Hoseok shot up, wrapping his arms around him impossibly hard and buried his face in Yoongi’s neck. There was wetness brushing against his throat and Yoongi only hugged him tighter.
“I’m sorry.” Hoseok’s voice was breaking and Yoongi hated that he was the cause for it, even though it was better this way. “It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t. I’m so sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize.” He brought his wrist to Hoseok’s neck, gently scenting him. They both needed it. “You saved me too. You saved me, Hobi.”
And sleep claimed them like that, wrapped up in each other with dried tears on their cheeks.
♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩
Taehyung lay still in his bed, not making a sound. Phantom pains spread over his body, squeezing and squeezing until nothing was left of him. His head was loud but the sounds were muffled as if he was submerged underwater.
The room was illuminated by the soft light from the lamp next to his bed. He left it on every night. It was the same pattern, his nightmares not allowing him to rest more than a few hours at a time. There were new ones now. Ones of the red ballroom, the people in the chairs turning into monsters and dragging their claws all over his skin. You stood among them in your green dress, watching as it happened, your face empty.
Taehyung opened his eyes. He could see the forest from his room. He had never been to a forest before coming to the Castle, had never even seen one. It was majestic, the dark greens and browns, the way the branches reached towards the sky. Upwards and upwards.
He closed his eyes again. His tears had long dried when sleep swept him away again.
♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩
Your heartbeat rattled your chest as if being chased by an invisible force with no escape. You swallowed down the bitterness in your mouth and willed the sharp images of your nightmare away. They were so clear, the red curtains and the shiny floors. The taste of the expensive champagne and the hors d’ oeuvre on your tongue. Long dresses swayed at your vision's edge, silk, velvet, and satin. Steady hands held guns aimed at you, they went off with a terrible scream. You woke up.
You were awake. You were in your room in the Castle. You were safe.
You tried to calm down your erratic breathing. Jimin was sleeping next to you and the last thing you wanted was to wake him up in the middle of the night and worry him. Clenching your teeth, you silently counted each breath. Were your hands shaking? They felt like they were shaking.
One, two, three.
Slower. Try slower.
Did your hands stop shaking? You gripped the fabric of your nightgown.
One, two–
A sleepy voice calling your name disturbed the murky waters of your mind. “Are you okay?”
You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. It was over. You were in Los Angeles. You were fine. Nothing had happened to you, no one had questioned you. You had gotten out. You were fine.
“Did I wake you up?” you asked. Your voice sounded weak even to your ears.
You heard the sheets rustle as Jimin moved closer. “Can I hug you?”
In the darkness of the room, you couldn’t see him well, only the shape of his body. “You don’t have to ask.”
“You are shaking.”
Were you? So it wasn’t just your hands. Another deep breath. Force your muscles to relax like the pieces of a machine.
“I am okay now, don’t worry. Come here.” You opened your arms and Jimin crawled into them, hugging your waist and laying his head on your collarbones. “Go back to sleep, kitten.”
Jimin shook his head. “Not if you don’t. What happened?”
“Just a bad dream, it was nothing.” The lies tasted bitter on your tongue. Were they lies though? It should be nothing, it shouldn’t be haunting you like that. Nothing had happened to you, you reminded yourself as if you repeated it enough times maybe the nightmares would go away. “I just need a few minutes to forget it.”
“Do you want to talk about it? Maybe that could be better than forgetting,” Jimin said.
But forgetting was the goal. Or at least getting rid of the nightmares that shouldn’t still be happening. It was over and you were okay. You were okay. There was no reason to worry Jimin, not when you weren’t the one who had suffered. You got dressed up, drank some champagne and made small talk. It wasn’t the end of the world.
“You don’t have to worry about this, it’ll go away on its own.” You run a hand up his back to comfort him. “My brain is just playing tricks on me.”
Jimin’s hand sought out your own and intertwined your fingers. He was quiet for a few moments before speaking, “Is this about the auction?”
You stilled. He couldn’t have known. You hadn’t mentioned it to anyone. And what right did you have to complain about it? You composed yourself. “How did you guess?”
“You have been… different since you came back. You have been lost in your head. I know you are tired and it’s hard with Taehyung now but you can talk to us if you want to. It must have been really scary.” He drew closer to you, gripping your hand tighter.
“I wasn’t alone. I had John there with me.”
“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t scary,” he whispered. “We were scared for you. We thought– We trusted you but we were scared.”
Your fingers tangled in his hair and rubbed behind his cat ears which you knew would relax him. “I’m sorry I scared you.”
“It’s okay. Taehyung is here now.”
Regardless of how many nightmares you had and the tightening in your chest whenever you saw the color of blood. Regardless of the constant fear of being discovered that would never go away. You could never regret what you had done. Not for a moment. Just thinking of Taehyung in that man’s hands evaporated any doubts you had about your decision.
Jimin nosed softly at your collarbones. “We love you. It’s okay to be scared, you can share it with us. You can share it with me.”
“I’m not scared,” you said. It didn’t matter that it sounded like you were lying to yourself. “It’s over. It’s been more than a week since it happened. I’m the last person who should be having nightmares over it.”
“Why are you saying that? It must have been terrifying.”
You took a deep breath, the red bleeding into the darkness. “It was easy to blend in. It was like so many of the parties and galas I have attended. I was the guest of honor, no one suspected anything. I wasn’t the one–”
You cut yourself off before you uttered the words but both of you knew. Silence fell between you. You wished you could fall asleep again but sleep was so far away.
“Do you feel guilty?” he asked quietly.
“For what?” You were confused. Why would you feel guilty? You had done your best, probably more than anyone in their right mind would do.
Jimin gave a small shrug, bringing your joined hands to your chest. “You just sounded like it. Like you felt guilty for having nightmares about it. You don’t have to be. You are here and you are okay but– But you could have not been.” There was fear in his voice and it hurt.
You held him closer and squeezed his hand. You were there now and you wouldn’t be going anywhere. His breath warmed your bare skin. You weren’t alone anymore, you had seven people to think about when you made decisions. You had a home and you would fight to get back to it every time.
“Let’s go to sleep, kitten. We’ll dream better together.”
♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩
After your short break, your return to work was uneventful. A few more days would have been nice but time was moving fast and there were a lot of things to do. On your first day back, before you had left the house Jimin and Jungkook got teary-eyed saying goodbye to you. Going back to work was hard for you too after being used to staying at home with them, but you would fall into your usual routine soon enough.
Your work was a big part of who you were, returning to the studios was like returning home in a way. The cast and the crew greeted you warmly with hugs and pats on the back. Will handed you a pack of papers and you made your way together to the reading room. You would be doing a few read-throughs to get the actors familiar with the characters again and work through a few knots in the script.
It was the same way it had been, waking up at the crack of dawn and returning when the sun was descending in the sky. The hybrids clung to you in any way they could while you were home. At breakfast and dinner, there was always someone touching you, Jimin sitting on your lap or Namjoon holding your hand or Jungkook hugging you from behind. They missed you and you missed them too but there was little you could do.
In the quiet of the night when most of the hybrids had retired, you asked Hoseok how Taehyung was adjusting. The answer was always the same. Hopeful but disappointing as well—guilt ate at you for feeling disappointed when you knew Taehyung was doing his best.
The story of the Raven Boys unraveled during the days and the nights. Your copy of the script was overflowing with red ink, underlined lines, and writing in the margins. It was shaping up to become everything you had envisioned and more. And you were happy. But you also missed spending more than a few hours at the Castle.
You could invite them to join you for filming and spend a little more time with them. However, you had a one-track mind while you were working and you couldn’t provide the attention they deserved. Often, you got too lost in your work. You could feel it now, clouding your mind and blending the days into a string of numbered scenes and takes.
It was a blessing that one week into filming, you finished early, just a couple of hours after lunch, and instead of staying and obsessing over the smallest details like you were prone to doing, you packed your backpack and returned home. John drove you back with instructions to relax and not think about work until the next morning. You didn’t mind listening to him.
“I’m home,” you shouted after opening the door. Due to their sensitive hearing any hybrid on the top two floors would hear the door opening, you liked to let them know it was you so they wouldn’t worry. You had wanted to surprise them so you hadn’t texted that you were coming back.
Jimin and Hoseok were the first ones to rush to the living room. Jimin fell into your arms with practiced ease and buried his face in your neck.
“Surprise,” you said, ruffling his blond hair.
He purred in contentment. Hoseok also joined the hug, his fluffy tail wrapping around your legs.
“Are you staying?” Jimin asked, his eyes shining with hope.
“I am. We finished early today so I’m all yours for the rest of the day.”
Jimin cheered and held onto your hand, following you into the kitchen where you poured yourself a glass of homemade lemonade from the fridge. A book and a few notebooks were spread over the kitchen island and you took a closer look at them. You recognized the textbook as one you had bought a few years ago during your first visit to Seoul for the press tour of one of your Oscar-winning films. You had read through the first few pages on the plane back to LA and when you had arrived you had placed it on the shelf that housed all your language-learning books and never picked it up again.
“Are you learning Korean?” you asked Jimin, scanning the awkward handwritten Korean letters in the pages of the notebook.
Flustered, Jimin didn’t look at you as he replied, “Hoseok is helping me. I thought I could communicate better with Taehyung if I knew a bit of Korean but it’s really hard.”
“He’s doing really well though,” Hoseok interjected with pride. “He is getting good at reading Hangul and he knows a few basic phrases too. He is learning very quickly.”
Jimin shrugged, his cheeks getting adorably rosy. “I have a great teacher.”
Hoseok cooed at the younger hybrid while you flipped through the pages of the textbook. You recognized your handwriting on the first few, you had written down a few questions you had so you could look them up later, which didn’t happen. Now, the answers were written underneath your questions in blue ink. The next pages were marked in both Jimin’s and Hoseok’s handwriting, there were notes in the margins and between lines and little doodles of flowers and butterflies.
Footsteps climbing up the stairs prompted you to let go of the notebook. Jungkook came running through the kitchen door and threw himself at you, nuzzling into your neck. You planted your feet on the ground and caught him just in time before you both went flying back.
“You’re back,” he whispered. He was bouncing on his feet, his excitement contagious.
“We finished early so I packed everything up and rushed back,” you said. “Has it been that long since I was back at a normal hour?”
Jungkook nodded resolutely and you couldn’t help but giggle. The truth was that it was the first time you were finishing early since filming had started again. The first week back was the busiest since you had to review everything, redraw most of the plans, check in with every department, and generally when you weren’t actively filming you spent them running around the studios like a headless chicken.
You should get a day off as soon as you could. For a workaholic, you missed being at home with them too much.
Namjoon and Seokjin were the next ones to appear at the kitchen door. Jungkook still hadn’t let go of you so they were content to leave twin kisses on your cheeks while teasing the bunny hybrid.
“Is Yoongi with Taehyung?” you asked, noting the absence of the two hybrids.
“They are in the garden,” Namjoon said, a fond smile playing on his lips. “Yoongi has been lounging in the sunlight since we finished lunch.”
“He’s starting to gain some color, he looks less like a ghost these days,” Seokjin joked. “Sometimes I think he is more cat than Jimin is.”
You laughed with them before your attention was drawn back to the textbook. It was hard learning a new language, you knew that very well. It could take years to reach a decent level depending on your dedication and the language itself. You remembered Alice suggesting you should learn Korean to communicate better with Taehyung. Jimin was doing just that without anyone asking him to and by the handwriting on a good chunk of the textbook, he had been doing it for some time.
Namjoon also took an interest in the textbook but he already seemed to know that Jimin had been studying the language.
“I would like to learn to,” he said. “I didn’t have to chance to learn another language in the past and it would be beneficial if we could communicate with Taehyung in his mother tongue. Maybe it would get him to open up more.”
Seokjin nodded. “I think it’s a good idea. I would like to learn a bit of Korean too.”
“I could teach you a few things,” Hoseok offered. “But I’m not a teacher, I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time. I can teach you a few words or phrases but”, he glanced at Jimin with a guilty look, “we are having some trouble with grammar.”
“That makes sense,” you reassured him. “It is very different speaking a language, especially when it’s your mother tongue, and teaching it to someone else. That’s why there are university courses for it. It’s a difficult job. But if you really want to learn Korean, I could find you a teacher who specializes in it. That way Hobi would have less on his plate as well.”
Jimin’s eyes widened. “Really? Can you do that?”
“Of course, I can,” you said. “I can find the best Korean teacher in Los Angeles and I can ask them to come here so you won’t have to go to the city. I’ll have to provide transportation of course. How does that sound?”
“Amazing,” Jimin cheered and hugged you again. “Thank you, thank you.”
“It’s the least I could do.”
The least because you couldn’t do the same. You didn’t have the time or the energy to learn another language when most of your day was taken up by your work. During the days you were at the studios and at nights often you had to retire to your office to answer emails and revise scripts before going to sleep. The best you could manage would be to learn a few basic phrases but that wouldn’t be helping anyone.
The arrangements for the teacher were easy. You didn’t have to look long on the internet and after a few calls you had found the perfect candidate who was more than happy to make the trip to the Castle three times a week and stay for three hours to teach the hybrids. You added a very generous bonus for her trouble.
Before finalizing the contract, you talked with Hoseok about an idea you had.
“She could help Taehyung with his English as well. A couple of hours a week could help a lot,” you suggested.
Hoseok was on washing duty after dinner and Taehyung had gone to his room for the night so it was the perfect opportunity to talk to him about this.
“It’s a great idea, if he wants to. I do my best but… I don’t think I’m helping on this,” Hoseok said, scrubbing a plate with the sponge. Foam was everywhere.
You rubbed his arm soothingly. “You’re doing amazing. Much better than I could have hoped for. But I know it’s hard for you and I wish there was a way to help you. I’m sorry I can’t do much.”
Hoseok shrugged, bubbles rising above the dishes. “You are doing the best you can, given the situation. You have already done more than anyone would have expected of you.”
Laughter floated in from the living room. You smiled through your exhaustion.
“Ask Taehyung about the teacher, okay? And tell him it’s your idea, not mine. I don’t want him to accept because I am the one asking.”
♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩
Jimin ran down the stairs, laughing wildly. Energy coursed through his veins and urgency pushed his legs to run faster and faster. He felt like a nymph in Land of the Gods, running through their trees, their hair flowing like an enchantment and laughing and laughing. He didn’t look at his pursuer, he knew who he was and it only filled him with delight.
The rooms blurred as he passed by, never losing his footing. He emerged in the garden and the sun kissed his skin, the fire inside him burning hotter in the heat. The green stretched around him and for a moment, he got the crazy desire to go into the forest and get lost there, underneath the shade of the tall trees. He wanted to dance and drink and eat juicy fruits between the trees like the fae in the stories you told them yesterday night.
Maybe one day.
Instead, he rushed to the stairs that led down to their room. The footsteps behind him were getting closer and he pushed himself to go faster, flying down the stairs.
There was nowhere else to go now and he paused in front of their bed. It was enough time for two hands to wrap around his waist and tackle him on the mattress. He resisted a little, just for show, before wrapping his own arms around broad shoulders and laughing some more. He felt like a child, in a way he couldn’t remember ever feeling before.
“You can’t escape from me,” Jungkook said, hovering above him.
“I didn’t try,” Jimin replied, running his hands over his shoulders and up the sides of his neck. “Bunnies are supposed to be fast, aren’t they? But you only caught me when I had nowhere else to go.”
Jungkook leaned into his touch. “I would have caught you anyway. You couldn’t run forever. Now you’re mine.”
He lowered himself until their bodies were merged together. He sniffed at Jimin’s neck, taking in his scent like he had done so many times, before rubbing his nose and his cheek over his scent gland. Jimin couldn’t stop the purrs that escaped him as his body melted. His hands tangled in Jungkook’s hair, who made an appreciative sound.
The scent of pears and gardenias was everywhere, it was deliciously overwhelming. He could almost taste the sweetness and tanginess of the pears on his tongue.
He tugged on Jungkook’s hair before he could lose his mind. “My turn.”
Jungkook arched his neck back to allow Jimin to scent him. He quickly found his scent gland and buried his face there. He closed his eyes and a garden bloomed behind his eyelids.
Jungkook’s scent was so sweet and it was mouth-watering combined with the pack’s scents. He could smell his own scent there and Namjoon’s scent of summer rain and pine trees was enveloping everything. The aroma of honey buns and sweet milk glazed over them like sugar and notes of cinnamon and sandalwood pushed through. If he looked for it, he could detect your scent, naturally fainter than hybrids’. Greedily, he searched for two more scents but he could only get the impression of dark chocolate. He might have imagined it.
“I’m happy,” Jmin whispered like it was a secret. There was the irrational fear that if he said it any louder, he would tempt fate to take it back.
“I’m happy too,” Jungkook said, laying his head on Jimin’s chest.
Jimin tangled his hands in his hair and massaged his scalp, he was rewarded with a pleased sigh. “It’s like everything has finally fallen into place. I’m not sad anymore. I didn’t realize how sad I was until I wasn’t. Even when I was happy, I was sad too. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“You don’t have to.” Jungkook caught his hand in his and brought it to his mouth, placing kisses on the back of it. Jimin’s heart fluttered with the wings of thousands of butterflies. “All that matters to me is that you aren’t anymore. I only want you to be happy. I know it isn’t possible to be happy all the time but I want us all to be happy. Together and happy.”
“Together and happy,” Jimin repeated quietly.
Every time he was was with Jungkook like that, his mind strayed. It went to all the possibilities, all the could-have-beens and the what-ifs. What would have happened if Jimin wasn’t a coward, if he hadn’t run away? If he had told you what had happened before, would he have been braver? Did Jungkook feel the same after everything that happened? Did he still want to kiss him?
His bunny was so beautiful, his soft dark brown ears that flopped against his hair, his cute nose and large eyes that held the galaxy inside them. Everything about him was beautiful and Jimin loved him so much he could burst. He wasn’t sure if it was right to love him like this, to want to kiss him and hold him like lovers did but he trusted you when you said that it was okay.
Lost in his thoughts, he tugged lightly on Jungkook’s hair, who let out a sound that lit a fire inside him. It was a moan, Jungkook had moaned.
His cheeks growing red, he looked at Jimin like a deer caught in headlines. “I’m sorry! I didn’t- I shouldn’t-”
“Jungkookie, it’s okay.”
“No, no. I’m sorry,” he continued quickly. “I don’t know why I did that. I’m-”
“Jungkook,” Jimin said more firmly. “It’s okay. Really. I didn’t mind. You… sounded good.”
“Good?” Jungkook asked confused. And his eyes, how could his eyes hold so many stars inside them?
Slowly, Jimin tugged at his hair again. “Yeah, good. I liked it.”
“Oh.”
They looked at each other and the world faded around them. There was only them, them and the heat brewing between them.
“Do you-” Jimin looked away. He couldn’t just ask him like that. But what else could he say? “I love you, I love you so much. I never want you to forget. Anything that may happen, I’ll still love you.”
“I love you too, you know I do. You are my Jiminie. I would do anything for you.” He bit his bottom lip and Jimin wished he was the one doing it instead. “Did something happen?”
“No, I just wanted you to know,” he said, cupping Jungkook’s face. His skin was the highest quality of silk and satin under his hand. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m so difficult, so… scarred.”
Jungkook’s hand covered his and his gaze was unyielding, it didn’t allow him to look away. “Never apologize for that. Never. You aren’t difficult, you are incredible. You are strong, stronger than I could ever hope to be. Your scars don’t define you. I met you with your scars and I love you with them all the same. I don’t care if I have to be a little more careful or if I have to hold you a little closer sometimes. Just being close to you is all I need.”
There was a stinging behind Jimin’s eyes. “My baby,” he said like a prayer. An invisible thread pulled him closer to Jungkook until only a breath separated them. “Can I kiss you?”
“Kiss me?”
Jimin hated the doubt and the fear in his voice, he grieved that he had been the one to put it there. “I want to, I promise. It’s okay, I talked with Y/N. I’ve been so stupid. I want to kiss you so much, baby.”
“Please. Please, kiss me,” he said, voice breaking.
Their lips came together softly. There was no rush, no harshness, only love and patience. He was warm, warmer than he had ever felt. He was safe in Jungkook’s arms, hidden away in the Castle, in their home. Sweetness coated his lips. He might not deserve this, might be too broken for this but he never wanted to let go.
Two tears rolled down his cheeks. Catharsis.
Jungkook pulled back in panicked haste. “Did I hurt you? Did-”
Jimin let his tears run their course down to his neck in favor of cupping Jungkook’s face. “You could never hurt me. They’re happy tears. I’m very happy.”
The tension in Jungkook’s face eased and Jimin pulled him closer again. As he kissed him, he tasted love and freedom. He tasted of healing.
♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩
The grand piano stood by the glass wall in the living room, polished until the black surface reflected the light like a mirror. It was a thing of beauty, a gem dipped in luxury to decorate a rich household. For Yoongi, it was so much more.
It was a few hours until you would be back home and the sun was setting behind the forest. The lights were off in the living room and it was painted in the red, gold and pink of the sunset. You would be back later than usual, the filming schedule was packed for the day and after that was done you would visit the headquarters of the production company. You had told them to eat dinner without you.
Yoongi’s fingers flew over the black and white keys. He closed his eyes and focused on the music. Each note was a bright light in the darkness behind his eyelids. It was easy to get lost in the music, in the feelings it evoked and in the pictures it weaved.
He heard it when Taehyung arrived. He didn’t speak, gave him space to go away if he wanted or simply listen in silence. The melody grew more tender.
Taehyung didn’t go away, he drew closer. He hesitated before sitting on the bench next to him, leaving a small space between them. The song blended into the next one and the next one until the familiar stiffness spread over Yoongi’s fingers and he stopped.
Outside, the reds and golds had turned into purples and deep blues. Yoongi would have to turn on the lights soon.
“Do you want to try?” Yoongi asked when the silence stretched and Taehyung didn’t seem to find the words he was looking for.
Taehyung looked at the piano in quiet wonder. “Can I?”
He was so young and it made Yoongi furious that some bastards had carved the innocence and joy out of him. He wanted to find the monsters who had done this to him and tear them apart limb by limb.
His long fingers hovered over the keys. “How?”
“Just do whatever feels right.”
Taehyung pressed the keys one by one at first, the faint lines of a smile appearing on his face at every new sound. Progressively he got braver, pressing keys together and creating disjointed melodies.
“Together?” Taehyung asked shyly.
Yoongi couldn’t say no.
Please comment and reblog it motivates me to keep writing
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popcornforone · 29 days ago
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Think Fink
A Frankie Morales Fan Fic
Day 9 of Pedrotober (Fink the Fox Prompt)
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Masterlist
When I told friends I was writing a Fink Fic they all went WHAT!!! Your Furry!!! But it’s not it’s Frankie, but this will all makes sense. Also I’ve not seen the film yet, we don’t get it for another 9 days but then someone sent me the gif at the bottom & I was like I’ve written this without knowing. Ahhh I’m a genius & I didn’t know it.
Synopsis:- Frankie is on Bedtime duty for your little girl.
Word Count:-600
Warnings over & above:- babies & pregnancy talk, mainly soft, we all love some Papi Frankie.
Thanks for the read peoples. Hope you enjoy. Thanks @norththelemon & @alyssamariag for the prompt.
You have the baby monitor on down stairs. You don’t use it much anymore but tonight is a thunderstorm & you are both worried she will get scared & call for you in the night. You’ve both agreed if little Vern wakes ups twice durring the night, she can sleep in with the two of you. You’ve even planned for this, with one of her toys on your bed side table & a spare pillow.
Frankie is doing bed time story duty tonight & as you start to load the dishwashers in the kitchen, you can hear him start to settle her down on the monitor.
“Papi please tell me about the thing?” She asks & Frankie knows exactly what short story she wants to hear. You hear ruffling & then hear her clap excidly. “Yay thing the box” & so Frankie starts to read little Vern the short story of Fink the Fox. You listen to it while you clean up, knowing by the time he is done you will be upside to wish her a good night too.
This is Fink
The sly little fox
Who lives on this earth
& has a friend as a robot
He’s a goose expert
& super nice guy
He’s cunning & sneaky
Cute & some times sly
He likes to jump in leaves
& play in the streams with otters
But that big bear in the wood
He’d rather no bother
Often so clever
Often so sweet
But protecting his friends
People think is neat
Fink loves fish
Fink loves monkeys
But what he likes to say
Is Skunky Skunky Skunky (you hear Vern laugh at that as Frankie puts on a fun voice, you even let out a little chuckle as you put the machine on)
As the sun sets
On finks busy day
He rests in his nest
Ready to sleep away
Fink is so charming
A clever little fox
He’s made for everyone
He’s more than out of the box
“Yaya papi again” Vern says.
“Okay sweetie” you hear him start again & also hear your little girl yawn. You know she’s doing that big stretch to make her look like she’s okay, but she’s completely exhausted.
Frankie hears you as he nears the end of the story for the second time & can sense your presence. You lean against the door frame looking at your world in front of you. A kids room filled with squishy toys & books & bright colour. Ready to encourage imagination. Frankie then kisses Verns head.
“Sweet dreams my baby girl” he says & she closes her eyes as you come in & do the same & wish her a good night. She even has her fox puppet in bed with her tonight. The nightlight you switch to orange before looking into Frankie’s big brown eyes & pulling the door to.
“Skunky?” You say with a smirk.
“Oooh I can get more than Skunky with you baby” & Frankie’s lips find yours.
“Gonna hold you to that Frankie”
“Is it true women are more fertile under the full moon & a storm?”
“Frankie” you playfully hit him as you close the bedroom door. “You still believe in old wives tales like that?”
“If it makes Vern a big sister then yes” he then looks intrigued as you pull out your phone & then smirk “what? What is it?” You hold the screen up & grab his hand leading him to your bedroom.
“I’m ovulating”
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majimatime · 2 years ago
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Do What You Want (Roman Roy x Reader)
A/N: I had the idea for this at like 2am right after the newest episode came out, and I finally put it into writing!! This is my first ever Succession fanfiction and of course it had to be about Roman, I adore him this season. (Also, a warning for weird business/power dynamics.)
You sit at a small desk in a poorly lit office in Waystar’s LA office building. There’s an email displayed on your laptop from Joy Palmer, an executive at Waystar’s film production company, and you’ve read it about fifty times now. One more scan won’t hurt.
‘Your CEO terminated my employment over lunch this afternoon. You will be hearing from my legal team shortly.’
As the head of entertainment coverage at ATN, you’ve worked pretty closely with Joy Palmer over the past couple years. Your department reviews all the films that flow through her production company, and you cover (and sometimes attend) the premieres of all their atrocious superhero movies. It’s a fruitful business relationship—that’s just been totally shattered.
You ball your hands into fists and rest your head against them, squeezing your eyes shut. Why the fuck hadn’t anyone told you that Roman was meeting with her? Why hadn’t Roman told you? This is just…dumb. It’s so, so dumb.
It’s not like Roman hasn’t come to you about business stuff before—you’re actually pretty close. When you were promoted to the head of entertainment coverage, you were sort of initiated into the inner circle—with the old guard, Tom, the kids, and Logan Roy himself. You were completely and utterly out of your element, attending board meetings, cross-country business deliberations, and all the other fancy shit that comes with the territory. Roman almost instantly latched himself onto you when you entered his sphere, making weird jokes at your expense and then watching attentively for your reaction with those big, expressive eyes. You found all his stupid comments pretty funny, and you liked the way he lit up when you laughed at them, and so a bond was created. Right now, though… He’s taken the stupid thing a bit too far.
Just as you’re about to look back up at your laptop and start drafting an extremely apologetic response, there’s a knock at the door. “Yeah?” you call.
“It’s your boss—open up,” comes a reply from one Roman Roy.
You exhale heavily as an exasperated, slightly amused grin stretches across your face. What exactly is he looking for, coming to you after he royally fucked your job? “Yeah, come in.”
Roman opens the door and steps inside, and Christ, does he look upset. You’re a little taken aback by this; you sort of expected him to be in good spirits, high off the power trip of firing a crucial member of the Waystar machine. In true Roman fashion, he forgoes the chair in front of your desk and sits on the small table across the room, swinging his legs lightly back and forth. “Ken told me where you were holed up,” he explains. His tone is casual enough, but he looks nauseous. “What the hell are you doing in this weird little shitty office anyways?”
You laugh a little, shutting your laptop and folding your hands across the desk. “It’s a pretty normal office, Roman,” you reply, “and it’s one of the furthest points in the building from where your brother’s set up shop. I was working near him for like an hour, but all I could hear was blocking and dialogue planning and set designing…” Roman rolls his eyes, and you grin. “It was like sitting backstage at a community theater rehearsal.”
Roman laughs shortly at that. “Ew. That sounds horrific.”
“Yeah, it was.” Your voice trails off, and the two of you fall into silence. Your eyes are fixed on Roman, but his are bouncing all over the place—from you, to the corner of the room, to his hands that he’s been wringing nonstop since he walked through the door. He’s obviously thinking about the monumental fucking mistake he made earlier, and you certainly are too. “…So. Joy Palmer, huh?”
His demeanor changes instantly, and he snaps his head back like he’s been poised to move this whole time, just waiting for you to bring her up. “Yeah, that was—it’s sad,” he says loudly, uncomfortably, shoving his hands into his pockets. “It’s not cool. But really, it was necessary. She’s not a good fit with what Kendall and I—what we’re trying to do.”
“Huh.” You lean forward a little, ducking your head so he can’t see the scowl that flashes across your face. “…Not a good fit. Okay.” She has everything, really: experience, connections, a willingness to produce shitty movies just to make Waystar more money. Sure, she had been a little shaky recently about Waystar’s politics, but that issue could’ve easily been resolved with a bit more money offered in the right way. But that’s all thrown out the window now, and you hope Roman realizes how bad that is.
You’re not sure he does, so you emphasize it. “I mean, I’ve been kind of working her for the past few months,” you offer, looking up to meet Roman’s gaze. “I know her big issue is dealing with the political side of ATN, which I mean—sure, no one wants to work with the Jeryd Mencken Fan Club. But…in the last week I was actually making some progress with her. There was potential there—“
”There was potential?” You freeze when Roman interrupts you; his voice is low but his tone is venomous. “Okay…” He sucks in air sharply through his gritted teeth, and he glues his gaze to the floor. “I guess—I guess I’m just wondering, what fucking good is potential when she’s sitting there complaining to me across the table about this thing that you’ve apparently worked out already?”
You bite your bottom lip hard and breathe deeply through your nose. “…I don’t know, Roman. So you fire her? That’s the move? You fire her so that we have to get someone else who has less connections, less experience, who is fucking lesser in every way—just because you got mad?”
“Oh my God,” he breathes, jerkily running a hand through his hair, “fuck off. Why are you doing this?” You frown; did he think you were just going to let him off the hook? Congratulate him on his first big independent move as CEO? But then his head sinks into his open palms, and he takes a deep, shuddering breath, and you realize suddenly that that is exactly what he’d expected. Or hoped for. He’s still for just long enough that you get nervous; when you’re about to ask him if he’s alright, though, he raises his head and locks eyes with you.
Your phone dings, and you break eye contact to quickly check the notification. It’s one of your writers; she’s sent you a text about the Joy news, and by the tone of her message, she’s extremely freaked out. When you look back to Roman, he’s still staring at you with that same angry disappointment—disappointment that you won’t just lay down and tell him he did the right thing. “Listen, Roman,” you begin, holding his gaze, “it’s my job too. I mean you’re the new CEO, you’re fuckin’ stretching your legs—good for you. But if we lose the movie side of our operation for a while because of this… That’s abysmal for me.”
His eyes widen a little, and you’re shocked to see, for just a second, an apology forming at his lips—but before he can finish mouthing “sorry” he stops, pressing his mouth into a hard line. He stares down with furrowed eyebrows at his hands, lightly clasped together in his lap, and he’s silent for a long time. As you watch him, he takes a deep, labored breath. “Well, in that case…” He’s barely audible. “Why don’t I just fire you too? Since you failed to convince a chief executive to stick with the company and tanked your department.”
The shocked grin that pops onto your face is completely involuntary, and you breathe an exasperated, “Oh my God.” You turn away and shake your head, taking a steady breath. What the fuck’s gotten into him? You’ve already seen that he’s not afraid to make horrific business decisions; firing you would come as easily to him as breathing right now. But you’re not going to beg Roman Roy, your only friend in this morally bankrupt circus, for your job. You refuse to. So, you fold your hands across your desk, and you reply as evenly as you can. “Technically, Roman, you don’t fire me. Tom Wambsgans does.”
He raises his eyebrows, and you can practically hear the “um, actually” before he even opens his mouth. “Yeah, I know,” you continue, smiling ruefully, “you can just fire Tom, and fucking—eat him alive and become him, and then… You can do whatever you want with me, right?” This has almost become amusing; you feel a weird compulsion to laugh.
That feeling vanishes when you see the look on Roman’s face. It’s like you flipped a switch; his gaze instantly disconnects from yours and he looks straight down like he’s trying to stare a hole through his shoe. You frown a little as you peer over at him, trying to figure out what the hell he’s thinking, when you fully realize what you just said. It’s an invitation, a statement more intimate than anything you’ve ever said to each other before, and he knows it. Roman slowly stands up from his seat and you watch him, look closely at the expression on his face—and the darkness in his eyes confirms your thoughts. It’s not like you’ve never thought about him in that way; frankly, he’s the only human connection you’ve made since you started at Waystar. You’ve often wondered (or perhaps hoped) if he was ever going to make a move on you, and a long time ago, you decided that if he ever did, you’d reciprocate it. You’re going to do just that. He wants a win, and you want him—everyone gets what they need.
He takes a few measured steps towards you and you feel yourself lean just a bit closer to him; just as you’re about to stand, he bends down, snakes his arms around your waist, and practically yanks you up to meet him. With a forcefulness that you’ve never, ever seen him display, he kisses you, disregarding gentleness and letting everything run on pure, unfiltered instinct. Your hands quickly find him, and you place one firmly against his cheek while the other slides through his hair. He holds on for a bit longer, trying to put as much as possible into that first, fantastic kiss, and then he has to pull away.
As you part, both reeling, he whispers, “Say that again.” When you don’t respond—you’re still catching your breath—he mumbles, “Please. Please say it.”
You’re more than happy to oblige him, and you stare right into his dark eyes as you speak. “You can do whatever you want with me, Roman.” Your words coax a full body shudder from him, and his lips are right back on yours, hands running over every part of your body they can access. His fingers skirt under the hem of your shirt and there’s a loud fucking knock at the door—and you both freeze exactly where you are.
It’s Kendall. Great. “Hey Rome, I saw you come in here, buddy. Uh—we’re, uh, crunching some big ass numbers out here, and I would love to have your eyes on these maximizations to the user-facing stock plane.”
“What the fuck does that mean…?” you breathe, and a short, high-pitched laugh escapes Roman.
As you both try to suppress your laughter beneath wide grins, Kendall calls, “What was that, bro?”
Roman quickly clears his throat. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a sec, Ken.”
“Cool. Fantastic.” And you and Roman both stand there, listening to his footsteps as they grow fainter and more distant.
The rush of the moment has faded severely, and even though you acknowledge how fucking amazing that felt and would like nothing more than to continue, you know it’s not the most practical thing to do. “…You should probably head out there, right? Make sure he doesn’t just start making up figures?”
Roman snorts as he untangles himself from you. “Yeah, he would do that, wouldn’t he?” He stands before you, looking wonderfully disheveled, and you reach out to fix his collar and smooth his hair.
He practically melts under your touch as you comb through his hair with your fingers. You half expect him to kiss you again, but it seems the tension was sucked out of the room by Kendall and his corporate bullshit speak. You wish he would kiss you again. After one last sweep of his hair, you propel yourself forward and kiss him gently, sweetly; he kisses back, but he makes no attempt to move closer to you, so you take a step forward and close the gap.
“…I’m fucking this up,” he mutters, quiet and dejected, after you part. “I’m doing it all wrong and I’m being stupid.”
He’s not necessarily wrong; you try to ignore that thought as he turns and walks to the door. “Just take care of your brother,” you say with a little smile, and he gives a muted grin and a thumbs up back.
He’s so bad at this and he’s so sad. You sit back down and crack open your laptop, and within seconds about thirty emails flood into your inbox—it’s Joy’s legal team, just like she promised. You groan, and lean back, and try to get your mind off the feeling of Roman’s lips on yours so you can draft a decent apology.
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peachybeom · 2 years ago
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Stress Relief ♡
sfw, soobin x reader, college au.
blonde fluffy soobin is so cute ill eat him-
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Soobin hurriedly made his way to your apartment, taking the stairs instead of the elevator believing the latter took more time.
He had been trying to reach you for almost a day now but got no response. Growing impatient, Soobin had left you texts and voice notes but unfortunately all of those remained unanswered as well.
Finally giving up on waiting, your boyfriend had contacted your roommate-who was out for the weekend, for the apartment passcode as he made up his mind to go check on you himself.
He punched the code in the machine and anxiously opened the door to look for you. His eyes scanned the living room for a few seconds, until they fell on a huddled figure sitting down on the floor.
You were hunching down, sitting cross legged resting your head gently on the table in front of you. Your eyes were shut tightly while your lips parted slightly letting out soft periodic breaths.
Soobin quietly closed the door before him and lowered himself to your level, he let out a breath of relief and gazed at your soft features before brushing a few wild strands of hair from your face.
You stirred lightly at his touch but showed no signs of waking up, that was when Soobin noticed all the books and pens and crumbled papers that surrounded your sleeping figure, you were even holding a pen between your fingers as you slept.
The smile fell from Soobin's face as soon as it had appeared because he realised how tired you must have been. Your college midterms were about to commence in about two weeks and you were determined to work your ass off for it, even it meant studying vigorously without taking any breaks.
As much as Soobin wanted to support you through this tough time, his resources were limited too as he was a film major and you a medical one. Plus past few months had been hard on him too, constantly busy finishing assignments and reaching deadlines.
Soobin hated seeing you stressed but he had promised to not bother you for an entire month during your midterms because he really didn't want to be a distraction, though he would almost text you daily and occasionally call, to check up on you and your studies.
Though you both weren’t able to talk for long, just hearing your voice once in a while was enough for Soobin to go on.
You time and again reassured him that you were doing fine but witnessing the current situation, it was clear that you clearly were not and had been pulling one too many all nighters.
 You gently moved and rubbed your eyes sleepily as the sound of clinking cutlery awoke you to consciousness.
You stretched your arms behind your back and were ready to yell at your roommate for being so loud- when you turned your head and spotted an all too familiar figure in the kitchen.
"Soobin!" You exclaimed loudly, grabbing the boy's attention.
Your boyfriend turned around and raised both of his hands towards his sides, a bright smile appearing on his face as he spoke
"Hi bunny,"
"I'm sorry if I accidentally woke you up, I actually came over to check on you because -"
His words were cut off when you-in a matter of seconds strode across the room and wrapped your arms around his tall body.
"There there, easy tiger" Soobin chuckled patting your hair with his hand.
"I missed you so much" You mumbled, burying your face in his shirt.
"That's why you are wearing my hoodie- the one I thought I had lost months ago" Soobin said in a teasing tone.
"Yeah, it's actually really comfortable, I need to raid your closet more often" You replied, looking up- God you missed his beautiful face.
Soobin laughed before gently breaking the hug between the two of you and placed a soft kiss on your forehead.
“I missed you too baby, I got so worried that maybe you had fallen sick or something because you weren’t picking up my calls or answering to my messages.” He said while caressing your cheek.
You felt a pang of guilt for making Soobin worried like this.
“Sorry, I’d put my phone on silent while studying and did not even realise when I fell asleep” You mumbled.
That’s when he noticed the light bags under your eyes and the pale color of your skin.
"You should take a break Y/N, you deserve it," Soobin said in a concerned tone before placing another kiss on your face.
"Yeah, you're right I really should," You sighed heavily.
"Great! so I'll just finish cooking this ramen, then we can try to clean up the mess that is your living room and have a movie night?"
 After having dinner- which tasted so good, even though it was just regular ramen. Soobin let you pick a movie which could help you unwind.
You both were halfway through the movie when your eyes began to drift sideways rather than being on the screen.
It was a good movie, it really was! But whenever Soobin was around you, you could focus on nothing but him. His pretty face demanded attention all the damn time, even if that wasn't his intention.
The movie still had a long way to go but you were growing restless. You extended your arm towards your boyfriend and placed your palm on top of his open one.
Soobin absent-mindedly curled his fingers against yours intertwining your fingers, too absorbed in the movie playing before him.
Next, you raised your other hand and grazed your fingers on his ear, softly pulling down the earlobe. This made Soobin turn to face you, his eyebrows furrowed together in curiosity.
You wordlessly ran a hand through his fluffy blonde hair before running a finger down his nose and giving it a light tap.
"What are you doing," Soobin asked letting out a breathy laugh.
You finally got up to and placed yourself on either side of his knee, strangling him between your legs on the couch. Then you placed your palms on both his cheeks and squeezed them between your hands.
"You are like my stress relief squishy. I want to pull you, squeeze you, poke you and viola all the stress is gone," You answered in a cheeky tone.
Soobin laughed loudly at your answer, his eyes closing and forming cute little crescent shapes.
"Jeez that's one weird way of saying you want to make out with me, bunny."
He then put his hand on your waist pulling you closer to him till your noses touched and whispered,
"Bet a squishy can't to this though,"
Soobin captured your lips between his and you let out a surprised squeak but almost melted under his touch right after, hands now grabbing the soft material of his shirt.
Soobin's mouth travelled down leaving small kisses as he made his way through. One hand teasing the waist band of your pyjama while the other slipping under the oversized hoodie. You let out a sigh of contentment and bliss, taking you away from all the anxieties and worries of the past week.
Holding onto him tightly, eyes closed, feeling him all over you, you realised being close to Soobin was really the best way to relieve stress.
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heartfullofleeches · 1 year ago
Note
ICE CREAM MACHINE GHOST LORE-
i am so down for learnin more about R 👀👀
Especially the idea of them and fast food reader catchin up on stuff R didnt get a chance to do???
Chefs kiss for R or maybe just even regular smooches for R
R was born June 1st, 1981 and went missing on the 2nd of June, 2002. This is important to mention not just to give a timeline to his short period alive, but also because he was a huge Scooby-Doo fan and really looking forward the live action film coming out around that time [June 14th]
Fast Food Reader unwinds from a stressful day, and rewards R for good behavior (aka going one day without slapping their ass with a dish rag) by wheeling in the tv used for training tapes and popping in a copy of Scooby-Doo - chilling with R as they watch it. Grabs the blankets they keep in their locker and sets up a little fort in the break room with popcorn and everything. Being the saint they are, Reader may offer to let him use their body so he can enjoy the snacks himself, but R wants to experience everything with them and snatches some poor suckers body to use. Reader doesn't understand why any of their coworkers like them, but then they do shit like this that reminds R a little of what he used to be and fall deeper in love with them with the humanity they've restored in him.
If Reader ever shows him what's new Scooby-Doo they would try to kill him again because he wouldn't stop singing the theme song.
-
R watches from behind the counter as you push the tarp covered trolley into the break room. After cleaning up for the day, you've been in and out of the room without saying much to him or answering his questions. The slam of a locker door and your shoes clicking across the hard floor draw you back to his spot as you fling your bag over your shoulder. You present the item retrieved from within, picking off the plastic film wrapped around the box.
"Hey, I'm done with work and still have a couple hours on the clock. Wanna watch this movie with me? Brought it for you."
"For me?" The confusion in his tone is genuine - still laced with that snarky tone he's known for. "What's the occasion? If you wanted to take me out on a date you could've been a little more romantic with your approach."
"Don't play dumb. You've been muttering lyrics to hex girls songs since I started working here when you think nobody is around. Took a while to figure out where they were from, but it's from a Scooby-Doo film so I thought you'd be interested in watching one with me."
R inspects the box art closer. There is something vaguely familiar about the girl with the orange sweater. Had a crush on someone just because they had the same square glasses and brown hair. That lovable, scared-cat mutt and his equally as jumpy human companion. He and his little brother used to have week long fights to see who got to be who for Halloween... They've taken on a different look, but they're still them. And he's still him. The same young adult who lept over the moon when he first saw that poster hung on the wall of his local theater.
"Got some popcorn and junk in the back. You can use my body for a minute if you want some. Try to make me strip in front of the bathroom mirrors and I will call an exorcist."
"While I appreciate the offer, there's no need." Leaping over the counter, R zips pass you and straight for locked front doors - phasing through the glass and into the body of the understandably terrified customer you chose to ignore as you closed up early. Their eyes briefly widen with fear before glossing over. R stretches, popping the stiff joints in his new body as he rounds the building - leaping through the still open drive through window. He strolls over to you, flashing that wide smile that looked bizarre on a living human face.
"I'm sure I'm better looking as I am, but this body doing anything for you?~"
"Whatever - let's just go."
His stolen heart leaps as you take his hand and pull him along with you to the back. It continues to pound in his ears as you enter the bathroom and take your seat on the floor, sitting shoulder to shoulder with him in the little fort you made using chair and old tablecloths. You take a blanket left on the floor and throw some of it in his lap as you pick up the remote.
"Comfortable?"
Reese looks down at his legs. He looks over at your hand still in his and squeezes it tighter. He fainty remembers the warmth of a high school crushes touch, but there's something different about it this time. The angry swarm of butterflies he felt in his stomach then are calm in the same way his mind is whenever he hears your voice.
"Yeah... I am...."
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toulousewayne · 1 year ago
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Batfamily Halloween Special🎃
Bruce was throwing his annual Halloween Costume Party, and let every year all the kids always dress up. Most of kids weren’t in the Manor as they would arrive later to join in the spooky festivities.
Alfred was overseeing the staff with last minute decorations. Fake blood, cobwebs, fake skulls, fog machine. Anything you could find at your local Spirt Halloween Alfred had gotten to first. The DJ was finishing his last few technical checks and the catering company was always done with the last few creative dishes.
Meanwhile, upstairs Damian was fidgeting in his sit,”Are we almost Sister?”
“Hold still or you makeup will get messed up.” Y/n was the only person home that could help Damian finish with his costume. After a few moments she pulled back and smiled,”All done.”
Damian flung out of his seat and into his sister’s bathroom to look at his makeup.
“Wow, you managed to make me look the skeleton from that film Grayson made me watch.”
“Jack, you look like Jack Dames.” She took a comb and finished smoothing out his hair. “What’s your costume?” He inquired taking the combing to fix his own hair.
She went into her closet and came out dressed as cowgirl Barbie from the movie with hat and boots.
“Now go put on your costume Dames Dick said he’s five minutes away with the girls.” She fixed her wig and adjusted her scarf. Damian walked to his room around the corner and changed into the costume his brother had gotten for him a few days ago.
When he emerged from his room, Dick and Y/n were laughing at a his phone and noticed Damian.
“Aww Little D, you look so frightening.”
“Tt. And what are you supposed to be Grayson.”
“Aladdin,Kori’s running late but she’s going to be Jasmine.” The three went downstairs which was now in full effect and Alfred greeted the siblings dressed as Count Dracula.
“Nice fang Alife.” Alfred smiled at the three and offered them red punch in black and purple plastic cups. “Why Thank you Master Richard, I must stay though they do take a lot to get used to.”
Barbara arrived with Cassandra, Stephanie and Duke all dressed for the party.
“Aww Dami you look so adorable.” Steph fussed taking pictures of the youngest. He huffed and walked away into the main ballroom where the music was blasting but only a few people from Wayne Enterprise and Queen Construction had arrived.
———
Y/n snapped a few pictures with Duke and Barbara aka Spider-man and Kim Possible.
Jason arrived with Tim and Bernard not far behind him. “May wanna close that vest up Dickhead your getting cold.” He teased Dick who rolled his eyes.
“IT’s October Jason.”
“My nipples aren’t sharing at everyone entering the house.”
“Jason knock it off.” Y/n huffed, Dick self consciously pulled his vested.
The group had moved to the ballroom mintues ago and more people from Wayne Enterprises and some League members had arrived. Jason stretched standing from the table,” Okay this Skywalker needs food.”
Stephanie and Cass followed dress as the Pink and Yellow Power Rangers.
Selina entered the room dressed as Marylin Monroe and waved,”Why do glum kittens,your parents go trick or treat without you?”
Fred or Tim shook his head,” They’re not here yet, it’s just boring right now.”
Bernard played with the green scarf on his Daphne shirt.
She sighed and saw a several costumed adults and looked back the way she came. “Well looks like the Calvary just arrived. Have fun.” She slipped away into the now bigger crowd.
Members or Young Justice, Titans and Birds of Prey arrived in costumes and soon the kids mingled with their friends and went away from the table only living Y/n and Damian.
“You should ask Uncle Clark why he didn’t come.” She spoke up over the Monster Mash song.
“Tt, if he cared he would have came sister.” He spat.
She stood up from the table and turned to him, “He’s your best friend and he’s been through a lot. Maybe Halloween is just a lot for him, if you tell him how much it would mean to you to show up I’m sure he’d fly here in a heartbeat.”
Damian didn’t answer his sister but did glance across the room to Clark and Lois dressed as Frankinstein and the Bride who chatted with Diana,John and Wally dressed as a Fairy, Boxer and a Race Car Driver.
Damian grab his cup and pondered as he made his way to the refreshment table. He grabbed a few pieces of cheese and felt like his wished the night was over.
The music stopped as DJ announced the arrival of the hosts Bruce and Batmom entered the room dressed as Gomez and Mortica Adams. Once they thanked everyone for coming the party once again went into full swing and Damian slipped away into the gardens.
“Damian?” A voice called to him after what felt like a short while. Bruce sat next to him.
“Are you not having fun?”
He sighed,”Yes father the party is very good.”
Bruce was silent for a few moments and then let out his own deep sigh.”Your sister told me you miss Jon. You should call him, Clark told me the only reason he didn’t come was because he figured you wouldn’t want to participate.”
Damian turned to his father,”Really?”
Bruce smiled at his son and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “He’s your best friend, just call him.” After that Bruce returned inside and Damian remained seated.
He signed before looking at the ground.”Kent,I know listening…I think—I want you come to the party. It’s rather…dull.” He spoke barley in a whisper.
For a while it was just the distance sounds of Gotham noises and the booming sounds from the music inside and then a sudden gust of wind blew a few strands of hair.
“Hi Damian.” Damian’s gaze fell ontop the floating teen before him in full costume.
A grin painted his figured,”And what are you supposed to be Kent?”
“Uh Duh, I’m Danny Phantom.”
Damian laughed and Jon rolled his eyes.
“Come on I’m starving I heard Alfred has jalapeño poppers.” Damian joined Jon as they headed inside.
Y/n elbowed her brother and Jason spilled his punched on himself. He followed his sister’s gaze and they watch from a far.
Dick beamed as he got closer to them,”Aww Little D’s not lonely anymore.”
Jason rolled his eyes. “I don’t know how he can be, you Mother Hen him to death every two seconds.”
Dick shoved Jason and the rushed of his punched spilled on his costume. Dick nervously sprinted away with Jason bolting after him.
“Imbeciles.” Y/n sighed eating a eyeball cheese.
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