#also i don’t want to spend a fortune on it because i don’t wear makeup much and that makes the choices much more narrowed

[hiddenworldofmary]

day 2 of trying to find a correct foundation shade and i’m going to the store with a small pot to take a bit of the sample home with me

[earenwen-leafwhisper]

Kinktober day 6 : Jealousy

Pairing: Daemon Targaryen x Martell fem chubby reader 

Summary: An evening in one of the Drones' palaces was not without a hitch. 

Warning: Jealousy, dirty talk, degrading ?, oral (male receiving), fingering, P in V, Rough and light aftercare. 

Author’s note: It took longer than expected, I hope you will enjoy Anon Martell ☀️

Edit 24 October: I have correct all the misspell, and all, I hope that I have not forget anything.

 

---  

 

Daemon had enough confidence in him, not to be jealous of others. Yes he was the second son, yes he was not on the throne. 

 

But Daemon had much better. 

 

Since joining the Martell house, he had discovered a different way of seeing power and its priorities. A loving wife, with a strong character, living in the Dorne region, away from conflicts related to the throne. One of the most beautiful dragon in the kingdom as a lifelong companion. A beautiful family he did not want to kill. What better could he have thought? Having children maybe, but he was not alone in that decision. 

 

---  

 

For the past two weeks, you and Daemon have been visiting several towns in Dornes, the first reason being from a diplomatic point of view, the second was to free Sunspears and the Old Palace, during the modification of your apartments, and marital room, so that this is placed in a more discreet part of the palace. Why? At the request of Daemon, to be closer to access to Caraxes, and have more space for you. Although everyone was getting along of your not so discret intimacy, in your house, you wanted more privacy. 

 

During this two weeks, you wanted to made Daemon, discover places that you had visited as a child, during the protocol visit of your parents. All cities were different, depending on whether you were closer to the ocean, in the desert or near the mountains. The techniques for building houses were different in each city, colors, habits could change everything. 

The only habit left during this travel, was your style, and Daemon loved how your clothes revealed the shapes he cherished so much. But what he did not like was the look of some lords of Dorne, a look far too insistent and dreamy, that look that gave him a spanking to hold you tighter against him, as a way of marking his territory. Which didn’t bother you because it allowed you to have that constant physical contact that you wanted and sought so much. 

 

--- 

 

During the reception/party before you left for Sunspears, several young Dorne nobles were present, married or not. Dress in their best dresses and tunics, in the colours of their houses, to honour your final stay day and future departure. 

 

You had opted for one of your favorite dresses, yellow, with embroidered suns on the back, this one plunging down to your stomach, the skirt part was long, made of fluid fabrics, which accompanied your movements, as your arms where bare. All this was enhanced by several gold necklaces, bracelets and rings also gilded and inlaid with precious stones. Your makeup and hair cut was to your liking. Looking in the mirror you smile, thinking you’re beautiful. This is the moment that Daemon decided to enter. 

 

To say that he had eyes only for you was an understatement. Everyone was dull compared to you in general, but there, only you existed in his mind. 

 

"You are beautiful." You could see the glow in his eyes, that glow of love and desire. 

"Fortunately, I was not going to spend my last evening without being at the best." 

 

Daemon laughs softly, before walking towards you and taking you in his arms. 

 

"Even if you don’t wear that, you’ll always be the most beautiful." 

"I know." You’re smiling maliciously. "You’re not bad either." 

"Only good?" Daemon smirk. 

"Who knows?..." Your voice was seductive and teasing. 

Daemon looked at you and smiled. 

 

"You are just a teaser." 

 

You laugh as you grab his hand and walk toward the door. You knew that Daemon wasn’t against some teasing after all. It added a little spice to your life. 

 

---  

 

The evening was going well. The great hall of the palace in which you resided those last days was full of life. Due to its architecture, the walls were covered with marble, decorated with decorative painting with traditional motifs of Dornes. Gold accentuate the patterns and gave warmth to the place, reflecting the light of the candlesticks and candelabras.  

 

Bursting with life, also by human activity, the servants moved easily among the nobles, offering Dornish reds, as well as some dishes cooked from local product. 

 

Daemon spoked to Lord Dayne, speaking of the latest news from the rest of Westeros. Nothing had changed so much since the war against the triarchy. Only the rumors of princess Rhaenyra who had bastards. Daemon didn’t care if his niece’s children were bastards or not. Although talking with Lord Dayne, he was looking at you, squeezing the cup in his left hand with force, only half listening. 

 

From your side you had begun to talk with a childhood friend, you were happy to see her, because since her marriage, apart from the ravens, it was hard to be able to contact her. Your conversation was about everything and nothing, mostly about how life has been since you last saw each other. 

 

"So... what’s it like being married to the rogue prince?" 

"Is that really all you care about?" 

"Oh come on... I’m sure it must be as hot as the breath of his dragon." She had a funny and mischievous tone. 

 

You couldn’t stop smiling, and laughing softly. You were going to use that phrase again on Daemon one day. 

"I’m will not ..." A voice prevented you from continuing your conversation. 

"Forgive me, princess." 

 

You turned to the voice and saw a young man, you had not met at the time. 

 

"Who are you?" 

"I am an emissary from Essos." 

"Oh, good for you..." again, he cut you off. 

"It is an honor to meet you, the lord of the city from which I come would like to make exchanges with Dornes." 

"I’m not the one..." 

"It just so happens that..." 

 

The young man took your arm, before walking, and dragged you away from your friend. You were shocked by the young man’s action, but you refrained from slapping him, if he came for negotiations with Dornes, as well try to keep a good face and send him to talk to your father. 

 

What was annoying Daemon was that this stranger was stuck to you that you did not seem to send him elsewhere. As time passed, Daemon felt more and more that he had never felt before. Something he never thought would happen to you. A jealousy. Deep. 

 

---  

 

The more time passed, the more Daemon was about to crack. The bastard had dared to put a hand in the hollow of your kidneys and all you seemed to do was listen to him. 

 

Daemon threw his wine cup at a servant who passed by him, before walking towards you. His step was fast. His eyes pointing in the direction of the young man. In a few steps, Daemon had grabbed the wrist of the emissary, squeezing it with force, leaving the man wailing with pain. 

"It seems you don’t know the manners." he says with a false smile. 

"My love..." You were happy and relieved to see Daemon. But his dark gaze in your direction made you tremble slightly.  

"You’d better get away." Daemon looked at the young man with a look of anger. 

"You don’t know who I..." the emissary didn’t have time to keep talking, as Daemon tightened his grip on his wrist even more. 

"Get the fuck out." His voice was threatening and left no choice. 

"My master will hear from you!" 

 

Daemon released the emissary, watching him retreat. Daemon took your hand with force before taking you to one of the balconies of the palace, not far from the place of reception. 

 

He walked fast, trying to keep up with his pace you stumbled a few times, fortunately without falling. 

 

---  

 

You caught yourself on the railing when Daemon forced you out onto the balcony. You turned to him, heart pounding. He had never been like that with you. 

 

"Daemon..." 

"You let him touch you!" 

"I wanted to call you..." 

"What would you do if I hadn’t intervened?!" Daemon approached you, like a predator to his prey. "You are mine!" 

"Dae..." 

 

Daemon placed his hands on your round cheeks, in a grip at the edge of pain. In a blink of an eye, he kissed you with force, Daemon in that moment was not the love transit you knew, you haved before you another man. 

 

Daemon moved one of his hands, placing his free arm around your back, forcing you against the railing, but securing you anyway. He let out a rumble from the depths of his chest before stopping to kiss you. 

 

"If it’s your game, I can play it." 

 

You looked at Daemon, trembling slightly, was it because of fear, or because of the wind breeze that carried with him the cold of the desert, or because of a growing exitation, you would not have known. 

Daemon placed one of his hand from your face, to your shoulder, pressing it down, forcing you to kneel before him. He rests his second hand on your chin, tilting your head up. 

 

"You’re gonna learn that there’s no man in your life but me." There was a flame in Daemon’s eyes. "You will be a devoted wife, and do as I say." 

 

You nod your head, while feeling a soft moisture rising between your thighs. Daemon places his hands on your arms, taking them and moving them, his hands move along your arms as they move towards his basin. When he took your hands, he put them on his thighs.  

 

"Caress me." 

 

Your eyes widened, the noise of the party was audible, and the arrival of the guests would have been most ridiculous. You could feel your blood flowing in your head, your hands, the hollow of your kidneys feeling it run in your veins. You began to caress him, from his knees to the top of his thighs. In your position, you could see that as you caressed him, the more he became tight in his pants. 

 

You moved your hands higher, rubbing the lacing of his pants, playing with pressure. Daemon’s breathing was getting faster, he was roaring with pleasure, while looking at you, and leaving you no way to escape, because his hands had moved on the railing behind you. Daemon thought head forward, looking at you. 

 

"Untie my pants." 

 

Your hands were slightly trembling when you started to untie the lace of his pants. Daemon grumbled, your movements too slow for his taste. At the soung, you undo the lacing more quickly.  

 

You moaned when you saw his manhood, semi-erect. You wanted to take it in your hand, but Daemon stopped you.

 

"Don’t use your hands, use your mouth." 

You licked your lips before licking the tip of his glans not yet decap you put your lips along his sex, placing kisses and light spanks, feeling the blood flow, more you took care of him. You put out your tongue, starting to trace the veins from his pubis to his glans that revealed itself to you, you moaned at him, looking at Daemon when you passed your tongue on the top of his ball.

 

"Good little bitch" Daemon gripped with more force the rail. "Uhh..." 

 

As you placed the tongue flat against his cock, Daemon closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to keep control. Not looking at you, when you took his cock in your mouth, licking it, sucking it, with such desire. With every movement, every second spent taking it, your own desire tasted against the ground, you moved the bottom of your dress up along your thighs bouncing, while from your other hand, you released your chest. 

 

It was not the first time you would give him a blowjob, but at that moment your body was ignited with a pure desire to feel it in your mouth. Feeling it so warm and soft, feeling the palpitation as it entered your mouth. You moan in it reminding you of your previous sessions. 

 

"You like this, you little slut." 

"Hmm hmm..." You took it deeper and deeper, the more you relaxed your machote. 

 

Daemon was growling when he looked at you. Your breasts free, while you took one breast in your hand, when the other was placed between your thighs. Daemon took the back of your head, prevent you from continuing. 

 

"You are so naughty" He forced you to stand up. "Get up and turn around." 

 

With trembling legs, you stood up, turning around, grasping at the handrail, he pulled up your robe on your hips, you felt a sweet and sharp pain against your right buttock. He spanked you. In no time, Daemon’s left hand was placed in front of your mouth, sliding two fingers into your mouth. 

"Moaning, like the naughty slut you are." 

 

You sucked his fingers, smelling a new spanking. 

 

"You’re so wet." He slipped his index finger against your soaked lips covered with his underwear. 

 

You groan, your heart beating, your legs trembling. The effect he was able to give you. You felt him move your underwear to the side before two of his fingers went into you. Your moaning was louder than the previous ones. 

 

"So wet..." He let out a rumble. 

 

You felt him move, when you wanted to weep for the sudden lack of his fingers, you had time to do it. His manhood, replacing his fingers. He did not leave you time to adapt to his thickness. Starting to give hard and long strokes of the kidneys. You groaned more and more, calling him by name. Your hands grip the railing as hard as possible, while each stroke of the kidneys made you lift the heels. 

 

"My little bitch." He grabbed the back of your head, slapping you head backwards. "So vocal. You have no shame." 

"Da... Da...e...mon... S... So... good!..." the pleasure you felt was so powerful. "Ah!..." 

 

Daemon grasped your hips, his faster movements combining his strength and speed. You could not keep your arms stretched, you leaned, your head against one of your forearms, your breasts move to the rhythm of the coming and going. You thought of nothing else, Daemon, his rapid breathing, his movements, his balls clapping against your swollen clitoris, his vulgar words, the drops of your exitationwhich fell on the marble. You didn’t even think that in the distance, your moaning was audible. 

Your orgasm was sudden, your ears are clogged, while a scream comes out of your mouth. Feel the throbbing walls of your vagina. Daemon could not hold back any longer, draining his seed into you. 

--- 

You stood for a moment like this, before Daemon withdrew, dragging you with him to the ground. Helping you sit on his thighs. 

"Are you all right, my love?" Daemon was worried. 

"Hm hm..." You nod your head as you snuggle up to his chest. 

"I’m sorry if I hurt you or was too vulgar." He gently lays his right hand on your cheek, stroking it with his thumb. 

"It was perfect..." 

"I don’t know what’s gotten into me..." 

"It’s all right Daemon..." You looked at him, smiling softly. " We might as well go back to our room, a nice hot bath would be good..." 

"That would be perfect." 

Daemon smiles at you, letting you cuddle against him for a few minutes, enjoying the cold air and your vision. Seeing you illuminated by the moon and stars was a beauty, which he wished to remember all his life. 

[niki1973]

Heroes of Nagato (Ancient Egypt Historical Fiction)

Imagine living in a place where just turning the corner bring you face to face with stalls upon stalls with merchants of every kind, people everywhere, talking, bartering, and laughing. The most calm and peaceful city in which to live.

As I turn the corner, I stand and admire the sites before me. As I walk towards work, I glace at all the stalls as I walk by, stalls made of mood, painted in vibrant colors, some with drapes, some without. The first stalls have a variety of skirts and kalasiris.  A kalasiris is a long sheath dress, very form fitting. They are very mute in color. It isn’t very often that either are colorful here, because the Nagada culture uses color accents, like jewelry, to accentuate our clothing.

One stall has a poet offering to write an ode to your love for you. I don’t think he gets much work; he is very thing and frail looking. Of all our people, his name is very original, William. He sings his poems ‘William the Bloody’. I feel bad for him, because his poems are not particularly good, but he tries, and I try and purchase a poem every now and again.

The next stall has two of my friends who work there.  They sell the most beautifully painted, hand-crafted pottery. They use clay that has a rich burgundy hue.  They paint unique designs on them, or sometimes just a simple black line at the top. They are very high-quality products. Amunet and Nephthys are sisters, one year a part in age. They look very similar, long straight black hair, smooth golden skin, and deep dark brown eyes.  They are both tall and slender, but that is where the similarities end. Amunet, who is 21, has a strongly feminine personality, face always full of makeup, and wears an over abundance of gems and jewels. Nephthys on the other hand, is more athletic, her makeup and jewels are minimum. She and I are very similar in that way.

Next, I pass some stalls selling makeup, jewelry and gems. I spend most of my coins here. I’m not much for makeup, but gems and jewels are always catching my eyes.  The hues are so rich and vibrant, I would happily buy all of it if I could.

Oh, by the way, I’m Hatshepsut, Hep for short. I’m a barista at one of the food stalls with another friend, Cleopatra, Cleo for short. I am of average height, and I’m 22 years old. My hair is black, which is very common in this area, I keep it short. Although I am female born, I present myself as male, hence hep for short.  I feel fortunate that our culture is accepting of this.  I hear of other places where people will kill others for wanted to be themselves.

Cleo and I work as baristas at a food stall. We handle drinks while two other handle the food.  Our stall is not as exiting as others, we are most of a necessity. We serve plates of fruits, vegetables, and sandwiches, along with warm bean water or warm herbal leaf water. The bean water is much more popular.  Also, our clientele is mostly the construction workers, which include two other of my friends, Khalil and Ammon.

Both Khalil and Ammon are muscular in stature and working in construction has also made them strong. Ammon has red hair, and when he smiles it’s like looking at the face of Ramses II, the Pharaoh. Khalil’s eyes are ocean blue and seem to sparkle when he is being mischievous.

Now Ramses, not the pharaoh, but Ammon’s younger brother, thought of himself as the reincarnation of Ramsay II. He is a musician, and his female audience treat him as if he was the Ramses II. He and Ammon look identical but siblings in Nagada also do.  Ramses is very talented and does very well as a musician, but truth be told, his parents wanted him to be like Ammon and go into construction. We all took may walks in the middle of the night when he would have arguments with his parents about his work life.

There is another stall I got o everyday. It’s a very humble stall, but its full of colorful drapes. It’s the seers stall, Neith. She is frighteningly accurate when doing readings but has not yet mastered her visions. Neith is a descendant of Nefertiti and just as beautiful. She has long black hair, but there is wave in her hair, like who the ocean moves. Her eyes are as dark as the night sky, and her skin as soft as silk. We have been together for almost three years. Next month, on our anniversary, I will ask her to wed me. Cleo & Khalil have been helping me with the proposal preparations. I know she will say yes, but I am still nervous.

I walk over to say good morning before our day starts. Our stalls are far apart, so I won’t be able to see her till the end of day. As I walk away, our arms stretched out, wanted to keep holding her hand, I say, “Later luv, hugs and kisses.” She smiles sweetly and says “same”.

As I walk back to my work stall, I notice a lot of murmuring. There is always lots of people talking, but today, the conversations seem to be more of a hush, like they are talking of something unnatural. I get to work and Cleo, who has long curly hair, has already opened the booth for the bean water clientele. I take an apron and jump in and start my day.  

Throughout the day, I hear bits and parts of stories, about 1 missing boy and 2 other boys who were found dead in the middle of the night. That must have been what the murmurs from this morning were. With every bit of story that we heard, Cleo and I kept glancing at each other.  Stuff like this doesn’t happen often, or at least, not to the point where everyone is talking about it.  It’s usually kept pretty hush-hush.

After work that night, we all meet at my place, which is just around the corner from the stalls. My house is looks very common, made of bricks and has three rooms inside, kitchen-living room, bedroom and washroom. As I get in, I start preparing food for the friends, Cleo usually helps me.  As the others start arriving, some start setting the table while the others take out some of our books.

While we eat, we start discussing the problem of the day, the disappearance of the boy and what happened to the other two boys. Ammon picked up some news parchments for research.  All three were from the same locality, just 4 rows away from our market.  As we finish our meal, we agree to our respective jobs; Kahlil, Ammon, Nephthys and I go on patrol, Ramses and Cleo with go try and find information from the doctors on what killed the boys, and Amunet and Neith while stay behind channel the spirit world and see if they have any information as well.  Amunet is not a seer but is very interested in the occult and Neith insists that it can be thought. And with that, we go our separate ways to meet again in a couple of hours with our findings.

Upon everyone’s return to my place, we all take turns informing the others of our respective finds.  Cleo and Ramses are the first to get back, so they, along with Amunet and Neith, start their discussions.  Cleo and Ramses were able to get information from the doctors, who as they said, seemed very worried and confused.  The two boys seemed to be eaten by some animal, limbs and clothes were torn to shreds. The biggest confusion is that the animal had gone into their houses and dragged out through the windows, according to eyewitnesses.  By the time the guards found the boys, they had already passed.  The third boy has not yet been found. Neith had a vision of three different animals, each one attacking one of the boys.  But since she hasn’t mastered visions yet, she is unsure how to interpret it.

As we walk into my house, we hear the conversation and see the four of them with books open, scribbling on parchments, trying to make sense of things.  Khalil, Ammon, Nephthys and I walk in, looking better for ware, and just slink into the sofa, quiet at first, taking mental notes at what we just went through. They look at us, the scribbling and talking stops, and the quiet becomes heavy.  Once we compose ourselves, I take a deep breath and start telling them about our night.

“There’s been a fourth victim,” I say with melancholy. “This….creature… was hauling him out of a window, but the boy wasn’t moving or screaming, he was alive, but not fighting to get free.  We tried to get to him in time, but the creature turned a corner and when we turned the same corner, it and the boy was gone. It took a while to find him, it was 5 rows over.  The boy was lifeless, and the creature just stared at us.  We attacked it but it fought well and eventually got away.”

This is when Neith jumped in and asked what the creature looked like.  The four of us looked confusedly at each other and then all tried to explain what we saw.  Khalil and Nephthys said the creature was a hippopotamus.  Ammon swears it was a lion, and I swear it was a crocodile. “Which is why we call it a creature; we can’t agree as to what we saw.”

Everyone was rightly confused, except for Neith.  She immediately got up and ran to one of the open books. We all just watched her flip the parchments and throw unneeded books to the ground until “AHA!!” she said very excitedly, but then her brows furrowed, and she looked at us very worried like.

“What?” I ask as I get up and walk over to her.

“Ammit”, she says, “Ammit is the only creature that explains what you all saw, but he’s from the spirit realm, he’s not a corporal form.”

‘I beg to differ, the scratches on my arm would argue differently.”

Neith then explains to us that Ammit is a non-corporal creature from the afterlife and is the devourer of the dead.  She eats only the ones Anubis deems impure.

“Ammit explains your vision!” exclaimed Amunet. Neith nodded her head solemnly, then said, “yeah, but how do you kill something that’s already dead? Or make him incorporeal again?

That was the question of the night.  It was a night of research.  Our stalls will not be open the next day, but we had to get to the bottom of this.  Although we work like most everyone else, we are the ones the police go to when the problems are of a supernatural nature. So, our research begins.

….A few moments later…

Just kidding. We all start doing research in our own way. Ramses and Cleo go to talk to the elders, hopefully they have some information. Amunet and Neith start pulling books and start researching.  The rest of us go out on patrol. Ammon and Neith go one way, Khalil and I go the other.

About halfway thru the night, we couldn’t find any traces of Ammit. But on our way back home, we are suddenly standing face to face with the Goddess Ma’at, and he’s asking for our help. We head back to the house with the Goddess Ma’at.  Ammon and Nephthys were still out patrolling, but everyone else had come back.  When we walked in with the Goddess Ma’at, everyone became silent and then bowed in respect to the Goddess.  

Ma’at was searching for Ammit and she did not know how she escaped. However, her first order of business was to catch Ammit and make her incorporeal again.  She explained we need to find a gold ring with an emerald stone shaped like a scarab beetle.  The last sighting of this ring was over 100 years ago.  

I sighed, wishing we could have some good luck sometimes, but Amunet spoke up and said that she remembers seeing this type of ring in her grand-mother’s things.  And without letting anyone say anything, she was off and running to her place.  All her grand-mother’s things were in her attic ever since she came to stay with them.

While she was gone, the Goddess Ma’at gave us the instructions on how to turn Ammit incorporeal again.  We only need to touch her forehead with the jewel and poof, incorporeal.  The ring had been made especially for retuning incorporeal things to their incorporeal state.  Now we just had to hope that the ring Amunet remembers is the same ring the Goddess Ma’at spoke of.

Amunet ran back into the house, clearly out of breath, and tried to hand the ring to the Goddess Ma’at, but she stepped back.  We all stood aback and stared.  The Goddess Ma’at explained that it would work on her too, and until Ammit is back, she needed to stay here to help as much as she could.

We still had 2 hours left before the sunlight, so we all went out patrolling. As we stepped out of the house, Nephthys and Ammon were just coming back, clearly, they had been in a scuffle. They told us they found Ammit and was just going to follow her around to make sure she didn’t harm anyone. But she found a target so they fought her off until the victim got away.

We all turned on our heals and heading to her last location and we would hunt her down from there. As we walked, we explained what we had found out.  When we got to the ocean front, Ammit’s last location, the Goddess Ma’at made a noise, one in each direction.  She said it was her call for Ammit.  And sure enough, from the east came Ammit, running happily to the Goddess.  

 As she got closer, she stopped abruptly.  The Goddess Ma’at told us to stay still, Ammit senses that we’re trying to trick her.  The Goddess sat on the ground and called to Ammit again.  We all took the cue and sat down as well. Ammit started approaching cautiously, it took about 25 minutes for her to trust we weren’t trying to trick her.  When she finally got beside the Goddess Ma’at, she allowed the Goddess to pet her. During that time, Amunet passed me the ring and I slowly got closer and closer.  Ma’at introduced me to Ammit, how let me pet her after sniffing me for about 5 minutes.

 As I was petting her, I quickly touched her forehead with the ring and …poof!.... gone. The Goddess Ma’at thanked us and asked me to touch her forehead with the stone as well.  I did, and poof…. gone as well.  

We all looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief. On our walk back home, Cleo asked a question that had us silent for the rest of the way… Who made Ammit corporal?

[ushalin]

Female Socialisation & Beauty: The Highs & Lows of Being a High School Girl

Or, if you’re a geeky, intelligent, “weird”, non-makeup wearing, non-shaving, openly-radfem, openly-separatist, openly-lesbian high school girl, it’s really just the lows. 

First post on RadBlr. Was on RadTwt as Alora/@missypilled (rip). Misogyny in school is possibly driving me insane. 

I have very long hair (I’d like to cut it but am not allowed to). I don’t style it. I always wear it in a ponytail for convenience, otherwise it’s irritating and gets in the way (which, of course, is an issue boys never deal with). I’ve been harassed—genuine harassment—by girls so many times over the years for never doing anything with my hair, or never having it down. I am treated SO much better by girls if I have it down; this has been consistent over the years, from Year 3 to Year 10. I look prettier with my hair down, and of course more feminine. I don’t care; it’s goddamn inconvenient. I’m here to function properly, not look attractive. 

A few days ago, I tested out this theory once again by having my hair down during class. Girls who usually only talk to me when they want to make fun of me for being a feminist were suddenly friendly and chatty. They stopped giving me sideway glances in class. Something so seemingly insignificant as hair style (or lack thereof) plays such a large part in treatment. They spend hours on their hair, I clearly don’t; I wash and brush it, that’s it. I don’t care about it like they do and it angers them. They distance themselves from me. Exactly how they’re trained to react. 

No surprise this experience applies to my zero-makeup face (the ones who treat me worse are the ones who wear the most makeup; I hold a metaphorical mirror up to them and make them ask themselves, “Why DO I wear all this?” and they hate it, they can’t bear to face the reality) and my hairy body. I have never worn makeup or shaved to see if it makes a difference and I never will, but we all know they would treat me much better if I did (the boys also mock my hairy body, far worse—even sexually harassing me for it [I beat up the boy who sexually harassed me by making inappropriate comments about my pubic hair lmao]). Obviously, this treatment has worsened since I came out as lesbian. 

I don’t care about approval or acceptance, thankfully. But I do think about this a lot. And I feel sad. Not for myself, but for these girls. Because they’ve been brainwashed. Because female socialisation has taught them to attack and mock any girl who doesn't conform to expectations of us (the things I’ve heard girls say in the changing rooms about some random girl who doesn’t shave her “vagina” [vulva...], dear God... wish I could find out who she was though, I want to be friends), any girl who escapes our hellish socialisation; you're a lesbian? You're a feminist (a radfem no less)? You're a separatist? You're beauty-free? Say goodbye to 90% of female friendships in school (ESPECIALLY high school, especially in the later part of school). Oh, are you a geek as well?* A nerd? Intelligent? Know your place, female! Partially writing this because I got laughed at, stared at and whispered about for a solid three minutes today for putting my hand up and giving the teacher a high-level analysis on the quote 'O, I am fortune's fool!'—this all came mostly from girls. One started choking with laughter??? Never seen any geeky or nerdy boys treated like that. Never witnessed them scathingly talked about for answering a question well. I wouldn't even call myself a nerd, I never put my hand up, I only do if no one else knows the answer. I didn’t even sound nerdy lmao? 

*Thinking about the treatment of the gay boy who’s into planes and NASA vs the treatment of the lesbian girl who’s into Doctor Who is 🥴 it’s really something. 

Female socialisation is evil. Truly evil. It teaches girls to keep away from those who don’t conform, to only interact when harassing us and attempting to coerce us into conforming to expectations of womyn—which of course keeps them from developing female solidarity with us (because we are dangerous; we are the deviants who could influence them, who could free them from their shackles), and it tries to keep us from developing solidarity with them because we wouldn’t want to be friends with cruel people. 

Society tells us female friendships are fake and insincere, that we’ll never have the depth male friendships have. That girls are bitchy and catty and love causing drama, but boys are so simple and peaceful. It’s drilled into us from our first year at school. 

Obviously, this is bullshit. I don’t need to explain how moids are incapable of having true bonds. Female friendship is a beautiful thing.All these things which girls apparently are? They’re socialised into being that if they are. Of course, we can’t acknowledge patriarchy is the cause of this, no, girls are just naturally evil bitches and a plethora of other misogynistic slurs, and, hey, you should focus on male relationships instead of female friendships, put your boyfriend over your friends! 

But as these girls who avoid this one aspect of socialisation are ostracised and disliked, they’re pushed into another section of female socialisation: they believe these lies about girls and female friendships. They’re treated like this because girls are catty and spiteful and snakes. It’s not because of any deeper reasons, it’s just because this is the way girls are. I’ve never come to this conclusion, but I can’t tell you the amount of (female :/) adults who have offered me this explanation when I come to them about my troubles. 

If I talk about all the other shit I’ve experienced at school for being lesbian and for being a radfem, this post would be a mile long. I’m sure as hell going to write something about that later though. But Jesus. I can tell you now the only time I’ve seen female solidarity at school is when OSA girls have come together to harass a lesbian. 

And if you girls find me here, like you did my Twitter, where you harassed me and revealed my personal information... like I said before: you won’t stop me from fighting for female liberation. Nothing you do gets to me. All I feel for you—all I will ever feel for you—is pity. You’re so young, I still hope there’s time for you to develop class consciousness. 

Schools are breeding grounds for misogyny. It’s hell where boys’ sexual harassment is rife and unrelenting, and female socialisation is shoved at you constantly and if for a single second you resist it, they will come for you and they will never stop. 

Fuck this world. Screw this world for making girls suffer. We’re children. We’re goddamn children and we have to go through this. Fuck moids and fuck moid-lovers. The horrors girls, especially teenage girls, go through would be considered morally illegal in any fair, womyn-loving world. But we’re in this world, where male supremacy has reigned for millennia and will continue to do so for a very long time. I hate it. No one thinks of the girl children. No one cares about us, not even each other. I’ve seen what my female peers have done to become numb to it. It is horrifying and heart-breaking. We deserve so much better.

[j3tblackw1ngs]

Saiki K Christmas Headcanons

Kusuo Saiki

☆ as usual, Saiki will pretend not to care about the holidays at all

☆ yet despite “not caring,” he still ends up celebrating with you at a Christmas party

☆ for the most part, he’s in the corner drinking hot chocolate and watching everyone celebrate

☆ but when you guys put on a movie (and everyone shuts up lmao) he actually gets really invested

☆ i feel like he probably loves Christmas movies because they’re dumb and somewhat unpredictable, and there are so many of them so he won’t get spoilers

☆ he won’t admit this if you ask

☆ you don’t expect him to get you a gift, but despite everything he says, he really cares about you

☆ you don’t know how it gets there, but on Christmas day you find a present with your name on it under your tree

☆ he didn’t put his name on it, but it’s definitely from Saiki

☆ and it isn’t fancy or extravagant but it’s thoughtful and kind of perfect

☆ (you thank him with coffee jelly later)

Kaidou Shun

☆ he thinks about what he’s going to get you a long time before Christmas

☆ he wants it to be completely perfect so you know just how he feels about you

☆ (ask him though and he’ll say something about how Christmas is “just for mere mortals” or how he’s celebrating it to uphold his human identity lmao)

☆ the gift he gets you is thoughtful, but his Christmas card is what stands out

☆ Kaidou really has a way with words, and he pours his heart into it

☆ when you thank him he’ll get really flustered, but he’s overjoyed that it made you happy

☆ (i also feel like he really loves Christmas songs, but he tries to keep it a secret because it’s not “cool“ or whatever. but one day you catch him belting out Mariah Carey and he gets so embarrassed ajsfsjdkjdsf)

Nendou Riki

☆ honestly i feel like Nendou gives really weird gifts 😭

☆ but it’s really the thought that counts, right?

☆ he’s a good cook, so i also like to imagine that he bakes Christmas cookies during the holidays

Kuboyasu Aren

☆ i feel like Christmas probably wasn’t a big thing when Aren was in his gang

☆ so he’s really excited to celebrate it with all his new friends

☆ he’ll entertain you and anything you want to do with him

☆ it’s not that he’s disinterested, it’s just that seeing you happy is what he appreciates most

☆ when it comes to his gift, he doesn’t want to disappoint you

☆ he knows that you’ll be appreciative about anything, but he wants it to express everything he feels about you, as he isn’t the best with words

☆ (considering how he acts in the episode where he gets the confession, it’s clear he takes his relationships really seriously)

☆ i feel like he’s the type of person to get you something you mentioned wanting offhand once

☆ something you wouldn’t have expected him to remember or notice in the first place

☆ of course, you love it and that makes him feel so proud of himself

Teruhashi Kokomi

☆ Teruhashi would give you exactly the right gift

☆ basically just what’s expected of her (she is the perfect pretty girl after all)

☆ she stops by your house to drop it off, but she ends up roped into some activity because of course your family loves her

☆ but she’s secretly really happy about it because she wanted to spend time with you

☆ she catches you under the mistletoe multiple times just by sheer luck

Yumehara Chiyo

☆ i feel like Yumehara loves the whole Christmas season and the romance of it

☆ she definitely watches a lot of cheesy Christmas romcoms

☆ she makes you a really lovely card and a thoughtfully made gift

☆ she also tries to strategically place mistletoe for you to “accidently” find yourselves under

Aiura Mikoto

☆ of course, Aiura always makes it known how much she loves and cares about you

☆ Christmas is no exception

☆ i feel like she goes all out for these kind of things

☆along with a main present she gets you little stocking stuffers

☆ little keychains or lip gloss if you wear makeup

☆ and she definitely gets all her friends little good luck charms, probably based of your zodiacs or something

☆ she won’t let you say that it’s too much

☆ "don’t worry about it, i get tons of cash from fortune telling anyway!”

☆ she also definitely loves singing Christmas songs with you

Mera Chisato

☆ she’s really poor, so she can’t get you anything extravagant

☆ her favorite part of Christmas is obviously the food

☆ she works extra shifts to get gifts for her siblings and one for you

☆ she’s worried that it’s too small, but you love it

Saiko Metori

☆ Saiko has probably been giving you things all season

☆ like a twelve days of Christmas kind of thing

☆ he doesn’t take no for an answer when you tell him it’s too much

☆ (but he pretends he’s only doing to flex, despite not getting anything for anyone else)

☆ on Christmas day, you think that he’s probably lonely in his big house with only his body guards to keep him company

☆ so you suggest that he spends Christmas with you

☆ of course, because he’s still kind of a jerk, he’s like

☆ “why would I want to spend Christmas with you instead of in my huge mansion with all my presents and money?”

☆ “Christmas isn’t all about presents and money. it’s about spending time with the people you love”

☆ he kind of short circuits when you say that, because he can’t believe you love him or that it’s separate from his money

☆ so he spends Christmas at your house

☆ it’s one of the best he’s had in a long time

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! 

I know it’s technically not Christmas anymore (it’s just past 12am where I am), but I really wanted to post this. Thankfully I’m finally free from the shackles of school (at least for a bit), so hopefully i can write a lot more (i’d love to hear any requests you have). if you don’t celebrate, i hope you had a great day anyway <3

[firstofficerwiggles]

Dress Code, Part 1

Part 2, Part 3 (T rated), Part 3 (M rated)

Pairing: Din Djarin x female reader

Rating: T

Warnings: Some swearing, references to sexuality, mostly just fluff with some longing

Summary: You’re headed out to shop when Din takes issue with your dress

Word Count: ~3000

Author’s Note: This will be at least a two part story, possibly three parts if I can make it all connect well. This takes place at some point between seasons or maybe early on in Season 2. 

P.S. There’s a tiny nod to Ed Sheeran in this.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Is that what you’re wearing?” the Mandalorian’s gruff voice questions as you are getting the child ready for a day of supply shopping. It feels like forever since you’ve been off the ship and you are in dire need of fresh food and other essentials. You swear if you have to eat one more packet of reconstituted soup your taste buds will shrivel and die. You are also desperately looking forward to breathing in fresh air and feeling the sunshine on your skin again. As luck would have it, you’ve landed in a spot that is lush and green with a moderate climate, and as you flew by overhead you spied a bright and colorful village with a bustling marketplace.

Back home you never would have considered food shopping a reason for dressing up, but after many long months on a starship, these brief outings feel like a special event to you. In your eagerness to be outside again, you decided to wear a pretty sundress that you love. It hugs your curves in all the right places but still manages to be flowy and soft, plus you know this color is one of the most flattering for you. Ok, maybe you didn’t need to also do your hair and makeup quite this nicely, but you figured, why not? it made you feel good. Plus there was the added hope that maybe the Mandalorian would look at you for once as more than just a crew member. Not that you should want him to do that, you remind yourself strictly, he is your boss after all.

“I suppose it’s a little dressier than normal for shopping, but I think I look nice,” you respond smoothing your hands over the dress and feeling a small thrill of delight that at least he noticed the dress.

Din makes a hmpf sort of sound as if he wants to disagree with you but can’t bring himself to actually say anything definitive.

“What do you think, sweet baby?” you say with a wink to the child. He grins up at you and makes his happy cooing sounds. “He seems to like it.”

“Let’s get going,” Din says, ignoring your comment and handing you your cloak.

“I don’t need my cloak, Mando, it’s a warm, sunny day out there,” you tell him.

“So, you’re just going to go out, like that, exposed.” He is still holding out the cloak to you.

“Exposed?” you say with a laugh, “This is a perfectly respectable dress.”

“Your arms are naked and so are most of your legs and toes,” he points out. His hands are on his hips and he tilts his helmet as if his eyes are traveling down your body taking in the knee-length sundress and ending at your open-toed sandals. You feel your cheeks flush and the ship seems warmer all of a sudden as he scrutinizes your body.

“Mando, I know this is more skin than you’d ever show, but trust me, non-Mandalorian women dress like this all the time,” you reason with him. “Besides, I wasn’t aware this marketplace had a strict dress code.”

“What if it does?” he retorts.

“Seriously. Is that the best you can do?” You’re getting a little annoyed at him now, and as you think about it you realize he’s made a few off-hand comments recently about the way you dress. Why is he making this an issue?

Din knows he is being a pain in the ass about the dress and it has much more to do with him than he would care to admit. He’s noticed that you wear your prettiest clothes each time you leave the ship, but this is the first time he’s openly questioned you about it. When he hired you to help him out with the child, he thought you were much too beautiful and that it was probably a bad idea. Hell, everyone always has jokes about dads and hot nannies. But he also knew that was a really shitty and misogynistic reason to deny someone a job, so he hired you because you were clearly the best candidate. Din had been absolutely right in that area and he admired the way you had bonded with the child and cared for him as if he were your own. But still, lately everything you do has been driving him crazy with desire and he’s getting more frustrated by the day. Just yesterday he had walked in on you cooking dinner, playing music, and dancing around the ship’s tiny galley. He was transfixed as you swayed your hips to the beat and listened to the singer crooning to you that he was in love with your body. It had made him flee to the fresher for a cold shower just to calm down. Frankly, the sight of you in this dress is making him yearn for another cold dousing. Besides that, he knows that the moment you get to the marketplace, his eyes won’t be the only ones on you, a thought that makes his stomach churn with ill-placed jealousy, but one that does give him an idea for a better counter-argument.

“You’ll attract too much attention.” Din finally tells you soundly.

“Excuse me? Mr. Head-to-Toe Beskar? I attract too much attention.” You sound incredulous.

“I attract the right kind of attention that says, ‘back off’,” he replies, “but you attract horny male attention, that seems to say, ‘hang around and be a pain’.”

“Oh, puh-lease. I’m not the only one who can attract horny male attention, Mando,” you sass back at him with a playful look, “The galaxy takes all kinds, and who can resist a man in shining armor?”

“Well,” Din clears his throat and looks away for a moment, “that may be the case,” he mutters, but then he turns his visor back towards you, and says more confidently, “but the men you attract are much more aggressive and persistent.”

“Maker, Mando, that was like one time, and he took off after you punched him.” You will admit there was a scene a few weeks ago in a particularly rowdy cantina where some creep wouldn’t leave you alone, until the Mandalorian hauled off and hit him square in the nose. You had been mortified at the time that he had needed to do it, but you would also swear that Mando had enjoyed punching the guy.

“I didn’t like your dress that night either,” Din lies to you. He did like it but he didn’t like seeing other men like it too.

You roll your eyes at that comment and sigh, “Since when do you care so much about my clothing choices?”

“I care when they might bring you unwanted attention,” he insists, “I do feel a responsibility for your welfare even if you don’t seem to.”

“Well, listen, is there any chance you are going to let me wander around this marketplace alone?” you ask changing tactics.

“Hell no,” he replies swiftly.

“Ok, then, problem solved.”

“What do you mean ‘problem solved’?”

“I mean no one is going to bother me if you are by my side all day,” you explain. He crosses his arms at this, but he doesn’t have a response. “That creep in the cantina only got so bold because I was by myself at the bar while you were negotiating that bounty. I’m sure he wouldn’t have dared try anything if you had been right there.” You decide to take things a bit further in attempt to end this silly argument, “Would you care to make a wager?”

“A wager?” he’s curious now.

“If a man hits on me while you’re by my side, I’ll let you pick out my clothing for a month. However, if no one hits on me, you say nothing about my clothing for two months.”

“One month,” he counters.

“Alright, fine, one month, either way,” you agree. “But, it only counts if you are by my side, if you walk away from me all bets are off.”

“I won’t be walking away from you, and you better not wander off either,” he warns.

“Do we have a deal?” You hold out your hand for him to shake.

“Deal,” he says taking your hand.

---------------------------------------------

Your little party picks their way through the marketplace with ease stopping by stalls of fresh fruit, vegetables, cheeses, breads, and a delectable selection of pastries that has the child reaching out with both hands from his floating pram. The sneaky rascal had got a particularly large one in his mouth before you even had a chance to make your selection. Thankfully the vendor was entranced by his adorable face and hadn’t been bothered at all by his momentary thievery. This village has been nice and you’re enjoying the day not just due to the lovely weather, but also because of your little competition with the Mandalorian. You’ve noticed men giving you appreciative looks, but you’ve been cozying up to your Mando as much as possible, even going so far as to put your hand in the crook of his arm at times as you walk through the streets. In a few instances you were a little worried you might lose the wager when a particularly enthusiastic vendor was trying to make a sale, but fortunately for you, everyone had stayed polite and focused on helping you make your selections.

Din could see that he was well on his way to losing this wager. Normally, that would irritate him thanks to his competitive nature, but spending time with you like this was worth it. He had the chance to watch your happy face as you strolled through the colorful market and to listen to you cheerfully greet people and negotiate prices to get the best bargains. There was such an easy enthusiasm about you as you took pleasure in something that otherwise would have been mundane. It made him feel more lighthearted too. Yet the best part of this shopping trip was how attentive you were being towards him. Din was thoroughly enjoying the way you checked with him before making final selections of your purchases, the way your hand touched his arm, and the way you kept looking over to him with a smile. You were even letting him place a hand on the small of your back at times as he guided you towards different stalls. He had been right about you drawing attention from other men, but apart from a few appreciative glances, they had stayed away, no doubt because to all outward appearances Din and you looked like a couple.

You’ve been making good progress on your shopping list, and there are just a few more items you want to get before heading back to the Crest. You know you are supposed to be focused on picking up the essentials for the next few weeks, but your eye is drawn to a jeweler’s stall nearby and the pretty pieces he has on display. You let yourself wander over as the Mandalorian follows.

“Good afternoon,” the vendor greets you cheerfully, “please take a look, it’s all my own work, handcrafted right here,” and he gestures to a workshop behind the stall. He has many beautiful items but one necklace in particular catches your eye. It is a pendant shaped like a flower and it looks to be made of some type of silver. The flower has a second shinier metal filigree on top creating a lovely design that is topped off with tiny silver balls that glint in the sunlight.

“Would you like to try it on?” the jeweler asks you.

“Oh, I’d love to,” you reply eagerly. You lift the pendant up and place it around your neck, and then try to clasp it, but with your hair in the way, you can’t seem to get it to latch.

“Allow me,” Din’s fingers replace your own. You lift your hair up for him, and then tell yourself to breathe as his gloves gently brush over your neck. Perhaps it’s your imagination, but it feels as if he lets his hands linger there longer than necessary. When he takes a step back, you whirl around and ask, “How does it look?”

“You look beautiful,” Din replies, more honestly than he planned, your eyes lighting up at his compliment. He watches you turn back around towards a mirror the jeweler has set up to admire the necklace yourself. His eyes are drawn back to the pendant which is now glittering just at the top of your cleavage enticingly. He watches your delighted face in the mirror, enjoying the simple pleasure of wearing something beautiful.

“Your wife has excellent taste,” the jeweler’s words cause Din to turn his head and come back to the rest of the world. “That’s one of my favorite pieces.”

“What it’s made of?” Din asks the jeweler, not bothering to correct him on the word ‘wife’.  

“It’s silver with beskar plating,” the jeweler explains, “I’m not surprised she likes it so much,” he says in a conspiratorial whisper and a slightly cheeky glance at the Mandalorian.

“How much?” Din asks.

You haven’t been paying any attention to Din and the jeweler; you’ve been too busy admiring the pretty necklace and imagining what it would be like to wear it to a special night out with your favorite dress. You’re so caught up in your daydreaming that it isn’t until you hear a merry laugh from the jeweler that you realize how long you’ve been staring at yourself in the mirror. Your cheeks flush thinking that you must look so vain, and you turn to the jeweler and say, “Thank you so much for letting me try this on, but I suppose I better take it off now.”

“There’s no need, lovely lady, your husband has already purchased it for you,” he says with a grin.

You’re stunned both by the jeweler calling the Mandalorian your husband and with delight that he has bought you such a beautiful gift. Before you realize what you’re doing, you throw your arms around Din in a hug and thank him profusely. He is stiff for a second, not sure how to react to your embrace, but then, his arms come up to encircle you and he pulls you in tighter to his chest. He can’t remember the last time anyone hugged him and he has missed it more than he knew. For a moment, Din allows himself to enjoy the intimacy of holding you like this, and he imagines what it would be like to be able to hug you all the time.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” Din tells you softly, the term of endearment slipping from his lips before he can stop himself. Your cheeks flush with pleasure at his words and when you pull back away from him your face is shining with the brightest smile he’s ever seen. The bustling marketplace falls away and it’s just the two of you standing in the sunlight with electricity buzzing between you, until the child coos loudly reminding you both of his presence.

“We should, uh, get the rest of the… supplies,” Din says sounding a little flustered. You understand that’s he’s feeling a bit shy right now after that public display of affection. You’re feeling the same way, wondering what all of this could mean. But you know that now is not the time to reflect on those thoughts, and instead you turn back to the child, scooping him up for a quick cuddle so he no longer feels left out. The Mandalorian also reaches out to give the kid’s long ears a stroke and says, “Are you still hungry, buddy? C’mon we’ll get you another snack.”

The rest of your shopping trip passes quickly and you’re back at the Razor Crest shortly thereafter. You are still floating on air after the day you’ve had. You keep sneaking glimpses at your new necklace and smiling to yourself like a besotted school girl. Even the drudgery of unloading and then securing all the supplies in the ship doesn’t put a damper on your spirits. The Mandalorian seems to be sharing in your joyfulness, humming a little as he lifts heavy crates and sneaks a few extra treats to the child. You’re getting ready to depart, when he turns to you and says, “Well, I suppose I should congratulate you on winning our wager.”

“That’s right, I did win,” you say happily almost having forgotten about the whole silly bet, “I knew no one would bother me with you right next to me.”

“Yes, it appears you were right about that,” he says grudgingly, “this time.”

“So that means one whole month with no comments about what I choose to wear,” you remind him.

“This doesn’t mean you should take this as an excuse to wear your most scandalous outfits,” Din tries to tell you.

“Uh-uh, the month starts now, no comments from you, sir,” you reply cheekily to him. You laugh a little to yourself, scandalous outfits, he’s being so dramatic.

“I’m going to get us on our way,” Din concedes his defeat and turns to head to the cockpit, but he can’t help to get in one last word as he tells you, “I’m sure your new necklace will look just as pretty with your more conservative clothes.”

“Maybe,” you reply attempting for a nonchalant tone, but failing spectacularly as your eyes light up at his suggestion.

Din makes his way back up to his pilot’s chair and begins the take-off procedure. He shouldn’t have made that comment about the scandalous outfits, it will just give you ideas filled with your sheerest and most revealing garments. But then, he has an idea of his own. Smirking under his helmet at his own cunning, he punches in the coordinates to the icy world of Hoth and makes the jump to hyperspace.

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Thanks for reading! Let me know if you’d like to be tagged for Part 2.

[hacked-by-jake]

𝐈'𝐦 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Summary: The first time you all meet. It’s no secret that Jake and Phil don't like each other, but no one expected it to end this way.

Pairing: Jealous!JakexMC

Preview:  "Of course you’re right. A life with a bar owner in a small town is much more exciting than a life with a wanted and one of the best hackers in the country" Jake sneers. You like Phil, but he’s not Jake. You fell in love with him because he’s him, and damn it, running away with Jake is stupid but sounds like a lot of suspense in hotel rooms. "What’s your problem?" Phil asks hissing. "My problem is how you look at my girl" Jake replies with equal resentment and raises your folded hands to put them on the table for everyone to see. "All of a sudden, you’re a couple?"

--

Words: 6,9k

A/n:  Hi guys, back with a new story. Everbyte gave me the perfect template for my favorite Jake, jealous Jake. Please excuse the mistakes as always.Sometimes I am insecure with myself, so can we pretend they are not there? lol. I hope you can understand everything, have fun and you like it! #IamJake ❤️🌹🎭

⚠️"I’m better than you" will remain a oneshot and won't get another part!

Tomorrow the cancelled forest search should be done. You sit next to Jake in the passenger seat and look out the window and watch trees and houses pull past you.

That Jake is back, the others in the group know, but they don’t know he’s coming to the search. You and Jake found out that you only lived two hours away from each other so you took the train to him and together you now drive towards Duskwood.

When you told Jake you were going there, he didn’t say he wanted to come too. When you told him you agreed to spend the first night at Jessy’s brother’s bar, he suddenly thought it would be the best solution if he came with us. First he asked why you all want to meet in the Aurora. You told him you were doing this to get to know each other better. You know each other through writing and pictures and phone calls but the first meeting in real life is still a little different. So you agreed to meet there and have a nice evening. And for some reason, all of a sudden, Jake wanted to come too. Thanks to the action #IamJake, the pursuers of Jake could no longer track him down.It just caused too much confusion. Jake was of the opinion that because the others from the group also helped him, he should also be in the search for Hannah. You promised him he wouldn’t regret it. But you didn’t believe his pretext, but you don’t know the real reason he really wanted to come. And now you are sitting together in the car and the "Welcome to Duskwood" sign at the entrance of the city appears a few meters in front of you. You start smiling as you see it and look excited to Jake. He turns his head to you and gives you a little smile. "Are you happy to see your friends?" he asks and looks back at the street. "Yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing OUR friends, Jake," you answered and giggled. They’re his friends too. Both sides are still a little skeptical but they are also his friends. And if they don’t be in this moment, I’m sure they will. "At the moment there seems to be more going on at the motel" you explain to Jake as he drives to the parking lot in front of it. Lilly has told us that there have been very few people staying here lately, but fortunately it is getting more and more again. The situation in Duskwood is calming down again. People don’t think so much about the body has been found in the woods of their home city anymore. Luckily, nothing bad happened since then. Jessy’s brother said that the bar has more guests and more people going out again, which is a good sign. The man without a face must not manage to plunge an entire city into fear and terror. Jake parks his car near the entrance and shuts down the engine. "Ready?" you ask him. He nods his head and buckles up. You do it like him, and together you get out of the car. You didn’t tell anyone except Lilly that Jake was coming too. Why you told Lilly? Point 1: The situation would be very strange if the two would suddenly stand in front of each other without warning. Point 2: Lilly told you she owed you a favor because of the video she made. You actually told her it wasn't necessary, but she said that she will redeem it when you are in Duskwood. Next to each other, you and Jake walk through the front door of the Motel. At the reception Lilly is standing waving as she sees you. "Hi Lilly" you said. She comes up behind the counter and walks up to you. "Hi MC I’m glad you’re here" she grins wide. "I’m happy too" you giggle. You two break up. Jake stands a little off and watches you two. "Um, so, Jake, this is Lilly. Lilly, I’d like to introduce Jake".   They both say "hi" at the same time. Lilly went back right behind the counter. "So your room is number 22 on the second floor.It is not far from the elevator.In the room you will find all the information you need. Like when dinner starts and stuff like that. If anything wrong, I’ll be down here and help, "she explains. "Just one room?" asks Jake. You look at Lilly and pull up an eyebrow. You took care of the rooms and booked two. "Yes, I’m sorry, something went wrong with your booking and now we have no rooms available.Only one I can give you. I’m really sorry, I hope that’s not a problem," she explains. You look at her confused. "But there aren’t nearly enough cars outside?" Jake asks skeptically. "Yes, most of them have all gone away.Today the weather is nice, you can go swimming or shopping in the city center" "Is that a problem for you?" you ask Jake. Briefly he does nothing at all but then shakes his head. "Okay great, and I’m sorry again for the circumstances.Have a nice stay, see you in 3 hours at the latest." Jake has been walking slowly while Lilly gives you the room key. She winks at you, and now you understand that she lied. You have to holding back a laug and turn around quickly to follow Jake. "Is this really not a problem for you?" you ask again as you enter the elevator. "No problem, we can do this" he mutters. You have to giggle. "We can do this" you repeat his sentence. "You’re kidding about me again," he notes. "Oops" is your hypocritical answer. A "pling" sounds and the door opens. Together you’ll find your room. Excited you open the door and enter the room. It’s small but cozy. The walls have a soft color. A double bed is on the wall. Next to it is a bedside table with a small lamp. Opposite it is a table with two chairs and a TV hanging on the wall. "It’s beautiful here," you say and close the door. Jake agrees with you. In three hours, the meeting will take place. In between you talk about unimportant things or about the search, or new information in your case. After a while, you get up to get ready for the meeting in the bathroom. When you stand in front of the mirror, you look at yourself. You’re in Duskwood with Jake, the hacker boy who that drives you crazy, where you are excited all the time and your heart beats faster, and and with whom you will share a bed for the next few days. You’ve never seen him before, today is the first time and when you got in his car, you had half a heart attack. He’s pretty, not just pretty, but hot as hell. Just the type of man you prefer. "Thank you, Lilly! Thank you for doing this!" you mumble. "Did you say something?" you hear Jake calling. "Uh oh no, no all good" you answer quickly. You put on a little makeup and think about how to dress. At first, you thought about putting on a pair of jeans and a sweater, but you were here with Jake. And you want to dress up a little more special. Sure, there’s something between you both, but a little styling can’t hurt. You take off your sweater under which you still wear a plain gray top. There’s a little lace on your bra that you can see on your cleavage. So you leave the bathroom to go to your travel bag. You pick out two Tshirts. (Imagine your desire outfit. Please don’t choose a sweater because it doesn't match with the story lol) "Jake, I need your help!" He turns his head in your direction and pulls an eyebrow up as you hold the tops in the air to show it to him. "What is it?" he asks you. "Which one should I wear?" His look brushes both shirts and then your eyes. "Isn’t a sweater and jeans enough?" he asks. "Definitely not for tonight," you grin. "The Tshirt" he answers and turns back to his laptop. That’s not what you expected. "Why not that?" you ask. "You asked me and I told you to take the tshirt," he muttered. "That doesn’t answer my question," you look at him. "And you didn’t answer why a sweater wasn’t enough.I think you should wear a sweater." "All right, then the Tshirt" Not completely satisfied, you go back to the bathroom to take off your top and put on the Shirt. A look at the alarm clock shows you that you should start so slowly. "Did I really need that much time in the bathroom?" you ask yourself in your mind. "Jake? We have to go, are you coming?" you ask him. No reaction. "Jakeeeee?" Nothing. "Jakiee Hello?" You see his lips move slightly as he reads something. You walk up to him stand next to him. "Jake! Can you hear me?" You put a hand on his shoulder. Scared, he suddenly jumps up and grabs your wrist and holds it fast. His face looks shocked. You were also shocked by his quick movements and gasped. Briefly he looks up and down at you to realize that you are and nobody else. His gaze stays on your cleavage for a moment longer until he looks you in the face. His face is ten cm from yours. "Please don’t do that again," Jake breathes and stares into your eyes. "You didn’t listen to me, I didn’t want to scare you, I’m sorry, I should have thought," you apologized to him. "No, it’s okay, I didn’t mean to, did I hurt you?" he looked worried at your wrist. Carefully he strokes your skin with his thumb. "Don’t worry, it didn’t hurt, I was just scared too," you assure him. He’s letting go of your wrist. You just look each other quietly in the eyes. Unintentionally, you get closer. Until Jake suddenly shakes his head and asks "don’t we have to go?". He turns away to turn off his laptops. "Could have worked" you think  and reach for your bag in which your most important things are. Jake takes the car key off the table and comes after you. "Do you have the room key?" he harks. "Yes, I have," you answer his question. Together you leave the hotel and get into his car. You use Google Maps to find the way to the Aurora, and the journey is smooth. Only one song plays softly on the radio. -

I am Not Afraid Anymore Standing in the eye of the storm Ready to face this, dying to taste this, sick sweet warmth I am Not Afraid Anymore I want what you got in store I'm ready to feed now, get in your seat nowAnd touch me like you never And push me like you never And touch me like you never 'Cause I am not afraid, I am Not Afraid Anymore No no no

-

You notice how the mood in the car changes, and breathing is a little harder as you hear the lines of the song. You can see his jaw straining against each other and realize that he is also a little tense. For the same reason as you? You don’t know. His hand is cramped on the gearshift. "Just keep looking out the window" you think. Less than 10 minutes later Jake drives to the parking lot in front of the Aurora.

The others seem to be already there. Outside the door is Dan smoking a cigarette. “are you ready?” you ask the hacker before you get out again. "Yeah, it’ll be fun," Jake mumbles. He tries to smile but it doesn’t really work. You look up and open the door. After Jake locks the car, you guys head for the entrance. You can already see Dan pulling up an eyebrow. "Look at you, the Riddle Queen is here" he calls. "Hey, Dan," you laugh. How naturally he embraces you briefly what you return. "And this is definitely our hacker, right?" asks Dan and looks at Jake. Both look not at first enthusiastic but then Jake stretches out his hand. Dan takes his hand. "Hey, I’m Jake" he introduces himself this time. Dan looks suspicious, but then sighs. "Hi Jake I’m Dan, nice of you to join us, we can use your help" You were just worried about Dan saying something stupid but luckily he says nothing. "Then let’s go inside" asks the bearded and opens the door. “By the way, Lilly already told us that Jake is here. It slipped out of her a few moments ago so don’t be mad at Lilly that we already knew it” Dan explained. "We’re sitting in the corner over there so that we will not be disturbed by anyone" Dan explains. Curious you look around, you have already seen a few pictures but in real life the bar is much bigger. "Hey, MC" calls out a voice. Phil stands behind the bar, smiling. "Hi Phil, this is Jake," you say. You look behind you where Jake stands and doesn’t look happy at Phil. "Hi, sit down, we’ll be right back, my co-workers will be here so I don’t have to work tonight" You notice a hand that lies slightly on your hip and gently pushes you forward. Jake is still looking at Phil, but then at you. He’s smiling, but you can see it’s not real. "We have visitors" calls Dan to the group. Jessy sits with her back to you, looking backwards in a flash. "MCCCCC" calls her and jumps up. Jake quickly takes a step to the side so as not to be run over as Jessy throws herself into your arms. "Wow, I’m looking forward to seeing you too," you laugh. "Finally you are there I could not wait any more" "She really couldn’t, she's been annoyed me off all day at work" Richy laughs. You and Jessy split up so you can greet the rest. Unlike expected, Richy approaches Jake on his own. "You must be Jake, Hi I’m Richy beautiful that you are there, but MC you could’ve told us you were bringing your lover boy with you." Jake slips out a little grin and you hit Richy in the shoulder. "Yeah, next time I’ll let you know" "That was a hint that the next time you bring someone else," Lilly laughs. "No, don’t worry," you blink. "So you can sit there. Actually, that would be Thomas' place but he’s not there yet so you take the two chairs and I’ll tell Phil to get another one," explains Jessy. You go to the other side of the table and sit across from Jessy. To your left is Jake, and next to him is Richy. Dan sits next to Jessy, Cleo sits next to Dan and Lilly at the head of the table. You actually expected a very different reaction, that they’re skeptical of Jake. You’re looking at Lilly and she's looking at you, too. "You?" you speak silently to make sure that Lilly helped. She nods with a smile. "Thank you" you answer. "Now how was your trip here?" Richy asks you. "Long but it was okay. Fortunately there were not so many cars on the way" you take over the talk. "Well, then nothing can go wrong today" Dan answers and looks briefly at Jake. I hope there’s no argument. "Where is Thomas?" you ask in the round. "Maybe in the basement?" Lilly grins, making everyone else laugh. "He’s got something to do" Dan tells you. Jake keeps himself in the background but answers most questions without hesitation. It was clear that there would be many questions. After about half an hour, Thomas finally arrived, who was not even thrilled to see Jake. Thomas still thinks Jake and Hannah were having an affair. He doesn’t really want to realize it’s not true, but he’s probably just overwhelmed with everything. "So, what do you all want to drink?" Phil asks as he comes to your table. "MC, let’s have a glass of whiskey!" Dan immediately shouts. You look at him skeptically. "I do not accept a no" he grins. "Okay, two whiskeys, Jessy, Cleo and Lilly, you’ll have a cocktail as usual, and Richy and Thomas a beer?" What do you want?" Phil asks Jake. "A Coke" he answers. "All right, is coming" Phil grins at you and walk back in the kitchen. Shortly afterwards, a young woman with a apron comes to you with a tray and gives everyone a drink" "For a nice and relaxing evening" Richy takes a toast. Jake and Richy seem to get along quite well. "Finally, closing time" Phil shouts grinning as he comes towards you. He pulls a chair from the neighboring table to yours and falls elegantly on it in the same motion. "At least you’ll have free time tomorrow," Jessy answers and drinks a sip of her cocktail. Dan’s and your whiskey ran out pretty fast, so he ordered two more. You didn’t want to drink much, since you’re gonna sleep next to Jake. And you don’t want to do the smell of alcohol to him. But it was too late to stop Dan. Thomas told him not to drink so much today, but he just laughed. Phil hands you his hand that you accept and shakes it. "So now I have Duskwood’s celebrity finally sitting in my bar, it’s a great honor," says Phil smiling. "You’ll get your autograph later," you laugh. "I assume he’s the second kidnapper, right?" he means Jake. The hacker nods silently. "All right, whats going on here?" Phil asks interested and drinks a sip of his own glass of whiskey. "Spend a relaxing evening and talk about the search," Cleo answers. Phil has pulled back the house ban against Thomas and Cleo fortunately. Jessy said Phil changed his mind because of you. Jessy told him that they were going to another bar but Phil wanted to meet you. You didn’t think anything of it and were just glad the two burglars were allowed back into the Aurora. The conversations are moving towards the forest search and you go through all the theories you come up with. Make plans and consider how you would react in the biggest emergency. "Luckily there are a lot of men here, if something happens I’ll protect you," Phil laughs. "I think MC can take care of herself, that’s what she told me," Richy throws in. "Oh, you can take care of yourself?" Phil’s voice sounds amusing. "Yes, I’m sure I can, but I doubt that the man without a face will ever come near us," you argue." And even if he do, I’ll punch him." Dan raises his glass like a toast and then drinks a sip himself. "I’ll bring a crowbar" Richy looks proud. "Wow" giggles Jessy. "Let’s change the subject, we shouldn’t assume the worst" You look at the glass in your hand. "MC is right. If we’re going to be stressed out by now, we’ll be too excited tomorrow and maybe miss the real Deatils". "What kind of detail should you overlook in the woods?" asks Phil. "After the sign of the raven on the tree in the forest, you never know what else we can find" agrees Jessy. "You’re right," says Cleo. "You’re such little detectives," Phil scoffs. "We’re looking for a murderer and kidnapper of a friend of ours, so don’t make fun of it," you say seriously. "Hey, I don’t want to attack you with this, just a little fun, I mean you’re good at what you do," explains Jessy’s brother. You notice the undertone his voice always has when he speaks to you. It always sounds a bit like he’s making fun of you.His eyes never leave you alone. It feels like he’s watching every single one of your movements. Phil and Jessy are telling a story from their childhood when they had a fight. Again and again he looks at you and it seems to you that he only tells the story to you and not to everyone else. "And then I pushed her into the lake," Phil laughs. "That wasn’t funny, I was scared to death," hisses Jessy. "You absolutely have to come back and then go swimming in the lake.We have a secret place where no one comes. There’s a place for a barbecue and a bench and a table, so I can show you where I shoved Jessy in." Phil addresses you again. He has a crooked grin on his lips and leans back in the leather chair. "Yes I wanted to go with Jessy anyway, she wanted to show me the lake" "Well, I’m in," he winks. All the others are engrossed in conversation only Jake sits quietly on his chair. Until he leans over to you and takes the glass of alcohol from your hand and drinks it with a sip. Confused, you look at Jake putting the glass on the table. "Everything okay?" you ask him quietly. "Yes, it’s all right, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be" "If you want to go, you can tell me," you smile lightly. He smiles back at you. It’s one of those moments where you look at each other quietly. How you’d strongly like to kiss him now. "Phil, you should still make MC the cocktail I made up," you hear Jessy’s voice. You don’t want to take your eyes off Jake. "Right, I almost forgot, but then she has to come into the kitchen with me, I can’t show it openly yet. It’s not on the menu yet," explains her brother. "What is it?" you ask confused. "I made a cocktail the other day, and Phil thought it was so good that he wanted to put it on the drinks list. I told him that you should definitely try it and say your opinion," the redhead explains excitedly. Phil gets up from his chair and runs towards the bar. "Come on," he yells at you and disappears around the corner. "Let’s go," Jessy urges. Laughing, you get up and follow Phil. Jake’s talking to Richy and Lilly again, so it won’t be a problem. "There you are," you hear Phil collecting all sorts of ingredients. "I’m unsure if this tastes good" you share your opinion when you see the chili lying on the cutting board. "Don’t worry, he’ll be as sweet as you" he jokes and winks at you. "This flirt phrase was bad" you grin. "Yes, I agree, but did it still work?" "No, it didn’t, I’m sorry." "I notice you’re making fun of me," Phil mutters as he cuts a tomato. "Tomatoes? How did Jessy come up with that idea?" you ask. "She read something on the Internet and then had the idea. The bar was still closed when she suddenly stood in here and yelled at me that she had an idea, "smiling, he crushes the tomatoes in a bowl. Together with a small piece of chili, he packs both into a Mixxer. "Actually, the cocktail should be called 'Jessy's Special' but with the chilli it is as sharp as you look. Maybe I’ll name it after you, "Phil will make a new attempt to flirt with you. You want to answer but than Jessy come in the kitchen jumping. "And how far along are you?" she asks. "Jessy I’m not a magician," Phil murmurs. "Well, as the owner of a bar, you should be faster," she counters. Phil dumps two liquids in a glass with some ice cubes in it. He puts a straw and a leaf of peppermint. He’s pushing it over to you. You look at it skeptically. He leans relaxed against the counter and watches you again. "Come on, trust me, it tastes good," Jessy tells you. "All right," you give up and drink caution through the straw. "And how does it taste?" "I have to admit, it tastes good, but how much alcohol is in there?" you ask and wrinkles the face because of the bitter liquid. " Actually it’s not supposed to taste like alcohol, that’s the good thing about it," Jessy explains. You hold the glass so she can taste it too. Disgusted, she looks at the glass. "Damn Phil, you put way too much alcohol in there," Jessy immediately complains. "I’m sorry, I may have been distracted by the sharpness in this room," he winks at you again. "Ahhh yaaa?" she looks at her brother. The door is opened and Lilly sticks her head in." MC do you have a minute?" she asks you. You put the glass down and follow her out the door. Your first look goes to the table where you don’t see Jake sitting. "Where’s Jake?" you ask right away. "That’s what I wanted to tell you, he went outside, he just said he needs some air, I’m a little worried. But I don’t know him well enough to ask, but you do, "she explains. You nod your head. Without waiting, you make your way outside the bar. Jake is leaning against the car and looks at his cell phone. "Jake, all right?" you ask as you run towards him. "Sure, I just needed some fresh air," he explains, but he doesn’t sound happy. "Come on, I see something’s wrong, you want to go? We can go back to the motel," you suggest. "No MC it’s all right," he murmurs. "No MC it’s all right" he tries to convince you. "You’re lying to me" "No I do not" Jake looks around but dont look at you. "You need to talk to me or I can’t help you" you sound desperate. "I don’t need any help either, it’s all okay I just wanted some air," he hisses. "Wow okay if you get mad now I go back in. I don’t want to annoy you" you answer insulted and turn around to go back in. "Good idea, go back to Phillip," Jake growls softly, but not quietly enough that you can’t hear it. Immediately you stop and turn back to him "Wait WHAT?"You cross your arms in front of your chest and pull up an eyebrow. "No, nothing" he tries to save himself. "No no no! I heard exactly that! Did you just say I should go to Phil?" "Yes, yes I have" now he looks right in your eyes. You are outraged by this. "What does that mean? What does that have to do with Phil?" "You know it exactly" he prickly kicks a stone aside. "No, I’m sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about." "Oh no? MC here, MC there and MC I really have to show you the lake" he speaks as if he would throw up. "Huh?" you put your hands in your hips. "He’s trying to impress you all the time! All the time! Don’t you notice that?" he hisses and comes one step towards you. "That’s bullshit! Why are you mad at me? Phil doesn’t do anything!" "You really don’t notice it, or you just like it so much that you don’t want to notice it!" "Oh, my God, what’s your problem, Jake?" "My problem is that Phillip flirts with you all the time even though you’re mine!" he throws his arms into the air. Suddenly you understand this strange situation. Whether you like it or not, you just can’t resist smiling. "Why are you smiling now?" he asks desperately. "You’re jealous of Phil," you giggle. "Pff" snapped, he turns away from you. He stands with his back in your direction, looks at the other side of the street and pretends that you are not here at all. He still folded his arms in front of his chest, which is why you take the opportunity to wrap your arms around his stomach from behind. You lean your head against his back and his smell surrounds you like in the car rides. "Oh, Jake, why don’t you say so right away?" you ask whispering. "What are you talking about?" his voice sounds like he doesn’t know what you mean. "You have no reason to be jealous of Phil," you assure him. "I noticed that" he answers ironically. "Richy says Phil’s a fuckboy, so you don’t have to take it so seriously, I don’t either." "You don’t have to think about it all the time, I've to" "You like me, don’t you?" you giggle. "Isn’t that proof enough?" he asks. "I think I need even better proof" you breathe and take another step towards him. "What proof?" he asks nervously. "I don’t know, Jake, be creative." You take another step towards him. Jake is a bit taller than you, which is why you need to look up at him. His eyes sparkle in the light of the lantern. "What are you doing?" he whispers. His facial expressions are a little insecure. "What are you doing?" he whispers. "I will give you a chance to do something" "I don’t know what you mean," he laughs nervously and looks across your head. "Kiss me, Jake" Immediately his gaze rushes back to you. "W-What?" he stutters. "Oh, Jake, that’s what I love about you," you giggle. "What? You love..." Before he can pronounce, you pull him to you by the fabric of your hoodie, stand on the tips of your toes and press your lip on his. Jake instantly stiffens and doesn’t move an inch, but he doesn’t pull his head back, so maybe he’s just too scared. You detach yourself from him and look into his wide open eyes. You just keep looking at him and not saying anything. "Fuck it," he suddenly mumbles. His hand lies down around you on your back and pulls you against him. He puts his right hand in your neck and your lips meet again. Fireworks explode in your stomach, making you warm and cold at the same time. You immediately close your eyes to focus only on his soft lips that move perfectly to yours. You put your hands on the collar of his sweaters to pull him even closer. Easily it turns you towards the car and directs you a few steps back until you feel the vehicle at your back. Your hands go down his neck and run through his hair. His left hand strokes under your tshirt and lies on your bare skin on your back.His hand is cold which is why you gasp for air. He takes the chance right away to steal a deeper kiss.

The kiss becomes more passionate and the hacker pushes even harder against the car.

You pull his hair lightly and a throaty growl escapes him. Your heartbeat stops for a moment and goose bumps form on your body. Oh God, he robs you of all your wits. He seems to know exactly what to do, as if you were meant for each other. Like your whole life was just a preparation for this moment. A wait until he comes into your life. Unfortunately, you are standing in the middle of a parking lot in front of the bar because of the owner you just had a little fight with each other. Your kiss becomes softer until it finally dissolves from you with a heavy breath. Also your breathing is difficult and your heart beats so much that it is unhealthy. "Damn," Jake breathes on your lips and leans his forehead against yours. "You are the best thing that could have happened to me," he adds quietly and without breathing. "Jake, I love you I think you already know this but I don’t want to stay away from you anymore" you explain to him quietly and seriously. It’s true, you don’t feel like pretending there’s nothing there, even though everyone knows there’s something between you that you want to be together. It is fate that your number was sent to Thomas and you learned so this hacker, who now stands before you. And that you got along so well from the first minute, just confirms it. "I tried to fight against that it was just too dangerous for both of us. But the way Phil looks at you and flirts with you, God damn it, i hate that" A small grin forms on your face. "It’s hot when you’re mad" He turns his eyes annoyed but can’t resist a grin. "See, you say a little sentence and I have to grin, it’s not normal," he mumbles. "It’ll be normal from now on," you blink. "We should go back in before the others come out and look for us," you say. "You’re right," he agrees. "Oh, and Jake? Remember, tonight you’re sleeping with me, not Phil. Only you" You just give him a short kiss and walk right the front door. "Um, MC, I think you made a misstake in your sentence" you hear his nervous voice behind you. "Maybe I did, maybe I meant it like the way i said" you turn your head to him and stick out your tongue. "You’re as naughty as ever," he murmurs. "Get used to it, babe, you can’t get rid of me." Before you can open the door, you will be pulled back at the wrist and pusches against Jake’s body. Before you can lose your balance, he holds you tight. "You play dangerous, don’t burn yourself," he breathes on your lips. Immediately your heart beats faster and you get dizzy with the sound of his voice. "Was that an offer or a promise?" you breathe. "It was a threat," he winks and kisses you again. Next to you, the door suddenly opens and a small group comes out. Immediately you break away from each other. "Look, I told you all the time that they are definitely a couple and the others don’t know it," one girl in the group says to another. "Yeah okay, you were right," the other one laughs and looks at you and Jake apologetically. You start laughing and look at Jake whose eyes are already on you. "Ups" you whisper against his lips and release yourself from his grip in opening the door. Immediately the warm air and the smell of alcohol comes to you. "Ah Bonnie and Clyde are back," Richy laughs. Bonnie and Clyde? Doesn’t sound so bad, even if you’re not so criminal, just a little bit. But only because of Hannah. "We thought the man with no face took you," Jessy giggles "Never, who can flee from the government can cope with the man without a face.This is a fool who has no friends!" Dan interferes and makes you laugh. "And MC, did you tell me about my cocktail?" Phil asks. "No, she didn’t, we didn’t have time," comes dry from Jake. "Oh okay calm down" Phil grins mean. "I am calm in person" Jake shrugs his shoulders and sits back on his chair. You sit next to him and steal a sip of his Coke. He looks at you with his eyebrow up." That’s my Coke." "Yes, but I have a dry mouth, it was cold outside," you answered and put the glass back on the table. He begins to grin and drinks himself a sip of Coke. Jessy clears her throat and you look at her. Inconspicuously she pulls up an eyebrow. She saw right through you. She’ll want to know everything tomorrow and text you tonight. "MC, if you still feel like it after the search tomorrow, we can go for a drink, not necessarily in the Aurora, also somewhere else", Phil suggests. Not good timing, Phil, not good. "No, we can’t, we don’t have time," you hear Jake next to you. "How well that I didn’t ask you but MC" "How good that I talked to MC and not you," Jake answers. Under the table you reach for his hand lying on his thigh. You fold your fingers together and squeeze slightly to maybe calm him down a little. "Now it’s getting interesting" Dan leans back in his chair expectantly. "I just want to have a drink with MC and not with you," Phil argues. "And MC has no time tomorrow" "Why not, you have to escape something again? Hacker, you’re a really bad guy." Disparagingly, Jessy’s brother looks at Jake. "I’m what you’d like to be" Jake reaches for his Coke to drink a sip. "Ouh that was good," Richy mumbles and trying to hide his grin by keeping his hand from his mouth. "Maybe everyone should calm down" Cleo tries to save the situation. "I think if MC doesn’t want to she can tell me herself"  Now he’s looking at you. "I’m sorry about Phil, but I really can’t, and tomorrow night after the search we will all be tired" you explain. "You’d rather spend time with a hacker than with a normal person who’s not a criminal?" "Ah exactly because a life in a small town is so much more exciting" Jake grins. "But a life with someone like you?" "You only want one night, Philipp, nothing more" "A night with me is more exciting than a life with you" "Of course you’re right. A life with a bar owner in a small town is much more exciting than a life with a wanted and one of the best hackers in the country" Jake sneers.

You like Phil, but he’s not Jake. You fell in love with him because he’s him, and damn it, running away with Jake is stupid but sounds like a lot of suspense in hotel rooms. "What’s your problem?" Phil asks hissing. "My problem is how you look at my girl," Jake replies with equal resentment and raises your folded hands to put them on the table for everyone to see. "All of a sudden, you’re a couple?" "We’ve been around for a while, but I don’t have to yell it out so everyone knows it, you understand?" "And then you don’t say something from the beginning?" "You know, up to a point, I can understand that you want her, she’s perfect, but from a moment I can no longer tolerate that. And this moment is now, I’m sorry my girlfriend doesn’t want anything from you, but do me a favor and accept it." And right now, Jake won the fight. "Statement" speaks Dan and pretends he has to cough. "And you’re saying that because you’re afraid MC might realize I’m better than you?" "No, I don’t care about that, I mean she sleeps next to me in a bed and not next to you. But I think you should have more respect now that you know you don’t stand a chance." "Crass, it's like kindergarten here. I'm gone, I'll see you in the search tomorrow," Phil hisses and gets up to go. "Oh, and MC?" he starts and turns to you, "if you can't sleep tonight, I still have room in my bed". You're looking the first time at Jake after the conversation . You see a twinkle in his eyes, and you know it's all because of you. "Okay, but don’t wait for it," you answer without looking away from Jake. You put your hand to his cheek and bend over to give him a kiss. Jessy, Cleo and Lilly do "awww" at the same time. Dan gives a choking sound of himself and Thomas and Richy still look confused about the situation just now. "So wait, how long you be a couple?" Jessy asks directly. "We’re not together," Jake answers casually." But how else would I explain it to your stupid brother?" "Stupid brother" repeats Richy laughing what Jake said. Everyone looks at him with no understanding, except Jake, who also grins. "Wait, we’re not together?" you ask. "No" "And why not? I mean, after the situation outside and now in here I thought it was us" "I agree with you, but you haven’t asked me and I haven’t asked you yet." "And why don’t you ask?" "Why don’t you ask me?" he grins. "Because until two minutes ago I thought we were already together" "I’m sorry, I didn’t think this could happen so fast" "Quick? We’ve known each other for months?" "MC, do you want to be my girlfriend?" he asks and grins. "I don’t know if I want that," you look away from him. "Either you say yes now or I take the question back" "This is blackmail," you’re outraged. "3..." "Okay is fine, of course i want" "finally" call the others happily in a choir while Jake stares at you.

"Okay, I really don’t regret coming with you" he whispers against your lips to kiss you for the first time as a real couple

"That took a long time" giggles Jessy.

Masterlist

❤️🌹🎭

[sweeethinny]

Ginny and Harry are such an intimidating couple

like, I imagine them at Ministry or Prophet parties, stealing the whole scene, with the best and most beautiful clothes, dictating fashion to the wizarding world even if they don't want to. Ginny in elegant dresses and always wearing jewelry that everyone knows are expensive (not because she wants to show off, but she just likes having it, after having spent years looking at the jewelry in magazines, and Harry also loves to give it to her because ''Who else will I spend my fortune with?'')

Harry already being that intimidating guy, but Ginny being even more so.

Even with the kids, and as much as James and Lily are little terrors, all 4 - Teddy has always been a Potter - are always stylish at parties, and on walks that photographers follow. And it's almost accidental, the Potter family is just very beautiful and a sight to behold.

I imagine that the other Aurors are a little afraid of Ginny, even more than Harry, when she goes to visit her husband in all black robes, or when she wears a huge synthetic fur coat, which makes her look like a very chic woman. 

But Ginny and Harry are simple people in fact, they live the extravagances of life sometimes, of course, they want to provide the best for their children and for them, but also, they like simple and genuine things. It's just that they are intimidating and it causes all this uproar in people, even if they don't realize it or don't want to

and I think it was happening over time, when Ginny understood that she didn't need to prove anything to anyone but herself, and that Harry let go of the terrors that haunted him

I like to think that Ginny is a woman who really takes care of her appearance, no longer caring about those stereotypes and the judgments that were at Hogwarts when a girl just wanted to put on makeup. She likes to spend time moisturizing her skin, taking care of her hair, putting on makeup, doing her nails. It is a moment that is just hers, it is always a moment where she can just think of nothing. Like she does when she wants to fly, but you can't always fly at 2 am in the middle of a snowstorm, but you can moisturize your skin and hair (which is when she starts this personal tradition)

Just like Harry also starts taking care of the clothes he wears, because he spent so many years wearing rags that the Dursleys gave him, that he now likes to be able to buy good pants or a good winter cape. Just as he spends taking long bubble baths, with the most varied smells, sometimes even playing with bubbles, like a child :)

Harry and Ginny deserve to live a good life, let's just let them be fucking stylish and a good view.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: Nirvana in Fire, Episode 02

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff)

Warning: Spoilers for All 54 Episodes!

A Cunning Plan

Let's start by checking in with the in-progress schemes. Nirvana in Fire features many, many overlapping schemes that stretch across multiple episodes.

Princess Nihuang's Marriage: Princess Nihuang is betrothed to a dead guy, and that's fine with her. If she needs tender emotional care she's got Xia Dong. Xia Dong is married to a dead guy so this works well for both of them.  

The Emperor wants to marry Nihuang off, because she's got a loyal heap of troops at the southern border, and he's a paranoid old fuck, who doesn't like anyone to have the power to overthrow him. Marrying her will sort of force her to hand her troops off to her impulsive younger brother, or something.

The Emperor has a soft spot for Nihuang, however, so he's allowed her to set a bunch of impossible conditions on the marriage, including a martial arts contest. NIF is a hybrid palace drama and Wuxia drama, so there are courtesans and backstabbing and sneaky maids and sneaky eunuchs but also, people can fly.

The two main power seekers, Prince Yu and the Crown Prince, have flunkies that they want Nihuang to marry, but their flunkies suck at martial arts, so if they want her to marry one of their dudes, there will have to be cheating.

Note that Nihuang's good friends Jingrui and Yujin are taking part in the contest to marry her, which might be weird, except they both know she can beat their asses so they seem to just be joining in for fun & prestige. 

The fact that she doesn't want to marry either of these loveable cuties means that she's pretty serious about staying betrothed to her first love, despite his apparent deadness.

(more after the cut!)

Recruiting Mei Changsu / Killing Mei Changsu: Team Prince Yu wants to recruit Mei Changsu. Team Crown Prince wants to recruit him or kill him, if recruiting him doesn't work. 

Mei Changsu acts like this is so tedious; all he wants to do is rest. But they only want to recruit him because he and his pal Lin Chen made them believe he is the answer to their problems.  Whenever Mei Changsu acts annoyed at something, it's probably something he actually orchestrated. "Pork chops again?" (secretly buys more pork chops).

The Duke Qing/ Landgrab Case: In Episode 1, the Jiangzuo Alliance protected some witnesses against Duke Qing in an enslavement/land grabbing case. It's difficult for me to find anything about historical land grabbing in China because Google is full of 21st century land grabbing information. Anyway Duke Qing works for Prince Yu, so the witnesses are (whether they mean to be or not) on The Crown Prince's side. The Emperor has an interest in this case, because land grabbing is bad, apparently, even by corrupt-emperor standards. Xia Dong is in charge of investigating.

The Chiyan Army Case: This is the big conspiracy that the entire show is about. 11 years ago, the Emperor received evidence that Prince Qi, Lin Xie (Mei Changsu's father), and the entire Chiyan army were going to rebel. This was supposedly reported by Xia Dong's husband, Nie Feng, before Lin Xie supposedly killed him. The emperor ordered executions for everybody.

Prince Jing thought this was a bunch of bullshit and didn't hesitate to say so, which got him sent off to distant regions to do army things for years at a time, and landed him a place high up on the emperor’s shit list.

The Hazelnut Pastry Scheme: This is a small scale, benevolent scheme, in which Concubine Jing will eventually stop making cookies with hazelnuts in them, because Mei Changsu is allergic to them. 

Ok, that’s the scheme roundup for this episode. On with the show!

Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting

After a quick expository chat between the Emperor and Gong Gao, laying out the reasons for the Nihuang Marriage Scheme, we go to Prince Yu’s place to watch superhot Meng Zhi, commander of the emperor's guards, whip some ass. Not, alas, literally.  Despite his leather shoulder thingies and his handsome beard, and his commanding ways on a battlefield, when it comes to interpersonal relations he is pretty much a labrador retriever puppy in human form.

Meng Zhi is kicking the asses of Prince Yu’s fighters to determine if they're qualified to compete in the Marriage contest. They are not. He points out to the Prince that they can't put such terrible wimps into the competition because it will make the country’s defenses look weak.  

This beatdown is observed by Prince Yu and by Xie Yu, who Prince Yu thinks is on his side. Xie is 100% on the Crown Prince's side, but is carefully hiding that fact; he has his son working for Prince Yu as part of his cover.

In determining how severe an ass kicking is, everyone talks about how many moves it takes to defeat someone, like it's chess. Meng Zhi can beat literally anyone else in the show. He's number two on the Langya List of fighters & we never meet #1.

Fe Liu Was Fast as Lightning

Mei Changsu is hanging out in the garden at Xie manor while Fe Liu jumps around. Fe Liu wants Mei Changsu to play Roblox with him, and pouts when MCS opts for staying in the garden and reading a book.

Fe Liu is utterly devoted to Mei Changsu; I really love their relationship. Fe Liu’s backstory isn't fully explained in the show, but apparently he was raised from an early age to focus on being extremely lethal, and didn't spend much time learning to talk or other skills, making him the epitome of the asynchronous/ gifted teen. Mei Changsu isn’t who raised him to be like this; MCS and Lin Chen rescued him, which is why he is now Mei Changsu’s personal murder pet.

Fe Liu is both a complete fantasy character and also a really believable teen, beautifully acted by Leo Wu, who DMBJ fans know from Tomb of the Sea, and who Xiao Zhan fans know from Battle Through the Heavens.

Fe Lui promptly gets into a fight with Meng Zhi, who's visiting Xie manor. All Fe Liu was doing was leaping about the rooftops like an assassin, but since Xie Yu is the sort of guy that a lot of people would like to kill, Meng Zhi doesn't think this is so good. They have a hilarious, entertaining fight with many, many wire-assisted moves.

They're pretty evenly matched, and Xie Yu watches them with extreme interest until Mei Changsu shows up and tells Fe Liu to stop. Xie Yu is watching because he needs to know how many dudes he should send to assassinate Mei Changsu. Answer: more. Always more.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately since it’s probably all part of MCS’s plan) Fe Liu's extreme skilz make it obvious that his boss is someone important. Mei Changsu discusses this with Jingrui and Yujin in an open-air setting where Jingrui's brother Xie Bi can totally hear them.  In no time flat, father and son have reported his identity to their respective princes.

Over at Prince Yu's place, Qin Banruo and her awesome eye makeup join the party. She's Prince Yu’s advisor/manipulator, working for the (fallen) Hua kingdom, led by the (deceased) Princess Xuanji . She has a network of spies who work for her, that she deploys for Prince Yu's schemes. Her ultimate goal is not to help him, however, but just to fuck up the Da Liang Empire, which conquered the Hua.

(Nearly) Everybody Hates Jingyan

Xia Dong heads out on her assignment in the Land Grab Case, and Nihuang goes to see her off. They talk about gender expectations and how annoying it is to have to marry a dude, and briefly hang out being WLW goals with their mutual devotion, excellent fashion sense and deadly fighting abilities. Nihuang, in particular, wears the prettiest things and also stands at attention like she's commanding an army; I adore her.

They're interrupted by the arrival of Prince Jing, who is greeted cheerfully by Nihuang and eye-rollingly by Xia Dong.  

He's wearing an awesome brass-and-blue armor that we never see again after this episode. It's too bad - it's a good color for him and it has a cool vampire cloak with a high collar.

Prince Jing takes the opportunity to snark at Xia Dong about her investigation and the Xuanjing Bureau’s penchant for inventing finding conspiracies, and then rides off before she can reply.

This leads Nihuang and Xia Dong to get into their chronic argument about the Chiyan Conspiracy and the Lin family, and then Xia Dong hits the road.

Prince Jing and his subordinates stand around outside the palace waiting to report to the emperor while the emperor ignores him. They get sweatier and sweatier while they wait. which makes me like the Emperor a little bit more.

Prince Yu and CP Xian are busy sucking up to the emperor as they look at a manuscript. They are a bunch of assholes and you can see that Gao Zhan isn't a fan of this bullshit.

Eventually Gao Zhan reminds/persuades the emperor to summon Prince Jing, whose brothers snark at him like a couple of 12 year old girls while he radiates manly vigor and handsomeness.  

Consort Jin is bummed that she can't see Prince Jing for another 5 days, and her maid sidekick says random comforting things. This maid, Xiao Xin, is actually a little snake, who works for Qin Banruo's network. We don't learn that until sometime later.

All of the maids have this same hairstyle. If you are a westerner and you think this hairstyle is crazy, have a look at some Roman and Byzantine historic hairstyles. I'm not saying this hairstyle is NOT crazy, mind you; just that crazy hair was a feature of many, many historical empires.  

Consort Jing has someone deliver her hazelnut cookies to Prince Jing; she doesn’t know about Mei Changsu yet so hazelnut is still on the menu. Nicest mom. Also smartest, helpful-est mom, as the story develops.

Suck-Up Contest

At Xie manor, Xie Bi tries to get Mei Changsu to go meet the Empress, who has stopped by with Nihuang specifically to meet him, as part of the Recruit Mei Changsu scheme. Jingrui says nope, fuck that, he's not going to be a pawn in your political games, fuck off. We get to see Jingrui being steely and righteous, which is both cool and hot. Nihuang should totally marry him.

The Empress is annoyed that Mei Changsu doesn't show up, and Nihuang is like, it's ok, I don’t actually give a fuck about meeting new men. But I did want to meet his murder puppy Fe Liu.

Grand Princess Liyang says they don’t need to bother meeting pugilists, despite her son being one and her supposed best friends/co-parents also being pugilists.

Grand Princess Liyang will probably be glad Mei Changsu didn’t come to her little party, once she realizes what tends to happen when Mei Changsu comes to a party.

Then we go to the suitor tournament, in which everyone more or less sucks.

The princes really want to go over to Mei Changsu’s balcony to meet him, and they have a hilarious silent interaction where they both try not to be the first one to move. They finally cave, and go together.  

Then they compete to see who can be the most cringe and blow the most smoke up Mei Changsu's ass.

They ply him with gifts and flattery, which he mostly manages to resist.

Cookie Time with Granny

Then they get summoned to go meet the grand empress, who is (I think) the mother of the previous emperor, the grandmother of the current emperor, and the great grandmother of basically every highborn character of the current generation, including Nihuang and Yujin, although it’s not clear where they sit in the family tree. Historically, cousin marriage - particularly of maternal cousins - was no big whoop in China, so it's not surprising that a lot of nobles would share a great-grandmother.

The Grand Empress is a sweet lady with dementia. She can’t figure out who the hell anyone is. First-time viewers feel the same way.  

Her dementia is pretty well depicted, unlike a lot of TV dementia, or at least it matches up to my experiences with my own elders. She remembers the distant past more vividly than recent times; when she understands who’s in front of her she connects with them emotionally, but she falls off track easily. And she projects the identities of people she misses onto people who are around her.

Like many other grannies, no matter who is visiting, she wants them to 1. get married 2. produce offspring 3. eat something, you’re so skinny

When Mei Changsu meets Granny she immediately calls him Lin Shu, either because she recognizes him or because she really misses Lin Shu, or both. She calls Nihuang over and joins their hands, and Mei Changsu grabs onto Nihuang's hand and holds it for a while.

Everyone thinks it's adorable that Granny has dementia and is confused about that guy who was horribly killed, except Nihuang, who was already checking Mei Changsu out and is somewhat verklempt. She might have to revise her anti-man feelings a little bit.

Everyone leaves, and Nihuang hits up Mei Changsu to take a walk with her, casually mentioning that she could have his hand cut off for touching her, but since she's not in the mood, he's ok.

She prods a bit to find out what he's doing in town and what he's up to. “Do you have a girlfriend? Like a serious girlfriend or just a stalker who works for you?” She asks him which of the two princes he's going to support, but they’re interrupted by a eunuch beating a slave child. That’s the price you pay for trying to have a date in the palace, I guess.

[diaphragmjellyfish]

Miguel Diaz fluff alphabet

A = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?)

Miguel loves your smile. He’s a funny guy and he thinks your smile lights up a room so he makes it his mission to make you laugh as much as possible. If you have some crooked teeth, he thinks it’s adorable. Also, looking at your smile makes him think about your lips which just makes him want to kiss you.

B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?)

Yes, after he gets a stable job. He would love kids but he doesn’t want to be like his dad and end up abandoning his family so he would make extra sure he could support the child and you and makes a conscious effort to be there for his family no matter what. Asking about their day, being involved in their sports/clubs/hobbies, making snacks when they have friends over. He just wants to be the Cool Dad ™ and would probably try to teach them karate before they could even sit up.

C = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?)

He loves to have you sit between his legs and lean back against his chest so he can wrap his arms around you and make sure you’re always safe and warm. It’s the perfect position for movies, video games, deep conversations, baths. He will also often come up behind you at a party and hold you like this if someone is hitting on you or if you look uncomfortable or bored. He can whisper little jokes in your ear or kiss you on the cheek.

D = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

He loves fun dates. You both have always found fancy dinner dates really awkward. He likes something where you guys can move around, do activities, and just let loose. The go-to’s are usually mini golf, the arcade, the zoo, or just a nice picnic in the park. He often gets you little gifts before dates, though, like flowers, a stuffed animal, or a cool rock he found. His Yaya taught him never to show up for a date empty handed. And he’s a total gentleman, never making you uncomfortable or rushing things. Miguel keeps his hands to himself unless instructed otherwise.

E = Everything (You are my ____ (e.g. my life, my world…)

You are my sunshine. As cheesy as it is, Miguel sees you as the shining light in his life. You make everything better, whether that’s an injury, a bad day at school, or losing a fight at training. He knows he can always go to you and be distracted by your beautiful smile.

F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?)

Miguel first knew he was in love with you when you met his family for the first time. They invited you over for dinner one night and he told you his Yaya didn’t speak much english, so you asked him to teach you some spanish so you could talk with her. It wasn’t perfect, you made lots of grammar mistakes and really only said a couple sentences to her, but the effort you made combined with the smile on Yaya’s face made him fall absolutely head-over-heels.

If you already speak spanish, it would be seeing you talk with his Yaya and joke around with her over dinner.

G = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

The most gentle boy on the face of the Earth. Like I said earlier, Miguel keeps his hands to himself unless you tell him otherwise. The first time you guys kiss, he barely moves a muscle. You had to grab his hands and put them on your waist. Even now, when he’s teaching you karate, he refuses to hit or grab you, so you honestly don’t really learn anything lol and if you’re sick or sleeping, he’s like a feather, so scared to disturb you. It’s like touching a kitten honestly

H = Hands (How do they like to hold hands?)

All. The. Time. He’s not too big on PDA, except for hand-holding. This is how he lets everyone know you’re taken without seeming possessive or gross. Miguel will grab your hand at the mall, at school, while y’all are cuddling, at the beach, literally whenever you’re in arm’s reach from him, he’s holding your hand.

I = Impression (What was their first impression?)

Miguel’s first impression of you is that you’re this bright ray of sunshine. He’s drawn to you like a magnet. Your eyes, your smile, your laugh! And when he finally works up the nerve to say hi (Strike first!) he thinks his heart might actually melt. When you actually laugh at the joke he makes and hold out your hand to introduce yourself, he turns bright red and can barely speak omfg this poor boy. But luckily you think it’s sweet and keep talking to him.

J = Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)

He did at first, we’ve all seen how he acts with Sam and Robby, but you lay down the law. You have to tell him that it’s not cool, it makes people uncomfy, and then he finally starts to work on it. Now he’s better. He still feels jealous sometimes, but he trusts you and can control himself a bit more.

K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?)

So your first kiss. You were giving him The Look for like 10 minutes straight and he never made a move. He just stared at you. So you had to be the first one to actually lean in, but once you did, he met you halfway. His kisses match his personality. Sweet, gentle, and goofy, but with a more dominant, aggressive side if you know how to bring it out ;)

L = Love (Who says ‘I love you’ first?)

He did. After you had dinner with his family and he realized he loved you, he told you almost immediately. This boy just wears his heart on his sleeve. He was walking you home and when you got to your house and turned around to kiss him goodnight, he had a funny look on his face. When you asked him what was wrong he kind of went ILOVEYOU! Really fast and you had to make him say it again slower because you thought he had a stroke or smth lmaooo but once he took a deep breath and said it more clearly, you jumped on him and kissed his whole face and said it back a hundred times.

M = Memory (What’s their favourite memory together?)

When he first introduced you to Sensei Lawrence. He thought Sensei was gonna be super mean and make fun of you, but turns out you guys had a lot in common. You loved 80’s rock music, and responded to his sass with even more sass. Johnny almost couldn’t believe Miguel was able to get such a cool babe. You guys all had lunch after taking a tour of the dojo, and it was a super fun day! You all drove around in Johnny’s car with the windows down listening to Guns ‘n Roses.

N = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

Miguel spoils you in his own little way. His family isn’t as fortunate as others, but he still finds ways to make you feel special. Instead of a diamond necklace, he gives you a cool rock he found outside and cleaned up. Instead of taking you to expensive restaurants, he spends all day cooking with Yaya to make a nice picnic for you guys to have on the beach. And he saves up to buy you nice gifts for your birthday or anniversary.

O = Orange (What colour reminds them of their other half?)

Rose gold. You’re so beautiful to him and have this natural charm that everyone falls for. You’re so radiant and yet soft and unique. He just love love loves you.

P = Pet names (What pet names do they use?)

Sweety, sweetheart, baby, gorgeous, and Princess during more intimate moments.

Q = Quaint (What is their favourite non-modern thing?)

80’s rock music. He learns to love it through Sensei Lawrence. He even saves up to buy a record player so he can feel more connected to the past.

R = Rainy Day (What do they like to do on a rainy day?)

Build blanket forts, cuddle, bake cookies, he might even let you put makeup on him if you ask nice.

S = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?)

Humor. He loves cracking jokes and lightening the mood. If you’re ever feeling down you know you can go to him and he will turn that frown upside down in mere minutes. Honestly even just being in his presence makes you happier. He cheers himself up by working out, taking some alone time to get his feelings out, and then going out with some friends or with you.

T = Talking (What do they like to talk about?)

Umm, karate! Duh lol the boy is obsessed with it. Also superhero movies, video games, his day, he’s honestly kind of a rambler. He can talk about anything and everything if he’s nervous enough. Let’s not forget the gas station scene in season 1…

U = Unencumbered (What helps them relax?)

You, dark rooms, white noise, puppies, linen scented candles, his mom’s cooking.

V = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

His new muscles. Ever since joining Cobra Kai, he’s gotten pretty ripped and now it’s a struggle to get him to keep his shirt on. He worked hard for that body, he wants people to see how good he looks!

W = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?)

After college, he takes you on a hike up to this ridge overlooking a lake. It’s fall, the leaves are changing colors, and there’s no one around. You guys have been holding hands the whole time, but his hand is super sweaty even though it’s like 50 degrees out. You guys finally get to the top of the ridge and he grabs both your hands and tells you all the things he loves about you. This boy basically recites your whole love story, and as soon as he sticks his hand in his pocket you know what’s going on. He barely even got the box out of his pocket before you were jumping on him screaming Yes! You guys fell to the ground and he stopped you so he could officially get the words out. You were both crying, it was very beautiful.

X = Xylophone (What’s their song?)

More Than Words by Extreme. You guys dance to this at your wedding.

Y = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?)

Absolutely. Y’all marry pretty young, like right out of college. He knew you were gonna get married on the first date.

Z = Zebra (If they wanted a pet, what would they get?)

Iguana. He thinks they’re like little dinosaurs! He would name it Wade because we know he loves Deadpool.

[be11atrixthestrange]

The Loft (Chapter 3)

After a bad break-up, Hermione Granger moves into a messy and dysfunctional loft with four single men. What starts as a temporary home until she gets back on her feet becomes so much more, as she learns there's a lot of life - and love - that happens at rock-bottom.

Inspired by the TV Series ‘New Girl’

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Also on A03 | FFN

More Chapters

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Chapter 3

[Hermione]

Hermione lands at The Burrow after work on a Friday afternoon, and she's in desperate need of a drink. She's never been much of a drinker, but ever since moving into the loft and befriending Ron and Ginny, the Weasleys' family-owned bar has become a weekly staple.

It doesn't hurt that when Ron's running the bar, as he does most weekends, the drinks are on the house. At least they are for his roommates.

"What can I get for you, Hermione?"

"Surprise me," she says as she slides onto a barstool.

"That's risky. You sure about that?" asks Ron, even though he's already busying himself with a cocktail glass and mystery spirits.

"I'm trying to take more risks!" she says, eyeing the swirling, colorful liquid forming in her glass as Ron prepares her a surprise drink.

"Ahh, you're a risk-taker now?"

"Yep. At Ginny's encouragement, if you must know."

"Honestly, I'm not sure Ginny is the one to go to for that kind of advice." Ron slides her glass across the bar, topping the fuschia-colored cocktail with a cherry.

"Why not? I'm single and off the grid!"

Ron laughs. "You are the least 'off the grid' person I know. Ginny's getting to you."

Hermione takes a sip to discover the drink is the perfect mix of fruity and bitter. It doesn't taste strong, which is odd considering she saw Ron pour a healthy amount of alcohol.

"What is this?"

"I thought you wanted it to be a surprise."

"I'm just curious."

"Alright, if you must know, it's a love potion. Meant to bring you good fortune. It's quite sad seeing you so helplessly single—"

"Oh shut up," she interrupts, reaching over the bar to jokingly shove Ron in the shoulder.

"Hellooooo," comes a voice from the bar's entrance.

"Speak of the devil." Ron nods toward the front door, from where his sister's just entered.

Ginny takes a seat next to Hermione. "Hey, friend. Hey, brother."

"Long time, no see," says Hermione, facetiously, of course. Ginny and Hermione have worked together at the same editorial — the Daily Prophet — for over a year, but only recently started spending their lunch hours together. Now, they barely go a few hours without seeing each other, and Hermione doesn't mind it one bit.

"Hermione, how's that online dating profile coming along?" Ginny asks, jumping right into where they left off during their lunch conversation.

"It's not."

"Get on it! You've got to get back out there." Ginny reaches for her phone on the bar and starts scrolling through her recent photos. "Here, this is a great photo of you! Make it your tinder profile picture!"

Hermione leans over Ginny's shoulder to see a photo of herself on a patio, sipping away on a glass of wine. The main reason she doesn't like it is that, well, Cormac took it. "No, I look terrible in that one!"

"Ron, would you date Hermione?"

For a moment, Hermione panics, dreading his response, until she realizes Ginny's showing him the photo of her, and the question is hypothetical.

Still, she watches for his reaction.

Ron doesn't answer, instead, he splutters a few times, clearly unsure what to say. His ears turn the same color as her drink.

"I don't know why I'm asking you. Even I'm attracted to this photo," says Ginny, flipping back through Hermione's dating apps before sliding the phone back across the bar to her. "I set it as your profile picture."

"Why can't I just meet someone the old-fashioned way, like in a bar?" groans Hermione, pocketing her phone. She instinctively looks up at Ron, who, for some reason, is still avoiding her eye contact.

"Because these are modern times, and you're not going to meet your dream man sitting across from my brother at The Burrow."

Hermione rolls her eyes just as the doors open again, and two blonde men walk in. One is quite tall and fit, the other a bit shorter and scrawnier. They might even be brothers.

"Hey, Ron, where do you want us to put these?" says the taller, more handsome one. Both men carry a cart full of kegs with the name Macmillan Brewing emblazoned on the side, which Hermione recognizes from The Burrow's various beer selections.

"Oh hey, Ernie," says Ron in a neutral voice before nearly screeching, "What's up, Dragon Claw!"

"Hi, Ron!" Ron and the shorter blonde man-child start an elaborate handshake, complete with butt-wiggles and chest bumps.

Ernie catches Hermione's eye and smirks. "Never seen you here before! I'm Ernie Macmillan! My father owns Macmillan Brewing, and we supply The Burrow!"

"Oh, that's great!" says Hermione. She shakes his extended hand and wonders if Ernie might be a good interview candidate for the food and drink section of the Daily Prophet. "Nice to meet you, Ernie."

"And this is Draco—"

"Call me Dragon Claw!" exclaims Draco, now approaching Hermione. She watches on with wide eyes as he pulls himself up onto the bar and slithers toward the other side. Wouldn't it have been easier to walk around the bar?

"Draco's a bit dramatic," says Ernie, as if reading her mind.

"I see. Well, nice to meet you both," says Hermione, shaking Draco's hand.

"Hermione just moved into the loft," interjects Ron as he drags a few of the kegs to the back of the bar, then disappears behind the curtain.

"Great!" says Ernie. "If you ever need someone to show you around the city, let me know! The Macmillans are pretty well connected," he adds with a wink.

Hermione glances to the back, where Ron is still busying himself unloading kegs, unaware of their conversation.

"I'm not actually new to the area," she starts, but stops when Ginny elbows her. "Yeah. I'd love to spend some time with you."

"Awesome. Well, Ron can give you my number, then! Talk soon!" he says, beaming. "Let's go, Dragon Claw!"

Ernie and Draco hurry off back through The Burrow's front doors, just as Ron reappears behind the bar.

"Oooh, Hermione!" says Ginny, smirking at her. "He's attractive."

"He seems a bit, I don't know, pompous."

"So, he's perfect for casual sex. You won't get attached."

Hermione takes another long swig of her drink to finish it off, and the creeping pink on Ron's cheeks doesn't go unnoticed.

"I guess you're right," she says.

"Hey Ron, can you give that guy Hermione's number?"

Ron clears his throat and raises his eyebrows. "That guy?"

Hermione nods. "He seems cool."

Ron smiles, and if Hermione's not mistaken, there's a bit of mischief to his grin. "Great. He'll be so excited."

Her heart sinks at Ron's apparent excitement for her to go out on a date. She smiles, and in the most neutral voice she can muster, "Thank you, Ron."

"You're welcome, Hermione." His tone is stiff, almost forced as he pours three shots, one for himself, Hermione, and Ginny. "To being off the grid."

Hermione holds up her shot glass, as does Ginny, and makes eye contact with Ron for the first time since they were alone that night. "To being off the grid!"

x

Hermione's putting the last finishing touches on her makeup when her phone buzzes and nearly falls from the bathroom vanity. It's Ernie again, responding to her previous text.

"Who's the message from?" asks Ginny from Hermione's bedroom. "Is it Ernie?"

Usually, Hermione would tell her to hush up, but since the loft is currently empty, there are no nosy roommates to butt in and question her about her new 'love interest.'

"We've been texting all day," answers Hermione, exiting the bathroom to poke her head into her bedroom. "He seems really excited!"

"Well, he should be!" says Ginny, eyeing Hermione up and down. "He's a lucky dude."

Hermione's wearing a black mini skirt, a low-cut white blouse, and heels. They're only an inch high, but she still has trouble walking in them. She doesn't mind, though — it's been a while since she's put much effort into dressing up for a date night. Most of her 'dates' with Cormac were of the 'Netflix and chill' variety, and the only dressing up he expected was something easy to remove.

"Do I look okay?"

"You look amazing," says Ginny.

Hermione's gaze travels toward the loft's front door. For the most part, she's grateful that the loft is empty. Ron still isn't back from his shift at the bar, and part of Hermione wants to see him before she leaves for her date.

Well, more accurately, she wants him to see her. Before she can fully unpack that thought, her phone buzzes again, and this time, Ernie's message strikes her as particularly bold.

'Can't wait to demonstrate my skill in the kitchen! Then maybe later, you'll see my skill in a different room.'

Her heart pounds against her chest at the thought of sleeping with Ernie. She's excited, of course, it's been too long, but part of her is bothered by the fact that she doesn't particularly like him. Maybe it's because he's too talkative, and she feels like she can hardly muster a text back before he moves onto another subject. That might translate poorly to verbal conversation. It could also be the way he looks. He's attractive enough, but something is off. It's probably the hair — too blonde. Or, maybe she just needs to get to know someone before being attracted to them.

There could be many reasons. But she's off the grid, and what else are her twenties for if not trying new things? Sometimes 'new things' are as simple as casual sex with a stranger.

Ginny must notice her befuddled expression. "What's wrong, Hermione?"

"His texts are getting raunchier, Ginny. Honestly, I'm kind of nervous." Hermione squints at the screen as another message pops up, burying the boldness of the prior one. "He's asking if I have any dietary restrictions."

"Saucy," laughs Ginny.

"No, I'm serious! What's a hot way to say that I don't feel sexy if I've had a lot of cheese?"

Her phone buzzes again. 'Also, what are you wearing?'

"How do I respond to this?" she tilts the screen toward Ginny, who beams.

"Respond with a simple, 'or not wearing,'" Ginny states confidently.

"Good one," says Hermione, dictating her response. "Or not wearing. Because sex happens naked. Send!" She glances back at Ginny to gauge her reaction. She's new to sexting, after all.

Ginny looks horrified. "Give me your phone," she says, reaching for Hermione's device.

"Why?"

"You need to be more subtle. Don't be so direct."

Hermione hands over her phone, and Ginny starts typing away. "LOL, just kidding. Get ready for the best night of your life."

Ginny hands her phone back, and Hermione immediately starts typing again. More subtle, she can do that. "What about, 'It might even be the last night of your life because my body kills.' Send."

Ginny groans. "You didn't send that—"

Hermione looks down at her sent message. "Oh no. Autocorrect changed 'body' to 'meat bar.'"

"Let's just stop texting him for now," says Ginny. "Dazzle him in person."

Hermione closes out the screen and places her phone on her bedside table next to her purse. "I haven't been on a date for a long time."

"It's not a date, just a hook-up, right? The stakes are low, and he's obviously thrilled about it," Ginny says, motioning toward Hermione's phone.

"Right," says Hermione.

Ginny stands up from the bed and approaches her, gently placing her hands on Hermione's shoulders. "Listen. You've got this. You're beautiful, and you better believe it. Just because Cormac didn't see it doesn't mean Ernie won't. Seriously, look how excited those messages are. He practically texts you back within a second, and he's still texting you even though autocorrect changed 'body' to 'meat bar.'"

Hermione glances back at her phone, blinking bright with another message. "You're right. It's just casual, right?"

"Right."

"I can do this. It'll be fun."

"Yes, you can. You'll have a great time, I'm sure. I can't wait to hear all about it," she adds with a wink.

"What are you going to do all night?"

"Oh, I'll probably hang out with Harry." Hermione can see the uncanny resemblance to her brother when Ginny's ears tinge pink. She's been at the loft a lot, and Hermione knows that it's not because of her.

"Is there something going on there?" she asks, trying to keep her voice neutral.

"It's just casual," Ginny shrugs. There's something wistful in her voice, like maybe she doesn't want it to be just casual. Hermione thinks that Ginny and Harry would make a great couple. She wonders what Ron would say about it.

"Also, don't mention it to Ron," adds Ginny, as if she can read her mind. "I have a feeling he'd be weird about it."

Oddly, something about being told not to tell Ron makes Hermione want to. She imagines them giggling over a beer, gossiping about their budding romance. Not that anything like that would ever happen. Ron and Hermione are reluctant friends, at best. Right?

"I won't say anything."

Ginny beams. "Now, go get laid!"

x

Punctual as always, Hermione arrives at Ernie's apartment five minutes earlier than she expected and takes the extra time to check her hair in the mirror by the elevator. She assures herself she looks fine, even though it's always a bit jarring to see herself all dressed up. She can't help but wonder what Ron would think of her heels, mini-skirt, and straightened hair.

To put an end to overthinking, she taps on Ernie's door, holding her breath until she hears footsteps shuffling toward her from inside the apartment. Why isn't she more excited?

The door swings open, and Hermione takes a step back, blinking in surprise at the person before her.

"Oh. Draco. Hi."

"YES!" he exclaims, punching his tiny fist into the air. "You're so pretty!"

"Oh, thank you." He opens the door wider so Hermione can enter the apartment. "Is Ernie home?"

"Just you and me tonight!" he exclaims. "I'm making dragon food!"

Hold up. No Ernie? Ron gave her number to Draco?

"Just you and me?" she asks tentatively. Ron could NOT have thought she wanted to date Draco.

"When Ron told me you wanted my number, I was SO EXCITED! Look at you! You're like a nine point eight!"

"I'm a what?"

"Nine point eight out of ten!"

Is he rating her?

"What do you mean by that, Draco?" Her voice stiffens, and she hopes for his sake he doesn't ask her for his score on the scale.

"You're so pretty, but there's always room for improvement."

"Wow, that's uh. That's really rude—"

"Just kidding! You're perfect," he bellows, making her jump. Then, leaning in for a whisper, he says, "I can't wait to see your meat bar."

Then, even by his own standards, Draco does something odd. He drops to his stomach and starts slithering toward the kitchen like a snake. "What are you doing, Draco?"

"Do you know why they call me Dragon Claw?" he responds, ignoring her question.

"No, I don't."

With swift, child-like agility, Draco hops back to his feet, turns around, and lifts up the back of his shirt, exposing a sloppy, faded claw tattoo on his lower back. "I got this tattoo for free!"

"It's… very nice."

"When I do this," he says, arching his back to compress the tattoo "it's retracting the claw," and when I do this, he continues, tucking his hips to stretch the claw, "it's protracting. Like a dragon's claw. Do you see it?"

"Yes, yes I do, Draco."

Draco gyrates his hips a few more times for good measure. "Protracting. Retracting. Protracting. Retracting."

"Yep," says Hermione, fumbling into her pocket for her phone. She has a few words for a certain red-headed someone.

"Do you want to do something fun?"

"Um, sure," she mumbles, already distracted by her phone as sche scrolls for Ron's number.

"Okay!" Draco flops back on his stomach and army-crawls into his bedroom. "In here!"

"Be right there," she says as she types out her text to Ron.

'RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY. WHAT DID YOU DO?'

"Hermione!" says Draco from his bedroom.

She gives herself a second to calm down. She knows she should set Draco straight, but he doesn't seem to be the type to take rejection well. He's also so excited to be on a date — he probably doesn't go on many — and he might be devastated. She doesn't really want to hurt him, but she'd prefer it over joining him in the bedroom. This is all Ron's fault.

At the thought, her phone buzzes again. She glances at the text message to find it's from Ron — three simple emojis: a dragon, an eggplant, and a winky face.

Hermione takes a deep breath, preparing to straighten this out. She needs to let Draco down gently and get back home to the loft to give Ron a piece of her mind.

When she enters the bedroom, Draco has ditched his shirt and is sprawled out on the bed. "Do you know what gets me in the mood, Hermione?"

Hermione sighs — and shudders. "I can't say that I do, Draco. Look, I need to tell you s—"

"Visualization!" he squeals. "Close your eyes!"

"Draco—"

'Imagine you're on Mars," he starts. Hermione arches an eyebrow at him but his eyes are shut, and he's oblivious to her reaction. "You go to a magical school called Pigfarts."

"Pigfarts?"

"Yes, Pigfarts!"

"I don't want to go to a school called Pigfarts. Draco, we really need to—"

"I think you do, Hermione. It's the only way to meet Rumble Roar!"

"Draco, I need to tell you something," interrupts Hermione, but her curiosity wins her over. "Wait, who is Rumble Roar?"

Draco pats the bed covers next to him and whispers, "if you play your cards right, you'll find out soon enough."

No. This has to end. Now.

Hermione lets out a cough, giving it her best attempt to sound genuine. "Draco, I'm sick."

At her admission, he rises to a seat. "Oh no! My Mama Dragon's feeling under the weather?"

Mama Dragon?

"Yes. Yes, I am. I'm so sick. I don't want to spread anything to you so—"

"That's disappointing," says Draco, sliding off the bed. "I can get out my thermometer. I have a really accurate one."

"No, that's okay," she says, backing away from him. She doesn't want to think of what an accurate thermometer means. "I know my body, and I'm definitely running a fever. I should go."

"We can reschedule! Text me!" he says, moving toward her for an embrace, but Hermione's already halfway toward the front door.

"Yes, I'll text you!" she lies, grabbing her purse and jacket by the entry. She hurries out of the apartment and breathes a sigh of relief when the door swings shut.

x

Hermione runs into Ron, lounging on the living room sofa when she returns from her date. He appears to be the only one home, and at first, she's relieved that he's at the loft and not 'out,' whatever that entails.

But, her relief morphs into anger when he smirks at her and laughs through a mouthful of ice cream. "How was your date?"

"Shut up."

"Why? It didn't go well?" he presses, reaching for the remote control to pause the television and swinging his legs off of the coffee table.

"What do you think?" Hermione drops her purse on the entryway table and kicks off her shoes before storming toward her bedroom.

Ron follows, eyeing his watch. "Well, you're back a bit earlier than expected, so I'm assuming that you two didn't… you know… make dragon babies."

"I don't want to talk to you right now," she says, although she struggles to suppress a laugh, especially when Ron looks positively delighted.

"I'm honestly sorry it didn't work out," says Ron, taking a seat on her bed. "You two would have made a great couple." He props his High School Musical themed socks up onto the bed, and Hermione can't help but smile at how comfortable he seems there.

Attempting to mask her smile, Hermione narrows her eyes at him. "Why did you give Dragon Claw my number?"

"You asked me to," responds Ron matter-of-factly.

"I wanted you to give it to Ernie!" she exclaims, even though it's clear by Ron's smirk that he already knows this.

"Gross! Ernie's so lame! Why would you want to date him?" he whines. "You can do so much better, Hermione."

"I can do so much better? Like Dragon Claw?"

"Well, you could have, but I think you burned that bridge."

"He said I was a nine point eight out of ten because there's always room for improvement."

Ron laughs heartily. "Not quite good enough to meet Rumble Roar?"

"Get out!" says Hermione, pointing toward her bedroom door. How does he know about Rumble Roar? She shudders to imagine what kind of conversations Ron has in the back of the bar with his keg delivery men.

Sighing, Ron rises to his feet, and for a moment, Hermione laments the now empty space on her bed. "For the record," he says over his shoulder, "he wouldn't know a ten if it slapped him in the face."

Ron shuffles out the door, and in frustration, Hermione buries her face into her pillow and groans, the memory of Ron's teasing fresh on her mind.

Did he just call her a ten? She replays their last conversation in her head. He wouldn't know a ten if it slapped him in the face.

Just the thought of it makes her palms sweat and her heart rate spike, something that definitely didn't happen before when she was standing outside what she thought was Ernie's door.

No. He didn't mean to call her a ten.

That probably wasn't even about her, and it's better not to overthink it.

[your-local-writer]

Lov with a reader who likes to cosplay?

Omg yes! I'm so sorry that this took so long, I had to remake it since the last one was pretty bad, and I didn't like it at all, I also had to shorten the list, but I hope you like it. Have a good day/night!❤︎

Dabi:

•He was slightly weirded out but didn't say much since that would be coming from a guy that has burn marks and piercings all over his body

•Dabi honestly doesn't understand why someone would enjoy going to public places and getting crowded by groups of people, and then looking at you, excited to see you. A real person dressing as a character, he may remind you that a character that doesn't even exist is something he'd never put up with, but he does. Only because it's you

•He isn't the type to cosplay, so don't expect him to unless it is a small thing like wearing a bunny headband, that's all he'll do. So, don't expect him to go far beyond, like wearing makeup, and going all out

•If you need some money for a few things, he'll buy it for you, but if you need $45+ for a wig/clothes for the cosplay, sure as hell won't get it for you. He barely gets money and works as a villain, not gonna get it. Sorry to disappoint, but nope

•He doesn't mind if you cosplay, but if you do anything stupid with the whole cosplay thing. (cough cough make fun of Stain in any way cough cough) He'll give you 2 options: say goodbye to cosplay or say goodbye to him, but you haven't done it yet, so he still loves you. Even though he thinks you're slightly weird, he still loves you

Toga:

•When she found out you did cosplay as a side job, she joined in a bunch of cosplays with you and helped you when you were cosplaying by yourself

•Want to cosplay as a couple? She's already at your door. Don't want to go to a convention alone? She'll fight Shigaraki if he says no. Need an opinion on how you look? She isn't the most reliable source but will tell you look great, depending on how cute she thinks you look

•If you want to go all out for cosplay, she will go out with no hesitation. The both of you STACK on mangas and anime CDs, not legally of course, but the two of you get more character to cosplay so good enough

•She likes when you cosplay, she loves to spend time with you, it's a win in her book. She never felt happier being in an outfit, and you never felt happier to be with anyone else

Spinner:

•To be completely honest, the two of you started talking because you mistook his villain outfit as a cosplay, he was only confused and slightly offended for 5 minutes, so don't put too much thought into it

•He doesn't like to cosplay himself, but he loves seeing you cosplay. Though if you ask, there's a possibility he will if he has the motivation to do it

•He isn't in the mood to get made fun of at conventions. He has a powerful feeling someone is going to call him "Lizard Guy" or say, "Oh my god! Are you Godzilla, Aha!?" He also doesn't want anyone to say 'how good his cosplay is' even if they didn't mean it in a bad way, he doesn't care. So big no to conventions

•Shuichi is all good with the whole cosplay thing, but if you do something stupid, much like Dabi, but acts on it more extreme, will end it right then and there. No hesitation, not a second chance or anything, but you haven't done it yet. So you're good for now

•He loves you, and as long as you're kind to him, and he's kind to you, he could care less about what you do with your hobby

Twice:

•He was intrigued; he never really thought someone would do that. Don't get him wrong, he knew what it was, but didn't know that much about it

•Even though he loves you, he won't go to conventions. He doesn't like people already; going to a public place isn't something he wants to do anytime soon, but if you're sad about it he'll do his best to make it up to you some way

•He doesn't cosplay, but he'll help you. If you need help finding wigs, clothes, hair dye, etc. just ask, and he'll try his best to help as much as he can

•He doesn't mind what you do, as long as you're both happy he doesn't care

Shigaraki:

•Honestly loves it like he encourages it a lot. Him being a gamer and you being a cosplayer is the best mix ever for him

•He helps you a lot with your cosplays, he helps to find characters, makes Kurogiri pay for your things, and goes with you at conventions. Though, he can get somewhat clingy when there are too many people around you

•There's not really that could make him want to break up with you that has something to do with cosplaying, of course, if you mock him with the hands

•He feels fortunate to have you in his life. He really loves you, he isn't ready to admit it out loud, but he will eventually

[the-neverletmegoxo]

The Fae and the Prince

Author: Ok people! This is a doozy! Too be honest I love a good build up! Stay tuned for the next part where Y/N and Caliban spend the night.. :)

Summary: The Carnival!! FINALLY! 

Part 6:

Your eyes quickly readjusted to the inside of the dim tent. The smell of jasmine and incense were so overwhelming, you had to hold a cough in. You glanced around the intimate room, noticing a few candles lit with some plush velvet floor cushions scattered in various places and an old gramophone with a broken pavillon.

“Hello?” you said announcing yourself.

You sat down hoping whoever was telling fortunes would find you ready to spend your tokens. You saw a book that looked as though it had been read over 100 times. Being your curious self, you reached out to turn it towards you, Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft.

‘Why would a fortuneteller have a book on—Oh no. Oh shit.’ As you went to stand up and get the hell out of there, a voice interrupted your next move.

“Here to get your fortune told?”

“Oh, uh, actually I have to leave. I completely forgot I left my oven on at home.”

“I don’t think you’ll be heading home after what happened earlier this evening.” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

You stopped in your tracks, slowly turning toward the fortuneteller. She looked as though she had stepped right out of a silent film from the ‘30s. Her short, curly bob was perfectly pinned to frame her face. She was wearing a velvet shawl and a shift nightie. The woman’s eye makeup smoked to make her purple eyes pop out of her face. ‘Purple?’ Normally, this would terrify you, but there was something alluring that made you walk towards her.

“What did you just say?”

“Sit, child. Let me read your fortune.” She formed a smile that caused your heart to start thumping out of your chest.

Some force made you sit back down. “Now let’s read the cards.” She laid out three cards. You had seen readings done before, and you knew this wouldn’t be a typical reading.

“The Devil. Interesting. Opposites attract they say and with where this is placed it could be very pleasurable for you. In way, though, it could mean enslavement for you.”

You glanced away from the card and looked at the woman. She had an enticing smirk on her face. She licked her lips, and it gave you the chills.

“The Tower. Now this does not seem to match, but it could coincide with The Devil in the sense of disaster. It could also mean that you may be challenging outdated beliefs. A lover maybe. Something has been tormenting you, my dear.”

You thought to the conversation you and Caliban had, about never being able to be together. Maybe, somehow, someway, you could figure out a way for the two of you to be together.

‘Y/N. What are you thinking? You ca—. What’s that?’ It sounded like a hum.

You titled your head and looked at the woman. Her grin had grown into full on Cheshire.

“Everything alright, my dear?” Her voice had an angelic tone to it, but at the same time sounded muffled. You nodded your head sleepily. “Now that I have your full attention, let us finish the fortune.” She flipped the last card. Death. ‘How perfect?’ you thought. You giggled to yourself, pulling your hands up to your mouth to try to hush the chortle.

“Yes, my dear, Death. How befitting? Now, let’s get you something to drink.”

She grabbed both of your hands and pulled you out of the chair. The woman twirled you towards the back room. The lullaby still ringing in your ears.

She pushed you onto one of the floor pillows. The weight of your head flew back. It was as if you had no support from your neck. Your body felt completely limp. You were a dead weight. With nothing to support your head, you slowly turned toward the fortuneteller, who was concocting some by her bar cart.

‘Hmm. How funny. Such a silly, silly room.’ You giggled once again.

“Hush, my sweet child, this won’t last for very long.” She walked towards you, carrying what looked like a gold goblet.

Everything was blurry now. You rolled your head back. Something in your gut told you this wasn’t right, but something else said that this song was so sweet; everything was going to be ok. Your eyes slowly rolled back in your head.

A strong scent of what you thought was bubblegum, brought you back to your “senses.” The gold glass was now directly in front of you.

“Now sip, my dear. The warm liquid will just sting a bit, but I promise, you and I will go to someplace fun.”

You tried lifting your head to take a sip, suddenly realizing how dry your mouth was. Something to drink sounded perfect.

The woman reached for the back of your neck to help lift you up. Her hand, surprisingly cold. Your bottom lip touched the stark, cold, metal cup. All of the sudden the liquid spilled all over the pillow.

The cold hand supporting the back of your head disappeared. A warm one replaced the support of your neck. You no longer felt the plush pillow on your back, but instead the cold, autumn air. Your arms were completely limp, but you could feel a body beneath your left one, that was tucked by your side. Someone was carrying you and fast. You could feel the wind whip your hair over your face and suddenly it stopped. You felt the damp grass press into your back. You heard muffled voices moving around you. You moaned and rolled your head to the side, and then everything went black.

--

A warm breath tickled your ear.

“Y/N. Y/N, please wake up. Why isn’t it working? You call yourself a witch?” a voice said through their teeth.

“It should work. Just give it time. It needs time. At least that’s what my aunties said.”

You could feel that same warm hand, that lifted your neck, hold onto yours. Every so often, it would squeeze yours to reassure you, whoever it was, was still there. Your mind, still groggy, recognized that hand. ‘Caliban.’ You moaned from the pain you felt in your head. Your eyes slowly blinked open, and then immediately shut. Too much. You rolled over, forehead against the grass.

“Y/N” a husky tone said, no louder than a whisper. A hand immediately went to the small of your back and then to your shoulder to help you sit up.

“Y/N! Oh, thank Satan! You’re alive!” You slowly opened your eyes and saw Sabrina, Roz and Theo kneeling in front of you. The three of them went in for a hug.

“Oh!” you yelped in pain. The three pulled back, realizing you were sore from whatever happened to you. You didn’t know what the hell happened to you. You just remember a hum. You looked up and saw Harvey, Nick and Robin standing over the group of you. You glanced behind you, remembering the hand at the base of your backside. You looked up to the eyes of your protector, Caliban. He gave you a small smile, accepting your thank you.

“Y/N. What in Lucifer’s name happened to you?” “I have no idea. I walked into the fortuneteller’s tent to get my tarot read and then the last thing I remember is hearing a lullaby and smelling bubblegum.”

Sabrina’s face drained of its natural color. “What? What is going on? What do you know?” you asked the group in an exasperated tone.

“Well we were all doing our own thing at the carnival and Nick and I met up with Roz and Harvey, when Roz saw Caliban running toward the tent you described,” Sabrina said.

Roz jumped in, “Then all of the sudden I received a cunning vision of a mermaid with a drink and she was singing. Harvey had to jerk me awake because my lungs started filling with water.”

“And then Robin and I saw Roz choking and ran over to see what was up. When she woke from the vision, she ran towards the forest. That’s when we saw Caliban kneeling over you trying to wake you.”

“A siren,” a deep voice interrupted the explanation. “It was a siren, not a mermaid.” Caliban turned toward you and went on to tell you the rest of what you couldn’t recall. “I called for Sabrina and told her what I thought had happened. You were pulled into a trance by a siren. I didn’t think you drank any of her potion, so I explained to Sabrina what happened.”

“Well you should have mentioned the bubblegum smell, Caliban. If she had, things would have been a lot worse and that spell wouldn’t have worked,” Sabrina snapped at the Prince of Hell.

“I flung all of the contents out of that siren’s goblet. And besides her color was normal” Caliban gritted through his teeth.

“What do you know about that kind of poisoning, you couldn’t even save her!”

“Enough!” you screamed at the two of them. “Please. Please the ringing in my ears hasn’t gone away yet.”

‘Sorry,’ Sabrina mouthed to you.

You gave her a reassuring smile. “Can someone just, please, take me home?”

“I will,” Caliban whispered to you.

“Caliban. Why must you insert yourself into our problems?” Sabrina snorted.

“’Brina. Stop. Enough already, the both of you. I think Caliban has proven himself worthy to be trusted by our group.” You gave her a glare and she gave in. “Besides, you guys need to figure out what the hell that was that hypnotized me and make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else in Greendale, ok? I’m going to go back to your place, ‘Brina, and sleep this day off.”

She gave you a warm smile. With that, you hugged the group, said your goodbyes and made your way back to the mortuary with Caliban.

As the group walked away to go figure out what was going in this carnival, you still sat on the ground.

“Are you ok to walk? We can wait here for a while, until you feel comfortable to go.” Caliban looked at you with sorrowful eyes.

“I’m totally good. Besides, I wanna get the hell out of here. I never want to see those pagans again.” You went to push yourself off the ground, as you stood for a second, to regain your balance, you wobbled and knew you were head straight for the ground. Caliban immediately caught you. Your hand grasped onto his upper arm. You looked up your savior. “You always seem to be saving me.”

“Someone’s got to” Caliban said in half whisper. “I’ll help you walk, just wrap your arm around my waist.” Your eyes went wide looking back up at the prince.

“Trust me, fae. I’m not going to try anything, especially since you’re incapacitated.” You gave a small laugh. He wrapped one of his hands around your waist the other held your arm that wrapped around his waist.

The two of you walked slowly towards the Spellman’s House, for you were too weak to partake in Caliban’s “fire transportation magic trick.”

Every now and then, you would look up at the Prince of Hell. The moon was perfectly accenting his facial features. You were careful not to stare too long, in case he caught you admiring him. “Like what you see, fae?” he said in a sarcastic tone.

‘How did he know?’ you gave a small laugh-cough. “No it’s just—ha! Umm, how much longer?”

“Well at this pace, we won’t be there until dawn.” Without even giving you a chance to respond, he hoisted you up into his arms, as if you were as light as a feather.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” “What, fae? You said how long and that you wanted to get the hell out of there. And besides you’re too weak to walk, not to mention teleport.”

You shook your head in defeat.

Before you knew it, Caliban was setting you down, carefully, on the Spellman’s porch.

Surprisingly the lights weren’t on. You knew Sabrina and Nick wouldn’t be there, but were a little confused as to why the aunties weren’t. On your way in, you saw the guest house lights on. That was reassuring to know your mom was there. You sent her a text, letting her know that you were back safe, although she probably wouldn’t respond, for it was well past her bedtime.

You turned toward Caliban, not realizing his hand was still on your waist. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“You sure you’re going to be ok? I’m happy to escort you inside, fae.” “Caliban, I’m fine. I promise you.”

“Ok, well I’ll be out here. I’ll see you in the morning.” “What? What do you mean you’ll be out here?”

“You think I’m leaving you in this house alone? No way, fae.”

“It’s too cold out her—.”

“Fae, I’m the Prince of Hell. I don’t get cold.”

“Ok, well at least come inside for some tea.” You went to walk towards the door, and your legs felt like Jell-O. You started swaying to the left and Caliban caught you again.

“Ok, this is getting really old…” He laughed, wrapped his arm around your waist and walked you inside. You didn’t know how long he would stay, but it was nice to know you wouldn’t be alone tonight.

[2-player-game]

Critical role Mighty Nein relationship headcanons

Jester Lavorre 

• Very very touchy and clingy

• Like she loves you so much

• Never wants to leave your side

• She was definitely the one to ask you out, she almost cried when you said yes.

• She sometimes brags to others about having such a wonderful s/o

• She loves to play with your hair and it's even better when you mess with hers

• Buys you so many pastries

• You better be prepared to bake with her on free days

• Expect a lot of gifts from her. She loves to spoil you.

• Jester is known to be great at cheering people up in her own special way! So if you're ever feeling down, she'll pick you right up and make you feel better!

• Tickle fights are a must. Sometimes she'll just walk up to you in a tavern or inn and tickle you.

• You two often cuddle. Like a lot. When you do her tail wraps around you and she snuggles into your neck or literally just anywhere close. Beware of her horns though. They make the experience a lot less enjoyable.

• Overall: 10/10 girlfriend, would date 100%

Mollymauk Tealeaf

• Molly is a very flirty individual, so he definitely asked you out with some kind of pickup line or convinced you.

• This man absolutely loves to flirt and tease you. Just to see your reaction. He finds you adorable.

• Please hug him, he loves physical touch. And he becomes touch starved sometimes, so he'll need a hug, or even just to hold your hand.

• No matter how many times he'll flirt with a bartender go get a free drink or he'll jokingly flirt with another member of the nein. He loves you. He really does and he could never imagine losing you. Please don't leave him.

• He's like a human heater, so whenever you're cold cuddles or even just a hug is the best.

• He loves to do tarot readings for you or even just tell your fortune. It's a delight to watch you in surprise on how accurate

• Cuddles are similar to Jesters, they're absolutely wonderful, his tail wraps around you. He holds you close and it's warm and soft and lovely. But his horns and dangly earrings and jewelry get in the way.

• He loves to take you to parties or special events to see you dress up. But you look beautiful in anything!

• Loves to spoil you, you've been looking at that nice necklace in the shop? Boom, it's yours. Always wanted to try this dessert? He just bought it and you're sharing it with him now. It's amazing.

• He cares for you so much, you have to put up with his cockiness, his panic attacks over his memory, his many nightmares and just him. He's grateful for you and loves you so so much.

• Best boy needs some love, love him even with his flaws, his scars, his pain.

Nott The Brave

• Nott much to say here, an absolutely wonderful girlfriend

• She loves to steal little trinkets and gifts to give to you. Most are really shiny some are just cool things she thinks you would like.

• She loves it when you pick her up, like just putting her on your shoulder, or swinging her around. It's just amazing.

• Hugs are a little difficult if there is a height difference, but they're always appreciated.

• She loves it when you play with her hair. From braiding it to just running your hands through it is absolutely wonderful.

• Going on dates can be difficult. So most 'dates' are just seeing who can steal the best item from a shop. Most of the time Nott wins though.

• One time she made a flower crown for you. That's not too important but I just think it's cute.

• She's absolutely adorable and craves attention a lot. She's rather touch starved.

• If you're ever hurt, no matter what's going on she'll help you as quick as she possibly can. Doing whatever she can as long as you don't die she'll be fine.

• If you love to cook, then she'll BEG for your cooking whenever she has a chance too. No matter how bad she loves it either way. Especially when you cook her some meat.

• You really mean a lot to her. No one other than Caleb has been so nice to her in a long time.

Fjord

• Please wear this mans clothing. He finds it really cute. He'll never admit it.

• Fjord loves to take you on dates near the beach or water. If you're up for it even on a boat or swimming in a lake.

• If you can't swim prepare to be taught for as long as it takes. Even if it takes days to even get you in the water this boy it determined to let you see he beauty of the ocean.

• Though he believes you're much more beautiful than the ocean

• He loves it when you compliment him. And he returns compliments with whatever you prefer, gifts, affection, or more compliments. It's up to you.

• If you like to ride in boats, he likes to take you to a lake, get an open boat and just spend the night in that small boat. Sometimes you two fall asleep on the beautiful lake. Some nights you stay up and watch the sun rise.

• You better believe he plays with your hair, it calms him down so much and it's wonderful. Have a shaved head or no hair at all? He just holds your hand and traces shapes on the top of it instead! Still calming and great!

• Soft morning kisses are everything to this man. Especially when he's just woken up and he's greeted with a lovely kiss from you.

• Cuddles take time to work out, he's always a little stiff at first but soon eases into it and accepts his fate before never wanting to leave.

• Your first kiss with him was a little weird at first with his teeth and all and he's always a little awkward with that stuff. But it ended up being amazing. It was probably an accident or you initiated it.

• This green boi will love you forever and never wants to lose you. He doesn't trust anyone more than you.

Yasha

• As you may know, Yasha is very tall and strong, which is absolutely wonderful.

• She loves to pick you up, or just embrace you in any way she can.

• Before you two actually started dating she was really awkward and sometimes even blushed around you. It was honestly adorable to watch her fumble her words and try to speak to you.

• If you're on the weaker side she's really gentle with you and does everything in her power to not hurt you.

• If anyone is every mean to you like in a serious way and it's hurting you she will go into rage mode and stop whatever is going on.

• Really soft and kind to you. Very very soft. And probably does your makeup if you wear it.

• Most likely wants to adopt a cat with you because they're lovely and can also be great hunters. But if not Frumpkin will have to do.

• Compliment this woman, please. She really needs to feel special. She'd really appreciate it!

• Cuddles are amazing, she just holds you tightly and makes you feel safe. It's always very calmly to be in her arms.

• She's actually a pretty good kisser, but it takes some time for her to actually initiate the kiss and let her become a little more dominant.

• Once bought matching necklaces and you refuse to take it off.

• If you're up to it she would absolutely love to train with you, if not you could at least stay for moral support!!

Beauregard Lionette

• Beauregard is definitely a wonderful girlfriend when you look at it.

• She has lean muscles, so they're not tough or firm, great for cuddles!

• She's strong like Yasha so she can pick you up and just hold you or hug you and spin you around. Strong girls are the best.

• Train with this woman. Please. She loves it. The second you get too hurt though she's ready to heal you or do whatever she can to make you feel better.

• This girl protects you as much as she can. She never wants you to leave her side, she needs you to be safe. It scares her sometimes what could happen to you.

• Sometimes you trim up her undercut and make it look more professional and just give her a haircut in general.

• If you're ever severely injured in battle, she'll blame herself for not being there to protect you.

• You have to reassure her and kiss her and hug her a lot just to make her feel better.

• Spoil Beau and you'll have her for the rest of her life, she's never been spoiled before and it makes her feel special. She'll return the favor with love.

• She could truly never imagine losing you, and if that did happen she would never feel whole again. She loves you more than she loves herself.

Caleb Widogast

• This relationship took some time to form, like a long time. Caleb's shy nature and fear of caring for people doesnt work well when he gained a little crush on you.

• Once it did happen, you were very patient and did everything in your power to make Caleb more comfortable.

• Frumpkin absolutely adores you. Whenever Caleb saw that you were sad or if you were injured he would send Frumpkin over to cuddle with you.

• When you two start to get very close, he loves to read with you, or do book trades. He'll give you an interesting book while you struggle to find a book he hasn't read yet. It's a struggle sometimes but it's the best

• This man gets very flustered when you surprised him with affection. A quick peck on the lips when he's not expecting it? He goes completely red in the face and stutters a lot.

• He tries to clean himself up a little if you don't like the way he smells. But that won't stop him from being dirty.

• Some days he doesn't think he deserves you and you need to reassure him that you love him no matter his background, no matter the way he looks or his personality because he's truly the perfect person for you.

• If you don't know magic, but want to learn it, Caleb would absolutely love to teach you! And if you do know magic, you two could nerd out about it together!

• Caleb has some trouble when it comes to physical touch since he's not sued to it.

• Whenever you hug him, he'll become super stiff before you tell him that it's okay and he calms down a little. He tries to do better but he's just not used to it, so be patient with him!

• Holding his hand is the best way to calm him down or put him to sleep on those sleepless nights where all he wants to do it read or study. Holding you close late at night is one of his favorite things to do.

• If you wear his clothes expect him to get really flustered, he finds it absolutely adorable because most of his clothes are really big on him or they're ripped or destroyed.

• Sometimes when he's next to you while reading he'll fall asleep on your shoulder and you are now stuck in that spot until he wakes up.

Caduceus Clay

• Very soft, what can I say? He's absolutely wonderful.

• Makes you tea, like almost always.

• If you like gardening? Perfect, this boy will make a portable garden for traveling, or when you settle into a home you two basically have a farm.

• No scratch that you guys definitely have a farm, including animals, and a mushroom/moss garden.

• He loves it when you pet his head or play with his hair, he leans into your touch and smiles softly.

• He often hums little song when you two are cuddling. It's very soothing.

• He likes to set up little picnic dates with the food you two grow. He's so pure and it's honestly the cutest thing ever.

• If you're ever sick, he knows exactly how to make the medication to make you feel better! He will do anything in his power to make you healthier and keep you going!

• He gives really nice hugs, it's like he puts energy into these hugs and they can immediately cheer someone up.

• If you want to he really wants a family, but if not he respects your opinion and is fine with getting some more animals as family because they're still wonderful.

• Whenever he makes a new kind of tea you're always the first one to try it with him.

• He's truly a wonderful boyfriend, 10/10. Please love him he could never lose you.

[hiddles-evans-hallucinations]

How Did We Get Here? - 4

Summary: After being in a secret relationship, (Y/N) and Chris are faced with sneaky fans taking pictures of them spending time together and the press went crazy. Chris had enough of hiding. 

Pairing: Chris Evans x Famous Reader

Genre: Fluff, smut

Warnings: AGE GAP and seeeexxxyyy timeeeee. 

Note: I am so excited to write, writing has been my passion for so long and writing with my boo bear in it makes me more happy!! Thanks to the beautiful @joannaliceevans-fanficblog​ for reblogging and helping others to check my writings!!! love her already. Hope you like this one hehehe. Oh and a lil comedy :p just for fun 

*gifs are not mine* 

PART 5

After so many interviews before the Premiere in Chicago, me and Chris has been staying at the same hotel, we were informed that some fans asked the receptionist if we stay together in the same room or separate rooms, but the hotel know what answers to give. 

Before I was known, I already loved my life, I’m a normal girl, I enjoy life fully and I never ask for anything in return when doing things for others. I’m thankful in where I am, but I have always been known as a private person and even my family couldn’t get anything out of me. 

‘(Y/N/L/N) and Chris Evans having breakfast together at the Ritz Carlton’ 

I scroll down to the comments on Instagram, smiling of how red my cheeks are looking at Chris who talks about taking me to his date with Dodger. 

- ‘the fact that she’s bareface and her cheeks is all red looking at him kills me. They are so cute’ 

- ‘OMGGGG LOOK AT HOW HE’S SMILING AND SHE’S ALSO SMILING BACK AT HIM IM DEADD!’ 

- ‘I can’t believe they’re hiding all of they’re cuteness.’ 

- ‘she got taste, i love her, she’s one of us now.’ 

I laughed as Pammy surprised me by looking at what I’m reading behind my shoulder, startling me. “Oh my god,” I said, placing my hand over my chest, 

“Oh, so you’re creeping on Instagram for your so secret relationship?” 

“Stop it, I’m just, you know, trying to- actually I don’t know, it just came up on my explore so, don’t judge me.” 

“Judge you for what?” 

Chris came out of the room, looking rough, his hair is uh... everywhere, messy, shirtless. Pammy’s jaw dropped open, “Oh...” I lightly elbow her, shooting her a look. She put her hands up, “Chris, I got you spinach-apple smoothie.” Pammy hands him as he scratches the back of his head. 

“Thanks,” 

Chris looks at me, “Are you going somewhere?” my eyes widens at him. 

“We have a press interview today, remember?” 

“Oh... no.”

I laughed as I walk towards him and wrap my arms around him, he lifts me up and kisses me, I peck him over and over with my legs wrapped around him then squish my face with him like a little baby. “Get ready, bebe, we have work to do.” I said to him making him smile. 

“You’re so cute, I might just take you to bed for a bit.” 

I flushed. 

“Stop, I would, but... we don’t really have much time.” 

He smirks. “I can make it quick,” he leans as he said it so only I can hear him, my cheeks heats up more as I can picture myself with my cheeks way too red. 

“I get to you this much huh?”

I roll my eyes. “Oh no, it’s just hot in here all of the sudden.” 

He laughed. 

“Come, on, we gotta gooooo.” I whine. 

“Okay, but come shower with me?” 

“I already have my makeup on.” 

This time he’s the one that rolls his eyes at me. “Then, accompany me.” before I can say anything, Pammy said, “The interviewer’s here, I’m going to help them set everything up.” 

Chris said nothing but, “Perfect! Thank you, Pammy!” he shuts the door with his foot. 

“You’re coming with me, bebe.” 

I bury my face on his shoulders as he carries me to the bathroom. He sits me down on the sink counter as he look deep into my eyes. “You’re so beautiful,” the smile appears immediately as I look away shyly. 

“You’re so easy to love, (Y/N).” 

“Am I really?” 

He nodded as he tucks a hair behind my ear and smile. “Now.. where were we?” 

I arches my brow. “You, shower.” I pointed at the shower with my head. 

“No, that’s not where we left things,” 

“Oh yeah, you might take me to bed but we can’t so you’re gonna shower and we’re going to work-” 

Chris shuts me up by kissing me deeply, passionately that my hands find their way around his neck as he pulls me closer as if we’re not close enough. He moans against my lips and when he was about to went down, I stop him causing him look up to me, confused. 

I jump off the counter, moving him to lean against the counter and pulls his pants down. 

I can hear him take a breathe but I ignore him as I put him in my mouth and suck my cheeks in. “Baby..” 

I smiled, knowing that I’m the one that gets to him this much now. 

I work my tongue around him inside my mouth as he grips the counter and continuously moan. 

I tease him by slowly taking him out and lick every inch of him. I stood up just to kiss him and slowly trail my lips down to continue on sucking him and feeling his body trembles. 

“(Y/N)..” 

I fasten my speed as he grips my shoulder. 

“Baby.. I’m.. Com-” 

The same warmth enters my mouth as he looks down at me, waiting for what I’m gonna do. 

The taste of him slides down to my throat as I stood up looking at him, he’s in shock. 

“What? You’ve never seen a girl do this to you?” I joked as he wipes my mouth and pulls me close to him.

I can see my lipstick are gone but I could care less. “I have, but it’s you, I’m with you, I don’t need to remember if other women have done this to me or for me before. You’re mine, baby.” 

I smiled. 

I find it really sexy that he’s wiping my mouth after and holding me close, I love that about him. 

“Hmm..” I give him a slight kiss as he slaps my butt causing me to look at him with my mouth open jokingly. 

“Okay, shower, now, we need to go.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

I grab my pouch and walk back to the bathroom to do touch ups as he showers behind me. Chris never take his eyes off me, making me blush every now and then. 

For the past few months we’ve been together, I love that at the end of the day we’re normal people, we’re just fortunate enough to live a life like this and we never forget where we came from, maybe that’s why I’d like to keep our relationship on the down low where it’s just us and our closest people.

. . . . 

We walk into the meeting room of the hotel that was set up for the interview, Pammy looked at me with a oh-okay-glowing-what’s-up-now look, I shot her a look with my wide eyes, she respond with okay-I’ll-zip-it look with her hands slightly up in defeat. 

I changed my outfit, I was wearing a black midi casual dress, since it’s looking not so appropriate anymore, I have to iron it again but since I don’t have the time, I put on a black and white stripes long sleeved shirt and a black fitted trousers that stops in my ankle with a flat shoes. 

I redid my hair, curl it a little bit and I was done, I don’t want people to take the note, oh yeah they just did it. 

Professional on both, (Y/N)! I said to myself. 

My inner self seems to laugh at me. 

Both on what? Sexually and in career wise? She said. 

I want to roll my eyes, but Chris’ hand lands on my back as we said hi to everyone. “I thought you’re gonna be late.” the interviewer said to us laughing. 

I huffed. “Oh no, almost though, I just had to eat first.” Chris immediately turns his head to me. 

I added, “I thought you’re already here, seems like we’re soulmates.” I smiled at him, his eyes wide, his mouth slightly open. 

“Well, I hope you enjoyed your meal.” the interviewer smiled at me.

“Thank you, I did, big meal to boost my endorphins just right.” 

We sat down with Seth, the interviewer talking about the movie a little bit but other than that he said he just wants to get to know us, he wants to make the interview a little bit different than others. 

Chris was thrilled when he brings up Disney movies. 

“Okay, I have questions, you two have to say your name or the other person to answer.” 

“Oh.. Okay.” I said. 

Seth asks, “Who is most likely to get a complaint because they laugh too loud?” 

“Chris.” 

“Me” 

Seth gasps, “Really?” I nodded making a face where I scrunch my nose. “I have to go to his trailer cause he was on the phone with Anthony Mackie, he laughed so hard I couldn’t sleep.” 

“So, you’re the one who complained?” 

“Oh yeah, would do it again.” 

They all laughed. 

“Who is most likely to be on a comedy tv show?” 

“Me.” 

“Me.” I look at Chris, raising my brow. “You?” I said, rolling my eyes after. 

“What is he not funny?” Seth laughs as he ask me that. “I mean,” I gesture my palm left to right, giving him the he’s-so-so response. 

Chris added (gif), “She thinks I’m funny, she just thinks she’s funnier.”

“You did admit I am funnier.” 

Seth squints his eyes suspicious. “Did you Chris?” 

“No.” 

I laughed, placing my hand on his shoulder as I bury my face on my arm. 

“Who is most likely to take the job as a stripper?” 

“CHRIS!” 

Chris stood up, arms wide open and tries to give me a lap dance. I squealed in laughter trying to get his butt out of my face. 

He hugs me after as I was still laughing with tears started to build up in my eyes from laughing too hard. “Oh my god.” I said. The whole room was filled with nothing but laughter and cameras clicking from their phones. 

“Gotta love this guy.” I said before Seth ended the interview. 

“Love this gal.” Chris added. 

[uomo-accattivante]

This is a great article about how The Card Counter managed to finish principal photography after getting shut down mid-March due to COVID-19.

Also, it includes this interesting description from Paul Schrader about Oscar Isaac’s character, William Tell -- “So now I have a character and he’s in his room, he’s alone. And he has a mask on. And the mask he wears is a professional poker player. And the problem that runs alongside him is that he is a former torturer for the U.S. government. So it’s a mix of the World Series of Poker and Abu Ghraib.”

Having somehow weathered his way from enfant terrible to wizened survivor, Paul Schrader is a filmmaker who is simply not finished yet. Every time it might seem his career is on the wane, he resets, revitalizes and comes back again.

Just a few years after his 2014 film “Dying of the Light” starring Nicolas Cage was taken away from him by financiers — leading Schrader to disavow the movie — he received his first Oscar nomination (for original screenplay) after directing “First Reformed,” which was released in 2018 and starred Ethan Hawke as a troubled small-town minister.

Schrader’s work is marked by emotional intensity, intellectual vitality and an aesthete’s appreciation of style. His filmography is full of unusual corners that are still being discovered. The 1979 film “Old Boyfriends,” directed by Joan Tewkesbury with a screenplay by Schrader and his brother Leonard, was recently rereleased on home video. As was the 1990 film “The Comfort of Strangers,” directed by Schrader from a screenplay by Harold Pinter.

He’s been directing films from his own scripts since 1978’s “Blue Collar” starring Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto. He went on to write and direct such films as “Hardcore,” “American Gigolo,” “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters,” “Light Sleeper” and “Affliction.” His celebrated work as a screenwriter for director Martin Scorsese includes “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Bringing Out the Dead.”

Never one to shy from controversy onscreen or off, he directed Lindsay Lohan in the 2013 Hollywood-set thriller “The Canyons,” written by Bret Easton Ellis.

In March, Schrader was about three-quarters through the shoot for his next film, “The Card Counter,” in Mississippi — with a cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan and Willem Dafoe — when the production was shut down due to the growing pandemic. In July, Schrader was able to shoot for an additional five days to complete production.

During the break in shooting, “The Card Counter” was picked up for distribution by Focus Features.

Schrader recently got on the phone to talk about the unusual circumstances of the film’s production and completion. A film critic before he became a filmmaker, Schrader not only had startling insights into his work, but also thoughts about what filmmaking and exhibition might be like in a post-COVID world.

Before we start talking about the production on the movie, could you just describe the story? What is “The Card Counter” about?

Well, I don’t want to get too deeply involved in the plot, but what I will say is over the years I’ve kind of developed my own little genre of films. And they usually involve a man alone in a room, wearing a mask, and the mask is his occupation. So it could be a taxi driver, a drug dealer, a gigolo, a reverend, whatever. And I take that character and run it alongside a larger problem, personal or social. It could be debilitating loneliness like in “Taxi Driver.” It could be a midlife crisis like in “Light Sleeper.” It could be an environmental crisis like in “First Reformed.”

So now I have a character and he’s in his room, he’s alone. And he has a mask on. And the mask he wears is a professional poker player. And the problem that runs alongside him is that he is a former torturer for the U.S. government. So it’s a mix of the World Series of Poker and Abu Ghraib.

How did you come to put those two things together?

I’m always looking for that. I’m looking for deep-seated problems, either personal or societal, and some kind of oddball metaphor. The more you get closer, you run these two wires next to each other, the more sparks you see flying across. And it’s in the sparks that the viewer comes alive. If the wires ever touch, there’s nothing left for the viewer to do. But if you keep these two wires really close to each other, the viewer will start to spark from one wire to the other. And that’s the greatest thing you can give a viewer or a reader, an opportunity to be part of the creation.

Let’s talk about the production and everything you’ve been through. Take me back to March. What was it like for you when the production had to shut down?

I have learned in my dotage how to make a quality film on a low budget. So the film I used to make in 40 days I now make in 20. And so “First Reformed” was 20. I had shot in Biloxi 15 days. Now I knew coronavirus was going to be rising, because when I heard that Macau shut down, I said, you know, it’s just a matter of time. Macau is the wealthiest gambling center in the world and I’m here in the gambling center of the Gulf. If Macau shuts down, it’ll reach Vegas, it’ll reach here. And we were doing a scene, a poker tournament with 500 extras. And I remember I said to the A.D., “We can’t put 500 people in a room without one of them being positive.” And sure enough, one of them was. Two days later, we not only closed down, all of the Gulf was closed down.

Fortunately, when I went back, I had shot my big crowd scenes. And also I had shot my sex scenes, which I would have hated to try to do under these restrictions. So all I had left when I went back was a number of scenes in the prisons, and four more scenes in the casinos, some driving scenes. So I was in pretty good shape. But I really wanted to finish the film.

And Oscar Isaac, he was on his way to Hungary to do reshoots for “Dune.” And he wanted to put off this reshoot till after “Dune” — to do it in September because he has a big beard and he didn’t want to shave off his beard. I said to him, “Oscar, there’s a window open right now in Mississippi.” I said, “If we don’t jump into this window while it’s open, this will become one of those famous films that never got finished, and we’ve got to exploit this moment.”

So I talked him off the ledge and he agreed to do it. And we were able to put everybody back together and do our week of prep and five days of shooting. It was very strange, and in a way it was kind of fun, in a summer camp sort of way. But I would hate, hate to make a whole film this way. It was an adventure for five days, it’s a nightmare for five weeks.

In the break from March to July, were you on high alert that you could come back at any moment? Were you editing the footage you already had?

Here’s what happened. I was editing. My editor is in New Jersey and my assistant editor is in Tennessee, so we’re all editing virtually. And I had four major dialogue scenes between my principal characters that I had not shot. Then I was able to screen virtually the film for a number of people I respect, like Scorsese, who is the executive producer, like [filmmaker and programmer] Kent Jones and other people. And what I asked them all is, “I have four more scenes to shoot. I can rewrite them. What am I missing? What do I need to add? How should I write these four scenes?”

And I started getting feedback about what they felt was missing. So I was able to rewrite these scenes and make these relationships much better. And not all productions get to do that. It’s a very expensive reshoot, but it was built-in that three-quarters of the way through, I have an opportunity to rewrite one-quarter of the meaningful character scenes. So I did, I rewrote it. And I realized what was missing. And I wouldn’t have realized that if I was shooting at the top. I would have only realized that in post. And I would have walked around the room kicking myself in the ass, saying, “I wish I had the opportunity to reshoot some scenes.”

How was getting everything back together?

As soon as Mississippi allowed us to come back, we came back. And of course nobody’s working, so everybody’s eager to come back. They are hyper-conscientious because they know they are only being allowed to work by the grace of God. And so the masks and the PPE and the hands and the distancing, you don’t need to tell any of the people this. They’re so happy to be at work. They have no problem with any of that.

You can only have one person within six feet of your actor at a time. That person could be hair, it could be makeup, it could be props, it can be the director, it could be another actor. And you kind of queue up. And a thing that I realized, we had a warehouse. So we did rehearsals for every scene in this warehouse. And I told the actors that when we get to the location, to the casino, the prop people will be in there, the lighting people will be there and then you will walk there with your mask on, and you will take the positions that you took in rehearsal. Then I will roll camera and you will take your masks off and we’ll play the scenes. So that’s how we did it.

Given everything that it takes to get to shooting, once you were back on set with the actors, did you still feel like they could give you the performances that you needed? Was it difficult to get to a place of artistic creation given all the other concerns that everyone has?

Because they had done the rehearsals, they had gone through the permutations of their performances before. So the only thing different for them was that they were in a real space rather than a fake space. As I explained to them, there would be no time for exploration on set. All the exploration you are going to do, we’re going to do here in the warehouse. I don’t want to hear one peep from you about changing anything once we get into this hothouse environment. So however many hours we have to spend in the warehouse, let’s spend it.

How close to finished are you with the movie now, considering you had a lot of it already cut together?

Basically, I’m finished, down to an hour and 49 minutes, which is where I think it should be. Obviously, I have to do the score, there’s the post-prod and the special effects, but the thing is that there’s no pressure to finish the film anymore at this time. I was talking to Focus, and I could give them the film in a month. They don’t want the film in a month because they don’t know what to do with it in a month. They said, you just take whatever time you need, which is the opposite of the way studios usually talk. I also have final cut, so it doesn’t really matter. What I deliver, I deliver.

When you made “The Canyons” you talked a lot about your feelings regarding the theatrical experience, VOD and streaming and contemporary filmmaking. What impact do you think the COVID shutdowns will have on movie theaters?

There’s a certain kind of film like “The Canyons,” which should be made for VOD, which is a kind of exploitation film. And there’s another kind of film like “First Reformed” that has to be mounted by film festivals and art-house cinemas, so that it has an identity prior to VOD. So if you’re on VOD and you see an Ethan Hawke film about a minister, you’re not going to say, “Oh, let’s watch that.” No, what you’re going to say is, “Oh, I heard about that film. I heard it was good.” Well, how did they hear it was good? They heard that from film festival reportage and they heard from their friends who have seen it at theaters. So that sets up VOD.

The opposite case is a film like “First Cow,” a film that was crushed by not having a theatrical window. And everybody is, “Should I watch ‘First Cow’?” They have no context. So what’s important for a film like “The Card Counter” is we have to give it context. We have to go to the festivals and we have to go to the art cinemas to tell people what we have in our hands. Then we can go to VOD, where the real money is. So “First Reformed” went to Telluride, Toronto, Venice and New York. That set the table. I would love to set the table for this one. I can go to all those festivals. That’s not a problem for me anymore. The problem is: Are festivals going to happen?

Do you think theaters are going to come back?

Not in the way they did. There are only four reasons for theaters to exist anymore. And this situation has accelerated these trends. Like symphonies and operas and live theater, concerts, they need a reason to exist. One reason is family cinema, because parents love to see their kids interacting with other kids. Animation films will always have an audience. Another is extraordinary spectacle. IMAX, virtual, whatever they come up with. Something you can’t see at home. The third is date movies for high schoolers, which is horror and rom-coms. Or rather, dirty rom-coms.

And then the fourth is club cinema. Which used to be called art cinema. But with these new institutions that are a combination of social institutions and cinematic institutions. So the Metrograph in New York has one restaurants and two bars. There’s more square footage devoted to eating and drinking than there is to watching movies. And yet it’s always full because people want to be in that environment. So then alcohol’s become the new popcorn. And those club cinemas, which were pioneered by Alamo, they will continue to exist because people want to be part of the club, people want to buy a membership. They want to eat and hang out, and they want to know which films have been approved by the club. Which is something you cannot get from VOD.

When “First Reformed” was coming out, you spoke about how you had made it thinking it could be your last film. And yet you seem so reenergized over the last few years. Do you feel that way? Have you been able to hit the reset button in some way?

Oddly, yes. I’m in the middle of a new script, which is about a horticulturalist. And what has happened in my case, following the disastrous situation I went through with “Dying of the Light,” I said, I would no longer work unless I had final cut. And once I got final cut, I was free. When I began, you didn’t really need final cut. When I was working in the studio system, all those other films, you were working with people who knew movies, who liked movies. Who you can talk to, you could disagree with — things would get changed, sometimes they’d get better, sometimes for worse in your mind, but you were working with people who liked movies, who watched movies. In the last 15 years, I’m dealing mainly with financiers, who not only don’t watch movies, don’t even particularly like them. And how can you have discussions with these people? And that’s what final cut freed me from, because I realized I couldn’t talk to these people. I wasn’t talking to [studio executives like] Barry Diller and Thom Mount and Ned Tanen anymore. I was talking to Joe Schmo from some hedge fund and I couldn’t talk to Joe Schmo. The only way I could talk to him was to have final cut.

I’m certainly excited to see what becomes of “The Card Counter.”

The new one is quite good. Focus told me not to hump it too much because that’s their job down the line. But you can take my word for it, it’s quite good.

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