#and it doesn't help when you put on top of it that not ALL of those flickers of memories are HIS memories

[prael]

An Oral Agreement

QWER Magenta x male reader

Masterlist word count: 3,008 Kofi(donations/commissions)

She's equal parts infuriating and fascinating.

Magenta.

No last name. Or maybe that is her last name. Either way, that's all it said on the rental agreement and her bedroom door when you first moved in: Magenta. The letters were all lowercase like she was too cool for proper grammar. You know Magenta, in the Biblical sense (and it didn’t take long).

She's always in her room streaming or recording or...doing whatever it is social media influencers do when they aren't online. But she likes candles, fried rice and catcore aesthetics. She thinks pumpkin spice season starts September 1st and she loves reality TV. Not exactly the makings of a deep and spiritual connection.

Now, living with Magenta, well, it has its ups and downs.

There are some things that never get done around here without you doing them; she rarely cooks, which wouldn't bother you so much if she at least did dishes once in a while. It doesn't help that she takes long hot showers. In a house with only one bathroom, this can really put a cramp in your morning routine.

Magenta doesn't clean the place very often either. At first, you just let it go because everybody has their own ways of doing things, right? But after a few weeks of living together, you realised that she's just...not going to do it. Like ever. So then there's nothing for it but to either live in a constant state of messiness or bite the bullet yourself.

Sometimes you feel like you're not living with a roommate so much as providing lodging for some kind of freeloading spirit that passes through periodically.

When you first moved in, you were worried about what your roommate might think of you: would they be weirded out by your habits? Would they judge your taste in decorations? Would you get along? Would you have enough space for both of you?

Those fears melted away pretty quickly once you met her. You could tell from the moment she opened the door that day (and didn't even look up from her phone) that she didn’t care.

You soon learned that Magenta is messy but friendly. She stays up all night and sleeps during the day. She's everywhere online: Instagrammer, Tiktokker (is that what they call it?), live streamer or these days she’s even on the radio and TV. She doing something for one of those things right now, with her bedroom door closed and music playing faintly behind it.

You're standing in the kitchen, staring down her latest infringement. Now, these empty take-out boxes were here this morning when you left. They were also here last night, and yesterday afternoon, and...you get where this is going.

"Hey, you awake in there?!" you shout towards her bedroom but get no response.

With a sigh, you walk over to her door and knock. Twice. Then again, louder when you still get no response. Finally, you resort to pounding on it repeatedly until it suddenly swings open to reveal your roommate shouting, "What!?" You step back, slightly taken aback by how loudly she said that single word. Her eyes soften instantly, though when they land on you.

She looks good. Not even just in a 'good for someone who hasn't slept yet today' kind of way. Just straight-up hot. Magenta wears a faded pink crop top emblazoned with an anime character and little cut-off cotton shorts covered in cookie prints. The low waistband of the shorts hangs off her hips, exposing the start of a light purple thong that cuts diagonally across her hip bones.

"I think our apartment might get condemned if you don't clean sometime soon."

Your roommate leans against the door frame. She pushes some dark brown hair behind her ear as she says, "Can't you do it for me? Just this once?"

"Just this once?" you repeat, crossing your arms. Your lips curl into a smile as you ask back to her, "Can't you do it just this once?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm always reminding you to clean, and you never do it. So guess who does it? It's not the magical cleaning fairy—it's me."

Her eyes roll skyward so forcefully you imagine you can hear them squeaking in their sockets.

"Why are you giving me such a hard time about this?" she says. "This seems really petty."

"It's not petty," you protest. "I have stuff to do and I shouldn't have to keep picking up after my adult roommate." You say the word 'adult' laden with implications. She gets your meaning immediately. Her lips twist.

"oh, I get it," she says with a smirk. "I guess it's been a while since I gave you a little thank you. Well, I need to get this video finished, so could you maybe clean it up and come back here after?"

So there's the perks. Two of them actually, as she pulls up her pink crop top and flashes you what's beneath. A pair of purple lace bra cups strain to contain your roommate's ample endowment. Pale skin pours out from beneath them, flesh squeezing together into a deep cleavage that entices you closer even as you shake your head.

"You can't keep pulling tricks like this, Magenta," you say, trying desperately to hold onto your train of thought while also enjoying the view. It helps that you know those breasts intimately. Hell, you've worshipped those breasts. They've spilt around your hands, smothered your face and laid upon your thighs. You know what the soft warmth inside each cup feels like. And, God, they feel really fucking good.

"I really appreciate your help and everything," she says, her bottom lip suddenly pushing out into a cute pout that goes well beyond suggestive. "And I'd like to show you just how much I appreciate it..."

Your resolve lasts right up until Magenta runs a finger down one of her tits to tease along the edge of the lacy purple material. That's when you give up. There's no point in fighting anymore—she has won this battle (just like all others).

"Just go finish your work already," you finally say, letting out a sigh.

Magenta smiles and giggles, lowering her shirt. "Thanks. Love ya!"

With a wink, she slips back into her room. You stand alone for several seconds before shaking your head. Back to cleaning, then.

-

It's not exactly easy to focus on sorting the recycling into the correct bins when your roommate has just reminded you how nice her tits are. They're on your mind a lot, to be honest. More than they should be probably. Sometimes they're on your cock, though not as often as they should be. Probably.

You're counting your blessings that none of the neighbours are doing late-night recycling because then you'd have to explain why your face is red and your pants are bulging.

That doesn't stop the occasional glance towards your neighbour's house, where Mrs Kim likes to smoke on her front porch some nights. You think she smokes more than she should, but that's really none of your business. Her watching you from across the street, however, is very much your business, so you peek over your shoulder once in a while to check if she's spying. Again. Or still. Whatever.

One last box. The light outside is fading rapidly, but you can just barely make out that it comes from...the Greek place you love?

Oh. Oh no. Did she eat gyros and not bring you any? Damn, that girl knows how to be cruel!

When the recycling is finally squared away you dust off your hands. It's a symbolic gesture since all you've done is shove cardboard and glass into the right bins, but it makes you feel accomplished nonetheless.

Back in the apartment and lock the door behind you.

"There you are. Where have you been?"

"The bins, have you ever seen them before?" You mock while still fiddling with the lock chain.

"That was quick," comes her response. Your eyes follow the sound of her voice. Magenta is lying upside-down on the couch. She swings her feet lazily in the air while looking at something on her phone. Her dark hair cascades nearly to the floor. Those short shorts mean you can see most of her long legs. Then there's the curve of her hip, the crease of her thigh... "Get over here."

It's a rare occasion that Magenta voluntarily puts her phone down, yet she does just that as you walk over. The closer you get, the more enticing her position becomes: laying across the couch, head tipped backwards off the cushions to watch you approach her.

"So," she says. Her fingertips brush over the exposed skin of her belly. The fingers trace lines up and across her abdomen, moving between the edge of her shorts and her top. The motion catches your eye—and she knows it. "I owe you, don't I?" Her eyelids flutter innocently. Or rather, far less than innocently.

"For today? Yeah. Definitely." You clear your throat and try again, "For quite a few days, actually."

"Quite a few," she echoes in agreement. Her hand continues to crawl upward until it reaches the peak of her breasts rising beneath her faded pink crop top. The movement presses the supple skin together in a way that has you standing right in front of her before you even realize you've walked over.

She pushes them hard together before letting them settle back to normal. Gravity spreads them apart, flesh pouring across her chest from the tightly gathered fabric keeping them barely contained. She reaches out over her head, to you, and grabs you by the belt buckle. Pulls you forward until you are stood over her. Even though she's upside down, she makes such effortless work of unbuckling the leather strap that you barely notice. One second it's on; the next it's flapping loose.

It takes only two sharp tugs to force your pants and boxers down past your knees. Magenta doesn't waste any time reaching out to touch your cock, gently running her hands over it until she can wrap her entire hand around the warm shaft and pull you until you fall to your knees. Her head hangs right in front your your length, and you see the teasing sparkle in her eye even upside down.

Her hot breath hits the skin of your bare cock. Lips press a series of soft, wet kisses down from your tip towards your balls. Then back up again, trailing even more tiny pecks that leave your skin tingling. You let your cock nudge against her cheek, feeling it slide along the smooth skin.

With both hands wrapped around your cock, Magenta holds your tip right in front of her mouth. Her tongue sticks out from between her lips, slowly, methodically lapping circles around the crown of your cock.

"Oh, God," you mutter, and you need to hold onto something, anything. First, it's the couch, then it's her tits.

Your hand lands heavily atop the nearest swell of flesh and squeezes tight, pushing it further out of her crop top. She hums approvingly at the groping and wraps her lips around your cockhead. Suckles sweetly. Slurps noisily until spit pools at the corner of her stretched lips.

She lets gravity help guide your cock into her waiting mouth. The further you slip inside, the more she relaxes her jaw to accept you. But then she reaches up and pulls on your hips. You glide up against her grateful tongue. Until her nose meets your stomach. She gags. It's so fucking lewd.

The whole thing makes you squeeze her chest harder. So big in your palm and yet somehow always bigger than you remember. You forget sometimes just how incredible these tits are. When they bounce in a video she's recorded, you remember—but never quite how heavy they are when you hold them; the way they give to your grasp in exactly the right amount; or the way her nipple puckers just slightly as it stiffens beneath your kneading grip.

"You're so sexy like this," you say.

The compliment elicits an appreciative groan from Magenta. Her head moves with your hips now, bobbing to meet each thrust, spit dripping down her cheeks. The messiness of the sloppy blowjob matches her other personality traits frighteningly well.

With her head pinned and her arms on you, you're free to pull up her shirt and expose her. The dirty minx has taken off her bra, so the expanse of her milky skin greets you. You cup them in each palm, feeling the heft of them, squeezing them greedily. They push back, moulding into the shape of your desire, and she moans, a low guttural note vibrating right through your length.

Her body writhes beneath your attention. Her thighs spread outwards, feet rolling at the ankle in time with each gently guided thrust into her throat. Fingers squeeze you, scratching lightly at the skin above your ass to encourage you deeper inside her hungry maw. Deeper into her throat until she chokes—

You let up, panting, admiring the sight of her stretched out for your viewing pleasure. Her eyes flutter open, looking up at you from her upside-down position. The intensity in them draws you in again.

"Oh shit," you groan as you drive into her, plunging your cock balls deep until her purple-painted nails dig into the small of your back. You pump faster, lost in the warm embrace of her greedy sucking.

Magenta squirms beneath you, whining and groaning and bucking, begging you for more. Her cunt must be throbbing with anticipation. Poor thing wants your cum. You can tell.

You want her tits.

She gasps when you fully withdraw from her mouth. Her face is a fucking mess of saliva and smudged makeup. Before she can question you, you reposition yourself in front of her, straddling her beautiful face as you lower your rigid length between her breasts.

She's quick to pick up what you're putting down. With both hands pressing the creamy flesh of her boobs inward, she creates a tunnel for you to slide your dick into.

It feels as good as it looks. Soft pressure envelops your slick length, wrapping around the sensitive skin and creating a delightful sleeve for you to hump into. You can't get enough.

As soon as you hit a good pace, fucking your roommate's chest hard and fast, she starts giggling.

"What?" you ask.

"It tickles." Her laugh is breathy but not as loud as it usually is. "Keep going."

So you do. Thrust after thrust you plunge deeper, drawing more and more of yourself into the valley between her perfect tits. The more you use her, the further she parts her legs that run up the back of the sofa. Soft thighs splayed for nothing but display. Then, just as you start to admire them, she clenches them together. Your eyes trace down the pale skin until they arrive at her crotch where the bottoms of her cookie-patterned shorts have ridden up against her wet slit. She's gyrating her hips in all sorts of directions and rubbing herself against the material in some attempt to satiate her growing needs.

The soft flesh of her midriff jiggles between the thrusting into her tits and the twisting of her hips below. You can't stop staring. Fuck. How does this girl have every single curve?

At first, you try holding back—you want this to last longer. But after a few seconds, you realize you can't fight this feeling. Not when you've got such a good view. And certainly not with her nipples so hard under the press of your thumbs. She arches up when you pinch them, and you know you're done for.

And then, as if she can feel it by the way you're thrusting, she begins to coo and beg under you. She knows she's getting you close, and she wants it. Bad.

"Cum on me," she coaxes sweetly, the words barely audible over the slapping sounds. "I've been so bad, baby. You deserve to paint my body."

That's all it takes. That final little plea. Your eyes roll back, your hips snap forward and your cock explodes. Thick ropes over her body, the first reaching her thighs before you adjust your aim and finish across the plane of her belly. Soft curves take your load while she encourages you through soft, little pleasured mewls. You may have got some on her shorts, but you paint her stomach white before pulling up and jerking the final drops onto her chest.

"Mmmm, messy boy," Magenta laughs breathlessly as your cum drips down her curves. She lays there beneath you, her smile wide and wickedly innocent, one hand slowly running circles over the sticky mess on her tummy, smearing it across her skin.

After a few seconds of panting and trying to gather yourself, you climb off of her and sit back against the couch. She turns so her head rests in your lap, facing your spent and dripping length. Magenta teases you still by using her own fingertip to collect your seed and place it across her lips, then licking them clean while making sure you're watching. And fuck are you ever.

"So, about my room," she purrs, eyes twinkling mischievously up at you.

"What about it?"

"Well... It needs cleaning, and I was thinking—"

"No," you feign protest, knowing you've already agreed. "Just clean it yourself." Her negotiation will come next. You can see it on her lips. "I'm not doing it."

Magenta leans up and whispers, "But you might change your mind if you find out what's waiting for you beneath my shorts."

That damn purple thong, still visible at her waistband, calls you toward her like a beacon. "What's beneath your shorts?"

Her laugh is playful. A little shrug as her fingers toy at the hem of the garment in question. "Agree to clean my room and you’ll find out."

[siriuslylantsov]

mistletoe

pairing: spencer reid x reader

description: in which you and spencer decorate your apartment for christmas.

tags: fluff, roommate!spencer, gn!reader, idiots in love, pinning, decorating!, spencer lifts reader up super quick, reader teases spencer bcs its fun, a little singing.

a/n: woahhh first christmas fic. MY BAD i listened to our love by curtis harding when i wrote majority of this so it just became what it did (not rlly sure what that is). you'd think a reader fond of christmas would only be playing christmas songs (esp when decorating), but she doesn't even?? idk guys. also i gave a hack making a header for this one, might continue making them. anyway lmk what you think, happy reading :))

wc: 1.7k

“tacky, tacky, tacky...” you drone, fingers skimming over the themed trinkets and signs on the shelves. you’re christmas decor shopping with spencer. it's almost the end of november, which you personally think is too late (being a strict ‘christmas starts on november 1st�� believer), but you had no choice in the matter, wanting to wait for spencer's schedule to free up so you could go together. 

“oh cute!” you chirp, picking up a porcelain snoopy with a santa hat on. you show it to spencer, who trails behind you with a sparsely filled cart. “beside the-”

“tv,” he finishes for you, nodding in agreement. you place it in the cart and continue walking down the aisle.

“i hope you’re checking the price tags,” he muses from behind you, scanning over all the items. you shoot him a look paired with an unconvincing “yeah.”

“be serious,” he says, though a little amused.

“i am,” you step closer to him, meeting his somewhat challenging gaze. you try to hold your ground but something about the way his eyes crinkle at the corners as he squints at you makes you want to look away. “fine, i'll look over everything before check out. deal?”

he smiles, victorious. “deal.” he holds out his hand and you give it a firm shake before continuing your perusing.

you spend the next 2 hours like that, complaining about the abundance of generic things and squealing when you do find something nice. in the end, settling on an assortment of baubles, to add on to the ones you already had from last year, a new green blanket, a mulled-wine scented candle (that took you way too long to pick), the snoopy ornament, and 2 matching mugs which you had to sweet talk spencer into buying. you can never have too many mugs. 

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

you light the new candle and set it on the dining table, briefly glancing at the flame. the warmth on your face feels nice but you pull away quickly, knowing that if spencer catches you that close to the candle, he’ll chastise you about the fumes. 

he's digging through the closet for last year's decorations. the tree is already up–7ft something–tucked in the corner of the living room, bare and in dire need of some personality. he finds the box, and you pull out the fairy lights, starting to swirl the wire from the top down, spencer opposite you to help.

music faintly plays from your speaker, so you turn it up, landslide by fleetwood mac.

you circle around the tree with a handful of baubles, a collection of reds and whites, hanging them up where they felt right. spencer nudges you for approval on a few placements and you give him a reassuring smile. the two of you move in sync, on either end. he places a custom ornament of his team somewhere to the front of the tree. when you put up the last of the new ones, you take a step back and give it a good look. happy, spencer hands you the star. he hovers two tentative hands under your arms, over your rib cage, to lift you. there’s a stool near you that would’ve been perfectly fine, but you wiggle in his grasp anyway, telling him he can. despite his lanky frame, he picks you up with ease. you place the gold topper on firmly. when he puts you down you lean back into him, swaying. you hum quietly to the music. he presses his lips into your hair, lingering, before pulling away. you instantly miss his warmth, but you don't dwell on it, why should you?

the click of the kettle sounds from the kitchen, he's probably making tea. you think to tell him to use the new mugs, but he already knows. you're still swaying, head dipping up and down as you move across the room. you look through the box for more things to decorate with when your eyes land on a sprig of artificial leaves held together with a red bow.

“hey, when did we get mistletoe?” you call out, hoping your voice carries to the adjoining room.

“hmm?” he pokes his head through the door, looking at the item in your hand. “oh... penny got it for us last year, didn't put it up though.” he explains before returning to the tea, you put it in your pocket for later. you were well aware of what his teammates thought of you, or rather you and him. over the course of the 2 years you lived with spencer, you’d been taken to their family dinners and get-togethers as his plus one, never a girlfriend or a date, you. they ceased their relentless teasing for your benefit, but you knew spencer got the brunt of it when you weren't around. they mean well, they’re just annoying, he told you after you met them for the first time. 

you saunter over, ready to tease him. you can't help but want to, he's just so easy. plus, you think it's endearing when he's flustered. “you wanna put it up?” you ask with a smirk, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“what! oh- i don't know, no- uhm- well i don't mean no like it would be bad a bad thing- i just mean–” he stammers nervously, eyes wide and slightly panicked, before you cut him off with a laugh. 

“calm down, pretty. i'm just joshin’ ya.”

he lets out a sigh of relief, though it's laced in hidden disappointment. he wouldn't mind if you put it up, wouldn't mind at all. he hands you your mug, navy with little yellow speckles that resembled stars. with his own in hand, he leads you out of the kitchen.

you settle on the couch beside each other. your shoulder lightly bumps against his in steady beats because you're still swaying, as you blow at your drink. worried about you spilling he peels it from you and sets it down on the arm rest to cool on its own. your knee is bouncing now as the next song starts playing, our love. 

“there's a girl in town and words gone around she's just fine,” you sing quietly, head dropping onto his shoulder. “so i don't worry my head cause i know her heart is tied to mine.” you tip back onto the cushions, and you raise a dramatic hand to your chest, over your heart. “the life that we live and the love that i give to her. each day it grows more and more i'm sure, it shows. well,” you shift to face him, leaning closer. 

“our love, is a bubblin' fountain. our love, that flows into a sea. our love, deeper than any ocean. our love, for eternity.”

you quiet as the second verse starts playing, switching to mouthing the lyrics instead. you look at him with a reverie, head tilted in observation, that makes him nervous. “…he holds me down for sure.” in diligent self-sabotage, he combats this by starting to sing along with you, putting his mug down beside yours, effectively ending the moment as you spring in recognition.

your eyebrows furrow in amusement as you follow suit, planting your hands on his shoulders to move his in tow with yours. the angle is awkward, and he looks a little silly as he does it but it's fine. the chorus plays through and you tire, dipping your head back into his shoulder as he returns your mug to you, albeit still quietly mumbling the lyrics. 

you practically chug the tea, having reached an ideal temperature. spencer sits sipping slowly, a serial sipper. you curl into his side in the meantime, arm looped through his. after several minutes, he finishes and you take both mugs to the sink, rinsing them swiftly. 

you slowly but surely continue decorating. two stockings adorned with your initials hang from the key rack in the hallway. handmade paper snowflakes are stuck to the window, snowflakes that had you and spencer hunched over in concentration on the floor a few nights ago, tediously cutting away. you go back and forth on whether the tinsel would go well with the tree, realising all it missed was something sparkly, you wrap it around. spencer nails a simple wreath on the front door, there's a little purple bow on it. snoopy is placed in the midst of the trinkets that sat at your tv table–good choice, you think. you change out the pillowcases on the couch for ones with a red flannel pattern and throw the new blanket across the back. 

the space is perfect, standing in the middle of the room you take a deep breath. waxy candle scented greatness fills your senses, and somehow pine? from the wreath you assume. it's dimly lit, and the low light reflects off the sparkles on the tree gracefully. you wish you had a fireplace during times like this, you take a picture to preserve it anyway. 

you leave to change into your pyjamas, quickly so the cold doesn't linger on your skin. when you return to the living room you find spencer on the couch, a book perched in his lap. you come up to the back, mistletoe that you fished out of your pocket in hand. you crouch behind him, a little to his right, with the leaves dangling over his head. you graze it lightly on his hair and he looks up. his eyes widen slightly in realisation, but he doesn't try to move, he's intently still. with an amused huff, you lean in and kiss his cheek softly. he's still frozen in place, so as to prolong whatever's happening, a flush spreading across his face. you lean back and drop the sprig into the seat beside him. 

“goodnight spencer,” you whisper, suddenly timid. he touches his fingers to the area as you walk away. 

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

a few hours later, he walks into your room, quietly padding across the floor, to your side of the bed. he made the mistake of drinking a cup of coffee a few minutes after you left and now, he can't sleep, naturally. he bends and presses a kiss to your forehead, in some kind of implied reciprocation. you don't feel it, you don't even stir, but for now, that's alright with him.

he’ll put the mistletoe up, maybe in the doorway to the kitchen. and hope to god you both find yourselves under it at the same time.

m.list | comments and reblogs are appreciated :)

[bloggerspam]

I'm a dummy and have fucked up the reblogs.

So I'm going to fix that and delete the incorrect posts so that the chapters are all in one place in the correct order. Please bear with me and I'm sorry for any confusion....

===

Gotham is unusually sunny, which works in Steph's favor by providing ample lighting.

Steph adjusts herself, posing just a little against a streetlight behind her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She smooths down her skirt, her favorite black denim pencil skirt that makes her legs look long, for the millionth time. Her oversized jean jacket and fitted purple turtleneck keep her warm as she waits impatiently beside an equally posed Jason.

He's decided to cross his arms and casually lean back against Danny's bike, wearing a tight black thermal henley that really doesn't do anything to hide his muscles. His jeans look painted on, and his leather jacket is tucked safely in her car, parked a little ways away.

They're both pretending they're not acting like peacocks.

It's mostly working.

She's entirely grateful that Sam decided to bail the two troublemakers out, rather than Jason and Steph having to beg. Sibling solidarity can go a long, long way when cute boys and girls are involved, but it's better to err on the safe side when your main antagonist is your pesky nosy cop of a brother.

…Not that Steph's a Wayne by any means, but still. It counts.

The sound of bickering, familiar voices cause their nerves of waiting to turn into the nerves of anticipation.

"Fenton I swear to Clockwork I will end you if this happens again!!" Val's smooth baritone rasp is threatening, and even though it's playful, it still brings shivers down Steph's spine.

"What makes you think it'll happen again?" Danny challenges, Jason perking up beside her like a puppy.

"Because I know you, you dolt." Val growls, both of them coming into view now, "I bet you've already got plans on a better version knocking around in that empty head of yours!"

And fuck. Val's wearing a loose yellow crop top and low rider jeans, and with the way she jostles about with Danny, Steph can see a little peak of her abs every time she reaches up. Steph licks her lips at the flash of the other woman's dark skin, wants to bite at the pouch she's got going on that Steph knows means she's packing practical muscle.

Steph really, really wants to get her mouth on that woman ASAP.

If only Val would actually use said god damn muscles and pick up on the damn hints Steph's been leaving, that would be phenomenal.

"Just because you're right doesn't mean—oh!" Danny pauses, causing Val to stutter stop with him reflexively.

"Bossman?" Val squints, before her eyes widen, "Steph? Is that…Danny's bike?"

Jason puffs up his chest, proud, looking especially pleased when Danny beams and rushes towards them to check over his baby. It puts Danny all up in Jason's business, who refuses to step away probably for that purpose. Damn him, but he's smooth.

"Did you guys bail out the bike for him?" Val asks, smile soft as she comes to stand next to Steph, "You really didn't have to, Danny's not worth all that trouble."

"Oh, it was no big." Steph shrugs, peering down at Val through her eyelashes as best she can, "Between you and met? It didn't cost a penny." She winks. "We heard from a little birdy Danny quite likes bad boys."

"Yeah?" Val smirks, and gods is it hot, "And you totally didn't go along with it to, oh, I don't know, egg him on?"

Steph giggles, giggles like a schoolgirl! Ugh. She can't with herself sometimes. "Hey, who says he didn't need my expert help? I'm a beast with a lock pick you know."

Wait. That's not a normal thing to brag about. Abort! Abort!!

"Nice. I'm no slouch either, but I can't imagine it was easy." Val chuckles, shaking her head. "Which of you managed to crack Danny's security system? Your lockpicking skills extend to hacking too?"

…Apparently, it is a normal thing to brag about. Proceed as planned!

"We had a little help." Steph smiles her most winning smile, leaning a little into Val's space. The other girl's eyes widen, licking her lips, and Steph almost says fuck it, almost leans closer, if only—

"So I was thinkin' we could watch that new horror movie playin' at the threatre," Jason's voice is low, Steph almost misses it, if Val immediately swing her head towards him, "Carnage for Christmas, y'know, 'tis the season and all…"

Pouting at her missed opportunity, she looks over herself to see what the fuss is.

Danny is smiling helplessly up at Jason, who has a hand on the bike and is leaning over him close. They look snug, Danny fiddling nervously and looking besotted whilst Jason is eyeing Danny like he wants to eat him up.

Steph refuses to get jealous. Jason's got a head start, but that doesn't mean—

"Danny hates Christmas," To her credit, Val looks like she very much does not want to interrupt whatever is going on over there, "Plus, he's scared of ghosts."

Which. What?

Jason, mirroring her confusion, sputters. "But—I thought?" Jason's eye flick back and forth between a sheepishly embarrassed Danny and a reluctantly cockblocking Val. He settles on the safest thing to say. "Isn't Amity Park 'The Most Haunted Town in America'?"

Both Amity Parkers nod with a grimace.

"Aren't your parents ghost hunters?" Steph asks, though she regrets it when both of them stare at her with hard eyes.

"We never told you my last name." Danny's voice quavers, and he backs up just a tiny bit. "…Did you look into me?" Jason's expression crumbles, just that tiny bit, reaching over only to stop and bring his hand back when Danny flinches.

You mean his bully and his stalker? Sam had said. Fuck.

Steph and Jason both try to say no, only—only they did. Thankfully, Val steps in.

"Danny, they're Waynes." Her voice is forcefully calm. "It would be weirder if they didn't look into you."

That, thank all the fucking gods, does the trick. Steph bites her lip from refuting her Wayne status, watching tensely as Danny starts to cautiously relax, no longer looking like he's ready to bolt at any minute.

"Right." Danny breathes, relaxing enough to lean back into Jason's personal bubble, "Right, of course."

Steph and Jason silently resolve to give Val an expensive gift and a raise, respectively.

"Where did you find out about his parents?" Val asks, still in that forceful calm, silently urging them to…what, give a good excuse?

"From us, guard dog. Breathe a little." Sam's voice sounds out from the police station. "Not that I blame you, but we promise Danny is safe."

It's an odd thing to say, a concerning thing. She can tell Jason's already made a mental note to figure that shit out pronto. Boy's definitely gotten attached.

"Long time no see!" Tucker grins, waving at the four of them, "Sorry we took so long, that brother of yours had a lotta questions and Sam was not having it."

"ACAB." Sam deadpans, rolling her eyes and startling laughter out of Steph and Jason.

"He's not even supposed to be here," Steph rolls his eyes, "He usually works over in Bludhaven."

"He gave us some bull about police officer exchanges," Jason adds on, "which neither of us bought."

Danny relaxes all the way now, darting up a glance as a softly smiling Jason (gag) and even daringly leaning a shoulder against him. Jason preens.

"Wait go back," Val squints suspicious eyes at Tucker, "What do you mean long time no see?"

"It was a joke," Tucker's smile goes sly, "We met yesterday, committed our first crime in Gotham together and everything."

"Even got ice cream to celebrate" Sam smirks, "Swapped stories."

Danny looks up at Jason, wide eyes sad and mouth pouty, "You committed crime and got ice cream without us?"

Steph watches as Jason try to placate Danny, who is clearly joking and not having it, and feels all kinds of jealous and happy for him.

It just reminds her that she's gotta get going, so she leans just that little bit closer to Val, who is focused on Sam.

"What kind of stories?" Val crosses her arms, which. Delicious. Steph wants to bite them. Maybe Steph has an oral fixation.

She's okay with that. Hopefully Val is too.

"Oh…you know," Tucker drawls out, taking his sweet time, "Like how Danny's parents are ghost hunters turned ecto-biologists, a little bit about the ghosts and our town heroes…"

"…maybe a little bit about the Phan Club," Sam adds, not so innocently, "And how you were obsessed with Martina William's buck teeth in Junior Year because you thought they made her so cute, like Bugs Bunny—"

That seems to be the last straw. Val lunges.

Sam and Val chase each other, another, less monkey'd version of how Danny and Val brawled together.

It gave Steph more opportunity to observe their fighting styles, do a little more guesswork on the mystery that was Amity Park.

Danny liked to throw things, reliant on his apparent strength. Not for the first time, Steph wondered if Danny was a meta, if this was further proof that maybe Danny was Phantom, the blurry, hazmatted hero of Amity Park.

Val liked to flip and trip people up, even now, she was hooking her feet and flipping over objects on the street. She's been filmed on all sorts of security cameras, but her background doesn't discount her as Red Huntress, the newer hero that seemed antagonistic towards Phantom. Steph's not sure though, there isn't a lot of overlap beyond that in their fighting styles, and maybe it's the suit but Huntress' body type looked more svelte.

Sam, apparently, liked to use the other's momentum against them, stepping out and pushing against already moving limbs to twist them all around, topsy turvy. When Val went low to sweep a foot under, Sam stepped back and kicked it, turning Val all the way around and giving Sam a wide opening to the other girl's back, easy pickings

Steph squinted. Red Huntress liked to use weapons, so it was harder to really cement a fighting style, but she's seen Huntress use that move in one of the clips Babs sent over. And Sam was a little more on the petite side...

…Was Sam Red Huntress?

"You guys really like to brawl, huh." Steph said absently, trying to see if she could make any other connections.

"Everyone in Amity Park knows at least a little somethin' about brawling." Tucker shrugs, "It'd be hard not to, Most of the older generations were really into self-protection of any kind, even before the ghosts came around."

"Mom's a 9th degree black belt and Dad does judo," Danny agrees, "Jazz, my sister, took to Krav Maga like a duck to water, but got Dad's terrible aim."

"What about you?" Jason asks, peering at Danny's arms, no doubt remembering Danny's ease in tossing Val clear across a room and probably drooling about it. "Judo?"

Danny blushed, but it was Tucker that answered. "Danny's a whiz with weapons." He grinned a sharp little grin, "And yeah, he knows a lil' somethin' about judo. He's stronger than he looks."

Danny scratched the back of his neck, bashfully, "Mom was a little disappointed about the Krav Maga, I just don't have the head for it, but she perked right up when she found out I was good at handlin' guns."

Jason's eyes flared, and he leaned in a little closer with a gleam to his eye, voice so low Steph could scoop it up from the god damn floor. "Yeah?"

Ugh. Someone gag her. This does put the Phantom thing a little on the grayer side, since the 'ghost' hero relied more on their punches.

Steph shakes her head to clear her thought, looking hopefully over at where Sam and Val were still at it. She sighed, but turned back with a smile anyway. "And Val?"

"Val's dad works in Security," Danny's ears are so very red from Jason's attentions, "She's got some history in Hapkido, or was it Taekwondo?"

"Explains all the kicks," Jason whistles, "And all of Amity Park's like that?"

"Nobody realized how weird it was to have PE just be a karate class until Sam came around." Tucker continues, gesturing to the girls, "She came to town later, but she's also kind of good at most physical things."

"She's kicked my butt too many times to count," Danny grumbles, "Aikido is tricky to handle."

"At least you can keep up." Tucker rolls his eyes. "Leave some talent for the rest of us."

"Says the resident tech genius." Danny scoffs, but wisely keeps it at that when tucker rolls his eyes. "Besides, you're passable at guns."

"Passable," Tucker mocks, "Gee thanks."

The more she hears about Danny, the more she thinks he's too good for Jason. But then again, he also seemed perfect for him, so Steph called it a wash.

"So about that movie?" Jason decided to change the subject, probably impatient to get loverboy to himself. "We could watch something else, if Christmas or scary movies aren't your thing."

"The new Venom is out," Danny perked right up, turning towards Tucker for some reason, "We've been meaning to see that, right?"

"Uh," Tucker hesitates, gaze wide and frantic as it darts between Danny and Jason, "Y-yeah, buddy but I think—"

"The Marvel movies are one of the few movie franchises we can all agree on," Danny explains, turning back to Jason and looking up brightly, "We usually wait to watch on stream or something, but…" Danny bites his lip shyly, voice quieting, "…maybe we can watch it theatre just this once?"

Jason looks like he's trying his damnedest to not look disappointed, which—Steph feels for him, really. She and Tucker share a look, trying to figure out how to delicately navigate out of this disaster.

"Actually, I was thinking of—" Steph tries, only to be interrupted by a loud boom!

All six of them stiffen, bracing themselves and looking for the source. Those stories about Amity Park being a less Gothic version of Gotham is starting to hold water.

"Hello, Gotham!" A familiar grating voice echoes, "Welcome to my funtime jamboree!"

"Which one is this guy?" Val asks, still looking for the rogue.

"It's Riddler," Steph and Jason say at the same time.

Val groans, Sam rolling her eyes as the boys for some reason cheer.

"There are several bombs hidden throughout Gotham," Riddler continues over the police speaker system, "And each of them require some…shall be say creative problem solving!"

Steph gets tugged by the arm, pulled away before can even think about a way to separate naturally and disappear with Jason.

"Val?" Next to her, Jason has being herded by Sam, as Danny and Tucker conspire together over what looks like an old, beat up PDA.

"Danny and Tucker love escape rooms," Val explains, face scrunched up cutey in distaste, "I've been dragged to too many to count—"

"Wait—Riddler is too dangerous for citizens to—" Jason starts, trying to turn around to grab Danny, but is pushed forward by a surprisingly strong Sam.

"Yes, yes," Sam rolls her eyes, "We know, civilians etcetera and all that. Don't worry."

Steph and Jason try to argue, but are summarily stuffed into Steph's car—when did Val pick pocket her keys? Why is that so hot?

Before either of them can comprehend, Steph's been buckled into the driver's seat, Jason in the passenger, with the car somehow running.

The doors slam, and when both of them look through the passenger window, Sam has Tucker and Val in a rental car with her, Danny on his ecto-bike, already driving off.

Towards the commotion.

Steph and Jason share a look.

"What the fuck just happened?" Steph asks, stupefied.

"I didn't get Danny's number." Jason answers, equally confused but still buckling up and putting in a comm, "And you didn't even get to flirt."

"Hey!" Steph defends, putting in her own comm, "I'm not the one whose date thought they were asking the whole group to the movies!"

"Just drive," Jason growls, but it's lost in the sound of Steph revving her engine and their comms bursting into life with Babs' commanding voice and Duke's cheery timbre.

Riddler first, then dates.

Hopefully.

Mechanic!Val AU, but make it gay and sapphic.

ya'll can thank the HH discord for this one. Specifically the menace known as @clockwayswrites (and @impyssadobsessions for the art that inspired the damn thing)

Dead on Main and with some future Val/Steph >)

also @belfry-ghost did a doodle for this AU and everyone should go love on his art. Val's so unf.

===

Val’s pretty sure her new boss Jay is actually a crime lord.

She’s pretty sure he’s The Crime Lord, actually. She’s like, 98% sure she works for Red Hood now, and she’s low key mad about it. She squints at the man now, with his white streak and almost imperceptible green sheen to his eyes. 

The problem is that Val did perceive it. Because she used to date a guy whose baby blue eyes changed ever so slightly in the same way. Thinking about Danny makes her even madder.

To be clear, she’s not mad about Red Hood himself. 

She’s just mad that, of all the mechanic shops in all of Crime Alley, she just had to work for her ex-boyfriend’s third place Hall Pass pick. It also makes her miss her friends way more, and Val is hardly what one would call a well-adjusted woman, so she’s mad about it.

She huffs as she lifts the hood of the second car she’s working on today. Being a mechanic wasn’t really on the docket for Val’s life goals, nor was being in Gotham, but she got a full ticket ride on Wayne Foundation scholarships, and honestly? 

Gotham is Amity Park Lite: Gargoyles and Furries Edition. 

Between a full ride to Gotham U and being stuck at Elmerton Community College? The choice was easy. 

So here she is, working for the resident Crime Lord in his civvies. 

Jay pays good, teaches her what she needs to know, and bonus: he sometimes helps with her English Literature class. He’s flexible on hours, and she’s even got rudimentary insurance. 

All in All?  It could be worse—she could still be working for Vlad, after all. 

It's the little things.

[letsgoletsgetit08]

ateez soft hours pt. 1

how they would treat you while you're on your period

hyung line

warnings: mdni, period sex, smut

word count: 1.9k

author's note: I'm feeling some type of way, okay? Don't look at me.

park seonghwa: He knows how sensitive you are while on your period so he takes full advantage of it to help you feel good.

A black towel placed down on his bed, guiding you on top of it, nimble fingers pulling down the blindfold and placing noise cancelling headphones over your ears, playing entrancing music to help you get out of your own head and just let yourself feel everything.

Soft fingers tracing feather-light over your sensitive body, the swell of your breasts, nipples going hard immediately at his touch. The softest carress - he knows they get sore, too.

Gooseflesh rising on your skin as his fingers trace down further, over the swell of your stomach, down to your thighs. Kisses soft as raindrops fall up the inside of your legs.

He knows his touch alone could probably send you over the edge, but he's not one to tease when you're in this state.

Finally, his fingers find your clit and he begins to add pressure, before dipping down further into your folds, using the wetness that has pooled at your core to help his fingers work you with less friction.

It doesn't take long for you to careen over the edge, hips bucking. You can hear him praise you over the music, "Such a good girl, always so good for me."

He slips the blindfold and headphones off one after the other, dipping in to kiss you as your legs wrap around his waist so that he can push inside of you. He knows the sex will help with your cramps, but he's more gentle than usually, laying long, languid strokes, the tip of his dick dragging deliciously over your sweet spot over and over and over until your abs are clenching, your walls milking him for all he's worth with your second orgasm.

You shower together and he wraps you up tight in bed, massaging your lower back and kissing your neck as you fall asleep.

kim hongjoong: He leaves the studio early for you after you text him complaining about how bad your cramps are. He comes by your apartment with takeout and heats up your hot water bottle for you while you get situated on the couch after spending all day in agony in bed.

He eats with you and watches an episode of the silly dating show you've been binging with you until he has to continue working, letting you put your feet in his lap as he works on his laptop.

He can only work for so long before he starts glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. You look so cute in his sweatshirt, lip stuck out in a pout as you try to ignore the pain and concentrate on the show. Eventually, his hand moves from your calf to your thigh, unable to stop himself from giving it a small sqeeze. Your legs part instinctively, allowing his hand to trace up further. You can feel the warmth of his hand through the thin fabric of your sleep pants and the sensation drives you crazy. You scooch down on the couch a little so he can reach further up, which he does, fingers nearly to where you're craving them to be.

You let our a small whimper and he either hears it or can just read your mind at that point, fingers finally landing on your still-clothed clit. You grind your hips into them, seeking friction, gaping at the smile curling up at the corner of his mouth.

He set a steady rhythm until you can't take it anymore, sitting up and staring him down until he clicks a few more times, saving the file he's working on, and drops his laptop and headphones a little carelessly onto the coffee table before pulling you into his lap. You straddle his thigh as he begins kissing you, hands gentle as they guide your hips down onto him.

The friction and pressure are everything and you're about to fall apart when he whispers, "Go ahead, darling. Make yourself feel good. I love when you use me." His thumb finds your clit again through your pants and you fall forward to his shoulder, rutting against him a few more times until you find yourself tumbling into pleasure, breathing hard as he praises you, "There we go baby. Feels better now, doesn't it?"

You hum an acknowledgement, already about to slip into sleep. He realizes and picks you up, walking you to your bed, where he tucks you in for the night, kissing your forehead before he goes back into the living room to continue working for a few more hours. He joins you later that night and lets you roll practically on top of him, rubbing your back in comforting circles as he drifts to sleep.

jeong yunho: He knows you're extra aroused while menstruating and takes full advantage of this fact. Orders in steak and cheesecake because "You need the extra iron and protein right now, honey." The cheesecake is just because you like it. But that will be saved for later. The red wine he brings over goes with the steak, though.

You eat until he is satisfied, sipping on your wine as the food digests. He listens attentively as you complain about your discomfort throughout the day, never making you feel silly for your vulnerability, face looking concerned as you talk. He kisses your hand, "I wish I could take all the pain away from my princess." His eyes darken as he kisses all the way up the inside of your forearm, sending shivers down your spine. You feel yourself getting slick, thighs clencing together, which doesn't go unnoticed by Yunho.

He stands up slowly from the couch, pulling you up with him and into a deep kiss that turns desperate and messy very quickly. His hands grope your ass and you moan into his mouth. A few quick movements and he has you bent over the armrest of the couch, pants ripped down, teasing your aching cunt with his cock.

He likes that your blood serves as extra lubrication. Not that you need it. He makes you so wet so easily. But it never hurts, especially with how big he is. The stretch as he enters you never gets old, feeling especially incredible right now. You suck him in greedily and he starts fucking you, snapping his hips exactly how he knows you need it.

"Fuck, baby, you feel amazing. So tight. God, I love watching myself disappear into you, you have no idea." His hands find your waist and you feel his thumbs rub circles into your lower back where he knows you carry pain during your time of month. One of them slips all the way around, long fingers finding your throbbing clit and it only takes a few more strokes, which he lays in time with the strokes of his fingers, before you're clenching around his considerable girth. He finishes quickly behind you, filling you to the brim.

His cock glistens red when he pulls out. You'd be more embarrassed, but you know he finds it hot.

You shower together afterwards, and he can't resist getting you off again, with deft, precise fingers.

kang yeosang: "Oh no! My poor angel. Stay right where you are, I'm leaving work early. I'll be there soon, okay darling?" His voice is so sweet over the phone. You feel tears pool in your eyes. You know it's partly just the hormones, but goddamn do you love Kang Yeosang.

"Aw, baby, you don't have to-" You start to protest.

"Uh-uh. Nope. My sweetheart is not going to suffer alone. I won't take no for an answer." You smile at his soft lisp, knowing that he's telling the truth. He might be the most gentle person you've ever met, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like being in control.

"Okay, if you insist." You sigh into the phone.

"Good girl." You can picture the smile on his face as he says it, knowing that it drives you mad with need every time. "See you soon, love."

Thirty minutes later, he's unlocking the door to your apartment with the copy of the key you made him, pint of ice cream clutched in one hand.

"Hi baby!" He calls to you from your spot in bed, "Stay there, I'm just grabbing spoons."

He's the one taking care of you, but you end up wiping the corners of his mouth where he's managed to get ice cream while eating it with you in your bed. "Messiest eater I know." You tease him.

"How do you know I'm not saving that for later?" He acts affronted.

"Because." You kiss him on the cheek, "You're sweet enough already, you don't need the extra sugar on your face to prove it."

He giggles, "That doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, well, I don't have to make sense right now, all my blood has left my brain and has formed a sentient knife demon in my uterus that is trying to stab its way out from the inside." You fix him with big puppy dog eyes.

"Hmm..." He considers what you've said, "Well then you'd better start calling me 'Demonslayer.'"

"Huh-?" He doesn't let you finish computing what he just said, pulling you into a real kiss, turning so that he's pushing you into the mattress.

He has your pants down in an instant, face plunging between your legs, tongue expertly teasing your clit, exploring your folds, dipping low to circle your entrance. He comes up for air, "I'll show you messy eater."

He's not joking, either. He's not satisfied until you've come on his face and around his fingers at least three times. He finally comes up for air, chin tinted slightly pink, face wet from your multiple orgasms, "How do you taste amazing even like this, angel? I swear, I'm the luckiest man on earth."

He draws you a bath afterwards, adding the lavender epsom salt mix he knows helps relax your muscles, never needing to be asked to do it. You lean back onto his chest in the bathtub and let him massage your neck and shoulders. His fingers slip down to your chest, soap making easy work of things as he cups your breasts in his hands, fingers teasing your nipples. He can't resist. He always loves making you feel good, but when you're extra sensitive, it's like a drug to him.

You're close to coming just from the attention to your nipples.

"Go ahead and touch yourself, angel," He whispers into your ear, "I've got you."

The added pressure between your legs as you touch yourself is all you needed to send waves of pleasure coursing through your body once more.

"Oh, there we go." His deep voice vibrates as it resonates in his chest, "I love watching you, darling. And such pretty noises you make for me."

"Thank you, Sangie." You pant, still coming down from your orgasm. You can tell he's hard behind you but he never lets you help him out when you're on your period. He insists it's all about you and making you feel good. His pleasure can wait. He gets enough of it just helping you get yours.

"Of course, my love." He kisses right below your earlobe.

Later, he grabs your favorite stuffy from your bookshelf and hands it to you to cuddle as he curls up to spoon you from behind. You usually let them sleep on the shelf when he's over, but he knows you find extra comfort in them when your're feeling especially emotional. He's everything you could have ever asked for and more.

[palaceofpassion]

The Thoughts of Those Above

How strange, one would have thought that the prissy little heiress would have been the MOST apposed to a man attending to the needs and ailments of four young, proper women. But, to everyone's surprise, how rude of them, Weiss had adjusted surprisingly fast!

It helped, perhaps, that she was used to having men and women wait on her every word. She was after all, rich, so having another butler around meant little to her... though to her surprise, he was quite apt at what he did. She couldn't help but notice how quickly he moved around, doing chores one moment, and fixing up something the next.

It had been... a strange experience, she was SURE he would flirt with her, just like every young man their equivalent age did. However, perhaps due to their different statuses, he seemed mostly ambivalent to her. Of course, she caught him staring every now and then, though it was small polite glances. And it was only when she was looking his way already.

These moments often lead to an awkward grin as he gave her a curt nod or a wave, and carried on. She would roll her eyes of course, at least, that's how it started...

But to her surprise she found herself warming up, rather quickly, to him.

In fact, two weeks in, and she'd found herself enjoying his company. Not in any way romantic of course, he was far too nerdy for her... though, having him NOT flirt with her every chance he got was... endearing.

Perhaps she had low standards?

"Jaune."

"Hmm?" The young man turned his attention to the snow white heiress.

"I didn't ask for tea..." She turned her attention to him, noting the cup and kettle in his hands.

"Oh uh, right, right." He blushed a little, that pure red dust brushing across his cheeks. "I uh, noticed you seemed to be a little frustrated, with your studying and all that." He gestured towards her book, a Guide to Solo Combat. He assumed it had to do with combat classes or something.

"Ah... yes well, I've been..." She'd been falling behind, though she would not admit it aloud. She fumbled with her thoughts, trying to express herself. Her brows furrowed and eyes closed shut. Truth be told, "I have not been doing well in combat class... well, as well as I should." She was in the top four of course... but she was forth. And that was the problem.

She understood Pyrrha, but her teammates, to her surprise. Were very skilled, in fact, she was sure May HADN'T missed a shot since they joined. Ironically unlike that Rose girl from one of the other teams. She was fantastic with her scythe... but her aim was clearly off.

And then there was their leader, Jessica. She was a sniveling mess most of the time, and she wondered why Ozpin made her leader... but when it came to combat, when it came to being able to avoid social situations. She was able to put her head in the game, and her semblance was... strong. Very strong, apparently it cooperated well with the smallest bits of hard light dust, creating whatever she could imagine on the fly.

Truly, as Xiao Long from another team would call it, Broken.

It was vexing, frustrating, even in team battles, it felt like she did nothing to assist. All she could muster were her glyphs... and though Jessica was fantastic at calling shots... and pre planned tactics... she didn't use Weiss as well as she was needed.

"Mmm." She turned her attention to him, tea slowly pouring into the cup, a warm sizzle reaching her ears as he placed it before her.

Once again, she found it strange, he knew what she liked. Perhaps after being told over and over again, he would learn.

"I dunno, I've seen the recordings, and well I'm not a fighter." He chuckled a little, not that he'd know the first thing about combat. "But, you're always fantastic."

Her eyes widened, but then furled downwards, with one staying up as she looked at him with suspicion.

"Like, in team combat, sure Jessica is guiding everyone. But haven't you noticed? She doesn't really give you commands. And that's cause you've got your eyes on the entire battle field. Sure there was that time with the boar grimm thing at the start, when you were like frustrated you weren't the leader and-"

"Jaune..."

"Ah, right, right sorry! I mean like... you're really good at battlefield control."

She blinked a few times, a little confused. "I mean, you don't HAVE to be in the frontlines all the time. Heck, Pyrrha generally has that covered, and Jessica is like, somewhere in between with May WAY in the back! But come on, you've saved May SEVERAL times with your glyphs! I've seen you stop Ren a few times, and he's sneaky!"

She nodded, yes, the team that had TWO Ninja's was a pain to deal with. Especially when they would often target May or herself. She'd learned to be alert, when dealing with them. Setting up traps, a new thing she'd come to appreciate with the sense of defense and... "Huh."

"Also that time when you used a timey thingy on Jessica. And she sent all those green blades flying! There were so many, and she wouldn't have been able to make them without you!"

She nodded a long... she supposed he was right.

"Besides, you're no slouch in combat, you can hold your own with the best of them. But I think, that you work best as a team player. You know, you don't have to do everything alone."

She... supposed she didn't. That was something she hadn't really considered.

Initially she'd planned to use her brains and Pyrrha's brawn but... they were a team of four. "Hmm..." She gave it some thought, and put the book away. "Thank you Jaune." A smile graced her lips as she reached for the cup and took a sip, "Mmm~ Its perfect, just the way I like it."

She smiled, feeling warm and fuzzy inside, yes, Jaune wasn't so bad after all.

[numberonetribble]

Some Continuation Errors and Other Hmmmm's I spotted in TF One! (this is for funsies!)

- When Orion broadcasts the news to Iacon we hear Sentinel say, "I'm working my miners as hard as I can, I swear I will get you the rest!" Revisiting the scene, he doesn't say this!

Instead the closest we get is; "I know what I promised you, but our mines, they're running out! There's barely enough Energon for us! I swear I will get you the rest!"

Which the miner line is super raw, I really like it, but why would they cut it? Maybe it's to convey to the audience that things are even bleaker ON TOP of the Quintessants being there? It's an interesting choice to keep both lines in!

- Staying in this scene, Orion plays the "I took his cog for myself." line. He was not there for that. Unless he'd digging around in her memories and this is first and foremost in her brain, he wouldn't know to look for it. Which also, it took me several rewatches for me to figure out WHY he thought she was the key. Thing is, other than that first line, he plays lines that he personally witnessed, Orion did not need her memories for this plan to work. Maybe one could argue he wanted hers as his would be considered bias to the public and Sentinel's Right Hand's are undeniable. But the citizens don't see that.

- During the race we see Elita moving crates around as if she's at work. Sentinel said that there would be NO work for all shifts. Yes she's a workaholic. However, she's not alone. There's at least two other bots working with her. Maybe they're also workaholics? Maybe their supervisor told them no you still have to work?

My only guess, it's the next day and they're trying to get those trains loaded as Sentinel has a delivery scheduled. However, these trains should've been prepped and ready to go WAY before this. It's too important to leave last minute. At MOST D-16 and Orion are in the infirmary for a day. They're un-cogged and barely injured, during triage they would've been put last to attend to. So at best, Sentinel is back for 2 days before leaving again. Not nearly enough time to load that many trains.

- When we meet B-127 he says that the new Shift Manager doesn't like distractions. We the audience know he's referencing Elita. She's been there for maybe 2 days. (This isn't really a Continuation Error more like, really interesting? It implies that the timeline was different in an earlier draft as that's very fast for her to establish herself to this division especially during a national holiday. Sure she's the kind of person who would but, you know, this is for funsies)

- The opening narration tells us the audience that the Matrix is needed for Energon to flow. Orion knows this, the citizens know this. Sentinel sees it as an object that can be taken and dismissed the lore of how it works. But why make this recording?? Maybe it was for new Sparklings to watch on their first day alive, but it's in the Archives now. Orion hadn't seen it before, meaning it got phased out. Why not destroy it?

Orion is so insistent that there might be data to help Sentinel, but he never stops to think that Sentinel already knows everything in that Archive.

These are just some thoughts I've been chewing on! I've been watching it everyday after work and these are what stick out to me the most. It's still a really good movie and I love it alot I just want to talk about this stuff 👉👈

[nekrosmos]

questions about nikolai and price (originally from an ask meme about original characters but i wanna hear your thoughts):

what do they want to hear?

what do they need to hear?

what do they dread to hear?

Thank you for the ask !! I honestly struggled with the answers, I'm not the best at deep character introspection so this really had me scratching my head. I hope what I came up with makes sense !

What do they want to hear?

Nikolai: "I trust you."

Nik is intimidating, isn't he ? Intelligent, strong, well-connected Nikolai. People know that. It usually takes only a half a second glance to know that you do not want to be on this man's bad side. He's used to it, really. But how many times as he entered a room only to see people shift uncomfortably, suddenly very aware of his presence? He makes people uneasy, whether he wants it or not. It's fine when he's on an op and needs to be menacing, but it gets old quickly when he just wants to relax, sometimes.

He's trustworthy, despite his shady dealings, he's loyal. Thankfully, a handful of people know that.

Price: "You made a difference"

Yes, his hands got bloody, but it was all worth it in the end, right? He saved people by pulling the trigger when it needed to be done. No hesitation, it's what the world needs. So what if he can't sleep at night and his file is covered in black ? He made a difference, the rest, he can live with.

What do they need to hear?

Nikolai: "You need to think of yourself, too."

Nikolai puts others first, this has always been true. He likes to help out, likes to feel useful, ready to answer a call. Loyal to a fault, devoted to his friends. But when was the last time Nik put his needs as a top priority ? Has he ever done that ? He has no trouble flying to the other of the planet at a moment's notice if someone asks him to. How many nights of sleep has he missed because someone needed a hand? How much time has he spent fixing up his helo because it got banged up the last time a friend needed transport in hostile territory ? It's always others first, never himself, and he needs to be reminded of that.

Price: "You matter."

It's easy to forget that you're someone when you've been used as a weapon since you were 16. You forget that you have a purpose outside of your work, too. You forget you're a human first, with needs and wants and desires. You are Captain John Price, but you are also just John Price, and he matters too.

When he comes home for a break, what does he see outside of blank walls and a barely lived in house he never really took the time to make his ? It's temporary, he thinks, he doesn't really live here.

Maybe John needs to be reminded that he exists outside of his work.

What do they dread to hear?

Nikolai: "You don't belong here."

From either side. I think Nik feels strongly about his relationship with his home country, how he's been working against it and how his actions might be perceived by his countrymen. I think he's scared of losing this part of himself, and being rejected, even though all he's done was in the name of his country.

And then on the other side, Nik knows he stands out, knows people see him as a "could have so easily been the enemy" kind of guy. People like him, sure, but how many, aside from Kate, John and Gaz actually trust him ? Everyone else sees him as useful, but ultimately, they still look at him with a suspicious eye.

Where is home for Nikolai, really ?

Price: "You failed them"

Losing people, he's used to it. It never gets easier though, does it? Men and women under his command, people he's known for years, people who trusted him, friends. But, there is something entirely different between losing someone when you did everything you could have done and it was the way it was supposed to go, and losing someone because of your mistake. He failed them, he knows that, and it haunts him.

[xxhisgirlxx]

JJs Girl

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Warnings: 18+ only, smut, p in v sex, protected sex, tit play, established relationship, fluffy

“you coming fishing?” John B asks JJ, slapping him on the shoulder, not even waiting for an answer before he begins pulling him along.

“baby-” JJ looks to you, and you quickly fix your face, a smile spreading over your features. 

“go ahead.” you encourage him. “ive got some cleaning to do around the house anyways.” you shrug

JJ frowns. you should have known better than to attempt to hide your emotions from him, he sees so easily through you. “sorry, JB.” he steps out of his friends hold. “im staying home with y/n.”

John B sighs dramatically, tipping his head back. “fine!” he leaves the patio, grumbling something about all of his friends having girlfriends and leaving him behind.

“you can go, i don't mind.” you say softly as JJ sits down on the sofa next to you.

“nope.” he shakes his head. “need some alone time with my pretty girl.” 

you feel your cheeks heat up as he pulls you into his side, kisses being pressed against your head. despite dating for almost a year now, JJ never fails to make you blush.

“i missed you.” you coo out, snuggling into his chest.

“yeah?” he smirks down at you. “even though it was literally less than 24 hours since i saw you last?”

“ugh, still too long.” you roll your eyes, even though you're happy JJ got to spend some time with his friends, a boys night only at the chalet.

“so what cleaning do you have to do? i can help.”

“baby, i was just making something up so you wouldn't feel bad.” you giggle. “i mean, i do have laundry to put away but…”

“but you'd rather do something else?” JJ questions.

“mhm…” you stand up slowly, hand squeezing around JJ as you pull him inside, walking him towards your room.

“so this is what you meant by missing me?” JJ laughs, shutting and locking the door behind you even though no one is home.

“hey.” you pout. “i missed you and i missed you.”

“aw, babygirl.” JJ laughs gently, cupping your cheeks and pulling you into a kiss. you're instantly lost in his lips, not even realizing that JJ had moved you further into the room until he's laying you down onto your bed.

“JJ…” you whisper. “please.”

“i got you, baby.” he keeps his voice soft and soothing as he kisses you again, allowing you to focus on the kiss as his hands trail over your body, running his fingertips down your arms and cupping your waist, anything to touch you.

“will you-” you begin before suddenly feeling shy when JJ looks down at you.

“will i what?” a smile spreads across his face. he loves when you ask him specifically for what you want, instead of just letting him take the lead and do whatever he pleases, having to guess what feels best for you.

“um…” you cover your face with your hands, only getting the confidence to say anything when you don't have to look JJ in the eye. “play with my chest.”

you can't get the actual words out. breasts, boobs, tits, whatever you want to call them, and you have to settle for chest as it's the least embarrassing

“hell yeah.” JJ let's his excitement slip before calming himself, knowing how much his energy effects you.

JJs large hands cup over your chest, rubbing at your breasts through your tank top and bra. JJ kisses you again, but keeps them light so you can really pay attention to his palms rubbing against your nipples.

“can i take this off?” JJ asks, hands moving down your stomach and disappearing underneath the hem of your shirt.

“yeah.” you nod, sitting up to allow him to pull the fabric away, leaving you in just a bra. JJ has seen you naked many times before, but every time feels new and intimate with how gentle and caring he is...on occasion.

JJ reaches behind your back and unclips your bra after struggling with the clasp for a second, but he doesn't instantly pull it away.

He starts with the straps, slowly guiding them down your shoulders as his mouth follows with kisses, spreading goosebumps along your arms.

“JJ.” you whimper out, a plea for more.

“mhm.” he hums, understanding what you're asking for as he pulls the cups down, revealing your already hard nipples.

he doesn't even wait to get your bra all the way off before his mouth latches onto your skin, tongue briefly flicking over your nipple before his plush lips wrap around the bud with a soft suck.

your hands come to his messy dirty blonde hair, scrunching it between your fingers as he plays with your chest using his mouth, switching back and forth to give each side equal attention.

“does that feel good?” he asks, a smile on his face. it's a rhetorical question, if the moans didn't tell him, then the blissed out look on your face would.

JJs goes back to sucking on your nipple, one of his hands cupping your other breast, thumb swiping over your nipple as his other hand skirts down your stomach.

you feel your breath suck in before you even realize as he passes over the button on your shorts and delves right between your legs, cupping your pussy through the fabric.

“oh, god!” you squeal out. “JJ!”

you can feel his smile against your chest as he rubs his fingers into you, pushing your already wet underwear against your cunt, focusing in on where he knows your clit is, having memorized your entire body from head to toe.

“i need you.” you whine. “come on, please.”

JJ looks up at you, his gaze heated as his hand continues to rub against your core. “need me where?”

“need you…” you whisper out. “need you to fuck me.”

“that's my girl.” JJ leans in and gives you a kiss. he always tries to encourage you when you manage to use your words.

JJ moves so he's kneeling between your spread thighs. the first thing he does is rip his shirt off, and you ignore the urge to reach up and rub your hands against his defined muscles.

“my handsome man.” you smile up at him, love so evident in your eyes, echoing the words he always says to you.

“love you.” JJ knows his cock is straining against his shorts, and you are beyond desperate for him, but he still pauses to lean down and give you yet another kiss.

“love you too.” you coo back. it hasn't been all that long since you've made that declaration to each other, so the words still feel exciting every time they're said.

JJs hands focus in on the zipper and buttons of your shorts, quickly undoing them to slide the jeans off your legs as he tosses them away. 

you smile shyly as he begins to focus on getting himself the rest of the way undressed as you slip your underwear off and let them fall off the bed as you splay out.

“look at you.” JJ coos, making sure to get the condom out of his pocket. despite you being on birth control, you're always extra cautious, way too young and responsible to get pregnant.

"come on.” you giggle, impatient, as he takes the condom and rips the foil, spreading the rubber over his length.

“kay, ready.” JJ gets himself into position, holding himself up over top of you as he lines his cock up with your entrance.

you take a deep breath to relax your body as he pushes inside, making sure to go extra slow to allow you to adjust.

“f-fuck.” you whine, wrapping your arms around his shoulders, pulling him further into you as JJs hips press all the way forward, cock buried inside of you.

“give me a minute.” you hum, shifting your hips from side to side. JJ distracts himself with kissing along your jaw and neck until you give him a nod, a signal that it's alright to move.

“mmm.” you hum out, unable to actually form words in response.

“feel so good baby.” JJ groans out, keeping his thrusts slow and steady at first.

JJ back arches as he ducks his head to wrap his mouth around your nipple again, sucking as his hips slowly increase in pace.

you moan out, arms pressing him closer into your chest, encouragement to continue as he pumps into you, knowing neither of you can last that long.

“so warm and wet for me baby.” JJ praises you, switching to the other side of your chest as the wet squelching sound spreads over the room with every movement of his cock.

“only for you.” you smile softly, glad when JJ lifts his head to press a kiss against your lips. 

“love you, love you, love you.” JJ says, forever the soft and sweet boyfriend that you fell so deeply for.

“cum for me.” he urges you, shifting his weight to one arm to allow his other hand to drop, rubbing circles over your clit.

“oh my god!” you squeal out, head tilting back, pressing into the pillow as his fingertips work against your bud, having figured out just what you like and what touches get you there fastest.

“fuck, can feel you clenching around me.” JJ gasps, hips moving faster, fucking into you with a fury that you know means he's going to cum soon.

“i-i-” you try to warn JJ, but the words dissolve into moans as your orgasm hits you, high washing over your body as your legs shake, the tightening of your pussy causing pope to cum as well, pushing his hips forward to cum as deeply inside of you as possible, even if he is sheathed with a condom.

“fuck! baby!” JJ shouts out, a few final thrusts before he pulls out, collapsing against the bed next to you.

“oh my god.” you giggle, legs snapping closed to cover the mess between your thighs as your hands come to your face, hiding your bright red cheeks from JJ.

“you're so cute.” JJ kisses over top of your hands before standing up and heading to the bathroom to discard his condom, coming back with a warm wet washcloth.

you keep your face covered as he cleans you up, always feeling a little shy right after sex.

"hey.” JJ pokes you.

You put your hands down, a soft smile on your face as he hands you your clothes to put back on. despite knowing no one will be home for many more hours, you don't like to risk getting caught by hanging around naked.

you both get dressed quickly before you wrap your arms around JJs shoulders, tucking your head into his neck.

“thank you.” you whisper. “that was really, really, really, good.”

“always happy to help.” JJ laughs, reaching down to pick you up, your legs wrapping around his waist as he carries you through the house, back towards the patio to continue relaxing.

“ah, so that's why you didn't go fishing.”

“John B!” you squeal, jumping out of JJs arms.

“what? Pope was busy with Cleo so I came back here. y'all are loud by the way.” John B shrugs.

"dude, im going to kill you.” JJ says, rushing after John B as your laughter spreads throughout the backyard, watching your boyfriend chase his friend through the grass

[kitnita]

what do you do when giffing non-white players to keep from whitewashing them?

so! first of all, the non-white player i gif the most is obviously robo. every human person's skin looks different — what i do for him him won't work exactly for every person you want to gif, but i think generally that there is no one kind of coloring that works universally on every person in every video or clip or whatever. i'm advocating for not whitewashing non-white players, but i'm also advocating for letting everyone's skin look like Their Skin.

second of all, i love a stylized coloring, but mine usually focuses on enhancing the warm tones in people's skin. so: my exact advice may not fit everyone's preferred style. even if what i do doesn't work with what you like to do, i hope talking through my process helps someone figure out how to go about finding what will work with their style.

third of all, this is my second time ever putting together a photoshop tutorial so please bear with me. the actually informative part has a lot of text & screenshots & gifs, so it's below the cut!

i guess to illustrate what i meant in my first post on this subject, i'm going to use a coloring i saved from a fairly distinctively colored otter gifset from last season & show how it would look if i tried using it for robo unchanged.

the spots where the harsh locker room light bounces off the high points of jake's face are very obvious with this kind of coloring. the contrast is high — he's wearing a dark color in front of a dark background, so even though my coloring enhances the warm tones in his face, there's a lot of 'white' coming through his skin.

here's an unedited screenshot of the same postgame, just to show how much this coloring makes the already-harsh locker room lighting even harsher:

& here's a screenshot from jason's most recent media availability, which i'll be using as my example here:

they're pretty similar shots! both guys are wearing a dark color and are looking in the same direction so the light is hitting their faces in about the same spots. the locker room lighting washes both of them out, but it's still clear that robo's skin has a deeper & warmer tone than otter's. the spots where the light hits the high points of his face don't read as white, whereas the bridge of otter's nose & apple of his cheek do. jason doesn't have significantly darker skin than jake, but it's noticeable that they don't have the same skin tone.

now, here's the coloring from the gifset applied to both clips at the same point as the above screenshots:

the difference isn't as noticeable now!! the shadows on robo's face have a deeper tone, but the 'white' points on his face are much more pronounced. if i use the color picker on the white on both of their cheeks, the colors i get are way more similar than they should be.

to fix this, i'm going to first look at the group labeled 'base,' which is just the set of basic adjustments i do to every clip before going in for more fun coloring. even when i'm reusing a previous coloring psd, i typically do a new 'base' group for every clip so it can be as tailored as possible. the ice doesn't always look the same in in-game clips, the lighting isn't always the same in every locker room, etc.

the first screenshot above is robo with the same base as the original otter gifset had, and the second screenshot is with a custom base. the levels & vibrance are practically the same. the main difference between the two is that in the second screenshot, i did not touch the color balance, and did add a selective color layer where i made adjustments to white, which can be seen in the screenshot. additionally, in the first screenshot brightness is at a +15 when it's at a +10 in the second.

here's what the rest of the coloring looks like on top of that base:

and he's less whitewashed!! the coloring is still obviously & intentionally not true to life, but it doesn't wash jason out as much. the high points of his face don't reflect the harsh locker room lighting as white, which allows his skin tone to read as deeper without touching my more 'fun' stylized coloring.

final steps that i take for any gif before i post it:

adjust the speed. most movements look too fast if you leave the speed as-is, so for media availabilities i'll typically slow it to 80%; for clips taken during games i'll slow it to 75% unless i want it more slowed down & then drop it to 65%.

then i adjust the image size — tumblr's preferred width is 540, so for a wide gif that's what i use.

once the image size has been adjusted, i'll add my actions overtop layer 1 of the video group, which is just the clip (adding it twice here so the image doesn't just show up as huge in the post, sorry)

the final products:

i'd say both gifs still look pretty distinct — you can tell they were made by the same person using the same coloring techniques. but robo's frankly insanely clear skin has a deeper tone than otter's, as it should! it's distinct and stylized without making robo look whitewashed. he also doesn't look so different from otter that it would stand out from the rest of my gifs if this was the default coloring i always used for media availabilities.

it takes some extra steps to make the same coloring used for white players work for non-white players … but honestly not that many extra steps, and it's so worth the effort!!! i hope this was at all helpful but if you have any more questions please feel free to send them my way <3

[seullovesme]

red velvet hcs » love languages

irene

- acts of service

irene loves to take care of you all the time. whenever you're stressed or overwhelmed, she'll prepare you your comfort food and make sure you eat knowing you already have a lot on your mind <3 she also checks the weather every time you plan on leaving the house so she can remind you to bring a jacket if it's cold or an umbrella if its raining. even if it's simple things like making sure your car keys are always by the front door so it's easier for you to find them, or sneaking extra snacks in your bag in case you get hungry when going about. it slowly becomes apart of her routine. she doesn't really do it to expect anything in return because she loved knowing she's helping you, but she does enjoy all the love and affection you give her all the time in gratitude of all she does for you.

you do try to return the favor though. when she's ill, you leave medicine and water on the bedside with a sweet note before you leave. if she's feeling cold at night, you'll give her the majority of the blanket and cuddle her to sleep. the things you do for each other are basically instinctual and they come so naturally, all formed by the love you shared. people may have seen it as chores or added responsibilities, but irene never thought of it as that and neither did you. you both–not always having the right words to express it–were happy knowing that there were little things you could do to show you cared.

seulgi

- physical touch

being able to be wrapped in your warmth makes seulgi so happy! she unconsciously longs for your touch whenever your not around, and when you're with her, she doesn't hesitate to hug you and hold your hands. you'll be laying on the couch and seul comes home exhausted, and immediately she starts walking to you. no words, she just lays on top of you and enjoys feeling your chest rise and fall on hers. when sleeping in the same bed, it's impossible to every be cold with your bear latched onto you. <3 she especially loves when you initiate contact. holding her face with both hands on her cheeks makes her smile instantly, and she really loves when you squish her cheeks when she's smiling. she always feels the need to be as close to you as possible.

she'll finish a performance and bolts backstage to find you. when she finally spots you sitting in her dressing room, she jumps onto you and hugs you like she hadn't seen you in weeks (it was more like a 2 days, but that's too long in seulgi land). she's just like a koala to a tree, never letting go. inevitably, she lets go so the staff can fix her up, but she can't go a few minutes feeling your touch and holds your hand as they work around the two of you. it was so reassuring for seulgi to feel you there physically and you knew that. it never bothered you in the slightest.

wendy

- words of affirmation

every day, she tells you that you're the best partner in the world. even after every fight or argument, she reminds you that her love for you never wavers. wendy also loves showering you in compliments. you'll be getting dressed, and she'll just sit there and watch you piece your outfit together. when you're done, she claps while saying something along the lines of "wow, i'm truly the luckiest girl in the world" or "i can't believe your all mine". she's a little cheesy with her lines, but she'd do anything to make that million dollar smile show on your face.

wendy not only likes giving words of affirmation but also receiving. sometimes, she gets self-conscious because of what people say about her. she comes home from work absolutely drained, on the verge of breaking down at the foyer, and you come rushing to greet her. once you see her in that state, you immediately know what to do as you put down all her stuff and drag her to your shared bedroom. you lay down and wrap her in your arms with her head under your chin, rubbing her back while telling her how proud you are of her. "i don't care what people think, you are amazing love. i've seen how hard you work, i'm so proud of you and i love you so so much".

joy

- receiving gifts

it's not that she wants you to spend your money on her or that she needs objects to represent your love; she just enjoys how much thought you put into picking out something specifically for her. it's never just random thing you think might please her, but things your time and effort go into. every time you bring her something new, you love seeing her face glow in happiness and her smile is enough to soothe any kind of stress or tension in your life. joy absolutely adores seeing you rave about how you came up with the gift idea as she sees and hears the love from within you.

her favorite gift of yours–which she must admit had some really close contenders–was the photo book you made for your anniversary. it was almost as thick as a dictionary, filled to the brim with cute pictures of the both of you. firstly, you got a crapload of photos printed at a print shop before cutting the hundreds of images into their own individual pieces. then, you very carefully glued each picture one by one in the many pages until there was no empty space left. she had it dead center on her shelf, and whenever she saw it, she was reminded of the love you held for her.

yeri

- quality time

yeri values her time and she never wastes it on anything unimportant. that's why it was either spent with her career, her family, her friends, and with you. all her time was invested in the things she loved most and you were apart of that list. she made sure the two of you didn't go a full week without at least two dates (one if your schedules were packed), and mainly it was because she needed it to stay sane in the midst of the chaos. just being with you took her mind away from her problems.

she loves having your absolute attention. she does receive a lot of attention from fans and all, but with you it was different entirely. you gave her love that she couldn't get from just anywhere, and the fact that you'd put down everything to just be in the moment with her filled her with a warmth only you provided. something simple like sitting on the sofa together and talking about you've been up to all the way to a fancy dinner where you're sharing stories over expensive foods, yeri just loves spending her hours with you.

[softdrabbles]

daxton's life had been turned upside down and they still weren't sure that it had caught up with them fully. they'd been so busy with work and carmen to fully understand the magnitude of their decision to stay, the repercussions of it all. they'd been alone for so long, something that now may be an adjustment for them. deep down they worried that the stability would be too unsettling but they wanted to make this work, they needed it to. "you're my first and only customer so far, so yeah, i guess i do." carmen's grin was contagious as daxton's smile grew wide on their features. "he's been teaching me tons of stuff and he doesn't get frustrated with me when i mess up which is nice too." it seemed that carmen had a lot to do with the elderly couple which meant maybe they'd be seeing a lot more of her. "they've done so much for me already."

at carmen's suggestion, daxton's head shot up to look at her, relief expressed all over their face. "are you sure? i don't want to put you out if you had things to do." they needed her help and carmen knew it, just another reason they loved her so much, the woman would never let them struggle if she could help it. "i do really love hanging out with you.." daxton's eyes followed her as she placed the basket down, making her way towards them at the truck, a cheeky smile playing on their lips as she came up close to them. their overalls hung around their waist, their white tank top dirtied from brushing up against the boxes. they leaned back against the tailgate, eyes set on her face, "yeah? is that because you get to see me all dirty and sweaty in my tank tops? my arms on full display for you?" daxton leaned into her hand, their arms wrapping around her body pulling carmen closer into them, "maybe you should stop by the farm more, see me in my natural habitat." leaning down they closed the distance between them, kissing her hungrily, forgetting for a moment where they were as the world around them faded away. "your skater boy grew up," they whispered against her lips before kissing her again, pulling her completely against her body. the sound of someone clearing their throat waiting to be served broke them apart, "fuck - i mean, shit - i am sorry, what can i get for you?"

balancing hanging out with daxton more frequently and getting the third degree from ashton was a lot easier than she thought it would be. she still understood that ashton was looking out for her and didn't want her to regress if daxton decided that this wasn't the life they wanted anymore. deep down, carmen was preparing herself for that but it was so in the back of her mind that she hardly ever thought about it. she couldn't help but to giggle at daxton's words. " is that how you greet all your customers? telling them how fucking beautiful they are?" they teased, grinning. " ah yes james mcckay, the man you are. i love him and his wife. they always stop by the bakery after hours to pick up any leftovers we have. sometimes they drop by to give me produce. they are truly the sweetest people." knowing that handling a stand by themselves wasn't in daxton's best interest hence when it came to the bakery, daxton was either in the back or bussing tables for less social interaction. " let me help you out here, yeah? i know it can be pretty hectic and busy during these times. besides, not only are four hands better than one we get to hang out more yeah?" she flashed them a smile. carmen set her basket down on the side of table and walked around it to help daxton set up the stand. " you know, i didn't pit you one to be a farmer..." she brushed her fingers along the fabric of the overralls they were wearing. "... but im kinda digging the look." she reached her hand up to place against daxton's cheek, caressing it lightly. " more than that skater-boy attire actually. i mean that was hot too but this one? yeah, i like farmer daxton."

[lafragolina]

just kill me

[dredshirtroberts]

i think i'm like. really in denial sometimes about how much pain i'm just Casually In...

OH NO WAIT HANG ON WAIT ACTUALLY MY MEDICINE WORE OFF AND I DID LIKE A LOT OF UNANTICIPATED ACTIVITY NEVER MIND I'M DUMB I'M HURTING FOR ACTUAL REASONS THIS TIME

[deva-arts]

Okay this might be a really weird ask so I'm sorry in advance but- what does Sera smell like? Does she smell like feathers because she has wings, like Vincent? (Again hope this isn't weird..)

Not weird at all! Lol a few people have asked before, you're all good.

Birdpeople have notoriously weak noses. Their sense of smell (and taste by proxy) is pretty dull as a result. It's partly how Ser's food is always plain and Vincent smells like a SAW-scented teen who's been tarred and feathered. Sera doesn't particularly care about expensive perfumes like someone (cough Sonia) but she does like floral scents.

She smells like Lavender (Body wash/Shampoo) and baby talc powder. (Powder keeps her wings nice, dry, and itch-free.) When she's not working she uses a rose perfume Nate gave her.

[nathaniacolver]

lolllllll so ackshually i need everyone who is NOT an oldest child to keep their mouths shut regarding any criticisms of vi's character in s2. she's my oldest sister realistic representation, my queen, my character who never made a wrong choice in her life actually. STOP EXPECTING MORE OUT OF HER (like vander did) SHE'S LITERALLY DOING HER BESTTTTTT

"but she became a cop -" do you remember what the force's goals were? 1) dismantle shimmer. the stuff that made her dad into a drugged-up monster after he died the first time, remember? the stuff that put silco, her #1 opp, at the top of zaun. 2) locate jinx. of course vi wanted to be present for the possible death of her sister wkfjekf i thought y'all said she needed closure? 3) neutralize all agents loyal to silco. YEAH. bing. done. that's her baby sister's abuser & manipulator. THEY WEREN'T JUST BEATING RANDOS UP OMLLLLL THEY WERE TARGETING THE CARTEL. HELLO. THE ZAUNITES WHO PROFIT OFF OF OTHER ZAUNITES' MISFORTUNE. DOES ANYONE WANT TO MESS WITH SILCO'S LEFTOVERS MORE THAN VI? HM I THINK NOT.

and besides - isn't it all good that she was using piltover resources to destroy the internal evils of zaun. shimmer and silco's leftovers were going to have to be destroyed if zaun was to be helped at all, also, there is absolutely no problem that vi was there with jinx, ESPECIALLY considering that ended up saving her life. DUH.

she's literally following the lead of the only good cop she's ever known, and if there is going to be any policing force, she probably heavily encourages that it's led by this girl that, so far, has been the epitome of true justice and mercy.

that being said, she was also present to help semi-mitigate caitlyn's descent into rage. i think vi's presence directly saved heenot's life. they NEEDED a zaunite on the force so caitlyn could have some chance at still humanizing them, especially at the peak of her rage and anger. caitlyn was grieving, and vi's just trying to help her new gf deal with everything, INCLUDING stepping in when she thinks cait's being unreasonable. vi's intuition literally prevented MADDIE from being in jinx's presence, which also probably saved her sister's life. and of course, vi saved isha's life because she was there.

crash out phase was justified and if anyone says otherwise, i'm sorry that you've never unhealthily dealt with loss or grief or hopelessness before. have some empathy, jeez

all of act ii is vi just cautiously, carefully trying to build her family back together, INCLUDING trusting jinx enough to not fight warwick in the tunnels and to hear her opinion out and value her input, INCLUDING trusting viktor to be able to save their dad (which, healing is the only power viktor's shown so far), INCLUDING giving up cait permanently if they stay in the commune, INCLUDING trusting her previously-heart-of-gold ex gf to adhere to the plan that puts her directly in sights of her sister, trusting that vander will be more important to both of them in that moment. and then tragedy happens that's not her fault.

(REMEMBER - ULTIMATELY, THE FAULT IS ALWAYS SINGED'S. AMBESSA IS VILLAIN #1 BUT HE IS CLEARLYYYY SELFISH VILLAIN #2)

and then act iii - she directly confronts caitlyn for all her idiotic decisions and mistakes. she doesn't let all that get brushed under the rug, despite cait saving their asses in the commune. she goes to free her sister, again showing jinx that she trusts her, REGARDLESS of the decision she makes. sure, she's mad and torn up that jinx is likely going to kill herself, but she has to trust her sister enough to make the same decision that she has made herself countless times - to sacrifice herself for her sister's happiness. (she's letting her YOUNGER SISTER be her EQUAL, in terms of how their relationship should go?? and y'all are mad???) she truly lets jinx have her own agency here, and is working to accept that, so when caitlyn shows up and agrees that she trusts jinx enough to make choices for her own life, she revels in the fact that someone else gets it. that people should just leave jinx alone and stop trying to control her. bro. all of you just shut up man. if anyone cares about jinx's autonomy and agency, it is VI.

the reason jinx connected so clearly with isha is because vi literally taught her how to be a good older sister??? jinx is not pulling all of that love and care just out of her ass, okay. she knows what to do because vi did the same to her, all the time. (she definitely did NOT emulate silco when she was with isha.) WHY DO YOU THINK SHE WANTS VI TO BE HAPPY WITH CAITLYN? BC SHE FINALLY UNDERSTANDS THE PRESSURES SHE'S BEEN PUT UNDER AND THE TRAGEDY SHE HAS FACED WKDJEKFJELREKRNE LET JINX BE THE BIGGER PERSON FOR ONCE.

jinx literally sacrifices herself at the end because she learned that kind of behavior from vi, and she wants the chance that vi can have a happy life. and vi is literally pissed at her for it, because VI should've been the one to sacrifice herself, as usual. jinx makes herself vi's equal. like, what more do you want.

i think you guys don't realize that she's always trying to make the right decisions, and when her previously "right" decisions have ended in tragedy, she tries to tweak her current/future decisions so that her family doesn't keep getting killed. sorry that the writers inflict doom and despair on everyone!! vi has literally made one (1) truly stupid, bad decision in her whole life (punching little powder), and she was l i t e r a l l y going to apologize for it like 60 seconds after it happened.

I'M SORRY THAT VI CAN'T PROTECT YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER IF THEY WON'T LET HER. SORRY THAT SHE RESPECTS BOUNDARIES SO GOOD. I'M SORRY SHE STOPPED WRONGLY BLAMING HERSELF FOR SHIT THAT WASN'T HER FAULT. I'M SORRY THAT THE ONLY MISTAKE SHE EVER MADE WAS WHEN SHE WAS A CHILD WITH ADULT RESPONSIBILITIES AND PRESSURES. I'M SORRY A 15 YEAR OLD CHILD SUCCUMBED TO ANGER ONE TIME. I'M SORRY SHE'S HELD TO A STANDARD OF PERFECTION THAT NO ONE ELSE IN THE SHOW IS. I'M SORRY THAT SHE'S NEVER EXCUSED FOR HER MISTAKES BECAUSE OF TRAUMA.

(bro, it's like the oldest sibling as a collective have to have 200% empathy for the younger siblings, and they literally return us like 10% of the same. (as a hyper generalization,) we will forever have had more responsibilities and pressure than you, and will have the same for the rest of our lives. we are ALWAYS trying to see things from your point of view. we just ask that you do the same for us.)

arcane writers, thank you for writing the most realistic caring oldest sister ever. i owe you my life bc this kind of representation is not found anywhere else.

vi's character

i love watching long, intense video essays or reading through thorough breakdowns of vi's character bc like. it's actually really, really simple.

she's an oldest sister.

that's it.

like everyone has so much to say (or speculate) about her psyche or her trauma or her motivations and it's like. ??????? she's literally just trying to be a good oldest sister, like, the entire time. like. have none of you ever met an oldest sister of 4+ siblings before? we're all the exact same.

trauma: carrying the responsibilities of an adult, specifically a parent (protector, provider, nurturer, authority figure, discipliner sometimes) since she's like, 10. HAS to be a good example, or risk endangering others by them following in her footsteps.

motivations: um protect and care for the people she loves? literally make sure people don't step out of line so they don't get themselves killed.

i get why people don't see it. it really is just a "if you know, you know" situation. but like. there's entire threads on twitter (that have now vanished???? screw you m*sk) that confirm that all present, responsible oldest sisters have some sort of shared experience.

some people like to villainize or blame vander for putting so much pressure on her but like. you guys don't understand. it's just part of the job! the reason why oldest sisters are typically so good with responsibility is because we get it, we understand the urgency or emergency of each situation and know that there has to be some sort of leader. there HAS to be a mature member of the team, otherwise stuff goes MAJORLY wrong. and when everyone else is literally less biologically capable of being mature, welp. guess who has to grow up fast.

you show just a smidgen of maturity at a young age and then you're conditioned (by society) to keep practicing that maturity because whenever there's a mature person helping out, guess what. things get done. people are safe. people are cared for and happy. someone's looking out for everyone else. it's not really something to be avoided. it really is just how life is. you learn to trade your emotional maturity for others' happiness, and you live in that role for the rest of your life.

[habitual-creatures]

Hell yeah, come here

*Gently grabs Kevin's face, holding him still as I put the dye on this eyebrows*

Heh- yeah...

Hell yeah.