#and that time was...so so bad. god i thought so poorly during that time. i can't go back to that. i really can't do that again

[hazmatazz]

why do i have to have debilitating anxieties, mental issues, depressive episodes, high expectations, and responsibilities. like girls just wanna have fun </33

[bandgie]

What Sub? - SKZ OT8

just me thinking about what kind of sub skz would like :p

MDNI 18+ | gen!reader

chan!

likes an obedient sub! chan is such a good dom and loves pleasing his sub, so he expects you to be on your best behavior. that saying, he doesn't mind if you get a little shy or pout a little. maybe even give him a little bit of a hard time, but it can't be often. chan overall needs a good sub that he can pump his load into

minho!

he likes a teasing sub or a slight playful masochist. one that can put up with his antics and a little bit of back n forth. not a full on brat because he would get sick of that attitude real quick, but a few ass slaps and hair pulling never hurt no one. i do think he would want his sub to be more on the obedient side, but it's okay to have a little fun with him too

changbin!

power bottom!! he needs a power bottom!! he's a pleasure dom 100% and can't say no to his baby. you can take take take and he'll give give give!! you can be a little mean to him too, but he needs lots of kisses after. doesn't care what position you put him in as long as he gets to see you cum your brains out. however, there is fine line with him. it's rare, but sometimes you cross it and bin has to put you in your place, and he hatesss making you cry but when you're being a bad sub he needs to show you.

hyunjin!

he loves a devoted sub. basically someone who completely submits and does everything he says. like chan? but way more emotional and no room for disobedience at all. he loves seeing how happy and relaxed you are when he's doing his thing. hyunjin is also a pleasure dom, but he still likes to be in control. if you do break a rule, it's honestly a turn off. accidents happen and yeah maybe you get into it a little too much, but it's when it's purposeful and results in him feeling bad. Hyunjin's a good boy, and it's only fair he has a good sub

han!

is it possible for both of you to be subs...because hannie goes crazy for that. desperate sex is so in his field, so I think a sexual submissive sub is really his thing. basically someone who would do anything and everything sexual for their dom. he wants to do an icky role play? his sub will gladly agree. he wants to be treated poorly? like a god? yes and yes, a sexual submissive will do anything for him. he loves that so much and just telling you what he wants to do and you happily agreeing has him leaking

felix!

this one is hard because I think Felix likes anybody, but imma have to say a service sub might be his fav. he gets to lay back n relax and he gets to cum?? sounds like a great night. it's not like he won't do anything for you, but the thought of having someone to make sure to milk his cock dry is so hot. if you do well, he'll reward you after. but right now, making sure you can see his chest turn pink and little tears build in his eyes is all you need to worry about.

seungmin!

i know it's gonna sound so basic, but a bratty sub. the resisting, the fight for power, the inventible submission...yeah he likes that. this type of play can't happen all the time. it's very draining and takes a mental/physical toll, but it's so damn fun. he loves when he pretends that you won, letting you pin his arms above his head and grinding on his cock to your liking until he's had enough and flips you over. gripping a fist full of your hair and shoving your face in the sheets as he fucks into you. muffling your cries and whimpers and - sorry I'll stop (aftercare goes crazy btw)

jeongin!

jeongin needs someone who listens really good, so a bedroom submissive is the way to go. they're really similar to a service sub, but it usually involves a little bit of pain and being submissive only takes place in the bedroom whereas a service sub is usually someone who likes being a good sub outside of the sheets. jeongin likes seeing you turn into a different person during sex. getting to flip you in different positions, spitting in your mouth, making you please him, making you take how much he pleases you. possibilities are endless and he thinks it's a healthy balance between personal and social life

[randomshyperson]

Party Monster - Wanda Maximoff Kinktober #01

Summary: A Halloween party takes an interesting turn when Wanda reunites with her ex-girlfriend. Maybe she'll learn a lesson or two, or maybe she'll still be terrible at following orders.

Warnings: (+18), Dom!Reader with Brat!Wanda, ex-girlfriends who are not over each other at all, really rough smut with teasing and orgasm denial, a lot of cursing, power dynamics, toxic behavior, unhealthy relationship (implied), the “cheating vs we are on a break” dilemma, mentions of a party atmosphere but no explicit alcohol consumption mentioned, Ghostface mask during smut scene ‘cause I’m a simp for Amber Freeman. | Words: 2.688k

A/N- Someone needs to get slasher movies away from me, but I thought this would be a good theme for kinktober. And we started with dom!Reader too because it’s a tradition. Good reading by the way, your horny people.

General Masterlist | Kinktober Collection | AO3 | Wattpad

-&-

It was definitely a bad idea.

Terrible, poorly thought-out, and reckless.

But Wanda finished putting the costume together and the final touch - the black gloves - made her take a deep breath, trying to gain a little confidence in her Halloween costume.

In the bedroom mirror, there was still a photograph that she knew she should have taken from there to at least fool herself that she could move on, but just as she had done dozens of times before, Wanda adjusted the item to prevent it from falling. 

Your smiling figure stares back at her, and Wanda sighs softly, ready to party.

She crossed the campus in half an hour, alone because the girls went ahead and honestly, Wanda wasn't that close to her friends nowadays. Not since the break-up anyway.

"Hey, Wanda!" The male voice shouting her name startles her for a moment. But she forces a smile as she is enveloped in a strong hug, Steve Rogers entering her field of vision in the next second. He looked drunk when she got a closer look. "Glad you could make it."

The forced smile begins to bother her face, so Wanda stops, swallowing dryly and trying not to look so uncomfortable. 

"Yeah, thanks." She mumbles awkwardly, nodding towards the open door, where the party seems even fuller and livelier. "Stark sure knows how to throw a party."

Steve laughs. "That he does." He says, looking ready to start small talk. Usually, he's as out of place as Wanda in crowded environments, but now he's got enough alcohol in his system to seem cool compared to the rest of the team's jocks, who stand out at parties with their eyes closed. "The guys are inside, come say hi and we can get you something to drink."

The non-existent details of the exact people who constituted the " guys " Steve was referring to made Wanda's stomach turn. But the blond had already grabbed her hand and was pulling her into the crowd, and frankly, Wanda wasn't going to make a scene.

She could handle the possibility of you being at the party, even if she hadn't seen you for four weeks. And three days, nineteen hours, and according to the clock by the beers, fifteen minutes.

"Guys, look who showed up!" Steve announces to the group at the ping pong tables. Wanda remembers the first year when you first visited the fraternity house and you made a joke about the number of expensive objects in the place, and she laughed even though she didn't really get the joke. God, she was so whipped back then.

The whole group looks at them at once. Wanda almost giggles at the scene, all the creative costumes are a sight to behold. Natasha in leather outfits similar to her sister's, or Tony in some kind of colorful armor. Thor dressed as the god after whom he was named, and Clint as a green archer. 

And then there was you, with a ghostface mask around your neck so you could get to taste your drink.

You almost choke on the liquid when you meet Wanda's gaze, and she could consider it a personal victory. At least you looked as affected as she was.

It's obvious that the atmosphere gets heavy. Everyone there knows that you two broke up and that it wasn't a pretty thing. Or easy.

And maybe that's why Yelena hides a tense laugh behind her glass of drink and Natasha rushes over to greet Wanda and put an end to the scene.

The only person Wanda really wants to greet tonight puts her mask back on. You drop the glass and leave without saying anything, making the mood even worse. 

Natasha clears her throat and strokes Wanda's arm gently. "Don't mind her, I, we, are happy to see you, sweetheart. I'll talk to her, enjoy the party."

It's sweet of Natasha to worry, but as the night goes on and you don't exchange a word, and you keep ignoring her, Wanda doesn't feel a bit better.

She tries to have a good time, but her gaze keeps seeking out your figure, which manages to evade her curiosity masterfully. 

You disappear for a good few minutes after beer-pong, and Wanda begins to consider leaving. So she dismisses Bucky Barnes' story about a mess with the rival team and decides to be miserable in her bed instead of at a party full of strangers.

She turns into the corridor and there's a Ghostface cornering a pretty girl at the bottom of the stairs.

Anger blooms and dominates her actions before she can think about it. She lunges forward and grabs the figure by the cap of the costume, hard enough to almost knock the couple over.

The male's shout makes her wince.

"Are you fucking mental?" Complains the stranger in confusion and indignation.

"I-I, shit, I thought it was someone else" She stammers with wide eyes, walking backward, away from the confused couple. 

The scene attracts the attention of a few people around, but she feels her back hit somebody and before she can turn around, two hands come around her waist and push her away from the angry guy.

Wanda blinks, and you shove him away harshly. "Back the fuck off, motherfucker." 

The man snorts indignantly. By now, half the party is staring at the scene.  "What the hell? She started it."

"And I'm finishing, fuck off." You cut him off coldly, and you probably wear that costume better than he does, because the guy hesitates and turns away to grab the girl's hand behind him, leaving without saying another word.

You turn your masked face to Wanda, and she feels hers burning with shame. All you do is shake your head in disbelief and take the hard way upstairs.

Wanda follows you without thinking about it.

She stops the bedroom door from closing with her hand and ignores your protest.

"I'm sorry-"

"I don't want to talk to you." You cut her off, holding up a finger. "I don't even want to look at you, Maximoff. Get the fuck out." You advance but Wanda is quicker. She closes the door behind her, and you end up pressing her into the wood by the arms. 

You sigh heavily, as affected as she is. 

"I thought it was you." She confesses in a shaky whisper, her hands trapped behind the body you kept squeezing. "I don't know what I'd do if I saw you with someone else."

You chuckle dryly, taking a step back. "Apparently you'd try to throw me to the ground."

Your attempt to pull away completely is interrupted - Wanda grabs your wrists, trying to get you to wrap your arms around her again. It becomes a struggle of pushing and impatient grunting. Until Wanda is forced against the bed, and her apologies break down into a dirty moan.

Your hand around her neck - in an attempt to get her to shut up and stop repeating what you don't want to hear - has a very different effect. 

You're on top of her, pinning her to the mattress with your own body. Wanda thinks you can feel how wet she is against your thigh.

"Don't make a fucking sound. I don't want to hear you, understand?" You warn, the loosest grip on her throat to allow her to breathe. Wanda nods obediently and has to bite her lip hard when you pull up her skirt, only to grope for her panties. 

Silence is an impossible task, especially when your fingers, so eager and familiar, thrust into her without warning. She squirms, throbbing in your fingerprints, and the sigh of pleasure is yours.

"Fuck, I've missed your pussy." You pant, fucking her carelessly, hard, and deep. The sound of Wanda's soaked arousal makes her ears burn - but she doesn't mind. She's busy trying to keep still, even when you're driving her over the edge so quickly. You notice, of course, and pull out as soon as she's ready to let go, and Wanda breaks into a loud whimper, her hips thrusting restlessly into the air.

You let go of her throat to grab her cheeks. "You're not going to come, Wanda. You don't deserve it. And you know why, don't you?"

Her pussy is throbbing, enough to be almost painful, knocking her out of orbit. All she can do is whimper, nodding; you let out a wicked chuckle. "And why don't you deserve it, darling?"

Of course, you'd make her admit it. Because everything so far hasn't been hell enough. Wanda turns her face away, and with her silence, a slap hits her pussy. She spasms, moaning loudly, her back arched in the mattress. 

She almost came in one go. Holding onto the edge at the last second.

"Oh god please." She whimpers shamelessly, and you grunt, watching the wetness ooze down her thighs, her pussy clenching against the emptiness in front of you. Wanda wants to come so badly that you almost feel sorry for her. "Just... one time. I'll do whatever you want."

You chuckle, and spread her legs a lit more to fit your body, pressing her against the bed. The friction between your joined hips makes her groan, trying to grind up onto you, but you remain firm, holding her still.

"Tell me." You demand. "Why aren't you allowed to come?"

She shakes her head, tears welling up in her eyes. "I... I can't."

You sigh impatiently and walk away at once. Wanda almost cries at the lack of contact.

"Get out of my room."

"N-no, please-"

"Then say it!"

Despite her shame, Wanda swallows her tears. "I fucked up."

You chuckle coldly, busy opening a drawer. "Clarify it." You command, and Wanda only obeys because she knows very well what's in the last drawer of your bedside table, she can feel herself clenching for the feeling. With a dry throat, and looking brazenly at what you're wrapping around your waist, she retorts: "I fucked someone else." She murmurs, biting her lip when the hardness is properly fitted. You laugh dryly.

"Hm, and why did you do that?"

Wanda spreads out on the bed, a bait. You don't fall for it. She pants in anticipation. "I wanted to get a reaction out of you. We're on a break. I wanted you to regret it."

Your hand begins to slowly masturbate the dildo and Wanda lets out a shuddering breath, becoming even more aroused by the image. 

“I’m the one who will make you regret it.” It is your final clarification. But Wanda gasps.

"Take your mask off, I want to look at you."

But you chuckle again, darkly enough for Wanda to shudder. "What you want doesn't matter to me anymore."  You retort, and Wanda has no room for hurt now, the lust and longing for the feel of your body on hers taking over all her senses. "Get on all fours, you’re gonna watch yourself."

Wanda moves on trembling limbs, her face burning. She tries to ignore the mirror in the corner of the room, but as soon as you're behind her, your hand grabs her hair and forces her head up. 

The Ghostface mask stares back at her. "You're going to watch me fuck your needy pussy and you're not going to cum, Wanda. No matter how much you want it, how much you beg for it." You warn sternly, your free hand adjusting the toy at her entrance. "Because petty, selfish girls who ruin a three-year fucking relationship don't deserve to come, do they?"

She shakes her head, at this point, she thinks she'll agree to anything you say. And you must understand that pleasure has gotten the better of her because you start masturbating her entrance with the tip of the fake cock and it's enough for her knees to give way. She whines in a plea.

"Please-"

You sink into her at once, filling her to the brim and Wanda moans throatily, her hands clutching the sheets. The last time you were this deep, playing power games, Wanda squirted on the new sheets, and she's not sure that after going a month without touching you, she can stop it from happening again. "God."

You chuckle hoarsely, seeming to have the best time in the world with this. You pull out of her only to enter again, slow enough for Wanda to let out a sob. "Hold it."

"I-I can't." She cries out, choking on her own breath, and instead of taking pity, you sink in again, picking up a rough pace. Wanda would have fallen onto the mattress, but you grab her hair again and force her to watch what's happening.

"Look how beautiful you are when you're being properly fucked." You tease, your hips never failing against her. Wanda can only moan in return, each second more impossible to stop the knot in her belly from bursting. "I know no one makes you this wet, Wanda. No one knows your body like I do." To prove a point, your hand slips between her legs, and eager fingers flick her neglected clit exactly in the way that makes her squeal to the ceiling. 

Thank God for the loud sound of Tony Stark's parties.

Wanda is sure she's going to cum by now, and you can tell because you've been through this hundreds of times, and you know her body like the back of your hand. The fake cock slides out the second she's ready to let it go, and Wanda collapses flaccidly onto the bed with the lack of your hands while unable to hold back her tears.

"Fuck you, I hate you, I fucking hate you, you bitch." She babbled breathlessly, the frustration of her second stolen orgasm of the night making her groggy. You chuckle as she squirms on the bed, hugging her own body, and Wanda doesn't even notice that you've moved away just to lock the door.

Wanda is still trying to catch her breath when you remove the mask in one pull and kneel in front of her on the bed, between her legs which you pull open. 

You don't give her a chance to prepare, you move in and start eagerly fucking her pussy, ignoring how Wanda writhes on the bed and muffles her moans in the mattress. 

"Oh my god." She meows, her knuckles clutching the sheets, and the only thing stopping her thighs from closing against your head are your hands holding her tight. "I c-can't hold it, detka! 'can't-"

You stop again, and Wanda thinks she might kill you. This time, you sigh into her. "Hold it, or I swear to God I'll switch to another college."

Wanda is forced to chuckle at that. It's stilted and hoarse, and she knows there's a grain of truth in your words, but she does it anyway. Even more annoyed, you stand up. 

She despairs but is giggling nervously. "No, wait, babe, I'll behave, I promise."

It's your turn to chuckle, in disbelief at the scene. Wanda clung to you as if your departure was the worst thing in the world. 

"You're a lying brat, Wanda." You say, and despite the harsh words, your hand gently strokes her hair. Wanda sighs shakily, the redness in her cheeks showing how much she enjoyed the words. You push her hands away and take two steps back. Far enough, you quickly untie the item from around your waist. "I'm going back to the party. And if you want to cum tonight, you'll stay here. Waiting like a good girl."

She opens her mouth to protest, but you hold up a finger in warning, and the seriousness in your gaze is enough for her to know that if she disobeys now, you'll send her away.

Swallowing dryly, she lets you go, and when the door closes, she throws herself back on the mattress. 

Her body’s on fire, and the traces of your shampoo on the pillow don't help. She moans low, adjusting to touch herself. 

Maybe, just maybe, you won't mind if she comes while looking at your picture on the bedside table. 

[lelengerine]

now playing... "distractions"

pairing | student part timer!jaemin x student!reader

synopsis | a single cup of coffee actually has you waiting for more.

genre | more 3am fluff thoughts, y/n has down bad syndrome, mentions of food, no specific prns are used (lmk if i missed anything!)

wc | 0.9k

notes | here’s a little something for my bday while my other jaem fic is still in progress <3 i also have a recent addiction to writing down bad!reader rn so… that explains this a lot 😄 likes and feedbacks are always appreciated!

m.list

you sit at the corner table of the quaint cafe near campus, an array of colorful textbooks splayed open in front of you, but your attention keeps drifting away from your studies, and you think you can pinpoint the exact reason why.

na jaemin, a face you’ve seen bearing smiles more often than not from behind the register as he takes down your regular order of coffee during your visits. the two of you shared a couple of classes together, but neither of you have actually tried striking up a conversation with the other — instead, sticking to the comfort of your respective friend groups.

you were never distracted in class because of him. you never even looked his way once! okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but your point still stands…

today, however, everything seems different. each time he passes by your table to distribute orders, your gaze turns almost against your own will, mesmerized by the effortless charm he exudes and his gentle movements as he serves drinks for other patrons with the brightest smile on his face.

this was exactly why you couldn’t get anything done, god!

“come on, focus,” you chide yourself internally, patting your face a couple of times as you try shaking off the allure of your classmate, but every time you finally to return to your textbooks, you see jaemin smiling at you from the corner of your eye, and suddenly all your efforts go poof in an instant with the sound effects and all.

frankly, the lack of progress you've made has begun to bother you more than you care to admit. you can’t afford to slack off like this today, not when you have a final exam coming up that’s worth 80% of your entire grade, and so you do what any other person would — pack your books up in defeat and prepare to return home in hopes of focusing better — but jaemin has other plans in mind as he approaches your table with a small coffee cup in hand, a poorly drawn smiley face doodled onto its side.

“y/n, right?” he says with a playful grin, “i couldn't help but notice you've been here a while. thought you might need a little pick-me-up for your study session.”

you look up in surprise, not expecting him to address you directly — this was the first time the two of you were speaking to each other, after all. a rush of excitement floods your senses, and for a moment, you're at a loss for words. “oh, thank you jaemin,” you manage to sputter out despite your puzzled state, a faint surge of heat creeping onto your cheeks. “did i… look that tired for you to offer me this?”

jaemin’s chuckles at your words, eyes sparkling. “maybe, but a part of me just wished for you to stay here longer.”

he noticed you were getting ready to leave? moreover, he noticed and decided to make you a cup of coffee on the house?

you take the drink from him, feeling a tinge of elation at his cheeky answer. “you must like having me around then.” you reply teasingly.

“i could say the same about you with the amount of times i've caught you staring.” jaemin replies with a raised brow, crossing his arms together and pretending as if you were in big trouble. no way did he catch you... you made sure to be lowkey and everything!

you gawk at his response before mimicking his accusatory stance, “then... that means you were staring back to catch me stealing glances in the first place. you aren’t as innocent as you think you are.”

“caught me all red-handed.” he raises his hands in the air but he doesn’t hold an ounce of shame, a feathery chuckle escaping him. “you don’t usually leave this early though, what’s the rush today?”

“i can’t concentrate on my notes because of a certain someone.” you huff in faux frustration, hoping he’d take the jest.

“really now?” jaemin laughs, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he leans closer, his voice tinged with teasing amusement. “if that’s the case, wait for me after my shift, it ends in around ten minutes anyways.”

you raise an eyebrow, intrigued by his suggestion. “why should i?” you question out, trying to maintain a casual tone despite the flutter of intrigue in your chest. “so you can distract me even more?”

his grin only grows wider after hearing you admit to how you’ve been so affected by him today, “so i can explain the topics to you, silly. you’re studying for the statistics exam, right?”

your eyes widen in surprise, caught off guard by his astute observation. “how do you—”

“we share the class, remember?” he interrupts, his confidence evident as he leans in, voice low and enticing. “so, what do you say?”

you hesitate for a moment, the thought of spending more time with jaemin felt both thrilling and nerve-wracking because you're not sure whether you’d pay attention- correction, you’re not sure if you’d pay attention to your studies, or forget it all once more to admire his features, but ultimately, the prospect of getting help with your studies outweighs the reservations you harbor against it.

“right… okay then. i’ll wait.” you finally agree, a smile tugging at the corners of your lips as you watch jaemin’s expression light up in response.

“good, i’ll be back quick!” he exclaims, though his feet fail his words as he hasn’t even taken a single step back yet.

“dummy, go back behind the counter before your manager tells you off!” you reply with a quiet snort, and he rushes back to his position as per your command.

guess you have a reason to stay here for a bit longer now.

[keiicom]

Yjh things the Webtoon 'forgot' to mention or to point out bc they hate novel yjh

Warning for vague webtoon spoilers ig?? No spoilery names are named and no unreleased scenarios are mentioned/specified btw but I thought I'd add this warning just in case :)

He waited three days on the bridge for kdj to resurface after he dropped him in the Ichytosaurs mouth. Just. Waited there.

He smiles when Kdj tries his food and says it's good (it's more like a tiny smug smile tbh)

He is a WORRIER. Man worries about everything, but sucks at expressing it through actions bc that's when he's most easily misunderstood. It is EXTREMELY easy to misunderstand his actions unless the other characters ask him what he's doing and why [after he explains, he turns out to be actually really thoughtful tbh]

When he tells 41st round shin yoosung to "quit her blabbering"...he wasn't that harsh in the novel. The line was changed (still don't know why) but originally he said something about not having enough time, and wasn't a complete asshole.

Also during that same arc/scene it was revealed that he woke her up because he genuinely didn't think she'd attack him/be mad at him iirc, so it wasn't him being stupid, just somewhat naive

When Iris called KDJ ugly he actually stepped forward and intimidated her by glaring so she'd stop talking :) because he sensed fighting spirit in her and he decided to react lmao

His eyebrow moves similarly to a caterpillar when he's about to make an important decision (note: kdj points this out in the novel because he's always staring at yjh I swear to god there's proof)

Yjh puts on a 'cool' face when he's been caught or called out after trying to be sneaky (he's SO BAD at being sneaky istg I love this man so much)

He sometimes uses his skills for stupid and petty shit *said lovingly with heart eyes*

He's more likely to give someone/an NPC a quick death than to make them suffer until they die

He always goes along with KDJ's plans, even though Kdj barely tells him ANYTHING about them ever 😭 He glares but still goes along with them I NEED Y'ALL TO UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS- /lh

He drags his sword on the ground when he's happy/satisfied with something, or generally in a good mood. Also Loves to clean his sword (I think the webtoon added a scene of him cleaning the sword like. once)

He loves his sister more than anything (we haven't seen a lot of scenes with yoo mia AND yjh in the webtoon yet but I have high expectations for those knowing how much he adores her in the novel)

Mans RUNS to help every time kdj is in danger, unless he genuinely thinks kdj 1) can handle the situation himself or 2) deserves the punishment

He has MONOLOGUES in his head even though he only ever says like two sentences thakrhsjfjb, and is very eloquent when given the chance to explain his thought process/reasoning

[which kdj rarely lets him do. bc he's hellbent on doing the talking and most other characters don't expect yjh to talk anyway]

The hand holding scene that was turned into a weird wrist holding scene? Yes originally they held hands (he wasn't as angry then either)

He's a serial texter and will spam message people

He loves dumplings

He gets jealous when other people monopolize Dokja's attention for too long (also canon, ex: Sangah, [redacted 1], sometimes han sooyoung, [redacted 2], [redacted 3] 💀 and WILL glare at Kdj or demand answers depending on how severe the transgression is)

He's tired. So, so tired.

HE CAN LAUGH

he doesn't let Han Sooyoung live out of pride/not wanting to lose to kdj (???? what even was that). he lets her live because he doesn't want kdj to think poorly of him / alternatively he doesn't want to lose him as an ally. Not everything is about pride with him 🫠

he looks embarrassed after hearing yoo mia tell him he looks "happy when you talk about [kdj]". the narration also gives her statement some credibility, because "she knows him well since she's his sister". but of course they made him look angry instead of embarrassed 🙄 bc god forbid he shows any other facial expression ever

He's nosy (again: said lovingly with heart eyes). You'll notice how even when he pretends not to care, he'll still stick around to see how things develop/gather info on 'important' stuff. If he's not interested, he'll just leave, bc he's the kind of guy to just do that. So if he doesn't leave, even if he's pretending not to care... you see where I'm going with this

He has a sense of humor, believe it or not (though most of the time he's hilarious without meaning to)

When [redacted] asked yoo joonghyuk what his deal was with kdj and why he wanted him in his group he said "kdj is necessary for this world. I need him." but webtoon decided to skip that line 🫠

Yjh says "I guess your mother doesn't like me" instead of this "like mother like son" bullshit, because the second one implies dokja doesn't like him. which couldn't be farther from the truth

Yoo Joonghyuk actually looks distraught when he realizes he's the one that has to kill kdj. To the point kdj has to tell him to not make that face.

He holds him tenderly as kdj falls, and tries to hang onto him as he's dragged away.

I'd add more but the rest is spoilers fhajhrjeka so yeah I'll just wait to see what webtoon does first and I'll update this as they go

[starryylies]

Hi !!! Idk if you've done this already but can you do my angel boy Gaz and Ghost with a girl who love scary movies ??? I feel like they'd totally have the mentality of "I gotta comfort her when she's scared" but Gaz specifically flinches and I think Si would like "brace" if that makes sense like wincing his eyes. I dunno if you've done something like that but your emo story reminded me of me and it made me so happy I'm a metalhead and I was gonna ask for more but it was already in there and that just mad emy day ilysm already okay bye -🫀

Simon n Gaz watching a horror movie with s/o

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Again so sorry (I’m sorry for saying sorry sm) but like Omg I love this cuz I love horror smmmm!!! Insidious,suspiria,Bwp, conjuring you name it I love them omgggg.

So thank you so much for the awesome ask and I hope you enjoy it 🩷🩷🩷

Also I used the movies sinister and lights out for the references :))

SIMON-

♰ he thought watching the movie sinister will be fun cuz he thought he could protect you from the jumpscares

♰ he needs to be protected from the damn movie tho (okay this movie is fucked up tho and it’s totally normal to be scared)

♰in the beginning he thought it will be some poorly made movie with shit ass jumpscares but boy was he wrong

♰ when the scene of the family hanging themselves comes on he was taken aback and he lets out an audible wince shutting his eyes

♰ he genuinely finds the movie scary and gory, cannot help but find himself wince and shut his eyes whenever he thinks there will be a jumpscare

♰ as the movie progressed and the other tapes were revealed he just couldn’t take it anymore, his limit broke off when the mowing scene came

♰ but you seemed to be enjoying the movie, anticipating what the next scene will reveal

♰ he shut the tv before he could see further, it was too much for him

♰ “fuckin hell love this movie is a fuckin nightmare” he groans

♰ “noo It’s a well made film :( plus I enjoy a good scare ya know”

♰ god how could you be so chill with it, he can’t tell if he should admire you or keep his distance

♰dw he admires you :)

♰ keeps on ranting about how he’d never do such a stupid fucking thing

♰ says Ellison was a stupid fuckin idiot for getting his family there and curses him for the rest of the day

♰ asks you your opinion on the movie and who you think is recording the tapes

♰ ends up going on the net to see how the movie ends cuz he can’t let it go

♰when he finds out the ending he has an ‘aha’ moment.

♰ tries watching the movie again but ends up stopping in the beginning itself cuz he can’t handle it.

♰ probably doesn’t want kids after this movie

GAZ-

♰ Awh this poor guy just wanted to watch a scary movie with you to hold you when you’re scared but it kinda ends up being the opposite

♰ you both decide on watching lights out (I wanted to pick hereditary or mother but too much cuz I’m writing this at 3am)

♰ see lights out is a Pretty chill film but Diana is creepy as hell and sadly gaz became a victim to Diana’s jumpscares

♰ when she killed the dad gaz visibly flinched like on the edge of the sofa hoping the dad would survive

♰ but boom the bitch killed him :/

♰ felt really bad for the brother (Martin)

♰sympathised with him a lot by saying he’s a good kid and that he’s really strong.

♰ surprised on how you’re not getting scared or anything

♰ thinks that you have watched this film before

♰ gaz got shit scared during the scene where Rebecca and her boyfriend came and Diana creeped around them

♰ the end made him tear up just a lil :(

♰ you ended up comforting him holding him close cuz he felt bad about their mom

♰ thinks it’s adorable how you give lil facts about the movie from time to time though.

♰ cursed Diana for the rest of the day,

♰ if you take any medications, don’t worry you’ll never miss them now cuz gaz will make sure you eat yours on time

♰ keeps the bathroom and living room lights on that night

♰ will search for movies like lights out

♰ will never watch them though

♰ is proud that he got closer to you tho

♰ will definitely hold you the entirety of the movie

♰ will never have a horror movie date again tho

♰ but will watch a horror movie with you if you ask him cuz how can he say no to you :))

[mypimpademia]

— Darlin’ I Don’t Wish You Well, When You Ain’t w Me

Ex!Bakugo x gn!reader

TW; Swearing, Bakugos a bit toxic but he doesn’t act on anything

Note: Part 2 (SMAU) is here !

⇶ While Katsuki wouldn’t be a bad boyfriend, he’d be a god awful ex

⇶ He’d treat you well during your relationship, actually, much to everyone’s surprise

⇶ Tends to all your needs and always makes sure that you knew how much he loves and cares for you

⇶ Your relationship wouldn’t be anywhere near bad, it’d be amazing actually and he makes a great boyfriend

⇶ But the way Katsuki acts in other areas is what leads to the downfall of your relationship

⇶ His ego, the way he treats and speaks to others, and other bad habits

⇶ He’s confided in you about his personal struggles with these things, and of course you were understanding and consoled him

⇶ But at the same time, you couldn’t stand seeing him act like such an asshole to people, especially since he acknowledges his issues but it seems to do little to nothing about them

“I can’t do this with you anymore, Katsu.”

You and Katsuki didn’t argue as much as people would think. And when you did, a lot of them were easily talked out after a quick intermission for both of you to calm down instead of screaming at each other. But there was one repetitive issue that you two never seemed to resolve.

A repetitive issue with him.

“What? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Katsuki heaved.

He knew exactly what you meant. He just hoped you didn’t actually mean it.

“I can’t be with someone who’s just such a fucking dick to everyone and anyone,” you ranted. “I mean seriously, would it really kill you to at least have basic human decency?”

He rolled his eyes and groaned. Truly, he’s too blinded by his own ego to understand what the problem is. It’s not like he treated you poorly, so why do you care so much?

“Oh my fucking god,” Katsuki whispered. “Why does this shit even matter to you so much? You act like this affects you somehow.”

The crazy part is, that he knows his ego is getting in the way of him seeing through this. But even then, he still can’t wrap his head around it.

“Are you deadass?” You gaped at him, completely in shock that he’d even think that, let alone say that to you. “‘Y/n, what’s wrong with Bakugo this time?’ And ‘Y/n, why’s your boyfriend such a fucking cunt?’ But you’re really gonna tell me this doesn’t affect me?”

“I mean, fuck, Katsuki, your head is so far up your own ass sometimes,” now, you were yelling, and Katsuki’s heart was sinking at the thought of what was to come. “You treat me right, and I won’t say that you don’t, but you can’t be that dense to not see how what you do bounces back onto others.”

His breathing pattern was all over the place, and his heart was beating rapidly. Katsuki wouldn’t have been surprised if he passed out right there.

“Okay, okay. You’re right, it does, I’m sorry,” he raked a hand through his spiked hair. “But what do you mean you ‘can’t do this anymore’?”

He wasn’t trying to deflect, and you both knew that. But the weight that the four words held was unbearable.

“I mean, I can’t be with you anymore.”

⇶ Katsuki isn’t a begger by any means, but he begged that day

⇶ He told you how much he loved you, and needed you, that you mean the world to him

⇶ And none of it was a ploy to get you to stay, he really did feel that way about you

⇶ He told you’d he’d change in a heartbeat, just say the word, and he would if it meant you wouldn’t leave him

⇶ But you left anyways, and to say that it crushed Katsuki would be an understatement

⇶ Between dying and admitting that he cried his eyes out for a week straight every night, he’d much rather die

⇶ Katsuki got his act together that same week, hoping that this was just something the two of you could move past if it was quickly resolved

⇶ He wouldn’t even call anyone an extra, or refer to Izuku as “Deku”, and everytime that he’d literally bite his tongue to keep him from doing so, he’d glance in your direction hoping that you were giving him a look of approval

⇶ But you hardly looked at him anymore, and when you did it wouldn’t even last a second

⇶ And his blood boiled when you moved onto someone else a few months later

⇶ You weren’t even dating the person, just casual back and forth flirting and talking

⇶ But it made Katsuki sick to even think of you with someone else

⇶ When you were dating, he always “joked” about how he wouldn’t want you to move on and be happy with someone else if he died while the two of you were together

⇶ But he wasn’t joking, and he doesn’t you to be happy with anyone else if he’s dead or alive, to be honest

⇶ Of course, he wants you to be happy and healthy and hopes you get all the good things you deserve… just not in a relationship sense when it’s not with him.

⇶ He acted like none of it bothered him, but it did

⇶ Katsuki wasn’t going to go as far as harassing you and your new partner. He’s thought about it, of course, but he knew that wouldn’t win you back

⇶ He also wasn’t going to go around with other people to get you back either, because that definitely wouldn’t work.

⇶ Not only would it not work, but Katsuki just isn’t the type to get around with people in general

⇶ He’s selective with who he gives his time to, and when he’s emotionally invested in something or someone, he goes all in, so he’d really hate to waste his own energy like that

⇶ Someway, somehow, despite being the one that got broken up with, his ego inflated even more when you left him

⇶ Sure he cleaned up his act, but that didn’t change the fact that he was a cocky asshole

⇶ When he first sees you with your new fling, he wanted to throw up at first, but eventually he got over it because in his head, you’ll never find anyone better

⇶ And he wasn’t totally wrong about that either

⇶ If anyone ever asked you, you don’t think you could even remotely lie and say that he treated you poorly in any way

⇶ Sure, you had your moments like any couple, but truthfully, he set a very high standard for your future partners

⇶ Katsuki always paid for everything, took you places, amazing dates (even if they usually weren’t expensive, because he knows the experience counts over everything), attentive to all your needs, never forgot important days, hardly even raised his voice at you despite his rough demeanor, and even more that you could go on about forever

⇶ He was an amazing boyfriend, really. So much so that even you weren’t sure if you’d find someone better

⇶ He might not actually do anything, but he will most definitely talk shit about your new little thing to Kirishima and the bakusquad

⇶ You expect that from him, but when Sero and Mina told what all he was saying (not to be snitches for fake, just to let you know that he’s going a bit crazy without you), you were honestly a bit shocked at how far he was going

⇶ They went from being Katsuki’s normal hater-ass comments to just nitpicky and spiteful

“Damn, did you see what the fuck they had on, I feel bad that Y/n even has to walk around with that.”

“That motherfucker seriously brought them _? Y/n hates that shit, it’ll be no fuckin’ surprise if they leave that loser.”

⇶ And while he won’t actively try to force himself back into your life, he can and will take every opportunity that will even slightly worm him back in

⇶ Opportunities usually present themselves in the form of group work, when the teacher still habitually places you two in the same group because they still think you’re together

⇶ And don’t let it be a project that’s just for a pair, because then he’ll LEAP for that chance

⇶ Even though there’s tension between you, for obvious reasons, you don’t feel awkward being alone with him. Even after months of hardly even looking at him

⇶ Katsuki is the type of ex you’ll always feel comfortable around, because he’ll always keep a special place for you in his heart

⇶ Still looks at you with pure adoration, even if he wants to gouge his eyes out with a spork when your new talking stage flashes you a smile across the library you’re working in

⇶ Still pays for everything, like the coffee and snacks you go get on your break, even if you insist that you can pay on your own. Granted, you’re much more angry about it this time around than giggly like before

⇶ Still takes you to one of your favorite hangout spots, even though the sweet memories you share there make both of your chests hurt now

⇶ Still calls you beautiful, gorgeous, pretty, his baby, angel, doll, etc even if you aggressively tell him to stop. And he does, he tries to at least, but it’s still so second nature to him that it just slips out like he never stopped using those names on you

⇶ Still asks how you’re feeling, how you’re really feeling, if you ate that day, drank enough water, even if you only grunt out short answers everytime

⇶ Eventually, he asks how you and “whatstheirface” are doing to cut through the thick silence

⇶ It catches you off guard, enough for you to raise your head up from your work to meet his eyes for the first time in forever

⇶ All you say is “We’re good”, but Katsuki knows better than that, he knows you better than that, and he chokes back a laugh at how much you suck at lying to him

⇶ All he says is “Y’know you can still come to me if you need anything?”, but you know better than that, you know yourself better than that

⇶ Because if you did talk to him more than you need to, you’d act on your urges to suffocate him with kisses and tell him you miss him, tell him that ‘whatstheirname’ isn’t jack shit compared to him, ask him if it’s too late to come back

⇶ You ask him if he’s talking to someone and he looks at you with adoring eyes, and shakes his head, leading you both back to an uncomfortable silence

⇶ Katsuki thought about telling you that he still loves you, that he misses you, to tell whatstheirname to fuck off, and so much more

⇶ Hell, for a split second he thought about begging again

⇶ The thing about Katsuki is, since he doesn’t like to use his precious time and energy on just anyone, when he views people in a romantic light, he views them as someone he wants to spend the rest of his life with

⇶ Someone that’s his everything, the only person in the world to him, his one and only

⇶ You were his first partner ever, and he wanted you to be his first and last everything

⇶ Which is exactly why you still are to him

⇶ Or you still can be at least, if you came back he’d have no objections, and he doubts that you’d have any either

⇶ The only question is, will you come back?

—

Thank you for reading, comments and reblogs are appreciated 🫶🏾 !

[bibiana112]

The way how in We Know the Devil the couple you choose to go with always finishes the ending by pretty much confirming the worse insecurities of the girl who got excluded, Venus and Jupiter still keep trying so hard to remain good kids that they can't even hear Neptune anymore, Venus and Neptune hold hands without any effort without even trying like Jupiter did so hard in the only way she could bring herself to, Jupiter and Neptune look at each other the way they can't ever look at Venus

Just... the way that in the blue ending when the narration is from Venus + Jupiter's pov and they say they "won't let her stain" them referring to being "stained" with her "impure" but valid feelings, with her rage at being treated so poorly by those around them, they won't let those thoughts in because they want to be the good kids out of the bad ones and Neptune never did and even when she talks to them afterwards nothing she says will ever get through to them again. They chose to stay clean. The way the achievement for the blue ending is called "Lukewarm, I spit you out" and is the only one named after a Bible verse, and it's one about how spiritually "hot" people are active in their faith and spiritually "cold" people "can still be strongly influenced" but someone like Neptune who knows just enough to intentionally reject the word of god is the kind of person that "deserves" to be "spit out" like a lukewarm drink

The way that in the red ending when the narration is from Neptune + Venus pov they say they chose to be distant from her that they affirm time and again they had no idea she could possibly be going through so much turmoil that she'd turn out to be it, this sudden storm, and it's not because they were upset at her they at the end of the day just don't understand, they want to, because how could she possibly have had all those feelings deep inside her? They're safe from her storm, it does not break over them, in that moment together they no longer share in all that turmoil from Jupiter's at all. Their view of her may not be admiration but it's still so unreachable and unfathomable and distant from her true feelings and that way she'll forever stay. The way the achievement for the red ending is "No prince for the princesses" and Jupiter is the designated "tomboy" out of the three of them, how she's the one trying the hardest to keep this strong front and always do the right thing and help the other two but "always messes it up" in fundamentally misunderstanding what they needed in the end they didn't even need her to be all that for them because they needed each other and not her

The way that in the yellow ending when the narration is from Neptune + Jupiter pov they say they chose to hide their faces that they're the only ones to escape Venus' light because they do not see her the same way she sees herself, "he's" a poor unfortunate friend of theirs that they'll feel guilty for having to fight against but that simply wouldn't ever fit into this new freedom they found for themselves in each other, they can see their light their way out of this camp but Venus who wants so bad to see her light has it taken away from her with every time they stare into each other's eyes a bit too long, everytime she's suddenly invisible even when physically close and looked directly at they still see right through her true self. The way the achievement for the yellow ending is called "Help me God, I'm in love" and how the lights always appear when the other two are acting close, how Jupiter accidentally falls with Venus to the ground but instantly helps her up and turns her attention entirely back to Neptune right away and how afraid Venus is during this whole thing she just wants them to allow her that moment of "weakness" to be herself with them while all they want is their way out and not have to deal with the devil at all, all she wants is to embrace it

[cosmicawg]

𝟐𝟎). 𝐖𝐚𝐲𝐬: 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐰𝐤𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝/𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

To anyone seeing this, hi! You can go ahead and reblog with your own tips on this; or just comment! Am an awkward person by nature; so these come naturally to me (bad or good thing? eh, who knows.)

1. Mistimed Compliments

A character tries to give a compliment but it comes out completely wrong, leaving the other person confused or offended. Example: "Your hair looks... better than usual."

2. Socially Unaware Responses

A character doesn’t pick up on obvious social cues and keeps talking or doing something when they should stop. Example: Continuing to tell a long, boring story (like no one wants to hear about your birdwatching sessions, Randy, god!)

3. Unintentional Insults

A character accidentally insults someone by mentioning something personal without realizing it. Example: Complimenting someone’s outfit, then adding “It’s much nicer than the last one you wore.”

4. Poorly Timed Jokes

The character makes a joke in a serious moment, only to be met with silence or awkward stares. Example: Cracking a joke at a funeral or during a heartfelt confession.

5. Physical Clumsiness

Characters tripping, bumping into things, or knocking over a drink while trying to act cool or confident. Example: Walking into a room full of people only to trip on the door frame.

6. Talking Over Someone

Two characters start talking at the same time, both trying to politely yield, and ending up in an awkward back-and-forth. Example: “Oh, sorry, you go—no, no, you first—um, okay—wait, sorry…”

7. Silent Pauses

Long, uncomfortable pauses in conversation where no one knows what to say next. Example: After revealing a huge secret, and no one responds, just complete silence. "....so what? don't just ignore me guys!"

8. Accidental Spills

A character accidentally spills something on someone in an important or formal setting. Example: Nervously fumbling with a glass of wine and spilling it all over someone’s fancy outfit at a party.

9. Misread Signals

A character misinterprets someone’s body language or signals, leading to an awkward encounter. Example: Going in for a hug when the other person was just reaching for something. (this has to be feared more than death itself, change my mind.)

10. Unwanted Physical Contact

The character gives an overenthusiastic handshake, hug, or pat on the back that clearly makes the other person uncomfortable. Example: A lingering handshake that lasts way too long, or a hug that becomes stiff and awkward.

11. Inappropriate Laughter

The character laughs at the wrong moment, only to realize that no one else finds it funny. Example: Laughing during a serious discussion or an emotional outburst. (THIS IS SO ME AM SORRY...not really)

12. Misunderstanding Conversations

Mishearing someone’s question or comment and replying with something completely unrelated. Example: "Hey, how's your day going?" "I'm listening to, Anaconda, by Nicki Minaj!"

13. Revealing Too Much

Oversharing personal or embarrassing information during small talk or casual conversation. Example: “Yeah, I had this weird rash last week, I swear thought it was like, ass cancer or something... but anyway, how’s your day going?”

14. Unwelcome Compliments

Giving a compliment that makes the other person feel awkward instead of flattered. Example: “You look so much better without makeup!”

15. Embarrassing Confessions

A character accidentally confesses to something embarrassing, thinking it was common knowledge. Example: “Oh, wait, you didn’t know I still wet the bed... uh, never mind.”

16. Interrupting at the Wrong Moment

A character walks into a room at exactly the wrong time, overhearing or interrupting something sensitive or intimate. Example: Walking in during a personal conversation and saying, “So, what are we talking about?”

17. Flubbed Introductions

A character completely forgets someone’s name or introduces two people incorrectly. Example: “This is, uh... sorry, what’s your name again?”

18. Unexpected Silence After a Comment

The character makes a bold statement or question, only to be met with an uncomfortable silence. Example: Asking if someone is pregnant, only to find out they’re not.

19. Forgetting Basic Social Norms

The character forgets to do something basic, like shaking hands, making eye contact, or saying “thank you,” leaving an awkward atmosphere. Example: Reaching out for a handshake and being left hanging.

20. Accidental Eavesdropping

The character overhears something personal or uncomfortable but doesn’t know how to politely excuse themselves. Example: Being stuck in a hallway overhearing an argument but can’t leave without being noticed.

[interestellarprincess]

The 1

Pairing: Lance Stroll x Reader

Summary: After two years, destiny put them together to fix things out.

Warnings: none, just a poorly written english (not my first language) and sad swiftie's drabble. Also some personal words i'd like to say to him.

A/N: It took me some time to finish this one, but when I was writing the part 1, already knew that part 2 would be with this song.

TYSM for being here tolerating my bad writing :)

Now to the good stuff, SUMMONING ALL LANCE GIRLIES!!!!

This oneshot has a part 1

Taglist: @motorsp0rt, @mirrorball-6

2 years have passed since the last time they saw each other. Two years since y/n had her heart broken by one of her favorite persons in the world. She took six months to finally get through what happened at the cafe with Lance. She got back to work and tried to live through it, because deep down, she knew that he was out there living his life with the other girl he took home and it wasn’t fair for her to be the only one frozen in time.

After those six months, y/n’s boss got her a recommendation letter to work as a social media in one of the formula one teams. Later, she found out that the job was at Mercedes and she couldn’t be happier. Y/n thought that her life was finally getting into the right course and nothing could stop her, not even the possibility of meeting him during one of the race weekends.

So it happened. Everything was fine, until Spain 2023.

It was Friday, before FP1, y/n was on her way to the Mercedes hospitality. The paddock was kinda full of people, mostly staff giving the final touches for the weekend, since it was a bit early for the gates to open . Y/n was trying to get through the people carefully enough to not spill her cup full of coffee. She failed her mission. Steps away of her destination, someone bumped her and the only thing she saw at that time was the green blur going through her. “Hey you! pay attention next time!” she yelled, not expecting for the blur to turn and come back close to her, not expecting for it to come back as a ghost that she’d been avoiding since the beginning of the season.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry, did you got burn…” Lance’s apologies stopped when he notice who was the person with the white shirt covered in coffee. ‘‘Y/n?, w-what are you doing here?’’ he shouldn’t be that surprised, but for a moment he wasn’t imagining that it was her in front of him, not after all these years.

After a few moments of processing, she finally managed to say something. “I work here, Lance.” She said trying to fix her shirt but it wasn’t worth it anymore. Meanwhile, he was just there, frozen looking at her. “Are you going to stay there looking like a statue or you’re going to apologize? I don’t have all the time and I imagine that you don’t have it too.” She was cold, but she needed to be. He blinked going back to reality.

“ y/n, I- I’m really sorry for ruining your shirt and your coffee… It’s just that I’m surprised by seeing you here.” He said scratching the back of his neck “look, can I get you another coffee? For, you know…” he was still thinking about what to say to her, she had no idea but she also haunted him after what happened. He felt like a piece of garbage for treating her that way and he wanted to apologize some day, but he wasn’t planning that this day would come so soon.

“Fine!” She agreed so fast that anyone would say it was because she was excited for it, however, all she wanted was to finally end this embarrassing and slightly stressing scene and go back to her normal day with not meeting her ex best friend and definitely without any coffee spilled all over her shirt. “Just dm me when and I’ll come, but now i need to go and get all of this coffee away” her hands were floating in front of her stained shirt during the last part of the sentence.

“Okay, see you later then!” he didn’t even finished his sentence when she was already leaving to the hospitality.

When Y/N arrived at the building, her friend Maya stopped her immediately. “Oh my god,Y/N! what happened to you? and why you’re looking like you saw a ghost?” she said already taking her friend to the nearest bathroom to get cleaned “Tell me everything!”

“If the ghost’s name is Lance Stroll, then I indeed saw one” Y/N was trying to dry her shirt with some paper towels while telling the whole thing to Maya, of course it didn’t worked, so the friend went out to get a new shirt for her. While Maya was out, Y/N noticed the notification on her phone.

@Lancestroll: I hope you’re ok and not burned

@yourusername: I’m fine, and the coffee wasn’t that hot

@Lancestroll: again, sorry for the shirt

@yourusername: it’s ok

@Lancestroll: btw, what do you think about today after debrief?

@yourusername:????

@Lancestroll: the “I’m sorry for ruining your morning coffee”? For what I remember, you’re not one of those with a bad memory.

Shit, he was right. Truth is that she just wasn’t ready to face him again.

@yourusername: oh right! After debrief is fine for me, see you there.

Y/N completely ignored his comment, but deep down, it still got her that he still knew her well. Maya came back, Y/N changed her shirt and the day went by as normal as possible.

Later…

Y/N was on her way to meet him at his team’s hospitality, when she finally entered the place covered in the team colors she saw him. He was there already on a table and waiting for her with her coffee, just like he did on the last time they spoke, just like he did on the day she left. For a minute, she felt like it was going to happen again, but the feeling passed when he said her name and waved at her.

“Different times now Y/N, different situations.” she said to herself inside her head.

She sat at the table, he smiled at her and handed her coffee. “I think it tastes better when it’s not all over you, right?” he tried to break the tension between them, because he knew that this meeting wasn’t because of the earlier accident, but because of the accident that happened two years ago.

“yeah sure it does!” she gave him a small smile after noticing how nervous he looked. “So, how are you doing? It’s been a while since we’ve last talked” Lance’s voice while finishing the sentence was almost a whisper.

“Oh, I’m good! On some new shit now as you can see” she chuckled while pointing to the silver star on her shirt.

“Yeah, this is so cool, I’m happy for you.” he took a sip from his cup “Did you started this year? I- I thought I saw you at Abu Dhabi last year.” Lance was nervous about her answer, because he could swear he saw her. Or maybe he was just missing her too much to the point of seeing her everywhere.

“Hm, sorry but it wasn’t me” she stared at her coffee “I started this year, John got me a recommendation letter. Anyways, tell me, how are you doing? How’s Juliana going? I didn’t saw her at the paddock” she knew she was a bit rough the moment she saw him look down.

He got surprised at how direct her words were, it was like ripping off a BandAid. He sighed “I think she’s fine, we broke up before last year’s summer break.” he stared at his coffee.

“oh, I’m sorry, you two looked happy together” she knew that they weren’t happy, but she was trying to be optimistic.

“No need to be sorry Y/n, actually, I’m the one who owns you an apologie.” he looked at her deep in the eyes and, for a second, she felt her body shiver. “I’m sorry for being an ass to you two years ago. You didn’t deserved to be treated that way, especially by someone you liked and who liked you back. I’m really sorry.’’ he said putting his hands over hers on the table.

Y/n sighed and looked at their hands together. " It’s okay now, Lance. If you never bleed you never gonna grow, right?” she gave him a soft smile.

After the apologies, the atmosphere between them got a bit lighter. “So, tell me, how are you doing? You’ve been doing great on the past race weekends.” she gave him a smile.

“If you say so, thanks!” he chuckled “But I know I need to work harder If I want to be quarter the driver that Fernando is.”

“Oh Lance, I guess you still the same when it comes to being too harsh on yourself.” she gave him a kind look " I know the media haven’t been the best with you, but you need to know you don’t need to be quarter of anyone than yourself. You’re still young and there’s plenty of time to improve your driving, and I trust you.”

“I guess I needed to hear that, thank you Y/n.” He smiled at her. “So, how about you…” he was about to finish his sentence when he looked down at her hands and saw the ring. “You’re engaged?” he was surprised.

“Guilty” she chuckled “His name is Travis, he’s one of the Mercedes engineers. My friend presented us last year by coincidence, before I got my job.” she smiled.

“Well, congratulations! I’m happy for you.” he said, but inside, his thoughts were screaming that it should be him. And he couldn’t help being mad at himself for it.

“Oh, thanks Lance” she was indeed happy with her life, but she couldn’t hold the thought that if her wishes came true, it would’ve been him. His ring on her finger, him wanting to spend a life with her. She knew it was wrong thinking this, but deep down she also knew that sometimes it was impossible to defend herself for never leaving well enough alone.

They chatted for a while, before their phones started to ring and they had to say goodbye. They promise to keep in touch because they missed each others friendship.

And in that moment, when they were leaving and following different ways, both of them started to think of what could’ve happened if that one moment had been different. Would everything be different between them now in the present? They felt the need to ask this burn inside their heads, but none of them were strong enough to ask it.

What they knew is that definitely everything would be sweet, if they were each others One.

[jingledbells]

rant about billford to me. i love gravity falls and am horrified at the idea that anyone could romanticize their relationship and i want to hear more of your thoughts

hi Lucien!!!! 

as you might’ve known the book of bill just released (a week ago?? maybe more jeez) and uhm. a large amount of people have been drawn to bill and fords relationship as it’s been highlighted in the book. this isn’t a bad thing and I will admit their relationship is very interesting but what sucks is. how poorly people interpret them. In simple words, bill straight up abused ford. ford was an easy target for bill to manipulate. he was labeled a freak from birth and growing up he was constantly bullied, harassed and ostracized for his six fingers. because of this he wanted to prove to the world that he was more than a freak. he studied hard in school and excelled in academics in hopes to one day become a great renowned scientist and finally get the validation he never had. in senior year however there was a wrench in his plans. fords brother Stanley didn’t want him to go off to west coast tech and leave him behind so he ruined his chances into getting into west coast tech and it resulted  into him getting kicked out of the house and not reuniting with his brother until more than a decade later. anyways flash forward to the 1980s during his researcher era when ford discovers bill. ford instantly trusts him and bill feeds him that sweet validation that he never got(this is a major reason why ford was as vulnerable to bill and was such an easy victim). along with this bill manipulates ford and pushes away the only other human ford was close too, that being fiddleford, and said things to ford that made him lose trust in his only real friend at the time. my god and don’t get me started on the page in tbob where bill makes ford drink against his will. and like. bill didn’t care about ford as a person once. he only cared about him to the extent that he was a tool for him to use to get his way and when ford found him out, that angered him. he continued to harass him and called him his ‘property’ and ford lived in fear of him that his fucking eye bled and he went days, even weeks without sleeping to avoid him. Bill probably continued to harass him while he was dimension hopping until ford got the metal plate installed in his head to keep him out. and when ford was finally reunited with his family bill continued to harass him till the fucking end. he threatened to kill his family. he tortured him for hours in weirdmaggedon. i hate how people describe especially this era of them as ‘divorced toxic yaoi’ bill is straight up torturing and assaulting him.ford quite literally could not escape and this motherfucking dorito ruined his life. honestly it pains me anytime someone describes any era as ‘funny cute toxic yaoi’ because like. did you read the same book as me and did you watch the same show as me. are you that media illiterate that you can’t realize that it was abuse or are you do choose to ignore that just to label them as a ‘funny divorced toxic yaoi’ just for shipping purposes that you ignore everything that fucking happened between them. the majority of this fandom disgusts me that people will take the abuse ford suffered from bill just to call the ship between them ‘canon’ and use it as an excuse to ship them. sorry this is just me rambling this whole thing makes me so fucking mad that I can barely get out any words right lol

[simlit]

Chosen of the Sun | | dawn // eighteen

| @maladi777 | @poisonedsimmer | @mangopysims

next / previous / beginning

COURTESANS: Bye, bye! Thanks for coming! ASTER: Even when I’m not paying, they get all my money… TALILA: You were robbed? ASTER: Robbed? Yes, let’s go with that. Anyways, I’m sure not up to snuff, perhaps milady will escort me back to my room? TALILA: No, no, I think you’re better off with a different sort of escort. ASTER: Eh? TALILA: Tada! ASTER: Pass. TALILA: Oh go on. I’ll see you both tomorrow! ASTER: Little devil… who taught her this? THERION: I have an idea. ASTER: Ugh, on second thought, I’m not that drunk. I’ll head back on my own. THERION: You’re still avoiding me, then? ASTER: I told you I— ASTER: sighs Oh, alright, fine. Let’s go. THERION: I admit, I didn’t expect you’d be so bothered. I always thought you were type not to get hung up on anything. ASTER: I’m not hung up. Look, I don’t like to let things get to me. But sometimes, things get to me. THERION: It’s just a game— ASTER: I’ve played those kinds of games before. Not willingly, and it was never my turn. It’s always the ones laughing who write the rules, and those on the receiving end of a poorly dealt hand, well, it’s not that fun. THERION: I just… ASTER: If you want to go around mucking people up in trials, I can’t tell you not to. THERION: I don’t want to upset you, Aster. ASTER: Why should you care? THERION: Well, you’re my friend. ASTER: Friend? That’s… interesting. THERION: At least, I thought we were. I guess maybe I was wrong. ASTER: I don’t know if you are. Honestly, I’ve never stayed long in anyone’s lives, and they’ve never stayed long in mine. I’m sure once we all leave here, we’ll go our separate ways. Are we “friends”? Maybe, for a time. While it’s convenient. I don’t know. I’ve never had one before. THERION: Never? ASTER: Are friends people you see from time to time? People you’re familiar with that probably wouldn’t bat an eye if they saw you in a spot of trouble? I’ve got people I’d drink with. Hells, maybe even people I’d lend a silverpence, if the timing was right. But beyond that, beats me. THERION: I would say… a friend is some you can rely on. Someone who wouldn’t go out of their way to hurt you, because even if they might not say so, they care about your happiness, and they want to see you well. Maybe your ideals don’t always align, but you enjoy each other’s company, and you’d hate to see them go. ASTER: Can’t imagine anyone feeling that way about me. THERION: Well, I do. ASTER: Hm. THERION: I’m sorry… about what happened during the trial. I… it’s not the first time I’ve gotten carried away. I could make excuses and say I’ve got a knack for following bad orders; It wouldn’t be the first time “playing along” with someone’s ideas got me in trouble. At the end of the day, I was the one who agreed. And I didn’t stop them. Though, this time… I should have drawn my line in the sand. ASTER: And the Witcher? You apologize to her? She’s the one you really hurt, after all. THERION: Eira seems to take things less personally. Though, that’s probably another can of worms entirely. I’ll still talk to her. Drive the point home. ASTER: Good. Probably best. THERION: I can still walk you back to your room, if you’d like. Might not have the same, uh, flare as the Nymph and probably won’t end as excitingly but… ASTER: Ah, might as well. You never know in this city, a poor bard alone and defenseless? My gods, there’s monsters out there!

[kittenchancorruptionarc]

(( Hey guys, it’s been a few days. I’m so sorry I left so suddenly, I was experiencing burn out yet again and this case was ESPECIALLY bad. I kept guilt tripping myself over my break too because I felt horrible for leaving everyone in the dark.

The TDLR is I got too ambitious with events again and I keep poorly managing both threads AND asks and I need to fix that.

So here’s my requests to YOU (the beautiful person reading this) and how I’m going to do things from now on:

-Please try not to spam the ask box if I have (a) thread(s) going on, it distracts me badly. I thought about closing them during threads but felt that’s not fair so I will leave them open and see if you guys can respect my wishes. I trust y’all will you’ve been nothing but kind and patient to me (AND IM SO GRATEFUL AHHH) but still.

-KEEP SERIOUS RPS IN THREADS PLEASE, doing it via asks is very straining for me sorry if that’s an inconvenience :,]

-I won’t be doing colored replies anymore unless it’s for added emphasis, it was taking too long and it gave me a headache ngl. I have eyesight problems and I honestly made them slightly worse doing that.

-I don’t know if I’ll do any events for a while, up until I’m in the swing of things again. I got too ambitious and got severely burnt out and tired. :,]

-Threads are not time sensitive, assume they’re in their own time bubble unless it’s A stream RP or auction event. I make those interactive on purpose! Otherwise the rest of them are again in their own time bubble!!! This is so I don’t drive myself insane with time sensitive scenarios.

-I might make non auction and such events ask box only or limit it to one or two BIG RP threads, as I notice that’s what burns me out the most X_X

These are my “new rules” I guess okay? I think it’ll help me a LOT with the issues I’ve been having.

Also, let’s just say the events wrapped up and I’m going to have to call off any threads I STARTED before my huge burn out, sorry but I keep blanking on them and it’s for the best. We can start fresh or do a new one completely but oughhh I need to just. Start on a clean slate for my sanity im sorry guys. I hope you understand.

Also, my main focus will be on Fox and my OC account from now on, which I am going to revamp to mainly focus on his TPOF version due to a majority of my rp partners being based in TPOF timeline anyways. Strade is a fun side project and I abandoned Ren because I wasn’t happy with how I portrayed him tbh. Maybe I’ll revisit the account later, but rn I have no drive for it.

Anyways, I hope this’ll help me get back into this account because I miss being here so much but oh my GOD I stressed myself out ;; ))

-Fox Mun 🦊

[lunion]

There's something that's been hurting me for the longest time that I want to vent about, though it can be lenghty. Also, spoilers for Mother 3.

The mother series have been for the longest time my favorite videogame franchise of all time. However, this last year I realized it was no longer the case. That wouldn't be a problem if iy weren't for the reason behind it: My best friend and the discussion we had.

Context time:

I had a sheltered, but otherwise unpleasant childhood. Bullied at school, difficulties on social circles, depressed mother and absent father getting a divorce, a complicated relationship with organized religion... life for kid-me was unfulfilling, underwhelming and gave me nothing to look forward for the future.

However, one of the things that kept me going was indeed, the Mother series. It stroke the perfect and necessary balance to give me hope. It's not a perfect comfort game where nothing goes wrong because it'd feel cheap like "of course these people are happy. These problems were conveniently removed from game", but neither it was a tragedy fest where every problem is real and we can never get a break from the suffering ever. The Mother series acknowledged a lot of problems like police corruption, parental abuse, loss and so forth, but in a palatable manner that made me believe that we could overcome these things.

Eventually, childhood and adolencence have passed and I found myself breaking away from organized religion to find my own faith. I stumbled here and there, but I was moving forward.

And then comes in my best friend.

He's still one of the most caring people i've ever met, but unfortunately, he has a flaw that can make it hard to deal with sometimes. A poorly repressed, yet never acknowledged contempt for spirituality and religion.

We've had some discussions about it before, but the gist of it is that he would try to say something like "you're free to follow whatever religion you want", but always with the undertone of "but you're fucking stupid AND coping for doing so"

Then comes these last 5 years.

These last god forsaken 5 years of my life were filled to the brim with struggle, solitude and pushing through a pervading feeling of aimlessness as I tell myself my goals are not for naught.

My friend group withered, I moved away back to the hometown I hate, had no one that shared my beliefs with me, I started dealing with family problems so bad I had to go back to therapy and the pandemic did not help.

Practicing one's faith alone during this time was also much harder, especially when I started questioning my own beliefs.

Last year, I visited my friend just to hang out. I don't even remember how we got to the topic of spirituality, but I know we did and he asked me to explain my faith to him again. TL;DR, I share many buddhist principles, believe in past lives and higher planes of existance.

The real challenge was trying to explain it to him in a way he wouldn't dismiss as an hallucination, delirium or otherwise.

I could not.

I left that conversation feeling absolutely stupid of ever believing in any semblance of religion or any faith.

Fast forward for a couple months later and I am playing Mother 3.

I've cleared the mother series about 6 times at this point and every couple of years I'd play them all over again because I always come out differently from the experience, given how I've changed and my different lens let me appreciate the games more and in differnt ways.

This time, something very different happened.

I was at the end of the game, during the Masked Man fight. As any Mother fan can tell, the most emotional point in the series. But here is the thing. Unlike every other time I played the game, when Hinawa appeared in that scene, I was not overcome with emotion, relief or even moved.

Instead, my only thought was "what the fuck is this doing here?"

This scene, which brought me to tears many times before and made me cherish the love shared between these characters and even between people in real life, was now making me cringe and feel disgusted.

At that moment. It felt cheap. It felt like it was 'coping', as thoughts swimmed through my head:

"Talk about wish fulfilment. Kid's so traumatized he's making up in his mind his mother is still alive."

"Why tf can't people accept that hinawa is fucking dead? She and everything she brought is GONE. No amount of wishing will ever change that in any meaningful way."

"This is stupid"

All of these things came to me during what was supposed to be one of the most beautiful scenes I've seen in fiction. One of the moments that gave me the most pain, but also the most strenght.

At that moment, I was also crying, but not because the usual reasons.

I was crying because I saw myself, couldn't recognize myself and I didn't like what I saw.

The next months were rough. A good therapist helped, though.

I learned I can't have everyone, especially those who are set in their own beliefs, to validate mine, even if they are family or best friends.

I know I was sensitive at the time for all the problems that I mentioned ealier in this post.

But I also realized that my diminished affection towards the mother games were not to do with me growing up, but due to a bad memory staining my feelings for the games. A memory that has nothing to do with the games themselves and more to do with how hurt and stupid I felt because of that discussion that I had.

I no longer feel like that, but the feeling of hurt still remains. I want to start healing from it. Putting all this experience in words is the first step.

[crocothexey]

So, here for your attention are: Diligence, Temperance, Nobility, Meekness, Generosity, Humility and Chastity.

These are quite old works, I drew them in late spring - early summer (this year) and I'm already planning to redraw them and make "redesigns", but for now I made a post with "sketches" and the general idea.

I thought, if there are Seven Deadly Sins... Is there an opposite to them? Seven Benefactors

A little about them.

Diligence. 1) They only have a body and arms that supports the halo. The haloes in my idea could be like teleporters or something like that. They support the body of Diligence. They cannot speak with their mouths (they obviously don't have one), but they can communicate telepathically with others (although even so they are still silent). 2) Diligence is clearly responsible for work ethic (and work in general in Heaven). 3) They clearly value time and work, are quite pedantic and perfectionist, and do not tolerate poorly done work. 4) Gets along well with others, although he was aloof from the Purity Committee (a committee created by God). 5) Obviously, the downside of Laziness.

Temperance. 1) They have only a head, one large halo and many eyes, no mouth, but like Diligence, they can communicate telepathically. 2) Responsible for the behavior of citizens (in Paradise), always reminding them to be the best version of themselves. 3) They do not tolerate impatience, rudeness and many bad qualities, as polite as possible, although they are suspicious and to some extent hypochondriacs. 4) The Purity Committee respects them, although they consider them rather suspicious and overly cautious. 5) The downside of Gluttony.

Nobility. 1) She is a fairly humanoid creature, but has no face, with one eye in the middle. There is a halo on her face. Has four wings, second eye on the chest. 2) Together with Temperance, it is responsible for behavior and order in society in Paradise. 3) Nobility is a confident, calm lady, with a slight arrogance (despite her involvement with the Purity Committee). She values good manners and loves to host tea parties. It's better not to argue with her, she's quite stubborn. 4) It can be said that the Purity Committee always listens to her opinion, especially when it comes to censoring something (books, films, etc.), but they prefer not to cross paths with her (for that matter, any inhabitant of Paradise does not want to cross her path). We can say that Nobility and Meekness are like twins. 5) Is the other side of Envy.

Meekness. 1) Looks almost like its "sister", Nobility, but has six wings and a slightly different eye. 2) Probably the "the most important" of the Purity Committee, he collects reports from the other members for God. 3) He is serious and skeptical, has a tendency to question many things except the actions of God, and likes to show off his intelligence. He mocks sinners a little and looks down on them. 4) As stated earlier, he is the leader of the Purity Committee, especially during court hearings. And although he is the main one, he listens to the opinions of other members of the PC. 5) The Other Side of Wrath.

Generosity. 1) Has a relatively humanoid body, except for the arms and head. Instead of a normal head, he has a halo with an eye in the middle and several on the sides. 2) Responsible for finances in Paradise, works a little more with Diligence. 3) Generosity is quite charming and truly magnanimous, although mocking at times. Although, despite his openness, he is quite withdrawn. Quite freedom-loving. 4) Quite playful and relaxed with the rest of the Purity Committee. Probably ranks fourth. But he doesn't get along very well with Nobility, due to her picky nature. 5) The Downside of Greed.

Humility. 1) The most human-like, even has rather soft hair. His hair can grow out and become full-fledged wings. Although his legs are more like needles and are located separately from the body. 2) The youngest of the Purity Committee. He is mostly assigned paperwork, which is probably where Humility comes from. 3) Quite gloomy, silent and due to the volume of his work he can be irritable. Dreams of rest, but doesn’t talk about it out loud. From time to time he raises his head. 4) For everyone on the PC, he's the perfect person to do paperwork. Doesn't have close contact with anyone. 5) The Other Side of Pride.

Chastity. 1) It consists of several rings (usually two) with many eyes and three pairs of wings. Apparently he communicates via telepathy. Sometimes Chastity can use his main eye (inside the rings) as a mouth. 2) He jokes more than he works, pretending that he is always busy, although in reality he is not. Loves to shine in the workplace. If we're talking about censorship, then it's his job. 3) Chastity is the most relaxed and easy-going, loves to sparkle and joke. Quite charming, as far as flying rings go. Although quite sarcastic. Doesn't take many things seriously. 4) He mostly jokes and pretends to work, but he is nevertheless appreciated for his great work in censoring works. Although Nobility considers him too frivolous, and Meekness arrogant. Chastity also shifts the greater part of the work to Humility. 5) Is the reverse side of Lust.

Phew, that's all, I've outlined it as briefly as possible, I'll post them from time to time. Redesigns are possible, but those pictures are just "sketches" for now.

[weaveandwood]

Weave and Woods Chapter Six: Inadequacies

Gale/Tav | Slow Burn | Read on AO3 | Entire Work

Summary:

The party ventures into the Underdark. Auroria starts to learn new spells with Gale and the two poorly navigate the feelings growing between them.

“That was very inspiring,” Gale leaned over and spoke softly into her ear before the rest of the party joined them on the platform. “We should pool our minds more often.” She felt the tips of her ears getting hot, her heartbeat speeding up. Gods, just the feel of his presence near to her, his breath on her neck had her imagining the most inappropriate things involving his mouth. She looked at him, and could tell he was thinking similar thoughts the way his mouth was quirked up at the corner, the slight darkness in his eyes giving him away. She saw the faintest tint of purple glowing from his orb through his robes - he was getting worked up. Time to come back to reality. She cleared her throat, and he took a step away. The orb dimmed immediately.

“Ora.”

It felt good, saying it. The first time in over 5 years she had considered allowing anyone to call her by anything other than her full name. Karlach had been complaining over breakfast that Auroria, being four syllables, was a lot to yell out in the heat of the moment in battle, so they should give her a nickname. She had one for everyone else - Fangs, Fringe, Lae, Gale, Wyll….okay, everyone with more than one-syllable names. Although Gale was sometimes “Magic Man,” which amused Auroria to no end. 

“Everyone used to call me Ora. It was a nickname my best friend gave me almost 20 years ago. When she died, I couldn’t stand the sound of it. It was too painful, too many memories. But now, with all of you, I think I’d like to go back to being Ora,” she said. She felt a hand in hers, squeezing softly in solidarity. Gale. She tried to suppress a smile, squeezing back before they both let go. 

“Ora it is then! But wait - if you’ve only had a nickname for 20 years, did your mom really only call you by your full name?” Karlach asked.

“My mother was not keen on shortening names, something about respect for the person who named you. She didn’t even like it when I tried to call her ‘mom,’ and I think she may have contemplated abandoning me if I attempted to call her ‘mommy,’” Auroria laughed. “So no, she never called me anything besides Auroria. Elves can be weird about the smallest things,” she shrugged, “or maybe it’s just mothers.”

The journey to the Underdark would be a long one from their camp near the monastery, and they had planned to leave just as the sunrise was starting to slant over the horizon. The group knew the road well, having to backtrack to the Goblin Camp again to use an entrance they remembered sensing during their initial trip. They took care of the ogre guarding the entrance when they cleared out the entirety of the camp, knowing they would have to return once Halsin recommended entering the Shadow-Cursed Lands via the Underdark rather than the Mountain Pass. 

Since she knew the area was secure, Auroria had lingered at the edge of camp, letting Wyll and Astarion take the lead. The two were diametrically different. Wyll was a hero in every sense of the word, even if he was in a pact with a devil. Auroria sensed there was more to the story about why he entered the deal with Mizora, but even though they were friends, he hadn’t opened up to the group about that yet. In time. Astarion was the definition of a rogue - cunning and clever. He bent the rules to suit his desires. Both outlooks on life were useful, and they were a good counterbalance to each other. 

Shadowheart, Lae’zel, and Karlach were in the middle of the pack. Shadowheart was actually smiling at something Karlach had said, which was both hard to believe and completely believable - Karlach was infectious, it was impossible to be in a bad mood around her, even for Shadowheart. Lae’zel was subdued, less militant than normal due to the events at the Creche the day before, followed by the appearance of Voss in their camp as they were all attempting to sleep. The previous night had been eventful. She tried to put the memory of holding Gale’s hand for hours out of her mind, but couldn’t stop replaying it all night long. She wasn’t sure anyone was fully rested as they ventured into areas unknown to all of them. 

“Coming?” Gale turned around, tilting his head to the side. “Everything okay?”

She smiled, hoisting her pack onto her shoulders and falling into step beside him. Though she was nervous, the thought of learning a few more spells, the cohesiveness of their party, whatever was budding between the two of them…she was full of hope. 

“Absolutely.”

That optimism carried her as they figured out the puzzle to enter the Underdark. Auroria and Gale stared at the spinning disks on the floor for several minutes, passing theories back and forth to each other on what they thought the best solution was while the others looked around this previously unsearched part of the ruined temple for precious supplies. 

Finally, it clicked. “What if…what if we spin these disks so they correspond to the phases of the moon?” Auroria said as she started moving the disks in a certain pattern, so each one was arranged to show four different moon phases - full, new, and half moons. Once she started getting going, Gale took the other half of the disks, both of them working together to complete the pattern. A faint rumble shook the room as the door to the Underdark opened. Auroria smiled, her hands on her hips, content with the satisfaction of solving something difficult.

“That was very inspiring,” Gale leaned over and spoke softly into her ear before the rest of the party joined them on the platform. “We should pool our minds more often.” She felt the tips of her ears getting hot, her heartbeat speeding up. Gods, just the feel of his presence near to her, his breath on her neck had her imagining the most inappropriate things involving his mouth. She looked at him, and could tell he was thinking similar thoughts the way his mouth was quirked up at the corner, the slight darkness in his eyes giving him away. She saw the faintest tint of purple glowing from his orb through his robes - he was getting worked up. Time to come back to reality. She cleared her throat, and he took a step away. The orb dimmed immediately.

******

Contrary to what everyone thought, the Underdark was not as depressing as it sounded like it would be.  There was bioluminescence everywhere, casting everything with a pale blue glow. It was magical, almost peaceful. That feeling was short lived, however, when they almost immediately came upon a Spectator and a group of drow led by a Dhourn of House…Something-or-other. He was dead now, it didn’t matter. What did matter is that these foes proved to be much more formidable than the enemies they were used to fighting above ground, even with their more honed skills. The party ended with more cuts, stabs, and bruises than they had been dealt in quite some time, and they limped their way back to where they decided to set up camp so they could access their stash of more potent healing potions and let Shadowheart do her magic. Gale walked beside Auroria, who had a deep cut on her arm from a reanimated petrified drow, and a scowl on her face.

“How’s the arm?” He asked. She looked a million miles away, and didn’t answer him like she usually would. He waved a hand in front of her face. “Ora? You want to come back to the material plane?” He tested out the nickname. He liked it. He never wanted to call her anything else - it suited her.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry, Gale. Just thinking. That was not our best fight,” she said, slightly dejected. 

“True. I’d never seen a Spectator before in person. Horrifying creatures up close." He could tell her mind was working through all the ways the battle could have gone, both good and bad. Best to bring her back to the here and now. "How’s your arm?” He asked again, nodding at her injury.

She looked at her arm, blood soaking through the gaps of her armor from the cut. “It’ll be fine, nothing worse than what I’ve had before, especially once Shadowheart gets her spells on it. We got lucky today, but we need to train more if we’re going to be operating so close to our enemies. Thank the gods you had the foresight to stay up on the higher levels to cast, we were really taken by surprise.” 

“Yes, I agree. A wizard is best kept at a  distance for maximum spellcasting effect, though I have spent the last year working on my quarterstaff technique during my isolation. A fine workout that has proven to be rather handy should any foe get too close,” he said as Auroria nodded. Were her ears turning pink again? He smiled to himself. They only seemed to do that when she got flustered. Emboldened by her physical reaction, he leaned toward her a little as they walked. “Maybe you and I could spar, for practice?” Her ear tips deepened to a dark red. He had to admit the thought of seeing her in action, her skills directed at him, caused a shiver of excitement to run through him. His orb protested, sending a needle prick of pain through his veins. He winced slightly, then noticed Auroria’s eyes glancing at where the orb was, the faintest hint of a purple glow again. They both had their tells, apparently. 

“Speaking of training,” she changed the subject, the furrow between her brows returning. “I’d like to start working on learning new spells. I need to know more than one, especially as our enemies get more and more powerful. Do you think we could start tonight?”

“I’d be delighted,” He replied, most enthusiastically. 

******

Auroria hadn’t been this frustrated and annoyed with herself in years. She forgot just how difficult learning a new spell was. She tried to tell herself that she hadn’t done it in over 20 years, but really, how had her mother had this much patience? And good gods, how did Gale ? 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I can’t get this,” She said, pacing back and forth as Gale flipped through the book on nature spells he had found at the monastery. They had settled on learning Ensnaring Strike, borrowing Lae’zel’s practice dummy that was set up on a rocky outcrop that was not too far from the campsite and surrounded by giant mushrooms and glowing trees. The spell wasn’t too different from Hail of Thorns, and would be useful for both ranged and melee attacks, if needed. 

She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. “You’re tense, you’re worked up from our fight this afternoon, we’re in a new environment, it’s…a lot. When I was young and found myself trying without success to untangle the Weave around a new spell, I would attempt to control my breathing, clear my mind, and focus on my connection to the Weave. Since you get your power from nature’s connection to the Weave, it’s a little different than drawing directly from it, but more or less the same concept. ‘Breathe in, breathe out, calm yourself’ was my mantra. Simple but effective. I said it many times a day when I first started at Blackstaff Academy. I still do, sometimes,” he said.

Auroria scoffed, “So, like when you were eight?”

Gale laughed, “Oh! No, when I was eight I thought I could just do whatever spell I wanted. Most of them went awry - just ask my mother about the neighbor’s incinerated rose bushes! Or the magma mephit I summoned instead of a tressym. When I was an apprentice though, I challenged myself to learn spells only the most advanced wizards used. Sometimes, after several failures, you just need to….take a break. It took a long time to get there, but I found that relaxing the tension within me would help me navigate the Weave with more control. Before that, there were a lot of explosions and portals to other planes opening,” he chuckled to himself.

Auroria groaned, dropping into a crouch with her head in her hands. “You were summoning creatures through portals at eight? You must feel like you’re in the presence of an idiot, then. I can’t even do a simple spell for, what did the book say again? Novice rangers and druids?” 

Gale crouched down in front of her. “No, what I’m saying is maybe you need a break. You’re not used to channeling magic, and you’ll burn out if you try to ignore these feelings. Believe me, I completely understand wanting to get it right away - that ambition is hard to put a damper on. But you need to pace yourself.”

“Says the celebrated boy genius wizard prodigy,” she muttered.

“It wasn’t all great, Auroria,” he said, quietly. 

She looked up, seeing hurt in his eyes. Shit, I did that. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to feeling so inadequate. Today really threw me and I’m taking my frustrations out on everyone but myself. And since you’re the only one here, you’ve become my target, not the dummy.” She reached out, taking his hand in hers. “I’m sorry, Gale.” 

She exhaled, puffing out her cheeks and looked around, eyeing a couple of the practice sticks set out by the practice dummy. “I’m tired of using my brain. I believe you mentioned sparring earlier?” She smiled as she got up, walking to the dummy and tossing him one of the lightweight staffs. “Let's see these skills you’ve honed.” 

Gale caught the staff easily in one hand, bowing to her, “As the lady wishes.” 

“Oh, I am the farthest thing from a lady, good sir, but I do wish,” she smiled as she started to circle him. 

The next hour passed easily. Gale won most of the rounds, not exaggerating his extensive training. Their match ended with Auroria on her back, Gale’s staff aimed at her chest, both of them panting, covered in sweat. She put up her hands, laughing, “I surrender!” Gale held out his hand for Auroria to take, pulling her up easily. He was stronger than she had assumed, and she lost her balance a little as she stood up faster than anticipated, crashing into his chest. 

They stared at each other, Auroria’s eyes darting from his eyes to his mouth, the bead of sweat running down the side of his temple. She could see his eyes making the same path on her own face - eyes, lips, sweat. The skin on her neck and ears burned, not just from the exertion of their practice. Gods, she wanted to kiss him so badly, to feel his lips against hers, his breath on her skin, his hands…oh hells, his hands everywhere. She wanted to hold her breath, for this moment to never end. He held her hand tightly to his chest, closing his eyes as if he wanted to freeze this moment as well. 

“Gale -”

“Ora, I -” a wince, another faint glow. He took a step backward, the glow fading again. “I can’t.” He dropped her hand and took another step back. ���I’m sorry,” he said quietly. 

He turned and headed back to camp.

Auroria stood alone in the training area, brow furrowed as she watched Gale retreat. She picked up her bow and an arrow and turned back to her initial task. Breathe in, breathe out, calm yourself. Breathe in, breathe out, calm yourself, she repeated mentally before firing an arrow at the base of the training dummy. She focused her energy, her sadness, her frustration into the concentration aspect of the spell. The ground rumbled, vines popping up from the ground wrapping around the figure, thorns piercing the cloth body. 

“I did it!” She gasped, then looked around beaming, laughing to herself, raising her bow overhead in celebration as she realized she cast the spell successfully. She looked around for Gale, forgetting for a moment that he had already gone back to camp and she was truly alone. Again. She dropped her bow to her side as the vines retracted back into the ground. “I did it,” she whispered. She turned and left the training area, a new determination settling over her. She refused to let hopelessness overtake her, and she wouldn’t let Gale run away from this thing they were both very obviously feeling toward each other, orb be damned.