#and the fact that she actively remembers when this first changed for the better and sees it now getting worse again. says a lot.

[ikjun]

sometimes i will see super thin women in their designer outfits or just generally expensive clothes and they don’t look good in them at all bc it’s just a flat surface with fabric hanging off of it like no silhouette no expression of their outfit and yet they will be hailed as fashion influencer icons for being concerningly skinny and it just keeps becoming more of a thing again when we should have left this in 2004

[thatsdemko]

drought - c.leclerc

masterlist

requested: n

pairings: husband!charles leclerc x wife!fem!reader

warnings: not intended for minors + fingering (f receiving) + minor grammatical errors!

a/n: everyone say thank you to Charles leclerc’s recent photo dump

《 the following content is not intended for minors. 》

the simulator, the meetings, the practices, the races. it’s never ending exhaustion for Charles as he struggles grappling the seasons horrid start.

he’s thankful to have someone to turn to when times get rough. his lovely wife, you. through thick and thin is what you promised each other, and right now? this was the thin. this was what was starting to tear you both further apart.

Charles spent all his time home at the simulator, or any chance he could, at the factory. you’ve spent dozens of lonely, boring, nights in your shade king size bed.

the picture frame above the headboard is no longer crooked. you’d have time to fix it into place because the reason it fell was the endless nights of sex. the headboard would bang into the wall and eventually the picture, from your wedding night, would either come falling down, or end up sideways on the hook.

it was a reminder of your once thrilling sex life has come to an end. sex was no longer something you both were actively participating in. it was rather you and a vibrator on those lonely occasions.

“headed out?” you ask, picking your head up from your book in your lap. you’d heard his heavy footsteps. his tongue clicking against the roof of his mouth searching the right sneakers to wear.

“just to maman’s salon. been awhile.” he says coming into the living room to sit beside you on the couch.

you nod in agreement having not remembered the last time his beautiful brown hair was trimmed. although, you don’t mind the length, and neither did his fans. you’d encouraged him to listen to them, and at the time he laughed. then you showed him why you liked it so much. the ends being tugged between your fingers, ruffled and yanked during sex, he enjoyed the arousal. now, there was no need for it.

“tell her I say hi.” you say, soft smile forming to your lips.

he catches your eyes for a brief second when he looks up from tying his shoes. he takes the quick second to press a kiss to your cheek, “you should come by. maman would love to see you.”

you’d missed pascale. in fact, you missed his whole family. it’d been months since you’d shared a laugh with Arthur, or even held conversation with Lorenzo and his new girlfriend. while you knew the chances were slim to seeing his siblings, you still joined him in the car. it’d been the first time in weeks being in his pista.

his hand dangerously slips across the center console. his thumb strokes the skin your inner thigh that’s exposed from your biker shorts. he’s happy you’ve tagged along, he can’t remember the last time you’ve spent more than two hours together that wasn’t spent sleeping.

“I noticed you fixed the picture above our bed.” he says turning to look at you for a brief second at the stop light. you figured he hadn’t noticed, it was slight change and he rarely slept at home when he had days off. you’re sure he’s seen the toy under your side of the bed if he truly went looking.

“gives you a new challenge again.” you reply back watching the wheel spin under his hands as he pulls into the parking lot. you were finally free from his grip.

he scoffs, putting the car in park, “it was always too easy. it was never a challenge.”

a smirk forms to your lips. your words catching him before he slips out the car, “well you have a new challenge and it’s much better than you’ve been in the past month.”

—

you’re sitting in the chair beside him watching pascale trim the wet ends of his hair. a few fall in his face or around the top of the cape.

she’s happy to see you. in fact, she’s only talking to you the whole time.

she doesn’t notice how you’ve been squeezing your legs together every so often. your one leg is crossed over the other, he sees you shifting in the chair as you answer his mothers questions. he sees how turned on you’ve become watching him.

it’s funny to him. how it’s the most mundane thing ever and it’s got your pussy throbbing for him. all he’s doing is sitting in the chair allowing his mother to cut the dead ends of his hair.

he can tell whatever you were using to get off was not enough. and it was his own damn fault for choosing the simulator or the factory over pleasuring his wife’s needs.

pascale walks away to answer the phone leaving you two alone, and he swivels the chair in your direction, “I did not know this would get you so horny.”

you feel heat spread across your cheeks. you try to pull the neck of the sweatshirt over your face to hide the embarrassment of being caught.

“when we get home—“

“you think I’ll last getting home?” you cut him off before he can propose his plan. his eyes widen, a smirk toys his lips as he shakes his head seeing his mother come back into the room.

“take the keys to the pista, you’re making this hard for me.” he tosses the keys into your lap, “it’s a private parking lot. you can finish what I started.”

“I’m almost done with him. you‘ll be able to go home in no time.” pascale promises and continues to trim his hair. you watch for another couple of minutes and now she’s finally getting ready to blow dry his wet hair.

you can’t watch any longer. you’ve made up an excuse to head to his car and wait out the final minutes. you’ve turned on the air in the car and sat in the passenger seat awaiting his arrival to take you home.

your leg anxiously bounces as you hear him whistling. he opens the passenger door, takes the knob that adjusts the seat, and pushes it as far back as it goes allowing him to kneel in front of your seat.

“Charles what are you doing?” you ask watching him close the passenger door once he’s in. it’s cramped. his head is just inches close to the top of the car, your legs are nearly into your lap and suddenly it’s warm in the car. the air must’ve kicked off after a period of time running.

“taking care of something.” he leans over your lap, letting the back of the seat go as far down as it can. he moves you closer to the edge of the seat, “lift your hips.” he demands and you do as he asks, allowing him to remove your shorts.

“Charles, we can’t do this in your car—“

“nobody is here.” he points out the very obvious. not another car is in this parking lot, and there’s not a single car that has drove down this street since arriving. you were as safe as you could be under the street lights.

“come on, let me treat you right.” he coos, fingers running up and down your thighs, “I did this to you.” he reaches into your lap, fingers toying with the wet material clung to your pussy, a whine threatening at your tongue.

“can I do that? can I touch my wife?”

you nod, unable to speak any words. you push you hips up again allowing him to remove your panties. you spread your legs as far wide as you can. his index finger stretches out across your folds. it’s like a ghost against your skin, you can feel him but barely. a soft whine escapes your lips, you lean back against the seat.

“good girl,” he whispers, “just relax for me.” he says. his index finger wiggles in your entrance. his name rolls off your tongue ever so quickly, and you feel him add a second finger not even giving you a chance to respond.

your fingers go flying into his freshly cut hair, and yank on the short ends. you curse him for what he’s done, and try to grab anything you can while his fingers pump inside of you. he takes his time, discovers every single bit of you like lost treasure. a place he hasn’t tended to in awhile.

sweet whines and moans escape your lips. it’s adorable how quick you were able to fold under his touch. all it ever really took was a swipe of his finger, tongue, or anything else to get your body to fold. you were his in the matter of seconds.

you feel one of his fingers just brush your clit. your back arches, pussy clenching around his fingers. you’re begging him to do it again, and again, until you come.

he doesn’t stop until he notices your legs are visibly shaking, the car is shaking from your bodies response, and until his fingers are met with cum.

“I can’t.” you breathe out, your body itches to exhale the sweet cum he ever so loves. he’s nodding along, encouraging you to come. you throw your body back against the seat, you feel the body of the car move as you do so. sweet delicious cum finally exits your body and so do his fingers.

“that was fun wasn’t it?” he licks his index and middle finger of your cum before pulling your set up close to where it was, and he’s getting out of the car. you quickly pull your shorts back up and double check your hair.

you look him in the eyes when he slides into the drivers seat. you can see the arousal in his pants, a content smile across his face, “don’t worry, you can take care of me when we get home. I’ve got an idea in my mind.”

[writers-potion]

when writing enemies to lovers, how to I avoid the trope of “hes mean to me but it’s okay because he likes me” and make the mmc redeemable after being mean, because so far all I have is have her be just as bad 😭 (I don’t know if I worded that right)

Redeeming The Bad Boy Character

Drop Subtle Hints of Redeemability

Okay. Rule Number 1 for romance heroes: They need to be LOVABLE. Full stop. 

Before you start coming up with possible justifications, place the actions of your bad boy on the emotional balancing scale of your girl. Do his real feelings shine through the meanness on the surface?

What readers usually DON’T want to see redeemed is:

Outright lying/manipulating the girl 

Being obsessive and controlling 

Physical/emotional bullying (i.e. stuff that real bullies would do)

“Crossing the line”: This will depend on character - like insulting a disabled sister the girl character feels super protective towards (like NO PLEASE NO)

Even if the “enemy” phase of your romance is meant to be intense, your bad boy needs to display “goodness of heart”. This is easy if you’re switching POVs or 3rd person omniscient where you can show him secretly beating himself in regret, trying to make up with her behind her back although she doesn’t know, etc. 

Even if you’re doing the girl’s 1st person POV, drop subtle hints that the guy character isn’t as mean as the girl is made to believe:

Him having the reputation with friends/teachers/neighbors for being kind 

Him being awarded in school for good deeds

The girl’s friend telling her stories about how the guy actually seems nice. If this is a YA setting, you can even get away with explicit comments like, “maybe you’re judging him too hard”, etc. 

A good example is Bryce  in <Flipped>:

Bryce is an innately shy middle schooler who finds himself inadvertently influenced by his toxic dad, who looks down on the girl (Juli) and her family. 

By flipping over to Bryce’s POV, his reluctance for the “mean” things he’s done is revealed (he’s kinda scared of his dad + he’s never been taught better)

Eventually, Bryce grows up and learns to treat Juli better. 

If you’re going to use family history/backstory as justification, remember:

The backstory doesn’t justify anything by just existing. That’s called an excuse. 

The bad boy needs to have a point of realization and grow up, moving away from his dark past into the light, towards the love interest. 

Misunderstanding

Another way to redeem a bad boy character is to shift some blame on the female character too. In fact, every story has two sides - the girl has her own goals and biases. 

For example:

Academic or workplace rivals: since the girl has to compete with him, she will tend to take offhand comments offensively, etc. 

A third person badmouthing the buy deliberately to the girl

The girl overhearing the guy saying something bad about her (which wasn’t in fact the case) and being determined to not like anything he does after

Make Him Suffer 

If you want to give your girl some backbone, just make her fight back! “Fighting back” can be in different forms:

Ignoring the guy outright

Just giving her another potential love interest who treats her better 

She literally correcting him with awesome logic and maturity that make him shut up

She crying (either out of madness or sadness), then proceeding to avoid him actively

Write about how your bad boy will eventually realize his mistakes and come around after he takes a real blow. Think about why your bad boy is being mean in the first place: it’s to get her attention. Tit-for-tat can work for female characters who have some teeth, but doing the same things he does would mean that she IS giving him attention, which ironically fulfills his initial motives. 

Personally, I think the best way to “fight back” is to no longer give him the attention, hinting that the girl wishes to move on from this unhelpful relationship status. This will set off warning signs in the MMC’s head that if he doesn’t change his ways, she would be gone for good. 

The point is, if your girl cannot tolerate something, you can’t make her sit around. If your boy is mean and immature, she needs to be the one to take the mature step - and walk away.

Apologizing in the Other Character’s Style

What the MMC will need to do to gain the girl’s attention back will depend on what she thinks, but this will often involve:

Explaining his true motivations/resolving the misunderstanding

A genuine apology 

Spending some time apart during which he can reflect and make up to her 

Undoing the damage, if this is possible

If she’s been just as bad as him on occasions, make her reciprocate the apology! Re-establish healthy boundaries that didn’t exist before, and show how they stick to it. 

[notedgyanymore]

Dp x Dc idea 💡

Jazz has been dating Jason for the last few months the bat family loves her, and she hasn't given any of them red flags to trigger their paranoia as to make them look into her past, so to them jazz just seems like a normal nice girl. Everything changes though when she gets custody of her younger brother, who according to her has spent the last six months recovering from an unknown disease in a specialized hospital in another country.

Danny unlike jazz is a walking red flag, you can tell in your gut that there is something inhuman and terrifying about him and now the bat family is scrabbling to find information about Danny and jazz's past which seems so far to be purposely erased in a way that is so efficient that it's as if it never happened in the first place. The bat family current theory is that Danny is some kind of monster/creature that has infiltrated Jazz's life and altered her memories and that she never had a brother in the first place this corroborates with the fact the while Jazz Fenton existence is very well documented by government, there's virtually no evidence of the existence of Daniel Fenton before he appeared the last month with a fake recently made ID.

The truth is Danny has spent the last six months recovering in the ghost zone from an attempted dissection courtesy of Jack and Maddie Fenton and was being taken care of by his ghost guardians/parents frost bite and clockwork, while healing he discovered the that he really likes "living" in the realms specially after a traumatic experience, not having to deal with humans feels great ! Anyhow, Danny decides that he wants to live full time in the ghost zone and makes a wish to Desiree so his identity both as Phantom and Fenton get erased and the only people who remember that he ever existed are jazz, Sam, tucker and of course the ghosts.  

Jazz wasn't all that happy about the wish, but she understands that it is better that her parents forget Danny's existence, so they can't go after him again also making a new identity together seems easy enough. The reason why jazz got Danny's custody in the first place was because of the agreement she made with clockwork and frost bite that Danny should at least finish high school and get to complete his eighteen birthday on earth, and they were fine with this deal after all is just a few years and ghost children age much slower which means that clockwork and frost bite would also get to raise their kid.

Danny currently is very unhappy with the deal having to live on earth, specially on a city like Gotham, moreover having to deal with Jazz's terrible boyfriend and his family who are treating him like dirt. Well jazz isn't happy either, she loves Jason, but she will not stand anyone treating her brother this badly, so he better step up before he gets dumped.

Note : Out of the bat family, Jason is the one with the most antagonistic attitude towards Danny, the pits recognize him as a threat to their existence and activate a fight or flight response in Jason. He tries to be sneaky and not say anything bad about Danny when his sister is around, but Jazz knows what going on and is deeply disappointed. Also, after six months in the zone, Danny has gotten worse at hiding his ghostly nature.

[lyubovsdiary]

Confessions

a.aretas x best friend!reader

summary: your best friend armando has been by your side through every disappointing date, relationship and talking stage. but one fateful night he says something which will alter your friendship forever. the question is: will it be for better or for worse?

prompt: #2853 by @promptsforthestrugglingauthor

"I just want to fall in love!" She sobbed into her hands. "Why won't it happen?"

"What about the last person you saw?"

"I try. I actively try to like them.”

go check out their prompts if you’re interested, they’re amazing!!

a/n: enjoy!!

Turning the key in the lock of your apartment door, you walked in with hunched shoulders and a disappointed expression. The date you were on today had been disastrous. Justin, a guy you had met through a colleague, had been so boring, that you had to make up a bullshit excuse about your sister needing someone to drive her to a doctor’s appointment. You didn’t even have a sister.

Walking further into the apartment, you noticed Armando, your best friend for years, sitting lazily on your couch. He was in your apartment practically every day, so you weren’t too surprised to see him here. The thought of spending the rest of the afternoon and evening with him sounded ten times better than spending even five minutes with Justin.

“Hey, how’d your date go? Any luck with this Jordan guy?” Armando asked between bites of what seemed to be your leftover lasagna.

“His name’s Justin, but no. How can someone talk about his first driving lesson which happened three years ago for forty-five minutes? Nothing happened! It was a completely normal experience, except for the fact that he still remembers the colour of the house he parked next to for the first time,” you ranted as you took off your purse and shoes and went to wash your hands. Once you were in the bathroom, you also changed into more comfortable home clothes. Armando wasn’t someone you felt like you had to dress up for. He complimented you even when your hair looked like it had never been touched by a brush.

Armando never made you feel ugly or as less than. No matter what you looked like, he always treated you the same, which was like a breath of fresh air, when you considered how the majority of the men you had met acted like. He also made sure to not only compliment your looks but your personality as well. You didn’t know how he kept finding things to point out, but it was amazing to have someone understand you like that. You had different reactions to his compliments. If it was about your appearance, you’d take it lightly and give him a kiss on the cheek in thanks. If it was about your character, you’d look at him with as much gratitude as humanly possible and be physically close to him for the rest of the day, however long that may be.

“Was he the tarado that asked you not to wear leggings or joggers on the first date?” Armando asked while laughing.

You sat down next to him in the couch and put your head on his shoulder. You felt his arm going over your shoulders and your body instantly relaxed. Being in Armando’s vicinity always had this effect on you. All of your worries disappeared and you got to truly relax. You were lucky to have such a connection with your friend.

“No, that was Cole. Besides that part, he was actually really nice,” you sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s like I can’t make a relationship work.”

“It’s not your fault, mi querida. The men you go out with are the problem. Your taste is very…interesting,” Armando tried to soothe you. He also said something in Spanish, but only knew the basics of the language and some insults Armando taught you a couple years back. You just hoped the names he called you weren’t too nasty.

“It can’t be only their fault though. It takes two to make or break a relationship. And it seems that everyone but me has managed to do it. Happy couples, people in love are all around me, but I can never seem to be one of them. I just want to fall in love,” you groaned into your hands, which had come up to your face to hide your frustration. "Why won't it happen? Why can’t it be as easy as befriending people and feeling love for them?"

“What about your last boyfriend? You were in love with him, weren’t you?” Armando asked in a tone you couldn’t place.

Yet his words made you think of your ex, who you had had a complicated and difficult relationship with. Love wasn’t supposed to be complicated. It wasn’t supposed to make you overthink every word you said, it wasn’t supposed to make you change your personality to fit better into someone else’s life. A lover was supposed to love you despite and because of your flaws and not nitpick every single move of yours until you felt like a painting in a museum full of cruel critics.

But you had never shared those details with Armando. In fact, your ex had tried to isolate you from him and all your other friends, so to avoid any more fights, you had agreed with his ‘rules’.

Now you knew that what you had felt in your last relationship wasn’t love. It was desperation to fit in with your peers. Desperation to have finally found the most wonderful feeling a human being can experience: love. And while love and desparation do go hand in hand, it is important to remember their differences and base one’s behaviour off of that. That’s where you had messed up.

“No. I tried-I actively tried to like him and all the other guys I’ve gone out with, but it just doesn’t work. I either try too hard and seem too eager or I can’t force myself to care and lose interest before barely knowing more about the guy than what is needed in a police description,” you explained the conclusion you had come to while analysing your behaviour one sleepless night.

You then started tracing patterns on Armando’s arm while it served as a substitute for your sketchbook. Your hands needed to be occupied with a task or you’d be restless. “I also seem to always compare the guys to you, of all people. They either aren’t as charming, as funny or as pleasant to be around.”

Your words made Armando stiff as a board next to you. The reason why his evergrowing feelings never faltered or died out, was because you always said shit like that. One moment you could be making fun of every single part of Armando’s existence and in the next you’d be telling him how his presence alone makes you feel at home.

But it wasn’t just your words that rattled Armando. The gentle feeling of your soft fingers imitating drawing on his skin made the familiar warm feeling in his chest bubble up again and caused his brain to short-circuit. Armando loved feeling like your personal canvas, taking whatever you had to offer without complaints.

It was up ahead in his all-time favourite things to ever happen along with the cuddling you enjoyed so much. Every year when winter came around, Armando was almost giddy at the thought of you positioning your body as close to his as humanly possible, because you got cold quickly and he ran hot.

Still, it was all becoming too much all at once. Armando’s unwavering feelings towards you, your careless behaviour towards him, making him think he may actually have a shot, when he just doesn’t know anymore. You were the first person in a long time to make him feel unconditionally loved, but then you went ahead and went on a date with another man. You told him how no one could ever take his place in your life and then told him how he was the best friend anyone could ever ask for.

That was what frustrated Armando the most. He didn’t just want to be your friend anymore. He wasn’t sure that he had ever wanted that. Armando wanted to feel your lips against his. He wanted to sleep wrapped around you every night. As a matter of fact he wanted to be around you every second of every day, spending as much time together as their lifestyles allowed. Armando wanted to talk and talk and talk with you, getting to know every single one of your most intimate thoughts, opinions and memories. He wanted to know you better than he knew himself. Your soul was already a big part of his own, but he wanted them to be connected so fiercely that nothing could break them apart.

Armando knew that the change from a friendship to a relationship wouldn’t be that drastic, after all, the two are pretty similar, at least in your case. But he still wanted the feeling of belonging which came with a relationship. The knowledge that you were his and he was yours. It was not only a guarantee for him that you would never leave, but also a sign to others that you were taken now. No one would allow himself to come near you if they knew you were with him.

Due to his confusing thoughts and conflicting thoughts, he couldn’t control his tongue very well. “Be with me then,” he tried to joke, but it came out wrong. It sounded more like a plea, begging to be taken seriously. As soon as the words were out, Armando froze. The fear that this would make him lose you hit him at full force. As hard as he tried to play it off, he just couldn’t be the non-caring, hardly fazed person he was around others, when he was around you. Everything about you made Armando’s resolve crumble and his heart melt.

Your laugh died in your throat as Armando jumped up and went to the conjoined kitchen of your apartment. You quickly went after him, noticing the change in his behaviour.

“Wait- Were you serious?” you asked him unbelievingly. You had never seen Armando like this before. He was usually an excellent liar and great ar improvisation, something which combined with your flirting skills made you two able to get out of every type of trouble.

Right now though, Armando was fiddling with the glass in his hands which he was trying to fill with water.

“No, no, of course not,” he said. He sounded defeated and you didn’t want your favourite person to feel like that, especially because of something you said.

“Armando, tell me what’s wrong. I promise you, I’m gonna be here and listen no matter what. You’re my best friend, you can tell me anything,” you told him, trying to get the truth out of him. You meant every word of what you said, but you weren’t sure if Armando was going to believe them and/or actually listen.

As if to prove your point, the man before you rolled his eyes and turned away from you.

“You can’t help me with this, maravillosa niña. I appreciate the thought, really. But mi amor para ti isn’t exactly something I can talk to you about,” Armando remarked wistfully. His hands were grasping the glass so hard, his knuckles were white. This only made you worry more, since Armando was usually pretty laid-back.

“Armando, I promise you, you can. There’s nothing you could tell me that would change anything between us. I know you. I know you have a good heart, as hard as you try to convince others that it isn’t true. So whatever is on your mind and affecting you this bad, I promise you can share it with me, so you’re at least not the only one carrying its burden,” you expressed, conveying as much love as you could in your words. Armando was very important to you and you made sure to tell him that in different forms every once in a while.

“You ask what’s affecting me? ¿No es obvio? You are. The fact that I crave your company when you’re not around, the fact that I want to be the first person you call when anything happens or when you just want to talk! You have made me addicted to you and it’s not an addiction one can ever overcome. I love you. Every cell in my body yearns for your touch, every thought in my mind is devoted to you. llevo años volviéndome loco,” Armando finally blurted out. He hadn’t meant to confess his feelings for you in this way. He actually hadn’t meant to confess them at all, but they had just come out.

Armando’s words stunned you into silence. You had truly never expected to hear these words, but after overcoming the initial shock, there was something like … relief flooding your veins and takings its place right between your ribs. Armando was an amazing person who you admired deeply. The fact that he loved you made you feel happy in a very specific way.

Your mind was running a thousand miles an hour, processing every word Armando had said. If you imagined those words coming out of one of your other friend’s mouth, you wouldn’t be as overjoyed as you are right now. You would be flattered, but not excited as you were right now.

Which led you to only one conclusion.

Darting forward, you wrapped your arms around Armando. One went to his face and cupped his cheek while the other went to his side. You spared a quick look to his eyes, finding confusion, hope and lust in them, but then focused on his lips. They were just as beautiful as every other part of him, now also slightly parted as his soft breaths were hitting your collarbone.

‘Fuck it,’ you thought and connected your lips to his. He immediately kissed back and you could feel his hands coming up to your waist to hold you even closer. You moved your hand from his cheek to his hair and buried it in his soft curls. The two of you stood there intertwined for a long time, lips moving in a steady rhythm, until you broke the kiss to get some air.

“Was that okay?” you gasped out, trying to put air in your lungs again. The grin you sent in Armando’s direction earned you a crooked smile.

“Perfect,” was the only warning you got before his lips crashed against yours once more.

Smiling while your lips were still pressed together, you mumbled out a “Told you I could help.” and resumed making out with your handsome best friend.

Translations:

tarado - moron

mi querida - my dearest

maravillosa niña - wonderful girl

mi amor para ti - my love for you

¿No es obvio? - Isn’t it obvious?

llevo años volviéndome loco - I’ve been going crazy for years

[blossomthepinkbunny]

Talking about Adam and the villians of HB

Adam is such a dissapointing villain for Hazbin Hotel that absolutely doesn't make use of the great opportunities they had for the bad guy of this project. Like, what is Adam? A sexual, irrational, rockstar asshole who kills demons for fun and is shown to be completely idiotic and unable to make any good point for his actions. And that sucks.

Atleast to me, them making Adam an irredeemable asshole type just seems like the show acknowledging that they can't take any actual feedback on Charlies idea. He is a strawman who never really gets to be anything else until his final moments, when they want you to care about his fight. The show doesn't want you to actually think critical about what Charlie has planned it just wants you to think she is right, by making you hate Adam, by making his side actively carry out genocide. The fact that a show all about revealing that people have layers and presenting seemingly morally grey areas in them has a villian who is completely one note and just evil and irrational because the show needs him to be is not great.

There are actual things that can be criticized about the Hotel and the idea of redeeming sinners, but Adam can't call any of these out because then Charlie would have to defend herself, which she can't do and then you would realize that the writers couldn't think of arguments for why she is right. And then Charlie would come off as not as great as they want you to think she is.

What if he had called out the fact that genuinely no demon seems to give a shit about being a better person. We don't get a definitive time for how long Charlie has been working on the Hotel but we can assume that it has been atleast a little longer. We see her advertise her idea on the news in the pilot and the Hotel makes an advertisement in the first episode, so we know that it's pretty open information that a place where demons can redeem themselves exist. Yet in the entirety of the pilot, season one and however much time lays between the two, only two sinners came to the hotel to change (im not counting staff members because they are there to work, not to be redeemed).

Angel Dust and Sir Pentious are the only ones who came to stay, which either means that just no other sinner cares to be better or that Charlie is not taken seriously and that her hotel is viewed as stupid in concept alone. And you have to remember that even these two didn't initially join because they genuinely wanted to change.

Angel just decided to stay because it was a cheap place to live where he wouldn't have to see Val. And while Pentious does decide he wants to be better, we don't know if he would have even done that, had it not been for the agreement he made with Vox (which made him come to the hotel with bad intentions in the first place).

Why doesn't Adam get to point out that sending Sinners to heaven might be a bad idea when there are probably people that they hurt or may have even killed up there. Like, Angel Dust was in the Mafia and you can assume that he has quite the killcount and it's very possible that some of his victims are in heaven. That goes for every other demon too, they're down there for a reason. And while sometimes that reason might be something stupid or irrelevant, just giving every demon the benefit of the doubt and a chance to get to heaven (in theory) seems pretty irresponsible.

That is also completely ignoring the fact that Charlie's method has no proof of even working. Seemingly in the entirety of hell existing no sinner has ever redeemed themselves and went to heaven until Sir Pentious, which was mostly an accident as well.

I'm not saying Adam had to be likeable or relatable, but it's pretty obvious that they made him so hateable just because. He can't just be an obnoxious, sexist asshole because that's not blatantly evil enough apparently. He also has to commit genocide for no reason other than that he enjoys it. Again, im not saying his genocide should be excusable, but he should have a reason that isn't presented as him just doing it for fun because hes a jackass (he should have a reason that would make what he is doing okay in his own eyes where the viewer could understand how he views the world without having to agree necessarily).

Writing evil characters who are purely bad because they just are can work. But in my opinion that shouldn't be the main villian, especially not in a show where the central idea is supposed to be discussing morality and moral greyness.

Cioccolata from Jjba is a villian where this works in my opinion. He is just evil and Araki really plays that up. He isn't just a crazy doctor type who violently experiments on people for fun, his backstory also shows that he has been doing this since he was 14 and started with driving elders to suicide. And also he films everything he does because he just likes watching people suffer. Cioccolata really is just irredeemably crazy and sadistic but it works for him because he is just a side antagonist and therefore doesn't have the burden of playing as a direct counter to our main protagonist and because for all his immoral actions he still has philosophy behind that. A fucked up philosophy but an understandable (not excusable) one nonetheless. He explaines that in his eyes people can only experience true happiness from two situations. Either when your own despair is replaced with hope, or when one watches other people fall into despair themselves. In his eyes, the more people he watches die, the more he understands the human race and the stronger he gets, which leads into another aspect of his philosophy, which is that the strong have have the right and responsibility to rule over the weak. That is why I think he works.

We actually get some insight into Adams deeper character motivation in his last moments. When he gets upset that the demons aren't just falling at his feet, worshipping him, even though he is the original man all life came from. And that would be a good idea to expand on, that Adam has this intense sense of entitlement that leads him to despise the demons because he doesn't have power over them, when he feels like he should. And because a crowd of people that don't worship him, feels threatening to him, he would want them gone as to not possibly risk his position of power with their ideas.

That could be the reason for why he despises Charlie, because she is a demon who makes her own plans to save her people, which would mean they could start to follow her and work with her, rather than idolizing him. Something like that would work so well for his character and would fit this saviour attitude that some religious people have when "helping" atheists by recommending that they should be religious to make all their problems dissapear or something (no shade to people who genuinely find peace and safety in their religion I think that's actually great but it's not a solution for everybody). The last moments he has give great insight into what his character could've been, had they focused on this, rather than always just having him say how much he enjoys killing demons for no reason.

And in the song he has he also nearly approaches giving another possible reason for his actions (that being that he just doesn't care because demons already had their chance to be good, didn't choose that and now don't deserve a second chance), but that is also never expanded on and is pretty much ignored throughout the season.

Also I find it interesting that Adam has to be completely and irredeemably evil, hated by everyone, while Lucifer gets away with just letting the people he is supposed to rule die like it's nothing. Lucifer didn't to anything to stop the exterminations, he didn't contact his daughter in quite some time and actively mocks her idea when first meeting her after these months of not giving a shit for her or what she does (her idea that is supposed to save his people from literal death btw).

We see him easily finish Adam off in the finale which begs the question for why he just never cared to do anything before. But it's fine because he's just so silly and goofy and actually cares a lot for Charlie say's the show. That is why he gets to be redeemed in the same episode he appeared in for the first time and no one is allowed to question him because then you're just not nice and understanding.

Lucifer didn't have to like sinners. I think his approach of basically leaving the sinners to their own devices is pretty interesting. But HH wants you to hate Adam and like Lucifer without acknowledging that people who just watch bad stuff being done without doing anything about it are also shitty. And for Lucifer it seems extra shitty because we see he can literally just defeat Adam and he just didn't do anything for this whole time.

Helluva Boss has this problem too where it picks characters it wants you to like and if you don't like them then you're just wrong. And therefore no villian gets to call these characters out without being shown to be either stupid, irrational or mean.

Striker was genuinely interesting and cool when he first appeared. He was an antagonist who had understandable goals that tied in well with the trajectory of the story. The classism in hell's society is a pretty relevant theme for HB. We see that Blitzø has to sleep with Stolas to be able to even do his job and earn a living, we see Imps just being tossed around and abused and hear Stolas say stuff like "impish little plaything" to Blitzø. Striker wanting to take the demons of high rank down to make hell better for the Imps by ending classism made sense and was an interesting take to see. Especially since at that point the show didn't insist on Stolas being this misunderstood good guy who just cares soo much for Blitzø, there was a sense of suspense maybe to watch wether or not Blitzø will go along with Striker or if this interaction might influence how he views his clearly predatory "relationship" with Stolas.

But all of that got thrown out the window because in s2 we just can't have people criticise Stolas, since actually acknowledging the fact that he benefited and actively made use of hells classist system would mean that we wouldn't see him as a poor confused bean anymore and that one might actually think of some of the pretty bad implications the Stolitz relationship has. So now Striker is a completely obvious, self obsessed bad guy who loves himself so much that he monologues about how great he feels when torturing Stolas instead of just killing him while they also gave him a weird gimmick where he doesn't like it when someone makes a sexual remark and gets so upset that he drags out Stolas' killing and gets defeated by Millie and Moxxie because of it (the same guy was established as a great assassin in another episode).

They also removed all the backbone to his ideology. He still talks about Stolas diminishing Imps in "Western Engery" but it lacks any point because they have gone so far with woobifying Stolas that he is presented as sympathetic and Striker as bigoted. Striker also acts like he can't kill Stolas because Stella called off the assassination on him. I get him being upset that he won't get his money for the kill but he still has very clear reasons for why he would want Stolas dead regardless (atleast he had when he was still a cool character). It's not like suddenly not being hired anymore would make a big change for him.

Killing Stolas could have consequences because Stolas is royalty, but these consequences always existed for him even while Stella was requesting the assassination. Stella would obviously not want others to know that she is reponsible for Stolas dying (then again we don't know if that would even matter since demons generally don't care about killing others until it's plot relevant) and the point of an assassin is that people are killed in a way that can't be tracked back to someone, so Striker should also not face issues, especially since he is apparently a really good and threatening assassin.

Striker was interesting until the show decided it liked Stolas too much for people to call him out and be presented as reasonable. Stella was turned into just an abusive, whiny and stupid bitch who just hates Stolas and wants his money instead of acknowledging that she pretty much has the same backstory as Stolas, who we are constantly told to feel bad for because of his childhood (arranged marriage, forced to have a child and a set-up relationship neither of them wanted).

Verosika is really not relevant but usually also falls into the "bitchy and just rude" category because she doesn't like Blitzø (it's not as bad for her as it is with Stella but still). Asmodeus and Fizzarolli where really mean and exposed and embarrassed Stolas and Blitzø publicly. But the next time we see Asmodeus interact with Stolas he is just chill with him? Why? Blitzøs and Fizzarollis relationship was atleast handled in a way and we see him act rude towards Blitzø until they make up. But it still followes the theme of people who dislike Stolas and Blitzø either changing their mind or just being shown to be horrible to make their opinion seem invalid (also notice how these male characters in the story get to be forgiven for how they acted and show different sides to their character while the women are reduced to being bitchy).

Barbie Wire was also handled soo bad. She only appears in the last few minutes of her début episode and never gets to talk about specifically why she doesn't want to have contact with Blitzø in the first place. The focus is mostly on how hurt he is by the fact his Sister wants nothing to do with him, even after he worked soo hard to find her and just wanted to make things right with her soo bad. They also basically made her a groomer which just doesn't help her come off as reasonable at all.

For a show that wants it's main characters to do bad stuff and have to deal with being called out for that it surely doesn't like people actually calling them out.

The double standards applied to the villians as opposed to the "good guys" are also just amazing. Like Millie and Moxxie can complain about Chaz being a bad partner in hindsight, but when Verosika talks about Blitzø being selfish in their relationship it's all about how he feels. Loona literally throwing stuff at Blitzø, hurting him just because he dared to carefully point out a true fact about her behaviour is played for laughs, but Stella abusing Stolas is super duper evil and we all hate her now (not saying it isn't bad but the show shouldn't pick and choose who is funny when abusive and who is evil when abusive). The I.M.P taking out random people because they were paid to is fine, but Striker attacking Stolas after being hired is bad just because he also happens to have a (understandable) motiv for why he would want to do it regardless of his job and because Stolas just so happens to be a main character. Blitzø and Loona commenting on Moxxies weight is funny, but when Mammon remarks that Fizzarolli gained a few pounds he is just bad.

That's just my opinion on some of the antagonists in HH and HB. Mammon is pretty much the only villian I really care for in both shows (also Stella and Striker before they got ruined). I mainly think antagonist are either really underused (Vox, Velvette, Verosika) or were just incredibly mishandled (Adam, Striker, Stella). Part of this post was just an excuse to talk about Jjba tho, which I always love.

[gorgeouslypink]

The Illusion of Method (My AP "Guide")

Hey guys! I'm so sorry that I've been behind on finishing up my masterlist but I've been really busy. I was having a conversation with my friend @junfairykyu and I remembered this post and she said it really helped her and urged me to share it with you guys too! This post is to help people AP (astral project) but the same concepts apply for the void. I hope this helps everyone.

original link: here

Hello there,

In this post I want to share an epiphany I had a few months ago regarding astral projection which changed my approach to it completely. Once I understood what I am about to explain, the amount of OBEs I had completely skyrocketed, to the point I can astral project on demand. I later found I could apply the same rule to lucid dreaming, and I started to enjoy countless conscious dreams. So this is the story of how I got to the "core aspect" of astral projection, the key to induce it effortlessly on demand. I will start by explaining the conditions whereby I came to this "truth" or "top method", and then I will develop it a bit more to ensure that its understandable. I I hope you guys enjoy the post and benefit from it. That being said, let's start!

I have been having OBEs for a few years now. A few years in which I tried many astral projection techniques, and while some of them seemed to work better than others, I always had one single desire that obsessed me to the core: I wanted to understand what was the root technique, i.e. that background cause, shared by all fruitful OBE strategies, that actually separated consciousness from the body. You know, the skeleton of all techniques. It was the deepest of my fixations, and I was compelled to find out the answer to that, I knew there was a core method, it was undeniable: if many different techniques lead to the same results, then there was for sure some hidden and shared dynamic that, if emulated over and over again, it would always produce Out of body experiences.

But it was really hard at first to understand what this hidden method was, because I was conditioned by my own results. What do I mean by this? Well, if only one technique worked for me, then it would be easy to assume "oh, that's the true and only method". But I had successful results with a wide variety of techniques, so different from each other: from tactile visualization, up to affirmations and pure desire, the ear ringing technique (using the ear buzzing sound to project) , the WBTB and many others. The challenge was in finding the single thing that united such different techniques. It seemed almost impossible!

You see, at first I thought imagination was a core aspect, but I rapidly discarded that, because many techniques dispensed with imagination. So then, imagination wasn't necessary. I kept discarding things just like that, trying to reach the substratum. I eventually thought it was pure intention, pure desire. This made sense to some extent, because all techniques required you to think actively about projection, whether you do this by imagining you project, or state it via affirmations, or whatever. It seemed like I succeeded with stripping away everything unnecessary. But then I had an spontaneous projection, which messed it all up. Not that it was the first spontaneous OBE in my life. In fact, I had a few of those during my career as an astral traveller. I was just ignoring them. Pretending that they were not there. Right when i thought astral projection had to do with a burning desire or intention, I realized that some OBEs dispensed with intention completely.

I was so obsessed with finding the key to astral projection in those OBEs I induced myself, that I was screening out those that happened involuntarily. I don't know why, but I guess it made more sense to find the how-to in the techniques rather than in...and then my mind went silent. I reached something important: a point of no-return. I realized something embarrassing: I had the answer in front of my eyes, but I kept pretending there was a hidden solution. But via spontaneous projections, the message was clear: it is not that those "spontaneous" projections weren't induced by me. NONE of my projections were induced by me! Its almost as if my unconscious was trying to tell me, via spontaneous projections, something like; "hey! its me who does it, not you".

At that point I understood the following: there is no method. We can't induce out-of-body experiences, nor lucid awareness in a dream. We don't really know how it is that the projection of consciousness occurs, or how lucidity pops up. We just get to experience it under certain conditions. All we do, really, is asking for projections to occur, while meeting the most optimal conditions for them to occur. That's the reason why spontaneous projections are kinda unconfortable for many and we try to screen them out, because they are trying to tell us about the illusion of method, and we as humans need to cling on a certain "how to", believing we are responsible for phenomena to occur. But we aren't. It is "something else" (the unconscious, the higher self, or whatever you want to call it) who kicks you out of your body, or triggers lucidity while dreaming. And when it occurs naturally, we try to understand how we did it, instead of realizing it isn't something we did, and thus opening ourselves to that same gift.

When I understood that, I began to do the following (the "no-method" method), and it ALWAYS works: I just lie down in the morning (to ensure that I don't fall asleep), close my eyes and simply ask this "unconscious" or whatever it is, to induce an OBE for me. And then I evoke this feeling of TRUST. I trust him, I trust that it will do the rest for me, because I understand that every time my consciousness escapes my body, it is this kind of higher consciousness or being who does it, not me. And this feeling of trust is the way to get rid of responsibility; in giving away this need for control and responsibility for the experience to occur, you also get rid of anxiety, fear and other emotions that boycott the outcome. So then, i just allow myself to drift with that feeling of peace, KNOWING that it will happen and I don't have to worry about it. Every time I do this, I get an amazing out of body experience. I just ask "the universe" to induce an OBE, and allow it to do its job. This same "method" (now you see why I refer to it as the illusion of method: you really don't do a thing) also applies to lucid dreaming: I just allow my higher self or unconscious mind or whatever to trigger lucid awareness for me, and go to sleep happily, knowing that it will happen.

To sum up, the answer is not in the techniques. All techniques are rituals we create to convince ourselves that we are the architects of the out of body experience, but we aren't. By acknowledging the one who DOES induce these kind of experiences, we get ourselves out of its way, we allow it to do its job and our emotions and feeling of responsibility no longer boycott the results. It is quite weird, even ironic to some extent, but it is also a relief in some way. You realize that you were never doing it wrong, because you can't do it. None of us have the supernatural power to separate consciousnesses from their bodies, its absurd. That being said, allow yourself to experience the OBE state, trusting your inner mind, knowing it will do this for you.

Exempt yourself from this responsibility and enjoy!

UPDATE: If you enjoyed the approach given in this post or found it useful, I am excited to announce that I just released an AP book on Amazon called "The Illusion of Method", which is an in-depth expansion of this guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/AstralProjection/comments/pc3ipt/my_ap_book_the_illusion_of_method_is_available_on/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

[hbyrde36]

Midsummer Nights (a.k.a Summer Camp Fic)

It's finally here! This one has been percolating for a while, and I'm so glad to have the start of the story written and out there. Updates might be a little sporadic until my Steddie big bang is complete, but I'm so excited to finally give this fic some attention!

WC: 3154 | R: Explicit (for eventual smut) | Ch 1/? | AO3

Chapter 1

Steve had been a camper at Sunset Lake since almost before he could remember. 

He was seven that first summer, and hadn’t spent more than a night away from his own bed before, for sleepovers with family or childhood friends. 

Regardless, his parents didn’t hesitate to dump him off in the middle of nowhere upstate for the full eight weeks the camp ran, with total strangers, many of whom were hardly more than kids themselves, the second he was old enough to attend. From then on, Mr. and Mrs. Harrington spent their own summers partying it up at the country club, pretending they didn’t have a son. 

It used to hurt, having the fact that they didn’t give a shit about him shoved so blatantly in his face. When he was still young and hopeful he would wait patiently by the front gates every visitor’s day, hoping that the next car full of visiting parents and family would be for him. 

It never was.

And by the time he turned eleven, he had stopped waiting. 

He also stopped signing up for activities that he had chosen only to impress his dad, like tennis, basketball, rock climbing—even if he was good at them—and instead began to fill his days with art, theater, and music. Anything that caught his interest, even if he was terrible at it. 

Suddenly he lived for those eight weeks of summer that used to leave him feeling so lonely and unloved. Knowing it was the one place, the one time of year, where he could be the most himself. And he was too busy with performances and showing off the projects he’d completed on visitor’s days to think too much about the fact that no one ever came to see him. 

That was how he met Robin, his best friend and platonic soulmate. They were twelve and had both auditioned for roles in Shakespeare in the Summer, a series of famous scenes from the playwright's works, a pet project of the counselor who ran the theater department meant to be the big final show at the end of camp that year. They got the roles of Romeo and Juliet, respectively. 

As they rehearsed he developed a very small, but still very embarrassing crush on his co-star and eventually confessed, knowing he would feel guilty about kissing her if she didn’t know how he felt. 

Robin broke it to him gently, explaining that while she’d grown to like him a lot, as a friend, over the time they’d been working on their scene together, he just wasn’t her type. 

The last bit was said with a particular significance, but Steve, oblivious to what she was so subtly trying to convey, had protested that he was everyone’s type. She’d rolled her eyes and given him a fond, if exasperated, smile, and after swearing him to secrecy, put it in plain terms he could understand. 

She was a lesbian. 

Robin liked girls, exclusively, and her tastes ran long in soft skin, cherry red lips, and blonde ponytails—all of which Steve, for better or worse, lacked.

It was the 90’s, and the world was slowly changing, so it wasn't as if Steve had never heard of gay people before… it's just that he had never met one in real life. He accepted her immediately, his crush gone in a flash like it had never existed, and felt a kinship with her snap into place that he didn’t quite understand at the time, but was so obvious looking back. 

In the end they faked the kiss. Steve grabbed Robin’s face with both hands and all the faux passion he could muster, slipping his thumbs between their lips at the last second to keep them from crossing that particular line, and she had trusted him to do it. 

They were inseparable from that day forward. 

As promised, he kept her secret, and exactly one year later after coming to terms with a few realizations of his own—namely that he wasn’t as straight as he assumed, that in fact, he wasn’t sure he actually liked girls at all—when he confessed a secret of his own as they walked along the edge of the lake before curfew, he knew she would do the same for him.

This summer they were eighteen, part of the graduating class of 1999, on the brink of college, and finally old enough to be hired as full fledged counselors with paychecks and days off and everything. 

Not that it paid much, but Steve wasn’t in it for the money. He was in it for the love of the place. Sunset Lake Camp had become a second home to him over the last decade of his life, his real home, and the people there like family. There were always a few new faces that came and went, but most of the kids and staff alike came back year after year like him.

Robin was mainly in it for Steve, excited at the prospect of getting to spend the entire Summer with him for once instead of the single session, two short weeks, she was used to—all her folks had been able to afford each year growing up. 

It was poised to be the best summer of Steve’s life. 

Then he met Eddie. 

Pre-camp was exactly what it sounded like. A full week of cleaning, painting, maintenance, and general setting up of the place before the first crop of kids was set to arrive. It wasn’t mandatory for the staff, and some counselors wouldn’t even arrive until the day before the first session began, but it did come with an extra paycheck and the opportunity to get out of his parents house that much sooner. 

Steve was so in.

And naturally, that meant Robin was too.

They both arrived mid afternoon. Steve had driven himself in his beloved second hand BMW all the way from Hawkins, his excitement mounting as the scenery changed, flat boring highways finally giving way to lush green rolling hills and mountains, the roads eventually going from asphalt, to crushed stone, to dirt as he turned onto camp property and made his way to the employee parking lot. Robin arrived just after, her parents' car rolling to a stop next to his while he was still unloading his duffel bags from the trunk.  

Steve had offered to pick her up on his way so they could ride in together, it wouldn’t have added that much time to his own trip, but Mr. and Mrs. Buckley would never give up the opportunity to see their only daughter off for the summer, no matter how old she was. They were good parents, and just plain good people.

Robin was horribly embarrassed by the sheer number of hugs they gave her, and Steve, before finally getting back in their car to head home, and he couldn’t help wondering if she knew how lucky she was. His own parents had hardly looked up from their coffee when he’d said goodbye to them that morning.

“How was the drive?” Robin asked with her face squished against Steve's chest, as he pulled her in for his own bone-crushing hug. God he fucking missed her. Emails and once a week phone calls just weren’t enough. Damn long distance fees.

“Long, boring, the usual.” He said, pulling away from her reluctantly. 

In truth he didn’t mind the long journey. It was nice getting to shut his brain off, and sing along at full volume to whatever songs had made it on American Top 40 with Casey Kasem that week.

The low rumble and put-put-put of an old engine had them both looking up, signaling the arrival of Director Hopper in his ancient pickup truck, its tires kicking up dirt and rocks no matter how slowly he drove. 

The truck rolled to a stop in front of them, and the man behind the wheel leaned out the open window to wave. “Long time no see, kids!”

“Hop,” Robin whined, “we’re not kids anymore.”

“Oh! My apologies—Miss Buckley, Mister Harrington.”

Steve wrinkled his nose. “Okay, now you're just being mean.”

Hopper threw his head back and laughed, before stepping out of the truck. “You know you’ll always be kids to me.”

After another round of hugs the man helped load their stuff up into the back, then helped both of them climb up on top of their piled luggage.

As the truck bumped along slowly towards the north side of the campus, where the bunks were, Hopper slid open the back window of the truck so he could shout out to them.

“Me and Joyce got two of the cabins fixed up already so you-all have someplace clean to sleep tonight. One for the women, one for the men.” Hopper’s eyes narrowed as he stared them down through his rearview mirror. He, along with almost everyone else, thought they were dating and had been for years. If he only knew how wrong he was. “Dinner is at six tonight in the dining hall, and I suggest you settle in and relax till then. The real work starts tomorrow.”

“You sure you don't need help with anything today?” Steve asked, sticking his head through the little window to make sure the older man could hear him.

“Thanks kid, but I got it covered. All that’s left today really is picking up a few international staff from the airport. I would have been on my way there already, but the flight got delayed, not due in till late tonight now.”

It was one of Steve’s favorite things about this place, getting to meet and make friends with all sorts of people from all over the world. The cultural exchange program that the camp worked with brought in support staff and counselors from other countries that wanted to come work for the summer, many of them visiting America for the very first time.

Soon enough they came to the end of the road, hooking a left through a break in the trees and came out into a huge clearing. Two giant half circles made up of small white and green buildings faced each other, with a wide open field between them where, in a week’s time, kids would be found lounging around on towels and blankets in the sun, or throwing frisbees and baseballs to each other during their free period. 

Hopper pulled over on the girl’s side, which was fair—if sexist—considering Robin had more stuff than Steve did, and got them unloaded before quickly heading off with a reminder about dinner.

Robin slid her backpack on and began to drag her small trunk up the old wooden steps of the cabin. 

Steve heaved her big duffel bag over his shoulder and moved to follow, but she spun abruptly, letting the trunk drop, slapping a hand hard against his chest before his foot even made contact with the lowest board. 

“Woah, woah, woah, where do you think you’re going?” She asked.

“Seriously? I’m just trying to help you with your stuff!” 

“Yes, seriously! You know boys aren't allowed in the girl’s cabins!” She whispered boys as though it were a dirty word.

Steve snorted. “I’m pretty sure those rules are for the campers, Rob, not us, and what could possibly happen?! There’s no two people on the planet less likely to hook up than you and me.”

“Yeah but people don’t know that, Harrington!” 

She was right. As much as camp had always been Steve's safe haven, his sexuality was still something he felt the need to hide, as did Robin. They just couldn’t be sure how their peers would react, and he wanted to believe Hopper would be accepting and open minded but what if he wasn’t? What if he fired them, or used it as an excuse not to invite them back to work next year, because parents might freak out if they knew their children were being ‘exposed to the gays’? 

Steve couldn’t lose this place, for that reason or any other. 

He tossed her bag up the short staircase and onto the porch, letting his shoulders slump in defeat.

“Don’t pout. I just don't want to get in trouble on our first day,” Robin said.

“Yeah, me either,” he agreed.

“Good. Now move along to your own bunk.” She dropped her voice down low, looking around before she spoke again, wriggling her eyebrows. “I’m sure Jonathan will be around to help you get settled in.”

“You’re never gonna let me live that stupid crush down, are you?” 

“Nope.”

“It was two years ago!” Steve hissed.

“I still say you had a chance.”

Steve sighed heavily. “Even if he wasn’t straight—” he began but Robin cut him off with a judgy stare.

“You don’t know that.” She said.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “But even if he wasn't, I told you, I'm not getting in the middle of whatever on-again off-again dance he and Nancy are doing.”

Robin tilted her head from side to side. “That’s fair. She scares me.”

“Me too.”

Jonathan was, as a matter of fact, already at the men’s temporary cabin, greeting Steve with a hug and everything, and offering to help him carry his stuff inside. Not that he’d be telling Robin any of that. 

His brief crush had been nothing short of awkward. They’d known each other since they were little, Jonathan’s mom being the camp nurse, and Hopper becoming his and his brother Will’s stepfather a few years ago, and out of nowhere Steve couldn’t even have a conversation with the guy without blushing and stuttering. Thankfully, the other boy’s sad little puppy dog eyes didn’t really do anything for him anymore.

They talked a little, making the usual catching up small talk that you do with people you know well but maybe aren't truly friends with, and soon were joined by a new face, fresh off a days long road trip from California. 

Argyle greeted Steve and Jonathan like they were all long lost pals. He had the longest, shiniest hair, the most colorful wardrobe Steve had ever seen, and his smile was infectious. He also absolutely reeked of weed, and within minutes had talked Jonathan into taking a walk in the woods with him to “open their minds”. It was clear the two stoners were well on their way to becoming best friends.

Steve left them to it, knowing Robin would kill him if he showed up to dinner high and smelling of smoke. 

He chose a bed by the door and started making it up, tucking the sheets in tight and tossing his ugly plaid comforter on top. There was no point in really unpacking until they got their final bunk assignments, the night before the kids came, so after pulling out a few random t-shirts, shorts, and a bathing suit, and shoving them all into one of the cubby holes built into the walls of the cabin, Steve grabbed his discman and headphones and went to lay out in the sun. 

It was late, well past midnight and Steve had been tossing and turning for the last several hours. He never slept well on the first night of camp, the quiet always taking a little time for him to get used to, and It was no wonder he heard the soft footfalls of someone walking up the steps of the cabin.

The door opened slowly, revealing a figure painted in silhouette by moonlight. A riot of wild hair, and a guitar case slung across the boy’s back were all Steve could make out at first through his barely slitted eyelids. 

He watched, careful not to move too much and give away that he was awake as the boy quietly closed the door behind himself, and tiptoed further into the cabin, tossing his stuff down beside the bunk right next to Steve’s. It meant Steve had a perfect view of the newcomer’s backside as he bent to slide his guitar under the mattress frame and unzipped his bag. He straightened with an arm full of linens and hastily made up the bed, not even tucking the bottom corners of his fitted sheet in before throwing a quilt over the whole thing and calling it done, and began to undress. 

Steve swallowed hard, knowing he should probably look away now, or at least close his eyes, if for no other reason than to put on a better show of being asleep in case the other boy’s gaze swung his way, but he was enthralled.

The unfamiliar figure was still blanketed in shadow, but stood close enough now that Steve could make out a pair of huge sparkling dark eyes, brown he assumed, though the night had a way of stealing all the color from the world, to go with the boy’s even darker curls. A rounded nose and full pouty lips made up the rest of a face that would, Steve was fairly certain, now and forever haunt his dreams, as well as his every waking thought. 

He wanted to scream. 

He’d never felt so drawn to someone at first sight before. How much worse would it be once he saw this vision of beauty in daylight?

Powerless to resist the urge, Steve let his gaze roam down past the curve of the other boy’s jaw, eyes drinking in whatever details they could. The bob of an adams apple as he swallowed, the outline of his collarbones, black and gray markings on his chest and arms—tattoos that Steve couldn’t quite make out the shapes of. A trail of dark hair ran from his navel to the top of his pants, stark and inviting against pale white skin.

The boy reached for the button on his jeans and Steve did look away then. It was one thing to see the same skin that might be on display when someone took their top off down by the lake or at the pool, but another to ogle someone below the belt when they didn’t even know they were being watched.

Second passed and a dull thump had Steve snapping his eyes back open, grateful the other boy still had his boxers on at least, so he didn’t feel like too much of a creep. 

“Bollocks,” the stranger cursed softly, hopping on one foot for a second as he sucked air between his teeth, nursing a stubbed toe.

Steve’s stomach flipped at the sound of his voice.

International, right. He had an accent. Of course he did, obviously, Steve just hadn’t thought—

Why was that so hot?

He groaned internally, he hadn’t even properly seen the guy’s face yet and he was already absolutely fucked. 

Finally, mercifully, the other boy climbed into bed, yawning as he pulled the quilt up over his head, turning to face the other way.

And it was to the sound of this intriguing stranger’s breath that Steve finally drifted away into a fitful sleep.

Steve's Summer Mix Eddie's Summer Mix

Thanks as always to the lovely @penny00dreadful for being the best beta, friend and cheerleader.

Permanent taglist(open): @penny00dreadful @pearynice @hitlikehammers @bookworm0690 @wonderland-girl143-blog 

@goodolefashionedloverboi @themagicalari @awkwardgravity1 @rocknrollsalad

Fic taglist (open):

[bbanghiitomi]

| love is a place to hide

synopsis: with social anxiety and a reserved girl, you're usually seen alone or with a few other students around — everyone knows your name but doesn't know you, except for minji.

— nonidol!softballplayer!kminji × nonidol!loner!fem!reader

┐⁠(⁠´⁠д⁠`⁠)⁠┌┐⁠(⁠´⁠д⁠`⁠)⁠┌┐⁠(⁠´⁠д⁠`⁠)⁠┌┐⁠(⁠´⁠д⁠`⁠)⁠┌┐⁠(⁠´⁠д⁠`⁠)⁠┌┐⁠(⁠´⁠д

popular loner, that's what most people in your high school call you. everyone knows your name but none of those people have ever been your friend, nor have they ever talked to you before. most of those people who know you are not even familiar to you, you don't understand where this popularity came from and it's creeping you out.

you have one friend, kang haerin. she's just as much of a loner as you are, except she has loyal friends.

meanwhile you only have haerin, and refuse to make friends with people other than her — haerin kind of gets along with other people too, but you find it hard to do so. you have no active social media accounts, your chats are dead and if your socials were a place, it would be covered with cobwebs the way they are abandoned.

you've never changed profile pictures, they've been that same picture of you when you were… 10 years old.

it's like you're dead but technically you aren't, literally.

there's this one person, an exception — she's not a friend nor she's a stranger. her name is kim minji. you've known her since the first year of middle school. you both met during the school orientation, where you were checking out the class lists for that year.

you remember it vividly, you sat alone at a bench and saw her approaching, you continued to ignore her presence while you continued tapping on your nintendo 3ds that you modded yourself. you were playing animal crossing, something that you found to be your new catalyst to kill time when you're bored.

you remember how enthusiastic she was talking about animal crossing, even though you weren't replying to her words. she was persistent in making you her friend but it was taking a bit too long for you to warm up to her.

you found out she was going to be your classmate, it was the day where you saw her sitting right behind you. in just a span of a week, she already made a few friends, and one of them was haerin. you stayed alone, casually conversing with haerin and sometimes a few other students, where it all ended up with you leaving because you drained your social battery.

minji was known for playing softball, she played for the local district's team and would often travel from city to city to play. she's incredible, a lot of people say — she's made a name and was inside everyone's mind, including her rivals'.

you've never watched any of her games, even if she kept inviting you — you tried one time but it all ended up with you going home after a small anxiety attack due to the amount of people watching. the cramped space scared you.

now first year college, most of your schoolmates who knew you before were in the same university as you and minji, you still carried that nickname of yours and minji carried that popularity of hers. she now plays for the university's varsity team.

even after 6 years of her nagging you, she still kept going. you don't understand why, what's with all this nonsense? why does she keep trying even if you've pushed her away thousands of times?

besides, there's hundreds of girls and boys lining up to be with her.

have you even mentioned the fact she's never been in a relationship before? that's how crazy she is, with how many confessions she's gotten none of them convinced her that they were better than you.

"hey y/n, we have training later at 5pm, you want to watch?" it's currently 4pm, and you're heading to the library to catch some work for the librarian — you promised the old lady you'll help arrange some books because the other kids have messed the shelves up.

and now minji is once again trailing behind you, asking you again if you have plans to see her later when she for sure already knows your answer. you turn around to give her a stoic expression, your eyes bore against her round ones.

"no, i have some errands at the library and it's probably going to take me a few hours. i'm sure you'll be fine without me, yeah?" you tell her. minji looks around the hallway and shrugs, a pout evident on her lips. "i mean, your presence could definitely help me." she then flashes you her signature grin, that would probably send an ordinary girl in an orbit.

you feel your cheeks flush but then you shake your head, you are no different to those girls. "you have plenty of girls to do that for you." you respond almost immediately. minji sighs and slump her broad shoulders, before watching you walk your way out of the scene. hiding your almost ripe tomato-like face.

minji scratches her head and looks somewhere else to try and hide the disappointment in her face. another day of getting a no from you.

truth to be told, if it wasn't obvious yet.

minji likes you, loves you even at this point the way she's been pursuing you ever since the first year of middle school. even if she looked crazy, insane, and stupid, she kept running towards you no matter how many times you've pushed her away. there's no other coherent explanation for her actions other than the fact that she's in love. it may seem annoying, but there's no other way for minji to show you her persistence and perseverance other than to reach out for you.

minji loves your wit, honesty, kindness and your hot-headed personality, though most people call you mean and rude, you're actually quite the difference! it's just your face that seems uninterested most of the time, your voice that seems unwavering, brave and icy. you're the prettiest girl in her eyes, no matter what you tell yourself — in fact, she remembers the day she realized her feelings for you.

it may sound stupid but it was during a debate at your classroom in middle school, it was one of those stupid questions the teacher asks and then will group the kids into two groups to let them argue.

the question was: what came first? the chicken or the egg?

oh how you hated this question so much, it kept being asked no matter how stupid the question sounded to any sane person's ears.

your team chose eggs and minji's team chose chickens — minji didn't spare any saliva to even try arguing, she sat on her chair as she watched the other members argue.

you on the other hand sat too, but annoyed.

it's already bugging you how long it took to argue about chicken and eggs, so you decided to take matters into your own hands.

you stood up and spoke. "this is so easy, everyone knows it's eggs. the chickens have only been on the face of earth for just around 10,000 years and chickens came from reptiles. even before chickens existed, the dinosaurs and reptiles were already hatching eggs. as animals were evolving the eggs they hatch evolved too until one day it cracked open and a chick came out and grew into a chicken." everyone was quiet and for a few moments you remembered you were surrounded by idiots and kids.

claps from minji all surprised everyone, mostly her teammates.

"minji! why are you clapping for them!?" minji even stood up and grinned at you, still clapping her rather large hands, the sound echoing the room. your teammates started clapping too and cheered.

ever since that day your teachers were encouraging you to join the debate teams, and minji started following you around and trying to get close to you.

to this day, you're still active at the debate team of your university and minji is still following you around the campus. truth to be told, you're not mad she does that, you won't say it to her face but her presence kept you safe, guarded and cared for.

there are a lot of reasons as to why minji likes you, listing them all would probably take her a week.

"hey y/n, is minji bothering you? is she doing too much? does it creep you out?" you look at your friend, haerin. you flip a book and tilt your head to her question.

"why'd you ask?" you ask back. haerin shakes her head and laughs. "uhm, clearly — everyone is noticing how minji has been following you around, since middle school. most people say you look uncomfortable when she talks to you, and of course i can't ask her about it because she probably doesn't realize it." haerin tells you, smiling sweetly. you can see her eyes are lace with worry, she's concerned for your well being and as well minji's reputation, it seems like some people in the campus are starting rumors about her being a creep.

you furrow your brows and shift your gaze around until you spot the window, the window shows a great view of the field, through the glass pane you see minji running around the field.

you look back at haerin and shake your head. "if anything, to be honest — i don't mind it at all, as you said she's been doing that since middle school and i got used to it. i'm not uncomfortable or anything, this is just how i look everyday." you tell haerin in a calm tone, because really? minji's doing that with no bad intentions, she's sweet and wouldn't hurt a fly even if she sends a softball flying at the speed of 110kmph like it's her everyday routine.

but no kidding, minji is so thoughtful, always have been.

when you were always alone, she'd stand by a few meters away to make sure you won't ever feel lonely. that one time during a field trip in high school, you were alone walking at an aquarium, minji spotted you and decided it was the best time to leave her friends and run towards you. your eyes are glued to the marine life inside the thick glass filled with water, the blue shade of the room illuminated on your face, your eyes shine under the dim lights. minji carefully stood beside you and stared at the aquarium too.

"hey, remember when our teacher asked if prokaryotic cells are better than eukaryotic cells?" she asked, all of a sudden. you looked at her and raised your brows, there's no expression written on your face. but alas, you still gave her an answer. "yes, why?"

minji smiled and tried to contain her face from blushing. "ah, what do you think is the answer?"

you blinked as you looked back at the tank. "i personally think prokaryotic cells are much superior, they evolved and became eukaryotic cells so without them there are probably no eukaryotic cells. plus, it's true that eukaryotic cells are much more complex but really — there are more prokaryotic cells that can survive under the deepest parts of ocean no matter how strong the pressure is, the hottest surfaces, feeding with almost nothing but still thriving while lacking parts that eukaryotic cells have, that something eukaryotic cells couldn't possibly do. but really, i think it depends on who you ask." you finished with a look on minji's face, only to see her staring at you with her lips open.

you furrowed your eyebrows at her and looked away, feeling embarrassed and flattered.

"wow! that's why you're the ace of the debate team!" minji said as she laughed.

that simple interaction made your day better, a whole lot better. and for some reason, it was only minji who had the power to do that.

you realize that the rumors must be weighing a lot more, more than you expected. you hear whispers from other students from other courses, talking about the mvp of the university's softball team being a creep. and others were saying that it must be because you're giving minji a hard time.

it's starting to worry you whether it reached minji, so you decide to give her a visit to the field when she didn't invite you for today.

you spot her from afar, there's still lots of students around. she seems serious and is giving her best at today's training. you hear some girls gossiping behind you.

"oh is that y/n?" one of them says.

"shit it's actually her? she decided to finally visit minji?"

"after minji's 1000th invitation. i've never seen her here."

"she probably realized minji's potential."

"it's probably better if she just minded her own business."

you sigh as you walk away.

right after their training you wait outside the locker room for everyone in the team to leave except for minji. you spare the surrounding a glance before entering the locker room.

the locker room… is what you expected a locker room to look like. it's not exactly the cleanest place in the campus, there are clothes hanging by the lockers, and shoes on the benches. luckily, the place didn't seem to smell bad, but the smell of mixed perfumes of different kinds wafted around.

"minji?" you call out, walking past lockers, getting to the farthest part of the place and eventually stopping at exactly minji's locker. you stand still as silence surrounds you, you wonder if you didn't notice minji exiting and if there are still anyone around. "kim minji." you call one more time, your tone sounding more like a command for her to come out.

you hear shufflings just behind a locker and you stretch your neck to take a peek.

"hey y/n!" you gasp as you were surprised by minji's sudden entrance. she has just showered and her hair is wet, wearing newly washed clothes she wraps a towel around her neck and smiles at you. you sigh and place a hand on your chest. "you surprised me." you hiss at her.

minji chuckles and scratches her temple. "sorry i got too excited, what brought you here? did you watch me earlier? why didn't you tell me? i didn't invite you because i thought you were mad at me." you stare at minji before shaking your head and clearing your throat. "no, i'm not mad. i came to wait for you to finish your practice because i have got something to tell you." you look at minji's round eyes, she leans closer to you causing you to step back a bit — your back almost touching the locker behind you.

"u-uh, it's about — i heard that people were spreading malicious rumors about you. and i was worried it would reach you." you see her smiling at you. there's almost a small gap between her face and yours, you can almost feel her breath fanning over you.

"wait really? i thought you didn't want me around you? haerin asked me to not follow you around every single day. so i thought i've done too much, are you really okay with it? is it really okay? i mean, if you don't like it, i'll stop. i don't like botheri—" you put your hands up to her shoulders when your back touches the hard surface of the locker. she closes the gap as she speaks, too absorbed by the idea that you're worried for her sake to even think rationally.

"w-wait! minji! it's okay… i'm okay. we're okay." you whisper. minji's eyes lock with yours, with only a few inches separating you and minji, you can feel her heartbeat thumping inside your ears along with yours. "we're okay?" she asks. you nod and smile at her.

the small moment gets ruined as a bench falls over along with a metal tumbler causing you and minji to be taken back. you gently push minji away to step over and try to look for who might have knocked it.

minji puts a hand on your shoulder. "hey, i'll accompany you to your house." you feel a sudden wave of anxiety twisting your stomach into a knot, realizing it should be impossible for the bench to be knocked over by just a gust of wind.

but you nod at minji, watching her take her bag.

the next day, haerin immediately finds you after one of your lectures. "y/n what happened yesterday!?" she aggressively whispers, a hand on your wrist as she locks you down with her piece glare. you give her a confused look, struggling with her tight hold. "wait a minute haerin, what's the problem?" you ask her.

she sighs heavily and looks around, you notice everyone staring you down and people grouped into pairs or more would often share a whisper. "y/n — " haerin cuts herself off to pull her phone from her bag.

she holds it up for you to see and sure enough, it shows a part of the university's journalism organization blog. and as you look at the headline, the first sentence of the article and the picture of you and minji inside the locker room, you ask yourself.

is this even allowed?

you feel your stomach sink in, your heart clenches in fear. why is everyone making it seem like minji was harassing you?

the truth has been completely twisted around and has been passed around by students in just a matter of hours.

you find yourself hiding inside the library, curled on a ball, your back leaning on one of the shelves — hugging your knee close to you.

there's just no way you can do anything about it.

you pull your phone from your breast pocket to send minji a message.

minji :|

minji

what are we going to do?

im scared

sent.

minji walks down the halls of the building, with a deep frown on her face. she's currently on the hunt for the president of the journalism organization — though that person is years older than her, she's not afraid to take that shit on. students stare her down as minji struts her way to the room where journalism members are gathered. she stands in front of the door and knocks violently with her large hand, causing people walking by to be taken back. "you assholes! open this door!" minji shouts, her voice echoing in the corridor.

the door opens violently to an angry guy, only to be left in shock when he realizes it's none other than the kim minji outside their room. minji barges inside and surprises half of the people in the room. "you!" she points towards a girl standing by the end of the room

the girl seems to realize what's happening and tries to hide behind another girl.

"why did you publish that bullshit article!?" minji shouts, causing everyone to panic. the president of the organization stands up and walks towards minji to try and man up. "we have the right to do so! why? are you mad that we're telling the truth!?"

minji turns her head to the president and aggressively pulls on the poor guy's collar and points at the girls named eunchae and kyujin. "you too! those little minions of yours are spreading lies about y/n and they're literally stalking both of us!" eunchae pushes kyujin and uses the other girl to shield herself. "w-what!? you know that's some strong accusations right!? plus — you are stalking y/n on a daily basis!" minji's slender fingers grip the fabric's collar hard, swinging the guy closer.

"listen here you idiot, what me and y/n do is none of your business, okay? if you don't delete that article off of your blog and apologize to y/n i'll smash your skull on this table." minji brings the president closer to the edge of the table, the two younger girls both bow their heads in unison a couple times as they apologize.

"we're so sorry! we really didn't think it through! we only did that because the organization has a mandatory quota for articles we had to follow." eunchae didn't stop bowing her head, minji glared at the president with a deep frown, the edges of her thick brows almost touching due to how mad minji was. the tall girl shoves the guy away and walks out of the room to look for you.

you stay sitting on the floor of the library, hiding behind shelves of books, in the darkness and silence you find comfort.

you hear faint footsteps but you choose to ignore them, until you look up from the familiar shoes and see minji looking down on you. "hey y/n, everything's alright now." she tells you, before crouching down, wearing her team jersey and her pants. you stare at her before she smiles at you and scoots beside you. "i knew you'd be here." minji whispers, her finger touches yours as she puts her hands on the cold floor. you give her a small smile before sighing.

minji always knew you liked to hide when you're upset.

"it's okay now, i made sure it's never going to happen again. i'm sorry you got dragged down the mud with me." minji continues, laughing. you shake your head. "thanks, it's okay. i just got scared." well, if you were to be honest, you were more than scared — you feared for minji of all, there was no way she's going to lose it all just because people lied about her to feed people's delusions.

"i know, trust me, i'll do anything to make sure no one messes with you ever again." minji gives you a cheeky grin and hooks her arm to your torso to keep you close to her. the warmth of her body gives you comfort, you lean on her body and rest your head on her shoulder. your hands lay on her lap, she reaches out for your hands with her other hand, gently caressing your skin with her palm.

you look up to her, your eyes meet her round ones — then your eyes trail down to her tall nose and plump lips. you smile at the thought of her smooth cheeks. you hold minji's hand in yours, taking her back.

"minji thank you for everything." minji's face glows a different shade of red, the tip of her ears are bright red. she laughs, looking away — speechless. as she was looking in the other direction, you take your cue to give her cheek a chaste kiss, and so you do.

your lips touch her cheek and minji flinches, squirming at the sudden contact of your soft lips against her skin. she lets out a small squeak causing you to immediately hush her down.

"you kissed me!?" she whispers, you roll your eyes playfully and laugh at her response. it's starting to get darker outside, you stand up and brush the dust off of your skirt and watch as minji stands up too, still flustered. "where are you going?" she asks.

"home." you answer, starting to walk your way out of the library.

minji follows behind and says.

"i'll take you home!"

[pinkofatom]

A transformation at the beauty parlor

[bimbofication, hypnosis, dubious consent, uncensored triggers, body modification]

Content Warning: The following story includes deliberately placed Triggers from the Bambi hypnosis files. Don't read while working or doing other concentration depending activities.

This is pure fantasy, any similarities to real people or events are coincidental.

Consent Warning: The following story uses uncensored triggers. If you share this with other people, please make them aware of this fact.

Alicia sat in front of her computer screen. Pink swirling light illuminated her face. Fluffy headphones resting on her head filled her ears with soothing sounds. Long rosy nails glided over her smartphone. Tipping and tapping Alicia's fingers recorded her feelings for her journal.

Over the last four weeks she had been part of the "Platinum Drop" beauty program. Thinking about the temple her best friend Cynthia had introduced to her, sent shivers over her skin. Each makeover session felt better than the one before.

She could not wait for her next!

At her second one she talked to Platinum, the sexy owner, about changes in her behavior. How she exchanged her whole wardrobe. No longer graced boring jeans or baggy shirts - or those respectable business blazers her body. Only tight clothes graced her form; like the pink tank top hugging her breasts, boobs, or the miniskirt barely hiding the latex g-string riding deep into her wet pussy. Her legs were hair free, allowing the pink stockings to tease the skin underneath in the most delicious ways. Pink five-inch heels arched her feet into mind-numbing bows.

At first Alicia thought them too drastic, but Platinum gave her these nice files to listen to. As she was right now!

Giggling Alicia squirmed. Gosh those super files were the best. She never really remembered what they told her - she even lost hours of time to them - but they made her feel so yummy.

Sometimes Alicia woke to herself standing in front of her body-length mirror in the best kind of outfits and makeup. A cute bubbly voice whispering in her mind. Yet Alicia didn't think about that.

She wrote those silly doubts into her journal! They flowed from her brain through buzzing nerves and tapping fingers into her journal. That way they could never return! It made Alicia feel so good, like a good girl. Because doubts were worries, brought stress and such thoughts had no place in a pretty head like hers.

The best thing about the journal was that Platinum - and other members like Cynthia - would comment on them. Not that Alicia remembered those either. Every time she read them - Swoosh, swoosh - those ugly thoughts disappeared.

Sometimes Cynthia and Alicia were confused when one thanked the other for her comments, but then they would read their journal and - Swoosh, swoosh - everything was alright again. Really the "Platinum Drop" treatment improved Alicia's life.

Finishing her entry, Alicia jumped up from her seat. Like a good girl, she needed to get ready for her appointment.

Last time Platinum praised Alicia's dedication in becoming a cute blonde bimbo. It was all that bubbly voice in the files could talk about - making Alicia giggle even harder.

Gosh, those files were the best.

Even if she never remembered their contents.

They made her feel all bubbly and eager. Bambi knew nothing but being the happiest blonde cutie of them all!

Searching through her closet, Alicia spied her newest outfit - a tight-fitting pink latex dress with an obscene slit over her flat stomach, cutting deep into her tits. Her soft lips curled upward, painting a dreamy smile on her face.

Oh, that looked like fun! Just what a pretty blonde should wear. Not the usual conservative clothes Alicia once wore!

Mewling, she wiggled herself out of her skimpy sleeping gown and into the new outfit. Every second of this routine was filled with sweet memories of Platinum massaging her thoughts clean.

Like her touch washing away her mind and sculpting a happy bubble head in return. A bimbo doll with only the cutest thought remaining: being an obedient and happy girl who wants to have fun!

As if she could still hear Platinum's voice, Alicia ran to her makeup table, humming a cute tune to herself. After spraying and perfuming her hair and skin, she sat down and started to apply layer upon layer of face paint.

In the past, she used to take some time. But now it felt so natural to apply so much. Almost too fast, Alicia transformed from plain jane to the most gorgeous, sexiest, and exciting version of herself.

Good Girl giggled inside her mind. Swoosh!

Shivering, her stomach sent chills through her spine, making her thighs rub together in arousal.

She couldn't wait to see Platinum again!

Finally ready, Bambi hurried out of the door, rushing over to the Platinum Drop Beauty Salon. Of course each step was accentuated with a nice sway and the delicious clacking of stiletto heels.

Every passerby's eyes fell on Bambi's delightful curves. Excitement roared through Bambi's veins, making her heart beat faster. Her cunt wept with anticipation.

Oh, she was so wet, just like a Good Girl should be!

In the distance, she saw Platinum, waving at her through the pink window glass. Heart hammering in her chest, Bambi raced to her, opened the door, and entered the salon.

"Hello my Bimbo doll." Platinum chirped, pulling Bambi into a tight hug, squishing the Good Girl's breasts into her bosom. "You look divine!"

Blushing, Bambi giggled. "Hi, like uhm..."

Platinum pressed Bambi even closer.

"Oh what a Good Girl. Boring Old Self is not in the driver seat."

Her fingers twirled through platinum locks. Giggling, Bambi shook her head, enjoying the blonde curls dancing around her shoulders. "Mhmm! It feels so good to be Bambi!"

Platinum left the hug, her hands still resting on Bambi's shoulders. "Good Girl. Have a nice Zap Cock Drain Obey."

A delicious shiver traveled down Bambi's spine. A hard shaft pushed into her mind. Eyes rolling, she mewled softly. "That is sooo yummy!"

"Let us take you to the treatment room, Bimbo Doll," Platinum said, turning the bimbo cutie and pushing her towards a door.

"Today is an extra special day."

Bambi bit her lip. "So excited!"

She rubbed her thighs together. Oh, they were getting so wet!

"That's the spirit, cutie. Our special program will be with some participants. You of course agree to the male attention. Bambi does what she's told."

Bambi licked over her lips. The gloss tasted delicious. It was a nice treat for the Good Girl to be shared - an exciting thought, which filled her mind with anticipation.

"So true, Platinum! Bambi accepts, obeys and forgets. Like uhm... Like what uhm," Bambi giggled.

Platinum smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. Her painted purple nails tapped against Bambi's upper arm. "My beautiful Good Girl doesn't need to know yet. Everything will happen as it is meant to be. No worrying. Just relaxing. It'll all go away after your next hair dye session."

Bambi nodded dreamily, feeling the tension leave her shoulders and neck. She had the best thoughts - None! Swoosh!

Blushing slightly, her fingers searched her own blonde tresses. Oh, it was so pretty!

Platinum's smile widened as she led Bambi down a corridor. The beauty parlor's walls were pink, light shining from the ceiling illuminating pink posters with big, grinning Bambi Dolls in sexy outfits.

Bambi squirmed with giddiness; they looked sooo yummy!

Platinum pushed open the door to the room at the end of the corridor.

A room filled with strange reclining chairs revealed itself. Inside some already sat other bimbos; hooked up to weird pumps on their boobs and wearing VR-headsets. Bambi just wanted to flounce into one of those seats and play.

Platinum's hands rubbed over her shoulders. "Patience, my doll. There are just a few things you have to know. So, do you consent to this process?"

Bambi nodded with a slight jerk. "Of course!"

Platinum leaned closer, kissing Bambi on her earlobe. "Good girl. Let me tell you what happens next. In your seat, you will find headphones." The beauty's voice was deep and hypnotic, lulling Bambi's mind deeper into her pink pleasure center. "Like the others here, you will use them to enter the simulation. A cute, horny, lewd world for girls like you to enjoy."

"Enjoy." Platinum giggled as she straightened up again. Her purple painted fingernails combed through Bambi's hair. "So far you have only received our regular treatments, which programmed your pretty mind into the perfect bimbo doll. And now your body will follow. Your tits will be pumped full of silicone, while the same will happen with your butt. A true fake Bimbo Doll look."

A blush crept on Bambi's cheeks; she wanted to fill out a bit more. Especially since all those big breasted, fat assed, cute and fun Bimbos online looked so hot! She only wanted to feel good, didn't she? Being the hottest, prettiest girl she could possibly be was just so satisfying.

"Each pump," Platinum said, pointing at two flasks filled with shiny fluid, "Will extend your boobs a bit further. We'll also change their shape - to better suit your new proportions." Platinum said as she gestured towards the reclining chairs in front of her.

"Like uhm... So exciting!" Bambi breathed. She wiggled her butt and pushed out her boobs, touching them lightly. Oh, they felt soft. Moaning, Bambi played with them a bit. Giggling, she squeezed them up and down, breathing heavily.

"Good Girl. Bambi Freeze."

Swoosh! Bambi stilled.

Platinum put her hands on Bambi's shoulders, carefully walking the good girl into one of the seats. Gently, the beauty helped Bambi onto the chair and pressed her back against the pink leather. The young woman could barely resist Platinum's touch; instead she felt waves of arousal rolling over her skin - no thoughts popping up in her head, just a Good Girl following Platinum's soft touches and instructions.

"Good girl. Now go Bambi Limp. Completely relaxed. Bambi Sleep."

Just as Platinum commanded, Bambi fell asleep, while her mind was still wide awake. Warm feelings washed over her body. Bambi heard soothing music and sounds whispering into her ears. Smiling, she giggled with contentment.

💞💞💞

"And Bambi Reset."

The words echoed through Bambi's empty brain. Groaning, she fluttered her eyes. Rough hands massaged her boobs. Her head lolled back, moaning softly as a large finger pinched her hard nipple.

"Mhh, so good," Bambi slurred, still waking up from the latest relaxation. Her boobs felt heavier, fuller - simply bigger.

"Good Girl," whispered a husky male voice, breath tickling her ear. Bambi mewled softly, thighs rubbing together. His strong hands pressed against her skin, shooting electricity down her body. "Today you'll get fucked, cutie."

"Yes," Bambi breathed. Her heart hammered in her chest, arousal dripped down her thighs.

Bambi looked down; the pumps had filled her tits, making them so plump and fake!

Reaching forward, she cupped them. With a moan, she squeezed her breasts, thumbs running over her hard nipples. Her mind tingled. Head lolling back, she arched her back, pushing out her boobs.

"Good Girl. Be a Bimbo Doll and freeze. Bambi Freeze." The man whispered into her ear.

Instantly Bambi stilled.

Warm hands caressed her neck, slid down her shoulders, then moved up again. Down her collarbone they traced; then over her full breasts. The man's fingers played with her nipples. In delight, she mewled, her soft skin heating up under his touch. His fingertips made electric sparks shoot down her body.

Bambi shivered with anticipation as he moved to her legs. Thumbs traveled along her thighs and up to her pussy. But regardless of the rapture she did not move or even registered his machinations. Bambi was frozen, mind and body.

"Good Girl. Bambi Reset. You are such a great Bimbo Doll. I bet your head is full of cock. Zap Cock Drain Obey."

Long hard shafts fucked her mind. "Ohhh," moaned Bambi, her thoughts jumbled, mouth opening wide. "Cock!"

The man pinched her nipples; his touch forced a breathy moan from her lips. "Good Girl. Now kneel. Drop for Cock."

Bambi did as she was told. Legs, trembling, she slowly sank to her knees. Her insides itched for attention. So empty and wet.

Oh, she needed a cock to fill her so badly! "Please," she mewled, hands traveling down to her needy pussy.

In front of her his cock stood erect.

So big! She had never seen anything like it before! A thick vein ran up its girthy shaft, which she traced with a finger. Her palm grasped his hot, hard length. Smiling, she started pumping her hand up and down his member, eliciting an arousing moan from the man.

Pleasure filled Bambi as she opened her mouth. Drool ran down her lips. Drops landed on her massive tits. Swirling her tongue around the cock's tip; she tasted his manhood. Precum dripped onto her taste buds. Bambi shivered, cock hardening further in her hand.

The man grunted, thrusting his hips forward. Bambi gagged, struggling to accommodate him in her mouth. Wetness dribbled down her chin as he pulled back, his thick cock parting her lips. Pushing herself forward, Bambi took his length. Hot and heavy, it rested on her tongue. Her lips wrapped tightly around the shaft as she bobbed her head up and down.

Eagerly, she sucked on his cock, tongue swishing across his length. Slowly at first, her pace increased. Salty precum coated her taste buds, giving way to his musky aroma. The man grabbed a fistful of her hair, controlling her motions. Bambi felt herself pushed further down on his cock, its head reaching the back of her throat. Moaning she continued.

"Good Girl," he groaned, "Just a Bimbo Doll. A real Bambi. Mouth full of cock. Mind full of cock. Just a Cock Zombie Now."

A long moan escaped Bambi's lips, muffled by the dick in her mouth. She tried to look up, wanting to see the expression on his face. But the man tightened his grip in her hair, pushing himself deep into her throat. Giggling, gagging she mumbled: "Cock." Again and again.

With each thrust her Yes button was pressed.

His speed increased, deep and hard; saliva and precum trickled down her chin. Desire overwhelmed Bambi's thoughts. "Cock," she pleaded. With every second her mind was more and more full of cock. Everything felt hazy, but she needed it so much!

Bambi was unable to think clearly anymore. Every fiber in her body screamed for his hot cum. She would do anything for that white sticky liquid to fill her up. Nothing else mattered, just a cock. She knew her mind could never go back - because Bambi was meant to suck dick, worship cock, take cock in any hole. Pleasure. Only the Good Girl that exists for cock.

When his first load landed on her tongue, she screamed with delight. The sweet taste mixed with her saliva as he pushed himself deep inside her mouth. Like someone dying of thirst she gulped down the divine semen.

"Cum and Collapse." The man whispered while continuing to empty his balls.

Bambi tensed. Liquid fire burned through her veins. Her eyes rolled back into her head; her vision clouded over. Pink electricity surged through her pussy and tits and brain. Static shocks lit up her mind as her legs quivered, her feet twitched. Her toes curled and her body shuddered in orgasmic bliss. She orgasmed for what felt like forever, then slowly collapsed to the ground, twitching and convulsing.

"Good Girl. But Bambi can do better. Spread those legs, Bambi. Bambi does what she's told." Swallowing some more semen, Bambi spread her legs. Her soaking wet pussy gushed with arousal. Without remorse his hard shaft rammed into her pussy. It stretched her out wide, filling her completely. Bambi screamed as her mind started melting away, leaving nothing but pleasure. All other thoughts dissipated. Her world became filled with a thick, delicious, pulsing cock as it fucked her deep and hard.

The man grunted, holding onto her shoulders tightly. His grip was strong and powerful, keeping her immobilized. With each thrust she gasped and cried out in ecstasy. As the minutes passed by, Bambi began losing herself in his rhythm. Every stroke sent waves of pleasure through her entire body. Her pussy throbbed and twitched around his shaft, milking it for every drop of semen it contained. She wanted nothing more than to taste his seed again and again and again…

💞💞💞

Alicia woke up sitting in the lobby of the Platinum Drop beauty salon. She could not remember how she got here. Giggling, she enjoyed how clueless, how stupid she was.

Like an empty-headed bimbo.

Oh, but such a Good Girl.

Blushing, she giggled some more. It felt so nice! Bambi flexed her feet, enjoying how the toes curled and uncurled inside her stiletto heels.

"Oh look who is awake. How do your new curves feel?"

Surprised, Alicia jumped to her feet. Platinum had appeared beside her, hands touching her shoulders. Smiling, she massaged the tense muscles underneath Alicia's skin. Moaning softly, Alicia rolled her head back and closed her eyes.

"Like uhm... Like all bouncy and uhm... Like sexy." Bambi giggled; fingers touched her new curves.

Oh yes, they were like yummy!

Giggling, she twisted her body and looked at her round butt. Tight latex hugged her frame.

"All bouncy and uhm... Bouncy!"

Platinum rubbed her hands up and down Alicia's arms. A tingling feeling traveled along her skin. "I'm glad to hear that. How is Old Self doing inside that brain of yours, Bambi?”

Blushing, Alicia froze.

Bound and gagged Bambi put Alicia inside her pink box.

SNAP and forget.

Bye bye, gone was boring Alicia.

Her eyes popped open, staring blankly at the wall in front of her.

"Like, uhm... Old Self gone. Bambi feels yummy and fun!"

Bambi grinned, clapping her hands excitedly.

Platinum patted Bambi on the shoulder, smiling at her. "That's good news, cutie. Good Girl. Now Bambi I have a special offer for you. Bimbo Doll's like you love cock and sex. What would you say if I told you, Bambi, that working for the Platinum Drop would involve both?"

Bambi let out a long moan; her brain clouded over. Images of big juicy cocks filled her mind. Her legs rubbed together, causing her wetness to leak through the fabric of her latex skirt. "So, like, totally exciting!" Bambi pushed out her chest, presenting herself as the best slutty toy. "Like, like, uhm... Ohhh! Totally yummy!"

Platinum stopped touching Bambi.

"Good Girl. Then it's settled Bambi. Welcome aboard. You are now one of the new Platinum Drop's Bambis. Don't worry too much about the details. I'll send them to you with a quick message. Now go home Bambi. And listen to your files."

Bambi grinned, squeezing her tits together with both hands, her nipples pushing against the latex.

"Like sure, uhm, Platinum! See you soon!"

With a hop, Bambi skittered over to the entrance and through the front door, leaving behind her old boring self.

Bambi was here to stay.

Like a Good Girl.

[everydayyoulovemeless]

How would fo4 companions react to sole introducing them to their boyfriend Porter Gage?

Fo4 Companions Reactions To Sole Introducing Gage As Their Boyfriend

➼ Word Count » 1.2k ➼ Warnings » none ➼ Genre » platonic

MacCready will grimace but try to smile for your sake. It’s clear he’s not genuine with any nice thing he says but he does try to seem excited. After a minute he'll ask if he can talk with you in private and ultimately tells you that it's not worth it. He's been with the Gunners long enough to know that Raiders aren't any better. He knows from experience that you don't want to be caught up in all that and will plead with you to understand how awful your boyfriend is. It's your life at the end of the day, and he'll stick around with you regardless, just know that his vote is on you two splitting... and you're not going to be let around Duncan until Gage is out of the picture.

Nick will just stare at Gage when you first bring him into the Agency. After an uncomfortable amount of time passes, he'll sigh and ask if he can talk to your boyfriend alone. He'll sit him down at his desk and ask him to interview him, wanting to get a handle on his character before he jumps to any assumptions. However, since he's Gage, he fails almost every question on Nick's test, which makes the detective increasingly more disappointed in your taste in men. Later in the day, he'll offer to walk with you around Diamond City to tell you how he disapproves of the relationship. You've done countless cases together where you take down guys just like him. Is that really the future you want for yourself?

Cait is completely against it and will be very vocal about it. She’ll grip her bat that’s slung over her shoulders and sneer at the raider standing beside you in disgust. She knows exactly what kind of person he is and will demand outright that you break up with him. She cares for you, and she won’t let you ruin yourself with this guy. However, if Gage starts arguing with her, she'll swing at him so quickly. There's not a universe where these two ever get along with each other. It's best you don't introduce the two at all.

Out of all the good men in the Brotherhood, you chose him? Danse is not only confused but disgusted that you'd ever think he'd be ok with you dating a raider. As your higher-up, he'll demand you end things with him or he'll have no choice but to send a squadron to slaughter him and the rest of the raiders in Nuka-World. You're choice.

Preston is not only baffled but distraught as well. Did you not realize what he was? You’re technically not from this world, so maybe you missed the signs?? He’ll pull you aside, hands firmly planted on your shoulders as he tells you you need to end things with him. He’s not an ally of the Minutemen, he's the exact thing you've sworn to be against. If you refuse to see it from his perspective, he'll have no choice but to exile you from the faction. You actively put people in danger by bringing him straight into the Castle, and he won't have anyone die needless deaths at the hands of someone like him.

Codsworth lets out a quiet "oh my!" when he spots Gage. He's quite the change from your old spouse, isn't he? A lot more rugged than he remembers your type being, but that doesn't mean his personality is much different... right? Codsworth is incredibly concerned for your well-being when you bring your boyfriend around. Are you sure you aren't sick? He's not keeping you hostage? He's snarky about the entire relationship, and won't stop making conversation awkward by bringing up your dead spouse, but he'll reluctantly be supportive. As long as you're happy, he supposes.

Piper will shove him away from you and threaten to get security if he doesn't get lost. She's amazed at the fact you chose him instead of literally anyone else in the Commonwealth and, as much as she loves you, she'd not going to blindly support a relationship she knows won't end in anything good. Piper will be annoying about how badly she wants you both to break up and won't stop pestering you until you do. Just be sure to keep an eye on Gage, if she keeps putting hands on him, he might start doing it back.

Curie is confused when you introduce him. Mainly because she only ever remembers the two of you shooting at raiders, not being friendly with them. Nevertheless, she's happy for you and will clasp her hands together excitedly at the prospect of you being in love! How cute!

Strong is probably one of the only ones on this list who approves. He feels incredibly proud that you've found additional groups of people to lead toward violence and holds a lot of respect for how brutal Gage can be in combat. It's something he really admires, however, he thinks the car parts that he wears look stupid, and he's very vocal about that.

initially, Hancock will act all friendly and kind, welcoming Gage to Goodneighbor and introducing him to the townspeople but, what you didn't know was that he'd arranged for him to be jumped while he was visiting. A sniper shooting at him from a window, a scaver yanking him into an alleyway with a hoard of triggermen, or Kleo simply attacking him; Hancock will hurt him somehow. It's all in your best interest. He'd hate for you to be a part of the wrong side of history, and besides, how could he ever live with himself if he knew he'd let some slave-owning, murderer date you?

Deacon is similar to Hancock in that he puts on a friendly facade when you finally bring Gage around. He acts as if they've known each other for years and will sling an arm around his shoulder and distract him with all sorts of outlandish stories before bringing the Deliverer out of his pocket and shooting him in his side quickly. He knows you'll be upset but, there's no way he'd let you run off to an amusement park filled with human-trafficking victims with this guy. He cares too much about you to let you follow a bunch of raiders.

X6-88 doesn't even wait for you to say anything before he shoots at him. He can tell just by looking at him that he's dirty and not a good fit for Institute life. If anything, he reminds X6 of Kellog, which isn't necessarily a good thing. The only way he'd be willing to accept the relationship is if you proposed for the Nuka-World Raiders to ally with the Institute to do all the heavy lifting on the surface. But that means the gangs would be willing to do something like that. It's a heavy offer, but he'd be content with it.

Old Longfellow will run stressed hands down his face as you and Gage sit opposite of him in a booth at the Last Plank. You can't be serious. Him?? This is the guy you'd been telling him about? It's a no from him before the two of you can even sit down. He wants you to find a man who will take care of you. Someone who's a gentleman. Don't ever bring another raider to meet him, he's never going to approve. He'll tell you that you're an adult and you can make your own decisions, but that he hopes you'll find an honest, hard-working man instead.

[syrikif]

Gamer Etiquette

Kodzuken x Streamer!Y/N

Pairing: Kenma Kozume x Fem!Reader

Genre: SMAU, Written Elements, Strangers to Lovers, Romance, Fluff, Humor, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Streamer/Youtuber AU

Upcoming content creator/streamer, Y/N, has gone viral for lots of things. Her infamous dumb moments, her blended cookie recipe (which tastes better than it sounds), the way she rages at her friends during games, and about a hundred more.

But her most recent viral moment? Accidentally knocking famous streamer, Kodzuken, off the Bedwars map and making him lose his two year winning streak.

Now with more attention (and hate) than she ever asked for, her only option left is to go to the source: the man himself, Kenma Kozume.

Previous | Masterlist | Next

Chapter 8 (b): Little Things

Word Count: 2243

It’s past three in the morning.

Kenma ended his stream only minutes ago, having spent the past seven hours playing a hardcore Pokémon Nuzlocke (as decided by his viewers). 

And he’s not even tired. 

He sighs as he relaxes back into his gaming chair, his fingers idly messing with the strings of his hoody as he watches all the messages coming through on his discord server.

He frees one hand and leans forward just enough to grab his mouse, opening a clip that one of his fans sent in the chat. Kenma realizes shortly into the video that it’s from one of his own streams, an older VOD that’s most likely still up on his neglected YouTube channel.

He makes a mental reminder to start posting on the website more often; his fans clearly like watching the videos after all, regardless of the lack of uploads.

Kenma watches his past self yell almost incompehnsibly at the game he’d been playing, a soft smile coming across his features as he picks up on Kuroo’s voice quietly taunting him underneath all the screaming.

“Some things never change,” he mumbles to himself as the clip ends with the two roommates arguing over each other.

And suddenly it all feels so bittersweet, a sense of nostalgia filling his chest and leaving a sour taste in his mouth. Because while things may not have been easy then, they were simpler somehow; less demanding of Kenma despite the fact that he’d had so many more pressing responsibilites.

He hears himself sigh and briefly wonders when exactly he’d started getting so old.

It’s almost laughable - Kenma reminiscing over his college years at the age of twenty-four.

He releases a low breath, his gaze straying from the chat to the list of active users on the side of the screen. Unsurprisingly, there aren’t as many people online as there usually is and one name manages to catch his eye.

Kenma rarely ever cares to check on things like roles and ranks in his server, he has moderators for that very task after all. But there is a role that he personally made himself when the server was first created, strictly for the purpose of having his friends in one place.

No one has been added into that level in years.

Until now.

Now there’s Y/N.

Kenma isn’t the person who placed her there (he didn’t even know she’d joined his server before this very moment) and the only other people with the ability to do so are his mods.

With this realization he remembers the message he’d recieved from Moe, one of his very first moderators, from earlier that day.

“You can thank me later.”

Kenma had been confused at the time, even assuming that she’d texted the wrong person and not bothering to respond.

Now he understands.

There’s only a moment of hesitation, his cursor hovering above that unmistable gray symbol, before he finally just clicks.

He isn’t sure how long he waits, long enough to feel a sense of dread beginning to sink in but too short to dwell on the feeling.

And it’s futile really, the way Kenma tries to hide his grin from the camera when Y/N finally answers the call wearing cat ears and a blanket that seems to swallow her whole.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she suddenly says, her gaze deepening into a glare.

Kenma wants to laugh because she probably knows exactly what he’s thinking right now. “Like what?” He does his best to appear nonchalant, leaning back into his seat and running a hand through his hair as he stares at her through the screen.

She looks different like this.

Or maybe he just isn’t used to seeing her on video.

“Like I’m some little kid or something,” Y/N huffs, her eyes rolling back as her blanket falls to her lap.

“More like a little cat,” he mutters almost unthinkingly. He watches her eyebrows furrow, her head tilting as his words reach her ears.

“Huh?”

Kenma shouldn’t tease her. He really really shouldn’t. “It’s fitting,” and yet he’s completely incable of resisting, “Kitten.”

Y/N’s jaw quite literally drops, her eyes widening as her face turns a satisfyingly bright shade of red.

And Kenma can’t help but think that she looks so- so- (what was the word?) something.

“Wh- what did you just?” She shakes her head, “You- why would you- ugh!”

Cute.

Yes. That’s the term.

Kenma thinks she looks cute right now.

The realization is slow to hit, his mind even slower to catch on as he watches Y/N fan her face and cup the skin of her cheeks.

It isn’t even the right word, honestly - to kenma - she looks adorable, cute was just the first thing that came to mind.

Why did it come to mind?

“You’re the one wearing cat ears,” he defends. He’s not sure what he’s defending at this point (himself? his thoughts? his weird obsession with cats?); he just doesn’t want her to take it the wrong way.

What would be the wrong way? Flirtaitiously?

But, if she were to flirt back, Kenma doesn’t think he’ll care.

“You piss me off,” Y/N suddenly announces, her voice full of exagerated annoyance, but there’s no doubt that she’s smiling at him - because of him.

No, he really wouldn’t mind at all.

~~~

“Favorite color?”

“Oh come on.” Kenma rolls his eyes, taking a small swig from the can of soda he’d grabbed from the mini-fridge just beside his desk. “You know my favorite color.”

Y/N gives him an incredulous look, “Um, since when?”

Kenma’s eyebrows raise, “Um, since the first day we met?”

“You’re literally lying,” she says with a mouth full of some sort of food. He doesn’t know what she’s eating at this point; first it was chips, then tomato soup, a thin slice of pie (Kenma’s sure that she was trying to rub it in his face), and now it seems to be a kind of fruit.

He’s never seen someone eat so many diverse snacks in one sitting.

Y/N’s eyes suddenly widen, “Shut the fuck up.”

Kenma’s at a loss for words, and he’s sure that Y/N can see the disbelief in his features as he sets the drink on his desk.

“No, like seriously shut up.” She lifts one hand, using her index finger to point at Kenma - or (more accurately) the camera of her webcam.

He blinks. “I didn’t say anything.”

“I’m trying to think here, okay? So shh,” she glares at him.

Kenma makes a show of pressing his lips together, mimicking the motion of zipping them up and tossing aside the key.

He can see Y/N trying to suppress a smile at his actions, a small huff of a giggle escaping her own lips when he pretends to struggle against the imaginary lock on his mouth.

Her face suddenly lights up with recognition, “Red!”

Kenma’s charade breaks. “That’s what you were trying to figure out this whole time?”

“I was right?” She suddenly looks confused, more confused than when she didn’t even know the correct answer.

“Obviously.” His head tilts, “Did you just guess or something?”

A sheepish smile, “Or something.”

“You just guessed, didn’t you?” It’s not really an actual question at this point, they’re both all too aware of what she did.

“Well I mean- kind of?” She shrugs, a clumsy movement that makes her appear so much younger than she probably is. “To be honest, I just happened to remember that Nekoma’s colors were red and black. So,” she hangs on to the word for a brief second, “Lucky guess?”

“Well what’s your favorite color?”

Y/N had suggested a scuffed form of twenty-one questions, a version with no drinking (not that either of them were against it, Kenma just doesn’t have any alcoholic beverages in the house) and no limit on how many questions they could ask.

It’s been years since Kenma had gotten to know someone like this.

She hums with consideration, “I’m not sure. I like all of them.”

“That’s such a cop-out answer,” he light-heartedly scoffs.

“Oh don’t even,” Y/N straightens in her seat, the black cat ears slipping further back on her head. “At least I didn’t make you play a ten minute guessing game,” she retorts.

Kenma tsks, “That was not ten minutes.”

“Well it felt like it. So hah!”

He laughs as he stretches out his legs, adjusting the waistband of his sweatpants when he notices that they’re off-center. He looks back up at the screen, eyes fixated on the way Y/N tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“How old are you?” Kenma asks out of mere curiosity, because he knows she must be at least close to his age, but he feels so much older in comparison to her cheerful nature.

She’s staring intently at something off to the side, scrutinizing whatever happens to be there. “Twenty three.”

Only a year younger, maybe even less depending on her date of birth.

But-, “Wait,” his eyebrows furrow. “Didn’t you date Sugawara in high school?”

He regrets bringing it up the moment he’s finished speaking, mentally cringing at the idea of talking about her ex’s.

Y/N groans, her face falling into her hands. “Don’t remind me.”

“That bad huh?” And if Kenma’s being honest with himself, he feels strangely . . . relieved.

“Like I love the guy,” Oh. “In like a totally platonic sort of way though,” she suddenly rushes to explain.

Kenma nods, “Right.” He pauses for only a brief second. “So you were a first year when you started dating then?”

Y/N’s head tilts with obvious bewilderment, “What? Oh,” she laughs. “No, I was a second year. I just have a really late birthday.”

“Oh okay,” he releases a small breath of relief. He isn’t sure what he would’ve done if he found out that one of Y/N’s boyfriends was a sick fuck that preyed on first-years.

That’s something he couldn’t let himself overlook, no matter who it was.

“Why’d it end then? Was he not,” he hesistates, “Good to you?”

They’re getting into dangerous territory now; it’s none of his business why their relationship didn’t last, but it feels like it should be. And he supposes that if they’re going to be friends and if he’s going to come into contact with said ex-boyfriend, then it would be better to know anyways.

Right?

Who is he kidding? That’s just an excuse.

He has no real reason for wanting to know, but that’s not going to stop him from asking.

Y/N shakes her head, a thoughtful expression painted across her features. “Nothing like that. It was almost like he was too good to me, you know? It was a good relationship but it was like so good that it was uneventful and boring. We just don’t mesh well romantically.”

Kenma nods as though he understands when really - the truth of the matter is that - his only relationship had ended on such bad terms that he hasn’t dated since.

“And you’re twenty-four right?”

“Yeah,” he confirms without thinking. Then his eyes narrow on her form, “How do you know that?”

She sighs deeply, as if even the mere thought of it is taxing. “Sho has not shut up about you since we met, it’d be more shocking if I didn’t know that at this point.”

Kenma smirks, “All good things I hope.”

“Please,” she rolls her eyes, “That man is practically singing your praises.”

“What the hell does that even mean?” Despite the confusing choice of words, Kenma feels himself chuckle at the idea of one of his closest friends boasting about him to a complete stranger.

“He just like won’t stop talking about how cool you are, or how you’re so fun to be around. Or how you’re the most awesomest - yes he used that word - person he’s ever met.” Kenma’s disappointed when she unexpectedly stops, her hands raising to massage the skin of her temples. “It’s honestly starting to get annoying. Like you’d think he was trying to make me fall in love with you or something,” she snorts.

Is it working?

The words are on the tip of his tongue, his stomach turning at the possibility of her responses.

Kenma swallows thickly, “So what? He’s trying to set us up?”

Some questions are better left unasked.

“I guess so?”

“That’s a little weird.” Only a little bit though.

Y/N smiles then, but it’s mischevious and temptingly playful. “Really? You don’t think we’d look good together?”

His mind races at the implication behind her words, his body growing warm from her teasing tone of voice. And he abruptly feels so thirsty, his tongue brushing across his lips as he watches the way her lashes flutter when she blinks.

“Now I never said that,” he murmers in return and he can’t tell if his voice is as throaty he feels like it is.

Her gaze flickers down somewhere below his face, and Kenma silently berates himself for his choice of lazy clothing, before slowly trailing back up.

Her voice is soft when she speaks, her eyes never straying from his. “Neither did I.”

Kenma’s breath catches in his throat.

He forces a smirk, “I guess we can agree on one thing then.”

Her grin comes back in full force, wicked and full of invitation, “I suppose we can.”

Yeah, Kenma definitely doesn’t mind when she flirts.

Taglist: @crazy-people-are-here, @existential-traveller, @peachesncats, @royalz658, @musicluverr, @tamimemo, @leathernourishingshoepolish, @captaincyberqueen, @dellalyra

Any names in bold are unable to be tagged.

[mlmarint]

hello to the bridgerton fandom: here is my thoughts about what happened.

first, i am a bridgerton fan since 2015/16 when i read the books, i was active on facebook and twitter about it back then, so i am not even a little surprised how much hate we saw in the last hours.

i remember VERY clearly how much racism there was involving casting people of color back when the cast was announced. i stopped being active on the fandom, i left the facebook groups, i stopped following pages, all because i hated seeing so much hate and racism. i remember how much hate regé had to endure “because simon wasn’t black”. honestly, i remember being confused about how they would handle casting poc in a history drama like bridgerton, but i LOVED the ideia of embracing history inaccuracy like they did it with the tv show. we need more of that on media.

but back on regeé, he had to suffer with “not looking like simon” and then being absurdly sexualized int he show. AND before anyone says “oh it’s an explicit show everyone was sexualized”:

1 - rewatch simon’s scene and compare them with others characters

2 - read the comments and the way people (specifically white woman) said about him

3 - also, read an article about the sexualization of the black body by white people

so, no i don’t believe that regé left the show because “he wanted to try other things”. this fandom it’s so so disgusting and has been for a long time.

when i met john, i saw a lot of people saying he was ugly. he’s a handsome man.

people loved the idea of lesbian!eloise, but it had to be with a white woman. the moment michaela appeared on the scene most of you didn’t hate her because she wasn’t michael, most of you hated because she was a BLACK WOMAN and that made frannie bisexual. probably if michaela was white the amount of hate would be less then we have right now.

listen, i am a fan of the book and frannie’s it’s one of my favorites loosing only for eloise’s and daphne’s. i was SAD that i wouldn’t had michael on the screen, but i also like the idea of michaela. i know sometimes they have to change things on adaptations, and when they change it to people of color or make someone queer?? i love it even more. “oh but don’t change a character for it, create another one, i want this one”. he have millions of straight histories out there, let’s tell queer stories in shows with audiences like bridgerton. let’s make a history drama not be about two queer people that suffered and died without being able to show their love. let’s make this because it’s necessary and beautiful.

and its okay to be sad about “losing” michael, but ask yourself: why am i truly sad about it? at what point this sadness it’s becoming hate?

now, about the fact that “this changes frannie storie and i don’t like it”. it only changes a little bit and honestly they have a possibility of changing for even better.

i personally didn’t like francesca’s reaction when she met michaela. one very important thing about her history and biggest one it’s that she wasn’t attracted or in love with michael when she was with john, she learned it was okay to want and love michael after johns death and THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL. i really hope they don’t go towards a infidelity plot (cheating it’s not just kissing or sex, it can be a lot of things) john was her first love, she loved two people, but she loved and was happy with john. now, if that was just a bi panic moment? don’t care about this, fine, it’s okay and understandable. i just don’t want her having sex dreams about michaela while with john. please don’t do this.

that being said.

the whole “infertility plot” can be EVEN more powerful on her season. why? she would loose john’s baby. she wants to be a mother. if she stays with michaela? she won’t have a baby. later she can realize that she can adopt and there’s more than one way of being a mother, but that would be something to work towards it. she would have to abandon her dream (again, later realize she can still have it) in name of being in love and happy again. THAT IS SO POWERFUL.

the queen probably will give some permission to michaela be the earl, michaela could fight for the titles go to woman’s too. again, it’s not a historical accurate show.

in queen charlotte’s story the society had to deal with poc be included in society, in frannie story they’d have to heal with queer people be included on it.

frannie story can be so more powerful and beautiful and important.

yes bridgerton it’s a not perfect show, it’s not a 100% good adaptation, but it can be a powerful show. having poc and queer representation on it would be so more important than having your little story book become real on tv.

i don’t think that they’ll change eloise’s story specifically because we already met her *male* love interest, maybe she can have a fling with a woman next season, but honestly she needs to grow up before her season.

i don’t honestly know about benedict’s season. i don’t think they’ll genderbent sophie, but if they did it i would like it too. i honestly think they only made him bisexual (and frannie too) because they saw it the fans liked the idea.

BUT i think they can change hyacinth’s and gregory’s histories too. AND i would love to see it two. imagine hyacinth doing crime with a woman, IMAGINE gregory STEALING the GROOM from the altar (said groom having to be force to marry a woman despite being gay). i would love to see it.

honestly, i stoped hoping for book accuracy since anthony’s season and as much i didnt love it at the beginning, i learned to love it with time as a different and separate thing from the books.

you can be sad. just don’t spread hate. don’t be a racist. don’t be biphobic and/or queerphobic.

it’s so beautiful to have something like this happening in pride month don’t ruin another thing.

and if you want to “stop the show, it’s ruined for me” go ahead and do it. honestly? it won’t change a thing, people will still watch and it will still happen. queer people will continue to fight and love, and queer histories will continue to be told.

[emyluwinter]

Yuu and streams.

I've always wondered what if Yuu uses his smartphone to conduct simple amateur streams? Over time, they even gain a small popularity and audience. But no one at all can intelligibly say that such Yuu.

All their followers could find was that they study at Night Raven College, but their dorm is unknown to anyone. And there are ghosts there? Some particularly energetic followers sometimes build wild theories about the life of Yuu and about the life of ghosts.

Next I will write that Yuu is a girl. I'm so comfortable.

Yuu usually streamed her normal life. Washing dishes after dinner and cleaning the kitchen. A quiet place, with simple actions and some tired charm in every movement, something hooked everyone who accidentally stumbled upon this stream. No magic despite the fact that this is her uniform belongs to one of the famous colleges of magic. Occasionally she puts a gramophone nearby that can play the music you remember. (This thing is in the guest room in the game) This thing is so old that some go to search the Internet for what it is.

On some streams, Yuu cooks a recipe book for beginners or something a little more complicated.

-Add 4/1…w h a t ? - Yuu squints at the book in puzzlement and then her eyes blink in surprise.

Her expression changes to confused and confused. Leaving the spoon and the bag of butter on the table, Yuu takes the recipe book and turns it upside down, shaking it slightly along the way so that all the joking notes from the former owners of the recorded and enclosed scraps of paper fly out.

-Pretend you didn't see it.. - Yuu asks awkwardly, unable to hide her reddened ear tips from shame.

Having a habit of pronouncing his actions, Yuu tries to follow everything according to the recipe, occasionally adding one or another spice to his taste if it is permissible.

-Oh, what a delicious syrup. - Licking a drop of syrup that fell on her finger, Yuu thinks for a second and adds even less than a teaspoon to the pie mixture more.

At one of the not birthday parties. Cater suggested that Yuu make some settings for donations or the location of the chat for followers that Yuu can see live.

It all started with pretty simple and cute donations. 15 madols on a new sponge for dishes, because this follower can't look without pain at this horror with which Yuu washes plates.

45 madols for a new light bulb so that Yuu can use them for a new light bulb in the kitchen, without fear that the last working light bulb in the chandelier will burn out and have to cook by candlelight.

Grimm wanted to participate in this for a while, but he was so lazy to do anything after classes and a good dinner that he just slept peacefully or dozed next to Yuu while she was hosting.

Accustomed to the "definitely not feline" habits of the Grimm, Yuu did not even swear when he suddenly fell asleep in the middle or at the beginning of his work.

But the followers, Grimm definitely liked it.

Ace and Deuce definitely watched every Yuu stream if they weren't busy with club activities. Why? Because somehow even the mere sight of Yuu through the screen calmed them down and motivated them to continue their training.

Despite his completely "not sincere language", Ace left any emoticons under each stream of Yuu.

Deuce really liked doing homework in the living room of the dorm while watching Yuг stream along the way. His favorite streams were when Yuu was studying or cooking something. He could not explain why he could concentrate on studying on such days and better assimilate the material. In truth, both of them could not find the strength to overcome the desire to go right now to visit Yuг and Grimm and ask for a portion when the Prefect was cooking something delicious.

Trappola more than once ran away from his duties when Yuu made pies or buns, just for the sake of being the first to try them. He gets punished by Riddle, but in a lighter form because Ace "pays off Yuu's cooking"

He ends up doing double punishment anyway.

Often Deuce is also involved in this.

Yuu's followers just go crazy when they can't find a single song they hear on her streams. Someone even made recordings and sent them to local radio or music stations, but no one could give an answer to the name of the song or melody. Which is why there are even more theories.

Detective stories that she occasionally retells while Grimm finishes his homework. And as a reward receives the answer to the riddle. He definitely likes to feel this tension from the tightening mystery like a narrow bottleneck. And then swear that the solution was so obvious and he would have guessed if Yuu had given him more clues.

Some book clubs almost pulled out their last hair trying to find the name of the book or collection mentioned by Yu. But there is not one even close to what they heard from her.

Absolutely insane theories about who the Prefect of Yuu is are starting to go around on the Internet and Magikamе.

Her dorm? There is not a single official document that it was ever possible to find. There is not one of the accounts among College students who would be there. But absolutely EVERYONE could confirm that such a dorm REALLY EXISTS. And yes, the Prefect is a living person.

One day Yuu comes to one of the streams of the next donat "1000 madols. User xxxx2546 asks - Yuu are you some kind of forgotten deity or a lost child of a famous family?"

Of course, she is very flattered that she will be donated, mostly small amounts, but she definitely improves the hostel on them so she definitely won't complain. And never in his life will he tell Director Crowley about it.

After reading the text to the donation, Yuu quietly choked on air and laughed merrily covering her mouth with her palm. Her cheerful ringing laughter bounced off the old shabby walls and pale faded wallpaper, giving the room a more lively look at least for a moment.

-Forgotten deity?! Do you guys seriously think that I am….pf… Oh, I can't… - Yuu doubled over with laughter and then suddenly straightened up.

-First of all, thank you for your help, I can finally buy some pots. And secondly….what nonsense is this?!I'm not a forgotten deity, I don't even have magic…look here..

Standing in a ridiculous hero pose, Yuu points to the window with his index finger.

-Let there be thunder and lightning! Hdysch! - having invented the ridiculous sound of the spell, Yuu jumps on the spot when thunder begins to rumble loudly on the street so much that the glass in the window frames vibrates and the room is illuminated by a thunderbolt.

Biting his lip, Yuu awkwardly looks at the camera. Now she definitely won't be able to reason with some of the people who watch her.

-I swear to you…..it's not me….

Suddenly realizing something, Yuu again makes a ridiculous pose and hand gesture.

-I want to become rich!

But nothing happens, except that the thunder and lightning increase.

-Oh, come on….it's not fair. I only know one who could….Oh shit!

Running up to the window and quickly opening it, Yuu leans out of the window and shouts loudly to someone on the street.

-Tsunotaro, please let's not rain today! I just hung up all the laundry!!!

Suddenly, the whole storm subsides and the chat just blows to shreds from text and messages. Yuu looks at his phone even more confused.

-I don't think I can explain it to you for sure….

I think that Vil also makes streams from time to time. Because he is a media personality and he needs to maintain his level.

So on one of the streams, several of his followers notice a terribly familiar interior and furnishings that they have definitely already seen somewhere.

-Schoenheit I brought you tea as you requested.. - a quiet voice-over is heard in the room while Vil continues his stream.

-Oh, thank you, put it on the table, please.

The chat begins to fill up with questions whether it could be someone from the staff or college students. And what kind of relationship they have with a celebrity.

Behind Schoenheit, a small figure in an apron can be seen placing a tray with a cup and a small teapot on a table behind the place where the model is sitting. The face does not get into the frame. And the chat is even more crazy.

-Is there anything else you need? - again an unfamiliar and quiet voice for everyone.

-Yes, here is a list of what we talked about earlier. And don't forget the ointment.- Schoenheit puts some paper in her hand with a plaster on the brush.

-Okay, I get it. Thank you, that helped a lot from the burn.

A few days later, on Yuu's stream, some people notice the same hand with a Band-Aid and the same paper in her hands.

"150 madols. user xxxx45461 asks - what happened to your hand?"

-Oh thank you, oh…. a trifle I burned myself in class today. I've already been given a good ointment so it's okay. Today there will be a short stream because I will need to do a lot of tasks from the list. And it's secret.

A huge wave is now pouring into the piggy bank of theories about the origin of Yuu, what kind of relationship she may have with the most famous Schoenheit model. Magikame buzzes like a pterodactyl from all the most impossible and ridiculous options.

[bohemian-nights]

No this fandom is actually insane

Do people think it’s ok to write “he was teaching her how to bathe”?????? I’m honestly scared to go read the post that they were talking about. The lengths that these people will go to just to prove that dettles never happened

Read at your own risk.

The person who wrote that is actually Black(or so they claim), but is willing to throw Black characters and Black fans under the bus and promote negative stereotypes about us for their mostly (racist) followers in defense of a racist characters desirability.

Sir/ma’am, if you are reading this, get some self respect. I’m actually embarrassed for you cause this shit is actually pathetic. You’re better than this.

Case in point they wrote this crap a while back with 100% sincerity:

(I should also note that I actually had a run in with them about a year and some change ago and they threatened to block me after I asked them if Corlys bathing with Rhaenyra would be normal father daughter figure bonding time so I blocked them first😊).

Like you don’t have to like Dettles, but when you are pushing harmful ideology and stereotypes (Black people are so stupid/dirty that we need the white mans help to civilize us) as a way to discredit them and make those who ship it look like angry Black women jealous of the poor helpless white woman and her stans, you’ve gone too far.

Let’s keep in mind that this poor helpless white woman was actively trying to kill a Black girl for a crime she claims she didn’t commit and that despite claiming that Nettles definitely didn’t sleep with Daemon her stans spazz out everytime you mention her name and actively want her cut from the show.

Or how about the fact that these same stans actively stalk and harass Dettles shippers whose only crime has been pointing out y’all’s bullshit.

Let’s keep in mind all of this shall we:

So who is actually jealous of who here? Who in this scenario wants racial revenge?* Who is the problem in this hellhole of a fandom?

Is it the people merely pointing out Nettles importance to the Dance and Daemon’s arc or the people who hurl racial insults and stereotypes? The people who want her erased from the narrative in its entirety cause she disrupts the status quo?

(The fact that someone would even fix their mouth to say that when Black people have been beaten, raped, enslaved, terrorized, tortured, disenfranchised, abused, subjected, and not even given common decency and respect for centuries by these people. If we wanted racial revenge it damn sure wouldn’t be off the back of a fucking fictional character).

The fact that they can’t see Nettles value and only see her as some irrelevant Black girl and reduce people liking her down to a gotcha/“woke” moment is fandom misogynoir in action.

They forget that she comes from nothing, claims a dragon, has a prince willing to give his life for her(six men or sixty remember that since y’all claim to be capable of reading🙃), survives the Dance and becomes a firewitch worshipped by a group of people, because they don’t want to acknowledge her importance.

It makes them uncomfortable to do so because she doesn’t look like them, but people like I’m not like those other Negros cover up for them so that when they are called out for it they can go see this n-I mean this Black person agrees with me.

Imagine being this butt hurt about a fictional character that you can’t even leave your racism or tap dancing at the door for five seconds.

Nettles doesn’t fit the mold, but that’s the point of her story.

They can recognize maester propaganda and scream about feminism when it comes to their white faves, but when it comes to the Black girl who is actively being stereotyped and maligned for her gender, race, and social standing in the source material they believe it no questions asked?

Again, what does it say about you that you are so willing to believe that a Black girl who was clever enough to claim a wild dragon doesn’t know how to bathe herself? What does it say about you that you think Daemon would never touch her with a ten foot pole just because she’s Black?

What does it say about you don’t want her on the show because of her race? What does it say about you that a fictional character who just so happens to be Black has you worked up into a tizzy.

Y’all claim to be for women(real or fictional), but in reality you only care about the women who look like you and shit on women you see as beneath you. Women who you think are a threat to the status quo. You’re no better than the men who oppress you.

[secondhandsorrows]

Keys to Crafting Characters Readers Will Root For (w/ some examples)

As a writer and while making up this blog, I’m quite adamant that characters are just as important (if not more) as plot. In the grand scheme of things, an active, relatable, and engaging main character is crucial for a novel's success. But how exactly do we make a character all these things? There’s many ways, in fact. It is up to us as authors to keep track and manage the developmental arc of our protagonist: primarily, who they are on the inside, and how they grow or change / adapt to the situations or people around them. 

Here are some examples and tips to help you develop a compelling protagonist (or all kinds of characters). Keep in mind these tips are at their most basic, essential level (there’s just so much that can be explored in each one), so I hope to go further into each point sometime in the future. 

~`* They have clear goals and motivations.

First things first: you’d want to clearly define your character's goals and motivations — and the sooner, the better. Proper and well-set goals and motivations provide a sense of direction to the narrative. They should be specific, measurable, and achievable — or perhaps, not achievable, at least to its fullest extent. This would ultimately depend on the type of arc or ending you intend to write for your story, but there should at least be some main goal the character is vying for, and a motivation that dictates how much they want or need it. 

For example: An aspiring actress hoping to make it to the stage and audition for the lead role in her favorite play.  —> Why does she want to be an actress so badly? What does it mean to her to act in her favorite performance? What does she have to prove, to herself or others?

~`* They are flawed, yet relatable:

I’m sure you’ve all heard this before… but I’m still going to reiterate:

Your character should have relatable flaws that readers can sympathize with. It’s no secret that flaws make characters human and relatable. Flawed characters help us remember that nobody’s perfect, and that we’re not alone in our struggles and in our plights (stay back, Mary Sues!). These flaws can be anything, from fears, limitations, biases, misbeliefs, quirks, shortcomings, or behaviors. It’s useful two have at least two: a minor flaw and a major flaw, where the former affects only the only character and nothing else, and the latter hinders the character and affects the plot. 

For example: A highly-knowledgeable yet socially awkward and oblivious professor who can hold a bar of soap better than a conversation.  —> Does this flaw make him out to be charming or weird to others? How can his social-awkwardness affect the plot… does it hinder him from connecting to his students or colleagues? 

~`* They have unique talents or interests.

Sometimes I read a story, and personally I have a hard time connecting with a character if all they care about from beginning to end is what’s happening in the plot. It’s like they exist for the sole purpose of the plot, and are nothing but a shell to see through the events or its challenges. This is understandable, especially when it’s an action-packed story or thriller. 

Personally, I can’t help but wonder what its main character does for fun. What they’re like before the events of the novel. 

I think it can be useful your character skills or interests that set them apart. This not only makes them interesting, but can drive the plot in unexpected ways. *Bonus points if they have a particular skill or hobby that conflicts with the way they present themselves to others, or if they hide it well if they are embarrassed by it or afraid of getting judged. Essentially, this is all to clue-in on the reader to the character’s backstory, their personality. It helps them seem more individualistic, like humans with their own sets of interests or ideas that give them more complexity and uniqueness. This can also be useful in creating parallels or connections to your story’s themes or your character’s arc. 

For example: A brave warrior with an aptitude for gardening and flower arranging.  —> Seems random, right? But what if this warrior had workin in their relative’s flower shop, and has kept the skill alive in their days of battle to see pieces of beauty around them, hope from fear and danger? They might dig graves of their fallen friends and leave behind flowers in remembrance. Just an obscure  example, but see all the possibilities something like this can open up?

~`* They have deep, complex relationships.

Sometimes we can get a better idea of a character when we see them interact with the people around them. It’s like showing vs. telling, where we get a firsthand look at how the main character treats his family members, how he accepts or refuses help from those he’s close with, what he appreciates most about his significant other, how he feels about the annoying neighbor next door. Who’s the one person they most admire and never want to let down? Who’s the one person they despise with all their body and soul? Whether it's friends, family, enemies, or romantic entanglements, complex interactions and relationships add layers to your character and in how they showcase themselves to the world. 

For example: An excellent, compassionate therapist with a strained relationship with his own family member.  —> How does this character feel about this kind of relationship? Does it stem out of shared family troubles, or something deeper? Is there a glimmer of possibility the therapist might reconcile with this relative, or are they dashed because of mutual pride or distrust? 

~`* They often face moral dilemmas.

It’s time to get philosophical. Human nature is full of paradoxes and tough moral questions, and so characters with conflicting qualities can be intriguing and relatable. Introduce moral dilemmas and conflicting values that force your character to make tough choices and confront their conflicting values. Do they have a friend with conflicting beliefs that challenge their own? Are they forced to act a certain way because of external pressures? Are they forced to choose between saving one person while destroying another? 

No matter how serious this dilemma is, you can also add a moment of clarity or self-awareness for your character. This can be a turning point where they acknowledge and confront the conflict within themselves, thus becoming face-to-face with their internal crisis and how they decide to go from there. Do they weigh the pros and cons considerably, do they fumble because they’re hesitant, or do they embrace the new changes? 

Despite conflicting values, make sure your character's behavior is consistent with their established personality. Consistency helps maintain authenticity and keeps the character grounded. 

For example: A scientist torn between protecting humanity and the pressure of making a groundbreaking discovery.  —> How does making this discovery very important to this character? What do they stand to lose… what do they stand to gain? Are they at the risk of becoming something completely opposite of who they were at the beginning of the story, losing their sense of morality or forced to choose a side? 

~`* They show their quirks and habits.

Introduce quirks or habits that make your character memorable. These little details can make the character more relatable and interesting, because just like talents or hobbies, this can also give a clearer sense to the reader of what kind of personality the character has and what they’re like. Not to forget, it also helps them to stand out from other characters on the page, giving them a unique voice with their kind of dialogue, their behaviors, style, and mannerisms.  

For example: A scholar who can focus only if she’s chewing gum or wearing her lucky ring.  —> How might’ve this character started this habit or tradition? Does it actually work? Does it not work, but they still do it anyways because it’s comforting for them? Also, where did they get this quirk from?

~`* They have a backstory.

Most of what we’ve been discussing in this post already leaves some framework for the character’s backstory. It’s important to have a meaningful backstory in mind that influences the character's present actions and explains why they are they way that they are. This adds depth and helps readers understand their fears, desires, and motivations better; not shallow and two-dimensional as cardboard cut-outs. 

Sometimes we don’t get a backstory for our character right away. Backstories takes time to brainstorm and shape — let alone into a complex or compelling one — but its helpful to trust the process. What you can do if you’re still looking for the right one, is to ask yourself questions  on things that matter to you most. This pertains to your story’s themes and other main ideas you may like writing about, such as grief or family matters. It all boils down to who your character is (the present), and where it stemmed from (the past). If we take this a step further: does this backstory guide them or force them to make changes within themselves, thus leading to their changed self at the end of the novel/series (the future)?

For example: A woman with a fear of marriage because she’s seen firsthand its faults, including her own parents’. —> Is her parents’ divorce still something she’s struggling to come to terms with? Is her misbelief equating marriage to constant conflict? Does she have a secret desire to get married, yet it put off by its pressures? Does she make up for this fear by focusing on other matters? Will this fear later be disproven?

~`* They are often vulnerable. 

Every hero needs vulnerabilities. Imperfections. Weaknesses. We’ve talked about strengths and flaws before, but giving them that dent in their armor, any little opening someone or something might get through, leaves a reminder that no one, especially our hero, is invincible. Nobody’s perfect, after all (side-eyeing you, Mary Sues…). Make your characters messy: adding vulnerabilities helps makes them more authentic and genuine, opening up chances for them to learn and evolve as the story moves along. 

It can also add a layer of suspense to the story, especially in conflict and tension. How will the character handle someone breaking their walls down, or a bad experience threatening to make them crumble and fall back to old habits? How do they handle their insecurities? How well do they hide their fears, and will they ever admit them?

For example: An old woman with bad eyesight and lives alone can’t tell that the reluctant robber breaking into her home is not her grandson.  —> This is a fun little example that opens up many possibilities. Her bad eyesight is a physical vulnerability, and so is her soft spot for her supposed grandson. The robber notices this, and he too may have a soft spot for any old woman who treats him kindly. Does he use this to his advantage to rob the house, or does he humor her for a while?

I’d definitely like to expand on these tips sometime. If there’s anything you’d like to share or add, please do so! I’d love to hear y’alls thoughts. Hope this helped!