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doyoulikethissong-poll · 4 months ago
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Harold Faltermeyer - Axel F 1985
"Axel F" is an electronic instrumental track by German musician Harold Faltermeyer. It served as the theme song for the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop, its eponymous character (as portrayed by Eddie Murphy) and the film franchise it is based from, which became an international number-one hit in 1985. The track reached number one in Ireland as well as on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Additionally, it was a number two hit in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, and West Germany. In addition to the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, the song appears on Faltermeyer's 1988 album Harold F. as a bonus track.
Faltermeyer recorded the tune using five instruments: a Roland Jupiter-8 provided the distinctive saw lead, a Moog modular synthesizer 15 provided the bass, a Roland JX-3P provided chord stab brasses, a Yamaha DX7 was used for the marimba sound, and a LinnDrum was used for drum programming. All instruments were played by Faltermeyer. According to Faltermeyer, the initial reaction to his first presentation of the track to the film's producers and director did not result in an immediate approval; it was not until director Martin Brest voiced his approval that the producers showed enthusiasm. A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Faltermeyer.
"Axel F" has been sampled in many songs, including "Champion" by South Korean singer Psy. In 2005, Crazy Frog's version became a summer hit. It topped the charts in the UK, with some of the best weekly sales of the year, and remained at the top of the UK Singles Chart for four weeks to become Britain's third-best-selling single of 2005, outselling and outperforming the original version. It also reached number 1 in Australia, the Republic of Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Ukraine, Spain, and Sweden. In France, the song stayed at number 1 for thirteen weeks, only to be dethroned by Crazy Frog's second single, "Popcorn". This was only the second time that an artist had ever dethroned themself in that country. It peaked at number 3 on the US Digital Sales chart, and number 2 on the US Adult Contemporary Top 20. In 2024, as part of a tribute to celebrate the release of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, the Crazy Frog Youtube Channel made a special crossover music video with Netflix, featuring scenes from the movie, but re-edited to feature Crazy Frog in them, being chased by the Beverly Hills Police and Axel Foley.
"Axel F" received a total of 88,3% yes votes!
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mountainsandmayhem · 2 months ago
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BDSMaid - Chapter 4
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Series Summary: After recently graduating you take what is supposed to be a job to save money before you go back to university to get your law degree. Your best friend offers you a job cleaning luxury homes for clients you’ll never know. Easy. Simple. Mundane. Until one of your clients is home and everything you felt was missing in your life starts to fall into place. This goes against the NDA you signed and you could get fired. Or worse, you could fall in love.
Chapter Summary: JMKink is nothing and everything that you need and want it to be. Meanwhile, you are nothing and everything that Joel imagines you to be.
WC: 13.8k
TW: Warnings are below the cut in small red, feel free to skip them if you want to avoid chapter spoilers, but there are some descriptions of reader so I would classify this as more of an original character versus a blank canvas female reader.
AN: I actually cannot believe how many of you reached out all excited about September 1st approaching. From the bottom of my cold dead heart, thank you!! The more I write this, the more I picture video game Joel, so do with that what you will haha. Thanks so @ak-vintage and @lotusbxtch for beta reading for me. Support banners and dividers by @saradika-graphics. I recently got promoted at work (yay me), but the job is now waaaaaay more work than before, so enjoy this chapter slowly because I am not sure when I will be writing chapter 5.
Series Masterlist || My Masterlist
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TW: p in v, dirty talk, sub dom relationships, age gap, alcohol consumption, flirting, voyeurism, description of a threesome and other sexual acts, use of sex toys, nipple clamps, female orgasm, talks of neglectful parents during childhood and loss of a spouse. Mutual pining.
“Hnnng, fuck yes, daddy.” He’s rutting into you deeper than anyone else ever has. Long, slow strokes of his heavy cock sending you into a spiral of white hot, sparkling nirvana. 
“So fuckin’ wet n’ tight. Fuck, sweet girl.” His deep voice devours you - rattling around your skull, echoing slightly as if you’re in a large, empty room. 
Everything is black; darker than the onyx pits of his eyes. You’re not sure if you’re up or down, and you’re either blindfolded or have your face buried in a pillow as he fucks into you from behind. All you can feel is the pleasurable push and pull of his thick, vein lined cock slamming in and out of you. The vast darkness and the feeling of him filling you so full is overwhelming
“Please, daddy. Please. I’m so close.��
The soft mushroom head of his cock is kissing right where he taught you to crave it, and you wouldn’t be surprised if that spongy spot had ‘Property of Joel Miller’ branded on it by now. Within seconds of him pressing inside of you tonight you had completely submitted to him; surrendering to the darkness, the sensation, the exquisite pleasure. This is exactly where you were meant to be, and he’s the only one you’d want to be here with. It has never been this good, and even with your limited experience you know that it will probably never be this good with anyone else. 
“Don’t stop this time. Please don’t stop this time.” You’re an aching, crying, desperate crumb of yourself; wholly at his mercy.  
“No coming until I say.” His voice seems further away with every word and dread settles in your stomach as it all starts to fade.
“No! Nonono. Please no.” You feel a hot tear run down your face as the euphoria fades. You can barely feel or hear him anymore as little slits of yellow light appear. You blink once, twice. After a third long blink your bedroom comes into view.
Fuck. 
This has been the start of your new three part morning routine for the last few nights, since that kiss with Joel, since filling out your preferences and signing all the waivers. Since being asked to submit test results and proof of birth control. Since Joel Miller became your Dom. Night after night you dream of him fucking you, and night after night, right as you’re about to fall over the edge, he tells you not to come until he says and you wake up.
The second part of your morning routine is a lot more cathartic and vocal - very vocal. Your newly painted cotton candy pink nails (anything to stay distracted and busy) dig into the soft cotton of your pillow as you pull it out from behind your head, pressing it to your face and screaming until your throat feels raw.
Fuck.
When all the breath is pushed from your lungs, you put your pillow back and kick off the blanket. Your bare feet drag along the worn down carpet of your bedroom to the cold and cheap linoleum of your bathroom. You pee, avoiding your clit at all costs when you clean up. You know you’re down fucking bad when even the scratchy 1-ply toilet paper is enough to make you almost crumble. 
Part three of your new morning ritual is probably the part that shocks you the most. You change into leggings and a tank top, slipping a ten dollar bill and your house key into the side of your sports bra. The old springs of your mattress creak as you sit to slip on socks and your lavender colored runners, that you honestly forgot you owned until the morning after your twenty second birthday. You sneak out of your apartment, careful not to wake your roommate and jog down the stairs from your fourth floor suite to step into the cool March morning air.
Fuck. 
After shaking out each leg, you start to run. There’s no technique to your form or a planned out route. You leave your phone behind, only sounds are the morning traffic and your struggling breath to keep you company. It's just you, pushing your body to forget how badly you’re throbbing between your thighs and trying to erase the feeling of him. As you turn the corner at the end of your block you can see the bright green grass and leafy trees of the park. Your calf muscles burn with every step, but it’s not enough; you can still feel him. As you reach the park your lungs start to burn; they feel like they’re filling with fluid. Your ankles protest with every strike of your feet against the concrete. Finally, just as you swear you’re about to meet your maker it happens, the sweet release you’re pushing for. Finally every trace of the ghost of Joel Miller disappears. 
Your legs slow below you and you clutch your side, wandering lazily around the park. The rush of blood through your ears is nearly deafening, almost completely drowning out the chirping of the birds and the trickling of the water in the large stone fountain. You suck in quick, deep breaths, essentially doing everything and anything not to pass out. You’re free from him, if only for a little bit, as you fight against what feels like death knocking on your door. 
As you walk home you grab a coffee - black with just a splash of almond milk, apologizing to the barista as you hand her the sweaty ten dollar bill that was tucked into your bra and begin mentally scheduling your day. It’s Monday, which means you don’t work today and you can focus on studying and laundry. Your LSAT retake is just a few days away, today is your last full free day, and you have to get as much studying and practicing done as possible. The dread of taking that test again has your hot coffee doing flips in your stomach. Getting some college letters would really help put you at ease. You know you applied early but it would be nice to know if you need to continue to push or if you can finally rest. 
When you get back to your apartment your roommate has already left for her classes. You check your phone and your heart lurches in your chest at Joel’s name across your cracked lock screen. There’s been no contact between the two of you since Friday night. You slide open the text with shaky fingers
Good Morning, sweet girl. Are you ready to learn? 
You bite your lip as you respond. 
Yes, please, Mr Miller. 
You stare at the text thread for a while. Although you aren’t sure if a total of three texts can be considered a thread, but you stare anyway trying to will more messages into existence. After a few minutes you give up, locking your phone and stripping your bedsheets. The trek to the laundry in the building feels like it takes forever and you rush back to check your phone. There’s no response but you do have a little red bubble on your JMK app. You excitedly tap on the app to see a new menu titled ‘Dominant Preferences’ added at the top. When you click it, everything from your Reddit wormholes is revealed.
 ‘Joel Miller likes to participate in bondage play, nipple play, toy play, dirty talk, oral sex (both giving and receiving), and fingering. He doesn’t like brat taming, but is willing to participate in scenes where his submissive needs to be put in her place occasionally. He never has sexual intercourse - vaginal or anal, this is a hard limit for him and his submissives need to understand that there is zero room for negotiation on this matter. He’s very open to impact play, but believes that only good girls should get spankings.’
You click off the little ‘Read and Accepted’ box at the bottom without hesitation. As if he’s waiting for you to accept, he texts you seconds after your finger has made contact with the screen. 
8pm tomorrow. I’m sending a car for you. You should dress comfortably.
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The same kind faced man from your birthday waits for you outside your apartment at 7:30 the next night. He opens the door, smiling gently at you as you hop in; leather and new car smell wafting around you. During the drive to the club you learn his name is Arthur, but my friends call me Cap. 
“Can I ask you a question, Cap?” You ask as downtown comes into view.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Do you drive all of Joel’s, umm, do you drive lots of women around for Joel?”
He chuckles knowingly from the driver's seat, glancing into the rearview mirror at you. “No ma’am. Joel is a pretty secretive man. I have driven him places when he’s alone, or I drive Tommy’s subs, but never Joels.”
You nod and look out the window. It’s just you, sweet girl, only you.
Cap rushes to open the door when he pulls up to JMKink. The club is in a different building than Joel’s office; that was in the tall building across the street. Three bright and expansive floors of that red stone faced building belonged to JM Inc. Assumingly, the home base for all the businesses he has his hands in. This building, however, is smaller amongst the tall skyscrapers of the Austin skyline. The entire building is coated in a shiny black chrome, from the steel framing to the windows, except for the golden JMK logo on the front door. You take a calming breath before heading up the steps, the blacked out glass door slides open automatically.
Your dark high heeled boots click on the black and honey flecked marble, the floor reminding you of Joel’s eyes. You wish the marble would suck you into it so you could live in that feeling you get when Joel looks at you. Where it might be seen as cold and intimidating to others, to you it feels warm and inviting, almost familiar, and that little box of feelings in the back of your mind stirs a little bit. 
He told you to dress comfortably tonight, and you felt most at ease in a deep green sweater dress and knee high heeled boots. The dress just barely skims your thighs, making your legs look long and toned. You could use a tan, but it’s only March, everyone in Texas could use a tan at this point. You left your hair down in loose curls and kept your makeup minimal, as always. 
There are three people in the small foyer. Two stunning women stand behind the hostesses desk in matching black dresses and collars. To the right of them stands a man who looks like he could kill you with his pinkie. He’s also dressed in all black, and stands in front of a large door. Everything here seems like it’s meant to intimidate but all you can see and feel is the safety that comes with knowing Joel Miller. 
One of the women looks up at you, smiling comfortingly and asks for your name. Before you can respond, Joel's honey lined voice answers her. The sound of your name on his tongue feels like taking a breath of fresh winter air. Goosebumps break out across your skin, your own breath leaping in your throat as you spin slowly to meet his gaze. There’s no other way to around it, Joel Miller is fucking exquisite. His slightly outgrown curls are pushed back, silver reflecting off his temples and throughout his beard. Tonight he’s wearing a deep midnight blue Tom Ford suit with one jacket button done up, underneath he’s wearing a crisp white t-shirt, paired with brown dress shoes and what you assume will be a matching belt. One of his hands is tucked in the pocket of pants that literally look like they weren’t made for him, the other hangs loose at his side and you catch that gold ring again.  
He doesn’t take his eyes off you as he speaks to everyone in the lobby, “You’re all to remember her name. She is my guest, my only guest, and as far as you’re all concerned she’s the most important person in this club. Understand?”
The little box of feelings lifts its lid a little. No, you say to the box, banishing it back to its dark corner.
A jumbled mess of ‘yes’ and ‘sorry’ fills the lobby but the only thing that’s clear to you is Joel as he wanders over, placing his hand on the small of your back, and leading you towards the large black door that the lethal looking man is guarding. As he pulls you into his side his voice quiets, his words a low growl meant only for you. “Hi, sweetheart.” When he sponges a soft kiss to your temple you press your lips together to stop the giggle that’s trying to burst out of you. Joel Miller makes you giddy in a way that you haven’t felt since you were much younger and saw a One Direction music video for the first time. 
This afternoon, you had your easily predicted moment of panic. As with every decision you’ve ever made, you started to think that this wasn’t the right one. Maybe Tommy was the safer choice. Maybe you’ve bit off more than you can chew, or girlbossed too close to the proverbial sun. Or in kink terms, flirted too closely with the St Andews Cross. But now, being here tucked tightly against Joel's side as he guides you into your first experience with the world of kink you couldn’t feel any more sure of your decision. 
You hold your breath as the shiny black marble door opens, this feels like one of those big climatic moments you see in the movies, like you know the main character's life is about to change, and a nervous excitement buzzes through your veins. As the club comes into view it’s nothing like you thought. For starters, there aren’t cages or naked people around, and at first glance it looks just like a lounge in a high end hotel or restaurant. JMKink is beautiful, breathtaking.
 Light pine flooring is set in a herringbone pattern across the entire club. Directly in front of you are a few tall tables and then, situated in the middle of the space, is a large black marble bar. The bartender is surrounded by a halo of soft chiffon light that casts down from a brushed gold chandelier. The tables and bar top have tealight candles on them, making the entire thing feel sensual and soft. It’s just dimly lit enough that you can’t see beyond the bar from here. Joel guides you gently to the right. The booths that line the wall are only illuminated by the flickering candle on the table. Three of the booths are roped off, guarded by a tank of a man in a black suit. As Joel leads you towards them, you notice each of those tables have a gold plated reserved sign along with a name; Joel, Tommy and Tess. 
Confusion swirls in your brain at the romantic feeling the club gives off. Part of you expected to walk into a sex dungeon or that red room that Christian took Anastasia to, but you definitely weren’t expecting this. If this place was just a bit brighter you could imagine studying here on weekends. 
This isn’t a sex club, there’s no way.
As you slide into the furthest booth you’re able to see a small stage on the back wall and empty dance floor looking area on the other side of the bar. You can feel Joel’s warm gaze on you as you look around with wide eyes. Right when you’re almost convinced that you interpreted the information you found on Reddit wrong, your eyes land on the far left side of the room.
No, now that you see if from this angle, you are indeed in a kink club; a well stocked kink club based on the entire sex shop in the corner. You feel your cheeks flush and you dart your eyes towards Joel, pushing at your cuticle under the table, smiling shyly at him.
“What’s goin’ on in that pretty little head of yours?” His voice is syrupy and warm as two drinks land on the table. Whiskey neat for him and some sort of pink martini for you.
“Nothing..I just, it’s not what I expected,” you swallow the sand that’s found its way into your throat at seeing all those sex toys just out on display in the corner and flick your eyes towards your drink.
“That's a cosmopolitan. I can get you something else if you want, sweetheart. The female staff here seems to love them.”
“No, I should have said thank you. I’m sorry.” His hand comes to meet yours as it’s picking furiously at the non-existent skin of your nail bed. He wraps his hand tightly around yours, and brings them to rest on the top of the table together.
“Take a breath, sweet girl. You’re ok.” His words wrap around you tightly, calming you. You’re ok. Your heart rate slows and you relax into the plush velvet lined booth a little bit, smiling sheepishly up at Joel. “Better?”
“Yes, thank you.” Your free hand grabs the martini glass and you bring it to your nose, it smells like cranberry and lime.
As you take a small sip Joel says, “You really don’t have to drink it, baby girl. I can get you whatever.”
The vodka burns away any sand that remains in your throat. It’s tart, and dangerously delicious. You can see yourself getting very fucked up these with your girlfriends one day soon. “No, I like it. Thank you.”
After putting the glass safely on the table, Joel lets go of your hand, wraps his arm around your waist and slides you across the seat, pressing you to his side. “Is this ok?”
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JOEL
His cock twitches at the little hum you make in agreement. You lift your leg closest to him and rest it over his under the table. He squeezes your side gently, sinking into the comfort of you and grabs his whiskey. “So if this isn’t what you thought, what were you expecting?”
He loves the way you blush a little before answering him. “People just, you know, it’s a sex club, so just having sex here.”
He lowers his head to yours and whispers just for you, “There are people having sex here, sweet girl.”
He laughs to himself as your eyes narrow and you look around at the other people in the bar. “Not out here, just because you’re in a sex club doesn’t mean you have to consent to seeing or hearing people fuck. Or to be having sex yourself, really.” He loves the way you look at him with surprise at his boldness. He cocks his head towards a guarded door between the stage and booths along the wall, “But behind that door - well, people are indulging as we speak.”
He watches the small shiver of your spine, pulling back to take a sip of his whiskey, allowing you time to look around and become comfortable in your surroundings. He watches your perfect lips part, finding himself jealous of the rim of the glass as you take another sip. Great, first spoons and now glasses. As he watches your neck work to liquid down he says, “So did you leave that little pussy alone like I asked?”
Your head whips to face him, he can’t quite place your facial expression. It’s a twisted  mix of fear, shyness and embarrassment, like you’re worried that someone may have heard him say pussy; but if you only knew the kinds of things happening in this club right now.
“What?” you ask shakily.
“Did you come? Or did you listen?”
“Umm…I,” he can tell that you’re flustered, and he finds you nearly irresistible like this.
“Are you nervous, sweet girl?”
He’s not sure if you realize it, but when you’re tense and he calls you by that nickname you relax a little. Your shoulders lower, the little crease in between your eyebrows softens. “No,” you say, and he’s not convinced.
Joel deepens his voice, a voice he only intends to use when you’re at the club together. Or when she’s in my bedroom. He pushes any thoughts of you outside of the confines of this space away, “Lesson number one, don’t lie to your Dom. We have to be able to trust each other.”
You look up at him through your lashes and it damn near kills him. You’re so beautiful, absolutely glowing against all the black in the room. The soft golden light bounces off of every little perfect piece of you; from the deep cupid's bow above your top lip, to the caramel highlights in your hair. He can tell by the long breath you suck in that you’re about to do that adorable thing where you ramble. “I’m nervous, but it’s an excited kind of nervous. And no, I didn’t…that thing.” 
He can’t fight the smile at your shyness, “Lesson number two, If you can’t say it then you shouldn’t be here. What thing, sweet girl?”
You close your eyes and say, “Come,” and then open your eyes to look at him again. 
So shy. So cute. I’m fucked, so very fucked, he thinks. He takes another pull of his whiskey if only to keep his hands and lips busy and to himself. He usually enjoys the burn but with you beside him it tastes sweeter.
As you bring your martini glass to your lips he commands, “One more time, this time look at me when you say it.”
Over your glass, sparkling eyes locked on him you mumble, “I didn’t come, Joel.”
“That reminds me. Lesson number three, as soon as we cross the threshold into my private room, you will refer to me as Mister Miller only. Out here, and anywhere else, I can be Joel, but in there,” he tilts his head towards a door on the other side of the stage, this one isn’t guarded, instead there’s a security pad that you need to have a microchip to unlock, “In there, I’m Mister Miller. Understand?”
He watches your throat again as you swallow, the palm of his hand tingles at the thought of wrapping his hand around it again. One of your eyebrows raises just a touch and he knows that cheeky little line of your lips. “Yes, Mister Miller.”
Your voice is husky as you say it and this time it’s him who has to fight the goosebumps rising on his skin and the icy shiver trailing down his spine. So perfect. 
“Can I ask you a question?” You don’t make eye contact with him when you say it, like you fear he might say no and he has a feeling that whoever made you feel that you needed to make plans A through Z also told you are a burden for asking questions. Joel isn’t a violent man, but would happily ring whoever’s neck did this to you.
“Of course, sweet girl.”
You turn to face him, taking a sip of your martini before you say, “Why did you send me into your basement that day?”
Joel clears his throat, weighing how transparent he wants to be in his answer, but there’s no hiding it after what he said to you in his office last week. “I’m not always going to be nice to you here, sweet girl. I’m going to push you, I might even hurt you. Yes, it’s all consensual, but I didn’t want you thinkin’ I’m some sort of monster.”
He watches as you take a long pull of the pink liquid from your glass. You set it back on the table, the earlier tremble of your hand gone as you reply, “Thank you for being honest with me. I don’t think I could ever see you as a monster, Mister Miller. I need this.”
The devious smile you give him has his cock come to life. He doesn’t fuck his subs, but he would take you right here in this booth if he could. “Would you like a tour of the club?”
Your eyes light up, “Can I bring my drink?”
“Anywhere out here, yes. But not behind those two doors.” He takes the last drink from his whiskey and then watches as you take two big gulps to finish your Cosmopolitan. Your nose crinkles at what he assumes is the burn of the vodka.
“So fuckin’ cute,” Joel says quietly, and hopefully just to himself, as he slides out of the booth.
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No, you say to the little box of feelings when you overhear his whispered words, don’t start with me right now.
You follow him as he heads towards the store in the corner. Even with the condoms, dildos, plugs, gags, whips, lube and all sorts of other things on display it’s somehow still classy and beautiful. Lots of these things you’ve never seen before, or had any desire to play with, but you’re pretty sure you’d try almost anything with Joel. 
He nods at the man working the store counter and then walks you around the main area, his voice thick with passion as he speaks. “Usually on Friday and Saturday nights there's more of a nightclub feel, couples who like to swap partners can mingle with the room. This is a safe space, monogamous couples aren’t offended by the attention and everyone stays very respectful of others wishes and limits. There’s a drink limit of course, keeping things safe and consensual is my utmost priority.”  
You walk slowly, crossing the middle of the currently unoccupied dance floor, “That stage is often used for workshops or shows. This is a place to learn just as much as it’s a place to enjoy sex and kink. We have a new workshop coming up next week actually.”
The two of you stop beside the guarded door - the door Joel said people were indulging behind. You can’t help but be curious about what's happening back there, but you’re also desperately horny and unsure how you might react to whatever is unfolding in the dark. The man standing in front of the door is also dressed in a black suit, this seems to be the uniform of those who work at JM Kink, he says a cordial, “Good Evening, Joel.” Then nods at you and adds, “Miss.”
You jump as Joel’s hand connects with yours, his strong fingers linking with your slender ones. He spins you to face him. His freehand cups your chin, the band of his ring cold against your pink flushed skin. He tilts your face up to meet his, seriousness etched across his face. “My sweet girl, behind that door can be a bit intense at first. You’re an adult, but you shouldn’t have to see anything you don’t want to see. So you’re in charge in there. If you want to leave, we leave. If you want to cover your eyes, do it and I’ll lead you away. On the contrary, if you see something you like and want to get closer, then get closer. If you have questions, just ask. Ok?”
You nod, and Joel leads you through what you hope is the second life changing door of the night. The air feels different on this side of the threshold, something about it makes you feel like you’ve been plugged into a low voltage socket, you’re buzzing in an exciting and dangerous way. It’s dark enough in here that you can’t see your black boots as they click quietly against the hardwood. Joel's strong hand comes around your waist, tucking you into the side of his body protectively. After taking a deep breath, the familiar ash and leather scent of Joel intoxicating and calming your senses, you look up.
You and Joel stand intertwined at one end of a long rectangular room. Across from where you stand and down to your left and right the wall is lined with large windows. On the side of the hallway where you stand are plush chairs and couches, some of which are occupied by singles or couples as they watch what’s happening beyond the windows. 
You wonder if it gets easier, standing in a dark hall where you can watch people fucking. Joel is so calm, like a still glassy sea, meanwhile you are fighting against the tides. He stands almost statuesque, his thumb rubbing calming circles on your hip, while keeping you tucked safely into him. He has made it clear that you’re in charge here, so staying in the shadows as much as possible, you wander towards the first window. As if he’s another limb on your body, Joel follows you effortlessly. 
Your heart thumps in your chest as you approach the first window. The room has a large bed that remains untouched. A man is tied to a chair at the end of the bed with black silk ties, and you stifle a gasp at the painful looking device he has clamped around his hard cock. You can hear his whines through the ball gag, and the moans of pleasure from the woman spread eagle on the floor in front of him as she fucks herself with a large dildo.
Joel’s soft stubble brushes against your ear as he whispers, “We won’t be doing that.”
“Looks fun for me,” you giggle and he lightly pinches your hip.
The next window has the blinds drawn, little slits of light illuminating the edges is the only sign that someone is in the room. “You can choose to let people watch or not watch, as well as how much you want those in the voyeur area to hear when you rent the rooms,” Joel explains softly as you approach the next open window.
The bed in this room is occupied by three people. A curvy woman is lying down on her back, a copper skinned man with a shaved head has his face buried in her pussy while a fully tattoed beefcake of man fucks his ass. The look of pure pleasure on all their faces has your clit twitching and aching. And when Joel lowers himself to your ear the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up. 
“We also won’t be doing that,” Joel’s voice is so light and carefree. For a second you forget that any minute now he’s going to use that deep baritone voice to boss you around while you’re completely naked.
“Again, it also looks fun for me,” you joke, and a small smile crosses your lips as you feel Joel’s body shake with silent laughter beside yours. There’s about ten windows in this room from what you can see, most are closed or dark, probably since it’s a weekday. You lead the two of you down the room to the next open window. “Can they see us?”
“Not unless you get close to the glass,” he instructs. You stop in your tracks at the next window. Despite your teasing with Joel the last two were not your thing, but this window you could easily watch for a while. A man and a woman lay on the large red silk sheeted bed while hundreds of battery operated candles flicker around them. He’s on top of her, one of her legs slung over his shoulder, the other around his waist. As you step closer you can see a sparkly, thin layer of sweat coating both their bodies as they slowly grind together, kissing passionately. You take another step closer, if they want to be seen then it shouldn’t matter if they see you. Once you’re close enough you can hear the gentle moans she’s making as he thrusts slowly in and out of her. 
“Well,” you say softly, leaning into Joel’s side and looking up into his warm chocolate eyes, “That doesn’t look so bad.”
He cranes his neck and places a lingering kiss on your forehead and as your eyelids flutter closed you can no longer deny just how turned on you are. He pulls back to look at you, smiling slightly before saying, “When I first got here he had her hogtied and was paddling her.”
“Like I said,” you say while giggling softly, “That doesn’t look so bad.” 
The two of you watch them for a while as they fuck languidly. This should feel wrong, watching something so personal, but the beauty of them together like this is comforting and almost inviting. Her cries grow louder and as she starts to shake he pauses his hips, fully seated inside of her while whispering and smiling down at her, pushing her sweat soaked hair off her forehead. The love behind the glass is so palpable that you feel yourself getting choked up a little. 
Just as you’re about to ask Joel to take you to his room, you notice another window with about five people lined up along the glass. Curiosity gets the better of you and you lead Joel the few steps to see what’s going on. No longer feeling nervous or shy, you step right up to the glass. This time, Joel moves his body to be behind yours, pulling your back against his strong body. One of his arms wraps around your middle, the other sweeps your hair to one side and then rests gently on your shoulder. 
The set up of this room is similar to the others you’ve seen: a large bed to the right, a chair to the left, and a chest of drawers to the back. There’s a woman strapped face up on the bed, wrists and ankles bound to the four posts of the frame. Her perky breasts rise and fall rapidly with her breathing. At the back of the room, a broad tanned man faces away from you, looking through a drawer for something. As your eyes travel up his back from his hard, round ass cheeks he spins to face the window. You step back into Joel as Tommy Miller’s gaze flicks to the people along the window and then to the sub he’s chosen for the night. 
In your sane mind you tell yourself that you should look away. It's one thing to watch strangers but watching someone you sort of know feels like an invasion of their privacy. Plus, there’s no way Joel wants to see his brother like this. As if he can read your mind, Joel's lips brush against your neck, “I’m right here, sweet girl. Tommy likes an audience, he’s an exhibitionist, and lots of members come just to watch him.” 
You glance up at Joel and he smiles softly. Your voice is just above a whisper, “Can we watch for a bit?” 
“You’re in charge, sweetheart.” He patiently reminds you as you nod and look back towards the room.
The horny demon that seems to have taken over your body since catching Joel in his office has you dying to see more: more sex, more kink, more Tommy. Without consciously controlling it, your eyes travel down his tanned chest, to the hair around his belly button and then down to his fully erect cock. You can’t help but appreciate the beauty of his body, he looks like he’s carved out of stone, and that includes his cock. He’s decently long, but thick, a prominent vein running along one side of it. It’s slightly upturned and the head is smooth and glistening with precome. He looks so powerful and the small fire that’s been building in your stomach grows.  
You bite at your bottom lip nervously, crossing your arms to rest on top of the one Joel has wrapped around you. Tommy walks over to the bed; grasped in one of his large hands is a black vibrator, his other holds a small glass jar housing a lit candle. He climbs onto the bed, then drizzles hot wax along the woman's thighs. Her back arches off the bed and through the speakers along the glass you hear her pained moans. Tommy watches her intently, his lips moving but you can’t hear what he’s saying. Once she’s settled back on the bed, Tommy places the vibrator on her clit.
She writhes and pulls at the velvety cuffs holding her to the bed. “Sir, oh god, I’m - I’m gonna - Sir, fuck, I’m gonna come.”
When she calls him sir you see the dark flash of obsidian across his eyes, the same look when you called him that at the poker game. Through your research, you know that doms have preferred names and your cheeks flush a little at the thought of accidentally using his with him. 
Tommy pulls the vibrator away right before she falls over the edge and drizzles wax on her stomach. She cries out with more desperation this time, and then again, once she’s calm Tommy places the vibrator between her thighs. It’s suddenly hard to breathe and when you step back into Joel you feel his cock is hard against your back and a fresh wave of arousal coats the lace of your panties. 
Tommy takes the vibrator away as she starts shaking and moaning, then hot wax splashes down her sternum. You feel antsy, like little pins and needles are pricking along your entire body. You squeeze your thighs together, Joel's warm breath against your neck causes you to shudder. 
“What’s wrong, baby?” he hums.
“N-nothing.”
“You sure? You’re squirmin’.” His hand runs slowly down your arm, your hands moving on their own so he can wrap you in his muscle lined arms. A light kiss lands just below your ear and you bite back a moan.  
The combination of not being allowed to have an orgasm, the feeling of Joel’s warm body pressed against you, and the erotic scenes you’ve witnessed tonight is almost too much. It’s also not lost on you that that could have been you in there with Tommy right now. Your clit is throbbing between your legs, and you aren’t sure if you have ever been this turned on. 
Joel smiles into your skin as you watch Tommy tease his sub with the vibrator again, “Do you like what you’re seein’?”
You nod, trying to calm your breathing. It hitches as he adds, “Would you like to try that one day?”
Wax hits one of her nipples, the beads hardening along the peak of her perky, round breast. You adjust your stance to cross your legs together, squeezing hard to ease the almost painful ache at the apex of your thighs. Her and Tommy speak softly to one another, he smiles down at her, puts the candle down and then adjusts himself between her legs, spreading the lips of her puffy pussy with two fingers and putting the vibrator right where you know it would ruin you. 
“Would you?” Joel repeats.
“Yes, Mister Miller.” You say, your voice shaky, almost like it’s impossible to form words as you look up at him. He’s so beautiful in the shadowy light, his tanned skin almost seems to glow against the darkness.  
His eyes dance around your face, his voice comes out soft and sensual, quiet enough for just you to hear, “Do you want to go play now, sweet girl?”
You bite your cheek to try to fight the smile, but as Joel’s eyes flick to your lips it’s no use. A shy smile tugs at the corners of your soft pink lips. “Are you going to let me come?”
He looks at you the same way he did when you drank the water and ate that toast. Pride. He’s proud of you for asking for what you want, and you can almost feel your insecurity and fear around asking for things starting to shrink. 
The softness in his voice morphs into a growl, “If you’re a good girl.”
You spin your body towards him, determination lacing your face. “I can be your good girl, Mister Miller.”
Joel’s strong fingers link with yours and a quiet giggle passes your lips as he hauls you towards a door in the shadows close to where you two entered. Truthfully, if it wasn't for the little red light on the security pad, you wouldn’t have even known there was a door there. He waves his ring past the device and after a quiet beep sounds the light flashes green and the door clicks open. He pulls you through and as soon as Joel hears the final click of the door closing he hauls you over his shoulder. Your squeal at your world literally turning upside down with his brute strength melts into an aroused moan as his strong hands grasp the back of your bare thighs.
When Joel stops walking, you tear your eyes away from his perfectly sculpted ass, like these pants must be stuffed, there’s no way this man has a better ass than me. You glance up to see two other doors; assumingly belonging to Tommy and Tess. A familiar beep sounds in the quiet hall and your throat goes dry as he steps into his room. He takes a few long strides before sliding you down his muscle lined chest and placing you at the foot of the bed. He stays close, your breasts just barely grazing his warm body. Your gazes are locked, and even though you’ve grown comfortable with his intense need for eye contact your breathing still goes shaky and uneven. 
Oh fuck, this is it. 
His hand cradles your cheek, “You read and signed off on everything in the app, but I want to reiterate a few things, baby girl.”
You swallow hard, his finger now tracing down your throat and you swear you can feel every whorl of his fingertips as they trail along your soft skin. 
“From now on, you belong to me and I belong to you. No one else. You are not allowed to come unless I say.” 
His hand continues its road trip of your body, settling to wrap around the nape of your neck. “Y-Yes, Mister Miller.” 
“I have a no sex rule. I’ll give you orgasms, I’ll fuck you with my fingers and toys, even my tongue, but not my cock. I need you to understand that my rule is nothing against you, sweetheart. Are you ok with that?”
“Yes, sir, Mister Miller,” you coo. The nervous excitement from early has returned, every bit of skin that he’s touching is almost humming, butterflies with sharp wings scrape at your stomach. You bring your hands to the lapels of his expensive blue suit, fisting the soft fabric.  
“Fuuck,” he moans, “That sounds so pretty coming out of your mouth, sweet girl.” 
You smile up at him. He squeezes the back of your neck gently, his other hand cradling your chin between his thumb and forefinger. The rough pad of his thumb caresses your chin. “Nothin’ tonight that will require a safeword-”
“Stegosaurus,” you say eagerly, cutting him off. It’s silly really, but that little dinosaur on top of his coffee machine is what first intrigued you about the anonymous millionaire whose home had been assigned to you to clean. It also has some sort of meaning to him, so it seemed only natural for that to be your safeword. 
He smiles, laughing gently, “Not tonight, baby. If you want to stop tonight, just say so and I’ll stop. Ok?” 
Your pussy flutters at the unexpected moments to come, but a gnawing anxiety starts to claw at your chest. You’re not sure what causes the shift, but suddenly you go from excited nervous to just plain nervous. Am I ready to give up control? What if he sees me naked and doesn’t like it. He said it was only me, what if he regrets that decision? 
Your chest tightens, the knife-winged butterflies multiplying and traveling up your throat. Joel must sense a shift in you, he steps closer to you and softens his eyes as they dance around your face, a silent sign that he’s patiently waiting for you. If you said you wanted to go home you know he would kiss you softly and call your new friend Cap, but you don’t want that. You want this, you want whatever is about to happen; you just need to let go.
Vulnerability is thick in your voice as you break one of his rules and murmur, “J-Joel?” 
“What’s wrong, baby?” His voice waivers, making you feel a little bit better. 
“I’m nervous.” 
He lowers his head towards yours, running the tip of his hooked nose down the slender bridge of yours. You close your eyes and take him all in. He’s warm and hard, yet somehow so soft. His familiar ash and leather scent is mixed with the expensive whiskey he drank earlier. 
“So am I, sweet girl,” he whispers into your lips before kissing you softly. You melt into him, his hands moving to cup your face. His soft lips sponge against yours and everything quiets. You’re not sure how he does it, but kissing him feels like dunking your head under water, everything silences, all the nervousness dissipates. It’s just the two of you, floating in tandem in an endless void. 
He’s nervous too? Because of me? I make this strong, successful, brooding man nervous? Your inner voice of anxiety starts to settle. I’m safe here.
The comfort of your thoughts is enough to have you pulling yourself into Joel more. You increase the intensity of your kiss, turning your head and parting your lips slightly. He follows suit, running his soft tongue along yours. The air in the room has morphed, it’s saturated with passion and arousal. With just one kiss he’s managed to erase all your fears and worries, your mind is silent and ready for whatever instructions he’s going to give you. When he pulls away your both panting for breath.
He turns his back to you, sliding his dark blue suit jacket down, the white t-shirt underneath clinging with perfection to the muscle and sinew that pack on top of each other along his back. He drapes his jacket over a padded bench about five feet away from you; you know from your extensive research that that’s a spanking bench. He spins to face you, slipping his gold and black ring off his hand, keeping his eyes locked with yours as he drops it in a dish on top of a low chest of drawers on his left. You can’t describe it, but the sound of the gold clashing with the ceramic dish puts you in a trance. Like a ritualistic symbol that you are his now.
His hands slip into his pockets, his voice taking on its deep dominant tone, “We are going to start now. You can stay fully clothed or you can get as undressed as you feel comfortable being. I’m serious here, sweet girl. Leave on as little or as much as you want. When you’re done, lay face up on the bed.”
Without thinking your hands fly back to the zipper on your boots, you unzip them and toe them off. You don’t break eye contact as you grab the hem of your sweater dress and pull it up and over your body. As your vision is temporarily blocked by the knitted fabric you can feel his eyes on your bare skin. You’re left in just a matching nude bra and panty set. He’s already seen your tits so you don’t hesitate to unclasp your bra and let it fall away from your body. 
Joel swallows hard and licks his lips. “Beautiful,” he mumbles appreciatively and it coats your skin in warmth. 
You hesitate for a moment with your thumbs hooked in the waistband of your panties. You know they’re soaked through, and you’re sure he can see that from where he’s standing. He’s so fucking good at reading you, so you’re not surprised when he says, “Only take off what you feel comfortable with, my sweet girl.” 
“I do…I am…I w-want to…I just,” you fiddle with the band a bit. 
“You can say it.” He nods encouragingly.
“I like having them taken off me. I - I want to see your face up close when you…when you see it for the first time.” 
Joel smirks, popping his hip out to lean on the spanking bench. “See what the first time?” 
“Don’t make me say it, Mister Miller.” 
He clicks his tongue at you, “Mmm, but I love hearing that pretty little mouth say dirty words.” You stay silent, chewing your cheek as he continues. “Come on…say it. Say, I want to see your face up close when you see my cunt for the first time, Mister Miller.”
You feel your cheeks flush. Earlier tonight he asked you to look at him when you say it, so you roll your shoulders back and hold your head high. As confidently as possible you say, “I want to see your face up close when..” you take a shaky inhale, “When you see my cunt for the first time, Mister Miller.” 
Before the last syllable has left your lips he’s across the room, lifting you off the ground by the back of your thighs. You instinctively wrap your legs around him and gasp at the sudden pressure right where you’re aching for him. 
“I have memorized every answer from your preferences,” he growls into your collar bone, walking you around the bed. “I have strategically planned what I’m going to teach you and then you say stuff like that and fuck. I have to fight every sick and twisted thought I have, sweet girl.” He climbs onto the bed, laying you down just how he wants you, “You have no idea what you do to me. How out of control you make me feel.” 
Joel shuffles his body down, kissing down your sternum before cupping your tits. Pushing them together and sucking one of your nipples into his hot mouth. This is exactly what you’ve been fantasizing about since that moment in his office. His tongue is warm and soft as it flicks across your hardening nipple. He lightly rolls the other one between his fingers.  
“Please - oh god - please Mister Miller.” You moan needily. You try to arch into him, but his large body holds you down. 
He grazes his teeth along your nipple then looks up at you, “I’m gonna take care of you. Just relax.” 
You can’t take your eyes off him as he dives back in. Sucking and biting at your other nipple. You plant your feet on the mattress, hands tangling into his hair, as you try to grind your aching clit into his warm, hard stomach. 
“Stay still sweetheart,” He says between suckles. 
“I c-can’t. Please.”
He pinches both nipples hard, harder than you’re used to, and you whimper, freezing your hips. His voice is as deep as the obsidian in his gaze, “Stay still. I’m going to make you come. I promise. You need to trust me, relax.” 
The pressure on your nipples eases and you pout before letting yourself melt back into the mattress. He smirks, a dimple carving itself in the patchy scruff of his cheek. “That’s my girl. You like your nipples being played with?” 
The pad of his thumb ghosts over the tops of them, you shiver and moan, “Uh-huh.”
“Good. Then you’re going to enjoy what I have planned tonight.” He kisses your forehead and then climbs off the bed. You rise on your elbows, watching him as he pads across the room to a chest of drawers. He toes off his brown dress shoes and removes his belt before digging through a drawer. The actions were so simple, yet the domesticity of them has you fighting with your little box of feelings again.
No, you tell it silently as it inches out of the darkness. I am his sub and nothing more. The box seems to have grown a very annoying and persistent personality and it almost says, ‘but he’s nervous too’ back at you. 
He turns back to face you, snapping you out of your fight with the imaginary box in your brain. The same vibrator Tommy had is clasped in one hand, his other is palm up, cupping something that he’s shaking much like a gambler does with dice. 
“My sweet girl, you put a five for nipple clamps. Remind me, have you ever used them before?”
“No, Mister Miller.” 
He wanders lazily back over to the bed, and if he was anyone else you’d tell him to hurry up, but you never want to rush a single moment with Joel Miller. On top of that, you need to let him take control; he said he was going to make you come if you just relax and trust him, so that’s exactly what you’re going to do. He places the vibrator on the small table beside the bed and then sits beside you, holding out his free hand to help you sit up. 
He holds the clamps out to you and explains softly, “These are beginner clamps. See this little dial? I can control how tight they are.”
You watch his thick fingers along the dainty metal of the clamps, he’s so soft yet could have you crying with the snap of his fingers if he wanted. A fresh wave of arousal floods between your thighs completely ruining the panties he still hasn’t taken off your body. You nod and whisper, “Ok.”
“You control what happens here tonight. If you tell me that it hurts too much or to stop, I will.”
It’s time to show Joel just how good of a girl you can be, you look at him through your eyelash and sweetly coo, “Yes, Mister Miller.” 
A deep growl rumbles in his chest, “Fuck. Lay down..now.” 
You lay back, hair fanning around you. Joel stays seated on the edge of the bed beside you and lightly places the first clamp on your right nipple. It’s a light pinching pressure and it feels so good that your eyes flutter shut and you melt into the bed. He puts the next clamp on and you whimper. 
“How’s that feel?” he asks, his strong hands gripping your hips, pushing you into the mattress and grounding you in the warm pleasure that floods your stiff nipples.  
“S-so good Mister Miller,” you groan. You’re almost convinced this is another dream, he’s doing almost exactly what you have imagined countless times. You open your eyes to watch him, determined to visually take in every single thing he gives you. 
“Good, baby. I want you to feel good. I’m gonna tighten them now, jus’ a little.” He twists the little knob. You start breathing heavily, teetering on the edge of pain and pleasure. You bring your hands to his strong, warm forearms as you suck in air.
“Too much?”
Your chest heaves at the delicious feeling flooding your tits. “No, no. More. P-Please, more. More.”
“Good girl,” he hums deeply, the words settling right behind your clit as he tightens the tiny clamps more. The warmth around your nipples spreads to your arms and down your sides. When you cry out he asks, “Pain or pleasure, sweet girl?”
At this point you aren’t sure, it definitely hurts, but it also feels good, and his deep brown eyes are looking at you the same way they always do, full of concern and care, almost like he’s assessing you. 
“Both. Both, oh fuck. More, Mister Miller.” He kisses the left one gently and you arch into him, “More, more, please.”
“That’s as tight as they go, are you sure you want more?”
You keep your eyes on him, nodding fervently, “Yes. Please, yes.”
He pops them off and you gasp out in pain, heat rushes to both your nipples and it burns in white hot passion. Joel blows cool air along both of them and you can’t seem to stop your mumbling begging, “More. I need more. Please!”
“I know, baby. I got you.” He opens the drawer on the bedside table and takes out two gold plated clamps. You look down, your nipples already look sore, tinged slightly purple. “I’m so fucking proud of you already. Askin’ so nicely like the good girl I know you are. Goddamn, look at these stiff, perky, perfect little nipples. I love seeing you like this, seeing them like this. Are you wet for me? Are those flimsy lace panties soaked through?”
He places one of the new clamps and you cry out a ‘yes’. 
“Ya? Just dripping and desperate for me?” He puts the other clamp on as you chant a chorus of yes’s and oh god’s. 
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Joel
Joel knew that tonight would either make or break him. As his name spills sweetly from your perfect pouty lips he feels it, the same tug behind his belly button that he felt with Tiffany, that his grandpa said was how he’d know when he found something special; something to hold onto. 
“Please, Mister Miller,” you murmur. He doesn’t know what it is you’re asking for, and he’s sure you don’t know either. What is it about you saying those three little words that gets him so rattled? Countless subs have called him that in the past and it never made his cock swell this painfully behind his zipper.
He taps at your nipples lightly and watches your body shudder and arch off the bed. You aren’t even fully naked and he’s fighting the urge to come right there in his pants. He loves the way your body reacts, he can already tell you’re going to look stunning as you come. 
“That feel good?” He asks, his voice deep and husky. 
“Yes. Oh god, yes!” You haven’t taken your eyes off him and he loves how your eyelids have become hooded from the pleasure while your brows furrow with the pain.
“Does it hurt?” Your cheeks are flushed pink making the colour of your eyes pop.
“Yes,” just as he’s convincing himself to remove the clamps you moan, “Please don’t stop.” 
Joel grabs the vibrator from the bedside table before sliding his body down the bed. He starts kissing at your hip bone before wrapping his teeth around the slender band of your panties. Your eyes dart down to him, this is what you asked for; to his face the first time he sees your cunt. He pulls your panties with his teeth, smiling against your soft upper thigh when you instinctively lift your hips to help him. As he shimmies down the bed his eyes stay on your face.
He gets to the end of the bed, standing with your soaked through thong still between his teeth. He relaxes his jaw, dropping the panties in his hand and bringing them to his face. “God fuckin’ damn, sweet girl. You smell so fuckin’ sweet. Imma crave that smell when you aren’t around.” He tucks your panties into the pocket of his four thousand dollar, custom made Tom Ford suit. As far as he’s concerned, that drenched thong is the most expensive and important thing he now owns. 
He trails his eyes down your sternum, your legs are straight out in front of you, not parted, but he can see your puffy pink clit pushing through the soft looking outer lips. He feels himself switching into full dom mode. The room around him fades away, everything outside of you and this room doesn’t matter anymore.
“Show me,” he growls. “Spread those gorgeous legs and show me that perfect little cunt.”
He crawls up the bed, following the path you make as you bend both knees up. He feels like a starved dog who’s about to get a meal. Your feet stop, and as he hovers above you, gaze wholly fixated on your core, you relax your legs and your knees butterfly open. God he loves how eager you are, how good of a listener you can be. He licks his lips as your outer thighs finally meet the soft sheets, baring yourself for him completely. He stops breathing as your lips part, sticky with arousal. Your pussy is swollen and glistening, your needy clit puffy and pink. 
A deep moan rumbles in his chest as he lowers himself to the be, his face between your legs. Once he’s close enough he can see the tight little hole he’s vowed not to fuck. “Shit, sweetheart. This is goin’ to be so much harder than I thought.”
Your cries wash over him; he’s experienced enough to know that it’s from your nipples hardening under the clamps at his words. He smirks up at you, “How are you so wet already?”
“You, Mister Miller.”
“That right? Me playin’ with those nipples get you all turned on?”
“Uh-huh, and you said I couldn’t touch myself. I’ve been like this for days.” Your bottom lip pokes out and it absolutely ruins him, but he pushes down the overwhelming need to fix it and give you exactly what you need. No, you want to experience being a submissive, and that’s what he’s going to do. 
“Poor baby,” he mocks, tsking at you. He kisses right above your clit and you gasp. He’s close enough to know the heat of his breath is going to have you squirming and he can’t wait to watch how beautiful you’ll look doing it. “So wet. Smells so good. Fuck, She’s right in front of me but I already miss her. You look so soft and tight. Goddamn, you’re gonna have me breakin’ all my rules, sweet girl.”
“Please touch me. Please.”
“Mmmm, such a good girl for asking so nicely. I can’t say no when you beg like that, baby, makes me weak.” He kisses the crook of your inner thigh, he knows how much he’s teasing you right now, he watches you get wetter by the second, the beautiful folds of your pussy opening like a flower in the sun for him and flushing a deeper pink and the blood courses to your most sensitive parts.  
“I need you Mister Miller,” your voice waivers as you say his name, and you blink a little harder, he knows you’re fighting back the tears and it makes his cock throb harder, the teeth of his zipper practically digging into him.
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After what feels like hours, he finally brings a thick finger to tease at your entrance. You buck into him, desperate for the friction.  
“Don’t make me tie you up. Stay still for me, please.” Even with the please at the end, it’s a command - deep and serious, and you don’t dare test him. Your nipples stiffen every time he speaks, and they ache under the clamps, it’s the perfect twinge of pain to heighten the bits of pleasure he’s giving you. 
You press your lips in a tight line, hands grounding you as they ball the sheets, focusing on keeping still. You want to shamelessly fuck yourself with his fingers; meanwhile, he’s being slow and calculated. Joel torturously draws slow little circles along the waiting hole with just the tip of his finger. He watches as your sticky white arousal coats his fingertip, then groans as he slowly pushes his middle finger all the way inside of you. You gasp at the welcome stretch and fight like hell to stay still.
“Look at you, fuck. So warm and inviting.” He slips his finger out slowly and lets out an exasperated sigh. Your heart falls into your stomach.
“Mister Miller, no. Please, it felt so good,” you practically cry at the loss at the feeling of him finally inside of you, finally giving you a taste of what you need the most.
“I know,” he shushes, “But that’s not what I have planned, not yet at least. My sweet girl, I need ya to be loud for me. I’ve been wanting this for so long. Need to hear you. Understand?”
The distinct sound of the vibrator you forgot he had comes to life and you squirm with anticipation. “Yes, Mister Miller. I will, just please, please make me feel good.” 
He reaches up, the black vibrator makes contact with your nipple and an intense pain shoots to your core before it blooms into pleasure. One of your hands leaves the sheets, fingernails digging into the forearms of the hand he has holding the vibrator and you sob out. 
“That’s it, that’s my girl,” he groans before moving the vibrator to the other nipple, circling it around this time instead of holding it flush. “Jus’ tell me if you need me to stop.”
“Don’t, please don’t. Oh god, yes.” You know you’re screaming, you doubt anyone can hear you, but at this point you don’t care if they can. The pleasure becomes overwhelming, you slam your eyes shut and arch your back. Joel’s strong chest is warm in between your thighs, he’s so broad that he’s keeping you spread open. You grind into the soft white cotton of his t-shirt.
“Look at me. Focus, sweet girl,” you peel your eyes open to meet his gaze. Warm coffee and hazel eyes stare down at you. “Stay still, please.”
“I can’t - aah!” He presses hard on your sore nipple and it brings you back into your own body. You manage to still your hips and release your grip, leaving behind little crescent shaped indents in his muscle lined forearm.
“Good girl,” he praises and then pulls the vibrator away from your breasts. His free hand comes to your mound, he swallows hard before breaking eye contact, pulling his hand back and looking at your puffy, and completely exposed bundle of nerves. A devious uptick of the right side of the mouth sets your blood on fire before he taps lightly at your clit once with the soft head of vibrator.
You cry out in pleasure. 
He taps again and you gasp out loudly.
He taps a third time and you’re almost certain that this is how you’re going to die. No man has ever teased you like this. You’re desperate to come, your body breaking out in sweat, but you never want Joel to stop. Moans and whines are pouring out of you without you even realizing it, he looks so fucking beautiful between your thighs, staring at your pussy like it’s the sunrise over the ocean, like he’s never seen anything as beautiful or fascinating and it makes your feel unstoppable. You make him look like that. Him. A man who could have anyone in the world, but here he is, looking at you like you’re his whole world.
“Let me hear you, show me how you can be a good girl,” he clicks the vibrator up and holds it tightly to your clit. The sensation is almost too much and your nipples ache under the little gold clamps.
Your body starts to shake involuntarily and your moans become longer and huskier, you’re going to come any second now. You squeeze your eyes shut and Joel pulls the vibrator away.
“No,” you gasp. “More. Please, I need more. Please.” The fear of him leaving you like this has the back of your eyes burning. Was there a time limit you weren’t aware of with the room? No, this is his private room. Right? Didn’t he say that he has a private room? And it shouldn’t matter if the club is open or closed, he’s the owner.
“Look at me, sweetheart.” You blink your eyes open, trying to focus on his face, but you’re so turned on that the edges of him seem fuzzy. “That feel good? The vibrator teasing your desperately swollen clit?”
You nod your head, “Yes, again. Please, Mister Miller.”
“Tell me what you want?”
Historically, situations like this have riddled you with insecurity. You’ve never been a talker in the bedroom and as a textbook people pleaser you never, like NEVER, ask for what you want. Yes, being here fully naked with a fully clothed Joel makes you feel safer and more understood than you have ever been. You know that if you ask for anything in this room and beyond, he’d do it. 
The words leave your mouth without you even thinking about it, without second guessing or carefully planning what it is you’re going to say. “Please make me come. I’ll be so loud for you. I’ll scream and moan until I have no voice. I’ve been such a good girl and I’ll do whatever you want. Just please, please make me come.”
He raises an eyebrow at you and his voice washes over you like honey, “Good fuckin’ girl. Eyes on me and hold on.”
It happens in an instant, the vibrator flicks to the highest setting as he adjusts his body to hold you firmly against the mattress with this forearm, your hands grab onto his shoulders as he presses the soft, thick head of the sex toy right onto your clit. 
You scream and squeeze at the strong muscles of his shoulders as wave after wave of pleasure courses through your system, you tense under his touch. The build of your orgasm somehow too much and not enough all at once.
“Oh god. Oh god. Yes, I’m - Mist - fuuuck.”
“I know, I’m right here.” He says darkly.
“Gonna come,” you sputter between your cries of ecstasy. You can feel that familiar tightness building.
“Relax and let go for me. Come for me, sweet girl. Let me see this beautiful little cunt twitch.”
His words send you over the edge and your orgasm rocks through you violently. You convulse with so much force that Joel grunts as he holds you down. You’re nothing but what Joel is giving you, not a single thought or insecurity, not a single worry about studying or school, you’re just what Joel has made you and it feels fucking fantastic. His dark onyx eyes swallow you whole. 
The pleasure of your orgasm, mixed with the pain in your nipples is so much more than you’ve ever known, and Joel’s deep gravel filled voice praises you the whole time.
‘There’s my girl.’
‘Sooo good for me.’
‘Fuck, that’s it my sweet girl.’ 
‘Beautiful when you scream for me.’
It starts to become too much. Your throat is hoarse from screaming. As your nails start to dig deep into his shoulders Joel slows the vibrator down and holds it lightly to your twitching clit as the aftershocks course through you. He releases your body from his and kisses your hip bone before shutting the vibrator off completely. 
He’s stills between your thighs, your hands resting on his shoulders. Joel smiles up at you sweetly and you pull at his t shirt to encourage him to crawl on top of you. He doesn’t hesitate, bringing his stong body on top of yours, resting his forearms on each side of your head. 
“Do I have your consent to kiss you?” He whispers.
“Yes,” you coo. His mouth meets yours similar to how it did when you both confessed to being nervous. It’s soft and lingering as you take shaky, calming breaths through your nose. That annoying little box of feelings shivers in the corner of your mind and you mentally put a piece of packing tape over the lid. 
You end this kiss this time, pushing your head into the pillow. “I’m gonna grab some cooling spray and take those clamps off now, is that okay?”
You nod and hum in agreement. Your eyelids and muscles feel heavy and sated. Joel's warm body parts from yours and a chill runs up your spine. When he releases the first clamp you whimper, the burning ache goes away as soon as he sprays it with a cooling coconut scented mist. When he removes the second one, your pussy clenches around nothing, a small but powerful orgasm waves through you as the cool droplets of the aftercare spray land on your pebbled breast.
“Did you just come?” Joel questions proudly.
Your hands cover your face as you blush harder than you have in years, “Yeah.”
Joel’s warmth encompasses you again as he climbs back on top of you, he gently pulls your hands away by your wrists. “Fuck, baby. I think I’m addicted to you.” He kisses the tip of your nose, “Such a good girl.”
You shiver underneath him and he rolls the two of you so he can wrap the blanket around you, your head rests on his chest, your body half on him and half on the soft bed. He holds you tightly, his meaty hands rubbing any place they can over the fluffy down filled cocoon he’s got you in. 
A comfortable silence falls around the two of you, your breaths in sync with one another. Your eyelids flutter closed, and that little voice starts to come back, lacing you with insecurity. You don’t want to ask, but you have to. You clear your throat quietly and ask, “Are you seeing any other subs?”
“No,” he replies softly, his lips brushing the top of your head. “But I haven’t told all of them yet. The dom/sub relationship is a delicate one. I can’t exactly just message them on the app that it’s over.”
You settle deeper into him. “What else do you have planned for us?”
You can hear the smile in his voice as he says, “I’m going to show you everything you want to know.”
A fire burns in your stomach, “When?”
Joel lets out a small laugh, then tilts your chin up, pulling back a little so he can look at you. “You’re so fucking cute when you’re eager. I have to go out of town tomorrow, but we’ll make sure to find time when I’m back this weekend.”
Him leaving is a bit of a blessing in disguise for you. “I take the LSAT again on Friday, so I guess this gives me lots of study time.”
He cranes his neck to sponge his lips to yours, the scruff of his mustache tickles a little and you giggle into his kiss. “How long have you owned the club?”
“Almost five years,” he replies.
You let an impressed hum, tucking your head into the crook of his neck as the two of you fall into a comfortable silence for a while, the only sounds are your mixed breathing and his calloused hand along the blanket. You remember all the times tonight that he called you ‘my sweet girl’ and you wonder if he’s feeling the same way you are, or if he’s so used to all of this that it’s just second nature to him. The packing tape on that fucking box starts to peels as if to say ‘he was nervous too and it’s only you’.
After a while Joel breaks the silence. “Becoming a lawyer is a pretty intense process. Your family must be really proud of you.”
“Umm, well, I actually don’t really know,” you say.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Joel says lightly and you know he means it. You know he would never push you to give him something you didn’t want to, he might push your sexual limits, but never your personal ones, and for whatever reason that almost makes it easier to tell him.
You roll onto your stomach and prop yourself up on your forearms on his chest. For a second you let your eyes look around the room. You were so focused on Joel earlier that you didn’t notice the rings and hooks along the black steel bed frame; or the paddles and ropes hanging on the wall next to a ladder and St Andrews Cross. In classic Joel fashion, everything is black and softly lit. Everything but the bed sheets which are plush and white. 
You take a deep breath, resting your chin on your hands, and start, “I don’t want pity for this, truthfully I’m grateful that this is my reality, but my parents had me when they were very young and they were both very selfish when I was growing up. Never abusive or anything, and not neglectful in a physical way, but emotionally I was left alone a lot. I realized early on that if I excelled in something they would show up, and for a long time that felt really fucking good. But as soon as I hit high school I realized they were showing up for themselves. They’d brag about me to other adults, but not actually congratulate me. They’d show up to honour roll ceremonies, but not with me or for me, it was so they could say I was their daughter. They didn’t help me get those grades, I did that on my own. And I’m still doing that on my own.”
Joel’s eyes soften, those two permanent lines between his eyebrows disappearing. “That explains so much, my sweet girl. I want you to know that I’m here for you.”
The tape on the box of feelings snaps as the lid flies off. Not now, you scold.
“I know, but honestly, I don’t really need anyone to take care of me. I’ve made it this far and I plan on making it the rest of the way the only way I know how.”
“Doesn’t that get lonely?” He asks.
“Doesn’t this?” you say gently, gesturing to the room.
“No,” he blinks at you a few times. “I was in my early twenties when my wife died. I needed to focus on raising Sarah, but I’m still an adult male with needs, so I found the world of BDSM and kink. It allowed me to get what I wanted, and what my partner wanted, without the attachment of a relationship.” His words are so real and honest and in just those few sentences you feel like you know Joel Miller more deeply than you know anyone else.
“My way doesn’t get lonely either,” you say with a smile, tucking your head back into his chest.
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Joel
Your breathing is calm and heavy, it kills him that he’s going to have to wake you up. Usually his aftercare doesn’t involve opening up about his past like this. He’s not a monster, but he is very strict about keeping his kink life and his real life separate. Something about you though has him opening up about Tiffany and Sarah.
“Baby,” he whispers into the crown of your head, shaking you a little. “We can’t sleep here, I’m sorry.”
You blink up at him and his heart ceases at how beautiful you look all sleepy and supple. He finds himself unconsciously memorizing the little details of your face. Your lips are puffy from his kisses and you have a little mascara smudge under your eye. He thumbs the black make up away gently and says, “Let me help you get dressed and then Cap will take you home, ok?”
You nod lazily and he helps you gently roll off him. He stands and starts to gather your clothing. After a few minutes of looking around he huffs, “Where are your panties?”
A tiny giggle sounds from the cloud of white blankets, the sound shooting straight through his belly button, “Check your pockets.”
He laughs at himself, reaching into his pants pocket to pull out your lacy nude thong. He helps you sit up, “I’m keeping these, by the way.”
“Should I be expecting my panties to go missing every time?” You say jokingly as you take your bra from him and put it on. 
He nods and asks, “How are you feeling?”
“Good, really good actually,” After you put your bra on he pulls your dress over your head and then kneels to help you with your boots. “I - umm - I was hoping that this would help turn my brain off for a while and it did. I feel, I don’t know. Recharged almost?”
This is exactly why he loves kink, it’s an escape from the world for him and his sub. He kisses your knee and moves to the other boot. “Good, that’s what is supposed to happen.”
He pulls you to your feet and allows you to steady yourself before pulling you in for a hug. “Thank you for tonight,” he whispers. He hopes you know that he needs this as much as you do, how much this helps him clear his mind and reground himself.
After closing the door to the town car and sending you home he goes back into the club, waving for a whiskey and joining Tommy at the bar top.
“She was pretty,” Tommy says, clinking his glass against Joel’s.
“Yep,” he swirls the amber liquid in the cup.
“New?” Tommy asks.
“Yep,” Joel repeats and then sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I think I’m fucked, Tommy.”
Tommy puts his glass down and turns to face Joel, gripping his shoulder. “Are you ending it with all your other subs for this girl?”
Joel takes a long sip from his crystal highball glass. Repeating the only word he seems to know lately, “Yep.”
Tommy lets out a breath, “Shit. Ya, you’re definitely fucked.”
“Tiff told me to find someone who scares me. This fucking scares me, man.” Joel finishes off his whiskey, and even though there’s a drink limit, the glass is refilled before it’s even hit the table. “This is - I just - I ain’t felt like this in a long time.”
Tommy smiles at Joel, “I’m happy for ya, man. And look, as long as you aren’t keepin’ her panties then it’s probably not as bad as you think.” 
Joel pulls that nude thong from his pocket and puts it on the bar top as he finishes off his second glass of whiskey and then waves the bartender off, silently signaling that he’s done. 
“Shit, so you are fucked then?” Tommy laughs. 
“We didn’t,” Joel says defensively, brows pulling together.  
“I didn’t ask if you fucked. I said you are fucked.” Tommy shakes his head at his older brother. 
Joel runs a hand down his face and through his scruff. “Look, you gonna be ok this week while I’m in Paris?”
“Ya, me and Tess got it.” He claps Joel’s back roughly as he stands. “Safe travels, hey?”
Joel nods and waves over his head at his brother. He hasn’t fucked you or let you suck his cock yet and he’s already feeling all turned around. But god, the way your body twitched in response to him, the way you melt into his arms every time he kisses you. How brave and confident you were after overcoming the shyness of asking for what you want. He can’t wait to teach you more, but he’s going to have to find a way to not let whatever feelings he might be having get in the way. 
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bweeeb · 4 months ago
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WILDFLOWER
Carmen Berzatto x Reader
Angst
Notes: I started watching the third season of The Bear and my love for Carmen returned.
Summary: When Carmen compares Y/n to Claire on a stressful day, he almost ruins everything with the woman in his life.
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Carmen Berzatto was never a kid with many friends. In fact, he didn't have any for a big part of his life, until you came along. The principal and teachers thought you were too advanced for your grade and bumped you up a year, where Carmen was. Berzatto never imagined a girl as pretty as you would be his friend. He thought you’d hang out with Claire or the cool kids, but no, you obviously became friends with everyone, especially Claire, but mostly with him. It was you and Carmen. After school ended, your friendship lasted six years until he moved to New York and came back when Michael committed suicide. At first, things started off well again. You worked in your family’s marketing business, filming and promoting restaurants with creative and interesting videos. Carmen needed you to promote The Bear. You two started getting close again. Suddenly, you were helping him late at the restaurant, joining him and the crew for family meals, and then he asked you out, thanks to Richie pushing him to do it, and that’s how you got to where you are now. Maybe it was a bit early, but after a few long months, your lease ended, and without thinking much about it, you ended up moving in with Carmen. He was always working, so you didn’t get in his way, and he didn’t get in the way of your editing work. You didn’t have much to complain about. Every night, Carmen would come home, you two would shower together, helping him relax, and fall asleep watching something. Until it wasn’t like that anymore. You were always a clingy person since childhood. Your parents told you that, but never in a bad way. You always thought it was okay to show love through touch and words of affirmation, until Carmen seemed bothered by it. He started showering alone, saying he’d be with you soon. He’d let go of your hand on the couch and sit farther away than usual. The messages you used to send, which he said he loved because they relaxed his mind when the restaurant was chaotic, he no longer seemed to appreciate. You tried to make sure he was okay with all your emotions before starting a relationship, and Carmen assured you he was, even saying your touch calmed him and he’d never felt that way with Claire. Claire was never a tough subject between you two, but it was inevitable for you not to feel a pang of jealousy knowing Carmen sought her out before you.
It was almost eight in the morning, and that morning Carmen had left in a rush after oversleeping. While you were organizing things at home, his chef's coat appeared in front of you, and without much doubt, you realized he had left without it, which was almost unacceptable. You grabbed the coat and drove to the restaurant, not knowing that Carmen was having a bad day and taking it out on everyone in the kitchen. Entering through the back doors, your eyes widened at the commotion coming from the kitchen. You passed Marcus, who smiled and raised his eyebrows at you.— You need to calm your man down. He said, handing you a small bag and letting you pass. Walking through the kitchen, you passed by Sydney, who shook her head in disapproval, with Richie right behind her, clapping his hands.
— S/n, the cousin's losing it. If I were you, I wouldn’t go in there, but I think you’re our only hope.
Richie said, hugging you tight and lifting your feet off the ground, causing you to let out a low laugh that made Carmen look out of his office, seeing you in Richie’s arms. Carmen's neck vein popped out for no reason, feeling jealous of your friendship with Richie, which had never happened in the fourteen years of friendship. Now, his already bad day seemed worse. Carmen, without thinking, walked over to you both, and as Richie let go of you, he grabbed his coat from your hand roughly, turned his back, and ran his fingers through his oily hair that hadn’t been washed properly, unlike when you washed it. Yesterday, he had skipped your shower together. — Maybe a thank you would be great. You said, following him through the kitchen with Richie behind you like a loyal puppy.
— She brought it for you, cousin.
— Yeah, big deal. He muttered, and you stopped in your tracks, tensing at his harsh tone.
— Leave this to me, Richie, thanks. You turned to the older man, who nodded and stepped away, ensuring that if you called for help, he’d come running.
You slowly approached Carmen, who was at the counter cutting vegetables, and leaned on one arm to look at him. — Hey, babe, what’s wrong?
Your soft, calm voice, which usually soothed Carmen, made him swallow hard in irritation.
When you got no response or even a glance, your smile fell into a disappointed sigh. — Are you okay?
— Yeah, I’m fine, Y/n. Another robotic response.
— Okay, are you mad because you woke up late?
— Your hair’s gonna fall into the ingredients. His voice raised rudely, and you widened your eyes, taking a hair clip from your bag strap and tying your hair up. — There, better? Your voice stayed calm and low, not letting the others in the kitchen hear what you were saying, always the opposite of Carmen in bad moments. — Can you at least look at me when you talk to me, please?
You asked, and the knife in Carmen’s hand stopped. His fiery gaze landed on you, and you didn’t know if you’d ever felt such a strong urge to cry from a look before. — I don’t wanna talk to you, Y/n. I didn’t ask you to come here. Carmen’s harsh words escaped, and you frowned. You knew he hadn’t called you, but you knew him well enough to know he was freaking out about not having a coat.
— Excuse me? Why are you acting like a child? I know you didn’t call me here, you jerk, but all your coats were at home, and I brought one for you.
— I don’t care what you say. I don’t want you here. Didn’t you notice that? I don’t even know if I want you in my bed anymore. Carmen’s words gradually softened until his last words came out as a confession that made your eyes fill with tears. — Stop being so clingy, for fuck’s sake. Claire was never like that. Carmen exploded, causing the kitchen to fall into an awkward silence.
— Well, maybe you should call Claire then, Carmen. You said, biting the inside of your cheek, feeling like you were being stabbed in the chest. And you couldn’t stop thinking that Claire had always been the center of Carmen’s attention as teenagers, why wouldn’t she be now?
— Maybe I will, maybe I’ll call her and say my annoying girlfriend is being a pain in the ass at my fucking job. At least Claire didn’t stick to me like glue when I got home and knew how to respect my space. She did something useful at work, for fuck’s sake. Carmen yelled, and your throat formed a huge lump, knowing you’d either cry like a baby in front of him or outside, and you preferred to do it away from his eyes.
— Go fuck yourself, Carmen. You said, turning your back on your boyfriend, refusing to look at him with tear-filled eyes again. Walking through the kitchen, Richie came up to you with wide eyes, stopping you midway, but you just pushed him aside, making him run to Carmen with his hands on his head.
— What the FUCK did you just do, cousin? FUCK. That woman is the love of your life, damn it. Look at what you just said to her, you idiot. Richie yelled in Carmen’s face, who looked at his friend with his hands on his face as regret hit him. It was like while he was saying all those nasty things to the girl he loved most, his mind was clouded with adrenaline and anger, not at her, but at the pressure he was feeling that ended up being dumped on her. Running out of the restaurant, trying to catch up with you, but it was too late, and you had already disappeared.
When night came, Carmen walked into the house, and immediately when the emptiness greeted him, his chest felt heavy with regret again. There were no warm kisses, whispered caresses in his oily curls from spending all day at the restaurant, and no you, tiny and eager to try the food he’d brought for you to taste. He approached your shared bedroom and saw you curled up under the covers, hugging a pillow that used to be him. You never slept before he got home, and immediately, the fear of losing you hit Carmen, who got in the shower and felt his tears fall as he thought about how stupid he’d been to treat the person who made him feel safe and good after Michael left so badly.
After he got out of the shower, Carmen knelt by your side of the bed and gently caressed your cheek with his thumb, making you stir briefly and open your eyes quickly. Your usually bright eyes were red from crying so much, and it was impossible for Carmen not to notice. In a leap, you pulled away from his touch and sat up in bed, avoiding his gaze.
— I brought food for you. Carmen said, and you just shook your head, lying back down, unable to really sleep again.
— I’m not hungry, thanks. You murmured weakly, and Carmen wanted to slap himself for treating his sweet girl so badly. Even after hurting you, you thanked him when he couldn’t even properly apologize.
— I… I’m sorry, sweetheart. Carmen said, looking at your back and only receiving a nod. You knew your voice would crack from the tears starting to fall again, and you didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing you cry anymore. Carmen's heart sank at your lack of response, feeling the weight of his words crushing him. — I didn't mean it, any of it. I was just... I'm an idiot, and I took everything out on you. You didn't deserve that. You never do.
He whispered, his voice trembling with genuine regret. You stayed silent, trying to process his words. You wanted to forgive him, but the pain was still fresh. — Please, look at me, Y/n. I can't stand seeing you like this.
Carmen pleaded, his hand reaching out to touch you again, but stopping midway, unsure if it was welcome.
— Do you know how much it hurts to hear that from the person you love the most? You finally spoke, your voice breaking, making Carmen wince at the raw emotion in your words.
— I know, and I'm so, so sorry. I don't know how to make it right, but I'll do anything. Just don't leave me, please. Carmen's desperation was evident, and you slowly turned to face him, seeing the genuine remorse in his eyes. It was hard to stay mad at someone who looked so broken.
— I just need you to be honest with me. If you need space, say it. If something's wrong, tell me...— You stopped for a second, apprehensive — Can I ask you something? Do you see her in the back of your mind all the time wishing I were her? You asked, sniffling, and immediately Carmen shook his head. — Because I see her, and I can't keep on someone's place.
— Claire and I didn't work out because she couldn't stand me, and I couldn't stand her. You're the reason I wake up every day, knowing I'm going to come back from the restaurant to here and you'll be here is what makes me want to keep going, Y/n. Claire didn't do that, she never did. I'm sorry. He whispered pulling you into his arms in a hug. — I love you, Y/n. I'm sorry for making you doubt that.
— I love you too, Carmy. But I swear if you make me feel this shit again, I'll leave you forever, that's your only chance to do the right things, Carmen
— I promise. I'll be better. I don't ever want to lose you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. He confessed, his eyes filled with tears. You sighed. and Carmen hugged you tighter as he mumbled several apologies in a row.
— Can we take a nap now, please? I can't sleep without you.
— But what about the restaurant?
— They can handle lunch without me. He said, picking you up and carrying you to the neatly made bed.
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obessedwithfictionalmen · 8 months ago
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Co-Stars
Callum Turner X Actress! Reader
Sumarry: Y/n and Callum's best moments that made the internet panic!
Waring: use of Y/n/ Swearing/ kissing/
A/n: This story is not related to the childhood friend to lover one.
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To say they had chemistry off screen would be an understatement. Y/n and Callum were getting along too well-off screen. It sparked rumors of them dating their multiple interviews were made into short YouTube videos that were tilted: Y/n and Callum flirting with each other for 4:24 minutes. In those videos, we could see their best moments.
-
‘’You obviously get real woman to dance with you, Austin you get Meatball the dog’’ the interviewer stated. Y/n chuckled as she looked at Austin. ‘’Yeah, Meatball is an amazing actor, great dance partner, but heavier than you think. But don’t tell him that.’’ He answered. ‘’Yeah, don’t tell him that’’ Y/n and Callum said at the same time, making them giggle. ‘’Did he do boot camp?’’ the interviewer asked. Austin was saying his answer, but a joke came to Callum’s mind. ‘’He did bark camp’’ he said. Y/n laughed at his joke, but since the tree actors were tired, they all started to laugh for minutes. ‘’I’m so sorry’’ Y/n said, laughing. She put her hands on Callum’s thigh to stop her from falling off her chair. ‘’Don’t fall’’ Callum laughed. Since she was between the two boys, they both tried to catch her, they succeeded, and they were able to calm down.
-
After this interview, people started to talk about how they said the same thing, how Y/n laughed to Callum’s joke and how Austin was third wheeling. But when they did a group interview, the speculations jumped.
-
‘’Obviously, it’s a men cast, but we do have some amazing woman as well, boys can you talk to us about that’’ Josh, the interviewer asked. The crowd screamed when Barry pointed to Y/n and mouthed that she was amazing. ‘’I mean, Y/n is just amazing. The way she bodied her character and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and yeah, it was astonishing. We were all impressed by her performance in episode 3’’ Austin said. She thanked the blonde. ‘’Like Austin said, I remember in one of the scenes in an upcoming episode, we watched her act and we felt intimated by her, cause her character is badass and this powerful woman, she’s not afraid to yell at someone and seeing the sweet, polite Y/n, I can say it, it’s in the trailer, but fake punch a guy that was two times taller than her was impressive as fuck’’ Callum said. Y/n blushed; she remembered the day they shot that scene. ‘’Yeah, when Gary said cut, they were all looking at me like, so impressed of what I just did, it was fun.’’ She added.
-
The comments following that interview were about the fact that she blushed after Callum’s compliment. Paparazzies were trying to get them to talk about a possible relationship, but the two actors denied anything between them. Even the other actors were getting asked if there was anything between Y/n and Callum. It was starting to become a problem, but the P.R team thought it was great to promote the story, so they didn’t do anything to shut the rumors down.
-
Drew Barrymore was sitting next to Austin, they were having a moment, Y/n and Callum were starting to feel left out. But now, Drew was talking about her date that she has tonight. ‘’But what if you get weird vibes from the start?’’ She asked. ‘’Then run’’ Y/n and Callum said at the same time, making them smile. ‘’You two are always timed, you both say the same thing, all the time’’ Austin laughed. ‘’We’re connected.’’ Y/n says. ‘’But back to your date’’ Callum said as he put his arms on the couch, but it went behind Y/n’s shoulder, it was like he was putting his arm around her shoulder. ‘’I mean, Y/n what would you do?’’ Drew asked. ‘’Uh, just enjoy the dinner, it’s a date, have fun! And you have Austin to save you. Or Callum and I could go at the restaurant in disguise, in a fake date, to help you.’’ ‘’Is that just an excuse to take Callum out on a date?’’ Drew teased. Y/n starts to laugh, Callum too. ‘’Moving on!’’ Y/n said, while laughing.
-
But what really sparked the rumor to the max, was when the went to the premiere of Master of the Air. She was dressed in a black one suit, but the top was a black corset, she looked amazing and sexy. The hole cast was looking good, but when Y/n stepped on the carpet, she got out the same car as Callum and they both had red cheeks.
-
‘’Now we saw you getting out of the car with your co-star, but you guys have been really close during the press tour, can you tell me about it’’ The interviewer asked to Y/n. ‘’I mean, he’s an amazing person, and I love him. People are just going crazy over us’’ she said. Callum went to behind her. ‘’What are you talking about, baby?’’ he said. Y/n rolled her eyes at the nickname. But she decided to go along with it. ‘’We were talking about you, honey. About our amazing chemistry’’ she said. They both chuckled and finished the interview. ‘’The internet is going to blow up with what you just said. You’re not very subtle, baby.’’ She said, teasing him. ‘’I mean, we’re pretty obvious now that we’re together’’ he says in her ear. ‘’Should we give the internet what they want?’’ she asks. ‘’I’ve been waiting for this’’ he said, grabbing her waist and kissing her. The crowd yelled when they both kissed, finally announcing their relationship…
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pprodsuga · 6 months ago
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Idk if you take requests but would you consider writing camboy!sunghoon who has a crush on yn
tbh leave a line and i just might answer x
***
Sunghoon’s camera sits on a tripod that overlooks his bed where his body is between your already-spread legs. His mouth licks at your folds at a pace that matches the slow and sensual rhythm of the music he’s chosen. Your hands rake through his hair and he hums in appreciation with his eyes closed, tongue occasionally pushing inside of you in a way that makes your toes curl.
You’re not the first girl he’s invited on a livestream, but you’re the first and only girl he’s brought on more than once.
His primarily female audience takes note of this immediately. After the second time they see your face in his videos, they’re quick to speculate and come up with different theories about who you might be to their favorite creator. But your social media doesn’t give up anything aside from the fact that you both follow each other. There’s no record of you two engaging publicly besides cross-promoting each other’s work on your respective platforms.
You’re sure his die hard fans would kill to be in your spot. It’s evident when you turn your head to see the monitor where comments on Sunghoon’s livestreams are spilling at a rate that makes your head dizzy.
sunghoonscumslut: if i had a man as fine as hoon between my legs and i was as quiet as her, I’d check myself into therapy
cumwithme: why is this the third time she’s been in his livestream?? can we get someone new lol
You feel Sunghoon gently slap your thigh, pulling your attention away from the monitor in favor of focusing on him. His mouth is so warm and wet that you almost feel sorry for all of the fangirls who only dream of being in your position. Truthfully, you aren’t sure why you’re the only person Sunghoon has invited back onto his channel. It’s not like the two of you made an outperforming video. It’s high in numbers but it doesn’t shatter his top video with another creator from a few months ago.
Sunghoon coaxes you through your orgasm and allows your legs to squeeze his head when you reach your peak high. He breathes through his nose as your cum hits his tongue and laps up the juices that spill from the corner of his mouth, relishing in the way your back arches off of his bed. Sunghoon takes a peek at the monitor that shows him what the two of you look like so that he can anticipate what might be a more sensual angle for his audience. But in this moment, your eyes rolled to the back of your head outweighs what his viewers want to see.
“See guys?” Sunghoon says as he addresses the camera, wiping his mouth with the back of his hands. “That’s how you eat pussy.” He looks down at you and smiles when you’ve regained your balance and look up at him as you prop yourself on his elbows.
“I can’t feel my legs.” He laughs before turning back to skim the comments.
“Aw. You wish that was you, huh?”
The heat between your legs pools once again when you realize he’s mocking his audience. You’re sure he’s seen some of the nastier comments because of the strange nature of your face reappearing in his videos.
Sunghoon pulls you by your legs until you’re nearly rocking off the edge of the bed and relishes in the surprised gasp you let out. He’s sliding his warm dick between your folds to prep himself as he stares at the influx of comments, half of which are begging him to put it inside of you, the other half begging for him to take a chance on them.
“I wish you guys could feel how wet she is.” Sunghoon grips himself and smacks his tip against your slit for emphasis. The wet noise picks up on the microphone and you’re quite shocked at how wet you’ve become with little time to recover between your last orgasm until now.
Sunghoon sinks in slowly. It’s like he wants to torture his followers with the way he inches himself in without rushing. He laughs when he watches all of the comments either asking him to start fucking you or to pull out entirely and find somebody new. None of that matters him when he’s got you looking pretty beneath him.
He sets a pace that gradually picks up speed and his audience can tell something’s different about him. Sunghoon’s built a reputation for fucking fast and hard, putting his partners in their place when they move even a hair out of line. He’s rough and demanding, talking down on his scene partner in a way that makes being degraded feel like they’ve reached a point of euphoria where nothing besides him matters.
But he’s taking his sweet time with you, building up a pace until he’s comfortable thrusting in and out of you without shaking the bed like he usually would. It feels different than his first time with you, too. Sunghoon isn’t manhandling you with his fingers gripping deep into your flesh to the point where you’re convinced it would leave marks for days. Instead, he’s holding your hand like he wants you to know here’s right there with you.
Sunghoon moves you position after position until you’ve come around him with your body pinned between his chest and his mattress. He follows soon after he watches the way your face contorts in pleasure, looking down at you like he can’t believe he’s getting to witness your orgasm.
Evidently, Sunghoon’s audience can’t believe he’s looking at you like this either. It’s a change of script. It’s abnormal for Sunghoon to treat his scene partner like a delicacy he wants to savor. They’re used to his unforgiving pace, hips moving so elegantly that his partners babble on and on about how lucky they are to be fucked by him.
Similarly, his comments are flooded with confusion and curiosity when he peppers your entire face with kisses.
They’re used to his brutal nature, finishing on tits or ass until he makes his parter thank him for a job well done before shutting the livestream off. The aftercare—cleaning his scene partner up and checking in with them for mental and physical’s sake—comes after all of the cameras are off to maintain this attitude. This is typically when Sunghoon discards his persona and regains consciousness as the typical Sunghoon away from the life of a camboy.
It’s surprising to his followers when they see him kiss you once your breathing has settled and when his own high has started to wear off. If you’re put off by his uncharacteristic tenderness, you don’t show it.
“So good for me,” he coos when he pushes himself off of you just to look down. Sunghoon looks at you with an expression you can’t read at this moment, but the warm smile he sends you makes your heart flutter.
Likewise, your sudden shyness makes butterflies erupt in his stomach. He wonders if his viewers can see.
***
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mypoisonedvine · 1 year ago
Text
𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 (part one) | neil lewis x reader
title comes from the song you already know by bombay bicycle club
𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 | you've been best friends with neil basically your entire life, and secretly in love with him almost as long. will you ever find the courage to tell him the truth?
𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 | 10k
𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | smut, angst, pining/unrequited love - 18+ only
𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | alcohol consumption, 'kid' as a petname, reader being kind of a femcel, jonathan being kind of mvp??
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Neil had asked you to make sure the Thriller section was alphabetized; sometimes you thought he was just giving you tasks to look busy, but then again, you could probably use it since the employees of Gumshoe Video never looked very busy.  You spent most of the day on the couches, watching whatever old bizarre gem Neil put on— sometimes you thought he only had employees other than himself so that he could pay people to sit here and watch this stuff with him.  
But, the point is, you were sorting tapes.  Because everyone needs their VHS thriller movies to be in perfect alphabetical order.
There actually was a customer in the store, for once, so it was better not to be on the couch anyhow.  You hadn’t really noticed him when he came in, but as he wandered around the shelves, he seemed to drift towards you.  
You tried to ignore him when he stopped right beside you— and kneeling to look at the lowest shelf, he towered over you— but when you stood up he got your attention.  
"Need any help, sweetheart?" he asked, leaning in a little too close.  "I'm kind of a movie buff."
He had a frat guy kind of look about him— polo, boat shoes, quaffed blonde hair.  He could be good-looking, you thought, if he didn’t dress like a discount Abercrombie model… and if he didn’t hit on random women at the video store.  "I actually work here," you corrected, barely looking up from your task.  This is why we need uniforms instead of just dressing up to promote specials…
"Oh, really?" he smirked.  "What made you wanna work in a place like this?"
"My best friend owns the place," you explained, "and I'm, you know… kind of a movie buff."
"Right," he said, not seeming convinced.  "You like Kubrick?"
You rolled your eyes so hard you almost choked: Wow, what a deep cut.  But you kept a straight-ish face when you looked at him.  "Yeah, he's pretty good.  Don't care for how he treats his actors, but he was certainly a visionary."
"What are your top five favorite Kubrick movies?"
You knew this guy was a tool, but you were still a bit shocked that he actually had the gall to quiz you.  "Excuse me?" you scoffed incredulously.
"Can you even name five?" he asked, looking horribly proud of himself, and you straightened up as you glared at him.
"You're heterosexual, right?" you asked him, getting a confused nod.  "Can you name five women you've made come?"
Neil watched the guy storm out, Lucien cringed a bit from behind the register— and Jonathan, not seeming as if he had been paying attention at all, kept laying across the couch and tossing a ball up in the air to catch and throw again.
“Okay, that’s gotta be the third this week,” Lucien groaned.  “What are you saying to these guys?”
“Nothing worse than what they’re saying to me,” you assured with a frustrated, sarcastic smile.
“Listen, don’t get me wrong,” Neil began, “that guy totally deserved it— but maybe, you know… work on your demeanor with customers?”
“Wow,” you scoffed as you crossed your arms, “do you think I should smile more, too?”
“Wha— no!” Neil denied.  
“Yes,” Lucien said at the same time, though he changed his answer with an awkward cough and mumble when you both shot him a look.  “No, no— you’re good— you smile too much, even…”
“I don’t mean it like that,” Neil promised.  “But I think half the guys that come here are just coming here to see you!  Nobody even rents movies anymore.”  He groaned a little, dropping his shoulders defeatedly.  “Can’t you… tell them you’ll go out with them if they rent something?”
“What?!” you squeaked. “No!”
“Sales would double,” Lucien nodded.
“No,” you said again.  “I’m not letting you pimp me out to sell tapes, Neil.”
“I just mean— maybe you don’t really go out with them,” he suggested.  “Just… allude to the fact that you’re only interested in guys who…”
He trailed off as he searched around the shelves for a bit, smiling when he snagged a copy of The Maltese Falcon.
“— in guys who like The Maltese Falcon,” he grinned, “you know— for example.  Then they rent it to impress you and we make a few bucks.”
“I am only interested in guys who like The Maltese Falcon,” you frowned, snatching the tape away and shoving it back on the shelf.  “But that’s not the point.”
“Maybe you have to be more straightforward, you know,” Jonathan butted in as he sat up, “guys are dumb.”
“Yeah!” Neil agreed a little too easily.
“Just say something about how a massive VHS collection turns you on,” Lucien suggested, and you glared at him.
“Jesus!” you protested, but Neil tried to soothe you a bit.
"C'mon, kid, can't you just… flirt a little?  Get our sales up?"
He'd started calling you kid since you two watched Casablanca together— which was especially stupid as you were both twelve at the time.  At first you complained because he shouldn't be calling you kid with you both being kids; then you complained because neither of you were kids; and then you gave up.  You still punched Lucien for trying to call you that once… you only barely let Neil get away with it anyways.
But you let Neil get away with a lot.  It was a side effect of being secretly, but massively, in love with him.
It had been an issue since middle school— that was when the two of you became such good friends.  Technically, you’d known each other since first grade (where you had shared your crayons, a true test of friendship at the time), and you’d sort of had a crush on him as early as elementary school (mainly because he was the only boy you could stand at the time), but it all kicked into high gear in seventh grade.  That was when you became inseparable, when you got in trouble together, when you stayed up all night watching movies, when you went through all of life’s ups and downs together: you even went to prom together, platonically of course.  
As for your feelings, you’d managed to hide them this long and still be his best friend, even when it sometimes felt like letting him stomp all over your heart without even trying.  Honestly, the only thing harder than being in love with Neil was trying not to be in love with Neil: you adored his sense of humor, his generosity, his sensitivity— and he’d been there for you through the things you couldn’t have imagined surviving alone.  That kinda stuff bonds you to somebody… and when that somebody has the most gorgeous eyes you’ve ever seen, it’s hard not to fall in love.
“Maybe I would flirt if I knew how,” you offered.  “But I’m not exactly, you know, flirty.”
“How hard could it be?” Jonathan interjected.  “Just, you know—”
You stared in quiet disbelief as Jonathan attempted to push his chest together with his arms.  It wasn’t quite working, of course, and the rest of you watched on as he fumbled around trying to force some cleavage.  “You look like an idiot,” you finally informed him after letting him do it for a minute.
“But is he wrong?” Lucien wondered.
“So, what, you guys really think that if I just went up to customers and—” you pushed your breasts together with your arms, accentuating them significantly in your tank top.
“That would work,” all three men asserted in unison before you could even finish.
“I fucking hate you guys,” you grumbled under your breath as you walked to the back, deciding to take your break in Neil’s office until these guys got their act together.
You never stayed gone for long, though— as idiotic as they could be, your friends were certainly charming.  They won you back with a promise to let you pick what tape to put on, and the four of you ended up laying on the couches watching Roman Holiday.  
When the movie was almost over, you rested your head on Neil’s shoulder; you guys did stuff like that, it was normal for you, but it always made your heart skip anyways.
~
This time, you were all hanging out at Jonathan’s primary workplace: the club.  In fact, it was a much larger crowd than just you and the guys— plenty of your local friends and loyal supporters of Gumshoe Video, all sitting around a big table while someone’s mediocre cover band took the stage.
"So, uh, me and Denise broke up," Neil said suddenly, going back in for another swig of beer right after.
The others offered their mild shock and half-hearted condolences, but you knew it was going to happen— he'd told you before he did it.  You tried to tell him that paying off a waiter to spill water on her was a weird way to prove what he already knew, but you couldn't disagree with his conclusion.  She was definitely difficult, and shockingly judgemental for someone who managed to date a video store owner for this long.
“No, it’s fine, it’s fine,” he promised, “I don’t think anybody’s too surprised, right?”
There was an awkward hesitation among the group as they wondered if they should lie, or just fess up now that he was obviously accurate.  You broke the silence to suggest someone go get another round of drinks for the table, and even though that was pretty much a one-man job, nearly everyone agreed and quickly shuffled off— leaving just you, Neil, and Lucien.
“I guess tonight’s your chance to meet somebody new, don’t you think?” Lucien suggested.  “Get over Denise, you know.”
“I think I’m already over Denise,” Neil decided.
“And if I told you that girl back there,” Lucien returned, pointing with the hand still holding his drink, “has been looking over here at you for the past ten minutes?”
You glanced where Lucien was pointing as well, seeing a girl in a denim mini skirt and massive hoop earrings settle her eyes on Neil before looking away quickly with a lip-gloss lacquered smile.
“I think I need some help getting over Denise,” Neil agreed suddenly, patting Lucien on the back before he left the table.  
You wanted to pout, but you were used to this— he was good-looking, he got a lot of attention from women in places like this… it usually didn’t work out for him, though.  Certainly not never, probably more often than most guys, but… definitely not every time.
You tried not to look over too much, you didn’t want to get caught spying or, even worse, looking a little jealous— but you noticed that every time you looked over at them, Neil was talking.  That was his problem, see: he never fucking shuts up.  Guys, girls, anybody who will listen— if you admit to not knowing about his favorite fifty-year-old spaghetti western or the most recent pre-Code horror comedy he watched, he’ll gladly blab to you about it for ages.  The first time you glanced at them, you saw her giving him doe eyes, laughing at something he said— and the last time, those eyes had glazed over and her laugh seemed more nervous and confused; you smirked to yourself.  He’s still Neil…
“So, um,” you struck up a conversation with Lucien, “what about you?  Anybody here catching your eye?”
“That’s actually the perfect descriptor of my type,” he replied.  “Anybody.”
You snorted.  “Then you should go, you know, talk to anybody?”
He shrugged and frowned a bit, and it was a simple movement but you understood completely.
The band started to play a new song, something upbeat and energetic, and you smiled.  “Wanna dance with me?”
“Oh, I don’t think I’m drunk enough for that—” Lucien began to protest, but a minute later you were dragging him up by the stage.  Neither of you were actually any good at dancing, mainly you were just kind of jumping and flailing around together, but it was fun and that was the point.
Eventually, more of your friends wandered in to join you; when the song ended, everyone clapped and cheered, the band bowing in gratitude.  You only stole one more look over at Neil and his conversation partner, watching her interrupt his rant with a hand on his shoulder: your throat felt a little dry.  You just hoped what she was saying was more like hey, my friends are leaving, I’ve gotta go and not hey, wanna come over to my place so you can keep explaining German expressionism to me?
Your heart dropped when he reached for her— what if he kissed her now?  What if he wrapped her up under his arm and they walked out together?  What if you had to spend the whole night thinking about him having sex with her?
“Hey, we should ask them if they know any Strokes songs!” Lucien suggested, tugging on your arm to get your attention, but your mind was elsewhere.
“Uh huh, yeah,” you mumbled blankly, and he frowned at you.
“What’s going on?” he asked, trying to look for what you were seeing; but Neil wasn’t reaching for her, he was lifting his hand to wave goodbye as she left.  You beamed, even though you did feel a little bad when you saw Neil’s shoulders sink— it’s not that you wanted him to be alone forever, you were just relieved that you might have a few more moments to breathe before he got with somebody again.
“Nothing, sorry,” you answered Lucien, giving him your attention again.  “What’d you say?”
“We should ask the band if they—”
And immediately, Lucien lost your focus as you couldn’t stop yourself from looking at Neil again— he was already looking at you, seeing you all on the dancefloor.  You waved for him to join you, and he smiled as he made his way towards the stage.  A new song began, even louder than the last, and you could blame that for not hearing Lucien’s question for the second time in a row.
Although he danced with you all for a few moments, Neil draped his arms over your and Lucien’s shoulders, nearly yelling to be heard over the music.
“You guys are coming over tonight for a movie, right?” he presumed.  “Jonathan’s working ‘til late so he’s out, but—”
“Sorry, I’ve gotta be up early,” Lucien explained, “my brother and his wife are visiting, remember?  We’re getting brunch and—”
“Whatever, party pooper,” Neil frowned, before suddenly smiling at you.  “Guess it’s just me and you, huh, kid?”
You tried not to sigh too noticeably through your smile.  “Yeah, me and you…” you agreed.
~
As you groggily blinked your eyes open, you found Neil staring at you, his face uncomfortably close to yours, with a big smile.  “Mornin’, kid,” he said, raising his eyebrows.
You yelped and nearly jumped out of your skin while he laughed.  “Jesus Christ, Neil!” you shouted, kicking off the blanket on you— and then you began to process where you were and why.  “God,” you groaned as you held your head in your hands, while Neil kept laughing at you, “did I fall asleep on the couch again?”
It was sort of a rhetorical question— obviously you had, it would be much stranger if you woke up on the video store couch without having fallen asleep there.  “Yeah,” he said, standing up and sighing a bit, “but you didn’t miss that much of the movie.”
“What happened at the end?” you asked, stretching your legs and snatching the blanket off the floor to fold up; Neil must have put it on you after you dozed off.
“No, we can finish it later,” he decided, walking up to the register, and you groaned.
“Seriously?  Not even falling asleep gets me out of finishing The Man Who Laughs?”
He smiled a little as he started prepping the store for open.  “Nope,” he said proudly, popping his lips on the p sound.
“It’s not that I didn’t like it,” you assured, getting up and trying to ignore the soreness in your back from sleeping on a ratty old sofa all night— you remembered helping Neil carry this thing from where he found it on the side of the road.  Considering you knew where it came from, it was a wonder you ever sat on it, let alone slept on it… but this happened relatively often.  Sometimes it almost felt like you slept easier here or at Neil’s apartment than your own. 
You stood up and stretched your arms, sparing a glance over at him.
“Can I run home and change?” you asked, and he frowned.  
“We open in ten minutes,” he noticed, “you won’t be back in time.”
“Yes, and who will serve the clamoring crowds that await our open outside?” you rolled your eyes, gesturing out the storefront to the abandoned sidewalk.  “You can handle it on your own.”
“Just go to my place,” he shrugged, “it’s closer.  And I think you left some jeans there anyway.”
Right— you’d borrowed a pair of his sweats to get comfy for a movie night, and forgot to take the jeans back when you left.  You yourself had one of Neil’s short-sleeve button-ups at your place, when you’d both changed there for a costume party, but you let him believe it was just lost… it was too late to tell him now that you had it, ‘cause then he might ask why you kept it so long and then he might, somehow, deduce that you had been cuddling it at night from time to time…
“Right, okay,” you nodded, “but I still need a shirt.”
“Just borrow one of mine,” he said, like it was no big deal at all and didn’t make your heart skip.
For a second you wondered if you should protest— if he was still dating Denise, you probably would’ve said something.  But you decided not to say anything, in case he changed his mind; you nearly bolted out of the store and down the two blocks to his apartment.
Your jeans were on the dresser, draped haphazardly in their same just-peeled-off shape you must have left them in last week.  You grumbled to yourself a little about how he could’ve folded them for you so they wouldn’t be wrinkled… but then again, all his jeans were wrinkled, so he clearly didn’t know any better.
And now the fun part: picking a shirt.  You smiled to yourself as you opened the drawer, perusing through t-shirts with old movie posters and semi-witty slogans… cute, sure, but those were pretty similar to what you already wore.  
But the button-downs?  Those were quintessential Neil, and you'd be wasting an opportunity if you didn't put one of those on.
You felt a little giddy as you opened the next drawer down and found them all folded.  The first one you saw had light blue and white stripes, so you snatched it up and slipped it on.
The fit was definitely off, but you let yourself indulge in a fantasy for a moment: waking up here, in Neil's bed… in Neil's arms.  You'd slip on his shirt while you went to find some breakfast, and he'd hum something about how pretty you look in his clothes, and you'd end up tangled in the sheets again not too much later.  
Sighing to yourself, you buttoned the last button, leaving the two at the top undone so you didn't look too formal, and headed back to the store for opening.
Neil stared at you for a second when you walked in— at the shirt, specifically.  You waited for him to say something, but he didn't.  "What, should I not wear this one?" you asked, looking down at it as well, and he shook his head.
"No, no, it's fine— sorry," he mumbled, "just start sorting out last night's returns, please."
You definitely got a much stronger reaction from Jonathan, as soon as he walked in the door.
(Why was he here when he wasn't even working today?  Who knows— he was just always here somehow.)
“Hey!  You look even more like a lesbian than usual,” Jonathan greeted with a peppy fake-smile as he approached you, and you smirked a bit.
“Don’t blame me, it’s his shirt,” you nodded towards Neil.
“See, I told you you dress like a— wait,” Jonathan stopped mid-insult, looking back at you, then at Neil again, then at you; he pointed his fingers at each of you, crossing them back and forth.  “Did… you two…?”
You narrowed your eyes, waiting for him to explain what he meant.
“Did you guys hook up?!” Jonathan accused, wide-eyed.
You felt your face getting warm, and you stammered out your denial; Neil started waving his hands in disagreement as well, but Jonathan was already on a roll.
“Oh my god!” he yelped.  “The one time I miss movie night here and it gets freaky!  Should’ve known better than to leave you two lovebirds alone—”
“Jonathan, we didn’t—” you choked.
“It’s not— it wasn’t—” Neil butted in.  “She just borrowed my shirt!  ‘Cause she— because—”
“I mean, we’ve kinda all been waiting for this to happen— but I never really thought it would,” Jonathan steamrolled along.  “Well, yeah, I guess I thought it would, I just—”
“Wait wait wait, what?” Neil shook his head, stepping up closer to the two of you.  “What does that mean?”
Finally, he seemed to get Jonathan’s attention, who began to nervously backtrack as both of you stared at him.  “W-well, I just mean—” he started.
“And who’s ‘we all’?” Neil noticed.  “This isn’t just you, thinking this?”
“I… I mean,” Jonathan scoffed, “you know— just, just some people… we thought that maybe… that since you two are so close, that you might—”
“Wow,” Neil chuckled, crossing his arms in disappointment.  “You know, that’s so reductive.  For a bunch of progressive, free-thinking hipsters—” he waved his hands as he said it in a mocking way— “you’re really just, like… like… you know, not!  ‘Cause apparently men and women can’t really be friends?”
“No, come on, not like that,” Jonathan denied, “of course we can—”
“I mean, you’re her friend, you’re both single,” Neil noticed, gesturing between the two of you, “why don’t you two, just, you know… hook up!”
You cringed a little as Jonathan tugged at his collar nervously.  “Well, I—”
“Come on, why not?” Neil went on, smiling at the suggestion even though he was clearly unamused.  “I mean, she’s nice, she’s pretty, she’s got a vagina— why don’t you hit on her?”
“Hey, come on, Neil,” Jonathan sighed, “I’m well aware she’s got a vagina—”
“So what’s the problem?” Neil insisted.  “Clearly you can’t just be friends with someone with a vagina—”
“I would really prefer if we didn’t talk about my vagina anymore,” you mumbled nervously.
“— how come you never hit on her, Jonny?” Neil pressed, backing him into a corner metaphorically— but also somewhat literally, he was leaning in and Jonathan was pressing his back more and more against the shelves.
“You really want me to answer that?” Jonathan replied, almost threatening.  That made you furrow your brow a bit.  It seemed like a rhetorical question, Neil trying to prove a point, but you didn’t expect Jonathan to have a literal answer.
“Yeah, sure,” Neil decided, “enlighten us.”
Neil glanced at you, like you were just as gung-ho about this interrogation, but you were feeling a little sick.  You understood the spirit of Neil’s argument— and technically, you agreed with him— but it still stung to see him so incensed at the suggestion of you two together.  You were trying not to take it personally, it wasn’t like he was disgusted by you or anything… he even said just now that you were pretty, and he’d told you that before, but… it still bothered you a little, for reasons you couldn’t quite describe and that you were sure were illogical.
“I never hit on her,” Jonathan answered, lowering his voice, “because I… I figured it would piss you off.”
That seemed to surprise you both, maybe for different reasons; you bit your lip to suppress a smile.  Did Jonathan really think Neil was that protective over you?  “Why would it piss me off?” Neil wondered, but he sounded a little defensive— defensive in a caught-red-handed sort of way.
“I… I don’t know,” Jonathan shrugged.  “That’s just the vibe I got, okay?  That she’s sorta… off-limits.”
Neil hesitated.  “Well… she’s not,” he decided.  “You’re grown-ups.  Whatever you wanna do is none of my business— as long as you’re not being, you know, creepy or an asshole.”
“Of course,” Jonathan agreed, most of the tension settling as Neil backed up a step.
“Okay, well, ask her out then,” Neil instructed firmly.
“I didn’t say I wanted to!” Jonathan sputtered.
“Neil, Jesus!” you complained simultaneously, and he seemed to relent, shrugging as he walked back to the register.
“Sorry, sorry,” he dismissed, “just letting you know it’s… fine with me!”
You rolled your eyes a bit and looked back at Jonathan.  “Sorry,” you offered him quietly, “he’s… I don’t know.  He gets weird about that.”
“Oh really?” Jonathan scoffed sarcastically.  “Didn’t notice.”
“The real reason you shouldn’t be hitting on me is because we’re coworkers, by the way,” you reminded him.
“Hey, I only work here part-time,” Jonathan noticed, “so I think that means it’s cool as long as we only go out part-time.”
You snorted, but he seemed to get nervous.
“You know I’m kidding, right?” he added quickly, and you nodded with a laugh.
~
"You know, I was thinking— we don't have many events at the store these days,” Neil mumbled around a bite of pretzel, watching you play your turn at Skee Ball.  Normally he would put coins in the machine beside yours and try to beat your score, but the other machine was out of order and you decided to take a relay race approach.  “What if we did, like, I don’t know… maybe a double feature for a couple bucks?”
“Neil, we show movies every night,” you sighed, “and we invite everybody, and ninety-nine percent of the time it’s just some combination of me, you, Jonathan, and Lucien.”
“Yeah, but this time we could do movies that more people like— a little easier to watch,” he suggested, “something that would get new people in the store.”
“New people don’t wanna sit on a musty old couch with strangers,” you reminded him, and he nodded as he chewed and swallowed his next bite.
“You’re right,” he agreed, holding the pretzel out towards you.  “Wanna bite?”
You were trying to get through your skee balls pretty quick, so you just leaned your head over and chomped down on the end of one of the twists while he held it for you.  You hummed in appreciation— it was pretty good, fresher than the last one you guys got here.
Visits to the arcade used to be your thing, back in high school (aside from watching movies, but that was a given).  Then you slowed down with the trips, feeling a little old and out of place surrounded by kids— but the problem was, this place wasn’t filled with kids anymore.  It hadn’t changed much at all since you were both in high school, and that was exactly the issue: it was old, run-down, a bit grimey… kids weren’t coming to arcades anymore anyways, they were all on the Internet apparently.  So, while you and Neil sort of appreciated having the place to yourself, it also broke your heart knowing your old haunt couldn’t hold itself together forever… you two visited not just to recapture some old childhood joys, but to try to do your part to keep the business afloat.  
You pretended to like being here— because you really did want to support the place, and Neil wanted to keep coming back— but it actually made you pretty fucking sad.  Surrounded by all the neon, the noisy pinball machines, the Dig Dug machine that had a fifty-fifty chance of stealing your quarters, the photobooth (you still had some strips from that thing pinned to your wall, some so old that they’d faded from the sunlight that came in your window each day); it all felt sort of eerie now.  You would’ve never known all those years ago how little this place would change, even though you never expected it to— you would’ve never known how little anything would change.  Neil was still by your side, but still so far away… if you could talk to that fourteen-year-old girl now, you would warn her that no amount of time spent running around this place and playing Street Fighter was going to make Neil love her, or you.
But here you were anyways.  “Woo!” you cheered when your final score came through: 50,765.  “Beat that!”
Neil set the pretzel down on the bar-height table (on a pile of napkins, don’t worry, neither of you trusted those tables that much) and brushed the salt off his hands with a scoff.  “Oh please, I can beat that with my eyes closed,” he assured as you crossed your arms.
As he put his quarters in and stepped up to the game, you smiled wide.  “Alright, if you say so.”
You came up behind him and covered his eyes with your hands, making him jump and then laugh.  “What are you doing?”
“Just keeping you honest,” you giggled, holding on tight even when he tried to move his head around so that he could see.  
He did his best, usually struggling to even find where the balls were coming down more than rolling them decently— but after the first three went in the gutter without even scoring, you knew he didn’t stand a chance.  He did score a few times, but when the buzzer went off and he lifted your hands from his eyes, he laughed at the pitiful 1,150 on the board.
“Ohh, that’s too bad,” you winced, “guess you’re just full of it.”
Still holding your hands away from his face, he spun around and twirled under your arms like you were dancing for a moment; it ended with him face-to-face with you, swinging your hands back and forth a bit to force you to twist with him slightly.  “Wanna play Street Fighter next?” he suggested quickly.  “I know I can beat you at that.”
The giddy joy of the moment dropped and shattered; if you thought about it too much, you probably could’ve cried right then.  As pathetic, yet oddly aesthetically pleasing, as it would be to cry in an arcade, you swallowed down the emotion and smiled back at him.  “Yeah, okay,” you agreed.
~
You’d been a little antsy all day— Neil seemed to notice, asking a couple times if you were okay, but you just nodded and shrugged it off.  He had a sense for when you were lying; but that’s the thing, you weren’t lying, really.  You just weren’t sure what to say.  You weren’t sure if you should say anything.  And yet, you felt a little guilty not telling him everything that was going on with you— not just guilty, but plain weird.  Because you usually did tell him everything— except, you know, the thing— but you didn’t know if you should talk about this.  Not that you couldn’t— but should you?
So you were sort of gnawing on your lip most of the day, keeping yourself busy with tallying late fees behind the desk, trying to keep conversation light and meaningless: thankfully, in that regard, Jonathan and Lucien made it pretty easy.
“Okay: fuck, marry, kill,” Jonathan began, “Dracula, the Mummy, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.”
“Dude, I can’t answer that,” Lucien refused.
“Okay, then Neil, what would you do?” Jonathan changed his target.
“Um, well,” Neil pondered, “I think I’d have to kill Dracula— spare the world from that evil, you know— and I guess I’d marry the Mummy—”
“Freud would like to have a word,” Lucien butted in.
“And I’d fuck the Creature from the Black Lagoon,” he concluded, “out of morbid curiosity.”
You snorted, but didn’t look up from your clipboard.  “You come up with one that Lucien will do,” Jonathan challenged Neil.
“Alright, uhh, let’s see…” Neil stalled as he thought, looking up at the ceiling and stroking his chin dramatically.  “Fuck, marry, kill: Sarah Connor, Ripley, and Trinity from Matrix.”
“Okay, see, that’s a real challenge,” Lucien affirmed.  “If I marry Trinity, do I have to live in the post-apocalyptic wasteland or can she live here?”
“You’d have to live in the Matrix,” Jonathan announced, like it was obvious.
“Hm,” Lucien pondered, “do I know it’s a false reality?  Does she know?”
“She knows, you don’t,” Neil decided.
“Is she gonna tell me?  What if she has another guy on the side in the real world?”
“Okay, you’re overthinking this,” Jonathan groaned.
“And is this the Sarah Connor that’s already had John?  ‘Cause if not, I can’t kill her, or the human revolution stands no chance— but if she has him, I can’t marry her, ‘cause I’m not ready to be a stepfather—”
“You’re useless,” Jonathan informed him flatly.
“Well, it’s easy then,” you offered, still tallying fees on the printed table.  “You fuck Connor, marry Ripley and kill Trinity.”
“Yeah, I guess that works,” Lucien shrugged.
“If you’re so good at this game, you should play,” Jonathan decided.  You looked up from your work for once, finding Lucien looking excited at the idea and Neil looking a little nervous but intrigued.
“I’ve got one for you,” Lucien decided, looking concerningly smug.  “Fuck, marry, kill: the three of us.”
Jonathan let out a giddy ‘ooh’ and Neil raised his eyebrows.  “Oh— I don’t know— that’s too weird,” you shook your head, “it’s different, you’re real—”
“Wait, wait,” Neil interrupted, “now I wanna know.”
You froze for a second, wondering if you should double down on not participating, or if you should tell him the first thing that popped in your head: am I allowed to do all three to you?
Instead, you set the clipboard down and crossed your legs, and the men seemed to straighten up as they prepared for your answer.  “Alright,” you said, looking at them for a lingering moment before sighing.  “I think I’d fuck Jonathan, and then kill myself.”
“Yes,” Jonathan hissed, shaking his fist triumphantly.
“Dude, really?” Lucien snapped at him.  “That didn’t sound like a compliment to me.”
“Don’t care, I stopped listening after ‘fuck Jonathan’,” he replied.  “Alright, Neil, you’re gonna have to make good on that ‘she’s not off-limits’ promise you made to me—”
But Neil wasn’t listening to Jonathan, he was still looking at you.  “Wait— you wouldn’t marry me?” Neil interrupted, putting a hand on the desk and leaning in a bit closer— he looked half-amused and half-offended, and your heart skipped a beat.
“Um…” you started to wonder how to defend yourself from that.  What did he expect you to say?  Yes, I’d marry you, I’ve actually been planning our wedding since junior year.
“Hold on,” Lucien stopped you, “if she fucks you and marries you, that means I’m getting killed!”
“Yeah, so?” Jonathan smirked.
“What, you don’t think I’m marriage material?” Neil laughed… but he didn’t seem like he was really joking, per se.  He didn’t seem serious either, of course, but you decided to take his question seriously since he’d dared to ask it twice.
“Well,” you mumbled, “no.  I don’t.”
Then he seemed a bit more serious, adjusting his posture a bit.  “Why not?”
“I mean… you’re my best friend,” you reminded him, “but… you’re not reliable.”
He nodded, pursing his lips together.
“You’re not ready for marriage,” you continued.  “I mean, I think you’re just as sure of that as I am.”
“Well, yeah, but—”
“And honestly?  You’re a great friend and all, but… if you were my husband, I don’t think I could really… you know, trust you…”
The silence seemed a little heavy— all the men were sort of frozen for a second, you wondered if you should wave your arm around to make sure time hadn’t stopped.  But they did move, Neil first in fact, as he stopped leaning on the counter and nodded a little.
“I’m just surprised that you didn’t fuck Dracula,” Jonathan said to Neil in an attempt to cut the tension, “considering your massive man-crush on Bela Lugosi.”
“Hey, that reminds me, tonight’s movie is Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla,” Neil announced, apparently shaking off whatever odd energy he’d picked up just before, “you in?”
“Yeah, sure,” Jonathan nodded, “should I bring drinks?”
“Uhh, yeah, why not?” Neil agreed. 
“Is a six-pack enough?”
"Uh, maybe…” Neil considered, turning over his shoulder to look at you.  “Kid, how many beers are you gonna want?”
You swallowed nervously.  “Um, I… well, I’m not coming.  I’ve got a date, actually.”
Of course it was just assumed that you would be there; you felt a little guilty admitting you wouldn’t, to the point that you almost considered just skipping said date and staying to avoid the awkwardness.
“Hey, great!” Jonathan said proudly, throwing his arms out wide.
“A date, huh?” Neil noticed, looking happily surprised.  “Sorry, I— I didn’t know— you didn’t say anything—”
“No, it’s cool,” you shook your head, “it’s kind of a last minute thing… you know how they’re showing Rope at the Palace tonight?  I met this, um, this guy the other day and we got to talking, and I asked him if he’d wanna come with me.”
“Rope, wow, that’s a great first date movie,” Neil nodded approvingly, “that sounds perfect.”
“Yeah— he hasn’t seen it, actually,” you admitted, smiling nervously, “so I guess how much he likes it will kinda be a good judge of if he’s worth going out again, right?”
Jonathan nodded approvingly, but Neil seemed skeptical.  "Well, the showing isn't until nine— you can at least hang out until the movie starts, right?"
"I've gotta get home and get changed!" you explained 
"You can't wear that to a date?" Lucien wondered.
"No!" you scoffed, looking down at your ripped jeans and Dracula t-shirt.  "Besides, I have this whole plan of what I'm gonna wear— remember when we did Bonnie and Clyde for Halloween?"
Neil was Bonnie and you were Clyde, in fact; he looked shockingly good in that blood-red lipstick, you tried to convince him to wear it again but he insisted it was a one-night-only situation.  
"I figure if I wear my Clyde suit, I'll look kinda like James Stewart!"
"You're doing drag on a first date?" Lucien pressed, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, lighten up, I'm just dressing up for the movie— I'll still, you know, try to look pretty," you assured.  "What, I don't look good in a suit?  'Cause I got a lot of compliments on Halloween—"
"No, hey, go for it," Jonathan decided, "it's festive!"
"I think it's cool," Neil agreed.  "Have fun, alright?  And if he creeps you out or something, call the store number and I'll come get you."
"I'm not really worried about—"
"You know? Just call the store when you get home," Neil decided, "so I'll know you didn't get murdered."
"Dude, chill," you groaned.  "We're going to the movies, not, I don't know… hiking off-trail in the middle of the night."
You never agreed to call, but you did him one better: you ended up coming back to the video store afterwards, a bit over two hours later.  Of course, the guys were still on the couch— apparently the movie was over but they were watching anime (undoubtedly something Jonathan had brought as a palate cleanser after the movie).
They all looked over at you when you came in the front door and the little bell rang; they seemed excited to see you, and presumably to interrogate you about the date.  You sighed, knowing you couldn't have expected anything else, but you'd come here hoping they'd let you watch something with them so you could stop thinking about the date.
“How’d it go, hot stuff?” Jonathan purred, and you rolled your eyes as Lucien wolf-whistled.
“Oh yeah, it was awesome, best first date ever— I’m at his place having sex with him right now,” you frowned as you tossed your purse down onto the couch, and Lucien chuckled while Neil looked a little defeated.  
“Not that great, huh?” Neil noticed.
“Was he a creep?” Jonathan assumed.
“Did he think the movie was bad?” Lucien pressed.
“No, no, he was great,” you sighed, “he loved the movie.  We talked about it for a bit afterwards and he seemed to really understand it.”
“Okay!  That’s good, right?” Jonathan said optimistically.
“Yeah— so good that I asked him when we could do this again,” you recalled, “and he said that he didn’t wanna lead me on and he wasn’t interested in seeing me.”
“What?!” Jonathan yelped, while Neil winced a little.
“He said I was really cool and funny and easy to talk to,” you explained, “but that he didn’t feel any chemistry.”
“Chemistry?” Lucien repeated, confused.
“He means he’s not attracted to me,” you clarified.
“What?” Jonathan scoffed again.  “Why not?”
“I don’t know!” you whined, but you did know.  “I think I’m just, like, friend material.  I’m just ‘one of the guys’, you know?  Not somebody you actually wanna be with.”
“But isn’t that what every guy wants?  To date somebody who’s just ‘one of the guys’?” Lucien noticed, and then paused when everyone gave him an inquisitive look. “That sounded way less gay in my head.  You get what I mean, right?”
“As much as I would love to never let you live that down,” Jonathan smirked, “you’re not wrong— like, a chick who can hang.  That’s the best.”
“Well, here I am!  Hanging!” you snapped.  “Where’s my harem of suitors just desperate to date one of the guys?!”
“I mean, you are wearing a suit…” Neil noticed, getting a little defensive when you groaned and dropped your head back.  “No, no, you look cool!  I mean, you look really great.  I’m not sure what he wasn’t seeing.”
"Maybe he's got a girlfriend!" Jonathan suggested.  "And he was gonna cheat but he chickened out."
"Maybe he's intimidated by strong women," Lucien added, sounding more like he was quoting a Cosmo than actually thinking that.
"Respectfully, guys aren't that complicated," you assured.  "If he wanted me, he would.  He doesn't.  It's not that deep."
Neil looked away when you said that.
"Well, come take a seat on the losers couch," Jonathan offered, but Neil sitting next to him frowned.
"You think I'm a loser?" Neil protested.
"No, I was talking about that couch," Jonathan said as he pointed to the other one which Lucien was on.
"I'm not even offended," Lucien decided, patting the spot next to him.  "I'd rather be a loser with you than a winner with anybody else."
You smiled and plopped down next to him, pulling your legs up on the old sofa and finding the best angle to see the TV from.  "Okay, catch me up," you requested, bracing for the barrage of borderline nonsensical exposition about whatever obscure anime Jonathan was forcing on the group this time.
~
Since the store closed at eight on Tuesdays, you and Neil decided to go out for a late dinner after locking up— the nearest place you usually walked to was a little hole-in-the-wall dishing out Thai fusion, and even though there were open tables inside, you took your paper boxes outside to eat together on a bench.
You each sat up on it with your legs crossed, facing each other, while he poked at his fried rice with his fork and you stirred your noodles with the chopsticks.
“The Palace is still doing their Hitchcock screenings on Sundays,” you recalled, “I think the next one is Rear Window.  We could make Lucien man the store and go see it together?”
“Yeah, let’s do it,” he smiled.  “But we gotta sneak in the candy, that place is getting so overpriced…”
“Well, that’s a given,” you laughed.  “When I went on my date there I had Sour Patch Kids in my bag, but I was kinda craving Reese’s by the time the movie started..."
"That guy sounded like an ass, by the way," Neil announced with a frown.
"Oh, no, it's fine," you dismissed.  "He was really nice, even when he blew me off, and I… I guess I wasn’t really expecting it to go anywhere, anyways.”
“Really?” Neil scoffed.  “Then why’d you ask him out?”
Just in case.  “I… I guess I’m trying to put myself out there more?”
“Huh?  You’re trying to put out more?” Neil joked.
You rolled your eyes and unfolded your legs to kick him playfully.  “You know what I mean,” you groaned.
“Yeah, yeah,” he admitted, “and I support it.  It’s sort of insane that you’re still single.”
“Wow, thanks for the pep talk,” you rolled your eyes before shoving a thick swirl of spicy-sweet noodles in your mouth.
“No!  I mean, like, I can’t believe you’re single,” he clarified, and you smiled somewhat awkwardly while chewing your mouthful.  “You’re smart and fun and cool and pretty—”
Thanks to the food in your mouth, you didn’t have to worry about coming up with a way to respond to that, so you just shrugged.
“Seriously!” he insisted.  “I mean, guys hit on you at the store— I wish somebody who actually deserved your attention would walk in that place.”
The guy I want is already there every day.  Swallowing, you finally got a chance to talk to him again.  “Thanks,” you sighed, “it’s fine, though.  I mean, I’ve been single this long— I think I’ll survive.”
“Keep waiting for the right one, okay?” he encouraged, and your heart swelled.
“I will,” you promised, sounding more wistful than you meant to.
After a brief lull in the conversation, he cleared his throat and continued.  “Hey, um, while we’re on the topic of Sunday, about the whole fuck-marry-kill thing—”
“I’m sorry,” you offered right away, “I shouldn’t have answered that.  I wasn’t being serious, obviously.”
“No, I wanted to apologize,” he returned, “I shouldn’t have pressed you on your answer.  It was funny.  And it wasn’t like you could say you were gonna kill one of us.”
You snorted.  “Yeah, that one was probably the worst of the three.”
“But I shouldn’t have asked you about what you would’ve done to me,” he shook his head, “I was making it weird.  So, sorry.”
“It’s okay,” you assured.  “Did you really expect me to say I would marry you?”
“No,” he admitted, “I thought you’d say you’d fuck me, marry Lucien and kill Jonathan.”
“What?” you scoffed, though you were still smiling.  “Why?”
“Well, Lucien would definitely make the best husband of the three of us,” he explained, “and Jonathan was the only one who wouldn’t have gotten butthurt about you saying you’d kill him.  He probably would’ve just asked you to give him a nice send-off, y’know…”
You nodded in agreement, wondering if he was going to address the obviously missing third piece of all this… he sure was staring down into his empty fried rice container with intense focus…
“And, you know, as for me,” he began sort of thinly, “I, um… I guess I just figured, you know, you’re the most comfortable with me.”
“Yeah,” you agreed, “obviously, but maybe that would make it worse?  Like, at least with Jonathan, I know that if we ever did hook up or something, it probably wouldn’t mess up our friendship.  ‘Cause we’re friendly and all, but it’s not so serious.  But with you…”
“Uh huh, well, that’s why it’s good it’s just a game,” Neil finished for you, chucking his trash in the nearest can.  “Don’t have to worry about any of that stuff.  Least of all you and I being married.  Talk about a disaster.”
You choked on your throat.  “Yeah.  No kidding…”
“Well, anyways,” he sighed, standing up from the bench and stretching for a moment, “wanna come over and see if the game’s still on?”
“Oh, um, I’m just gonna go back to my place,” you decided, throwing away the last couple bites of your food on account of your suddenly-lost appetite.  “Kinda thinking I should get my sleep schedule in order.”
“That’s good,” he nodded, “I respect that.  Have a good night, then, kid.”
“Yeah, you too,” you breathed, waving as he turned and walked off into the night, tucking his hands into his jean pockets.  
You looked down at your lap, taking a deep breath and shutting your eyes for a second.  Did he have to be so sweet just to cut you down like that?  Could he have even known how it would hurt you to say that?
It’s not even like he was wrong, but you were dying to ask him why he was so sure that you and him together would be so bad.  What was wrong with you that he still couldn’t see you that way?
Not interested in this repetitive thought cycle anymore, and being very familiar with where it leads, you got up and started to walk down the street.  You didn’t turn to go to your apartment, though; you kept going until you heard live music— scratchy, whiny guitars and throbbing bass drums— seeping out of the club.  You just needed to be somewhere familiar that wasn’t the video store or home; and, this place conveniently also had liquor.
You slipped inside— hit by a wave of sound as you entered— and took a seat at the bar, half-listening to the band that was playing, pretending to be focused at all on what was going on in the outside world rather than just spiraling into your own thoughts inside your head.
“Hey,” Jonathan nodded at you from the other side of the bar, and you nodded back.  He instantly started looking for Neil— of course he would— and you deflated a bit.  “You here alone?” he noticed.
“Yeah,” you shrugged.
“Wow,” he smirked, “it’s like when Peter Pan’s shadow escaped.”
You should’ve probably been offended by that, but it wasn’t worth denying— and you were more interested in getting liquored up than justifying that you did, in fact, have a life outside of Neil.
And, actually, Peter Pan was a pretty good way to describe Neil, too.  Fear of commitment, leader of freaks and outcasts, daydreamer… all he needed was some green tights.  “What are you drinking tonight?” Jonathan finally asked.
“What pairs well with feeling completely unattractive and unlovable?” you sighed.
“Well, that would be my drink of choice: whiskey,” he smiled, setting a bottle down in front of you.  “I’ll do a shot with you.”
He poured you both a shot, and you timed it to shoot it back together; he, obviously, took it better than you, and you cringed from the acidic flavor.  "Jesus, people really drink this on purpose?" you grumbled.
"Yeah, give it a few minutes," he assured, "it's gonna numb all those stupid emotions."
"I don't have a few minutes," you sighed, "do you have anything more fast-acting?"
"Yeah— a second shot," he joked, but you nodded in agreement.  "Okay, shit, you're not messing around tonight."
"Nope," you agreed, watching him pour just one shot this time.  "You're not doing it with me?"
"I need to pace myself, I'm here 'til two," he explained.
He slid it to you and you contemplated it for a moment, before forcing yourself to get it down as quickly as possible to avoid the burn.  You still grimaced, but recovered quickly.
"Is it working yet?" he wondered.
"I guess," you answered half-heartedly.
“Well, you could always gush to the bartender about all your problems?” he offered, but you just shrugged it off.  “Come on, you wouldn’t be the first tonight.  And since I know you, I might actually be able to help.”
“I don’t think you can help with this one,” you assured.  “This problem has been going on longer than you’ve been around.”
“Oh?” he pressed.  “Let me guess… boy troubles?”
“Isn’t it always?” you scoffed, irritated that he saw through you that quickly— apparently your reputation of being horrible with men preceded you.
“But this is just one boy,” he presumed.  “One boy who… conspicuously isn’t here tonight…”
“Is it that obvious?” you wondered with a whine, dropping your head in your hand.
“Well, if you weren’t having any issues with him, you’d be with him,” Jonathan guessed— and it wasn’t bad logic.
“But, like, does everyone know?” you wondered.  “Does everyone but him know that I’m in love with him?  Oh god, Jonathan, you don’t think he knows, do you?”
“Wait— love?” he repeated, and you swallowed thickly as you realized the whiskey had already gotten you to say too much.  “You… you’re…”
“Okay, so I guess not everyone knows,” you mumbled.
“No, yeah, I think you managed to keep that under wraps,” he assured with a nod, eyes getting wider.  “Sheesh.  No, I had no clue.  Now it’s even weirder that you guys aren’t together.”
“Well, he doesn’t love me,” you explained flatly.
“Did he tell you that?”
“No, god no— I mean, he tells me he loves me,” you corrected, “but he doesn’t mean— we just say that, you know, like at the end of phone calls or when one of us is sad.  It’s not, like… we never meant it that way.”
“Right, okay,” Jonathan nodded as he wiped a glass— the way bartenders do when they’re listening to people— but he didn’t seem to understand entirely.  “So, you’re not his type?”
“I don’t think I know what his type is,” you scoffed.  “I haven’t really noticed a pattern, have you?”
“You’d have to have a few more data points to really draw any connection between them,” Jonathan laughed.
“Yeah, fair,” you smiled, “he’s only had… I don’t know, maybe four girlfriends since I’ve known him?  One in high school, for a month— then Eva, they weren’t even really serious, just dating for a while.  And then, uh—”
“Tanisha,” he remembered.
“Right!  I liked her,” you hummed.
“What happened to her again?” he wondered.
“Got back with her ex,” you recalled.
“Wow, that blows,” Jonathan sighed.  
“She told me before she told him,” you admitted.  “She wanted me to tell him for her, actually, but I… I couldn’t do that to him.  But I came over right after, you know, and we ate ice cream from the tub and watched movies ‘til we fell asleep.”
Jonathan made a sort of face, one you couldn’t quite interpret, and you tilted your head as he seemed to mumble to himself.  
“What?” you wondered.
“Nothing, it’s just… he’s kind of an idiot,” Jonathan decided.  “I don’t think he gets how lucky he is.”
You wrinkled your brows together, laughing a bit.  “What do you mean?”
“Look, I’m not saying he’s, like, legally obligated to fall in love with you just because you guys get along so well,” he clarified, “even if that’s what Neil accused me of thinking— I really do think it’s fine for men and women to just be friends.”
“So, what are you saying?”
“I’m just saying… like, how do you have someone who cares about you that much, and you end up dating fucking Denise for almost a year?!”
“Well, nobody knows how he ended up with Denise,” you coughed.  “That was a fucking disaster.”
“I mean, not to be crass, but, uh,” he stumbled a little over his words, “I’m surprised that you coming over after that breakup didn’t turn into a rebound, at least.”
“After eating that much ice cream?” you laughed.  “That would’ve been awful.”
“But really, though,” he insisted.  “I have a hard time believing the thought didn’t even cross his mind…”
“I can’t really be sure that it didn’t,” you admitted, “I’m just saying, nothing happened.”
“I guess he’s just known you too long to go for it with you,” Jonathan shrugged.
“It’s not just that— you know Neil, he’s kind of an adrenaline junkie,” you rolled your eyes, “or at least he thinks he is.  He wants adventure, I guess— and he always talks about us doing spontaneous stuff but it never happens— and I’m just too familiar.  Too comfortable.”
“Yeah, he does kinda have something against stability,” Jonathan agreed, “do you think it’s a divorced parents thing?”
“I don’t know, I stopped analyzing that a long time ago,” you groaned, “and I told myself I would stop trying to be what I thought he wanted, but I think I keep doing it.”
“Well, I know you know him better than anybody,” Jonathan countered, “but I know guys, and that guy… there’s no way he thinks of you as just a friend.”
“Why do you think that?” 
“Because he was fucking lying when he said it wouldn’t piss him off if we hooked up,” he insisted.
“You really won’t let that go, will you?” you grinned.
“Did you see his face?  He couldn’t get the image out of his head!” Jonathan assured confidently.  “And then that whole ‘fuck marry kill’ thing— he started getting nervous, I think.”
“Nervous about what?”
“That something could really happen with us!”
“You really think he would care?” you frowned.
“I swear to— to Ash Williams,” he decided, “that if I walked into that fucking video store, and told him that you and I did whiskey shots and you came back to my place and we did the horizontal tango, he would beat me to death with the register.”
“You swear on Ash Williams?” you repeated with a smirk, knowing that meant more than swearing on any deity would mean.
“Him and his chainsaw hand,” Jonathan assured, putting a hand over his heart to add to the bit, and you giggled.
“Well, I don’t think Neil can pick up the register,” you decided.
“In that case, you let me know the next time you wanna get back at him for something,” he offered with a wink, and you smiled at him sympathetically.
“I know you’re trying to be nice,” you sighed, “but you don’t have to do that.”
“Hey, come on,” he frowned, “I know you’ve got this I’m insecure I’m a weirdo nobody notices me thing, but you can’t actually think it would be some kind of charity work for me to sleep with you—”
“No, I don’t mean that,” you sighed, “I know I could get laid if I wanted to—”
“But you don’t wanna get laid,” he finished for you, “you wanna be loved.”
You sighed again, even harder.  “Yeah,” you nodded.
“I know,” he agreed.  “And you know I love you, but—”
“But not like that,” you took your turn finishing his sentence.
His only reply was raising the bottle of whiskey with a sideways smile, a silent offer to pour another shot— for both of you this time.
“Yes, please,” you hummed, watching him fill the miniature glasses with a sigh.
part 2
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aakaneeee · 1 month ago
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ROUND 7 THEORY.
Till is going to lose: and Hyuna won't be there to save him.
this is insanely long, hug yourselves
I. Hyuna won't be part of the rescue mission.
I'm going to start with the obvious: today's alien stage friday content that opened my third eye.
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obviously, hyuna is.. suffering is an understatement right now, she appears in a lot of pain, having to lean on mizi to walk. not only this, but mizi is distressed too. she is looking back, and the warning:intruder sign is reflecting in her eyes. interesting detail I've seen: the screen behind hyuna I'd light, and I personally think it's Luka's promotional photoshoot we've seen in All-In. maybe a slight reach, and not a good point to base a whole theory I genuinely believe in on, but trust me, it all ties togheter: Hyuna is looking directly forward, towards a 'light', while Mizi is looking back, at a warning sign. So, Hyuna will go to their base, and Mizi will do the rescuing mission alone. This might sound stupid, but the AMOUNT of content I found that holds this theory is insane.
Speaking about All-In..
This is a promotional video for All-In. (Might be the teaser but I'm tweaking) Mizi is only shown in the car scene, where she's togheter with Hyuna. In the other parts, Hyuna is completely alone. This might not mean a lot, except that we have this official art:
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Unlike the frame in the video, Hyuna is alone here, leaving dust on the on the other cars. Does this mean that she'll go alone? Perhaps leave alone? And there's even more I consider as 'evidence'.
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In the cover of hyuna ver. of ROMH, she seems to be laying down, something that I don't think she would be able to do while still being in the ALNST building, and the splash on her face seems to be similar to the character's that have died.
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As happy as this looks, again, Mizi isn't here. The rest of the rebellion is, and she's wearing the outfit she had on in All-In when making that video with the others. She's making a gun sign, something usual for her, she's done it multiple times all over. Is this foreshadowing of her being shot?
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But this.. even though the backround is Hyuna, it's obvious that the hands are not hers because of the light skin. So is this Mizi that's trying to learn from Hyuna? Maybe because she has to do a mission without her? Back to the All-In teaser, we don't see who's holding the gun that flashes between the frames of Hyuna's hand making a gun sign. I personally think it's Mizi instead, since now she's learned how to fire. Afterall, in All-In, even Hyuna is surprised at her sudden fierceness.
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Here, it seems like Hyuna is being announced something, while sitting down. But what could be so important that she is told with such secrecy? The only thing I can imagine is a rescue mission, but she isn't there herself.
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In this art, Mizi is looking down, while Hyuna is looking up, with a stern face, almost monitoring. But where could Mizi be, so high up she has to look down, and so bright she has to shadow her eyes? This takes me to the next part of my theory:
II. Till is going to lose.
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The light from above the stage in the Round 7 teaser is dark blue, but a specific shade that has been often associated with Mizi. Is she there, so that's why she's looking down? Also from the teaser, we have this (which I think was pointed out before):
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The little gun aim light is pointed towards the stage from an alien that seems to have a guard helmet, and then a light covers Till. I think it's enough proof that something will happen to him, but I have more. So much more.. And yet, I think the other ones fit more into another category. III. Even though he'll lose, Till won't die. But he won't live well, either. I am not delusional, I genuinely think Mizi's rescue mission will go well.
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Here, Till is holding a strand of Mizi's long hair, the hair we know is long gone. In relationship with the first category, Hyuna is the only one missing from this art.
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I initially thought it was Till protecting Mizi from something, but no. I think it's Till protecting the image of Mizi he remembers from something he finds terrifying: and I think that scary thing is the real Mizi, the Mizi that exists now. It's a common theme that Till is only inlove with the image of Mizi, so what if that dissapears? I imagine he'd be terrified of that.
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Here, the wire of Till's collar (that we've seen him wearing in round 7, too) seems to be blending with Mizi's hair, as if he is bound to the image of past her. (Since we know her hair is short now.)
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In this, the tape is similar to the one that covered his mouth in Top 3, but here, his mouth is wide opened, the tape instead covering his name, as if his freedom, his own voice was given back to him, rather covering his branding whom is proof of ownership.
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Here, the characters that are behind have died, and the ones that are holding flowers are the ones who love Mizi. But again, it's the long haired old Mizi.
III. Hallucinations
Alien Stage is about romance, and hallucinating your loved one isn't new in it. Mizi hallucinated Sua in Round 5, and Till hallucinated Mizi (again, her old version) after... we all know what I mean. Hallucinating has led to losing, but is this going to be the case in Round 7?
Well, yes and no. Yes for Till, no for Luka, and I think this aspect is the one that makes the most difference between them.
Let's talk about Till first. I feel like Luka won't genuinely see Till as a threat, especially after Round 6. I do not think that he will do the ROMH technique. And yet, I think Till will hallucinate Ivan in him anyways. Looking at Luka's stage smile and Ivan's default expression, they look very similar (atleast to me), and the white outfits might do it, too.
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This particular image makes me feel like that. His fingers aren't purple, which, I don't know what to make out of it, but it's about the neck holding. Ivan always seemed to have something with Till's neck, and there's a lot of art to prove it. This is undoubtedly something that Ivan would do, and I can imagine Till hallucinating Ivan, or atleast, a warped version of him, in situations like this. Till is already in a bad place mentally, so I feel like such a thing would destroy him, even though he won't go down without a fight.
Onto Luka. I think hallucinating Hyuna in Till is inevitable: their energy is just incredibly similar. But unlike Till, Hyuna is Luka's motivation to sing.
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In this comic, we find out that Luka doesn't truly like singing: his only reason for singing is (or atleast, was) the fact that Hyuna likes it. And again, unlike Till, Luka is obsessed with the stage. It's canon that he has low self-esteem, and that winning is his way of raising it up. I don't see him having a mentality like Till, but rather, one that sounds more like "Only I get to kill you.", so a competition against Hyuna would only make him more motivated. And so, I think that hallucinating Hyuna gets him even closer to a win.
IV. Till will escape: but at what cost?
Till knows that the last time he turned down escaping, it didn't go well. So, even now, with the new image of Mizi, even now, with Ivan dead, even now, when he's still holding onto an image long gone of someone he loves, he will accept, but without getting implicated into whatever the resistance does too much. Why? Because he thinks he has nothing left except his hallucinations.
V. Conclusion
I'm sorry for how long this is!! I've been thinking for sooo long... I really like how I've made this though, in the end. extra: In this official art, the characters that are slightly smiling are now dead (sua, ivan).. it doesn't really mean anything to what I said (I think), but I found it interesting :)
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17020 · 2 months ago
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# I HEART PUBLIC RELATIONS
in order to your boost your popularity as a lifestyle influencer, your manager decides to partner up with anri teieri and jinpachi ego, for a pr stunt with a man from one of japan's most famous content houses: BLUE LOCK.
the rules are simple: choose a man, post three videos together a week, post an (undisclosed) ad weekly, and interact with each other on social media. ooh! don't forget! the more chemistry between you two, the better.
STARRING . . . yoichi isagi, meguru bachira, hyoma chigiri, rensuke kunigami. fem reader!
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CANDIDATE 1 — YOICHI ISAGI
USER: ISAGIYO FOLLOWERS: 893k CATEGORY: LIFESTYLE/FITNESS
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
the day you met isagi at the house, you immediately clicked. there was something so comforting and inviting about him, you knew the chemistry was going to be natural. seeing as you were both lifestyle influencers, you settled on doing vlogs and 'what i do in a day' videos for both your profiles.
the first tiktok you ever filmed was inside the house, with isagi inviting you over to try out gigi hadid's famous vodka pasta. it was an absolute mess, as the flour spilled everywhere and isagi almost overcooked the pasta. not to mention, he suggested you take some shots of vodka every now and then to keep things fun. people already speculated that isagi had something going on with you since bachira accidentally revealed in his tiktok that "isagi's having a girl over, so we're stuck outside." the fans absolutely adored the two of you cooking, and how after each shot, isagi became more loose, letting out more jokes and feeling confident enough to compliment you on your cooking skills.
the second tiktok was outside in the streets, with you and isagi filming a review of a well-known puppy cafe. it was so adorable to see such a strong man be so delicate with puppies, and you weren't the only one melting over it. fans went absolutely insane, thanking you in the comments as it was your idea to take him there in the first place. the comments were also filled with people pointing out that, in the video, isagi was completely red from all the times you complimented him, calling him cute and adorable. you took pictures for yours and his socials, captioning the post as "puppies weren't the only adorable thing there :)". news outlets caught wind of this interaction, popularizing your 'situationship' even more.
the third tiktok of the week was a gym vlog. isagi was also a fitness influencer, posting gym videos and advice from time to time, so he and you did the trend where you try to lift the weight the other usually does in their routines. safe to say, you struggled with his weights for arms, and he struggled with yours for legs. after filming the tiktok for his account, you decided to stop by a famous cookie shop, buying the weekly menu and trying it in the car. fans loved the way in which you bonded over cookies while sitting inside his car, commenting on the fact that you shared an indirect kiss from biting the same cookie. the fans want you to date already!
(UN)DISCLOSED AD . . . BLOOM!
when isagi and you got reached out to by bloom, you were thinking of how to incorporate it into your content. it wasn't hard, since its greens, and you and isagi had gained a new hobby together: going on walks, so that people could take pictures of you two, laughing, being happy, and looking at each other with lovesick eyes. you settled on filming the preparation of the drinks, then going on a walk focusing on the glass bottles with green liquid in your hands. isagi was nice enough to tag the brand and use a hashtag. he had to rerecord some clips as the first time you tried the drink, you almost spit it out, and so did he. but hey! money is money, right? fans were not amused that you promoted bloom, but they quickly got over it because you're both hot, and make a great couple.
"Can't go on our weekly walks without our @.bloom ! #bloompartner"
THE VIEWS SKYROCKETED! BECAUSE . . .
in every video, isagi just couldn't get his eyes or hands off you. he always had his hand on your arm, your shoulder, holding your hand, or had his arm wrapped around your waist. fans began to make compilations of the times in which isagi truly got lost in your eyes, or was a blushing, stuttering mess. so much for a pr relationship, huh? you both ended up gaining around 20k followers from this stunt, and when isagi hit one million followers, he decided to celebrate for the camera with everyone, and then privately at his parents' house with you, confessing that to him, everything was absolutely real.
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CANDIDATE 2 — MEGURU BACHIRA
USER: MEGUUURUUU FOLLOWERS: 579k CATEGORY: DANCE/ENTERTAINMENT
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
you met bachira at the house and knew he had to teach you how to dance and paint. bachira is a natural when it comes to all forms of art, so when you signed the contract, the first thing he suggested was that you go to his little studio for some dance lessons.
that was the first tiktok you made; bachira teaching you how to dance everything—from tyla's dances to jojo siwa's, you and bachira spent a good few hours dancing and making a few videos for his account, with yours posting the behind the scenes. fans loved how you tripped over bachira's feet once, and how he was eager to help you get every move right. the comments begged for more appearances from you in bachira's account, since the chemistry was off the charts.
the second tiktok was you and him at the house, sitting across from each other in the dining room, a canvas and paint in front of you. you decided to paint a portrait of each other, accompanied by some mocktails. you weren't sure if bachira was pretending to be bad at art or if he genuinely did not inherit his mother's talent (something he shared while painting), but he made you look like someone drew you from memory. you died laughing when he showed you the portrait, and he almost shook the whole house from his laughter when you showed him yours. the comments were filled with love for both of you, showing appreciation for the sweet comments that you threw towards one another while painting (because yes, you posted bits and pieces of the process, catching bachira call you beautiful on camera.)
the third tiktok, you filmed the disco dance in a parking lot, after leaving his studio. the way in which you looked at each other while swaying to the music was enough to have people's whole families in the comments gushing over how cute you looked. people focused on bachira, and how he always seemed to have the biggest smile on his face when you were with him. he posted pictures with you snuggling in his car on his story, captioning them "date with the cutest! :3", driving his fanbase insane (in a good way). he forced you to go a to a drive thru, a rose between his lips as he laid on the hood of his car as you ordered a water and a burger. poor worker, he deserved a raise after that.
(UN)DISCLOSED AD . . . BOSE!
bachira is known to partner up with technology brands as he is constantly dancing, so it was no surprise for him to partner up with bose. they sent him (and you) a pair of their wireless earbuds, which acted as the coolest accessory for him and you as you danced on the streets of tokyo. even better, he also got sent noise cancelling headphones, asking you to put them on and for him to say whatever sentence he felt like, and for you to guess what he said. he spent the entire video telling you how gorgeous you looked, and how he loves you! such a nice sponsorship, in fact, that the paparazzi caught him the next week using airpods. yikes! someone call crisis management.
Don't think she heard me telling her how beautiful she looks @.bose #teambose
THE VIEWS SKYROCKETED! BECAUSE . . .
bachira is a flirt, and the public knows that. what they didn't know, was that his flirtatious ways would absolutely multiply by a thousand when it came to you. even you were shocked, and people commented on your wide eyes and how red you were from bachira's compliments and nicknames for you. the dance videos had you and bachira so close to one another, people genuinely wondered if you guys would share a kiss at one point. bachira granted everyone's wish, sharing a tiktok of his face covered in lipstick stains, pecking your face so that you can match. he got around 20 million views from that video alone, and you both gained around 40k followers. who said this was all pretend? the next week, bachira was already asking you out on a date, no phones allowed, so that he alone can enjoy your presence.
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CANDIDATE 3 — HYOMA CHIGIRI
USER: CHIGIRIHYOMA FOLLOWERS: 670k CATEGORY: BEAUTY/HAIRCARE
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
as soon as you stepped in the house you noticed how chigiri's hair almost blinded people from how shiny it was, so the first thing you bonded over was haircare. you both decided to have the next few tiktoks be centered around beauty, as both of you were interested in get ready with me's.
the first tiktok you recorded was a heatless curl tutorial, with you and chigiri trying out the famous satin curler sets everyone gushed about. your presence on chigiri's account was expected, as the week prior you 'unexpectedly' commented on his video on how he should definitely do your hair. he replied to your comment with his video, with you and him preparing your hair, and then posting a second part where you showed the results. fans were shocked from this video, as they deemed this as a 'i never expected them to collab' type thing, but they didn't complain! they liked how you gushed over chigiri's hair, with him carefully helping you do yours.
the second tiktok was a get ready with me with new, viral products… except chigiri was doing your makeup! from skincare prep to setting spray, chigiri delicately applied new makeup on your face, commenting on the fact that you look incredible with and without it. you and chigiri were honest about everything, what you liked and didn't, and in his words, "mikayla nogueira has nothing on us, so trust when we tell you something's good." the fans went insane over chigiri's commentary, and you even got a response video from her. the beef with her made your accounts more known and had people praising you and chigiri for your honesty. you didn't need ardell wispies to prove a point, because chigiri made the l'oreal telescopic lift look fantastic on you.
the final tiktok was you doing each other's nails. you acted as his nail artist, carefully filing and painting his nails. while you did his nails, you asked him questions, to which he happily answered. the comments died when you asked him if he was single, to which he replied "why? you wanna date me or something?", followed by a lighthearted laugh. you painted his nails a beautiful shade of baby pink, and chigiri thanked you for your hard work. for your account, he did your nails with design, and as determined as he looked, his french tips looked like a french disaster, with your fingers filled with polish, and him scurrying to use acetone to clean you up. good to know that chigiri didn't excel at something for once!
(UN)DISCLOSED AD . . . DYSON!
he brought you into his bathroom to film his hair routine with you, and once you stepped out of his shower, the styling tutorial began. he had been given the dyson airwrap, and he used you as his human model to try out a blowout. he sectioned your hair and dried it, leaving you with the softest, shiniest blowout of your life. you tried drying his hair, and certain parts had to be cut out since you accidentally had the dryer too close to his scalp, with him cursing from the shock. the fans knew that a sponsorship from dyson was bound to happen, and they were so happy that it did. they thought you were the prettiest model, and your video had so many views that dyson actually reposted your video on their other social medias.
Gifted by Dyson, thank you so much. You made me and Yn's hair look absolutely fantastic. @.dyson #dysonpartner
THE VIEWS SKYROCKETED! BECAUSE . . .
chigiri was extremely attentive to detail and was very delicate when it came to you, and that excited fans. never in their lives had they seen chigiri so concentrated on someone else, and that meant that you were special. you became such an iconic duo in the beauty industry that you and him began to be invited to launch parties and events, going together as a couple. fans were totally in love with your vibes, as you both looked like models straight out of the runway. chigiri was attached to you after the stunt, unable to get you off his mind. after gaining more than 30k followers, chigiri asked you to sleep over at the house, having a nice, romantic movie night with face masks.
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CANDIDATE 4 — RENSUKE KUNIGAMI
USER: KUNIGAMIREN FOLLOWERS: 740k CATEGORY: FITNESS
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
the first time you saw kunigami you knew you fucked up because this is a gymrat. his tiktok was filled with gym videos, routines, protein smoothies tutorials, and more. you prayed to every god and deity out there to help you out. luckily for you, kunigami was open to adapt to your lifestyle content, which would open doors for him, essentially finding a new audience.
the first tiktok you recorded was a staged first meeting. you recorded yourself at the gym doing lateral pulldowns, only to be approached by a big, muscular ginger. he asked if he could help you correct your form, to which you agreed. giggles were exchanged, and people could feel the tension through the screen. the comments went crazy telling you that yes, that was the rensuke kunigami, and you need to see him again. on kunigami's tiktok, you made a cameo as he filmed his workout vlog, showing bits and pieces of you as he explained how he stopped his pull ups to help you out. the fans begged him to return to the gym to find you again, because according to them, you were definitely worth meeting.
the second tiktok was both of you trying out the rock's leg day routine. to say both of you were absolutely dead was an understatement, with both of you sweating like crazy and then stopping by some store to try out some smoothies. you were dead tired, and kunigami offered to give you a piggyback ride to the smoothie place. after trying to deny, he insisted that he could carry two of you at once, sweeping you off your feet and carrying you bridal style instead. that made for some cute pictures from fans who were on the scene, which later went viral on social media. he took a picture of you with your smoothie, posting it to his story with the caption "look who i found". safe to say that his fans went crazy.
the last tiktok was something nobody saw coming, as you signed both you and kunigami up for zumba lessons. after the experience of the rock's workout (which was unsurprisingly suggested by kunigami), he then suggested you both do something more to your liking. then, you proceeded to not tell him what you signed him up for until he arrived at the gym, with you dragging his ass to a zumba lesson. he was so stiff at first, but quickly got the hang of it. he seemed to have caught the attention of the women in there, with them swarming him with comments about them having daughters around his age. he denied, saying that he already has someone he can dance with, turning to you with a smile. of course, you got that all on video, posting it on both your accounts. even youtube channels covered this fiasco, with you and kunigami reigning on the youtube thumbnails. "RENSUKE KUNIGAMI DATING YN LN CONFIRMED? *not clickbait*"
(UN)DISCLOSED AD . . . ALO!
alo reached out to you and kunigami for a nice photoshoot for their latest drop, and even sent you some pr packages for you to unpack. you and kunigami proceeded to go workout, but not just anywhere… alo flew you to their williamsburg sanctuary! some nice yoga classes for you and kunigami awaited, as well as some nice hotels and champagne. you, of course, enjoyed your trip to brooklyn with kunigami, posting pictures of you two on your stories, wearing matching sets from the brand. thankfully, kunigami does like to disclose his ads, even thanking the brand for flying you out. the comments freaked out over you two, deeming you tiktok's gym couple goals.
#AD | Thank you to @.aloyoga for flying us out to try the Power Class at the Alo Sanctuary. Truly enjoyed my time sweating with @.yn #alopartner
THE VIEWS SKYROCKETED! BECAUSE . . .
because there was so much tension between the two of you it was actually insane. people were commenting on the fact that you and kunigami were basically eye-fucking each other in every video because of how into each other you were. and it was true, kunigami couldn't stop staring at you, and you couldn't keep your eyes off him. the way in which kunigami helped you work out in your tiktoks made him known as husband material, which you agreed with. after the stunt, both of you gained around 40k followers, and to celebrate, kunigami offered to take you out to dinner, as well as a whole week doing things you like. you had to accommodate to his content for a pr stunt, so he stood outside of your door with a bouquet in hand, ready to spoil you.
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tags: @kaiser1ns @o-sachi @kaiser-impact @empress-ruby @meowkages @plsmarrymehioriyo @vayahatesu @karasuglazer @megutime @celestair
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sword-bunny · 17 days ago
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Unpopular opinion: I don't think Luka is actually that bad
(Casual reminder first that all of the unwilling participants of this death match are slaves who were essentially raised from childhood to compete in Alien Stage. None of them are competing by choice, and this is Luka's second time being forced through this nightmare, and he will probably be made to do it a third time.)
"But he's enjoying this!"
Is he, though?
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I don't feel like this moment gets talked about enough. Obviously we don't get to see the actual match so we can't say anything about it, but Luka kissing the dead girl's hand afterwards was important enough that some of the very limited time this series has was used to show it.
Here, he's not smiling, he's not making a show out of it. The show is already over. His back is to the audience, and he isn't even on stage. He lived, she died, and to me this read as a gesture of respect.
"What about him purposefully invoking the images of Sua and Ivan to make Mizi and Till lose their shit?"
Yeah, he definitely did do that, and I'll get back to that. But take a look at his face during his duet with Mizi:
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It's shockingly different from the smug, smiling face he has for the rest of the song. From the background behind him, we can tell that Mizi is blocking the view of his face from the audience.
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In comparison, the bit where he rolls his eyes, he isn't even looking at her. He's looking at the audience, making a show of his lofty condescension.
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Look at the way he's portrayed in the "promotional footage" we see in Top 3. He's the "Ruler of the Stage", the elegant personification of victory. In other words, it's a stage persona.
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We got this new expression in Blink Gone, and I did think he was laughing at first! But why would he be hiding that? He certainly never has before. There would be no point, he'd be playing it up, even. But the more I look at it, the more I think he's covering up something else.
Luka has outlived a lot of his opponents, some of whom very likely were people he grew up with, and I think he's starting to crack.
This leads us back to the tactics he uses to win.
Luka is undeniably ruthless! You could definitely make an argument that he goes beyond what's necessary to win.
But remember, he's trying to survive. I don't think he can reasonably be called a sadist for trying his best not to die, even if his methods are underhanded. Is he a good person? I wouldn't even try to argue that. Is he a bad person? I genuinely don't think so.
The situation he's been forced into is unimaginably cruel, and I genuinely believe it doesn't make someone a bad person to try to survive, even if it means someone else doesn't.
Imagine a modified version of the trolley problem: you and a person you do not know are each tied to separate tracks. You get to choose whether the train kills you or the other person. In this situation where you are not there because you want to be or because you're experiencing any kind of consequences for your actions, is it morally acceptable to choose not to die?
Anyways, that's my rant about why it's been getting on my nerves to see Luka constantly getting called a sadistic psychopath. Feel free to make counterarguments, just please try to be chill about it if you do✌️
Edit: I totally forgot about the Alien Stage promo video, which pretty clearly shows that Luka is having a Less Than Stellar time (pun intended)
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This is the first shot we ever get to see of Luka, and I've left the lyrics on because I think they're pretty important since Luka is the contestant that's been in this situation the longest. He won and it's still not over. I'm not surprised he feels like it won't ever end!
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Then there's this shot. Hooooooo boy this shot makes me feel a lot of things. It's so clear that Luka is even less than a pet, barely more than a toy to his "fans".
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Finally, there's this bit where he hides his face behind his arms like he can't bear to be looked at any longer.
Your honor I'm so normal about him I swear
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elliespectacular · 5 months ago
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Thrice in a Griddletime
A YTP of various promotional material for the Blackstone line of outdoor griddles, including a segment from the Home Shopping Network. This video is third in a series that includes Once in a Knifetime and Twice in a Pantime
Full video with captions here!
Thanks <3
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doyoulikethissong-poll · 4 months ago
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Pātea Māori Club - Poi E 1983
"Poi E" is a song by New Zealand group Pātea Māori Club off the album of the same name. Released in 1983, the song was sung entirely in the Māori language and featured a blend of Māori cultural practices in the song and accompanying music video, including Māori chanting, poi dancing, and the wearing of traditional Māori kākahu (garments). The song reached number 1 in New Zealand in each of the following three decades.
"Poi E" topped the New Zealand pop charts for four weeks and also became the biggest seller in New Zealand for 1984, outselling all international recording artists. Today the song maintains its status as a cult classic in non-Māori New Zealand, as the group behind it, Pātea Māori Club, was a one-hit wonder. However, for Māori, the song is much more important, as it became "the anthem of a new generation", the generation known as the "hip-hop generation". "Poi E" returned to the NZ Singles Chart in 2009, after being featured in an advertising campaign for Vodafone, accompanied by the release of Poi E (25th Anniversary Edition) in August 2009, an extended version of the album featuring unreleased songs, remixes and live tracks. The song was prominently featured during the final dance sequence of the Taika Waititi film Boy (2010), which led to it re-charting for a third time.
It was written by Māori linguist Ngoi Pewhairangi; the music was scored by Dalvanius Prime. Pewhairangi's intent in writing the song in such a way was to promote Māori ethnic pride among young Māori people in a popular format. The two faced indifference from record labels, so Prime produced the song and album under his self-made label, Maui Records. Without radio play and barely any commercial TV airing, a TV news story is credited with shooting the song up to number 1 on New Zealand charts in March 1984.
In July 2016, a film about the song, Poi E: The Story of Our Song, premiered at the New Zealand International Film Festival.
"Poi E" received a total of 65,8% yes votes!
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gyllenhaalstories · 6 months ago
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AND LIVE FROM NEW YORK, IT'S... SUNDAY MORNING — JAKE GYLLENHAAL
summary: after all the costumes & wigs, the cue cards & laughing fits.. you finally get some time with your man on this eventful saturday night. technically it's sunday, but details.
warnings: reader is gender neutral! fluff & smut (hickeys, marking, groping, handjob). 18+ NO MINORS.
word count: 1340
gif credits: me @/gyllenhaalstories / divider credits: @/firefly-graphics
notes: is neck kink a thing or am i just a vampire in denial? judging by my obsession with mentioning jake's bulging veins, i'm voting for the latter. thank you for reading & REMEMBER TO REBLOG!
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"I thought the party would never end." You let out a long, heartfelt, sigh of relief. You wanted to crash on the couch and enjoy some downtime after this hectic day, but you knew that you would fall asleep the second your body would get in contact with something comfortable.
"How many times did we try to excuse ourselves? I lost count after like twelve." Jake gave you a hand to lean on while you removed your shoes. The cold floors relaxed your sore feet. "Thought we'd be stuck in there forever."
"It's your third time hosting, shouldn't you be used to it?"
"Eh, maybe... I think I'm just too old for that." You both laughed.
You were too tired to point out all of the things he was most definitely not too old to do. That list would have made partying and cracking jokes left and right look pretty easy in comparison.
Jake made his way to the kitchen to get a glass of water, you stole a few sips from it. The two of you exchanged a knowing look, an agreement to discuss the events of Saturday Night Live at a different time, when neither of you would be exhausted and all talked out.
Instead, you walked towards Jake and hugged him from behind. You turned your head to look out the window and enjoy the sunrise while he slowly swayed from side to side.
"Hey," you hummed, letting him know he caught your attention. "Thank you for being there this week."
You helped as much as you could so that he could focus on the week-long preparation. You even got to rehearse one of the promotional videos with him in his dressing room. Your arms tightened around his body, a silent way to tell him you had just as much fun as he did.
After a while, and several contagious yawns, Jake turned in your arms to face you. You both adjusted your positions so that his hands landed on your back while you wrapped your arms around his neck. This kitchen slow dance lasted a little longer, until Jake decided to end it by kissing your forehead, your nose and, finally, your lips.
A kiss that quickly deepened, both of you happily melting in this loving embrace after several hours that deprived you of some quiet quality time.
Jake's tongue teased your lips, craving more. Soon enough, what started as a sweet peck on the lips turned into passionate making out that pulled whimpers and moans out of the two of you. Once again, Jake took the initiative to break the kiss and rested his forehead against you. "Missed you so much, babe."
"I missed you too." You answered, sharing a breath. You trailed kisses from the corner of his mouth to his cheek all the way to his earlobe that you nibbled on.
"I can see that." A smirk started to spread on his thin lips, he let out soft noises that encouraged you to keep going.
He did not even stop you when you kissed along his defined jawline. Even more surprising, he let you move down to his neck that you covered with open mouthed kisses. You suddenly stopped everything you were doing.
"What's wrong?" Concerned, Jake pulled back with a frown on his face. "Are you okay?"
"I'm more than okay." You nodded and smiled, hoping it was enough to reassure him. If not, your next questions would lighten the mood again. "When do you have to work again?"
He tilted his head, confused. "In a long time." Jake squinted and switched between looking into your eyes and glancing down at your lips that you were biting on. He started to catch your drift, his worries faded as quick as they appeared.
"How long?"
"Long enough."
Without losing any more time, your lips were all over his neck. You switched from side to side, giving more attention to his bopping Adam's apple while you kissed every inch of skin that you could reach. You focused on a specific spot, your lips moulding around his bulging jugular vein. You started to suck on it.
Jake moaned and loud. So often, too often, you were forbidden from leaving marks on visible parts of his body. That still left you with quite the canvas to paint. The problem was that, with a neck as delicious looking as Jake's, it became next to impossible at times to leave it untouched.
You detached your mouth from his skin and admired your work, a dark red mark already bloomed. It was beautiful, but you wanted more.
Jake's head lolled to the back, giving you access to what you so desperately needed.
You had one hand on the other side of his neck, holding him in place while you added more hickeys on his skin Your other hand travelled underneath the layers of clothes. Your fingertips gently brushed over his warm stomach before you scratched the surface with your nails.
"Thought you were tired?" Jake interrupted your moment.
"Yeah, well..." The hand that was on his stomach fell further down and squeezed the hardening bulge in his pants. "I thought you were tired too." You replied with an arched brow.
Jake's lips met yours in another heated kiss. His hands groped mainly your ass and whatever part of your body he could reach to press you closer against his own.
This makeout session, between his mouth and his neck, lasted until the kitchen was invaded with morning light. "Wanna take this to the bedroom?" You offered in between kisses that left you panting.
"I'd rather take a quick shower first." Another kiss that he ended by biting and pulling on your bottom lip. "You're joining me." It was not an invitation, he knew you would not decline it anyway.
You led the two of you towards the bathroom, not without stumbling on walls and furniture on the way. You kept begging Jake for just "one more, one more mark and then I'm done, I swear just a small one" and he did not even try to stop you.
You lost no time and hurried to undress your man, once you made it into the bathroom and found the light switch after laughing in the dark while hitting every possible spots on the wall. You pressed him against the counter of the vanity, pulling his pants just low enough to take his cock in your hand.
"I knew you'd be turned on watching me in that Snake Eyes skit. Was it the beard?" Making you laugh was more rewarding than doing it in front of an entire audience. Jake's joke barely had time to land before you started to stroke him, replacing his words with grunts.
"Damn right, you looked so hot. If looks could kill, I'd be dead too." You helped him to take off his cardigan and then to pull his white shirt over his head. You discarded the clothes on the floor. Quickly, your lips peppered kisses along the cold metal of his chain until you could catch a glimpse of Jake in the mirror.
Jake's neck was covered in pink, red, purple and blue. There were bruises and teeth marks all over him.
With his chest rising and falling from his heavy breathing, caused by your hand that stroked his cock faster, you admired the painting before your eyes like it was the prettiest watercolour. "You look so good."
Jake's hands travelled to his neck and touched the bruises, one after the other. He winced, his lips curling up from the stinging sensation. "I hope they last for a long time."
"I hope so too," you kissed the spot where his shoulder met his neck. "Or else I'll just have to give you more hickeys."
"Oh no, that's so sad." You spoke together, imitating the funny singing voice he did earlier during his episode of Saturday Night. You laughed until both of you were naked and ready for this shower that promised to be very steamy.
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niqhtlord01 · 4 months ago
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Humans are weird: Anti War
( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)
Alien: I thought humans loved war?
Human: What makes you say that?
Alien: It’s in your movies, your books, your video games, your newspapers; it’s everywhere in your society.
Human: That’s a romanticism of war used to promote the idea of it to recruits young men and women to join war.
Alien: But-
Human 2: But nothing.
*Alien and Human turn to see second human approaching
*Their left hand is a robotic prosthetic and half their face is hidden behind a metal visor.
Human 2: Only people who’ve never seen the horrors of war, real war, go on and on about how we should always be at it.
Human 2: *Points at visor
Human 2: I took a shredder grenade during the third war of Mumben and I lost my hand not long after that.
Alien: Yet your losses were replaced.
Human 2: *Expression becomes angry and leans in
Human 2: My losses were replaced, eh?
Human 2: Tell that to my fucking friends who are still lying in the dirt of that miserable hellhole.
Human 2: Tell that to their families who wept for days knowing they’d never see them again.
Human 2: Tell that to those of us left alive that see their faces every god damn night we close our eyes and relieve their final moments like it was a fraking movie.
Alien: *Says nothing and looks at ground
Human 2: That’s what I thought.
Human 2: I’m going to leave you with this last bit of advice so listen good.
Human 2: The next time you think all humans want to jump on into the fire remember my face.
Human 2: *Removes metal visor
Alien: *Looks on in horror of scaring and damage.
Human 2: Because this is the real face of war, and those who have seen it never want to go back.
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jawdzzzz · 7 months ago
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Emotions Legacy Challenge:
Dive deep into the world of feelings with The Sims 4 Emotions Legacy Challenge. In this unique and engaging gameplay, your task is to build a family legacy that explores the vast spectrum of human emotions across generations. Each generation focuses on a different emotion, challenging your Sims in unique and impactful ways that shape their lives and the lives of their descendants. Packs Required: Base Game Expansion Packs - Get To Work, Get Together, City Living, Cats & Dogs, Seasons, Get Famous, Island Living, Discover University, Eco Lifestyle, Snowy Escape, Cottage Living, High School Years, Growing Together, Horse Ranch, For Rent Game Packs - Outdoor Retreat, Spa Day, Vampires, Parenthood, Dream Home Decorater, My Wedding Stories Stuff Packs - Spooky Stuff, , Vintage Glamour, Moschino Stuff, Nifty Knitting, Rules: - Lifespan - Normal - Custom Content & Mods Allowed - No Money Cheats Allowed -You don't have to complete all tasks if you don't want to. Make it your own but it is highly advised you do all the tasks considering this is a challenge and you'll get the most out of it - Each heir including the founder must closely represent their assigned emotion as much as possible including the colors, house, appearance, etc - If you decide to do this challenge please use the #emotionslegacychallenge so i'll be able to see your founder and heirs' stories! - If you're planning on streaming or uploading videos of this challenge please promote me or give me a shoutout - Attributes help get your sim in their emotion or are special interactions you can do to make your sim feel like their emotion ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gens: Gen One Happy: You're the founder of the legacy. You grew up in Pleasantview and you're looking forward to your life as an independant adult! You're a very positive, bubbly and happy person. You never go a day without smiling and laughing. You thrive for having that white picket house on elm street and living a normal happy life! You're seeking fun, a career in your passionate hobbie & settling down having children.
Colours - Green & Yellow Traits - Childish, Cheerful & Art Lover Aspiration - Painter Extraordinaire World - Willow Creek
Complete the Painter Extraordinaire Aspiration
Have the Homey, Natural Light & Sunny Aspect lot traits
Have the Simple Living lot challenge
Perform 20 gigs as an artist freelancer
As an adult quit and join the gardener, education or painter career
Achieve level 10 in the painting & parenting skills
Achieve at least level 5 in cooking & gardening
Live with a roomate for 2 sim weeks
Have a best friend & 3 good friends
Live in a starter home for your young adult life (as an adult till death live in a two story family home worth more than $75,000)
Always have and maintain a healthy garden
Fall in love & marry a homeless sim
Adopt a dog or rescue a stray dog
Volunteer & donate to charities once a week
Have three children, your second child is your gen two heir… Maintain a difficult relationship dynamic with your second born & a close relationship dynamic with your first & third born
Emotion Attributes:
Cheerful Vlog (The More Views Video Station)
Heartfelt Compliment
Brighten Day
Happy Text Another Sim
Cheer up at least 3 different sims from a sad mood
Maintain & have a healthy garden
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Gen Two Sad: You're the second born and get constantly overshadowed by your older and younger siblings. Your parents love the rainbows and sunshine whilst you prefer the cold wet weather and getting your rainboots all wet and soggy. Crying is how you comfort yourself... Oh and music, you love music. Music is your escape from your reality and is what you most relate to Colours - Blue & Black Traits - Gloomy, Music Lover, Cat Lover Aspiration - Musical Genius World - Oasis Springs
Complete the musical genius aspiration
Reach level 10 in piano & violin
Reach level 5 of cross stitching & knitting
Have the Great Acoustics , Cat Friendly & Cat Hangout lot traits
Join the entertainer career (musician branch) reach level 10
Runaway from home as a teenager & move to an empty lot (off the grid)
Live in a trailer/caravan as a teen. Build a tiny home as a young adult when you own $10,000 or more
Rescue a stray cat and bring it home as a teenager
Busk for tips playing piano & violin your whole teen years
Find a penpal, later make them in CAS & fall in love with them
Own at least three cats & be close with all of them
Perform at all talent shows
Have one child only
Emotion Attributes: Sad Vlog (The More Views Video Station) Express Melancholy Thoughts (Private journal) Water Plant with Tears Play with Emotion (Violin) Call Sadness Hotline (Phone) Blog About Feelings (Computer) Give Yourself a Pep Talk (Mirror) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gen Three Fear:
Your childhood upbringing was difficult, your gen sad parent was always spiraling in sad breakdowns & always being gloomy. You're a paranoid sim, just thinking about the littlest things in life you fear the present & future. Reading books would help distract your mind & sleeping with a night light on helped comfort you from the darkness of the world... You also fear of the monster hiding under your bed. You hope to one day be an inspiring author and protect other sims from the fear of... FEAR. Colours - Purple & Black Traits - Paranoid, Loner, Perfectionst Aspiration - Bestselling Author World - San Myshuno Goals:
Achieve level 10 in writing & logic skills
Complete the writer career Author Branch
Complete the bestselling author aspiration
Have at least 4 fears (you can choose whichever and to overcome whichever fear you want)
Have the Quake Zone lot challenge
Have the Good Schools, Science Lair & On Ley Line lot traits
Have a girlfriend/boyfriend in high school
Move out as a young adult with your high school sweetheart any apartment you can offord
Become pregnant and have twins
Have your high school sweetheart tragically die after 1 sim week of moving in (you choose the death)
After their death, change the lot type to needs tlc
Be a strict parent & set a curfew for your twins
Never fall in love again or go on dates as a young adult. Eventually find someone that opens yourself up to the potential of having another love as an adult (marriage is optional)
Write novel about losing your soulmate & finally let go
Emotion Attributes: As a child experience the monster being under your bed
Always sleep with a night light on
Experience paranormal activity at least once
Hide Under The Covers (bed)
Take a Panicked Poop (toilet)
Scream incoherently at other sims --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gen Four Anger:
You grew up with only one parent, the one parent you were stuck with was always so paranoid and scared of the littlest of things. You never understood them, if anything just thinking about their choice of living makes you.... ANGRY. You growing up with only one parent makes you angry, your sibling makes you angry, your family home makes you angry, a fly buzzing at your face makes you angry. Anger is all you have, you don't envision yourself being anything without it, you would simply just float away. Working out & being a heavily opinionuated public speaker in debate is how you cope and manage your volcanic erruptions. Colours - Red, Orange & Black Traits - Active, Geek & Hot Headed Aspiration - Bodybuilder World - Evergreen Harbor Goals:
Master the fitness & Research and Debate skill
Complete the body builder aspiration
Achieve level 5 in mischief, charisma & video gaming
Have the Volcanic Activity lot challenge
Have the Bracing Breezes, Mean Vibe & Gnomes lot trait
Create a gym club & gather least once a week
Join the athlete career & get to level 10 in the bodybuilder branch
Join an after school activity in high school
Skip class and get detention at least once
Get into 5 physical fights & win
Go to university and graduate with a degree in Biology
Join the debate guild & win a debate
Juggle two different relationships in university and choose your one true love before graduating
Have 2 children
Emotion Attributes: Provoke Chew Out Insult Face Denounce Friendship Rant and Rave Vent Shout Forbidden Words Belittle Anger (Child and Teens only) Frenzied Kiss (resembles Passionate Kiss) Sarcastic Compliment Attempt To Flirt Belittle Anger
Angry Vlog (The More Views Video Station) Angry paint (easel) Rage-Fueled Run (treadmill) Angry Poop! (toilet) Enraged Reps (workout machine) Kick Down a Trash Can (trash can) Scribble Furiously as a Teen (Private Journal) Blow Off Some Steam (punching bag) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gen Five Disgust: Low qualiy items Ughhhh.... Insects.... EWWW.... Townies fashion choices AHHHHHHH! You're gen five disgust and always are craving high quality, bougie outfits & compliments. You want to be an icon & live in the biggest, most fanciest & of course cleanist mansion in all of Del Sol Valley. You avoid getting poisoned socially & physically at all costs! You're out to shape shift society and smack down a celebrity plaque of your own with an iron fist Colours - Green, Purple & Brown Traits - Squeamish, Neat, Snob Aspiration - Mansion Baron World - Del Sol Valley
Goals:
Achieve level 10 in the wellness & charisma skill
Complete the mansion baron aspiration
Complete the style influencer career (any branch)
Have the Creepy Crawlies lot challenge
Have the Celebrity Home, Convival & Romantic Aura lot traits
Create at least 3 fashion looks on Trendi as a teen
Own a fashion boutique & get it to 5 stars
Give at least 5 sims a makeover at the styling station
Become best friends with a celebrity & enemies with a celebrity
Become friends with 5 celebrities
Go for a manicure and pedicure at least once a week
Have two or more outfits for each clothing category *
Maintain a healthy lifestyle (eat healthy & exercise)
Have a house of staff (either butler, maid, gardener, chef or all) to maintain your house to perfection so it's neat and tidy
Reach at least 1 million simstagram followers
Become a 5 star celebrity & place your celebrity tile at Starlight Boulevar Love Story (Young Adult): You applied and won to be the next bachelorette
Live in a manor with 7 men, women or a mix of both for 7 sim days
Connect and speak to all 7 sims, go on group dates, speed dates or 1 on 1 inclusive dates
After 7 sim days choose the 3 sims you have the closest relationship with either friendship or romance
Go on vacation with those 3 sims and dedicate 1 day to each of the 3 sims
After the third day make your choice of who you want as your lover
Move in together, get married & have 4 children --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gen Six Envy: You're heavily inspired by your parents lifestyle, you crave the attention they receive, you crave their hair, you crave their wealth, you crave... Being them... wanting to be them... No wait.... BEING BETTER! You're wanting to be... BETTER! You're jealous & insecure of your parents success and want a lavish lifestlye of your own starting from the ground up. You want a penthouse uptown and to become known for not being the offspring of a celebrity.... But being your own celebrtiy
Colours - Celeste & White Traits - Ambitious, Materialistic, Jealous Aspiration - Fabulously Wealthy World - San Myshuno Goals:
Live in the fashion district as a young adult
After aging to an Adult move to an uptown penthouse
Become a Freelance Fashion Photographer & complete 10 gigs
Hire a professional photographer and do modelling at least once
Join the acting career and reach level 10
Complete the Fabulously Weather Aspiration (without using parents money)
Have the Pricy, Penny Pixies & Natural Light lot traits
Have a close relationship with gen 5 disgust
Master the media production, acting & photography skill
Become a 5-star celebrity & place your celebrity tile in Starlight Boulevard
Become friends with 2 celebrities before becoming a celebrity
Get in a relationship with a celebrity before becoming a celebrity
Have 4 children like your gen disgust parent --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gen Seven - Embarassed You tried living up to your grandparents and parents reputation and celebrity status but you struggled.... Struggled hard. No matter what you do you always seem to do it wrong or get judged. You're the blacksheep and misfit. You slip up quite a lot so you distance yourself from your immediate families lifestyle and look elsewhere... Or should i say hide elsewhere.
Colours - Pink & Yellow Traits - Clumsy, Socially Awkward, Cringe Aspiration - Master Mixologist World - Brindleton Bay Goals:
Master mixology, pet training and bowling skills
Reach level 5 of handiness & woodworking
Master the Culinary Mixologist Branch
Have a difficult relationship with your gen six Envy & siblings
As a teenager create a bowling club & go bowling with your friends
Have all friends have a cringe or socially awkward sim trait
Adopt or rescue a dog & cat
Have the Homey, Training Ground & Peace and Quiet lot trait
Have the Gremlins lot challenge
Complete at least 5 of these:
Walk into someone having woohoo
Get reject to prom
Have a dance battle
Pee yourself at least once
Sing karaoke poorly once
Get rejected from proposing
Walk into someone whilst they're peeing
Create 5 embarrassed vlogs
Emotion Attributes: Ask for reassurance Self-deprecating joke Share insecurities Have a cry (children and teens only) Laugh at Embarrassment (children, teens and unfeeling sims only.) Activities Hide from everyone (bed) Give yourself a pep talk (mirror) Tell self-deprecating jokes (social interaction) Hide in the trash can (children only) Confess Embarrassing Moments (private journal—children and teens only) Discuss Embarrassing Mood Embarassed Vlog (The More Views Video Station) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gen Eight Bored (Ennui) You're easily bored... You think life is boring and you're boring. Everything is boring. You succome to boredom and get consumed by boredom. You're always contemplating what to do and before you know it it's 5pm and you haven't done any chores or maintained yourself... Video games take up too much of your time, you're a gamer who has more interest in the games they play rather than their own life the SCI-FI genre has consumed you... Until one day.... You seek adventure like your favorite video gaming characters and crave the impossible!
Colours - Grey, Dark Blue & Black Traits - Lazy, Slob, Glutton Aspiration - Computer Whiz World - Windenburg Goals:
Reach level 10 in programming, video gaming & rocket science skill
Build a rocket and travel to sixam
Complete the computer whiz aspiration
Reach level 10 in the Scientist Career
Have the Filthy lot challenge
Build an underground secret headquarters
Live in a rundown filthy house as a Young Adult (grow a trash plant and have a cowplant as a pet)
Make your house modern as an Adult
Go on vacation at all possible destination worlds you have
Go to all the festivals in San Myshuno
Have a pet raccoon
Marry & have 3 children with an Alien
Have Gen Nine as a science baby
Emotion Attributes: Suggest fun activities Complain about boredom Discuss Bored Mood --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gen Nine Surprise THERES A PARTY.... WHERE? AT MY HOUSE! YOU'RE ALL INVITED..... WHERE? AT MY HOUSE! Party party party! You love to party. You're a bull of energetic energy. Your parents life was always so boring at first, you don't want a waste a single minute of life... You want to have fun, fun & more fun. You hope to live your life to the fullest and enjoy different elements! Turn up the volume to 100 and lets get cracking! Colours - Yellow & White Traits - Goofball, Dance Machine, Insider Aspiration - Party Animal World - Chestnut Ridge Goals:
Have the Party Place & Clothing Optional lot trait
Sneek out of your family home at least once as a teenager
Throw a teen party (try not to get caught by your parents)
Own a pet horse and become best friends
Master the comedy, dancing & dj mixing skills
Play guitar as a hobbie
Make your earnings by doing comedy at longues or dj mixing at dance clubs for your whole sim life
Get gold in every party event that is visible (not including the wedding party events)
Woohoo at every possible woohoo location
Create a club gathering with your siblings & friends and go clubbing at least twice a week
Have 2 children --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gen Ten Guilt: Your parents were too busy partying and living their life to the fullest that they unintentionally didn't spend enough time with you. Without learning morals, boundaries, rights & wrongs you decide to make a go of it yourself. You think "why settle for less"... "why only have one thing when you can have both". No matter how many excuses you end up giving yourself though, you can't help but feel guilty.... Colours - Orange & Brown Traits - Kleptomaniac, Hates Children, Noncommittal Aspiration - Serial Romantic World - San Sequoia Goals:
Acheive level 10 in Law Career - Judge Branch
Complete the Serical Romantic Aspiration
Master the mischef, charisma & singing skills
Have the Cursed lot challenge
Purchase the street gallery, make paintings and mark up the price to 300% to scam townies least once
Take a selfie before breaking up with every relationship & display the selfies on the wall
Serenade all your relationships at least once
Live in a rental containing at least 4 units
Steal an item from each unit
Earsdrop, Snoop for Secrets and break into each unit least once
Blackmail a sim at least once
Get married to a sim that lives in the same rental
Have a one time secret affair after getting married
Have 2 children, 1 with your secret affair being a spellcaster --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gen Eleven - Hate What is there to love? Your parent has destroyed the normal family dynamic. Love at times can entrance but it doesn't stand a chance. It only leaves to heartbreak. Your heart is broken. You were never shown love, except for it to be used and taken away from you. All you have is hatered... Hate for everything and anything. You relate to your sibling with you both being pulled into a dark void, you've both reached the precipice of darkness and have been consumed. If you both couldn't have love than why should others, it's time to destory happy endings together as a dynamic duo.... Did someone say two heirs in one?
Colours - Black, Purple & Red Traits - Mean, Evil, Unflirty Aspiration - Villainous Valentine World - Forgotten Hollow or Glimmerbrook Goals:
Have one Join the criminal & the other the secret agent career
Have the Vampire master Pipe Oragan & Vampire Lore & the Spellcaster master the Medium skill
Have one complete the Villainous Valentine Aspiration & one complete the Public Enemy
Have the On a Dark Ley Line, Registered Vampire Lair & Vampire Nexus lot traits
Have the Cursed lot challenge
Have both sims fail in one relationship each
Breakup with a sim on love day
Convince a sim to breakup with another sim
Have a total of 10 enemies (5 for each)
Have an Atrocious reputation & throw a Lampoon Party
Have one turned into a Vampire & earn the master vampire title and have the other turned into a Spellcaster & earn the Rank 6 - Virtuoso After they both reach their mastered title choose 1 twin to be the center lead
Turn a townie into a Vampire or Spellcaster (depending on which sibling) & move them into your household
Form an Enemies to Lovers relationship with them --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gen Twelve - Love You're the last heir. The last of a family lineage of a variety of different emotions. You're the final straw... The last page of the book. Love is the most powerful thing in the world. You think to yourself "how does someone evil create something so good... unless". You believe in self love and for everyone to have the ability to love and find redemption. You seek to have that classic fairytale and live happily ever after with your soulmate.
Colours - Pink, Red & White Traits - Romantic, Generous, Loyal Aspiration - Soulmate World - Tartosa & Henford-on-Bagley Goals:
Complete the Interior Decorator Career
Master the flower arranging skill
Complete the Soulmate aspiration
Have the Romantic Aura, Child's Play & Great Soil
Have a close relationship with all of your siblings
Have a childhood crush & seperate best friend
Always celebrate love day
Have one pet mate & have a puppy/kitten
Attend the wedding of at least one sibling
Attend the wedding of your childhood best friend
Get engaged to your childhood crush at the romance festival
Throw all wedding party events
Go on a honeymoon with lover
Have 5 Children As an Elder:
Master either cross stiching or knitting
Move to Henfod-on-Bagley and build a Cottage Home
Befriend a wild rabbit & fox
Have chickens, sheep, goat, cow & ilama live on your lot
Grow a money tree
Have at least one grandchild and be close with them
Bond with siblings & rekindle with your gen dark parent
Die peacefully as an elder
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There you have it, Congratulations! You have completed my emotions legacy challenge. I created this legacy challenge all by myself so i hope that this challenge has given you all motivation, satisifcation & enjoyment. This challenge was inspired by inside out which is one of my favorite disney pixar films. Please let me know how you found playing this challenge and give me any feedback you may have for ways i can improve or if there is something i need to fix!
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devsgames · 1 year ago
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As a dev who didn't really follow Baldur's Gate 3's development I was incredibly surprised at the number of people who have been making really sweeping and baseless claims about its success: stuff like "the game is made well by people who are passionate", or claim that other devs "just have to make good games", or that it's successful "because it doesn't have microtransactions". It's not that surprising I guess since Gamers tend to say these things about any product they happen to like and agree with, but I guess it was surprising to me how much people were saying it about this game specifically.
I'm sure the devs were passionate and I've sort of been enjoying my time with it, but frankly the success of BG3 absolutely does not feel like a design or development thing to me, but it's an obvious marketing and business one.
Having a good game obviously very much helps, but the fact of the matter is that rhetoric like this intentionally overlooks or downplays the real industry success factors: that BG3 is the third game in an already-popular and established legacy CRPG series that is built on an engine and mechanics by a studio which already made two other (unrelated) financially successful games on of the same genre, with all of it built on a back of a TTRPG franchise that has for the past few years been undergoing a huge resurgence in popularity and in no doubt funded through that partnership and licensing deals. Franchises like safe bets to make a profit, and this feels like the safest of bets. It really isn't successful because the game isn't adopting user-hostile monetization or because it's approach is radically different from any other game's development, it's successful because all these business factors.
To that end, whenever someone implies that other devs should just make games the same way...it's really funny! Like, the stars have aligned to make this product a hit and this doesn't implicitly make it a bastion or model for equitable game development just because it sold well and doesn't adopt hostile monetization schemes.
The fact of the matter is there's lots of games that are well-made by passionate devs and don't feature microtransactions or hostile monetization schemes, and they don't implicitly do well because of these design decisions alone; usually it's because they failed at marketing or didn't have the AAA budget to promote themselves like BG3. I'm also willing to bet that like every AAA studio, the devs at Larian likely weren't equitably compensated for this success, since most productions on a game of such a massive scale like this only really turn a profit because they undercut those working on it - huge profit and equitable compensation aren't often compatible concepts in game development. It's not like that would be any different here, so the "other devs should look to this game on how it should be made ethically" is a strange pull to me as well.
Basically this is all to say I think it's incredibly reductive to hold a product up on a pedestal by virtue of sales figures and choosing not to enact hostile monetization schemes. After all, I'm severely doubtful a product like BG3 would have done poorly assuming it had microtransactions in the first place. There's just way too many other factors that guided it alonge.
Do we need big budget games to move away from predatory business models that attempt to exploit the most vulnerable players? Absolutely yes I think we do, but I think people would also value from staying aware of real factors at play that define success in these sorts of situations, and not reduce development to "why don't developers simply make GOOD video games!" which I think is fairly baseless and confirmation-bias-y in its own way.
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dapg-otmebytheballs · 8 months ago
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All or Nothing and lowave records
Strap in because this is gonna be a long one. This post will try to shed some light on how the whole lowave records thing works, how you can use this music, how it is being distributed, and what all a contract with lowave would include. All this and more below the cut!
Let us start with the basics: What is lowave records?
Quite succinctly summed up on their website as follows:
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They make and distribute royalty-free music for content creators - specifically video-format content creators like Youtubers and streamers - they share some streaming revenue (30%, we'll get into that) with the creators who are labelled 'co-artists' and get promotion of their music through the content creators.
So, that brings us to the next big question: What is royalty-free music?
This is music that is free to use. Yes, by anyone, by Dan and Phil, by other creators, by you and me, any of us. This is by no means a new thing of course, anyone who has created content online would have come across other such services. just as an example, bensound.com hosts a large library of royalty-free music which you can use in any video by simply crediting the site in your description. Lowave works in a similar fashion. The music is not copyrighted. However, the rights to the music are held by lowave records and there are limitations on its use, which we will get into ahead.
How is the money working (preliminary edition)?
I will add details to this later when I discuss the contract, but let's see the info we get straight away from the FAQs: You do not have to pay them anything to make music for you
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The money is coming in from the streaming platforms, depends completely on amount of streams, and is shared between lowave and the creators
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Also from the FAQs: how can this music be used?
Anyone can freely use any of the music from lowave records, which means that yes, you can use any music from All or Nothing for your purposes with credit, it will not be taken down
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Is this the only music we will hear on dapg now? Will there be more albums?
Not necessarily! This isn't an exclusive deal, DnP can use any music they want on the channel. As for new albums, seems like it depends on how this one does (and it seems to be doing quite well!) which will unlock future avenues for more collabs with lowave
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Okay BASICS DONE if you're still reading you're probably here for the real meat so let us get into it
How is the money working (director's cut)?
Let us start with the terms on the partner agreement:
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Content Creators get 30% of the 'remaining income'. This basically means any costs that streaming platforms are deducting, any processing fees, taxes etc will be deducted before the 30% share is calculated. The second point there basically means that the deductions here do not include business expenses of the label itself, ie when the label calculates its own profit production costs and various other expenses are deducted from the income, but these costs will not affect the revenue received by the content creators (You are probably already thinking 'how is this company earning enough to keep going?' and I will touch on that later as well)
Payment installments are simple enough but here we see a third party enter the chat: DistroKid. Who is DistroKid and why are payments going through them, Hazel? I hear you ask. Well I'll tell you dear readers:
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It is basically a service that takes a yearly fee for putting your music on streaming platforms efficiently and then pockets 0% of the royalties. The royalties go from the streaming services (eg Spotify) to DistroKid who then send it to the rights-holders (in this case, lowave records). lowave records is using this service for a yearly fee to upload all their music through.
But wait! If DistroKid is working with lowave, and lowave owns all the rights, why is DistroKid making direct payments to the content creators?
Well, over the years they have offered a bunch of services:
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I am guessing lowave is making use of the teams feature to send royalties owed to content creators ("collaborators") directly from Diskworld, which makes sense, the less people money goes through the less chances of mishandling.
People have of course been talking about what percentage Spotify even pays for many many years. The short answer: we don't know for sure because it is confidential, Spotify won't tell and artists aren't allowed to. The longer answer: people have estimated from a bunch of publically available data that the share seems to be 70-30 (rights-holders- spotify).
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However spotify is not paying per stream anymore so that makes these figures harder to pin down. they are using a 'streamshare' system which is much more convoluted:
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That was all about the money, now let's talk Licensing
Creators can use this music in any capacity, and do not have to share any of the revenue from their own content with lowave. They have put a stipulation that it may not be used in a way that is "illegal, immoral, discriminatory or derogatory to [lowave]" but what constitutes 'immoral' and 'discriminatory' is not really defined.
The other limitation applies to the contracted Content Creators only as far as I can tell: they are not allowed to remix, sample, or edit these songs without prior permission. This probably only applies to altering the songs and playing under the same name, so fan remixes should not run into issues here, as long as they are not monetised. (thanks kate @goldenpinof for making me think about this part a bit more, I think it should be safe, but even royalty free music cannot be transformed without permission at least in a commercial capacity)
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They will also make more music free of cost if the streaming targets they set are being met by the albums produced. The process:
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Other services they provide will be handling the creator's account which they set up (DanAndPhilBeats in this case) on streaming platforms and making changes as required, so the Cheeky Banter -> Project X thing was probably done from their end, possibly an older change that they forgot to update?
Also below are promotional obligations:
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The promotion wasn't a one-time thing, it is expected to be ongoing, so we will probably be hearing about this in future videos as well. However, later in the partner agreement it is added that this has to be done as often as possible in a way that is "natural and appealing to their audience" which again, is pretty vague wording
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Also the licensing goes both ways, so lowave can also use segments of the content DnP make that has the music in the background to promote their music:
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Additional stuff from the contract:
lowave takes the guarantee of creating original works that it has the rights to and which do not infringe on copyrights, and the creators likewise take the guarantee not use the songs in content which infringes copyright. If there are any disputes regarding such infringement in the future the record and the creators have to back each other up (including sharing legal fees)
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I mentioned before some parts of the agreement being written in vague language. There is also a clause that says if any provision ends up being illegal/not possible to enforce by a court (eg if a court were to it's impossible to say whether content featuring the songs was 'immoral') then only that provision will be removed, the rest of the contract stands.
The waiver part basically means that if any of the parties decide to not sue or forgo a complaint about breach of contract, that does not mean that those provisions are now unavailable, they can still sue later on or for some other breach if they wish.
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That's the contracts done. Some of the framing there makes it seem to me like it's a pretty small company. The revenue they hope to generate does not seem to be very sustainable, especially since the revenue is being shared with content creators but the cost is not and they are additionally paying for other services like DistroKid.
So I looked more into this record label: they started business in 2022. If you go to their socials though, twitter and instagram they have followers in double digits and post very sparsely. Their tiktok seems to have nothing on it at all (thanks @lesbiandanhowell for the screenshot) and you may have noticed, Dan did not tag the lowave account at all when he announced the album on twitter
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The agreement never mentions creators promoting lowave's social channels or tagging them either (and it is quite odd, I have worked with a bunch of organisations in their infancy and this is, now more than ever, a common requirement from collaborators). lowave records does not seem to be actively working towards promoting themselves on social media or building an online presence, even though they have been operational two years producing music throughout.
There are three people involved with the company on public record:
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Benjamin Johnson listed as 'Head of Production' is probably the 'Ben' Dan has been talking about who made the songs. Seems like their scale of operations is not very big and possibly not a lot of producers in the records at all (despite the spotify page saying they have 'producers' plural, but that doesn't have to mean a lot many lol). Anyway, that would solve the mystery of 'how are they playing their employees?' if there aren't many employees to begin with (not even an intern to manage their social media it seems).
Look at the last person in the screenshots though: Robin. I looked at what other companies Robin is associated with and several of them - yeah several different operations that he's involved in - have the same correspondence address of '60 Thorpe Road...', so probably operating out of a ghost office (just to have a registered address and receive mail at etc). And one of these businesses that Robin is associated with is RWD, the business that made lowave records' website for them:
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The no-cost production of royalty-free music, little attention to social media presence, vaguely written contract, seemingly small scale of operations with technical assistance like website design coming from an affiliated organisation makes me think that lowave records might be a side project. A labour of love, possibly, hoping to sustain itself enough to keep putting out royalty-free music in a time of extreme crackdown on copyrighted music use.
It makes sense to use content creators for promotion, gets you way more streaming than making your own music and putting it out. And the incentive of unique but guaranteed royalty free music at no cost is great for content creators of all sizes. It is far from sustainable on its own though, especially with streaming revenue being basically peanuts, and I do not think there's much interest in gaining a following or putting in that effort either, so it's probably a very small business by a few people. How long it manages to sustain itself as a project I am not sure, but it certainly isn't looking like something particularly geared towards profit and growth in its current state.
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We are at an end! If you read this far, leave me like an A+ or a star for my essay so I can have academic validation from this please. Of course I probably have not covered everything possible in connection to this so if anyone has more info feel free to add on! And if this was all very long and there's something particular you wanted to know you can drop an ask into the inbox about it!
Thank you for coming with me on this journey! Back to the important things, which was your favourite song from the album? I think mine is Arcade Admission
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