#and this isn't the only time where it looks huge!!!!

[howlingmod]

elliot x reader where he's introducing them to his parents except reader is REALLY unsettling (as in two time levels of unsettling) elliots being a huge sap while reader just stares at his parents they fear for their dumbass son being murdered in his sleep but tough it out (barely) because they love him and he seems happy "me and the bad bitch i pulled with my autism" type dynamic

summary - elliot x reader, pre-forsaken, reader's associated with Something i will not clarify because it is a fun reference for Me. </3

misc - oh this is so cute i love aut4aut love .... accidentally focused on the reader and the parents more but just know you two are being stupid and giggling the whole time

-Elliot spoke so fondly of you to his parents. Everytime you were the subject, he'd go on excitedly about all the things you guys were up to, a cute gesture you'd done for him the other day, how you were working on something for your own family. Recently, he'd gone and visited your parents for the autumnal equinox, and he couldn't let the favor go unreturned, something you and his parents happily accepted.

-They were excited to meet you, happy to see the special someone who had made their boy such a happy man. He'd never shown them pictures of you, saying you were camera shy and didn't like sitting down for photos all too much, so they had no idea what to expect. They were only a little startled at the door.

-There wasn't anything extraordinarily alarming, you weren't actively on fire or immediately threatening, just a little ... odd. You had a wide-eyed look to you, one they'd initially taken as you being nervous but, confirmed by Elliot himself and the passing hours, seemed to just be a constant feature of your appearance. Neither of you were particularly dressed up, but you had both worn the sweaters that they'd sent you for Christmas the previous year, Elliot's warm red contrasting your deeper neutral starkly. (A detail which had brought a tear to his mother's eye, knowing you two had remembered and appreciated them ... she'd had to ask Elliot what you usually wore, wanting to make something that'd fit you well, she was touched to see her efforts weren't in vain.)

-You'd stuck you hand out to shake his father's hand a little earlier than he'd expected, almost as soon as the door had fallen open. A strange decision, sure, but he figured you may have come from a more formal, mannerly background, as your stilted, flat speech matched it.

"It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine!"

-Your hands were extraordinarily cold, grip a little tight. It was fall, that could explain the temperature and, again, you may just be more accustomed to formalities. It made sense, even if he was a little unnerved by how you seemed to stare through him. He wasn't going to make fun of you for being nervous, he understands! He probably wasn't much better meeting his wive's parents. Probably.

-As you all settled in at the dinner table, Elliot largely took over the conversation. Catching up his parents on everything that'd happened since he'd visited last and answering the usual 'how have you been?' type small talk. Not wanting to leave you out, his mother had turned her attention to you.

"How's your family doing, dear? Elliot told me the ... solstice, went well," she smiled, folding her hands on her lap.

"Equinox. The solstice is in a few weeks, for winter," you started, voice stiff, "My family's good. I missed them, Risio especially."

She'd flinched a little, internally wincing at the stiffness of your voice and the correction. She hardly wanted to make a bad impression, especially if she came off as careless. "Ah, my apologies. We've never celebrated the coming-and-goings of the season much. Risio is your...?"

"Dog. I found him when I was younger."

"Oh, you have a dog? Well, isn't that just adorable! Elliot always wanted one when he was a kid, we just never really had the time for one."

You'd smiled at that, a small little crack in the neutral expression you'd kept from the moment you came in, "He told me about that. Risio likes him too, he told me he was happy I found someone to support me in life."

She'd been about to say something else when she'd halted. 'Told me,' weren't you just talking about your dog? Maybe she got lost in the conversation. She looked over at her husband, meeting an equally confused expression. You didn't seem to notice, digging around in your bag for something.

"I have a photo of him, I meant to send you an email with it a while ago but um," you pulled a Polaroid from your bag, sliding it across the table to them, "you guys don't have one and the mail doesn't work."

"Do you mean you can't send anything from your house? I'm pretty sure Elliot sent us a card from there," his father spoke up, confused by your wording once more. You only shrugged.

"It doesn't work the same. He told me as much."

In the time that he'd asked that, his mother had already gone pale looking at the photo. It seemed normal enough, a little poor in quality but not everyone has the same ease of access. It looked like a living room, an older style of home given the short, stained carpeting and bay-and-bow window showing an equally dark lawn, illuminated only by a far off, orange streetlight. There were two taller figures, presumably your parents, but neither of their faces were in frame, neither was illuminated very well either, almost fading into the background. A much younger version of you was sat on the floor, one of the few easily visible figures. You had a wide smile on your face, one that was almost shared by the large dog you had your arms thrown around. It was a bulky, old looking husky, strangely peachy in the face.

"Wow," came his mother's breathless reply. One mimicked by her husband seconds later under his breath, decidedly more grim.

You seemed to frown for only a split second, a small twitch more than anything. "This doesn't really work either. I'm sorry."

His mother was quick to shoot up, waving her hand, "Oh, no no, don't worry about it dear. I'm ... how old is your dog, anyhow?"

You'd paused, looked down in thought for a few moments. "Um," you started, quieter than before, "I think ... maybe 50? Older? I don't know. He never really told me when he was born."

The two of them stopped at that, equally as lost in what to respond with.

"Hey mom, I think there might be smoke coming from the kitchen ..." Elliot spoke up, timidly breaking the silence.

-Safe to say, they were unsettled by your history, even more so by how regularly you conveyed it all as plain, normal facts of your life. His father had stopped Elliot a little later, asking if your parents knew about the whole 'talking dog' thing. Something which Elliot confirmed.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, no! They all seem to understand him, or something like that, at least ... I didn't hear him make a peep while I was over, so I'm not really sure. I mean, there was this one time where I woke up in the middle of the night and (Reader) was out in the living room and I thought they were talking to their Dad but it sounded a little weird so ..." Elliot trailed off, only shrugging a little in conclusion.

-The rest of the night they couldn't help but be unnerved. They didn't want to be rude but ... well, it was a little hard for them to accept. Elliot seemed happy at least, you talked with him the most, referencing inside jokes between the two of you freely. They had to be happy about that, any parent would be glad to know their child found someone that makes them Smile.

-Once the night came to an end, you'd all exchanged your goodbyes. Elliot leaning on you as you turned and walked out the door to your car. They'd waved you two off, sharing a look once you pulled out of the driveway onto the road.

"They seem sweet."

[yanderedrabbles]

Yandere Movie Week [review]

Day 2 - Secret Obsession (2019)

Yandere Score: 9/10

Overall Score: 6/10

I hate to only give this movie a 6/10, because I really enjoyed it.

But it's the kind of fun, turn-your-brain-off flick best enjoyed with ice cream and zero critical thinking skills.

The premise is solid - our heroine Jennifer (Brenda Song) wakes up with amnesia after being chased down by a masked killer. A great set up for tension, and a pretty classic intro to a thriller.

The opening scene yanks us straight into the action. A rainy night. A mysterious, knife wielding stranger. A desperate dash for safety. (If only they could have kept this pace up for the entire movie, sigh).

You can see where I'm going with this. It doesn't go well for our girl.

After she wakes up in the hospital, we're introduced to her husband, Russel (Mike Vogel). His character design had two words on it and those were "buff nerd." Biceps and bifocals.

He's with her through every step of her recovery, sweet and steadfast while she grapples with the guilt of not remembering him, or their life together.

But most importantly, he's here to whisk her away to safety! That safety being a gorgeous house out in the mountains.

With no cell service or nearby neighbours.

I love the cabin chic look Jen, but maybe not the best place to be when there's a killer out for blood.

As you can expect, things go south and they go south fast. Not even half an hour in and we get our first on screen murder. Trust me, this particular yandere is not shy about his intentions.

He works hard to earn his 9/10 rating. He's been obsessed with Jen for years, and her getting married is the final straw. Either she can be his, or she can join his rapidly growing list of victims.

We've got plenty of the classic tropes. Cameras in her bedroom. Isolation. Chaining her to the bed. A total catch, no idea why Jen was never into him.

He's the quintessential "If I can't have you, no one can" sort of guy. Doing whatever he has to to keep his girl. He gets creative with it too. How many yanderes can say they broke out Photoshop as part of their grand plan?

Unfortunately, he's far from perfect. And I don't mean the murders. (Hot guys can do a little murder sometimes, as a treat).

His plan hinges on people just... not checking ID? You're lucky you made it as far as you did, pretty boy. Guess some deranged killers get all the luck.

On top of that, the chemistry between him and Jen is terribly lukewarm. A few tense moments, but nothing simmering hot.

For the most part, he isn't very scary or emotive. Which is a HUGE missed opportunity.

Show us the passion that led him to this point! Show us a man on the end of his tether, desperate to keep his girl! Give us something more than bland acting, and a range beyond straight-faced and slightly-less-straight-faced.

Despite his long list of crimes, he just isn't intimidating.

Maybe the intention was to have this non-threatening guy do all these things as a way to ratchet up the tension, but I don't think the movie had the budget or the time to pull it off.

He gets much better in the third act - more demanding, more handsy. But it never reaches the point where I'm at the edge of my seat wondering if he's about to lose his shit.

Jennifer as a character is moderately likeable. Despite spending quite a bit of time with her, I struggle to think of anything majorly distinctive. Not great. Not terrible. I think it's Brenda Song herself rather than Jennifer who I end up liking.

She's also - how do I say this politely - not always the smartest. And I get it girl, it's hard to think under pressure. But how the hell do you manage to lock your keys inside your car when you're being chased by a killer?

She's lucky she has her golden retriever man to protect her, really.

In terms of technicals, I'd say they're okay. Not very eloquent of me, but that's exactly what they are.

The cinematography is passable. There weren't a lot of shots that made me pause and stare. It has that glossy look that a lot of direct-to-streaming movies have, where you can tell the budget is stretched a bit thin, and the camera guy is antsy to get his cheque.

The score doesn't stick out to me at all. Hate to say it.

Don't go in expecting a blockbuster, high budget film. It's fun but utterly mid-teir in budget, story and characters. The premise has promise, but it fails to deliver as much tension and terror as it could.

Would I recommend? Despite its issues, I'd say it's worth picking up. Not the scariest or prettiest movie on this list, but it's a quick fix of yandere to get you through the day.

Day 1 - Fear (1996)

Day 2 - Secret Obsession (2019)

Day 3 - Hush (2016)

Day 4 - The Perfect Guy (2015)

Day 5 - The Boy Next Door (2015)

Day 6 - The Invisible Man (2020)

Day 7 - Til Death Do Us Part (2017)

Taglist: @jsprien213 @trolleri-trollera @mel-vaz

[sage-nebula]

To answer the poll questions: I got into it with Red/Blue in 1998, when I was 8 years old. It's been a huge part of my life ever since, in a way that at this point, I don't ever think I'll stop loving it.

With that said, while I don't doubt that there are plenty of people like me who got into it in their youth and continued loving it years onward, I also don't think that can be said for all adult fans. To begin with, I have a lot of friends who, although they were also really into it in their youth, ended up falling out of love with it and never went back. I also have friends who didn't discover it until they were already in their 20s, and fell in love with it, then. The Pokémon Company makes a lot of merchandise that realistically would only appeal to adults (cookware, clothing accessories like tie clips and luxury watches, et cetera), and I think they make too much of it to explain away as "this is to appeal to those who love it because of nostalgia." I don't think it would be profitable for them if those were the only adults buying it.

Having said all that, while I think that Pokémon has a lot of cross-generational appeal, I also recognize that it is a very specific genre of video game with qualifiers that can indeed make it so that it simply might not appeal to someone.

Broadly, Pokémon's genre is RPG. However, it isn't just an RPG -- it's a monster collecting RPG. And what this means is that, unlike in a traditional RPG where you go around and gather a party of specific characters, here you are capturing monsters, training them, breeding them, et cetera. Monster collecting RPGs are half-RPG, half-pet simulator. And even if someone likes RPGs (and Japanese RPGs in specific, since Japanese RPGs have a different style of storytelling than western RPGs do), they might not enjoy monster collectors / pet simulators, and so that aspect of them might seem off-putting. (This is especially true because it isn't just a pet simulator, either; there's the battling aspect to contend with, and while you don't need to be super versed in it to get through the main campaign, even with how much things have been simplified in recent generations it can still feel overcoming to a newcomer to have to learn type compatibilities, learn what the different stats mean, learn what abilities are and how they affect battle, etc. This can be off-putting even to someone who was interested in the creatures because they looked cute / cool / interesting.)

But okay, maybe you like RPGs and monster collectors. Well, Pokémon in specific still has some qualifiers to it that come with both the targeted age demographic and the fact that it is the most profitable media franchise in the world. Although Pokémon does have cross-generational appeal, the target demographic is still children. And given that the target demographic is children, this does mean that the games are going to do things like have hand-holdy tutorials at times (particularly in the beginning), or have stories that are less complex than an adult might enjoy, and have child-aged protagonists, and so on and so forth. This has not to say that Pokémon has never had dark content (e.g. the big bad of Gen 6 openly wanted to commit mass genocide in both the games and the corresponding anime season), but that it usually won't go in-depth about the dark content it introduces. (The big bad of Gen 6 wanted to commit mass genocide, but the games skirted the issue so much they almost treated it with levity, and the anime moved on as quickly as it could. There's also Gen 5's entire plot and how that could have been handled with a lot more nuance, but that's a discussion for another time.)

For an adult player, things like this can feel exasperating, annoying, or even frustrating. Even as someone who has loved Pokémon for most of my life and probably always will, the way the Gen 6 games handled the genocide plot (and the ramifications of it etc) infuriated me, because I was an adult at the time I played them. And it is annoying, as someone who plays every generation, to have to sit through "how to catch a pokémon" tutorials when I've been playing these games for so long that a good amount of tumblr's population probably wasn't even born when I started. But it's something that I, personally, can tolerate because there's so much else about the series that I love, such as the strong emphasis on the bonds between humans and animals / Pokémon, the environmentalist themes, the characters, and yes, a lot of the dark content and horror that does exist and can be explored further in fanworks. But that's just me; there are plenty of adults for whom that is off-putting, and who don't want to spend their already limited free time dealing with the hand-holding while being forced to play as a child protagonist, and I think that's totally valid.

In the end, it all comes down to what you, as a video game player, want out of your video game playing experience. It comes down to whether you like RPGs, and if you like RPGs then if you like monster collectors, and if you like monster collectors then do you like monster collectors that have a targeted demographic of children despite the cross-generational success. It's definitely not for everyone, and that's okay, but I just think it has less to do with age and more to do with what kind of video games spark joy in you as a player.

Tussling with yet another failed attempt to get into the pokeymans (I think rationally it's probably a genre that is Not For Me, like platformers, but that seems so fucking *stupid*), and I have Some Questions for People. Unfortunately I can only put one poll per post, so please be patient while I stack some reblogs.

[buckley-diaztruther]

sorry friends it's another long one

ive always been of the opinion that when buck and eddie end up living together it has to be eddie suggestinf/asking. partially bc its obvious gonna be in his house but largely because we need proof that this is a step theyre both wanting, it's buck being asked ti stay, it's very clearly NOT a moment where buck uses big gestures to save a sinking ship

and now the show has so perfectly given is the exact sce priority where this HAS to happen

because when eddie comes back, there's no question of him and chris moving back into the house. the question will be 'does buck stay or go'

and there's a few non-romantic reasons why I don't think Eddie would want/tell buck to go. first reason is financial. buck gave up his loft, fucked his credit even more, and would have a hell of a time trying to find any apartment that he can afford AND that would take him. eddies not going to just kick his best friend out, and at the moment no one else on the team really has a long term place for him. sure, eddies is cramped as well but at least all of bucks stuff is there. this is the practical option that is going to save them both money tbh

second reason is the diaz boys love having Buck around. he cooks, he cleans, he co-parents, and he is literally their favorite person outside of each other. doesn't even have to be romantic, they just love buck. he's family and its really that simple.

and then of course we do look at the romance of it all which. I think a lot of the fandom agrees would the the funniest reason for why buck would feel like he CANT stay. because whether he's accepted his feelings or not at this point, if he and eddie arent together then buck is now going to be hyper aware of anything that could be read as romantic and he's going to try to avoid that once eddie is home. so he's either gonna try to make living with Eddie the most platonic bro thing ever OR he's gonna wanna avoid it all together. meanwhile eddie is just like 'dude. wtf is ur deal just get in bed and stfu ur fine I'm fine and I just wanna go to sleep'

but then eddie is going to have to go to buck, romantically or not, and very directly tell him: "I WANT you to stay. I am asking you to stay here. With us."

bc everyone leaves and sure sometimes they come back but has anyone really ever asked him to stay? has anyone ever actually told buck in clear, explicit words that he is wanted, needed, and that him being the one to leave is not that they want?

because the few times buck has left anywhere (PA, the frat house w Connor, Abbys place, the bouncing between Maddie and chimney before finally landing the loft) it's either been something he's been told to do, or it's something he's felt like he has to do. he's known that he's liked and loved and wanted to a casual degree but no one has ever said that they're sad to watch him leave. no one has asked him to stay. they either let him go or they go first.

(im of the belief that every place buck ever left during his years of traveling was only either because whatever ties he had there dissolved or because he was following someone else, all except for the seals - Bucks first time choosing for himself, by himself, to leave something behind (i don't count Hershey since Maddie was such a big part of him leaving. I don't think he'd have really left if she hadn't told him to go and 'left' him first))

the closest he's gotten to being asked to stay, and i think this moment was huge, was when he brought up leaving the 118 and everyone verbally flicked him in the head for it. and I do think this was so important, but also undercut by chimney and then eddie leaving. it kind of perpetuates this theme for buck of always being the one left behind waiting for someone to come back (happened again end of s7 when Bobby tried to return, and then again where Chris and then Eddie leaving and buck is just there holding the fort to make their leaving either except this time there isn't even the hope of them coming back (he tells eddie 'Don't come back'. not 'don't come back yet' or 'don't come back without chris'. he says 'don't come back' because he doesn't want one without the other and he refuses to hold hope for the potential of them BOTH returning when the entire point of the move was for them to be together in texas)

so yeah. eddie needs to come back with Chris and Eddie needs to be the one to ask buck to stay. because buck needs to be more than a ghost haunting the spaces left behind, more than a spector wandering from home to home with no where that's actually his to keep. eddie needs to choose joy and buck needs to be deliberately chosen rather than just. kind of stumbling into a relationship once more without really knowing how he got there. so ig in a sense it needs to be both of them choosing, but eddie HAS to be the one to choose first because otherwise buck won't believe that he's ever allowed to even want it, let alone ask for it

[apomaro-mellow]

Corroded Coffin ransoms Steve 4

Part 3

Steve's makeshift shackles were released and he honestly had half a mind to bolt. But in the end, he figured it was better to get this all over with. Eddie pushed Steve in front of him and he started towards the convenience store. The bell rang on the door as he went in. The cashier didn't even look up from his magazine.

Steve pretended to peruse the candy aisle as he scoped out the place. He didn't have a gun or a knife, so he couldn't be expected to stick up the joint and empty the register.

Bingo

Eddie was posted up by the magazine rack right by the door. Steve went towards the back where the drinks were. He grabbed a couple six packs and casually walked back up to the front. The cashier looked up then and Steve felt his heart skip a beat before he bolted for the door.

He could hear the cashier screaming at him. He could hear Eddie howling behind and yelling for the van to start. Steve threw himself into the back and the cashier had chased them outside. Steve's leg was still dangling out the door as Doug peeled out of the parking lot. Eddie pulled him further inside and shut the door.

The van was a cacophony of loud noise as they drove back to Gareth's house. Only when they got to the driveway and parked did it begin to quiet as they all caught their breaths.

"So", Steve spoke up first. "Trust me now?"

Eddie just shoved him. "It's a start. Let's talk about what else you can do for us."

In the house, everyone was either a full can or a can and a half into it. Eddie still wanted to hold out hope for their original plan.

"Can't we still ransom your folks? We could call 'em up from whatever resort they're all and demand the money."

Steve shook his head. "It's not gonna work. Your best bet is just taking some stuff from my house and pawning it."

"Works for me", Jeff said.

"Your parents really wouldn't give a huge payout for you?", Gareth asked, eyes narrowed.

"Well they didn't last time", Steve shrugged and then stood up, crushing his can and picking up his third can.

"Wait. Rewind", Eddie said. "This isn't even your first kidnapping?"

"Yeah and I gotta be honest. Compared to them, you guys are amateurs", Steve said as he cracked his beer open.

"When was this?", Jeff asked.

"Uhh, ten? I don't know, the whole things kind of a blur now. I just remember getting in a car, being in a room, talking with my dad on the phone and finding out he wasn't gonna shell out the money for me."

"...Jesus Christ", Eddie breathed out. "And I thought my dad sucked."

"Okay, it's kinda apples to oranges", Doug said. "Harrington's dad sucked. Eddie, your dad sucks in a different way."

"Why does your dad suck?", Steve asked, switching the attention off of him.

"Psshhh, where do I start? Never around until he wanted me to do something for him, was a dick to my mom, ditched me when cops came, all around scum of the earth." Eddie stood with a groan. "And the apple don't fall too far from the tree."

Steve rolled his eyes. "You're not that bad, Munson. I told you, you guys are third rate kidnappers."

"That's the one thing I didn't mind being being last in."

"You got anything you're first in?"

"You wanna find out?"

Eddie didn't realize how close they'd gotten, almost toe to toe before Gareth cleared his throat.

"Uhhh, do you two need a room?"

Eddie cleared his throat and took a step back. "So, you just let us into your house? And we take what we like?"

"Exactly", Steve said. "A lot of it's insured anyway."

"Dudes, we might be able to get more than just battle of the bands money", Doug said.

"You guys want something more than some band competition?", Steve asked.

"We can dream big", Jeff said.

"Like what?"

Gareth started immediately and Jeff spoke with his eyes, hinting to Eddie that they should both go to the kitchen. They did and Jeff wasted no time.

"Don't fall for Harrington's shtick."

"His shtick?"

"Yeah, his jock shtick. He's gonna get you with the things they do and you're gonna fall for it."

"Like what?", Eddie leaned in.

"Just stay metal, Eddie. Okay?"

Eddie snorted. "Yeah, whatever man."

They decided to just go ahead and do the job tomorrow morning. They stayed up until about midnight before figuring out they should probably sleep before robbing a house. Gareth also suggested they take turns watching Steve.

"I stole beer for you guys, where's the trust?", Steve bemoaned.

"You could still earn some more points", Eddie said. Then he saw how the others already declared themselves 'not it' by putting their fingers to their noses. When Eddie's face fell in realization, he groaned, eliciting snickers from the others.

Gareth slept in his room while Jeff and Doug took up the couches in the basement. Steve laid across the couch in the living room while Eddie got comfortable in the armchair right across from him.

"You're really just gonna watch me all night like some stalker?", Steve asked. "What if I wanna beat one off?"

Eddie shrugged. "If you wanna give the freak a show."

"It's weird to just watch."

Eddie wanted to choke on his spit. "'Just watch'?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Munson, you had to have done it once."

"Done what?"

Steve sat up and made a jerking motion with his hand. "I mean with friends."

"I'm afraid I'm unaware of that custom", Eddie squeaked. "You and the guys on your team just, what? Jerk each other off?"

"Don't make it weird. We do it to ourselves. We just...do it around each other. If you're gonna do it, might as well, right?"

Eddie remembered Jeff's words then. Harrington was either trying to entrap him now, or get him in a trap later. He was just dollar signs to Eddie and that's how it needed to stay.

"Get to sleep, Harrington. You can go one day without abusing yourself."

Part 5

Taglist

@tinyplanet95 @dammitjim02 @chaotic-waffle @missarte-beltane @im-sam-fucking-winchester

@persnicketysquares @estrellami-1 @spookycollectorcandies @chocolateraccoonlights @exasperatedsighohmy

@disrespectedgoatman @yesdangerpls @me-ig7 @imaginary-maggie-waggie

[frightenedcricket]

Bartender!Folio x F!Reader. A little Au thing I wrote.

You weren't even looking for a bar that night but a heavy storm caught you on your way back home. The shift had been long and you were tired, but as much as you wanted to arrive to your small apartment, you had to look for shelter somewhere.

On a random Wednesday, a bar like his didn't have much to do. Only a few regulars and a couple of friends. Not even his employees where there. I mean, they were, but not working. They were playing pool in a corner when the door open. Folio was occupied counting bills in the corner of the bar and he barely noticed.

You stood there for a second, thinking of what to do or if you should leave. But then, the bartender with a huge tattoo on his neck turned to you and you felt caught. He frowned a bit.

You grabbed your bag and took a step in.

"Hi" You barely whispered. He didn't hear you. But you walked closer to the bar. You had to stay somewhere during the storm. Maybe this wasn't the same place, but anyone seemed to mind your presence.

"Hey, welcome. Can I get you something?"

"Uh... A coffee?"

Folio chuckled. Cute.

"Does this look like a coffee shop, darling?"

Exhausted and soaked you didn't have time for this shit.

"Why do you have a coffee machine then?"

Folio arched a brow and looked back. Yep. A coffee machine.

"Okay. With milk?" He said with a smirk.

"Please"

You observed the surroundings as the guy got your coffee ready, obviously showing how little he had used the coffee machine. It was kind of sweet. But also... The way his strong back was turned to you... He was a sight to be seen.

"Folio! Man! Are you a barista now? Are you gonna start writing out names on the beers?" A man called from behind and others laughed. You didn't turn, but you situated them as the group playing pool on the back.

"Dude! You better shut the fuck up or I'll kick you out" Folio answered with a high pitched laugh.

You tried to not be bothered by them and stay calm.

"They are my friends" Folio told you. "Don't mind them"

He sat the mug in front of you and leaned on his elbows.

You grabbed it and the warmth instantly made you feel better.

"Thank you" You said.

"No problem"

You lifted it to your lips and took the first sip. But under his gaze, you tried to not gag.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" He scrunched his nose.

You chuckled and nodded.

"Fuck, I'm sorry. I'm better with beers and cocktails" Folio muttered. "It's on the house, by the way. And don't finish it if you don't want to. I'm sure there is some tea somewhere..."

"Hey, it's fine. As long as I can stay here until the rain stops"

Folio stopped his search to look at you.

"So the rain huh? I was wondering how you ended up here"

You shrugged.

"It caught me"

"After work?"

"Yeah"

"Well, you can stay. And if you have to stay long enough maybe I can drop you home"

"As I kid I was told to not get into stranger's cars"

"Well, I'm Nick then. Folio because that guy there is also Nick and it's confusing" He put his hand right in front of you face and the sleeve of his hoodie rid up, showing that his tattoos went on up his wrist too. "And it's not a car, it's a bike"

You chuckled.

"Well, nice to meet you" You told him your name and stretched his hand. "And what difference would a bike make?"

He gave you a look and rolled his eyes. "Smartass"

It make you laughed.

"Noah hasn't drunk, he can drop us off"

"Thank you, but I can walk. No need"

"It's 1 am"

The idea sounded temping. But again, you didn't know him. Or that Noah.

Folio looked at you, really pretty just sitting there on your work clothes with wet shoes and trousers. And that shitty coffee between your hands.

"Can you call someone at least?"

You shook your head. "Nop. But I'll wait here until it stops, I promise I'll be fine"

Folio sighed. "Okay. If you are still here by 2.30 am I'm calling you an Uber"

"I can do that"

"I know and still you walked into my bar instead of doing that fifteen minutes ago"

Speachless. That's how he left you before heading to his friends to clear the empty bottles.

"Who's the chick?"

"Such a dick today, huh Dierkes?"

You could definitely hear them.

"And it's none of your business"

"Do you know her?" Nicky asked him. That one's voice sounded gentle and his glasses made him look cozzy in some nerdy way.

"I do now"

"Cool. Do you really know how to use the coffee machine?"

"Nop, he doesn't!" You said from the bar and your smile made Folio chuckle.

"Yeah, sorry for that"

"He hasn't poisoned a costumer yet" A tall one with tattoos all over his neck told you.

"Yet" You answered.

"That's Noah, darling. And he did poisoned a costumer"

Everyone laughed.

"He was allergic to nuts and didn't told me" Noah defended himself.

Folio was back on the bar soon. "Noah works here" He informed you. "And Nicky works on a tattoo show down the road"

"Oh. I work in front of him then"

"Really? In that shop?"

"Yeah"

"Well, and you never stopped by?"

"On Third base? No, what kind of name is that?"

"Last stop before home" He answer with a smirk and wiggling his eyebrows at you.

You rolled your eyes so dramatically with a sigh.

"Tell him it's awful" One of the guys shouted.

"Can we have some privacy in here?" Folio exclaimed back.

"It's not awful" You whispered and Folio smirked. "Just tasteless"

He gasped and clutched his chest. "You hurt my feelings"

You giggled. You were feeling better, so distracted from the exhaustion and cold. You were glad you walked in.

You stayed there for another hour and then Folio insisted on calling you an Uber.

"No, don't pay it, Folio. Hey. Nick!"

He giggled and made some space between your bodies, his big hand grabbing your wrist to stop you from stealing the phone. "No darling, I already did"

"You didn't need to"

"I know. I wanted to"

Then the Uber arrived and you grabbed your things. You didn't want to leave.

But there he was, with a smile and an umbrella ready to walk you.

"Thank you"

"I'll learn to make coffee if you promise to come back"

You bit your lip.

"Can I have your phone?"

"My phone? No it's mine. But I'll give you my number the next time you come"

With your face burning in embarrassment you turned around.

"Hey, you will come back, right?"

Quickly, you stepped closer and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Nick"

He watched the car disappear down the road and sighed loudly. Back inside, the tease would be insufferable. You, on the other side, laid on the bed not able to sleep with a stupid smile on your face.

[rancidhomo]

I didn't say I think they're both sexually repressed - I think Saxon is. People handle growing up in oppressive cultures and environments differently, but it's undeniable that it is a widely-experienced reality that suppressing one's identity as a result of external pressure can lead to extremely harmful or damaging behavior. This whole plot is centered around the allure of the taboo, how it has the potential to both repulse and excite us. For someone as stifled and unfulfilled as Saxon, the manifestations of that taboo appear to be especially stuck in his psyche. Of course they were both repulsed when they were looking at what they had done in the light of day - they had allowed more of their hidden selves to show as a result of the drugs, and by the next day when they became cognizant of what had happened as a result of it, they were disgusted by themselves for how their feelings and actions had informed it and of course by the act itself. Being aroused by the forbidden and simultaneously repulsed by it is a human experience explored thousands of times over in art literature and media and it's what Saxon is and will continue to struggle with over the final episodes. Did you completely miss that in your viewing of the episodes this far? Seriously?

Also, your reading comprehension is fucking terrible. Your Stonewall comment is so funny, taking a huge liberty to suggest the purpose of my comments was to hold them up as shining examples of gay romantic love and not a reflection on how two damaged and insecure people could get to a place where they react to each other like that despite the amoral unnatural underpinnings of it.

Everything in my post was exploring what it might be like from their point of view, although it might make some uncomfortable to assume the point of view of two people who have done something so shockingly offensive to morality. That's why it's so interesting to explore - what conditions/emotions/circumstances have led to this insane situation they've found themselves in together where they are hinging so much of themselves on each other? Identity is the theme of this season and happiness is a huge part of self-actualization for most people. It is not a love story from the viewer's perspective by any means, but my point was that the terrible ways the conditions of their life had hindered their emotional development has created the potential for a "love story," as you say, for them - two lost and lonely people who might think they'll only find what they need in each other despite all the many ways it is super fucked up. Saxon, especially, seems to romanticize Lochlan a lot, but we'll see where that goes. It's highly possible that the writer could go the route of having them surrender to that feeling, them thinking it's what would make them feel happy and fulfilled. It could also end with them severely broken and unable to be near each other for the rest of their lives.

I understand if contemplating these themes or assuming these points of view for the sake of world defining/world building isn't for everyone - that's perfectly understandable given the dark and disturbing depths it will bring you to given the subject matter. But going on other people's posts just to show what an obtuse dumbass you are is just putting yourself out.

I wouldn't usually be all in on anything related to vacant rich white guys but I think its the way that the vapidity almost imperceptibly ebbs every now and then that has unfortunately captivated me very much.

Based on 95% of Saxon's words and behavior, like Chelsea I also would have quickly come to the conclusion that Saxon is soulless, interacting with his environment and other people in superficial ways that barely penetrate even a centimeter past his skin, never compelled to truly engage with the world, or allow any force to do even a little bit of substantive work inside him.

Most people unfortunate enough to have a conversation with him would probably assume that he's never known love in his life - and that he doesn't even know he hasn't, either. That's why it's so satisfying to me to witness the moments where Lochlan does something that briefly catalyzes evidence of something substantial existing within Saxon.

e.g., when Lochlan places his hand on Saxon's back and runs his fingers through his hair, Saxon's immediate unguarded look of euphoric overwhelm at the intimacy of the moment is absolutely wild. How few gestures of genuine, intentional affection has Saxon been the recipient of? For a moment, Lochlan's action allowed us to glimpse an interiority/depth of emotion in Saxon that he usually seems devoid of.

Also, in Saxon's flashback to the kiss, he is effusing such a palpable glow of vulnerability. You can feel it with the positioning of their bodies (Lochlan higher and bending down to Saxon), the warmth of the light, the softness of the kisses that Lochlan is bestowing on Saxon, Saxon letting the back of his fingers lightly graze across Lochlan's neck.

He is exposing his longing for tenderness. Lochlan's love and affection briefly shows us that Saxon is a human capable of feeling. He is a person relishing connection and intimacy with another person on mutually-informing emotional and physical levels, something that I'd assume neither of them have experienced before.

I will say that the story as Mike White has written it makes sense to me. These are two lonely brothers, raised at different times by bizarrely disconnected wealth-obsessed parents who either didn't teach the boys how to love others/cultivate relationships in healthy ways, or perhaps did and said things that actively hindered their children's emotional development and capacity for connection. Lochlan as the youngest child alone in a house with uninterested and distant parents, no instinct for developing love and intimacy with others and terrified that his loneliness will be forever. Saxon as the oldest child, out in the world grinding for useless and empty experiences with people just as vacant as him, incapable of getting anyone to love him and terrified that his whole life will be devoid of sincere intimacy.

I buy Sam Nivola's theory that Lochlan isn't sexually attracted to Saxon and that his actions were influenced more by his people-pleasing impulses. I think he recognized that Saxon has a physical/sexual attraction to him and, knowing how much Saxon prioritizes physical sexual experiences, wanted to offer gratification/consummation as a form of connection.

Although it may not be distinctly sexual, I do think that Lochlan gets a tremendous amount of pleasure from making Saxon feel good. He is happy to tenderly kiss the affection-starved brother that he loves deeply and that he knows loves him just as much in return. Saxon seems to actively crave both Lochlan's emotional and sexual attention, and Lochlan seems to enjoy giving it.

Even though they are more-or-less strangers in each other's lives due to their age gap, their love for each other is likely the only easy, natural source of good feelings they have. The distance between them in age/life stages/actual physical space, however, makes access to those feelings difficult. It makes sense that two siblings from a fucked up family, one or maybe both of them queer in a repressive conservative religious environment, with severely stunted emotional development, would interpret each other's love as the only thing that could bring them happiness- but more importantly, the only thing that will keep them from dying alone and unloved. It makes sense that in circumstances like that, the boys wouldn't know how to stop themselves from conflating and seeking to gratify all of their impulses for connection, with each other, all at once.

[elbiotipo]

Planes are both bigger and smaller than I think all the time.

The Illuyshin Il-76 (one of the main inspirations for the Mastropiero in my Campostela setting) is huge, it's considered to be one of the biggest planes in the world right now:

You would think such a big plane would have some space for the crew, maybe something like a coffee machine and a room to sleep. But no, the cabin is very cramped:

It's all cargo bay and wings.

I'm thinking about this in the fiction way where a Ship is often also the home of the characters, and while this isn't impossible, in real life, vehicles like ships and planes are created for a job, not as a house. And that means that every single place is optimized to do its job, usually to carry cargo/passengers/weapons. This is very evident in old sailing ships. Modern private ship cabins are a relatively modern invention, in old ships, the crew slept wherever they could, and in some modern submarines, the crew still sleeps over and under torpedos

Even without that fun fact, just look at how at how cramped that place looks. This is because a submarine is designed to do its mission. The crew is there to accomplish that mission, and any concessions to the crew compromise this mission. Now, you might think that is a very military way to look at things, but think about all the space to carry passengers on an airliner, or to carry cargo in a truck, compared to what's for the crew, so to say.

Not only that, but the space that isn't for crew or cargo is used for the mechanics of actually moving the vehicle. Planes are all wings and cargo, and spaceships, where each kilo of weight means more propulsion, are and will be even more strict.

Returning to my idea of ships as homes for your characters in fiction with all this, I remember some classic designs in fiction like the Millenium Falcon, where there's a lot of attention paid, obviously, to the spaces to the crew, even in a ship that is supposed to be a cramped piece of junk. Yet the engine, the entire thing that is supposed to get the ship moving, is an afterthought thrown somewhere, as most of the engineering that is supposed to make such a thing work:

While again, if you look at pretty much any vehicle in real life that isn't a car (and cars are designed with other things in mind), the main things are the things that get it moving (which can be huge), the cargo/weapons is supposed to be carrying, and just after that, as a low priority, any space for the people actually driving the vehicle. They can be squeezed wherever they can. And this isn't just ruthless military or capitalist efficiency, in my opinion, it's just the engineering needed for these vehicles to make sense.

Now, does this mean that characters can't see it as a home? Of course not! In fact, the cramped space to me makes it more fun. Just consider, next time you're doing say, a sailing ship adventure, to make them sleep on hammocks wherever they can get a spot, or in a spaceship, to make the 'cabins' be more like capsule hotels. There's a lot of creative things you can make with the lack of space in a ship as a home that might end up making it be even more like a home.

[n0odlz]

NCC x ETC Headcanons

(No, these are not romantic (눈‸눈)

✦Family Ties

Bill & Aaron

• Do NOT let these 2 near each other. It's only gonna cause trouble for everyone. Christmas dinners? Tuh, as if! Thanksgiving? Forget about it. Heck, even a family trip to the water park! Just go ahead and check that off the list right now..

• Bill and Aaron are cousins, which was only found out after Bill and Aaron got into some huge fight about comics and how underpaid the artists are. Somehow, Mrs. Dickey got ahold of this information and immediately told Bill they were related.

"William, that is your cousin! You two should not be fighting."

"Mom, WHAT? I-... I-.. YOU- YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! "

"Enough, William. I don't have time for your bullshit, especially since we'll be having a family get together this Friday. Don't want your aunts thinking I'm a failure of a mother, do ya?"

• Aaron is obviously older. And you'd think any time something goes wrong, the adults would blame it on him since he knows better. Nope! It's always Bill since Aaron could do no wrong 😇!!1! 11

• The only reason they could ever like or admire each other is because they both lead clubs. Aaron is the whole reason Bill even started the Eltingville Club and any time Aaron brings up the fact that he was totally inspired by his older cousin, Bill denies it with his whole heart.

Jerry & James

• They're brothers! How cute! Well.. No! Maybe when they were kids- actually, no. They've been arguing pretty much their whole life. Probably worse than Bill and Aaron. They're cousins, so they don't even see each other that much. Jerry and James is a WHOLE other story.

• Every fight starts because James is "Older and stronger" and there's nothing Jerry can do about it. James being such an asshole is what made Jerry into one too, no matter how much their parents tried to intervene, nothing would work.

• "Extract the problem" is what Jerry's therapist would say, but how can you extract the problem when you're literally forced to live with it till you're 18? Guess you'll just have to tough it out then, huh?

• (Based on what Mr. Dorkin said) Jerry would've probably turned out fine with a brother. He wouldn't have needed to hang out with the club as much (or at all). But that would only be if he had a little brother. See, little siblings would be easier to handle, especially since they're still growing. They're small and easy to train like a puppy, they've got no real interests or personality so it'd be up to the older sibling to influence them in the way they want! Now older siblings? Don't even think about it. "Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?" Well unfortunately, James isn't a dog. And he can't be taught new tricks either.

• If you're wondering why these two have different last names, don't worry, their mom is not a cheater 😸!! Their mom and dad couldn't decide who's last name to give the kids so they decided to give Jerry his mother's maiden name and James their dad's last name

• James obviously makes the million year old "ur adopted lmao" joke on Jerry just because he doesn't have the same last name as everyone else in their family. At some point when they were younger, James SOMEHOW convinced Jerry he was genuinely adopted. I mean.. How the hell do you even pull that off? THEY LOOK IDENTICAL!! DOWN TO THAT FUCK ASS BOB 💔

─────────ೋღღೋ─────────

This is HEAVILY inspired by what anon said in this post (anon, if you come across this post YOU'RE VERY INSPIRATIONAL)

(Also where I got the Jerry sibling thing from)

[nenoname]

"Alright, line up for some affectionate noogie-ing!"

(bonus newspaper attacks and fez pets)

[moe-broey]

Fellas can you take this somewhere else. Maybe. Just not in the fucking halls. Thanks 🫡

I couldn't resist drawing out these tags I wrote on a dif post LMFAO

Moe just has...... SO many problems.......

Close-ups of my fave shots!

The elusive Líf...

[bitegore]

baru cormorant seems to me to be a series that suffers miserably for me having read machineries of empire first. unfortunately everything BC is doing strikes me as something MoE did better and more believably and with much a greater and more grounded eye for how systems, complex system interaction, and oppression like. work

[cultivating-wildflowers]

I have decided to start this crochet project over for the fourth time.

[yuukiiqwq]

Satoru was confident that you liked him back. He was positive. He had no doubt in his mind that you were going to be his pretty little wife. Is he getting ahead of himself? Sure, he is, but he's that confident. That's until he noticed how he hadn't received any chocolate from you.

It was Valentine's Day, and he still hasn't received any chocolate from you. Yeah, he had a mountain worth of chocolate from all those people who gave him it, but where was yours? He couldn't find it anywhere. He was sure that you would have placed your chocolate on his desk since you hadn't given him his. He double no triple checked all the chocolates, yet he could not find the one that has your pretty little name written on it. He continued to search through the chocolate pile for the fourth time today.

He must have missed it, right? Or did someone steal it? He swear he's going to hunt that person to the end of the Earth. Who dared to steal something that was rightfully his?

"Satoru, calm down."

He looked up at his best friend, who was trying to hold down a laugh at his panic.

"She'll probably give it to you later. The day just begun."

Right. Suguru is right. You'll give him his chocolate later. He's a good boy. He can wait.

That's what he told himself, but Suguru and Shoko have already received theirs this morning, and his is still nowhere to be found. Where is his chocolate? You're just sitting there in your seat, looking all pretty as if Satoru is not going through a huge dilemma because of you.

He couldn't help his hands that kept inching itself closer to the chocolate you gave Suguru. He wouldn't know if he snatched it, right? Suguru had received a lot of chocolate! He wouldn't know if he took it... was what he convinced himself before Suguru slapped his hand away.

"Satoru," he sighs.

"But Suguru!!!" Satoru whined as he sunk down into his seat.

"Be patient. You'll get yours soon."

But how soon is soon? Satoru isn't exactly known for his patient.

It was the end of the day, and still no chocolate from you. He asked Suguru and Shoko to leave first because he thought you would finally give it to him when both of you were alone. But you haven't. Where was his chocolate?

The two of you were approaching the exit of school, so Satoru made a quick decision, grabbing your wrist and pulling you into an empty classroom. He quickly shut the door and locked it.

"Satoru?" You asked in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"My chocolate."

"Your chocolate?"

"My chocolate from you! The symbol of your love towards me!"

"I didn't make you any," you replied smoothly. "Forgot to make them yesterday, so I woke up early today to make them, but I guess not early enough. I only had time to finish Shoko's and Suguru's. I didn't have time to make yours. Otherwise, I would have been late."

Satoru swear the world just ended. He looked down at his chest because he swears his heart ripped out of his chest at your words. Nope. Still alive. Why is he still alive in this cruel world? You had no chocolate for him? None? Not even a crumb?

"That's fine with you, right? I mean, you got a bunch of chocolate from other girls! You don't need mine."

He swear he is about to burst into tears. He didn't care about other girls. He didn't care about their chocolate. He wanted yours. How could you be so cruel and deny him of your chocolate? To reject him like this? He was devastated. No. Beyond devastated. Where is the closest cliff so he can jump off?

Pure silence radiated the room as Satoru tried to comprehend this horrible situation. Then he heard a small giggle slip pass your lips. That small giggle soon turns into a full-out laugh.

"You should have seen the look on your face, Satoru," you say as you try to stop laughing.

Was this funny to you? Why were you laughing at his suffering? Do you know how much he looked forward to today? To receive the cute little wrapped up chocolate you made for him? He dreamed of today, and you didn't have chocolate for him?

He then sees you reach into your bag and pull out exactly what he had imagined. A cute little chocolate box wrapped up in a baby blue color with a touch of white ribbon to finish it off. Fuck. He thinks he just got a heart attack seeing your chocolate. His chocolate.

"Princess, please don't joke like that to me ever again. You scared me half to death. I was going to jump off a cliff," he whined as he took the chocolate from your hand.

You couldn't help but roll your eyes at his dramatic behavior. "Stop being dramatic, Satoru. It's just chocolate."

A look of offense dawned his face as you utter those horrendous words to him.

"Chocolate? Just chocolate?" He huffed at you. He can't believe you as you treat this amazing god send gift as just chocolate. "Don't you dare call this just chocolate! This! This right here is proof of your undying love towards me!"

You laughed at his antics– "You're getting ahead of yourself, Satoru."

He delicately placed the chocolate safety away in his bag, treating it as a prized possession. He's looking forward towards white day. He already knows what he wants to get for you. He pulled you into a hug, nuzzling his face against your neck as he mutters– "You won't be saying that after I wife you up."

[libraford]

The word 'rural' is in the public consciousness again and every time people start going in about the 'rural values' 'rural way of life' I remember just how subjective that word is.

I have a friend that lives in LA. He considers Columbus, OH to be 'rural.' A population of over 900k. Thriving arts community, tons of culture festivals, every kind of restaurant you can think of, one of the most annoying college campuses ever, several smaller colleges, lots of queer spaces, comic book conventions, huge concerts... rural.

The town I live in considers itself 'rural.' 38k population. Arts festival every year, a small pride celebration, monthly gallery hop, big Halloween festival. Five ice cream shops, three coffee shops, a couple fancy bars, so many grocery stores. Huge library, conservation and sustainability advocates, queer spaces, a hospital, one private college. Rural.

The town we nearly annexed, but lost the deal considers us 'urban' compared to them. Less than 5k. They have a limited hospital, often send their surgeries here. Downtown has hardware store, bars, craft supply store, a couple grocery stores, pizza places. There's some farmland, but much of the square acreage is golf. Mega churches. The houses here are 500k. Most people drive ATVs. They have a handful of festivals in the summer.

A town I would often get sent to to cover their high school sports- a little over 2k. There's a Subway, a Domino's, Family Dollar. Some bars, some corner stores. Some local crafts. All the students grow up knowing each other, most of them stay there. But they have craft fairs and art galleries, still.

Less rural still than the town I go through to get there, population of around 600. Houses, farmland, post office, general store.

Who would still look down upon the town of about 400 that I would go to sometimes- post office. Gas station. Bar. The school is the only big thing there.

And yet still, I have seen towns with population in the double digits that have a church and a post office.

Even just looking at the numbers doesn't lend accuracy to what 'rural' actually looks like. Because this is what it looks like in ohio, but it's different in West Virginia- where your closest neighbor might be a mile down a hill. Or in Montana, where your town might be planned very tightly and your neighbors are very close, but the nearest grocery store is an hour and a half away. These are places I've been, friends that I've talked to. I've never been to Missouri or Alabama or Louisiana- I'm sure they have a unique experience of being 'rural.'

So my point is that when people talk about 'the rural experience' or 'rural values,' they are talking about millions of people across the entire country who all have lived unique lives- and who may not even agree on what 'rural' is.

Think about who is talking, and who is being talked over, and who isn't even being asked to join the conversation.

[simpjaes]

exhibition ― s. jy

Requested by anonymous via tumblr: cam boy jake. That’s it.Jake is your college roommate and he needs to buy a camera for his online classes. Curiosity gets the better of him, leading to a lot of extra money and, well, finding out that you’ve been a little too curious about what he's doing.  Or the one where your roommate flaunts his secret job at you, not thinking you’d go out and search for him. And definitely not thinking you’d be getting off to him either.

MDNI

WORDCOUNT― 4.9k

PAIRING― cam boy jake x afab reader

CONTENT―  college setting but it’s mosting within the apartment they share, cam boy jake, confused best friend reader, smut WARNINGS― none but brief mention of mommy kink in passing

NOTE―this isn't proof read ;o;

 ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

“Seven hundred.” 

“What?” “That’s how much I made last night,” Jake’s eyes shine brighter and brighter with each word, a crooked smile plastered across his face as he sleepily blinks. “I didn’t even have to do anything weird either.” 

You pause as you sip your morning coffee, wrapped up in a blanket and head pounding at the amount of stress and work you’ve had to get done while he was too busy playing with himself on camera for dozens of people. Or maybe hundreds. Thousands?

“What did you do then?” You raise a brow, not entirely checked in on his boasting this morning, though it is impressive.

Jake always shares how much he makes after each session. What started with fifteen dollars is now reaching seven hundred. Surely your best friend isn’t just jerking off, right?

“Well, it was a little weird, but not that bad.” He avoids the question with a vague answer, suddenly feeling his face heat up. “Just a little here and there, y’know?”

You narrow your eyes instantly. So he does do weird shit for money! You knew it! No way could someone make that much money in such a short span of time by regular jerking off. 

“Just a little what?” You stare him down, now placing your coffee on the table and leaning towards him. He knows better than anyone that you, of all people, can point out if he lies. Meaning, he has to be honest. 

And so, he shrugs, trying to be nonchalant about it. 

“Mommy.” He says it like he’s saying any other word, as if he’s uncaring, as if it was worth the money. “Just had to say it a few times and the money came pouring in.” 

Your eyes narrow at him even more.

“What else?” You question. “There’s no way they’d accept it unless you…”

He raises his brow at you now, tilting his head in cheeky curiosity. 

“Unless I cried? Edged? Let them torture me a little bit?” He smiles. “Yeah, I know.”

You’re a bit shocked, the images of what that must have looked like for his viewers forcing your curiosity to grow. His smug face looking back at you now serves as proof that he very well may be into that kind of thing. Almost like he’s sharing a kink with you, which…is not something the two of you do. 

Despite being roommates, and without any mention of how long you’ve been friends, sex has never been a topic until he started this whole camboy thing. 

You remain calm though. This is Jake you’re talking to. He’s the last person you want to see drooling and cumming all over himself. 

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

Okay so, you’re a liar. 

All day, all fucking day you’ve thought about it. It’s not that you’re into the kink, or even that you’re into Jake. You’re just…curious about how smug he is about it. And yeah, it’s probably just a huge confidence boost to have all sorts of people rubbing one out to you while paying your bills, but still. 

You’re only a liar because that so-called confidence makes him more open about it. More loud. More comfortable. More…horny? 

You can tell by now, weeks after he started. You could never hear a peep from his bedroom, not a single moan or sigh at first. Now though, he’s only gotten louder. You hear the moans, the dirty talk into his camera, the usernames, all of it.

“Thank you–mmf– cumslut2000.” 

God, you hate that you didn’t cringe hearing him say that. It was the moan mid-sentence maybe, or the sultry tone you’ve never heard from him until now. You can’t help but squeeze your legs together with an annoyed groan, practically leaping for your headphones shortly after because, absolutely the fuck not.

Not Jake. It’s too weird. 

And the days pass like that, casual with him as he discusses his pay where you no longer question because now you’d just think too hard about the details. The nights pass like that too, where he’s louder, louder, louder, until you can almost hear him through your muffled videos and playlists. 

Until you are forced to feel the arousal just like the rest of his viewers. You can’t escape the attraction despite wishing, hoping, fucking praying for your head to stop wanting to hear more. 

You know better than anyone though, hoping and praying does nothing for you and the only thing that will help this situation between your legs is seeing. Proving to yourself, so to say, that seeing Jake act like that will feel gross. It will turn you off. It will solidify that Jake is your best friend and your roommate, nothing more. 

It’s easy to find him too. All you had to do was abandon your headphones tonight, waiting for him to introduce himself via username to his stream. 

Doggystyle02.

That’s what he picked? He can’t be fucking serious. 

You’re excited as you google the username, enabling NSFW search and finding him within seconds. Excited to lose the interest that’s driving you up a fucking wall, that is. And before you click into his stream, you inspect.

Yeah, that’s definitely his abs oiled up in his profile picture. You choose to ignore his uh…thing under his sweats, heavy, leaving a little spot on the front of them. 

Oh, 23k followers? And he started two, maybe three months ago? People want Jake that badly? And you just…live here with him? You get to see him daily, and hear him playing all these kinky roles in real life? God, you just know if the viewers knew they’d be saying shit like “If i lived with you, I’d be on that cock every day.”  Blah, blah, blah. 

They don’t know Jake like you know him. He’s just a dude, not some sex god. 

Then…something in your gut stirs. It flips, it bubbles, your face warms up. The comments on his profile asking him all sorts of things, saying all sorts of things and he just…responds? Reciprocates? 

Cumslut2000 comments: god i want you to hold me down and make me take it

Doggystyle02: Don’t sweet talk me like that, you know how I get. 

Oh, does she now? How the fuck would she know anything about Jake. Your best friend. Your roommate. 

DPlover: can we plllleeease do another private show? 

Doggystyle02: book me for later, i’ll even give you a discount <3

Another private show?! A fucking discount?!  

Blushy: im too shy to talk when you’re online but i really, really want you.

Doggystyle02: you wanna talk in private? I’ll message you and bring you right out of that shell. let me take care of you baby

You’re speechless. During his private job, where he doesn’t share his name but he shows his fucking face, he publicly talks to people like this? He’s never so much as looked at you for too long after you’ve gotten out of the shower, yet he wants to take care of a fucking loser ass bitch who is too shy to talk to him? 

Sexually?! 

Safe to say, never in your life did you ever think you’d find yourself jealous of people who get Jake’s attention. To you, he’s always just been, well, Jake. The guy who ran up your apartment stairs on all fours the day you moved in, the boy who constantly did your homework for you in highschool because he knew you wouldn’t graduate with him if he didn’t, the absolute best friend who followed you to the same college, saved you from the dorms by becoming your roommate, and now…somehow, seems…more than just what he was before.

Surely you’re just horny though. Curious, in the mood, whatever. Anyone would be when there’s a porn set just a wall over, right?

You shake your thoughts, knowing you’ll just make yourself sick if you keep reading all of his little public comments and start wondering what he says in private to them. You scroll up instead, glancing at his abs again before your eyes land directly on what you were trying so hard to avoid. 

He’s kind of packing, you can’t lie. If he wasn’t Jake, you’d probably be ogling, rubbing out to him just like everyone else. Hah. You chuckle, shaking your head at your own stupidity, ready for these weird feelings to be eradicated the second you click into his stream. 

Except…jesus fucking christ.

The comments roll in faster than you can read. The money is pouring in, and he’s sitting there on camera with that same dopey grin he gives you every morning. There’s something else with his smile though, a little lip bite, some tongue darting action to wet his lips. Hair falling into his eyes…jesus. 

After a minute or two of staring at your best friend’s face, ignoring the movement of his shoulders attached to the hand that’s…doing something, a pop up covers his image entirely.

SIGN UP OR LOG IN TO CONTINUE WATCHING…

Never in your life have you signed up for something so fast, typing in a string of cute letters and numbers to differentiate yourself in the sea of horny viewers. And then his image is back, and your eyes trail straight down. 

Instantly you choke up, watching the way he uses his hands with that expression on his face. It really is just typical jerking off but…something about it. Something about the way he flicks his own nipples with a seething lip bite, bucking his hips up before shining his pouting eyes into the camera, as if wishing any or all viewers were there to do it for him. And god, the way he looks kind of wet? Like, oiled up or lotion, maybe lubed up, you don’t know. His hips slide that thing through his fist so easily, making squelching sounds all the while. 

That’s…that’s really him. And he’s not even ten feet from your bedroom door looking like this. Yet, you can’t bring yourself to get up and interrupt him.

What would you even do? What would you say? 

So, you just watch, completely forgetting that you were doing this to get rid of the curiosity, not feed into the sexuality of a man you’ve known for so long as nothing more than your closest friend. 

Over a thousand dollars made in just one stream by the time he logs off, and those moans echo in your brain. Hearing them so clearly through your headphones just…wow. And, well, you did your best. 

You swore you’d never get off to the image of Jake after all this curiosity started, it’s just, you can’t help it now. At least he wasn't on your screen, moaning and whimpering for all the faceless people watching. You waited. Your belly burned and your clit throbbed through all of it, and only when he made a mess of himself with that same fucking smile before logging off did you finally give yourself what you needed. 

You don’t know why you did that, and you don’t know why the muffled stream of his shower just down the hallways is what sticks in your head when you finally reach your own orgasm.

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

“Over a thousand this time.” 

“Oh?” You awkwardly avoid his eye contact, stiffening your shoulders at the mere mention of his stream from last night. 

“Yeah, not sure why they gave me so much this time though…” He trails off briefly, inspecting your posture and sudden defensive stance. “I didn’t even do any of the kinks.”

Well…you know why he made that much. He wouldn’t even need to feed the fetish crowd to make a decent living off of this, not with a face like that, a cock like that. It’s only natural he starts making more and more with each lengthy stream.

“Yeah, that’s weird.” You answer shortly, rummaging through cabinets despite your lunch sitting on the table across from him. 

“Yeah…” He notes the shift, feeling tension in the air. “Are you okay?”

“What? Me?” You ground both feet on the floor now, abandoning the cabinet as you turn towards him and look to the floor. 

You can’t do it. You can’t look at him. 

“I’m perfectly fine, what gives you that idea?” 

You hear him stand from the table, taking his usual Jake-esque strides toward you. Then, he leans forward and tilts his head, chasing your eyes with his own and forcing you to look at him. 

“Well, you haven’t even looked at me all morning,” He smiles, tapping your chin. “Was I too loud or something? Did it make you feel awkward?”

Oh, an out! An excuse!

“No, no, I just –” 

Now, why the fuck did you say no? Why are you looking at him now, stopping mid-sentence entirely stunned because, yep, that’s him alright. You saw him cum. You watched him do it, you listened, and you fucking liked it.

And now you’re looking him in the face, and he’s giving you that same smile, and you’re…oh god.

“I–” 

He tilts his head again, blinking twice before narrowing his eyes. 

“Spit it out. What happened? Jay do something?” 

Your words are caught in your throat, cheeks hot, stomach doing flips…Your eyes glance down without intention, right to his groin and he sees it. He even pulls back a bit, looking surprised before softening his expression. 

“Don’t tell me you–” His voice is softer now too, but he calls out your name. “Why are you being so weird?”

You can tell he doesn’t want to make the assumption, and arguably, you’re bad at hiding things from him. 

“I kind of, like, accidentally saw your stream last night.” You say it so fast, avoiding eye contact again by embarrassingly staring right between his legs. “It feels weird now.”

He laughs. He fucking laughs, but it’s kind of like, a smug laugh? A chuckle? 

“Oh now it’s weird?” He rolls his eyes. “Relax, it’s not weird.” 

“It is though! You’re, well, you! I didn’t need to see that!” 

“Then why’d you watch?” He smirks, reaching a hand out to tilt your chin up at him again. And he’s done this many times in the past. Platonic, lovely little touches from someone who will protect and appreciate you. This though, this is…

“Go on. Tell me. Why is it weird now?” He encourages you to admit it. “Because you liked it?”

You remain silent, unwilling to answer. 

“I grossed you out?” 

“No!” An immediate disagreement there, one that only digs your hole deeper. “I just–didn’t expect that.”

“So you did watch it.” He leans back now, crossing his arms and staring you down. “Did you enjoy yourself?

What is he fucking asking right now? The worst part about this is if you don’t answer, it’s still a fucking answer. But you don’t want to like, lie, because already you couldn’t even make it through a fucking morning with him after seeing it. So, with the smallest voice you have, so small you hope he can’t hear it, you whisper. 

“Yes.”

And if you were to look him in the face right now, you’d have seen that smug look go to curiosity. You’d have seen the split second of his adoration for you merging with a new view, a new feeling, and possibly a new need.

“Wait, did you–?” He even feels a bit shy now, his ears practically on fire as he keeps his eye on you, and the way you curl in on yourself with the admittance. “Did you..touch yourself?”

A small nod, you squeeze your eyes shut. 

Then you hear him hold his breath, taking a step back from you. You’ve touched yourself to him, he can’t believe it. After all these years, never once looking at him like that…not even he looked at you like that but now?

He pictures it. The way you must’ve been in your room all alone, knowing what he’s doing, searching him up, then confirming it for yourself. You liked it. You liked what you saw and you got off to it. 

And now he can’t stop smiling. Proud, he feels proud. 

“Well, don’t feel weird.” He finally says, trying to ease your discomfort. “It’s just…a normal thing. I don’t think you’re weird.”

With that, the conversation dies, fades entirely into awkwardness as you both split off. 

You need space to think.

He needs space to think.

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

You’re doing it again, as if just this morning you didn’t have to bury yourself 6 feet under right in front of him. 

Neither of you spoke after that. Avoiding each other consistently throughout the day with knowing, growing, and exhausting tension. Yet still, he’s started his stream, and here you are, watching it with a dazed look. 

You don’t know how to feel or what to do. Your head doesn’t anyway, your body knows too well what it wants and needs, and you hate yourself for making it so awkward between the two of you. Why did you tell him? You wonder if he’d be uncomfortable knowing you’re watching again, this time knowing your hand will stray as you watch.

You wonder, and wonder, will he think you’re disrespecting your friendship by doing this not once, but twice? 

Then, you hear him. 

“Can we do some roleplay today?” He speaks out to the chat, cock pressing against his briefs, head tilted with his messy hair in the very computer chair you bought for him. 

Last time, he was sprawled out on his bed, and you wonder if he always starts his streams this way.

“I want you to imagine we live together, and you know I’m in my room fucking myself, begging, needy for anything, anyone to touch me.” He looks into the camera. “Let’s say you’d hear it too. I’m loud on purpose…”

“Tell me what you’d do to me.”

You stare forward blankly, frozen on the spot at his words, then your eyes flick to the chat. 

“You wouldn’t see the front door ever again.” 

“I’d be on you within seconds.”

“You wouldn’t even be able to turn your camera on, just come home and I'd be waiting.”

Oh. 

Jake hums at the responses, whispering them to himself. 

“Ah,” Jake reads a specific comment with a nod. “I’d be an idiot to not jump at the opportunity.”

And the rest of his words become muffled as your ears pop. Is he…talking about you right now? Was he expecting you to watch again? 

“If that ever happens to me, just know I’d be grateful for all of you. Running to help me feel good, you’re all so good to me.” He giggles now. Fucking giggles. “Alright, enough of that.” 

Jake stares into the camera again, and you can’t help it. It feels like he’s staring at you. Straight through your fucking soul at this point. 

“I have a lot of stress to relieve.” He ends on that note, skewing his pants down and making haste. 

He’s not slow or cute with it like he was before. He’s aggressive, almost frustrated. His eyebrows furrow, his lips become red from his biting and chewing, and you watch the money flood in.

The comments blurring past, words of, “Oh fuck,”  and “This is new.” before suddenly, you hear an irritated sigh. A string of curse words pour from his lips, his hand squeezing the base of his cock so tightly, and spurts of cum shooting up his chest, only to drip down slowly. 

“What a waste.” He comments shortly at himself, heaving in a breath before he breaks out into his usual smile. “Sorry to end on such a short note, just thought I’d let you guys join me for a quickie!” 

Then he’s gone, the stream lasting about ten minutes in total. 

And apparently so is your fucking sanity because why is it that now you find yourself getting out of your bed, feeling the wet between your legs drip, and you’re heading for your bedroom door just to get to him? 

Why is he standing right outside, as if he was already waiting for you to open it?

And it’s silent now as you stare at each other. Him, with his sweatpants skewed over his waist, cum still on his chest, breath still uneven. Then you, practically vibrating to get on him. 

“You’re looking at me like you want me to eat you out.” He says, already pushing you right back through your bedroom door, letting you flop back on your bed as he instantly pulls at your shorts. “Want me to kiss you first?”

You feel your head spin the second you flop back and feel your shorts being pulled off, and before you can even comprehend his question, he’s already kissing you. Hot, heated. He sounds just as frustrated as he did just minutes ago getting off by himself. You don’t even mind the cum on his chest, nor the way he spreads your legs with his knee to get more comfortable. 

It’s happening. This is what kissing Jake feels like. This is what everyone wants from him, but it’s you that’s getting it. Has he always been like this? Good at kissing? Firm with his movements? Confident as he kisses down, down, down, giving you what he thinks you want?

You do want it. Perhaps you were looking at him like you wanted him to eat you out, and now he’s doing it. Breathing shortly right against your clit without so much as savoring his view before diving in, tongue instantly licking from your hole straight to your clit and sucking.

He hums around the taste, both hands holding your inner thighs and keeping your legs open. And he just…keeps humming, licking and sucking you so good that you can’t help but cry out and tug at that fucked up mess of hair on his head. 

Jake likes that. He likes the way you hold your breath and the way your legs shake around his ears. He likes even more the way he knew you were watching him tonight, and that you looked like you were coming straight to his room to jump him. 

So strange how quickly things can change, so strange how good his best friend must have tasted all these years, and he had never once considered it. And now, he blinks up at you, seeing the way you close your eyes and breathe through it, like you’re calming yourself down, thinking both too much and not at all. 

Easily he runs his hands up and under your shirt, feeling the soft skin of your belly before gently running his palms over your perked nipples. He continues to stare up, watching you, tasting you, loving this a little more than he ever knew he would. 

He did want you, he does want you. His cock has been aching all day for you since the moment he found out you thought of him. Jake thinks you’d be tight, because lord knows you haven’t gotten laid in a hot minute, and that quick jerk off session was absolutely for you. 

He wants to show off to you, wants you to see him more than anyone else can. Yet, it’s you he’s seeing more of right now and he doesn’t mind that so much. 

His eyes flick back down, allowing his fingertips to toy gently with your nipples as he skews his head, essentially making out with your pussy, slurping the slick you offer and not letting a single bit of it go to waste. Then, he dips in, pointing his tongue right against your pulsing hole and pressing in. 

There’s that tug of his hair again, your legs squeezing around him and your hips bucking up. 

Oh, you like that. 

So, he does it harder and with more focus. He squeezes his eyes shut and prepares to not breathe for a bit, licking as far into you as he can, his nose easily pressing your clit in such a beautiful way that all you can do now is moan.

Genuinely moan for him. His name in a little hiccup followed by a curse. 

Fuck, you’re so hot to him right now. Anyone would be fucking lucky to be in your bed at all, and finally it’s him. As if he’s been waiting for years despite never needing a turn previously. 

And this continues until he can’t breathe, his fingers growing more needy against your tits, his tongue reaching deeply before pulling out and allowing him to take a deep breath that is scented entirely in you. Then, he fucking nuzzles it.

You glance down with a heaved breath, legs shaking as you watch him do it. Eyes closed gently, rubbing his nose and lips against your clit in such a gentle, loving way that it has you melting instantly. 

“Jake–” You whisper in a breath, the first word you’ve said to him since you opened your bedroom door. 

All he does is shoot his gaze to you and continues his nuzzles, uncaring of whatever you need to say if it isn’t you asking him to fuck you right now. And arguable, you have nothing to say anyway. 

You just…needed to say his name. Needed to solidify that you just broke a boundary with him willingly, and he doesn’t care. You don’t care. 

You feel the thumping in your chest, your clit throbbing with each little rub he lends before you sit up slightly on your elbows, balancing yourself before reaching a hand down. 

He leans into your palm on his cheek, like a puppy wanting love. Then his hands leave your chest and find their way to your hips. His doe eyes instantly sharpen, and you’re instantly being pushed back down to your bed.

“Want me to be whatever you want? Let you do whatever you want to me?” He finally says, licking his lips as he makes his way up to hover over you, making sure to lift your shirt enough to expose both of your tits. “Just like I ask?” 

You find yourself nodding before taking it back, shaking your head. 

“I don’t want it to be like that–” You trail off, avoiding his intense gaze and suddenly feeling very vulnerable under him. “I just want you. The Jake I’ve always had.” 

Another shocked look reaches his expression. He’s a bit surprised, assuming that all of this was simply because you watched his stream and didn’t expect to be so turned on. He thought this would be a one and done thing. A “let’s forget this ever happened,” thing.

But you want him? Not the acting? Not the kinks, or the cocky grinning? You want the best friend in him, the part of him that was never sexual, never confident, never willing to approach women. 

He looks at you in question. 

“I don’t know how to be that right now.” He finally says, pressing his hips down and against you with a choked moan. “How can I be that when I want to fuck you so badly?”

You find yourself smiling, running your hands through his hair to get it out of his face before shrugging. 

“When have we ever known what we were doing?” You ask quietly, wincing slightly at how hard he’s gotten, knowing that you’re not having to see him through a screen now. 

That’s all he needed to hear before keeping eye contact and reaching down with one hand. You can’t bare to look down, knowing some sort of embarrassing sound will leave your throat. You decide to feel it instead. 

And goddamn, do you fucking feel it. 

He slides in easily, but the size of him stretches you far past anything you could have imagined. This is him, he’s this big. This is what Jake’s cock feels like and it has your chest caving in over it. 

All you can do is hug him, clinging to him through the stretch and hoping the way your cunt squeezes around him isn’t hurting him. 

“God, fuck.” He says in a quick whisper, arms shaking to hold himself up as you hug him. “You’re so tight, fuck.”

You smile against his messy chest at the compliment, basking in it really before allowing yourself to freely adjust. Your body clenches him tightly, and he remains still through it until he can’t anymore. 

He drops to the bed, flush against you without warning and the moans start pouring from his chest. He can’t stop even if he wanted to, can’t control his hips, his words, his thoughts.

He just lays here flush against you, letting his hips move freely and rapidly. In, out, in, out. So clumsy, so loud, and goddamn does it feel fucking amazing.

You moan alongside him, petting his hair with each thrust, feeling his cheek against your tits move with each drop of his jaw. Even when his moans are silent, you know he feels good and that makes you happy. 

None of those little bitches in his chat could get him like this, surely. He’s not acting right now. He’s Jake.

And that’s what makes it so good, you think. That’s why he has so much cum to put in you, apologizing through it all because the fear of this act comes with the orgasm. Apologizing for fucking you, for cumming in you, for getting off so quickly, promising you that he’ll make you cum too. 

It’s then that you realize, when he’s got his face back down between your legs, sucking his mess out of you…maybe you have feelings now.

And maybe that’s not such a bad thing either. 

 ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

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