#and yes i do realize if i search for them there are MILLIONS of little outfits for the ace attorney cast

[jarofstyles]

The Favor 8

Hey...😁 So this is basically all filth but there's a lot of realization in it so it's educational filth!

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The Favor Masterlist

WC- 7.8k

Warnings- buckle up- Daddy kink, anal, BDSM, dom/sub dynamic, both soft and mean dom H, possessive H, spitting, use of sex toys, impact play, spanking.. probably more tbh. let me know if I missed one!!!

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Y/N could feel a shift in them, but she couldn’t exactly pinpoint where it started. 

Sitting in his bed, she had him standing on the side with her back towards him as nimble fingers curled into her hair as he brought them back into a plait. And for some reason, it felt more intimate than anything else they’d done so far. 

Getting back from the bar, Harry had been adamant that she take a quick shower and dry her hair, welcoming her back in with some cut up fruit and juice to have while he did her hair for her. No one had done it for her since her mum, and that was when she was just a wee little thing. 

Sitting in her nightie she’d packed specifically for his viewing pleasure, he’d given her a long look before muttering to her to get on the bed before he lost it again. 

So she did, following instructions yet again as he had hair ties from when he said his hair was longer. He was increasingly gentle, careful not to snag any knots as he moved her hair around and smoothed it back to avoid any weird spots or bubbles in the hair. When she asked why, he had simply said he wanted her hair out of her face. 

Considering they were going to the illusive club tomorrow, questions kept cropping up in her brain and it felt increasingly difficult to keep them from spewing out of her mouth, so she allowed them to be set free. Harry had always been good with her questions before, but she’d been a little nervous about ruining the comfortable silence they’d fallen into. 

“Do they know you at the club pretty well?” His fingers faltered in her hair at the question but only for a moment before righting themselves. 

“They do, yes. I had been a frequent flyer but I haven't been in a bit.” His voice was calm and gentle, much like his hands. It amazed her how rough and mean he could be during sex, could smack her and choke her, call her a set of holes, but the moment it stopped he treated her like the most delicate little flower whose petals were worth millions. It had thrown her off at first, she had to admit, but now it was something she was growing to look forward to. It was rare she got handled like she was precious and at first she had to admit it made her uneasy, but now? Now she was leaning into it like a kitten searching for pets. 

“May I ask why you stopped?” She was extremely curious about it, considering that had been the catalyst of their arrangement, but Y/N didn’t want to push too far into uncomfortable territory for him. 

“Well…” There was a sigh behind her. “I didn’t have a sub of my own and hooking up with someone for a single night isn’t fulfilling to me anymore. I desire a connection, trust… It had been hard for me lately to get into the headspace with someone I’d just met and wasn’t going to see again.” There was a pause as he finished the plait, fastening it with the hair tie. “Lately I’ve just been craving intimacy and a connection. For me, half of the fun of the lifestyle is having that trust. How much can you trust someone after an hour, y’know? It’s partially why I had us meet and discuss prior to even doing anything, and I took it slow with you. I didn’t just fuck you right then and there. A good dom would get to know you and have proper conversations before playing with you.” But internally, he really did hope no one else would get that privilege but himself. 

“I understand.” She turned around to face him, looking up at his still standing face from her position sitting with her legs crossed in a pretzel. “I was worried at first… you know, when we agreed to this. I’ve been eager to try, but I was also really nervous. I was nervous you’d not find me attractive or something I wanted to try would freak you out. Or…” There was a debate in her mind if she wanted to say it or not, but considering what had happened tonight, she decided to say it. “Or you’d just view sex as some sort of favor and not actually enjoy it.” 

It made him frown when she dropped her eyes from his own, fiddling with her fingers and avoiding contact. That was the last thing he’d thought of. If anything, he forgot about the Danny part and focused on building a dynamic with her far more than he should considering the consequences but he knew she wasn’t dumb. Even if they both didn’t say it, there was something deeper there. And while he wasn’t quite brave enough to admit feelings fully, he wasn’t about to let her think any bit of that could ever be true. 

“I enjoy it far more than I ever anticipated, and ever should have.” He said quietly, tapping her chin. “Look at me while we’re talking, darling- thank you.” A softer smile curled on his lips as he allowed himself to stroke her cheek, taking a deep inhale. “Don’t worry about any single part of that. I think… you’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve set my eyes on. There’s a reason I didn’t talk to you so much when you were around. I knew my attraction to you would grow and you were someone else's… This was a twist of fate.” The admission made her eyes widen slightly but he wasn’t done. “And not a single thing you’ve mentioned has freaked me out. As someone with my background growing up and experiencing the community full force, I’ve seen it all and m’willing to try anything with you.” There was a twinge in his heart as she rested her cheek in his palm, giving him the softest eyes he’d ever seen in his life. He could see that she trusted him, but he had to ask. “Do you trust me, Y/N?” The question lingered in the air as he searched her features.

“I do.” There wasn’t a lick of hesitation. The girl held more trust in him than she did her own boyfriend which… she’d need to unpack later. “I know you’d never hurt me and have my best interest at heart.” It had been proven as much tonight when he’d stuck up for her, that he’d been so irritated with the other man for ignoring her, that he gave a fuck about how she felt. There were texts every day asking how her job was, if she ate, what she was doing to unwind, placing more care and interest in her than she’d felt in a long time. 

“I do, sweetheart. I really do. I care about you a lot.” The murmur was soft, their voices hushed even though no one could overhear. “I want t’make all of those fantasies you have come true. The one we talked about. I’ll take care of you, okay?” He felt her nod against his hand before gripping his wrist and pulling it towards her mouth. There was nothing said as he let her do what she wanted while watching curiously. The twinkle of mischief rose in her eye again, sparking a flame in his stomach as she exposed her pink tongue to him and brought the fingers that had been stroking her cunt while they were out into her mouth. 

Hearing him talk so sweetly about her had turned her on again. She’d been good tonight, at least she thinks so, but she wanted to tease him a little bit. Didn’t he know that being so nice to her would work her up? Couldn’t he guess that the sweeter he was, the wetter she got? She got both sides of him. Sweet Harry, and the mean Daddy she had slipped up with later. 

“Tastes like you, hm?” The tone shift was so easy, so quick that Y/N’s tummy flipped. “See… m’nice to you, and then you’ve got t’go and be a dirty little thing. Should’ve known to keep my sweet words to when you’re fucked out and limp. Turns you on when I’m sweet to you, doesn’t it?” It was a tease considering Harry knew he couldn’t stop himself from being nice to her. It was what he wanted. 

But right now he felt the mean streak kick back in. 

“Open wider.” He instructed, watching for her to listen, but she didn’t. Instead she sucked over his fingers again, testing his patience. “I told you to open.” One more chance he’d give her. 

Y/N was trying to misbehave. She wanted to see what he’d do. Pushing boundaries. See how he’d handle her. Taking his fingers into her throat, she gagged a little but kept them there as his gaze turned dark, eyes blazing at the misbehavior. This was what she meant by wanting to be a brat. 

She hadn’t expected him to kneel on the bed, taking her hair in his hand while ripping the wet fingers from her mouth. She hadn’t seen the slap coming. Wet fingers smacked over her cheek, shocking her slightly as the sting made her throb. He’d only done this twice before, but the submissive really fucking liked it. A moan left her throat as soon as it pulled away, making him snarl. Again, his fingers swiped against her cheek, making her mouth open a little bit. 

“Fucking brat.” He grit out. “Serves me right for being nice t’you. And to think I was going to be nice to you tonight…” He sighed, shaking his head. “Open that fucking mouth or I’ll force it open.” 

Y/N was tempted to disobey but she wanted to see why he wanted it, so she listened. Tongue out, she fluttered her lashes at him as the grip on her braid stung against her scalp. She hadn’t expected him to lean forward, pursing his lips and spitting right into her mouth. “Don’t swallow. Keep it there- Don’t fucking move.” He ordered, though he didn’t do anything else. He simply stared at her, eyes narrowed as she looked back up at him. This view was perfect in her opinion. She felt small, delicate, like he could throw her around- but so strong and confident like this. It felt like she was capable of anything. 

“Since you want t’call me your Daddy so badly, I think we should take care of that. Acting like a fucking brat, even after I was so nice and let you cum on my fingers in the middle of the week…” Shaking his head, he leaned in again and spit right on the flat of her tongue before using the sucked fingers to spread it over her tongue and down on her chin, letting some drip off her tongue down to her tits. “Now you can swallow.” 

Y/N hadn’t seen this bit yet. There had been peeks of it, little hints, but his demeanor had shifted into something she’d been dying to see. Just like in the hallway, she wanted him to take. Take, take, take until she had given it all to him. “Sorry, Sir.” She whispered, not daring to wipe herself clean. The mess was what she deserved, a filthy badge of honor.

A look of disapproval was shot her way as he used her hair as a leash, leading her to the very edge of the bed. “No, no, no, Darling.” He scolded, shaking his head at the honorific. “Where’s that other name that you called me when begging for my load inside you?” His eyebrow raised. “I liked that one for tonight. Let me hear that.” 

“Sorry, Daddy.” she whispered, wincing as he arched her head back. 

“Yeah, y’should be. Pissed me the fuck off.” At that he could see her shrink a little in her form, making him take a moment to check on her. Softening his voice, he caught her attention and gentled his grip for a moment to give her a chance to give her a beat to say something if need be. “You know how to use your colors. Where are you right now?”

“Green.” She nodded. “I don’t want to really upset you though.” 

“You’re not, sweetheart. You’re alright.” He promised, leaning down to kiss her once before his mask slipped back on. “Now I think…. That we should teach you some manners. Can you handle yourself for a moment? I think I’ve got the solution to get that brattiness out of your system.” 

Y/N nodded,  more than willing to hand over quite literally anything the man had to offer. It was pathetic but she found herself vying for even a tiny bit of his approval. The man had control of her body in ways she’d only dreamt of, so of course she’d hand it over on a silver platter. “What do you want from me, Daddy?” She whispered, watching his eyes as they trailed over her with this smirk that slightly unnerved her. 

“I think… I’ve given your cunt a good amount of attention tonight. It’s time for me to play with your ass.” 

—

Y/N was slightly humiliated as she pressed her cheek to the mattress, Harry’s spit still on her chin as her arms extended back so her hands could spread her ass open for him. He wasn’t even paying attention to her yet, instead looking through the bedside table for whatever it is that he was going to use on her. 

Was she nervous? Of course she was. The only play she’d had with her ass had been on her own accord or when Harry had stuck his thumb in, but the excitement heavily outweighed it. If she could choose anyone to be her first in this, it would be him. Sure, he’d bully her a little because he knew that was what she liked, but he’d take care of her. Harry always took care of her, no matter what. Sex or not. He was slowly overtaking her brain and she found that it was exactly how she liked it. 

“Such pretty holes.” His voice broke her out of her train of thought, heat raising on her cheeks as she could feel his gaze. Completely exposed for him to see, she felt the cool air on her most intimate parts as his warm hand ran over her now clean inner thigh. “You’re already wet. Seems you do like a bit of humiliation, don’t you pet?” It was rhetorical, so she kept her mouth shut. “I’ve been thinking about this since the first time I got a peek at this ass. Did y’know that? It’s fucking gorgeous.” There was no hint of shame in his own tone, speaking as if he was in awe of her. “And here you are, spreading yourself open so I can see the puffy little cunt I just abused and that untouched hole. It’s an honor to be the first to have it.”

He was understating it a lot, at least for now. Satisfaction of being the only man to take her ass was something that fueled his ego tremendously, knowing he would be the single person who got to feel how tight and hot it could be around his prick. His hopes of Y/N deciding to choose him instead were his motivation, as unhealthy as it may be. “Here’s our options- and make no fuckin’ mistake, you’re only getting options because its the first time you’re getting fucked here.” In future scenes he would be deciding and she could color out, or talk to him if she didn’t like it. “We can put a plug in you. Let you sit there with it in, but you’ll have to lay with me for a while and let it stretch you more. Or,” He ran a finger over the little hole, smiling when she jolted again. “Daddy can open you up with fingers, place that vibrator you liked so much on your clit and take you when I feel you’re ready. That one may hurt a bit more going in but… you said you like a bit of pain, yeah?” 

The girl did. Pushing her ass back against his finger, she nodded heavily at the second option. “Second, please. Please I want..  I don’t want to wait a long time, Daddy.” 

“Hm… Do you really think you can handle it, Puppy?” He clicked his tongue, moving his finger away from her ass and down to her swollen clit. “I know you’re a bit of a whore, but you know m’not small. It’s not gonna be easy for that tiny hole to take. May have to force it in a little.” It was incredible to him how she reacted to his words so visibly, making it so fucking easy to read her. Maybe they were just in tune with one another, but the little inhale she made clued him in to just how much she liked that. 

“I can do it. I can, it’ll fit. I promise, I can be good and take it. I can take you cock anywhere, I want it so fucking bad, Daddy.” Her voice shook a little, surprising the dominant as he looked down at the body he was meant to ruin. Again, the surge of possessiveness rose to the surface of his skin and bubbled in his blood. Of course she could take it. Of course his little brat would be willing to do anything he wanted, because she was fucking made for him. 

“Alright, pet.” He feigned a resigned sigh. “Don’t disappoint me then. You’re gonna have t’make sure you can take it then.” Excitement was tingling the base of his spine, his cock fully hard again as he left her in her position to go and grab the toy. The Hitachi needed to be plugged into the outlet, which took a moment to do. 

“Daddy?” Her voice called to him, a bit apprehensive. His heart melted a little as he walked to her, toy in hand. 

“It’s alright, Puppy. Didn’t go anywhere too far. Had to get some supplies.” Laying them out beside her, he swatted her hands away from holding herself open. “You’re going to hold this on your pretty clit for me while I open you up. Do you think you can handle that? Or shall I go and get tape so I can keep it there?”

Shivers went up her spine as she imagined it, being forced to cum over and over again with the vibrations coursing through her body. For now, she thought she could handle it, but it was an increasingly enticing idea. “I can do it, Daddy. I’ll be good, I can handle it.”  Harry let out a noise of doubt that only made her huff. “I can! Why did you make that noise?”

A rough spank was laid right to the bottom of her thigh, making her yelp. “Don’t talk back. I asked a simple question, no need for the dramatics.” His voice was stern, a little mean, and she could feel her poor cunt throbbing at the demeanor he had. There had been something so utterly delicious, she had found out, about a man who could fuck like he hated you but worshipped you in all other aspects. He would cover her body in soft kisses and cooling lotion when they were done and hand feed her fruit, but right now it was seeing the other side of the coin.  “Now, I’m going to start. You ask before you cum, and if I tell you to take it away, you do as I say. Am I understood?” 

“Yes.” Y/N sulked, only to be spanked again. “Why?!” The exclamation made his own sigh even louder. 

“Yes, what?” 

“Yes, Daddy.” Forgetting that had been an accident, but Y/N couldn’t lie and say his strict demeanor didn’t get her going. 

She was relatively calm though her excitement could be felt in her stomach. Her cunt had been fucked thoroughly in the dark hallway, an undeniable excitement lingering in her body when she remembered leaving with her lips swollen and cum dripping down her thigh. The man who thought he owned her had barely given her a second look, while the one who she looked to for comfort had his hand on the small of her back. It still astounded her how much trust she had put into Harry. How quickly they’d clicked, how he was so in tune with her body and her thoughts that sometimes he knew what she was feeling or thinking before she was even aware of it. 

“Fucking brat.” He muttered, placing the toy into her hands and letting her position it accordingly. “Be good for me, or you aren’t getting fucked.”

With that, the toy was switched on by his thumb at the lowest setting, and the fun began. 

Harry’s view was impeccable. It was always a beautiful thing to see a submissive bare themselves to you, but it was even better when that submissive was Y/N. She had already placed so much trust in him, already chosen him a plethora of times and proven her place. The cravings he’d had of her throughout the week had been almost debilitating. Half the time he was tempted to tell her to come over after work and say fuck it all to the weekend arrangement. Have her sit in his foyer with nothing on when he got home, or in his bed. 

Clicking open the cap of the cherry lubricant, he let a bit dribble down and over her hole. It had been something he’d been looking forward to since she had mentioned it to him, but now that he was getting to do it, that he was smearing his fingers to spread the lube over her while he felt the vibrations work through her body, the excitement only kept building. “This is pretty, y’know.” He mumbled. “Made to be fucked. Think all of your holes were. Makes sense that you’re such a filthy whore.” 

Y/N whimpered underneath him, rubbing her face into the duvet. He had considered tying her hair up so she couldn’t move her head, but that was something else he had to look forward to one day. There were so many options for them that his brain was constantly coming up with more plans, new debauchery to put her body through. His cock was scorching under his briefs, his pants tight, but he was far more focused on her. She was doing well so far, but he was waiting for a slip up. There wouldn’t be much grace given until his cock was buried in that tight little hole. 

“If you’d told me that the pretty girl who walked up all shy to be in that cafe would have her cunt dripping from being degraded while I prepared her ass to be fucked, I’d have been shocked. I imagine most people would. You come off as so sweet, demure… Such a good girl. But you’re nothing but a cock thirsty whore.” His hand pulled back to spank the round of her flesh, a mewl leaving her throat as she trembled slightly. “See? Have half a mind to record this. Maybe next time I will. Take a video of your pretty face while my cock splits your ass open, keep it bookmarked on my phone. So many things I want to do to you, my pet, and such little time in the day.” Clicking his tongue, he ran his finger over the pucker of her ass. It clenched around nothing, making him bite back a groan. She was completely and utterly exposed for him, at his mercy. Better yet, this is where she wanted to be. She chose this, came home with him after giving her boyfriend a metaphorical fuck you, and was now handing over her untouched hole with an eagerness he hadn’t seen in many people. 

“If it makes you happy, Daddy.” She said shakily, panting slightly. 

“Exactly. You’d do anything to make Daddy happy.” The dominant crooned, giving little warning as he pushed the tip of her finger into her ass. He could feel her start to shift her hips, so his opposite hand cracked over her hot skin again to cut it out. “Stop being fucking greedy. Barely got a quarter of a finger in there and you’re trying to fuck yourself on it. Pathetic.” 

Y/N apologized wearily, trying her best to keep still as his finger sunk in deeper. The toy’s vibrations against her clit had her feeling on edge already, but the intrusion in her ass was making her eyes water. “Sorry, I’m sorry but it feels good, Daddy. I want more.” 

Harry scoffed in amazement. This little thing had been having vanilla, missionary sex? She’d been subjected to holding back her true wants and for what? She should have always belonged to him. He knew what to do with her. Harry knew how to please her, how to work a body and a mind who craved this sort of stuff. “I know you do, Puppy. Want to thump your little leg and whine for more like a real pet, but you’re going to take whatever the fuck I give you, and you’re going to like it.” 

Of course, because of her begging, he let himself draw it out. 

Two minutes in she had warned she was going to cum, so he demanded she take the toy away for a minute before putting it back on, one setting higher. 5 minutes in and he added another finger, almost sending her into another orgasm. This time he had her hold the toy away for two minutes, repeating the cycle. Fucking the fingers into her tight channel, he could only imagine how good it was going to feel on his cock. 

“M’gonna add the third, and this time I think I’ll be generous and let you cum. You’ve been a good girl.” His voice softened up, putting his clean hand down and switching it to the next setting. “After that we’re going to try.” Harry was plenty aware of the fact that she had taken it like a champ. He’d even prepared her in the past when they spoke of it that he wouldn’t be upset if she needed more to work into it, but Y/N was definitely a go-getter. 

He watched carefully as he slowly worked the third finger in, watching her reactions. He’d been vigilant for her comfort, and while no one took fingers in the arse as a walk in the park the first time, she had done impressively well. Even with the ruined orgasms which he knew pissed her off immensely, she had been so fucking good and he couldn’t wait to reward her for it. “What’s your color, sweet girl?”

“Green- green, so green Daddy.” She slurred. “I’m so close. I-I’m gonna cum so soon.” This was the place he wanted to get her to, the slightly delirious pleasure filled state of mind that would make it all the more easy on her. The lax bodied ease in which she would be able to take his cock with less tenseness. 

“Go on, baby. Make a mess of yourself so you can take my cock in this pretty little hole.”

It seemed like his permission was enough to set her off. He felt her whole body shake, clenching around his fingers with her walls as she let out a wail he hadn’t heard from her before. Thighs trembling, hand accidentally losing grip of the toy and fingers tensing in the air as she backed into his fingers before trying to get away. His unoccupied hand gripped her hip and kept her in place, praising her as his fingers didn’t stop. In and out, he massaged and stretched her open as the orgasm rattled her bones. 

“That’s my best girl. Knew you could do it, little thing.” He cooed, soothing her skin as she stopped trying to escape the feeling. “Poor pussy, s’a lot hm? Daddy made you wait a little bit to cum, but it was worth it.” 

Y/N nodded into the soft fabric, not yet able to find her voice. This time he didn’t scold her, knowing it probably was intense from the mixture of new sensations and edging with quite a powerful toy. Instead he let her work through it, waiting for her to give him a sign. “Puppy? Alright?” 

“M’amazing.” She giggled, slapping her hand around to find the vibrator. “Can I turn it off, please?”

“Course. Go on, pet. It’s just about time for the real fun to start.”

—-

Y/N was boneless under him, tensing only when he slowly pulled fingers out to dribble some more lubricant over her hole. “Need to get it nice n’wet, my pet.” He was careful to describe what he was doing now that they were getting closer to the real thing. “M’gonna get my cock nice and slick too, make it easier to slide in. You’re a snug little thing, need to make sure we get you as comfortable as possible. 

She had no doubt in her mind that he would do that. Harry had never failed in taking care of her, always making sure she had what she needed. Maybe with quite literally anyone else she would be shaking with nervous, but with him it was only a tiny tremor in her hands. His unlubed fingers had stroked her hair away from her face and made her look at him, promising she was okay to continue before he had gotten to this point. His clothes off, his body heat radiating from behind her. “Okay, Daddy.” 

This mindset was newer to her. Everything felt a little fuzzy and a bit like slow motion but she didn’t feel scared. It was comforting. His voice was deep and calm, at least for now, brushing over her skin like a feather. If she could, she would arch into his words like a cat looking for a pet from it’s owner. Perhaps that was because that’s sort of what she felt like. 

“See? When you listen to instructions and don’t act like a brat, you’re so sweet.” He praised. “I’m gonna be a bit meaner to you, but it’s okay because my slutty little puppy quite likes it, I reckon.” 

She did. She did, she did, she did. She liked how pretty his voice was when he degraded her and acted like she was just a hole for him to unload his cum into. If that was what he wanted her to be, she would happily take it all like the overly eager puppy she turned him into. Something about the man and his demeanor, both as a dominant and a man in general, had her wanting to roll over and submit. There were stark differences between how Dom Harry and Regular Harry treated her, but they fell into the most delicious melting pot that she wanted to submerge her whole body in. “I like anything you do to me, Daddy.” She responded like the perfect little pet she was. 

Harry cooed at her, leaning over her body and placing a kiss on her shoulder. “I know. It’s what makes us so fun, isn’t it? I want to do nasty, dirty, horrible things to you… and you want to let me.” 

Y/N keened as she felt the tip of his cock slap a few times over her hole, eyes fluttering shut. It had been a long time in the making, and she wanted to feel him inside of her. In a place no one else had been before. It would be his, in her mind.

“You tell me if it’s too much. Color if you need to. Do you understand me?” 

Y/N nodded, humming to him, but that wasn’t good enough. A tap to her hip made her eyes peel back open to look at him, his eyes narrowed on her. “Words, Y/N. Tell me you understand how to use your colors and you feel safe.” Oooo, the government name.  If this wasn't the first time they were doing this he likely wouldn’t be so heavy on the double and triple checking, but it was a lot for her to take. He was a lot for her to take. 

“I understand, Daddy. I know I’m safe and I know how to use my colors. Please, fuck me now.” 

Harry gave her a warning glare before he exhaled through his nose, muttering about ‘where his good girl had gone’, but took it for now. They were both keyed up and ready to finally do this, and he couldn’t help that. 

It was cool in the room, but she felt hot all over, particularly under the skin, as his cock rubbed over the well lubed hole. 

Her brain’s fuzzy feeling returned as she felt the first bit begin to push in. It wasn’t entirely pleasant, as she knew it probably wouldn’t be, but she wasn’t about to tap out. Taking quick breaths, she was reminded by the dominant to change that. “Deep, slow breaths. You’ll hyperventilate if you keep doing that.” He murmured, rubbing small circles into her hip. 

His eyes were zoned in on the side of her face as he watched her grip the duvet in front of her. Ever so attentive, she knew he would stop if she asked but there was no point in asking that. Even when it hurt a bit, like he was stretching her so far out that she’d split, she didn’t do anything but curl her fingers and toes, making herself breathe through it. Harry was soft with his words, gentle with his touches as she let him sink into her slowly. 

There was no rushing this. Her body felt like molasses the longer he was inside of her,  not bothering to ask how much more was left. She’d done her research before she ever met Harry but even more after the fact about how to get through it. Deep breaths, good prep, communication. All three things she had actively gotten from him. It was now a journey of waiting for her body to stretch and accept. 

“I’m okay.” She whispered, reaching her hand back to his on her hip. “I feel okay. You can keep going.” He had little bits where he would wait a few moments before continuing to push in, but she wanted it over with. It was starting to become more pleasurable as her body adjusted and he was being cautious with her, but she could take it. 

“Okay.” He agreed, flipping over his hand and letting her hold it. 

Harry was trying his best not to take her out of the moment, or to cum himself. It felt stupidly good, the wet heat engulfing him and clenching around as she tried to adjust to the feeling. Was she truly tighter than anyone else he had, or was he just far more attached to her than the rest? It was something he’d need to unpack later while she was asleep in his bed and he could be creepy and look over her, but at the current moment he couldn’t recall another time where he had felt this good being inside of someone else. “M’gonna grind into you a bit, okay?” He warned her, slowly rocking his hips and hearing her gasp at the small movements. 

God, it felt so good. Like a damn vice, her hole gripping him tight as her nails dug into the back of his hand. For a second he was going to ask if she needed a moment, but the broken moan that left her swollen lips clued him into it. It was the complete opposite. “Oh, Puppy… You like how that feels?” 

“Uh-huh.” She nodded, spreading her legs a bit more. “I’m so f-full.” 

The way she said it was going to be ingrained in his wank bank forever. Whiny and shivery, but full of pleasure. Like she couldn’t believe how well she was filled. “You are. Nice n’snug inside this perfect hole. Think I was right about you being made to be fucked. Though… I think it’s mainly by me, yeah? Pretty holes made to be filled by me, cause I fill ‘em so perfectly.” 

“Yeah, Daddy.” She mewled, arching slightly as he pushed in a bit further. “It’s so perfect and I l-love it. It hurts but it feels so good n’I wanna do it again.” 

“Haven’t even finished this one and you’re already planning our next fuck… Really are Daddy’s girl. Addicted to my cock inside of you, jus’ like I’m obsessed with filling you.” She didn’t know just how true those words rang out now. How he had poured over the fact that he liked her far more than he should for an arrangement like this, how he had been so desperate for her that he’d broken his rule -which he never does as a dominant- and made her cum in the bathroom during their lunch because he had wanted to make her feel good so badly that it made him feel borderline insane. 

“I am. I’m Daddy’s girl.” She babbled, pushing back into him. “I can take more. You can- you can fuck me. I can take it, I promise. Green.” The urging made him chuckle to himself because fuck, could she get any more perfect?  Make it any more obvious that she was completely and utterly made for him, saying all the shit he had been hoping she would? 

For once, the dominant couldn’t tell his submissive no. 

He was slow about it at first, listening to her mewl. Filling her up and pulling out shallowly, letting her adjust to the action. The man relished in the feeling of her stretching and clinging to him, greedily trying to keep him inside of her.  It became increasingly hard to keep his composure, but the good news was that Y/N didn’t want him to. 

The slow crescendo gained momentum, the hand she was holding falling down as she tried to move herself onto her hands. While he had been trying to keep it slower for her, it seemed his submissive craved more- fucking herself back onto him with the sweetest whines being punched out of her as she did so. The gall, the audacity of the girl had him laughing under his breath- but he wasn’t going to let it go.

His hand gripped her hair, swiftly pulling it around his fist like a leash and pulling her up onto her knees. “If you want more, you’ll take it like this.” It was reminiscent of their other time he loved to look back on, but his prick was filling a different hole. Teeth descended onto her neck as he picked up the pace, biting down as she squealed his honorific into the air. “Oh, what? Is it too deep? Too much? You want to get greedy and now it’s too much for that slutty hole?” He cooed, the condescending tone making her shiver. “That’s too fucking bad then. You know what to say to get me to stop.” Unless she uttered that word, he knew she could take it. 

Y/N felt lightheaded in the best way. This new sort of pleasure had her dripping all over her thighs, her clit pulsing between her legs as he fucked into her ass. Pounded it, really, in a way she had only dreamed about. Pinpricks on her scalp from the grip on her hair, involuntary noises being punched out of her lungs from the pressure, she was feeling her eyes lull with each thrust. It was only with him, she didn’t have to think about anything but how good she felt. How to please him, how to piss him off, how he would make her cum. The most primal of urges being met, all the while he was focused on her. There was no thought of work infiltrating his brain, or sports, or the distraction of texts or pulling out mid stroke for a phone call- no. In their intimate moments, Harry was just as tuned into her as she was, him. 

“You fuck me so good.” Somewhere along the line, those thoughts had her tearing up. This was the first partner in which she had felt the reciprocated want, the attention she felt she deserved being laid down onto her. Her eyes stung but there was no way to stop it as the tears began to dribble down her cheeks. Something like an emotional release starting as the physical pleasure began to bubble up in her stomach, his hand winding around to the front to circle her slippery clit. “Don’t stop, Daddy. Don’t stop, please don’t ever stop fucking me.” 

The words probably held more weight than she realized, her shuddering voice making him groan into her neck. “As long as you want me, I’ll keep going.” His voice was deep with the pleasure, hoarse as he promised her he wouldn’t stop. “You feel so good, baby. I’ll give you whatever you need. Don’t ever worry.” turning her head, his tongue licked over the salty tear that had fallen down her cheek. “Your holes are mine, aren’t they? Every single one. No one else’s. Only for Daddy to fuck. Took this ass n’now it’s mine.” He himself was losing it a bit at her declaration, finding himself close. “My perfect slut.”

The intensity was high but neither of them wanted to stop. Unspoken words thick in the air as the pleasure filled both of their bodies, leading them towards their ends sooner than they’d want. It was when his fingers filled her pussy and his the heel of his palm smacked against her clit as he fucked her in both holes that she new she couldn’t stop her upcoming orgasm. 

“Yeah- uh-huh, just use me. I’ll be good, I’ll be so, so good for you Daddy. They’re yours, I’m yours. I’m yours, I promise- Oh, fuck.” She sobbed, feeling his fingers quicken on her clit. “I need to cum. I need to cum, Please, please let me. You can keep fucking me, Jus’ let me cum. I’m so good, I’m your good little slut.”

“Y-yeah.” His mouth fell open and the moan was loud and slightly shaky.  “Cum for me. Cum for me, pretty fucking girl, I’m gonna cum in you. Let go, It’s okay- Give it t’me. Give it.” He demanded, his mouth shadowing her own as they inhaled each other’s pants. They were glistening and sticky with sweat, sloppy on the thighs, lips swollen and marked up in the most animalistic way and they’d never been more in tune with their bodies- or each other. 

Y/N couldn’t stop herself as she got permission, his pulsing fingers getting one specific spot inside of her and his cock filling her ass over and over again sending her over the edge. White flashed her vision as she shuddered in his arms, a unfamiliar scream leaving her throat. Gushing around his fingers, she squirted a little stream of liquid down his hand. Both holes clenching, her body unsure if she should push herself closer or pull away, she sobbed out his name. “Harry- Harry, oh my fuck-” 

The combination of many things had led to his own orgasm, but it was particularly his real name that had him pushed to his limits. His own pathetic moan of hers followed, pulling her mouth to his own as he kissed her messily. Each pulse of his balls added another stream of cum inside of her, thighs twitching as he felt some of his strength draining along with his cock. He was in slight disbelief how intense he felt it, his toes feeling damn near numb as he tried to snap back into caretaker mode as he unwound his hand from her hair and slowly leaned her down to lay on the bed. 

“Oh, baby…” He whispered, peppering kisses to her cheeks. “Fuck, sweet girl… what the fuck are you doin’ to me?” A laugh of disbelief left his swollen lips, nudging his nose against hers. Y/N let out a weak noise of acknowledgement, melting right into the bed as he laid on top of her. Doing his best to keep his weight from squishing her, he tried to gain some composure with deep breathing. He’d fallen into a different headspace there, and it had been quite a while since he had done it. Forever, really, for that certain brand of it. It wasn’t just a dominant headspace, but one that felt something for the girl he was inside of. More than what was allowed. At this point though, he didn’t particularly care about the logistics of it. 

There was no way he wasn’t going to make this girl his. Ethics be damned. 

“Angel? Y’alright?” He whispered, getting a grunt from her. “Yeah? I’m gonna have to pull out in a few seconds so I can get the stuff to take care of you. I’ll be slow, and come right back.” It wasn’t like he wanted to go anywhere from her, If he had it his way he’d be inside of her 24/7. But he needed to take proper care of his girl, and aftercare was something he simply wouldn’t skip. 

“No.” She whimpered. “Don’t want you t’go.” The words were muffled together, like her lips weren't working that well, and it made the man smile. She was well and truly fucked out. This time, though, it was mutual. 

“I have to, sweetheart. Don’t want you laying in all this filth. Sticky, aren’t you?” He knew he was. It was worse for her, considering she had been double stuffed with his cum today. Internally, he was very happy about that.

“A little.” She huffed, turning her head and eyeing him. “I don’t wanna move. I don’t think I’ve got bones, Daddy.” The whisper made him smile, knowing that she was still in that space. He’d work her out of it, make sure she was all clean and boneless while feeling safe. 

“You’ve got bones, love. Daddy jus’ fucked you pretty good.” He smoothed the sweaty strands of hair from her face. “Do you need something before I go n’grab the stuff to make you feel like you’ve got bones again?” 

Her face turned a little more, lips puckering out. “Kissy, please.” 

When he’d look back at it later, he would pinpoint that as the moment all the defenses around his heart broke. There was no more denying it. She had him. Hook, line and sinker.  

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Hiya! Do you know any Sterek fics where Derek rejects the mate bond with Stiles and just ignores it all, leading to Stiles feeling the strain or pain of an ignored/incomplete bond? I've read one before where Derek just moved away cuz he didn't think it was a big deal and Stiles really took the brunt of it. But any fics that are similar would be perfect. P.S. Thank you for everything that you do and I hope that you're having a great day!

Oh yes. I love this kind of angst.

soulmates tbh by bleep0bleep

(1/1 I 1,423 I Teen)

"It’s been five months," Derek says darkly. "Why am I still getting these proposals? You know these are probably all fake marks."

Five months since the paparazzi had snapped that photo of him with the overzealous fan tugging at his shirt, five months since millions of people on the Internet realized that the birthmark revealed was in fact, the mark, five months Derek was inundated by claims from people who desperately wanted him to believe that they were his soul-mate.

Second Chances by rootbeer

(1/1 I 2,624 I General)

"A lot of times the ‘markings’ were common, simple things you said to strangers all the time. 'Excuse me'; 'thank you'; 'hello'. Some got extremely romantic things like 'it’s you isn’t it? I’ve been waiting for you' or 'Wow you’re really pretty'. And they were always the first words their soulmate would ever say to them.

Of course, having 'You are the fucking worst kind of person in the world' tattooed down your side, didn’t bode well. How fucked up was Stiles Stilinski that even his fucking Soulmate hated him? High School had been a special kind of hell when all the kids learned what his tattoo said—despite his best efforts to keep it a secret."

Three Marks by sanam

(8/8 I 113,736 I Mature)

"And then there was pain again, but this time it was in only three places—his arm, below his clavicle, and next to his heart, all on the left side. It felt like the skin was being sliced apart, ripped open, flayed off— And suddenly it was done. Derek looked across the room and saw the boy on the floor, looking about as bad as Derek felt."

Derek and Stiles learn that bonding is probably best done with ridiculous amounts of video games and maybe a little bit of time.

I Hunt For You With Bloody Feet by CharWright5

(26/26 I 200,462 I Explicit)

“Mates don't always mean happy ever after.”

When twenty-year-old born omega werewolf Stiles Stilinski received that cryptic email from his twin brother—who'd been missing for two years exactly—in a language the two of them had made up, his drive to find Stuart is doubled. The search leads him to Oak Creek, the most secured and heavily fortified city in all of California, where he finds that not only is his brother dead, but also the literal alpha of his Dreams in Derek Hale—who just happens to be his twin's Mate and the main suspect in Stiles' eyes. Despite an agreement to fight mutual feelings, the two are still drawn to each other as they try to solve the case themselves, uncovering a plot that goes deeper than the murder of just one wolf.

Blue Monday by ExpectNothingGainEverything

(19/? I 535,709 I Explicit)

Stiles would have never guessed that the star player of the lacrosse team and presumably the hottest guy in school who everyone wanted a piece of and one of his most hated bullies would turn out to be his soulmate.

Derek would never have dreamed that fate would be so cruel to pair him up with a freak like Stilinski.

[bones4thecats]

➸ Royal Bloodline; Future! Malleus × S/O

Character: Malleus Draconia A/N: Hope you guys enjoy this cute little thing I made! Disclaimer(s): This is what I used to reference the Reader's outfit + cloak and then Malleus' cloak

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗

╚═════ Malleus Draconia ═════════════════════════╝

🐉 Never in a million years did you expect that you would be here, wrapped in a long gown while your husband sat at his desk, writing a letter to one of the knights stationed a ways away from your homeland

🐉 You smiled gently at your husband and stood up, grabbing your cloak from the nearby hook, wrapped it around your frame, and clipped it together so you could walk outside

"Where are you going, love?" Malleus asked from his chair.

"I'm going to head to town really quick. Virgil and Maximus have been wanting some apricots and nectarines as of late." You answered.

"I can send one of the guards out to do it for you, you know this, right?"

"Yes, I do. Malleus, the kids need some fresh air. So, why not do some shopping in the meantime?"

🐉 Malleus sighed and nodded. He didn't mean to be so possessive of you and his two children, but sometimes he couldn't help but give into the things he grew up with. He always viewed being locked away as normal, but when you guys married, you slowly tore that away from him

🐉 He then signed his name on the paper in front of him and stood up, grabbing his own cloak, clipping it, and holding his arm out for you to hold

"So you want some fresh air as well?" You teased.

"Perhaps."

🐉 You smiled and giggled, wrapping your arms around his before walking through the hallways to find your two children and head outside of the castle to the small market that covered the many walkways of Briar Valley

🐉 Malleus listened to the knights walking around while you two searched for Virgil and Maximus. You eventually reached your children's room and opened it to see Silver, Sebek, and Lilia inside with the children. Lilia was playing with them while Silver and Sebek stood guard

"Virgil, Max! Do you guys want to go to own really quick?" You asked.

"Yeah!" The female and male yelled, standing up and pulling their own cloaks before handing them to their two uncles to put on them.

🐉 Sebek sighed and bent down to wrap the dark purple cloak around Virgil's tiny body while Silver put the dark blue one around Maximus' body

🐉 When you guys finally left, Silver and Sebek had to follow as knights while Lilia stayed in the castle for any kind of precaution. Malleus looked at you and smiled, his children happily chatting as they walked next to one another

🐉 Malleus and your crowns shined against the sun as you walked around. Everyone knew whom you were from just your appearance, but your crowns really laid it on thicker

🐉 The kids then began running faster, making Sebek flinch and go sprinting after them. You laughed as Malleus sighed and smiled, watching as they ran away with the larger-male chasing after them so they were safe

🐉 The King of Briar Valley then looked at you and gave a more gentle smile, leaning his head over to kiss your forehead. You looked up at him and smiled, kissing his own cheek before seeing Sebek picking up your kids and bringing them back to where you guys were

🐉 This was what he always wanted growing up. Ever since he realized his feelings when you looked at him years ago back in College when you went to Noble Bell College and watched the stars that beautiful night. Though, those stars were nothing to the beauty of his wife, his queen

🐉 Looking back up as his kids continued to cause chaos for poor Sebek, Malleus laid his hand on yours as you kept walking towards the three of them, Silver silently following behind

🐉 This was his bloodlines, his Royal Bloodline

[daycourtofficial]

Falling in Love on the Fourth Floor - Part 6

Summary: Out of an act of desperation, you move in with a guy you kind of know who happens to have a really hot brother who lives next door.

Author’s note: getting some tension here 👀 and yes the opening scene is inspired by How I Met Your Mother. This ends on a sad note for Azzy Baby so a bit angsty

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Masterlist)

Azriel isn’t surprised as his front door opens to find you bursting through it, as you had texted him about fifteen minutes ago if you could come over and tell him something. You quickly lock the door behind yourself, turning to face himself and Rhysand.

“So you guys know how Cassian and I got drunk last night after dinner,” you start before Rhys cuts you off with his hand. “Please don’t tell me Cass made it three weeks with a female roommate before having sex with her.”

You grimace at him, “ew, no.”

A look passes between Azriel and Rhys, one you can’t quite make out, but Azriel stands a bit straighter after your words.

“As I was saying - we got drunk, and after you guys left, we were walking down to go get donuts from the place on the corner when we passed a tattoo parlor and we went in.”

After the dinner with Mor last night, Feyre dropped the four of you off and you all had congregated into yours and Cassian’s apartment. You were tipsy for most of the night, Rhys and Az had the slightest hint of a buzz, and Cassian was bordering on blackout because he “wanted to take advantage of not doing anything the next day”.

Your mention of a tattoo parlor got their attention very quickly. You start giggling then, jumping up and down at what you have to tell them. You can’t contain your excitement as you blurt out, “Cassian got a tramp stamp and I don’t think he remembers it.”

They both look at you in shocked silence then start laughing. They start asking a million questions - “what is it? What color is it?” After a minute you tell them, “he’s awake and I know he’ll be over any minute - we have to remain calm. You need to see it.”

You turn back, unlocking the door for Cassian. The three of you wait in pained silence until you hear the knob turning, prompting you and Rhys to begin two completely different conversations to fill the silence.

“So like I said she was hot-“

“My professor is a jackass who wouldn’t -“

Cassian walks in, too hungover to notice the conflicting dialogues. He walks in shirtless and you start practically buzzing in excitement. You send warning glares to his brothers, trying to communicate, “please please please you need to see it before you say anything”.

Cassian groans a greeting to you three, walking past the three of you to open the fridge door. As he searches for whatever it is he wants, the three of you crowd behind him to look at the little blue candy heart that says “babygirl” in pink script tattooed just above his ass.

Rhys shoves his fingers in his mouth to keep from laughing and Azriel’s about to break when you slap a hand over his mouth. You all try so hard to keep from laughing, which makes it that much harder to restrain yourselves.

Rhys cracks first, unable to stop himself as he asks, “are you lost, babygirl,” referencing that godsawful 365 Days movie Cassian made you all watch a few days ago.

The three of you lose it, and Azriel collapses to the floor in giggles, taking you with him. From the ground you watch Cassian’s confused brain try to make sense of why you all were laughing so hard when Rhys slaps right where the fresh tattoo lied and Cassian yelps in pain.

“Oh gods, why does that hurt so much?” He stills, running straight for Azriel’s bathroom. The three of you follow, standing outside the door listening for Cassian’s moment of realization. He screams in shock, running back out, pointing a finger at you.

“You did this!”

“Me?” You ask, between giggles, “I think it was you, babygirl.”

That sends Azriel over the edge again, and he starts giggling into your hair.

“I’m getting it removed asap,” Cassian grounds out, storming out the apartment, leaving the three of you to giggle and mock him a bit more.

-

The week goes by in a blur of classes and project work. You don’t see much of Azriel, but the two of you text frequently after sending him that first message about Cassian’s tattoo.

The two of you would send photos of valentine’s hearts to each other, clearly mocking Cassian, asking, “would this look good on my chest?”

You had spent most of the week glued to your phone, waiting for his responses. Feyre even got mad at you when you had dinner at her place on Wednesday because you kept glancing at your phone while she was telling you something.

You began apologizing, telling her about you and Az texting, when her own phone buzzed taking away her attention. You had sat back as her gaze moved to her phone, hands itching to respond to Rhysand.

“Go on,” you told her, “pot calling the kettle back, I see.”

Today was Friday, so you didn’t have any classes, however you did spend the day TAing for several Organic Chemistry labs, the first of which had Rhysand in it. He had offered to drive you to campus, and after dinner with Feyre, you’re wondering if it’s just so he can talk to you about your friend.

You walked into their apartment, ready to meet Rhysand when you were met with a beautiful girl on their couch. She had long blonde hair in a nest braid on her head, and her silver eyes pierced you as you entered the apartment.

You look around, checking that you’re in the right apartment, and offer her a small smile, trying not to look as shocked as you feel as you shut the door behind yourself.

Was Rhys seeing someone?

She tells you, “I’m Nesta,” and you nod, offering her your own name back. She quirks a small smile at that, leaning back in the seat. “Interesting,” she says, “you’re just like Azriel described.” Her eyes roam up and down your body, and her face remains neutral, not giving you any hint of what she sees.

You want to know more about how Azriel had described you, when the man in question comes out of his room and stops at the sight of you talking to Nesta.

“Hey,” he tells you, and you’re too focused on watching him to notice Nesta roll her eyes at how much he had deepened his voice. She starts to say something, and he realizes it, strolling over to give her his notebook to keep her quiet.

The teasing words die on her tongue, replaced by words of gratitude. Azriel breaks eye contact with her to see you’ve started to stand, saying, “I’m gonna go wait outside - uh clearly you have company.”

Azriel looks at you, your face riddled with confusion and something else he can’t quite place.

“No, don’t worry. I was just leaving. I’ll see you tonight?” She asks, turning back to Azriel, “7?”

You wince at the date they’ve made, and Azriel definitely notices. He nods, “yeah, I’ll see you.”

He walks her to the door, before turning back to you, an interesting look on your face.

“She’s uh nice,” you stammer out, heart beating wildly once he shuts the door behind her.

Of course someone as pretty as Azriel needs someone as striking as Nesta. Were you a fool this whole time? To consider he might harbor affections for you? Was all the texting just niceties between neighbors?

“Not to new people she isn’t,” he replies, hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his feet.

“She was nice to me,” which makes it ten times harder for you to hate her. Your face flushed with embarrassment at having read this whole situation wrong. You are internally pleading with any force in the universe to make Rhys hurry up so you can bury yourself in shame and embarrassment away from Azriel.

“Well that’s because-“ but the words die on his tongue, as Rhys strolls out of his room, clearly hearing your prayers.

“Oh there you are, come on let’s go,” he tells you, grabbing his bookbag, snapping at you like you’re the problem, “we’re going to be late.”

Azriel’s brows furrow, “where are you two headed off to?”

Rhys smiles, “didn’t you know? She’s my lovely TA for O Chem lab.”

-

Azriel pulled up to the building later that night, hopping off his bike after spending hours with Nesta at the library. She was doing a minor in computer science, so she was taking the same electives as Azriel and they met weekly to do their homework together.

Tonight’s topic for review was all about you and how Nesta is certain that you were jealous of her sitting in his apartment and she was equally certain that any man in a city block would be lining up to ask you out.

“Don’t wait too long, Az,” she had told him as they walked towards the parking lot, mostly empty due to how early it was in the semester and the late hour. “She’s awfully pretty and smart. I’d date her.”

She smirked at Azriel’s disapproving look, thanking him for the notes from yesterday’s lecture.

Nesta’s words ring in his head as he spots you at the door of your building, a little black dress adorning your body. He walks closer, opting to leave his helmet on, eyes glued to how the dress covers your curves, and it takes a moment to realize that you’re with someone.

And not just anyone.

A guy. Some guy. Some guy that wasn’t himself.

Fuck, he thinks.

Did he have it all wrong? Were you seeing someone - responding to his texts because of pity? You had been so nice - were you just this nice to everyone? The subtle touches, the quick glances, did he make them all up?

He hadn’t thought much of your lack of communication today - you had told him previously that Fridays are a busy day for you, but now he knows you likely spent the afternoon getting ready for this date.

He keeps the helmet on as he walks past, not even hearing your conversation with the guy. He tries to keep himself from being noticed as he walks right past you, the scent of vanilla and flowers hitting him. He walks through the lobby, straight into the waiting elevator.

His fingers stay pressed on the button that leads to your floor, moving to stay pressed on the “close doors” button. He can’t stomach the sight of you two, and he certainly can’t stomach sharing an elevator with you two, forced into making small talk with your date.

His thoughts whirl and swirl with the texts you had been exchanging all week since you all had dinner together as he leans his helmeted head against the closed elevator doors. Jokes shared between you two into the odd hours of the night.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had stayed up texting someone, not wanting to go to sleep for fear of ending the conversation. He thought he had even heard you laughing through the wall at his dumb jokes. He had even fallen asleep while waiting for your response last night, his phone unlocked next to his face to your chain of texts the first thing he saw that morning.

The doors to the elevator open and he walks to his apartment, unlocking the door, and trudging into his room. He pulls off his helmet, chucking it somewhere in his room. He replaces it with his headphones, cranking the volume up as loud as it will go, to drown out any noise that could filter in from the apartment next door.

[ellivcca]

AND AND if they have enough little outfits you can mix and match them. oh no character A got a christmas themed outfit but character B didnt. well they did in a previous christmas themed thing! now your ship is celebrating christmas together!!! this is revolutionary!!!!!

i feel like ace attorney really misses out on the "characters wearing little outfits in merch" thing. when i was in the d*nganronpa fandom my favourite thing was following the updates account that would post new merch and everytime they had a little outfit on i got ecstatic! Because i knew the people were gonna be ecstatic about (and make so much fanart of) the characters themselves or the ships "matching". that is something i really like to see. the closest i've gotten to that feel recently was the capcom cafe panda themed fits which are so so great

[bluecollarmcandtf]

Humiliating the Cop

The University Officer at my college is always riding my ass for "bullying." Apparently some wimps went crying to him after I teased them around. Now he's constantly watching me. The dude needs to chill, and I'm gonna make him!

All it'll take is a confrontation with my handy hypnotic pendant. One look at the gem dripping down my neck and his mind will be ripe the picking!

"Yo, Officer!" I call his attention and march right up to the goody-two-shoes. He looks just as high-and-mighty as ever.

"Something going on?" he gives me a disapproving glare, "You causing trouble again?"

"Wouldn't dream of it, big guy," I pull the pendant out of my shirt, "Just wanted to show my favorite piggy something."

He grimaces and opens his mouth, but before he can deliver his comeback, his eyes catch sight of the glowing jewel on my neck. The tension in his body relaxes while his jaw drops open. He looks like a brain dead idiot, but that just means he's ready for some instructions.

I start to explain his new job to him. Things are going to be different around here. This cop's not going to be the high-and-mighty enforcer of justice he used to be, and there's nothing he can do but nod his head dumbly and agree!

A week later I catch sight of the cop carrying a bucket of soapy water down the hall. Some nerd I'm intimidating squeals for his help.

The officer just shakes his head, "Sorry, I'm busy right now. I have to go scrub graffiti off a stall in the men's room."

"That's my art, piggy. You like what I spray painted in there?" I chuckle.

"Oh, it was very well done," he answered quickly, searching my eyes for approval, "I didn't realize it was yours, sir. I'll just leave it alone."

The dweeb I have pinned against the wall is dumbfounded and asks again for some help before I interrupt, "Jesus, tell this kid to just shut up and hand over his lunch."

The cop nods and turns a stern face to my victim, "Son, be quiet and give him what he wants, now."

After handing over his packed meal, the student scurries away. I obviously had the officer wrapped around my mean finger. I used him to help me bully a few other kids throughout the rest of the week. I even had him vandalize the principal's car for me, but I wanted him to fall a little further from grace..

Most of the cafeteria snickered quietly behind the officer's back. I put him in another trance that morning, telling him that his new responsibilities as campus security was to "Mop up the messes before anyone else can."

He spent all day running around the hallways with a mop and bucket. During lunch, I knocked the food out of everyone's hands and enjoyed watching him crawl behind as he struggled to keep up with each new mess.

By the end of the day, a few of the more outgoing football jocks had joined in on teasing the man.

"Yo, officer," the athlete chuckled, as he poured a soda out onto the floor.

"Yes, sir?"

I have him calling everyone 'sir,' now. He's basically lower than everyone on the totem pole now. Even still, I thought he could drop lower...

After a quick discussion with the police chief, I had him fired from the department. Don't worry though! I got him a job as a janitor at the school. He works for free, but at least he's got something to do all day.

Using the hypnotic pendant, I essentially took over his life. I had the police chief hire me in the cop's place. I moved into the man's lovely home, and acquainted myself with his beautiful wife. After, introducing her to my glowing necklace, she quickly realized that I was a million times better than her disgusting husband.

He still sees her every once in awhile when he comes over to clean the place, but he's not allowed to speak to women anymore. She only talks to him when she's criticizing his janitorial capabilities, anyway.

I've got to say that I'm a much better officer than that annoying prick ever was. At least, I have a lot more fun using the uniform than he ever did. Call me sadistic, but I'm still thinking of ways to bring the guy down a peg...

[palajae]

try again.

PAIRING... coworker!jake x reader | GENRE... office! au, romance, fluff, humor | WC... 0.4k | “it’s not what you think it is.”

you shush jake for the fifth time, swatting his arm as you press your ears to the door. 

your boss’s closet wasn’t exactly an ideal space to be in- the proximity between you and jake a little too close- but you weren’t complaining. 

you focus, hearing the two voices outside before letting out a gasp. 

“oh my god.” 

he tenses, searching you curiously. 

“what? what is it?” 

in the dark, cramped space, you hastily gesture for jake to get close and listen. he does, and in the process he shifts so that his body presses much closer to yours. your breath hitches, feeling his chest and warmth press into you. 

jake’s eyes widen and you shoot him a look that tells him i told you so. 

“since when was our boss and secretary kim together?”

you shrug. “i dunno, but i knew i wasn’t hallucinating when i saw him grab her hand!”

“alright, alright,” jake whispers back. “i guess you were right.” 

sporting a triumphant grin, you stop when you hear heels clacking across the marble floor- most likely signaling secretary kim’s departure. 

“i think she’s leaving,” you murmur with furrowed eyebrows. jake also leans in again to press his ear against the door and you freeze. his face was much too close for comfort. heart stuttering, you can only blink up at him. 

he frowns, “wait a second y/n. i don’t think she’s leaving, i think she’s-“

you hear the footsteps get louder and you both share a look of alarm. 

the door flies open and the bright lights blind you momentarily. your boss’s displeased face greets you and jake.

you realize what it must look like from an outside perspective: the sight of your hands on jake’s chest and his legs slotted between yours to fit comfortably in the closet- with your faces inches apart. 

the first thing you can manage to get out is, 

“it’s not what you think it is.” 

he crosses his arms, “really?”

you scramble to come up with something, “yeah, uh- we were actually looking for-“

“files,” jake finishes lamely. 

your boss’s eyes narrow at the two of you. 

“get back to work!”

“yes sir!” you both shout in unison, scrambling out of the closet. you mutter a small greeting to a speechless secretary kim before jake grabs your hand to run out of your boss’s office. 

“do you think we fooled them?” you notice the mischievous grin on his face as you make your way back to your respective desks. 

“not in a million years.” 

jake bids you goodbye, but not without sharing a final amused laugh and matching warm looks. 

(and an invite to grab lunch together.)

a/n ▸ guess who’s alive :))

@kflixnet

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[scarnatlover]

Sleeping is hard

Summary: After a little argument with Natasha over a mission she didn't know you had, you try to find a way to cope. This time it doesn't go as planned

Warnings: drug use, alcohol, overdose, swearing, a pissed Natasha, mention of medications, insomnia(?)

A/N: I'm sorry if anything is spelled incorrectly, but English is not my first language. I apologize in advance for my grammar and spelling

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Y/N POV

It was 3:00 in the morning.

3:00 a.m. and I was lying on the bed looking at the ceiling, thinking about a girl with red hair and emerald eyes. My family that I found out wasn’t so perfect. The missions and the stress they cause. The past and millions of other things. It was as if my mind was no longer controlled by me, but had a life of its own.

After another two hours of watching the drugs on my desk, watching TV, and lying on the floor looking at the ceiling, I picked up the phone and went to Fury’s contact who finally answered after several attempts.

"What do you want at 5 in the morning?" he replied with a mixture of fatigue and anger in his tone of voice

"Well, I was hoping that maybe I could-" he interrupted me just as I was proposing

"No, go to sleep," he continued, and I heard noises in the background that sounded like someone was getting out of bed

"You didn’t even let me finish the sentence, Fury" I kind of whined after his answer

"You want a mission. But I won’t give it to you. You have to sleep. At least try, Sergeant."

I could hear the concern in his tone of voice. Ever since I told him I couldn’t sleep, he started worrying more and more, and he wouldn’t let me go out without someone else with me. Most of the time it was Nat. This was a bit of a problem for me most of the time, as I’m not very good with feelings I always try to push them into a remote part of my mind. He and Maria were afraid that I would faint at any moment and no one was there to take me back to the tower.

"Do you want to hear words that will make you feel even more anxious?" I asked him. More than asking, I was threatening him

"All right, you don’t have to do it. Simple mission. Go into the base, engine room, and lab, get in there, and get everything we can use. I just sent you the files on the rest".

"Wow, you’re not as old as I thought you were. You can use a computer better than Steve. I didn’t know you could do it"

"Y/N, I’m serious. Anyway, you should have the mission file. Then I want you to go straight to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s headquarters where you and I will have a nice little chat" he told me seriously

"Yes, sir"

"I’m not joking and you know it. Now go. Our conversation is waiting"

And with that, he hung up. I immediately opened the computer and looked at all the details of the mission. I couldn’t concentrate, and as a result, I would do as usual on my own. Anyway, I realized that the place I was supposed to go to had already been searched by other agents who couldn’t get all the paperwork they needed. I got dressed and left my room, only to find Natasha with wet hair and running in front of me. As soon as she saw me, she looked at me confused as I watched her blushing, praying to all the gods that she hadn’t seen it.

"Hey, where are you going?" she asked confused, grabbing my face as my head, grabbing my face in her hands as my head was turned sideways.

"I’m going out. I’ll be back around 6:30. Why? Are you worried about me, Romanoff?" I told her jokingly hoping she wouldn’t say she was.

"It’s raining" She ignored my sarcastic remark and walked into my room, leaving me out trying to pull myself together again after she put her hands on my cheeks. "At least get something to cover you up," she said looking in my closet

"Nat, no need. I’m going to Sebastian’s house. There is also Adem and we'll sleep there" I said hoping that she would convince herself and let me go on a mission so the chat with Fury would pass faster.

"Okay, but you still have to cover yourself. You’ll catch a cold, and that’s not what we need right now. I don’t know if you realize how you are when you’re sick. I think I only saw you like that when you were using it. It’s a good thing you stopped," She continued with a sigh of relief.

Yeah, I’m done with…

"Nat, I have to go. I’ll see you at 6:30," I told her by kissing her cheek walking out, and leaving her there, like she was immobilized.

I ran down to the garage because I was super late and I took my car to go to SHIELD, made a stop at Sebastian’s house, and parked in his driveway, so at least the tracker would report that I was (my car was) at Sebastian’s. Then I started running to the safest building in the world.

As soon as I went up to the roof, I saw the jet with Maria next to it tapping her foot impatiently against the floor, like she’d been waiting for me for hours.

"Hill" I greeted her, but she just looked at me sideways.

"I was in bed sleeping blissfully and strangely calls me Fury saying I had to accompany you on a mission. You owe me a round of shots on Friday night I’ll tell you" she said as she drove behind me towards the controls.

"Wait and hope for Maria. Wait and hope," I said, smiling, as she continued to look at me with a murderous look.

"Y/N, Fury has already given you all the information, right?" she asked me and I nodded while I got up to go get ready.

"Maria, is Coulson’s offer still valid for the suit?" I asked after a while that I got out of the bathroom after I changed.

"Why?" she asked, turning around, and as soon as she did, she laughed.

"Don’t you like the HYDRA style?" she asked joking and laughing.

"You suck, let me tell you" I mumbled to myself while the one kept laughing.

"Better question. When are you gonna ask the famous Black Widow out?" continued with a smile printed on my face as she watched me blush.

"Probably never" I answered by opening the back door ready to jump down without a parachute, because let’s face it, where would the fun be otherwise?

"Too shy or too scared?" she asked looking back.

"Too busy!" I yelled so she could hear me before jumping and landing on the roof of the base a few seconds later.

"You know, there are parachutes" I heard Maria's voice coming from my right ear.

"That’s exactly what I was thinking about in my head. Then I told myself that it’s funny so why not do it" I replied whispering in case there was someone on the base that maybe he had hidden.

"Move your ass and go to the east side of the building. That should be the engine room," she ordered me and I immediately went to the point she told me to go.

"Okay, but don’t be so rude" I complained and then increased the speed of my pace.

When I got to the engine room, I immediately started backing up all the data that Fury had asked for. They have computers a little different from today’s since it seems that this box was manufactured by the Huns.

"Sergeant, JARVIS just warned me that Agent Romanoff is on the phone," I suddenly heard Hill calling me. Well, I’m in deep shit.

"Tell her I’ll call her back later," I tried to cover my ass.

"Agent Romanoff is continuing to insist, Sergeant. She is threatening you with a slow and painful death. Are you positive that ignoring her is the case?" She playfully asked me again but I knew that Nat’s words were true.

"You know what, give it to me," I finally decided since I still didn’t want to die.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!" She immediately yelled at me and I had to pull out the earpiece for how loud she was shouting at me.

"What do you mean," I tried to play dumb.

"I mean exactly what I said. You’re not at Sebastian’s. So I’ll ask you again. Where the fuck are you?".

Fuck. She must have called Sebastian and he told her I wasn’t actually at his place. Snitches end up in ditches Sebastian, remember?

"Ah, we went out".

Here you can see an example of wild Y/N trying to escape from her hunter to survive.

"MAYBE TELL ME NEXT TIME? Where are you?" She asked me a little calmer than before.

"Central Park" What a bullshit Y/N.

"So if I go there I find you right?" She continued.

"Of course" let’s try.

Move faster shitty data, that if Nat finds out I’m not in Central Park, she really is going to kill me, and technically, I’d like to live a little longer. At least let me get home.

"Well, then I’ll see you there in 15 minutes".

She hung up. I’m dead. I don’t even have a will. I’m gonna die. Meanwhile, by the grace of God, the computer of 1500 b.C had finished with the data and I left, jumping from the roof and landing on the door still open. I went to the bathroom and started taking the fastest shower in the world. Jesus thank God for giving Tony Stark the idea of putting a shower in the bathroom. As soon as I got out, I quickly changed and dried my hair.

"Wow, I’ve never seen someone so scared".

"Shut up Hill. I’m going to die and you’re joking," I answered, opening the door ready to jump down again.

"Well, if you die, you can finally sleep," she said, still laughing, while I gave her a dirty look.

As soon as I saw our position, I quickly said goodbye to Maria and jumped off, as I did at the base. I wandered around a bit until I saw Nat sitting on a bench. I approached her and she raised her head feeling a presence near her. She looked at me for a while, got up, and slapped me, powerful if I say so.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" She told me and I tried to talk, but did not even have time to open my mouth when I felt her lips on mine and almost automatically my hands went to her hips to bring her closer, while hers were in my hair.

"Now the two of us go back to the tower and you tell me what’s going on with you. Am I clear?" She said sternly and authoritatively that she left me room only to nod.

"Words darling," she said firmly, putting her hands on my cheeks, making me see her face, as I held my head low.

"Yes m'am" I whispered.

"Good" She kissed me and took my hand, heading for her car.

The ride, most of it at least, was quite tranquil. Up to a certain point when the redhead started talking.

"I don’t want to force you to talk to me, and I couldn’t answer the question before. Yeah, okay. I’m worried about you. You do pretty stupid things. Sometimes you look like a genius and you do mature things, like a mix of Tony and Bruce; but sometimes you look like a little girl, and all she does is act out. You don’t have to keep complaining to Fury until he gives you missions. Maybe you’re not trying as hard as you should or not qualified for that kind of thing, but you have to stop-" I interrupted her before she could say more words to convince me even more that I could never be enough for her.

"Okay, Nat. I understood. You can stop now, thank you," I told her as I kept looking out the window, and as soon as we got to the garage, I opened the door and went to my room.

Natasha POV

Okay, maybe I went too far. I shouldn’t have said these things, but it’s true. I leaned my head against the steering wheel and I took a deep breath before I got out of my car and closed it, then I went into the elevator and crushed the floor where me, Y/N, and Wanda were staying. I hope Wanda didn’t hear anything because she has to rest since she has just returned from a long mission, in which frankly I would have seen better Y/N. We all confronted each other after the meeting, except Y/N, who was pissed because she couldn’t go, and Wanda, and we agreed that she was the best choice. So no one understood the reason for Fury’s choice.

When I arrived at her door I knocked, but no one answered and after several attempts, I tried to call her, but she kept going to voice mail; however I felt that she was in there, so I decided to leave a message.

"Y/N, I know you’re not well. Can you open the door and we can talk a bit together, please?" In this case, I knew the only thing that could make her feel better was inhaling crap so she wouldn’t feel anything.

I heard my voice on the other side of the door, so someone was there.

"JARVIS, open this door," I said after a while more as I had enough of waiting. I knew she needed me.

After the fourth time, I begged Al to open the door unsuccessfully, I sat on the floor and leaned my head against the wall, trying to stay alert about whatever was going on. In the end, however, fatigue took over and I fell asleep.

I woke up in someone’s bed. I stood up, ready to attack, when I realized it was Y/N's room. The posters on the wall and our photos together were on the black wall of her room. The desk was a mess, the closet was half open and the trash was full of tissues.

I heard the bedroom door open and saw Y/N enter with a tray of two sandwiches and two glasses. When she saw me, she smiled at me put the tray on the bedside table, and then lay on the bed, waiting for me to do the same. As soon as I lay down, she turned and put her arm around my waist and gave me gentle kisses on the neck. After a while, she took the food and handed it to me. Mine was a jam and peanut butter sandwich with coffee, hers was a Nutella sandwich and orange juice. I swear that girl could die if we didn’t have Nutella in the tower anymore.

After breakfast, our day went on regularly, we did not see each other much. Only briefly for lunch, but not for dinner because she didn’t come to eat with us. She didn’t show up after that, and when I texted her that the movie was about to start, she said she wasn’t feeling very well.

At 2:10 in the morning, I had to wake up because my phone was ringing and I realized only now that I had not charged it and that it was 10% battery, so it would not last long. I looked at the screen of the phone and noticed that Y/N was calling me; I answered quickly, worried that something had happened to her.

"Y/N, it’s two in the morning, why are you awake?" I asked her, but the only things I could hear were whispers and an irregular breath.

"Honey, are you okay?".

"N-Nat?".

"Y/N, it’s me. I’m here, what’s going on?" I asked her getting out of bed.

I put the phone on speaker as I started to get dressed to go to her room; in doing so I didn’t even notice that I was wearing her clothes.

"I-I don’t. I need you" she whispered trying to get more air in her lungs without much success.

"Hey, I’m coming, just… Please stay on the phone" I begged her while I was looking for my socks.

There were moments of silence, where the only things I could hear were her hiccups and her attempts to get more air into her lungs. I already had an idea of what was going on, but I was hoping I was wrong. I opened the door and ran quickly to her room, but when JARVIS opened the door, the room was empty.

"Y/N, can you tell me where you are, honey?".

"I see a-a picture of us at the parade l-last year umm….".

I figured she was in the lab she was sharing with Tony since I suggested she try to create something to try and get her to stop taking drugs. For a while, it also worked, but I don’t think she ever stopped. Maybe she took them but in small amounts.

"Okay, I’m on my way-" I heard the line was down, and I started to panic more and more.

I ran out of the room to the elevator, which unfortunately for me was already going down, so I headed down the stairs and started running down them as fast as I could. I could feel my heartbeat in my ears like the percussion you hear in horror movies.

When I finally arrived, I practically broke the door as hard as I made it slam against the wall and I immediately saw Y/N curled up under her desk.

I approached with caution since I didn’t want to scare her, "Love".

I saw her eyes full of fear, but mostly I noticed her dilated pupils. I looked quickly around the room and saw a razor blade on the desk, next to a ruler. My suspicions continued to increase, and so did my concern.

She kept trying to take breaths, but it was like I could see that her lungs were closed. It was terrifying. Her body kept shaking and her short hair was all messed up.

"Hey, it’s okay. I just need you to start taking big deep breaths. You can do it okay?" I told her slowly and gently, but when I took her hand, I noticed she was all sweaty.

She just shook her head fast, kept crying and saying she couldn’t but I kept breathing slowly and made her feel my heartbeat, hoping that somehow she would calm down.

She finally looked at me and I nodded my head that she could do it. She was looking at me like a scared puppy. She finally tried to copy my breath as I approached her slowly so she wouldn’t panic anymore.

In the end, I came to practically hold her in my arms, and after a while, she stopped trembling, only a few tears fell on her face, but I did not stop whispering sweet and comforting words in her ear.

"Can you please tell me what you took? I just want to help you, my love," I told her calmly once she had completely calmed down.

"Cocaine I think" she whispered.

After that, we remained silent.

"Nat, I’m not feeling well," she said, sitting down fine. I could see she was shaking and sweating even more.

I immediately got up and walked over to Tony’s desk quickly to find the pulse oximeter to measure her heartbeat. With a bit of difficulty, I was able to put it on her finger, and in the minute she was measuring her heartbeat I tried to calm her down a little, hoping she wasn’t overdosing. As soon as the numbers appeared on the thing, I noticed the heartbeat was too fast.

I called Bruce right away to tell him to start preparing the MedBay because I was gonna take her there, and I explained how I found her and what happened before. But while I was on the phone with Bruce, I saw Y/N start to close her eyes

"No, Y/N, no" I put down the phone and sat down next to her again, starting to stimulate her a bit by pinching her cheek so she could hear me and stay awake until Bruce arrived.

At one point, I noticed that she was trying to throw up, so I barely had time to turn her around so she could throw up better and not on herself. But she kept holding on to nothing, and she was practically choking on her own vomit, so, almost crying at the sight, I opened her mouth more and stuck two fingers down her throat trying to get everything she took out.

"Come on, love. Get out of your body that fucking shit" I kept repeating her and finally, after a while, she started vomiting and letting out the alcohol and the substances she had taken, while I kept reassuring her.

I continued to stimulate her slowly but in such a way that she felt that I was there and that I was close to her. After a few minutes Bruce rushed in, followed by Y/N's best friend, Bucky, who immediately picked her up and took her to the infirmary, but as soon as she was put on the table we noticed that she could not breathe well. I immediately ran to her side, tilting her head back so that the airways could work.

When she finally started breathing again, Bruce immediately started checking her heart rate and blood pressure. After he gave her a dose of lorazepam, which he explained was supposed to be one of the best remedies for cases like this, and attached her to machines to monitor her condition, he left, left us alone. That night I fell asleep with her in the chair next to her bed, our hands entwined.

The next morning I woke up with someone stroking my hair. I looked up and saw Y/N looking at me gently. I slowly got up and kissed her, trying not to touch any cables or anything like that. As soon as I came off, she saw that she was going to throw up again, so I ran quickly to get a basket or whatever to make her throw up there.

Once she finally finished, I cleaned her mouth carefully, trying not to hurt her. We were interrupted by Wanda who entered the room like lightning, a murderous look on her face.

"I'm be back after a stressful mission. I came down to have breakfast expecting my sister with open arms and instead" she started to walk fast around the room. "They tell me she overdosed last night for some reason," she finished and turned to look at us, realization had now taken the place of anger.

"Sorry, I didn’t know anything about you two," she said afterward.

"Believe me," Y/N said. "Neither did I," she continued, laughing a little.

"The fact remains. You are a moron," the witch said seriously coming closer to hug her.

They talked a little before Wanda left because she had plans with Vision, leaving us alone. Y/N looked at me and motioned me to lie down next to her. As soon as I lay down she leaned her head on my chest. We kept quiet until she decided to start talking.

"I don’t sleep. I can’t sleep at night. I have no idea when it was the last time I slept for more than two hours. Melatonin, chamomile, all the ways to sleep I tried them, but not even one worked " she said and looked down.

"Okay, I get it. I also had trouble sleeping when I got here, but I didn’t take alcohol and drugs to make me feel better," I started saying. "I learned to ask for help. First Clint and now you. How many times have I come to you to ask if we could sleep together because I couldn’t sleep alone?" I asked her and she answered with a little "many".

"I want to be there for you like you were there for me, okay?" I said and she nodded.

"Do you want to go out with me tomorrow?" she asked me this time, out of nowhere and I was immediately surprised.

"As friends, friends who have had a few kisses, or is it a date?" I asked with a smile.

"Date" she whispered blushing.

"Sure, but now try to get some sleep. That’s all that matters" and with it, she fell back asleep while I watched her swearing on my way that I would help her until my last breath.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Dinkclump Linkdump

I'm on tour with my new novel The Bezzle! Catch me TONIGHT in LA (Saturday night, with Adam Conover), Seattle (Monday, with Neal Stephenson), then Portland, Phoenix and more!

Some Saturday mornings, I look at the week's blogging and realize I have a lot more links saved up than I managed to write about this week, and then I do a linkdump. There've been 14 of these, and this is number 15:

https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/

Attentive readers will note that this isn't Saturday. You're right. But I'm on a book tour and every day is shatterday, because damn, it's grueling and I'm not the spry manchild who took Little Brother on the road in 2008 – I'm a 52 year old with two artificial hips. Hence: an out-of-cycle linkdump. Come see me on tour and marvel at my verticality!

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/16/narrative-capitalism/#bezzle-tour

Best thing I read this week, hands down, was Ryan Broderick's Garbage Day piece, "AI search is a doomsday cult":

https://www.garbageday.email/p/ai-search-doomsday-cult

Broderick makes so many excellent points in this piece. First among them: AI search sucks, but that's OK, because no one is asking for AI search. This only got more true later in the week when everyone's favorite spicy autocomplete accidentally loaded the James Joyce module:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/02/chatgpt-alarms-users-by-spitting-out-shakespearean-nonsense-and-rambling/

(As Matt Webb noted, Chatbots have slid rapidly from Star Trek (computers give you useful information in a timely fashion) to Douglas Adams (computers spout hostile, impenetrable nonsense at you):

https://interconnected.org/home/2024/02/21/adams

But beyond the unsuitability of AI for search results and beyond the public's yawning indifference to AI-infused search, Broderick makes a more important point: AI search is about summarizing web results so you don't have to click links and read the pages yourself.

If that's the future of the web, who the fuck is going to write those pages that the summarizer summarizes? What is the incentive, the business-model, the rational explanation for predicting a world in which millions of us go on writing web-pages, when the gatekeepers to the web have promised to rig the game so that no one will ever visit those pages, or read what we've written there, or even know it was us who wrote the underlying material the summarizer just summarized?

If we stop writing the web, AIs will have to summarize each other, forming an inhuman centipede of botshit-ingestion. This is bad news, because there's pretty solid mathematical evidence that training a bot on botshit makes it absolutely useless. Or, as the authors of the paper – including the eminent cryptographer Ross Anderson – put it, "using model-generated content in training causes irreversible defects":

https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.17493

This is the mathematical evidence for Jathan Sadowski's "Hapsburg AI," or, as the mathematicians call it, "The Curse of Recursion" (new band-name just dropped).

But if you really have your heart set on living in a ruined dystopia dominated by hostile artificial life-forms, have no fear. As Hamilton Nolan writes in "Radical Capital," a rogues gallery of worker-maiming corporations have asked a court to rule that the NLRB can't punish them for violating labor law:

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/radical-capital

Trader Joe’s, Amazon, Starbucks and SpaceX have all made this argument to various courts. If they prevail, then there will be no one in charge of enforcing federal labor law. Yes, this will let these companies go on ruining their workers' lives, but more importantly, it will give carte blanche to every other employer in the land. At one end of this process is a boss who doesn't want to recognize a union – and at the other end are farmers dying of heat-stroke.

The right wing coalition that has put this demand before the court has all sorts of demands, from forced birth to (I kid you not), the end of recreational sex:

https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2024/02/getting-rid-of-birth-control-is-a-key-gop-agenda-item-for-the-second-trump-term

That coalition is backed by ultra-rich monopolists who want wreck the nation that their rank-and-file useful idiots want to wreck your body. These are the monopoly cheerleaders who gave us the abomination that is the Pharmacy Benefit Manager – a useless intermediary that gets to screw patients and pharmacists – and then let PBMs consolidate and merge with pharmacy monopolists.

One such inbred colossus is Change Healthcare, a giant PBM that is, in turn, a mere tendril of United Healthcare, which merged the company with Optum. The resulting system – held together with spit and wishful thinking – has access to the health records of a third of Americans and processes 15 billion prescriptions per day.

Or rather, it did process that amount – until the all-your-eggs-in-one-badly-maintained basket strategy failed on Wednesday, and Change's systems went down due to an unspecified "cybersecurity incident." In the short term, this meant that tens of millions of Americans who tried to refill their prescriptions were told to either pay cash or come back later (if you don't die first). That was the first shoe dropping. The second shoe is the medical records of a third of the country.

Don't worry, I'm sure those records are fine. After all, nothing says security like "merging several disparate legacy IT systems together while simultaneously laying off half your IT staff as surplus to requirements and an impediment to extracting a special dividend for the private equity owners who are, of course, widely recognized as the world's greatest information security practitioners."

Look, not everything is terrible. Some computers are actually getting better. Framework's user-serviceable, super-rugged, easy-to-repair, powerful laptops are the most exciting computers I've ever owned – or broken:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/13/graceful-failure/#frame

Now you can get one for $500!

https://frame.work/blog/first-framework-laptop-16-shipments-and-a-499-framework

And the next generation is turning our surprisingly well, despite all our worst efforts. My kid – now 16! – and I just launched our latest joint project, "The Sushi Chronicles," a small website recording our idiosyncratic scores for nearly every sushi restaurant in Burbank, Glendale, Studio City and North Hollywood:

https://sushichronicles.org/

This is the record of two years' worth of Daughter-Daddy sushi nights that started as a way to get my picky eater to try new things and has turned into the highlight of my week. If you're in the area and looking for a nice piece of fish, give it a spin (also, we belatedly realized that we've never reviewed our favorite place, Kuru Kuru in the CVS Plaza on North Hollywood Way – we'll be rectifying that soon).

And yes, we have a lavishly corrupt Supreme Court, but at least now everyone knows it. Glenn Haumann's even set up a Gofundme to raise money to bribe Clarence Thomas (now deleted, alas):

https://www.gofundme.com/f/pzhj4q-the-clarence-thomas-signing-bonus-fund-give-now

The funds are intended as a "signing bonus" in the event that Thomas takes up John Oliver on his offer of a $2.4m luxury RV and $1m/year for life if he'll resign from the court:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE-VJrdHMug

This is truly one of Oliver's greatest bits, showcasing his mastery over the increasingly vital art of turning abstruse technical issues into entertainment that negates the performative complexity used by today's greatest villains to hide their misdeeds behind a Shield of Boringness (h/t Dana Clare).

The Bezzle is my contribution to turning abstruse scams into a high-impact technothriller that pierces that Shield of Boringness. The key to this is to master exposition, ignoring the (vastly overrated) rule that one must "show, not tell." Good exposition is hard to do, but when it works, it's amazing (as anyone who's read Neal Stephenson's 1,600-word explanation of how to eat Cap'n Crunch cereal in Cryptonomicon can attest). I wrote about this for Mary Robinette Kowal's "My Favorite Bit" this week:

https://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/my-favorite-bit/my-favorite-bit-cory-doctorow-talks-about-the-bezzle/

Of course, an undisputed master of this form is Adam Conover, whose Adam Ruins Everything show helped invent it. Adam is joining me on stage in LA tomorrow night at Vroman's at 5:30PM, to host me in a book-tour event for my novel The Bezzle:

https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Cory-Doctorow-discusses-The-Bezzle

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/23/gazeteer/#out-of-cycle

Image: Peter Craven (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aggregate_output_%287637833962%29.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

[infinite-orangepeel]

i’ve had your perv eddie/camboy steve on the brain all day 🫠 thinking about how eddie said he wasn’t very good looking, so i’m imagining steve’s surprise when the virgin creep is?? hot, actually?? and telling eddie that he has a very cute and rideable face

link to pt. 1 of camboy!steve/perv!eddie

first of all, thank you so much for putting these thoughts in my brain 💛 i'm so glad you enjoyed the first part of the au !! :)

second of all, yes. YES. eddie is fucking hot. undeniably so. it's a fact. like we all know this, but he doesn't really realize it yet, himself. he's insecure, awkward, and has next to no experience with anything romantic/sexual.

everything he's learned about sex, he's learned from watching porn, flipping through dirty magazines, and scrolling down to the depths of reddit forums.

everything he's learned about dating/flirting, he's learned from cheesy movies, late-night wikihow searches (i.e. how to get a boy to like you back? or how to kiss with tongue?), and observing from the sidelines when gareth tries to pick up chicks at 'the hideout'.

he's always been a weirdo, an outcast, a nerd. the kid in class that parent's warned their kids to stay away from. he never got invited to birthday parties, asked out to school dances, or heard through the grapevine that some boy or girl thought he was 'cute.'

quite the opposite.

boys made fun of him for having long hair, playing d&d, and doing drama.

girls sprinted in the opposite direction of him for cracking untimely jokes, walking on cafeteria tables, and saving bugs instead of squashing them.

so, eddie, now in his mid-twenties and long since graduated from high-school, doesn't exactly have much reason to think of himself as anything special to look at.

meanwhile, steve harrington has this whole community of people telling him how sexy he is. there isn't a singular inch of his body that hasn't been complimented a million times by strangers on the internet. he knows he's attractive. he knows he's hot. people in real life tell him so, too. they gravitate towards him at the club, kiss his neck and call him 'gorgeous,' ask him for his number when he wakes up hungover and in search of a decent breakfast sandwich.

but he's so fucking bored.

no one takes the time to get to know him past the highlighted hair, pouty lips, and belly ring.

no one asks him about his hobbies or interests outside of swallowing a ten-inch dildo down without gagging.

none of his fans care much about his taste in music, what movies he watches, or the deep-rooted wounds of his past.

so when they do finally meet--face to face over video chat--steve is blown away, because eddie's asking him all about himself (after he gets over the initial shock, of course). he's like a little kid at disneyland who just met mickey mouse for the first time.

he wants to know steve's favorite color, if he likes rollercoasters, what toppings he orders on his pizza.

it's not the deepest conversation, but it's a start and steve finds himself laughing, enjoying, and dreading what will happen once their call is over.

steve also catches onto eddie's insecurities pretty quickly.

when talking about himself, eddie makes constant self-deprecating comments. he's shy, hides behind his dark shadow of curls, and blushes bright red whenever steve says something complimentary.

time is running out. steve has to start his scheduled livestream soon and eddie is so adorable it hurts.

before he can think twice, the words are falling out of his mouth and he's licking over his glossed lips to seal their fate.

'you're so hot. i wanna ride your face until you can't breathe,' he says with a choked little moan....

and that's all i'm saying for now, bc pt. 2 of the full fic is on it's way and i don't want to spoil anything more before then, but this message gave me some great ideas for how i might want it to go so thank you anon !! loved responding to this one 🤗🧡

taglist (if you'd like to be added/removed at any time feel free to dm me or comment to let me know <3): @estrellami-1 @disastardly @ilovecupcakesandtea @the-redthread @asbealthgn @bestofbucky @vampireinthesun @carlyv @shrimply-a-menace @lordrrascal @jjoesjonas @anxiouseds @malachitedevil @gay-little-bitch @jhrc666 @pinkdaisies1998 @perseus-notjackson @eiddets @corroded-coffin-groupie @three-possums-playing-human @plutoshelm @stevesbipanic @arkenstoned @indiearr @they-reap-what-we-sow @gleek4twd @bunnyweasley23 @livingoutload @a-little-unsteddie

[shigarakisdumbwhore]

could you write a shigaraki x reader who loves to sing and is a music lover but is super shy abt it? ❤️ty

Yes ofc!!! This should be easy bc I went to music school for 3 years but don't ask me about music theory...

_______________________________________________

Music was your biggest passion. Radio was always on and your guitar was always tuned, ready to play. Despite being extremely talented, you only played when nobody was around. Your alone time was the only time you got to sing or practice any songs.

You were gifted with a beautiful voice that could rival any professional singer. If only the league knew, you'd be pressured to perform and collect money. However, that wasn't what you wanted. You were far too shy to do that.

To avoid anyone listening, you would inspect everywhere around you to make sure absolutely NOBODY was around to hear. It was your biggest secret. Whenever anyone asked about the guitar you tried your best to play it off as a bad hobby. However, you never really checked as much during your practices.

It was a warm afternoon, the league all left to their own devices. You never asked too many questions because you didn't wanna be dragged along. If anyone asked for your company, you offered to stay back and protect. Not like there was much to protect but it was a solid enough excuse for everyone to ignore.

You didn't hear Shigaraki arrive. You were locked away in a room, singing along to the radio. Your voice was powerful enough to be heard through the walls. Lots of studying with vocal technique helped with that but little did you know it'd also come back to bite you in the ass. Shigaraki could hear you the moment he stepped foot inside, and he was amazed.

At first he froze. He was confused and suspicious until he realized it was you. He slowly walked, taking in every moment of your beautiful voice. You were none the wiser. After a few songs, you left the room to get some water to rehydrate your throat when you noticed Shigaraki relaxing on an old, torn sofa. You jumped at first, defensively asking how long he had been there.

You could feel your heart drop to your stomach, beating a million miles per hour. Your mind, desperately searching for an answer, began racing with a timeline. Did you hear anything? When did he arrive? How long has he been laying on the couch? Did he even hear you? There's no way he didn't hear you. Why didn't he say something when he knew you were around? Why didn't everyone else come back too? You definitely would have heard them, especially Toga and Twice.

Dabi, Compress, Spinner, and Shigaraki were moderately quiet for the most part except a few games from Spinner and Shigaraki. It'd be a nightmare to quietly practice or focus on singing with Toga and Twice. You wished it was one of them because at least you would have heard them and saved yourself the embarrassment.

Shigaraki didn't seem phased. Not even by your outburst. He slowly propped himself up on his shoulders then shrugged.

"Awhile? Maybe."

His nonchalant nature only made you more nervous. There was no reading his expression whether he liked it or was tortured by it. The lack of response could be a bit relieving for some assuming the listener didn't care, but not for you. You were the master of overthinking your talent.

"I thought it sounded nice," he said in a soft tone as he laid back down. "You shouldn't be embarrassed about it." Did he see the blush on your face? Was it really that obvious? However, you could now see he was deeply relaxed and wondered if maybe your singing soothed him. Shigaraki was Japan's most wanted villain. He didn't really get time to relax. This was the first time you had seen him so laid back.

You sat down next to his feet and rubbed his leg as you softly sang to him. It took a lot of courage. Sometimes your voice cracked or high notes turned into more of a whisper, but it seemed to only have more relaxed Shigaraki. His eyes closed, his breath slowed down, and his muscles relaxed. Perhaps you were better at it than you gave yourself credit for. To see Shigaraki like this, it inspired you to sing around him more often.

[fatuismooches]

SMOOOCHES!!! Hello my adorable n most favorite writer!!! ꒰♡˃̶̤́ ꒳ ˂̶̤̀ ꒱

I hope you’ve been doing absolutely amazing! I give you another brainrot of mine tonight! I hope you enjoy!!You had mentioned in one of your recent replies to one of my smol Dottore brainrots that Fragile!Reader and Zandy would have matching ruin guard plushies. And it got me thinking on “what would happen if you ended up losing the plushie?” So here it is!

Fragile!Reader most likely always has the plushie in their grasp (like when eating, taking small walks, anything!) since it brings a lot of comfort to them. It was after all a gift from Zandik, and you always held his gifts to a high regard. And this plushie was no exception. Since it helped you cope with any of your stress, anxiety, etc. it was usually the first thing you’d grab whenever you were feeling such negative emotions. And if the plushie was alive, it would definitely comment on how you would cry most nights due to you feeling upset about your condition on some nights. So to say that this plushie is very meaningful to you is an understatement. (It even has yours and Zandik’s initials sewn into it on one of its tiny legs.) But, one night when you’re about to head to bed, you realize your favorite plush is missing. So, you look all throughout your bedroom, but unfortunately you can’t find it. And eventually, a few clones see you looking for it, and do their best to help you find the plushie. Even trying to retrace your steps, yet to no success. But, as the night wears on, your body starts to get tired (being that you’re not really used to staying late since your condition doesn’t let you stay up on most days, and your body requires lots of sleep.) and although you do try to endure, it ends up failing when as soon as a clone picks you up, your head resting on their shoulder, you quickly fall asleep. Eventually sent to your bedroom and tucked in (as well as hooked up to the many machines to monitor your vitals ໒꒰ྀི ◞ ◟꒱ྀིა ) the clones still continue their search for your dear plushie. Yet there’s no success that night, especially since they all still have work to complete. So even though you’re a priority to them, they also don’t want a scolding from Zandik..

So you end up waking up to no good news that morning. Yet that doesn’t stop you from continuing to search the lab. You could ask Zandik yes, but you also don’t want to disturb his experiments for a petty thing like your plushie. So you continue your search alone. And it remains that way for a few days, and you’re left quite anxious during these days without it. Since it is your comfort item, and how will you explain to Zandik you lost it? Sure he could probably make a new one, but it wouldn’t be the same as the original. Just like his clones, you love and hold all of them dearly close to your heart, but deep down you’ll always save a spot in your heart specifically for Zandik. However, your plushie is eventually found. (It had been left in the library behind a bookshelf) and you go back to your normal happy bubbly self. Overjoyed to have your plushie back. Although, you couldn’t really remember when you had left it there since you don’t remember ever walking into the library…But either way, you found it and that’s all that matters, right?

(Just trying to slip in the concept of Fragile!Readers memory slowly deteriorating every few years or so. Although it’s really subtle, and you just blame it on having bad memory as a kid.) But I hope you enjoy this brainrot of mine!! I’m sorry if it got a little long and slightly angsty I couldn’t come up with a fluffy ending besides you and little Zandy being able to play with your plushies again. (But I think during the time that your plushie is missing, Zandy would try and offer his like the good boy he is ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა ) but I hope you’re having a lovely day/night! May you get a lot of chu chi’s n kissies n hugs n everything nice in the world bc u deserve it so so much! i give u a million chu chus !!

-from your dear boo boo 🎐 anon! ₍⑅ᐢ..ᐢ₎

SQUEEE AHH ANOTHER DELICIOUS BRAINROT FROM MY LOVE <333 !!! BROOO THIS WAS SO CUTE I WAS SMILING THE WHOLE TIME 😭🫶

To say you adored your plushie was a severe understatement. It was a gift from your beloved, so of course you’d hold it in high regard! Not to mention how much comfort it brought you whenever you weren’t feeling the best. It was like a reminder that Zandik was always by your side, even when he couldn’t physically be there. It was something you could reveal your deepest darkest emotions and secrets too and not be judged. You loved it so much, and you didn’t care if that seemed childish or something. Often you’d trace your and Zandik’s initials and giggle at the thought of him.

So when one night you couldn’t find your plushie to cuddle with, you were on the verge of going crazy. At first you thought, maybe it fell under the bed or you dropped it somewhere strange, but nope, you tore apart your whole room, and nothing. And the clones kind of have a strange detector instinct for whenever you’re distressed (or maybe they just heard the noises from your room) and of course they assist you in your quest to find your plushie. But to no avail, which disheartens you. But you’re determined to find it until… zzz, your body is getting all the more tired from all of this walking. You silently cursed it for being so weak all the time, but there was nothing you could do. You probably would have fallen asleep on the floor were it not for the clone that carried you back. You muttered an apology and held onto him and you think his body heated up a bit.

You didn’t want Zandik to know that you lost it. First, it was kind of embarrassing to be this distraught over a plushie and you didn’t want him to think you were overreacting childishly or something. Second, you didn’t want him to possible feel bad you lost his gift, because you didn’t really mean to! You swear, you have no recollection of even leaving it somewhere. So strange… but you just mope around for a few days without your plushie to cuddle and talk to :( But when your plushie is found you’re overjoyed!! (The clones are relieved that you’re back to normal now because all of them were greatly concerned and sneaking looks at you) Maybe you should ask Zandik to put some kind of locator on it. Just in case this happens again. Speaking of him, maybe you should go visit him. He might get a bit huffy and tell you to go and rest but he’ll never say no to you <3

I’m heavily enjoying your angst, the tears are coming but its the good kind 🫡 It’s so *chefs kiss* amazing! I love the goodest of boys Zandy. He does not let anyone touch his stuff, except you of course <3 He excitedly shows you the stuff he collected from other nations and tells you the story of how he got it (may or may not be brutal.)

As someone who sleeps with plushies I loved this sm. I dont think I could fall asleep without them 😅 and I’d be so upset if I couldn’t have them anymore lol. I love holding soft things especially in bed, really puts me into relaxing mode 💖 (I also really want a high quality dottore plush lol) and OMG IT WAS GOING SO HAPPY UNTIL THE MEMORY DETERIORATING- 😭😭 Omg I remember a long time ago I wrote a little thing about fragile reader’s memory, that one day you forgot about them completely. So now im just thinking about them forgetting Zandik and the clones completely and them being in absolute shambles because not even the genius doctor predicated that, and now he has no idea what to do. On top of searching for a cure now the love of his life doesn’t even remember him. 🫠

GIVING YOU A MILLION CHU CHUS AS WELL!! MWAH MWAH SMOOCH ILY🎐ANON!!

[pancake-breakfast]

Now that Bluesummers is back on the playing field, I'm a bit scared of what's to come. He better not hurt my precious Livio.

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for TriMax Vol. 11, Chapters 5-6 below.

Chapter 5: Get Ready, Get Set

HAhahahahahaha, Knives is double-D's....

Chronicaaaaaaa!!! I've been waiting to meet her since I heard about her in Stampede! Look at her, sitting there all pretty with her hot tea.

"This kind of problem"? This suggests they've dealt with it before, or at least have taken the possibility of it into consideration.

Well, if fusing with other plants gets around the black hair phenomenon, then Knives should be fine. That's... a... good thing....?

Yeah, I'm beginning to think the dependent Plants are legit trying to overwhelm Knives with their own consciousnesses to sort of save him without killing him. Kind of like what he's doing, except there's a LOT more of them, and they're a LOT less violent.

Uhhhh... did this guy just lob a coin at them and then... die??

LOL, Vash is being way too dramatic about this. You can't tell me that, in all his years on a planet with a decreasing population, he never learned to recognize a dead body.

LOL, random question about clams vs. fish. Where are they getting either of those on this planet? From Plants??

Ohhhh, Zazie. That explains a lot. Zazie's done with Knives right now. And since Zazie's worms, being shredded up by Legato isn't exactly gonna stop them.

I like the little worm halo. You know, so we know it's dead.

LOL, panic and descending chaos. I approve.

LOL, EVERYONE is crying. Worm panic causes tears.

I wonder if Stampede will introduce control worms or if they'll just stick with the extensive spy network.

Dude, Meryl and Milly did a thorough search of the device and didn't realize it has an audio playing function embedded in it??

Wait, he's connected to Legato now?? That's so impractical. What if Legato was still in a coma? Or taking a leak? Or had his mouth full of beef that he was slurping up??

Also, whyyyy does he have a new weird iron maiden puppet thing?? Do I want to know? I feel like I don't want to know.

Man, I get Vash's depression over this. But Livio is here to cheer him on!

Oh, gosh, Livio.... You aren't a monster, my friend. You're just a person.

"That bitch"? Strong words. Does he mean Elandira?

Ah, yeah, he does.

I... do not know if Livio can actually handle Elandira. She's pretty unhandle-able.

Ok, this right here is a good moment for Livio.

LOL, did Vash hurt his hand giving Livio a friendly pat?

Vash is the resident Plant expert here.

DIY explosives. Not concerning at all. Luida looks ready to smack him if he gives the wrong answer here.

Wait, Luida hears the voices of the Plants? What does that mean??

Ohhh, NM, that was Vash speaking.

"Is it possible for something created by humanity to completely break away from their creators?" Let me direct you to Exhibit A: Vash the Stampede, and perhaps more convincing Exhibit B: Millions Knives. Yes, I realize there's room for debate on how much either of them have "broken away," but they definitely have a will that is independent of the will of those who created them.

Ohhh, these are Plant thoughts. That makes them a LOT more significant.

Aww, Vash calling the Plants in the arc "the girls."

How the hell is Vash gonna keep both Knives and Legato in check? That didn't work out so well for him last time.

OMG everything about this. Thank God these two are finally hugging it out. They need this.

Milly telling Vash that Meryl can still get sad. Good on her. Anyone can still get sad. Being able to get sad isn't a sign of weakness.

Ugh, them kissing their fists and then bumping them. This is why people ship these two.

"Who's that helping us? Vash the Stampede, you say? Hmm, sounds familiar, but I just can't place it." Something something social strata. This guy's never been low enough on the totem poles to keep abreast of bounty hunter knowledge.

FYI, the untranslated Japanese across the top here is basically, "What the hell?!" or "What was that?!"

Ohhhh, that stupid-ass military general doesn't look like he's prepared to comply.

The Earth forces are not happy about Knives. Including Chronica.

Aaaand Livio's hunted down Elandira. I'm sure this will go smoothly.

Chapter 6: That Which Can Be Protected

Why do I feel like this volume is gonna end on a major cliffhanger?

Oh, hey! Baby Livio!

That's right! You've protected others before, and you can do it again!

What, you guys just gonna stare at each other all day? I mean, that's not necessarily bad. I'm just asking.

She looks kinda sad.

That... is one giant nail.

Yeah, she's pretty scary. The only thing that gives Livio a chance here is how crazy his regenerative ability is.

How did she know where he would stand so her nail landed in the right spot?

TBH, Elandira doesn't seem to like most people, regardless of gender. Have we met anyone she likes? She tolerates Zazie and Wolfwood, and didn't seem any more positively inclined than that toward any of the other Gung-Ho Guns. She hates Legato. She's dedicated to Knives, but she doesn't seem to like him. He's her boss and is gonna take her to Armageddon. It seems more transactional than anything else.

Ooh, low blow, Elandira. Very in character for her, but... but... I, the reader, don't want to hear people insulting Wolfwood like that.

Mmmmm, this is not a secluded fighting spot. That's... problematic.

"I was going to let you go because we're all going to die anyway." Hahaha, she's such a nihilist. I would have loved to have seen her in a more casual, less murder-ful setting. She would LOVE running her own drag bar, I think.

Hahahaha, all the random civilians being like, "You guys are too rowdy! Get out!" Good for them. Also, they clearly don't know who they're talking to.

Noooooo! Stop hurting my Livio! He needs to be protected, not FILLED WITH GIANT NAILS!!!

Ok, this is interesting. It sounds like some part of her wants to hope, or maybe did hope at some point in time, but the world beat it out of her a long time ago. She sounds... like Livio in the Before Times.

Man, I thought that looked like a nuke, but I didn't want to assume something about this world's tech like that.

How did she get the key for the bomb??

Hey! I recognize that hat!

Awww, of course he was protecting kids! And now these kids are gonna have the kind of trauma one gets from seeing someone who was trying to protect you brutally stabbed through with a bunch of nails.

Aww, Livio's decided kids are cute. Good for him.

They just met him and they're so worried about him! Oh, I think I should probably be worried about him, too, but for some reason I'm not? IDK, I just think he'll pull through.

See? He's fine. And apparently about to try to adopt half a dozen kids.

Oh, they have a mother-type person. Good. Livio's life's a bit dangerous right now to be looking after a bunch of kids. Maybe when things settle down.

He seems hesitant to accept this gift, but he also knows this act of gratitude is important to her.

Hahahaha, this little hat kid is determined. Scared, but determined.

Oh, man. When do you think Livio last felt his heart soar? This is giving me the feels.

Ohhhh shit, it's his old crush! Also, six years my ass.

Hmm, not so cliffhanger after all. Nice.

Archive

Trigun Vol. 1: Covers + 1-3, 4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 || Vol. 2: Covers + Extras, 1, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8

TriMax Vol. 1: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 2: Covers + 1, 2-4, 5, 6-7 || Vol. 3: Covers + 1-3, 4-5, 6-7 || Vol. 4: Covers + 1-2, 3-5, 6-7 || Vol. 5: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 6: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 7: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 8: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5 + Bonus || Vol. 9: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 10: Covers + 1-3, 4-5, 6-8 || Vol. 11: Covers + 1-2, 3-4

Extra Credit: Trigun Vol. 1: Nebraska vs. Vash's Motivations, Vash's Loneliness, Vash's Depression (pt. 2 of post), Soupy Brains || Vol. 2: Coin Factoids || TriMax Vol. 1: Lina, Vash, and a Haircut || Meryl, Vash, and the Pursuit of Happiness || Vol. 5: Knives, Vash, and Hatred for Humanity || Vol. 6: Coping Series: Wolfwood, Meryl, Vash || Vol. 8: The Uncoordinated Counterattack || Vol. 9: Justice, Punishment, and Mercy, The Tolling of an Iron Bell || Vol. 10: Crucifixion Symbology (pt. 2 of post), Merging of Families, Being Childlike (And Why God Hates Chapel)

[tllgrrl]

The Six-Triple-Eight by @tllgrrl aka Nefertiri Jones

@sarahbuckybingo Summer Prompts Fest 2023

Week 6 Prompt - “Alternate Universe”

Sergeant!Sarah Wilson / Sergeant James “Bucky” Barnes | Rating: SFW

Summary: December 1944 - Sgt. Sarah Wilson arrives in the UK—Birmingham, England to be specific—to assist in setting up the facilities and living quarters for a new squadron, the 6888th aka “the Six-Triple-8th”, scheduled to begin arriving in 2 months.

(See Notes at end.)

* * * * * * * * * *

“Need some help with that, ma’am?”

“No thanks, soldier. I got it.”

“Okay, but the street’s wet and slippery, your footing isn’t too steady, plus that handle looks like it’s about to—“

“No, really. I…appreciate your…Oh!! OH!!!”

And before she finds herself flat on her back with her duffle and knapsack on top of her, in the large puddle of water her driver purposefully parked in (she saw the smirk when he jumped out, leaving her to unload her own bags), Sgt. Sarah Wilson is pulled away and into the arms of a soldier.

A White soldier, with dark hair, blue-grey eyes, a good-natured grin, and very strong arms.

“Oh, no. No…I’m…pardon me…" She quickly searches for the insignia denoting rank, but there are none on this uniform which looks nothing like what other soldiers she’s seen wear.

“You can let me go now,” she says evenly. “I appreciate your help.” And not knowing his rank, she quickly added “Sir.”

She tried to extract herself from the man’s arms before anyone could see the two of them, but judging by the slight quirk of his lips and that amused look in his eyes, he wasn’t in a hurry to let go.

She’d seen that look before, but in addition to that look, something was a little bit familiar about him. She felt sure she’d met him before. And maybe he was just another one of the hundreds of soldiers she’s seen since she enlisted. Maybe. But that look in his eyes. For some reason, she sensed more mischief than threat. Still—

“I don’t need this kinda trouble here,” she whispers under her breath while trying to avoid being pulled any closer. “I just want to do my job and get back to—“

He makes sure her feet are under her before releasing her, and he takes a small step back as she straightens her uniform, adjusting her jacket collar and making sure her cap wasn’t askew.

“Thank you. I just got here and would’ve ended up looking like a…a wet hen in front of my C.O.”

“No problem. I was just tryin’ ta give you a hand there. Sorry ya just got here and already ya wanna leave…Sergeant.”

(This place may be named Birmingham, but he’s definitely a Yankee. Wait—)

“You…you heard that? I didn’t mean to—“

“You were saying that you wanted to leave.”

“I’m so sorry! I tend to talk to myself. Didn’t realize I was that loud.”

“No, it’s not that. It wasn’t loud. It was nice. Your voice is really nice. It’s just my hearing is…my senses are…I’m a sniper. Let’s just say I got good eyes and ears.”

“Well, really…thank you for your help…um…”

“Barnes,” he says, offering his hand. “Sergeant James Barnes, Special Operations. You can call me Bu—“

“Sergeant Barnes,” she addresses him and shakes his hand.

He holds onto her hand for a few seconds longer before letting go, and to her surprise, for a few seconds longer she lets him.

“Its a pleasure to meet you. I’m Sergeant Sarah Wilson, Six-Triple 8 Postal Delivery Battalion.”

“Say, you’re with that new all-women unit coming in to deal with the mail? The troops have been dying to get mail. It’s rough being over here as it is, especially with Christmas coming soon. Not hearing from home, a fella can feel pretty low.“

“No mail, low morale.”

“You got that right, sister. I mean, yes ma’am.”

“No mail, low morale is our motto.

I was told that at least a million pieces of Mail are backlogged ‘cause it’s coming in so fast, and a lot of it is just addressed to a name. Sometimes it’s a last name or even just a first name. On top of that, troops are just moved around so quickly that the mail can’t catch up with them. We’re going to be working 24/7 trying to figure out who these letters and packages are meant for and where the recipients are presently stationed.

And we have to make sure letters get back to families whose sons aren’t coming back home.”

“So…where’re they setting you all up?”

“I’m here to do some preliminary work at the site of an abandoned school where we’ll be living and working. They had to make sure there were quarters for Colored women. Had it been a few of us, they’ve put up a tent just outside of the warehouse.

Anyway. We’ve got our work cut out for us and we’ll be ready to go when we all get here.”

“If you need help finding anybody, if you need anything, just ask. Now…” he lifts her bags and steps aside. “Lead the way.”

“As I said, Sergeant, I can take my own bags. It’s just down the road a piece. The driver said he had to get the jeep back to London or he’d’ve taken me out to the…look, It’s really not that far. Hey! Wait!” She runs after him, trying to avoid the puddles in the street. “Come back!”

“No ma’am. I insist. My Ma didn’t raise a bum that’d let a lovely lady like you—“

“Sergeant, please! People can hear and see you—“

“You and your squad are going to be doing us all a big favor,” he says emphatically, slowing and finally stopping. “I mean, everybody here’s got people back home who care about them. I got a Ma and little sister in Brooklyn and they started writing me letters almost the day I shipped out. I been moved around a lot lately, and I know their letters and packages haven’t all gotten to me. Especially anything from Ma. She thinks all she has to do is write Jamie on the envelope, and the Army just knows who or where I am!”

“Jamie?”

He looks down, smiles to himself, shaking his head, and Sarah knows exactly why her job is important for the war effort.

“That’s what she…it’s James.” He looks back up and into her eyes. “You can say I’m selfish, Sargent Wilson, but I’d owe ya the Moon if you found something in that warehouse that my family sent to me.

Tell ya what, to show my appreciation in advance, there's a nice little pub here. Two world wars and they’re still in business. I hope I’m not being too forward, but, I’d like to take you out to dinner. Or, at least let a guy buy you a drink…or a cuppa coffee maybe sometime…if you’d like, that is.”

There’s an interesting mixture of confidence and charm with a little touch of bashfulness that almost catches her off guard.

“Sergeant Barnes, your dinner offer is kind, but…I’m sure you know that it might not be such a good idea you and I, socializing. After all, we’re—“

“We’re the same rank, on the same team, fighting the same enemy, Sergeant. If you’re worried about anybody having a problem ‘cause we’re…look, I’ve ve had drinks at that pub with all kinds o’ soldiers from all kinds of units, and nobody’s said a thing.

Well…except a Corporal one time.”

He glared off into the distance, and Sarah saw his eyes slightly narrow as if he was remembering something. He started walking again. Then he stopped and looked at her.

“The guy was a louse. A bigot, and a bully,” he continued. “It’s a shame what happened to his nose. And his teeth. My hand healed up pretty quick, though.

Nobody starts trouble when I show up at the pub with my friends.

Whaddaya say? By the way, I’m not expecting anything from you except your company, if that’s what you’re worried about. I don’t want you to think I’m some kinda creep or something. I’d really like to take you out to dinner.”

Sarah looked at the sniper with the sharp, blue eyes standing in front of her, holding her dufflebag and knapsack like he was holding someone’s precious possesions. And looking at her like he wanted her to believe what he was saying.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t eaten in a Mess Hall with a fellow soldier, but it was the Colored Mess Hall, with a Negro officer, not a public establishment with a White Sergeant.

There was something about this Sergeant, though, that made her feel like he was kind and could definitely handle any trouble that could possibly arise.

“Friends, huh? Okay, Sergeant.” She started walking. “I’ll think about it.”

He fought the urge to comment about her legs, but he did enjoy watching her walk away for a few steps before he began to follow her.

“Swell! Say, do you like music? Some o’ the guys are having a Christmas show…”

Out of the corner of her eye, the smile she saw that lit up his face was a little bit like he’d hit a jackpot, and a little bit like he was relieved she’d agree.

She almost laughed out loud at his exuberance, but still kept her demeanor professional in case eyes were on them.

Honking horns and shouting drew her attention to where she saw a small convoy of jeeps arrive.

The man driving the first jeep was dressed like Santa Claus and he had a bushy dark mustache over the phony white beard on his chin. He was smoking a cigar, and on top of his Santa hat was a bowler.

“Ho-ho-ho!!” He shouts as the other men laugh and join in.

The rest of the men were quite an interesting group: including one colored, one Asian, one man was wearing a cravat and a beret. They were all armed to the teeth, but they had a tree and packages, along with some baskets and bags of what looked like food and what seemed to be a small keg, and they looked vaguely familiar except one man, who was absolutely familiar.

Even from where she was she could see he was a little taller than Sergeant Barnes (who is a bit taller than her) and though he was muscular, he wasn’t burly. Physically, he was almost perfect in his blue uniform with red and white stripes and a star on the chest.

The man looks over at her and the Sergeant, smiles, and gives a wave. She’d seen him—all of them—in the newsreels back home.

(And he’s carrying a…)

“Excuse me, Sergeant, but…is—?”

“That’s my friend Steve,” he says waving back, “and that’s his squadron. We’re called The Howling Commandos.”

She looks back at the man holding her duffle and knapsack, and it dawns on her that she has seen him before. He’s Sargent Bucky Barnes.

“Come on,” he laughs, heading over to the group of boisterous soldiers, and carrying her bags with him. “I’ll introduce you to the fellas.”

She rushes to keep up and makes sure she doesn’t whisper aloud, thinking:

(Oh, Lord…what am I getting myself into over here? And wait ‘til Mama and Daddy hear that I met Gabe Jones!)

* * * * * * * * * *

SarahBucky Summer Prompt Fest 2023

Week 1: “Cookout” - Wilson Cookout Playlist

Week 3: “Cass & AJ Wilson” - Formal Introduction

Week 5: “Beat the Heat” - 7th Inning Stretch

Week 6: “Alternate Universe” - The Six Triple-8

* * * * * * * * * *

NOTES:

This quick little ficlet was inspired by the real-life 6888th Central Postal Delivery Squadron, an all woman, predominantly Black (with at least one Puerto Rican and a Mexican woman) squadron assembled to handle the enormous backlog of mail sent to the American troops in the European Theater during World War 2.

Images in my little moodboard are from their website and I’m not using them for profit, just inspiration and, yes, educational purposes because these women were real and heroes.

Please know that I used the words “Colored” and “Negro” on purpose as this story is set in the 1940s.

They are NOT pejoratives. They fell out of favor and were replaced by “Black” (at one time an insult, later embraced and owned by us and capitalized) and then “African/Afro-American”.

Sidenote, Kerry Washington will be starring in and Executive Producing a movie telling the Six Triple Eights’s story, and they’ll be back in production as soon as the AMPTP comes to their senses and comes correct by negotiating with the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild. (#union strong.)

Thanks for reading!!

Also posted on the AO3. <—A bit more fleshed out!

[peterparkers-bad-youtube-apology]

The Drawdown

Wipeout - Chapter 9

Pairing: Surfer!Tom Holland x Reader

A/N: Okay so I decided to cut this chapter in half so I could get it out a little faster and keep it from getting really long. Next chapter should hopefully also be coming shortly

Warnings: Fighting, angst

Summary: You have a terrible time at the beach

Taglist

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

❀  ゜.・゜-: ✧ :-　　-: ✧ :-゜・．゜❀

You twisted the small beads of your necklace while you read over the email on your phone. You’d been studying it religiously since it arrived, every word was now deeply ingrained in your memory. You wanted to say yes so badly, you’d even begun searching for apartments. It was such an amazing opportunity, if things were any different you would have said yes in a heartbeat. There was just one thing holding you back.

Tom Holland. Your sweet, funny, flirty little surfer boy. You just couldn’t imagine life without him. One week apart had left you totally miserable, how would you handle multiple months? An entire year? It seemed impossible.

If you could go back in time you would have listened to Grace and backed off way sooner. You thought you could fight your own feelings, and for a long time you had, but it became overwhelming. You weren’t sure exactly when things changed, but when he’d handed you that necklace you became totally overwhelmed with a warm fuzzy feeling. Everything had crashed over you and all at once you realized that the way you wanted Tom had moved far beyond friendship or lust. You didn’t know how to handle the sudden rush of emotions so you jumped to sex so you could feel as close to him as possible.

You debated talking to him about it, but you already knew your feelings wouldn’t be reciprocated, and you didn’t want them to ruin a friendship that you valued so deeply. Leaving was a perfect out though, the distance would make it easier to move on. Plus you’d be totally focused on your career and future, there’d be no time for you to worry about dating. You two could call and text, even FaceTime on occasion, but by the time you came back you’d be totally over him. You’d probably laugh about it together later in life.

“Boo,” a set of hands grabbed your shoulders. You were brought out of your trance so suddenly you jumped and let out a startled cry. Adrien laughed as he walked around to face you, “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t think I’d actually scare you.”

“That’s okay, I totally zoned out,” you set your phone in your lap and flashed him a smile, “Getting tired?”

You’d gone out to the beach with Grace, Harrison, and Adrien. Adrien and Grace had both tried to get you to come into the water already but you’d told them you weren’t feeling well. Really you were just waiting for Tom to get off work. He was set to come join you once he got off, you were hoping you could tell him you were planning on moving once you were out on the water. It was easier to have that sort of talk on the water.

“Nah, I’ve just got to leave in a few minutes, I’m meeting some friends for dinner,” he explained, “I don’t suppose you’re feeling any better yet?”

You shook your head, “No, not really.”

“That sucks, I’m sorry, I wish you could be out there with us,” he leaned back on his hands while he spoke, “I’m kind of glad we have a minute alone though, there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”

You knit your brows, “You can always text me.”

“I know, I just think it’s better to do this stuff in person,” his cheeks took a bit of color as he continued, “I’m not the smoothest person in the world so forgive me if I stumble a bit. I want to start by saying I think you’re really pretty and really cool…”

Oh no, you could already tell where he was going.

“And I had a lot of fun hanging out and helping you with your internship stuff. So I was just wondering if you’d want to go on a date sometime?”

You were frozen in time, your mind rushing between a million thoughts. Adrien was cute, sure, but you’d never thought about him that way, and you had no clue he’d been thinking about you that way.

“Sorry, I’m just a little surprised,” you justified your silence and cleared your throat, “I didn’t realize you were into me that way…” you trailed off as you considered your options.

Adrien was cute, and a good match for you on paper. He was the opposite of Tom in many ways, more quiet and shy. He was sweet and smart and your careers fit nicely together. Plus a date would help you move on. If you could move on then you wouldn’t have to move away from him. You could stay in the sweet little town that you loved, with the sweet boy that you loved. Everything would be perfect, you and Tom could just be best friends and Adrien would be your boyfriend. A boyfriend gave you another reason to deny leaving too, to stay here and stay near him.

“Um, yeah, I think we should do that,” you nodded as you finally answered him, “Just something super casual though, you know what I mean?”

He nodded quickly, “Yeah, of course, we could just grab dinner or something, nothing crazy.”

This was good. Tom and Adrien were friends, all three of you could hang out together. Plus Tom and your other friends would definitely approve of Adrien, and that was important to you. Nothing had to change at all.

“Cool, did you have somewhere in mind?” you turned your attention to your hands, dipping your fingers into the warm sand nervously.

“Have you been to the Thai place that just opened? They have a cute little outside area right on the beach.”

“No, I haven’t, that sounds good though,” you agreed, “When did you want to go? I’m off on Friday.”

“Friday is perfect, around 6 if that works?”

You nodded again, “6 is good for me too. I can pick you up if you want?”

“That’s perfect, I can’t wait,” he flashed a big warm smile and leaned forward again, “I’ve got to get going, but I’m really excited.”

Your smile was smaller but you tried not to seem unsure, “Me too. Have fun at dinner.”

“I will,” he bounced to his feet quickly and waved to you, “I’ll see you Friday.”

“You too,” you waved as he left.

As he disappeared down the beach you drew your legs up to your chest and wrapped your arms around them. You set your head on your knees with a sigh and turned your eyes to Grace and Harrison. You watch Harrison cut into Grace’s wave and start teasing her while she yelled at him. They were having so much fun, it was annoying to be caught up in your own feelings instead of out there having fun with them.

You had no idea how long you’d been sitting there just watching when you heard footsteps behind you. You turned to find Tom, who must have just walked down the beach from work. He flashed you a smile, and then a pout when he noticed the look on your face.

“What’s wrong? Did you get hurt or something?” he hummed.

“No, I’m fine,” you stretched your legs out as he tossed his shirt and shoes off, “How was work?”

“Good, slow,” he glanced out at your friends, “You’re not gonna make me paddle out there alone are you?” he grabbed the pink board you liked and pushed it out towards you.

“No, I’ll go, just, um,” you took a deep breath, “Could you sit for a minute? I need to talk to you.”

His lips tugged to a small frown but he nodded and stuck the board back in the sand, “Of course, what’s on your mind?” he fell down into the sand beside you.

“Adrien asked me out,” you blurted it out because you didn’t know how to tell him.

You’d hoped he’d be excited, tell you right away that he hoped you said yes and he thought you’d be a great couple. It would be so much easier if he was excited.

His lips tugged upwards to a playful smirk, “Well I hope you let him down gentle Flower.”

Your cheeks tinted pink. He’d expected you to say no.

“Well actually I said yes,” you mumbled it out, like you’d done something wrong. Somehow it felt shameful, like something you needed to hide.

“Oh,” his little smirk dropped and he crossed his legs, “I didn’t realize you were into him.”

“I don’t really know if I am yet, that’s kind of the point of the date,” you tried to joke but Tom’s face contorted to a frown and his voice held an edge you weren’t used to hearing, “I don’t think you should be leading him on like that. If you’re not interested just tell him, all this is going to do is cause drama.”

“Why would it cause drama?” you frowned back at him, “It’s super casual, and he knows that. It’s just to see if there’s a spark or anything.”

“How could it not cause drama? He knows you and I have been hooking up, you think he’s just going to be cool with that?” he snapped at you.

You were taken back, you’d expected Tom to be shocked at most, not angry. He seemed totally pissed though, you hadn’t seen him that angry since the incident with Riley.

“He’s going to have to be cool with it Tom. If things got serious or anything I’d make it very clear with him that you and I are always going to be friends. Plus I doubt he would have asked me out if he wasn’t okay with it,” you pointed out, “I am perfectly capable of drawing those boundaries with any future partner I might have. You don’t need to worry about someone pushing you out of my life or getting jealous or something, I wouldn’t let that happen.”

You were being honest, you’d never let anyone push Tom out of your life, he meant too much. It was easy to promise that too when you couldn’t imagine being with anyone but him. Eventually you’d have to get over that, you’d have to move on, but he’d still always be an important part of your life.

“It’s not about that (y/n) I-” he cut himself off with a heavy sigh, shaking his head before he continued, “He’s not right for you.”

You knit your brows, “What do you mean? I thought you liked Adrien.”

“I do like Adrien,” he sighed again, “Adrien is a good guy, but you two barely know each other.”

“Again, that’s the point of the date.”

“Okay well I do know both of you, and I know you aren’t a good match.”

“What do you mean?” you asked again, you were starting to get annoyed now, “He’s sweet, and you know on paper we-”

“On paper doesn’t mean anything (y/n),” he sounded harsh and scolding, boardline parental, “You can make anyone seem good for anyone on paper.”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child Tom, I’m capable of deciding who I do and don’t want to go out with,” you snapped back at him.

“That’s not what I’m trying to do,” he groaned and ran his hands through his hair, “Look if you want my opinion I think it’s a bad idea. I won’t lie to make you feel better.”

“I don’t want you to lie Tom, I appreciate that you’re being honest here,” you dipped your fingers into the warm sand and grabbed a fistful of it, “I just thought we should talk about it because, you know…” you trailed off, letting the sand stream out between your fingers while you searched for the right words, “We’ve got out thing and our terms were-”

“Oh for fucks sake (y/n) don’t talk about it like it’s some sort of contract,” he snapped bitterly at you. Your eyes widened in shock and you fell silent. He was so venomous and angry, you’d never heard him speak like that. He glanced over at you and took a deep breath before he spoke again, “Sorry, I’m sorry, that came out really mean. I just don’t think this is a good idea okay? I mean he’s my roommate, he knows about our whole deal. It’s gonna get weird and he’ll inevitably end up jealous.”

“It’s just a super casual thing right now, if things got more serious I’d make it clear with him that he’d have to be okay with us staying friends.”

“If it’s just a super casual thing then why are we even talking about it? I mean what we talked about was doing our thing until you found someone you actually want to be with. So I don’t see why this matters unless you actually want to be with him.”

“Well I just don’t know that right now, I might want to be with him or something in the future. I wanted to talk to you about it because I don’t want things to get weird,” you pursed your lips. Really you wanted to bring up cooling things off between you two, you just thought this was a good way to bring that up without admitting your feelings, “Why are you getting mad at me? I’m just trying to communicate.”

“I’m not getting mad at you,” he clarified, “I’m not mad. I just think this is a bad idea, and I don’t think you two are a good match. I don’t get why you want to have this conversation either. If you don’t want to be with him, why do we need to talk about this? Obviously you’re not looking for my opinion.”

“Because I think it’s probably best for us to cool things off while I’m figuring this shit out,” you bit back at him. His mood was starting to sour yours too, “I’m trying to have this conversation with you so things don’t get weird or tense. I am not asking for your permission or approval. If you have an actual reason for thinking it’s a bad idea then I’d love to hear it, but if your reasoning is just that you don’t think we’re a good match, then I can decide that for myself. Obviously I’m going to talk to you about this because what else am I going to do? Just not tell you?”

His whole face flushed, “No I-” he paused, “I-If that’s what you think is best then obviously…” he fell silent, you waited for him to speak again, “I’m sorry, I don’t want to come off controlling or something because that’s not it at all. Obviously if you don’t want to stop sleeping together for any reason that’s your call, I’m not gonna question you on that. I just think that you going out with my roommate is a bad idea. I think it’ll make things weird no matter how hard we try to avoid it.”

“If it feels weird then I won’t go out with him again, but I’m trying to talk this out now so we’re on the same page. I don’t want to fight with you.”

“Yeah, me either,” he nodded, “I’m sorry for being pissy. I guess you’ll just go on the date or whatever and see how you feel or something…”

“Yeah…” your eyes left him in favor of the beach, “I’m sorry too, I wasn’t trying to start a fight.”

“I know.”

Silence fell between you two, neither of you knew what else to say. You were hoping for a much more positive talk.

“We could hit the water if you want,” you suggested in an attempt to lighten the mood, “I was sort of waiting for you to head out there.”

“Actually I think I’m gonna head home,” Tom rubbed the back of his neck, “I, uh, I don’t really feel like surfing right now. Work was really long, I’d like to just get to bed.”

“Right totally,” you nodded and watched him stand up.

He pulled his shirt back on and gave you an awkward wave as he left. You sighed and pulled your legs back up to your chest. Your head felt heavy on your knees and your eyes started burning. You tried to convince yourself it was just the salty air but you knew better.

next chapter

❀  ゜.・゜-: ✧ :-　　-: ✧ :-゜・．゜❀

Taglist:

@spideyssunshine​ @spideyspeaches​ @niallsvirgosun​ @roseke​ @outshineallthestars​ @namoreno​ @thevery-firstpage​ @collywobbl​ @zspideyy​ @emistrash​ @tomsirishgirlx​ @andreagf956​ @peachyafshawn​ @agbspidey​ @sleepybesson​ @nj01​ @misshale21​ @prancerrparkerr​ @raajali3​ @ellabellabus07​ @xoxomaterialgirl​ @mayal0pez​ @belovedholland​ @minjix​ @blankspaceblankday​ @inthegetawaycarwithtaylah @graciexmarvel​ @secretsthathauntus​ @lnmp89​ @negasonic-teenage-asshole​ @gloomynigvts​ @phobiics​ @t-hollanderr​ @cest-la-vieve​ @itscaminow​ @katiaw2​ @afro-hispwriter​ @chrissybang @hem-lemon @book-lover20 @plshie @zoeaudrey2 @princesssria127 @hollandweather

[crimsonblackrose]

.

Ah yes, the apple computer is a lemon because Lyle accidentally found himself as tech support.

Johnny's first computer is a Dell laptop. I wonder though if in the 80's they had computer classes, because then he might've known a desktop, which is still a different set up then a clunky Dell laptop.

LYLE WHAT IS THAT?!

Johnny is at least moving at the right part of the computer that is the mouse. Even though the cursor isn't moving. He also manages to open up every single Microsoft program ever, which how does he have those? They're totally extra now right?

Where's the internet? Have you tried connecting to the wifi? Obviously....what's wifi?

Book 2: The Internet for Dummies

His wifi password is Strike1strike (hard one guesses?)

Hot Babes > Wet T-shirt contest > Iron Eagle > Bloodsport (Lol he stops to read a blog post about it)> Conspiracy Theories (The Actual Truth: Mind Control, Flat earth, fluride poisoning children, herbal remides for sleep, faked moon landing, and of course dinosauras built the pyramids, zac efron is elvis's son) > misc fighting video from a movie I don't know. >all american karate championship on youtube> Top 10 spin kicks (blocked by a Daniel advertisement for Miyagi-do where he purposefully shows kicking Johnny in the face as part of his ad)

Daniel, darling, dearest, my boy, you were pissed when Cole made a targeted ad, you're literally putting kicking Johnny in the face on the worst night of his life (one of) as your ad for your dojo. You even say "Don't be a snake in the grass. Be a champion."

And then Daniel's once again undercutting Johnny's finances by making sure all the sessions are free. Which I get is because his lessons with Mr. Miyagi were free but still.

You know I do like that they didn't actually show google, and just made their own random generic internet search

New movie rec: Bloodsport

Whose making the cobra kai merch? a beach ball and a towel?

Demetri claiming the wins of Cobra Kai as his own is...something.

First mention of Johnny's rap sheet, I like how Eli's parents actually did their research on the guy teaching their kids.

Valley fest mention (did they only do valley fist in this one instance in the whole series?)

Amanda is a CEO.

Daniel spent half the Q3 (third quarter) marketing budget for LaRusso Auto on his dojo advertisement. That seems...uh...financially very bad. I don't know legal laws for corporations but...bad.

Like he excuses it because the dealership will get publicity at the Valley fest, but still to take corporate funds to use for personal I feel like is an actual white collar crime.

Jessica Bluestein is I guess one of Amanda's friends or coworkers/staff whose husband started a ska band and then hooked up with a palates instructor half his age.

Amanda misses the simple days of dicks on billboards. Which fair, it's going to get a million times worse Amanda, so be prepared.

Anoush got transferred from Encino to North Hollywood. Which I guess is a downgrade

Sam's hair when it's braided or in these little three buns is very cute.

Robby's hot water was also turned off.

Jacuzzi confirmed at the LaRusso's. It must be that thing by the fire place. Also apparently a possum died in it.

There's also a cobra kai phone case. Seriously? Johnny did you have all this made or did the students have it all made?

Poor bonsai, also did you go out and buy these to hurt the bonsai? Also poor kid holding the bonsai that was dirt and ceramic and tree that hit him in the face.

What Johnny says is pretty much exactly how Tom Cole did his targeted ad against Johnny.

Hashbrown and send it to the internet.

His students doing his whole internet marketing team is very sweet, but also he needs to compensate them for all that free tech labor.

I don't think I'd fully realized that he'd bought more space from Zarkarian. I guess he just had this room locked for Zarkarian to have storage previously?

I get why the kids automatically assumed that because of Robby being Johnny's son that's why Johnny got mad at them for the tournament. But in reality his rules he tried to instill after the tournament was don't cheat and don't be unsportsmanlike. And that should apply to everyone even Robby. And maybe he should've reminded them of that rather than just shutting down the conversation and telling them to clean mats because they got into his business and it's not their business.

Especially since Kreese is going to use that to drive a wedge between them all.

I get why Amanda is getting frustrated, Daniel said that he used part of the budget to get eyes on his dojo, and it's fine because they have valley fest for the dealership. But then he goes after the dealership spot too.

I don't think she has a name yet and I don't remember it, but I like that she gives Johnny the 411 on free food. He's got kind of a community in the area. Lyle his tech person, the Mini Mart guy (sorry I forgot his name) and the homeless lady.

Did Kreese not know previously that Robby was Johnny's? Or that Johnny had a kid? Because it feels like not only does he have his eyes on a way to drive a wedge but also a target.

Johnny says he'll never get a chance to train Robby.

Kreese dumping a lot of paranoia and random fears on Johnny, like Daniel stealing away Miguel too.

Ah the correction, Johnny's learning and paying attention.

They changed it, Miguel and the Diaz's are in apartment 1.

Johnny kidnapping Miguel: 2? 1? I feel like generally he has the kids meet him somewhere rather than driving them somewhere.

Sal and the delicious chopped onion burgers. So Johnny knows the name of the chef at this diner and it's not Smitty's.

Robby's birthday Monday February 4, 2002 after 17 hours of labor.

Johnny was coming off a 3 day bender.

He gets chocked up when he says he failed Robby on his first day in the world and every day since.

Mr. Miyagi never taught Daniel how to use a weapon during the first 3 films, so sometime later he must've taught him some, at least a bo staff.

Stingray is out here talking about the teenage mutant ninja turtles, Donatello is his favorite.

The initial shots make it look like they're up much higher then they actually are.

Look how proud he looks to have that thing and his ice blocks. It is really cool.

Okay so it always comes off as if Johnny like snuck in and struck, but the fact someone dropped the logo over valleyfest makes me think someone on the valley fest prep team knew about it.

Yup I went back, it's right there rolled up above the Valley fest logo

Plus all the lighting people knew exactly where to direct the lighting and the music to play. So they knew that Daniel would get interrupted and didn't tell him.

The smoke, the lighting, the fireworks, Daniel someone did not give you an updated memo on this and the Valley Fest was more than happy to put this on without telling you. Also the amount of work these kids put in to perform on even less notice then Sam and Robby?!

Like sure Kreese is standing in the back talking to a tech person but still, they had to have gotten permission and people had to have agreed otherwise security would've taken them off the stage. Someone on the Valley Fest committee loved this idea.

This crowd craves violence.

Omg there's even custom logo lights being shown on the backwall.

I do love that Aisha got her own solo where she was blindfolded and kicked and broke a bunch of boards. She looks so happy and proud.

Like yes, them upsurping Daniel sucks, but also this is such a great celebration for his students. And also again Aisha! (add to it disproving one of Silvers goals of blinding your opponent and making them unable to do anything, here Aisha is proving you can still kick ass and not see, which you would think Daniel and Sam would be proud of her)

Hawk's jump kick is also really cool.

For a festival it also makes sense, they're throwing out merch and what not. It's fun for the crowd.

Daniel's thing would've been super cool, and two stages can go at the same time, the fact they completely stopped to watch Cobra Kai is a bit of a bummer, because they could've continued. Our local fest had a big main stage performance and then a small stage performance like super close but the noise pollution wasn't bad enough to disturb either. But because the crowd left and Daniel was so stunned they just seemed to have given up, when that didn't have to be the case, he could've show cased his own thing at the same time and gotten a different audience because Cobra Kai isn't going to be for everyone.

Johnny and his five cement bricks on fire. I wonder if those are from Cutter. (Daniel btw has 6 blocks of ice)

Kreese looks ecstatic in the back with the tech and sound people.

The melting ice makes me so sad every time.

So do you think Johnny and Daniel both had similar ideas of breaking bricks without Johnny knowing that Daniel had that planned? Because Daniel's plan was a secret, they just both thought it'd look cool? Daniel's of course is from TKK2 but did Kreese teach Johnny that? Johnny told Kreese that he had a few moves Kreese didn't teach him, and if that's the case where'd he pick those up?

Robby looks mad. That's probably one of the biggest one step forward another step back is that not only did Johnny upstage Daniel but he also upstaged his own son.