#as if i haven't been USING SAID ADDRESS for months now
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got-eggs · 9 months ago
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Bros one the post office mail distribution centers are coming after my ass lmao
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damnyousubdermalirritants · 3 months ago
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UPDATE: NOVAVAX NOW AVAILABLE!!!
Hi everyone, it's been about a year since I posted about updated COVID vaccines and it's time for another update if you are in the US:
THE BRIDGE ACCESS PROGRAM IS ENDING!!!!
If you are uninsured or your insurance does not cover covid boosters, please schedule a new booster appointment before the end of August because the Bridge Access Program (the way the government will still pay for your booster) ends in September. The updated mRNA boosters from Moderna and Pfizer are available now. Go Go GO!!!
Shitty, I know! If you can call your congressional reps, the FDA, the CDC, whomever to tell them you want this program to continue/be reinstated, that would be great. Also, while you're at it, call the FDA to tell them to expedite the approval for the updated Novavax booster (3017962640).
The new Novavax vaccine is designed for the JN.1 strain which is one of the most recent mutations of the virus going around. If you have insurance and can afford to wait, I highly recommend getting the Novavax booster when it becomes available.
We are currently in the largest Covid summer surge since 2021
If you haven't had a booster in the past six months you are essentially unvaccinated. New strains with different spike proteins keep evolving faster than vaccine development and distribution can keep up. All that said, getting Covid is not a moral failing. If you do feel sick, take a rapid test! If it's negative, test again a day or two later. It is better to know than not to know. Here's a refresh on how to take a rapid test correctly:
If you do get Covid, it is worth getting on antiretrovirals within the first week of symptoms to reduce the overall viral load your body has to fight. If your insurance doesn't cover Paxlovid or Remdesivir, here are other low/no-cost ways to access it:
If you get sick, rest radically even after you stop testing positive on rapid tests. Avoid exercising for at least eight weeks after the fact to reduce the risk of developing long covid.
Regardless of your vaccination status, masking with a KN95 or N95 respirator (or equivalent standards in your country i.e. FFP2/3 in the EU) is the most reliable way to protect yourself and others. If Covid protections are a financial burden, there is likely an active Mask Bloc near you doing free distribution of respirators and tests that would be happy to help you. Here's a global map of them from covidactionmap.org
Some quick tips: if you're wearing a bi-fold mask, flatten the nose-bridge wire completely, then mold it to your nose on your face for a better fit. The best mask is the one that you will actually wear regularly to protect yourself. I really like the selection of styles, sizes and colors from WellBefore:
As school is starting, getting you and your family boosted is one of the best things you can do to protect yourselves. Masking is perhaps even more important. If you can advocate for updating and regularly changing the HVAC filters at your local schools to MERV-13 or higher to keep the indoor air cleaner, that can also make a big difference. Better indoor air quality in schools helps protect kids from illness, allergies, wildfire smoke, and more per the EPA's website.
These are steps you can take to improve air quality at home as well. Corsi-Rosenthal boxes are low-cost and highly effective for cleaning the air indoors.
Here's a map of clean air lending libraries for getting access to air purifiers for events from cleanairclub.org
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inkedinshadows · 4 months ago
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Echoes of the Bond
Pairing: Azriel × reader
Summary: part 2 of "A Helping Hand". When mates are reunited, Y/N grows curious about what the mating bond is, causing Azriel's brain to short-circuit.
Warnings: none I guess?
Word count: 3.7k
A Helping Hand (part 1)
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Y/N got out of the tub, wrapping her body in a soft towel.
For the last three weeks, she'd been able to take a bath on her own. Azriel had helped twice after that first time, and even Mor had tried when Azriel wasn't around. But Y/N wasn't comfortable with her there, not as she was with the Shadowsinger. Knowing she couldn't always count on him for something as basic as washing herself, she'd learned – or relearned, actually – how to do it herself. There were still bad days when the first few minutes in the water had her gasping for air, but they were now few and far between. And when they did occur, she usually imagined Azriel's heartbeat beneath her palm, just like the first time, and she'd calm down. She never told him that, though.
Sliding on a dress, she headed out of her room and toward the dining room. She was getting used to living in the House of Wind, almost looking forward to having meals with the Inner Circle. Elain and Nesta were still having a hard time adapting to this new life and refused to leave their rooms, and Y/N would visit them sometimes, but they'd never really been close. Out of the three sisters, Feyre was her friend, and she missed her. Things would be easier if she were back in the Night Court.
When Y/N entered the room, Azriel and Cassian were already there. She offered them a smile as she sat at the table, a plate of her favorite pastries appearing before her as soon as she did. Even after a month in Prythian, she was still trying to wrap her mind around magic. Real magic, right in front of her.
“How are you today?”
Y/N turned to Cassian with a small smile. “I'm feeling better every day.” She glanced at Azriel, who always seemed worried she might be lying about it. “And I haven't had any nightmares in a few days.”
Azriel inclined his head, a barely-there gesture she might have missed if she hadn't grown used to his subtle movements. Ever since he first helped her, she had become keenly aware of his every move.
“That's good,” he replied, his eyes lingering on her for a second longer before he returned his attention to his breakfast.
With Cassian's focus still on her, she picked up one of her pastries as she addressed him again. “And how are your wings?”
“Feeling better every day,” he answered, repeating her words with a mocking smile. He even extended them behind him to demonstrate the truthfulness of his statement. “Biggest wingspan getting back on track, I can tell you that.”
Y/N chuckled. “You have the biggest wingspan?”
“Oh, you bet I do.” Cassian's grin was nothing less than smug. “I could show you exactly how big–”
Azriel's snarl interrupted him. “Watch it, Cassian.”
But Cassian didn't seem particularly bothered. “Why? She asked,” he replied with a shrug. “I was merely offering her a chance to see for her–”
He was cut off by Azriel's low growl. Y/N looked at him, her brow furrowed in confusion at the reaction. She'd never heard such a tone from him before, never seen him so on edge. Glancing from one Illyrian to the other, she realized there might be something she wasn't aware of, or maybe wingspan was just a very sensitive topic for them.
Cassian lifted his hands up in surrender, finally picking up on his brother's rising irritation. “Relax, Az.” He glanced at Y/N, then back at him. “It was just a joke, brother.”
But Azriel still seemed tense, and Y/N reached over to him to place a hand on his arm. “Azriel,” she said gently, “are you alright?”
He’d always been there for her since she’d arrived at the Night Court, and she now wanted to do the same for him, even if she didn’t know what had triggered such a reaction from him.
Those beautiful hazel eyes slid to her hand touching him, then to her face, and he finally relaxed as he gave her a nod. “Yeah… sorry about that,” he murmured, casting an apologetic look in Cassian’s direction, receiving only a dismissive wave of hand in return.
As Y/N pulled back, a few tendrils of Azriel's shadows slithered between her fingers and curled around her wrist. Their master looked at them as if they were disobedient children and Cassian's eyes widened, but she only chuckled.
Shadows lingered in the darkest corners of her room, swirling under furniture or inside cracks as if they were trying to hide. But she knew they were there – she'd first noticed them one day when Azriel had brought her a tray of food, back when hunger was an unknown feeling and she didn't eat. Though neither she nor Azriel ever said anything about it, knowing his shadows were always with her was a comforting thought. But they'd never openly approached her before.
“They seem to like you,” Cassian pointed out, his voice muffled by the food he had just stuffed in his mouth.
Y/N watched the shadows linger around her wrist as a bracelet, a warm feeling sparking in her chest, there and gone as soon as the shadows hurtled back to their master. “I think they’re cute,” she said with a smile, her eyes meeting Azriel’s for a moment before they both looked away. She could have sworn a faint blush crept up his cheeks. It only made her smile grow.
Cassian seemed to notice it too, because he paused mid-bite. His eyes narrowed as he focused first on his brother, then on her, then on Azriel again. And then his jaw almost dropped, his eyes now widened.
Y/N was about to chuckle at the sight, but Azriel was even more serious than usual and just gave Cassian a short nod. She frowned, aware once more that there was some kind of silent conversation going on between the two brothers. But neither of them bothered to enlighten her, and she didn't ask. She was still new to their world, and to their group. They would have told her if it was something they thought she should know, she was sure of it.
They continued to eat their breakfast, though a somewhat tense silence had now settled over them. Azriel kept his eyes on his food while Cassian was miserably failing at hiding his grin as he glanced between the two of them. On her part, Y/N felt like anything she could say would be the wrong thing, so she didn't say anything.
Once they were done eating, she stood up, intent on heading back to her room or maybe stopping at the library Rhys had shown her a few days before. But Cassian called out her name and she stopped in her tracks, turning around in time to notice Azriel's warning look at his brother.
“Would you like to leave the House for a few hours?” Cassian asked her with a smile. “Az and I could show you around Velaris. You said you wanted to see it yesterday.”
“I did,” she confirmed, surprised by the offer.
Azriel was now watching her, more relaxed than a few minutes ago as he waited for her answer. And she didn't even need to think about it.
“I'd really like that, yes.”
“Good!” Cassian almost burst out of his seat and guided her towards the doors that led out onto the balcony, Azriel trailing silently after them. “Then I hope you're not afraid of heights.”
Y/N frowned. “Heights? No, why?”
It was Azriel who answered this time. “The easiest way to reach the city is by flight.” He walked up to her, standing so close that his scent enveloped her, and she had to fight not to close her eyes and breathe it in. “Will you trust me to fly you down?”
She smiled then, soft and warm. “Az, of course I do.” After everything he’d done for her, there was probably nothing she wouldn't trust him with. “You know that.”
A coughing fit drew her attention to Cassian as he tried to suppress a giggle.
“What’s going on with you today?” she asked with a chuckle.
“Oh, nothing,” he snickered. “I'll see you down there.” He extended his wings and with a powerful beat, he shot skyward.
Y/N turned back to Azriel with a raised eyebrow, but he simply shook his head. “Ignore him,” he said, his tone somewhere between amused and annoyed. “He acts like a big child sometimes.”
She chuckled again, but it quickly died when Azriel stepped even closer. He moved slowly, as if he wanted to give her all the time to change her mind and push him away, but she didn't. And then his arms were at her knees and her back, and he effortlessly picked her up and cradled her to his chest.
Her heart skipped a beat and she tried her best not to blush at the proximity, the gentleness he was holding her with. It reminded her of when he'd washed her, every movement careful and studied so as not to startle her. That feeling in her chest came back, but it was more like a gentle tug. Toward what, she didn’t know.
“Are you ready?” His voice was soft, like he didn't want to ruin the moment, but his eyes bore into her and she could only nod, her ability to speak momentarily forgotten.
Next thing she knew, they were airborne. Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck for more support when she realized just how high up in the sky they were, the House of Wind growing smaller behind them. She forced herself to peer at the city below them. And she stopped breathing altogether.
If the view from the House of Wind was beautiful, then there were no words to describe it from right above it. Velaris was sprawled below them, shining in the light of the morning sun, the river flowing through it to the sea, and as they slowly descended towards the city, Y/N could make out people in the streets, the sounds of music and laughter filling her ears.
“It's… so beautiful,” she murmured, her awestruck tone bringing a smile on Azriel’s lips.
“You should see it at night,” he replied, flying around until he spotted Cassian waiting for them. “There's a reason why it's called the City of Starlight.”
“Maybe you could take me flying at night, then.”
She didn't know where the words had come from, why she'd suggested it. Azriel definitely had more important things to do than show her a night view of Velaris. Sleep seemed like a good option, for example. Her cheeks flushed, and she looked away.
But Azriel landed and gently placed her on her feet again, his hands lingering on her waist for a moment before he pulled away. “Maybe I could.” There was no hint of playfulness in his voice. He really meant it.
Before Y/N could answer, Cassian approached and clapped his brother on the shoulder. “There you are! I was starting to think you two would never come down.”
Azriel shot him a glare and simply gestured for them to start walking down the street. Cassian was still speaking, but she wasn’t listening, too busy taking in their surroundings to focus on anything else. She'd never seen a city before – none were left in the human lands – and Velaris was bustling with life. She marveled at every shop, every little corner, every painted house.
They had reached the end of the street, a bridge over the Sidra now in front of them, when both Cassian and Azriel tensed. Y/N turned to them, mouth already open to ask what was wrong, but a small cry of surprise came out instead as Mor suddenly appeared next to them.
“We have to go,” was all she said, her voice firm. She was wearing black leathers like the Illyrians, as if she was ready for a fight.
The three of them exchanged a glance, Y/N even more confused than before. Azriel simply said, “I'll take her to the townhouse,” and scooped her up in his arms once more. She only had time to see Mor grab Cassian's hand and winnow away before they were soaring through the sky again.
“Az, what's going on?” she finally asked, turning her face to look at him.
His unreadable expression only caused her to be even more nervous, yet Azriel didn't answer until he landed on the doorstep of a house and set her down. “It's Feyre.” Her heart jumped at the words. “She's in the Winter Court. We're getting her back.”
The door opened behind them, and Amren appeared. She lifted a brow at the sight of Y/N, probably not expecting her, but she simply looked at Azriel. “Go. Now.”
The Shadowsinger looked at Y/N one last time, gave them a sharp nod, and shot to the skies.
“Come inside, girl.” Amren stepped aside to let her walk by. “Looks like we've got some waiting to do.”
~~~~~~
Waiting must be some kind of torture.
Apparently, Amren didn't know much about Feyre's situation. She only explained that Rhys had spoken mind-to-mind with all of them, saying his mate had left the Spring Court. Other than that, she had no idea if Feyre was fine or hurt.
But Y/N wasn’t worried just about her friend. She was worried about Azriel too, as if he weren't a centuries-old warrior who could definitely look out for himself. Maybe it was just Amren's presence that set her even more on edge. The short female made her nervous, perhaps due to the power that seemed to thrum from her, or the way she seemed to look at her as if she could see into the depths of her soul.
After an hour that felt more like a century, five figures winnowed into the living room. Y/N flinched, then shot to her feet and ran to Feyre, not caring about the dirt that covered her friend as she held her tight. Feyre stumbled back a step, probably caught off guard, but hugged her back a second later.
“Y/N.” She pulled back, scanning her head to toe. “Are you alright?”
Y/N almost laughed at that. She wasn't the one who'd just needed a rescue party. “If I'm alright? Are you alright?”
Feyre nodded, but her attention quickly shifted. “Yeah, I'm… I'm alright.” Her eyes were searching the room, as if looking for something. Or someone, Y/N guessed.
Letting go of her friend, Y/N realized there was another person with them. A red-haired Fae with a mechanical golden eye. She'd seen him before – that day in Hybern. Now that her recollection of those events was clearer, she remembered him claiming Elain was his mate just as she came out of the Cauldron, right before they'd shoved her in.
Cassian, Azriel and Mor were assessing him, as if deciding what to do with him. But she paid little attention to what was being said, focusing instead on the Shadowsinger, searching for any sign of discomfort or – gods forbid – wounds. She sighed in relief when she found none, unsure of why she'd been so worried in the first place.
The conversation halted, and she whirled to see Rhysand appear in the doorway. Feyre sank to her knees, tears in her eyes, and he was immediately there to hold her. “My love,” he whispered, though they all heard it in the silence. “My mate.”
Once again, Y/N felt a slight tug in her chest, and her gaze was drawn to Azriel. She found him already looking at her, but when their eyes met,  he seemed to shrink into his shadows like he wanted to disappear. She unconsciously rubbed her chest as she averted her gaze.
“Go find somewhere else to be for a while,” Rhys ordered them.
One by one, they filed out the door and onto the street. Azriel declared he was going to fly her back to the House of Wind, the others announcing they’d be waiting in Amren's apartment until given the order to return to the townhouse. And so Y/N found herself in Azriel's arms for the third time in the span of less than two hours.
Despite her increased heart rate, she felt like a bit of a burden, needing to be carried around by him when he obviously had more pressing matters to take care of. Yet she couldn't deny the safety she felt in his arms while they flew toward the mountain and its house.
“Az,” she said after a couple minutes, “that male you brought back with Feyre–”
He looked down at her. “Lucien?”
Y/N nodded. “That day in Hybern, he… he said Elain was his mate.”
Azriel aimed for one of the balconies of the House of Wind. “What about it?”
“Fey and Rhys are mates as well,” she added, her brow furrowed. The High Lord had referred to her friend as such many times over the last few weeks.
The Shadowsinger landed and set her down, looking at her as if urging her to continue, not sure what she was trying to say. But he seemed to be holding his breath.
Maybe she should just let him go back to the others and keep her questions for later. But instead she asked, “What is a mate?”
Azriel tensed. She thought he might not answer, but then he spoke, his tone carrying a hint of reverence. “Mates are… equals, in every way. It's a very rare bond, but it's so deep and powerful that it's cherished and honored above others. Even marriage.”
Y/N rubbed her chest, the spot where she kept feeling that pull. Azriel cocked his head, noting the movement. She should definitely let him go, yet he made no movement to leave, and she found herself blurting out, “Do you have a mate?”
His shadows stilled their constant swirling around him. Maybe it was rude to ask, or it was a sensitive topic for him. Whatever the reason, she shouldn't–
“I do,” he answered, right as she was about to apologize. “I've found her recently.”
Her heart dropped. She didn't know why the idea of him with a mate bothered her, but that damn feeling in her chest grew stronger, and she had to resist the urge to rub it again.
“How is she?”
Why couldn't she keep her mouth shut, why did she have to keep asking questions? Why did she even care if Azriel had a mate or not? She'd just learnt what that meant anyway. At least her voice sounded soft and genuinely curious, not at all clipped – a small consolation.
“She is… kind, and gentle.” He spoke slowly, his words chosen carefully. But then his eyes softened and his shadows began to move again, a few tendrils stretching out towards her. “She's a lot like you, actually.”
All she took from his answer – what she chose to focus on, anyway – was that Azriel saw her as kind and gentle and that she reminded him of someone as important as his mate. Though it still stung a little, if she had to be honest. 
“Well,” she replied, her tone lighter as she took a step back. She smiled up at him. “She's lucky to have you, Az.”
She meant it. If he was even just half as sweet and caring with his mate as he'd been with her that first week after Hybern, then his mate was a really lucky girl. But the thought caused guilt to eat away at her insides. All those times she'd asked him for help – with her baths or to stay with her until she fell asleep – were all moments she'd stolen from him when he could have been with his mate instead. Every time he'd brought her food and checked on her, or even just spent a few hours in comfortable silence as she adjusted to her new life and body.
“I'm sorry,” she murmured, unaware of the flustered expression on Azriel's face after her last comment. “When you helped me, I… I never meant to keep you from her. I hope she doesn't–”
“Don't worry about it,” he cut her off, a small smile now playing on his lips. “I'll always be there to help you when you need it.”
Y/N smiled again, whispering a ‘thank you’, though she was still not entirely convinced. But Azriel extended his beautiful wings, ready to return to his friends.
“You know how to get back to your room from here, yes?” he inquired, glancing behind her at the doors that led inside. When she nodded, he continued, “I'll see you later, then.”
A beat of his wings, and he was gone.
With a sigh, Y/N turned to walk inside, mindlessly brushing that same spot near her heart.
~~~~~~
Azriel used the few minutes of flight to reel in his nerves.
What was he thinking, telling Y/N his mate was a lot like her? The question had caught him off guard, and his brain had stopped working. He couldn't very well tell her they were mates – not there, not like that – but he should have come up with some better answer.
She’s lucky to have you.
The words echoed in his mind. He knew she meant it, like she seemed to mean everything she said. But would she still feel lucky once she learned it was her, that she was the one who had him from the first moment he saw her a month ago?
The only thing he was sure about was that Y/N could feel the bond. He'd seen her rub her chest multiple times, always in the same place, right where he felt their bond in his own chest. She just didn't know what it meant. He couldn't blame her for it, not when she was still new to the faerie world.
Even as he joined the others in Amren's apartment, it was difficult to keep his attention on the conversation, on keeping an eye on Lucien, on what their next step would be. For the first time in decades, he was having troubles focusing, his mind constantly shifting to Y/N.
He couldn't go on like this. He had to tell her. He'd waited because she was still processing everything she'd gone through, but now she was feeling better. And she'd asked about mates. She deserved to know.
Azriel made his decision. Next time they'd be alone, he'd tell her the whole truth. Hoping she'd understand and not push him away.
He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle it.
Taglist: @mrsjna @navyblue-eternity @paintedbyshadows
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Read part 3 here!
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woso-dreamzzz · 1 month ago
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Head in the Clouds IV
Barcelona Femení x Teen!Reader
Summary: Your first few months in Barcelona
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On the second to last match of the season at Chelsea, you get hurt.
You go to ground instantly and clutch at your leg, shrieking and rolling around on the floor. Your girlfriend is at your side instantly, holding your hand and whispering in your ear.
You tear your hamstring on the second to last match.
Alexia, Marta and Patri watch the replay of it happening a week later after they're told that Barcelona are signing you.
"Is it going to be healed in time?" Patri asks," It looked bad."
"She didn't need surgery and the doctors have given her around ten weeks. She'll be ready in time for the first match of the season."
"She's kind of young," Marta voices her thoughts next.
"So are a lot of our players."
"But they're from La Masia. They've been playing our style of football since they were kids. How do you know she'll do well?"
"We know," The staff respond," She's a great player and Lyon wanted her too. Be happy we snapped her up first."
Alexia sighs. "And what about schoolwork? She's English, right? Is she sticking with an English school or one of ours?"
"Her dad's Spanish," The staff member says," She speaks Spanish too."
Alexia, Marta and Patri frown as Paños walks in nearly ten minutes late.
"What did I miss?"
You don't feature much in their minds until your arrival in Barcelona months later.
A lot of the team are still riding the high of being World Cup winners so you largely go unnoticed for the first few days.
Alexia watches you from a distance though.
The staff said your father was Spanish yet she doesn't recognise you in the slightest. Clearly, you haven't been called up for the Spain youth teams yet so maybe you aren't quite as talented as the club seems to think you are.
You're on the tail end of your rehab so you're not in full training yet and no one's quite seen your skills.
You're not the only new member of the team and with everyone else in training, you fade into the background a bit.
"She looks familiar," Irene notes one day as she watches you pass slowly with one of the trainers.
"Does she? I don't recognise her," Alexia replies.
"No. I'm sure that I know her from somewhere."
It's not until weeks later that Irene knows how she recognises you.
She knows your father is Spanish, most of the team know by now but, like everyone else, she'd assumed that he was Catalan.
So, when Aitana addresses you in Catalan one day and you don't respond, it piques interest.
"You don't speak Catalan?"
"Why would I speak Catalan?"
"Because of your dad?"
"Oh! Papa is Basque so we speak that!"
"L/n?" Irene repeats your last name and you turn to look at her. "Your father doesn't happen to be one of the L/n's from Legazpi?"
"He is! How did you know that?"
A little bubble of laughter escapes Irene. "They used to live next door to me when I was a kid."
"Wow! That's so cool!"
It's another week or so before you join everyone else in training and that's when you make your mark.
You're a natural on the ball, easily cutting through everyone to bury it in the net. You receive passes expertly, bringing the ball down and turning to shoot in the next moment.
Most of all, you look like you're having fun. You look like the kids on the schoolyard do. You look like Alexia felt the first time she watched the men play at Camp Nou with her father.
You have talent, that much is certain.
But talent in training is different to talent in a match.
Since the revelation that you're Basque like her, Irene sticks close to you.
You enjoy her company. With your grandparents across the country, it's nice to speak Basque with someone and Irene's wife and son are so nice and sweet and you find yourself over at her place all the time.
It's at the same time, that Lucy and Keira seem to remember that you're English. It's fun to speak to people in English that understand your slang and Lucy in particular seems to light up when you mention that you've played for the England youth team a few times.
With you fully healed from your injury and the first match of the season coming up, you find yourself subbed on at the same time as Alexia.
She doesn't have high hopes with this being the first match of the season and the team getting back into the rhythm but she can't help but watch as you receive the ball in the midfield.
She expects you to be shut down quickly and pass it off but you avoid everyone that tries to take you down, even neatly leaping over a slide tackle.
You go one on one with the goalkeeper before chipping it over.
Alexia has never quite seen something like that before, especially from one so young.
You get another goal a moment later, nutmegging the keeper on your way and then complete your hattrick with ease with a worldie from outside the box.
A game that would have ordinarily ended 2-1 to Barcelona ends 5-1 because of three perfect goals from you.
You're a talent, Alexia thinks as you rock happily back and forth on your feet as you wait for your Nana and Granddad to come down from the stands.
You're better than a talent and Alexia can see you easily skipping the rest of the youth teams to make it into the senior teams.
She can imagine how easy it would be to link up with you for Spain, delivering pass after pass so you can kick it in easily.
She makes eye contact with Lucy across the pitch and the smirk tells Alexia everything she needs to know.
Lucy wants you for England.
"This is my granddad!" You tell Alexia, holding the hands of an older man with a receding hairline but a face marked with a life well lived and an older woman with a stern look and a walking stick," And my Nana!"
Your Nana says something but it's not the English that Alexia expects.
Her stomach sinks.
"Was that Swedish I heard?" Frido asks, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
"Yes!" You say, gesturing to your Nana," She's from Sweden! We speak it at home together."
A thoughtful look appears on Frido's face and Alexia's eyes narrow.
No.
This can't be happening.
The most promising youngster Alexia has seen in years, can't be eligible to play for three different countries.
It's just not possible yet it's the position Alexia finds herself in now.
It's hours later that Olga wakes up to the sound of drilling in the middle of the night. She's got an early morning train to Madrid for work and groans as she's woken up, dragging herself out of bed and wandering down to the basement where the sound is coming from.
Alexia looks manic and Olga's mouth hangs open.
A conspiracy theory style board is screwed into the wall with pieces of string connecting pictures to you in the very centre.
"Ale?" She asks, not willing to believe her eyes," What is this?"
"A family tree!" Alexia replies almost too happily to not be tinged with the edge of sleep deprivation.
"Okay. Why do you have it?"
"I told you about that kid, right? Y/n L/N? Well turns out if she doesn't want to play for Spain then she's got two more countries she can play for! I'm just checking that she's not eligible for anyone else!"
"Alexia...What the hell?! Go to bed!"
"In a minute," Alexia says dismissively," I'm just working out whether any of her parents were adopted or not."
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peanutpinet · 2 months ago
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BABE!!!! We absolutely need a second part to Little Things, we need to know how their relationship develops and see Sylus fall in lover with reader's soul. PLEASE BABE PLEASE!!!
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Welcome to My World - Sylus x Fem Reader (Sequel to Little Things)
Request: Craving for a sequel to this w/ reader actually going back to her world and sylus just defying all odds shshshshs these kinds of fics are so interesting love em <3
A/N: Just a lil something for those who wanted to see what would Sylus be like if he were to actually come out of the screen and into our world (still having his evol but is not addressed). Also if anyone is a Kpop fan, I just want to say, do have a listen to Aespa’s Welcome to My World. It embodies this fic so much and am putting some of the lyrics into the story! I hope you guys enjoy!!
Disclaimer: I do not own the images nor the characters or you (the MC). All images were taken from Pinterest.
Also, if you haven't read Little Things, the "first part" of the story, do have a read. Will be link here. But you don't have to read it and can just read each of these fics seperately
Warnings: Fluff but mainly ANGST, Isekai Theme, Will be Going back and Forth between LADS universe and our universe, slow burn because Sylus is tryna find you :))
Funfact: I remembered the TV Show: Westworld and how the characters of the game gain conciousness when writing this fic
Songs to listen to: NCT Dream - Broken Melodies, Aespa - Welcome to My World, NCT Dream - Like We Just Met
N109 Zone - 01:48 AM
It was in the middle of the night. When all are asleep, people in the N109 zone, those in the shadows have only started to wake up and get on about their day, including Sylus. Slowly awakening from his slumber, Sylus saw the girl that was beside him, fast asleep. Her chest was rising and falling in a steady motion; indicating that she was in a deep sleep.
Smiling to himself, Sylus decided to scootch a bit closer and caressed the girl’s cheek. But as he did, the girl immediately grabbed his wrist tightly and jerked awake. “Who the fuck…w-where am I?!”
Hearing the girl’s words, Sylus knew. “You’re not her…”
Real World - 09:28 AM
You woke up with a pounding headache but slowly regained your consciousness, you noticed how the bed wasn’t as big nor was it as warm as when you were used to. Jerking up, you took in the room you were in. The bright white ceiling was the first thing you see, the smell of alcohol and blood was faint but you could smell it, and then you heard a beeping noise which made you turn and saw that your hand was hooked onto a monitor and an IV drip.
Whipping your head around, you search for your phone until you find it and immediately look at the date when you suddenly get a notification from both Instagram and Twitter mentioning the new update for Love and Deepspace.
“I’m back…” you sobbed yet your fingers glided across the screen of your phone, pressing the game that you swore you were in
As the game loads, you see the cutscenes of all of the characters and can’t help but feel emotionally overwhelmed whenever you see Sylus’ cutscenes.
Once the game loaded and you could hear that cafe jingle along with those familiar red eyes, you tried to see whether or not anything had changed in the game other than the new updates but when you clicked on his tall figure, the lines he said were nothing out of the ordinary. Even in the text message icon, you couldn’t text him like you did when you were in the game.
“Was it all just a dream?”
“Y-you’re awake!!” you heard someone talk and as your eyes looked at the doorframe, it was the nurse
You soon found out that you had been in a coma for a little over 2 weeks yet it felt like you were in the game for 2 months, maybe even more. Your best friends came to visit you every day and now that you’re awake, they were bombarding you with food, life updates, and all.
For once, you actually didn’t feel as lonely as you were when you appeared in the game.
Maybe it truly was all just a dream…
From a distance, a black crow was watching your interaction with your friends from a tree that was just outside of your window. After some time, the crow eventually fled and flew away from the tree.
N109 Zone - 04:18 AM
Sylus was beyond pissed. He took MC to where he took you in the beginning to get your evol and aether core checked but additionally, he wanted to know if you were truly not in the MC’s body. Sylus’ worker questioned as to why he brought MC again to check her evol and aether core, confusing the Onychinus’ leader.
Even when the two came home, the twins didn’t notice any difference from MC. What’s wrong with everyone? You’re not MC and it goes the other way as well. Why were the twins pestering MC who to Sylus, was not you.
“But boss, Miss Hunter and you have known each other for over 2 months now. What do you mean she’s not her?” Luke questioned, genuinely confused at his boss’ attitude
“She’s not. Have you forgotten who taught you both how to cook the simplest meal? The one that bought you those bulletproof vests?” Sylus demanded, something, anything about your sudden disappearance or at the very least, anyone other than him remembering your existence
“It’s Miss Hunter, though?” Kieran replied, making Sylus groan. “Just, leave me alone for the next few days” Sylus left the room and walked past MC who grabbed his wrist, making his brow arch in confusion.
Sighing, Sylus turned to see MC. “What is it that you want?”
“Where are you going? I went through all the trouble to get the N109 zone and I want answers regarding the aether core” MC demanded but Sylus just chuckled and used his evol to remove MC’s hand from his wrist
“You already have the aether core you’re looking for. Why don’t you go back and ask your doctor about that? I have other matters to attend to. Like why are you here instead of her” Sylus mentioned, walking away until MC talked to him
“You’re always mentioning her but you never mentioned her name. Who are you exactly talking about and what does it have to do with me?” MC questioned and this time, Sylus grabbed her by her neck and pinned her to the nearest wall
“Don’t tempt my patience. I only have so much left ever since your attitude shows up instead of something else I want. From here on out, I could care less about your little quest. You can even have that brooch you’re wearing to get in and out of the N109 zone without getting harmed. But I want you to leave. Go back to your doctor, that fish man of an artist, or fake hunter for all I care. When I come back to this place, I hope that you’re not here anymore. Or you’ll hurt even more” Sylus warned, releasing MC as he went who knows where.
Sylus went into his car, the car that you love to drive in. Though you were just a soul in MC’s body, he could immediately tell the two of you apart. What scent do you like, the small trinkets that you would buy to keep his things more organized, some small keychain plushies that he would put on his keys which is in contrast to his scary look.
You might just be a soul that just so happens to be in MC’s body, the body of a person he should’ve been interacting with, the one he should’ve been bound to. But why does his heart feel incomplete? Why does his soul long for your own.
Gripping onto the steering wheel, Sylus looked at the plushie you put in this car. It was a koala, one of your favourite plushies, because you told him that you looked like a koala when Sylus carried you around. “I swore to you that if this were to happen, I would find you. Regardless what happens, I will find a way to get back to you. Our stories’ unfinished, sweetie. Wait for me. I’ll do anything to get back to you”
Real World
It’s been several months since you woke up. You still played the game but not as often anymore. You got a job at your friend’s office as a secretary. It pays well, you and your friend are roommates, life has been going fairly well that you barely played the game that provided you comfort.
One day, however, there was a bouquet of red Carnations mixed with pink Camillas on your desk with a note attached to it. “I hope this gets to you. If this ever reaches you, it means that I’m another step closer to seeing you again. There’s this uneasy feeling I’ve been feeling since you were gone. I promise I won’t stop finding you”
Confused, you asked everyone, including the delivery man who delivered the flowers to you but no one knew where it came from. It didn’t even mention your name and only a description of you.
Brushing it off, you thought it must’ve been some kind of prank until several more flowers reached you. One after another, there were notes along with the flowers which all made your heart clench because whoever this person was, it seemed that either you left a very deep impression on them or this was some sort of stalker.
“Did the first one reach you? I’m getting closer”
“I hope that you’re eating well. Wait for me”
“It seems that you’ve forgotten about me once more. No matter, I’ll be sure to jog your memory once we meet again”
Another year has finally passed and the bouquet and notes kept on coming until you saw the flowers and notes that came in. Instead of the usual red Carnation or pink Camillas or even sometimes Forget me nots, this time it was a bouquet of black and red roses with a note of a familiar handwriting and scent.
���I’ve finally found you. You said that you were worried about me finding the real you but to me, you’re just as perfect as your soul. Your face, your body, it matches your soul perfectly. And even though you might’ve forgotten about me, I assure you that my love for you is still the same like we just met. Perhaps in the game, I would allow you to go live your life without me because it’s safer for you. But here, looking at you, I can feel myself coming alive once more. Whether you try to move on, I know that there’s a lingering feeling behind your pretty head thinking of the possibility. And you would be correct, sweetie. I’m fulfilling my promise to you. For there is no love greater than mine.
P.S: we should thank Mephisto for always managing to find you when I couldn’t
-Sylus”
You were in shock. Sure, there was a small voice, hidden behind all your to-dos, your schedules, your wants, likes, needs. A faint voice telling you of the possibility that perhaps Sylus was the one to send you all those flowers and notes but you were in your world, the real world. You would lock that faint voice and never think about it again. You were realistic. There was no way that a fictional 3D man would send you all of that.
And Mephisto? He’s a bird. A mechanical bird that is tied with Sylus. Everything seemed ridiculous. You couldn’t think straight for the rest of the day until your boss called you for a sudden meeting outside of the office and at a restaurant.
The restaurant was filled with high-class people, some were doing business with another while others were simply finding ways to spend their money. Suddenly, it reminded you of the time when you were in MC’s body and Sylus would take the two of you out to dinner.
Remembering Sylus, the flowers, and the note, you decided to excuse yourself to the restroom but in reality, you decided to log into the very game you downloaded to seek comfort. The nostalgia was coming back. They made a new update and introduced a new male character. Once your game loads, Sylus is still in the game and when you poke him, thinking that he’ll respond like how he would when a player hasn’t logged in for so long, he surprises you.
“You’re probably wondering why am I not responding to you in a way that you expect. Well, why don’t you check my messages on the message feature, sweetie?” Sylus mentioned and immediately, you went to open the message feature in the game and once again, you were shocked with what you read on the screen that you had to cover your mouth.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, kitten? I’m sad that you’ve forgotten about me but I’m genuinely happy with how you’re living your life so far”
“But if I were to tell you that I want to be apart of your life here, would you accept me?”
You were given the chance to answer him, to reply to this sudden message but your boss had already called you back and unfortunately, you had to go back to the table and sit beside your boss.
As you were about to sit down, you heard that familiar soothing voice that always calms your nerves; especially when you’re in the N109 zone. “Is this your secretary that we’ve been waiting for?”
Immediately, you looked up and met with those soft bright red eyes behind small glasses. The white hair you’ve gone through with your fingers was styled like how you first met him. The figure sitting in front of you was wearing a soft grey sweater and black jeans.
And that smile, that smile that you’re so used to seeing everyday is now showing in front of you again. “Pleased to meet you, sweetheart. Shall we begin the meeting?”
Throughout the meeting, you tried your best to pay attention and jot down all the notes you needed. You struggled for a moment and even towards the end, you stutter your thank you and goodbyes until the white-hair man called you.
“Waiting for someone, sweetie?” you heard that damn voice as you could feel all hairs on your skin stand up
Turning around, you finally got a good look at him. All of his 190cm height was towering over your figure. Your actual real-life self and not the MC you created in the game.
On one side, you wanted to talk, to question him if all of this was just another one of those visions you used to have. On the other, you wanted to jump at the man in front of you. To cry in his arms as he holds you close. But nothing. You were frozen in your spot as this Sylus look-alike smirked at you and held his index out which suddenly a black crow rest on.
“Is, is that…” you managed to utter, making the man in front of you chuckle
“Mephisto. An actual crow this time” he said, extending his hand out so the black crow was within your reach
Extending your own index out, the black crow, Mephisto went onto your index and you instinctively stroke its head. “We never stop looking for you, you know”
You look up to see those eyes that once were filled with rage now filled with sadness. Sighing, you tried to remind yourself that this is the real world, not your game.
“I'm sorry, sir. You must've gotten the wrong person. I don't think we’ve met before this meeting today. Your bird must be very friendly to have gone on another person’s hand” you mentioned, intending to return the black crow, still not believing that the man and bird in front of you are who you think they are
But instead, the man in front of you turned and took something from his pocket. “Is that so? Well then either you don’t want to remember what we’ve been through or Mephisto might’ve gotten the wrong person. Then how about we reintroduce ourselves to one another?”
“I’m Sylus, this is Mephisto. We were from a faraway land called the N109 zone. For the past year, I've been building my multimillion security tech company” Sylus mentioned, extending his hand out, revealing the brooch that you once wore as a promise to Sylus to stay by him
Shocked to see the brooch, you stutter at your words but Sylus noticed this and gently took one of your hands which you didn’t deny. “I meant what I said and I’m keeping my promise. My only regret is I couldn’t come find you sooner”
“H-how? This has got to be a joke. You’re not real. You’re not actually here. I must be dreaming again. I’m going mad” you started to lose your mind but Sylus pulled you into a hug
“Tell me this isn’t real then. Tell me that you don’t see me. Tell me that you don’t feel this warmth we both have wanted for a long time. Tell me you don’t want this and I’ll gladly walk away from you so that you can continue to live your life as is but don’t expect me not to want to be a part of your life. Don’t think that even if I walk away today, I won’t try my best to still keep an eye on you” Sylus stated, whispering into your ear, kissing right below your ear
Taking in his calming leather scent, you slowly sob in Sylus’ chest as he strokes your head, calming you. “You’re such a stubborn crow” you finally hug Sylus, indirectly accepting him back into your life
“I know. But it’s worth it. I finally get back to you. Though I can’t offer you as much as I would when we were in the N109 zone, I do promise you that I will be here this time. I’m not letting you go that easily. So, you’re willing to let me back?” Sylus asked, making you chuckle
“Welcome to the real world, my world, Sylus” you said, getting on your tiptoe to give his cheek a kiss but instead, Sylus turned his head, held your neck and leaned for an actual kiss
A/N: Ngl, I was simping over my own writing of this. Where can we find an irl Sylus T^T
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tsxkkis · 1 year ago
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# tsukishima kei - unbothered
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a/n = ahhh, new account new beginnings (honestly, i haven't written anything in so long idk if it's good at all T-T)
summary = tsukishima accidentally reveals your relationship in front of the karasuno boys.
warnings = yamamoto hitting on you, nothing else i guess?
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tsukishima tried to stay composed, but it was so hard.
back at the very beginning of your relationship, which was going strong for the last two months, both of you had agreed upon keeping it a secret from the rest of the team. the reason was simple. tsukishima valued his privacy, and that meant the less his teammates know, the better. if they ever found out he's dating someone, they probably wouldn't let him live; tanaka and nishinoya definitely being the first ones to do so.
especially, if they found out his dating their manager.
you being karasuno's manager definitely came with its perks; the two of you could spend a lot of time without it seeming suspicious, you could watch his games from up close and, aside from all that, you've made some great friends along the way. but there were also some downsides. and one of those was surely being hit on by other volleyball teams.
the nekoma volleyball team arrived around an hour earlier than it was expected for their sparring game. and since that very moment tsukishima had to deal with a certain second year ace shamelessly hitting on his girlfriend.
"she seems quite uncomfortable right now." yamaguchi pointed out, appearing next to tsukishima out of nowhere. the blonde boy was very aware of it, and it drove him crazy. he tried to seem unbothered though, only murmuring a quick 'yeah' as an answer.
you could feel tsukishima's stare burning into yamamoto's back as he tried flirting with you, walking after you around the whole practice room while you tried to do your patch of manager duties. you tried to brush him off, but the guy seemed not to see the signs. from one point of view, it was quite funny; but it wasn't as funny when you realized that meant he would probably hit on you for nekoma's whole stay here. and to your disappointment, the time seemed to fly painfully slow.
tsukishima observed the two of you as you finished preparing water bottles for the team, which meant you've successfully checked off all of the things from your manager to-do list. as you tried walking away from yamamoto, heading to the exit to get some fresh air, the bleached blonde cornered you, making you stuck between him and the wall, his face too close to yours for your liking. it didn't help that no one in the whole gym seemed to notice that something was happening.
no one except tsukishima, of course.
the blonde boy rushed over to you two without a second thought, grabbing yamamoto's arm roughly as he dragged the boy away, an almost angry look painted on his face.
"i would suggest you don't flirt with my girlfriend. ever again." he said, annoyance clear in his voice as he glared at the older boy, making sure to emphasize those two important words.
my girlfriend.
he left the boy standing with a shocked look on her face as he turned to face you, his expression immediately changing to a softer, gentle one.
"you okay, idiot?" he asked, a smile appearing on his face for just a mere second, but still long enough for you to catch it. you gave him a small nod in response.
"i didn't think you'd react at all." you said, tilting your head as you looked at him, a smile appearing on your face. "especially like that. you know all the boys are staring at us right now, right?"
oh. oh.
tsukishima forgot about that. he was too focused on you to remember that they weren't alone.
the entirety of karasuno's volleyball team was here, staring at him with utter shock on their faces from the moment he addressed you as his girlfriend. everything he's been hiding so well for the past two months was not a secret anymore. he did the only thing he could think of at the moment; grab your hand and quickly head out of the gym, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink, much to his annoyance.
once the two of you stood in front of the building, tsukishima tried to seem unbothered by the fact he just unveiled your relationship in the stupidest way possible, but it was clear to you that he was fazed by the whole situation from the tiny details on his face, that were different to his usual expression.
"don't worry about that, tsukki" you said, patting him lightly on the shoulder. "i'm sure they won't be too dramati-"
"I WON THE BET! PAY ME UP, ASAHI!"
the two of you turned your head towards the opened door, the screaming from the inside catching you mid sentence. you immediately recognized it to be tanaka; who was now jumping around his older teammate in excitement.
"or maybe they will be dramatic." you said, a giggle escaping your mouth at the image in front of you. tsukishima let out a sigh, clearly annoyed with the behavior he just witnessed.
"they're acting like five year olds. tsk." he stated, rolling his eyes as nishinoya and hinata joined tanaka on nagging their ace. "i can't believe those idiots are my teammates."
"well, at least now we don't have to be pretending in front of them." you said, a smile on your face as you turned to look at tsukishima again. "give them two weeks, and they'll put their excitement on something else."
tsukishima knew you were right, buy it still wasn't as comforting as he thought it would be.
"this will be the worst two weeks of my life."
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acewritesfics · 8 months ago
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Wanting A Baby | Tommy Shelby
Pairing: Tommy Shelby x Wife!Reader
Request: no.
Warnings: talks of having a baby. fluff.
Word Count: 845
Tommy Shelby Masterlist | Main Masterlist
Y/N sits nervously at Tommy's desk, her leg bouncing up and down as anxiety courses through her veins. "All you have to say is, Tommy, after three years of marriage, it's time to think about starting a family again," She murmurs to herself, her mind racing with the various scenarios of what can happen, despite the fact that there are only two possible outcomes. He accepts, and they begin trying for a baby. Or he objects, denying her the right to become a mother. 
"Tommy, I want a child," she declares to the empty room, trying to think of a suitable way to tell her husband she's ready for the family they anticipated to have before they were married. 
She was amazed it hadn't happened yet, given how many hours they spent with their bodies intertwined with one another's. 
In their three-year marriage, they haven't yet discussed having children. Not after the miscarriage they had a week before their wedding. Miscarriages frequently tear couples apart, but not Y/N and Tommy. The love that the two have for one other is strong enough to overcome any hardship. They've loved one other since they were five years old, and their love only gets stronger with each passing day. 
Hearing the front door open and slam shut with a loud bang, she stands up from the chair behind Tommy's desk, her hands overlapping across her stomach as her nerves intensify. She feels like she's about to vomit as she moves in front of the large desk, waiting for her husband to find her. 
"Y/N?" She hears him call her name. "Where have you gone, Love?" 
"In the office, Sweetheart," she responds, trying to mask her nervousness with her normal manner. Taking deep breaths in and out to calm herself, she hears his loud footsteps reach the room where he spends the most of his time at home. 
"Good evening, my darling wife," the handsome man says, kissing her cheek before settling into the leather chair.  
Y/N was more than Tommy's wife; she was also his secretary and the person he trusted the most in this world. She's been in his office without him, and he's never had a cause to wonder why. When she doesn't say anything, he stares at her with concern, her eyes downcast as if she's trying not to look at him, her fingers twisting the fabric of her top. "What's wrong?" 
His query appears to startle her out of her thoughts, and she raises her head to address him. "There's nothing wrong, Tommy." 
"Then why the long face, Y/N?" he questions, still looking at her with concern. 
"Everything is perfect," she says, "or almost perfect." 
"What are you on about?" He's now perplexed. 
"Thomas," she says as she takes a deep breath in and out. "There is something we need to discuss." 
"All right," he replies, encouraging her to continue. 
She pauses for a few seconds before saying the four words she's been wanting to say for the last month. "I want a baby." 
Tommy's face is expressionless, his magnificent sparkling blue eyes unblinking, and his lips remained in a straight line. When Tommy didn't respond as she had anticipated, she began to think that she should have kept her mouth shut. She was expecting him to be delighted or enraged. But she received nothing, not even a clench of the jaw. 
"Forget I said anything," she mumbles, disappointed and embarrassed. He gently takes hold of her arm as she prepares to leave the office and turns her around so she can face him. 
"Are you sure about this?" He asks, as if he wants to be sure it's what she actually wants. 
She nods her. "Above all else, Tommy. It's all that's left for us. We now have a good stable marriage, financial stability, and a large, beautiful home that is starting to feel empty. All we need is an heir, a child to love and care for, a child to chase around the back garden, and to fill an empty room, and to complete our family." 
"I want it as well," he confesses. 
Y/N can't stop the broad grin from spreading across her face as her arms fly around her husband's shoulders, enveloping the Shelby man in a strong embrace. Tears flow down her cheeks as she silently prays to God, thanking him and asking that they not have to wait long for a small life to begin growing inside her. 
Y/N pulls back from Tommy so that she can look at him. "I love you so much, Mr Shelby." 
"I love you even more, Mrs Shelby," he replies as he wipes her tears away before kissing her. 
He breaks the kiss way too soon for his wife's liking, a smile on his handsome face as one of his hands glides to her stomach. "So, should I try putting a baby in there now or after supper?" 
Instead of using words, she answers by crushing her lips against his, kissing him passionately as her hands reach for his belt to unbuckle it. 
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luvrodite · 1 year ago
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BLOOD IN YOUR MOUTH JASON TODD (college!au)
↳ the first time jason kisses you he's bloody and bruised, and you can't find him more attractive for it
cw: injury, blood, mentioned harassment (not of the reader)
blank blogs DNI you will be blocked
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The first time Jason kisses you, he’s bloody and standing underneath a streetlight outside the bar he’s just been kicked out of. You’re utterly enamoured.
It is a Saturday afternoon, and you’ve just submitted your last midterm when the text comes through. The outline of his name on your phone sends a thrill down your spine, and you can’t help the curl of excitement. 
J-A-S-O-N. 
You trace your eyes over the letters, the blank contact photo doing little to curb the butterflies. They’re no less stronger than when he’d asked you for your number, a warm afternoon after class when the both of you had found your way to the your usual table in the library. You recall the reason he’d used, recall the slant of his mouth as he’d talked, the clutch of his bag in his fingers, the way the light had bent through the window and caught the dust floating above the table. You recall suddenly warm palms, fingertips hot to the touch as you saved his number when the first message had come through. 
>> come out tonight?
You frown.
While it’s true that since the beginning of the semester you’ve gotten to know Jason better and as a not entirely unpleasant consequence, been better about hiding away, you’re still tired from the back to back assignments you’ve had to turn in. You’d much rather turn in for the weekend. 
And yet, when it comes to the handsome boy you’d met in your literature class last semester, you find it hard to say no. You want to hang out with him so badly sometimes it feels embarrassing. You wonder if it’s obvious how you both soak up his attention and shy away from it. Even months later, you find yourself bashful around him.
As if sensing your hesitation, another two messages come through almost immediately, in rapid succession.
>> it’ll be fun
>> dinner’s on me btw
You chew your lip, staring down at the message. 
<< i'm kind of tired idk
<< where do you wanna go
The text bubble appears as you begin to pack your things, sweeping papers off your desk and into a neat pile, collecting cluttered pens and highlighters. The last week has turned your bedroom into something akin to a disaster site, clothes strewn everywhere and sheets rumpled. You bite back a groan at the thought of the cleaning you’ll have to do. 
>> i know a place like ten minutes away from campus
>> drinks after?
<< presumptuous
<< i haven't even agreed
>> ok so agree !
>> it’ll be a good time
You huff out a laugh at his tone, typing out a response.
<< who else is going?
>> just you and me kid
>> be excited
>> i’ll drop you home if you wanna leave after dinner
In the bathroom now, tidying the mess of skin and hair products, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. You tilt your head, and your reflection does too, as if to say, well? Will you?
You text him your response.
<< ok when should i meet you?
<< send me the address
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Jason is lingering outside the restaurant when you walk up, and you take a moment to admire him as you approach, hands in his pockets and shoulders slouched, relaxed. His hair looks wet, and orange light washes over him where he stands beneath an awning, a sky of darkening blue behind him. As if sensing your approach, he turns his head from where he’s been looking at something across the street and his eyes light up in recognition. Your name tumbles from his lips and he takes a step forward as you cross the distance.
“Hey,” he greets you, smiling down at you. “You made it.”
“I said I would, didn’t I?” you murmur. His lips stretch into a wider grin and you catch a glimpse of his canines, wolf sharp, a shiver curling down your spine at the sight.
“Guess you did. I’m glad. Come on,” he says, jerking his chin and reaching for the door, letting you enter first. “I think you’ll like this place.”
His shirt brushes against your back, and you swallowed by the sheer size of him, tall and broad shouldered, but it feels reassuring to have him there, especially as the hostess makes eye contact with you and he smoothly coordinates everything. His hand bumps against your elbow as she leads you both to a table and he murmurs out an apology at the same time you do, habitually, shooting you a funny look when he hears you, like he’s amused.
You’re seated across from him at a table so small his knees bump against yours beneath the table and he laughs a little when you say sorry once again. It isn’t the first time you’ve hung out with him, or the first time you’ve gotten food together–a semester has come and gone since your meeting him, and now the fall semester has started up again, but he has a way of short-circuiting your system, earnest and straightforward and far prettier than he has any right to be. You aren’t used to boys like him–though a voice in your head suggests that there isn’t anyone else like him. 
You offer him a small smile when he laughs. 
“Can’t believe they stuck us here,” he says to you, dropping his voice as a waiter passes your table. You look over to where a fair few tables far larger than yours remain unoccupied, and grimace in sympathy. “At least the food is good.”
You look up from the menu, sparing him a glance. He’s all rounded edges and sweeter looking in the soft light. You look back down.
“You’ve been here before?” you ask, feeling silly for the question but he nods.
“My brother took me, when I first moved out here,” he says, scratching idly at his cheek. Teal eyes skim the plastic menu. “We come here whenever he comes to visit.”
“Older brother?” you guess and he hums. 
“Dick,” he says, and his eyes widen when you stare at him. “His name, I mean. That’s his name…Richard, but he goes by..yeah.”
“Oh,” you laugh, as your pulse flutters under your skin. “Bet he gets a lot of flack for that.”
“You have no idea,” he snorts, launching into a story that has you covering your mouth to stifle your laughter. 
Somehow, dinner flies by faster than you think it would, a blur of stories from both your childhood and his. Jason asks questions and you don’t feel as though you’ve been put on the spot, pleasantly warm as you answer through your own laughter. The bubbles from your drink linger and pop on your tongue, and there’s a flush in your face that you blame wholly on him and his teal eyes, attentive and animated as he describes his family.
The both of you are pushing out of the door after an argument about splitting the bill (“I said I would pay, get lost!” and “I didn’t even agree to that!”) that had left you pouting and Jason smug. The rush of air that greets you is cool against your heated cheeks, and you smile to yourself as the both of you step out into the street.
“So?” Jason asks and you turn to him. “Was I right? It was good, huh?”
And he looks so pleased with himself that even if you hadn’t enjoyed a bit of it, you wouldn’t have it in you to tell  him.
“It was,” you agree and his smile grows broader.
You lapse in conversation for a moment, and a breeze ruffles his hair on its way through the lit street. It’s grown fairly busier as night falls, crowds of people out to enjoy their weekend, and you step closer to Jason as a particularly large group passes you, falling into step by his side to avoid bumping into them.
“So..home?” he asks, tentative.
“I think so.” You chew the bottom of your lip. “I got up early to get in the finishing touches on my midterm.”
His eyes go soft, almost immeasurably fond, as he gazes down at you. “Of course you did. Alright, c’mon, then. Let’s get you home.”
He takes your hand gently, fingers circling your wrist loosely and guiding you down the busy street. You find yourself appreciative of this, even as the butterflies erupt anew in your stomach at the touch, his body carving a path in the flow of foot traffic that you can fall into easily without worry of getting lost. 
The both of you walk in silence, the sounds of the city filling in the gaps around you. You admire the outline of Jason’s profile in front of you, light from the cars and storefronts washing over the both of you and throwing him into sharp technicolour focus in front of you. You feel a little dizzy at the sight of it, and looking down to where your hands join only worsens it, rendering you soft and pliant in his hold, tracing his footsteps with your own. 
And then, all of a sudden, you’re coming to a halt in front of a parking lot next to a bar, nearly colliding with his back. You blink, equal parts sleepy and stunned, peering over his shoulder where he’s stiffened up. 
“What?” you ask. He reaches into his pocket with his free hand, and turns around to pass you a set of keys. You frown, confused, following his finger when he points to an old, red car just a few feet away.
“That’s my car, I’m just gonna go check on something over there,” he says, tipping his head back to gesture to the bar. “Can you get it started for me? I won’t be long.”
“Is everything okay?” you ask, and now you’re the one holding his wrist as he turns, taking a half step after him. He looks back at you, and his mouth relaxes, offering you a reassuring nod.
“‘S fine, sweetheart,” he assures, pushing you gently in the direction of his car. “Be back in a sec.”
But curiosity roots you to the pavement where you stand, and you watch as he walks to the entrance of the bar, where murky yellow light spills out onto the walkway. Several bench tables have been pushed together on the outer side of the path, smaller tables with high stool chairs pressed against the exterior wall of the establishment. It’s fairly empty outside, all the patrons seeking shelter from the chilly weather inside and you step a little closer to see when Jason, shoulders set like a man on a mission, crosses the threshold and disappears into the building.
You creep a little closer, keys clutched in your fingers, until you can get a look through the windows. They’re a little stained, but you find Jason eventually, crowding close to a pool table where a boy around your age is leaning down, cue stick pointed against green felt. His back is to the window, but you watch the guy pause and straighten up, annoyance clear on his face even as he tries to cover it up with a smile you don’t think you like too much, self-assured and a little mean. There isn’t any friendliness in it. 
Outside, the wind begins to pick up and you’re wondering whether you should just return to the car–every bad thing in the movies happens because people can’t mind their own business–when suddenly, so fast you almost miss it, his fist flies out and knocks right into Jason. You jump in surprise, a hand flying to your mouth to muffle the startled yell that slips out. 
But Jason is seemingly unphased, and you catch a glimpse of blood in his mouth as he– smiles. It’s nothing like the smiles you’ve ever seen, wild and a little feral as he lunges forward, knuckles slamming against the boy’s cheek and sending him sprawling across the tabletop. He just gets that hit in before he’s being restrained and hauled back to the door, shoved across the threshold with no regard for gentleness. He stumbles, and that grin is still curving his mouth up when he looks up, wolfish, savage, and–it stutters when he meets your eyes.
You stare back, wide eyed at the sight of him. His keys hang limply in your hand, forgotten in favour of their owner whose nose has begun to bleed down his chin, drippin onto the collar of his shirt and staining it crimson. 
“I–thought I told you to wait in the car,” he says weakly, at last. 
“What was that?” you ask, dazed, ignoring him. You look between him and the windows of the bar, where you can still see the other boy, holding a tea towel to his split cheek. 
His lips part, and he looks away as if to search for an answer he does not have. Like a magnet, your gaze flicks down. You swallow at the smear of red that settles above his cupid’s bow, dark, almost black as the shadows on his face stretch.
“Jason.” You stress his name. He grimaces.
“I didnt-” he breaks off, letting out a loud sigh. “I knew him, okay? Didn’t do that for no reason.”
You wait, sensing the oncoming explanation. By his side, you spot the reddening skin of his knuckles, looking at home amongst the pale, faded scars.
“He’s a dick,” he says, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. It seems almost shy, the way his fingers press against his lips as he tells you the truth. “He’s in one of my classes and he was giving one of the other guys a hard time ‘cause..” 
His face hardens and you fear he’s about to go back into the bar. You hedge a step forward to clutch his sleeve. He shakes his head. You don’t let go. “Anyway, he had it coming. If it wasn’t me, it would’ve been someone else. He was bothering some girl in there too, when I saw him…piece of shit.”
Affection blooms between your ribs so suddenly it leaves you breathless, and you stare up at him, stunned.
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” he blows out a breath, watching you carefully. 
“I thought you’d hit him harder,” you blurt out, and his eyes widen. He lets out a tired laugh, wincing in between snickers.
“Don’t think you’re s’posed to agree with me, baby,” he murmurs, drawing closer. You’ve probably stretched his sleeve out with your grip, but you make no move to let go. Baby. It fits in his mouth, belongs to him, even. He’s claimed it now. 
“Right,” you breathe out, blinking up at his face. The air goes still, the undercurrents of adrenaline re-igniting with the trip of your voice over the five letter word. There is no admonishment in your tone, and teal eyes turn onyx in half a breath, lashes fluttering as he looks at you. “Violence…is bad..”
His eyes crease, amused, but he’s barely moving, and his voice comes out a little strangled. “Word of advice, don’t ever go into politics.”
“You don’t believe me?” you joke quietly and he huffs out a laugh. Once more, your gaze snags on the glimpse of his canines, peeking from below his lips, pointed and shiny.
You can smell the blood on him when he takes a step closer, the toes of his sneakers scuffing against yours. You look at him clearly, awash with the yellow light of the street, bloody and bruising. He’s lucky that he isn’t due back on campus for another two weeks, but you have a feeling it wouldn’t matter either way–he’s no less attractive to you. It should concern you that you find blood a good look on him, or that the savagery in his smile only made your heart beat a little faster, but you can only stare through half lidded eyes at him.
Somewhere down the road, the roar of an engine filters through the air, but you pay it little attention when he draws closer, closer, closer. 
You aren’t sure who moves first, only that Jason kisses you for the first time underneath that streetlight, and the taste of copper in your mouth only presses you closer into him, clutching his sleeve and hoping it leaves as much of a mark that he’s left on you. 
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i hope this made u guys feel as insane reading it as it made me writing it (and trying to post it, but for a different reason). something about a man covered in his own blood...
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hopelessromantic423 · 3 months ago
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My Tears Ricochet
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x f!Reader
Summary: You were finally happy with Steve, until a character from your past appears as a reminder of what could have been.
Warning: ANGST. Cursing. Messy ending hehehe. Flashbacks are italics!!
A/N: Heyyy!! I’m back from the dead!! Maybe you’ll see me next year?!? Who knows!!
Inspired by My Tears Ricochet by Taylor Swift
"Ready honey?"
A smile spread across your face while hearing the lovely voice of your fiancé. Today was going to be one of the best days of your life. Your engagement party.
Swinging the door open, you found Steve beaming with excitement while taking in your look. "You look absolutely drop dead gorgeous sweetheart," Steve said like his breath was taken away.
"You don't look too bad yourself handsome."
"I think I've died and gone to heaven doll. There is no way you're real," Bucky spoke in barely a whisper while gathering you in his arms. You hadn't seen him smile like that in a while.
"Buck! We've got a party to go to!"
There it was again. Those memories flash every once and while but they never go away. The memories of you and your ex-boyfriend Bucky Barnes. He was your everything before Steve, but you moved on. You forced yourself to move on and let go.
"Honey?" Steve's voice called out to your inner thoughts.
"Sorry! I just got caught up in my thoughts for a second," you sighed with a frazzled expression. Steve gave a soft sigh and pressed a kiss to your forehead before lacing his fingers in yours. "The people are waiting for the soon to be bride."
The crowd of friends and family cheered as you made your way down the stairs with Steve to the living room area of Tony Stark's house. Thankfully, he agreed to host. Almost immediately you were pulled away to the kitchen where Natasha was pouring you a glass of champagne.
"There's so many people," you confided while leaning against the kitchen countertop.
"So many people that are excited to see you married." She handed you the glass. "I think everyone is migrating outside, it's beautiful out today."
The breeze was absolutely lovely. Everything about today was perfect. Except your thoughts that were so pent up with nerves it was impossible to enjoy a moment for longer than five minutes.
Steve stalked over to you with a soft smile, as he usually had when spotting you in a crowd.
"Buck is here, says he wanted to congratulate you." Steve knows about your past with Barnes, but he also still sees him as his friend. From the tone in his voice, something was going sideways with the new guest.
"Oh, okay," your body stiffened. "I'll be right back," you addressed your cousins. You haven't seen Bucky in a few months, where things did not go well.
"Tell me (Y/N)! Tell me that you don't miss us."
"I- I can't Bucky. Please, just leave."
"You didn't answer my question," he spoke in a softer tone. "Do you love him?"
"Of course I love him Bucky. We've been together for a while now."
"But do you love him more than me?"
"Go home Barnes," you shouted.
Bucky looked hopeless standing near your doorway. "I'm leaving I promise. Just say you'll remember one thing." At this point you had pushed him out of the doorway and he was holding the front door with his left arm.
"What? What could you possibly say right now?"
"Remember how we were. How much I loved you." Then you slammed the door in his face.
Bucky stood talking to Sam with a beer in his hand. His eyes scanned the room until they caught your figure walking towards him.
If I'm dead to you why are you at the wake.
"Congratulations (Y/N), I'm really happy for you."
"Can I talk to you for a second?"
Grabbing his wrist, you drag Bucky into one of the guest bedrooms near the end of the hall. He followed quickly behind your shuffled steps with a confused look on his face. You slammed the door the second he got in the room.
"You can't just walk in here to my engagement party since you were completely against it a few months ago!"
"I can still show up when your fiancé invited me!"
"You knew he had a ring didn't you? That's why you showed up to my apartment?"
"Of course that's why I showed up! I was trying to save you from making the biggest mistake of your life!"
"The biggest mistake of my life was thinking that you loved me!"
The look plastered on Bucky’s face was one of pure shock. Like a bullet just ran through his chest.
"Y/N," he said softly with his eyes softening to a sad lull. "Don't say that. You know I loved you. You know how much you mean to me, that's why," Bucky took a moment to collect his thoughts with a breath, "that's why I left."
"You are full of bullshit Barnes," you almost shouted in a whisper. "I would've stayed with you if you gave me the option. You decided to leave. You're the reason I'm in a fucking white dress."
"So you end up with my best friend instead?"
You couldn't tell Bucky how you found yourself with Steve. The truth was that Steve was the closest thing to Bucky you could find in the universe.
"I hate you," you mumbled while taking Bucky's shirt in your fist and meeting his lips to yours.
"I hate you more," he mumbled in between kisses.
You stepped back and caught your breath. Bucky stood watching your every sway trying to read what your next move was.
"We'll talk about this later," you stated brushing your white dress off.
Too nervous to hear Bucky's response, you stepped out of the room leaving the brunette with a dumbfounded look and a light smirk printed on his lips.
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within-your-eyes-if · 7 months ago
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May 1st Progress Update
Hello all!
Very long update, so I apologize ahead of time.
April has been an incredibly productive month for me. I've made substantial revisions and have taken some time to reflect on possible changes for the future.
There are decisions I made earlier in the development of this story that, in hindsight, could have been handled better. While I will continue with the upcoming update as planned, I intend to take additional time afterward to revisit and refine various aspects of the game.
I truly love this story and want it to be the best it can be. I aim to look back on it with pride and minimal regrets. These changes will be comprehensive, affecting everything from narrative elements and gameplay mechanics to the presentation on itch.io.
I hope this update doesn't cause any concern; rather, I want to share this as part of my journey in developing this game, a process that occasionally requires stepping back and reassessing to move forward effectively.
With that said, here are some developments I've been working on that I haven't yet discussed. If you have any thoughts on some of these, I'd welcome the insight:
Guilt System Overhaul: I'm currently refining the code for the guilt system. The upcoming changes will significantly alter how guilt is calculated and displayed, emphasizing the impact of your relationships. For instance, lying to a character you're romancing will carry more weight. However, I'm carefully considering how to balance this to respect player agency, recognizing that not everyone may want their character to feel guilty in such situations. Your feedback on this would be appreciated before I start making final decisions — edit: you are welcome to comment on this post! (Sorry ;-;)
Skill System Overhaul: The foundation for the new skill system is done and functional in a test environment. However, I'm still evaluating whether its inclusion genuinely enhances gameplay or if it complicates things unnecessarily.
Extensive Coding Overhauls: Overall, I've done so much coding that I couldn't begin to tell you what all I've done. I combined things to both organize and streamline (though this might just effect me overall).
There is more to share, but I want to keep some surprises under wraps for now.
Future Support Update: I am in the process of setting up a Patreon, which I aim to launch next month. Initially, I considered using Ko-Fi for all supporter interactions, but the exclusive access features offered by itch.io make Patreon a better fit for what I want to achieve.
On Patreon, I will be providing a couple tiers. While one offers more than the other, here's a general overview of what I'll be offering: detailed progress updates, sneak peeks, alpha builds, special acknowledgments, early access, among others.
Ko-Fi will remain available for those who prefer to offer one-time support. Your support, whether recurring or one-time, is immensely appreciated and makes a significant difference in the continued development of my projects.
Beta Testing: Given the aspects of Patreon, how I approach beta testing in the future will be different. However, I will continue as I did last time with this one.
This month, I am aiming to begin the beta testing phase for the new Vice System. In light of changes to the test's parameters, previous applications have been cleared. If you're interested in participating, please reapply.
Please note, this test covers a lot of adult content — you must be 18 or older to participate (though really, you should be 18+ if you're even reading my story *finger wagging*). Ensure you are comfortable with explicit content before applying.
Application is found here.
Tumblr Asks: I will be making a separate post soon to address the reopening of Asks. Please be patient with me as I work through a couple of reasons why it was temporarily disabled. I appreciate your understanding and look forward to hearing more from all of you soon!
Closing Thoughts: Sorry again for the lengthy update, but thank you all for your patience as I continue refining and revising. Work on Chapter 3: Part Two is progressing, though there's still more to be done.
Wishing you all a wonderful month ahead!
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equallyreal · 2 months ago
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Transmission Received: The Call Is Coming From Inside The House And I'm Mad About It
Or, a response to National Novel Writing Month's stance on Artificial Intelligence.
But before we get into that, a quick story update: I actually haven't been working on much of anything lately due to some IRL issues going on (nothing too serious, don't worry, I am still alive and healthy). The Edge is going to be on a soft break until I get my energy levels back up to serious writing levels, but I will continue to make update posts to keep people in the loop about how well I'm recharging.
Unfortunately for the people behind National Novel Writing Month, while my energy levels might be low, my spite levels are always at an all-time high, and they are fully fueling me to take down their official position on AI. But first, a timeline.
I wake up to a message in a group discord I'm in with a screenshot of National Novel Writing Month making some...interesting comments about their position on AI.
While going to tumblr to see if anyone else is talking about this, I find this post my @the-pen-pot featuring the screenshot I saw. In the responses, I see @darkjediqueen saying that the article had been updated @besodemieterd giving some information that I'm going to keep secret for now because it creates a truly amazing punchline.
I get off tumblr and read the updated article.
I feel a deep rage in my soul that cannot be tamed by group chat participation, and I click the "write a post" button.
So, with that out of the way, let's break this down, shall we?
The original post, as seen in the screenshot of the above post, contained the following two paragraphs:
NaNoWriMo does not explicitly support any specific approach to writing, nor does it explicitly condemn any approach, including the use of AI. NaNoWriMo's mission is to "provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people use their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page." We fulfill our mission by supporting the humans doing the writing. Please see this related post that speaks to our overall position on nondiscrimination with respect to approaches to creativity, writer's resources, and personal choice.  We also want to be clear in our belief that the categorical condemnation of Artificial Intelligence has classist and abelist undertones, and that questions around the use of AI tie to questions around privilege.
This was all I saw when I first heard about this, and this on its own was enough to tap into my spite as an energy source. The second paragraph, in particular, was infuriating. "People who argue against AI are classist or abelist" is a terrible take I've seen floating around AI Bro Twitter, and to see it regurgitated by an organization that is supposed to be all about writing was, to put it simply, a lot.
But, as noted in the timeline, I did see that they had updated the article (about two hours ago as of me working on writing this), so I went to the updated post to see what was said. Somehow, it had gotten worse. I'll be addressing the updated post on a point by point basis, so if you want to read the whole thing without my commentary, here you go.
The first paragraph is the same was it was in the screenshot. The first major different is an added paragraph that begins like this:
Note: we have edited this post by adding this paragraph to reflect our acknowledgment that there are bad actors in the AI space who are doing harm to writers and who are acting unethically. We want to make clear that, though we find the categorical condemnation for AI to be problematic for the reasons stated below, we are troubled by situational abuse of AI, and that certain situational abuses clearly conflict with our values.
First off, I find it a big troubling that while they discuss bad actors in the AI space, they won't acknowledge that these same bad actors are often the ones pushing the whole "being anti-AI makes you morally bad, actually" accusations with the most fervor.
Second, why are you not more strongly discussing and pushing back against the "situational" abuse of AI? Why is the focus on how using AI can be good, actually, rather than acknowledging the fears and angers of your userbase around how generative AI is ruining an art form that you claim to want to help foster? I have a theory about this, but we're saving that for a bit further down.
The paragraph concludes:
We also want to make clear that AI is a large umbrella technology and that the size and complexity of that category (which includes both non-generative and generative AI, among other uses) contributes to our belief that it is simply too big to categorically endorse or not endorse. 
The funny thing is, in a vacuum, I don't have a problem with this statement. They're not wrong: AI is an umbrella term with a lot of complexity to it, and I can see how people would be hesitant to condemn the technology as a whole when there are uses of it that aren't awful. If their whole statement had been this, I would have less of a problem with it (still some of a problem, sure, but I wouldn't be writing a lengthy blog post about it) But they had to delve into how Being Against AI is Morally Bad, Actually, which is where the post continues from here.
The last big change between the screenshot and the updated article is in this paragraph:
We believe that to categorically condemn AI would be to ignore classist and ableist issues surrounding the use of the technology, and that questions around the use of AI tie to questions around privilege. 
This is much less strongly-worded than the original paragraph. If I had to guess, they got a lot of criticism regarding the original sentiment (namely, assuming that disabled and poor people can only make art if a machine does it for them is actually way more abelist and classist than saying generative AI is bad), and dialed it back through this rewording. They could've just worded it this way from the beginning instead of saying the dumbest possible thing they could've, but whatever.
I don't know if the rest of this was in the article from the beginning or if it was added later, as the original screenshot I saw only showed the first two paragraphs. Regardless of whether this is them trying to cover their asses by explaining logic they should've explained from the start or if this was always here, I still have major issues with these points, so we're going to address them next.
(As a quick full disclosure note: I had to transcribe the rest of the article instead of copy-pasting it because I lost the ability to do so at about this point in the blog writing process. I don't know what happened or why, I just wanted to let you know that almost all typos are my fault, but beyond that I recorded the text as-written at the time that I had the article up in another tab. I promise.)
Classism. Not all writers have the financial ability to hire humans to help at certain phases of their writing. For some writers, the decision to use AI is a practical, not an ideological, one. The financial ability to engage a human for feedback and review assumes a level of privilege that not all community members possess.
You may note that they are discussing the use of AI at what seems to be the editing process. As someone in my group chat pointed out, National Novel Writing Month has nothing to do with editing, and everything to do with writing. The only way you can currently use AI for the act of writing is if you use generative AI to do it for you, which is, I think we can all agree, not actually writing and is actually bad. This emphasis on editing ties into the punchline, which we'll be getting to shortly.
On a final note before we proceed though, I would like to carry over an argument about this matter that is used in the small business/handcrafts sector: If you can't afford it now, save up for it. Don't devalue the work of other people (in this case, editors and things like sensitivity readers or beta readers) by saying it's too expensive and I can get it cheaper on Shein by using AI. Save up and support your fellow workers if it really means something to you, or just do the editing yourself and hope for the best. (Disclosure: I don't have an editor. Or a beta reader. I can't say my writing is the most polished all the time, but I get by just fine.)
Abelism. Not all brains have the same abilities and not all writers function at the same level of education or proficiency in the language in which they are writing. Some brains and ability levels require outside help or accommodations to achieve certain goals. The notion that all writers "should" be able to perform certain functions independently or [sic] is a position that we disagree with wholeheartedly. There is a wealth of reasons why individuals can't "see" the issues in their writing without help.
First of all...just say "disabled." I promise your hands will not fall off if you type that word.
Second, level of education should really fall under the class bullet point, but that's just me nitpicking.
Third, I would argue that the real goal here shouldn't be to say "no using AI is fine, actually", but rather to a) dismantle the idea of what writing "should" look like in order to make it more inclusive, and b) fight back against people who bully imperfect writers. Those are actually more noble goals than propping up a corrupt industry by using the disabled as your scapegoat.
Fourth, the dangling "or" is not a typo I take credit for. It was in the article as of me transcribing it. If I had to guess, there was more to this sentence at some point, and they just didn't fully delete the thought.
Fifth, funny how this is once again more about the editing process of writing and not the writing part. Even more funny when we view the final point.
General Access Issues. All of these considerations exist within a larger system in which writers don't always have equal access to resources along the chain. For example, underrepresented minorities are less likely to be offered traditional publishing contracts, which places some, by default, into the indie author space, which inequitably creates upfront cost burdens that authors who do not suffer from systemic discrimination may have to incur.
This one really pissed me off, because the indie author sphere is actively under attack by the use of AI. AI-created scam books on Amazon's kindle publishing platform are increasing and actively stealing attention and money away from human authors (see this article). Sci-Fi magazine Clarkesworld had to shut down new author submissions due to the influx of AI generated stories, and while the head of Bards and Sages cited physical and mental health problems as a reason for shutting down the company entirely, having to weed through AI generated submissions and the way such bad actors are impacting the industry were listed as the final straw. There are probably even more examples of this, but I only did a cursory google search to avoid being here all day.
Simply put: AI is not helping authors who have to go to the indie space in order to escape systemic problems. It is actively killing the space instead. I don't want to sound doom and gloom, but if this keeps up, these authors aren't going to have anywhere to run to. A refusal to condemn the ways in which AI is impacting these spaces does, in my opinion, make you complicit.
On a final note, you might notice that this point is seemingly once again focusing on editing, not writing. Which means it's time to unveil the punchline pointed out by besodemieterd, the response that made me lose my mind:
They made this bullshit up to justify them getting into cahoots with an AI company called ProWritingAid, it's all over their instagram.
I immediately ran to factcheck this...and it's true. ProWritingAid is, in fact, a more in-depth Grammarly that uses AI for its functionality. They are a sponsor for National Novel Writing Month, and the first three posts on their instagram are dedicated to this partnership.
I completely back up besodemieterd's belief that they wrote this article to justify their taking this sponsorship. If I had to guess, they started taking a lot of flack for taking ProWritingAid as a sponsor and wrote this article in order to defend their decision to do so without actually saying so directly.
I don't want to shame NaNoWriMo for taking sponsors on the whole, as they do need money to stay afloat. However, taking an AI company as a sponsor and then defending their stance by essentially calling people with concerns about this morally wrong and bad is, as the kids say, clown behavior. This is clown shit. It's laughable, it's cringe, it's incredibly disheartening. It's so, so bad.
The next paragraph is just about how they "see value in sharing resources about AI and any emerging technology, issue, or discussion that is relevant to the writing community as a whole." Since my stance on this can be summed up as "AI bad and platforming it is bad", I'm going to skip over this paragraph. I will, however, address their last paragraph:
For all of those reasons, we absolutely do not condemn AI, and we recognize and respect writers who believe that AI tools are right for them. We recognize that some members of our community stand staunchly against AI for themselves, and that's perfectly fine. As individuals, we have the freedom to make our own decisions.
So, basically, you're incapable of saying "no" to money and decided to lean into the talking points of bad faith actors and refuse to address the destruction that generative AI is wrecking on the writing world in order to justify why you took a certain sponsor. In taking this middle of the road, individual choice-ass response, you also threw human editors and beta readers under the bus by justifying the use of technology that actively removes them from the space. You are making the writing world a worse place, which is absolutely crazy when writing is supposed to be the thing you're all about.
Truly amazing. And they're doing this on Labor Day, too.
In conclusion, I will be dead in the dirt before you spot me participating in National Novel Writing Month again. Which is probably for the best. My life can only handle so many self-imposed deadlines. I guess I should be grateful to them for removing one from my plate.
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kanmom51 · 8 months ago
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Moment of clarity (?)
Just sitting here watching Jikook song edits, cause I'm missing the hell out of those two, and couldn't help but think how stupid and futile all the accusations and claims and ensuing discussions about one's reaction to the other, or one's behaviour to the other or any kind of interaction they had that didn't suit what fans (usually solos on either side of the picture) expected of them. You know what I mean. All those judgy claims and comments about how JK reacts or treats JM and vise versa, same about JM 'forcing' himself on JK or the likes of that.
How dumb those people look (and should feel as well if they only had a sliver of common sense) right now.
Inserting themselves into a relationship (whatever form it may have had) to know what these two people were all about, their interactions, their reactions towards each other, without truly knowing them, without seeing anything but a few recorded seconds (all while ignoring not only many other recorded moments but also what they themselves say about each other and to each other).
But you see, this isn't something new to me, and I did address it when answering mostly annoying asks (something I haven't been doing for some time now seeing just how futile it is - you cannot convince the inconvincible).
No.
The reason I had this specific moment of clarity while watching them was because things have changed.
Well, changed since those two have made it as clear as can be that they want and need each other's proximity.
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That they will do whatever it takes to not only enlist at the same time, but to do so together. To spend their entire service together. 24/7. Together. Knowing EXACTLY what and how it looks like. Knowing EXACTLY what people (so many of them) will think, even if some will not say it out loud or spell it out. No other member did this with another, and neither of them did it with any other member, how ever close we know them to be. Because no one is closer to them than they are to each other!!
And why don't we add to that, them going on a trip together just before enlistment, to Japan, you know, that same destination they went to back in November 2017. The same trip they both could not stop telling us about.
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Yeah, I know there's a travel show coming (which we have no clue what will look like - if vlog-like or actual Bon Voyage style or something in between), and most of what they do could be explained away (and that's the point, they are clever that way), but let's be real here for a sec. The show, it's a very clever way to kill two birds with one stone. Literally. Getting to travel together before enlistment (I can assure you that 90% of what they got up to we will not be seeing, and they travelled first and utmost because they wanted to travel and do it together, and anyone who claims otherwise, that this was forced in some way on one or both of them is an idiot, well they probably also believe that they enlisted together against their wills) all while under the guise of doing it for work, and at the same time creating content to be released while they are away. It's a win win, or like I said, two birds one stone.
So yeah, their travelling will be in a show, but they travelled together because they wanted to travel together and not because there was content to be made. Content being the bi product of their genius idea of guising their trip as work...
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Bottom line, point I wanted to make here with all of this is that those dissecting every single moment between them miss the whole picture. It's not about this moment or another. It's about what they bring together as a big picture, one that they have been telling us and showing us for years now. And if we didn't see or hear it before, well they made sure we would now.
Because being together during these 18 months was more important to them than hiding who they are and what they mean to each other.
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Fuck the consequences (and fuck the haters too - JM literally said it in SMF pt. 2)...
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cocogum · 23 days ago
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Season 5 worries me.
So recently, Tot explained to a Twitch streamer that the fifth season of Wakfu, a season that we desperately wanted ever since we learned it was coming, wouldn't turn out like we planned.
But first, if you understand French and want to see the snippet in question, then press here. (thanks @geographer746, for sharing the clip)
Here's what Tot said:
A need, for the record, is to tell the love story between two(?) monsters. That will be the main storyline for this season. They won't be our heroes, I should note, but I want to present some strong enough powerful characters who are not really beautiful, and try to make the people cry to a story where the characters do not look like them. I really went for some challenges a bit political and all but incredibly very human.
Apparently, and brace yourself for this, season 5 will explore the love story of two ugly monsters and the many challenges they will face. Tot specified that they won't be the heroes and won't look like we can relate to them, but feeling sympathy or even understanding may happen.
This summary alone doesn't bother me in the least because Tot did say that they wouldn't be the heroes of the finale. However, it made me question many things about what this season can hold.
But it also says a lot because we all expected something else entirely. We thought that season 5 would immediately continue with what happened after season 4, so it could be used as a good filler between season 4 and the Great Wave to explain some things that haven't been addressed or presented in the Great Wave yet.
Things like:
how the Sadida Kingdom reacted when they learned they had to share their lands with the eliatropes;
what happened after the wedding between Yugo and Amalia;
how did Yugo get used to his older body, and if he had any trouble controlling it after the adrenaline he just had from the Necrome war;
if Yugo communicates with his eliotrope children like the rest of Oropo's group besides Bouillon;
maybe we could see the unnamed male sadida and unnamed female eliatrope's relationship growing (the ones that got married in the Great Wave. I've explained it here);
or even just Yugo contemplating all the shit that he went through in such a short time.
Because Tot finally has the time to explore all those ideas now that he's been allowed to make 26 episodes. TWENTY. SIX. Do you remember when was the last time we had 26 episodes in a season?? BACK IN 2011.
Again, the problem with this future season isn't that we'll see these new characters being ugly monsters that we've never seen in Wakfu before. Because every season always welcomes new characters, it should be logical to think we'll see some new ones in this future season. The REAL problem is that I'm scared that that's all we'll see in this finale.
Granted, the clip where Tot summarizes the season was only a snippet, which means we've only scratched the surface of what this season has to offer.
But the thought still worries me nonetheless.
Wakfu, for many fans, has been here since their childhoods, and for people like me, it has been here for almost two decades now. Which is why I'm extremely worried that the finale of Wakfu will only be about new characters that have nothing to do with the Brotherhood we have come to know and love for many years.
The idea of ending it with two random people just doesn't sit right with me.
It's like saying you want to end a full nostalgic adventure with two ugly gobbowls falling in love 💀💀
What's worse in all of this is that we should have expected this coming. A few months ago, Tot released a tweet about a new character he would involve in the future, which was this dragon-looking warrior.
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Here is the tweet in question 👇
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The translation of the post is as follows:
Hello everyone, I'm in the middle of my writing period and as usual, I'm procrastinating between two lines (of text)... And one of the subjects of this procrastination is X, the most x social network on the internet. Even if it means spending time here, we might as well tell you some nice things rather than talking about the current shit. Right now, I'm seriously working on 3 projects that I can't wait to tell you about.
-Welsh & Shedar
- Wakfu Season 5
- Wakfu the great wave
I'm in the tough, in solitary mode, and these are really the best and worst times for me. As a wait, I present to you a future hero / protagonist of Krosmoz. I showed you a WIP sketch a few months ago, and the baby was done by the talented Vincent Nghiem. Enjoy.
At the time, we all thought this was going to be some minor character that was going to have a role in the fifth season, but knowing what we know now from the snippet, I'm guessing that this dragonic adventurer is probably one of the lovers Tot had mentioned (or maybe not since Tot tweeted that this character is a hero which was not what he said about the lovers. But then again, he could have changed that statement later on). THIS IS JUST A MERE SPECULATION AFTER ALL SO TAKE IT WITH A GRAINE OF SALT.
In addition, I recently saw a screenshot of Malec, one of Wakfu's directors, showing us the beginning of the fifth season's script. (thanks to @viridisgratia for providing the pic here) Below the first episode's title (which was hidden by a spoiler warning), it said version one.
This could mean two things:
either Tot is playing with some ideas and isn't really sure how to start the season or trying to find a way to improve the storyline;
he's just trying to figure out how he wants to start the show with the two monsters in mind.
Personally, I prefer the former.
I think he may be trying to discover things he wants to do when trying to test out what he likes and doesn't like. The story with the two monsters isn't going to be a story that he will eventually want, and maybe he will just ditch it because the character sheet that we saw in his tweet is just a character sheet at the end of the day. It doesn't mean it would be a fully canonized character. Maybe he's just playing with characters and seeing what fits and doesn't fit, but who knows? Perhaps I'm just being very optimistic or just very delusional, we'll see.
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theweirdwideweb · 2 months ago
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we want the work blowout deets
I'll give you the tea but it will be lengthy and I'm going to cry.
Thank you for asking anon. To be honest with you I've been crying in bed about it for the past couple hours. I stood up just now and went to the bathroom and saw two big wet patches on my smiley face tshirt and it sucks so much. I'm so sad.
I could really use some feedback on this situation to be honest. OK. So the long story short is that I got a new supervisor a year ago and my work life has been hell ever since. First off, she doesn't understand what I do. She's never done my job. And she is THE micromanager from hell. For the first 7 months of the year she had me turning in a time card every week showing everything I did down to 5 minute increments. I turn the spreadsheet in on Friday, then every Monday we'd have a meeting where she'd tell me she just doesn't understand how I use my time. Why did it take so long to do X amount of invoices? She estimates it should take 2 minutes per invoice, but it took me 4 minutes per invoice. Like I said she knows nothing about my job and as many times as I've explained it she still "doesn't get it." It was demoralizing, nerve wracking, and frankly so insulting to my competence that I went to her boss (my old supervisor who I love). When she did nothing I went to HR with serious concerns about discrimination----it's no coincidence that I was granted some medical leave at the beginning of the year to address mental health concerns.
Yada yada yada, we made some changes and I don't have to turn in the spreadsheet anymore, but she is still making me email her every week with a list of tasks I didn't complete from the week before. It's still insulting but at least she agreed I'd only have to do it for another 3 months. Actually she said 1 month, but she's such a bitch that by the next HR meeting she claimed she never said 1 month and switched it to 3 months. She's a fucking moron, reader. She's dead fucking stupid. I really can't stress that enough. Dumb. It took her 15 years to get the position I got within 3 years of starting. The only reason she's where she is is seniority, personal relationships with management, and being a fucking bully. A dumb bully! Telling you how to prioritize your work! She's accused me recently of being unprepared for a meeting---a meeting that I hosted, provided all the material for, wrote all the notes on, fleshing out a new process she told me to start implementing but had zero idea how. She just tosses ideas at me and I'm left to figure out any kind of practical way to do it because---AGAIN---she doesn't know how to do my job. There've been other things too. She's a sneak humiliator. She's a button pusher. She's a moron. A big fat ugly moron who looks like Roz from Monster's Inc.
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So on Thursday at 4:30pm, end of the day, suddenly a meeting with HR and this cunt appears on my calendar for 10am Friday (yesterday). I'm like---well here we go. She's either going to fire me or put me on a formal PIP. I'll be honest with you, I'd already decided to quit but I was holding out for my bonus in December. I entered the meeting feeling tranquil. I thought, "Do it. Pull the trigger. I'm ready for the end. Just fire me. Let me go. Release me."
But when the meeting starts it's just a touch base with our HR rep to see how everything is going. Are YOU fucking KIDDING me. Anyone would have thought the same thing I did. Of all the things my supervisor sucks dicks at, communication is the worst of all. She can't even spell. She can't string a sentence together. I mean it's shocking she writes at like a 6th grade level. I've seen emails she sent that are so garbled they are literally incomprehensible.
So I'm PISSED. I express how nerve-wracking the previous evening and all morning had been. We're off to a great start. She lets me know she's going to try to end the email process early. OK good. She tells me she's concerned because I haven't been providing personal feedback to her when prompted. Easy enough to explain: I hate your fucking guts, I'm trying to be a grey rock until I can quit. But I can't say that so I'm just like Alright.
Now here comes the bullshit! 1) She now wants me to ask permission in advance to work on weekends. I'm so overworked and stressed out I work like every weekend and now she wants me to ask her permission for the privilege of working on my day off. Guess who's never working a weekend for this company again. 2) The emails that just contain a list of tasks, right? Was 1 month, now 3 months, etc. She also changed the rules so that I have to provide a count of all the claims I processed across multiple platforms. And well---she just doesn't understand how I processed X number of claims and it took this long. In fact, she said, she counts 8 hours reported on my timecard she can't account for last week.
I lost it. I was openly hostile and belligerent. Fuck this fucking bitch. I cannot work for this vile idiot anymore. I actually used my IRL voice to poke holes in what she was saying and pointing out how fucking stupid it all is. Then she comes at me for not respecting her authority. As a reminder, just minutes before she'd complained about me having no feedback for her.
I left the meeting by refusing offers for additional time with the HR rep. I was in no place. I barely worked the rest of the day I was so upset and I didn't send my email, didn't complete my tasks, and didn't ask her permission to finish it up on the weekend (lol). I don't have another job lined up but this is the last time she's going to question whether I'm just straight up lying on my timecard or some kind of moron. That's it. This is her 100th strike for me.
Now here's why I'm so conflicted. 1) My previous supervisor (now my boss's boss) is going on a leave of absence like THIS WEEK for about a month and a half to treat her cancer. I care about her very much. I don't want to stress her out at the last second like this. 2) My bitch boss is also having a sudden serious health problem requiring her to be at the hospital multiple times a week. 3) On top of that, this stupid fucking cow has to take over my boss's boss's work while she's out for cancer. 4) They are absolutely fucked without me. For me to leave right now is a disaster. Add to that---the one person I manage and have a 100% rock solid relationship straight up told me that she's going to quit at some point and that if I quit she's walking out right behind me. She said this to me unprompted and I discouraged her from quitting. 5) I have a heart. The boss and the boss's boss are both having life problems that are more important than work. I think it's immoral to leave them in the lurch right now. They have serious health problems. As much as I hate my boss, at one point we were friends. My heart is breaking.
So I'm crying in bed. I can't live this way anymore. Toxic work stress has taken over my life. I get so miserable, but then some days it's just a job. It's a job I know how to do. I've been here 6 years. The health insurance is spectacular. I've got nothing lined up. I have adequate savings to get through a couple months of unemployment, but it's no guarantee I'll find a position that suits me in that timeframe. I have all these personal relationships at work (a mistake I will not repeat). I've let this job become part of my identity. I'm getting older. I'm 37 and I'm tired and I'm crazy and I just want peace. This position is fully remote---what if the next guy makes me work in person? My whole life will change. I just want this job to work like it has been for the 5 years before she took over. I'm so sad. I've felt this way so many times.
I want to quit first thing Monday. But I want to offer them the option of staying on until good boss gets back from cancer leave, so long as I don't have to work with illiterate cunt boss any more than is absolutely critical in the meantime. What do you think guys? My heart is breaking.
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gavisfanta · 10 months ago
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heyyy, can you do one where pedri gives flowers to the reader?
thank you if answered 🫶🏻
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LOVE LANGUAGE - PEDRI
summary: pedri gives you roses
warnings: none, just fluff
a/n: school started again so I'm a bit busy but I'll try to publish more!
"Ay Pedri" Gavi yelled over to pedri who was just walking into the locker room to get changed.
"Yeah?" Pedri turned around abruptly as he looked at one of his bestfriends standing there, looking at him.
"You wanna get something to eat?" Gavi asked as Ferran also walked up to Gavi and wrapped his arms around his shoulders from behind.
"I'd be in too." Ferran said and Pedri opened the door and walked inside, Ferran and Gavi followed him just seconds later.
"I cant, I have to go home." Pedri answered while he took off his shirt.
"Oh right, he has to go home to his girlfriend." Ferran smiled a bit as he got undressed to go into the shower.
"You still haven't interduced us to her properly." Gavi noticed while also taking off his clothes and so did Pedri.
"We can go out and eat something tonight, I'll bring her too if you insist." Pedri rolled his eyes as a small grin made its wat to his face.
"Oh I do insist, I wanna know who made my hermano fall so hard for her." Gavi laughed while walking into the shower.
The three of them stayed a bit longer to play a bit more after practice.
The others had already left that also meant that they had to clean the shower, they didnt really had to but the team did it every single time to spare the cleaners some time.
After the three of them were done showering and got dressed they cleaned the shower, and then walked to the car.
"Can you give me a ride hermano?" Gavi asked as he put a hand on Pedris shoulder.
"Of course, of course." Pedri mumbled and laughed a bit, his friend still didnt have his drivers lisence.
That was the one thing that was known about Gavis and Pedris friendship, Pedri was the driver and Gavi was the passengers princess.
Gavi could easily order Taxis but that was one of the things he hated the most.
Not because he couldn't afford it but because he gave strangers his address, especially in Barcelona it was so annoying to him that he would sit in the back with his hood up begging that nobody would notice him through the window.
It was okay when it was Pedri because he was obviously used to it, but the taxi drivers were diffrent.
So Gavi stuck with Pedri as his driver.
Pedri didn't mind because when you didnt stuck with him, he was mostly bored while driving.
So now Gavi was sitting in your seat and scrolling on his phone. "How did you even meet her?" Gavi asked, interested in his bestfriends relationship he managed to hide from his teammates and the media for two months.
Pedri had told them a week ago that you two were officially together and they still wouldn't leave him alone, he wasn't mad about that, in the end he loved talking about you.
"She was my brothers friend." Pedri said and Gavi smiled a bit.
"Damn you broke the bro rule." Gavi laughed out loud.
Pedei just responded with a nod, he loved the way you two met, he still remembers every small detail of it and so did you.
3 months ago:
Tenerife was one of the most beautiful places on earth, you were convinced by that fact.
That proved itself as Fer and you were hanging out at your usual spot, Fer was sipping on a beer while you drank the Fanta in your hand.
"I never wanna leave this place." you whispered while looking at the beach in front of you, the water was calm.
"You might want to, Barcelona is even prettier." Fer said proudly, you knew exactly how he loved to brag about his Brother living in one of the most beautiful cities in spain, not only that but he also played at Barca.
You've never actually met Pedri before, everytime Pedri came home to visit his brother and his parents you left them alone. Knowing he didn't see them that often you wanted to give them some time together.
"I've never been to Barcelona before." You noticed. Fer chuckled a bit before sitting up straight.
"You could come with me, I'm going the day after tomorrow." Fer suggested and you made a face. "I know you've never met Pedri before but I'll interduce yoy and we're gonna go and watch the game." Fer explained.
You broke the eye contact and looked back at the water. "What if he won't like me?"
"He will like you, he has to like you because you are my bestfriend." Fer patted your shoulder as you nodded your head.
"Is he really that arrogant as other people say he is?" You asked ironically.
"Oh he definitely is." Fer laughed.
So soon it was time to go to Barcelona. You worked for Fers parents at their restaurant so Fer had convinced his parents to let you leave with him.
As soon as you were sitting on the plane you couldn't help but be anxious.
Pedri was very important to a lot of people, if he was like people described him, he was a complete shithole.
Three and a half hours later Fer and you arrived in Barcelona. Sooner than you knew you were infront of a very expensive looking white house.
"I'm so happy that you two will finally meet." Fer whispered to you before the door swung open and you came face to face with Pedri who wore a huge grin on his face.
"Pedri!" Fer went into a hug immediately. Pedri hugged him back and after Fer pulled away he looked at you again.
"Pedri this is my bestfriend Y/n, and I'm sure you know that this is Pedri." Fer at first turned to his brother and then to you.
As you met Pedris eyes for the first time, you expected everything but this.
He was smiling, the sun hit his face perfecy, his face looked perfect and you immediately got lost in his eyes.
"Nice to meet you," Pedri said shyly, he brought his hand closer to you, you shook his hand and looked up with a smile on your face.
You were almost surprised that you didn't hear confidence in his voice. "Nice to meet you too, I heard a lot about you."
"Good or bad things?" pedri smiled, that shy smile sent shivers down your spine.
"You wouldn't like the answer."
"Okay, well let's go inside." Fer said suddenly and then walked past Pedri, Pedri however needed two extra seconds to part his eyes from yours.
You and Fer went to watch his game the next day, it was a success l because Pedri scored.
After that game the three of you went out to party to Raphinhas house. But you were pretty bored because you didnt know anyone from there. So Pedri and you went into a McDonald's drive in.
That night, as you two were sitting in Pedris Mini, while eating the unhealthiest food on planet earth, Pedri looked into your eyes.
That was the moment he knew he had fallen in love with you, and he obviously knew that he was screwed.
The others met you as Fer's bestfriend, they looked at you as Fer's Bestfriend. But Pedri looked at you as the only girl that made him feel the things he felt at that moment.
He knew it was a bit early to say but he could already imagine having a family with you.
After it was time for you and Fer to go home Pedri begged you to stay, you didn't know at that moment why he wanted you to stay but you did.
Especially because Pedri convinced his parents to let you stay, and his brother too. He said that he wanted to show you the city. He paid for a way too expensive hotelroom for you and also paid for your flight back.
That gave the two of you 2 more weeks together.
One week before you had to go home you realized that you had feelings for him, you weren't sure if that was the case with Pedri too.
Pedri showed you every part of Barcelona, every part he could visit without getting recognized and possibly killed.
After an el clasico win at home Pedri stormed to you, you were waiting in the tunnel for him.
Pedri didn't know what was going through his mind, he just felt the adrenaline rush through his veins.
He received a lot of weird looks as he sprinted over to the tunnel. As you saw Pedri running toward you, you also didn't know what was happening.
Pedri was breathing heavily as he put his hand on your neck, caressing your jaw with his thumb. You looked at him shocked at the sudden movement. "Y/n, I know this is so so wrong, but I love you, I've loved you ever since that damn party.And- And I want you to stay here." Pedri was looking at you, his eyes sparkling while looking at you.
"I love you too." You breathed out with a smile on your face.
As soon as you said that a smile flashed up on his face immediately. In that moment he felt the adrenaline rush again and kissed you.
His soft lips on yours felt like heaven and his hands on your body felt even more like heaven.
Too bad that there were a lot of interviewers still on the field and in the background of live tv, you were seen kissing Pedri, well the other way around.
But that didn't matter as Fer flew back to Barcelona immediately.
He was fuming with anger as to why Pedri kissed his bestfriend. He liked that you amd Pedri were getting along but not this much.
In the end Pedri and you ended up together, Fer didn't agree to it at first but after about a month he accepted it.
Luckily he did.
"Thanks for the ride Pedri, see you tonight!" gavi yelled as he got out of the car and walked towards his door.
Pedri watched him walk off, he then drove off and went to the nearest store.
Meanwhile you were just waking up.
The sun was shining through the window, as the sun rays hit your exposed back you shivered.
The warmth coming from outside was really peaceful. You opened your eyes and immediately saw an empty space next to you in the bed. Pedri has already gone to training.
Somehow you managed to grab your phone from the nightstand and saw a message from your boyfriend.
"Good Morning Amor I didn't want to wake you up you were sleeping so peacefully. I'll be back as soon as i can. Te amo"
As your eyes ran across the words you smiled. Yesterday was your two months anniversary so it was a long day and also night.
You had fun, especially when you two went out to eat and then on a walk. Pedri bought you a really expensive ring and you bought him new cleats, not like he didnt had enough.
Of course Pedri got mad at you at first when he saw the expensive cleats standing in the garage but you managed to calm him down and at the end he was pretty happy about it.
You decided to stand up from the bed and be a bit productive. Walking over to his closet you chose one of his springfield shirts and pulled it over your head.
While walking down the stairs you tied your hair together into a ponytail and then went to make some breakfast for yourself.
You decided on some fried egg with bread. May seem boring but it was one of your favorite dishes.
So after you ate you put everything away again and went to watch tv. The time flew by quickly and then soon you heard the door unlock. You smiled as you stood up and waited for Pedri to get inside.
Seconds later you saw Pedri walk inside with a huge smile and a bouquet of red roses in his hand.
"Hey baby." he smiled while he looked at you. You walked over to him and pulled him into a hug straight away.
"Hello" You smiled as you put your head on his chest.
Pedri exhaled deeply as he kissed the top of your head. After you pulled away he handed you the roses he still held in his hand.
"I brought this for you." Pedri smiled widely and then you took the roses from his hand and kissed him passionately.
"Thank you so much, but what for?" You asked, looking at the red rose bouquet in your hand before looking back up at his eyes.
Pedri chuckled as he looked down at you and wrapped an arm around your shoulders as he walked next to you.
"Just to tell you that I love you." He told you and kissed your cheek.
Pedri had planned to bring you roses every day after you two started dating. Sadly that wasn't possible because he was often too tired to go to a store after practice.
He made sure to bring you roses afterwards he went home from every away game.
You were convinced that one of Pedri's love languages was giving you things.
But you didn't mind at all, in the end. You still loved him like he was the only thing on earth.
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kpop-yes · 1 year ago
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Ryujin x male reader: Fan Favorite
Ryujin POV
It's been a few months since a group i've been in, Itzy, Debuted.
And I'd be lying if I said it wasn't stressful, because it was very stressful.
We had a strict schedule and had to practice on a daily basis with barely any energy.
And one way people like to get rod of stress, is sex.
But it's hard being an idol and trying to have sex.
It either ends up being a creep or some lowlife cheating behind my back.
Speaking of my idol life, that reminds me that I have a fam meetup in a few hours.
I haven't really been interested in having sex with any of my fans, except for one.
He's always at every concert or fan meetup, and he's always at the front row, having a t-shirt or sign of me on it.
With all the times we've interacted, He's single and most definitely handsome~
Anyways I might take him to a hotel, to talk, and maybe a little more than that... Okay maybe sex.
-Timeskip-
After entering our venue and meeting with security and staff, It was time for my plan to take action.
I've made a little note with my hotel address and room number, Then if he does show up, I'll get to know him a bit, then if does seem to be a good guy, then this night could take lust turn.
Y/n POV
Another day, another Itzy fan show.
I decided to buy a little plushie to give to Ryujin, I hope she likes it.
Anyways, I better get going, the venue isn't far but I wanna get to my seat first before the venue gets crowded.
Ever since Itzy debuted, I've been in love with Ryujin, and she's been my bias ever since 2019 when they debuted.
- TimeSkip -
I arrived at the venue and sat down in my seat, noticing only that a couple people were here and they were taking pictures.
I looked up at the stage to see people setting up tables and chairs and getting everything set up.
That's when everyone rushed in and started taking their seats.
After a few minutes, Itzy walked and everyone started cheering, including me.
They were bowing and as soon as they were taking seats, I swear I saw her wink at me.
- Ryujin POV -
We all walked up to the front of the stage, bowed, and introduced ourselves to the fans, add as were walking to our seats, I spotted him, and I winked at him.
I felt so proud of myself for making the first move, hopefully he noticed.
Anyways, we sat down at our seats and explained how gifts and pictures worked, and after explaining some more rules, our fans started lining one by one for a signature and picture.
I looked to see where he was and saw that he was one of the first in line.
I got more nervous the more he moved closer, but why, if anything he should be the nervous one.
After taking a couple pictures and signing, It was his turn, what was his name again? was it y/n? might as well give it a shot.
He walked up to me and handed a little plushie,
"I hope you like it", he says.
"Like it? I love it! Thanks um... Y/n right?"
"Yes, you remembered my name!"
"How could I forget one of my biggest fans names! Anyways, Do you want a picture or an autograph?"
"Just a picture please!"
He handed me his phone and I took a photo of us, he looked very cute, but now it was time to give him the note.
- Y/n POV -
After taking a photo with Ryujin, I turned around and was about to walk off stage when I felt something in my hand.
I turned around to see Ryujin handing me a note,
The note said
-Meet me at (Random hotel address and room number) At 12:00 -
Is this really happening, has THE Ryujin invited me to her hotel room?!
I looked at her to see if this was some sort of joke but after looking deep in her sincere eyes, I don't think she's joking.
I nervously walked off the stage and back in my seat.
- Timeskip -
The rest of the fan meet was very awkward for me so much. I felt very awkward just looking at ryujin and couldn't focus on the fan meet and worried more about what she wanted from me.
Did she want to give me something? Was she going to do something to me? did she give me the correct hotel number?
So many thoughts and dirty thoughts running through my head the whole time.
I left instantly
when the fan meet ended and didn't look back.
I drove home, showered, and got ready to hopefully meet Ryujin at the hotel.
- Timeskip -
I left my house and got in my car, nervously I drove to the hotel address.
Never had I thought that I'd be driving to meet Ryujin at a hotel in private, One could only dream about this happening, but not me.
I arrived at the hotel, and it wasn't that big, Not I even I would suspect that an Idol was staying here.
I got out of my car and walked into the hotel, I asked the person at the desk where the room number Ryujin told me was at.
They gave me instructions and I was now taking an elevator to the room where Ryujin is supposedly at.
I got off the elevator and I found the room.
I nervously walked up to the door and knocked.
*Knock* *Knock*
Nothing, I guess she really did give me a random room number-
*click*
The door got unlocked, the door slowly opened and,
There she was, Ryujin, In front of me.
"Hey, you came! Come inside", she said.
"O-Okay".
I walked inside the room to see a bed, bathroom, and tv.
Nothing expensive just a normal room.
I sat down on the bed and Ryujin Closed the door and sat next to me.
"So, Why did you want me to meet you here?" I asked.
"Oh because I wanted to ask you some questions!"
And for the next 20 minutes Ryujin asked me questions like what I do on my free time and My hobbies.
Nothing seemed unusual until the final question.
"Anyways, I have one final question", she said while moving closer to me.
"Un sure, ask away".
She got closer to me until her face was right in front of me. She got closer to my ear and whispered,
"Are you a virgin Y/n?"
What, How am I supposed to answer that question?!?
If I say no she'll expect me to be experienced?  But if i say yes I'll probably look like a loser to her?
What do I say?!?
"Um, Y-Yeah Im a V-Virgin" I said nervously
"Perfect~ Take off your pants"
I did as she said and started unbuckling my pants.
But I guess I was taking too long because she got on her knees and started taking off my pants.
After struggling to unzip my pants, she roughly pulled them down and admired my member bulging through my boxers, then taking them off.
One thing I won't ever forget is the second when my member slapped a crossed face and her face admiring my member.
After admiring my member for a minute, she wraps her hands around my member and starts to stroke it.
I couldn’t stop myself from moaning.
The sensation was already amazing but knowing that Ryujin was stroking my dick the sensation was even better.
Going from stroking, Ryujin Puckered her lips as she slowly started to give me a blowjob.
Her tongue twisting in the inside of her mouth while moving her head back and forward was something that you could only imagine.
My head felt lightheaded snd I felt like I was about to blow my load.
I guess Ryujin could sense my load as she suddenly stopped what she was doing and stood up.
She looked me in the eyes while slowly stripping right in front of me.
After taking off most of her clothes, all that was left were her bra and her soaked panties.
She fell on the bed back first and seemingly waited for me.
“Come on, you’re taking too long. Woman also need some stress taken care of!” She said frustrated.
I moved on top of her and started moving her panties to the side snd admired her soaked Vagina.
But I guess I took too long because she wrapped her legs around me and pulled me in her grasp.
I lined ip my member to her pussy and slowly inserted my dick into her.
Her slow moans gave me more confidence to move more inside of her.
After being fully inside of her, I stroked back and forward slowly, Hearing her moans was a pleasant sound to hear.
My mind started to get foggy as I started to Stroke harder, My head felt dizzy but I kept stroking until I was about to reach my limit,
“Ah, Ryujin, I’m about to cum-“
“Do it, Do it Y/n, Fucking cum inside of me!”
After getting confirmation from Ryujin, I kept pounding until I blew my load inside of her.
I Laid beside her, Admiring her body.
Even tho I blew my load, My member was still rock hard.
Ryujin looked back at me and smirked.
And after what seemed like a looooong night, Ryujin gave me her number and told me,
“Call me if you ever fell stressed again”.
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