#but they made things that played sound of records - so I'm just saying record player

[thaatdigitaldiary]

for the first time

hopkins paige bueckers x hopkins fem reader

for a long time, paige didn’t know why she felt the way she did about her best friend, someone who she “wasn’t” supposed to love, she didn’t want to ruin things. it was unfortunate she didn’t know you were waiting for her first. (kinda got this idea while listening to bags by clairo so i hope this makes your heart tingle and your eyes water!)

fluff and flirtationnnn (ofc🙏🏽), slight angst & minor argument, internal homophobia, cuteness and clarity at the end | this is lengthy! i hope ya like

enjoy!🙂‍↕️

disclaimer: i write nothing but angst or fluff when it comes to hopkins p, considering she was in highschool. thank you! - im considering this a “throwback story” so i can make a part two for older reader and older paige. 🫶🏽

paige and you were completely different when it came to high school. her priorities consisted of basketball, her future career, and passing senior year so she can make way to uconn. you however, were all about academics. you were in basically any club available, maintained a 4.0 gpa, and quickly climbed the rank of class president. how you two met was random, your sophomore year you were in photography club, meaning you took pictures of all the sports teams for the yearbook, and she stayed behind to talk to you.

"cool ass camera." she said going to touch it, but you quickly swat her hand away.

"hey! no touching. you break you buy." you say slightly stern, pointing your finger at her.

"technically YOU'D have to buy, this has nothing to do with me." she says laughing and shrugging her shoulders, getting a smile out of you. for her first time seeing you smile, she sure was in love with it.

"okay "miss photographer", what's your name?" she asks you, hoping she can get to know you. "mine's paige."

"i know, i see you all the time, you're like.. the best basketball player here." you say bragging on her, feeling kind of shy when you give away that you're a big fan of her.

"oh really, you think so?" she says in a flirty tone while she flexes, making you blush out of nervousness.

"okay, okay, don't get too in your head now, but yeah, you're really good. i'm the one who records and snaps all your shots. but my name is y/n, since you asked." you say with such a sweet voice, something that sent her in a trance, completely dazed in the sound of you speaking.

"cute name. hey uh, i was gonna ask did you need any help packing this stuff up, i won't break it i promise." paige says chuckling, her smile pure and full of life, an image that stayed in your head since you met her.

two years pass, and you and paige can never separate. despite being utter opposites of each other, you're glued to the hip. you still did photography, getting the best candid photos of your best friend on the court, excited to post them on social media so she gets the attention she deserves. you gathered the pictures together and created a collage to post on instagram.

you were paige's biggest fan to say the least, buying a hoodie with her name and number on it, and being able to sit on the sidelines and watch her play, with your photographer privilege of course. anytime she made a three, she'd point at you, making you smile. watching her play was something you couldn't get enough of, learning the game so you could understand when she was frustrated with a play, or if she just rambled on to you about it, you'd know exactly what she was talking about.

paige and your bond grew stronger, going to family events together, having sleepovers every weekend, even during the week, as well as going on family trips with her. you felt like you had your person when it came down to paige. you didn't really know much about anyone at your school, and you definitely didn't expect the school's star basketball player to befriend you.

life wasn't always so peachy though. you really struggled finding yourself. for a long time you were confused, not when it came to school, when it came down to your feelings. ever since you met paige, there was this feeling you couldn't shake, this feeling of nurture and love that you gained from her, the type no one else could give you. growing up, you weren't one to express your feelings to your parents. they were always busy, super strict, and for some reason never found too much time for you. but paige, she always dropped anything even if meant seeing you for 5 minutes.

the first time paige saw you, she noticed how you radiated positive energy, even though she had no clue what you were going through at home. all she wanted was to be the person by your side through thick and thin, forever and always.

with about a month and a half of school left, paige and her teammates took home the trophy for the final game of the season, and you were more than proud for her, ecstatic even. when the final buzzer went off for the end of the game, paige made a 3 pointer, beating the buzzer. you stood up and cheered as loud as you could, while paige ran towards you and swiftly lifted you up into a hug, making your feet dangle in the air.

"i'm so proud of you p." you said, muffled into her shoulder, as you feel her start to tear up from her words, and one of her biggest achievements.

"i really couldn't have done it without you, you're my motivation y/n." you feel a catch in your throat, signaling you're about to cry, and she quickly wipes your tears.

her family takes you both out to eat, and you had a duffel bag in their trunk that you packed the night before, so you could stay over at paige's house tonight.

after eating and making it to paige's place, you and paige made it up to her room, where she dropped her bags and your duffel that she insisted on carrying so you didn't "hurt your pretty hands" as she'd say. her room has evolved so much over the years, furniture moved around, basketball posters growing on the walls every visit, but one thing that never changed, was the framed picture of you and her on your nightstand, you on her back after her first win, both of your smiles bright and lively. the same picture lingered on her lockscreen ever since you two took it, your lockscreen being a picture you and her took at a sleepover at your house, you two under a fuzzy olive green blanket, exceptionally close for "best friends", but you never really cared.

that's another thing when it came down to paige, you never really cared. sure, questions and rumors spread, "are y/n and paige together?" "is paige gay?" "what's y/n's sexuality?"

it got annoying after a while, and paige and you always seemed to avoid the questions, and simply ignore them. it sucked that you wondered the same thing though. that was a sensitive topic, you couldn't ask paige about that, what if she finds you weird and stops talking to you?

you though, you should've been asking yourself that question. you've dated one guy throughout high school, and sure you liked him, (so you thought), but he was rude and belittling. after a conversation with paige, you immediately broke up with him. "he's not good enough for you," she said to you, always knowing what was best.

the real question was, what really was good enough for me?

paige never dated anyone in highschool, she turned down girls AND guys, so it made it extra hard to read her, even though you knew her like a book, cover page to the summary on the back of it. you wanted to know, but you didn't want to lose her in the midst of your curiosity.

sitting on paige's bed, you took your shoes off and got comfortable like you usually do, and she took off her practice gear and sat next to you.

"thank you for always being here for me y/n, like seriously." she sounds so genuine and would do anything to keep you here forever.

"p, i'm always gonna be here for you, you're my best friend." you go to embrace her, her muscular arms holding you close, your perfume lingering in her nose, making her feel at home.

you and her let go and look at each other for a while, eye contact never breaking, when she leans in for a kiss, and you let her in. the kiss is slow, as she tries to learn your body language, the kiss is meaningful, but is cut short when she starts freaking out.

"jesus christ y/n i'm sorry."

"i didn't mean to do that, it was an accident,"

an accident?

"oh, uh, yeah it's fine." you say, confused on what the big deal was, you've been wanting to do that forever, but i guess things weren't reciprocated.

things quickly got awkward, and then paige says something that honestly breaks your heart a little.

"maybe you shouldn't stay the night tonight, i uh, got family stuff."

you knew that wasn't true, she just didn't want you around after a moment like this just happened. but why is she shutting it down?

"you don't wanna talk first, i mean a lot just happened i think we should ta-" you try to explain to her when she cuts you off.

"just go home y/n." her voice cold and bleak, making you queasy.

paige was never like this with you, can a kiss really change everything? you thought asking your best friend a question would make you lose her, but you two KISSED. your heart dropped to your feet with the thoughts swarming in your head, "is she gonna leave me?" being the main one.

the next day rolls around, it was 12:30, the time she usually got back home after practicing with her dad, and you’ve received no sign of her, no texts or missed facetimes, which was unusual since you promised each other two years ago you'd try to facetime every. single. day. "she just needs time," you thought to yourself, but you text her anyway.

"hey paigeyyy, i'm gonna go to the store later, did you want me to pick anything up for you? i can drop by your house and give it to you?"

read 12:35pm

she read your message, but didn't respond until ten minutes later with a simple and dry "no" which made you sigh and move on about the day.

you missed paige. you slowly start to regret last night, but there's nothing you can do to change it. you already miss her face, her hugs, her lips, and how she looked at you. you open your camera roll to see a picture you and her took last night after her game, her holding you bridal style while you hold up her trophy, both of you smiling at each other. you put your phone down and decide to lay down for the rest of the day, as you had no motivation to do anything knowing your best friend didn't even wanna speak to you.

but deep down it was more than that, you had really fallen for paige, not wanting anyone but her, was that so wrong?

paige on the other hand, was losing it. she didn't know what to do with herself. there was no way she liked girls, let alone her best friend.

so why did she kiss her?

she wanted answers, but she couldn't and didn't want to talk to anyone about it, scared of how others would perceive her, worried she'd lose people over this, and worst of all, she didn't want to lose her best friend. she had to push her away, she needed space to think.

she thought there was nothing wrong with that, but it was the worst thing she could've done.

a week passes, neither of you are talking much, you haven't facetimed in what seems like forever, and her responses to you are weak and bland, making you feel as if she's not interested in talking to you anymore.

prom is approaching, you and paige planned to go together, to dance, make fun of other peoples dancing, and have another lively moment before summer break. but after that night, you're not sure what you two are gonna do, mainly because the day of prom, paige hadn't texted you at all. you weren't gonna go since you figured she wasn't, but you needed to get out of bed and go do something fun to get your mind off of the situation.

a couple hours go by, and you're finished getting ready. you have on an all black floor length dress, with small purple accents, since you already pre picked it out, intending to match with paige. you took your pictures with your parents, and drove to the school, as prom was being held in the gym this year.

you get there, hands clammy from your nervousness. you hate being here without paige, you wanted to take so many pictures, make so many memories, slow dance, and this was gonna be the night you were ACTUALLY planning on kissing her for the first time, showing her how long you've loved her.

the whole time you've been standing around looking bored, knowing you'd have so much fun if paige were here. that's until a guy from the football team comes up to you, asking you to dance with him. you insist, as you have nothing better to do. a slow song starts, and you and him are dancing slowly, until you notice a familiar face walk in the gym. paige.

she sees you and him and storms off to the bathroom, furious at the fact that you looked so beautiful, and that she wasn't the one with hands around your waist, taking in all your beauty.

you excuse yourself from his grasp, walking towards the bathroom, letting it clear out before you walk in.

"hey.." you say softly, not wanting to come off aggressive as if she hasn't been talking to you in what seemed like ages.

"what the fuck is he doing slow dancing with you? that was our thing y/n." she says, sort of yelling at you, but you quickly retaliate.

"no paige. you don't get to be mad at me because YOU shut me out. all i wanted to do was talk to you, you made me feel crazy, like something was wrong with me." you say, starting to cry.

"you completely went ghost on me, since before that night i've wanted no one but you, but i guess it doesn't matter,"

"i didn't come with him, he just asked me to dance because i looked bored, so i said yes." you tell her, looking at the tiled bathroom floor.

paige cups your chin and pulls your head up so you can look her in the eyes.

"i'm sorry y/n. i shouldn't have ran from you, i was scared. i really did mean to kiss you, just not like that. i wanted it to be special, i wanted it to be while we danced. i thought he was about to take that opportunity away from me. it woulda been memorable y'know?" she says while looking deep in your eyes, hoping you'd forgive her. “i know i’ve been acting weird, i just didn’t know what to do if i lost you.”

"i was also scared of what people would think of me, yknow, liking girls and shit. especially liking you, you're perfect, i didn't wanna ruin anything for you."

you don't respond immediately, until she says what's been on her mind since she met you.

"i'm in love with you, y/n. i've loved you since the first time i met you, you keep me sane, and without you i was losing my shit. there’s nothing wrong with you ma, and i apologize for making you feel that way."

your eyes go a little bit wider, and you finally respond, "i love you too paige, i always have. forget what other people think p, nobody matters but me with you." you smile wide at her and she smiles back, finally feeling content with herself, knowing she said what needed to be said, and could kiss you whenever she wanted to.

she leans in to kiss you, but you stop her.

"what cmon, i can't kiss you now?" she said to you while rolling her eyes.

"you said you wanted it to be special right?" you grab her hand and hold it for a while.

"yes ma'am i did," she says, leading you out of the bathroom and back to the gym, where another slow song has started. she quickly rests her hands on your waist, your hands on her shoulders, as you two sway to the song blasting through the cheap speakers the school borrowed.

"god, you look beautiful baby." paige says, finally taking in all of your perfection. your hair, makeup, and jewelry aligned perfectly, fitting you so well, she just loved looking at you. before you two continue dancing, she pulls her phone out of her dress pants pocket, and while she does so you take a good look at her. she looks stunning. a black button up and black dress pants, a silver chain completing the look. she goes to her camera app, and you kiss her on the cheek as a pose for the picture. she snaps multiple and eagerly changes her lockscreen.

"i love seeing this beautiful face everytime i turn my phone on," she says, you roll your eyes out of her corniness, but it still makes you blush. you also take a picture of the two of you, and you update your lockscreen as well.

"and i love seeing yours, and plus, this button up looks a little too good on you," you tell her, making her bite her lip slightly.

she grabs your hand and twirls you, bringing you back in, your faces exceptionally close to one another. the slow song comes to and end, and paige takes one hand off of your waist to cup your face, and connects her lips with yours and utters the words that make you happy to have met her,

"i love you y/n."

"i love you too paige."

and for the first time, you knew you had a forever person, and that person was paige bueckers.

HEY BAD BITCHESSS!! I HOPE YOU ENJOYEDDD I KNOW THERE’S NOT MANY HOPKINS FICS OUT THERE SO I WANTED TO TRY! i’ll try and be consistent with posting, just bare with me 🙂‍↕️ love you

tags: @rosemariiaa @mrsarnold @wbbgetsmewetter

🫶🏽🫶🏽

the collage that “would’ve been posted”

[samsayswhatever]

When Edwin was talking about a "Victrola" I thought he was talking about something much older. But it's just a record player lol

[lustspren]

Cool With You ft Danielle.

length: 12.8k words✦

Danielle & Male Reader

genres: cheesy/bit cringe lmao (i’m so sorry, it was necessary for the plot, I promise), fluffy, oral sex, hard sex, facetime sex, creampie, blowjob, anal

✦✧✦✧✦✧

"Girls, I think you should at least play the game if we're going to do this," Hanni said, sitting on the couch, "I mean, Riot hired us for this, and I think it would be appropriate."

Danielle immediately turned to look at Hanni, not wanting to say anything yet as she was turning the idea over in her head. Being from Australia she never grew up with that game, but she knew perfectly well that there in Korea it was a national phenomenon, and that they even had their own exclusive server. Part of this reputation around the video game was due to Faker, a player that anyone under 30 years old knew either by name or by sight. She wasn't exactly a fan of multiplayer video games, or even video games in general since she was an outdoors girl, so she kept quiet at first.

"And where are we supposed to do that?" Minji asked, eating some Pringles, "there are only two computers at home."

"Oh come on, we can ask for three more!" Hanni exclaimed, "I think we deserve it, don't we?"

"Well, I'll see what I can do," Minji sighed, and then looked at the others, "are you all in?"

"I wouldn't mind," Kitten said, shrugging.

"Yeah! It'll be fun!" Big Baby agreed, "what do you say, Dani?" They all looked at her.

"Ugh, do I really have to?" Danielle asked, not very attracted to the idea but not completely against it either. She liked spending time with her unnies, no matter what way.

"Oh come on! Pleeeaaaase!" Hanni pleaded with her hands clasped in request, "I promise you'll like it!" Dani made a small silence, looking at all of them.

"My god, fine!" she finally accepted, "but I demand your patience with me, okay? I can count on one hand the number of times I have touched a computer in my life."

"Yaaaaay!" Hanni clapped excitedly, "don't worry, it's very easy!"

4 days later. NewJeans girls already recorded Gods.

"Alright girls, I'll go to the top lane," Hanni said in front of the computer. All the others were sitting on their own, one next to the other, "Minji, you should go jungle, it's a selfish and arrogant role, just like you!"

"Then it's perfect, yes," Minji nodded.

"Big Baby, you go to the mid lane, there are champions that could be a lot of fun for you, and you would be a fundamental piece," Hanni told her, and she nodded.

"As for you two," Hanni looked at Dani and Kitten, "you are literally the perfect duo, I don't really know who should go ADC or who should go support, discuss it between yourselves."

"Well, support sounds like the easiest," Dani said, looking at Kitten, who always seemed indifferent to anything.

"Does that mean I'm in charge?" she asked, looking at the screen.

"I don't want to be, so yeah," Dani shrugged, and at that moment Hanni hit the find match button.

As was common for people new to League of Legends, Dani was completely overwhelmed and stressed by the huge amount of things that the game's tutorial never explains to you. Lots of different champions, runes, objectives, farming, crucial areas of the map, etc. Her head was hurting, but after a few games she started to feel more comfortable with her role, and she was especially prone to playing Leona.

At first, Dani only accepted the proposal because she did not like to contradict and argue over something like that. In fact, she considered Hanni's idea somewhat unnecessary and would not be at all transcendental in her life. But the unthinkable happened for her. She began to enjoy the game, and even played it during her free time. She usually always did it with Kitten, but many times she also did it alone. The most attractive thing for her was the anonymity that the game provided her, there no one treated her differently because of who she was, many insulted her, others treated her disrespectfully, and despite not being pleasant, she liked that, it was like a way to put her feet on the ground while having fun.

Months had passed since they recorded Gods, and the group continued on their journey of activities here and there, always busy and always in the public eye, but Dani never stopped playing, she even dedicated herself to watching the start of the Worlds, and especially rooting for T1 and the Korean teams.

When the final phase of the Worlds was approaching and the girls were preparing for their stage during the opening ceremony, they were informed that the day before there would be an event where celebrities and fans were going to be able to have a kind of meet & greet with fun activities involved. It was explained to them that one of the activities consisted of playing games with mixed teams of celebrities and idols, and they all immediately accepted the idea.

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

You almost lost your shit when you got that damn email. You were jumping around like an idiot all over your room, dancing to the rhythm of a goofy ass techno song that just happened to be playing on your Spotify. You had won the fucking sweepstake to play in the celebrity matches, and there was no way you were going to take it in at that moment.

When your euphoria passed you sat down in your desk chair and sank into the seat as you stared at the email open on the screen, turning it over and over in your head since you still couldn't believe it. The list of celebrities was quite extensive, and it wasn't just Korean artists, there were also Western artists like Tobi Lou or Cal Scruby, but you only had one group in your mind, NewJeans, and you couldn't do anything but hope for play with any of them.

The big day finally arrived, and you were thankful that your T1 jersey with Gumayusi's name on it arrived just in time. You checked your appearance in the bathroom mirror, not wanting to get too meticulous so as not to go to the event with worries on your mind. Being a casual perfume enjoyer you had a few options to choose from, but you opted for something mild, Ralph Lauren's Polo Blue, always good for any time of year and always useful for conveying good vibes. Once you were ready, you left the house.

The excitement and nerves made you arrive at the place much earlier than planned, but luckily you were able to take advantage of this. You walked around the arena calmly, admiring each cosplay and asking for photos with all your favorites. You also visited every possible stand, buying merch from several of these and putting it in your backpack.

When the time came, you immediately went to the place indicated in the email for the sweepstake winners, a large room that served as a waiting room near the stage. Upon checking in you were bombarded with a series of rules that were more than expected, no touching unless prompted by the celebrity, no request for personal contact and the sort of things you might expect at an event of that nature. They told all the winners that you would be called by your summoner names when it was your time to play, and that they would be alternating between celebrity and winner. They also told you that you were all going to play the roles you signed up for, so they gave you a bracelet that said 'ADC'. Finally, the two representatives told you to have a good time and left you all alone in the room.

All names were being called, and your excitement only grew inside you as you realized that your NewJeans bias hadn't been called yet. Last game, and you already knew that by discard you were going to play against, or with Danielle. Minji and Hanni had already been called previously, so you already knew who was going to be there.

The teams began to organize, and you considered yourself the luckiest guy in the world when you realized that Danielle was going to be your support. They took you to the stage, and there she was, as radiant and spectacular as always. She was wearing a black turtleneck sweater, a short skirt of the same color, and high platform leather boots. Her beautiful curly hair with two adorable pigtails on the back of her head. When you approached her a big smile formed on her face, and you were immediately stunned by her beauty.

"Hi! I'm Danielle," she introduced herself, extending a hand to you, you shook it, and you both bowed, "you must be… Recon, right?"

"Yup," you nodded with a smile, "oh god, it's a great pleasure to meet you, seriously, I admire you guys a lot."

"Awww, thank you very much!" She bowed again, "Let's have fun, okay?"

"Sure!" At that moment you were told to sit down, and you were in champion selection in a matter of seconds, "Alright, what kind of supports do you like to play?" you asked, nervous as shit since there were lots of people watching you.

"Well, I always play Leona, that doesn't vary much," she told you over the discord voice channel.

"Alright, you like engage supports from what I see," you said, banning Morgana since she was her main counter, "I'll play Samira, okay? She's the best complement for Leona."

"Whatever you say, you're the expert here!"

Once the game started your mentality became completely different, to the level of completely forgetting where you were and who you were playing with. Maybe that was your good trick. You were the main shotcaller of your team, always attentive to the map and the position of the enemies to dictate plays and engage based on it. Kitten was the opposing ADC, so Danielle was constantly giving you data on how she played or what her tendencies were.

"Let's fight! She's alone!" she told you, however, you noticed due to the lack of vision that it was a bait, and that either the jungler or the opposing mid laner were waiting in a bush.

"Stop! Don't go!" You tried to warn her, however it was too late. She engaged, the enemy jungler came out of the bush and took the kill, "Ugh, you have to listen to me first!" you exclaimed, not upset but as a scold for her.

"Ahh! Sorry!" she apologized, "I'll let you make the decisions, I'll be all ears!"

"You can't engage in a situation like that," you said seriously, pushing out one last wave before recalling, "you had no vision of anything at all, just her, you fell right into her bait, oh, and on top of that you had no flash, it was an easy kill for them."

"That makes sense…" she made a small silence, perhaps processing the information, "okay, big mistake."

From that moment on, Danielle let herself be carried around by you, and you began to treat her like you could perfectly treat any random Solo Q support. You didn't think about the consequences at that moment, but what you also didn't know was that Danielle was not only impressed by your mechanical level and your knowledge of the game, but also by the fact that you were not conditioned by who she was, you treated her like any other ordinary person.

"Their jungler is dead!" you warned, "we can baron, quick!" Everyone listened to you, and quickly went to the baron pit, "if they come to defend it they are dead, we have much more damage," you take the baron in a matter of seconds, the other team had been intelligent and had not gone to fight.

"Jinx and Orianna don't have flash! We can engage!" Danielle said, and you nodded in satisfaction since you weren't aware of it.

"Alright, ulti ulti ulti!" you exclaimed. Dani casted her ulti, which only hit Jinx, but you flashed forward and started the whole fight. Orianna tried to throw her sphere at you, but you blocked it with your W and killed Jinx without using your ulti. Dani also flashed, and stunned Orianna before the entire opposing team arrived, that was when you cast your R, and with the help of your entire team, you won the team fight with a triple kill of yours.

"Niceeeeeee!" Dani shouted excitedly as you knocked down the nexus towers.

"Holy fuck very good job Dani!" you shouted back, along with all your team members. You threw the nexus, and you won the game.

There was a small ceremony for the winners when all the games were finally over. They gave you all official Worlds 2023 merchandise and figures of your choice. You chose one from Kai'Sa. All the celebrities and other people were already getting off the stage, that was when Dani passed by you, she took your wrist and left a piece of paper in your hand before getting off.

''Add me. I would love to play with you again in the future. It was a lot of fun!" the note said, and as a signature it had her summoner's name.

You wanted to turn around and thank her, but she had already gotten out and was heading towards her dressing room, leaving you completely stunned and unable to believe that she had actually done that. You quickly put the note in your pocket, preventing anyone else from seeing it. You got off the stage, and when you picked up all your things you drove back home.

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

The first thing you did when you got home was rush to your room, turn on the PC and enter League to add Danielle. Upon verifying that she had not given you a fake summoner name and that it was real, you sent her the request. You sat there for a while, knowing that she had probably just done that as a polite gesture and that she most likely wasn't going to actually add you. About ten minutes passed, and you got up to go to take a bath.

The weeks passed and she never accepted your friend request, but you didn't let that discourage you since it was what you most expected would happen. During those weeks you continued with your daily life, scheduling coaching sessions with some clients while trying to reach Grandmaster in Solo Q. League was your comfort game, one of the few things you were really good at, and every time you entered a game you felt like a fish in water.

More days, and you were already starting to get off the boat. You no longer thought it was possible in any way that Dani would add you, but one day, without even thinking about it, you logged into League and found that you had a new friend. It was none other than Danielle Marsh herself, or 'MermaidMermaid', as her summoner's name said. You immediately cleared absolutely all the agendas you had pending for that day, and after going through an anxiety crisis you sat down to invite her to a game.

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Danielle didn't expect to have so much fun that day, but there she was, buried in the seat of the VAN and looking out the window while she couldn't get that guy who played with her out of her head. Not only was the guy cute and kind, but he had treated her like a normal person, something no one had ever done knowing who she was. It always happened with strangers online, but in person? That was unthinkable. She was Danielle Marsh from NewJeans, and absolutely everyone had to be nice and treat her like a goddess. He didn't care about that.

He always gave her compliments and congratulated her when she did something well during the game, but he also yelled at her and scolded her when she did something stupid, and despite all that, he always remained calm to lead his teammates to make the best decisions and win. It seemed like something quite basic, but for a celebrity who was already fed up with everyone being fake and hypocritical towards her, it was something very noteworthy, which is why she gave him her summoner name; she wanted someone new to play with, someone who wouldn't treat her like a spoiled baby and would make her really improve at the game while being real towards her.

However, she was still a celebrity, and that meant that she had to continue fulfilling her endless activities with the group. She was quite frustrated since she had almost no window of free time to sit at the computer, and also worried that the guy would think that she was just lying and that she really had no intention of adding him. Nothing could be further from the truth, she was impatient to have free time and accept the friend request that she knew was pending. 

About a week had to pass before she could have some free time for an afternoon. She sat at the computer, a bottle of sprite in one hand, and logged into League to accept that guy's friend request. When she added him, she noticed that he was absent, so she put her legs up on the chair and looked at her phone while she waited for something new. Her heart nearly burst when she heard a noise inside the client, he had invited her to a game.

She almost dropped the phone on the floor when she leaned forward in the chair and placed her hands on the desk, panic making her look at the game invitation for longer than she should have, but she finally did it, and when she entered the lobby the first thing she did was leave the League Voice so he wouldn't hear her speak. They shared a couple of messages in the lobby chat while queueing, mostly a couple of greetings and reminders of their last meeting.

They played about 3 games just communicating through pings or messages in chat, as could happen with any random person in the game, but it soon started to become somewhat tedious for both of them as they needed more precision and shorter response times, so Dani, knew that the only way to truly improve and win games comfortably, was to speak to him by voice.

When they played the last game, the first thing Dani did after saying goodbye to him was go directly to Minji.

"Unnie!" Dani caught her attention, while Minji practiced in the living room with a piano.

"Yeah?"

"Well, you know I recently played with this guy again..."

"The guy you played with that time?" She put the piano aside, "What's wrong with him?"

"He's being pretty nice to me, and he's helping me a lot to get better at the game!" Her voice was filled with emotion as she said that last sentence, "But talking via chat is quite uncomfortable... I would like to talk to him via voice, what do you say?"

"Uh..." she thought about it for a second, "Discord is the best option, yes," she nodded, "but hey, I need you to really be very careful with that, you know why."

"He's trustworthy, I promise!" Dani exclaimed, "Besides, I can create a new email just for that account."

"Just be careful, please," Minji insisted, "Now leave me alone, I don't want to forget the melody I just thought of."

Dani ran back to her room and hurried to create a new Gmail email exclusively for Discord, an application that was a bit complicated for her to figure out how to use at first, so she asked Hanni for help to familiarize herself with everything before doing anything. When she finally felt safe using the app, she sent you an invite link the next day through League chat.

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

You almost spit out your coffee when you saw a discord invite link in the chat. You quickly put the cup aside the mouse, put on your headphones, and clicked to accept the invitation. It was a channel where it was just you and her, the name was 'please help me', you couldn't help but laugh. She was already joined to the voice channel, so you just had to join.

"Hello hello?" You greeted, adjusting your microphone to your mouth. You heard interference sounds and some tapping on the microphone.

"Hellooo?" you heard her say, you inevitably smiled, "can you hear me right?"

"Yes perfectly!" you nodded.

"Gosh, I'm really bad with computers..." Dani spoke softly, as if she was afraid to raise her voice. Her pretty voice combined with her sexy accent made your skin crawl, it was like listening to an ASMR video, "I had to ask Hanni for help."

"Discord's really easy, it's just a matter of getting used to it I think," you felt a knot in your chest and a fluttering feeling of anxiety in the pit of your stomach. You were talking to Danielle Marsh from NewJeans, something you couldn't even fully take in, "How are you? Is everything okay?"

"You know, very exhausted from all the activities, it's not an easy life," she sighed, "but I'm still standing. What about you?"

"I certainly can't complain, honestly, but anyway, are you ready?"

"Yes! More than ready," as soon as she told you that, you pressed the find match button.

That was the first game you played, of many more that were to come. During the following months Dani made a great effort to play almost every day with you, no matter where in the world she was or what time it was, she always found a window of free time to play even just one game with you. Naturally the chemistry grew between you, but you never expected that she would even want to share her daily life with you while you weren't playing League. At first it was just basic things like the things they did as a group, or silly things like what she ate for breakfast or what she dreamed of, but gradually the trust between you grew, and it was a matter of time before you built a real connection.

You weren't a fool, anyway. You knew very well how beautiful and sexy she was without even trying. More than a friendship with her was all you could ever want from the bottom of your heart, but you were never one to daydream, so you were more than happy to just have her in your life. Occasionally you and her would flirt with each other over messages, but her being the person she was with the warm and kind personality she had, you thought it was all innocent and going nowhere. Average League player.

Friends of yours always asked who was that person with whom you always played and who prevented you from playing with them, but you never said a single word or clue, you always came out with the same excuse that it was just a client who had insisted on private coaching sessions in exchange for a significant monetary sum. They always believed you, but it was funny to think that it wasn't far from the truth either. The only difference was that Danielle still didn't pay you. Not yet.

There was a time when Dani was so busy with international activities that there were several days during which you would only message each other but there was no way you could even play a game. During one of those days you were out with your friends, the night escalated too quickly, and it all ended with large amounts of alcohol. You were a little drunk, and as soon as you had a moment alone at the bar you didn't hesitate to take out your phone to text Dani.

You completely forgot you had written that message until you got home, still with the alcohol affecting your body but no longer as drunk as before. You lay down on the bed ready to rest, until your phone rang with a notification. Dani had answered you.

Upon reading that last message you quickly stood up (tripping over your own shoes on the way) and in a couple of strides you turned your chair around, sat down and put on your headphones to enter discord.

"Hi thereee," you greeted, logging into League.

"Hi!" She laughed, noticing that you were speaking differently, “Are you drunk?”

"Nah," you laughed, "I mean, I'm a little more cheerful than usual, but I'm not drunk, don't worry," you assured, but you didn't know if you were actually telling the truth or not.

"Well, if you say so," she giggled again, "are you ready?" She asked when you were both in the lobby.

"Yessir! Go ahead!"

During all those months in which you were playing, you had not started playing ranked yet since Dani was still low level and did not have enough champions, but for a few weeks that was the only thing you played. You were climbing pretty fast, she was currently at Silver 2, and she was only one game away from reaching Silver 1. As expected, you won that game.

"Yaaaaay!" she celebrated, and you heard small applauses through her microphone, "Oh my god, we're going up so fast!" you laughed.

"At this point you should pay me with nudes in case I take you to gold," you said, not really thinking clearly about what you had said at any time since alcohol always made you this bold about everything. There was a small silence on the call.

"Well… we'll see about that," Dani lowered her voice again, speaking with a silkiness that made you shiver since you had the volume turned up quite high. You were surprised that she didn't answer you with a resounding no, "but that has to happen first."

"At this point you doubt what will happen?" you asked with an arrogant chuckle.

"I said we'll see, next week I'll be home, so by then we can play as much as we want," it was probably just your altered perception of reality thanks to the alcohol, but you noticed a certain double meaning in that last sentence.

"You have to go now, don't you?" you asked somewhat sadly.

"Yeah, I'm so sorry, honey," she wailed, "Just rest, okay? You must be exhausted."

"Yes I am," you sighed, "you rest too, Dani, I missed playing with you."

"And me too..." there was another small silence in which you were smiling, and for some reason you felt like she was too, "later, bye bye."

"Bye bye," you answered back, and left the call to go straight to bed.

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

Dani was surprised, but honestly she wasn't disappointed at all. The connection she felt with that guy was genuine, something that did not happen very often with people since she became an idol. In fact, she did not give much importance to the consequences since she knew that many girls in the industry did very similar things, but at the same time she was highly nervous since she was inexperienced in that area.

Certainly she was not a virgin, she had a boyfriend who had taken care of it, but her experience at that time had not even been satisfactory, only for that stupid and cretinous boy whom she had already more than forgotten. But since then she never had more time to dedicate to the boys she hadn’t continued training that side of her, she had a few friendly kisses with Hanni, but nothing more than that.

The week before she returned home passed at the speed of light, and as soon as she settled back into the house and rested a little, she told him that they could start grinding rankeds. They had a fairly extensive winning streak, which was enough to leave them one game away from gold, but that's when the losses came.

Three games in a row lost, 0 LP. She was trying twice as hard as usual just like him, but no matter how hard they tried, her teammates were never right and they simply lost because the other lines were way further ahead in gold than everyone else. Of course she could have just sent him nudes, but she wanted to see him put in the effort first.

The road to Gold was being quite horrifying, they were trapped in a win-loss streak for several days, but that was never a cause for despair for him, who continually reassured her assuring her that sooner or later they would go up, since they were simply better players than the others, but time was running out, as there was only one last day left before she had to leave home again for a while.

It was quite late at night and it was already the last one Dani could play before going to sleep, which coincidentally was also the last game she needed to finally move up to Gold. She was curious about whether he had forgotten about the bet since he hadn't mentioned it at any time since he said it, but she wouldn't be the one to remind him.

The game was quite chaotic and difficult for both of them, but with some wonderful individual play on his part, they won, and Dani had moved up to Gold.

"Let's goooooooo!" he exclaimed into the microphone, "I told you! It was a matter of time!"

"Ahhhhh!!" She squealed with excitement, tapping the table with both hands, "You really are amazing!" she said as she watched the Gold promotion animation.

"People of this elo are honestly terrible, mother of god," he sighed, "but hey, we did it!"

"Thank you very much, really," she sighed. There was a small silence.

"Well... I already got you to Gold, I wonder how you can make it up to me…" he said quietly.

"Oh honey, I should sleep right now..." she replied smiling and playing with a curl of her hair, "bye bye."

"Huh? Really?" He laughed, and before he could respond Dani left the call.

As soon as Dani took off the headphones she leaned back and bit her lip still smiling, thinking about the angles she was going to use and the way she was going to send the photos to him in the morning.

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

When you woke up and checked your phone your eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing. Dani continued to surprise you, it wasn't just a photo you had received, but a complete photo session of all kinds. Photos of her perky pretty little tits, her long skinny pale legs, her pretty feet, a photo of her rubbing her pussy, another photo lying on her stomach showing you her bare back and her ass, and she even took the time and daring to record a video of her bending over and spreading her ass for you. The killer part of the video for you was how she looked over her shoulder at the mirror and saw you with a seductive look. You were incredibly hard.

A few weeks passed in which the naughty messages and flirting continued, becoming more advanced with each passing day. She was driving you completely crazy, if before your crush on her was strong, now knowing her and getting to see her naked body normally, you didn't want any other girl in the world other than her.

It was the last night before she finally came home, you were lying in your bed, you had showered a few minutes ago, and you were ready to continue reading the Jujutsu Kaisen manga until you received a message from Dani.

As soon as you sent that message you received a video call from her, you innocently responded, and when you saw her your jaw almost dropped to the floor. She was completely naked.

"What the f...?!!" You opened your eyes wide, while she adjusted the camera, sitting on her bed.

"I couldn't help it, I'm sorry," she smiled, biting her lip as she watched you through the screen, "I didn't want to wait for you to take me to Plat before giving you this, so consider it payment in advance."

You left the phone on a small improvised tripod that you made from the blankets and began to undress quickly, Dani giggling every time you took off a piece of clothing until finally, like her, you were completely naked and hard for her.

"My god... the things I would do to you if I were right there with you," you said, bringing your hand to your cock to start masturbating very slowly at first.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, her countenance transforming into one seductive and sexy, "like what?" She sat with her knees apart and started rubbing her pussy slowly.

"I would kiss those pretty little tits..." when you said that she brought a hand to her tits to play with her nipples, "I would lick your nipples, and I would suck on them."

"I'd love to have that pretty mouth of yours on them..." she moaned, "but also on my tummy."

"Oh yeah? Would you like me to kiss and lick all over your tummy before eating that pretty pussy, darling?" You spat into your hand and brought it back to your cock to move your wrist slightly faster.

"Fuck, I'd love to," she settled back on the bed, this time spreading her legs for you so you could see her pussy perfectly, "I'd love to eat your cock too, honey..." she gasped, rubbing herself with two fingers.

"What would you do with this cock baby?" you asked with a gasp, watching how she played with her pussy and how she bit her lip.

"I would kiss it... I would lick it like a delicious popsicle..." you began to move your hand faster, your breathing becoming more and more labored due to arousal, "I would also kiss your balls, and I would suck them until they were soaked." 

"Fuck... keep going honey," you said, zooming out so she could see you masturbating.

"You like it huh?" She bit her lower lip, "I would also kiss your tip... and collect the pre-cum that leaks out before taking it to my mouth," she teased by taking two fingers inside her pussy, which was glistening from how wet it was, "and I would suck that cock so hard that I would suck the soul out of you."

"Jesus Christ... I want to fuck you so bad Dani," you moaned, as you jerked off in front of your phone's camera for her. She moaned, and took two fingers inside her pussy.

"Mmmm yeah?" she moaned louder, "how would you like to fuck me?" She began pumping her fingers in and out of her pussy, slow at first.

"I'd start by fucking you on your back, with those nice long legs on my shoulders," you said panting, moving your hand slowly to match her pace, "I'd make sure my cock would go all the way in and all the way out, and also to kiss those pretty feet while I do it."

"Mmmm, how else, tell me how else!" she moaned louder, pumping her fingers faster, you consequently moved your wrist faster too.

"Then I'd love to put you on your hands and knees, and fuck you from behind while I pull on that beautiful hair," you moaned to her, knowing that the more you did it the more she was going to get turned on.

"How, like this?" She put the phone back and placed it horizontally, to rest on her hands and knees with her ass facing the camera, her back making a beautiful and perfect arch.

"Just like fucking that," you groaned, watching as she ran a hand under her body and returned her fingers inside her pussy, this time her wrist pumping fast and hard, "your ass is so pretty… you'd like me to fuck it dear?"

"That long juicy cock inside my tight little butthole?" she said with one side of her face pressed against the mattress, looking into the camera, "as much and hard as you want, mmmgh!"

"How much would you like me to fuck your ass baby?" you asked, the tingling in your lower abdomen becoming more intense as you got closer to cumming.

"A lot! It's all I want right now!" You were worried about how loudly she was moaning as her fingers aggressively pumped against her pussy, but you were so deep in your own imagination that you didn't care in the slightest to say something, "I want you to fuck my ass so hard that my legs tremble all day!

"I'm so fucking close, Dani, fuck!" You moaned, masturbating as hard and fast as you could as you watched her tight ass and how she finger fucked herself.

"Me too! Cum with me honey!" She turned away from the camera for a moment to focus on her own pleasure, but you continued to stare at her ass, imagining that you were kneeling right behind her while you fucked her. It was a matter of time before you exploded.

"Agh fuckkk!!" you grunted, strips of cum shooting out of your cock everywhere, landing on your lower abdomen, on your thighs and also staining your sheet without meaning to.

"Mmmmmgh!!!" She let out one last squeal before she stopped moving her wrist abruptly and cum. Her entire body shook in violent spasms. She lay flat against the mattress, her hips writhing upward as she rubbed herself between her pussy folds and let out cute moans, "Oh my god..." she sighed, adjusting herself to finally look at the screen, "look how much you came… god, I'd love to be there to pick it all up with my tongue and swallow it," she said, picking up the phone and bringing it closer to a shot of just her face, she was looking at your cum-soaked cock, licking her lips.

"You're really going to drive me crazy, Danielle Marsh," you said, sighed and then smiled, "you made me a mess."

"If I were there I'd clean it all myself... but I'm not," she sighed, looking to the side and then laying down on a pillow, "this was fun, wasn't it?"

“Yes it was,” you nodded, entranced by her pretty smile, as if just seconds ago you weren't imagining yourself pulling her hair and fucking her like an animal, “give me a moment, I'll go get some toilet paper. "

"I'll wait for you here, honey," she said, and you rushed for toilet paper to clean everything up.

"Fuck, I'll have to change the sheets," you sighed, cleaning it before throwing all the papers into the trash can and returning to Dani, "here I am."

"Damn, I think Hanni unnie heard me," she said, putting a hand to her mouth to giggle, "she just told me to shut up via text."

"Well, tell her you're not going to scream like that anymore," you laughed, lying back on the pillow, "you were moaning pretty loud."

"Really? God, they're going to kill me," she looked worried for a moment, "But nah, it's my revenge, Minji always does this kind of thing with her dildo."

"Wow, I guess you didn't need to share that information," you chuckled, but imagining Minji playing with a dildo in her pussy wasn't an unpleasant image in your head at all.

"Probably not, but I already told you, so if you want to jerk off thinking about it you can," she laughed, "as long as you show me."

"I don't think I'll have the desire to do that after how you just drained me," you smiled.

"A shame then..." she looked to the side for a few seconds, thinking about something, "hey, I'd like to tell you something."

"Sure, what it is."

"Um... well, I want us to hang out again, you know, in person."

"Well, I'm sure we can come up with something hon-"

"I like you," she said, not letting you finish the sentence, your heart skipped a beat.

"H-huh?"

"Just like you heard, I like you, and I like you a lot, god," she said desperately, as if it was something she'd been wanting to shout for a long time, "you... you're so cute, and so genuine with me, you make me feel like the real Danielle Marsh," she sighed, "yeah, I like you a lot."

"I..." you were speechless, your heart beating at full speed and with a tickling in your stomach, "Dani..." you were staring at her, "I like you a lot too, I don't think I've ever been so down for a girl like I am for you. You are so... radiant, and beautiful, and tender, and attentive!" As you spoke, Dani's smile and her face became brighter, "since you came into my life my days have only gotten better."

"God, you're going to make me cry, stop," she laughed with glassy eyes, "you're beautiful, and to be honest the best thing that's happened to me in a long time."

"I… I can say the same thing," you smiled from ear to ear, "you make me feel dumber than I am," she let out a louder laugh.

"And that's a good thing?"

"I guess so… hey, I'm really sleepy, honey," you said, and then yawned.

"I'm going to take a bath first before I go to sleep, you might find some surprises when you wake up," she winked at you, "but it's okay, darling, go rest," she gave the camera a kiss, and your inner self let out a stupid giggle.

"I can't wait to wake up then," you, completely idiotic and in love, also gave the camera a kiss, "tomorrow we'll talk about our outing, okay? Rest, baby."

"See you later honey," she waved at the camera and blew you a kiss with her hand. You hung up the call.

Even though you told her you were going to sleep, you stayed in bed awake for a few long minutes, internalizing everything that just happened and how it had happened. The tender words that she had said to you a second ago couldn't come out of your head, nor did her beautiful and radiant smile while you said nice things to her. That girl was everything you had been waiting for for a long time, and to think that everything had happened by chance made you laugh, but there, staring at the ceiling of your room with a silly smile on your face, you couldn't do anything but thank fate for putting Danielle Marsh on your path. That was the best sleep you had had in years.

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

During the entire flight home Dani couldn't get the silly smile off her face. The girls constantly asked her what was wrong, but Dani always changed the topic of conversation or just played dumb. That night couldn't get out of her head, she remembered vividly how he had made her feel. That orgasm, those pretty words, that bright look of his as he said it all. It all seemed like a dream too good to be true, she had finally found the right person (or so it seemed), and knowing that something like that was waiting for her at home only made her stupidly happy.

When she landed the first thing she did when she got home was turn on her computer, take a shower and lie down on her bed to take a short nap. When she woke up and checked her phone, she was not surprised to find a couple of messages from him. One of them was so cheesy that she couldn't help but giggle.

Before jumping into the details about their meeting together, she had to first sit down and review her upcoming schedule carefully, and to her dismay, she realized that absolutely every day of the next two weeks was completely booked. That stressed her out, but it didn't stop her from continuing to spend time with him in League.

"Unfortunately I'm chain cc'ed for the next two weeks, honey," she had told him after a couple of games played, while they talked on discord, "but then it will be your turn for your tie me up," she giggled

The two of them continued teasing each other during those two weeks, day and night non-stop. Many conversations were based solely on what things she liked and what boundaries she would like to explore with him. Things in that chat were getting quite dirty, Hanni on one of those occasions accidentally read a message she had sent and was making fun of her all day, asking her if a cock that size wasn't going to break her in half.

Attached to that last message, a video of her doing a close up of her lips while she licked them and then stuck out her tongue.

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

The plan Dani had formulated for you and her to have time alone was simply much better than you thought. She had told you to meet at a convention center, where there would be a cosplay event where she could wear a mask and no one would recognize her. You had already done your part of the plan too, you had made a reservation at a fairly trustworthy restaurant, as well as a reservation at a luxury hotel that you were sure she would love.

You arrived at the convention center on time, at 5 in the afternoon just as you and she had planned. You walked through the crowd in search of her, not paying much attention to all the cosplays around you since you could only focus on one thing at a time. The crowd was quite overwhelming for someone who was not used to being surrounded by so many people, but in the end you found her, you recognized her just by how she was dressed and by her beautiful long hair, but what finally confirmed her identity was the Jhin mask she was wearing. You thought it was cute that it was a little big on her face.

"Hello there! Your Jhin mask is great!" you said, taking her hand. You heard her giggle beneath her mask as she clung to you in a hug.

"God, I was starting to get overwhelmed" She said, still clinging to you, with your arms around her thin body.

"Ready to go?" you asked, separating yourself from her.

"Of course! We have nothing to do here," as soon as she said that you grabbed her hand and started pushing everyone out of your way as if you were Moses parting the waters of the Red Sea. You left the convention center in a matter of minutes, guided her to your car, and when she got in she took off her mask.

"Oh my god, you're literally a work of art," you said, sitting next to her, carefully detailing each of her pretty, doll-like features, as well as her visibly expensive outfit, which consisted of a long, beige baggy coat, white pantyhose and wide-heeled shoes.

"Do you like it?" She asked with a little smile, also looking you up and down.

"I love it," you nodded, looking into her eyes, "god, I can't believe I have you here with me."

"Just come and kiss me, baby" she said, and you lunged forward without hesitation, gently grabbing her face and crashing your lips onto hers.

Kissing her for the first time was liberating, a transcendental experience that felt like a little piece of heaven at that precise moment. Her lips were everything you imagined, soft, delicious and silky, you lost track of time, so you didn't really know how long you were kissing her until you separated and you looked at the time on your phone.

"Oh my god, it's getting late," you said, starting the car, "I booked us a table at a pretty discreet restaurant for both of us."

“Oh honey, I only have an appetite for one thing right now…” she said, her incredibly sexy Aussie accent sending shivers down your spine. She grabbed the skirt of her coat and pulled it up to her waist, revealing her pair of long legs adorned by her pantyhose, which went up to her thighs. Your sight went straight to her white lace panties, which she took off and then put into her own mouth.

"W-wow... what are you do..." you looked around, remembering that you were still in the middle of the street and that your windows weren't completely tinted. She grabbed your wrist, and opening both legs as wide as she could, she brought your hand right to her pussy so you could finger it.

You quickly hit the gas, pulling out of the street as fast as you could and turning a corner to drive straight toward the hotel. She put on her seat belt, moaning against her own panties while you rubbed your fingers against her clit until her pussy was wet, that's when you took two fingers inside her and started pumping your wrist.

Driving with one hand at such high speed was one of the most reckless and dangerous things you had ever done in your life, but there you were, dodging and overtaking cars to get to your destination as quickly as possible. You couldn't afford to look at Dani while you fingered her, but you heard her pretty muffled moans against her lace fabric and your cock did nothing but throb with excitement. She noticed this, and with her left hand she began to massage it over your pants. You swore that by the time you pulled into the hotel parking lot your boxers were already stained with pre-cum as well.

"Consider this a gift," she said, removing her panties from her mouth as you turned off the car, tossing them in the back seat and pulling her coat back down.

"Get off," you ordered, completely blinded by your desire to fuck her.

You both got out of the car and Dani put the mask back on. You checked into the lobby as quickly as the receptionist would let you, and once you had your key card you were both very close to jogging to the elevator. As you went up to your room floor she took off her mask and let it fall to the floor, you pinned her against the wall to kiss her again, and she began to moan against your lips.

When the elevator door opened you wrapped your arms around her and, almost tripping out of it, you began to walk down the hallway while your lips were still together. It was quite uncomfortable, so you decided it was best to just carry her. She wrapped her legs around your torso, and you rushed to your room, swiping the key card and opening the door in a flash. Once inside you locked the door behind you, and turned on the lights to leave her on the floor.

"Nice enough room for you to fuck me to death, yeah," she said, taking off her shoes as did you before unbuttoning her coat and removing it from her body. To your surprise, the only thing she was wearing from the waist up was an extremely tight tank top with no bra underneath her, her small nipples standing out against the fabric. Of course the top didn't last long, she took it off immediately, and now she was completely naked except for the white stockings which you were more than happy for her to leave on.

You lunged at her and wrapped your arms around her thin, tight body to kiss her again. She helped you undress while you ran your hands over every inch of her body, grabbing her toned little ass, caressing her back, pinching her nipples and running two fingers along her slit. You were both completely naked in a matter of minutes, and as soon as she could Dani climbed back onto your torso, wrapping her arms around your neck and her long legs around your lower body.

You quickly pinned her against a wall, and without any foreplay or teasing you took your throbbing cock straight into her extremely tight pussy.

"Oh fuck…" You gasped against her parted lips, she let out small moans as every inch of your cock made its way inside her until it reached the bottom.

"You feel so good and big!" She moaned, clinging to your neck with both of her hands.

"And you feel so fucking tight baby," you growled, grabbing her thighs and spreading her legs wide open to start fucking her as fast as you could, completely entranced by the immense desire you had for her.

"Oh yes! Fuck me hard and fast honey!!" she whimpered against your lips, as your cock moved completely in and out of her suffocatingly tight little pussy.

You were both deeply rooted in all the pent-up feelings and desire you had for each other over the past few months. You felt liberated, letting yourself be completely carried away by the moment and not thinking for a single moment about everything else. The moans quickly became present, both yours and hers as you hammered her pussy so intensely that it echoed throughout her room. She caressed the hair behind your neck, tangling her long fingers in several strands of it as she kissed you as much as she could. Your fingers were clinging to her soft thighs, beads of sweat falling from your forehead since you hadn't even bothered to turn on the air conditioning.

You and her had been teasing each other during the day, you fingering her a moment ago and her massaging your cock over her pants so well that your boxers were left with a big ass stain of precum on them. It didn't take long for you both to cum.

She did it first, writhing against the wall, letting out squeals of pleasure towards the ceiling and squeezing your cock into her pussy walls, which were already quite tight. You followed her, but not wanting to cum inside her yet, you pulled out from inside her and masturbated, pointing directly at her perfect, toned abdomen, which was painted white in a matter of seconds. Long strips of cum flowing free down her belly and reaching her crotch. You left her on the ground, both of you breathing heavily.

"Fuck, I'm sorry, that was too fast..." you apologized, panting, seeing her belly filled with thick white liquid.

"Oh don't worry darling, we have absolutely the whole night to ourselves," she said with a small smile, grabbing your face to give you a small kiss, "why didn't you finish inside me?"

"I didn't want to do it without your consent, I'm sorry," you said.

"Ahhh!" she squealed, "you're so cute I'm going to die," she gave you more little kisses, "I appreciate the gesture, darling, but don't hold back, fill me with your cum as much as you want," she winked at you, and gave you a little push back so you could see how she collected your cum from her belly and began to bring it all to her mouth to swallow it.

"Mmm, how is it?" you asked with a mischievous smile, as she swallowed the last remnants of your cum off her belly.

"Delicious, just as I expected," she gave you a kiss and went to the bathroom door, "wait for me in bed, honey, my abdomen is sticky now and I need to wash it, it won't be long."

"Okay," you nodded, and went to the side of the bed to grab the control for the air conditioning, turn it on, and lie down on the bed while you looked at your phone waiting for her. She came out of the bathroom a little less than five minutes in, your eyes went straight to her pretty naked body, and you really realized how lucky you were to have possibly one of the most beautiful idols in the industry like that in the same room with you.

"Oh gosh, it's cold all of a sudden," she hugged herself as she walked towards the bed, "lucky I have you as a personal heater," she smiled, climbing onto the bed to crawl towards you and lie down with half of her body leaning against yours.

"I still can't believe I finally have you in my arms, you know?" You sighed, snuggling her against your chest with both arms, then left a hand on her lower back. She hugged you too, leaving one hand on your chest and scribbling on your skin with one finger.

"It seems like a dream, right?" she asked as she looked into your eyes, two bright and adorable orbs, "for me too..." she gave you a peck on the jaw.

"More for me, I assure you," you laughed, returning the kiss but on her lips, "like, we met by chance of fate, you being a celebrity and me being a simple random who won a raffle."

"And here we are, you already fucked me and your cum is on my stomach right now," you both laughed out loud at that.

"Breakthrough indeed," you laughed.

"Thank you for being who you are and how you are... seriously," she told you with a smile on her face, "as you say, we met by chance, but now you are so fundamental to me that it’s difficult for me to think about how I could possibly improve my life right now."

"Well... I don't know if it will sound corny but you are like an angel fallen from heaven to me," her eyes, full of love and tenderness, looked at you, "I mean, I never expected this to happen when I won that spot, in fact, I wasn't even completely sure that I would be able to meet you since even that was random. I'm literally the luckiest guy in the world, to have that opportunity and to be able to make you... mine."

"Would you repeat that last one thing again?" she asked with a sweet tone of voice.

"Mine, to be able to make you completely mine. You are, completely mine, Danielle Marsh," you emphasized, and she squirmed in tenderness with a sweet smile from ear to ear on her face.

"Yes I am, I'm completely yours, honey," she said, cradling the side of your face with her hand and kissing you again, this time staying tied to your lips.

While you were kissing again, one of her hands discreetly went down your abdomen until it reached your flaccid cock, which she gently grabbed and began to massage. In response, you lowered your hand a little further from her lower back, reaching one of her buttocks to gently squeeze it. She gasped against your lips, and began to rub your cock up and down until it was hard again. You lowered your hand a little further, bringing it between her buttocks and reaching up to her pussy to rub between her folds.

"Mmm… I want to eat you, baby," you gasped against her lips.

"And I want to suck your cock, who will get the prize first?" she asked with mischief in her voice.

"Why not both?" When you said that you sat her up to grab her by her waist, she was quite light, so it was easy for you to just turn her around and lift her on top of you. Dani caught on to what you wanted to do immediately, and positioned herself so that her ass was hovering above you.

"You're a dirty genius huh?" She teased with a little smile, looking down at you and shaking her butt in your face.

"You'll thank me later," with two of your hands you grabbed her shoulders and made her collapse forward, her chest now pressed against your abdomen. You felt all of her long hair spread across your thighs, and also her hot breath on your cock. She extended her knees to the sides, her butt lowered, and now being within your reach you grabbed her waist and made her sit on your face, your entire face now submerged between her buttocks.

You were the first to act, giving her pussy a long, deep lick to which she reacted with a cute moan while she had your cock gripped in one hand. The next thing you felt was how she began to kiss you in every corner of it, including your balls, which she licked and sucked before moving on to lick your shaft from all directions. Not wanting to go too fast you moved your tongue slowly, and just like her you just limited yourself to spreading wet kisses all over her slit, which was enough to make her moan already.

When she began to lick your tip with her tongue swirling around it, you reached for her clitoris to lick it with slow strokes. Realizing that she was the one setting the pace she took you deeper into her mouth, reaching just past the middle of your cock, you felt her try to go deeper, but her gag reflex prevented her from doing so. Still, she began to suck you up and down, moaning around your shaft as she pumped her head at a pace that had you moaning against her pussy as well.

You squeezed her buttocks with both hands, and squeezing them forced her to grind her hips against your face. She did so, and her pussy began to rub against both your mouth and nose. You could tell that she wasn't an expert at sucking cock, but you could also tell that she was trying hard to pay attention to how you moaned to know how to do it better and better. She certainly learned well, since after a minute she was already driving you crazy.

She gradually began to pump her head faster and more skillfully, and you began to move your tongue matching her rhythm. Her uncontrolled moans vibrated your cock, which in turn caused a domino effect in which you vibrated her pussy with your own moans. You noticed in the movement of her hips, more wandering and less smooth, that she was much closer to her orgasm than you, so you hugged her body with both arms and made her stop grinding her hips so you could concentrate on licking her clit with the tip of your tongue as fast as you could, your efforts soon rewarded as she exploded in your face.

Her ass smothered you and she pulled you out of her mouth to let out a squeal into the air, you gladly continued to eat her through her orgasm, not caring about the fact that your breathing was incredibly limited thanks to her. Her whole body was shaking, and you caressed every corner of it with your hands until she stopped.

"Give me another load honey..." you heard her say with a moan, sinking back onto your cock and also using her hand to suck as hard and fast as she could. She leaned her hips forward to let you breathe, but you knew it was also to hear you moan while she gave you a disastrous blowjob with saliva everywhere.

"C-cumming!" you announced with a growl, and seconds later, you exploded inside her little mouth. She took every drop of your cum inside her, making a great effort not to choke in the attempt, when your orgasm passed, she got off you and knelt next to you to show you her tongue completely filled with white liquid. She closed her mouth again, and swallowed everything.

"First blood," she said with a mischievous tone, you laughed still breathing hard.

"Well, technically..."

"Nope, I'm not counting the previous one. First blood I said," she reaffirmed, approaching you to share another steamy kiss.

"Then let's keep playing shall we?" You said against her lips, and you rose little by little, leaning on your elbows. She separated from your lips, and watched your movements carefully. You finally grabbed her by her waist and made her turn her back to you, then, with one hand on her lower back, you made her rest on her hands and knees. She replicated the same perfect arc she had done that time on the video call, and seeing her tight ass and her dripping pussy from behind made your cock throb again.

Without a second thought you spit again on your cock and thrust yourself back into her, your shaft sliding so smoothly into her that a single push was enough to make it disappear between her folds. Dani threw her head back and moaned loudly.

"Mmmmgh!!" She moaned with pursed lips, turning to look at you over her shoulder, “smash that fucking tight pussy honey!!” She asked, holding on to the sheets while you began to do exactly what she had just asked, two hands on her small waist and your hips pumping almost at full power right from the start.

Her body began to shake like a rag doll's, back and forth with each slam of your pelvis against her tight ass, which wobbled with each strong thrust. You gasped and pursed your lips between small moans, admiring her long bare back and how her hair spread across it in an incredibly sexy way.

She stopped looking at you to bury her face in her mattress and moan against it, pulling the sheet a little from the edges of her because of how hard she was scrunching them with her fingers. One of her hands reached out to her right to grab a pillow, hug it and moan against it while you fucked her pussy like an animal. She raised her head again to see you over her shoulder, her red face completely distorted with pleasure and her mouth half open as she moaned in the most sensual ways.

"Don't look at me like that or I'll have to spank you Danielle Marsh," you warned with a sly smile as you fucked her just the way she wanted.

"Oh yes please, spank me!!" She asked quickly with a desperate squeal, and without a second thought you gave her a spicy spank on her right buttock, which made her squeal louder and bite the pillow.

You squeezed both of her ass cheeks with her hands and let your head fall back with your eyes closed because of how good it felt to fuck her tight pussy like that. Your hands went to her waist again, and she buried the side of her face back into the pillow as you brought her to a third orgasm.

Another spank on her right buttock, your hand marked in red on her skin, and then another spank with a changed hand, this time on her left buttock. Dani screamed against the pillow, and after a few seconds of intense thrusts she came again. You slowed your pumps considerably, watching as her slim body shook and her hips made her fuck herself against your cock.

"Here I fucking come..." you warned, feeling yourself reaching your peak again without her even having completely overcome her orgasm. You grabbed a handful of her long, silky brown hair and pulled it back as you gave a sharp thrust forward, exploding violently inside her pussy, "double kill," you whispered in her ear, unloading all your cum inside her tight walls.

"Fuck..." she moaned once you let go of her hair and let her fall back onto the pillow, "it feels so warm and thick inside me... I love it," she sighed with heavy breathing.

"Consider it a way for me to mark my territory," you smiled, and then you pulled out of her pussy to lie down next to her and start filling her back, shoulders, and neck with small, loving kisses. You helped her and were patient while she recovered, stroking her soft hair and placing more kisses all over her face.

"So double kill huh?" She giggled seeing you and standing up to go to her coat, she picked it up off the floor and searched in one of her pockets. She pulled out two things, her phone, which she distracted herself with by typing for a few seconds, and a small bottle of lub, "get ready for baron then," she tossed the little bottle to you.

There was no doubt in your mind what exactly she meant when she said that, but when she got back on the bed, she got back on her hands and knees, spread her ass for you, and looked at you with the same lascivious look she had given you that night on the video call, you knew exactly what she wanted.

"You're a very naughty girl, huh?" You teased, kneeling again behind her and pouring some lub on your fingers to start playing with her butthole, rubbing it and then taking them inside her little by little. She didn't have time to answer you while you used your fingers to slowly open her tight ass, pumping slowly with your wrist until you took them completely inside her, only leaving your knuckles outside. That was enough to drive you to full hardness again.

"Come on baby, I'm ready for you to gank my ass," she moaned looking at you over her shoulder, "put that cock in, I need it!"

You took the lub again, this time to pour it over your cock and spread a considerable amount over it, to leave it very slippery and shiny. Once ready you capped the bottle, tossed it to the side and took your shaft in one hand to guide it to her butthole. You made slow, steady pressure forward, taking your first few inches inside and moaning as you felt her walls stretch around you. She wasn't even able to moan, she had her mouth permanently open in an O, her nails digging into the pillow and her eyebrows furrowed as she watched you. At first it was somewhat suffocating, but as soon as your entire cock had disappeared between her buttocks it was easy for you to gradually get into the rhythm.

You left one hand on her waist, and began to move slowly knowing that she was still struggling to get used to your length inside her inexperienced ass. Finally she started moaning like she normally did, that's when you realized how much she was really enjoying it, but with every thrust you gave her moans became louder and louder, leading you to think that she enjoyed having her ass fucked much more than she could have expected.

The pace gradually increased, you took your cock as far in and out as you could, making sure every inch of her felt absolutely every inch of your cock as you fucked her ass between moans and loud sounds of flesh slapping against flesh.

"Why do I feel like you're enjoying it more than your pussy?" You groaned somewhat exhausted already, but not the least bit willing to stop.

"Because I am!! Fuck!!" she squealed in response, she brushed all her hair past one of her shoulders and looked at you over her shoulder, you could only see her milky naked back as you fucked her ass so hard you felt like you were going to break her in two.

"Then show me how much you're enjoying it honey, but I want to look into your eyes," you pulled out of her ass and turned her roughly onto her back, you grabbed both of her legs and spread them wide open, you looked into her eyes, and you went back inside her ass with a single push.

"Oh ffuuuuuck!!!" she grunted with her eyes watering, arching her back as you resumed your powerful, violent thrusts in and out of her ass, "don't stop please!! it feels so fucking amazing!!"

"And it will feel even better honey," you assured, leaning forward to kiss her long neck and down to her small tits, which for the first time you brought to your mouth to lick and kiss her nipples again and again.

Certainly she began to enjoy it much more, she hugged your neck and pushed you hard towards her tits, forcing you to continue eating them while you fucked her ass without mercy. Her beautiful moans were like music to your ears, and between both stimuli she soon came in the most intense, violent and energetic way so far. Her entire body seemed to be being electrocuted, even her eyes were rolled back as the spasms attacked her without any warning.

The way the walls of her butthole tightened around your cock made you moan against her tits, and even though she had already drained you three times that night, you were able to release one last load for her nside her ass. You released yourself from her arms, and this time you muffled your moans against her lips as you shot ribbons of hot liquid into her.

"Mmm… triple kill," you whispered against her lips, and neither you nor she could help but laugh.

"God, we're so stupid," she laughed, hugging you, placing kisses on your temple. You could feel her chest rising and falling abruptly.

"I didn't think you would enjoy being fucked in the ass so much," you said still inside her. You gave her a little kiss on her lips.

"Me neither, but I think I just found a great new kink," she giggled, biting her lower lip, "hey, you're not planning on staying inside me all night are you?"

"As much as I want to, no," you laughed, and slowly pulled out of her ass, and as if it were a plug, your cum began to flow freely out of it and onto the sheets, "I'll go find something to clean you up."

You got out of bed and went to the bathroom to get a roll of toilet paper, you came back with Dani, and while she was still with her legs open, waiting patiently for you, you began to clean her carefully, putting special emphasis on the stained sheets.

"We can ask for new sheets, right?" she asked.

"Of course, but for now let's get some rest honey," you said with a sigh, leaving the roll of toilet paper on the nightstand to lie down on the pillow. She joined you right away, but she climbed completely on top of you, clinging with her thighs to your torso and leaving her head resting against your neck, you wrapped your arms around her and snuggled her against you, resting for a few minutes in that the peace you felt was completely unbreakable.

Until you heard several loud knocks against the door.

Your heart began to beat fast and strong, and you could feel your entire soul escaping from your body thinking that you had been caught. But Dani didn't seem scared like you, in fact, when she heard her knocking she raised her head excitedly and put on the tight tank top she was originally wearing. You frowned, confused since you didn't know what was happening. It was when Dani opened the door and stepped outside that everything became clear to you.

"Damn, why are you so sexy and disheveled?" You heard a girl say, "I'm late, right?"

"No, you're actually right on time unnie," Dani said, and when she walked back into the room she walked in with none other than Kim Minji herself. Looking as beautiful and inexplicably ethereal as ever. She was wearing a semi-transparent black blouse, flared jeans, and sandals. She was also carrying a backpack.

"May I know what the hell is going on?" you asked, covered up to your neck with the blanket in a rather funny way as you watched them. They both had a wicked smile on their faces as Dani closed the door.

"Well... Unnie's been trying to show me something for a while now," Dani began to explain to you, "but she thought it would be best to just bring her along too."

Just then Minji took the backpack off her shoulder, set it down and took out some long ropes from it.

"Tell me, are you ready to do some crafts, cutie?" Minji asked you, watching you with a raised eyebrow as she pulled the ropes onto the bed. You, without taking your eyes off her for a moment, got out from under the blanket to reach the room's phone and call reception.

"Hello? Yes... I would like to book one more night," you began.

"Mmm, better make it two," Minji ordered.

"Ah... yes," you nodded, "two more nights... thank you miss."

—---------------------------

Spren Notes: Well, there's Dani's first smut, with some more to come👽 And again, sorry for the cheesy LoL jokes lmao.

[mischievousmoony]

I'd love to request Poly!Marauders watching something like Tangled with their girl on a night in. Since Remus(I think) is the only one familiar with muggle movies the others would be fascinated I'm sure! Please and thank you! <3

ahh i love this request! tangled is my favorite disney princess movie!! here's a little blurb for u i hope you like it <3

𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚍

⟢ poly!marauders x reader ⟢ warnings/tags: tangled spoilers i suppose

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

It’s very fitting, the way you’re tangled on the bed with your three boyfriends as you watch a movie by the same name. 

You’re nestled in the middle with James, his arms securely around your waist as you snuggle into his chest. Behind you, Remus wraps his arm over your shoulders, his hand tenderly resting on the nape of James' neck. And behind James, Sirius cozies up, spooning him and sweetly kissing Remus’ hand from time to time. All of your legs are intertwined in a way that if a single one of you tried to move, all of you would have to readjust. It’s delightful. 

Remus has seen this movie before, so while the three of you stare at the television in awe, he mostly watches your reactions. He’s loving the way your eyes light up, the sound of James’ giddy laughter, and the way Sirius nods along to every song. 

He watches fondly when a gasp rips from James’ mouth as Rapunzel’s hair is cut. And a chuckle rumbles in his throat a few seconds later when Sirius cheers for Gothel’s demise. 

When tears well up in your eyes as it seems Flynn Rider may succumb to his injury, Remus places a comforting hand on your thigh, rubbing slow circles into your skin with the pad of his thumb. 

You protest against the scene, horrified as Flynn exhales for possibly the last time, “You said this movie was for children, Rem!”

“Shh sh,” he pats your thigh, “watch.”

You pout as you turn back to the screen. It’s only moments later when you intake a sharp breath as relief floods in when yellow tendrils of magic heal the wound. James rocks you gently back in forth happily, silently celebrating the outcome. 

When the movie concludes, you can’t help but squeal in delight. Remus gives your leg a little squeeze. 

“Like it?” He asks all of you. 

“Yeah, it was cute,” James says, acting all nonchalant like the reunion between Rapunzel and her parents didn’t make him tear up. 

“It was lovely!” You say, your voice conveying pure glee, “It’s so funny the lengths muggles will go to bring a little magic into their world. They really drew that whole thing?” 

“Eh- sort of,” Remus responds, “They animated it.” 

At the tilt of your head and the furrow of his boyfriends’ brows, Remus realizes his mistake, “Not animate like Animato. They basically draw it and use technology to give everything movement and life.” 

You huff, “You’re losing me. Muggles are so confusing with their technology.” 

“You certainly like having it around,” James points out, tilting his head up at the television— a muggle product— that’s mounted on the wall across from the bed. 

“I think it’s cool—” Sirius says, his tone distantly fascinated. A smirk plays at his lip, adding to his effort to appear aloof, though everyone knows Sirius has had a bit of a passion for muggle innovation since he discovered record players, “—everything they’ve figured out with a bit of electricity.”

“You’re right, as confusing as it is, it’s quite amazing,” you agree before tilting your head back until you could see Remus behind you. “That was a good movie, Rem.”

“What’d you like most about it?” He asks fondly. His thumb is still rubbing circles into your skin. 

“It was just so…” you ponder over how it made you feel for a moment, “…so magical! It makes me feel ordinary. I wish I could go there and watch the lanterns myself.” 

“Well, you would make a cute princess,” James flirts.

Your face lights up in response, a gasp on your lips indicating the birth of an idea. You sit yourself up swiftly in excitement, your boyfriends’ hands lingering on you, moving with you as you do. 

“I should be Rapunzel for Halloween this year!” You exclaim enthusiastically. 

James shoots up with you in an instant, calling out, “I get to be Flynn Rider!” 

“Oi! No way. If anyone’s Flynn it should be me,” Sirius protests, “Why don’t you and Remus be those red haired blokes or something, you two being the giants you are!” 

Remus and James truly were much taller than Sirius. Even more so you. 

“You want us to dress as brothers for Halloween?” Remus asks incredulously, judgement written across his features. 

Sirius cringes, “Er- okay, maybe not them.”

“I have a far better idea,” James says, “Seeing as I already called dibs on Flynn and I’m obviously the perfect fit with my rugged good looks and charm, why don’t you and Rem squeeze into one of those two person horse costumes as Maximilian or whatever. You can be the arse, Sirius! How fitting!” 

Sirius smacks James on the arm, “First of all, his name is Maximus. Second of all, no way, you dolt!”

As Sirius and James continue to bicker, you twist around to face Remus. 

“Wanna be my prince for Halloween, Remmy?” you ask in a low voice so that your other boyfriends won’t hear. 

“What about those two,” Remus nods at your arguing boyfriends, an amused look in his eye, “James has a point, he’s basically Flynn Rider already.” 

“Mmm, maybe so,” you sink down into the bed again, snuggling into Remus’ arms, James’ having slid away from your waist to fight more animatedly with Sirius. “But you’d be the perfect Eugene.”

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

[kidcosmonaut]

I’m at One With the Silence — Luke Castellan x f!Reader — Part One

Description: Luke learns sign language in order to get to know you, the silent, angry daughter of Apollo. Warnings: canon-typical violence, injury Word Count: 1.2k A/N: The reader character in this fic is mute and uses ASL! Descriptions of signs will be used, but it's super duper hard to describe hand signs with text, and I'm not a fluent signer myself, so don't use this as a learning device. Also, I have no idea how many parts this will be yet. Let's say three? Four, maybe.

Part One ☆ Part Two →

Luke wasn’t generally one to people-watch, but this was… a sight.

Your hands were balled into fists as you stormed out of Apollo’s cabin, the sound of a dozen talented singers battling for supremacy spilling out behind you. You were saying — mouthing — something, your lips moving a mile a minute. You cut through the center of camp like hellhounds were on your ass and, as you approached the edge of a hill, bent down to pick up… a pile of pebbles.

Luke watched. Maybe it was the anger in him that enjoyed the anger in you. Maybe he was just curious what your problem was, or what you meant to do with the pebbles. Maybe he liked what the sunset did to your face. He watched.

You began tossing — no, hurling — the tiny rocks at the sky. The sun, he realized; you were looking right at it, a feat only the children of Apollo could pull off without going blind. You were throwing rocks at the sun.

Not hard to figure out the meaning of that.

Your lips kept moving as you attempted this small act of violence against your father, your jaw wild as though you were shouting, and when you ran out of pebbles to throw, you’d move your hands, too, as though by sweeping them wider, you could sign louder. And then you’d dip down again, scoop up more, and repeat.

If Apollo cared at all, if he even noticed his daughter’s rage, he didn’t show it. The sun kept setting, and no one came.

The gods were deaf to their children. Luke knew that better than anyone.

He kept watching, even as you tired of throwing rocks at gods and shuffled off — still away from your cabin, he noted. Not tired enough to go back there.

He didn’t know why you were angry.

Oh, he could guess. It couldn’t have been easy, the fall from grace; going from your father’s favorite child — the gods all picked favorites, it was only the less honest ones who pretended that wasn’t true — to just another in the pile mustn’t have felt good, especially for you, the demigod who gave everything.

But was that it? Was that why you hated your father? Because Hades had silenced you?

Your voice had been beautiful, for whatever ‘had been’ was worth. Luke had only heard you sing once before it was ripped from you, but he remembered being mesmerized.

You were fourteen then, too. It was your second — maybe third, he wasn’t sure, he didn’t know you personally — summer at Camp Halfblood, and his first. He’d been shy, not that anyone remembered that now, and he hadn’t spoken to much of anyone other than those who slept in Hermes cabin, let alone pretty girls with older, meaner boyfriends. But he’d been dragged to a bonfire party by an older brother of his, and you were there, with your guitar and your sunbeam smile.

Luke had never liked old music. His mother had all these dusty records that she’d put on and dance to like they were the only things that made sense, but they never made sense to him. If the lyrics had meaning, he didn’t get them, or at least couldn’t relate, not like the nu metal he’d ripped onto his mp3 player.

But you were singing something that night, a Prince song he’d heard before, and on your lips, the words made sense. They were beautiful, even.

He could still see it, the light flickering across your face, your fingers moving fast as light against the strings. You were talented with your guitar, too, though he hadn’t caught sight or sound of the thing since the quest that took your voice, either. The way you played reminded him of the mariachi bands he’d seen on the New York subways — hard to believe a person could pluck so fast.

And you sang. He could still hear it, too — When Doves Cry. It was different, of course, acoustic and melancholy, but the song was the same.

He must have been staring. You must have noticed.

You were coming towards him. He didn’t think anything of it at first; you twirled, you danced, you walked.

“Touch, if you will, my stomach. Feel how it trembles inside.”

And then you were in front of him, so close, and looking him in the eye, and his breath caught. You seemed to almost smirk at that.

“You’ve got the butterflies all tied up. Don’t make me chase you,” you sang, to him. “Even doves have pride.”

And then you turned away from him, like it had been a blip, like you had never been looking at him at all. You danced on.

“How could you just leave me standin’, alone in a world that’s so cold? Maybe I’m just too demandin’—” you grinned there, head turned up to the sky— “maybe I’m just like my father, too bold.”

And then your eyes changed, cast out to the lake, like your mind was elsewhere. “Maybe I’m just like my mother, she’s never satisfied. Why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like when doves cry.”

The next day, you embarked on your quest. You did well, too — returned a week and a half later with the item you were sent to steal back from Hades. Hades the place, it turned out, but not the god himself; it was Persephone who had stolen one of your father's precious sunbeams. She'd missed the sunlight in her months down below, she told you, and took it to keep herself warm. An understandable desire, certainly, but it'd lead to snow in the Sahara and summer blizzards in Boston. She gave it back over without a fight, but her husband hadn't smiled upon you sneaking into his domain.

If it weren’t for one of his furies catching you just outside the barrier and digging its claws into your throat, they’d have marked it down as a flawless victory.

The staff managed to save your life, but not your vocal chords. When summer came to an end, they said they commended you for your sacrifice, as though you’d had a choice.

Maybe it really wasn’t that big a deal; half the kids in camp were willing to die in service of the gods, and given that you’d collected more quests than beads, you were probably in that number. But then, dying is different than surviving with a disability. Not worse, but different. What kid actually considers the limb when they’re risking life and limb? What risks would one take if they had to live with the consequences?

Worse yet, as far as he could tell, your daddy never called you back afterwards. No ‘thank you’s for the maimed daughter, no more gifts. Insult to injury, used and discarded.

He’d throw rocks at the guy, too.

Which brought him back to that moment, alone in the settling darkness. You were gone by then, off somewhere, likely pushing your anger aside for something you considered more productive, though Luke couldn’t begin to guess what that would be. He didn’t know you, still.

He might like to, though. Perhaps the two of you could be… allies. That thing inside him that burned, that he hid… he could, potentially, share it with someone who felt the same.

Feel free to reply or send an ask to join my taglist!

[afroditisworld]

Brooklyn baby

Late Eycte! Alex Turner x Singer!Reader

Warnings: smut, smoking, stoned sex? spanking, oral (female received), smut without plot, soft dom Alex, tits play and use of pet names (doll, luv, princess) if you are not into that please don't read it :))

word count: 3k

You and Lana were best friends. You were like sisters from different mothers. You grew up with each other, and it didn't turn out to be a surprise when you both decided to follow the same career. Both of you were talented women in the music business. You both followed each other every step of the way. You normally planned your tours together and attended each other's shows with every change. It was a mutual relationship based on support and admiration for one another's talents and successes.

So when she met Miles Kane and Alex Turner, she also introduced them to you, and you instantly matched each other's energies. But, oh, you and Alex, you had an electric connection with your first conversation. You felt an indescribable spark every time you talked to him. Alex had his way of making you smile. His witty humour and charming personality captivated you from the start. With every word he spoke, you found yourself drawn closer to him and as time went on, your bond only grew stronger.

You and Alex were at your home studio, trying to get the perfect sound for one of your songs. It was one of those terrible days when you'd prefer to listen to one of your vinyl records than try to come up with new ideas. You were attempting to play a song on your keyboard, but nothing seemed to come together. You sighed as you turned to see Alex, who was lying on the floor with his back to the wall, doing the same thing with his electric guitar.

"I'm going to play a record," you said, hoping it would bring some inspiration, and you walked towards the record player. "Do you mind?" you continued.

"No, maybe I can strum a few chords while you listen and find something new," he replied mindlessly.

You laughed at your current state as you picked a random record from the collection and gently placed it on the turntable. As the familiar crackle of the vinyl filled the room, you watched as his fingers effortlessly moved across the strings of his guitar, creating a melody that seemed to be perfectly in harmony with the song that was playing in the background.

"Oh, I love this song," you whispered, and you started mumbling the song lyrics under your breath. "I didn't know that you liked Lou Reed," he commented, listening to your soft humming with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, his music has always clicked with me," you replied, your voice barely audible over the music. "I've been listening to his songs for years; Lana teases me for that; she had written a song about it," you said with a smile.

When the record ended, the room was filled with silence. "Does it bother you?" Alex's voice brought you back to reality, showing you his lighter that was ready to light up his joint. You just shook your head in response.

You both had given up on finding some tunes for your song. Instead, you approached him and sat next to him. You were lying on the floor, your heads facing the ceiling, in silence. Then suddenly Alex placed the joint in your mouth, giving you a puff, and as the smoke filled your lungs, you closed your eyes. At that moment, a calming sense washed over you, as if the worries and stress of the outside world had been temporarily suspended and time stood still. With each exhale, the weight on your shoulders seemed to lighten, allowing you to fully embrace the tranquillity of the moment. Alex's fingers were still on your lips, and you could feel the warmth of their touch spreading through your body. Slowly, you felt your mind drift away. Your body grew more and more hotter, yet the cool air in the atmosphere made you shiver. Alex forced you to look at him and his unexpected action made you freeze. You just stared at his beautiful eyes and waited for him to say anything.

“Fuck” he sighed with a smirk “You got some soft lips there” he continued your heart racing as you tried to process his unexpected compliment. You couldn't help but blush, feeling a mix of excitement and confusion. “I'm always catching myself thinking if you could put them in good work for me,” he said and you were so surprised that you only blinked you could barely find words to respond.

“Oh, don't act so surprised luv, I know that you wanted too, I can say from the way you look at me” he added again. It wasn't that you didn't want to but you really didn't know how to react. You never believed that Alex could be so forward.

"Come here," he said, lifting himself up. You move closer to him without thinking, never breaking eye contact, and as you get closer to him you fall to your knees. Everything seemed to start dragging on a bit slower as the high settled into your mind and every touch made you shiver. "Oh, no, it's not about me tonight," he said, helping you stand up. You looked at him confused, and he kissed you passionately on your lips, catching you off guard. The intensity of the moment left you breathless, and you couldn't help but wonder what had prompted this sudden display of affection. As he pulled away, a mischievous smile played on his lips, and he whispered, "Tonight, it's all about you."

When the words left his mouth, he kissed you again, lifting you up and placing you on the nearest table. His hands roamed gently over your body, his touch igniting a fire within you that you had never felt before. "Alex," a soft moan left your mouth. As his hands travelled all over your body. "What is it, doll? Tell me what you need," he asked. "I- I need…y-you" you moaned, so ashamed that you couldn't even look him in the face. You could feel your panties getting wetter and wetter with every minute passing. God, this weed was doing too much to you. "No need to tell it twice," he said, placing his hand on your neck and pulling you in for a kiss. The intensity of the moment overwhelms you, making it difficult to form coherent thoughts. The combination of his touch and the effects of the weed heightened your desire, leaving you craving more. A cry left your mouth as you kissed him back, and he bit your lip, causing a mixture of pleasure and pain to surge through your body. The room seemed to spin as you surrendered yourself to the intoxicating mix. It was a moment of pure surrender, where nothing else mattered but the raw desire between you. You wrapped your leg around him as you quickly deepened the kiss. You gasped into Alex's mouth as you felt his hands touch up and down your back.

Without even realising it, your top and your bra were lying scattered in the studio while Alex's mouth took one of your nipples between his teeth and pulled hard, gazing up at you as you cried out of pleasure and pain. Your back was arching from the pleasure his mouth was giving you, and all this attention in your sweet spot was making you soak through the fabric of your undies. His hands were hugging your boobs perfectly as he was teasing you, alternating between gentle caresses and rough squeezes. The combination of his skilled mouth and expert touch sent waves of pleasure coursing through your body, igniting a fiery desire within you. Unable to contain yourself any longer, you surrendered to the intoxicating sensations, losing yourself to Alex, which left you breathless and yearning for more.

"Al, p-please. You're teasing me so much." You pleaded with a desperate voice, your words laced with a mixture of need and anticipation. Alex's eyes met yours, filled with a hunger that mirrored your own desires and with a wet pop, he let go of your breasts. The waiting was maddening, every nerve in your body on edge as you watched him slowly remove his hand from your breast and lower it between your legs. He smirked, his fingers tracing teasing circles on your inner thigh, inching closer to where you craved his touch the most. Your breath hitched as his fingers brushed against the fabric, sending a shock of electricity through your body. He lowered himself, and his hot breath was hitting your clothed pussy sending goosebumps all over your skin.

“Tell me what you need and I will give it to you," he whispered seductively. You could hardly find the words to respond, but the ache in your core fueled your determination.

"I need your touch," you managed to utter, your voice trembling with tension. With that, he lifted your skirt and slid his fingers beneath your panties granting you the pleasure you craved, sending waves of ecstasy crashing over you.

"You're so wet for me," Alex said, thrusting two fingers into you. As your hands grabbed his hair, his thumb slid to circle your clit, fingers now steadily pumping into you. Your spine arched and your legs sought to close as he curled his fingers in the perfect position. He looked up at you, disappointingly shaking his head.

“No, sweetheart come on, I know you can do better than that," he said wanting to continue pushing you to your limits.

“Close your feet again and I'm going to stop,” he said, with a serious expression on his face.

With his jawline sharp, he placed his hands on your back as he pushed you to the edge of the table. You could feel the pressure building in your muscles and the passion surging through your veins. He helped you take your panties off, and he lowered himself between your legs.

You gasped and rolled your eyes back as his tongue touched your clit. His hands gripped your thighs and held them open for him, so tightly that you swear it'll leave a mark on your skin. As he continued to lick and suck your pussy, his tongue touched you in all the right spots. With your hands pulling the back of his head, you pushed your hips into his mouth as he thrust the tip of his tongue into you. Alex groaned against you, and the pleasure reached all the way to your core.

He rubbed his thumb on your clit again, making you see stars. Your body trembled in pleasure as you cried out his name. He was looking at you and, he couldn't help but enjoy having such power over you.

“A-Alex, please” you whispered.

“Please what doll?” he asked teasing you.

“Ple-please, don't stop” You paused not being able to utter a phrase with his face between your legs.

“I'm gonna cum Al- please, d-don't stop” you continued as one of your hands gripped the table tightly.

Alex moaned as your orgasm landed on his tongue, the sweet taste lingering in his mouth as he sucked the juices. The heat of the moment overwhelmed both of you, leaving you breathless and craving for more. He pulled away, gently placing your shaking legs down. You looked into each other's eyes, knowing that this was only the beginning. You felt your juice running out of your thighs, and your mind was all over.

You only came back to reality when he helped you turn around and bent you over the table, ready to take you from behind. When your breasts touched the cold furniture, you gasped at the sensation.

“We are not done, luv,” he said with a playful grin. You weren't able to respond but you needed him, you wanted to feel him inside you, all the anticipation that your previous action gave you and the high feeling of the joint that you two smoked made you even more hornier, longing for his touch. Eager to feel him again you pushed your hips against him, causing friction as his bone teased your entrance, he then backed up and let a spank fall in your ass. It was so unfair, he was fully dressed when you were wearing nothing but a skirt that was barely covering anything because he turned it up.

The painful sense sent a rush of pleasure through your body, and a cry left your lips. You closed your legs, trying to get some relief. But again, that gave you another spank.

“Please” you begged again, hoping for mercy. And then the sound of Alex unzipping his pants was like harmony in your ears.

“Someone is getting needy” he whispered and when he pushed his member inside of you, burying himself fully, you both moaned.

“Ugh- Al” you moaned as waves of euphoria washed over you. Your legs started shaking and you couldn't bear your own weight anymore. You were a mess. Your moans, his heavy breaths and the sound of your bare skin slapping together filled the room. You could feel his dick hitting against your tight walls with each hard thrust, it was like he was doing it on purpose. You tried to make him slow down by pushing him by his chest but your attempt failed as he grabbed your hands and placed them behind your back.

“You wanted me to stop, luv,” he asked, mocking you. “N-No, just- just please…slow down” you cried out and bit your lips trying to hold yourself quiet. Another orgasm built up quickly inside of you, you were so sensitive and overwhelmed with pleasure that you could barely breathe.

“What? Are you going to cum already” he said and spanked you again harder than before, making you whine even louder. You couldn't even respond to him you just nodded and murmured.

“Use your words, babe, like a good girl you are” he groaned. He was getting closer too, your walls were tightening around him and made it very difficult for him to move and not to cum right there.

“Yes. Please yes,” you screamed, and then you placed your hands where you need them the most and started playing with your clit. The pleasure intensified as you felt the waves of orgasm building within you.

But Alex still catch your action. “Such a dirty girl trying so hard to cum on my cock” he said.

He knew he had some power over you and he wouldn't stop until he had made you completely submit to his desires. You couldn't think of anything else but how close you were to your relief. Your body started to shake as the pleasure rushed all over your body. Your mind went blank and you gave yourself to him completely.

You were high, your body aching as you let go once more. Alex moan as your juices covered his cock. Your orgasm seemed to last forever. You could hear your heartbeat in your ears, Alex continued to fuck you while you came and you couldn't do anything else but moaned in pleasure.

“ I- please cum inside me, I'm on the pill" you panted. And this was all Alex needed as he filled you up.

When he pulled himself out the mix of his warm release and your juice started running out of you in a sticky mess, you nearly sobbed, as he left you feeling exposed and empty.

“You did so good Y/N," he said helping you to stand up and face him, his eyes were filled with admiration and pride.

“I can't feel my feet,” you said with a shaky voice.

“Come on, princess,” he said as he lifted you in his arms. "How does a bath sound ?" he asked as he carried you towards the bathroom.

well, my boyfriend's in a band he plays guitar while I sing Lou Reed

[ktamina]

09/30/08 - Mick 7 answers your questions!

This is an old interview of Mick (#7) that I found, enjoy!!

Hey, I am like, the UK's number 1 Slipknot fan, and have always wanted to know, what inspired your mask design?

Matthew Fulton- 14

MICK: Nothing. I had my original latex hockey mask way back and then my leather one and I was using those designs and it morphed into what it is now. There isn’t something crazy creative about it.

Hey Mick! I just want to let you know that you are a huge inspiration to me. You were one of the reasons I picked up a guitar, B.C Rich 7 string Warlock as my own first purchase, and got serious about it. My question is, how do you get new ideas for riffs and solos. I've made a couple of my own songs, but I always get stuck trying to make cool catchy riffs or solos. Got any advice?

Jim- 16

MICK: Yes. Don’t over-think it. Just let it happen. Things come out. If you try and plan or force it will sound forced or dishonest. I never try and over-think a direction whatever comes out 1st time I play it comes out. I never spend a ton of time thinking because it sounds forced. If you spend too much time thinking about it, it won’t sound like you. Don’t try and sound like someone else.

How does it feel to be getting back to work with the rest of Slipknot after a 3 year hiatus? Did it feel great knowing you were going to be back behind the mask and in a recording studio once again or was it just the same as it was 3 years ago?

Matt Haynes- 16

MICK: Things are always different when doing a new record. You are a different person than you were years ago. I don’t think in those terms. I just do what I do! But yes it felt good getting back to work.

What has been your scariest nightmare?

Paul Hawkins- 16

MICK: I wouldn’t say I have had a scariest nightmare but it would probably be something that deals with me not having genitals anymore…

If you could play any other role except Rythym/Lead guitarist in the band which would it be?

Bryan Lares

MICK: I wouldn’t.

What was the biggest culture shock you experienced in a foreign country during SK a tour?

Marcelle Andrade- 21

MICK: Being forced to shit into an ornate porcelain hole in the ground in Japan. OR having a warm stream of water tickle my asshole from the bidet in my hotel, also in Japan.

Mick, what advice would u give to young metal musicians trying to get our band noticed without reverting to the typical main stream sound?

Alex Munro- 16

MICK: Music should be honest, it should be an extension if you. You shouldn’t try and achieve a sound. It should just be you and not what you are trying to manufacture. We didn’t pay attention to the trends at the time when we wrote. We did what we felt and that is what you should do. You should play music for you and not to be noticed.

I'm Marina. OK I know that you probably get this question asked a lot by fan-girls but are you single, and can i ask u out on a date if you are :) ?

Marina Spevak- 25

MICK: Send pictures and I will get back to you.

Hi Mick! What Pedals do you use for Before I Forget and Heretic Anthem, and what Guitar would you recommend for a O.K Metal player at good price (like below $400)?

Alex Hayden

MICK: I don’t use pedals on either one of those songs or any pedals of any kind. But if its distortion you are referring to I just have a tube head turned up loud. There isn’t one really so buy used. You can’t get anything new that price worth anything. Look at pawn shops and buy a decent used early to late 90’s Ibanez especially an RG 570.

Hey micl! I'm from Iran. First you should know you've got MANY fans in Iran! Seriously. :D My question is what's the meaning of the tattoo on your arm? The Asian one…

Sohrab Alimardani- 18

MICK: It means hate in Japanese.

What do you think is the meaning of life?

Krista

MICK: Life is without meaning. And we are all totally insignificant in the whole scheme of things.

Just touring with slipknot but be crazy but what is the single most brutal moment you can recall while on tour?

Shawn Jarvis- 15

MICK: Watching a guy die in a police chase about 100 feet in front of me...

[aweirdundertalehetalian]

Nitro Direct Tokuten / Nitroplus Benefits Direct Drama CD / Virus & Trip's Daily Life

Please excuse that it's, like, 3 in the morning where I live...

I wasn't aware the entirety of this drama CD wasn't translated (only track 3 by user ancestralmask, right here!), so I wanted to give it a go.

The official title is quite long: ニトロプラスダイレクト特典 ドラマCD「ウイルスとトリップは碧島のヤクザだが、普段は一体何をしているのか……　その日常をちょっとだけご紹介」

Or, in English: Nitroplus Direct Bonus Drama CD — "Virus & Trip are yakuza of Midorijima, but what do they normally do...? Introducing: a glimpse of their daily lives!"

TRACK 01:

Virus: "Salutations. I'm Virus..."

Trip: "And I'm Trip!"

Virus: "As I'm sure you all know, we are the so-called yakuza of Midorijima."

Trip: "That's right~"

Virus: "That being said, a sole question remains: what exactly do we usually do on the island?"

Trip: "A question like that... I don't understand why we need to answer that at all."

Virus: "I agree, but today, I'd like to take this opportunity to share a bit about a situation that happened not long ago."

Trip: "Fine by me."

Virus: "Well then, let's begin right away. And... start!"

TRACK 02:

*Virus & Trip are casually walking down the street; the sound of cheering can be heard vaguely in the background.*

Virus: "Well then... where should we go today?"

Trip: "Let me think... hm?"

*They stop their stroll as the bantering voices from the background grow louder, indicating there is a large crowd in a nearby alley.*

Avid Rhyme Fan: "Hey! It's Usui! A Rhyme match is gonna start!"

Trip: "Over there... oh, a Rhyme match. Do you think it's in that alley today?"

Virus: "Good grief... whenever a Rhyme match starts, a flock of idiots simply cut loose and show no restraint."

Trip: "As much as it is bothersome, it IS interesting to watch."

Virus: "And it IS an excuse to skip out on work... new plan; let's go, Trip."

Trip: "Yeah, yeah."

*They walk over toward the crowd of excited Rhyme players, watching the spectacle. Usui is already on the field, preparing the match for the crowd.*

Usui: "NOW, THE FIRST ROUND IS ABOUT TO COMMENCE! EVERYONE, ARE YOU READY TO GET EXCITED?"

*The crowd of Rhyme fans cheer, while Virus and Trip silently keep watching.*

Usui: "GAAAME... START!!!"

*The Rhyme match begins as the crowd keeps the hype going.*

Virus: "Hm... for now, there aren't any problems. It's quite peaceful, actually."

Trip: "Remember the guy we caught yesterday that was acting up? What happened to him?"

Virus: "I let him go. Even though I just gave him a gentle threat, he kept apologizing, over and over. He was like a broken record; it was getting annoying... so eventually, I made him pass out."

Trip: "That's what too much Rhyme can do to someone, huh? Things get worse when Rib's involved too."

Virus: "Once someone plays Rhyme all the time, they fall into the myth of them being the strongest person alive, invincible from anything and everything..."

Trip: "Is that so... hm? Hey, is that...?"

Virus: "Ah... it looks like trouble has come at last."

*During the match, a fairly vocal Ribsteez player approaches the area.*

Rude Ribsteez Player: "Hey!!! Quit playing Rhyme here! Don't you know it's just a bunch of nonsense, you big-headed nerds?"

Avid Rhyme Fan: "Tch, who do you think you are? You're just some loser who goes out of his way to ruin everyone else's fun."

Rude Ribsteez Player: "Really? It's not my fault that me and my fellow Rib guys can't seem to read the room, given there's NOTHING to read in the first place!"

Avid Rhyme Fan: "What did you say?!"

*The avid Rhyme fan and the rude Ribsteez player were at each others' throats at this point; calmly, Virus claps twice to get their attention.*

Virus: "Alright, alright, that's enough. This is becoming quite a nuisance, so could you please cut it out?"

Rude Ribsteez Player: "Tch, what?"

Avid Rhyme Fan: "It's the yakuza..."

Trip: "That's right, we're the local yakuza."

Virus: "We're your friendly, neighborhood yakuza. It would be very troublesome if conflicts like this ran wild on our lovely island, don't you think?"

Rude Ribsteez Player: "... Hahah, YOU'RE the yakuza? Why should I be worried; you guys are buddies with us Rib guys, aren't you? Look at you, thinking you can get everything your way just by using violence."

Virus: "You're technically right, but, hey, rules are rules. Trip?"

Trip: "Mm."

*Trip casually walks over and lifts up the rude Ribsteez player without any trouble, making him unable to leave. He struggles for a bit, clearly agitated.*

Rude Ribsteez Player: "Gh—! Let go of me!"

Trip: "Nah."

Virus: "No need for the pointless arguing. You don't want us to expose you as a pathetic little brat in front of everyone, do you? Hm?"

*Trip's grip tightens on the rude Ribsteez player, causing him to slightly groan in discomfort.*

Trip: "Tell them you're sorry, then I'll let go. Come on, spit it out."

*His grip begins choking the rude Ribsteez player, making him struggle to breathe.*

Rude Ribsteez Player: "Gh... ack... I-I'm sor...ry...!"

Virus: "I can't seem to hear you."

Trip: "Say it clearer."

Rude Ribsteez Player: "Ugh...! Haugh—! I-I'm sorry...!"

Virus: "Alright! You did such a good job~"

*Trip lets go of the rude Ribsteez player, who gasps for breath, followed by rough coughing. Some of the Rhyme fans are watching in silence, even though a Rhyme match continues in the background. Virus takes notice and addresses them without missing a beat.*

Virus: "Ah, sorry to have disturbed you! As long as you behave yourselves, you all have nothing to worry about."

Trip: "Right, right."

Virus: "Now then, don't mind us. Feel free to continue your Rhyme match."

TRACK 03:

*Virus & Trip are again walking down a road, presumably a different one from before.*

Trip: "Where should we head to next?"

Virus: "Good question... oh?"

Trip: "Eh?"

Virus: "Over there... it's Aoba-san!"

Trip: "Oooh!"

*Both walk toward Aoba's direction, who doesn't notice their presence until they call out to him.*

Virus: "Aoba-san!"

Trip: "Yoo-hoo!"

Aoba: "Oh, it's you guys."

Virus: "Today must be our lucky day, bumping into you like this."

Aoba: "What're you talking about? We see each other pretty often."

Virus: "Nonsense; any day we see you is a lucky day, Aoba-san. Anyways, are you working right now?"

Aoba: "Yeah; delivery in progress!"

Trip: "What was the name of that store? Heijitsu?" (平日 = heijitsu: meaning weekday, regular workday, non-holiday, etc.)

Aoba: "It's Hei-BON." (平凡 = heibon: meaning mediocre, humdrum, ordinary, etc.)

Trip: "Right, right, that's it."

Virus: "We're also in progress, patrolling our turf."

Aoba: "Your turf, huh? So, how's that going? Are you guys keeping the peace in the Old Residential District today?"

Virus: "Ah, it's been good, somewhat. As usual, though, Rhyme and Rib players can't seem to get along and see eye to eye."

Aoba: "Hah? Did another fight break out?"

Virus: "They've been nonstop; now that I think about it, I can't recall a day where there HASN'T been a fight."

Aoba: "Has it gotten THAT bad?"

Trip: "Especially lately."

Aoba: "It must be tough work for you guys... Take care of yourselves, try not to get hurt, okay?"

Virus: "Thank you for worrying about us. Ah, but it's fun when we patrol sometimes."

Trip: "Like that one cake shop."

Aoba: "A cake shop?"

Virus: "There's a new one near Delivery Works, towards the end of the street. A young couple is running it."

Aoba: "Eh?"

Virus: "If you have any spare time one day, we can go there together."

Trip: "Let's go~"

Aoba: "Three guys going to a cake shop together...? Don't you think that's... a little embarrassing?"

Virus: "Not at all. Even men like us want to eat delicious things, so there's nothing to be ashamed of... don't you think?"

Trip: "Right, right. I ate a 'Pink & White Fluffy Heart♡Love Sweets!!!' cake the other day. It looked delicious."

Aoba: "The name sounds like it caters more toward women..."

*Despite Aoba's tone, Virus lightly chuckles at his response.*

Virus: "Aoba-san, it's a date, then. Let's go one day together."

Aoba: "Hahah, yeah. I got it."

Trip: "I'm looking forward to it."

Aoba: "Yeah, yeah."

Virus: "Well then, we didn't want to bother you during work for too long, so we'll take our leave."

Aoba: "See ya, then!"

Virus: "Yeah, see you."

Trip: "Bye-bye!"

TRACK 04:

Virus: "... Alright! That's all for your small glimpse of the daily work of Virus & Trip!"

Trip: "That's all~"

Virus: "Well, even with all that, we do a lot of other things as well. But for now, this is what our lives look like."

Trip: "That's right."

Virus: "That being said, let's meet again someday. This has been Virus and—"

Trip: "Trip."

Virus: "It's been fun!"

Trip: "Bye-bye!"

[thalialunacy]

[a wee character sketch interlude for the @calaisreno May Prompt Party]

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) 26: manipulate (27) (28) (29) (30) (31)

-440-

Orchestras always tune to ‘A’ on the oboe, because every string instrument has an ‘A’ string. Oboes can play sharp or flat, just like any other instrument, but modernly every oboist uses a little electronic meter to ensure that their ‘A’ is exactly right.

As a child, his violin instructor had made him start every lesson by vocalising A4 out of thin air. Or, at least, attempting to do so; Sherlock has always had excellent intonation, but perfect pitch -- the ability to name the frequency of sounds one hears and vice versa -- is not on his resume.

So the exercise always felt fruitless, and aggravatingly so, because of course he never actually got the correct pitch. Close, and closer with time, but never close enough.

Years later, watching a tiny human named Rosamund drag herself to her feet just to fall back down time and time again, it finally occurs to him: That was the point.

-415-

Baroque: relating to or denoting a style of European architecture, music, and art of the 17th and 18th centuries that is characterised by ornate detail.

He finds himself in a tiny overcrowded music hall watching a small early music ensemble (3 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello, 1 contrabass, 1 recorder, 2 bassoons, 1 trumpet, 1 harpsichord, and 1 very murderous theorbo player) and it takes him far too long to realise why he's uncomfortable. Why there is a little twitch below his left eye.

They are actually using a historically accurate tuning.

Sherlock blinks, feeling around his jaw to see if it could be something else, but no, a part of his overly-trained brain rebels against all the sounds being pitched slightly lower than modern sensibilities. It's like a phantom toothache.

It's like before, when Sherlock would glance up from his microscope and observe John feeling poorly. In those days, Sherlock had nothing to offer, really, so he'd just had to let John's unhappiness bury itself under his skin as something else to ignore.

Now, though. Now he can do something about it.

-432-

Some theorists and musicians claim that the 432 Hz tuning has better effects on the human body, but there are no scientific studies that support the hypothesis.

He brings an exhausted John a late night (and therefor unattractively decaf) cup of tea. 'What happened?' he asks quietly, settling in across from him.

John shakes his head vaguely. 'I couldn't… I couldn't convince a mother to respect her child's pronouns.' He coughs. 'I am an old man who is shit at not stumbling over such things, but… She wouldn't even try.'

He meets Sherlock's eyes over the rim of his mug. 'Please remind me of this when Rosie is a teenager and I want to throttle her for reinventing herself every two days.'

Sherlock pauses, then sets his tea down and leans in until he can palm the soft pyjama fabric covering John's knee. It's a small gesture, but it works-- the creases in John's brow lose a little of their severity. 'I have no doubt she'll try our patience and sanity severely. But, John… You are already a far better parent than yours were.'

John stares at him and breathes out heavily. 'Fuck.' His free hand comes down on top of Sherlock's, absently palpating his knuckles one by one. 'But you can't-- There's not exactly scientific evidence, is there, to support that.' 

Sherlock clears his throat. 'Yes, well. I'm confident there will be.' 

John's lips twitch. 'Sherlock Holmes, are you saying you have faith in something?' 

Sherlock tuts, then decides he doesn't care about propriety in this moment. He moves until he's kneeling before John, holding his face in his hands and focusing on the tiny freckle under John's left eyebrow, knowing John will understand.

'Yes,' he says simply. 'Just one thing.' And then he leans in. 

[❤️]

[music to which this was written: Britten's Violin Concerto, Op 15, which I'm certain Sherlock would hate, but he's wrong]

[givemea-dam-break]

hi honey! can you do a anthony lockwood x reader, with #49 from the prompt list? maybe reader is close friends with kipps and anthony gets jealous so he hangs out with another girl to make reader jealous, and it works, so kipps threatens lockwood?

i love your work btw 🫶

a/n: of course!! thank you for requesting, and i’m so glad you like my stuff, thank you for your support <3 I'm assuming you mean my angst prompt list as that's the only one with a prompt that makes sense lol. i hope you enjoy! also (for anyone) let me know if you want to be added to my tag list for any lockwood and co fics <3

warnings: mild language, angst prompt: "Are they really just a friend?" gn reader

tag list -> @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy

Lockwood has been avoiding you, and you're not sure why.

It started a few weeks ago.

Usually, the two of you would spend mornings together in the kitchen, talking over steaming cups of tea as you waited for Lucy and George to get up. Your afternoons could go any which way - relaxing in the house, taking consultations with possible clients, running around London for god knows what. Evenings, well, they were your favourite. If you weren't on a case, either with the whole team or just paired with Lockwood, you'd sit in the library together, simply enjoying the other's company as you read one of the many novels in the house and he sifted through magazine after magazine.

Now, though, it's all changed. Lockwood is never in the kitchen when you're there on your own. He doesn't sit next to you during consultations, or invite you on his errands around the city. Worse, he isn't taking you along on cases with him, opting to take Lucy or George instead.

It shouldn't upset you the way it does, but it's not like you can help it. He's your closest friend. Your partner in crime. Without him, what are you?

Lucy has her theories but you're not overly convinced.

One of her theories sits in front of you currently, sipping a mug of coffee under the bright lights of the Costa you chose to hang out in today.

"Any interesting cases lately?" Kipps asks. "I can't imagine Tony would like to take any of the boring ones, but I suppose he'll have to take anything he can get, really."

You glare at him half-heartedly. "We take anything we can get, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. We help out the people who can't afford your fancy services. And, yes, I'll have you know we did have a particularly strange one, recently."

One of his eyebrows quirks up. It looks like a bushy caterpillar. "Go on."

"This murdered woman, right, who had been wanting revenge for her death. Turns out, the house was being occupied by some descendant of her murderer. He got ghost-touched, ended up dying, and then his husband came to get our help. You'll never guess what her source was."

Kipps thinks for a moment. "Her favourite necklace, stuffed under the floorboards somewhere."

You cross your arms in an X shape and make a 'wrong answer' buzzer sound. "It was her old record player that had gotten passed on from owner to owner. Apparently, the record on it had been on it for so long that it had melted onto it. The song had been playing while she died."

"That's awfully grim." Kipss takes another sip of his coffee, but he frowns as if it no longer tastes as nice. "And any improvement with Tony? Any conversations longer than five words?"

"No," you say miserably. You stir your spoon around in your tea, hating the way one guy has made your mood go from relatively okay to the opposite. "I don't know what I've done. I invited him to come to Arif's with me the other day, yeah? You know what he said? Lucy would love to go. And that was it! Lucy wasn't even home. The prick."

His gaze flickers to the door of the café. "You might want to keep your voice down."

"Why?"

When you turn, you realise why. In comes Lockwood, hair damp from the rain that pours down outside and jacket dripping, but still as radiant as ever. His face is almost glowing from the brightness of his smile as he laughs at something the girl beside him says.

Something in your chest squeezes horribly at the sight.

You turn back to look at Kipps, plastering on a smile as you swallow the burning feeling in your throat.

"He's coming over," he says, sipping his coffee - not - casually. He seemingly can't decide whether he should look at you or the person approaching. "Act normal."

As you sip your tea, which has gone a little cold after being left untouched during your conversation, Lockwood's shadow covers the table.

"(name)," he says, and you can hear the smile in his voice. "What a surprise to see you here."

You press your lips together. "Yes, well, I told you I was coming here today. What a coincidence."

When you look up at him, he's wearing that dazzling smile of his, and your breath catches. How long has been giving this other girl - the one who floats by his side - that very same smile? Has he smiled at her in that private way of his, where the corners of his lips twitch a little? Has he told her why he's got a scar on his forehead, and the stupid story of how he got it?

"Tony," Kipps says, giving him a curt nod. "(name) and I just met up to catch up on things. It's been a little bit since we last saw each other."

It's almost unnoticeable, but a muscle twitches in his jaw. "Two weeks, if I'm right? That time when our cases were next door to each other." he pauses then, glancing at the girl beside him "Oh, sorry, how rude of me. (name), Kipps, this is my friend Talia. Talia, this is Kipps, supervisor for one of the Fittes teams, and this is (name), my employee."

Your teeth grind together. "Just an employee? Hmm, okay."

"Nice to meet you," Talia says, smiling.

She seems nice, and you want to like her, you really do, but you can't. Still, for her sake, you repeat the phrase politely.

"Well, we best go get a table," Lockwood says, "before they all fill up from the lunch rush. Let's go, Talia. See you soon, (name)."

Despite wanting to swear at him, you give him the best smile you can muster. When he's gone, you visibly deflate, glaring at your croissant.

"Don't look at the pastry that way," Kipps says. "It hasn't done anything to warrant that."

"Oh, shut up."

--

Back at 35 Portland Row, the house is quiet. As far as you know, George is at the Archives researching for the next case you have coming up in a day or two, and Lucy is out getting supplies from Satchel's along with general shopping. You half wish you had gone with her rather than going to see Kipps.

During the rest of your time alone, you get some cleaning done. You've been putting it off for a while, but the washing-up basket is so full of dirty clothes that there is a mound as tall as your hips beside it. At this point, it's unavoidable.

You're halfway through folding the first load of washing when the front door opens.

"Be careful!" you call from the bottom of the basement stairs, hoping whoever it is will hear you. "I mopped the floor, it's slippy!"

For a few minutes, no one comes down to see what you're up to but, finally, you hear footsteps on the stairs.

"I boiled the kettle not long ago, it should still be warm if you want a cup of tea."

"Thank you, but I just had some."

You freeze for a moment before continuing your folding. Without turning around, you ask, "How was your date with Talia? She seems nice."

Lockwood pulls his chair out from under his desk. The sound is screechy, to say the least. "It was good. She's an agent at Rotwell, you know?"

"Mm."

"How was yours with Kipps?"

The disgust in his voice is palpable, but it doesn't even begin to compare to yours.

"It wasn't a date. Kipps is just my friend."

You can feel the look he's giving you - the disbelief is thick in the air. "Is he really just a friend?"

"Well, Kipps is six years older than me and an adult so, yes, he is just a friend because it would be illegal otherwise." The shirt you're folding probably doesn't deserve the amount of aggression you're handling it with. "It also wasn't a date for the reason that Kipps is my cousin. Now that I think about it, that's illegal, too."

Silence. It makes you feel a little triumphant, to be honest. It isn't often Lockwood is stunned into silence. He's always got something to say.

"Kipps... is your cousin?"

"Yes, he is. My mum is his aunt. Do I need to explain how that works for you?"

"No. No, that's alright. I just didn't know."

You shrug. "Never asked. Not like we were always super close. We've only really started catching up since I joined you guys because I'm in London now and he's my only family here. Not that that sentiment seems to be appreciated."

"If I'd known, I would've -"

"You would've done what, Lockwood?"

Finally, you turn to look at him, practically throwing down the jumper you're folding. He's already watching you, that smile of his nowhere to be seen. If you didn't know any better, you'd think that's guilt in his eyes.

"Would you have stopped avoiding me? Because Lucy seems to think that started when I reconnected with Kipps. I don't - Even if he wasn't my cousin, it makes me ill thinking that you might've thought we had a thing. Ugh, I can't even say it without wanting to be sick. Is that what all of this avoiding-me business was about? Be honest."

His lack of an answer is enough. Usually so full of things to say, it's a shock seeing him this quiet. You wait for him to say something, anything, but nothing ever comes. He just sits there, staring, supposedly figuring out what he should say.

You turn away from him again, folding the last item of clothing. "Your pile is that one on the end. Second load of washing will be done in an hour. I'm going out."

"Going out? Where?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business. I am just an employee after all."

"I didn't mean it like that -"

"Well, that's how it sounded. Jealousy doesn't suit you, you know." You pluck a jumper from your pile, tugging it on. "I'll be back before dinner. George is in charge of food tonight."

"(name), you don't need to go out. Let me just explain a few things."

"I have a great idea! Why don't you explain those things to Talia? I'm sure she'd love to hear it."

--

"I think I was a bit harsh."

"Oh, I don't think you were harsh enough."

Snorting, you stare out at the park. The bench you're sitting on right now, accompanied once more by Kipps, is soaked from the rain, but your jacket is long enough to save your jeans from getting soaked. The rest of the park isn't in much better of a state; there are massive puddles lining the paths, and the trees are sagging from the weight of the rain.

You pull your hood further over your head. "Tell me why you wanted to sit out in a park while it's chucking it down? I would've much rather had to sit in the same room as Ned Shaw than be out in this. My hands are freezing."

"You're the bait."

"The bait? What for?"

"Ah, there he is. My plan worked perfectly."

"Kipps, what are you -?" Turning your gaze down the path to the right, you realise. "No, Kipps, you're not going to bother Lockwood. I can handle myself."

"He needs to get a grip. He acted like a ten-year-old by avoiding you instead of talking to you, and it upset you. This just gives me the perfect excuse I've needed to give him a bollocking."

As he stands, you make to grab his sleeve. "Kipps, no."

But he's already sauntering up to Lockwood. The two meet halfway, drenched in rain. Lockwood's cheeks are flushed from the chill, and, though Kipps is the one speaking to him, he's looking at you.

"Kipps, stop it," you grumble, hurrying over. "I don't need you to mother me. It'll make things worse."

"I for one would like to hear what he has to say," Lockwood says. The challenging tone he always takes on with Kipps really should've been there, but it isn't. It's more of a guilty statement than anything else.

"You're acting like a kid, Tony," Kipps says angrily. "Do it with anyone else, but not with (name), not when they don't deserve it. I've been warning them not to fall for your tricks, but they've been insistent. He's a good guy. He's just going through a lot at the moment. Bullshit. Buck up your shit, or get out of their life."

"Kipps," you hiss. "Just shut up."

"No, I won't shut up, because he's hurting you. I won't stand for that."

"Just stop it! I'll handle this myself. I don't need you to do it for me."

"We all know that you weren't interested in that girl," Kipps says, glaring at Lockwood. If looks could kill, he'd be dead five times over. "You did it to be petty because, what, you were jealous that (name) was spending their time with someone other than you? Grow up."

"Kipps -"

"I'm going to leave now." His voice has grown quieter, even sterner, taking on the tone of someone using his age as leverage. "You two are going to talk this out. But if I find out that you've hurt them again, Tony, we're going to have major problems."

For a moment, he doesn't move, but then he squeezes your shoulder and leaves. You watch his figure disappear out of the park, blurred by the rain, before turning back to Lockwood.

His hair is plastered to his forehead and he's breathing a little heavier than usual. "(name) -"

"Kipps basically said everything that needed to be said," you say, pursing your lips. "I might've done it a little more gently."

A little laugh parts his lips. "He's right, you know."

"Oh, yeah, I absolutely do know. And it makes you a prick."

"It does." He looks down at his feet, guilt clouding his eyes. "I just - I was upset, and I know that gives me no right to have done what I did, but I felt - I don't know. Pushed aside? So I avoided you because it hurt a little less not having to see you all the time and wonder if you were thinking of someone else. Now I know how entirely wrong I was."

You stuff your hands into your pockets, desperate for warmth. "I was worried I'd done something to make you hate me. Lucy had tried to tell me that my hanging out with Kipps was a possibility, but I just didn't think it seemed like a logical reason. That's why I started spending more time with him - you avoiding me made me feel alone, and, yeah, I've got Lucy and George, too, but it felt nice to have someone shake some sense into me."

"I'm sorry, (name). Truly. If I'd known, things would've gone so much differently. I was more than a prick."

"You were." You laugh softly, and the sound has Lockwood's eyes back on you. "Lockwood, you mean the world to me. I thought you realised that."

There it is: that little mischievous glimmer in his eyes. The corners of his lips twitch. "Well, since I obviously didn't, maybe you could show me?"

"Are you sure you don't want Talia to show you? She did seem lovely after all."

He rolls his eyes, taking a step closer. He's near enough that you can feel the warmth of his breath. "Are you jealous?"

"Well, I wasn't the original jealous one, but, yes, I suppose I am."

When his hand touches your arm, you can feel its heat even through your jacket. You wonder if he can feel your heartbeat. It's never gone so fast before.

"So, about showing me that I mean the world to you?"

"You are insufferable."

It doesn't stop you from pulling your hands from your pockets and pulling his lips to yours. He may be insufferable and frustrating, among other things, but you wouldn't have him any other way. So long as he's yours.

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 824: Shellac At Action Park

I'm still wrapping my head around the news that Steve Albini is no longer with us.

I first heard Big Black on a mixtape my friend made me back in 1992. The song was "Jordan Minnesota." It was mean and ferocious and sounded like nothing else I'd heard before. I went out and bought the Hammer Party CD that compiled their earliest EPs soon after. It was a tough listen, but as was so often the case in those pre-internet / teenage years of the early '90s, if you plunked down your allowance money on a CD of "difficult" music, you didn't give up on it after a cursory listen. I stuck with it until those "difficult" songs eventually became anthems of teenage alienation.

There was another interesting angle to the Hammer Party CD: there were extensive liner notes that outlined the band's operating strategy. They were a DIY band uninterested in the music business. They were principled. They were nerdy, unassuming looking people. But the music they made was scarier than any metal band.

Big Black songs were almost always written from the villain's perspective. They were unvarnished narratives about unsavory characters. "Jordan Minnesota" was about a child molester. "Seth" is about a racist. "Columbian Necktie" is about a drug cartel hitman.

Terms like "incel" and "edgelord" didn't exist back then. But there was definitely a streak of impotent male rage and deliberate controversy in Big Black's music. In recent years, Steve Albini made a point of acknowledging those attributes in his music and apologizing for his role in elevating a culture of targeted mean-spiritedness. I think it was a noble gesture on his part, though I thought it was always fairly obvious that Big Black wasn't glorifying the behavior of the characters in their songs. It was about making art that acknowledged the awful side of humanity. Rather than sweeping the ugliness under the rug, Big Black dragged the creeps into the spotlight and shouted "look at these fucking assholes."

If Big Black defined high school, Shellac helped define my college years. The lyrical subject matter was less antagonistic, but the music seemed colder. It was sparse. Austere. Deliberately scaled back to the point of seeming mechanical. The bombast of Big Black was replaced by the tension of Shellac. At this point, you knew what Albini was capable of, but now he was the poker player who was keeping a straight face and playing his cards cautiously.

By the time At Action Park came out, Albini was a person of note outside of his bands. I remember reading his article in Maximum Rock N Roll on major labels and how the promise of riches really just meant other people in the music industry taking a slice of the artist's budget and eliminating any chance of future royalties. His engineering credentials were already legendary, and his recording philosophy played a major role in shaping my own attitude towards making records.

Russian Circles have recorded at Albini's studio half a dozen times at this point. And while we've never worked with Albini at the board, he was often lingering around the building, working on sessions in the other studio or puttering around working on things. He was exactly like you'd expect him to be. Smart. Opinionated. Quick with a sharp reply.

He was by no means infallible. His assessment of Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville back in 1993 was pretty gross. He's made a point of vocalizing his regret over naming a band Rapeman. But considering that he's been a firebrand for over 40 years, I'd say Albini did a fairly good job of ruffling feathers while sticking up for the downtrodden. He was a man of artistic ideals and principles who managed to stick to his guns while shaping the industry around him. He was an artist who was able to develop and evolve his sound over the course of several decades while also retaining the initial vision and spark in his work. He was impervious to fads yet somehow always relevant.

RIP Steve. You were one of a kind.

[pumpkinfreak]

Watching Hannibal for the first time S2E9-E10

Let's take a moment to assess what in the Kentucky fried hell is going on in this story. So Far.

Hannibal knows that Will knows he's the Ripper. Will is trying to play the player by allowing Hannibal to manipulate him. Under the guise of Will accepting the fact that he and Hannibal are the same kind of monster. Everything Hannibal does to Will at this point in the story is to test him and get him to accept his true nature, so they can be friends. In reality, Will and Jack are working togother to catch Hannibal, so everything Will is doing is just an act. Hopefully.

I need a nice no-think palate cleanser after this. I better now have to use any brain cells when I watch Yellowjackets, or I'm coming after everyone who voted in the poll and backing them into a pie, I will then feed to their families. Just one giant people pie. I'll break hearts and world records.

Back on track episode 9

Long story short, someone takes their Freddie Fazbear cosplay too far. Makes a suit out of prehistoric cave bear bones, and goes postal on some random people. Hannibal then directs this person, who was a former patient of his to attack Will. Will beats the holy hell out of this guy and brings his dead body to Hannibal. Stating that now they're even after having both sent people to kill the other.

This episode opens with Jack and Hannibal having dinner togother. I feel like we need to acknowledge that Jack and Will are knowingly eating Human meat and organs. I would be so pissed if I was Jack's wife. I'm laying in a bed dying of cancer, and my man is out eating gourmet human meals with a serial killer. You are out of Will I'm leaving everything to my cat.

Margot and Will also meet in this episode. Margot is quick on the uptake and is just like "Wow our therapist is a psycho!" and Will is like, "Sister you do not know the half of it."

One of Will's dogs escapes in this episode and his little sausage body barely clears the snow he had to run through. It was much much-needed moment of levity.

Ep10

Pookie is going a little bit off the rails. He is devolving, and Hanni is super into it. I'm not, I want my sweet baby boy back, but I don't think he can hear me over the sound of his own psychotic breakdown. Will admits that he felt more alive than ever when he killed the bear suit guy, and Hannibal says that he should honor the bear suit guy. So Will mutilates the body and merges it with a cave bear skeleton in a museum. It...it's something...

Then Will is of course called in by Jack to analyze the crime scene Will Made. Will has a hallucination that the bear suit guy thanks him and that this event is a part of their becoming.

Also, I hate that there's more, Margot's bother, Mason, shows her his pig pit. Where he attends to feed living people to pigs, and he fully attends to feed her to said pigs, if she doesn't get in line.

Hannibal's right. Mason needs to die. Like yesterday. Unfortunately, Magot cannot just kill Mason, because all their family's wealth would go to the Southern Baptist Convention. So Hannibal tells her to go get pregnant then. Who does she pick to be the daddy, Will of Course?

What proceeds is the weirdest sex scene. David Lynch would be proud. Will knows this is Hannibal's doing because Margot already told him she's gay. This scene is intercut with Hannibal and Alana having sex and Will imagining Alana and Hannibal having sex. Except Will sees Hannibal as the goopy deer man. I'm really glad this show was produced for NBC and not HBO.

Some poor bastard had to put on a mask of Mads Mikkelsen's face. Plus other makeup and had to simulate sex on some other poor bastard. Imagine having to lay in a flesh-toned body suit, or worse be actually nude, and staring up at this lifeless replica of your coworker's face. Now add like twenty other people on set watching it happen. People left work that day changed forever and for the worse.

One more thing, one more. Freddie is getting suspicious of Hannibal. So she goes to Will's house. Goes to his shed, because she has more hair than brain, and finds a bunch of body parts in a freezer. Will shows up, and this encounter does not go well. We cut to Jack telling Will that Freddie is missing, and then Will and Hannibal go home and eat Long Pig.

I'll probably post again later. Stay safe, and don't sleep with goopy dear men. Do not investigate sheds, ever. You have a fifty/fifty shot of it being lawn care equipment or something from the pits of Hell.

[imperatorrrrr]

Twenty Two Games Left in the Season

Its two in the morning, I have New Jersey Devils thoughts, so here you go.

We have to remember last season was not the plan. I think this is the most important thing. If last season went how last season was expected to go (we're a bubble team potentially fighting for a wild card spot), this season actually doesn't look as bad as it does by comparison. This season is so disappointing because we're, of course, using the lens of last season and so is everyone else. Now. I'm not saying last season was a fluke. All I'm saying is last season really colors how we're perceiving the team this season and maybe we should put all of that into context.

We knew this season would be worse. I think we tend to forget that the expectation was always that this season was not going to be as miraculous as last season. There were no moves made over the summer for goaltending. Fitz decided that he was going to run a tandem of Schmiddy and VV. That..did not work out well for us. We also lost two veteran defensemen and replaced them with one rookie defenseman, Luke, and one basically rookie defenseman, Bahlers. Remember, Nemo was most likely not going to see many games this season. I mean, I'm so happy he did because he's a revelation, but Nemo was not supposed to be playing NHL games, not yet anyway. There are guys on the team that are having pretty bad regressions, but that's not indicative of a bigger problem, it happens.

Injuries. I cannot begin to emphasize how detrimental the injuries were this season. We have not been healthy once. Millsy was hurt in the preseason. My belief is he was always supposed to be the sixth defensemen and BSmith was gonna be our 7D. Haula wasn't one hundred percent to start. Nico gets hurt. Jack gets hurt. Timo gets hurt. We have Laser missing random games here and there. Pally gets hurt. Dougie gets hurt. Siegs gets hurt. BSmith gets hurt. Nosek hurt. Jack gets hurt again. I feel like that isn't even everyone?

Sixteen back to backs in one season. Yes, its an excuse. Yes, they should have learned how to play in back to backs. But like, come the fuck on, man. That is brutal scheduling. Absolutely brutal. Our record would look so different if we had like, I dunno, just ten back to backs instead of a league leading sixteen.

Lindy Ruff. I have already done my Ruff rant, but to summarize, that man does not know how to utilize his players properly. Until MM20 was forcibly removed from this team, Lindy was using Nico Hischier all wrong. Until recently, Timo has been used all wrong. Don't get me started on Holtzy. He overplays certain players and underplays others. He played the same goaltender on back to back nights. He doesn't switch out goalies until its too late. His defensive pair decisions are ass. And thats not even getting to the fact that his only in game strategy is to shorten the bench and/or change the lines. Its endless, really.

Now I know this sounds like I'm making a doom and gloom post, but hear me out.

It isn't over. We are still, somehow, in the playoff hunt. Can you believe, that even with all this adversity we've faced this season, there's still a chance they could squeak in?

Fundamentally, the team is not the issue. I think thats really important. I think there's been a lot of questions around whether last season was a fluke or that these aren't the guys that are going to lead the Devils to a Cup run. I truly don't think thats the case. Do we need a goalie? Yeah. But Dawsy is showing signs of being steady. Akira is showing signs of being steady. Even VV had a handful of good games before he was sidelined. They probably aren't our main guy moving forward, but I'm not going to sit here and hate on goalies man, thats absolutely not my MO. We have the pieces. We really, really have the pieces. When they're played correctly and put with the right linemates, our stars can really shine. Siegs was having a pretty brutal year, but you see him getting back to shades of himself when he's paired with Nemo. Kevvy was also having a bit of a bad year too, and his last, what, ten or so games, have been lights out. I think Johnny and Luke together really work. Loads of people were bemoaning the Timo trade and look he's played properly and he has like what four or five points in his last four or five games. You find the right line combos for our top six/top nine, and oh man can we really get cooking. There's going to be growing pains sure, but you have to remember how young this team is. But we have the pieces. We have our core. The elements are there. This team has the foundation to truly fly.

This young team is learning to deal with pressure. That is the main difference between last season and this season. There weren't any expectations for the Devils last season outside of whatever internal ones they had in their locker room, so everything was gravy. This season, however, this season you have a lot of external pressure. Being named Cup favorites or Cup contenders by every major NHL media source in the summer and in the lead up to the season, that is very new for the majority of the guys on this team. And they're gonna have to learn how to respond to it. And it may be painful. You know I'm the first person to rag on Lindy, but I think his comment about the pressure from the reporters leading to the unsuccessful powerplay was actually really telling. These Devils have not had to deal with any expectations. And now they do. And dealing with that mentally and not letting it affect your game is a learning process, its a growing process. How do you silence the doubt not only from the outside but internally within yourself? That isn't automatic. Each of these guys needs to figure it out. And they will. Together. This is not a case of these boys getting too high and mighty on themselves because everyone thought they'd cruise to the playoffs. No. Not at all. This is a case of being in a brand new position in the NHL and figuring out how to navigate it.

This season is not a disaster. Now, I'm not saying this season isn't cursed. It definitely is. But its not a disaster. Its not a write off. Its part of the process. Its part of our window. Our window, which remember, only really opened last season and even then it opened at least a season earlier than everyone expected, is at its very beginning stages. Its frustrating to see them seemingly "waste" a year of prime Jack, Nico, Jesper, Timo, et al, but its wrong to look at it as a waste. It isn't a waste. This is why they call it a window and not like a singular shot or whatever.

I think I'm ceasing to make sense now and it is past three in the morning, so I'm going to stop typing.

TL;DR: I love the New Jersey Devils. I will always love the New Jersey Devils. I refuse to hate this team. I refuse to say this team sucks. I refuse to give up on this team. We've had a tough season. It isn't over though. And I hope we get to see them play some fun hockey as we have a little over a month of regular season hockey left to play.

[cutelittleriot]

Return to origin band together

It was time for King Gristle and Bridget's wedding and everyone was so excited and happy for the soon to be married couple.

Poppy especially was happy her best friend was getting married and she was going to help her with her wedding dress! She has so many ideas she wants to share!

Right now she has to go get Branch who said he had something to do. She had let him be for the time being but now she has to go find him it's almost time for the wedding!

When Branch was heading out to go help King Gristle he passed by his Grandma's old pod. He looked at it both fondly and sad. He had alot of good memories there with her and his brothers but also some bad ones. Like her getting eaten,his brothers arguing and well leaving him. He hasn't gone back this entire time but now that he feels better mentally he thinks he is finally ready to take that step.

Slowly he makes his want into her old pod. Instantly he is hit with smells....old smells that he could faintly recognize. He could smell sweat which was gross probably from when Spruce was working out,he could smell books he once caught Clay reading in secret and he promised he wouldn't tell anyone and he never did. He could also just barely make out Grandma's old fluffleberry cake smell. Everything else he couldn't put a name too but he knows 2 of them were Floyd's and John Dory's he just couldn't tell who was who.

Looking around everything was exactly how he left it before the great escape. He made sure to at least clean up her pod before he left just becuase he needed something to do when he wasn't working on his bunker plans. Walking around he spots them,brozone merchandise some posters and records mostly, grandma always did support them even if she wished John wasn't so hard on his younger brothers.

Taking a record he looks at it fondly, maybe one song wouldn't hurt right? Contemplating it he puts in the record player that still worked and soon the song played and it felt like he was there again....back to the night it all went wrong. He thinks about his brothers,would they even recognize him? How would they even react to his new body?

He doesn't know how long he was there staring at that album record but the next thing he knows is Poppy is talking to him. "Uhm Branch?" She asks him curiously quickly he sets the album beside the record player while he stops the record player from playing anymore music,he didn't want to hear anymore.

"Oh um hi Poppy" He says trying to smile but it's forced and it very much hurts his face to do so. "Are you alright? It looks like your smiling and crying at the same time it kind of looks like it's hurting your face" She points out. "Yeah it does hurt my face" Deciding that it's no use he stops smiling,no point in smiling she could easily tell something was bothering him.

"I guess I'm just missing my uhm grandma, I was just listening to some of her old records" He says fondly as he puts up the old record. Poppy takes a look at the album and gasps "Brozone! No way I love Brozone!" She says excited her tail wagging like it loves to do.

"Really?" He asks excited with his own tail wagging a bit before he stops it "I mean really

?" He didn't meant to sound excited but finding out that your girlfriend loves the boyband you were part of does one excited even if he would like to put that behind him.

"I didn't know you liked them too" She tells him as she throws him the old record to which he scrambles to catch but thankfully he does. "I don't I'm actually hate listening it's a new thing. My grandma had very questionable tastes just look at how she decorated this place" He gestures around the old pod. "I'm sorry but there's just some stuff that shouldn't be macramed,am I right?" He asks before he goes to put away the record. He really didn't want to look at it anymore and bring up more memories.

Poppy looks at her Boyfriend she could tell something was bothering him,if his tail flicking back and forth was also an indicator along with the way he was talking. "Uhm kind of seems like there's something your not telling me" She says looking athim curious but also a bit worried. She knows Branch often keeps things to himself but they were a couple and couples share stuff. She won't force him but she can try to coax him into telling her later on.

"What? Don't be silly,no" He says with a fake grin trying to wave her off he really didn't want to talk about his brothers at all. "Hey I need you to be real with me" She tells him gently taking his paws into hers. "It seems more than a macrama issue,if your having feelings you can talk about them" She gently coaxes him.

He looks at her and really thinks about it,she has been there for him throughout so much and he has been there for her for so much from becoming friends with the bergens to the world tour to the transformation he knows Poppy will listen. "Ok....your right" He says he wants to say it he keeps trying but nothing would come out. Mentally he sighs maybe he can tell her after the whole wedding thing was over.

Speaking of weddings "Oh hey look at the time we're gonna be late to the royal wedding! Let's go get married " He redirects the conversation and grabs Poppy's Paw and begins to head out. "Wha Branch!?" Poppy exclaims very confused at what Branch said. "Huh oh I meant let's go get Brudget and Gristle married" Branch says trying to correct his mistake although....he wouldn't mind marrying Poppy but nows not the time to be thinking about that.

"Oh yeah becuase it would be weird if we got married" Poppy jokes and Branch agrees with her though the atmosphere was very awkward. The two transformed trolls head out of the old pod and begin to sing.

*Timeskip past the song cause there's no way in hell I'm writing that*

Soon every bergen and troll are there to celebrate. Bridget who is in a wedding dress covered in balloons floats down happy as she can be as King Gristle watches in awe at his beautiful soon to be wife.

Poppy jumps onto Bridget's shoulder as she looks at Bridget's beautiful dress in awe. "Oh my gosh Bridget you look so adorable!" Poppy gushes. "Thank you so much for being my maid of honor Poppy you really have no idea how much this means to me. I couldnt have done this without you" Bridget says with a smile.

"Oh of course Bridget I love you like a sister,probably. I don't have a sister,so I wouldn't know,which is fine. It's something I'm coming to terms with slowly" Poppy says beginning to ramble. "Uh Poppy can we uhm unpack the sister thing after the vows?" Brudget asks interrupting her rambling.

"Ah yeah no of course,you go get em girl! Before I do!" Poppy says grinning before using one of her claws to pop the balloons on the dress releasing a bunch of glitter. "Like a beautiful angel sent from heaven" King Gristle gushes as he looks at his soon to be wife.

Bridget begins to skate her way up the isle as Poppy and Branch watch together happy as they could be with their tails entertwined. Bridget walks up the stairs to King Gristle and he happily takes her hand as they look into eachother eyes lovingly.

"Hey Bridget you still have time to run for it" A bergen tells her to which King Gristle laughs sarcastically. "Haha very funny Aunt Smead. I'm uh so glad you could make it" He tells his aunt.

"Dear beloved we are gathered here today to celebrate the sweet sweet love of Bridget-Hey girl, and Mr.Yummy-Tummy himself, King Gristle. Now falling in love is easy,we've all done it, I've done it a hundred times,thousands even if you could that semester I spent abroad". They trail off when Branch hears something.

He isn't sure what but his ear twitches it sounds like footsteps small ones so it has to be a troll or something around the same size as a troll. Looking around he tries to pinpoint the noise when Poppy notices him looking around. "What is it Branch?" She whispers to him. "I hear something and I'm trying to find out what it is" He whispers back as he continues to search but isn't having any luck.

"Stop the wedding!" A voice yells out much to the surprise of everyone. Branch knows he has heard that voice before he just can't remember where. Everyone gasps and looks around to where the voice is coming from. They look up only to see what appears to be a troll standing on top of a antenna.

"Uh Brudget do you know this guy" Gristle asks confused. "I can't remember all my suitors Grissy" She says to him. The troll then slides down a clothes line and then jumps and hangs onto a balloon strong and then lands and that's when Branch recognizes just who that is.

"Sorry is this bad timing?" The troll asks their skin was a semi muted teal color along with their hair being a darker teal color. They were wearing a pair of goggles a brown vest with fluff at the top and shorts. Their ears were turned just a bit downward almost seemingly stuck that way. Branch gasps at seeing just who decided to show up after 20 years.

'No no why now? Why him?!' Branch mentally screams as his ears lower and his tail tucks showing how nervous and scared he was. 'Please for the love of sugar don't recognize me' He begs to whatever deity there is out there.

"I'm just trying to find a troll named....Woah Baby Branch!" The troll looks at Branch and Gasps and runs up to him with a grin Branch knows all to well. "Uh your making a mistake stranger that looks similar to me there's no Branch here" He says hoping to fool him but he can tell it doesn't work.

"Look at you, you got so big! Your not a Branch anymore your like a trunk ! Junk in the trunk!" He yells smacking Branch on his butt and ow that hurt his tail did not like that.

"I bet I can still pick you up!" He says happily as he picks up Branch even though it was obvious Branch did not like it at all. "Ooh you got heavy" the troll complains as he throws him up in the air. "Ahh there goes my back!" He complains as Branch tries to climb away only to fall on top of the unknown trolls face. "Ahhh Charly horse! Oh God two Charley horses!" He complains as Branch is still trying to get away.

It was taking everything Branch had to not unsheathe his claws right now. Even if Branch didn't want to see him again he still didn't want to claw at his face even on accident. "Hey! Stop right there, you put my boyfriend down and us who you are and what you want!" Poppy says taking charge and unconsciously begins to slightly bare her fangs to the unknown troll as a warning as her tail flicks back and forth.

The troll sets down Branch who backs away in case he gets anymore ideas of picking him up. "Hey your right totally rude of me. Didn't introduce myself, I'm Branchs brother " He explains holding out a hand with a grin .

Everyone gasps at the new information "WHAT?!" Poppy screams in shock as everyone else gasps. "Oooh drama corn me Dinkles" Tiny Diamond says always eager for some good drama as Mr Dinkles shoots out a small bucket of popcorn to which tiny happily munches on.

"Correction, used to be my brother, not anymore" Branch says turning around and crossing his arms his tail flicking in irritation.

"Hey uhm remember earlier when I said you should open up to me and be real?" Poppy asks as she looks at her boyfriend.

"Well..." Branch starts before Poppy cuts him off. "You could've started by telling me you had a secret brother!" She tells him as said brother takes a good look at his baby brother especially at his differently shaped legs and flicking tail.

"Former brother" He says correcting her. "That's not how DNA works!" She says feeling a bit frustrated at how much he wasn't telling her. "Dad did you know about this?" She asks hoping he can answer her. "Oh what would I know about secret family members" He says and Branch catches in that he knows something but isn't going to share. That's something to talk about later.

"Oh my gosh I was being so rude. I've never met anyone from Branch's family before. I'm Poppy Branch's girlfriend, should we hug,fist-bump smile and wave for now and see where the night takes us?" She says so excited to meet someone from her boyfriends family.

"All of the above" He says with a smile and a shrug. "Wait I know you. Your the guy from Brozone! We were just listening to them!" She says so excited to see a member of her favorite boyband in person! "Yeah brozone!" Cooper yells joining Poppy in on her excitement

"Oh wait wait wait wait, don't tell me. OK um well your not the heartthrob" She says trying to go through the various members. "Well that's your opinion" the troll says awkward. "The fun one? No your kind of uptight" She says. "Uptight?" The troll says surprised at being called uptight. "Hmmm not the sensitive one either" She says quickly rubbing it of band members. "Ok alot of assumptions of someone you just met thirty seconds ago" the troll says awkward.

"Oh oh I got your John Dory! " Poppy says finally figuring it who it was. "The leader" John says with a smirk. "The old one!" Poppy calls him to which Branch almost laughs and John just sighs.

"Uhm sorry to interrupt but we lose the venue at eleven so" King Gristle says to the trolls but ends up shushed by Bridget. "Shhhh I'm trying to listen to very hot gossip" She says with a grin she was always a bergen for gossip.

"So wait if your Branch's bro then that means all the other Brozone bros are Branch's bros, too! Branch! How come you never told me?" She asks him both confused and excited. "Becuase it's complicated" Branch simply states not looking at them his tail giving another irritated flick.

"Oh sweetie,it's cause you weren't in the band" She says trying to placitate him by patting his back. Heh wasn't in the band yeah right. "Oh Branch was in the band alright" John Dory says with a grin. "What?! No way! Which one was he?" Poppy asks dying to know which one her boyfriend was. "Bitty B" John answers smiling. "Bitty B?! No that's impossible Bitty B had glasses!" Poppy says unable to comprehend her boyfriend was Bitty B the litteral baby of Brozone. "Oh and a diaper" John adds.

"Aaaaaaand a falsetto made of gold. Not that anyone cared,but that's all in the past. Because they stopped being my brothers the day they walked out on me and never came back!" He says almost growling out the words as his fangs are showing and his ears are pinned back.

"Whoa whoa whoa,that's not fair Branch I did come back really. I was only gone for a month tops. I needed some time to clear my head and I would come back and I did but the thing is that when I came back nobody was there. The tree was destroyed and well I thought you were dead" John explains to him his ears drooping a little.

That surprised Branch his brother actually came back? It was only 2 weeks after their big fight and breakup that grandma got eaten and a week later they had the great escape "It wasn't until I heard about you saving the world from the rock apocalypse that I even realized you were even still alive" Jd tries to explain.

"Oh,that's so sweet he realized I was still alive 20 years too late!" He exclaims. "Hi I'm sorry he gets hangry if he skips breakfast" Poppy says getting between the two and gently pushing Branch away before something bad happens as she could tell that Branch was getting more irritated by the second as it looks like his claws were about to come out any second now.

"I had breakfast it was avocado toast with two poached eggs some cayenne for a little kick and you know what it was delightful!" Branch says taking what she said litterally. She gently pulls him off to the side "Branch what's going on with you?" She asks wonder just why was he acting this way she hasn't seen him this riled up in a while not since he was grey.

"The question we should be asking is what's going on with him!" He say pointing at Jd. "I bet you he's only here becuase he needs something" he says crossing his arms. Why else would he show up after 20 years unless he needed something. "That's not true Branch he's your brother" She tells him hoping to prove him wrong.

"Branch I'm gonna be straight with you. I need something." John dory says proving Branch correct. "And there it is" He says secretly upset about being right. "Come on man I'm trying here" Poppy tells Jd she really was trying to help him here.

"Wait wait wait hold up Branch. It's about Floyd" He tells him. His ears perk up Floyd? What was going on with Floyd? He subconsciously begins to feel around the same vest he has wore for 20 years. "What do you mean?" He asks a bit worried. "He's in danger. I hadn't heard from him since the Band broke up. Until I got a letter from him. Dear John Dory I'm being held against my will by superstars Velvet and Veneer. Come to Mount Rageous at once and bring our brothers,love Floyd" He explains.

"Wait wait so you got a letter one night from Floyd after 20 years of no contact? Doesn't that sound just a bit suspicious?" Branch asks his eyes narrowed. "I know it sounded suspicious but just in case it was real I went to Mount Rageous alone before I went looking for you guys. Besides it not like I knew where any of you were.

"I found where this Velvet and Veneer were performing that night,and there was Floyd. He was trapped in a diamond prison. And you and I both know the only thing that can shatter Diamond" Jd tells him and Branch nods the perfect family harmony. The very thing that caused them all to break up is now the very thing they need to save Floyd.

"So you came here to get the band back together and sing the perfect family harmony" Poppy says to which Jd nods. "Oh yeah so we can attempt to sing something we've only tried once and failed so miserably at that we broke up and never talked to eachother again" Branch exclaims getting annoyed at all of this.

"We are so in!" Poppy exclaims excited with her tail tumping against the ground. "What?! Uhm could you give us a second" Branch tells Jd and he moves Poppy away from hearing distance.

"Okay what are you doing?" He asks because just what was going through his girlfriends mind right now?! "This is your second chance with your brothers Branch" She explains as if it was that simple. "Its not that easy okay?? You don't get it Poppy you don't have any siblings" He says even though he thinks he might be wrong with the way King Peppy was acting.

"That's my point. Branch you are so lucky to have a brother to fight for. I mean,if I had a sister it would be so perfect. We'd be best friends,and we'd teach each other things,and we'd never fight. And we'd always have each others back and we wouldn't even have to talk cause we'd think all the same thoughts, and everyonewould ask us if we were twins and we'd laugh-" "Poppy!" Branch says stopping his girlfriend as she was getting into one of those phases.

"But...if she were ever in trouble I would do everything I could to help her, I would show up" She says smiling hoping Branch understood where she was coming from. "Okay listen if there was a brother that I might do this for-and I'm not saying there is.....it would be Floyd" He says. While he did lobe all of his brothers Floyd was definately his favorite.

"I'm not hearing no!" Poppy exclaims excited. "Yeah that works for me!" Jd exclaims having heard Poppy. "Yeah! Brozone 2.0,Brozone reunion,Brozone here we bro again,Brozone where'd they bro? I don't know we're gonna find them!" Poppy says excitedly coming up with new names and titles.

Then their ears perk up when they hesr rumbling it was loud and they can feel the ground shaking. "Hey looks like our rides here!" John exclaims as the dirt beneath him moves up like something was coming out of it and soon enough a armadillo bus pops out of the ground. "Here she is!" John explains happily as he jumps off the bus.

"Oh that's coming out of the deposit" Gristle winces at the damage. "Meet Rhonda,yall ain't she a beaut?" John asks happy to show his baby brother and his girlfriend Rhonda. Rhonda happily makes a weird roaring noise at them tail wagging. "She's uh really something" Branch says not really knowing how to react.

His instincts are telling him to run away from the big armadillo bus but he is staying right here he isn't going to run. Rhonda happily licks Poppy covering her in glitter. "I think she likes me?" Poppy questions as her instincts were telling her the same thing.

"Yeah she does,or she's marking you as prey,you can never quite tell with Rhonda" Jd laughs as he heads inside. "Uh guys I'd you don't mind I really cannot wait another minute to marry the gorgeous specimen" Gristle says lovingly holding Bridget's hands and giving them a kiss. "I now pronounce you husband and wife" the bergen says and Bridget happily jumps on Gristle and begins to smother him in kisses as the bergens cheer.

The two trolls watch on happy for the now married couple. "Okay all aboard who's going aboard." John says hopping inside Rhonda. "Bye everybody! We're getting the band back together!"

Poppy tells the snack pack along with Prince D and Peppy who bid them farewells.

"Have an awesome honeymoon!" Poppy tells Bridget with a wave. "Thanks Poppy" Bridget says thanking her troll best friend before resuming kissing her husband.

"I love you guys!" She yells out one last thing before they take off inside the armadillo bus.

For anyone curious here are everyone's ages and my timeline for this series

Brozone break up

Branch:3

Floyd:13

Clay:14

Spruce:15

Jd:17

Great escape

Still the same

Timeskip to the movie

Branch:23

Floyd:33

Clay:34

Bruce:35

Jd:37

[immoralimmortals]

A Song With Ten Names

Chapter 13: The Record Player Song

Chapter 1 ☆ Next chapter

Summary of chapter: Who are you? Who do you want me to be? Am I good at playing pretend?

Author's Note: I've had this song in mind for Tobi/Obito for about as long as I imagined him being in the fic. The song is The Record Player Song by Daisy the Great. Record Player with AJR? I don't know her. I'm using the OG iteration.

Minor content warning, perhaps, for disassociation.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

I've got a record player that was made in 2014

Dyed my hair blue, it came out a seasick sort of green

I like vintage dresses when they fall just below my knees

I pretend I scraped them climbing in the trees

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The hands return tonight. She’s weightless with their touch, and yet she is reluctant. There’s such vast difference between them and herself, and it both awes and frights her, like witnessing God. Release me, she prays. Let us, they answer. But how?

The amber ring approaches from her left, laying beside her on the infinite beach of her dreams. His shadowed, undetailed body presses, and though gentle he is yearning. The figure’s sharp teeth hide until their mouth opens. Lips create shapes meant just for the dreamer, but to her ears she hears nothing. Just the waves. Just the breath of the sea.

In…

…

Out...

A body…? There were no bodies last time.

Another head rests against her shoulder in a small, affectionate rub much like that of a cat. Long bangs are not needed to hide a face with no features, and an arm crooks in the chest of his cloak like a sling, red gem slipped over a finger that dangles. He’s so relaxed, like he’s nearly ready to die in peace by her right side.

Ghostly vocals drift above the sea, phantoms that speak from behind, saying something that is supposed to be her name but is not. They’re distant but getting closer. They sound urgent, they sound lost.

In the depths of siren calls and caresses, a movement of her own is finally forced. Her head is tilted back by the skull, one hand cupping each cheek. It keeps her still, a thumb trailing down her skin from temple to chin, pulling it underneath its print, making her lips part to feel the mouth that weeps her melodies. The stranger doesn’t see the man himself, much as the others, but she does see his form: large, jagged spikes against the sky so pale and wispy. Though it wasn’t felt in the dream before, it is known that he was standing behind her the whole time.

Her eyes squint, the weight of a bright world so blinding. The water draws closer.

In…

“Takara-chan!”

Out the dreamer screams, an orange swirl filling her vision. Against her nest of blankets the woman writhes but only traps herself in deeper among the pillows and fabric. In her panic, there’s no choice but to shove off whatever is on top of her. The intruder flies across the room, far further than her strength could have caused, and she has a second to get her bearings with each heavy breath she catches back.

Against the attic wall, her house guest is still. What? There’s no way she knocked him out...right?! She feels a furrow in her brow until he sits straight up like a puppet on strings.

“Oh, goodness me! Takara-chan is easy to scare when she’s asleep, huh?”

Oh.

Right.

It’s this guy.

With no other choice, she blinks away her pride until her lids hurt and she can manage to apologize. “I— geez, I’m sorry!” Concern hits as she sits up herself, adjusting her frilled pajama collar so it no longer twists. “Is everything okay?!”

“Okay?!” he repeats, sounding like the end of the world, throwing his head forward. “How can it be okay when you’re missing BREAKFAST?!”

The last word repeats dumbly back at him.

“Yes! I made you breakfast! You’re gonna love it!” A pointed pause. “...You will have it...right?”

The one thing she can’t get over— beyond the bells and whistles of his loud personality— is how hard he is to read. Is that a threat or puppy dog eyes that eyehole hides?

“I…” The ritual of breakfast hasn’t really been one. Itachi prepared food and they went and ate it. That’s it. Kisame was pretty private about chowing down and the chef himself didn’t eat very much, so everyone said thank you and went their own ways. But she decides to play ball: “What did you make?”

“Your favorite!”

She frowns. There is no memory of her saying she has a favorite breakfast. “I’m sorry, I—” A finger wag interrupts a foolish girl.

“It WILL be your favorite!” The finger draws back into a hand that solutes. “Or my name isn’t Tobi!”

Something in her gut is a bit uncomfortable, a bit like a tummy ache the first morning of school, but, well...how can she say no to that? Since day one—yesterday, to be precise— he’s been nothing but eager to please, trailing in her shadow and jumping ahead in her vision, full of nothing but questions and interruptions. It’s overwhelming, yes, but its intent does flatter. She flickers a smile of gratitude. “I’ll hold you to it.”

What a strange man, thinks the strange girl as he takes her down the stairs.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Wipe my eyes and cut me off

(Wipe my eyes, I'm crying)

I'm just crying for attention

(For attention)

Wish I'd been a teenage rebel

(A teenage rebel)

Never even got detention

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Zetsu must have thought it awfully funny to tease the arrival of two and only give one, not even one of which promised. A remarkable occasion happens again, everyone present in the home gathered at the dinner table. Or at least, about to be—

“Ah, here they are.”

Itachi follows Kisame’s acknowledgment with his eyes only, the traveler nearly tripping over her feet as Tobi pulls her by the arm.

“Hey, slow down, please—!” Her plea is answered, unfortunately, immediately. She bumps into the back of him as the masked man reaches an empty chair.

“Oop?” He freezes in dramatic horror as she begins to stumble. A hand grabs her wrist and the other catches her by the back. The black-clad man couldn’t have done a better dip of a dance partner even if he tried. Her eyes go wide.

“...Oh,” she whispers, having never been held like this before. Tobi chimes down at her.

“You can’t be so reckless! You’re much too fragile for that!” Her brow furrows.

“Tobi, that goes for you too, you know,” Kisame butts in before she can question. “Your excitement is appreciated but it is also a lot—” The shark glances at her, still dangling in Tobi’s grasp. “—For starting out with.”

On a dime and her brief shriek, she’s nearly flipped upright in half a second flat. The gloved hand still holds her by the back while the other interweaves its fingers into hers, raising it beside their heads. Though frantic at first, the pause that follows allows her to study him. It’s a carved mask, almost like a vortex; it curls and caves until it reaches a black hole. Can she see his eyes—?

A thought interrupted as he spins them around in this tango in finale, pulling back her throne and making her sit between the two other Akatsuki. Kisame chuckles.

As a breakfast of messy, runny eggs is served, Itachi says not a thing.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

I don't really love you

I just said that for a change of pace

I'm sorry

Sometimes I don't recognize my face

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Well, if Kisame trusts him, then it’s worth a shot, the stranger reasons.

The next week-so is spent being dragged about from “adventure” to “adventure”. It’s nearly like a summer haze daydream, the sort of thing you remember doing when you’re little, playing around with the neighbor boy.

“Come on the swing, Takara-chan!” Tobi urges, putting her on the toy and pushing her without waiting for consent. There’s no ramping up, no questions of how high: the answers are fast and up to forever.

“Tobi, that’s—” a plea interrupted and punctuated by a shriek. At first, it seems that he mistakes her screams for those of joy.

“Oh my gosh, look how high up you are! I’m so jealous!”

“Eeeeughhhhhhh!!!”

Knees pin together and hands grip for dear life as she flies through the sky. There are too many branches overhead; if she gets any higher, she will simply get concussed. The playmate has no choice but to shout down:

“Tobi, please stop!”

“I—oh?” he peeps, and for a second that mask and silence leave him totally unreadable. Is he angry? Is he upset? There’s no way to know, especially this far away, until he screams himself: “TAKARA-CHAN!”

The noble prince commits the ultimate sacrifice. As the woman swings back down from a height so grand it makes the rope slack in its bounce, he jumps into her path. “I’ll catch you!!!”

He kind of does. It mostly smacks her square into him.

The two kids rock backwards like a tumbleweed with an engine, rolling over and over and over. It’s a lifetime and a couple of scrapes and bruises later, but they do eventually fall still. Reflexively, the woman attempts to remove herself, but bizarrely finds she is stuck. A heavy breath tries to catch itself in her ear, and she finally feels ten fingertips pressed into her back.

“...Tobi?” It is undeniable now. He is holding her in place. Why? She squirms, but not hard enough as he doesn’t seem to be alerted to her soreness.

“...Hew,” the swirled face exhales. “That was a close one!” Before her mouth can open again, she feels a chin on top of her head. “At least you’re safe now.” The sincerity of this statement, as they lay curled together in the grass...is baffling, and yet...

And yet…

The thought drifts away as another day comes to pass.

“Takara-chan!”

He says her name with such affection and poise, a bouquet of roses held in both gloved hands and swung upward like an ax. Her own palms are held next to her head, having been approached abruptly and to her surprise, and the tops of her fingers bend as she begins to analyze the object shoved into her personal space.

“...Huh?”

Tobi slinks. “Wait, you don’t like flowers?! Kisame-senpai! Did you lie to me?!” A carving knife in the blue man’s grasp stills and fish eyes walk over to where the orange stands.

“No, I didn’t,” he huffs, the slightest annoyance on the back of his throat. “It’s probably that you cut those straight out of her garden.”

It’s with this statement that Tobi’s body speaks before his voice, head cocking at a sharp angle and even more of him limping lower to the ground. The traveler is silent, but not for the assumed reasons; she’s thinking again.

His gestures—...it’s like he’s a mime.

And yet more days pass.

Thump thump thump thump.

With no proper door for the makeshift bedroom of the attic, a wrist peeks above the crawlspace door and knocks its knuckles against the floor. The woman opens one eye, glancing out her single window. It is night. The panic at first dampers as the seconds go by, as she recognizes the moonlight slicking fiery color in the dark, as she moves over to lay on the old wood and lower her face towards his. Fingertips holding the edge of the “door,” this hole in her upstairs room.

“T-takara-chan…” The voice behind the mask quivers. “I-I-I can’t sleep. Can I be up here? With you?” Even at night, not one bit of his attire is retired; he is fully dressed, scarf and mask and all. He’s met with a confused hum, half asleep.

“Tobi, I—...it’s going to be darker and noisier up here,” she tries to rationalize to the man. And if anyone knows how much scarier sound gets at night when you’re in a pitch-black abandoned attic, it’s her. But he shakes his head.

“But you’re up here.”

...So she is. Can’t deny that.

“...Tobi, I…”

His hands are held to his chest, much like how she has done before when she is afraid. His face is not visible, but the emotion— the expression— he wants her to see is obvious. An inhale comes slow through her nose before she speaks her decision:

“Okay.”

He scrambles into the storage space no sooner than her permission is given, and the traveler is grateful she sat up and backed out as now arms are thrown around her. The trembling from him is...rhythmic. It reminds her of a cicada.

“I’m safe now...I’m okay with Takara-chan…”

Who is he speaking to? It’s like he’s a narrator…

“I love you, Takara-chan.”

He says it by the seventh day, whispered and airy like sweet cotton candy. She’s done nothing to deserve it. Guilt and beguilement alike wrack her heart. He has a dandelion clutched in two hands instead of a stolen bouquet.

“Tobi...I…” The two words have repeated, over and over again but never lead to anything. Two brows above the same number of worried eyes curl. He bends at the knees and tilts his chin up. The message is clear:

Say it back.

But she cannot. This is so much— too much— and none of it makes sense. “Tobi…” What can she say to this? All week he’s been attached at the hip, like she’s the first person that’s given him the time of day, the only one that has ever said so much as hello, you deserve my attention. Not only is it not good for him, but she can’t discern the origin. Why is he so childish? Desperate? Pressuring?

It’s like he’s—

It hits her, and just as it does, that’s when Tobi presses forward with his script:

“...You don’t know what it’s like to be loved...do you?” The last two words have such a tinge to them, and it confirms her suspicions. “That’s okay.” He is so still, her stare locked on that one black hole.

“I can show you.”

Instinctively, she swallows and her eyes go wide. Too close, Tobi realizes. It’s time to back off. A few steps backwards, stumbling and tripping over his own feet on purpose. “Sorry! I— oh, sorry! I’ll just—” Don’t say too much. Weed in tow, he walks without looking until he can squeeze around the corner and out of her sight.

From one performer to another, she notes how well he plays the boy next door.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

I need a dictionary

Someone look me up and define me

Please remind me

Who I'm supposed to be around you

So you will do what I want you to

I'm always winning the wrong game

I don't remember my real name

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The day has finally come, perhaps for real this time, and she is nowhere to be found. As soon as the traveler saw the cloaks on the edge of her horizon, she turned tail and ran.

“Takaraaaa-chaaaaan?” the saccharine call sing-songs. The others haven’t caught on yet, more wrapped up in the zombies’ arrival than they are the sound of the back door knocking shut. “Oh?”

A hand grabs the end of a green scarf as he passes a thick bramble of berries, the woman’s knees to her chest. He almost walked past. Maybe she should have let him. Her gut said no.

If someone can save her, it’s him.

“Takara-chan!” Tobi has repeated her name over and over and over again, and each time before she has at least shifted expression, gifted her recognition of his excitement. Now, however, almost like his disguise, her face doesn’t change at all, not even as he lowers himself to her level, holding his knees and getting right in her space. “Takara-chan, you gotta come back with me! Hidan and Kakuzu just came to see you!”

Hollow eyes, unblinking, stare up at him. How interesting. He cocks his head.

“Aren’t...you...excited?” After all, she was when the woman assumed Tobi was her old friends. Those eyes bore into him, and slowly, lips part. It is only now, perhaps, that it is clear that she is so tense she is afraid to move.

“Aren’t you tired?”

A question returned from the depths of her soul. The concealment of his tilts the other direction. “Huh?” But he heard what she said, and she knows it. Tobi is, after all, a caricature of herself.

“I’m afraid,” she explains, under her breath. It sounds calm but it is merely frozen. “That I’m losing myself.”

Tobi says nothing. The black hole gapes at her. She repeats herself, if only for emphasis:

“Aren’t you tired? Aren’t you tired of performing?”

…

…

…

An accusation of this caliber warrants a response. He must speak back.

“...I don’t know what you mean, Takara-chan,” he lies in a calculated cadence.

But the performer understands how hard it is to just stop, so she talks under a correct assumption: that he knows very well. “I can’t always tell what face I’m wearing, you know?” A confession, deeper and uglier than any love she could deserve. “How I’m supposed to act.”

Her words tumble one after the other, invisible masks slipping through palms she raises, staring so intensely at. If she stares at them hard enough, will her hands bleed? Will they show the real face they’re hiding from her?

“Who likes what. Who hates who. If-...if I take time to think, people get mad,” she confesses her greatest weakness. It is one that has existed long before the Akatsuki, since the moment the curse of consciousness entered her brain and told her she is bad, bad, bad.

“If I respond before thinking, I say the wrong thing, and people still get mad!” There are going to be so many balls to juggle now, one person to throw up in the air just to catch another. The more people there are, the less time she has to think. The less time she has to think, the more she will fuck up. If you miss one ball, the others will fall.

From one clown to another, how do you do it?

Existing is exhausting, especially when stakes are so high. Her head throws up to look at him, eyes nearly blinded with gobs of tears. They still do not blink, as if they deserve to sting.

“And it’s just so goddamn PATHETIC that I can’t figure out which one to wear for you!”

She’s not a liar, no. Just a people pleaser. That’s most certainly a worse thing to be. She needs advice and she needs it NOW.

“Everyone is so different...and they’re all counting on me to be happy. For me to keep the peace. Tobi...I…” As her throat chokes, she tries to gesture much like he does, much like Tobi needs to when he can’t express with his face. Her arms fling like the fool is trying to guide him into her heart. Help me. Help me. “How can I manage all that?!”

A desperate plea has no easy answer. Slowly, the man drops from his kneel until he joins her on the dirty forest floor. So curious he has been about the newcomer, about her spell. Each prod, each step in this dance, they’ve both just been circling around each other, trying to find the right pace, the right words, the right time. Are they waiting for the other to stumble in this ballet, or has he been enjoying a worthy partner? Who is she…? How did she get here, how can she bring the worst of men under her thumb? She claims she has failed to allude him, and yet, perhaps, the woman is more of a master of the masquerade than he.

If she can lie to herself so well, too.

He should have known all along. He should have recognized the traits he sees in himself. Perhaps it does not matter how on purpose her charm is. In the end, she is just a lost stranger with a bleeding heart, and others around her are starved of love. That’s a lot of responsibility for one girl, regardless of how keenly aware she is of the precarious sword she balances across the tip of. Maybe even more so.

It’s harder to keep going forward if someone tells you don’t look down.

“I don’t know,” he whispers, so quietly as to not betray his real voice. “I’m sorry.”

The masked man wants to speak stronger, so painfully much about a chord struck so loudly that it echoes in his empty soul, but his words must be reserved. If he does it now, they will arrive deep and hollow, and it is not yet the time for him to change his face for her. Perhaps in time, but not now. Even if there is knowledge his is fake, the other performer in their theater of two does not know what is real.

So only in secret, behind the swirl, is he actually another human being, reaching his hand for hers to take.

She doesn’t know the partner in her duet. Not at all. But she knows who he wants her to think he is, and that’s so much they already have in common, so much that can be relied upon.

An audience can only suspend their belief for so long; she cannot hide here forever. The situation will still exist, the dynamics will still need appeasing, failure and success alike will always come, hand in hand. Their fingers interlock as two neighbor kids end playtime, their secret real lives, going back home to names that are not their own. The prince can pretend he rescued the princess, twigs still stuck in their hair to prove it.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Sometimes, I think all I'm ever doing is

Trying to convince myself I'm alive

Sometimes, I think all I'm ever doing is

Trying to convince myself I'm alive

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

[tchaikovskaya]

can you explain whats going on w wnba/caitlin clark effect? I don't follow sports and I'm not American but I am nosy

lol i adore this message actually. yes im happy to explain. but im terrible at keeping it brief so get ready lmao: (tldr at the end)

caitlin clark is a women's basketball player who played in college for the university of iowa. she graduated back in may and this is her first season in the WNBA. a few months ago, during her senior season at iowa, she broke the all-time record for points scored in her college career, for both men's and women's basketball. she's very talented, she makes these crazy 3-point shots (idk how much surface knowledge you have of basketball so i dont wanna sound condescending by overexplaining stuff but yeah a regular basket is worth 2 points and if you shoot from beyond the big semi circle drawn on the court around the hoop, that's worth 3 points bc it's much farther away).

last year, in april 2023, the university of iowa made it all the way to the finals of the national championship tournament. they played against LSU, who ended up winning by a huge margin. caitlin clark was (and is) a bit of a trash talker, like taunting the players on the opposing team during a game etc. and thats fine, it's part of the sport, it comes with the territory of being a fierce competitor. but when LSU won, the star of LSU's team, Angel Reese, went up to Caitlin before the game was officially over (like the game clock was still running and the players were still on the court) and did this little hand wave gesture that caitlin had done to one of Angel's teammates. basically rubbing her face in the fact that they ended up winning and they beat caitlin and her team. VIDEO to clarify lol idk how much sense that made.

okay thats the backstory, so NOW the shitstorm starts.

there was a TON of media attention given to that one moment. it broke into mainstream news media, not just basketball fans or even sports fans in general. Angel Reese is a black woman from Baltimore, Maryland (which has a reputation for being very poor and there being a lot of gang violence and crime, etc). Caitlin Clark is a white woman from Iowa. People made that moment into a huge Thing, saying Angel is classless, she's a violent thug, she's arrogant and rude, basically everything negative you can say about a black person without outright calling them a slur but everyone knows what you really mean. By contrast, Caitlin was made into this poor fragile victim in the situation. just an innocent white Midwestern girl being picked on by this big mean scary """Thug""" (wink wink). naturally, the reactionary far right made this a huge thing of identity politics and culture war. "Caitlin is a Victim who did nothing wrong and everyone hates her because she's white in a black-dominated sport and she's more talented than them and they just can't handle it." that kind of shit.

so the next year is both caitlin's and angel's senior year. caitlin broke several scoring records during that season (good for her, she's talented) and women's college basketball was getting more attention than ever, thanks in large part to the publicity boost the whole Angel vs Caitlin encounter got. they didn't play each other, since Louisiana and Iowa are in different regions of the country they really were only going to meet in the national championship tournament. and they did, in the semifinal round. Iowa won. everyone framed it as Caitlin's Revenge, of course. Right wing bigots, who have practically made Caitlin their mascot for white supremacy in sports at this point, had a field day with that and said some of the most vile racist and sexist shit possible. Hardly surprising but still very upsetting to watch.

a couple months ago, Angel and Caitlin both joined the WNBA. the way the draft works is that, to keep the league mostly balanced and competitive (so theres not one team with every star player and every other team has nobody and sucks ass lol), the lowest ranked teams from the previous season get the first choice of new players. naturally, caitlin was the first one to be picked lol. the media attention focused on her in college has followed her to the WNBA, but she has not been nearly as successful there. she was kind of a big fish in a small pond in college, and now she's been plopped into the ocean. her fame is way out of proportion with her actual athletic performance in her first few weeks of professional play. also, professional basketball is a lot more physically aggressive and rough than college basketball, and Caitlin is getting roughed up by the other teams' players regularly. this happens to every rookie, it's not new and it's also not personal. but the brigade of weird ass right wing losers who have made her their Aryan Princess has insisted that the other players are targeting her on purpose because they want to humble her and they're jealous of her talent and fame and they're being unnecessarily violent (again with the racist dogwhistles) and they have a vendetta against caitlin.

anyway tl;dr

the "caitlin clark effect" is basically like. this huge surge in attention that womens basketball has gotten, and CC is given ALL of the credit for it, despite the sport having been steadily growing for years now. thousands of people come to games, millions tune in to the games on TV, etc. but...... it's only for games caitlin's team (the Indiana Fever) is playing. yeah the attention has brought new fans in who otherwise wouldnt notice womens basketball or care about it at all, but for the most part the new fans are not basketball fans, they are caitlin clark fans.

This post is an example of how weird it all is and how the fans act.

and now the newest controversy is that she wasn't named to the US olympic team, despite her being huge for TV ratings and public hype/attention for women's basketball. the reality is that she simply was not good enough to be a better asset to the team than any of the 12 women who were selected. and this USA team is one of the best teams ever put together. it's not a popularity contest, it's not about TV ratings or ticket sales, it's about winning. but instead, her not being picked is being called a "snub" and has added fuel to the "poor caitlin everyone is so jealous of how much of a star she is and they're retaliating against her for it!" narrative.

her popularity and fame are propelled by some very dark political currents, and it has become part of this huge american cultural split that right wing extremists are making from mainstream society. she's Special because she's talented in a sport that's been historically dominated (or, lets be real, built) by black women, and there's the angle of gender non-conformity there too (female athletes regardless of orientation are already seen as like "butch lite" and need to be super feminine to compensate) and homophobia (lots of lesbians in basketball lol) and she's seen as this figure who is [nobly] disrupting the status quo of that subculture.