#by the way they were written as my PCs best friend

[isenstar777]

37K words in a month. We're not playing in DnD until the 2nd Feb. If I can write another 13000 words before then, I can say I've written a novel between sessions.

[creamhoodie]

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖ Internet Cafe Love ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖

synopsis: The white haired boy who regularly visits the same internet cafe as you becomes your boyfriend but can your relationship survive when his best friend seems distrustful of you?

warnings: 7,915 words (long one shot with multiple settings),Nagi X female reader, gamer Nagi, per fluff no smut since it is written while he attends high school still.

You had often noticed the white haired boy at the internet cafe as he seemed to go nearly every night the way you did. 

While you also brought projects and subjects to study on the side when you were taking a break, you noticed he never took breaks, the clicking of the keyboard and mouse were constant companions. This had led to you bringing your own noise canceling headphones that were much more soundproof than the gamer ones that came with the PC set at the cafe.

That was your current situation, headphones in practicing a new writing style of kanji when you felt a light tapping on your headphones. You glanced up and towering over you was the white haired boy. He wore an oversized gray sweatshirt and black sweatpants. You moved your headphones around your neck. 

“Did you need something?” You asked, meeting his gray eyes. 

“Do you have any money?” He asked straightforwardly. 

“Money? What for?” You asked, looking him up and down again. He didn’t seem in need based on his lounge outfit and you now noticed the light up rainbow keyboard he had under his arm. It had gone unnoticed before since his tall domineering figure was the main spectacle. 

“Lemon tea. I wanna buy one from the vending machine but I’m low on money because I spent it all on this and the gacha games on my phone,” he said motioning to the keyboard.

You raised a brow at not only his abruptness but also his poor money management. You had some cash on you but weren’t too keen on giving it up since you planned on getting food at your favorite food stand after you left the cafe.

“Well I don’t have any money,” you said.

“Bummer,” he replied, not sounding convinced as he plopped down in the spot next to you and began removing the default keyboard and setting his own up to the PC. 

You bit the inside of your cheek, chewing on it a little to hide your annoyance. Now he was gonna be right next to you making all this noise. 

“Do you really have to sit here?” You asked. 

He looked over at you as the PC booted up, his gray eyes seeming slightly hurt.

“Is that a problem?” He asked. The way he asked made you feel guilty. Yes he was a bit eccentric and odd but so far he was harmless.

“No it’s fine,” you said. By now your kanji was forgotten and you watched as he opened a first person shooter game and signed into his account.

“God of soccer?” You teased regarding his gamertag. 

“Oh yeah I’m on the soccer team at Hakuho High School,” he said. 

This guy went to the elite prep school? He didn’t seem like the type. You yourself were in the neighboring public school.

“I wasn’t aware Hakuho had a team,” you stated as he loaded into a game. 

“My friend Reo and I started the club up so we’d have a team to go to nationals.”  His focus was now on his game however as he had chosen a sniper character. You watched as he hit every headshot. He was eerily good at the game and you didn’t miss how match chat came up with the enemy team accusing him of using aimbot. When his team won the game he exited the queue and remained on the menu and looked over at you as he had been aware you were watching the whole time.

“You’re really good, how long have you played that game?” You asked.

“Just a few months now,” he said, shrugging. 

“And you aim that good already?” You asked in disbelief. You weren’t half bad yourself and had always considered your aim to be impressive but his was godly.

“I grew up playing first person shooter games,” he said as if it was no big deal. He glanced at your notepad before adding, “what’s with the studying?” 

You blushed. 

“I alternate between studying and gaming,” you answered his question. 

“No, I mean I see you studying here all the time even when it’s not exam season,” he said. So he had noticed you before as well? That was to be expected as you were both regulars. 

“I just like to study consistently,” you replied. He made a face and you added, “you don’t? You go to Hakuho, surely that’s more rigorous than my public school.” 

“Well sure but I just study a few days before the exams. Hey, are you sure you don’t have any money? I could really use that lemon tea.” 

His delivery made you wanna laugh. He was easy going and charming all without meaning to be and yet he was still odd, you hadn’t ever met anyone like him before. 

“I'm still thinking about it. Do you have a name or is it just god of soccer?” You asked. 

He chuckled.

“My name is Seishiro Nagi. What’s yours?” 

“Y/N Y/LN,” you replied, telling him your first and last name as well.

“Nice,” he replied, “you wanna play some games?” 

The two of you were duos on the same team with him playing the sniper character again and you his support offering him both damage boosts and heals. Between both of your combined skills and efforts the two of you went on an eight game win streak. 

An hour of gaming had gone by even though it didn’t feel like it and the two of you decided to call it quits.

“So Y/N,” he started.

“No about the lemon tea,” you joked. He shook his head.

“Forget about that. I have a home game tomorrow at my school in the evening. The match starts at two. You should come,” he said. You noticed the slight pinking of his ears when he said it. 

“I’ll try to go,” you said. You did enjoy playing with him even though originally you had felt slightly annoyed by his presence. 

“You should, our school’s marching band is gonna be there too for the first time,” he said. He finished unplugging his keyboard and putting the original one back and stood up. He scrolled through his phone quickly before adding, “will you be back online tonight? Maybe we could play some more too.” 

You felt your heart somersault at how he sounded hopeful.

“I may but I’m not sure I don’t usually play late.” 

“Bummer. Hey Y/N?” 

You prepared to be asked about the damn lemon tea again. 

“What?”

“Do you have a boyfriend?” He asked shyly.

“No I don’t.” 

“Good keep it that way. I’ll see you online tonight,” he said quickly before waving bye and taking off. 

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You were back home in your room that night freshly showered and sitting on your bed getting ready to settle in for the night and watch TV. 

You heard a notification from your PC and received the notification on your phone as well through the gaming app. 

It was Nagi using the whisper feature where you could message online friends direct messages.

GodOfSoccer: get on 

You smiled at his eagerness. 

SleepyKoala: Kinda don’t want to I’m tired

GodOfSoccer: don’t care I wanna play with you 

SleepyKoala: Nagi we played so much today 

GodOfSoccer: true well are you coming to my game tomorrow? 

SleepyKoala: Yes

GodOfSoccer: WOHOO LETS GOOO 

GodOfSoccer: forgot to say earlier cute gamertag 

SleepyKoala: Thanks :) 

GodOfSoccer: give me your number 

You did and not even a minute went by before you got a message from him. It was a plushie of a koala on his desk next to his PC monitor. You also caught a view of the rainbow keyboard from earlier. You created a contact ID for him and added a koala emoji to the end of his name. 

You: Cute plushie 

Nagi: he says thank you. I’m gonna game a bit I’ll see you tomorrow 

You: see you 

You then settled at last to watch more of the Netflix show you were currently binging until you lulled to sleep. 

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The next morning you woke up at noon having slept in later than you would have liked. After doing your morning routine and eating, you made your way to the supermarket to buy a lemon tea for Nagi. 

You hadn’t been able to ignore the butterflies that you had gotten thinking about him. You had checked his online status and had noticed he had stayed up until one in the morning gaming. 

Supermarket mission successful, you began to make your way to Nagi’s high school. You had timed your schedule perfectly so the metro would arrive at 1:30 giving you enough time to head to the stadium before the game started. Your outfit of choice was casual with a tote bag to hold the lemon tea and your noise canceling headphones though you doubted you’d need them. 

Arriving at the school on time you couldn’t help but notice how much more expensive everything seemed. You knew it was an elite academy but as you followed the crowd into the stadium you noticed just how much the school invested into its extracurriculars. 

“Y/N!” 

You turned around and there was Nagi coming up to you. 

“Hey Nagi,” you replied feeling slightly shy from your flirtatious exchanges with him. 

“You like the stadium? Reo’s dad is this mega rich guy and he donated the funds and manpower to build it. He doesn’t care for soccer but he frequently donates funds to the school for them to use for whatever purpose they’d like.” 

You nodded. He looked handsome in his soccer uniform, the black jersey, shorts and black socks contrasting against his white hair and skin. 

“Oh before I forget, since you kept asking yesterday,” you said, taking the tea bottle out of the tote bag and giving it to him. That made him laugh in glee.

“Thanks for this,” he said gratefully. 

“Nagi! We need to warm up!” A purple haired figure shouted as he ran over. When he caught up to where the two of you were his equally purple eyes were distrustful of you. 

“Reo. This is Y/N. Remember I told you about her?” Nagi said. 

So this was Reo? His suspicious eyes took you all in.

“Yeah I remember. Nice to meet you,” he said but his words didn’t match his tone or expression.

“Nice to meet you too. Nagi’s talked a lot about you as well,” you said and you noticed that did soften his eyes a bit if not fully. 

Nagi seemed oblivious. 

“Y/N, if you sit there you’ll have a good view of me,” he said pointing to a specific section before continuing, “and I want you to look at me not any of these other guys.” 

His words sent a jolt of heat between your legs and to your face but you simply nodded and assured him you’d be watching him. 

“Nagi,” Reo scolded impatiently, “we have to warm up.” 

“Alright alright,” he said following him but yelling back to you, “stay after. Text me if you can’t find me.” 

You headed to the section he had designated would have the best view of him. 

Throughout the game Nagi had lived up to his gamertag. He truly was a god of soccer. He was lightning bolt fast his legs moved just as fast as you had seen his fingers were capable on the keyboard. 

He also worked incredibly well with Reo. They were a dynamic duo on the field and the passes between them were strategic. 

When Nagi had scored a goal he had looked directly at you and pointed, unmistakably claiming it had been for you. 

His team was in the lead right now and you hoped it would remain that way. 

During the halfway break, you waited eagerly waiting to see him again. When they came back his eyes searched for you instantly and met yours sending you a sweet smile. As expected his team won and you cheered happily for him. As others started leaving the stadium you waited for him afterwards like he had asked you to. 

You didn’t have to wait longer than ten minutes. He was racing towards you, changed clothes, freshly showered and his gym bag over his shoulder. To your dismay you noticed Reo tagging along behind. It’s not that you didn’t like him, you just didn’t understand his scowls and distrustful attitude toward you.

“Y/N! Did you like the game?” He asked, standing in front of the railing of the seat you had remained at. 

“I did. It was so great seeing you score,” you said. 

“I wanted to score for you,” he said, his cheeks turning pink. “Hey Reo and I are gonna go get something to eat. Do you wanna come?” 

Your eyes dashed to Reo a second after Nagi asked the question and you could tell he was exasperated.

“That’s okay I think I’m just gonna head home,” you said softly. 

Of course you wanted to spend time with Nagi but you couldn’t risk Reo disliking you even more after all he is Nagi’s best friend his opinion must count for something. 

Nagi, still oblivious to all this, furrowed his brows in confusion.

“Okay. Well when can I see you again?” He asked. He seemed hurt that you weren’t coming. 

“I’m free tomorrow. Maybe text me later and we can come up with something,” you offered, not feeling comfortable under Reo’s purple gaze. 

“Okay I will. Thanks for coming, it really means a lot,” he said, giving you a sideways hug now as you stepped down from the bench you had been sitting at. He towered over you and he smelled incredibly good. 

“You’re welcome. I enjoyed every minute of it.” 

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“So how long have you and Reo known each other?” You asked as you took another mouthful of ramen. When you had gone home yesterday you had gotten caught up on school work and chores. Nagi had texted you at night and asked if you wanted to play some games to which you had agreed. Somewhere between steam rolling the enemy teams and playing silly custom games in the arcade he had suggested going out for ramen and boba the next night.

Now as the two of you sat in the restaurant’s outdoor patio seating with red paper lanterns illuminating the night sky you were interested in knowing more about his best friend who didn’t seem to take to you. 

“Not too long. I met him here at school probably six months ago,” he replied. 

“He seems very fond of you,” you said. 

Nagi shrugged.

“Reo got me into soccer and I have him to thank for that. Before him no one really talked to me at school.” 

This surprised you. He was good looking and charming, sure a bit strange and had his quirks but he was friendly and good company.

“Really? Not even girls?” You teased. 

“Especially girls,” he joked back. His gray eyes were looking at you softly. It gave your stomach butterflies. Lately it seemed like all he did was either give you butterflies or make you belly laugh. His hand reached out to lift your chin up so you were forced to meet his gray gaze head on. 

“You always look away from me when you notice me looking at you. You never look at me for too long,” he said in a gentle tone. 

“I don’t mean to on purpose,” you said trying to be casual although the thumping of your heart was a great contrast to the calm you were trying to portray. 

“I like when you look at me and when you watch me play video games and soccer,” he said, inching closer to bridge the gap between the two of you as you sat on opposite ends of the table. 

Was he going to kiss you? It seemed like that was his intention. You wanted to kiss him but worry and concern and feeling Reo’s stinging rejection you pulled your chin from his hand and looked away. When you glanced back at him he wasn’t looking at you for once but looking down at his lap with clear hurt in his eyes. 

“I thought you liked me too,” he said with embarrassment coloring his voice. You couldn’t take him thinking you were rejecting him, not when he was perfect and sweet and everything you could ever want.

“I do like you!” You said. 

“Then why won’t you let me kiss you? I want to so badly,” he asked in desperation.

“Reo-“ you started but he didn’t let you finish.

“Oh,” he said, sounding deflated, “do you like him or something?” It was obvious he was trying to sound nonchalant but jealousy threatened to burst through.

“No no I don’t. I mean I don’t dislike him. He’s your best friend so I don’t have anything against him. I just don’t like him in the way I like you,” you stammered. His response had thrown you off completely because it was the last thing you had expected him to say. 

“You don’t like him? Lots of girls do because his dad is that rich guy and girls think Reo is good looking,” Nagi said. 

“No, I don't see him that way. I like you,” you said, face flushing at your confession. 

“I’m confused. What does Reo have to do with you not letting me kiss you then?” 

“It’s just. Reo doesn’t seem to like me. He looks at me as if he’s distrustful and suspicious,” you said. 

Nagi instantly relaxed and laughed.

“Oh that’s just how he is. He’s very overprotective of me. It’s nothing personal he’ll grow out of it once you’re around more,” he said. 

While Nagi’s words assured you, you still found the whole bit a little odd but maybe that was just their friendship. Maybe Reo saw Nagi as a brother he looked out for. You decided to focus on the latter part of his sentence. 

“Once I’m around more?” 

At this he reached out across the table taking your hands in his.

“You know how I asked you if you have a boyfriend?” He asked playfully.

“Yes it wasn’t that long ago Nagi,” you replied.

“Well I want to be your boyfriend,” he said. He looked at you from under his long eyelashes, his gray eyes so sweet and vulnerable. 

“Well I don’t know this guy at the internet cafe told me to not go getting a boyfriend,” you teased.

“What a little prick he probably wants you for himself,” he went along with your joke. 

The two of you laughed before he spoke again, 

“Can I be your boyfriend? I promise to be good.” 

“Yes you can be Nagi,” you replied. 

“Awesome. Can I kiss you now?” He asked practically whining.

“Yes Nagi,” you laughed but your lips were soon overtaken by his. The kiss was sweet and made your head spin. 

You wondered if this is what it meant to be on cloud nine. 

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Your routine for the past few weeks had become Nagi centered. 

You continued to go to the internet cafe regularly. In fact that’s where you spent the most time with Nagi since you still went to different schools. You would go watch him practice and go to his games, he had even given you one of his jerseys to wear and he was strict about you wearing it to each match. You’d stay up on video chat with him as well and watch as he streamed his games for you when you were too tired to play with him yourself. 

As for Reo, there wasn’t any progress to be made there as the two of you were still virtually strangers but at least his scowling had  toned down. 

“I wanna see you more often,” Nagi said, his lips kissing the top of your hair as you hugged him bye at the end of practice. 

“We see each other nearly everyday, Nagi,” you laughed. However he did have a point since the majority of the day you were at different schools you only saw him in the evenings at the internet cafe, at his practice, or when he had games on the weekends. You were also busy studying a lot of the time as well and still not feeling comfortable enough to hang out with him and Reo who was often around. 

“Why don’t you stay over this weekend?” He asked but was trying to hide the shyness he felt from asking. 

“You mean like at your dorm?” You asked. 

“Yeah, why not?” He shrugged. 

You thought about it, you were so comfortable with him you didn’t have any objections and most of all Reo wouldn’t be there. 

“Sounds like a plan.” 

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“This is Choki,” Nagi said, motioning to a little cactus in a pot on his desk. You had your travel bag with you around your shoulder and had taken the metro to go to Nagi’s dorm in the late evening. 

He had met you at the stop and walked you back to his room. 

“It’s very cute,” you said. He was eye level with the cactus smiling at it. 

“He is very cute not it,” he replied defensively. 

“Yes he is cute,” you corrected, continuing to look around his room.

For a dorm room it was quite spacious but that was to be expected of the elite school. His bed was made and neat with a plush dinosaur throw blanket folded neatly on the comforter. He had a television in his room on a stand next to his desk where his PC was. His PC setup consisted of the rainbow keyboard and the koala plush and Choki next to it, and a gaming chair. He also had a mini fridge with a magnet holding up a photo of Reo and him that was taken on a Polaroid camera. Towards the entrance of the room there was a sink and mirror and the toilet was secluded in a cupboard-like closet separate from the full walk-in closet that held his clothes. The room was illuminated blue from the LED lights he had. 

“What do you think of my room?” He asked tentatively as he watched you inspect the place. 

“I like it. It seems very comfortable and clean,” you replied.

He let out a sigh of relief.

“Good because I cleaned it before you came over. I’m not a slob or anything but I can get disorganized because I procrastinate,” he explained. 

You nodded but felt yourself blushing as now the full prospect of being alone with him was setting in. 

“You wanna watch a movie?” He asked. 

“Sure,” you replied. 

He grabbed the remote and laid back on his bed, kicking off his shoes while doing so.

“You can lay down you know,” he teased watching as you stood there. You followed his lead and also took off your shoes, dropping your overnight bag on the floor and laid down next to him. Gently he brought you closer to him, wrapping his arms around you and kissing your hair. He flicked through movies on the streaming service.

“Do you have a preference?” He asked. 

“We can watch whatever,” you replied. He chuckled.

“You’re not helping here,” he teased but then settled on an animated movie about animals. He started the film and then put the remote down, his arms still holding and caressing you. 

“Is this okay? I want you to be comfortable with me,” he asked. You could hear the vulnerability in his question however and knew that it would hurt him if you didn’t want him to touch you. Fortunately, you did enjoy his comfort and warmth. He felt like a bear hug. 

“It’s okay I’m comfortable like this,” you assured him. 

You watched the movie intently but your heart still pounded in excitement from his closeness and you wondered if he could hear it.

He watched the movie as well, occasionally peppering kisses into your hair or chuckling when he found something funny. It was peaceful and not awkward in the slightest. You enjoyed this comfort only Nagi could bring. If it were any other guy you’d worry about his intentions but when Nagi said watch a movie and spend time with you he meant it, not trying anything else besides cuddling.

Towards the end of the movie you heard slight snoring and looking up you saw Nagi had fallen asleep. He looked more boyish when sleeping. You watched the rest of the movie and when it finished you turned the tv off. Nagi was still fast asleep but you didn’t mind, taking it as a sign that he felt comfortable around you. Ever so carefully you moved out of his arms and went to brush your teeth using his sink. You then used his walk in closet to change into your oversized tee and shorts for sleeping. When you came back you saw Nagi blinking in confusion from having woken up. 

“I thought you left,” he said sadly.

“No Nagi, I was just changing. You fell asleep towards the end of the movie.”

“Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” he rushed to get his words out but you were quick to assure him.

“It’s okay, I thought it was sweet. I didn’t wanna wake you but I already brushed up for bed.”

He looked you up and down in your pajamas and his eyes softened. He repositioned himself so he was now laying in the bed underneath the sheets and blankets.

“Come snuggle with me. It felt so good having you in my arms.”

You obeyed his words and got into bed with him facing towards him. His  eyes looked at you lovingly.

“I love having you here. I got up early today to clean my room and make sure everything was perfect. That’s partly why I fell asleep but most of it was because of you. Cuddling you and smelling the nice scent of your hair was so relaxing.”

His way of declaring loving and saying things so openly with his childlike innocence was so endearing to you. Other guys were much more guarded and wouldn’t admit such things out of fear of vulnerability but Nagi just said what he always thought. 

“I love being here with you Nagi, you make me feel so safe,” you replied truthfully.

He pouted a little.

“You know you can call me baby or honey or anything you want,” he said. 

“Okay baby,” you said, giggling a bit. It was still new and felt a little strange coming out of your mouth. 

“Hey what’s funny?” He asked before adding: “you’re my baby and I’m yours and that’s that.”  He pulled you closer to him as you laughed.

“You’re right baby, you’re so needy,” you joked. 

He pouted again but it didn’t last long because he kissed you nice long and slow. He tasted so good like mint and just Nagi, his ocean breeze scent intermingling with the kiss. Your hands felt his soft white hair as you kissed and he moaned a little into your mouth. 

When your kiss broke you gazed at each other. 

“You mean everything to me,” he said, cupping your cheek. You curled up closer in his arms so he could snuggle you again how he had loved.

“You mean so much to me too,” you told him. He yawned.

“I wanna sleep with you again, it felt so good. This feels so good, but don’t get any ideas. I brushed my teeth before you got here,” he said. 

That made you belly laugh and swat him a little in laughter.

“What? It's true I always brush my teeth right before I see you. I want you to like me,” he said innocently.

“I do like you,” you said. In fact you were starting to think you more than liked him and as you both dozed off to sleep you heard him say the words you had been thinking out loud and it was the last thing you heard before being overtaken by sleep. 

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“I’ll be here waiting,” you told Nagi as he ran off towards the locker rooms to change for practice.

This morning you had woken up completely entangled and cuddled into him. His long legs had interlaced yours and after very prolonged kisses and cuddles you had gone out for miso soup for breakfast at a little restaurant nearby then returned to the high school campus for his practice. 

“I was almost starting to think he wasn’t gonna show up,” a voice said behind you. You turned around and Reo was standing behind you on the field already dressed in his uniform for practice.

“Reo, where did you come from?” You asked wondering how the two of you hadn’t noticed him on the way in.

He ignored your question and you felt small under his violet intense eyes. 

“You know Nagi is never late for practice. He’s usually here early with me,” he said in an accusatory tone. 

“Yeah sorry about that it’s just-“ you stammered but he cut you off.

“It’s just you were with Nagi last night and because of that he was thrown off routine this morning,” he finished for you. By now you felt yourself growing frustrated with him. You didn’t know him and he didn’t make any effort to know you, your only mutual connection was Nagi and he seemed hell bent on disliking you.

“Reo what is your problem with me?” You asked out of genuine curiosity and frustration.

He seemed more than happy to tell you.

“My problem is that ever since you’ve come into Nagi’s life he’s been changing. It all started with him wanting to spend more time at the internet cafe and when he told me it was because of some girl I knew it would become a problem,” he said. 

Nagi had been spending more time at the internet cafe not to play games but because he had wanted to see you? He had noticed you before he had even spoken to you and liked you? If it weren’t for this confrontation with Reo now you’d relish in that fact more.

“How is it a problem? We’re not doing anything wrong,” you said in an effort to defend yourself. 

“Maybe not, but Nagi isn’t like other guys, surely you’ve noticed that. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s a good guy. I don’t need you hurting him when he’s already changing for you,” he said.

“Changing how?” You said not fully understanding. 

“He’s more motivated. Before you I had to do everything for him because he thinks everything is a hassle. He showers after every game now because he knows you’re there waiting for him, he cleans his room because he knows you’re coming over, he does those things he normally wouldn’t wanna do because he has you in mind.” 

“Isn’t that a good thing?” You asked. 

Reo’s gaze was still sharp. 

“Maybe so but if you hurt him I’m worried he’s gonna be worse than before. Before he was just lazy after you hurt him he’ll just be unmotivated and depressed.” 

Your heart hurts at the thought. 

“I’m not gonna hurt him,” you said quietly. 

Reo didn’t seem convinced. 

“You and I both know that’s not how relationships work. Eventually you’ll hurt him and when you do I’ll never forgive you.” 

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GodOfSoccer: where did you go after practice? I thought you were gonna wait for me but Reo said you left early :( 

You saw the whisper message come through the game server as you loaded up the game to play. You had set your status to offline but Nagi was savvy enough to know when you were online. 

SleepyKoala: I didn’t feel good 

GodOfSoccer: do you need me to come over? i can take care of you 

SleepyKoala: No it’s okay 

GodOfSoccer: do you wanna play a few games? 

SleepyKoala: I think I just wanna play by myself 

GodOfSoccer: oh alright 

GodOfSoccer: good luck in your games :) 

GodOfSoccer went offline

You sighed as you watched him go offline and you knew you had hurt his feelings despite his good natured response. Nagi was never offline and he wasn’t the type to set his status to offline so you knew he was really not gonna play games tonight which didn’t bode well. You didn’t mean to hurt him, it's just you couldn’t get Reo’s words out of your head. He’d never forgive you if you hurt Nagi? You’d never forgive yourself. He was so good and sweet and pure and Reo was right that relationships were messy. Did you really want to be the one to give Nagi his first heartbreak? 

You tried to play a few games but it was futile, the game had grown stale without him. 

You logged off and crawled into bed. Soon it began to pour outside and it reflected your inner state. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The next two weeks were exam season so luckily you had an excuse to not be around Nagi as often. 

You stopped going to the internet cafe altogether and instead went to your school’s library to study. These days you only saw Nagi at his games and though he was understanding about it because he knew you had to study you could tell he was sad.

The two of you still texted at night but the conversation grew stale as Nagi wasn’t always the best texter and from your experience with him you knew that comfortable laid back atmosphere of being at peace with him was something text couldn’t capture. Text was made for talking and it forced this dynamic where it felt as if you always had to come up with something to say and often times the best moments with Nagi were just being able to enjoy each other’s presence. 

When you got home from school one afternoon you had noticed a bouquet of flowers waiting for you on the porch table. 

You had taken the flowers to your room and put them in a vase with water. You got your phone out to text him. 

You: Thanks for the flowers 

Nagi: you’re welcome. I know you’ve been working hard studying and I wanted you to have something to brighten up your desk. 

Your heart fluttered at his thoughtfulness and again you wondered why you were being so distant. You knew it wasn’t fair to him but what Reo said really got to you. You knew he was only looking out for his best friend but you were worried you were really going to be the one to hurt Nagi. 

Nagi: I miss you :( 

Nagi: Are you coming to my game tomorrow? 

You felt overwhelmed by it all. The flowers, his double texting, and all the while you still felt Reo’s disapproving eyes on you as if he were watching you now. Part of you thought maybe it was better to back out of things early on before they got any deeper. Maybe then Nagi wouldn’t be as hurt. It was that rationale that led to your reply:

You: Sorry I can’t. I have to study now more than ever. 

Nagi: oh okay

He didn’t say anything more after that. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

When you woke up the next morning you had ten missed calls from an unsaved number. You also had text messages as well. You unlocked your phone in confusion. The messages read:

It’s Reo, are you awake? 

Nagi is hurt he got hurt at the game 

He’s been crying for you and wants you here

You instantly called the number back. 

“Reo what’s wrong? Where are you guys?” You asked, your panic and worry not giving you time to feel weird about calling him. 

“We’re headed to a nearby medcenter clinic that's across the school. You can meet us there,” he said then hung up. 

You raced outta bed and got dressed quickly. You didn’t bother to eat breakfast as all you could think about was how you hadn’t been there for Nagi. You were so worried and your heart hurt. 

The ride on the metro seemed obnoxiously long despite being the same as always. You anxiously tapped your fingers along your thighs the whole way there. 

At last you arrived and headed toward the clinic Reo had described. You felt nervous and shy as a nurse directed you to what room Nagi was in when you asked and told her you were his girlfriend. 

In front of his door you hesitated a little bit not knowing what to expect. How hurt was Nagi? Would he be upset with you for not being there for him? The only answers you’d get would be through that door. 

You pushed the door open slowly. 

Nagi was laying down in bed with his right ankle wrapped in med bandages and an ice pack against it. He perked up instantly when he saw you.

“Hey I knew you’d come,” he said. This wasn’t what you expected. He wasn't upset with you at all.

“Reo said you asked for me,” you said, noticing how the room was devoid of any purple. 

“I did. I needed my girl,” he said. His words tugged at your heartstrings as you walked closer to the bed so you were right beside him. 

“Where is Reo?” You asked. 

“He went to get us some food from the cafeteria and call my parents,” he said. You stroked his hair. 

“So how bad is it?” You asked. 

“Not too bad it’s just a sprained ankle but it hurt like hell when it happened. It should heal quickly,” he said. 

You nodded and stopped stroking his hair. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there when it happened,” you said. 

He shrugged but you could tell he was a little downcast even if he didn’t say it.

“It’s okay I know you’ve been busy,” he said. There was an awkward tension in the air that you knew was your doing. You were the one that had been distant lately. You just didn’t want to hurt him but it seems like you already were. 

“How long are you gonna be here?” You asked.

“Reo wants me to stay for a few days for some reason since he thinks I won’t take care of it but I told him I have you to take care of me,” he said beaming up at you his smile wavered when you didn’t react and added,”you will take care of me won’t you?” 

You wished he hadn’t asked that with his begging gray eyes that looked at you with the eagerness of a puppy.

“Nagi I’m just really busy right now, maybe Reo is right,” you said softly. His face fell.

“Why don’t you wanna be around me anymore? Am I doing something wrong? Am I spending too much time on soccer?” He asked. 

“No Nagi it’s not like that-“

“Bullshit. I know you have to study but you always did before and we were able to see each other. I’ve tried to be a good boyfriend and spend time with you by letting you stay over. I just don’t know what I did,” his voice almost broke. You reached for his hands but he pulled them away.

“Nagi, you didn’t do anything. I love being with you and spending time with you,” you said. He looked at you again, his eyes ever so stormy and sad.

“Then tell me the truth,” he pleaded. 

You swallowed, you'd tell him the truth but you didn’t want to make Reo look bad after all he was his best friend. 

“You remember the morning after I slept over and we went to your practice?” You started reluctantly.

“Yes,” he replied, understandably confused.

“Reo started talking to me and saying this stuff about how he’s scared I’ll hurt you. He told me how you’re already changing for me and taking initiative and doing things you normally wouldn’t like: showering after your games and waking up early to clean your room. He’s worried I’ll break your heart and you’ll be unmotivated and depressed.” 

There was silence for about a minute after you told him this. He was the first to break it.

“He really told you I didn’t shower after games before you?” He asked.

“I guess he kinda implied it,” you said wondering why he focused so much on that part. 

“Well that’s embarrassing,” he said with a wry smile before adding,”you don’t have to worry about hurting me.” He reached for your hand now and brought it up to his lips to kiss softly. 

“Why aren’t you more concerned about this? Reo is right. Relationships are messy and people get hurt and I don’t want to hurt you ever,” you said shivering at how his lips felt against your skin. 

“Reo is cynical. Yes people get hurt but I don’t wanna close myself off from you just because something may or may not happen.” He kept your hand laced in his and that’s how the two of you stood until Reo himself walked in a few moments later. He had two trays of sandwiches that he set down and seeing the state the two of you were in he asked: “Am I interrupting?”

“No Reo, I actually wanted to talk to you. Why have you been telling my girlfriend that she’s gonna hurt me?” Nagi asked in a conversational tone.

Reo glanced at you before looking back at Nagi.

“Nagi, you know everything I do is to protect you. I don’t want you getting hurt. You know how the girls at school are,” Reo replied. 

You didn’t understand this and looked curiously at Nagi but he ignored you.

“She’s not like that, she's nice to me and sweet and I need the two of you to get along otherwise you’re hurting me both,” he said firmly. 

At last you and Reo looked at each other, his last words resonating with both of you so there was no malice or ill will in the others eyes.

A nurse interrupted, coming in and saying she was going to change Nagi’s bandages to freshen them up before he left for the night and you and Reo were ushered into the hallway. 

“Thanks for coming,” Reo said genuinely once the door closed behind the two of you. 

“You’re welcome. I really care about him,” you said. 

“Yeah I can see that,” he said, running a hand through his hair that was loose out of its usual ponytail. 

“I didn’t mean to snitch on you or anything like that. I only told Nagi because he was asking why I was being so distant,” you said to him. He nodded in understanding. 

“No it’s fine I knew something was up when he was bumming around and blue because you weren’t around all of a sudden. It’s my fault,” he said. Now that he wasn’t looking at you with suspicion he seemed friendly and you could see why he got along with Nagi. 

“I know you were just trying to protect him since he’s your best friend,” you said.

“Still I shouldn’t have said anything to you like that or in that way. The last thing I wanted was for Nagi to be sad but I seemed to have caused it by you being distant. I've never seen him so down like that before.” His words made you feel guilty, after all you had only distanced yourself in order to not hurt him. 

“What did you mean by that comment about girls at your school?” You asked him. 

“Girls at school think Nagi is weird. Well, not just the girls but everyone does. He sticks to himself and he’s not concerned with impressing people the way everyone else is,” he said. 

You did know Nagi was a bit odd but he was endearing and now you knew why Reo was so protective of him. He was very attractive as well so you had truly thought he was joking when he had said that girls especially don’t talk to him. 

“Reo I wanna be able to get along. I don’t wanna stay away from Nagi because I care about him,” you said, deciding to call for a truce.

“Yeah that sounds good to me. I guess I  judged you unfairly and like Nagi said he wants us to be able to get along. It’s just always been him and me so I have to get used to it,” he said. 

You assured him you didn’t wanna ruin his and Nagi’s friendship and that of course they’d still be able to do the things they’ve always done. When the nurse came out of the room you both went back inside to find Nagi playing games on his phone in his typical fashion. 

You and Reo smiled at each other both knowing this was a sign he was recovering. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“I never said thank you,” Nagi said, stopping in his tracks as you both walked in the park.

It had been three weeks since his injury and he had recovered with you by his side. These walks with him had been a form of physical therapy but once he had healed they had stuck around as a routine thing for you two. 

“For what?” You asked. 

“For accepting being my girlfriend. I had liked you for a long time before I spoke to you and I was always too nervous to do so,” he said. He looked wonderful surrounded by the cherry blossoms of the trail you too were on. It had been his idea to go cherry blossom viewing with you and he had been looking forward to it for weeks even drawing a little blossom on your calendar for this date. 

“You’re welcome. Reo had told me about how you had started spending more time at the internet cafe because of me,” you said. A blush the color of the blossoms formed on his cheeks.

“The only downside to you and Reo being friends now is that he tells you all the embarrassing unfiltered things about me,” Nagi said but you could tell it meant a lot to him that you and Reo got along. 

In the weeks following Nagi’s injury you had stayed with him at his dorm and took care of him and Reo would come over in the evenings and all three of you would binge watch shows and movies you took turns picking. Of course you and Nagi continued to support Reo by watching him practice and coming to games as well while Nagi was healing. 

“I don’t think it’s embarrassing. It’s sweet you like me so much,” you said. 

He reached out to cup your face in his hands in the way he was so fond of doing. 

“I more than like you,” he said seriously before adding,”I know you were scared of hurting me but the truth is I’m not scared to be hurt if it’s by you. I wanna be with you always.” 

Your head was spinning at the way his eyes penetrated into yours. 

“I more than like you too,” you said shyly. He looks at you lovingly before leaning in to kiss you. 

When he pulls away he looks into your eyes and tells you those three words you had sworn you had heard before you had dozed off to sleep when you had slept over: “I love you.” 

This time as he kisses you again even though it feels like it, you know you’re not dreaming.

[themdera]

Anyone but him | Arthur Hill

“Same Building, same friends, zero patience for each other. For now.”

Kirstie stood in front of her mirror, adjusting her hair for the third time. She felt a mix of excitement and anxiety about attending Chris’s dinner party. After moving into the flat below him, she’d only heard stories about his friends— ArthurTV, and Bach. Chris had promised they were fun, but that didn’t ease her nerves. What if they didn’t like her? What if she didn’t like them?

With a final deep breath, Kirstie grabbed her jacket and made her way upstairs. She knocked on Chris’s door, and it swung open almost immediately, revealing a beaming Chris.

“You made it! I was beginning to think I’d have to come and drag you here myself!” he teased, pulling her into a quick hug.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Kirstie replied, rolling her eyes but smiling as she stepped inside.

The flat was warm and inviting, the scent of something delicious wafting from the kitchen. The living room was filled with laughter and casual chatter, and Kirstie felt her heart race as she spotted three guys lounging on the couch.

Chris led her over, gesturing grandly. “This is Kirstie! Although I feel like I didn't need to say this.”

Bach looked up, a cheeky grin on his face. “Yeah you didn't.! Chris won’t stop talking about you. Welcome to the shit show.”

ArthurTV smirked, raising his drink. “If he’s been hyping you up, you must be something special. I’m Arthur.”

Bach, sitting cross-legged with a warm smile, nodded in greeting. “Pleasure to meet you, Kirstie. Don’t mind Chris and ArthurTV; they’re just jealous I’m the best-looking one here.”

Kirstie chuckled, feeling her tension ease slightly. “Oh really? I'm pretty sure that changed when I came in, but I’ll have to make that judgement for myself,” she quipped back, earning a round of laughter.

“You’re going to fit right in,” Chris declared, clapping his hands together. “Let’s eat before everything gets cold.”

As they gathered around the dining table, Kirstie found herself seated between ArthurTV and Bach. Chris had gone all out, with a spread that looked as good as it smelled.

“So, Kirstie,” ArthurTV started, leaning slightly toward her. “What games are you streaming these days?”

Kirstie took a sip of her drink, feeling more at ease. “I just started streaming GTA V. It’s been a wild ride so far. Lots of chaos and swearing and laughing. I Play with Ginge sometimes and I play Fifa every so often too, ill play anything my stream ask me too to be honest, I did a sims challenge during a 24-hour stream, they asked me to make Chris and harry and let them get married, so I did.”

Chris annoyed “yeah and thanks to that I keep getting fan fiction written about it”

Kirstie impressed with herself “yup and thanks to that I bought my new pc”

Bach leaned in, a mischievous glint in his eye. “ I rate that, Are you a total wild card, or do you play it safe?”

“Depends on my mood,” Kirstie replied with a smirk. “But I’d say I enjoy a bit of reckless abandon now and then. I like leaving a game like sims or   on while streaming when I take a stream break and grab a drink or answer a call.”

ArthurTV raised his glass again with a grin. “That’s what we like to hear! Welcome to the shit show. I can imagine that Ginge is an annoying twat sometimes, though.”

Kirstie laughed, raising her glass to clink with his. “Thank you! He’s one of my favourite people to stream with, though. I try to get him on a stream three or four times a month. We balance each other out, I think.”

Chris groaned, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, I know he’d like to ‘balance you out’ too.”

Kirstie shot him an unimpressed look. “Chris, actually shut the fuck up.”

The group burst into laughter, ArthurTV slapping Chris on the back as he tried to maintain his mock-wounded expression. Kirstie felt her nerves melting away, blending seamlessly into the banter.

As dinner was served, Kirstie found herself surrounded by playful jabs and hilarious stories. She exchanged quips with Bach and ArthurTV, who were both delighted to test her sense of humour. Chris chimed in with a few anecdotes about their friend group that had Kirstie nearly in tears from laughing.

At one point, Chris disappeared into the kitchen to check on dessert, leaving Kirstie and the guys to chat. She noticed Arthur’s name come up in conversation, and her heart raced a little.

“What’s Arthur Hill actually like?” Kirstie asked casually, trying to keep her tone light.

“He’s a bit of a mystery,”  ArthurTV replied, a knowing look in his eyes. “Talented musician, but he can be a pain sometimes.”

“Yeah, like a lovable pain,” Bach added, rolling his eyes. “He has his moments.”

“He’s got this knack for thinking he’s cooler than everyone else,” ArthurTV added with a laugh. “But deep down, he’s a softie.”

Kirstie felt a strange flutter at the mention of Arthur. Despite their less-than-friendly encounters, she found herself curious about him.

Just then, Chris returned with a tray of desserts, interrupting her thoughts. “Alright, who’s ready for some sweet treats?”

The laughter and chatter resumed, and Kirstie felt grateful for the warmth of the evening. Maybe fitting in wouldn’t be as difficult as she had feared.

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

Part 1 - here!

[changesforminnesota]

Molly’s Cracker Jack Collection

Cracker Jack was a popular caramel popcorn and peanut food and every box came with a prize. Molly loved to collect and trade small toys from inside these boxes. Open the Cracker Jack Box and help Molly eat the pretend popcorn. She keeps her growing collection in an old cigar box. It includes two marbles, a ring, two tiny animals, a World War II airplane and three paper toys.

Details about Cracker Jack and how I made the collection under the cut.

What are Cracker Jack prizes?

Cracker Jack is a caramel coated popcorn and peanut mix that was first sold around 1896. It is a staple of American baseball games and other sporting events. It’s even mentioned in the song that plays at every baseball game, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, written in 1908: “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don’t care if I never get back”. 

Cracker Jack started giving prizes in their boxes in 1912, and throughout most of the century, these prizes were highly collectable among kids. Most of the prizes are plastic animals and other trinkets, as well as many paper or cardboard items like games and collectible cards. Some even included tiny books or flipbooks or dollhouse furniture. It’s fascinating to look through the years and see how things changed, from metal to plastic, the different pop culture references, the war years, et cetera.

Frito-Lay bought the company in 1997 and changed all of the prizes to flat things like tattoos, stickers, and jokes. Not the same experience at all–that’s what I remember from growing up. And now they don’t even include anything but a QR code for an online game.

Research

To make Molly’s collection, I looked through the 1940s pages of a collector’s guide on Internet Archive to get a sense of what was available at the time. I took some things from the 1930s and 1950s too. I printed out some of the flat games and collected other items based on what I could find in a teeny tiny scale–these toys were already really small so it was hard to find things that are small on an American Girl scale. I also did some searching about how kids collected these, and someone said they were often kept in old cigar boxes, which might not be PC enough for PC, but I liked the idea so I made a cigar box out of a fancy cardboard jewelry box I had. (more on collecting and trading below).

I have ideas to add more prizes, like printing out movie star trading cards and coming up with a way to make pins–I’m picturing something like the doll Grin Pins. 

Molly Lore (head-canon)

I can imagine Molly trading away all of the warplane cards and toys to her brother Ricky for dollhouse furniture, jewelry, animals, movie star items, and so on. There were, unsurprisingly, tons of planes and other war items in Cracker Jack in the 1940s. It seemed like Molly was always getting planes and Ricky was always getting stupid doll furniture! They both liked the games, though. Molly and Ricky gave any leftover prizes they didn’t want to Brad. 

One day Jill decided she was “too mature” for Cracker Jack and gave her collection to Molly, which was more annoying than it should have been, because there’s something kind of not fun about suddenly getting things all at once that you’ve been collecting slowly. Molly invited Susan and Linda over to pick through Jill’s collection, each girl choosing one thing at a time until it was divvied up. At least sharing with her best friends and not keeping it all to herself made it a little more fun. 

Resources:

This collector’s guide was instrumental in my research. It both gave me specific ideas and a general sense of the experience and patterns of the prizes. There were a few telling editorial remarks like this one about Barrettes on page 127: “Left a lot to be desired if a little boy got it. (Then again, I’m sure that many a little girl was disappointed to get a “war” prize).” This is what gave me the image of Ricky and Molly trading their prizes and both of them being happy about it!

https://archive.org/details/crackerjacktoysc0000whit

Another resource I used was this selling website:

Although the search function is pretty awful, it is good for scans of paper prizes. 

Here is the google doc I used to collect the pictures I wanted to print in what seemed an appropriate size: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/196ByHxFQ8G21VbtBmT5H2ZCmigQnAYsUfbzru0buivM/edit?usp=sharing 

[dreamwatch]

Computer Love

Written for @corrodedcoffinfest

Day #22 - Prompt: Alternate Universe | Word Count: 995 | Rating: T | CW: None | POV: Steve | Pairing: pre-Steddie| Tags: IT Crowd AU, banter, my attempt at humour,

Ok, I wasn't going to write for today, but I was sitting on a work call and it made me think of the IT Crowd and that made me think of our beloved idiots. And honestly, I've been writing so much angst I thought I should try and redress the balance!

Steve wasn’t exactly over the moon about working for his dad, but one failed retail job after another and a few unpaid bills is all it took to have him crawling back to Harrington Senior. He didn’t want to be an office gopher, or work in the mail room, not at his age, but he’d suck it up.

Head of IT. His dad was making him Head of IT.

So far he’s told two friends. Robin, who stared at him like he had two heads before saying “Is he joking? Is it— is it like an April Fools thing?” And Dustin who was even less polite:

“What the fuck do you know about information technology?”

“Is that what it stands for?”

“Jesus Christ, Steve.”

He heads to the bank of elevators looking for his department. Harrington Industries is spread over twenty floors. He wonders if he’ll get a corner office. God the views… 

Steve runs his fingers down the list until he finds IT. Basement. No view then. Shit.

He exits the elevator into a dingy hallway, discarded PCs and printers stacked everywhere, and trips over a cable almost immediately.

Finally he finds his department. And… well…

Fuck.

Yeah. It’s all making sense now.

It looks like a frat house. There are two guys on a ratty couch playing video games, and another two at desks; one mop top making cat memes, and an admittedly cute guy with long hair with his feet up on his desk. There are phones ringing and no one seems bothered by them, until eventually Long Hair lets out an exasperated sigh and picks up.

“IT Support, have you tried turning it off and on again? Uh huh. Yeah it’s the button on the front of the… yup, big grey button… can’t miss it… you know what, let me send someone up. What’s your floor? Uh huh, and name? Melanie. Melanie in Marketing. Well, I’m going to be sending my best guy up—“

And, finally someone has noticed he’s there.

“Uh, he’s on his way, bye.” Long Hair drops the phone. “Guys, we have company.”

“Hi, I’m Steve,” he says, smiling at the four faces now firmly fixed on him. “I’m your new boss.”

“Not for long,” snarks one of the guys on the couch.

“Matty, be nice!” says Long Hair, and god he has beautiful eyes. Shit, fuck, no, don’t go there. “I’m Eddie, that’s Matt, who is just about to head up to Melanie on four—“

“Oh for fu—“

“—That’s Jeff sitting next to him,” Jeff raises a hand, “and this is Gareth.” Gareth just scowls at him.

Steve finally gets a good look at them all. Ratty band shirts and sneakers, ripped jeans, totally unprofessional, they look like they’re in a band not an office. He’s going to be making some serious changes around here.

“Well it’s good to meet you all,” he says and finally catches sight of a small office. He points at it, “Take it this is mine.”

“Sure is,” says Eddie. “We didn’t know exactly when you were coming so you’re not set up yet, but Jeff will get that done this afternoon for you.”

“Why this afternoon?”

Jeff stares at him like he has two heads. “It’s Minecraft Monday.”

“Yeah, I have no idea what that is.”

Eddie laughs. “It’s fine, I’ll come in a few minutes get you hooked up. Why don’t you make yourself comfortable. Boss.” 

His office is small and cluttered with more junk, and definitely no window. God, this sucks. 

There’s a knock at the door and he turns to find Eddie leaning against the door frame, arms crossed against his chest. 

“How d’ya like the place?”

Steve runs his hand through his hair, pushing it back off his face.

“Uh, yeah, it’s, you know…”

“A shit hole?”

“Yeah, a shit hole.”

“I take it Donny didn’t exactly fill you in on the details.”

Steve drops into the torn office chair. “Not really,” he sighs. “He has a habit of that.”

Eddie straightens up. “You’ve worked with him before?”

He laughs. “Better than that. He’s my dad.”

“Oh shit.”

Gareth barges in. “Wait, Donny the Dick is your Dad?”

“Donny the— hey, that’s—he’s the guy that pays your salary, a little respect.”

“Pretty sure that’s Karen in finance.”

“What…? You know, never mind. Point is, this department is a mess and there’s going to be some changes around here. Starting with the way you answer the phones, you can’t just tell people to turn the computers on and off—“

“—off and on,” Jeff cuts in.

“Whatever, you can’t do it. You need to ask what’s wrong.”

Eddie laughs. “I mean, we could, but the answer would still be to turn your PC off and on again so…”

Jeff and Gareth nod along like those stupid plastic toys. God, is it too late to go back to Family Video?

“Well, that’s as maybe, but for now you’re… ah, dismissed.”

He doesn’t miss Eddie’s amused smirk, as he gestures for his troops to leave. But then he’s perching himself on the edge of the desk, leaning into Steve’s space, those big brown eyes pinning him in his seat.

“So, just between us, you don’t actually know anything about IT, do you?”

“I mean… I know… uh, like mice, you know and uh… oh!” Steve snaps his fingers and points, triumphantly. “HTNL!”

Eddie’s biting his lip, god he has beautiful lips. “It’s HTML, but you were close. Do you do a lot of coding, Steve?”

He flops back in the chair, defeated. “Up until last week I was working in Family Video.”

“In their IT department?”

“No, in their ‘this is due back in two days department.’” He groans. “What the fuck am I going to do?”

Eddie laughs. “Don’t sweat it, you’ve got a lot more going for you than the last guy.”

“I have?”

“Oh yeah. At least you’re pretty,” he says with a wink.

Yeah, Steve’s totally screwed.

[cinamun]

New updates every Sunday & Thursday (sometimes I go rogue)

TFA will return February 2025!

Named after one of my favorite books and albums, Things Fall Apart is an epic tale of lust, greed, betrayal, vengeance and, above all else, growth.

This story never started as a legacy nor was it intended to be anything other than gameplay.  However, these characters evolved and, as such, so did their stories; each intertwined and forever impacted by the others. 

Written, played and photographed by me circa 2015. This story is best read/viewed on a laptop, tablet or PC.

Should you choose to continue, please note that this story is rated MA for Mature Audiences and contains strong language, violence, adult themes, strong sexual content, nudity and a variety of triggers appropriately tagged for depression and abuse in all of its forms. This story is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18 (DNI).

Pictured above is the original cast, from left to right:

Elise Farrow ~ Juan Rivera ~ Darren Drake ~ Indya Williams ~ Jerrilee Coleman ~ Dr. Jules Carter

As you make your way through their lives, names will change and you'll find that new characters emerge for either good or sinister reasons.

Shall we begin?

Act One

Chapter 1: Understanding Indya | Chapter 2: The Horsemen | Chapter 3: Toxic | Chapter 4: Demons | Chapter 5: Vengeance | Chapter 6: The Aftermath | Chapter 7: Chances | Chapter 8: Restart | Chapter 9: Moving Forward | Chapter 10: Several Steps Back | Chapter 11: Unfinished Business

Act Two

Chapter 12: The Trial of the Century | Chapter 13: The Demon's Return | Chapter 14: I Do | Chapter 15: Conception at the Summit | Chapter 16: Hopeful | Chapter 17: Milestones | Chapter 18: Growth | Chapter 19: Growing Pains | Chapter 20: The Fear of Letting Go | Chapter 21: A New Journey

Act Three

Chapter 22: A Thin Line Between Life and Death | Chapter 23: And Then There Were Four | Chapter 24: Illusions of Independence | Chapter 25: Unthinkable

Current

Pictured above is the current (2023) cast from left to right

Elliot Mahajan* ~ Darren Drake Jr. ~ Indira Dior Drake ~ Jayce Carruthers ~ Hope Diamond Carruthers (Drake) ~ Indya Drake ~ Darren Drake Sr. ~ Jerri Coleman

*Deceased

Bonus Content

Story Commentary | Story Extras

In case you need a palate cleanser at any time, check out my Globetrotter Challenge or The Greenwoods for a little Rated E for Everyone fun!

Buy me a coffee?

Posting Schedule

I typically post story updates/episodes on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays*. I post in the mornings (US CST) and reblog in the evenings.

*As of 9/30/24 Story updates will post on Sundays and Thursdays

Author's Note:

This story has been a labor of love, writing is a hobby and so is gaming. Combining the two has helped me in ways I cannot put into words. I am thankful to you for enjoying this hobby with me. Writing urban fiction using the sims, for me, will forever be inspired by mochasims, rest in paradise, dear friend. Mocha created a community for Black storytellers where one didn't exist anywhere in the Sims Community and paved the way for other Black writers to follow with her epic tale of Men and Stilettos and of course Kasim's adventures!

I will be forever grateful for the safe space she created to tell real, Black ass stories. Much love sis.

Reactions to Mocha's passing:

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[kindaconfusingme]

JULY UPDATE (master's thesis)

2nd Update (July):

Hello, hello!

Just thought I'd give a little update on how it's going, it's been a while since the first and last update so far. I'm still working with the data, it's taking longer than I thought it would (mainly because I am an anxious person with the wish to do everything to the best of my ability, leading to a lot of insecurity and sometimes procrastination. Hurray.) But everything is moving forward, which is a good thing, and I currently hope I'll wrap things up in a few weeks. Can't promise anything though, because if things went as I planned I'd be finished by now.

I'll keep you posted!

___________________________________

1st Update (March or April, I don't remember)

Hello!

I hope you can tell by the smiley little me above how thankful I am to everyone who helped share this survey and participated in it. And to everyone who wished me luck with my thesis!! (Oh, and to my friend Jojo, who took this little colored pencil drawing I sent her and digitalized it for me.) I know that this topic is very emotional to people, so I am extra appreciative that you took the time and energy to help me out. Since I seem to not know how tumblr works despite being here for nearly 10 years (as already said in my comment in the notes of this post that might have led you here), I am not yet sure how to efficiently ensure that everyone who would be interested in the results will be informed when they are “presentable”. This post for one will be updated when there is news (which will take an amount of time I can’t specify yet, the data analysis and putting it all into a written thesis will take its’ time) and I will leave it pinned on my blog until my thesis is complete so it is hopefully easy to find.

Thank you all so much and I wish you a great day, where- and whenever you exist at the moment.

___________________________

(Original post)

Hello, folk of tumblr!

I’m a german psychology master’s student and currently in the process of gathering data for my master’s thesis. Therefore, I’m searching for people who are interested in participating in an online survey. The study addresses how current and former Harry Potter fans deal with J.K. Rowling’s views regarding trans people.

For this purpose, a study was created that consists of questionnaires and a few open-ended questions. If you are over the age of 18 and are/were a Harry Potter fan, your participation would help me a lot! It would support both my master's thesis and the expansion of the state of research on this topic in general.

Due to the format of the questionnaires and the open-ended questions, it is advisable to work on this study on a PC. Especially because of the open-ended questions, the time it will take you to complete the survey may vary greatly, estimated is a time between 20 and 40 minutes.

The attached link will lead you directly to the study if you are interested.

Greetings and virtual thank you cookies to you!

Note: This study deals with an issue that causes a great deal of distress to many individuals. If you are one of those people, please handle it in a way that is safe for you.

Click here for the English version of the study

(https://survey.aau.at/index.php/199547?lang=en)

Click here for the German version of the study

(https://survey.aau.at/index.php/495548?lang=de)

[undivineshepard]

I’m gonna try and keep this from getting too sappy but I just received one of the sweetest gifts ever from two of my best friends and it has to do with something I started writing two years ago that’s I’m still really proud of to this day.

TLDR; my lovely friend and often times editor @aiambia gifted me a hand bound copy of my fanfiction series Baby, It’s the Golden Age in collab with my childhood best friend @wolvesandvisions , and my heart is so full.

In 2022, I started writing a short KDA AU fic nsfw fic series based in the 1930s. Around that time my life was kinda meh, I was unemployed and my core friend group was scattered around the country. I wasn’t going outside, barely responding to text messages, and only really sustaining myself wasting my savings having bs delivered to my door. But I was doing what I always did when I felt awful and I was gaming and reading fic and looking at fanart. I didn’t feel like writing anymore or drawing or doing much of anything. That’s about when I started getting back into League of Legends real heavy, specifically K/DA. I always liked K/DA from way back when “Popstars” dropped when I was in college (ask my old roommate I probably tortured her with how much I played that song on our shared TV), but for some reason 2021 to 2022 I really fell into them hard.

I came up with the idea driving back from a friend’s house who lived 4 hours up the interstate from me. It was a fun weekend, but the drive back I was just dreading another week of being alone in my room in my head. I don’t know how the connection got made exactly maybe it was my Spotify playlists eclectic nature bouncing from a KDA song to Billie Holiday but the connection was made. I got so anxious I would forget the whole thing I pulled over into the first gas station I saw just outside of this little ass town and say in the parking lot and jotted every little plot point I could think of into the notes app on my phone. I still have the original note on my phone and looking back it’s a little crazed but it made sense to me at the end of the day. Then after I felt I had something I could work with, I switched to a Jazz playlist on Spotify and busted down the rest the interstate all the home no stops so I could get to my PC and get to writing.

It was not as easy to write as I wanted it to be, I’d written fic all my life essentially. I used to write Naruto fanfic on my shitty little flip up phone in middle school, I didn’t expect to struggle with words. Especially words I was so excited to write, but it was hard and I had to reach out for help (which I hate doing) to a friend of mine from college aiambia. Mandy became a saving grace to this fic, she pushed me out of my head out of my comfort zone got me on call to talks things out and on some days was the only other living person I would have conversations with. We were friends before, but having her as a writing partner made us closer friends in a way that has lasted and made me want to be a better friend to her and a better creative in all avenues.

My life is a lot better now, and this morning I received a very lovely hand bound gift Mandy made for me of the first two entries into my KDA 1930s AU fic series. Mandy and my childhood best friend worked really hard in secret to do this me for and it’s a beautiful gift that I am touched by and inspired by (once again she has inspired me like she always does). Receiving this gift has made me reflect on how grateful I am for the friendships I have as well as made realize…..I need that last entry in the series…😅.

[rainspicestudios]

Happy 2025! [RainSpice Studios plans & updates for the new year]

Hey everyone! Happy 2025 from RainSpice Studios. I hope this year will be kind to everyone and that many good things will be coming your way.

And speaking of good things, I'm cooking some projects that are just itching to be released and available for download. But before we get into that, let us talk a little about the games that were released in 2024.

This won't be a lengthy recap of 2024, as the games speak for themselves, but I am still proud of myself for releasing a full game, a chapter one, and a demo, during a very stressful year both in terms of world events and my personal life (I graduated college, I'm moving, all of that good stuff).

Stardust★Arcadis was my first ever release, and a game I struggled to finish. I lost all of my progress because of PC issues, I rewrote the story a few times, and I released it after working on it since 2019 (2022 if the moment when my PC broke doesn't count). However I love the characters, I love the setting, and despite the many hardships of game development, I had a fun time working on it.

I'm planning to release more games in this universe in the future, including a remastered version of St★Ar.

The Code of Crystals started as a novel collaboration with my best friend. Said collaboration never got finished, and I had a lot of inspiration for stories I could tell with these characters, most of these darker than the original project. Thus I used the characters I made for this former collaboration and started crafting this narrative, and the release of Stardust★Arcadis AND the 2024 edition of Phantasia Jam was a perfect opportunity to get started!

Chapter one will be re-release this January and Chapter two will be released in either late 2025 or early 2026. Stay tuned for more info!

Enter the Eternity, oddly enough, also started as a collaboration, but the idea of a dating simulator with magical girls was too good to let it collect dust and never get finished, especially since its inspiration board kept drawing me in.

With my best friend's blessing, I could re-use the idea, so I created a new cast of characters and got to work, and had to do even more work after I found out that the backgrounds I bought from someone on itch.io were made with an AI image generator, which disgusted me so much it powered me to redraw every single background by hand and I will keep doing so for the entire game. While it is more work to do on my part, RainSpice Studios will never endorse AI generation in any shape or form.

At first I worked on it while I worked on Stardust★Arcadis, which explains why the demo was done on such a short notice, but it has now became my primary project for 2025 and I am aiming to release it around November/December at best.

What's the plan for 2025 then?

My primary goal is to release Enter the Eternity and my secondary goal is to release The Code of Crystals chapter 2.

I aim to finish all first dates for Enter the Eternity AND re-release chapter 1 of The Code of Crystals in January. The dates are already written and coded in the script files, so my focus is to add in all the sprite expressions, draw CGs and backgrounds, and add all the necessary music. As for TCOC, I wanted to remake its menus and add a scene with Eranis that I did not have time to add before the end of the game jam. While the UI code I bought doesn't work, its images are pretty, and I am happy with the result.

2025 will be another busy year for me as I try to find a full-time job to sustain myself, launch some new projects more-or-less related to video games, move out again, among some other irl things. But here at RainSpice Studios, I love making games, and will keep making them for the foreseeable future.

If you read down to here, thank you so much!

There's a lot to do so I'm going back to work 💪 I'll update you guys when I reach a milestone or I find something interesting to share.

So stay tuned! And as said, I wish you guys a kind, good, exciting, fun, and game-filled 2025. Thank you for your continued support and here's to more projects this year 🥂

============================

[RainSpice Studios itch.io] [Stardust★Arcadis] [The Code of Crystals] [Enter The Eternity]

[aisclosed]

Match Found ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ - 3. two gamers one chair

Synopsis: Jungwon is sick of his friends' constant teasing over his lack of gaming skills. Determined to secretly improve and prove enha wrong, Jungwon sets out to learn to play, except he has no clue where to begin. Luckily for him, y/n is a girl with too much time on her hands, a desperate need for distraction and is more than happy to indulge him. Only, things are never that simple and Jungwon soon finds it difficult to explain exactly what the pair have become.

prev masterlist next

smau + (1.8k) written work (ik im so sorry lolz )

warnings: mentions of character death. cursing as usual. uhhhh daddy issues? me being overly indulgent n not shutting up :) mentions of choking and not even the fun kind

3:28 Jungwon’s screen flashes and he breathes a sigh of relief, I’m on time. His pace quickens slightly at the sight of a familiar figure waiting for him outside Neo Tech. You were chewing on the inside of your cheek, fingers flying across the screen of your phone. Jungwon slows sneaking carefully behind you before wrapping you in his arms pulling you into his chest with a “Boo!” 

You jerk at the unexpected contact letting out a rather embarrassing yelp. Whirling around to find your perpetrator doubled over in laughter. “Ha. Ha. Very funny you asshole,” you say drily as Jungwon wipes stray tears from the corner of his crinkled eyes. 

Jungwon chuckles, “Sorry,  I couldn’t resist. I didn’t scare you too bad did I? Why are you waiting for me out here anyways?” He takes in your stiff posture, noting the way your fingers clenched around your phone and the half hearted smile you had plastered on. “You okay Y/N?”

“I'm fine Won. You’re about as scary as a 2 week old kitten,” you brush off his worry flippantly and clear your throat awkwardly. “Taeil is uh- doing maintenance today, so we can’t use Neo Tech. I don’t really enjoy the other PC bangs around here so we can reschedule for another day. Or we can go to my place,” you say hurriedly, internally willing Jungwon to just agree to a rain check. 

Jungwon considers your anxious demeanor silently. It was clear that you weren’t too keen on him coming over. Normally, Jungwon wouldn’t want to intrude where he wasn’t entirely welcome, but as much as you shared with each other, when it came to your home life, you clammed up. As selfish as it was, Jungwon didn’t want to lose the chance to satisfy his own curiosity, not when it came to you. 

“Okay, lead the way then coach,” Jungwon says nonchalantly, bumping into your side playfully. 

You deflate slightly before nodding, “Come on, it’s this way,” you mutter, setting off down the street. Jungwon bites back a victorious smile, following you swiftly, matching his stride to your shorter one. Streets and buildings blur as the pair of you walk, masking the underlying tension with small talk and stupid jokes. You come to a halt and reach out, tugging Jungwon back by the sleeve of his hoodie. He turns looking at you quizzically, wondering why you’ve stopped abruptly. 

Rolling your eyes you tilt your head at the glass lobby doors “We’re here dummy.” To his credit, Jungwon’s eyes only widen slightly, he tilts his neck back taking in the tall opulent skyscraper you were stopped in front of. Blinking away the vertigo, he looks back down at your strained smile, “Right, of course. Let’s go in then?” You lead him in, nodding your head politely in greeting at the receptionists and stray neighbors that walk by, guiding him through the lobby wordlessly.

“So, I think today we should focus more on eco rounds, your rifle rounds are clean but when you’re saving you lack some flexibility and trigger discipline,” you say, ignoring the way Jungwon watches as you press the elevator button for floor 42. 

“Yeah of course, whatever you think is best,” Jungwon feigns nonchalance as you approach your apartment door, punching in the code to your keypad. “Are your parents home? You don't mention them much.” he asks as you both slip off your shoes. 

Your jaw ticks slightly at the innocent question, “No, my mom uh died when I was a baby and my dad isn’t around much. He’s off managing the Shanghai branch of his company right now. My room's this way,” you turned, walking away swiftly. You didn’t want to face the look of pity you knew marred Jungwon’s features. 

Jungwon’s brows knit in worry at your detached tone, following you and quietly taking in your living room as he passed by. It was definitely nice, but had all the polished refined appeal of an office. There were no family pictures, no stray trinkets to show evidence of any personal touch of its inhabitants. He tried his best to ignore the sinking feeling of guilt, that maybe he shouldn’t have pushed you to come over. Silently resolving to get you to relax and return to your normal cheerful self, Jungwon trails after you into your room. 

Finally reaching the comfort of your room you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding, spinning to face Jungwon. “The best part of this stupid place, my room. Tadaaaa! '' You announce wryly, giving him your best jazz hands. He rewards your antics with a grin, walking around tracing the posters and pictures that litter the walls. You take a seat at your desk, turning in your gaming chair carefreely as you wait for his verdict. 

“I like it, it's cozy,” he voices finally, picking up one of the numerous plushies on the ground and placing it atop your bed. 

“Right? Trust me I have the comfiest bed and blankets in all of South Korea” you smirk up at him. 

“I’ll have to test that for myself one day. There’s only one problem though,” Jungwon says teasingly, “Where am I supposed to sit?” 

You sit up in your chair hastily, “Oh shit my bad, I’ll go grab another chair for you, or you can have this one- ooF.” Your words are cut off by Jungwon plopping down on your lap and reclining back, squishing you into the chair. 

“Nope, I think I quite like this seat actually,” Jungwon says cheekily. Your protests and attempts at shoving him off are futile, as he just pushes his broad shoulders back further into you. “What was that Y/N? I can’t hear you sweetheart, you're kind of muffled- OW what the fuCK?” Jungwon sits up, finally letting you catch your breath and gives you a bewildered look. “Did you bite my fucking arm you gremlin?” 

“It's your fault for squishing me. I couldn’t breathe you fucking donkey,” you pout petulantly. There’s a beat of silence as the two of you stare at each other before you both collapse into a fit of giggles. The bundle of tension that had built up finally gave way to a familiar sense of comfort.  Jungwon shifts slightly on your lap so you aren’t bearing his entire body weight and ruffles your hair fondly. “Thanks for inviting me over Y/N, even if you didn’t really want me here.”

“Oh so you knew and you still chose to come?” you tease gently, wrapping your arms around his waist. Jungwon shrugs cutely in response and you scoff affectionately, resting your head on his arm, “Thanks for coming, Wonnie. It’s nice to have someone else here for once.”

“So what you’re saying is I can come over more often? Because Neo Tech is lowkey draining my bank account” he responds impishly. You jab Jungwon’s side in annoyance, “I literally told you I’d pay for you. But yes, we can come here more often if that's what you want” you concede. "It's not as lame with you here. Now get off me, I need to grab an extra chair and headset. You can start up my monitor and get situated.” 

Jungwon obliges, letting you up before settling into your chair. Humming to himself softly, he opens up your computer, placing your headset over his ears and adjusting his hair. A loud ringing catches Jungwon off guard, a mini window flashing across your screen. 

Haechanie Oppa Incoming Call on Discord. Who the fuck is Haechanie Oppa? 

“Uh- Y/N? You’re getting a call. Some dude named Haechanie, do you want me to decline it?” Jungwon calls out, mouse hovering over the red button. 

“Haechan? Oh fuck, can you answer it, I’ll be right there” You yell distantly from the other room. 

Jungwon clenches his jaw, contemplating acting as if he didn’t hear you. Reluctantly he answers the call, rolling his eyes as an overly sweet tone calls out, “Y/N~ where have you been Loca!  I miss you so much, I haven’t seen you online on discord in ages-”

“Y/N’s not here right now. She’ll be back in a second” Jungwon cuts him off sharply. There’s an audible pause on the other side before the voice laughs gleefully, “You hear that chat? Y/N has a guy over, how many of you are gonna be sleeping on the highway tonight?" 

You rush back in holding some wires and headphones, placing them on the desk and plucking your headset off Jungwon’s head, ignoring his disgruntled appearance. You quickly snap the headphones onto your ears and bend awkwardly over Jungwon, trying to adjust the volume settings. 

Jungwon considers your odd positioning, before impulsively pulling you down to seat you onto his knees. He ignores the questioning look you shoot him, tilting his chin instead at the monitor, signaling you to get the call over with. 

You raise your brow slightly at Jungwon’s behavior, shrugging it off and turning back to your computer. “Hello? Hyuck?”

“Y/N!! So when were you gonna tell me about this guy you have over at your place? Who’s the new boyfriend huh?” Hyuck teases immediately. 

“Never, you nosy slut, I don’t need the entire northern hemisphere knowing my business thank you very much. Besides, he’s not my boyfriend shithead, I’m teaching him how to play some games. We’re just friends, oW-” you turn to look at Jungwon incredulously, wondering what had warranted the swift pinch your waist had just received. 

“We’re not just friends” Jungwon mutters sulkily. 

“Fine, we’re not just friends, we’re best friends,” you correct sarcastically, earning a satisfied nod from Jungwon. 

“Ohhhh I see… best friends… and is this new bestie of yours cute?” Haechan’s voice is practically dripping with amusement. 

“Yeah he is,” you respond thoughtlessly, wincing once you realize your mistake. Haechan cackles, “CHAT DID YOU HEAR THAT? PLEASE CLIP IT AND SEND IT TO ME HAHAHAHA OH MY GOD Y/N I THOUGHT CHENLE WAS JOKING ABOUT YOU SIMPING.” 

“Of-fucking-course you’re streaming. Alright bye Hyuck I hope you choke, you dickhead. Bye chat fuck you all too, you have horrible taste in streamers,” cheeks blazing, you quickly end the call, ignoring Haechan’s desperate pleas not to hang up in between wheezes. 

“Well, that was nice,” Jungwon comments, smiling pleasantly at you. You sneer at him in response clambering to your feet, “Don’t even get me started bestie. Come help me with the chair, all we have is the big ass dining ones and I am not carrying that. I should sue you and Haechan for emotional damages.”

“Me? I didn’t even do anything! That was all your Haechanie Oppa” Jungwon protests, following you out of your room. And as two of you continue to banter and scuffle for the first time in months, your house doesn’t feel quite as empty. 

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a/n: i'm sorry for how long this chapter is hadjshd i rlly just needed to establish y/n's background. and basically indulge everyone w y/n n jungwon being cute. next chapter will be less word heavy and more smau i promise

am i happy w this chapter? No. lmfao but i hope yall dont hate it.

ok actual notes:

haechan set his own nickname on y/n's computer as haechanie oppa.

when he says chat, he's streaming on twitch and talking to his audience. incase yall skipped his profile, his viewers know y/n n like her.

eco rounds- in game when you don't have enough funds to buy optimal guns and you have to settle for shotguns/pistols

taglist: open! send me an ask to be added!

@woncloudie @itsactuallylina @ifearjwn @fadedluvv @mangowonyo @xiaoderrrr @shinsou-rii @aki1e

(tysm btw to my taglist I appreciate u all n ur interest in this sm <3 mwah mwah mwah)

[voxofthevoid]

Hi! Totally hypothetical question: If someone were to stalk you from ao3 to tumblr and be wondering if you had a discord server would you

a) feel creeped the fuck out and tell them to see someone about that unhealthy obsession they clearly have

or

b) laugh maniacally and egg them on.

Totally unrelated to that: What’s the best way/tag to navigate your tumblr for more Goyuu content?

(Asking for a friend)

~~~

My creep meter doesn't start blaring until there's shit like...anons sending me unhinged break-up notes over ships or obsessive hate-commenters continuously monitoring my comment section(s) and Tumblr pages. Both of which have happened, somehow, because the JJK fandom is...an experience.

But you're good! The Ao3 to Tumblr pipeline is pretty much my go-to method for fandom socialization, so I welcome you warmly 💗

As for Discord, I have an account there (same username) that I use for DMs, but I'm allergic to servers. I stopped joining them a couple of years back and barely check the ones I'm in. Group chats just aren't for me, even as a member. Being an owner/admin/mod would be my personal nightmare 🥶

So you're looking at my primary way of connecting with folks outside of Ao3—the one and only Tumblr! The ask system alone is a godsend imo.

As for tags, I have a tag masterlist, but it'll only open/work on browsers. Both mobile and PC browsers are fine, but if a mobile browser tries to open it in the app automatically, it won't show up: https://voxofthevoid.tumblr.com/tags

More specifically, these are the tags you'd find most helpful:

#goyuu

This has all my goyuu stuff, from fic links to ask responses. But this also means it's a little hard to navigate because new snippets, ask responses, Ao3 links, and everything else pop up under the same tag.

#jjk snippets

I post a lot of excerpts from my fics, both the ones I'm currently working on and ones I've completed but haven't posted. All these go in this tag.

#wip wednesday

Every Wednesday, I post around 1–1.5k from the fic I'm currently working on, and these go in the WIP Wednesday tag.

#wip open season

This is where you'll find general discussions of my JJK ideas that haven't become full fics yet. The tag doesn't cover all of them, since the open season is a specific askbox game I've done a couple of times, but it's the largest tag for these outside of the #goyuu or the even more generic #my fic tags.

Specific fics and ideas get their own tags in the #fic: title format; that tag masterlist has all the fic-specific tags for stories I've written or am writing, but fic-specific tags for mere ideas don't have a masterlist. You'll find them in the wild.

For ease of access, I've tagged this post with these four tags, so you can just click on 'em and find all the posts.

On top of this, I keep a public idea masterlist (fics I want to write but haven't yet) for ease of reference, both for myself and others. Currently, it has 64 ideas that are just goyuu, plus several more that are goyuu plus other ships. Here it is: https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/1WuLaOUs8VzNuJzASgxNG0UyfH24E9nIp/edit?authuser=1

...I may have a mild organization kink, alright?

Happy browsing! For your friend, of course 😏

[this-ag-doll-is-a-butch]

Clara Montoya: Autistic???

I've been getting back into AG for almost a year now. Josefina has always, always been my fave, since we were both nine years old.

I've been thinking about how I want her to have a counterpart in her time and location to actually interact with in period-appropriate ways. She never received a Best Friend doll, though :(

But really, her whole story is centered around her family anyway, and I've seen people talk about how 2005 GOTY Marisol Luna has been used to create Clara dolls. And yep, the resemblance is real.

So I have plans to get a Marisol and make her Clara. Although they may take a some months to come to fruition, considering all my other doll and fandom and plushie collection goals and IRL expenses 😔

But it's free to think about Clara's character and plan for what I want her collection to encompas.

The thing that strikes me most, looking at her now with the adult knowledge of being autistic myself- she REALLY seems like a character that one can headcanon as autistic with ease.

She's logical and practical and literal to a fault. She hates change and getting dirty and wants to keep everything organized. Sewing and embroidery are her special interests! She bonds with Tía Dolores through those interests! She clashes hard with Francisca, who just does not want to make the effort to understand her.

She has strong attachment to objects, to the extent that it becomes a huge part of the plot in "Josefina's Surprise." (The altar cloth, Niña.)

Niña is her comfort object, for fuck's sake!!!!! She manages to relinquish primary custody of Niña to Josefina, but ONLY after Tía Dolores managed to give her a new comfort object (Mamá's silver thimble.)

I mean, I think I need to closely reread all Josefina's series and acquire all short stories and the mysteries. What else is going on with dear Clara and her autism? Does she have sensory issues???

It goes without saying that Clara was never deliberately written as autistic, and of course in 1824 New Mexico, a word didn't exist for autism. But we autistics have always existed.

In terms of a potential collection- obviously Josefina's nightgown straight-up seems to be Clara's camisa and IDK how to feel about that. How can Josefina not have her nightgown??? 😭

One potential solution I've been thinking about is a similar nightgown for her but with a different neck ribbon. I can't sew, but it seems Etsy seller Magnoliawillows makes a similar nightgown with a blue ribbon which could be Josefina's new nightgown.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1325115163/josefina-montoya-style-night-shift

Also, I know her BeForever nightgown exists too. But I'm not as emotionally bonded to it, since it came after "my time" lmao. Maybe it would be nice if Clara and Josefina had summer and winter nightgowns 🤔

And I could get Josefina's BeForever bed for Clara! That's another reason why I want a Clara- to have a way to use more of Josefina's collection as I acquire it, especially the BeForever items.

And if AG could just get off their asses and GIVE JOSEFINA LITERALLY ANY COLLECTION AT ALL AGAIN, it would be great to buy whatever is (re-)released new and use it mostly for Clara, because that way I could have the beloved Pleasant Company versions of my memory yet also support Josefina's collection today.

Meet Accessories/Outfit ideas- Josefina's PC red-ribbon nightgown as camisa, different rebozo, moccasins, extra pair of Josefina bloomers, indigo skirt (although it would be interesting to try and see if someone sells/would make a skirt closer to book illustrations... however, 1820s New Mexican sisters, even in a well-to-do family like Josefina's, definitely shared clothes. So it would make sense from that perspective).

She'd need a doll-size pair of scissors, which Tía Dolores gave her, of course. And I'd want her to have some kind of necklace, because all AG historicals did/do. I'd need to know more about necklaces from then, though... perhaps some kind of mílagro, or Saint Clara symbol/medal? I'd want her to have a little sewing & embroidery kit to hang on her belt, too.

One thing that would take a lot more work, yet would make an amazing story, would be to somehow find another little doll's-doll like Niña. I have a whole story idea where some kind of secret room somehow gets found (maybe at Abuelito and Abuelita's house in Santa Fe) and a long-forgotten doll from Mamá and Tía Dolores' childhood gets given to Clara 🥺

Another idea would be to assemble stuff to create a little shrine for Clara and Josefina to pray at (yes I got the idea from the Mini World image). Especially because it would have Mamá's colcha-embroidered altar cloth! And just in general, part of why I connected with Josefina so much growing up was that her family is Catholic, just like mine.

These days, obviously, I'm a grown up monbinary gay ex-TradCath (similar to ExVangelical) with religious trauma, but maybe making a doll Catholic shrine would be a way to deal with that in a more healthy manner...

Anyway I would love to talk about Clara and Josefina!!!! Josefina-lovers please interact!!!!

[awmancreeper]

♡Lonely Boy Will Stay Lonely?. 4 - What the Duck!

--❣︎ StayC’s Y/n is notorious for being K-pop’s social butterfly and making friends comes rather easy for her. When she’s asked to be an MC for Inkigayo, one of her co-hosts doesn’t seem too pleased to be working with her. This unknown feeling sparks a drive to become the bestest of friends with him but from the looks of it, he’ll fight her the whole way there.

Masterlist / prev / next

!!Written parts!!

“I swear I’m gonna need a leash for that girl, Yoon!” You called out. The guys and you split up to find her faster since the building was ginormous.

“It’s a serious question would the elevator crash?” A voice said around the corner you were about to turn.

“I gotta call her-“Your face met a chest as the air in you was knocked out. Your phone hit the ground “I’m so sorry, are you okay?” You rubbed your nose looking up. It was two tall guys, your eyes widen while your heart raised. Kai froze looking down at you, you were CUTE?!

“No freakin way!” You felt your eyes water “Hey are you okay?” Beomgyu asked as Kai bent down to pick up your phone. “I-I” Kai looked at the blonde soobin pc that you had behind your phone. “I’m sorry for bumping into you” Kai awkwardly told you handing you your phone.

“No! You can bump into me all you want- I mean! It was my fault, I shouldn’t even be here I mean it’s your company-“ you rambled as Beomgyu stroked his nonexistent chin hair trying to figure out why you looked so familiar.

“ASAP!” He yelled startling you “Huh?” “You’re StayC! ASAP!” Beomgyu said excitingly “Yeah!” “ASAP oooo” he sang dancing as you joined him happily while Kai stood to the side awkwardly.

You guys laughed “Can I get a picture with you? Tae is going to flip!” Gyu asked pulling out his phone “Uh yeah!” Beomgyu bent down next to you and took multiple photos with various angles and facial expressions.

Kai waited as you and Beomgyu chatted as if he wasn’t even there. “Hey gyu we have to g-“ “Can you send me those photos!?” You asked Beomgyu unknowingly cutting off Kai. “Yeah! What’s your number?”

“Dude we really need to-“ “You have no idea I'm such a big fan!” You told Gyu putting your number in his phone “Really?!”

“Beomgyu!” Kai yelled “Yeah?” Both of you froze as Kai looked at you both frustrated. “What it’s asap!” Beomgyu exclaimed happily while you fan-girled. “But we’re needed somewhere” Hyuka tried to remind him, beomgyu laughed “You can go without me, this guy still acts like a baby” Beomgyu teased as you laughed. Kai turned red “Maybe he wants you to walk him there” you add making Gyu laugh, Kai looked at you dumbfounded “Don’t worry Hyuka you know your way around” Gyu told him in a baby voice pinching his cheeks.

Kai swatted his hand away “Stop you're embarrassing him” you told him. Huening felt his ears burn. Who were you to tease him, he didn’t even know you. “Beomgyu let’s go” Kai said. Beomgyu’s smile dropped realizing he struck a nerve with Kai. Maybe teasing him in front of a pretty girl wasn’t the best idea. “Y-yeah”

“Hey! Can I have your number too Kai? Your sister-“ you asked happily but “No” his voice was cold. “Huh?” “You’re right, you’re not supposed to be here.” He looked at you annoyed. Your smile fell, your heart beating out of your chest this was the first time you were afraid to talk to someone “I’m sorry” you squeaked out “Dude-“ Beomgyu began but Kai spoke

“We late we don’t have time for this” was all he said before walking away. Beomgyu looked at you “It was great meeting you ASAP” he said before following Kai.

You felt like you wanted to cry. One of your idols was just mean to you

Your phone rang, it was Jungwon. You sniffed and accepted the call “Hello?” “Found her!”

Taglist: @txtbrainrot @azinwo @mackjestic @mangobee (OPEN: comment or ask to be added)

[dingoat]

Tagged by @teacakes1799 thankyoouuu for tagging! :D

3 ships

Ahuska and Thirteen, if it isn't obvious, occupies 95% of my brain at the moment, even if they're more of a 'two idiots discovering responsibility shirking soulmates in one another' kind of ship who are pushing every possible boundary before facing the inevitable fact that their lives are on opposite sides of Imperial design in a very very incompatible way, I love it and I can't stand it. Stop it. They weren't designed to have chemistry with one another by daaaammmn if it's not going to be the death of me

Ahuska and EVERYONE ELSE that she has a (romantic) relationship or friendship or rivalry with I am so very into all of them, special shout outs to Crow (of course, OG storyline one true love and the ship that got me out of the biggest creative funk of my life), to her little Blakk fox who has been the driving force behind sooo much incredible storytime, and to Fynta who I definitely imagine as one of those souls she keeps bumping into in every universe, for better or for worse.

Special shout-out to Jak (mine) and Wylluf (NPC turned PC written by my husband) for THE best slowly built tabletop character relationship I've ever had the joy of experiencing.

First Ship

All my little novice early RP days many many years ago were in the Lion King fandom because, duh, animals are the best and animal stories are what I grew up on- thing is, I was always very much more into the animals-being-animals, natural history, group dynamics, melodrama made out of natural disasters and territory disputes etc, than into actual romantic plots a la Simba and Nala or Todd and Vixey etc etc. The first actual -couple- I can think of where I really got into the personal relationship side of things was with a pair of painted dogs I wrote with one of my oldest ever RP buddies. Mine was the bad boy who got exiled from the pack (I think he killed another dog? For good reason but nobody believed him?) and hers was the sweet girl who... followed him? Ran into him years later? My gosh, I barely remember a detail of the actual story but I remember that period of writing VERY VERY fondly.

Last Song

Spotify tells me it's Ed Sheeran's Celestial. Stupid pokemon song getting me all emotional every time, how dare. Stupid song that's all too easy to daydream about OCs with, how dare.

Currently Reading

I've promised to loan my copy of 'The Little Prince' to somebody but I've realised I absolutely must re-read it before I do, it's one of those books that I am convinced every person needs to read at least once. So I'm partway into that, but it won't take me long. I have quite a stack of books that I'm eager to get into and no idea what I'm going to pick next. (Teacakes, you've made me remember how badly I want to re-acquaint myself with Tamora Pierce, I adored the Wild Magic books when I was in school!)

Last Film

At the cinema? The Fall Guy. Wonderful. So much fun. I'd see it again. Actual last film watched (streaming at home) - X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaahahahaha knowing what I know about the universe now vs when that movie first came out, I can now 100% see why so many of my friends were so mad about it

Currently Craving

Lychees. Man what I'd give for a giant bowl of fresh lychees right at this moment.

Non obligational tags go to: @askshivanulegacy @saph-y @queen-scribbles @keldae @mimabeann @tearlessrain

[drownedinlavender]

Helloooo, so I'm writing a long kyman fic. It's gonna be a slow burn multi-chapter one. I got like a good 1/3 of it down with like a skeleton of events mapped out. Since I haven't been active in any fandom or like written fanfic since I was a teen, I wanted to post an excerpt to kinda test the waters a bit haha I'm kinda shy about sharing stuff but was greatly inspired by a lot of people's work.

Anyway, the premise is Cartman impulsively taking the fall on something and being admitted to inpatient cause of it. This excerpt is when he facetimes the gang to tell them about it. Stan and Kenny are at school during lunch, Kyle's at the hospital (has to do with what Cartman took the blame for), and Eric's at home about to leave.

I'd greatly appreciate any criticism or input! Thank u for ur time 💜💖 ^^)/

"Dude, a psych ward? That sounds pretty serious," Stan looks mildly concerned.

"It is serious, Stan. That's why Kyle's gonna owe me big time when I get back," Eric smuggly declares, "Like sucking my balls big big time."

Kenny sneakers at the brunette still obsessing over a bet they made years ago when they were just kids.

"Man, you gotta lay off the balls thing, Cartman. That's hella gay," Stan drily informs while munching on a fry.

"Hey! It's not gay! It's about humiliation and having power over an individual," Eric offendedly denies, choosing to die on that hill.

Kyle, who has been absolutely seething in the background, finally bursts, "Fuck you, Cartman! I didn't ask you to cover for me, you did that all on your own!"

Eric scoffs, "Okay, fine, Kahl, would you prefer me going to PC principal and telling him I take it all back. That he should take you off the team like he wanted? Is that what you want, Kahl?"

Kyle tenses his jaw muscles as he grinds his teeth. Of course that's not what he wants but is Cartman holding one over his head any better? His eyes flicker to the side as he contemplates for a brief moment. Stan continues eating, staring at his screen waiting for his best friend to speak as if he's watching an enthralling reality tv show. Once Kenny's giggling fit finally subsides, he lays his head on one outstretched arm and sneaks a French fry from whoever's lunch tray is right across from him.

"Fine," Kyle bitterly concedes with a sigh, "but I'm not helping you do anything illegal like murder or whatever. And I'm definitely not sucking your balls," he points at Cartman through the screen.

"Oh…" a small voice utters in surprise across the room from Kyle. The redhead looks up at a shocked nurse half way through the door. "I-I'll come back in a second to check your vitals," she embarrassedly scurries out of the room.

Kyle's mortified face soon matches his hair. "God, damn it, Cartman!"

Kenny practically dies of laughter, not even bothering to hold his phone up right anymore.

"Dude," Stan snorts before cracking up as well.

Kyle hides his face with one hand, trying with every fiber of his being to maintain any ounce of composure he can muster before combusting from rage.

Eric's amused smile warps into a shit eating grin, he absolutely could not be any more delighted by the current turn of events. He obnoxiously clears his throat before continuing, "Very well, I'll leave a legally binding contract in your room before departing, Kahl. Now Kenny," he seamlessly changes the topic.

Kenny straightens himself out the best he can. "Uh-huh?" He responds through tears.

"Wait a second, fatass, do NOT break into my room!" Kyle protests.

Eric purposely ignores his rival, knowing it'll anger him further. "Kenny, my mom says you can use your spare key to clear out my fridge whenever. She's gonna stay up in Denver with some cousin until I'm out. We don't want the food rotting up and stinking up the place so do it sooner rather than later, got it?"

"Seriously, dude?!" Kenny immediately straightens himself out in elated surprise. Woohoo!" He cheers. He knows their fridge is always packed so he and his little sister are definitely set for bit.

"Knock yourself out, dude, just don't let anything rot in there. Seriously, I'll kick your ass if I come back and my house reeks like spoiled ass."

"You got it, bro," Kenny assures with a thumbs up.

"Don't ignore me, asshole!" Kyle's demands only serve to further Cartman's amusement.

"Welp, gotta go pack up some essentials. Don't know how long I'll have to be admitted … but it's all worth it for my dear friend Kahl's sake," Eric fakes sincerity. With a hand over his heart, he winks at Kyle.

"Oh, Fuck off," Kyle rolls his eyes.

"Well, good luck, dude. Don't blow up the place trying to escape," Stan waves goodbye from his screen.

"Guys, wanna say bye to Cartman? He's gonna go do some time at a loony bin," Kenny asks, reversing his camera to show the rest of their lunch table.

"We heard. You guys are super loud," Craig complains before biting his burger.

"Hey! Don't call it a loony bin, asswipe! That's totally insensitive to people with mental health issues. Not cool dude," Cartman condescendingly lectures, doing what he does best, playing the victim.

"Cartman's getting admitted? Dude, that's crazy!" Tweek comments.

"Wait, who's getting what now?" Clyde looks up from his phone, unaware of the conversation going on around him.

"Cartman, dude, he got in trouble again so PC principal's sending him to a psych ward," Tweek rapidly explains.

"Oh," Clyde responds in his usual nasally tone.

"All in order to save Kyle from getting kicked off the team," Cartman adds.

"Don't act like you did it from the kindness of your heart, fatass!" Kyle quickly corrects.

"First it's Cartman, then they'll be coming for the rest of us!" The jittery blond panics.

Craig pats his boyfriend's shoulder. "No they won't, honey, we don't cause the town to blow up every other month like they do."

"Hey!" Kyle indignantly exclaims.

"We haven't been directly responsible for the town's destruction for like," Stan counts the time in his head, "at least a year now!" He defends himself and his friends, receiving a middle finger from an unimpressed Craig.

"L-l-later, Eric, don't dr-dro-dr-dro-drop the soap," Jimmy jokes before offering up his signature smile.

"Jim, that's for jail," Tolkien corrects.

"Aw, we'll miss you, Eric! Don't take too long in the psych ward!" Butters gleefully shouts.

Kyle rolls his eyes, feeling himself getting more and more irritated by the situation at hand. "Oh, for Pete's sake, it's not like he's dying, you guys." The longer these farewells are dragging on, the more he can feel a twinge of guilt spreading throughout his subconscious and twisting up his guts.

"Poopsikins, mommy can't find Mr. Kitty's carrier, do you remember where we left it?" Liane can be heard calling from the background.

"Just a second, meeem!" Eric hollers off camera before getting back in frame and sticking out his tongue with a peace sign, "Later, losers ~ " he sings-songs and hangs up.

"You know …. For someone being sent off to an insane asylum, he seems really unbothered by it," Tolkien points out.

Kyle's eyes flicker down for just a second before choosing to quickly dismiss further analyzing Cartman's reaction to being sent away. "Well, yeah, it's Cartman. Do you really expect him to react normally about anything?"

"That's true," Tolkien immediately agrees, chalking it up to Cartman just being Cartman.

For a brief moment, Kyle remembers the time he was admitted when the town wouldn't believe him about Mr. Hankey but before he can even decide on entertaining that thought, Stan speaks.

"Wow … so he's really leaving, huh?" Stan says more than asks, looking a bit absent minded.

"I guess so," Kenny pensively looks down at the lunch table, head resting on crossed arms. He turns to Stan and forlornly admits, "dude … I'm actually feeling kinda bummed out."

Kyle bites the inside of his cheek. The reality of their current predicament further sinking in.

"Aw, Ken," Stan frowns and pats Kenny's shoulder.

"It's okay, Ken," Butters comforts, patting Kenny's back, "he said so himself, he probably won't be there for long."

"Isn't this a good thing though? Things are going to be a lot more peaceful while he's gone," Tolkien suggests.

"If Cartman gets admitted for the rest of the school year, I'll be sooooo happy," Craig chants in a monotone.

A sniffle directs everyone's focus towards Clyde.

"Clyde, you okay, buddy?" Craig puts down his lunch to fully focus on his friend's concerns.

"We *sniff* were starting to *sniff* get along more *sniff* this year," he powers through a closing throat.

Kyle bites his cheek even harder. Cartman was certainly a lot tamer as of late. Things were finally getting comfortable between the two of them, too.

"He was being a lot c-coo-c-coo-cooler this y-year," Jimmy admits.

The nurse knocks before entering Kyle's room this time. "I'm going to take your vitals again, okay?" She smiles.

"Yeah, sure," Kyle replies before addressing his friends, "I gotta go guys. Stan, can you come pick up my keys and move my car before my parents get back? I have a minor concussion so I'm under observation for a bit."

"Yeah, dude, totally," Stan confirms.

"Later," Kenny mumbles, waving with one hand, his face fully immersed in his crossed arms.

"Alright, thanks, see you guys later," Kyle says his goodbyes, queuing the nurse to begin taking his blood pressure.

Kyle barely moves, too busy contemplating Eric's departure. First, Stan moves and now Cartman's going to be gone for God knows how long? He bitterly sighs.

[midmorninggrey]

1, 2, 20, 32, 36, 44 for the oc asks! :]

Oh, so many! Thank you!! [Ask Game} 1. Your first OC ever?

Minkheart! I don't have any old art of her, so here's a scribble. She was my first Warrior Cat OC - she was a gentle soul if I recall.

2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OCs?

(But no, it is tough for me to pick a favorite! I tend to go through creative cycles with each of them, so I'll say my favorite at the moment is Celeste. Though if I'm being honest, Loran probably has the softest place in my heart - but I've written him into such a box these days.)

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)?

Cal sings! At Kinloch Hold, he played Andraste for three years running in the All Soul's Day pageant, thank you very much. As a Warden, he learned tavern and traveling songs, but his voice was best suited to the types of hymns and laments that his comrades asked for later in the night.

Um. I don't know squat about music, so I am just going to throw out the total classic of "The Edge of Night" by Billy Boyd in LOTR. It feels like cheating but.

Toni also sang! I don't think she was very good at all, but it didn't really matter because she was having a good time (and probably dancing.) She also used to sing to Cece.

32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why?

...Celeste? DA:I might qualify as a horror game for her, actually AHH. But I could totally see her being a PC in a "through the mirror" or "waking nightmare" type of environment. She can speak with the dead and demons, after all! And an amnesia element would be really fun (and awful!) with her. Like, when you've been trying to figure out who the villain is the whole game - who put you here? who did this? And then the twist: you did. You are the villain. But now with a new perspective!

36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)?

Yeah, I used to! They were a lot of fun (and sometimes absurd.) There's something cute about OCs hanging out together.

44. Something you like about your OCs in general

Oh. Um. I like to think that all my OCs are very different from one another. They are all deeply flawed, but they each handle their flaws and their challenges in their own unique ways. Some have hopeful endings! Some don't!

I also like to think that they are a lot of fun.

Thanks again!!