#ew replay is going well

[impossible-rat-babies]

🧍‍♂️🚶‍♂️anyway

[kiwixlime]

Quiet and Confident

X is for Xennial 

You really love this old man.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader Notes: I haven’t died! I have just been through so much since I last updated anything and as much as I told myself I could do things, I just wasn’t in the right headspace. In these two years, I’ve fallen in and out of love, dealt with natural disasters, ups and lows of my emotions, and a boring list of other things. But I’ve been going down the rabbit hole lately, replaying my games, and I’ve been missing my boys so badly. And for the first time in forever, I have the inspiration to pick up where I left off. Who knows how long this will last. But right now, it feels right. I feel happy and ready to move on. So I present this. I felt it was the easiest way to ease back into writing. A simple and short one shot that of course includes our favorite dilf.  Warnings because we need those: Just some fluff and some suggestive conversation. Age gap, obviously. I love old man Joel. It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything interesting so I’m not ready to dive right back into the smut yet haha. Soon, though! Soon. Anyway, this is short and sweet because it’s been a roadblock in my drafts and I have better things planned and I just want to get this out of the way. Definitely not my best work, but I promise better things are ahead. 

“Ha, Xennial.” 

“Somethin’ funny to you?” 

“Nope, nothing.” 

“You’re askin’ for it.” 

“Asking for what, grandpa?” 

Joel groans and mutters something to himself. You can’t help but laugh, sitting up in your bed, bringing your arms out in front of you to stretch yourself awake. The sun barely seeps through the curtains of your bedroom, but there’s enough of a glow for you to take in the markings that embellish your wrists. You smile, tucking your hands into your lap. 

“We should be more careful,” you express, catching his attention again. 

Curious, he enters your room, closing the bathroom door behind him. His sculpted figure makes its way to the edge of your bed. You stare in awe as he stands tall over you. He's old, but he's Godly. So fucking Godly. With a concerned pout, he holds his hands out, urging you to show him your wounds. 

When you comply, revealing the reddening marks and deepening bruises, he frowns. In the moment, he loves being rough with you. There's nothing better than listening to you beg and plead and whimper like a desperate little bitch. But once the lust wears out, he feels a little bad for treating you so...dirty. 

“Sorry, princess,” he hums and brings your wrists to his lips. His warm breath hits your skin, sending goosebumps up your arms and warmth throughout your belly. “Grandpa just can’t help himself.” 

“Oh, ew,” you whine, yanking yourself away from him. You fall back onto the bed, pulling the sheet up with you to cover your grossed-out face. You started it, but ew. “You ruined it.” 

“Hey,” he chuckles, lowering himself onto the mattress with you. “You started it. Callin’ me old 'n' shit.” 

“I’m sorry!” You giggle, exposing your face to him as he slowly pulls the white cotton fabric off your body. He's barely listening as he takes in the sight of you, gorgeous and innocent, just for him. “I just can’t get over it. Xennial.” 

“Why is that so fuckin’ funny to you?” He asks with a smile, his focus back on your face, finding you absolutely adorable with your cheeky smile and glistening eyes. 

Last night, before heading home, you guys were out with your sister and his brother and a few others, just shooting the shit and having a drink. Tommy referred to Joel as an Xennial and for some reason, you just lost it. It was the funniest thing you'd heard. 

“It’s just another way of calling you old,” you say like it's the most obvious thing in the world. “I like it.” 

“Yeah, well,” he huffs, feigning annoyance. “You weren’t thinkin’ I was too old for you last night, tied to the bed and beggin' to be--.” 

You grunt, slapping his arm. He’s not wrong. And he knows you’re joking. You like the fact that Joel is so much older than you. It’s not some weird kink thing, even though it seems that way and you happily play along to the roles. But there’s maturity in him, wisdom, and he doesn’t play games with your emotions. He’s straightforward and too old for bullshit. He lets you know what he wants and you love that you don’t have to guess. 

Plus, you feel comfortable with him. He’s strong and tough and sometimes a little scary, but he makes you feel safe. More than that, he teaches you how to hold your own; he teaches you how to protect yourself. You appreciate that. He’s delicate with your feelings and serious about your well-being. 

“Speaking of,” you say, the tone change in your voice is not lost on the older man. “You’re getting careless in public, you have to be careful or my sister will find out.” 

Thickness fills the air around you, leaving Joel with an uneasy feeling in his gut. You can feel the tension raying off of him and practically suffocating you. "Right," he says. 

Recalling the night prior, you can’t count the number of times Joel almost slipped up in front of everyone. It was either an intimate look that lasted a few seconds too long, a touch that was borderline indecent, or just his overall demeanor showing that he was way too close to you. Luckily, no one noticed as they were either occupied or intoxicated, but one of these days you won’t be so lucky. And your sister will lose her shit. 

“Is it the age thing?” He asks with a frown, his spirit darkening a bit. In all seriousness, his age is a bit of a sore subject between you two. He made sure a thousand and one times that you were okay with the large gap that existed between you two, and you were - you are. But sometimes it still gets to him. 

The last thing he wants is for someone, your sister especially, to think he has ill intentions towards you. And he doesn’t want people thinking badly of you, either. Even at the end of the world, the town loves their gossip. 

You’re young, but you’re not naive, you’re not stupid or careless, you know what you’re getting yourself into.  

“That and you know…” You trail off when you notice he’s lost in thought. 

“What?” He asks, dumbly, and you laugh. You stare at him, waiting for his brain to catch up, and when it finally clicks he lets out a small “oh.” 

“She wanted you first,” you finish, watching his face fall. He looks uncomfortable, squirming a bit under your gaze. It’s not something he likes remembering, mostly because it brings his tired brain back to the age thing again and leaves him with a sour feeling in his stomach. He’s not a creep. He’s not. Right? 

“And I wanted you,” he says softly, shyly almost. He doesn’t have to say much for you to know what’s going on in his gorgeous head. It’s painfully obvious. 

“And I wanted you,” you reply. “I know there’s something, deep down in your gut, telling you that this is bad, but I’m telling you to ignore it. I’m an adult, Joel. I’ve been an adult for years.” 

“I know that,” he sighs. “It’s just--” 

“It’s nothing,” you say firmly. “Look around, love. Look at the world we’re living in. If we find love, if we find comfort, who are we to deny it?” 

“I like what you’re sayin’,” he admits with a handsome grin, his hand finding yours, counting your fingers as he presses soft kisses to each one. He brings your palm to his cheek, resting against it and looking at you with such adoration. “You have me wrapped around your finger, you know that?” 

You hum, eyes fluttering closed, loving what he’s saying and how he says it. His naked body relaxes against yours as he climbs on top of you. Warm lips find your neck, sending your sensitive body and mind into a spell. You could stay here forever, getting lost within him, making yourself at home in his embrace. God, your sister would be so disappointed for so many reasons. 

“Everyone always says I’m just the younger version of her,” you whisper, killing the mood as Joel’s lips falter against your skin. He pulls away, brows furrowed in confusion and a little disappointment. “Sorry,” you squeak. 

“Somethin’ on your mind?” He asks with concern. 

Sighing, you sit up, Joel grumbling in disappointment as he sits up with you. “I don’t question whether or not I want to be with you,” you tell him with certainty. “But she is the one person who scares me with this. She already thinks I’ve become a different person since coming to Jackson. And I keep going over last night. One of these days, we’re going to slip. And she’s going to kill you. I’ve always been told I’m just the mini version of her. So if she finds out, she’s going to think the worst of you. She’s going to think you’re the worst kind of pervert.” 

The rambling is doing your head in, but you can’t stop. Your inside thoughts are out there now and you can’t get them back on their leash. It’s been a while since you’ve panicked like this and you really don’t care for it. 

“Because I didn’t want her?” He scoffs, standing from the bed and grabbing his clothes from the floor. He slips his boxers on and then his jeans, feeling awkward being exposed during this kind of conversation. “You’re not a mini version of her,” he insists, sitting back beside you. “You look alike, sure, but that’s where the similarities end, darlin’. I promise.” 

It’s nice to hear, and it’s something you want to believe. But his words can’t erase years of everyone you know telling you how alike you and Lexie are. Maybe that’s why you’ve changed so much. It wasn’t the world ending, it was the newfound freedom. Here, you aren’t Lexie’s little sister. Here, you are your own being. And no one knows otherwise. 

“Listen,” Joel starts before your mind can spiral again. He grabs your hand, holding it tightly to keep you grounded. “Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I just don’t know Lexie well enough. But your sister, to me, seems like the type who is always tryin’ to impress everyone. I get the feelin’ she has the need to be liked; to fit herself into whatever shape someone asks of her.” 

Part of you wants to jump into your sister’s defense and tell Joel she's not like that. But you can’t seem to find your voice. And you’re not sure if you’d be lying or telling the truth. 

“But you aren’t like that at all. You don’t give a shit what anyone thinks, and you don’t cater to 'em. You don’t make yourself smaller to make everyone else feel more important. You’re quiet and confident. And I love that about you,” he finishes and you can hardly contain yourself. 

As the words leave his lips, you pounce on him, rolling him onto his back while you crawl on top of him. He lets out a little grunt and winces, grabbing onto your hips tighter than you were anticipating. 

“Oops,” you laugh. “Did I hurt your old back?” 

“Keep talkin’, sweetheart,” he says, gruffly. “I’ll show you how fuckin’ old I am.” 

You roll your eyes. “That doesn’t make any sense.” 

Joel grits his teeth before asking, “When does your sister get home?” 

You shrug. “Not for a couple hours, why?” 

He laughs and pushes himself up, quickly flipping your positions. He reaches for the binds tied to your headboard and grins down at you, fire in his eyes. “I just think you need a reminder,” he says. “of what happens when you talk back to me.” 

[amyispxnk]

Best Idea You’ve Ever Had

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader

Summary: Joel’s job is boring so you help make it a little more exciting ;)

A/N: I actually don’t have anything to say this time (goes on to ramble) I kind of like it and I’m like ‘oh I wrote a decent smut for once’ but I feel like I’m gonna read this again tomorrow and be like ew. I don’t really feel like I did this justice if you get what I’m saying. Feels very basic boring but anyway please read lmk and all the shit!!

Word count: 1.5k

Warnings: established relationship, SMUT - blowjob, face-fucking, cum eating -, pet names, kissing, good girl used once, mm i think that’s it

DO NOT COPY THIS WORK IN ANY WAY PLS AND TY.

Joel adjusted the reading glasses which were close to falling off his nose, head tipping downwards as he tried to not fall asleep during this damned meeting and actually take notes which he needed for later.

His job was great, paid well, had reasonable enough hours - compared to his last job, where he could be working until anytime between 5 and midnight - and wasn’t too difficult, but god was it boring. He’d much rather be doing anything at all with you. You, who were probably sat downstairs, nose buried in one of those books you always read, legs curled beneath you as you laid on the couch, without him. It was the weekend, you were supposed to be spending time together and instead he was forced into work again, missing out on spending time with you again.

He pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh, looking back up to the computer screen when he heard a quiet knock on his office door.

“Joel?” Your small voice asked from behind it, keeping caution to not disturb him too much during his meeting.

He checked his microphone was muted before turning slightly. “Yeah, sweetheart?” He replied, watching as you walked in and gently shut the door behind you. You walked past his chair and sat on the small couch which was to the left of his desk, just behind it.

“You ‘member what we were talking about last night?” You asked.

He pondered it for a moment, furrowing his brows and cursing his age for not remembering that thing you were discussing the night before. You always talked a lot at night, save for a few times when he’d been close to sleeping on the couch and you could barely manage sleeping back-to-back, so his mind was replaying the most recent, lengthy conversation you’d had. When he remembered, his expression flickered with surprise before his lips curved into a smirk.

Last night, you two had talked about plans for the weekend during dinner when his meeting came up.

“I wanted to spend the whole weekend with you, we barely get time anymore..” He said with a frown as he finished telling you about the meeting and how long it would certainly take.

“Because we’re workin’ our asses off.” You quipped, trying to lighten his mood a little bit and internally melting at just how distraught he seemed at not being able to be with you the entire day tomorrow.

“That’s true.” He agreed with a little smile.

You let a moment of silence pass as you both finished eating quietly, when a devilish thought crossed your mind - a grin broadening on your face to pair with it.

“What you smirkin’ ‘bout?” He questioned as he took a sip of his water and stood up to go put your dishes away, you following behind him into the kitchen.

“Your meeting’s gonna last pretty much the whole day then?” Dodging the question as you still mulled over your idea in your head, not wanting to straight up ask him in case it made him feel awkward.

He nodded, uncertainty now painting all of his features as he looked at you. “What evil plot’re you cookin’ up in there?” He tapped on the side of your skull before his arms crossed over his chest and he leaned back against the counter, watching you and waiting for you to speak.

“What if I sucked you off during the meeting?” You blurted out, unable to stop yourself from laughing after you said it. “Sorry- if it’s weird, I just thought it might be fun, you’re always saying your job is so boring and annoying and-”

He quickly cut you off from your rambling. “Best fuckin’ idea you’ve ever had.” He told you, mind reeling at the prospect and his eyes genuinely seeming to light up as he thought harder and harder about it (something else getting harder and harder with it).

You were not expecting such an enthusiastic answer, nor such an enthusiastic kiss from him which made you feel like you were being swooped off your feet.

You giggled into the kiss as he finally broke apart from you, chest rising and falling heavily. “That’s settled then, I’ll add it to my checklist for tomorrow.” You smiled before going to get a glass of water and getting ready for bed.

“Yeah. I remember.” He said slowly, eyes narrowing as he thought it over in his head. “I gotta speak too though, might make it difficult.”

You walked up to him, lips pushed forward in a pout as you leaned forward to look over his shoulder, confirming his camera was off, before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his lips. “Please, Joel. Jus’ wanna make you feel good.” You spoke in a sultry tone.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as his jaw clenched and praying to the lord nothing would go wrong, also asking for some more resistance against you because you could honestly get him to do anything anytime you wanted just like that.

“Okay.” He nodded, pants growing tighter as he watched you lower yourself beneath his desk, making sure you didn’t knock your head and settling between his legs. He adjusted his positioning in the chair so he could spread his legs a little wider for you, giving you the go-ahead.

You reached for the waistband of his pants, pulling them down and letting them pool around his ankles as you took his throbbing cock in hand, pumping him a few times and savouring the sight of him literally tearing the fabric of his office chair, digging his nails into it as he resisted the urge to move, grab you, touch you, pull you closer - anything.

You pressed kisses around his groin, a hand reaching up to massage his balls gently as you teased him and waited until it was his turn to speak.

He groaned at your touch, brows furrowed as he panted heavily. It was his turn to speak now, and he cautiously turned on his mic, putting his left hand on yours to still your movements for a moment as his right shakily grabbed his notes and he cleared his throat, starting to give the run-down on all the work that had been completed or needed to be done from the past fortnight.

You waited for a moment, listening to him talk before pressing a small kiss to his tip, making his cock jump in response as he choked on his words, eyes widening as he tried to mentally prepare himself for this.

Your lips gently closed around the flushed head of his cock and you sucked, making him cough abruptly as he tried to cover his moan. This was going perfectly.

You ease the rest of his length down your throat, nose coming flush to the coarse hair at its base as you begin to move back slowly, still toying with his balls as you do so.

“God- damnit.” He grits, having just come to the end of his bit, immediately turning his camera and mic off and grabbing a fistful of your hair. He leans back so he can get a better view of you and notices that one of your hands slipped down past your shorts and into your panties, your finger rubbing harsh circles onto your clit as you blowed him.

“Fuck.” He groaned, meeting your eyes. “You get off on this? Sucking my cock?”

You nodded so quickly your head could fall off, eager for him to release his grip so you could get back to what you started, but he had other plans.

“Y’gonna let me fuck this pretty throat, sweetheart?” He asked, pulling your head backward a little so you could give him proper consent.

“Y-yes, Joel. Please.” You breathed, head spinning as he immediately shoved his dick back into your mouth, making you work extra hard to not gag around his length as he began fucking it with earnest. His head fell back against the seat as his hips started moving on their own accord, chasing the wet heat of your mouth as he got closer and closer to his climax, thrusting one final time before stilling and spilling his hot load down your throat with a moan of your name.

You swallowed it all, sticking your tongue out to show him.

“Fuck, such a good girl for me, aren’t ya?” He groaned at the sight of you, pushing his chair back so you could get up from beneath the desk. His meeting finished and the call had ended, his computer screen now completely black and reflecting the pair of you in it.

Your legs wobbled slightly as you got up, and you could feel your heartbeat in your pussy as you stood between his spread legs, waiting for him to speak.

He pushed himself out of his chair and met your lips in a passionate kiss, tongue immediately darting out to meet yours as his hands roamed your body, one of them pulling your shorts down and getting them off you before he picked you up and started walking to your bedroom.

“Let me repay the favour, darlin’”.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed!! Likes, comments, and reblogs are always appreciated and requests are open! 💞

[lfghughes]

Maybe one where reader tells Jack she want to start trying for a baby. At first he’s a little hesitant but reader is like you will be able to teach them hockey and he gets so excited and he wants a little girl. Then their kissing for a little bit and Luke walks in and is like seriously on the couch, and Jack makes some smirky comment about wanting to have a baby with you asap.

a/n: im loving all these dad jack and dad nico requests i've been getting. hit me right in the feels

For the past few months you had been peppering in the idea of having a baby to Jack and every single time he gave you a hesitant answer. But every time you asked you saw him crack a little more at the idea of being a father. Both of you were laying on the couch, watching a movie when you sat up a little. “I just think we’re both ready Jack. I look at the way you are with everyone else’s kid and I know you’re going to be the best father to our future son.” You started explaining, fully moving so you could sit up and talk about this with him. “Imagine you teaching him how to play and skate.”

“Teaching our daughter how to skate.” He told you and there was a pause in the air between you two. “Our daughter?” You asked and he nodded his head. “I’m going to be a girl dad for sure, I’m going to have to learn how to braid hair and do buns but I’m sure I can do it.” This was the first time he had really talked about this with you, other times he had kind of shrugged off the conversation.

“I’ve been thinking about everything you’ve said lately and I think we’re in a really good place to start trying at least. I think I was just more so worried that I’d fail at it but being a parent isn’t exactly something you study for.” This was definitely him agreeing with you. “Plus, I think my mom would also really like to have a granddaughter after raising us three boys.”

A smile spread on your lips as he explained everything. “So we’ll start trying? Really?” You asked and he pulled you into your lap. “We’ll start trying and well there’s no better time than now.” He pointed out a small smirk on his lips as he pulled you in for a kiss. Your lips started to move against his as his hands started to wander underneath your shirt, seconds away from pulling it off before the front door opened.

“You have got to be kidding me. You guys are disgusting. On our couch guys? You have a whole bedroom. Now I have to disinfect it. Ew” Luke said, his face red with embarrassment from nearly catching you two in the act. Jack rolled his eyes, a laugh leaving his lips as he waved his brother off. “We’re just trying to make you an uncle Luke, maybe next time knock before you walk in.”

“This is my place too!” Luke took a pause as he replayed the words his brother said in his head. “Wait a minute, what?? Are you guys being for real? I’m going to be an uncle??” Now he was excited. “Yeah, we decided maybe it’s time to add another Hughes to the family.” A smile grew on Luke’s face at the words, he was part of this whole also wanting you two to have a baby already so you knew he would have been excited to hear the news. “I’m definitely going to teach that baby to skate as soon as possible."

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Hello, I was wondering if you could do headcanons for the bachelorettes regretting rejecting the farmer at the flower dance after realizing they're in love with the farmer.

Sure! Enjoy some headcanons, and have a good day! 🫰💕

_________________________________________

SDV bachelorettes who are in love with the Farmer regret turning them down from being their partner at the Flower Festival:

Well, that was awkward.... But Leah didn't worry too much about it. People make mistakes, especially since she did not realise that she had feelings for Farmer at the time of the rejection. The artist had not been rude to Farmer or mocked them in any way, but had simply answered them honestly about the invitation to dance, that's all. Now, though, things have changed. Leah won't dwell on that too much, and just as honestly tell them that she's in love with Farmer now. If they turn her down... well, that hurts, but life goes on.

As usual, Penny has let her own fear and shyness get the best of her at the crucial moment. Now all the young teacher can do is sadly watch the object of her affection dancing merrily with another partner at the flower festival while she berates herself for her weakness and spinelessness. Why... Why did she have to say no to them?... After that day, she would spend at least a week thinking about this rejection as possibly her biggest mistake in life. Why is she like this...

Oh man... Abigail feels dumb now. Such an opportune moment to get to know Farmer better - and she'd just brushed it all off. Sure, the purple-haired girl would have plenty more opportunities in the future to hint to Farmer about her romantic feelings for them, but that refusal to be Farmer's dance partner had left an unpleasant residue for a long time. Yep, that's sucks.... Still, Abby hoped it wasn't her only opportunity, and that it wasn't too late. She is determined to get their attention.

When Haley saw Farmer nearby, she wanted to go up to them and find out what they were doing and use her charm to get their attention. But before she did, her own words that she'd said to Farmer at the Flower Dance came to mind. "Ew, no." Yikes, that was harsh.... If Haley had been in Farmer's shoes, she'd definitely recall such a tactless and rude refusal to her, that's for sure. But the girl hoped that Farmer wasn't mad at her after all.

Maru hopes that Farmer doesn't still hold a grudge against her for that refusal to dance that happened a few months ago. The young inventor replayed that moment in her head, remembering if she had said anything that might have offended Farmer in any way. At the time, she had simply answered honestly, but now she was worried that she had missed her chance. Maru won't dramatically profess her love for them, but touch the surface and make sure everything between them is cool.

Emily is a little bit sad about then refusing to let Farmer spend more time together at the Flower Festival.... But she would quickly cheer up again. Even if the blue-haired girl had turned them down - it wasn't the end of the world, right? And the Farmer themself didn't look hurt or sad at the time. So Emily was probably just fooling herself with these intrusive thoughts, and there was nothing to worry about.

[c-m-stuff]

Jellyfish

Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

-Description: You and Spencer are having a secret relationship. When you all went to the beach for the weekend, something awkward has happened. And, the team was willing to find out.

-Warnings: Fluffiness

-Word count: 756

-Note: (Repost from Wattpad, my taglist is open now, you can find it here.) I saw this episode of Friends on tv, and it brought me some inspiration. TV show: Friends - 4x01

Masterlist

Y/N POV:

The BAU needed a little vacation. We deserved it. So, Penelope came up with the great idea to go with the whole team to the beach. At least, I thought, it was a great idea.

Let's just say something has happened at the beach. Something has happened while the others stayed in the house, while Spencer, me and Derek, went to the ocean. Not to swim, just walking with our feet in the water. Ever since, we were a bit awkward around each other. The team noticing clearly.

We were all lunching together in the conference room, Emily starting the conversation.

'Alright, you guys, what happened out there?'

'What? We took a walk, nothing happened.' I answered, so casually possible. Failing miserably.

'Come on!'

'Alright.' Derek stood up, but Spencer and I, immediately joined him.

'No! Derek, we swore we'd never tell!' I yelled, when Spencer added:

'They'll never understand!'

'Well, we have to say something. They'll never stop asking. (Y/N) got stung by a jellyfish-'

'Alright! Alright! I got stung. Stung bad. I couldn't stand. I-I couldn't walk.'

'We were two miles from the house.' Spencer began, as Derek continued, a bit dramatic.

'We were scared and alone. We didn't think we could make it.'

'I was in too much pain.' I made clear again, walking a bit around the room.

'And, then Reid remembered something.' Derek spoke out, everyone carefully listening to us.

'I'd seen this thing on the Discovery Channel...'

'Wait a minute. I saw that! About jellyfish and how if you-' David stopped for a minute, looking with wide eyes.

'You peed on yourself?' they all gasped, a slight disgust on their faces.

'You-you don't know! I mean, I thought, I was passing out from the pain! Anyway, I-I tried, but I-I couldn't bend that way. So...' I told them a bit ashamed, looking at Derek now. They all gasped once more, the word "ew" getting multiple times called.

'That's right, I stepped up! She's my friend and she needed help! And, if I had too, I'd pee on anyone of you! Only, uhh, I couldn't. I got the stage fright. I wanted to help, but there was too much pressure. So, I turned to Reid.'

Everyone's eyes immediately went to Spencer, who stood there ashamed and uncomfortable. They gasped, but before they could say something, Spencer began talking:

'Morgan kept screaming at me: "Do it now! Do it! Do it! Do it now!". I-I-' then he stopped talking and walked out of the room, with me right behind him.

'Spence, are you okay?' he stopped his tracks, turning to look at me.

'Yeah, I just want them to know about us. It would be less awkward, you know?' he silently confessed, causing me to nod.

'I know. Well, we can tell them. I mean, I think we waited long enough now.'

'Really?' I took his hands in mine, squeezing it a bit.

'Really.' he gave me the sweetest smile, before I felt his lips on mine. Suddenly, we heard clapping behind us, causing us to pull immediately away. We turned around to see the team standing a bit further, all smiley faces.

'Well, I guess we don't have to tell them anymore.' Spencer chuckled at my statement, while wrapping an arm around my waist.

'Oh, but you never actually had to tell us.' David told us, the whole team nodding in agreement.

'You knew?'

'Well, we are profilers after all.' Derek chuckled, and then the last puzzle piece fell on its place.

'Wait, is that why you told us the whole "I got the stage fright" story? You knew?' I asked in disbelief, replaying the beach day in my mind.

'Yes, I knew. And, I knew, you would be less embarrassed when your boyfriend peed on you instead of me.'

'But, why did you pressure me and kept yelling at me, "Do it! Do it now!"?' now Spencer asked, as Derek began laughing.

'That, I did for my own pleasure.'

_________________________

[wasawattpadkid]

Idk really how to ask for a request but could you maybe do a randy × reader at some point. Fluff, Smut idc i just love him and theres not enough fics of this man

There really isn't enough fanfiction for that boy so I'm happy to help! Hope you like it 💕

Be Kind, Rewind

Pairing: Randy Meeks x reader

Warnings: none just fluff

"Back again I see," Randy said happy to see your face. You pursed your lips handing him your tape. "Did you remember to rewind it this time?" You huffed leaning on the counter. "Yes, smartass." He smiled setting the tape on the return cart. "Well don't keep me waiting." Randy had been waiting all weekend for you to come back to give him a review on his movie. "I hate to say it but you missed with this one."

"What! Prom night is a classic." His voice was loud making the store look at the both of you. "Sorry." You mouthed to the people around you getting embarrassed by the man. "It was a total Carrie rip-off. I like Jamie Lee Curtis as much as the next person but that movie blew." Randy plugged his ears walking around the store humming so he couldn't hear you. It was a childish move. You laughed following him around. "I can't believe this right now. I thought we were friends." Randy was dramatic and only part of it was acting.

"We are! What'd you think about the movie I gave you?" Hearing that he stopped in his tracks turning to face you. "Career Opportunities really?" The tone of his voice let you know that for the 6th time in a row, your hints went right over his head. You sighed as Randy prepared himself for a rant. "I don't understand how you can watch that crap. It's not realistic. A nerdy loser never has pretty girls pining over them. It's just a trope in romantic comedies to get men hopeful that some babe would ever like them back."

You pursed your lips with a nod. "Guess that means I'm not pretty." Randy grabbed a handful of returns putting them back where they belonged. "You're beautiful I've told you that. Why would you say something like that?" You could laugh at how oblivious he was. Sometimes you wish you were some cheesy horror babe in a movie so he'd actually understand you for once.

"You said, "nerdy losers never have pretty girls crushing on them." So that must mean I'm not pretty." Randy's brain malfunctioned as he replayed your entire conversation. He didn't understand what you were getting at.

"Randy you geek, I like you. God, do I have to spell it?" The poor boy froze as a woman walked up behind him. "Excuse me sir do you know where the Clint Eastwood movies are?" Randy didn't respond. "Um, they should be over in the western section." You walked the old woman over to the aisle. "You like me?" Randy shouted causing the whole video store to go silent. Every customer in there looked at the crazed teenager. "Here you go, ma'am." You ignored Randy pointing towards the movies.

Your friend ran over to you not paying attention to the newfound attention. "Thank you, sweetie." She replied quickly getting away from Randy. "You like me like a brother right? I've gotten that a lot over the years." You shook your head letting him figure the rest out on his own. "A cousin then? Maybe even a step-sibling?"

The questions made your nose crinkle. "Ew no." Randy still needed to narrow it down. "You like me like a best friend then?"

"Are you brain dead? She has a crush on you." A random customer chimed in annoyed with the boy. You laughed at the bystander. Randy just stood there bewildered. "Wait so I'm a nerdy loser?" Confusion washed over your features. "You said that I said, "nerdy losers never have pretty girls pining over them." So what I'm some nerdy loser?"

"Do you seriously want me to answer that Prom Night?" Randy gestured with his hands as he spoke. "It's a classic ask anybody!" You simply squinted saying everything you needed to with your eyes. "Okay maybe I am a nerdy loser but what does that make you for liking me?"

"According to you, it makes me ugly." You laughed setting the poor boy up for failure. "N-now that's not what I meant. I didn't know you liked me when I said that." Your hand covered your chest. "Does that make me the exception then?" In movies, there were rarely exceptions to the rules. They were plain and simple. In romance movies, the ugly chick never gets the hot guy. The exception is if she has a makeover that removes her glasses and straightens her hair. In horror movies, there can only be a final girl if she's a virgin. The exception in that scenario is if the movie has laid out basic rules just to show the audience they can break them.

In this case, however, he could make an exception to make an exception. "I'm not sure. It makes me the luckiest nerdiest loser ever I know that much." You leaned forward pressing a quick kiss against his lips. His eyes grew wide as you pulled away. "You're going to kill me aren't you?" He said breathlessly.

The bell on the desk rang grabbing Randy's attention. He walked over helping the customer with their tapes. "Do you want me to kill you?" You asked with a laugh not worried about the customer overhearing your conversation. "I would say I have so much to live for but your just about all I have so it's up to you." The guy at the desk rolled his eyes as he grabbed his things. "I think that's romantic." You walked away from the desk making Randy follow you.

"Are you being serious about liking me?" Unfortunately, Randy has been played before. Stood up just for others' entertainment. You two had been friends since you were kids and he didn't expect you to be that way. That being said the alternative made less sense. "I literally just kissed you." Randy thought about that for a second. "Can you do it again just so I can make sure?" It was a pathetic attempt at being smooth but Randy made it work. You cupped his face in your hands taking your time to kiss him. His eyes closed focusing on your lips.

"Randy!" His boss barked making the two of you jump. "Don't make me fire your ass again. I don't pay you to make out with customers." You smiled at the man earning a dirty look in return. "Y-yes Sir." He stuttered out in fear.

"We can talk about this later if you want?" Randy shook his head. "I get off at seven could I pick you up at eight?" Neither of you had discussed what movies you'd watch. "I don't have any new movies at my place." Usually when the two of you hung out you'd force each other to watch movies you both picked out. "I was thinking dinner." He said almost nervous. You could tell him a million times you liked him and he would never believe it fully. You were way out of his league.

The idea of a date made butterflies hit the walls of your stomach. "I'd like that but we're seeing the new Robin Williams movie afterward. You pay for tickets I'll pay for snacks." Normally he'd argue about your choice in movies but this time he was over the moon. The bell rang once again making Randy regretfully walk away. You followed him walking in front of the counter. "I'll see you at eight for our date." It was adorable seeing the way he lit up at the word "date."

"I'll see you then Y/n."

[octoberobserver]

We're a Documentary, Not a Fucking Sitcom - WWDITS Fic

(Read on ao3 here)

I read ' 'The power dynamics seem so problematic. I mean, that’s his boss,' and this possessed me. Enjoy! 😉

“I shouldn’t have done that.”

Guillermo blinked his eyes open, the ghost of Nandor’s cold, smooth lips still lingering on his own.

He had just kissed him. Right on the mouth, mid-sentence, on a random Tuesday night, three months after Guillermo became human again.

“I…Mas–Nan…”

The words died in his throat as his brain whirred like a computer with too many tabs open.

“I am your boss,” Nandor continued as if he had not heard him, beginning to pace the length of the Fancy Room. “You are my employee. It is frowned upon…problematic.”

That snapped Guillermo out of his stupor, frowning as he tried to make sense of his rambling.

“Okay, first of all, employees get paid. If anything, I was an unpaid labourer,” he held up his hand to stop himself from tracing his lips with the pad of his thumb.

“Second of all, you’re not my boss anymore anyway. I’m just your human roommate now, remember? I have a new job teaching self-defense down at the YMCA. I’m not your familiar. We’re equals. We made the deal that I would stay in this house once none of you treated me like shit anymore and you got a new familiar. You’re just too stubborn to let me help you pick a replacement.”

That stopped the vampire in his tracks, a petulant pout on his handsome face.

“That’s because they are all terrible, Guillermo! Francine didn’t know how I like my hair combed, and Jason did not do my buttons up correctly!”

“You didn’t give them a chance to learn!”

“You picked it up right away!”

“Well, not everyone can be me!”

“I know! That’s the problem!”

Somehow they had closed the distance between them and were right back where they started moments ago, mere inches from each other. Naturally, Guillermo’s eyes fell on those pale, alluring lips, but he dragged them back up to a safe spot, focussing on the crinkle between Nandor’s eyebrows from where his head was bent downwards.

“Third of all,” he forced out, his breath no doubt bouncing off his chin. “‘Problematic?’ Seriously? You brutally killed innocent people that I lured here every single week for the last thirteen years. And you’re worried about us having a…a ‘workplace kiss’ being problematic?”

Look. It wasn’t like it had never crossed his mind. Both kissing Nandor and the very morally bankrupt decision to feed random humans to a group of bloodthirsty vampires every week for his entire adult life. But ever since he was faced with directly killing an innocent person so he could live and being unable to do it, he was questioning himself and his choices more and more lately.

(The whole wanting to kiss his former Master thing was a constant, ongoing thing. And definitely not a recent development. But that was his business.)

“Well,” Nandor waved a hand, undeterred. “Darla said it is frowned upon.”

Guillermo squinted up at him.

“And who is Darla?”

“My spotter at the gym. She’s a grandma looking to strengthen her pelvic floor.”

“Ew, what—? No. Doesn’t matter,” he winced. “So, what would Darla think about you kissing someone ten seconds after they tell you they’re going on a date? Is that not ‘problematic?’”

Nandor scrunched up his nose.

“Well, it just happened, so how would I have time to tell—”

“Mierda,” he muttered under his breath, staring up at the ceiling for a God he couldn’t believe in anymore.

“I shouldn’t have kissed you, Guillermo. I am sorry,” Nandor said in the ‘I’m trying to be diplomatic but am being a giant baby about it’ voice that he found hard to truly hate. “I just…thought that you had sworn off dating?”

A disbelieving laugh escaped his chest.

“So, what, you thought you’d kiss me in…protest?”

Something warm was fluttering around his abdomen as his heart beat what felt like a million times a second, his brain very unhelpfully replaying the kiss over and over in his head.

Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it, stop—

“I’m just confused,” Nandor was shrugging when he forced himself to focus. “You seemed uninterested in dating, and now you come in here and tell me not to wait up because you’re going out with some fucking gu—”

“And why is it you think I’d be uninterested in dating, Nandor? Would it be ‘cause the last boyfriend I had, you fucking cloned for yourself, and then sent him away so he could meet up with Freddie and have him cheat on me with himself?!”

The words echoed throughout the large room.

Nandor looked just like he did when he'd been slapped.

“Guiller—”

“No. Let’s talk about it,” he cut him off, shooting a glance at the nearest camera before glaring up at him. “I’m so sick, of never talking about things in this house. Just letting them revert back to the status quo. We’re a documentary, not a fucking sitcom,” he huffed, pointing a finger in his face, still standing so close he almost poked him.

“You turned your wife into my boyfriend, and that was really fucked up. You know, something actually ‘problematic.’”

He added extra sarcasm and generous bunny ears around the word, scorn and hurt rising within him from where it had laid dormant for over a year.

“You destroyed Marwa, and then my relationship, and you’ve never once taken responsibility for it. Or anything else you’ve ever done. So if you wanna talk about what’s ‘problematic,’ let’s start—”

“I changed her back.”

Guillermo froze.

“What?”

Nandor was busy staring at the red couch, murmuring so quietly that he almost didn’t hear him.

“I said I changed her back. I used my remaining wishes to…undo it all. Give her the life she deserves…without me. She’s in Washington now. Has gone back to school, last I heard.”

His heart skipped a beat as he digested that.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well,” Nandor scoffed, stepping even closer, gaze locked back on him. “I might have if you hadn’t been so busy conspiring with Laszlo because you went behind my back and got Derek to turn you INTO A VAMPIRE. DEREK! FUCKING GUY.”

Guillermo’s blood began to boil, spilling like molten lava in his veins.

“Because YOU WERE NEVER GOING TO!” he exploded. “After YEARS of putting up with all of your shit, I had enough of waiting!”

Nandor’s jaw clenched.

“I was going to turn you, even though I wasn’t sure if it was right for you, but you abandoned me for London!”

“Laszlo locked me in a coffin and shipped me to London like a giant FedEx package! I had literally zero control over that!” Guillermo shot back.

“Well,” Nandor cast his eyes around the room for an answer and grinned humorlessly when he found one. “You didn’t look for me.”

Oh, hell no.

“Yes, I did! But I had no way of contacting you,” Guillermo spat. “I had Nadja reach out through the ether and said she couldn’t find you, that you were blocking her somehow. So, yeah. It wasn’t like you were looking for me, either!”

His chest was heaving like an overwhelmed Victorian maiden whilst Nandor was as still as a statue, but he didn’t care.

Finally. Finally he was airing his grievances. After all this time. Years and years of pent-up anger and hurt and resentment, they were finally talking about it all. And God, it felt amaz—

“I was mad at you when you didn’t meet me on that platform…you broke my heart.”

Those words turned his molten blood to ice.

But that didn’t stop his own words from tumbling out of his mouth anyway.

“Yeah, well. You broke mine first.”

Their eyes met.

Silence engulfed the room.

“That’s a lot of information to get in thirty seconds.”

His head whirled around to find Colin Robinson staring at them from the doorway.

“This is a private conversation, Colin Robinson,” Nandor replied, his gaze still burning a hole into Guillermo. “Leave. Now.”

“Right. Private,” Colin retorted with his usual deadpan tone, gesturing to the cameras. “Whatever. Just fuck already. It’s faster. Especially the way Nandor does it.”

They listened to his retreating steps for a beat, Nandor cursing him under his breath.

“Did he quote Friends?” Guillermo gaped after him, realising it was in vain when he remembered who he was asking, though he could swear he saw one of the camera crew quietly nodding.

“Do not change the subject, Guillermo,” Nandor drew him back in, his dark gaze unwavering. “What did you mean when you said I broke your heart first?”

They don’t call him ‘The Relentless’ for nothin’.

“Come on,” he cleared his throat, his heart firmly lodged there as he tried to step around him. “We don’t have to do this. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Yes, it does, and yes, we do,” his hand shot out inhumanly fast and held him in place by the wrist, firmly but not something he couldn’t break from. “You wanted to talk, so talk. Please.”

What were you saying about pent-up feelings, again?

“You,” he took a shaky breath, forcing himself to stand his ground. “You…have to know how I…how I’ve felt all these years. I know you’re not that dumb.”

Nandor’s lips parted, but Guillermo kept going, words flowing from him like a burst dam.

“Every cruel word, every dismissal, every time you rebuffed my hugs or compliments or belittled me or my accomplishments…it was death by a thousand cuts. Because I fuckin’ loved you anyway.”

A bitter laugh escaped him as tears stung his eyes.

“Huh. Now that’s problematic.”

The silence was deafening.

Nandor had yet to move an inch, not even to blink.

Well, you’ve done in now, de la Cruz. And even managed to reference a Taylor Swift song. Bravo.

Seconds ticked into nearly a minute, and Guillermo was really starting to get freaked ou—

“‘Loved…’” came a raspy voice, barely above a whisper. “...as in past tense?”

He stared at the hand that was still clasping his wrist, right over his hummingbird pulse point and thought, fuck it.

“Love. I love you, Nandor. I always have. And I meant it when I said I was gonna be right here by your side. Even…even if it’s just as your friend and roommate. Because that’s what love means.”

He had done a lot of brave things in his life. Had taken on and killed dozens of vampires, faced witches, zombies and werewolves without batting an eye, and had emo bangs way past 2012, but Guillermo de la Cruz had never felt true bravery until this exact moment.

He watched as Nandor’s face crumpled like creepy paper, his eyes squeezing shut as he took in a deep breath he didn’t need and mumbled to himself.

“Floating through the cold, dark universe like a little grain of furry sand.”

“...what?”

Those large, dark eyes that he loved so much popped open, and he almost gasped at their intensity.

“I…I once thought I was completely alone in this world, Guillermo. Without someone to love or love me. But I’m realising now that that hasn’t been true for a long time, has it?”

Guillermo swallowed the lump in his throat.

He shook his head.

Slowly, a small smile spread on Nandor’s face, his thumb brushing against the thin skin of his wrist.

“And it hasn’t for you either, you know.”

Guillermo felt his brow furrow.

“Wha—”

Cold, soft lips covered his for the second time that night. Heart hammering against his ribcage, he hurried to kiss back this time, leaning up on his tip-toes and gently trailing his tongue along Nandor’s bottom lip.

The kiss deepened as he opened his mouth, the corner of one of his fangs brushing against Guillermo’s tongue and sending a thrill through his entire body. They gripped each other, on the edge of frantic.

“That is why I kissed you, Guillermo,” Nandor murmured, leaning back to press his face into his jaw, peppering little pecks there. “I love you too. But I was too dumb to acknowledge it. Until I thought I was losing you again.”

Shock flowed through Guillermo at both confessions, gripping the back of his neck to pull him further down into him, arousal sparking in his gut as a large hand clutched his hip and pulled them flush together, covering his mouth with his carefully but passionately.

Over six feet of solid muscle draped over him like an awning, and he had never felt more in tune with his own body before, letting himself get lost in the sensation.

Dios mio.

After a few seconds, minutes, or several years, his heart squeezed on the bridge of pain, his head spinning a little, his lips growing numb.

Breaking for air, he gasped, reminding both Nandor and himself, “B-Breathe, I-I need to breathe.”

Smiling apologetically, Nandor’s giant hand cupped his cheek, gaze boring into him.

“I know I’m not your boss anymore, Guillermo. But I would still like it very much if…if you kept your post as my heartguard.”

Now he was breathless for a whole different reason.

Beaming, his eyes stinging again, he brought his hand up and linked their fingers.

“Okay. Only if you’re mine too, though.”

“Deal.”

“Deal.”

Somewhere in the depths of the house, they heard Nadja let out a loud gag, followed quickly by, “Give it to him, good, Gizmo, and shut up already!”

Face on fire, he turned to him, leaning back in.

They still had a million and one things to talk about and work through. Obviously. Issues like theirs—problematic or otherwise—didn’t disappear with one, two, or even three admittedly fantastic kisses. But for now, their roommates had a point.

“Fucking vampires,” Guillermo chuckled.

“No,” Nandor replied with a sharp grin. “There’s just one vampire to fuck. Me."

Groaning at the dumb pun, Guillermo allowed himself to be kissed deeply and thoroughly, winding his hand into the silky, dark hair he adored and tugging.

It was as Nandor let out a quiet mewl (that he was definitely filing away for later) that he remembered the cameras. And the other people in the room. And his date.

“Wait, sorry,” he broke the kiss, his mouth already raw from beard burn and loving it before he turned to the crew.

“Can we have some privacy, guys? Please? And here, take my phone and text my date that I’m sorry I won’t make it, but he seems like a good guy, and I hope he meets someone else.”

He watched as the crewmember closest to him just barely caught his phone while the rest of the team just gaped at them, frozen in place, until a dark shadow cast over the room.

“He asked nicely,” Nandor said, his voice an octave lower than usual. “Do not make me ask not nicely.”

Not needing to be told twice, the crew scrambled to vacate the room, lugging their cameras and equipment behind them as Nandor reeled Guillermo back in, pushing him gently against the wall and cradling his head.

“Out, out!” he shooed over his shoulder, kissing along his jugular, his sharp fangs lightly scraping his skin and making him shiver. “We are a documentary, not a fucking porno!”

“No, save that for the honeymoon, old chap,” Laszlo’s muffled voice wafted from above. “And, if you need any pointers, let me know!”

[winterchimez]

MOOT GAME: " make up a trope for your moots and their biases. doesn’t need to be romantic. can be crackfic/funny. ^ㅇ(๑>◡<๑)ㅇ^ "

hi anon-ie!! yayyyy ok this is so fun imma just *rubs hands* cook up some scenarios 😋 (tagging the ones i talk to on a daily basis!! 💗)

@sungbeam acedemic rivals - theres something about you just being rivals with changmin and it gets on your nerve whenever he outperforms you but then all that bickering slowly turn into romance and thats something i will be watching from afar with my popcorn.

@from-izzy strangers to lovers - you and hyunjae (as much as i wanna mention the other guy but i won't bcs im trying to be nice 🥰) would meet as strangers on your first day of uni orientation, seemingly also ends up as deskmate in class and boom hes the goofy funny guy, always trying to get you involve in activities when you're just shy and reluctant and then the both of you start falling for each other

@daisyvisions best friends to lovers - we all know how much you love this, esp with hyunjae when yall be doing things that are pretty much obvious that's more than just friends 😏 so by the time yall end up together its more of a meh we've already done this before but then it gets awkward cs you're both now labelled as bf/gf

@aimeecarreros / @momhwa-agenda enemies to lovers - bcs of what you told me yesterday....but juyeon who's always teasing and bullying you...but then it's bcs he actually likes you sm but bcs of his ego he refuses to believe nor accept reality...but then it eventually hits him and hes confronted by you with a revenge dress and he goes oh. 😌

@snowflakewhispers mutual pining - realistically you and jacob would be having feelings for each other but then you both have your doubts (even though you don't look like it when you have beef with me everyday 🙄 HOWEVER it'll be cute but then the rest of us at the side will be all frustrated (aka me, daisy, elena) be like HE ALSO LIKES YOU BACK WTF but you're just "IDK MAN I DONT THINK HE WOULD"

@kimsohn unrequited love (but with a happy ending) - sunwoo's been head over heels over you since day one but you're always just ignoring his advnaces be like "this dude is hella weird", this goes on until one day you eventually see the other side of him, he makes you blush and he gets a high and giddy be like "okay confirmed maya likes me now i've won in life"

@justalildumpling rich kid au - ok i know it sounds cliché but hear me out!! na jaemin aka the rich boy from uni and he gets all the girls and naturally you fall for him too cs hell hes a fine-looking man but then maybe one day you are forced to live with him and thats when you see his true colours which makes you go ew, but then bcs of your personality you'll be like "i will change this man" (which you do) and he realises that you're not like the other girls out there

@ethereal-engene coffeshop au - you just give me calm sunshine vibes so!! you and woozi in the coffee shop, woozi as the barista (WHEW WITH A WHITE SHIRT- 😮‍💨) either you both work tgt as coworkers and eventually become a couple, or you would often visit the store not just for the good coffee but also for the good looking barista 👀

@drunkdrazed childhood friends to lovers - you're literally the sweetest human being so it would only be appropriate for this trope!! either with ten / jacob, you would fit so well 🥺 love the way how yall know literally anything abt each other and when yall reach uni / work and thats when you both realised that you're falling for one another instead 🫶

@h0mebody-heaven soulmate au - you're so funny and another ball of energy!! i can't imagine a better soulmate for hendery than you! lmao i can imagine all the chaos, the jokes that you both are gonna pull, probably asks you to film plenty of questionable tiktoks but then you oblige bcs YOLO 🤭

@strayed-quokka established relationship - do i need to say more, husband sangyeon and you're the housewife. you can replay that scenario in your mind.

@sanaxo-o arranged marriage - chanhee the rich son of dior's ceo ✨ but imagined getting pampered by him??? what a life it'll be 😮‍💨

[leeknowsnot]

rental romance (i.n x reader)

genre: fluff, retro setting: 80s warnings: none tbh, ok maybe a short mention of early pregnancy but it's not that major. it's not even relevant to the story lol

Series: Retro Series

hii!! this will be the first ever imagine that i'm posting for this blog. it will also be the first to the ot8 retro series that i'll be making so i hope you enjoy!!

note: idrk if i should add this as note but f/n stands for your friend's name ^^

links: chan minho changbin hyunjin han felix seungmin

The school bell rang, eliciting a cheer from almost every student, including you. It was the last day before summer vacation, and no one could wish for more than the last minute to end. As your professor waved her hand goodbye, wishing everyone a happy vacation with an amused smile on her face, you stretched out your arms and legs. 

You could swear you heard some pop, but you could never blame your body for not feeling stiff after sitting through five hours of unnecessary lecture about accidental summer pregnancy and foolish teenage adventures during summer. You knew it was just the faculty keeping out for you and the others—considering how someone had “accidents” during the school’s overnight camping trip a few months ago; they didn’t want a replay of that. 

You felt a tap on your shoulder, your friend’s grin beaming too close to your face once you turned your head. “Got any plans for summer?” she asked. 

You pursed your lips, jutting it in a manner that you always do whenever you think and shrug at her, “I don’t know. I’ll probably rent some VHS and catch up on some movies I haven’t seen ever since my brother broke the VCR. Dad got us a new one after his promotion last week.” 

You weren’t exactly the most adventurous person, but you weren’t anti-social either. You just preferred being alone most of the time with your movies, curled in a blanket in the living room, hogging the television set and feasting your eyes on some half-blurry movie that you have managed to get your hands on, keeping the entertainment all to yourself. Though sometimes, you’d end up engrossing the others at home with your endless list of movies to watch. Your choices were always what’s “in”; The Breakfast Club, Fright Night, Ghostbusters—you didn’t mind whatever genre it was. Except for one. Romance. 

You didn’t exactly hate romance, but you didn’t like it either. For you, watching Romance movies was... well, it was weird, and you’d rather not risk it and save yourself from the cringe. 

Taking your bag from your seat, you both headed out of the classroom, the chattering of other students livening the ever-so crowded hallway. Since today was the last day of the school year, it was denser than ever. 

F/N grimaced at you, one of her eyebrows raising. “Didn’t you tell me you didn’t like the lady owner at the store?” 

Your nose crinkled, unsure if it was because of the mixed smell of perfume and summer sweat from the other students in the hallway or at the owner of the VHS store you always talked—no, scratch that—complained to your friend about. You decided it was the latter. 

“I don’t have any choice F/N, that’s literally the only video rental store in town,” you said. 

“You’re right”, she gave you an expression of defeat. “You might as well date that old woman this summer, since you’ll be frequenting her shop.” 

“Ew, no. I’m not into older women,” you give her a shove on the shoulder, and she lets out a laugh. 

You both were cut off from your conversation when you heard a familiar honk by the street across the school entrance. F/N’s face fell, “Well, I guess I gotta go. Dad’s having his relatives visit tonight and we’re going to eat out at that same diner at the next town.” 

It was now your turn to return the favor and tease her back. “Hope you get flirted by that waiter again!” 

She let out a frustrated huff at you and rolled her eyes, to which you responded with a laugh. You heard another honk. 

“Ugh, fine I’m coming!” you heard her groan as she walked away from you and into her father’s car, waving one last time at you before they sped off—an inaudible sound of him scolding her for leaving the school grounds late, retreating as the car soon joined the sea of cars in the distance. 

⊹　　˖　　　　 ̟　　　⊹　　　˙

The distance from your school to the video rental shop wasn’t exactly far so you arrived only a couple of minutes later, on foot. 

As the usual bell from the small entrance door jingled at your entrance, the familiar smell of the store welcomed you. It was always a mixture of wet wood, dry cardboard, vinyl tapes, and the lady owner’s disturbingly fragrant perfume. However, her perfume wasn’t what trickled your nostrils, but a different perfume. It was musky, a bit fresh, you thought. Either way, it was different from what you were used to. 

When you turned into a corner and towards the counter, you expected to see the old woman rubbing on the back of some vinyl disc, as what she would always do each time you visit for a rental. But it was a different person behind the long wooden table this time. 

It was a guy, dressed in a white collared shirt that was tucked in his jeans, and a—what even is that. 

‘Is that a floral beach shirt on top?’ you laugh to yourself. You tried so hard not to chortle at his untimely choice of fashion while manning a store, but a snort escaped between your lips and caught his attention. 

He raises his eyebrows at you and smiles, “Welcome! Anything I can assist you with? We have some new arrivals from this morning’s delivery.” 

You could swear his eyes disappeared momentarily when he beamed at you. You cleared your throat, landing your eyes everywhere but him at embarrassment over the possibility that he could have caught you staring at him and silently ridiculing him for wearing a beach shirt outside of the beach. 

“I uh... I was just wondering where the owner was since I haven’t really seen you before,” you said, trying to talk your way out of being caught red-handed. 

“Oh, she’s not here. I’m the new store employee, it’s my first shift!” And he bought it with a smile. Well, he technically didn’t see you anyway since he was too busy updating the shop list, but you felt it was necessary to play safe anyway. 

You nodded your head, your mouth slightly agape as you silently mouthed a quiet hum. “I see...” 

At least I don’t have to deal with her cranky attitude anymore, you thought. 

He walked out from the back of the counter and towards you, his whole stature finally revealing itself as the counter was tall enough to cover below his chest. At the end of the lace that hung on his neck was an employee identification card and sure enough, he is an employee at the store, seeing that the logo was plastered beside his picture—in which you thought that the logo was unnecessarily huge. 

Yang Jeong In, it read. 

From up close, you thought that he was cute. Well, compared to those brutes and try-hards at your school anyway. He was slightly taller than you are too, and the whiffs of his perfume reached your nostrils more than it did earlier. 

“The new movie tapes are in that shelf over there,” he pointed with his thumb. 

You blinked, remembering the cassette that was inside your bag—the idea of possibly making a bad impression on the new employee not lost at the back of your brain. “Actually,” you paused, fishing your bag for the cassette tape. “I’m also here to return a movie I borrowed a couple of weeks ago.” 

You hand him the copy of The Outsiders that you had been meaning to return since two weeks ago. He returned to the back of the counter again, his face disappearing as he bowed his head down at whatever logbook he was writing in from earlier, leaving you to stare at a couple of his hair strands poking out from the prim wax finish that looked like it had been rushed upon application. 

“It’s uh... It’s past due,” you can hear him scratch his head. “For about almost a month now.” 

You let out a sheepish laugh, tapping on the strap of your bag. “Yeah, about that... I wanted to return it as soon as I finished it, but school was...” you trailed off. Yeah, not a very valid reason. 

You heard him tap the counter from behind twice before he poked his head out at you with a smile. “Okay, I’ll just fill this in,” he said before his face disappeared behind the counter again. 

You decided it was best not to question him anymore and took a walk around the store, running your fingers around some movie tapes and musing inside your head about what and what you have not yet watched. You stopped at a shelf where the employee said they had new arrivals. There were various titles that weren’t familiar indeed and you had the worst indecisive trait, so you lingered on your spot, staring at the multiple movies. 

“I recommend giving Gregory’s Girl a watch,” the new employee from behind you suddenly spoke. 

You jumped in surprise at his sudden presence, both hands clutched at your chest. It was now his turn to snort in amusement. You were too focused on eyeing the movies that you didn’t notice him leaving the counter and walking up behind you. 

“I’m not a fan of romance,” you blinked, recovering yourself from the untimely fright that he had given you. He tilted his head slightly, both eyebrows raised. 

“It’s both a combination of romance and comedy. It’s good,” he nods. “I’ve watched it for about five times myself.” 

You stood there, eyes switching from him to the paper cassette box stacked neatly amongst the other movies. You were contemplating whether to take Child’s Play or Gregory’s Girl, but you wanted a change of pace from your usual action and horror movies, so you thought that maybe it wouldn’t be too bad if you took his recommendation into consideration. 

“Fine, I’ll borrow that,” you finally gave up and he flashed another smile. Does he ever not smile? You think to yourself. Though, you didn’t exactly mind. It was cute refreshing to see rather than a certain woman in her late 50s, unleashing her bitterness over life at her own customers. 

He then took the tape and wrote something on his logbook before handing you the cassette in a plastic bag and stamping on your rental booklet that they use to keep track of each person’s rental history. 

You thanked him, slightly bowing your head before heading out of the door. 

It was your first time renting a romance movie. You thought to yourself, I’ll just watch the first few minutes then I’ll just rewatch Beetlejuice. 

Yeah, you’ll do that. 

⊹　　˖　　　　 ̟　　　⊹　　　˙

You have never been so wrong in your entire life. Here you are now, standing in front of the same counter, in the same shop the next day, with the same new employee. And he was trying his best not to give you the widest, smug grin while he took Gregory’s Girl from your hands. 

You rolled your eyes at him, “Okay fine, it was surprisingly good.” 

He gives you an exaggerated expression, “Surprisingly good? It’s great! It’s one of the best romcom movies I’ve ever seen. Well, after The Breakfast Club.” 

You held up a hand, “Wait, you like The Breakfast Club too?” 

“Of course, who doesn’t? And Fright Night.” 

“No way,” you rested your chin on top of the small table at the middle of the store while he placed the tape you rented back at the shelf. These were practically your favorites. “Don’t tell me you like Ghostbusters too.” 

He faced you, both eyebrows raised at you. “I love Ghostbusters! It’s an icon.” 

You gave him an amused expression, a smile on your face. Back at home and at school, you didn’t really have anyone else to share your enthusiasm over movies with. Not even your friend, since she had more interest in sports stuff. 

Then, he started humming a familiar tune. “If there’s something strange, In your neighborhood.” Your ears perked at that. 

“Oh my God,” you gasped. His head was bopping at the mutual tune that both of you had in your heads. 

“Who you gonna call?” he continued before finally turning to you. 

You laughed as you shook your head and your hand. “No way I’m singing with you.” 

He tilted his head again at you, an expecting expression on his lips. Eventually, you gave up. 

“GHOSTBUSTERS!” you both exclaim at the same time and laugh at the unison. 

You held your stomach from laughing too much. “Ohh, this is so much better than having that sulky old lady around!” 

You were laughing so much that you hadn’t realized you were the only left laughing. Until you did. When you recollected yourself, you saw him looking at you with wide eyes, hand covering his mouth. 

Oops, I think I thought out loud, you grimaced. 

“I... I mean—” 

“HAHAHAHAHA!!” He slowly burst out laughing. You were momentarily confused as to why he laughed at your sudden self-snitching, but he eventually spoke. “So I wasn’t the only one who thought that too? That the store owner was really sulky.” 

Suddenly, you were back on the same page as him again. “Exactly my point!! It’s like she’s got a grudge on the world or something.” 

⊹　　˖　　　　 ̟　　　⊹　　　˙

From that day on, you started coming a lot to the store. Well, not that you weren’t a frequent customer before, but the new guy made it more tolerable. You shared a lot of interests, had almost the same opinion on everything. Basically, you both were like fire and oil. You’ve become friends over the whole duration of your summer vacation. However, there was one problem. 

“Come on, Jeongin! This is the umpteenth romance movie you’ve recommended me, and it always gets sappier every time!” You grumbled with a contorted expression as you swiveled comfortably on his chair by the counter. 

He gave you a small laugh, eyes leaving yours. “No, they're not.” 

“Yes, they do!” 

“Nope.” 

“Yes.” 

“Nopee.” 

“Yes, they do. Oh my God!” 

Again, Jeong In laughed at your expression and ruffled your hair. You saw his smile disappear and saw him avert his eyes away whenever your gazes meet but you tried not to read into that too much. He retracted back his hand awkwardly from your head and wiped it on his jeans. 

‘Weird idiot...’ You muttered inside your head. 

You both shared the silence for a while, and he had his back turned to you, but you could see his hands fumble with whatever they touch. “Jeongin, you okay?” 

“Yeah. I’m fine. Of course I am,” he replied immediately. Too immediate in fact. 

You blinked. Was he offended at what I said earlier? 

“Hey...” You muttered, “I didn’t... I didn’t really mean what I said earlier. They’re not entirely sappy. I just... You know I’m not a really big fan of romance so—” 

“Y/N,” he cut you off mid-sentence, a deep inhale following. 

“Yeah?” 

“I have... something to say to you,” his voice got weaker at the end, as if he suddenly had second thoughts of saying it midway, but you still heard it anyway. 

Your blinked. “Is there... something wrong?” 

It took him a short while, but he finally spoke again, his back still on you. “I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out.” 

Your eyebrows furrowed. “Huh...?” 

“I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich,” he continued, finally facing you this time, a serious expression on his face. “I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts.” 

You blinked, crinkling your nose indeed but you knew where he was coming from. “Wait,” you chuckled. “Isn’t this Harry’s dialogue from When Harry met Sally?” 

“I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night.” 

You gave him an acknowledging nod, “I’ll give it to you, you really memorized the whole dialogue word per word.” 

As you gave him an amused smile, Jeong In stared at you for a short while before sighing and closing his eyes. “No, Y/N. This isn’t just me... reciting the movie dialogue out of nowhere.” 

He cautiously held your shoulder, his eyes boring themselves in your own hues. “I...” He looks down momentarily before his eyes are on yours again. “Look, I really like you, okay? Like, like you. These past weeks, I... I uh...” 

You were holding your breath. You were looking at him like a deer caught in headlights. Yet why did you look so beautiful in his eyes still? He sighed, hands releasing your shoulder as he hung his head a bit low. Jeong In shook his head. “It’s not supposed to be like this, I’m sorry. We’ve been friends for quite a while now and I...” He grumbled exasperatedly. 

“God why is it so hard to say. I even practiced at the mirror this morning,” he whispered in the last part. 

Though hesitant, you encouraged him to continue. In your sight, he was so cute right now. Was it your rationality speaking? No. You’ve always found Jeong In cute but you were too in denial to admit it. And now he was here, acting like a child, botching his own confession. 

Jeong In took a deep breath before finally looking you in the eyes again. “I like you, Y/N. You’re my friend, my best friend, my soulmate. And I’ve realized that during the days we’ve spent here in the store. It... may not be the best place to write our love story on but...” 

He looked away for a short while before holding your hand in his. “Will you write a sappy—the sappiest love story with me in this shabby old video rental store and be my girlfriend?” 

You almost laughed out loud but suppressed it with a snicker and nodded. “Yes. I’ll be your girlfriend.” 

You could see Jeong In almost turn from a smile into a crying happy face but then saw it turn into a horror expression. You furrowed your eyebrows. Well, that was three expressions in 10 seconds. 

You were about to joke about it, until you finally heard the reason as to why his expression changed so fast. 

“I am not paying you to flirt with a customer, Mr. Yang Jeong In,” the lady owner’s voice grimly rang from behind you. 

Oh, shit. 

i hope you like it!! i'm sorry if it still sounds a bit meh rn, it's been a long while since i wrote x reader fics like... it's literally been more than 10 years

anw, lmk if you want to be added to the taglist (or visit my pinned messages!)

[longbobmckenzie]

Season 6 Volume XI Thoughts

Well, that was incredibly underwhelming.

The guys made breakfast for us but it was Elliot serving us brekkie instead of Roberto, my actual LI? and Roberto didn't even show up in that scene at all??

Literally had to wait for ages to even see him, and even then he was just on the terrace

Toby not being Zeph isn't a surprise, but just... the whole Zeph thing was such a big thing but literally nothing at all. Such a waste of breath. I know they needed a past for Amelia and MC to talk about to even make having a twin worthwhile (spoiler: they failed), but that just wasn't it. They could've given us all the Zeph info up front and came up with something new (or had us actually work out our relationship issues!!)

Toby being hardcoded for Amelia, big surprise there. Ew. Do not like.

I didn't pay to make Roberto jealous because I honestly didn't want to spend more time with Zeph, but he said he was jealous anyway afterwards

LOVE SNOGGING MY MAN

I said to the girls that I was looking forward to the kisses, hoping that would mean that Roberto would snog me. He married me instead... nice, sure, but I would've preferred the snog. Even though he was respectful with his Bella kiss, those are MY lips!!! Mine!! I want to kiss them!!

Pieing Amelia was underwhelming because I didn't get to give a good reason - just "you know why"

Pieing Marshall was underwhelming because the reasons sucked. He pied me and then tried to tell me he picked the wrong girl? Naaahhh boy you had your chance and you fumbled it big time. I would've replayed for you, but not anymore

Jamal pieing me out of nowhere and being all aggy? Dude. We were coupled up ages ago and I was upfront about preferring Roberto. You could've pied Amelia for bringing Marshall back. You weren't even worth pieing back

Love Roberto pieing Ozzy though 🥺

And doing bits in the shower!! Tell me how I've fucked this guy 3 times but only been coupled up one night

Yawn, let's talk to all the guys again

Dumping. Yawn. Flo deserved better, Amelia or Grace should've been dumped. I should've been able to dump Marshall or Elliot

And lastly, Jamal (in my game) going off when he got dumped was so dumb and weird. Like he was trying to be Hamish but without the charm.

JUST LET ME COUPLE UP WITH MY MAN ALREADY

[elisedonut]

the 3ds has access to so many harvest moon/ Story of seasons games and I am having a blast playing through them

I haven't made it very far and have only really played Sos: 3oT and SOS (well and Rune factory 4) so far but I have all of them now and there are just so many you can play on that thing

Also i hung out with my mom the other day and had her guess which of the bachelors I chose in each of the ones id played so far and she guessed so easily and then bullied me about how young Kiel and Mistel look

She was like "hm- of course you would go for the ones with baby faces are they even adults?"

and I'm just "i mean like the game let me marry them so i kind of just assumed they were yeah"

She also took one look at Wayne and went i bet you saw him and immediately went ew cowboy which is funny because yeah i did

like he did grow on me and I do like him quite a bit now but my first reaction to him was indeed ew a cowboy

Really though she knows me to well because every one of her guesses was right actually

though she did cheat a lot by choosing two options

Specifically it was like

SOS: Mistel or Fritz

3OT: Ford or Yuzuki

RF4: Kiel or Doug

Which like technically none are wrong like Yuzuki is right on the money tbh if i ever replay it ill be going for him. Fritz would probably not be for a bit if i ever play again Ill probably go for Raeger  Or Iris . Doug is very interesting and is high on the list if I replayed but id probably do like Margret first

it was also fun because anytime characters that leaned alot more Masculine looking popped up she was just like oh no for sure not that one

which i mean- yeah

[autumnslance]

Since you're very knowledgeable about meta and lore for XIV, I was wondering if you've heard much about the original ideas for XIV and how it was supposed to connect to XIII and XV? I recently reran the Antitower and it seemed like they were really setting up a dark storyline for Hydaelyn and Minfilia that potentially extends all the way to ShB. There's the art of Minfilia in crystal chains and the creepy dolls are such a random boss but might be a callout to the Minfilias sacrificed on the First. I know XV was originally going to have an evil god pretending to be good with a connection to a crystal, and I recall hearing something similar about XIII. The fact that Venat also uses Noctis' Armiger has been fascinating me since EW. It's all got me curious, but I'm not sure if it's something that's been discussed in interviews or by fans.

Nothing that I'm overtly aware of; different teams worked on XIII and XV, and while all FF's tend to reference one another in order to tie the series together, XIV as the MMO amusement park/love letter to the franchise as a whole tends to refer back to the other games frequently, borrowing concepts, characters, and rough plot elements. Also there's a lot of overlap in production times, hence the crossover events for XIII and XV we did have before (the latter one a couple times) upon those games' releases.

As for events in Heavensward with Minfilia, I don't think Hydaelyn was ever meant to be "evil", but She was always holding things back and giving Her specific point of view. Minfilia's chains can also simply mean the shackles of duty and binding herself to Hydaelyn the way she did, not necessarily anything malevolent on Hydaelyn's part.

It's also important to remember that the Zodiark/Hydaelyn storyline was inherited from 1.x, kinda fiddled with in the background...and then really delved into and overhauled while we players saw a "break" from the meta plot in Stormblood. Ishikawa took over as Writing Lead and adjusted course for Shadowbringers and Endwalker.

So there's some fine details from ARR and HW that don't quite fit or make sense now after ShB and EW, though the devs have gone back and massaged a few things (like in the Lahabrea solo duty post-Ultima Weapon) or did their best to explain it away. I'm currently (very slowly) replaying EW on my miqo'te alt, and the Watcher gives the very Ghostly Obi-Wan "truth from a certain point of view" talk when the Scions meet with him on the moon. And later, after meeting Venat, we also get the idea that to preserve the time loop and make sure we got to where we needed to be, She was playing chess games on what She had to say and do, and when, as Hydaelyn.

And the writers are very fond of biased/not always accurate in-world knowledge, in order to give themselves wiggle room; the new lorebook really emphasizes that.

The Watcher's relevant dialogue, with WoL's options:

The Watcher: Indeed, there was a faction opposed to Zodiark's creation. But their aim was never to unmake Him. The Watcher: They understood the continued preservation of the natural order was dependent on His very existence. Until we could identify and address the underlying cause of the Final Days, He would need remain, for His departure would set in motion those apocalyptic forces once more. The Watcher: Hydaelyn recognized this as well. And so, rather than destroy, She sundered Zodiark, Herself, and the star into lesser reflections, that She might confine Him in this place. WoL Dialogue Options & Watcher's Responses: I could have sworn She beseeched me to banish the Darkness. The Watcher: Perhaps She did. But as with all beings, intent is not always in accord with spoken word. -- Then what She told me in the aetherial sea was false…? The Watcher: That the two once dwelled as one until Zodiark grew hungry for power, upsetting the balance twixt Them...? Not quite a lie, though a rather gross embellishment. The Watcher: But knowing what you know now, you must surely realize why She might opt to obfuscate and mislead. --- The Watcher: Hydaelyn and Zodiark are both constructs of man. Approximations of perfection limited by our own imperfections.

If anyone does have more information on the meta of XIV's interactions and influences back and forth with XIII and XV, or the original plans for XIV's Zodiark/Hydaelyn story (might be a good question for Anonymoose) by all means speak up; I wasn't really as active in XIV at the time when those other games were current.

But it also bears mentioning that while there's a lot of familiar concepts, names, and imagery in XVI, which was created by the same team as XIV, like all the other games before it that is normal to make it part of the franchise, and so XVI is very much its own world and story, not reliant on XIV, nor is XIV reliant upon it.

Though I for one am looking forward to that crossover and getting my Torgal mount and minion and hopefully Cid Telamon's theme for my orchestrion.

[tetrakys]

It was the year 2012. I was young and innocent when I clicked on this random ad and started playing the first otome game of my life. 10+ years ago I found myself in front of a difficult decision: do I try to steal my classmate’s boyfriend or not?

It was a tricky situation. On one side, Leigh was older and hot, on the other this went against my morals. I quickly realised though that I didn’t need to follow my real life morality in a video game if I didn’t want to. 

So I did it, I lied to Rosa and flirted with the hot goth guy.

A little later, I had the chance to ditch the boy I was spending time at the beach with, to kiss a pretty tattooed stranger. Tbh I didn’t really like the Dake, but the illu was cool so I went for it. Would I kiss a stranger I don’t even like in real life? Not really, especially in covid times ew, but that’s a game so who cares.

And so again and again I’ve picked “problematic” and “immoral” choices in my game, I’ve accepted Castiel’s one-night-stand offer while dating someone else, I’ve cheated on my LI with the cop, etc. Not all of these choices stayed in my history, sometimes I replayed and saved the other, safest option, and let my Candy be a good girl.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what all these things were, choices. Catering to people with different tastes and views.

And in my opinion this is one of the greatest strengths of My Candy Love. I’ve played dozens and dozens of Japanese and Chinese games where the MC never really has a choice. Sure, you can choose what to ask the LI, or to express your preference on certain things, you can even be slightly bolder or very timid. But I’ve never played another game of this calibre which makes you actually experiment the imperfection and the grey area. There are some indie games which do something close to that (although imo, more extreme), and this aspect is exactly the reason why they are so praised. As a fantasy heroine you can decide to make a bloodshed and kill all your enemies, or be compassionate and spare them.

So, at the end of the day, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much do I care about having to flirt a bit with Hyun to get Armin’s nsfw scene? Not only it’s zero but I actually enjoyed it immensely. It’s petty and childish and it entertained me most than anything I’ve played/watched in a long time. I also found it well written in a comedic way and perfectly in character with what Candy and Armin are on this route.

And this is my personal taste. Some people hate having to fake-flirt with another guy, and it’s fair! More than fair! Super fair! Hence why we have a choice. Sure, they are going to end up skipping on the sex this one time, but the alternative kiss is so romantic and well done, it’s not like the other choice is trash. I wanted Lysander’s nsfw illu while also meeting Castiel and the other friends in the same episode. I didn’t want to have to forgive Marina to get Chani’s illustration. It’s a visual novel, choices lead to different outcomes. And I’m glad that most people get that. 

Because this isn’t school, we’re not in a classroom, the presence alone of a choice you deem immoral doesn’t invalidate the whole game and says nothing about the people who like it. When someone asks for these kind of choices to be removed because “there are kids playing these games” (they shouldn’t) or it’s not “politically correct” or “this isn’t what I would do so no one should do it”, they are automatically invalidating a bunch of other players’ feelings. Live and let live.

I hope I’m gonna be able to be even pettier and bitchier in the future. I hope to see more drama and be able to pick even more cancellation-worthy choices, because that’s how I have fun and I will never care about feeling judged because of it.

[yoiku]

I really don't know how I feel about going back to FFXIV with DT dropping soon. (putting this under a read more due to some depression talk)

I still very much love the game in my mind and have kept up with what i think is the majority of news, but I have not logged in since jan/feb of 2022. Basically maxed out my crafting&gathering professions after endwalker main story and since then I haven't been able to bring myself to resub. Well, For a lot of it I also haven't had the time or money either but i have been thinking the entire time that i'll go back after the initial rush with Dawntrail launch has calmed down. Now I don't know anymore. As much as I loved the conclusion of thing with endwalker, I think I played it at a very bad time and my mind keeps connecting the game to that time now. I was suicidal around the time EW launched and the story resonated a bit too much with me at the time, so much so that I doubt I'll ever be able to replay it. I loved it but it also became what feels like a straight link to how bad i felt about myself and life while i was playing through it. And i think because of how anxious I was at the time as well really did a number on my already frail self-esteem when it comes to doing any kind of group gaming. The trust system is handy for that but I would rather play mmos with people than npcs. At the same time just the thought of queueing to a roulette turns my stomach a little too much. So I'm feeling pretty conflicted. DT seems like a nice fresh and a lighter start before likely delving into another heart wrenching story arc later, so part of me is still looking forward to try it. At the same time I feel like going back to the game might make me feel worse again. Part of me wants to roll a new character entirely but I know I don't have the time or will power for that again. I miss having any kind of social gaming circle to be an active part of. Well, I miss having more social interaction in my life in general but I'm too afraid of feeling like I'm alone in a group again. that sucks even more than just being alone as it is when you got the ol' depresso stuck in your brain. I dunno, maybe I need to get therapy before I give any of that a try again. (at least the progress on that has been moving along this year) I definitely feel like this is entirely a me problem after all. How I wish they sold self-esteem or confidence somewhere, I still haven't figured out how to find any of that within myself.

[isabelinlove]

ANOTHER Romebel drabble, because it’s our anniversary! This one is based on this post

Takes place season 2-ish, contains canon-typical Roman and his weird sexual jokes 💀

“I bet I could pick you up,” Roman says one day, out of the blue. At this point, in their relationship, Isabel is unfazed. She could fill a book with the weird shit he’s said to her.

“Pick me up? Like off of the ground?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?” she says skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

“Don’t give me that look. Of course I fuckin’ could. You’re fucking tiny.”

“You’re fucking tiny, too,” she retorts.

“Bigger than you, Polly Pocket. And that doesn’t even fuckin’ matter. It’s the strength that counts.” He flexes his biceps.

“Right.” She’s unconvinced.

“Seriously. Here.” He steps behind her and firmly wraps his arms around her waist. She’s taken aback — she didn’t think he would actually do it. He grips her tightly and lifts, and soon her feet are several inches off the ground.

“See? Totally doing it. Easy,” he says, though his voice is strained.

“Stop it, Rome. Put me down,” she says. It’s the middle of the day, and anyone — Kendall, Frank, hell, even Logan — could walk in on them. She also doesn’t want to think about how the way he’s holding her makes her feel.

“Nope. Proving a point here.” Roman’s grip is beginning to falter. “Yep. Piece of… nghh… cake.” He holds onto her until his strength gives out completely. “Fuck,” he murmurs as he half-drops her back onto the ground.

Isabel straightens her blouse. Roman pants.

“You’re out of breath, and that wasn’t even a full minute,” she remarks.

“Yeah, well, I had to stop, because the feeling of your tiny body in my big strong arms was turning me on.”

“Ew.”

“You should thank me for being chivalrous and not poking you with my massive boner.”

“You’re so fucking disgusting.”

“Yeah, and you love it. You’re totally going to replay this in your head tonight when you jerk off.”

Isabel shakes her head and rolls her eyes. “You wish.”

Just Roman being totally normal and definitely not inventing random reasons to touch me

Tagging @mysilentnightshipping