#finding out these exist is so bad for my wallet already

[jaysgirlx]

Airport Au!Jason gets coffee spilled on him right before he boards his flight back to Gotham and of course, he's the victim of hot coffee spilling all over his crotch. The good news is, Jason didn't suffer any burns and you were quite apologetic to him, nevertheless, he was still pissed at you and those clumsy hands of yours. To make matters worse, the two of you are seated next to each other on a 15-hour flight.

Airport Au!Jason lets you have the inside seat even though you ruined his favorite Wonder Woman t-shirt and kinda fucked up his black jeans. He even puts your suitcase away for you and he has no fucking clue why. Jason knew he didn't help strangers like this, not just be nice and flirty to girls like Dick did. But didn't do things like this for no reason especially not for pretty girls who- wait did he just call you pretty? Oh, he was so fucked.

Airport Au!Jason can't tell if he's mad at you or if he wants you. To him those feelings could be the same, he has no problem with wanting to make out with the girl who spilled coffee on his shirt. He didn't see a problem with wanting to make you his, it was an accident and you apologized a million times so maybe he should just forgive you, especially since you actually tried to clean his crotch. His self-control stopped him from letting you, but now he wishes he had let you.

Airport Au!Jason gets immediately bored after the plane takes off, he hadn't pack much because he likes to travel light. When his gaze falls in your direction, he notices that you are reading and annotating one of his favorite Sylvia Plath books and quickly starts to chat you up. You immediately light up when you find out he loves reading, especially classics and poetry. The two of you quickly got acquainted and introduced yourselves which was quickly followed by an apology. You didn't think boys who were smart and hot truly existed, you thought those were myths but Jason Todd was indeed very real.

Airport Au!Jason lets you nap on his shoulder and even orders your lunch for you so that you'd at least get some food when you woke up. You wake up to the boy thumbing through your annotations. You point out your favorite scenes and quotes and go into detail about what you thought their meanings were, well at least to you. You rambled for what might've been a good hour and fuck, Jason knew just by hearing you talk like this, he wanted to put his lips on yours so bad. Maybe shut you up for a second, not because you rambled but because your lips looked so delicious like he could devour them if he wanted. Maybe it could last more than a second, but that depended on what you'd let him do to you.

Airport Au!Jason can't help but want your attention sooo bad. He's chatting you up, making you laugh and for fucks sake why was your laugh so cute?? Why were so pretty to him? Why did you make him question every part of his being? It was like you were this missing piece he had finally found and he needed that piece. He needed you.

Airport Au!Jason jokingly warns you he's not good for you but that only makes you tilt your head with a big grin. You told him that you didn't want a "good" guy. You wanted someone morally grey, someone who understands that just because you've done bad things doesn't mean you're a bad person. You of course cleared up that you didn't support racists, homophobes, and such but you weren't past dating a criminal or even a vigilante if they matched your vibe. For a moment, Jason felt like you already accepted who he was, that you would still want to know him as the Red Hood. He hoped that maybe that was the truth.

Airport Au!Jason sneaks you into first class, pulling the "Bruce Wayne is my dad" card with the flight attendants, who swoon when Jason brings out the stolen Amex card. He'd give it back to Bruce another day or maybe just sneak it back into his wallet. The reason he gets you in so you can sleep comfortably because he knew there would be free seats (he's done this a bit too many times). You told him you didn't need to, that you liked napping on his shoulder, that he was enough but he said you deserved the luxury treat, not crappy shoulder. And it made you laugh because it was so cheesy, and Jason wished then and there, that he could hear you laugh like that for the rest of his life. Now, did he hate having to pull the "Bruce Wayne" card? Yes. Did he regret it? Hell no. Would he do it again? Yes…

Airport Au!Jason lets you play with his hair and even touch his neck scar while you lay in first class. You graze your finger across it and you feel him tense until he relaxes when your fingers lace with his. He lets you believe the white parts are dyed and tells you the scar was from a kidnapping incident that happened in his teens. You don't question him on it but instead, ask him if he still wants to know once the two of you land in Gotham. He looks at you with a cheesy grin. He says he doesn't have his phone on him but you could write your number on his arm. You knew he was joking but he was just so attractive. He enjoys the feeling of one of your hands combing his locks and the other intertwined with his.

Airport Au!Jason falls asleep with you in first class and when you two finally wake up, you decide to check how much time is left on the flight: 2 hours. A soft whine left your lips, from the thought of having to wait a a little longer to be able to kiss him. You could just tell Jason wasn't a fan of pda and if you did kiss him you'd definitely want it to be private. You told yourself to be patient and you knew you could be just a little longer, just for him. Jason on the other hand was an impatient asshole who ached for you, especially after hearing that goddamn whine. Were you trying to tease him? Because if you were it was definitely working. Jason couldn't wait 2 hours.

Airport Au!Jason brings you into the first bathroom and locks it behind him, even after receiving about of weird looks. He kisses you in with your legs almost instantly hooked around his waist and his arms holding you up against the wall. Your arms are wrapped around his neck bringing him as close as possible, while you clawed at his clothes. You weren't exactly sure where this was going but you wanted that coffee-stained shirt off him. You hooked your fingers on the ends of his shirt whining desperately to feel him. Maybe those clumsy hands of yours were good at something. And when he finally breaks the kiss, he only mutters out these words just for you, "Wanna help me get out the shirt you ruined, sweetheart?"

[scatorcciogf]

let the light in

¬ summary: spider!lottie saves you from a criminal. established relationship but reader doesn't know she's spidey yet :) ¬ warnings: cursing, gun mentions (nothing happens), slight violence + injury. gn!reader ¬ word count: 2.5k.... i swear this was supposed to be a drabble

it’s a quiet night tonight. 

well. as quiet as it can get in the city that never sleeps. but you’re not necessarily in the city — you’re on the outskirts, waiting for a bus back home — so it's way calmer. you were visiting a friend, got a little carried away (see: watching three bad horror movies instead of just one), and now you're definitely gonna have to wait a while until you can catch a ride to the city. 

you sigh, sitting down on the bench. you wish you had lottie there to keep you company, but she had to stay behind and study for an upcoming biochem test. you curse her for being such a responsible student and you curse nyu for existing, and then you take out your phone because you should probably shoot her a text.

at the bus stop now :) see u soon, you write. 

you don’t expect her to reply quickly, considering that she usually leaves her phone in the other room when she wants to focus on something. you’re surprised to see her read it immediately, type for a few seconds, then disappear again. you’re about to ask her about it when she calls you instead.

“hard at work, i see.” you say in lieu of a greeting, and you can almost hear her eyes roll.

“i’m taking a break. don’t be a brat.”

“why’d you call?”

“i wanted to hear your voice. i miss you.” 

you chuckle. “it’s been, like, six hours. you’re ridiculous.” 

despite your teasing, you think it’s cute — and she knows that. she knows how easily you melt at her sweet words and soft smiles.

“well, i also wanted to talk with you while you wait. you know, make sure you’re safe. i don’t like the idea of you being out alone so late at night.” she argues.

“and that’s very sweet of you,” you say, smiling. “but there’s literally nobody here. you don’t have to worry about me, you should go study.”

she groans. “but this lesson is so boring. and i’m only revising now, anyway. it’s not that important.”

“lottie.”

“fine… but if you get kidnapped, don’t blame me.”

“as if you could do anything about it all the way from our apartment!”

“i would think of something.”

and you open your mouth to tell her to just go already, but your words die in your throat as you feel something hard and cold pressed against your back. the next voice you hear comes from behind you, not from the phone, and it's much deeper and rougher than your girlfriend's. 

“hang up. right now.”

fuck. did you accidentally manifest getting kidnapped? you're frozen in both fear and indecision, bar your shaking hand. was that a gun or a knife? you want to tell lottie to call the police, but you're also afraid of what the man would do to you if you did. what if he kills you anyway? fuck, fuck, fuck. 

“baby?” you hear her confused voice at the same time as he shouts: “i said now!”

you want to tell her you love her before you end the call, fearing that you might never get another chance, but you find yourself too paralyzed to speak. instead, you press the button and drop the phone, hearing it shatter as it hits the ground. you know she knows anyway. 

the man speaks again, and you realize his voice is muffled by what must be a ski mask. “give me all your money. come on.”

you shake your head, eyes welling up. “i don't have anything on me, i swear.” 

“don't make me hurt you. just give me your fucking wallet.” 

“please,” you somehow manage to say as you show him your pockets are empty. “i already told you, i don't have my wallet with me.”

“and i don't believe you. what about your bag?”

you feel your heart rate picking up as he gets more aggressive in both his tone and actions — you're going to have a bruise with how strongly he's pressing his gun to you. if he doesn't actually pull the trigger, that is.

you slowly reach for your bag. you really don't have anything valuable in there, besides headphones and a water bottle. maybe he'll be satisfied with just that if he's particularly thirsty. 

you open it up and shift it vaguely towards where he's standing. “see? no money. please just—”

you're interrupted by a sudden thwip sound behind you. weird sound for a gun to make, you think, before you realize it's not the gun that you heard, but rather what grabbed it. a thin, but seemingly firm, spiderweb-like fluid, swiftly tugging it towards—

spider-woman. holy shit. 

“have you ever considered getting a job? it's this thing where you contribute to society and get paid, instead of mugging innocent people at night.” she says, tossing the gun aside. 

your mind is still racing, but you have the common sense to step away from the guy. it's only when you turn to look at him for the first time that you realize he doesn't need a weapon to be able to hurt you — he's massive. and now, it seems, pretty angry too. 

“not you again,” he growls. “mind your fucking business.”

she jumps down from the tree she was in, elegantly landing a few feet away from you. her gaze doesn't leave him, however. 

“the safety of people who live here is my business.”

he scoffs. “what are you gonna do, then? arrest me?”

“something like that.”

he lunges towards her before she can make the first move, looking ready to strangle her. she's too quick for someone like him, though, and she dodges every punch he tries to throw her way. you assumed she'd immobilize him with the web or something, but then again, what do you know. maybe she's just too busy trying not to get beat up. 

they spar for a minute or two, the guy holding up better than you thought he would. you should probably run away or call the police (scratch that, she just stepped on your phone and you swear you heard a crack! in between all the grunts and hits), but you're so captivated by the whole situation that you can't look away. it's not every day you get to see spider-woman up close. 

she kicks his side and manages to shoot the web into his eyes while he's catching his breath. he winces and swears loudly, stumbling back. he's scratching at it, and you can tell it's very tough to get it off. 

“oh, fuck this!” he exclaims before she can do anything else. 

still functionally blind, he starts running away, slamming against you in the process. he's clearly not impacted by it because he just continues running off, but you are. it was too forceful for you to stay on your feet, and in a flash, you're on the ground, dull pain in your head from hitting the bench. 

“ow…” you mumble, reaching to touch the back of your head. 

you feel blood under your fingers. great. you think about telling spider-woman to call the ambulance before she goes to catch the bad guy, but she's hurrying towards you before you even have to ask. you can't see her face, but you can tell by her voice that she's worried. 

“are you okay?” she asks. “oh, god, is that blood?”

you hum in response, starting to feel a little dizzy. your eyelids suddenly feel heavier, too. 

“no, no, don't pass out. talk to me. what do you feel?” 

you blink a few times, trying to stay awake. “i don't know… i feel dizzy. and in shock. and it hurts.”

she sighs. “i know, but you can't fall asleep, okay? please. you'll be okay, i just have to get you to a hospital.”

“aren't you going to run after him?”

“that guy? no, i'll just find him later,” she turns to look at your bag. “do you have any tissues or something? we should apply pressure to— you know.”

“no,” you shake your head. “it's fine, i'll just…”

you try to get up, but you soon realize you didn't just hurt your head. you feel sharp pain in your ankle, too. you're not entirely sure you could stand up if you tried. 

spider-woman notices, and she seems even more concerned. “it's not fine. i'll carry you.”

“you can't exactly swing around if your hands are occupied.”

“then i'll walk,” she retorts, inching closer so she can look at your head. “are you sure you don't have anything we can use for that?”

“positive.”

she looks back into your eyes. “you're bleeding a lot.”

she's still for a few seconds. you wonder if she's finally considering the logistical nightmare that would be carrying you to a hospital. you wonder if she's just going to give up leave you there, bleeding and unable to move. 

then, she takes a deep breath and removes her mask, pressing it firmly to your wound, and you wonder if you've gone insane, because the eyes you make contact with are lottie's, and there's no way that isn't a hallucination, right? 

you don't get the privilege of processing this information, though, because the pressure is painful and makes you feel lightheaded again, and soon enough, you pass out. 

— 🕷 —

your eyes sting when you finally open them. it's too bright in the room, both because of the sunlight and because of how… white and clean everything is. 

so she did get you to a hospital. 

you sit up, beginning to register the dull pain that's still present in the back of your head. you look around, and there she is — curled up on a chair beside your bed, blissfully asleep. you smile at how cute she looks, but then you remember last night, and your smile is replaced by a tight feeling in your chest. 

she can't actually be spider-woman… right? 

you clear your throat, not really willing to wait to find out. you hope the conversation you're about to have will be less confusing than the thoughts floating around in your head. 

“lottie?” you call out. 

her eyes immediately snap open, then widen when she realizes you're up. she shifts in the chair, clearly nervous. 

“oh my god, you're awake. how are you feeling?”

“i'm fine.” you pause. “how are you feeling?”

she seems to stiffen. she just looks at you, as if she's trying to think of what to say. 

“you know, since that guy got in quite a few punches.” you add. 

she sighs, looking away. “i thought you were already passed out when i… when i took off the mask. your eyes were already closing.”

it's a confirmation, and you're almost surprised that she didn't try to act confused or change the subject. but it's lottie, and she's never been good at lying to you. 

(despite the fact that she hid her superhero identity from you for the whole duration of your relationship. although, in hindsight, there were a couple of times where it was your own fault you didn't connect the dots.) 

you shake your head. “no, i saw you.”

you can’t really read her; the look on her face — is it shame or relief? maybe it’d be easier to tell if she just looked at you, or said something. anything but the uncomfortable silence filling the room right now.

“i’m also fine,” she says after a few moments, “knuckles were a little bruised but i heal pretty quickly.”

you nod, relieved to hear that, ignoring how surreal everything about this is. you’re not sure which is harder to process — the fact that you had a gun to your back or the fact that the person who saved you from getting shot was spider-woman, who is actually your girlfriend. your chest feels heavy again. she finally looks at you, and you open your mouth to ask her something, but you both speak at the same time. 

“how did—”

“i’m sorry for—”

“you can go first.” you say, offering a small smile.

“i’m sorry i never told you. i wanted to, but it’s just… difficult to get the words out. i didn’t want you to worry, either, that’s the main reason. you already have enough on your plate.” a beat. “but now that you know… it’s fine if you want to break up. i lied to you, and i know it’d be stressful knowing this, so.”

your eyes widen. “what? lottie, i’m not gonna break up with you.”

and, well, you’re pretty sure the look on her face is relief now. 

“no?” she asks quietly, and your heart breaks a little as you realize she fully believed what she said.

“no, of course not. oh my god. come here.”

you shift a little to the side so she can sit next to you, and she does, albeit a little hesitantly. you pull her closer, enjoying the warmth as her body presses into yours. you slide an arm around her waist and pull her in for a gentle kiss, before putting your head on her shoulder.

“are you sure you’re not mad?” she asks.

“i guess i’m more in shock than anything else.”

she tenses a little. “i can’t believe this happened to you. i’m so sorry, i should have stopped him, i…”

“lottie.” you look up at her. “you did what you could. which, speaking of, how did you get there so quickly?”

she grins. “i have my ways.”

you roll your eyes, then close them again, burying your face in her shoulder. a few moments pass where you’re just holding each other in silence, and if you hadn’t just woken up from a coma, you would fall asleep on the spot. as it is, though, you just sit there, breathing in her perfume. 

“does anyone else know?” you ask after a while.

“not really, no. i didn’t want anyone to get wrapped up in this.”

“really? i figured you’d have laura lee as your sidekick or something. you know, have her pray for you every time you go out to do your thing.”

she laughs. “i didn’t think of that. it’s not an entirely bad idea.”

you weakly slap her on the arm. “hey, no. i’m helping you now. i won’t tolerate competition.”

“helping me? you don’t plan on getting a costume of your own, do you?”

“mmm, i was thinking more along the lines of patching you up when you get home. i like seeing you shirtless.”

she grins and pulls you in for another kiss, a little less gentle this time. she slides her arms down to your waist and you let her press your bodies together as tightly as physics allow, melting into her. you still have a lot of questions — both about the life she’s been leading behind your back and the life you two are going to have from now on — but they can wait. for now, you’re content with just getting to kiss her senseless until a nurse comes for a check up.

[gardens-light]

Finding Peace

Taking shelter in an abandoned petrol station, tension builds between you and your family. As blame and arguments raise- not like you didn't feel guilty enough already. You didn't ask for this- any of this! You just wanted to help Optimus. And it's not like the Autobot leader didn't have problems of his own. Being hunted down by humans for reasons yet unknown was bad enough- but ignoring the yearning of his Spark has slowly become problematic. Occasionally shaking his helm attempting to get you out of his processors, trying to convince himself that a 'Sparkmate' was nothing but a romancide idea that the younger bots came up with. Or is it?...

Content: Minor coarse language. Event's take part in Transformers- Age of Extinction. (Leading to major spoilers in Part 4.) Optimus x Human F/Reader. Fluff. (Reader insert.)

Sparkmate Series- Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5

"Well... on the bright side." Tessa's voice lowly spoke, while sitting upon a dusty bar. Playing with some fairy lights. "You two have finally met.."

"Where's he from?"

"I told you. He's a driver from Texas."

"Texas?" Cade scoffed at Tessa's words. "Where? Dublin, Texas? Shamrock, Texas? So why does he sound like a leprechaun?"

Shane's brows knitted together, as he leaned against the bar. "You'd get your ass kicked in Ireland for saying that."

"Well we're not in Ireland, Lucky Charms. We're in Texas." Cade's attention turned back onto Tessa. "So he drives? What's that supposed to mean? Like he drives for a living?"

"Yeah... at least he makes a living."

Tessa's words caused Cade to fall silent. His eyes flickering up to you, frowning as you tried to avoid him.

"How old are you?" Cade challenged, approaching Shane.

"Twenty."

"And my daughter is seventeen. So as far as I'm concerned, this can go two ways." Cade leaned on the other side of the bar, glaring at Shane. "One, I punch you in the mouth right here, right now. And you call the police on me."

"Dad!-"

"Or two. I just call the cops on you because this is illegal. She's a minor!"

Steady... Steady... your thoughts wandered, while trying to focus on making a 'house of cards' out of beer coasters.

"We're protected by the 'Romeo and Juliet laws'-"

"We dated for a little while." Tessa explained, cutting Shane off. "I was a sophomore, and he was a senior. It's fine."

"We've got a pre-existing juvenile foundational relationship. Statute 2705-3." Shane took out his wallet, showing Cade the small card stating the law. "We're above board."

Cade sighed, "Romeo and Juliet, huh? Do you know how they ended up?"

Just... one more coaster...

"In love-"

"Dead." Cade turned to you. "And you, Y/N?"

Shit...

An unamused expression fell across your features as the coasters came tumbling down.

"Don't look at me like that, young lady. How long have you known about this?"

Cade rubbed his temples as you silently responded with a small shrug. "Well tell me. Days? Weeks?-"

"Months."

"Months...? And you didn't think that I would of wanted to know about this?-"

"Dad. Tessa is a full grown ass adult." You groaned. "She's capable of learning from a mistake or two."

"I trusted you. Both of you-"

"To what?" Tessa butted in. "Never have fun. Take a risk. Be a normal teenager like you?"

"I am your father, okay!" Cade firmly spoke, turning his attention onto Tessa. "And I've been busting my ass to take care of you and your sister!-"

"Oh so is that why I'm busting a gut trying to juggle two jobs?" You scoffed. "And here I thought, I'm the one who took care of this family."

"Is that what you were doing when you continued working on that damn truck?" Tessa spoke to you. A frown forming upon her lips, "all you had to do was report it.-"

"You know I couldn't do that-"

"And now we're forced into hiding. And my life is over! So 'thank you', Sis. You've taken 'real good' care us-"

"None of this would of happened! If you just kept your fucking mouth shut!-"

"Don't talk to your sister like that!" Cade stepped in.

"Sure Dad. Take her side... you always do."

"Y/N-"

"Look! I get it!" you raised onto your feet. "I know I'm 'the disappointment', 'the let down'-"

"Sweetie, I've never said that-"

Your eyes wandered over your dad's disappointed expression. "You didn't had to..."

---

Sitting upon the petrol stations' roof, the gentle breeze of the cool night air felt refreshing against your skin. Soft chirping of crickets eased your headache, your eyes gazing out into the dark empty road. The sound of small grunts and sighs caught your attention, briefly gazing over your shoulder. Rolling your eyes, once seeing Tessa struggling to climb the ladder with a mug in hand.

"What do you want?" you sighed, turning your attention back onto the road ahead.

"I thought- ouch!- that you could do with a hot drink."

The sound of the metal roofing warping and creaking, under Tessa's feet suddenly felt loud. As she approached you, taking a sit upon the roof's edge, leaving a small gap between you.

"I made your favourite." She kindly spoke, handing you the hot beverage. "I couldn't make it exactly to your liking, but it's the thought that counts. Right?"

Her weak smile faded as you remained silent. Speechlessly accepting the mug from her and holding it in your hands.

"You're not a disappointment." Tessa spoke after a brief hesitation. "For if it wasn't for you, we would of lost our home ages ago."

Tessa bit her lip before continuing, "I... did tell a friend about the truck. B-But I honestly didn't think he would believe me! If I knew- I wouldn't of..."

Your side glance caused her voice to trail off into silence.

"Well... what I'm trying to say... is that I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

Sipping the hot beverage, feeling the gentle warmth fill you inside. Tessa followed your gaze, a small smile returning to her lips.

"You're worried about him. Aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes." Tessa teased. "Like a lovesick girl."

You returned her smile, playfully pushing her away. "Oh shut up. You're talking nonsense, I'm just concerned about him. That's all."

"Uh-huh?" Tessa raised an eyebrow. Seeing a glimpse of you trying to hide a shy smile behind the mug.

"So... What's Dad doing?" you asked, trying to change the subject.

"Playing with some drone that he stole from the one of the guys. Dad's convinced that they would of truly killed us."

Tessa's heart sank as she watched you pull your legs close to your chest, hugging your knees a little while resting your mug against them.

"B-But that's just Dad's crazy thought." Tessa's guilt weighed on her heart a little more. Starting to wish she never said anything.

"Everything would of been fine, if only I watched what I was saying." You buried your head, resting your forehead against your knees and hiding your face. "I-If I didn't panic..."

"Shhh. Shhh." Tessa cooed, closing the gap between you. Placing her arm around your shoulders and resting her head against yours. "It's not your fault. You have a big heart, Y/N. Never be ashamed of that."

She gently pulled away, cupping your tearstained face and making you face her. "You are a rare treasure, and that Transformer better know that."

Finally smiling through your tears, Tessa rested her forehead against yours. The sound of a horn blaring in the distance broke the silence, while bright headlights burned the darkness away. You quickly raised onto your feet, causing Tessa to catch the falling mug while the hot beverage spilled onto the ground below.

You placed both hands against your chest, while gazing at the oncoming truck. Feeling it flutter with joy, as the sound of a faminular engine came to your ears.

Tessa rose onto her feet, giving you one last soft glance before leaving. A knowing smile forming upon her lips. You've got it bad...

Optimus carefully reduced his speed, as he walked out of his altmode. Trying to slow the pulsing rhythm of his spark as he approached you. Being mindful of each step he took, so it didn't appear like he was in a rush to be beside you again.

"Optimus..." your voice was low. Trying to hide the excitement within your tone.

"My deepest sympathies for your home." His soothing tone washed away the doubt and worries, that had been building up inside you. "And for leaving you so promptly. But I had to confirm we weren't followed."

You speechlessly nodded, trying to hold a relaxed expression as your eyes took in the sight of him.

Oh my...

Rust and dirt no longer coated his exterior, instead deep blue metal plates framed his chrome fisque, like pieces of armour. Your heart skipping a beat as your eyes wandered over him, taking in every detail of his broad shoulders and strong biceps.

Red flames danced across the gauntlets, but it was his torso you couldn't look away from. Your cheeks matched the warmth of Optimus' spark, as you gazed at his chest plate. Hands clutching onto your shirt, stopping the urge to reach out and run your fingertips over his toned form. Knowing that your touch wouldn't just stopped at that chromed waist of his.

"Loving the upgrade." Forcing the words out of your mouth, after swallowing your nerves.

Optimus got down on one knee, as you edged a little closer to the side of the roof. His blue optics studied you for a moment.

"You've been crying..."

Something inside him ached a little, as you temporarily turned away from him.

"It's nothing." You assured, brushing the dried tears off your cheeks. "I've just been... a little worried that's all."

"And I admittedly have been concerned about you."

That little sentence erupted butterflies in your stomach. Simply gazing up at him with wondering eyes.

How the stars sparkled in your eyes almost caused Optimus to choke on his own breath. Warmth begun to build beneath his metal plates, as his yearning spark called out for you.

His head tilted slightly as his scanners picked up something. Your body froze as he slightly hesitated before reaching out to you. Optimus' servo curled into a relaxed fist, your eyes peering down at it as he gently placed the knuckle of his index digit under your chin. While his thumb rested against your cheek.

His spark skipped a beat as a loving sigh slipped out of your mouth. Enjoying the cool touch of his metal against your soft skin.

Optimus carefully turned your head from side to side, studying your features. His scanners picking up the bruise that begun to form upon the bridge of your nose.

"That bastard hurt you." The small underlying anger within his tone caught you off guard. "I promise... I'll make him pay for what he's done to you."

"Optimus." You cooed, placing your hand on the back of his servo. Bringing it to the side of your face, resting your head against his digits.

His fans tried to push the warm air out of Optimus' vents, as the heat beneath his plates begun to build. His spark aching with a yearn he could no longer deny.

Closer... The word played on his processors. Causing him to fully kneel against the concrete ground, leaning in a little more.

Your loving eyes met the soft glow of his optics, as his servo slowly trailed down towards your waist. His thumb tracing the curves of your thighs, hips and waist.

The butterflies in your stomach tangled your nerves, your heart fluttering against your chest as a small gasp slipped from your lips. Eyes lingering over his features before closing, as you rested a hand against his chest plate.

As your heart matched the beat of Optimus' spark, syncing in harmony. A beautiful glow enveloped the pair of you, creating a warmth that made you almost forget about the world, as your lips ghosted over one another.

"Mr. Leader of the Free Galaxy is back!" an unknown mechanical voice caused you to quickly jump away from Optimus. "I knew you'd make it! I never doubted."

Crosshairs... Optimus' processors sighed. Trying to hide his disappointed expression as the leader faced his joyful Autobots. The sound of their roaring engines calming, before stepping out of their altmodes.

"We've got your warning." Drift greeted, "we've been waiting."

"Hell yeah! Boom time!" Hound cheered. "We've got the gang back together."

Drift tilted his head to the side, as his blue optics switched between you and Optimus. Smiling to himself as his processors picked up, the afterglow that slowly faded from the pair of you.

Optimus cleared his throat before speaking, "Autobots. The humans have asked us to play by their rules. Well... those rules have just changed."

"Humans, bunch of backstabbing weasels." Hound groaned, causing the ground to shake as he disarmed. Throwing heavy weaponries onto the floor.

"Hound, find your inner compass. Loyalty is nothing but a flower in the winds of fear and temptation."

Hound raised a brow at Drift's wise tone, "what the hell are you saying?"

The blue Autobot smiled, "it's a haiku-"

"Cut the crap! Before I drop a grenade down your throat."

You backed away from the edge of the roof, as Drift unsheathed his swords. "Try it" he challenged, "you'll be dead."

"Oh please do it." Hound taunted. "I wanna see you do it."

"You know what?" Bumblebee's radio buzzed, "it save us so much time."

Optimus gave you an unimpressed expression, as you gazed up at him, raising an eyebrow. A small chuckle left you as he speechlessly gestured to his Autobots. As to say, 'look what I have to put up with.'

"Well raise your hand, if you're thoroughly disenchanted with our little 'Earth vacation.'" Crosshairs spoke, while circling the petrol station. His green optics studying you, "so who's the spy?"

"Whoa! Whoa! Put those things away!" you yelped as Hound and Crosshairs immediately withdraw their guns, and pointing them at you.

"Stop, Hound! Both of you!" Optimus commanded, stepping in front of the building.

Both Autobots gave their leader a puzzled expression, as he continued. "Y/N, risked her life for mine. We owe her..."

Drift gave Bumblebee a playful nudge, discreetly pointing at you and Optimus. While Hound and Crosshairs briefly looked at one another, and turning their attention back onto their leader. Watching him stepping aside, and silently encouraging you to return to the roof's edge.

"Has there been... any sign of the others?" Optimus asked.

"No..." Hound sighed, withdrawing his weapon and settling himself upon the ground. "We're all that's left."

"They're picking us off, one by one!" Crosshairs explained.

"We're the pathetic, dirty foursome." Hound joked, "and you make five."

"Is this our best-case scenario?" Shane's teasing voice questioned you. Your eyes gazed at him, watching the Irishman climb onto the roof. "Autobot witness protection?"

"Hey Lucky Charms." you spoke, placing a hand upon your hips. "You're welcome to leave at anytime."

"Well, for the record, Super Sister. I'm not hiding with you." Shane gestured towards Optimus, "I'm hiding out with that big guy."

Tessa and Cade followed Shane's lead, as the three of them approached your side. All looking at the Autobots and they chatted among themselves.

"Sensei, with your fate unknown Bumblebee has held command." Drift's optics gazed at the yellow scout.

Bee fist bumped the air, while Drift rolled his optics. "Despite his complete and total lack of anything resembling warrior discipline."

An annoyed whirl weeze out of Bumblebee, as his optics narrowed on his comrade.

"He's like a child-"

"This 'child' is about to kick your ass!" Bee's radio buzzed. Landing the first hit against Drift's helm.

"Cage fight." Hound whispered to you, slightly leaning against the petrol stations' roof.

"What's the matter with them?" Tessa lowly asked, reaching out for your hand.

"They're on edge." You briefly explained, allowing her hand to slip into yours. "Who could blame them? They're being hunted."

"Am I the only one who sees through this puppy-dog act of yours?" Drift taunted Bee, while holding him in a headlock. "It's beneath you."

"Yes, I've been waiting for them all to dispatch each other." Crosshairs cheered. His servos gently clapping, "so I could take charge with no trouble at all. Just me. Reporting to me."

"Well, it sure looks like you've been missed." You said to Optimus.

"Autobots, humans are hunting us down. We need to know why."

"Listen..." Cade spoke, stepping towards Optimus. "I don't know why, but I might have an idea about who..."

---

"This drone I stole recorded footage of an Autobot raid." Cade explained.

You placed an affectionate hand upon Optimus' knee, as he sat cross-legged upon the floor. His servo clenching into a fist, as the dragonfly-like drone projected the video footage.

"It's in pieces, but watch what happens here." Cade pointed out, "they ripping them apart."

"That's Leadfoot." Hound spoke, as he placed a part of his helm over his spark. Feeling the saddened energy sink within his chest plates. "Savages."

"And later, this truck comes to haul him off to K.S.I. Kinetic Solutions." Cade continued. "They're creating defenses, aerospace, government contracts. They designed this drone."

"So these government guys are hunting you down, and then passing you of to this K.S.I?" Shane questioned.

"Do you know anything else?" Optimus asked.

"Only that their company headquarters is in Chicago." Cade spoke.

Perhaps... There's a chance of the Autobots being taken there. You thought.

"No way to get inside without a battle." Hound thought out loud.

"What if you had some human help?" everyone looked at you.

"Sweetie, no." Cade protested. "Besides, what are you two partners now?"

"Dad, we're targets now too." You spoke, feeling his worried stare on you. "We need to know why, or we'll never get our lives back."

"Y/N. You have done more than any of us could've asked for." Optimus kindly spoke. "I do not-"

"I'm coming." You gently argued. Seeing Tessa's encouraging smile from the corner of your eye.

"It's going to be dangerous." Drift warned, as he lend towards you.

The blue Autobot stiffed as you placed a comforting hand upon his knee. Giving him a warm smile, "you're important Optimus. Therefore, you're important to me.

A suttle warmth radiated from underneath Drift's metal plates.

"Autobots." Optimus spoke, as he raised onto his feet. "I have sworn to never kill humans."

"Big mistake." Hound mumbled

"But when I find out who's behind this. He's going to die..."

Tag List

@ursamajor17

@crowleysthings

[dogsosoy]

i am thinking about stalking aki. no devils au also (gn)reader is an obsessive freakkk and loser ; things get a little physically violent ^__^

as per usual, you were following the local grocery store clerk home after his shift.

he was a pretty unassuming guy, despite his height, but something about him was different from all the other NPCs you had to encounter in your shitty city.

a few weeks ago, for the first time in your life, someone wasn’t outright disgusted with your presence. on top of that, that person was downright gorgeous too. exactly your type. a lot like the guys you went for in your dating sims: tall, long hair, and an unbothered attitude. aki had an air about him that screamed “i don’t really care,” which made you weak in the knees. you were shaking when you approached his checkout line.

you expected him to be like everyone else. throw you a hardly-concealed glare and make your interaction as swift as possible. you’ve never been that great with social interaction. or social cues. but somehow, in your delusional mind, you believed that you were quite charming the day you met aki.

he had initially caught you off guard. aki recognized the game on your shirt, and commented on it as he was checking out (and trying hard not to judge) your groceries (seriously, when was the last time you ate a meal that wasn’t full of MSG?). immediately getting even more flustered and nervous than you already were, you told him a fun fact about the game—that only you found fun—and flashed him an awkward, stressed out smile. more fearful looking than anything. more animalistic than human.

but he smiled back, so clearly that meant you did a good job, right? you surely impressed him with your knowledge and the submissive air about you! he must’ve thought you were charming in a “kicked dog” sort of way.

aki totally wasn’t thinking ‘will this quivering little freak get out of my line already?’ eyeing your shaky hands and figure. you were most definitely overstaying your welcome in the check-out area to stutter at this poor clerk. at least he’s good at staying composed. most of the time.

overall, he was disgusted by you. you looked like you got hit by a bus two weeks ago and hadn’t showered since. your clothes were dirty and way too big, like a child trying on something from their parent’s closet. you had a minecraft wallet that would’ve been a cute little trait if you weren’t so fucking off-putting. your hair was in your eyes. probably to hide your face, he thought. you don’t seem to like being perceived.

aki had a lot of thoughts about you in that moment—some of them more intrusive than others. he thought about scowling at you, yelling at you to move along, maybe shoving your shitty groceries into your hands so you’d get the idea that he really didn’t like your vibe. or face. or anything about you. then, aki thought about strangling you. you just had a face for it. you looked easy to beat up and aki kind of liked that. it crossed his mind that maybe he could kick the shit out of you after his shift. get some anger out. hell, he could’ve taken five and done it right then.

you know, normal minimum wage job thoughts.

but of course, he didn’t do any of that. didn’t even really entertain the thought (although he really would’ve liked to). at his core, aki isn’t a bad person. he’s not the best, don’t get him wrong, but he wouldn’t harm a random person he doesn’t know. even if that person was giving him a million reasons to, just by existing. even if they look like they would make such a good punching bag. or stress ball. or chew toy?

aki doesn’t necessarily enjoy hurting people. he’ll admit, he does find some sort of sick satisfaction in it, but it’s not something he actively seeks out. or even something that regularly crosses his mind. aki is reliable and intelligent. that’s what anyone you ask would say about him. sure, maybe he’s a hardass most of the time, but he really does seem to have a thing for helping others.

he looked at you, really looked at you, his eyes filled with pity as you were turning to walk out of the store. he imagined what it would be like to have everyone you come across have these sorts of thoughts about you. how could you live your life normally when everything about you invokes violent and anger in the people around you?

it was pathetic. he thought you were pathetic.

maybe he could help you.

your eyes caught his only for a moment as you cautiously glanced back at him, trying to sneak in one more glimpse at this angel before you went home, not to return for weeks. then you saw it. you saw that look. something in his eyes, but it wasn’t anger or annoyance or disgust. your face heated up, and your eyes widened with how flustered you felt. your palms suddenly felt sweaty, and it was too hot. for once, someone looked at you and felt something more for you, and it felt like a fire was lit inside your chest.

this man… (squints to read name tag) aki… he was different.

and aki knew from that split second that you were definitely a total hopeless case and complete freak.

your obsession with him snowballed from there.

you followed behind him after every shift, making sure to stay hidden from the light and as far away as possible. you just wanted to make sure the love of your life got home safe! plus, it wasn’t hard to keep an eye on him. maybe keeping up with him was a little difficult due to the height difference, but good thing you’re amazing at masking your presence! thank you, fear of being perceived.

even from this distance, your heart was in your throat. you could barely make out the way his shoulders moved as he walked, or how he lazily puffed on a cigarette (mevius brand, your brain supplied). it was still enough to get you panting like a freaky little creep. your whole body was on fire. the physical reaction you had to aki was apparent, and it had only gotten worse by the day. during your first interaction, you were a complete mess. now? you’d be lucky to get a single word out if he was any closer than twenty feet, and your legs would surely give out from the anxiety. it would be like meeting god.

aki had decided earlier, during his shift, that he had had enough of this game of cat and mouse.

of course he could feel the eyes on his back during his walk to his apartment. although you think you’re quite slick and sneaky, aki has known since the first day you followed him home. you may be quiet, but your hiding skills are a bit rusty. on top of that, aki trained in the police force. he knows when someone is tailing him. he had to hand it to you though, it took him longer than normal to notice you.

every day you got a bit closer—he had picked up on that by the fifth night. he picked up on you breaking into his apartment by the second week, which irked him. not because he necessarily cared about you stealing his stuff—he didn’t have much of value anyway—he just didn’t want your dirty hands touching everything. he started cleaning more after that.

then slowly he started… leaving things out for you. like someone leaving milk out for a stray cat. a half eaten bar of chocolate on his kitchen counter, an old shirt on his bed. things he thought you’d think he wouldn’t miss. he left some healthier food out too, with a few bites taken out of it, so you’d think he was done eating and take it for yourself.

he wondered if it felt like sharing a meal to you, too.

he had caught a glimpse of you in a shop window as he turned the corner onto his street. you were wearing his shirt. he never saw you without one of his shirts on, not since you started stealing them.

instead of continuing all the way to his apartment, aki stopped short and took a quick right to duck into a nearby alleyway.

your heart sped up. what was he doing? was he meeting with someone else? going to someone else’s place? maybe just taking a leak? despite your worryingly amazing stalking skills, you lacked a lot of… basic intellect. street smarts.

common sense.

you approached the alley cautiously, peering in. no sign of aki. your heart sunk, had you lost him? your foot steps rang out in quiet thuds on the concrete. your thoughts were running a mile a minute.

aki thinks you should be more aware of your surroundings. it becomes another bullet on his mental list of things you need to work on. this list is uncomfortably long.

you pass by an unassuming dumpster, not looking at or even near it. it didn’t cross your mind that the object of your deepest desire could be crouched beside it. why would he be? why would he be staring at you? why would he be getting ready to pounce on you, like a predator on prey?

the moment you had just barely cleared the threshold into his vision, aki pounced.

your back hit the concrete wall before you could even grasp what could be happening. the smell of cigarette smoke flooded your sinuses. someone’s forearm was pressed to your neck—their hand carefully balancing a mevius cigarette between two fingers—affectively holding your weaker body in place and somewhat choking you. your voice cried out in a pathetic yelp, which caused another large hand to be placed rather roughly over your mouth. he didn’t want you to make any unnecessary noise. or, god forbid, any dumb comments.

his figure was even more imposing at this distance—or lack there of. fuck, is he going to kill you? beat the shit out of you? why is that thought kinda hot? your heart was beating so fast you felt like you were going to have a heart attack. aki, ever composed, casually leaned over your trembling body, looking deep into your scared eyes with his intense gaze. he was so calm, but he was also scary. imposing. like a parent looking down at a child who has misbehaved. your knees felt weak.

you have misbehaved.

his face was inches from yours as he spoke softly, condescendingly, “i would say you’re dumber than you look but,” his eyes raked over your figure slowly, rolling the cigarette between his fingers. he removed his forearm from your neck and took a drag and blew the smoke into your face as he continued, “you’re not.”

quick note: having a hand over your mouth, somewhat covering your nose, smoke blown into your face, and having previously been choked by a forearm to the neck does NOT pair amazingly with what was likely an incoming panic attack. or maybe it was a meltdown. aki didn’t think you could tremble this much. widen your eyes this much. make him feel so in control this much. he would’ve rather thrown out his brand new pack of meviuses than admit that you have such a way of making him feel. he continued rolling his cigarette between his fingers, staring at your face, thinking. then he backed off a little. looked down his nose at you.

his gaze was filled with disgust… and an impossible amount of want. want for you. to own you. control you. maybe he just wanted to have some sort of control over anything in his life. unfortunately, you didn’t have a whole lot of time to react to this sudden realization about aki, as you cried out, muffled by his palm. the bastard had put his cigarette out on your neck.

“don’t worry,” he spoke softly, in an ever condescending tone, “you’ll probably still be able to walk when i’m done.”

[bokutosmochi]

UNDENIABLY YOURS ♡ KOZUME KENMA

kozume kenma x gn!reader

"two orders of ice cream bites for kozume kenma and @nyaaaaanma please!"

ingredients? kenma did not approve of making your relationship public, but he wasn't going to deny you.

what's it? fluff

allergen warnings? a fan is rude to you for a short while

sugar level? 1k

regulars? @tokyometronetwork @tahonet

parlor's note? i think this is my first time writing a one shot/drabble for kenma and i found it really fun writing for him. this is also such a cute concept/plot, i hope you all enjoy it!

bon appetit!

"you know it's not like that. of course you're important to me, but they don't have to know every detail of my life." his voice was as calm as ever. this was the reason why you didn't get into arguments often; the both of you are able to keep calm and avoid saying things that you don't even mean. that doesn't mean arguments never happen though.

"people knowing we're together isn't every detail of your life though. it'd just be nice if your fans knew you're in a relationship so they would stop trying to get with you."

he stared at you blankly after that. "do you really think they would stop when they find out that i'm in a relationship? it doesn't even matter. i don't respond to their dms anyway."

you knew he had a point. knowing about people already being in relationships never stopped certain people from going after someone they yearned for. this happens especially to public figures who a wave of strangers sometimes treats like mere objects that solely exists for their entertainment. but still, was it so bad for kenma to let his viewers know that you were together? or that he was in a relationship?

sensing your unhappiness, your boyfriend stands up from where he was sat on the loveseat and grabbed his wallet, reaching for your hand. he knew just the thing to cheer you up; it was something you indulged in whenever you had a bad day, or an exceptionally good day where you thought you deserved a special treat. it was something that was always kept in your freezer for emergencies. it was something that you could count on as emotional support for whenever you needed it.

"c'mon, let's go get some ice cream."

you went into your shared bedroom to chance for a few minutes; you tried to dress as quick as possible, excited by the idea of ice cream before the two of you hailed a taxi cab to get to the nearest ice cream parlor.

the both of you said a quick thanks to the server who laid your paper bowls of ice cream in front of you, then began to dig in.

the parlor had a few limited edition flavors, brought on by valentine's season so that was what the both of you bought instead of your usual orders -- your favorite flavors. you couldn't help but taste a spoon or two of what the other had bought, curious about the taste of tiramiss-u and berry much in love.

you were indulging in the taste of kenma's before a stranger came up to your table. judging by his wide smile and equally wide, in-awe eyes, he was a fan of your boyfriend.

and you weren't wrong, "oh my god! are you kodzuken? i'm such a big fan of you. you really helped me out during the pandemic. i was sooo bored." he gushed out.

kenma made a face, somewhere between a grimace and a grin -- it was an awkward smile that he would unknowingly flash whenever he was uncomfortable, like how he was right now. he wasn't a people person, and it's clear that being a famous youtuber, unfortunately, did not change that. and because of how the fan took him by surprise, he wasn't able to gaslight the fan into thinking he wasn't kodzuken like he would do in most situations -- how he was able to convince his fans that he wasn't the public figure when his two toned hair was so recognizable, you did not know.

"thanks," he said through his teeth. "do you want an autograph or something?"

an autograph, right? that's usually what fans want. that's what they always ask for whenever they come up to me. the sooner i can give him one, the sooner i can get back on our date. you swore you could hear kenma's thoughts, being his partner for so long, you were bound to have an idea of how his intelligent mind works.

"sure!" the guy exclaimed, pulling out a notebook and a marker from his backpack. "at first i was thinking of ditching school, but i'm so glad i didn't!"

"don't ditch school. it's not as cool as movies make it seem." was all your boyfriend responded with while he signed his signature on the notebook. "here, have a nice day." it was an attempt to have the fan walk away from the table, kenma wanted nothing more than to converse with you again, but the teenage boy had other ideas.

"are you his partner?" he asked, pointing at you. it made you uncomfortable, to say the least. not only was there a finger shoved in your direction, but you also knew where your boyfriend stood when it came to making your relationship public -- he was against it.

much to your surprise though, he gently shoved the boy's hand down so it wouldn't be rudely pointed at you anymore and spoke "yeah they are and we're on a date, so please." he made it seem like he wanted the boy to leave you alone - and he did - but instead, he was the one to stand up, beckoning you to do the same and leave, bowls of half-melted ice cream in hand.

"i'm sorry about that, that was rude of him." he apologized to you before looking away in the other direction. "that's the reason why i didn't want to make our relationship public. people trying to treat me as an object because i'm famous and stuff is one thing, but it's a while 'nother thing when they do it to you."

you smiled softly to yourself, looping your arm around his and resting your head on his bicep, "i love you, ken."

you heard a small i love you too breathe from his lips before you realized something.

"if you didn't want to make our relationship public, then why did you tell the guy that we were dating?"

he stopped walking after that and looked at you plainly in the eyes as if he was about to state the obvious -- and in his point of view, he was about to. "well, i wasn't about to deny you or anything."

i get: reblog

you get: socks with sandals

[modelbus]

Could you Possibly do part 2 for library love?

ABSOLUTELY YES

Check out Part 1 here!

Pairing: Cc!Wilbur soot x Gn!Reader

Library Love - Part 2

You had very little to find Wilbur off of, save for your conversations. The second your shift had finished you set out for the places he mentioned while talking to you. Nothing crazy, just a small cafe and a record store. If you were lucky, he'd be in one so you could finally get his number.

Was this going too far? Eventually he’d come back to the library, or you’d see him around; he couldn’t stay away forever. But you wanted to get his number today—months of pining made you unusually impatient.

Maybe you were pushing your luck though. The cafe held no sign of him. When you had asked the barista in a moment of weakness, she denied anyone by the name of Wilbur being in at all today. That left the record store, barely a block away. You're crossing your fingers the entire walk, and desperately hoping he'd be there.

Of course, you just had to fall for the biggest dumbass in the entire world. Who forgets to leave their number?!

The record shop looks cute from the outside, with a bright sign loudly declaring a sale on record players and posters this week. You're slightly ashamed to say you've never been in here. Hell, you didn’t know it existed before Wilbur mentioned it to you! It’s mainly because you don't own a record player, but you make a promise to yourself to come back when you aren’t on a manhunt.

When you step in, a small bell chimes and the worker immediately greets you.

"Welcome to Rhythm Records! If you need anything just let me know." An employee calls out, bright purple hair obscuring most of her face.

You give her a polite nod, then scan the shop. It's not too large, and you can see the entire place just from your spot at the door. By the registers are tall boxes of posters, and the back wall is covered in shelves of record players. Every other inch contains records upon records. There are so many you nearly miss the whole reason you came in here for!

There, rifling through the record bin labeled "L-M" is Wilbur. Someone heard your silent begging and answered.

"What are you looking for?" You ask, navigating your way to him.

He jumps badly at your voice, eyes wide. "Wha-"

"I found your note. You didn't leave me a number, so I had to find you myself." You answer, fishing the paper out of your pocket.

"Oh." He says dumbly, slowly turning redder by the second. "I knew I was forgetting something! It kept fucking bugging me, but I couldn't figure out what it was, so I just gave up and dropped the books off. I can’t believe I forgot my- wait."

You do, patiently letting him ramble.

"You want my number?"

"Yes, Wil. I want your number.” At his clear incredulousness, you add, “so I can go on a date with you."

If you thought you'd seen him happy before, it was nothing compared to now. His entire face seems to light up along with a giant smile. You can’t help but smile along with him. Absolutely swoon-worthy, if you did say so.

"I mean, I'm not doing anything now if you want to do something now. We could walk around maybe? Or not, if you're busy." He suggests.

"I could clear my schedule." You joke, grinning at him.

"Perfect, I know just the place to go first. Come on."

He offers you his hand, and you take it. His fingertips are calloused from his guitar playing, but it isn't a bad thing. It's just another thing that's undeniably Wilbur.

"What about your record shopping?" You ask after you've already exited the store.

"I was only looking to keep my mind off you. Besides, I probably shouldn't buy anymore."

"You have too many?"

"It's a crippling addiction, one my wallet is suffering for." He says seriously, keeping a completely straight face. Almost as an afterthought, he adds, "and they've started attracting too many e-girls."

"What?!" You exclaim, laughing.

"It's a serious problem! I've started oozing masculine passion!"

"Oh God, we can't have that."

"Don't worry, I'll stop just for you."

That makes your heart do weird things, but you push it down.

It probably takes you too long to realize exactly where you're headed, and when you do you can't help but laugh to yourself.

"What?" He asks, eyes sparkling.

"Nothing, nothing."

“I thought I’d buy you tea or coffee or something to make up for you having to hunt me down.”

“You don’t have to.” You protest. “I didn’t mind the manhunt.”

“I want to.”

Wilbur lets go of your hand to hold open the door for you, making a grand gesture. "After you."

"Why thank you, kind sir."

"Back?" The barista asks. "Oh, you found your dude."

"This might've been the first place I looked for you." You admit to Wilbur.

"That is your dude, right? I haven't just made a fool of myself?" The barista laughs nervously.

"I'm their guy," Wilbur confirms, but he's looking at you.

He's your guy.

[videogamesincolor]

White supremacy and the unattractiveness of Gaming in (white) Men

So, I was browsing on TikTok, and user (@) derrickthemindfulgamer (who has come across my timeline more than once) was talking about a website called "DEI Detected".

"DEI has been taking our culture for too long already, it is time to push back. Vote with your wallet!"

Effectively, it's a website designed to encourage the white supremacist, the smelly boot of the gaming space to boycott games developed by studios who hire sensitivity consultants, Black, and non-Black devs. Or games centered around (and written by) Black and non-Black identities.

This also includes games that are tweaked or patched for pre-existing issues, or issues that gamers raised a complaint about (if the devs didn't take it upon themselves to amend it without prompting).

His reaction was primarily amusement and bewilderment. Particularly because the intention of the website, designed to financially damage the games through boycotts, could also be used to direct interested parties toward games that aren't about what the website believes should be the standard of games. (The downside of course would be driving traffic to the site and boosting its ad revenue.)

The gaming side of TikTok in general seems to believe that bad actors are working tirelessly to reignite the GG movement (GG 2.0). And to that, I would say, typically the best way to handle that kind of behavior is to just never give it any fuel for its fire. Let them kick up a fit and bitch about people playing and making games that they enjoy.

The issue with that, of course, is that our mainstream gaming media and news outlets thrive on this kind of behavior, and have often encouraged it for the sake of revenue (if they aren't in support of it).

It's very much akin to the behavior that the Democrats displayed when they proactively encouraged Trumpet's campaign for the presidency back in the 2010s (and now in the 2020s), and legacy media fanned the flames.

Right now, there's naught but crickets, so I'm not terribly concerned. But I wouldn't be surprised if it kicks off one day and everyone from Polygon to Kotaku will be fanning the flames, and the bad-faith actors will be reveling in it.

It got me thinking about the news circulating about a poll where an overwhelming majority of people (presumably women) voted that men being gamers, or being heavily invested in gaming at all, was an unattractive trait.

The person doing the polling was (allegedly) a Right-Wing YouTuber (Liz Wheeler). What one considers unattractive about the still predominantly white and male gaming space, and what a Right Winger considers unattractive about men's gaming (at all) is probably night and day.

The whole thing caught fire on Twitter, and there was a lot of memeification and jokes about it. But also bafflement. That, or commenting on exceptions or outright rebuttals. The intention of the poll had successfully started up an online discourse about it, but it has since lost speed.

The thing of it is, even if that poll had been done in good faith and not by a reactionary right winger, the general behaviors in the gaming community, as defined by the DEI Detected website, don't disprove the idea that folk might find that hobby unattractive in men because of those sentiments.

That is to say, there is still a big concentration of men who make gaming their entire personality, who work to push Black and non-Black folks out of the games industry and community spaces altogether.

The sentiment regarding women engaging in the FGC and Esports has not disappeared. Neither has the toxicity women and people of color face for using voice chat in FPS online games or even playing games on Twitch. I think we've just done a better job at making those opinions extremely... unattractive to hold. So now only the most vitriolic (and generally most invisible) online reactionaries feel bold enough to say it for attention.

Gaming, comparatively, has the highest barrier for entry when it comes to establishing a strong enough groundswell where Black and non-Black folks can take place. Even with stories that aren't about constipated white men, exploitative depictions of (cis, white) women, and hyper-violence, they're not the norm.

The so-called hobby of gaming itself is more of a luxury than it is a genuine hobby, and the people who are typically 'othered' in the space (who make a niche of it) are exceptions, not the rule.

It's not enough that said folks and community largely keep to themselves, and have, as the atypically white and entitled gamer cries about, been making games and stories about themselves or particular groups.

The rebuttal "Go make your game, then!" (when faced with criticism of a game someone may have otherwise enjoyed beyond a few aspects) has never been a genuine call to action. Reactionaries have never really wanted the underrepresented to enter the industry or community with their stories.

If anything they're almost reassured that the expenses necessary to pursue game dev and writing for games are extremely high for underrepresented folk.

It's the same kind of energy AO3 stannies exude when someone criticizes the website's numerous issues and offers ideas for improvement. When they say, "Go make your own AO3", they don't really want that. They're reassured by the fact that coding and website building and upkeep (nowadays) are costly and the endeavor is unlikely to happen any time soon. If ever.

So when games like Control, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Banishers of New Eden, Alan Wake 2, Usual June, Fields of Misteria, and other stories featuring white women, Black/Brown actors and characters hit the market - they lose their shit.

No matter the developer - they can't ignore it and just play the games that cater to them. Alan Wake 2 choosing to focus on a Black woman character instead of just two white dudes, is a threat to the status quo they know serves them specifically. So we end up with websites created by men who need their foothold in white supremacy reaffirmed through the financial deficit of games like Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn.

So, in this context, if this makes gaming as a hobby an unattractive preoccupation, I can't say that I blame the person who holds that belief.

But again, that poll, like the DEI website itself, was not made in good faith.

[major-fukkup]

@hyperobsession here goes!

So, I've created several different DnD pcs, as one does, so I can use them for different things BUT in my mind they all also exist in a separate AU where they're all in the same party and the problem with this is three of them are rogues.

Two of them, Ezian (catfolk) and Vargas (tiefling), become best friends almost immediately (just kidding it takes at least a week or two) bc it turns out they share a braincell and work reeeaaally well together. And they basically force the third, Sivain (half elf), to join their lil mini group within the party just bc ya know, they gotta, but he's traumatized (to be fair they all are lol but his trauma was the most recent) and doesn't wanna get close to anyone. Eventually he learns to trust them, and they never let him down. At least, not intentionally.

They are, for all practical purposes, being babysat by Storm, the chillest bard ever (you may remember him - he's a dragonborn), and Ash, a wood elf druid with a moral compass that won't quit. They basically become co- party leaders on account of being the smartest, and also the biggest and strongest (in a "the strong protect the weak" kind of way, not a "might makes right" way lol).

Storm doesn't really care what the rogues do as long as they aren't actually hurting anybody, but Ash tries to talk morals into them - to be fair they do have standards of their own but they struggle quite a bit with reason and logic, and Sivain believes quite heavily in destiny and luck. For example if someone drops their wallet or whatever and doesn't notice then it's fair game - bad luck for them, good luck for him.

Ash eventually learns to look the other way sometimes, but not if there is an objectively morally correct course of action that can be taken. She chooses not to partake of any goods that she knows are stolen but she isn't going to deprive her companions of stuff they actually kind of need, either.

Also Volstar, the edgy halfling sorcerer, is there but he mostly keeps to himself. He spent the first few months with the party constantly assuring them (himself actually) that he was ONLY in the same place at the same time as them because they happened to be investigating the same thing (they asked for his help one time with one thing and he was already looking into it so he figured why the hell not but he expected them to leave him alone afterward and they very much did not).

He talks to his mage hand and minor illusion more than any of them. ...Until one day he finds himself calling the party his friends. He never regrets it, either.

And of course we can't forget about Mark, a high elf ranger who doesn't give any fucks about anyone or anything except himself and smoking weed (I originally made him a high elf just for that joke even though wood elf would make more sense). He's literally just a hunter but he always wondered what was beyond the forest so he agrees to accompany the party into the city they're heading toward.

While there, they find a raccoon and he tries to kill it but it starts talking and the other party members decide to adopt it. Its (his) name is Roadkill but it's unclear if he already had that name or if they gave it to him.

Roadkill immediately decides Mark is his favorite person, you know, the guy who tried to kill him at first sight, and spends the majority of his time sitting on his shoulder. He refuses to get within five feet of Ash despite the fact that she's objectively the most adept at animal handling.

He is also a thief (I'm not giving him a class simply bc he'd be a rogue and that would make four, and also bc he's a raccoon and doesn't deserve a class [affectionate]) and frequently attempts to steal from Mark, who in turn chases him around trying to stab him. This continues nearly every night until Mark is given a reason to care about someone other than himself and has a change of heart (it is unclear how much time that takes, and also unclear exactly what happens to incite this reaction - I have some ideas but nothing set in stone yet).

Roadkill also fights with the rogues over shiny things. They don't try to kill him like Mark did but he does find a dagger somewhere and they quickly give up on trying to take it away from him.

That's about it for these guys, for right now anyway. I have so much more to say about each one but that can be done another time, in another post.

I'm also working on a couple more pcs including a half orc paladin and a drow cleric but since I'm not overly familiar with either of those classes I'm waiting 'til I have time to consult the Player's Handbook before continuing their development. I also want to add a barbarian to the mix but I don't have any exceptionally good ideas for one so I'm not sure yet. Maybe a gnome bc I love the idea of a really strong tiny dude. I was considering a gnome fighter instead but again, not sure.

I have a number of npcs as well that I'd love to talk about, but that's DEFINITELY going in a different post.

Anyway feel free to ask for more info about any of these guys! Like I said I have a lot more to say XD

[freackthejester]

I find homophobia interesting as a thing to study. It makes so little sense to me that I have to look for explanations for why such a stupid hatred would exist.

Racism is bad, but at least I understand the purpose that it played, from an over arching imperialist/capitalist perspective. Dehumanizing a group of people (most people!) so that their labor can be free serves a clear (Evil!) goal. There's a societal stratification that people want to keep going that is best served by enshrining family lines in the ages before pure Money was strong enough to keep the old royals Royal.

What did the occasional person being gay do that we (society in the late 20th century) had to put so much effort into making it so unacceptable?

Well, for one, by the 90s men and women hated each other. So there had to be something to make them fuck, in an era where one of the gayest things a man could do was Not hate women (Golden Girls).

Men and Women used to have separate Spheres of Existence. The paid labor and the reproductive (here meaning anything housework as well as birthing) labor overlapped very little, and the woman and children the (money making) man had at home was assumed and subsumed. If you let women into the workforce, then you have to admit we're all the same. Women take over man jobs, that's just evening out. But jobs women used to do go to men once they become good (computer programming)

Those good jobs don't take the "male skill" of upper body strength anymore, so if there's no reason to be a man, many of them would quit (that's fine)! I will agree that the loss of Good Manufacturing Jobs in the US is effeminizing our men (that's good); and it's pushing men into jobs that women were doing before (bad jobs).

I think homophobia was the last gasp of the divided labor. My evidence:

It's not that gay people are evil. It's that evil people (money makers) have already shed off at least one of the rules that keep us nice to each other, so after becoming evil you may as well give in to the other evil pressures and just be gay then?

We all have the passing gay thought, but it's pushed away the way you think about not kicking a small dog or taking the cash out of a found wallet.

People already a couple of sins in are more likely to give in the the temptation to do gay more than it is a gay people are evil. Do you understand the difference?

[pocketstoriesstore]

SOUNDS FAIR -Part II

Summary: You’re visiting your best friend for a while, when you get to know about someone’s existence. And everything start to change in you life.

Please +18!! (cigarettes, alcohol, wounds, suffering, bad memories.)

Hey there. Sorry for my choice of words, I’m from BR and I love to write, but I write in Portuguese 🤭 this time I decided to do different so here we are. I hope you like this piece of story. This is the part two of “Souds fair”. Hope y’all like it.

—————————————————————————

And that was everything you could remember clearly since the fall you suffered when you stepped behind twice just to squeeze your left foot on a puddle of something that looked like alcohol on the floor.

Embarrassed by the hot guy. Congratz.

And then, slapping your right hand on the whiskey bootle and sending it directly to the same piece of the floor which you decided to use the same hand to support your body weight on the fall, you got your hand skin hurt in so many large and deep wounds you couldn’t count.

Everything happened in less than three seconds and that was so incredibly painful that you… well, started to cry and curse so many things you didn’t remember knowing, letting every costumer curious and worried, some of them even disposing to help you out.

Leon was sharp cutting every chaos off while he shouted: “ All of you, chill out. Ill fix her hand NOW, dont worry.” While everyone stared, he proceeded: “About the bottle, it was my fault. ‘Think I scared her when I came in without a sound. Be righ back with her and ill fix that too, Sebastian. Now, yall just chill out, she’ll freak out like that! I actually am!”

He managed to put you up, tying your hand with the fabric of his sleeve to stank the waterfall of blood you were loosing in that moment, when you shouted out at his firm touch to hold the fabric without tying it on your wounded skin. he said in the most soft voice you’ve heard from him ‘til now, sounding like that one was just for you: “i know it hurts, but i need you to close your hand like this. It will help until we get you into the hospital. You think you can do this for me, hon?” You just agreed with your head while lost deep in his eyes, thinking about the possibility of one of those big pieces of glass had fucked up your artistic hands movings for good, but that wasn’t a good time to think of it.

He took you to his bike and helped you out to hang in it, making sure you were safe while he went to take his helmet in a few seconds and gave it to you.

You both got into the hospital very fast, even for yourself who was dying in pain. You tried your best to hold tight on his strong abs with barely one hand while he runned the fuck off on the highway as if his own mother were in danger.

When you got inside the hospital (finally), he sat you on any chair and then he showed to the nurses something in the interface of his wallet, making everyone move really fast to attend to you.

Was those rumors about him to be a cop or something true, then, huh?

Seconds later you got someone picking your wrist and hand with anesthesia and suturing your wounds, while you kept looking every single detail of glass being taken off of the wholes in your hand and blood pouring out frenetically.

L: You don’t feel even weird seeing those gore things, huh? You’re a brick.

Y: You didn’t expect me going through all the childish tears i let roll today, did you? Ive been worst

L: Worst than bleeding is bad.

Y: You wouldn’t believe. How did we get here so fast? You might be important. Thanks anyway.

L: Not that important, but if I have something on my favor against all the mess I’m in, then ill like to use it.

With a scoff you giggle and say:

Y: What could be wrong about you?

He stares at you when its too late to find out you SAID something. You feel your face burn and immediately try to fix things a little bit, but already afraid it’s REALLY too late.

Y: I mean, when i look at you it seems like you made yourself without loosing a step. It seems like you know exactly how or when to take a step, or to fix things, or how to make people to do whatever you say. It was kind of easy to obey you until now.

L: Are you supposing you’re going to be reckless now that you’re hand is almost in one piece?

You both laugh, you always with ghost of tears in your eyes, when one traitor tear find a way to scape from your eye and roll your face down. It was really weird and stressful to be there, to get a fucked up hand now, to be safe by a hot stranger who picked out your hidden conversation about him with your best friend, but something over all that seemed so right.

Finding real worry about you in his eyes made you feel so fulfilled, grateful and something else, and two seconds after you started to cry again, cleaning the tears from your face with your elbow, ashamed about not being even capable of holding it inside your eyes. Mess. Bricks don’t cry. Ever.

His smile despaired almost immediately, then he was on his knees beside you, confused about what made you cry this time but trying his best to not mess things even more: “Hey! Hey, its ok. Does it still hurt?” He reached out for your free hand, holded it with his soft but strong tate, caressing your knuckles while talking in almost a shushing: “We’re almost there, please, hold on.”

You couldn’t just tell him what was that, so you decided to agree with your head again, half laughing your best sympathetic smile, when he surprised you letting out of your hand softly to roll his thumbs across your cheeks. “Look, It’s all fine already. lets get you home and pretend this is a great day and we can try to buy you a new hand if you’re up to.”

You both laugh again, you take your ass out of the chair, say thanks to everyone who took care of you as you leave the hospital.

Fresh air in the face, hand almost fixed.

When you’re outside and your phone works again, turned out that Elizabeth tried to call you eleven times and left lots of messages saying you left your keys of her apartment on the bar, and it was too late to wake her parents up.  

Even in the rules of the building it was impossible trying to enter like a visitor at three A.m.

You were homeless, now.

L: What?

Y: Im homeless now. Do you want to spend four hours walking around? Because I don’t have a place to come back till seven o’clock. What do you say?

L: I say you may be homeless but I’m not. Its cold here and you’re already lucky enough for today. Lets go to my house.

You just nod. It was still easy to obey that cop.

You followed him inside his apartment. It was clean and half have anything hanging on the walls. Everything looked so cold and square, but in a good way. You stared him while he took his shoes off, you did the same when he says: “You can pretend this is your own house, don’t need to do exactly what i do. Only if you want to.”

Y: “Got it. Do you have coffee here? I can prepare, if you drink too.”

L: “Not about to try to rest even a little bit? You can use my bed, actually. Im not a bit tired.”

Y: “I guess sleeping now would make me a potential serial killer. How could I sleep? Not even if i was a chill person.”

L: “Let’s make coffee, then.”

Y: “Can you talk to me while I do it? It’ll feel more comfortable for me to be so used to your house as if it was mine if you talk.”

L: “What do you wanna hear about? My real name? My job which makes me an important person for the government security, my wife who doesn’t exists, or why I keep going to your friends bar alone late night almost everyday and talk to no one?”

Y: “How much did you hear? Are you spy? Because I would never know you’ve been there hiding if you didn’t tell me. I want to know all. And your “real” name too, please, weirdo.”

L: “My name is Leon S. Kennedy. Im on a short vacation, so I decided do stay here for a while to get away from the job. Which means we’re not up to talk about this, BUT you’re safe with me.”

Your heart pounds on your throat and your cheeks burns at this part. Is it ok to feel like this with an stranger? He could be really dangerous, cmon.

He goes on:”I don’t have a wife, or anything like that. I had some but this is it. Im here to try to clean my mind as much as i can, so i talk to important people to me just by the phone and I guess things works kinda good this way.”

You turn around: “…And?”

L:”Aaaand I just told you too much. I’m afraid to put you in danger if I keep talking and talking. I don’t think I have so much mo-

You cut him off: “ Are you running from something? Because it feels like you’re hiding from the ones you apparently like. What happened?”

He looks confused and admired while you make coffee with one hand, always watching out so you wouldn’t get burned with hot water. And you noticed that all along.

L: “I know I may look like this, but they know more than myself I need all this, most of the things I’ve been through, we were kinda together. Our job is really messy and sometimes we just need to disappear and pretend we’re another person with another life.”

You stare at him two seconds, offering him a cup of fresh and hot coffee: “Seems really messy, cop. I’m sorry for all that. Is it working? I mean, this time here, and all.”

L : “Well, more than I thought. I got myself owning a new hand to someone I just know, whose name I found out in the hospital because she didn’t tell me…“

Y: “OMG! I’m so sorry!”-He laughs loud and you keep talking, starting to laugh and pretending to feel hurt in your feelings “ I was bleeding, please be nice and forgive me. I think I was so worried about to discover your personal informations that I didn’t realize you would care if I do have a name too.”

L: Of corse I’d do. Nobody ever made me coffee with one hand before, I’d never felt this special. Why did you want to know all this? It was just to tell Elizabeth?

His voice fits his humor so well. But he seemed so triggered by the doubt.

Y: “I chased for a reason, at first, so I blamed her. But I don’t feel like telling her anything you told me. The informations are mine too, now. Im not the kind of sharing so many things.“

He laughed while stared for a moment deeply inside your eyes, again. You must be wrong, but you swear you could feel his eyes along all your existence while you were preparing coffee with your back turned to him. He offers you a cigarette, you take it and say: “Thank you so much for this day. If I knew a broken hand would make me know nice people like you I’d break a member a day at least.”

He just stared with a kind of a smile growing on his mouth when you said: “ Can I thank you properly?”

Suspicious and curious at the same time, he said: “Well, you don’t have to worry about i-“

You approached and hugged him softly. And he hugged you back, and the hug became tighter and warm.

There was something terribly uncontrollable growing inside of you and you both kept like that for a while.

[thedegu]

Hey you

Yeah you!

Do you like weird fantasy?

Do you like delisabled queer Austic characters?

Do you like the found family trope?

Do you like dnd shenanigans?

Well I might just have the story for you!

Tales of Vaistra act I: a Confluence of Inconvenient Circumstances. Is up on ao3! Check out the first chapter here, then click the link in my pinned post!

It updates twice a week, I have all of act I written act II is just being wrapped up now and act three is in the outline stage.

You know when something bad happens to you, and you aren't even surprised or upset anymore? Because that day was already shit. Like you go out for a coffee, and at first you can't find your wallet; then you see your cat pissed in your shoes; Then, you step in a muddy puddle on your way. So, by the time you pick up your order and immediately drop it on your way out, you aren’t even all that upset. You can lie down and cry or just laugh at the ridiculousness of everything and move on.

Now, imagine that, but literally every day of your existence.  That's how my life has been for all of the twenty-three-odd years I have been on this green planet. I'd say right now, I'm at my second lowest after someone I trusted tried to murder me. On this second-worst-day of my life;  fire rained down on an inescapable prison island I was working through a life sentence on for some light human trafficking and less light murder.

Now, I know that sounds bad, but the human trafficking was moving people over the border of Totsi and Surakarta. People who would have had a difficult time taking that vacation otherwise, and I just so happened to be in ownership of a cart with a false bottom.  The murder, well, when the guards checked the cart I was using, people panicked, swords were swung, guns shot, and spells cast.  Honestly, it was a miracle only one of those cops died, and that’s just because he tripped and ate shit cracking his head open.   

More likely, I’m only on Maru over some normal maximum security prison on the mainland because I’m a Binder. And you see, dear reader, binders, as a profession, especially in Totsi, are a bit illegal.  Excuse me if you've never heard of the job; even on Vaistra, we’re few and far between, maybe one or two per quarter million, give or take. If you have heard of us, it’s probably with the concept that we are thugs, drug dealers, pimps, and the like. I mean, I don’t personally fall outside of that description, working plenty of security and moving products during my tenure, but being a binder doesn’t mean you work illegal jobs.  A binder is just as likely to own a pawn shop or run a horse stable as any of our better-known exploits.

What makes a binder a binder isn’t our additional work. It is how we get the power to do said work, and that tends to be the part that makes the people in power nervous.

We're folks who temporarily contract great forces beyond our comprehension. Beings that exist outside of space and time, not gods, or at least living gods, but spirits, archfae demons, and even great Heros of the past.  People don't become binders unless they are already royally fucked, because you’re more likely to get yourself killed or imprisoned than improve your life once you start using this particular type of magic. So, only people who are already desperate become binders. Correlation versus causation and all that. That same desperation tends to lead people down illegally traveled roads.

That's too much of a tangent, fuck where were we? Oh yeah, the fire is raining down on Maru. Well, let me backtrack further than that for context.

I had landed on Maru about three weeks earlier, and I was already working on an escape plan as soon as my feet hit the sandy shores of the tiny, overgrown island off the coast of Totsi. There weren't guards outside the sleeping quarters and no fences or towers in sight, just the one U-shaped stone building that held the few staff and the few hundred prisoners. A deep rainforest rubbed against the back of the structure, and rough boat-smashing currents cut off only but the largest of the Totsi ships.

Creating a raft did cross my mind, a solution so obvious that I knew I couldn't work. Because 1: those previously mentioned boat-smashing waves, and 2: all of the fresh water on the island had to be imported from the mainland and was heavily tracked by the guards. It took the better part of four days to get to the island from the mainland, even on one of the Totsi’s powerful ships. So, to play it safe, I would need at least a month's worth of water saved up if I were to try the raft idea. Which would be difficult, to say the least. 

Unless I befriended someone who could purify salt water….

Enter Sashara, A.K.A. Sash. She was shipped in on the boat after me. She was small, slightly shorter than myself, and probably half my weight. Her skin was tan-brown, sprinkled with freckles, and framed by wavy brown hair kept under a black scarf. She looked so much like a lost puppy, tearily explaining to any guard close enough to her that it was a mistake, that she didn't mean to trespass, and that her charges were way out of proportion to her crime. 

It was surprising to see someone from Zabisrakh this far out. Zabisrakh is the newest desert nation on the western continent of Huabeth. While friendly, its people preferred to stay within their borders, though that would be more than a bit of hypocrisy from a Massuraman.  

Sash, herself, was bewildering to watch. With her nervous eyes and fidgeting hands. Saying the worst possible things to the worst possible people.

And they say I'm bad luck.

“Ah, is your skin okay?” she said as she bumped into the biggest guy on the island. To be fair, his skin was fucked; red scales jutted out of his cheekbones and ran from the crown of his head down his spine. Two horns projected from his forehead and back over his bald scalp. Sharp claws, teeth, and vestigial wings also revealed his draconic heritage. Revazi was a man of few words and the apparent personal bodyguard to one Eriana Rakena, a noble from Lucegon.  Honestly, she scared me more than Revazi.  I can take a punch, but I don't know how to predict a Necromancer.

Erina watched, sitting at a table nearby, her expression bored with her porcelain skin, perfectly dry in the humid heat. Her black lace dress was mostly disassembled, but she still looked ready for a gala. Erina’s expression stayed stoic as Sash stumbled over herself, and Ravazi's gaze burned into her like his draconic lineage. 

“You know what? Forget I said anything. Your skin is perfect—what's your routine? What products do you use?” 

Okay, this had gone from entertaining to pathetic. It was time to play Hero. I walked up, put my hand on Sash's shoulder, and gave Revazi one of my world-renowned grins. “Heat stroke, am I right? Let's get you some water, Sash.”

“Wait, who-” I pulled the girl along, away from Revazi and Erina. My grip was gentle enough that she could get away if she really wanted to, but my glances back told her not.

Once in a somewhat private area between two outbuildings, I finally stopped and let the girl go. Leaning on the wall, I looked at her as friendly and charmingly as possible. Which is to say very friendly and charming.

“Who are you-- how did you know my name?!“ Sash looked terrified, and her fingertips crackled with magic. I did not know how powerful she was, but I figured by her face she'd never taken a punch before. So, if worse came to worse, I'm not above hitting girls.

“My name is Omolale,” I explained with a grin. ”I'm just trying to help you out. I'm guessing this is your first time in prison, then?”

“Ah yes,” she says, looking more embarrassed than appropriate. “Look, I didn't know that those flowers were protected—I needed them for a spell!“

I nodded along like I actually cared.  ”hm, I'm sorry you went through that; listen, Sash- stick with me from now on. I'll keep you safe.“

Sash fidgeted and looked away. When her gaze returned to me-- her eyes stuck at the side of my face, caught in front of my left ear, where something was missing. She caught herself staring and met my eye, and I grit my teeth for the question I knew was coming next.

”You're Masuraman?“ she asked, skirting the actual question. It's not the worst way someone has put that thought; there was no accusatory 'Where are your beads' or 'What happened to you?' Though questioning my heritage outright was a bit of a punch in the gut in a different way.

You see, the Masuraman people are people of the land. No gods, just the spirits and fae, known as the Emi. Ask any kid to draw a Masuraman, and they'll draw a tall, thin, dark brown person with the beads of our heritage braided into their hair. Now out of all those things, I am just gifted with dark skin and the inherent magic of our people; I’m 5'5 on a good day and built like a brick shithouse; double chin, broad shoulders, and an award-winning smile that's all a part of my charm. 

With the missing beads and bum leg, I’m just about one of a kind.

It's still rude to mention it. 

“Yes, I am Masuraman,” I say, trying not to show how guarded I felt. Sash smiled then, a real bright smile showing all her white teeth. 

“Thanks, Ale,” she seemed to let go of some of the tension she was holding. “I ah really don't know what I'm doing here.”

no shit.

“Yeah, it's okay,” I laugh. “Stay away from that big guy, and you'll be good."

[g4rchomp]

sorry for being the billionth person making a post abt barbie. also sorry this post is sooo long I have a lot to say. disclaimer: I am saying words recreationally, don't take any of this too seriously pls!!

a strongly anticapitalist feminist friend invited me to see the movie in a theatre. I was intrigued as to why she would suggest that so I accepted. she said she invited me bc she wanted to see how I would react and what I would think, which I find funny lol

good movie to discuss with friends and people you know in real life around a drink etc. but NOT on the internet. (this is perhaps the most important point I really want to stress that)

any criticism of mattel by mattel (who pockets revenues from the movie) has no value to me

great movie to practice your hater skills. the balance of good stuff and bad stuff is amazing to keep your haterism skills sharp lol

my biggest gripes with the movie

I don't like how Sasha's character (pre-teen who hates barbie and seems to dislike her mom but gets closer to her during the movie) was handled.

First, her very factual and true concerns over capitalism and self-image related to barbie are never explored or taken into actual consideration. throughout the movie she's urged to understand her mother more but her efforts are not reciprocated.

Second, I am sooo deeply tired of teens being depicted as angry for no reasons. like wooow you're growing up and now you hate me, your super cool and understanding mother :((( it's always deeper than this if your kid dislikes you. this stuff always get an eye roll from me sorry

overall the feminism sucked so just quickly: patriarchy is presented as an individual force rather than a systemic one, no mention of race/age/class/sexual orientation etc. etc. etc. only misogyny but the world doesn't work like that

on that topic btw I didn't like how weird barbie (virtually the only gnc barbie) is only here to repair other barbies and make them whole again and doesn't exist outside of that. how fitting lollll

also seeing sasha go from 'I hate barbie and societal expectations' to 'barbie is my friend I'm wearing pink now' was kinda sad. gnc girls and girls who aren't girls I love you. in itself this trajectory isn't necessarily bad but on a personal level it just felt wrong.

it is an ok point of entry/conversation starters for feminist concerns if you're really on ground 0

forever my biggest gripe with the movie is how marketed it was and how it's made to sell me products. any feminism that attempts to grab my wallet isn't feminism I'm interested in

three really distasteful moments that stood out to me:

indigenous catching smallpox joke -> just shut the fuck up incredibly inappropriate and violent.

'to show how our character becomes human, we show she's going to the obgyn hihi' not funny didn't laugh it felt bioessentialist and to have it be the closing scene of the movie was just a bad move (to me at least but more on that later lol)

'margot robbie might not be the best person to deliver a message about how women shouldn't feel pressure to feel beautiful hihi' yeah she's not. congrats on making money by centering a beautiful skinny white woman and telling the audience you did it on purpose

lighthearted stuff

the music was fun I like how they used it throughout the movie

the costumes looked good, the film was pretty and I liked the acting it looked like they had fun filming

it was a real 'oh I get it now' moment when I saw 2ft margot robbie on the screen. she is attractive I can see it now

not related but it was kinda like straight people camp lol

the final scene (aka my other biggest gripe with the movie but it gets a section to itself)

women go to the obgyn hihihihi. ok first of all cool welcome to one of the most central sphere to violence against women. second going to the obgyn isn't a universal experience for women for many, many reasons. third ig it was a joke that fits the humorous tone of the movie but it didn't land for me.

ALSO. they already had the perfect ending (imo) with the pink birkenstocks!! early in the movie she has to make a choice between pretty pink heels and ugly brown sandals. we see her at the end wearing pink sandals. having her picking her new shoes would show she journey she's been on much better than the obgyn joke imo!!!

Anyways here are my thoughts. I'd be interested to know what you think abt these points or if you felt this way when watching the movie too, although honestly I feel like online settings are less than ideals to talk abt that. I wouldn't say I hated the movie (despite what the post might suggest lol) I don't regret seeing it. at least the movie made me want to talk about it and clarify some feelings I have after watching it, which is always something even if I disliked many things abt it!

[rens-denn]

Heeeeeeey~

Hi.

Not me sulking around in headspace whenever I was mentioned >:/

I was basically assigned to complain about last night and the shit that happened =_=

I'll still do it though, even if like. It's interrupted or whatever. Or uncomfortable because motherfucker is here because ✨weekend✨

So the essay will be under the cut :/

Motherfuckers wanted to try and rewrite the memories, btw. Which kinda goes against our instinct to preserve and archive shit, but ig that's why I'm here to rant and rave and riot >:/ Idk we write shit down a lot if it's important to us.

So yeahh! Time to fucking spill the bullshit.

Who really cares if it's unreasonable or not, bitch it's called fucking unhealed trauma.

So. B asked us if we want to go out to the store. Cool, right? Like, yeah sure fuck it, I don't have anything much going on. We were watching S and his friend (R at this point bc he's a recurring side character) play Sekiro before but ended up leaving to do some shit on the comp, so not like we were really doing much.

Told us to put on smth warm. First reaction: literally most if not all of our clothes need to be washed. But sure bud, I have *something* warm. So grabbed our secondary sweater, and then jacket from the cat-invaded room (plus anything else might've wanted or needed, like our wallet despite never using it :/)

Motherfucker was in call with his community friends and gf a while before wanting to go out, and we got ignored from small things to ask or mention or joke. Ok, cool... /s. Then the fucker says after like 5-10min of talking "btw I'm gonna reconnect on my phone" meaning he's STILL gonna talk to em when we leave!

Ok. Fuck you? MOTHERFUCKER WAS STILL IGNORING US AND HE TOOK SO LONG TO GET UP TO GO BECAUSE OF THEM!! LIKE BITCH YOU'RE THE ONE WHO INVITED US TO GO OUT. YOU'D THINK YOU'D TRY A LITTLE HARDER??? {Me when the narcissistic traits act up /silly/j}

Then it was little things for a bad start: couldn't find our earbuds (found after the whole fiasco/debacle/whatever); didn't know for sure where our gloves were and they werent in our jacket pockets (couldve been in our room and frankly I dont fucking like going in there with the cats so I wouldnt go back in if I could help it); and then B started to command us. EXCUSE YOU??

Honestly the commanding shit is the most infuriating fucking thing. Motherfucker is barely acknowledging we exist AT ALL, yet he acts like he has a right to tell us what the fuck to do? Mf when u say ur diagnosed bpd maybe you also have some other cluster b shit goin on (which might influence yk the reason for some of his panic attacks recently considering what he's said during em :/)(not that its like inherently a bad thing, I(we) probably got shit too; but like FUCK, lowkey kinda worried about how that shit would affect him without a therapist or smth to aid him through it for recovery)(if bro doesnt want to get better is a problem but like the panic attacks can induce/worsen his epileptic seizures for him. So I'd like for him to have less panic attacks? I'm sure he would too :/ I just don't know how the fuck he would want me/us to help through the panic. We don't want to fuck up more and hurt him or risk his health for this shit.) <-the excessive parentheses text was not intentional but like this is a rant and a vent and I can do whatever the fuck I want so fuck you.

Anyways. Yeah uh he told us to do shit as if it was our fucking job. As if he expects us to obey completely, to comply with that shit. Fucker is also autistic so like tone is hard for him and I'm just gonna assume thats for both speaking and listening. So yk when he says it how he does, it pisses me off! :)

Grabbed the fucking umbrella because we have to comply >:( and we dont know if it's raining or not. I didnt care to want the umbrella but he cared a lot. The umbrellas will cause issue later. When we went to put our shoes on he was ALREADY OUTSIDE OF THE APARTMENT!! DUDE WAS FUCKING TALKING TO THEM THE WHOLE TIME!! Ok!? So not only was he commanding us, BUT THAT WAS THE ONLY TIME HE SPOKE TO US OR ACKNOWLEDGED US AT ALL‼️

Shit's fucked up dude! He was already all the way down the stairs when we went out!! HE ALSO FORGOT THE KEYS AND FULLY EXPECTED US TO BOTH GET THEM AND HAVE THEM??? Bitch. This will also come to bite us both in the ass later. So I closed the door, no lock bc no key and also S and R were still home playing the game, they'd probably let us in. In hindsight I probably should've realized we couldn't get back in the building without the other key, but I was pissed off, you expect me to be rational when I'm being fucking ignored??? No, I'm a petty bitch >:/

The entire walk TO AND FROM THE STORE. WAS SHIT.

Motherfucker talked to his friends the ENTIRE time, and had his umbrella like he didn't care at all. Only time he seemed actually present irl was crosswalks, otherwise he was just enough to keep walking along like a fucking drone.

I either tailed him or was beside him when we were going TO the store, and any mix of front, behind, and beside when heading back. Mostly front because I did not like tailing him anymore, and being beside was HARD because UMBRELLAS. God, it was so FUCKING annoying because of the mandated spacing of it. That shit would hit trees, fencing, and (rarely) other people. More commonly our umbrellas would brush together which was annoying as FUCK.

IN store was also not great. Didnt know what we were getting, but it kinda felt like (and often feels like) he was being inconsiderate anyway. Because yeah he'll get smth with us in mind, but more in a both of us and not singular us way (him and I, not solely me (us)).

The reality is there's kinda no winning usually because either he asks us and we get pressured into a yes or no, or he asks us to pick something and just WATCHES, which has sent us into panic multiple times. // Ideally we would be able to get something by ourself, while he's looking away, but we also stress over the price of things, even if its just one single item we want--especially because HE is ALSO very conscious of how much things cost, especially since he's usually paying for it. Even if we could get something ourself, which is basically never gonna happen, we won't be guaranteed to ACTUALLY get it.

Skipping past the fact that even in store was annoying as fuck (walking simulator)(+ having to hold shit occasionally besides our umbrella :/), the no keys? Yeah that's next pretty much. B called S to get let in, only to find out the dude left with R to go somewhere (later found out is was apparently a restaurant; reason is probably related to their friend's wedding that they went to earlier in the day {congrats to them!!}).

Backdoor was the option to get in. I was basically trying to lead B, who had fucking ignored me to see if S would explain instead. Bullshit. Then he fucking TURNED TO GO TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING THAT DIDNT HAVE A KEYPAD TO GET IN??? Fucker ignored me!? He's so fucking lucky someone left the building on that side, because we were able to get in far quicker + easier. I'm lowkey pissed off about that now but whatever. We got in.

To make this section a *tad* shorter: Apartment was also locked, naturally. B proceeded to continue spouting commands, asking if my data was decent and then telling me to install Uber, and to give him my fucking passcode. I was beyond frustrated and we broke down, which he was trying to get me to suppress essentially, which is COMMON AND STILL BULLSHIT!! Fucker has no regard for my feelings and would rather I didn't have them, I swear. Need to take a cleaver to his throat.

He took my phone and went to get keys from S, and left his phone that was at 3%. All I could do was check the time (and answer one call from him) so safe to say it was a hell of a lot of nothing to do.

This is when talk of rewriting memories happened, by the way. We'll say whoever is 'host' or the mask or whatever, which is probably NOT 🌼, is the one who suggested it. We needed to bide our time and, frankly, wanted to just be done with everything. It started with just. "Internal conversation with a blank slate fragment" type shit. Which, frankly, NOT GOOD? Like I get you desperately do not want to have these feelings and experiences affecting you right now, but maybe don't try and intentionally split or force shit on an unsuspecting fragment??? [memory alteration convo was trying to make it so we actually just went out alone and did stuff, to help feel more independent. Which has plot holes because nothing would be in character for B, but the decision with that was "ah well just forget about that," just act like we did it solo and were fine. Dumbasses, honestly.]

👑 was mentioned at one point, and he was kinda just in his study ig??? It was thought up and therefore made as a place for him to sit and read or write or whatever. To exist. I was mentioned too, and nearby, and was told to essentially go away (it was nicer than that because we're trying NOT to be assholes to ourself; to me especially. Just a "we need space" thing, which is true.) I know it was just so we didn't dwell on the issues that afternoon, btw. Eventually 🌼 was being brought to front, anyways, because. Well. Could use some positivity. I was the one who got off call with B afterall, when he mentioned he got hurt, so the idea was "he's gonna be in a worse state than he was before, and it probably isn't good to still hold a grudge and be mad/bitter when he's here and hurt, so if we can just. Pretend things are fine, then it'll be easier." That was the thought process, essentially, so they were in front (and *sorta* regressed?) and trying to be alone. Couldn't afford emotional bleed, so they tried grounding themself more. I left pretty much, because my memory of it is pretty damn fuzzy for some stuff (atleast offhand?). Like ALMOST blackout levels of fuzzy.

We kept note of the time, and it took about an hour, as opposed to a possible two or more hours, and we finally got inside. Put away the stuff he bought. Did have to help him up the stairs (atleast to stand) and had him using the umbrella(s) as a cane so he would have an easier time moving around when he did. Stuff immediately after that is pretty... wiped, for me. I know it wasn't ME acting anyways so meh. Makes sense. I know we made a burrito tho, or one for us both since he couldnt get up.

Blah blah, blurry time-space, eventually R and S got back to playing their game and we watched. Mainly spent a lot (and I mean a LOT) of time helping B through his epilepsy/seizures and stuff. We ended up having multiple panic attacks past halfway through it, which sucked ASS. Atleast it got us sympathy from B (who wanted to try and help us through but really we can regulate on our own fairly well so it was kinda pointless).

^ This is what was mentioned on collective main btw ^

SO YEAH YESTERDAY WAS PRETTY FUCKING SHITTY AND WE GOT REALLY FUCKIN HURT EMOTIONALLY AND MENTALLY AND SHIT BUT YKW ITS FINE BECAUSE NOW I'VE WRITTEN IT DOWN AND WE CAN LET OUR BRAIN FORGET IT NATURALLY IG IDFK

We end up forgetting a lot of events and details but not the hurt as it piles up. Sometimes specific details can be recalled. But overall we just remember "you hurt me multiple times" p much. It's whatever. The good thing about journaling and shit is that we have a record of it somewhere, atleast.

Ok, I've said my piece, I did the stupid fucking intentional rant/vent thing that was asked of me. Praying we dont get a headache, and that it isn't bad if we do.

[oliviainjapann]

May 15th- Musashi University and Tour

Today was a rough start for me. I got less sleep then I had hoped to get due to hanging out with my friends until late, so I rushed down to breakfast and forced myself to eat some. I need to start going to other places for breakfast. We then all traveled to Musashi University. At the station I quickly realized I did not have my Suica card and I began to panic. (I really did lose it as I turned my room upside down trying to find it when we got home and it has vanished). Dr. Smith stayed behind with me as I loaded a suica card onto my phone and it was all good, just unfortunate that i lost 8000 yen on the card that was left. However, I now feel superior that I can just tap my phone to the scanner without even opening the wallet app and don’t have to worry about a card anymore. The university was very small, but very cute and pretty. The lecture we sat in on was about Futurism, which was interesting and made me really think about what my version of a utopia means. We then got to hang out with university students and get to know them and their interests. It was very wholesome and they seemed to really want to get to know us, despite my previous understanding that Japanese students are typically very shy. We then got lunch at a “kitchen car”, their version of a food truck. I prefer the name kitchen car. The food was so fire, and my garlic butter steak and rice hit. We got to take cute pictures with all the students and taught them the gator chomp, and exchanged instagrams! Then, we traveled to Tokyo Station where we met up with some more university students, and 3 of us were paired with 1 uni student to show us around the station. Tokyo station was pretty cool, and I got some cute things for myself and for friends, but then we were kind of not feeling it anymore. We also were very confused and did not understand that we were supposed to leave the station to explore with our student. Our student thought that we just stay at the station for 2 hours and then meet up with the rest of the group at 5 pm. But by the time we realized that this was not correct, it was too late to go anywhere else and we were all tired and wanted to go home. So we awkwardly parted ways with our tour guide, and we felt bad that there was such a big misunderstanding. She also felt bad and apologized profusely which made us even more sad and we assured her everything was fine and that she was amazing and that nothing was her fault!! We then came home and Ryder and I decided to do a yoga session. I am now on a train to Shimo-Kitazawa to go thrift shopping with my friend Chandra who lives here. Today was a great day, and I’m so thankful to be here and to have made these incredible friends!! I’m so sad we’re almost halfway done already wow.

Academic Reflection

Today’s reading on Future Studies clearly aligned with the lecture that we got to sit in on today at the university. It was a very interesting read because I often try not to think so much about the future and try to stay in the present moment, but this made me start to think about what our future will be like. What really struck me was when the reading discussed how the future cannot be predicted as it does not exist, and that any useful idea about the future will appear ridiculous at first. We often think that these crazy ideas about the future that are so technologically advanced and dystopian are just that, crazy, but that’s really not true. At the rate that we are progressing in terms of AI and VR, these ideas are very much so probable.

The professor asked us to write on a piece of paper what utopia means to us. I wrote about how in my perfect world, everyone is happy and that there is peace for everyone. I think that a major reason why there is so much hate and inequality in this world is due to people’s search for power, as well as disagreements about religion. As a very religious person, I truly hope that everyone is able to experience the love of God and connect to one another in this way. We were all created equal, and through loving each other and showing each other grace and kindness, I believe we can achieve a better world. I hope that our future is in good hands, and I hope that more people begin to understand the importance of this soon.

[merulast]

Overland to Tokyo Day 6

After an long and sleepless night feeling homesick, the day started as shitty as it could. The credit card was gone. I could not even believe that. Searched my whole stuff 3 times. Then even called at home. I just could remember that It took me an hard time to place the card on an secured place. One that is not together with other important things. Tuned out I found the most save place in the world: At home. On my desk. Great. Great….

It's about the moneys

This is not the 2000s anymore. Back then german debit cards worked on solid 60% of the would out of the box. Even on chinese ATMs. But that changed because the Maestro Network had been shut down and germans missed the train to create an solid alternative. 50% of the banks are now in the V-Pay network. The other half uses .. nothing at all? I mean they could just had fused with one of the other big networks of the world. But noo. Lets make our OWN payment network with blackjack and hookers. V-Pay works in aall EU nations plus Turkey and some others. Great. Not great.

So if you want to leave the EU, like I would do on this day. It's just a piece of plastic junk. Worthless. You need an credit card. I got myself an credit card for this reason. But I left it at home… Okay. Lets take an deep breath. Calculate how much I've got with me and how long I have to live from that. I need in in Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan for sure. In china I could open an Alipay account and maybe transfer something over. But let expect it to not work. In Korea and Japan I expect my Google Wallet to work.

After long thoughts I decided to continue. Well knowing, that if I turn around now, I would probably never start over again.

Bus bus bus

I packed all my stuff. Gave mental middle fingers to many of the other people living in the hostel and headed to the Bus Central again. It's solid 40 minutes to walk. But full packed, its more than this. The good thing on the Bus station are the people on the counters. You tell them a city to go. They tell you a time and how much. Done. Burgas. Here we come! The Ticked was about 6€ and the tiny bus, that had not even my ticket checked, was old, rusty and ew. But did the job perfectly fine.

And again. So far nobody failed me. (too much) All the routes that I found on the internet exists and work on an solid base. Quality aside. For example nothing ever had Wifi - even thought they tell so on the internet. I don't even care for the excuses anyway. And the 'bus' entertainment had never been switched on once. You spend the time by watching the green landscape anyway.

Burgas

Did I said that Varna was pretty clean and wonderful? Well Burgas is licked! Hooly shit! The entire inner City is in a state where I wish that german towns would be like that all the time. Its amazing!

The Train Station and the Bus center are 20 meters apart from each other and both are hot af. The inner city starts just over the street like somebody actually spend time think things over! All the people there seemed to have an wonderful time and. Wow. Burgas. The hidden Gem. Too bad that I would have not too much time to spend it here.

After relaxing for one hour or two, having an meal and soaking some more money from my soon worthless piece of plastic, I started heading to the harbour. The company has GPS coordinates on his homepage, as well on all e-mails replies. They locate exactly to the position of the ship! It was already waiting.

BUT.

They do not point to the office where you have to pay and get the ticket itself. That office is about 400 meters more on the south. You cannot miss it. Its basically the only building that is not an harbour hall and has some furniture in front of it.

You can guess it. Yes. I walked the way twice. With all my stuff. I hate having stuff. Walking to far starts to become an repeating pattern. In my perfect world I would travel with nothing but my mobile phone and my two hurting feet alone.

The progress is too difficult to gasp. You find the left door (the very left one!) Wait in front of it as the sign tells you. They want the passport. Then they send you up to the first floor to pay for the ticked. No cards. Only Euro. Don't forget to show them your passport again. It could be that someone else loves to spend 200€ on you and that would be crazy! So they check it again. Then you walk back down, and get the ticket. The staff was very friendly, but stressed. No wonder. They have to take care about 1-2 meters of paperwork just besides you.

To my surprise I was allowed to to board right away, since I had no vehicle on me at all. I decided to do so. And even thought all the people expect from you that you know what to do and where to go, I was able to make it without much issues. In the end you are up and on board. Write you name into the list, ignore 'we are number one!' singings in your head, and go to the room. I took an default 4 bed's room. It's bigger than the 4 Beds on the train, and you have your own Bathroom with shower. So you could say its way above the quality of all the hostels. And, this time, I was lucky with the other people. They are bikers from France and nice guys :)

You even can hatch supper if you check in before 6pm. It was .. alot. Wow. The meals here are no joke. They might be not top notch quality. But they are solid and big. Pretty big.

Following the Schedule the ship should leave some when in the night, when everyone is on board. Deep in the night our last person joined the sleeping room. Babbeling something in german. And I remember that one of the french guys (Michele) was making pretty cartoonish stunts with the ladder, when he wanted to climb up to his bed ^^

So!

The whole day was 206€. Finally a sum that can give you something nice from lego. Eh? How about the 10274 Ghostbusters Ecto 1 ? Its around this price and hey. This car should worth as much as 3 nights on a ship including food and drinks!

[teenz-stories]

Teen-Z: Forever Young #1: I Don’t Wanna Be Your Ex (Part 10)

Scene changes into morning already. Wiccy stares at the computer shocked with Pinky’s announcements on her social media. They are now in the kitchen’s part.

Wiccy: facepalms Pinky. You are hopeless.

Pinky: nervously What are you talking about?

Wiccy: Music video isn’t even ready yet. The only file I would recover was first scene. Rest is completely erased from existence. My stupid system decided to upgrade right after we finished shooting.

Pinky: In the evening we will have everything ready.

Wiccy: Wrong. In the evening we will finish to shoot probably few scenes. Will be needed whole tomorrow’s day to shoot last few.

Pinky: So what do you want me to do?

Wiccy: Postpone premiere of this music video. Especially since Mermaid and Greeny won’t appear today at the shootings.

Pinky: shocked What?! But I will need Greeny!

Wiccy: Too bad. These two had some drama two hours ago. And unluckily...

Seconds later to the movieset comes nervous Belze-Bob. He holds a piece of paper.

Pinky: points at the paper What’s that?

Belze-Bob: A freaking fine. Only because some idiot parked their car near place I usually leave mine when I go to work. He sighs 200 Zeedollars. Even though that dude should be the one paying it,not me.

Pinky: sighs How long do they wait for you to pay this?

Belze-Bob: A week. If after week I won’t pay it,I can say bye bye to my car.

Pinky: confused Didn’t that car belonged to Carlos before?

Belze-Bob: Exactly. Belonged to my dad. Now this belongs to me. But he would get mad if my car would get taken away because I didn’t paid the fine.

Pinky: sighs as she gives him 200 Zeedollars Here. Just return it to me,I also need that money.

Belze-Bob nods as he leaves the set. Before Nerd wants to say something Bully comes back with his wallet. He gives 200 Zeedollars to Pinky.

Belze-Bob: Here. Paid them. He smiles gently

Wiccy: Took you fast.

Belze-Bob: The police station was across the street. So! He rubs his hands What are we recording today?

Pinky: So far you can make us coffee if you’re bored.

Belze-Bob: Anyone on set already other than us?

Pinky: No. Kid said he will come in an hour. Luvboy said he just finished 30 minutes ago making new storyboards with budget cuts. Creepy said that she finished styling her doll because she always washes their hair from the gel. She turns to Nerd And why Mermaid won’t come?

Belze-Bob: I know why. He pulls out his phone as he finds message from his girlfriend She said that today she will have a lot of clients. She,Dia and Flynn have a lot to do. And they have at 4 PM scheduled VIP visit.

Pinky: looks up Kitty Bradshaw?!

Belze-Bob: shrugs I don’t know. Camilla said that she have scheduled for today VIP visit. She didn’t told me name of anyone.

Wiccy: looks up from her computer Hold on,hold the heck on!  Kitty Bradshaw?! That famous actor?! She was on Bloodway!

Pinky: confused Yeah?

Wiccy: nods She played in a lot of musicals! Not surprised she needs a day or two off. I would need one too!