#for now i’ll clear our my inbox
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sn0wgr4ve · 1 year ago
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* i wonder what happened to cakekid. i hope they’re okay wherever they are
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rashomonss · 9 months ago
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I couldn't stop thinking about this after reading your "Readjusting" hc
Imagine that the reason MC started acting like a "proper" attendant was because Barbatos couldn't stand how improper and casual Mc was with the brothers. He decides to take her under his wing but he isn't gentle about it, not even when it becomes clear that MC is human, on the contraire, he becomes harsher with his methods until even the brothers notice. Meanwhile MC could be in the state of mind to believe that they deserve to be treated in such ways because they feel guilty over letting everyone assume they were a demon
Also think about how this treatment would affect MC relationship with Barbatos. Imagine MC slipping up in front of him and immediately tensing and starting to apologize. How scared MC would be of even the thought of doing something NB!Barbatos though them was wrong and undignified of her to do/say as the brothers attendant.
And how heartbroken OM!Barbatos would be at seeing MC be so terrified of him.
so I’m currently deep diving thru my drafts and inbox and this was from forever ago so I’m so sorry I’m only getting it done now (,,Ծ‸Ծ,, )
anyway oh. my. god.
i absolutely love this idea! the angst potential this ask has is literally to die for. i’ll be incorporating a few of my readjusting ideas as well and yeah i know nightbringer didn’t go in this direction but im going in it anyway, so i hope yall enjoy! (๑>؂•̀๑)
you’re nothing more and nothing less
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You admired yourself in the mirror then stared at the reflection looking back at you. 
Sighing you gave yourself a small smile, then remembered his words before giving yourself one last look in the mirror. 
“You really do look decent when you know how to clean up.” 
An attendant is supposed to look sharp, and presentable no matter the circumstance. They are a direct representation of who they’re serving. How was a noble demon supposed to take the seven rulers of hell seriously if their attendant didn’t even know how to properly dress or present themselves? 
Your tie had to be perfectly crisp and presentable, same with the cuffs of your uniform; not a wrinkle should be present. Next, your preferred uniform bottom was ironed with no wrinkle in sight, and your shoes shined to the point you could see your reflection. Each plead and fold was sharp, crisp, and perfect.
Your hair looked presentable and you carried out your normal face routine making sure you looked awake and ready for the day. Finally, you organized your belongings and sat them by your table in a neat fashion ready to be grabbed once you headed off to RAD. 
You then made your way to the kitchen and prepared breakfast for everyone as well as coffee and tea for those who usually required it. 
As you were finishing up most of the food Beel walked into the kitchen heading straight for the fridge. “Morning MC,” he said catching his breath. 
“Good Morning Beel, how was your run? Also, your snack is on the counter so please refrain from eating anything in the fridge,” you replied, as you continued cooking. 
“Oh thank you.” he smiled while closing the fridge. As he sat at the counter watching you cook he couldn’t help but become confused at the sight. “Wasn’t it Levi’s turn to make breakfast this morning?” 
“It was but he stayed up late last night, and I had a feeling he would oversleep so I took the liberty of making it myself. Not to worry though because I have nothing against cooking for all of you” 
Beel frowned in response “Yeah but this is the third day in a row you’ve prepared breakfast and dinner” 
“Is it now? Well I have no problems with it unless the rest of you do, I am your attendant after all.”
Beel stopped eating and frowned again, “MC you’re an exchange student from the human realm. You’re back home; there’s no reason for you to still act as our attendant.”
You didn’t respond, instead you finished up the food and began to plate each brothers breakfast. Beel tried to speak again but you cut him off.
“Apologies but could you do me a favor and wake up your brothers for breakfast? I wouldn’t want them to be late for classes.”
Beel gave you a sympathetic look and nodded just before leaving the kitchen.
You did stop to think about his words though. After all everything that happened in the past didn’t need to be continued in the present, you could go back to living how you normally did before.
The only problem was that you didn’t know how to go back to that carefree lifestyle. After being on edge constantly while being stuck in the past you found yourself adapting to that lifestyle. So breaking it all of a sudden was much harder than everyone understood.
Humans are adaptable creatures, they adapt and survive to whatever environment they are thrown into, no matter the circumstances; at least that’s how he explained it.
He drilled it into your head that if you wanted to survive against the best of the best you needed to be superior in every way. It didn’t matter to him if you were a demon or human, neither was an acceptable excuse for not being absolutely perfect.
This mindset had been engraved into your soul during the small time period you were there, so for everyone to just tell you to forget about it was something you couldn’t do even if you tried. They all needed to accept that this was how you were now; and maybe with due time you’ll revert back to your old self.
Numerous voices could be heard in the dining room causing you to snap out of your thoughts. You sighed and then took a deep breath before walking into the room with everyone’s plates.
“Good morning everyone, how’s are all of you?” You asked placing plates in front of each brother at the table.
“Mornin’ MC, I’m fine how are ya?” Mammon said yawning.
“I’m good thank you for asking, but I would be even better if you fixed your tie and shirt” you smiled, placing his food in front of him.
“Dah you sound like Lucifer…” he groaned. It did work however because he buttoned up his shirt and tightened his tie before eating, to which you smiled at him in response.
“That goes for all of you as well, fix your uniforms please.” you said, placing the last plate in Lucifer’s spot. Each groaned and fixed themselves as well before they began to eat.
A laugh was then heard from the doorway which made you look up in response. The oldest then greeted you with a kiss to the cheek before sitting down.
“I see your keeping them on a tighter leash than I am.” Lucifer said looked up at you.
“Well of course. How is anyone supposed to take the seven of you seriously when you don’t even wear the uniform properly.” The room fell silent and Lucifer raised an eyebrow. “Thank you MC, but you realize that you don’t have to worry about our images anymore. You know your home correct..? You don’t have to continue being our attendant.”
You sighed then spoke after a few minutes. “Thank you for your concern I appreciate it, but if you’ll excuse me I have to get the dishes clean”
“Wait you’re not having breakfast with us dear?” Asmo asked worried.
“You haven’t eaten with us at all since you came back. Come on MC, please?” Satan then said.
“I appreciate the concern but I already ate. Thank you for the offer though, I do appreciate it. Now if you’ll excuse me.”
“As their attendant you should not be eating with them unless permitted on a special occasion. It’s basic etiquette as a servant to eat in the kitchen. So you will eat when I eat. Understand?”
That phrase popped in you head again and you sighed heading towards the kitchen.
. . .
The walk to RAD was normal, for you at least, the brothers were a different story entirely.
They tried engaging with you or even walking next to you but you stayed silent and walked behind them.
Normally you’d walk at the same pace and would engage in any kind of small talk but ever since you returned walks to a from RAD had been awkward for the brothers.
Barbatos never walked next to Diavolo, and he taught you to do the same with the brothers.
“You aren’t from the same status, so you should take your place behind them as a result.”
That phrase played in your head as Mammon talked to you about his latest new scheme. You realized that he was walking at the same pace you were so you slowed down ever so slight and engaged in a bit of small talk with him.
The second born frowned as he saw you retreating again, so with a sigh he finished talking and walked a bit faster to catch up with the eldest.
You could see them shorting you glances and whispering to each other but neither said a word to you.
You understood they probably weren’t a fan of this behavior either, but it’s not as if you could break it anytime soon, after all what would he think if you were acting casual with everyone again?
. . .
“Good morning MC” Barbatos spoke, smiling as he slightly waved at you.
Upon seeing him your posture straightened up and you immediately greeted him back with a wave and a nod, in the same fashion he greeted you with. You held eye contact for a brief moment then looked over towards Lucifer.
“I believe we should head out now. There’s paperwork to be done. It was lovely running into you but we’ll be on our way now” you said to the butler.
Before he even had a chance to respond you grabbed Lucifer and dragged him through the hall leaving a confused Barbatos alone in the hallway.
Lucifer tried to question you about your behavior towards the butler but you always avoided talking about it.
Diavolo tried his hand as well and you had given him the same excuse you gave Lucifer. Sighing, the two decided to talk to you over tea instead, hoping that it might calm the mood.
So you followed Lucifer into the council room where Diavolo sat, waiting with a smile. The minute you saw him you smiled back, but soon tensed when Barbatos appeared behind him.
“Sit down MC” Diavolo gestured as soon as you reached the table.
You bowed slightly and did as you were told, making sure to keep yourself in line while Barbatos was present.
Barbatos from the past despised when you were casual with Lord Diavolo and shut down your relationship with him the second he took you as an apprentice.
As Diavolo began to speak you listened attentively and sat up straight making sure to hold eye contact just as Barbatos had instructed you to do before
“MC…” he started. “I understand that it's taken you awhile to try and readjust to everything again, and while we don’t want to pester your progress we do want to talk to you about a few things.”
Were you in trouble? Your heart sank to your stomach as you gripped your uniform bottoms under the table.
“What can I help you with then?” You asked.
“Well for starters you needn’t be so tense, we’re close after all! It’s okay to let loose around us” Diavolo smiled as he gestured towards Lucifer who nodded in response.
“I thank you for your concern, and I will try to relax as you asked” you then nodded.
Your formal response tugged at a frown on Diavolo’s face. “Thank you, now then let’s enjoy some tea.” he said, trying to quickly change the subject.
You froze on the spot as Barbatos brought out the cart of tea and a few snacks. Immediately you jumped up and helped him set the table, much to everyone’s surprise.
“MC, you can leave it to me.” Barbatos said after a moment.
“I understand” you nodded yet still continued picking up the tray of snacks and placing plates in front of Lucifer and Diavolo.
After you finished you stepped behind Barbatos, almost as if you were his shadow. With a sigh he turned to you and tried to ask you to sit back down but you refused.
So instead he tried to guide you to your seat and you stepped away from him in response, the further you took a step back the closer he took a step forward. It wasn’t until you hit the snack cart had you realized how close the two of you were.
However that was short lived as the dish holding the sugar fell off the cart and shattered on the floor the moment you hit it.
Your eyes went wide in horror and you fell to the floor to clean it up in an instant, muttering to yourself silently.
“MC, are you-“
“I’m so sorry, Lord Diavolo, I'll clean this up right away. Please forgive me” you said swiftly picking up the shattered glass and trying your best to clean everything.
“It’s okay, don’t worry it was an accident” Diavolo said as he got up to make sure you were okay.
You shook your head as you went back to cleaning. You were positive Barbatos was going to kill you, he made sure to let you know if you ever messed up in Lord Diavolo’s presence.
So when his figure loomed over you your body tensed with fear as you looked up at him. However his expression didn’t match what you assumed it would’ve been.
He looked concerned and bent down to inspect your hands, hoping there wasn’t any blood due to the shards of glass from the dish.
You immediately retracted your hand when you noticed a cut and Barbatos stiffened.
“I’ll clean this up right away, excuse me” you said as you jumped to your feet and ran out of the council room, leaving three very confused and concerned demons behind.
As the door flew open when you left Solomon walked in with a bewildered look as you rushed out. “What happened? Is everything okay?” He asked as his eyes followed your figure rushing down the hall.
“It’s MC,” Lucifer sighed.
“What about them?” Solomon questioned.
“Long story short they were helping Barbatos and dropped the sugar then bolted out of the room in a panic when Barbatos grabbed their hand to see if they were okay.” Diavolo said with a sigh.
“Ah, that explains things then.” Solomon nodded. “And Barbatos I would refrain from touching or even being near MC for the time being”
“And why is that?” Barbatos questioned with a frown.
“Because MC is probably still on edge after serving alongside you in the past. Let’s just say your methods weren’t exactly…ideal, for a human.” He sighed.
His heart broke upon hearing those words. Barbatos frowned upon learning he was the reason for their rigid behavior and unwillingness to open up to him or Lord Diavolo again.
“I understand,” he sighed.
“If we just talk to MC I’m sure they’ll understand-“ Diavolo started.
“You can, but they haven’t changed their behavior with the brothers so I doubt they change it now. I’ll talk to them when I see them again” Solomon sighed.
Lucifer made a sour expression upon hearing Solomon’s words, mainly because he knew they were true. After all he had spoken to MC countless times yet nothing has changed.
Solomon handed a few papers to Diavolo who read over them in surprise. “Cocytus Hall? That place hasn’t been used in ages, and you wish to move in there?”
“Yes, well Mc and I.” He nodded. “All the paperwork should be there if you’ll allow it”
Lucifer shot the sorcerer a glare and shook his head. “Is that really necessary? That’s quite the opposite of having MC adapt back to the present”
“On the contrary I didn’t suggest this. They did, and if it's what they want I don’t mind indulging my sweet apprentice” He smiled.
The three frowned at Solomon’s words. No matter how annoyed he made them, they all agreed that he was the only one you talked to like normal.
It wasn’t fair that he was the only one that got that attention from you. After a few more minutes of going back and forth Diavolo finally approved the idea, much to Lucifer’s protests.
It was just a thought but Diavolo hoped that if he did this you would eventually come back to them, and not the you that was terrified and uptight, he missed the carefree human who could brighten up the room.
With a sigh the room fell silent as Solomon left, all three demons were running out of ideas and the longer you avoided them the more painful it had become.
How long were they supposed to stay like this? They all wondered with tense sighs.
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hazelfoureyes · 4 months ago
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why smut with an ace character?
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This person was a minor so I won’t reply directly. I would love to discuss sexual orientation and the wibbly wobbly nature of attraction and pleasure to someone who I think needs a space to discuss it but as an adult stranger? That’s not my place and I would be wildly uncomfortable doing so directly. But! For anyone who does see my blog and wonders why, I’ll have this set on my master list to save me time
Heheheheh MY TIME HAS COME
closing in on 5 months of being on tumblr and this is my first “BUT ACE!” Comment/inbox
so, why?
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✦Alastor is canonically Ace! The aro aspect was mentioned by an important staffer but has been left off as a descriptor by Viv herself and no accepted as canon. She gave her explicit permission to write them as we are comfortable with.
✦Asexuals can and do fuck! 💦 (my source? My ace spec partner!)
✦Alastor’s ace spectrum is often times an important aspect of my stories!
I always have Alastor motivated into sexual situations for non-sexual reasons.
Closeness, intimacy, fulfilling a partner’s needs, a biological imperative, for power, for control, putting someone into a submissive to embarrassing position. It’s to see someone break and bend to his will (with consent).
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But lets shift into asexuality now --- how I write him isn't a representation of all ace people! It’s just how I view his place on the spectrum. Being Ace doesn't mean you can't ever want sexual pleasure in any form, it doesn't mean you never think about sex or enjoy seeing it.
Letting people explore the range of being asexual is as important as with any other sexual orientation. If you feel people being non-sex repulsed and being Ace is making your own identification harder to make clear to strangers —- well then I wonder if the label itself is more important to you than the community we all desperately seek and need when we publicly acknowledge our sexuality. We publicly say we’re LGBTQIA+ because these labels are for self identification and signal to like minded people and allies we're here. This is how I love and how I want to be loved. Maybe one day a different word will exist to separate the spectrum but we’re living and working with what we have today and how we find each other now. “Why not call him grey ace?” It’s each individuals decision how they wanna identify!
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Full circle. Why do I write SO much smut about an ace character? Of course I think that animated deer man’s personality is hot lmao but also because I love this character and identify with him a lot! Being ace doesn't mean he doesn't ever have sex or ever enjoy physical pleasures! Writing about someone seeking out pleasure for non-sexual reasons is very fun for me as someone who doesn't identify with the romantic aspect of sex many people put on it. Do ace people fuck for romantic reasons? Yes! Absolutely! Being Asexual doesn’t mean you’re Aromantic!
Why not write fluff or QPR? Because I'm aromantic and it's harder for me but I am trying and am getting better at it because I want to write more things that meet the needs and wants of many kinds of people. As for QPR, I'm still learning what those relationships look like and learning how to idenfity them in my own life!
And finally— it’s valid to write him as any form of Ace or even not Ace at all! I prefer to keep him Ace spec but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong to make him not. He’s not real and the creator has given us permission to do so. 👌🏼
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kimsmuse · 1 year ago
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yandere rich kid !!
not really a kid, just a spoiled brat.
gender neutral!reader, obsessive behaviour, blackmailing, mentions of drunk driving, implications of sex but no real smut TT. if you want to talk about yanderes my inbox is always open <33
i was thinking about mingi of ateez when i wrote it so you can imagine him as the faceclaim (v v optional)
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very rough idea but !! yandere nepo kid who is The Wild Kid, he’s his parents' and siblings' worst nightmare, partying like its his last night, hooking up right and left.
just imagine like early 2010s justin bieber but, um, no hate to him, but better.
this guy isn't evil or cruel or anything, he's just numb, and he's doing every possible thing that comes his way to just feel something, anything he can.
drugs? nothing. alcohol? nothing. nothing makes him feel like the people he sees in the movies, he tries talking to so many people, sleeps with them, but he can't feel it.
and it becomes increasingly uncomfortable for him inside his own body, he's aware of the things that are happening, his parents being disappointed, threatening to write him off their will but he can't seem to stop himself.
club after club, every bouncer knows him, the bartenders know his order, accurate down to the T because they know what's going to happen if they don't.
and enter you. okay, okay, this seems wattpad-ish but its not like love at first sight or anything. because when you and your friends sneak in to the vip section, the least of your worries is the nepo guy.
your friends seem to have an instant attraction to him, thanks to his entertainment news headlines. "famous business tycoon's son gone wild!" and what not. who doesn't want their name attached to a guy like that? everybody who doesn't have an ounce of rationality in their brain!
but he had other plans for tonight, he was spiralling, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to sit here normally and pretend his insides weren't burning. why was there no comfort for him?
he dreaded going home and waking up, looking at the clear disappointed looks of his family. he wishes he was different too, he wants to say to them.
the dance floor clears as the night deepens and soon enough your friends have abandoned their idea of getting laid by him, their patience running out as they grab some other people to take home.
you’re trying to get yourself a cab when he brushes past you, looking back briefly to apologise but when he is a bit ahead, he turns back again and offers you a ride, which you politely refuse, “thanks for asking but i’ll get a cab soon enough,”
okay, then he’ll wait with you! he doesn’t have anything better to do and he’d be going against the way his parents raised him (as if he hasn’t done that enough) if he left you out here alone so late.
after about 20 minutes of standing, looking through various taxi apps, you give up and take him up on his offer, and all the while our rich, spoiled yandere is figuring out what he’s feeling, it was out of basic courtesy that he offered you a lift but now that you’re sitting beside him in his car, he feels like he’s breathing in a new kind of air.
and you swear you didn’t mean to, but maybe its your hormones and the disappointment that all your friends got someone they went home with but you didn’t.. so as soon as you’re in the car, you give him The Look. and while normally the guy would just take it to his backseat, something in him stops him. instead he says, “my place isn’t far,” you nod.
when you regain your senses, it’s too late. it’s the next morning. but thankfully, he was the last person to ask you about what you both were after last night, and the last person to want to “see you again,” so you try your best to get dressed as his sleeping form just lies there peacefully. he’s cute, you admit that.
a few days pass by and you’re thankful that this wasn’t like the other times where his photos and the people he was with would be all over social media, so you went on with your life normally, attending classes, studying and all the jazz.
when once out of thr blue, when you’re working the counter at your part-time, he’s there. he gives you a small smile as you become increasingly uncomfortable. “hey,” you greet him awkwardly.
“i wanted to talk to you… about that night,”
and believe it or not but that’s when your entire life changes. the guy who didn’t even know your name was suddenly there asking you for a bit if your time and the manager obviously obliges, is even eager for it, the publicity that it would get the cafè ….
but yeah, as i was saying, he’s going to come up with a “will you date me?” it doesn’t, matter if he doesn’t know your name, he’ll learn, he’ll learn everything about you, he was willing to, didn’t that count? “please, give me a chance, you won’t regret it, i swear.” and you gulp, okay…
and after that, he’s driving you home from work, home from dates he’s taking you out to, and home from even your college which isn’t even a 5 minute walk from your apartment, and although it’s supposed to feel like “dating” you can’t help but feel a little awkward around him, the fact that he was doting on you like no one ever had in your life and seemed to be perfectly fine with whatever you wanted was just a little off putting.
for the yandere, it’s as if he’s been reborn, it’s as if he found a new purpose at life, he’s so overjoyed at the fact that he was looking for a sign and god actually gave it to him. it was you! he felt everything then, he felt heart beating in his chest, he felt the rain on his face, it was everything h ever wanted.
“this is NOT the guy from the headlines, y/n, this is his twin or something,” your friends were collectively shocked.
even the media was. they wrote articles and articles on if this was just a new stunt or has the resident playboy actually settled down? and they were snooping around your life too, and when the guy went to his parents to help stop that, his parents were delighted to hear that their son wasn’t asking for a new car but instead to help protect a person’s privacy?? who was he??
but they helped, obviously. not without a catch though, they hired a private investigatior to spy on you, were you blackmailing their son? who are you? they weren’t opposed to him finding love, they just wanted to make sure he was safe and not being taken advantage of. when you turn up clean and the investigatior lets them know that you aren’t even in a bit of love with him as much he is, his father is scared.
so he hires the same investigator again, it’s safe to say that money the private investigator made on these two tasks was enough to suffice him for the rest of his years.
and his father decides to pay you a visit, “please, this is the first month since he started middle school that i haven’t been spending on people to keep their mouths shut and to not file cases aainst him, you’ve truly changed him,”
you’re a little uncomfortable again, being this person wasn’t someone you wanted to be, jsut be reduced to beng someone who fixed him, he was nice, yes, but you did not want a relationship right now, let alone a serious-committed one.
then the father takes out his trump card, “…i did not want to do this but,”
he knows where your parents live, your siblings’ workplace.
“so, play along, okay?”
and the worst thing is that, you can't even call the police on one of the richest men in your country.
and as if this problem wasn’t enough, it isn’t even been 3 months and your friends have entirely stopped talking to you. why? well, because, you can’t even have a sleepover without that guy calling you every hour, asking if you ate well, are drinking enough water. and you don't blame them, you wouldn't have liekd it if you were in their position as well.
when you try, (keyword, try) to talk to him about it, he gets super sulky… what do you mean you're bothered by being left alone by your friends? you had him… wasn't that enough?
even at your part-time, it was getting uncomfortable, the times he would just sit in the cafè, working (yes, he even agreed to take over his father's company fot you) and while he obviously paid for his drinks, it was just concerning to the people you knew that he was fliterally following you around, that wasn't healthy.
you have an intuition it won't work, but you decide to give it a try anyway. "hey, we need to talk," you text him. and there’s a response in not even seconds, “what’s wrong?”
“just come over,”
you best believe he’s there in not even 10-15 minutes, and he’s panting too. couldn’t even wait for the lift, his precious darling needed him.
“listen.. i,”
“what?”
“i don’t think this is….working out,”
“what?”
“don’t freeak out-“
“freak out? are you kidding? i.. love you, how isn’t this working out?”
“you’re way too controlling,”
“i’m what? do you know how many peole would kill to be in your place, and people who would want their boyfriends to be like me? nd you say i’m ‘too controlling’?”
“it’s…”
“you have no idea how grateful you should be to me,” you’d never seen him so… angry and it was like you could see the comments being true. “he’s so rude, acts so entitled,” being true.
“don’t look at me like that, i tried my best to appeal to you in a way you should have liked,” he hangs his head down.
“now we do things my way,”
kiss your freedom, part-time, college and apartment bye bye, because you won’t need it anyway, you’ll be his spouse, and there’s no bigger qualification than that. you desperately want to work? be his assistant, he’s getting ready to take over the company soon enough. his parents do see it, the things he’s doing but they can’t interefere, at least he’s staying out of the headlines, that’s all that matters.
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justmystyles · 8 months ago
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Big Winners - Part 3 (Final Part)
read my other work here!
pairing: Harry Styles x record producer plus size reader
*i say it's a plus size reader, but it is not something that i focus on explicitly in my fics, because your size should not define you. it will only come up if it comes into the story organically.*
word count: 2,406
summary: Harry and Y/N have been friends for fifteen years, they finally work together on an album, and it leads them to a night that will change everything for them.
a/n: sorry it took me so long to get this last part out. i hope it was worth the wait! i might slow down on posting for a bit as I want to map out and complete NYIML, as well as start a few other things i have in my head. i might also try to clear out my inbox a bit and finally get to some of your lovely requests.
tags: @abby8694 @allthelovehes @ameerakane20 @ash-craze @bethanysnow @blue-ballad @blueraspberryreader @brightlightsinlife @creativelyeva @cute-as-ducks420 @deannaard @fanficismydrug @gem1712 @golden-hoax @gothmingguk @groovychaosavenue @hillzrry @iceebabies @indierockgirrl @jerseygirlinca @jng4kook @jooniesbabie @kaverichauhan @laurxn-robinson @lexiecamposv @likeapplejuicenpeach @lilfreakjez @mrs-anna-styles211994 @n0vaj3an @potterheadandsherlocked @rach2699 @ravenclawdirectioner @stylesfeverr @superchrystaldrug @tenaciousperfectionunknown @tiaamberxx @thechaoticjoy @theekyliepage @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @youknowwhaaat
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The ride back to the hotel is spent in silence, Harry and Y/N letting the events of the evening sink in. The thing that kept running on a loop was that kiss. Their first kiss. They had been friends for a decade and a half, and that was a line that had never been crossed. 
Now that it had, neither was sure that they wanted to go back, but they were also nervous that the other didn’t feel the same. Not wanting to ruin or complicate the magic of the moment, they each made a silent vow not to mention the kiss, or wait until the other brought it up. 
The car pulls up to the front of the hotel, Harry gets out quickly, offering his hand to Y/N to help her step out. Their hands remain linked as they walk through the lobby and into the elevator. 
They stand together in the back corner of the empty elevator, Y/N sighs and leans her head down on Harry’s shoulder before finally breaking the silence. 
“I know our phones are probably blowing up with congratulatory messages, but do you think we could ignore all that until tomorrow? I feel like this moment needs to be just us.”
Harry smiles and places a soft kiss on the top of her head. “I think that’s an amazing idea. We can worry about the rest of the world tomorrow, tonight is just about you and I.” 
The elevator door opens, and Harry leads Y/N down the hall to their suite. 
“I can’t get over tonight…” Y/N sighs as they approach the door. 
Harry chuckles as he swipes his key card, opening the door and holding it for Y/N. “I can’t either. It’s been such a hectic night, and it all flew by so quickly.” 
Y/N smiles and nods, her expression quickly turns pensive. “Is it weird of me to say that I’ve never felt closer to you?” She wasn’t technically mentioning the kiss, maybe she just needed to test the waters a little. 
“Not weird at all,” Harry confirms with a dimpled grin. “I was thinking the exact same thing, actually.” 
He pauses for a moment, debating whether or not to bring up the kiss, he decides against it. “Even after all these years, everything we’ve been through, tonight just seemed to bring us closer than ever before.” 
Y/N smiles softly, relieved that he agrees. But he didn’t say anything about the kiss, so she let it go. “I’m going to take all of this off and get into my pajamas. You wanna order the room service and I’ll meet you in your room for food and a movie?”
“Why my room?” Harry asks with a furrowed brow. 
“Because, I’m tired and don’t want to deal with the couch, and you have the bigger bed.” She stated plainly. 
He narrowed his eyes playfully at her. “I hate how logical you are.” She giggled and shook her head. “What do you want me to order for you?” He asks.
Y/N shrugs. “You know me, just get whatever I’d like. I trust you.” With that, she goes into her room to change and take off her makeup. 
A few minutes later, she knocks softly on Harry’s bedroom door. He quickly calls for her to come in, and she enters wearing a pair of pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt, her hair in a messy ponytail, and her face makeup free. She is met with Harry, who is sitting on the bed in a pair of pajama pants and no shirt, his back resting against the headboard. 
Harry smiles softly as she climbs into bed beside him. She looked stunning when she was glammed up, but she was at her most beautiful like this. This was the real, authentic Y/N, and she was perfect. 
He had always thought Y/N was beautiful, but they were friends, he had never seen her as anything more. Until that kiss. It was as if something had awoken inside of him, and he saw her in a completely different light. He saw the potential, he saw what they could be. 
He was nervous though. Despite her being the one to initiate the kiss, he wasn’t sure where her head was at. Did she have these feelings too? Or did she just get caught up in all of the emotions in that moment? 
Harry shook the thoughts out of his head, these were all things to worry about another time. He held his arms open and she instantly snuggled against him, he tilted his head and placed a gentle kiss in her hair. 
“Hey, Harry?” She says softly. 
“Hmm?”
“We won a Grammy award tonight.” She says in a soft tone, but the excitement is still clear. 
Harry chuckles and squeezes her a little tighter. “We did, didn’t we?” 
“I think this has been the best night of my life.” “Mine too,” he agrees. 
Before either of them can say anything else, there is a knock on the door. Harry excuses himself to grab the room service, he gives her one last squeeze before hopping out of the bed and leaving the room. 
Y/N watches as Harry walks away, her heart and mind racing. She was trying to decide if kissing her best friend was the best decision, or biggest mistake of her life. 
Over the years, there had been a few fleeting thoughts of what could be with Harry. It wasn’t lost on her that he treated her better than any guy she had ever dated, but she always just pushed those feelings down, not wanting to jeopardize one of the most important relationships in her life.
Now, all of those thoughts and feelings she had been ignoring for years had bubbled to the surface, and they weren’t going to be so easy to just brush off anymore. In the flurry of emotions and activity, she let her guard down and without even thinking, put everything on the line. 
She was grateful that he wasn’t saying anything, maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he’d just let it slide, and they’d never speak of it again. But did she want to never speak of it again? He kissed back, he definitely kissed back, so he felt something too, right? Or was he just caught up in the moment?
“Time to eat!” Harry’s voice breaks her from her thoughts. She turns her head to the door to see him wheeling in a cart full of food. 
“Jesus, how much did you order?” Y/N hops out of bed and helps him lay out all of the plates on the table. 
“It’s a celebration,” Harry shrugs. “Besides, you’re picky, so I wasn’t sure what you’d be in the mood for.” 
Y/N rolls her eyes and chuckles. “I’m not that picky.” 
“The first thing you look for at every restaurant we go to is whether or not they have chicken fingers.” He says with an arched brow. 
“It’s my standby backup food. Pretty much any restaurant is going to have some iteration of chicken fingers, so if I can’t find anything else, I’ll get that. Speaking of…” Her eyes roam over the plates. 
Harry lifts a plate of chicken fingers and french fries. 
“Have I ever told you that you’re my favorite?” She says sweetly and kisses his cheek. “Yeah, every time I buy you chicken fingers.” He chuckles and ruffles her hair. 
She giggles and takes a chicken finger off the plate. 
“Ah ah ah,” Harry chides as he slaps her hand lightly. “Before we eat, I want to do something.” Y/N looks at him curiously. “There are going to be a ton of pictures out there of us all dressed up with our shiny trophies. I want to take one of the real us with our trophies.”
She drops the chicken finger back on the plate, and wipes her hands on her pants while Harry grabs the two trophies and walks over to the full length mirror. 
When she approaches, he hands her one of the trophies and pulls his phone out of his pocket. They stand side by side, Harry takes the hand with his phone in it and wraps it around her shoulder, while she wraps one arm around his torso, the other holding the trophy. 
“Okay, smile.” Harry says in a goofy tone. Once she is smiling, he presses his lips to her temple and snaps the picture. 
They take a few more, their eyes locked on each other through the mirror. The energy feels different, more intimate than it typically does, but they both choose to ignore it. 
Once the impromptu photo shoot is over, they grab their food and get back into bed. Harry throws on a movie, but it’s merely background noise as they spend their night laughing and joking as they recap the evening; avoiding one specific detail in particular. 
Hours later, they’re stuffed from the food, and laying in each other's arms in the bed. 
“Can I stay here? I’m too tired and full to walk to my room.” 
Harry chuckles and nods, he looks down at you and sees your eyes fluttering, as if they could close any moment. “Of course you can,” he says softly, kissing the top of her hair. 
Y/N sighs happily and her eyes finally close. Harry lays there, staring at the ceiling. He knows he should be tired, but all he can think about is that kiss. It had been lingering in his mind all night, and as much as he didn’t want to ruin the moment, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to sleep without talking about it. 
“Hey Y/N, are you still awake?” Harry whispers. 
“Mhm…” She hums sleepily. 
Harry sighs, he feels bad keeping her up, but he knows he can’t keep it inside anymore. He pauses for a moment before finally speaking. 
“Can we talk about… uh, well…” He stutters, not sure how to say it. “You kissed me tonight.” 
Y/N’s breath hitches, her eyes remain closed for a moment before opening them and sitting up. His words wake her up like a bucket of cold water. “Yeah… I guess I kind of did.” She says sheepishly. “But you kissed me back.” She quickly gets defensive. 
Harry chuckles at her comeback, he throws his hands up in surrender. “I did, I know. I’m not denying that.” He takes a deep breath. “I just… listen, you know I love you, and you’re stuck with me forever, no matter what, so no hard feelings either way. I was just wondering if it was… a heat of the moment thing, or in some way intentional…”
Y/N drops her gaze, it definitely helped that Harry said she was stuck with him no matter what. Maybe this wasn’t as bad of a thing as she had thought. They had always been honest in their friendship, so she wasn’t about to start lying to him now. 
“I think it started as a heat of the moment thing, like I didn’t go into this thinking ‘if I win, I’m going to kiss him.’ But when it happened, it felt… good, it felt right.”
A small smile plays on Harry’s face. “Yeah?” 
She looks up at him, her heart starting to race when she sees his expression. “What about you? Did you want to kiss me back, or were you just being polite?” 
“I definitely wasn’t just being polite.” He chuckles. “And it kind of… I don’t know, it opened up this door that I didn’t even know was there. It made me think that maybe this is something more than we’ve thought all these years…”
Y/N nods in understanding. “So, you’ve never thought about us being more than friends before?”
“Honestly, no.” He says quietly, he feels a little bad about that answer; especially with everything he’s feeling now. “Have you?”  
“Maybe once or twice,” she shrugs. “I just, I don’t know, you’re the first person I always go to after a breakup, and we’ll be talking, and you’ll be shitting on the guy, and I’ll just think about how you’re the opposite of all the things you shit on.” 
“But you never-” 
“Because our friendship is too important to me.” She interrupts him. “I always cut those thoughts off as soon as they start, because I never wanted to complicate things. I’m your friend, and what we have is so amazing. I didn’t want to complicate it with extra feelings that could possibly be one sided.” 
“Which they were,” Harry finishes her thought. “Until tonight.” 
“So… what does this mean?” Y/N asks, her heart racing and her stomach in knots. This is a pivotal moment in their friendship, and she’s terrified of what comes next. 
“Well,” Harry starts, a soft, dreamy expression on his face. “If you think about it, we’ve kind of always been a bit like a couple. I mean, you were about to fall asleep in my bed… in my arms. Maybe we should just take that one last step and make things a bit more official.”
Y/N smiles shyly, she can’t remember the last time she ever felt nervous around Harry, because of Harry. “So like, a more than friends situation?” 
Harry chuckles and nods his head, lifting his hand to cup her face, his thumb brushing against her cheek. “More than friends. Y/N, will you be my girlfriend?” 
“That sounded so corny,” she giggles. 
“Sweetheart, if you thought I was corny as your best friend, just wait until you see how corny I can be as your boyfriend.” He says with a goofy smirk. 
“My boyfriend…” She sighs, letting the reality of the moment sink in. 
He lets out a breathy laugh and leans in, pausing just before their lips touch. “My girlfriend…” He whispers before pressing his lips to hers. 
The kiss deepens instantly. Now that their feelings have been fully realized, it’s like fifteen years worth of ‘should have beens’ are all coming to the surface. Harry shifts effortlessly, so that Y/N is laying on the bed with him hovering over her. 
“This really is the best night of my life…” Y/N says softly, as she stares into his eyes.
Harry smirks and leans down, trailing kisses along her neck. “Well get ready, it’s about to get even better…”
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descendantsramblings · 3 months ago
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I have a little idea for Male!Reader x james Hook and morgie
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Male reader (son of Rapunzel maybe?) Went back in time with Red and Chloe, Hook and Morgie took a certain interest in him cause the boy is a stubborn little thing with a big mouth.
The Reader is mostly annoyed/amused with Hooks flirting and finds Morgies teasing Interesting. Reader is interested in morgie (sorry hook) but the Reader knows he cant put a move on morgie even if he wants to cause that could cause problems with the timeline and the future
Its all just a mess for the reader but he may or may not become weak at one point cause lets be honest- who can resist a Dork that acts like a golden retriever.
Having the Morgie boys be some of the main people in my inbox is literally my favorite thing. I love him so much, this is wonderful.
In Another Life
Morgie le Fay x Time traveling!Reader/James Hook x Time Traveling!Reader
Pronouns Used: He/Him/His
Summary: When Rapunzel’s son is dragged back in time by his childhood best friend he finds himself the object of two villains’ affections.
Warnings: suggestive comments, crying technically, minor swearing, a few words in German, bad ending, mentions of death, the reader is kinda mean to Chloe in the first paragraph
Word Count: 2.9K
Translations (I don't speak German so I hope this is correct)
hau rein - "see ya", mein sonnenschein - "My sunshine"
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    “How was I supposed to know that I’d get us sent to the past when I grabbed you? You have to forgive me at some point!” The blue-haired girl looks nearly animated in her movements as the argues with him. Chloe had managed to get him thrown into every single negative situation she’d gone through the entire time they’d known each other. But this? This takes the cake. “I can’t believe you! How dare you act like this is just a little spill, we’re stuck here Chloe. Stuck, no going home until some Wonderland kid we just met decides we can. This is not something I’ll just ‘forgive you eventually’ for! I should be at home with my family, not here in a point of time where our country doesn’t even exist yet!” His arms move wildly in the air around him as he yells. The last day with his parents until family day and now he had to spend it with someone else? And he was supposed to, what? Trust a kid who just convicted his best friend’s mother of treason? This was ridiculous. Everyone should know not to trust the person who got your mother sentenced to death to help save their mother. “What about my family? If we didn’t come back then my mom would for sure die.” “No Chloe, not we. If you and Red didn’t. This doesn’t involve me. I don’t want to be here!” “And you think I do?” 
    He turns on his heel, storming off towards the woods behind him. “(Y/n) Fitzherbert! You don’t even know where you’re going!” The boy huffs, waving a hand at her as if to brush her off “Well, guess I’ll just have to get lost!” Normally he wouldn’t be so huffy. But normally normal things were happening to him. Being the first person to experience time travel was not part of his bucket list, he could promise you that. He just needed to clear his head, regroup. That would fix him, surely it would.  The woods felt no different to the ones in his own part of the timeline, though then again, how could they be? They were just woods, just trees and grass and morning dew. It smelt fresher though, as if the air was cleaner somehow. Perhaps it was, the past couple decades had the time to affect the air, would they not? (Y/n) would never tell his friends about where exactly he went when he was alone in the woods, they all assumed he spent his time at the enchanted lake, and he  assumed it was better that way. Some things should get to be secrets, if not he’d never be alone again. He deserved to have his secrets. Everyone did, didn’t they? 
      And there it was, the old shell of a hideout that looked newer now, nicer. Not that it looked nice per say but it wasn’t what he was used to back home. The boy slowly makes his way to the side of the lagoon, jumping from rock to rock as he approached his slice of solitude. It felt like he was where he was supposed to be for the first time in the four hours he’d been stuck in the past. Listening to the familiar thump of his converse on the large flat pieces of stone put him at peace. Maybe for only a few minutes he could be at home, that’s all he wanted. Home, god Red better be able to get them back there. He just needed his taste of it, then he’d go put on a pretty face for Chloe and Red and apologize to his best friend for yelling at her. Of course he would, he always did.
   At home, he was pretty much the only person who even knew about the black lagoon, no one else was ever there. So why would he expect someone now? The two boys sitting in the hideout were a shock to him. How had he never thought about who would have used the place before him? He was smarter than that, surely he was. Had the boys been facing away from him, he would’ve just left. Actually gone to the Enchanted Lake or maybe just turned back to Chloe. That wasn’t his luck though, instead they stared at him nearly challenging him.  Silently but visibly questioning what made him think he was allowed to be in their space.
      “What have we here?” The boy with the darker hair steps towards him, hook swinging towards him in a manner that almost felt playful. “We don’t get many Princes around here. What a surprise,” he slides the dull end of the golden hook down the boy’s cheek, smirking at him, “Come here looking for something, did you?” The seductive tone of the pirate was so thick you’d have to be a fool to miss it. Something similar to how he’d spoken to Chloe earlier when she was more than ready to fight him. No doubt the pirate was just like that. His eyes go over the boy, giving him the up and down twice before scoffing, “Not for you.” Hook drops his arm, stepping back slightly with a brow quirked. “Oh really?” The other boy comes up behind him now, hands resting on Hook’s shoulders as he peers over him at the Prince. “So you’re here for me then?” His lip slots between his teeth as he looks at the boy. Something about the teasing tone Morgie used had his stomach flipping. The smirk on his face was softer, an almost hopeful twinkle in his eyes.  “Come on, Darling, we both saw how you were looking at us back in the courtyard. Who’d you come to see?” Hook crosses his arms as he speaks, shamelessly checking out the Prince. 
    “Actually,” (Y/n) steps away, heading over to that old seashell chair he  adored and falling in it, “I was hoping the place was empty. Shouldn’t you two be in class?” Morgie’s brows furrow, that was his seat, why would he take his seat? “Shouldn’t you be in class, Darling?” Eyes roll back in their sockets as he runs his hand down the fabric of the chair. It was so much nicer right now, going back to the way it was in the future was going to suck now that he knew its potential. “You don’t need to worry about where I should be.”  “Oh no,” Morgie waltzes to his side, perching on the chair beside him, so close their thighs brush as he sits, “Well, you’re in our space and my seat. So I think we do get to worry about where you’re supposed to be.” Morgie's seat, huh? He hums, a smirk on his lips, “If you say so.” “I do,” Morgie lets his eyes shamelessly linger on his mouth, taking in the smirk that seemed to tease him back. This was the closest he’d ever been to a royal without actively harassing them. He thought the stranger would pull away, maybe move from his chair all together, but he didn’t. He simply adjusted in the seat, their legs getting closer as he did, now pressed to each other, solidifying his stance on moving. “Listen boys, you can pretend I’m not here, I don’t really care. I just need a piece of home and this is as close as I can get.”  
     Hook and Morgie share a look, seeming to communicate through their eyes. This exchange student didn’t fear them in the slightest. It was new, almost a rush for the both of them. And in that moment they seemed to silently agree on something. This was going to be their new little game it seemed. Who could get the new boy’s affections first? May the odds be ever in your favor. 
                                                  ⁺˚⋆。°✩₊✩°。⋆˚⁺
      Pretending he didn’t know exactly where they were going while walking with Red and Chloe to the Black Lagoon was harder than he thought. Surely if he was too obvious they’d get suspicious. And he couldn’t imagine how they’d react if they knew he’d spent a whole class period with two boys who would help lead to the mess they’d been facing back home. Not that he’d meant to spend time with them, of course not. Why would he? They were villains, or at least they were supposed to be. He wasn’t so sure he could call them that though, not after the way he saw them. How would those two boys, the ones who were teases as best, go on to end up on the Isle of the Lost? How would Morgie end up there at all? Surely it would have to be similar to how the VKs from his part of the timeline did, wouldn’t it? Just a victim to his family line, nothing more. Not that he knew him. Of course one afternoon wasn’t enough to know a person, but the way he spoke, the innocence in his eyes when (Y/n) had confused him a few times, that seemed a little hard to fake. 
     He lags behind the girls as they walk away from the Lagoon, lost in his own mind. Not that they’d notice, too wrapped up in talking about the prank that was meant to be pulled in two days. Chloe being a touch too distracted by the red lipstick painting the other princess’ lips. He took a mental note to tease her for that later, some point where they could all laugh about all this. He could feel eyes on him from behind, pausing to put more space between the girls before him and himself. Whoever was trailing them didn’t need to bother the princesses, he could handle them alone for sure. Left hand reaching for the sword on his hip as two bodies collide with his back. Chests to his shoulders. “Are you following us now, Darling?” “Miss us that much already?” (Y/n) turns to look over his left shoulder first, smiling at Morgie and sending him a teasing wink before turning the other way to look at Hook. Hand falling away from his sword, he wouldn't need it against them. “It seems to me you’re following me, Captain. Considering you ran into my back when I stopped walking and all.” “Touché,” he smirks, putting his hook under the boy’s chin with a smile, “Can you blame me? Watching you walk away is quite the view.” 
   He laughs, stepping away from the pirate and slightly running into Morgie. “You pirates are all so shameless. Ego’s bigger than your ship isn’t it?” “Oh wouldn’t you like to know? You should come ride it some time.” He winks at the Prince, words obviously holding a double meaning that should've brought a blush to his cheeks. (Y/n) laughs, taking notice of the gentle hand that had found its way onto his shoulder from behind. “Oh, I’ve seen the Jolly Roger, she’s not that impressive.” Hook raises a brow, “Oh you have? How haven’t I seen you before, then?” Shit, he hadn’t seen the Jolly Roger while Hook was the Captain. He shouldn’t have let that slip. “I’ve visited Neverland a time or two, guess you just aren’t that observant.” Hopefully it was convincing enough, he turns to the sorcerer behind him, the boy looking down at him. “You would’ve noticed me, wouldn’t you?” He hoped it would help make his earlier words more convincing or at least serve as a good distraction from them. If it hadn’t been so dark, the boy would’ve seen the pink hue drawn to Morgie’s cheeks and ears. The villain silently thanking Uliana for wanting to wait until dark to discuss their plans for revenge, had they done this earlier he would’ve been caught for sure. “Of course I would. Look at you.” It wasn’t as smooth as he’d hoped for, nothing like the line delivery he’d had in the daylight but he could still see a smile play across the Prince’s face, teeth and eyes sparkling in the pale moonlight. 
    “I’d hope so, I like the attention.” He knew better than to play with him like that. Who knew how they’d be changing the future just from a small interaction. Though it seemed that Chloe and Red hadn’t, (Y/n) did learn a thing or two about the Butterfly Effect. He could only hope to all things good that he wouldn’t ruin his own future by just being between the two boys. If he was stronger, maybe he'd move. It was hard not to linger there though, with that sweet look on Morgie’s face and the burning feeling of the pirate’s eyes on him. Boys back home never looked at him like this .Never stared at his lips the way Morgie did, it felt good. And if he wasn’t so scared of changing things, he might have just given in to those half lidded eyes that were locked on his lips and leaned up. Were they as soft as they looked? It was like the other boy could read his thoughts, Hook turning him to face away from Morgie with a teasing smirk playing on his lips,  “If it’s attention you’re looking for, I know a great source.” (Y/n) laughs, shaking his head as he pulls away from both of them. “You don’t know when to quit, do you, Captain? Well, hau rein boys, have a good night.” 
     Morgie hates to admit to how hard he was staring as he watched the prince walk away from him. Eyes locked on the royal strut, he knew Hook’s would be too. It was nearly impossible to look away from him. “What language was that?” He spares Hook a look when the darkness swallows the boy’s receding form, brows raised in confusion. “I,” Hook stops, turning to look at his friend with an equally confused face, “I’m not sure.” 
                                                  ⁺˚⋆。°✩₊✩°。⋆˚⁺
    Two days in the past shouldn’t have this effect on him. It’s embarrassing, how did he let a boy he just met get him so wrapped up like this. A boy he couldn’t even have, and yet he was begging for an extra thirty minutes in the past to just say goodbye. Running through the halls of Merlin academy just hoping to see a flash of black and green. He had to say goodbye, he just, he had something he had to do. For himself. Where would a sorcerer whose friends all just got frozen by a magic cookbook be hiding? Where would he be if Chloe had just been frozen? 
    Looking for whoever did it to her. Without a second thought he’d be looking for whoever hurt her. And if Morgie was anything like him, that's what he'd be doing too. So that means, he needed to retrace his steps from the office to Red’s dorm. Running back towards the dorm and straight past it he ends up slamming into a solid chest. Two strong hands grabbing his arms and stabilizing him as the impact almost sends him falling backwards. He looks up to see a pair of hazel eyes that had plagued him for the past two days. He assumes they’ll be haunting him for the rest of his life now. The boy being forever unattainable.  The thought was nauseating.
    “Hey! Careful there, you almost wiped out,” Morgie’s hands slide down his arms, ghosting over the bewildered look on his face, “You okay, (Y/n)?” He didn’t know the boy well, Morgie couldn’t deny that. But he could feel in his heart of hearts that the way the boy laughed at his question was out of character. “I was looking for you actually, lucky me that you were,” he looks at those pretty eyes again, letting out a shaky breath, “Right here.” A pale pink lip slides between his teeth, disrupting the smile that was trying to spread across his face, “Lucky I was, someone had to catch you.” (Y/n) shakes his head, breaking eye contact, “People don’t tend to catch me very often.”It makes Morgie place a single knuckle under his chin, tilting his face back up so he has to look him in the eyes again. “I’d catch you every time. I actually was looking for you too. I needed to ask you something.” 
     The sorcerer had that hopeful look back in his eyes, the one he'd had back in the hide out. It made (Y/n)’s chest hurt. “You did?” He nods, smile stretched across his face as he pulls his hands back to himself, fiddling with his fingers as he speaks. “Listen, I know that it’s super late, considering it’s tomorrow and all, but I was wondering if you’d go to Castlecoming with me? I know we just met and all but there’s no better time to get to know each other right?” He knew from the way the Prince’s face fell that there was no way he’d get the answer he wanted. If he was smarter, maybe he would've run away. 
     “Oh, Morgie, in another life I’d be able to answer that the way I want to.” He frowns, brows furrowing, “Well, why can’t you?” He lets his palm rest on Morgie’s cheek, and despite the fact that the boy’s heart was visibly breaking, he nuzzles against his hand. “You could never understand how us being together would effect where I’m from,” it’s shaky, a slow breath following his words. His voice was weaker than he wanted it to be. “Is it,” he takes a shaky breath, eyes growing a little blurry as he looks at the prince. He thought he was different, that maybe his family wouldn’t matter to him, how silly he was to believe that. “Is it because I’m a villain?” (Y/n) knew better when he leaned forward, he knew better than placing his lips on those pretty pale pink ones. It was a kiss he’d compare to every one that followed. Soft, sweet and sad, a poetic moment that would only ever get to be a memory. He knew he’d regret it when he went home and nothing felt like the lips of the second generation sorcerer. Forehead resting on the other boy’s as he lets out a sigh, eyes still closed because he knew he couldn't look at the boy and get his words out. The way he caught feelings for the first person to show him attention was embarrassing. “Mein sonnenschein, I didn’t get to know you well, but I know you are no villain. In another life I’d be your happily ever after.” Morgie frowns, pulling away from him, “I wish it could be this one.” Eyes opening at the loss of contact, (Y/n) looks up at the boy, his words were doing more harm than good. He knew he should turn away, he needed to get back to Red - to his home-, but tearing his eyes away from the boy would hurt. “Yeah,” he wipes a tear he didn’t mean to let slip, “Yeah, I do too.”
Yeah, there was no way he'd just "forgive Chloe at some point" over this one. No one is supposed to break their own heart.
Find Part 2 Here
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renthony · 3 months ago
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🏳️‍🌈
(Drop a 🏳️‍🌈 in my inbox and I’ll respond with a queer media recommendation!)
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Phase one of the series spanned seasons one to three, and we are currently in the final stretch of arc two ("Mystery of Aaravos"), encompassing seasons four to seven. Season six just dropped, and according to the official Instagram account, it's been #1 on Netflix for the past five days! That's really great news, because they're trying really hard to get greenlit for arc three--so now is a really, really great time to get into the show! You want to do it, you want to do it so bad. Use the hashtags #TheDragonPrince, #ContinueTheSaga, and #GiveUsTheSaga if you do! Please, for the love of fuck! 😭😭😭
Currently there are six seasons of the tv show, several books (including novelizations, original comics, and art book, and in-universe guides), a tabletop roleplaying game, a board game, and a brand-new video game that launched this week. This world is huge, and it's so fun to explore!
Here's the trailer for season one of the show:
youtube
Here's a trailer for the most recent season, for those who saw the early seasons but didn't keep up:
youtube
And here's the trailer for the mobile game:
youtube
As far as why I'm recommending it as a queer show, there are so many queer characters. The show prompted some griping early on because it had a pair of tragically dead lesbian queens, but in the seasons since, they've introduced a gloriously alive lesbian battle couple who get married on-screen, a married pair of gay men, three different trans characters (one of whom joins the main cast in season 4 and remains a major character), and a general lovely air of casual queerness in a high fantasy setting. The tabletop roleplaying game has multiple canon queer characters, too, and the show's cast and crew have made it clear that they have queer people among them, they fully support queer people in the fandom, and they want to include queerness in their world. It's awesome.
(And I'm still sticking with "when one man looks at another man and says 'our baby was so cute,' that's canon enough for me." So there's some fantastic queer villainy that's, like, the perfect icing on the cake for me personally. The Dragon Prince: for all your unholy dark magic mpreg bug baby needs!)
Also, this show has my poorest, saddest, littlest, wettest meow-meow babygirl of all fucking time: Lord Viren, (former) High Mage of Katolis, the most turbo-divorced man in all existence. If you follow me, you've seen that motherfucker. You know who he is. You have seen his sad miserable little face. You know who I am and what I'm here for. This paragraph is not a surprise to you. You know.
Here's a picture of me in Viren cosplay, as both a shameless cosplay self-promo and a reiteration that, no, seriously, this is my favorite TV show ever:
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Ask For a Rec | Other Media Recommendations | Support Links
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writing-for-life · 7 months ago
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WHAT DO YOU MEAN DREAM'S HAIR USED TO BE WHITE!! oh my god. i just saw your post about killala and i have now perished. thanks for breaking my heart.
but also hi!! i'm relatively new to the fandom and it's a great place to be. i haven't finished reading all the comics yet but i'm curious to know:
what do you think are the main differences between TV!Dream and Comics!Dream? i've heard so many people claiming that he is incapable of changing, for instance, and though the show does convey his overall rigidity pretty well, i'm not getting the vibe that he's immutable.
also!! it's clear that he feels a lot. which is always funny to me when the corinthian is like yo, try this and maybe you'll feel something for a change but like. he does!!! or i get the impression that he does. he probably feels too much if anything?? all of it simmering just beneath the surface, barely contained. how would you personally analyze his relationship with his own emotions?
i hope all of this is coherent enough for you to answer lmao, i saw your post about enjoying being asked sandman questions two seconds after i woke up and barged into your inbox. hope you have a lovely day!
Thanks so much for the ask, and welcome if you’re new(ish) to the fandom! 🤗
I’m sorry I broke your heart—much more heartbreak to come I fear if you haven’t read the comics yet, so I’ll try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible.
I am one of those people who believes the differences between comics!Dream and show!Dream are actually not as big as they are made out to be where it matters, and you will definitely find people who disagree. At the end of the day, we all read it through our own lens and will never be fully objective about it.
The main difference I see is that they filed off the rough edges of the comics a bit to make a new audience sympathise more. It’s very hard to do that with a character who is basically in full arsehole mode for most of the first 40 issues or so, and even then only slowly begins to come out of it (although we can obviously see glimmers of what lies below the surface at the beginning of the comics, too, but it’s far more subtle than in the show). I’ve worked in musical theatre for a over decade of my life and understand a bit about bringing the written word to stage/screen, and some things simply don’t translate well from book to stage/screen, and you have to change it. So my personal opinion is we get a more sympathetic Morpheus and certain changes so the audience can do exactly that—sympathise off the bat. You will lose an audience pretty quickly if they don’t care about the protagonist and the universe he moves in, and you can’t be as nuanced about it as you can be in a written work. We’re talking about streaming services thinking about profits here, even if people don’t want to hear it.
Also: The more you sympathise with a character, the deeper the emotional investment and the more you feel, even if it hurts.
Having said this, I don’t think Morpheus is incapable of change, and I never got where that idea comes from. His biggest flaw is that he believes he cannot change (and even he has moments when he admits he might have). In the introduction to Endless Nights, Neil Gaiman says that he was once asked to describe The Sandman in twenty-five words or less, and famously, it was this (you might have heard it):
“The Lord of Dreams learns that one must change or die, and makes his decision.”
And I think some people might have wrongly taken that for an either/or thing. I don’t want to say too much at this point because I don’t know how much you know (if you’d like spoilers or already know how it ends, let me know, I’ll happily expand on it). Only so much:
He is capable of change, also in the comics. Very obviously so. But just like he denies he has his own story (which also isn’t true), he denies he can change. Or at least he thinks he perhaps cannot change enough (it’s actually hard to write about this without giving everything away, help! 🙈).
As for his feelings: He does feel, but again, it is something he pushes down and will deny himself. Until it bursts to the surface and breaks through, and when that happens, it’s usually with, well, let’s say varying results, and that’s putting it mildly. Personally, I’d say he has problems relating to his feelings, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel. Quite the opposite in my view. He holds the collective unconscious—all unprocessed feelings and whatever else floats around in that collective mess, and it’s exactly what he says to the Corinthian in that famous scene: he needs to keep a lid on it and keep that lid firmly closed so all of it doesn’t consume him. But that also means denying himself the feelings that are linked to his own personhood (if you want to call it that). There’s Dream of the Endless, and then there’s Morpheus. And while they’re one and the same and inseparable, Morpheus is also the “point of view”. The character, the person, if you will. And deep down, he craves that personhood so badly. Out of all the Endless, he is the only one who basically collects names because they mean having something beyond his function, which is also mirrored in what he tells Death in “The Sound of her Wings”: he wants something more. He is the only one whose realm is populated with sentient beings (yes, I know Despair has rats, but I think you get my drift). He is desperately lonely and struggles with it. He seeks connection yet denies it to himself. That’s not someone who doesn’t feel.
I don’t know if this answers your questions at all—I was doing the wild “spoiler-free” dance 🤣 But please let me know if you want me to go a bit deeper, I love talking about this stuff.
You can also have a look at my metas if you haven’t already. The headers pretty much explain what they’re about and what spoiler-level to expect, but none of them are truly spoiler-free I guess:
Again, thanks so much for encroaching on my inbox, and feel free to follow up if anything was left unanswered.
@dreamaturgy ask answered
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thenightfolknetwork · 3 months ago
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I need help. I am a changeling. At least, I think I am. For my own sake, I hope I am.
You see, I’ve been changing my face for years. Pretending to be someone else because I know that our kind aren’t always accepted. But now, I feel a bit lost. I have prosopagnosia. Face blindness.
This isn’t actually as big of a problem as it may seem, because usually the moment I do see a face, I can make a perfect one in response. I’ll look like whatever they want me to. And that’s fine, I suppose. For the most part.
But the problem is, I’ve forgotten my own face. I used to be able to remember it well enough, I think. But now I can’t seem to recall it at all. And it’s been getting worse. Even my voice can’t seem to return to normal, if there even was a normal to begin with.
I’m scared now. My face and voice are my own, but at the same time, I’m acutely aware that they aren’t. They are attached to my body, if that’s any indication of self. But the person I see in the mirror is not me. Sometimes it looks nothing like me. I worry that my thoughts are starting to become something else entirely.
If I can’t remember the voice in my throat, how can I trust the voice in my head? The hands writing these words?
My friend confronted me the other day. Called me a fake, an evil thing. And of course, I became one, without even thinking. I hurt them. I didn’t mean to.
I can’t trust my head, my face, my past. What if I’ve always been this evil thing? What if I never was a true changeling, just a fake, desperate to change my face? How do I figure out what I am, when I don’t remember who I used to be? How can I hope to find my true form again, when every time I look in the mirror, I see the monster that I am?
Oh, my dear reader. You poor thing. This sounds horribly frightening, and I am so glad you've been able to reach out and ask for help.
I don't believe for one moment that you are “an evil thing”. I also don't believe that the person who called you that is any kind of friend to you.
You are experiencing profound and distressing disruptions to your sense of identity – you need to be treated with care and kindness, not accusations. What's more, you deserve that kindness. You deserve to be helped.
Before I go on, it would be remiss of me not to address the issue of language and terminology here, though more for our other readers than for you in particular. I will not waste too much time on the matter.
It will suffice to acknowledge that while terms like “evil” and “monster” have be reclaimed by some in our community – and enthusiastically so, at that – they are far from universally accepted. It's clear from your letter that you do not view these words or concepts as liberating or radical.
I urge the rest of our audience to please respect that difference of opinion, and to remember that what one member of our community chooses to call themselves need not reflect on how others use those words. I will have very little patience for anyone wading into my inbox to complain that the language here is somehow “malevolent phobic”.
Now, back to the matter at hand. I am reminded of a letter I answered some years back from a listener wrestling with ideas of identity around somatic instability. In their case, they were concerned about whether or not they could ever be said to know their friend's “real” self, when that friend transformed regularly in different contexts.
The circumstances between you and that person are considerably different, of course. But I believe the same philosophy that helped their might help you, too.
You were once one person, and have since grown and changed and become someone new. It is a statement that applies to every person who has ever lived. Please, try to let go of this unreasonable expectation of constancy.
As much as you can, I want you to unlearn this narrative of a single, static “self”. There is no unyielding kernel at your centre which defines all that you are, and as such, there is no way for you to somehow deviate from who you “really” are. You cannot help but be yourself – there is nobody else you can possibly be.
(At least, assuming you have ruled out the possibility of surreptitious cohabitation. If you suspect you may, in fact, be possessed or otherwise inhabited, please pursue that course of enquiry before continuing any further.)
Uncontrolled shifting is a well documented, if poorly understood, phenomenon, either as genetic trait, the result of a curse or divine punishment, or as a stress response. Speaking to people in similar circumstances, whether online or in person, will hopefully help you feel less alone – and less “monstrous”.
Finally, I strongly encourage you to seek out professional support to treat the underlying issues at play. You have become so used to habitually shifting your identity to meet other people's expectations, you find it almost impossible to resist doing so – even when the results are unpleasant for you and for others.
That isn't an issue with your body, reader. It's an issue with your self-esteem, and your compulsive desire to minimise your own wishes to make way for others. It will be a long and difficult road to unlearn those habits and to accept yourself as you are. But I truly believe you can find a way to live authentically from moment to moment, even as time carries you unerringly away from the person you were, and onwards, to the person you're becoming.
[For more creaturely advice, check out Monstrous Agonies on your podcast platform of choice, or visit monstrousproductions.org for more info]
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yuyusuyu · 1 year ago
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blurred lines and lies — 08. a lie that breaks the line
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synopsis. you were always with yeosang, hips stuck together and hands glued to each other. he was all you knew and you were all he knew too for a while, but then you both grew up, one moving at a faster pace than the other. yeosang left you behind to awkwardly navigate the rest of an adventure—high school—without him while he embarked on a new one—college—by himself. the line of being best friends blurred somewhere along the way, and you find yourself crying on the night he promises to be someone else's because you love him. you've always loved kang yeosang ever since the days where he was trying to figure out who he was (an awkward and painful era for any teenager in middle school), loved him ever since his voice began cracking as it's tone deepened, loved him ever since he took you to that stupid and overpriced school dance in middle school despite not liking being in a huge crowd, you loved him ever since he began to become a quiet and reserved man. you hoped to be on the other side of things for once, on the other side of the line of being just best friends with kang yeosang; you realize now that it was stupid of you to ever have that sort of hope. and while you began to calm down, you wonder about what it's like being on the other side of a friendship. you don't know, but you hope to find out as you embark an adventure without him. but you didn't realize what it would it do to you and yeosang, and what it would do to you and choi jongho, your other best friend.
warnings. cheating. if there's anything i should add, let me know!
wc. 1k
send an ask in my inbox or leave a comment to be added to the taglist! reblogs and comments are appreciated! helps with not getting shadowbanned!
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JONGHO snorts, grabbing your hand and holding it up in the air. “c’mon,” he says, grinning. “give me a twirl.”
you stick your tongue out at him before complying, twirling around. your lilac dress flutters around you, dying down when you stop. “it’s pretty, right?”
your best friend nods, eyes smiling along with his lips. “yeah,” he says. “really pretty.”
you grow embarrassed at the way he stares at you, so you clear your throat and reach out, grabbing his tie and fixing it for him. “gosh,” you tease, straightening his tie out. “your tie is all crooked. aand better!” you take a step back to admire your work, but stop when jongho’s hand wraps around your waist.
the door opens and you tilt your head to look over at… younghee. you purse your lips.
“it’s time for everyone to go get in their place.” she says, her voice quiet.
jongho squeezes your waist once before he pulls away, leaving you feeling cold. “i’ll see you in a bit,” he says, smiling at you. he gives younghee a polite nod and walks out of the room, leaving the two of you alone.
you take a deep breath, straighten your dress and try walking past younghee only for her to stop you.
“i’m going to tell him,” she says, fiddling with her fingers. “you’re right. i thought about it these last two days, and i don’t want to lose him. i want to fix our marriage.”
“i don’t think there’s any fixing what you’ve done,” you say, voice so blunt that it makes younghee flinch. “but good luck, younghee.”
“i love him,” she calls out. “i really do.”
you look over your shoulder. younghee’s looking back at you.
“you wouldn’t have cheated on yeosang if that was the case,” you finally say.
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you stand on the other side of the room, across from jongho. the other bridesmaids stand to your left, younghee being the last one in the line. jongho keeps pulling silly faces as everyone waits for sarang to walk in, and you have to keep puffing your cheeks out so you don’t laugh out loud. yeosang glances between you and jongho, and your gaze coincidentally lands on him while he thinks. when yeosang looks at you, you wiggle your eyebrows at him. he chuckles softly, shaking his head. you’re about to look back at jongho before you blink in surprise, watching yeosang suddenly stick his tongue out at you while looking at his nose. jongho also decides to strike, pulling another silly face that has you laughing, your hand flying up to your mouth as you try to muffle the sound behind your palm.
both of them are just so silly.
when your laughter subsides to giggles, you sigh, seeing jongho grin at you. he turns to talk to san, who looks like he’s about to pass out. your eyes trail over to yeosang, whose ears are a bright shade of pink.
no one saw, you mouth at him, giving him a thumbs up. don’t worry.
he nods, smiling at you.
the sound of a piano fills the air, and everyone turns to look at the door just as sarang walks into the room. out of the corner of your eye, you see san smile bright before his knees buck and jongho quickly reaches out to grab a hold of his arm. before you look back at sarang, you grin brightly while yeosang mirrors the look on your face.
he mouthed to you that you look pretty.
the ceremony doesn’t take long and soon you find yourself dancing with jongho after san and sarang have their first dance together as a married couple. you had to drag jongho out to the dance floor the whole time because he didn’t feel like dancing, but you know he’s lying since he didn’t put up much of a fight. and you have fun, dancing with jongho as you two giggle and twirl around, missing the way yeosang stares at the two of you from across the room while he dances with younghee a more somber tune compared to the bright and lighthearted one you dance with jongho.
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“guess what younghee told me the other day when we got back home from the wedding?”
you glance at yeosang, blinking at him as you wait for him to continue. you two push past people as you walk down the street, trying to get to the cafe.
“she told me that she wants to start a family.”
“what?” your head snaps to look at him so fast that you get whiplash. rubbing your neck, you stop in the middle of the street. “she said that to you?”
yeosang nods.
“and she didn’t say anything else?” you prod, tilting your head.
he shakes his head. “no… why?”
you clear your throat. “oh, i was just…” you stop, jaw going slack as you spot younghee walking on the sidewalk across the street, heading into the bar.
in broad daylight! you think, eyebrows twitching. 
“yn?” yeosang gently shakes you. “is everything okay?”
“oh, yeah!” you respond, grabbing his hand and tugging him across the street and to the bar. “follow me real quick, yeo.”
yeosang doesn’t resist, following you obediently. “yn,” he says, looking at you as you open the door to the bar. “why are we in a bar?”
“we are here,” you mumble, looking to the back corner of the bar to find younghee sitting at a table. “to look at your wife.”
“what?” he looks at you, confused. you point across the room at something, and yeosang looks over to see his wife greet— “oh.”
he doesn’t know what he feels at the moment as he stares at younghee kiss a face that yeosang could never forget even if he wanted to. and he doesn’t know what he feels as younghee smiles sweetly at the man, grabbing his hand and accidentally looking over his shoulder.
yeosang has no idea what he feels as he watches the smile fall from his wife’s lips as she stares into his emotionless eyes with her wide ones and a pale face.
kang yeosang has no idea what he feels right now at the sudden revelation that younghee has cheated on him.
again.
just as she had done seven years ago in their second year of college.
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previous | masterlist | next
taglist (open): @kpopnightingale @seonghwaddict @imsodazed @honeyhwaaa @nakiiko @diorwoo @h-nji @jisungxident @tenebrisirae @yunhogrippers @acciocriativity @scarfac3
perma taglist (bold means that i can't tag you): @asjkdk @kodzukein @hrt4jeno @lissiesykes @jeonride
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BLURRED LINES AND LIES | yuyusuyu 2023
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betterthanburrow · 1 year ago
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Miss CEO - Instagram AU
(Bengals Quarterback! Joe Burrow x Beauty Influencer OC)
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liked by yourinstagram, and 270,155 more users
MISHTIMAKEUP: introducing “Mishti Makeup” a new make-up brand created by @.yourinstagram.
after many years of hard work through cosmetology school, collaborating with other make-up brands, and building up the social media platforms, the day that our Chief Executive Officer has dreaming about since she was a little girl is finally here 🤎✨
it’s important to click the website in our bio to subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on our upcoming make-up collection launches and sales!
view all 95,420 comments
yourinstagram: i’m very excited for this new journey!
↳ MISHTIMAKEUP: we love you! - social media intern.
nikkietutorials: i can’t wait to try out all of the new make-up products!
mamaburrow: i’m so excited to support you!
varijstylez: this was one of the hardest secrets that i have had to keep in my life… i’m so happy that the news of your company is finally out in the world!
joeyb_9: i’m so proud of you princess 💗
↳ yourinstagram: thank you 😽 i’m proud of me too!
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liked by joeyb_9, and 300,851 more users
yourinstagram: Miss CEO Of Mishti Makeup.
view all 119,663 comments
yourlittlesister: so… since the CEO of Mishti Makeup is a my big sister, does this mean i get free products?!
↳ yourinstagram: hmm… i don’t know if you deserve those privileges 🤔
↳ yourlittlesister: i’m your little sister that was your makeup model for many years… that means i have automatically earned those privileges of free products.
joeyb_9: it’s more like… Miss CEO Of My Heart.
↳ yourinstagram: stop flirting with me on instagram…
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like by 66,925 more users
DailyJLBurrow: Instagram Stories from (12/5/22)
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username1: Joe posting about his girlfriend and Spongebob Squarepants on his IG stories… now all he needs to do is post something related to football and then Joe would’ve posted his holy trinity in one day!
username2: the Bengals beat the Kanas Chiefs yesterday but Joe is making it a priority to post about his girlfriend’s business over the football game win.
↳ username3: Chiefs fans really wanted to get a reaction out of Joe but it’s clear that he’s so unbothered even with the game win!
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liked by joeyb_9, and 333,799 more users
yourinstagram: just the two of us @.joeyb_9 🤎
view all 150,001 comments
mamaburrow: the two of you are so cute!
joeyb_9: roses are red, violets are blue… you’ll be the 6 and i’ll be the 9.
↳ yourinstagram: JOSEPH LEE BURROW… THIS IS A PUBLIC COMMENT SECTION!
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liked by 99,725 users
BeautyGuru_Updates: Y/N’s instagram story of her and NFL Bengals Quarterback Joe Burrow.
view all 15,019 comments
username1: we really are getting spoiled with Y/N and Joe content today… this is a rare occasion!
↳ username2: and when we do get spoiled of content, it’s just their shadows or blurry photos… it’s never clear pictures, we get spoiled while living off crumbs.
username3: i still can’t believe my favorite beauty guru and my dad’s favorite NFL Quarterback are DATING?!
liked by yourinstagram and 509,917 more users
joeyb_9: Unbothered.
view all 4,183 comments
Bengals: 🔥🔥🔥
yourlittlesister: i have the coolest future brother in law!
yourinstagram: are you a parking ticket… because you’ve got ‘fine’ written all over you 😽
↳ joeyb_9: so you don’t like when i flirt with you in your instagram comments… but here you are, flirting with me in my instagram comments?!
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Author’s Note:
if you have a request for an IG AU, please send the Instagram AU request in my inbox and i’ll try to get the IG AU requested published as soon as possible.
thank you all for the love and support! 🤍
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kadextra · 7 months ago
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I’ve wanted to properly say my personal opinion on this in an actual post for a while, now’s a good time as any
I realized a few weeks ago that I do not feel capable of adding to the admingate conversation, especially in regards to abusive workplace treatment involving the unions & how various international laws play a role. It’s way out of my league.
like I admit with my full chest I came here to watch cubes and don’t know about all these complex topics, and I have no time I can give to researching all of them. that’s why I’ve personally taken a rather distanced stance. this is complex and emotionally heavy stuff that needs careful attention, I’m not able to speak about it well within my experience/knowledge as I’d like, so I don’t feel comfortable or that it’s my place in doing so
I do take a pretty wide outlook on the situation with the time and energy I can allocate to it. the things I’ve heard from admins involved say it’s not looking any better, while others in the project say it’s being improved in a good direction. It’s different opinions on every side- and that’s pretty usual for a situation like this with lots of people and moving parts. in the end we as the onlooker fans can’t know anything except what we’re shown.
In the same way, I think you guys are valid to your own opinions and interpretations, whether it be negative or optimistic, neutral or what be you. I am aware of how you all feel, and like. it’s your own blogs post however you want
The approach I’ve found myself taking here is “support the admins. hold tentative hope for the project to be handled in a proper manner.” thus I continue to primarily send my appreciation and gratitude to admins who have suffered greatly & unfairly, who have worked hard, and I continue watching how the server is being handled with the hope it can be improved in better conditions.
I think a day where the QSMP permanently shuts down burns dies in a fire and explodes + everyone I enjoy on it leaves would be the day I release my final hope for it and leave too. but I don’t think I’d leave qsmpblr forever, you’re all too awesome :3
I truly want to see it get better. In no other place would I get to watch people on opposite sides of the globe like YD and BBH who don’t know each others native language at all meet and become best friends. those two have given me joy recently :’)
so I will keep a close eye observing, waiting to see how it develops the coming months/year
Lastly, I’ll make something clear.
As I touched on earlier, chances are I’ve heard all about something even if I don’t post on it. If anyone expects replies from me talking about the workplace abuse, management privilege, international unions & laws, again I reiterate- I know I cannot give an educated reply on that and would end up poorly regurgitating all the same stuff we’ve already heard hundreds of times the past month which isn’t me helping anything. I truly wish I could somehow make things better for myself and everyone by doing that, but I can’t. and it won’t.
so like if you’ve sent asks, thank you. and I know. but topics like this in my inbox likely won’t get a response. dw it’s not on you guys ❤️
I hope any members of our community who may read this are doing well. I know it’s difficult to be in this odd, frustrating limbo situation and have a lot of complicated mixed feelings about whats going on with this media that means a lot to you. You felt what the beautiful highs of the QSMP are like, and now you’ve become aware of the lowest lows. I get it, it’s been hard
if you want to stick around with your streamer and see what happens next then sure you do that. if you need to take a step back, disengage from the content for a while or just leave entirely then sure you do that.
do whatever is right by you, take care of yourselves okay? hugs 🫂❤️
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ofmermaidstories · 19 days ago
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merms i wanna SCREAM now that the shoto fic is finally here!!!!! but i am also sad that it is the last installment of the series :((((
but anyways knowing you it will always be kept alive somehow, and i'm getting sappy and emotional bc it's been Four Years (4!!! what a big number!! that's a whole CHILD) since i started reading your stories and i'm just so grateful that i found you when i did!! a whole treasure trove of stories about the characters i so wholeheartedly adore.
thank you once again for being the amazing writer and person that u are!! i'm a firm believer that one's character really comes out in their writing (being an english major, it's hard to miss) and i can see how that is expressed in yours, with how careful and thoughtful and beautifully you write your stories. i hope you know that you're one of my most favourite writers ever!!!! and i'll probably never forget you in my life!!!! thank you for bringing so much color into my days <3333
four years!! oh my god. that’s like… full-sentences-whole-child old. we need a cake next year for number five. 🥹 idk hansy i’m like, kinda sad—a lot of what kept holding me back from finishing the first chapter was like, the sudden realisation that this was the beginning of the end LMFAOOOO—but i’ve been trying to keep in mind anon who slipped into the inbox and was like, [let’s] be excited before [we] get sad. because it’s true!! we’re at the beginning of the end—but it’s still the beginning!!! 🏞️✨ and if it’s any consolation, realistically it’ll take me like at least a year to finish this fic, lmfao, and i also wanna do my surrender one-shot collection this love (is ours), which is what i think of as the trilogy’s true ending (the epilogue is set a few years after shouto’s fic finishes), so we’re on the ride a little longer. 🥹 you’ll have to put up with me for a while yet.
idkidkdidkdidididkdddkkkdk hansy. earlier this year i kinda went through a bout of like, that preemptive grief where i just kinda came face-to-face with the fact that yeah, for the past four years this has been The Hobby, you know? like. this has been what i do for fun. and that’s a (relatively) long time and a lot of energy to spend on one thing, and it threw me into this period where i felt really isolated!! i felt silly, like, oh mermie it’s just a couple of fanfics, why are they making you sad you silly girl—and i desperately wanted reassurance that like, it was a normal part of an intensive creative process. and quite frankly i couldn’t find it LOL, i would trawl through the AO3 and fanfic sub reddits and like, try and find people who’d finished or were close to finishing long-standing series or whatever, but if i did find a couple of relevant posts they were years old, and mostly just celebratory (“I just finished my 1,000,000,000 word-long series!”). and then that fed into the, oh my god no one else is talking about this, i’ve taken too long to get to this point and now i’ve emotionally stunted myself this is terrible everything is terrible oh my god etc etc LOL. but!!! i mean, sometimes the best thing for those kinda wobbles is to just start regardless, right? get up and stumble on. 💀 PLUS the biggest thing, actually, was that i like actively reminded myself that no matter how daunting or bittersweet it was to reach the end, i wanted the satisfaction of getting us there. getting to the end of the shouto fic is getting to grab hold of that trophy……. and then we’ll get back in the car and do a victory lap with the last two one-shots in this love LOL. 🍾🏆🎊🏁
anywaysss, enough dumping LOL. hansy we have been in this together for four years. 🥹 and part of what’s gotten us this far along is the nice things you always find to say. 🥺 the race ain’t over yet but once we’ve swept up all the confetti and someone’s cleared away the champagne bottles i want you to know that i’ll remember you as apart of it, for as long as that’s a thing for me to hold. 🥹🌷
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quietlyblooms · 2 days ago
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peaking in to say i’ve gotten sick again while trying to juggle some personal matters, so my return is really just me saying hi!! not avoiding tumblr anymore!! but i’m still out of commission sadly.
i also wanna apologize. we all have our moments of weakness and negativity, but i just don’t like how i’ve been carrying on? especially the other day. i have trouble managing my emotions, especially in a household that doesn’t always make my emotions feel valid or allowed to be seen, but i still don’t feel i should let those emotions bleed out so much here. i want this blog to be a safe and happy place for myself and others, so i’ll be trying harder to make that happen.
the last thing to note is that i’m going to once again clear out drafts and asks that don’t inspire me and just reset as far as starter/inbox calls go. i’m going to use caps from now on, too, so i avoid biting off more than i can chew; there are lots of times in which i either forget or can’t complete these calls bc there’s just too many and i get overwhelmed. they’ll be soft caps, though, meaning you can like the call even if it’s hit the cap! there’s just not a guarantee that i’ll get to it at that point. i think that’s for the best.
and i think that’s everything for now! i truly hope all of you are taking care of yourselves and these days have been have been kind to you. and thank you for being patient with me 💜 i’m really thankful for you all!
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ladykailitha · 24 days ago
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Metal band sequel
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WIP Wednesday!
Just clearing out my inbox! Join me next week!
Other asks here, here, here, here.
Snippet
“Actually,” Eddie said with a grin, “could do all our fortunes?”
The shopkeeper smiled. “But of course, I’ll even throw in a nice group special for you all buying something from me first. $35 for all of you, payment first please.”
Steve smirked. He had a pretty good idea that tourists would come in ask for their fortune, get pissed off at the results and refuse to pay.
“We’ll start with the very pretty lady,” he said after grabbing a medium sized velvet bag. He emptied the bag out of the counter that had raised sides to prevent the pieces from tumbling to the floor. There were small bones, coins, and gem stones that now littered the surface.
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something-tofightfor · 2 years ago
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Competing For Christmas 3: Jingle Bell Rock
Pairing: Modern Din Djarin x Female Reader
Word Count: 12,097
Rating: M. Language, consumption of alcohol, brief allusions to prior relationships.
Summary: With three events to play during trivia night, you and Din are going to find out whether or not you make a good team very quickly. 
Author’s notes:
Listen, I am SO THRILLED you’re all enjoying this as much as I am. I’m having a blast writing this, and I really hope that even though this one’s a little longer, it doesn’t lose anyone in the middle. Christmas Din is fantastic ... and even though Grogu’s not in this chapter, please know he’s happily snoozing under the tree at home while Din goes to trivia night. 
Questions, concerns, comments? My inbox is open! You should all know the drill by now.
To get alerted when I post new chapters/stories, follow @somethingtofightfor-shares​ and turn on post notifications - you can also ask to be added to my tag list (link in bio or at the top of my taglist reblog)
... Check out the masterlist page for three links to the events of the chapter - you don’t have to play along, but they’re fun interactive visual aids! 
Masterlist  / Part 1 / Part 2
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You got to the bar fifteen minutes earlier than you’d told Din to be there - not because you wanted to be waiting for him, but because in an attempt to make sure you weren’t going to be late, you’d started getting ready much earlier than necessary. 
It wasn’t a date, and the only place the two of you would be that night was inside of a building with the other teams and random stragglers that were just there to watch - but you’d still taken extra time on your appearance. 
A nice pair of boots went well with a newer pair of jeans, and to combat the temperature - which had dropped significantly overnight, you were wearing a thick cable knit sweater in a dark slate gray. It’s just a winter outfit. It’s nothing special. With one final look in your rearview mirror, you closed your eyes and reached for the door handle, stepping out and onto the concrete of the parking lot. 
There were other people walking in, but none of them paid any attention to you - until you heard your name called out in a deep, rumbling voice. “Hey, wait up!” Stopping in your tracks, you spun around and saw Din hurrying across the parking lot, the man wearing the same coat from the previous night, though it was unzipped. And there’s no hat today. 
As he approached, you stared at him, eyes wandering over his face and hair, the chestnut brown locks in a disarray that would have looked unkempt on anyone else. On Din, though, they looked fashionable, almost like he’d done it on purpose. Maybe he did. Maybe - “Sorry, I got here a little early…. Looks like you did, too.” 
“Yeah, I didn’t know how busy the parking lot would be.” It rolled off of your tongue smoothly and you congratulated yourself on how nonchalant you sounded as he took his place next to you, the two of you heading for the doorway. “Guess I didn’t have to worry, but…”
“Well now we can order a drink before we start.” He pulled the door open and gestured with one hand for you to step in front of him, and even though it wasn’t necessary, Din placed his hand on your lower back as you passed, the pressure of his fingers light but still there. 
You shivered and then swore under your breath at the contact, gritting your teeth. Get it together. “We can.” Heading for the main open space, where a few extra tables were set up, you pointed at a bulletin board hanging on the wall. “Our assigned table number is on there. Why don’t you find it, and I’ll go grab the first round?” 
“I can do that.” He frowned briefly. “If you want -”
“No. This one’s on me.” Pointing at the bar, you grinned. “I’ll order us something to eat, too. Anything you don’t like?” 
“I’m not picky. But…” He smiled at you, tilting his head to one side. “I love the wings here, if you wanted to share?” 
“Got you. But I meant beer-wise.” He thought for a few seconds and then cleared his throat. 
“No IPAs. I like dark beer, but if there’s something you think I should try, I’ll do it.” You didn’t think he was trying to impress you, instead it seemed like Din was legitimately giving you a chance to order him something that you thought he would enjoy. And I appreciate that. 
“Alright. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He nodded once and turned away from you and toward the board, letting you head for the bar. Sliding in between two of the empty stools, you waved down the bartender - a young girl that you’d never seen before - and then leaned forward to answer her greeting. “Hey. I’m here for the trivia, is it possible to put in a food order here and have it brought to our table?’ 
“Of course.” She grinned, reaching for a tablet. “Open tab or closed, and do you need to see a menu?” 
“Keep it open.” You paused, thinking. “And no. I’m ready to order.” She nodded and you tapped your fingers on the wooden bar top, nodding back. “Can I get an order of the buffalo wings with extra blue cheese and ranch, and then an order of the loaded baked potato dip?” The girl typed quickly, her eyes moving over the screen, and when she looked back up at you, you continued, making a split second decision about the beer you wanted Din to try. “And then two tall Christmas stouts, please.” 
“Sugar rims?” She cocked an eyebrow at you and your affirmative reply was almost immediate. “Ok, let me have your card so I can run it.” You handed it over and then glanced around the bar, trying to see if you could find Din. It didn’t take you long - your eyes landed on the man, seated and without his coat, balancing his chin on one hand as he scrolled through his phone. “OK, great. Give me a minute to get your drinks, and -”
“We’re at table …” You squinted. “Eight.” The girl thanked you, adding that to the tablet. She set the device down and then turned away from you, busy with grabbing glasses. It gave you a few seconds to take a deep breath and attempt to relax, but the reprieve was short-lived when you heard someone else say your name. What are you doing here? “Hi, James.” 
Turning your head toward the sound, you forced a small smile, the man sitting three seats away with one other person between you. “Didn’t know if you’d found someone else to partner up with, so I wasn’t sure you’d be here.” 
“I am.” Trying not to scoff - or roll your eyes - you stared at him. “I’ve done this competition every single year since I turned 18, James. I’m not going to change that this year just because I had to switch partners last minute.” 
He stared at you, eyes moving over your face, and for a brief moment, you wondered if you were being too short with him - too rude - and then you remembered the way he’d just assumed that you’d be the one to leave your life behind at the drop of a hat when and if he landed his dream job. No, I’m giving him exactly what he deserves. 
“You know, I’ve wanted to call you.” He leaned forward, frowning. “I thought maybe we could talk about what happened. It’s been a few weeks, so -”
He was interrupted when the bartender brought your drinks back, the woman sliding them across the surface toward you. “Here ya go. Your food order’s in, shouldn’t be too long. You’ll have it before the first round of trivia starts.” Thank you. 
“That sounds great.” Nodding as you wrapped your fingers around the cool glass, you lifted both beers from the counter and then returned your attention to James, deciding to keep things civil. “I’m going to head to my table now.” Swallowing hard, you nodded once. “Have a good night.” 
“It was good to see you.” James blinked, shifting in his seat. “So can we -”
“Goodbye, James.” Cutting him off, you headed back toward your table heart pounding as you moved away from the bar and toward Din. He didn’t stand when you approached, but he did move two coasters from the short stack at the center of the table, setting one down in front of the seat across from his. “So I got you a Christmas stout, Din.” Setting both of them down, took your seat. “They’re really good, and -”
“Hey.” It was only one word, but you heard authority in it, though it wasn’t the kind you were used to. Instead of using it to command your attention, Din’s tone simply reminded you that he was there and aware - and there was definitely a difference. “I saw you talking to your ex up there. You alright?” 
You met the man’s eyes again, lips parted slightly as you thought about making an excuse - and then decided not to. “I’m OK, Din. Thanks for asking. I just…” Sitting down, you shook your head. “I wasn’t expecting to see him, and … it was a shock.” 
“He didn’t throw you off your game, right?” Din nudged you with the tow of one boot as he reached for his beer, pulling the glass and the coaster toward himself. “Because we’re about to spend the next couple hours deep in obscure Christmas trivia, and I need you. If we’re going to win, you’ve got to be good at this.” 
He was trying to distract you and it worked, your mouth snapping shut as you pressed your lips together, picking up your drink, too. “No, I’ve got this, Djarin. A couple sips of this and some food, and it’ll be like he wasn’t even here.” 
“Good.” The man murmured the word, nodding. “I’m gonna taste this now.” And he did - lifting the rim of the glass to his lips and tilting it up. You watched as he swallowed a healthy gulp, pulling the glass away and then licking his lips to clear the remainder of the sugar crystals from them. It took a few seconds but then his eyes widened, the man taking another drink before he set the rest down, grinning at you. “That’s fucking great.” 
With a relieved laugh, you finally tried yours, eyes closing at the familiar combination of cinnamon, sugar and toffee, the flavor just as crisp as you remembered from previous years. “It is, isn’t it?” You went quiet for a few seconds and then said Din’s name, waiting until he was looking back at you to continue. “Thank you. Really.”
“Don’t mention it.” He lifted a hand and ran it through his hair, shrugging. “I just don’t want him to ruin your night.”
“He won’t.” With a wry smile, you linked your fingers together atop the table. “He doesn’t get to do that anymore.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Din didn’t say anything else, though, instead spending the next few seconds just watching you, his expression relaxed and the corners of his mouth curved up in a small smile. He looked warm and cozy in the confines of the bar - the inside of it already decorated in strands of multicolored Christmas lights and garlands, a large tree set up in the corner near where the service station for the outdoor seating area was usually positioned. And that makes me… feel better, too.
The man had dressed just as casually as you - another Henley, that one in a deep red that contrasted with the tanned skin of his forearms and upper chest - which is was visible due to the fact that he had three of the buttons undone. It was distracting, because he was distracting, but you could tell that he hadn’t done it to draw attention to himself. No, he’s just comfortable. “What are you looking at, Din?”
Frowning, you narrowed your eyes, the man’s expression changing to one of shock. Why? It’s just a question. “You.” His answer was just as shocking, though, and at the single word, you sat straight up, knocking into the chairback with the movement. “You’re really done with him, hmm?” 
“I am.” Averting your eyes in an attempt to keep it together, you picked your beer up again, distracting yourself with another drink. “We were together for three years, and even when he explained to me that he thought I needed to be ready to up and leave Mistletoe with him if and when he got his promotion, he couldn’t… wouldn’t say that he’d ever thought about marrying me.” 
“So you don’t want to leave here?” He was frowning again, head tilted to one side. “You’re planning on staying here indefinitely?”
“No. It’s not the leaving that bothered me, and it’s not even that I need to be married, either. I guess I just didn’t want to risk uprooting everything for someone that wasn’t… that didn’t want to think about a future with me.” Setting your glass down, you relaxed again, shoulders slumping briefly. “I don’t care if it’s a couple hours away, I wouldn’t want to move somewhere, get dumped and then have to figure out everything on my own.” 
“You could do it.” He tapped his fingertips on top of the table. “It wouldn’t be fun, but if anyone could handle something like that, it’d be you.” 
“You don’t even know me, Din.” But the compliment from him made you smile, heat rushing to your cheeks even as you dismissed what he was saying. “All you know is that I sometimes lock myself out of the fingerprint reader at the office, and I get overwhelmed by emails and alerts, and -”
“I don’t know you yet.” Holding up one finger, Din raised an eyebrow. “But after this competition, I will.” There were a ton of things that you wanted to say - countless ways that you could have reacted to his words, but instead of saying anything, you were interrupted again by one of the competition organizers, the woman stopping next to your table with a sealed envelope and a few loose sheets of paper - one of them with a lot of text on it, along with a small basket that had pens and pencils along with bingo daubers in it. “Hi.” 
Seamlessly, he turned his attention to the woman, his smile growing. “Hello to you two.” She held the items up, grinning. “I have these to deliver to you. The envelope contains the stuff for the different rounds tonight, and the extra paper’s got instructions on it, plus some empty sheets for notes.” Din took the envelope from her while you grabbed for the loose papers, eyes scanning the detailed instructions, though you quickly returned your attention to the woman. “Keep that sealed until we tell you to open it, and you’ll be good. Any questions?” 
“No.” Smiling at her, you shook your head. “It’s pretty straightforward, right?”
“It is.” The woman backed away a few steps, still watching the two of you. “We’ll be starting in about fifteen minutes, so if you need to get a refill on your drinks, or use the bathroom, or -”
“That’s where I come in.” The bartender was behind her, that woman smiling, too. “Got an order of buffalo wings and some loaded potato dip?” The organizer stepped even further away, telling the two of you to have fun, and then the bartender set the food down, following it with small plates. “Did you want to order another beer? Get it in and make sure you’re set for the first round?” 
“Sure.” Din nodded, his eyes moving from the plates to the woman, and though she was pretty, you were surprised to see that he looked at her with nothing more than friendly interest, his eyes not lingering in one place for too long. “Another one of these sounds good. How about you?”
“Yeah.” You agreed, figuring that you could have a second drink and then let yourself sober up for the rest of the night. “Yeah, that sounds good.” 
“Alright, on the same tab?” The bartender looked to you, waiting. 
“Yea-”
“No, close hers and put this on mine.” Din shifted and reached for his wallet, the man pulling out a credit card and handing it over. “Thank you.” She nodded and took the card, heading back for the bar. “You paid for food, it’s fine.” 
“Thanks.” Taking a deep breath, you reached for your class and lifted it, holding it out and across the table toward the man. “We should make a toast.” Thinking, you wrinkled your nose as you looked around the room. “To beating all of these other teams at trivia and getting a head start on winning this competition.” 
“Alright, sounds good.” He nodded, fingers closing around his drink. “Can we also add a toast for you teaching me about the way you celebrate the holidays?” We can, but that’s not a traditional toast. “Or maybe to new friends? To a great Christmas?”
“All of the above.” Tilting your glass, you clinked the edge of it with his and grinned, raising it to your lips and taking a drink. To a new friend at Christmas. “Do you want to read these rules?” 
“I do, but those wings look great so I’d like to start there.” Laughing, you set your beer down and reached for the smaller plates, handing him one. “You can have some if you want.” Thanking him, and telling him that the same was true for him and your dip, the two of you spent the next few minutes eating in silence, the noise around you growing louder and more and more people showed up and your replacement beers were delivered. “So do people come in and watch this event?” 
He wiped at his face with a napkin, gesturing with that hand when he was done. “They do. And they can play along, too, but it’s not like normal trivia where they get to turn their answers in for points, because that would be too confusing.” 
“So it only counts for us?” Nodding in agreement, you shifted in your chair to look around the bar and were surprised to catch James’ eye again, the man still sitting where he had been. He didn’t look away and you stiffened, hand pausing mid-reach for your mostly empty beer glass. Din caught the pause immediately, saying your name. “Do you want to switch seats? I have no problem with him staring at me all night if it means you’re more comfortable.” 
“I…” You didn’t want to say yes, but part of you knew that if you didn’t, you would be distracted - and you didn’t want that to happen, either. “Sure, Din. Thank you.” 
He stood while you were still speaking, moving to your side of the table and waiting, and when you stood, too, your purse in one hand, Din reached out and squeezed your elbow. “No problem.” 
It didn’t take you long to get situated in his seat, and with some surprise, you realized that he’d left his jacket hanging over the back, which meant that as you settled, you could smell his cologne, the scent faint but present. “He’s going to stare at you all night.” You reached for another waffle fry, dipping it into the remaining mixture in the bowl between you. “Probably -”
“Let him.” Din bit into his last wing, shrugging. “I don’t care. I don’t know him, so it doesn’t bother me.” You felt a wave of gratitude for the man and told him as much, but Din waved you off, his smile in place. “Like I said, as long as you’re comfortable, I’m alright.” 
You didn’t know if he was flirting or just being a decent person, but either way, you appreciated it, Din beginning to tell you a story about something that had happened at work. He only got halfway through it when the event organizer - Tina - began to speak into the microphone. 
“Alright, we’re going to get started in about five minutes, so if you’re competing in the trivia contest tonight, make sure you get any last minute food or drink orders in and use the bathroom.” 
There was a flurry of movement, but neither of you stood up, instead choosing to stay in your seats. I’ll go between rounds. 
As the minutes ticked by, you felt your nerves getting more frayed - though it was just competition jitters and had nothing to do with Din sitting across from you. “She’s coming back to the microphone.” He sighed, stacking his fork and napkin atop the plate of wing bones. “And everyone’s sitting down, and -”
“Alright, everyone, we’re about to start.” Tina took the stage again and the room went quiet, everyone’s attention shifting to her. “I’m going to explain the rules to you, and then ask each team to open their envelope.” Din held yours up, grinning, and you didn’t try to stop your answering expression, teeth digging into your lower lip as you nodded. “Inside your envelope are three additional envelopes marked 1, 2 and 3, to correspond with each round.” 
The woman continued explaining things, and even though you were familiar with the progression of the event, you listened closely. The night started out with general Christmas trivia, and Tina informed you that she would read each question out loud, and teams would have 30 seconds to write out answers before someone would have to deliver the slips of paper to the front table. “How will they know it’s ours?” Din frowned, glancing at you. “That’s a lot of -”
“The table number is on the back of the answer slips, usually.” Speaking quietly, you looked away from the front of the room. “But this way people can’t change their answers, and the points will be tallied by someone as the round goes on, not all at the end.” 
The second round was Christmas Music Bingo, and there were individual bingo boards in the enveloped marked “2”. “We’ll play five rounds of that, and each round lasts until we get three bingos.” She scanned the room as she explained the rules. “The team that has the most combined bingo wins between them at the end wins that round.” 
“I’m horrible with Christmas music,” Din muttered, rubbing at his forehead. “I -”
“Don’t worry.” You reached over, laying your hand atop the one that he had on the table. “I’m great at it.” And you were - you could identify most of the songs in only a few seconds, and were quick with the dauber. “It’s slower than regular bingo, too, because they play five seconds of each song, so you have plenty of time.” 
He looked worried but didn’t say anything else, and as Tina continued on, explaining the third portion of the event - a general word scramble - he looked much more relaxed. “I’m good with puzzles.” Din wet his lips, his eyes locked on your face. “That’s a relief.” 
I hope so. 
“We’re going to get started so go ahead and open envelope number 1.” Tina spoke again, and you made a split second decision, saying Din’s name. 
“Come sit next to me, that way we can share answers without having to yell across the table.” Your heart was pounding - not only because of excitement but in response to your suggestion. Keep it together, this is just .. it’s strategy, it - 
“Good idea.” Din swiftly moved and dragged one of the chairs to the corner of the table so that he was sitting much closer, his knee brushing yours as he scooted in. “Now we can whisper, and no one will hear us.” Yeah. We can. 
“Alright. Phones and tablets away, and please remember - if you’re just an observer, you cannot help the teams competing. If we see anyone attempting to cheat, you’ll be eliminated from the event and from the competition. Tina cleared her throat. “Just a few more seconds while everyone gets situated…” She trailed off and you and Din began arranging things in front of you - the stack of answer cards, the question sheet, the scratch paper and an extra pen - he methodically lined everything up before handing you the second pen. 
“You take it. I’m sure your handwriting is better than mine, so you should write the answers down.” 
“Alright.” Taking a deep breath, you closed your fingers around the pen. “Let’s look at the questions, and -”
“No.” He laid his hand over the sheet, shaking his head. “If we look, we’ll be thinking ahead and trying to answer too many things at once. Let’s just go with her as she asks. One question at a time.” 
It was a different strategy than the one you’d used before, but you agreed - wanting Din to feel like you were listening to him and including him, and so you pulled one of the blank sheets in front of you, pen poised. “You’ve got it, Din.” 
A few seconds later, Tina read the first question, and you were thrilled when Din spoke up right away, his tone confident. “A star. I’ve seen enough of them around to know that.” 
Writing the answer down, you folded the paper in half and held it out to him, Din grinning as he jumped up to carry it to the front table. He was still smiling as he made his way back to you, and you hoped that his good mood would last throughout the rest of the night, too. “They won’t all be that easy.” He sipped his beer, getting comfortable in the seat. “Some will be really hard.”
“That’s fine.” He said your name, turning his head to look at you. “We’ve got this.” 
And things went smoothly until question 7, which was a math question. “There’s not enough time to add everything.” You were panicked, frantically writing numbers on the sheet of paper. “I -” 
“Each day is the same number of gifts as the number, right?” 
“Right.” Your heart was beating quickly. “But we -”
“Give me a second.” He closed his eyes, thinking. “Wait, the song says that the gifts are repeated every day, though, so it’s not the same number of things over and over, it’s new…” He trailed off and reached for his pen, scribbling down a few things, his brow furrowed. “Alright, it’s… Maker, I hope this is…” He looked at you, letting out a breath. “It’s 364.” 
“What?” Your eyes flicked to the timer - down to five seconds. “Din?” 
“That’s it. I promise.” 
You had  nothing to lose and so you wrote down the number, folding the paper over before you carried it up to the front, the rest of the teams following. If he got that right, I’ll be really impressed.
When you took your seat again, Din was beaming, the pen still in  his hand as he pointed at the paper with it. “What?” 
“I’m right. I did the long math while you were up there.” You glanced at the equations, and even though you didn’t have time to work them out in your head, they looked correct, and you told him as much. I would have been wrong. “Everyone’s going to say 78. And that would be right if they were only counting the last day, but…” 
“I would have said 78.” Covering your mouth, you sighed. “So I would have been wrong.” 
“That’s what I’m here for.” He elbowed you, but didn’t have a chance to continue before the next question was read, both of you putting your heads back together. 
There were a few tough ones, but you worked through them - guessing on a few that involved making fudge and Santa ads, going against your own habits when it came to deciding if more people used real or artificial trees, and very quickly giving Din an explanation of why a pink bunny suit was a gift that a young boy got from his aunt in a movie that he’d never seen. 
But you were having fun - and even though you tried hard not to think about it, you were focused on the fact that you and Din worked well as a team, the man listening to your ideas and answers, and not outright making you feel stupid when you gave answers that he didn’t agree with. I could get used to this, you admitted as you delivered the answer to question 17, nodding at the man that took your paper before you turned back toward your table. I could get used to being like this with him. 
And that was dangerous, but you couldn’t help it, settling back into your seat as Din pointed at the question sheet. “I looked at the next question while you were up there. I haven’t seen this movie, so I don’t know.” 
“It’s three.” Chewing on your lip as Tina began reading the question. “Past, present, and future. It’s supposed to help Scrooge understand what he did wrong and how he’s still got time to change, and …” You wrote the number down as you spoke, looking up at the clock. “And it all starts when his dead business partner tells him that he’s going to -”
“Isn’t it four then?” Din leaned in, tapping his index finger on the table. “The three you mentioned and then the business partner?” Oh, shit, he’s right. Quickly scribbling the “3” out, you wrote “4” just as the time ran out, dropping the pen on the table and turning your head toward Din. 
“I could kiss you right now. You just saved us a point, Din. I’m an idiot, and -”
“Let me go turn it in.” He raised an eyebrow. “Otherwise it won’t matter if I was right or not.” He plucked the paper from your fingers and stood. “Be right back.” You watched him go - and let yourself think about what you’d just said, one hand rising to cover your mouth in horror. Oh, no. I just… 
He hadn’t seemed upset, though, and even though your heart was pounding at your admission, you tried not to let it bother you, the comment an offhand one that anyone could have made. People say that all the time, right? People talk about … 
Kissing him for knowing the answer to a trivia question was one thing - but the fact was, the more time you spent with him, the more you thought that you wanted to kiss him for real, even though you knew it was a bad idea. Not a good idea at all, so stop thinking about it. “Lots of threes on those papers.” He sat back down. “Either everyone else is wrong, or we’re the only ones that didn’t get it.
“No, you’re right.” Biting your lower lip, you forced yourself to speak. “The business partner was definitely a ghost, too.” I should have thought of that. I should have realized it was four, and not three and … “We’ll know soon enough.” 
Question 19 was simple, too, and as you wrote the answer down, Din told you quickly about how he’d been to the ballet as a child and had actually seen The Nutcracker, and when you sat back down and finished your beer, you handed him the pen you’d been holding, watching as the man’s eyes narrowed. “What’s this?”
“You write the last one.” He took it from you, not breaking eye contact. “They can read your writing for one question.”
“Alright, then what’s the answer?” He scratched the back of his neck with one hand, shrugging. “Because I have no idea. Is it somewhere in Europe? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Poinsettia in anything but a bucket, and …” Din trailed off. 
“No, I don’t think so.” Frowning, you covered your face with your hands. “It’s not America. It’s not Canada. I don’t think it’s Europe. I remember someone saying that they came from somewhere warm, so South America, maybe? Chile? Peru? Brazil?” 
“Colombia? Ecuador? Venezuela?” Din tapped the pen on the paper, leaving tiny black dots in its wake. “Anything sounding familiar?” 
“No.” You groaned. “Nothing is popping out, I don’t… I don’t have any idea.” He lifted the pen and let it hover, staring at the blank sheet. “Just put something, Din. We have no time. We have to turn in an answer, and -” Eyes on the sheet, you watched as he scribbled down Panama and then stood up, uncertainty in his eyes. “It’s fine, Din. We can miss one.” We probably missed more than one, anyway. “Just turn it in.” 
He moved slowly that time, pausing before he dropped the paper into the waiting basket and then turned to come back. You didn’t like the look on his face - disappointment didn’t suit him - and so you opened your mouth to tell him again that it was fine, but he didn’t let you, holding up a hand. “I’m going to go use the bathroom while they’re tallying everything up. Be right back.” 
He turned away before you could reply, and once he was out of sight, you reached for your purse, pulling your phone out and typing the question in. Shit, it was Mexico. You groaned, flipping the phone over and letting the screen rest against the tabletop. We were close, I guess… 
That meant that there was at least one out of 20 that you’d missed, but you hoped that getting one of the harder ones would make up for it. That’s all I can do now. “Can I take anything off your table?” 
The bartender was back, standing next to where you were sitting, and with a nod, you gave her permission to clear the dirty dishes and finished food, along with your empty glasses. “And I’ll take a Coke, please. I don’t know if he’s going to have another drink, but -”
“I’ll have a Coke, too.” Din reappeared, a tiny smile on his face. “That sounds good.” She assured you that she’d be back in a few, and then Din sat back down next to you, leaning in. “We were wrong.” 
‘I know.” You sighed, closing your eyes. “It was Mexico.”
“That’s alright, though. I think we got enough of the other ones to keep us in the top portion of that section.” He scratched at his cheek, sniffing. “And there’s still two more games to go.” 
“Well the next one is more luck than anything.” You pointed at the envelope. “Just depends on how quick you are and what’s on the board.” 
“Speaking of luck,” Din continued, his attention on the stage in front of you. “Your ex, James? He was in the bathroom. He walked in as I was walking out, and I’m pretty sure if looks could kill, I’d be about 12 feet under right now.” 
“Well he’s going to have to get used to seeing me with other guys if he’s planning on staying in Mistletoe.” You scowled, doodling on the question sheet in front of you, the black ink swirling over the page. “Dating or not. That’s what happens when you break up with someone - they move on with their life, even if you don’t like it.” 
“Well he definitely doesn’t like me.” Din’s smile was bright, the dimple on his cheek deep, and you were overcome with the desire to reach out and press your thumb over it, cupping his cheek with your palm. But I’m not going to. I can’t. “I didn’t say anything to him, though. Just nodded and walked out.” 
“Two Cokes.” The bartender came back, plastic cups in her hands. “And it looks like I’m just in time, too. Good luck.” 
She was - Tina was heading back to the stage, microphone in hand. You and Din thanked the young woman before she stepped away, and soon after, your attention was fully on the stage in front of you, the heat and heft of Din’s body noticeable to your left. He could have moved back. There’s no reason for us to be next to each other here. 
“Round two is about to begin.” Tina tapped the mic, staring out at the crowd. “But before we start that, we’ll announce the winners of the trivia round.” She paused and you looked over at Din, the man’s attention straight ahead. He’s more competitive than I thought he was. “It was close, and we actually had a three-team tie for third place.” I hope that’s not us. “Team Holi-daze, Danny Quizito and Threepeat all had 16 points.” 
“That’s a good score.” Your frown deepened. “I’m not sure we could have beat that, and -”
“We don’t have a team name.” Din leaned closer, the man’s breath warm on the skin of your cheek. “There wasn’t anywhere to write it, and -” Shit, no we don’t. 
“We had  to fill it in on the website, but I never did. I -” You swore, swiping at your face with one hand. “Shit, I completely forgot.” 
“Smarty Pints, you’re in second place with 17 points.” Tina continued, turning her attention to the table immediately to your right, the two people sitting there cheering. One more shot. “And to our first place winners, we’re going to need a team name from you, because right now, all we’ve got is a table number.” She spin toward you, holding one hand out and pointing. “Table eight, congratulations, you had a score of 20, thanks to getting one of the bonus questions right.” 
You moved without thinking, leaning over and hugging Din, the man’s arms going around you briefly before he pulled away, his smile broad. “Can’t believe we did it!” He was excited but then caught himself, head shaking back and forth. “But we need a team name. What should we tell them?”
“I don’t care. You pick.” You were thrilled with the win - but even more thrilled at the fact that Din had returned your hug, the man’s hold firm as he pulled you to his chest and held you there, even though it was only for a few seconds. I liked how that felt too much. Way too much. 
“Anything?” You nodded, agreeing. “Ok. Um…” Cleaning his throat, Din held up one finger. “Our team name will be …” After thinking through it, you saw the moment Din came to a decision, another smile lighting up his face. “How about Clan Mudhorn?” It made no sense to you - though the phrase sounded slightly familiar, but you had no objection. It’s different, that’s for sure. 
“Alright then.” Tina wrote the name down on the paper she held before picking it back up. “Clan Mudhorn is in the lead as of right now, but the unpredictability of the next two rounds mean that it’s still anyone’s game… and with that, we should get started on the musical bingo portion of the night.” 
She instructed you to open the second envelope, which contained ten bingo cards. The letters and numbers were replaced with titles of Christmas songs, and as you scanned the sheets, you decided that there was no real way to predict which would be the right choice for the rounds. “How does this work?” 
“She’ll explain it in a second,” you murmured as you counted out five sheets and handed them to Din. “But basically, you just listen to the song played and then mark it down on the sheet.” Pointing at your own stack, you glanced over at him. “Each team uses two sheets per round, so we’ll use all of them, but you’re only allowed to have one per player per round to make it a little more fair.” 
“Got it.” He was frowning as his eyes scanned the boxes. “I don’t… I don’t know half of these.” 
“It’s fine, Din,” Reaching over, you squeezed his hand. Just do what you can, alright? There are three winners per round, so we have a three in sixteen chance every time.” Pulling your hand back, you went quiet, eyes going back to the sheet of paper on the top of the stack. We just need to win one each round, and that will be enough to keep us out of the bottom of the ranking. 
And you believed that - but your thoughts were much more focused on the way it had felt to touch Din’s hand, the way his skin was soft and warm, the slight flex of his muscles as he moved his fingers. I want to hold his hand for real. It wasn’t the time, but it was the truth, and as the two of you listened to Tina go over the rules one final time, you looked over at Din again, finding that he was watching her with intensity, his dark eyes focused on where she stood. “Can you do me a favor?” 
He said your name, finally breaking his gaze away from her and looking back at you. “Yeah?” 
“Will you whisper the name of the song under your breath when you figure it out?” He looked - and sounded - worried, but you agreed immediately, telling him that you’d already planned on it. “Thank you. That’s the only way I’ll even have a chance … what he hell is a ‘Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays’?” 
“The best Christmas song from the 90’s that isn’t Mariah Carey, and it’s not even close.” You shrugged, deadpanning your answer. “Din, it’s not Christmas until you hear that song, and Justin Timberlake’s -”
“Oh, so it’s a boyband.” He raised an eyebrow. “That the kind of music you like?”
“Not so much now, no.” Wrinkling your nose, you continued. “All of the new stuff is … meh.” You sipped your drink, shrugging. “But back then? Those were the good old days. Britney and Nsync and Backstreet Boys and even -”
“You might as well be speaking in a different language.” Din grinned. “But I’ll take your word for it.” 
“I’ll play you a couple whole songs sometime. You’ll only hear a few seconds of them tonight, and it’s not enough.” He rolled his eyes playfully, and you gestured to the two bingo daubers in front of you. “What color? Green or red?” 
“Red. It’ll match my shirt.” He reached for it at the same time you did, and before you could stop it from happening, his fingers closed over yours, his palm warm against the back of your hand. You sucked in a breath, attempting to pull back, but Din’s fingers flexed again, keeping yours in place. 
Turning your head to the side, you met his eyes, Din’s gaze warm and his mouth set in a tiny smile. “Din, I -” You closed your fingers around the dauber and Din’s hold also tightened. Well I got what I wanted, kind of. “What are -”
“Alright we’re going to get started.” Tina’s voice cut in, the woman tapping on the mic twice. “Five seconds of each song in each round, and we’ll continue until we get three bingos. The music will pause as soon as someone claims a win, and start again after it’s confirmed.” 
At the sound of her voice, Din released your hand and you dropped the dauber, switching to the green one and uncapping it as you looked away, chewing on your lower lip. Ok, that was awkward. “Good luck, Din.” 
Out of the corner of one eye, you watched as he reached for the remaining marker, his other hand straightening the sheet of paper on the table in front of him. “You too.” 
It was the second time that night that you’d questioned yourself for the things you’d said or done - and even though Din hadn’t reacted negatively to either case, you could feel that your heart was pounding, nerves getting the better of you - and it had nothing to do with the competition. I like him, you admitted to yourself as the music started, Jingle Bells blaring out over the speakers. “Jingle Bells.” 
He thanked you, marking the song off on his sheet while you did the same, and then the song changed to one that wasn’t on your card, though you used the opportunity to mark off the center square. I think I really like him. 
It wasn’t the right time to think about it, and so you tried not to, pushing your unease to the side and focusing on the songs that played, muttering titles under your breath for Din. He scooted closer every few switches, the man’s thigh pressed against yours, and even though you wanted to read more into it, you knew that it was only so that he could hear you more easily - but you weren’t about to complain. 
The first bingo came from a different table, and it was quickly confirmed, but Din’s was the second, the man jumping to his feet and waving the paper in the air. With a smile on your face, you watched as it was confirmed and marked down before he returned to your table, the smile still on his face. “One down, five to go.”
“Hopefully it’s more than that.” Your reply was quiet as you focused back on your own card, but it was pointless - the third winner called two songs later. “I needed one more and I would have had a triple bingo.” Frowning as you folded your board in half and set it aside, you reached for another sheet. “So close.” 
“Next time.” He settled into his seat, pushing his sleeves up past his elbows. “Four more rounds to go. Maybe we’ll both win one.” You hoped he was right - but it didn’t happen during the second round, three winners coming in quick succession before either of you had even marked down more than a handful of squares on your sheets. “Hey, it’s fine. We won the trivia,” Din cleared his throat before the third round started, saying your name. “That counts for something.” 
“It does. I’m just … I don’t like losing.” He leaned in, mouth set in a firm line. 
“I don’t either.” Tapping the table with one fingertip, Din shook his head back and forth. “And we won’t. So stop worrying.” 
“Alright.” Music began playing and your eyes widened - your attention going back to the sheet in front of you. “Last Christmas, Din.” It was a cover, but it still only took a few seconds for the entire bar to start singing along, and you were delighted when it continued for longer than the five seconds all the others had played for. 
When you looked back over at Din, grinning as you sung along, too, he looked confused but intrigued, his lips slightly parted as everyone hit the chorus, but at the sight of his laughter, you stopped singing and laughed, too, shoulders shaking. Oh, I really like this. 
The song tapered off, and Tina gave everyone a chance to settle down, the sound of clapping and cheers filling the bar for a few seconds while you and Din continued to laugh together. “So everyone likes that one, hmm?”
“Yeah, it’s kind of a joke around here. There’s a game and everything, and it involves trying to avoid hearing the original between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, so that’s why they played a cover.” You took a deep breath. “No one lost that game, we marked off a couple squares, and -” 
The music starting again interrupted you, but it was Din that told you the name of the song, the man bent low over the table and moving his dauber into place as you stared on in shock. He knows some of them, then. 
Two songs later, it was you that rose from your chair, paper in hand as you shouted ‘bingo’ and headed for the front of the room, still smiling as the music ended. It was quickly confirmed, Tina’s assistant making off a “3 - #1” on the corner of your sheet and congratulating you. 
Din did the same when you sat back down, though his attention very quickly went back to his own bingo card. Watching intently as he continued to mark off the songs as you told him the titles, you cheered out loud when he marked off a final square and got a double bingo. Din’s voice carried over the sounds of Michael Buble singing ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’, the man hurrying to the front of the room with his card in his hand. So it’s like we’ve won once each round. This is good. This is enough. 
When he sat back down, Din was giddy, the man getting his 4th card situated before he turned his head to look at you, wetting his lips. “We make a good team.”
“We do.” You answered without hesitation, smile wide. “This is really fun, Din.” He agreed, and then the fourth round started, both of you turning your attention back to the sheets in front of you. It was tough - you got nothing for four songs in a row and then your luck changed, green circles appearing on your sheet one after the other until you got a bingo - at the same time someone else did, both of you making your way to the front of the room to wait your turn. 
It was confirmed, too, and you could see the look of concentration on Din’s face as he waited for the music to play again, fingers holding the dauber tightly. Your anxiety grew as more songs played, but the room stayed quiet, and before you knew it, Din was on his feet again, the man claiming bingo as he rushed to the front of the room, pushing through tables of people. Seriously? 
He had a smug look on his face when he sat back down as Tina told everyone to switch to the final round’s sheets, and you couldn’t help laughing, your elbow shooting out to nudge against his ribs. “C’mon Din. Don’t be a sore winner. It’s still not over yet.” 
“No, it isn’t. But five seems like a really good number to have right about now.” You agreed, but there was no time to talk further because the music started playing, and unlike the previous round, you were marking squares off from the beginning - though Din wasn’t. 
That all changed though, when you heard the next song start, Din marking the space on his board before you’d even opened your mouth and then turning to you and holding a hand out while he mouthed the words. “Are you actually ….” 
He wasn’t alone - there was another round of cheers as the rest of the bar joined in, laughter and clapping almost drowning out the sound of Mariah Carey, but what really surprised you was hearing Din actually sing the words, the man’s eyes full of laughter as he shimmied his shoulders in time with the music, never missing a beat. 
You joined in quickly, closing your eyes and shaking your head as you laughed through the lyrics, your voices mingling with everyone else’s as the song continued to play. Oh, this is perfect. 
When you opened your eyes again, you saw that Din was still singing, and when he saw that  you were watching, he reached out again, palm up. You reacted immediately, placing your hand in his, and when he squeezed you didn’t feel the need to pull back. Instead, you curled your fingertips against his palm while he pressed his free hand against his chest, voice getting louder as he promised he wouldn’t even wish for snow. 
It was somewhat impressive that he knew all of the lyrics - especially after he’d warned you that he wasn’t great with Christmas music, and despite the fact that you didn’t want to think about him, you had a brief flash of the previous year and James sitting rigidly in his chair while the rest of the bar erupted into song, the man ignoring all of your attempts to pull him into the fun. But Din’s not … he’s … he’s enjoying this, and … it’s not fake. 
Din didn’t, however, attempt to hit the high note at the end, instead trailing off as he gave your hand one final squeeze and then let go, burying his face in his hands and resting his elbows on the table, both of you laughing while the song wound down. “That was something else, Din.” Leaning closer you briefly rested your cheek against his shoulder before straightening up. ‘Didn’t know you could sing.”
“Oh, I can’t.” He lifted his head and looked at you. “My … friend back home always complains about my singing. He says that I sound like a yowling Loth cat  …”  Din’s eyes widened as he trailed off, shaking his head quickly. “He’s just joking, so…” What’s a Loth cat? 
But you didn’t ask, and instead, you rolled your eyes again. “You sound fine, Din. This isn’t a singing competition, and you should be really thankful for that, because I’m not great, and we’d definitely lose.” 
“I’m sure you’re fine.” He was smiling again, the song ending as the bar erupted into another round of applause. “Alright, I guess we’ve gotta get serious again.” He cleared his throat and squared his shoulders, picking up the dauber again. “Get it together, Djarin.” Yeah, I need to get it  together, too. 
You didn’t know if Din was going to bring up the fact that you’d held hands for an extended period of time, but until he did, you decided that you wouldn’t. Either. I don’t want to put him on the spot. Marking off a few squares, you froze at the sound of someone calling out bingo - only to relax a few seconds later when she yelled out that she’d been wrong. That’s a relief. 
Din was close again - there were four songs that would give him a single bingo, and you were almost positive that he’d get it before you did, but then you went on a three-in-a-row streak, your card almost entirely filled with green dots. “We’re so close.” You groaned as a song neither of you had played, your eyes darting to the bar around you. “We just need -” 
And then the familiar lyrics of ‘Frosty The Snowman’ started playing and you and Din both jumped to your feet, waving your papers - but so did three others, the five of you rushing to the front of the room. Shit. I don’t know how they settle a tie.
Tina took a step back, though she asked for everyone’s sheets, and as the woman eyed all of you - Din standing slightly behind you with his chest pressed against the back of your shoulder - she nodded twice. “Alright, so since you all called it at once, if these are legitimate bingo wins, we’ll let you five claim for this round.” 
It was a change in the rules but it was fair, since there was no surefire way to know who’d marked and claimed a win first. “This happen often?” Din whispered the words in your ear, his tone low and the man’s warm breath sending a shiver down your spine. “Changing the rules like this?”
“Sometimes.” You swallowed hard and fought the urge to lean back and into him, instead turning around so that you were facing each other. “This just makes it fair. There’s no advantage, and since everyone won on the same song, it just means the round is over fast.” He nodded, eyes on you, but before he could say anything else, Tina, returned to the microphone, the woman’s smile wide. 
“Arlight, all five are confirmed wins. Take your seats while we tally up the numbers, and we’ll announce the winners in fifteen minutes - just before the final round starts.” Din’s fingers brushed your hip as he turned away from you, heading back toward the table - and you followed closely, still stunned with the fact that out of seventeen possible bingo wins, you and Din had seven of them. That has to be enough. It has to. 
He took a seat while you bypassed the table, heading for the bathroom, and while in there, you gave yourself a few moments to catch your breath. The night was overwhelming you in the best ways - it was fantastic to spend time with Din, it was amazing that you were winning, and it seemed like he was having a great time, too…but there was still a part of your brain that was telling you to be careful. Don’t overthink this. Don’t … get ahead of yourself. 
You didn’t think you were - Din was sending out the classic signals, and even though you were trying hard not to outright react to them, you knew that you hadn’t been entirely successful. But that’s ok, because like Cara and Stacy said, I’m single. He’s single, and this can … this can happen. If it… if we want it to. “Get it together.” You spoke into the mirror, shoulders set. “Get it the fuck together.” 
“Talking to yourself?” One of the other competitors - Meagan - was in the bathroom, too, the woman washing her hands at the sink next to you. “It seems a lot more intense this year, and this is only the first night.” 
“Right?” Turning your head to the side, you smiled. “It’s hard not to get competitive, even when it’s just over trivia.” The woman laughed, drying her hands off before she turned to face you, arms crossed over your chest.   
“So, your partner.” She licked her lips, arching a brow. “Are you together, or -”
“No, we’re not. We just work together. James and I broke up, so I needed a backup, and … Din agreed.” 
“He’s hot.” She ran one hand through her hair. “Really hot. Is he single?” It hit you like a knife to the chest, and though you managed to keep your reaction hidden, the question - and subsequent answer - almost hurt. 
“He is, I think, We haven’t really talked about it, but he’s never mentioned a girlfriend, so…” 
“Hmm.” Meagan winked at you. “You gonna go for it?”
“Go for it? With Din?” You laughed, but the knot in your chest began to loosen - the simple fact that she hadn’t asked if he was single for herself comforting you more than it had any right to. “We’re just teammates and coworkers.” 
“If you say so.” She wiped her hands and then crossed her arms. “Couldn’t help watching him sing to you, and you would have to be blind to have missed the way he was looking at you.” What? He was just … it was just a song. “That man being single is a miracle, and I doubt it stays that way for long, especially if he starts coming out more.” She uncrossed her arms and moved toward the door. “This is a small town. There’s only so many places to hide, and I can promise you that putting him in this competition is going to make people want to get to know him. He seems fun.” 
You followed her out of the bathroom and back into the bar. “He is fun. We don’t know each other well, but …” Frowning, you looked down. “Thanks, Meagan.” 
“Hey, for once, I’m glad Stacy was right about a guy.” She laughed as you reached her table, the woman sinking down into a seat next to her sister. “She told me he was eye candy and wasn’t lying.” Of course she did. The woman winked at you before you turned away and closed the distance to where Din was sitting, the man scrolling through his phone with one hand. 
“Ordered you a refill. Figured you’d want one more drink for the last round.” He glanced up, the tip of his tongue poking out between his lips. “Hope that was alright.” 
“Yeah.” You sat, scooting your chair slightly to the right and putting some distance between you. “This last round’s a little less hectic, but …” 
“I hope I didn’t overstep when I grabbed your hand earlier.” Din said your name quietly, “I know you’re just getting over a breakup, and I don’t want you to think that I … want, or … that I’m…” He was stumbling over his words - and because you could hear the sincerity in his tone, you decided to cut in, reaching over to settle your hand atop his again. 
“Don’t apologize. I didn’t mind. I don’t… I don’t mind.” Being honest was important to you, and you didn’t want to jeopardize things with Din by lying - even about something small. “I liked it. I like you, Din. And I’m not sure what that means right now, but … it’s the truth.” 
He sat in silence for long moments, eyes on you, and then the man smiled, the expression overtaking his face with a slow grace, his lips parting to expose straight, white teeth, the dimple appearing on his cheek again - and a slight flush creeping up his neck. “I like you too.” He closed his eyes, blowing out a breath. “Good to know I’m not alone in that.” 
“You’re not.” You rubbed a thumb over his knuckles. “Not at all.” 
There was more that you wanted to say, but before either of you could, Tina was back on the stage, the woman clearing her throat to quiet everyone down. “Alright we’ve got the results here from the previous round, and it looks like yet again, Clan Mudhorn came in first with 7 total bingos!” 
“Hey, we won!” Din pulled his hand out from under yours and then hugged you again, holding on for a little longer that time than he had the first. “Does that mean we -”
“Congratulations to the two of you, but, remember - the third portion of tonight, each correct answer is worth one point… so if someone gets all of them and you miss a few, they can still catch up.” She continued and listed the teams that had come in second and third place - one of them Smarty Pints, which meant that they were right on your tail. But we can still win this. He said that he’s good at puzzles, so… “You’ll have five minutes to complete as many of the answers on the page that you can, and at the end of the time, we’ll collect the sheets from you, and then count compare them to the answer sheet.” 
“Sounds simple enough.” Din murmured the words, fingers inching closer to the envelope. “You can write again.” Laughing, you picked up the pen and twisted it between your fingers, waiting for the go-ahead. 
And then Tina gave it, the woman telling you to open your envelopes and pull the sheet out. Your eyes widened at the sight of the print on the page. “Sixty? How the hell are we -” 
“Hey, this is easy, come on.” He ran his finger along the margin of the paper. “Just do the ones we know right away, and then work through the harder ones.” I’m glad one of us is calm. There hadn’t ever been that many questions to answer before, but you took a deep breath and pulled the sheet closer to you, turning it so that you could write out the answers. 
The two of you were able to guess just under half of the words at first glance - things like tape and ribbon, sled and cards. He got just as many words as you did, and while you completed your first pass on the sheet, Din went back to the beginning, the man muttering things under his breath and using the spare pencil to scribble on one of the spare sheets. “Remember,” Tina’s voice cut in. “Things have to be spelled correctly to be counted as right answers.” Shit. 
You made it a point to go back and check what you’d already written, and when you were satisfied that everything was right, you looked over at the man, waiting. “Any others you want to share with me?”
“Actually, yeah.” He grinned, pushing his sheet over to you. “Here.” 
He’d written down twelve more answers for you, along with the numbers on the page, and you hastily filled them in, being sure to check the spelling - and make sure that you were using all of the provided letters. “That’s… you weren’t lying.” He’s fast at this. 
“I know.” He reached for the paper and slid it toward him, eyes scanning the empty spaces. “We only have about 20 left. We should…” Trailing off, he pointed. “Angels.” You filled it in, and by the time you were done, he had another one for you. “Secret Santa.” 
You were smiling as the time wound down, and even though you felt rushed as you entered in a few more - Prancer and Scrooge and Decorations - you weren’t upset when time ran out and you had empty lines - and neither was Din. 
He took the sheet to the front, laughing with Tina as he handed it over, and when he sat back down next to you, he settled his hand on your shoulder. “That was a hell of a lot of fun.” 
“It was.” You felt his grip on you tighten, and you turned your head toward the man, wetting your lips. “I think that this was … a good idea, Din.” 
“Yeah?” You nodded, unwilling to look away. “I think so too.”
“So you don’t want to drop out? Switch partners? You’d be at a disadvantage, but I’m sure Omera would -”
“No way.” Din’s smile grew. “She’s got nothing on you.” I agree, but I’m not going to say that out loud. “Tonight’s proof that we work well together like this.” He was still touching you, the man’s thumb arcing slowly over the front of your shoulder. You could feel it - even through your sweater, and again you were struck with how casual things were between you - his touch simple but meaningful - unable to be ignored but not too forward. He’s holding back, I think. He has to be, otherwise - 
“Good job tonight.” You saw Din’s eyes flash briefly, the man pulling his hand away - but not hastily, giving your shoulder one final squeeze before he returned it to the table and picked up his glass. Of course. 
“Yeah, we did a good job, didn’t we.” Fighting the urge to roll your eyes, you tore your attention away from Din and looked up at the man standing behind you. “This is my coworker, Din. Din, this is my ex, James.” 
“Hey.” Din shifted in his chair, his eyes passing over your face as he reached up with one hand to shake James’, the other still holding onto his glass. “Guess I should thank you for me even being here, hmm?” 
“I…” James frowned, slowly extending his hand and taking Din’s, the seated man’s fingers engulfing the other man’s. “I guess so?” 
“She told me you were supposed to be her partner, and then when you broke up a couple weeks ago, she needed someone to take your place.” He was choosing his words carefully - you knew it, and if the glint in his eyes was any indication, Din knew that you knew it, too. “And I mean, we don’t know who won yet, but I’ve got a good feeling about our chances, so…” He let go of James’ hand, hooking his elbow casually over the back of the chair. “Feel pretty good going into the next event.” 
James’ jaw twitched - you saw the motion of it but he stayed quiet and just looked at Din - and then at you. It was somewhat satisfying to know that he was uncomfortable. Even though Din hadn’t outright been rude or overstepped, making your friendship out to be more than it was, you were thrilled to see that he wasn’t backing down under James’ stare - and that he hadn’t gone out of his way to confirm that the two of you were nothing more than coworkers. Because even though it’s true, it shouldn’t matter. 
“I do, too.” You looked away from James and grabbed your cup, taking a drink. “I met Din at work. He started what, 8 months ago?”
“About that, long, yeah.” Din’s lips twitched at your addition to the conversation, the man nodding in agreement. “Can’t believe you remember.” 
“Well the last IT guy was absolutely useless. Remember I used to complain about him?” Rolling your eyes, you turned back to Din. “It’s been different at the office with you around.” It wasn’t a lie - but it also wasn’t the entire truth; the differences weren’t only limited to his on the job capabilities. It’s been nice having him around for a lot of reasons. “Anyway. Thanks for coming over to congratulate us, though.” I’m done with this. 
“I…” James spluttered over his words, scoffing. “I also … we never finished our conversation from earlier, at the bar? I wanted to talk to you about -” 
“We did finish it, though.” Giving him a tight smile, you blinked twice. “I have nothing else to say to you about what happened between us.” 
“I thought we -” 
“You thought wrong.” At the last second, you changed your tone, the words coming out in a firm - but not angry - tone. “It’s over, James. We want and expect different things, and I hope you find what you’re looking for.” 
There was nothing more that he could say to that, and so he gave you a final look and then turned away, your eyes following his back as he retreated through the crowd. Shit, that was… 
“You alright?” Din’s question surprised you, though when you looked over at him again, there was genuine concern in his eyes. “I hope I didn’t … say anything you didn’t want me to.” 
“You didn’t.” Laying your hand on his forearm, you looked down at the placement of your fingers, noticing a thin, silvery scar that curved over the space just beneath his elbow. I’ve never seen that before. “I appreciate you speaking up. I don’t want to give him any sort of false hope that I’m going to get back with him, and if he knows that I’m… moving forward and not just ignoring the place he used to be in my life, it… it’ll do that.”
“Well I’m happy to take his place.” Din paused. “That sounded… I meant here, for this competition.” The words were rushed, Din ducking his head again. “Not that I think anything else is -”
“I know what you meant, Din. And I’m happy you’re here, too.” You trailed a fingertip over the scar for a second and then pulled your hand back. “In whatever capacity this is.” 
His head shot back up, eyes wide as they found yours,  but there was no time for explanation because Tina took the stage again, a piece of paper in her hand. The bar went quiet as she smiled down at the crowd, holding up one finger. “I told you that this round could change everything.” 
“Oh, no.” Din groaned, lowering his chin. “Shit, we…”
“In third place overall, we have Team Caffeine, who got 34 of the word scramble answers correct.” The two of them stood as Tina continued. “They’ve won a $25 gift certificate to the coffee shop downtown, and take 15 points into the second event.” People clapped politely as the two of them collected their prize and sat back down. “Second place goes to Smarty Pints, who edged out Team Caffeine by five points overall thanks to their second place finish earlier.” She paused to let people clap. “They win a $25 gift card and a guaranteed order slot to Jenelle’s Bakery for two dozen Christmas cookies or cupcakes and twenty points going event number two.” 
“That’s a good prize,” you mumbled, wrinkling your nose. “I wouldn’t have been mad about that, those cupcakes are amazing.” Din laughed from next to you, but it was short lived as Tina raised the mic again and looked around the room before her gaze landed directly on your table. 
“And I think we all know who the big winners are. Clan Mudhorn got 47 of the words unscrambled correctly, which only added to their lead, and they’ll be taking 25 points into the next event, along with winning a night out - dinner here along with a pair of movie tickets.” 
You were frozen in your seat, but Din urged you to your feet, the two of you heading up to collect your prize. Tina handed him the envelope but he immediately passed it to you, thanking the woman before you made your way back to your table. “We won!” It finally sunk in when you sat back down, the bright red envelope held tightly in your hands. “Din, thank you. I couldn’t… wouldn’t have won without you, and -”
“Nah, don’t mention it.” He was excited too, though, and you wanted to memorize the sight of his grin and the sparkle in his eyes. “Team effort, right? You carried us through the bingo, and -” He cut himself off, running one hand through his hair. “And listen, if you want to use that with your friend Stacy or Cara, or -”
“No way.” You slid the envelope across  the tabletop so that it sat in front of him. “We won it, so we should use it together.” Oh, shit. I… “Only if you want to, though.” 
It took him a few seconds to look back up at you, but when he did, you saw that he was holding back a smile, the man trying to keep his tone even even though you saw the happiness in his eyes. “Are you asking me out?”  
“Yeah. I guess I am, Din.” 
Tag list reblog coming soon! 
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