#got plans to watch a friend of mine play a game here in a little while~ u w u

[take-ya-to-the-ghey-bar]

Why the fuck are you all yelling?!?!

[cavegirlpoems]

A story from back when I played D&D. It might have been 3.5 or pathfinder or fantasycraft or one of that ilk. Might even have been 4e. It was like a decade ago.

So. Standard D&D. A party of bold adventurers of diverse origins and skillsets gets together to explore a perilous dungeon and stop a cartoonish baddy. The usual.

I end up building a fairly typical character for me. A goblin Rogue/Assassin. A stealth/melee build designed to get the drop on an enemy, do a bunch of rapid damage, and then fuck off.

She was lawful evil, and firmly in the team-fortress-two-sniper school of "You know who has a lot of feelings? Men what bludgeon their wives to death with a golf trophy. Professionals have standards." school of being a mercenary. I think I even did an aussie accent.

Anyway her schtick was that she'd noticed 'Adventurers' got to do as much violence as they wanted without social consequences, and she loved violence! So she was gonna do a stint as an adventurer, so once she was done she could go home with a big sack of gold to spend on booze and cake and hot girls. But right now she was on the job, so she was an extremely professional team player with a strict code of conduct. Always be honest with the team, follow the plan, don't mess things up for the team, split the loot evenly. Standards.

Verna was a horrible efficient little murder gremlin who was also proudly guild-certified. * * *

Now, another PC was a chaotic neutral gnome bard who was leaning hard on the 'gnomes are amusingly racist to goblins and kobolds and think this is funny and endearing' thing. He teased Verna a bunch about being green and ugly, which she studiously ignored because - remember - she had Professional Standards.

Anyway, there was a human NPC we met that she didn't like, saying he was a bit stupid and very annoying. Our gnome bard decided it would be very funny to use one of his enchantment spells to make Verna suddenly horny for him and watch what happened.

Verna sees the gnome who keeps fucking with her walk up, wave his hands and babble some arcane nonsense, and now she has weird funny feelings she can't explain. She does some thinking and concludes that she'll pay the human for a snog later, because right now this guy's just obviously cast a spell to mess with her mind, which was Not Okay. Of course, she had Professional Standards, so...

She walks up to our gnome friend and basically informs him: "Hi! I know you just did some magical brainwashing on me, and I am not going to tolerate this! However, because we're in a team together, and I don't want this to become a problem, I am going to very generously allow you to settle the matter with me. We will have a bout of single combat to first blood, and then whoever wins I will consider the matter settled and my honour satisfied, and you won't do that again, and we won't mention it. This is a very kind offer of mine, because I have Standards; where I come from the normal response would be to say nothing and strangle you in your sleep tonight."

And our gnome, who is a spellcaster not a combatant, looks at this and decides he doesn't want to get shown up by her, and basically tells her that if she doesn't like getting messed with she can go back to the goblin village, and laughs at her.

So. Shrug. Quickdraw as a free action. I get a surprise round. You're flat footed, so it's easy to hit and I get sneak attack damage. 3/4 of his health is gone. Initiative. He says he wants to say sorry. I respond that he can say that when it gets to his initiative count, but right now it's my action and he's still flat-footed and here's my big pile of d6s for sneak attack and oh dear I think that's him on -10 hp, so he's not going to get the chance.

* * *

Anyway this kicked off a massive shitstorm ooc about how I just kicked off PvP and murdered a PC for no reason and the game fell apart because the gnome's player genuinely didn't seem to understand that 'mind control' is a hostile action. This was in the bad old days before safety tools and I was playing in a fairly neckbeardy group, so 'a man makes a woman horny against her will to humiliate her and laughs about it' was apparently not a deal-breaker while 'the woman stabs him for it' was.

I still think I wasn't the bad guy in this scenario.

There is no point to this story I just wanted to share it.

[sinnabarmoth]

These Roses Have Thorns

Pairing: Sylus x Fem|Reader

Summary: Reader has feelings for a man she met at the arcade named Sylus. There are two major problems though. 1. He has feelings for someone else. 2. This means you've contracted Hanahaki disease. Could having a crush be any worse?

Content Warnings: Adult language. Kidnapping. Descriptions of coughing up flowers.

Length: 6k

So you had worked at the arcade for a while now. It was a pretty easy job as jobs went. You restocked claw machines, vending machines, disinfecting joysticks, made sure floors stayed swept and that kids weren’t climbing into through the claw machine flaps to steal toys. For the most part you were behind a desk just people watching.

You saw a lot of couples come in and out, playing games and acting all adorable. It made you long for something like that. You had been single for a while now and the desire for a boyfriend got stronger and stronger every time you saw another ridiculously cute couple come in.

There was this one girl you saw come in a lot. She was always with a different guy though. All of them good-looking. You thought that maybe she was a serial dater or maybe she just had three different boyfriends that she was cheating on. Maybe she was just friends with all of them and you were reading too much into it. It was hard to know for sure because she was so stinking cute and the guys she came in with her were all drop dead handsome.

They spent most of their time at the claw machines winning prizes. After a while you stopped blinking an eye when she came in with the blond then the purple haired guy then the serious looking dark haired man every week. Whatever their relationship was, it was none of your business.

Then one day someone new walked in. You were sure you had never seen this man before. He had silver hair, blood red eyes, and had on dark clothes that stood in stark contrast to the peachy pink interior of the arcade. He spotted you staring and walked up. He was also tall as could be, easily dwarfing you by a good few inches.

“Can you exchange these bills for tokens?” his voice was a smooth and rich baritone that made your toes curl in your shoes.

“Oh uh,” you forced yourself to stop staring and take the bills he held out for you. “Yes. Right away.” You turned, heart hammering hard in your chest as you stuck the bills in the coin machine behind you and exchanged them for a huge bucket of tokens.

“There you are.” You set the bucket on the counter. “Sure is a lot of tokens, planning on playing a lot of games?”

“There’s a certain plushie that a friend of mine wants. It’s apparently a limited supply stock so she was adamant about getting it, but she also got called away on work suddenly. So here I am.”

“Oh! The cake bunny one? Yeah, we don’t get them in very often.” You couldn’t deny you weren’t tempted to steal one for your own plushie collection back home. “Well, sounds like you’re a very good friend. I wish the best of luck to you.”

“Thanks.” he took the bucket and went over to the claw machines. From where you were stood you could keep an eye on him, and you were more than thankful for that. He was definitely not bad to look at.

You watched him for a while, trying and failing over and over to get the plush he desired. He was having good luck accidentally grabbing other ones though. You did end up having to go over and talk to him when you noticed him use an evol on the machine.

“Sorry sir, no evol influence with the machines.” you said, scampering up to him. “Company policy.”

He sighed, looking in at the glass case and recalled his evol. “This bunny is proving far more difficult to get than I anticipated.”

“You got a lot of others though.” you picked up one of the little stuffed bumblebees. “Even if you don’t get the bunny you can shower your friend in all these.”

“She has most of them already.” he poked the bee you were holding. “If you want any of them, feel free to take them. I’ll have no use for them.”

“Really?” you squeezed the bee plushie to your chest.

He smirked. “Of course,” he leaned in closer so he was almost nose to nose, “If you can do me a favor and look the other way on this evol business. What do you say?”

Your face flushed and your heart went racing again. “Oh uh…” you looked away. “I mean, it isn’t like I’m losing money if you end up getting the toy. Just don’t be obvious about it, okay?”

He chucked you under the chin. “You’ll see that I can be very stealthy, no one will ever know about this. Your understanding is greatly appreciated, have your pick of the lot, honey bee.”

Did he just call you honey bee?

He turned back to the game, his evol re-emerging to help move the cake bunny plush into a better position. You were stuck for a moment before remembering yourself and grabbing two other plushes from down by his feet and carrying them back to the desk.

You glanced back over your shoulder and saw that he was watching you with a satisfied smile. A tickle fluttered in the back of your throat and you coughed lightly to dislodge it, though it did nothing of the sort.

The day continued on and soon it was time for you to start locking up. Unfortunately for him, that guy was still at the claw machine. He was hitting his head off the glass and looked about two seconds from breaking it and just grabbing the plush.

“There is no way that this isn’t rigged somehow.” he said. “There just isn’t a way I can be this bad at getting one stupid toy.”

“Well, you got one more token.” you handed it to him. “One last chance and then I gotta lock up.”

“Lock up?” He looked around at the abandoned arcade. “How long have I been at this?”

“Long enough that it’s night now.” you gave him a little pat on the back. “Come on, one last try. You got it.”

He sighed and put in the last token. “You can do it! I believe in you!” Maybe a little cheering would help.

He gave a wry smile and moved the joystick so the claw was over the toy once again. He hit the button and lo and behold the plushie stayed! It dropped down into the chute and the lights flashed as he finally won.

“Three hours…” he took the plush out of the machine. “She had better appreciate what I went through for her.”

“I’m sure your friend will. Now come on, I was supposed to have this place locked up a half hour ago.”

“If you closed half an hour ago why didn’t you kick me out sooner?”

“You had been at it for so long and you didn’t have that many tokens left so I decided to just leave you to it while I did some cleaning.” you shrugged.

You left the arcade and locked the door behind you. Then cursed when you realized it was raining. Walking back to your apartment was going to suck. Why hadn’t you brought an umbrella?

The man went to a motorcycle parked by the curb and got on. “You waiting for someone?” he asked.

“No. I think I’ll just wait to see if the rain lets up any.”

“Do you need a ride?”

“Oh no, I couldn’t impose.”

“You let me cheat at the game and kept the arcade open late for me. I can give you a ride home, I have an extra helmet.” he opened the seat and fished out a helmet.

Your heart did another pitter patter in your chest. “You don’t mind? I don’t want you to have to go out of your way.”

He rolled his eyes and tossed you the helmet. “Get on the bike, honey bee.”

“Okay. Thank you.” you pulled the helmet on. He sat you on the seat of the motorcycle and told you to hold on tight so you didn’t fall off.

You gave him the address for your apartment building and he drove straight there. It was nice getting a ride but because it was on a motorcycle you were still getting drenched by the rain. Finally you made it back to your apartment and got off the bike. “Thanks again,” you said. “Um…sorry I don’t know your name.”

“Sylus.” he held a hand out.

You shook it. “It was a pleasure.” A crack of thunder made you jump. At the same time your phone beeped with an alert. Automatically the emergency alert started playing.

“Severe and unsafe weather conditions. All citizens are encouraged to stay inside. Roads experiencing flooding. Drivers are advised to pull over and remain where they are until the storm has lightened at eleven PM tonight.” the automated voice said.

“Sheesh.” you looked at Sylus as he prepared to get back on his bike. “Hey! You heard that alert the same as me. You shouldn’t be driving.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Famous last words.” you stormed back into the downpour and grabbed his arm. “It’s not safe. Please. Come inside, just until the rain lessens.”

He considered you for a moment. Something in your eyes must have resonated with him or maybe he was pitying your pleading look but he got off the bike. “Lead the way.”

This…probably wasn’t a good idea. Then again none of the choices you were making tonight were necessarily good considering that you didn’t know this guy. You watched him fail at a claw machine for a couple hours, that was it. And from that you decided to keep the arcade open late, got on his motorcycle, trusted him with your actual home address, and were now inviting him in. You didn’t get a vibe that he was someone who was going to hurt you but if your friends could see you right now they would yell at you for letting a strange man into your apartment for an indefinite amount of time!

Well too late. You were in it now.

You walked up to your apartment and let him. Your immediate course of action was to change out of your wet clothes and into dry ones. When you came back out of your room Sylus was still standing in the entry way dripping wet.

“Oh shoot, I forgot you were also still soaked.” you shoved your wet clothes in the laundry. “I think I have something you can change into while I put those clothes in the dryer.”

“And what do you have that you think will fit me?” he asked.

“I’m pretty sure my ex-boyfriend left some of his sweats here when we broke up. Let me go find them. If you want you can go to the bathroom and dry yourself off, I’ll set the clothes outside the door.”

He nodded and went into the room you pointed to. You fished around in your drawers finally finding a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt your ex had missed when he was packing. The pants may be a little short on Sylus and the shirt was definitely going to be a bit snug since his chest was a lot broader but it was better than nothing. You set the clothes outside the door to the bathroom and went about wiping up the puddles of water while you got the kettle boiling. Rainy nights were a good time for hot tea and instant ramen.

The door to the bathroom creaked open and Sylus came out wearing the dry clothes. Like you thought, they weren’t a perfect fit but he didn’t look uncomfortable in them.

“I’ll just take those.” you grabbed the wet clothes and tossed them in the dryer. “Do you want anything to eat or drink? I was making some tea and ramen for myself if you wanted anything. Pretty sure I have some leftover curry too, some snacks, anything sound good?”

“Tea is fine.” he said.

You nodded and poured both of you cups of tea. There was a bit of an awkward air around you two as silence descended. You decided to have mercy and turn on the TV to distract yourself. After your ramen was done you both went to sit on the couch and watch whatever was playing.

As the storm raged on outside you found yourself becoming more and more at ease with your guest. The conversation wasn’t groundbreaking or anything but it was pleasant. He was pretty funny when he wanted to be. Time passed and you barely even noticed when the rain finally let up. It was nearly midnight when your phone alerted you that the streets were safe for drivers again.

“I’ll be taking my leave then.” Sylus said, “Thank you for inviting me in.”

“No problem. Thanks for the ride home.” you pulled his clothes out of the dryer and handed them to him. “Did you want to change back before you left?”

He shrugged on the jacket. “No. This will be fine. I need to get going sooner rather than later.”

You walked him to the door. “This has been a pleasant evening, more so than I was expecting.”

“Glad to know I was a good host.” you beamed. That tickle in the back of your throat had been getting more persistent all evening and you cursed as you turned to hack into your elbow again.

“Sounds like you should have gotten a hot shower when you came home instead of playing hostess.” Sylus said. “Can’t have you getting sick.”

“I’m not sick, I just think there’s some dust in my throat or something.” you wiped at your watering eyes. “Stay dry out there. Good night.”

“Good night.” he nodded and left.

Once the door had closed a large dopey smile had grown across your face. This evening had been so nice! He was really cool and kind and interesting. Not to mention pretty darn handsome. You were afraid you had made your mooning over him obvious by the end but he didn’t seem to have noticed. Probably too distracted by your annoying cough to realize you were gazing at him like a lovestruck school girl.

Maybe fate would lead him back to your arcade another day. You’d be brave and ask for his number if that happened.

You went to bed with your head full of fuzzy warm dreams. You were probably asleep for an hour or two before you woke up again coughing like mad. You could feel something caught in your throat. You know you could! Oh god, were you going to puke?

You swung out of bed and ran to the bathroom coughing and coughing and coughing until your throat was raw and your eyes watered so much you couldn’t see. When you peered down into the toilet bowl you saw a splash of red and your blood went cold. Oh no…was that blood? Were you coughing up blood?

You wiped the tears from your eyes and saw the red spot was not blood at all but instead a bright red rose petal. “Oh shit…”

~~~

The next couple days you could not stop thinking about that damn flower petal. Of course the second you developed a crush on a guy it would turn into Hanahaki disease! Hanahaki was annoying disease that was caused by a metaflux fluctuation hundreds of years ago that had permanently altered human DNA. So now, anytime someone fell for someone who did not reciprocate that feeling they coughed up flowers.

Your life wasn’t in danger. Hanahaki was an annoying chronic disease that lasted so long as you had feelings. You could opt for surgery to have it removed but it was still experimental. You knew that early surgeries had resulted in the patients being unable to fall in love at all after completion. Newer surgeries had seen progress where it just removed the inability to ever develop romantic feelings for the person you previously liked again which was a lot more doable.

Most people just lived with it until they finally had their hearts move on or if their unrequited love turned into an actual love match. The ratio of people who contracted Hanahaki and those who actually got with the person they had feelings for was not great. Then again, you checked five different medical websites and numerous forums and results varied wildly from place to place.

So you were just stuck with this. Coughing up stupid red rose petals again and again, all because you had the gall to like a guy. What a cruel world you lived in. It was absurd! You met the guy once! Spent a couple hours chatting while watching TV and that was it. What were the chances you were ever going to see him again? You just had to wait this out until your heart forgot about him.

Did suck to know that he must not have felt anything for you either. You had really thought you had some kind of connection.

A few more days went by and the cough wasn’t letting up. You didn’t want anyone at work knowing so you lied about having a slight cold and wore a mask to avoid questions. It was another normal day when you heard the door open. Glancing up from your notebook you saw who had walked in. Sylus!

The tickle in your throat started up again. A faint ray of hope shone down on you before being immediately crushed. Right behind him was that girl. The one that you saw coming in all the time with the other good looking guys. She was all oblivious smiles as she tugged on his arm towards one of the claw machines and you watched as Sylus’s expression softened at her touch, letting her pull on him toward the line of machines. It was the same look you had seen on every other guy that came in with this girl. You had seen enough love struck couples walk in and out of here to know exactly what was happening. He liked her.

She was the one that he had spent all that time and money on to win that stupid cake bunny plushie, wasn’t she? Fuck!

This girl had four different guys falling all over themselves and you couldn’t get one guy to look at you! This was beyond unfair! Why did it have to be this guy? Why did she have to add Sylus to her little harem? Would she not be satiated until she had every single good looking guy in the city fawning over her?

You took a deep breath in through the nose. You needed to stop. She was just a girl. Not her fault she’s cute and pretty and stuff. And Sylus didn’t owe you anything. He was just a stranger who had given you a ride home and made small talk with you for a couple hours. That was it. Still, it hurt. You turned around, coughing violently until you felt the wet velvet of a flower petal on your tongue. You tugged the mask down to spit out the petals and dropped them in the trash. This was a nightmare.

“Um…” you turned around at the sound of someone clearing their throat. It was the girl again. She gave you a bright smile. “Can I get some tokens please?”

“Yeah. Sorry about that.” you pulled the mask back up and exchanged the bills she gave you for tokens.

For the next hour or so you watched as Sylus and this girl went around winning prizes and playing games. You heard them mention getting lunch somewhere as they strolled to the exit. At least you didn’t have watch them any more.

As they were leaving though you saw Sylus turn his head and made direct eye contact with you. You straightened automatically. He gave you a polite smile and then he was gone with the girl.

You sighed. “I’m just an idiot, aren’t I?”

The day came to an end and you locked up the arcade. When you turned around you noticed a motorcycle pull up by the curb. He driver lifted the helmet off and you saw it was Sylus. “Glad I caught you.” he said. He fished something out of the storage compartment of the bike and held a bag out to you. “I washed the clothes you lent me. Here you go.”

“Oh,” you took the bag. “You really didn’t need to give them back. Not like I was going to miss them.”

He shrugged. “I don’t like being indebted to others.”

“Well, thanks.” you rocked on your heels. As he was pulling his helmet back on you felt a question flying off your tongue before you could swallow it back down. “I saw you come into the arcade earlier with a girl. Is she the friend you spent all that time winning that prize for?”

He looked up surprised. “Yes. She was very happy to have the toy but thought me ridiculous for spending so long to get it.”

“It just shows you’re persistent.” you forced a saccharine smile but realized he couldn’t see it behind the mask. “So is she like your girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Oh.” That made you feel a little better. “Then is she dating someone?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Huh.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing. I just see her come in a lot with other guys and I figured one of them had to be her boyfriend.”

“Ah,” he nodded, “I have a feeling I know who you are talking about.”

Silence descended again. You wished he would just drive off so you could stop yourself from asking questions you knew would hurt you. “So…do you like her?”

“Yes.”

You swallowed back the urge to cough and throw up an entire bouquet of red roses. It felt like the roses in your lungs had spread to your heart and were constricting it with their thorny vines. One word from him and he had devastated you in ways you didn’t even know possible.

“Cool.” you said, your voice tight with control. “Well, good luck with that.”

You turned and started walking down the street, needing away from him before you did or said something else idiotic. Unfortunately he was not letting you off that easy.

“Do you need a lift home?” he called after you.

“No thank you. It isn’t raining tonight.” you said.

“But it is late and you don’t exactly live in the best part of the city.” he said, keeping pace with you on his motorcycle.

“Not as bad as the N109 zone at least.”

You could sense him watching you and when you turned to look at him he had the visor open and was giving you an unimpressed look.

“What?”

“I live in the N109 zone.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. It isn’t for the weak.” he parked. “Now hop on already.”

Despite your best judgement you found yourself replying, “Fine.”

He dug the spare helmet out and passed it to you. You hopped on the back of the bike and held onto him as he drive you home once again. Without the rain pouring down on you, you could focus on the ride more. The lights of the city flashed by you so fast they looked like ribbons trailing behind you. Then there was Sylus who was so warm against you. You wanted this drive to never end.

When you got to your apartment building you handed him the helmet back. “Thanks again for the ride. Now I owe you one.”

“I’ll be sure to cash in in the form of you looking the other way when I use my evol to win arcade games.” he said with that smirk that made your insides melt and your lungs constrict. “Now go inside, turn on your light so I know you got in.”

“How like a mother hen of you.” you teased. “See you.” You bounded up the steps and got to your apartment. You turned on the light and went to the window. You saw Sylus down below give you a thumbs up and then he drove off.

The moment he was gone you doubled over and started coughing again, more petals falling from your lips. “These feelings aren’t going away any time soon, aren’t they?”

You were right. Your feelings did not go away as you had hoped they might have. After that night he drove you home again your feelings only continued to grow. This strange little thing became a more common occurrence.

Sylus would come by the arcade with the pretty girl every once in a while to play games and such. Then when evening came and you were locking up, he’d be waiting on the curb to drive you home. You tried not to think anything about it. Tried to tell yourself that he was just being kind. That he was just doing it to keep you in his good graces so you didn’t fine him for using his evol on the machines.

But the hopeless romantic in you saw something else in all his little gestures. Sometimes you would invite him in for coffee or tea and he’d join you for a bit inside. You’d chat as you sipped and then he’d have to leave. Most of the time when you got back to the apartment he’d stay outside and wait for you to turn on the light before driving off. But even that little act of making sure you got inside safely made your heart flutter.

Your weird little friendship was only making you fall harder and harder. And the harder you fell the worse the Hanahaki got. You had finally hit the stage where instead of a couple of petals you were coughing up entire rose heads. Thankfully they were small buds and not huge in full bloom blossoms but it didn’t make them hurt less.

Somehow you had gotten away with keeping your Hanahaki a secret from Sylus. You knew it was only a matter of time till he figured it out though. You had barely been able to cover your tracks and you could tell he was getting suspicious.

Finally you realized that you had to just bite the bullet and tell him about your feelings and the Hanahaki. You knew the chances of him reciprocating were slim to none. He had feelings for someone else but at least it would be off your chest. Maybe then you could finally move on.

It was another day and once again Sylus had driven you home. You turned to go inside but stopped and steeled yourself to tell him how you felt. When you looked back at him though he was tapping his finger quickly on the handle of the bike. “Something wrong? You look antsy.” you said.

“I’m just in a bit of a hurry.” he said.

Your heart clenched painfully, or maybe that was your lungs. “Going to meet your little girlfriend?” you teased, despite the ache in your chest.

He scoffed, “You don’t want to know my business, honey bee. Now head inside.”

“Alright. You get going if you’re in such a hurry.” you ushered him off.

He glanced at his watch and sighed. “Yeah. See you later.”

He took off down the street going far faster than the speed limit allowed. One of these days you were going to have to talk to him about not speeding. Even if he did have some kind of weird advanced healing factor it wasn’t safe for others for him to be going that fast.

You sighed. Your lungs ached as another flower decided it wanted to pop out. Fuck!

You coughed your way up the stairs to your apartment, finally spitting out the little red bulb. Did it look more in bloom than normal? “Well that’s just great.” you muttered. “Guess that’s my punishment for not saying anything. Maybe next time.”

You automatically reached to grab your key from your bag and immediately realized you had left your purse in the storage compartment of Sylus’s bike! Damn it! You grabbed the knob of your apartment door, knowing it wouldn’t open but frustration wanted you to try. You turned the knob and…the door opened! Did you forget to lock it before you left? That was careless but fortunate.

You stepped inside trying to figure out a way to tell Sylus he had your purse if you didn’t have your phone. It was probably why you didn’t notice the shadows at first. Not until you kicked off your shoes and your brain caught up, making out three large figures clad in black standing in your living room.

“Don’t make a fuss and this won’t be a problem.” one of them said.

You immediately turned to run back out the door but the figures lunged, grabbing hold of you before you could turn the handle. Someone hit the back of your head and it made you so dizzy you pitched forward, eyes rolling back into your head.

You couldn’t say when you came to again. There was some kind of bag over your head and you were aware you were in a car, could feel it bumping along down a road. Your head ached and you felt a stickiness at the back of your neck that you couldn’t discern as being blood or sweat. When the car came to a stop you were pulled out and walked somewhere. Even with the bag over your head you felt yourself swaying with dizziness.

Why was this happening? Were you being kidnapped? Trafficked? For what reason could someone want to kidnap you from your home?

You were sat down and tied to chair before the hood finally came off. You could tell pretty instantly you were in some abandoned old factory building. The figures that had kidnapped you were standing around you, two were men and one was a woman.

“What…what is going on?” you said, forcing your thoughts to stay straight. “Why did you kidnap me?”

“Don’t worry,” the woman said, “We’ll let you go once your boyfriend pays the ransom we send.”

“Boyfriend? I don’t have a boyfriend.” you told them.

“You do.” one of them, a burly building of a man, gruffed at you. “No point trying to play dumb.”

“I’m not playing dumb. I don’t have a boyfriend. Whoever you think I am, I’m not the person you’re looking for.” you snapped at them. “Please, just let me go.”

“We saw him drop you off.” the woman said. “The leader of Onychinus.”

You wanted to question what they meant by Onychinus, you were sure you heard the name before. You were bad about keeping up with the news so you couldn’t say what it meant at the time. It was the other part that caught your attention though, they said they saw your boyfriend drop you off at your house.

Oh dear god above! “You mean Sylus?” you asked. Their gazes hardened.

“See. You do know who we are talking about.” the woman nodded to the more wiry man on her left. “And you wanted to grab the other girl.”

“Sylus isn’t my boyfriend you idiots!” you seethed. At the same time the statement made your lungs spasm. Shit! Not this too!

“We’ve been tracking him for a while and we have noticed time and time again that he drives you home, even comes inside. There’s no point denying it.”

“I’m not denying him taking me home. I’m denying him being my boyfriend. We’re just friends.” coughs wracked your body. You gasped around the flower pushing itself up your throat. “We’re--we--” more coughs shook you, “are nothing. I mean nothing to him.”

“You can say that as many times as you want but we know--”

The woman was cut off as you finally coughed up the flower and spit it onto the floor. All three of them froze as you took in ragged breaths.

“What the fuck is this?” the wiry one kicked the flower. “Do you have Hanahaki?”

“What gave it away, dumbass?” you muttered. “I told you. He’s not my boyfriend. I like him but…but he doesn’t like me. He has feelings for someone else.”

“Shit!” the woman continued to curse. “We grabbed the wrong one?”

“Told you.” the wiry man said.

“Shut it!” the woman snapped at him.

“What now, boss?” the burly man asked. “We can still try ransoming her if they’re friends.”

“You think he’s going to care that much about her worthless little life? There’s every chance he’ll just let us kill her if we send him a ransom.” the woman tsked. “Might as well keep ourselves off his radar until we get the right girl. Let’s just kill her now and move on.”

“Wait!” you screeched, “Wait please! You don’t have to kill me! I promise I won’t say anything if you let me go. Please!”

“We’re not taking that chance.” she leveled the gun she was carrying at you and a loud bang echoed in the room.

You closed your eyes, tears streaming down your face as the realization hit you that you were going to die in the moment. Was this really how it ended? Executed over a case of mistaken identity and a crush on a guy you met at work?

You waited and waited for the bullet to strike but you didn’t feel any pain. Maybe she shot you through the head and didn’t even get a chance to feel the pain. Maybe your brain was stretching out these last couple of seconds of your life. Maybe you were already dead.

Then you heard more loud bangs and your eyes snapped open. You were still in the warehouse. You weren’t dead! But then what--

You looked up and saw that Sylus and the pretty girl from the arcade were there. The three people who had kidnapped you laid on the floor, whether they were unconscious or dead was unclear. There was a tiny clink of metal and you saw a bullet fall to the ground and roll towards your feet. Had it just stopped halfway?

“You check her, I’ll get these guys.” the girl said and leaned down to check the kidnappers for a pulse. You really needed to learn her name at some point.

You felt the restraints holding you loosen and fall. Sylus walked over and knelt down in front of you. “You alright?”

“I…” without the restraints keeping you up you fell forward. Sylus caught you and sat you down on the ground. You relaxed into his arms, taking several deep breaths to still the shaking. “Sorry. What happened? How did you know I was here?”

He held up your purse. “You forgot this in my bike. I turned around to run it back to you and saw a van careen away from the apartment building. When I went up to your apartment the door was open and the inside looked like it had been ransacked. So, I called in some back up and found where that van had taken off to.”

“She a co-worker of yours or something too?” you asked.

“We actually operate on opposite sides of the law.” he shrugged. His gaze went to the flower on the floor. “What was this for?”

Your face burned. There was too much going on right now.

“Honey bee,” he turned your face to his, “Why did they kidnap you?”

“They thought I was your girlfriend. They wanted to ransom me back to you.” you said. “And the flower…I coughed it up.”

“You have--”

“Yes.” you almost wished the bullet had killed you so you didn’t need to have this conversation. “We don’t need to get into it.”

“Hanahaki is nothing to be embarrassed about.” he said. He glanced over at the girl who was stepping away to make a call for backup to come arrest the kidnappers. Sylus looked back at you, talking quietly. “I had it too.”

“Really?” you should have guessed as much considering how much he seemed to like this girl.

“I was coughing up bleeding hearts for months.” he sighed. “They’re small but still not fun to constantly be coughing up flowers.”

“You said you ‘had’ it. Does that mean pretty girl finally returned your feelings?” you could feel an entire bouquet of flowers about to erupt from your throat just thinking about it.

“No.” Sylus answered.

Your eyebrows shot up on your forehead. “Then, you got the surgery?”

“Also no.”

“Then what happened?”

“I…” he held you a little tighter, “I started coughing up pink peony petals instead.”

“Hanahaki can just change flowers in the middle of the disease?”

Sylus shook his head with a dry laugh. “No. As far as I am aware, the flowers are individual to the person the unrequited love is for.”

“Then who is it that you…” realization and a spark of hope started to rise in you.

He gave you a small smile. “I think we have a lot to talk about, honey bee.”

[reiderwriter]

😝 brain rot from my character ai scenario… the team goes out to a bar to celebrate and you wear a tiny little dress (just to rile him up obvi) but you also end up attracting a lot of male attentionand he gets SO jealous and protective of you he’s like sitting off to the side just watching you flirt with everyone and the team is like “he looks like hes gonna explode wtf” and then the SMUT HES ALL “they can’t have you, you’re all mine” “you really like all the attention huh? i’ll give you what you wanted” OMG it’s making me crazy i hope i described it good enough 🥰🥰

A/N: Is it really a reiderwriter smut if I don't have to clarify that 'I got carried away' at some point in the authors note? No, it is not. Thank you for the request. My brain is now equally rotted, oops.

Warnings: complaints, dirty talk, semi public sexual activity, partial voyeurism, fingering, hard/rough sex.

You weren't even dating.

Which made the situation even more frustrating for Spencer, and even more exciting for you. 

You'd always flirted with the man a lot, had been told multiple times to knock it off even after getting a little too close for comfort on a case. 

But you couldn't really blame yourself on that one. You'd had to do a quick takedown at a dive bar, and you'd been tasked with pretending to be a touchy couple at the bar to block the back entrance at the staff entrance. 

You'd draped yourself all over him, allowing yourself to get closer than you'd ever been before. 

If you'd just happened to let your hands fall down to his crotch, it was pure coincidence. So was giving his obviously erect length a few strokes through his jeans as he sat staring at you like you were his last meal and he was back in prison. 

Emily had to pull you aside after that one personally. 

You knew she was protective of Spencer, seeing him as a little brother, but it seemed like she was more protective of you at that moment. 

“Are you sure you know what you're doing?” She'd asked, waiting carefully for your answer before she said anything more. 

Two could play at that game. “What is this concerning?” 

“With Spencer.” 

“I'm not sure what you mean, Emily.”

“Yes, you do. Listen, I don't care what you get up to in your personal life, but Spencer has a way of making others feel very… seen. He can get protective and pushy. And I just want to know you're ready for that, and you're not going to let it affect your work.”

“Is Spencer having the same talk?” 

She laughed at that. 

“Spencer? No. I already know it's going to affect his work, because it has since you joined our team. He still gets his job done, but I know where his priorities would lie if there were an emergency.” 

You'd shivered at that and excused yourself. 

If he was that obsessed with you, why had he not told you? Stepped over that line from friends to more than that?

You needed to force the issue, and you had the perfect opportunity when Penelope invited you out for drinks. 

“Y/N! Don't go, it's Friday night, we-” she said gesturing wildly to the team gathered around you, “are going to a bar. No, you can't rain check either.” 

“Can I at least get changed first?” 

“You need to get changed. We're going to a nice bar, Y/N.” Running off again to grab the rest of your team members and force their attendance, you grinned after Penelope. 

It was time to see exactly how focused on you Spencer Reid was.

And how willing he was to let you slip through his fingers.

An hour later, you were stepping out of your taxi, pulling your skirt down as you did. The short black dress had a terrible habit of pulling up your thighs to flash your underwear at anyone in a 10 foot radius. Usually, that bothered you, but tonight, you planned on using it to your advantage. 

After all, you'd left out the underwear tonight for a reason. 

Pulling your jacket around you tighter, you pushed the door to the bar open and scanned the room for your team members. 

“Y/N, over here!” Tara called you over, nursing a beer. Luke sat next to her, Penelope on his other side, and Matt on hers and completing the group was Spencer Reid. 

“Where are JJ and Emily?” You asked, doing your very best to ignore Spencer as you sat down next to him, practically falling into his warmth. You sat so close to him. 

“At the bar. Emily is convinced she can flirt her way to a free drink, and JJ is convinced she cannot. The girl she's working on now has to be 22 at most, so it could honestly go either way.” Penelope answered, and you felt Spencer shift slightly beside you. 

“Speak of the devil,” Luke said as the two women approached. 

“Well? What's the result?” You grinned up at them, letting your head fall back against Spencer’s shoulder as you gently rested your hand on his thigh. He sat silently for a minute, not moving and just taking in the conversation. 

“I've still got it.” Emily grinned triumphantly. 

“Maybe I should give it a try. There are a few hot male bartenders tonight. Who knows, I might score more than just a drink.” 

Spencer choked on the drink he was sipping as you spoke quickly, a few knowing looks passing between every other person at the table. You'd have to be blind to miss it. Or Spencer. 

“Spencer, are you okay? You should be careful, I wouldn't want you to choke. That's how I want to end my night, but it's not for everyone.” That one earned you a few snickers from the others and a glare from the man himself. 

“I'm fine, thank you, Y/N.” He smiled down at you and gave your knee a friendly tap that turned slightly less friendly as he pushed it further up your leg. 

The others had since averted their attentions, moving their conversation onto other things, but you and Spencer were still stuck in each other's orbits. 

Your heart beat faster until you were sure it could be seen, raw and fit to burst out of your chest. His fingertips brushed your hem. He was seconds away from realising that you were going to get the attention you wanted that night. 

Slipping just an inch up the hem, he twitched almost imperceptibly as he searched for your panty line, brows knitting when he couldn't find it. 

“What's wrong, Spencer? Searching for something that isn't there?” You enjoyed watching his frown deepen as he registered your words, but you enjoyed it even more when you gently pushed his hand away as you stood. 

“Well, I need a drink. Let's hope I can recreate your success, Emily.” You said, finally pushing off your jacket. The dress may have been short, but it was also low cut, burning the candle at both ends as your breasts threatened to spill over with any particularly deep breath. 

“Sweet lord in heaven! You didn't come to play tonight.” Penelope exclaimed, practically applauding your body as you twirled for her and showed off the form fitting dress, giggling all the way. 

“You said it was a nice bar, Penelope. I'm hoping there are also some very nice men here, too.” With a wink, you turned on your heel and strode to the bar, making sure your hips swung seductively with every step. 

You couldn't immediately give in and turn to see if he was watching you when you got to the bar, though, not willing to give him the satisfaction. You were doing it all for him, but you still didn't want him to know that.

It didn't take long for men to swarm you. They came one at a time, and you entertained them each as you waited for your unnecessarily complex cocktail order to be prepared. 

In the 7 minutes you'd been away from the table, you'd been approached by three separate men. They all tried lines on you, gave you their numbers and tried their best to woo you, but with Spencer’s eyes burning across your body as you leaned against the bar, you really couldn't have cared less. 

Still, you leaned in, giggled in the appropriate places, and took the numbers, knowing they'd never be called.

When your cocktail was finally ready, and the last one offered to fund it for you  You finally felt a hand at your back. 

“That won't be necessary, thank you.” Spencer ended the conversation, handing his own card over to the bartender as he kept his hand on your back, his body crowding yours. 

The man walked away in defeat, and you turned on him, sipping your drink as you refused to move away.

“Now why ruin all my fun, Spencer?” 

“You're really enjoying all this attention, huh?” He said, pushing your hair behind your ear as he leaned closer to you, his next word a whisper against your skin.

“I can see your pussy from all the way back there,” he said, tugging down your skirt slightly. You weren't surprised though  simply taking another sip and maintaining eye contact. 

“I know.” His hand, having slipped up to your waist, tightened as his gaze dropped to your lips. 

“You want everyone to see your dripping cunt? Want to let all the men here take a turn trying to catch your attention so they can slip in?” His voice was low, practically a growl as he licked his lips.

“No. I wanted to see how long it'd take you to come over and do it. By my count, that was eight minutes, correct?” 

“Good girl. Just remember that you're mine. I'm not letting anyone else have you.” Giving your face a gentle stroke, he let it trail down your body, subtly cupping and squeezing your chest on the way down. 

“All of a sudden, I feel very tired, Spencer. Take me home.” He wasted no time, grabbing your hand and gathering you up, your jacket and bag collected from the desk as he gave minimal answers to the others as you departed. To their credit, they asked minimal questions. 

The cold air hit you hard as you pushed the doors open again, but Spencer was unperturbed, pulling you over to his car silently, a strong hand on your shoulder helping you into the passenger's seat.

You dare not talk the entire drive to his apartment, so sure that any word from you would have him turning immediately to deposit you right back at the bar. 

He didn't, though, but he also didn't look at you or touch you. You sat squirming at the heavy atmosphere, suddenly desperate to know exactly what thoughts were trapped inside Spencer’s impressive brain. 

“We're here.” He announced, pulling up quickly and cutting the engine, climbing out in a hurry. 

You fumbled with your own seat belt as he pulled your door open, catching you up in his arms as he closed the door behind you. You wrapped your legs around his waist as your arms wrapped around his neck, letting him carry you up the stairs to his apartment.

His lips didn't meet yours until the door was firmly closed and locked behind you, and even then, he didn't immediately dive in. He out you down, and a touch of disappointment flooded your body as he completely entangled himself from you. 

It dissipated completely when his hand wrapped around your throat. 

“Let me be clear, Y/N. You are mine. If you want attention, I will give it to you. If you want to choke on something, I'm more than happy to provide it. If you want to dress like a little whore, go ahead, but don't forget who your sweet little cunt belongs to.” His fingers tightened with each word as you gasped for air, back resting on the nearest wall as his body pressed up along your own. 

“Do you understand?” He asked, and you nodded repeatedly, fast and desperate. 

“Good. Now, ass up on the bed. I'll meet you there.” You practically sprinted to the room in question, slinking up onto the bed. He said ass up, but you hesitated slightly as he quietly shut the bedroom door behind you, just long enough to earn a slap on your ass as he finally returned to your side. 

“You have to listen, Y/N. You wanted this, so you have to listen nicely.” 

“I'm sorry, Spencer, it won't happen aga-” He stole the end of your sentence as he slipped his fingers into you, gently working the two longest ones up into a frenzy as he finger fucked you. 

“Sorry, what was that? I don't think I quite caught your words.” You could only moan in reply as you buried your head in his pillows, ass pressing back into his fingers to help him get deeper.

“So needy. Look at this little black dress. You knew this was going to happen, right?” A third finger slipped inside you, and you screamed out in pleasure as he continued using you.

“Burying your head isn't going to work, Y/N. Your cunt is answering for you.” 

You heard the rattle of his belt unbuckling as his fingers finally slipped out, the emptiness only a relief for a second before his cock was hitting deep inside of you. 

Thoughts escaped you as you finally got what you'd been begging for for weeks. His every frustration was pounded into you as he tugged at your hair, pulling your torso up so he could hit even deeper. 

Pulling back your head with a hand on your throat he laid a barrage of kisses across your upper back and shoulders, making sure to bite and suck and nip as his spare hand toyed with your nipples, pinching and pulling. 

In a second, you reached your climax, not having the breath left in you to let him know before you tightened on his shaft and let your body fall limp under his hands. 

“I'm going to mop up our cum with this dress, Y/N, and then I'm going to make you put it back on.” With a final grunt, he pulled out, jerking his cock through his release as he shot his load right over your pussy lips. 

He collapsed on top of you, and you finally gave up your last bit of strength beneath him, enjoying the pressure of his weight pushing down on you again. 

“Thank god that worked,” you gasped, catching your breath. You smiled as he flipped you over and pulled the dress off your head, true to his word. 

“What worked, Y/N?” 

“This. You don't know the lengths I'd have gone to to get you yo finally fuck me if this hadn't worked.” 

“But suddenly, I'm curious, and I have all the time in the world.” You laughed lightly but snuggled into his chest again, meaning to sleep. 

“Unless you want to get dressed again now…?” 

[toomuchracket]

haunted house (dad!george x reader fluff)

more promptober! just a fun fic about you and the kids making plans for when george gets home. enjoy! <3

the bell for the end of the day rings just as you make it through the school gates, wet autumn leaves on the ground and the wriggly three-year-old in your arms doing nothing but hindering an already-running-late you. panting slightly, you carefully set cara down and try to catch your breath, ruffling her hair as she clings to your leg.

you're not really sure why you rushed, to be honest; connor's the most laid-back five-year-old you've ever heard of, with a habit of swanning out of school a few minutes after most of his classmates have bolted out of the playground, and you know you would have been there waiting for him in plenty of time had you walked from the car instead of running. still, you don't want to chance it, you'd rather wait for your son than have it be the other way around.

and you do wait - seven minutes (and three games of hopscotch with your daughter) after the school day ends, connor finally deigns to leave the building, chatting away to dylan as they wander over to you. at the sight of her brother and for-all-intents-and-purposes cousin, cara speeds over to them to say hello; when the three of them walk closer to you, you can see the smug little grin on her face at getting to hang out with the “big kids”, even though there's barely two years between her and them.

you grin back at them, amused at the (classic daniel/healy) height difference between the two five-year-olds. “hi, munchkins. y'alright? took you a while to leave school today.”

“dyl couldn't find her water bottle, mum,” connor throws himself into a cuddle, which you reciprocate eagerly. “but i helped her.”

your goddaughter corroborates this, giving you a hug of her own in greeting. “yeah cos we have the same one and no-one else has it because they're from our dads’ work. but mine has an sticker that's pink,” she almost whacks you with said water bottle in her haste to show you the barbie sticker half-stuck over the 75 logo. “it was at the sink and not my seat.”

“oh, well, that's good you got it,” you pat her head. “did your dad tell you this morning that it would be me picking you up because mummy's not feeling well?”

“yeah. he said baby's making her tummy sore, so i'm going home in the car with you.”

“that's right,” you take cara's hand, heading out towards the almost-empty car park. “let's go to the car now, babies.”

“mum!” connor looks aghast. “we're not babies. i'm five.”

“i'm nearly six,” dylan says proudly. “when baby gets here i'll be six. and lena will be four. and you too, cara.”

your youngest looks at you, brow furrowed; you have to stop yourself giggling at how much she looks like george. “i'll be four?”

“yes, angel. you and lena won't be the tiny babies any more, will you? we'll all have an actual baby to look after.”

cara hums, too preoccupied to be excited about the thought of a new friend. “will i get a party when i'm four?”

“oh, i think so,” you unlock the car, scooping her up with a kiss to her cheek before settling her into her carseat. “you know what dad and matty are like. any excuse to celebrate! right, dyl, you get in there, darling, watch your step,” fastening her seatbelt, you shout across the girls to your son. “you alright, con?”

“mhmm!”

you check anyway - he's fine - before getting in yourself. “alright, munchkins, home time.”

what should only be a ten-minute drive to the healy house actually ends up being twenty-five because of traffic, but it's pleasant enough - the kids are good as gold, patiently playing i spy, softly giggling the whole time and warming your heart. you knew all along that your babies would be best friends with your best friends’, but seeing dylan - tiny for her age, shockingly tentative from birth - yap and laugh along with your two like this is a heartwarming (and only slightly terrifying) indication that the kids will genuinely end up being as close (read: codependent) as their fathers are.

their fathers, who are still at the studio working diligently, you learn when your friend waddles (there's no other word for it) out to the car to get dylan despite you yelling “stay there! i'll bring her up!” repeatedly when you reach her house. she rolls her eyes as she tells you, absentmindedly rubbing her baby bump, an air of vague exhaustion hanging around her. “according to matthew, they're working on until half 6 tonight, so they can take the weekend off and do final tweaks on monday, and that's them done,” she scoffs. “can you believe that?”

“of course not. george has been promising to be home at half 4 for the past three weeks,” you snort. “and as for final tweaks…”

“oh, another month, at least.”

“literally. that baby girl of yours might arrive before they send that final mix off.”

“don't, i'm actually nervous about that,” she giggles, cradling her stomach before pulling you into a hug. “i'd better go before elena tries to cut her own hair again. d'you want to do dinner next friday, us and the kids - and the boys, if they ever unchain themselves from that mixing desk?”

“i'll bring starters and dessert,” you kiss her cheek. “take it easy, alright?”

“yeah. hope you get to see your husband this weekend, babe!”

“you too!”

you really, really hope you do; after an hour in tesco, you and the kids get home well after george's originally-planned home time, and your heart sinks when you unlock the door to the lights still off and no sign of him, other than the half-drunk coffee he left this morning and a couple of cigarette butts in the kitchen ashtray. moments like these are sometimes harder than when he's actually away touring, you think - it's less upsetting missing george when there are oceans between you than it is when you're ships in the night in the same house.

still, you've got the kids to keep you distracted from being melancholy; it's impossible to be anything other than overjoyed when your sweet babies insist on group cuddles on the sofa while you watch another episode of balamory, or when the two of them run to get their stepstools so they can watch you make fajitas for dinner with genuine interest (well, connor more than cara), or during dinner itself, when connor collapses into contagious giggles at the sight of his little sister’s face covered in guacamole. but they miss their dad, too, despite all the happiness, as admitted by cara while she's clinging onto you in piggyback while you do the dishes. “when's daddy home?”

you sigh, doing your best to keep the sadness out of it. “m'not sure yet, angel. he'll phone when he's leaving his work, though.”

“‘kay,” she digs her little chin into your shoulder, only slightly uncomfortably for you. “will he read me a story?”

“i bet he will,” you put away the last plate, wiping your hands before swinging her round to hold her in front of you; once her laughter subsides, you speak again. “daddy loves reading stories to you and connor.”

cara nods. “and he hasn't done it in ages.”

well, four days, but to a three-year-old… that probably feels like an eternity. the thought brings a lump to your throat. “he will, though, soon, munchkin. daddy will be home soon, and he'll read you a bedtime story,” biting back a sniffle, you spot a parenting advantage. “that is, if you brush your teeth extra well once you put your pyjamas on. yeah?”

“yeah!”

ironically, coincidentally, whatever you want to call it, the omw home text from george flashes up on your watch during cara's bathtime, the last step in what her dad likes to call “the ‘pre-bedtime routine’ routine”. she squeals when you tell her, kicking her little legs with such enthusiasm that half the bathwater ends up over you, and her brother rushes into the room in a panic. “what's going on? why is cara screaming? is she ok?”

wriggling even as you lift her into a cosy towel, cara answers. “yeah! daddy's coming to read us a story!”

“oh!” your son's face lights up. “really, mummy?”

“yes, darling, he just sent a message,” you confirm. “d'you want to go and choose a book while i get cara into her pyjamas? and then we can wait for him together?”

“mhmm” connor moves to leave, but turns back in the doorway to look at the two of you. there's a familiar smile on his face, and you're not sure whether to be worried about whatever sneaky thing he's about to suggest or pissed off that both of your kids look nothing like you. “or…”

you brace yourself. “or what, con?”

“we don't wait and we hide and then jump out and surprise him.”

the laugh escapes your lips before you even realise. fuck it. “alright. let's do it…”

the cheers you get in response are deafening.

“... but,” you raise your eyebrows pointedly. “only if you pick a book for your bedtime story now, connor,” matching his nods, you turn to your youngest in her towel cocoon. “and you brush your teeth properly, like we agreed earlier.”

cara nods so excitedly that the towel falls off her head. connor laughs, and you can't help chuckling either. “okay, babies - don't get stroppy, con, you're gonna be my babies forever, alright? anyway,” you ruffle his hair. “we'll hide in the wardrobe in your room. d'you want to wait there for me and cara, munchkin?”

“yeah!” he darts off, and seconds later you hear him rifling through the little bookshelf in his bedroom. “i picked a book!”

“good boy!” you call, before turning back to your still-beaming girl. “will you be good, madam?”

she nods sweetly. and she really is - there isn't a peep of a complaint at all. not while you're drying and dressing her, not during teeth-brushing, not even when you've got her sat on the bathroom counter as you brush and braid her hair, which is usually something she prefers george doing “cos it's not sore when daddy does it”. 

whatever. at least you still have hair.

hyper-aware of the fact that time is of the essence, you comb through cara's fringe once more, before scooping her up into your arms and kissing her little cheek. “what do we think, munchkin - d'you think you look good?”

“hmmm,” cara squints at her reflection, then grins. “yeah!”

“i think so too. shall we go and get connor and wait for daddy?”

a nod against your shoulder, and off you go on the short jaunt to your son's room. connor's already sitting in the massive built-in wardrobe, book in hand and an eager smile on his face. you smile in return, settling down beside him and pulling the cupboard door almost fully-closed; you're careful to leave a crack in front of you, so you'll be able to see your husband when he arrives. which, actually, should be imminently, so you'd better come up with a game plan. you tug your kids close to you. “so, when daddy gets here-”

“mum, why are you being quiet?” the confusion is evident on connor's sweet little face even in the minimal light. “dad isn't here yet.”

he's got a point. you blink. “true. anyway, like i was saying, when he does get here… wait for me to open the door, and then you can jump on daddy, yeah?”

“can we shout too?”

“i don't see why not. but no bad words, you - just because you've heard matty say them doesn't mean you can,” you point at connor, before turning to cara. “and no screaming from you, you hear me?”

“yes, mummy.”

“good,” your eyes widen at the sound of the front door opening, closely followed by george shouting a greeting as he dumps his bag, and your voice shifts to a whisper. “quiet, now, alright? let's see how long it takes daddy to find us.”

there's a whispered chorus of agreements, and then - miraculously - your kids go silent, aside from the quick little huffs of air signifying silent giggling; these get more frequent when you all hear george wandering around downstairs, calling your names in turn and humming to himself in bewilderment. when his footsteps become audible on the stairs, cara practically wraps herself around your arm, all but shaking with kinetic energy and clutching her brother's hand as they hear their father reach the landing. 

you, too, are laughing to yourself as you listen to george opening and closing doors in search, monologuing as he goes. “nowhere to be seen and they've left every bloody light in the building on. s'like blackpool illuminations,” comes the gravel grumbling so characteristic to the love of your life, as he wanders into what you know is the bathroom; he sniffs loudly, and you have to clap a hand over your mouth to keep from cackling. “strawberry shampoo… cara's bedtime routine. maybe everyone's in,” another door opens. “here! oh. empty. must be in connor's room, then.”

three strides across the landing, and there he is - george, his tiredness obvious even through the tiny crack between wardrobe doors. he turns slowly, taking in the emptiness of the room (and making your heart glow when you catch a glimpse of his pretty face), and - as if by magic - stops with his back to the wardrobe, muttering “where are they?” to himself.

partially out of slight guilt for putting him through this, but mostly because you think connor and cara might explode if you make them wait any longer to surprise their dad, you push the wardrobe doors open. the kids fly out, little voices shouting “hi dad!” and “we're here!” as little bodies land on george's massive one; he gasps in shock, and you're extremely thankful for the victorian high ceilings in your house, because your husband's head (and the rest of him, probably) would absolutely have hit anything lower when he jumped in abject terror. he sinks to the floor, head in his hands. “jesus christ,” he sighs, before standing and tucking a kid under each arm, swinging them around and filling the room with laughter. “you meanies, surprising me like that. i thought you'd all run away and left me!”

“we would never,” you step forward, taking cara into your own arms and pecking george on the lips. “we like playing tricks on you too much.”

“yes, that one's obvious,” george rolls his eyes; his face breaks into a big smile, and he kisses your nose. “hi, by the way, angel. thanks for the interesting welcome home.”

“i wish i could take credit.”

“oh? it wasn't mummy?” george dramatically looks from kid to kid. “who's the evil genius among us, then?”

cara giggles, nuzzling her head into your neck. “connor.”

“reeeeeeeeally?” george cocks his head to look at his boy, who's grinning from ear to ear. “s'that right, munchkin? it was your idea?”

connor giggles. “yeah.”

“in that case, then,” george tickles your son through his t-shirt, smiling at the raucous giggles that follow - from cara, too, actually. “say sorry, and i'll stop.”

“sorry! sorrysorrysorry!” connor's laughs fade to little hums, and he snuggles into his dad while they both catch their breath. “mummy planned it though. tickle her!”

george winks at you. “oh, i will, later. but first,” he flicks your son on the nose. “bathtime? and then a bedtime story for the little ones?”

cara nods. “and then mummy and daddy bedtime?”

“once i've redone your hair, munchkin? i think so,” your husband smiles at you, eyes twinkling. “of sorts, at least. you up for that, sweetheart?”

“oh, absolutely.”

[manifesting-minerva]

Ghosts & Banshees (Simon 'Ghost' Riley x Reader) - Part 1

Author's Note: I welcome you all to my blog. It has been ages since I wrote fanfiction on here but I thought I should get back in it. I used to have a fanfiction blog back in 2016 where I wrote for multiple fandoms but ended up deleting my blog in 2021. I got obsessed with Call of Duty (I never played it but Ghost and König set a wild fire in me) so I thought I'd give it a shot. Naturally, I'm not an expert when it comes to the games or anything related to the military so mainly it's from research I did. Enjoy this piece (might write additional parts in the future if it does well). - Minerva 🐦‍⬛

Summary: An old friend of John Price joins the 141 team, by his recommendation.

Warnings: Mild language, alcohol ingestion, inaccuracies when it comes to military.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Monday morning. Bright and early, the men of Task Force 141 woke up at the crack of dawn. Their body's internal clock had gotten used to them waking up at 5am but the booze they indulged themselves in the previous night had taken a bit of a roll on the aforementioned "internal clock".

Nonetheless, with their bodies soaked in sleep and taking heavy steps, they made their way down to the base's mess hall, trying to eat away the hangover they manifested the night before. Johnny and Kyle were wiping their foreheads, trying to soothe the aching boom in the heads while walking languidly behind them was Ghost who seemed to be sober than them.

"Liver of steel you got there Johnny." Ghost teased the Scot, his British accent thick in sleep as he watched his friend fighting to keep his breakfast down. Gaz wasn't much help to Johnny either as he also chewed his food slowly. Too weak to reply and with little energy, Johnny shot a cold and annoyed gaze at his friend.

Ghost watched the men in front of him as he washed his breakfast down with a cup of black tea. Nothing soothed his soul like a nice cuppa in the morning (or any time of the day).

Minutes had gone by and they exited the mess hall, laughing about the moments they shared the previous night from Price's arm wrestling to Kyle's poor flirting techniques to Johnny's drunk dancing on tables. Ghost always considered himself as he is. A ghost. Watching from the corner silently, occasionally beating Price's unbeaten streak of arm wrestling to pulling Kyle in a chair after embarrassing himself in front of the ladies to pulling down Johnny off the tables and shoving glasses of water in front of him to sober up, convincing him it's a type of vodka (which Johnny took enthusiastically).

They reached Price's office who jumped off his chair when he watched his men enter, trying to compose himself with a big smile on his face. "Good morning gentlemen." He coughed as he settled with them around the table.

The men adjusted comfortably in their seats, waiting for the meeting to start. "Alright lads, I know last night was tough and thankfully today we don't really have a lot of work to do but we do have a mission coming up in the next few months that would need your undivided attention." He looked over to Johnny who was slowly dosing off in his chair. Ghost, "ever-so-gently", took the initiative to smack his friend in the back of his head, surprising Johnny.

"This should wake you all up." In Price's hand was a manila folder which he planned on the table. "Since this mission is sensitive to say the least, we need a pair of extra hands to help us complete it successfully. Hence why I asked an old friend of mine to assist us in the upcoming mission which she kindly and gladly accepted. She is one of the best snipers and combat fighters I've ever worked with...no offence gents."

"Did he just say 'she'?" Johnny whispered loudly.

"Ah so I do have your attention then Soap!" Price chuckled. "Now you all better keep it in your pants. She is also a medic and I'm sure she'll find a way to castrate you in your sleep if you try something funny. Come in Sergeant Y/N."

And there she was. Standing at 5"4 feet tall in black jeans and a dark blue t-shirt that hugged her body nicely. Her soft dark brown hair danced behind her as her brown eyes scanned the room.

"That's not a very nice way to sell me Captain." She chuckled as she made her way over to him. Jaws dropped.

"She has my undivided attention." Johnny whispered to the two men seated next to him. From his cold state, Ghost felt something inside him jolt, like a bullet just fired in his chest. A warm sheet of sweat covered his body, pupils dilated as he watched you and Price hug as he greeted you. No one ever took Price for the "huggy type" person but all formalities flew out the window when he patted her back gently afterwards.

"Welcome Y/N to Task Force 141. We are glad to have you with us. She will also be doing training with the new recruits," Price announced. "Just in case you get bored." He whispered in your ear, chuckling.

Y/N observed the men in front of her when her eyes fell on the only masked man in the room. But before she could introduce herself properly, Johnny bounced from his seat, finding his newly hidden energy.

"I'm Johnny but you can call me Soap." He shook her hand gently and beamed a smile. Kyle was up next.

"I'm Kyle but you can call me "yours"." He said with a small smirk on his face. She swore she felt Price's eyes roll to the back of his head as did the masked man's.

"It's too fuckin' early Gaz." Price scoffed.

"It's Gaz." He said when he received a silent response from the men. A heavy hand landed on Gaz's shoulder and was pulled back. And there he stood at 6"4 feet, dressed in tight fitting black clothes and a balaclava with a painted ghost mask on it with black shadows around his eyes. His fluffy blonde lashes never once fluttered as his eyes were stuck on her, like he's never seen a woman before.

Intrigued by the new member, Ghost approached silently, taking his hand out to introduce himself. Standing tall, towering over her tiny self, he shook her hand.

"Ghost." He said. Short and sweet.

"But you can call him-"

"That's enough Johnny!" Ghost barked.

Once they let go of the handshake, Price stepped in. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gave her a tour of the base as well as showing her her sleeping quarters. Her place wasn't big but it was comfortable enough for at least 2 people to live in. A kitchenette, a bathroom, a double bed and a living room with a comfortable couch, TV and a balcony that led to the outside. All she had to do was spice it up with her taste in decorations.

"If you need any help or have questions, we don't bite we're literally next door." Soap offered as he placed her bags in her apartment followed by Gaz. Ghost stood at the frame of the door leaning as he scanned her apartment.

"Thank you gents. I appreciate the warm welcome." She beamed at them.

"If you want, tonight we're heading for a couple of drinks if you want to join us. It's a good opportunity to get to know you a bit more." Gaz said, hoping she'll say yes, to which she did.

***

That evening Task Force 141 gathered around the bar table, downing a pint of Guinness each, laughing along each other's jokes.

"So bonnie," Soap licked the froth from his lips. "What's your code name?"

Y/N raised her eyebrow. "You didn't read my Manila file? I'm impressed at your restraint Soap."

"I'm more of an upfront guy you know. Like to look people in the eyes when I talk to them. He smirked like.

"Do you want to take a guess?" Her lips landed back on her pint of Guinness as she looked around, her eyes landing on Ghost. He is thankful yet again for his balaclava that hid his blush.

"It's Banshee. Price actually suggested it years ago." She chuckled. Price patted himself on the back for this one. "Ay, you're fuckin lethal Y/N." He said sipping on his drink.

"Why do they call you 'Soap' Johnny?" Y/N asked, spinning the subject to the man next to her.

"Let's say I clean up well." He winked at Y/N. "I'm fast, efficient, accurate." While Soap continued praising his agility and the speed he can clean a room and his urban warfare tactics (as Gaz called it "jerking himself off with his own compliments"), Y/N's eyes get again landed on Ghost. His legs splayed open covered in dark jeans and a shirt that was two sizes smaller than his actual size. The way his muscles were ready to rip the sleeves of his shirt, his dark tattoos littering his arms and if her eyes served right, they landed on his crotch where a small bulge could be seen. Immediately averting her eyes when she noticed Ghost's hot gaze on her.

He must hate me. She thought to herself as she diverted her attention back to the rest of the team.

And nothing short could be said about Ghost couldn't take his eyes off her. The way she threw her head back in sweet laughter or the way she punched Soap's arm when he teased her. Or the way her lips gently closed around the rim of the glass and swallowed her beer.

Ghost knew something was about to change.

Ghost knew he was fucked.

[aquaquadrant]

Hello! I've been told to ask you this =D

What do you think about Jimmy as a minecraft player, what is he?

It's for a project =3

ooh a project, how fun :0

i should preface this by saying i’m not the BEST person to give this opinion, cuz despite how much i write jimmy, i uh… don’t actually watch his pov? i haven’t seen any of empires (except the hermit’s crossover in s2), i don’t watch his streams, and i don’t watch the one-off vids he posts on his channel. most of my knowledge of jimmy comes from his appearances in other pov’s life series episodes and how ppl portray him in fandom.

howEVER, that said, i’m curious how my interpretation would line up with other ppl’s. i view minecraft players as generally fitting into a few broad categories- tho there can def be overlap between them or a jack-of-all-trades situation. and this prob applies more to people who actually play minecraft professionally (ie. ‘play video games for a living’) than the casual player (such as myself hagshdha).

builders: have a creative eye and practiced skill in building to the point where they can, generally speaking, throw down a decent build on the fly (things that require a lot of planning/detail work often drafted in creative mode first). have good understanding of achieving a certain shape and color with their block placements. may or may not include terraforming ability. generally drawn to the game’s building aspect and spend a lot of time/care making things look good.

redstoners: have an adequate amount of base knowledge for how most redstone components work and interact with each other, tho they may occasionally still use tutorials or take inspiration from others (can only reinvent the wheel so many times). usually capable of making simple redstone machines/contraptions on the fly. generally drawn to the game by the possibility of farms and automation. some take it to extreme game-breaking lengths (doc).

competitors: have highly-trained skill in areas such as PVP, parkour, and/or any other multiplayer server type minigame. think hypixel and MCC. this isn’t to say they don’t have their own solo worlds for building or other projects, or don’t participate in smps, but their main draw to the game initially was competitive multiplayer and it features heavily on their channels. to me, speed-runners/challenge-seekers are a subcategory of this.

explorer: this type doesn’t actually show up often in popular mcyt bc it’s a largely solitary- and in some ppl’s opinion, boring- experience. but these are the players that spend hours in their solo worlds just traveling around, mining out massive caves, or doing any other kind of repetitive grindy work as a manner of relaxation. some ppl really enjoy this aspect of minecraft and it’s a major draw for them. special mention for kurtjmac, a mcyter who’s spent 13 years and counting just walking to the farlands in an old version of the game (tho he does other things on his channel as well).

and now for what category i think jimmy fits best in (which again, doesn’t mean he can’t build or do other things). i don’t have a good name for it rn so i’m just gonna call it ‘the sillies’ (affectionate).

sillies: above all else, they’re here to have fun. most, if not all, of their content is on multiplayer worlds (both public servers and private smps), and on these worlds they are extremely social, making a concentrated effort to interact with others even if not legitimately roleplaying. high amounts of pranks and hijinks abound, as well as ‘committing to the bit.’ lots of videos feature them doing some kind of funny little challenge, game, or mod with their friends. again, that doesn’t mean they can’t engage w the other aspects of the game or be skilled in those categories, but generally, it’s not their main objective and not how they spend most of their time.

that’s what i’ve got! obviously u could split all of these into many subcategories, and your average player is gonna be fairly well-balanced. but for our pro cubitos, i think this is a nice way to categorizing things (and it at least makes sense in my mind).

[metaphorwritings]

HIHIHIIII!! I saw you are taking a request on metaphor refantazio and I was thinking maybe you can write an imagine how the reader is isekai in metaphor and meets up with Will. But Will witnessing the reader get murdered in front of their eyes and by the next day he sees the reader alive and well again. (Kind of like returned by death in rezero.)

"Is this truly a fantasy?"

Author's note : I've never watched ReZero, but I know a little bit of it, so let's just roll with it and see where we end up lol I might spread this out into many parts, I hope you don't mine

Pairing : Metaphor ReFantazio x GN!Isekaid!Reader Pt.1 (Angst, gore, violence, AU)

Synopsis : What would happen if you were to enter a world your thought was merely a fantasy... And then wished you were never brought here?

"Oh, come on!"

Those were the words that left your mouth as you stared at the 'Fantasy Is Dead' screen. That's the eighth loss in a row against a fish with human legs on hard mode, and by this point, you were beginning to question if this was worth it as the voice of the narrator spoke those familiar lines.

"Will your tale end here?"

"More, if you say that one more time, I swear to god!"

You sighed as you rubbed your temple with your fingers as you looked down at the controller, remembering how your friend recommended this game to you, and being the good friend you were, you decided to buy the game and give it a try, little did you know at the time that your overconfidence in your JRPG skills would be the vein of you.

Because not only did you plan on completing the game on hard mode, but you also made a bet with your friend that you could beat it on hard mode.

You were a fool, your own worst enemy.

However, your thoughts were interrupted by the growling of your own stomach, now realising you've been absorbed into beating this dungeon for hours all night. So, you got up from your spot on the floor and decided to throw on your coat and shoes, promptly leaving the house with your phone and keys.

Cooking food seemed too much of a hassle, and you didn't particularly want to go out to eat with your sour mood and lack of money.

So you go to the one place that could bring mankind solace in these trying times.

The one safe haven that provided a holy grail to quench one's thirst and alleviate one of hunger with a wide array of morsels.

That place being....

A convenience store.

The only beacon of light that seemed to shine in the colder air and frigid, thin layers of snow and frost across these streets...

Which was also across from your apartment building, which meant there was no long walk either in the cold weather that nipped your nose.

Convenient, just like in the name.

Upon entering, the sound of the music playing on the speakers was soft, as per usual, and there was a nice clean smell in the air, the scent of fresh lemon invading your senses. And of course, the tired employee sitting at the cash register, bored out of their mind with the lack of people present during the night shift.

Immediately, your hungry stomach irks you to look through the isles for something delicious, perhaps something new to try? But no, your mind and eyes and stomach always go to that one spicy ramen pack that you put extra cheese in that makes your taste buds cry on isle three, and yet you have never found the ability to stop eating it.

'So much for wanting to try the rice balls today...'

You take the ramen and practically rush to the cashier to pay for it and get home before your freezing.

But you notice something, you've never seen this employee here before, perhaps they are new.

From the tired look in their light blue eyes to the light blue, almost white, hair tossed up in a messy bun, you could tell they probably hadn't gotten much sleep. You also took notices how they were pretty short.

'Maybe they're a student' you thought to yourself

"That'll be 100 yen, please" The cashier spoke, pulling you out of your thoughts.

You reached into your pocket and got out the correct amount of money, putting it in the cashier's hand, and as your fingers brushed against their palm, you felt this weird headache

'What the-!?' you thought as you clutched your head, maybe you were playing on the game for too long and it's finally caught up with you???

"Is everything alright?" The cashier asked, with a somewhat worried look on their face, but you waved it off. "Yeah, I'm okay... It's probably nothing..."

Trying to ignore, the pain in your head, you walk outside with your ramen cup, wanting to go back to the comforts of your own home while you eat this, but after taking a few steps, the sound of your feet crunching the snow beneath your feet, the pain in your head only seems to get worse.

'The hell is going on...?! I was just fine when I came here...' you thought.

'Am I coming down with something...?'

'... I should hurry back and take some meds...'

You staggered in the ice and frost, your head throbbing with each step until a sharp pain shot through your head as you stood at the crosswalk.

Then...

... You hear it...

"O lodestar..."

.

.

...'What!? Now I'm hearing voices!?'

"O thou anguished traveller..."

The booming pulse in your head only increased as the voice got louder. This wasn't just a headache now, this felt like your head was turning inside out, you clutched your head and lost your footing, grunting and gasping in agony, you felt your world spinning.

The city lights were blinding.

The noises were like screams around you.

And before you knew it, you had stumbled back on the ice and bright light was coming towards you.

.

.

.

Before you knew it, the world around you was black. You felt like you were asleep, but like your body was burning.

All there was... Was nothing. Just black, spaceless void.

It felt like you were suffocating... No, drowning, and somehow, you felt no pain, no discomfort, it was like drowning in a sea of blankets and pillows and your body was going numb.

.

.

.

And then light crept in, somehow it made you open your eyes when they hadn't even closed.

.

.

.

{To be continued...}

[elliegoose]

got tagged by @annunakitty in a thing! yippee tag game!

now the tag game was to introduce yourself with:

one tv show

one movie

one album

one video game

however, i'm doing two for each category! why? because i'm cute and special and get to change the rules, of course! and also because i'm really enthusiastic about sharing my favorite things with people.

tv shows: adventure time & scavengers reign

not being able to pick between these two shows is the reason i'm doing two for each category. adventure time is my all-time favorite show hands down, but scavengers reign took second place (overtaking russian doll, which previously held that rank) when it absolutely blew me away earlier this year. i've watched it twice now and definitely plan on giving it a third watch sometime soon.

movies: i saw the tv glow (2024) & suspiria (2018)

as someone who repressed my gender really hard throughout most of college after flirting with transitioning in high school, this movie really spoke to me. i've seen it twice now and found a lot of value in the rewatch. i definitely want to watch it again at least one more time. this is an incredibly profound movie that has changed me as a person.

on the other hand, suspiria (2018) is an enduring favorite of mine for a very silly reason. it is a straight up good movie, but the actual reason it's my second pick for this post is that for like a year after first watching it, i kept seeing the mangled bodies of characters from it as sleep paralysis hallucinations. it was terrifying at the time but i find it incredibly funny to look back on, and think very fondly of this film in general. i got to rewatch parts of it for free irl! thanks, sleep paralysis demons!

albums: feather river canyon blues by pigeon pit & kudzu, devour everything! by levees

for two years now, feather river canyon blues has very unambiguously been my favorite album of all time. it's lomes oleander's bold, dense, imagery-filled lyricism at its best, backed by the full band that her voice deserves playing alt-country sounds that strike the perfect balance between gentle and energetic. it's simultaneously desperate and hopeful, joyous and melancholy, and at every moment filled to the brim with emotion and beauty. this album feels like watching every sunset at once surrounded by your best friends and loved ones. transgender folk music will save us. if you have to pick one song from this album to listen to, make it milk crates:

kudzu, devour everything! is the reason i started playing banjo. levees is a friend of a friend, and i was introduced to their music because said friend was praising this album in our friend group's discord server. i find levees' idiosyncratic manner of clawhammer playing--often very fast and full of non-traditional rhythms--to be absolutely magical. their songwriting is also excellent, full of vivid stories and characters sung about in prose that weaves effortlessly between the elegantly straightforward and beautifully dense. i also recommend listening to their album vultures, as well as quarantipilation volumes 1 & 2. it's actually not one of the songs that contains banjo, but if you have to pick one to listen to from this album, i recommend her/hymn/their, which won't embed for some reason but hey here's the link

(also, honorable mention to drink the sea by the glitch mob, which is the first album i ever really fell in love with, and which inspired little 13-year-old elise to grab a copy of ableton and learn how to make music myself. until feather river canyon blues came along, i would have probably picked drink the sea for this post.)

video games: signalis & mice tea

first off, i cried at the end of signalis! while streaming! it was really, really good!!! it has a delightfully dreadful atmosphere, great story, very interesting worldbuilding, phenomenal art style, and excellent character design. plus, it was great for practicing my german. i strongly recommend signalis to anyone who likes survival horror.

second off, yes, i am choosing mice tea, a transformation fetish visual novel, as my second pick here. judge me all you like. i stand by my choice. its story is fun! the characters are excellent! its humor and conceptual ridiculousness disarm you and make way for genuinely emotionally impactful storylines! it has a lot of interesting commentary on gender! it almost single-handedly turned me into furry! also, it's hot! go play mice tea!

now, finally, it is time to tag! don't feel pressured to pick multiple things or provide explanations like i did! i just enjoy doing more than is assigned lmao. tagging @rotten-spaceymage, @birras0, @citrusuprising, @roboticvenusian, @femboty2k, and anyone who sees this and wants to do it themselves!

[not-your-bro]

hi there! idk if u still do hcs, but if u do, can u do some platonic climbing class hcs? thank you!

hiya!! i am always doing hcs! depending on what i've got front of brain and how busy i am, it may take a minute for me to answer, but i am p much always ready & willing to yap 🫡

a lot of these hcs have been mentioned in fics of mine over the years, so apologies if any are familiar, but here's what i've got:

made short horror films together when they were kids. josh was the driving creative force, chris was the cameraman & editor. hannah and beth always featured in them, and so did their other friends from time to time. (jess loved being in them but she's a terrible actress LOL.) in an old fic of mine, i had josh make a dvd collection of these films and give them to chris as a present. josh would also keep a copy in the washingtons' media collection, and he rewatches them more than he'd admit. chris gets too much secondhand embarrassment to revisit them super often.

because absolutely nothing can keep them from yapping, they were nonstop note passers in school. josh was good at getting away with it, but chris wasn't - not as quick with the sleight of hand, and he always just looked like he was doing something he wasn't supposed to. at some point, josh had the bright idea to write their notes with invisible ink pens, so getting caught wasn't a big deal. in middle and high school, when they didn't spend all day in the same classroom together, they left notes in each other's lockers a lot.

always do joint halloween costumes, and they've been doing it for so many years that it's just an unspoken, understood thing that they'll be dressing up together. some costumes i think they'd do: billy and stu from scream; adam and lawrence from saw; wayne and garth from wayne's world; lloyd and harry from dumb and dumber (the ugly suits specifically); ian malcolm and alan grant from jurassic park.

chris was deeply into the lord of the rings movies as a kid, and even though he didn't get far in the books (not a reader), he thought it was cool that tolkien made up an entire language. so...you can guess what he and josh tried to do... it wasn't deep/robust - more individual words/common phrases than a proper language - but they liked being able to communicate with each other in a way only they could understand. sometimes they did it for privacy, other times to be annoying. like it bothered beth to no end, so the boys definitely just made shit up in front of her to get a rise, even though they had no idea what the other was saying.

chris drinks mainly to keep up with josh, even though he doesn't particularly care for alcohol unless it's masked in a mixed drink. but chris likes to smoke weed, and so does josh, so they're always slipping outside together to smoke. when they were younger, they really tried to keep it secret - had a little hideout in the woods and everything. later, they realized that a) it was pretty obvious what they were doing and b) nobody gave a shit. so as they got older josh liked to make up increasingly ridiculous reasons for why they needed to step out.

chris is largely the driver and josh the passenger princess, and if other friends are riding with them, josh has to get shotgun or it's, like, a problem. he's such a baby about it - he just feels it's his seat. when josh drives it's because he had an idea of something they could do together, and he just sort of...showed up at chris's house. leading to lots of text exchanges like this

in this vein, they hang out constantly but they don't often make set plans or decide what they're doing beforehand. it's really just a lot of hanging out, in the purest sense of the word, and they aren't opposed to parallel play - each doing their own thing in the same room, like chris playing a game while josh doodles and half-watches. lots of late nights turn into unplanned sleepovers, to the point that josh bought an extra toothbrush to keep in the bathroom for just such occasions. whenever friends or family are like "what'd you guys do?" they get shrugs and "nothing really." which sounds like a brush-off, but most of the time it is nothing really, and imo that's the best part of their friendship to me. they can do fuck-all for hours and still enjoy themselves together. no stress, no expectation. and i think this is crucial for both of them, for different reasons. chris has social anxiety and josh is always On. for chris, being with josh doesn't trigger that anxiety, and for josh, being around chris doesn't require the same level of performance. it's just comfortable.

[kimium]

My friend @m34gs asked me in her reply to my ask (this post) about what my Top Five Favourite Link Click moments are. I decided to answer in my own post though I recommend you read my friend's answers too! Just be wary of spoilers for both her answers and mine!

Anyways, here are my Top Five Favourite Moments in Link Click. I'm listing them in order with one being my most favourite moment. I'll also not include the OP or ED in this list. Just know that VORTEX slaps and is one of my favourite OPs of all time.

5. Li Tianchen discovering his neighbour was one of the gossipers regarding his mother and father's marriage

First, the visual set up of the scene is utterly beautiful. The saturated colours in the evening sky, the mostly flat colours on the characters with only dark shadows and white highlights, and the obscuring of the photo. All these elements help build and add to the slow suspense building in the background.

I am also in love with the framing of the reveal. I adore how the audience doesn't see the photo as Li Tianchen looks at it. All we see is his reaction: how mostly silent contemplation morphs into despair, sorrow, anger, frustration, etc. His twisted laughter is utterly heartbreaking and horrific. Allowing the audience wallow in it for just a few moments before showing the photo was a brilliant move on the creative team's part.

Next, we have the music that gradually swells as Li Tianchen's world view is completely shattered with the reveal of the photo. It's a score that perfectly encapsulates the inner turmoil of Li Tianchen as he's pushed to his breaking point and makes the choice that ultimately secures his destiny.

All these elements make for a scene that's so potent and visceral that it permanently lives rent free in my mind.

4. When Li Tianxi and Li Tianchen's running is paralleled at the end of S2

This is another scene that I adore due to the visual elements and symbolism. If there is one element in story telling that I'm weak for it's parallels between characters. In this case, it's the parallels with Li Tianxi and Li Tianchen running away.

My heart utterly aches at how in this scene it's clear they're still the suffering, scared little children we met when Cheng Xiaoshi dove into the photo. All the layers around them break down and we see their core as they run. Li Tianxi runs because she's scared and saddened by her brother's actions in regards to Chen Bin. Li Tianchen runs because his entire world has once again shattered before his eyes. The sister he loved and vowed to his mother he'd protect is dead.

Watching both of them running away crying breaks my heart every time I watch the scene. How I long for both of them to return to their halcyon days where their parents were alive and there was no sorrow in their family.

3. Cheng Xiaoshi's plan to trap Liu Min in the dark room is executed

Time for a bit more of an uplifting scene: Cheng Xiaoshi luring and beating up Liu Min in the darkroom! This scene is so cathartic to watch as the boys finally give Liu Min what he had coming: justice. It's even better when they're using their abilities (time travel) to keep the upper hand while confusing the hell out of Liu Min (and Li Tianchen). It's also a well thought out plan with more than just "use my ability to win". I loved the subtle psychological game played with the photos in the dark room too.

2. Cheng Xiaoshi on the receiving end of his Dumbass Nature

Just like my friend, this scene is in second place. It's too good to not mention! Nothing is funnier than witnessing Cheng Xiaoshi go "Look at me for doing a good job and saving Lu Guang... oh no who is that dumb ass and what is he doing?" only to go a second later "WAIT. That's ME. I'm the dumb ass!!!" Cheng Xiaoshi finally got a taste of what Lu Guang has dealt with for majority of the series and the expression he makes is priceless.

The big reveal at the end of S2

Honourable mentions: Li Tianchen revealing he was impersonating his sister, Cheng Xiaoshi as Doudou uppercuts the woman who kidnapped him, and Xiao Li every time he's exhausted because "I guess time travel exists".

Before this reveal I was already extremely invested in Link Click. I love time travel and watching series explore the concept. What do I love just as much as time travel? Time Loops. I eat that concept up all the time.

So, watching the end scene slowly pan out to Lu Guang's perspective and reveal to the audience that yes, this has a time loop made me want to scream aloud. It's even better because this time loop is a Tragic Doomed Gay People one. When a time loop is all about saving the ones you love, that makes it even better.

However, what truly solidified this scene in my brain were all the little clues leading up to it. First, and most obvious, was the password on Lu Guang's phone that Cheng Xiaoshi put in to unlock it. The reference to the time on Lu Guang's phone before he time travelled to save Cheng Xiaoshi (again??) is amazing.

But, that's not the end of it. Oh no, it's the fact that I read a meta post about how the photo in the hospital was not meant for Cheng Xiaoshi from the start. The breakdown of evidence pointing out that 1) Lu Guang hid the phone in an obscure place, clearly not wanting ANYONE to find it and 2) That he doesn't know Cheng Xiaoshi knows his password really hit me hard. The level of detail and attention put in this series is truly amazing. Realizing the seeds of foreshadowing were present the entire time makes me want to not only rewatch the series but also show it to all my friends.

And there you go! I hope you like my top five favourite scenes in Link Click, friend! Let me know what you think!

[dessi1998]

TentooRose month - 2nd week: Firsts

a/n: trying something new for me here, I had not written any of these bulletpoints fics before so here is my first try (on theme with the prompt lol), hope you enjoy

(you can see the Steam sale kinda inspired me)

there are so many firsts for this new new new (first of his kind) Doctor

everything is new, everything is human, he has so much to learn suddenly

first shave, first shopping for clothes, first job (at Torchwood)

and of course the firsts with Rose

first kiss, first hug, first time holding Rose’s hand

first adventure on Earth together

so many firsts and new things

but one of his favourite (and not that scary) firsts was discovering gaming

more specifically quiet nights at home with Rose, playing some game together

usually, with all the travels and adventures, he did not have time to sit down and do something for relaxation

so gaming was something new for him

and Rose was more than happy to indulge him and even join him in this newfound hobby

his first game was… Fortnite

Tony and his friends were crazy about it and so, one day at the Tyler mansion, the Doctor had found himself coerced into joining the little boy for a few matches

and ending up liking it - a lot

Rose had told him she’d join if he found a less stressful and fast-paced game

so with Tony’s help, the Doctor found Minecraft

mining, crafting, building, taking care of villagers - it was relaxing enough for Rose to join in

they got their own world to play on together with Tony popping in from time to time as a honorary player

(they definitely did not use one of Torchwood’s servers for hosting it, no no no)

(the Doctor’s tinkering with the settings and mods definitely did not make even it lag, with all its specs and power, noooo no)

Come on, Rose! How can such powerful machinery be stumped by one game?! (the game in question was trying to render a whole universe but eh, should be easy, right?)

after that came Stardew Valley, Terraria, even Animal Crossing - all the chill vibe games

then the Doctor wanted to explore some more adventurous pixel worlds

Life is Strange, Red Dead Redemption, The Witcher, Elden Ring

he played and commented on every little detail he saw, explained his plans and actions

and Rose just sat with a bowl of popcorn, head on his shoulder, watching him geek out, asking questions from time to time or giving him hints if he somehow got stuck (after a quick and secret google search)

eventually both her and Tony suggested that the Doctor should try streaming online - twitch of youtube, people were sure to geek out over little details with him

surprisingly, he declined

this hobby of his was now too intertwined with Rose and Tony, it was domestic and homey, it was a family activity - he couldn’t share it with strangers

and so, the Doctor discovered his first human hobby - quiet nights with Rose while farming pixelated food

or not so quiet nights with some pixelated adventures while Rose teased him for failing to aim

or loud weekends with Tony whenever Jackie and Pete had to be at some company event or just run away for a weekend vacation somewhere

that was not the most important or big first, but it was the most family one for the Doctor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Doctor loved playing The Doctor - his favourite killer on Dead by Daylight

Rose always giggled whenever he chose him in the selection menu

surprisingly she didn't mind playing this one scary game with him, they partied up when playing as survivors

'it's just a game of tag' Rose said

until one of the sneaky killers surprised them

it was the Doctor that yelled out in surprise (and a little bit of fear)

[brienneoftarth1989]

Undercover Part 3

Miranda Hilmarson x fem reader

Previous / Next / Series

Summary: It was Miranda’s first day in your gang and you were teaching her the ropes. She was very nervous but you just put it down to the fact she was working for the most powerful gang in Sydney

Warnings: threatening, torture, violence, gangs

Requests open

———————————

Today is another brand new day and you were slightly excited about your new recruit starting. Normally you would put training the new recruit on Raphael because you didn’t want to do it. However this time you actually wanted to be a part of the training.

Was it because you thought Miranda was attractive or was it something else? Who knows but you were going to find out on this journey ahead. You were currently sitting in your office trying to work out the plan for the day and what was going to work best in training Miranda.

You jotted down some notes in your notepad highlighting some stuff that you knew you needed to go over with Miranda. You also found yourself clock watching until Miranda got in which was only making the time drag even slower.

After a while you had done everything you needed to do in your office so decided to make yourself a coffee as you definitely couldn’t start your day without caffeine. You grabbed your ‘world's best boss’ cup before pouring yourself a coffee.

It was only going to be a waiting game from here so you went back to your office to enjoy your coffee and watch some Netflix on your phone. After a while of just chilling with your hot drink you finally heard someone knock on the door.

You looked up at the clock to see it was 9:00. Shit where did that time go? You thought to yourself. “Come in” you shouted from the other side of the door. You watched the door slowly open before revealing a very shy Miranda.

“Oh come in Miranda. Don’t be shy. I don’t bite” you laughed as you encouraged her to come into your office and take a seat to which she complied. “Don’t worry! Your first day will be piss easy plus you’re going to be spending the day with me. I won’t be asking too much of you straight away. Today I will give you a little tour of the place and get you started on some little jobs around here” you told Miranda before sitting back in your seat.

“Before we start, would you like a coffee?” You asked Miranda. “Oh no I couldn’t. Thanks for the offer but if I have coffee you will have to peel me off the walls'' she said as she let out a small giggle. It was infectious and you couldn’t help but to let out a little laugh as well. Jesus what was the woman doing to you?

“Well let’s start this tour then” you said to Miranda before standing up and getting ready to show her around the place. She stood up immediately waiting for you to show her the way. “Ok so this is my office which I know you're already aware of. If you can’t find me I am normally in here. Also speaking of not being able to find me, here” you said as you tossed a burner phone over to Miranda.

“That has everyone’s contacts that you need including mine. Think of that phone as your business phone and you shouldn’t use it for anything else. We don’t want to be leaving a digital trail for the cops do we?” You laughed slightly.

Miranda just looked tense before she let out a shy little laugh. It must be down to nerves. Hopefully she will snap out of that quick as you can’t be dealing with a ticking time bomb on your hands. “Come on. Let’s go” you said as you left your office.

You took Miranda around the base showing her all the important places that she would need to remember and you made sure to show her everywhere.

“Ok so this is the main hangout area. This is where we load up the cars mainly but a lot of the lads like to chill around here for smoke breaks so it has turned into the main hangout. There are benches and tables in certain corners. Feel free to do what you like there. Some people eat their food. Some like to play card games and make bets. You will find your friends in this crew. Trust me” you said as you walked through the hangout.

That’s when you caught Raphael out of the corner of your eye. “Raphael! Over here” you shouted. “Coming boss” he shouted as he made his way over to the both of you. “I know the two of you have already met but I want you to have a more formal introduction. This is Raphael. He is my right hand man. If I’m not around Raphael is in charge so you listen to him. Is that understood?” You asked Miranda.

“Yes y/n” Miranda responded. Raphael cleared his throat before talking. “Don’t be so fucking disrespectful. You respond with ‘yes boss’” Raphael shouted. You watched as Miranda jumped out of her skin. You quickly interrupted before things got too intense. “Actually Raphael I said that Miranda could call me y/n” you told him.

You watched as his face went bright red. “Sorry boss. I didn’t realise” he said, looking at you before turning to Miranda. “Consider yourself very special Miranda. The boss doesn’t let just anyone call them by their name, especially newbees” he smirked looking between the two women.

“Come on. Let’s continue this tour” you said as you made your way around the large building. “Sorry about Raphael. He can be very protective of me sometimes” you said apologising for his behaviour towards her. “If you don’t mind me asking, why is he so protective of you especially as he seems old enough to be your father?” Miranda asked. You took a deep breath at the thought of the subject.

Miranda could tell she had touched a nerve. “Sorry if that was asking too much. Don’t feel like you need to answer that question” Miranda said, trying desperately to change the subject. “No, no it’s fine. Really” you told her.

“My father was originally the leader of The Wildlings. He was unfortunately caught by the Feds which led to a death sentence. I was 10 years old when he died. I never even got to say goodbye. Raphael was my dads right hand man and my dad made Raphael promise to look after me and help me run the gang and that’s exactly what he did” you told Miranda trying your best not to show too much emotion.

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. It must have been tough on you!” Miranda said to you. “Yeah. I never even wanted to take over but when he died this was all I had left of him and I wanted to be with him as much as I could so I took over” you told Miranda as you continued to show her around.

“So what did you want to do?” Miranda asked. “I wanted to be a writer. I do write in my spare time but I wouldn’t dare try to get it published as I’m scared it will get me caught. You should read it some time. Some of my crew love to read some of my stories” you said smiling at Miranda.

“Yeah I would like that” Miranda responded. You continued to show Miranda all the important rooms in the building leaving the worst till last. “So this is my torture room. Unfortunately it does get used more than I would like but if people didn’t get on my bad side then it wouldn’t happen. Hopefully you will never find yourself on the other side of this door” you said laughing trying to make a joke out of the situation.

“Why don’t you show me what’s inside?” Miranda asked somewhat curious about what was on the other side. “Normally I would but it is currently occupied. I’m waiting for them to go insane as hopefully they will tell me what I want to know” you said pulling Miranda away from the door.

Miranda didn’t respond. Probably because she didn’t know what to say. “Well that’s the tour over. So let’s get you started on doing some jobs for me. Nothing too complicated today. A couple of the trucks have come back from doing some drug runs so the whole car needs to be cleaned inside and out. We need to make sure no evidence is left behind. All the equipment you need is by the trucks. Any questions you have can be diverted to Raphael but if you really need me I will be in my office” you told Miranda.

“Understood y/n. I will get started on that straight away. What happens once I’m done?” Miranda asked. “Oh don’t worry there will be more trucks coming back this afternoon so you will be spending most of the day cleaning. Shift finishes at 19:00 so about 18:50 start wrapping things up and you can pick up where you left off tomorrow” you told Miranda before leaving her and heading to your office.

You made your way to the office before looking out of the large window that looked down into the large warehouse. Raphael caught your gaze and winked at you. He could tell you liked Miranda. You just hoped that maybe she felt the same way. You didn’t want to get caught by Miranda so you made your way to your desk to get on with some paperwork.

Back down on the warehouse floor Raphael turned to Miranda. “You know she likes you,” Raphael told Miranda. All Miranda could do was quickly snap her head towards him. “Really? Are you sure you are not just imagining it?” Miranda asked genuinely confused if you did like her.

“Oh she definitely does. The boss doesn’t let anyone call her by her name and she sure as hell doesn’t always keep glancing at her crew. She definitely does like you. So I’m warning you now. If you two become serious don’t go breaking her heart as we will break you” Raphael threatened

“Don’t worry I won't hurt her, Raphael. That would be the last thing I would want to do” Miranda told him, trying her best to get on with the task at hand. “Good” he responded before getting on with his job.

Shit this was the last thing she wanted to do!

[ultwendyy]

mine

mikasa x f!reader

made a fic based on this prompt from

https://otppromps.neocities.org/

"mikasa and reader are playing a game unknown to the people around them, in which mikasa gradually moves their hand up reader's leg. the game is to see how far up reader will let mikasa's hand get between their thighs before they chicken out and stop them"

also posted at ao3

_____________________

You're all gathered at Jean's house for a weekly movie hangout.

"Babe, what are you doing???" You whispered to your girlfriend when you felt her hands creeping up on your leg.

"Nothing! Why are you so skittish?" Her eyes are showing a hint of mischief. Well who would believe you when you say that Mikasa—known to seldom express emotions around people—is a trickster when it's just between the two of you.

"Guys what are you two blabbering about? Care to share with the gang?" Eren shoots you two a teasing smile.

"We're just planning on what we would wear for our date on Valentine's day." Mikasa answered for the two of you.

"Do you really need to rub it in our faces how some of us are single here??" Connie threw a pillow at you.

That is the trigger for you to bicker with him, it's just so easy to get on his nerves. It was fun arguing with his dumbass. Sooner or later Sasha would join in, this would probably end with you all three laughing your asses off.

Now that you're somewhat distracted by them, Mikasa took this opportunity to level up. You're both cuddling on the couch now, watching whatever it is that Armin put up from Netflix.

"Babe!" You whispered to her as you felt her hands slowly moving upwards.

"What??" She loves to play with you once in a while. A great stress reliever, she says.

"You're distracting me." A pout forming on your supple lips.

"You say that as if you weren't distracting me wearing this short."

Oops, is it really that obvious? You're clearly not seducing her aren't you?

"They'll notice us."

"Nope, they won't if you keep quiet. We don't want them finding out right?"

You tried to stop her hands from moving up. Seeing how strong the taller woman is from you, her hands did not budge an ounce from it's position.

"Babe let's play a game, let's see how far you'll let me from touching you and if you did well I'll reward you."

"What's my reward?"

"Be a good girl and you'll see." A wink from her sent you into a blushing mess. Strong Mikasa is hot but confident and flirty? A sight to see.

You heard Armin calling your name after you fixed the pillow covering her hands.

"Y-yeah?" You answered him immediately to not arouse suspicion.

"Are you alright? You're turning red."

"O-oh I'm definitely a-ok! It's just a little hot in here right guys?" You tried to be convincing but all you got is Sasha eyeing you skeptically.

"I'll turn the AC's temp lower so you guys won't be uncomfortable, after all I'm the best host ever!" Jean boasted and got up from the couch to adjust the thermostat.

Shit that would mean getting cold and trying to steady yourself from squirming too much from her touch.

You clearly can't focus at all on the movie playing in front of you. Thank the gods above you're not ticklish because she's surely taking her time sliding her naughty hands. Now she's on your inner thighs.

A sharp intake before you abruptly stand up caught all your friends' attention.

"Guys I really need to go to the bathroom, bye!"

You hurriedly went to get away from your girlfriend. She's going to be the death of you one day that's for sure.

"I take that as my cue, so I'll follow her and ensure that she's alright.". You heard Mikasa give an excuse and went after you.

"But the movie is only getting to the good part guys!!" Jean complains but is told off by Ymir.

______________________

When you reached the bathroom, you approached the sink and splash yourself some water to calm down. A few soft knocks can be heard.

"Babe, I'm coming in." Mikasa says in a singsong tone.

"Why are you so red?"

"You're really asking me that?" You tried to intimidate her with a playful glare as if she would be threatened by it.

"I admit I'm a bit sad that our little game has ended abruptly." A pout appeared on her beautiful handsome face making you want to kiss her but then you remember why you're here in the first place.

"You're too mean! What if I accidentally moan? That's embarrassing Mikasa, aren't you afraid that their teasing would be endless." You crossed your arms as if to really prove your point.

"I can't help it, you're just too cute and irresistible." She now has you cornered and away from the door.

"W-why are you trapping me here?"

"Can't I spend time with my girlfriend?"

"But we're already spending time together??"

"I don't want you to share with our friends. Plus since you lost, isn't it only fair for me to get my reward?" A stupid smirk is plastered on her face.

"Your reward?"

Mikasa pretended to think for an answer but you both know what she really wants and her little game is just a hint.

You felt her arms wrapped around your waist pulling you into an embrace. She put her face on your shoulders mumbling about recharging her battery.

"We can cuddle on the couch and let you recharge if you want."

"Babe you're not getting out easily if you think you're so sly." A kiss on your collarbone is placed as her form of warning.

You felt your back hit the countertop near the sink.

"Can you be a dear and sit on the corner for me? Please?" Who can say no to her?

You obeyed her and sat on the counter awaiting her next request or order.

"You're so obedient, it makes me feel kind of bad for teasing you." She leaned in for a kiss and without anyone to interrupt you both, you finally succumb and let yourself be carried away.

Her right hand on your face, caressing your cheeks with gentleness and admiration. A nibble on your lower lip signifies she's getting more desperate. Couple seconds pass and you feel like oxygen is getting scarce so you regretfully pull away.

Without wasting any time, Mikasa slowly kisses down your neck. The smell of her lavender shampoo fills your lungs and makes you remember the first time you made out in her backseat.

A whine emitted from you, alarmed, you put your hands over your mouth to prevent any embarrassing sounds escaping.

It gets her attention,

"You shouldn't deprive me of your desires, I want to hear you." Her hands slip under your shirt and are slowly touching you, a pinch on your waist, they gradually settle on your chest.

"But we're not alone, they could definitely hear and maybe they're wondering what's taking us long?"

Lips busy sucking on skin, her hands fondling your breasts, leaving a hot and heavy feeling on your lower stomach.

"Then would you like me to stop?" She paused and looked you in the eye. You noticed they're full of want, her lips swollen and breathing hard as if she is restraining herself.

You shake your head and averted your gaze but she held your face and made you look at her,

"I need you to say it."

Silence filled the air, you could almost hear your own blood pumping.

"No, please don't stop."

______________________

The movie finished without you two returning. When you both get back, Ymir is smirking and all of your friends are either looking at the ceiling or they're busy doing things on their phone but with their cheeks tinted pink.

[drottni]

LBFAD rewatch observations part 9

1. His little touched expression when Xiao Run says "whats mine is yours, my friends are your friends" 🥺

2. Both of them feeling confused and guilty about Xiao Run and Lady Wanqing and naturally gravitating towards each other. Her saying "I'm in bad moood, chat with me." Him telling her I understand your feelings, I'm feeling them as well. Aahhh. Cutie patooties. 🥰

3. XLH hugging Danyin after realizing it was her because she had missed her!! "This expression, this tone, you used when you used to bully me eeeekkkk!!" *happy baby*

4. Danyin posessing the only brain cell in the entire Mortal Realm Arc and immediately saying "What, why the heck would Xiao Run kill his bride? With his personality? You dum dums planned your whole game on this ?!?"

5. Danyin really said "Gurl I will cut you! Don't test me." And I love her for that.

6. Ronghao using all his master manipulation tricks to guilt Xiao Lanhua but her still hesitating and being brave enough to say "DFQC is not a bad person". 🥺🥺 And it wasn't the threat to Changheng's life or Lady Wanqing's life that finally breaks through to her. It was when Ronghao reveals that DFQC plans on releasing the soldiers to wage war against Shuiyuntian that we begin to see her mind shift. The concept of "one person vs all people" really is at the core of her. (also it was the fact that DFQC lied to her that further pushes her...but gurl you lied too -__-)

7. Earlier, her telling him: "He is Xiao Run not Changeheng, he is not your enemy." And then later when she says I thought you and Xiao Run were friends now! and his reply of "Yes. He is Xiao Run. Not Changheng." *chefs kissess* 🤌🏼🤌🏼

8. Im gonna lose my mind. DFQC yelling at Shangque to find Lady Wanqing and Xiao Run and make sure no mistake happens because Lady Chidi's spirit is the most important thing right now. And then LITERALLY 5 SECOND LATER he kills Lady Wanqing without a second thought because she was about to kill XLH. THIS MAN. THISS MANSSS. He really just says "Xiao Lanhua >>>>>>" over and over and over again.

9. That badass music that usually only plays for DFQC scenes being played for XLH 😍😍😍😍😍

10. I swear they extended Dylan Wang Hedi's eyeliner or gave him even more lashes after the mortal realm arc cuz no way he is looking even more puppy/doe eyed than usual without even trying. Like he has got the "boy you're in love" look all overr him even while talking about politics.

11. The way she peaks out from behind the curtain and looks at him?!? The cute little bright sunshine smile she gives?!?!? The way he looks in her direction expecting her to pop out from there?!?!?? IM DYING THESE 2 KILLING ME.

12. DFQC : Why are you smiling?

Me: BOY why are YOUU smiling like for real boy you have not stopped smiling since this post mortal realm scene started like boy get in control your love is spilling out EVERYWHERE!!! people are tripping and sliding and falling all over it. There are injuries! 😄 I love them.

13. Uhmm him just taking the medicine without protest, taking deep breath, grimacing, then swallowing it down only to look up at her with thr puppiest of EYESSS like loook I did it are you happy?!?!? 💀💀💀💀 im dead

14. XLH LOOKING AT HIM WITH ALL THAT LOVE LIKE GURL STOP IM DEAD PLEASE STOP KILLING ME. Like we have seen so many DFQC gazing at her with love scenes but god this is her first full blown "I am in love with this man" look and it is ETHEREAL!! it is sunshine breaking through the clouds!! I need a gif of it.

15. Ya'll this whole scene seems too damn personal. Like I feel guilty for intruding. Like I should not be here in this room watching these two absolute babies just gaze so softly, and smile these small soft smiles, and bat their pretty lashes at each other, and DFQC stumbling awkwardly after her and then reaching out and holding her hand so tenderly conveying everything he is too shy to say. like this is tooo invasive. This intrusion is a crime.

16. The way he SENSES that she probably heard what they were discussing and is distressed!! The way he immediately goes to her!!! 😭😭😭😭😭

17. "Jieli said you wanted to be alone. I can accompany you" !!!!!! Insert that one Winnie the Pooh quote about Piglet offering to just sit in silence with Pooh when he is feeling down.

18. OH MY GOD CHANGHENG. FIND A BETTER TIME TO POP IN YOU LITTLE MENACE! Do you not see them having a MOMENT! Begone! (DFQC immediately turning the sky stormy and lightening... same honestly-_- fry him up and serve him for dinner King)

[defenderofthelight]

About me~

Hello! I'm Hannah and if you stumbled upon my blog - welcome! I'm glad you're here 🥰

A little about me: I'm a married 90's kid but I don't have any kiddos (yet). I work part-time as a barista, make designs for Redbubble, and am working on a couple writing/editing projects. I love coffee, tea, purple, pink, and pastel colors. I struggle with fatigue, major depression, anxiety, and C-PTSD but don't let my weaknesses hold me back or define who I am. I LOVE to create and although I've had some major slumps with my mental health, I always find myself going back to it. When I'm not creating, I enjoy spending time with my hubby or my closest friends and family. I also love video games (cozy indie games are my favorite), reading, music, collaborating with characters or story ideas, and watching Bob's Burgers, old TV shows, or anime.

My projects: Skyglass (main): middle grade fantasy series I'm currently writing about a bunch of fae kiddos. Premise: A young orphaned girl learns she’s from a magical world. But she must make an important choice—stay in her comfort zone and let fear control her, or step up and help change the course of history in her new world.

Project Burley (on hiatus): collaborative project I started on Instagram in 2019. It's about a creative arts school that houses middle school through high school students in a world where creativity is severely looked down on. I still love my kiddos deeply from this project, so I plan on posting more about them here. And if you're ever interested in reading my short stories and learning even more about my kids, links to my stories are at the bottom of this post and in my linktree.

TBN "Oreo" project (side): another story I've got in development that'll probably turn into a book. Premise: After being sent to a school for young criminals and social outcasts, Theo must team up with the eccentric Orly. Because their school isn't what he thought it was, and they are all in danger of being turned into weapons of war for their country. (I'll use the "Project Oreo" tag for this now).

AND I'm bound to post about miscellaneous other characters and story ideas. Since I play around with a lot -- but those above are my most consistent/serious ones at the moment.

Other interests: In case you couldn't already tell, I'm passionate about original characters, stories, and content. It's not that I hate fan made content (and you're bound to see fan art reblogged on my side blog sometimes), but there is something truly special about original ideas so that is where my main interest lies. I really hope to find many original character artists and writers here to love and support.

I'm also a huge advocate for mental health and strive to be a light in this dark, chaotic world. I plan to make my blogs safe, happy places for anyone to enjoy who shares common interests with me.

If anything I've rambled about resonates with you, I'd love for you to follow my blog! I promise I'll check out every blog that follows mine and give you a follow back if I like what I see 💜

You can also follow my side blog @heartsintent where I reblog posts.

Thank you for reading!!

Books I'm currently reading: The Golden Yarn (Reckless Book 3) by Cornelia Funke, The Hard Good by Lisa Whittle

Games I'm currently playing/regularly play: Stardew Valley (regularly), Coral Island, Spirittea, Farm Together (regularly), Sims 4 (regularly) -- I'm an Xbox girl, but I sometimes play on Switch too

Follow me on: Instagram | Redbubble | Goodreads | Spotify

Project Burley Stories: Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4

My bio picture was created by @sakura-artist &lt;3