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nocanonhere · 1 year ago

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Happy Wyll's Week! Day 7/7

-What Time Brought (More NSFW, Fluff, and the babiiiiessss). Here they were, navigating parenthood, and everything that fell outside of that. He loves this life, but would very much like some alone time with his spouse. (centered around my Tav, Aiya. Elf-Dragon Sorceress)

A light roll of thunder slipped through the halls of the estate.

“Thank gods,” Aiya praised, sliding into her side of the bed. “That dry spell needs to break. So much more difficult to garden when there hasn’t been rainfall.”

Wyll closes his book shut and sets it on his side table. Truthfully, he hadn’t been focused on it. The past few days have left the both of them too busy to really even chat before sleep came. He had been pulling late nights and early mornings, and she had an estate to look after, among other things.

And he wanted to make up for it.

She is barely settled in before he is rolling over, encouraging her to lie on her stomach and laugh into her pillows.

“Duke Ravengard,” she teases. “You should let a lady sleep.”

“I’ll get you to sleep,” he responds, making her laugh harder.

“You really should get some rest,” she tries again. “You’ve been going nonstop lately.”

He had. His back hurt from all the sitting, his throat was dry from all the talking, and his left hand was actually swollen from how much writing he had been doing.

The summer season was coming to an end, meaning preparations for the cold were in full swing. Another storehouse needed to be built, because they had another influx of citizens settling in the city and around the outskirts. Travel ways needed to be cleared and secured in case of another freeze. Last winter had made the ports all but inoperable, and so many shipments had been delayed due to no way for the boats to travel.

Not to mention, the autumn season contained many annual celebrations in one stretch. The city would start putting out decorations soon. He had spent his lunch break earlier writing a letter to Sorcerous Sundries regarding preparations.

And yes, the heat had been harsh lately. He was just as thankful as she was to hear more cracks of thunder splitting the skies.

But right now, there was nothing else he’d rather do but have some intimate time with her.

These past few days left little time for them to talk, but their life in general lately had left even littler time to make love. And he missed her, dearly.

He threw one of his legs over her side, straddling her thighs without sinking down.

“Let me enjoy you, please,” he asks, lifting his hands to lightly massage her back through her night gown.

She sighs, but makes no further commentary. For a moment, she is content with the tender care, but eventually starts to squirm and breathe deeper. And Wyll knows that’s his signal.

He leans over her, moving her braid to the side and kissing the back of her neck. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” she answers. “So much.”

His chest swells at hearing it.

He moves down her body, hands already sliding up her gown. She fakes sounding put off.

She has on nothing underneath, and Wyll is ever so thankful.

“You’re so beautiful,” he says, staring at her body. “I’m so blessed.”

“It’s nothing you haven’t seen before.”

He leans back down, kissing the small of her back, planting his hands on her hips. The days of being on the run and fighting to survive had kept her lean. But with a life where her basic needs were met, along with other factors, she had more weight to the muscle that had built there. He loved to sink his hands into it whenever he got the chance.

“I see the pink with the rising sun, and the purple of its’ setting everyday, too. And am no less enthralled by its beauty. Always ready to see it again.”

“Wyll,” she sighs.

He encourages her to lift her hips up, groaning quietly at the sight and smell of her; ready, for him.

He’s barely able to lean in before their door is opening.

Wyll flings himself to the side so quickly his head meets the headboard. He rubs it, briefly thankful that he no longer had horns to worry about. That would have scratched the wood for sure.

“Daddy? Mommy?”

Aiya is still buried in her pillow, trying to quiet her laughter. Her hands had already reached behind her and slipped her nightgown down.

This isn’t exactly how he wanted to spend this night, but he should have thought about it more. Nima didn’t like thunderstorms.

“Come here, Nima. Couldn’t sleep?” he asks.

They already know the answer, but she shakes her head, and climbs up to his side of the bed. He picks her up, joking about her being too heavy for this, making her giggle. He lays her in the middle.

“Mommy. Are you sleeping?” voice lowering into a whisper.

She is certainly not, as she lifts her head from her pillow and has tears of laughter in her eyes.

“No, mommy’s awake,” she says, turning back to her side and moving in closer. “Your daddy hit his head.”

“Oh no,” Nima responds, with every bit of concern in her voice that a three year old would have about something they truly care about. “I can kiss it and make it better.”

She doesn’t wait for his response, sitting up and giving him a kiss on the forehead.

“Thank you, bean,” he says, kissing hers in return.

“Where’s your other half?” Aiya asks.

“He’s sleeping,” she answers, sliding back down and choosing to lay sideways, leaving her head on Wyll’s chest, and feet extended in Aiya’s direction.

“He’ll be along soon enough,” Aiya mumbles. “He’ll know you’re not there.”

Seiha didn’t have a problem with thunderstorms, or loud noises in general, like Nima. But he did have a problem with not knowing his sister’s whereabouts, and not being in her proximity.

Nima starts talking about her day to Wyll, and he listens and comments with intent. They hear another patter of steps at their door, and in pops the other bean at large.

“Nima, mommy, daddy.”

Seiha trots over to Aiya’s side of the bed, climbing in over her to join the gathering.

Aiya is quiet as she watches the three of the interact. They are very sweet on their father, and he is over the moon for them. Two was certainly a surprise. At a midpoint check up, when the midwife hovered her glowing hands over her swollen stomach and her eyes widened, Aiya wasn’t sure if she should be afraid.

Wyll had not been with her that morning, but Ulder had been so kind to stay at the estate with her until her appointment was over. When she walked out of the bedroom and told Ulder the news, his eyes lit up in a way she had never seen before.

Her and Wyll were both only-children. Both had expressed to each other how having a sibling would have been nice. They are glad Seiha and Nima have each other.

It’s only been three years, but the shock of it still grips her sometimes. How had they done something so wonderful?

Nima goes a bit quiet when the thunder picks up. “When will the sun be back?”

“In the morning when you wake up,” Aiya answers, grunting when Seiha accidentally shoves a cold foot into her stomach.

“Can you tell us a story?” Seiha asks, brown eyes staring up at his father.

Wyll sat up a bit more. “One story and then we all go to sleep.”

The twins cheered in agreement, and Wyll reached back over to his side of the bed and grabbed the book from earlier. It would have its uses now.

As he starts reading the first sentence, Nima interrupts.

“Wait, can Papa come?”

Both Aiya and Wyll answer. “No.”

The next morning, Ulder has a child on each side as he walks them out to the carriage waiting to take them closer to the city. The kids were in school, and Ulder was happy to take them each day. He claims it was so Aiya and Wyll could have a small break, but they both knew he would do it even if they were willing.

Aiya is glad he stayed. At first, it was awkward, living with her fiancé and his father. The estate was large enough that no one was stepping on each other’s toes, but she wasn’t accustomed to seeing the man every day.

As she was, she didn’t open up to him very much. And despite Ulder’s political experience, he had difficulty navigating getting to know his soon-to-be daughter-in-law better.

When he had brought it up to Wyll, he told him that Aiya’s tendency to be more reserved was for a reason, and she would open up over time. And not that he retold their private conversations, but he did let his father know that Aiya wanted him to stay. She didn’t grow up with a large family, and she really didn’t want him to leave. Especially when they explored expanding their family in the future. She wanted whatever child(ren) they had to be surrounded by as much love as possible.

That settled his father a bit, and now here they were.

They kissed their kids as they prepared to leave for the day. As soon as Ulder opened the door, Nima yelled.

“Hello, sun!”

They set off, pulling Ulder along with them.

Aiya and Wyll sighed, standing there and watching them load up before they departed.

“Leaving soon?” she asks, still looking ahead.

“I should. But…

He trails off, and she nods her head, glad that they both seem to be of the same mind.

“Athenia and Hallael won’t be here for another hour to start on the garden. We have time.”

Once the carriage was riding off, Aiya gently closed their door, then turned around to find Wyll staring at her with mischief in his eyes.

She hardly had time to react as he picked her up and began carrying her bridal style back to their bedroom. She laughs, kicking her feet and telling him she can walk. But he kisses her face and tells her to let him have his moment.

They can’t go as slow as they normally like. It’s been weeks for them, and despite it being their home, they didn’t want to be tangled up together when more of the groundskeepers arrived to help for the day.

But he does keep their fingers interlaced, planted by her head as he kisses her. His hips move with a determination to get them both there quickly. But his searching lips make her feel like they have all the time in the world.

They hadnt even bothered taking their clothes off. He peeled off the robe she wrapped around herself and pushed her nightgown back up. And she had reached down to pull him out of his sleep pants.

“I love you,” he gasps, hips stuttering.

She looks up at him, adoration and devotion in her gaze. “I love you too,” she pants.

They finish together, his hands gripping hers to an almost bruising degree. It may not be the slow, sensual, communicative loving he preferred to give her, but it was enough to make her spine bow , and cry out his name.

He falls over to her side, both of them laughing at the mess they’ve created; chests heaving.

“We made good on time. I don’t hear anyone yet,” she said.

Wyll hums, still a bit too stunned from his climax to say much right now.

Time, he thinks. Him and time used to have an onerous relationship. He briefly recalls the night he confessed his desires to her, how he led with that speech about time erasing all.

But time has been kind to him lately. His father was here, their relationship stronger than ever. He had a council he trusted to help take care of this city and its inhabitants. He had not one, but two extraordinary parts of his and Aiya’s souls running across the house every day.

And as he turns his head, and sees his love lying there with her eyes closed and a gentle smile on her face, he silently thanks time for what it brought them too. They found each other in darkness; on the edge of the world with an abyss in front of them. And they still created something out of that. Life-long friendships with others, and loyalty to each other.

Time took him away from his father for years; left him wandering the lands searching for purpose. It brought long nights of loneliness, and many unanswered questions.

But time had given him answers too. Nights full of company, now.

Because time did erase, but it always began anew.

#wyll ravengard #wyll x reader #wyll #bg3 wyll #baldurs gate 3 #wyll is a father #wyll is a daddy #i gave him twins #bc why not #i love him #ulder ravengard #is papa #wyll'sweek #Wyll'sWeek #final day #sorry this is late #fluff

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kyndaris · 2 years ago

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Light in the Darkmess

When I first bought my Nintendo Switch all those years ago, one of the very first games I played was a little known title called Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. Who would have guessed that Mario characters - wielding guns no less - mixed with the crazy and rambunctious Rabbids from the Rayman series coupled with XCOM inspired gameplay would prove to be such a potent combination? I, for one, instantly fell in love with the game. And when Sparks of Hope was announced, I noted its release date down in my calendar, eager to give it a spin when it was finally out.

But what makes the connection so perfect was that, just like all those years ago, after trading in my old Nintendo console for something new, I was ready to have a Mario + Rabbids game take my new console out on its maiden voyage. Yes, that’s right. I got myself a new Switch OLED.

Now, I know you may be asking if I needed a new Switch OLED, and the answer is no. But with the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet inspiration for it, how could I say ‘no’ to a work of art? But back to the actual game in question.

Unlike my previous games, Sparks of Hope was a breath of fresh air from gritty realism. Far from the full browns and grey, it was a game infused with vibrant eye-popping colour. Better yet, it also contained a plot that didn’t take itself too seriously.

Following the events of the previous game and the battle with the Megabug, Mario and friends are enjoying a day out at Peach’s castle when suddenly, they are attacked by a Manta, infused with Darkmess. Once they defeat the enemy, rescuing Rabbid Peach along the way, they learn of the threat to the wider Mario universe: Cursa. With a handy spaceship already on hand, Mario and friends jet out into space to rescue the Sparks (a combination of Lumas and Rabbids) and put a stop to Cursa’s nefarious plans.

Such a simple and easy setup, yet it works so well in the context of the world. There’s no moping or indecision on the side of the protagonists. They just jump in, feet first, ready to help. Or, as happened during the exploration of one of the worlds, jumped several thousand metres from a flying ship into a raging maelstrom.

As can be expected in games such as this, the plot is fairly simple. Mario and his gang of friends, including their Rabbid counterparts, journey from planet to planet, fighting the Darkmess as they ultimately make their way to Cursa. There’s not much in the way of shock plot twists except, perhaps, the reveal that Edge had been the leader of the Spark Hunters created by Cursa.

Along the way, Mario and friends befriend the guardians of each planet and help the denizens with restoring peace and order to their worlds. While most of the additional content are simple side missions that pad out one’s time with the game, my favourite sidequest was the romance between a dryad and a lumberjack on the planet, Palette Prime. What enticed me was that though the two had differing views on the cutting down of trees (and what might have been considered commentary on climate change), the two were able, after some help from Mario and friends, to arrive at a common ground. The lumber that the lumberjack would use would be trees that were already dead or dying while the new sprouts would be left alone.

Unlike many sequels that would simply rest on their laurels, Sparks of Hope brought with it a lot of changes to the tried and true formula of the first game. While many of these were quality of life improvements, such as the flexibility in character movements where they could dash and jump with certain impunity across the ground, there were also changes to skillsets of many of the characters.

This opened up new ways to play the game, allowing much more variety in the teams brought into each battle. My favourite tactic, of course, was whittling away at an enemy’s health with a lot of the movement attacks (which didn’t use action points) and then destroying everyone up close and personal with the Dukes from Rabbid Mario.

Occasionally, I’d use Luigi, with his sniper’s steely stare to destroy enemies from halfway across the field. Or, I’d have Rabbid Luigi hit multiple targets with his frisbee.

Sparks of Hope also introduced three new playable characters. Enter: Rabbid Rosalina, Edge and Bowser! One is the epitome of every teenager told to do chores. The second is a ‘too cool for school’ type and, of course, the last is an enemy turned reluctant ally. If ever there was a chance for an enemies to lovers story between the Mario gang and Bowser, this game is it!

And yes, I know people have jumped onto the Bowuigi train already following on from the trailer of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but well, to add to everyone’s collective headcanons regarding their relationship, did you know that there’s a sidequest in Sparks of Hope where Bowser and Luigi team up?! No? You didn’t? Well, now you have it! You’re welcome!

Diversion aside, these new characters bring with them new ways to fight against the corrupted Rabbids under Cursa’s control. Rabbid Rosalina had the ability to bring about ennui in enemies, making them unable to move, shoot or use techniques. Her primary attack is with a gun shaped like a Luma plushie, acting almost like a machine gun with its rapid fire. More importantly, it helped add to the aesthetic Rabbid Rosalina was going for. And honestly, that’s probably the most important thing.

Edge, on the other hand, was almost a parody of skilled swordsman in many a turn-based strategy game. With hair colour that was a combination of black and green, she evoked the heroes of years past. You know the ones: gruff and stoic, looks cool? I mean, it’s in her very name! Edge! If you add a ‘lord’ to it, you basically see where they were going with it.

As for Bowser, well, the king of the kappas was always keen for an explosive entrance in my playthrough. His stomps and the bazooka he wielded were excellent at targeting groups of enemies, even if the damage he inflicted was fairly subpar compared to the other characters. Still, as I soon learned in Sparks of Hope, crowd control was a very important skill to have on many a map.

Combined with the revamped Mario and friends, the additions made for versatile team combinations depending on the objective. Better, they were all very fun to play with. Especially without the worry of permanent death of a beloved character should they be knocked out in battle. Plus, there were also ample ways to heal up each character after a scrap. True, some might prefer a hard-as-nails strategy game, but with these colourful characters from a beloved IP? Are you insane?

It needs to be accessible and fun! Not frustrating.

In this, Sparks of Hope succeeds. Though there were the occasional tough battles, most of the game was pretty forgiving. And with the ability to adjust difficulty, I’m sure it would as a perfect entry point for those that are curious about the genre as well as appease a few of the strategy-game purists on the internet. Especially since it doesn’t have too complex a setup or unfair difficulty spikes.

On the other hand, I did feel Sparks of Hope faltered a little when it came to memorable bosses (Hello, Phantom?). Still, they managed to keep them challenging and were also able to match the bosses with the unique themes of each world that Mario and the gang stopped at in their quest to save the universe and put a stop to the evil Cursa.

Oh, and before I forget, let me just regale everyone with how excellent the music is in Sparks of Hope. From the minds of three GREAT composers comes the soundtrack to this second entry of tactical strategy Mario games: Grant Kirkhope, Yoko Shimomura and Gareth Coker!

For those that don’t know, Gareth Coker is the composer behind all of the beautiful pieces in Ori and the Blind Forest. Grant Kirkhope on the other hand, has been known for many pieces behind classic Nintendo games. As for Yoko Shimomura, well, there’s no need for an introduction here on my blog. As a fan of Kingdom Hearts, Yoko Shimomura has been a huge part of my gaming journey. And the pieces that she composes are absolute FIRE!

Overall, Sparks of Hope was just the game that I needed after playing through the emotionally taxing A Plague Tale: Requiem and the political masterpiece that was The DioField Chronicle. Colourful, cheery with a plot that needed little brainpower to understand (even if the puzzles did), was just the palate cleanser I needed before I tackled the very serious Dad simulator that is God of War: Ragnarok. Beyond that, it’s a good game that brings a lot to the table, even if it didn’t quite blow my mind as the first game: Kingdom Battle did with its unique take on the world of Mario.

#video games #mario + rabbids: sparks of hope #bowuigi #rabbid rosalina is a mood #mario + rabbids

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mediaevalmusereads · 2 years ago

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The Master and Margarita. By Mikhail Bulgakov (trans. Diana Burgin and Katherine Tiernan O' Connor). Vintage International, 1995 (originally 1967).

Rating: 4/5 stars

Genre: literary fiction, Russian literature, 20th century literature

Part of a Series? No.

Summary: One hot spring, the devil arrives in Moscow, accompanied by a retinue that includes a beautiful naked witch and an immense talking black cat with a fondness for chess and vodka. The visitors quickly wreak havoc in a city that refuses to believe in either God or Satan. But they also bring peace to two unhappy Muscovites: one is the Master, a writer pilloried for daring to write a novel about Christ and Pontius Pilate; the other is Margarita, who loves the Master so deeply that she is willing literally to go to hell for him. What ensues is a novel of inexhaustible energy, humor, and philosophical depth, a work whose nuances emerge for the first time in Diana Burgin's and Katherine Tiernan O'Connor's splendid English version.

***Full review below.***

Content Warnings: blood, violence

Overview: This book has been on my TBR for a while, and as I was in the mood for some lit fic, I decided now was the time. To be very clear: my rating is entirely subjective. Modern fiction is not really my jam, but I do recognize the talent and craft that Bulgakov used to compose this novel. It's a marvelous piece of fiction that contains a stunning snapshot of 1930s Russia as well as intertextual references to make any lit major happy, and I think anyone with an interest in either Russian literature or Faustian narratives will enjoy this book.

Writing: I can't speak to whether or not the translators did a good job of faithfully representing Bulgakov's prose, but I do think they did a good job creating a translation that flowed well and was rather playful in tone. This book is full of humor, and even at the level of diction, the translators made choices that really brought out feelings of absurdity. This isn't to say the whole book is comedic; the translators just as deftly communicate heavier themes and oscillate back and forth with incredible subtlety.

I also really appreciated the commentary included in my edition. I don't have much background in Russian history or literature, so having the commentary was helpful for understanding some of the allusions to Russian culture, politics, and scholarship that would have otherwise fmgone over my head. It wasn't so dense that I felt like it was a slog; the translators knew just how much to include, and I appreciated their diligence and attention to what was most important.

Plot: The plot of this novel essentially follows a large cast of characters as their lives are turned upside down by the arrival of the Devil in Moscow. The Devil- called Woland - is accompanied by a number of intriguing figures, and they cause chaos in the city in a way that exposes the true face of 1930s Muscovites.

I really enjoyed watching Woland and his retinue cause chaos. Bulgakov has a wonderful, whimsical imagination, and I liked the way the devil's tricks said something pointed about the society and people he was tormenting. I also really enjoyed the passages where we got a parallel narrative about Pontius Pilate, and the two timeliness seemed to blend together seamlessly.

I will say, however, that not much "action" happens in this book, so readers that enjoy very plot-driven narratives might not like this book. Bulgakov is less interested in crafting a story and more interested in exploring philosophical topics, and sometimes, that means that nothing much "happens" on the page. Still, the descriptions are compelling and the humor is entertaining, so that might be enough for some.

Characters: There are quite a few characters in this book, so I won't be able to cover all of them. I will, however, talk about some of the bigger players.

Woland and his retinue are generally pretty fun to follow. They cause all kinds of mischief, and though they are demonic figures, they never do anything that made me feel like I was reading something grimdark or violent. If anything, their tricks are clever, and there's quite a bit of dark humor in some of their conversations. They never really felt threatening, but they were dangerous nonetheless.

The Master and Margarita are two Muscovites whose names grace the cover of this book, but strangely, they aren't really central characters until maybe halfway through. Personally, I thought the Master could have been much more developed; i didnt really get the feeling that he was some grand genius, and Margarita's decotion to him felt a little contrived. However, I really enjoyed reading about Matgarita's adventures as a witch. When she decides to accept Woland's offer, I felt like I got such a compelling look at her psyche, and I loved following her as she flew around the city without a care in the world.

I also, strangely, enjoyed the character Pontius Pilate. Bulgakov gives us a more historical look at the Biblical figure, and I liked the way he was affected by Yeshua and the weight of his own moral code.

Other secondary characters fulfilled their purpose. I don't think Bulgakov was trying to make them all super developed, and to be honest, not every character needed to be. They were woven into the narrative when needed, and at no point did I feel like the novel was lacking.

TL;DR: The Master and Margartia is a stunning work of modern Russian fiction, and this edition is all the more incredible for the work the translators put in to bringing Bulgakov's prose to life. While I wouldn't recommend it for those who like more action-driven plots, I do think it prompts several philosophical questions and pokes fun at 1930s Russian culture, which make it such a delightful read.

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nobody-knose--archive · 4 years ago

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i’ve been aching to commentate spirit phone’s commentary for ages. glad i finally got around to it, this was an ejoyable experience. liveblog below the cut

-i'm like half certain i've heard this commentary before. maybe not the whole way through & it was probably actual years ago

-nice hearing stuff like this. in-depth personal view of the album-making process. makes it seem like more of a real thing i could do myself someday

-neil cicierega real person momence

-i could probably go real in depth about neil cicierega/tally hall parallels specifically concerning like. the arc of their musical careers. but i won't, here

-wild how i legitimately don't care much about micheal jackson

-didnt we get a bunch of spirit phone stems from the needlejuice release/his patreon? we could probably hear the funny track he speaks of here in that

-i love hearing musical artists, especially neil cicierega, talking about the meanings of their songs. like, not only has this song been claimed to hell & back by the tumblr gays, but with later ones i just can't see where he gets these ideas from. also, claiming there's any one meaning or plot to a song just seems silly to me

-shoutout to neil reusing a midi from like, 1998, that he made at 12 years old, whose entire melody was reused for the main verses of everybody loves raymond. loved finding that out on my own 2 years ago. now it's common trivia in this fandom. not bad times

-it'd be neat if neil did individual trans tracks here like he did with view monstel, those things are half of why i consider it my favorite album

-it's a lot easier to ignore the creator's intended meaning behind a song when he can't even remember it. thanks neil

-seesaw effect

-and there's my joke all but 1 of my followers wont get. moving on

-what kinds of movie theater lobbies has neil been to where there are arcade machines. i mean im not one to talk but that does sound rather strange

-why do songs' titles even need to be taken from the lyrics. ive never seen that as any sort of requisite. it's like titling any form of prose you can just give it whatever name ya like

-"this part sounds pretty cool right"

-is neil's vocal range only mildly better than mine? with training i could change that

-oh i haven't processed any of the last 25 seconds hold on

-god. a shit ton of vocal modification in this song. it's like neil returned to his roots but with quality this time

-i, as an ace/aro, have never related more to an allohet guy in my life. what is the point of eyes!

-professional humming/whistling takes skill. it's different from the recreational or casual stuff. i'd know

-there's a name for the way sound (especially music) gets distorted when moving past you and i can't remember it but it's probably what neil's referring to here in the way he recorded the intro

(- update: it's the doppler effect no need to tell me cas already did)

-as someone who hasnt seen the rugrats or take me there by blackstreet i'll just say it sounded like a bouncy music box melody. nice to hear a song that messes with the typical scales though. lydian & diatonic.

-that's a rather specific thing to be glad about, but given what he talked about in his last full audio commentary about the jew harp i suppose i'm not surprised

-i know that tmbg song now. listened to it & saw the music video too. yep they're different alright

-where the hell does neil get all these instrumence from anyway

-huh. hadnt heard this part of the commentary before making my oc concerning this song but i like to hear neil's approval concerning part of my interpretation

-i love how ive heard a billion different tellings of this mellified man story from lem dem fans talking about this song and neil's is by far the wildest

-good god that does only make it worse neil

-i love making liveblogs of lemon demon albums. with the fullerenes or tally hall i cant name a specific dude to take out my woes on generally but with lemon demon i can just say neil all the time. i like being on a casual first name basis with this dude ive never interacted with once ever

-is sweet bod the one other than cabinet man with a demo in the bonus tracks? i forget

-holy shit the boston molasses disaster someone call up soapy if it doesnt already know, it'd love this

-two thousand nine. god i miss the fiddle solo. the ver with it is truly the best one

-he pronounces it jeff? i've always read it as gef with a hard g. that's what i get for knowing words that are never spoken aloud

-that's a fun meta interpretation of this ghost story that's over a century old. i like that

-i've noticed neil generally does the same synths across a whole album. it's especially more clear in the earlier ones, and does mean i occasionally mix up songs between clown circus & live from the haunted candle shop

-ah! ancient aliens! my least favorite track on this album. i cant even claim to have the least interest in a popular one i've just generally not liked this one much from the beginning. so im curious to see what neil's got to say, i think ive been in ~new commentary zone for a while now

-anyway. newest update on the loolin not realizing a song's funky time signature front: i think this one's in 6/4. or at least switches a lot between time signatures. granted i dont listen to it very often for the reasons stated above

-see the way neil describes it. eldritch horror upon being visited by the unknown at a time when humanity'd hadn't even yet had a chance to imagine such a thing occurring. should be right up my alley. but the sound itself & many of the lyrics simply turn me away.

-must i specify i don't dislike it? spirit phone is neil's best album it not being my favorite doesn't mean i think it's bad yadda yadda nobody should be surprised by this it's not like anyone in these fandoms reads my liveblogs <3

-granted i think this is. the first bit of spirit phone content i've made on my blog ever. so who knows things can change <3

-the transitions in spirit phone are much less view-monster transition tracks & more extended outros. view-monster's were a bit more intro than outro sure but they also seemed directed upon making a 2-way rather than 1-way bridge between tracks. or something like that

-.............soft fuzzy man is an incredible nickname for a cat. i'd steal that if i werent afraid of introducing my relatives to lemon demon

-jirls

-an underlying metaphor is good enough. the literal side of the lyrics are fun. nothing but agreement here neil my good man

-the transition into as your father i expressly forbid it from soft fuzzy man is the best one in this album

-buddy you ask if a musical idea has been used before odds are the answer is yes in this day & age the question is has it been used in the way you're using it. like sure this soul jazz record from the 60s that was sold out in kansas stores for a week used this bassline that youve found yourself copying. but seeing as youre using it in some angsty garage rock ballad type tune does anybody actually care

-doesn't everybody like to say things in an unhinged manner from time to time

-imagine having a guitar dad, i say, with my dad being a folk accordion/fiddle dad, which is infinitely worse in every way

-i think he was in an actual folk band at some point. idk the 90s were weird

-iron my life?

-m-more intimate? there are a lot of ways i'd describe this song but intimate isn't one of them. granted as your father is negatively intimate so from there i guess you've got nowhere to go but up

-...still glad to see his interpretation kinda supports my oc at least

-the way he says characters in songs shouldn't worry about death really strongly makes me think this is some sort of. thematic continuation of stuck from dinosaurchestra, even if there's no real death in there. interesting. would also mean that the dad from these past 2 songs is named carlos betty (no last name)

-i literally never assumed this was a flute solo. piccolo at best. it's pretty clearly a recorder

-my mom plays the recorder. i wonder if she can play recorder better than neil cicierega

-we can throw a party in honor of the crushing weight of responsibility! i simply won't be the one throwing it because i have enough on my plate already <3

-what the hell does "a sense of intent" mean

-i've never heard rush before however i disagree with neil's understanding of 6/4. 6/4 is meant to have emphasis (onbeat or another term i can't remember) on the 1st & 4th beat of every measure, which is greatly different from a measure of 4/4 then a measure of 2/4. it's why his 5/4 always sounds weird, because while it's recognizable in sequences of 10/4, it's more 2 measures of 4/4 with one of 2/4 tacked on the end. that's also how it's different from 3/4. i don't know much music theory but what i do understand i will fight to the death about

-"canonized" that's. a very interesting term to use when referring to a former president

-from now on i will interpret every love song directed at some unseen "you" to be inviting me to marry them for tax purposes. thanks neil for being an aromantic icon

-ah hell yes hell yes man-made object is my favorite goddam song on this album

-short & sweet & good damn vibes. neil's thoughts on it all are only making it better

-wild how he uses very few vocal effects for a song that he clearly is straining his vocal range for. go off neil

-the qualifier of man-made is a wonderful thing. oldest or biggest thing? oldest or biggest man-made thing? what a incredibly important specification. a world of possibilities lie between the two. oh i love it

-just gets me thinking yknow! what we consider weird/impressive in another species, in our own species- what kind of equivalent to that would there be from an outsider looking in? are there alien versions of the significances we place upon things, that we could never imagine? the limits of the human imagination mean we could never conceive of something else in the world that isn't, in some way great or small, just like us- and are we wrong for thinking that? such a juicy topic i wish there were a name for it because it's kinda hard to explain concisely

-spiral of ants. my second favorite song from this album, in fact. a good one to experience

-the vocals are just another instrument. they really truly are. i wasn't going into this commentary expecting to feel solidarity for neil cicierega in this chili's tonight on more than one occasion but here i am.

-like, his whole stance on interpreting songs is something i agree with almost entirely. you can take it at face value, you can dig to their very depths, you can listen to songs without caring what the lyrics mean whatsoever, and those are all fun. & yeah while any of these people can be annoying as one of the types who enjoys gliding on the surface more than anything i find those who dedicate themselves to figuring out the whole meaning of a song over anything else to be both slightly scary & slightly annoying <3 keep up the good work

-i want to make songs for my siblings the way neil makes songs for his sibling(s)

-spinch

-neil really shouldn't be allowed to be this funny like this whole album youre thinking golly! he's just a normal man this neil cicierega! and then he starts listing the cat hacks jokes & you remember he's had ridiculously consistent viral success with all his humorous endeavors and holy shit it's neil cicierega in action talking about his music. god bless you neil

-you're welcome, no problem, my pleasure. good eveternoon, radio audience!

#lemon demon #spirit phone #pretty sure this is my first bit of spirit phone content on my blog. hi greater lem dem fandom nice to see y'all. go listen to deporitaz #loolin liveblogs #i enjoyed this less for the content the commentary contained & more for the way i handled it. more pleasant than some times ive had #tis i #i havent listened to spirit phone in general in ages. i know why. so this was nice #to the world and back again

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felassan · 4 years ago

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Jon Renish (Foundation Technical Director @ BioWare, working on DA4) recently did a Twitch stream where he played through some DAO. Although he works on DA, this is his first time playing through DAO. He’s playing through it looking at random details from a dev perspective as he’s currently working on DA4 and therefore wants to know more about the previous games.

On the stream he mentioned some tidbits on the development of DA4. There were also some insights and anecdotes about the development of DAO and similar. It’s a 3 hour stream so I collected them here in case that’s of use to anyone (for example not everyone can watch streams which don’t have subtitles/captions). The stream is a fun/interesting watch though, so if you’re curious or able to watch I recc doing so. 😊 The rest of this post is under a cut for length.

Please note that there’s some paraphrasing on my part, this is not a transcript. There are also some additions from another dev who featured on the stream to give some commentary. The stream also contains more snippets that at times I couldn’t make out (I tried my best!).

(There is a mention of Cullen’s VA in the text below.)

DA4

Jon said he can talk about things about DA4 that aren’t “consumer-facing”, but he can’t say anything about the game that would be consumer-facing but which isn’t already publicly available. There are several reasons for this. One, that’s not his job, there are people whose job this is and they let each other do their respective roles. Two, BW are a publicly-traded company, so if he said something that could affect that that would be insider trading. Three, they’re not done making DA4 yet, so if he said that they have added [x] to the game and people got all excited about that or pre-ordered on that basis, but [x] ended up being cut, people would be like ‘BioWare lied to us’, when it’s just that things changed during the course of development, as is often the case

He’s glad that fans are excited for the game but notes that fan expectations are always double-edged. It can be really tough as some people started ‘playing’ the game in their heads as soon as they heard of it. That’s fine, he loves that, but he hopes that peoples’ expectations don’t turn into requirements. Clearly BW have alluded to certain characters, like Solas, being in the game, but some fans say things like “If [say] Morrigan isn’t in the game, then, rahhh!” Y’know, there’s a lot of talk about how certain characters have to be in the game, and yeah.

On characters which are quantum (i.e. characters which can die or which can have similar end-states as death in previous games): their being quantum makes it really hard for the devs to work with those characters in subsequent games. The devs naturally aren’t going to put as much effort into characters which could have died previously. A character can have had an amazing appearance throughout/role in a previous game, but if there is a risk of something happening to them and of them being removed [effectively] from the plot, it just doesn’t make sense to have them as a major character in a subsequent game. If a character can, say, sacrifice themselves in some glorious ending, the devs have to make sure that if they use them again, in worldstates where the character didn’t do that, the character is kind of ‘muted’, as the devs don’t want to disrespect the players who made a different choice

A comment in chat expressed a wish for Shale in DA4. Jon’s response is that he has no idea on that front

Bugs don’t come out of crunch, they come out of development in general. Crunch does impact on the quality of a game though. In recent years BW are always really trying to reduce crunch, they’re currently working really hard to bring it down. The best way of doing that is by controlling scope. As creatives it’s tough to balance wanting to make great stuff and be industry-leading with the desire to constantly do extra passes over things they’ve created like the audio, art etc. Their biggest enemy is time, other ways of reducing crunch or time spent in general include iterating tools to make often-repeated processes as time-efficient as possible

I think the following was an observation on the industry in general as opposed to a BW-specific/-exclusive comment: he thinks that as a result of this sort of thing [working to reduce crunch], a lot of games are going to have to be smaller and a lot more focused in scope i.e. the devs will have to focus on hitting the key selling points of that particular game/series as hard as they can, and cut down on branching out sideways/wide on a bunch of random other stuff

Jon doesn’t personally engage in character creators in games, but he knows that for some players that expression is worth a lot of time and focus. BW want to be industry-leading in this kind of stuff as it’s something which is interesting/key/integral to their games

In a way BW have made their own nest of problems what with every DA game being so different to the previous one. Still, he notes that each game has a staunch fanbase that says that their particular favorite game is the best one in the series

He doesn’t want people who think that DA4 isn’t what they want to buy it and be upset - there are so many other great games out there! BW are going to make the game they’re going to make - if some people like it, that’s great, and if some people don’t, that’s cool. Sometimes waiting until reviews are out and/or really seeing beforehand if a game is something that you want [has things/features in it that you want] prior to getting it - as opposed to jumping right in or pre-ordering - is a good idea. Fans don’t always know what they want, but they do know what they like - these are 2 different things

He hopes that whatever they ship for DA4, people go “I enjoyed this experience”, and that then, if there’s additional content for it down the road, people can decide, “do I want this further content?”

On hair: BW are using the new hair technology in the latest version of the Frostbite engine, so they’ll see what they can do! This was said in response to a comment about the hair in the latest FIFA games (as EA make FIFA)

A comment in chat asked about a flying mechanic (griffons). Jon’s response is that flying is such a heavy gameplay mechanic that you can’t put it in a game without everything in the game being built about it (see Anthem)

Relating to the above comment, in DA4 mounted combat would be cool but then they’d have to make the game ‘around’ mounted combat and make the mounted combat feature meaningful

On the underwater concept art: it should not be interpreted as a promise of gameplay. BW have amazing artists who sit down for a couple weeks while they’re in early production and just draw loads and loads of all kinds of stuff. Concept art is like a moodboard or Pinterest board. Elsewhere in the stream he advised, take all the concept art together like a mosaic and ask, ‘what is the overall theme[s] here?’, and to zoom out from individual details. [This stuff echoes PW’s word on concept art]

BW don’t generally write things or the choices as bleak as the choices in DAO were anymore. This is a conscious choice on their part, they want their game to be fun [note: this was said when the side quest in Orzammar where the Warden has the option of convincing a dwarven mother to abandon her young baby to die was being played through. It seems to refer to intensively grimdark choices/beats of this kind]

I think this was more of a general comment on games: SSDs (solid state drives) mean that players will see shorter elevator rides (Mass Effect - was this a reference to the remaster?) and fewer switchback corridors (those are actually loading zones). Generally, these are going to change mechanically the time it takes to do stuff in games

The devs have lots of features on their backlog that they’d like to offer players but each will ofc involve implementation and subsequent maintenance, and each one that is chosen to add is being chosen over something else. And sometimes, it’s hard for them to tell if [x] feature or [y] feature would be better to add to the game

They’re about to work on a giant feature (a pure tooling feature, something that isn’t consumer-facing) that is probably going to take ~2 staff years of effort [I think “staff effort” includes multiple staff working concurrently, so 2 years of staff effort doesn’t = 2 years of time chronologically] to get done in the next few months. They’re investing all this effort across the people working on it because they don’t want their artists and designers etc to have to deal with the problem that it’s going to solve anymore. I’m not sure what this feature is but elsewhere in the stream they referred to tooling and automation and gave the example of, the better your tooling is, the fewer times you have to manually set the camera for a human vs elf vs dwarf position, for dynamically-generated [cinematic?] content and for the first pass to be automated (if this is the case, less time is spent/wasted on redoing it and manually touching it up) [see last bullet point in this section]

He doesn’t know how big DA4 is going to be but said “let’s ballpark and say like most games it’ll be somewhere between 70 and 100 GB”

If we kept our Wardens as the PC throughout all 3 games, at the end they would be so powerful that it’d be a bit like “Let’s just do [thing], I’ve killed gods before, whatever”. He thinks it’s good that they have fresh characters each time in DA in order to reset that power level. Some people want more Commander Shepard in the next Mass Effect and he feels like, ‘what else could you possibly want / what else could that character possibly do after 3 games?’

When asked how much freedom he/they have now to focus on next gen, he said that there’s actually almost no difference on that front. The problems never change. They now have better renderers, better ray-tracing, better graphics cards etc, but they have always made DA games for high- and low-spec PCs, so it’s actually about gameplay systems. The freedom isn’t power-based and them getting access to more cores and more RAM generally isn’t going to change how the games are played. The games still have to be made for hard drives on PC. Dev creativity matters more than power here. The challenge of building a BW game is more about/from managing loads of different plotstates, loads of different art pieces, etc

On the title situation (two): names are the last thing they worry about because names have to go through legal before being approved. Every name, including character names, has to be checked in case it’s a famous person, or associated with something bad, or offensive in a different language due to localization etc

They don’t do face scans of people with big beards

There was also a bit about changes/developments to/in the cinematic design process and associated tooling [?] but I found it too hard to follow sorry >< This bit of commentary begins at timestamp ~ 1:52:45 and continues til ~ 2:00:05 [keep listening through the bit where they pause for a cutscene]

General BW

There’s currently ~350 staff in Edmonton, ~200 in Austin and more elsewhere

He notes that DA games sell pretty well, but relative to EA games in general, they’re a drop in the bucket compared to FIFA

DAI

5% of players of DAI never created a character [Q: does this refer to people who just used the default appearances/presets with no editing, or people who only played multiplayer?]

The mounts don’t actually go faster than running, this is an illusion

I think they said it has 55,000 lines of dialogue. [I’m pretty sure I remember devs elsewhere saying it has 80,000 lines of dialogue]

One of the companions had to have their name changed during development because of legal/translation reasons. It sounds like the original name sounded too close to something offensive

DA2

Back when DA2 was internally code-named “Nug Storm”: this was at the beginning when it was pitched to the team on a set of slides. The image on the slide for that pitch had devil horns, a metal hand and no flesh, it was just made out of fire and flames

DAO

The engine DAO is made on is the third engine that they tried for it during development. [David Gaider has gone into the DAO engine stuff some on Summerfall’s series of DAO playthrough streams]

The cracks on the cracked eluvian asset are modelled after the crack on the Tardis in Doctor Who from around that time, as at the time some devs had been talking about Doctor Who a lot. A dev actually added this factoid to DAO’s entry on TV Tropes but someone else (evidently not a DA dev) came by and deleted it saying that it was too much of a stretch x)

Before the game had its name there was an HTML script that randomly generated possible titles for consideration, it adds verbs and nouns together e.g. “Grim Dark”. One of the craziest possibilities that it once generated that the devs always remember is "Bone Wind”

One of the portraits that’s used for decoration around the world in-game (it’s of a bearded human man) is actually of a specific BW staff member

He played through Stone Prisoner, where Wilhelm’s son Matthias gives exposition in the cellar. Matthias is voiced by GE and this had been pointed out to Jon earlier on. Jon: “I don’t think that character’s voice acting was super strong there”

On the in-game area towards the end of Stone Prisoner: Outdoor areas in games are large and one of the things needed for them is streaming, so different chunks can be ‘streamed in’. There’s a tower [?], and technically the top of the tower was made an outdoor level so that sky stuff could be there, though it didn’t really need to be. The person that made it an outdoor level chose the very smallest chunk size for the terrain mesh, which determines how fine of a streaming they do. So when playing, every time you moved like 4 meters, the game would stream out 50-100 chunks behind you and the same in front of you (this is the bubble around the player of what actually exists). Because it was so small, it was constantly thrashing the CPU and disc to do all the loading. The devs were like “this isn’t going to work”, but they barely had any time. The solution: they made a new level that was outdoor and copied all the sunlight and other settings, but with the largest chunk size. They copy-pasted the entire level from one to the other. The problem with that many chunks then is that there was a giant expanse of flat terrain sticking out of the middle of the tower. They didn’t know if the story was going to involve shots of the outside of the tower for this sequence or not, so they took the terrain deformation tool and bundled all the terrain vertices at the bottom of the tower in a giant clump. So to this day there’s a mess of vertices and twisted terrain at the bottom of the final level that probably no-one has ever seen [not sure though if this anecdote is in reference to a place in that DLC or somewhere elsewhere in the game?]

There were also some tidbits on Anthem, however I didn’t note them down (sorry).

If you think I misheard or misunderstood anything from this stream please let me know and I will edit/fix it. :)

(Thankyou to some of my friends who explained a tech detail from this to me.)

[source] <-- current rewatch link

#dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #dragon age #bioware #video games #greg ellis mention #morrigan #queen of my heart #solas #mass effect #anthem #next mass effect #i love these factoids and insights into game dev it's so interesting and fun #i actually started this post yesterday but 2 hours in I was so sleepy (it was mad late) so I called it a night

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munsonenthisiast · 4 years ago

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Then & Forever

A/N: I wrote this in like five days and had my bestie edit. This is my first time writing anything, but I love Josh so-

Summary: Since you started working for GVF, you and Josh had grown close to each other over the years. This time you hope your feelings don't get in the way of ruining everything you built.

Contains: Smut, drinking, smoking, cursing

WC: 10.9k

"So you're saying that. . . you've never played an instrument before?" Sam pointed at his bass. You laughed at the question, sipping your beer. "Correct." Sam furrowed his face in confusion. "Then why do you have a degree IN music if you can't play?" Josh hit Sam on the shoulder with a pencil making a small face. You shrugged your shoulders, swishing the alcohol around your mouth. "I don't know, It's just something I've never wanted to do, you know. I guess it's one thing knowing about an instrument rather than playing it."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Well, if you did play anything I'm sure you'd be really good at it." Josh smiled towards you. He went back to writing in his journal while everyone else went back to respectively playing their own instruments.

But for you, it seemed a long way home. Never did it cross your mind that you would basically be living with four different people from time to time. Especially not so quickly. Greta Van Fleet was your first job, and really, first anything. From high school until now, you were alone. Which made you a little grumpy when working with people, but none the less you warmed up to them quickly. Especially Josh, who always seemed attached to the hip with you.

Josh may have annoyed you a tiny bit at first, but his euphoric mind is what intrigued you in the first place. He always seemed so wise, knowing the right answer to everything. And the way he wrote the lyrics to songs, just naturally appeared to him somehow. It was truly magic.

Jake smacked you on the arm, calling for your attention. "Ok, what do you think of this." He pulled the guitar over his lap, playing the notes he came up with. You quickly wrote down the notes he played, looking out for any correction. "So what do you think?" He asked, flailing his arms around. Running your pencil down the piece of paper, you started to shake your head. "I think it sounds pretty good," you said looking at Josh, who also nodded his head in compliance. "What would also sound cool is if you gave it a little vibrato during a live show."

Jake smiled writing the commentary down on a sticky note. "You know, for not knowing how to play, you really are smart with this kind of stuff." You glared your eyes at him, snickering just a little bit. Everyone worked for a couple of more hours, before calling it a night. Danny and Sam were practically sleeping on each other.

You shook Sam awake, snatching his car keys from his hand. "We'll both be dead if you drive, and were the most important in the band. Well, besides Danny. And Jake. And Josh." You twirled the keys around your finger while Sam stretched to get awake. Josh flipped all the pages over in his journal, turning to you. "We got pretty far today, don't you think?" Josh smiled at his brothers, who were already arguing about something. "Yeah. Maybe we'll get better stuff done tomorrow, you know. This is supposed to be the 'fun' part," you said using air quotations, "but the most boring part out of everything. But maybe, in the end, it'll all be worth it." you hit Josh's arm softly.

"Are you going with Sam?" you nodded quickly. "Yeah, I kind of promised him I would help him with some stuff in the morning." Josh looked sadder than ever. You smiled at Josh, noticing Sam waiting by the door with Jake and Danny. "I'll see you later." You gave Josh a quick kiss on the head.

"Let's go." you wiggled a finger at Sam, practically dragging him to the car. The ride to Sam's house was fairly quiet other than the little snores coming from him. It was nice to get a moment or two of peace to yourself. Working and living with four grown men gave no room for privacy. Everything is shared between you all. Which you had to admit, scared you a little at first because you've always grown up with a sister and maybe a few girlfriends here and there; but you were never as close to them, then as you were to the band.

The house was quiet when you walked in, dark and dim from the night sky. Sam immediately walked to his bedroom, and passed out on his bed. Which left you alone in the kitchen. Putting some of the items away in cabinets, you looked around at all the brothers' family photos, including some of Danny. It made you smile to yourself to see some of them so young and happy. Maybe a little vulnerable too. You were a little envious of how confident some of them had been with their work, just being able to put themselves out there, accepting failure. Not you though. Failure made you angry, furious even. Sometimes it got so bad, you'd hide away for days without any contact with the outside world.

After putting all the trash away, you headed back to the spare room. You turned on all the lights, changing into some warmer clothing. Crawling under the sheets, sleep came easy that night.

When you woke up, the blinds had been left the night before causing you to shoot out of bed. Quickly rubbing your eyes, you went to the bathroom to clean up a bit. When you walked towards the kitchen, your feet padded beneath you. Sam still wasn't up, which was pretty normal. You started some coffee and cooked breakfast for the two of you. Though, something triggered you to open a forbidden drawer and bum a cigarette. Quickly lighting it, you messed around with food until it was cooked.

"A cigarette at 8 in the morning?" Sam questioned groggily, clad in just sweatpants. "Well, you know me; I only smoke when I'm forgetting something." You both said in unison. You quickly waved him off, pouring food onto a plate for both of you. "I wonder WHO you're forgetting." You scrunched your face, looking around the room. "What do you mean who?" Sam scoffed. "Josh," You quickly rolled your eyes, slamming the plate down on the table "Eat the fucking food you loser." You both contently ate in peace while making some playful banter here and there. "So what exactly do you need help with?" Sam pulled out a cigarette from the cartridge, silently lighting.

"I need help with a decision." Sam stared at you while you nodded your in question, pretending like you at least understood what he was talking about. "Look, I just want you to go with me to buy another bass, ok. And I want to go to the record store." Narrowing your eyes, you pulled the cigarette from him. "I feel like this is something completely different than what you're telling me." Sam shook his head slowly. "Nope. I still want to keep the mint-colored bass, but I just want to have a cool collection, you know. Oh, let's buy something expensive!" He pointed the smoke at you, while you collected the dishes to put in the sink. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, please. We can not go broke. Not like last time." You shuddered at the thought.

"Thanks for the food. I'm gonna get ready." You flinched your eyebrows and kept washing the dishes, putting them in the dishwasher. You quickly went back to the room for a change of clothes. By the time you were done, Sam was waiting at the door for you. Grabbing your coat and your shoes, you both headed out the door. Sam was walking coolly beside you, as you both looked around the town. Shops were lining down the small street, with cars passing through. He put his arm around your shoulder as you both passed through large crowds. Finally finding the music shop, you both walked in, heading to a certain section.

"So remind me," He paused to look at a sleek grey bass, flipping it over a couple of times. "Why don't you ever get with Josh? I mean he obviously likes you." You scoffed a little bit at his statement. "I thought we were here for you Sam, not to talk about me." You picked up a dark wood bass, showing it to Sam. "I mean with that same logic why don't I ever get with you? I mean we're close, right?" He rolled his eyes, still playing with the instrument you showed him.

"I think I like this one." Sam brought it up to the counter, talking to the girl up front. Who seemed to really enjoy the conversation they were having. Turning on your heel, you waited by the door playing with some random drum sticks. Sam eventually walked over and led you out. "It'll be delivered in a couple of weeks. I bought a whole new one." You pursed your lips smiling at Sam. "Did you also manage to snag that poor girl's number?"

Sam pushed you upside the head as you walked into the record store. You both parted ways looking at different sections. You flipped through vintage albums, picking out random ones you thought everyone would enjoy. After looking through some more, Sam found you and walked to the front to pay. "You found quite a lot there," Sam said, peeking through the ones in your hand.

"Yeah, figured I could add a bit to my very depressing collection." you chuckled, looking at one of the sleek covers. "Don't you have like two?" you glared back at Sam. "Which I believe are both of your band's albums." Sam laughed. You both paid, bags in hand.

"So what now?" you asked Sam as you both mindlessly walked around. "Probably go home. Want me to take you back?" You nodded in agreement and headed back to his car.

After saying goodbye to Sam, you walked back up the stairs to your apartment. When you opened the door, Josh appeared from your room, causing you to nearly break the table in the hallway.

"What the hell Josh!" He shrugged his shoulders, making his way to the couch. "What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting until you got back from hanging out with my brother. What were you two doing anyway?" Pouring a glass of water from the sink, you took a sip, and made your way to the couch next to Josh. You leaned your head back on the cushion, staring at the ceiling. "Sam bought a pretty hefty bass, and bought more records." You looked over at Josh. "What about you?"

"Well you know," he sighed. "Tried to work on writing up some new lyrics. Even went over to Danny's and Jake's to work some stuff out. It's coming along nicely." Setting the cup down on the coffee table, you looped an arm around Josh's, leaning your head on his shoulder. "Good. It'll come out beautifully in the end," you said patting his hand. You sniffed, sitting up in your seat. "Are you staying for dinner?" Josh hummed looking up at you. "Oh yeah. I was actually wondering if I could stay for the night; get's kind of lonely at my place." You nodded.

"Yeah, that's fine." You walked over to the kitchen. "Anything in mind you want to eat?" you asked. "Uh, how about that chicken. The one you make with the rice, mushrooms, and asparagus." You started to pull out the pots and pans, placing them on the stove. You leaned back on the counter watching everything cook. To be quite frank, you didn't know how you would handle Josh staying over. Of course, you and Josh were rather close, it even shocked people that you knew each other so well. After all, he knew you better than your own blood.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. On one hand, it would give you time to think some things over and ponder the questions Sam had asked you earlier today. And then you could for sure decide what you wanted to do. You grabbed some plates and moved the food over to the table. Josh was already seated, patiently awaiting your arrival.

"Looks good, as always." he complimented, raising his hands towards you. "Thanks, Josh." you smiled.

"So," he said, chewing his food. "What happened at the music store?" Rolling your eyes at the thought of Sam annoying you, you told him about how he was flirting with the girl at the front desk. "I mean just giggling, and laughing, it was like watching teenagers make out." You made a small coughing noise thinking about Sam flirting with that poor girl. "But, you know, as they say, there's someone for everyone," you said sarcastically, shaking your head. Josh let out a high-pitched laugh at Sam. "That's Sam for you. He bore you with anything else?"

You thought about all the moments were Sam had bullied you over liking Josh or falling in love with Josh. Of course, you loved Josh but you weren't sure whether you were 'in love' with him per se. He was practically your other half. Nobody else could compare to that. But it was hard to decipher whether you even liked him like that. "You know. The usual; stuff about when you all were younger and more embarrassing moments."

Josh covered his face with his hands, groaning. "I hope it wasn't all too bad." He shook his head, eating the last bits of food. "Not at all, actually." As you both finished your plates, you sat in comfortable silence. That was until Josh spoke out about something.

"Hey remember that time- ugh geez, when was it," he asked, pressing on his face. "Probably around the time I first met you, and I pretty much knew then you hated my fucking guts, man" You let out a breath at the thought of Josh thinking you hated him. "But that was also the time I kept catching you listening to the album at the time. Just over and over and over again." Josh just shook his head thinking of you. "I didn't- hate you," you confessed. "I just really didn't know how to be around people so much. I did like that album though." you laughed, pointing at Josh. Who also laughed along with you. "Look, I'm sorry I made you feel that way; I just, I've never really had close friends like you." Before he could say anything back, you picked up the plates, placing them in the sink.

From inside the kitchen, you could hear him talking to his brothers on the phone. The usual screaming, laughing, and anger from whatever stupid joke someone told. It honestly made you wish you were closer to your own sister. Whom you haven't spoken to in the past ten years. After you finished off with the dishes, you walked to your bedroom. Which was hard to admit, but you had an entire wall full of Greta Van Fleet photos from when you first started working with them because you had a hard time telling who was who.

"Oh, I remember these photos!" Josh exclaimed as walked into your room. He marveled at all the photos you had printed out and plastered on the wall. Some even had labels of all the boy's names. "Yeah, a little creepy, don't you think?"

Josh shrugged. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt because you didn't know who we were, and I know some people have a hard time differentiating between us twins." You turned around and opened up the bag full of record vinyl, handing some to Josh. "Here, I bought some for you earlier, and I figured I could use some- given the only two I have are from your band." He giggled, flipping through the different albums. "Oh, Bob Dylan! What a legend and old Michael Jackson! Very good stuff." You patted his shoulder as you put away all the other albums on a shelf.

"So, the spare bedroom should be good-" Josh cut you off. "I was hoping to sleep with you, actually. Unless that makes you too uncomfortable." You nearly choked on your own spit when Josh asked you that. You really didn't think he'd be that lonely. "Um, no that's fine. I'm sure I have someone's clothes here you can use." He grinned.

"Thanks." You handed him some spare clothes and left him to change in the bathroom. When you returned he was already tucked in, facing the wall with the pictures. Turning off the light, you quietly slid in next to him. You'd never really been in this much of an intimate situation, no less next to Josh. It wasn't awkward, but it was just hard to decipher the feelings of the both of you, and where he was going with his suggestion. "Can I ask you something?" Josh whispered. He turned around to face you closer.

"What was your initial thought when you first met me?" You laughed a little to yourself. "When I first met you I wanted to be exactly like you." Josh propped himself up on his elbow, leaning even closer to you.

"What about me?" he asked. "I don't know. You were always so confident, and the way you carried yourself; just, it made me so mad and angry that I couldn't be like that. Maybe that's why it came off that I hated you a little bit." Josh laid back down.

"Listen, you'll always be the best thing that happened to me. When I first met you, I thought you had the most brilliant mind out of everyone I ever met. Except for Danny. He's got an excellent brain." You smacked his arm laughing out loud.

"Thank you, Josh." You rolled over onto your side, hoping to fall asleep soon. Before you did though, you felt Josh slip an arm around your side; his face falling into the back of your neck. Soon, both of you fell asleep together.

When morning came the next day, Josh was still entangled in your back, but this time his arm was hugging you tighter. At any slight movement, he just pulled you closer. Finally giving up from moving away from Josh, you laid there silently in his arms. You silently traced the creases in his hand, thinking absentmindedly. He stirred a tiny bit but never woke. You took this time to turn around and look at him. His arm still wrapped around tightly on your shoulder; causing you to bury your face into his chest.

Inhaling his warm scent, you just about closed your eyes imagining a world where you were in love with him, and he loved you back. At this moment, he started to finally wake up. You decided to keep your eyes closed, too embarrassed to see what his reaction would be to find you both like this. You could feel Josh's eyes looking around the room before they made their way down to you. Feeling the certainty of him staring down at you made you panic a little. But then you could feel his hand start to part through your hair, moving it out of your face. His movement followed by leaning forward, giving you a long slow kiss on the forehead.

Then there was the fine sensation of his lips lingering on your skin. He started whispering your name, shaking you awake. You slowly blinked your eyes to make it look like you hadn't really been awake all this time. He smiled brightly when you both made eye contact. "Good morning," he said softly. You smiled, placing a hand on his chest. "Good morning Josh."

Letting out a little yawn, you turned over and sat up on the side of the bed. You sipped on some water that had been on you bedside for a while, then stretched out. "What do you plan on doing today?" you asked groggily. "Everyone wanted to meet up today and go over some stuff. Wanna join?" you quickly nodded your head.

"Great. Well then, I'll go take a shower and get ready." He walked away silently, leaving you all alone once more. Deciding against the better of things, you too got up to shower. While waiting for the water to heat up, you traced against the spots where Josh's hand had been.

It's like there was a space left on you, but you could only feel the invisible touch leftover from him. Jumping in the shower felt like you were committing a terrible sin. The handprint of Josh washed away as every drop of water hit your body. But it felt just as warm and comforting as him. After quickly getting dressed, you met Josh at the front door who was holding it open for you. The crisp autumn air surprised you in the face when you walked outside. The sidewalks weren't too busy but crowded to perfection

You both got in the car and drove to the studio. Everyone was already there by the time you two made it; For some reason, Josh had wanted to stop to get everyone coffee and a bagel, which you really couldn't say no to. Sam raised his eyebrows at you when you walked in with Josh pretty late. You hit him on the arm lightly. Sam rubbed the part of his arm, cursing you off. Everyone, including you, walked into a backroom set with all the instruments anyone could think of, and two very well-loved on couches.

The lights in the room were set to a dim, vintage-style brown, illuminating everyone's tan features. Josh handed the food out, starting the conversation. It varied from topic to topic.

"How is everyone?"

"Are there new ideas anyone wants to talk about?"

"How about we do this instead of that."

Josh snapped his fingers in front of your face, waving his hand around. "Hey silly, I asked you a question." you looked up quickly, meeting everyone's gaze. "Huh?"

"I said do you have any ideas on what we should wear?" You pulled out a small sketchbook from your jacket pocket showing Josh, and the rest of the band on the different aesthetics for clothing. "I was thinking about stitching some nudity art on the back for Josh. I'll probably go shopping for some silk and thread. I found this really cool jacket piece for Jake; I'll add some things on it, and a shiny blazer for Sam. As for Danny, I found these really nice pants, but I have to tailor them. I'm still trying to find a smooth shirt to go with."

You wrote down some reminder notes giving the rest some time to process anything and get started. Josh sat next to you on one of the couches, pulling out his note journal. He pointed out some of the lyrics, whispering to himself before showing it to you. "I came up with these this morning." your cheeks turned red, though you doubt Josh could see given how dark it was. You read through the lines in each glorious manner. They each had a delicate touch to them, written with something personal

It reminded you of something ethereal. Like being in outer space, and getting to look at all the planets from afar. "What are you thinking?" Josh asked. You let out a short breath before answering. "I think it's good. Really good in fact. I can feel it's personal to you, you know."

Before he could respond, there was a line of curses causing you both to look up. Jake was yelling at himself and the guitar in his hands with a tiny string poking out from the neck of the guitar.

"This fucking piece of shit keeps breaking," he he groaned, with gritted teeth. Rolling your eyes, you went to the other grabbing some new guitar strings. Handing them back Jake, he mumbled out a thank you. "Guess what, it's not that hard to get up and get new strings, Jake. I just did it by myself." Everyone laughed at your taunting to Jake, getting rid of his frustrated mood.

"Well, you're the best." He poked your shoulder. You headed back to another room to think about some more things. Possibly about Josh; but the majority for the band. Really working with them, never gave you time to put yourself out there. Which wasn't a terrible thing. In fact, you preferred not to out. You've always had a one-track mind. Focused too much on one thing, forgetting completely about anything else. It's probably why you'd failed out of most schools during your high school and college career. It always ended up being too much for your brain to handle.

Maybe that's what you feared most. Things always getting in the way; either making you angry, or angry enough to run away and never look back. You didn't want that with Josh. Nor did you want that for this band. You made some more scratch notes, listening to the muffled sound of music. After a while, you doodled in your notebook for some clothing ideas. Stitching had been one of the many skills that stuck with you since when. You never really knew where you learned to do such a thing.

Josh always told you how marvelous your work was. That it belonged in a museum of some sort. He knew somehow that you'd do great things with art. When sketching became boring, you shopped around online for some fabric, and thread, ordering what you needed. When finished some smaller portions of work, you fell back on the couch pushing your hair out of your face. Josh walked in at the right time, pulling you back into the studio.

"We hashed some things out, figured what don't and do want for some of the songs. Think we'll be ready to record in a few weeks." All the boys cheered each other on, pushing each other around. "I think this calls for a celebration over some drinks."

"Great idea. There's a bar a couple of blocks from here. What do you say?" Everyone hummed in agreement, piling out the door. Josh had a hand on your back as he walked you out through all the doors.

When you walked inside there were a few people seated around. It wasn't overbearing crazy. Everyone took a seat at the bar ordering drinks. You had already taken a couple of tequila shots to loosen up for the night. "So tell me," Josh slouched down in his seat. "What do you think the future holds for this band." You giggled, already a little drunk.

"What I think doesn't matter Josh. I think that you'll be successful in whatever you choose to do. I think it's you as the leader to help everyone along. In my opinion, they're here to support you and your ideas. I mean, of course, they have their own input but you get what I'm saying." Josh nodded along, sipping his drink. "That's quite a mouthful, but yeah. I'd do anything for these people. For Christ's sake, three of them are my brothers. And Danny I've known for like ever." He pointed to them, which they were all fighting about something.

Josh shook his head, looking down at the floor. He placed a hand on your shoulder as he left for another drink. Sam soon replaced Josh, slouching in the same position. "What were you two talking about." He waved a finger around your face. To which, you quickly swatted away. "He loves you, Sam. We love you. I love you, Sam."

Sam pursed his lips, squinting his eyes. "You're that drunk already?" You hummed looking at your watch seeing as only twenty minutes had passed. "Well Sam, the night's still young, so I'm willing to get fucking wasted if you are." He quickly nodded his head, ordering the two of you more drinks. As the night went on, all of you managed to play twelve rounds of pool (none of which you won), a game of cards, and meet totally random people. You, including the boys, were completely wasted and it wasn't even one in the morning. Danny and Jake had left to go god knows where, leaving you, Sam, and Josh talking to some random girl at a table. Looking over at Josh, you felt your heart hurt a little.

Sometimes you wish you had the assertiveness that Josh had to talk to him. Deep down you knew he would never reject you. He would randomly bring up why you never got together, but you always dismissed the conversation too scared of what might happen. Sam slipped next to you, turning his chair around to face you. He followed your line of sight, his eyes landing on Josh laughing with the same girl who's been here for hours.

"Look, if it pisses you off that much, talk to him later. It's not like he's gonna hate you for the rest of his life. He practically loves you to death." You shook your head, taking another drink of your beer. "I'm just- I'm not mad- I'll just never be able to be that person who can just randomly walk up to a person and fall 'in love' with them." You cried. Every time you think about it, you just want to go to bed and hide. "But how come I never end up with people like you or Jake or even sweet people like Danny. Why does it have to be Josh?"

Sam sat up in his chair, turning it back around to face the bar. "Why don't you try it. Maybe you fighting inside that big head of yours really doesn't like Josh after all." Sam said as he cradled your face, shaking it around. "Really?" Sam shrugged. "What's the worse that can happen? If something happens, so be it. Never hurts to try anything."

Sam bent down quickly, kissing you softly. His lips felt smooth against yours like running a hand over pliable silk. He swiftly ran a hand through your hair, pulling your face closer to his. Finally, he pulled away, smiling down at you.

"Nope." you shook your head. "Well hey, at least we know." He patted your shoulder, walking away towards a game of cards being played.

The next day you woke up with an intense headache. There was some leftover water and Ibuprofen on your nightstand. You didn't know how you made it back home or really remember anything at all from the night before.

You downed the pill and some water, making your way slowly to the bathroom, balancing yourself on a wall. You turned on the shower letting the hot water settle the uneasiness in your stomach. The pounding inside your head kept going on for what felt like hours. It didn't help either that you were trying so hard to remember the night before. Of course, you knew that you drank more than you could handle. Then there was Sam. But it all stopped there.

The shower helped a little bit. You danced around to find some clothes to get ready, or at least look decent. After getting ready, you drove back to Sam's. When he opened the door, you noticed Jake and Danny were there already. Except for no Josh. Not that it was out of the ordinary, it was just something you expected.

You made your way through his kitchen, pulling out a cigarette. "I don't think you really wanna be smoking that right now." You glared at him before putting the smoke out. "Um, do you remember what happened last night?" You asked, rubbing the small spot on your head in hopes to get rid of the pain. Sam bit into a piece of food, answering with his mouth full. "We kissed. Yeah," he nodded in assurance. "Yeah, we kissed." You let your head fall into your hands, groaning.

"How'd I get home?" Sam hummed, pointing his piece of food at you. "Josh. Although, he seemed pretty pissed at me. You were also super drunk." Right, you thought. Of course, this would happen to you. Partially you blamed yourself for being so stuck-up and bitchy most of the time, but part of you wishes Sam just pushed you away. Why were you so indecisive all the damn time? For once, it would be nice if you could make a whole-hearted decision without going out and fucking everything up.

You scratched around your eye, watching Sam as he went to go sit next to Jake.

4 weeks later. . .

It really had been almost a whole month that you had gone without talking to Josh. Some nights you wish you could pick up your phone and just text him, but you know it would go unnoticed. It hurt just a little bit. Every day you blamed yourself for screwing things up. When was it not your fault that something went wrong?

You sat bored at home. You tried to catch up on different things like laundry, cleaning, reorganizing literally everything, but nothing seemed to work. You muffled curses under your breath at nothing. That was until you got a text from Jake saying that everyone needed your 'strong womanly brain' to work with. Over the four-week period, you hadn't really talked with the other band members except for Danny (who seriously cares for anybody and everything), and Sam who just random stuff.

You flipped through a random magazine, flipping through the pages reading about the different styles and how to flaunt them. That was until a text from Sam disturbed you saying that everyone needed you at the studio ASAP.

You ran to your door faster than ever, quickly putting on your coat and shoes. When you arrived, no one was seen at first, so you went to the back and everyone was gathered around in a large, huddled circle. Jake was the first to greet you, Sam following close behind.

"Hey! I haven't seen you in a long time." Jake towered over you, pulling you into his side. "Yeah, my mom called. Wanted me to go see her." you lied, looking at Sam, who had just turned in the other direction. "Well, I hope she's doing good. Look, I wanted to see your opinion on some things. Just general stuff, okay?" you nodded. He led you back to a table and passed some papers around, and a little CD that had pre-recorded music. Before any of you could speak though, a door creaked loudly, and out came Josh with a petite girl beside him. His smile immediately disappeared when his eyes landed on you.

The girl looked. . . nice. In other words, she looked like a pleasant enough girl Josh would pick from a crowd. She had a tan, rich skin like his. With wavy, brown hair. Unlike Josh, she had more hazel-green eyes. Everyone stood there awkwardly, looking around at each other. You scratched the top of your head, eyes facing down towards the table. Jake cleared his throat before grabbing a seat for Josh, and the girl.

And of course, to make more room they were both seated in between you and Jake, making her sit right next to you. You smiled nervously towards her as she got herself situated. For a while, you stared at the velvet walls as Jake led on the conversation. You felt a little poke on your arm and noticed she was trying to talk to you.

"Hi, I'm Logan," she whispered. The one thing you noticed about Logan was her smile. It reminded you of Josh. His naturally bright teeth could make anyone instantly happier. "Y/N," you said curtly. You weren't the one to start a conversation, but luckily she made it easy.

"So, how do you know Josh?" she asked, pointing to him. You played around with your nails, turning to look at her. "Uh, I work for him," Not 'I'm his best friend or anything. Totally just ruined the relationship I had by kissing his younger brother because I'm really in love with the man your dating' "And them too, of course." you gave a hesitant laugh, pointing to the rest of them. She bit her lip, turning to listen to the conversation, and then back to you.

"How long have you known all of them, or like worked for them I guess?"

"Around three years. This will be my fourth I think." she nodded with your answer. Finally, she turned back around to listen to what Josh was saying.

You looked back down at the disc, swirling it around on the table. This is hard, you thought. It's all you can think about. Logan's so kind towards you; not the weirdly hostile type. She's not annoying, not inconclusive about anything. Logan's perfect in her own way. She's perfect to Josh. Something you've always wanted, but you, yourself stopped you from having.

"So, uh Y/N, can you take a listen to the CD?" Jake asked you. "Yeah. It'll just be a little later though. I have to finish some other stuff." There was silence as everyone stared at you. Including Josh, who seemed to have a permanent look on you.

"I can listen; if you're busy," Logan speaking up caught you by surprise. It may have angered you a bit because that was your job, to listen. You just looked back at Sam anxiously, who shook his head at you.

"Oh, my bad," Josh said loudly. "This is my girlfriend- Logan. Who you have all met before, but not Y/N. Forgot to introduce you two." If everyone hadn't been in the room right now, you would've gotten up and hit him right across the head. Logan kindly smiled back at you. "Yeah, we were talking earlier," She said pointing to you. "Well, as I said, I can listen if you can't."

If it was anybody else, you would've said something back already. But who were you to yell at this kind, beautiful woman next to you? Though, Sam must've read you wrong since quietly grabbed your wrist. "Sure," you said, handing the CD to Logan. Sitting back in your chair, defeated, what else were you supposed to do?

Another lousy week passed, and you wanted to jump off a roof. It had been raining for the past few days, never letting up once. No one had really made contact with you except Danny (you secretly loved him to death), and Sam. You were pretty sure the rest had picked up on the tense atmosphere and didn't want to bother you. No doubt, you probably wouldn't want to speak with yourself either.

You shrugged off a sweater, playing with the end of your sheets. Life was so boring now without any entertainment from anyone. You eventually rolled over on your back, staring a hole into the ceiling. You went over every excuse and explanation you could give to Josh. You understood why he was mad, you figured that much. But sometimes you wish he had his smart wisdom back to understand you better.

You fell to the floor sometime later, reading something random off the shelf. You flipped through the pages mindlessly before you heard some knocking at your door. You ran quickly, opening the door to find Sam standing there with bottles of gin and tequila in his hand. Laughing quietly, you led him inside, finding some bottles for drinks.

"What brings you around?" you raised your eyebrows, pouring some tequila for you and Sam. "Josh," he cleared his throat, taking a few sips. "What about Josh?" Trying to hold your breath, made you curious as to why Josh's younger brother was so angry at him. In fact, you wanted to burst out laughing. "He's so stubborn with everything, and the way he talks about you. God- it's like- I've never seen so much hatred from him." Sam shook his head downing the rest of his drink. He poured some more in his cup and your cup.

You took Sam's hand leading him to your room. You put on Labi Siffre, an old, classic album. You also turned on one of your dim colored lights. They lit up Sam's cheekbones perfectly, making his pale skin glow flawlessly. It looked smooth enough to run a finger over and feel the gentle, velvety skin of Sam.

"How does he talk about me?" Sam closed his eyes, thinking. "He just doesn't let go of the subject. Anytime you or I come up, it's just this rage of fury from him. He almost shuts down essentially. You know," he burped. "They all went out tonight."

You hummed at that. "They all went out, leaving behind you and me." You scoffed at the thought of Josh with Logan at your favorite bar or restaurant. "I'm so sorry Sam." You rubbed his arm, looking down at the floor next to your bed. "That was you and your brother's relationship, and I just," you flicked your hands, making a whoosh sound. Sam laughed, leaning into your side. "Don't worry about it. I like helping you out. Josh can be a little much sometimes."

You elbowed him in the side thinking about something. "Hey whatever happened to the girl from the music shop? You ever talk to her lately?"

"Yeah," he huffed out. "We've been talking lately. She wants to meet up sometime soon, but I don't know." You cocked your head to the side. "Why not. You clearly like her and she really likes you. I don't remember when the last time some actually liked you." Sam pretended he was hurt, pushing you to the side. "I'll ask her sometime when I'm not busy. She's nice."

"And pretty?" you questioned. Sam let out a laugh, swirling the alcohol in his cup. "Very pretty." You both let out sighs sitting in comfortable silence. Although, your mind was occupied with thoughts of Josh, swirling around and never-ending. There were times you just wanted to get up and say fuck it and try to at least explain. But of course, the rejection of him never wanting to be your friend again would kill you. Maybe this was the universe's cruel way of saying you and Josh were never meant to be together in the first place.

If so, you hated it.

Surprisingly, Sam was the first to wake up. Which rarely happens considering how well you knew him. The poor boy slept through everything. He started shaking you awake, poking and tickling your sides. "Are you dead, jeez?" You quickly rubbed your eyes, sitting up. "Sorry, the alcohol must've really knocked me out." Sam stifled a yawn, sitting on the edge of your bed. "Well, we can do one of two things today," he noted. "We can either go to the studio and face my brother, or we can- do nothing else. That's really it. I kind of swore I would be there today."

You couldn't stay inside any longer. You decided against the greater good to tag along with Sam. Maybe you could talk with Josh, and clear the air. "Can I go with you?" Sam nodded feverishly. "Of course; that's like your job."

"It doesn't feel like it. Logan's pretty much taking over, so what's the point of me." You scoffed thinking of the mellow girl who seemed to get along with everyone. You hated to slander her, but you just wanted Josh back. You and Sam left in a rush, hastily driving to the studio. You walked inside with a cigarette dangling from your lips, smoke escaping through your nose. Sweat seeped from your palms making you excited and nervous at the same time. You felt like an outsider coming in on your job. Thinking about seeing Josh made it worse.

"Hello, Hello Y/N" Danny strutted over, hairs sticking to his forehead. He pulled you in for a tight hug, nearly suffocating you. "Hey, Daniel." you moved the hairs around his face so you could see him better. "Long time, no see, man." He laughed walking back to his seat behind the drum kit. You followed Sam to the other rooms where Jake and Josh might be hiding. Sure enough, Josh was standing next to his twin, listening to a riff he was playing. They immediately stopped talking to each other. Josh scoffed at you as Sam led you inside, beside him.

"Look what the cat dragged in!" Josh said it lowly, spitting it towards you. Your eyes looked down, not daring to ever lookup. "Hey Josh," Sam patted him on the shoulder. You looked awkwardly around the room looking for a means to escape. When you realized there wasn't one, you looked back at Josh. He quietly talked to Jake about something before turning to you. You tried to look away fast enough, but his eyes caught yours. Josh started to stalk close to you, exhaling a breath. "Hey," you thought he might've not heard you, but his response caught you off guard.

"Hey, Y/N" He sniffled a little bit before turning towards you. "Care to take a walk with me? Could use some fresh air." You nodded your head silently, following after him. If your anxiety hadn't kicked in yet, it sure as hell did now. Josh was never a person to scare you. He was too light and giddy for him to be somewhat freighting.

He walked slightly behind you with a hand on the small of your back. Josh eventually let go of you when you both made it to the sidewalk. The people around you made the silence slightly more comfortable but you wished you had something to think about other than Josh. After a few more moments of silence, you decided to speak up, but Josh beat you to it. "I'm sorry for being an ass," he cleared it all out on one breath. You scoffed at him. "I think you were being more than an ass, Josh." He suddenly slowed his walking to match your pace.

"You pretty much left me in the wind. I thought I lost my best friend," you nudged him softly in the ribcage, laughing. He held a hand over his chest, heaving out a relieved breath. "I thought you were going to hate me forever." You pointed at him before saying: "Pull anything like that again, and I'll do more than just hate you forever."

Josh held his hands up abruptly like you had caught him stealing something. "I promise." You smirked. The both of you walked around endlessly making small talk here and there. Part of you was glad that you and Josh had cleared the air. Although, you hadn't really talked with him about Sam. It embarrassed you just thinking about the whole situation.

After you made a full round of the streets, Josh walked you back inside the studio. It was hours before anyone ever got to go home. The moon had fully risen and was shining brightly in the sky. You stared up like a child, holding on tightly to your coat. When you were making your way towards Sam's car Josh had grabbed you by the elbow.

"Y/N," Josh fiddled around with the collar of his jacket, looking down at the concrete. Even though it was pitch black outside, you could tell Josh's face was heating up. "I was wondering if you wanted to come back with me? I know Sam was taking you home, but I still feel like we need to talk." A small smile started to quickly form. You nodded not thinking about the harm that could come from staying with Josh.

"Yeah, sure." you let a hesitant sigh before following him once more. When you arrived inside Josh's home it felt almost foreign. There were slightly disheveled things around, but nothing had really changed. It still had all the same scattered records on the coffee table as well as random books set around the countertops. Josh flipped on the light switch and went towards the kitchen. He came back out and handed you a cup of water before taking off his coat.

"I know, it's been a long time since we spoke," he started. "or even hung out together."

You nodded, sipping some of the water. "Yeah, I kind of missed that."

After you and Josh got situated, he led you back to his room. There was a dim lamp, along with some new fairy lights scattered around the ceiling. "Fairy lights?" You pointed to the little bulbs sparkling brightly. "Oh, yeah," Josh was picking out a record, finally placing it on the player. It was an album you hadn't heard before, but it seemed to fit the mood well enough. Looking around for a little bit longer you come to find some old pictures on the floor. Squatting down, you noticed they were photos of his brothers and Daniel when they were younger. But what really caught your attention was a stack neatly dedicated to you.

Some of the photos had showcased some of you and Josh's late adventures, and the concerts you had appeared to. One in particular in which Josh had his arms wrapped around your middle, seated around a bonfire. That was a night you remember very clearly. That was when you realized how much you loved Josh. He never left your side and coddled you close to him. The memory warmed your heart making it beat a tiny bit faster.

"That was a very hot summer night if I remember correctly." Josh peered over your shoulder, studying the picture. "Yeah, it was. Then I passed out inside the van right after that," you laughed loudly, tossing your head back. Running a finger over your face in the picture still reminiscing on the sweet memory, you could feel Josh watching you from across the room.

"Can you come up here for a sec?" Josh patted his mattress, motioning to you. You could tell he was nervous still when he started to fumble around with his nails, not making much eye contact. "Do you remember when I asked you why you envied me so much?" He let out a slow breath, nudging you a little bit with his elbow. You realized the change in the situation and started to mirror his nervous tics.

"Yeah, I just- wish I could carry myself like you. You're always the most confident person in the room; you know things Josh that no one could ever know." The two of you sat in silence for a little bit after you answered. Josh hesitated before speaking again but continued on after pondering for a bit. "Well, I never felt that way around you. For the longest time, I would beat myself up just thinking about how wonderful you are Y/N. The way you think of me is how I always thought of you. Just not as confident because of how quiet you are sometimes." He laughed out the last part making you smile back.

"God, sometimes I just want to cry because of how amazing you are Y/N. Everything you've done for this band, everything you've done for me; I just - I love you." You slowly turned your head to look at Josh, replaying the words over and over again in your head.

He loves you.

"I'm going to assume you mean in it in that way Josh or this would be very embarrassing." Josh snickered, putting both hands on the side of your face. "I mean it in every way possible." He finally pressed his lips to yours, feeling the velvet touch of each other. Josh ran his fingers through your hair, pressing his tongue in an open-mouthed kiss. You moaned quietly when he started to press kisses along your jaw, down to your neck. You could feel his hands start to travel down to your waist, hugging you tightly as it showed in the picture.

Josh continued to bite down on your skin and sucked, leaving bright red marks behind. His fingers squeezed down on your hips before traveling under your shirt. He placed a knee between your legs, pushing you further into the mattress. You looked at each other momentarily as Josh slipped you out of your shirt. He ran his hands over your stomach making you flinch at the sudden touch.

"Josh," His name came out as a whine as Josh slipped off your bra, throwing it towards the floor. You caught the look of awe when his eyes landed on your breasts, your chest heaving slightly. He returned to kissing down your neck making his way down your collar bone. Your hands made their way to his hair, tugging at it when his mouth made contact with your nipple.

He sucked gently, swirling his tongue around the hardened bud. All you could think about was the euphoric thoughts running through your brain. All you could see were stars, showing up in random directions making you lost in the feeling. Josh continued for a while before slowly traveling down to your legs.

Josh looked at you for approval, to which you vaguely nodded in return, before pulling off your pants. You shuddered at the delicate touch of his fingers ghosting along your skin. His hands traveled back up your calves, pressing at your thighs. The room suddenly became too hot as his fingers wrapped around the strap of your underwear, pulling them down your legs. Your breathing was so ragged by now that you thought Josh might've pointed it out already, but he continued to stare down at you with the most mesmerizing look in his eyes. You knew at this point if this had been anyone else, you probably would've wanted to hide under the bed. Something so comforting about Josh made it feel natural to in his grasps.

Josh started down at your ankles, pressing hard kisses up your legs. He hovered over your pelvis just before kissing around your clit. Your legs immediately started to close at the feeling, but his hand pushed them back farther. "Josh, oh my god!" You moaned out into nothing. He continued sucking hard on your clit making the stars in your head come closer to earth.

"Josh, please," Your hands pulled at his curls as he lapped around your center. "You're so fucking wet for me Y/N. Jesus," He moaned into your heat making you squirm on the bed.

"Please Josh, use your fingers, please." You whined mercilessly at the thought of coming around his fingers. It wasn't long before you felt two fingers drag inside of you, along with the feeling of him sucking your clit. You could feel yourself getting nearer to your orgasm as he curled his fingers against your g-spot. "Josh, don't fucking stop!"

At the perfect moment, everything seemed to fall apart in the most beautiful way. You leaned your head back into the pillow as your vision turned white with little black dots appearing randomly. Josh's breath fanned over your heat before he stood up to take off some of his clothes.

"Can't really have sex if I'm still dressed like I'm going to fucking prom or something, Jesus." You giggled loudly while you watched him crawl back over you. Josh pressed a soft kiss to your lips, grinding his hips against you. Your hand slowly ran over his chest, grabbing onto his belt. You fumbled around until you managed to get it undone along with his pants. Josh stared at your face, admiring your features. "I don't think I'll be able to take you seriously for much longer if you don't do something," you whispered.

"Oh yeah?" Josh raised an eyebrow, smiling at you. You slowly reached past his briefs making contact with his hard-on, causing him to moan quietly and start kissing you again.

"Uh, I don't think I have any condoms on me; I didn't really envision fucking you tonight." You smirked, wrapping your arms around his neck. "It's okay. I'm on the pill." You pulled his underwear down, hiking your legs around his hips loosely. You could feel yourself getting wetter as he passively rolled his forefinger over your clit. You kissed him hard, sucking on his tongue. "Fuck me, please," you begged. Josh looked deeply into your eyes, then grabbing your legs and wrapping them around his hips, tightly. He teased you, rubbing himself up and down your center.

You exhaled as he entered you, wrapping a hand around his bicep to steady yourself. Josh's head fell into your neck, feeling his warm breath as he trusted in slowly. He lifted his head to kiss you; He used his hand to move the hairs out of your face, wrapping it around your cranium. "You are so- prepossessing." He whispered, his thrust becoming faster.

Your nails dug into his shoulder blades after he set such a brutal pace that you didn't think you'd be able to keep up with. You took note of how his curls stuck to his forehead. Whenever he thrust in, you could feel yourself getting closer and closer. His thrust started to shake the bed only spurring you on more. Your hands grabbed at his torso, holding onto him tightly.

"Josh," you breathed out, words lost as they left your mouth. "Don't stop." Josh looked between your bodies as they pressed together. He thrust in deep, pressing you into the bed further. You cursed under your breath, trying to hold back the moans only releasing small high-pitched whines. Your head fell back against the pillow, all the tension releasing your body slowly. "Fuck," Josh moaned into your collarbone. He tightened his grip on your thigh, quickening his thrusts.

You ran your fingers along the nape of his neck, feeling the little hairs stick to his body. Josh moaned, feeling him cum deep inside you. His head fell into your neck as you both tried to catch your breath. Josh smiled, pressing kisses to your chest before laying down next to you.

"Fuck you're amazing," Josh mumbled into your ear. He wrapped an arm around your shoulder pulling your head to his chest. His hands ran down your arm, squeezing the tiny bit of flesh. "Tell me something I don't already know Joshua." You flipped over onto your side, Josh following in pursuit. He tightened his arm once more around your stomach this time. He pressed small kisses along your shoulder, laying his face into your hair.

"I love you," He mumbled.

"I love you too." You placed your hand over his, peace finding you easy tonight.

When you woke up the next morning, Josh still had you in his arms, snoring softly. Like you, he liked to get up when it was still dark out, but given last night you couldn't blame either of yourselves for wanting to sleep in. Josh woke up sometime after, pressing small kisses into the nape of your neck down to your shoulder blades.

"Good morning," he said quietly, wrapping his legs around yours, pulling his body closer to yours.

"Morning Josh." You closed your eyes allowing the quiet of the room to comfort you. It seemed pretty peaceful outside, from what you could hear at least. But your mind was running a thousand miles a minute. How did a three-year friendship change so drastically? If someone told you that three years later you'd be sleeping with Josh, you probably start cursing them out at the bare minimum. Josh infuriated you at the beginning, but what changed that you couldn't get enough? Maybe it was his style? Everyone loves Josh's style. He doesn't really care what goes together, as long as it fits him and his outrageous personality. Speaking of which, Josh's personality was unspoken of. People turned heads when he walked through doors because he was always the life of the party. Normal people just naturally gravitate towards him. Heck, you couldn't even keep up the 'holding a grudge' façade for too long because Josh helped you. Maybe you thanked him for that instead.

"I think we need to get up," you said, patting his hand. He protested that you two keep sleeping longer because it's too early. "Josh it's like," you squinted your eyes towards the clock. "Nine am." You yelled, pushing his arm of you.

You ran into the bathroom to pee before jumping in the shower. After taking some time cleaning yourself and changing into something more comfortable (which ended up being one of Josh's old college sweatshirts because he insisted you looked really good in them) you both left to the studio. Of course, the first one to greet you was your favorite out of the four, Daniel. After he finished talking with Josh, he led the both of you to a back room. It was a large decorated room that you hadn't really been in much. The walls were in stripes of inverted red along with carpet having a velvet touch to it. Plaques labeled the wall with other types of scandalous music art.

Jake and Sam walked in together already arguing about something. "Lookey here," Jake pulled you into a side hug, and Sam passed you a drink. "I thought my smoking habits were bad, but drinking at ten in the morning?" you tutted Sam away from you, taking a seat at a large table. "It helps me think more clearly."

Josh took a seat next to you, placing a hand on your thigh. "Hey, you never showed me the finish drawing for your clothing ideas." You raised your eyebrows and said: "I wonder why." You cocked your head to the side, and Josh frowned at you. Snickering to yourself, you handed him a sketchbook. "These are- really good, Y/N. I forgot you could draw so well." You doodled around the paper of a sketched-out Josh in what would be fashion attire for next year. "One of my many hobbies."

He patted your leg before turning his attention to his twin. Sam waltzed over to your side, a cigarette hanging from his lips. "Is that my brother's sweatshirt?" You glared at him before answering a subtle yes. Sam gasped in a fake manner, holding a hand across his heart.

"Are you two in love with each other finally?" Sam laughed at you giving him a side-eye. "Good. you make Josh happy." Content with that, he left to go sit next to Danny. You played around with the drawing some more, later on, moving to a computer to work there. Everyone left you alone to go play in another room which seems to help numb the background noise. Though, it didn't last long until Josh walked through the door. He strutted over to you, rubbing a hand on your back before sitting down.

"How's it goin' in there?" You closed the laptop, turning your attention towards him. Josh talked about how everything's coming along nicely, and Jake is stubborn about everything or how Sam is always messing up. You hummed, following along. Not that you would ever tell Josh, but sometimes you never would really listen to what he was saying, but you loved to watch his hand movements or the expressions on his face. It added to his character. "I meant to ask you some time ago, but uh- whatever happened to Logan?" Josh immediately froze, looking down to the floor like a scolded puppy.

"I told her I would talk to her later this week." You shook your head, crossing your arms. "What?"

"Nothing; I was just thinking we wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for me oodling with your brother." Josh laughed at your choice of words, placing his hand softly on yours. "I think it was both us Y/N."

'Well, in my defense Sam is kind of hot now that I think about it." Josh slapped your shoulder. "Mmmm, you're right Sam does have that 'sense' to him." Time seemed to fly by the five of you, constantly arguing, laughing, or just goofing off with each other. It felt good to be back with everybody, and not walking around on eggshells. Sometimes the moment was so pleasant, you never wanted it to end.

It was eerily quiet when you walked inside Josh's home. It was nighttime, and the moon was full, shining brightly through the curtains. "Don't you ever wish you could see the stars?" Josh asked randomly.

"Light pollution man," He mumbled out, yeah, heading towards his bedroom. You peeked outside the window one more time, catching a glimpse of the clouds in the sky. Josh had changed into some comfier clothing and slid under the covers. You followed in pursuit, still wearing his old college t-shirt. "Where do you think we'll be in ten years?" The question had taken you by surprise. You knew he had a tendency to think a lot about the future, which was kind of admirable, but you had a hard time figuring out what the future would hold for you.

"That's hard to tell; Not unless I kill you first, but uh, I think we'll still be together, and so will the band. I guess it's just up to the rest of us." Josh hummed at your input. He flipped over on his side to look at you. "I hope we're together forever." Your face started to blush, although you doubt Josh could see, this time you wished he did.

"Me too." Your voice came out with full confidence knowing every ounce of you could never let him go. "Hey, do you think you'd ever let me wear your outfits after this next tour? They're kind of stylish if I say so myself." Josh laughed out loud. "I don't think they'd fit you, honey." You scoffed, pouting.

"Josh, I hate to break it to you but you're not that big." A playful laugh escaped your mouth while you pinched his arm. He pushed you back in return. "I meant your height." He shook his head. You turned around, allowing Josh to trap you in his arms.

"I hope I get to see you in heaven. If there is one." The sound of his voice made you want to cry. It was soft whisper that it felt so delicate at this moment.

"I think if you've seen me then, you will see me forever."

#greta van fleet #josh kiszka #sam kiskza #jake kiszka #danny wagner #jake gvf #josh kiszka x reader

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dartwright · 2 years ago

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flip, 21, any prns.

18+, independent, headcanon-heavy blaine dartwright from layton brothers: mystery room.

single verse.

about / bio , smut / nsfw sideblog

rules under cut:

I. cringe culture is dead. do whatever the fuck you want as long as you're not hurting anyone. enjoy your interests, no matter how embarrasing they are. have fun. self-indulge in your own character portrayals, write as loose or strict to canon as you please, fast and slow-moving threads are encouraged here. there's no need to judge each other as writers on tumblr. that said, i don't support pro-shipping or harassment & anon hate isn't allowed and will be deleted on sight.

II. basic roleplay etiquette. no god-modding, powerplaying, or metagaming. cut your threads - if you can't, let me know. i'll do it for you. i don't care about your formatting if it's readable.

III. eighteen and over. that said, threads & content on my blog will contain dark & mature themes concerning drugs, violence, organized crime, and other stuff i don't condone outside of fiction. there's also a smut blog linked in my description, which is accessible only through the fact i'm an r18+ roleplayer. turn back if you're underaged.

IV. multifandom & crossovers. i'm into multiple fandoms, in fact, i'm playing an unused character from a relatively obscure mobile game. crossover friendly? fuck yes. i'll roleplay with anything and anyone, as long as you're not rpf or a celebrity roleplayer. if there's anything you recommend i blacklist, do let me know. i'm not exactly aware of everything in live action pop culture & i'm best described as an animation-leaning guy. though, nothing's going to stop me from playing a video game character in a thread with the guy from morbius.

V. original characters. make sure you have an about / bio page set, so that i'm able to read up on your character and who they are. what's going on with them, y'anno? i always love hearing about other peoples' characters and i'm willing to follow back if there's information on them.

VI. mutually exclusive. i'll only write and interact with people i follow and those who follow back. mutuals automatically can do whatever the fuck they want with blaine and i! crack threads? please. ask memes? thank you. headcanons with our characters? sure thing! this is mostly so that i'm able to keep track of things happening on my dashboard, too, and as for dashboard commentaries - i don't mind if non-mutuals interact with me in that way. it's fun!

VII. formatting. i use little-to-no formatting with small text and a few icons. there are times where i'm entirely iconless, as blaine's more or less a fanon-accepted character in mystery room. i will change urls to character names, but not the hyperlinks.

VIII. magic anons. they're always open! i've missed magic anons so much, in the past few years of discord, i haven't been able to mess around with these prompts. please have a set time for them when they're submitted. if i love your spell so much, i may as well have it as a permanent feature!

IX. plotting. i tend to wing my plots, but i don't drop my threads if they don't happen to "go my way" as the youth says. if you want a pre-established relationship with blaine, let me know through ims and i'll respond to you asap. if you want to do a plot-related thread where we progress our characters' stories, fuck yes. just know that i kinda suck at plotting, but i do wanna get better…

X. threads. rapid-fire replies on tumblr are my favorite thing to do, they'll only be slow if i'm sick or fatigued as i do have seasonal depression. we can drop as many threads as we like, move onto new ones, finish old ones, have live threads… like the old days! i just want to be loose and free in this community.

#[ pinned ]

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signalwatch · 2 years ago

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Holmes Watch: Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

Watched: 11/14/2022

Format: Netflix

Viewing: First

Director: Harry Bradbeer

One of the side-effects of streaming 99% of what I see is that movies are far less of an event. There is no comparison between what I would do and think about en route to see Avengers: Endgame and choosing Enola Holmes 2 (2022) as prime time viewing on a Monday night.

It is unlikely I would see a spin-off Sherlock Holmes movie on my own dime, but I did watch the first Enola Holmes, enjoyed it enough, and was game for the sequel. Had I returned to the original and were my memories of it particularly intact? Absolutely not.

But it is interesting to have a 2-hour option with a considerable budget, a solid cast and whatnot available that was never released theatrically. It's not merely content - it is a movie into which care and love was poured. It could have been released to screens and drawn some small box office (and I wonder sometimes if Netflix will one day partner with AMC or something and just make releases like this a thing they do as a matter of course to earn a few extra bucks). Henry Cavill probably should have been a bigger big screen star than the DC movies and pandemic allowed, and it's time for Millie Bobby Brown to be tested as a young woman on screen.

But those models may now be completely exploded and irrelevant.

As a movie, Enola Holmes 2 is a perfectly entertaining and serviceable film that tries a *lot* of things, and mostly connects with every swing, even if some balls are pop flies. Like a modern series of books, there's also an obvious intention to be an episodic and ongoing serial which we'll get in installments every year or two, pushing various stories along, which is model I fully endorse. It's easier than another TV show and dumping money into something this lavish is a good idea, imho.

This is a Holmes mystery film, and this one contains an A Mystery and B Mystery - which seasoned viewers will immediately know (1) will dovetail and (2) will reveal Moriarty based simply on the notion that the B Mystery belongs to Sherlock Holmes and he cannot solve the mystery immediately. If this is a spoiler, I am sorry 13 year old reader. Everyone else: go read some Holmes or watch any of 10,000 adaptations.

The A Mystery is about a missing girl from the matchstick factory and the B Mystery is Holmes trying to figure out what's going on with shady banking transfers (all of which seems unlikely in a non-digital environment, but whatever).

We also have Enola's budding romance/ frustration with Lord Tewkesbury, desire to be seen as an independent figure, and probably things I'm forgetting. We also have the ongoing light-terrorism of Mrs. Holmes as portrayed by a still way-too-young Helena Bonham Carter in the name of suffrage - which is never mentioned in the film. Just that she's some sort of urban terrorist, which is a weird thing for England to take lightly given (gestures at the 1980's). And, the film also wants to do a late-inning insertion of worker's rights that isn't exactly unmotivated, but it is a bit unearned.

While the film never feels sluggish, it does feel unfocused. I expect twists and winding and red herrings in my mysteries, but I think the overall impact is that the movie wants to be so many things. And they're lucky that Millie Bobby Brown is such an amazing talent and that the Fleabag-style commentary works as well as it does to keep everything sort of glued together. That said, when Enola is sent to the gallows, all of that felt like it was underplayed as a set-up to what they really wanted to do, which was a jailbreak - which causes fundamentally way, waaaay more problems for our characters than one can count and which never come up again. And inserting "oh yeah, real historical struggle here!" as a flashcard at the end was a hell of a flex. What was the movie THAT could have been?

But that's not the point. If the audience goes and Googles that ending, good on them! This isn't a biopic. I just felt like - hey, a lot of more weight could have been put on this world of the match factory and you would have had a more memorable picture, perhaps.

The film has two technical decisions I fully did not like.

1) At the ball, the music always feels non-diegetic. And sometimes it is, and sometimes it's not, but it's also not a Waltz of the era. And that seems to be an obvious thing to do as a musical choice - have the diegetic and non-diegetic music work together, and instead - they just went with making me wonder what the story was with the music in the middle of a plot point.

2) The final fight takes place in the dark in a theater - or, rather, partial light which seems totally unmotivated. This is not CGI's monsters, these are actors and stunt performers slugging away. They're not hiding anything, but I literally couldn't follow the action at times. I think they had some idea that "when the lights come on, it's symbolic of our heroes' victory!" But even more symbolic would have been our heroes just winning the fight in clear view.

But, hey, the mysteries overall worked for me. The cast is excellent - including the inclusion of David Thewlis who is playing near camp-level-Thewlis here. The CGI Victorian London is convincing enough.

I confess it is much easier to write about complaints, and so it seems like I don't like this movie - but I did! It was fun, fast-paced, charming and balanced character and adventure extremely well. And while I was maybe a step or two ahead once or twice, I was not spoiled for the reveal.

A lot of this just works. The scene at the ball with iffy music choices, and as sort of trope-y as it was, is packed with multiple layers of information, and accomplishes quite a bit, narratively. If you're going to have multiple plotlines - be sure to have places where they intersect! And do it organically! Cavill and Brown are quite good together, and the nuance in their relationship established last movie carries through quite well without exposition. And plenty more!

I do hope there's more of these. It feels weirdly mid-20th Century in it's delivery - Rathbone did like 14 Holmes movies for comparison. But maybe that product of vertical integration has some mirrors in THIS form of vertical integration.

SPOILERS

One challenge the movie does have is that - look, Cavill may not be what I think of as as my platonic ideal of Holmes, but he is *good* at whatever this movie is doing with Sherlock Holmes. Introducing a fairly major actor as Dr. Watson at the end (Himesh Patel) just... makes me want to watch those two go about the usual Sherlocking. A Holmes mystery is a Holmes mystery, and if they made a movie about these two, I would be just as ready to tune in for their adventures. That doesn't exactly take anything away from Enola Holmes, but it does speak to keeping focus on your franchise here. Especially when the Doyle estate is already looking at you sideways.

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from The Signal Watch https://ift.tt/ctoOrKD

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thepapergirlandthespiegelman · 4 years ago

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Might stop reading Worm.

Content warning: bugs/insects/arachnids and related horror, body horror mention, miscellaneous violence mention, sexual violence/assault mention

My thoughts on the first ten arcs of Worm. (contains spoilers)

So, I finally got around to reading Worm. It was kinda big when I was in high school, and I still know some people who are/were into it, so I thought it was time that I gave it a serious shot. I did actually try to read it in high school once, but I couldn’t get into it and stopped reading after the first chapter. I tried to be a little more persistent this time to give it a fair evaluation.

When I started reading Worm this time around, I kind of just breezed past the warning at the beginning (“This story isn’t intended for young or sensitive readers. Readers who are on the lookout for trigger warnings are advised to give Worm a pass.”) I don’t consider myself someone who really gets triggered by media. I think it’s important to talk about stuff, including fucked-up stuff. It’s uncomfortable, but that discomfort is part of the point. I think it probably should bother you to read about terrible things, even fictional ones, given that those fictional atrocities almost always have real-world counterparts.

I think I vastly underestimated the amount of fucked-up-ness that is in Worm. When I read that warning, I thought, “Okay, this story’s probably dealing with some dark themes, and there might be some particular scenes that are really disturbing.” After reading the first ten arcs, though, I feel it’s more accurate to say that fucked-up-ness is Worm. It is the core of the story, and there is really very little else.

So it’s not that any particular thing that happened in the story triggered an immediate, strong, psychologically-damaging reaction in me, but as I continued reading, I began to notice that not only was I not enjoying myself, I was actually finding it subtly unpleasant. When I read about something bad happening, I get hit with a small dose of negative emotion. As it turns out, that adds up over time, especially when there aren’t any positive scenes to balance out the negative stuff. Without me even noticing for a long time, Worm was making me unhappy.

Here’s what I did like about Worm:

Impressive world-building - Wildbow is exceptional at inventing different locations, groups, and individual actors and thus creating a detailed ecosystem of capes and civilians.

Lots of characters, lots of superpowers - Directly related to the previous point, Worm contains a lot of characters...arguably too many characters. I generally prefer stories that focus on a smaller number of characters in order to give each character more room for development, but I appreciate Wildbow’s talent for coming up with vivid, if simplistic, characterizations. There are also some really interesting superpowers and interesting takes on common powers.

Inventive use of Taylor’s superpower - Taylor is always coming up with new uses for her power: having black widow spiders spin silk for her suit, using her bugs are a sixth sense to keep track of her enemies and environment, using venomous bugs to take hostages, covering her body in bugs as a disguise, coating her bugs’ stingers in capsaicin for extra punch, using human-shaped swarms to fake out her enemies...The list goes on and on, and I really appreciate how Wildbow took this oft-overlooked superpower to the next level.

Danny Hebert - The only character in the story who I can say I genuinely like. Danny Hebert is a union organizer whose pet project is getting the ferry up and running again so that there can be more interaction between the poorer and wealthier parts of Brockton Bay. I also loved the scene where he supports Taylor in the “mediation” with her bullies and their parents at school. Even if he was impotent, unable to protect her, I could tell he was on her side. His one screw-up is when he locks Taylor in the living room and tries to force her to talk to him, but it definitely makes sense with his character (a little bit of a pushover) and the story (Taylor was shutting him out and seemed to be putting herself in danger) that he would end up letting Taylor’s grandma convince him to take a forceful approach. Don’t get me wrong, locking up your kid is a horrible thing to do (I should know, my parents did it to me, and it fucked me up), but I still ended up feeling bad for him when Taylor just up and disappeared. She didn’t even call her dad to let him know that she was still alive after Leviathan! I mean, on the one hand, I do actually appreciate that she started making an effort to protect her father from the dangers of her cape life, something that I was kind of appalled to see that she never even considered before. But damn, did I feel bad for Danny.

Here’s what I didn’t like:

Way too much fucked-up shit happening - Name an atrocity, Worm’s probably got it. The plot is mostly just terrible thing after terrible thing and reveals of how terrible all of the characters are, with many terrible things that aren’t directly treated in the plot peppered in along the way.

Lots of capes, no heroes - This is one of those themes that sounds deep on paper but is really just cynical and fatalistic. Even if all the capes are corrupted by power (or by the toxic power dynamics between capes), what about civilians? Where’s the thoughtful therapist or the brave fire-fighter? Danny Hebert is one notable exception to the “Everyone is terrible” rule, but we don’t see all that much of him. Other than him, the only person I can think of who could possibly fit this “civilian hero” role is Aisha’s social worker, who I don’t think even has a name.

All superpowers are evil - This is arguably just a rephrasing of the previous point, but I think it’s important to mention. Worm contains so many superpowers, but it seems like they’re all being put to evil purposes. Panacea, the superheroine with healing powers (really just dominion over health and illness of the human body in general), makes some really despicable threats (e.g. giving someone cancer with a touch, or giving someone a disorder that will only manifest at an unknown time in the future, leaving them to anguish over their fate). Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing inherently wrong with writing a character using this type of power for evil ends. There’s a lot of interesting stuff to explore there, and I actually love that Panacea is a character that acknowledges the burden of having a healing power, feeling unable to take any time for yourself while simultaneously growing to resent those you feel obligated to help. My issue is not with Panacea but with the fact that literally every superpower in the story is painted in a negative light. It just feels absurd to suggest that, for example, someone like Gallant couldn’t use his power (carefully and thoughtfully and with consent) to heal people with emotional trauma. Superpowers in Worm are only for violence and conflict and crime, and I just don’t understand that. Again, the rogues form a token exception, but we rarely actually see them, and one of the first rogues we meet, Canary, is immediately subject to harsh and unjust punishment and never heard from again.

A misguided focus on only certain types of crime/violence - Worm deals with gang violence, robberies, and general chaos-inducing terrorism. It focuses on crimes perpetuated by working-class individuals and small to medium size illicit groups. There’s some commentary on state-sanctioned violence in terms of the corruption of the Protectorate and Dragon’s worries of having to obey a despot should one take over the government, but it’s not exactly framed in a way that highlights the struggles of the average person; the focus is almost entirely on capes. Worm doesn’t discuss things like wage theft, illegal rent hikes, or, dare I say it, the inherent violence of capitalism, which, while less flashy, are important problems with far-reaching consequences. It’s weird, and honestly kind of unrealistic, that there’s not a single anarcho-communist cape. Whether you agree with that kind of politics or not, it’s still a glaring omission if the setting of the story is trying to emulate real life. Again, Danny Hebert’s role as a union organizer and interest in restoring the ferry and reintegrating the city pay token attention to some of these ideas, but the vast majority of the story is unconcerned with addressing the source of, or solutions to, poverty and crime in Brockton Bay and the wider world of Worm.

So those are my thoughts. There’s a part of me that still thinks, “But so many people like this so much! Maybe it’ll get better!” I have a really strong drive to understand why others like the things that they do, to be able to share in their appreciation. But from what I’ve seen in a couple memes I happened upon, things are getting worse, not better for the world of Worm. And even if things start to resolve at some point, I’m not sure it would be great for my mental health to continue reading up to that point.

The breaking point for me, if you’re curious, was when a main character was just casually revealed to be a serial rapist. That wasn’t even the point of the chapter, it was just kind of thrown out there as an extremely-not-fun fact. So I was still reeling from that reveal while also experiencing all of the atrocities said character was committing in the moment, and after that was when I realized, “Hey, maybe this is not the kind of content I should be reading.” It even took reading a few more chapters into Arc 11 for it to really sink in, but I had this weird revelation of like, I get to choose which fictional worlds I spend my time in, and the world of Worm isn’t one I relish.

If you do enjoy Worm, I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on what makes it appealing to you.

#text #long text #review #thoughts #web serial #fiction #Worm #superpowers #parahumans #superheroes #supervillains #morality #evil #violence #capitalism #systemic violence #grimdark

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matsufucker · 4 years ago

Note

Uhh, Sorry for the boring ask,so-- First Date with matsunos?

NON NON my sweet anon, the first request was a delight to answer, I had a lot of fun looking up playlists and seeing what would fit the matsubros! I apologize for being a lame square that is too shy to sing lol. I may or may not be trying to develop an Oso playlist as we speak. :3c

I got a bit carried away, these were supposed to be a list of headcanons but it’s a weird bullet list scenario.

I also gave all of the matsus their own phone, I don’t want to write six adults sharing one cell phone or a landline. Q Q

Osomatsu: spur of the moment and casual.

Osomatsu liked to ask you to hang out occasionally, they were mostly casual. Sharing a meal, exploring the town, watching him lose money gambling, maybe try your hand at pachinko, pretty normal things. So it wasn’t unexpected when he shot you a message to hang out in the evening.

“hey i won at the races! do u wanna eat at chibitas? ill pay for my own food” How charming.

After some light drinking (he could only afford two beers), the two of you were walking a bit before parting ways.

You walked by a small movie theater. It had faded out posters of old movies, it was probably family run or a small local theater. Osomatsu stopped and pointed at the Jackass poster.

“Oi, Y/N!! I saw some clips of this, it looks hilarious! We should watch it!”

You declined, it was getting late and you had to go to work early tomorrow. But you offered to watch a movie (Jackass or some other movie that they’re showing!) after your shift. Osomatsu’s eyes lit up.

“Yeah! Just let me know when you’re off! It’s a date!”

You had to try to not laugh. Of course Osomatsu would want to watch Jackass as a date, the least romantic movie ever. He smiled his classic grin as he watched you try to contain your laughter. “What? I’m serious!” he pouts.

You were surprised when Osomatsu showed up to the movie dressed differently. Instead wearing one of his well-worn hoodies and loose jeans, he was wearing an unbuttoned maroon shirt over a plain white tee with black jeans. He really was serious about this being a date, huh?

“I haven’t seen this outfit before!” you tease, causing Osomatsu to “eheh” sheepishly and rub his nose. He’ll reply with “I wanted to look nice for our first date!”

He’ll?? Actually pay for both of your tickets? No snacks though.

He won’t shut up during the previews! He babbles and comments on everything, good thing that it wasn’t busy and that the only other people there shushed him gently. He’ll whisper commentary throughout the movie unless you tell him to shut up.

Will 100% bump his hand against yours and side eye you with a big grin. His hand fumbles a bit before properly lacing his fingers with yours and giving an experimental squeeze. His hands are warm and softer than you expected. The backs of his hands are a bit dry, but otherwise the only notable thing is the slight clamminess of his palms. If you look at his face, his eyes are glued to the sight of you holding his hand and his smile looks like it could split his face in half.

If you lean your head against his shoulder, he’ll freeze up and accidentally grip your hand too hard. If you interpret this as a bad reaction, he’ll hurriedly say “nonono” and place your head back against him and tell you that it was really nice.

Surprisingly keeps his hands mostly to himself, the most he’ll go is wrapping a hand around your shoulder and giving rubs that are a bit too friendly.

You two walk out of the movie with Osomatsu’s arm draped around your shoulder and wanting to just touch you, you have to remind him that walking on top of you and feeling you up is not practical, especially in public. He’ll pout and say that “but you smell so nice!! And you feel so comfy!!” but he’ll relax and be content to walk hand in hand.

The two of you stop by a cheap place to grab some ice cream (if you pay) and talk about the movie and future plans? :3c

Karamatsu: dramatic king.

“Are you free tonight, starlight? ✨ Meet me at the bridge at sunset.” You smiled at the message, you were already used to his cheesy terms of endearment, and they actually made your heart thump a bit if they weren’t too ridiculous. You reply yes, appreciating that he remembered that you had a few days off work. He was always thoughtful and asked you when your free days were.

You go to the bridge a bit early, the sun was still over the horizon and bleeding gorgeous shades of orange and rose into the sky. You notice Karamatsu wearing his classic leather jacket and jeans pacing around. He was muttering to himself, waving grand gestures, and shaking his head nervously. You call his name and catch his attention. He squacks a high note before clearing his throat and turning dramatically towards you.

“Ah, so you’ve arrived, my turtledove!” he flicks a finger through his hair and smirks. Mostly unphased by his theatrics, you waved and greeted him, apologizing for startling him.

He whips out a bouquet of red roses and kneels at your feet. People are stopping and staring. You sweat a bit, feeling everyone’s eyes burn into you.

“Karamatsu,” you whisper, “what’s happening?” You tried to sound gentle, you could tell that he went through a lot of effort, but feeling onlookers watch you was making your skin crawl.

“Y/N, my muse, the fire within my heart, I was wondering if you would join me on a da-“ He stops midflourish, noticing your uncomfortable glances at the people, before realizing that he was making a huge scene. He quickly stands up to bashfully escort you to a less crowded bench. He’s fidgeting and focused on the bouquet, are his eyes watering? Oh no.

He’s trying to hold back tears at putting you in an uncomfortable situation and it takes a bit of backrubbing and “it’s okay” before he calms down. He hides his red rimmed eyes under sunglasses. You gently ask why he asked you to come here.

Karamatsu “hmphs!” weakly flourishes the roses once more. “I wanted to see if this lovely deity would join me for a moonlit picnic by the river!” His words carry far more conviction than the roses, they were trembling softly in his grasp. You accept the roses, they’re gorgeous and look freshly picked. Either Karamatsu paid a pretty penny for these or some poor gardener is missing a dozen roses.

He leads you to a quiet spot under a tree where a picnic basket awaits. He smiles and holds his hand out for you to hold. His grip trembles a bit before gripping your hand securely. He makes sure to check if the blanket is clean before guiding you to sit down.

There are containers of star-shaped rice balls, tamagoyaki, kaarage, and strawberries in the basket, along with store bought bottles of tea. You’re amazed at the whole spread, as far as you know, Karamatsu is a mediocre cook. The rolled eggs looked a bit misshapen and some corners of the chicken were nearing burnt, but it all looked wonderful. You ask if he went through the trouble of making all of this.

“Heh, of course, I would do anything to make my Karamatsu darling smile,” you can’t help but giggle softly at his horrid lines. Your sweet laugh only seems to egg him on, for his eyes glimmer and the corners of his lips rise even higher. “Of course, to achieve this, I couldn’t have done it without a bit of assistance from my dearest mother,” he admits, rubbing the back of his neck. You can already envision Karamatsu

It’s wonderful. The sky is clear, so you get a full view of the twinkling stars and the soft glow of the moon. Karamatsu asks you about your day and you two get lost in conversation.

As conversation slows, he’ll wistfully look at the stars and say another one of his dumb rehearsed lines. “The stars are beautiful tonight… but they are just grains of sand next to you.” He’ll then get a bit bashful and say that he really enjoyed tonight and was wondering if you’d like to hang out some other time?

Choromatsu: a coffee date! But oh dear he’s a fish out of water.

He briefly considers buying two tickets to a concert, but quickly dismisses it because he too embarrassed to show you how passionate he gets over idols.

He really wants to ask you in person but he would actually break trying to get the words out so he texts you a simple “Do you want to grab a coffee at XYZ café?”

You arrive at the café and spot Choromatsu sitting at a table, flipping through a book. He’s wearing a white button up, a brown sweater, and olive trousers. When you greet him, he practically jumps out of his chair.

“H-Hello!” he squeaks, bowing his head abruptly. He looks shyly at you and breathlessly mumbles “You look nice…” He freezes up and backpedals severely, sputtering “Ni-nice, nice… this is a nice café! Have you tried their, ah, americano?” His face is stretched into a tense smile.

“Thank you! You look nice too, I haven’t seen you wear this sweater before, it suits you well!” you return the compliment and Choromatsu turns cherry red. He turns away to look at his sweater and thanks you quietly.

The two of you go to order drinks, Choromatsu buys a black americano and is kind enough to buy your drink as well.

When you settle down at a table with your drinks, you notice that Choro’s nerves have calmed down a lot, he’s no longer stuttering every word and is fidgeting a lot less.

“So, what were you reading before I got here?” you ask, recalling that it was a pretty thick novel. He perks up at your question and pulls his messenger bag out to retrieve said book.

“Ah, you see, I was reading a book about managing businesses! I’ve been looking into business management and thought that readin-“ A familiar manga tumbles onto the table and it’s swiped away quickly.

“Oh,” you interrupt him before he can start spewing out an apology or excuse, “do you like that series?” Choromatsu pauses and looks at you with an incredulous look before nodding. “Really? That’s one of my favorite mangas!” you cheer, and you can practically see his prim illusion melt before your eyes.

“Really?” he asks, and you notice a slight spark in his eyes. Bingo. You nod, eager to get to see his nerdy side. He always tried so hard to look like a proper adult, and it was a shame that he was stifling his interests. You decide to try to stoke that spark and lean in closer. “Yeah, I read it a few months ago, I didn’t think that you’d be into it! How far have you gotten, do you like it?”

He has the cutest glow in his eyes as he chatters about the series and you’re thankful for the manga slipping out of his bag, it served as a wonderful social lubricant. By the time your cup was empty, you had gotten to learn more about Choromatsu. He seemed embarrassed by his interests, but every time you reassured him that it’s fine to have passions his body relaxed a bit more. He took the time to attentively ask you questions too and overall you felt really good about this little date.

“Would you like to walk around a bit? I think there’s a bookstore nearby.” Choromatsu tentatively suggested, swirling the last dredges of his coffee around in his cup. You agree, so the two of you walked a block to the store.

His hand would occasionally sway by yours, but he would honestly be too timid to hold your hand on the first date. If you try to hold his hand, he’ll probably flinch and be rigid for a second, before relaxing.

He buys you a small piece of merch related to the manga you bonded over and the two of you part after confirming that it was a fun date!

As you leave, you hear Choromatsu hop from foot to foot and cheer to himself!

Ichimatsu: unofficial date

Hanging out with Ichimatsu was a bit uncommon. If you asked him what he was up to, he would tell you where he was in town. It took a while before you picked up that these were soft invites to join him.

One time you joined him at the park. He was sitting on the swings and lazily turned his head to watch you as you approached him.

“Sorry, I already fed the cats,” he mumbled, standing up. He smoothed out a few wrinkles on his DAT sweater. “You didn’t have anything better to do today?”

“I like hanging out with you.” Your simple reply made Ichimatsu stuff his hands into his pockets and start walking. You follow along, taking note of how cute his ears looked red.

He pauses by a cat café and you see his glimmering eyes linger on the cats snoozing by the window. He crouches and waves his hand near a fat grey cat.

“Do you want to check it out?” you ask, and Ichimatsu shakes his head slowly. “I didn’t bring money.” he murmurs, smiling as the cat’s eyes started to follow his hand.

“I can spot you!” you offer, making Ichimatsu freeze in thought. “I’d like to relax with some cats with you.” you add, hoping that’ll make Ichimatsu feel less bad about having you pay for him. He stands up and stares at your shoes.

“Sure, if you want to…” he mumbles, nervously putting his hands into his pockets again. “Thanks.”

The entrance fee of 900 yen included a drink, Ichimatsu chose to get a juice.

You settled down by a table near a cat tower and after setting his juice on the table, he sat on the floor to offer a hand to a cat.

It doesn’t take long before a calico cat is happily purring on his lap. Ichimatsu looks like he might start purring anytime soon, with how relaxed he looked scratching the cat’s ear. You don’t have as much luck as Ichimatsu with cat taming, but a fat orange cat settles next to you on the booth. It looks at you expectantly and you give it a few scritches on its cheeks.

You sip your drink and “mm!” out of surprise. Wow, it tasted really good! You notice that Ichimatsu’s drink was untouched and stand up to give it to him so he wouldn’t have to disturb the sweet calico. He thanks you and sips his orange colored juice as you take a seat on the floor with him. His sleepy eyes widen slightly and he nods approvingly.

“Did you want to try my drink?” you tilt your cup towards him and he nearly drops his juice. You weren’t expecting a reaction like that and tried to verbally backpedal “Oh, you don’t have to, you know, with germs and all-”

He grabs your wrist and tugs the drink down until the straw met his lips. He took a strained sip, he honestly looked a bit constipated for how scrunched and pink his face was for sipping a drink.

“It’s good,” he exhales. He realizes his grip on your wrist and lets go immediately, before holding out his juice. “Did you want to try? You bought it and all.” You nod and have to resist grinning at how adorable Ichimatsu looked right now, his eyes were burning holes through the ground and his cheeks were dusted pink. It looked like he was trying his best to scowl but the corners of his lips gave away the hint of a smile.

You decide to mimic Ichimatsu and gently grab his wrist to pull his cup towards you. Bright, sweet notes of mango and peach grace your mouth and, wow, he picked a good drink. You let go of his wrist and his hand stays frozen there before he brings his cup back to drink his juice again.

Cats swarm Ichimatsu and he manages to enrapture all of them effortlessly. Cats are piled at his feet and purring. They seem oblivious that you even exist and you pout a bit at being ignored. Ichimatsu notices your slight pout and he offers a hand to you without thinking. When you place your hand into his dry palms, he only then seems to realize what he just did with a tense look on his face.

He soldiers on and places his hand on the back of yours, guiding you to pet the same grey cat you encountered at the display window.

You spend a few hours just enjoying the cats and Ichimatsu’s company. When your legs start to get pins and needles from sitting on the floor too long, you notice that the café is starting to get a bit busy so the both of you decide to leave.

You notice that Ichimatsu is walking a bit closer to you than usual. His hands are stuffed in his pockets like usual, but his shoulder brushes against yours every few steps.

It’s never clarified that this was a date but Ichimatsu parts ways with a “see you later” and a soft smile.

Jyushimatsu: a fun hangout that becomes a date!

You and Jyushimatsu were walking home after a long day of fun. It was impossible to have a dull moment with him around, today consisted of various activities at the park. Volleyball, pitching baseballs, going on a small hike, Jyushimatsu finding a five leaf clover, getting chased by geese, Jyushimatsu was quick on his feet and scooped you away from the vicious birds.

You waved at Jyushimatsu as you reached where you had to part. He smiled his classic big smile and waved enthusiastically with both hands before leaving.

Not even 10 seconds later you hear him yell “Y/N!” and his sneakers slapping against the pavement. He’s slightly out of breath as he holds a flier out in front of you.

It was an advertisement for a travelling carnival that was visiting town this weekend! Jyushimatsu bounces excitedly and asks if you wanted to check it out, it wasn’t everyday that a carnival showed up! Luckily you were free so you agree to meet him at the carnival in the afternoon on Saturday.

It’s hard to miss him, you spot a bouncing ball of yellow near the entrance. Jyushimatsu’s wearing a simple outfit, an loose white shirt that’s roughly tucked into brown shorts with an oversized yellow plaid shirt. He’s rocking on the balls of his feet and when he spots you, he waves so hard you can almost hear his sleeves flapping.

“Come on, come on, let’s go!” Jyushimatsu cheers, already pointing out rides he wanted to go on. There was a rollercoaster, how does a moving carnival carry a whole rollercoaster? And a Ferris wheel? There was so much to check out!

The tickets are pretty cheap, but you notice a couple’s discount while waiting in line. When you two are next in line, Jyushimatsu suddenly stops talking and you see that he’s frozen in place. He still has his smile, but his eyes were frozen on the discount.

The employee’s tired “next in line, please,” snapped Jyushimatsu out of his trance and he jumped to the counter to buy two tickets. The teenage boy behind the register eyed you and Jyushimatsu before applying the discount.

Before you can thank him for paying, Jyushimatsu’s clothed hand pulled your hand along to join the line for bumpercarts.

After trying various rides, you decide to take a breather and just look around the various mini games and merchandise. A fat stuffed Pikachu catches your eye, and Jyushimatsu practically hurdles over the poor person managing the ring toss game to play a round.

He throws the rings way too hard but somehow three of the ten ricochet onto the bottles. He picks out a small prize and pouts that he wasn’t able to get you the Pikachu, but he got you a keychain of plush duck from Spirited Away!

The night settles over you and you decide to hit the Ferris wheel before calling it a night. Jyushimatsu bounces slightly in his seat, making the cabin shake slightly. He stops if you look nervous.

Curiosity gets the best of you and when the wheel is nearing the end of its rotation, you ask if this was a date. Jyushimatsu “ahs” in surprise and looks out the window.

“I don’t know,” he states, finally turning his head to look at you. His mouth was shut in a rare closed mouth smile, and he fiddles with the hem of his shirt.

You realize that the ride wasn’t over as it started to go for another rotation.

“I…” Jyushimatsu trails off, and his lips were pulled into a tense line. His eyes were steely as stared at his hands, gripping fistfuls of his sleeve. “Is it okay if this is a date? Do you want this to be a date?” He lifted his eyes up to meet yours, and there’s a glimmer of vulnerability in those sweet brown eyes. Your body reacts before words can leave your mouth, you feel your head shake up and down before a “yes” tumbles out. Jyushimatsu’s back straightens up like a spring and his face splits into one of his classic smiles.

“Really?” he cries, and when you reassure him he yells a “hurray” and dives into your arms. The cart rocks violently, causing you to almost fold over Jyushimatsu. You laugh as you untangle yourself from each other. He looked so pretty with his long eyelashes and contagious smile.

The two of you exit the carnival with Jyushimatsu leading the way, almost vibrating in joy as he swings your hand the entire walk back.

Todomatsu: a cute date, with a side of the youngest brother curse.

One day after a shift, you and a few of your coworkers decided to hit up a local hot pot spot! A few random people that knew your coworkers showed up, Todomatsu was among one of them. He sat across from you and introduced himself as Totty.

He seemed really sweet and socially thrived! But as the large group broke into a collection of smaller conversations, Totty seemed to take a special interest in you. He was super engaged in convo, asking questions about your interests. He apparently met your mutual acquaintance at his old job as a barista, and he was taking some time to himself before job hunting again.

After dinner, Todomatsu asks if you’d want to exchange contact? You agree, there didn’t seem to be any red flags with him! You shoot a few messages back and forth and it’s exciting getting to know a new person.

“hey, check out this cute café that opened recently!!” he messages a few days later, and after discussing a few details you finally have plans for a date.

He shows up to the date as you arrive, wearing a white shirt with thin navy stripes, a large blush sweater, and cropped brown pants. He asks if you were waiting long and is relieved when you said that you got here.

Todomatsu buys a strawberry milk tea boba and offers to buy yours. You settle down by a table by the window and he asks you how you’ve been the past few days.

As you start to talk, you notice his round attentive eyes start to drift to the window. His brows furrowed in confusion, and you stop talking.

“Totty? What’s up?” you ask, starting to turn your head to the window. You see nothing out of the usual, just a normal street with a few shops and pedestrians.

“Ah, it’s nothing! I just saw something in that store that looked really cute!” he titters, and you can’t help but notice a strain in his voice. Slightly confused, you smile and sip on your drink.

“Did you want to check it out?” you suggest, and Totty agrees very eagerly. It’s a cute trinket store, they have things like stationary, phone cases, plush animals, and jewelry.

You find a cute rabbit with a sweet smile and rosy cheeks that reminds you of Totty! You mention it to him and he giggles, cheeks turning a bit red. You continue to browse around for a bit until Totty taps you on the shoulder and gives you a small bag. Inside is a small phone charm that has the same rabbit you pointed out earlier. “So you can think of me whenever you see it!” he winks.

When you exit the store together, you hear Totty yelp. You turn to see him getting grabbed by five men that look like him. They’re frozen, with Todomatsu flailing in their grasp. They blink a few times before dropping Totty on the ground. They all smile and talk animatedly over each other, ignoring the person on the pavement.

“Uh, Totty,” you unsteadily start, unsure of how to handle this situation. How do you handle this, what the hell? You crouch a bit to help Todomatsu up, he looks like he wants the ground to swallow him up whole. “Do you know these people?”

“Ah, yes, these are…” he glances lifelessly behind him. “…my brothers.”

“His older brothers!” the one in red shouts, posing triumphantly. “We’re identical sextuplets!” he lilts offkey. You sympathetically look at Totty, his face is downcast and his eyes are shining.

“Oh, wow, sextuplets! I didn’t think I’d be meeting your family so soon,” you try to lighten the mood, and Todomatsu tries to smile but he still looks mortified. “Do you want to leave?” you whisper. His eyes practically scream yes.

You wrap your arm around Totty’s, which causes his brothers to gasp and glare at him?? The hell’s wrong wit them?

“It was nice to meet you guys, but we’re on a date!” you smile before heading off. You feel Todomatsu squeeze your arm closer to his body and whisper “thank you.”

You stop by the swings a park and Todomatsu guiltily confesses that he’s a sextuplet?

You reassure him that it’s fine, it’s interesting, but who cares? As long as his brothers being unexpected guests isn’t a normal thing, it wasn’t too relevant. He seems relieved and apologizes, this won’t happen again.

You end up just talking, swaying on the swingset. He seems more genuine now, almost like revealing his family life was a huge weight off his shoulders.

He apologizes again for his brothers and offers to make it up to you next time!

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haikyuu-appreciation-club · 4 years ago

Text

•Closer to You•

Sugawara x Reader

warnings: like one curse word

genre: fluff

word count: 1.8k

Just an fyi, this oneshot was written for one of my friends and modified so that anyone could enjoy sooo if there are some parts that you don’t relate with i apologize, lets just try and use our imaginations pls + ty. anywhooo enjoy lovelies <3

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You and Sugawara had been dating for a little while now but hadn’t really gotten the opportunity to have a proper first date. Both of you were busy with school and extracurricular activities so your schedules didn't really allow any room for spending time with one another. You knew Suga felt bad so you constantly tried to reassure him that you were content with the current flow of your relationship. However, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t miss his company. You supported him whole heartedly. Always showing up to all of his games no matter their importance and cheering for him no matter how much time he spent on the court. Even so, despite the swelling pride you felt in your heart as you watched him pursue the sport he loved so dearly, you couldn't help but wish you could steal more of his time.

Despite you painting that pretty smile on your face and telling Suga that you were fine, he knew better. To be completely honest he missed you too. He loved volleyball but he loved you so much more. He had been in love with you for years now but only recently had he been able to muster up the courage to confess. Never in a million years did he expect you to accept his confession so when you did he was stunned to say the least. None the less, he was over the moon that you reciprocated his feelings, but it seemed that ever since you two made it official, time was not on your side. This is why he proposed that this weekend you would have your first official date. You two weren’t big on things like dinner dates and long walks on the beach so you decided to have a little movie night at Sugawara’s house. You both were very excited that you would finally have the opportunity to just be in each other’s company without the stress of messing up anyone’s schedule.

Saturday rolled around and you walked up to the door of Suga’s home. His parents had gone away on a business trip so you two had the house to yourselves for the weekend. You knocked on the door and eagerly waited for an answer, bouncing from one foot to the other. The door was pulled open, letting out a small creak in the process, allowing your eyes to meet the beautiful hazel ones you were so familiar with. You didn’t allow him time to properly greet you, already wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him into your embrace. He wrapped his arms around your waist and chuckled. While still holding onto him you allowed yourself to address him, a smile evident in your voice,

“Hi Kōshi!”

“Hey Y/N, you ready to get this movie marathon started?”

You pulled away from him as you smiled and nodded your head. He grinned and intertwined your fingers with his, pulling you inside and towards the couch. You sat down on the plush sofa, moving yourself into a position that was comfortable for you while still leaving room for Suga to get cozy as well. Suga threw you the remote as he walked to the kitchen. You cocked your head at the now empty door frame and began to project your voice to be heard from where he stood,

“What do you wanna watch?”

“Your pick tonight, sweetheart”

“You sure?”

“Positive Y/N, now hurry up and pick something before I start scrolling through the horror section.”

You shuttered. You could not tolerate horror movies. Last time you watched a horror movie was when you got invited to a sleepover at Daichi’s house with the team. You had known the boys for quite a while so hanging out all together was nothing new. However, on that particular occasion Noya and Tanaka had gotten word of your hatred for the specific genre and decided that it would be a good idea to scare the shit out of you. This resulted in you huddled up in Suga’s arms for the rest of the night, not allowing yourself a wink of sleep in fear the memories of the film would fill your dreams. Safe to say, you were not too keen on interacting with the two the morning after.

Quickly sifting through the different titles, you decided on a Disney movie. You didn't really know what type of movies Suga was interested in so you thought settling on something that was enjoyed by a wide variety of people would be the best choice. Setting the remote down, you took in the atmosphere of the room. It was very serene, as was the rest of his home. There weren’t many pieces of furniture littering the room but the pictures on the wall made up for any feelings of vacancy. Your eyes scanned each frame, smiling to yourself as you took in the happy memories that were on display. However, there was one picture in particular that caught your eye. Suga couldn’t have been any older than three as he stood in his bathtub, butt naked might you add, hugging his mother around her neck and soaking her in the process. You let out an audible laugh as the boy in question reentered the room.

“What are you laughing about?”

Suga set down the bowls of popcorn and candy as he turned to look at the picture you were pointing at. His gaze settled on the frame and his cheeks heated up, a hue of red now painting them out of embarrassment. He sunk into the space beside you as he buried his face in his hands and mumbled,

“I knew I should’ve taken some of those down.”

Your laughter filled the room once more as you pried his hands away from his face,

“Don’t worry about it Kō, I think it’s cute.”

He looks up at you and melts. The way your soft eyes meet his, slightly crinkled at the corners due to the beautiful smile tugging at your lips. You body was slightly turned, facing him, giving him a perfect view of his wonderful lover. In that moment, he fell in love with you all over again. Cupping you’re cheek and planting a kiss in the middle of your forehead, he picked up the remote to start the movie.

He leaned back and wrapped his arm around your shoulder as you snuggle into him. You two stayed like this for a few movies. Occasionally letting out a laugh or humming the tune to a familiar song. However as you peered up, you noticed that Suga’s facial expression seemed bored. You could tell that he had grown tired of the childhood films and if you were being honest, you were growing tired of them yourself.

You wiggled out of his grasp and reached for the remote. Suga was watching you with a slightly confused expression as you paused the movie and stood up.

“Bathroom break? Need me to refill the snacks?”

You smiled at his motherly antics as you reached your arms to the ceiling,

“No babe, just stretching. I am getting a little bored of the Disney movies though, can we watch something else?”

He hummed and grabbed the remote, exiting out of the movie and returning the the main menu,

“Sure my love, what do you got in mind?”

You sat back down and returned to your original position, leaning up against him once more,

“I heard that volleyball game was on tonight, wanna watch that?”

You watched as his eye lit up, the boredom that was stitched into his face had been replaced by pure excitement that you could tell he was trying to contain. After a minute though, his expression faltered slightly as he looked up at you,

“Are you sure that’s something you wanna watch Y/N? It’s a little different then seeing my games in person. I don’t want you to be confused or get bored.”

You sighed and poked the middle of his forehead, trying to relax the concerned expression that he held as you smiled at him.

“Yes Kōshi, i’m sure. Besides, i’m sure you could tell me a thing or two about what’s going on anyways, i’d like to learn more about volleyball.”

His excited expression returned as he nodded and grabbed the remote, quickly switching to the channel that the game was airing on.

You sat there in his embrace and listened as he talked to you about the game. Truth be told, you knew what was going on. You’ve played volleyball before and even though you were definitely not the most skilled player you didn’t exactly need Sugawara explaining it to you. However, you couldn’t break that news to him. He looked so overjoyed to be talking about something he loved most with the person he loved most that you couldn’t bring yourself to interrupt. So, you sat there with your head rested on his shoulder as he spoke. Slowly but surely, his soft voice pulled you deeper and deeper into sleep. The events of the night had tired you out and although you tried to stay away until the game concluded, you ended up drifting off.

Suga didn’t realize you fell asleep until he noticed you were no longer responding to his commentary with nods or soft hums. He peered down at you, watching the rise and fall of your chest as breath flowed in and out of your slightly parted lips. He smiled at your sleeping figure as he slowly got up, being careful not to wake you with his movements. He slid one of his arms behind your back and the other underneath your knees as he picked you up, bridal style. He carried your silent form to his bedroom, carefully pulling back the blankets before placing you down softly. Suga discarded his shirt, placing it into a hamper as he turned off the bedroom light. He slowly climbed into bed with you and wrapped one of his arms around your waist, the other resting underneath his head. He buried his face in your neck, breathing in the scent of your shampoo.

All felt right in that moment, the world stopped and all that he knew was you. As he drifted off to sleep he thought about how lucky he was to have you in his life, he wanted to get to lay down next to you every night for the rest of his life. So before he was pulled into his dream land, he had to let you know,

“I love you Y/N.”

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

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hime-memes · 3 years ago

Text

* Most Amazing Top 10 - ( Host Commentary Starters ) *

These starters have been taken from the host commentary from the Youtube channel ‘ Most Amazing top 10 ‘ ! ( Because I’m jumping between videos to mostly find a particular hostess’s commentary an anon asked for, I can’t link each video for time purposes, ( I used ten ) -- but, I’ve linked the whole channel in the heading, if anyone is curious. ) Please be warned, if you check out the channel’s link, they tend to cover disturbing and spooky content !

As always: Feel free to change anything within these starters that you see fit to make it work for your muse & the receiver’s muse !

Recommended For: Any muses/plots/timelines.

** Any slight wording changes / sentence break ups made to the original text is to accommodate for RP purposes or more clarity. **

Trigger Warnings For: Possible swearing, mentions of death/murder, religion mentions.

“ Some ... actually all ... of these theories are pretty mind-melty, so you may want to arrange a nap afterwards. “

“ Do you think we’re living in the matrix ? Let me know ! “

“ I dunno where’s the evidence here ? “

“ I’m not so sure ... “

“ I actually enjoy his twitter: he posts thought provoking science riddles. “

“ Plus, his profile picture is GOLDEN ! “

“ Universi ? Does that make sense ? “

“ But then -- there’s perhaps a world where I wear pink today and not yellow, which would still be different ... but, less dramatically so. Or so I think ... who knows ? “

“ Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought your reflection didn’t quite match up ? Could be a parallel universe. “

“ This is classic parallel universe theory ! “

“ ... and honestly, this one freaks me out the most. “

“ Daaaaaaaaaamn, I swear that wasn’t the way I remembered it ! “

“ ‘ Tunes ‘ doesn’t even make any sense, does it ?! They’re ‘ toons ‘ ! “

“ I don’t know what it was to that story, but it really got to me. “

“ Before we start -- I would just like to dedicate this to the Mars Rover, ‘ Opportunity ‘ ... “

“ Would you go to mars ? I think I would, but I’m a bit nervous being so far away from my family and friends. “

“ I’m really really sad that the rover died ! “

“ What could it have been honestly ? Who knows ? “

“ Honestly, how sad ... and terrifying. “

“ What is happening with mars ?! “

“ Okay, this freaks me out ... ! “

“ We hear a very strange ‘ woo ‘-ing sound. “

“ They heard it and they were like, ‘ Wow ! ‘ “

“ Was it an alien signal ? If it was, it was probably sent thousands of years ago, and whoever sent it is probably long gone. “

“ It actually reminds me of the Lovecraftian monster, ‘ The Blackness ‘ from the stars. It’s a sentient darkness ... ah, HP Lovecraft ... he knew it ! “

“ Next up, we have what my nightmares are actually made of. “

“ If you didn’t think you were going to cry today -- you were wrong ! “

“ Is it okay to cry over a robot ? “

“ I actually cried real tears ! “

“ Today I’m talking about a dastardly little cretin ... “

“ Okay, a little backstory on ( Name ). If you don’t know who that is, you’ll know by the end of this conversation. He/She’s supposed to be the most evil demonic doll ever to grace the earth ... “

“ I don’t know why they never considered containing the evil OFF site, but ... “

“ Now, the priest stupidly ignored ( Name ) ... Well, can you imagine what happened ? “

“ Attached to the front is ‘ The Devil ‘ tarot card. “

“ ... Then you’ll know, amongst other things, you do not want to be seeing The Devil ... “

“ Anyway, ( Name ) and The Devil aren’t really the combination you want to see. It’s too much evil. “

“ Apparently, you don’t have to go there to experience how bad the energy is. “

“ ( Name ) in real life looks much less intimidating ... “

“ ( Name ) wanted something more disturbing for the film. “

“ Poor ( Name ), having to live in a house with that doll ... “

“ It is totally reckless and irresponsible to let ( Name ) out into the public realm. “

“ My mom hasn’t bough me a doll since I was eight, but, you know what -- no judgment. “

“ First off, we have ‘ The Brenda ‘ theory ... “

“ Who’s Brenda ?! “

“ He appears shirtless with bulging muscles, very strange. “

“ I found it on a fan-theory site. “

“ If he’s not Santa ... he’s doing some pretty legit Santa cosplay in my opinion. “

“ Maybe he’s an evil Santa Claus/Elf hybrid ? “

“ ... But perhaps they’re throwing shade at real scientists ... “

“ I was googling ‘ Professor Utonium God ‘ and ‘ Professor Utonium HOT ‘ came up ! “

“ Guys, can you just chill out ! “

“ How very very thirsty of you all ... “

“ HE’S A CARTOON ! “

“ The power puff girls are all high ! “

“ I guess it is a bit of a wild theory, but -- that’s what we’re here for ! “

“ Have we ruined your childhood with our theories ? “

“ What’s the weirdest thing that’s happened in your town ? “

“ Another teenager spotted the creature the same evening. “

“ They misunderstood the practices as being satanic. “

“ He had wings, horns on his head, and hooves ... you know, the ‘ Classic Devil ‘ starter pack. “

“ Oh, men doing housework ? It must be because of witches ... “

“ Everyone was afraid of witches in New England ... WHY ?! “

“ Maybe I’ll change my mind after this spooky list. “

“ We have the spirits of the Spaghetti warehouse. “

“ Your pasta may come served with a side of spooks. “

“ If your job is to deliver pizza, I’d say watch out. “

“ A resident had killed and eaten 23 pizza delivery men. “

“ Aren’t hoaxes how urban legends start anyway ? “

“ I love a good theater ghost ... it seems that ghosts especially prevalent in theatrical places. Maybe it’s something to do with the heightened drama ? “

“ In their human lives, they were said to have sold their souls to the devil ... who gave them intense magical powers in return for their souls -- you know, a classic exchange. “

“ So, how do you know you’re in the presence of one of these owl witches ? They’ll let you know by a series of whistling and baby noises ! “

“ She’s been known to be jealous of attractive patrons and shows them by pushing them down the stairs -- I’m like: ‘ babe, be chill. ‘ “

“ The trophy room contains a rip in time and space. “

“ Now we have Beyonce and the Illuminati. “

“ I love Beyonce, cult or no cult. “

“ With these urban legends, I feel like I’m learning some really good history. “

“ There is a fire breathing dragon that lives in the lakes and rivers of Canada. “

“ Yes, it’s a tongue twister & a monster. “

“ Old snakey-in-the-lakey liked to swim. “

“ Animals are not happy with us, and who can blame them ? “

“ Sadly, there’s no cure for human weapons like bullets and knives though, ey ? “

“ Ancient Burial grounds. Don’t mess with ‘em. “

“ Beware the owls. “

“ These owls ? Baddies. “

“ Demons. On camera. What are you doing there ? “

“ Ah, ‘ womb demon ‘ -- two words I didn’t think I was going to say today. “

“ This womb demon looks pretty breastalicious. “

“ I don’t fancy hanging out with this ghoul. “

“ Is there a real explanation for what’s going on here !? There’s a woman stood in the middle of a fire ?! “

“ What is this demon-genie doing in a cave ? We don’t know. “

“ It looks like a descending Dementor looking for a kiss.”

“ Perhaps mothman standing in a residential street ? ”

“ Honestly, she’s off the charts in this video. “

“ It’s just very shocking viewing for the 90s. “

“ Their location in space and time is a mystery ... OH ! I LOVE A GOOD MYSTERY ! “

“ Let’s get some unsolved chat going on. “

“ Now, nobody wants to be poisoned -- “

“ He spent 7 years adapting his body and testing his responses to certain deadly poisons, and he learned something interesting. “

“ He concocted a potion of 54 ingredients that was said to be a universal antidote. “

“ The recipe for this magic medicine has been lost. “

“ I don’t know about you, but I love me an abandoned station ! “

“ I don’t know if it’s true, but if it is -- that’s pretty exciting ! ”

“ I miss you ( although I never met you ) ... BUT ! I know I love you. “

“ Moon power ! “

“ He was a lad -- I quite agree. “

“ Is this why his plans went missing ? Probably ! “

“ I found a creepy old ring in my chimney once - was it cursed ? I don’t know. “

“ To me, this absolutely looks like a cursed room. “

“ 10 out of 10, CURSED. “

“ Do we even want to know where Russians hide stuff ? I don’t think so. “

“ We’re not idiots ! We need to see this, we need to see this secret dungeon ! “

“ But, at the same time: it adds alot of value to the rent, there’s a lot of storage in that murder bunker ! “

“ One of the tapes as inscribed with ‘ no no nono ‘ on the side of it. “

“ Never buy a house with a walled up room, and do you know what ? I guess don’t. “

“ Murder ... MURDER ! “

“ He was bricked up in a wall to die and now his ghost throws bricks at passersby ! You know what ? I get it. “

“ It’s only the Egyptian god of death. “

“ There are an uncomfortable number of triangles. “

“ This is super high-fy - modern day stuff ! ”

“ I wish my name was Kahufu ! “

“ Curse me once: shame on you, Curse me twice ? Honestly ... shame on me. “

#rp meme #sentence starters #roleplay meme #sentence starter meme #youtube sentence starters #rp prompts

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internalsealpanic · 4 years ago

Text

Do It Yourself Hauntings

Summary: You and Terry get extremely bored while on a group date as you walk through a haunted house. Terry has a brilliant idea that’s sure to chase away your boredom.

masterlist

a/n: Guess who is flagrantly avoiding homework to write a fic? So this is Cat!Reader x Terry McGinnis. Reader is still as gender neutral as I can make them so I went with the name ‘Stray’. A tid bit I could not write in organically is that reader is painfully shy in their civilian identity but has little to no inhibitions when in their night time persona. Another clarification is that this is the outfit I had in mind. It was legit the thing I had my heart set on when my lizard brain said Catwoman character.

Warnings: Adult language, clowns, clownery, and this maybe a tinsy bit spicy at one point (I tried) (kind of? Look, I just don’t want anyone going all mother superior on me. Just in case. ).

You were incredibly, stupidly, magnificently bored.

You shifted on your heels, letting them click and echo trying to distract yourself from the thrum of excess energy surging through your body.

It-It didn’t work.

The clicking only made you more anxious, plucking at your taut nerves like well-tuned guitar strings.

It probably didn’t help that you just came back from a dazzling night of heists and getting shot at. Adrenaline still flowing through your veins like molten ichor. Heart still floundering in your chest as if- at any moment- the cops would come rushing in and you would have to make your daring, if not dramatic, escape.

Between this and the sorry attempt at jump scares the poor underpaid actors subjected you to, your head started aching and your mood plummeted into something vile. Thankfully, your group was none-the-wiser unless all of them spontaneously decided to master micro-expressions then you were the picture of an apprehensive young adult trekking through a cheap haunted house.

Why did you agree to this again?

Pulse still pounding loudly in your ears and content with letting the others have their fun, you silently fall into the back of the group. There was a higher chance that you would encounter the cringe-inducing scares but you weren’t too concerned. Nope. You were more worried about the very real possibility that you might deck Nelson or Chelsea or Blade or whoever the fuck decided that girls need to play scared to make guys feel cool. Ok, yeah, the last one.

When Chelsea did another ill-timed flinch, scrabbling for Nelson’s arm, and Nelson ate it up, you swore your eyes would roll their way out of their sockets. Whoever popularized this needed to be shot. Twice.

There was always a possibility that they weren’t faking it, that they were genuinely terrified but you highly doubted it considering if anything actually scary happened, Nelson would be the first one to run.

Neck deep in your musings, you hadn’t noticed as Terry slowed to keep pace with you. He leaned down close enough to brush his lips against your skin and blew a light gust into your ear. You jumped clutching your ear feeling the heat spread through your body. You twitched away. The memory of his lips against your ear making your stomach dance. Your skin prickled with curiosity-

You glowered at him. You prayed that the embarrassment plain on your body language did not dampen the venom in your eyes.

“Told ya I could be scary,”

He winked.

You sighed.

Of course, he hadn’t let that go.

You rolled your head to the side and shrank into your puffy leather jacket trying to hide the bright flush of your cheeks. From the absolutely smarmy grin he gave you, he was enjoying this. Was this payback? It was probably payback. Payback for all the slag you said over the comms, the flirty little touches, or all the little kisses you dealt him every time you encountered him in the field.

Here’s a novel concept! Maybe don’t dish out what you can’t take.

“Compared to this place? Yeah,”

“Ouch, what’s got you in a mood?”

You leveled him a look. Terry leveled you with his own. You tilted your head ever so slightly to show the bruise blooming on your collar bone. He winced. His jaw clenched. You instantly regretted showing him when his brows were carved with guilt. Normally, you liked looking at Terry. Easy on the eyes kind of handsome. He only looked punchable in the Batsuit. But you could never stand the guilt and worry on his face, especially when you were the cause. It wasn’t even his fault. You took the blow knowing your armor wasn’t quite as enforced. That was on you.

You sucked in a breath and rolled your shoulders contorting yourself away from the ever-present need to apologize. Instead, you waved your hand vaguely at the cheaply constructed haunted house. “Admit it, this place is-”

“isn’t that-” He looked around rubbing the back of his neck. “-bad?”

“Terry, the scariest thing about this place is how many credits I wasted,” you deadpanned looking down at your, now, lighter wallet. It wasn’t physically lighter but you were a drama queen and you had a point to make.

Terry chuckled at your antics and rolled his eyes. “It’s got its charms,” You raised your brow and crossed your arms. His shoulders slumped then straightened, a teasing quirk to his lip curling. “Still better than doing that family studies paper,”

Ok, that you could agree on.

The rest of the walk was marginally bearable with you and Terry providing quiet commentary on each scare. It was hard to hold back laughter. Your body shook, nearly falling into a giggle fit several times. You got dirty looks from the others several times for the transgression of ‘ruining’ the mood. You were a little impressed that they had managed to make a mood for you to ruin. After all, what’s more romantic than zombie clowns and warehouses?

Your sides ached. You really wanted to just let out a laugh, a real full belly laugh but you hated your laugh. Terry, you thought, was aware of your broken plate laugh. Why did he keep trying to draw it out?

Your group made it into a large clearing. Your anxiety immediately ratcheted up with the wide-open space but relaxed after scanning the room. There was nowhere to put

Creaking and scraping of old rusty metals resonated in every corner.

Terry nudged you and pointed upward, directing your attention to the silhouette moving around in the rafters.

Your heart stopped momentarily but picked back up again as soon as you saw the graceless way the figure moved around.

A clown covered in gore and shards of metal jumped down from the rafters landing in the middle of your ragtag group. You scattered. You heard a few gasps. You even saw Nelson flinch. You took some petty satisfaction in being right.

You yawned less concerned with the crazy act he was putting on and more with how the hell he hasn’t landed on a single patron. You made your boredom plain. You’ve seen crazy. Your sides throbbed in protest of the reminder.

You looked down to distract yourself only to be met with the sight of floppy red clown shoes. Genuine, floppy, red clown shoes. You pinched the bridge of your nose and bit your lip. Your body trembled from trying to contain the laughter roiling in your stomach.

The man continued to spout something about keeping you all here for his entertainment. Blah. Blah. You crossed your ankles and leaned ever so slightly into Terry’s space, cocking your head to the opposite side. You yawned into your hand muffling the sound as best you could in an attempt to be polite. Terry had other ideas.

Terry leaned down into your ear making an exaggerated snoring sound. An ugly snort tore its way out of your nostrils loud enough to be heard over the clown’s overly dramatic soliloquy. You felt everyone’s eyes on you. You clamped your hand over your mouth to stifle the onslaught of snorts rising up from your chest. You narrowed your eyes at Terry who, at the moment, was also fighting his own fit of laughter. You couldn’t keep the smile off your face as you, in solidarity, tried not to laugh too hard at the expense of the wannabe Shakespeare actor.

You kind of felt bad.

Maybe.

Ok, you did. But not nearly enough to actually stop laughing. In your defense, Ace had more acting chops than this guy. But kudos, he was really into the bit.

He lunged at the two of you, fuming with smoke coming out of his ears. Terry grabbed you pressing you to his side and wrapping a protective arm around you. You let out an embarrassing little squeak. You witnessed as he cataloged it into the ‘stuff y/n is never gonna live down’ part of his brain. ‘Cute’ he mouthed silently. You cursed yourself. You turned to cuss at Terry-

The clown lunged at you again, murderous intent plain as day on his face. He snarled as you two dodged him easily with a quick sidestep. In the corner of your eyes, you could see the other actors look on in bewilderment. One of them shook her head clearly exasperated. Ok, so you unintentionally pissed off one of the actors. Great. Now, what?

The man lunged for you again. Dodging gracefully, you two turned on your heels and bolted leading him away from the group. You could hear the group collectively cheering him on behind you as you made your escape.

Technically, you could just knock him out and maybe go back to the group. One of you was the goddamn Batman while the other was Stray, thief extraordinaire, after all. But between the gasp of laughter and the playful grin stretching across Terry’s face like hell that was happening.

You two ducked into a corner tired and panting. You press yourself against the cool metal of the wall with Terry shielding you from view.

“You ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” You whisper, shrinking into your leather jacket feeling keenly aware of your lack of undershirt as the heat radiating from his skin pressed against yours. He leaned against you, closing the gap between the two of you. His panting breaths fanning against your skin, lips brushing against the bare skin of your collar. You bit out a curse as the color on your cheeks darkened. You swallowed a lump, heart floundering again. You felt him smile against your skin.

You like to say it was anger that flared up in you. You really would but the heat suffusing in your body said otherwise. You pushed at him weakly. “We have to get back,”

Terry stepped back giving you space. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding in.

“You sure you want to? Bozo is still looking for us. That and you’ll probably still be bored,”

You tapped your foot and tilted your head considering it. You looked into his face searching for something. You sigh inwardly. “Yeah, no. I really don’t wanna go back. The scariest thing is still the amount of money we wasted and I have yet to be scared shitless,”

He smiled at you victoriously. “I have an idea,”

You blinked at him.“Ok, great job! Now, I’m pissing myself with fear,” You teased. You weren’t a fan of Terry’s ideas half the time but hell if they weren’t entertaining.

Terry rolled his eyes at you holding out his hand. “You brought your goggles, right?”

“McGinnis, I didn’t exactly have time to go home and-” You stilled, feeling his eyes trail down your chest before darting back up. Normally, when you were in costume, you left the zipper of your jacket open showing tantalizing glimpses of your soft flesh. Terry was absolutely not opposed to your costume choice unless you were in danger which was rare (thank you very much). This was what led to your current blushing predicament not that the other aspects of your costume were any less complementary. You sighed inwardly before stammering out “Yeah, I have my goggles,” Fishing them out of an inner pocket of your jacket, you waved them around half-heartedly.

“Schway! Come on follow me,” He said grabbing your wrist before you could see the flush creeping up his neck.

You rounded a couple of corners before stopping at a beam. He looked from left to right brow furrowed. He tapped his foot twice then somehow decided to go left. How the hell Terry managed to find his way around in the dark was a complete mystery to you. Your first guess is echolocation but the second, more logical guess, was that Bruce was a paranoid old man. Like a normal human, you were entirely dependent on the night vision mode of your goggles.

You stopped when Terry stretched his arm out in front of you. You squinted seeing another group of bored-looking patrons. You turn to Terry who was looking at them and seemingly analyzing the group and it clicked.

“Oh,” you whispered quietly as you understood what he was planning. He threw you a playful smirk knowing you wouldn’t be able to resist this golden opportunity to fuck around.

“I would like to go on record and say this is a terrible idea,”

“And yet you’re going along with it,”

You were about to protest but couldn’t really think of a good defense.

“You know, if you really wanted to scare them you could have just dressed up as old Brucie,”

You huffed and put your goggles on before crouching low. He followed suit bending low.

“Weeell, sorry. Your gremlin mug was the best I could do on short notice,”

You made a face of mock hurt which made him chuckle. “Am not,”

As it turns out, two vigilantes well-trained in sneaking around are actually pretty good at scaring people. In the last 5 minutes, you’ve scared four different groups of patrons all with varying reactions but all equally hilarious.

“Yanno we could probably scare Nelson,” Terry hummed innocently trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. You answered him with a vicious smile. “You just want payback for the prank he pulled yesterday,”

“And you want to see him piss himself,”

This was true.

“Ok, fine. What’s the game plan?”

“I’m glad you asked,” Terry chuckled knowing he’s got you hook, line, and sinker. You scoffed but let him lean closer to you to whisper his maniacal scheme.

“If this works I am going to cry-” You crowed ducking behind another row of boxes as you quietly trailed your group. “-Hand me your jacket,”

Completely avoiding your outstretched hands, he draped his jacket over you like a strange leather veil before giving your head a quick pat. “Hope you brought tissues then,”

“Like slag, this is gonna work,” You said quirking your brow and tilting your head to make the doubt plain on your face. Even with your vision impaired by your new headpiece, you could still admire how nice he looked in his shirt. Not that you let it show. You hoped.

“Just watch and learn nonbeliever,”

“Oh god he thinks he can pull off miracles now,” You sneered climbing on to his broad shoulders.

“Shhhhhhhh”

You pouted down at him crossing your arms. He shrugged his shoulders, the movement drawing a surprised yelp from you in turn making him snicker. You were about to open your mouth when your smoke trap was triggered.

Ok, this was a blatant abuse of your equipment but who was gonna tell you off? Bruce? Probably but the man was allergic to fun so being at a Halloween fair was, likely, safe.

Thick waterfalls of white smoke cascaded down from the rafters, blanketing the floor with a thick mist of curling smoke. The group stopped almost mystified by how well-timed the eerie effect was. You had to hold back a derisive snort when they all turned to each other confused.

Because, yes, this is what your hours of booby trap training have been leading up to.

Truly, a magnum opus of spite.

You could already see Nelson readying himself to bolt even as Blade and Chelsea hung off his arms. Petty satisfaction bloomed in you.

Ok, you may be a gremlin.

You threw your voice in a shrill cackle letting it echo and bounce in the room over the too slow circus music playing in the background. It was a chilling sound, the kind that rattled in bones and traveled up the spine. One that you’ve only ever used for pranks during long nights at the lab. You even felt Terry freeze up beneath you. His grip on your thighs getting tighter. How on earth you didn’t yelp or squeak or make any other little noise at that was the true miracle.

“Wha- what’s going on?“ Blade squeaked, pressing into the group.

"Didn’t we just pass the last attraction?!”

“Are you sure it was the last?”

“I don’t know man!”

The group shrank in on itself as the conversation grew more panicked. You felt Terry shaking from holding in laughter. You nudge him softly with your heel. He took a breath and nodded to tell you he was fine.

“Oh children, there’s no need to fuss,” You coo sickeningly sweet. You see them swallow taking in your presence heavy as it was.

“The fun’s only just beginning!” You shriek flicking on the orange lights of your goggles. Your shrill, shrieking voice transmuting over the speakers filling the room.

They screamed, scrambled, and scattered. Your nearly 10-foot silhouette hovering over them. They tripped over each other. Some of them pulling at each other. Some stepping over feet in their haste to get away. Pure terror etched themselves on their faces.

You let them all sprint to exit, watching their forms all disappear before bursting out into laughter.

“Did- Did you see their faces?!”

“Please tell me you were recording,“

“wait-” You choked grabbing for your goggles. You made a show of checking and letting your shoulders fall in disappointment.

Terry looked crushed. A vicious grin carved across your face. “Relax, I was,”

Terry’s slumped against the crate as he leaned back. He ran his hand through his black hair and began to laugh again.

You put your goggles back to your jacket pocket. You clutched at his jacket letting your ugly laugh tumble out of your lips. Terry planted a kiss on your nose making your breath hitch.

"What was that for?!” Your hands flying to your nose. Your fingers traced the small patch of skin he touched.

“You were just too cute,” He laughed ruffling your hair.

How do you respond to that? How could he say things like that so casually? Does he not know how many heart attacks it gives you?

“Jerk”

“PFFFFT”

“Don’t ‘pfffft’ me!” You bit out, throwing his jacket at him.

“Pfffft”

He stuck his tongue out at you.

“I-”

“Ahem!”

You both looked up to see a security guard and Bozo glowering down at you. You gave them both what passed for a sheepish, but not exactly, apologetic look.

The burly guard picked you both up by the scruff of your necks and hauled you out of the building. He tossed you out back as Bozo yelled “stay out” from the comfort of the guards back.

“Kick us out yourself, coward!” Terry yelled, shaking his fist like an old man. You slapped your forehead in an effort not to encourage him. Bozo glowered at him from behind his meat shield. Terry snarled. You grabbed his arm to stop him from doing anything stupid.

“I knew it was you two,” Max sighed, hand on her hip.

“How’d you guess?”

“Circus music,”

You looked at her uncomprehendingly before remembering your well-documented discomfort with circuses. You slapped your hand against your forehead. Terry, helpful as usual, snickered at you.

But before you could throw hands, Max spoke cleared her throat.

“You dumbasses are lucky they don’t press charges,” Max aggravated pinching the bridge of her nose. You had the decency to look a little sheepish at the accusation but Terry looked pleased which earned him a chastising look.

“Sorry, ma’am” You both grumbled as she pulled you both up.

All three of you walked in tandem. Max let up the responsible act.

“Not the worst group date you’ve been on, right?” Terry nudged.

“No, guess not,” You scoffed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Stiiiiill not as bad as that time you got us caught by the Joker Gang~”

“That wasn’t even my fault,”

————————————–

Thanks for reading! Also please do not do this in real life. They will get mad at you even if their haunted house does stink.

taglist: @batarellabatarella (YOU BITCH I GOT ANOTHER BATBOY FOR YOU), @anothertimdrakestan, @lucy-roo, @multifandomgirl-us, @idkmanicantenglish,@birdy-bat-writes, @boosyboo9206, @americasmarauders (I wanna drag you into Terry hell), @l-horizon11

#batafm #dc x y/n #dc fanfiction #terry mcginnis x reader #terry mcginnis #october #my writing #batboys #spooktober

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trashscenariihxh · 5 years ago

Text

Chrollo x Fem!Reader

Yet another commission! If you’re interested in commissioning something, please message me. Remember, no commissions are shared without your consent, and they are all made anonymous.

You received a text from Chrollo saying he’d be in town only minutes before you ran into him. It was late; you’d just finished closing up shop, counting the money left in the till and locking up before grabbing your coat and heading out into the autumn night. It had stormed earlier, but now it only drizzled. Damp leaves clung to your shoes as you walked down the slippery cobblestone street.

Had Chrollo not called your name out softly, you would have walked right by him, so preoccupied were you with keeping your umbrella from being blown inside out by a sudden gust of wind. You stopped the instant you heard your name, turning in the direction of the voice. Chrollo was dressed in normal clothes for once, casually leaning against the side of a building, washed in the gold of the streetlight.

“Hey!” You called, walking briskly towards him and promptly stepping into a puddle. You cursed, closing your umbrella as you futilely shook your foot. No point in trying to stay dry now. “What are you doing here?”

Chrollo smiled, that sweet, darkly angelic smile of his. “To see you, _____. Isn’t that obvious?”

You rolled your eyes. “I meant here. In the street.”

“Your shop was closed, it takes you twenty minutes to walk home. I guessed I’d find you here.” He chuckled. “It seems I was right.”

Snorting, you turned on your heel and strode off. “Come on then, I’m going home to get out of the rain. Stay in the street if you like.” You noticed that he didn’t even have an umbrella on him. Chrollo was a strange man, perhaps he enjoyed getting rained on. Sometimes you felt as though you couldn’t truly be sure of what he enjoyed.

Neither of you attempted conversation on the walk back to your apartment. Your mood was too foul after having been made to suffer the annoyance of wet socks, and the wind rustling the dried leaves as it blew through the trees was too loud to speak over.

“You could have just waited for me here.” You spoke finally as you reached you apartment, removing your shoes and switching on the light.

“I don’t have a key.”

“Like that’s ever stopped you.”

Chrollo arched an eyebrow. “You think I’ve broken into your home?”

“Well haven’t you?”

Another cryptic smile. A flash behind his eyes. “Perhaps.”

His lips were on yours an instant later. Chrollo might have taken great pains to appear ethereal and otherworldly, but there was something so refreshingly warm about his kisses that his humanity was undeniable. Soft lips drifted down to your collarbone, leaving a trail of even softer kisses in their wake along your throat.

“Right to the point, huh?” You chuckled, tilting your head to the side to give him better access.

“It’s been a long time.”

Had it? You had a hard time believing that Chrollo had spent the last several months pining away for you, such thoughts were an extravagance reserved only for those in relationships with normal people. Every time Chrollo left, you assumed that he’d either be killed or just lose interest in what you had; he’d slink through his life of shadows and remember you less and less until you became little more than a silhouette in his memory. A favorite character in a long-forgotten book.

Whether these were prophetic musings or purely melodramatic thoughts mattered little to you now, especially since Chrollo was urgently sliding your coat off your shoulders in an attempt to undress you.

“Hey!” You protested when his hands rested on your ass and squeezed through the fabric of your dress, but you melted into him when he pulled you close and murmured “I’ve missed you” against your lips.

That was all it took. You grabbed his wrist and led him to your bedroom, blushing at the light peal of amused laughter that ensued. You refused to be ashamed of your eagerness, so you cast a smirk over your shoulder as you began to shed your clothing. It was much more efficient than Chrollo’s earlier fumbling.

A smile spread across your face when Chrollo stood behind you, his half-hard cock obvious when his crotch pressed against your ass. You jumped in surprise when he began to rub against you.

“You like it?” Chrollo asked, helping you remove the last remnants of your clothes and dipping down to kiss your shoulder. “Feeling me like this?” He swept a lock of your hair away so he could lightly suck at your neck.

You hummed in contentment, reaching back behind you to lace your fingers in his thick dark hair. He’d forgone his usual severe slicked-back hairstyle in favor of leaving his hair down, something you greatly appreciated. Chrollo’s hands found their way to your now-exposed breasts; he palmed at them before lightly rubbing at and gently tweaking your nipples. The more he touched you, the more excited he became; Chrollo was rocking against you, his still-clothed erection stiffening by the second. One of his hands drifted down between your legs, his fingers beginning to stroke your clit.

“Chrollo…” His name fell from your lips in a barely audible whimper as you bucked against him, your eyes fluttering shut. After so long, his touch was enough to transport you away from your bedroom. You were lost. Totally, gloriously lost.

“_____.” Chrollo’s voice brought you back to the present. “Look.”

You opened your eyes, confused as to what exactly Chrollo wanted you to look at, until. Oh. Oh. In your earlier haste to get Chrollo into your bedroom, you’d failed to notice that you were standing almost directly in front of your full-length mirror.

“Look at me,” Chrollo ordered silkily, laughing lightly when you instinctively started to look back at him. “No. There.” He grabbed your chin and turned your head to face the mirror.

You’d seen yourself naked countless times, and you’d been intimate with Chrollo a comparable amount, but your cheeks burned with exhilaration and something almost like shame when you looked in the mirror. Here you were, naked and utterly exposed, while Chrollo was more or less fully clothed.

“That’s it,” he encouraged, dropping his hand from your chin and gently wrapping his fingers around your throat. He continued to stroke your sex; his fingers moved away from your clitoris to dip between your legs and rub against your slit. “Keep looking at me.” His large grey eyes locked onto yours as he slid a finger inside you.

“It’s okay,” he soothed when your breath hitched. “You can cry out if you want to. If you can.” He tightened his grip on your throat.

You gasped when your air supply was suddenly partially cut off, yet you kept looking in the mirror as instructed. Looking at him. With one hand around your neck and the other between your legs. It struck you then just how beautiful Chrollo was; his face, unreadable alabaster, remained supernaturally serene even as he choked you. Angelic. Seraphic, even.

Chrollo tightened his grip again, and for an instant you couldn’t breathe. Flashes of red and gold danced before your eyes, and just as your vision began to cloud, you came around Chrollo’s fingers.

“Lovely,” he breathed, relaxing his grip and kissing your neck again. There was something reverentially apologetic about the way he kissed you now, his full lips ghosting over the angry red marks his fingers had made. He withdrew his hand from between your legs. “Get on the bed.”

A jolt of anticipation shot down your spine at the calmly given order. You obeyed, walking over to your bed and lying down on your back, legs spread, body eagerly waiting.

Chrollo smiled softly. “No, not like that. On your hands and knees.” You bristled at the slight note of condescension you heard in his voice but obeyed just the same.

From behind you, you heard the rustle of fabric, the clinking of a belt buckle. For the second time that night you began to look back, and just like the first time, Chrollo stopped you.

“Don’t.”

You closed your eyes and let your head hang in frustration. He was certainly taking his time…

Cool hands began to caress your ass, making you shudder at the long-awaited touch. Your eyes shot open when Chrollo pulled his hand away and brought it down on your ass with an audible slap, and you moaned softly when he did it a second time. It stung, but not unpleasantly.

Surprisingly, Chrollo offered no commentary on your reaction; he was seemingly content with drawing little moans and gasps from you with each slap. When he was finally satisfied, he rubbed his hands soothingly over your now-sore backside before lining himself up with your entrance and sliding in.

Your eyes widened when he bottomed out; it became immediately clear that he had not bothered to get undressed, a situation that sent little tremors of delight over your skin. You felt so vulnerable like this, so used.

Chrollo, who had seemingly used up his supply of self-restraint, began to fuck you with fast, hard thrusts. He grabbed your hips, preventing you from wriggle away from him as he drove into your repeatedly, fast and deep.

You bit your lip as his cock hit your g-spot, your inner walls tightening around him. Chrollo’s soft grunts and gasps were music to your ears; each sound he made caused the proverbial coil within your core to tighten. With a rush of daring, you chanced a look at Chrollo over your shoulder and barely contained a gasp when you saw him.

Chrollo’s head was thrown back, his eyes closed, lush dark lashes pressed against his cheekbones. His cheeks had taken on a light pink flush, as had his lips, which were parted in a silent “O” of pleasure. The smallest, barely audible hint of a moan began to tinge each of Chrollo’s gasps; the picture before you was almost enough to make you come on the spot.

Chrollo’s eyes cracked open and you quickly looked away. Too late, evidently; you received a sharp smack on your ass for your disobedience.

“I… didn’t… say you could… look- oh!” Chrollo’s last shred of self-control evaporated; he reached forward, grabbing a handful of your hair and jerking your head back as he began to relentlessly fuck into you harder than you thought possible. Something had changed about the angle of his hips; he was no longer directly hitting your g-spot, but somewhere deeper, more sensual. You groaned as your walls spasmed around his cock as your second orgasm crashed into you.

Your clenching around his cock sent Chrollo reeling into orgasm as well; he grabbed your hips again with an almost bruising force and slammed into you, releasing deep inside you with a low grunt.

For all his exertion, Chrollo only trembled behind you for a few moments before pulling out and grabbing a tissue off the bedside table to clean himself up. You, however, collapsed onto the bed, having been exhausted by two orgasms.

“Tired?” Chrollo sat lightly on the foot of the bed, fully clothed again.

“What do you think?” You shut your eyes, willing your heartbeat to return to normal.

“I think you’re exhausted.”

“You’re correct. Well done.” You sighed and propped yourself up on your elbows. “Why are you still dressed?”

“I thought I’d take you out for dinner.”

You snorted incredulously. “Oh, now you tell me. While I’m all fucked out and exhausted.”

“Well?”

“It’s raining.”

“You have an umbrella, if memory serves.”

“All right, fine.” You yawned and sat up, grimacing at the soreness between your legs. It had been too long. “Let me get cleaned up, yeah?”

“Of course.”

Feeling Chrollo’s release begin to leak from you, you hastily dashed to the bathroom. You grabbed a towel and turned on the shower, delighting in the heat of the water.

As you stepped into the shower, eager for the water’s warmth, you heard the bathroom door creak open. “You need something?”

You were answered with a very naked Chrollo stepping into the shower with you. “I’ve been traveling for some time. Perhaps I ought to get cleaned up as well.”

You grinned to yourself as you squeezed bodywash onto a washcloth. Perhaps dinner out wasn’t in the cards for tonight after all.

#smuttastic #chrollo lucilfer

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