#i feel like most of what i say is just bullshit

[ur-sick-and-married]

CRAWLING BACK TO YOU • PAIGE BUECKERS

Ever thought of calling when you’ve had a few?

🎵: Do I Wanna Know? covered by Hozier

TW: suggestive, angst, reader is an alcoholic, usage of Y/N, mentions of nausea and vomiting

SUMMARY: you get drunk to avoid running back to your ex…but tonight it brought you right to her.

A/N: I went to a UConn game the other day!

How many times were you going to find yourself in this situation? You were strolling around the crowded house, searching for anyone that would have you. You were drunk again, like you were most nights.

You did this a lot now; get wasted and hookup with strangers. The alcohol allowed you to loosen up, finally find some peace, and the hookups kept you feeling useful and pleasured.

The two of those things also kept you from groveling at the knees of UConn’s best female guard.

You and Paige had been in a serious relationship. You loved that woman. She was the best thing that ever happened to you.

But you’d fucked up. Your love for booze had scared her off. She got sick of attending parties every weekend, sick of having to take away the bottle, sick of dragging you from parties, sick of pushing you off at home when your drunk self tried to start something, sick of nursing your nasty hangovers. She had told you to chill, promised you movie nights and dates instead of parties.

You never listened, so eventually she sat you down and, with a lot of difficulty, ended things. It had become too much for her. She needed to focus on school and basketball. It was her last year in college, after all. She wanted to make it count.

Without Paige, your need for alcohol only grew, which is how you found yourself in the middle of a frat party. Things had been usual, until someone screamed and everyone started fleeing. You knew what this meant; cops. You started running, too. If the police got you, you were screwed. Chugging drink after drink was fun, until the idea of getting caught came up.

You stumbled through the woods behind the house. This was where people typically ran, but you were alone. Maybe you were going the wrong way? You could see lights up ahead, so you went towards those. If there was civilization, you could find your way home. Once you made it through the trees, you found yourself in a campus that you quickly recognized…UConn.

Well, you thought, at least you knew your way around.

You started wandering, your phone in hand, waiting until you had good enough WiFi to get an Uber.

When you first heard the sound, you thought you were imagining it. Surely it was just the sound you associated with the school.

Nope…when the small, outdoor court came into view, you realized there was someone dribbling a basketball.

That someone was Paige Bueckers.

What were the chances?! You needed to go, before she saw you. You turned around fast, and tripped over your own feet. Your body hit the grass with a small “oof” sound escaping your lips.

“Y/N?!” Paige called when she saw you.

She was at your side within a second, immediately trying to get you up.

“Hi, Paige…” You said awkwardly, trying not to slur.

“The hell are you doing here?” She asked as she pulled you to your feet easily.

“I was…in town.” You shrugged.

She was gonna say something else, when her nose wrinkled. “Jesus…you smell like beer.”

It clicked in her brain just then. You opened your mouth to lie again, but all that came out was a shaky, alcohol scented breath.

“Ar you drunk?” She asked quietly.

“Just…a little bit.” You mumbled.

“Bullshit!” She exclaimed abruptly. “You’re wasted, aren’t you?!”

“I didn’t mean to be!” You yelped.

“Sure.” She scoffed. “You accidentally took a few shots? Chugged some beer? Drank some soda that you didn’t know had vodka in it?!”

You huffed, not knowing what to say. She was always right when it came to this.

“I just need to get home…” You whispered shakily.

“Where were you?” She whispered back.

“Party.”

“Hm. It’s early for you to leave a party.”

“Cops.”

An awkward silence passed. She watched you fight intoxicated tears.

“What do you want me to do, Y/N?” She sighed.

“Could you…get me a ride?” You said. “I’ll pay you back, I swear.”

“Where are you going? Home?” She asked.

You nodded.

“What if you go out again, huh? The bar? The club?”

“I’m super tired, Paige.” You shook your head. “I’m not going out.”

“You think I’m gonna believe you?” She scoffed. “You’ve pulled that shit before.”

“Then what are you gonna do?” You said, frustrated.

She sighed again, dragging a hand down her face.

“You’ll stay with me.” She announced. “Just for tonight.”

You froze. Really? Your ex would be the one taking you home?

“Come on.” She said, hesitantly placing a hand on your shoulder. “Let’s go. It’s getting cold.”

She led you back to her apartment. You were a bit unsteady, starting to feel the negative effects of the alcohol.

“Don’t you have roommates?” You asked once you were inside her building.

“They don’t mind.” She waved that off. “Just be quiet and they won’t care.”

“We shouldn’t do this…” You said.

Usually when you got drunk, you were all over her, insisting she go home with you.

You knew better by now.

“Don’t worry about it.” Paige said softly. “I just…I can’t let you go home alone right now.”

The both of you went up to her dorm. She pulled out her keys and opened the door, inviting you in. When you struggled to slip your shoes off, feeling unsteady, she knelt down to get them off for you.

“You feeling sick?” She whispered.

“Uh…not really.” You replied, despite that fact that your head was spinning.

Paige saw right through the lie.

“Go in my room.” She told you. “I’ll be right there.”

You quietly went to her bedroom, remembering where it was, of course. You perched awkwardly on the edge of her bed, waiting.

Paige came in a few minutes later, after convincing her roommates they they wouldn’t be hearing any grotesque noises. She carried a small trash bag and a glass of water.

“Drink up.” She instructed, giving you the cup. She then placed the bag in your lap. “And if you have to puke, do it in there.”

“Thanks.” You muttered.

She knelt down in front of you, looking at you with those insanely blue eyes. “C’mon…drink.”

You took a few sips of the water. You knew she was being helpful, but the water kind of made you want to throw up.

“Just hold onto that bag.” Paige said when she noticed your facial expression.

She stood up, and walked over to her closet. After digging around for a moment, she came back with a t-shirt and comfy shorts. The shirt looked so familiar…you suddenly realized why.

You would always steal her clothes when you were a couple. She often found her hoodies in your bedroom, her sweatpants (which were actually ginormous on you because she was so tall), mixed with your laundry. You rarely hid it well. Sometimes you’d just show up at her place in her clothes.

Your favorite thing to steal was one of her March Madness shirts. It was very comfy, and a reminder of how amazing Paige and her team were. So when she gave you the shirt that drunken night? You quickly burst into tears.

“What? What’s wrong?” Paige asked worriedly.

“You…you remembered.” You sniffled.

She didn’t know what to say. She felt sort of caught. She muttered a quick “Of course I did” and took the water from you.

Her bedroom was dark, only slightly lit by the moon shining through the window, so she didn’t see much when she helped you out of your party clothes. Not like she’d never seen you naked. Once you were in the comfortable clothes, she pulled the blankets on her bed back, allowing you to slip in.

“I’m gonna stop, Paige.” You whispered, still crying as she tucked you in. “I’m gonna stop drinking.”

She sighed. She’d heard you say this before, but never so seriously.

“Good.” She said. “You’re gonna kill yourself at this point.”

“I know…” You whimpered. “I don’t want to die…”

You were quick to put your head in your hands so she wouldn’t see you cry even more. She bit her lip at this. She was angry at you, for continuing to abuse alcohol, but…she hated that she was. She just wanted to comfort you. She never liked seeing you cry.

“Let’s just try to sleep, alright?” She said softly, climbing over you to lie down.

She got in the bed, keeping a safe distance. Neither of you were very comfortable. You were too tense. You hadn’t been in bed together in ages. It would’ve been nice if you weren’t so awkward.

You really tried to pull yourself together. You wiped your eyes, took deep breaths, focused on good thoughts. But your drunken tears kept coming.

Suddenly, Paige was shifting, and she was getting closer. She laid on her side, facing you. Then you felt her hand carding through your hair, gently scratching your scalp.

“What’re you doing…?” You whispered.

“When I used to do this, you’d be out cold within minutes.” She whispered back.

She kept doing the soothing motion. Your eyes were getting heavy, like she’d hoped.

“I’m really gonna stop.” You muttered.

“I know…just sleep.” She murmured.

“I miss you.” You whispered. In your half asleep, intoxicated state, you didn’t think twice about saying that.

She swallowed hard, her hand faltering for only a second. “I told you to go to sleep.”

“I just wanted you to know.” You answered.

“I know.” She repeated, smiling a little at the small amount of sass in your voice. “You don’t have to miss me, though. I’m right here.”

Exhaustion was finally getting to you, so you were falling into a deep sleep.

“I’ll be right here.” She whispered a few seconds before you fully sank into unconsciousness. “We’ll figure this out…we always do."

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

Hi, I hope this is an okay question to ask. I am s l o w l y exploring and learning what kinds of kinks I like. I’m drawn to taboo kinks and I’m really curious about ageplay, but I’m worried that if I open the door to letting that be hot, I’m going to start seeing actual kids as hot. Obviously that doesn’t mean I would do anything about it, but I’m still not sure I want that in my head. Is there any truth in this fear? Could that happen?

well much in the same way that the majority of pup players aren't trying to hump real labradors on the street, D&D players generally aren't running around pulling swords on random shopkeepers, and my years doing Warriors Cats rp online never made me want to live in the woods pissing in the dirt and eating mice, I suspect that what you're attracted to is the safety of fantasy and play rather than the actual, literal thing. pretty big line between those two things, actually, and most people are pretty clear on the difference between stuff that's made up and harmless and stuff that's really really bad. I use this example often, but I assure you that my abiding love of Batman using his billions of dollars to dick around doing lawless bullshit has not softened my feelings on Elon Musk in the slightest.

I assume that, like most well-adjusted adults, you aren't attracted to children. what you're into is, presumably, adults acting in ways that are characterized as immature, carefree, cutesy, helpless, bratty, etc, and the dynamic of those playacting adults might have with others who take the role of their caregivers. that is... so, so, so far removed from being attracted to an actual human child. I don't know if you've ever actually, like, hung out with kids, but they're pretty different than adults. I mean obviously they're little humans who have their own opinions and ideas and personalities and have a right to autonomy and making their own decisions as much as is safely possible, but they are REALLY different from age appropriate, sexually compatible adults. someone doing ageplay is, like, a million miles from an actual kid.

it's kind of like how when Riverdale was on I'd see gifs of that insane redheaded lesbian and go "yeah, she's hot." like, sure, the character's a teenager, but that actress is an adult woman who's only two years younger than me and we all know that. the idea of fucking an actual teenager is vile. even if I were to see someone and have an initial aesthetic appreciation, the second they open their mouth and start saying 17 year old things the attraction is gone because I've realized that's a child.

(no offense to the teens in the room! you're great and I'm sure your 17 year old stuff is really important to you! but adults should not want to fuck you, is the point.)

so what I'm saying is: seems unlikely!

also, okay. let's assume the absolute worst case scenario happens and you experience a twinge of sexual interest towards a child. that's understandably alarming; that's not an urge most people want to harbor within themselves. that may require some dialing back from ageplay, or a chat with a kink-friendly mental health professional, or seeking out some community and advice from others in your kink scene who may have struggled with something similar. but please, give yourself some credit: you have some shred of impulse control within your body, yes? you're not going to make the leap from having a thought to being an active child predator in one fell swoop. the choice to harm a child, or to seek out pornographic material of child sexual abuse, are still choices that you would have to actually make. and it's making those choices to do harm that actually make child abusers a danger, not just having thoughts. having a thought all by itself doesn't hurt anyone; it's the way you act on it that has the potential to cause harm.

but again, I want to emphasize, sexual behavior is by and large a pretty easy wire not to get crossed with other things. please note the brave billions of people who manage to get through every day without groping their colleagues and random strangers because they understand it's not the appropriate time, place, or partner!

[mamayura]

Adrien not knowing what he wants

Hot take about Werepapas, I guess:

I actually like that Adrien said "I don't know" when asked what he wants/ who he wants to go with at the end of "Werepapas"

Cause the people who had to learn and come around in this episode's conflict were the ADULTS, not Adrien.

Adrien has already said that he isn't alone, he's living with Nathalie,

and Milly, too, acknowledged right away that Adrien has known her for most of his life so for Adrien she should count as more much than just an employee by now.

And he has not been trying to hide it whatsoever from Nathalie how much she means to him and that he wants to keep living with her. Literally the first thing we see in the episode's present time is Adrien running to Nathalie for comfort when hes crying over his dead mom, but she's pulling back so he does too eventually.

Marinette as pretty much unrelated main character doesnt know about this when she enters the conflict. Hence why she can effectively bring about development in Nathalie by challenging her long-established mind set and dynamic with Adrien due to Marinette's perspective adding a new angle and shacking things up:

Nathalie's inner conflict is one of my favourite things about the episode (and needs its own post if I get around to it), but for the context of this post, yes, she was the one who needed to come around. Not Adrien. He was already there from the get-go as we can see by him repeating the hug he started the episode with. Just now, Nathalie hugged back:

It was nice seeing Marinette help Nathalie take on her role in the end because Nathalie did the same thing Marinette did in Illustrhater for example. Acting like and saying things that eventually made Adrien accept that they don't want to be with him because, duh, that's now interactions work.

That's why he initially didn't say that he wants to stay with Nathalie in Paris when asked in the end. Nathalie too made him feel like he has to accept that that won't be an option, so he knew he had to decide between his grandparents:

The same Grandparents who had to come around in the end, too, and allow for Adrien to stay with Nathalie in Paris, even though both pairs of Grandparents are still the ones to officially hold the legal custody of Adrien (which I'm glad about that they did it like this and didn't bullshit some reason for Nathalie to get custody cause the episode is right, Nathalie has NO right to Adrien's custody whatsoever. They went with a very reasonable way to resolve this)

Its the ADULTS who had to come around. Not Adrien. Adrien already made it clear all episode what he wanted. But because all involved adults declared the outcome he wanted as a non-option, well, he honestly says that he doesn't know what else he wants (who he wants to go with).

And I- I just really like that Adrien was taking the situation serious enough to say "I don't know". That was very mature of him. To not just go with SOMETHING or go on about how unfair the situation is. Cause it definitely was, but this is a very serious legal matter that COULDN'T stay unresolved. He's an orphaned minor currently living alone with a person who's said to neither be an option as his guardian nor does she herself treat it like an option. This day COULDN'T end without at least some kind of temporary solution where he would stay now. It just couldn't.

I LIKE that he didn't repeat his denied desire that was already known to everyone around and instead seriously thought about the options he had.

I like that he loves and respects Nathalie enough to be the one person amongst Emilie, Gabriel, and now Marinette, too, who left the decision to HER if she wants to take on the position of his new mother:

As much as he wants to be with her, Adrien was characterized to understand that this is a massive thing to ask of Nathalie. He knows he means alot to her too but Nathalie was, by all accounts, objectively forced into this:

But especially by Emilie (look, I know she was literally dying slowly and painfully, I'm not judging her for wanting Adrien to be loved and taken care of. But I gotta ackowlegde that Emilie put alot on Nathalie without giving her a choice first):

In that regard I can't fault Nathalie for not having acted on her motherly feelings for Adrien and Emilie's last wish earlier than s5 (but God DAMN Nathalie, there is a difference between not doing it and actively making everything so much fucking worse!).

Adrien is the one person in this who respected how much was asked of Nathalie, so when she continuously acted like she didn't wanted to take on the role, he respected that. But this also means that the person who's responsible for Adrien coming to this "wrong" conclusion was Nathalie. Not Adrien. He's only acting accordingly to her actions and words:

So I like that Marinette got to help her in the end, because this is passive development that's very relevant to Marinette's character too. Even if I wished the show would hold Marinette to the same standards since both in Adrinette and especially Ladynoir Adrien gets mostly blamed for coming to the logical conclusions that Maribug doesn't like him or being with him in any way doesn't mean much to her because that's how she constantly acts like in almost every conflict ever. Over and over again. So I like that it was done properly this time around even if it's obvious that that was only possible because it was Nathalie and not Marinette.

And yes, I totally get not liking that Marinette is taking over the whole moment again. I'm not much of a fan of it either, to put it nicely. But it is wrong to say that Marinette is the one making the decision here and Adrien had no agency in deciding who he's staying with. Marinette is merely repeating old news she knows are true because that's what Adrien has been saying and acting like the whole episode and even already since season 5.

The decision was long made by Adrien. It were the adults who had to come around.

And beyond that,

I LIKE that Adrien said "I don't know" to the question which grandparents he wants to go with instead of the show having him make it all about his friends, girlfriend, or Ladybug. He only brings that up when he gets to stay:

Cause the question of where he would feel more at home and what is best for his future, when he has to completely start anew, is not just about his current friends, girlfriend, or his secret hero partner (who has made every precaution and decision possible to not actually have or need him in her life and job and he was made to accept that fully because that's her "rightful professionalism" same as killing your bf Ig)

I like that it was "I don't know" instead of "but my friends!", "but my girlfriend!", or "but I can't leave!".

Adrien saying "I don't know" means he thought of himself first and foremost and not everyone else:

I even like that "I don't know" means that he took the Graham de Vanilys into consideration despite how awful Emil was. Cause when the outcome Adrien WANTED (keeping his life in Paris by living with Nathalie) isn't an option, then he's perfectly in his right to not write off the possibilities he has with the Graham de Vanilys in London (and good heavens, I'm glad nothing ever brought up "but Chloé is in London! YIKES!").

I like that Adrien didnt write anything off when the decision was possibly about to change his whole future. Yes, saying "I dont know what I want" is a perfectly valid and even mature answer for a 14 year old orphan to give when they were JUST this day confronted with this situation that denied him the option he actually wanted:

And I also like that Marinette in the end didn't wasnt made to make Adrien's answer about herself in an usual moment of panic (in general, I truly LOVED how supportive Marinette was in Werepapas, even if the akuma battle incident is forever burnt in my love square heart in a very negative way. Yes, I think being willing to kill your boyfriend without trying any other solution first is bad, sue me ig. if that's what I'll be judged for, then I can live with it).

It is a far cry from Marinette in Representation for example being mostly written to make not getting to have her boyfriend near her out to be the biggest tragedy of Adrien being send to another country for good. I'm glad she got to be the supportive girlfriend for once instead of the show forcibly trying to falsely make her out to be the most important person affected by Adrien's tragic life. It was so refreshing and wonderful to watch Marinette getting to be in the lovingly supporting role of the relationship for a change, and it does WONDERS for her characterization.

While, of course, Marinette was motivated all episode to help Adrien not having to leave, when Adrien said "I don't know" Marinette knew that he's only taking the other options this seriously now because he can't have the option he actually wants.

She wasn't written to go into panic mode the second she heard Adrien NOT saying that staying in Paris is the most important thing on his mind. She knew the problem was laying elsewhere, even if I wished she hadnt made it abuut the Grandparents, but Adrien's right to CHOOSE (and yes, I'm fully aware that people will write this whole post off as salt because I didnt ignore or handwave away Marinette's consistent CANON characterization, even though that's not how salt works. I stand to what I said. More of Marinette as supportive girlfriend please, then we wouldnt have these problems)

I don't know how to end this with a nice little bow to wrap it up. I just REALLY like that Adrien said "I don't know", and how the episode treated the custody conflict for 95% of the plot which is very good for Miraculous.

[bluem1lls]

i need part 2 of se-mi with comphet reader 😭

✧₊⁺ speak now (or don't, and love forever in silence)

groom bff! se-mi x comphet! reader

synopsis: after years of waiting, he finally propose. wasn't this everything you wished for?

but you couldn't bring yourself to be happy.

was it maybe because when you thought about it, all you could picture was her face?

content: some angst, but finally fluff!!!!

authors note: im so sorry for the looooong ass late updates, im so so busy but im ab to go on break so everyone cheered!!! im back i promise:( im so excited for this part 2 i actually love it and i hope u do too!!!!

part one. part two (you're here!)

famous actress finally engaged with the famous choi su-bong, more known as 'thanos', old rapper surging back!

we all saw on Instagram the romantic proposal he prepped for her, and of course like every girl would, she said yes!

we are so happy for the married couple!

"fucking bullshit" se-mi threw her phone away with rage after reading the most liked post from the magazine's instagram.

her hands went to her face as she groaned, biting back her lip to keep the tears away.

poor dumb girl. she actually thought you were coming back to her...

"the way he proposed was so romantic, i'm glad he did it that way, it was what you always wanted ever since you were a kid" my best friend jun-hee took my hands between hers with a comforting smile. i smiled softly as i sighed.

"y-yeah. it was.." i whispered. she stares into my eyes, squeezing my hands. her expression fell, now filled with pity. she knew me more than anyone.

"you do know that you're supposed to be happy about getting married right?" she says with a lifted eyebrow as i pressed my lips.

"i am." i said, trying to convince myself.

"honey-" she murmurs as i cut her.

"i have to be." i said, turning to face myself in the mirror. streightening my skirt as i faked my best smile.

and it was true. everything was exactly how i always wanted it.

so.. why didn't it felt like it?

i heard a knock that snapped me out of my thoughts. we both turned as the door opened. "excuse me, just wanted to let you know the invitations have been sent" a girl said with a smile as i nodded, thanking her.

once she left, jun-hee stared at me. "did you sent one for.." my best friend said, stopping herself as i shuddered.

"yeah. of course. they're best friends." refering to my husband and se-mi. i put a smile to pretend i didn't cared. or at least i tried, although it didn't even reached my eyes.

if your own best friend stares at you with pity, you start to consider maybe you're not doing as well as you thought.

but i couldn't back up. not now. not ever.

"this belongs in the trash" se-mi says with a sarcastic smirk, grabbing the invitation only to crumble it with anger as min-su stops her.

"we can't just.. not go" he says to her as she stares at him, incredulous.

"do you want me to go to that fucking wedding? for what?" she spits with anger and disbelief, her voice getting louder as he sighs. he got used to seeing his best friend angered ever since the news came out.

"listen, i get it, okay? but it's our best friend's wedding. we can't just miss it" min-su says in a soft tone, trying to make her understand.

"i refuse to watch her get married." her cold voice snaps. "fuck this." she says with a groan, frustration all over her face.

"you need to move on! you know those two! yeah they hate eachother, but they're not breaking up sem. they're getting married, and probably everything that goes after that. are you just gonna avoid thanos until you die?" he says snapping as she furrows her brow, a small pout on her pierced lips without her even noticing it.

"there's nothing to move on, there was never anything between me and her right?" she says with a sigh. "i'm still not going. i fucking hate weddings" she says under her breath, going to her room to avoid the conversation. and something about that doesn't feel true, because she loves to think about you on a wedding dress. but not if it's not with.. she shakes her head to remove the thought, slamming the door. min-su sighs, his hands on his face, exhausted.

"oh god" jun-hee says with tears on her face, her eyes twinkle in awe as i laugh, a little teary.

the dress looks.. perfect. just like in my childhood dream. my perfect dream wedding.

"it was made for you" she says as i chuckle, giving a little spin for her.

i should be so happy...

"yeah.. i think we're done" i say to the girl from the store, who's standing on my side, staring at me with a soft smile. "this is it. this is the one."

i slowly head back to the changing room to remove the dress. i place back my clothes while my assistant goes to pay. i stare at myself in the mirror.

why am i not happy? why doesn't it feel like i'm getting married?

i sigh as i leave the store with my two companions.

"let's grab some coffee, it's right around the corner and im dying for some caffeine." jun-hee says as i nod.

i feel my phone buzzing on my pockets.

oh god, of course. he's always fucking forgetting about the wedding or where i am. god why am i marrying this-

my breath hitches as i grab my phone, reading the text.

this can't be happening.

not now.

oh god.

sem: a wedding?

sem: really?

of course it's her.

of course she texts me out of nowhere a fucking random tuesday at 3 pm.

of course she makes my heart beat on my chest like no one ever did. just for a fucking text.

i scoff in disbelief as my manicured nails type with anger.

me: for real?

me: this is what you're texting me?

me: after not hearing about you for fucking YEARS??????

i see the little bubble that indicates she's typing back. the fact that she hasn't left the chat since she texted me makes me bite my lip.

sem: i've seen the photos

sem: you know

sem: you dont look like someone whos excited to get married

i roll my eyes as i let out a shaky breath, she hit a nerve.

me: what do you know? you havent talked to me in years, maybe things changed.

sem: everything did.

sem: except this.

sem: why do you keep lying to yourself?

i place my phone back in my pocket with shaky hands, leaving her on seen. i place my head on my hands as i groan.

why did she had appear out of nowhere?

i was fine without.. knowing about her.

without thinking about her. without her smile. without knowing if she's seeing someone..

i was okay without her. yeah. i was perfect.

god i really need that coffee.

as i get home i watch my... fiance laying on the couch.

"did you even tried the cake samples i left?" i said with frustration as i leave my purse.

"uh, nam-gyu did, he said the black tea one was really good" he said without too much care as i stared at him disbelief.

"am i getting married to nam-gyu? because i needed MY husband to try them!" i say, standing in front of him, my hands on my hips as he rolled his eyes.

"who the fuck cares about the cake baby? no one does" he says, his arms sneaking around my waist to bring me closer to him.

"i care! i am going to be the wife in this fucking wedding and i care about the cake!" i shout angry. "and don't touch me" i let myself loose of his grip as he groans in built frustration.

"seriously? this again?" he says with a sigh, letting go.

"after the wedding" i say to him as my heart sinks. liar.

"about time" he rolls his eyes, his focus on the phone once again.

i stare at him blinking in disbelief.

this is my life?

am i gonna marry.. this idiot?

i go upstairs as i remove my outside clothes, placing on my pjs. i slowly let myself sink in bed as i grab my phone, my hands trembling as i bite my lip.

was this a good idea? no.

clearly not.

but god, i couldn't stop thinking about her.

me: are you coming?

me: to the wedding

me: i sent you an invitation

it takes her two minutes to reply.

sem: no.

oh. i chew on my bottom lip thinking about what to reply, until she texts back a few minutes later.

sem: why?

do i? do i wanna get marry, knowing she's there, staring at me?

the question is.. will i get married, knowing she's there, sitting on the crowd, watching me?

me: i want you there

the texting bubbles appear and disappear for over 10 minutes, making me extremely anxious as i wait for her reply.

sem: okay

okay what? okay that i want her there although i shouldn't? okay that-

sem: i'll see you there.

sem: consider this as my confirmation to the wedding.

i throw my phone away with shaky hands. my head sinks on my pillow, muffling my scream.

god, what have i done?

finally, today is the day.

today, i'm getting married.

the happiest day in my life. that's what everyone is saying.

so why i've been crying non stop until falling asleep?

i stared at myself, sat in front of my mirror. my makeup perfectly done, my hair loose in soft waves, the dress made just for me. it had to be like this, because this was what everyone expected from me.

i sighed as i stood up, leaving the room to go wait on the door for my entrance. i could hear the bells ringing, the wedding music. my dad appears, walking slowly until he was standing besides with a smile.

"i'm proud of you" he said, staring at front as i did too, my eyes teary. but it wasn't happiness, it was...

"everything is like it's supposed to be" i said, streightening myself. my head turned to stare at him. "am i finally the perfect daughter?" i asked my dad, my voice trembling with emotion.

he gave me a confused stare, a hint of what it looked like sadness, creeping into his stare. "it's not the wedding, it's clearly not the husband" he said as we both softly chuckled. "it's you.. you're my daughter. and i don't need you to be perfect, you being you it's all i want. your happiness. honey, nothing else matters after that." he said as i holded my tears. i bit the inside of my cheek, my heart pounding on my chest.

it's too late now, isn't it?

i could feel him interlock our arms as the doors opened. we moved one step at a time as we slowly entered the ceremony. to my wedding.

i shudder at the sight of everyone in the room, but i knew my eyes were only scanning to look for one person.

and when i found her, and my heart stopped.

she was watching me with a soft gaze, eyes almost twinkling as she roamed through my form, slowly taking my face, my body in the dress, and lastly, going up to meet my eyes. all i needed to make my heart flutter. i felt frozen in place, i could see everyone staring at me, wondering why i wasn't moving. my dad pulled my arm to get me out of my trance, but nothing worked.

i was there, stucked right where she left me.

on the last time i saw her. the last time my heart beated for her.

"if we get out of here and.. you decide that you're done being his perfect wife, and maybe you want to be happy.. with me.. i'll be waiting. i promise"

she was just as beautiful as i remembered her. of course i've seen pictures of her, but nothing like seeing her in person again.

our stare never breaking.

her eyes screamed 'please, love me'

and mine replied 'i do. but i shouldn't'

"are you okay?" my dad said, breaking the staring contest as i took reality of my surroundings. i shakily let out a small breath as i nodded with a fake smile. i kept walking to the altar, where i saw my... future husband.

right.

as i took my place, he took my hands in between his.

i trembled, and i swear i wanted to hear whatever the priest was saying. i really did.

but all my focus was on her.

was everyone blind for not noticing? or was everyone trying to pretend they couldn't tell how i stared at my husband's best friend?

when our eyes met again, i averted my gaze, trying really hard to pay attention to the priest talking on the altar to me and my future husband.

but god, i could not focus when she was here.

until i heard the priest coming to the end of his speech.

"if anyone has just cause to object to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace"

silence spreaded on the ceremony.

the quietness in the room making me shiver.

until it wasn't quiet anymore.

because everyone gasped.

and my eyes shut close.

and the quietness was replaced with whispers, with judging stares.

it wasn't quiet anymore, because she stood up.

my heart felt like it stopped in place. i could see my fiance's eyes widen, staring at se-mi like she was mad, insane.

but i knew she wasn't.

she was just in love, like i was.

and god, not from my husband.

her tall figure stood in the public, standing up as her mouth agaped like a fish. she tried to find any words to say, but she couldn't.

min-su and nam-gyu besides her, staring like if she grew a second head, completely shocked.

my eyes widen as i saw her take a sit again.

her mind was conflicted. i could tell. does she oppose? does she love quietly? what was more important? her best friend or her feelings? she shifted uncomfortably on her chair.

what was done was done, right?

fuck it. she thought, standing up once again.

everyone stared, their eyes open like never before.

"i-i oppose" she says in a weak, trembling voice. her eyes find mine, her stare pleads me to not let this keep going.

it begs me to go with her.

her hand moves to try and reach me as i watch her trembling hand and her pleading expression.

"i love you." she says with tears on her eyes.

and of course i knew this couldn't happen. of course i knew this was madness. i was about to get married. my life was buildt for this specific moment.

but my heart responded first with a sigh. not tears, not a scream, not a mad reply.

a sigh of relief.

i stare at the people sitting shocked in their seats. their gazes gravitating from her, to me and choi su-bong.

and suddenly, it's not like before. i'm not frozen in place, i'm not scared. i don't feel ashamed, i don't feel a thing.

except relief and love.

my last sign? when i stare at my parents, and they dont look at me ashamed. they're not embarrassed. they nod at me with tears in their eyes, intertwining their hands.

i get off the altar as i laugh.

a laugh of happiness. i chuckle loud and the feeling takes my entire body as i walk to her slowly. our stare never breaking as i stand in front of her, in my beautiful white dress. i reach to take her hand, the contact leaves a warm feeling on my heart.

"can we go?" are the only words that leave my lips with a shaky breath.

she stares at me, letting out an airy soft chuckle in disbelief, not believing this is happening.

"fuck, yes." is all she mutters as she moves in between the people, intertwining our hands like she never plans to release me as we run to the exit, our hearts jump in our chest.

and this is insane. i know it when we get into her rusty old car while the people gather outside to stare at us. but it doesn't matter.

it doesn't matter when my dress ruffles through the window, it doesn't matter when i buckle my seat belt with a happy smile and it certainly doesn't matter when she actually starts driving and we laugh, like a whole hearted laugh.

"you left your husband. in the altar. you left him" she says chuckling, filled with emotions. shock, disbelief, happiness.

"i- i did. and i don't regret it. god i don't regret leaving him for his.. best friend" i laugh as i stare at her. i take a deep breath as i speak "stop the car" she stops so abruptly, the car brakes.

"are you regr-" i unbuckle my seat belt as i turn aside. i cup her face in between my hands, my eyes roaming across her entire features.

this is the woman i love. it feels so good to finally say it out loud.

and i kiss her.

and is everything i always wanted to feel. it's what i expected from every single one of my ex-boyfriends. is filled with hunger, desire, passion and love.

and my heart feels warm and i know now exactly what love was supposed to feel like.

the kiss lowers to something softer, one of her hands goes to my cheek, caressing it with her thumb as my hand moves to the nape of her neck, pulling her closer. her other hand roams through my body to grip my waist.

"this feels like a dream" she mumbles in between kisses.

"i know, i know" i replied as i kissed her again and again, love-drunk. "but it's not. i'm yours se-mi. i'm completely yours" i whispered against her lips as she nodded excited. her nose softly caressing mine, an intimate gesture.

"can i start the car and get the fuck out of here, please? because i never want to look back" she says breaking the kiss. i nod happily.

"please, start the fucking car" i chuckle as i go back to my seat, connecting to the bluetooth of her car, i look at the playlist on my phone until i find the one.

"i am not the kind of girl

who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion

but you are not the kind of boy

who should be marrying the wrong girl"

she smacks me softly as she listens to the lyrics, rolling her eyes as i snort.

and as my eyes find hers, i know i finally am where i belong.

known actress leaves husband on the altar!

we saw our famous girl, that we all know and love, leaving rapper ''thanos' on the altar.

the last thing we heard from him to the press was: i hope she's happy now.

and she looks like it! because she's been sharing photos on social media with her new girl non stop!

let's wish a happy relationship to the recently out of the closet actress!

[skhv67]

rivals to lovers – dae-ho x fem!reader

a/n: its high key one-sided because dae-ho is a sweetheart. fluff, tiniest bit of angst, smut. (PLEASE ONLY +18)

tw: written at 6am 😔🤙 probably ooc

wc: 2.364

SUMMARY: you and dae-ho are academic rivals… of at least that’s what you thought.

• You two have known each other since the first year of university. You couldn’t forget because the very first day of college he corrected you when you were answering your teacher’s question.

• You glared at him with a sour expression, but he was just looking at you with a soft smile and he even nodded at you as if he had done you a favor.

• Despite literally nobody else caring about this interaction, it didn’t leave your mind. In fact, from that moment you’d hyperfocus every time he’d speak up in class.

• Poor thing will probably think you’re looking at him with good intentions, that when you avoided eye contact or went quiet around him was because he made you nervous.

• You actually thought his interventions were pretentious and the little smiles he flashed at you when he ‘helped you out’ were just a subtle way to mock you without looking like a twat.

• When you two were paired during the third year to do the most important project of your sociology class you wanted to end it all there and then.

• The first few times you had to hang out outside college were awkward. You were defensive when he brought up -seemingly- better points than you and you didn’t reply to any of his attempts at being friendly and funny.

• All he got from you were sighs, frowns and a cold shoulder, which confused him because until then he just thought you were just shy.

• He had to ask his older sisters for advice.

• BONK! This woman hates you, you really thought she was into you?

• What a bummer.

• The next times you had to hang out were a bit more awkward, because he was trying even HARDER to make you stop disliking him. Spoiler: it was doing the opposite.

• You weren’t blind to the way every girl in your year swooned over him. He was charming and attractive, he got good grades, he was also helpful and kind… But you couldn’t help but think it was all disingenuous. His help felt like a knife, like he was poking at your insecurities just to feel superior when he lent you a hand.

• The day he was trying to schedule a day for you two to meet up to finish up the project you were especially sensitive and unfortunately one of his jokes to ease the nerves he felt around you didn’t land as he was hoping to.

• ‘’Can you leave me the fuck alone? I’m not interested in being your friend, I can’t wait for this to be over to not have to talk to you anymore!’’

• Ouch.

• After that he only sent you a message with the time and the café you were going to meet to finish the project. No stickers, no emojis nor smiley faces. You wanted to celebrate your triumph but the way your heart started racing nervously confused you.

• The days until the meet up were weird, he wouldn’t attempt to talk to you in class, if he had to interact with you it was brief and distant, and he looked away if your eyes ever connected.

• Your mind was screaming with pride that you were right all along, and all his kindness was just a cover up. This newfound coldness was how he truly was once you called on his bullshit.

• Your heart, however, felt quite the opposite. You were fighting for your life to not text him a polite apology for the embarrassing outburst you had.

• The day came and when you arrive at the café you notice him barely sparing you a glance before looking back down at his laptop.

• The meet up was shorter than usual. And awkward.

• The silence he usually filled with corny jokes felt heavy and you were too embarrassed to admit to yourself that you kind of missed seeing his smile.

• As you finished the conclusion, he thanked you politely for your work and didn’t waste any time getting ready to leave.

• Despite your deepest need to say something, you took all your things and left the café after him.

• Or attempted.

• You let the heaviest sigh seeing the rain pouring in front of your umbrella-less self. You contemplate texting any of your siblings to come get you instead of doing the ten-minute long walk to the bus stop without even a hood to protect yourself.

• Not too long passes until you notice a figure stopping in front of you.

• Now you truly wanted to end it all.

• Dae-ho looks at you with hesitance, not too confident in offering you his umbrella to shield you from the rain.

• ‘’Where’s your car?’’ he subtly looked at your trembling hands, knuckles red from the cold.

• ‘’I’m taking the bus’’ you whispered.

• Yeah, you’re crazy if you think this man is gonna let you walk to the bus stop, let alone wait in the cold until the bus arrives.

• He nodded towards the parking lot silently indicating you to come with him.

• Well, you also don’t want to die from hypothermia, so what other choice do you have.

• Squishing yourself next to him to fit under his umbrella, you felt the warmth of his body and his perfume overwhelm your senses. Was he ever this annoyingly attractive or were you losing your mind?

• If the walk under his umbrella was bad the car ride was even WORSE.

• The silence was so heavy and uncomfortable, he looked at you from the corner of his eye to check if you were in the mood to hear him talk. Much to his surprise he saw your tense form clenching your fists and looking in front of you in an almost robotic way.

• You noticed him looking at you, because naturally he wasn't as subtle has he thought he was.

• "Should I check your pulse? You're scaring me"

• You blinked at him and then let out a little giggle.

• Okay now HE was tripping because why did his heart skip a beat at the sound. He even dared to stare at you (for more than three seconds, a record that week) and he felt his face heat up at the sight of your little smile. Dae-ho never realized that he had never seen your smile before. You had never laughed at anything he's said no matter how hard he had tried and you hadn't granted him the pleasure to see what he confirmed just then to be the most beautiful smile he had ever laid his eyes on.

• The tension he had been keeping in all week finally left his body and he kept making light jokes testing the waters. Once he saw you were at ease he let his personality shine again.

• The ride to your house was painfully short, and it pained you to admit that you could see why all your classmates would die to get a chance with him.

• It was hard to admit that maybe you were wrong and he had always been as sweet as he seemed.

• The following week he's literally glued to you.

• You made the decision of laughing at something he said once and now this man is in love with you, congratulations.

• He doesn't even try to hide his excitement everytime he sees you and as time passes he even teases the idea of going on a date. You're also lucky enough to hear some of his corny pick up lines.

• You two go to a café date (well it wasn't officially a date, but it was in his mind).

• There he tells you about his family. Him growing up with four older sisters made everything make sense to you and your heart broke when he said was disappointed that he decided being a nurse instead of studying law or medicine.

• You also tell him about you aspirations and your passion for the field and he's looking at you enthralled hanging on every word that came out of your lips.

• Talking about that, at some point while you're complaining about thing #130 today he finds himself lost in you lips. He traces the shape with his eyes and imagines parting them with his tongue He wonders about the taste of your lip balm and if they're as soft as they look right now.

• You'd think he'd be a bit more confident being caught doing this considering he was being quite obvious about it but the second he sees you looking at him he panics like crazy.

• You laugh it off and as the gentleman he is he gets you home safe and sound.

• That summer he decides he's going to officially make a move.

• (he doesn't)

• Summer made you inseparable and you couldn't understand how many years you've wasted hating him undeservingly.

• This time you were both hanging out in your room. You two had made a habit out of watching a movie once a week and would play rock, papers, scissor to see who would host and pay for the take out.

• Tonight you had lost and unfortunately for you he got to choose the film as well.

• The only good part of this was seeing him being an absolute nerd about it when you tried to argue about the plot holes of the movie.

• He was passionately exposing his points for you and you couldn't hear a single thing he was saying, too busy getting slowly closer to him.

• He had been so busy trying to prove his point that he doesn't notice your pretty eyes right in front of him and your noses practically brushing.

• It wasn't until he felt your hot breath against your lips that he came back down to reality. He froze in his seat and looked at you wide eyed.

• For a moment you think you might've even misunderstood every single interaction you two have had until now so you were about to turn away until he finally decided to react and grabbed your arm.

• The grip was firm but gentle, letting you know that you weren't getting away from him anytime soon. He looked at you doe eyed and used his free hand to bring you closer to him making you straddle him.

• "Can you fucking kiss me already?"

• He wastes no time connecting your lips and he lets out a breath he had been holding for what felt like ages.

• He finally got to slide his tongue against your bottom lip, savoring a slight taste of cherry. He smiled into the kiss, finally confirming his suspicions.

• A whine left his lips when you yanked his hair back roughly to get better access to his neck, to which he did not add any resistance.

• It only takes a few wet kisses down the column of his throat and a breathy "pretty boy" for him to get hard underneath you.

• Your jaw clenches when he starts rocking your hips back and forth over his hard on to relieve himself while he looked at you almost sorry to be manhandling you like that.

• As much as you enjoy him taking the initiative, you quickly take over and start grinding the bulge on his pants, feeling yourself pulsing against your panties at the friction.

• His needy eyes look at the scene before him taking in all the noises that came out of your mouth.

• A shaky breath leaves his soft lips when you sink your hand into his pants to palm him over his boxers.

• "Please"

• A smug smile creeps into your face when he finally gave you the sign you've been waiting for.

• Hurriedly you both take off each other's clothes while still placing messy kisses wherever you could.

• He looked down at your pussy with a nasty look of hunger you didn't expect of him and you knew then that if you hadn't stopped him there he would've placed you in your desk and devoured you whole in a second.

• "Another time, please, I need you" you beg in his ear before gently biting his earlobe.

• He nods profusely as he started stroking his flushed length in his hand to spread the slick of his tip along his dick.

• He holds you over him and drops you slowly on his length, chest heaving and long locks sticking to his face, framing it so perfectly.

• You clench around him as you reach the base and he mumbles a soft "fuck" under his breath. You press a needy kiss against his lips and nibble at his bottom lip.

• He starts sinking you down his dick with an indescribable urge, and you quickly start riding him as fast as your stamina let you.

• Even if you get tired don't worry because this man is already holding your hips and meeting you halfway.

• Your moans start turning into cries and his pace speeds up as soon as he realizes you're close.

• "C'mon, come for me baby" he grunted against your lips.

• With that you start trembling against his thighs and let go. You keep riding him through your climax and he soon enough comes too holding you impossibly closer to him.

• He held you in his hands while you came down from your high and placed you gently in your bed to proceed cleaning you up.

• Your face when you see both of you through the mirror (and the disgusted little "sticky" you mumbled at the sight of your glistening skin) convinced him to take you both to take a bath instead.

• "Hope this doesn't make you think I like you or something though" you looked at him through your lashes with a smirk on your reddened lips.

• "Sure" he laughed it off.

[shappoxs]

You guys just can't acknowledge the actual reasons people dislike TimBer and exaggerate or cherry-pick specific obviously stupid arguments.

I'll start by saying, ship what you want. There's nothing inherently immoral about TimBer. I make jokes, but I'm definitely not "Anti-Timber," but it gets to a point where you guys are just going-

Most TimBer "haters" are not these caricatures you guys like to paint us as. There are genuine reasons to dislike the ship.

1. It's genuinely bad for both characters. Queer men are allowed to have flaws, too! Yet they've stripped both Tim and Bernard of all of them and brushed any past mistakes under the rug.

Tim and Bernard were not good friends before 2020, and instead of giving them an interesting character arc, the writers just retconned all that and are trying to convince us they were besties.

2. Having Tim and Stephsplit up off-panel is already a disservice to a decades old relationship and Steph as a character. Especially because almost immediately her next appearance is as an accessory to TimBer, to tell the audience, "Actually, you should like them because she would want you to." When that's bullshit!

I'm not saying she should be jealous, but she has every right to be upset at Tim. The fact they did the exact same thing to Ariana, another one of Tim's exes who he hurt, turning her into a one-dimensional TimBer fangirl, feels very misogynistic.

They don't have to be jealous, but don't minimise them, and allow them to have reasonable reactions.

3. The way TimBer was handled feels more biphobic than the average fan reaction. This may be a personal interpretation, but so many moments feels like they're trying to belittle Tim's past relationships with women because he's with a man now. Which pisses me off. TimBer's chemistry comes from us being told about it, but I'm supposed to believe it was more meaningful than what he had with Steph?

I want to see my bisexual characters BE bisexual in ways that aren't stereotypical, but there are ways they could've done that without throwing Steph into a trash bin. As a TimKon shipper, I would be just as pissed if this same scenario played out with Kon instead of Bernard.

Honestly, I don't even want TimKon OR TimSteph if that's how the writers treat these characters. Let them bastardise Tim and Bernard just leave Kon and Steph out of this 😭

4. Most of the "he should cheat" takes are jokes or coming from people who haven't actually read the comics/comic where he actually cheats. Tim only cheated once iirc, but there is still valid criticism to be made about how flawless he's written now that he's with a man.

TimSteph's greatest strength is that we get to see them be a real teenage couple, they both make mistakes but it's watching them grow from them that matters most.

5. I'm fine with platonic TimSteph, but they clearly don't actually value their friendship. I'm also bisexual and grew up a Tim Drake fan, I am the last person who'd want his bisexuality to be erased, but I'd rather them actually do it justice than shrug my shoulders and slurp up any slop they feed us because it's gay.

Finally, I'm sorry if any of this came off as mean. I always try to be respectful even when I'm making jokes or disagreeing with someone, but I'm not perfect. Know that this is a critique of the ship and certain writing choices, not people who just innocently like TimBer.

The mental gymnastics people do to hate timber should be studied under a microscope.

The fuck you mean he is bad bisexual rep because he is dating a man… and how does that makes him gay???? Have you ever talked to a bisexual person???

“Oh it makes less of his past relationships” how?? How?!? Is he not allowed to be infatuated with his current partner? Should he continue pining after his past relationships even tho he is dating someone else???

[etiolatedmutant]

logan seeing a picture of wade pre-mutation

he has a weird moment of “why tf is there a picture of that nicepool douche in my house” before he Realizes

and wade is like “oh great now That’s gonna be in his mind forever, what i used to look like before the ground beefing of it all, just what i fuckin needed” and he makes a joke (shocker) to stave off how insecure he is

“i was trying to make lepers fashionable, jokes on me i guess”

and logan just eyes the photo and says, “you look weird.”

wade’s Shocked. he was a fucking Looker back then, thank you very much. “there’s just no winning with you, is there?” he asks.

and logan turns the photo over and over in his hands, dis-fucking-pleased, before he flicks it back from whence it came. and he looks at wade, all green-eyed disarming honesty, and says, “i like my version better.”

and if wade didn’t Know logan, didn’t know the shine in his eye and the sincere timbre of his voice, he’d call bullshit. no one in their right mind would prefer him Now to the Him of 2016, right? nessa only put up with it because he was kinda grandfathered into that relationship and she liked his insides as well as his outsides (hey-o)

but he does know logan, and he knows that logan doesn’t mince words or sugarcoat Anything in the name of “sparing feelings,” so he sits there, digesting the compliment like gas station sushi — which is to say, not fucking well at all.

to make matters worse (or, well, better, he guesses) he finds a picture of Him Now and logan from nessa’s new year’s eve party magnetized to the fridge the next day.

it’s poorly lit, illuminated only by shattering fireworks overhead and a few yellow streetlights, and they’re both clearly smashed — wade’s eyes are glassy and red, logan’s cheeks are flushed, and the finer details of their faces have been smudged away thanks to shaky camerawork.

but they’re happy. wade looks happy — he’s smiling, a big, fat, candid grin, like he’d been laughing, and logan’s kissing his cheek, unashamed. he’d been wade’s first new year’s kiss in a long fucking time.

he buys a frame for that picture - a sparkly pink monstrosity from goodwill - and gives it a home on the nightstand next to their bed. and yeah, whatever, on bad days he looks at it and thinks eugh, still, because goddamn francis really did a number on him —

but most days, he’s just happy he gets to be that guy in the picture at all. the guy logan howlett stayed for. the guy logan kissed in front of dozens of people.

logan’s version.

[communist-hatsunemiku]

this might be a strange take but as someone who was groomed and who had what i would call an "elitist" mindset towards it, zako really seemed like it was about that mentality. of knowing you were playing with fire but feeling like you were above it. and for that i was really attached to it for the 2 hours it was out. the more logical side of me KNOWS its more likely a play off mimukawa nice try but i would love to believe it was meant to cater to a different audience than loli-cons. what's your take on the fiction vs reality of it? do you think westerners are just overreacting

I think you're interpretation of the song is valid, and pretty interesting tbh! I had not thought about that at all, and it's a case for letting people interpret the song in their own way. Instead of kowtowing to the loudest, most offended people. I also think the fact the creators literally took down the song amid backlash is pretty strong evidence they didn't make a song "for lolicons". They obviously did not anticipate this reaction, Channel admitted to having reservations, and tried to make Yuuki somewhat older-looking in the video. Whether you think she does or not, is up for (good faith!) debate. I do think she does not look like the literal box art version of the character, but that's kind of beside the point.

there is no fiction vs. reality debate because there are no real human beings harmed in the making of this song. Like, full stop. The "well kaai yuuki has a child VA" shit doesnt hold water cuz that person is an adult now anyway, and there are plenty of other songs featuring her that go wayyyy beyond this one. Like it's just something people reached for out of convienence. Same for "it violates her TOS!" like no one gave a fuck about Kaai Yuuki's TOS before it became a convenient cudgel in this particular situation.

The thing is, no one can have conversations about stuff like this in good faith because you are immediately labeled some kind of monster for trying to have any kind of nuanced opinion. Any dissent from "this song/movie/book is irredeemably evil and your sick for defending it" is taken as proof that you are a pervert monster. It's such a clear example of people, willfully and gleefully, diving into reactionary thinking without a shred of thought.

When really, I do think having an actual conversation about lolicon causing you discomfort is totally normal, and it's a pretty reasonable response to this stuff! But people can't just say that, they have to burn the whole thing to the ground, in the name of "protecting kids" or whatever bullshit they come up with. I don't actually like a good portion of Miku art for the same reasons people didn't like Zako! There was art going around on twitter of Miku with a literal binkie in Her mouth like a baby, and that shit was kind of weird! But I just didn't engage with it, that's it. People whipped each other up about the "harms" of this song, when simply not liking or engaging with it at all would have been the normal thing to do.

Freak outs like this do not protect anybody from anything. My big hot take is that having a moral panic about literally anything has more potential for actual harm than whatever it is people are panicking over. You simply cannot make rational, thoughtful decisions that prioritize protecting people from abuse when you are in a panic, or listening to people who are in a panic. You just can't!! It's not how shit works!

I know I have other asks about this, but I'm kind of trying to answer here, definitively, and let the topic dissipate. I'm glad I got the video downloaded, and we'll see what they release to appease all the weirdos who freaked out about the song. People objected to both the video and the lyrics themselves, so I don't know how they're going to come out with a new version that isn't radically different than the original. We'll see.

[prettygirl-gabi]

For Real This Time

Fandom: UConn Women’s Basketball

Pairing: Paige Bueckers x Reader

Rating: T (Teen)

Warnings: Fluff, light angst (resolved), redemption arc, playful flirting, first-person POV

Summary: Paige finally asks you out properly, making sure that when she asks you to be her girlfriend, it's for real this time.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 of Played (final part)

Tag: @paigeluvvr @janaelalfysloml

A month had passed.

A month since the mess at the party. A month since Paige and Ice had nearly ruined everything. A month since they both worked their asses off to fix it.

And, surprisingly, they had.

Paige was back to being her usual self—focused, competitive, an absolute menace on the court. Ice was still her goofy self but noticeably more careful with her words. And me? I was finally in a place where I didn’t feel like my heart was caught between resentment and longing.

But there was still something missing.

Paige and I were close again, laughing and joking like before, but there was an invisible line we hadn’t crossed. A tension that lingered, an unspoken what now? hanging in the air.

Apparently, today was the day Paige decided to answer that question.

“You got plans tonight, mamas?”

I glanced up from my phone, finding Paige standing in front of me with that signature cocky smirk.

I rolled my eyes, but a smile tugged at my lips. “Why?”

She grinned, dropping onto the seat beside me and draping an arm over my shoulders like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Because I’m taking you out.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you are?”

“Mhm.” She nodded confidently. “A proper date. No bets, no games—just me tryna sweep you off your feet.”

I tried to ignore the way my heart did a stupid little flip. “And what if I say no?”

Paige tilted her head, pretending to think. “Then I’ll just have to show up at your dorm with flowers and serenade you until you agree.”

I laughed. “Serenade me? You cannot sing, Bueckers.”

She placed a dramatic hand over her heart. “Damn, ma, that’s crazy. You haven’t even heard me yet.”

“Don’t need to.” I smirked. “I just know.”

Paige chuckled, leaning in closer until her lips were near my ear. “Guess you’ll just have to go on this date to find out.”

I swallowed, heat creeping up my neck. She was so annoying. And attractive. And annoyingly attractive.

I sighed, feigning exasperation. “Fine.”

Her grin was immediate. “Yeah?”

I nudged her. “Don’t make me change my mind.”

Paige just laughed, standing up and stretching. “Wear something cute, baby. Not that you don’t always look cute—” she winked, backing away, “—but, y’know, extra cute. For me.”

I rolled my eyes again, but there was no hiding the smile on my face.

That Night

Paige picked me up from my dorm, looking obnoxiously good in a fitted sweater and jeans.

She let out a low whistle when she saw me. “Damn. You tryna kill me, ma?”

I bit my lip, playing along. “That depends. You gonna survive this date?”

Paige smirked. “Not if you keep looking at me like that.”

I shook my head, laughing as she led me to her car.

Dinner was fun—Paige was extra flirty, taking every opportunity to touch my hand, brush my hair back, lean in too close just to see if I’d blush. (Spoiler: I did.)

At one point, she fed me a bite of her food, watching me with a knowing smile. “Damn, I missed this.”

I swallowed, meeting her gaze. “Missed what?”

Paige’s smile softened. “Us. Being like this.”

My heart clenched in the best way. “Yeah… me too.”

She reached across the table, gently lacing her fingers with mine. “So let’s make it official, the right way.”

I blinked. “Huh?”

Paige chuckled. “I mean, I’ve already won you over, the fair and square way.”

I rolled my eyes, but she squeezed my hand before I could protest.

“Let me do this right,” she murmured, her voice softer now. “Be my girlfriend, for real this time. No bullshit, no bets. Just me and you.”

Something warm bloomed in my chest. “For real?”

“For real.” Paige’s thumb brushed over my knuckles. “No games. Just us.”

I exhaled, smiling. “Okay.”

Paige grinned. “Yeah?”

I laughed. “Yeah.”

She squeezed my hand again before pulling me out of my seat and into a tight hug, swaying us slightly. “Bout damn time, ma.”

I melted into her, hiding my smile in her shoulder. “Shut up, Bueckers.”

She just laughed, pressing a kiss to my temple. “Can’t. Too busy being in love with my girl.”

And this time, when she said it, I knew she meant every word.

Later That Night

We were curled up on my couch, some random rom-com playing in the background. Paige had her arm around me, fingers tracing slow circles on my hip.

“You know,” she murmured, her lips grazing my temple, “this is the part where we usually ruin things.”

I tensed slightly. “Paige—”

She pulled back, shaking her head. “No, not like that. I just mean… this time, I wanna do it right. I don’t wanna rush or mess it up. You mean too much to me.”

My heart squeezed. “You mean a lot to me too.”

Paige smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Then we take it slow. No pressure, no expectations—just you and me.”

I nodded, feeling the weight of all the past mistakes lift just a little. “That sounds good.”

Paige grinned. “Yeah?”

I smirked. “Yeah.”

She leaned in, her lips barely brushing mine before pausing. “Can I kiss you?”

I laughed softly. “Paige, we’ve already kissed before.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, but not like this.”

Something about the way she said it sent warmth flooding through me.

So I whispered, “Yes.”

And when her lips met mine, it wasn’t rushed or reckless. It wasn’t tangled in confusion or fear.

It was real.

For real this time.

---

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

-Thank You For Reading!🩵🩶

-prettygirl-gabi🎀✨️

[fuck-customers]

Fuckery with phones: An ongoing series

-The phone ringing then IMMEDIATELY stopping before it can even finish its first ring tone. There's usually no caller ID and when there is it just says 'ringing'. So, not a caller ID. There's no number that shows up either. This is a daily occurrence.

-One day I checked the Voice MailBox to come back to NINETY-NINE BLANK VOICEMAILS all in a few seconds of length over the course of 2 hours. What in the actual fuck. How do you fuck up that badly. It stopped at 99 cause it filled the VMbox up and wouldn't accept anymore otherwise I'm sure it would have went on.

-The shop cell phone, used only for calling coworkers, used in function what would be a Walkie-Talkie but we don't have those, being bombarded with 'Spam Likely' calls 2 certain days. Only the shop cell phone, not the main landlines. Also, it's clearly not a customer who may have had that number, because all the calls show up as Spam Likely and all come from different phone numbers. The phone doesn't automatically just not ring when it is a spam like most newer phones do, thou when I go back to work I'm gonna mess with it to see if it's some sort of setting I can turn on. Pray for me that it is.

-Someone spoofing the children's hospital caller ID and it ended up being a scam caller about some bullshit.

-A robo call that purposely waits and does the confused 'hello?' thing after hearing a voice, waiting in silence then me confused says 'hello?' cause it sounds like no one's there. Then the robo says it's confused hello, I say hello again then it does it's robo speel. One time I asked it if it was a robo and it said 'while my voice may sound robotic-' I immediately hung up. But it keeps calling and I can't block calls with either landline the shop has so I'm stuck wasting my time with robo calls.

Also I can't hang up after I don't hear a response cause for some stupid reason customers don't pay attention when I say 'Good *time greeting* *business name*' then they go 'huh?' cause they weren't paying attention or ask what the business name is even thou I LITERALLY JUST SAID IT. Fuckin pay attention my god you made the call why are you surprised when I say the business name you're calling?

Anyway feel free to add your own stories, I know (hope) some other people out there have had their fair share of phone fuckery too.

Posted by admin Rodney

[hoetachi]

HAPPINESS OVER EVERYTHING (H.O.E) — J. TODD

suggestive themes

I hope she don't think, that I think that she's some kind of hoe

A SOFT KNOCK graced the dark oak and he already knew whom it would be. without words being exchanged, he heard the chambers turned followed by a slight creak. there you were… in your newest ‘outfit’. off the record, this was your skimpiest outfit by far (which he loved a little too much by the slight tent in his slacks) and just knew you were getting tipped well for it.

jason relaxed a bit in the chair, umbrella twisting lazily between his fingers whilst keeping his shielded eyes on your figure. a mischievous smirk graced your glossed lips as you pressed your back to his door, which he picked up on the chambers turning again. you locked it.

time for your scheduled ‘cat & mouse’ game.

you pressed yourself free off the oak and switched your hips towards his desk. “5th time this week, doll” he pointed out as you inched closer. you now was right before him leaning over, pushing your breast together slightly whilst your perfume invaded his senses. sweet as ever, a scent he’ll never get a enough of.

“they say you pickin’ favorites mista hood” you finally spoke, your hair falling over your shoulders while you stared at him doed eyes. he always liked how you said ‘mista hood’ with your slightly hidden brooklyn accent. you don’t know it, but you’re the only one who’s allowed to refer to him as that. for everyone else it’s either ‘boss’ or ‘sir’

he exhaled, “i don’t do the favoritism bullshit.”

“then what do you do?” you asked, circling his desk. ghosting your hand over the nape of his neck, if he didn’t achieved the self control he currently had, he would’ve shuddered from the ghost of your touch without hesitation. he sees why bruce stayed up on those rooftops now, the mere thought about going against your own code for desire was a thrilling experience

“i treat people how they deserve to be treated” he stated curtly. he was never the one to sugarcoat the truth, that’s what most of the staff secretly disliked about him.

if he wanted to say ‘fuck off and rot in ditch’ he had nothing holding back, absolutely no remorse. he knew everything about everyone who worked under him and knew majority of them weren’t kind people in their day to day, so why would he treat them how he would like to be treated if they were mere scum?

“so if they wanna act like gossiping schoolgirls, i wouldn’t take their comments seriously”

“is this why you’re lingering in my office instead of… displaying your talents?”

you finally made it back before and leaned again on his desk. you pretended to think about for second. how cute you are “maybe… maybe not” another cheshire smirk graced your lips

“so.. how do i deserve to be treated, mista hood?”

“i’m letting you avoid working right now for one. two between you and i, i pay you more than your coworkers out there, even though you’re here less” he chuckled at your face at the little jab towards your absence around the lounge

“you know why though” you rolled your eyes at the jab. he loved to push your buttons, your reactions were just the cutest thing to him plus he knew you couldn’t really stay mad at him.

“how’d your exam go?”

“i feel that i definitely scored the lowest on it. im way too over my head with this veterinarian thing”

he used the hook of the umbrella he’s been twirling with to pull the strap of your bikini top and snapped it back, causing a yelp from you. you dropped your head and pouted as you rubbed the suddenly aching spot between your breast, however the same hook tilted your head up.

you were meant with crimson lens and from the looks of it, he wasn’t too happy with your comment. “don’t say that. do i look like i hire idiots?” he questioned coldly, you parted your lips to answer but realized it was a rhetorical question and thought best to not say anything. “you passed that entrance exam with flying colors, which is amazing considering there’s an 9% acceptance rate so don’t dare discredit that mind of yours”

“are you intelligent!?” he raised his voice, causing you to straighten your back with a flinch before nodding your head rapidly, “say it y/n!” he raised his voice again, “i’m intelligent” you said rapidly, making you stand up straight with your gaze falling to your feet. he mentally scolded himself for his outburst. he knew better to always watch his tone with you knowing you already get enough shit while on the clock from the others. “im sorry for yelling,” he apologized

“it’s okay, mista hood” you reassured, giving him a sheepish smile. “i just don’t ever want to catch you beating up yourself. you’re a good woman” he complimented with a much softer tone

“hmph, some woman i am” you huffed, twirling the end of your hair between your fingers unamused

his brows knitted at your comment, “what did i just say, y/n?” he scolded

“i know i know im sorry, but cmon mista hood. look where i work at?”

“it’s a fixer upper… i see potential still” the last part more for himself than the actual lounge. he’ll give credit to cobblepot, he took good care for the place but it was better under jason’s ownership.

“no man wants a woman who flirts their way into their pockets” you whispered whilst looking out the tinted window towards the vip section. the urge to cup that pretty face of yours and have those hypnotized eyes on him and him only came in droves. the fight with temptation around you could make him weak than any fight with the toughest rogues in gotham.

“speed dating ain’t workin’ out for you?”

“after the compliments and pleasantries, they don’t quite stick around once the question of what i do shows face” you joked half heartedly. no matter how much of a front you put on, he knew you wanted someone to take care of you and not just try to take you home for night

“doesn’t sound like men to me”

“then what does it sound like?”

“boys trying to play big man. someone’s way of paying the bills shouldn’t define them, so don’t let them define you. this is temporary, y/n just like those boys”

“you definitely know how to flatter a lady mista hood” you smiled softly, walking around his desk and he scooted back some to make some space for you to hop up on his desk to sit

he shrugged, feeling a bit more relaxed with you closer to him. “i’m just telling the truth”

“or maybe the truth is, you’re a really good ladies man..” there was a sudden glint in your eyes and he knew it was finally time to test how strong-willed he was against his own desire

“y/n…” he warned once you brushed your leg against his

“am i toeing the line?” your voice dripping in playfulness and your eyes shadowed with seduction, he was more than thankful for the tints on goggles how he had to close them to control his urges. how did the old bat do it with the cat for so long is all he could think about. you two barely even touched and he already so bothered

disregarding his caution, you continued your pursuit of him. “i would expect you of all people to love a bit of risk every once in a while”

“don’t start something you can’t finish” that was his second warning for you

“you see, mista hood, that’s the problem”

“you won’t let me finish. got me thinkin’ you may be into edging” you moaned, pulling in your bottom lip. he almost put together how sweet the actual melody of your moans would sound and that alone practically put him closer to the edge

“i don’t mix business with pleasure”

“it didn’t seem like a problem with liz and all the other girls” he watched again as you tried to your best not to roll your eyes at the name. liz wasn’t nothing to him nor others, if he had a rough night, he knew they’ll do anything to get even a smudge of the attention that he gives you

“they throw themselves”

a pout formed on your face and god, he could’ve been putty right in your hands. “am i not throwing myself hard enough?” you batted your lashes towards him.

“you’re better than that, doll”

you giggled as you placed a hand over your chest dramatically being flattered, “you think too highly of me, mista hood”

“i do, but who can blame me of thinking of you”

“and that’s your other problem too” he watched as you smirked. pushing yourself off of the desk, you moved the umbrella aside and decided to find a more comfortable spot to sit. you slowly sat yourself on his lap, making sure he had the perfect view of your arched back before looking over your shoulder with an innocent expression. “is this spot taken by chance?” throwing your legs over his knee, really settling against his tailored suit. you were going to be his second death for sure

he exhausted exaggeratedly, you’re the only woman he has set of rules for himself.

he can’t touch you. you can comb your fingers through his hair, acrylics scratching his scalp comfortingly and he has to fight the urge to nozzle into your touch.

he can’t taste you. he’s tempted every time you leave a glossy kiss on the corner of his mouth because knowing your love for toeing the line, he’s just curious how’d you react if one day he just captured those plump lips and explored that sweet mouth of yours and pull a moan from the depths of your core

you’re completely right

you’re his biggest problem

part 2?

[beef-brisket]

Adam sighed. He's too old to deal with this shit.

Adam: Next time, you take one. Or two at the most, alright? Don't take a whole damn handful, you little bastard.

Lucifer laughed: twoooo then~.

Adam: Yeah, two... now go to sleep, okay?

Lucifer whined: What if you're not here?

Adam: When?

Lucifer: W-When I wake up...

Adam sighed. It'll be great revenge to leave this fucker alone. But he couldn't do it. It must be Charlie rubbing off on him because seeing Lucifer clinging to him and worried that Adam's going to leave, actually made him feel bad.

Adam: ...I won't leave.

Lucifer smiled and nuzzled into Adam's chest: I would~. I diiid~.

Adam sighed: I know you did... go to sleep, yeah? I'll be here...

The king stayed silent as his breathing evened out.

Well, it looks like Adam's trapped for a few hours. Poking the kings shoulder, he didn't move or anything.

He should push this fucker off him. But he couldn't it. Wiping his eyes, Adam cursed himself. He's meant to be over this bullshit.

And here he is, getting emotional about bullshit that didn't matter. Lucifer will probably wake up and be pissed off again. He only came here cause he's off his ass.

Adam: ...Fuck sakes...

-

Lucifer slowly came to, groaning as he moved to sit up. Great, now his back was killing him.

Looking around, his eyes widened whe. He noticed he was in Adam's room. That's when everything came rushing back.

Looking to his left, he smiles softly.

Adam stayed. And he's asleep. And he doesn't look like he's going to wake up any time soon.

Tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, Lucifer jumped when his phone started buzzing.

Char: Hey, dad. Could you come downstairs?

Smiling, Lucifer sent Charlie a quick text before slowly getting off the bed and walking out of Adam's room.

-

Lucifer: Hey Char. What's up?

Charlie: Angel wanted to speak with you, dad.

Lucifer: Oh?

Lucifer looked up as Angel awkwardly walked over. Was he always this tall?

Angel: Uh- heya, short king.

Lucifer smiled: Evening Angel.

Angel: I uh... just wanted to apologise again. That was really shitty of me- I just... didn't think.

Lucifer: Thank you for saying that, Angel. I'm sorry I freaked out, but I'm sure you understand.

Angel: You're okay, Lu. I get ya. I'd be protective over my kid if I had one.

Charlie smiled as her dad and Angel talked, sharing a drink at Husks Bar. She was so distracted that she almost didn't see Alastor standing next to her.

Charlie: Oh! Al-! Sorry, I didn't see you there!

Alastor smiled: That's quite alright, my deer. Would you be able to alert Adam that we need to start dinner preparations.

Charlie: Yeah, of course... I haven't seen him since this afternoon, actually. I'll go find him for you.

-

Adam was sitting on the edge of his bed when he heard someone knock at his door.

He swears if it's fucking Lucifer, he's kicking his ass. He begged Adam to stay and then once he's awake, he fucks off?

Little prick.

Charlie: Adam? You there?

Sighing, Adam got up and opened the door.

Charlie: Oh! There you are! Al wanted me to get you for dinner prep!

Adam groaned. Fuck sakes: Yeah, thanks, babe. I'll go see him.

Charlie: Great! Thank you, Adam.

Adam waved her off and headed downstairs- where that short bastard was drinking. With Angel. He left him to come drink?! Little cunt.

Lucifer: There he is! Looking so awake this late at night!

Adam: Fuck you.

Angel and Lucifer laughed, making Adam glare at them.

He's over these bastards. He needed to get out of here, but it'll have to be after dinner. Fuck it all.

The Hotel Yard

Adam: So, Lucifer hadn't heard this yet but there is an AI version of our show already.

Lucifer: Shit, okay.

AI Lucifer: Hello everyone I'm with my co-host Adam. And might I say you look like you've escaped from a mental institution.

Adam: So already you start off with insulting me

Lucifer: Yeah but we take turns

Adam: Giving blows to each other

Lucifer: Yeah we take turns blowing each other.

Adam: HAHAHA!!

AI Adam: That's not nice Lu

AI Lucifer: No, but you want to know something else? We're gay for each other.

Lucifer: What!? Hahaha!

Adam: Fucking Jesus hahaha!

I love these goobers so much 😂

AI Adam: We love recording this podcast. But our fathers hate us.

Lucifer and Adam nearly die if laughing.

Lucifer: W-What the fuck?!

Adam: It's not fucking wrong, dude!

[epickiya722]

I love Bakugou with all my heart. He's one of my favourite characters. But it's always kind of hard to interact with a lot of his stans because of how overly protective they are of him, to the point where they mischaracterize or slander other characters when they dont do something in favour of bakugou. They act like hes a baby at times. Ofc not all of them are like that, butbits always the vocal ones that stand out and theyre many.

Unpopular opinion but I also dislike the "bakugou is a damsel in distress" thing they say, mainly the dk//bks. Cause that title should be given to no one, they're all bamfs.

The release of 431 basically had half the bakugou fandom burying Midoriya alive and even saying things like how Bakugou should start hating on Midoriya. Or that bakugou should have died so that Midoriya can live a life of suffering. Acting like Horikoshi did Bakugou a disservice when imo Bakugou had the kindest, most well written character development given to him.

To be completely blunt, in all my years of being in this fandom I've never encountered such a rabid group of people who will literally shit their pants because other characters or the author (in the final chapter) weren't kissing their ass for more than 2 minutes.

I do feel you on that, Anon.

I said it before, Bakugou is my guy, my boom boom boy. I like him as I do many other characters in the series. He has a good storyline, he is a great character on his own.

And that what infuriates me about some other Bakugou fans.

He is already such a good character, so why is there a need, a must, an urge to bash and mischaracterize other characters just to put him down?

Part of what I'm going to say is my bias because you all know Midoriya is my favorite tied with Miruko, but the other part of me is someone coming from a Bakugou fan standpoint. And you know what, feel free to be mad at me, but I just can't anymore!

The fandom over the past year or so has done nothing but disappoint me. Truly and at this point, I feel like I have to let out everything.

A lot of the reactions I saw towards Midoriya in the epilogue was absolue bullshit.

"He should give Bakugou back the suit!"

"How dare he turn down Bakugou!"

Bakugou was not the only fucking person who put in on helping with that suit and he damn sure wasn't the only person who saw Midoriya as the hero he is. Midoriya does not owe Bakugou any, let alone be an EMPLOYEE at his agency.

Like, damn, can he actually get used to some Pro Hero work in before he makes such decisions?

And I'll be honest, him not working at agency actually gave me joy. I actually like that idea. It reminds me of Miruko.

Him being a solo type hero allows Midoriya to be flexible with his routine. I guess they forgot he is a teacher. They must not have realized that Midoriya can and will fight by Bakugou's side in the field. Who said they needed a fucking agency to do all of that?

In fact, them being separated and not working at the same place would allow them to be more happy to see each since it's like "I didn't get to see you all day! I've been waiting to lay my eyes on you, I was counting the seconds till we meet again". I like that scenario, can we jump on that?

Like, what if Midoriya said no because he felt like Bakugou had done enough for him? Huh? How would he know Bakugou would want him at the agency and why even spring that on him being so cryptic about it in front of Kirishima? Sorry but Bakugou went about it the wrong way.

Midoriya can be oblivious but he's also not a mind reader. And sometimes, Bakugou is not that transparent, let alone someone who is right all the time himself.

I feel like that a lot of the fandom just wanted Bakugou to tie Midoriya down. Want him to own Midoriya like he's some fucking pet.

I thought they were supposed to be equals, but clearly I was lied to!

Like, when I say I was so disappointed in some fellow BakuDeku shippers, I was probably beyond disappointment. I couldn't follow anymore of some of the blogs because of the things they were saying.

I know Bakugou's hair is golden, but he is not some golden child. He is not some fragile little baby that some of the fandom treats him as such while also thinking he's so perfect.

They're doing exactly what lead to his terrible behavior in the first place, now that I'm thinking about it! Oh, I thought we were supposed to learn from that, HELLO?!

He is not perfect. That's what makes him a great character. A character with flaws makes for an entertaining one, but in this case, not for Bakugou! How I cannot believe!

That's why I also enjoy Midoriya. He has flaws, but the bad thing is how most of the fandom amped them up to 100 to make him seem more terrible.

I really hate how some of those same Bakugou and BakuDeku shippers reduce Midoriya into someone who can't do everything right, or he was like vindictive in the epilogue.

Like, some of you was so quick to say that the epilogue was so out of character, so why even go along with the notion that "Midoriya doesn't care about Bakugou, he betrayed Bakugou"?

Easy, because you don't care about Midoriya which is absurd to me given that if you're a Bakugou fan, Midoriya is the last character you should be hating on. Bakugou would hate you for hating Midoriya.

(Getting flashbacks to that one post about how the OP was mad at Midoriya for making Bakugou cry because he didn't tell him about OFA... in season one... WHAT?!)

I'm jumping on that unpopular opinion with you because my gosh. "I hate it when Midoriya is the damsel in Tddk fics and Bakugou is the bad guy".

I see why, but then why turn around and treat Bakugou like he's a damsel? To give more Midoriya stress? I'm all for angst, but I do feel like some people just want Midoriya to suffer like "see how you didn't appreciate Bakugou enough" and out of some hate agenda.

Listen, I know the pair are like the "don't separate at all costs" type, but again, it should be equal.

Yes, they care deeply about each other. But they're still their own separate characters.

Flaws Horikoshi's writing may have, but it damn sure ain't that flawed to not make sense of some of these characters.

I'm sorry (not really), but I feel like that some truly don't get Midoriya at all and don't want to take the time out to understand him. An injustice really to being a BakuDeku shipper. You won't see the harmony within that ship.

[missbuckyhellfire]

Cat And Mouse : Emperor Geta (3/?)

Previous Part

Plot:

The Twin emperors have a problem : A little thief who steals form the rich and gives to the poor. The rich despise them yet the people of Rome love them. However, the thief's little game can only go on for so long before the elder twin catches them and discovers their identity: Sabina, daughter of Marcus Acacius. Rather than executing her, he decides to marry her as a way to gain the Roman peoples approval. To Sabina, it is another way to get closer to the large stashes of gold in their keep. The two see this as a opportunity to gain power , but what else will they gain along the way?

Warnings: MANIPULATION EVERYWHERE! CHEATING! NSFW content,Language, The Emperors being themselves, Flirting, Concubines, Bullying, Fluff

Terms to know:

 Dulcissima: Sweetest

Mel: Honey

************************************************************************

In Macrinus chambers, Sabina didn’t focus on any of the lush, lovely couches that laid before her, or the flowers freshly picked in the most elegant vase she ever saw. No, her dark eyes stared into oblivion, thinking about what had happened moments before. 

To her, she felt like she witnessed something that clearly raised her position to him. Even after the night that the two had, she thought she was something special to him.

Obviously not.

Macrinus had noticed her lack of emotion and pulled her in for a hug. She paused for a moment then wrapped her arms around him. She took in his strong scent of oils around his body, but it was far too strong for her, and she turned her nose away.

“Even the highest of honors, the Empress does not deserve to see the cruelest acts of adultery.”  He muttered in her ear. “ I thought Geta would have stopped his sexual escapades as soon as he wed you. “

“Clearly he hasn’t “

Macrinus had took a step back and gestured for the two of them to sit down on the couch. Sabina hesitated and let out a soft whimper from the previous nights events after joining Macrinus. On the couch. “Have you and Geta consummated?”

Sabina cocked a brow, thinking back to what they did the pervious night. She shook her head, knowing exactly what he was referring to. “Sure we explore each other, but we never took that step. He wants to wait until I feel ready.”

“Which is why he is playing with that concubine, what is preventing you from submitting?” Macrinus chuckled to himself.

“I don’t just submit to anyone Macrinus, you know that” Sabina smiled and shook her head. Macrinus thought for a moment then laughed and clapped his hands together.

“Then why don’t you get yourself a concubine?”

“Empresses don’t have those. We only have our husband’s and that’s it.” Sabina thought he was losing his mind. “Your insane Macrinus.”

“Maybe but that’s how I got here. “ He looked at all of the luxurious things around him.  “You need to make him beg for you but putting your attention elsewhere. Another man perhaps or woman, just someone who you think will get on Geta’s nerves and make them a concubine of yours. Then watch him want your devotion. If there’s anything, I know for a fact that Geta does not like sharing.”

“Then lets make him jealous.”

“Yes, no Emperess, especially one as fair and a spokesperson for justice as you should put up with that bullshit from their husband, is he blind?”

“Or perhaps afraid knowing what may happen if he hurts me.” Sabina stated. “The people of Rome would revolt, you remember what happened when Geta locked me up.”

Macrinus nodded. “The romans don’t want their Emperess harmed, whose to say, you could take over you know.”

“Why would I? I can’t take over Rome. The people wouldn’t take me, especially as a woman.” Sabina looked down. Being in charge with Geta and Carcalla to the sidelines would indeed be easier for everyone on many levels, with money being the top one. But would she really want all of the responsibilities.

“Why not, it wont be a invasion, just make him submit to you completely and essentially Rome will be all yours.” Macrinus shrugged.

“What you suggest is treason.” Sabina stared into his eyes. “And even you telling me this…..”

“You wont tell anyone, besides I know that you want what’s best for the people, and overthrowing them may be an option.” He said in a lower tone.  “Think about it, but for now, lets have some wine.”

************************************************************************

Geta watched Sabina storm out of the room as the concubine began to rub his shoulders. He didn’t understand why she was angry with him, they did have a good time. But he had other needs that needed to be met. Geta didn’t even notice that his concubine, Rosa moving her hands lower  on his body much like she did before they had their ventures with each other the previous night.

When Sabina fell asleep the previous night, Geta still had a strong urge in his body. He wanted to release his tension, his urges as well. He knew better than force his body on a Demi-goddess and the daughter of a beloved general of Rome. She was intoxicating to him though, the scents and  the curves of her body, her overall beauty. But, he made a promise to wait until she was ready.

He slowly slipped away, and put on his robe. He took one last look at his beautiful wife before he walked out of the room and closed the door behind himself. The emperor made a right and made his way to the Concubines chambers. He only wanted something quick to get the edge off and he planned to run back to the room by daylight.

The emperor was greeted by a swarm of concubines and his brother being surrounded by his “favorites” on the bed by the window that oversaw Rome. There were a range of concubines before him, thin, curvy, light haired, dark haired various eye colors and more. He scanned through them all and found one. She was considered as his concubine as they spent nights together before. Yet she looked the most like his beautiful wife, with dark hair and dark eyes not as lovely but close enough.

Rosa looked at him and waited for affirmation and took his hand to the other bed on the opposite side of the room, and pulled the canopy around them so they could have privacy and be enveloped into the darkness. Geta always preferred to have his intimacy in private. She watched as he took off his robes then commanded him to get on his back so they can begin. Usually it would begin with a back massage, then she would get a bit lower and start kissing his body. At some point, Geta would have enough of the teasing then he would flip himself over to face her and would command her to ride him.

And that’s exactly what happened.

Geta lost track of time and was still in bed cuddling with Rosa when sun broke and his wife was a distant thought in his head.

After a while, Caracalla noticed his brother’s state and took a sip of wine while turning back to the dancer.

“She will get over it,” Caracalla muttered. “It’s part of being an Empress, you remember how many father had? Each day he had a new one running out of his room.”

“But Sabina is different brother.”

“Clearly, she is.” Caracalla stated. “Tell me brother what made you interested in her after locking her up for what ever crime you won’t share with me.”

Geta looked down and played with the rings on his hand, “She is just something special in my heart, I don’t want to hurt her.”

“Fucking her won’t hurt her brother. It’s her job now.”

“Yes, I just don’t want Rome to go up in flames if I took her flower’s petals too soon.” Geta cleared his throat. “I’ll take it when she asks for it.”

“Asks for it, brother we are emperors everything we see is ours. Including your wife.” Carcalla chuckled. “I would have just taken it on our wedding night if she liked it or not,”

“I know you would have but  I am not you.” Geta couldn’t take it anymore, so he stood up and excused himself from his swarm of concubines and the dancer to think.

“I can’t do anything right now, why can’t I have a good time while having my wife? Yet, pissing off the gods as I am doing now is quite possibly the worst thing to do.” Geta thought to himself as he stormed through the halls. “ I haven’t even fucked her yet”

SMASH.

Geta blinked twice at the shattered pot once on the pillar. It was a bright pink one with lovely gold , silver accents with pearls. It was their mother’s favorite vase that was gifted to them by the general of the time. There was no sign of any force pushing it over so he could only see it as a sign of the gods rage towards him.

He looked down to see the painting of Venus’s face on one of the larger pieces that smashed to the ground.

Fuck, he knew he had to apologise, even if he didn’t mean it.

There was a rush of servants that began to sweep up the vase as he kept on walking down the hallway.  He went on his way to his chambers but started halfway when he heard chuckling from one of the rooms.

That familiar high pitch of his wife.

It took a few moments for him to recognize it as his advisor’s room but he couldn’t help himself, he had to lean against the door. Obviously, there was something going on that peaked his wife’s attention.  

At first he just heard wine being poured and the clinking of glasses, but then he began to hear more of their conversation. By the tone of their voices, they already had a few glasses.

“When you say, explored each other do you mean like ….” Macrinus began

“With our tongues and lips, yes, but I am not ready for making love with him. I just feel like we need to form some sort of bond first. Sure, we are married and everything, but he hardly knows me more than the thief of Rome, and pressured with his duties to impress the people.”

Geta understood that. They didn’t know each other, they hardly were able to spend time with one another without the pressures of the city and the gods.  Yet, where was he to start, he was always given things, how was he to earn this?

“How would he be able to get you to open up then?”

“Spend time with me even! Learn about my favorite things, my hobbies and interests, there is more to me than just being a thief who is also his wife.”

“That I know,” He heard Macrinus chuckle. “Does he know of your writing or poetry? People would talk of the general’s daughter’s writing pieces.”

“I usually base my pieces on Virgil, but I do like venturing on my own works as well. I doubt that he has heard of my pieces which is why he didn’t bring it up.”

Geta honestly had no idea that she wrote creative pieces. He hasn’t even heard about it, now he grew curious about it. That’s a place to start at least to get her attention. But he also needed to learn more about her as well. He took a step back from the door and kept walking, deciding to take a stop in the library in hopes of finding something written by his wife.

************************************************************************

After the glasses of wine, Sabina decided to take a walk in the gardens. She had yet to visit them, but she figured it would be a good way to take a breather and take in what Macrinus advised her to do.

Getting a concubine? Who would want to do that?

Sabina knew she was attractive to many, her husband and oddly her brother in law included. But, who would want to live in that lifestyle? Only being treated like a toy to the Emperor or Emperess on the whim they wish it. She wanted to make Geta jealous though, but to treat someone like that…

She couldn’t do it, she may have to explain everything to the future concubine she picks. They may also appreciate the arrangement more if she treated them with dignity. Even pay them if it is a way to ensure their secret would be kept or whatnot.

Her disturbing thoughts stopped when she seen a large patch of  red roses, fully bloomed and opened up to her. She admired how thick the stems were and couldn’t help herself but pick one out for her to take with her. A knife was by the pot so she used it to pick the one that attracted her the most.

She had the rose in her hand and put it against her nose to take in the scent. There was a range of different scents around her, but she only focused on this one. She closed her eyes for a moment to take in the scent.

However her dark eyes opened when she had felt lingering eyes watching her. She scanned around the area, only to find Geta’s dark eyes watching her. The rose bush was in front of the library entrance, and of course, the windows were there. She scanned him for a moment as she noticed some books were in his hand.

Didn’t know he wanted to read.

His eyes didn’t leave her as he noticed the red rose in her hand, freshly picked by her. He should have known she was an admirer of red roses. He hoped she would see his books in hand as perhaps it would be a sign that he is at least trying.

Sabina couldn’t care less though, and she kept walking through the gardens. To her, she just learned that he enjoyed reading.

However, Geta had talked to the librarian and couldn’t find any copies of her writing anywhere in the palace. He had requested that the librarian find some of her written works and bring them to the chambers immediately.  The books in his hands were some of Virgil’s works and introductions to writing creatively. It was an attempt to build a stronger relationship between them.

************************************************************************

That evening, the Emperors decided to have a party at the palace since they felt the gods blessed it upon them to have one.

Caracalla wanted to get drunk with people and Geta wanted to find out more about Sabina through the mouth of the people. They knew her more than he did so he thought it would be a good chance to find more about her while he awaited for her creative writing.

Sabina knew what she wanted to do this evening. She wanted to shock, seduce and get under her husband’s skin. She knew that she would have to dress slightly more risky than normal to do this and get a “concubine”.

Her low cut stola was a very faint sheer pink that hardly hid her daisy covered nipples. She picked them from the garden and thought they would be a unique twist to nipple coverings. She let her dark wavy hair down but used a shell clip gifted to her by her father to remove the strands of her face to reveal the pearl earrings and necklace. Her eyes were painted with silver metallics that made her brown eyes stick out. Her cheeks were graciously blushed with shades of pink and her lips were colored with a dark deep pink. She made sure that her husband didn’t see her until the party. She knew he would likely tell her to get changed, her father would have.

She waited for a few minutes after the party started to make her entrance.  Her husband and brother-in-law were already greeting the guests entering as their paid entertainment began to sing for the guests.

That was when she casually walked inside the event. Sabina knew she was going to have heads turn to her, but that was the point. She wanted to find the perfect person to make a “concubine” and get her husband jealous.

Sabina was right, everyone was essentially staring at her. She however, focused on walking over to her husband and her brother in law with their concubines together. As she got closer, she could see his cheeks turning pink.

“Husband,” She bowed at him and the entire room was silent.

“Wife, what are you wearing?” Geta stared at the entire outfit, perhaps staring at the nipple daisies a few seconds too long.

“Do you like it ? To honor my mother.” Sabina said boldly in which there were whispers amongst the crowd.

“Can we see the ring your husband given you?” Rosa asked. She was next to Geta with her hand on his lap. “I am sure it is lovely.”

Sabina and Geta looked at each other for a moment. He never did give her a ring for engagement or their wedding. Sabina hid her hand behind her body as she looked down.

“No ring! I would have thought you would have been given the loveliest one of Rome. Guess the rumors are true, this whole thing was arranged last minute. I suppose that’s why your husband is still swarmed by concubines.” Rosa smirked at Sabina. Having no worth to speak to her husband’s whore, she turned away and walked off.

“That was cruel Rosa.” Geta finally said to her. His hand pushed hers off his leg.  She shook her head.

“Then why doesn’t she have a ring, without it she is like a concubine.” Rosa snickered with his brother joining in.

“Yea, she is a virgin concubine.” Caracalla raised his voice a bit louder, just enough for Sabina to hear them on the other side of the room.

************************************************************************

Sabina didn’t need any of that. It was Geta’s doing that he didn’t get her a ring at the very least. Forced marriage or not, a ring would have been nice to at least make it official. She had lots of rings, but having a ring as a promise of protection and love meant something to her.

Not like this entire situation was full of love anyways.

But it still would have saved the embarrassment that even the Gods could have seen.

She stood in the corner with a glass of wine in hand and sweet treats in the other. She scanned the room to see if there was anyone worthy of taking in as a “concubine”. Or at the very least, someone who would get the attention of the emperor.

Her eyes met with someone who came in with the Advisor. A younger man, with piercing blue eyes and short darker hair.  His face was affirmed and straight ahead as Macrinus talked to him all he did was nod and mutter a couple additional comments.  He was a handsome man, who worn extravagant clothing.

He gotten her attention. She felt like a magnet to him, not by attraction but by curiosity. He looked exquisite and she wondered if the advisor brought him intentionally or if this was just a coincidence. Something told her it was the former.  She didn’t hesitate to walk over to talk to him.

Geta didn’t let his eyes off his wife since the incident. He didn’t want anyone touching her in the wrong way after the way Rosa talked to her.  The concubine kept trying to place her hand on his knee, but he kept slapping it away. His brows began to lower as Sabina walked to the advisor and uninvited guest. He knew that Macrinus and Sabina were getting accustomed to each other, but he wasn’t too sure about the guest.

Sabina smiled at Macrinus as he clapped his hands together. “Ah the jewel of Rome, I would like you to meet someone.” The stranger’s eyes had brightened up to her, in pure interest.   He took her hand and admired her face for a moment before he kissed her knuckles.

“I am Felix Remus Julius, second son of a nobleman of Rome, speaker of 4 languages, poet, and in the presence of the loveliest woman I met.” He kissed he hand again. “I am in the highest of honors to be in the presence of the Emperess, the hero of Rome” He bowed lowly to her.

“I am honored to be in your presence. My father spoke highly of you, even considered…” Sabina paused at her thought, remembering where she is.  Speaking of possible marriage arrangements of the past were not wise in the presence of two power hungry emperors.

“I do recall, perhaps in another path if you weren’t caught.” He winked at her.

“Perhaps.”

“I brought a gift to honor the Empress.” He stated as Macrinus had smiled at Sabina then glanced at Geta who was cocking his head trying to see what kind of gift the man was gifting her.  In Felix’s pocket was a pretty closed seashell, It was white and polished. Sabina would have been happy to just take the shell, but he opened it to reveal a gorgeous ring before her. A golden ring with a ruby in the center.

“This is too much Felix” Sabina commented as he placed the ring on her right hand’s ring finger.

“Nonsense, soon enough your going to have so many jewels on your fingers from your supporters.” There was a silence in his voice, noticing no ring on Sabina’s left hand.”It will be the first of many.”

“Regardless, I am sure that none of the jewels will be as lovely as the one you gave me.”

Geta eyed the jewel on his wife’s finger. She had her cheeks flush slightly red at the sight of this noble. Caracalla noticed the change of his brother as Geta had clawed his hand into the sofa.

“Better watch that one brother, your wife may have another lover soon enough.”

With a couple more chuckles, Sabina ushered Felix to join her in the gardens. As the two left, Macrinus went to the younger brother to discuss something. Geta stood up, leaving his concubines alone as he kept his distance behind them.

************************************************************************

 Felix and Sabina snuck away quickly. The two-holding hand in hand, giving soft chuckles to one another. They rushed to the gardens quickly and quietly in hopes that no one will find them there while they talked in private.

Geta on the other hand was quick and sly. He wanted to be close but keep his distance. He was furious on how quick the physical contact was happening while he had to work so hard to get what he got, and he still didn’t consummate the relationship!  Regardless, he is learning more about his bride that she is not speaking up about. He wanted to learn as much as possible before he tries to get closer to her. He can’t fuck up again.

Finally, Sabina and Felix stop by a rose bush under the moonlight.  The light highlights their features and beauty which makes them both more alluring to the other. Geta noticed this in his hiding spot, a simple pillar. He should have planned this ahead of time as he had to be very selective with his movements.

“So why are we sitting by the dark blue roses? “Felix asked trying to scoot closer to her.

“They are my favorite, my second are red roses” Sabina answered.  “My father used to bring a set back home from his ventures. They remind me of the stars, when the fresh rain leaves them as they twinkle.”

“You are a poet even when you don’t try  dulcissima” Felix chuckles as he put his hand on her thigh. “ My father spoke of how skilled you are, how you fight for what you want and how beautiful you were.”

Geta felt the rage of heat in his cheeks, thinking of what things must be going on inside of Felix’s head. The way that he touched her was angering him, in more way than one. Geta had to steady his breaths, so he won’t get caught.

“That is kind, Felix but what is the real reason why you came here tonight. I am sure it wasn’t to impress an empress”

“I came to get to know you better, was curious if you would be interested in having a companion. Word goes around Rome fast and I heard that your husband isn’t treating you right as you should be treated.” He said  moving his hand to her upper thigh. “Macrinus is a close ally of my family and when he told me of the crimes your enduring daily, I had to come to help you.”

“You don’t know me.” Sabina said.

“I want to take the time to.”

If he wasn’t hiding, Geta would have sliced the pretty boy’s head off. The emperor wasn’t the most pleasant at this moment and each second it was getting harder and hard to calm his nerves.

“I am flattered with that offer, I am looking for one too. I really need someone to talk to who I can trust.” Sabina bites her lip. “I need someone to be my friend, my family is miles away and I hardly have a place to keep to myself. I am not ready for anything sexual, but I am looking for companionship.”

“Don’t worry we can take it slow Emperess, “He muttered as he was getting rather close to Sabina.

Geta couldn’t believe what he is hearing. Was Sabina in the slow process of getting a concubine?  His first one was in the same way, a friend then eventually much more.  He was supposed to be enough for her, now she’s seeking guidance elsewhere.

“O..oh” Sabina said and then all Geta heard was the sounds of two lips crash against one another.

He couldn’t hear anymore of it, so he slowly made his exit, finding no purpose to be sticking around while his wife is making out. Sure he did a lot worse the previous night, but still it made him sick to his stomach hearing it. He managed to leave without Sabina or Felix knowing.

The two kept their lips on eachother’s for a few more moments before they parted from each other. Blue eyes looking into brown eyes, both were full of uncertainty.

“Let’s take it slow.” Felix said.

“I don’t want the romance; I just want a companion.” Sabina stated. “I am flattered of the kiss though.”

 “It is alright, we can be companions, just remember if you need anything I am here to aid you.”

Sabina smiles. “Great, you can come with me to the library and help me with my writing”

Felix nodded eagerly and follows her.

************************************************************************

Geta waited for Sabina to come back to their shared chambers after the party. He wasn’t going to say that he heard everything between her and Felix, but he knew it was going to be hard to hide what was going through his head.

How could she do this?

It also gave him the opportunity to hide the books of her written works from her before she came back. He didn’t want to read them in front of her, he intended to surprise her with some of her writing pieces and perhaps some of his own.  He already had talked to the gardener to change the flowers into red and blue roses for her.

He has to find out more about her by spending time with his wife.

The emperor heard his wife’s laughter in the hallway with his voice. He muttered a couple curse words as he heard Felix say goodnight to her. She opened the door and Geta had tightened his housecoat.

“I missed you at the event wife, where did you run off to?” He asked instantly. He watched Sabina remove the hairclips and her dress. The dress that mentally drove him wild. Why did she decide to wear that? To bring Rome to their knees in the most unintimidating manner? He felt his inner needs grow when he watched her remove the daisies from her nipples. After a few moments of her being completely nude in front of him, she placed the robe on her body. He still stared, admiring the curves of her body.

“I went to the library with Felix, He is quite knowledgeable you know. “ She remarked.

“I see,” Geta was trying to bite back remarks. “So what’s the plan tomorrow for you?”

Sabina cocked a brow. “ Very curious of you of asking of my plans, I am going to the market to shop.”

“Is anyone going with you?” Geta wanted to make sure this was an opportunity.

“No, no one is going with me.”

“Great I will join you tomorrow, I need to grab a few things anyways.” Geta tuts walking to the bed. He wasn’t going to do anything until he gets to know her, its going to be a long process but he wanted to make sure that things will please the gods and her.

“Join me? You haven’t spent time with me yet.” Sabina slowly walked to the bed and laid down. “But this is a good place to start, be ready we will leave in the morning.”

“I am eager to, Sleep well mel” Geta said as he shut his eyes, thinking about the upcoming day and what it will have in store for them.

************************************************************************

Sabina and Geta got up early in the morning to prepare themselves for the day ahead of themselves. Both worn more modest, casual simple lavender purple embroidered stolas for their activities ahead, with minimal jewelry. Sabina wanted to enjoy the day without being dragged down by precious metals while Geta didn’t want to be robbed.

The couple did minimalist work on their faces, besides purple eyeliner swiped on their eyes, giving it a cat eye look.  Their brown eyes popped with the purple color and it made them more intense and intimidating looking.  Sabina decided to braid her hair back into a braid for the day, having a feeling she was going to need her hair up.

A quick breakfast was in order so they were given some cheeses, fruits and bread to start off their day. Servants kept filling up their plates with food and Sabina kept politely saying no thanks after the fourth serving. Geta let out a soft chuckle.

“They just want to make sure your well fed in case…”

“Of?”

“If your with child.”

“Oh well I am not and this food is getting a bit overbearing”  Sabina looked at her rather large plate of her favorite things.

 Geta cleared his throat “ LEAVE US!”

“Thank you for the food, but I think this is enough for now.” She cleared her throat , trying to clarify the negative remarks given to them by the emperor. They servants seemed to reciprocate the remarks given to them from her before they left,

Geta scanned her plate. Bryeria, lacterine and ricotta cheeses were on her plate, often spread with a piece of fresh bread. On the side there was apples, grapes, peaches slices with a few cherries. He made sure he mentally took note which foods she had on her plate. He watched her from across the table eating her food and enjoying the luxury food,

“Are you enjoying your food wife?”

“It is delicious, however…”

Geta almost stood up from the table about to send back in the servants to fetch something. But Sabina lowered her hand to reduce his excitement.  “I am going to the market, I will buy the breakfast wine I enjoy. Perhaps you will enjoy it too, it reminds me of morning meals with my family.” Sabina was going to say something more but bit her lip.

“I can’t wait to try this wine “ Geta smiled at her. He watched her dark eyes look down at her plate and pick up a piece of lacterine cheese and place it in her mouth.

“Where are your concubines today?” His wife asked casually going for another bite of food. Guilt and panic flooded over him, wondering what brought up the question. Frankly, he didn’t care what they did, just as long as they were there when he needed them.

“Not sure, probably in the chambers reading or something.” Geta shrugged. Then he thought of the prick from the previous night, the noble that kissed her. Her new concubine, that she has yet to address to him.  Geta has hardly met him, but he hates him. “You met that noble last night,”

“Yes Felix, a smart man of the mind. We spent last night in the library writing poetry.”  Sabina looks down. It was what they did for part of the evening. The rest was just talking about the new arrangements, as she planned to introduce him to the court in the next party.

“You never said you wrote poetry.” Geta tried to pretend to be shocked, he has been trying to read each of the poems that she wrote to get an idea of her creativity, but with no avail. The emperor even got writer’s block when trying to write a small piece of written work for her.

“I did, it’s a habit I am trying to get back into.”  Sabina said snacking on a slice of peaches.

“Why did you stop?” Geta tilted his head at her.” Writing is a gift”

“It is, I couldn’t write when I was happy. Been thinking about writing again as I can write when  I am sad.”

That statement made Geta speechless.

************************************************************************

Sabina told Geta she wanted to go the market closer to her father’s home so she could welcome him back as soon as he returns. In addition to that, it had sold family comforts that she had growing up. She missed the simple things that she had, and wanted to bring them to her new home, for some type of comfort in a forced situation.

Even though Sabina wanted to have a private, relaxing day in Rome, her husband always had to make an entrance. He had to swing his cloak around for the public to see and he craved the attention that he got from commoners oogling his clothing.

However, he didn’t get as much attention as Sabina as a crowd of people rushed to her feet, some people even kissing her legs, singing praises to her.  As soon as she stepped out of the carriage, she was treated like the goddess that she was. Red rose petals were placed around her feet as the they would mutter praises to her. Each step she took they created a pathway for her. Geta got tossed a couple of the red roses, but almost all eyes were on her.

Including Geta’s.

He wondered why there was no proposal planned in the first place. A beauty like her, he could have married her years ago. Things would have been different, perhaps she wouldn’t have went through her endeavours, stealing. Perhaps things would have changed for the better, there would be less war, less conflicts.

Sabina reached into her bag and grabbed some jewels that were at her disposal. It didn’t take much for everyone to notice the jewels in the palm of her hand. Her dark eyes went to a group of children who wore dirty toga’s and had dirt on their faces from playing around in their families garden.

She ushered them to come closer to her. Hesitant at first, they did, the eldest girl was the first one to come forward and gave a small smile.

“Emperess,” There was a pause then she looked up at Geta. “Emperor”.

“I bring gifts to you and your siblings.” Sabina said softly to them as she knelt down. “What are your names?”

Geta watched as Sabina took the time to talk to the children. He didn’t focus on the words that slipped out of her mouth, but rather watched her actions with the children. They came up to her, scared at first, but eventually they came close to her enough to reach for a hug. She wrapped her arms tightly around them with the largest grin across her face as she gave each of them a sizeable jewel to take home with them.

He began to wonder if he waited too long to bring her into his life. Rome was power hungry, and yet there are children wearing clothing like these children and less. Sure he craved power, he couldn’t deny it, but seeing people  like this was concerning. With this, he began to understand what the purpose of her crimes.

She did it truly for the churches, the adults, the children.

He watched as she tossed the remaining jewels in the air. Her hand grabbed his and pulled him away before they were swarmed by the locals.  She giggled to herself as she turned to her husband.

“Don’t you see how happy they are?” Sabina said in a joyful tone.”We should bring more to them.” She muttered but looked down when she remembered their arguments a few nights before.

Geta cleared his voice. “No I think we should as well. The people of Rome need to be watched over.”

“Really?” Sabina muttered looking up to him, she didn’t know what to believe anymore from his lips. Was this real? Was this a myth? Or was he only doing it to appease the gods?

“I am sure, I loved watching the joy it brought to you, the children and the others with your generosity.” Geta smiled at her, “I find your kindness attractive, I can’t wait to learn more about you.”

************************************************************************

Sabina and Geta walked around the markets keeping close to one another. Sabina’s hands were full of the spices and goods that reminded her of home. Her husband insisted he would let the cooks to prepare her the food while she just brushed it off.

“I like cooking my own food too actually And making my own sweets.” Sabina shrugged. “I learned how to cook, especially when my servants were away or completing other duties. Besides,I can say I am a pretty good cook” She smiled at herself as Geta noticed the bright sparkles in her dark eyes talking about an interest of hers.

“Your going to have to cook for me sometime.” Geta said to her. “I would love to taste my wife’s cooking.”

“You probably would find it minimal compared to the fine foods your servants make.” Sabina chuckled. “They are amazing cooks.” She didn’t want to disappoint him in her skills when he has servants with skills that pass hers.

“I would love to try it, Your cooking sounds enticing to me.” Geta leant over to her ear to whisper into it. “Besides, I can’t imagine you making anything sweeter than…” Before he could finish his statement, he noticed that there was a man in front of them with a bunch of jeweled rings. They were rubies, emeralds and sapphires on the marvelous silver and golden rings.  Geta didn’t say a word, he only watched which ones his wife was eying. He did owe her a ring after all.

He watched her eyes go to the sapphire rings. There was one that sparkled like the evening stars on Palatine Hill. Around them were sapphires that were almost white that were banded together on a silver band. She smiled for a couple moments as her eyes were captivated by it before she muttered a “no thank you. “. She turned her head then made her way to an astrology tent.

Geta was confused by her movements and wanted to follow her, but not before whispering in the seller's ear to bring that ring to him with a range of sizes to Palatine Hill by the evening.

************************************************************************

Sabina admired the astrology charts provided to her from the seller as Geta stared at the maps before him. He never fully understood the concepts of stars, but he couldn’t say no to the bright smile across her face admiring the dots in the sky.

She spoke unfamiliar terms with the seller as her eyes began to sparkle like the stars themselves. Her eyes began to glow even brighter as she seen the map of the night that she was born. Geta admired the stars but took note on writing on the bottom of the scroll.

Veneralia Rital

From Geta’s knowledge, that was a few days away. With the empress’s name day arriving, he had to start planning for it as well. He had to plan games, a party and make sure her family arrives for the occasion. He did find it funny that her day of birth was aligned with her mother’s annual ritual.

He watched her bring coins, and then some to purchase the scroll, commenting how she was going to hang it somewhere in the palace. Both her and her husband were shocked to see Marcus Acacius right behind her.

“I shouldn’t let my daughter pay for this! This is a gift” He acclaims as he spins his daughter around and she hugs him quickly. However, the general’s eyes never left Geta.

“That is too kind father!” She muttered in their hug as Geta given him a soft nod.

“I was expecting to see you tomorrow.” Geta stated.

“I always come in a day early to see my wife and daughter” He said. “It was a wise guess to find my daughter here! Always looking up in the stars dreaming.” He looks down to Sabina and flashes a smile. “I sure hope that you are writing as well! You will see me tomorrow” The general passed a note to Sabina, which Geta didn’t fail to notice. He placed a kiss on his daughter’s forehead then left the tent.

Geta wondered if Sabina’s father knew about something. Why would he say that in front of him? About her writing? Does he know she writes when she is sad? Of course he does! He raised her and allowed her to live with him until she was married. However, the worrying thoughts went away after noticing the bright grin across his wife’s face.

************************************************************************

After their long day, Geta and Sabina went back home. They were silent in the carriage ride home, but the Emperor couldn’t get his eyes off of her. He wondered if his father ever felt this way about his mother, even though Geta could recall all of the concubines and servants running out of his chambers only with bedsheets wrapped around them. This marriage between Sabina and him was not that much different, but he wanted to not be like his father. Even though last night was proven different. Macrinus was the one who suggested the Emperor to find a bed warmer so he could “practise” ways to please his wife. But the sadness in Sabina’s eyes had said a lot to him.

He didn’t want this, especially with her.

Once he spent the day with her. He watched and understood why the people of Rome loved her and admired her. He understood why Felix was so quick to become her concubine, though he didn’t understand why she wouldn’t sleep with him, but read books with him unless if she is truly lonely. If he was only being used as a friend, but then again he did kiss her. He did do the same to her, plus more so it was the least of his concerns. He hoped that he could have a chance to prove himself to her and perhaps it could just be the two of them.

An Emperor could only dream as there are temptations on every corner. The same goes for his wife beyond the sins of the flesh.

Sabina on the other hand had enjoyed the time outside of the palace and the time with her husband. She honestly had no choice but to have him tag along, but it was an opportunity to get him to know her better. She thought he did and hoped that he would join her in a few days time on her name day as she was returning to donate to the temple of Venus.

But she shan’t tell him yet as she thought it wouldn’t be something of interest to him. It was a blessing enough that Geta agreed to give more to the people.

She admired his dark brown eyes that reflected into the sunlight as he watched the views from outside the carriage. He tried to avoid eye contact, but he felt her eyes growing on him.

************************************************************************

Geta was in his chambers late at night, wondering where wife is was. First thought was Felix but he found him with Caracalla and his concubines reading poetry to them. Thought it was odd, but he figured it was fine which meant Sabina wasn’t sneaking around with others. She was alone in the palace somewhere he just needed to find somewhere his bride could be hiding. He checked the library but rather found Macrinus sitting at a table with the stack of scrolls that Geta asked for early in the day.

“Your wife is quite the poet, Roses that bloom in the saddest of times often grow the toughest thorns to fight.” He read out loud. His eyes never left the paper as he came closer. “A fighter for the people of Rome is a fighter for love”.

“I never heard any poetry from her, provides insight into her head.” Geta mused. “I asked for those books this morning, thank you for holding them for me.” He walked over to take them from him. That was when his eyes darted back to him.

“My pleasure, I wanted to read some more of them before you got your hands on them.” His advisor smiled. He gave him the collection of scrolls as his hands were overwhelmed by the scriptures.

“I noticed you took your wife out today to the city. I hope you had a good time”

“We did, I learned a lot about her. Glad we could spend time with each other.” He muttered as he seen the flash of dark hair in the gardens just outside of the library. This followed with a flash of silver.

His eyes fixated on her as he seen her swing a blade around and began to practice movements and attack methods. Around her were the dark blue roses that he asked for but the true beauty was the one with the blade. Macrinus noticed this and gestured the emperor to go to her. He didn’t need to be told twice, he  dropped his scrolls and left the library to meet with her.

************************************************************************

Sabina was so focused on her blades movements that she didn’t realise that Geta was leaning against a pillar,arms crossed. He admired her form with the blade. Hours, days earlier he would have spat at her for using a weapon, and that it brings her back for her thievery roots. But now, he knows this is just how she is.

He admired her form, how the gods made her. How he ended up with her, even thought he knows it was fate still baffles him. He was an emperor, he could have anyone, anything but he has something much more precious.

Sabina.

Brown eyes meet with brown eyes. Before her mind for process who it was, her dark orbs turned to rage and pointed the blade angrily towards him. Showing a look of darkness and determination to execute anyone who stood in her path. Geta, shocked, put his arms up, surrendering quickly.

“Mel” Geta greeted. “I hope you don’t mind that I changed the garden” He glanced around to the fresh new blue roses that surrounded them. “Someone told me that you may have liked these the best.” He really hoped that she would drop the blade. After a few moments, her eyes softened and dropped the blade.

“I do thank you husband.” She muttered. “Roses are my favorite because….”

“Roses that bloom in the saddest of times often grow the toughest thorns to fight” Geta muttered, remembering the quote that Macrinus had read to him moments earlier.  It suited the moment really but he needed to learn more about her poetry. It flowed off his tongue quite tell.

Sabina cocked a brow at him as she took a step closer, admiring the matching black robe that he worn. “Your familiar with my poetry, must have been hard for you to find it.”

“What do you mean?” Geta asked.

“I mean my father worked hard to make sure you wouldn’t find copies of it, thought you wouldn’t like my writing style.” She looked down. “The most beautiful of things often are hidden and secluded in the deepest of caves, and the few who find it are in pure bliss.”

Geta looked down. “ I found out regardless, but I was concerned where you were after our journey.”

“I was just here, admiring your gift to me. Thank you.” Her eyes were sparkling like the stars,

“It is my pleasure, it was a pleasure to spend the day with you to get to know you better” He took her hand and kissed it softly.  Yet he didn’t let go of it though as he went on his knee and reached into his robes where he had the rings of various sizes. He wanted to make it right with her, and this would at least be a start. Sabina’s eyes stared at the ring in his hand and watched as he placed on her left hand’s ring finger. The ring was a perfect fit on the first try.

“For my dulcissima, the Emperess of Rome. A ring to claim you as ruler of Rome, and my wife.”

Her eyes looked at the sapphire, reminiscent of the stars in the sky. Her glance was so quick, but it warmed her heart knowing that Geta had planned to grab the ring himself to give to her. She smiled brightly as she admired the sparkles and glamor the ring given to her. She didn’t say anything to him, her dark eyes did all of the talking as he watched her. He stood up and before he could say anything to her, Sabina pushed her lips against his. She thought on how soft they were. She traced her blade down the side of his neck as he let out a soft whine in response. Yet, he wasn’t complaining, the slow movement did drive him closer to her.

“Do the blades excite you wife? Geta asked. Sabina put the blade down for a moment, embarrassed with the movements. “It is nothing to be embarrassed about, in fact I am willing to explore this further if you wish.”

Sabina felt that he over stepped and shook her head. “Not tonight, thank you for the gift husband, I would like to get to spend more time with you.”

“As do I” Geta tried to not sound disappointed, but he can wait for as long as it takes for her to bed her. He knew he had to learn more about her and her people before she can fully accept him.

Geta went to bed shortly after, falling asleep shortly after. He dreamt of Sabina with her blades against his neck as she slowly rides him. Sure this was a impossible dream now, but it may happen one way or another in the future.  At one point, he woke up and noticed his brother staring at something in the middle of the night. Curious, Geta peeked out of the balcony to see Sabina still practicing. She, however was being watched by a cloak of three figures. However, when Geta blinked they were gone. His eyes went to his brother, who watched his wife hungrily. Geta will make it to his best interests that Sabina wont be touched by him.

[soulidarity]

focused on your senses

after the bond between the two gets stronger, rafayel senses the blurred line between them

hurt? maybe???? | mentions of rafayels condition | check my notes at the end!

rafayel felt an agonizing amount of pain on his left knee, waking him up from his slumber. it wasn't unusual for him to feel discomfort there when walking, but he never had experienced this, it felt foreign.

as if the pain wasn't his

his brain was spiraling with a million thoughts as he tried to make sense of this, fearing that the cause of this was her.

as quickly as he could, and in a very clumsy matter, he reached for his phone on the nightstand. 12:08, she should be at work. he didn't know if that relieved him or made him worry more.

a ring...

then another...

the pain became stronger, as if needles were constantly stabbing it. moving it didnt seem to make any difference to the amount of pain, not what he usually experienced when he had bad knee days.

another ring...

a grunt could be heard on the other line

"kinda busy yel!" the familiar sound of her gun shooting was heard in the background

"did you hurt your left knee?!" he said frantically

"thats totally not an oddly specific and not a creepy thing to say out of nowhere" another gunshot "yeah i did- how do you... nevermind, can i call you back?"

"yeah, yeah for sure. just, please, stay safe"

the call disconnected, a deafening silence. rafayel took of his shirt and went to the bathroom mirror, the pain once again didnt seem to react to his movement, just a constant. the image of his reflection confirmed his theory, his bond mark glowing.

"ugh... fuck."

hours later, the sound of his number pad lock being unlocked drew him away from his thoughts, as a very agitated mc entered his home, throwing her bag onto the kitchen counter halfhazardly. he would coo at the domesticity of the action if it wasn't for the situation they were in.

"okay, what kinda lemurian bullshit did you pull?"

taken aback, rafayels eyes widened as he guided mc to the couch, raising her left leg onto the foot rest nearby, "i didnt do anything!"

"then how did you know? the wanderer had literally just attacked me when you called. which by the way, new rule. no more calling during work hours unless you're dying. just text me"

"it sure felt like i was dying" rafayel muttered, pouting.

"...huh"

"okay so remember how I told you that when lemurians bond our senses are focused on our partners?"

"yeah... your point?"

"i now feel the pain youre in, it woke me up"

"you were sleeping?"

"i dont think thats the point cutie!"

"right, you're right. sorry just... deflecting, I guess? this is a lot. like, im in pain most of the time so this isn't good"

"that isnt good by itself" rafayel argued "we can focus on that later, first this. why did it show up now? havent we've been... 'bonded' for a while now?"

he thought for a while, trying to come up with a recent significant event of their relationship "could this be the first big injury you have since our trip to the dessert?"

"actually, yes. but ive been in pain before these days" rafayel looked at her sternly "we'll revesit that later, but i think i could've confused it with pain from my own stuff, like, my bad posture and other stuff"

"so what do we do? i can't just not get injured, it's part of the job, but i don't want to hurt you"

"clearly it only bothers me if its a very significant injury, which I really hope you don't get. I wont stop you from doing your job, we'll figure it out as we go, okay?" he geabbed her hands, a reassuring smile on his face. she looked back at him warmly "alright, get me some ice"

hiiii i have some word vomit to do about this so bear with me or stop reading

1- if you dont know what condition raf has, its been said to a lot of time in canon that he has a hard time running, walking, standing, his resting posture even shows that he puts more weight on his right leg. he is also going blind 🤓☝️. i want to explore him losing his senses and abilities due to this undiagnosed issue and starting to feel more from mc from the bond. it is said that his senses are now focused on her, this is probably not what infold meant.

2- lately ive been dealing with my own health issue, to get better i have to do stuff that cause me the same pain that my illness does so i dont take care of my self much which i know is bad in the long run. so yes i am projecting onto yel leave me alone 😔

3- i think this might be a series! i want to explore other senses, not necessarily angsty though!!!!! i love fluff. life is way too dreadful to not have a bit of wimsy writing about two fictional characters

[ballsbalb]

i know this is off topic for this blog, but i really think the fallout from this whole ‘defund x, y, and z’ bullshit that trump and his goons are so obsessed with is gonna be so bizarre.

because most institutions, organizations, and individuals who receive a lot of funding from the federal government are rural, right-leaning areas.

“DEFUND THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION!”— the DoE is almost purely a financial distribution agency. congress authorizes funds, such as saying ‘x amount of money for arts programs,’ and they distribute that money. most schools receive a vast majority of their funding from local/state agencies/entities, so getting rid of federal funding for schools would disproportionately affect rural communities & schools who don’t get as much from local/state programs, and thus rely heavily on federal funding.

“DEFUND NPR”— that means defunding the federal communications commission, which gives out grants & funding to radio and tv stations. NPR receives less than 1% of their funding from the federal government, and most stations in cities, which tend to be more left-leaning, have similar budgets, with very little of their funding coming from the federal government or the FCC. you know who DOES rely on those federal grants? rural radio stations who talk about shit like crop rotation and tractor prices, which rural communities love. their budgets are often made up of upwards of 80% from federal grants, and will be completely destroyed by defunding of the FCC.

the CDC does vital work with infectious diseases, which disproportionately impact rural communities with minimal access to healthcare.

western NC, which republicans love using as a political tool & which a lot of my family comes from, has been consistently screwed over by the republican-led NC state legislature, who refuse to authorize money for rebuilding, simply because it shifts blame onto the democratic governor & serves their political interests. trump defunding FEMA will greatly harm rebuilding & recovery efforts.

rural areas rely heavily on financial services like social security & medicaid, which the current administration wants to desecrate.

the decreasing max allowable percent of overhead costs from NIH research grants that was announced yesterday will disproportionately impact smaller universities that serve less affluent areas, who rely on overhead money to sustain their infrastructure. it will also harm university-based research hospitals that many people from rural areas travel to & rely on.

i can go on, but it’s just mental to me how incredibly uneducated and ignorant trump supporters are. they’re just dumb. i’m sorry, im not gonna pull the “they’re misguided! they’re uneducated!” yeah, sure. but they’re also just. kind of dumb.

they’ve voted against their own interests because their blind hatred of minorities across the board & their own stupidity is more important to them than actual, meaningful change that helps their communities.

no, i’m not saying that “rural communities deserve bad things.” i’m from the south, trust me, i know how this goes. i’m also not saying all people from rural communities are trumpy morons. again, i’m from the south, i understand this kind of thing. but those who did vote for trump, or didn’t vote at all, and live in rural areas, are absolutely going to get what they voted for & it’ll completely fuck them over, and i’m absolutely done giving them any sympathy. but i absolutely do feel for those who are stuck in rural areas and who aren’t blind hateful assholes. i know many people currently/formerly in that situation, and so many people in rural areas/communities are phenomenal people. i know there are a lot of you guys out there, and this isn’t some kind of ‘well you deserve it for living in a red state’ bullshit, because that’s stupid and illogical.