#i had to delete the app from my phone because my phone is broken

[storiesforallfandoms]

icdiwabh ~ joseph quinn

word count: 3688

request?: no

description: after finding out that her recently broken up with ex is already in a new relationship, she puts on a happy face for the public. but she can't do the same with him

pairing: joseph quinn x female!reader

warnings: swearing, angsty angst, rpf, use of y/n

based on this song

masterlist (one, two, three)

To give her credit, my best friend and guitarist, Chloe, tried her best to keep me from looking at my phone before our show. And it was working. I didn't even think anything of it, just that we were goofing off before a show as usual.

And then my phone chimed with a text from my mom. She always sent me a good luck text before a show. I unlocked my phone to respond, then saw that my social media notifications were blowing up more than usual.

I shouldn't have looked, but you know what they say about curiosity and the cat.

I opened Twitter to see I was being mentioned a lot. Mainly in replies to other tweets, and most of the tweets were along the lines of, "What happened to @(Y/U/N)?" I clicked on one to see what that context was, and was brought to a tweet from Pop Crave.

"Joseph Quinn photographed on a date with Doja Cat," followed by various photos of my ex-boyfriend getting cozy with another woman.

I felt my heart drop and break into millions of pieces.

I know what you're thinking: why would seeing my ex moving on hurt so much? It's not like we were together. We were both free to see whoever we wanted now. But there were a few reasons this news was upsetting; for one, we had only broken up three months ago, which apparently is around the time when these pictures were taken. Second, Joseph had broken up with me due to the fact that I was a singer, which meant we didn't get to spend as much time together as either of us would've wanted. I understood at the time. I mean, of course the break up still hurt, but I kind of knew it was coming when things between us had felt different the last month or so of our relationship.

Then there was the biggest reason: Doja was the woman he told me not to worry about.

I am not joking.

Joseph and I were together when the whole Doja versus Noah stuff happened online. We both laughed about it at the time, and i had jokingly asked Joseph, "Should I worry about you getting stolen away by Doja Cat?" He had wrapped me in his arms, kissed me, and said of course not.

Obviously, that had changed.

Chloe found me just as the tears started to fall. She was quick to hug me and whisper comforting words.

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry," she said. "But we have to get to the stage."

Performing was the last thing on my mind, but I had thousands of fans waiting for me. I couldn't let them down just because I was heartbroken.

I followed Chloe to take my place. I wiped the tears from my eyes, hoping my face wasn't too red or puffy. Our backstage crew passed me my microphone as the countdown for the show to start started in my earpiece. I took a deep, calming breath, pushing everything out of my mind. As the blinding stage lights hit me, I put on my best show smile.

~~~~~~

The next few weeks were tough. I had to go on a full social media hiatus, meaning I deleted all social media apps from my phone to keep myself from seeing any more updates on Joseph and Doja. Chloe took up posting on my accounts so no one suspected anything. We had already decided the best course of action was to ignore the questions and comments, and to pretend like the news didn't even hurt me.

But it did. It hurt me more than any words could ever describe. Having to go on stage two to three nights a week and sing the love songs I wrote about him made it even harder. I struggled to keep it together on stage sometimes. I saved the emotions for when I'd get back to the hotel or the tour bus. Then I'd be able to cry until my eyes hurt and were too heavy to stay awake.

Some nights were sleepless, though. On those nights, I'd usually just lay awake or try to use one of the streaming services on my phone to distract myself. One night, I found myself too hungry to be distracted. My stomach was rumbling enough that I could hardly hear the show I was watching. After some quick Googling, I found a 24 hour diner that seemed like it would be slow enough for me to go without being recgonized.

I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a baggy hoodie with the hood up to cover my face. I put my phone and my hotel room key in my pocket, and left to make my way to the diner.

As I expected, there weren't many people there. Maybe one table with two young ladies sat there, plus the workers. I kept my hood up anyways as I ordered, just in case. The host who took my order did look at me like he may have known who I was, but he didn't say anything.

My plan was to get my food and take it back to the hotel to eat it. But that plan was quickly changed when a familiar British voice said, "(Y/N)?"

I froze. There was no way he was actually here. It had to be a figment of my imagination. A hallucination made up by my misery over the breakup and his quick moving on.

But when I looked up, there he was. He was also in a hoodie and sweatpants, but was doing less to hide his identity. Actually, nothing to hide his identity. I couldn't help but glance around to make sure no one was looking at us or there was no paparazzi that had followed him and started snapping photos.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked, then realized it was a stupid question and winced at myself.

"That's...um...my hoodie."

I looked down and realized that he was right. I hadn't even noticed that I had it, even when I packed it for the tour.

"I was wondering where it went," he said with a little smile.

"Here it is," I said, lamely flourishing my hands. "I'd offer to give it back, but I'm not wearing anything underneath."

I saw him swallow at my comment. I thought I saw a tinge of pink creeping onto his cheeks, but I figured it must've been the lighting or something. There was no way I could still make him blush when he obviously had no feelings for me anymore.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I'm in town shooting the Fantastic Four movie," he explained. "I just finished a late shoot, so I stopped in for something to eat. What are you doing here?"

"I had a show tonight. I couldn't sleep, and I'm hungry. So..." I did my lame flourish again.

"Oh yes. The post-show adrenaline."

I ground my teeth to keep from saying anything. The weeks of sadness and misery suddenly vanished and became anger. I was angry at him for reminding me that he knew me so well. That we had shared memories on sleepless nights like this. I was also angry that he didn't think our breakup and his quick moving on would be the cause of my sleeplessness. Did he think I didn't know? Or just that I'd be okay with him and his new girlfriend mere weeks after our two year long relationship ended?

I just shrugged in response.

My order was called and I quickly grabbed it. I turned to give Joseph a wave as a goodbye. I needed to get out of there and get back to my hotel room to wallow in my dispair.

But it seemed Joseph had other plans, as he stopped me before I could leave. "Do you want to sit? Maybe...catch up?"

"Is that a good idea?" I asked.

"I don't see why it wouldn't be."

"You don't want your new girlfriend to see paparazzi photos of you with your ex."

There, it was finally out. No more tiptoeing around the topic.

It seemed to have its desired effect as Joseph was now awkwardly shuffling. He rubbed the back of his neck, which was now undoubtably turning pink. "So, you've heard."

"Of course I heard!" I snapped. I glanced around again, realizing I was raising my voice. "Your pictures are everywhere, and I'm being tagged in them cause we never told everyone we had broken up."

"I'm sorry you had to find out that way."

I scoffed. "How else was I going to find out? Were you going to call me and tell me you were dating the girl you said wasn't a threat to our relationship?"

He sighed. Before he could say anything else, they called that another order was ready, and evidently it was his. It was also packed in a to go bag, so he clearly had no intentions of staying either. With any luck, he'd drop this stupid idea of sitting down for a "catch up" and let me leave to deal with all the emptions I was feeling.

But of course, luck was not on my side.

Joseph grabbed his food and turned back to me. "Just...sit with me for 15 minutes at least. Let me explain."

Even though I very much wanted an explanation, I said, "You don't have to explain anything."

"Just...please, (Y/N)."

And that's how I found myself sat in a booth that was tucked away, in the middle of the night with my ex-boyfriend.

It was a bad idea, and I knew that. Besides the fact that I definitely should not be sitting down with the ex that I had been in shambles over for weeks, it was also a bad idea publicity wise. Joseph wasn't trying to hide himself. Anyone could see us and snap a picture, or call paparazzi to make a quick buck. Even with me trying to hide myself, someone would eventually put the pieces together to realize it was me. Then we'd have a whole new shit show on our hands.

I opened my food and started to eat. There was no point in letting it go cold and completely ruin my night. Joseph wasn't as quick to do the same. He was watching me. When I realized he wasn't eating, I made a gesture for him to start talking.

"Is there anything specific you want to know?" he asked.

Well, that was a stupid question. There was a lot I wanted to know. So much so that I knew we'd be here way longer than 15 minutes if I asked it all.

I decided to ask him the most prominent question on my mind: "Did you leave me for her?"

He seemed stunned by my question. "No! No, of course I didn't. Why would you think that?"

I gave him a look. "Come on, Joseph. We both know why I'd think that."

He shuffled in his seat. "It's not like that."

"Then explain it. That's the whole reason I'm sat here."

So he did. He told me he met Doja (he used her real name, which made my stomach churn) at her concert. He had gone with a few friends, and when she found out he was there she brought them backstage to meet her. He swore it was all casual at first, that they were just friendly and were making light of the situation between her and Noah. When things started changing, he swore it was just a rebound thing.

"I never meant for it to become anything more," he insisted. "I was still so hurt. I just wanted something that would take my mind off of the pain."

I couldn't hold back the scoff that escaped my lips. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," I said. "I'm just so sorry to hear that you were hurting."

"What, you don't think our breakup was hard for me?"

"Weirdly enough, no, I didn't think you took things hard when you dumped me."

Joseph sighed. "It wasn't - "

"And you know what else?" I cut him off. "You told me you found it hard for us to be together because of our professions. And, honestly, I understood! If you weren't away filming, I was away touring. If you weren't doing press for a movie or show, I was doing press for an album. It wasn't easy, and while I was willing to go through those strifes for us, I did understand how it could be too difficult for you. But then you turned around, not even a month after you dumped me, and started dating another singer."

He was quiet. He couldn't even meet my eye.

I felt a lump forming in my throat, and my voice cracked as I said, "If you didn't love me anymore, you could've just said that."

He looked up at me quickly. "That's not - "

He was cut off again. Not by me this time, but by his phone. Someone was calling him. When I looked at the screen, I saw her name. It felt like a knife directly through my heart.

I packed my food and stood. Joseph looked like he was going to say something, but I put a hand up to stop him. "Answer your girlfriend, Joseph."

He didn't try to stop me when I left this time.

~~~~~~

As I expected, photos of Joseph and I got out. I didn't know to what extent as I still wasn't back on social media. My manager confronted me about it and I explained what had happened. She wasn't upset as I wasn't the one who hadn't been concealing my identity, and she agreed that the best course of action was just to ignore everything until it blew over.

Another two months passed and the tour finally ended. It became easier to perform as the time went on. Not completely easy, and I did have a night or two where I slipped up and got emotional on stage, but eventually I was able to put the meanings of my songs aside and just performed them for my fans. I knew some nights weren't as great as others, but I got through it, and finally I was going to have a break.

Chloe reluctantly agreed to let me have my social media back. I was still hurting a little, but I told her I couldn't isolate myself forever. It just wasn't healthy. Besides, I would need something to keep me occupied while I was home, besides just watching mind numbing reality TV. She finally relented when I told her she could watch me block the words "Joseph Quinn" and "Doja Cat" on all social media so that I wouldn't have to see any posts about them.

I was honestly surprised to find that I didn't want to look up anything to do with them. For a long time, the desire to know about their relationship was eating away at me. There were so many specifics I felt like I needed to know, but I eventually realized that I was just going to hurt myself further if I looked into them. Of course, I didn't completely stop thinking about Joseph. I didn't expect to. We had been together for two years, almost moved in with one another. I thought we were going to get married. You don't just let that go easily. But at least it was getting a little easier to live in a world where he was no longer mine.

On one particularly nice day, I decided to go out on the balcony to read. It was one of those fall days where the sun was out and there was a little heat coming from it, but not enough that it was unbearable. A slight breeze would blow through every so often, just cool enough to keep it tolerable outside. I was laid back in one of my deck chairs, engrossed in my book to a point that I hadn't heard someone approaching.

"Must be an interesting novel."

I jumped at the sound of a voice coming from my driveway below. I bookmarked my page and sat up to see the last person I wanted to be around. "What are you doing here, Joseph?"

"I just got back from filming."

"Good for you."

"I...I was hoping you were home."

"Well, you see that I am. Don't let the gate hit you on the way out."

"(Y/N), can we just talk?"

I stood from my seat and leaned over the balcony railing to look at him. "We said all there was to say in that diner months ago. There's nothing else to be talked about. Besides, do you want more pictures of us to come out? I'm sure Doja wouldn't be happy to see her man making a personal visit to his ex's place."

"We broke up!"

I stopped. "What?"

"Last month. It was all over social media, or so Lupita tells me." He tilted his head. "You didn't hear?"

"I-I blocked yours and Doja's names on social media so I wouldn't have to see any tweets or posts about you."

Joseph looked at me for a moment before barking out a laugh. I couldn't help but put a hand over my face as I laughed as well. Of course, by trying to block him out completely, I had totally missed the one thing I would've wanted to see.

I was a bit reluctant, but eventually I invited Joseph to come up. He knew his way through my place, he had been there enough times. I sat back down on my deck chair and pulled another one closer to me, as he appeared in the glass doorway. He sat down next to me and memories of all the times we had been out here flooded back to me.

"I wasn't done talking that night in the diner," he said. "I still had so much to say, and I have even more to say now."

"I didn't want to hear it," I admitted. "In my mind, after hearing how you and Doja got together, it just made more sense if you had broken up with me because you didn't love me anymore."

He shook his head. "It wasn't that at all. I never stopped loving you."

I was itching to ask him if that meant he still loved me now, but instead I said, "Then why?"

"I broke up with you because I loved you so much," he said. "Because loving you but not getting to spend time with you hurt so much, and I knew there was no way around that. When I started getting more job offers I knew things were just going to get so much busier for me, and that our already very short time together was going to dwindle down more and more, and I hated the thought of that."

"I would've taken a break," I told him.

"I couldn't ask you to do that. You love making music and performing. I could never ask you to stop doing that, or to change that. I thought the best thing for you would be if you could find someone who wasn't as busy, and who'd be able to go on tour with you and be at all your shows. Someone who wouldn't be in a different time zone basically 11 months out of a year and only be able to call you for an hour max every night."

"But what if that's not what I want?" I asked. "Yes, it was hard not to get to see you all the time, but I never would've traded that for anything else. I was so proud of you for all those roles you were getting, and even if I only got to talk to you for a few minutes, I loved getting to hear what you were doing. Because you were achieving your dream, and I got to be there to experience it. I don't want someone who can be with me all the time, I want you."

I hadn't noticed that we were both sat on the edge of our chairs. We were so close we were almost touching. I could smell the familiar scent of his cologne and it was making my heart skip a few beats.

"I should've talked to you instead of deciding just to end things," he said, his voice soft and quiet.

"You should've," I agreed. "And then if you were going to rebound, you shouldn't have done it with the girl you told me not to worry about."

He awkwardly chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, not my finest moment."

I sat back in my chair, although I didn't want to. I wanted to keep being this close to him, or maybe to get closer. "So why did you two breakup anyways?"

"She was nice and all, but she wasn't you."

We sat in silence, letting his words sink in. He was looking at me, almost like he was waiting. Maybe I was waiting, too, to see where that confession was supposed to go. After a few moments, my body moved before my mind could comprehend what was happening. I quickly leaned forward, nearly putting myself on Joseph's lap, and started kissing him. He kissed me back immediately, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me the rest of the way onto his lap.

"I missed you," he mumbled against my lips.

"I missed you too," I admitted. I pulled away to add, "But don't think you're completely off the hook. You did still hurt me, you know."

"I know I did. I'll spend the rest of my life making up for it if I have to."

I smiled. "I think I like the sound of that."

He smiled back at me and pulled me back in for another kiss. Eventually, my book was abandoned on the balcony, and the large blinds were closed to keep from anyone being able to see the reunion happening inside.

[skalfy]

A Reputation for Good Taste

Misa x Reader, ~3.5k words, part 2/?

Part 1 here

Another part! Again, deeply unproofread, so apologies for any errors.

“I’m sorry, what??” Your friend made a show of rolling over to look directly at you where you lay, bundled in her bed. “You’re telling me that Alma cheated on you, then you drove her mistress home and somehow ended up seducing her into giving you free tickets to a football match? Actually, I’m not surprised about the Alma thing, sorry, but the rest is beyond me.”

“Maya!” You blushed hard. “None of that is what I said! Well, except for the Alma thing. I did not seduce María, and please don’t call her Alma’s mistress. All I did was drive her home and probably make her uncomfortable by crying about how I’m a bad aunt. She definitely only offered the tickets because she feels bad that my girlfriend cheated on me with her. It was so obvious that she thought she needed to do something to apologise.”

“If all she felt was guilty about Alma I hardly think she would go to the lengths she did, but out of courtesy to your broken heart,” she fixed you with a look, “I won’t argue about this right now.”

“Thank you, Maya.” You mumbled, then, “I don’t even know if my heart is broken. I’m angry at Alma for doing something so stupid to both of us, but it’s really been getting worse for a while, hasn’t it?”

“Oh honey, it has, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.” She lifted the covers between you. “Now come here and let me cuddle you.”

You rolled over and let her pull you against her chest, relaxing into the comfort of your friend’s arms.

“I think my heart broke a while ago, but I really wish we would talked instead of this.” She just squeezed you tighter and you drifted to sleep.

--

You awoke the next morning alone in Maya’s bed, the sounds of her in the kitchen with Marc, her boyfriend, faintly audible from through the closed door. Your first thought was about Alma, and whether she had bothered to say anything to you since you left the flat. You quickly found your phone and unlocked it, opening the messages app. At the top there was an unread message, but it wasn’t from Alma. You tapped it open anyway.

María: Hi, good morning! I hope you are feeling okay and that your friend is taking care of you. I talked to the club and the tickets will be no problem and no cost. I’ll give you the details later :)

María: Do you have a jersey for the game?

Maria: It’s El Clásico, you have to wear one.

You felt a blush rise as you read the first message. It was sweet, but you were also a little embarrassed to think that María knew you needed taking care of. You quickly typed out a reply.

Me: Thank you so much, you have saved my aunt reputation and Luisa’s trip! And I am okay, thank you for asking. Between my old friend and a certain new friend who has gone out of her way to do me a big favor I’m feeling better.

You wrote and deleted the last line several times before hitting send, unsure how María would take it. You didn’t have to wait long to find out, the little dots that showed she was typing popped up after just a few seconds.

María: I think your new friend would be very glad to hear that, and glad to hear she is your friend, even if the circumstances you met in were not ideal.

María: You didn’t answer my question, do you have a jersey?

There was no resisting the grin that spread on your face as you read her message.

Me: Luisa definitely has a jersey, I got her one for Christmas.

María: I didn’t ask if Luisa had one, I asked if you did ;)

Me: Hmm, I think I have an old Barça one lying around somewhere.

You figured if she worked for worked for Real Madrid she must have a healthy animosity for the rival club, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a little fun about it.

María: We will discuss that later, but I might let it slide if it’s an Alexia kit. Sounds like you are in need of something to wear on Saturday. Green or white?

Me: Green?

María: Yes, it will bring out your eyes. Good choice!

María: Meet me for coffee? I will give you the jersey. Before you ask, it doesn’t cost me, I promise :)

Your head was spinning, but somehow you didn’t really mind. You weren’t about to turn down the offer for coffee, if for no other reason than to buy María acoffee as a thank you.

Me: I’d love to. Let me know when and where, I am off work today so anytime works.

She sent a link to a cute looking coffee shop and said to meet her there at 3 before signing off to get back to some work. You were still giving your phone a bewildered smile when Maya opened the door to her room to check in on you.

“My god, please don’t tell me Alma has sent you some ridiculous make up text that has you falling back under her spell!” You looked up at her words, startled and confused.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the lovesick smile you were just giving your phone when I walked in.” You scoffed in response to Maya’s words, but still felt a sudden urge to keep your conversation with María to yourself until you had a better idea of what was going on.

“I’m just smiling at the death march sightseeing tour mum has the family on today. I was planning to meet up with them, but the play by play is equal parts funny and frightening.” It wasn’t really a lie, you knew your mother well enough to know that your prediction was probably true, and you really were going to meet up with them. It just wasn’t exactly what had you smiling, or the afternoon plan you were most looking forward to.

Maya looked like she might say something more, but a particularly loud clang from the kitchen had her hurrying quickly back out. Alone again, you decided it was long time to get yourself ready for the day.

--

Dressed and showered, you caught Maya and Marc as both were headed out the door to work. Maya had instructed you to be back for dinner with the two of them, but otherwise you had free reign and your spare key. Sipping the cup of coffee one of them had left on the counter for you, you pulled out your phone and called your mum.

A short itinerary run-down later, you had plans to meet up outside their hotel and a half day of sightseeing between you and your unexpected coffee plans. That left only one other call to make, and it was one you didn’t want hanging over your head any longer. You dialed the number and listened as it rang through three times before you heard the other end pick up. When she didn’t say anything, you spoke first.

“Alma.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” She answered, the guilt unmistakeable in her voice.

“I’m sorry, too.” You sighed. “It was a shitty thing to do, though. I didn’t deserve that.”

“You didn’t.”

“Did you want me to see? You had to have known I wouldn’t be out that late.” You couldn’t help but ask. Her silence was all the answer you needed. “Okay. I’ll stay at Maya’s another night, but can you have your things out after that?” Thankfully, she had moved in with you only a few months back when her lease ended. Almost everything was yours, and you wouldn’t have the added insult of losing your flat along with your girlfriend.

“Yeah, I’ll pack everything today. I really am sorry.” You could hear her holding back tears, and you were struck by a pang of affection and sympathy for her. As cruel as cheating on you was, the last few months had been hard for both of you, and falling out of love with her first hadn’t been particularly kind either.

“Thank you, Alma. I hope things work out for you.”

“You too. I’ll miss you.” She ended the call, and you felt the weight on your chest ease.

--

It had been a long morning with your family, but you were immensely happy to have spent the time with them. Mum’s heavy-handed tourguiding made everyone laugh, but she had done her research well, and you were glad for it. Even after living in Madrid for three years, you still hadn’t taken the time to see all the sights. Plus, everything was more enjoyable with Luisa dragging you along to point out the best bits. You walked double the steps, but it was worth it to be honored as the most interesting adult, and you loved any opportunity to hear more about what her latest activities and interests were.

Having arrived a few minutes early to the coffee shop, you were lost in reflection on your family’s antics when the light touch of a hand on your elbow pulled you into the present. You jumped a little at the contact, and felt the hand grip a little tighter to steady you. It only took you a moment to look up and catch the owner’s warm brown eyes. As soon as you recognized her, María tugged you forward gently into a hug, and you sunk into the contact.

“Hi.” She said, releasing you to arm’s length.

“Hi, how are you?” You responded a little breathlessly as her hands finally fell away from your arms.

“Better now.” She answered you with a smile. “Have you been here before?” You shook your head no, returning her smile. “Good. It’s my favorite and I’m glad I get to introduce you to it. Come!” She pulled the door open and gestured for you to step inside. Stepping through the entrance, you were hit immediately by the rich smell of coffee, and you paused to appreciate it. You looked over your shoulder as María entered behind you and spoke with joking reverence.

“I think I’m in love already.” She chuckled and nudged you ahead with her own shoulder.

“You haven’t even tried it yet, keep walking!”

The two of you approached the counter and greeted the barista. You inclined your head to María to order first, and after a moment’s hesitation, she requested a café con leche Before the barista could give her a total, you ordered your cortado, card already in hand to cover both. You turned to look at the woman next to you and she raised her hands in mock surrender.

“Any pastries you recommend?” You asked, still looking at her.

“Everything is good, but my favorite is probably the pear tart.” She answered, and you looked back to the barista.

“One of those too, please.” She nodded, then recited the total and let you hand her your card. After ringing you up, she retrieved your pastry and passed it over on a plate with two forks.

You followed María to a quiet corner with an empty table. She pulled out one chair before walking to the other side and sitting down.

“Can’t risk you dropping our tart.” She said with a wink when you gave her a look. You rolled your eyes, but still felt a blush as you set the plate down carefully and took your seat. Her fingertips quickly snagged the edge of the plate, sliding it to her side of the table. It didn’t exactly bother you, but with her earlier chivalry you weren’t expecting her to immediately lay claim to the shared treat. You watched as she industriously carved out a bite with one of the forks, clearly taking care to perfect the crust to filling ratio and center a perfect slice of pear on the wedge she cut. Her focus was charming, but your mouth was nearly watering waiting for your turn.

“You have to have the perfect first bite, my reputation for having good taste could be on the line here if you aren’t impressed.” She spoke as she finally lifted her fork, extending it toward you with a shy smile. There was a burst of warmth in your chest as you realized the care she had taken was for you, even if it was only to prove she made the best choice. You opened your mouth and closed your eyes, leaning forward slightly to meet her over the table. Her free hand was loosely cupped under the fork to catch any crumbs, and it brushed your chin gently as you closed your lips over the forkful of tart. You tilted your head back as María pulled the fork away, instinctively raising your own hand as well. The back of her hand was soft where your palm met it, and she let it rest against yours for a moment before pulling away. Her trailing fingers were far from your mind, however, as soon as you began to chew the bite of tart. The flavor was divine, sharp and sweet and fresh all at once, paired with a perfectly buttery-flaky-crisp crust. María let out a burst of laughter and a fist pump at the wide-eyed nod you gave her when she asked if her reputation was secure, which in turn had you covering your mouth as you tried to swallow through a growing smile.

A barista calling out your orders had María quickly standing, waving off your offer to help, and gave you a chance to sneak a second bite and collect your thoughts for a moment. You felt silly for being so charmed by María’s kindness, from her it seemed more like second nature. Her actions, while some were a little over the top, felt like they came from a combination of genuine thoughtfulness and her desire to make you laugh. It struck you after a second, you felt taken care of. Not in the big-gesture way that Alma always wanted you to exhibit, hinting at big gifts and dramatic arrivals at her office to sweep her away to Ibiza, but something much gentler. It was nice, you realized-- both to be taken care of and for the acts to be so unpretentious.

“For you,” a hand touched your shoulder and your cortado was placed in front of you, “and for me!” María set her own cup down and took her seat, smiling and waving her hand dismissively as you thanked her.

The conversation flowed once again between the two of you, and you enjoyed it even more than you had the previous evening in your car. You managed to draw out the tart, each taking smaller and smaller bites until finally María nudged the plate toward you and insisted you take the final piece. You brought out a chuckle from her by solemnly confessing that you’d taken an extra bite while she fetched the coffees, and she happily stole the plate back to finish it off herself. With the food out of the way, you were both focused on each other, and you felt the heat of her gaze as she listened carefully to everything you said.

You covered a wide variety of topics, learning about her family and friends, her love for music, and the meaning behind some of her tattoos. She didn’t speak much about her work, but you could tell she was driven and passionate. You shared plenty in return, her open interest in what you said and thoughtful questions leading you down plenty of tangents, including a retelling of your family’s antics that had you both laughing. The two of you were so engrossed in the conversation, that it wasn’t until your phone started ringing that you realized how much time had passed.

“It’s the friend I’m staying with, I better answer.” You told María, who gave you a thumbs up as you stood to move a few paces from the table before you answered. “Hi Maya.”

“Girl, where are you?” She asked, skipping over any greeting. You looked down at your watch and realized it was after six. Not time for dinner yet, but Maya was no doubt expecting you to be there when she returned from work. You caught María’s eyes on you and rolled your own dramatically at her as you replied.

“Sorry Mum, I’m out with a friend and we lost track of time. I’ll be back soon. Do you need me to pick anything up on the way?” You could very nearly hear Maya’s eyes narrowing on the other end of the line.

“What friend? I know all your friends, they’re my friends. Unless…” You winced as she trailed off, realizing you didn’t want to have this conversation within earshot of María. “You’re with Alma? Or Alma’s m—”

“Okay! We can talk about this later!” You cut her off firmly, feeling your face heat as you wondered how audible Maya’s voice was from your phone speaker. “Also,” you continued, thinking it might be best to clarify once and for all, “I ended things with Alma officially this morning, so safe to assume I’m not with her.” Maya’s honest-to-god cheer was a bit embarrassing, but you did feel a little like cheering yourself, so you chose not to mention it.

“I’ll expect all the details when you get here. Be safe until then, love you!”

“Love you too.” You ended the call, looking down at your phone a few moments longer than necessary before raising your head to look at María. She had an unreadable expression, but quirked an eyebrow at you when you met her eyes.

“Your friend seems very fun.” She said, then after a pause, “sorry to hear about Alma.” It felt like she was giving you the option to choose whether you wanted to talk about it, which you appreciated.

“I’m not really sorry,” you said, “it should have happened a long time ago.” María kept her gaze on you, not interjecting, face carefully neutral. It reminded you of when you first looked at her in your lobby. In a quieter voice, you continued. “I don’t wish it did, though.” María’s easy smile was familiar to you already, but her lips didn’t curve this time. You felt a strong urge to leave quickly, or even better, for the floor to open up beneath you. Closing your eyes, you heard the chair scrape as she stood. How predictably thoughtful of her to leave you to recover from your embarrassment. Just as you listened for her departing footsteps, you were caught off guard by two strong arms wrapping around you in a tight embrace. Your eyes opened in surprise, but it didn’t take you long to squeeze just as tightly back, relief coursing through you. María’s face pressed into the side of your neck, and you felt her speak, but the words were too muffled to hear. The two of you held each other close a while longer, before she pulled back enough to look at you.

“This might be the strangest friendship I’ve had, but I’m so glad I met you.” She said, smiling softly. You returned her smile, and couldn’t resist saying,

“maybe Alma did both of us a favor in the end.” She gave your shoulders a squeeze in lieu of answering, but spoke after a moment.

“I had better send you back to your friend before she grounds you, I would hate for you to miss the game because you aren’t allowed to leave your room for a week.” It made you laugh, but the possibility is more likely than you’d like to admit. Maya had a greater chance of grounding you than your own mother did, in all honesty. It’s enough to spur you into action, and, after returning your dishes to the counter, the two of you made your way out of the cafe. You hugged one more time, then parted ways, but a shout of your name had you turning around before you made it to your car.

“I almost forgot to give you this!” María held out a folded piece of bright green fabric to you. “It’s the whole reason I dragged you out here after all.” You took it from her and unfolded it, quickly realizing it was a Real Madrid jersey, though not in the colors you were used to seeing.

“I thought you were joking when you said green!” She laughed in response to your confusion and explained that it was a goalkeeper’s jersey, hence the bright color.

“I brought a regular one as well if you prefer.” She added, sounding a little uncertain.

“No way, this is much better,” you held it up to your chest, “does it bring out my eyes like you said?” She leaned in a little closer, reaching out to lift the fabric up to your cheek.

“Absolutely.”

--

That evening after you returned to Maya’s and took a longer look at the jersey you sent María a text with a picture of the back of the jersey.

Me: This Misa better be good if I’m wearing her name on my back

María: Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let you wear her name if she wasn’t

[echantedtoon]

Demonstober Day 19 Cupid

In classical mythology, Cupid /ˈkjuːpɪd/ (Latin: Cupīdō [kʊˈpiːdoː], meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, love, attraction and affection. 

Tagging: @lavenderdropp @six-eyed-samurai @trancylovecraft @shadyd3ar @cherrysuzaku

@nousija @mspurpl3

Remember if you want to be added to the spooktober taglist lemme know

"You know I've been having some really weird things happen to me ever since my ex dumped me on Valentine's Day last year."

Your friend blinked at you from across the table as he paused mid bite in his burger. Murata blinked at you before slowly lowering said food. "Huh? How so?"

You hadn't been wrong about the weird bad luck you've been having since Valentine's Day last year. Your cheating ex-boyfriend had dumped you over text after ghosting you at the park you were supposed to meet at for a star gazing date and left you to angry cry all the way home. Luckily you hadn't been together long so it only took about two months for you to completely get over him. But ever since that day things have been rather...strange.

It started with your new neighbor. His package had mistakenly been delivered to your house so you went to go return it to him, however as you spoke something pushed you from behind and you ended up slamming painfully into him before you both landed on the floor. In front of his wife. Who went ballistic seeing a stranger on top of her husband. In the end you had a headache from where your heads slammed together, you had to pay for the china that the package contained because your combined weight crushed it, and one of your new neighbors now hate you. Great. 

You chalked it up to a gust of wind at the time before forgetting about it. However there was a slew of other things that happened to you over the next year.

Somehow the resident annoying office playboy got assigned to work with you on a project after your VERY confused boss swore he sent him an email assigning him to someone else. So you had to endure his constant flirts for two weeks. 

You were constantly bumping into people, knocking someone down, or spilling your drink on them and vise versa. Which lead to many, MANY fights, slight coffee burns, money out of your pocket paying for their drinks, and fights from their angry partners. Once you got trapped in an elevator with a pretty girl who happened to be claustrophobic and ended up vomiting from the stress all over your new coat as you attempted to calm her down.  Then there was the time you got stuck in traffic with three flat tires costing you lots of money and the tow truck driver was a creepy older man who kept asking for your number.

However what must've been the most painful blow was the call you got one day while TRYING to fix your broken pc. Your phone wouldn't stop buzzing on the table annoying until you finally got fed up and answered it with a scowl.

"WHAT?!"

"Um...Is this Y/n L/n?", a man's voice asked.

"Yeah? Who's this?" You held your phone with your shoulder as you tried to screw the back of the computer back on. 

"I matched with you on your profile. I wanted to set up a date."

You paused. "What?"

"Your profile? Your Single Me profile. I matched with you yesterday but you never responded-"

You immediately hung up on the guy and blocked him assuming it was either a scam, prank call, or he mistook you for a person with the same name. You didn't have a profile on any dating websites. However after four more calls from different people who asked when you were free for a date. A search of your phone surprised you when you found an app you DEFINITELY never downloaded and logging into said app lead you to a profile with your pictures, interests, and phone number listed.  You immediately deleted the profile and app before taking your phone to the electronics store the next day for a spyware scan. Someone must've hacked into your phone to impersonate you and made the profile but the tech guy told you there wasn't anything wrong.

You still rebooted your phone and added new privacy settings just in case.

It's been a little quiet now. You haven't had any accidents or any weird interactions with anyone else so far for about two months now. So maybe your weird luck involving stupid romcom scenarios was finally over.

"Like every other time I told you about?", you pointed out deadpanned to him.

He shrugged and just went back to eating his burger with a happy hum. "Maybe it was just a funk you were in for a while? Like how some people get burn out of writers block. Nothing's happened to you for a while now."

"I guess you're right. Nothing bad is really happening." You placed you hands down and sighed. "I just hope this isn't some divine sign my love life is going to crap though."

"Cheer up! Being single isn't bad. In fact, it's really awesome. You don't have to worry about anyone else and you have a sweet bachelorette pad!"

Despite yourself you chuckled. Leave it to Murata to make you feel better. "*Sigh* Thanks, Man. It means a lot."

"Of course. You still going to that singles event for Valentine's Day tomorrow?"

"Nah. I'm just taking the day off and eating all the discounted chocolate the day after."

"Hell yeah! Discount chocolate is the best!...Are you sure you're ok though?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You're holding my hand."

You blinked and looked down only to raise your eyebrows. Your hand had  been by your plate. Not laid on Murata's hand. Immediately you pulled away from your friend. "I'm sorry. I must've moved it without thinking." 

He laughed and shrugged it off. "No worries. We always do that. Did you see the new ScorpionMan movie?"

Guess your weird luck wasn't over yet. 

Didn't help that Valentine's Day was tomorrow. But you had the day off so you were just going to sleep in, order take out, and just play video games all day! A perfect day for someone like you and then just buy a lot of discounted chocolate the next day. Saying goodbye to your friend, you couldn't help but feel like someone was watching you..but you shrugged it off as you walked all the way home. You didn't pay any attention to anyone as you got back to your apartment and got inside. Doing your normal night routine before going to bed and nodding off.

"Hey! Wake up!"

You snorted..but went back to sleep.

"OOOH! Come on! Wake up already!! We're already behind an hour!"

Something shoved your shoulder hard enough to turn you on your stomach. THAT woke you up with a snort and you pushed yourself up onto your arms. Blinking tired eyes as green eyes beamed at you.

"Oh finally! I was worried you'd never wake up!," a green eyed woman with long pink hair tied into braids smiled widely at you. "Do you want breakfast first?"

....you slowly blinked. 

"Oh nevermind. We can get something to go so it'll be faster! First we need to get you up and ready for the day!" Out of nowhere she produced a long paper with a list written on it. "Our first stop is a speed dating event. It'll be fast and you might get a few people's numbers! Then there's a party your coworker is hosting. I know you got the day off but if you stay for a little bit you might connect with someone you already know! And who knows where that could lead?!" She threw her arms off in a positive cheerleader pose.

She continued to babble on about something as your tired self sat up and yawned before stretching out your back and rubbing at your face. Your tired mind didn't register the fully grown woman with two fluffy white dove wings fluttering from her back for a long time as she continued to babble on and gesturing at nothing.... Before you ever slowly blinked at her. And then the reality hit your tired mind.

THERE WAS A STRANGER IN YOUR HOME!!

The reality shocked you awake staring at her before you yelled scrambling back and falling off the bed. Your actions and the thud of your body hitting the floor made her pause and watch as you shot back up to your feet in a panic and grabbing the nearest thing  to arm yourself. Which happened to be your alarm clock. You grabbed it pulling your arm back like you were gonna throw a baseball at you and pointed with your other hand.

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU IN MY APARTMENT?!"

She continued to blink at you before she gasped in realization. "OH MY GOSH!! I didn't introduce myself to you! HI!!" She waved an arm at you. "I'm Cupid and I'm here to find you that perfect soulmate!"

You stared at her. "...What?!"

"Don't worry! I know I haven't been able to get but on this day my powers are off the charts! I'll be able to find you a partner in no time!"

"...Ok..Did Murata put you up to this? Seriously who are you!? If you don't leave right now I'll call the police!" 

She squeaked out dropping the list before holding up her hands. "Wait, wait, wait! Please don't panic! I'm telling you the truth I swear!"

"Yeah right!"

"Look! I'll prove it to you!" In an instant her tiny fluffy wings snapped open and flapped rapidly. Your face fell in shock as she lifted three feet off the ground, twirled once, and then floated back down. "SEE?! I'm totally just here to help!"

....Clank-

The metal clock fell out of your hand as you continued to stare before you pointed at her. "You're-..." Your hands smacked your face. "This can't be real. I must have gone nuts!"

"NOPE!! Im real and here to save your love life!! I've tried to get it right for an entire year now but nothing I tried seemed to work. But I'm sure we'll have better luck today!"

.....Wait a second.

"Wait." You scowled. "You mean YOU'RE the one responsible for all the bad luck I've been having!?"

She paused blinking at your face before guilty tapping her fingers together. "W-Well...I wouldn't call it bad luck exactly."

"Do you know what you've put me through for the last year? Because of you my neighbor hates me!" You scowled harder crossing your arms. "And I lost so much money fixing things. Not to mention all the wasted money on all the spilt food. I still have scars on my lap from coffee burns!"

"Um..Well may-maybe bumping into people wasn't the best way to go about it-"

"Especially if they're already married or got a girlfriend!" You frowned harder at her puppy dog like face. "Why? Just-...Why have you been putting me through so much? You couldn't help anyone else?"

"Oh no. I could. But I saw how heartbroken you were last year after that nasty break up and I wanted to help. I don't why I haven't been having luck though. I'm supposed to help someone find love and you don't seem to love anything no matter how hard I try."

You blinked... before sighing and reaching out to facepalm. "Well that's where you're wrong. I do love things and people."

Immediately she literally up. "So you did find someone to love!?"

"Yes. Multiple people."

"Aw.~ A poly relationship!"

"Uh...No." She blinked as you gestured to her. "Hasn't it ever occurred to you that there's other kinds of love besides romantic? I can love someone and find fulfillment in loving my friends. My family. My pet cat. I still love all of them just as much as I would someone romantically."

Her eyes widened at you. "I..Never thought of that before."

"It's not that either. I have love for other things too. I love reading and going on walks and doing my other hobbies. I love my job. I love eating at my favorite restaurant. I love things. But most of all-" You pressed a hand to your chest. "I love myself. And as long as I love myself, I'll be perfectly fine. There's so much to love than just the overrated romantic aspect of it. Don't you think?"

She stood there for a long moment thinking before nodding. "You're right. I just never thought of it that way." She frowned like a kicked puppy again. "Now I feel really bad about everything I put you through. I'm so sorry."

"Hey. It's all good. Just promise me you won't push me into anyone again."

She giggled and nodded happily. "I promise!"

"Good...Hey. While you're here, do you wanna play a video game with me?"

[gamerwoman3d]

Pretend I'm Him 

Imagine secretly banging Kuai Liang before the shit hit the fan at Ying Fortress.  In the aftermath of the fallout, the grandmaster wants a word…

[My apologies to other genders - lady anatomy used, from the start this time. Additionally, you don't have to agree with what this reader character thinks: just understand her information has been filtered. She is not omnipotent. Her information about the fallout is limited to what her clan/grandmaster has said about those events.]

Tags: SOFTER Bi-Han.

[Yes this is MK1 Bi-Han x Reader]

[🔞Spicy/Explicit after the cut🔞]

Imagine this non-committal relationship with Kuai Liang that was supposed to remain a secret. Imagine sneaking out on the regular, just to feel his hot tongue on your clit. You learned every soundproof nook and cranny of the Lin Kuei stronghold like your lives depended on it, not because any threat to either of you existed here at home, but rather because if you were forced to go more than a couple of days without sex, you felt like you just might die.

And then there was some bullshit at Ying Fortress. You were already so pent up waiting for Kuai Liang to return. You knew it was serious because his brother, the Grandmaster himself, went with him to oversee the mission.  Your heart jumped for joy when you overheard that the Grandmaster finally returned, only to discover that Kuai Liang and their adopted brother were marked as traitors, and would likely never be returning to the fortress.

Sure, you were worried for Kuai Liang, for the clan, for the future. Hell, you even felt some concern for your Grandmaster's broken heart. And maybe you were a little scared for yourself: Kuai Liang wasn't the enemy when you were sleeping with him, but you did sleep with said enemy, and had some concerns about what that might mean for you if that fact was discovered going forward. After all, the Lin Kuei stronghold was your home. Its walls protect your friends, family, and your entire support network, all clumped together in this small community which calls the stronghold home. Their protection might be at risk if the clan begins to suspect you of colluding with a traitor.  But deep down, in your shadowy id, the second you heard the news, your initial gut reaction was "FUCK. WHAT AM I GONNA DO TO GET MY NEEDS MET, NOW?”

No one can blame you. Every day that Kuai Liang was gone was a day that you burned inside for the lack of him.  You were so excited when you thought he was coming home, so energized, so ready to extinguish the flames, so wet.  

What a fucking letdown. And it was days ago.

You stared at the blank encrypted messaging app on your phone. If you messaged him, and were discovered, it could be taken as an act of consorting with the enemy. If you didn't, it might seem to him like you didn't care. If you reached out, he might think you were stalking him to help your clan hunt him down. But the only way to stop overthinking it was to reach out and see what happens.

Kuai Liang didn't answer. You weren't being left on "seen" - it was as if he lost his phone entirely.

No closure. Fantastic. Could it get any fucking worse.

Your phone buzzed in your hand. Not Kuai Liang, as you had hoped, but your best bud. You answer on the first ring, only to be interrupted by your breathless friend's frantic whispering.

"Hey! Sub-Zero's looking for you. I dunno what's going on, but I gotta go.”

You'd rather be back in school as the kid walking shamefully to the principal's office. You'd rather be back at bootcamp pounding sand in freezing temperatures.  You'd rather be a deer stuck in the headlights of a speeding semi.

You snap to your senses and delete the encrypted app from your phone.  You straighten yourself up and do what you do best - Sneak out, and sneak around the Lin Kuei stronghold.

You hid for a minute to think, watching from the shadows as your Grandmaster's best people searched for you in an unobtrusive manner. Then, you decided to take yourself to him. His family's private domicile was far enough from yours that your immediate family wouldn't have to see or hear whatever went down. Maybe you could keep your secret a bit longer that way. Or maybe he'd murder you on the spot.

His back was to you as you approached the garden at the front of his home. He stood unmasked, and spoke to a pair of his men. The men each stole a glance at you, prompting Sub-Zero to turn and glance over his shoulder as he spoke.

He did a double-take.

He immediately dismissed the men, who walked past you as you strode up the walkway toward them.  With the whites of his eyes visible between the top of his bottom eyelid and the bottom of his brown irises, Sub-Zero's expression felt uncharacteristically soft as you approached.

"I heard that you wanted to see me, sir?" you questioned.

You held your breath.

"Yes. Don't be nervous, you're in no trouble," he said.

His voice sounded strange when he spoke gently.  It sounded strange without the muffled echo from the mask.  Both things being true at once, it was like speaking to a different person than the masked master of the training grounds. His voice wasn't the stinging gravelly growl that he used while in command. It was a husky, comforting sound, sprung from a genuine intent to calm and reassure your quivering heart.

With a wave of his hand, he invited you inside.  Someone brought tea, and he redirected it to an office in his house. Now life felt exactly like a visit to the principal's office, if upon one of the bookshelves was a photo of your shirtless lover holding your shirtless principal in a headlock.

Your eyes fixated on the photo of Scorpion and Sub-Zero. It was before Kuai Liang had the scorpion tattooed, but well after his biceps had formed into what they still are, today.  You wanted to say that you missed him dearly, but damn, you missed his body.  Staring at the divots along his obliques had you dying to feel them between your thighs once more.

Sub-Zero's eyes followed yours to the photo. For a millisecond, his eyebrows knit in pain in an otherwise bemused expression.

"Tomas took that photo... the little traitor.”

“What happened?” you asked.

“Mm. Mom called Kuai Liang to nag him over the phone. I can do a convincing imitation of him so I snuck up behind him and said ��You can’t make me!’” Bi-han mocked.

You had to admit to yourself that his imitation in that moment was spot on. But you also forced yourself to keep quiet, even as the uncanny mockery of your lover's voice made you miss him even more.  

He continued.

“Immediately, we hear her squawking on the other end of the line, and he crushes his phone so hard in anger that the screen snapped. She always believed he actually said it and then hung up on her.”

The bemused expression faded from his face, leaving behind a pained gloss over his brown eyes.

“She was mad at him for so long. I deserved the beating he tried to give me.”

Sub-Zero reached out and gently turned the photo down upon its face before opening a locked file cabinet and rifling through its folders.  He gestured to the tea and to the seating, welcoming you to make yourself comfortable.

You thanked him, sat, and took a sip of the boiling hot tea that was served to you; it would have been seen as an act of enmity not to do so.  You held the cup for warmth and comfort.  Truthfully, the hard ceramic was stinging-hot and smooth to the touch... god damn. Must every little thing remind you of his touch. You pressed your fingers into the glazed surface to feel the sting on your fingertips, in a futile attempt to disengage yourself from the current reality. Your panic over the immediate future kept a strong hold on you, even as you wished to be back in Kuai Liang's arms.

Sub-Zero closed the drawer, keeping his eyes fixed on the papers of a file he'd withdrawn. It still wasn't apparent to you how much the man knew about your relationship with his disaffected brother. And the grandmaster had yet to state what he wanted with you. If you truly were not in trouble, does that mean he didn't know? Or was he secretly ready to send you back to the character select screen? You bit back your burning questions. Moments of excruciating silence passed.

"... Keep breathing," he instructed, trying to withhold a smirk.

You gasped a bit. You realized that you weren't just biting back the questions - you were holding back your breath.  Your breath hitched and shuddered as it fought to catch up quietly.  Sub-Zero waited until your breathing evened out to speak.

"You still haven't asked me why I wanted to see you. Do you already know?" he asked.

The question was bait. And you knew it. You shook your head and said no.

He nodded. 

"You're good. You are really good," he said.

You took the compliment in silent confusion.

"I think if anyone here could get to Kuai Liang, it's you," he said.

You swallowed. You broke a sweat.

"What makes you think that?" you asked, acting as though you were innocent of having had any prior connection.

He arches an eyebrow. At the same time he thumbs a piece of paper out of the file: a receipt from the pharmacist. The receipt showed that you were issued a few prescriptions: silver based ointment for blisters, and one slightly more embarrassing cream. You remembered needing it after a particularly hot experiment with Kuai Liang went wrong in the early days of your secret relationship.

You turn red, not when he shows it to you, but when he looks into your eyes with a cocky, knowing gaze. His eyes may as well have become the headlights; your secrets become the deer. The mess was just as bloody in your mind either way. You suddenly wish patient-provider confidentiality were a more sacrosanct part of Lin Kuei military tradition. But even if it were, the grandmaster likely had methods of extracting their information. Your heart pounded. 

He knew you'd fucked Kuai Liang. 

His voice stayed strangely dulcet, full of compassion and understanding when he next spoke. His words didn't match his timbre.

"When I read this, I came to the conclusion that you both got a little too fired up.”

"Not the puns, please. I'll go pound sand in the freezing desert, please no more puns," you thought.

You didn't mean to groan aloud at his terrible pun. It just kinda happened. You didn't expect him to soften and apologize so quickly, but he did.

"I am sorry to have brought that up. I truly am. I imagine it must have been painful, or at least deeply uncomfortable for you. To the matter at hand, let us both start by committing to being straightforward with each other. That will benefit the both of us, greatly. And now I will ask you, kindly, please do not insult my intelligence by feigning ignorance, and I will not insult yours by pretending I'm funny. Agreed?" 

“You said I wasn’t in trouble.”

“You’re not. Listen… I can't afford to make a mortal enemy out of someone who can sneak around my own home as effortlessly as you have. I had my best people searching for you, but when you arrived here, my guard was down. My back was to you. If Kuai Liang had asked you to kill me, you could have done it, right then.”

It’s true. Your eyes widened. Your thoughts were so preoccupied with whether or not he would kill you, that it never occurred to you that he could be worried about your own ability to kill him, let alone kill him in his own home at any time you desired.

He sat the papers down, cupped your face with both hands, and lifted until your eyes met his. This close, you could see the dark circles of sleeplessness form beneath his eyes. Something about the out of place strands of hair on one side of his bun made you imagine him awake all night, laying on the messy side.

“I just want to be able to sleep. I try to sleep each night knowing that on any given night, you could end my life if you wanted. I’ll sleep easier when I know where you stand. I’ll sleep much easier if I know you’re going to stay on our side. But even if you don’t, Kuai Liang is out there somewhere and I fear he is lost, suffering, and alone. I know I couldn’t stop you if you want to reach him and join his side. And even if I could stop you, I would choose to let you go, in hopes that someday maybe you can talk some sense into him. And no, I do not want to see any harm befall either of you. You are Lin Kuei. The Lin Kuei are my life. You have my word that I will continue to honor and protect your family and friends to the best of my ability if you decide to leave. But stay. Please. I would do anything for you to stay. So what is it? What do you want? What can I give you that will make you stay?”

Your face turned red between his warm hands. You hadn’t been touched by a man since they left for Ying Fortress, and your body had jumped to inappropriate conclusions beneath his touch. You couldn’t answer him. He studied your face. He shook his head and spoke.

“The only thing you want is him, isn't it?”

Well… maybe the only thing you wanted was sex. You weren't quite in love with Kuai Liang, not in the way that would have you abandoning everything you knew to join him in his fight against everyone who ever supported you. With Bi-Han’s firm grip on your face, you couldn't turn your head from your grandmaster. But you broke eye contact, casting your eyes down in shame from your inability to honestly answer that Kuai Liang was indeed the only thing you wanted. He wasn't.

“I don't want to die, and I don't want to break my oaths,” you said.

“You're not breaking your oaths. I'm willing to command you to go to him. To spy. To watch over him. To guide him and make sure he doesn't get himself killed in service to Liu Kang. You'd never be marked as an enemy, always welcome to return.”

Leave everything to go babysit a grown man? Hell naw.

“I don't want to leave…” you admitted it.

“Then look me in the eyes and tell me you are not considering running away to find him,” Bi-han gently ordered.

You turned your eyes as far away from him as you could. Logically, a man that breaks his oaths and abandons your entire community was not worthy of running toward. It should have been easy to tell Bi-han that there was no part of you that wanted to chase after Kuai Liang. But instead, you replied:

“I can't. The… the sex… was amazing. And the thought does cross my mind.”

As you said it, his breath stilled. Your words caught him off guard.

“So then it is only the sex that you want? Not the connection, the heart nor the soul?” he asked.

You certainly had not treated each other like soulmates. If anything, you and Kuai Liang had treated each other like fucktoys, and you both loved every minute of it.

“That's right,” you said.

Somewhere in your gut, you realized: if Kuai Liang had loved you, considered you his soulmate, or had even wanted to build a life with you, he would be here. He would have returned. He would have done anything to return to your side, including obey illegal orders. If he ever truly loved you, he would have at least considered joining his brother in betraying God Himself. But Kuai Liang had done none of that. He chose his path with no hesitation. He was gone from you now, and if you were honest with yourself, you always knew that the two of you weren't meant to last forever.

The thought brought angry, embarrassed tears to the brink of your eyes. You hoped you could bite them back for the duration of Bi-Han’s inquiry.

“And yet, you want it enough that you feel tempted to run to him. It burns so badly that you feel tempted to aid a deserter?” Bi-Han said.

Neither you nor Kuai Liang were serious about each other. At least not enough to label each other or go public with your fling. That's why you both kept it a secret. You should have told your Grandmaster all of this with your words when he asked if you wanted his brother's sexual services more than his heart and soul: but you said it all with a cringe and a silent nod.

Yes, it was only the sex that I wanted. Not his heart. Not his soul. you silently admitted.

Bi-Han’s face twisted into a quizzical pout, not dissimilar to a look you'd seen on your lover's face in the past when he silently sought solutions as he worked through problems in his mind. The silence lasted too long for comfort; you could sense him figuring out what to do with you. His brows flashed with the strike of an idea.

“Pretend I'm him,” he said.

“What?”

Your mind jumps to a scenario where you pretend that Bi-Han is your lover and act out all the fantasies you'd saved for Kuai Liang's return. You felt perverse: it felt wrong to assume you'd been ordered to *treat* Bi-han in the same sexual manner that you would treat his brother. Surely he didn't intend for you to imagine Kuai Liang while he pleasured you in the deepest most erotic methods. Even allowing yourself the briefest glimpse at Bi-Han through a carnal lens proved devastating. One glimpse was all it took to deeply appreciate his shoulders, his eyes, his strength, his agility, his voice, his highly regimented grooming habits. Good god, you marveled at what he could do to you if he wanted. Was he really suggesting himself to be your lover? A stand in?

Imagine the Grandmaster reducing himself to the role of a stunt cock, just to keep you loyal to the Lin Kuei. Erotic thoughts banished the angry tears back into whatever well from which they sprung.

You were certain you couldn't have understood him correctly. Maybe he meant “imagine what I'd do if I were in his shoes planning my next move” or something.

You asked him to repeat himself, to clarify his orders.

“That was an offer, not an order,” he said, “I'm at your disposal. I meant it when I said I'd do anything to have rest assurance that your oaths still mean something. Use me however you wish. Make me sneak away with you if that's what excites you. I won't make you keep me a secret, yet if you desire it, I'll take our secrets with me to my grave. Whatever you want from him, I'll do my best to provide you in his stead.”

“You're offering… sex?” you asked incredulously.

“If that interests you, then yes. Whenever you want him, whenever your desire for him burns away your strength, leaves you weak, needy, or desperate enough to leave us, I want you to consider coming to me first. You won't have to explain yourself, and I do not expect you to banish all thoughts of him.”

Words failed you.

He allowed the uncomfortable silence to linger a bit too long.

He inched closer, hovered over you where you sat in a small but growing puddle of your own wetness. His face lingered near yours, his breath against your flushed cheek. You pressed your knees together. He murmured toward your ear, in a hauntingly familiar mimicry.

“Pretend I'm him,” he said in Kuai Liang's voice.

He continued to warp his timbre to mimic his brother's softer, hoarse intonation. And, for the first time in your life, you dared to interrupt him.

“Does that interest you? If not tonight, then later-” he asked.

“Tonight. Tonight, please,” you whispered.

“As you wish,” he said, perfectly mocking his brother's voice.

He leaned in until the bridge of his nose almost met yours. He stilled himself. His gaze invited you to make the first move: cognizant of the amount of power he held over you, he required a great deal of assurance that you truly wanted to do it. He let his warm thumbs caress your cheeks as he waited for you.

You shut your eyes, pressed your lips shut, pressed the shut lips against his, and kissed. He kissed back.

His lips were different from Kuai Liang's. They were firm, fitting. Kuai's lips were supple and plump enough to surround yours when kissed like this. Bi-Han’s lips could only give yours that surrounded feeling by parting just enough to gently suck your kisses, while gliding his tongue against them to tease them open.

You trembled, imagining what this sensation would feel like on your clit. You whimpered into the kiss despite yourself. You couldn't imagine this kiss as one of Kuai Liang's; Bi-Han’s kiss tasted like minty whitening gel and expensive honeyed tea. Kuai Liang’s kiss smells like smoke, tastes exactly like one might expect that a man who breathes fire and eats pussy should taste like. It was too different. It was Bi-Han. You were letting the grandmaster slip his honeyed tongue into your kisses, and into your dreams; You couldn't let yourself pretend otherwise.

You remembered the way you would melt just to feel Kuai Liang breathing. How you'd melt to feel his hands on your back. How you'd feel to be enveloped in his embrace. Bi-Han’s body was not so comfortable as Kuai Liang's. You remembered Kuai Liang's thick arms felt strong but pliant. You held Bi-Han’s biceps in your hands. They felt more like polished mahogany, stiff, smooth. The density of the man's arms was unlike what you were accustomed to; but the feeling raised your temperature.

You pushed back on his chest, pulled yourself away, and broke the kiss. He let you break the kiss, and waited for you to explain.

“Do you still feel okay?” he asked.

“Yes, it's just different.”

“Is it too different?”

“You taste different,” you said.

“What should I taste like,” he asked.

Fixated on the thought of his tongue on your clit, you bit your lip and parted your knees slightly from muscle memory. You were remembering times when Kuai Liang tasted like you in the moments after he tongued open your pussy.

When you didn't answer his question in words, he studied your body language, noting that your legs were no longer pressed together. Fear of impropriety forced you to hide this sexual part of yourself from your grandmaster for as long as you could remember.

“Ah,” he said as if reading your mind, “is that where you want me?”

“Yes, yes I want you there, but with kisses. Kisses please. I want your kisses, there. I need you to kiss me the way you did just now, only, down there,” you finally answered, keeping your eyes closed for the duration of your confession.

“You like my kisses that much?” He asked.

The sound of a smile painted his voice.

“Mmm-hmm,” you answered, “I like your kisses, I haven't had any kisses since you left for ying fortress…”

Sub-Zero realized your statement was true whether you were pretending to address him as Scorpion or not - either way, you haven't had any play since “he” left for ying fortress. He let his hands wander along your hips, stroked over your belly below the naval, just to watch you squirm.

“That sounds rough. No kisses, none at all?” he teased.

“Nooo, none! What about you?”

He shifted into his natural, gravely tiger-purr voice to whisper an answer.

“I can't speak for him on that topic, but for me it's been a long while. A lot longer than Ying Fortress.” he confessed.

Part two link here

To See My External Masterlist, Click Here

[flowerandblood]

My Best Friend (9)

[modern! club owner • Aemond x fem!reader]  

[warnings: smut, sex content, kissing, fluff, swearing, mention of stalking]

[description: Aemond has his own club and often does business at the home of one of his business associates. There he often meets his younger sister, with whom he develops a deeper relationship through shared secrets. This is slow burn love story.]

* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *

Previous and next chapters: Masterlist        

_____

Their whole house was in chaos, things had been pulled from shelves and cupboards, scattered all over the floor. Someone hacked into their alarm system and disabled all the security. After going through the entire house, nothing was missing - or so it seemed, until they entered Y/N's room.

"Fucking shit." Klaus said, running his hand over his face. "It's definitely him or his people. He was looking for something."

"And found it." Y/N spoke terrified, looking into one of her drawers. “The disk with all the messages and photos from him disappeared. In all apps, he deleted the messages he sent me. God! He also took my old card from the phone, that had text messages from him!" She said weakly, all pale. Klaus cursed loudly, turning away tensely. He was pissed off beyond measure.

Everyone went down to the living room to think. Aemond was leaning against the wall, Y/N and Marcus were sitting on the couch. Klaus was pacing around.

"And where were you exactly then?" He asked suddenly, turning to face her. Y/N froze, swallowing hard. She didn't have time to say anything, because Aemond was quicker.

“Albert came to see her at the University, Marcus was at the office. She got scared and came to me at the club. I let her stay there and we both spent the night there." There was no hesitation in his voice. Y/N looked at him with wide eyes.

"Both?" Klaus asked, frowning, his expression demanding an explanation.

"I was supposed to leave her alone in an empty club overnight?" He asked rhetorically, not looking away from his gaze. Klaus pursed his lips and looked at his sister, who was looking at him pleadingly. He let go, exhaling loudly. Marcus looked at her with concern.

“You should have called me. If I had known, I would have come for you." He spoke warmly. Y/N looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"I didn't want to disturb you." She said in a broken voice and hid her face in her hands. Marcus put his arm around her, his face showing pain for her condition, and also some remorse.

Aemond's throat tightened at the sight of him touching her. He wanted to grab her and pull her out of his arms. He thought after a moment, that he was thinking of her, as if she were a thing and not a person, and he felt embarrassed at his immaturity. 

He saw Klaus watching him from the side and he cleared his throat. He felt like he knew, what he was doing with his sister last night. He wasn't going to deny it, if asked directly, but he wasn't going to explain himself either.

“Marcus, let Y/N stay in your apartment tonight. I'm going to order a cleaning crew and get this done by tomorrow. I don't want her sleeping here, until we fix the alarm." Klaus said, his voice tense. Anonymous denunciation was one thing, but breaking into a house and violating privacy so much was quite another.

Aemond turned his face away at his words, standing with his arms folded, his face all tense. He knew Klaus was doing it on purpose and he was furious.

They talked for a while more, but Aemond had to get back to his business. Y/N looked at him apologetically, sensing he was angry, but they didn't say a word to each other. He didn't even dare give her a goodbye hug in front of Klaus. He nodded and just left.

He spent the day in his apartment in front of his laptop, replying to overdue e-mails and printing out missing documents, but he had a huge problem with concentration. He was embarrassed, that he couldn't contain his frustration. He didn't even know, what caused it. 

He didn't think she and Marcus would sleep together. Nevertheless, yesterday he had her all to himself, and today she was to sleep in another man place. His mouth tightened at the thought. 

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of vibration and the notification of a new message on his phone. He rolled his eye, thinking it was Kate again, but when he unlocked the keyboard, he saw, that Y/N had texted him. In fact, she sent him a photo.

It was a screenshot from an app for listening to music. At the top it said "Your own playlist set for today". Listed below were the songs, that were selected to be played in order. There he saw "Hush" by Deep Purple, "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses, "Never Let Me Down Again" by Depeche Mode and some other songs, that he knew well. He smiled slightly, seeing, that most of these songs were playing during their conversations. Somehow, it made him feel good.

A:"Someone here has good taste." 

He wrote and sent it, referring to the words, that she had said to him in the car this morning. He unknowingly smiled at her answer.

Y:“I draw inspiration and learn from outstanding individuals.” 

She wrote, and if he didn't know her, he'd think, she was serious. He imagined her saying it in her ironic tone.

A:"It has not escaped my notice, that you learn new things very easily." 

He replied with a grimace of satisfaction. She didn't reply for a moment. He found himself staring expectantly at his screen. He unlocked the keyboard again, when he saw a new message.

Y:"I have a good teacher." She wrote back. 

He tapped his tongue against his cheek in satisfaction. She picked up on the subtext and teased him. For some reason, he liked it. If any other woman had written it, he would have been embarrassed. It seemed so innocent and harmless from her. He wondered, what to answer.

A:"Only one?" 

He wrote, curious to see her answer. He felt tension in the lower part of his stomach. She didn't reply for a long time. He felt an unpleasant pressure in his chest.

Y:"It depends, about what you're asking." 

She finally replied. He pursed his lips. She hit the ball, so that now he had to think, about how to answer her.

A:"About more teachers teaching you." 

He wrote after a while, feeling, that he had laid his cards on the table in a way. His heart pounded in his chest. He wondered, what was happening to him.

Y:"No. And you, do you have other students?" 

She replied and he inhaled. He felt hot and replied quickly.

A:"No."

***

A few days have passed since their texts exchange. He felt better, because he had the impression, that they had more or less explained things to each other. He wanted her to know, that he had no intention of sleeping with anyone else just yet, and he didn't want to humiliate her. 

He also knew, that she felt the same way. He guessed, that was the thing, that worried her the most, and he hoped his answer gave her some comfort. He knew, she wouldn't want more from him, than he could give. It was one of her qualities, that he appreciated the most. 

Since then, they've texted each other from time to time. Y/N was texting him about the progress of the Albert case. Sometimes she sent him pictures of her college projects and designes, asking for his opinion, which flattered him. 

He didn't know much about art, but he shared his insights with her. She thought, that he had a good sense of aesthetics and that his remarks were very accurate.

Their contact didn't bother him. She didn't bombard him with messages 24/7. It happened, that she did not speak to him all day, and he, feeling the sudden need to contact her, sent her a screenshot of the application and a new song, he was listening to.

Criston's birthday was approaching. As a big fan of his club, he wanted to organize it there, which Aemond agreed without thinking much. Y/N and Klaus were also invited by him. 

Aemond felt a strange kind of excitement at the thought. He hasn't seen her in a week. He'd relieved himself a few times by thinking about her in bed at night, but that wasn't what he really wanted.

On the day of the party, Aemond arrived at the club early to make sure, that everything was done. As the first guests began to arrive, he retreated to the VIP lounge and surveyed the room, thoughtful. He felt a tension all over his body, like anxious anticipation. 

He saw Criston in the crowd. He got up from the couch, Criston smiled at him and held out his hand, which Aemond gratefully shook.

“It all looks great. Thanks, dude." He said and patted him on the shoulder. 

They talked about other things for a while, including Albert and the break-in, when Aemond saw over his shoulder that Klaus and Y/N had entered the club, talking about something and laughing. Klaus was dressed in a black, tight sweater, his hair was elegantly combed.

Y/N was wearing a tight "little black dress". Her dress reached to mid-thigh. Her dark hair and the shade of her dress, made her skin look like it was glowing under the club lights. Aemond felt his jaw drop just at the sight of it, and he had no idea, how he was going to put up with her the entire party, without fucking her. 

He was already thinking in the back of his mind, whether he could quietly take her to his office unnoticed for a while. Criston's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Are you listening to me?" He asked amused.

"Yes, sorry." He just said, Klaus and Y/N approached them, Y/N was holding a bag in her hand, which was apparently a gift.

"Happy Birthday!" They both said happily, embracing the birthday boy in turn. They talked about something for a while, the four of them standing in a circle. 

Y/N was standing next to him. Aemond stood with his hands clasped behind his back, fighting with himself and his thoughts not to touch her. 

She looked at him with her big eyes, and he felt her thoughts wander in similar areas. He pursed his lips. Klaus offered to go for drinks, and Criston was taken up by other guests, who also wanted to wish him well. Aemond took the opportunity to lean in close to her ear.

"In 15 minutes at my office." He said flatly, though he knew, his dark eye betrayed him. Y/N shuddered and looked at him, taking in a soft breath. After a while, Klaus returned and Aemond apologized to them, saying, that he had something else to do.

He approached one bodyguard and whispered a few words in his ear. He didn't want anyone to disturb them. He felt, that if he didn't do it, he would literally explode. 

He walked towards his office and closed the door behind him. He took off his jacket and laid it on the couch, feeling his heart pounding. He had never been so desperate. Their messages, constant tension and lack of physical contact, made him lose his temper.

After a while the door opened. Y/N rushed inside, closing the door. She looked at him, swallowing softly, her body trembling slightly.

“I told Klaus I was going to the restroom. What happened?" She asked, her eyes showing concern. 

He approached her slowly, took her cheek in his hand and pulled her to him. She squealed softly, surprised, when he took her hand in his and touched it to the bulge in his pants. She stared at him with wide eyes, her breath quivering in her mouth. 

"This is what happened." He said softly, rubbing her hand slowly.

She moaned softly, feeling it pulsate under her fingers, the space between her thighs tightening. He rested his forehead against hers, running the tip of his nose across her face. He moaned low, as he felt her hand press harder against the fabric of his pants.

He put his tongue in her mouth, parting her lips with it, digging into it with a greedy kiss. He pulled her close to him, and they both moaned at the sudden, close contact. He pushed her dress up and grabbed her ass, rubbing it in his hands.

"Beautiful dress." He grunted contentedly, their bodies rubbing against each other involuntarily. 

"I'll fuck you in it, okay?" His question made her whole body tremble and a loud moan escaped her lips. He smiled at the sight. He would have teased her more, but they didn't have time. 

He quickly grabbed her by the hips and set her on the desk in front of him, so she was in the perfect position. She took off her shoes and panties, he quickly unbuckled his pants and pulled them down along with his boxers. He reached for the condoms, but her hand stopped him, she looked at him embarrassed.

"I started taking pills." She said softly. 

He swallowed hard, staring at her in surprise. The thought, that she had started taking pills, so she could fuck him unprotected, turned him on even more. He pressed his lips against hers, their tongues dancing together furiously. Her hand dug into his hair, holding him tight against her. 

He suddenly broke the kiss and knelt in front of her, parting her thighs, his face perfectly level with her hips.

"Fuck, so wet for me already." He grunted contentedly and licked her dripping entrance without hesitation. 

Y/N arched back and sobbed at the sensation, she was extremely tender for some reason. He thought, she too suffered from their lack of physical contact. He slipped his tongue inside her and began to caress her, her hips following his movements, her hand tightening in his hair.

"Aemond, please, I need you inside me" She panted pleadingly, and he looked at her in shock. He stood up, wiping his mouth quickly.

"Back on the desk." He commanded, pulling her hips towards him. He felt, that if he kept going like this, a few moves inside her would be enough for him to come.

She did as he said, and he parted her thighs with his hands as if he were ripping a fruit apart. He had a perfect view of her pussy, which turned him on even more. 

He aimed his cock at her and slided inside her without a word, her body arching back at the sensation. They both panted loudly, feeling each other's bodies for the first time without any barrier. He began to thrust in her deeply, hard and fast, both of them gasping loudly with pleasure.

"You missed that?" He asked low, seeing how close she was to her fulfillment. "Missed my cock inside you?" 

She sobbed beneath him, her hips moving greedily to meet his movements.

"Yes, yes, yes..." She moaned, feeling, that she was about to come.

"I’m going to come inside you. Do you understand?" He asked, squeezing his hand tighter around her thighs, thrusting into her so hard, he could barely speak. 

She moaned loudly as her orgasm hit her lower abdomen, a wave of pleasure so large that she sobbed. 

"Yes, Aemond, please, please!" She sobbed, her face one of pleasure and pain at the same time. 

The sight, coupled with her words, made him cum inside her with a guttural, loud moan. She shivered as his hot semen spilled inside her. She couldn't catch her breath, she tried to pull away from him, because of too much stimulation, but his hands held her in a steel grip.

He didn't let go of her for a long moment. He looked at her, lying with her eyes closed, her mouth parted, her thighs spread, now being somewhere in a completely different world. 

He stroked her cheek with his thumb, and she looked at him dreamly. She rose on her hands. Aemond gently pulled his cock out of her. She yelped in fear, as something spilled out of her and she clenched her thighs.

"Easy." He said softly, taking a handkerchief from the desk and pressing it against her insides. "It's just me."

She exhaled softly, all red and took another handkerchief, feeling the one completely soaked in their shared fluids. 

Aemond zipped up his pants, took handkerchiefs from her, and tossed them into the wastebasket. He walked over to her and stood between her thighs. Y/N put her hands on his chest, they both looked at each other silently. He ran a hand through her hair, the familiar scent, that he liked so much, wafting to his nose.

"I missed you."

___

If you want to be tagged, just leave a comment. ~

@chainsawsangel  @yentroucnagol @cardi-bre91 @melsunshine​​ @bellaisasleep​​ @candypurplebutterfly​​

[ask-post-ii17au-box]

bow PLEASE tell us the tail story

Sure I can like do that!

Soooo after I died I didn’t immediately get to purgatory mansion, the details are like pretty blurry and all I remember is just a bunch of various green flashes and error notifications :p.

I know that seems like really random to bring up but trust me, it’s integral to what I figured out.

Anyways after that I woke up in the mansion, there’s no records of it existing before I died soooo I think Mephone automatically subconsciously made it as a error handler to correct whatever I broke with how he revives people or something :p

After that I was utterly bored out of my mind because my phone was outta battery and I hadn’t found the charger yet soooo I got to experimenting with my new ghost powers.

I had like a few years alone sooooo I figured out exactly the loophole I had got through:

Basically with how I died with mephone specifically broken it left me unable to be recovered by conventional means, the Meeple systems automatically bugged out with no idea of what exactly to do with me so it made the mansion.

But considering that’s a stipulation like I figured out that if you die at any point while Mephone 4’s recovery app is offline you’re considered “permanently dead” by the system, glitch out and like end up at the mansion!

Now this has a few properties that could have helped save everyone if that ball thingy hadn’t been shut off before I got a chance to do it.

All we had to exactly do was get all the contestants to die before whatever was like deleting the contestants got to them with Mephone 4 turned off and the recovery app inactive.

They’d have been all sent to the mansion immune from being deleted.

From there I figured out we could like transfer their data into robot bodies aka another loophole with how their creation worked exactly essentially like rendering them immune from the effects of being deleted or whatever.

Unfortunately everything like got unplugged before I could get to Mephone soooooo it’s too late now :p.

I have no idea if they’re fully deleted or not since I’m not a genius I just had enough time to figure stuff out of boredom.

So yea sorry I don’t like have the magical method of bringing everyone back.

Anyways as for me still being in Apple I think since the ball thingy got unplugged while I was in her it like confused the systems enough that it just rendered her ���a important system file that’s unable to be deleted” and moved on.

And to tie up that loose end her mind survived too not just her body sooo you can like technically add her to the survivor list I guess.

I can’t give her back control or leave her body for some reason though so she’s unable to talk and like do anything else apart from think, watch me do stuff and mentally talk to me.

Since I can hear her I can relay what she says soooo you guys like can also ask apple stuff!

[no-stupid-questions-official]

Is there any possible way to remove the youtube app from an android phone (OnePlus 6T if it matters) OR do something to fully remove youtube shorts from the app? Please my brain is broken and i have no self control. i havent had tiktok in years, i uninstalled instagram forever ago, but youtube shorts still plague me because android makes it impossible to uninstall youtube.

(ps i DO set screen time limits for the app but its too easy to just add 5 minutes or delete the limit altogether so while it helps a little its not ideal. i want the demonic short form video content GONE)

-

[always-rolling-my-eyes]

I don’t know if someone’s already replied because I just saw it now but this is why people are attacking Joe:

Joe and Sophie got together in 2016, when she was 20 and he was 27. After a year of dating, they got engaged. Then, in 2019 Sophie had a big year because both the last season of Game Of Thrones and Dark Phoenix were coming out. That also came with a lot of hate, because both of those were bad but also because Daenerys stans decided to hate on Sophie because they disliked Sansa. They also created fake drama between Emília and Sophie, so she got a lot of hate. Sophie also got a lot of hate from Priyanka stans who kept comparing them.

Through all of this, Sophie mentioned having mental health issues and deleted her twitter account. She also mentioned deleting the Instagram app from her phone.

In 2019, they got married and in early 2020 there were rumors of her being pregnant. The pandemic happened and they had a child. In 2021, she did The Staircase, and then she took another break to have baby number 2. She’s now back to work on a TV show called Joan.

If I remember correctly Joe has been working and touring through a lot of this. So it seems like she had a hard time with her new found fame (she had been famous for years but she became a lot more well known in 2019) and decided to take a step back and start a family with him.

I think it’s worth mentioning that she has said that her family and friends are all in the UK and she was trying to convince Joe to move back there. This year she has been spending a lot of time in the UK, even before she started filming, so I think it’s possible she really wants to move back there.

It all seems a bit tragic to me. She has struggled with depression and an ED throughout her whole life because of GOT, and she’s spent all her 20s dating a man almost 10 years older than her, taking a step back to have his children while he kept working, living far away from her family and friends, etc. and now, when she goes back to the UK and gets back to work, his team (it had to come from there) acts like she abandoned her children and like Joe deserves a gold medal for being a father.

I’m not saying their relationship was toxic, but I do think it maybe wasn’t the healthiest for her. She’s also talked about Joe helping her with her mental health struggles, but maybe that led to some dependency that wasn’t great. Specially since he apparently broke up with her right before they got married because of her mental health. I had misunderstood that interview and I thought she was saying they had broken up for 24 hours right at the beginning of their relationship, but apparently it was right before the wedding in Las Vegas.

All in all, I think Joe shouldn’t have gotten with someone as young as her. I usually don’t mind age differences when both people are in their 20s, but I do think she was probably too young. I think he tried to help with her mental health but I don’t think it was the healthiest. I think she has given up more for him than he has for her. It’s sad that they tried to make her look bad with the divorce news.

I also fully believe the news, but I also believe they could work it out and then fans will pretend it was all fake. But I do believe they’re on the brink of divorce but still willing to work it out if possible. That’s why neither were wearing their rings but now Joe is wearing it again. I think they’re still trying to make it work but they’re also speaking to lawyers.

If they do get a divorce custody will probably get messy, since she’ll probably want to take the kids to the UK and he won’t

Sorry for all of that! I don’t know if it makes any sense!

Wow, I had no idea all of that went on between them and I actually also had no idea of their age difference, that’s a little 😬 especially when combined with her mental health issues. Definitely seems like there was an imbalance of power there (if true, just my opinion)

But it looks like Joe just filed for divorce and I agree with you, I think custody will get messy because every article / report / detail we have seen so far about this break up seems to be coming from his camp and trying to make him look good (agree with you on that completely, as if watching your own kids makes you father of the year 🙄) so he is already on the offense. I just hope their kids don’t suffer as a result of all this but unfortunately, we see how this stuff goes

Thanks for all the info, anon 💗

[my-castles-crumbling]

Please please help!!! my EA app for the sims 4 is broken and this is my last resort.

A couple days ago, I found myself wanting to play the sims as im sure all of us want to do every now and then and so I try to start up my game, but it needs to be updated, because of the new update. So i Update the game and it tells me its ready to launch, I go back to the EA app and The update button is still there. I try to update it again, but nothing happens it just has the user agreement pop up and I click it and nothing happened. I try for a few more minutes to try and get my game working but give up because its late and Im tired.

A few days later, I still want to play the sims, so I try again, but this time the app wont even open. I try a few different things like pulling out my save files to see if their corrupted, my moms, and the entire game out of the documents folder in finder as well as deleting and reinstalling the EA app but I cant get it to open. So I gave up again. no sims.

Today, I wanted to play the sims again and felt like trying again, so my friend and I get on the phone to try and figure out to do. I uninstall all the mods I have on my computer completely, I uninstall the app again, I clear the cashe and I finally get the app to open doing this.

The app even though we opened it was showing us nothing except a dark blue background, it wasnt showing anything up. I get the app to restart itself on the top bar, now I get it to give my the option to go offline and I request going back online and EAlauncher pops up, has me enter my password and it opens, showing me the full app, with my library and everything.(I don't have anything else in EA just the sims 4) but the app is still telling me I need to update my game. We try repairing the app, we try clearing the cashe AGAIN. The app wont let us update the game and It wont let me uninstall it in the app, and nothing seems to happen if I take it out of the EA app folder on finder.

At this point Im actually tweaking and I just want to play the sims. Im searching up everything online, and so is my friend. we get the following

1. restart the app and your computer

2. uninstall mods

3. check activity monitor - WE HAD NOT DONE THIS ONE YET

At this point Im scrambling to find a tutorial on how to do this because I don't know crap about tech, installing sims 4 mods is the peak of my ability. My friend who knows of crack websites is looking on installation, broken game, (and more) tutorials to see if anything from those help because apparently some of them do something to the games coding??? So we find one and it talks about error messages and my stupid ass realizes Ive been having a communication error with opening the sims since I got my new Mac but it hadn't effected anything till now.

the Error code I was getting, and the only thing that would pop up when I would try to open the app was EC: 10701 - Communication error, but it had stopped happening once I had deleted my mods, so I don't know if it has any effect anymore. At this point we've run out of things to try and the farthest we've gotten is the app opening again but I cant uninstall, repair, or update my game.

I go back online to try and find a help bot on the EA website or a phone number I can call but I cant find anything and the one thing they do have only allows "100 characters per question" to this stupid fucking robot who probably wont even connect me to a person if I tried.

Its been 2 hours at this point and I dont know what to do so my friend suggests posting a bunch of stuff on reddit/tumblr/twitter/etc to see if anyone can help because for some reason EA doesnt have a fucking help line when their app is completely broke.

- a very pissed of simmer who's EA app wont open for god knows why

TLDR; my EA wont open and ive tried everything I can think of, uninstalling mods, uninstalling the app, and more but the app will not open and Im turning to here as my last hope.

I don't play sims, but I'm posting this in the hopes that someone on here does and can help!

[astral-projects-stars]

My EA app wont open on my mac, ive tried everything I can think of - please help.

A couple days ago, I found myself wanting to play the sims as im sure all of us want to do every now and then and so I try to start up my game, but it needs to be updated, because of the new update. So i Update the game and it tells me its ready to launch, I go back to the EA app and The update button is still there. I try to update it again, but nothing happens it just has the user agreement pop up and I click it and nothing happened. I try for a few more minutes to try and get my game working but give up because its late and Im tired.

A few days later, I still want to play the sims, so I try again, but this time the app wont even open. I try a few different things like pulling out my save files to see if their corrupted, my moms, and the entire game out of the documents folder in finder as well as deleting and reinstalling the EA app but I cant get it to open. So I gave up again. no sims.

Today, I wanted to play the sims again and felt like trying again, so my friend and I get on the phone to try and figure out to do. I uninstall all the mods I have on my computer completely, I uninstall the app again, I clear the cashe and I finally get the app to open doing this.

The app even though we opened it was showing us nothing except a dark blue background, it wasnt showing anything up. I get the app to restart itself on the top bar, now I get it to give my the option to go offline and I request going back online and EAlauncher pops up, has me enter my password and it opens, showing me the full app, with my library and everything.(I don't have anything else in EA just the sims 4) but the app is still telling me I need to update my game. We try repairing the app, we try clearing the cashe AGAIN. The app wont let us update the game and It wont let me uninstall it in the app, and nothing seems to happen if I take it out of the EA app folder on finder.

At this point Im actually tweaking and I just want to play the sims. Im searching up everything online, and so is my friend. we get the following

1. restart the app and your computer

2. uninstall mods

3. check activity monitor - WE HAD NOT DONE THIS ONE YET

At this point Im scrambling to find a tutorial on how to do this because I don't know crap about tech, installing sims 4 mods is the peak of my ability. My friend who knows of crack websites is looking on installation, broken game, (and more) tutorials to see if anything from those help because apparently some of them do something to the games coding??? So we find one and it talks about error messages and my stupid ass realizes Ive been having a communication error with opening the sims since I got my new Mac but it hadn't effected anything till now.

the Error code I was getting, and the only thing that would pop up when I would try to open the app was EC: 10701 - Communication error, but it had stopped happening once I had deleted my mods, so I don't know if it has any effect anymore. At this point we've run out of things to try and the farthest we've gotten is the app opening again but I cant uninstall, repair, or update my game.

I go back online to try and find a help bot on the EA website or a phone number I can call but I cant find anything and the one thing they do have only allows "100 characters per question" to this stupid fucking robot who probably wont even connect me to a person if I tried.

Its been 2 hours at this point and I dont know what to do so my friend suggests posting a bunch of stuff on reddit/tumblr/twitter/etc to see if anyone can help because for some reason EA doesnt have a fucking help line when their app is completely broke.

- a very pissed of simmer who's EA app wont open for god knows why

TLDR; my EA wont open and ive tried everything I can think of, uninstalling mods, uninstalling the app, and more but the app will not open and Im turning to here as my last hope.

[lyninabin]

so i had a reply, that reached the limit of words

but why should i even send it when you won’t read it? even this i’ll just schedule this and say

what do you want from me anymore

i don’t know when this will post but it’s safe to imagine i either turned off my phone, or deleted tumblr again, so there’s that, deleting the app what better thing would you want, so far away from tainting your vision with seeing me, you like that?

and i’m gonna have to study for my finals, so ill just study and forget about tumblr again until i stop having thoughts of jumping away

don’t say i don’t look at myself and not be disgusted because even then i couldn’t look at myself after remembering what i done, and everytime i stay away i get lost in the moment and things i wouldn’t normally say or think about comes out

i don’t know anything about you but i’m tired after having broken myself so much to rebuild into a better state worthy of being human, and making sure to never interact with anyone i knew you knew

and i learned to be merciful to myself by not interacting with anyone to break myself to microscopic dust

good bye, send whatever and we’ll see if i come back

[afniel]

Well, friends, I've done it again. At 93,190 words, I've broken Google Docs for Android again, and for the first time in this file, I've had the swipe-backspace fail and glitch the hell out.

Neat.

And yeah, I know, Google Docs bad, Google Docs scraping for AI training, Google Docs can delete your files, Google Docs evil. I'm aware. I'm also 90% writing on my phone because sitting at my desk is painful sometimes due to disability and I don't have a good cloud-storage-based replacement for it, especially one that's as universally supported by other apps/programs/sites and for free. This is just the hellscape we have.

(Also like, keep regular backups anyway, y'all, you should just be doing that anyway. They can't delete a downloaded hard copy away from you. I even download backups onto my phone because it's what I got.)

[hetaliastuf]

Hetalia Characters and How Their Phones Would Look Like

Hey everyone, I've been pretty busy these days, but this post has been on my mind for a while. I know it's a bit different from my usual shitposts, so if you don't like this kind of posts please tell me so I know whether I should post my headcanons and stuff too. Anyway

🇮🇹; He probably has a beautiful scenery as the background. Not very neat, but it's not broken at least and he buys a new one every 3 years. Mostly uses Instagram and Pinterest. Stuffs all his money, cards and literally anything he can in his case.

🇩🇪; No custom background, but has a huge calendar widget covering most of his screen. Probably organised his apps by slides/pages. Spends 3h daily on Gmail

🇯🇵; Similar to Ludwig, but he kind of had his own aesthetic. For example he has a customized case and a lanyard. Organised everything in different folders by colour, and might also use a custom theme asw

🇺🇸; Food stain covered screen. Cracks all over. Sound is always on max. Background of the USA flag. He downloaded more than 50 games and barely has any storage left. This man is a mess.

🇬🇧; He strikes me as one of those people that use those cases that open and close and look like purses. Similarly to Kiku, he probably tried to customize everything else, though didn't really succeed and nothing really blends together. Has 16h daily on Twitter arguing with old ladies

🇫🇷; Oh he TOTALLY has some expensive ahh model he loves to flex. Dark red case, perfectly neat screen with not a single crack. Either has a picture of the Eiffel Tower or a floptok meme as his background, there's no inbetween. Has an unhealthy Spotify addiction

🇷🇺; Has an ancient model from like 2015 that can barely function. Claims it's good enough since it does its job. Has passwords on most of his apps, even if he doesn't have anything to hide he likes his privacy. Somehow his phone can survive everything; people have seen it fall down windows, get thrown in water AND fire, even get run over by vehicles but it somehow never breaks.

🇨🇳; Probably has a family picture as the background. He mostly uses it to look up recipes, but he does like to keep it organised as well. Has like eight hundred contacts, half of which are people he doesn't even remember. His favourite hobby after a long tiring world meeting is commenting boomer crap on Facebook posts.

🇨🇦; Nothing too unique. Not too neat, not too messy. He barely has any storage left because of all the games and movies Alfred downloads in it when his own phone is charging. He spent wayy too much time organising his Pinterest boards, and then like an hour later Alfred deleted Pinterest to download Blockcraft 3D or some shit

[horatiocomehome]

When I was an upperclassman in highschool I started sneaking my chromebook upstairs to have more time to spend on tumblr. I'd stay up until almost midnight, or even later. I wasn't allowed to have my chromebook in my room at night (a rule which I respect but did not follow, obviously) so every night I would sneak past my parents with my chromebook.

I was tired. Losing sleep. I had to get up at 6:00 am to get ready for school. Still would sneak my chromebook upstairs.

I wanted to stop. Couldn't stop because the temptation was too great. It was a habit now. Some nights I wouldn't bring it upstairs, but most of the time the temptation overtook me and there I went, computer in hand.

At some point in my senior year, having trouble in school because I was tired, I considered bringing it up to my parents. I would tell them that I'd been bringing my chromebook upstairs and I was sorry for breaking their trust, but now I needed to get more sleep and I needed their help. I would ask them to take my chromebook before I went to bed, so I couldn't bring it upstairs.

But every time I considered it, I knew it wasn't that easy. They would be angry. I had broken the rules. There would be a punishment. I would most likely have my chromebook taken away during the day too. Who knows for how long.

I didn't want that. I was getting into fandom at that point. I was in discord servers, having deep conversations, making friends. I couldn't risk having all my computer access taken away for the forseeable future.

So I never went to them. I never confided in them. I never asked for their help.

My freshman year of college I continued to spend most of my time in fandom. I made friends through fandom that I still have today and would never want to give up.

I spent more time than I should on it. Spent most of my time in my dorm room, glued to my computer screen. Instead of doing my work. Instead of going to the board game club or other activities. Made online friends that I could only talk to through messages.

And now here I am in my senior year. I'm still holed up in my room. On my computer. Barely friends with anyone on campus; closer to acquaintances, really. Over the years I got diagnosed with ADHD, got medication for it, but I'm chronically behind.

Every night I stay up in my bed on my phone scrolling twitter and tumblr. My eyes constantly ache.

There's no one I can even ask to take the distractions away from me. I'm the one in control now. I'm the adult. And I know that when I log out of a site, I can always log back in. When I delete an app off my phone, I can always reinstall it. When I put my phone away, I can always pull it back out.

And see, the thing is, I could do something. I could delete my twitter account and my tumblr account. There would be no way to restore either one. But I don't want to give them up forever, just the same as in high school. I have friends online now.

Besides, I'd probably get addicted to youtube, or just make a new account. So what's the point?

So every night I'm glued to my screen until I fall asleep. And every morning I'm glued to my screen from when I wake up until I absolutely have to get out of bed and go to class. And between classes and between homework and when I'm eating and after I'm eating when I'm tired from digestion and during homework when I've been working for a while so I need a break.

I always resented the fact that I couldn't go to my parents and ask for help out of fear that they'd punish me too harshly. But then, wasn't I the one who broke the rules in the first place? Wasn't I the one who chose not to take the chance and go to them?

Didn't I make my decision all of those years back?

It's funny, they never caught me. I was never punished. But for the past five years of my life, I have been tired.

Who's to blame? Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

[delusinalandpassionate]

Sorry to bother you. I saw that you'd gone through 4.5 and couldn't help but try to make a plea to convince you to join in the boycott of the game going forward.

Project Moon hasn't made a single announcement since the Korean-only notice of the story illustrator's absurd(and certainly illegal) layoff. I'm thankful a lot of tumblr's been made aware, but. They're clearly hoping the situation will blow over with 4.5's release, possibly with many international fans never even hearing of this... this absolute idiocy they've commited. They won't post English or Japanese explanations, they didn't even include the Korean one in the in-game announcement. They know they're in the wrong. It's cowardly and their horrible treatment of their employees and contractors need to face justice. We have to make clear we don't approve of these practices, because if we let them get away with this, in the present, they'll be doing it forever. Their actions have shown all they care for is the capital they get from active users, directly and indirectly.

I realize it might be hard to let go of the characters and the unique world of project moon that you've become fond of. Isn't it the same for us all? But I implore you to consider refraining from logging in, at least for a little while. The investments they get, that keep the company going smoothly, are tied closely to the number of active daily and monthly users, especially after a big update like now. If the international fandom could join in the boycott(not logging in, deleting the game or requesting refunds through the app store and steam if they've spent money on it), projmoon will eventually have to address the situation if they want to continue servicing limbus. I mean, there are other factors such as pressure from news media and the possiblity of a lawsuit from the illustrator, but this is the most definite way.

Projmoon's broken our faith in the worst way possible. They'd rather indulge the outrageous demands of a hate group that antagonised their employee over evidence of nothing and tanked their game's reviews for fun than show an ounce of sense, and personally? Those very employees and contractors seem to have been the heart and soul of the stories I fell in love with, and with kjh refusing to even pretend to understand the very themes his games have been built on, I can no longer take any of it seriously either.

Uh, well. The ask's become a bit of a slog to get through. If you have anything you want a clearer explanation on I'd gladly answer, and if you want to keep on playing I can't stop you. And I suppose it might not feel fair that you were the one I addressed, out of the many, many who are doing the same.

But thanks for reading anyway, because I loved their games, loved anticipating the future stories they'd tell, and kjh turned out to be the kind of asshole who fires a longtime employee over the phone at 11 pm over baseless claims with not a shred of regard for labor laws, and I am at a loss at the absurdity of this entire... thing. I had to say something. Hell world.

To my fault, I didn't think about boyscot as act of protest by myself, and saw people suggesting it on Twitter only when finished 4.5. It made me feel really stupid, especially when I saw graph showing how many people visited game. But now I'm not going to return to the game, at least until PMoon makes an announcement. I also feel horrible and confused, especially with the amount of false information around, which makes it extremely difficult to trust anyone right now. But I'm trying to stay optimistic.

Also hope that at least my mistake, will help people, satisfying their curiosity without need to read by themselves.

[disabledrunner5]

Okay so my phone finally caught up with the ZR update and now ZRX is now on my phone (I had previously just seen the logo and the name change not got the update because my iPhone lags behind a few days with updates sometimes) so I can actually see the new changes for myself.

My initial impression:

1) I HATE the new layout. It took me a while to find where you sync your Zombielink account or where you restore it in case I had to delete the app and reinstall. I HATE IT but I guess I’ll have to get used to it.

2) I couldn’t find my ‘design Abel’ thing (not sure what it’s actually called) and that was because it was so small on the Home Screen. I don’t like this.

3) most importantly I decided to go on my next mission before deleting the mission log after stopping because I can’t actually run/cycle at the moment (as I’ve ended up with athlete’s foot, so whilst I can exercise I’m just reluctant to whilst I get that sorted) just to see if it worked for me since I’ve heard of issues with the app. IT WOULDN’T WORK! Like no sound was coming out, I couldn’t hear Sam’s voice at the start.

Luckily I had seen a reply to this issue from @runner5anna to someone else and I followed their advice and deleted my cache on my iPhone and it worked so I didn’t have to reinstall the app (which I am terrified of doing in case I can’t get my Abel Runners Club sub back which is ridiculous I know)!

So basically if ZRX is broken, and you’re on an iPhone, delete your internet history on safari, and if that doesn’t work reinstall the app. For now. I’m sure they’ll fix it in a future update that you don’t have to do that to play zombies run!

Things I like about the new app because always look on the bright side:

You can now see the voice cast before the mission. I probably won’t click on it in case of spoilers in the future but I like seeing who the voice cast or cast is in a lot of my special interests so that’s fun for me. But that is literally it at the moment. I’m hoping the app will improve at some point.