#it is extremely special to those of us who just like a party and a good time and need a common event to

[lethalbutterfly]

Several months before the election, my boss, a Trump supporter, was saying something about how the 2020 election was rigged, Trump only lost because "they" (presumably just a general sense of conspiratorial authoritarian democrats in government?) gave all the mail-in ballots to Biden.

And my response to this was something along the lines of "Even if that were true, what do you propose we do about it? I hate to say it, but if you can't trust the process by which votes are counted, then you don't actually believe in democracy. There's no place to go from there other than having you personally count the votes yourself, or to just not have elections altogether."

My position on this is that the make-or-break issue for me this election was weather or not Democracy should exist. There were plenty of other reasons why I voted for Kamala, but that one was the most important. Trump said during a rally he would "fix it so you don't have to vote anymore" he said during the debate that he still does not accept the results of the previous election. There was one party actively advertising themselves as disestablishing the checks and balances of our government as they have been done 2016, and going on to promise rigged elections, and they've laid plenty of groundwork for it:

Gerrymandering favors the republican party in most places. Statistically, the higher the voter turnout, the greater the margin democrats win by. In the entire >300 year history of our government, there have been only 3 times that the electoral vote has disagreed with the popular vote- ALL THREE times in favor of the republican party (granted their platform was drastically different back in 1876 when it benefited Hayes, they weren't the insane racist maniacs they are today, the fact that the other 2/3rds of this deeply anomalous occurrence happened within the most recent 25 years of our country's existence is another anomaly in and of itself). And last but not least, the same sentiment echoed by my boss in the wake of the 2020 election, the conspiracy that the votes themselves simply cannot be trusted, which is difficult to argue and disprove without intimate specialized knowledge of how votes are counted, and which makes it very easy for someone who lost the vote to forcibly claim the presidency, if there's widespread sentiment that he didn't REALLY lose despite what the numbers say.

What I'm trying to build up to here is that, since I positioned free elections as my #1 issue for this election, I cannot very well go around and claim that the election is wrong, can I? I wish it were a mistake. The world would be better off if it were a mistake, but there's no evidence for that, and trying to delegitimize the election is the strategy used by those who don't want there to be elections at all. Or at least don't want elections to be heeded. Was the election fair? No. There was voter suppression and disenfranchisement just like there always is, but it was out in the open, just like it always is, not in privately stuffed ballots or secretly hacked machines. We can fight against the unfairness of the election by trying to reduce or eliminate gerrymandering and the electoral college in favor of a popular vote, and by supporting ranked choice voting, but fighting for those goals is going to be extremely difficult when the presidency (and the Supreme Court for that matter) is held by the party whose power is cemented by those things.

Maybe it won't be for everyone, but it has been a small solace to me that this is the will of the American people, and not a miscarriage of justice carried out by a fully rigged system. It was not the decision of oligarchs that there should not be a democracy, but democratically elected that there should not be a democracy (ironic).

And before anyone reading this gives into Despair at the way I'm phrasing this, I would like to add something else:

I have several friends who are both more politically minded and just generally more intelligent than I, and they belive that, in spite of Trump's campaign promises to the contrary, there WILL still be an election in 2028. He will, most likely, not be able to get so far as fully abolishing elections in a single term. It will be an election less fair than what we just went through, more people are going to be disenfranchised depending on how much of Project2025/Agenda47 gets passed. And I know that the mere existence of voting in 4 years being considered a victory is setting the bar so low it's a tripping hazard in hell. But it is not unrecoverable. In 2020, we turned Georgia and Nevada blue. Trump voters are going to feel betrayed when their grocery prices are driven further up by deregulation and inflation. This election teaches us that regardless of who is really responsible for the hardships of Americans, most voters will simply blame whatever party is in charge at the time.

It's going to take a lot more work, but it's possible.

(I myself regret not doing more to send out calls and texts for the campaign, speak up against misinformation, and just monetarily donate tbh. I intend to do these things when 2028 rolls around, as well as look for other opportunities along the way.)

If your democrat friends start muttering about stolen election conspiracy theories, the time to have a sit down with them and express your concerns is NOW, while you still have a chance to reach them, not 6 months from now when they're fully conspiracy-pilled.

Here's some of the talking points and why they're bullshit:

'10 million votes don't just disappear!' -> Joe Biden's 81 million votes were a statistical outlier, sparked by the recent experience of the Trump presidency. The democrats failed to maintain that sense of urgency, but Harris still got more votes than Hillary Clinton, more than Obama and more than any previous democratic candidate. These numbers are not weird at all.

'The Republicans tried to infiltrate election- and vote counting organizations!' -> yeah, they did, and yet hundreds of independent legal observers didn't see anything go wrong enough to raise any alarms. Independent exit polls are also very consistently similar to the counted votes. Tons of international organizations specialized in this stuff observed the election and didn't see a reason to raise the alarm.

'But I know a dozen democrats whose mail-in votes were not counted!' -> In any election a certain number of votes are registered as invalid because something was wrong with the ballot. In a country the size of the US, that translates to many thousands of votes. The internet allows these people to find each other, creating the false impression that a suspiciously large group of voted was not valid.

'Musk used Star Link to mess with electronic voting!' -> Electronic voting machines are not connected to the internet and dozens of independent media have already debunked this myth. It is absolutely impossible to use Star Link to fake election results.

'There is voter disenfranchisement!' -> This is true. This has always been true, for every election. It's an issue worth talking about but it's not a special secret conspiracy that's unique to this election.

But just as importantly as the facts: sit down with your friend and talk about the anxiety that's behind their conspiracy leanings. Acknowledge their pain and fear. Help them find ways to feel less powerless and regain their sense of agency. Take them to a mutual aid event, involve them in a fundraising event for a marginalized group, invite them to a local community effort. If they spend more time feeling connection and empowerment and less time doom scrolling online, they're far more likely to stay in reality.

[dreamerwriternstargazer]

Broke: going to a random stranger’s wedding for free food and a chance to dress up and dance

Woke: going to a random stranger’s wedding purely as a chance to get together with your friend and her family, getting free food, dressing up and dance ✨together✨

[saints-who-never-existed]

So we all know that Blanky is cool and badass as fuck. That goes without saying. There's a sense, right from the get-go really, that he pretty much always knows what to do in any given situation.

Blanky knows when humour will lift a mood, and when seriousness is required. He knows when to give grace and kindness, and when to dole out much-needed tough-love.

I think it always worth repeating, though, that none of that would be possible without an extremely high degree of empathy and emotional intelligence. To me, that's Blanky's real greatest strength. It's the root of what makes him so cool and badass as fuck so I want to ramble more about some examples of it.

-

In Episode Two, for instance, we have his nighttime conversation with Crozier where Blanky matches the captain's energy beat for beat.

He laughs with him first about the erstwhile reindeer and while he remains optimistic throughout the rest of the scene, he's also honest, both acknowledging Crozier's various fears and drilling down to the root of them immediately - "Aye. You trusted Ross and you trusted Parry."

When Crozier remarks on his perceptiveness, Blanky's incredibly tactful and kind too - a casual "No, it's just that I know you." when in reality Crozier's been doing a horseshit job of concealing his thoughts and they're visible from fuckin' space.

-

In the following episode, I think the response Blanky gives to Little's fearful teatime diatribe is great.

In contrast to Crozier's vague and even condescending reply which only seems to rile him up further, Blanky shuts Little down clearly and firmly but without being unkind. I think a simple, factual response was the right tactic for the lawful-good sort of guy Little is.

I think his accurate judgement of Little's character is further confirmed later in the episode vis a vis the clandestine rescue party. He's right when he says "Lieutenant Little will never agree to it."

-

Another example that's very special to me personally is in Episode Five and it's not Blanky delivering his warning after Crozier punches Fitzjames, or even when he lightens the mood with jokes and toasts before having his own fuckin' leg sawn off (although I could talk about those forever).

It's actually a wee almost throwaway line Blanky utters to McDonald right before he heads up on deck:

"He's ill with it now..."

Crozier's behaved abhorrently to everyone around him up until that point. He's been vicious and manipulative, cruel and thoughtless. Threatening to throw Silna out into the elements and actually following through with Blanky, ordering him out into weather he knows full well is so cold that it literally just killed a man.

It would be so easy for Blanky to decide that that was final straw, that he was done with Crozier's bullshit. But no! Even then, even then, Blanky seems to be able to take a step back to some degree. To recognise Crozier's alcoholism for what it is - a debilitating illness and not some great moral failing.

It used to confuse me to some degree why Blanky would greet Crozier so warmly at Carnivale (other than the fact that the absolute mad-lad is drunk off his ass). Like, that's the man who made the decision that lead to you nearly dying and losing a limb - how can you just hug him as if none of that happened? But the more I thought about that earlier line, the more clearly it spoke of the incredible depth of understanding and feeling Blanky has for Crozier and the more beautiful that relationship became. He can forgive him so quickly because he can see so clearly the true person under the difficult surface.

-

We talk so much about Blanky remaining outside of the horror story the rest of the characters come to inhabit, refusing to dignify it with his presence. And, again, I just think an important part of the reason he's able to do so is that he sees the world around him and the people within in it for exactly what it is and for exactly who they are. It's just a lot harder to jump-scare a man who sees the mask you're wearing from a mile away, and understands precisely why you've donned it.

[cocoakrispis-blog]

THE INTRODUCTION OF (Y/N)’S PERFCT LIFE

pairing ~ ellie williams x fem! reader

summary ~ we get a little bit more insight on the life that (y/n) considers perfectly perfect.

warnings ~ not much its just background and introduction, weirdo boyfriend, homophobia

wc ~ 2.4k words

SERIES MASTERLIST

getting good grades and impressing your teachers by beating the stereotype of cheerleaders being dumb, showing your boyfriend just enough attention to keep him out of your hair but not cross any of your boundaries, and going to church to affirm your faith in the lord were almost all of the things that kept you waking up in the morning with a smile on your face.

you loved all of those part of my life with my whole heart but the thing that truly made you feel one hundred percent you was cheer.

your team was your true home.

the sisterhood required to be such a successful cheer team was intense but also very rewarding. you were extremely close to all of your teammates and always made the effort to personally get to know all of them.

you guys were required to trust our fellow teammates to toss us into the air, hold us there, and then catch us so that we could perform gravity defying tricks.

it took a lot of strength to be able to do that and you know firsthand how strong each and every girl on your team was. i mean from the muscle definition on all of them it would be difficult to deny the physicality they all had.

the pure freedom you felt as you were soaring through the air was for lack of better words, euphoric.

it took a different type of trust to allow yourself to be catapulted in the air like that, but it felt so good to be supported by girls you knew you could rely on wholeheartedly.

along with trusting your teammates you all also had to trust your own bodies which required you to take care of what our coach always called ‘our temples’.

eating properly and staying in shape was a big part your, but you couldn’t be mad about it. being healthy allowed us to do mesmerizing flips and splits or contort our beautiful bodies into gorgeous silhouettes.

maybe the best thing about cheer is that the benefits of it didn’t only exist on the fields where your team would perform but also off the field. when you are a cheerleader you would always have someone to talk to or spend your time with.

the cheerleaders all had their own lunch table where they were given the privilege to spend quality time together. it might have been your second favorite part of the day, to be surrounded by so many beautiful and talented girls just filled me to the brim with a special feeling you only got around them.

in the halls there was always a pretty girl to compliment your outfit or gush over your new trendy makeup. no one was better at noticing the smallest differences than your teammates.

or in class where you knew you would have someone to sit next to and share notes with.

even school parties when you were a member of the team, no matter how lame they were would be fun because you always had someone to dance the night away with when your boyfriend didn’t want to.

the weekly slumber parties were the best way to end your week because it just felt like pure girlhood. sleeping next to the girls you trusted the most in the whole wide world always gave you the best sleep of your life.

so yeah being a cheerleader was great.

but of course there was more to the perfect life you were blessed with.

you were lucky enough to have a boyfriend who was a football player. super popular super handsome and super well… boyfriend!

you two were just the picture perfect relationship.

holding hands in the hallway as he talked about his latest football game that of course you attended since you were a cheerleader. walking to the field with his letterman draped around your shoulders while he continued to talk about football. oh and of course sitting in his car while you made out with him in between more talk of football.

you loved him very much and he loved you the same.

you were also very active in your church to which you held very near and dear to your heart. it was only right that you thanked and gave praise to the god that had given you such a perfect life.

the cross necklace you always wore being the best symbol of your devotion.

and to top it all off you had a wonderful relationship with my mother and my father.

because you were their only child allowed them to focus all of their time and attention on you. even though that meant they were a bit more hard on you you knew they loved and cared for you very much.

today was another one of the perfect days of your perfect life except this one was a little bit more special. your cheer team and the football team was heading to a far away football game. since both of you and your boyfriends coaches were such big supporters of your relationship they allowed your boyfriend to drive you there.

“aren’t you so excited about the first away game of the season i’m so pumped to watch you play and show off the new cheers me and my girls learned this week.” you smiled to yourself fondly as you remembered the hours of practice you and your teammates put into learning this new cheer.

“yeah babe of course” your boyfriend muttered under his breath.

you frowned at your boyfriends clear disinterest at your words and decided to keep quiet in case you were bothering him.

after a couple moments of silence you looked up to see that the yellow school bus you had been following closely behind was now no where to be seen and you were now in a very familiar area.

“hey baby i can’t see the bus anymore are we supposed to be going this way.” you begin to twiddle with your red and white pom poms as a wave of confusion and anxiety washed over you.

the frown previously on your face came back in full force whenever your boyfriend ignored you and silently tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

soon after your boyfriend pulled into the driveway of your home and parked his car.

“let’s go.” your boyfriend speaks to you for the second time today.

his tone of voice give you no opportunity to argue and you nod before walking behind him to your front door with your pom poms being held tightly in your hands.

before you made it to the door you quickly glance behind yourself and see an unfamiliar van with the words ‘true direction’ on it.

as you open your mouth to ask your boyfriend about it you hear the door open and he stares at you as if expecting you to walk in first.

you gulp at the look he gives you and cautiously walk in the door to your on home.

once you fully enter inside your eyes easily land on the large group gathered in your small living room with concerned looks on their faces. your brows furrow in confusion at the oddly thick atmosphere surrounding the room and you allow your eyes to sweep around the rom to properly take in the guests.

some of your parents, closest teammates, and even a couple of your boyfriends friends were there. the most odd character out of all of them was a man you had never seen before in a blue sweatshirt and matching shorts with a shirt that said ‘straight is great’.

“is there something wrong?” you immediately blurt out into the room.

no one responds to you and the room stays dead silent.

“hi sweeties why don’t you have a seat.” your mother was the first to break the silence, almost making you flinch.

almost as soon as your mom said that the unfamiliar man began to speak. “hello (y/n) my name is mike all of the most important people in your life have gathered here today to have a conversation with you and i am here to help assist them with it.”

you give the guy a slightly weird look but nod before having a seat on the couch that was facing all of them. once you settled in mike spoke up again to jump start the conversation.

“would you link to start us off peter?” mike signaled to your dad who had been completely silent up until now.

your father cleared his throat before straightening his collar and beginning.

“(y/n) dear everyone that is here in this room loves you very very much however more recents we have been concerned about some of your specific behaviors and we are tarting to become worried you are being influenced by a certain lifestyle and we are starting to worry there is a chance that you may be…” your dad slightly trails off at the end but your mom quickly finishes his sentence.

“we think you’re turning into a lesbian!” your mom exclaims but makes sure to whisper the word lesbian as quietly as possible.

your jaw drops at the accusation and you very quickly force your brain to formulate a response.

“me a l-lesbian?” is the only think you manage to think of in retaliation.

“to start you’ve been forcing us to eat this weird vegan food.” your dad holds up a plastic bag with some of the half eaten tofu you had for dinner the night before.

“i-i’ve just been trying to eat healthier for cheer and-

your argument was cut of by your mom forcing one of your pillows into your face while pointing at one of the parts of the flower design the pillow had with a disappointed look on her face. “you have vaginal decor all over your room.”

“you’re looking too hard at it it’s just a f-flower-” you shake your head vigorously while avoiding the burning feeling behind your eyes.

“instead of pictures of guys in your locker you just have pictures of female models your locker.” one of your friends from cheer holds up one of the posters of a girl in a bikini taken from our locker.

“i like looking at them so i can see what i can do to make myself prettier-” you feel your eyes start to water.

“you don’t even like to kiss me let alone go further than that with me!” your boyfriend speaks up while his friends beside him nod in agreement.

at your boyfriends words you quickly turn away from the group to hide the tears now trickling down your cheeks .

after everyone had said their peace mike once again us something to further the conversation.

“you know (y/n) i used t consider myself gay too when i was younger but now im an ex-gay and it was all thanks to an amazing place called true direction.” mike looks at you to say something but continues when he sees you still looking away from the group in shame silently. “true direction is a camp a little ways from here that helps teenagers like you figure out how to overcome the homosexual influence in their life and find the real straight them!” mike finished his little speech with a cheerful speech.

your eyes widen when you actually process what he had said and instantly snap your head back to the group to give them a betrayed look.

“you’re sending me away?”

everyone in the room slightly shitss uncomfortably at your question but gives you a sympathetic smile.

“no of course we’re not sending you away sweetie it’s not at all permanent.” your dad attempts to reassure you.

“yes exactly once you graduate the camp and they fix you we’ll come and get you so you can come right back home safe and sound!” your mom tries her best to sound slightly enthusiastic.

you shake your head in defeat and drop your face into your palms to muffle your sobs.

“i don’t want to go please don’t make me i’ll be normal just don’t make me go there!”

after your family manages to get you to calm down they get you to pack your things and soon after you your mom and dad pile into the car to begin your journey to the true directions camp grounds.

as you drive of you don’t even bother to look back at your teammates and boyfriend due to the fact that the current betrayal you felt from them ran extremely deep.

the ride was pretty unenventful and soon you arrive at your destination.

once the car came to a complete stop your parents very eagerly jumped out of the car leaving you to finally have a small moment to yourself.

“why me?” you grip the cross necklace hanging from your neck tightly.

“come on (y/n)” your parents call from outside the car.

you give the pendant one more squeeze before reluctantly grading yourself out of the car.

when you leave the car you follow your parents as they walk up to a large pink house.

before you make it all the way up to the door a blonde woman in a pink suit and a taller man in a tank top and shorts exit the building and walk towards your family with a large smile on their faces.

“hello there you must be (y/n) and her family my name is mary!’ the woman looks at you with kind eyes.

“yes that would be us!’ your mom responds enthusiastically.

you stay silent and somewhat zone out as they begin talking about how the camp and visitation would work.

“we love you sweetie.” your mom pulls you into a tight hug.

“we promise we’re doing this from your own good.” your dad pats you on your back before they both walk off to reenter their car.

you watch as your parents make jock work of pulling out of the entrance of the camp and drive away with two short honks.

“come on (y/n) let’s get going now.” mary pats you on the shoulder to shake you out of your trance.

you nod silently and follow the woman through the doors to the place where you wold be spending the next couple months of your life getting fixed.

a/n: holy moly this was a lot. my original plan was to make this 5 chapters from all. steps but i feel like the beginning is united a bit detached rom that so i decided to make this it’s own chapter. so sorry if this is shit i a so tired i may go back into to edit it later on. this is not going to be word for word at orf and the movie but it will be very similar with slight changes. my masterlist got a lot more attention than is as expecting so i rushed to whip up something that you guys could read while i plan out the rest of this i really hope this lives up to your expectations!!

taglist: @st4r-b3rries @dollyvuu @lvlymicha @jellyfishrnice @machetegirl109 @smiths-fan--13 @elliewilliamssrealgf @ravyaryn @yuhgetintoonit @nelzooo @luvmily @dearestdolly444 @venuzasmuse

[bahrtofane]

just your luck to have your favorite study spot taken, even if he’s cute, you’ve decided you’re enemies now. jude thinks other wise

word cout - 800+

watch it - puff fluff and silliness

-----

5.43 pm, 4th floor library. partly cloudy but pleasant early october day. not cold enough just yet for snow but chilly enough for cute sweaters. 

halloween is just around the corner, then thanksgiving. winter break is so close ! life is good. great even. smooth sailing. you have a celebratory donut from the cafe downstairs in one hand, and chai in the other. a little treat for the exam you just finished. 

you hum a song aimlessly under your breath as you maneuver around students and staff to get to your place. 

it’s a hidden jem. up on the top floor, allll the way back in the farthest left corner lies a tiny nook with a bean bag that overlooks campus in the prettiest way. Large triangle window with tiny little details in its fixtures.  it’s quiet, calm, and you actually get work done there. 

no ever comes up and it’s peace between the hectic campus life and extreme party culture. you're thinking of maybe just getting comfy and watching a movie today. a blanket would be nice, you could bring one next time, that one that-

your train of thought is derailed faster than it can recover.

your safe haven has been invaded.

there’s a man ! in your spot !! uhg. 

you can't believe it after almost half a semester of serenity the one thing you had is ripped away from you. mid chai, donut and all. the cruelty of the world has never seemed more apparent. you are reminded again that as soon as you can get comfortable, your ripped away and thrown back to reality. 

are you being dramatic ? yes. do you care ? no

the audacity of some people. 

you know logically this isn’t your spot. it’s in the public library where any student can sit and it’s good to share, morals are good. but holy fuck do you hope the guy who’s all cozied up has a fantastic time and maybe trips out the window. 

you resort to having to use a table like some commoner. 

——-

day 2, 4:30 pm. 4th floor. this time, you're sure everything was just a fluke and you’ll be back in business in no time. comfy cozy spot with pretty window. 

your inner peace gets squashed as yet again, your spot is being occupied. this time you need to look into the eyes of the criminal. 

you choose a seat facing the bean bag and set up shop to judge and send him bad vibes. 

unexpectedly, he’s pretty cute even from far away. handsome even. he’s got one of those faces people remember, his features sit so nice and the way he’s basically burying his face into a text book is a little cute you won’t lie. but this doesn’t change anything. 

he’s your enemy. regardless if he’s aware of it or not. 

you soon tune him about in favor of getting work done, but don’t miss the occasional glaces he gives you. 

how interesting. 

——-

your friends tell you this is the start of some enemies to lovers after you fill them in. but you don’t agree. 

especially now that it's the 3rd time. 

you think he’s quite stupid. no amount of pretty smiles and shy glances is going to change the fact that he stole your special once secret library spot. he’s ruined your life ! this is the third time he’s done so. there’s no way you're going to forgive this behavior. 

never mind you don’t know his name or the fact that you’ll most likely never talk to him. your rage runs deep, silent and personal. 

you hope his socks are wet for the next month. 

you might even start a diary just to be able to complain about him in a stupid amount of detail. whatever. 

you spend the next hour or so typing a little aggressively while hoping he bursts into flames or disappears. funny enough, while you take a little social media break, you look up to find him gone. it would be good riddance, expect for the fact that he appears in front of you not a moment later. 

“um, hi?” are the timid words that come from him. his voice does not match the face wow. 

though, he’s even more attractive up close. 

“hello? can i help you?” you try 

“yeah um, actually. i wanna apologize.” 

your left in awe. is he going to apologize for his thievery? is the criminal going to confess his guilt. is this the end of your rage. 

“ i know the bean bag is your spot because you come in at the same time i do and always use it. “

you narrow your eyes, “so you decided to take it because?”

he scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, “um actually i just think you’re really cute and couldn’t think of another excuse to talk to you. my bad.”

“for the record i’m still very mad you took my spot. “ you sigh, not really though. You just like to be drammtic, but he eats it right up. cute.

he nods quickly. “understood. how about i take you out to make up for it ?”

you hum, “i’d like that. “

he smiles, “great. can i get your number to plan it out ?”

“mhm”

and with that your left with your spot now yours again. and a blooming possibility on the horizon. 

[cassiesc0rner]

Impurities VI

Synopsis: You're the new girl at East Highland High, your only goal is to get through school. Until you come across Nate Jacobs

Genre: slight fluff, suggestive

Pairing: Nate x fem!reader

Warnings: manipulation, lying, jealousy, consumption of alcohol, mentions of weed, Imk if I missed something

Song rec: doin’ time - ldr I lauren - men i trust | the color violet - tory lanez | outwest - jackboys | private landing - don toliver

WC: +7,1k

Other parts: previous part, next part

A/N: Thank you guys so much for being so patient with me I really appreciate it, a special thanks to @lilyrachelcassidy for proofreading, and helping me with this part💋 and also thank you 💿 anon for the ideas you gave me in your asks ᥫ᭡

A few days have passed since Nate and Max's encounter, and to Max's dismay, Nate was now involved in the planning of his birthday. It wasn't only weird for you, because you felt like Max was scared of Nate, it was also extremely uncomfortable for Max, who felt like he was walking on eggshells.

The three of you sat together in a nearby café, as you went over the final details for the party. You couldn't help but notice that something was off. Something about the way Max avoided looking at both of you, and the way he sometimes stumbled over his words when he explained something.

He wasn't like this when you two met up alone. He was funny, constantly cracking jokes, talking to you normally and he was full of enthusiasm. He wasn't this nervous or quiet and reserved.

You tried to ignore the feeling, reminding yourself that this was for Nate's birthday, and that everything should be easier now that he's in on the plan. But you just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

You glanced at Nate, who looked as calm as ever. But something about his calmness made you suspicious, because you were sure that Nate was really perceptive, always paying attention to his surroundings and the way people behaved.

He wasn't oblivious, so why didn't he ask Max what's going on? Did he simply not care, or was he still mad because you met up behind his back? Did they have a fight you didn't know about?

You felt like, every time Nate said something or disagreed with something Max said, Max got quieter and agreed with him.

It made you feel weird, and you just wanted the meeting to end as quick as possible, so you could escape the tension and be alone with Nate. You remembered thinking about hanging out with both of them when you met up with Max for the first time.

But this is not how you imagined it.

"What do you think about that?" Nate suddenly asked, as he placed his hand on your thigh, the touch pulling you back to reality. You looked back at him, as you tried to remember what they were talking about.

When Nate saw the confusion written all over your face, he continued "Max and I were talking about who we should invite, and I said that we should only invite a few people from the team, the cheer squad and some of the other popular students."

You nodded along, trying to catch up "That sounds good.. but don't you think we should also invite those, that aren't necessarily popular?" you asked nervously.

The popular crowd always used to intimidate you.

No matter which school you went to, the popular kids would always make you uncomfortable. Whether it was because they saw everyone else as below them, or because they bullied everyone who dared to disobey them.

You didn't really interact with any popular kids yet, except for Nate, Maddy and Max, and you were absolutely scared about what the others might think of you.

You didn't dress like them, you didn't act like them, and you were well aware of the looks some of the girls gave you, when you walked hand in hand with Nate, not to mention the chuckles and giggles that would follow sometimes.

You weren't sure how you're supposed to spend more than five minutes in the same room with them. You didn't expect Nate to be by your side the entire time either, of course he would want to talk to his friends.

Nate pretended to think for a moment as his gaze sharpened "I'm not sure, baby.. I don't want a bunch of randoms at my party. I mean what if they cause problems?" he reasoned calmly.

You nodded understandingly before you responded "No, you're totally right.. It's just I really think, it might be a good chance for other students to feel included too, you know?" you explained carefully.

Nate didn't give a crap about the 'normal students' and he felt like you shouldn't either. Sure, some of them were your friends now, but he couldn't help but feel like you both were above them.

He couldn't tell you that though, you would get the wrong idea of him. "Fine.. I mean you can invite your friends too, it's just that I don't know the other students. I'm not.. excluding them or anything just because they're not popular. I just know the popular crowd way better, and most of them are cool." he explained

"Right Max?" he asked as his gaze wandered back to his teammate. Max nodded "Yeah, they're super chill." he quickly replied, as he looked at you –but not for long, way too scared that Nate might misinterpret it again.

You nodded understandingly "Alright, thank you for letting me invite my friends.." You smiled at Nate, who smiled back at you as his thumb rubbed over your thigh. "But there are some people who definitely aren't welcome, like Maddy and Cassie, and their friends.. They're just bad news." Max nodded in response.

"Are you sure they'd even consider coming in the first place, though?" he asked softly, to which Nate shrugged "I'm sure Maddy and Kat wouldn't, but Cassie... I mean fuck, she still used to text me everyday until recently." Nate scoffed.

That was new.

Why didn't he tell you about that? You furrowed your brows as you looked at Nate "What do you mean she still texted you until recently?" you asked, completely bewildered. Nate just shrugged nonchalantly "Why didn't you tell me?" you added.

Nate sighed "Because it's not important, I don't care about what she does." He reasoned. You nodded "Okay, but I think it's important. I mean, she's clearly harassing you.." you responded.

Nate wasn't sure how to feel about this side of you. He's seen you jealous before, but you never verbally showed it, so this was new to him. "Well, what am I supposed to do? I already blocked her, but she still calls me with an unknown number.." he defended himself.

The truth was, he didn't exactly block her.

He was seriously scared that Cassie would approach you one day, and tell you everything that happened between them, or him and Maddy.

That's why he was scared to block her at first. He even tired threatening her not to do it many times, but she had nothing to lose and he knew that.

"Maybe I should talk to her." you mumbled grumpily. Nate immediately shook his head "No absolutely not, you're not gonna talk to her, alright?" he declared, his tone more serious "Cassie's fucked in the head, you can't talk to her, who knows what she'll do.." he reasoned.

"Then it's even more important that I talk to her, because she clearly didn't listen to you." Nate sighed again "Y/n, please.. can we just not talk about this in front of Max?" he asked, his tone just the slightest bit annoyed. You shook your head "No, I'm actually glad he's here, I'd love to hear his opinion."

Max swallowed harshly. He was so glad he wasn't a part of this discussion so far, and now he had to give his opinion on something like this, while Nate was right in front of him.

"Um.. I'm sure if Nate says he handled it, you shouldn't have to worry." he shrugged. You sighed "He clearly didn't handle it if she still calls him."

Nate liked how much you cared about him, and how furious you seemed to get, just because another girl was texting and calling him. But he also felt weird because his girl was trying to take care of his business, when it should be the other way around.

Nate looked back at Max as you continued "I mean, calling your ex with an unknown or hidden number is so.. creepy. Especially if you bombarded them with texts for literal weeks." you explained.

"She's gonna stop eventually, it's really not that deep." Nate reasoned casually. "No, you don't get it. Do I have to remind you how angry you got when you found out Max and I were meeting up behind your back? How is this any better?" You suddenly blurted out.

Max was so sure he couldn't feel more uncomfortable at the beginning of your meeting, even when it became gradually worse, but now he was sure it was still possible.

He looked at Nate with fear in his eyes, sure that he was probably about to get mad at you, when he saw that cold look in his eyes for a split moment.

Nate looked back at you "You can't compare that. You literally lied to me when I asked you who you're meeting up with, I didn't lie to you about Cassie." he said, his voice slightly lower than before.

"Yeah, and instead of trusting me, and letting me handle something, you forced the truth out of me." you retorted sarcastically. Nate didn't like your tone at all, and he wanted to assert himself "Look, I'm sorry okay? I'm sorry for caring so much about you, and wanting to know the truth, jesus.."

You squinted your eyes at him, because that's exactly what your mother would say, when she tried to make you feel bad for something she did. You were sure that Nate didn't do it with any ill intent, and that he probably just did care a lot, but you couldn't help but notice the similarity.

And Nate seemed to notice that you were thinking about what he just said, just by the look on your face "That's literally something my mom would say in an argument." you pointed out, before raising your hand in defeat. "But, hey, I get it, you're worried and we both made mistakes. But please understand that I don't want Cassie to harass us."

Nate nodded understandingly, calming down just slightly, once he heard the sincerity in your voice. "I'll take care of it, don't worry, alright?" he said, as he stroked your cheek gently. Despite not wanting to let him go that easily, you couldn't help but smile and lean into his touch.

He knew this would work, it always did when you were to disagree with him.

"So, where were we?"

A few days had passed after you two met up with Max, and with the birthday party just two days away, you were more than glad the stress of planning everything was over.

You even found a birthday present for Nate.

You recently went to a jewelry store nearby, where you came across a silver bracelet. It was classy, but not too extravagant which meant he could wear it all the time. You even decided to pay some extra money to get the initials of your first names engraved into it, just to make it even more special.

You were sure you'd be broke after Nate's birthday, since you also had to buy something to wear to the party.

Which is why you were at the mall right now.

When Nate asked where you'd be going after school and you told him you'd look for something to wear to his birthday, he immediately wanted to come along, to help you choose.

But you wanted your outfit to be a surprise, and you definitely wanted to impress him and show him that your sense of fashion changed for the better.

You entered one of the many stores in the mall and immediately felt somewhat.. strange.

You were so used to going shopping with Nate, that it felt strange to enter the shop alone now. It felt like your social anxiety got even worse now that you were alone with all these people in the store.

You wished you were invisible.

It was hard to understand why you felt this way, because you were so sure that you missed going alone, with your earbuds in, trying to ignore everyone else around you. But now you wished Nate was here with you, holding your hand and almost dragging you along with him when he found something new for you to wear.

You didn't like how dependent you were on him, because you didn't want to burden him in any way. Just because you were together didn't mean you'd have to be glued to each other all the time.

But the urge to call him and tell him to come right now was immense. Especially because Nate told you that you could call him if you want him to pick you up from there.

You tried to calm down, and turned the volume of your music up, before taking one last deep breath, and walked further into the store, deciding to check the dresses out first.

Once you saw the rack of dresses, you instantly knew you had to get one since you were sure Nate would want you to wear one.

However, upon further inspection, you noticed that they were all either short, see through, or both. You were used to wearing skirts on the shorter side, so you decided that choosing a short dress wouldn't be that bad.

Not to mention, that you were sure the other girls would also wear something that would show a lot of skin. You didn't want Nate to look at them, and be sad that his girlfriend didn't dress nicely.

You took three different dresses, and made your way to the dressing room.

Once you closed the thick lilac curtain, you sighed feeling relaxed now that you were truly alone. You tried each of the dresses on, looking at each and every angle.

Then you finally decided to wear the last dress you put on: A sultry black satin dress, which had a more sexy look compared to the others. It was also rather short and contained two strings next to the waist, which you could use to adjust the length of the bottom.

You missed wearing darker clothes, and this dress was the perfect opportunity to do so, while also making Nate happy.

You made your way over to the cash register, trying to calm your nerves as you prepared what you were going to say to the young woman. Usually Nate always handled this kind of stuff, and you never had to say anything to the cashier, except for a 'bye' once Nate was done.

But you had to get used to it, you didn't plan on letting Nate do everything for you in the future.

"Where are you going dressed like this?"

You were just about to leave for Nate's party when your mother interrupted you.

It wasn't just the fact that you wore a short dress this time, no. You were well aware of the fact that you looked like you were about to go to a club.

You adjusted the length of your black dress on one side earlier, causing the dress to expose one of your thighs. You also decided to wear some simple, matching black heels, which you wore to one of your dad's company parties, as well as the YSL bag Nate bought you.

And yeah, maybe you also wore more makeup, and smelled like you bathed in perfume, but today was an important day after all.

"I'm going to Nate's birthday party.. I already told you." You rolled your eyes, not ready to have yet another discussion with her, just because of the way you dressed.

"Yeah, of course you are.. why did I even ask." Your mother scoffed, to which you rolled your eyes. "Your dad and I have to talk to you.. either now or when you're back." she announced.

You tilted your head and looked past her, your eyes landing on your father who was sitting in the kitchen. You gulped, scared of what they were about to tell you.

"Fine, just tell me tomorrow.." you said. Sure, you were curious about what they wanted to tell you, but in case it would ruin your mood, it would be better to find out after Nate's birthday.

You didn't want to be pissed on his special day. Also, you and Max worked so hard to make this day perfect and you wanted to enjoy yourself. Not to mention that you couldn't possibly hide your feelings from Nate.

Your mom nodded in response "Alright," she eyed you up and down in a disapproving manner once more, "have fun at Nate's party." she added coldly, but you didn't miss the undertone.

You subtly narrowed your eyes at her before leaving. Now you were sure whatever it was your parents wanted to tell you, would put you in a bad mood.

You were well aware of the fact that they disapproved of your relationship with Nate, and it was safe to assume that they were about to try to separate the two of you.

"Max, where are the balloons?" you shouted across the huge living room "Um.. I think they're still in my car, I'll get them just gimme a sec!" he yelled back.

You two were currently decorating the living room, since the party was about to start soon. You told Nate explicitly to let you two handle the decoration alone.

Which obviously irritated him again.

Not really because he was scared that you'd cheat on him, it was more the fact that Nate had no control over what the two of you would be talking about. What if Max would come clean with you, and tell you everything Nate said to him in the locker room?

Nate knew deep down that Max probably wouldn't do that, or that it might only happen if you would confront him about it. But since you didn't have any suspicions in the first place, he was sure you wouldn't ask.

Not to mention that Nate could –and would– ruin Max's life in return.

Once Max returned from his car, you started pumping them up together. "I'm so glad almost everything went well." you sighed. "What didn't go well?" Max asked as he furrowed his brows.

"Actually, the most important thing.. It's not a surprise anymore." You replied "But that was his fault, not ours." you added jokingly. Max nodded in return, contemplating whether to ask you about what happened or not. But his curiosity got the best of him.

"How did he find out by the way? You never told me, you just texted me that he knows." Max asked carefully, yet with a hint of a chuckle to keep the conversation as lighthearted as possible.

You sighed in return "He.. got mad at me. Apparently he saw me get into your car after school, and he thought I was cheating on him." you rolled your eyes.

Max chuckled nervously "Oh.." he was so glad that Nate didn't approach him first, because he definitely wouldn't have listened to Max. Hell, he'd be glad if he'd even still be alive afterwards. "Yeah, I was so sure he didn't see me.." you frowned.

Max was also sure he couldn't have possibly seen you.

Because when your lessons ended, Nate still had one lesson left. So how was he able to see you get into his car when he was sitting in his classroom?

The only possible time when he could've seen you two together, was maybe at the mall in case he rushed there after school for some unknown reason. Or... when he drove you home..

Goosebumps broke out on his arms at the mere thought of him following you around. Sure, Nate was possessive, but that possessive? "Yeah, same..." He added as he played around with the balloon.

"But.. why did he think you're cheating on him?" Max started again. "Probably because I lied to him about going to Mia's place." You explained, "He basically had to force the truth out of me." you joked.

Max suddenly looked up from the balloon in his hand. "He forced it out of you?.. How?" He asked hesitantly, not sure if he wanted to know what horrible things he put you through in order to get you to speak.

This time you looked down at the balloon in your hand. You didn't want to think about it, you knew he was just scared and acted out on it. "Oh he just... kinda lost his temper.." You responded softly.

Max cursed himself for actually caring. He shouldn't be this close with you, even if he had no romantic intentions with you.

Nate made that very clear.

But he just couldn't help but feel incredibly bad for you. "He didn't hurt you.. right?" he chuckled drily, his eyes scanning your expression.

You quickly shook your head, chuckling as well "No, Nate wouldn't hurt me.. he just got angry and hit the wall.." you trailed off.

Sure, that's what happened, but you definitely left out a few things. The fact that he said a lot of condescending things, and pushed you against said wall, for example.

Max noticed that there was more to the story, simply by the way you were fidgeting with the balloon. But he decided not to press any further, since he didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. Plus, he could already tell that Nate probably berated you.

"Jesus, that sounds pretty rough.. I hope you're okay now." Max responded to which you nodded "Yeah, everything is fine now, don't worry." you reassured him.

Just as Max was about to say something, you were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. You didn't pay attention to the time as you two decorated everything, so you didn't notice that it was that late already.

You looked at Max, as he stood up and went to open the door. You were praying that it was one of your classmates which you invited earlier this week. But once you heard multiple voices, which all didn't belong to any of your friends, you started to feel on edge.

Max came back into the living room with three other girls and two guys. You smiled at them as you greeted them. You noticed that the girls were part of the cheer team.

You haven't really talked to any of the girls from the cheer team before, but you were sure that Max was close to them. So the thought of just sitting there while they all chatted and laughed, made you feel extremely anxious.

But to your surprise, they were friendlier than you thought. Once they entered the room they greeted you, the girls even complimented your look, despite them looking just as good.

And as you chatted with them, the time seemed to go by so much faster. Until everyone arrived and it was finally time for Nate to arrive.

It wasn't a surprise party anymore, but you demanded Nate to only come once everyone arrived and you finished decorating.

You looked into the mirror in the hallway once more to check if you still looked as good as you did when you left the house.

You quickly grabbed your purse and refreshed your perfume before fixing your dress a little bit "Y/n, Nate just pulled up in the driveway!" Max whisper-yelled. "Coming!" you responded.

You asked Max if he could buy a cake for today and luckily he found one. He even refused to take your money when you wanted to pay for it.

You placed a few candles onto the cake, ready to welcome Nate with the cake in your hands. "Did you light the candles?" You asked as you quickly jogged into the living room. "I'm on it.." He said, as he and another guy from the football team lit the candles.

You heard the thud of Nate's car door, and looked back at the candles which were finally lit. Then you quickly took the cake into your hands while Max made his way to the door, opening it before Nate could ring the door.

Nate's eyes widened in surprise, as everyone said "Happy birthday!" in unison. But even despite the fact that there were about 40 people in front of him, his eyes landed on you, his beautiful, gorgeous girlfriend who smiled so lovingly at him.

And then his eyes were fixated on your dress.

And the way your current position allowed him to catch a glimpse of your chest "Make a wish!" you pushed him, as if the candles were waiting to be blown.

He chuckled, before closing his eyes and quickly thinking of a wish. Then he blew the candles out, and everyone cheered.

And still, he only spared them a quick glance and a smile before putting his focus back on you, and making sure to place a kiss onto your lips. This again caused some of the guys to roar once more.

"Thank you guys for coming, I really appreciate it," Nate finally spoke. "and thank you, for planning all of this with Max." he smiled down at you, as he cupped your cheeks. "Can we get a round of applause for my beautiful girlfriend?" Nate added, which caused you to shyly nudge him.

And as if on demand they started to applaud you.

It always fascinated you how much influence Nate seemed to have over almost everyone. No matter what it is, they'd literally do anything if he demands it. You couldn't help but wonder what caused everyone to just blindly follow him like that.

After a few minutes, the party finally got started. Hip-Hop music was blasting through the speakers, and some of the students already made their way to the kitchen, grabbing bottles of liquor and cups, ready to mix their drinks.

Some other students were simply sitting in the living room while chatting and laughing, some were outside smoking. And you were left with Nate who just smirked at you.

You chuckled once he stayed silent "Why are you looking at me like that?" Nate scoffed "Have you seen yourself? You look fucking amazing." he reasoned, as his hands made their way to your waist.

"Can't believe you chose that dress..." he added, as he paid attention to how the material felt under his hands.

"I'm glad you like it.." you smiled.

"Shit, I don't just like it, I love it." he confirmed.

"I wish I could take it off though.." he added as he looked down at your cleavage. You shyly glanced around, hoping no one saw or heard the two of you. "Can we go outside for a moment? I still need to give you your present." you smiled proudly.

Nate furrowed his brows. Did you really buy him something? After you must've spent so much for this party already. "What present? I thought this party was your present already." he chuckled.

You shook your head "Nope, I got you something." Nate blinked at you, seemingly at a loss of words. "Come on, I wanna give it to you!" you exclaimed as you grabbed his hand and pulled him outside.

Nate was still dumbfounded, trying to guess what you could've possibly bought him. "Close your eyes and extend your hand." You grinned. Nate scoffed before he complied.

You quickly pulled the small gift box out of your purse, before softly placing it in his hands "You can look now.." you whispered. Nate slowly opened his eyes and inspected the gift box, before looking back at you "Y/n, you really didn't have to do this. I'm sure the party was expensive enough.."

And he really meant it.

He knew that Max also paid for some of the stuff, but that didn't change the fact that he didn't want you to spend that much money on him. He was the man in the relationship, and he should pay for your things, not the other way around.

He already planned on paying you back, giving you princess treatment, taking and eating you out, the list was long.

"I know, but I don't care if I spend money on you for once. It's your birthday after all, and today should be your special day." You smiled, and he couldn't help but lean down and press a slow, loving kiss onto your lips.

You kissed him back softly, before Nate looked down at you and caressed your cheek "I don't deserve you.." he whispered softly as he frowned.

You shook your head in response "I don't deserve you, Nate." you responded, as your hand stroked Nate's. "You've done so much for me, it's only right I treat you good too for once."

Nate knew he was right. He didn't deserve you.

But he just had to be selfish and keep you all to himself. He was sure you two were meant for each other in a way, and he'd try his best to make you happy.

"Come on now, open the present!" you urged, excited to see his reaction. He chuckled in return before finally turning his attention back to the box in his hand. He lifted the top and looked at the bracelet inside.

Then he removed it from the box and inspected it further. "Do you like it..?" you asked nervously. When Nate didn't respond and just continued to inspect the bracelet, you added "I actually... engraved something into it."

Nate looked at the silver rectangle-shaped charm, which indeed had their initials engraved. Nate swallowed harshly as he just stared at it for a moment.

While his silence was a sign of adoration and appreciation, you took it as a negative sign, maybe he didn't like it, or it was too much that early into your relationsh- "Y/n..." he said softly.

You looked up at him "Y-yes?" Nate averted his gaze from the bracelet back to you "Fuck.. I don't even know what to say..."

Nate recently thought about buying promise rings for you two, but he didn't want you to think things were moving too fast, so he decided to wait.

But your present just showed him that you felt the same way about him. He couldn't help but feel proud as he looked at you "That's probably the best present I've ever received. Thank you so much.."

He opened the bracelet and tried to put it on, as fast as possible. When you noticed how he struggled however, you chuckled "Come on, let me help you.." Nate held his hand in front of you, and you instantly closed the bracelet. "I'm so glad you like it." you finally squealed in excitement.

Nate chuckled before wrapping his arms around your waist and leaning down to press kisses all over your face, and neck.

God, he needed to be inside you.

"I love you so much, princess," he whispered into your ear. "Can't wait 'til we're all alone later, so I can show you just how much I appreciate you," he rasped, which caused your eyes to widen in both excitement and shock.

"Is that a promise?" you asked shyly "Of course it is." He smirked in return. "Let's go back inside, and get something to drink, yeah?" You nodded in return, as you followed him back inside.

Nate made a beeline towards the kitchen, your hand in his as he pulled you through the crowded living room. "So... I assume you never really drank any alcohol before, right?" he asked as he opened Max's fridge.

You nodded slowly "I had like.. one glass of champagne at one of my dad's company parties.." you stated, hoping he wouldn't think you're too boring "Cute." he chuckled "But I'm gonna show you the real stuff now, I'm sure you'll like it."

Nate placed a cup in front of him before he grabbed a bottle of bacardi, and poured some of it into the cup. Then he placed the bottle back onto the cabinet and grabbed some pineapple and coconut juice, also pouring some of it into the cup.

He himself grabbed a bottle of vodka and poured it into his cup, not bothering to mix it with anything. Once he was done, he handed you your cup and smiled at you. You excitedly looked into the cup, and took a sip of it.

You furrowed your brows, since you expected it to taste a lot like alcohol, but for some reason you could only taste the juice. "Wow.. you're a pro at mixing drinks." You smiled "It barely tastes like alcohol, right?" he smirked, to which you nodded.

Nate took a sip of his cup as well, his facial expression barely changing as he drank the vodka. "Can I try yours?" Nate smiled in return "You can, but I'm not sure if you really want to." he held his cup invitingly towards you, before you grabbed it and took a small sip.

Your face almost immediately contorted as you shivered. Your stomach started to heat up, as you felt the hard liquor run down your throat. "Ugh.. How can you even drink that with a straight face?" you asked.

Nate couldn't help but laugh at how innocent you were as you looked up at him, completely confused. "You just get used to it when you attend a lot of parties." he reasoned.

You shook your head "I don't think I can attend enough parties to make this taste fine.." Nate chuckled, as you took a few large sips of your own cup, to make the taste go away.

Then you placed your cup down onto the counter "You want me to mix you something new, before we go back to the living room?" Nate asked, once he noticed your cup was almost empty.

You contemplated for a moment before finally nodding "Sure, as long as it's not just vodka.." you joked. Nate smiled before reaching for your cup.

While he was busy mixing you a new drink, you couldn't help but think about what he said earlier. You were anticipating whatever Nate would do to you later. No matter what you two did so far, it always felt good and he paid so much attention to your pleasure.

You noticed however, that he was holding back sometimes, maybe because he was scared to hurt you, or afraid you'd judge him. You weren't sure.

You were hoping that Nate would let go tonight, and fully trust you. But no matter what would happen, he promised to appreciate you tonight.

And you knew that Nate always kept his promises.

Nate and you made your way back to the crowd as the loud music blasted through the speakers. some students were dancing, some were chatting, and some were downright making out.

Nate walked over to the couch, before plopping down next to one of his teammates, who was clearly in another world judging by the look on his face.

Nate smirked, as he patted his lap invitingly. You shyly sat down, not putting your full weight on him until he pulled you closer towards him. The smell of weed filled your nose and you scrunched your nose in return.

"Yo.." he slurred, as he held what you assumed to be the source of the smell in his hand. "Is that your first one tonight?" Nate nodded towards the joint in his hand. The other guy shook his head "Nah, probably my third." He mumbled before taking a drag.

Then he held it towards Nate, offering him a hit as well. Nate hesitantly took the joint out of his hand before taking a drag.

He wasn't sure how you'd react to him smoking, maybe you'd think bad about him, or dislike it. But once he noticed you were just raising your eyebrows at him in surprise, he was sure you didn't.

"Didn't know you smoke." you said teasingly, which caused him to chuckle. "Yeah, I mean I don't do it regularly of course.." Nate defended himself before taking another drag, and passing it back to his friend.

"Why? Do you mind?" he asked nonchalantly, wanting to make sure you really didn't mind. You shook your head "No, as you said, you don't do it everyday." you replied.

To be honest, you were curious about what it felt like to be high, but you were way too nervous to try it. Everyone perceived it as something dangerous, and your parents warned you, telling you it’s a dangerous drug.

It was already exciting enough to drink properly for the first time, and so far you didn't really feel much. You just hoped nothing bad or embarrassing would happen to you.

Nate paid close attention to your cup, encouraging you to take a sip from time to time. And whenever it was empty he'd ask if you wanted a refill.

After your third refill you started to notice the effect of the alcohol. You were currently sitting next to Nate, since his friend decided to get up at some point.

Nate observed you well enough to notice that you were starting to get tipsy. He was surprised it didn't happen earlier since you were so new to drinking.

But it didn’t bother him, he knew there was enough alcohol left to get you absolutely drunk. "Everything alright?" he asked, placing his hand on your thigh to get your attention.

You slowly looked over at Nate and nodded with a content smile "Yeah.. what about you?" you asked, visibly tipsy. Nate chuckled "Yeah me too. Is your cup empty? You haven't tried malibu one yet." He added.

You chuckled in return "Malibu.. sounds fun, I'm in." you quickly emptied your cup, and hummed afterwards. Then you held your cup towards Nate, your moves uncoordinated.

"Don't you wanna come along?" he asked as he got up. You pouted and shook your head "I like the couch, it's comfy." you mumbled before leaning your head back onto the headrest.

Nate actually would've preferred it if you would've come along with him. He didn't want to leave you on your own in your current state.

He didn't trust the other tipsy or drunk guys around you, who knows what kind of ideas they might get. He sighed "Alright, I'll be right back. Stay here okay?" he said sternly, but the tone didn't reach you "Yeah sure.." you smiled, as you closed your eyes.

As Nate rushed into the kitchen, you lost yourself in the music which was blaring through the speakers, as the bass vibrated through your body. And before you knew it, Nate already returned with your cup in his hand.

"Wow, you were so quick." you exclaimed as you tried to sit up straight again "Yeah, didn't want to leave you alone here." he explained, trying to sound neutral.

Your eyes followed his every move as he sat down next to you again. Your gaze completely fixated on your boyfriend. You still weren't over the fact that you got so lucky to be dating him.

You couldn't help but stare at him as the dim party lights illuminated his face. He looked so pretty while he took a sip from his cup, before licking his lips. Everything about him was mesmerizing.

Your eyes trailed down from his face to his shoulder, then to his muscular arm which held the cup in his hand. You wanted nothing more than for Nate to manhandle you. You blamed it on the alcohol, as if you didn't also have these thoughts when you were absolutely sober.

"You still there, Princess?" Nate asked, as a smirk threatened to make its way to his lips. Nate felt your gaze burn into his side, and when he looked at you he instantly knew what kind of look that was.

"Mhm, why?" you asked before taking a sip from your cup. "Mhh, is this the malibu drink you were talking about?" Nate smiled as he nodded "You like it?" you took another large sip before answering "Yeah, this might be the best drink I've had tonight." you said.

Nate chuckled before leaning back against the sofa. When you remained quiet for some time, Nate glanced over at you, noticing that you were still staring at him "What's wrong, hm?" he asked as he turned towards you.

You giggled in return before averting your gaze back to the cup in your hand. "Nothing 's just.." Nate waited patiently for you to continue "You just.. you're really hot.. you know?" you finally responded.

Nate chuckled in response, "That so?" he asked before leaning in closer "What's so hot about me, hm?" You swallowed, because even that was hot.

"Where do I even start," your speech seemed to have become more slurred by now "you're so, so tall, your voice makes me feel things I didn't know I could feel."

Nate raised an eyebrow at your bold confession, not used to you being so open about your thoughts with him, but also loving every second of it. Then your free hand moved towards his arm, slightly squeezing at his biceps "And your arms.. hmm.. so strong." you giggled.

The way you talked to him made him want to ditch his own birthday party, and take you home to have you in every way possible. Nate leaned in even closer "My arms huh?” he teased, slightly flexing the muscle below your hand. “What else, Princess?” He asked, his tone almost teasing as he was genuinely curious.

You smiled, your heavy lidded eyes glued to his face. “Everything about you is hot.” you confessed, the alcohol clearly loosening you up. “Your jawline,” you breathed “your eyes– the way you look at me sometimes.”

You felt a shiver run down your spine once you noticed, that Nate was giving you the exact look you just mentioned. “The way I look at you.. How exactly do I look at you?” he asked, “I don’t know how to explain it, it’s like… you only have eyes for me,” Nate hummed in response.

“like you own me.” you pointed out, too amazed to stop the words from slipping out. Nate raised his eyebrows ever so slightly, pleasantly surprised by your words. “Like I own you, huh?” he murmured, his voice low enough to make your stomach flip.

He leaned in, his lips nearly brushing the shell of your ear “Maybe that’s because I do.” he whispered, his hand slowly moving to rest on your thigh, and his grip firm enough to make you gasp.

You felt a wave of heat wash through your body. The alcohol in your system seemed to make things even more intense than they were already, everything around you felt blurry, but his touch and his words were crystal clear.

He pulled back slightly, just enough to meet your gaze “Do you like that? Knowing you’re mine?” he asked, as his thumb stroked over your exposed thigh. As if on autopilot you felt yourself nodding.

“Yeah?” he pressed, loving the way he clearly affected you. Before you could answer his hand slid further up your leg “Good,” he said, his voice low and commanding.

“Because you’ll always be mine.”

✎Holy shit this took way too long, but here it is. I’m currently working on the next part and hope that I can finally add hyperlinks again since it hasn’t been working for a week now. As always I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I’d like to thank you all for reading and supporting me throughout this truly awful time.♡

- Cassandra

Taglist:

@lilyrachelcassidy, @endless----love, @sophsss867, @jennnsthings, @digitalpup444, @vividfleur, @tsofo26, @lunalvrsblog, @sunshinedaisy21 @cc13723things

[sepdet]

Try to imagine Trump going to campaign HQ to reassure those working to get him elected with a speech like this after one of his unwelcome surprises.

Of course, that's impossible. This classy speech is all about "we" — the team, and the American people — although of course it's got a few "I's" in there to contrast herself with Trump and sketch out goals.

First five minutes: Squaring the circle of saluting Biden graciously, thanking and reassuring his election team, and moving forward

05:40 - rundown of major accomplishments of President Biden's administration

8:45 Harris lays out how she sees this election and I'm actually gonna transcribe it despite my arthritis because YES YES YES. (It's not very long.)

"It is my great honor to go out and EARN this nomination, and to win.

"So in the days and weeks ahead, I together with you will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic party, to unite our nation, and to win this election.

"You know, as many of you know, before I was elected as Vice President, before I was elected as United States Senator, I was the elected Attorney General of California, and before that I was a courtroom prosecutor. In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds. [chuckles start around the room, she smiles.] Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump's type.

"And in this campaign I will proudly — I will proudly put my record against his. As a young prosecutor, when I was in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, I specialized in cases involving sexual abuse. Donald Trump was found liable by a jury for committing sexual abuse. As Attorney General of California I took on one of our country's largest for-profit colleges and put it out of business. Donald Trump ran a for-profit college, Trump University, that was forced to pay $25 million to the students it scammed. As District Attorney, to go after polluters, I created one of the first environmental justice units in our nation. Donald Trump stood in Mar-o-lago and told Big Oil lobbyists he would do their bidding for a $1 billion campaign contribution. During the foreclosure crisis, I took on the big Wall Street banks and won $20 billion for California families, holding those banks accountable for fraud. Donald Trump was just found guilty of 34 counts of fraud.

"But make no mistake — all that being said, this campaign is not just about us versus Donald Trump. There is more to this campaign than that. Our campaign has always been about two different versions of what we see as the future of our country, two different visions for the future of our country. One focused on the future, the other focused on the past.

"Donald Trump wants to take our country backward, to a time before many of our fellow Americans had full freedoms and rights.

"But we believe in a brighter future that makes room for all Americans. We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead. [Calls of "That's right!"] We believe in a future where no child has to grow up in poverty, where every person can buy a home, start a family and build wealth, and where every person has access to paid family leave and affordable child care. That's the future we see! [Applause.] Together we fight to build a nation where every person has affordable healthcare, where every worker is paid fairly, and where every senior can retire with dignity.

"All of this is to say that building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. Because we here know that when our middle class is strong, America is strong. And we know that's not the future Donald Trump is fighting for. He and his extreme Project 2025 will weaken the middle class and bring us backward — please do note that — back to the failed trickle-down policies that gave huge tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations and made working families pay the cost, back to policies that put Medicare and Social Security on the chopping block, back to policies that treat healthcare as only a privilege for the wealthy, instead of what we all know it should be, which is a right for every American.

"America has tried these economic policies before. They do not lead to prosperity. They lead to inequity and economic injustice. And we are NOT GOING BACK. We are not going back. (You're not taking us back.)

"Our fight for the future is also a fight for freedom. Generations of Americans before us have led the fight for freedom from our founders to our framers, to the abolitionists and the suffragettes, to the Freedom Riders and farm workers. And now I say, team, the baton is in our hands. We, who believe in the sacred freedom to vote. We, who are committed to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. We, who believe in the freedom to live safe from gun violence, and that's why we will work to pass universal background checks, red flag laws, and an assault weapons ban. We, who will fight for reproductive freedom, knowing if Trump gets the chance, he will sign a national abortion ban to outlaw abortion in every. single. state—but we are not going to let that happen.

"It is this team here that is going to help in this November to elect a majority of members of the United States Congress who agreethe government should not be telling a woman what to do with her body. And when Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms, as President of the United States I will sign it into law! [cheers, someone shouts "we the people!"] "Indeed, we the people.

"So ultimately, to all the friends here I say: in this election we know we each face a question. What kind of country do we want to live in? A country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, ["Yes!"] or a country of chaos, fear, and hate? [Boos] You all are here because you as leaders know we each — including our neighbors and our friends and our family — we each as Americans have the power to answer that question. That's the beauty of it, the power of the people. We each have the ability to answer that question.

"So in the next 106 days—" looks around the room smiling at various people, "We have work to do. We have doors to knock on, we have people to talk to, we have phone calls to make, and we have an election to win. …" [a few final crowd -whipping-up platitudes like "Do we believe in freedom"]

------

Note: Yes, I know, she spoke about rights for all Americans without getting into any specifics besides reproductive and voting rights, because those two are core values of the Democratic party and the ones most Americans agree with. Unifying a party and coalition building starts by finding common ground. The approach Harris is taking will pull away some old-school moderate Republicans who are reluctant to leave their party even as it changes beyond recognition, but who really don't like Trump. Many of them have been poisoned more or less by Fox News, so they need to see she's not a crazy crazy liberal.

[b4mpyre-k1zz3s]

First of all: I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR BLOG literally can't stop reading yours posts!!!!

now, i want to know if you could do a headcanon with Jhonny or Bam, about their girlfriend doing a sex photoshot with all the jackass guys (something that involved a halloween special ep + playboy idk), and he GET REALLY JEAlous

anyways i love your blog. just it.💕

Playboy Photoshoot HC’s!

Johnny Knoxville X Fem!Y/N, Bam Margera X Fem!Y/N (slight Steve-O X Fem!Reader X Chris Pontius)

Warnings: Extremely suggestive content, pornography, flirting, jealousy, awkward boners, taunting, possessiveness, leather, choking kink, praise kink, minimal plot, fighting

An: Thank you so much for the request and all the love!! What a start to my Halloween special ;) The costumes in this fic were inspired by the convict stunt that Johnny did, and fun fact: since the first movie was released arround a week before Halloween, this is all totally feasible! Ps. I completed more than one request for these HC’s , so see attached! ;)

That halloween photoshoot looked more like a frat party held in a Toys R Us than a legitimate operate run by Playboy, what with all the props and bizarre costumes

Not a typical set up, but they wernt exactly dealing with typical subjects…

You were dressed up in this sexy little leather number that was supposed to be a police officer’s uniform judging by the hat,

On the other hand, your boyfriend and his buddies dressed as convicts clad in orange jumpsuits, no tiny skirts or egregious heels to be found

You thought to call sexism on that, but part of you knew that if you did Chris would offer to wear the outfit too and match with you and he’d probably be able to pull that off.

While the others were fucking arround on the faux prison set, Johnny wandered over to one of the photographers, “Hey, anybody know where-?”

Coincidentally, that’s right about when you walked on set,

The second he saw you all dressed up, Knoxville got those big cartoon heart eyes and stuck out his wrists in a ‘cuff me’ gesture. Your heart melted

“Ah! You are just too much!” Giggling, you pulled him in for a hug, incidentally squishing his face in your boobs (thanks, egregious heels),

Not that he minded, nor the other guys, who were very not sneakily watching you two.

The cameras started flashing, and while you didn’t exactly know what to expect out of a porno photo shot, it certainly wasn’t this-

Sandwiching you him and Chris, Steve chuckled lowly in your ear, “You gonna frisk me, officer?”

Despite the obvious suggestive tone, he really only said it to be funny.

What else are you supposed to say when you’ve got your hands all on your buddy’s chick?

And while innocent as well, Pontius didn’t make the situation any better when he leaned over his shoulder from where he was squished up behind you and asked,

“Y’think I could try that on next? It looks great on you!”

Any guy would get pissed at this. Especially Johnny, who wants exactly the most open to you gettin’ felt up by his buddies

Sitting just off to the side, Knoxville was quietly fuming. I mean, there’s a fine line here, and those two idiots were getting pretty damn close to it.

Bam was about to nonchalantly kick flip over that line.

Given the setup and the leather and handcuffs and whatnot, things got, for lack of a better word, dominatrixy

Pulling Bam into an armhold with a prop baton for a couple shots, you really had no clue he would get hard before you sat down to straddle his hips

He didn’t seem like the choking type but hell, who are you to speculate?

Those orange jumpsuits did nothing to hide the obvious.

While making full on eye contact with Knoxville, he flashed him a shit eating grin and let out a taunting little groan, “Fuck…”

He knew he was screwed. Or more aptly, you were screwed

Like the discrete man he was, Johnny quietly pulled you away from the action and into a dressing room. Shutting the door behind you, he stood far too close,

“Y/N,” Knoxville leaned in and put his big hands on your shoulders, trying to keep his voice down as he explained, “I don’t like the way the guys’ve been lookin’ at you.”

Grinning, you poked fun at his sudden hesitance, “Cmon- It’s a Playboy shoot.”

This was your chance, Eyes glinting, you provoked him a bit, “What? You jealous or somethin’?” His lips straightened into a stiff line.

The sound of his resolve cracking, then breaking was nearly audible as he snapped, “Yeah, I’m jealous!”

Before you could spit out that he’s the one that asked you to do this, Knoxville pounced on you.

Wrapping you up in those gangly arms, his hands searched for any skin to find purchase on

It was brutal. Animalistic and angry and drenched in hormones; even you were a little surprised by it. Not in a million years would you think a guy like him had it in him

Not that you didn’t enjoy it. In fact, you enjoyed it a lot more than you’d care to admit.

Here you were in some dressing room, tugging at eachother’s clothes like you couldn’t get them off fast enough.

In the fervor, the two of you tumbled onto a couch, your hands fisting orange as Knoxville made his little bid for territory,

Burying his face in your neck, the air between your bodies was thick. Hands working at costume pleather, Johnny couldn’t fight off a grin at himself.

With a murmur, his natural ability to goad a reaction slipped through, “Yeah? Cmon- y’think Bam could do this?”

You knew it as well as he did- if Bam was in his shoes, looking down at you like this, that dipshit would’ve glued his boxers to his left leg the minute he walked in the room.

Shaking your head no, you let out a little gasp as Johnny roughly hiked your leg up on his hip

He chuckled to himself, eyes glinting as he murmured, “Atta girl…”

[yumeka-sxf]

Today's new chapter was so intriguing 👀

First off, nice to see the Authens again. Guess we're sure now that Endo will make them reoccurring characters! Yor's embarrassment about being called "Mom" ("okaa-san" in the JP version) was really cute.

They managed to translate this joke very well; in the JP version, the word "ebento"(event) makes Sigmund think of "obento"(lunchbox). Using the word "function" for "luncheon" was clever!

But the main highlight of this chapter for me was seeing the ever enigmatic Melinda again after so long!

She's a really a tough one to figure out, and this chapter only brought up more questions than answers. She seems extremely nice here, being very forgiving of Millie despite her harsh accusations against her husband. She also mentions that she'd be very resentful if anything were to happen to her family...which is kind of contrasting to her thoughts about Damian from the end of the bus hijacking arc.

I also loved the scene of Yor sticking up for Millie. Her expression was so blank yet so deep at the same time. It actually reminded me of Anya's expression when she punched Damian - in both cases, their blank expression doesn't match their action, but it makes sense because they're still unsure of how to act and what emotion to portray in many seemingly "normal" situations. Anger and annoyance aren't feelings that come naturally to them.

In Yor's case here, having to defend someone against such accusations isn't something she's had much experience doing (at least not for someone who isn't family), and at the same time she can't just outright kill the hostile party like she would on an assassination mission. So despite being in such an awkward situation, especially for someone like her who struggles with social interactions, she managed to remain remarkably calm. As usual, Yor gets easily flustered when it comes to her own feelings, but if she sees someone else being threatened, her capabilities shoot up to maximum! That unpredictable expression should be feared from both her and Twilight!

We also learn that Yor lost her parents in the war, which is something I always suspected. Her words in the below panel reminded me a lot of the thoughts she had during the end of the cruise arc. As I've mentioned before, despite her naivety about many things, she understands the tragedies that go on in the world, especially in terms of war - that it's not just soldiers who suffer, but the children and everyone else left behind. It makes sense that someone who understands that kind of loss and hardship has such outpouring empathy to others the way Yor does...

...which is actually contrasting to the way Millie deals with her loss, by lashing out at others. It's said that those who have suffered can become either very sympathetic or very resentful. It was interesting to see that subtle contrast between Yor and Millie here.

Speaking of Millie, it was nice to see her get some redemption and backstory. Like Camilla, I still don't think this makes up for all the mean things she's said to Yor before, but it's something!

Good to see McMahon again after so long. Don't think he's made an appearance since the cruise arc 👀

As usual, it's hard to say if this chapter is leading to a new arc or not. I'm sure things mentioned here, especially about Melinda, will come back later, but who knows if it will be right away or several chapters from now. I know we were all expecting something relating to Anya's backstory based on the previous short mission, but I still think there's a chance that what happened here could tie into that. We'll see! We're close to chapter 100 so I wonder if Endo is planning something special for that 🤔

[chloesolace]

I Can See You - Stephen Strange x Reader [Christmas Special]

summary: You are a student of the mystic arts, studying at the Sanctum Sanctorum under Doctor Strange's and Wong's guidance. You are nearing the end of your apprenticeship, and ready to celebrate at the Kamar-Taj Christmas party, yet your growing attraction to Stephen makes it hard to focus on much else (not even those delicious roasted almonds you love so much). When you sprain your ankle, and Stephen is there to offer his aid, you realize that his cold demeanor towards you might not be because of negative feelings after all.

pairing: Stephen Strange x Apprentice!Reader

word count: 3k

warnings: age gap

a/n: Merry Christmas everyone! This is another contribution to my Swift series <3 and a Christmas special. My next one shots will be accepted requests.

Masterlist - Discord Server - Request Info - Taylor Swift Series

And we kept everything professional But something's changed, it's something I like They keep watchful eyes on us So it's best that we move fast and keep quiet

You were standing in the hallway of the Sanctum Sanctorum, a book in your hand. Quietly humming the tune you were listening to through your earbuds, you browsed the pages. The Sanctum was quiet, with Wong away on some business and Stephen having barricaded himself in his study. Most days were like this, so you had to find ways to entertain yourself when Stephen or Wong did not bother you with magical training. 

You were in the last year of your apprenticeship and could call yourself a master of the mystic arts as soon as next year was only one week away. You had been looking forward to spending this month with Christmas activities, but had been met with extra work given to you by your fellow sorcerers. Although you were their apprentice, you had become more of a friend who was magically similarly powerful to them already, just in a different way.

As a natural witch, you had a certain affinity towards magic, yet the mystic arts were not the type of magic that was inherited and so you had had to work your way up the ladder just like any other student of Kamar-Taj had. 

You hadn't been to Kamar-Taj in ages, so you were very excited about the Christmas party that would take place later today. You would see your friends from your first year at the temple again. It was extremely exciting to properly socialize since Stephen barely paid attention to you outside of his lectures and assignments, and you barely knew anyone from this city; you had grown up in a remote town far away from New York.

You put the book back where it belonged and left the living area to climb the large staircase that dominated the foyer. Its railing had been decorated with lights that glowed in even intervals. 

“(y/n)!” You heard someone shout your name behind you, so you stopped in your tracks and turned around, tapping on your left earbud once so the music would stop. 

Stephen stood in front of you with his arms crossed in front of his chest and an annoyed expression on his face.

“Have you finished your paper on interdimensional threat elimination yet? Wong said he’s still waiting for your email.”

“Of course,” you replied, taking the earbuds out and dropping them into your pocket. “I wanted to send it to him just now.” You wanted to say how unnecessary it was to give you one last assignment that was due on Christmas, and a theory one at that, but you bit your tongue and swallowed the thought.

He hummed a response, cold gaze lingering on you while he seemed to think about your answer. Without another word, Stephen then turned on his heel and left for the kitchen, leaving you standing on the staircase. 

You sighed and continued towards your room. The way he spoke with you lately was getting on your nerves, and you realized how he could sometimes not even look at you. It stung, wondering how his opinion of you could have dropped this much, especially in regards to the secret feelings you harbored for the sorcerer.

You closed the door behind you when you reached your room, trying to forget the encounter you had just had. Your room was moderately sized, with antique furniture and a large golden mirror next to your king-sized bed, neatly made with green velvet bedding. 

To get into the Christmas spirit, you had decorated your room a little with some lights and a wreath, whose four thick candles were each lit, enchanted so they wouldn't extinguish or transfer the flame to any flammable object. 

You approached your desk in front of your window, letting yourself sink into the office chair in front of it. You had a good view of the business of Bleecker Street, so you observed for just a moment longer. There were many cars today, and people dressed in thick jackets that kept them safe from the falling snow, carrying presents in large bags or underneath their arms.

You smiled softly as you opened your laptop and quickly sent Wong and Stephen the PDF document. Normally, you would have gone over it again but today you really did not have the nerve or the motivation to do so. Besides, you had been done with it for almost a week already. 

After placing your earbuds back inside their case and leaving them on your nightstand, you exited your room, heading down the hall to Stephen's study. It was the first room next to the stairs, and its door was typically closed. Today was no exception. You knocked carefully and pushed it open a bit.

“Yes?” Stephen said without looking up, keeping his eyes firmly on the book he held in his hands.

You opened the door further and leaned against the doorframe, studying your mentor with a raised eyebrow. Sometimes, you wondered if he used his excessive research as a coping mechanism, as there was no way a single person could be so intertwined with their work.

“I sent you the email,” you informed him, your eyes resting on the book in his hands. “And I was wondering when you would want to meet downstairs for the Christmas party at Kamar-Taj.”

Stephen sighed, placing the book back onto the shelf. He turned to face you, his expression unreadable.

"Right, the Christmas party," he said. "Wong mentioned it.”

You narrowed your eyes slightly, trying to read him, realizing that he had forgotten all about it until now. You sighed, averting your gaze for a moment.

“You don't plan to attend?”

“I do not. It would be irresponsible of me to leave the Sanctum unattended on Christmas.” He walked around his desk and let himself fall into his chair, turning his PC on with a click of his mouse.

“The last time you went to a party was the full moon one two years ago,” you reminded him, crossing your arms in front of your chest.

He was about to reply when he stopped for a second, looking at you perplexed. “You remember that?”

“Either way,” you continued, ignoring his question as you placed one hand on his mahogany desk, “Wong said he'd make sure someone would be there to take care of the Sanctum. So if you want to come along, he and I will meet in the foyer at seven.”

Stephen looked up at you while his fingers ghosted over the keyboard of his PC, but you didn't give him time to answer as you turned and left his study, closing the door behind you.

It took you some time to get ready, and music could be heard coming from your room throughout it all. You had opted for a short red dress that sparkled in the light of your room. It was dark outside when you were done, and you were very thankful for the time spell put on Kamar-Taj today so that time zones did not matter. You couldn't imagine getting ready like this at eight in the morning.

You put on your heels, and grabbed your coat and a clutch before you left your room, locking it with your magic. The cold New York air caused goosebumps to appear on your legs; a window must have been opened somewhere. 

You descended the stairs, gripping the railing to steady yourself in the heels you wore, careful not to trip. A smile appeared on your face as you spotted Wong standing at the foot of the stairs. He was dressed elegantly, yet not overly so for a simple Christmas party.

“Will Stephen not be joining us?” he asked, blinking at you while scanning the stairs behind you in search of the other man. You merely shrugged your shoulders in response.

Before you could reply, Stephen emerged from the Sanctum library to your right and joined the two of you. He wore a white shirt and a tie, his hands hidden inside the pockets of his black trousers. A red scarf hung around his shoulders, and you immediately recognized the cloak of levitation’s pattern in the fabric.

“And here I thought you'd be spending most of the evening studying a tome,” you teased, looking up at him to meet his eye.

“Well, this party can also be seen as a celebration of you becoming a master of the mystic arts. What kind of mentor would I be if I didn't celebrate that?”

Wong shook his head, extending his arms to create a portal in the middle of the Sanctum’s foyer. It came alive in a frame of sparks, glistening yellow and bright, reflecting in the gemstone you were wearing around your neck. It had no magic, yet it complemented your eyes.

“(y/n) is more of a friend than an apprentice, Stephen. To both of us. You should not see this as an obligation.”

You pursed your lips as the awkward silence that followed, but Wong had only said the words out loud that you had been thinking the entire past weeks.

Stephen did not reply and you could not bring yourself to meet his eye, so you only offered Wong a faint smile before stepping through the portal. 

All three of you exited the portal in the heart of Kamar-Taj, where ancient buildings adorned with mystical symbols rose against the darkening sky. A warm, magical glow enveloped the surroundings as you entered the main building, greeted by practitioners of the mystic arts who were adorned in elaborate robes, mingled beneath enchanted decorations that turned the air into a cascade of glittering snowflakes. The aroma of exotic spices drifted through the air, and you immediately felt your mouth water. 

You navigated through the lively crowd, and your face lit up when you spotted old friends and mentors from your time at the temple. You immediately engaged in conversation with them, Stephen and Wong joining you. Each of you took a drink from a nearby floating tray, clinking your glasses. Wong seemed to be feeling particularly sociable, but Stephen did not say much, his gaze occasionally landing on you or his wine glass.

“Please excuse me,” Stephen said after a while, leaning towards your little group so he could be heard better against the loud music and vibrant chatter around you.

When he turned to leave, he accidentally brushed his hand against yours in the process, causing you to freeze for a second and meet his gaze. His bright blue eyes held you captive, and you swore you could hear the music fade in the background. Before you could react in any way, however, Stephen had already cleared his throat and maneuvered around you, downing his drink.

You looked after him, lips slightly parted, before Roslyn, a girl who had started her magical studies around the same time as you, snapped you back into reality. “You good, (y/n)?”

“Um, yeah,” you replied, smiling a little awkwardly when you looked at Wong, who had a faint grin on his lips. “What?” you asked, almost snapped, but Wong only raised his arms in defense.

“I didn’t say anything.”

You cleared your throat again, offering the gathered a smile before excusing yourself as well. You found your way to the buffet outside with flushed cheeks, set up in a place usually used for training. The air was cool but not cold enough to make you shiver. You smiled at the faces that were familiar to you and muttered a few greetings when people approached you.

The buffet was large, but your focus lay on a bowl with roasted almonds, which you had always loved since you were a little child. You took a smaller bowl and a spoon and put some almonds in yours before leaving the training area, popping one deliciously sweet almond into your mouth. As you were about to climb the flight of stairs leading back up to the main building, a drunk boy, who couldn't have been older than sixteen, bumped into you.

You tried to regain your balance, but you stepped onto the stone floor wrong, causing your ankle to twist at an awkward angle. Hissing, you held your ankle as a sharp pain shot through your leg. Your bowl of almonds had shattered on the ground next to you, and you stoically twirled your hand, using witchcraft to make the pieces disappear. The mystic arts required too much concentration and handwork at times, and your innate magic often came in handy.

“Watch where you’re going, dude!” you shouted, but the boy had already left. He probably did not even realize what happened.

You attempted to walk, but each step hurt more than the other, so you took your heels off and limped into the building. Shoes dangling from your right hand, you used the other to hold onto pillars and walls to stabilize yourself, trying to find a quiet spot. At this time, the library would be empty, and it was not far either.

With the aid of magic, you opened the heavy library door and let it fall shut behind you, exhaling deeply as the loud noises were muffled by the door. Cursing, you slowly walked over to an armchair nearby and sat down on it. Your heels landed on the floor, your hands both massaging the hurting ankle. You barely even registered the books that surrounded you, some of which were bound by chains. Back when you were studying in Kamar-Taj, you had always wondered about their contents, but now you could only focus on the pain.

“(y/n)?” You heard Stephen ask, lifting your head to see him appear from behind a bookshelf, brow raised. “Did you hurt yourself?”

“Some drunkard ran into me, and I think I sprained my ankle.” You leaned back in your seat, sighing as you cursed yourself for never having shown much interest in healing magic.

Stephen put the book in his hands aside and approached you. “Let me see,” he said calmly as he crouched down in front of you and lifted your ankle with his hands. You hissed at the sudden contact, the pain intensifying for a second. You sometimes forgot that he had been a surgeon before a sorcerer, so you watched as his skillful hands felt for any severe injury, occasionally causing you to wince in pain.

“It’s sprained,” he agreed, not waiting for a response. His hands began to glow in a faint yellow light, the healing warmth instantly relieving your stressed joint. As Stephen slowly worked on your ankle, your eyes locked. His hand traced gentle circles on your skin, and you weren’t sure whether this was required for the spell, but you did not protest, even finding yourself closing your eyes in response to his touch.

“You have a knack for finding trouble. I don’t think that’s ever going to change, is it?” He asked, a smile playing on his lips as you opened your eyes to meet his.

“A sprained ankle is hardly trouble, compared to the other things you had to keep up with these past two years,” you said, chuckling softly. He did not reply.

The pain ceased, and Stephen let go of your ankle. He rested his arm on his knee as you studied the injury, realizing that he had healed it completely.

“Thanks,” you said a little shyly, which even surprised you.

Not wanting the situation to turn into an awkward silence, you stood from your seat, causing him to do the same.

You were about to turn and leave, lips parted to say goodbye, when you noticed him staring at something above you. You followed his eyes and blushed deeply as you saw mistletoe floating in the air between you, surrounded by a golden shimmer.

Swallowing, you looked back at him, blushing deeper as you asked, “Are you doing this?”

You felt stupid because of how hopeful your voice sounded; it was hard to deny you liked him, but he had always been rather cold towards you, which was why you were so glad that Wong had always been so nice to you. If he only knew the way you saw him, you were sure he’d never speak to you again.

Stephen looked from the mistletoe to you, shaking his head slowly. “No, I'm not.”

Realizing that this must be some joke one of the other sorcerers was playing on you, you quickly excused yourself and apologized, turning to leave when his hand on your wrist stopped you.

You turned to look at him, your eyes wide in surprise.

“I didn't say you have to leave,” he whispered, his eyes briefly dropping to your lips. It was hard to breathe when you watched him inch closer towards you, giving you enough time to back away if you wanted to.

He raised his hand to touch your cheek gently, brushing some strands of hair out of your face before burying his fingers in your waves. Something had changed in the way he looked at you, and now that you thought about it, it had changed a while ago already. Precisely around the time he had started acting colder towards you.

Stephen was so close now that you could see the small dark speckle in his blue eyes, something you had never really noticed before. You held your breath as you saw him pull away, conflict written all over his face.

It was your turn to hold onto his wrist, making him look at you. You didn’t know what encouraged you to press your lips against his, but as it happened, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders to pull him close. You felt him tense against you; he had not anticipated your boldness, but soon he melted into the kiss, holding you by the small of your back.

As you pulled away, you smiled up at him, only to realize that the mistletoe had disappeared, but Stephen placed a hand on your cheek and directed your gaze back to him.

“Merry Christmas, (y/n),” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. You saw how your red lipstick had stained his own lips. With a small smile, Stephen leaned in again, capturing your lips in another lingering kiss. The soft glow of your magic enveloped you both, creating an aura of enchantment in the quiet corner of the mystical library. It was in involuntary response to his touch; emotions guiding sorcery. As he pulled away, he met your gaze, and there was a newfound warmth in his eyes, a spark of something unspoken yet profound. 

I can see you in your suit and your necktie Passed me a note saying, "Meet me tonight" Then we kissed and you know I won't ever tell

[vedurnan]

my elden ring player characters

the elden ring dlc comes out soon, is everyone excited? let's talk about our elden ring characters. i will begin.

i played through elden ring right after the game released when almost nothing was known about it, and so my first encounters with its world were full of mystery. i had no idea what was awaiting me so i imagined my first character as a foreign knight from a land across the sea, the very distant kin of an ancient warlord, just like the game's story describes our player character. this gave birth to...

i loved how her history and personality came together in my head naturally as i played through the game and came to know its world. we walked in parallel together through a strange digital landscape and made big decisions in the game before the community of players had figured out what the consequences of those actions would be. it lent itself perfectly to the "doomed knight" character she took on as our travels continued. she's a strength build with a lot of fire incantations on the side, very fun to play for me :)

next i wanted to try a dexterity character with bleeding damage, and that playstyle made me feel like a cheating asshole because it was so strong, like i was some kind of cunning & depraved highwayman...

unlike lorence who came into the service of the evil serpent from a faraway place, i imagined myrtle as a gelmir local, someone who is totally adapted to the nightmare landscape & murder ecosystem of the mountain of blasphemy. lorence and myrtle both fit dark souls "invader" archetypes very cutely in my mind, and when i play as either of them i like to use my recusant finger every once in a while even though i am terrible at pvp. beware dude, we will get you!

i also wanted to try something really different which i had never tried in any of these games before, a pure sorcery character. the royal academy atmosphere of raya lucaria was fun to adventure in but didn't feel like a type of character i wanted to inhabit, so i imagined once again that this new sorcerer was from lands far away...

i think u can see my earthsea fanfiction showing here, but that's fine with me. i imagine ternfeather as someone from perhaps a bit farther away than lorence, having only heard vague stories or out-of-date historical information about the lands between. i imagine the voyage was long and difficult and he must have been looking forward to a warm welcome from his new colleagues, but instead they started shooting glintstone shards at him :(

i use a lot of sleep magic on this character, which can make some combat encounters very difficult but others extremely easy. that highly specialized feeling seems fitting for a character with an academic background to me, & i also enjoy how sleep magic is connected to a folkloric figure of mixed or indeterminate gender within the game's story. very satisfying!

as i played through the game on these characters i became really enamored with the FLAME OF FRENZY and i knew i had to play a character centered all around it. i also wanted to play a very faith-focused character build so this worked out nicely...

i tried to play odile very close to her backstory as a random frenzied commoner, so she doesn't wear any armor other than her clothing and usually only uses a club and frenzy incantations (although sometimes i can't resist using vyke's spear). following the frenzy storyline through the lands between and into the depths under the capital was so fun, everything about it is dope 2 me :)

damn this made a long post! i like to imagine that these four adventure together kind of like a darkest dungeon party, or like service industry workers or something. they are all from very disparate backgrounds and don't always get along that well, but the circumstances of their dying world have bound them together as companions

[skania]

OnK Chapter 149

I know it doesn’t mean much coming from me because I’m always complaining about Aka’s writing, but…

And I mean it when I say that I expect nothing 😭 This was literally my first ever OnK-related reblog and its tags are more relevant than ever lmao

These, too:

#honestly I didn’t think too hard about any of this during my first read #because the romantic endgame seems so obvious that it kind of discourages guessing lmao #but re-reading these chapters has made me appreciate Aqua’s side of his bond with Akane a lot more

Back when I first got into OnK, I mentioned that Akane was the entire reason I kept reading the manga. I didn’t care about the romantic subplot, found Aqua/Kana extremely obvious and predictable, and Aqua plain boring.

It’s only during my second read that I paid close attention to Akane’s interactions with Aqua and I ended up playing myself into both, caring about Aqua and shipping him with Akane lol

This chapter has made me realize that despite everything, I'm not emotionally invested in whether they end up together or not. I’d prefer it, obviously, because Aqua truly is at his most interesting whenever he’s around Akane, and their dynamic has the best development in the manga (so far).

But it’s just like I said before: If they don’t end up together, that’s just Aka’s loss, not mine. I’m just here for Akane 😂

And as an Akane fan, I feel like the best thing for me to do right now is to just take a step back and watch things unfold, because Aka will do whatever he wants regardless of how any of us interpret his manga lol

So instead of posting the long post I originally wrote about this chapter when the leaks came out, I'll just share a a clown gif because in hindsight it was silly of me to expect Kana out of all people to have any sort of meaningful insight into Aqua 🤡

And a couple of things that caught my eye because I can't help myself:

Kana didn't even see Aqua and Akane have any sort of meaningful moment, just those two standing in each other's vicinity was enough to make her throw herself a pity party. How many more times is she going to pity herself and give up? How has Aka not tired of writing her this way? Where did her development from the Scandal arc go? 🤡

So Chapter 147 featured Kamiki thinking Ai doesn't love him and Kana thinking Aqua likes her. It even had a helpful "Cut 139: Misunderstanding" panel and everything. Will this mean something? Who knows!

Kana used guilt-trip! It was super effective!

Oh the irony! Poor Akane looks like she's been hard at work convincing herself that she's over Aqua. And you know what? I cheer for her and respect her energy 100%. I'd rather see her doing her mightiest to help him without any ulterior motives than to have her crying for him and hoping to get back with him every other chapter lol

Akane calling Kana out for her pity-party and for being cowardly was so cathartic that if I didn't already stan her, I'd have become a fan right now 😭 It also means that Aka is 100% aware of the way he writes Kana, so when will she finally be allowed to grow?

Kana's praise to Akane made me so sad though because yes, Akane is pretty and she's talented and she's kind. That's sweet of her to say. But that's not what made Akane someone special to Aqua: it was the way she understood him. The worst part is that Kana ends her praise by saying that Akane is a "goody-two-shoes" but... that's the opposite of how Akane views herself. She sees herself as someone who's not decent and not normal. So it's no wonder that while she gets flustered (it's her dear kana-chan praising her), she seems to get a bit sad/frustrated afterward. After all, for Akane it's probably the opposite. Men would prefer a decent, normal, bright girl like Kana - Aqua included.

I wish someone would tell Akane that she is too ignorant of her own charms and that she doesn't have to act like an adult all the time. Truly the pot calling the kettle black! Sadly, unlike Kana, Akane seems to have no one in her corner in this manga. Aqua was the only one there and the poor guy is barely even a character anymore lol

Overprotective mother or controlling ex-girlfriend? Take your pick!

The English translation left something pretty important out in these panels. Akane doesn't just say "if you have a girlfriend", she says "if you have a precious/important girlfriend". This distinction is very important because it goes to show that... as expected, Akane doesn't think she was an important girlfriend to Aqua. It's like she didn't count and Kana would be the real deal. Oh, Akane...

Which takes me to her very silly, very convoluted yet very predictable plan (in true Aka fashion).

When Akane thinks “I know exactly what you hate”, I imagine she means that Aqua hates hurting and endangering those he cares for. So I'm guessing Akane thinks that if she plays matchmaker and quite literally throws Kana at him, someone he has a soft spot, then Aqua won't be able to go through with his revenge because that would mean breaking Kana's very fragile heart.

In other words, it looks like Akane is going to try and use Aqua's guilt-complex against him and her weapon of choice is love. But not her love, obviously, because as far as she's concerned, her romantic love already failed to save him.

Granted, using Kana's romantic feelings to her advantage is kind of... well, wrong. To quote Akane herself, [Kana] is neither her pet nor her property, but a person. But I'm guessing that Akane may be falling victim to the same loophole she got caught in in Chapters 96 - 98. She thinks she knows what's best, so she's putting her own beliefs aside for the time being.

Kind of like Aqua, actually.

And, ironically, it's Aqua himself who first realized how easy Kana is to use.

So! All in all, I'm here for Mastermind!Akane but I hope that Aka will actually make it worth our while. Will Kana realize that she's about to be used as a chess piece in this Proxy War? Who knows, characters in this manga seem to walk in circles, only being allowed to grow when it fits the plot 😂

Last week we wondered whether Aka would subvert expectations or go the predictable route, and down the predictable route he went. His way of making it less predictable is by including a twist in the form of Akane's ulterior motives, but will this be enough to allow this ol' used trope to lead us someplace new? I guess we'll have to keep reading to find out, but given the quality of the writing lately, I'm not expecting much lol

[enigma-and-oasis]

Vulcan Joseph: Tit-Job (or tit-fucking)

Warnings: Nudity, tit-fucking, spitting, dirty talk, blowjob

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Oh man, the hottest red-haired and tattoo guy in Special Fire Company 8. The inventor and engineer. Vulcan is not an innocent man. Don't let the warm and friendly approach with a golden smile fool you. Those turquoise eyes are a warning to let you know he has dirty thoughts about you once he is captivated by you. Those amazing muscles and abs combined with his black tribal tattoos and red hair only match the insatiable inferno in you. He has no preference for gender, as he has experience with alot of women and men and has been to sex parties and clubs before, but he surely has a huge kink for a woman, especially when it comes to your tits. You see, he likes to get nasty and slide his cock through your sternum to fuck your boobs, or get a tit-job.

These are just one of many kinks Vulcan has and loves, and being with a man who is an inventor obviously brings excitement in the sex life. But he loves to have you on your knees behind his desk where he works, pull out his lengthy cock, spit on it and mix it with his precum, before sliding it in your sternum and just fuck through them. Although most times he will have you bounce up and down from your knees (don't worry he is very considerate and careful to have a soft covering on your knees from the rustic floor) to have his dick up and down through your tits while he works, along with the intense filth and dirty talk that comes out of his mouth. The skin-on-skin contact, the way you would sometimes lick the head of his cock and taste his pre-release liquid, praising you "Good Girl," along with "You like being on your knees for me as my personal cock-warmer," and "Open your mouth for me" to have you suck his dick while he fucks between your tits.

He doesn't have shame, he is willing to do this when he wants to relief stress with a lovely reward after a hard day of work (aside from intimate kissing and erotic sex), but Vulcan is a frisky guy. He'd even have you naked and bare just for him to have you on your knees to be used as a tit-job, and you stay there like the good girl you are while he makes use of you before later tonight, because this man's sex drive is extremely high. Be prepared to have him cum on your face, neck or chest after he is done with you because he loves to paint your chest/face/neck white to let you know who you exactly belong to. "Such a pretty, dirty girl who let's me paint her like a blank canvas."

He's all in for you sucking him off while he fucks your boobs which then gives him leverage to fuck your mouth. He loves seeing his cock soaked in your spit and his cum as he is dumping his load in your mouth, telling you to "Swallow it all up, beautiful" before he smirks and kisses you passionately when you do, not minding his own taste from your mouth. "You are too perfect. Fuck I am in love with you."

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This will be the one of many, many kinks and fetishes I will write about Vulcan Joseph. He is indeed a nasty man with a golden heart. He is so underrated, as well as the series😩😩

[ruggiezz]

imagine nrc during the world cup era OMG 😟 rook after france loses to argentina, heartslabyul watching england losing

— REACTING TO THEIR COUNTRY LOSING IN THE WORLD CUP : twisted wonderland

[synopsis] twst characters and their reactions to their country getting disqualified

[characters] ace, deuce, cater, trey, riddle, ruggie, floyd, jade, azul, rook

[extra] this is just for the funsies, me spreading my octavinelle + ruggie latinos agenda. i'm a firm believer in the cater is american headcanon (AMERICA RAHHH🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅💥)

ACE TRAPPOLA and DEUCE SPADE got together with you to watch the World Cup. Oh? You're not interested in football? Too bad, you're watching it with them anyways. Pros: They buy snacks for all of you to eat while watching. Cons: Ace screams at the television and gets extremely frustrated. The silence was loud when the match with France ended. At least the food was good...

CATER DIAMOND was not #LiveLaughLove-ing that month. Imagine being the only american in your friend group full of british people while the US had a match against England. Don't get him wrong; he doesn't really care about football, but it's hard to ignore it when the whole school is talking about it. At the end of the day, Magicam material is still Magicam material. He got lucky though; the match ended in a draw; it could have been worse. Needless to say, he did not care about the US losing, #WorldCup #Disqualified.

TREY CLOVER felt like he was in a nightmare—a 29-day-long nightmare. The Heartslabyul students were either having a blast or screaming when they won, or they were having heated fights about whose country would win. Trey was stressed; maybe other housewardens were enjoying the World Cup (like Kalim, who was throwing parties every opportunity he had), but RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS was certainly not happy. The students were so focused on, in his words, "guys running after a ball", that they weren't studying for their final exams. Yes, he had become less strict after his overblot, but a few students still got collared. Both of them were relieved when the World Cup ended; they could not care less about their country losing.

RUGGIE BUCCHI listened to the brazilian matches while working, like it was a podcast. He was a busy guy, you know? He had to work, but he still wanted to listen to the match. To be honest, Ruggie was pretty confident that they would make it to the semi-finals. We are talking about Brazil here; their team is good. "There's no way the europeans are winning this one" he thought. Imagine his face when they lost by a penalty goal, a penalty goal... Ruggie bought himself a doughnut at Sam's to cope and not have a mental breakdown.

Peru didn't even qualify; they lost against Australia. FLOYD AND JADE LEECH were in a bad mood during the whole World Cup.

Yes, Chile didn't qualify either, but a business opportunity is a business opportunity. Did you hear? You can watch the football matches while eating in the Mostro Lounge, and if you spread the word and bring your friends, you get a special discount. AZUL ASHENGROTTO got showered in money during those 29 days it lasted; the restaurant made three times the amount they usually make. He was very happy, to say the least.

ROOK HUNT was delighted to see all the students celebrating. The passionate cheers of the students, the way they all rooted for their country, how they got together to watch, how sad they got over their team losing, how beautiful. Yes, maybe the students were screaming at each other; maybe one even threw a chair across the room, but still. There was something captivating in seeing how a game could bring students that had nothing in common together, all with the same goal: to see their country win and crush the others. He was more sad about the World Cup ending than France losing, even if they were so close to first place.

[20001541]

What do you think being in prison was actually like for All For One? We know he lies A LOT, so I don't think he's nearly as unaffected as he's shown or rather not shown I guess 😓

Thinking deeper on afo's imprisonment it's actually a lot more disturbing the more I think about it.

What afo is going through is basically solitary confinement 24/7. Guns constantly pointed at him ready to headshot him the second he tries tapping into his quirk or squirms too much. Unable to move at all from the neck down due to restraints. So many sensors it leaves him either completely vulnerable or overstimulated at worst. We never see him lying down either. He's always sitting which is painfull and extremely detrimental to a person's health and mobility if done for long hours without standing up.

I know he's an S rank criminal and super dangerous because the only person who could defeat him (All Might) retired, but you're telling me this futuristic society couldn't do anything more humane with all that tech other than shoving him into a death trap? (I wanted to call it a Saw death trap, but I never watched any of the Saw films ummm)

There's also the more creepy implication to questions like how does afo go to the bathroom in Tartarus. There's no way they just let him walk up to a toilet/urinal 😨

All For One is no stranger to dehumanization and he takes almost everything in stride even Tartarus from the looks of it, but that one panel where he almost begs All Might to not go always stuck out to me.

Sorry for the long essay. I just wanted to say something about this and chat with a fellow All For One fan.

you don't need to apologize, it's an interesting topic!

I think afo's time in prison affected him more deeply than he would ever admit. look how they had him ->

strapped to a metal slab, not being able to move his limbs at all, alone for hours constantly being watched and he doesn't have access to his quirks that allow him to navigate the world so he's completely blind here. oh let's not forget that if he thinks about activating a quirk or makes a sudden movement the guns pointed at his head will automatically shoot him. also like you said being in a sitting position for a long period of time will end up being detrimental to your health.

tartarus whole existence is a violation of human rights and that's without mentioning the disgusting way the guards treat the prisoners. yes they did evil things, but I think dehumanization of any group of people is a dangerous road to walk on and can lead to horrific things committed against said group because it's easier to justify doing horrid things to others if you think the other party isn't even human. with all the amazing quirks and technology that is available it's a surprise to see that they haven't come up with a better way to deal with imprisoned villains. maybe it's because they don't care to come up with a better solution because once again they don't see them as humans so why should they bother trying to make their living situation more bearable? awful stuff.

too bad we don't see anyone from our main cast really question this type of treatment, but oh well. I guess it's implied some things did change as we see spinner was allowed to write and publish a book while in prison (doubt they let him free to do it). so he's not strapped to a metal chair all day like the other prisoners we saw. unless he's getting some special treatment, I don't know the story doesn't really tell us about what happened with him after his confrontation with izuku. only shows us that he managed to publish his book.

BUT back to the main question, what was being in prison in like for afo? honestly, I think he had to fight to stay sane while down there. being in those conditions for a long period of time will wear down your sanity. you saw how desperate he was for all might to stay and talk with him despite him being someone he hates. probably the thought of getting yoichi back kept him going, after all when he's down there he gets excited when he's able to hear his voice for the first time in over a century. even the guards freaked out because his the monitor tracking his vitals went crazy when he heard it.

still I think the whole experience disturbs him more than he would ever admit and it was traumatic but he just shoves down in order to focus on the goal ahead of him. no time to process any of that he's got a brother to catch

[sat0-get0]

・❥ 𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 - 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐢 𝐁𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐠𝐨𝐮

ꕥ 𝙘𝙬 : 𝙬𝙘: 1𝙠 (𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 1000 𝙤𝙪𝙪), 𝙛𝙚𝙢!𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧, 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡, 𝙄 𝙗𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙪𝙥 𝙗𝙮 𝙖 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙬 18 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡/𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙟𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙨, 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙠𝙞 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨 (𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨), 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙬𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙪𝙞𝙩, 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙛𝙛 𝙛𝙧, 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙞 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜

✎ 𝘢𝘯 : 𝘪𝘮 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴!! 9 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘢 10, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘯𝘩𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦!! ༄

Katsuki Bakugou who swore up and down that he'd never be like any regular high school boy. Staying away from alcohol and drugs no matter how much he's encouraged, declining party invites, and not letting his hormone induced emotions get the best of him.

His search history is clean, rice purity score in the 90s, and he's practically incapable of silly teenage boy thoughts. Well, that was until he met you. Everyone, including him, knows about the big crush that you have on him. The first day you transfered to UA, your eyes landed on him in an instant. Mr. Aizawa was perched outside the classroom in his sleeping bag so you didn't head straight for a seat. Instead, you walk directly to the guy with spikes for hair.

He seemed to be dozing off into space or rather, trying his best to ignore the chaos around him until you approach. "You." you exclaim, making him look up at you with an offended expression. "What the hell do you want?" he asks, practically sneering at you. "You're so fine." you say before walking away and finding an empty desk. It happened to be 2 desks right behind him and he looks back at you confused, questioning what the hell 'fine' even means. (Kirishima and Sero were squealing in his ear during lunch about how he just received 'the best compliment known to man kind' and should be extremely lucky).

After that day, you had always given him compliments and the more you warmed up to him and he hesitantly warmed up to you, the more bold you got. Blowing him kisses, unexpectedly fixing his hair, and even getting so close to him your noses were touching, something only you could ever get away with unscathed. This didn't exclude you from getting pushed away from him or him yelling dramatically in your ear but the difference was, whenever he gave you those reactions it was out of pure flustered and embarrassing emotions.

Currently it's a very eventful day at UA. Present Mic called for a special bonding activity for your class, therefore taking you all to the beach. Was it perhaps just an excuse he used to have a day off and not have Principal Nezu on his ass? 100%. Nonetheless, everyone was allowed to wear their preferred swim wear instead of those hideous UA swimsuits and you all were left alone as Present Mic went on a search for snacks.

Bakugou had already been seated on a beach chair, head buried inside of some random book he picked up to avoid talking to the idiots surrounding him. He hadn't paid attention to nobody as you all headed straight for the water, cooling off from the blazing sun. He had gotten well into the chapter before you and a few other girls left the water, not wanting your skin to prune.

"Katsuki!" Bakugou looks up at you instantly and is about to give you a snarky comment due to the usage of his first name until his eyes fall on your body. Your skin is glistening underneath the rays of the sun, water dripping from your hair as you approach him. This is the first time he struggles to maintain eye contact, watching the way water drops down your collarbone and disappearing into your exposed cleavage.

You notice his staring and giggle as you stop walking once you're beside him. "Why didn't you enter the water, 'Suki?" you pout. He snaps out of his trance and you can't tell if his face is reddening from anger or from blushing. His ruby red eyes look up at you, brows furrowed. "Because I didn't want to now get away from me, you're getting me all wet." You lean down and whisper in his ear, "And you're getting me all wet too." You look at his face and laugh at the way his jaw drops, clutching your sides.

Bakugou scrambles in his chair before throwing his towel over at you, the thick fabric muffling your giggles. "You're too cute." you say, using his towel to dry your hair before draping it around your shoulders. Mineta and Denki share a look as they watch you two from the water, unsure if their faces are moist from the ocean or from their tears. "That should've been me." cries out Mineta, hugging Denki as they sob together.

"Whatever, I'm gonna go get a snack. That loud ass teacher is coming no time soon." Bakugou grumbles out, grabbing his slides from the sand before walking away in the direction of a store nearby. "Wait for me!" you exclaim, grabbing your own sandals and moving to get your purse that you bring everywhere with you.

You watch as Bakugou orders a bag of hot chips and a large water bottle. You grab a bottle of juice, placing it on the counter before reaching into your bag to pull out your wallet. You look up when you hear Bakugou mumble a 'let's go', your juice in his plastic bag. You squeal on the inside, seeing as this is one of the nicest things he's ever done for you.

"Careful, 'Suki. One might assume you have a crush on me if you keep at it." you tease, stopping him in his tracks as you step in front of him. "It was $5, I don't care." He says, using all the strength he has to ignore the way your breasts press against his own chest. "Means a lot coming from you." You're getting closer and closer to him every second and he doesn't realize it until your noses are brushing.

"Thank you, 'Suki." you say before pressing your plush lips against his. You look into his shocked red eyes before giggling the way that makes him blush everytime, grabbing your juice out of his bag and walking back towards the sand. He can't help but stutter as if his reply to you is delayed, standing dumb founded in front of the store.

𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 ✩