#it means so much more than you realize <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[simpforboys]

Surprise! (3)

Drew Starkey x fem!singer!reader

Summary: reader and Drew celebrate the release of the ‘Perfume’ music video!

Warnings: fluff, smut, oral (f receiving), praise, swearing, male masturbation, dirty talk, missionary position, sex on couch, daddy kink, protective piv sex, boob worship (?), drinking wine, fangirling

Part one, part two

taglist is full :(

Two weeks had went by.

Two long, busy weeks of you not hearing much from Drew, other than the promotions and photo stills you would send him.

It was finally the release day, and within 18 hours, the video had already reached 200 million views.

You were currently sitting on your light grey couch, flicking through Netflix movies when your phone buzzed with a notification.

Drew Starkey: Hey, congrats on the success of the video. I’m still very honored you wanted me to he apart of it. You still down to celebrate?

Oh.

In all honesty you were expecting Drew to stop talking to you after the shoot.

But within those two weeks, you were both extremely busy, so reaching out was hard.

That didn’t mean you two didn’t text at all, it was just two or three messages a day.

Drew was notorious for being a bad texter, not to mention how filled up his schedule was.

So you never took it to heart. Or, at least tried.

But seeing the notification that he actually still wanted to hang out, wanted to celebrate with you…

Your User: hi, thank you so much! i’m still so happy and grateful you said yes <33

Your User: and yes i’m still down to celebrate!! when are you free?

Maybe the double texting was too much, but you were already a glass of wine in, and texting your celebrity crush.

To your surprise, he replied pretty quickly.

Drew Starkey: I’m actually free rn surprisingly, are you?

Oh.

You were in fact free, but ready was the better question.

No, you were not ready to see Drew fucking Starkey, especially looking like how you were currently dressed.

Only wearing sweatpants, a shirt that is three sizes too big, fuzzy socks, and no bra was not exactly presentable to meet the love of your life.

Your User: yes, but i look absolutely horrible rn

Again, another quick response.

Drew Starkey: I doubt that. Can I come see you?

You typed out a message.

Your User: CNEOSHWOSHEODNEOWHSOWBSIFBEOSBAJDBDKDHOSBSKSBDJSHS😜✊👍😜🤭🔥🫶😩

That was what you really wanted to reply with, but instead went for something more nonchalant.

Your User: yeah, you want my address?

It was never good to share your address to anyone online, especially after only meeting in person twice.

But it was Drew Starkey. You would send anything to that man, no questions asked.

Drew Starkey: Yes please

You had spent the last 30 minutes frantically cleaning your apartment. Not that it was a complete mess, but you did want it to be cleaner than what it was.

A soft knock on your door was heard, heart pounding in your chest, hands shaking with nervousness.

Peeking through the peephole, seeing his familiar face was enough to make you almost back out.

Why did you have to be so fucking nervous? He was just a man.

Your fingers unlocked the door, opening it gently.

“Hey, Y/n.” Drew smiled warmly at you, holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Hi… come on in.” You grinned back, trying to hide the feeling in your chest.

Drew’s long legs guide him inside the apartment and he takes a second to look around.

It was cozy, and definitely you.

“I got these f’you.” He hums, holding out the flowers.

“Oh, these are my favorite flowers, Drew… you didn’t have to do that.” You awed, taking the bouquet as he practically handed it to you.

He knew they were your favorite flowers. He might have looked up y/n l/n’s favorite flower onto Google. Not that he would ever admit that, though.

“Really? Damn, lucky pick, I guess.” He chuckled, scratching the side of his neck a little sheepishly.

Putting the flowers in a vase, you realized that he was wearing sweats and a hoodie. It was 10:23pm on a Friday, and clearly you two were appreciating a night off.

It made you feel better about your outfit.

“Do you want anything to eat or drink? I have white or red wine, beer, vodka, soda, water…” You trailed off your options.

“What’re you drinking?” He hummed.

You nodded over to the coffee table, an open bottle of wine with a half filled glass on it.

“Wine.”

“I’ll just have some of that, then.” Drew murmurs.

You grabbed another wine glass and walked over to the couch, hearing his feet behind you.

Sitting down on the couch, you got all comfortable underneath the blanket again, then reached over to pour him a glass of wine.

“Cheers, to the success of ‘Perfume’, and to you.” Drew says softly, holding his glass out for you to clink.

Feeling your face grow a bit warm, you tapped your glass with his.

“Cheers to you being amazing.” You took a sip of the wine, your eyes locked onto his blue ones.

“You have a nice apartment, by the way. Forgot to say that.” He hums.

“Thank you, I wanted to make it as cozy as possible for those rare times I am at home.” You explain.

"Yeah, I get that. Life nowadays is just so hectic." He agrees, blue eyes trailing over your face, as if committing each feature to memory.

"Well, yeah. You're all big and famous now," you tease.

He chuckles sheepishly, his large hand running along the back of his head.

"You have any big plans coming up?" He asked you.

"Yeah, actually. I'm supposed to be preforming at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball festival in a week," you nod.

"Really? Damn. That beats me, then." He joked.

"What do you have coming up?" You questioned.

"Variety is going to have Harris Dickinson and I do that Actors on Actors interview thing."

"Yeah? That sounds fun," you hummed.

The two of you spent an hour and a half talking about life, success, and just got to know each other.

You both finished the bottle of wine and were now onto your second bottle, the two of you tipsy as you giggled on the couch.

Your body felt warm and you weren't completely sure if it was from the alcohol or the fact that a beautiful man was sitting a foot away from you on your own couch.

Drew felt the same, and one specific joke you made had him laughing a little too hard. His eyes creased in the corner as he smiled, those pretty dimples on display.

But when his large hand went to rest on your knee, the wine in your system completely fought off your anxiety, making you more relaxed.

You found yourself leaning into his touch, your hand resting atop of his.

"Your laugh is so cute, Drew," you murmured.

"Yeah? You're cute," he responded.

You bit your lip, eyes locked onto his. "Is that the alcohol talking or you?"

He grinned, shaking his head.

"That's me talking."

Oh.

"You're sweet..." you trailed off, trying to ignore how butterflies filled your belly.

He just hummed, a comfortable, tension-filled silence falling between you two.

"So, you really had a crush on me for four years?" He teased, squeezing your knee a little.

"Oh, god. We're back at this now, huh?" You grumbled in embarrassment, although there was no real malice behind your tone.

He smirked, licking his lips. "We never left it."

"I certainly did."

"Yeah? You don't have a crush on me anymore?" He murmured, the playful tone in his voice making your stomach turn more.

"I didn't say that...." you trailed off, picking at the extra skin near your nails.

His eyes trail over your form again, taking in every inch of you he can see that's not hidden by the blanket on your lap.

"Hm? Sorry, I didn't hear you."

You rolled your eyes, face hot. "I'm sure you didn't."

He laughed, scooting a little closer to you so your legs were touching.

"'m just fucking with you," he said softly.

"I know..." you glanced over at him, eyes instinctively falling down to his pretty lips.

It had been too long since you felt them on you.

Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was the boost of confidence Drew had gotten, but he slowly leaned in, his free hand going to run his index finger and thumb on your chin.

"Is this okay?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah... yes..." you breathed out shakily, heart racing.

He hummed, gently connecting your lips to his own.

Feeling that familiar, addictive spark when his skin touched yours. You immediately kissed back, your left hand going to cup his jaw.

Kissing. You were kissing Drew fucking Starkey. And it wasn't for work, wasn't for cameras. He kissed you first.

Within moments, he was laying you back on the light grey couch, the fluffy blanket being left abandoned on the floor.

His tongue was in your mouth, sculpted body hovering over yours. Your thighs were spread for him to nestle in between, left hand still cupping his strong jaw, right hand in that soft brown hair.

On instinct you pulled a little on the strands, making him grunt into your mouth. He disconnected your lips, trailing sloppy, needy kisses down your jaw and neck.

Chests pressed together, it was as if you two couldn't get any closer.

"Mhmm... Drew..." you whimpered softly when he nipped at the skin of your pulse point.

"Yeah? That feel nice, sweet girl?" He murmured, voice muffled from his attention on your neck.

You nodded, legs squeezing him in between your body.

"Can I take your shirt off, baby?" He asked, not wanting to do anything you weren't desiring.

"Please.." you breathed out, heart racing, stomach flipping.

His large hand slipped the oversized fabric off and over your head, a small whine leaving him when he saw your pretty tits.

"Fuck, Y/n... you been hiding these from me?" He mumbled teasingly, continuing his line of kisses and nibbles down your collarbone, in between the valley of your breasts.

"All you needed to do was ask," you panted. Your back instinctively arched up, your chest needing some attention from his warm mouth.

He groaned at your answer, moving slightly down your body until he was eye level with your hard nipples. He swirled his tongue around the bud, blue eyes locked on your face when he sucked your nipple into his mouth.

Your body jolted a little, making him hold your side with his left hand, his right hand massaging the other stiffened bud.

He switched sides after a few moments, relishing in the sounds of your pretty moans and pants.

But something else was throbbing and aching, desperately needing his attention.

"Drew," you whined.

"Hmm?" He hummed, still worshipping your boobs.

"Need you."

"Yeah?" He cooed, reluctantly disconnecting his mouth from your right nipple as he continued to kiss down your stomach.

You nod, breathing short and needy. He got to the waistband of your sweatpants, looking back up at you.

"You can take those off too." You gave permission, already knowing what the man was going to ask.

He wasted no time in slipping the fabric down your legs, readjusting so his face was in between your spread thighs.

"Look how you ruined these panties, pretty girl... you're so needy f'me, huh?" He murmured softly.

All you could do was whine when he pressed a tender kiss to your clothed clit, the fabric absolutely soaked. It had been way too long since you'd had sex.

His large hand slid the fabric down your thighs, leaving you completely bare for him.

"So beautiful, baby. So beautiful..." he muttered, talking more to himself than you.

Your legs twitched when he flicked his tongue against your clit, hands digging in his hair.

"Drew--"

"I know, baby. Let daddy eat this pretty pussy, yeah? Just sit back and relax."

A needy whimper left your mouth, but you didn't respond. Not that you could, as he licked a stripe from your pulsating hole to the top of your clit.

He hoisted your thighs over his broad shoulders, moaning a little at your taste. His movements became more eager, beginning to lap at your cunt like a starved man.

Right hand in his hair, left hand gripping the couch. Your eyes rolled back, hips bucking up towards his face.

He made a grunt directly into your clit, another jolt of pleasure going into your body.

"Daddy... fuck..."

His piercing blue eyes were feeding off of your facial expressions, his cock throbbing in his own sweats.

He slipped two fingers into your cunt, focusing his mouth on your clit. His left hand slid down his own pants, beginning to palm his cock through his boxers.

"Yeah? Is daddy making you feel good, sweet girl?" He coos, whining a little as his own hips buck on the couch, desperate for more friction.

His noise and hips bucking made your cunt clench around his fingers, as if trying to pull him in deeper.

The knot in your stomach was already forming, almost embarrassing how quickly he turned you into a mess.

Legs trembling over his shoulders, hips rocking against his face and chin. You couldn't even announce you were coming, mind fuzzy from the pleasure.

He hummed when he noticed you releasing, continuing to lap up all your juices as he came in his pants.

When your body calmed down, he pulled away from your pussy and kneeled in between your legs.

He peeled his own hoodie off, revealing that perfect, toned body of his again. Your eyes drank in the sight, licking your lips.

“You’re so hot, Drew…” you murmured.

His ears were ringing, need coursing through his veins as he slipped off his sweats and boxers.

You had to physically hold back a gasp when you saw his cock for the first time.

People had always written it differently in all those guilty pleasure Rafe Cameron fanfics you would read when you couldn’t sleep.

But seeing it in person was just a whole new experience.

It was long and thick, which was to be expected. The man radiated big dick energy.

Pretty mushroom tip that was still leaking, his pubic hair slightly fuzzy as if he hadn’t shaved it in a week.

“Holy shit…”

“Mhm? Better than you imagined?” He asked teasingly, a smirk on his face as he grabbed a condom from his wallet.

You couldn’t help but playfully roll your eyes, a small snicker leaving you.

He rolled the condom onto his shaft, moving to hover over you again.

“Are you sure you want this, Y/n?” He asked softly, eyes gazing intently into yours.

“Yes… please fuck me, daddy.”

He let out a small groan, nestling himself in between your thighs. He used a long, strong arm to grab a couch pillow and tuck it under your hips.

You watched as he teasingly slid his head up and down your slit, tapping it against your throbbing bundle of nerves.

“Don’t tease me, please,” you beg.

Your pretty begging weakened his resolve as he slowly slid into you.

Whimpers and noises of pleasure left the both of you at the feeling, a course of energy being shared within your two bodies.

He kept pushing until he was all the way inside, giving you a moment to adjust as he captured your lips in his.

Your hands roamed over his biceps and back, loving the way the muscles flex against your palms. His skin was burning, adding to the electric feel.

When he felt you stop tensing around him, he began to slowly pull back, before pushing in, creating a delicious rhythm.

“Fuck… you feel so fuckin’ good, baby.” He moaned.

Your legs tightened around his hips, a noise leaving you as he rubbed right against that spongy spot.

“So deep, Drew… can feel you so deep,” you whined in between breaths.

“Yeah? You take this dick so good, pretty girl.”

His movements were getting a little rougher with every minute passing, both of you needing this.

Your crush on him for four years, the sexual tension you shared in the music video, the chemistry when you first met him on The Tonight Show.

It was all so surreal and felt like you were living straight out of a fanfic or dream.

His head dropped down to your chest, clearly having a thing for your hardened nipples as he nibbled gently.

Maybe one day Drew would fuck you without the condom and be able to feel your warm, velvety walls squeezing him without the protection.

He could dream.

“Shit, shit, shit.” You swore, the pillow under your hips allowing for his tip to kiss your cervix with every thrust.

“Mhm, yeah. Good girl.” He praised breathlessly, feeling a little lightheaded from everything.

The couch creaked a little beneath you two, your nails digging into his back.

He was already close, eyes fluttered shut as he lifted his head to press a kiss to your forehead.

His calloused thumb went to rub your clit, making your legs twitch around his sculpted hips.

Your cunt squeezed around his cock, your belly on fire with your building orgasm.

“You gonna cum f’me, sweet girl?” He choked out, hips snapping against yours.

“Y-yes!” You squeak, mind hazy, body trembling.

“Yeah… that’s it… let me feel you…”

His breathy words, deep penetration, and touch on your clit sent you over the edge again.

You moaned loudly, clinging onto his body as he talked you through your orgasm.

He was also talking himself through it, feeling his cock twitch as he spilled his seed into the condom.

His body was still against yours, both of you catching your breaths from the intensity.

He pressed a chaste kiss to your forehead again, his chest rising and falling.

“You okay?” He asked you softly.

“Mhm… ‘m good…”

You kissed his lips again, more gently this time. His nose brushed against yours when he pulled away, lips connecting to your cheek.

He reluctantly slid out of you, kneeling between your legs again as his blue eyes gazed down at your cunt.

“Did you bring any more condoms?” You ask after a few moments.

He looks at your face, then reaches over to grab his wallet. He pulls out two more condom wrappers.

You grinned, licking your lips.

“So are we going two more rounds or what?”

tags!!

@slut4you @sweetlike-sugarplum @snowtargaryen @fastlovela @christinechickiee @ahgrace6 @evermorx89 @loren8818181 @eddiemuns0nl0ver @sophiesmovingcastle5 @chimchimjiminie16 @amel1ee @reader1402 @tqd4455 @rxeae @caraxes-syrax @shrimpybbq @drewstarkeysbabe @rafeswhoooreee @meropeeonmee @rafeluvrr @marvelahsobx @raeven-marie43 @fallout-girl219 @brendazzlingg @10ava01 @secretsideofbree @drewstarrrkey @p0gue420 @gibson-g1rl @kiiyomei @spiderstyles04 @sexualparkour @vinaluvsu @domainexpandme @mariadu2 @toterry @taliawz @always-reading @angvl3tears @iloveoldermenn @aesthetic-lyss @lover-girl-estxx @cadhlabear @kaiparkerwifes @herbookgarden @luvleyshif4 @caraxes-syrax @mymultiveres @reader1402 @dinnodallas @darkreymbow @vinaluvsu @sarahskywalker-amidala @christinechickiee @hoelesslyt @tincanhat @scenesofobx @james-bucky-barnackle @angvl3tears @belledawnidk @millietozier @vrsluts @chimmysoftpaws @brathwaite444 @urmanicpixieangelgirl

[takes1]

p.3 touchy!bokuto flirting with inexperienced!reader

feeling good about this. might have to change the title soon cuz it damn sure won't just be flirting in the next part

warnings. nsfw themes, recreational use of alcohol, minors DNI

details. fem!reader / brother's best friend trope / kuroo's little sister!reader / touchy!bokuto / flirty!bokuto / corruption kink!bokuto / virgin!reader / bokuto-reader-lev sandwich / heavy petting / cuddling / bokuto being and staying hard / jealous!bokuto / hand thirst / drinking / house party / praise kink!bokuto / 2.5k words nsfw + future parts to follow, reply to be added to taglist

links. my masterlist. my ao3. more haikyuu. my request box. part one here. part two here.

"Oh!" Lev hung over the back of the sofa, biting his lip as he watched you walk away for another drink.

He was already messy-drunk at 10 p.m, "Could you grab two more of those? Pleasepleaseplease?"

You hummed, placid with your own small buzz, and slipped out of Bokuto's needy, heavy-handed grip. A busy murmur fell over the sectional just as you got to the kitchen.

"Sorryyy, make that four!"

You weren't sure why he got an invite, but he -like many of the other team members- was much kinder to you than you expected him to be, so it wasn't a problem. Five ciders, all bullshit flavors because Tetsurou couldn't even pretend to have class, were clutched tight to your chest.

He was still hanging there, only alert when he saw your slippers on the floor in front of him.

A big, wide grin brightened up his face, "Thank youu!"

While he carefully chose four, you noticed how easily he could finger each bottleneck with such long digits. You stared at them, a little heat dusting your cheeks. Something about big hands was doing it for you recently.

Lev was halfway focused on trying to pass back two bottles, halfway gawking at your wet, see-through shirt and your pebbled nipples from the cold condensation of the drinks.

His dirty mind could've been just as see-through, how noticeable all the color was across his face, how he was just short of drooling, slouched to get a better look.

Distracted, you picked up one of his hands, "How tall are you, Lev?"

Bokuto finally stirred next to him, tuned only to the sound of your voice. He missed the question but was deeply suspicious of that big, clumsy idiot so close to you.

"194.3 cm," Lev answered you with pride.

Head craned to get a look at this conversation, he found you playing with Lev's fingers, your pretty pornstar tits, and what was just shy of the freshman heavy-breathing down your shirt. Sure, that giant bastard was more age appropriate, but he'd be damned before he let him steal your favor.

You were just getting to rub his knuckles, close to the webs of his fingers, when Bokuto let out a big, exaggerated yawn and stretched over the back of the couch.

"Ohh! Heyyy Pretty," He bit his lip at you, and spared subtle, but mean glance to Lev.

Bokuto somehow grew funnier, cuter, after sharing a couple of drinks. The little peck from earlier created a sense of fun familiarity between you.

You giggled, still not letting Lev go because you weren't thinking about it very hard, "Hii."

The sight made him feel as though his heart was getting bitten a trillion times- like a bunch of ferocious ants all piled up on a honeybun. His hand shot out to grab yours with an intensity that his smile didn't share.

"Come sit next to me!" He rubbed the top of your knuckles, confident, and filling you with a continental migration of butterflies.

You were floating around to take the seat right of him, forgetting completely about Lev, under a little spell. Lev slumped down, pissed, but recovered as quick as it took him to realize you would be sitting next to him, too. He moved his leg so you'd have less room.

You rubbed your arm, looking towards the door, "Well..."

"Tetsu' will need somewhere to sit when he comes back--,"

He sat up and you were soon cut off by a pair of hands pulling you by the wrists, closer to the couch- he used an effective method of gripping your lower thigh, making your knees weak, so you felt like you had to sit down on the edge of the cushion.

"Kuroo can sit on the armrest! No biggie!" Bokuto brushed the tip of your nose with his finger, stirring a very successful smile.

Lev put an arm around the back of the couch, above your head. It was warmer, and he smelled good.

"Yeahyeah, screw'm, he's'not ev'n here."

Bokuto pulled you in with a face to Lev, an arm wrapping around you and settling, steady, firm on your opposite hip. His thumb was jammed into the crease of your thigh- a possessive act, and a tingly feeling that spread across your tummy and between your legs.

You vaguely knew better than to entertain this, but it was so comfortable. You were satisfied, sipping on your cider, sometimes watching the game -sometimes Bokuto-, swimming in attention.

It became evident in the way that Lev wouldn't stop leaning down to talk to you, find something in common that didn't exist, rubbing his leg against your thigh, that he was suddenly interested. Once you understood what was happening, it was fun watching Bokuto pick on him.

"Mayybe you shu'd tryout for the girls' team!" He landed on the only possibility he'd get to see you more often than he already did, considering you were in the same class together.

"Oh," You shied away from his gaze, closer to Bokuto's chest, "I'm not very sporty."

Bokuto huffed, nose scrunched at the underclassman as he pulled you close.

"Yaku-!" He shouted, craning to get a view of the group sitting at the table in a heated game of chess, "Who's letting Lev drink?!"

The loud-mouth's reputation, his skill now spoken for at the practice game, and the fact that he wasn't on the same team, was intimidating already. The way he so cruelly added his seniority into the mix was enough to make Lev much smaller, and stop trying as hard to flirt with you.

Yaku finished his move.

"Lev!" He called from the table.

He flinched. Yaku often sounded like his older sister when he got mad.

"...Yes?"

"How much have you had?"

"Uhh,"

You glanced down, leaning a bit forward to see the preposterous amount of empty bottles on the coffee table and the floor underneath it. No wonder Tetsurou had to go out to grab more. Bokuto pulled you back onto his comfortable chest, eating up that wide-eyed, mousey look he caught.

It was clear that nobody had been monitoring Lev, based on the reactions that slowly began to take throughout the first floor. But it was also just as true that their youngest member was deeply cared about, because they quickly cut him off.

There was still a scattered, loud, shared conversation around that drowned out the sound of the front door opening and closing.

Bokuto tilted his head down at you. You gathered the courage to meet him, but struggled to maintain it. He showed off how quiet he could be.

"I'm still your favorite, right?"

"Yeah!" You whispered, so sincere and so quick that it spurred his hand to twitch.

A heavy, satisfied sigh, his hand was squeezing hard around the widest part of your thigh, and you were sitting straighter despite his strong pull.

It quickly taught you that 1) showing proof that you liked him got you rewards and 2) his attraction was more deep-seated than you thought. You pondered what he want from you, and if you wanted to find out.

Thoughtful, you picked up his left arm, gentle and slow. You could feel him bracing through a shiver.

Something you always enjoyed was when your friends drew on you, or traced on your skin. It was a safe way for you to express yourself- that you were receptive, to whatever he was trying to bring out of you by being so touchy. You liked him so much more than you thought you did at the pick-up game. More than when he first caught your attention, or when you captured his.

So you traced your fingers along his raised, veiny forearm. Down to his wrist, a soft nudge to flip his palm face-up so you could take your time outlining the lines in his rough palm, through to the tips of his long fingers.

You took in his stalled breath. The hair on the back of his neck stood straight. You could hear his heartbeat quicken with your head pressed against his chest.

He had been so sure he could teach you everything. It hadn't occurred to him that he could learn a thing or two from you. It felt good, but in a different way. No girl had ever touched him like this, before.

The noise was a reassuring, monotonous backdrop. Everybody was preoccupied, you had a buzz going, and despite the chaos, it all still felt so intimate.

He muttered to you, lips brushed against your scalp, "You're torturin' me, y'know that?"

The insinuation made you freeze.

"Nono, keep going-," He huffed, voice sickly sweet. The slight panic in his request was lost on you.

Though hesitant, you kept running your light lines down from the thickest part of his arm to his slightly shaky hand.

"How so?" You asked him, morbidly curious, despite all the red flags going off in your head to not encourage his dirty admission.

Bokuto huffed out a tired chuckle- the pain in his lap hadn't subsided since before you sat down. It only worsened at every opportunity you gave him to touch you.

He was in the process of moving his arm away, so you could see the obnoxious print in his shorts, maybe tell him what you thought.

"You're dead."

You both turned, all the warmth drained out of you at once, at Tetsurou's voice behind you. He stood with his arms crossed, keys still in hand. Neither of you were sure whom he was referring to, since it applied both ways.

"Kuroo! Buddy!" Bokuto tried, but it didn't make him budge the way it normally did. There was no fondness left.

He lunged forward, hinged over the back of the sofa between you. There was only so much room to separate, because Lev stood in as a great brick wall.

Thankfully, his attention was not on the heavy petting- he swiped the drink from your hands.

"Hey-!" You began to retort.

"Shut up!" He snapped, "How many have you had?"

You crossed your arms, embarrassed now that you were getting the same treatment as Lev. Somehow, Bokuto's attention made you feel older, more responsible, than you actually were. You chose silence.

In your choice not to dignify him with a response, he looked fiercely to Bokuto.

"How much did she have?"

"I dunno!" He shrugged.

It was true, he didn't know, but he really didn't like the sudden responsibility being placed on his shoulders- and wouldn't have told him, if he did.

Akaashi, sitting on the other side of Lev, piped up before Bokuto could degrade their trust any more. He didn't look away from the screen.

"She only had two, Kuroo."

"Finally!" He pointed at Akaashi, "Thank you," Then he pointed to you, taking the last swig of your drink, "You're done."

It was too much. He ruined everything. He was mean, and bossy, and angry about the dumbest things.

You struggled to stand, a little difficult and awkward because the two heavy guys on either side of you were weighing the cushions down.

"You're the worst!"

You made an ugly face at him, now craving the quiet sanctuary of your bedroom, where he couldn't mess anything up. You made sure to kick an empty bottle out of your way. It didn't break, but it pissed him off, so it was worth it.

Bokuto sat in silent shock, in disbelief that he got away from that whole interaction unscathed by either of you. And that he was still hard.

It was all so frustrating that once you were in your room, it nearly brought you to tears. You fell onto your bed, lying on your stomach, biting your pillow.

You were so close. To what? You didn't exactly know, but you desperately wanted to find out.

It was getting late, and you had to eventually let go of the fantasy that Bokuto would betray his friend and come up here to keep you company. So you decided to take a sobering shower and get ready for bed.

The act gave you time to think. Specifically about those big, bulky arms under your touch, how safe but nervous you felt snuggled up to his side, how every word he uttered was dripping with vulgarity, regardless of how sweet he whispered it.

You let the bathroom door open to vent the steam, and in slipped your brother's calico. She was a big fan of the shower, and the act of her pawing, meowing at the glass made you giggle. You tightened your towel so you could pick her up.

"How'd you get in here, baby?" You cooed, kissing the top of her head.

A thoughtful hum inspired a loud, high gasp--

"Well, the door wasn't locked, so," Bokuto, sat cross-legged on your mattress, grinned at your stunned drop of the cat and the near-nudity he found you in, "-It was pretty easy."

He looked far too big to exist in here. He made your twin bed look like a shoebox.

You put a hand on the wall to keep yourself standing, trying to swallow your heart back down into your chest, where it belonged.

The bed groaned under his weight as he stood up, coming towards you.

"Aww," Was an enamored chuckle at your oh-so-cute reaction.

It was so hard to catch your breath, you couldn't speak to tell him to keep his distance, to remind him that you were undressed- you pressed your back to the wall, gasping at his proximity that he clearly didn't think twice about.

His hands jutted out to grab your waist, rough at first but then softer, a grin fading as he glanced around your big, worried features.

"Heyy," He frowned.

"Don't treat me like a stranger, now."

You didn't want him to go, but you couldn't calm down. You gasped again, trying your hardest to speak this time, grateful he was letting you go, but guilty about the sadness taking over his face.

"Please-," You couldn't look him in the eye, "Please let me get dressed."

Bokuto blinked, surprised, but soon gave an obedient nod. He backed up.

"Yeah! Yeah, uh, of course..."

Maybe virgins weren't as fun as he thought. You were this nervous in a towel?

His attempt to lighten you up by pulling his shirt off and offering it to you only made you stiffen, as if he was handing you a bomb.

So he explained carefully, "How 'bout you put this on? It'd be real cute!"

His finger brushed your nose like earlier. It got a tiny smile out of you.

Bokuto was more tentative to let you grab more clothes, but he didn't voice his concerns. He sat, impatient, as you changed in the bathroom, nursing his aching cock through his clothes.

It helped quell the pain only a bit, while radicalizing his agenda to get between your legs tonight.

♕VIP♕

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[slashersdaddy]

Hiii! How would slashers react if their usually soft s/o ask them to kill someone for whatever reason?

OOOOHH I LOVE this idea!! give me a sec to whip something up!! (Post production edit: I'm so sorry it took so long! I had a long spell of creative rut!)

VARIOUS SLASHERS WITH SOFT S/O ASKING THEIR PARTNER TO KILL SOMEONE FOR THEM!

Includes: Jason, Micheal, Vincent Sinclair, Lester Sinclair, Bo Sinclair, bubba Sawyer, Thomas Hewitt, Charles Lee Ray, Freddy Krueger

AS ALWAYS MDNI! I AM AN 18+ PAGE! THANK YOU!

Jason Voorhees:

Jason was confused to say the least- you WANTED him to kill someone? What did that bastard do?

When you first come to Jason, your usually cheerful face set in grim determination, and almost resignation- he feared the worst, that you wanted to leave him.

But when you uttered the question, when you asked him to kill someone- his already dead heart felt like it may break again- what did they do? Why did you feel the need for him to kill them?

Does he need to make them suffer? How badly did they hurt you?

It may be overwhelming how many questions he asks (signs) you.

Of course in the end he will of course kill the person- if for nothing else than because he cares for you and your mental health.

He will set you up all cozy before he leaves to do the deed, leaving you with blankets and movies and hot cocoa.

Michael Myers:

No questions asked- he is out the door.

dont even expect to be able to explain WHY you want this guy/girl dead- he will already be grabbing his weapon and heading for the door.

Of course he will make it especially painful- they hurt his S/O after all.

But once its done, he'll slink home, wrapping his arms around you from behind and burying his face in your neck, still bloodied from the asshat who DARED make you upset.

And of course he would cuddle you close, silently holding you and stroking your tummy, low growls are expected if you try to get up at all.

he probably will keep you home for the next few weeks- for your 'protection'

and he does mean it!!!

he wants you safe!!

Even in his own fucked up way <3

Vincent Sinclair:

Vincent will pause- eyes scanning you- thinking perhaps it was a joke

you HAD to be joking right?

but when he realized you weren't his stomach turned-

what the hell had this bastard done? clearly he didn't DESERVE to be immortalized- so of course Vincent wouldn't use him at all in his art

rather making Lester 'dispose' of the body quietly

he would make it painful- violent; much more than usual

Once the deed is done he will coddle you, showing you little sculptures, or if you are interested in art- draw and paint with you, his watchful gaze never leaving you- you were his messiah, his god/dess you were his everything-

he would make sure you were safe.

even though he would usually leave this to his brother, it's personal now

Lester Sinclair

Now Lester, he's taken off gaurd by this request, you his sweet lil angel cakes are asking him to off someone?

But of course he won't tell you no.

He will make sure to get his Bowie knife all ready to 'take ojt the trash'

He will ask how painful it should to be

If your crying when you ask, even more reason for him to make that bastard suffer worse than they made you suffer.

Bo Sinclair

Bo doesn't ask anymore questions.

All he needs to know is when where and who.

Of course he will make it painful

And of course he will make the fucker suffer, maybe he will even remove a few fingers to torture them.

He wants his partner happy, so hearing you ask him to kill someone sent him off the fucking rails.

Bubba Sawyer

Bubba sees red

Why would you of all people want someone dead?

Unless they hurt you real bad.

That makes him really angry

He doesn't like the idea of you being hurt, let alone someone else hurting you so bad you don't want them alive anymore.

It will be painful

And slow

He knows how to kill fast, so it stands to reason if he doesn't hit vital points he can make them suffer longer

Thomas Hewitt

Tommy sees red, very similar to bubba

Except he will put on a full on manhunt for the fucker

Using more phycological methods first, stalking them like prey

Before snatching them up and ending them brutally

Charles Lee ray

An excuse to kill some sad mother fucker? Gladly.

But when he sees the tears in your eyes, the way you are shaking, it's personal.

It isn't any longer something to waste time.

This fucker hurt his partner.

This bastard dated touch what was his.

Honestly he will probably fillet the fucker

Freddy Krueger

He won't make it easy.

He will torment the bastard for weeks in their dreams before finally striking.

And of course he won't let you forget that you asked him to kill someone

Of course he is worried, he doesn't fully grasp what the sudden change was about, but he doesn't mind killing for you.

[siri-ike]

The last couple of years have been good to Danny... too good, apparently. He'd accidentally joined a gang, beat up so many would be r**ists, made cops look like fools (an easy feat when you have ghost powers;) and he learned how to properly format an excel spreadsheet. Why, now of all times, did shit have to hit the fan?

There were clues well before Danny realized someone was after him. Hightened ghost activity, all the letters he couldn't read because they were cursive, the occasional horse-drawn carriage becoming him inside. But when a neon green sticky note appeared in a puff of smoke, right in front of his face. That's when he knew Clockwork wanted his attention. Which always means disaster.

That morning, Danny followed his usual routine. He went to the same coffee place, got the same order (sweet tea, a late with 3 sugars and a bagel with jam) and he brought it to the boss just as he was about to bash someone's skull in. He was such a calm and kind natured man but was somehow always in a bad mood before Danny got there.

Even though he never removed his mask, Danny could tell Red Hood was smiling when he looked his way. Not the sadistic way he was smiling before he came in. This was a pleasant smile. Amazing what a cup of coffee can do.

Even though he hid it, Danny knew The Red Hood loves routine. Not just the exact same breakfast and 8 am. sharp every morning for 2 years. He had also ridden the same beat-up motorcycle and used the same gun the whole time they had known each other. He always sat down to read between the hours of 1 pm and 2 pm, then again from 8 pm to 9 pm. And despite clearly preferring to be up at night, he seemed to do everything during the day (as if out of spite).

Safe to say, he wasn't going to appreciate the request Danny had to make.

08:06 am

Hood had ordered his goons to leave. That was another routine. He liked to eat alone. At least, that's how he worded it, but he never seemed to want Danny gone. And so, he did as always; recited the list of things that need to be dealt with in order of importance. A lot of it was kind of depressing. Greedy businesses displacing orphans, a lab infecting animals with degenerative diseases, someone's been stealing wheelchairs and two other gangs plan to have a shoot out at a playground. After that, it was less important things like a meeting with the Don, a suspected traitor, and some kids were cought dealing weed and amphetamines. Slow news day.

A pit forms in Danny's stomach. There's no more putting it off. He takes a deep breath.

But that was enough to get his attention.

"Something wrong?" You wouldn't expect a crime boss to have such a soothing voice.

Danny diffencively grabbed his own arm. He knew it was a sign of distress, and he knew Hood could tell. But Danny's always been such a terrible liar. "I, ih, " He stammered. "I need" in... and out. "I need to take some time off." You could have heard a pin drop.

Finally, Hood spoke. "Are you in danger? Do you need protection?" There was genuine concern in his voice. How could someone so kind be so feared?

Of course, Danny couldn't tell him the real reason (he didn't know the real reason), but he did eventually convince Red to give him one week before checking in. He's so lucky to have a boss who cares so much.

On his way out, 18 different goons begged him to stay. He didn't know them. It wasn't even an organized effort. Each one was alone. He reassured them he'd most likely be back in less than a week, but they still tried to stop him.

It's not like he's worried either, Red Hood can more than take care of himself. Most of what Danny does is just personal assistant stuff, mixed in with a little "crime" sometimes. Plus, with how sweet Hood is, those goons have nothing to worry about.

He hadn't even exited their base when he heard what could only be the sound of a horse-drawn carriage emerging from green fire. (Green ghost fire makes a distinct hot screaming noise, unlike blue ghost fire, which sounds more like a sad scream or red, which sounds like angry botulism). Opening the door confirms his expectations. The same distinct horses as before, too. A bone horse and shadow horse in the front, a scrawny flesh horse and glowing white horse in the back. A short ghost in a fancy but old looking suit held the carriage door open. Danny took a deep breath and put on a brave face (or at least that's what he was going for)

It took mere seconds for them to dissappear from infront of the red hoods base and appear infront of a giant purple castle in the ghost zone. He'd say it looks haunted, but... yeah. He barely stepped out of the carriage before another short, well-dressed ghost opened the front doors.

Inside was Frostbite. The relief must have shown on his face because the yeti was clearly expecting a warm embrace. Frostbite may be covered in furr, and he may have a warm personality, but he is cold to the touch. Danny doesn't care, though. If he wanted heat, he'd put his arms around that piece of hot nope nope, Danny, that is your boss! Get those thoughts out of your head this instant!

"My boy! My how you've grown. Why, you're almost my size." Frostbite said, holding Danny in one arm.

Danny didn't acknowledge the lie. He looks up from where he had buried his face in Frostbites shoulder. "Do you know what this is all about? I assumed the creepy letters were from Walker, but then Clockwork sent a note." He sat up on Frostbites forearm like a parrot. "I know I haven't exactly been a law-abiding citizen lately, but what do ghosts care?" He confessed, far too openly.

Frosbite chuckled. "You think you're in trouble, young one? No, my liege." He placed the halfa down. "It has been 10 years since you defeated Pariah Dark, and no one has taken your title from you. It is time you take your rightful place on the throne." Frostbites eyes shined with pride, and his hands encompassed Danny's whole torso.

Danny couldn't believe it. He came to the ghost zone expecting to get arrested, proposed to, or challenged to a duel of some sort.

Not this.

Ok it’s not like I go here really, but I’ve been reading a bunch of DPxDC recently because it’s very good, and I had an idea that won’t go anywhere

The various gangs in Gotham have callsigns/uniforms or something right??? If not, they should, and imma say they do. Anyway. Redhood I think didn’t think too hard about what people in his gang on his turf should wear for identification purposes, but they sure did. And what they came up with was Red.

Wearing red in the vicinity of the ‘Bad Part’ of Gotham?? Part of the red hood gang. Generally head gear is the preferred method of wearing red. Red hats and beanies, red head scarfs and hijabs, red headbands, red masks. The idea has been communicated. To a certain point, wearing red even if you aren’t officially part of the gang is a great way to get an in with them, or be under protection if you’re the right age in the right area, as long as you’re willing to risk getting roped into low stakes gang activity, which can range from working the counter at money laundering sites to community service (guarding clinics and shelters and volunteering) to making deliveries to destroying certain hostile architecture. (Hood saves the real jobs with cops and shootings and turf disputes for actual members, that he knows the names faces and skills of, and who are at least above 18, but preferably over 20, and who wear real gear he supplies them with, not just whatever’s in their closet that’s red) (this does not entirely stop the smaller ‘members’ from getting into their own fights with the cops and turf wars, but Jason has found that giving them Something to do that feels like direct action helps curb those tendencies. And it’s not like those things aren’t things that don’t need doing, so it’s a win win. Mostly)

Danny, bless him, does not know any of this. But has been staying in the sketchier areas of Gotham because that’s where people don’t care how old you are or if your papers are real or not, and he absolutely does not want people looking into how old he is and wether his papers are real or not. He is also wearing an inadvisable and vaguely conspicuous amount of red. His converse are red, his signature baseball tee is white and red, and his hoodie is also red.

Clearly, this kid (he’s like 17) really wants in with the hood gang.

And eventually, they oblige him.

Random people will approach Danny and ask/tell him that them and a couple others are going somewhere to do (insert vaguely/definitely illegal job or act of community service here) and Danny, who is deeply directionless in life currently, and also pretty assured in his ability to eat danger for breakfast, and has never met an institutional authority he doesn’t disrespect at least a little bit, is totally down for some civil disobedience and chaotic good shenanigans.

And then it spirals from there. Like. A worrying amount.

It takes Danny actual months, almost a year, to realize that he’s been low key slow cooked into the criminal underbelly of Gotham, and like… he’s not really mad about it?? Honestly if he had a choice when he came to Gotham, he probably would have picked the redhood gang anyway. He just seems to vibe with them on a… Spiritual Level…

Hm

Anyway

Years go by, and while Danny doesn’t have the most going for him in terms of a normal person life, vis a vis higher education, official employment, health insurance, dating life, or any other benchmark one uses to measure the trajectory of their lives— Danny’s feeling pretty good! Jazz, Tucker, and Sam have all finagled their ways into Gotham, (Tucker has a WE internship, Jazz is working/doing work studies at Arkham, Sam does what she likes now that she is a legal adult and has her inheritance, and what she likes is environmental activism, and occasionally being spotted with fellow activist Damian Wayne, and someone who may or may not be poison ivy, sources differ) and Danny finds his obsession suspiciously well served as a hood goon. Hood hench? Redgoon? Hench hood?? Name pending, who cares.

Danny is also suspiciously good at, well, his job. One of the best runners, even when he gets caught and frisked they never seem to find the goods on him (they never do check IN him, but then why would they) very well liked at every volunteer spot they have, patient, kind, funny, good with old people, kids, bitter people, addicts and the homeless, the sick and injured. And yet also very competent in the field, when they finally let him do actually dangerous things. Act as protection detail to the working girls in the red light district, he’s very respectful, and very good at intimidation, de-escalation, and when push comes to shove, excellent in a fight. Knows when to keep pressing his advantage and when to make a retreat with whoever he’s guarding. Not afraid to fight scrappy, and presses through pain and fear like a true gothmite.

He gets so good at his not really a job job that he becomes essentially, Redhoods right hand man.

The rest of the bats are skeptical of this for several reasons. Because generally speaking, the people in Jason’s turf are not fans of the bats, but Jason does a lot of coordinating with them, and someone so close to him is going to pick that up eventually if they’re half as sharp and useful as Danny is. Other than that, secret identity issues, plus pit rage, plus the fact that Jason trusts pretty much nobody. But Jason has great feelings about this guy, he always feels more clear headed and even keeled when he’s around, and he helps Jason remember the community he’s trying to build, and the community he serves. Also he delegates and mother hens like nobody’s business, but Jason just really can’t seem to work up too much irritation about it.

It is around this time, however, that the past, and shady government organizations come knocking.

Perhaps the GIW has also noticed how ecto-contaminated and lawless Gotham is and decided that they could start doing research and experiments with its live and undead denizens instead of amity, where the portal has closed, and ghost activity is down since phantom disappeared. Or maybe the GIW has finally located phantom specifically and is interested in what they’re always interested in. Or maybe it’s various ghosts harassing Danny to take up the throne, which he’s been avoiding successfully, but having settled into a life routine that suites him his core has finally ‘settled’ (halfa cores fluctuate more than other cores due to the transient nature of being alive, but halfa people settle into lifelong patterns and relationships quicker than other people because of the static nature of being dead) he is mature enough by ghost standards to assume the throne, or at least begin preparing for it.

Regardless, danny is being tracked down for his childhood baggage’s extended warranty, and brings the entirety of the JL and almost all associated sidekicks, hero group spin-offs, and organizations into the thick of it.

Idk. I just got through Secretary Danny by DeathlySilent13 on ao3 and I thought man oh man wouldn’t it be neat if Danny got to be Jason’s second in command instead??? That could open up a lot of avenues I haven’t seen yet. I’m also just very curious about how the Jason’s runs his gang according to the fandom, and I think that with all the ACAB energy Danny has been assigned, he should have a little bit of community focused organized crime. As a treat. Like I said I don’t go here thou, I just needed to put this somewhere and see if it vibed with anybody besides me

[httpvomitello]

Cold Heart *⁠.⁠✧ (part 4)

cregan stark x targ!reader

WARNING: angst, not a happy ending (?)

(part 3)

Cregan Stark had never been a man of impulsive decisions. The North had taught him patience and calculation, but the weight of your absence gnawed at him like a frostbite that would not heal. Days turned into weeks, and yet the void left in Winterfell remained as vast as the snow-covered fields beyond its walls.

The letter he had written to you sat untouched in his study, a silent witness to his regret. But one night, as he stared at its folded edges, the memory of your face—tear-streaked and full of anguish—became too much to bear.

The next morning, Cregan prepared for a journey south. He left Winterfell in the capable hands of his bannermen and took only a small retinue, determined to face you and your family alone.

The ride to Dragonstone was grueling. The North’s bitter cold gave way to the damp chill of the Narrow Sea, and by the time the island fortress came into view, Cregan was weary but resolute.

The gates of Dragonstone opened to him reluctantly, its guards regarding him with suspicion. A raven must have flown ahead, for he was escorted immediately to the grand hall where Rhaenyra awaited him.

The Queen sat upon her makeshift throne, her presence as commanding as the dragons that roamed her skies. Beside her stood Daemon, his hand resting lightly on Dark Sister’s hilt. The air in the hall crackled with tension as Cregan approached, his steps echoing against the stone floor.

“Lord Stark,” Rhaenyra said, her tone icy. “To what do we owe the honor of your presence?”

Cregan inclined his head respectfully. “I have come to speak with your daughter, Your Grace.”

Rhaenyra’s eyes narrowed. “You mean the daughter you cast aside like a broken sword? The daughter who returned to me in tears, bearing the scars of your indifference?”

Daemon smirked, though his grip on Dark Sister tightened. “You’re lucky we didn’t send Caraxes to greet you instead.”

Cregan held his ground, his gaze steady. “I will not defend my actions, for they were indefensible. But I am here to make amends, if she will allow me the chance.”

“You should have thought of that before you broke her heart,” Rhaenyra snapped, rising from her seat.

“I know,” Cregan said, his voice heavy with regret. “But I cannot leave without seeing her.”

Rhaenyra regarded him for a long moment before gesturing to a guard. “Fetch her. If she agrees to speak with him, so be it. If not, you’ll leave Dragonstone today.”

You entered the hall minutes later, your expression guarded. The sight of Cregan standing in the center of the room made your stomach twist. He looked worn, the proud Lord of Winterfell reduced to a man carrying the weight of his mistakes.

“Why are you here?” you asked, your voice steady despite the storm of emotions raging within you.

“I came to see you,” he replied, taking a step closer. “To tell you what I should have said long ago.”

Rhaenyra and Daemon remained silent, watching.

You crossed your arms, your chin tilting up defiantly. “Say what you came to say, then.”

Cregan drew a deep breath, his grey eyes locking onto yours. “I was a fool,” he began. “I let my grief blind me to what I had in front of me—a woman stronger and more loyal than I ever deserved. I pushed you away, not because I didn’t see your worth, but because I was too afraid to let go of the past.”

Your throat tightened, but you refused to let him see the tears welling in your eyes. “And now? Why now?”

“Because losing you made me realize the depth of my mistake,” he admitted. “Winterfell is colder without you. Rickon asks for you every day, and I have no answer for him. I miss you, Y/N, more than I thought possible.”

You shook your head, stepping back. “You miss me now, but where was this when I was begging for you to see me? I gave you everything, Cregan, and you gave me nothing in return.”

He flinched at your words, but he didn’t look away. “I can’t undo the pain I caused, but I want to try. I want to be the man you deserve, if you’ll let me.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Rhaenyra watched you carefully, her expression unreadable, while Daemon’s hand hovered near his sword. He wouldn't mind going to war with the northern people to defend his daughter.

“I don’t know if I can trust you again,” you said finally, your voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t know if I even want to.”

Cregan’s shoulders sagged, but he nodded. “I understand. And if your answer is no, I will leave and never trouble you again. But I had to come, had to tell you the truth.”

You turned away, your mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. The love you had once felt for him had been buried beneath layers of hurt and resentment, but the faintest ember still burned.

“Give me time,” you said at last, your back to him. “I can’t decide now.”

He bowed his head. “Take all the time you need.”

Without another word, you left the hall, leaving Cregan with the weight of his confession and the choice that lay ahead.

[digonthis]

Catered Audience- Pt. 3

Spencer Agnew x f!Reader

2.2k words

( ᴅᴍ ᴏʀ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴛ ғᴏʀ ᴛᴀɢ :] )

slow burn-ish, fluff, mutual pining, all that shit

part 1 part 2

‧₊˚ ✩°｡⋆♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡⋆｡��✩˚₊‧♡‧₊˚ ✩°｡⋆♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡⋆｡°✩˚₊‧

You were honestly surprised by the amount of friends you’d made just from catering for Smosh. At Mythical you had a few people you’d stop and chat with casually, just regular small-talk stuff. But every time you showed up here you seemed to make at least a few new friends, the kinds of friends you could actually see yourself hanging out with regularly.

That day, you had caught some guy inspecting the order receipt. Thinking you’d messed up, a conversation started and soon enough it was casual chit chat, something like what old friends would do. He said his name was Alex, a good friend of Kiana who had apparently brought you up one or twice in conversation the last little while. He was happy to answer your somewhat silly questions about what his job was like as you finished up your work, but a question of his own stopped you in your tracks.

“Have you seen the little moments of fame you’ve had on the channel lately?”

He brought it up as casually as you would the latest news report or a change in the weather, but the topic had your heart beating a little faster. “I think it’s absolutely hilarious, and between you and me I did think that Spencer guy was super funny!” 

You lean on your cart as you bring Spencer up, the truth was that you’d been watching Smosh in the background during all your cooking lately, primarily videos where he’d been present. That was only a little bit on purpose. “I mean like- in the video I watched you guys film. I love Limp Bizkit, so the impression killed me. And he was so funny and full of energy, even if he sucked at darts! I was cheering for him the whole time, even though it was pretty obvious he wasn’t gonna win-” You cut yourself off suddenly, realizing you’d started to ramble about a guy you’ve never met to a complete stranger.

Alex, sensing he’d really caught your attention, proceeded to hype Spencer up. Coolest guy in the office, super nice, super fun to be around. Absentmindedly, he crumpled and uncrumpled the catering receipt in the pocket of his jacket as he spoke. You were pretty much hooked on every word, all the while trying and failing to keep a casual look about the whole thing. “It’s pretty impressive, you know. The amount of credit you’re getting without even being in the studio. If people didn’t already know you for the bangin’ food they definitely know you now…” He says, and you sense a small ulterior motive behind his words.

“Hell, you could come to the office Christmas party and nobody would even bat an eye…” He says slyly, sipping his drink as wheels turn in your head.

“Uh… I dunno about that much, hm. Wouldn’t want to cause a fuss or be out of place or anything…” You say, the social anxiety already creeping up on you. What would you even say? What would you do? Who would you talk to? What would you wear? You noticed your hands moving a little more quickly and messily as you packed everything up, barely listening as he continued. “I’m sure everyone would be happy to see you, you know. No pressure or anything, just an idea.”

He left the room after dropping that idea, leaving you alone with your thoughts. The idea of being nothing more to Smosh than a one-off joke was a little saddening, especially after enjoying conversations with people as much as you had. Fading to the background now would mean likely losing a lot of that interaction, but the alternative was arguably worse, crashing a company Christmas party and hoping people like that plan. If they didn’t… well, the idea sent a shiver down your spine.

You spent the next few weeks as usual, scolding yourself internally as the christmas party came to your mind more than a few times. You busied yourself in your work, prepping excessively and way too far in advance, just as an excuse to give your mind something to do other than think about it.

In one of the videos you watched as you worked, a ‘who knows me best’ starring Spencer, Angela mentioned you again. You refused to look at the screen, not even wanting to see how anyone reacted, but like any other video it was only minutes before you were rewinding the video, pausing and zooming and analyzing people’s reactions to you. Giggles were audible behind the camera and Angela had a big shit-eating grin on her face, but Spencer was what you really cared about. 

The way he pursed his lips, shoulders shaking to give away his quiet chuckle before he finally broke into a small smile. You told yourself the light blush across his cheeks was the lighting, and forced your eyes away. Back to work, a blush forming on your own cheeks as you continued.

As you finally sat down on the couch, you felt your phone buzz from your pocket. Fishing it out, an email from Smosh was the first thing you saw. You immediately perked back up, despite your exhaustion. and cracked open a redbull. A gigantic and fairly extravagant order, definitely meant for the holiday party. You were surprised at the quality of the ingredients they were springing on, nothing like golf leaf or caviar but a lot of high-ticket products that made you cringe when sending over the price quote. 

Within minutes they had agreed without protest, and the redbull had already been downed. You decide against watching any more Smosh for your mental health’s sake, so you throw on some vinyl and get to work.

After a few days of non-stop work, you were glad to have a regularly scheduled dinner delivery to Smosh, as a break from being alone and doing nothing but baking. The christmas party order had an insane amount of sweets, so you’d been making plenty of cakes, cookies, squares, bars… thinking about it too long makes your head hurt.Wheeling your cart into the studio as usual put a smile on your face quickly though, as you immediately met Angela’s eye.

“What’s for dinner today?” She asks, falling into step with you as she attempts to peek under the foil of the containers. “At least let me put them on the counters first!” You giggle, quickening your pace a little to tease her. “Whatever it is, it smells so good…” 

As the two of you walk along and chat, you lock eyes with the same guy you’d met last time. The one who suggested you come to the christmas party, Alex. He smiles, waving to you and Angela. “What’s up? Did you convince her to come yet?” “Come to what?” Angela asks. “I just tracked her down now, haven had time to ask anything yet…” She adds mischievously, a smirk on her face.

“I just meant the christmas party” Alex returns pointedly. It felt like there was something in this conversation you couldn’t fully understand, but you didn’t have time to ponder this as Angela’s hand shot to your shoulder, an excited glint in her eye. “You gotta come, it’ll be so fun! The girls are planning matching outfits and there’s always great drinks and people and something crazy always happens, it’s such a good time…” She continues her rant on and on until you’ve got all the food set up and people start making plates. The only thing that seemed to stop her tirade was the idea that something would run out before she’d get to eat.

You sigh and lean against the wall, finally having a moment of peace. You still found it to be a horrible idea, like crashing a party you weren’t meant to be at. Alex seemed to read your mind, leaning next to you.

“She has a point, somewhere in all that rambling. People would love to have you there, but… no pressure.”

He seemed apprehensive at the end of the statement, pondering something to himself before deciding to stay quiet. Needing to break it, you voiced your own opinion.

“It’s just so foreign to me, I guess. I’m not technically part of the company, or really ever been part of a company. It’s always just been me working for me, I have no clue how to act at a work party. It’s not my party to go to, and it’d just be too… weird.”

To your surprise, Alex didn’t argue your opinion. Just nodded and shrugged. “You’re not weird. Nobody would think you’re weird. From what I've seen, you have a knack for getting people to favour you, especially when you throw in a freebie with the order.”

With that strange anecdote he left the room casually, leaving you to think. What did he mean? At least it was good that people liked you but what freebies had you-

oh.

oh.

Why the fuck did he know about that???

You were a little glad he had left the room and wasn’t witnessing your little freak out, packing your things quickly and getting out of there as fast as possible. Selina caught you by the door before you can leave, your frazzled expression worrying her. “Who is Alex… close friends with?” You ask awkwardly as she tries to get you to spill whatever is on your mind. “Ah, he’s a super friendly guy but he’s definitely closest with Spenc-” “Nope!” You cut her off blankly, carting your shit out of the building without explanation leaving poor Selina confused and worried for you.

Alex must’ve talked to Spencer about you. Spencer must’ve talked about you to Alex. He took that receipt. How much does he know? What is there to know at all? Why did you tell Alex, a whole stranger that much the other day? You stand in front of your car door, weighing your options.

You could storm back in there, track him down and make him swear to secrecy. Search his office for the receipt, and threaten him for any information he had about you.

You could… drive all the way to Canada, change your name and start a new life?

You could grab a pint of ice cream and watch movies alone on your apartment until you fall asleep…

You went with the third option.

Ben and Jerry weren’t the best at giving advice but they sure did provide a comfort that you needed, until your phone buzzed with a instagram DM from Selina checking in. You assured her you were fine, but she wanted to know more. Within minutes you caved and sent paragraphs upon paragraphs of everything, from initially seeing Spencer to making the stupid cupcake to Alex and the receipt to the christmas party, and all Selina had to say in response was… laughing emojis. You threw your phone against the wall and fell asleep promptly.

Soon enough, it was the day of the christmas party and you were in a bit of a craze from all the cooking and baking you’d been submerging yourself in to forget about your feelings. You couldn’t help but feel proud as you looked over the vast expanse of food you’d made, the intricate and huge gingerbread house the star of the show. 

Once everything was packed into your car, you felt a slight pang of dread. It would be the first time going back to Smosh since Alex’s little comment and your realization that Spencer probably knew more about you than you thought, but you quickly shook the feeling away. You had planned for this, it would take you a long time to set everything up at the venue so you’d given yourself plenty of time, enough so that you would be out the door and gone before any partygoers even show up. Keys in ignition and brave face on, you headed out.

The venue was just as extravagant as the catering order. It took you a few trips to get everything in, the only other person already there was Ian himself, and you insisted you didn’t need his help bringing things in. You hadn’t had the chance to speak with him much prior, but he was really nice and very complimentary to your work, especially the gingerbread house and gingerbread cookie of himself. You were having a great time talking to him, pleasantly surprised with his interest in the process of making everything, until you were tackled from behind with a hug.

“Thank God you decided to show!” Shrieked a voice so energetic it could only be Angela’s. “I knew you would, I did! I should have got you the dress to match, shit! This is gonna be so fun, don’t even worry-”

Ian looked at you confused as you gently pried her off, trying to quiet the excitement down so you could get going. “Show… for what?” He asked, catching Angela’s attention. “The party! I told her to come but she insisted she wouldn’t, but I think Alex changed her mind…” 

“Um, no. Sorry… I was just dropping the stuff off…” You interject awkwardly, gesturing to the tables of food and dessert you’d just finished arranging. Ian took the brief silence as an opportunity to make you an offer that had your stomach dropping.

“Whatever we’re paying you for all this food definitely isn’t enough. The least I could do is let you eat some of it! Since it seems you’re friendly with the cast, it only makes sense.” He says casually, a completely oblivious smile on his face.

The only thing worse than intruding on a party was rejecting an invite once you’re already there. With Angela looking at you so hopefully and Ian sharing such a gracious offer, you really couldn’t say no without being insanely rude, so you nodded and smiled, your brain going haywire.

“Thanks, I hope I'm dressed okay, I really didn’t plan on staying…” You smooth your slightly wrinkled shirt down before Angela places a hand on yours. “Have you ever seen our costume department?”

The grin on her face tells you that you would be seeing it soon.

(A/N- ɪ ᴘʀᴇᴡʀᴏᴛᴇ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴛᴏ sᴇᴇ ɪғ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ғᴡ ᴛʜɪs ! ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɴᴜᴍʙᴇʀs ɢᴏ ᴜᴘ sᴏ ɪғ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴs ɪʟʟ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ! ɢɪᴠᴇ ᴍᴇ ᴀ ʙɪɢ ᴊᴜɪᴄʏ ᴋɪss ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴛs ᴏʀ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ )

[pointyhatspointyears]

Then & Now: OCs & Gposing

Tagged by @sparrowsong-7 @l3ylines & @lynxden (thank you <3)

This'll be long and all over the place because I took a very different direction with gposing this years and it's been very uh educational. Learned to use posing tools less than a year ago and it's really given our characters more life and made a world of difference. Old embarrassing screenshots incoming.. (but the point here is to show ~Growth~ and I hope it motivates you to keep improving too. and push through all the bugs and that existential ennui hit when your game crashes before youve taken a single screenshot ;-;)

-

Random sentimental observations first, going through old folders..

My gurl aged. But the older she got the happier we both were. We discovered ✨boundaries✨ together.

Her fem elezen Era of 2013-2014 had a bit of both Gabriel & Theneras in her. Nerdy elf and grumpy elf were always there. Never realized. (also apparently we've always had that annoying light/shadow shimmer effect and it's not just a post DT lighting thing)

Apparently I've been wearing the same outfit since 2018. Sometimes you just put on a hat and your character says Yup. That's me. Forever. You'll just have to find a way to squeeze under. (sorry for +6 years of clipping, sweetie, but it was your gift and I'm never taking it off)

Gabriel and @pocketyoukai's Yuusei were besties since 2016 before they were RP characters. and he'll always be a loving doting dad retainer to her sister.

2020- Goose & Amalthea were girlfriends before we realized they were girlfriends. The ship sailed itself.

2018: discovered GIF making. Tried to put it to good use..

…but I just kept making shitposts. which didn't last long thankfully.

..And I'm glad it was short-lived, because when I focused more on telling stories through gposing, especially this past year, it's like my brain got rewired to view this world differently, through the eyes of a little sprout again. If I was going to use screenshots only and no words, I had to take shots/gifs of different things to set my scene and experiment with angles I wouldn't otherwise have considered (and fail 50% of the time and try something else. timing is so tricky😭)

..not to mention, when you're thirsty and need to work around censorship you also get creative with angles and visual subtext

It's 10x more fun and rewarding, albeit challenging especially if you don't want to use any crime tools. But doable. And just as fun and rewarding. And I want to do more of this (and fail and keep experimenting) next year and see you tell more of your stories your way too. and be inspired by and fall in love with your characters.

..I was very much 100% vanilla, as in not even shaders, until early 2020. And started using posing tools about a year ago. When you say "your characters have more character!" (you know who you are) I know exactly what you mean now and that makes me very emotional ;-; it really wasn't the case until less than a year ago. a lil criminal activity goes a long way.

Also vanilla kisses were so hard to gpose and turned out so funny. Note to self never to /puckerup for kisses. ever. But we did our best and learned a lot. A ton more kissing next year for sure.

-

A little late so not sure who hasn't done this yet. Tagging my new favorite gpose storyteller @quiethealer , @squidzure (you've shown us Rhea's glow-up but where is Birdie's glow-up!), partner in storytelling & crime @pocketyoukai & @pumpkinmagekupo

and if you're seeing this and are happy with the growth you've done lately... doeet. Show me your embarrassing shots and the shots you're most proud of this year.

[keeps-ache]

2024's last digital piece !!

happy new yeeear!! this year i'm gonna try to work on my writing a bit more lol 💫

2021's last piece of art from me

happy new year, my resolution is to set timers so i drink more water✨

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

Mitsuhide Akechi Sequel

Translations may not always capture the exact nuances or tone of the original text. Expect grammatical errors and inaccuracies.

This is a full translation of Chapter 3, Part 2. Spoilers ahead.

Keiji: "Hey, Mai, Ranmaru!"

We bumped into Keiji, who was, for some reason, carrying a sack of rice on his shoulder.

Mai: "Keiji, perfect timing! Actually—"

Keiji: "You guys are the ones who showed up at the right time! Come with me for a bit."

Ranmaru: "Lord Keiji, we don't have time for this—hey, stop pulling me!"

Keiji: "Just come along. I'll listen to whatever you have to say while I'm making rice balls."

Masamune: "That's a hundred done. Take them."

(Rice balls?)

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

Masamune's retainers: "Yes, sir!"

Ranmaru: "What's with this huge pile of rice balls!?"

Masamune: "It's for relief efforts. Even though the fire was put out, many people in the castle town lost their homes."

Masamune: "People can't do anything on an empty stomach."

Ranmaru: "I guess that's true."

Keiji: "Masamune, should I at least rinse the extra rice for now?"

Masamune: "Yeah, I’ll leave it to you."

Mai: "Keiji, you're also good at cooking?"

Keiji: "I'm just mimicking Masamune, but I don't mind doing this kind of stuff."

Keiji: "It's fun, like a festival."

His smile, like fireworks lighting up the night, lifted my spirits.

(It's amazing how he finds happiness in any situation.)

(I should follow his example. Dwelling on things will only wear me out.)

Masamune: "If you're free, you two should lend a hand."

Mai: "Sure."

Mai: "But while we're cooking, there's something I'd like to talk about."

Masamune: "What is it?"

Masamune: "Signs of rebellion in neighboring territories? Well, that's not surprising."

Even as I explained, neither Masamune nor Keiji showed any sign of alarm and continued to make rice balls.

Keiji: "That intel just came my way a little while ago."

Keiji: "I've already informed Lord Nobunaga."

Mai: "I see, that's good to hear."

Keiji: "Apparently, the rebels have no connection to Kicho or Motonari."

Masamune: "They're probably trying to take advantage of the chaos of the attack on Azuchi Castle to make a name for themselves."

Keiji: "Yeah."

Keiji: "It's not just the daimyo. Bandits and Ronin have gathered and started calling themselves rebel armies."

(The situation is more serious than I heard in town.)

Ranmaru: "If you already knew that much, we didn't have to rush back."

Keiji: "No, I'm glad you told me about the situation in town."

Keiji: "Now I know the information about the rebel armies is spreading faster than I thought."

Masamune: "This is getting fishy."

Keiji: "Yeah."

Ranmaru: "Fishy?"

Ranmaru: "You mean there's a possibility that Kicho and Motonari are involved in the rise of these rebel armies after all?"

(Huh?)

Keiji: "As expected from Lord Nobunaga's favorite page! You're not just a pretty face."

Ranmaru: "Of course! Being cute, cool, and smart is my charm, after all."

Keiji and Ranmaru spoke in their usual cheerful voices, but the eerie feeling that followed the attack began to take shape, weighing heavily on my heart.

Masamune: "Mai, open your mouth."

Mai: "Huh? Ah!"

He suddenly tossed a pickled turnip into my mouth.

When I instinctively bit into it, a sweet and sour taste spread across my tongue.

Masamune: "Is it good?"

Mai: "Yeah, it's delicious."

Masamune: "Looks like you haven't eaten much since this morning."

Mai: "Now that you mention it, I've been so busy, I forgot."

(I didn't even realize I looked pale.)

Masamune: "Let's take a break and eat."

Ranmaru: "I'm starving."

Keiji: "Alright, time to eat!"

We gathered in the corner of the kitchen and sat down around the table together.

(Eating is really important.)

As I was realizing this, Masamune suddenly peered at my face.

Masamune: "Where's Mitsuhide?"

Keiji: "Now that you mention it, we haven't seen him around these past few days."

Mai: "He's probably out gathering information. I don't know exactly where he is, though."

Ranmaru: "If you don't know where he is, then no one does."

(I haven't seen him since we returned to Azuchi.)

(Maybe he's investigating the rebel armies.)

Mai: "Thank you for the meal. I'll clean up the dishes."

As I carried the dishes and stood by the sink,

Masamune: "Huh? Mai, where are you?"

(Huh?)

Keiji: "You're right, she's not here."

Ranmaru: "Lady Mai?"

Mai: "Um, I'm right here."

Ranmaru: "Huh? You're right next to us, but why didn't we notice?"

Masamune: "Did you just vanish for a moment?"

Mai: "No, I'm not a ninja!"

Keiji: "Right. Even ninjas can't pull that off."

Keiji: "The only ones who could vanish and reappear like that are ghosts."

(Ghosts...)

His casual words stirred something uneasy in my heart.

Ranmaru: "Maybe the light outside was too bright?"

Keiji: "Yeah, probably. I should eat more and build up my strength."

Masamune: "............"

(Everyone's been so busy lately. They must be getting exhausted. It's probably nothing to worry about.)

I told myself that at the time. But...

The next time that happened was while I was standing in the hallway of Azuchi Castle, talking to Ieyasu and Mitsunari.

Mai: "We should have enough medicine to distribute tomorrow, but could I ask for more to be delivered the day after?"

Mitsunari: "Okay. Huh?"

Ieyasu: "Eh? Mai?"

Mai: "Yeah, what is it?"

Mitsunari: "Lady Mai?"

(Why are they both looking around like that?)

Mai: "Ieyasu, Mitsunari?"

Ieyasu & Mitsunari: "!"

Ieyasu: "Where were you just now?"

Mai: "What do you mean where? I've been standing here the whole time."

Mitsunari: "Really? I could have sworn I lost sight of you. I must've blacked out."

Ieyasu: "I can see Mitsunari zoning out, but I lost track of you for a second too, Mai."

Mai: "I see."

(This is like what happened in the kitchen earlier.)

Mai: "Maybe it's just eye strain? You two have been looking super busy lately."

Mitsunari: "That could be it. Sorry for worrying you."

Ieyasu: "..........."

The next time it happened was when I visited Hideyoshi's mansion.

Mai: "Excuse me, I brought the kimono you asked."

Hideyoshi: "............"

(Huh? Did he not hear me? Was my voice too quiet? It's rare to see him smoking his pipe like this.)

Mai: "Hideyoshi?"

Hideyoshi: "............"

(He seems really focused. I'll just leave the package with one of his retainers and head out so I don't disturb him.)

I was about to close the sliding door when...

(What if he really couldn't see me?)

A sense of unease crept over me, and I moved around to face him.

Mai: "Um, Hideyoshi!"

Hideyoshi: "............"

(It's like he really can't see me. He can't hear me either.)

My heart tightened.

Mai: "Hideyoshi!"

Hideyoshi: "Mai!? When did you—"

Hideyoshi, with wide eyes, quickly dropped the ash from his pipe.

Finally, our gazes met, and I felt all the tension leave my body.

(Thank goodness.)

Mai: "Sorry for interrupting while you were working. I called out to you several times."

Hideyoshi: "I'm the one who should apologize. I can't believe I didn't hear your voice."

Hideyoshi: "No, it's not that I didn't hear you."

Hideyoshi: "I really must be losing it."

Mai: "How did I look to you just now?"

Hideyoshi: "This might sound strange, but it felt like you suddenly appeared in front of me."

Hideyoshi: "Out of nowhere."

(Out of nowhere...?)

Hideyoshi: "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have made you feel uncomfortable."

Mai: "It's not your fault, Hideyoshi."

Hideyoshi: "Huh?"

Mai: "Actually, this isn't the first time something like this has happened."

Hideyoshi: "It's not the first time?"

(I should probably tell him.)

(It's better to tell him now rather than risk causing more worry if it happens again.)

I opened up to him about everything that had happened so far.

Besides what happened in the kitchen and the castle hallway, there were several times when my fellow seamstresses couldn't find me even though I was right in front of them.

Hideyoshi: "It doesn't seem like it can be easily dismissed as a mistake."

Hideyoshi: "What does Mitsuhide say about this?"

(That's...)

Mai: "He's been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to talk to him about it yet."

Hideyoshi: "At a time like this, I can't believe that guy is still...!"

Mai: "It's fine. I understand it's a difficult time for both Mitsuhide and the Oda army."

(Actually, it's probably better that I haven't seen him lately.)

(If I had,I wouldn't be able to stop myself from consulting him.)

I didn't want him to hold back from going on his missions for my sake.

I wanted Mitsuhide to live as he pleased.

Hideyoshi: "I'll ask Kyubei to pass the message to Mitsuhide."

Mai: "But..."

Hideyoshi: "If he's the kind of man who would leave you anxious and alone, then I'll kick him out of Azuchi for good."

Hideyoshi softened his gaze after saying that with a stern expression.

Hideyoshi: "He won't listen to me no matter how much I nag him, but if it's for you, he'll come back."

Hideyoshi: "I'll report this to Lord Nobunaga as well, so don't try to handle this on your own."

Mai: "Thank you."

Nobunaga: "So, something strange has happened to Mai?"

Hideyoshi: "Yes."

I bowed deeply before Nobunaga.

Mai: "Thank you so much for taking the time to listen."

The rumors I had heard in town turned out to be true, with small rebel factions springing up around Azuchi.

For now, they had only issued statements, but we couldn't predict when a military clash might occur.

(I don't want to worry everyone at a time like this.)

No matter how much I held back, I knew they wouldn't leave me to face it alone.

The warlords of the Oda army are kind-hearted people like that.

(I'll just honestly accept their help.)

Nobunaga: "Hideyoshi, you too witnessed Mai disappearing?"

Hideyoshi: "Yes. Yesterday, at my mansion."

Hideyoshi: "!"

Nobunaga: "..........."

Mai: "Hideyoshi? Nobunaga?"

(Don't tell me it's happening again?)

A cold shiver ran through me, draining the warmth from my fingertips.

Mai: "I'm here! Can you see me? Can you hear my voice?"

I spoke, trembling, but neither Nobunaga nor Hideyoshi responded, both wearing tense expressions as they looked around, unable to meet my gaze.

(They can't see and hear me.)

Driven by fear, I stood up and rushed toward them.

Mai: "I'm here!"

I shouted, reaching out toward Nobunaga, but in the next instant—

(!?)

My fingers slipped past his broad shoulders, and I lost my balance, collapsing onto the tatami.

Mai: "Ugh..."

Nobunaga: "Mai?"

Hideyoshi: "Are you okay!? How did you end up behind Lord Nobunaga?"

As they helped me up, the tremors wouldn't stop.

Mai: "It's not that I walked behind him. It's more like I passed right through him."

Hideyoshi: "Passed right through?"

Nobunaga: "Mai."

Mai: "Yes?"

Nobunaga: "If something like this happens again, report it immediately."

I hesitated to respond, and Nobunaga, seemingly aware of my reluctance, continued.

Nobunaga: "Your safety is the safety of the Oda army. Do you understand?"

Mai: "Yes. Thank you."

Hideyoshi: "Mai, you've got us on your side."

Their gazes warmed me, and I barely managed to nod, desperately holding back tears.

As soon as I returned to my room, I immediately grabbed the Travel Guide.

(It was after returning to Azuchi that I started becoming invisible to those around me.)

(And the strange happenings with the travel guide started around the same time. Maybe there's a connection?)

(If that's the case...)

The face of my only modern friend flashed in my mind, sending a chill down my spine.

(What if something's happening to Sasuke too? I have to tell him quickly!)

A few days after sending a letter to Echigo, I found myself lost in thought.

Suddenly, a knock came from the attic. Startled, I looked up, and the hatch swung open.

Sasuke: "Mai, good evening."

Mai: "Sasuke!?"

Sasuke landed gracefully, lowering his mask.

Sasuke: "I came."

Mai: "You came!"

Sasuke: "I wanted to talk directly instead of replying. Sorry for the sudden visit."

Mai: "It's okay, thank you for coming!"

Mai: "So, has anything strange happened? You came from the future like me, so I was really worried!"

Sasuke: "I'm fine. Nothing unusual has happened to me."

Mai: "I'm glad to hear that."

Sasuke: "About the other strange thing you mentioned in the letter..."

Sasuke: "Can I see the Travel Guide?"

Mai: "Sure, here you go."

His expression hardened as he looked down at the blank pages.

Sasuke: "............"

Mai: "Did you figure something out?"

Sasuke: "No, not exactly."

His words came out strangely hesitant.

(Is he hesitating to talk?)

Just as I sensed that, the sliding door opened.

Mitsuhide: "Let me hear that story as well."

Sasuke: "!"

(Mitsuhide!)

[n1-lance-defender]

How has the dehumanization of celebrities/athletes has affected the perception people have of Lance, and it has caused so much harm over the years. A rant/ threat/analysis.

Yes, I have seen so many (3) of these post over the last few days, and I think it is my turn to speak about my views regarding Lance and what I find most upsetting about his situation. Then I proceeded to wander and explain how it also connects to other drivers, and it’s one of the weird phenomenons of the digital era.

Btw I care a lot about this topic, but this is probably (aside from school) the most I have written in English, because this is my second language. So if something doesn't make much sense, just tell me so I can correct/improve the explanation.

During the last decade we have seen the rise of social media, and with it, the fanaticism of sports started showing characteristics we associate with fandoms and literacy. For example, even thought it doesn't seem that way, fan fiction has existed for at least 50 years, being more notorious with the Spock x James (Star Trek) whose fan fiction goes back till 1966. On the other hand, the oldest fanfic we have evidence of, in F1, was written in November 2009, almost 2010. This has made, over the last decade, the perception we have of drivers shift to a more personal matter and increase the importance of having an attractive internet image.

I do not condemn RPF, I enjoy reading about it and probably, like most of us, won't stop doing it. However, I think it is beneficial to talk about similar behavior has had an impact over mainstream media and social media (influencers in particular) and it has been the cause of irrational hatred us, lance supporters, are so used to seeing.

I used to believe it was extremely weird how in random TikToks or YouTube analysis there were being made jokes of lance. Some that stood out to me were “then we have the C4 tires that, except for Stroll's car, will make them go faster” or “we are about to see 19 drivers and Stroll race in the great circuit of X”. Before and after these comments were made, I was just watching videos on tire degradation and race lines of a circuit analysis, respectively. It didn't add anything to the video, it wasn't even a video that was made to be funny. That is when I started thinking about it, and realized, mainstream media has done the same as us, they have turned him into a character.

Brief statement. Every one makes “characters” out from people. We have wide imaginations in which we think how others will behave with some evidence we have, not just in social media. We daydream for example about our crushes and things we think they will say, we idolize them in our heads. The same thing happens here in social media, we decide which driver is which fruit, animal, or teddy bear. Because we do it positively, there are no impacts, and it is more than likely that this information will never reach the driver himself. However, means of communication whom do have access to them are also doing this, but not with the right intentions.

There are stereotypical characters in movies/series, we have all see that at some point. Most times we agree that their writing is put in a way that makes them very one dimensional and not relatable at all. Sometimes they write characters whose only purpose in the series will be to act as comic relief, so then the scene doesn't feel heavy or boring. They become the internal joke of the show.

That is what it is happening to Lance, his internet image has being corrupted enough, so then people have no problem using him as a comic relief, because they are so convinced that is what his “character” was written for, to ease up tension. It seems like it has been normalized making fun of him to a point where it is expected you are into the “joke”, and there is absolutely no shame in making fun of him while talking about f1.

He is not a character. He does not fall into a common stereotype made by poor written movies. Because he is an actual person, with layers and self-awareness of the things said about him. The fact that this is how we treat people is terrible and extremely harmful, cause 90% of F1 fans do not have the time or care about little things that happen to them or mind their personality to deeper levels. They take the first input they get from social media, use that to make an opinion and move on with the other important thing in their live.

Example of this, my dad. He loves F1, he is the one that made me love it as much as I do. He has his F1tv subscriptions and talks with me about it all the time, watches all practices, qualys and races. He wants to take me some day to see a race, there is no denying he is an F1 fan. But that man does not have Instagram, does not have TikTok. I have tried to explain to him what an edit is multiple times and still he doesn't get it, so I won't even try to explain what are fan works. So when I told him “OMG MAX IS HAVING A BABY” his reaction was “oh, with his current girlfriend? cool” that man pretended some interest because I was excited. He couldn't care less about the personal life of anyone.

So then the image he has of the drivers is the little description over the Facebook posts of sky sports and danz. So when that description only reflects a character they themselves created, that is what gets in the mind of their readers. That is what their personality is to the rest of the world. That is why now more than ever, drivers care so much about their perception. There isn't enough time to get to know them, so it is usually that headline they get what makes the opinion of the public over them.

Lando is seem as childish. Charles is seem as pretty. Yuki is seem as angry. Franco is seem as flirty. George is seem as girly. Lance is seem as useless. Try asking someone older, their opinion over these drivers, and they will say something between these stereotypes. We could debate it is better or worst to not get one of these labels, because the problem of always flying under the radar (which is now almost impossible) is that nobody is sad when they leave, there is no recognition, goodbye, appreciation, or thank you, which to me, it is beyond sad.

We have gotten into a point where media training and curating social media is part of the rookies' preparation, being popular has become a requirement to be a successful f1 driver. I am just left to wander, what is the best approached we can take about it? We can't stop the dehumanization of drivers and then let them put them into stereotypes. That is just a sad truth and problematic of the internet. So I guess what we have left is to defend, create narratives against the hatred they receive and hope eventually media will become more empathic and joke around just because they can.

Who knows, people are becoming more critical of stereotypical characters and are less willing to believe one dimension personalities. Hopefully with new generation this marketing strategy will become useless and media portrayed would change.

[sillystarwrites]

Hi there!

Can you pretty please with a cherry on top do tadc cast x reader that looks like gingerbrave from the cookie run game series? Also just make reader a little shorter then pomni, thanks!

A/N: this is actually hella interesting?? Might be shorter (like about 5 per character) since there’s a lotta characters to write for here, but yipeeee

Type: tadc cast x gn!reader that looks like gingerbrave HCs

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

🎩Caine🎩

☆ you’re the first person to enter that looks more food-like, so hes a tad intrigued

☆ still, he treats you like any other member! Full tour and everything

☆ he also used gingerbread a lot more in adventures. For some reason. It did freak you out a bit, to be honest, but you didn’t say much 

☆ I also like the idea that being a gingerbread fella you broke easily, so he’d often fix you up after adventures 

☆ he also gave you an oven in your room, to cook new limbs in case he wasn’t there to repair you

♟️Kinger♟️

☆ he’s a bit bonkers in the light, so you accidentally scare him a lot

☆ he’s sorta like a parent figure to you tbh

☆ like during episode 3 if you get tossed with him and Pomni, he protects you two

☆ also pretty helpful with finding your limbs if they snap off at all

☆ I have like no ideas for him I’m so sorry 😭 

💜Jax💜

☆ he’s purposely break off your limbs, because he would

☆ he probably also broke your arm off just to eat it, so see what it tasted like

☆ it tasted like polygons, much like other food in the circus

☆ he also probably tried to shove you in the oven in your room

☆ considering you occasionally need to bake yourself new limbs, you probably have some sort of frosting to re-attach them with

☆ which he totally stole and managed to glue you to your ceiling 

☆ and you still had to go on the adventure after that 

🧸Ragatha🧸

☆ as she is with everybody, she’s super welcoming to you

☆ also protects you from Jax when he tried to break you

☆ in the instance he does, she IMMEDIATELY helps, she’s such a people pleaser oml

☆ like genuinely it’ll be the smallest thing and she insists on helping, it’s a bit overbearing

☆ you know she’s trying to be nice but god damn

☆ you let her help anyway

☆ she’s pretty nice other than that

☆ checks on you pretty regularly and stuff

☆ during episode 4’s adventure she does spill that she basically pities you.

☆ so it’s like damn okay then

☆ that definitely affects your relationship, but you try not to let it get to you

☆ key word try.

🔶Zooble🔶

☆ they get the bullying from Jax, so they try to help

☆ sometimes it results in their limbs being yoinked, but hey, at least you’re okay

☆ they also help you with your gingerbread limbs

☆ you’re like a lot shorter than them, which they DO think is kinda maybe funny

☆ like they’ll never mock you for it but compared to everyone else you’re almost comically short

🎡Pomni🎡

☆ surprised to have someone a bit shorter than her at first to be honest

☆ she’s pretty nice to you though!!

☆ she might worry about accidentally breaking you so she might avoid you sometimes, but she means well

☆ if someone (Jax) breaks your limbs she’s willing to help if Ragatha doesn’t beat her to it

☆ sometimes wonders if you’re edible, but then she realizes that’s weird asf so she never asks

☆ other than that she seems to like you

🎭Gangle🎭

☆ she seems to like you, you’re nice to her

☆ idk if you two would be that good of friends, but defo talk to each other every now and then

☆ you might distract Jax from bothering her, so she’s a bit grateful for that

☆ you both get along well, for sure

☆ if you two do become friends you help each other out every now and then with whatever

🫧Bubble🫧

☆ tries to eat you.

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

A/N: let me cook please fhshdhdhshdh I had no clue what I was doing.

[jinxedshapeshifter]

I'm a bit late responding to this but you can apply the same thing to Turnabout Academy. Klavier asks Athena and Apollo to find the Gavinners banner after the reveal that the Themis Academy banner has blood on it. Like it comes off as him being self-centered at first, but I don't think it's a stretch to assume he knew exactly why it disappeared (and he does imply that it's connected to Courte's murder, because he says "You never know — it might just be connected to the case at hand." Athena's reaction is "Really? Or does he just want his banner back?").

It's really interesting. I feel like both the Ace Attorney fandom and the characters in the games he shows up in vastly underestimate his intelligence, and he uses it to his advantage because he's incredibly intelligent. He's not quite at Sholmes's level, but he's still incredibly intelligent, to the point he did know something was wrong when Daryan missed his cue, and he did realize there might be something more to his banner disappearing after finding out about the Themis banner. It's made pretty obvious in Turnabout Corner that he's at least 3 steps ahead of Apollo at all times, I wouldn't be surprised if that applies to Turnabout Academy too.

It makes it a little funny that he doesn't really clarify why he wants Apollo to pick out the missed cue in Guilty Love in Turnabout Serenade or find the Gavinners banner in Turnabout Academy, like he's just letting anyone who interacts with him think he's an egocentric asshole who doesn't care about people being murdered when, in reality, he's at least 3 steps ahead of literally everyone else, including detectives, which feels like it lends more credence to my original point of the origin of "Klavier someone was murdered" being Klavier masking how he feels about a situation.

He claims he "felt a conspiracy brewing" and brought in Ema as extra security for the Gavinners' concert in Turnabout Serenade, and it didn't prevent a man from being murdered under his nose at his concert. His mentor was murdered in Turnabout Academy, and he's even further into the whole "I'll pretend to be an egocentric asshole to cope with this because I don't know how else to deal with this" thing (which I really want to analyze but I'll do it later) than he was in Turnabout Serenade. Klavier, by Ace Attorney prosecutor standards, is super friendly. If a case is personal to him he gets mean and uncharacteristically aggressive.

This is super obvious in Turnabout Academy in my opinion, where he was just being an asshole to Apollo for most of the case (and I do mean that, because there were points where I was surprised by how much of a dick Klavier was being. Granted, he's not blatantly mean the entire case, but he's absolutely mean enough that it stood out to me). Like it's obviously teasing, but it's so much meaner than it was in AA4 frankly. Granted, it's also obvious at points in Turnabout Serenade (like how he basically bribes Apollo into helping him pinpoint Daryan's missed cue by saying he'll help Apollo investigate his case if Apollo helps find the missed cue), but I think by virtue of how personal Turnabout Academy is to him compared to Turnabout Serenade (at least at first, because by the end of Turnabout Serenade it becomes incredibly obvious just how personal the case is to Klavier), he's more of a dick.

I obviously might be misremembering cases, but I don't remember Klavier being quite as mean to Apollo in Turnabout Corner or Turnabout Succession as he was in Turnabout Serenade or Turnabout Academy, and I very much think it's because he was coping with the cases being personal to him by getting mean with his teasing. It is also worth noting that he didn't really snap at Vera until he realized Kristoph was involved in everything. At that point he got incredibly aggressive to the point of visibly scaring Vera, which, when you first play the game, comes off as him just being desperate to find out what happened, and then you replay it and realize that the case just got incredibly personal to him (like when I replayed AJ:AA, I hit that point in Turnabout Succession and I think I actually cried because that's the exact moment he realizes Kristoph was involved, and how exactly Kristoph knew about the forged diary page).

Basically, Klavier is (almost always) a few steps ahead of Apollo (which I really don't think is talked about enough to be honest), and the second he realizes just how personal a case is to him, he has a tendency to get aggressive, and the more personal the case is to him the meaner he gets (which I'm kinda surprised I haven't seen anyone talk about honestly, it explains so much of Klavier's behavior and very much holds the implication that it's a coping mechanism of some sort).

Anyway, TL;DR: Klavier's more intelligent than I think people realize, he seems to use the fact that everyone around him seems to think he's just self-centered to his advantage, and his aggression very much comes off as a coping mechanism when you consider specifically when he tends to get aggressive/mean.

I feel like something that isn't discussed enough is the possibility that Klavier’s behavior in both Apollo Justice and Dual Destinies is a coping mechanism. Like I very much think that at least part of what we see of Klavier is a mask. I don't think it's fully a mask, but I 100% think "Klavier someone was murdered" being a meme comes from Klavier masking trauma and how he does so. Not that I don't think he's silly or a perfectionist normally, but I think he purposely plays some of his personality traits up if something happens to someone close to him or at one of his events, unless he hits a breaking point (which he very much did in Turnabout Succession, because Kristoph pushed him to that point). Like he's a rockstar, he has an image to uphold so he probably feels like he HAS to mask trauma and sadness and depression, which is the unfortunate case for a lot of celebrities irl too (especially when they're young).

Klavier actively masking the trauma caused by Turnabout Serenade and Turnabout Academy would explain a lot of his behavior tbh.

[americas1suiteheart]

Not In On The Joke || Sequel

Brian "Q" Quinn x Fem! Reader

(NOT MAKING A PART 3!!)

Summary; Q and Y/n go on a date. Sequal to Not In On The Joke.

Notes; I wrote a sequel/part II!! I figured why not, as well as the asks I've been getting.. 3rd person POV btw

Warnings; Some foul language, though not very much.

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

A date.

It had been ages since Y/n has been on a date, a few years to be exact, and she was scared out of her wits.

A week ago, some random guy came up to her one day out of nowhere, flirted with her and asked for her number, as well as making her late for a meeting.

She didn't mean to be disrespectful, but man was he hot.

It was just going to be a simple café date, nothing fancy, so she got ready and put on a t-shirt and the first pair of pants she saw in her drawer, of course with a jacket and her favourite blue scarf due to the cold weather. Looks good enough, presentable.

On the other hand, Q was going way over the top, for one of the first times, he was anxious.

"What about this one?"

"Q, it's a café," Sal says, crossing his arms.

"And it's a date! What if she dressed up?" Q looks at Sal and throws his arms up.

"You know what, do what you want, I'm out," Sal says as he walks away.

Q now looks at Sal in astonishment.

"This is fine. This will be fine." He tells himself as he looks in his closet and picks his Superman t-shirt and a black sweater.

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

Maybe Y/n shouldn't have been too early. She showed up 20 minutes early out of nervousness that she'd be late.

She'd already been through two cups of tea and a scone. A really big scone.

Her phone dings with a buzz. It was a text from Q.

Brian (Q): I should be there in 5 minutes ;) - 1:34 pm

Y/n lets out a deep breath, 'Finally,' she thought to herself.

Wait.

The winky face?

The fact that she started to burn up at something so small and simple made her even more embarrassed than before.

She sipped on her water and waited some more. She looked around, the ambiance of this café was mesmerising, dimly lit, some plants here and there on shelfs, and soft jazz playing. Now she knows why Brian picked this place. It was so cozy and nice in here.

"Y/n?"

She turns around to see Q standing next to the two seater round table.

She quickly gets up from her seat and puts her hand out to shake his. She had no clue what she was supposed to do.

"Brian, hello, I'm glad you were able to make it!" She says as he awkwardly looks at her hand.

The uncomfortable pause made her realize that there was no need to be professional, "Oh my goodness, I'm– I'm so sorry, Brian, I apologise for the odd professionalism," she says as she pulls him into a hug, to which he returns.

"It's alright don't worry and don't apologise sweetheart," Q says, pulling away from the hug and sitting down in the chair opposite of Y/n's.

"So.."

"Uh, how have you been? How was that meeting?" Q asked with a small smile.

Y/n smiles, "It's been alright so far, the meeting went well, I was only just a tad bit late but I wasn't chewed out for it," she laughs, "how about you, Brian?"

'Good chance to say something,' Q thinks to himself. "It's been good but it's a lot better now that I'm sitting here with you," He says with a wink.

Y/n turns bright red at the flirtation and begins to laugh a few moments later, a genuine one. A genuine laugh that made Q smile even bigger than he had before.

"Likewise, Brian. Oh, I ordered just some waters, I didn't know what you wanted so.." She said awkwardly.

"Thank you, I hope I didn't make you wait too long." He was trying his best not to be stupid, say anything stupid. But working with his friends for years will do something to anyone.

She lies, "Oh no not at all, I got here about 5 or 10 minutes before," She didn't want to make him feel bad on the first date, but she did think for a moment that he stood her up.

Q and Y/n talked for a while after ordering their meals, simply things that one would speak about on a first date, things that they like such as food or music, but even that wasn't enough for Y/n to get to know Q.

"What do you do? Like, job wise," Y/n asks, taking a sip of her water.

Q panicked for a second. 'How the hell am I supposed to tell her I work on a national television show? That proves me to be totally stupid at times!' He thought to himself.

"Uh, well–"

"Heres that hamburger, and the special," the waitress interrupts, "would you two like anything else to drink?"

"Thank you, I'll just take a black coffee," Y/n says.

"And for you sir?"

"A Coke, would be nice,"

The waitress jots down the two drinks onto her notepad, "I'll be right back with that," she says as she leaves.

"Black coffee? Not even with a little bit of sugar in it?" Q questions, an amused look on his face.

"Pfft, no way! I only put sugar in my tea, and it has to be a specific one." She laughs.

"Specific one? Like what?"

"Well, most black teas pair great with sugar and cream. Take London fog for example. It's Earl Grey black tea with steamed milk, sugar or sweetener, and lavender extract. Herbal and white teas pair better with honey, same with green teas. And then there are some that just taste good by themselves," She explains. Q admired how intelligently she spoke about this.

"Well, you've proved me wrong. Guess you'll have to show me all the different ones some other time, sweetheart," Q flirts, sending her a wink.

Y/n began to burn up once more at not only the pet name and firting, but also his asking for another date, "Are you suggesting another date, Brian?" She smirks.

"Possibly," He sets his arms on the table and leans closer towards her.

"Here's that coffee, and here's that Coke for you guys. Can I get anything out of the way?" The waitress had unfortunately been interrupting most of the date, and for some reason, Q believed it was on purpose.

"No thank you," Y/n smiles, "So, that reminds me, you never answered my question asking you about what you do for a living. Care to share?" She asks after the waitress leaves the table.

Q hesitated, should he really tell her or lie? 'What's the use in lying?' He thought to himself.

"Well, it's a little complicated," He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh? How so?"

"I kinda work in the television buissiness,"

"Like what? Tech? Acting?" Y/n questioned, her brow crooking.

Shit.

"Unscripted reality TV show." Slip of the tounge..

"Wow, really! That's so cool! What sort of show?" She exclaimed a little too loudly for the liking of everyone else inside of the café, earning a few looks and glares from others.

"Well it's this thing me and my friends all do, it's kind of like challenges and stuff," Q was sheepish, he was afraid that Y/n might like him only for his fame.

"Oh, so you're like, a star of the show? What's it called?"

"Impractical Jokers,"

"I think I've heard of it before, though I don't think I've ever watched it. Unless there was an episode without you because then I would definitely remember a face like yours," Now it was Y/n's turn to flirt.

"U-uh well, no, I've never missed a shooting before," Q was glad she'd never seen it, especially with all of the stupid and embarrassing shit he's done. And that episode with her in it. She'd hate him.

"I'll have to see it, then," Y/n says before finishing her food.

Oh jeez..

"Anything I can get out of your way?"

How many times has she come already?

"This plate and– Brian, do you need to get rid of anything?" Y/n asks politely.

"Yeah, the two plates, please." Q stacked the plates on top of each other as Y/n put the used napkins and utensils on them.

"Oh, can I get the check as well?"

"Of course, I'll be right back with that for you two." The waitress collects the plates and leaves. Leaving for what felt like the millionth time.

Y/n sighed and adjusted herself in the seat, looking around the café and finally settling her eyes back on to Q, "You have pretty eyes, did you know that?" She complimented.

Q wasn't one to get flustered. He was a guy, what kind of guy flusters as easily as him?

He finally snapped out of it, immediately thinking of something better to say, "Not as pretty as yourself, I assure you."

Y/n flushes and looks away in a pathetic attempt at hiding the bright red that tinted her cheeks.

"Here's the check, will you be splitting it?" The waitress asks, putting the black booklet with a pen and receipt on the table.

"No, that's alright. Just my card,"

"And here I thought the man was supposed to pay for the date? Hmm.." The waitress hummed, a look of disappointment on her face as she took the card from Y/n and walked off.

Q looks at her astounded, she practically judged him before he even got the chance to offer his own card. There was definitely something off.

"I could've gotten that for ya' you know?" Q frowns.

Y/n laughs, "It's alright, Brian. I don't mind at all. It was your treat taking me here, I could at least pay the bill,"

"Let me pay the tip?"

"Be my guest."

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

"Thank you for this, Brian. I had a lot of fun, I haven't had that in a while," Y/n smiles at Q who was walking her to her car.

"No problem, sweetheart. I had a great time with you, too. You still up for that other date?" Q asks.

For the millionth time, her smile grew bigger, deeming it to be possible one could smile that largely, "I'm more than up for that other date,"

"Great. I'll be talking to you soon, then," Q stops where Y/n's car was parked.

"Of course, talk to you soon, darling." Y/n says, placing a small peck on his cheek before entering her car.

Q stood still, "Darling.." He whispered to himself, a smile quickly making a way to his face.

"Look who's lovestruck,"

Q turns around to see a camera crew and his three friends approaching him, "What the hell?"

"How was the date? Darling," Joe asked, nudging Q's arm.

"Wait, wait! Was she in on this? Did you guys spy on us?" Q exclaims, confused and upset.

Murr snickers and walks away with the crew and other two Jokers.

"Was she in on this! Hey!" Q shouted, unable to go after them.

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

I did this really fast, I think I wrote it in like, a week? And finished it at 3 am so😬 I dunno if it's sloppy, but here's your sequel.

[ghost-proofbaby]

wishing you a festive period that is kind to you. I think about 24hours eddie and reader constantly - all the things and occasions he would want to make up for, having missed out spending them with reader. you know how this time of year can feel very nostalgic and a time for guilt and reflection to creep in.. sigh - I know they’d both want to make up for it 🖤

thank you, nonnie <3 i am wishing you the very same.

it truly would be. something in the december air is just naturally laced with guilt and eddie would be so far from being immune to it.

the first holiday season would be the worst, as everyone in the group just knows what to get you for gifts, but he realizes he doesn't know as much as they do about you. he'd have to ask about your favorite show, your favorite movies, your favorite albums. he can't just casually buy you a cute pullover for your favorite franchise like robin has - he didn't even know that that had been your favorite franchise until she'd excitedly showed him. not only that, but then there's the aspect of not only hearing now about traditions set in stone between you and the others, but watching them set into motion. movie nights that were apparently your favorite part of the season, a specific flavor of coffee from your favorite coffee shop that was seasonal only and he'd never caught on to. regardless of the holiday you celebrate, he wouldn't know; he wouldn't know if you preferred white christmas lights or colored, he wouldn't know what day of the year you burn yule logs, he wouldn't know the story behind your menorah gifted to you in your youth that you treat as fragile as crumbling ashes. all the little things, all the big things, and he's just lost.

he might ignore you at first without meaning to. start to recede into himself, lash out when he doesn't mean it, pick arguments without knowing the root of his sour mood. but when you finally confront him? when the two of you do what you do best, and have a truthful conversation?

oh.

oh it all clicks into place for him.

"who cares if you know those things?" you'd ask with a scrunched nose, carrying over trying to extravagantly wrap argyle's gift in a fashion that the shape completely derails him from actually guessing what you had gotten him.

"i care," and god. he'd sound desperate. broken. and it'd make you look up, a bit shocked, not expecting to find a broken eddie munson looking back at you, "i... fuck, i care about those things. i should know those things. if i hadn't been such a dick, i would know tho-"

and you'd interrupt him, so quickly, so fierce to stop him from going down that pathway, "parks and recreation."

he'd stand there so confused, blank face that slowly contorts into sheer befuddlement. "what?"

"my favorite show," you'd double down, "parks and rec. i also have a soft spot for gilmore girls, if we're keeping score. don't tell steve though. he spent weeks trying to convince me to secretly watch it with him, only to go and watch it with some chick he met on an app, so to get revenge i was hate watching it only to end up loving it."

and in one clean sweep, you've managed to accomplish two things he'd yearned for: knowledge of a basic fact, and a secret just between you two.

from there, it just avalanches.

you do away with the gift for now, giving him your full attention, sitting on the floor of the apartment and exchanging all those missed details. he tells you stories about holidays with wayne, you finally explain that god awful pair of faux diamond earrings you never wear but will never, ever get rid of. the two of you talk about the gifts you've wanted in the past but never received. talk about the favorite gifts you've been given. your favorite year for the holidays, when you were children and the magic was still there. maybe you let it slip how you miss that magic; the feeling of being a little kid and everything being more about the love and electricity in the air rather than the stress and pressure of the holidays.

"i want to wake up on christmas morning," you'd say, leaning back your head wistfully against the couch you'd sat up in front of, "and for it to feel like the movies again. you know? being giddy and oblivious and- i don't know. is that stupid?"

he'd shake his head, smiling softly, sharing that same sentiment.

"no, i get it. just... missing the magic."

naturally, eddie goes out of his way to give you the greatest gift of all - somehow, against all odds, he'd bring back the magic.

small things. when you bring up wanting to go out and see lights on the neighborhood lights, he's bundling you up in one of his sweaters and loading the two of you onto his bike to go slow crawl through the twinkling streets. even gives you his only pair of riding gloves, despite his hands freezing to the point of cherry red, just to let you enjoy it all comfortably. when there's a baking recipe you're interested in, he buys the ingredients on his way home, and you get so excited you cancel plans with the group to stay in with him and fail at it miserably. flour across both your cheeks, but it doesn't matter, because you're too busy laughing to notice the imperfections. you both try to say that milk helps the burnt cookies - it doesn't, but the softness in his eyes when he watches you embarrassingly snort on your glass at how terrible the taste is does. more home-cooked meals than the two of you have had in years, some tasting as divine as you remembered, and others being put away in a "better left alone" envelope.

in the end, it doesn't matter that robin was the one to get you the pullover, or that steve has tasted your family's 'award-winning' pie recipe before him. eddie's the one making you laugh as the clock strikes midnight, scolding you about being quiet or else the elves or some shit will hear you, as you just cackle louder and smack his chest, shutting him up with a kiss.

december air is a little bit sweeter after that year. a little less guilty, and a little bit more magical.

[vilevenom]

GUN tries to capture shadow after his plummet to earth in Sonic 3. He wipes the floor with them despite being very hurt. TEAM sonic is again called in, because GUN does not know that they are friends/allies now.

Welp! Really wish I could SPOILER tag an ask, but here we are.

Hi, Anon! The movie boys have taken over my brain, so I whipped this up in, like, an hour, lol It's not exactly what you asked for, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!

Shadow gasped for breath as he ran through the field he'd found his inhibitor ring in, the sound of humans yelling and guns firing following him as he went. He should have expected this. Mind, he didn't think he'd survive the explosion, so when he'd woken up in a crater he hadn't been expecting much of anything, really. But he'd thought, or at least hoped, after crawling out of that hole, that the humans would give him some sort of break for saving their world. Hadn't Sonic and his friends relayed what happened? Or perhaps they had, and GUN just didn't care. That would make sense. Sonic had other humans to care for him, and make sure he didn't end up in a cryo-tube. Shadow didn't. As far as GUN was concerned, Shadow was certain that they just viewed him as an asset they needed to collect.

He rounded a tree and paused to gasp for air, his chaos reserves nearly depleted, and his body heavily wounded. He'd only managed to find one of his inhibitor rings, as well, so it was risky for him to even try and use what little energy he had left to defend himself. But, at the rate these persistent GUN soldiers were going, he really didn't have much of a choice.

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE," Shadow screamed, dodging out from his hiding place while throwing a chaos spear at the closest group of soldiers. Not close enough to hit them, but close enough to hopefully startle them away enough to give him space to flee further. He'd tried using his air shoes twice already, but with his lowered levels of chaos, he couldn't get more than a few sparks to emit, so running naturally it was.

~

"It would seem we'll need to take a reluctant page out of Commander Walters' play book," Director Rockwell groused, watching her troops cower back from another blast of chaos energy.

"Sir?"

"Call in the blue hedgehog and his little friends. They managed to corral Project Shadow once. Hopefully they'll be able to do it again."

~

Shadow growled low as frustrated tears welled in his eyes, tucking and rolling behind a large boulder as bullets zipped overhead. He grunted as he fell against the cool stone, clutching at his arm, where a wayward bullet had managed to graze him. Blood oozed from the wound slowly, his chaos energy barely able to close the gash in a timely manner. He was getting tired, and as such his movements were getting sloppy. There seemed to be a never ending supply of soldiers, while he was rapidly fading.

If he didn't manage to get away soon, he would have no choice but to turn to his last resort. He knew now that it was the last thing Maria would have wanted for him, and he would never get to see the insufferable blue hedgehog who'd made him realize that again, but he couldn't go back to GUN. He couldn't bear the thought of being forced into another cryo-tube for who knew how long, to wallow in his memories and mistakes for years on end once more. He wanted to live. He wanted to experience all that Maria had taught him about, and see the world the way she did. He wanted to speak to Sonic again, and see just how much they truly were alike.

But with GUN closing in on him rapidly, he had a feeling that self destruction would be his only means of escape.

~

"Heya, Director lady! Fancy seeing you again," Sonic chirped, stepping through the ring that had appeared next to the GUN vehicles, stationed at the edge of a rather battle torn looking field and forest.

"Hedgehog," Rockwell sniffed, looking down her nose at Sonic as Tails and Knuckles stepped through the ring after their leader.

"What is it this time? Better not be another rouge experiment with a sad back story," Sonic wagged his finger at Rockwell, smirk curling his lips.

"Uh, Sonic?" Tails murmured, stepping up next to his brother, his laptop held aloft in his hand, tilting the screen so Sonic could see it, "I wouldn't make jokes about that just yet."

Rockwell looked startled as Sonic shot her a glare.

"Cover me, boys," he growled, before taking off across the field, shoving soldiers out of his way as he went.

"I believe you have made a grave miscalculation in calling us," Knuckles hummed, arms folded across his chest as Rockwell watched her men get bowled over by a blue blur.

~

"You can do this," Shadow whispered to himself, taking his inhibitor ring back off and setting it gently on the ground next to his hip. He clenched his fists, feeling the small surge of chaos energy he still had left in reserve pulse. "You've made peace with this already. You can do this." He squeezed his eyes shut as red energy sparked over his quills, breathing deep as he tried to pull everything he had left to the surface.

He paused when he noticed that the gun fire and yelling had stopped, and a sharp breeze made his quills dance.

"Well, well. Look who I found."

Shadow blinked his eyes open, his build-up of chaos energy receding as he stared up at wet emerald eyes and a lopsided smile on a peach muzzle.

"You're alive."

Shadow gasped as Sonic zipped to his side, engulfing him in a bone crushing hug, salty tears dripping onto his shoulder. He grunted as he was shoved away just as quickly, the blue hedgehog holding him by the shoulders.

"How did you even survive? That blast was MASSIVE," Sonic asked, shaking his head slightly.

"I…I don't know," Shadow admitted quietly, shrugging, "I woke up in a crater. Everything in between is blank."

Sonic simply stared at him for a long moment, a wistful look on his face, before he abruptly stood, offering his hand to Shadow. "Let's get you out of here, yeah?"

Shadow contemplated Sonic's hand briefly, before taking it and rising onto shaky legs, ensuring to scoop his inhibitor ring up off the ground as he went. "Please."

They strode out from behind the rock, Sonic half in front of Shadow as GUN soldiers were still groggily rising from where they'd been knocked into the dirt. One or two lifted their guns to take aim, but a short glare from Sonic, and a ripple of blue sparks across his quills quickly made them back down.

"Ah, hedgehog," Rockwell greeted as Sonic lead Shadow back to where Tails and Knuckles stood, waiting, "Good job. We'll take it from here."

"Take what, exactly?" Sonic cocked his head quizzically, still half blocking Shadow with his own body as he paused next to his brothers.

"Project Shadow is property of GUN. He is to be detained, questioned, and placed back into statis for the safety of everyone," Rockwell growled, taking a threatening step towards Sonic.

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that you actually think I'd just let you take Shadow, and lock him away again?" Sonic scoffed, his grin turning sharp, "After he saved all of us?

"He was the reason everyone was in danger in the first place," Rockwell shot back, crossing her arms.

"No. Eggman Junior and Eggman Senior were the reason everyone was in danger in the first place," Sonic countered, wagging his finger at the director again, "And let's not forget that GUN is the one who built the giant mega death-ray to begin with!"

"GUN were the ones who killed Maria," Shadow murmured quietly behind Sonic, having no shame in adding fuel to the fire.

"What?!" Sonic whipped his head around to shoot Shadow a wide eyed stare, before turning a hard glare back on Rockwell. "Didn't know the 'Guardian Units of Nations' were in the business of killing kids. Doesn't sound very guardian like to me."

"An…unfortunate casualty, caught in the cross fire," Rockwell sighed, waving a hand through the air.

"Caught in the cross fire?!" Shadow finally stepped forward from behind Sonic, though his hand remained firmly clasped within the others, "Those soldiers pointed guns at her, knowing full well she'd done nothing! Her only crime was being kind, and living in that hell hole you called a base!"

Rockwell threw her hands up in a placating manner, taking a step back as two soldiers stepped up behind her and aimed their guns at the dark hedgehog, the sound of blasters charging the only sound hanging in the air as Shadow flinched back.

"Hey, now," Sonic cooed, tugging Shadow back so the other stumbled behind him once more, waving his free hand at Rockwell, "Let's not get all trigger happy, here." His ear twitched, listening as Knuckles dug into his quills for the rings he knew were stored there. "Look. I know you think you guys own Shadow? But, like, possession is nine tenths of the law or whatever, right? And as far as I can tell, I have possession of him right now." Sonic held up their conjoined hands as Knuckles threw his ring, the portal opening to show the Wachowski's living room behind them. "So, like…you know where to find me, if you really want to go down that road? But, I really don't think you do."

Tails let out a chuckle, while Knuckles guffawed heartily at Sonic's bravado, both stepping through the portal afterwards without much fanfare.

"Catch you on the flip side," Sonic said with a mock salute, tugging Shadow along with him as they stepped through the portal.

[my-castles-crumbling]

I love you so much.

Just, sometimes, when I write something, I delete it after spending hour. Remembering you won't understand everything. I look up to you a lot, so sometimes I forget you are a human being. An American too. (I am sorry, it's not as a insult, but you have a little more privilege than me, and I am not saying you are privileged and have a perfect life or anything but you have a lot of things I would want to have, sorry if I come out rude.)

And I love you, I am happy for you, but sometimes, I realize I envy you so much.

I am sorry. but I don't think I can live in this country, I would give everything I have to be born in a country that's not like mine.

I am sorry.

Hi!

I couldn't resist, I wanted to answer this now.

I think you're so absolutely right, in so many ways.

Like...I am insanely privileged in so many ways. I'm also really ignorant in a lot of ways. And I'm not insulted when people mention it because like...it's true.

And for me....I guess this reminds me of two things:

First, all of the people you interact with on here are just people. Like real people with real, human faults, and real good and bad things about them. (Unless someone is a bot lol). It's why it makes me uncomfortable sometimes when people get like...super excited when I 'acknowledge' them or whatever. I just don't want things to be hierarchical like that and I don't want anyone to think I'm better or I think I'm better. I make stupid mistakes, I say mean shit, I hurt people's feelings, and I am human. It terrifies me a bit when people act like I am anything other than a random person on the internet who writes way too much fanfiction and likes making people feel less lonely.

Second, I'm not going to understand everyone on here. There are some things that I will never experience, and to be honest, I'm so glad for that. Some of the things people tell me....I don't know how they're functioning. I don't think I could. My goal is to just make sure people feel cared about. But if talking to me about your struggles doesn't feel safe to you, for whatever reason, I completely respect that. You're also more than welcome to send the message and request that I don't answer, if you don't want my response. I still read those, and then you have a void to vent into <3

I'm sending you love <3

(Also I want to make sure you know all of this is meant to be genuine and not condescending in any way)