#like no this show is widely recognized as one of the top three shows on television ever

[whim-prone-pirate]

watching a very serious show and discovering a few seasons in that you're starting to feel for one of the characters like he's your blorbo and you feel dread run slowly through your entire body. many such cases

[keferon]

Chapter 3 of Jazzprowl mecha! >:D

Previous chapter

Under the cut⤵️

Jazz thinks Prowl is fucking weird.

With space around him and aliens and fucking teleportation and all that crazy shit...Prowl's weirdness isn't too obvious at first. But once Jazz stops marveling at the view outside the window, his attention shifts completely to his new companion.

And. Well.

"'Your plates are so squarish.'"

Prowl takes a break from reading something on his tablet and raises his eyebrows in surprise

"They are."

Jazz moves closer curiously

"No offense okay but isn't it... Hmm. Stupid?"

He raises one hand and lightly slaps the edge of his palm against the center of Prowl's chest.

"What's the point of making armor this shape? And with so many wide gaps? All the strikes will go straight through. It's kinda dangerous. "

Prowl purses his lips in confusion.

"Excuse me? As if your armor makes more sense."

"It does."

"You...wha...you know what. Humor me, explain what you mean."

Jazz shrugs.

"It's round. And the gaps are...uh. What's the right word. They're thin? It's very hard to grab with your teeth or get under with your tentacles. See? You are. Dude, no offense, but you're like, really grabbable."

Prowl just silently opens and closes his mouth for a couple seconds, trying to think of what to say in response. Finally he decides to focus, but not on the part Jazz might have been expecting

" You... were built to fight the Quintessons?"

Jazz nods

"Course I was. Why else?"

Prowl looks....Very worried and somehow sorry for Jazz.

That's weird.

Jazz lets this detail just linger in his mind. He's not sure what conclusion to draw from it yet. And it's very likely that his poor knowledge of the unfamiliar language is setting him up. He's not sure.

------

Prowl has wheels. Jazz gives himself a mental smack for not paying attention to them in the first three seconds, but it doesn't matter now.

Because Prowl has freaking wheels in his shoulders and Jazz has a bunch of questions in his head.

Why the fuck does he have wheels??? In a place like this??

Prowl looks up at him.

"Something wrong?"

Jazz reaches out his hand mesmerized and spins one of the wheels.

The wheel spins.

What an amazing world.

Prowl looks confused again

"Jazz?"

"What are they for?"

Prowl faintly twitches one of his weird little wings.

"To drive."

Jazz spins the wheel again

"But you can't drive them! I mean, they're...uh."

He tries to find the right words in his head to say "inside your shoulders" but. Shit. He doesn't know how to say it so he accepts his linguistic defeat and helplessly twitches his horns.

"...They're on top."

Prowl tilts his head, clearly missing the point, and turns one of his legs around

"I've got another ones here...?"

Jazz instantly squats down and. Yep. There are wheels in the legs too.

Prowl moves his foot away before Jazz can spin that wheel too.

"I can just show you if you want."

That's a great idea. A fantastic one. Jazz is hellbent on seeing how it would actually work, because all his brain offers him is "fall on your back and awkwardly drag yourself along the ground?"

Prowl doesn't fall anywhere.

Instead, he suddenly ALL starts moving and freaking folds into himself? Jazz isn't sure what exactly he was expecting to see, but watching another mech fall apart like lego sure as hell wasn't that????

Not falling apart, he realizes a moment later.

Is it reassembling? Into something else???

A second ago, Prowl was standing next to him, and now there is a

Is that a fucking car???

Jazz can't say anything more clever than a loud "HAH???"

It is indeed a car. The design is very odd and Jazz can't recognize the model, but it looks like something vaguely race-y?

He pats the roof of it.

"That's so cool!!!"

The car somehow manages to look awkward and moves away from him sideways like some weird metal crab.

What the- what the hell-

------————————-

Prowl's mech has an amazing face.

Not that Jazz is staring, but he can appreciate the amazing attention to details. The eyes, the nose, even the lips. Who and why would make a mech with such lifelike face? That ..would make sense if Prowl had to appear in front of a camera, wouldn't it? Maybe he's some kind of celebrity like Blurr?

Jazz doubts it. Prowl doesn't strike him as someone who's used to attention.

But it's a good face, yeah.

Prowl valiantly ignores his staring, but after ten minutes gives up

“What?”

Jazz shrugs. He's been doing that a lot lately.

"You have a really cool face."

Prowl chokes on air and looks confused again. If you look closer. What is this face even made of? It looks metallic but it bends??? Literally...how?? How does it work?

Jazz is taller than Prowl, so he has to bend down to get a closer look. He wants to ask if the mech's face was modeled after the pilot's, but. Shit. How do you put it into simple words ?

Man. Okay. Uh. Appearance. How do you say "real?" True-positive? Wait, no, true and false are from English, this new language must contain one state word for true and false at the same time.

Prowl watches Jazz's struggle with the patience of a true buddhist monk.

What word even summarizes the state of being true or false? Hot and cold is "temperature", heavy and light is "weight" and then..

Jazz fumbles his fingers helplessly.

"What's the word for. You know how."

He claps his hands hard, and then again, barely audible.

Loud and quiet.

"Sound-positive, sound-negative, right?"

Prowl nods.

"But if I speak. I-mouth-positive."

He claps once more, quietly, barely audible

"I-mouth-positive. Sound-positive. Word-question?

If I do “quiet” but say “loud”. If I do one thing and say another, that's called-?

Prowl twitches his little wings.

"Ah. That would be veracity-negative."

Jazz makes happy finger guns.

"Yes! This..."

He points to Prowl's face

"Appearance-veracity-positive?"

He could probably phrase it more...accurately. Jazz chews his lips in concentration and tries to elaborate

"Appearance-veracity-positive-you?"

Prowl tilts his head

" Uh. Yeah? That's what I look like. I didn't change anything. It's..."

He pauses uncertainly

"Why are you asking me that?"

Jazz gives a thumbs up

"How do you say 'impressive'? Something like "eyes-positive-emotions-positive." Or it would be "good." Good sounds kind of cheap.

Jazz decides to add a couple more positive modifiers on top just in case. He's always been generous with compliments.

Prowl's wings bounce up funny.

One of the passing lilac aliens whistles.

_______________________________

Prowl thinks Jazz is fragging weird.

Okay, to be fair. Prowl has never had to be anyone's guide to interplanetary interactions.

He'd heard that races making contact with the rest of the galaxy for the first time tended to be weird. It's alright. He can understand that. Which of course doesn't mean it's any easier for him to be at the center of it all...everything.

Jazz is clingy. Friendly. He's definitely never been off his planet before, so everything around him surprises him.

Prowl's obviously “surprising” too, but there's this weird familiarity in Jazz's attitude towards him.

Prowl thinks it's because they're both mechanical life forms. It's the only guess he has that makes sense. But Prowl realizes pretty quickly that Jazz only looks like a Cybertronian at first glance. It's the details. Small and disturbing details.

Jazz was built to fight the Quintessons. His entire body, his entire design was made for it.

Now that Prowl knows that, he's starting to see it. Now that he knows where to look, he can't stop noticing.

All the plates are either round or streamlined and sharp.

He has no face, but his head is shaped in such a way that it would be very hard to grab onto. Or to hit it.

Prowl's processor involuntarily tosses him numbers.

Every bend and edge. Every detail. The visor isn't just curved, it's arched at the most perfectly calculated angle to take hits. His chest plates have the perfect ratio of thickness and curvature so that any direct hit ricochets or slips without going through the plate directly.

And Prowl is scared to even begin to analyze the structure of those legs. He originally saw their design as something similar to Empurata's. But no. The Empurata had always made it their goal to humiliate and diminish their victims. The limbs that the Empurata created were simple and often horribly, impractically awkward.

Jazz's legs are an engineering marvel and Prowl honestly almost wants to take a closer look. They bend at...how many? Five? Six places?

He leans forward quietly, pretending to want to change his posture, trying to get a better angle. There's at least one more joint under the front plates. Seven then?

Huh.

Jazz snorts

"Like what you see?"

Prowl flinches and quickly looks away. Idiot. Just because Jazz’s head is pointed in the other direction doesn't necessarily mean that's where his gaze was pointed as well.

"I apologize."

Jazz chuckles

"Hey, don't be sorry. You're giving me a reason to show off~"

Prowl gives up. Okay. Maybe it's just that Jazz's weird openness is contagious.

"Your legs are pretty..."

"Cool," Jazz offers

Prowl nods diplomatically.

"Unusual. I think cool too."

Would it be too weird to ask exactly how many joints are in them? Perhaps yes, that's personal medical information after all.

Jazz takes a few joyful little leaps

"They let me walk on walls."

"I have to admit that's impressive."

______________

"Can I join you?"

The little furry alien folds their arms across their chest and says something that...sounds disgruntled. Jazz honestly can't understand a word of it. He just saw the aliens playing something remotely resembling cards and he got curious. He doesn't remember having a fight with any of them yet.

The alien stares at him expectantly for a couple seconds and then waves one of their limbs and switches to a language familiar to Jazz

"No. Go back where you came from."

Uhm. Rude.

One of the lilac creatures smiles guiltily

"We don't play with robots."

Jazz stiffens

"But I don't..."

His attempt to explain is interrupted by the furry alien

"I don't care what you say. Whatever's underneath the metal, whatever scientific nonsense you come up with. This..."

He gestures toward the entire Jazz’s mech.

"...it's a machine. We don't play with machines. It's an unspoken rule. So go back to your corner and stay out of our way."

The lilac alien folds his limbs in embarrassment

"Hey, there's no need to be so rude."

"I'm just stating facts!"

"You could have done it politely..."

Prowl raises his eyebrows and moves away, making more room for Jazz on the bench.

"Kicked you out?"

Jazz sits down next to him and confusedly begins to play with his own fingers

"They wouldn't even let me explain."

Prowl taps him on the shoulder.

"It's hard to explain anything to them. They think you're a soulless machine just because you look like one."

Jazz snorts

"Well, that's just stupid."

Prowl shrugs

"They think you don't have a soul, so you shouldn't participate in their social interactions."

Jazz twitches his horns angrily

"That's..fucking idiotic."

"Well yeah" Prowl picks up "how can they judge whether we're sapient or not?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Where's the evidence that they themselves have more 'soul' than mold?"

"Ye..Wait what?"

(..What the hell??)

Prowl frowns.

"I should probably be more...sorry. You're new to this topic and...I'll try to explain in an unbiased manner."

Jazz nods awkwardly

Prowl pinches the bridge of his nose

"In general. We don't really meet their standards of ''alive and sapient being'' and they don't meet ours. Because of that, we...don't get along."

Jazz senses that something doesn't add up. Something dramatically big and obvious. But Prowl already looks annoyed, and Jazz is uncomfortable stressing him out with another game of charades. Probably should hold off on discussing such complicated topics until he's talking better.

____________

Prowl finds himself mentally reevaluating Jazz.

He no longer thinks Jazz is just weird.

Jazz is terrifying.

When their transport is attacked by a bunch of Quintessons, Prowl's processor tells him they're totally screwed.

The monsters have the numerical advantage, the ship is full of tiny, fragile organics, and Prowl only has one random tourist on his side who's in space for the first time.

When Jazz excitedly jumps up and asks to be let "outside to have some fun" Prowl's processor says it's suicide. If you squint and tilt your head, the stats numbers add up into a neat little ship that goes down swiftly and surely.

Then he has no time for statistics. Because one of the organics opens the airlock for Jazz and before Prowl can say anything his space tourist is already out the window.

Frag.

Frag, frag frag frag frag frag frg

"Jazz wait!"

Prowl climbs out onto the roof of the transport just in time to see Jazz tear a limb off one of the Quintesson monsters.

The sight is...creepy.

Jazz obviously doesn't have enough strength to just yank it off, so he sort of grabs the tentacle with his hand and then very quickly rotates his forearm a bunch of times literally twisting it off. The monster screams and wriggles and tries to rip Jazz's arm off, but he just lets it clench its teeth on his plates.

Prowl is in pain from just looking at this.

The monster clenches its jaws.

Its teeth cut furrows in the armor.

Jazz doesn't even twitch.

Things only get more interesting from here on out.

Earlier, all Prowl had was Jazz's word. Jazz said his job was to fight the Quintessons. Prowl automatically assumed that to have a job like that, Jazz had to be at least somewhat good at it.

This? It's not "good". It's a killing machine.

And Prowl is, just a little bit, fascinated.

Jazz tears through monsters with more than skill. No.

Prowl's processor is speeding up, analyzing the data.

These moves aren't just devastatingly efficient. They're habitual.

Jazz rips off limbs and locks jaws. Jazz knows exactly where to strike and for how long that strike will knock the creature down.

At one point, he just takes a moment to jump on top of one of the monsters and Prowl can have the pleasure of watching the sheer panic and confusion on the face of the usually inexpressively furious creature.

Quintesson twists and twitches and struggles to throw Jazz off, but he doesn't seem at all bothered by the constantly moving and shifting surface. He's clinging on tight as a damn insecticon. In a way that Prowl himself, with his angular legs, probably never could.

He also doesn't seem to react to pain whatsoever.

Either so used to it or unable to feel it at all? Prowl's not sure.

Jazz takes dozens of hits. He's been dropped, scratched and bitten. His plates are full of fresh grooves intersecting older ones, but they go completely unrecognized.

It's creepy. It's unnatural.

Three monsters at once try to squeeze Jazz into a circle, and Prowl curses himself for not thinking to ask for Jazz's comm. There's no sound in space, making screaming impossible, so Prowl just pulls out his rifle and shoots one of the Quintessons.

The creature twitches in agony and loses all interest in the battle struggling to shake off the sudden source of pain.

Jazz smacks one of the remaining monsters in the face and quickly bounces back to a more comfortable distance from the huge teeth and looks toward Prowl. Spotting a rifle and happily making finger guns again.

Prowl looks at the fresh teeth marks on Jazz's hands and thinks...wow...that's some wild dangerous alien slag.

Then he looks at the angular visor and the little moving horns and bouncy movements and corrects himself. Not slag. And not that weird. Probably.

The weirdest thing he's seen was organic life and he highly doubts that anyone or anything can overtake it.

[chukys-mouthguard]

look but don’t touch

2.7k words

featuring -> arber xhekaj x female reader (florian xhekaj also included)

genre -> angst, fluff, suggested smut - bar fight with protective arber standing up for his girlfriend when a drunk man tries hitting on her

note -> not proofread, been trying to get this posted for daysss, and wanted something up for y’all since it’s been a bit :)

The evening's plans weren’t anything crazy; a night out at the bar with Arber, Florian joining as he was still in Montreal competing for a possible roster spot. The opportunity to hangout with Arber and Florian was never one you’d turn down, as Florian had become your best friend next to his brother of course. Plus, anytime you got the two Xhekaj boys together you were surely in for an exciting night.

“Now boys, let’s just keep this a peaceful night out okay?”

You had each of the boys on your arms, joking as nights out with them usually resulted in some sort of drama. Both of them rolled their eyes as they reassured you that all the previous times weren’t their fault, because why would they ever admit to starting a fight? Only ever admitting to finishing them.

The bar was one you and Arber frequented, liking that he wasn’t usually recognized and you were able to enjoy a night out without loads of fans crowding him. Florian, being a younger guy in the organization, didn't have much of a following, so he passed as just another average Joe among the crowd of people. Though sometimes you wished they’d get recognized a bit more to get some free drinks out of it to lessen the hurt when you checked your tab at the end of the night. But if you had to weigh the pros and cons, you would choose them not being recognized over free drinks any day.

It gave you the freedom to dance with Arber and do as much PDA as you pleased. Not having to worry about cameras in your faces or people running to Twitter to share things about the two of you.

Arber ordered the first round of drinks, he and Florian both opting for beer while you preferred your go-to Tito’s and lemonade. Which Arber made sure to get with light ice and a slice of lemon, exactly how you liked it.

“Thank you baby.”

You smiled up at him as you traded him your card for the drink, the usual routine for nights out when Arber didn’t want to be recognized. He’d always pay you back for whatever the tab was the next day, but some nights he just preferred to avoid the chance of the bartender looking at his card and recognizing his name.

“Promise we won’t go too crazy tonight sweetheart.”

Arber smiled as he kissed your head, his hand lightly tapping against your ass playfully as you just shrugged sipping your drink.

The three of you found a high top table off to the back of the bar, enjoying people watching and just enjoying your drinks. Never being dance floor people when it was the three of you, especially considering Arber and Florian were brothers. The last thing you wanted was to be grinding on Arber while staring Florian in the face.

“Arber, your fight is getting ready to start.”

Florian gestured towards one of the flatscreens hung behind the bar. A UFC fight that Arber had been looking forward to all week long was being previewed. He smiled from ear to ear as they showed his choice to win getting ready to head to the ring.

“That’s my boy, he’s gonna win by a knockout. I’m calling it now.”

Bringing his beer to his lips you just shook your head, never much of a UFC fan, though you’d watch occasionally along with Arber.

As you finished off your first drink, your eyes went wide as you heard a familiar song begin to blare through the speakers.

“Florian, you’re kidding, we have to.”

Turning to Florian, his beer bottle frozen against his lips, you smiled like a fool as you waited for him to realize what was playing.

“Oh my god, no way. Let’s go!”

Florian chugged the rest of his beer before he took your hand, following you through the crowd as you found a spot for the two of you.

Charli xcx’s 360 was blasting throughout the bar, a change of pace from the typical music they played, but you and Florian didn’t mind. The song being one the two of you constantly sang together and were obsessed with. Arber simply watching was a smile as he laughed at how ridiculous the two of you were.

He’d never had to question Florian with you, knowing that your relationship was strictly friendly. If ever just the two of you, Florian even would act as your boyfriend to keep you safe from any drunk idiots that would try to have their way with you. So Arber didn’t bat an eye when your hands held his or your arm wrapped around his neck as you jumped up and down to the beat. Knowing it meant nothing, recognizing you were safe with his brother, he headed to find a seat at the bar to watch the UFC fight.

The song had come to an end and you were in desperate need of a drink, Florian staying behind to chat someone up on the floor.

“Tito’s and lemonade please.”

You smiled at the bartender as you found a spot comfortably next to Arber, seeing his eyes fixated on the UFC fight, but his hand lightly grazed yours to acknowledge you next to him.

“Can I get that for you?”

Your smile faded as you looked to your right, a drunken man smiling from behind his beer bottle as he gestured towards your glass.

“No, it’s okay. Honest.”

He chuckled as he scooted closer to you, glancing over his shoulder before he leaned in to whisper to you.

“You know, I saw you on the dance floor. And I think you really should find yourself an older man. That boy surely doesn’t know how to please you.”

Now you were the one laughing, knowing he’d meant Florian. The man clearly oblivious to the fact of who your boyfriend actually was, because if he knew he wouldn’t dare make a move on you.

“Trust me, you don’t want to go there, okay?”

“What, that punk is gonna do something? He probably couldn’t even land a punch. Get you a real man who can actually defend you baby girl.”

Shaking your head you glanced towards Arber, his eyes focused on the UFC fight but his jaw was clenched. Letting you know that he had overheard everything, but so far he felt you were handling your own.

“I’m just warning you, making comments like that, it’s not gonna end well for you.”

“What’s that punk gonna do about it huh?”

The man leaned in, his hand reaching for yours as his face was inches from you. The smell of alcohol on his breath repulsed you as you leaned back. Arber immediately turned to catch the moment, an arm wrapped around your waist as he pulled you into his chest.

“He’s not gonna do shit, but I will, how about that? You feeling tough now, big guy?”

A slight smile came across your lips as you could see the regretful look on the drunken man’s face as he realized he’d likely bit off more than he could chew.

“Hiding behind your girl huh? Very big of you. You weren’t opposed to sharing her on the dance floor, how about sharing her with me for the night. I promise I won’t bite, unless she likes that.”

A disgusting smirk came across the man’s lips as he reached out to tuck some hair behind your ear, Arber immediately standing up as he moved you behind him. Florian running from across the bar as he’d caught the tail end of things, making sure you were okay before he’d joined Arber. The two of them staring down the drunken man and his friends.

“Don’t you fucking touch her. I’ll put you on your ass in front of everyone in this bar and show them what a fucking loser you are.”

“You and your little sidekick here?”

The guy chuckled, looking at Florian and immediately underestimating him as he looked like an eighteen year old that you’d dragged along to be your designated driver.

“What’s the deal here huh? You guys both banging her? Or does he do the work and you just watch?”

Before Florian could spew his comeback, Arber’s fist connected with the drunken man’s jaw. Sending him stumbling into the arms of his friends as he grabbed at his face.

“God dammit Arber.”

Florian rolled his eyes, wishing that Arber would’ve left things alone. You tried to reach for Arber and pull him away, the last thing either of these boys needed was to get in trouble for a bar fight. That surely would jeopardize a roster spot for them.

But before you could get Arber’s attention, one of the drunken man’s friends sent Florian stumbling to the ground with a right hook.

“Fuck.”

You cursed to yourself as you knew things would surely be escalating from here, Arber never one to back down from a fight. Especially when Florian was involved. He didn’t even bother looking at his brother, knowing he’d get back to his feet and be fine, he’d taken worse punches in his day.

You kept your distance, not wanting to get in the middle as Arber grabbed the drunken man by his shirt, landing a right hook as the man’s friends tried to get in on the action. Florian quickly stepped in and pulled them off of Arber as you watched security quickly making their way over towards the chaos.

“Florian, grab him, we gotta go. Now!”

Florian wrapped his arms around Arber’s, pinning them behind his back as he pulled him away from the group of drunken men. The three of you heading for the door before security could get close enough to identify you, disappearing into the crowd as they had turned their attention to the men left bloody at the bar.

While you appreciated Arber standing up for you, it was a series of events you knew could’ve and should’ve been avoided. The idea of him and Florian jeopardizing their positions with the team because of a dumb bar fight was something you hoped wouldn’t become a reality. Hopefully you’d left the bar before anyone was able to identify the boys or worse take any photos or videos of the altercation.

The drive back to you and Arber’s shared apartment was quiet. Florian lectured Arber a bit which was an interesting change of pace, simply telling him he can’t be so impulsive, regardless if the guy was out of line or not. You knew you didn’t have to say anything to either of them, but you’d still take the opportunity to give Arber your two cents when you were alone at home. Which he was trying to calm himself down for so that he didn’t blow up on you or impulsively react negatively towards you.

“Alright, ice that hand a bit. Try to clean up as best you can, coach is surely gonna ask about that tomorrow. Y/n, you have my permission to give him hell in there.”

You laughed as you rolled your eyes, climbing from the back seat of Florian’s truck as you wrapped an arm around Arber’s.

“How about you worry about hiding your black and blue jaw Florian? Good night!”

You smiled at him as you pulled Arber towards the doors of your apartment building. His expression was anything but amused, his pulse still beating a bit fast as he was trying to relax but the whole event had him furious.

The ride in the elevator was quiet, his hand holding tight to yours as his thumb traced circles over your skin. Usually the only thing he could muster when he was angry, never able to be cold towards you completely.

He headed right for the bathroom once inside the door, knowing you’d follow and pull out a first aid kit to assess the damage while also giving him shit. But he never took offense, he knew it was wrong to be getting in bar fights, no matter if he thought it was warranted or not.

“So, we’ve got cut up bloody knuckles. A nice black eye forming here, a slight cut lip. I’d say it’s not the worst I’ve seen you walk away with.”

A soft smile appeared on your lips as you began to dig through the first aid kit. Arber watched you as he clenched his fist, trying to ignore the pain he felt. His anger finally subsided, an apologetic look in his eyes and you looked up at him. Your hand moving to tilt his face away from you as you cleaned up his lip.

“I’m sorry, I know you’re mad.”

You sighed as you shook your head, digging back through the kit as you turned your attention to his hand.

“I’m not mad Arber, I just don’t think you two needed to get wrapped up in something like that. I mean, you have to set an example for Florian. And bar fights, that’s an easy way for you to lose your spot and for him to earn a bad reputation right out of the gate. I just, I need you to think before you throw a punch next time.”

Arber winced as you cleaned his knuckles, trying to maintain his tough guy image despite the pressure against his cut up skin with the alcohol soaked gauze.

“You want me to just sit back while a guy disrespects you like that? Puts his hands on you? Fuck that. He opened his mouth so I had to put him in his place.”

His frustration began to slightly build up once more, replaying the words spoken by the man in his head along with the image of him touching you. Arber took a deep breath as he knew it was no use getting worked up over it all again.

“Or, you could’ve simply given him your two cents, and walked away. Because now how are you and Florian going to explain these bruises to the coaches tomorrow? You two fought each other drunk?”

He watched as you packed up the first aid kit with a sigh, his hand moving to tuck some hair behind your ear behind caressing your cheek.

“I’m sorry, I know you were trying to stop things from getting to that point tonight. I just can’t help that I love you so much. The sight of another man touching you, or hearing them talk to you like that asshole did, just made my blood boil.”

Your eyes shifted from the first aid kit to meet Arber’s, seeing the apologetic look in his eyes as he smiled softly.

“I’m happy to know you love me so much you’d fight someone for me, but as much as I like the sight of you a little roughed up, I prefer you without a scratch on you babe.”

Your hands tangled in his hair as you moved to stand between his thighs while he sat on the edge of the bathtub.

“Oh come on, you love me with my battle scars.”

His hands slid up your thighs, resting on your ass as he playfully smacked it, biting his lip as he stared up at you.

“Mmm, I do love them. Except they make it a little hard to kiss you when your lip is busted.”

Arber licked his lip, gauging the size of the wound with his tongue.

“I think we could manage not to make it any worse. Plus, I think I deserve a little thank you for being your knight in shining armor tonight don’t you think?”

You rolled your eyes as you shook your head, Arber’s hands moving from your ass to your hips as his fingers dipped below the hem of your shirt to tickle your skin.

“You sure you don’t want to call Florian? Since apparently you guys share me?”

You laughed as you headed into your shared bedroom, discarding your top before climbing onto the bed. Arber playfully gagged as he followed behind you, one hand caressing your cheek as he kissed you, the other working on the button and zipper of your jeans.

“Baby, if you’re trying to turn me on, don’t ever fucking mention my brother getting to do anything sexual with you. We both know I’d never share you with anyone let alone my brother.”

[lemonwrap]

Imagine: werewolf Ghost turning Soap to save his life.

The mission to find Makarov goes to shit. Ghost isn’t there in time to prevent Soap from being shot. He is there in time to see Makarov fire a bullet straight through Soap’s skull, to see his beloved sergeant crumple to the ground like a sack of bricks.

He’s over to Soap’s side in a flash, clutching him close and calling his name frantically as the blood pours out. Soap is quickly dying, and there’s nothing he can do.

No, there’s one thing.

He shifts faster than he ever has in his life, in less than thirty seconds. A werewolf’s bite does nothing unless they’re in their wolf form. His clothes and gear are torn to shreds, and he pays no mind to Gaz and Price nearby as he grabs Soap’s arm, and, in a fit of desperation, sinks his teeth in.

It was the one thing he vowed he would never do. He would never turn a human. But he can’t let Soap go, he can’t just not do the one thing that could save his life. With a werewolf’s superior healing, Soap might have a chance.

Soap doesn’t die, but it’s a damn near thing. They take him to a nearby hospital, get him admitted and under the care of multiple doctors.

That was three days ago. It’s common knowledge that a human bitten by a shifted werewolf would turn within three days, and Ghost hopes that Soap is still unconscious when it happens, because the first time is a terrifying, painful process. He had been turned by Roba in his twenties. All day, he watches Soap carefully, but the man shows no signs of waking up from his medically induced coma.

Soap doesn’t wake up for another two weeks. When he does, he’s confused and utterly disoriented, and doesn’t recognize Ghost or the rest of the 141. Ghost pretends it doesn’t hurt. Even so, Ghost tells him that he had bitten Soap to save him, and Soap understands, is grateful even, thanking Ghost.

Despite his initial condition, Soap’s healing is remarkable. After a week, he recognizes his comrades again, and seems to be relieved of some of the confusion he had experienced. The wound near his temple begins to close up.

Ghost spends most of his days in Soap’s room. That room is where Soap and Ghost share their first kiss, Soap’s shaking hands grasping at Ghost’s jacket as their lips meet, Ghost whispering a soft Johnny against his lips.

Soap healed extraordinarily well, but even the healing powers of a werewolf can’t fully diminish the off and on numbness in his limbs, tremors, mood swings, and brain fog.

They medically discharge him.

Soap goes home to Scotland, and Ghost follows. For a week, they settle in, but Soap shows no signs of transforming, despite his apparent possession of a werewolf’s regenerative abilities.

It’s a good day when Soap shifts for the first time. He’s bright and happy, like the sergeant Ghost knew before, and his confusion is almost entirely gone. His tremors lessen, and Soap hasn’t complained of the numbness that sometimes annoyed him.

What he does complain about is the sudden onset of a full-body ache, as if his bones themselves are throbbing. He becomes suddenly irritable, clawing at his skin and hair and pacing, snapping at Ghost and groaning in pain.

These are signs he knows. Soap’s going to transform, and he’s going to transform quick now that it’s set in.

“Ghost, w-what do I do?!” Soap stammers, looking like he’s trying not to panic, his eyes wide and filled with fear. He’s never seen Soap panic before.

“Just relax, Johnny,” Ghost says soothingly, because he knows there’s nothing he can do other than support him. Nothing can stop lycanthropy except death. “It’ll be alright.”

“It hurts!” Soap cries out sharply, and then his cry becomes a choked sound not unlike a growl. He drops to his knees and hunches over, putting his hands on his head and gripping his hair between his fingers.

And then he starts to shift.

His mouth elongates into a snarling muzzle, baring sharp white canines, his ears lengthen and migrate to the top of his head, and the hair he’s holding between his fingers turns into fur. Soap sobs and says something that sounds like Ghost’s name, but then his vocal chords change, too, and it turns into a throaty bark. His spine and bones lengthen and grow denser, his fingernails morph into sharp claws, and a tail grows out of his spine as patches of fur grow over his skin.

It’s a few harrowing moments filled with Soap’s agonized cries and whines that make up Soap’s first shift. Ghost knows the feeling, and his stomach knots with sympathy. His own first shift had been one of the most painful things he had ever experienced.

Now fully shifted, Soap is huge, easily eight feet tall when standing upright, with a brown pelt just like his hair, a stripe along his back, long limbs, sharp claws, and a fluffy tail. His wild blue eyes, alight with fear, fixate on Ghost. Ghost tenses, nearly expecting Soap to try to attack him. He knows Soap could rip him apart before he’d have the chance to shift and fight back. That’s what he did to Roba, after all.

Soap does no such thing.

Instead, Soap lets out a whimper and curls in on himself, his tail going between his legs and his claws digging scratches into the floor. He doesn’t look like an eight foot tall killing machine, he looks like a kicked puppy.

“Johnny?” Ghost says quietly.

Soap’s blue eyes glance over to him, and he lets out another pleading whimper. His eyes hold a look of betrayal, of sorrow, of why me? His jaws open and something strangled comes out, like Soap’s trying to speak, but Ghost knows that they can’t, not in this form.

“Oh, Johnny,” he murmurs, and cautiously steps forward. He knows it’s dangerous to get in another werewolf’s space like this, but it’s Soap. When it comes to Soap, all rational thoughts fly out the window.

He reaches forward and gently touches Soap’s arm. Soap stiffens, and Ghost thinks he’s fucked up big time until Soap stumbles onto his hind legs, nuzzles into the crook of Ghost’s neck, and wraps his arms around Ghost. His claws catch on Ghost’s clothing and dig in as he grips Ghost tightly, and Ghost is momentarily stunned. He had acted in no such manner the first time he had shifted.

“See, Johnny? I told you it’d be alright,” Ghost says softly when he gets over his brief moment of surprise.

Soap stays shifted for the rest of the day, and shifts back as soon as his body is able.

It’s from there that Ghost teaches Soap how to handle his werewolf form. He transforms with Soap often, and they travel through the fields near Soap’s cabin, wrestle, play, and bond.

Ghost has never felt as understood or happy in his entire life. It’s a good life, what they’ve made for themselves.

[peachhcs]

the new guy | the wonder years

hughes!sister x will smith au (samy + will)

will finds out about samy's new boyfriend kevin after thinking there might be a chance for them after they kissing at her senior year kickoff party

wc: 1.7k

cooked this up because 1. i love wonder years and 2. i don’t think i’ve ever written everyone meeting kevin for the first time (i’m also running out of pics so im resorting to gifs lol)

au masterlist

it was a typical friday night for the boys. they raced home after their game to change and make it to samy's first soccer game of the season that started promptly at 7. their goal this season was to make to every single one of her games that didn't coincide with their own games. ryan's mom's suv was definitely going to be put to good use.

the seven of them piled in and were on the road by 6:15 which was record time for them considering their game just finished at 5:30. will was feeling a bit giddy tonight. he had a great game with two goals and an assist and now he was about to see samy for the first time since last weekend. he was still thinking about that drunken kiss they shared.

he knew they were just playing with one another like back in april during that seven minutes in heaven, but will couldn't help thinking that maybe it meant something more this time. it'd been on his mind since last weekend when it happened and the boy started wondering what exactly the relationship he had with the girl was. they were friends, yeah, but..could there be a possibility for something more?

will's never really thought of her that way. maybe that one time when they were twelve, but that didn't count because they were twelve. all he knew was that she'd been on his mind a lot more recently and he started wondering what it meant or if it was even normal to be thinking of his best friend that much? surely it was because he thought of all the guys in the car with him a fair amount. either way, will was excited to see her.

they pulled into the already full lot exactly fifteen minutes before kick off. gabe was texting marcie and riley asking where they were sitting as they walked towards the bleachers. they spotted the two girls in the student section and quickly joined them.

"i'm surprised you guys made it in time," marcie teased and made room for the seven of them.

"you should've seen will barking us around. he was not playing around," ryan teases the blonde who flushed. he scanned the field for samy.

she was by the bench talking with some of the girls. her captain band was wrapped proudly around the top of her shin before her socks started. will knew how hard samy worked for that honor this season and he was proud of her for finally being able to show it off and lead the girls to another successful season in her last year.

"this should be an easy sweep. central michigan has always had a shitty defense," marcie mumbled as the boys' gazes swept over to the other team warming up.

will's gaze followed the other students in the stands. he recognized some of them from the parties samy dragged him to. being in the student section really made the boys feel like they were in high school which was another reason why they wanted to go to the games because they got to experience high school traditions the dev program didn't give them.

samy finally waved up at the stands to the boys who eagerly waved back at her. will smiled widely when he caught her gaze. he watched her gaze fall to the other side to wave at her parents and then the next person she waved at caught him off guard.

it was a guy with brunette hair about three rows down from them. he was taller and stood with some friends that looked to be on the boy's soccer team. samy was smiling widely at him and will's stomach twisted seeing her wave at him.

but he tried to not think about it too much. maybe he was just  a friend? yeah, a friend. she could have friends. will was thinking about this too much.

the game was a clean sweep like marcie said. samy's team scored three goals, one of them being from samy and she assisted the other two. the students cheered for them as they ran up to the bleachers to give out high-fives before running back to the benches. the students began filing out of the bleachers to meet the players in the parking lot after their post game debrief.

the boys talked with marcie and riley waiting for samy to come out. her parents joined them a second later where ellen and jim happily greeted them and thanked them for coming. will was too immersed in his conversation with drew and aram that he didn't see samy come out and turn her attention to the boy she waved to before the game started.

she greeted him with a warm hug and blushed when he gave her flowers. will didn't see them coming until gabe nudged his shoulder and marcie ran to hug her best friend.

"you played so well!" the girl exclaimed making samy flush.

"thanks for coming guys. i didn't actually think you'd make it on time," the soccer player said the the boys.

"thank will. he got us moving," ryan clapped his friend's shoulder. the blonde smiled softly at her. she returned it before directing her gaze back to the boy will saw earlier.

he quickly noticed the flowers in her hand and the shy expressions on both of their faces. that twist in will's stomach quickly returned as he put the pieces together.

"there's someone i want you guys to meet. this is kevin," samy introduced him and he shyly waved at everyone.

for a second, everyone looked at will while the blonde had a blank expression on his face. the excitement he had earlier started fading as he realized what this meant.

"nice to meet you. we're samy's hockey friends," ryan finally said and held his hand out. he was always the one to break the ice first. kevin shook his hand.

"good to meet you guys. samy talks highly of all of you," kevin chuckled.

will struggled to meet samy's gaze that he knew was on him because she was searching for his approval. he didn't really know what to think.

it was dumb to think that maybe he had a chance with her. samy was right. those two kisses were just for fun because they were drunk half the time anyway. it didn't mean anything and will shouldn't have thought it did. he swallowed and sucked up his pride.

"didn't know samy had a new fling," drew chirped up with a small, teasing smirk.

"we've been talking for a few weeks," the girl giggled and then will's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. a few weeks? she's been talking to this guy a few weeks and they still made out in her friend's bathroom last weekend. were they even official then?

"we've been keeping it on the down low until making it official a few days ago," kevin slung his arm around her shoulders.

will found gabe's gaze beside him. the dark-haired boy spoke with his eyes like he knew exactly what will was thinking. gabe didn't really know about the drunk make-outs will and samy have done, but he could probably take a guess. it was fairly obvious whenever the two came back out of the bathroom. all gabe did was place a hand on his friend's shoulder and offered a tight-lipped smile to the new guy in front of them.

"well, it's nice to meet you, kevin. hopefully we'll see you around more," gabe said.

"we're gonna head out, but thanks a lot for coming guys. i always like seeing you guys up there," samy grinned and walked back through the parking lot with kevin.

ellen and jim wished the others goodbye and safe travels back to plymouth. the boys glanced between one another.

"sorry i didn't mention anything. samy wanted to like..surprise you guys," marcie said and looked at will. everyone seemed to be looking at will.

"it's fine. he seems cool," the blonde finally said.

"i know you guys are..and we tease you guys about.."

"no, we're just friends, you know that. all of that doesn't mean anything to us," will cut marcie off, managing his best smile. the others exchanged quick glances before deciding to let it go for now. they said goodbye to marcie and riley before climbing back into ryan's suv to head back.

the car ride was a bit silent. will stared out the window suddenly rethinking everything. he should've known him and samy's relationship would just be a friendship and nothing more than that. it was stupid of him to even think otherwise. they hardly even talked too. usually, samy would be all over him after the game and wanted to talk until they had to leave.

she just left without even saying a word to him really. that did kind of hurt.

ryan dropped everyone back off at their houses. the two boys walked back into the house in silence. ryan didn't want to prod, but he's also never seen will so quiet before.

"look, i know it's not my business, but are you good?" the brunette raised his eyebrow when they were away from the prying ears of their moms.

"i'm fine, why?" will didn't meet his gaze.

"you're just weirdly quiet," ryan mumbled.

"i'm fine. it's nothing," the blonde shrugged and as much as ryan hated prying, he kept talking.

"look, i know the teasing we make at you is all in good fun about samy, but..i didn't know she was talking to someone. i'm sorry."

"why are you sorry? it's not like we were like together or liked each other," will said quickly and ryan gave him a look that both of them knew the blonde was not telling the full truth or at least that ryan saw right through him.

"right, yeah," the brunette mumbled. they left the conversation at that because ryan wasn't gonna poke anymore. will was left to think about ryan's words and what exactly they meant to him because surely, he didn't actually like samy like that.

right?

[johnwickb1tsch]

Sympathy for the Devil ~ Part 10

A Donaka Mark x housekeeper!Reader fic, based on @discoscoob 's concept & bot! Though this is where the c.ai help ended because I was breaking the bot's pea pickin' mind. 😆

Warnings: Donaka Mark is a bad man with a soft spot for you. dark romance, possessive behavior, nonconsensual voyeurism, red flag red flag girl!🔺, psychological games, power imbalance, eventual dubcon/nsfw. PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER TOO!!!

one. two. three. four. five. six. seven. eight. nine.

Ten. 十

You don’t know where you get the courage to growl at this fierce man who has you in his grasp. But goddammit if he doesn’t just laugh at you–and sling you over his shoulder, carrying you like a caveman to his lair.

You do the requisite pounding on his broad back, the kicking of the feet. You swear it only makes him enjoy it more, as he tosses you down. You brace and let out a yelp, expecting hard floor below. You’re shocked, when you sink into soft mattress instead.

Which maybe isn’t great either. 

You try to scramble away, but his big hands wrap around your ankles, pulling you back, and then he is crawling over you, settling all that solid, masculine–delicious–weight on top of you. You feel him smile against your mouth, your hands pinned above your head. “Am I going to have to restrain you, to do what I want to you?” he asks casually, kissing the sensitive skin of the bend of your neck. “Or are you going to behave?”

You freeze beneath him at hearing the word restrain. As in what? Handcuffs? Ropes? Oh no. Somehow, that would be worse than everything else that’s happened tonight, and you fight not to hyperventilate beneath him, closing your eyes and grinding your teeth, even though all you really want to do is thrash like a trapped animal. 

That’s not going to work with this man. He’s too…everything. Smart. Strong. Cruel. Connected. You’re not going to beat him with brawn and you’d be a fool to count on luck. He watches you interestedly from inches away, as all this plays through your brain. You swear, he can read it like a news ticker scrolling above your head. He knows you so well.  

You hardly recognize your voice, when you ask quietly, “Will you promise…not to hurt me?”

You close your eyes again as he strokes your hair. “No,” he answers, and a spear of fear shoots down your spine. “But I don’t want to hurt you, y/n. I want your submission.”

“I don’t…understand the difference,” you admit, the fresh welling of tears spilling from the corners of your eyes. 

“Hmm.” He wipes away the moisture on your cheeks, bringing it to his lips. “I’m not wife-beating trailer trash, y/n. You’re not going to submit to me because of my fists. That would be too easy.” 

A shaky breath escapes you, as you think about how he’s used his superior strength to bully you so far. If he’s feeling self-righteous…it’s a thin fucking line. “I’m…not?”

“No.” He kisses you, lullingly gentle, cloyingly sweet. You are on even higher alert now than when he’d grabbed you earlier. “You’re going to submit, because it’s what you’ve really wanted all along. And I’m going to show you.” 

Your eyes bug wide.

“I don’t–no! That’s not fair!”

That is when his kiss upon your shoulder turns into a sharp nip. You yelp, and he is on his elbows over you, your face bracketed in his big hands. “You have a very bad habit of trying to lie to me, little one. We’re going to have to work on that.”

“I just…I don’t understand!”

“What is there to understand?” His thumbs stroke your temples, gentle once more. This man gives you whiplash.

“Why…” You try to look away, but he won’t let you.

“If you can’t look into my eyes and say it, then I’ll think you’re lying,” he scolds you. “It’s basic human behavior 101.”

With a growl you glare up at him. For some reason he finds this delightful, flashing teeth. You’re sure he knows, with a gimlet stare like his, how hard it is for mere mortals to meet head on. His standards are unfair. It’s like making a deal with a demigod–or a demon–who already knows he holds all the cards.

“Why me?” you manage to grind out. “You could have anyone.”

“I could buy anyone,” he agrees. He softens slightly, looking down at you. “But you don’t care about my money, do you? You want something else from me.” He smirks, and you are mortified all over again, a flush of heat blooming up your neck. “I read all about it.”

“Ugh.”

He chuckles, enjoying himself far too much at your expense.

When he lowers to kiss you, you consider biting him for about 2.3 seconds.

“Do it,” he dares you, his words a dagger clothed in velvet. “See what happens.” He says it almost eagerly, as though he’d welcome the leave to be terrible again. You have to remember that about him. He dangles tenderness before you like bait, not genuine sentiment. You’re playing a game, and the rules can change on this man’s whim.

He says he doesn’t want to hurt you–you’re not sure that’s true, and it certainly doesn’t mean he won’t. You can trust him as far as you can throw him, and judging by his delectable dead weight on top of you…that’s not far.

You close your eyes, feeling helpless again. And stupid. And…still turned on, if you’re being completely honest with yourself. You don’t know how you’re aroused when you should be disgusted, screaming, crying, fighting–it would win you nothing. He’s going to have his way, so you can fight it…or you can enjoy it for now, and bide your time, because he has to slip up at some point, right?

Right?

He feels the change in you, when you start softening to the onslaught of his lips, his hands on your body tracing every dip and curve. “That’s my good girl,” he murmurs, and you swear his praise lights up something in your brain like a red hot wire.

This isn’t it, you promise yourself. You are in a war with this man. And maybe you lost the first battle, and swiftly the second too, but not the whole war. You are not conquered yet. You are not conquered yet. 

With this new resolve you reach for the buttons of his shirt. They are small, and stubborn, and you let out a frustrated growl that makes Donaka smirk down at you. “Don’t rip it. This shirt cost more than a month's salary for you.”

“Well, you’re always bragging about how much money you have,” you fire back, jerking the two halves. You’re proud of yourself when there’s a tearing sound and the button goes flying. Fair’s fair. Donaka grins like a wolf, then suddenly you are flipped on your belly, your ass in the air and your panties wrenched down your thighs. 

Smack.

You scream, his big hand on your backside stinging like a swarm of angry bees, and instinctively you squirm to get away from him. But he holds you down with an unforgiving grip in your hair, pushing your face down into the mattress.

Then you hear the jangle of his belt buckle again, and the warning hiss of leather sliding free of loops. “No, no,” you beg, struggling, to zero avail. His grip is unbreakable, like this man is made of iron.

“That depends on you. Are you going to damage my property again?”

“No,” you whimper into the bedclothes, hating how small you sound. 

“That’s what I thought.”

He drops the belt beside you on the bed like a reminder, before caressing your tender bottom ever so lightly, soothing the sting. How…does that actually feel good?

He makes a sound of appreciation, pulling you against the hard bulge in his crotch with hands on your hips. He spreads your thighs wider, leaving you utterly open and vulnerable to him. You hate to say it, but you are too unnerved to fight him, so conscious of that leather strap sitting beside you like an open threat.

“Stay there,” he directs, and you do as you’re told, listening to the whisper of fabric behind you as you presume he’s undressing. 

It’s a very awkward position, and your thighs begin to tremble. You are utterly exposed like this, splayed wide open. Yet you do not dare complain, suspecting you have used up your free passes with this man for the evening. He is just waiting for an excuse.

“You are exquisite,” he sighs from behind you. “I could stare at this view all night.”

An equal mixture of uneasy warmth and mortification fills you, displayed like this for him, so utterly open with nowhere to hide. Then you wonder if he’s threatening to keep you like this for hours more as a punishment. Yet before you can even begin to think of what to say to him, he has crouched beside the bed, and his mouth is on you. 

“Oh,” is the only intelligible word that leaves your lips. Everything that comes after is mere guttural nonsense, as his tongue teases your clit, sliding against your nether lips, and you see stars. All else forgotten, you become a slave to pursuing this pleasure, your fingers like claws in the sheets, canting your hips to give him better access to anything he wants. He moans against you, a deep sound that reverberates into your womb.

You whine like the needy little thing you have become when he withdraws, wiping his mouth on the butt cheek he struck not minutes before, kissing you with a tenderness that is nearly as beguiling as his tongue in your slit.

“Shhhh, sweet girl. I’ve got what you need, if you promise to be good for me.” You feel him kneel behind you, the warmth of his hand on your spine, the intoxicating kiss of his tip to your entrance. You’re not proud–but you want it. God, in that moment you want him more than air to breathe. You betray yourself, with the tilt of your hips, with the keening that escapes from your traitor of a throat.

“Mmm,” he practically purrs from behind you. “Do you promise, y/n?” He uses his tip to tease your slick folds, but it’s not enough. Not nearly enough. 

This is just a battle.

You make a sound of affirmative, a kittenish mewl because real language escapes you. 

“Use your words, bunny.”

Not the war.

“Yes.” It's all you can manage, and he takes mercy on you, betraying his eagerness too. Slowly he fills you, stretching your flesh inch by blessed inch until you can take no more. He could give you more. He could hurt you, badly, like this. Yet he’s so careful with you that you could weep, the slow glide of his body inside yours the stuff heaven is made of. 

It's funny. Despite the terrible things he did to you earlier, if you squint, it almost feels like he cares about you. The logical part of you knows it’s all a mind fuck. It has to be. But that part of you…is drowning in an inky sea of your other desires. Things you’re usually good at denying, because they’ve never caused you anything but trouble… Maybe that was a mistake on your part, because now you’re here with this dangerous man, and you’re so pent up that you can’t say no. 

That feeling of bliss intensifies when he reaches between your legs, slowly circling your clit as he pumps inside you. You involuntarily clench upon him, winning a low groan.  He drapes his long body over yours, kissing your spine, his hand encircling the front of your throat. 

“Tell me this isn’t better than just writing about it,” he demands, his low words against your ear sending a shiver through you. 

The simple answer, of course, is yes. The rest, however, is far too complex.

You make a sound that’s neither yes or no, and his grip on you tightens. Still not enough to hurt you…but he could, and you feel that so very acutely in that moment. The fact of the matter is you didn’t consent to any of this, even if you are enjoying it. He wants your complacency, and you wonder if it has to do with conscience, or claiming his victory. 

The latter, you tell yourself. The minute you start to believe he has a heart will be the end of you. You have to keep reminding yourself of that. He does not love you, you stupid girl. He never has, and never will. 

“Well? Tell the truth.” 

“It’s better,” you answer simply, because you don’t have the capacity to tell him the rest out loud right now, and making him happy is the only way you will ever get a chance to escape him. You are going to have to be calculating, and ruthless, and neither of those things come easily to you. 

“That’s my good girl.”

It shouldn’t feel so good, to hear him say that, while he’s balls deep inside you. It shouldn’t make your treacherous cunt flutter upon his relentless cock like you mean to swallow him up, a velvety red orgasm building between your legs again. 

It’s not surrender, you tell yourself as the warm rush fills you, makes you feel like your bones are filled with glittering gold, your spine bowing so hard you fear it might crack. It’s just…a tactical play. You’ve been haunted by curiosity about this man since the moment you laid eyes on him. In the morning, you’ll make your next move. For now…you might as well enjoy it as best you can. 

The games have only just begun.   

[keeryhours]

stop the stars chapter three - billy hargrove

Billy Hargrove x OC Katelyn Henderson

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Billy Hargrove Masterlist

Summary:

Billy takes Katelyn on a date.

Chapter Warnings:

Smut (18+), p in v, rough sex, dirty talk, size kink is on full display this whole chapter I’m so sorry

Word Count: 5.9k

A/N:

This took me forever but I hope you guys like this! Thank you for reading <3

—

This did not feel like a typical date.

Katelyn had dated plenty, and she hadn’t felt this level of nerves since her very first one. She had been getting ready forever, her wild curls refusing to be tamed for the longest time. She let out a frustrated huff as she ran more product through her hair, sitting cross legged on the floor in front of her mirror.

“Stupid,” she hissed out, ready to throw her brush into the mirror.

Her eyes darted to the alarm clock on her bedside table over and over again as she fought with her hair, the minutes ticking down to Billy’s arrival. She’s not even dressed yet, makeup not yet done. She was starting to feel panicked.

When her hair looked nice enough to satisfy her, she let out a sigh of relief. She felt exhausted from that alone. She reached for her makeup bag as she remained seated in front of her mirror.

An hour later and she was finally ready, hair looking perfect, makeup done flawlessly, accentuating her big brown eyes and pouty lips. She was dressed in the outfit she’d spent hours picking out last night - a light pink dress that hugged her curves just right, the skirt falling to mid thigh. It was on the more casual side, so she wouldn’t be overdressed, but it was cute and made her body look amazing. She wore a pair of white heels that complimented the dress color, her favorite heart shaped necklace resting between the top of her breasts. The lingerie sat untouched in the bottom of her closet - she couldn’t bring herself to wear it. Not yet. She didn’t even know if the date would go that way, she didn’t want to be presumptuous. She was satisfied as she took her last look in the mirror.

The sound of a loud knocking at the door startled her out of her thoughts, and the nerves came back in full force. She left her room, hearing her mother open the front door before she could get out of the hallway.

“Hi, Mrs. Henderson,” she heard that smooth voice from around the corner, and she could practically see the charming smile that would be on his face. Her heart rate kicked up in her chest. “Is Kate ready?”

She had told her mom she was going on a date tonight, so she prayed she wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.

“Oh, she should be ready by now,” Mrs. Henderson said kindly. “I don’t think I recognize you from around town?”

She heard Billy’s chuckle. “My family just moved here,” he explained. “I’m Billy. Billy Hargrove.”

“Well nice to meet you, Billy,” her mother was saying as Katelyn rounded the corner. He was shaking her hand, with his other hand resting on top of hers. She saw Dustin sitting on the living room couch. He looked up at her as she entered the room, and then he turned to the door, his eyes going wide as he saw Billy. Katelyn had no idea what that was all about, but her brother was weird all the time, so she brushed it off.

She approached the front door from behind her mother, the light clicking of her heels on the floor turning Billy’s attention to her. His eyes widened slightly as he took in her outfit, eyes shamelessly raking over her body. A smirk grew across his lips, one she was starting to become extremely familiar with.

Mrs. Henderson turned, finally noticing her daughter approaching. “Well, don’t you look pretty,” she said, her eyes crinkling in a smile.

She smiled shyly back, before Billy had her full attention again. She took in his appearance this time. He was wearing a dark red button down that was already half undone, showing his tanned chest, with a leather jacket over it. A necklace hung between his pecs, a long earring dangling from his left ear, a gold ring on his left middle finger. He wore a pair of dark denim jeans over his legs, those deliciously thick thighs. His golden curls were styled to perfection. She nearly groaned at the sight. Even her mom was looking at him like he was a sight for sore eyes.

“You look beautiful,” Billy said, grinning, his tongue darting out for only a second to lick his bottom lip. The way he looked at her like she was the only person in the room sent chills down her spine.

“Thank you,” Katelyn said, feeling shy, which was very unlike her. Billy seemed to find it endearing, at least. “You look handsome.”

That made his cocky grin grow even wider. “You ready to go?” he asked. She found that she was having a hard time making herself look at him at all, the way he simply exuded charm and charisma sending her nerves into overdrive.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” she said. He outstretched a hand for her. She stared at it for only a moment before she walked forward, placing her much smaller hand in his. She felt the tingle of electricity shoot from her hand, up her arm, straight to her chest. His hands were big, calloused and strong. He wrapped it around hers, gently pulling her to him.

“You kids have fun,” Mrs. Henderson said, stepping out of the way, smiling at her daughter and then Billy. “Remember, home no later than 11. It’s a school night.”

Katelyn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Okay, mom. See you later. Bye, Dusty!”

Dustin called a distracted goodbye just as Billy was leading Katelyn out of the house by her hand still clasped in his. They were actually holding hands. Her heart fluttered in her chest.

Billy led her to his blue Camaro parked in their driveway. She noticed the California tags still attached. It was a sexy car, she had to admit. A vision flashed through her mind of being sat on the hood, skirt pressed up around her hips and Billy between her legs as he-

She shook that thought away.

Billy opened the passenger door for her, watching her with that charming grin as she slid inside, careful not to show too much by accident in her dress. The leather seats were cool against her bare legs. He closed the door for her and she buckled her seat belt as he moved to the other side.

She was surprised at how much space Billy seemed to take up as he climbed in, not just physically (although he was a big guy in just about every way) but also in the atmosphere, the way he seemed to suck up all the air the second she was enclosed in the vehicle with him. The scent of his cologne filled the space. It smelled nice.

When he settled in the car, he shot her another charming smirk as he turned the key in the ignition. The car rumbled to life, she could feel the vibrations of the engine through her seat, which really was not helpful with the thoughts that had been running through her head about the guy sitting next to her.

Billy pulled out of the driveway. He reached forward as he drove and turned the car’s radio on, Metallica blasting through the speakers. He turned it down low enough to talk over.

“Where are we going?” She asked a little nervously, realizing she had no idea where he was taking her.

His gaze flicked to hers for a moment before turning back to the road. He still held that smirk, tongue licking over his teeth. “I was thinkin’ we could go get something to eat. Then maybe we could go check out Lover’s Lake together.”

She blushed deeply. Lover’s Lake. She felt his intentions were made pretty clear with that.

It didn’t take her long to realize Billy drove like an absolute maniac. He drove fast, the car tearing around the corners he took too quickly. She was a little scared at first, but then she began to like it. She watched him as he drove, and all she could think about was how hot he was. She had never been with a bad boy before, and the thought thrilled her.

God, she was no better than every other girl at school.

Except he was here with her, not them. That thought brought a smile to her face.

Billy pulled up into the parking lot of a nice looking restaurant. It wasn’t too fancy, but not somewhere she’d feel out of place in her heels. The parking lot was decently crowded. Billy got out of the car first to come around and open her door for her, holding his hand out again.

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she took his warm hand and he helped her up. She was so close to him when she stood, their bodies just barely brushing together. Billy smirked down at her, intense blue gaze staring right into her eyes.

She was surprised by his boldness as his eyes dipped down to her chest, and he reached a hand out, gently lifting the heart of her necklace, his fingers brushing her exposed cleavage. She drew in a breath.

“I like this. It’s cute,” he said, and she knew he knew exactly what he was doing.

“It was for my birthday,” she said, even though she knew he didn’t care. His eyes moved back up to hers as he let the diamond pendant rest back between her breasts.

He trailed his hand down her arm until he was grasping her hand again. He led her into the restaurant as they walked hand in hand.

The restaurant was even nicer inside. It was also packed full. Billy approached the host’s station, still holding onto Katelyn’s hand.

The host looked up at Billy, greeting him with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry sir, we’re full at the moment. You’re welcome to wait, but we likely won’t have a free table for at least 2 hours. Weekends are our busiest-“

Billy cut the man off mid-sentence. “I have a reservation.”

The host’s eyes widened slightly, then he was apologizing profusely, opening up the reservation book. “I’m so sorry, sir. What’s the name?”

“Hargrove,” Billy stated. “…William.”

The host examined the book, trailing down the page with his finger until he found what he was looking for. “Ah, yes. Hargrove. Follow me.”

Billy let go of Katelyn’s hand, much to her disappointment. But as the host began walking to lead them to their table, he placed a hand on her lower back, guiding her.

Her mind was running - Billy had taken her to this nice restaurant, made a reservation. She had never been on a date with this much thought put into it. With the time he called to ask her out yesterday, she figured he must have made the reservation before he even asked, knowing she’d say yes. Her mind ran with that thought.

When they reached their table, Billy pulled her chair out for her, holding it until she was comfortably seated then helping her push it forward. She knew she was blushing like crazy as Billy walked around the table and hung his leather jacket over his chair before taking a seat across from her. Did he really have to be this gorgeous and charming though? It felt unfair.

The waiter came by, taking their drink orders and handing them both a menu. Katelyn looked it over, eyes widening at the prices. She was thinking of just getting a salad, the only thing that was reasonably priced on the whole menu.

Billy spoke up then, as if he was reading her mind. “Get whatever you want. Seriously, anything.”

She looked up at him over her menu, eyebrows raised. “Billy, this place is too expensive. It’s too much.”

That smirk grew across his lips again as he chuckled lightly. “Not for you.”

Her cheeks blushed bright red, which she hid behind her menu as she continued scanning it. This was the nicest date she’d ever been on. It made her nervous.

When the waiter returned with their drinks, he asked if they were ready to order. Billy glanced at Katelyn first, and she nodded. Billy ordered himself a steak, while she decided on grilled chicken.

“So, Kate,” Billy drawled after the waiter had left with their menus and orders. He looked at her intently, sly smile still on his face. He leaned back in his chair casually. “What’s fun to do in this shithole town?”’

She felt a bit of shame at the way he talked about her hometown. Not that she was crazy about Hawkins herself, but it was her home and all she knew.

“Parties, mostly,” she said. “Movies. The mall. Uh, there’s a skating rink we go to sometimes. I haven’t been for a while.”

Billy nodded, his expression amused. She felt like she had just confirmed his belief that there wasn’t shit to do here. She supposed that was the truth. She could only imagine how much more interesting California was and how bummed he probably was to end up here of all places.

“You cheer, right?” he asked.

She looked at him, surprised he knew something about her.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m captain.” He looked pleased by that.

“I just joined the basketball team,” Billy stated, muscular arm stretching out before him as he reached for his drink. “So I guess I’ll be seeing you around in that cute little skirt pretty often.”

Another deep blush rose to her cheeks at his words. She had the brief thought of Billy lifting her cheer skirt and-

The waiter arrived back at the table with their meals. He placed them down in front of them, and Katelyn looked down at her food, thinking it looked absolutely delicious. When she took her first bite, it only confirmed it. She practically moaned as she tasted the food, and Billy laughed.

“Good, huh?” he asked as he picked up his fork and knife. Her eyes locked on the muscles flexing in his arms as he cut up his steak.

“It’s delicious,” she said, once she had swallowed and taken a sip of her water. “Have you been here before?”

“Nah, I just heard it was a good place to eat,” he said, eyes moving back up to hers. “Somewhere nice enough to take a girl as pretty as you.”

Katelyn’s cheeks flushed, and a smile spread across her lips. She looked back down at her food when his intense gaze grew to be too much, taking another bite.

She was surprised at the comfortable conversation they fell into as they ate together. They talked about their interests, their lives. She learned Billy was from San Diego, loved to surf, he was into hard rock and metal music, he liked basketball, he loved horror movies (just like her), and he worked out and lifted weights every day. It was clear he put a lot of effort and work into his body and his appearance, and it definitely paid off.

The waiter brought their check when they were done, and Billy paid it without letting her get even a glimpse of the price. She supposed she probably didn’t want to know.

He held her hand again as they left the restaurant, carrying his jacket in the other arm. He led her to the passenger door of the Camaro, opening it for her and resting his hand on her back as she got in.

Metallica was once again the soundtrack during their drive to Lover’s Lake. Billy pulled a cigarette from his pack, placing it between his lips. He pulled a silver Zippo from his pocket and flicked it open, bringing the flame to the end of the cigarette. All of this done one handed as he drove - she had to admit that it was hot.

When he was done smoking, he tossed it out the open window. He switched his left hand to the steering wheel, his right hand moving to rest on Katelyn’s thigh. She inhaled sharply at his touch on her bare thigh, but he didn’t hear her over the music.

Billy pulled down a dirt road that she was familiar with. He drove until he parked in a secluded spot mostly surrounded by trees, an excellent view of the lake.

He turned the car off and pulled his keys out of the ignition, then he turned to look at her. His eyes were hungry now, licking his lips as he shamelessly looked over her body. He wore that cocky smirk she was growing to learn was pretty much his default.

“You look beautiful tonight,” he said, his hand rubbing up her thigh. His eyes darted down to watch before he met her eyes again. “Prettiest girl in Hawkins.”

Her eyes widened slightly as she took in his words - prettiest girl in Hawkins? She giggled shyly before she could hold it in. That was a new one. She wondered if he meant it or if he said things like that to all the girls.

Katelyn felt pretty sure he might be the hottest guy in Hawkins, but she didn’t think his ego needed that boost. “You’re really handsome,” she decided on instead. But he looked like he already knew that.

Billy leaned forward, placing his hand in the thick curls at the back of her head. “Soft,” he remarked quietly, which made her giggle again. He smiled, and then he was leaning in as he gently pulled her head to meet him.

Their lips pressed together gently at first. They were soft, and they felt perfect against hers. But Billy didn’t waste long before he was really kissing her, hand rubbing her thigh as they kissed slowly, passionately.

He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she opened up for him, her tongue moving to meet and tangle with his. She let out a sigh of pleasure into the kiss and his hand moved up to grab her hip.

He stopped kissing her and pulled back just barely, lips still lightly brushing hers. “C’mon, let’s get in the back seat,” he said lowly, his gaze raking down her body.

“Okay…” Katelyn whispered, her heart thundering in her chest. Billy smiled wolfishly at her answer as he sat back in his seat, letting her crawl back first.

She crawled over the center console and into the backseat, moving as gracefully as she could in her short dress. She could practically feel his eyes on her ass.

Once she was seated in the back, Billy began to crawl back to join her, his thick body moving between the seats with a bit more effort than hers had taken. The space was cramped, and she could smell his cologne even stronger with his body now so close to hers.

He pulled her back into a kiss quickly, his hand gripping her thigh tightly, the metal of his ring cold against her skin. He pushed the material of her dress skirt up, sending heat through her body. His fingers trailed along her panties, causing her to let out the softest moan into his mouth.

Their kiss was hungrier now, desperate and messy. She didn’t think she had ever been so turned on in her life. Here she was, with probably the hottest guy she’d ever seen, in the backseat of his (sexy) car with his warm hand under her dress. She could feel the smirk on Billy’s lips as he kissed the corner of hers then moved to her jawline, down to her neck.

He began to bite and suck at her neck, biting down hard then soothing the pain with his tongue. Her eyes fluttered closed and she tilted her head, giving him all the access he desired. He explored her skin, but when he found the spot that made her moan and her thighs tremble he focused in, marking her so everyone would know he had had her.

Her head went fuzzy as he attacked her with his mouth, desperate sounding whines leaving her lips. Billy pulled back when he felt satisfied he had left enough love bites on her neck. She didn’t notice as he smiled wickedly at his work.

Billy moved onto his knees facing her, grabbing her hips and maneuvering her like his own personal toy so she was laying against the seat with him between her legs. She was breathless as she looked up at him, the hungry way he looked down at her, how his blue eyes had darkened with lust.

He roughly pushed her skirt up around her waist, exposing her light blue lacy panties. He groaned in appreciation as he ran his fingers over the material.

“You’re so fucking hot,” he muttered, pushing the bulge of his jeans up against her core, his cock throbbing and aching beneath the constricting clothes. He was already so rock hard, and he felt big. She had assumed he would be, but the confirmation was right in front of her now.

Billy leaned over her body, pressing kisses to her neck until he moved up to her mouth, devouring her once again.

“Do you want me to fuck you?” he asked gruffly against her lips, and she moaned in response, because yes, she wanted that more than anything.

“Please, Billy,” she begged, rolling her hips up against him. “Need you inside me…”

Billy let out a huff of a laugh as he sat back up on his knees. “Shit, you are a fucking slut,” he said, his eyes shining with excitement.

He pulled her panties down her legs with an urgency, like he was desperate to see her bare, spread wide for him. He tossed them aside and wasted no time in unbuckling his belt and undoing his jeans, freeing his throbbing cock.

Katelyn leaned up on her elbows, eyes going wide at the sight of it. He was going to be the biggest she had ever been with. And he had a perfect dick - thick, long, tip already leaking. It kicked up as he noticed her staring, and she looked up at his face to see him watching her.

“You like that?” he asked, his voice low and deep, like gravel and honey. It sent shivers through her body.

“It’s so pretty,” she said softly, which made Billy laugh.

He slid his hands up her body, feeling over her curves. His hands were big and warm against her sides, and she shivered beneath his touch.

He reached up and grabbed at her breasts, thumbs brushing her nipples over her clothes, which still somehow sends electricity through her body. She gasped when he grabbed at the top of the fabric and roughly yanked her dress and bra down until her tits spilled out. “Wanna see those tits bounce when I fuck you,” Billy growled.

His hands went straight for them, pinching and rolling her nipples between his thick fingers. She arched beneath him, a soft moan spilling from her mouth.

Billy leaned into the front seat, popping open the glove compartment and coming back with a foil packet in his hand. He tore it open, eyes on hers as he rolled it over his massive cock naturally.

Katelyn tensed when she felt the thick head of his cock push up against her entrance, insistently almost, as he looked down at where they were about to be connected. Finally he pushed inside, not being slow or gentle or letting her get adjusted to his size. He watched between her legs, groaning as he sunk in. “Fuck, you are so fucking tight. Christ.”

She whined at the feeling of his cock pressing inside, stretching her perfectly. It felt endless, every time she thought she couldn’t be more full he’d push in another inch. It’s like everything in the world fell away besides the feeling of Billy inside her.

His hands gripped onto her hips tightly as he set a quick pace, fucking into her roughly, grunting with every thrust. He was almost animalistic with it. She had never been fucked like this before, and she loved it. She admired the view above her, the look of concentration and pleasure on his face, the way his ab muscles would flex. His eyes were locked on her chest as her tits bounced with every thrust, just like he wanted.

“Billy…oh, god…”

He laughed breathily at her reaction, cocky look on his face as he looked at her fucked out expression. “Good, baby? You like having your slutty little cunt stuffed full of my cock?”

She moaned at his words - shit, he had a filthy mouth and she loved it - her walls fluttering around him. “Yes, Billy, feels so good, s’big…” Her words and the feeling of her clenching around him only encouraged Billy more, and he moved his hands to her thighs, pushing them tight against her chest. He leaned over her, cock driving into her at a new angle that had her head spinning.

“Shit, shit…” Billy hissed, picking up the pace of his hips.

He was so fucking deep in her guts at this point, she couldn’t feel or think about anything else. He was relentless with the way he fucked her, primal. She grabbed onto the back of the front seat with one hand, desperately needing something to hold onto.

“So flexible, pretty girl,” he groaned, looking at how well she was spread open for him. “Can’t wait to see how else you can bend for me.”

She whimpered at the thought. “Yes, Billy, I wanna take your cock again and again, it’s so perfect.” Billy snickered at her, loving how desperate she sounded.

The air in the car was hot, the windows completely fogged up. The backseat was cramped and uncomfortable. Katelyn’s feet touched the car ceiling as he held her legs up, her head bumping against the door when he’d give a particularly hard thrust.

“Been thinking ‘bout this pussy every minute since I first saw you,” Billy grunted out, sweat shining on his golden skin. “Knew it would be so tight, so wet. Bet it tastes so sweet.”

Katelyn whimpered at his words - she was completely at his mercy, and he knew it. She looked up at his face and he was looking right into her eyes, that blue gaze holding her like a trance.

Billy lifted her hips up like she weighed nothing, her lower body lifted off the seat as he held her right where he wanted her and hammered in. His cockhead was pressing right into that perfect spot now, and she was turning into a drooling, babbling mess.

“Billy…oh my god so so good, feels so good, gonna make me cum…”

Billy groaned, bruising grip on her hips tightening. “Yeah baby, cum all over my cock. Why don’t you play with that cute little pussy for me while I fuck you?” He desperately wanted to do it himself, but he was busy holding her in the perfect position.

The suggestion sent a deep blush over her cheeks. She hesitated, but the way he was looking down at her like he was starving and the way she couldn’t form a single coherent thought anyway gave her enough confidence to go for it.

She reached down between them and began rubbing circles on her aching clit. Billy’s eyes shot right down to her movements, watching with pupils blown as his cock throbbed deep inside her and he thrusted even harder, loud groans coming from deep in his chest.

Katelyn was right there. He kept hitting that perfect spot every time, filling her so perfectly, and her own fingers dancing against her clit gave her the last push she needed.

Her eyes shut tight, her thighs trembling around his thick body and her walls clenching tight around his cock. The strangled moan that accidentally escaped Billy’s lips at the feeling only sent her head reeling even more as the loud moans spilled from her mouth, before she started repeating Billy’s name like a prayer.

“Fuuuuuck, oh shit-“ Billy cut himself off as he quickly leaned over her, one hand bracing himself against the car door behind her while the other held her thigh up around his hip and he chased his release in her with frantic, uneven thrusts and quick grunts.

He pumped into her maybe 3 more times before he was stilling, buried to the hilt in her pussy as he let out a loud, low groan. She looked up at his face as he came inside her, contorted with pleasure, his brow furrowed, mouth open, eyes closed. He looked so pretty like this, she thought.

He thrusted a couple more times into her shallowly as he rode out the last of his orgasm. Katelyn’s body was still trembling beneath him, his own legs shaking too. He pulled out of her slowly, and she whined at the loss. Billy pulled the used condom off, disposing of it before collapsing onto the back seat next to her with a heavy breath.

Katelyn sat up in the seat, suddenly feeling a little awkward with the heat of the moment gone. Billy didn’t seem to mind how exposed either of them were. She began to pull her panties back on and readjust her dress shyly.

Billy tucked himself back in his jeans, pulling himself back together with a casualness she didn’t understand. He reached into the front seat and came back with his pack of cigarettes and lighter, pulling one out and sticking it between his lips immediately. He held the carton out to her in an offering but she shook her head, scrunching her nose up at the idea. Billy chuckled with a shrug as he flicked the Zippo open and lit his cigarette. He rolled the window down, finally letting some fresh air into the stifling vehicle.

Katelyn was sure she looked like a mess, but Billy somehow still looked so good. Disheveled, with his blond curls sticking to his forehead with sweat, his exposed chest glistening. She resisted the urge to crawl into his lap, sit on those thick thighs.

They were both quiet as Billy smoked for a while. He seemed so relaxed. Katelyn watched him like he was the most interesting thing in the world. Finally he crawled back into the front seat, and she followed behind him.

It was certainly much more comfortable back in the front seat, much more room to stretch her aching legs. She noticed a few fingertip shaped bruises already dotting the exposed skin of her thigh under her skirt, and she blushed. She pulled the sun visor down and looked at herself in the mirror, eyes widening at the deep purple marks etched on her skin.

Billy, oblivious, tossed the cigarette butt out the window and started the car. The music starting up through the speakers again made her jump. Billy laughed, turning it down. He put the car into drive and began to drive off.

“Did you have a good time?” he asked as he meandered the car through the dark woods, headed back to the main road.

“I did,” Katelyn said, smiling shyly. And she really had. She didn’t want it to end.

Billy’s cocky grin widened at that, and he rubbed a hand over her thigh. “Me too.”

They found themselves making easy conversation on the way back home, but also sitting in comfortable silence together, listening to Billy’s music. It wasn’t exactly her music taste (she was more into Pink Floyd, David Bowie, and The Smiths), but she liked it.

She felt disappointed when Billy pulled into her driveway. The house was dark so she knew her mom had already gone to bed - which was a relief, because it meant she didn’t have to answer a million questions about the date and try to hide the marks on her body.

“Let me walk you to the door,” Billy offered, charming as ever and already climbing out of the car.

He opened her door and helped her up, which she especially needed now with her legs still feeling like jelly. Katelyn felt a sadness at the thought this would be the last time she’d be near him for the rest of the night - oh god, she was down bad.

He walked her to the front door like a gentleman, turning to her once they were standing under the porch light her mom left on for her.

“Thanks for taking me out,” Katelyn said, cheeks tinged pink. “I had a lot of fun.”

“Me too…” Billy said, snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. “Maybe we can do it again sometime.”

“Maybe,” she giggled back, and Billy smiled down at her.

He pressed a kiss to her soft lips, gentle and respectful this time, completely unlike how he kissed her earlier. He pulled away, and she nearly reached out for him.

“I’ll see you around. Goodnight, Kate.”

Billy gave her one last smirk before he turned and began walking back to his car. She watched him go for only a moment, then she was turning to let herself into the house.

Katelyn didn’t think she had ever been on a date that good. She was absolutely floating as she walked through the house towards her bedroom, completely on cloud 9. The only thing on her mind was Billy, every little thing about him. The way he looked, the way he smelled, the way he sounded, the way he tasted, touched her, made her feel…

Oh, she was falling.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that it startled her when Dustin abruptly came out of his room, like he had been waiting for her.

She put her hand over her heart. “Jesus, Dustin!” she whispered, not wanting to wake their mother.

“Who was that you went out with?”

Katelyn was taken aback by the question. Why was he asking? When had he ever cared who she went out with?

“His name is Billy,” she said, looking at him with suspicion. “He just moved here recently.”

Dustin sighed deeply, which only left her even more confused.

“You should stay away from him, okay? He’s bad news.”

Katelyn furrowed her brows at him. “You don’t even know him. And he was a total gentleman all night, Dusty, you don’t have to worry-“

“I do know him,” Dustin cut her off. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Well, kind of. I know what he’s like. I’m friends with his sister. And he’s bad news, Kate, I’m serious. He’s going to hurt you. He’s a total asshole.”

“You don’t know him. You don’t know anything about him.” She sighed, walking through the doorway of her bedroom before turning around to face him again, hand on the doorknob. “I can take care of myself, okay?”

Dustin seemed to notice her neck now in the change of lighting, his eyes zeroing in on the bruises decorating her skin. His nose wrinkled in disgust, and then he rolled his eyes with a sigh. “Okay. Whatever. I tried to tell you.”

Katelyn watched him shuffle back to his own bedroom. She closed her bedroom door and sighed. Why would Dustin tell her to stay away from Billy? He’s never had a single thing to say about any of her boyfriends before. That was weird.

But she didn’t want to let her little brother ruin the best date of her life. She pushed it out of her head.

After a shower and changing into her pajamas, Katelyn lay in bed, trying to calm her mind enough to get some sleep. It wouldn’t shut up, thoughts of Billy flickering through her head at a dizzying pace. Her heart felt light in her chest, she still had butterflies in her stomach. She couldn’t wait to see him again. She fell asleep happier than ever.

@losingmygrasponreality

[loveliestlovelygirl]

Everything You Hear

finnick odair x fem!reader

synopsis: celebrity escort, finnick odair makes weekly visits to the noble woman you serve. sometimes, things between them get really loud at night. you hate to admit just how many times you've put your ear to the bedroom door, imagining he is yours instead.

w.c: 1k+

highlights: {minors dni} in-universe, implied sex-trafficking, sexual content, voyeurism, secret pining made known, confessions

When Finnick Odair knocks on the entrance door of your lady’s Capitol penthouse, you are to answer immediately and allow him inside, give him a place to sit and food to eat. In your care, he does not want for anything while your lady is away. You are to ensure that he is comfortable and ready for her arrival.

Which is just what you do when he drops by unannounced while she’s away at a banquet. You recognize the sound of his closed fist beating against the door. He knocks only twice and then waits. Opening the door, you find him leaning against the wall with his legs crossed and hands in his pockets. His sea-green eyes scroll up your body, landing on your face.

You curtsey. While Finnick is a familiar face to you, he is a celebrity to all of Panem and worthy of your respect, even if he’s your lady’s escort. You’re not entirely sure why she has a relationship with someone like Finnick. She never speaks of that with you, and you don’t ask. It’s not your place to ask of such things.

“Finnick,” you say timidly as he walks past you towards the long sofa in the parlor. “Is there anything I can get you?” In the past, you had called him Mr. Odair to show your reverence for his celebrity, but after a while, he insisted you use his name. That still makes you feel special every time you think of it.

His smile is so wide and so bright. You don’t understand why he looks so happy to see you. To him, you are nothing. In comparison to him, you are nothing, just a servant of the woman he pleases.

“Just a glass of water with—”

“Three ice cubes,” you finish for him.

He smiles again, oh so brightly. “You remembered.”

You give a soft nod before disappearing into the kitchen. You fetch a clean glass for him and fill it with cold water from the filter. You drop three, exactly three, large ice cubes into the glass, and walk back to the sofa. When you deliver it to Finnick, your hands shake. It’s rare you’re so close to him. Beside him you’re blinded by your adoration for him and his glorious presence so much so that you forget yourself and lose track of how long you stand there before him. By the time you realize you’ve been staring, he’s sipped half the water.

Finnick pats the cushion beside where he sits. “Have a seat.” It’s not a question. He’s given you a command. And you have no choice but to answer him. You’ve never sat beside his golden body in all of the times you’ve entertained him briefly.

His white shirt hangs open just a tad too much. Finnick wears one necklace that’s shaped like and arrowhead. Is it meaningful to him? Or just a fashionable expression. What you know with certainty is the chest that bears it is strong and so lovely. Has your lady ever taken a moment to appreciate his beauty like this? Or simply enjoyed the pleasure of his company.

“Why are you nervous?” he asks, turning his body toward you.

He must have picked up on the way he makes you tremble so. Or how you can hardly look him in the eye when he’s talking to you, trying to protect yourself from falling for him even more. Someone like you could never fall for Finnick Odair.

“It’s nothing,” you dismiss, too afraid to reveal your heart to him.

“I think I know,” he says smugly.

“I promise you, you don’t.”

Finnick leans back and stretches his arm out on the sofa top. “It’s all in the eyes. You can’t hide it.” He leans in close. “Just admit it. You feel something for me.”

Inching away, you shoot him a spiteful glare. “You’re awfully sure of yourself.”

“Comes with a price, you know.” He gets even closer to you. “It all makes sense to me. I come here all the time. I’m nice to you. I flirt with you. It’s only a matter of time before… you want me.”

You laugh lightly, uncomfortably because… it’s true. He’s a perceptive guy. He certainly didn’t win the Games at fourteen because of his good-looks and old-world charm. But you realize that-- all the times he looked at you just a little too long, offered you a bite of his food, or complimented you—he meant to woo you. You’re sure he has some ulterior motives, for why would he want anything to do with a servant girl.

When his fingers lightly graze your shoulder—it’s the first time he’s ever touched you—you let out a whimper. You get this bubbly, hazy feeling in the pit of your stomach. How you’ve longed for his sweet touch.

“But you see… you’re a little different than those on my weekly ‘to-do’ list. You can’t offer me anything in return. But I think—I think that’s kinda nice, don’t you? You’ve always been kind to me when I’ve offered you nothing in return but a little flirting. You’re a sweetheart, you know that right? Pretty too.”

Your face heats up. You feel it on your cheeks when he calls you pretty.

“So… call me sometime? I know you have my number. You’ve probably have it memorized, right?”

Of course, you do. But you’d never admit to it. “Finnick, what are you saying?”

He leans over you, his chest touching you back as his lips move close to your left ear. “Everything you hear… if you want it, can happen for you. I wouldn’t mind. Intimacy when both parties have no secret motives… is a luxury I’m not typically given.”

“You’re offering me… sex?”

He shrugs. “If that’s what you think is happening in the other room. It’s up to you.”

You search his face for answers. His mysterious smile tells you nothing at all. How could someone like him not be afforded the luxury of intimacy. From what you’ve heard, he’s intimate with many. You wonder what he means by secret motives. What could he mean?

“Just think about it,” he teases, “when your ear is pressed against the door, and you hear her crying out my name. That could be you, anytime.”

Those words sink in, crashing into your soul. For a long time, you’ve yearned for him. You suppose he understands exactly why.

The things you’ve heard when you push your ear to your lady’s wall or the door. The beautiful sounds of what happens in the other room. Is it finally your turn?

add yourself to my taglist!!

[celli-ohs]

yeowza!

part three of accidentally in love! series gamer!beomgyu x streamer!reader; college!au, fake relationship fluff, comedy, angst, smut

ATTENTION: reply/comment for tag list

3. Dom Toretto v. Heeseung Lee (written portion 1.75k)

“You’re seriously doing this? For a guy?” Yeji looks unimpressed as she drives you and Yuna towards Jeongin’s apartment. “Yeji, I’m just going to see if he’s my type.” Yuna waves her off. As the two girls argue about Yuna’s disastrous relationship status, you watch the city go by as you idly sit in the back seat. You’ve known Jeongin for only about two years now. You’d met him through Felix, as the two of them had many mutual friends. Throughout your two-year friendship, you’ve gotten to know Jeongin pretty well. He was incredibly friendly and welcoming, drawing you in immediately when you first met. Despite all of this, you were surprised to find he had no interest in fame. All of your friends, while great people, craved to be under a spotlight of some kind. All except Jeongin, who was very content with being a normal guy.

A part of you felt jealous of him. Jeongin is able to experience normalcy in his life, something you haven’t experienced in a long time. He gets to go to school, hang out with friends in public, and have a job as a teacher’s aide at the local preschool, gosh he even gets to argue with Financial Aid when they email him about his grant money. But most of all, you were jealous of the fact that Jeongin could have a love life. Not that you couldn’t, you’ve definitely tried, but you found that most guys saw you as a paypig or fetish of some sort. Your chances of having a normal dating experience were thrown into the trash before you could even realize it. So much for fame and fortune. 

Yeji parks the car and you all climb out. “He lives on the top floor right?” Yuna asks you, and you nod. Out of the three, you’ve been to Jeongin’s apartment the most. His last roommate was rarely home, making it a good spot for you to hang out when bored. “Apartment 143,” You answer, leading the girls to the lobby. As you press the button for the elevator, Yuna looks skeptical. “This thing doesn’t look safe.” You laugh at her. “It’s fine, get in.” You say, stepping in first. “This is the type of elevator they show in horror movies and a ghost pops up behind you before you die.” She argues again, the rickety old elevator slowly bringing you three up to the top floor.

“Yeah, but it’s kinda cool, right?” You smile. Your friends look at you like you’re crazy. You guys finally arrive at the top floor, exiting the elevator. As you guide them through the halls, Yuna whispers. “Okay, if he’s ugly, we’re just going to drop off the food and then go.” Yeji chuckles at this. “I hope he’s hideous then,” Yuna glares as you giggle. The three of you arrive at apartment 143, and Yuna eagerly knocks. A couple of seconds go by and no response. She knocks again. Silence. She knocks for a third time- actually, more like she bangs on the door- when Yeji stops her. “Let me call him, maybe he’s not home yet-“

“Yo Dom Toretto, were you speeding across town? How did you get to my apartment before me?!” Jeongin shouts at you all as he walks towards you down the hall. But he’s not alone, trailing behind him are two tall men who look confused at the situation. “I actually went the speed limit this time, you just drive like a granny.” Yeji retaliates. Jeongin cackles as he reaches the door. “Hear that Heeseung? Yeji thinks you’re a slow driver.” At the sound of his roommate’s name, Yuna perks up. “Oh, uh Heeseung, Beomgyu, these are my friends Yeji, Yuna, and Y/n.” 

You peek over from behind the girls and smile sweetly before waving. You notice one of the men’s eyes go wide. He seemed to recognize you. “This is Heeseung and Beomgyu.” Jeongin points out, and you learn it’s the one named Beomgyu who is looking at you with bulging eyes. “Hi! So nice to meet you guys! We just came by to bring Jeongin some food.” Yuna shows off the fancy bag full of your leftovers. “Oh, nice,” Heeseung says as Jeongin finally unlocks, letting everyone inside. You’re the last one to enter when you notice you’re actually not, Beomgyu is still outside. “Beomgyu? Are you coming in?” Jeongin asks, confused. He shakes his head. “I-I think I should go.”

“What? Bro I didn’t even get to show you my PC-“ Heeseung clams up, throwing a suspiciously guilty look towards you girls, before whispering something you can’t hear. As Yeji and Yuna set up the dining table, you watch quietly from the kitchen counter as Jeongin and Heeseung try to convince Beomgyu to stay. Usually, you’d mind your business, but you couldn’t help but feel responsible, seeing as you were most likely the reason Beomgyu wanted to flee so badly. His eyes haven’t left you once since your arrival. He looks terrified. Eventually, Beomgyu does come inside, but he heads straight to the bathroom, avoiding you.

“Holy shit, this looks so good.” Jeongin is giddy as Yeji reheats the pasta in the microwave. “We also brought some pizza, the seafood stew, and some risotto!” Yuna smiles. You can see her lingering towards Heeseung, though he seems more interested in Yeji, who couldn’t care less about him. “The only upside of having famous friends.” Jeongin jokes. As Yuna playfully hits his arm, Heeseung looks surprised. “Wait, you guys are the famous friends this dude keeps talking about? I thought he was just a pathological liar.” You laugh at Heeseung, his surprise seems genuine. “Jeongin what have you been telling this guy?”

“Nothing! They just don’t believe I could be friends with people like you.” He argues. “Yeah, because you’re like a loser who has no friends outside of me and Beomgyu,” Heeseung says bluntly. “I’m friends with Changbin and Jisung too!” Jeongin reminds him. As the two of them argue, you notice Beomgyu spying from behind the wall of the hallway, looking at you again. Hoping to try and make him feel more comfortable, you give him a warm smile and a little wave. It has the opposite effect though, as he ducks away to hide behind the wall completely. “Shut up- Hey, why don’t we give a tour of your new room Heeseung? Let the girls see your-“ “Beomgyu! Where did you go?” Heeseung shouts, changing the subject. 

“I think he’s over there,” You gently point to the hallway, and Heeseung walks over to grab the other man and drag him to the table like a child. “But I already ate at the barbecue place!” Beomgyu tries to argue, eyes flitting over to you with fear in them as he attempts to run away. “I call dibs on the pizza!” Jeongin grins, already digging in. “You guys want any?” Heeseung offers a plate (it’s stacked with enough food for two people) but you all refuse. “We already ate, but why don’t we drink-“ You clear your throat interrupting Yuna. “Sorry, but I actually have to get going.” You point out the time. “Oh yeah, me too, I’ve got a dance class in the morning,” Yeji remembers. You’re already making your way to the door, slipping on your shoes. “Thanks for bringing the food over,” Jeongin pauses his feast to walk you three out. 

“Of course, we don’t mind at all,” You smile. “Next time maybe we and the others can go together,” You offer, as the other two girls gather their things. “If you’re paying for my plate, then yes,” He jokes. You laugh, playfully scoffing at him. “Oh, hold up!” Heeseung calls out from the table, and he runs over quickly. You can see Beomgyu has made himself comfortable at the dining table, and now he refuses to get out of his seat. “Are you guys busy next weekend? My frat is throwing a party for my birthday, it’d be really cool if you all came,” Heeseung invites you three (you decide to ignore the fact he’s only staring at Yeji as he asks this). “Oh yeah! You guys should totally come!” Jeongin seems excited at the prospect. 

“We’d love to go! Right?” Yuna looks at you and Yeji with hopeful and bright eyes. t. “Sure! Can we invite our other friends too? I’m sure the boys would like to come too.” You ask. Heeseung nods eagerly. “Yeah, yeah, invite whoever you want. It’ll be lots of fun,” As the others are busy talking about the party (minus Yeji), you glance at Beomgyu, he’s picking at his food. You wonder what you could have done to upset him. “I’ll ask the group chat later. I’m sure Felix is down if he’s got the time, he’s been wanting to come ever since that party he made that cake for Yeonjun’s healed arm.” Jeongin adds. “Do you guys just throw parties for anything?” Yeji asks, raising a brow. “Yeah, pretty much. My sophomore year we threw a party for my buddy Sunghoon cause he went to the doctor for the first time without his mom.” Heeseung shrugs. 

“That’s surprisingly supportive,” You laugh at this, stepping through the front door as Jeongin holds it open. “I’ll clear up my schedule, just text us the details, Jeongin.” You wave as you three girls say your goodbyes. Jeongin and Heesung wave back, closing the door. You sigh as you all settle into the creaky elevator again. “So,” Yeji clears her throat. “Is he your type?” She turns to Yuna. You both look at her expectedly. “Nope. Not at all.” She answers with a smile. “Why do you look happy then?” You ask, confused. “Because I thought it was funny how much Yeji doesn’t like him.”

As you and Yuna chuckle at this, your other friend huffs, crossing her arms. “You're one to talk, Y/n literally scared a grown man.” She argues. “So I wasn’t the only one who noticed that?!” You sound shocked. “No yeah, that guy was weird. Maybe he’s a hater.” Yuna concludes. You don’t say anything as you all exit the elevator and head back outside to Yeji’s car. You don’t know why, but something feels off, you don’t think someone who hates you would act like Beomgyu did tonight. With a yawn, you decide not to dwell too much on it. It’s not like you were going to give someone like Beomgyu, much less a hater, your time of day.

Bonus:

beomgyu's reaction is inspired from when he went on lee young ji's show no prepare season 3 finale and met park boyoung (in all my time of being a moa, I've never seen him be so shy before, he looked scared lmao)

beomgyu thought y/n was a figment of his imagination until she waved at him when he was hiding in the hall

felix knows changbin and jisung because his older brother chris is a music producer, and they've worked with him before

felix live streams when he bakes, including yeonjun's (forgotten) cake from hubba hubba! but he was only able to drop it off though because of his busy schedule

after the girls left, jeongin explained who exactly his famous friends were to both heeseung and beomgyu

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taglist (open): @ancnymcnzjy @hybeboyenthusisast @wonnyy1 @justandloyal2961 @sseishiross @bubbbblessssss

[sincerelyrki]

PIKA PIKA

↳ three : girl he doesn’t want you [WRITTEN]

wc : 676

“You’re kidding right” To say your jaw was on the ground was an understatement, eyes wide in disbelief as you stared at the massive pikachu head hanging in front of you.

You could hear the girls around you snickering from under their own, normal sized, masks. Seconds before you had to go on stage you finally received your head, your manager, Taesung, coming running in with it. 

“I’m sorry, Yn. This is the only one we have” You could see that he genuinely felt bad for you, his eyes never meeting your own. “Can we stuff it? Like shove clothes in it or something?”

You snapped your head to the side, eyes narrowing at the tallest pikachu, Minseo. “Stuff it? Do I look like a turkey?” Everyone could tell that you weren't really mad, just very confused about the compromising situation you were put into. 

“She will literally suffocate” Esa lightly shoved against Minseo, causing them both to tumble to the ground due to their unstable feet. 

Taesung shook his head at the sight, rolling his eyes with a small smile on his lips. “It will be fine, there's a small clip under the chin.” He rolled it around to show you all, the big ears hitting him in the face in the process. 

“Just put it on, it's fine” Without a minute to even think, he shoved it on your head, hands doing the clip up right away. 

“See? Perfect fit” Before you could respond a loud voice called for you all from the raising stage platforms. “Break a leg girls” He patted the top of your head before gesturing to the stage, bowing his head in a playful manner.

-

Your giant head rocked side to side as you waddled onto stage, the clasp under your head barely holding it into place as the force of gravity attempted to pull it down.

Before you even had time to dwell on it one of the members came running straight at you, his arms wrapping around your pikachu head as he hugged you.

Through your eye holes you could see nothing but his upper half, still wrapped around you. The second he pulled away you recognized him right away, Jake Sim. 

You weren’t super familiar with Enhypen, but you knew enough about them due to your intensive research after receiving this opportunity.

Throughout the whole stage Jake never left your side, fancams going crazy as they watched your interactions. 

As the pikachu’s began leaving the stage you could feel Jake’s hand holding your ear, halting you from leaving. You turned around towards him as the other ran off stage, your other ear hitting him in the face in the process.

Since you couldn’t speak, you just tilted your head in confusion. Jake smiled adoringly down at you and then he pulled you into him again, a final hug against your head.

The second he let go you turned back around and ran to catch up with your friends, missing the multiple eyes following you as you passed them.

As soon as you reached your dressing room you undid the head, letting out a deep breath as you looked up to see everyone staring at you with smiles.

“What?” you asked, quirking your eyebrow as you looked at every single person. Haeri squealed as she stood up, running over to you with her arms out. 

“You’re so cute! Everyone couldn’t stop looking at you” She caressed your hair as she spoke to you, her eyes smiling with her mouth. “Yeah, I think everyone tried to get to you” Eunah shook her head in disapproval, “Too bad Jake got to you first.”

Chaemi gasped, her hand flying over her mouth as she gave you a specific look that you recognized right away. “He wants you so bad”

Esa shook her head right away, her hands making large X’s in front of her. “No no no, he’s not allowed to perceive my baby”

Chaemi rolled her eyes, clicking her tongue as she sarcastically responded, “fine. Girl he doesn’t want you”

A/N i’ve been so busy lately 😭 finally was able to upload

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Niki knew that the pikachu's on stage with them were real people dressed in a costume but that doesn't mean he can't get shocked after accidentally revealing one of their identities. his shock quickly changed to amusement as the revealed pikachu could only think of one thing to say as the tension in the room heightened- "pika pika?" it's not like you could avoid him after humiliating yourself either, you still have all of tour left.

taglist is OPEN ! send an ask or comment to be added xoxo

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@ SINCERELYRKI do not plagiarize, translate, copy or repost

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Dangancember 2024 - Danganronpa Top 24 Class Trials: Number 23 Danganronpa V3 Case 6

//Oh Jesus...

//Now, let me just make one thing clear with this one. I actually don't dislike V3's ending with a burning passion. I definitely don't LIKE like it, but after sitting on it for a while, some of the twists and events of the trial are...pretty good actually, and really show what Danganronpa V3 is all about.

//So I don't tend to agree with the lavish hate that this trial gets.

//HOWEVER, with all that being said, I DO agree that this is by far the worst ending in the entire franchise. And yes, that includes both the Another games, Ultra Despair Girls, AND DR3.

//Which...Actually, to their credit, despite having a very iffy runtime for me, all of those examples had actually pretty killer endings that I really enjoyed.

//But yeah, I mean...V3's final trial and the whole thing that happens in it is just so fucking infamous. And for all very valid reasons. So...without further ado, let's talk about it for the umpteenth time.

//In case I already didn't make it clear, describing Danganronpa V3's final trial and ending as "controversial" among its audience...honestly doesn't do the full scope of the situation justice.

//It's very hard to come by someone who has played V3 and is a fan of Danganronpa who probably doesn't have more mixed feelings about a single segment of a video game.

//And honestly, I'm not sure if I should talk about the good things, or the bad things first; because again, divisive implies that it kind of balances out.

//I think I'll focus on the stuff I don't like, because that's the main crux of the argument that explains this trial's placement.

//Something I've always noticed is that when you look at the ending trials for all three mainline Danganronpa games, you notice that all three of them suffer from very similar issues. Those issues being the ridiculousness of the events, the sheer length, and the fact that they are just incredibly blatant plot dumps that try to scramble every bit of the established lore together in one uncomfortable package. And the reason why DRV3 is the worst of the endings is because it does all three of these at MAXIMAM VELOCIPY.

//(I spelt that wrong on purpose by the way.)

//In the Danganronpa series, it has become widely recognized that the trials progressively increase in length with each installment. I kinda see this as a good thing, as it contributes to the franchise’s appeal, because longer trials mean more intricate mysteries, additional plot points, and unexpected twists.

//The final trial in Danganronpa V3, however, takes this idea to the extreme, likely in recognition of its status as the series' concluding chapter. It goes all out, lasting, at minimum, 4 to 5 hours.

//And unlike the ending trials of 1 and 2, that ridiculous length of time is filled up by basically random bullshit. Some sections are highly innovative, like the segments where players must intentionally fail certain minigames to progress as a means of rejecting hope in confrontations with Tsumugi. However, other parts can be frustrating, and just...packed with pointless dialogue.

//For example, the whole segment where they kind of bring up the fact that Kaede had a twin sister as a red herring? Pointless.

//I mean, I take advantage of that fact later, but generally why was this even a plot point to begin with? It's so weird, and nothing comes of it.

//There's also the strangely unfomfortable spike in difficulty, and the fact that fluctuates VERY often.

//The trial features a mix of straightforward puzzles and extremely challenging minigames, some of which rival the difficulty of Danganronpa 2’s notoriously tough (and ridiculously fucking stupid) "Improved Hangman’s Gambit." These difficulty spikes, combined with long stretches of dialogue between minigames,don't do anything for this trial other than cause a pacing imbalance.

//How about the actual culprits though? Well, they are equally as divisive.

//This is, unfortunately, the only moment in Danganronpa V3 where Monokuma gets to show himself off to be the same bad bitch bear he was in the original game, and the Monokubs don't stick around long enough to be an issue to him. And unlike the first two games, he sticks around for the entire trial.

//But then he's coupled...with Tsumugi...

//And all my homies HATE...TSUMUGI...

//Okay, to be fair, Tsumugi is one of the most fun characters to write for Survivor, but I feel the need to point out that a large part of her character arc is that it involves her desperately trying to take up the mantle of the Ultimate Despair, and be on the same level as a criminal and terrorist Mastermind as Junko.

//And the reason I even have leeway for this type of character building for her is because there isn't just room for character development and improvement with her. There's FAR TOO MUCH of it.

//Tsumugi isn't just the least compelling masterminds in the series, but one of the least compelling characters IN GENERAL. And even after she IS revealed to be the big bad, she somehow remains the incredibly blank and boring character that she was for most of V3's run time.

//Junko, Monaca, and even Nagito as something of a pseudo-Mastermind were all batshit crazy and demonic to the core, but it's important to point out that they all have REASONS driving their evil acts, as psychopathic and evil some of them were. But Tsumugi lacks any sort of personal motive, and relies on her role as an avatar for the audience’s desires. The general passivity compared to other masterminds makes her insanely underwhelming.

//Speaking of which, if I may be allowed to go on a bit of a tangent here; the way that Tsumugi is outed as the Mastermind is kind of controversial in and of itself for me.

//By which I mean it's discovered that what actually happened at the beginning of the game is that Kaede's trap to kill the mastermind failed to kill Rantaro. But because of the first blood perk that meant the students would all die if no one was murdered, it meant that time was running short, and in the heat of the moment, Tsumugi got a second shotput ball, killed Rantaro with it, and used her authority as the Mastermind to frame Kaede for the crime anyway.

//Which all feels like unnecessary bullshit if I'm being honest.

//Case 1 and the twist that Kaede was the actual killer was great; and her subsequent execution is one of the most emotionally impactful moments in V3, because it it sends her off as a tragic, morally gray protagonist who was willing to kill for the greater good. Hence the reason why she's my favourite character in the series.

//However, the revelation here retroactively strips her of agency, making her a victim of Tsumugi's manipulation rather than someone who took a flawed, bold step to save her friends.

//This twist also diminishes Kaede's character arc. Her determination and selflessness, even if her actions were misguided, is largely the reason why she manages to be such a spectacular character despite her short runtime. By revealing that she was framed, the story shifts her role from an active participant to a passive victim, which feels like a betrayal of her established personality and the unique premise of her narrative.

//Additionally, the reveal is poorly foreshadowed, and feels like a contrived attempt to shock the audience, and a desperate attempt to redeem Kaede, rather than a natural development. The explanation relies heavily on Tsumugi’s ability to perfectly execute a plan without leaving meaningful clues for the detectives, which feels inconsistent with the game's emphasis on logical deduction, and inconsistent with her being an absolute dumbass every other time, even AFTER her Mastermind reveal. As a result, the twist feels less like a clever subversion and more like an unfair rewrite of the story's emotional stakes.

//All in all, Tsumugi's character feels less developed than those who came before her, and it feels like the emphasis on her being a "cosplayer of fiction" was little more than a bad excuse to avoid giving her any type of depth or a unique personality.

//She's just plain. And she stays plain even when she's revealed to be the main villain.

//Also, this is a comment that's gonna get me smited by everybody, but fuck it, I refuse to hide how I truly feel: Keebo is equally as dogshit.

//Keebo is such a NOTHING character, and I don't understand why he has such a massive fanbase. This is supposed to be him at his best, and his whole point is that he's the one who has to stick it to Tsumugi, but he fails to do even that.

//There's a tiny segment of this trial where we get to play as Himiko and Maki, and a large segment where we get to play as Keebo, and BOTH are UTTERLY POINTLESS, even though they are kind of cool.

//Keebo's actions during this trial when you play as him are a clear homage and cliche to the series' origins, where he is constantly encouraging everyone that they should never give up since the game isn't over yet. But this is effortlessly shut down when Tsumugi abruptly informs him that she WROTE his character that way, and it's exactly what she wanted him to say, as well as the fact that he unknowingly served as the audiences eyes and ears for the game. Thus Keebo's one single moment to shine in this entire game is ultimately futile.

//What was the fucking point of even that?

//So between the dogshit gameplay, and the dogshit Mastermind behind everything, this case is already bad enough. But sad as it is to say, we have to talk about the elephant in the room. Something that I believe is always a make-or-break for the final trials, and that's the Ultimate plot twist that it entails. Usually a big reveal of some sort.

Game 1: The world outside the academy has been basically destroyed.

Game 2: Jabberwock Island is a virtual simulation, and the students in Class 77 are the brainwashed Ultimate Despair terrorists who aided Junko in the Tragedy. Hajime is also Izuru Kamukura, a talentless boy who was experimented on by Hope's Peak Academy against his knowledge.

Another 1: Similar to Game 2. Yuki is revealed to be the true Mastermind behind the Killing Game, and his real identity is Utsuro, the boy with the power of Divine Luck that reshapes reality in his favor.

Another 2: Sora isn't real, is actually an AI based on Akane Taira, is the one who really has the Divine Luck Mikado seeks, and she is left behind as the virtual world is erased.

//I'm not gonna dance about it any longer than I have to, we all know the twist of V3, and we all know it's kind of bullshit.

//The case reveals that the events of Danganronpa V3 are part of a fictional reality show within the game’s universe. The students' lives and personalities were fabricated, their memories manipulated, and the killing game broadcasted for entertainment.

//V3 is actually the 53rd entry of the Danganronpa franchise, with the V in V3 actually being the roman numeral for 5. And Tsumugi directly references the previous Danganronpa games, framing them as part of the same fictional reality show franchise.

//This retroactively positions Danganronpa V3 as a reboot rather than a continuation, suggesting that the events of earlier games may not matter either.

//And the final trial frequently breaks the fourth wall, addressing the player directly and critiquing their role as consumers of violent, despair-filled entertainment. Tsumugi frames the killing game as something the audience demands, effectively blaming players for perpetuating the cycle.

//So yeah...

//EVERYTHING here just SUCKS!

//In the Meta sense, I will say that the twist is interesting, kind of humerous to an extent, and shouldn't be taken seriously in any sort of degree. Not to mention, to a certain extent, it's innovative and quite thought-provoking, as it rightfully critiques fan obsession with sensationalized entertainment.

//But it's done in a way that, in the attempt to portray their games audience, makes me wonder if Danganronpa understands its audience at all.

//The way it's handled here is a betrayal of the narrative, dismissing the emotional weight of the characters' struggles and reducing them to fictional constructs.

//If you're someone, like me, who is/was deeply invested in the original cast and continuity, this just feels insulting. It's like the series we love has been seemingly reduced to a meaningless cycle of fabricated tragedies. Some even see it as an attempt to erase the legacy of Danganronpa's 1 and 2, and it generally makes V3 feel disconnected from the rest of the series.

//I think what upsets me the most is that Tsumugi's claim that the game is made "for the fans, by the fans," is done as a way to make the player complicit in the killing game, suggesting that their desire for entertainment is what perpetuates the franchise’s cycles of despair.

//In other words, this game is basically telling you that you are a terrible person for playing and enjoying it. And I don't vibe with that AT ALL.

//This meta-narrative comes across as kind of self-indulgent and dismissive, overshadowing the characters and plot in favor of philosophical commentary. And not even the good kind.

//But this is why I specifically use words like "controversial" and "divisive" to describe this twist. The events of V3 single-handedly created a divide in the fanbase, with some appreciating the meta-commentary and others feeling disrespected.

//But besides the twist itself, what makes me personally lean towards the latter side of the argument is that all these twists, turns, and concepts are brought up, and despite the trial almost physically forcing the ideas into your throat, what baffles me is how strangely and concerningly ambiguous everything remains by the end of it.

//When you think about it, there are no grounds upon which Tsumugi makes her claims, so everything she says and states in this trial is questionable at best, and a blatant lie at worst. Shuichi even makes note of this at the very end of the game.

//It’s unclear whether the events of Danganronpa V3 were "real" in the context of the game world or entirely fictional within its universe, which many at this point in time have accepted as its own alternate timeline; hence why I make it so in Danganronpa Survivor. This ambiguity extends to whether the surviving characters have truly escaped the cycle of the killing game or are trapped in another layer of fiction.

//The surviving characters (Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko) are left in an uncertain state. Their escape from the game is metaphorical rather than literal, and their identities, forged through fabricated memories, remain unresolved.

//It's up for debate whether this can be called clever storytelling or unnecessarily confusing bullshit. For some, it feels like a cop-out that avoids resolving the story definitively, while others appreciate the open-ended nature, which allows for personal interpretation.

//The lack of clear rules or boundaries for what is real made the ending feel nonsensical or overly convoluted, and it's hard to get invested in a story that defies traditional narrative logic in this way. Even for something like Danganronpa.

//The ambiguity about the trio's futures and identities felt hollow, and that's why a lot of people want more closure.

//Speaking of which, yet another huge issue with this trial is something that V3 shares with 3. Despite the fact that the purpose of the game is to tie the knot on the franchise, there is SUCH a lack of CLOSURE, for FUCKS SAKE!

//Ultimately, it doesn't matter at all whether we can say that V3 was truly real, or fictional. It doesn't matter, because either way, people still want a satisfying conclusion for the characters they’ve followed, but V3 provides NONE of that. The ending’s open-ended nature, while probably done with good intent, makes it difficult to discern any definitive meaning or takeaway from the story.

//So god tell me, what did I just waste four hours of my life on!?

//Trial 6 of V3 is the worst ending in the series because it is generally a waste of time, spends so long trying to meticulously explain a very stupidly handled twist, and ultimately has NO CONCLUSION.

//Which is why it's so low, and yet, it still manages to avoid not only the honorable mentions, but the bottom spot (although it's really fucking close, trust me.)

//My opinion of this trial is overly negative, and it's not one I enjoy revisiting in any sense, but there are things about it I like.

//For starters, the characterization. I kind of already rambled on about this before when I went on that tangent about Tsumugi being a stupid as fuck villain.

//But while Tsumugi is incredibly poor...SHUICHI is BRILLIANT!

//I like all the Danganronpa protagonists about the same, and though I generally prefer Kaede, I ADORE Shuichi too, and THIS is why. He is EASILY the best-developed protagonist in the main series, and the way that growth that happens throughout all of V3 culminates here is near FLAWLESS.

//He's been through so much pain for this whole game, and it crushes him tenfold when he finds out what little enjoyment and fulfillment he DID have wasn't even reality, and just part of a fictional series. That, and the fact that people will never empathize with him, because in their eyes, he's just a character behind a screen.

//But he goes on to assert himself as a protagonist and chooses to challenge the killing game’s rules. His defiance is a moment of growth festered in him by the emotionally REAL relationships he had with Kaede and Kaito, showing that he can stand up for his beliefs, even in the face of overwhelming odds. His journey from self-doubt to confidence is deeply satisfying, well-handled, and emotional for fans who connected with his struggles. His choice to reject both hope and despair in favor of forging his own path is empowering, just as much, if not more, than even Hajime's from Game 2.

//There were a few characters, namely Kaede, Kaito, and Kokichi, who did massive gambits in an attempt to break the killing game and ruin it, but they all failed. It feels good to know that Shuichi was the one who succeeded.

//Despite its kind of unholy subversion, the trial also acts as a tribute to the Danganronpa series and how far it's come, incorporating callbacks, references, and homages to earlier games; most notably when Tsumugi transforms herself into characters from the series before this.

//It's not quite closure, but it's the closest we get.

//As far as the twist goes, while I generally think it was handled poorly, the idea behind it comes from a very important place. The meta-narrative of this trial turns the game into a commentary on the nature of fiction and the role of creators, characters, and audiences. It’s a fresh and daring approach that sets this game apart from its predecessors, making it memorable and thought-provoking in regards to people's relationship with the series and the medium of storytelling as a whole.

//And while I generally dislike the open-ended conclusion, it does invite the idea of interpretation, allowing players to draw their own meanings and decide what is real within the story.

//I mean, I did that. You're reading that very blog now.

//The worst part about this trial for me is the fact that it feels like the twist is designed to attack the hardcore fans; something that I can't really forgive. But the way the trial critiques fandom culture, exploring the implications of endlessly consuming horrible concepts for entertainment, is kind of a valid statement to make at the current state of the world. It asks the audience to consider their role in perpetuating the killing games and questions the morality of reveling in such dark content.

//I just wish it had done so more kindly.

//But yeah, overall while I do appreciate V3's final trial for its boldness and willingness to subvert expectations, I generally dislike it for its perceived disrespect to the series' characters, themes, and fanbase. Case 6 is somehow both a brilliant deconstruction of the series’ tropes and a reflection on the nature of storytelling, fandom, and media consumption, as well as a betrayal of the series’ core themes. The ending’s ambiguity, meta-commentary, and radical deconstruction of the franchise leave it as one of the most polarizing conclusions in gaming history, and I doubt there are many that come close.

[zorosangell]

⛥ﾟ・。 protector: chapter eighteen

synopsis: " you were supposed to stay a crewate, just another back to watch, " he tightened his hold, " i didn't even notice the change until i woke up one day and realized i'd take a bullet for you "

cw: violence, gore, fighting, mature themes, profanity, MAJOR/MINOR ANIME SPOILERS, follows the plot of the anime, slowww burn.

a/n: reposting from another account

You landed the four of you at the top of the mountain, dropping the boys and letting Vivi carefully slide down your back.

"My life just flashed before my eyes," Usopp mumbled to himself, curling into the fetal position on the ground.

"Whatever. We're here now, I guess. Now we just gotta find Luffy," Zoro stated, giving the place a quick once-over.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" a familiar voice shouted, the sound of it drawing closer.

"Is that—?" The four of you look up in the sky to see your captain heading for you at top speed, with no sign of slowing down. 

'That was quick.'

"LUFFY?!" you exclaimed, wide eyed.

"Huh? (y/n)? Zoro? Usopp?" he asked, crashing into the three of you.

The force buried the three of you in the snow, but Luffy was quick to jump up, laughing as usual.

"Why'd you do that, ya moron?!" Zoro shouted, popping his head out of the snow.

"I should wring his rubbery little neck..." you grumbled to yourself, standing up and dusting off your coat of snow.

"I didn't recognize you guys at first. I thought you were more of Big Mouth's guards coming to fight. I'm really surprised you guys came all the way up here," Luffy smiled.

"I'd expect it from you two. But Usopp, aren't you a little scared of doing things like climbing mountains Usopp?"

"Ha ha! Yeah, right! Whenever there's a towering peak in front of me, I get to climbing!" Usopp bellowed, jumping up from the snow and puffing out his chest proudly.

"But let me tell you, scaling that mountain hand over hand was no picnic."

"Don't believe his shit for a second. I flew everyone up here," you scoffed, smushing away the liar's face.

"(y/n)!" Usopp groaned.

"Are Nami and Sanji alright?" Vivi asked, stepping forward.

"Yeah, they're just fine," Luffy assured.

"What the hell were you doing on top of the castle just now?" Zoro asked.

"Oh, I was beating the crap out of the king," Luffy answered.

"Who's the king again?" you asked, turning to Zoro.

"Not important now, I guess," he shrugged.

"Oh, Usopp! You gotta meet my new friend! He's a reindeer!" Luffy beamed, tapping Usopp on his shoulder.

Usopp lifted his goggles.

"A reindeer?" he asked, skeptically.

You turned around, only to see this small little reindeer hiding behind a tree, standing on two legs with a hat on.

"HE'S ADORABLE!" you squealed, slapping your hands on your cheeks.

"IT'S A YETI! SHOOT IT!" Usopp screamed.

The poor thing went wide eyed and quickly ran away, weaving through the trees.

"YOU IDIOT! YOU SCARED HIM AWAY!" you and Luffy shouted in unison, smacking Usopp upside the head.

"He's not a yeti! He's my friend! Now I gotta go get him back, ya jerk!" Luffy groaned, breaking into a mad dash after the creature.

"You better bring him back safely, Luffy!" you called after him.

After tracking down the reindeer, who you learned from the witch lady to be Chopper, late into the night, you decided to sit down with Zoro and Usopp and let Luffy do the rest of the work.

But he lost the reindeer about two hours ago and still hasn't found him.

"C'mon, Luffy. Why don't you just give it up? We've been tracking him forever and he still hasn't come out," Usopp suggested.

"He's not interested in becoming a pirate. You're just gonna have to accept that," Zoro sighed.

"No, that's not true! I want the reindeer to be a pirate with us!" Luffy dismissed.

"Just because you want something doesn't mean it's gonna happen!" Zoro exclaimed.

"I know that....but I really wish he would come," you pretended to sniffle, allowing a single fake tear to roll down your cheek.

"Not you, too!" 

Just then, Chopper showed himself, standing before the four of you.

"Reindeer Guy!" Luffy smiled.

Right then, Vivi and Nami had also dragged Sanji out the castle.

"Hey, you're gonna come on our ship and be a pirate with us!" Luffy exclaimed

"I can't," Chopper denied.

"Sure you can, Reindeer. It's a whole lotta fun!"

"I can't! I'm not a human, I'm a reindeer! I have antlers and hooves, don't you see? I even have a blue nose!" Chopper shouted.

Everyone went quiet, the wind filling in the silent tension.

"Okay, maybe I do wanna be... a pirate. But I can't ever be one of you. I'm not human, I'm a monster! I can't be your friend, and I can't become a pirate on your ship! You see?"

'Poor guy. What did these people do to him?'

"I just came to say.. .thank you. I appreciate you asking me to join your ship. That was really nice. I'm going to stay here for now. But if you wanted to, you could stop by here again—" "SHUT UP! LET'S GOOOOOO!" Luffy interrupted.

And Chopper started to cry.

"Most people don't make friends by telling them to shut up," Zoro grumbled.

"Jerk..." you huffed.

After allowing Chopper to say goodbye to the old witch lady, he came running back outside, with the woman chasing him with a flail, about to attack.

He managed to dodge it and take you all in a sleigh in his reindeer form, and run across this suspended rope, making it look like you were soaring through the air in a flying sleigh.

When you landed, and managed to make it a good ways into the frozen forest, the sound of cannon fire made Chopper stop and turn around to check the commotion.

Only to see beautiful explosions of pink snow from sky, looking like sakura leaves.

Chopper wailed, happily crying waterfalls as the cloud of pink made the mountain look like one large cherry blossom tree.

"It's beautiful," you softly smiled, looking up at the sky

Zoro turned to you, his breath hitching as he got a good look at you.

The snow falling around you made you look magical, the little white halo in your hair only making you even more ethereal.

Not to mention the brilliant pink light that was bathing your every feature.

It reminded him of how his chest felt when he saw you in Syrup Village.

You were beautiful.

But not only that, you were strong. 

You were smart. 

You were caring.

You were tough.

You weren't afraid to speak your mind.

You were able to keep him on his toes.

You annoyed the ever-loving shit out of him.

You've given him more bruises on his head than he can count.

You pissed him off nearly every day.

But you also made him feel tight in his chest.

You made his cheeks light up when you walked past.

And you made him worry to no end.

'Shit. What the hell is happening to me?'

"Yeah, it sure is," he agreed, not taking about the flowers at all.

[elposting]

I JUST GOT BACK FROM SEEING BOOK OF MORMON ON WEST END AND IT WAS THE GREATEST THING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD

little debrief/me chatting/face reveal???

My dad surprised me with first row center tickets last night and I’ve been begging him to see the show for so long I was sooo freaking excited

I was literally grinning ear to ear through the entire thing. Easily makes my top three best things I’ve ever been to (Taylor swift concert, snl barricades are the other two lol).

This was my first time sitting front row at professional theater and it was so worth it. Its literally magical and I hope everyone gets to experience it at some point

Rest of post below the cut! Somewhat long post sorry i have a lot to say lol (pics and vids too! and ill reblog this with the curtain call video i got)

OK now to the show

- colin was so fucking funny as mckinley I was literally dying and turn it off was so good. I tried to squint through the darkness to see the quick change but I couldn’t lol, guess that one video is the only way ill ever see them actually doing it lol

- baptize me was the best and funniest thing I’ve seen in a long long time. the entire audience was dying laughing the entire time. and the detail of naba’s shirt being wet after the gets baptized. wonderful

- idk how long they’ve been doing this for but after price comes into the mission hut with blood all over him the other elders start freaking out until poptarts just screams, silences everyone, and does the turn it off motion and all of them get calm and it was so fucking funny oh my god

- mckinley trying to stop the play in the middle of it. just starts clapping and trying to step in front of naba. colin!mckinley I love you so much

- the guy who played church looked identical to rory o’malley and i kept getting distracted by that so i missed McKinley’s enterance in smhd and the build up to price’s “fuck him” bc I kept looking at him 😭

- conner/cunningham is so fucking good. He is so funny I could not stop laughing. one of my favorite cunninghams ever. he made me love arnold sm more now. and he is SUCH a great singer like genuinely fantastic

—

STAGE DOOR TIME!!

- stage door culture for west end is so much different than broadway!! I forgot to bring a pen (on Broadway everyone has their own sharpies) so I shared with this one girl and her mom from Mexico, they were the only other people there

- my dad told conner he was better than josh gad and he was like who??? we don’t talk about him!! It was so funny lol

me and conner this vid is so goofy I love it

here's me and my best friend in the whole wide world colin burnicle (who looked at me weird when I told him all I wanted to do for the rest of my life was watch turn it off over and over again)

me and blair who was so good and he told me he recognized me from my shirt in the front row lol told me I looked like I was having a blast. love u blair 😘 tall king

charlie barnard cutie patootie

and my absolute fave pic of the night me and richard/mafala i love this man

oh and finally I got sm signatures and if (when) I see it on broadway and tour everyone else will be signing the book and if i meet matt and trey (or anyone in obc) i will beg them to sign it too

thank you for coming to my ted talk

[kisscara]

12. shopping spree! [fanboy!scaramouche x drummer!reader] ⎯⎯ heartbeat rhythm series

this was awkward, to say the least. seeing each other in casual clothing was awkward. just standing there was awkward.

"hi," you laugh with a smile, hoping to lighten the mood and thank the archons above, it does. scaramouche huffs, "let's go. we don't have all day." you catch up to him as he begins walking.

for a thursday after classes, the mall was surprisingly packed. you had hoped the opposite since this would possibly make the time seem longer.

scaramouche takes a glimpse at you. his lips scrunch up as a sign of his rising embarrassment. '(name) in such comfy wear... this is insane.' he reaches up to rub his eyes as if ridding himself of a delusion.

you wring with your hands and hum. "so... what type of music do you listen to, scaramouche?" you ask, trying to start a conversation. scaramouche removes the headphones from his ears and places it around his neck to hear you better.

he quickly searches for an answer when his eyes catch sight of an ad on the overhead screen in the mall. "vocaloid!" scaramouche hurriedly exclaims in a frenzy. you tilt your head in confusion. he felt his whole world come crashing down. he loves hatsune miku, sure, but not as much as he loves you.

nevermind that, if he had to be honest, their music was nothing compared to your immaculate drumming skills. to scaramouche, no one could outshine 5O5 and especially you.

"oh! that's interesting!" you two instantly fall silent after that weird talk. however, something else was on scaramouche's mind.

scaramouche's eyes sparkle as he watches you, determined. '(name) is so kind and knows how to handle these types of things like a pro. as expected of them.' he clears his throat and queries, "is this the music store you go to?"

you wordlessly nod and follow him inside. you're immediately met with the wonderful smell of different instruments when you step foot within the premises. you swore you could recognize it from a mile away. you take a deep inhale and exhale in content.

"(name)!" a small, red-eyed, blonde haired girl greets you and scaramouche at the doors. she gleefully giggles, "i missed you!" you welcome the girl into your arms and grin. "have you been a good girl, klee?" klee eagerly nods.

from behind the front counter, barbara leans over it. "good afternoon, (name) and..." her eyes go wide and she yelps, "student council president!?" klee gasps, "no way, he's the president?" a brunette passes by with a box of what appears to be carrying music catalogues.

"student council president," xinyan corrects klee and heads to the counter. klee looks up at scaramouche. he tries to give her his most sincere gaze but of course, it comes off intimidating toward the little girl. klee shivers and makes a face at him.

scaramouche's finger wavers as he points to the pouty girl with a grimace, "do you know them?" you chuckle, "these are my friends, barbara, xinyan and klee. barbara and xinyan are second years at our school and klee is barbara's cousin while xinyan is barbara's best friend."

scaramouche hums in a disinterested way. "i see." he puts his fingertips together and faces you, "now, about those gloves." you startle and nervously grin. 'i totally forgot about that...!'

klee tugs at your sweater's sleeve. "come with klee, (name)! klee will show you what gloves to get 'cause klee already knows your size!" she gives you a proud look and you find it hard not to smile at how cute she's being.

klee begins dragging you away and scaramouche gawks, "hey, kid, they're supposed to stay with me!"

he rushes after you and the three of you stop in a certain aisle. klee pulls the wooden stool closer to her and gets on top of it. her frilly, bright red summer dress ruffles as she reaches up to get the perfect gloves for you.

klee points out, "we're having a discount today on all things related to the drums but not including the drums itself. for example, gloves, drumsticks, snare cases and et cetera. if you purchase this, your total would be thirty dollars but because of our special fifty percent off discount, it will go down to-"

xinyan covers her mouth, earning a mouthed 'thanks' from scaramouche.

"scaramouche, do you like spending time with little kids?" now that you've bought the gloves, you and scaramouche are simply strolling about the mall. it won't hurt to have a little bit of free time, right? scaramouche ponders for a few moments. "yeah, i do. makes me miss taking care of my baby sister."

your pupils dilate in surprise. "i never knew you had a sister. or any siblings, at that." you smile at him and his face goes red. scaramouche rubs his neck, muttering, "i have two sisters, actually. one of them is in middle school and the other one is my twin."

"you have a twin!? that's so cool!" you gleefully clasp your hands together, the bag containing the drummer gloves trapping between your forearm and your arm. scaramouche smugly smirks, "what do you think, (name)? am i the better twin?"

you get caught off guard by his sudden inquiry. you think for a bit. "i haven't met your twin yet, so i can't really decide," you murmur. he pauses before gesturing, "well, she looks like me but as a female. she's into fashion and would have a mental breakdown if she chipped a nail. basically my polar opposite, minus the anger issues."

it's great he's self aware.

"mm... then i'd choose you as the better twin." you add, "you're very responsible and even though you don't show it much, i know that deep down, you care about your friends." you happily chirp, "you wouldn't have let me buy this off of the school funds if we weren't friends, right?"

scaramouche's ears go red. he tries to play it off and shrugs, "sure. anyways, do you want something to eat?" his offer makes you knowingly smile. "i thought you said we were only going to buy this." you shake around the bag and he scoffs, "it's on me, so it's not apart of the school funds."

"i'm just borrowing money left and right." you clench your fist and weep, "if only i wasn't so broke... i'll pay you back, i promise!" scaramouche impotently waves, "stop being so dramatic before i change my mind. now let's go before the food court closes."

you never would have imagined eating with scaramouche, in public, just the two of you! to any bystanders, it might seem like a date. the idea makes your heart pound even faster as countless other thoughts race within your mind. for sometime now, you've been taking small bites, still embarrassed about this whole situation.

scaramouche rests his head in his hand while fidgeting with the straw in his glass of water. "(name), what's it like, being apart of a band?" and thank God he starts a conversation because you were starting to feel as though you were going to piss yourself, sitting there in silence.

"it's fun! i've made a lot of memories with them, but even though we're in a band, they're still my best friends before they're my members. yun jin is the band leader, so you should really talk to her about the whole band experience since she handles most of our events with our manager," you say, now feeling comfortable enough to eat.

for a split second, scaramouche contemplates on his next question. "what do you think about your fans?"

you raise a brow and ask, "like, solely my fans or the band's fans in general?" scaramouche takes a sip from his glass and adds, "yours." you sheepishly laugh, "to be honest, i think i have very few. the drummer tends to go unnoticed and i guess i'm okay with it since..."

you tap at your chin, "this one time, our keyboardist, ayaka, actually had a crazy fan of hers. he was totally psycho, 'cause he even followed her places and took pictures of her whenever he got the chance. she had to file a lawsuit against him and all of this happened last year."

scaramouche gulps. he's not like that... right?

"the thought made me, well, not just me, but the rest of the members angry as well. we never revealed it to our fan base and the public, but that's the reason ayaka had to go on a three month hiatus. can you believe the audacity of that guy? honestly, i'd rather have no fans at all than thousands and not knowing who's a total creep."

after dumping all of that on scaramouche, he began feeling queasy.

would he ever reveal the truth about himself being your fan from the start? there is a difference between obsession and just pure admiration. however, would you be able to understand that?

scaramouche likes you for your dedication to your band and your impressive drumming skills as well as your personality.

but would you get the wrong idea and think that he only likes you for who you are on that stage, holding those drumsticks, or for being the person you truly are?

scaramouche could barely enjoy the rest of the day with you after that. it constantly plagued his mind of what would happen should you mistaken him for such a jerk like that?

he's gotten this far and it might as well be over for him at this point. but then again...

"scara, you can have the other charm! now we're matching, see?" you wave around the angry kitty charm while you place the cute looking puppy one in his palm. "this one's you and that one's me. it matches us, right?" you giggle as you begin to attach it to your phone.

the two of you had gotten it at the arcade and scaramouche just couldn't say no to you wanting to go there.

scaramouche does the same with his phone and smiles. "yeah, it does fit us."

he can worry about all of that later. besides, he has a choice whether to reveal the truth or not, so why not just hide it from you? although by now, he should know that the truth itself never stays buried for long.

tags: @mariusvonhangme @scaramoo @mikismusings @rizakari @akagism2 @sakiimeo @ohmyfinggod @aethersluvrr @scarafrisbee @kaoyamamegami @liliumaraneae @dreamsofminnie @starfart19 @kunisbeloved @luhvashh @makiswrld @kyouzki @mimissubway @loucaroarz @theblueblub @angelunatic @shinjuuz @thenightsflower @coquettemaiden @thefandomcrow @cotton-eee @lovely028 @hrtswinter @duckyyyx @kissingkzuha @dazaisboner @adeptusx @tomotofu @yukiipc @httpspatholvr @star583 @soobasaur @dr8amy @scaraapologist @raideneiari @rvoulte @esquevl @pyrrhicgaze @tjjjrsj @enviouspeanut @d4y-dr3am3r @aromaticism @undecidingfate @idontwantoeatspicy

taglist is now closed as i've reached the max tags in a single post. (50/50 tags occupied + officially removed users whose names aren't linked)

what happens when you, a talented and well-known drummer across the web, grow an intense crush for the student council president, who's also your number one fan? from annoying sisters to nosy bandmates, the next event that happens is always more chaotic than the last!

© kisscara

[earlgreytea68]

In my journey through random reading, I just re-read The Odyssey.

Spoilers for an ancient epic poem below.

~~~~~~~~

I was assigned The Odyssey three times in high school and college and I remember by the third time through coming to appreciate it. Emily Wilson's new translation has been so widely praised that I figured I would give it a re-read.

I am no judge of translating ancient Greek but the Emily Wilson version reads well and is engaging and I appreciated the blend of formal tone and modernism, it seemed perfect for the poem and I loved it. Also appreciated how many different ways Dawn gets described as breaking.

Odysseus? I found unbearable hahahaha. I just could not with him. I do not remember being so annoyed with him when I was younger! But this time through I was like, Dude, you have made a million bad decisions, PLEASE STOP NOW. As far as I can tell Odysseus's main talent is telling incredibly elaborate lies, to everyone he meets, even where there is really no reason to lie, and certainly not in such detail. But he is OBSESSED with lying. I also love how many names for different made-up fathers he could just pull out at the drop of a hat. I mean, they were impressive lies, very detailed, but I was much less impressed by lying as a superpower than I think the ancient Greeks intended me to be.

Also I only remembered Odysseus's journey. In my head his return to Ithaca was a tiny bit of the poem. Whereas in actuality almost all of the poem is his return to Ithaca and his journey is the tiny bit AND it struck me for the first time that we only ever hear about his journey FROM HIM. And the whole poem is about what a good liar Odysseus is. So now I think the entire journey is suspect and this idea of the unreliable narrator is my favorite new Odyssey headcanon lol. I just never learned it that way and I wish I had thought to bring this up in any of my seminars!!

I was also struck by how the deep belief in gods made it so that no one was ever responsible for any of their actions, ever. Everything they did was because one of the gods wanted them to do it. If the suitors were evil and said evil things, it was because a god made them do it. If Odysseus was able to kill them all, it was because a god wanted it to happen. There was just zero idea of accountability in the way the society was functioning and it was fascinating to me. (My favorite thing was how often people would casually be like, "Hey, can I get a ride on your ship, I just killed someone in town and people are after me," and no one asks any questions, they're just like, "Sure! Hop aboard!") I don't ever remember discussing that in my seminars either and it seems especially important because I think that detached feeling of "can't blame me, it's God's plan" still does show up in some religious beliefs.

One hilarious little moment happened when the suitors were plotting to kill Telemachus and as they're discussing it eagles descend and start attacking them and afterward they're like, "Was that a bad omen! Should we not kill Telemachus!" And then a second later they're like, "Nah, I'm sure that was just a wild coincidence." People only see what they want to see lol

The suitors were actually by far my favorite part of the whole story. They were absolutely hilarious. I love how over the top they were. Like, the swineherd would come in to deliver their dinner and they would throw things at him and shout things like "Smelly pig-man!" And it's like, dudes, chill hahahaha. They just cracked me up. But I also liked how everyone in the poem really is complex and no one is actually really good or even really evil, because the suitors are like, "We wouldn't be here if Penelope would just marry one of us," and I obviously do not approve of this patriarchal society requiring this woman to be married but at the same time I do recognize that I think in their society they were making a valid point that Penelope wasn't entirely blameless and it wasn't all on the suitors. But that ambiguity means nothing in the world of the poem because Athena loves Odysseus best. And I don't say that disapprovingly, it's just clearly how they explained some people winning and some people losing when everyone is making valid points.

My other favorite part of the poem was really contemplating how time works in it. Odysseus has been gone twenty years. With no reliable or solid word about him. (because goddesses keep kidnapping him to have sex with him). And yet every single person Odysseus meets in Ithaca (while he's in disguise) IMMEDIATELY unprompted is like, "Man, every day I cry about how much I miss Odysseus. He was awesome. You would have loved him. Just the best guy." For many many verses this poem is just Odysseus listening to people rave about him. And if they didn't rave about him he was like "those people are not loyal." ...no, Odysseus, you've been gone TWENTY YEARS. I think those are the people who just moved on! Sorry not every one of your enslaved people still weeps every night over you. Honestly the whole poem is way more wild and out there than I remember it being. I really remembered it being about Odysseus's journey and it is honestly most just lots of random Ithacans in perpetual grief.

[sunder-the-gold]

Yeah, Dark Souls isn’t for me.

I cannot reliably kick. I have never executed a jumping attack. I practiced over and over by the instruction sign, and never got it. I’ve kicked more often by accident than intent.

There was no instruction for backstep-attacking. I did that once by accident, but practice has yielded no results.

Can’t figure out parry timing any easier in this game than Breath of the Wild.

Enemy undead practically teleport around corners and up staircases with their jumping attacks. Don’t even see them coming.

Enemy firebombs will splash right through walls and roofs of apparently solid stone bricks to hurt you. Leaving alone how the enemies know exactly where I am without being able to see which room I ran into.

I’ve rarely fallen to my death, despite all of the OSHA violations, but the risk of falling to death is constantly on my mind as I struggle to ensure I’m facing vaguely enough in the direction of at least one enemy, at the right distance, to hit them, while frequently underestimating how far and wide their own attacks can reach. Target-locking seems to hurt more than help.

Controlling the character doesn’t just feel sluggish and slow, it feels slippery and sticky. Like I’m drunk and wading through tar. And I haven’t even seen my first poison swamp!

I’ve heard about rolling invincibility frames for ten years, yet one axe-chop got me in the middle of a roll and took out half my health.

My muscle memory sometimes still has me chugging Estus instead of attacking. And that’s when I remembered to close the tiny Equipment/Status menu at the top, so that I don’t stand in front of enemies eating hits before I realize none of my buttons are working.

The game developers had the entire range of colors within the human visual spectrum, but decided that the firebombs enemies hold should be practically invisible rather than some sort of bright, distinguishing color.

I now understand why that one Elden Ring character considered three rats (with or without a fourth rat hidden in boxes) more dangerous than anything else in the game.

Trying to kite individual enemies, or even just two enemies, away from all of the other enemies, makes the game sinfully slow even if I’m trying NOT to turtle behind my shield or do anything but face-tank and trade blows.

That’s not even including all of the enemies I’m fighting over and over again just to try practicing, let alone farming for souls. Lots of kiting, lots of turtling, lots of backtracking around drops to immediate death with slippery, clumsy controls.

I saw that firebomb barrel at the top of the stairs. I knew it was coming. I couldn’t bait the enemy to push it until I was too far up the stairs to run back down to safety, AND the bomb shoved me off the stairs and onto a tiny cliff I couldn’t escape from. I had no choice but to drop to my death, knowing I would never be able to retrieve my souls without getting stuck again. Like what happened when I grabbed that one-use death ring from the earlier bridge.

I thought people complaining about the archers on the tower with the Taurus Demon were whining. But when I played the game for myself, even when I immediately recognized the Taurus Demon’s bridge, that spoiler was the ONLY thing telling me to turn around and climb up the ladder. The ladder is nearly invisible even when you’re looking for it, and it’s further hidden by how narrow a part of the wall it occupies.

And this shit is right after the bullshit with the fire barrel.

And that’s assuming you didn’t try challenging the tarnished silver knight of Gwyn. (Fucker had his back turned and I still couldn’t land a sneak attack.)

Oh, and the Taurus Demon can jump up on to the top of the tower with you. Because of course he can. Just like the Asylum Demon, if you don’t execute the dropping attack immediately, you lose that chance. (In fairness, the Taurus Demon’s first act is showing he can jump like that.)

I’d have accepted getting smashed to the ground twice by the Taurus Demon, but the second time I failed to get back to my feet and have the opportunity to roll away to safety before he smashed me down again and killed me…

It’s great that people with depression have gotten a sense of accomplishment from beating their faces against this wall, but I frankly have less frustrating ways of accomplishing meaningful and entertaining things with my time. All this is doing is boring me when it isn’t raising my blood pressure.