#my ipad about to be fully charged

[aryomengrande]

[ssruis]

Going through a straight up comical amount of irritating situations to get the stupid 4* guaranteed ticket from the welcome to sekai campaign. It Will Be Mine.

[david-watts]

90% sure that the uni artificially limits the electricity output of the charging points in the library compared to domestic supply which is super fucking funny to me considering how they've made it so you really have to bring your own devices. since they chose to artificially limit the amount of computers in the building. arseholes

[red--ashes]

do u see the vision?

[starkwlkr]

banned pt. 2 | charles leclerc

welcome everyone to banned pt. 2 ‼️ in this fic, ruby is 7 and mathéo is 3 and making their ig debut, introducing the schumi kids, mikey and demri <3

It had been years since Ruby introduced herself to social media. Everyone loved her and loved how funny she was. No one ever thought they would get another ‘Ruby goes on social media’ video since Charles had stated multiple times that she was forever on a phone ban. All it took for Charles to give up his phone was a couple of drinks and a distraction from Lorenzo and Arthur who had dared him to jump into the pool.

This time, Ruby wasn’t alone. She had her brother Mathéo with her so the media got to see two Leclercs mess around.

It was a Pascale’s birthday and the family had decided to surprise the mother with a cake and gifts. The Schumacher’s were also invited so Mikey and Demri were hanging out with the Leclerc children. By the end of the night, almost everyone was giggly and singing random songs every now and then.

The kids had just taken a bath after spending most of their day inside the pool. Ruby had come down from her room and saw Charles starting to empty his pockets onto the table.

“Charles! No!” Y/n laughed as Charles was debating whether or not to take his shirt off.

“Jump in fully clothed!” Arthur yelled as Carla tried to get him to shut up.

“Okay.” Charles replied, but before he jumped in, he grabbed Y/n’s hand and dragged her to the pool. She had no choice but to jump in as well.

Ruby saw Charles’ phone and quickly ran to get it before anyone saw her. Thankfully they were all distracted by drunk Charles. She ran back up to her room where Mathéo was playing on the IPad.

“Théo! Look!” Ruby showed the boy what she had in her hands. “Want to make a video?”

“Does it have games?” Demri asked, following her best friend.

The boy nodded and put away his IPad where he had found it. Ruby and Mathéo were completely different from their personalities to the way they dressed.

Ruby unlocked Charles’ phone and clicked on the instagram app. The first post that she came across was not her mother’s like last time. It was a family picture that was taken yesterday posted on Arthur’s account. She immediately went to the comments and typed one herself.

charles_leclerc yo u snore 😂😂😂

“Ruby, I want to see!” Mathéo whined since his sister was not sharing like they were suppose to.

“That’s my papa’s name!” Mikey pointed to Mick’s username in Arthur’s instagram likes.

“Go get maman’s phone! She has the same thing!”

So the little boy stood up from the floor and ran to get his mother’s phone. Y/n had been charging her phone in her room so Mathéo knew where to find the phone. When he came back, he saw Ruby pointing the phone to her doll collection that had grown since Instagram last saw it.

“Ruby, how do I get the game you’re playing?” Mathéo asked as he handed the phone to his sister.

Ruby sighed and set the phone down on her bed. “It’s not a game, Théo! Look, it’s this one.” Ruby opened up the instagram app on Y/n’s phone and saw the same post she had seen on Charles’ phone. Her fingers accidentally made the screen go from Y/n’s instagram feed to the camera. Demri and Mikey gasped when they saw filters.

“Take a picture!”

“Wait! There’s funny faces!” Mathéo excitedly said and started to put filters on his face. “I want to show papa!”

“No! If you show papa then he’s going to take away the phone and then you won’t be able to play and he’s going to be mad with you and he won’t give you kisses and he’ll give me more kisses. He told me.” Ruby said.

paddockfashion “he told me” me when i lie

forzacha16 room tour when?

schumacherlegacy this is so unexpected i love it

“I can show you papa’s trophies. Um, you have to be quiet because Uncle Enzo and his girlfriend and Auntie Carla and Uncle Arthur are here. I helped maman with grand-mère’s cake and it’s pink and I drew a heart and she loves it.” Ruby had a habit of talking about one topic then talking about another.

“My papa has a room like that too. But his has more because he said my opa’s trophies are in there too. He has a lot. I counted them the other day and I counted a lot.” Mikey explained.

“Where are you going?” Mathéo asked, still holding his mother’s phone in his hands.

“I’m going to papa’s trophy room.”

totowolffisadilf of course charles has a trophy room

gosports44 WHATS HIS CREDIT CARD NUMBER

nomichaelno tell charles to follow me on tiktok

“TikTok? My maman has TikTok.” Ruby said as her and Mathéo walked to the end of the hall where Charles kept all his trophies and helmets in a room.

“Show my helmet!” Mathéo shouted as he pointed to a helmet that Charles had gifted him for his birthday.

“No,” Ruby simply said and pointed the camera towards all the trophies. “I wanted to show the helmets Dem and I have but they’re not here.”During the Monaco Grand Prix, Charles had gifted Demri and Ruby matching helmets with their initials on the side. Ruby had hers in Mick’s house since she had taken it when her and Demri had a sleepover and forgotten it. “never mind this is boring. Uncle Pierre got me more barbies!”

She ran back to her room and dropped the phone. “Ruby! That’s papa’s phone!” Mathéo gasped.

“It was already broken when I got it,” Ruby picked up the phone and saw the comments and lightly gasped when she saw a familiar name.

pierregasly you’re still banned

pierregasly don’t break your papa’s phone

“What does that say?” Mathéo asked as he took the phone from Ruby’s hands.

“You can’t read, I can! It says listen to me and to give me two euros.”

“No it doesn’t.”

“Yes it does. I know how to read too!” Demri defended her friend.

“You can’t count, how can you read?” Mikey teased his sister.

yukisrestuarant ruby and demri stan until i die

formulasbitch gaslighting era

wagstyle i agree it says give her two euros

“Ruby? Do you have my phone?” The kids heard Charles shout.

“No!”

[missbutterworthless]

[i’m not a violent dog. i don’t know why i bite.]

The lead singer of BOTB’s Season 4 projected underdogs, Arlo Beck of Penny Arcade, declined further comment in regards to the threatening of a member of the media when questioned about former band mate and fellow competitor, Seven Lawless of Soft Violence.

Further Info Under the Cut!

TW for mentions of addiction 🫶

Introducing Arlo Beck, lead singer of Penny Arcade, a pop punk band of humble origins known most for their musically delivered political commentary and their revenge anthems (it is of particular note that such anthems were not common in the Lawless Era, with the band leaning far more heavily into charged love songs. Which could mean nothing.)

Fun Facts!

Beck is an Aquarius!

According to an insider source, beyond singing, Beck is quite capable with the ocarina.

Beck is known to juggle at any and every opportunity, regardless of who may or may not be watching. (He is apparently rather talented as well.)

Beck is known for accessorizing with heart motifs, noted by a previous local publication to be a nod to fellow bandmate Rowan Hart.

Beck often carries a bottle of quick dry black polish for ‘manicure emergencies’. He is known to have addressed such emergencies while on stage after chipping a nail during a performance.

Beck is often cited as the source for Penny Arcade’s ‘gimmick’ of collecting loose change in collection bins during a dedicated song at every performance. The change is then matched and donated to queer and at risk youth. Beck remains firm that every member of Penny Arcade, past and present, is equally responsible.

Picture Easter Eggs and more Fun Facts!

Arlo is wearing a WWOD? bracelet in the pic! The band got together to make bracelets with Orion’s most recent catchphrase while waiting for filming to start. Arlo made his particularly fruity. He also made a keychain version for Orion.

The time on Arlo’s phone is a nod to MCx7. Seven is, well, 7. And Arlo is 1 & 2 because his initials are the first and second letters of the alphabet. Hence, 7:12.

Arlo’s initial tattoo utilizes the S in SD as an infinity symbol. He acknowledges it is cringy. And poetically tragic.

Not shown is his tongue piercing, which Orion chewed him out for getting because his tongue was swollen and his speech slurred for nearly two weeks!

As stated above, he likes to wear motifs of his band members! Because he is a doofus! Most common because it’s his daily accessories is a heart motif for Rowan, but he also has jellyfish pendants and vampire bite chokers for Iris and different color bee pins for Devyn depending on their hair color! Jazzy is represented in the case he carries his juggling equipment in, which he takes literally everywhere after she bought him one for his birthday years ago. He is currently racking his brain for what to do for August!

43 of the 57 missed calls on his phone were from Orion. He knows because Orion’s ringtone is I Don’t Dance from High School Musical 2.

He is heavily addicted to nicotine (to Orion’s chagrin) and became a functioning (for now) alcoholic after The Fight™️. Prior, he imbibed during social functions but never alone and never when he had plans. Up until the audition, he never partook in other substances but caved into peer pressure. Despite his snark and notorius RBF, he is a chronic people pleaser.

The eyebrow slit is a scar from slicing his eyebrow open in Lucy’s diner after crashing head first into the dish station and shattering a plate. With his face. The scar is almost entirely faded but he can no longer grow hair there. He’s actually really insecure about it and has considered getting the spot microbladed.

That’s all for now folks! I mostly wanted to share my art :) I adore @infamous-if and have been playing with Arlo as my MC since Day 1! He finally fully clicked in my head and after days of attempting to find a face claim or craft him in the sims I decided to crack open Ye Olde iPad and do it myself!

Please feel free to share any fun facts about your own Infamous OCs! Regretfully my friends stay firmly opposed to interactive fiction so I am starved for fellow Infamous fans

[holdinbacksecrets]

how do you think svt would subtly let you know they have feelings for you? 🥺🫣 or how they’d confess?

first of all, my sincere apologies for taking a year to answer this… but a couple nights ago i woke up at 2am, scrolled through my requests, and yours ended up inspiring these voicemails. thank you for requesting! i hope you enjoy 🖤

thank you @un-love for helping me assign these🫶🫶🫶🫶

voicemails seventeen leave you, hinting feelings

seungcheol: “hey…a lot was said last night…it’s important that you know how proud of you i am for opening up to me. it’s just…you have to know that… my home is yours for however long you need. there are clean sheets on the guest bed, but i know you prefer my mattress…we can switch- i just want you to be comfortable, not to worry about anything, ok? i hope i see you when i get home tonight. or if you want me to meet you at his—yours, i’d be happy to.”

jeonghan: “hey, are you ok? you looked upset last night, and i tried to show i noticed without… showing i noticed. you left earlier than i expected with lia, so i didn’t get a chance to ask. then hoshi was fucking wasted, so i was trying to get him home in one piece. let me know, please.”

joshua: “morning, let me know what time you’d like to leave tonight. the party starts at 8, but i don’t think it’s really going to start until 8:30. we could get dinner before if you want? and it’s ok if you forget a cardigan. now i keep one in my car in case we end up on a balcony.”

jun: “you’re probably freaking out, but your laptop is here. it’s fully charged. i can bring it to you. i know you have classes friday afternoon… if you use your ipad instead, come over after. i’ll make you dinner.”

soonyoung: “at this point, i need to keep your grocery store list on my notes app or something. it doesn’t matter where i am or what grocery store i find myself inside, i’m immediately wondering what you need. i end up getting things i know you’ll like… tampons too and those pads with the wings. i started keeping them in different bags i use because i never know which one i’ll have when i see you. i know it’s silly because you always have something with you just in case, but… i don’t know. i don’t want to be completely helpless. now i feel bad for my sister. is that weird? i never did this for her. i should have. i hope her boyfriend does.”

wonwoo: “i think you’re asleep, but i wanted to remind you to take another dosage of pain medicine when you wake up. it’s been twelve hours, and i know how forgetful you can get in that post-sleep haze.”

jihoon: “it’s so sunny here. i’m sending some to you for your birthday. missing your birthday… how the hell did that end up happening? i’m definitely not incredibly upset about it either… happy birthday. tell me all about your day when you get this. if i don’t answer, leave a detail in your voicemail” *whisper sings happy birthday*.

seokmin: “hey you. so i’m at the cafe, and i ordered a chai latte for you before realizing i didn’t know how much longer you’ll be. if it’s cold by the time you get here, i’ll order you another or see if they have a microwave. i think some customers are staring me down because i’m a single man occupying a table. please hurry. kindly. i say that so kindly.”

mingyu: “is it absolutely ridiculous to believe you… some part of you manifests in willow trees? i think of you, and i see one. it’s happened too many times to be a coincidence, even in other countries. i’ve taken pictures, so you have to believe me.”

minghao: “—you have to come with me next time.”

seungkwan: “do you want to be my date to my sister’s wedding? it’s not a big deal. i mean, it is, but i know how anxious you can get about things like this, so i want you to know it’s not a big deal… did you believe that for a second?”

hansol: “there’s going to be an indoor pop-up market two blocks from your apartment on saturday. i took a picture of the flyer through the car window, but it came out all blurry, and i’m running late for a schedule. this is a reminder for myself to make sure the details reach you. i also want to go with you if you decide to go… if you can go.”

chan: “can we change our friday night plans to saturday? i’m so sorry. my mom has an appointment, and i offered to drive her before my brain caught up and realized the day and time she’s scheduled. i don’t think i’ll make it back early enough, and i don’t want to leave her either, you know? she’s having a little procedure done. i want to be around just in case… because i’m worried about it. i didn’t think i’d be this worried. call me when you get this.”

bonus: “i’m around the corner from your place, and i have the tokyo hoodie with me. it’s your week, it’s freshly washed, so let me know if you’re home. i’ll drop it off.”

[animalsalvationassociation]

Yo he actually turnin out pretty fly (ignore the differences in color for the line work, my iPad is at 7% so I can’t really keep going until it’s done charging, stupid low battery mode didn’t get turned onnnnn)

This week’s Octonauts post is gonna be late unfortunately. This weekend has been more than difficult for me and really just disappointing.

I guess that’s what happens when you’re the only one who cares about your job and taking care of your coworkers even tho they never take care of you. It’s great to be a people-pleaser huh?

Another reason for the late post is the fact that I forgot about actually drawing 2/4 characters I wanted to feature this week. I feel so bad because I literally forgot they existed. Poor Selva and Ryla, my baby girlsssss!!! Lol don’t worry I drew them yesterday it’s really just the matter of when my iPad will be fully charged again because it likes to take its time. So while I wait I guess I’ll make a post about it and watch FNaF VHS Tapes to pass the time :)

(Lemme know if these kinds of posts are annoying, I figured maybe some of you would like seeing little updates n’ stuff as well as the process of some of my posts, but there’s also some people who would rather just a regular post instead. So if you want share your opinions in the comments and I’ll do my best to go off of those suggestions in the future)

Here’s a cookie if you made it to the end of the post! 😘🍪

[sapphicmsmarvel]

modern au! competition

notes: in elains part i talk shit about The Exorcist. i’m sorry guys that movie is so so bad. Some of these are really short because i didn’t know how to elaborate LOL but yall will get the point. 

Azriel: 

This cranky bitch has beef with your kindle paperwhite. 

You took it everywhere, always made sure it was fully charged and loaded with books. You even used the app on your phone until one day you decided you would always carry your actual kindle with you everywhere. 

When he wanted snuggles and you were reading? You had pushed him away. Until one day, he’d had enough. 

It was a rough day at work, he wanted his girlfriend. He saw you on the couch, with your emotional support water bottle, his hoodie, fuzzy sock-clad feet and a blanket. And you were holding your kindle. 

He knew he wanted to join you in that cuddle pile, so he did. 

He took away your blanket which caused you to yell an indignant, “hey!” Then he spread your legs which had you saying “oh?” 

He rolled his eyes at your dirty mind and laid down on top of you. Your kindle was in the air, he laid his head between your boobs and snuggled in. 

Breathing in your scent, he hummed contentedly. 

He felt you shake with suppressed giggles, “you comfy?”

“Mhm.” He hummed, his eyes closing. 

“My big baby.” You said softly, kissing his head and running your nails through his hair. 

He didn’t need to look up to know you were still reading, just multitasking now. After all, that’s what the pop socket is for. Multitasking while reading. 

(get your heads out of the gutter) 

He loved how happy it made you, though. He also loved the sex that came from the books that you’d want to reenact. 

Cassian: 

don't get him wrong, he loves that you wear makeup because you love it. 

however that damn plumping gloss is gonna kill him. 

“It’s spicy!” 

“You’re being a baby, it’s minty.” 

“it’s fucking spicy!” 

It’s not his fault that your gloss is out to make him croak. He can’t help kissing you though, your lips look so plump and juicy, just perfectly kissable. And the gloss tastes like vanilla cupcakes until the spice kicks in. 

Rhysand: 

He's got beef with the sims. You’ll go missing for hours in your “cozy room” as you call it, and 9 times out of 10, he’ll walk in and see you hunched over like a cave creature playing the sims. It kind of scares the shit out of him because sometimes he’ll walk in on you like that, with a murder podcast playing on your TV. 

Eventually, he loves the game. Because he discovers that you can make your own families. You two have five kids in the sims, because even Sim-Rhysand is horny. 

Eventually he gets his own PC, he’s very excited. Owns and buys you all of the sims packs. 

Feyre: 

Your IPad. You do everything on that thing. Work, planning, reading; writing, even. It’s with you all day, sometimes all night depending on the activity you’re doing. You can’t stop playing candy crush or some other game. She’s fully pulled the IPad out of your grip before to cuddle.

She didn’t get it until you got her her own with procreate installed. And now you’re the one who has to pry her away. She, like Rhysand, has learned the naughty things she can do with her new hobby. AKA, lots of drawings of you. 

Naked, clothed. You two together being naughty. 

She’s learned to love the wonders of an IPad. 

Morrigan: 

fucking theme parks. In the beginning of your relationship she didn’t know how to feel, eventually she fell in love with them. She used to be against them because she hated being sweaty (who doesn’t) but with your help she was able to be comfortable and enjoy a nice theme park day with her girlfriend. 

You two are out of state disney pass holders. Taking random flights on random days for a day at disney. Flying in that morning and leaving that night. Or driving for a long weekend. 

Amren: 

her competition is concerts. you’ll go to any show at any time. Your friends favorite indie band is having a show with 20 dollar tickets? sold you’ll be there. 

She’s not a fan of intense crowds, mosh pits aren’t her scene. But if there’s an artist you wanna go see and your friends can't go? She’s buying you the tickets as an early birthday or christmas gift. She’s even used mother’s day as an excuse to buy you tickets. Or Veterans Day. 

And she calls you dramatic. 

Nesta: 

she genuinely doesn’t understand how you can play video games for hours. She does love it though because you’ll leave her alone to read while you play. 

You rarely play intense games, if you do you’re playing with friends and not some random lobby (because being a woman, a queer woman no less is not fun in random online lobbies). And that’s when you go into a different room because your friends and you are quite loud. 

But when you’re playing stardew valley or any zelda, mario game, or nintendo in general; you’re sitting by her. 

Your usual set up is you both on the couch next to each other, some asmr room video in the background and a few candles lit. 

She can even admit that your video games have awesome soundtracks. 

Elain: 

horror movies. you were a fanatic. On your first date you brought this up to her, nervous she’d be against it. She was all for watching them. She had never seen them, growing up her mother forbid her daughters from watching them. It didn’t stop Feyre and Nesta, however she was a bit of a rule follower. 

She thought it couldn’t be that bad. After all, they're fictional and the effects can be very cheesy. 

However, she hid that she was scared pretty well in the beginning and then when you two saw Jigsaw that killed her “street cred” with you. (her words, not yours) 

So after the intensity of Jigsaw, you had her watch The Exorcist, a movie you thought was ass but was a good movie to introduce her to horror with. 

She ended up thinking the movie was shit, too. But, it gave her a bit of a baseline to go off of.  

After that was The Conjuring universe, then The Paranormal Activity franchise ended up freaking her out in a good way. 

She liked watching supernatural, ghost hunters, and american horror story with you though! And she did enjoy the scream franchise as well as the scary movie franchise! 

She began to love them, and loved the adrenaline. 

She liked the idea of going to a haunted house during halloween, but it scared her a bit more. It was different with a screen in between her and the scare. 

Lucien: 

Your stuffed animal collection. You personified almost everything you owned (which made it a bitch to declutter when you knew you needed to; but you couldn’t stop imagining objects with personalities). 

He loved how passionate you were, how cuddly you always looked however: 

You’re supposed to be cuddling him!! Not a damned stuffed animal! 

Then one time, he came home after a long work trip and found you asleep on the couch, you were waiting for him. 

He found you hugging a fox build-a-bear with one of his shirts on it.  

How can he hate that? 

Eris: 

His own dog is his competition. 

The fucker will cuddle with you then give him a smug ass look like “haha she chose me, she dont want you.” 

He loved the immediate love you had for his (son) pet. And he reacted to you the same way. You two formed a bond, the dog would follow you everywhere around the house. 

His dog was supposed to be a hunting dog, then when you (mom) came into the picture, that’s when you began babying him and forbidding Eris from taking him hunting. 

“My son will not go through the mud! He’s a baby!”

“My love, his whole life’s purpose is hunting. He’s a hunting dog.” 

“His life purpose is being the cute snuggly idiot he is!” Said snuggly idiot was wagging at your feet with an expression on his face that Eris could only describe as a “you go, mom!” look. 

“What if he gets hurt?” Your bottom lip wobbled and he knew he couldn’t say no to you. 

You were sensitive when it came to animals. It was pretty easy to make you cry, you just had to look at the dog being cute and you’d start bawling. 

But, he loved waking up in the morning to you snuggled into him with his beloved (but an asshole) dog with you two. 

Even when the dog pushes in between the two of you in the middle of the night. 

Tarquin: 

Surfing. He can’t believe he’s competing with his own hobby. 

He introduced you to it, but you cannot stop. You spend hours out in the ocean, and he wishes he could be out there with you all the time. But he’s always working with the city's ocean conservation teams and is the leading man in marine biology in your city.  So he can’t leave the office a lot, but when he can, he does join you in the surf. 

You two began a surfing contest to raise money for ocean conservation too. 

[seultied]

not just anybody - n.k

pairing: nakamura kazuha x fem!reader w/c: 941

synopsis: kazuha likes you, no, she loves you. but how can she tell you? and why was she acting like this. told from 2nd person pov

a/n: reader n kazuha r in college, lowercase intended, little angsty

kazuha loved you, obviously, who doesn’t love their friends?

today was like a normal day, you had came back from classes, back to you and kazuha’s dorm. per usual she had a friend over helping her study. she wasn’t the very best at understanding lectures. so there she was sitting with a girl, a dim light shadowed them as they went over some type of review.

“hey zuha.” you said, as you placed your bag down, slipping off your jacket and hanging it by the door. she looked up, wordless, then responding

“hey y/n, um— this isa.” she said, then looking away, the dark haired girl, isa, waved to you and they went back to whatever they were doing. you brushed off the dry response and went to your bedroom. she was studying, she had no time to make conversation. making your way to the bedroom you had dropped your bookbag and purse. your back against the your mattress. why had kazuha been acting so weird?

after taking a shower, changing into your pajamas and, finding a show to watch on your ipad, you watched the door to see if kazuha would ever come. she never did for all the minutes you watched. stopping the wait, you laid fully down and propped your ipad by your face as you fell asleep. and kazuha never came.

kazuha slipped into the shared bedroom, careful not to make any noise as the door creaks. her face scrunched at the sound, hoping it wouldn’t wake you up. she shut it behind her and looked at you sleeping figure. she took your ipad and placed it on your dressers, plugging in a charged and shutting off your lamp. she sighed before slipping under her on covers, mind wondering off into a bliss of sleep

“i dont know what to do! i barely see her anymore jen.. it’s like we’re not even friends anymore.”

“have you talked to her about it?”

“i dont see her enough to talk about!” you put your hands over your face in despair. she frowned at the thought of sounding insane because she was giving you attention, and maybe something was going on. but you’re her friend, you want to be there for her no matter what!

“look just talk to her, text her and tell her you wanna talk. you are never gonna get anywhere sulking about this on my bed, eating my food.” jennifer snarked at you. and as much as you hated to say it she was right, things would only go down hill if you didn’t know what was wrong with kazuha.

you opened your phone and hovered over her contact.

zuha

zuha can u come to the dorm

i js wanna talk pls

ok, On my way!

omw*

after texting kazuha, you bid jennifer goodbye and went back to the dorm. as you unlocked the door and rested your head against the front door thinking about what to say. why was she acting this way, what did you do? you breathed out and sat on the couch. collecting your thoughts, and how to approach the prompt of why she had been ignoring you.

kazuha felt her heart beating out her chest. what could you possibly want to talk about. she stood outside of the front door, taking a deep breath. then taking her keys and unlocking the door, shutting it behind her as she walked in. the tension was thick. she pursed her lips as she spotted your figure on the couch. she muttered a small hello before sitting on the opposing side.

all the words had faltered at the sight of her. you saw the way she played with her fingers, avoided eye contact, and her bottom lip never left her mouth. you took a deep breath out before starting.

“look— kazuha, i dont know what’s wrong. you’ve been avoiding me for days on end, i never see you when i get back to the dorm or even in the mornings. im just not sure if i’ve done something and-”

“you didn’t do anything.” her voice barely above speaking volume but loud enough to stop your words.

“huh?”

“you didn’t do anything wrong.” she spoke a little louder, bringing her eyes to meet yours.

“so why haven’t you talked to me? why have you been avoiding me?” you shot back, you just wanted a real reason. you watched as she swallowed, like she took something down she would’ve regretted to bring out.

“i like you— no i love you y/n. and i avoided you because i hoped maybe, maybe being away from you would make my feelings for you would go away, that maybe i wouldn’t feel the same if i started to ignore, stop talking to you, and just stopped seeing you. but every time you never left my mind. all the times i stayed out late to avoid seeing you, all i could think about was you. how much i missed you. i know it sounds like such a asshole move but i just didn’t want to do anything i regret, but i did.”

your eyes felt like they could feel a river with the tears that came over you. a thousands words could never describe what you were feeling in the moment. you stared into her eyes, hazed with confession, confusion, conflict, and cherish.

“i love you too, zuha.” you hugged her tightly, her arms were clueless on where to go. eventually they landed on your waist. you would’ve never let go if it was up to you. as you moved yourself back you stared into her eyes. you definitely loved her too.

[genericpuff]

The Kiss Bet Episode 172 - Hot Pot and Venting About How I Want My 70 Cents Back

Okay, look, this isn't a post I was expecting to make today but it's something that just happened and I have to fucking talk about, so let me preface this with some context.

I had to buy coins recently and because I switched to using my iPad for reading comics on, I got a "new reader" type deal from Webtoons for a coin bundle that got me like 100 coins for $5; because technically it was a 'new account' as Webtoons operates their in-game currency model on apps, not on actual emails (meaning if you use the app on an Android phone and then switch to an Apple iOS device, they're technically two separate accounts which you sync the reading data between via the account info linked via the email, therefore they have two separate coin wallets).

So with more coins than I knew what to do with, I decided to start FastPassing The Kiss Bet again, which I had recently stopped FP'ing around the S3 mark, as it's recently devolved back into the "will they won't they" trope, but instead of between Sara-Lin and Joe, it's between Sara-Lin and Joe's younger brother (the "true endgame") Oliver.

Now I don't mind the ship in essence. Joe was definitely not gonna be endgame, it was always gonna be Oliver, anyone who's read any amount of romance before - especially high school romances - knows how this shit tends to go, and The Kiss Bet isn't exactly trying to be groundbreaking or subversive in any way, it knows exactly what it's about and what it's trying to accomplish.

But it's almost become a little too good at this. Because in playing the "will they won't they" game for so long with a character that we know is endgame, it's basically been weeks and weeks and weeks of-

That said, after I caught up on the recent FP episodes, it seemed like stuff was finally moving a little bit. We were finally meeting Oliver's mom and his stepdad who he has a fractured relationship with, Joe was finally getting with his true endgame girl, Vicky (who's totally not an exact genderbent version of Joe lmao) and Sara-Lin was finally realizing she had feelings for Oliver.

And then the newest episode came out, Episode 172 - Hot Pot and Venting.

CAUTION: FASTPASS SPOILERS FOR THE KISS BET OFFICIALLY BEGIN HERE!

Already I was a little petty over the title like "lmao ok clunky title but whatever". I swept it off as not a genuine criticism, just me being a nitpicking asshole over what's essentially Fluff: The Comic.

The episode cost 7 coins, which is about roughly 70 cents, albeit closer to a dollar for Canadian readers (here's something they don't tell you about Canada - our Monopoly game currency is just as fucked as it looks) and that's where I'm gonna get into my second disclaimer that I need to be perfectly clear about (and it'll be what we get more into later on in this post).

I understand the principle of paying for art. I understand fully that many of these webtoons are being produced on tight deadlines by creators who often can only afford 1-2 assistants, if any at all. I understand and fully agree that creators deserve to be paid for their skills, time, and efforts, not just as creators working on the hellsite that is Webtoons, but as artists in general who deserve to make a living the same as anyone else. Anyone who follows my stuff here knows I'm an artist myself so I would never debate the ethical necessity of paying artists for their work.

However.

I can say that, and also agree with the people who have stated in discussion circles such as on /r/webtoons that a lot of the comics that have started charging 7 coins have been suspiciously delivering less comic since. And it's not even so much in the literal panel count, the liquid volume of these comics have remained the same, but the calorie count has dropped significantly. Food metaphors aside, what I mean is that despite many of these comics maintaining their 40-60 minimum panel count requirement, they have in fact reduced the actual amount of content that happens in them, and The Kiss Bet's newest episode is a stark example of what I mean.

I am going to start by posting only post three panels - three panels that literally sum up the entirety of Episode 172 and what it chooses to spend its time on.

That is it. That is literally all that's established in this episode. I'd tell you to go read it yourself, but honestly, this is genuinely one of those rare times I can honestly say that a 40+ panel episode is not worth 70 cents and you'd be better off, and that's saying a LOT when these episodes are only priced at the cost of a gumball. At least Lore Olympus has entertainment in how bad it is most of the time, Episode 172 of The Kiss Bet is just nothing. You will literally get more substance and flavor from an actual gumball.

Literally every other panel in this episode is either repeating the same dialogue (Sara-Lin saying the same thing multiple different times to express how Oliver is holding her hand or how his stepdad is a dick) and then Sara-Lin and Oliver staring at each other. Over. And over. Again.

I am not joking. I did not cut anything out in that sequence. That is where the episode ends. Complete nothingburger, seemingly cut off right as it was just getting started like Cait Corrain's career.

Out of the entire episode, there were 45 panels. So I can safely assume Ingrid's minimum panel requirement is at least 40 per episode, that's me assuming the best that she didn't exactly meet her panel minimum at 45 panels on the dot.

Out of those 45 panels, there were:

Two actual unique backgrounds that weren't gradients or just a single piece of furniture

4 separate panels of Sara-Lin freaking out over Oliver holding her hand and wondering if he even noticed

10 panels of Sara-Lin staring at Oliver either dumbfounded or asking him to repeat himself (or apologizing over nothing)

5 panels of the characters saying nothing

11 panels of Sara-Lin repeating information in different ways that could have been accomplished in half that time

Two separate occasions of Oliver getting Sara's attention from off-panel, literally formatted the exact same way both times (and both followed by reaction panels of Sara-Lin staring at him dumbfounded)

Way too many panels of Sara-Lin blushing in response to Oliver being an asshole tbh like literally this guy's a douchebag, Joe may have been the "out of her league" love interest but at least he was nice and didn't treat Sara-Lin like someone who just bought a Husky as a "starter pet" ???

Again, I don't usually like being a dick about the coin costs, and I definitely don't like being a hypocrite in telling people they should pay artists for their work while simultaneously posting their paywalled content like this, but I think there does come a point where it feels more irresponsible for people to not be aware of what they're about to pay for and how little they're going to be getting. This episode is literally one of the best - and worst - examples of how far the romance genre has fallen on the platform - when it's not being overtaken and oversaturated by problematic series that romanticize abuse and sexual assault, it's being dragged to death with the most boring executions of tropes that everyone has seen before and is only exciting for anyone who's never read a book or watched a romance movie, period.

And here's the thing where I do approach a bit more "hot take" territory, but every time I see this argument come up about episodes not being worth the coin cost, I see others who rightfully argue that 70 cents isn't that much to pay for what you're getting - weekly episodes of work that are usually always delivered on time, with more panels than you would ever typically see in a free to read comic.

But here's where I take issue with that argument, as much as the principle of it is sound, it misses the overall point: readers are paying for entertainment first and foremost, so can anyone who's actually paying for regular refills on their app currency step away from this and truly call it "entertainment"? Nothing was gained. The comic had 45 panels to say something, anything, and managed to not even squeak out so much of a word. Even the silent moments have no substance, they just reiterate information that we already know.

Do we really need another panel of Sara-Lin blushing at Oliver? We've known for weeks now that she has a crush on him. Do we really need another panel of Oliver getting Sara-Lin's attention? What is this actually showing of their chemistry? What is being shown here that hasn't been shown numerous times - with and without dialogue - for weeks now? What does the comic have to show for itself after four seasons?

Another point of the "it's just 70 cents, don't be an asshole" argument that people seem to miss is it's not 70 cents. It's $1. Because if you want to buy a single episode of the Kiss Bet, you can't just pay for the individual episode in isolation, you have to pay for the coins first, and $1 is the absolute bare minimum you have to pay to get 10 coins, which will only pay for one episode of a 7 coin series - of which there are many now, basically any series that's 40 panels or more will cost 7 coins and, shocker, those are the series that WT will tend to promote most, you'll rarely see the 5 coins series in the banner ads, and that's not even getting into how there are more and more series cropping up that have 5+ episodes behind FP rather than the traditional three.

So if you're someone who's (almost definitely) keeping up with more than one series? You can't just pay the $1, you have to pay at least $5 for 50 coins, and that will NOT go far anymore or cut as evenly as it used to when just about every series is now 7 coins. Webtoons knows fully well what kind of game they're playing by making the new coin cost an uneven number while still offering increments of 5/10 in their coin bundles. They undoubtedly want you to be left with an uneven number so that you'll be easily lured into buying more coins so you don't 'waste' the uneven amount you have left that isn't enough to buy the episodes for the series you want to read. Obviously this is more speculation and not fact, but it's a common business model and with the series that have adopted the 7 coin count model (rather than starting off with 7 coins outright) such as The Kiss Bet and Lore Olympus, it's becoming abundantly clear that either the creators or the platform itself is encouraging these series to meet their panel minimums with as little content as possible in order to get more money out of readers who are barely even being drip fed actual entertainment and narrative progression, let alone spoon fed.

And then there's the waiting. The goddamn waiting. So many of these series guilty of siphoning their content off through a hose that they're deliberately standing on are designed intentionally with the most egregious cliffhangers in mind to keep their audience hooked so they'll undoubtedly FP next week. Do you know what that amount of waiting does to a comic? To its readers? First off, it artificially extends the actual pacing of the comic to make it feel longer than it is, when in reality, many of these plotlines are happening in a vacuum of very short bursts of time. Case in point, Lore Olympus is commonly confused for having a plotline that takes place over the course of months, when actually when laid end to end in order of cause and effect, many of its subplots - including the romance of Hades and Persephone - takes place over the course of days. This over-inflates the plotline's actual depth and, even worse so, it makes it harder for readers to keep up with information that's being delivered, as it often takes weeks for that information to actually go anywhere - so by the time it does, many readers have straight up forgotten about it.

It's absolutely not okay that so many of these kinds of series are normalizing literal slow burning for an audience who's paying to be entertained. It's not a "slow burn". It's just slow, and deliberately so. It's absolutely NOT FUN to follow a comic that does not go anywhere week after week. It's frustrating. And before long, it starts to feel like gambler's fallacy, where readers have to essentially gaslight themselves into paying into it more and more convinced that it has to pay off eventually, based on a promise that was never actually made, only assumed in good faith. And readers should not have to fill in the bulk of the content that isn't happening with their own imaginations, which is something that happens a LOT in these series that spend so much time on the characters just staring at each other and saying nothing. It's not 'plot' to just draw characters blushing and have your audience fill in the rest of it entirely on their own. This is certainly a technique in writing, but in the case of The Kiss Bet and other comics like it, it's much less of a valid technique and more just flat out manipulating your audience into falling so hard into the sunk cost fallacy trap that they don't notice they're being robbed blind by the plot that hasn't actually happened - and they've been paying for that financial and emotional robbery out of their own pockets and brains every step of the way.

Again, I do not care about the coin cost in and of itself, seventy cents IS still an incredibly cheap price for weekly updates of a series that has to put out so many panels each week. But as a reader and a customer, I should not be leaving these updates with less information than what I started with. And I'm someone who's incredibly old school by webcomic standards, there are comics that I follow that have updated 1-2 pages a week for over a decade that manage to do more with their limited pages than Lore Olympus and The Kiss Bet manage to do after entire hiatuses filled with pre-production time.

Why does this page of Alfie manage to move both the intrinsic plot of the titular character as well as the external plot that's going on around her in one page made up of 5 panels better than what The Kiss Bet can do in 45?

Why does this page of Tamberlane manage to convey more information about the world's lore and the people in it in a way that's emotionally driven and clearly affecting the characters without outright info-dumping than what Lore Olympus has managed to spit out onto its plate since S3 started over a year ago?

How does Tales from Alderwood manage to be more entertaining and convey more meaningful storytelling through its characters in a single page consisting of zero dialogue than what The Kiss Bet can convey in its silent panels of staring, blushing, and repetitive stuttering?

Why are the creators who are relying entirely on their own efforts, resources, and ability to generate income through community interaction and support putting out better work with less panels and on slower schedules for FREE than what we're seeing from professional creators on a professional publishing platform who are being paid to do this as their job?

There's this saying in the tattooing industry: good work isn't cheap and cheap work isn't good.

At this point, 70 cents is not a 'bargain' as many people like to argue in defense of the creators. And while I do want to have good faith in the creators who don't pull this shit, the creators who clearly go above and beyond to do what they do in the pursuit of storytelling and polishing their craft to be the best piece of work that it can be - the comics that are worth paying 70 cents and beyond for - are not the comics that Webtoons is promoting to people. The creators of the works that genuinely deserve more than 70 cents per update are being left to fend for themselves without support from the platform, while those that aren't worth the price of even a flavorless gumball are consistently winning the Wonka Golden Ticket lottery.

The cost of 70 cents is relative. For some works it's a genuine bargain. For others like the The Kiss Bet and Lore Olympus, 70 cents is not a "bargain", it's not a "good deal", it's exactly the value of what you're paying for - cheap work that isn't good.

[ghostofbambifanfiction]

My total travel time today, including bus, plane, train and waiting around in the airport, is going to be about nine and a half hours, plus I have a fully charged iPad. Which of my WIPs should I reread to give myself a refresher?

[lazymonth]

Neg-rant.. again.

Ok, I know I'm right now taking the risk that someone or something mayybe not like me, because of this rant I'm about to say, But I really need to take it out of my mind and hope you guys will understand this, thank you.

It's about my Wøndergotten ask blog. Nothing much. I know that big power comes with big responsibility, and I decided to open this ask blog knowing that it'll come with a lot of work.

The wall of text

But sometimes.. sometimes I just feel.. tired. Don't get me wrong! I still love to reply to an ask and tell a story! I love when you guys are interacting with the characters. It's really lovely, but sometimes when I just finished to reply one asks and thinks like " Ok! It's done now, there's just a few left 😄 ". And then, there's a new ask coming immediately... And then I was like " Oh.. "

Sometimes it's like I'm done with work but the new one just slaps my face. Often, I only draw to reply ask and can't actually draw what I really have in my mind. I can't even start drawing what I want to draw after I finish a ask because my iPad can only live for around 6-7 hours before it runs out of battery. And I'm using those times I have to just only reply to the ask box. Which, it's probably 3-4 for a day if there's no the comics panel one depends on the topic. It doesn't sound a lot, but I think the artist knows that it's taking time to produce art. I'm trying to finish the reply as fast as possible by using a short cut like trace over my own art to save time ( and try to maintain the quality of the blog). But,, it still takes time.

It's becoming a cycle for me.. Reply to ask, charging the iPad, and back to reply ask again. And when I decide to take a break and draw what I actually want to draw. I still can't be fully relaxing because I feel worried about the ask I still have left. It's because I know how much people are excited and waiting for me to reply. And I don't want to make them keep waiting for too long. I'm worrying that they'll think I'm ignoring them! Like, I don't! I just wanted to do something else right now 😫 I think if you guys following both of my account will see that the day I didn't reply ask is the day that I'm dropping big art or something here.

I also don't want my ask box to be overflow with asks either, because I know it'll give me a shit ton of stress that a lot of people are waiting for me to reply to their ask right now. For all this time since the opening of the blog, I'm trying to manage it to have maximum at 6 ask. Like, I feel that's the max I can have in my ask box, and I need to reply to it before it's becoming overflow or something.

... There's probably enough rant for me. I honestly feel guilty to talk about this because I'm just having a big break and didn't get asked for a week. It's time for me to relax, and now I'm back to work.

Well, I hope you guys understand all of this. I still receive ask as usual, and I'll try my best.

Thank you.

[chattahoochiecoochie]

Spare Keys

Summary: What do you do when you fuck before the first date? You skip all the other regular relationship steps right after, just to catch up. 

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: Suggestive Language / Author Thinks She’s Funny

A/N: I exist to entertain myself, and only myself. Part One. Part Two. 

You wake to the sound of Sam’s voice—how’d he get here? Squatting beside you, he’s speaking into the receiver of his phone, smiling softly at you.

“There’s my girl, good morning sunshine.” His hand is on your face, brushing the hair back from your eyes. You falter underneath him, letting your eyes close as he strokes your face. “Someone forgot their alarm this morning, huh?”

Your alarm? Oh fuck.

Your eyes open wide, blinking quickly as you take in the sight before you fully. Sam’s beside your bed, watching you, holding your spare key in hand with his phone. When had you given him your spare? Behind him, your alarm clock is sitting quietly, the digital face reading 8:33, a full half hour after you were supposed to be up. Double fuck.

You sit up, brushing off his hand as you throw the covers off of yourself. You’ve got a meeting this morning. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“Yeah, ninth floor. Bring her coffee with you.” Sam hangs up the phone, sliding it into his pocket before taking a closer look at you. You’re rubbing your eyes, trying to organize yourself.

It’s 8:30. You’ve got a meeting in forty five minutes. A meeting you cannot be late for. In a gravely morning voice, you tell Sam as much.

“You guys do meetings?” He raises a brow, moving to the side as you scramble off your bed, wondering briefly if you have enough clean underwear as you make for the bathroom.

“It’s for Ja’Marr’s hip. Treatment plan.” You call over your shoulder, tugging your sleep shirt over your head.

“I thought the medical team did that stuff?” He’s trailing after you, flicking on the light as he walks into the bathroom behind you.

“Yeah, but now his workouts have to change, his warmups and cool downs.”

Stepping out of your underwear you reach for your toothbrush, finding yourself disappointed when you look in the mirror. Your hair is a disaster. You’ll have to shower.

Before you can reach the faucet, Sam is turning it on for you, waving you back to the sink. “I’ve got this, you do that.”

“Where are y’all at?” The sound of your front door shutting echoes through the apartment, followed by the sound of Joe moving through your living room. You watch in the mirror as Sam leans out the bathroom door, waving his arm.

Looking over your shoulder, you watch as Sam moves along the wall behind you to make room for Joe in the small space. The moment the blond appears, you blush. He walks in whistling, eyes wide when he sees you. “Good morning.”

“She look this good when you woke her up?” He leans against the door frame, brow raised as he questions Sam.

“Better. Wearing your shirt.” He points to the crumpled garment on the floor. You blush deeper, turning back to the mirror.

“And you made it all the way to the bathroom in one piece?” Joe raises his brows higher, smirking at your reflection.

“She’s got a meeting.”

“They do meetings?”

Fighting the urge to roll your eyes, you wipe a hand across your mouth and move towards the shower. Later, if you can remember, you’ll explain your job title to them, in full. For now, Sam’s got you covered.

“Something about Ja’Marrs hip.” He says, holding the curtain open for you as you step into the water. “What’s next, baby?”

“Clothes. My water bottle.” You squint underneath the stream of water, second guessing yourself as you speak. “My ipad. I’m not sure if I charged it.”

“I’m on iPad duty. Joey, you got clothes?”

“On it.”

Water rushing over your head, you shut your eyes, sighing with a shaking sense of relief as you listen to them shuffle out of the bathroom. Moments later, as you rinse your face, relief turns into laughter. Joe can’t decide on underwear.

“I’ve got a thong and then, regular I guess!” He’s screaming from your bedroom, and the thought of him standing in front of your dresser trying to decide makes you giggle.

“Thong!” You and Sam both answer, his deep voice drowning out the watery sound of your own.

“Sick. What about a bra?”

Shutting off the water, you reach beyond the curtain for a towel, trying to decide for yourself. It’s a meeting, so a regular bra is probably better for the top you had in mind, but you’re hitting the gym after.

Towel wrapped securely around your chest, you lean into the short hall that divides your bedroom from the living space. Before you can even part your lips to answer, Sam slips into view, pecking at your lips as he walks by with your iPad in hand.

“Regular!” You squeal against him, caught off guard by the rush around you.

Trapped in the buzz of them moving through your space, you stand motionless in the doorway. On your left, you can hear Joe opening and closing drawers, humming at what he finds in each one. To your right, you can hear the fridge opening in your kitchen, followed by loud cursing from Sam.

“Your Brittas empty!”

“Leggings?”

“It’s a meeting!” Sam yells from your kitchen, scoffing as he turns on your kitchen sink.

“So pants?”

“Obviously!”

“Everything looks like leggings!”

“Check my closet!” You interject, heart pounding in your chest as the chaos mounts on both sides of you.

“Jesus!” The sound of stuff falling echoes from your room. There goes that shitty rack. You wince at the sound, wishing you’d remembered to put in that maintenance request the last time it had fallen on you, trapping you under a pile of hangers and tangled clothes.

“Sorry!”

“Don’t worry about him. Let's worry about you, what’s next?” Sam is in front of you again, taking the towel you’ve been clinging to. “It’s 8:50.”

“Fuck, um, hair. Hair and makeup.” You turn to catch yourself in the mirror. Hair, definitely.

“I’m gonna need a brush. You gotta hairdryer?”

You nod, turning your back to him as you rummage through the cluttered countertop until you finally find what you need. You pass him the brush first, fingers grazing him as you hand it over your shoulder. The hairdryer follows, handed back by the barrel.

Without instruction, Sam takes over the room, taking control off your mind as he starts at the root of your head. His hands are firm, and shockingly sure. He’s watching you in the mirror, working off some kind of muscle memory as he dries you off, section by section.

Minutes later, when you’re leaning into the mirror for your eyeliner, and Sam is twisting the brush through the ends of your hair to get a loose curl—what had he said, something about a sister—Joe’s reflection appears behind Sam’s. He’s holding a pair of khakis and a bright pink shirt.

“Are you dressing your mini me? What are those?” Sam raises his brows, hands stopped as he turns to get a better look at what Joe has picked out.

“It’s the pink isn’t it? I second guessed myself. I’ll be back.” Joe shakes his head, shuffling back out of view.

A moment later he returns, this time holding a black quarter zip, looking proud of himself. “I was thinking black shoes?”

“Much better.” Sam nods in approval, and pulls the brush through your hair a final time before shutting off the hairdryer. Can every morning be this easy?

“Perfect. I’ve got these for you.” Joe moves into the room, your outfit draped over his arm as he clutches your thong in one hand and your bra in the other.

“I’m gonna get her water then, if you’ve got this?” Sam drags a hand across your back as he steps away, nodding with approval when Joe gives him a thumbs up.

Moving to the side as Sam exits the bathroom, Joe holds out your thong, smirking. “For you, milady.”

You blush, looking at the floor as you take it from him. Feeling his eyes on you as you pull it up, you blush deeper, cheeks bright pink when you reach for your bra next.

“Fuck, I cannot wait to get those off you later.” Joe groans, sounding strained as he holds out your khakis. “You really wore my shirt to bed?”

Of course, you think. Could hardly bring yourself to take it off after they brought you home from the bar in it, Sam handing back your beer soaked shirt as he kissed you goodnight.

“Sorry, for spilling on you in there.” He’d said as he watched you take off the dirty shirt in the front seat of Joe’s car. “You did look really good in Guinness, though.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Joe had answered for you, eyes locked on your chest as you changed into one of his spare workout tees.  

“Every night this week.” You answer him with a smug face, tugging the pants over your ass before putting out a hand for your zip up.

By the time you pop your head out of the collar a long minute  later, he’s half hard and swallowing slowly when you catch his eye.

“Black shoes, you said?” Reaching up on your tiptoes, you brush your lips across his, trying not to smirk at him when your hand shifts over the front of his shorts. Was he that big in your hand the last time? The first time?

“I put them by your purse.” His voice is tight. Striking you swiftly on the ass, he shifts from your path to let you out of the room before him. With a shrill giggle, you run into the hall, beyond his reach as he begins to pull his hand back a second time.

Bounding into the kitchen, you run almost head on into Sam’s chest. Wrapping his arms around your middle, he catches you mid stride, preventing the collision.

“Ready?” One hand holding you by the arm, he lifts the other to your chin, tilting your face to his, catching the spark in your eye. “What’d I miss?”

“I—we—are gonna fuck her stupid after this meeting of hers.”

“So much for taking it slow, then.” Sam laughs over your head, hugging you to his chest. This is slow? They’re organized like a Nascar pit crew. And they’d fucked you before the first date. Was that a date? You’re sleeping in Joe’s shirt–this is not slow.

“It's 9:07 now.” Sam’s voice cuts through your thoughts. He glances at his watch, smirking when he looks up. Behind you, Joe is standing with his chest pressed against your back, heat pouring from between his legs. “You think you can live, what, an hour and a half without her?”

Grunting, Joe lets out a sound that's neither a yes or a no. Nuzzling his nose against your ear, you feel him breathing on your neck, the spot quickly covered by his mouth as he nips at you. This isn’t slow, but fuck that feels good.

“I’m supposed to be there by now!” You squeal, shivering between the two of them. It’s not that important, is it?

Joe groans against you, finally coughing slightly as he picks his head up behind you. “Hour and a half.”

“Hour and a half.” Sam parrots him, grinning at the two of you. “Let’s get going.”

Gently, he guides you both to the door, checking over your belongings as he ushers the two of you into the hall. He’s got your iPad and your purse, Joe’s on water bottle and key duty. All you’ve got to do is hold Joe’s hand and look pretty,  Sam says to you, a glint in his eye. There's an innuendo in his words, but you’re out of time to dwell on it for now.

Later, on the walk into the training facilities, you’ll spend the spare minute going over it in your mind, blushing inappropriately by the time you step into the conference room. For now, you do as he says, letting Joe wrap his large hand over yours as he locks up the door to your apartment, using your keys instead of the spare you’d seen earlier. The spare.

You look to Sam in front of you, wondering where he’s put it. You watch him closely as he presses the button for the elevator, left hand shifting inside the pocket of his shorts.

“You want this back on your lanyard?” The gold key dangles from his ring finger as he pulls his hand free.

He’s not looking at you, rather over you, at Joe.

Joe squeezes your hand. “Nah, you keep it.” He had it? “I’ll make a copy of it later, if that's okay with you, baby.”

The memory floods your mind when you look up at him. “You gotta spare? Make it easier for me to help get you out of here in the mornings.” Sam’s hand is out, gesturing to the keyring in your hand.

You don’t give out keys, as a rule. It keeps things tidy. But he’s looming over you, seeming so earnest. It’s like you make the sales pitch for him. They’ve been coming to get you for work in the mornings for nearly a week, carrying your bags to the car, holding your hand in the elevator. It would make it easier, if you didn’t have to buzz one or both of them in each time. What a great idea.

“Yes.” You say, eyes lost in his as you lean against the door, mesmerized.

“Sure.” You say now to Joe, the word sounding so easy on your tongue. “Makes things easier.”

A/N: Part four is here.

[genesisrhapsodyoffire]

This is a blurb of writing based on angsty af hand drawn art I made waiting for me to be able to afford copay for a new iPad because mine was stolen. It's an AU where Sephiroth was neutralized in Nibelheim by Shinra and was taken back to Hojo and he briefly comes back to himself after being basically rabid for a bit And it's low-key distressing how it ends I'm so sorry. Enjoy there's fanart at the end I drew.

"Well, Hojo, when you're done playing with your little failed experiment here, you can come back to the real work Shinra has for you to do. Let us know when you're ready." President Shinra's voice dripped with venom as he spoke to Hojo, standing in front of the closed doors of his lab.

"We had such high hopes for him. It's a pity he chose to just... burn it all down in one fell swoop like that." Hojo shook his head. He really was sorry about that. For all that he may not have been the most nurturing mentor and parental figure to his charge, he had never wanted it to end like this. With him, Hojo, being seen as a failure.

Sephiroth had been his rising star. The thing that would bring him his fame, his glory. He would have brought him prestige and power within Shinra, had that damned child just kept his head on straight and quit asking about his twice-damned mother! He clenched his teeth, through President Shinra's dronings on and on about responsibility and how he couldn't just 'play with his broken toys forever' and how he needed to 'move on' to bigger and brighter things eventually.

"Do you understand me... Professor?" President Shinra asked, his voice tinged with the veiled threat of termination, should Hojo fail him once more.

"Of course, President. I thank you for being so understanding of this... Oh so unfortunate mishap. I do need to be going. Perhaps... better understanding why this happened will prevent any other men of ours from defecting in the future. Angeal Hewley... Zackary Fair... Genesis Rhapsodos... And now him? Such a tragedy."

President Shinra could tell Hojo was not being fully honest, but clearly could not assertain exactly how and seemed to know not to push it further. He grunted and walked out of the R&D labs department area with his bodyguards tailing him menacingly.

Hojo waited until the President was securely on the elevator and well out of earshot before rubbing his hands together with a vicious sneer on his face. "Now, it is my chance to get back at you, boy, for all you've cost me and my research."

He strode into the lab and punched in a code at a back door at the anterior of the lab to enter a high security room. Inside the room was Sephiroth. But he was not the same. No, instead of the proud, stoic, hero of Shinra, Demon of Wutai that Hojo had crafted from infancy, there was a raging fury.

Inside a heavily reinforced container more fit for shipping monsters than people, Sephiroth was heavily sedated, heavily restrained, and still he was relentlessly trying to escape, eyes wild and full of unrelenting anger.

"YOU! YOU DID THIS! YOU HID HER FROM ME!" He screamed as Hojo came into his sightline. His normally impeccably groomed hair was tangled and unkempt, strung around his body in matted swaths.

"And whom would you be talking about, Sephiroth?" Hojo asked, calmly, as if he were merely talking about the weather. He knew. He knew exactly who. Jenova.

"My mother, you bastard! Bring her BACK!" He gave out an anguished howl, and he shook the container once more. Despite his arms and hands being bound behind him in a metal uniglove made of enhanced material and his legs and feet being bound in similarly strong cuffs, he was still capable of thrashing around a bit, and the force with which he did so shook the container.

"Do you mean Jenova? Because you are never seeing what you saw out there again, Sephiroth. That was a mistake I don't intend to make again. You have been a very bad boy, and you've made a fool out of both yourself and me!" Hojo scolded him like a child who had been naughty, his tone meant to mock and cut. As if it mattered. He wondered how much of the original Sephiroth there was left within this maddened man.

The wailing stopped. "No." A husky voice emanated from Sephiroth, hoarse from the screaming and vocal protests to Hojo's recent, repeated violations of his personal autonomy. "I mean... the woman... from when I was young. Jenova... She is... Wrong." His voice had less anger to it, and so much more grief.

That stopped Hojo in his tracks. Long ago, when Sephiroth had not yet seen war, for a birthday gift, he had given the child a locket with a picture of the boy's actual mother, Lucretia Crescent in it. He had told him her name was Jenova, a lie of course, but young Sephiroth, gullible and aiming to please, had believed him.

He realized now that Sephiroth must have realized he had been lied to. The remnants of Jenova in the Nibelheim manor looked nothing like Lucretia, what little the scientist remembered of her. He frowned. "Do you mean the woman in the locket, Sephiroth? Because, similarly, you will never see her either!"

Sephiroth's eyes grew wide with horror and anger commingled in their gaze. "You're wrong! I know you are! You know where she is! You had her picture! Tell me where she is, Hojo!"

"That's enough out of you! Go to sleep now. You won't remember any of this later. Or ever. You will never be a bother to me about her again. Because in the end, I will create what I sought to, and you will be little more than a memory of a failure."

Hojo pulled a lever and gas was injected into the container that permeated the box with heavy sedating chemicals mixed with an anti-Mako medication designed to cure people of Mako poisoning. This medication was going to be part of how Hojo kept Sephiroth sedated and helpless for the rest of his life.

Sephiroth slumped forward after trying in futility to resist for several minutes, and the rest was history. Hojo had some of his most trusted assistants, sworn to secrecy, take his body and rig him up in a stasis tube and fill it with a blend of anti-Mako infusions meant to be taken through the skin and the necessary liquids to keep him afloat. His hands and feet were set in restraints with his legs spread wide and his arms crossing his chest. A mask was put over his mouth so he wouldn't suffocate and a tube was put in his mouth for his nutrients and breathing. And that's where he'd stay until his body deteriorated. Nothing more than Hojo's lab decoration. A memory of Shinra's greatest failure.

[pitaficionado]

Powerful Changes V

Over the next few days, every time Manuel told me he was heading to the gym, I felt a spark of intrigue that seemed to grow with each passing hour. I’d watch him as he grabbed his gym bag and pulled on his workout clothes, each gesture making me more aware of the little shifts that had taken place in him recently. The way he tied his sneakers, the quick flex of his arms as he threw his bag over his shoulder, the confident set of his jaw—all of it seemed to carry a new intensity.

I couldn’t shake the thought that maybe he wasn’t just at the gym during those three-hour stretches. Was he meeting Bobby somewhere? The images from his phone played through my mind—a reminder of the easy familiarity in their messages, the way Bobby seemed to know him in a way I hadn’t anticipated. I pictured them together, meeting up in some hidden corner or perhaps a quiet place away from prying eyes, their time slipping by as intensely as those texts hinted at.

I could almost see them, Manuel’s broad frame towering over Bobby’s athletic build, the kind of chemistry between them that couldn’t be mistaken. And as much as it stirred a gnawing curiosity in me, it also tugged at something deeper, a feeling that only made me want him more fiercely. It was impossible not to imagine the details, wondering if those three hours were spent testing the limits of each other’s desire, indulging in what they’d hinted at so openly.

Each time he announced he was headed out, that curiosity grew sharper. My mind was caught between wanting to know exactly what was happening and, in a strange way, not wanting to know at all, as if both possibilities—the truth and the mystery—had equal power over me.

One morning, lying in bed after Manuel had left, I felt a restless energy humming beneath the surface. The silence of the room, still faintly scented with his cologne, made my thoughts all the louder, circling around the unanswered questions I kept holding onto. And then, suddenly, a flash of insight struck me: Manuel’s iPad. I’d almost forgotten about it, gathering dust on the bookshelf next to his dresser, largely untouched since he’d started using his phone more and more.

If his iPad was synced to his messages, it could hold the same conversations he’d been sharing with Bobby and all the others. The realization made my pulse quicken. It was right there, a way to peel back the layers, to finally understand what was drawing him so fully outside the lines of our relationship. The idea gripped me, both unsettling and oddly exhilarating, as if this small device held the answers to everything I’d been wondering about.

I found myself sitting up, the sheets pooling around my waist as I stared at the dresser, imagining the iPad in my hands. Could I really bring myself to look? Even as I hesitated, the curiosity was overpowering, filling me with a strange, heady mixture of nerves and resolve. The pull of knowing felt irresistible. I could feel my heart pounding as I slid out of bed, each step toward the dresser charged with a thrill I hadn’t expected, and I wondered just how much I was about to uncover.

As I waited for the iPad to charge, the minutes seemed to stretch endlessly. The anticipation was almost unbearable, but a part of me questioned whether I was about to cross a line that could never be uncrossed. I sat there, my fingers lightly tapping on the edge of the desk, every thought swirling in my mind. Was this really something I wanted to do? Would uncovering the truth give me peace, or would it only tear open something I wasn’t ready to handle?

I knew the messages would be there—those same conversations, those little windows into Manuel’s secret world—and as much as part of me wanted to dive in, another part hesitated. What if seeing everything, reading the words, seeing the pictures, shattered something between us that I couldn’t put back together? Was I willing to lose the feeling of security I’d once had with him for the sake of this unbearable curiosity?

The iPad glowed faintly, a soft promise of answers, and I realized I was already too far gone. The decision had already been made in my mind, even if I hadn't fully admitted it yet. Still, the longer I waited, the heavier the sense of guilt settled in, as though I was standing on the edge of a precipice, knowing there would be no turning back once I stepped off.

When the iPad finally finished loading, it was almost too easy to guess the passcode—four digits, the same ones he used for his phone. My fingers hesitated for just a moment, but the instinct to know won out, and within seconds, I was staring at the home screen, my heart thudding in my chest. The messages app was right there, just as I’d hoped.

Once again, I scrolled through the conversation with Bobby. I realized that it seemed to go back much further than what I had seen in Manuel's phone. As I scrolled back through their earlier messages, my heart suddenly skipped a beat. Among the sea of texts and photos, one thumbnail stood out—a video. The screencap was enough to send a thrill through me. It was clearly a moment between them, Manuel and Bobby, locked in an intimate exchange.

The image in the preview was just a snapshot—Manuel, his back slightly arched, a look of complete focus on his face as Bobby's hand was clearly seen in the frame, gripping Manuel’s bicep as they were wrapped up in the heat of the moment. The intensity in their bodies, the raw connection that seemed to pulse even through the screen, left me frozen for a moment. There was no mistaking the intimacy, the closeness, the way they had shared something that felt not just physical, but emotionally charged.

I felt a mixture of desire and something darker swirl inside me, but my curiosity pulled me in, overriding any hesitation. My finger hovered over the play button for a long second, the urge to see them—see what they’d shared—growing too strong to resist. What would I see? How far had this connection gone between them? I wasn’t sure I was ready for it, but there was no turning back now.

I pressed play, and the video began to unfold in front of me. Almost immediately, the sound hit me, filling the quiet room with the deep, hushed tones of their voices. The dirty talk between them was raw, full of desire, and it flooded my senses as the video played.

Manuel’s voice, low and rough, was unmistakable, and hearing him like that sent a shiver down my spine. His breathing was heavy, and as I watched, he seemed to be lost in the moment, completely giving himself over to Bobby. "You love it when I flex for you, don’t you?" Manuel’s voice was teasing, but there was an edge to it that made it clear this wasn’t just playful banter—it was the build-up to something deeper.

Bobby’s voice responded, equally as intense. "You’re perfect, Manuel... every inch of you," he murmured. His words dripped with admiration and lust. The sound of his hand on Manuel’s body was audible—rubbing, gripping, touching with the kind of intimacy that felt almost possessive.

The camera angle shifted as they both adjusted, and the focus landed on Manuel’s pits—clearer now in the video than any of the photos. I could hear Bobby praising them, encouraging Manuel to show them off, the heat in his voice unmistakable. "God, your pits are fucking perfect," Bobby growled, his hand moving over them, lightly caressing the dark hair that was becoming more pronounced with each passing day. Manuel responded with a deep, satisfied groan, his chest rising as he flexed, letting Bobby have full access.

The video made it clear how much they were enjoying each other’s company, how much they wanted each other, how their connection had become not just physical, but intensely personal. It was electric, the kind of raw, untamed chemistry that made me feel like I was intruding on something that was theirs alone—but I couldn’t pull away. The sound of their voices, the way they spoke to each other, it all wrapped around me, turning the moment into something that I couldn’t escape.