#plus a bunch of people literally come and go

[bpdkangel]

atp im literally just abt to force myself to make flags everyday for both of my flag blogs

[sonknuxadow]

its honestly crazy to me that theres so many sonic games that are inaccessible on current gen consoles or maybe are available on one but arent available on the others and instead of remastering or re releasing any of those sega just keeps re releasing the classic trilogy and sonic cd over and over and over again and they sometimes even do it on platforms where those games are already available. like why cant we get a port of sonic heroes or the storybook games or the advance trilogy or something

[solitarelee]

Okay guys I have NEVER recommended anything here other than books and hashtag not sponsored BUT. I just got my Nike Go FlyEase shoes and they are a disability GAME CHANGER for me.

[img desc: a person steps onto an odd looking sneaker which is folded partially in half. the shoe closes around their foot as they step down]

They are a funky little shoe that literally FOLDS in such a manner that they can be put on and off entirely without your hands; you can just step in and out of them.

The history of them is actually very interesting; the FlyEase line was always designed with disability in mind (the first one was inspired by a teenager with cerebral palsy, Matthew Walzer). They've been a thing for years but they never had one that particularly stood out to me amongst other similar shoes... until the Go.

You see, along with being someone who has only a few bends in me per day before it's all over, I'm also a fall risk. Like a comical fall risk. I've fallen into traffic. I will just roll over and die at a moment's notice. And most slide on shoes are unstable and slip around on your foot. This shoe clamps onto me like a goddamn vice. It's Got Me. It's also got good arch support which is like, a plus. By freeing up a bunch of bend-overs per day, this is going to leave me with a lot more ability and energy, especially on the bad days.

They sound too good to be true (I was VERY skeptical buying them despite the video review), but seriously, you can just step into them--and out of them by stepping on that chonky back heel there. God knows I'm not the only person with difficulty sliding on heels or tying laces in the world, so I thought I would be remiss if I didn't recommend them. If you think they might help you out, they probably WOULD, as they were recommended to me by Footless Jo, an amputee YouTuber, and as mentioned, were inspired in part by people with disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy to past strokes.

They're Pricey but ultimately average when it comes to Nice Shoes(tm), the ones I got were $125.

[deadsetobsessions]

Sea Cryptic! Danny AU- Pt. 7

[Pt.1] [Pt.2] [Pt.3] [Pt.4] [Pt.5] [Pt.6] [Pt.8] [Pt.9] [Pt.10]

“I’m having a child.”

Danny stared at Batman.

“…Uh, congrats?”

Batman whips out a stack of paper and a pen. “It’s you. Sign here and initial the highlighted spots.”

Danny instinctively, from years of dealing with Vlad, whacked the stack right out of Batman’s hands and into the bay. He doesn’t even feel bad about littering this time because, “Begone, fruitloop!”

Wait, no, that’s not what he meant.

“I mean- I have parents!”

“Not for long.” Batman muttered and then did a double take. “You have parents? How?”

Danny gasped, placing a hand on his chest to clutch his metaphorical pearls. He ignored Batman’s mutters. Everyone knows the vigilante has an adoption problem. At least, everyone who lived in Gotham did, as everyone who didn’t was somehow convinced that he “worked alone” or some bullshit like that. “Are you naturally this insensitive or were you dropped on your head as a baby? Obviously I had to come from somewhere.”

“They’re still… alive?”

“And kicking,” Danny said, inching away from yet another rich weird guy trying to adopt him. “Mostly the kicking part, though.” He said, remembering the sparring sessions. His mom could kick his as six ways to Sunday with nothing but jiu-jitsu and still have time to work in the lab.

“I see.”

“I’m charging you extra for the emotional upheaval. I have trauma regarding rich people trying to adopt me.”

Batman sullenly handed over a thousand.

“Sweet. There’s a group of shades down here asking if you could find their murderer. Apparently the serial killer is still at large.” Danny pointed.

“Of course. Tell me everything.”

The adoption papers disappeared as Batman went into detective mode.

Danny shoved the cash into his glowing chest and breathed a sigh of relief. He needed to make rent this month so it was a windfall running into Batman.

——

“Hey, Tim?”

Tim woke up from his Power Nap. “Huh?”

“Phantom’s complaining that Batman kept trying to adopt him.”

Tim blinked. “Uh.. what does that have to do with me?”

Danny stared at him, a patiently amused smile on his face. “Just in case the rumor about the Wayne’s sugar-daddy-into the Bats was a thing. Other than that, we might have to confront Batman to get him off of Phantom’s back. ”

“You… want to confront Batman.”

“Hey, man, Phantom’s a friend and it’s ride or die.” Danny snickered. It was literally die, with his Phantom side of things. He held two fists up, and wound them, like Popeye right after eating spinach or something. “And if Batman bothers Phantom, we ride at dawn.”

“Batman doesn’t come out unless it’s dark, though? Or for the Justice League.” Tim grinned. He mentally classified Danny under his “to go to” list. That’s where Bart, Bernard, Cassie, Kon, and Garfield were. If he starts shit, he could count on them to have his back and cause even more shit. Danny, wanting to fistfight Bruce over the man making Phantom uncomfortable? He absolutely is making that list.

“Then we ride at, like, dusk. Or uh, like 10PM. I gotta get my beauty sleep.”

“You’ll definitely need it,” Tim inconspicuously texted the group chat, which quickly blew up.

“Shut up,” Danny playfully shoved Tim. “Wait, can Batman even legally adopt? Isn’t being a vigilante illegal? And how can he adopt someone dead?”

Tim dramatically flailed and splayed over Danny’s carpeted living room. “Dunno about his identity,” he lied to Danny, like a liar. “But Gotham has a bunch of laws for the undead/restored to life people so there’s probably enough gray space there.”

Danny spluttered. “You guys have undead friendly laws?”

“Yeah, geht do you think Grundy just chills out? Plus, we have like a minor resurrection event every few years. It usually doesn’t stick but sometimes it does. Bruce pushed for those laws when Jason came back to life, except he doesn’t actually want people to know he’s like, alive.”

“Jason died?” Danny blinked. Well, that would explain the vibes. “Huh. So what’s up with his rank vibes then?”

“Rank vibes?” Tim pressed record on his phone.

Danny nodded. “Yeah, you know how Phantom’s got like a really chill green vibe?” Inwardly, Danny snickered at his pun. Chill. Yeah, he meant that very literally. “Jason’s got kind of a rank green vibe. He’s kind of stinky? Definitely never introduce him to Phantom.” Danny’s senses got worse in his ghost form.

“Jason regularly showers, though?!”

“Not smell! Like, a spiritual smell?”

“You can smell souls?!” Tim sat up. “Bro, you’re a meta?!”

“Uh.” Danny hesitated. “Yeah. I can smell souls. It’s a thing. Everyone from my town can do it.”

“What?!” Tim paused. “Wait, can Phantom smell souls?”

“Yeah. We’re, uh, from the same town.”

“Danny, what the fuck?”

“Hey, don’t look at me like that, you’re the one with a soul-sick brother! Not to mention, you’re kinda stinky too!”

“Hey!”

“Soul-stinky nerd man!”

——

“I stink?!” Jason spluttered out, extremely offended.

“The Lazarus pits. He’s most likely smelling traces of Lazarus pit on you, you imbecile.”

“We need to speak to Phantom. This instant.”

“I dunno, B. Danny sounded like he was gonna break your face if you bothered Phantom anymore.” Dick snickered.

“Yeah,” Tim chimed in, from his seat in front of the Bat-computer. “He was pretty serious.”

“Are we just gonna glaze over the fact that they’re from the same town?!” Stephanie exclaimed, practicing her moves on a training dummy.

“How does that even work? What does that mean? I thought Phantom was an immortal?” Duke asked.

“We also can’t rule out time-travel.” Barbara slammed her baton into a training dummy, twisting her wheelchair in an agile maneuver that left the dummy on the floor.

“No bothering Phantom.” Cass proclaimed.

“That’s quite right. You all have a warm dinner sitting above your cave and should it remain uneaten, I assure you that sherbet Sunday and crêpe Tuesday shall be canceled.” Alfred stepped in. The Bats, threatened, scrambled to ditch their gear and go upstairs.

[autball]

No one wants to be lied to. When it comes from another adult, you feel betrayed. When it comes from your kids, you feel that PLUS a responsibility to make it stop ASAP, before it becomes a “thing” that reflects badly on you as a parent. 

But a lot of people are going about doing that all wrong. Lying is actually a normal developmental milestone that starts when kids realize they can know things that other people don’t. Lying is also often a stress response, meaning it’s a symptom of another problem and can even happen involuntarily.

BUT ALSO, some people, and Autistic and ADHD folks in particular, are being accused of lying when that’s not even what’s happening.

Neurodivergent people perceive the world differently. Y’know, because we’re literally wired differently. But I see people assuming their ND kids and partners are lying *all the time* instead of considering the possibility that our different wirings simply led to different perceptions.

Lying is when the person knows that what they're saying is not the truth. If a person truly believes that what they're saying, that their *own perception of the world,* is the truth, that's not really lying, is it?

And it’s not that Autistics and ADHDers are incapable of lying, of course, or that nothing should be done about it if lying truly does become a problem. You’re gonna wanna be sure that’s what you’re dealing with before you try to do anything about it, though.

You’re also gonna need to understand that it’s about more than “moral failing” and “bad character” if you don’t want to make it worse. Because what do you think is gonna happen when you heap a bunch of stress in the form of shame and punishment onto a person who is already struggling with lying as a stress behavior??

And so I present this list of possibilities to consider when your person’s version of events isn’t lining up with yours (or their teacher’s, or their sibling’s, or whomever else it may be).

Related note: If “inconsistencies in reporting” are coming from school, please keep in mind that teachers often don’t see everything that happened to your child with their own eyes (because their attention is pulled in many directions), and that bullies who will rile your kid up on purpose and then lie about what happened are an unfortunate reality for many ND kids. In other words, please don’t assume that your child is the one who has it wrong when their version of events differs from others’ without also considering the reliability/motivations of the other witnesses.

[sabertoothwalrus]

I'm going to think out loud about the dungeon meshi ages for a sec

I'm going to preface this by saying that this is based on my existing knowledge, and fact checking is difficult because there is A LOT of contentious research out there.

First of all, I think a lot of people come at this from a modern lens, forgetting the context that this is fantasy medieval era. this is fiction. on top of that, this is specifically Ryoko Kui's understanding of medieval era aging. plus fantasy. So before anyone comes at me with a bunch of 'ermmmm actualy's just consider that I don't really care and also it might not matter in this context lol

as far as the "age of maturity" assigned for each race, something I don't see many people talk about is that "teenagers" are a fairly recent concept. For a long time, you were either considered A Kid or Not A Kid. but this doesn't necessarily mean kids were more/less developed then, just our cultural expectations for certain age groups have changed.

Laios says the age of maturity for tallmen is 16. I don't think that means 16 year olds in the dungeon meshi universe are necessarily "more mature" than modern 16 year olds, but moreso that they have more responsibilities. However, things like medicine, smoking, drinking, sun exposure, physical activity, etc all affect age, so it's possible that developmentally they're closer to modern 18 year olds? Izutsumi is 17 (less than two weeks from turning 18, actually), and very much acts like a modern 17 year old.

The age of maturity for half-foots is 14. Chilchuck was 13 when he got married and had his first two children. Even though, at age 29, he's the equivalent of a modern 50 year old, I don't think he was That much more developed at 13 than a tallman. I think if half-foot 14 is equal to tallman 16, then Chilchuck was Pretty Damn Young for a parent LMAO. Even if you're generous and say tallman 16 is a modern 18, he still would've been younger than that.

The long-lived races are interesting. Marcille is obviously a unique case, and not a lot of this applies to her. We do know what Senshi was like as a minor (miner, lol), and he seemed like a modern 15ish, considering he was 36 and dwarf maturity is 40. I think it'd be really interesting to delve into how a culture functions with people being developmentally adolescent for soooooo long. Imagine middle school lasting 20 years. that would fucking suck. I suppose it makes sense why long-lived races are so patronizing.

Moving onto lifespans, I want to emphasize that they're average lifespans. Even in the manga, they say some half-foots live to 100, it's just rare. So it's less that a tallman 60 year old is "older" than a modern 60 year old, it's that it's easier to keep people alive for longer nowadays. Modern medicine is a BIG contributor. Dental health as well, considering how much your health is affected by your diet (and how much the action of chewing alone aids in digestion). Curious to know what the FUCK elven dentistry is like.

It also makes me wonder if half-foots would have a longer average lifespan if they weren't like, used for bait and treated so poorly, but half-foot 29 does seem to be middle-aged for half-foots. so who knows!

In that vein, I don't know if I can see Mithrun quite making it to 400 😬 like, his experience as a dungeon lord took a lot out of him quite literally, and he's doing exceptionally well despite it! I imagine he'd eventually start to develop a lot of heart problems if he doesn't have them already. Perhaps early-onset dementia. His memory seems still quite intact (he corrects Kabru on his story's accuracy) and he doesn't act like, lobotomized. He doesn't seem forgetful or confused, and he has a sense of humor/sarcasm still. It's mostly his task initiation that's been affected.

I almost want to say that mana affinity could affect long-lived races' lifespans, except dwarves have very poor tolerance for mana, so it's probably not that.

okay anyway I didn't really have a point to this post so I'm just gonna end my rambling here

[radiance1]

De-aged Mothboy Dannyo.

Except this time, he isn't in Jump City and Killer Moth is sadly not his kidnapper turned parent.

Instead, he's in Gotham.

He doesn't really do anything in the City of Crime. To everyone else, he's just a street kid who was unfortunate enough to be abandoned because of his meta status.

Danny's little home is literally a dumpster in an abandoned alleyway that he cleared out of all the trash. He has a mat that he uses as a makeshift bed, and a corner where he stores all his pretty little marbles he gets from dumpster diving, as well as an old backpack he found somewhere to hold all his other stuff.

He did use another Dumpster to expand his little home though, he doesn't know what he'll do with all the extra space really, but he'll find a use for it, probably.

The use was pulling in a bunch of other soft (enough) mats that he managed to find, filling the extra space with all of that, and then laying down on all of it in joy.

How did he make said Dumpster extra space? Simple, he just tore off one of the walls, and stuck them together with a drill and a few nails he managed to buy with his limited amount of money.

Danny... doesn't remember a whole lot. He remembers red, people in white, people who he thinks he knew laying so still. He doesn't try to remember any more than that, it usually hurts.

So, he's just one little kid trying to live his life in the City of Crime. He usually tries to stay away from any gang-controlled area, he couldn't do it all of the time, but he managed good enough. He meets some other street kids, and tries to make friends, but they aren't very receptive to his efforts.

So what does he do?

Bribery!

He has enough money to buy some snacks and stuff, and he does pay for it, no matter how cashier looks at him as if he were going to steal something, to be fair she does that to everyone but still! He's a law-abiding street kid!

Bribery worked very well! The first few times it wasn't anything too special, but after that, they decided that he was one of them now! They tell him stuff about the various gangs and stuff, which ones to avoid, and which area to not go towards because of one incident or another.

They also helped him that one time when he was chased by some really mean people who wanted to take him somewhere and apparently sell him? He didn't wanna hurt them, so he was trying to lose them and go back home, so that he could then get off those weird cuff thingies they put on his lower set of arms that made him feel a strange disconnect for some reason.

So he was running, didn't expect for one of them to have a gun, tried to evade the bullets, one hit him in the leg, then another in his other one, and he hit the pavement. Then they caught up and put some cloth to his face and he started to feel loopy and really tired.

Before he fell unconscious, he heard a loud smack. Then he was woke up to his friends, those weird cuffs gone, his legs having been bandaged and a really nice bed.

So he thanked his friends, and went back home. He gave them each their favorite snacks for their help!

About a month after that, he meets this really kind old guy that he helps carry stuff to his car, he took most of it, puffing out his chest and saying he's got this because he's really, really strong. Then the old guy invited him to come with him for a thank you dinner.

His friends told him not to accept any suspicious offers from strangers, but he helped the guy and he just wants to say thank you. Plus, food.

So he says yes.

He didn't know the old guy- no Alfred, had a giant mansion! His jaw-dropped, awestruck face practically showed what he felt. He then looked at himself, back at the mansion, and almost didn't wanna step in because he's afraid he might dirty it, before being gently pushed inside by Alfred.

[ckret2]

I've been thinking about Ford's shockingly poorly-timed "Grammar, Stanley" comment, and I've got a take on it I haven't seen go by:

Most folks I've seen think Ford's decision to pick on Stan's grammar comes from being coldly aloof and oblivious to Stan's mood. I think it's the opposite. I think he was keenly aware of the situation and too angry to think straight.

From the moment Ford was unfrozen, here's every single thing Stan said:

[coldly/sarcastically] Hey, good to see you too, bro. Now let's get outta here, huh?

Drawing a circle on the floor. Well, he's lost his mind.

You realize this is a bunch of hogwash, right? You really think some caveman graffiti is gonna stop that monster?

Whoa. Hey. I'm not the enemy here, people. Don't forget who literally created the end of the world.

Fine. Just do one thing. Say "thank you." [From Ford's perspective, Stan's holding the safety of the universe hostage to make him apologize, and in front of a bunch of other people who have just been dragged into their family mess]

I spent thirty years trying to bring you back into this dimension and you still haven't thanked me! You want me to shake your hand? Say "thank you."

Now, see. Between me and him, I'm not always the bad twin.

Every single thing out of Stan's mouth is either subtly snide, or a blatant insult. Ford's just been through literal torture, is trying to save the universe, already feels like this is all his fault, is trying to get his grumpy brother to cooperate—and he's just getting jab after jab after jab. He's called insane, stupid, the bad twin, the enemy, and he's forced to thank the man who just said all this.

By that point, Ford was probably as angry as Stan. He didn't care about his grammar; he wanted to knock his dentures out. A passive-aggressive swing at his grammar was Ford trying to restrain his seething rage while letting just a little of the pressure whistle out like a tea kettle. Sure, it was petty and very counter productive; but it wasn't out of nowhere. He couldn't get into it with Stan over the "bad twin" comment, so he aimed his snark at another part of the sentence.

This is a furious brother suppressing his urge to commit homicide by channeling it through his grade school know-it-all instincts. … and, in the process, accidentally inspiring the other furious brother to commit homicide.

(Plus picking on your brother's grammar during the apocalypse is such a deliberately annoying sibling thing to do.)

[pluckyredhead]

“I have larger thoughts about how DC has kind of written themselves into a hole with Jason and now he's stuck in this limbo that's unsatisfying to everyone which is why so many Jason fans are mad all the time, but that's for another ask.”

🤓 Do tell…

Okay, let's see if I can do this in less than a thousand words!

So Jason, at his core, represents a challenge to Bruce's ideology, right? Bruce's #1 rule is No Killing, and Jason's basic idea is: "That doesn't work. Some villains are bad enough that they have to be killed for the greater good." (There's something very funny about Jason, famously undead, thinking killing stops ANYONE in the DCU, but we'll leave that aside for now.) This is a really interesting ethical quandary to throw Bruce's way, and by having it voiced by his beloved son, his greatest failure, his second most profound tragedy, it becomes a deeply thorny emotional problem as well as an ethical problem. That's all great.

The problem is, DC can't allow Jason to be right, for two reasons:

Batman must always be right and must always win.

...I mean, come on. They can't actually publish a story advocating for a traumatized 19-year-old with assault weapons to be the arbiter of who lives and who dies, that's nonsense. I love Jason but really.

The problem with that is, Jason is a major recurring character.

UTRH works great in a vacuum. But if Jason is showing up in a comic every month, or even just a few times a year, this central conflict has to be addressed, and the options for doing that are limited:

Bruce and Jason fight and Jason wins. DC will never let this happen. (And what would "Jason wins" even look like, honestly? He's not going to kill Bruce.)

Bruce and Jason fight and Bruce wins. They've done this a bunch (sometimes with Dick in place of Bruce), but Jason fans don't want to see him repeatedly getting his ass kicked while being lectured, and frankly it doesn't make Bruce look great either.

Bruce allows Jason to kill people. This can't happen either; it would be wildly out of character for Bruce, not to mention literally everyone in the Batfamily. They are all canonically pretty opposed to murder.

Jason continues to operate however he wants, but outside of Bruce's reach/jurisdiction. As wretched as RHATO was, I actually think it was a smart decision to keep most of the action outside of Gotham, because then we can pretend Bruce doesn't know what Jason's up to, just like we pretend Clark couldn't super-hear everything in Gotham and save Bruce's ass every single night without breaking a sweat. The problem here is that it means Jason is unavailable for the kinds of casual team-ups and crossovers that fans of all stripes crave - plus, every time he comes back to Gotham, he and Bruce have to relitigate their entire relationship AGAIN.

Jason compromises and agrees to follow Bruce's rules in order to have a relationship with the Batfamily. This is basically where DC has landed, and I understand why they did, because it's the option that allows them to publish the most comics with Jason in them, which they want to do because he is an immensely popular character who makes them money. However, it leaves him in this awkward position where instead of being a tragic villain/badass antihero, he's just...the sassiest member of the family, while simultaneously always being available to be treated like shit because he's Bad. He gets punished without even the fun of doing the crime anymore.

So what's the solution? I don't know. Theoretically, DC could try to do what Marvel does with the Punisher. People always get mad when I say Jason is DC's Punisher, but he kills pretty much indiscriminately in UTRH and RHATO, for pretty much the same reasons. ("Dudebros think it looks cool.") And Marvel heroes inexplicably let Frank just kill however many people he wants unless they're appearing in a Punisher comic, at which point they go "Frank, you naughty boy, I shall stop you!" and then Frank kicks their ass and makes them look like an idiot. DC is never going to let Jason do that to Bruce, plus it would put a real damper on the Wayne family Thanksgiving dinner.

Alternately, they could make him a Nightwing villain. Dick has spent 40 years fighting inconclusively with Deathstroke; he's much better suited to go endless rounds with Jason without either of them Always Triumphantly Winning than Bruce is. I don't personally want this option because I just don't care that much about Dick, but it could be really interesting, though it would limit Jason to fewer appearances and primarily in Dick's book. (Jason would have made a superb Red Robin villain 15 years ago for similar reasons.)

My vote, I think, would be for a really good (god, if only), really thoughtful Jason series where he has reason to seriously reevaluate his philosophy towards crime - something that reshapes him into a character who can still challenge Bruce's entrenched ideas without being so diametrically opposed to them as to make him a villain. He needs to be close enough to Bruce's rules to appear in crossovers, but far enough and specific enough that he's not just Meaner Nightwing. Jason is a passionate character; DC needs to find a new way to let his passion work for him, because right now he doesn't have anything driving him, and it's satisfying no one.

(900 words, BOOM!)

[samandcolbyownme]

Summary: Y/n gets sick of people making comments about her being single while at a work event and ends up asking her best friend, Sam, to pretend to be her date for the weekend.

Warnings: SMUT18+, strong language, alcohol consumption, reader being around judgmental people, flirting, kissing, hair pulling, biting, unprotected quickie, mix of sensual fluff and general filth, friends to lovers basically

Word Count: 9.8k | not really edited

Thank you for being so patient with me 🖤

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

"Don't you leave for that work trip thingy today?" Your best friend, Lilly asks as you finish your breakfast. You nod, "Uh huh." You roll your eyes with a sigh, "A weekend with a bunch of high class bitches who like to judge everyone around them and show off their sugar daddy hubbies."

"That sounds... awful.. but you get your own hotel room, don't you?" She leans onto the counter and you nod, "Oh yeah. It's a beautiful one, too. Here."

You pull your phone out to show her the hotel, "Oh god." She gasps and begs, "Take me with you!"

You laugh slightly, "I could if I would, but the only plus ones that are allowed is the significant others." You shake your head slightly, "Which is stupid."

"I'll be your significant other." She walks around, pressing her cheek to yours, "We can be lesbian lovers for the weekend." She laughs and you sigh, "We could probably pull it off, honestly."

She snaps her fingers and points at you, "Exactly." She stares at you for a second, "Why don't you see if Sam will go?"

You stare back at her, "Wh-what? why would you even-"

She cuts you off, "I know you like him." She smirks and glances up at you, "I can see it all over you when you're around him. When his name is mentioned.."

"He's my best friend, Lilly." You scoff slightly, "I don't think he'd wanna share a hotel with me for three days."

She raises her eyebrows and purses her lips. You tilt your head, "What's that look for?"

She shakes her head slowly, "No reason.."

"There's a reason. I know you." You move your bowl aside and rest your elbows on the counter, "Now spill."

She drags her finger in circles on the counter, "Colby and I may have had a little meeting, as the best friends of the people who like each other."

Your heart picks up and you blink, shaking your head as you try to understand what she just said, "Excuse me? You and Colby what?"

She laughs, "Oh come on. He can see it all over Sam, too. You guys.. like.. really need to understand the meaning of having a poker face." She snorts, "Especially around each other."

"Wait..." you hold your hand up, closing your eyes, "are you saying that Sam likes me?" You look at her and she nods, "And you like him."

"I never said that." You say quickly and she gently slaps the counter, "You don't need to, because as I just said, you have a horrible poker face when it comes to him. I can see that you're seething with love for him right now."

You roll your eyes, "Whatever you say."

"I say, that you guys are just scared, and one of you needs to just risk it for the biscuit because you both are head over heels for each other." Lilly stands up, "I have a photoshoot, so if i don't see you before you leave, good luck. I hope you get an award or whatever it is they're passing out. Call me when you get there."

"It's literally forty five minutes away and we're not done talking about this." You laugh and she shrugs, "I still worry." She smiles and grabs her jacket as she walks to the door, "and we are until I know you can just admit it. Love you, see ya!"

"Love you, see ya!"

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

Good luck tomorrow, y/n. Remember, even if you don't get an award, you're still a winner to us.

You can't help but smile at Sam's message, and that quickly leads into replaying this mornings conversation with Lilly.

You did like Sam, a lot.

But, you always thought there was way too much history with each other, and if it went to shit, you'd lose all the good things with him.

Besides Lilly, Sam knows you like the back of his hand. You grew up together, basically.

Which gets you into thinking about what exactly him and Lilly talked about, you and Sam obviously, but did Sam really like you, too?

"Miss... miss?"

You look up from your phone screen and the driver is looking back at you.

He smiles slightly, "Is this the place?"

You look out the window, getting a nauseated feeling as you nod, "Yeah, yeah it is." You look back at him, "I'll tip you on the app if that's okay?"

He nods, "I appreciate it. Have a good night."

You smile and nod, "Thank you. You too." You get out, grabbing your suitcase before you shut the door and slowly turn around to face the entrance of the very fancy hotel, "Just two nights." You whisper as you force yourself to walk into the building, "Just two nights."

You walk up to the desk, and right off the bat you felt like you were judge for being alone.

Everyone had their arm candies and you just had your suitcase.

"Hi, will you be checking in?" The lady behind the desk asks, "just you, I assume?" You clench your jaw and swallow, "Yeah, just me, for now." You step forward as you talk quietly, "Y/n y/l/n."

"You're under the reserved rooms for Brookendale." Her eyes move up to you and you nod, "That's right."

She doesn't say another word until she grabs your room key, "usually you get two.. but.." her eyes move down to your suitcase and you wanted to just turn around and go home, "Actually. Someone will be joining me later. He's just working late tonight."

She raises her eyebrows, seeing right through your empty lie, "Mm. Enjoy your stay, miss y/l/n."

You snatch the key from her grasp and make your way to the elevator, pressing the up arrow and praying that the doors open quickly.

As they open, you stop when you see Carmen Kline. The bosses favorite employee, "Ah, y/n! I'm so glad you could make it!"

Carmen was usually alright, but once she got around those certain type of people, she because a totally different person.

"Yeah. Im here." You laugh slightly as you get on. She leans back, "You should totally come down for drinks. Zack is buying us all our first one, but I'm sure we can milk him for a couple more." She nudges you as she giggles and you can smell that she's already had a few.

"Maybe once I get settled." You glance over at her with a smile and point to the doors as they open, "I'll see you later maybe."

"Yes please come down!" She yells as the doors shut and you keep walking, stopping at your door and going in as quickly as you can.

You press your back against the shut door and let out a sigh, the thought of doing what Lilly said to do was heavy on your mind.

You chew on your lip, pulling your phone out as you FaceTime her.

"Glad you made it there okay." She says as she answers, "You okay?"

You laugh slightly, "The lady at the desk already ridiculed me for coming alone, so it's going wonderfully." Your words dripping with sarcasm, "I fucking hate these things. It's been three years and I never win anyway."

"Maybe this time it'll be different." She says and you sigh, "doubt it." You walk over to the bed, lifting your suitcase onto it, "Since I have you, can you help me to decide on which dress to wear?"

"Um, yes. Of course!" She sets her phone down and sits down, watching the screen as you pull out two dresses, "okay.. this one?"

You hold up the spaghetti strap black velvet mini dress, "Or.." you grab the other dress, the black lace corset mini dress, "This one?"

"Definitely that one." She says with zero hesitation, "isn't that the one you designed yourself?"

"I sure did." Your eyes scan over the dress in your hands and you sigh, "I really like this one."

"I'm sure Sam will like it too." She teases and you can feel your cheeks getting warm, "Stop it."

"I'm just joking. You know I have to." She laughs and sighs, "which one are you wearing for the awards tomorrow night?"

You smirk and pull out the sparkly maroon gown, "This. Zack said we have to dress fancy and I figured this was fancy enough."

"And hot." Lilly says, "I remember you trying that on after you were done with it. It looked so good on you."

You smile, "Thanks." You check the time, "Alright. I have to get ready and head down for whatever the hell it is we're doing.. the mixer bullshit thingy."

"Call me later."

"So I can tell you how awful it went?" You laugh and she sighs, "I'm telling you.. ca-"

"Bye! Love you!" You hang up on her and throw your phone down before changing into the black dress with the lace corset.

You curled your hair before you left, so you just needed to touch that up, along with redoing your makeup.

You slipped your heels on and walk over to the body mirror, turning to each side as you inspect yourself.

You snap a few mirror selfies before you tuck your phone and room key into your purse and walk over to your door.

You take a deep breath, calming your nerves before you open it and walk over to the elevator. To your surprise, when the doors open, you see Zack standing there, smiling at you, "Hello, y/n."

"Hello, Mr. Brookendale." You give him a smile and step onto the elevator.

"Y/n. You can call me Zack." He chuckles, "Going to the mixer?" He turns his body so it's facing you. You look over at him, nodding, "Yes. Are you?"

He chuckles, "Now what kind of question is that?"

You laugh slightly, "Of course you're going."

Zack has always been flirty with you, which you didn't like, but he's never actually tried anything, then again, he's flirty with all the other girls who work for him.

"Of course I am." He smirks, "My company, right?" His smug look makes you want to round house him, but you just play it off with a gentle laugh, "That it is, Zack. That it is."

You started thinking about Sam. About how if he was here, Zack would possibly have a whole different attitude towards you and Sam could play the protective boyfriend or whatever.

The ding of the elevator snaps you out of your daze and you look up as the doors open. As you step forward, you feel a hand lay on the center of your back and he leans in slightly, whispering, "That dress is gorgeous, by the way."

You swallow, nodding, "Thank you. I designed it myself."

"I know you did." He winks and walks off, leaving you to follow behind him alone. You walk up to the table, letting the people know you're here for the mixer and they direct you into the side room.

You walk in, immediately grabbing a glass of champagne from the tray, "Please. Yes. Thank you."

The waiter nods and walks away as you practically down the drink in one gulp.

"Thirsty or something?" Carmen asks walking up to you. You force a smirk and shrug, "I just don't really want to be here."

"You'll be fine. Now come on." She grabs your hand and pulls you through the room, not giving you a chance to escape.

The whole time you're following her, you're mentally cursing at her because you know what she's pulling you into.

It's the same thing every year.

You show up without a date, you get judged for showing up without said date, even though the girls think they're being discreet, they're absolutely not.

"Hey!" Carmen says loudly in a sing songy tone, "Look who I found!"

"Oh y/n! We were wondering when you'd get here." Alexa says bringing her glass to her lips. You fight hard on not rolling your eyes, "Yeah, yeah.. here I am."

You look around, grabbing another glass of champagne off the tray that's moving by and immediately bringing it to your lips.

"Carmen said she seen you on the way here, but.." Alexa giggles slightly, "So.. do we get to meet this mystery man that you're being so private about?"

Fuck, you think, why do they have to remember that?

You laugh slightly, "Maybe. Maybe. He's actually working late tonight, so if not tonight, tomorrow for sure."

You could knock yourself out. Literally.

"We're all excited to meet him." Alexa says and looks around at the other overly dressed girls, "Aren't we?"

They all agree, "Yeah, we just don't know why you won't tell us about him." Deana says, but her tone of voice screams that they don't believe you.

Which they shouldn't because you have been totally lying about this mystery man the whole time.

"I like to keep things private. You know how it is." You sip your drink and Deana laughs slightly, "yeah.. privacy is important, but at the same time, doesn't that get suffocating? I mean you don't have any posts about him on Facebook, Instagram.. I mean.. come on, y/n."

So you've been stalking me.. nice, is what you wanted to say, but instead you force a smile, "I'll see you guys later." You turn and walk away, and you can hear Carmen scolding them, but it quickly turns into laughter.

What a surprise.

You roll your eyes and walk up to the bar, sitting down so you can check your phone. You click on Lilly's name and start typing, but you stop when you remember you never answered Sam.

You go out and click on Sam's name and start typing your message, Hey. I have a question.

You shove your phone back into your purse, hoping that drinking the rest of your drink will give you the ounce of confidence you need to ask Sam.

You didn't think he'd say no. He'd do anything for you.

The kicker is, if he says yes. You both have to play the part, and you have to play it good.

You feel your purse vibrate, so you pull your phone out, reading Sam's message, I may have an answer. What's up?

You chew on your lip as you circle your fingers above your keyboard, unsure of how to ask, Can I call you quick?

Before you even have a second to think about what you're going to say, you see Sam's face pop up on your phone and you smile.

You stand up, walking out of the room as you answer, "Hey."

"How's it going? Need me to come rescue you yet?" Sam chuckles but that wasn't perfect lead way, "Um.. actually.."

"Uh oh. What happened?"

"Can you do me a favor?" You look around as you walk away to a lesser crowded area, "It's a huge and.." you laugh, "..a very weird favor."

"I'm listening." He pauses, waiting for you to ask your favor and you shake your hand slightly, rubbing your sweaty palm against your thigh, "Can you come here?"

"You want me to come there? Like right now?" He asks kinda surprised. You regret asking until he speaks, "What do I need to pack?"

"Wait. You're actually coming?" You ask and he scoffs, "you sound shocked, like I wouldn't do anything for you."

You smile and nod, "yeah, well.. there's.. um.. here's the things.." you sigh and just spit it out, "I need you to pretend to be my fiancé or whatever." You quickly follow up, "please don't ask. I'll explain it when you get here. Or later. Sometime just.. fancy. Dress fancy and nice, these people will eat you alive if you come in your xplr merch."

He laughs, "They must not know fashion then."

"Yeah, I guess not. Do you want me to send you what I'm wearing now so you can coordinate or whatever?" You ask, a nervous feeling washing over your body.

"Yeah, you can. Just so I can get a feel for how fancy I need to pack quick."

You can tell you're on speaker now and he's working on packing. You loved how much he cared about you and would drop everything, if he could, for you.

You honestly loved him for how he is in general, though.

"Okay..." you go out, sending him the picture you took before coming down, "Sent. And when you get here, Sam.." you pause, laughing anxiously, "Tell them you are here as my plus one and that you were working late."

"Tell them I was working late?" He repeats and you sigh, "Like I said.. I'll explain everything when I see you."

"Fine, fine. I gotta let Colby know I'm leaving. I'll be there in like an hour or so."

"Thank you. You're the best." You smile at the ground and he sighs, but you can tell he's smiling, "I know." He laughs, "I'll text you when I'm almost there."

"Thank you."

"Welcome. See you soon."

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

The next hour felt utterly painful.

It was dragging by so, so slow for you and you just wanted Sam there already.

Your phone vibrates and you lift it, smiling as you read his text, Pulling up now. I'll take my bag to the room then come back down.

You type back quick, Tell the lady at the desk to go fuck herself while you're at it.

You may have gotten a stronger drink, so therefore, you weren't in any mood to deal with the judgement comments from anyone anymore.

Harsh, but I'll see what I can do lol, you laugh at his text and shake your head, grabbing your drink as you move through the room, talking to people who actually enjoy seeing you.

You mainly talk about your dress, other designs you have coming along.

The fashion industry usual.

You can tell your mood changed the second Sam said he would come, but it changed even more when you seen him walk in.

He's wearing his black short sleeve button up, black and white striped pants with his white shoes and he just looks absolutely incredible.

A huge smile spreads across your face as you walk over to him. His eyes lock onto yours, a smile growing on his lips as he walks towards you.

"There you are." He says and brings you in for a hug, "How's it going?"

"Better, now that you're here." You look up at him and he glances from your drink to your face, "Sure it's not from whatever you're drinking?"

You shrug, "Maybe." You smirk and turn as you hear Carmen talking, and it's growing closer, "Y/n."

You lean into Sam slightly, sliding your arm around him and his arm slides around your waist, "Carmen, this is Sam, my fiancé. Sam, my coworker Carmen."

"Sam." She says as she looks him up and down, "I honestly feel like I know who you are I just.." she looks him up and down, "Can't put my finger on it."

He chuckles and shrugs, "I get that a lot." His thumb runs slow and gently up and down your waist, "I need a drink, excuse us." He turns, moving you with him and he leans in more, "How good do we have to play the part?"

You look up at him, "We have to fully commit to this. But only if you're okay with it."

"That's good because..." he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a ring, "You said fiancé, and I noticed in your picture you send you didn't have one on and Lilly told me how judgmental these people are so.."

Your lips part slightly as you watch him slip the ring on your finger, "I'm so glad you thought of that because I didn't even.." you laugh slightly, kinda flustered, "Thanks."

He nods, "Mhm." His eyes stay on you as you lean forward to order your drink. He looks away when you look back and you lean in, "What do you want?"

"Get whatever." He smiles and you nod, looking back to the bartender, "Two of them please."

Just as you turn back to Sam, Deana walks up with Carmen and Alexa, "So, this is the mystery man she kept us from knowing about."

Her ring covered fingers reach out and grab his hand, "I'm Deana. I work in the same department as y/n."

Sam glances down at her hand and back up to you. You give him a subtle look, indicating that she's one of the bitches who's always on you with the comments and shit.

He takes his hand away, pulling you closer, "Yeah?"

Deana nods, "You know she doesn't talk about you right?"

"Deana." You sigh and Sam chuckles, "We like to keep things private, you know. It's more intimate between us, the less the public knows.." he glances over at you with a smile, "The better."

Deana didn't like that she wasn't getting to Sam, "Mm. Yeah, I mean.. to each their own I guess." She raises her eyebrows and shakes her head as she shrugs.

"How long have you been together?" Alexa pries, following up quickly with, "I'm just curious."

"I've known her, basically my whole life." Sam nods, "We grew up together and one thing led to another and now we're getting married here soon."

You smile, laying your hand on his abdomen.

"Hm, really?" Alexa raises a brow, "Here I thought you were just a lonely gal." Her eyes move up and down Sam, "But now I can see that you're just a gal who got really lucky."

"What's that supposed to mean?" You straighten up and she smirks, but Sam cuts her off before she can add anything, "If anyone is lucky here, it's me. I don't know what I'd do without her."

Sam kisses your temple and you can feel your cheeks heating up again as you smile.

"I'm proud of her." He smiles at Alexa and Deana and they say nothing, "Did you design your dress too?"

Alexa clenches her jaw and sighs, "No, but it's fro-"

"Alright, well now that this is over, we should take our seats because Zack will be up to announce the nominees." Carmen cuts in, pushing them away as she turns around mouthing a quick, "Sorry."

You turn to Sam, "See what I mean."

He brushes hair from your face and tucks it behind your ear as his eyes scan over your face, "You don't deserve that, so I'll do whatever it takes to get them off your back."

You wanted to admit that you liked him, you wanted to come clean about everything but by the time you got enough courage to blurt it out, the microphone omits a high pitched screech and Zack clears his through, "If everyone would take their seats please.. I'm about to announce the nominees."

You grab your drink, along with Sam grabbing his and you make your way to your table.

He moves his chair closer to yours and lays his arm over the back of it, around you.

If it wasn't for you asking him to pretend for the weekend, you would honestly think you and Sam are actually together.

"You're nominated for something right?" Sam asks leaning in, and his face is so close to yours if you turn you could kiss him.

You nod, "I think so. I wasn't told for sure, but I think." You shrug and turn your head slightly towards him, "Not a big deal if I'm not."

His fingers gently rubbing your arm as he sips on his drink, "It'll happen, babe. I'm sure of it. They'd be stupid not to give you something."

You smile and bring your drink up to your lips, mainly because you were jittery about him calling you babe. No one was around, so that was all him.

After a few categories and the people nominated are announced, you start to have this feeling that your name is going to be said.

"The nominees for the Creative Genius are.. Deana Till.." Zack pauses as people clap and you sigh, "Of course."

"Carmen Kline.."

Everyone claps, including you. You genuinely liked Carmen, and she surprised you tonight by not joining in on their ridiculing crusade.

"Y/n y/l/n."

Even thought you had a feeling it was coming, you're still shocked and Sam gently grabs your shoulders, "That's you, babe!"

The name makes your heart skip a beat, again. You cared more about that than being nominated for an award you probably won't win.

You smile, looking from his eyes to his lips before Carmen comes up to you, "Who would have ever thought that we'd be running against each other! Ah! I'm so excited for tomorrow night!" She sits down and looks up at you, "How do you feel?"

You look over at her, slightly shrugging your shoulders, "I mean.. I probably won't have a reaction until we find out who gets the award tomorrow, but.. yeah. Good I guess."

You look back at Sam and he smiles, "You're so gunna win, babe. I know it." He brings his drink up to his lips and Carmen groans, "You guys are so cute, just stop it."

She smiles and nods back to her table, "I have to go find my hubs before he spends all our money at the bar."

She gets up and walks away and you look at Sam, "Don't you just love my coworkers."

He chuckles, "You work in a high class fashion industry, darling. I wouldn't expect it any differently."

You raise your eyebrow and nod, no longer talking about work, "some days I wish it was."

"Yeah.. I know what you mean." He finishes his drink and you look at him, "You hunt ghosts, Sam." You laugh and he sighs, "It's hard work, you need to come with us one of these times."

You shake your head and hold your hand up, "I'm good."

"I'll be there to protect you." He smiles and pokes your shoulder as he leans in, "It's not bad... sometimes."

"Exactly. You never know." You take a sip of your drink and check the time, "Does that mean we can leave? I need out of this godforsaken dress."

He looks around, "I see other people leaving so.. I would assume we can."

You look over at him, "Do you want to leave?"

He smirks, "I'll do whatever you want, fiancé." He winks and stands up, "M'lady." He holds his hand out and you can't help but smile and take his hand.

As you're walking out, Carmen stops you at the door, "Hey, y/n. Wait up."

"Yeah?" You ask looking at her. She smiles, "we were just going to dinner." She motions to Zack, "I want you and Sam to join us."

You glance over at Sam and he shrugs, "I haven't eaten yet." You nod and look back at Carmen, "Where at?"

"Just right down the hall." She points and you nod, "We'll follow you." You keep ahold of Sam's hand as you follow them out the doorway.

"So fiancé, huh?" Zack says as he glances back, "How long has that been a thing?"

"I proposed recently, actually. It was a private thing, on the beach where we went all the time as kids."

You were surprised with how fast Sam came up with responses, but at the same time, he knew you.

He knew you well.

"That's so sweet!" Carmen pushes her bottom lip out and you smile, "Yeah. I didn't expect it, really. We go there as much as we can, it just never occurred to me that this would have happened.." you hold up your ring and Carmen pouts, "I'm sure it was beautiful. Do you have any pictures?"

Carmen looks between you and Sam, and Sam Saves your ass, "I do, but they're all on my laptop at home. The photographer recently just sent the rest to us."

"Can't rush perfection, am I right?" She laughs and Zack holds his hand out, "Stay right here."

You look at Carmen with a weird look as he walks away from you and she shrugs, "I have no idea. But I understand. You'll have to send them to me, y/n. I'd love to see them. I'm such a sucker for cute engagement pictures."

"Engagement pictures? Oh I'd love to see them too, y/n.." Alexa says walking up with her husband, glued to her side. 

"They just got them back, Lex. Lay off, okay." Carmen sticks up for you but Alexa just snorts, "I still don't believe this. There's just something..." she looks you up and down, smirky smugly, "Fishy.. about all of this."

"You can think what you want.. but I'm real. I'm here. So there's no need to be a bitch towards, y/n." Sam's words shock you, but also set a fire inside of you.

You love when he sticks up for you.

You always have.

Alexa snaps her head back slightly, "Excuse me?" Sam laughs, "Clearly, you heard me." His grip tightens on your waist and you lay a hand on his chest, "Baby, it's fine."

He looks down at you and you smile, "It's not worth it."

"What's going on out here?" Zack asks walking back out, looking at Alexa. She shakes her head, "Nothing. Nothing at all." She rolls her eyes and pulls her miserable looking husband with her, quietly yelling at him because he didn't stick up for her.

"Sorry, Sam." Carmen furrows her brows and frowns, "She can be a little..ehh."

He shakes his head, "Don't sweat it. We get that a lot actually."

"Really?" She asks and he nods but Zack cuts in, "Our tables are ready."

You all walk in, expecting to be sat in a booth, but you're led to a whole other table, kind of away from everyone else and it's decorated with scattered rose petals and a lit candle, "What is this?" You look at Sam and he shrugs.

Zack walks up between you and Sam, "I'd like to congratulate one of my favorite employees on her engagement." He lays a hand on Sam's shoulder, "You're a very lucky man."

Sam smiles and nods, "I am." He locks eyes with you, "Very, very lucky."

At this point, you weren't sure if you were just pretending, or if the truth was slowly coming out.

"Well.. dinner is on me tonight, as a congratulations. Enjoy it." He smiles and walks back over to Carmen and you look at Sam, "Free dinner? Hell yeah."

He walks around, moving your chair out for you and helping you scoot in, "Good?"

You nod, "Good." He walks to his seat, sitting down and looking over the menu, "this place is way too fancy, I can't even pronounce that."

You laugh slightly and shake your head, biting your lip as you look over the menu for yourself, "I know right? It's a lot of fancy for me, too."

You lean back in your chair and look up at him, "I have a confession."

"Oh, I love a good confession." He leans forward and stares at you, elbows on the table, "Hit me."

You laugh and lean forward, "Lilly gave me the idea to do this.. I just wasn't sure if you'd actually do something like this. But I guess I thought wrong."

He smiles and shakes his head, "Yeah, her and Colby have meetings about us apparently."

"You know about those, too!?" You lean back slightly and scoff, "Well.."

"Well?" Sam tilts his head and you look up at him, "I guess now a a good time to-"

"Hello, sorry about the wait. My name is Luis, I'll be taking care of you guys tonight."

"Hello." You smile up at him and Sam nods, also smiling, "Hey, how are you?"

Luis nods, "I'm great since I've been giving the pleasure of taking care of the newly engaged couple, can I get you guys started with some on the house drinks?"

You and Sam look over the drink options and order and Luis nods, "I'll be right back with those."

You look back at Sam, "We should do this more often." You laugh and Sam nods, smiling as he thinks about doing it for real one day, "Yeah, yeah we should."

You pull your phone out, "Smile this is going to both Lilly and Colby."

Sam laughs as you take the picture. The rose petals scattered in front of him make the picture even better.

"Such a cutie." You smile at him and look down at your phone as you send the picture to your friends, "They'll love this."

You put your phone away and rest your chin in the palm of your hand, "so back to-"

"Here we are." Luis sets the glasses down and leans up, "Are we ready to order?" You look at Sam and he nods, "I am if you are."

You nod and look at Luis, ordering before Sam does. Luis nods, "I'll put that right in."

"Okay." You look at Sam and sigh, "Before we get interrupted.. again." You laugh slightly and lean in as you whisper the truth, "I like you a lot, but I'm just scared that if we tr-"

Sam cuts you off by leaning over and pulling you to him. His lips press to yours and you immediately give into him, laying a hand on his arm as your lips move slowly together.

"I've been waiting years to do that." He whispers before leaning back, "You have no idea."

You smile, "Trust me. I think I do." You lean back in, pressing your lips to his and he smiles within the kiss, "I've been in love with you the minute I saw you. I was just so scared to tell you and then we became such good friends."

You lay a hand on his cheek, "I know the feeling, Sam." You smile and lean back, your cheeks filling with a deep pink tint as he continues to stare at you.

"You are.. amazing." He reaches out, taking your hand in his, "You deserve this award and even if you don't get it.. we'll get you one made."

"You don't have to do that." You shake your head and Sam sighs, "you deserve it, y/n. You are so beyond talented and smart, I mean hell, look at what you're wearing."

You glance down at your dress, absolutely speechless.

"You are going to go far, and I'm so beyond happy that I get to watch you turn into such a successful.. hold on.." he bites his lip, squeezing your hand and you look up at him.

"I'm so beyond happy that I get to watch my girlfriend become successful in what she loves doing." He smiles and your heart rate picks up, "Girlfriend?"

"Well, fiancé, for the weekend, but yeah." He smirks and brings your hand up to kiss it, "I'm so proud of you."

The rest of dinner was a blur, but a good and happy blur. You felt like you were floating, maybe it was the three drinks on top of what you had at the mixer, but you knew you were genuinely happy.

As you stand up, you notice Carmen and Zack are gone, "I'll tell them thank you tomorrow." Sam wraps his arm around your waist and leads you out and to the elevator.

He stands behind you as you wait, arms wrapped around you with his chin on your shoulder, "Guess we're done pretending, huh?"

You nod with a sigh, leaning back into him, "I guess we are."

The doors open and you step in, assuming the position you were just in after pressing the button, "Sorry I was so scared before."

"Mm. Don't do that." He kisses your cheek, "water under the bridge, baby."

The doors open and you make your way back to the hotel room. Sam holds the door open for you and you immediately kick your heels off as soon as you walk in.

Sam walks over, sitting on the bed next to your suit case, "Is this the dress you designed a few weeks ago?" Sam looks from the dress to you.

"The sparkly one?" You turn after taking your earrings out and he nods. You nod, "Yeah, that's her."

"Incredible." He bites his lip and tilts his head as he looks back down at it. His fingers run over the fabric and you walk over, "What's on your mind?"

"I'm just thinking about having you design our next merch line." He looks up at you and you smile, "Really?"

He nods, "Well, basically im asking you to. Colby and I already talked about it and he's game."

"Of course, yes." You smile and he smiles, "Yeah?"

You nod, "I'd be honored to. Just let me know what kind of designs you want." He holds his hand out and you take it. He spins you around and unzips your dress, "Go change into your comfy clothes."

You smile and go to the bathroom to change and take your makeup off. You walk out and Sam is already in shorts and a t shirt, and your suitcase is moved next to his on the floor.

He stops and looks at you, "You're so beautiful." You shake your head and cover your face, "Nooo."

"Yesss." He mocks you and walks over to you, "Come on." He pulls you to the bed and you lay down, his body pressed against yours from behind.

His arm lays over your waist and you gently play with his fingers, "Where did you get this ring from?"

He chuckles anxiously, "Well.. you see.." he pauses and you look over your shoulder at him, "What?"

"I've had it for a little bit actually.. not that I was actually going to propose or anything.. but mainly for when I got enough courage to tell you I liked you.."

"A promise ring?" You roll over to face him and he smiles and laughs slightly, "Basically, yeah."

"Sam." You whisper and he tucks hair behind your ear, "Sorry if it's not the right timing but.." he shrugs and leans in to kiss you, "I just want you to know that I got you.. no matter what."

You lay a hand on his cheek and smile, yawning as you feel the tiredness hit you, "I love it."

He smiles and kisses your forehead, "Get some sleep, you have a big day tomorrow."

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

Your eyes fluttered open, squinting at the sunlight peaking through the slightly open curtains.

You roll over, shocked for a quick second when you see Sam lying there asleep, but that shock is quickly filled with happiness and a feeling of relief.

You sit up, trying your best not to disturb him. You reach over, grabbing your purse from on top or your suit case.

You quietly laugh and smile as you see both responses from Lilly and Colby.

Lilly's text reads, now that looks like l.o.v.e.

Colby's text reads, he is so in love with you, y/n.

Sam sits up, rubbing his eyes, "Morning." You look over at him, setting your phone down as you turn to him, "Morning."

He smiles at you and leans in for a kiss. You lean in, closing the space and you both smile.

"Are you ready for this afternoon?" Sam asks as he stands up and stretches. You sigh with a laugh, "Not really."

"I'm sure you'll be alright, babe. I'll be with you the whole time." He smiles and you tilt your head, "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" He asks running his hand through his hair.

"Make everything okay."

He tilts his head, "What do you mean?" You lay on your side and he sits down on the bed, still looking at you.

"You just.. have this way of making me feel better.. no matter what." You look up at him and he smiles, "I could ask you the same question." He leans down, pressing his lips to your forehead.

You smile, closing your eyes until he leans back, "what time is it?"

He looks at the clock on the wall that's behind you, "Almost eleven."

You groan, "We have to be down there by one." You flip onto your back and say lays next to you, propping his head up with his hand, "At least you know what category you're in, so you can just ignore it all until then."

You look up at him, "I just really hope I win so I can rub it in that bitch's face."

He chuckles and nods, "Yeah, yeah. Me too honestly."

You laugh as you sit up, looking at the dress that's laid out over the chair, "You ever do something and it turned out better than you thought that you just can't believe that you did it?"

"You should be proud of yourself, babe. What you do is  pure talent. Even I'm a little jealous." Sam chuckles and you look at him, "Didn't you win awards already?"

"That's besides the point." He kisses your head, "Get ready, we'll go get some breakfast before we have to actually get ready."

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

"Sam?" You call out as you walk out from the bathroom, "Can you zip me up, please?"

You look up and he's staring at you, "Wow, um. Yeah, I can. Turn around for me."

You turn around, holding your dress to your body as he gently tugs the zipper upward, "alright. Spin around, let me see you."

You spin around and Sam's eyes rake up and down your body, "This is beautiful." He reaches out, his fingers lightly dragging up and down the fabric over your hip, "You outdid yourself with this one."

You smile, "Does this low bun and loose strands look okay with it?"

He cups your cheeks and tilts your head up, "You look absolutely gorgeous. I promise." He leans down, kissing you gently before stepping back, "Now.. how do I look?"

"It's a simple outfit, but you look expensive." You smirk and he chuckles, "That was the goal." He hands you your purse and you take it, making sure you have everything before nodding, "Alright. Let's do this."

You make your way down, everyone you pass complimenting you on your dress and you can't help but tell each person that you designed it yourself.

Sam was right, you should be proud, and you are.

You walk in to the small ballroom where you were last night and you feel like all eyes are on you.

Sam leans in, pressing a kiss to your temple and your anxiety washes away, "Thank you."

"Mhm." He points, "I'll go get us a drink if you want to go to our table." You nod, parting ways and going to sit down.

Carmen comes up and makes you stand up, "Oh my god, y/n. This dress is absolutely perfect. Holy shit."

You smile and shrug, "Thanks. I made it myself." 

"You totally deserve this award. If I win, I'm giving it to you." She looks you up and down, "I don't know how you aren't higher up in this industry."

You shrug, "I'll get there at some point, right?"

"You will when you win that award for creative genius, because this just screams, creative genius." She laughs and holds her hand up, "Hey Sam."

"Hey." Sam smiles and hands you your drink, "here babe." You take it and smile, "Thank you."

You hear the microphone squeal and Carmen sighs, "Good luck!" You nod, "You too!" You turn to Sam and sit down.

"You so have this in the bag." He smiles and everyone claps as Zack makes his way to the stage, "Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you all for being here, I'm very excited to give these ladies the recognition they truly deserve, so without further ado, our first category.."

You lean in towards Sam and laugh slightly, "You know.. I don't know why I said fiancé.."

He chuckles, "Yeah. We're kinda screwed on that one."

"Yeah. I can't just be like, oh hey. We started dating last night. We're not actually engaged." You laugh quietly and he nods, "we'll figure it out as time goes on, but in the meantime, I don't mind being your fake fiancé."

You smile and nod, "Yeah, it's pretty fun."

He shrugs, taking a sip of his drink before leaning in close to your ear, "Gives us practice for the future, right?"

You look at him, smiling as you nod, "Right." He pecks your lips and lays his arm behind you across the chair.

A few drinks later, you're finally at the category your name is listed in.

"Here we go. No matter what. You still got it." Sam grabs your hand and you hold onto it right as Zack speaks.

"And the winner of the creative genius award goes to.."

There's a slight pause as he opens up the folded piece of paper, "Y/n y/l/n." Zack claps and looks over at you and your mouth drops.

"That's you baby! You won! You fucking won!" You stand up, along with Sam and he kisses you, "go, go." You walk up to the small stage and accept the award from Zack, “Thank you.”

"You deserve this. Look at who you're wearing." He smiles and claps as you turn to the microphone, "um, wow. Okay. I honestly didn't expect this, but at the same time.." you laugh slightly and motion to your dress, "I made this."

"Yeah you did!" Carmen yells and you laugh, "I don't really have a speech prepared but I just want to thank everyone in my life who's pushed me to keep going and to Zack for taking a chance on me."

You look back at him and he nods with a smile. You turn back to the microphone and nod, "Thank you."

You step back and walk off and Zack starts talking again, “I also just found out today that our y/n has just recently got engaged, so if everyone would give a round applause for the newly engaged couple, Sam and y/n!”

You smile, shaking your head as you make your way back to the table, eyes continuing to stay on you while hands clap together.

Sam stands up, hugging you tight, "I'm so proud of you, y/n." He kisses your cheek a few times and as you sit down, you're still floating so you don't really recognize Zack announcing that you got engaged as a problem.

That is until you remember that this little ceremony is being live-streamed on multiple accounts and they have cameras.. Everywhere.

"Shit." You look around and Sam leans in, "What?"

You can't help but laugh, "Zack just outed us as being engaged." You look over at him and he shrugs with a slight laugh, "So?"

You tilt your head, "This is being live-streamed, Sam.. and we’re only dating.. I just.." you cover your mouth with your hand as you laugh into it.

He lays a hand on your thigh and shakes his head, "how many people actually watch this anyway? And I mean other than the other people in the fashion biz, and you know family and stuff."

You nod, "You're right, it's probably not that big of deal, honestly. I mean your fans probably don’t even know you’re here." You smile as you look over your award, "I can't believe it."

"Believe it baby." He gently pinches your cheek, "I knew you were going to get it."

"I hope Colby and Lilly saw.” You sigh, “I can’t believe I won. I won't be able to think about anything else now." You look over at him and he smirks, "Wanna know what I'm thinking about?"

"What's that?" You bite your lip slightly and he leans in, whispering just enough so you can hear, "Just how slow and gentle I want to pull this dress down your body.."

You tense up slightly, biting down on your lip harder as an excited chill goes down your spine, "Really?"

He nods, his fingers run up and down the zipper of your back, "Really."

You take a deep breath, looking around for any indication that you’re allowed to leave.

“I’m sure they’ll want-“ you get cut off by Zack tapping the microphone, “Would all of my winners, please come back up to the stage.”

“That.” You laugh slightly and Sam shakes his head, “It’s fine, babe. We have all night.” He nods towards the stage, “Now go get your picture taken, my little winner.”

You smile as you grab your award, making your way through the sea of people clapping. You walk up on stage, standing between two of the other girls and you bite your tongue as you see Deana sitting there with her arms crossed, pouting like a child.

You look in front of you to the sea of people taking pictures, you swear if you don’t get vision problems from the stage lights, it’ll be from the flashes of the cameras.

“Y/n. Did you make this dress yourself?” One of the photographers asks and you nod, “I sure did.” You step forward, twirling around to give them a full 360 of your gown.

“It’s beautiful!” They say and you smile, “Thank you!” You step back and Zack walks up to the microphone, “Another round of applause before I set these ladies free to celebrate.”

The audience claps and stands up, cheering and whistling for you all. You knew the industry was important, but you now realized just how important it really is.

“Alright girls.” Zack walks up to you and the others and claps his hands together, “Go celebrate! You deserve it!”

You all say thank you in unison and you make your way back to Sam.

“I’m so proud of you.” He pulls you in, kissing your forehead, “so fucking proud.”

You lean back, looking up at him, “Were free to celebrate.” He raises an eyebrow, “Are we?” You nod, standing up as you hold your hand up, “We are.”

He takes your hand and grabs your award for you before you lead him out of the room.

A string of congratulations follows you all the way to the elevator and you are feeding off the high of winning right now.

You loved it.

The elevator opens and Sam walks you in, spinning you around so his lips can meet yours. Your arms move around his neck as your back presses against the cool metal of the elevator wall.

“You deserve this..” he kisses back your jaw, “So much.” He kisses down your neck and you pull him into you, turning your head so you can kiss his lips again.

The elevator dings and he pulls away, glancing up at the floor number, “C’mon.” He slides his hand down your arm and takes your hand, leading you to the room.

He pulls the key from his pocket, unlocking the door and you both file in. He hands your award to you, “Before we take this dress off of you, let me get your picture.”

You take it, smiling as you pose for him.

“God you’re perfect.” He sets his phone down and you set your award down, your cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

“Let’s get this dress off of you, yeah?” Sam pulls you to him and his hands slide to your back. His fingers gently pull down the zipper and he pulls the sleeves gently from your arms.

And slowly. Just like he said he was thinking about doing.

He slowly tugs it down your body, letting it pool at your feet, “Step out for me.”

You step out and he moves it, kissing up your thighs, torso, and chest as he makes his way back up to your lips. His arms wrap around your waist as his lips move in a slow sync with yours.

You pull him towards the bed and you sit down, watching as he shrugs his jacket off then slips his shirt over his head, tossing it on the floor.

He walks over, hovering his body over yours as he brushes hair from your face, “I can’t believe that after all these years..” he smiles and shakes his head, “Yours finally mine.”

You smile, “We move fast.” You joke with a laugh, “Got engaged right off the bat.”

He chuckles and shrugs, “Not the worst thing in the world.” He dips his head down, kissing you as you run your hand through his hair.

“Do you wanna do this?” He leans back and you furrow your brows, “Please. I’ve thought about this everyday for the last few years.”

“Really?” He laughs and smiles and you tilt your head, “Well, maybe not everyday but you know what I mean.” He nods, pressing his lips to yours, “I do.”

You slide your hands down his torso, undoing his jeans, “Please.” You whimper out, “Don’t make me wait any longer.”

He pushes himself up, and you watch him as he takes off his pants, and he watches you take off your panties. He pulls his bottom lip between his teeth as he moves his body back onto yours.

Your legs part, knees resting on his hips as he stares down at you, “You ready?”

You nod, “Uh huh.” You lay a hand on his cheek, gasping as you feel his cock starting to slip inside of you, “Fuck.” He groans out, dropping his head to rest his forehead against yours.

Your legs move to wrap around his waist and you moan, “S-Sam.”

He pushes in all the way and you gasp, whimpering as you squeeze his cock. He moans, “S-shit.” His lips crash onto yours as he slowly thrusts in and out, feeling you as much as he can for the very first time.

“You feel incredible.” He whispers, “So fucking good.”

You moan, arching your back off the bed. You tangle your fingers into his hair and tug slightly, earning another groan from his lips.

“I love you.” He moans against your lips and you freeze. You’ve said it to each other, but as friends and mainly on birthday posts or something, but now it has a whole other meaning.

“Sorry.” He leans up, giving you a worried look. You stare at him, brushing hair from his forehead, “I love you.”

He smiles and his lips meet yours as his thrusts pick up again, “Every time I said it..” he whispers, a quiet moan following behind, “I’ve meant it this way.”

You nod, “Me too, baby.” You smile and pull him down to kiss him again. You gently bite his bottom lip and he groans, “Fuck.”

He smirks and kisses down your neck, biting and sucking spots into it as you moan out, “S-so close. So close.”

“Cum for me.” His words push you over the edge and you cling to him as he works you through your high, “That’s it baby.” He kisses your cheek over to your lips.

You gasp at how much pleasure your feelings right now, “Fuck, fuck.”

He groans, “I’m not.. gonna be able to hold it much longer..”

You nod, pulling him down to kiss you again, and a few thrusts later, he pulls out and you feel him spill onto your stomach.

He rolls over, laying on his back as you both breathe heavy, taking in what just happened. You look over at him, “So that happened.” He smirks and nods, “Yeah, yeah it did.”

You laugh slightly and look around, “Sam, can you-“

“Already on it.” He gets up and walks into the bathroom. You hear his phone going off, “Sam. Your phone is going off.”

He walks out with a towel and looks at it quick, “Yeah it’s just Colby. I’ll call him back in a second.” He walks over to you, wiping you off and you sit up, just as your phone goes off, too.

“Now mines going off.” You laugh slightly and stand up, grabbing the robe off the door and slipping it on as you walk over to your purse.

You pull your phone out, “I have three missed calls from Lilly and two from Colby.” You look at Sam as he slips his shorts on, “That’s not good.”

You toss him his phone and you call Lilly while he calls Colby.

“About time you call me back.” Lilly says on the other end.

“Yeah, sorry Lilly. I was celebrating.” You laugh slightly.

“Did Colby tell Sam?” She asks and you shake your head slightly, confused, “Did Colby tell Sam what?” You ask looking at Sam again, and his eyes go wide, “um. I’m guessing whatever it is, he just found out.”

You put Lilly on speaker, “What is happening?”

Sam burst out laughing, “Oh fucking shit.” He looks at you and puts Colby on speaker. You set your phone down, “Can someone tell me what’s happening?”

“You guys are trending on twitter.” Colby and Lilly say at the same time and your eyes go wide, “Excuse me!?”

Colby laughs on the phone, “Yeah, um. Hashtag Sam Golbach Engagement is now the third most trending hashtag..”

You look up at Sam and he has his hand over his mouth, “I don’t.. I don’t even..” he shrugs and Lilly laughs, “You my dear are just one above him with hashtag y/n and Sam Engaged.”

“Shut the fuck up.” You laugh, unsure of what to do, “what do we do?”

Sam walks over, pulling you into him, “I don’t even.. I didn’t think..” he laughs, which makes you laugh, “Oh my god, Sam. This is unbelievable.”

You look at your phone, “Lilly. Why did you give me the idea for this!?”

“I didn’t think you’d actually ask him to pretend to be your fiancé!” She laughs and Colby chimes in, “Well, looks like we have a wedding to plan.”

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

My apologies if this absolutely sucks, I feel like this isn’t my best work. but I hope you enjoyed it either way.

If you want one for Colby, you know what to do.

Likes and reblogs are appreciated!

Readers dresses - I like to give a visual sometimes

[braxlrose]

silly and weird tom hcs

a/n: the last ones got deleted for some reason so I'm making a new one!

• this mf steals your food all the time. hes always munchin on something so if you have something that looks good, he's taking it. especially if it's watermelon. he loves watermelon 🍉

• he doesn't tell anybody, but he gets his nails done. he gets pedicures and manicures and loves it so much. you found out one day when he kept going off and not telling anybody where he was going. so you followed him and saw his finger and feet soaking in water 💀

• when you walked in you were trying so hard to hold in a laugh and he was so fucking embarrassed when he saw you. you thought it was extremely ironic because he always called mani-pedis "girly"

• now you two go all the time, and you're way better at making excuses than he was.

• he got high on edibles and thought his feet weren't attached to his body anymore so he started screaming 💀

• over indulges on gushers when he's high

• you guys know those Chinese finger traps? Idk if that's what they're called but you put two fingers in them and they're like really hard to get out of. he LOVES them for some reason, he thinks they're so much fun

• he loves the snow so much, and especially loves snowball fights. it's so much fun, and he also gets to wear extra layers of clothing because of the cold

• during the winter, he gets a bunch of different kinds of hot chocolates and when anybody asks what he's drinking he swears by it that it's black coffee 💀

• he loves watching futurama and says that he strives to be bender 💀 (have yall seen the new episode? I actually really liked it, ik a lot of people said they didn't but I did.)

• gets on his knees while begging (not sexually 🤨) and will even fake cry. he's a master manipulator 💀

• when you guys go to the beach he's always asking you to come play in the water with him

• for any reason if you guys happen to be at a hospital, he goes and looks at all the little newborn babies. they're so cute and he gets all smiley just looking at them.

• he loves romance movies. mf will deny it till the day he dies when anybody asks but you've seen his collection of vhs tapes and dvds. plus bill even admitted tom cried during The Notebook.

• he tries to balance random objects on his head while walking to see it he can do it. he'll add on a object every time he does it.

• he's weirdly amazing at solving Rubix cubes?

• he loves making balloons animals and he always makes the sword ones. he will literallt sword fight with anybody.

• he eats bowls and bowls of cereal so he can get to the prize at the bottom of the box. (I full-heartedly believe he's a little kid at heart)

• he tries to make home-made pizza but ends up burning it 90% of the time.

• he's extremely ticklish on his armpits, stomach and feet and will literally die laughing if you tickle him

• he also loves kids cartoon movies like fox and the hound, Anastasia, Mulan, James and the Giant Peach, etc.

• he loves slap bracelets and has an entire collection of them.

• it wouldn't be the first time you've caught him dancing and singing to Britney spears.

• tom loves everything bathes. on camera he says he prefers showers but in reality he likes bathes better. With candles, dimmed lights, bath salts, face masks, etc.

• do you guys know that episode of Friends where Monica convinces Chandler to take a bath and he ends up loving it and shit? he's just like that. if you don't know what I'm talking about here's some clips.

clip 1

clip 2

• he tried on one of your thongs one time because you dared him to wear it the whole day.

• you also dared him to get his legs waxed and he ended up doing it and he was crying the whole time

• he loves those little stories where you add in words to them. I can't remember what they're called but it asked you for like an adjective, plural noun, verb ending in ing, etc. etc. (I hope yall know what I'm talking about, I think it starts like a m or something someone tell me please 😭)

taglist: @hearts4kaulitz @burntb4bydoll @spelaelamela @bored0writer @fishinaband @billsleftnutt @tokiiohot @bluepoptartwithsprinkles @saumspam @5hyslv7 @killed-kiss @memog1rl @80s-tingz @billybabeskaulitz @victryzvv9 @banshailey

[eyeritestuff]

Eddsworld x Reader Drabbles

———

Characters: Tom

Warnings: None! Might get suggestive though…

Author’s note: This’ll be split into parts :3 How many ? Idk !! I’ll edit this post to add the links if i ever get to it.

—————

First impressions

> Tom is of particular interest to anyone he encounters. He stands out, and not just because of his literal voids-for-eyes, but because of that damn attitude.

> In 2024, it’s addressed as the sassy man apocalypse, but universally, Tom is dubbed an asshole… amongst a bunch of other very colorful colloquialisms.

> When Tom chooses to speak to anyone, it’s not the accent that swings first, it’s the quickness of his “don’t care” response that uppercuts, and he relishes in watching people struggle to find the words to respond.

> For whatever fantastical and universal reason, when he came across you, things were different… and no, he didn’t change overnight because he saw you and it was “love at first sight”. More so, your ability to rebuttal his stupidity stood out.. and he wanted to know what made you.. you.

> Admittedly, when you met Tom, you were hooked. Something about having a taste for men with a less than stellar track record.. and that’s putting it lightly.

> The light and unintentional tan, the eyes, the dirty blonde hair, the piercings, the way the moles on his face were placed in an aesthetically pleasing way… need you go on?

> You pondered if he had any muscle to match the verbal punches he gave those around him.

> He definitely smells like alcohol.. but you’re also picking up the scent of ‘male manipulator’ cologne.. it’s soft but it’s there.

> Totally random, but are those fuzzy dice hanging off the side of his jeans? Amazing. Goes well with the mini harpoon gun keychain next to it.

> “..and this is Tom! Tom, say hi to y/n!” The taller boy in green motioned to the freak in blue, and you beamed as you waved at him. He came prepared, however, with an umbrella that naturally blocked your rays. In other words, he had a resting bitch face.

> Cliche, but you knew that if push came to shove, he cared about hurting others— he has emotions. You just didn’t know how much it would take for him to show them.

> You had all the time in the world… well! Technically, as much time as your landlord wanted to give you when renewing the lease. You and the three taller boys in front of you lived in the same complex. You needed a place to stay while studying away at uni.. and this place was perfect. The fact new friends came with it was a plus you didn’t really see coming.

>“Twiddling with your hair isn’t gonna make it grow any longer.” a gruff voice said. You looked up to match the voice with Tom. His voice sounds like he just woke up from a bad hangover, and honestly you wouldn’t be surprised if that was the exact scenario. Considering, well…

> “And drinking more won’t make the problems any better,” you retorted and gestured towards him and his flask , “exhibit A.” The blue boy was taken a back, clearly by the way his facial expression illustrated confusion.

> “Some people do it for the fun of it.”

> “Some people should really pick up a book if they consider taking a swigs’ a hobby..”

> “Oh really?”

> “Make the book high school biology, yes.” what a nerdy response , you say you yourself.

> The two of you stared each other down. Honestly though, what was there to stare into? Trying to find his soul was like walking in the dark, really. Your peripheral vision caught the redhead and the green hoodie boy fidgeting in place, so you knew to stop here.

> To your surprise, Tom’s face then broke character with a smile.

> Oh.. his smile.

> Toothy, sly, and alluring. Your face was heating up. The way his lips curled.. it was something you wanted to see more often. It’s decided then.

> “You’re different, y/n, I’ll give you that.” You then snapped back into reality after feeling his hand land on your shoulder a little rough like.. especially since the spiked bracelet he wore on that hand jabbed a little into your skin.

> Make no mistake, you were attracted to him surface level. However, you wanted to know more. Little did you know he shared the same sentiment.

How did you find out

> Tom sucks at compliments. No, really! Especially when he’s crushing on someone.

> He doesn’t want anyone to find out. Which is code for he doesn’t wanna seem vulnerable to anyone. His rationale is if he were to compliment someone, that person and the others around them will get to thinking.

> You, however, are blissfully unaware.

> Tom sucks at hiding his feelings. Shit, he sucks at hiding anything in general. He wears his emotions on his sleeves, and then expresses them in a pretty fucked up way. So, no, your ignorance isn’t because he’s good at bottling things in. It’s because you’re genuinely empty in the noggin.

> Everyone around you knows. Tom knows everyone knows. It’s just better if he gaslights himself into thinking otherwise, it helps him sleep at night.

> Your presence amongst the group is almost a daily occurrence. Edd tries to throw hints, but they’re drowned out but Tom’s sudden outbursts.

> Sudden outbursts could range from burping, shouting vulgarities, injuring himself ‘by accident’ and then channeling his inner sailor some more, or punches to the arm of the messenger. You take your guess, he’s probably done the latter.

> Back to the compliments. There was a particular time where Matt and you decided to have a silly little shopping trip. His invite! You guys went around 10 in the morning, only to come back to Matt’s apartment around 8 in the night. To your surprise, you see Edd and Tom already comfortable on the couch. Tom was in a tight band t-shirt and some sweats, while Edd wore a silly creeper onesie.

> “How was the adventure you two?” Edd hums and smiles. You struggled with your bags and gently placed them down to the side. You had quite a few and your arms felt a wave of relief once you set them down. “I had so much fun! Matt was super helpful in my wardrobe cleanse mission.”

> Matt frowned slightly as he set his bags down and his hands magnetized to his hips, “ What’dya mean cleanse? We didn’t buy cleaning supplies!” You giggled at his empty headed moment and changed the subject.

> “Want a fashion show?” You smiled once you noticed Edd’s visible excitement at the prospect. You also couldn’t help but notice Tom shifting in his seat at the mention. You took a glance in that direction and decided to be a little direct.

> “How about you, Tom?” He cringed at your question. Again, not because of your doing.. necessarily… but because he was nervous. His head was being imaginative, put it like that.

> “…Whatever..” He mumbled, and you shrugged it off. Fashion show time!

> You and Matt were having fun doing silly poses and pretending to vouge. Edd was super encouraging, loved every outfit, and even clapping to the music that was playing. Tom, however, was sunken in the sofa with his arms crossed just glaring at the floor.

> Tom isn’t and wasn’t going to praise you. Again, he had a weird stigma about compliments.

> However, those lowrise bell bottom jeans with that studded belt and that fitted sleeved shirt in what he knows is your favorite color. He couldn’t help but stare at your waist and what little view of your chest your shirt had to offer.

> You noticed how Tom rose in his seat, and felt your face break into a sly smile at the realization that he was interested. His face screamed that sentiment. Everyone noticed it too, and it quickly got silent.

> You try to poke. “What’s with the face, nerd.”

> He deflected next. “You look stupid.”

> “Do I really?”

> “Not gonna repeat myself twice.”

> “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I’ve piqued your interest.”

> “You fucking wish. I’d never be into someone like you. Honestly, you’re such an air—”

> “Hey Tom, your face is really red… are you okay?”

> “Yeah.. Tom… you look like you’re suffocating! I’ve never seen you so-”

> Tom threw up his hands in surrender and shouted “I’m out!” With that, he stood up and walked out. There was a brief moment of silence before there was a slam of the door. You looked back at your friends and sighed, “Sorry guys.. maybe I took it too far..”

> “Seriously..?” Matt facepalmed.

> “What..! I Already said s—“

> “What Matt means to say is, have you really not noticed yet?” Edd asked genuinely concerned. You looked at him and laughed awkwardly before realizing he was serious. “What’s.. what.. huh..? What did I do.. wait- what’s going on?”

> “Tom is whipped for you, y/n,” Matt exclaimed, “Even I knew that!” You felt your face heat up and your head whipped around to face both at them.

> “Huh..?” is all you could manage out before you focused on Edd.

> “Yes! He just doesn’t know how to express it.“ You swing your head to look over to Matt and begin to twitch, “He needs to figure it out then!”

> “That’s the thing y/n, he doesn’t do that all the time. It’s just with you. Sure him and I have our moments, and then there was Tord, but those two genuinely couldn’t get along. Have you not noticed that after your arguments how he hides his face-” Matt then interjects, “Or that time when it was your birthday, and he helped you clean cake off your face after arguing about how much of a slob you were,” Edd then copied Matt, “or when you had just failed your chemistry exam, and all you could do was sulk and watch My Little Pony, and so he stayed the night with you saying the excuse that-“ and in unison the two sung: “I’m bored, and terrorizing y/n sounds like fun.”

> You felt your face heat up recalling just those handful of moments. “I thought he was just being a friend…” you mumbled.

> “It would…! If it was anyone but Tom, of course.” Edd chuckled and shrugged. He was right.

> The MLP binge watch weekend should’ve been so obvious. I mean, come on, you two shared a throw blanket and your legs intertwined with his. Tom isn’t touchy with anyone. You had failed a chemistry exam, yes. It got especially emotional since that week you were already feeling homesick, and you had sacrificed phone time with your family to study.. and failure. When Tom came over, you’d cry everytime the episode had a familial lesson— it sucked. Next thing you knew, Tom put aside your one sided beef when he wrapped you into a tight hug.

> “Well what now…?”

> “Run to him!!!” Matt exclaimed dramatically.

> Do you even wanna give the punk rock boy a chance?

How did he find out

> Laying there sprawled out across his bed was Tom. His bed was the safe haven in the mess that was his room.

> Dirty room. Very Cluttered. Clothes scattered the floors, clean and dirty. It smelled like his cologne took a stroll through a bar.. minus the pungent scent of stomach acid.

> His bed consisted of his precious Tomee bear, two pillows with gray cases on them, and 6 blankets. Half of those blankets were throws, but still.. why so many blankets?

> Posters scattered across his room walls. Old band posters, classic anime franchises, and a few posters of video game crushes he had over the years. In the corner was a cluster of polaroids of all his friends! Yes, Tord included… and yes, even you.

> Tom found himself shifting his gaze from the white ceiling to that corner. There was a picture you took where he was caught mid laugh and you took the opportunity and posed with your polaroid. He loved that picture, to the point where he placed it in a position where it would be the first one his eyes went for. That day, he thought you looked the prettiest. Not like you don’t look pretty everyday, it’s just that one he appreciated because you were in bliss. All he could do that entire night was fight back a smile when you smiled, when you laughed, and when you looked at him with those caring warm eyes.

> “What am I thinking…” He groaned and threw his hands over his face. He wants to tell you, trust, he really does! He’s just.. afraid of rejection.

> It’s a pretty typical fear amongst many people. So he wasn’t alone. He just feels humiliated and embarrassed for having weaknesses. What if those feelings transferred to the relationship? Is there even a potential relationship.

> Gosh you were so pretty to him. He loved every detail about you. There wasn’t a moment he didn’t fantasize about you. He’d probably take you to a museum for a first date.

> Tom loves art. It’s kinda obvious. Unless you view music and art as separate catagories that never merge.. then I don’t know what to tell you.

> He noticed what kind of media you consume, which was a lot of animation, and he wanted to explore other genres with you on that first date. So what better place than a museum?

> There was a knock.

> It shook the man out of his fantastical wonderland, and he shot up.

> Tom has this terrible habit of opening the door without checking the peephole. Opening the door he found himself devoid of air coming face to face with the person in front of them.

> It was you.

> You weren’t wearing the outfit you were modeling earlier. To be fair it’s been about 2 hours since then. You were wearing a silly cat onesie, and in your hand was a reusable grocery bag. Unknown to him, you gambled on having a sleepover with him, and in your bag was a bunch of ingredients to make milkshakes.

> He didn’t have the energy to disguise the emotions he was feeling, and leaning against the door frame, he spoke to break the ice.

> “Uhh, what’s- What’s up ?”

> “Wanna have a sleepover?”, you smiled and shifted the bag to the front of your knees and grabbed it with both hands.

> “Uhmm..” he shifted off the doorframe and let out an unsure sigh. Grabbing the ends of his fitted band tee, he pulled and looked behind him.

> “If it’s a mess you’re worried about, I don’t mind! I can even help you clean up.” you offered.

> “Oh no- you.. you don’t have to do that. Uh. I’m down, I was just caught off guard because when you showed up I was zoned out.” he nervously laughed and opened his door wider, gesturing for you to walk in.

> You walked in and set the grocery bag down on the kitchen island to the left. He went straight for the bag and started snooping while you started picking up items to clear the space you were going to get comfortable in.

> “Smirnoff…?” He said in an almost childlike wonder way.

> “Ah, yeah,” you started, “I remembered it was your go to at bars, and I wanted to see how it would taste in a milkshake.”

> Oh you were perfect.

> “Also, Tom, We need to talk.. but don’t get mad with me.”

> Tom scoffed and turned around to start the dishes, “I could never be mad at you y/n, don’t be stupid.”

> “I don’t, actually. I feel like some of our bickers are not jokes.”

> “Well to clarify, I’m only teasing.”

> “Back to the point, Tom,” you started and he hummed in response, “I like you Tom.”

> No.

> “Yeah me too y/n. You’re fun to be around.”

> “Nono, Tom, I mean.. romantically.”

> The sound of dishes stopped with a crash of glass. Nothing broke, but it was loud enough to startle you.

> You stood up and turned to look towards Tom to see him standing there with wide white eyes and a red face.

> “What..?” He said like a child, and it made you laugh.

> “Yeah, I love being around you, I like your presence.. albeit I could live without the insults, but I love your sass and your jokes. You’re funny, you’re pretty, and I wanna know more about you.. more than the Tom I know.”

> “y/n.”

> “Yea?”

> “I don’t even know what to say in this situation, but know I do feel the same. I feel strongly..? If I could jump off the walls like a damn molecule, I would. Y/n, I really like you too.”

> “Oh what a relief. For a second, you had me believing that the boys were wrong.”

> Tom laughed.. out loud. It made your heart melt because it was a genuine one for once, “You dummy! I’m sure you had Edd and Matt biting their fingernails in frustration over this.”

> “i’m sorry I didn’t notice sooner!”

> “I’m just happy you noticed at all.”

[outivv]

I’m so disappointed with the natlan teaser because like. Girl. All of those characters would straight up look better if they had even the tiniest bit of melanin don’t even lie hyv.

I’m gonna go on a fat rant here so below the cut, fair warning because it’s messy as fuck I’m just pissed off

No because how are you going to straight up take the inspirations, and clear liberties from Aztec, Māori, Qichwa, Nigerian, Hawaiian, Native American, And Mayan (according to this image from @ HYVboycott on Twitter highly recommend btw they have good info imo)

And then you’re not gonna represent them in terms of their skin color??? Yes there are pale people in all these countries and pale people apart of these cultures, HOWEVER the vast majority of people, or the native people are not typically fucking white. I am white and I literally am darker than the majority of the genshin characters, even in winter when I don’t fucking tan. Like the genshin characters don’t even look ALIVE for Christ’s sake. Hyv are a bunch of cowards who take inspiration from poc, and don’t properly represent them, even in their other games like honkai Star rail. Boothill is Native American. Blatantly. “Oh, no he’s not!!” Yes the fuck he is, his entire backstory is based off of native people, he’s also part Hispanic because the original cowboys were Hispanic people called vaqueros, his home planet in the original CN version of honkai Star rail is literally two native tribes put together I believe. He is Native American, and Hispanic, and hyv TOOK that inspiration and that culture and then was too much of a coward to AT LEAST make him tan. Don’t even get me started on aventurine. So it’s not just with genshin that they do this shit, it’s a hyv problem as a whole, but with genshin it’s so like… common, and genshin has so many issues that make it feel like a cash-grab kinda game, and like the devs are just spitting in our face CONSTANTLY, especially when it comes to characters, and representation. It’s so depressing to see a game that at first had so much fucking promise, now just be such a fucking letdown after like what? 5? 4? Years? Like you’ve built up so much hype, and lore, and excitement just for Sumeru and Natlan not having any representation like fuck off. Hyv CAN fix these issues, they just don’t want to and they have expressed that time and time again by making dark skinned enemies, and enemies with dreadlocks. They know that they can, they just don’t want to because they’re too pussy. And it’s not because they’re a Chinese company, I mean obviously I understand that there is a complicated relationship with tan skin and China, HOWEVER that is no excuse because genshin, honkai Star rail, zenless zone zero, and honkai impact 3rd are all worldwide games and they need to appeal to their WORLDWIDE customers, and I’ve seen plenty of CN players fucking just as pissed off that there isn’t any actual diversity for like any of their games. Plus other Chinese companies have made diverse games, like Dislyte which I’m honestly a huge fucking fan of because of their diversity. Having diversity would BENEFIT hoyoverse a hell of a lot, but they are just trying to appeal to greasy old white men who are the same men who have a tantrum while making a reaction video to a game trailer and go “OH MY GOD SHE ISNT GOT ENOUGH!! LOOK AT HER!! SHE ISNT SEXY!!”, “OH MY GODDD THEY HAVE PRONOUNS NOW!! THE WOKE SNOWFLAKES GOT TO THEM”, and “OH MY GOD ASSASSINS CREED IS MAKING A BLACK SAMURAI THE MAIN CHARACTER!! NOOOO THATS NOT HISTORICALLY ACCURATE!!” Because they’re all pathetic, and that’s who hoyoverse is trying to cater to.

Okay I’m done, this went all over the place but I’m so pissed off so fuck hyv, give them the feedback they deserve, have a great day.

[grippingbeskar]

strip poker

matt murdock x fem!reader

warnings: explicit content 18+ minors dni (mxf, dirty talk, honestly kind of tame if i’m honest) swearing, gambling?? idk it’s literally the title

a/n: i have been getting a few messages to write more matt so HERE IS ME FULFILLING THAT REQUEST! i’m so glad you guys liked the first one! hope you enjoy! also this gif is how i imagine him looking for the whole first part. fuxk he’s so hot anyways.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. How is that even possible?” You shout, nearly spilling your beer on the already sticky table at Josie’s. You’d been playing poker in the shitty little set up at the back, a bunch of screwed up twenty dollar bills half heartedly thrown in as Matthew Murdock won yet another round.

“It’s unfair, really. Gets the looks and the brains. He either folds right away, or wins the whole game.” Foggy shakes his head, shoving Matt on the shoulder. “I lost a lotta money to this guy in college.”

“Yet you still play him.” Karen chucks her cards in the centre, watching Foggy re-shuffle the deck while Matt takes his winnings, shrugging.

“I didn’t say I learnt from it.”

“But how does that even…work? Because, you’re—well, you know…” You lean back, trying not to think about Matt’s attention, and how it had been on you the whole night. Especially now, as his fingers card through the new wad of cash in his hands, almost like he’s doing it just for you.

“Blind?” He smiles, and you make a noise of agreement while finishing off your beer. “I’m just very good at reading people.”

“Oh, I get it. You cheat, don’t you? Feel the fibres in the cards or whatever.” He scoffs, shaking his head.

“Feel the fibres?”

“Okay— well, it’s something like that, though. Isn’t it?” Even Foggy was interested now, snatching the deck that was now in the centre of the table. Matt shrugs again, hanging one arm around the empty chair next to him.

“I don’t cheat. Most people give away their hand as soon as they open their mouth. You just have to know the tell. Poker is just a waiting game.” He says it casually like winning every single poker game he’s ever played is the simplest thing in the world. “Plus, like you said. It’s not like I can look over your shoulder, can I? How would I cheat?”

“Well, whatever it is, I hope it fails, because I need to start paying off this tab if Josie’s gonna serve us anymore.” Foggy deals out the cards, and you watch Matt intently. He never even picks up his cards, just sits there with one hand wrapped around his beer, head turned in your direction. “Alright, Karen?”

“I’m out. I’m running out of money.” Foggy boo’s, and she laughs, sliding off her chair. “Maybe if my boss’ paid me more, I’d be in.”

“Okay, ouch.” Foggy pouts, but deals your cards, skipping over Karen’s empty seat. “Matthew, you start.”

“I’m in.” He smirks, his free hand lightly tracing around the edges of his face-down cards. “Your turn, sweetheart.”

“In.” You look at Foggy, and he sighs, pushing in his money as well.

“Last round. I’m all in.” All in doesn’t mean a lot to Foggy considering he’d only had about two chips and a one dollar bill left, but you and Matt still had a fair amount. Both of you match his bet, and he flips over another card. “Well, fuck.”

“See? Everyone’s got a tell.” Matt laughs and you roll your eyes. Foggy chucks his cards in the centre.

“Anyone could tell Foggy was gonna lose.”

“Hey! I had a fair chance about an hour ago.” Leaving both you and Matt laughing, he turns to go find Karen. “You two kids get home safe, okay?”

“I’ll look after her.” He says, his head still angled towards you. Your grip on the cards in your hand gets a little tighter, and he taps his finger on the table, asking you to flip another card. “Come on. You aren’t giving up yet, are you?”

“Definitely not.” You flip the last card, and it’s a King. The one you were looking for— you had a full house. A strong hand, but you didn’t want to give yourself away. You say nothing, remembering what Matt said earlier, and he smiles after a beat of silence.

“You aren’t talking to me now?” He teases, leaning over the table on his forearms to get a little closer to you. He smells like beer and cedar— a strange combination, but somehow intoxicating on him. “You know I’m gonna beat you anyways. No point in getting all quiet on me.”

“Shut up and make your bet, Murdock.” He’s still got that smirk on his face, the one that says he’s going to beat you before you’ve even put your cards down, and he matches your bet, sliding a few bills into the centre. “Showoff.”

“Just trying to impress you.” He was making it increasingly hard to keep a poker face, and you know he couldn’t see you but somehow it felt like he could see straight through you, like he knew how every one of his sweet words ate away at that feeble resistance you’d built up to try and keep him out. “You can fold if you need to. I promise I won’t hold it against you.”

“Does this whole act usually work for you? The girls eat this shit up, don’t they?” He shrugs, leaning back and leaving his still turned down cards on the table.

“Most of the time.” You push in double the amount of money he bet, and somehow he knows exactly how many, because before you’d even sat back he was matching the bet, smiling sweetly at you.

“How?!”

“How what?”

“How do you know you’ll win?” You lean forward and he moves too, mirroring you and nearly meeting your hands in the centre of the small table.

“I can’t give away all my secrets.” You roll your eyes and lay your cards face up on the table. He doesn’t so much as flinch, both your bodies still leaning towards each other.

This part of the bar was quiet and secluded, and you swear if you angled yourself just right no one would even be able to see you from here. The thought drove your brain to a whole lot of dirty thoughts you had been trying your best not to have about your literal boss, and you physically shook them away. When he spoke again, you had to squint to focus.

“Wouldn’t be fair, would it?”

“Oh, piss off. Let’s see what you have.” You deflect, holding out hope you could still make something of this game. Still smirking, he keeps his head angled towards you, reaching over and sliding his cards to you. You’re hesitant to take them, and he knows it.

“Help a guy out?” He reaches out to the wrong spot on the table, a clear ploy to get you to flip them for him. He was delaying this— dragging it out because it was fun to him, and as much as it sucked you were losing money, you’d probably empty your wallet if it kept him this close to you.

“I’m not falling for your helpless act. I’ve seen you in a court room.”

“Indulge me.” Deciding not to delay the process any longer, you flip them all over in one go.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” A royal-fucking-flush.

“What is it?” He says smiling, keeping as close to you as possible.

“A— you know what? I’m not even going to tell you.” He breathes out a laugh, leaning back finally, and it’s only when he’s sitting in his chair again that you manage to get your head screwed back on straight. “Now I’m really out of money.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. Happens to the best of them.” You scoff. That’s the second time he’s called you that, and it seems to make you fidget in your seat more every time.

“Just means you have to cover the tab.”

“Don’t pout.” Instantly you steeled your face, and just as you were about to ask him exactly how he knew, he spoke again. “I tell you what— you want your money back, we can play a new game. All or nothing.”

“I feel like this is a trap.” He laughed, the sound drawing you in like some kind of siren song. You leaned forward again, reaching out for your money on the table, but he was faster, his own enveloping yours. His hands were rough and large, and you couldn’t peel your eyes away from how you practically disappeared underneath him.

“It’s not a game we can play here, though.” You swallow hard. You’d always flirted with Matt— it was easy, and honestly the best part of your day was seeing that playful smile, or even when his ears got a little pink when you got particularly close to whisper something about a case.

But this? He’s talking about leave a bar with him. On a Saturday night. To play a game. You chugged the rest of your beer, needing the liquid courage.

“Alright, Matthew. I’ll indulge you. What kind of game are you talking about?”

“Poker.” Laughing, you watch as he gets up from his chair and grabs his jacket, already resigned to the idea you were both leaving. Now.

“We are playing poker.”

“It’s not that kind of poker.” He’s right next to you now, edged between you and the chair cemented to the floor next to you. He was so close you had no choice but to lean into him, not that you could think of anything else you’d rather be doing.

“Not that kind of poker?” You say softly, and he hums. The sound vibrates through his chest, and you resist the urge to flutter your eyes close and just listen to him talk. Something about his voice has you floating on air, and it’s part of the reason he’s so hard to resist. He just never stops talking.

You jump slightly when you feel his hand brush against your shoulder. You were wearing a silk dress that hung off your shoulder, so he took his time, grazing along your soft skin. His fingers carded through your hair lightly, and to top it off, he brushed the hair back, his hand coming to rest on the back of your neck, tilting your face upwards gently.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were suggesting something unprofessional, Mr. Murdock.” His face splits into another smile, but his hand drops from your skin. Instantly you feel colder without his touch.

“You tell me to go to Hell right now and I will. No hard feelings. You’re a good lawyer, and I won’t mess this up for you.” Now you understand why he stopped touching you. Matthew Murdock— self professed people reader, was unsure if he’d read this situation right. The thought occurred to you once to fuck with him a little, but when you looked up at him and saw how tight his jaw was, you melted a little. That tiny wall of resistance you’d built up was crumpled from the inside.

“And if I say I’m interested in this little game?”

“Then I’d say I’ll meet you outside. Balls in your court, princess.” He presses a light kiss to your cheek, and you nearly get dizzy from the gesture if you hadn’t seen him grab your money as well as his off the table before he disappears into the crowd.

You call after him, but all you get is a shrug and a laugh that is unmistakably his as he disappears into the crowd. You don’t move for a second— your heart screaming at you to get on your feet and follow him, but a small, stupid part of your brain tells you to not. He was your boss, after all, and you needed this job, but it was also Matt.

You knew he was a little bit of a lady killer— Karen and Foggy making a thousand jokes at his expense which he managed to laugh off. Even with clients he always managed to win the girls over with his charm, but as much as people talk about it, ever since you came around you haven’t seen him so much as flirt for more than a few minutes with anyone but you. Sure, you weren’t with him every second of every day, but between the late nights and weekends spent in his office to getting lunch and sometimes dinner on your days off, even Foggy had made a few passing comments about how he’d staved off women.

You didn’t have a leg to stand on to get jealous even if he did— but it made your heart stutter in his chest to think you had something to do with it. He was always showing up with an extra coffee for you, walking you home if you had to stay late, paying you endless compliments… and the way he spoke to you, teasing but never cruel, always making you laugh even when you hadn’t slept for 24 hours.

Really— your decision on whether to follow him out was made months ago when you first met him. The moment you saw that stupid smile and the first time he said your name; you nearly took the chair with you with how quick you jumped up to find him outside the bar.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“I’ve never been to your place before.” You listen to the sound of Matt pouring you a glass of wine as you hang your head off the back of his couch. You have to squint to block out the streaming colour of light that shines through the giant windows; hues of pink and blue billboard warped from the rain that was coming down outside.

“It’s an acquired taste.” He taps your leg and you shift to sit up, him sitting close next to you handing you a glass. “You like red, right?”

“I drink anything as long as it’s free.”

“This one’s on me.” You laugh into your glass, taking a long sip and enjoying the burn that comes with it. It tastes expensive, and you expect nothing less from him. He’s facing you, one arm lazily hanging behind you on the couch, and your heart is racing even without the wine.

“So, did you really invite me up here for a game of poker, or was that just a ploy to get in my pants?” His laugh fills the quiet apartment, and he leans forward to pull out a drawer, his hand reappearing with a deck of cards.

“I never say no to a pretty girl in my apartment, but if you want your money back, you’re going to have to play me for it.” You snatch the cards from him, shuffling them dramatically.

“And tell me why, exactly, we couldn’t play this all important game in the bar?” You watch him carefully, how you always do when your alone, and you see his tell tale sign. The slightest hint of red on his cheeks, just at your question. “Matthew?”

“You’re out of money, but we’re still playing poker. What do you think we’re betting?” Now you were the one blushing.

“So this really was a ploy to get in my pants.” You try to sound nonchalant, confident like he always manages to come across as, but your voice shakes a little at the end of your sentence, and you were still shuffling the cards even though they were way past ready. You quickly put them on the table and down the rest of your wine.

“Can you blame me?” He asks lowly, and you cross your legs, ignoring the heat that grows in your stomach. “Listen, you know I love these games we play, but I don’t want you to—“

“If you’re bitching out now, I can take the money in credit or cheque, too.” He stops talking, mouth open a little, and scoffs out a laugh. The last thing you wanted him to do was think you weren’t a hundred and ten percent here for whatever he wanted to do with you. To you. Shit— that wine was going straight to your head.

“Alright, you asked for it. I was gonna go easy on you, but…”He sighs and shakes his head, and you roll your eyes, dealing the cards.

“Sure you were. Pick up the cards this time.” You all but shove them in his hands, and he takes his time pulling away from you, smiling like he could feel your pulse through the small touch and knew how much he affected you.

Looking at your cards, you tried to see a way to win with what was on the table. You had nothing, really, but he didn’t know that, and you still had a chance. Besides, if he wanted to play that kind of poker, you were positive you wouldn’t have to rely on the cards to distract him. If you could keep your thoughts under control.

“It’s a real shame you aren’t going to win, you know.” You bait him, and his head tilts up from where he was pretending to be looking at his cards.

“And why is that?” You shift in your seat at his voice. Again.

“Well, I dressed up all pretty for tonight.” You flip over the next card on the table, and suck in a breath. “And it’s just a shame you won’t get to experience that.”

“You know the point of this game isn’t to keep your clothes on. No matter how pretty you are in that dress.” He flips over the final card, and you bite down on your lower lip. You have nothing. Nada.

“Exactly, but the best part of my outfit isn’t the dress. It’s what I’m wearing underneath.” His eyes close, and you watch as he sighs and lets his head fall back.

“Can’t believe I was going to take it easy on you, sweet thing.” You can’t stop the grin on your face as he looks up at you like he’s in legitimate pain. “Play your cards.”

“Ohh, so serious now!” He manages a small ‘hm’ and although you were joking, he doesn’t seem so playful anymore. The look on his face was more akin to what he was like in court— focused and ready to win at all costs. “Don’t pout.”

“You’re bluffing, aren’t you?” He says, and you feel his hand on your opposite shoulder, the arm laying around the back of your couch sneaking closer while you were distracted. You shuffle slightly closer, allowing him the space.

“I thought you knew everyone’s tells.”

“You’re a little harder to read than most, I’ll admit it.” You make a noise in surprise, but he just shakes his head. “That doesn’t mean I won’t take you apart just as easily.”

“Guess you’ll have to play your cards to find out. Unless you want to fold?” He laughs, breaking up the tension just a little, and while you two were inches away from each other, he tosses his cards half heartedly onto the table, face up.

“How’d I do?” He leans closer, taking the extra space when you turn your head. You feel every word he speaks on your skin, lips not even an inch away from being on you. You could hardly keep your eyes open, let alone focus on the cards.

“I think you win this round.” You manage, shakily exhaling as you practically feel his smile on your neck. The hand that was around the back of the couch leaves you completely, while the other slowly creeps up the bare skin of your arm, making you shiver. “Th-three sixes against a four of a kind.”

“Hmm. Unlucky.” Shallow breaths were the only ones you could take with him this close. Gentle fingers find the soft material of the strap of your dress, hooking under it loosely. You told yourself you didn’t wear this dress for him— but you knew how it would feel. Silky and smooth against your skin, if he couldn’t see how good you looked in this dress, he would damn well feel it.

He slowly drops the strap down your shoulder, then the other hand encourages the other side down. You use your arms to keep the dress up, making him work for it a little, but as soon as he tugs lightly at the hem you let the dress fall over your breasts.

Matt’s hands feel the lace of your bra, lingering a little longer than he had to. Then he flattens his palms on either side of your rib cage, pulling the dress lower. He feels every curve and ridge on your body, and you can’t take your eyes off his face. He was enamoured— completely lost in the feeling, so much so that his eyes were shut tightly, even the light was taking too much away from the sensation.

“Matt, hurry u—“

“Shh. Let me enjoy my prize.” He finally leans closer, a soft kiss to your collarbone nearly melting you into the couch.

His hands reach your hip, and then get a little more aggressive, fisting the soft material and pulling rather than guiding. You shimmy your hips and let him drag it down your thighs. He seems reluctant to move past the faint excuse for underwear you were wearing, but eventually the dress falls to the floor, and he sighs.

“You were right.”

“About what?” His hand catches your chin, thumb pressing on your bottom lip lightly.

“You are even prettier like this.” Your knuckles were going white with how hard they were trying to stay at your sides, but now you were half naked, and he hadn’t so much as taken his jacket off.

“You think so?”

“I fucking know so. And these—“ The hand on holding your face to his is still on your hip, and one finger hooks under the lace. “—these for me?”

“You haven’t won that yet.” He presses his forehead to yours and groans, and then leans back, but doesn’t go too far. “Your turn to deal.”

“Fine.” He frowns like a little kid who just got told he can’t have ice cream, and quickly swipes up the cards. It’s only then that you notice these ones— his personal set, have braille on them.

“You can read these ones.” You say, and he nods.

“This game is much more important.” Biting your lip so hard it’s probably bleeding, you watch his talented hands quickly sort and deal the cards. “Wouldn’t want anyone to think I’m cheating.”

“You’re so funny.” You squint, and he smiles.

This round is much faster. He’s clearly in no mood to fuck around anymore, and makes every opportunity to touch you now you’re sitting in front of him in nothing but a few strands of lace. In front of anyone else, you think you’d feel insecure, or at the very least cold, but with the way he’s acting like he’s starving for you— it has enough heat in that look to warm you for an entire winter.

You actually have a good hand this time, and to your surprise, you win. Your Aces beat his fours, and he takes off his jacket.

“That is hardly fair.”

“Are you trying to get me to take my clothes off? Because that is entirely unprofessional.” You want to laugh, but what you want more is to tear off the buttons on his shirt and— “Your cards, sweetheart.”

“So, are you going to tell me how you know you’ll win?” You take them quickly, trying to ignore how you missed him reshuffling the deck completely because you were too lost in your thoughts of fucking him right here, right now. What else was going to happen here, though? It was the anticipation that was driving you wild— the inevitable burn of what was months in the making.

“You really want to know?”

“Please.” He smiles again, flicking through his cards.

“I can hear your heartbeat.” You laugh, and he faces you again.

“You’re kidding.”

“It gets faster when you’re winning.” You look down at your cards— another solid hand, and you think he might of had something to do with that.

“I don’t think th—“

“It’s getting faster.” He leans closer again, tilting his head like he could actually hear you internally losing your shit. He was right— it was getting faster, but it had nothing to do with the cards. “You have a good hand, don’t you?”

“Maybe?” He laughs, and his hand touches yours. You watch as his hands— the hands you’ve spent way too many hours looking at, and they read your cards.

“Shit. I’m starting to think you might be cheating.” He starts unbuttoning his shirt, but your hands reach out, stopping him.

“My turn.” Keeping your hands on top of his, you relish in his surprised expression as you swing your leg over him. He all but gasps when you sit your weight down fully, the underwear hiding nothing from him or you as you press yourself against him.

Your fingers are as soft as his were, moving his tie to the side while you slowly undo each little button. When a new one opens, more of him is revealed, and every inch of unexplored skin has you nearly panting. Not to mention the way he’s holding you, his hands roaming the bare skin of your back and hips to pull you closer.

When you finally reach the bottom of his shirt, you nearly rip at it trying to remove it, but Matt takes it from you and slips out of it within a second, throwing it away somewhere behind you. Your hands are gentle as they slide up his chest, trying your best to avoid the scars that might still be painful. You had no idea he had so many scars— the image of him shirtless is even more alluring now.

“I don’t want to play games anymore.” You whisper, and his hand is already tangled in your hair when you finish, hauling your lips to his in a hungry kiss. Its fiery and hot, everything burning at once. You wrap your arms around his head and in one motion he stands, a small squeak of surprise coming from you as your legs wrap around his torso.

You couldn’t stop obsessing over the feeling of his skin on yours, the way he felt so warm against you; how his hands were rough and gentle at the same time, grabbing and pulling at any part of you they could find purchase. Eventually he stopped moving and your world fell backwards, landing on soft sheets and being encased by Matthew Murdock.

“Matty…” You whine into his mouth and he hums against you, his tongue opening you up, taking control of every single breath you take. Your eyes flutter open when he moves lower, kissing your jaw, and you inhale sharply when his teeth bite lightly at the sensitive spot on your neck. It felt electric, almost, the way he followed the harsher touch with gentle kisses and soothing hands.

“Fuck, you liked that? My sweet little fucking thing. Thought about this every day.” He groaned the confessions against your skin, leaving you helpless to do anything but moan and squirm underneath him. You were at his mercy, and you were pretty sure if he didn’t fuck you soon you’d implode. “You’re beautiful. Beautiful.”

His hand slips from your side down between your bodies, quickly finding the spot between your legs that has you nearly screaming his name in the first ten seconds.

“Oh God, more—please.” You beg shamelessly, rolling your hips into his hand as he takes his time drawing slow, firm circles on your clit. His other hand holds your hips down, making you whine in protest.

“I know, baby. Feels good?” You nod quickly, eyes squeezed shut.

“I need you—“

“You’re so fucking pretty like this. You want me to take these off? Have I won these yet?” He whispers, that casual confidence thick in his low tone.

“Anything you want. You w-win.” He tugs at the now ruined fabric, and you practically beg him to get rid of them, a mixture of ‘pleases’ and ‘yes’ in high pitched tones must convince him. He quickly slides them over your knees before his hand returns to your clit, making your legs shake with how close you are. He had you on the edge with just one of his talented fucking hands— but then he drops down, shoulders forcing your legs apart and buries his face in you. You hardly have time to realise what’s happening before your hands are threaded through his hair and your hips are fighting in his hold to stay still.

“Fuck, Matt!” You scream, and he only wraps himself further to you, hooking his arms under your thighs and holding you on him. When he takes your clit in his mouth you lose all sense of reality, and are shoved towards the edge of consciousness, white hot pleasure stripping you bare. “God—“

“You taste so fucking sweet— cum for me. I want to hear you say my name like that again” He murmurs into you before going back to driving you into the hardest release you’ve ever felt build before.

“Matt. Matt—“He holds you so tight you couldn’t squirm away if you tried, and when your orgasm washes over you, you all but drown in it. Electricity shoots up your spine and your back arches, hands gripping Matt’s hair hard enough that you feel him groan into you at the feeling.

“Harder.” He moans into you, and you were still so lost in your own pleasure that you couldn’t do anything but obey— nearly yanking him upwards, but he just moans again and takes everything you give him.

He only drags himself away when you jolt at his touch, kissing his way up your stomach, chest, and this time when he gets to the fabric of your bra he lingers longer, taking his time to enjoy the feel of the lace under his fingers. When he starts kissing your neck, leaving a multitude of hickeys you’ll never be able to hide in the morning, you notice at some point he’d taken the rest of his clothes off.

His hips slot between yours and he’s fucking hard— the feeling of him pressed against you makes you gasp. He was bigger than you’d expected, and every so often his hips would move slowly, running the length of him through your wet folds making you whimper into his mouth again.

“You okay, sweetheart?” His voice was gravelly and layered with restraint— hands gliding up and down your side, grounding you.

“Perfect, Matty. Please…” He kisses you again, gentle and sweet, nodding as he slides himself into you. You gasp into each others mouths at the feeling, and he pulls back, watching your expression melt from a little bit of pain as he waits and kisses you, to pleasure, taking the hint of your nails in his shoulders to start moving slowly.

“Oh, fuckfuckfuck— so fucking good. Jesus Christ.” He moans in your ear and you shiver. It was always his voice that drove you crazy, but hearing it now, so broken and not put together like he always is. The words hit you in the chest, pleasure blooming in every single one of your veins, overtaking every part of your body. “So tight.”

“Right there. Harder, please Matt. Please…” He holds you tighter as he does what you ask, and your whimpers turn into screams as he fucks you into the mattress without another thought. Your eyes must roll back or close because you lose the sight of his face, but all you need is to hear him.

“Good girl. Good..fucking…girl.” Hearing the way he says your name, all drawn out and heavy— how he whispered how he wanted to fuck you for days, how he thought about ducking you at your desk for just as long as you secretly did. Everything about him, mixed with the brutal pace he fucked you with hurtled you into another wave of pleasure, screaming his name so loud there’s no way the rest of Hell’s kitchen didn’t know exactly who was making you feel this good.

“There you go, baby. Gonna…fuck— gonna cum. Sweet fucking thing.” His hips stuttered and you were still cumming, every word spurring you further out of your mind.

“Give it to me, please please please—“ He buried his face in the crook of your neck, and you felt the warmth of his release on your stomach and thighs. He was still breathing praises into your skin even after he pulled out, wrapping you into his body, not caring about the mess you had both made. He couldn’t find the care to let you go.

When you had both finally caught your breath, he dropped beside you, curling your body to fit perfectly against the front of his. His hand tangled in your hair, lips pressing to your forehead and cheek as he used his own shirt to clean you both off gently. You were both far too lost in each others mouths to do it properly, but you couldn’t give less of a fuck. You’d gladly spend the rest of your days losing hours in Matt Murdocks mouth.

“Stay tonight.” He whispers, voice cracking.

“Only if you admit I won.” You can feel him smiling against your skin, the sensation sending a different kind of warmth all the way down your spine.

“Yeah. You win.”

[hadesisqueer]

I appreciate The Dragon Prince because it gave me tragic antagonists or villains that I love (Claudia), villains that while I don't really like them I understand how they came to be and can feel a bit of sympathy for (Aaravos or Viren), villains I straight up fucking hate (Sol Regem) and villains that I don't really hate because when they appear on-screen I just sigh wondering how they can be so fucking stupid (Karim). They really give you everything.

No but for real, Karim's entire character arc consists of 'The risk I took was calculated but I am bad at math' because. He's so dumb. He keeps saying he wants to restore the Sunfire Empire to its former glory, but like-- how? What plans do you have for the future? Are you going to try to retake Lux Aurea? Because you can't. Oh, you want humans out? Okay-- how would that help to restore the former glory, though? You're just being a bigot?

The thing is that all Karim ever did was talk about his birthright —that's not even his birthright, actually, because he's the youngest sibling— and keep babbling about history demanding blah blah blah of people and how his sister wasn't a competent queen when actually it is the opposite. Janai proves, by allowing the architect to live while still giving her an according punishment, that she is a fair queen who chooses mercy and allows people to grow while still choosing justice; also, that she's more practical, because what good is a talented architect dead —who did something awful but still was sorta right about fire being dangerous around the camp— when you can just make her build a shrine so this kind of incident never happens again. Janai also had the Sunseed and plans to nurture it and help it grow, help her own people grow. She actually had plans for the future, and she had the patience necessary. She understands that you must learn from history but that it also doesn't define you, that you must not let it define you.

Karim doesn't get that. He was obsessed with history and the old ways. He didn't have any patience. And he didn't have any long term plans. Or even backup plans for when his plans inevitably failed, either! He was so convinced Janai would refuse his duel he was shocked when she actually fought him, and resorted to fighting-- with fire magic-- against someone who's fireproof-- again, no actual plan. He tried using an assassin to kill his sister, the actual person the assassin had a life debt to. He wants to steal the Sunseed, actively fucking over his people. When Ezran tells him to take his followers and start somewhere else, Karim refuses because he says he doesn't want crumbs off his sister's plate, but at the same time it's like-- that's exactly what you were gonna get, buddy. You wanna use Sol Regem to torch your sister's army. The only thing you're gonna rule over is the followers you have now plus what remains of Janai's, if they even accept you. So, yeah. Literally crumbs.

Also, again, he's so fucking entitled. 'What's rightfully mine' he's the youngest sibling, nothing is rightfully his, he's an usurper. Part of his demands being that humans leave and go back to 'their side of the border, where they belong', buddy, you'd be the king of the Sunfire Elves, not the King of all of Xadia. As king you could make humans leave your territory, but not Xadia. If a bunch of humans, hypothetically, befriended Moonshadow or Skywing elves and lived at the Silvergrove, or wherever the Skywing elves live, with them-- what, now you're gonna try to wage war against the the other elves, too, because they're not following your ways? You can threaten them with Sol Regem, sure, but also consider, because you didn't even consider it when you went to him-- he's an Archdragon, yeah, but the weakest of the Archdragons right now. Let's say Ezran and Janai follow through and give up and leave. They could go with Zym and head straight up to the Mushroom Mage and come back with Zubeia, the current Queen of the Dragons, right after she's done with her treatment. They arrive. Who's gonna win? A healthy Archdragon on her prime or an old, blind Archdragon that hasn't flown or fought in centuries? Also, once you give him the Sunseed he actually has no reason to be on your side, he already got what he wanted. Even if the Katolis thing didn't happen, he could've turned against you very easily. He likely would've done so.

He's an awful leader who doesn't actually care about his people. He disrespects other world leaders like Ezran immediately. He's an entitled, bigoted idiot who doesn't actually think things through and that actually makes him both incredibly annoying and very realistic, which actually makes me like him as an antagonist but still makes me let out a exasperated sigh every time he talks. Best part of him is that he's obsessed with going down in history as someone great when, with his actions, he's only going to pass down as the prince who tried to usurp his sister three times and failed the three times, each failure worse than the previous one. Lmao.

[very-straight-blog]

I don’t know if this has been discussed before but someone pointed out to me that during the brothel scene, before Aegon sees Aemond, Aegon is seen smiling and cheering in front of his friends but once the friends look away/don’t see his face he looks miserable and disgusted

Even in the armor scene he wasn’t happy with their plan but ultimately I think he chose to go through with it cos he likes to please people and maybe he thought his friends are the only people who he is ‘close’ with are the only ones who like to have him around

Idk. What do you think?

Oh, episode three has a bunch of fake Aegon's smiles. Like this:

In the second season we literally see that he shows his sincere emotions only when he's alone and it's always sadness, loneliness, pain. He cries in his chambers after the death of his son, his smile disappears as soon as he turns away from his friends. It's interesting.

In my opinion, he's terrified of appearing weak. This may be due to both his personal attitudes and the fact that he's generally a product of a patriarchal society where a man can't openly express such emotions, especially a king during a war. He has to be collected and cold-blooded. I suppose that's why Aegon wasn't allowed to attend the funeral - he would have just broken down in front of everyone.

As a result, he drowns out all negative emotions in the same way as he has done all his life - alcohol. It's been helping him since he was a teenager and, in fact, it's very sad. No one taught him how to handle his feelings, no one supported him, so he uses such unhealthy methods.

Plus, yes, at some level it may be related to the desire for approval. In this whole stupid situation with the squire, he kind of acts as a father figure, which he didn't have himself, something like a mentor, and this in theory helps him to feel important and necessary for someone, especially when it comes to sex, which he is good at and knows it.