#someone please fix my wifi

[artthoufruity]

"Girlhood is period pains" this "girlhood is hating men" that, GIRLHOOD IS WAITING CENTURIES FOR EA TO LOAD SO I CAN PLAY THE GODDAMNED SIMS 4

[mattapparentlystumbltourneys]

Virtual Character Tourney - Semifinal A

Propaganda below (May contain spoilers!)

Hatsune Miku propaganda:

she is hatsune fucking miku. progenitor of the character vocal series. she is everything

she's literally the OG virtual girl…

first sound of the future and the most iconic #Girl in the world. everybody loves her. liking vocaloid is not a prerequisite to liking miku she is everything to me she is blue hair blue tie hiding in your wifi. And she is my best friend

Dr. Coomer propaganda:

Dr. Coomer is the EMBODIMENT of a old and broken AI. Silly man, just a very old guy who has a crisis over realizing that he's in a game because he went out of bounds. He runs into the same trap/enemy constantly because of one area at the beginning of the game, explodes anything with the word explosive on it, cannot stop greeting the player, recites the entirety of the 2012 Wikipedia article for chairs because was was sitting in one, and is basically a permanent tutorial npc. Someone fix this man's code please.

he is so sentient it hurts

he's a broken tutorial npc who becomes aware that he's trapped in a game and repeatedly tries to escape. he wanted to be a boxer instead of a scientist. he wants to live in super punch out for the super nintendo entertainment system but instead he's stuck in half life. you wouldn't leave him in half life, gordon? fucking half life? let him ou-- HELLO, GORDON!

[gingiesworld]

Fatal Attraction

Chapter Nine

Pairings: Wanda Maximoff x GN! Reader/ Wanda Maximoff x Jarvis Stark

Warnings: Angst. Fluff.

Taglist : @natashamaximoff-69 @canvascoloredin @wizardofstories @louxbloom @wandanats-goodgirl @the-ox-fan20 @ladyqueenxoxo @aemilia19 @wandaromamoff69 @mfd-101 @dorabledewdroop @marvelogic @dopeyouth @karsonromanoff @bimad @natashaswife4125 (if you want to be added to my taglist, please DM me or comment)

18+ MINORS DNI

Y/N watched as Wanda grew more and more confident since she started to meet with Opal and started the divorce proceedings. Soon enough the elevator doors opened to reveal Gwen in her lab coat.

“We have a slight problem.” She told them as she approached Y/N.

“What is it?” They questioned as Gwen took a deep breath.

“We have been hacked.” She told them urgently. “The blueprints for the Oscorp/Hammer project were the only things stolen.”

“Ok.” Y/N started to move towards their office. “Just one moment and we will go to IT.” She watched as they entered their office, typing away on their computer.

“What’s going on?” Wanda asked them curiously as Opal observed the two.

“Nothing to worry about, but please don’t leave this office.” They told her. “Both of you.” They looked to Opal as Wanda nodded. “I’ll explain everything once I’ve sorted it, I have also shut down the company wifi for the time being.”

“What?” Wanda questioned as she went to follow them but Opal beat her to it.

“Y/N, what has happened?” She asked as she pulled them to the side.

“We have been hacked.” They whispered as Opal sighed. “An important project has been stolen and I plan on getting to the bottom of it.”

“I warned you.” She whispered as she glanced back at Wanda. “This has Stark written all over it.”

“I know.” Y/N groaned as they looked into the older woman’s eyes. “But I can’t help but feel this way, like I need to help her, protect her. I just need her to be safe.”

“You’re in love with her.” She gasped as Y/N nodded. “That’s why you’re hellbent on getting her out of this loveless marriage.”

“I do.” They answered. “But I just want what’s best for her.” She smiled at them before they continued. “Just keep her inside the office, I have this floor on lock down so there will be no unexpected guests before my return, and you know where the fridge is.”

The two watched as Y/N followed Gwen into the lift, Opal approached Wanda and led her back inside the office.

“Come dear, we have much to do.” She told the younger woman as she closed the door behind them. Moving to grab a couple of drinks before continuing their task at hand as Y/N and Gwen raced towards the IT department.

“Scott, please tell me you have something.” Y/N spoke as they entered the Tech lab.

“I am trying to break down the digital footprints, hoping to get an IP but so far nothing.” He told them as he typed away.

“Have you accessed the remote wifi?” They asked him as he shook his head. Y/N then pushed him out of the way as they grabbed their USB from their coat. The two watched as they typed away on the computer, listening as they mumbled to themselves.

“Anything?” Gwen asked them as she stepped beside them, watching as they tried to break through the firewall.

“I am getting closer but whoever this is, they are much better at hacking than our very own IT minion.” They raised their voice as their anger was getting the better of them.

“Maybe we should inform the police?” Scott asked as Y/N laughed.

“No!” They yelled. “We settle this in house.” They started to type away again before talking once more. “How’s Jean doing?” They asked, causing Gwen to smirk as Scott looked unsure.

“She is great, really tired.” He answered them.

“She’s due soon right?” They asked him as he nodded.

“Yeah, she is due next week.” He answered them.

“You should bring the two of them in when she’s had the baby.” They told him as they straightened up. “It’s someone at Hammer Industries.” The two looked confused as Y/N fixed their jacket. “Get the evidence in a secure file for me. I have a call to make.” Scott nodded as Gwen followed Y/N to the lift.

“You’re not going to do anything stupid are you?” She asked them as they smirked.

“Since when have you known me to do anything stupid?” They questioned as she raised a brow. “You know what? Forget what I asked.”

“I have known you forever.” She told them as they stepped inside the lift. “I know you better than you know yourself.”

“Look, this is my company Gwen. My whole teen and adult life has been spent here, in this building. Learning as much as I possibly could, I am not going to let someone come here and steal from under my nose.” They told her firmly, soon stepping out of the lift and heading to Wanda’s desk, getting out the address book they had.

“Y/N, this could be dangerous. Maybe my dad can help.” She tried as Y/N shook their head no. “Come on.”

“Look, I am not going to do anything stupid.” They told her as they picked up the phone, Gwen’s eyes soon seeing the name of the person they were calling.

“You can’t be serious?! Cottonmouth?” She whispered as Y/N soon started to talk with the person on the other end, their eyes never leaving Gwen’s as they spoke.

“Ok. Thanks.” They soon hung up to see Gwen’s disapproving stare. “He owes me.”

“Y/N, this isn’t going to work!” She yelled at them, alerting the two women just beyond the wall. “He is dangerous, even worse than KP.”

“Look, I have a way of doing things.” They told her as they stood up. “If you don’t like it, then just shut up.”

“Y/N, I worry that you will get hurt, or worse.” She told them softly. “You’re my best friend above all else, and I couldn’t live with myself if you died.” Y/N’s eyes softened as they watched her wipe away a stray tear.

“I’m sorry Gwen.” They whispered. “But I have to do this. This company is all of our livelihoods. Our means of survival and I need to make sure that you and everyone else in this building is protected.”

“I’m going back to my lab.” She whispered as she straightened up. “Scott will be up soon with your file.” With that she left as the door opened, revealing Opal with her bag ready to leave.

“You need to be careful Y/N/N.” She told them as they nodded. “Your mom would kick my ass if anything happened to you.”

“I will.” They assured her. “I know what I have to do.” She sighed knowing she will never break through to them.

“So, what happened?” Wanda asked as she followed Y/N inside their office, closing the door behind her.

“We were hacked.” They told her as they looked over the city. “Someone at Hammer hacked into our database and stole the blueprints from the very project we were working on together!” They turned to face Wanda who remained steady on her feet. “They stole from us and everyone is practically telling me to sit back, just let the authorities deal with it.”

“Maybe you should.” Wanda told them as she stepped closer to them. “It would be safer, maybe terminate the contract since they have broken it.” They listened as she spoke. “We can organise a meeting next week with Justin Hammer and his associates, make it a formal matter, have Opal on our side, and a notary too.” She took their hand as they looked into her eyes. “Make sure that soon enough you will ruin them, from the legal route.”

“I.” They sighed as they closed their eyes, the closeness between the two as Wanda caressed their face.

“Don’t say anything.” She whispered as her lips ghosted theirs. Y/N released a shaky breath before kissing her tenderly, their hands soon moving to her hips as the kiss deepened. Pushing her up against the window as the kiss grew hungrier by the second.

“I can’t.” They whispered as Wanda looked at them. “I can’t do this here.”

“Then where?” She asked them as they stepped away.

“I just, you’re still married.” They whispered as she sighed.

“Not for long though.” She told them.

“But still, I don’t want this.” They pointed between the two of them. “To be just about sex. You deserve more than that.” With that they left the office, leaving a bewildered Wanda behind.

[yaniiiiism]

stars and raindrops. ꒰ a k.sm series ; chp 3 ꒱

chapter three. > sunsets and the glare on my camera lens.

☆ ͡ ݂ ۫ ☁️ ࣪ 𓈒 紫 ៸ ៸ ˚ ׅ

series index > main masterlist > schedule > main directory

♪┆pairing : kim seungmin x fem!reader ͏ ♪┆ info : sadfic , fluff , melancholy , unrequited love (cough cough) , feelings , mature themes , suggestive , bsfs , one sided , uni au , happy ending (?) ͏ ♪┆ personas + bg : uni students ; best friends ; trio of jisung, seungmin and reader. music students! ♪┆ word count : 1.5k ♪┆warnings : kinda sad, seungmo's a sweetheart but just clueless. lots of fluff tho !

The three strolled to the small bench they always shared in the garden, ice creams in hand, the air around them thick with the scent of rain that had yet to fall. Jisung, as usual, was full of energy, bouncing between topics as if the silence were something to be defeated. Seungmin, in contrast, was quiet, his eyes scanning the horizon as he occasionally chimed in with a wry remark or two.

The girl had quietly sat on the bench, slightly apart from them, her journal in her lap as her eyes drifted across the pages. She wasn’t writing, not yet—just flipping through the fragments of her thoughts. She wasn’t in the mood to speak much, and she didn’t have to. 

As Y/n sat quietly on the bench, flipping through the pages of her journal, Seungmin and Jisung sprawled out on the grass nearby.

"Do you think you'd survive in a zombie apocalypse?" Jisung asked suddenly, taking a big bite of his ice cream as he glanced over at Seungmin.

The guy raised an eyebrow, wiping his mouth. “Where in the world did that come from?” And the squirrel-guy just shrugged in response.

Slightly side-eyeing the guy beside him, Seungmin spoke. "You? In a zombie apocalypse?" He scoffed. "You’d trip over your own feet before a single zombie even showed up."

And Jisung gasped in exaggerated offence. “Excuse me? I have incredible survival instincts. I’d be the last one standing, okay? You’d be the one complaining about the lack of the internet.”

Seungmin rolled his eyes, leaning back on his hands. "First of all, I won’t even need wifi. And second, you’d be too busy vlogging the whole thing to actually fight off zombies."

Jisung groaned, dramatically clutching his chest, whining. “Y/n look, he’s being mean again for no reason.”

The girl briefly looked up at the call of her name, seemingly distracted, before looking back to her journal, “Whatever Min said,” She babbled randomly, clearly not knowing the convo.

Seungmin laughed at the guy’s dumbfounded expression, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“It’s because I’m the heart of this friend group, that’s why,” Jisung said, puffing out his chest with mock pride. “Without me, everything would be boring and depressing. Admit it, Min. You’d miss me if I got eaten by zombies.”

Seungmin laughed, shaking his head, when the girl spoke again, her gaze fixed onto the book on her lap. “Ji, he probably wouldn’t even notice your absence.”

“Touché,”

Jisung huffed, throwing his hands in the air. “I bet you would notice, though, Y/nnie!” He glanced over at her, but she was back to quietly writing in her journal, completely immersed.

Seungmin followed Jisung’s gaze and gave a small smile before turning back to him. "She’d probably miss you just so she could have someone to make fun of."

"Well?" Jisung grinned triumphantly. "Even my insults have value. I provide endless entertainment."

Seungmin shook his head, but the smile on his face lingered. “You’re lucky I tolerate you.”

“Oh, come on, you love me,” Jisung teased, leaning over and nudging Seungmin with his shoulder. "I’m your favourite, right?"

Seungmin leaned away, narrowing his eyes. "You’re… tolerable. Barely."

“Wow,” Jisung said, rolling his eyes, “You really know how to make a guy feel special, Min.”

"I aim to please," Seungmin deadpanned.

As the golden hour bathed the park in a soft, amber hue, the brunette’s gaze wandered across the sprawling canvas of the evening. The air was cool, tinged with the faint scent of summer blooms, and the distant murmur of city life seemed like a gentle backdrop to the moment.

Then his eyes fell upon the girl, seated on the worn wooden bench beneath a sprawling oak tree. Her presence was an understated symphony against the natural beauty around her. 

Her dark hair, flowing in silky waves, caught the dying light like a raven’s feather dipped in twilight. The strands framed her face with a certain grace, slipping through her fingers as she adjusted her position, her movements delicate and unhurried.

Her soft, azure blouse draped over her shoulders like a whisper, the fabric catching the wind with a subtle shimmer. She seemed to merge seamlessly with the twilight, her attire complementing her poised, yet introspective demeanour.

In that moment, she appeared both serene and distant, her focus entirely absorbed by the journal cradled in her lap.

The famous journal, a leather-bound book with a hint of wear along the edges, was a vessel of her thoughts and dreams. Her slender fingers danced over the pages with practised ease, every movement imbued with a silent intensity. 

Her brow furrowed ever so slightly, the tip of her pen moving in graceful arcs that spoke of her inner world—one that he could only glimpse through the quiet reflection in her eyes, as she bit down onto yet another pepero.

Her tinted lips, that wrapped so neatly around the chocolate coated stick, shortening with each nibble.

 Seungmin felt an unfamiliar twinge in his chest, a fleeting sense of admiration that mingled with the evening’s tranquil melancholy.

 He observed her with a gaze that was tender yet distant, like a painter admiring a muse through the veil of a dream. 

There was a beauty in her quiet solitude, in the way she seemed to be lost in a realm of her own making, untouched by the external world.

Yet, as he watched her, a subtle, yet firm realisation anchored itself in his thoughts. 

His heart, despite the gentle stirrings of affection he felt in her presence, was already attuned to another melody. 

The truth was a quiet storm within him, a reminder of the emotions that tethered him elsewhere. The affection he felt for her was like a soft echo in the recesses of his mind, but it was clear and unequivocal that his heart had already chosen a different path.

The knowledge was both comforting and bittersweet. 

He appreciated the serene beauty she brought to the world, her presence like a soothing balm in the complexities of life. 

But his own affections lay elsewhere, woven into the fabric of his own reality. 

He knew, as he continued to watch her, that his admiration was tempered by a reality he could not ignore.

Or could he just not see.. beyond her.

With a gentle sigh, he turned his gaze away from the girl, letting the evening’s shadows deepen around him. 

He allowed himself to be drawn back into the conversation with Jisung and the fading light of day, carrying with him the quiet appreciation for a friend who, in her own way, had captured a moment of his heart’s fleeting tenderness.

–

They stayed like that, the sun slipping lower in the sky, casting soft orange hues across the horizon as the impending storm still held off in the distance.

As the sky began to fade out of twilight, Jisung stood up, stretching dramatically. “Hey, what do you two think about hitting the beach tomorrow? I could use some peace and fun.”

Seungmin turned to her, a soft, unreadable look in his eyes. “What d’ya think? Up for it?”

The girl looked up, her brows raised slightly as she closed her journal, placing it back into her bag. “The beach? Tomorrow?” She glanced back at the guy who suggested it, who only shrugged.

“Yeah, I mean,” He began, “It’s a Friday, we’ve all been pretty busy with uni, especially you, by the way. And it’d seem like a good time-off!” “He’s right, you know,” The brown haired guy nudged her lightly, his left hand resting on her right shoulder. “You deserve a break, just for an evening.”

She turned her gaze towards him, eyes softening slightly, the hesitation melting away. “Fine. When are we leaving?”

— about 10 minutes later.

A familiar voice chimed in, pulling all three of their gazes toward the entrance of the garden. Felix and Eunha strolled over, waving as they approached.

“Hey, you guys! What’s up?” Felix grinned, his sunshine energy as contagious as ever.

Jisung waved back with a grin, Seungmin simply nodding in annoyance. “Oh, Lix, Eunha, hey!”

The two approached the group, joining them on the grass. Some time passed.

“We’re actually planning to head to the beach tomorrow evening. You guys wanna tag along?” Seungmin asked, his tone casual but his eyes on Y/n.

Felix's face lit up immediately. "I'm so down. Eunha?"

Eunha smiled, nodding. "Sounds perfect."

The girl quietly sat onto the bench, looked up at the conversation, her jaw clenching the tiniest bit. 

Why in the world did he have to invite them?

It’s like she doesn’t even exist anymore – not that it matters but yeah.

Another day, with Eunha tagging along.

Another day of Seungmin trying terribly to gauge her attention.

Another stupid day of stolen glances at Seungmin that Y/n wasn’t sure anyone else noticed—or cared about.

She had been waiting for the day, despite the hesitation. But now that Eunha’s coming, she might as well skip, it wouldn’t make a difference, would it?

But she couldn’t, not to her closest pair of friends anyway.

“Yay..” She cheered quietly, a faint smile playing on her lips as she tucked her journal into her bag.

But inside, she was already bracing herself for the next day, hoping the beach wouldn’t be just another backdrop to the feelings she could never quite express.

a/n. ୨ৎ

sat in the drafts for too long lmao yani's active era yall watch me disappear in a few days tho my pretty seungmo nd berry i might kms guys if u liked this lmk by commenting or liking <3 check out my post-schedule/masterlist/taglists/etc right here ! channie late bd fic soon ! thank you for reading >< !! — love, yani ♥︎

thank you to @bernardsbendystraws , @adornedwithlight , @url2no for the dividers + mood board!

[messyzoranablog]

Zorana's Guide To The Poke Classic Network!

Do you want to connect your DS Pokemon games to the internet long after Nintendo shut down their servers? Do you wish to trade and battle with your internet friends who play the gen 4 and 5 Pokemon games? Do you have a desire to watch and upload battle videos like you used to years ago?

If you said yes to any of these questions then I have the thing for you!

The Poke Classic Network!

This is a fan server for Pokemon DPPT, HGSS, BW, and BW2 that's running with the help of the Kaeru WFC! Not only does it let you connect your games to the internet again, the site will let you see what Pokemon are up on the GTS for both the gen 4 and gen 5 servers!

Below is my guide on how to get this working for you so you can bring a new life to these wonderful Pokemon games. Also I thought this would be shorter but it's rather long, so under the cut it goes! Please let me know if I missed anything in here! I'll try my best to fix it if I can.

Getting Started:

Before you get connected, make sure you are using the device you plan on doing all of your online connections with! For some reason you are locked to one device for this stuff and using another one will wipe your PalPad, and assign you a new friend code. Since what's available in the GTS search function is based on SEEN Pokemon the most reliable way to get particular pokemon (without marking everything as seen via cheating) would be trading them from people you've registered in the PalPad.

If you only plan on using the GTS then you don't need to worry as much about this.

The Poke Classic Network works on ALL DS/3Ds systems!

I will note that the Gen 5 games are easier to set up if you're using a 3Ds since they can see and read the Wifi settings of the 3Ds and can just have the DNS swapped without additional set up.

Connecting DPPT/HGSS on all systems and BW/BW2 on the DS/DSi:

I will go over connecting via Emulator in another section, this section and the next one is for if you're PHYSICAL HARDWARE.

What you'll need:

The console of choice

The game of choice, preferably played to the point where you can access the GTS for testing purposes. --- In DPPT you can find the GTS building in Jubilife City. --- In HGSS you can find the WFC building in Goldenrod City. --- In BW/BW2 you can access the GTS in the top part of every Pokecenter. --- I don't remember when exactly the GTS is unlocked for the games unfortunately.

Some way to create a Wifi network point with a compatible WEP (password type) or just no password. --- The easiest way I've found is just using a hotspot without a password. --- I know some modern routers will let you create an extra network like this if you know how. I do not and it'd likely be different for each router anyways. --- There are also some programs that can make one using your computer. I've used one for a bit before it locked what I needed behind a paywall.

What to do:

The first step is setting up the connection!

Start up the Wifi network point so it'll show up on your system.

I recommend using a hotspot that doesn't have a password on it. Make sure you change the bandwidth to 2.4 GHz, since 5 5 GHz doesn't seem to work. DO NOT PUBLICLY OPEN YOUR HOTSPOT IN A PUBLIC PLACE! You do not want someone deciding to eat up your data while you're trading pokemon, so only do this in a place you know is safe to do so, like at home or at a friend's place.

Once you've done that you'll want to open your game and go to the Nintendo WFC Settings. The button will look like one of these depending on the game you're playing:

This will take you to the DS wifi settings that are saved to the cart!

Next you'll want to tap on the big blue button which will take you to this screen.

You may or may not have connections here already if you've played before Nintendo's servers shut down. Erase them now if you do as they will no longer work. Then you'll want to tap the None button for Connection 1.

I'll be demonstrating using Connection 2 myself, but stick to the first connection.

Tap on the Search for access point button. This will bring up a list of nearby connections that your system can see. You'll want to tap on the one you started earlier. It will test the connection and the boot you back to the screen with the big blue button. Tap the big blue button and then the Ready button that's now showing up for the first connection.

Now scroll down to the very bottom and turn off Auto-obtain DNS and change the primary DNS to 178.62.43.212. You can also change the secondary DNS to the same one as well or keep it all 0s.

Once you're done it should look something like this:

Save the settings, close out of the Wifi connections menu, start your save, and try connecting to the GTS!

If you connect to the GTS then congrats, you are now able to use the Poke Classic Network! If it doesn't work the first try don't worry and try again. You can also swap the secondary DNS to the other one you weren't using and try again that way.

Connecting BW/BW2 on the 3Ds/2Ds:

This one is super simple and doesn't require any additional set up! Sorry I don't have any pictures for this one atm. I may edit this to add a couple later.

What you'll need:

Game of choice

Console of choice

What to do:

Open the internet settings on your 3Ds and tap on Connection settings.

Tap on a connection you know is working, tap Change Settings, then go to the next page.

Tap on DNS and tap No, then tap Detailed Setup. Change the primary DNS to 178.62.43.212 and either keep the secondary one as all 0s or use the same DNS address you put in the primary DNS slot.

Save your settings and go start your game, then try connecting to the GTS.

If you connect to the GTS then congrats, you are now able to use the Poke Classic Network! If it doesn't work the first try don't worry and try again. You can also swap the secondary DNS to the other one you weren't using and try again that way.

Connecting any DS Pokemon game using MelonDS (emulator):

This method will let you connect to the Poke Classic Network if you don't have the physical hardware or can't connect your system to the internet for any reason and know how to back up your save to your computer.

What you'll need:

The MelonDS emulator [Link] --- Desume doesn't have Wifi functionality so you'll need to move your saves over if that is your primary DS emulator. --- If the latest version doesn't work for some reason try again with the second newest one.

Game of choice

What to do:

The steps are nearly identical to the first section once you have the emulator running! Instead of using your own connection though you'll be using the one MelonDS makes for you, so there's no need to worry about finding a way to make one yourself.

The access point will look like this when searching for an access point:

[universitypenguin]

Hello Alice! Lloyd and princess have been living in my head rent free lately 😍 and it’s got me thinking (please no pressure ever to answer any of my silly little asks!) what do you think princess would do/how would she feel after all this time apart and after everything that’s been going on if she thought Lloyd had sleep with someone else during this time apart?

Thank you for sharing your stories with us! I’m so excited for what’s next to come with these two❤️

Author’s Note: @drabblewithfrannybarnes 🥰

Thank you so much for this lovely ask! I wish I was a faster writer, but alas… that will never be my lot in life. 😭 Instead of doing Kinktober, I’ve been working on improving my short story skills this month, which led to me revising this several times. And by revising I actually mean starting from scratch three times in a row.

I’d challenged myself to keep trying until I had gotten it just right, so it was very satisfying to look at this draft and realize I was finally happy with it. Thank you so much for motivating me to write this, please enjoy! 💙🩵🤍

If He Wanted To, He Would…

“Hey Princess? Can you fix my phone?”

You were stirring honey into your tea, watching the clump slowly dissolve, when Lloyd made his request. He stood by the door wearing athletic shorts and a blue quarter zip, frowning at his phone.

“I thought you were going on a run.”

Lloyd grunted, tapping the screen. The line between his eyebrows appeared.

If this phone issue prevented him from going on his run you were going to lose your mind. Thanks to the stalker situation, your alone time was extremely limited. Only when Lloyd jogged the trail encircling the cabin were you allowed the luxury of complete solitude. He jogged three times a week and each excursion guaranteed you at least an hour of alone time. Without these breaks you’d go insane.

“Why don’t you take my phone instead?”

“My email isn’t synching. I’m trying to make sure the email I sent to Bishop went through.”

“I’ll fix it. Here, you can use my phone.”

Lloyd scowled at the offending device. “I didn’t even mess with it this time. Why is it doing this?”

You held out your phone. “Just take mine.”

“Do you think it’s the wifi?” Lloyd asked.

“You can borrow my AirPods, too,” you said.

“I never run with headphones in and neither should you.”

“That’s something you will never, ever, have to worry about.”

Lloyd smirked as he exchanged phones with you. “Right, I forgot who I was talking to. Good luck with that thing, I’ll see you in an hour or so.”

When he was gone you collapsed on the couch. Finally, the sanctity of solitude. You basked in the silence for a minute before turning your attention to repairing his phone. There were no issues in the app settings or the phone settings, so you tried restarting it. After clearing the cached data, you removed his account and added it again, without success. Then you updated the app and, much to your relief, the email finally synched.

You’d just finished the installation and locked his phone when it buzzed. A text appeared on his lock screen, visible in the preview window.

Don’t worry about Michael. He isn’t the jealous type.

You stared at the message, baffled, like a puppy encountering its reflection for the first time, perplexed by the inexplicable sight. Who was Michael? Perhaps some context would help. You opened the message app and scrolled back through his previous messages with the sender, April Ward.

Their first message was dated about two weeks ago, right after Lloyd had returned from Idaho.

Seeing you on Friday… I love you… don’t worry about Michael… he isn’t the jealous type…

April Ward was his ex-girlfriend. What had happened between them in Idaho?

You hadn’t questioned the limited contact you’d had with him at the time, but now it felt like a huge red flag. Your stomach twisted into knots.

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

Twenty-five minutes had passed. Lloyd would be home soon and you still didn’t know what you were going to say. Your thoughts were chaotic. You felt naive, foolish, and gullible.

You had believed he was grieving and settling his father’s affairs. You had assumed he was too busy to call you or that his phone was out of service range. You were such a sucker. Hurt and anger vied for dominance inside of you, but neither gained enough ground to claim victory. The emotions were deadlocked and trapped in the middle of them, all you felt was numb.

Distantly, you recognized that you were in shock. Of course you were in shock. It was a shocking development. This wasn’t the Lloyd you knew. He’d never let you down before. In spite of his rough edges, he was always honest with you, even when it came to difficult topics; especially when it came to difficult topics.

How had he become this person, someone capable of such an ugly betrayal? When had your best friend turned into your enemy?

You didn’t hear the creak of the door’s hinges, but at Lloyd’s voice, your head snapped up. Your lip curled into a snarl.

Lloyd stopped short. “Princess? What’s wrong?”

“Who’s April Ward?”

His nostrils flared as he inhaled through his nose.

“She’s a veterinarian who treated a sick calf for me a few weeks ago. Why?”

“Liar. April is your ex, I read your texts.”

“Princess, it’s not what you think-”

You hissed. “Stop! Stop lying to me! You cheated, didn’t you?! Just admit it!”

“I’m not lying!”

Without thinking, you flung the phone at him. Lloyd ducked and it hit the wall, then clattered to the floor.

“Calm down!” Lloyd barked.

“No! Tell me what happened!”

“It wasn’t on purpose-”

“You slept with her by accident?! Come on!”

“I didn’t cheat, Princess! Listen to me! I didn’t intend to see April. There was a sick calf, so I called the vet, who turned out to be my highschool girlfriend.”

“And then you slept with her.”

Lloyd snarled. “I didn’t sleep with her.”

“I don’t believe you!”

“I’m telling you the truth!”

Your chin lifted. “She cares about you.”

“We dated in highschool, okay? That’s all. For the record, the last time I slept with her, you weren’t even alive!”

“Are you insulting my age, or yours?”

Lloyd threw his hands up. “Neither. Forget I said that. Here’s what happened on Friday: I called for a vet and April showed up. She treated the calf, we had a drink in the kitchen and talked for a few hours. When we finished talking she went home.”

“What are you leaving out of this story?”

“Nothing!”

“Did you have sex in the kitchen?”

“There was no sexual contact, there was barely even physical contact!”

You zeroed in on his last point. “Ha! So you did something with her, didn’t you?!”

“There was a kitchen table between us for 90% of the evening. She reached across it and touched my hand while we were talking. Later, I hugged her goodbye. That was the extent of our physical contact.”

His delivery was fluid. The words were crisp and his tone of voice was even. That should have comforted you. Instead, it made you even more suspicious.

“Princess, I can only tell you this in so many ways: nothing happened. Believing it is up to you.”

“If nothing happened, then why didn’t you tell me that you’d seen her?”

“I don’t like talking about that period of my life… and… maybe because I didn’t know how to approach the subject.”

You stared at Lloyd, torn between doubt and trust.

He sighed. “I know it looks bad. If our roles were reversed, I’d react the same way, but I swear it was nothing more than old friends catching up.”

“Fine. I believe you.”

He looked relieved for a split second before you continued.

“But keeping this from me was a betrayal in itself.”

“I’m sorry,” Lloyd said.

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

You were still curled up in the rocking chair on the porch when dusk faded into night. As a concession to the dropping temperature, you’d draped a blanket around your shoulders. The nights were getting colder as autumn approached.

If he wanted to, he would. If he wanted to, he could.

You’d always considered Lloyd to be honest, at least with you, before today. Now you wondered about the veracity of that assumption. As you examined your reasoning, the uncomfortable truth crystallized. Lloyd was capable of cheating on you. He was certainly sneaky enough. Keeping secrets and guarding his emotions were Lloyd’s greatest strengths. He was a master in the art of lying. Half-truths, omissions, fabrications, he could do it all and conventional ethics didn’t mean much to him. He lied as easily as other people breathed - those were the cold, hard facts.

Reality slapped you in the face, unraveling the sense of trust you’d previously had in Lloyd. In an abstract way, you’d always known he was ruthless, but now you appreciated how easily he could rip your heart out if he wanted to. Him wanting to wasn’t even a requirement, all it would take was a moment of carelessness.

You didn’t know what you were feeling more: hurt, anger, or fear. Each emotion claimed a part of your heart, splitting it into three equal pieces. The feelings swirled, a vortex of negative thoughts that sucked you into a whirlpool of despair. Your mood dropped as quickly as the temperatures. Soon, chilly air nipped at your nose and ears. You drew the blanket tighter in an effort to conserve warmth.

The door creaked and you heard Lloyd’s footsteps approaching, but you didn’t acknowledge him.

“It’s getting cold, Princess. You need to come inside.”

You ignored him.

“Princess…”

You burrowed into the blanket, silently declaring your intent to remain where you were.

Lloyd sighed. “I don’t know what to say, other than I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Too late,” you muttered.

“I can’t change the past, but I can give you access to my phone if you want. Is that a reasonable compromise?”

You turned to him, frowning.

“The problem isn’t access, Lloyd. I have that already. The problem is that I don’t want to keep you on a leash, I just want to trust you. Think about it from my point of view - if I’m going to have a meltdown every time one of your exes shows up, I’m in for a bad time.”

“April is my only ex-girlfriend,” Lloyd said.

“So, we’re back to lying, are we? I’m trying to meet you halfway, but if you keep-”

“She is, damn it! I never wanted a relationship before. You know I’m telling the truth, Princess. You were my closest friend for the past three years. When was my last relationship?”

Abruptly, the weight of evidence tilted in his favor. Your thrumming pulse slowed to a steady beat. Lloyd moved closer.

“Come on, Princess, you’re freezing. Let’s go inside.”

You shook your head. “I want to believe you, but I know how easily you can bend the truth.”

“Actions speak louder than words,” Lloyd countered. “I’ve already synced my messaging app to your personal laptop and shared my location with you. If you let me, I’ll prove that you can trust me.”

He extended his hand and you hesitated, but took it and let him pull you to your feet. You let him lead you inside to the sofa, where he laid a throw blanket over your legs.

“You haven’t said whether you’ll give me a second chance,” he said.

You twisted your hands in your lap.

“I know that I misinterpreted your messages to April. That said, I’m not letting you off the hook for withholding information that would’ve put them in context. The root of the issue is that if you decided to cheat on me, I probably wouldn’t notice. You’re sly enough to get away with almost anything, if you set your mind to it.”

“Alright, but let’s take another factor into consideration,” Lloyd said. “The pool of women who actually want to sleep with me after they realize I’m an asshole is smaller than you think.”

“Oh, please. Give me a break, women drool over your ass every day.”

“Before they talk to me. Now, if we consider the pool of men who want to sleep with you… it’s large to begin with and once they get to know you, they’re even more interested.”

You snorted. “Should I sync my messaging app to your laptop?”

“No need, I already know your passwords. Are we good?”

“We’re not bad. I wouldn’t go as far as calling us ‘good,’ though.”

Lloyd nuzzled your temple. “I was telling the truth about April being my only ex-girlfriend.”

“It’s hard to believe, but… it tracks. I know you’re not used to explaining yourself, but if this arrangement between us is going to work, you need to.”

He relaxed. “I can do that.”

You snuggled into his chest, basking in the warmth you found there. His broad palm stroked up and down your spine and within a few minutes you were nodding off.

“How many ex-boyfriends do you have?” Lloyd asked.

Your eyes flew open. “Um… why?

“I just want to know how worried I should be.”

“You don’t need to be worried.”

“That’s not an answer, Princess.”

You licked your lips. “How far back do you want to go? Kindergarten? Middle-school?”

Lloyd scowled. “Kindergarten? How many boys are we talking about here?”

“I…” you broke off. “Hold up, how did we get on this topic?”

“That’s not important,” Lloyd said. “How many boys have you dated?”

You sat up. “That isn’t what you asked me. You wanted to know how many ex-boyfriends I had, not how many boys I’ve dated. Those are two different topics.”

His lips compressed. “Fine, then. How many boys have you dated?”

“I guess about…ugh…” You covered your face, groaning. “Do we have to do this? Trust me, you’re better off not knowing. My dating history is cringe-worthy.”

“I want a number, Princess.”

You sucked in a breath through your teeth. “I might need some scratch paper…”

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

The End.

I hope you enjoyed it! Reblogs, likes, and comments are all appreciated and welcomed!

Masterlist

[mitchhbitch]

The Unknown: The Strangers!Nick Folio

Pairings: Nick Folio x OC

Warnings: Angst. It contains language. Blood/Violence. Dark themes. If this makes you uncomfortable or you are under 18, please do not read! Thank you.

Summary: A weekend getaway turns into a nightmare when Nick and Michelle's vacation is disrupted by three masked intruders, one least expected.

Authors Note: First off, I want to say that this is the first fic I have ever written. It is something that I enjoyed writing, so I hope you enjoy it just as much. I am sorry that it took me this long to finish it. This is based on one of my all time favorite horror movies The Strangers. Thank you for reading it! I hope you all love it. Also, shout out to my bestie @thescarlettvvitch for helping me with this and for showing amazing support and love.

TAGS: @thescarlettvvitch @thefallennightmare @spicywhenspeaking @cookiesupplier @dsireland86

As I get out of my car, I see nothing but darkness. It was late by the time I pulled in. All I can hear are the animals being vocal. My boyfriend Nick invited me to his family’s cabin. It was an exhausting three hour long trip. 

Nick came bounding down the stairs with a big smile on his face, “Hey babe. Glad you made it here safe. I’m sorry I wasn't able to drive up here with you. There was a problem with the shower so I had to come and fix it up.” He greets me with a kiss. 

I smile excitedly and kiss him back “Hi baby. I’m glad I finally made it. No worries. Were you able to fix the issue?”

He grabbed both of my bags with one hand. How he managed the strength? I couldn’t say. 

“Oh yeah. It took about half of the day but I got it all fixed up. Plus I needed everything to be perfect for when you got here” he winked at me as he went inside the cabin.

I blushed. My cheeks turned a vibrant red in hue as I followed him, “It’s going to be perfect because we are going to be together.” Closing  the door and walking into the living room, “wow this place is nice. Feels very homey.” My eyes gleamed with warmth. 

“Are you ready to just relax this weekend?” Nick said softly, grazing my cheek with this thumb as he passed by me walking into the living room.

Sitting on the green sofa, he looked so content. I turn to look at him with a big smile, getting up from my spot on the lounge chair to go sit next to him.

“Yes. School has me wanting to rip out my hair. It's just been so hectic with studying for finals. It has me on the verge of a breakdown. But I am so glad to be here with you. With that, that also means no school and work talk anymore.”

Gently  putting  his arm around me, I nestled under the crook of his arm. I looked up at him longingly, he placed a  kiss on my forehead, “Sounds like a plan babe. I forgot to mention that being up here, we don't get very good or any signal and the wifi has been out for a couple of days. I got an email about that before I came up here. I have been trying to get someone up here but it's been difficult.”

Leaning into his arm, I joked, “well that sucks. How am I supposed to let my family and friends know that I haven't been kidnapped or killed?” 

Nick throws his head back and lets out a loud laugh, “Don't worry. I’ll protect you from anything Michelle.”

—------------------Line Break—------------------------------------------------------

While cooking dinner, I pour myself a glass of whiskey. Whiskey was my weakness. Hennessy and a lot of bad decisions. 

 Nick shouted from the living room “I'm going to go take a shower. I'll be back.” He left for the bathroom. Once I hear the shower start, I put my phone on the speaker and play some music.

There was a knock at the door. It was loud and echoed through the house. I was Confused. We weren’t expecting anyone. I went and opened it half way, peeking my head out. “Hello. Can I help you?”

A woman with long black hair, yellow beanie snug on her head. She was short in stature and whispered low while looking down at her shoes. “I'm looking for Jamie.” 

I couldn't see her face because of the porch light. It was too bright, I responded with a scowl. “I'm sorry there is no Jamie here.”

She asked me again, more demanding while keeping her head down  “Is Jamie here?”  

I sighed, already fed up. “There's no Jamie here. I already told you.”

The woman brought her head up to look me in the eyes, her gaze penetrating. “Okay. Whatever you say.” Slowly began walking away from the door. 

I closed and locked it shut. Walking towards the kitchen. Another knock is heard from the door. 

Frustrated, I turn back over towards it, peeking through the peephole. 

Christ, these people. Slowly reopening it, I was greeted with a different female this time. I couldn't make out her features but was only able to see her short and crimson locks. 

She quietly says as she looks down to the heels of my feet.  “Is Jamie here?”

I look at her, irritation steering through my veins. “Look I told your friend that there is no Jamie here. So leave before I call the police.”

The girl replies “okay.” She slowly looks up at me for a couple seconds and walks off. 

Closing and locking the door with a sigh, Nick asked from behind me “who was that?” 

I  jumped and turned to face him, “You almost gave me a heart attack. I don't know who that was. It was a strange chick looking for someone named Jamie. It was weird.” Shaking my head at the thought. Maybe I was losing it.  “Anyways, dinner is ready. Let's go eat.”

As we eat our dinner, Nick looks up from his plate, placing his fork on mine, fiddling with my carrots.  “How was the drive up here?” Did you enjoy it or was it too much for you?” He was never one for a quiet dinner, rambunctious by nature. 

I look at him with a bright smile, all teeth.  “The drive was okay. I'm not a fan of long drives but this one was manageable. It was peaceful.” 

Nick gave me a goofy grin. I melted internally as he grabbed my hand and placed to his lips leaving me a tender kiss, “You know i wouldn’t torture you with a very long trip.”

 I chuckled, taking his hand in return. “How very thoughtful of you, baby.”

I start gathering the dishes and take them to the kitchen. I place them on the sink looking out the kitchen window, I see a person standing near the trees. Confused, I called out for Nick “hey babe! Come here please”

Nick walks into the kitchen “what's up?” he goes over to me and puts his arm around my waist. 

“There is someone out there. I saw someone standing near that tree” I turn to look at him

Nick turns to look out the window “I don't see anyone out there babe. Maybe it's just the drink getting to you.” He looks at me and smirks 

I roll my eyes and move away from him “I only had half a cup. I swear to you I saw someone out there.”

As soon as he opened his mouth to reply to me there was a loud bang coming from the front door. 

Nick goes to the front door and opens it only to be greeted by no one there. Confused, he looks around and goes back inside “that was weird. There was no one there.”

I shrug and go back to the kitchen. I see that my phone isn't on the counter, confused. I start looking around for it “babe have you seen my phone? I left it near the counter when I was cooking and it's not there.” 

Nick leans against the door frame “no i haven't seen it. Are you sure you left it there? Maybe you just misplaced it.”

Looking at him annoyed, I answer “No Nicholas. I didn't misplace it. I know where I left it at. It couldn't just get up and walk away from me.”

Nick “I'll help you look for it. I'm sure it's around here. Like you said I don't think it got up and just left.” he looks around the living room.

I walk into the bedroom and look around for it. I get on the floor to look under the bed when I see a pair of feet on the other side of the bed. I see the person wearing black dress pants and black boots. Confusion running through my head, I sit up and look up to find no one there. 

“Nick come here please” I say from the bedroom while getting up. Nick walks into the bedroom “yes Michelle?” I look down to his pants and his shoes and see that he is wearing black levis and all black nike air max 90s. 

Nick smirks at me “baby if you want something you just gotta say it, you don't have to be a tease about it” he sits on the edge of the bed close to me. 

I roll my eyes “have you always been wearing those shoes or did you just change them?” 

Nick replies “I have always been wearing these shoes. Why?” I look at him horror flashing through me making me get goosebumps “I I think someone is in here. When I was looking for my phone under the bed, I looked across and I saw a pair of legs. The person was wearing boots”

“Are you sure? The only people here are us. I would think we would have been able to hear if someone came in here. Again, you need to stop watching horror movies” Nick says as looks at me 

Frustrated I responded “I swear on anything I saw someone standing on the other side of the bed. Stop gaslighting me Nicholas. I'm so close to leaving you here. I still can't find my phone.” 

Nick sighs “I'm sorry. Please forgive  me?” he pouts and brings me close to him.

I smile and kiss him “I guess I can accept your apology Folio. You are going to have to make it up” I put my hands on his shoulders as I stood between his legs.

Nick looks up at me and smirks “you don't have to tell me. I have thought of every way I am going to make it up to you baby.” 

Just as I was about to lean down to kiss him, the lights were cut off. I gasped in horror not knowing what could have caused this. 

Nick looks at me “well that's strange. I'm going to go to the garage to get some flashlights. I’ll be back babe.” He says as he makes his way out of the room to the garage.

I make my way to the living room to see if I can find some candles. I hear a tapping sound coming from the back door. Confused, I make my way to the back door, pull open the curtain when I'm greeted by a girl in a mask holding a knife. I scream and back up.

 As I'm running to the bedroom, I see a shadow down the hall. I gasp and run into the bathroom and lock the door. I go inside the bathtub and sit. I bring my knees up to my chest. Crying and shaking out of fear, I look at the door. I see it being shaked and pulled. I cry even more. 

The door gets kicked open and the shadow gets close to me. “Michelle, what are you doing here?”

 Nick asked me while standing near the bathtub. When I hear his voice, I get up and encircle his waist.  “Oh Nick. I saw someone outside holding a knife and I don't know if it was the same person b b but I saw someone in the hallway. I want to leave. Please, I want to go home.” I plead.

 Nick sighs and holds me tightly in muscular arms, “Alright, Alright. Let's go back home. Let's start packing” He goes to the bedroom.

“No! I don't care about my stuff. I just want to get out of here!” I get out of the bathroom and go to the living room. Nick follows me “What is going on with you? There is no one else besides us here” I turn to look at him and see someone standing a few feet away from him. I scream. 

Nick turns around and backs up to me “who are you!” he calls out. The masked person walked to us slowly. It was the same girl that was tapping the window. 

Nick holds my hand and runs out the front door to the car. I held and ran with him. As we got to the car there was a masked man standing near it. He had a ski mask and was fairly tall. He was holding a lighter in his hand. As fast as we saw the lighter in his hand was just as fast as he threw it to the car making it light up. 

Nick looks at the car “fuck. We ran back inside. As soon as Nick closed the door an ax came down on it. Screaming, I backed away from the door. Nick ran to me and turned to look at me. With his hands, he grabbed my face looking at me.

 “I need you to go hide for me, okay? I have a weapon in the garage and I need to go get it. I'm going to come right back for you. I love you” he kisses me softly and lets go of me and makes his way out of the room.

 I grab his hand to stop him “Nick I want to go with you please. I don't want to be left alone here.” Nick looks at me “it will be okay. I promise you. Everything will be fine Michelle.” I let go of his arm “please be careful Nick.” I say to him as he walks out of the backdoor. I follow behind him slowly watching him till he gets to the garage. Suddenly I hear a noise near the garage thinking that Nick could have gotten hurt, I go out and start walking towards it. 

Once I get close to it I see that there is a girl standing there in a pin up mask. I look at her out of fear and start walking backwards. As I take my steps she starts walking towards me. I turn to run and she walks behind me. 

I ran into the house and hid in a closet. I cover my mouth to keep any noises from coming out of me. I suddenly see a silhouette standing across the closet door. 

Suddenly the door gets pulled open and there is a girl wearing a doll mask standing in front of me. I let out a horrified scream.

 Trying to run past her, she slices my arm with her knife. I ran to the living room. As soon as I got to it, I saw a man in a mask dragging Nick by the shirt and tossing him into the middle of the living room. Nick is beaten and bloody.

 I gasp and go to kneel beside him and hold him. I cry and look at him. The three masked strangers stand in front of us next to each other. The masked man squats down to look at us.

 I look at him and say “Why are you doing this? Why us?” He looks at me with a smile and says “because you are here and you answered the door.” He stands up and stands next to the other two girls.

The masked man looks at both of the girls and says “It's time”. He takes out a knife and looks at Nick and I. The room is silent except for the sobs that are leaving my mouth. 

“Please don't do this. Please. You can take whatever you want. I-I promise I won't say anything to anyone.” I plead to them. 

The girl in the pin up mask takes it off and throws it on the ground. Next to take off their mask is the girl wearing the doll mask. 

The last one to take off their mask is the guy in the ski mask. He stands out to me the most because he looks familiar. 

Nick looks at me and says “I'm sorry this had to be done.” 

He gets up and stands next to the girl with the long black hair. He wipes the blood from his lip with the back of his hand and takes the knife that the guy gives to him. I look at him shocked and confused and angry not knowing what to do. 

“I I don't understand. Why?- Wait- you’re apart of this? Why did you do this?” 

Nick looks at me expressionless. “Because you were so different from the rest, don't you get it? You sweet, sweet dumb girl. You were a mere ploy, a means to an end.”

 I look at him shocked. “You don't mean that, I don't believe you!” 

Nick goes to me and squats in front of me “you don't have to” He traces the knife along my jawline. 

I look at him with a terrified expression and whisper “Nicholas, don't do this please.” I beg him crying on my knees. He leaned so close to me, his lip grazing my ear and whispered,  “Nicholas isn't here right now, please leave a message after the beep.” 

Three long beats go by and he leans back to look at me. I look at him and see his pupils are dilated.His eyes are no longer the light brown that I know, all I see is darkness showing no emotion. No love. No worries. Nothing. 

Nick looks at me with an evil smirk and grabs my jaw, squeezing it hard, he licks his lips and said;  

“You look so delicious like this, so weak and defenseless. Makes me want to put on a show before you lose.” 

I look at him angry and spit at him “Fuck you Nick! I hate you!” Nick laughs and wipes the spit from his face with the back of his hand, “those are some nice last words you have to say baby.” I try to move his hand from my jawline but he's stronger than me.

 He lets go and pushes me back, making me fall back onto the floor. I turn to see that one by one the strangers are leaving the cabin. Nick stands over me and knees down to straddle me. 

His knees are on either side of my hips. Eyes locked on mine as he spoke harshly,  “You know, I wasn't lying when I said that you were different from the rest. You were my favorite one.”

 I look up at him screaming, a guttural and loud growl erupts. “Please! Nick please! Don't do this! I-I promise I won't say anything to anyone!” I kicked my legs and hit him on the chest. 

Nick takes one last look at me and pushes the knife right above my right breast. I scream in horror and try to fight him off of me. 

Nick pushes it deeper and takes it out. As he takes the knife out,  blood starts seeping out and spilling on my shirt and on the floor. 

Specks of blood land on his arms. He stabs me a couple more times and gets up to look down at me. I open my mouth to scream but nothing comes out. I roll over onto my stomach and cry. 

Trying to crawl away from him, he grabs me by the foot pulling me back. I turn to him to look at him, still on my stomach as tears fall down my face, I whisper “I love you Nick”. As those words leave my mouth, no emotion is being shown by him. 

I close my eyes to not look at him. Remembering all the happy memories we shared together. He brings down the knife stabbing me on the back. 

Nick takes out the knife, setting it on the kitchen counter. He takes one last look at me before walking out of the cabin. He gets into a car with the three strangers. 

Taking off. I open my eyes and look around to make sure he isn't around anymore. I get up slowly and make my way to the kitchen, seeing my phone on the counter as if it was never missing. 

My hands shake as I pick it up making a phone call. Hearing the dial tone on the other side, I take a deep breath.

911 what's your emergency?....

[fr3sh-tragedies]

Pay Attention

[Resident Evil: Village] Daniela Dimitrescu x Female Reader

Word Count: 7.05k

Proofread: Yes

Content Warnings: Mentions of Daniela feeling like a burden, general angst-to-fluff, crying, soft pining, worries of delusions, and skipping a meal.

[A/N]: I was wanting to post this a week apart from Cassandra’s, but the WiFi went out and took a few days to fix, so I wasn’t able to work on her part. On top of that, I'm not entirely sure how to write for her character since I only recently started to come up with stories for her.

I had much more planned for this one, but I wanted to keep the word count in between what I had written for Bela and Cassandra, so I shortened a few things.

Also, this will be the last story for the Dimitrescu sisters for a while. Please check my bio for an explanation on that. I'll likely be writing for Amity Blight and Boscha from The Owl House next! Check the poll at the end of this story.

Enjoy!

 “Love can exert the same strain on the body as experienced intense fear. In a person in love, the same physiological reactions are observed: dilated pupils, sweaty palms, an increase in heart rate.” Pure intrigue and fascination sparked its way through Daniela’s body, her molten golden eyes skimming over the lines on the page that seemed to pull her in further with each passing word. A few weeks prior, when she had made her usual trip to the Village to visit the Duke and see what stories he had to offer, he had mentioned a book about facts relating to the human body’s anatomy and physiology–a book of “fun facts,” as he called it. Daniela had taken interest in this immediately and ordered it. During the time that she waited, she pondered about what kind of facts it could contain: whether or not it would mention how the body works when a human is in love.

Although she wasn’t entirely aware of it, there was a part of her mind that always brought her attention back to a certain maid that worked for her family. Anytime she thought of how the body might react to being in love with someone, her mind wandered to [Y/N] [L/N]. She would think of how soft her stare always seemed to be, how relaxed she appeared in the youngest Dimitrescu daughter’s presence. It made her feel as though she trusted her the way she was yearning for.

Subconsciously, she would begin to daydream. At first, it only started at night when she was getting ready to fall asleep after a long day. Over a–rather short–amount of time, however, she found herself staring into the distance at random times, completely in a blissful daze. The smitten woman would think constantly of [Y/N]’s steady gaze, and almost immediately fight to suppress a squeal once remembering how flustered she had gotten each time the two of them made eye contact.

After calming down, she’d dream of [Y/N]’s soft locks of hair that always seemed to frame her face so perfectly, cupping the outlining structure of her cheeks and jaw that she wished she could caress with her own hands. How she envied the way any other maid, or even one of her sisters, would so easily rip her attention away from her. She wished she could find a way to keep [Y/N]’s attention on her, find a way to make her pay attention, in other words.

To ease her growing frustrations, she’d turn her attention to [Y/N]’s lips. Although the young woman hadn’t worked for her family for very long–likely only two years–it didn’t take Daniela long to begin falling for her. Often, she would feel her eyes fluttering shut as she tried to vividly picture herself gaining the privilege to kiss her. She wondered how soft her lips would feel against her own. How warm they would be. Would they welcome her with the same spark of enthusiasm? Or would they freeze against her own before roughly removing themselves from one another?

She was often made fun of for being delusional when it came to romance, always falling back to rely on the romance novels she could be found burying her nose into on multiple occasions every single day. As much as she hoped her love would be reciprocated, she could feel the doubts and insecurities creeping in, wishing she didn’t have to consider the fact that her sisters may be right: she may be delusional about this romance.

Maybe she was making this out to be something so much more in her head.

Blending together and jumbling up her mind only made her daydreaming grow more frequent and harder to tear away from. She found herself retreating to her fantasies out of fear of it being the only way she would be able to hear [Y/N] tell her she feels the same way.

Her sisters would snap her out of it and, of course, tease her for it. It would always leave her flustered as she tried to act as though she wasn’t just fantasizing about her favorite maid, which she had personally requested serve the family for each meal.

She’d hastily make her way through her meal, ignoring the taunting of her older siblings, before excusing herself to fly back up to her room for some kind of privacy. She knew Bela and Cassandra would expect to find her in the library first–if they were to search for her–so she would hide away in her bedroom and distract herself with the stack of books she had stashed away in her wardrobe for such an occasion. Time and time again, she’d think about the book she ordered, increasingly growing fearful that it would only worsen her possibly deluded dreams.

After a while of waiting anxiously to learn more about the human body that always captivated her in more ways than one, the book finally arrived at the Duke’s cart. She paid him as promised and quickly fled back to the castle to read in the comfort of her favorite space, the library, leaving her sisters to continue their shopping on their own.

Thankfully, she had managed to keep her inattentiveness to a minimum. Because of this, she felt it was okay to go back to her sanctum to read, rather than secluding herself in her bedroom.

Brushing past the maids that worked deftly throughout the front parlor and all the way out to the opposite sides of the sturdy structure, Daniela finally made it to the library, where she shut the doors behind her and huddled up on the sofa closest to the center, allowing the large skylight above to provide light for her to read under.

She had curled up against the armrest, tucking one of the throw pillows against her chest and propping her legs up to press it further against her torso. Quickly, she flipped the front cover open and thumbed eagerly at the pages as she began to read the introduction–which opened by explaining how different events trigger different emotions and hormones throughout the brain and body. It was hard for her to suppress a yawn. The way the paragraphs were phrased, including the diction used, seemed more like something her eldest sister Bela would be interested in.

Seemingly countless words filled each pale, thin page, all of which added up to share different messages and facts about the physiological side of emotions. When the Duke had been talking of the book a few weeks prior, he made it seem far more interesting than what she was reading at the beginning. She had pictured interesting facts put together with very few words, short sections of small lists decorating the page with each bulleted point. She did enjoy lengthy novels using flowery language, which often used far more detail than this book had so far, but those had a story building up throughout each turn of a page.

The way the facts were laid out before her made her feel like she was being lectured by Bela.

The paragraphs seemed to stretch on and on. Her eyelids drooped upon feeling heavy, her boredom growing more and more evident across her features.

She sighed, swiftly flipping through the pages using the pad of her thumb, desperately searching for where the more interesting part of the book was. Finally, with a small cheer of triumph, she discovered what she was seeking out for. She smiled gleefully and nuzzled up against the sofa and the pillow. Her body sunk down into the cushions as she finally took interest in the words that rested underneath a large, bold title that read “Facts of the Brain.”

It had started off sharing facts about the brain connected to the nervous, digestive, and integumentary systems, though what truly caught her interest was when it started speaking of how love and romance affected the body. Finally, she found the part of the book she had been fantasizing about for weeks. Each fact drew her deeper and deeper into the pages, her senses tuning out the rest of the world. Her smile cracked wider and wider across her face, and just like she had done before she had even gotten her hands on the book, she pictured the effects taking place in her and [Y/N]’s bodies while dreaming of one day learning that her love was mutual.

Laughter is associated with the positive sides of love that partners share.

The initial stress of a relationship can cause physical symptoms similar to a heart attack, known as Broken Heart syndrome.

Different stages of love exist, with different reactions at the start of a relationship that are different from the ones that they feel when it is a long-term romantic attachment.

Being in love alters our personality and perception of things. We can become more open to things that our lover is into, or we may even become more optimistic about things.

Love leads to the deactivation of the amygdala in the brain, which regulates fear. Thus, you are less scared of outcomes and consequences when in love. You experience a fearlessness and bravery that you wouldn’t usually feel.

Gleefully, Daniela squealed in excitement over all of the new information greeting her. She continued reading, wondering if [Y/N] had ever felt any of these things while around her. She had certainly felt the intensity of her feelings anytime she so much as thought of the girl. Had [Y/N] felt the same?

The urge to share these interesting facts with her family grew stronger in her body. Maybe if she brought it up with her sisters and told them of how she wanted to use the information to finally confess to [Y/N], they would encourage her and help her do so.

Quickly, she stood from her spot on the small sofa. She spun on her heel and practically skipped towards the doors, softly closing the book and tucking it under her arm after folding the corner of the last page she had read. She flung the doors open in front of her, then tugged them shut before letting the lower half of her body swarm back into the flies that made up her being, allowing her to float above the ground and travel quickly down the hall. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to find Bela or Cassandra first. She had heard them come back home a while before, though she wasn’t aware of where they were.

Bela was likely in her study going over the paperwork her mother had given to her, and Cassandra was without a doubt in the armory crafting her newest weapon with the metals she had purchased from the Duke back in the Village. It would be far easier to visit Cassandra first, seen as how she was the closest.

Daniela made her way through the doorway that led to the hallway connecting the main hall’s stairway to the Wine Room. She slid past the balcony, brushing past the maids that seemed to cower back a bit at her presence. She then hooked a right at the end of the walkway, then a left, and went through a few more doors before finally reaching the armory. Just as she had assumed, Cassandra was in there, working away at designing a new dagger she would be able to add to her personal collection. She sat atop the crates stacked against the main pillar in the center of the room. A pen in hand, she sketched out her idea onto a sheet of paper that sat propped up in her lap. She used a thin sheet of wood as a surface to draw on.

She seemed not to have noticed her younger sister walk into the room, and Daniela smiled to herself. She lurked forward silently and hid behind the crates, peering out over the top. With a silent chuckle, she moved to float just behind her sister, sucking in a small breath and readying herself to yell in an attempt to startle her sister.

“Don’t even think about it, Dani,” Cassandra warned without glancing in her direction, continuing to focus on her newest blueprint in front of her instead. Daniela let out the breath she had been holding through a loud sigh, pouting as she crossed her arms and flew to stand in front of her sister. “You’re no fun,” she murmured. “I am so. I’m just working on something. Plus, I don’t think you realize that I was able to hear the door open and close when you came in.”

“It could’ve been Bela or a maid that came in! Why would you assume it was me?”

“Well, Bela wouldn’t have tried to creep up on me, she would’ve waited at the doorway and said my name or cleared her throat to catch my attention. And the maids know they aren’t allowed in here, especially if I’m already here, unless I ask them to polish the armor. I knew it was you. And either way, I could smell you coming from down the hall.”

“H-Huh?”

“Your perfume, Daniela. It’s so strong all the time. Makes me wanna pinch my nose shut every time so I don’t have to smell it. God, are you trying to cover up the smell of all the blood and death on you? Because if you are, it’s not working.”

Daniela could feel her face burning, the blush that had already begun to form on her cheeks out of embarrassment now creeping up onto the tips of her ears. She felt her shoulders tensing up, the grip on both her book and her arm tightening to a painful degree. “Th-That’s not true! I’m not trying to hide anything with my perfume!” She scowled and stared at Cassandra for a moment, although her gaze was not met. Her sister continued to stare down at her sketches, though there was a cocky grin plastered on her face. Daniela scoffed and shook her head.

“That doesn’t matter,” she started again, tugging the book out from under her arm as she once again looked up at her sister. “I wanted to show you this book! It’s full of all kinds of facts about the human body and mind, and I finally got to the part about how love affects the body, and I wanted to–” “I’m not interested, Daniela. I’m busy. And besides, you’re the only one who cares about all of this romance stuff this much. The rest of us are perfectly fine with keeping it to ourselves.”

Daniela frowned, her enthusiasm beginning to crumble in a very visible way. She thought for a moment about what she could say to capture her sister’s attention. “W-Well, I know you don’t really care for my interest in romance novels, b-but I think you’d like the rest of the book! It’s–”

“Daniela, I’m not interested. I don’t care what the rest of the book is about, I don’t want to hear it. If you’re only going to pester me with this when you know I’m busy, then just leave.”

Daniela’s frown only deepened, her gaze dropping down to the floor. “I-I’m…not meaning to bother you, Cass. I’m sorry. I just wanted to share it with someone, and you were the closest one to me, so…” She turned her attention to the book still waiting to be opened again in her trembling hands. She absolutely hated the feeling of being a burden to anyone. Before she could get too deep into her head, however, she began heading towards the door again. Perhaps Bela would be more accepting of her excitement.

She retraced the trail she had taken to find the armory, though she flew downstairs into the main parlor instead. Her arms tugged the book closer to her chest as she soared all the way to Bela’s personal study. There, she made sure to knock before entering.

“Who is it?” Bela asked softly from the other side of the door. “It’s just me,” Daniela replied. Bela sighed. “Come in.” After the confirmation that she could come in, Daniela opened the door and headed inside before closing it behind her. She spun around and walked over to Bela’s desk, where her eldest sister was working away, already buried in paperwork again. “What do you need, Dani? Is something wrong?” Bela briefly glanced up at her before shuffling a few papers, letting out a small sigh when she found the paper she was seemingly looking for.

The youngest daughter stood next to the desk and stared at Bela patiently. “N-No, nothing is wrong. I just…wanted to know if I could share something with you.” The blonde grumbled something under her breath and pinched the bridge of her nose as she leaned back against her chair. “As long as it’s made brief, yes.” Daniela’s frown returned. “Oh, well…” She tapped the front cover of her book, catching Bela’s attention. “Not exactly something brief, but I thought you might like to hear about it. You know…just in case you decide you want something to read later on down the line.”

Bela sighed again, running both of her hands down her face. “Dani, you know I would usually have no issue with you talking to me about your stories, but,” she was cut off as Daniela leaned forward and interrupted her. “But it’s not a story this time! It’s a whole book filled with fun facts about the human body! I think you’ll really like it.”

“Look, that sounds interesting, I suppose. But I’m really busy, and I need to get all of this finished before the end of the week. Which is in three days, mind you, in case you weren’t already aware.” Bela slid forward again and picked up a smaller stack of documents tucked away in files. She thumbed through them, checking the labels for what she was searching for. “If you really must share it with someone, go find Cassandra instead.”

“I already did though. She said I was just irritating her and that I needed to leave while she works on her new weapon. I figured maybe you’d be more interested in it.” Daniela grimaced at a thought that made itself known in the front of her mind. “I’m not…bothering you, am I?” Bela looked up at her finally. “Listen, you know I don’t enjoy being blunt with you, but quite frankly, yes, you’re bothering me. These papers are very important, Dani. I have to focus on them right now.”

Again, Daniela’s confidence began to crumble. Even more so when her sister once again turned back to her work as if it were far more important than her. “Oh, I-I’m…I’m sorry.” She began to back away, unable to tear her eyes away from her feet as they led her backwards. “I didn’t mean to,” she whispered, her voice cracking.

She twirled back to face the door, slipping through it and leaving abruptly. She could feel her insecurities eating away at her self esteem. Tears began to form and prick the corners of her eyes. She let out a small sniffle and began to head out towards the courtyard. “Perhaps mother will listen to me.”

She traveled all the way through the large, open space, grateful that the weather permitted her to do so peacefully. She made it to the structure connected to the space just across the dining room, floating up the stairs, through the doorway, and then turning to go up yet another set of stairs. She then took a few more turns before finally making it to her mother’s chambers. She pressed her ear to the door, smiling weakly when she heard her mother moving around on the other side.

Swiftly, Daniela knocked on the door. “Yes?” Her mother questioned, her tone professional in case it was a maid. “It’s just me, mother. May I come in?” “Of course, dear. Just try to keep your voice down.” Daniela was confused by the last part of her mother’s statement, but she still turned the door’s handle and pushed it forward, allowing her to step inside. She smiled, though it quickly dropped once she saw that Alcina was on the phone, likely with Mother Miranda again.

“O-Oh, I’m sorry, mother. Is this a bad time?” Alcina glanced over at her softly for a moment, though quickly sighed and furrowed her brow. “No, Daniela, it’s not–ah, yes, Mother Miranda. I’m aware. I can assure you that everything will go accordingly.” Daniela made no move to step further, already sensing that she was becoming a burden to yet another one of her loved ones. “I’ll leave you be. I-I’ll see you during dinner,” she mumbled just loud enough for her mother to hear.

She turned and left the room just as Alcina looked back over at her again. “Daniela, wait.” Another sigh. “Mother Miranda, I understand. Yes, I know how important this is to you.”

The entire time she had tried to share her interest in this new book she found, Daniela had been fighting back tears. With each way of saying that she was only being a nuisance, her confidence faltered before shattering into pieces. Now, after bottling it up for so long in hopes of being able to change her attitude, she couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. They streamed down her face as she rushed back up to her room, locking her door and crawling up against the pillows on her bed.

Until she managed to think things through and calm down, Daniela intended to hide away in the comfort of her bedroom. She wiped at her face, scolding herself for being so emotional for such a ridiculous reason. Her family was simply busy doing their own things–they didn’t owe her the time of day.

But she wanted so badly to share something she was so passionate about with someone. Her excitement had blinded her to the fact that she truly was burdening the others as they tried to work. They were all doing important things, and she was curled up on her bed, sobbing because she wasn’t able to keep the attention on her?

How pathetic.

How selfish.

She sucked in a shaky breath, trying desperately to bring her crying to a halt. It failed, however, as another sob wracked through her body. She whimpered, feeling as though she truly was weak since she wasn’t even able to keep a straight face. She shifted and turned on the bed, burying her face in her pillow as she tossed the book onto the floor. Maybe the plush surface beneath her would muffle the sounds of her vulnerability.

“Lady Daniela? Will you be joining your family for dinner anytime soon? They’ve asked me to see if you’ll come down.” “No, I’m not going to eat dinner tonight. I-I, um…Just really want to finish my book. Tell them I’ll find something to eat later, will you?” “Of course.”

It had been a few hours since Daniela’s meltdown. She had finally managed to stop crying within the first hour of hiding away, though she still felt too depressed to leave her room. Dinner had been ready for over half an hour at that point, yet she was the only one not to have joined her family downstairs to eat. It surprised her mother, as she was usually the first one seated, always eager to see what the kitchen staff had prepared for their meal that night. She had sent a maid up to her youngest daughter’s room four times, asking them to encourage her to come down and join them, even though Bela and Cassandra were already finished eating.

The two waited patiently at the table per their mother’s request, although they also wanted to use the time spent at dinner to apologize to Daniela for the way they treated her. They both felt guilty for it and spoke to each other about how they could make it up to her. When she didn’t join them at the table, however, they could feel their regret growing stronger. They often poked fun at her for different things, but Daniela knew it was all in good fun. She knew they didn’t really mean anything by it.

They were sisters, after all, and they even mocked each other at different points. Most of the time she would laugh at their jokes aimed in her direction. They must’ve really hurt her for her not to at least come downstairs long enough to eat dinner with them.

After waiting another half hour, they decided that it was best to give her a bit of space before they tried to properly apologize for what they had done. They left the dining room. Alcina, however, continued to wait there for her youngest to show up. She never did, and after yet another hour, Alcina headed upstairs to her own room to retire for the night. She knew her daughter likely needed time to herself, especially after Bela and Cassandra explained what had happened. In the morning, she’d make sure to check in on her daughter personally and apologize to her herself.

All the while, Daniela remained in bed, staring blankly at the wall the side of her bed was pressed up against. Her eyes were dull, straining as she fought to stay awake. She wasn’t sure why she wasn’t letting herself fall asleep. She knew she’d feel better if she got a bit of rest, but for some reason she just wouldn’t let her eyes stay closed.

Her mind was swarming with all kinds of negative thoughts, none of which managed to do anything but dampen her mood even further. She must’ve lied there for hours in absolute silence. Everyone else, including the maids, had already gone to bed, which is why it was such a surprise when a knock sounded from her door. She nearly jumped out of her own skin. A loud yelp slipped past her lips as she jolted upright and felt her head whip towards the direction of the door.

Who could that possibly be? Surely her sisters weren’t up at this hour. It was long past midnight, and although she knew the two of them were more insomniatic than she was, she could tell from the way that silence followed the knock that it wasn’t them. Still, her heart hammered in her chest as she tried to decipher the scent.

“Wh-Who is it?” She asked shakily.

“It’s me, Daniela,” [Y/N] responded from the other side of the door. “Is it alright if I come in?” Daniela’s heart began to race even faster, though it was for a different reason now. Why was [Y/N] the only one who came to check in on her herself? Perhaps she cared more for Daniela than her own family did. She hesitated, her mind telling her she’ll only be a burden to the woman she loved so dearly. Ignoring those cruel thoughts, she wiped her face and straightened out her dress. “Yes, come on in,” she finally said at length.

Slowly, the door creaked open to reveal [Y/N], who peered in through the dim lighting the candles from the hallway managed to provide. “What’s up?” Daniela asked softly, watching as the young woman closed her bedroom door and walked over to her bed. She sat on the edge of it and gazed over at her. Even with how dark her room was, Daniela was able to see the concerned look on [Y/N]’s face. “I heard about what happened today. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

Daniela smiled weakly, her heart pounding against her ribs once more. She glanced down at her lap, tugging her gloves off and tossing them to the side to pick at her nails. Her palms flipped downwards to desperately try to wipe the sweat onto the fabric of her dress. “I-I’m fine,” she mumbled in reply, her voice almost inaudible. [Y/N] shifted on the bed, the mattress suddenly sinking down next to Daniela as she sat beside her. “C’mon, you and I both know that’s not true. I can see it on your face. And in your body language. You’re upset. You don’t have to hide it. You don’t have to tell me about anything, but I can promise you I won’t judge you for whatever it is you’re upset about.”

Now, as her lip began to quiver for the first time in hours, Daniela managed to peer over at her from the corner of her eye. She tried to maintain her composure, though it was quick to falter as [Y/N] held out her arms and gazed at her with those damned eyes. “C’mere.”

Without meaning to, Daniela whimpered and practically seemed to lunge forward as she dove into [Y/N]’s embrace, letting her face bury itself into the smaller woman’s shoulder as she let out a small sob. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was about this girl that made her feel so safe, other than her love for her. Something about the way [Y/N]’s eyes always seemed to show a sign of trust and never held any judgment made Daniela feel as though she could confide in her about anything.

[Y/N] was quick to rock her back and forth, her fingers gently stroking the unshaven side of the redhead’s messy hair and scratching soothingly at her scalp. “Everything is going to be okay, Dani. And they didn’t tell me to say anything, but your sisters and mother are very sorry for whatever it was that they did to you. Believe me. I was able to see it on their faces during dinner.” Daniela sniffled softly and tilted her head to peer up at [Y/N].

“You were there during dinner?” [Y/N] nodded down at her with a soft grin. “Yes. I was also…” She seemed to hesitate, worried about something. Daniela straightened up at this to look her in the eye. “What is it?” “Ah, I just–I was also there in the room with Bela earlier when you tried to show her your book. I heard what happened.” A soft shade of crimson dusted Daniela’s cheeks as she turned her head away in embarrassment. “Oh, I didn’t even realize. I-I’m sorry you had to see me act that way.” “What way?” “Like a spoiled brat. I-I sounded like I just wanted attention, didn’t I?”

Gently, [Y/N]’s hand came to rest on her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. “No, not at all. I can understand being upset about not being able to share something you’re passionate about, and I could clearly tell you were passionate about the book you were carrying.”

Daniela looked back up at her again, slightly surprised. “You don’t think I was being pathetic?” “No, not at all! I’d probably react the same way, honestly.”

Daniela smiled and hummed after a moment. She crossed her legs and returned to where she had originally been sitting on her bed, staring down at her lap. “Th-Thank you for not judging me,” she murmured quietly at length. “It really does mean a lot.” Her head lifted so she could once again look [Y/N] in the eyes, her smile never faltering, and instead growing. “Anytime, Dani,” came the smaller woman’s reply. They gazed at each other for a while, not realizing it.

Suddenly, a look of pure confusion riddled Daniela’s face. “Wait, if you were in the room with Bela when I came in earlier, then how did you not know what I was upset about? And…why did it seem like you didn’t know about any of it until my family “told you?””

Again, a look of anxiousness crossed [Y/N]’s features. She averted her gaze and began to fidget with her fingers. “A-Ah, well, I just didn’t want you to know I had listened to what happened. I thought you might be mad at me for it.” Daniela stared at her, bewildered, but quickly smiled and chuckled. “I could never be mad at you. Especially not over something like that.” She took [Y/N]’s hand into her own and gently caressed the back of it with her thumb.

Daniela sighed in relief. The noises pounding in her mind began to soften, finally feeling at ease for the first time in hours.

“Oh!”

She jumped at that, her heart stuttering in surprise as she quickly turned her attention back to [Y/N], who looked excited now.

“Speaking of that book, I was actually going to ask if you could show me some of the facts you were trying to talk about!” An unusually wide smile cracked across Daniela’s lips, almost to a painful degree. “You’d really be interested in that? And you’d pay attention?” [Y/N] nodded with a look of pure intrigue. “Yeah, of course! I managed to spot the cover of the book while you were in the room. It’s about the human body, right?”

Daniela nodded, quickly flying over to where she had tossed the book to pick it up before returning to the bed. “Yep! The first half is really really boring, but the rest of it is really cool! I love the part about how love and romance affects the body so far.” [Y/N] giggled at her and reached over to the nightstand to light a candle. “I figured as much. That’s very in-character for you,” she replied softly, making Daniela blush.

“Is that a bad thing?” She questioned sheepishly. “No, of course not. It’s actually one of the things I love most about you.” Daniela’s face burned even brighter, and she secretly scolded herself, trying to force the blush to die down before the candle lit up the small space next to them.

“Oh, Daniela. Did that new book you were talking about finally make it in?” Bela asked from the sofa in the front parlor, Cassandra’s head perking up at this. The youngest of the three beamed brightly over at them and chuckled. “Yeah, it did.” Her two older sisters smiled back at her. “Would you want us to read it with you?”

Daniela eyed them for a moment, though her expression quickly changed before they could notice. “Oh, no, it’s fine. I was actually planning on reading it with [Y/N] first! She’s in the library right now: I told her to wait there for me while I grabbed the book from the Duke’s shop.” She hummed and swarmed up, flying all the way across the property to the library, where she found [Y/N] waiting for her on her favorite sofa.

Similar to the way she had been doing almost all day everyday, Daniela smiled wide, squealing from excitement and catching [Y/N]’s attention, who turned to her and grinned in return, waving at her. “Dani, hey! Did you get the book?”

With an enthusiastic nod, Daniela soared over to the sofa and plopped herself down next to [Y/N], leaning against the armrest. “Sure did! Volume two of fun facts over the human body.” She pulled the book from underneath her arm and swayed it back and forth with a teasing smirk. She then set it up against her lap and flipped open the front cover. Bringing her closed hand up to cover her mouth, she cleared her throat, then began to read the story aloud.

As she spoke, she got lost in the words. She hardly noticed as [Y/N] shifted on the cushion in front of her. She was made aware of her movement, however, once the smaller woman leaned against her shoulder to read the words on the pages as well.

Her voice shook and cracked in surprise, her confidence in the words she spoke beginning to waver as she stared down at [Y/N]. “U-Um, are you alright?” She looked up at Daniela in confusion. “Yeah, of course,” was her soft reply. “Just wanted to get cozy, y’know?” Uncharacteristically, Daniela grew sheepish. She was often the one who made a bold move to fluster others–she wasn’t used to someone else doing it to her, let alone the woman she loved.

“Y-Yeah,” was all she could mutter, forcing herself to tear her gaze away and focus back on the words decorating the pages. She continued to read it aloud, though she wasn’t able to comprehend anything she read. This continued for a long while, and finally she was able to get back into a more confident headspace. Her attention to the facts returned.

A gentle yawn sounded from Daniela’s shoulder, prompting her to look down at the source. [Y/N] rubbed her eyes before letting them flutter shut. She sighed as she nuzzled back up further into Daniela’s shoulder. Her nose gently bumped against her neck. The redhead shuttered, causing her breath to halt for a moment. How long had they been reading together? Surely it couldn’t have been that long.

She turned her head to glance up at the skylight, finding that the sky above was growing darker, almost pitch black. “Oh, I hadn’t even realized we’d been here all day. Sorry about that, [Y/N]. Should I carry you back to your room?” [Y/N] shook her head after a moment, seemingly already halfway asleep. “No, I’m fine. This is really comfortable. You can keep reading if you’d like.” Daniela smiled softly down at her and nodded. She shifted her arm to tuck it underneath [Y/N]’s torso and pull her closer, using her free hand to flip the pages of the book as she read silently to herself.

Another hour must’ve passed before Daniela finally finished the book. “Man, it’s much faster to read something in my head than out loud,” she whispered to herself, closing the cover and gently placing the book on the ground next to the sofa. She yawned and sighed, glancing back over at [Y/N]. Her eyes were shut, her breathing and heartbeat slow and steady. Daniela grinned and absentmindedly pressed a gentle kiss to the top of the woman’s head. She couldn’t see it, but her pupils were blown from the love and admiration traveling throughout her body.

“I’m glad you’re asleep,” she started. “I-I promise I’ll tell you this to your face when you’re actually…y’know, conscious–when I can find the courage–but…I love you, [Y/N]. You’ve cheered me up countless times, especially these past few weeks. You’ve always made me laugh and made sure I knew that you were actually paying attention to me. You make sure I know you’re actually interested in what I have to say, and that really does mean the world to me.

“I hope I can help you feel the same way. There are so many things I never want you to have to experience, but feeling useless, or ignored, or…like you’re a burden is definitely one of the major ones. If you ever feel like you have no one else to go to, I just want you to know that I’m here.”

She giggled to herself, running a hand through her hair and then down her face. “I want to keep telling you about how much I love you and why I do, but I feel like I should save all of it for when you’re actually awake to hear all of it. I want you to know just how much you mean to me. Though, that’ll be hard to explain since you mean the world–no, more than the world to me.”

Finally, she let herself relax, leaning back against the armrest and closing her eyes with a heavy sigh. She couldn’t wipe the smile from her face if she tried. Again, just like she had done multiple times over the past few weeks, Daniela jumped. [Y/N] seemed to be unnaturally good at catching her off guard. She wasn’t sure if she was proud of that or not.

“Aww, Dani, that’s so sweet,” she mumbled. Daniela’s eyes shot down to her still resting against her shoulder, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead. “H-How much of that did you hear?”

“All of it.”

Daniela whined in embarrassment. She used her free hand to hide her reddened face, mumbling things under her breath. [Y/N] giggled at her reaction, one arm moving to wrap around the redhead’s torso and pull her closer. Her face nuzzled against Daniela’s collarbone as she smiled and sighed. “But…I love you too. I want you to know that.”

For what must’ve been the fifth time that evening alone, Daniela’s head whipped back around to let her stare at [Y/N]. “You do…?” She whispered, her voice once again cracking as tears unwillingly began to prick her eyes.

“Of course I do. How could I not?” [Y/N] said it like it was the most obvious thing on earth. She really found it odd that Daniela was surprised about her feelings being mutual?

Daniela’s lip quivered. Slowly, she shifted onto her side to fully face [Y/N], who finally opened her eyes to gaze up at her. The smile that caressed her lips so beautifully only made Daniela’s heart flutter. “Could…you say that again?” [Y/N] smiled.

“Yes. I’ll say it to you as many times as you’d like. I love you, Dani.”

She leaned up and began to pepper the woman’s face and head with kisses, whispering a faint “I love you” with each one.

Daniela finally let out a small laugh mixed with a sob. She leaned forward and pulled [Y/N] closer. [Y/N] smiled down at her, shifting up a bit further to comfortably pull the weeping girl into her chest. Her fingers raked through the red locks that rested against the armrest, lulling Daniela further into a sense of security and bliss. “I’ll always be here for you, okay? Anything you need, I’m here: I’ll be here to listen, pay attention, make you laugh, and love you. Just like you said to me, if you ever feel like no one else is there, just know I’ll be waiting for you with open arms.”

Tears soaked through [Y/N]’s shirt, though she didn’t mind. She could feel Daniela smiling broadly against her clothed skin, and that made everything feel like it was worth it.

[corvid-language-library]

I'm about to fucking throw something out of a window I stg:

Wifi stops working because reasons. Turn it off and back on to no avail. Unplug everything and plug it back in, no change.

Try to call the helpline number. My phone has decided it can't make or receive calls.

Try to log in to my Mobal account to ask them wtf is going on. Can't remember my password. Try the one I usually use, nope. Try a variant of it. "Your account is locked, please wait 30 minutes before trying again" AFTER TWO ATTEMPTS?!?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

Finally get into my account. It suggests I reset my network settings, take out my SIM card and put it back in.

Try to do the above. "Before you reset your network settings, you must make a back up." Okay *attempts to make back up copy* "This requires a wifi connection" ARE YOU FFFF

Go ahead and reset without making a backup because atp I'm grumpy and idc anymore, turn phone off and on again, yay I can make calls! But also it turns out I didn't just reset my network settings; I reset EVERYTHING, so my phone is VERY LOUD AND VERY BRIGHT and I have none of my keyboards

The number I have to call is a toll number charging ¥30/minute

Finally get through to someone. The woman says my address doesn't exist. I assure her it does because I live here and I'm reading it from my residence card. About ¥90 later, she finds my address.

"I just tested your connection. Looks like it's not working" I KNOW THAT'S WHY I CALLED

I still have no wifi and probably won't until I get home from work (at least they're (hopefully) fixing it)

Found some Nutella that I forgot I had. Yay. Discovered that when stored at Japanese summer room temperature, it separates 🫠 (gonna mix it up as best I can and eat it anyway because just having a slice of plain ol white bread for dinner feels Very Sad Indeed)

[mk-writes-stuff]

Character Voice Tag

Rules: rewrite the line in the voices of your OCs, then come up with a new line for the next person

I got two, so thanks @illarian-rambling and @willtheweaver for the tags! My lines are, “Oh damn, the wifi stopped working,” and, “Quiet down, I’m trying to sleep.”

Line 1: “Oh damn, the wifi stopped working.”

Belladonna: “The wifi is down. I’ll contact a technician.”

Cassie: “Fucking wifi, what the fuck is wrong with you?” *rests her hand in the router* “All right, what’s your fucking problem?”

Nellie: “I think the internet stopped working.”

Narcissus: “My wifi is down? My wifi is down??? What happened? Has someone been tampering with it? How dare they? Who would want to sabotage me? Well, everyone, I suppose - they’re all jealous - but who would dare???”

Ricinus: “Our wifi’s down again? I’m going to fire that useless technician.”

Goldenrod: “Can you believe it? The wifi’s gone out again. With all we pay that technician, I can’t believe they can’t keep up.”

Cassiopeia: “Why is the wifi out again? Get it fixed.”

Stellaris: “Wait. Why isn’t my internet working? I was going to study my Old World history and now my schedule is all mixed up!” *starts stressed-stimming aggressively, trying not to cry*

Rhys: “Is the internet not working? I didn’t notice.”

Line 2: “Quiet down, I’m trying to sleep.”

Belladonna: “Can you snore a bit more quietly? I’m trying to get a bit of sleep.”

Cassie: “Shut the fuck up, I want to sleep.”

Nellie: “Would you be able to be a bit quieter? I have trouble sleeping.”

Narcissus: “Be quiet! This instant! I’m getting my beauty sleep, don’t you dare deprive me of that.”

Ricinus: “Be quiet, I’m sleeping.”

Goldenrod: “Darling, you keep waking me up, and I’m just so tired. Can’t you be quieter and let me sleep?”

Cassiopeia: “Quiet down and let me sleep or I’ll have you flogged.”

Stellaris: “Can you stop making that sound? It makes my ears hurt. You’re not making a sound? But I can hear it. Please stop. Oh. No? Okay.”

Rhys: *considers asking but just plugs his ears instead*

These were very fun! Thank you two again for the tags! I’m going to offer this one to @kaylinalexanderbooks @modernwritercraft and @marigold-clouds - your line is, “It’ll be fun, come on!”

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

ALRIGHTY here’s day 2! A day late bc my WiFi was absolute Garbage yesterday- it’s fixed now!

Warnings: Drugged whumpee? Sort of? (Hospital pain meds), conditioned whumpee, he is in the hospital, also he’s like. Kinda delirious I think? Idk the meds are messing with his head, also he’s Not Happy about the fact he’s on them, people being suspicious of Caretaker because of scars (whumpee sets the facts straight before anything happens though)

Day 2: Sweat Brain Fog

The Meeting Arc Part 2

~~~~~

It’s too bright.

Volo squeezes his eyes back shut the moment they open with a quiet groan.

The world feels.. weird. He feels weird.

Almost dizzy..?

Thinking feels weird too.. fuzzy..

Yeah. Fuzzy’s a good way to describe how he feels right now. And tired.

So, so very tired..

He wakes up again, squinting against the light.

Oh, I’m somewhere unfamiliar..

Where are my..

Where. Where are they. Where are my Pokémon.

He moves to try to sit up.

Oh, his head’s spinning.

His whole body feels.. heavy.. exhausted..

So exhausted..

Pokémon. Right, he needs to find his Pokémon-

There’s a tube in his arm?

Hospital?

Why am I.. What hospital am I in..

He clumsily pokes at his watch, squinting at the screen, trying to see the time, date, and location.

It’s so blurry..

Okay. Giving up on that.

“Hello?” He calls out. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

Someone pokes his head in. A nurse, probably? “Oh, you’re awake!” The nurse hurries over, gently pushing him back to the bed. “Here, lay back down.”

Each word makes his head swim. He’s tired, everything is fuzzy, and it takes him a minute to figure out what the guy said. “Mmkay.. where are my Pokémon..?”

The nurse frowns. “..There’s a guy in the lobby. He might know, but before we let you talk to him, we have some questions to ask.”

All Volo got out of that was someone’s in the lobby. Something about questions. “..who..?”

“His name is Cheri Jennings.”

Volo lets out a sigh of relief.

Okay. Cheri has his Pokémon. He doesn’t know Cheri very well, but Cheri saved him, right? And whatever Cheri wants with him, he trusts that they’ll be taken care of, for now, at least- if Cheri’s trying to gain his trust, anyway.

They’re okay..

So exhausted..

His eyes slip closed again.

Time passes for him like the blink of an eye, and when he wakes up again, someone else is in the room, checking machines by his bed. She looks over as he moves.

“Hello. Can you understand me?”

“Um..” Volo nods.

He’s a little more awake now. Everything still feels so fuzzy, though. He’s also tired, exhaustion running bone-deep, and he makes no move to get up this time. “..Where am I?”

“Okay.” The lady takes a deep breath. “..You’re in the Eterna City Hospital. You were brought here by Cheri Jennings. He said the two of you were attacked by a strange man with powerful Pokémon, is that right?”

Volo thinks for a moment. Remembering takes so much energy- but he does. “Mmh.. Yes, that’s what happened. We were.. we were fighting someone horrible, and..” He shakes his head. “..I.. got hurt..? And I remember him carrying me..” He shakes his head. “He had ice on his arm, is he okay?”

“He’s okay. ..I have another question.”

Volo nods.

“Was he the one who made the.. well.” The nurse shifts uncomfortably.

Oh. “You saw those..?” Ignoring the sick feeling in his stomach, Volo shakes his head. “N.. no, he didn’t make those.. is he here right now..?”

The nurse nods. “Yes, he’s in the lobby. ..who-”

“It doesn’t matter, but, um.. It wasn’t him, can.. Can you let him in here..? Please?”

The nurse thinks for a moment, then sighs, nodding. “I’ll bring him in.”

Volo nods, eyes slipping closed.

When they open again, Cheri’s asleep by his bed, though Cheri quickly wakes up when Volo moves.

“Hey,” he says, taking Volo’s hands in his.

Volo flinches. He can’t help it, yanking himself away from contact as if another person’s sudden touch is a hot coal.

Most people avoid touching him, pull away quickly once he flinches. But Cheri keeps his hands open.

And Volo reaches forward, letting Cheri hold his hands.

It’s been so, so long since he’s felt a comforting touch.

“..you saved my life,” he murmurs. “..why? What do you have to gain, by having this power over me?”

“What power?” Cheri shakes his head. “What are you talking about??”

“You saved my life,” Volo repeats. “So it now belongs to you.”

“..that’s.. Kinda a fucked way of thinking about it, don’t you think?” Cheri shakes his head, looking away. “Think about it as me repaying an old favor. My siblings and I would’ve been left with next to nothing if you hadn’t helped us when we were banished, you know?”

“..hm.” Volo nods, lightly squeezing Cheri’s hands. “I guess that makes sense. ..still.. Why save me? I don’t deserve it after the rift.” He shakes his head. “I hurt you, didn’t I? Are you trying to hurt me back?”

Cheri blinks a few times. “No? Why would I want that? Look, I know you’ve had it rough for a while, but I can promise you I don’t want to hurt you.” Cheri’s tongue glows as he makes the promise, and then magic wraps around the two of them.

Locking the promise in..?

..Volo looks away.

Then.. it’s true, he really DOESN’T want to hurt me.

“..why..?” Volo asks again. “I’m.. worthless now. There’s nobody left I can save, nothing else I can do to control the damage. I’ve apologized to almost everyone I can, I’ve hurt, I’ve bled, I’ve cried and I’ve broken over it, and now I’m worth nothing.” He lets his eyes slip closed, starting to feel uncomfortable with how much he’s shared, but it’s already out there, he might as well finish the thought. “There’s nothing more I can do but suffer. And I am so tired of suffering for it all. That’s selfish, I know, I don’t deserve death’s release, but I’m tired.”

Oooohhh no. Cheri’s mouth hangs open for a moment. “Volo.. what.. the hell are you talking about?”

Volo shakes his head, pulling Cheri’s hands to his face so he can hide behind them. After a moment, one of Cheri’s hands let go.

Volo’s disappointment is short lived, because Cheri’s hand is in his hair next, gently brushing his bangs back over his left eye.

Oh, right, that exists. He hadn’t even noticed it wasn’t covered. His skin feels.. odd, not very sensitive..

“..hey.. Volo? ..What are you talking about?”

Cheri’s voice is so soft. So gentle, so full of worry, of concern..

Tears start to slip down Volo’s face. “I- I can’t.”

Cheri frowns. “..Is this about Eclipse? What.. what did he do..?”

“..He hurt me,” Volo whispers, hiding behind his hands. “Very badly.”

And he was kind at first too. Held me, took care of me, and I thought he was the one person in the world who hadn’t just wanted to use me.

What a foolish thought.

..he was kind at first, just like this. He said he would protect me, and he did. Nobody else could hurt me but him- this situation feels all too familiar.

But where Eclipse had no right to do what he did..

I DID hurt Cheri and his family.

“..you can too, if that’s what you kept me alive for,” he murmurs. “You must want to, it’s the only thing that makes sense.. You were hurt by me, and now you want your turn to give me my just desserts for it.”

“…Volo… What the fuck.”

Volo peeks between his fingers after a moment- oh. Cheri looks.. genuinely horrified at that idea. “..you.. really don’t want to hurt me? Not at all?”

“Why in the ever-loving fuck would I-” Cheri pulls his hands away, taking a deep breath. Volo flinches, hiding behind his hands again.

When he looks again, Cheri’s just.. staring. There’s a lot of emotions on his face, most of all a deep sadness.

“..He really, really hurt you,” Cheri murmurs.

Volo looks away. “..I know,” he says, trying to laugh even though it isn’t funny-

He’s crying. Why is he crying?

Cheri sighs, moving closer and opening his arms.

Volo hesitates.

If I trust, I’ll only get hurt. This’ll only hurt me in the end.

But after a few moments, Volo moves to Cheri anyway, careful of the medical equipment and pushing through the spots in his vision from sitting up. He’s cautious, slow.

Cheri’s arms wrap around him, and he feels so safe, so protected, and oh, this is worth whatever pain it’ll bring him later. Hiding his face in Cheri’s chest, Volo starts to shake with silent sobs.

“He..” Cheri sighs. “He’ll never hurt you again. Okay? You’re not gonna be hurt again, not by me or anyone else. Not if I have anything to say about it,” Cheri murmurs. “I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere, you’re okay, you’re gonna be okay.”

“I- I don’t de-eserve to be okay,” Volo sobs out. “I should be hurting. Why aren’t I hurting? I’m-” He pulls back, pulling at his hospital gown, seeing the bandages.

His skin feels weird, and dread starts to pool in his stomach. “I’m.. I’m hurt, why don’t I feel it, why don’t I-”

“Drugs.” Cheri doesn’t move to hold him again, though he keeps his arms open.

Oh. Oh, that explains the.. Everything.. Volo takes a moment to calm himself down.

“Hey..” Cheri moves to tap his shoulder, then thinks better of it, pulling back and making his voice slightly louder. “Hey.” After a few moments, Volo looks up again. “..What if I think you deserve to be okay?”

Volo thinks for a moment. “..You’re wrong.” He’s too tired to think of why.

Cheri shakes his head, opening his mouth to say something else, but then a nurse comes in.

“Hey, you shouldn’t be moving around so much!” Getting Volo to lay back down, the nurse looks over at Cheri. “Why didn’t you tell him to stop?”

Cheri grimaces, pushing back the immediate urge to defend himself. I’m fine, she’s not attacking me. “I didn’t know he couldn’t move. I’m just a visitor.”

“Right. Sorry.” The nurse checks a few things. “Make sure he doesn’t do that again, there’s a few reasons he shouldn’t be moving right now. We’ve tracked the attack back to a very powerful Pokémon, and honestly, he shouldn’t even be awake right now, let alone moving- he’s very lucky, he must’ve been hit with a weaker version of the attack than usual.”

Oh! That’s good news! Cheri nods. “I’ll make sure he holds still.”

“Thank you.” Finishing with her checks, she turns to hurry off. Cheri watches as she leaves, then turns back to Volo, eyes softening as he does. “..So.. Can I get you anything, or..?”

I feel so helpless here.. “..My Pokémon,” Volo murmurs. “Let them out.”

“They’re at the Pokémon center, I don’t have them right now. ..Sorry.” Speaking of which, I need to go pick them up soon..

“Oh..” Well, that’s disappointing, but. At least he knows they’re okay and somewhere safe. He ignores the part of him that screams it’s a lie, the part of him that screams he needs to leave, to go find them.

It’ll only hurt me to trust.

Volo stares at the wall for a few moments.

..He ignores that side of his mind despite his better judgement, reaching for Cheri again. Desperate for a kind touch he hadn’t felt in years.

Cheri scoots closer to Volo, gently resting his hand across Volo’s chest- away from the injury, of course. Volo’s body twitches with an involuntary flinch, but he hums, wrapping his arms around Cheri’s.

Cheri studies Volo’s face for a moment, his yellow eyes staring into Volo’s soul, a look Volo’s quickly become familiar with in the time they’ve spent together. “..Do you cuddle them to sleep, or..?”

Volo nods. “..I.. don’t know if I’ve slept alone a day in my life. I’ve always had.. um.. At least an egg, Toge as an egg..” He shakes his head, humming quietly as Cheri moves a little closer. “..thank you,” he murmurs.

“Don’t mention it.” Cheri rests his chin on the side of the bed, still watching Volo.

Under Cheri’s protective gaze, Volo lets himself relax. “..tell them to.. um.. lower the pain meds.. I hate feeling like this,” Volo mumbles.

“It’s gonna hurt like a bitch,” Cheri warns.

“Please. Please. I.. um..” Volo’s eyelids are heavy, but he opens his eyes anyway, staring at Cheri with a pleading look. “I have to be able to, to think. Please.”

Cheri stares back for a moment, then sighs, eyes softening as he nods. “I’ll.. see what I can do.”

Volo nods, eyes slipping closed again as he breathes a quiet sigh of relief. “Thank you,” he mumbles, relaxing into Cheri’s touch.

“Of course,” Cheri murmurs. “..Get some sleep. You need it.”

Volo nods, and Cheri watches as, slowly, his breathing evens out.

It isn’t long before Cheri’s asleep too.

[jeevaschrist]

Hi, can I request a BSD match up please? (Gender doesn't matter to me and I'm curious)

I'm a person who lacks much skill beyond creative writing and talking to people, who likes to take the easy way out or the stupid way out because the only thing my brain is good for is existentialism and pessimism. I often question reality since my mental illness has taken away my ability to trust my perception of things. I'm an INFP-T who's often described as strange and concerning. I see no value in life yet I fear the lack of consciousness that comes with death. I listen to music and constantly do things with friends so I can outrun my ability to think. My life itself has been one of Neverending tragedy with things only starting to look up now, after 21 years of miserable life.

I live in the shadow of my friends and though they see me as lovely I know in my heart of hearts that I am a terrible person. I value communication in relationships and am open to polycules. Life sucks a little less when you can worry about someone else for a change I guess.

Yes I'm in therapy but there's only so much it can fix. Same for the medication.

In the end of the day I would give up anything for the happiness of those I call friends (and maybe myself afterwards). I hate the beach but I hate winter more. If forests had wifi I would never leave. Also I'm 5'3 and can't reach the top shelf but I daydream about fighting God for creating a world where such great tragedy can befall such ordinary, innocent people.

Stay healthy, eat the rich.

hellooooo

i have returned after a long break.

i think kunikida would be a good match for you

i think he's very down to earth and he would be able to keep you on track and guide you along the way. not only that, he's willing to help at all times no matter the cost for someone he loves, and he's so calculated that he knows a lot of the possible outcomes to things. he's prepared and vigilante and a good person to have around.

[up-in-flames-writing]

Queer masculinity in literature!

Hi, hello, my name is Booker-Garet, I am a queer masc author & I have just undertaken a very big project. In honour of the Stuff your Kindle Day that has thoroughly pissed me off in multiple ways (mostly because of my poor wifi), I am creating one big Recommendation Post collating all the queer masc books written by queer masc authors that I can find.

So, what am I looking for?

I am looking for both fiction & non-fiction books of any genre, including poetry & short stories, that are written by a queer masc person. Do not stop at written works only, I will also be creating subsections for manga, mangaka, comics, graphic novels, & any other visual literary medium that I've probably missed. Fuck it, web novels & interactive novels are welcome too!

Now, the books do not have to include romance, they do not have to be m/m or nb/m or nb/nb, but they do have to include at least one main character who is queer masc. I will be spotlighting m/m & nb/m fiction mostly, but I also want stories that do not focus on romance (for all my fellow aces & aros out there.)

These books also do not have to focus on queer masculinity (unless they are non-fiction), but I will be spotlighting books that do focus on the experiences of queer masc people primarily.

What is queer masculinity?

I define queer masculinity as any gender or sexuality that aligns with masculinity in a queer way. This includes:

Gay cismen,

Transmen (hi, that's me!),

Bisexual/pansexual/omnisexual men,

Aro & ace men (no matter what set of genders they're attracted too),

AFAB nonbinary people who align themselves with masculinity, as well as AMAB nonbinary people who align themselves with masculinity (you don't have to align yourself with masculinity exclusively, or even predominantly to be queer masc, so long as you align with it in some way),

Intersex men who view their masculinity as queer,

Butches & masculine crossdressers,

Also drag kings & queens both.

This list isn't extensive, obviously. I bet I forgot someone out there. But, the gist of it is, if your identity aligns with masculinity &/or manhood in a queer way, you're queer masc to me!

Tl;dr?

Send me any recs of queer masc books by queer masc authors right into my inbox, or on this post if you'd prefer. There is no deadline, I will be constantly updating the Recs List as I get new recs, so don't sweat it.

Also, self-promos are allowed, but please provide a link to your work if you do so. Direct any self-promos to my DMs, as I'm not sure if tumblr ever fixed the 'no links in asks' glitch.

Now, get to reccing!

[skoulsons]

TLOU ep6 | I did not fix these up at all, so have fun reading any and all misspellings and parts where it looks like my brain is melting (it was)

FIDHEOFHSKDVim so excited

he’s so pretty

“What did I just say?” grumpy lil dad with his disobeying daughter

Joel’s having ptsd :( cant wait to get more of this throughout the episode :) not.

he really thinks he lost the last of his blood

this feels very reminiscent of when he gets injured. Later this episode??

(Light guitar playing) my love <3

“Don’t start” 😭

THE RABBIT CONVERSATJON. they rlly are bonding

the tape over his foot :( just like Tess

COME DOWN FEOM THERE YOURE GONNA BRRAK TOUR NECK

YEAHHHH HES GIVING HER SOME. HES GOT A LIL SMILEEEE

“Okay?” 😭

OH ITS WE ?? :((

an old farmhouse some land :(( just like tlou2

SHEEP THEURE QUIET DO WHAT THEYRE TOLD. sooo tlou2 coded

them acting like they’re going their separate ways 🤣🤣🤣

ASTRONAUT. he could just tell :(

I love this little campfire with them

ILL DO BOTH WATCHES GET SOME SLEEP DREAM OF SHEEP RANCHES ON THE MOON

IS HE SAYINF ITS SHPPOSED TO BE ME OH MY FUCODHENDHDJEDH

IM RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU OKAY

LIKE YOU TAUGHT ME TO

aw it’s like the same when he took the beretta from her in ep4 THE SHOT IS SO SIMILAR WITH HIS HAND OUT BUT ITS NOT AS ANGRY THIS TIME

the glances :(

wake me up next time <3

NOT HER TRYING TO WISTLE 😭😭

TALENTTTT

they’re just so so tiny.

and to know she has to hunt to keep him alive next episode

THEYRE DOIJF THR HYDROELECTRIC PLANT??? WAIT???

“Don’t ask me I don’t have a clue” YOU COULDBE MADE SOMETHING UP I WOULDBE BELIEVED YOU

THERE THEY AREEEEEE

him grabbing her wrist <333333333

YOULL BE OKAY MY GOGHDJDGD I LOVE REASSURANCES

oh look a puppo

oh no he’s gonna smell it

JOELS OANICKING????

oh good we’re good okay we’re good

oh wow the outside wall looks so good

Oh man jackson looks so so so good

gosh this is so great

HER LOOKING BACK AT JOEL CAUSE SHES SMILING

TOMMYYYYYYYY

OH LOOK AT JOELS FACE

TOMMYS LAUGH

look at Ellie :(( she’s never seen him so happy or hug someone

HIS SMILR MY FODHEKFHEKDV LOOK AT HIM SMILE LOOK AR MY SWEET LITTTLR BLORBO

JOEL APOLOGZING FOR ELLIE. LETS MIND OUR MANNERS

“WHATS WRONG WITH YOU” 😭😭

“Ellie!” He’s so frustarted 😭😭

sometimes he sounds like such a texan it’s hilarious

JOEL SAY CONGRATS. CONGRATS.

seven years ago wow

CAN YOU TEACH ME HOW NO HE CANT

SHEEEEEEP

oh so they have a council

300 people? Wow

SO UH COMMUNISM

SHIMMER NO WAY NO WAY

EMPTY HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET

“We’ve been doing fine”

“Joel” “you’ll be fine” much like the game in the hydroelectric plant

“You on the other hand”

BACON PSHOOO

so how’s Tess :( SHES FINE. ALRIGHT.

ANS THE KID?? OH YEAH. AHES THE DAUGHTER OF SOME FIREFLY MUCKETY MUCK.

U OF EC

weeks ride south ok

it’ll be easy for us

WHAT CAUSE TOUR WIFI WONT LET YOU. SHE KEPT HIM OFF THE RADIO??

am I the wrong people :(

and I don’t judge you for it. We survived the only way we knew how. But there were other ways we just didn’t know how

IM GONNA BE A FATHERS. A FEW MONTHS ALONG. WRITE ON THIS?!

Fuck

I FEEL LIKE ID BE A GOOD DAD

GUESS WELL FIND OUT

JUST BECAUSE LIFE STOPPED FOR YOU. SARAH BEINF LIFE. WRITE ON THISSSSS

yeah this is Christmas time isn’t it cause it’s September.when they met?? oooh he must be reminded so much of old Christmas with Sarah

oh not the little girls. HE PROBABLT BENT DOWN AND HUGGED SARAH JUSF LIKE THAT

unless they’re pulling the whole Alyssa card??

A NOTE WITH IM ACTOSS THE STREET 😭😭

THEY HAVE RANCH ARGUMENT IN HERE?????

even her sweater is similar to ranch argument wow

their house is blue how cute

OH WOW A BOARD FOR SARAH?? Ans kevin??

“World class salons” 😭

AWWW SHE GETTING A HAIRCUT

“I put bad guys in jail”

FUCK SHE DOESNT KNOW ABOUT SATAH

FUCK RUCK FUCK

SARAH WAS JOELS FAUGHTER

FUCK

“I GUESS THAT EXPLAINS HIM A LITTLE” THATS WHAT I SAIDDDDD

picture picture please picture

she really doesn’t trust him at all. But Ellie does and she doesn’t believe Maria’s word

they really got a while movie theater

WORK BENCH

are we having another argument

new boots :(

the way he’s holding his hands is giving major nervous vibes

“I shouldn’t have said what I said” - just like Joel last episode

“It’s complicated for you. And I’m sorry”

Is it a suicide mission?

HE LOOKS SO TINY 🤏🏻🤏🏻

“She’s immune”

THE WAY HE SAID ELLIE FEELS SOOOOO GAMEJOEL

“SHES IMMUNE” HE LOKKS SOOOOOOO

Below is the root of my mental illness.

“Tess got bit. She made me swear to take the kid. It was her dying wish, what was I supposed to do? WE MADE IT AD FAR AS KC AND THEN YNOW !SHE SAVED MY LIFE THERE! FROM ANOTHER KID. FIVE YEARS AGO I WOULDVE DESTRYOED HIM. BUT SHE HAD TO SHOOT HIM TO SAVE ME. FOURTEEN YEARS OLD. BECAUSE I WAS TOO SLOW AND TOO FUCKING DEAF TO HEAR HIM. THEN I SAW A MAN KILL HIS OWN BROTHER. **he’s crying whatfuckfuck** TO SAVE HER WHILE INJUST WATCHED. AND TODAY I THOUGHT THAT DOG WAS GONNA TEAR HER APART BECAUSE IT SMELLED SOMETBINF ON HER. AND ALL INDID WAS STAND THERE. I **COULTN MOVE** I COULDNT THINK OF ANYTHING EXCPET JUST. I WAS SO AFRAID. ANS HIS DHAKY BREATH. WHAT THE FUCK. IM NOT WHO INWAS. IM WEAK. ***LATELY THERE ARE THESE MOMENTS WHERE FEAR COMES UP OUT OF NOWHERE AND MT HEART FEELS LIKE ITS STOPPED. I HAVE DREAMS. EVERY NIGHT. INDONT KNOW. I CANT REMEMBER. I JSUF KNOW THAT WHEN I WAKE UP IVE LOST SOMETHING. IM FAILING IN MY SLEEP. ITS ALL I DO. ITS ALL IHE EVER DONE IS FAIL HER AGAIN AND AGAIN. ****IM JUSF GONNA GER HER KILLED I KNOW IT***

******I HAVE TO LEAVE HER****

WELL HERES TOUR FHANVE TO BRING YOUR KID INTO A BETTER WORL. YOURE TOUNGER THAN ME YOURE ATILL STRONG. YOU SAID IT YOURSELF YOULL COME BACK. YOU HAVE TO TSKE HER AND THE CRYINF AND THR SHAKY BREATH FUCKSHDNFIFJ

he loves her so much ellie. got it’s written all over his face. he loves her SO MUCU AND HE CANF DO IT

“They’ll shoot her” AND THE BOICD CRACK WAYT FCUKC. HE THREATENEE TO SHOOT HER EVERY SCENE AND NOW??;?);?4)?;!:?;?

IFS THE LAS THING ILL EVER ASK OF YOU. I SAEAR.

thr fucking falling tear you’re fucking joking. LET HIM BE FUCKING HAPPY.

he’s literally shaking.

I’ll take her out at dawn.

hea gonna go say goodbye and they argue that’s what happens right.

the slow walk up. fuck duck fuck fuck tuck

“Ellie?

if you’re gonna ditch me ditch me

I HAVE TO LEAVE HER TOU HAVE TO TAKE HER

I MADE THIS DECISION FOR YOUR OWN GOOD

DO YOU GIHR A SHIT ABOUT ME OR NOT. OF COURSE I DO WAHT THR FUCK.

the slight face change at ‘her’. wow.

IM AFRIAD OF LOSINF YOUUUU

THE SNIFFLE. HEBDOESNT WANT TO DONTHIS

WRITE ON ALL OF THIS WRITE ON ALL ODNTHIS

Joel :(((

FLASHBACKL WHATDBS FUCKC

you can really see his nose scar wow

SARAH :((

so this is what they were talking about.

NOT HIM CRUINF FUCK OFF HES CRIED SOMKUCU TOFAY

HOW DOES HE TAKE HER HAXK HOW DOES HE TAKE HER BACK HOWWWW WE DOIN IT

is Joel here.

YEAH.

SNIFFLES ANYWAY.

YOU DESERVE A CHOICE. LETS GO.

that was fast 😭

Helping her up 😭😭

the eye close :(

BOTH OF YOU BTHERES A PLAGE HERE

LOOK HOW HAPPT SHE IS

ADIOS BIG BROTHER 😭😭

HER HANDS AROUKD HIS MIDDLE HER HANDS AROUKD HIS MIDDLE HER HANDS AROUND HIS MIDDLE

AWWWWWWWWWWWW

This is so fuckinf cute.

GOU DICK

HIS SMILE

FUCKI

I just did my job. WHIHC WAS BUILDING

SINGER???

THATS PRETTY COOL

HER CHEEK AGAINST HIS BACK HER CHEEK AGAISNF HIS FBSKDHEKHDKHD HER CHEESL AGAISNF HIS BACK AND HIS SMILE

THE FOOTBALL CONVERSATION

“But violent” 😭

we end on his injury don’t we

HIS LITTLE SMILES AT HER

“One step closer to you dream”

“Sort of adults”

WHATTHEY WANTED TO DO WITH THEIR LIVES THSTS FROM THR GAMEEEE

I WANGWS RO BE A SINGER. YOURE ALREADY ALIGHING. YOURE SIGNING FOR Me later. ITS THE LEAST YOU CAN DO FAIR ENOUGH.

FIRST TIME SEEIN A MONKEY IN THR GAMMEEEE

“Lookit” <3

this set looks so good

oh wow even that’s from the game oh wow

oh I can’t wait for the Instagram edits of these two after this episode

HIS GACE WHEN SHE SAIS THEY TURNED INTO MONKEYS

RAIDERSSSSS

THE HEADBUTT

YEAHHHB CHOKE HIM OUR JOEL

YEAHHHH CRACK HIS BECK JOEL FUCK YEAH

FUCK BE DUD IMPALE HIM STILL MY GOD

GOGOGOGOGOGO

JOEL OPEN YOUR EYEW OPEN YOUR EYES YOU GOTTA GET UP I CANF GET SO THIS WIRHOUT YOU INDONT KNOW WHWRE IM GOING

JOEL PLEASE JOEL PLEASE

IM TAKINF A RIDE WITH MY BEST FRIEND

[mermaus]

UPDATE

Finally got an official update from my grandpa on my laptop status:

As things currently stand, all of my wireless/wifi drivers are corrupted, INCLUDING THE BACKUP. He is still working on the repair process, he is going to try and find some way to establish an internet connection and start a process to repair the drivers.

Regardless, if he is able to fix it. I am currently (on my backup crap laptop) and will push hard for if he gets my other one working on pushing my icon/promo comissions since not only will I be backing all my files up to dropbox if my laptop is fixed, but I will also be pooling funds to save for a new laptop.

My goal is to make at LEAST $500 for the cost of the laptop, any extra will be put towards the shipping cost since that shit tends to be expensive.

If you or someone you know needs the kinda icons I make, please hit me up on my icon blog @port-auroraicons

i will only be using my backup laptop for commissions (AT THE MOMENT) as i only have 70 gigabytes to work with. If my other laptop is repaired I will resume rping and doing commissions. Other than that I am mobile bound and hanging out on discord.

[theorist-influencer-untitled]

4.18.24 Thursday

12:45 am

I still have windblow...

Awhile ago or yesterday I went to Ely's house just to check my signal bar on my simcard... It was on and off and almost gone...

So, weird! I need a new phone and I don't have a job, still waiting for Amazon, Exl et al...

So, I saw Jessie awhile ago after checking my bar signal on my simcard coz I still have data. It is just weird that I'm being killed here, I mean someone is removing my signal on my simcard. Hmmm... So, I just reminded him that this coming Friday the opening of the bar outside our village... Hero told us ( me &Ely ) that he will treat us on the opening of that bar outside our village... Then,I feel bad when Jessie told me that he didn't know it....It is a bad character when a friend is just trying to fool you or make words that they can't keep...

I plan to have a drinking session with some village mate men....It is so good to check people as well, sometimes....A lot of new faces here thought that I'm a newbie here but I've been here for almost 30 years...

3:27 am

Still,have windblow....Done, watching "Damsel", it is weird! Just watch it angels... Don't wanna reflect on that....Don't wanna dwell on it but it is an interesting story....

3:45 am

Whew! Perfect Storm or Storms??? Singular Vs Plural... Funny... So, fucking tired for 17 years...

My version ;) "Perfect Storms"???... hahah...

4:32 am

So,fucking scared at this very moment if I have a bf, I will embrace him... Oh! Please switch my soul... My left ear is in pain due to headphone... It will go away right???

I have windblow... But I always make sure that the volume is still on blue line not on red....Red line means louder or stronger volume.

8:32 am

On the way to John's annual update... Preparing..

Uncle DD is here, my stuff will be here, hope nothing will be missing while me and John are outside the house...

8:41 am

Fuck you DJ! Giving hint homicide? Did I hear it correctly??? No guns... Just barehands... Knife can be but no throwing of knives...Fair fight no guns!

9:48 am

Just got back from his annual shots...

Anti-rabies and 8 in 1...

11:02 am

Thanks Uncle Jun from babyJohn for the food. A simple token of appreciation.

11:55 am

Uncle DD will fix their house again....I wanna leave Cavite. It is a personal thing.... He just gave a cheap assistance for food though of course "thank you"! But not enough for me to be presentable in the society... I mean my other toiletries will be coming from Ely my friend. But I know Uncle DD doesn't have enough fundings, something like that... I want a man who can lift me, a handsome man that I like, hoping there is a chance for me to be liked by him example Pilot Garret my super crush and Superman Chef Cedrick.. I wanted to leave Cavite.

Hoping to entrap Pilot Garret but it is somehow impossible...

Issue on wifi that why Uncle Jun didn't pay for it... I said I don't know... Uncle Jun should know his responsibility on that wifi, coz he said he will really shoulder the wifi..

It is not my ideal thing to grow old with them here but I hope there will be an organize harmony here... They are still "my family"...They are still "my blood and flesh" that we need to show off a lil in the society that in a way we are ohkay but not really ohkay... I lost my sweetish side it is now bitterish and lacking of fundings for my personal stuff and my vanity and toiletries made me bitterish...

The wifi should be stable....I feel bitter...

12:32 noon

I need money... I tried working in a call center though not my ideal thing but I know I was good at it... But there were/are people who are always smashing me.... That supposed to be I can travel or fix myself... I have low self-esteem... I want vanity to remove my "deep smile lines". Unfair to die without a fight...

I wanna travel, I feel so frustrated... I wanna buy Starbucks everyday,my shallow happiness even with my super2x crush Pilot Garret, I don't like so much of signatures but I want some fashionable cute stuff, what I wanted is my vanity,my dogs, my Pet Shop and my Starbucks Tumbler... I'm asking only for a middle-class life not elegance not even sophistication. A middle-class country girl but with maintainance of stuff that we need in the house like those steam vaccum, dog stuff blah2x dog stuff are expensive... Just a middle-class that I can do my botox, join a dog show... Have my regular foot spa and my nail gel polish. I wanna curl my hair... My nose perfection...

1:28 pm

Next month, John will have his KC... On May 3rd... It is already paid for me not to worry... It is part of his annual shots....

It is really hot here, I need ac... Whew! John needs ac even nana, it is so fucking hot...

I feel so frustrated.... I wanna leave Cavite...

I want a bathroom renovation but all of my money were all gone now...

I need to leave Cavite, angels... Thinking of my own personal money... I want someone I want... Someone who can lift me... I'm not happy being this way...

I wanna renovate the bathroom outside, supposed to be... The bathroom inside, I need to change the sink and covering on the shower.

4:52 pm

I still have windblow...

It is not my ideal thing to live here with my 2 Uncle's this is just a show-off that we are still "family" coz I have no job.. There are people who are smashing me... But in a way and of course, we are still "family"...

Example if Pilot Garret will take me as his flesh, I want US to have our own life away from here... To take me as his flesh or allowing me to pull out one of his ribs to allow me to be united with him... Of course I have a right to demand that I want US to have our own life. My life with him... My right to get coins from his pocket.

10:04 pm

I still have windblow... My aunt Teresa is not replying on me...Sometimes, I'm doubting on Uncle DD and Aunt Teresa. Sometimes I want my Aunt Teresa be in heaven or to go with God coz she is not helping me now...

I hate people who are jealous of me... Did Mitch give me a "simple battery"???

I wanna get a life away from here... I'm surviving but not happy or the right thing is not satisfied... But still again,I need to keep my "family" but with smart way of linking with them...

I feel self-pity, why I can't get a bf that I want... Is that bad if I want someone from youtube? Or I can't find a new "true love"???

10:36 pm

I'm not yet fixing... People on youtube how did they fix themselves???

Sometimes, I feel jealous, like the girl with Pilot Garret coz she is well-fixed... That's why they are perfect together??? Tell me angels... Am I ugly not to have him???

10:41 pm

He will not like me coz I have scratch on my left hand today, I accidentally bump my hand on the trycycle...

I have ugly hands these days coz I'm moving now... I don't have assistant... I'm not a "Damsel" but "Cinderella" of guilty and mean, fucking people for 17 years??? Will you hate coz I have scratch on my left hand now...