#they’re unlike any streams i’ve watched before | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

peterman-spideyparker · 2 years

Text

(Love Is) The Tender Trap (Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader) - Sinatra Series 4/9

Author’s Note: Okay okay okay so here’s the thing. I wasn’t going to include smut in this series initially, but then I saw this gif and got an idea and I’m a slut whore creative and then said screw it (haha) this is happening. It took me a while to write this part particularly, and I’ve been so tired from my work trip/the other event I had to throw two days later from returning, I haven’t had a moment to post. I hope everyone enjoys! :)

Summary: Matt doesn’t want to ruin what his has with you, so he’s taken his time unlike any relationship he’s had before. After a few months of dating, the time feels right for the two of you to take your relationship to the next level.

Suggested Listening: (Love Is) The Tender Trap by Frank Sinatra

Warnings: Fluff (idiots in love but they don’t know it’s love yet because they’re hopeless cuties friends turned lovers), swearing, and smut (oral - m and f receiving, fingering, p in v sex, creampie (wrap it before you tap it, folks) )

Other Characters: None

Word Count: 3,565

“Do you want to come up?” Matt asks, his thumb brushing back and forth against the back of your knuckles as you stand with him on his stoop. You had hoped that this was where the night would go after he caved to your insistence that you walk him home instead of the other way around.

You feel a warmth in your arms that burns up to your neck at the suggestion. Your body is already buzzing from the drinks from dinner and plushness of his lips and how they moved against yours less than a minute ago, sending your mind into a whirlwind.

“Yeah,” you breathe, your tongue peaking out between your lips to wet them. Just as you finish doing so, Matt’s lips are on yours again, capturing your flesh in between his in short, tender embraces, cradling your jaw and neck in his hands. You can feel the smile on his lips when he breaks the kiss, carefully running his fingers down your arms before lacing his digits with yours.

Everything feels too slow as he guides you through the building. You know you’re moving at a normal pace, but the way that your heart drums in your chest and the heat that breaks out through your body is screaming that this all isn’t going fast enough as you walk up the stairs. Your heart skips a beat in disappointment when Matt slips his hand from yours to undo the lock to his loft. Once it’s open, Matt takes your hand again and leads you in to the hallway. The apartment feels different somehow; smaller, warmer, the lights that stream in creating an ambiance that amplifies the electricity buzzing in the air between you. He rests his cane down on the bench by the door before guiding you to his living room.

Matt takes his suit jacket and folds it over the side of one of his living room chairs, then extending his hand out for your cardigan to do the same. Taking a few step over to him, you hand him your folded sweater, his fingers brushing against your hand as he takes the knit fabric to put with his.

“Do want some water or anything?” he asks as he puts his glasses in the kitchen table before he moves back to where you stand.

“I’m okay,” you tell him as your hands snake around his waist, holding him comfortably against you but still giving him enough room to move. Matt smiles at the simple gesture and mimics the hold as he rests his hands on your shoulders. You watch the way that the neon lights from the billboard stream in and paint Matt’s face with a beautiful array of indigos, turquoises, and magentas, making his hazel eyes twinkle like beautiful stars. Leaning forward, you close the space between your mouths, a soft moan escaping your throat and into his mouth as your lips move against one another’s. One of Matt’s hands glides up your skin to rest against your neck, feeling how the muscles move as you embrace. Your sweet kisses soon turn into something more languid, the breaths that escape your noses and the sounds of your lips moving together becoming more prominent in the quiet apartment. Matt captures your bottom lip between his, carefully nipping at the flesh before pulling at it and breaking the kiss, taking the breath straight from your lungs and leaving goosebumps on your skin.

“Still okay?” he hums with a little smirk, dragging his hands down the exposed skin of your arms. Cheeky bastard.

“Yeah,” you breathe, taking his hand in yours and moving backward through the apartment and into his room. “Could be better, though.”

“Oh?”

“Well, I have a few ideas.”

The smiles that break out on your faces are ones only matched by teenagers who are completely infatuated with one another. As your legs bump against the edge of the mattress, Matt cradles your face once more, the intensity of the embrace making you lean on him for support so you don’t fall. After a few kisses, he trails his lips away from yours and down to your jaw and along your neck. A moan escapes you as Matt finds the sweet spot on your neck that makes your body do all sorts of delicious things. You can feel the way his lips curl into a smile at his small victory.

“Matt,” you breathe in delight as his beard scratches your skin. At the sound of you saying his name, his lips move back up to yours for a deep embrace, just barely keeping your bodies upright. Matt’s hands gently travel down your sides, wrapping around your back before his palms slide up. You break the kiss and open your mouth, letting out a breathy sigh as you relish the way that his fingertips trace your body through your dress before they glide up to the top of your zipper. His thumb and index finger easily grasp the swinging tab, holding it steady for a few beats before slowly moving it down its track.

The cool air of the apartment is a stark contrast to the heat of your skin that was trapped in the fabric of the dress. Matt raises his hands, sliding the thin fabric of the straps from your shoulders and off your arms, the dress pooling at your feet. Tentatively, you bring your hands up to his tie, pulling him in for a kiss and working to undo the knotted fabric. It slides off with ease, and you glide the soft between your fingers before it meets your dress on the ground. This time, it’s your turn to attach your lips to his neck, lazily trailing wet kisses along his corroded while your fingers unbutton his shirt, a voice in the back of your head growing more desperate to get his clothes off of his body. After you unbutton his shirt, you slide your hands under to his smooth chest. Your fingers stop their movements, however, when they feel the soft, raised skin of a fading scar. Scratch that—scars. Breaking from the kiss, you look at Matt’s chest and torso, seeing that the soft flesh is absolutely painted with raised lines.

“I got in fights a lot when I was younger,” Matt says, clearing his throat.

It’s not a complete lie. He was younger than he is right now when he got into those scrapes.

“It’s not very nice of them to beat up a blind guy,” you say, cradling his face with your hand, gently rubbing the soft skin of his cheek with your thumb.

“They weren’t very nice people,” Matt counters with a small smirk, moving to take both of your hands in his. “But that’s okay, because right now, I’m here with you. And that’s what matters to me.”

His lips are back on yours in no time, and this time, you fall back onto the silk sheets covering his mattress, letting his body hover over yours like a warm cage. You gently push the soft cotton shirt off of his body, feeling every dip and curve of his soft skin over his muscles. He takes his time with you, the passionate kisses as soft as they are needy while his hands roam your body. Goosebumps pop up on your skin as you feel Matt’s hands gently travel down your sides; when his fingers graze at the top of your panties, you can’t help the sharp gasp that escapes your lips, causing the kiss to break and Matt to move his lips to the pulse point on your neck. One of your hands clasp over to his shoulder blade while the other slides into his hair.

“Matt, I . . .” you breathe, but any ability to speak a full sentence leaves you when his fingers slip under your panties and into your slick folds.

“So perfect,” he hums against my skin, pressing kisses down along your chest. “So wet.” Detaching himself long enough to sit back on his knees, he gently glides your underwear off of my body, kissing the skin that it passes until they’re past your knees and being tossed somewhere behind him. He slides his hands back up your legs and resting on your hips as he kisses along your pelvis, his lips grazing over your mound before pressing soft kisses down until his lips latch around your clit. You moan, your hips rising to meet him, only for his hands to hold you down.

You thought Matt put his mouth to good use in the court room—you weren’t prepared with just how good it would be in other situations. You gasp, moan, and mewl under his touch while he keeps working. His tongue explores every dip and curve of your core, lapping up the wetness like it’s the sweetest nectar. To say that he eats you out like a man starved isn’t quite the right analogy—he is tactical, setting a steady pace that is both urgent and relaxed, a man on a mission who knows exactly what to do to get you right wound. The mix of moans, kisses, licks, and sucks unlike any you’ve felt before brings you close to the edge faster than you want.

“It’s okay,” Matt whispers, moving his kisses to your hip bone as he slides one, then two fingers into you. “Feel it. Let go.” The feeling of his fingers paired with how he curls them in you pulls a pornographic moan from your throat as he hits the right spots before reattaching his lips to your core. You can’t handle it—you arch your back the best you can against Matt’s hold on your waist. Despite how fast you fall over the edge, it’s not as if Matt’s movements are particularly aggressive. Everything he does is fluid and gentle, but he knows the exact spots he needs to hit to make you feel like your soul has left your body. As you start to come down, Matt presses gentle kisses up from your core to your lips. The kisses are deep and exploratory, his hands on your waist, fingers digging into your flesh.

“More.” The simple sentence is all you breathe against his lips, and it drives him wild, allowing him to kiss you more passionately—something you didn’t think was possible. You squeak in excitement at the sensation, enjoying the way that his beard scratches against your skin. The excitement quickly translates into other emotions, both of you working to make sure all clothes are off of one another’s bodies, you more so than Matt throwing the pieces of fabric to the floor. Soon, you are both bare on the silk sheets of Matt’s bed, lips attacking one another like starved animals. Your lips break into a smile as you kiss, your bodies pressed impossibly close, and you feel his length press against your thigh. Carefully, you snake your hand between your bodies and begin to stroke him, a deep moan erupting from the base of Matt’s throat as you spread the precum weeping from his tip along his shaft.

“Let me make you feel good, Matty,” you breathe in between kisses as he bunches up your hair in his hands. “Let me taste you.”

Pulling your swollen lips from his, you kiss down the column of his neck, along the lines of his fading scars, and down around the tuft of hair below his bellybutton. You kiss along his cock, pressing featherlight pecks at the tip before you move to the underside of his shaft. You lick and kiss along the underside of his cock, along the prominent vein that runs the distance from base to tip. After tracing it a few times, you slowly take his length in your mouth. The breaths and moans that pass his lips are angelic, a mix of praise, pleasure, and pleading to continue. With each bob of your head, you take him a little deeper, pushing your limits to fit him all into your mouth. You take a large gasp of air after you release him, repeating it a few times before Matt gathers up your hair and begins to thrust into your mouth.

“Just like that,” he whispers. “Just like that, angel. Oh, so good for me.”

As he continues to thrust, you feel one of his hands travel down the line of your spine and between your thighs, swirling the wetness from your last orgasm around. You gasp, the sensitivity from your last high disorienting your thoughts and your current expedition.

“Matthew,” you moan, your eyes fluttering shut.

“Keep going, sweetheart,” he encourages.

Following his command, you resume your previous task. You hum in delight with each circle of his fingers, the vibrations from your mouth only seeming to spur on Matt’s delight. Giving your throat a reprieve, you move back to kissing along his length, one hand fondling his balls to keep the stimulation going. As you bring your kisses back up to his tip, Matt guides you higher so you rise on your knees and meet his lips in a kiss. One hand rests on the side of your neck while the other moves from over the curve of your ass to your fronts, rubbing your to my next orgasm. Matt keeps his lips pressed to yours, swallowing your cries of delight as he pushes you through another high of pleasure.

Refusing to part his lips from yours, Matt wraps one arm around your waist as he lets gravity drop you onto the mattress, caging your body beneath his. You secure his place above you with your legs latching around his waist. You hiss in sensitivity as Matt’s cock presses against your clit, but that only seems to make you more hungry for him.

“Please, Matt,” you moan, kissing the side of his face as he buries his lips into the crook of your neck, marking up the sensitive skin as his. “I need you.”

“You have me,” he pants as he paints a soothing lick to one of his marks.

A breath of a laugh escapes your lips as you tousle his hair. “You know what I mean.”

“I need you to say it.”

“I need you in me, Matthew. All of you.”

Matt moves his face from your neck, allowing you to get a good look at him—lips swollen, cheeks flushed, eyes the most beautiful color of hazel you have ever seen.

“Tell me to stop and I will, okay?” he breathes, tucking hair behind your ear.

“Promise,” you assure him.

With another deep kiss, Matt lines himself up before he pushes into you. He starts slowly with just the tip. The stretch is sinful and magnificent, your moans harmonizing at the shared sensation. Matt is so big and so thick, it makes your head spin, but you’ll be damned if you have him stop. He feels absolutely amazing, and judging by the look on his face that you can make out from between your half-closed lids, he feels the same.

“Feel so good, Matt,” you whimper as he slowly drags his hips back and forth. “So good.”

“Fuck, angel,” he groans as he places a kiss on your forehead, his nose smushing to the side in delight as he moves his face into you before dipping his head. “Fuck, you’re tight.”

“Matty,” you breathe as you nuzzle your nose against his. “It’s sweet that you’re taking your time like this, but I’m not fragile.” You trail your nose up along his cheekbone so your lips hover just in front of his ear. “I’m all yours. Whatever you want to do, I’m yours, Matthew. I’m yours.”

Matt’s positive that his heart has never had an arrhythmia like this in his life. The way that is skips and races at your words make him feel lightheaded and excited in every possible way. He can’t help the big smile that pulls at his lips as he moves in for a kiss. His hips begin to move faster and you cling to him, your fingers pressing red crescents into the pale contours of his back. Matt repositions us and lifts you up to sit on his lap, his hands holding onto your hips, guiding the pace of their movements as your hands grasping onto his shoulders. Your breasts hit against his chest, and his lips latch forward onto your sternum to suck love bites onto your skin. Your voice is squeaky and whiny you moan at the sensation—erotic music to his ears. That much surface area of skin to skin contact drives Matt up a wall, needing to be as deep as possible in you, not knowing where he ends and you begin, it’s like air in his lungs.

“Matt!” you cry at the top of your lungs as he hits a new spot deep inside. He’s sure to get noise complains in the morning, and if he’s never really cared about them before, he especially doesn’t care about them now. Not when you sound like that, not when he feels you on him, not when he feels you in the deepest way that he can. With a particularly hard thrust, you cry out and squeeze him once more, your arousal coating him has he continues to guide your hips back and forth. “Fuck!”

“Just like that,” he grunts as your body trembles. “Good girl. Such a good girl for me like that.”

“Matt,” you whimper, resting your forehead on his shoulders as his hands guide you down from your orgasm.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you, angel,” he whispers, placing gentle kisses along your arms. “You did so good. Do you think you have one more in you, angel? One more for me?”

You feel so spent, you can’t speak, but you nod vigorously.

“Hey,” he whispers, nudging your face so it lifts and you stare at him. “I need words. Are you good for one more, (Y/N)?”

“Yeah,” you breathe, crashing your lips into his, still incredibly hungry for him after being worn down from his efforts. Turning on his hip, Matt lays you on the cool silk sheets of the bed, maintaining his spot inside of you. After pressing kisses all over your face, you feel him begin to thrust, hitting so perfectly deep in you, you almost can’t handle it. Matt rests his forehead on yours, his eyes shaking desperately to try and lock onto yours. The sight of Matt above you is nothing short of amazing, and you can’t help but want to see that image time and time again. Sensing your gaze, Matt breaks into a large smile and pecks your cheek.

“So good for me,” he pants, his breath somehow hotter than your hot skin. “So good for me like this. Oh God, (Y/N).”

“Matt,” you breathe, your fingers moving to card through his hair. How are you so close to cumming again?

“I know, sweetheart, I’m close, too. Fuck, I—fuck.”

“Give it to me, Matty,” you whisper encouragingly, nipping at his earlobe as the sound of slapping skin grows more frantic in the room. “Cum for me, baby.”

With a few more thrusts and a tightening grip on your waist that’s sure to leave little bruises for tomorrow, Matt unloads into you with some deep growls and harsh snaps of his hips. Your heavy breathing replaces the pornographic sounds of your pleasure, and the kisses that the two of you engage in are nothing but soft, reassuring, and intimate in every possible way. The way that your lips chase one another let both of you know that you don’t want this moment to end, no matter how tired you feel your bodies grow. Matt is the first one to give in, placing a lingering kiss that pulls your bottom lip between his as he slowly pulls out and rolls off of you.

“Wow,” you breathe as you come down from you final high of the night. Matt can hear the way your lips curve up and how your eyes flutter closed, your lashes resting softly against the upper apples of you cheeks. He’s never seen you quite so relaxed—quite so happy. Whatever the feeling is bubbling in his chest as you lie next to him, he can only describe it as a tender trap.

Matt presses this lips wherever he can into your skin, swollen flesh leaving leaving soft kisses on your soft, sweaty skin.

“Matt,” you giggle, your body now thoroughly registering the oversensitivity of your activity with him. Even though you curl your body into his, it doesn’t prevent his assault of kisses. “Matty!”

“I’m just trying to make you feel good, angel,” he hums, his lips brushing against the hairline of your forehead before planting another wet smooch to your skin.

“You did that four times, counselor.“

Oh God, does your legal flirting turn him on. But that’s something to explore for another time.

“Are you sure you don’t want a glass of water?” he murmurs into your hair as he twists into your body, and you can’t help but wrap your arms and leg around him. “A snack? Anything?”

“Snuggles,” you demand into the soft skin of his chest, drunk on post-coital endorphins and the smell of Matt all around you.

Matt beams, happy to comply with your request. “Snuggles it is.”

Permanent Taglist: @majesticavenger @steampowerednightvaler @themusingsofmany @just-the-hiddles@toozmanykids @dangertoozmanykids101 @clints-worldavengers @theburningbookshop @itwasthereaminuteago @peter1ismybrother @hellskitchens-whore @dpaccione

Sinatra Series Taglist: @darling-ghosts @seasonofthenerd @idrinkcoffeeandobsess @mattmurdocksscars @pedrito-friskito @briefcasejuice @mindidjarin @1800-fight-me @saintmurd0ck @redheadpixie033 @mattmurdockstuff @djarintreble @bacatez @preciousbabypeter @aramora @vanessalovesonedirection @jelllycake

367 notes · View notes

heymeowmao · 7 months

Text

2024.02.23 - https://weibo.com/l/wblive/p/show/1022:2321325004680865644734

I'll stream for a small bit~~~~

bgm: 撞地球 (Earth Collision) by Yu Er Qi LYN: Hallo everybody, good evening! - /sings along/

bgm: Fall in Love LYN: Hallo everybody, good evening. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. Welcome! C: The beanie doesn’t look good. LYN: /smiles in pain/ There’s always a group of you causing me trouble. I just came here to stream and as soon as I’m here you have to nitpick at me? You can’t even let me wear a beanie? LYN: If you don’t like seeing it, then don’t watch. It’s not as if I collect tickets or anything, so you can watch if you want. I’m not trying to show off the beanie today, anyway. I’m trying to show off the microphone. :) Ning-ge bought a new mic and wants to show it off.

bgm: 一念关山 - Richie Ren [YNGS OST]

LYN: I didn’t really have a lot to do today, so we wrapped relatively earlier. It’s still not early, though. I just looked at the clock. It’s already 9p. This counts as a late night stream, then. I hope I can help you have a relaxing, happy, and wonderful night. I just feel like I haven’t been streaming as regularly as I was before, so if I wrap early I want to stream more often. LYN: Oh- not holding anything in my hand feels weird. This mic has a stand- it’s high class. Now I’m not holding anything and my hands feel empty. C: How about you grab a string of beads? LYN: /claps/ Good idea! Wait for me~ :) LYN: No fighting back, I take your advice. Straight to rubbing beads. LYN: Some people who might be new friends- their reaction to “how about you grab a “chuan”?” was: “Oh. I thought you went to grab a lamb skewer.” You thought I was going to do a mukbang? Grab five lamb skewers and a bottle of beer? [t/n: it’s the same character for both, which makes sense because they’re both items lined up on stick/string: 串] - C: Lao-da, can you wish me a happy birthday? LYN: /softly/ Happy Birthday. Is it your birthday today? That’s nice. - LYN: If there’s anyone watching who has the same interest and likes to play with beads, you can grab yours and we’ll do it together. - C: Lao-da, wish my son a happy birthday. LYN: /throws a look into the camera/ … I wish everyone who is celebrating their birthday today a Happy Birthday. I hope this year for you goes smoothly and happily.

LYN: I wrapped up a bit earlier today, and I think later in this crew that will be difficult to do, so I thought to come stream for a while. Even though it’s already 9p, but I still wanted to stream. Later when I’m tired, I’ll send myself to sleep. Don’t tell me to spend the new year with you (stream past 12a)- don’t give me that pressure and don’t try to morally kidnap me. When I’m tired, I’ll go to sleep. LYN: There’s nothing much going on, so I just came to chat. There’s nothing in particular I want to talk about, unlike when I had some things I wanted to come here to set the record straight about. There are no topics for today. I’m just here to chat.

C: Ning-ge, stream while you sleep. Don’t turn it off. LYN: I- you want me to sleep wearing this? I’d be uncomfortable. Forget it.

C: Ning-ge, is there not a copyright issue when you play other people’s songs? LYN: ?! First, there’s no monetary transactions going on in my stream, so it’s okay. If I were here for business, and received 400rmb from weibo to do this stream.. Let’s say they ask me, “Ning-ge. We'll give you 400rmb. Could you come do a stream on our platform on this date/time?” In that situation, any song I played or sang during my stream would face a copyright issue. But in a situation like now- I’m only playing the music (not having been paid or accepting monetary donations), I don’t think anyone would see that as a violation and sue me. It’s not worth it.

C: Xiao Ning-ge, you have 伤痛 (pain (from a wound)/sorrow) fans now. LYN: “I’ve heard people say, that longing is like the wind- it can go anywhere.” It’s that, right? I saw a bunch of people and different languages dubbing it and I thought, “Wow, so amazing.” There were some that really gave the emotion. They were really very great. My friends are all multi-talented! LYN: I saw a bunch of you also dubbing the clip and I also shared it. You all are so amazing. I admire you. [t/n: the video in reference: https://weibo.com/5456865382/O1kOv9DiN]

C: How’s your foot? LYN: My foot’s okay. Its just that I probably can’t dance anytime soon. You won’t be seeing any dance videos from me for the time being. My FOOT’s okay- but running is a no. Last time I sprained my ankle a little. Running is no good. It still gives echoing pain. Especially because I’m tall, so my balance is not great. If I’m not careful I can easily twist my ankle. C: You can no longer be a singer-dancer. LYN: Right.

C: Ning-ge, I’m on a plane. I can’t watch your stream. LYN: What are you telling me for?? Do you want me to feel regret, or that it’s a great pity? Or do you want me to say, “Don’t go. Get off that plane and watch my stream.” How do you want me to answer? You tell me. LYN: What are you telling me for? If you can’t watch because you’re on a plane, then don’t watch. When you get off the plane there will be the playback waiting for you. Why are you telling me this?? And spamming, too. Annoying!

C: Ning-ge, what date are you streaming until? LYN: I think you typed that wrong. You wanted to ask me what HOUR I’m streaming until, right? I’m only going to stream a small while. I only just started a few minutes ago. I’m here to chat and when I’m tired and sleepy I’ll go wash my face and go to sleep.

C: You’re a little mean. LYN: That’s just how my streams are. But if you want me to be an obedient and nice big boy, I can be that, too. Do you want me to “pinch”? Not only can I “pinch” my voice, I can also “pinch” my character. I can act as a… very normal artist for you. I’ll do it. I can- I know how to do it all. C: Do it. LYN: Let’s not… last time I did it, it seems like a lot of you wanted to throw up.

-- 奉上 (Offer) [YNGS OST]

LYN: I sang a song for a drama recently- it’s called 大理寺少卿游 (White Cat Legend), and the song is 莫问前程 (Don’t Ask About the Future). If you don’t have any dramas to watch, you can check this one out. - /starts a cat fight/ -- 莫问前程 (Don’t Ask About the Future) C: What song is this? LYN: I already said, it’s 莫问前程 (Don’t Ask About the Future), the theme song from a recently airing drama called 大理寺少卿游 (White Cat Legend). If you haven’t got anything to watch these days, you can check this one out. It’s good. I think it’s not bad at all.

C: The effect of the new mic is great! LYN: :D It’s not bad.

C: Lao-da, why do you wear gloves when playing with beads? LYN: I’m the type of person who does a lot of homework when he starts something. These ones are called “feng yan” (phoenix eye) bodhi. These are very easily dirtied. Once your sweat gets on it, it will turn very dull and dark. So when I’m wearing these gloves, not only do I keep it clean but also the beads will turn a nice peach-red color. Not dirty. So I wear a glove for this one, but you wouldn’t wear a glove for all of them. For people who sweat easily from their hands, it will turn the beads dark. So I try to keep it nice. C: Ning-ge, please recommend good beads for a beginner. LYN: Do you think I’m a seller, and now I need to tell you all about it? C: How do you use Jingang Bodhi beads? LYN: If you’re using jingang bodhi beads then that means you’re trying to test me. There is no “how”- you can play with them however you want. C: Are there ones that are already finished? LYN: No. I only just started, a little more than 6 months ago. These beads are supposed to be done within 3 winters and 2 summers. LYN: What am I doing? I’m a singer. I’m an actor. Why am I telling you about bodhi beads now?? Now I seem like I’m trying to sell you something. // I’m a bead-playing singer. C: Liar. The ones you’ve finished you gave to other people. LYN: I didn’t give any away. These beads are usually done within three winters and two summers. By that time they’re red. I’ve only just been playing for half a year, now. It’s still early for me. The main purpose of them is to keep you company.

bgm: 落了白 by Jiang Xue’er

LYN: With some of you, I fear that if you have nothing to say, you try to force it. If you really don’t know how to communicate with me, you can choose not to type anything at all. Or, you can comment with, “LYN is so handsome!” Someone just commented, “Ning-ge, your beanie looks like a pair of underpants.” … If you have nothing to say, don’t force it. Do you wear knit underpants? If you do, then post a pic of them on weibo so everyone can observe them. Wouldn’t they be uncomfortable?? Maybe wool (cashmere) ones would be okay?

C: Can you gift me with a string of beads? LYN: No way. Keep dreaming. Don’t even think about it.

C: Ning-ge, I’m exchanging ten years of being single for you to look at my comment. LYN: I saw you. Ten years of being single, for me to look at their comment. I saw it. LYN: Is that too petty?

C: The Truth S2. LYN: Yes, it’ll be shooting soon. We’ll start recording content this month, so that means that you’ll see my variety show later this year. I didn’t do any last year, even though I was planning on waiting for one… That one later failed to launch, so I didn’t end up going. I didn’t have much time anyway. I was planning on doing a variety this year, and The Truth happened to open up again, so I gave them my time. C: Are you still Liu Xialai? LYN: It’s all changed this year. The model has changed, and S2 is going to be a lot more flashy than S1 was. I thought S1 was already very amazing. But S2 this year will be even more interesting. The characters will play a lot more into the story this year. C: Is it scary? LYN: No, it won’t be. If it were, I wouldn’t go. C: You haven’t even started shooting yet, so how would you know? LYN: Before you agree to start on the show, you have to understand what it’s about and what you’re going to be doing on it… So I know some, and there definitely won’t be scary elements in it. If there is then I’ll just run. I won’t be recording anymore. I’d run away.

C: Ning-ge, when does ZLYM wrap? LYN: Soon. Another month or so? C: Then, when you wrap can you rest a bit? LYN: What do you consider as “rest”, though? If I have different work lined up, is it considered rest? I don’t think I can take too long of a break but, from this crew to the next I’m sure I’ll have a couple of days. I’ll go record my album, shoot for the variety show, and finish up a few endorsements. Probably just those few things. After which I’ll enter into the new crew, so I’d have to prepare for that. Like rehearsals and readings.

C: The bgm is so loud. LYN: That’s why, you have to get used to watching my streams. I guess you haven’t seen very many. Our stream is not like the average artists’ livestream. Here it’s like a bar. Would you go to a bar to drink while I chat with you, then ask the owner to turn the music down? What about the other customers? Right? We have to accommodate with others, here.

bgm: 我只愿朝着光 (I Only Wish to Face the Light) [BYOL OST]

C: Ning-ge, do you know what dramas will be airing soon? LYN: I really don’t know. But I want to say- let’s just watch whatever airs. I don’t know either. As an actor, we have the least input for deciding when a drama will air. How would we know?? I really don’t. C: Is Zi Chuan coming soon? LYN: I REALLY don’t know. I shot ZC in 2021- it’s been a while. The dubbing is all completed. You just have to watch when it airs, to support it. At that time in 2021, my personal statewasn’t the greatest. I wasn’t as thin as I am now, and my performance was not as mature. Even though I know I’m not “mature” even now, but in 2021 whether you’re looking from performance or personal physical state, was not as good as I am now. I was lacking, and it’s okay. The drama is still a good drama, so you can check it out. The filming, directing, and production company all put in a lot of effort to create this drama. You can all go watch when it airs. As for me, I have relatively little scenes- not quite 200 scenes. I was the second male lead. 48 episodes total. My screentime is not that much, but please watch for fun and to support the drama. Thank you.

C: Ning-ge, is your next drama also guzhuang? LYN: Yes, that’s right. C: I want to see you in a modern drama. LYN: If you want to see me in a modern drama go watch BYOL. The one I did with Tao-jie. :) Modern dramas, for the moment, I… LYN: I’m not as popular as you think I am. I can’t just choose whatever drama in this industry that I want to. “Ning-ge, choose a modern drama” and I say, “Okay” and just choose one. It’s not like that. No modern dramas have come looking for me. The ones I have now are not only few but if there’s no other choice I have to pick it if I want to keep working. Its not like they bring me ten scripts to choose from. I know that there are rumors that I have resources but you, as my fan, really believed them?? Of course, I believe that I’m the greatest in my fans’ hearts. To my fans, I must be the most popular. The most outstanding. I believe they have that kind of bias towards me. But the truth is that this industry doesn’t. LYN: You keep wanting me to act in a modern drama, but that’s not something I can do just because I want to. Unless I take my phone to shoot something. In that case I can do any type of genre I want. Republican, modern, costume, primitive, in the age of the dinosaurs…

C: Act as a villain. LYN: You must be a new friend. From debut until now I’ve been a villain the most. I’m always the bad guy. After four years I can finally be a good guy, and you want me to go back to playing the bad guy?? LYN: I don’t want to!

C: Play someone who doesn’t die. LYN: That’s difficult. Someone earlier told me to go act in a modern drama. I think that’s an easier thing to do than playing someone who doesn’t die. I’m serious. /sigh/ The probability of me choosing a role and having that character NOT die, is less than the probability of me landing a role in a modern drama. I don’t know why, but the characters I play easily end up dead. It’s almost as if… the viewers don’t want to see me alive. C: Your probability of staying alive is higher in a modern drama. LYN: That sounds very reasonable. I have a higher chance at staying alive in a modern drama, because they tend to gear more towards lifestyle. Unlike in costume dramas, in the old times, where two countries are at war in a moment’s notice. This side sends 500 people, that side sends 500 people, and we fight to the death. You’ll rarely see that in a modern drama. Unless the drama itself is set in war times. The other thing is you’re rarely poisoned in a modern drama. Instead you’re diagnosed with some incurable disease. In guzhuang dramas you’re either poisoned, injured in assassination attempts (hidden weapons), swords go flying, or two countries are at war. It’s just so difficult to survive in olden times. One wrong step and you’re dead. LYN: There’s just no helping it.

C: Ning-ge, if you play a doctor you won’t die. LYN: /laughs/ What you’re saying is that whether in a guzhuang or modern drama, as long as you’re a doctor, you don’t die? Because doctors can self-diagnose, so from the moment they’ve been poisoned they can work on curing themselves? Is that what you mean? But haven’t you ever heard of the phrase, “Doctors can easily heal others, but it is difficult for them to heal themselves”? Haven’t you ever heard that phrase? LYN: Going by your logic, Qian Zhao shouldn’t have died. QZ was a doctor, right? But he died, too.

C: Ning-ge, what’s that drama with you and WZW called? LYN: It’s called “Cicada Girls.” It’s an adaptation from a manhua. I don’t have very many scenes in that one, either- only 100 or so. I wrapped with that drama within two months. Not even two full months.

C: Then, Ning-ge, act as an immortal. They don’t die. LYN: Let me tell you- I don’t know, because maybe I haven’t watched very many xianxia dramas- because I pretty much haven’t watched one through. But! From my understanding of xianxia dramas it’s not that they DON’T die, but that they DIE REPEATEDLY. They die so many times, not only the once. You’re telling me to play an immortal because they don’t die. I think you must be speaking nonsense! You die once in this life, and you meet again and die in the next. At the least you’ll die three times, sometimes maybe even seven times. So you must not really comprehend the mechanism behind a xianxia. That mechanism is death. LYN: For example, if two people think their storyline is not going well in this life, they die. In the next life they meet again as two different people and their story starts again. When you hit a dead-end it’s okay, just die again. For example for this section, we can start in the Heavenly Realm. When you feel the story is going nowhere, we kill the mains. They move on to the next section in the Mortal Realm. One’s a prince, the other’s some daughter of a wealthy house. They fall in love and they eventually reach a point that can go no further. Okay. Kill them. Next, we’ll write them as more common folk. One’s a rich landlord, and the other’s a poor laborer and the two get involved until the story can’t progress. They die again. Next life, we’re back in the Heavenly Realm. Yeah- we can write at least four parts. This is very easy. You can imagine the number of times death becomes a common occurrence.

C: Ning-ge, then act as Yan Wang (King of the Underworld). Then you won’t die. LYN: … /sigh/. C: Play an alien. LYN: /laughs/ It’s not as if aliens don’t die. What about You Who Came from the Stars? LYN: Let me tell you the thing about aliens. Say you’re an alien and you’ve come to Earth. You look human, but in the end you’re still going to die. For example, say this guy doesn’t age and doesn’t die. But for the woman he loves, he’s going to give all that up. That’s what will strike a chord with the viewers. It’s a common trope, isn’t it? That’s the whole point of the story. The guy doesn’t age and doesn’t die. You already know that in the end he’s going to die for the girl. Otherwise setting it up like that in the first place has no meaning. Do you get it? The character design isn’t there for him to look cool. It’s there to take things to a highlight wherein he gives it all up to die for the girl. It’s definite. He’ll die either for the girl, or some other emotional connection. Think about it- that’s just the design. LYN: Let’s say you’re acting as an immortal. In the end, you’re going to die for a mortal. That’s the most important thing, and it’s what drives the story. It all goes like that.

C: Then, Ning-ge, why don’t you just act as a ghost? Skip all the steps in between, jump straight to ghost. LYN: You can’t tell me to play a ghost just because I look like one. “LYN looks like a ghost. Just go play a ghost, then.”

bgm: 黑夜一束光 (Praying)

C: Ning-ge, play a jiangshi. LYN: /sigh/ LYN: That’s enough. I can’t choose to play whatever I want. I told you earlier, didn’t I?

C: Ning-ge, if you’re going to be like that then it seems like acting is meaningless. LYN: No? Why wouldn’t it have meaning? Acting is very interesting to me. It’s fun. But the prerequisite is that you encounter a good script. If you can’t come across a good script you go… crazy.

C: Ning-ge, if you’re going to be like that then stop acting. Just stream for us instead. LYN: Are you trying to advise me not to act anymore? And instead of acting, I should come here at 8p every night to stream? Is that what you mean? What’s the difference between your words and the words of my anti-fans? My antis always tell me, “LYN, can you stop acting?” Now my fans are telling me, “Yeah. Don’t act. Stream instead.”

C: Ning-ge, what other female actress would you want to work with? LYN: I’m good with anyone. I don’t have the right to pick other people, and I don’t have the right to act with whoever I want to. I’m ok with anyone. They’re all good. As long as they’re someone who takes works seriously, that’s enough for me. LYN: Acting really needs cooperation. A good partner is the most important. The more I learn the more I feel that acting needs cooperation. You’re not out here acting on your own. If the two actors are just doing their own scenes it feels too separate from each other. It becomes uncomfortable to see. So choosing a good acting partner is very important. I say this because sometimes I get asked in interviews, “LYN, when you’re paired with veteran actors, do you get nervous?” I don’t. You know how some people say when they meet someone very famous, they’ll be nervous around them? I won’t be. Instead, I’m even more relieved. Because no matter how shallow or superficially you act, the opposite actor can carry the scene. You can also act freely without fear that they won’t be able to follow you. You feel more at ease when with veteran actors, because you can act without reservations. I know that I can’t act very well, but my ability to learn is very strong. So I’ll actually be even more relieved. Acting with a more mature actor is more comfortable. But there are some actors I’ve paired with where I... don’t really dare to act freely. LYN: When you’re working with veteran- and even senior actors- there’s always something you can learn. I think that’s the thing that makes me happiest. It doesn’t matter if it’s the good things or the bad things, I can always learn something.

C: What about acting with ZSX? LYN: Me and ZSX? Very comfortable when we’re shooting scenes together. Our moods match. When I act with him I feel very comfortable. So that’s why I’ve always thought he was great. He’s a really amazing actor.

C: Ning-ge, I’ll exchange ten years of being single for you to look at me. LYN: I SAW YOU!! /laughs/ I saw you. You don’t need to post such “poisonous” content. There’s no need. C: I’ll exchange fifty years of being single for you to look at me. LYN: There’s really no need for you to exchange anything for me. You don’t need to. I can basically see everything that you’re typing. I see everything for the most part, but I can’t reply to every single comment. Okay? In any case, I can see you.

C: Ning-ge, show us a “nan-gao”. LYN: What does that mean? Male, high note? Is that it? - /shows off his high notes/ LYN: No, I know what you mean. Male, high school student. You’re thinking too much. With my old face? I told you last time, there was a drama that wanted me to act as a college student and I couldn’t convince myself to do it. I said, “Forget it. Let’s not. It’s not worth it. There are people more suited to playing a college student, let’s leave this role for them. My old face can’t cut it.” There’s no need to challenge something I’m not suited for. LYN: If I had to force it, I could probably swing a graduate student/reseracher. I’ll be a researcher of Sichuan dishes or something. Someone who specializes in Western foods. It’s a bonus that I have experience as a cook that I can put to use. C: Male teacher? LYN: Teacher is okay. But definitely not a student, so stop trying. If word gets out I’d be laughed to death. There’s going to be an yxh post with the title, “LYN said in his stream that he wants to act as a high school student.” The topic will be “LYN’s fans tell him to act as a high school student; LYN rejects the idea.” I can already imagine what the comments will be. There’s going to be a batch of this type: “Him? As a high school student? He’s so ugly, how can he pass as a high school student at his age???” I don’t even have to say anything, the ridicule will come first. It’s all predictable. So stop saying nonsense in my stream. You’re going to make me grow antis. I can hate on myself and I’ll take whatever comes with that, but if you hate on me then… I’ll feel wronged.

C: Play a domineering CEO. LYN: I won’t. I can’t do it. A domineering CEO at the least has to be handsome, right? I don’t qualify. I can see the yxh now: “LYN’s fans tell him to act as a domineering CEO; LYN declines. Does he look down on domineering CEO roles? For all fans of actors who’ve played domineering CEOs, what do you think?” What do you think?

LYN: Lately there have been a lot of dramas that are just... mentioning me. Like, “This drama has settled on a cast. It will be LYN, and this person, and that person.” When you see posts like that, 70% of the comments are cursing me out. But the thing is that I don’t even know about it! How about this- can we discuss beforehand in the future? If you see those posts- first of all, the yxh uses my name to drum up discussion on the drama, which proves at least one thing: they look well upon me. From a good perspective, they think highly of me and use my name. I think there was a drama called “Ya Se” or something? I refuted those rumors a year ago! I used it as entertainment for a stream and I already refuted those rumors. But recently it came back around. I got another round of hate for it. Once a year, it comes back around. I’m not even IN it and people still have to ridicule me. So let’s try to do this in the future. Number 1- I just said, they mention me because they think highly of me. It means that I still have audience interest, even though they’re mostly here to make fun of me. It’s still something. Number 1 is to look at these posts for fun. Number 2, if you see people cursing me out, write down their IDs. Ok? Get down the IDs of all the people who are cursing me out and then when the drama actually comes out and it’s a different actor, go back to them and tell them to apologize to me. “We have a record of you spreading hate about LYN for this role. Can you apologize for it? Since he isn’t in this drama, that means that you’ve wrongly accused him. It’s unjust.” If they don’t want to apologize then just forget it. Just let it slide, because we don’t need to start some big feud.

LYN: But on the other hand, there are some accounts that post… accurately. So when you speak, try to give yourself an out. That’s also giving me an out. Sometimes the yxh will post about a project… that’s real/accurate. But I see my fans go to comment, “We don’t believe in or spread rumors. Who would go to such a project? Do you think Ning-ge is crazy, to accept such a poor project?? There’s no way. Absolutely no way.” “Do you think LYN’s an idiot, to accept this project. No way he’s going.” I’m shaking reading all those comments. Do I- do I still continue with the project or not? LYN: So! You can not believe in or spread rumors, but also don’t forget to leave me an out. There are a couple situations. Here’s one: At the time of posting, the statement IS nonsense. But later the project does come to look for me, because this industry is a circle. They might consider that I am also a suitable candidate, so they inquire about my time and if appropriate, could let me join the crew. At the time of posting, it’s true that it was not me. But later it becomes me. It’s possible. So when you leave comments remember to leave yourself and me a way back out.

C: The microphone today is so unique. LYNL: It is unique and very cool. This is a… /fiddles with the mic/ … a very good microphone. It’s a limited edition. Isn’t that interesting? Even microphones come in limited editions. It’s a 50th anniversary collector’s mic. This microphone has been around for 50 years and they released a limited edition, so I bought one. It’s a present to myself for being Weibo’s Livestream King. Since I’m King this year, I thought I would give myself an award and upgrade my equipment. So I bought this mic, which in itself has also upgraded my stream. It works and it’s quite nice. C: Is it used for recording? LYN: A lot of OSTs are recorded on this model of mic. I have another one of my own- I used it on my stream once but it’s too expensive so I don’t want to use it. Many of my OSTs now are recorded in Hengdian, and the mics in that studio are this model but I don’t think they’re very good. The standards are getting higher and higher, so I upgraded my mic too. I went online and bought my own. When I go to the studio in Hengdian I bring my own mic. The ones in the studio aren’t great. C: Ning-ge, this mic receives the sound so well. Watch out when you need to use the restroom later. LYN: Ah, ha. Okay. I got it.

C: Ning-ge, is this a live stream or a recorded stream? LYN: Since when did I ever have recorded streams?? If I had the time to pre-record one, why wouldn’t I have just livestreamed?

C: How much was it (the mic)? LYN: What’s the price have to do with it? All mics are at a set price. It has nothing to do with how much it costs. These things are all equipment for my work- the kind where no matter how much it costs, I am willing to pay for it. No matter what I do, as long as it’s for the best equipment, I don’t argue about the costs. 欲善其事，必先利其器. (To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools.) I understand the concept. No matter what I do, it’s going to be done with the best equipment. I don’t care how I sing, the mic needs to be a good one. That’s the way it is with me. The beads, too. I don’t care if I have the technique right or if I’m even suited for this hobby. I still have to buy the best quality beads. That’s the way I work.

LYN: Honestly, this mic (the handheld) is also very good. They’re the same brand. This one was a little more than 5k, but less than 6. The corded mic. This one (the one on the stand) is a little more expensive. “A poor student has the best stationary”- it’s a little bit like that. C: You have a new mic so you don’t dare to use strength when you speak? LYN: ~Why wouldn’t I dare? Why wouldn’t I dare? You must be joking.~ LYN: ~My dearest viewers, good evening.~

C: Raffle it (the handheld). LYN: Why should I? Can’t I just keep it? Also- what’s with the principle that anything I’m not using is up for keeps? I won’t be giving it away.

----- break #1 (LYN: Holy crap, I think my neighbors are fighting.) - /lmao him coming back and flapping his hands to show he’s washed them, but with the GLOVE on???/

bgm: 阳光总在风雨后 (Sunshine After the Wind and Rain) > 城裡的月光 (Moonlight in the City) LYN: There’s someone asking me whether I’ve accepted this or that project. I can’t tell you. How can I tell you before it’s officially announced?

C: How did the fight with the neighbors go? Were you able to stop them? LYN: Oh, no. They’re watching White Cat Legend. There’s a fight scene and I thought the neighbors were fighting. The sound of their tv was too loud. I went to knock on their door and they were flustered. I told them to keep it down, and they agreed. Then I came back. We didn’t have an argument.

- /singing along to 城裡的月光 (Moonlight in the City)/ LYN: Let’s complete tonight’s song quota.

C: Is your eyeliner smudging? LYN: Yes, I’ve had it on for a bit long today.

bgm: 愛了很久 (Loved for a Long Time) [Twilight OST] LYN: /starts up his narration again/

C: Then, Ning-ge, remove your makeup on stream. LYN: /huffs a laugh/ There’s no need. It’s not worth it.

C: Where do you live now? LYN: What’s it to you?? Why do you want to know where I live? Are you going to come over and make yourself my guest? Or do you think it’s the New Year, so you should come visit? Let me tell you friend- I don’t make a good host. Don’t come to my house. Thank you.

C: What time are you heading to work tomorrow? LYN: I don’t know, I haven’t got the notice yet. This crew’s notices are posted kind of late. Let’s not rush. Let me stream a while.

C: When will you stream next? LYN: It’s hard to say when I’ll stream next. That’s why you can subscribe to nitifcations from my weibo. The next time I stream it will let you know. Subscribe to my weibo. Thank you, all.

C: Lao-da, can you recommend me some good eats in Dandong? LYN: Good eats in Dandong are only those few. The main thing is the seafood, since it’s close to the river/sea. You can go to Dandong to eat some seafood, and it’s not expensive either. It’s also very fresh. Another thing is you can try Korean Chinese food. Because we’re really close to the border. So you can go to a Korean Chinese restaurant and experience their warmth/enthusiasm. You can also try Dandong’s bbq. It’s just those few things. Honestly, the food everywhere is pretty much the same. Can you not eat Sichuan hotpot in Beijing? Can you not find Cantonese food there? Can you not find Northeastern food? You can find it all. It’s all pretty much the same. LYN: It just depends on each region’s resources. Dandong’s seafood and fruits would be better. There are a few fruits: a peach that’s very good, of course you have the strawberries, and there’s… black dates. Just those few. For seafood there’s the crab, shrimp. LYN: A few days ago a friend even asked me. An actor friend- they said they were going to Dandong for a trip and asked me for restaurant recommendations. I told them I hadn’t been back in four years. I told them, “I really don’t know. Maybe you can look up some travel sites?”

C: I’m really afraid to miss a stream. LYN: You mean if you don’t make it in time to watch? Honestly, it’s fine. When I stop streaming there’s always the playback you can watch. Because of some aired dramas or other videos, I have a lot of new fans. I can feel that I have new fans. I’m not talking about the data on my weibo follower count, either. But from what I can feel- including the feedback from my streams or the number of plays on my videos- after YNGS aired I gained at least 500 live fans. At least. 500 live fans- Alive and jumping. If you’re going by follower count, that number really doesn’t have much use. Because there are some people who could be following countless people- it’s just a number. But from what I actually experience and feel, I have 500. C: What, 500? There’s a lot more than that! You have more than that!! LYN: Ah. C: Ning-ge, how could it be 500? You must have 50k! LYN: I don’t care. I feel like it’s 500. It’s enough. Friends, think about it- 500 people. 500 living fans. That’s terrifying. For example- these 500 people go around to topics all around the internet that are about me and leave one comment each. My whole ranking in this industry would rise. Are you kidding me? Think about it- for every video out there, I’d have 500 comments at the least. Do you know what kind of influence that has? Think about how amazing that would be. If we lock these 500 people in a room and have them scream, don’t you think the room would explode? Do you know how loud that would be? So, (500 people) is enough.

C: Ning-ge, I’m a 20yuan fan. LYN: When I came to stream the other day I really had no idea what that meant, because I deleted a lot of the apps I used to browse. I didn’t know what that meant. I’d seen a few topics, but I didn’t know what it means. But after that stream I went to look into it and now I know. It’s that when YNGS was airing, some people spent a good deal of money to have bad things written about me. And among all the chaos, there were still a few people who managed to become my fan. That means that each of those fans are worth 20yuan. Very precious. I think I’ve got the general idea of what it means. C: Ning-ge, as the artist himself, this topic is not good for you to talk about. People are going to hate on you more. LYN: You don’t need to worry about me. I know I said earlier that I feel like I’ve gained 500 fans but I can also feel it when other people purposely try to bring me down. I’m aware. LYN: I used to be on other video platforms, and on B*libili I used to follow an uploader. They would mention me, sometimes. At the time their opinion of me was pretty high. Well, not “high’ but very objective/perfunctory. They neither ridiculed or supported me- very impartial. But after YNGS, they just threw me under. Made a video all about it. And this person hadn’t uploaded in a long time, before that. I was always paying attention, so that I could take a look at their videos, whenever they posted one. It was a long time that they didn’t post, and I finally waited until they finally did, but the whole video was to curse me out. What type of motivation would make them not post for two months, then post only in order to curse me? In that moment, my mood become stable/still again.

LYN: Now I think of it like this. At first when I would see people bringing me down, I would be a little sad. But then I thought about it- and what if I went to find an uploader, and gave them 300rmb to make a video praising me? I’m guessing they would agree. If 300 doesn’t work, then 3,000. If 3k doesn’t work, then 30,000. I’m sure they have a price. There’s no way they wouldn’t. They always have a price. If 30k doesn’t work, would 300k be sufficient to make a video praising LYN? I’m sure it would. LYN: What I’m trying to say here is that these videos can’t represent anything. They don’t represent public opinion or justice. They only represent money. This is just the way online traffic IS.

LYN: So my mood became stable again, and people started to worry for me. You really don’t need to. I’m fine. After all that I’ve been through already, and after learning that I have a new batch of fans, I’m quite happy. Also, my mental state has become stronger. In this industry, if no one is hating on your or cursing you, or targeting you, then that means that you really have no worth. If there are people who like you, there will also be people who hate you. That’s normal. It’s like how some people like eating spicy, and others don’t. It’s a normal thing.

- /starts quoting poetry, sth about drinking from a wine glass?/ - /gets lost trying to find some bgm/ LYN: ~ Cheers! How about a mouthful?” ~ LYN: It brings the mood right away.

C: Ning-ge can’t see me. LYN: I can see you. I can see all the comments, I just can’t reply to each one. I’m not actually a customer service agent. It’s not like I HAVE to reply when you have a comment to make. I can see you all.

C: You won’t have insomnia if you drink tea? LYN: I won’t. Because I’m simple-minded. I’m asleep as soon as my head is down.

C: I’ve sent 800+ comments. LYN: I can see them! I can see them, but for some comments I don’t need to reply. Because they’re… nonsense. /laughs/ Oh, no. I can’t say that! LYN: Because sometimes when you post things, my brain cpu can’t process fast enough. For one- maybe I didn’t understand the comment. Two- my brain froze. Three- perhaps my brain is shrinking? I don’t dare to answer. C: It’s mainly because you can’t answer fast enough. LYN: Yes. I’m trembling with fear. I’m not stupid anymore. Not a complete idiot who says anything without thinking. To say anything on a livestream, especially, is no good. C: I love hearing you make excuses. LYN: /laughs nervously/

C: Ning-ge, can you wish me success on my graduate entrance exam? I feel like your words are lucky. LYN: /laughs/ /sobers/ LYN: You want me to wish you a successful exam, because you think my words come true? Just like how I used to say that my dream was to perform at Spring Festival, and now I’ve finally done it? That whatever I want to be on or do, I succeed at? Is that what you mean? LYN: Am I a wishing well? I’m the tortoise in the wishing well, and if you manage to get the coin into my mouth, you will successfully pass your exam? When I was talking about the acting problem earlier, saying that I die no matter what role I play, there was a comment that unhesitatingly read, “Ning-ge, why don’t you play a turtle? They live for a long time.” I didn’t reply, though I saw the comment, because I was angered into silence. I didn’t reply because I know that there are some antis out there who think I look like a turtle. I didn’t dare to answer because if word got out that I said I wanted to act as a turtle, I thought that would give people material to use against me. I was afraid of that. Who knew that I’ve gone through all these hoops but in the end, someone likens me to a tortoise all the same. They still want to make a wish. LYN: I hope your exam is successful. To all the friends in my stream, if you’re facing an exam, trying to get into university, or starting school soon- I wish you all the best. You’re all amazing. How about this? Today I wish everyone taking tests success. But if you succeed you have to make a post on weibo saying, “I made a wish in LYN’s stream for him to wish me success on my entrance exam and I passed.” You have to let the name of my wishing well be known. Can you do that? If you pass then you have to make a post on weibo to thank me. LYN: I’m not saying that I’m some sort of god, but my stream- this environment- is a place brimming with good spiritual energy. Okay? If you succeed, then make that happen.

bgm: 超感 (Super Feeling) - Young Captain & ODD Chen Sijian

C: Ning-ge, I want to make a wish. I hope that you can continue to find work one after another. LYN: /claps/ What a good friend. Making wishes in my stream to wish ME well. You really treat me like family. Thank you so much. It really makes my heart warm. I’m happy. LYN: But I have to say- for the people wishing to pass their exams- not only do you have to make your wish here, you also have to work hard! You have to learn! Do you hear me? Learning/studying is the focus. I’m only here for support. The most important thing is that you make an effort to learn yourself and prepare well.

C: I finally caught a live stream. LYN: Missing my stream is no big deal, because it’s never exciting anyway. It used to be, but I’m afraid to be too exciting these days. If it’s too exciting then I can easily… /deep sigh/.

C: The 书卷一梦 (SJYM/A Dream Within a Dream) weibo account has followed you. LYN: /playing dumb/ What’s that? What do you mean? /biting his nails/ The weibo has followed me? What do you mean? I don’t understand. It’s a “book”? LYN: There’s a book called 书卷一梦, is that it? Oh~ - LYN: I don’t know what you mean… 书卷一梦? Hold on, let me ask my group if we’ve received the script for this. Let me take a look. // What is it? Oh- it looks like it’s trending. Let me see what they’re saying about it. “SJYM has opened their official account and have started following Li Yitong, Liu Yuning, Zhu Xuduan…” What did they follow me for?? XD Why would they do that? - /buffers/ LYN: Should I follow them back, out of politeness? I should follow them back. That’s what I usually do, when someone follows me. I’ll follow them back. LYN: It’s uh… Okay, I’ll stop pretending. I admit it. SJYM has already found me to sing an OST for them. It’s a Linmon production, so when they were making a drama this time around, since I gave them Offer and Don’t Dream of the Cold (YNGS) last time, they’ve booked me to sing an OST for them. I won’t pretend anymore, friends. I confess. The OST is mine and maybe, um.. Yeah. [t/n: the English “yeah” also vaguely sounds like the Chinese “yan” (act)] LYN: You can observe, later they’ll also follow the singers, because one of the first things they do is sign contracts with all the singers. That’s how it works.

C: Ning-ge, I’m following you. Could you follow me back? LYN: Um.. then, let’s forget it. If people look for me to sing them an OST and I follow them back, it’s only polite, right? If you want me to sing an OST for you, I’ll follow back.

LYN: ? Is SJYM a guzhuang or a modern drama? I don’t even know myself. Which is it? Or, is it Republican? I don’t know. C: Guzhuang. // You’ll know just by looking at the name… LYN: Oh. I guess it is. It sounds like a guzhuaung drama? /thinks/ I think it’s a modern drama. From the name of the drama you can tell that the lead must be a modern person. It must be a sotry of an alien. Science fiction. If I’m guessing correctly, it must be sci-fi. A record of an alien an their time on Earth. In the end they find out it’s all a dream. LYN: It’s about a girl opening a bookstore. The name of the store is called “Shu Juan” - “Shu Juan Shu Dian”. (Scroll Bookstore) One day while she’s in the shop, she falls asleep. She gets transmigrated into one of the books. When she wakes up she finds out it was all a dream. That must be what the story is about. Then later she’s taken away by aliens.* It’s possible. [*t/n: most times he’s used this euphemism to mean that the character dies, but this time I think he means literal aliens.] LYN: Why don’t I contact the SJYM producers and see if I can cameo. If I have spare the time later on I’ll cameo a scene or two. They’re people I’m familiar with, so I’ll see if I can go cameo.

LYN: Last July I went to cameo for a drama. It was… one scene. C: Zhe Tian (Blocking the Sky)? LYN: No, I shot that one a long time ago. I cameoed in a different drama. Just one scene, acting as an immortal. C: Can you die within just one scene? LYN: I don’t think so. - LYN: No, it’s not Wonderland of Love. That was more than one scene. I went to cameo in Douluo Continent 2. I went to act as… Hai Shen (Sea God)? Or someone like that? I think it was called Hai Shen. Just one scene. // He counts as an immortal, right? A Sea God? LYN: I only had two lines. “Who would have thought that you would happen upon this place. But as for how to walk the rest of your path, it all depends on you.” “Go, now.”

C: Ning-ge, a god of the sea should be bare, right? LYN: Do you think that a god of the sea should have a trident, be bare on top and have a fish tail on the bottom?? I’ll wear fishtail leggings? Is that what they’re called? Yes- the appearance was like the leggings skirt girls like to wear, and at the bottom near the feet it’s a fish tail. The top is bare, and I’m holding a big fork. To act as a god of the sea. - /still discussing what to call the pants/ C: Are you in the water? LY: No. I’m flying in the sky. Wearing yoga pants and flying in the sky. XD

bgm: 万物盛开法则 (The Law of Everything in Bloom) - Da Zhangwei

LYN: They (SJYM) followed me, but didn’t think to tell me beforehand and have left me to fend for myself. They should have said something, like, “Xiao Ning. We’re going to follow you. Sing an OST for us later, ok?” But they didn’t tell me, and just started following. This stream has put me in a... quite awkward situation. I even had to pretend- “What’s SJYM? I’ve never heard of it.” I tried to play it off, but they just straight followed me. This is embarrassing. I feel like I’m lying with my eyes wide open. The thing with lies is it’s not as bad if they’re found out to be a lie later. But right now it’s like slapping myself in the mouth. “Stop lying. /slap!/” That’s the type of thrill we’re going for. We want that rising heartrate.

C: You should be honest when facing the fans. LYN: The problem is that it’s not a matter of “honesty”. I told you before, that I used to come running to tell you about things the moment I had news. Up until the moment I was telling you all about it and that job ended up being snatched away by someone else. I was going to go on a variety show, happily came to tell you all about it, and then it was taken by someone else. From that moment on I knew- unless it was set in stone, I wouldn’t tell you about these things anymore. I still remember that person who took the job from me. So bad. They’re the worst artist I’ve encountered in this industry. I’m not angry because they took my work, but because the person who connected them to the show started rumors to smear me and in the end that artist ended up with the job. But after that I haven’t heard a thing about that show. C: Who is it? LYN: I won’t tell you. Wait until I’m sixty. I’ll expose them then. I’m sure you’ve all heard this person’s name. But wait until I’m sixty to find out. It was pretty despicable, what they did. They found another guest on the show, because they didn’t have enough influence themselves, so they found a different guest cast. They told them, “I want to be on this show.” “Oh? Then come.” “But the capacity is full.” What could they do? That other guest went to the producers and told them they didn’t want to work with an “Internet Famous” celebrity. “I don’t want to work with LYN. I don’t want to shoot a show with an “internet famous” person.” It wasn’t only that, either. As an artist I’m sure they had connections, right? They started spreading rumors to the directors. The person who introduced me to the show was a gege, and later I asked them what was up? because he’s the one who asked me to be on it but then I was kicked off. They said, “You sure are something. You asked the program for 3M rmb an episode?” I said, “Am I CRAZY?? Why would I ask for 3M to shoot an episode? Do you think I’m insane?” He replied, “Then why did the crew say that?” I just said, “Forget it. I don’t care if they give me 3M or 30M, I won’t go.” LYN: That’s the only person in this industry that I hate. So annoying. C: Who is it?!? LYN: I’ll expose them when I’m sixty.

C: Ning-ge, you say you’ll expose them at sixty. But based on your current age, you don’t have that much time left. It’ll be exposed soon. LYN: … LYN: It’s okay. Whatever. That person isn’t doing better than I am right now, anyway.

C: Is this hair real? LYN: This is my real hair, yes.

bgm: 如果爱还记得 (If Love Still Remembers) [Wonderland of Love OST]

LYN: ?! Today isn’t the Lantern Festival, is it? Isn’t it tomorrow? Right? I think it’s tomorrow, if I’m remembering correctly. Right? It’s tomorrow.

-- 笑红尘 (Laughing at the Mundane World) LYN: I came in late! Sorry, let me do that again. I saw someone wanted to hear this song.

-- 冥冥有声 (Unseen Sound) [Ultimate Note OST] LYN: I haven’t sung this one in a long time. It’s one I’ve promised to sing for you, but I haven’t in a long time. Let me look up the lyrics. It’s been too long. Let me look up the lyrics, because my computer program doesn’t have it. LYN: What do you think of the new mic, friends? I don’t know, because I haven’t adjusted the sound settings. I thought it would be too late if I did. I’ll adjust them later. Was it okay? Then, I’ll sing another.

-- 红尘客栈 (Red Dust Inn) - Jay Chou - /cracks on a high note/ /stops immediately/ LYN: … The mic just broke for a second. New equipment always needs an acclimation period, for me to get used to it. The mic broke for a second and it lagged. /clears his throat/ New equipment is unstable, friends. Forgive it. It lagged. Let me try that again. LYN: /to the mic/ Be obedient! - /starts over, interpretive dance version?/ - /it was going well, until-/ LYN: … It lagged again. So badly that it made me sing out of tune. This microphone sure isn't stable, friends. Tsk. You can never trust an electronic too much. They’re really unstable. C: Embarrassing, truly. LYN: “Embarrassing” isn’t a word in my dictionary. Because I don’t have a dictionary. I’m illiterate. LYN: I blame this new mic. C: Ning-ge, the problem wasn’t with your mic, it’s with me. My internet lagged. LYN: Oh… So many people in my stream lagged at the same time? That’s amazing. C: Ning-ge, that was a flop. Why can’t you admit it? LYN: … The type of people who can say these things are the new friends. Because, as I already said, that’s an effect for my stream. If you’re really taking it seriously then you’re taking the fun out of it. It’s not worth it.

LYN: I see a bunch of tracks on my computer, so I was thinking of which one I could sing… There’s also this! - /断缘诀 (Bid Farewell) [God of Lost Fantasy OST]/ [t/n: This is one of my favorites!] LYN: Do you know what song this is? Oh- you know because I still have the captions on. I recorded this song when I first debuted. This was the cheapest OST I’ve ever done since starting. There was no helping it, because at that time my quality wasn’t the greatest. I recorded this song during in stream. Using this mic. /picks up his red one/

C: How much? LYN: What’s it to you? That’s a bad habit. You can’t just keep asking other people what their salary is. Go out on the street right now, to a random person and say, “Hey- let me interview you. How much do you make a month?” What business is it of yours??

C: This song is one of my pearls! LYN: What does that mean- a “pearl that went unnoticed”? It’s a song that went unrecognized by many, but it’s a really great song. But the me now- I can’t say that my singing skills have declined, but the me then had a higher pitch. I had a huskier voice, so it was suited for singing this song. Now... I can’t really do it. My pitch isn’t as great as it was before. I don’t think I can sing this song. - /sings a bit/ LYN: It’s already so high. This is almost B, oh my god. LYN: I’ll give it a try. Later if I crack or can’t hit the right key, friends, you have to type into the comments that ‘It’s lagging! It’s lagging. What’s happening, Ning-ge?” Do some damage control for me, okay?

C: You’re aging. LYN: It has nothing to do with age. I’m better than I was before. I’m at my strongest now. This is the best time. LYN: Hold on, let me find some shades. Then later when I crack, I can use them to hide my shame. Wait for me a sec. I’ll be quick. LYN: … Friends, you don’t have to say it’s lagging before I even start. There’s no need for that. I haven’t even started singing yet. // ? These glasses are a bit crooked? -- 断缘诀 (Bid Farewell) [God of Lost Fantasy OST] LYN: Thank you. C: You just stumbled on one word. LYN: I didn’t have enough strength left. Didn’t I say earlier that I was at my best now? C: Old but still vigorous. (宝刀未老) Hale and hearty despite the years. (老当益壮) LYN: Mm. I see that you’re using these idioms to play with me, again. C: It didn’t lag at all. LYN: It did a little. It’s okay. It’s not important.

----- break #2-- 撞地球 (Earth Collision) by Yu Er Qi [t/n: the snot special effect X’D]

LYN: Last time I wore this hat, that people seemed to like a lot. This one.

LYN: Oh, I saved myself from wearing one. It covers my whole head. LYN: This one is pretty fun.

- /playing with more filters/ LYN: ~ Jiejie. I want to eat ice cream~ I want ice cream! ~ LYN: Leng Shao. (Indifferent Young Master) Leng Shao is here. Hold on.. Let me show you a true indifferent Young Master… -- 别在我离开之前离开 (Don’t Leave Before I Leave) LYN: There’s another song that can be used in place of this music.-- 吻得太逼真 (Kiss too Real)

bgm: 晒Share (live ver.) - Da Zhangwei & Liu Yuning bgm: 热辣滚烫 [You Only Live Once YOLO OST]

C: Ning-ge, last time you streamed you sprained your ankle. Is it better now? LYN: It’s okay now. I’ve recovered.

C: I want to hear 就在江湖之上 (Above the Jianghu). LYN: Let’s do it. But today my internet is not very good- it lags. I have a new mic, too. It easily… it easily lags. -- 就在江湖之上 (Above the Jianghu) - /suddenly gets up and out of frame/ - /comes back with ~something~. It’s a prop sword!/ - [t/n: how loud is he singing/good is that mic for him to be standing up and away from it and still be heard???]

C: Did you drink too much? LYN: /playing with the snot filter, still/ LYN: This must be a new friend. You must not have seen my previous streams. I’ve already restrained myself a lot more than I previously have. You are clearly new here. I used to go much harder than this. This is nothing.

C: I watched the last time and it was quite frightening. LYN: The last time I even twisted my ankle. At least today my movements weren’t as big. Last time I played it too big and twisted my ankle. This time is okay- (I didn’t hurt myself.)

C: You sang halfway and then disappeared! LYN: I went to grab a prop. Just singing isn’t enough anymore. It needs to be like a stage play, now. I need to make you feel like you’re watching an mv. - /tries to copy the MLC mv and pours tea on himself/chokes on it/ LYN: You have to sing and pour into your mouth at the same time… - C: The sound of the sword is so satisfying. LYN: This? /pulls and re-sheathes it/ - LYN: Hold on, let me wipe my snot. /removes the filter/ It’s clean now. - LYN: The main lead of this drama is called Li Lianhua, right? I’m Liu Lianou. (lotus root) Today we cosplay as Liu Lianou. XD

C: We’re going to be spending the new year, soon. LYN: Friends, before the new year hits, I’ll stop streaming first. I don’t have the habit of spending the new year anymore. I don’t want to spend the new year. I’ll be leaving first, friends. I hope you have a good Lantern Festival. I hope you can be happy. If you still haven’t subscribed to my weibo, please do so. Now I will gift you with a nice song. -- 过年的歌 (New Year's Song) LYN: Happy Lantern Festival. LYN: Alright. I guess that counts as having spent the new year with you today. LYN: Thank you for you company. If you still have not subscribed to my weibo, please do so. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning.

bgm: 一念关山 - Richie Ren [YNGS OST]

C: Wait until 40million (viewers). LYN: Ok. I’ll wait until then. - /starts reciting his YNGS lines bc of the bgm: “I don’t owe the State of Wu anything. See you never.”/

LYN: It’s rare that I stream past 12a, today. I don’t think our drama notice has been posted. It’s not up yet, so I’m waiting for it. When it’s about time, I’ll stop streaming. I want to thank you for keeping me company tonight. But honestly, I do want to stream a little more. Let me check-

C: Sing another song. LYN: /gulps/ LYN: Let’s do it! C: 别梦寒 (Don’t Dream of the Cold) LYN: I haven’t sung that before. I haven’t sung this before, do you want to know why? Friends, you know why. It’s too hard to sing. There’s no other reason- it’s just too difficult to sing. -- 别梦寒 (Don’t Dream of the Cold) [YNGS OST] LYN: I couldn’t really do it. Next time when I have some more strength I’ll sing it again for you.

C: I also want to hear Qilin (麒麟). LYN: Do you think I would be able to, in my current state? - /recites the lyrics/ LYN: It’s been a while for Qilin though, right? The rap song I’ve been listening to nowadays is… “什么叫天花板我比烟花闪...” Have you heard that one? (Burn Me Down - Hanji) C: Let’s hear it. LYN: Hmm. C: I haven’t heard of it. LYN: If you haven’t, then forget it.

bgm: 如果爱还记得 (If Love Still Remembers) [Wonderland of Love OST]

C: Female artist Daimi’s manager has been suppressing her. LYN: Daimi’s not in Hengdian for the next couple of days. I sent her for some work. She’s not in Hengdian. I had her sent for a trim in Hangzhou, because there’s not any good places for pet grooming in Hengdian. She can come back with a whole new look to face 2024 with. LYN: When she’s back I’ll take a beauty shot of her and post it to the fan group for you.

C: My son is learning 莫问前程 (Don’t Ask About the Future). LYN: Nice. That means the kid really has potential. It’s actually a pretty nice sounding song, so you can listen to it more.

LYN: It’s about time, right? Let me check. How about I don’t set a goal for when I stop streaming. Let’s set a time- how about 1:30a? No, wait! 12:30a! I’ll stop streaming at 12:30a exactly. Let’s chat for another few minutes. Alright? We can chat some more. LYN: Not 1:30a, but 12:30a. My apologies. LYN: 12:30a is good enough.

C: What’s with the pictures you posted of Daimi, with 3 and 6? LYN: It didn’t have any meaning. I just grabbed a handful of the snacks she usually eats. It didn’t have any meaning. You guys are amazing for trying to solve the mystery of that post. There wasn’t anything behind it. [t/n: this post: https://weibo.com/5456865382/NEGXzwbH5 ; people were speculating we would stream on the 3rd of February at 6pm.]

LYN: Since it’s this time, I should also check-in to my Super Topic. LYN: Let me play some quieter music, since it’s late at night and we’re about ready to sleep. I’ll play something that makes you want to sleep. Something soft, so we can all rest later. bgm: 隆里电丝 (lonely dance) - 盛宇DamnShine ft Key.L刘聪 C: Whenever Ning-ge says that, I know I should turn my volume down. LYN: You sure know me. This is an old friend. You already know my tricks.

LYN: ! Earlier there was a friend who kept asking if I could pick up the guitar and play you a song. - /starts playing some notes/ LYN: ? It’s out of tune. LYN: /laughs/ I haven’t even started singing yet and you’re already typing the lyrics into the comments. That’s too disrespectful, isn’t it?? I haven’t even started singing yet. You can’t disrespect me like that. [t/n: idk what he said after that. Something about only knowing how to play a couple songs on the guitar, anyway?] LYN: ? How do you play this song, I forgot! LYN: Ok! Here we go, for real this time!! -- 擁抱 (Embrace)- 五月天Mayday - /cracks/ /stops immediately/ LYN: 😐 LYN: I also know another one. Let’s try again. -- 喜歡你 [t/n: ? I don’t know Cantonese, sorry. :(] LYN: I also know another one. /plays some chords/ Let me think. /sings/ I don’t think that’s right. That’s not right. LYN: Let me try a different one. This time I’ll do it properly. One that I need to look up lyrics for. Properly, this time. -- 忽然之间 (Suddenly) - Karen Mok LYN: All the ones before was setting up for this song. LYN: Everybody! - /stops/ LYN: I haven’t adjusted my equipment yet. Hold on… -- 你要跳舞吗 (Would You Like To Dance) - 新褲子New Pants LYN: Thank you!

LYN: After listening to that, don’t you feel like sleeping? Are you sleepy, friends? LYN: Let me find another quieter song and we’ll start wrapping up. -- 麒麟 (Qilin) - Zao An

LYN: Friends, after hearing that, don’t you just want to sleep? Right? It feels like sleep is just overtaking you, right? LYN: I hope you had a relaxing, happy, and wonderful night. It was great to have you and I hope you had fun. Let’s meet again in the next stream, friends. If you still have not subscribed to my weibo, please do so. I am Modern Brothers Liu Yuning. Good night!

bgm: 超感 (Super Feeling) - Young Captain & ODD Chen Sijian

#Liu Yuning #lyn livestream #(3:35:10)#this one was fun but in a comfortable/laid back way #how to: not play a character that dies X'D #lots of singing!#(I try to fix typos after-the-fact but ignore them/autocorrect in your brains if you see them)

18 notes · View notes

bigjimbopickens · 1 year

Note

hi sorry to bother you i know this is like a dead issue now but i was a massive fan of kevin before the hogwarts legacy shit, i’m a trans guy and i stopped watching him because of it. i really miss his content though, his channel is pretty much all the games i like and my sense of humour, but i feel so conflicted about wanting to go back to his content. i was just curious what your thought process was around rejoining the cult? i know it’s kinda weird to ask now since it’s been like 6 months since it happened but i feel really weird about it.

also like. no pressure to answer i don’t know if this is crossing a line or anything sorry

It’s okay don’t worry :) enough time has passed, to me at least. Tbh this is the first I’ve heard about this in a while lol.

It’s okay to feel conflicted. I don’t speak for everyone here but everyone I talk to regularly has forgiven him but won’t forget that this happened.

I do believe he learned from this, he hasn’t done anything HP related since then, besides for a few ps1 Hagrid cameos (which is fine, ps1 Hagrid has been a channel meme for a while). I just hope this doesn’t age poorly.

What started getting me back was a bit after the apology post I noticed that other YouTubers were doubling down on their decisions or just not saying anything, including ones I used to respect. Even though I wished Kevin did more than just a Reddit post, I’m glad he didn’t stay silent and admitted he fucked up. His intention wasn’t malicious, unlike a lot of other creators, which is why I was more forgiving with him compared to others. Though I still lost a lot of respect which was regained over time.

Oddly enough what got me to really respect him again was his video on those American Superpastors and Megachurches. Having grown up in one (though in Canada, they exist here but aren’t as big) it was very healing. He couldn’t say it because he didn’t want to get sued, but he was very heavily implying that he believes it’s all a huge scam and they’re exploiting people. But he’s right, I’ve witnessed it myself. Never would’ve expected him to make a video like that and be so bold with it. I’m glad Europeans see what goes on here and think “what the fuck?!” Great video definitely recommend.

Other than that, mainly just enough time passed where I no longer feel that way. I missed the sense of community which is why I rejoined the fandom but it’s not my main one anymore. I mostly do my own thing these days. It was awesome going to Vancoufur as Werewolf Jim and meeting CMK fans there too, I could’ve sworn I was the only British Columbian in the entire fandom. Though I don’t fully trust the fandom still, mainly people I don’t recognize. But not anyone here, Tumblr isn’t really the site for those people.

Not much else has really changed in his content, just no more HP videos in general (as of July 22, 2023) and the fast-paced editing has mostly stopped. He now only uploads on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays now + any 2nd channel content, song covers or streams. The community has changed a lot though. The Reddit protests caused the subreddit to shut down so it’s gone, so there’s now no longer one big gathering spot besides Discord, which is the one side of the community I’m not in.

It’s really your choice if you wanna start watching again, anonymous user. Do whatever makes you happy :)

Since this is related, I haven’t heard a thing about HL since February. It really was just a mid game that was only popular because it was controversial. Transphobes really spent a lot of money on this, they’re the real losers. I know single player games get less players overtime but a lot of them still get talked about, replayed or are still relevant. Idk just my thoughts. If you really want a magic game with custom spells, play Oblivion’s Mages Guild questline or modded Skyrim.

Also sorry if I got back to this so late. I haven’t had a stable connection for a while until now. I’ve been away, escaping wildfires. Average Canadian summer activities.

7 notes · View notes

vollzz · 1 year

Text

as promised, here’s a scene from blackflame (very much in the conceptual phase), from the third arc/book. it’s ~1k words and will be below the cut! appreciate being indulged for my silly idea heehee.

brief context: Eves and Calliope are conducting an investigation into [redacted]. they’ve just spoken to someone and Eves has whisked them away to a remote forest-y location to debrief and discuss next steps. I’m writing this in the present tense because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . also HUGE NOTE: so I wrote this in google docs where each paragraph was a bullet point but they didn’t paste as such >:( I’m on mobile and I’m too lazy to re-add the bullets sorry. this is very stream-of-consciousness so definitely do not read it as a polished thing, lol. the lack of description is mostly because I don’t even really know what they look like at this point -_-

welcoming any and all comments/questions/reactions. even if you hated it, that’s valuable insight for me when planning for the future arcs!! :)

“It’s imperative that we consider-“ Eves whips their head towards the empty clearing, which has suddenly become occupied by two extraordinarily muscular women. The shorter one stands a few inches smaller than Calliope, while the other is about the same height as Eves, perhaps an inch or two taller.

The shorter woman seems to have an underlying complexion similar to Calliope’s, though it’s been deepened by years of standing in the sun’s grasp. She looks like a soldier, but her armor is surprisingly light - just a few pieces of worn-in leather cling atop the clothing on her shoulders, thighs, and midsection. The other woman wears a flowing long-sleeved shirt and pants in a matching emerald green silk, no armor to be seen. Deep brown hair is bound atop her head, the length of it stopping to hang just below her shoulder blades.

They’re both armed to the teeth - blades, knives, a sword in scabbard each. Though the taller one also has an enormous bow strapped to her back. Calliope realizes who she must be when the shorter woman brushes a lock of black hair from her face, revealing glowing green lines on her left forearm. Samira.

Eves doesn’t speak; as soon as they realize who it is they turn and disappear, clearly about to appear before Calliope and whisk them away. Samira, gigantic bow somehow already in hand, lets loose an arrow aimed at the air next to Calliope.

Eves appears, is blown backwards as the arrow pins them to the trunk of a tree, having landed just under their right collarbone. They grunt in pain through gritted teeth, staring daggers at Samira. Calliope is freaking out but rooted to the spot, unsure of what to do.

“Next time I aim for her head.” Samira’s voice is deep, brutal, commanding.

“Eves?“ It’s frantic - Calliope still hasn’t moved, her eyes glued to Samira, who has an arrow already loaded and aimed at her. Eves scoffs, wincing as they remove the arrow from their body and toss it to the ground. Despite the injury they languidly return to their previous position, keeping a healthy distance from Calliope.

“Not to worry, young one,” Samira says to Calliope as she slowly lowers her weapon. “We cannot truly kill one another.” Silence falls for a few moments.

“What do you want?” It’s Eves - Calliope hasn’t heard them this pissed in a long time.

“I come to propose a duel.” The bow has now been stowed away, though Samira keeps a watchful eye on the two of them as she gestures to the woman beside her. “With me is my champion, Maia. Calliope, given what I’ve heard, is to be yours.”

Eves pastes on that calculated sneer of theirs. “Have you gone insane?”

“We have honor and glory, Eves, unlike your assemblage of prostitutes. I have need of something, and very well could simply take what I want. A duel, however, is far more equitable.”

Equitable is not what Calliope would call a duel with someone granted blessings to excel in every type of combat imaginable. She’s not going to say that, though - she’s not going to say anything.

“We refuse. Take your leave.”

[there is a conversation here that would be 90% redacted. instead, just know that Samira successfully goads Eves into attacking her in a blind rage.]

Eves extends shadows along the ground surrounding Calliope - she uses them to cloak herself with invisibility as Maia approaches. They launch themselves at Samira, who is clearly enjoying the altercation. The two trade blows, but a sense of unease settles on Calliope in the way Eves seems to be putting far more effort into their assault than Samira.

Calliope, on the other hand, has begun to dance around Maia, largely unheard due to her silent steps. Maia doesn’t seem particularly stressed, which is rather unnerving. She’s drawn her sword but stands largely still, balanced on the balls of her feet.

Calliope tests a blow. She strikes Maia with a kick to the back of her right knee. It connects, causing her to stagger momentarily, though Maia nearly instantaneously whirls to swing her blade towards Calliope, missing her by a hair’s breadth despite her invisibility.

That’s a bit stressful, but Calliope’s been training a lot recently and has some newfound confidence. Once again, she circles, and this time drags a knife along Maia’s side. Maia jumps from the blow the moment it touches her skin but doesn’t fight back, her eyes and head now scanning the shadows surrounding her.

Okay. I can do this. I’m silent and invisible. I’m a predator. I don’t have to kill her, just incapacitate her.

Calliope is wholly focused on her battle - she can’t pay attention to Eves right now but hopes they’re doing alright. She dives again, this time hoping to sweep Maia’s feet out from under her, knock her to the ground and take the advantage from there. She strikes.

Maia sidesteps, dragging her sword upwards with the movement. The dagger in Calliope’s right hand falls to the ground, and suddenly Calliope feels a blinding pain. Her grasp on her shadows fades and they scatter from her body. She looks down to see that the four extended fingers on her right hand are now bloody stumps. There’s a noise from behind her-

Eves turns, feels the tug of blinding pain in their consciousness. They meet Calliope’s widened, bloodshot eyes. Gleaming silver dripping with scarlet sticks out from Calliope’s chest before Maia swiftly dislodges it, kicking Calliope to the ground.

Samira takes the opportunity to strike Eves - their head hits the grass just as Calliope does. A heavy boot pins Eves’ head down. Eves cannot stop screaming Calliope’s name, extending a mangled, jeweled hand towards her choking body.

“You’re to do intensive training tomorrow morning, Maia,” Samira’s voice booms from above.

“That was far too sloppy.”

—-

I will not add the tag list because this is just, like, so far removed from the story as I’ve painted it right now; instead I shall allow the winds of the algorithm to bring this to whoever shall see it. but I will tag @space-writes because your reblog comment made my day :)

#blackflame #blackflame oc: samira #writeblr

4 notes · View notes

thowawayuntilfurthernotice · 2 years

Text

So, I finally watched Velma.

Before I go any further I just want to make something clear, no I’m not defending this show against criticism, nor am I trying to convince you that it’s some sort of hidden gem. I’ve watched all the episodes that have been released at the time of writing, and in all honesty, I think Velma is pretty mediocre.

Not good, but nowhere near as bad as people are making it out to be. So, if you just wanted my honest thoughts about Velma, there you go, you can stop reading now, go back to whatever it is you’re currently doing. As for everyone else, get comfy, because this is gonna be a long post.

I wanna get the positives out of the way first, I genuinely like the show’s artstyle, in an era where every single “adult” cartoon has to look like Rick & Morty, this show stands out from the rest by having its own unique artstyle, that being said, Norville does look weird whenever he’s facing forward. But that’s a minor nitpick.

Kinda wish the quality of the animation was a bit better though, but it’s an animated show made specifically for streaming, so the animation quality was always gonna be so-so.

As for the characters, I didn’t find them as unlikable or annoying as other people did - mostly because I never really had that much of a personal attachment to the Scooby gang to begin with - though if I had to pick a favorite I’d have to go with Norville, I find that his optimism and general good nature is a breath of fresh air, as I’m so sick of every modern adult animated series having every character be an unlikable asshole or a complete dumbass.

Nevertheless I do agree that the “Look at how much of a loser Fred is!” jokes got old real quick, and I’m saying this as someone who doesn’t even like Fred. But those jokes weren’t bad enough to make me want to quit watching.

As for the other jokes, they’re super hit and miss, I do feel like if the first two episodes just toned down the raunchy/”meta” jokes then the backlash wouldn’t have been so bad, because there were some jokes that made me chuckle, like Brenda’s funeral, Norville’s hair brained schemes to win Velma over, the school fighting tournament name being too long etc. But sadly, those types of jokes are few and far between.

Oh, and the hallucination sequences are pretty cool.

Now that we got the positives out the way, let’s talk about the negatives. I really don’t understand why this show needs a recap at the start of each episode. Did the showrunners think people were gonna watch the show out of order? Or did they do that because they were planning on airing the show on Adult Swim in the near future? Either way, it’s super annoying.

Also, I really hate how the show just awkwardly cuts to the end credits. I know Harley Quinn also did this, but it’s way more noticeable here. Almost like the end credits are trying to jump scare you to death.

But I think my biggest issue with the series as a whole is its obsession with trying to be as “meta” as possible, it really got on my nerves, to the point where I legit wanted to yell out “I get it! You’re self aware.”

Thing is, I don’t mind meta humor. Archer and American Dad are two great examples of how to properly implement meta humor into a sitcom narrative, but what makes those two shows work is that they’re not trying to impress the audience by showing how smart they are.

Simply having the characters point out tired old cliches and tropes isn’t clever, it’s taking the easy way out. I honestly wouldn’t have minded this as much if Velma was the only character who was making “meta” references, but every single character does this. To the point where I was expecting someone to look directly at the camera and say “Are these self aware meta jokes doing anything for you?”

Look, I get it, the reason why they’re doing this is because of Rick and Morty, a network executive most likely looked at the meta humor from that show and said “Do that for a Scooby Doo spin off aimed at adults.”

If the show would just tone down the “We’re so meta” gimmick and put more effort into fleshing its characters and story out, then I honestly think it could be pretty decent. But as of this writing, it just feels like it’s struggling to find its own identity.

Who knows, maybe the writing will get better down the line, but as of right now it’s a mess.

Alright, time to talk about the “controversy” surrounding this show - because that’s all anyone wants to talk about - so here goes……

I don’t give a shit about any of this culture war nonsense, nor do I give a shit about these Twitter threads over analyzing every single joke, and I certainly don’t give a shit about Mindy Kaling or her political views, so why am I bringing any of this up? Because the discourse is annoying.

It’s okay to just admit that you don’t like the show, or that you think it’s “cringe” or whatever, but all this discourse has become unbearable. You cannot go anywhere online without running into someone complaining about the show. It’s Ghostbusters 2016 all over again, and I’m just so tired.

I’m tired of the internet latching onto a piece of media and creating never ending discourse about said media, I’m tired of seeing people who genuinely liked working on shows/movies get bullied and harassed. And I’m just tired of people being unwilling to say “Wow, this looks like shit” and moving on with their lives.

Yes, no media should be immune to criticism, but going out of your way to ruin someone’s livelihood because they created or worked on something you hated just makes you an asshole who deserves no sympathy.

#Velma #Velma The Series #Scooby Doo #The Discourse #I can already tell I'm gonna get shit for this

6 notes · View notes

sonicfrontiers · 4 years

Text

(doctor sex voice) doctor sex

#lin.txt #streamers #rtvs #real ones know.#anyway haven’t been able to stop thinking abt the fuckinf mayhem that is wayne and friends’ streams recently #they’re so fucking good. and i LOVE the community involvement like dierobots and doctor sex #they’re unlike any streams i’ve watched before #they make me very happy :) and i’m glad i started watching them

1 note · View note

battinscn · 2 years

Text

HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS AS TWITCH STREAMERS

CHARACTERS: muggle! modern au! theodore/draco/cedric x f! reader

CONTENT WARNINGS: just me and my inability to write a fic without profanity

A/N: this is definitely a self indulgent headcanon to soothe my big q soul. anyway, i may start posting headcanons since they’re a much more casual type of imagine rather than a full fanfic

read cedric/ theodore/ draco fics here

return to the headcanon masterlist here

THEODORE

- he’s most definitely a clubs streamer

- and he’s the type to yell whenever he opens fifa packs on stream

- and he yells so loud

- god he yells so damn loud whenever he opens a stinky pack

- ‘FUCK’

- ‘SUCK YOUR MUM’

- ‘SHIT FUCK SHIT FUCK FUCK’

- his vocabulary of profanities span the same five words

- *throws the controller on the floor*

- “hey babe? could you go on amazon and get me a new controller?”

- “i just got you a new one last week?”

- “…i broke it”

- you obviously roll your eyes at him but hesitantly open amazon on your browser, “ps5 or xbox?”

- “xbox please and thank you”

- sometimes he’d be streaming at 2 in the morning and you’d be trying to sleep

- theodore would be cheering from scoring a goal when he’d get a whatsapp message from you

Whatsapp now

baby: shut the fuck up or you’re sleeping on the sofa tonight

- theodore would apologise to his viewers and then lower his voice, not wanting to risk having to deal with the wrath of a sleep deprived you

- ‘shit, sorry boys, the mrs is trynna sleep, i’ve gots to end stream soon’

DRACO

- now i’m going to be different with this one, and make you the streamer instead

- you’re sitting in your pink secret lab gaming chair, courtesy of your boyfriend of course, and doing a ‘just chatting stream’

- your viewers knew about draco, you having mentioned your boyfriend numerous times before, but none of them have seen what he looks like

bf face reveal, when?

- you thanked the user for the bits and read the question aloud.

- “sorry lads, no can do. big bossman draco’s got a proper job unlike your girl here, so he can’t show his face. but he’s really handsome!!! i promise you!” you chuckled.

- coincidentally, draco knocked on your door and you warned him that you were streaming before he let himself in

- your desk was adjacent to the door so draco could walk-in without being seen

- you muted your mic and looked up at draco

- “made dinner. it’s your favourite”

- he placed the plate in front of you, his hand and arm in view of your camera

- “ooh, yummy, thank you,” you cheesed, taking his hand and kissing the back of it before draco left your room, closing the door behind him, and letting you get back to streaming

did you see his watch??? bossman draco’s got Ps bro

just googled his watch and can confirm it’s worth more than my year’s rent

- “hey, i told you lot bossman draco’s a proper job.” you winked at the camera.

- “anyway, look what he made me! it’s cod and rice, everybody say thank you bossman draco.”

- chat erupted in echoes of ‘thank you’s

- “i don’t know if draco will ever do a face reveal but if you look him up he defo has a linkedin or something. just don’t be odd about it if you do, thank you!”

- draco had always been supportive of your twitch career, being your number one fan ever since your first twitch stream

- when you were starting out, and had no more than 100 viewers per stream, you would let self doubt eat you alive and worry that twitch streaming was not for you

- but of course bossman draco would never let you feel any little than amazing about yourself

- and so he would gift you 500 subs for absolutely no reason because money was expendable for that blonde donny

- all in all, you were grateful for your ceo boyfriend

CEDRIC

- oh our little minecraft player

- “chat! it’s valentine’s day soon and i’m gonna build her a giant heart and asking her to be my valentine!”

- chat erupts in awhs and whatnots while cedric grins happily

- he spends hours, and i mean hours, on the build

- “chat, you can’t tell y/n okay? it’s a surprise”

- of course chat promises to not reveal the surprise

- cedric had even muted the words ‘valentine’ and ‘y/n’ on your twitter account just so that if anyone did tweet about it, you wouldn’t see it in your timeline

- “hey y/n? come on my stream today?” cedric asked while you were having breakfast

- ‘yea, of course. what’s the occasion?’

- ‘chat says they miss you’

- cedric settled into his set up and pulled you to sit on his lap, pressing a button on his stream deck to change his starting soon banner to his intro

- ‘hi!’

- you waved to the camera and greeted the fans

- ‘chat, tell y/n how pretty she looks today’

- ‘thank you for the compliments! but i think my jumper’s really helping my look’

- you stood up so the viewers could see cedric’s mercy that you were wearing

- ‘where did you get that lovely jumper from y/n?’

- ‘cedplayz.shop.com’

- cedric placed you back into his lap as he opens mincraft and enters his world

- he put his hands over your eyes and only let go when the entire heart could be seen

- ‘awh ced’

- you’d squeeze him tightly in a hug and tell him that you’d love to be his valentine

- safe to say chat had clipped that and it was the only thing on cedric stan twitter for whole week

join my taglist here!

theodore tags: @lilytoyourjames @pattnscn @haroldpotterson @one-direction-harry-potter1 @harryjamespotterswife @fairydxll @xangel76 @grandnerdsheep-blog @eleventhboi @bluetreecloud20 @momoewn @snigdha-14 @chicchanelcigs @milkiangl @bubs-world @arianamalf0y

draco tags: @lilytoyourjames @pattnscn @haroldpotterson @itzjennieofficial @xangel76 @grandnerdsheep-blog @eleventhboi @cevans98 @jmj-1312 @gwlvr @bluetreecloud20 @momoewn @snigdha-14 @alldaysdreamers @cheesytangerine @bubs-world @arianamalf0y @deepnachochild

cedric tags: @lilytoyourjames @pattnscn @haroldpotterson @eleventhboi @cevans98 @momoewn @snigdha-14 @cheesytangerine @bubs-world

#theodore nott x reader #theo nott x reader #theo nott hc #headcanon #cedric diggory x reader #cedric x reader #cedric headcanon #cedric diggory headcanon #draco malfoy x reader #draco x reader #draco malfoy headcanon #draco malfoy hc #cedric diggory hc #theodore nott hc #draco hc #cedric hc #theodore nott headcanon

414 notes · View notes

outerbankies · 3 years

Text

new light part 4: underneath the moonlight — rafe cameron

new light series masterlist

summary: you and rafe meet the parents (properly) and go to midsummers together, but not everyone is as smitten with your relationship as you two are.

pairing: rafe x kook reader

warnings: drinking, swearing

a/n: say hello to a few characters (tw: ward) i have had yet to feature thus far �� more of y/n being besties with kelce (and topper this time—our fave obx himbo) there’s a lil drama in this part y’all... into the thick of it. thanks for all the feedback 💖not canon rafe

my writing

yeah if you give me just one night, to meet you underneath the moonlight

You’re startled awake by a loud knock on your bedroom door. You’re squished between 6 feet and 3 inches worth of boy and the pink wall your bed is pushed up against. Rafe always insisted on laying on your outer side, closest to the door of your bedroom. Which means you often woke up pressed into the wall, your neck sometimes aching from the awkward angle. Not to mention Wilbur always taking up the space at your feet, Rafe usually nudging him into your space so he could stretch out.

Rafe stirs also, making sleepy noises and stretching his legs where they hang off the end of your bed. He grumbles and smacks his lips together a few times, your hand instinctively coming to rub along his jaw. His eyes flutter open as the sun streams in through your window, illuminating the hint of golden stubble on his chin. You’d only slept over together a few times, since you were both staying with your parents for the summer, so it’s always nice to wake up with your boy in your bed.

Oh fuck. Your boy is in your bed.

Rafe's eyes widen at the same time as yours.

“Oh shit, we fell asleep?” he whispers, head whipping around your room.

“Fuck, you have to hide right now,” you whisper, stumbling through your thoughts sleepily.

Another knock sounds from the door.

You extract yourself from your spot between Rafe and the wall, his hands guiding you by your hips as you tumble over him.

“Just, fuck, just like—get under the covers or something. God, I hope it’s not my dad,” you whisper.

“Me too,” he says, slinking into the gap between your bed and the wall as best he can, covering his face with a pillow.

You check that he’s concealed enough, turning to open the door just the slightest bit. Dylan stands in the crack.

“We have brunch at the Club in an hour, mom wanted me to ask if you invited Rafe,” he peers around you, gaze moving to behind your shoulder. “Or I could just ask him myself. Sup, Rafe?”

“Shut the fuck up, Dyl,” you whisper-shout. “Where are mom and dad? Can he sneak out the back? And don’t lie to me, or I’ll tell them about Hilton Head.”

“God, calm down. Dad’s in the garage and mom’s getting ready. Just have him go now.”

“Thanks,” you say, all but slamming the door in his face. You turn around and press your back against the door, letting out a shaky breath.

The covers rustle, and Rafe springs out of your bed to gather his things while Wilbur watches him. He always starts pouting when he notices that Rafe is putting on his hat or shoes, signs that he’s about to leave.

“We are so dead.”

“You don’t think he’ll say anything, do you? I don’t think I can sit at brunch with your dad in an hour if he knows I slept in your bed last night.”

“Not if he’s smart,” you sigh. “Want me to walk you out?”

“No, I got it. Just keep Willy in here. I’ll text you when I make it out alive. If you don’t hear from me, just assume your father murdered me,” he jokes, leaning down to give you a kiss after he slips his shoes on. “See you back here in an hour?”

“Yes, please be early. And clean shaven.”

“Yes ma’am. And don’t insult me,” he mumbles against your lips.

“Nervous?”

“Not nearly as nervous as I will be if I get caught, sweetheart. Gotta go so I have time to shower—and shave. See you in a bit.”

He gives you one last kiss before he departs, and you move to the window with Wilbur to watch him slink across the backyard, arms crossed and a fond grin on your face. He turns and blows you one last kiss before he disappears around the side of your house.

—

“Y/n, can I speak to you for a second?”

Your dad’s voice comes from his study as you pass by, checking yourself over in the entryway mirror one more time. Rafe should be here any minute.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Come sit,” he says, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk. You feel the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Your dad only invited you to talk in his study if it was something serious. The last time he did was when he told you he was going to take away your Range Rover if you didn’t pull your Bs up to As your freshman year of college. You’ve had a 4.0 ever since.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes, everything’s fine. Just wanted to talk about the new boyfriend.”

“What about him?”

“I always knew of him while the two of you were growing up. But I talked to him a bit back during Dylan’s grad week.”

As an unruly teenager and the rightful heir to his father's business, everyone in the Outer Banks knew about Rafe and his antics. Good or bad. You could even recall your mom gossiping to your dad, words passed on from Rose, about some of his more... notable incidences.

“Y-yeah, he's...” you trail off, searching for the right words to describe Rafe these days.

“Seems like a good kid,” your dad supplies.

“What did you guys talk about?”

“Business, mostly. His future and whatnot.”

“Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

“No, I just wonder... are you sure about this one? When you were kids, that boy was always causing trouble. And you know your mother and I were always so proud of how you stayed in line.”

“I know,” you sigh. “But Rafe’s not a boy anymore. Just give him a chance.”

“I will,” your dad says, slapping his knees to stand up. “But I'm also gonna give him a hard time.”

“Dad, please.”

“It’s my job. Your mom gets to freak out about Dylan moving out, and I get to handle scaring every man who gets to look at you.”

The doorbell rings.

“Please. I am literally begging.”

Your dad draws a fake halo around his head, and you just roll your eyes.

The morning gets off to an even more embarrassing start as soon as Rafe crosses the threshold into your house. Wilbur jumps into his arms immediately, all ninety pounds of him, and your mom’s eyes widen.

“My goodness, he’s usually so hesitant around strangers!”

Dylan chokes on a laugh, and if you weren’t across the room you’d have elbowed him in the ribs.

“Oh, I’ve walked Wilbur by Tanneyhill before.”

“Yeah, I-I love Willy. Mrs. Y/l/n, it’s so nice to see you again,” Rafe says, effortlessly following your lead after Wilbur scampers out of his hold. He shakes your mom’s hand politely. Your dad sidles up to her then, fixing Rafe with a stare harder than you’d prefer. “Mr. Y/l/n, you as well. Thanks again, to both of you, for inviting me.”

“Good to see you, Rafe,” your dad says, a strong hand clamping onto his shoulder. “Dylan, come say hi.”

Dylan’s grin is devilish, and you're just watching on in pure horror at this point. “How have you been, Rafe? Haven’t seen you in a while.”

—

Rafe’s grinning ear to ear, hand firm on your thigh, all of the windows in his truck rolled down. He even popped the sun roof, letting you blast your playlist all the way down the road.

“Okay—I just... did that go well?”

“You did great, Rafe.”

Despite Dylan's best efforts to embarrass you two, brunch had gone really well. Your dad took a second to let his guard down, unlike your mother who was immediately gushing over him. You could practically see the wheels in her head turning, the wedding colors she'd picked for you. And your dad came around quick enough once Rafe brought up Formula 1.

Your boyfriend looks so relieved, hand even coming to feel the air pass through his fingers as he hangs his arm out the window, hand on your thigh coming back up to steady the wheel. He taps on it excitedly.

“Lowkey, feel like I nailed it, baby.”

“Okay,” you giggle, leaning over to peck his check. You pull him in with a soft hand to the other side of his face. “Let’s not get too big for our britches.”

“Oh, I’m a parent-meeting expert now. Might go into consulting.”

“You’ve perfected the sport?” you joke.

“No, no. That’s—I’ve never actually met parents before,” he admits.

“No way?”

“Way? Have you?” he asks, slight edge seeping into his tone as he pulls up to the stoplight outside of your favorite coffee spot.

“Uh... once. We weren’t even really dating yet, but they came to visit and he like, ambushed me with them at dinner. They were kinda hippies, though.”

“Yeah?” His tone is clipped as he parks his truck.

“Yeah, some guy from my comparative literature class sophomore year,” you sigh. “But, you’re the first to meet my parents.”

“Mm,” he hums, fingers tapping on your knee. That satisfies him. He gathers one of your hands in his. “You coming in?”

“Will you just get me a latte? Kinda wanna call my mom and debrief.”

He laughs, kissing your knuckles. “I’ll give you a minute, sweetheart. Oat milk?”

—

Your original plans to meet the Camerons fell through, a last minute staging emergency arising when you were all supposed to go for dinner. You’d tried not to look down while Rafe attempted in earnest to cheer you up, telling you how pretty you looked while you took out your earrings and let your hair down. He'd kissed the crown of your hair and apologized profusely, promising they would love you when they finally got to meet you.

“M’not upset.”

“Okay.” His hand stroked your back through the thick cotton of one of his old water polo sweatshirts he’d let you borrow for the night.

“I’m just really nervous about meeting them. You might’ve set the bar a little too high with my parents.”

“You just have a great family.”

“I don’t know,” you said when you finally cracked a smile. “Made it pretty far on your first try.”

“Don’t worry. They’re going to love you, sweetheart.”

You let him kiss your cheek, your forehead, your nose and chin.

“Hope so.”

“Know so.”

And Rafe had somehow convinced your father to let you go to Midsummers with his family, promising to join up for pictures and greetings later. Your dad had willingly let him, to your surprise.

The event was a big deal to Figure 8 patriarchs and matriarchs alike, always trying to outdo the other in every way, all while feigning some sense of island camaraderie. But when Rafe had set aside time at brunch to specifically ask your family for their permission to accompany you to the event, they’d been hard pressed to say no. Your family immediately accepted Rafe as your boyfriend, any lingering hesitations about his character drowned out by the equal chances of your personal happiness and the heightening of their social and business profiles.

But he’d still come to your house to pick you up, ready to greet your parents in the foyer once again.

He takes one look at you in that blush pink dress, hair, makeup and jewelry all done up this time around, daisy flower crown in place, and flicks his eyes around his surroundings. Your father and Dylan were nowhere in sight, and your mother was busy fixing her earrings in the hall. He takes to your side immediately, a kiss to the side of your head followed by his lips pressing against your ear. “I’m fucking obsessed with you.”

With the high from those words, you ride in his truck to Midsummers, nerves never dissipating no matter how many reassurances he speaks across the summer air streaming in through the vehicle. “Remember, they’re gonna love you.”

He helps you down from his truck so you can focus on keeping your dress off the ground, assuring you for the fiftieth time that Rose is going to like your headpiece.

“Miss Y/l/n, how lovely to see you again you at last,” Ward sighs, sounding somewhat fond. “Rafe’s been talking my ear off about this, meeting you again even though we’ve already met. Sorry we couldn’t make it work earlier.”

“No worries, Mr. Cameron. Thank you so much for inviting me to tag along with your family at Midsummers. You as well, Mrs. Cameron. You look beautiful.”

“Thank you! And of course,” Rose says, bringing you in for a hug, one you definitely were not expecting.“You’re out in California, aren’t you?”

“Yes, home for the summer.”

“That’s a long way from here,” Ward says. His eyes flicker to Rafe. “Long way from Georgia. Shorter, but still a long way.”

“Dad, c’mon,” Rafe cuts in, and you can feel his hand gripping the back of your dress:

“He’s just stating the obvious, Rafe,” Rose intervenes.

“Yeah, it is far,” you agree. Rafe’s head whips around back to you.

“We’re figuring it out,” he says. To anyone else in the vicinity, he probably sounds confident and self assured. But you know Rafe, and you can look into his eyes and see that he’s not. That if he weren’t in front of his entire family, trying earnestly to impress his father, he’d have said: ‘we’re gonna figure it out, right?’

“I’m sure things will work out the way they’re meant to,” Ward says after a lapse in conversation. “One way or another.”

“Let’s get some photos so we can all enter and the two of you can run off,” Rose says immediately after, giving neither of you the time to say anything else.

You do your best to shake off Ward’s comment as the four of you join up with the Cameron daughters, plus Sarah’s boyfriend, John B. After posing for what felt like hours, the photographer asks you and John B to hop out so they can take some family pictures, the two of you swiping up a couple of Old Fashioneds from the bar. You have to assure Rafe twice that you’ll be okay for ten minutes on your own.

“First time meeting Ward?” Sarah’s boyfriend asks, leaned up against the bar like he owns the place.

“Er—of course not,” you say, like it’s obvious. But of course John B knew nothing about Figure 8 social circles. “Just the first time as Rafe’s girlfriend.”

“Yeah, you look nervous,” he admits, chuckling when your mouth drops open. “It’s not too obvious, I just know because—been in your shoes.”

You should be insulted that the teenager compares his and Sarah’s relationship with yours and Rafe’s, but you know he isn’t being malicious. You see nothing but kindness in his eyes. And it’s nice to have somewhat of a teammate in this situation, the two of you standing by while one of the most powerful families in Kildare poses together in their finest outfits.

Rafe looks hot in his grey suit, especially with the pocket square he’d agonized over for weeks before you gifted him one that was hand sewn from the extra material where your dress had been hemmed. Monogrammed, of course.

You’d decided to go with his initials, since it was going to him after all. But your stomach gets fluttery if you think about the expression on his face when he’d received it, telling you that you should’ve put yours on it instead. “That way everyone will know I’m yours.”

Turning back to John B, you can’t imagine how he must have felt the first time he was invited into all of this. It intimidated even you, and you’re pretty sure John B was friends with the boy who delivered your family’s groceries every week.

“Any tips?”

“You’re way better off than I was, first of all,” he laughs. “But he’s really only scary when it’s one-on-one. He cares too much about this appearance of a perfect family to make digs in front of an audience.”

You nod. “That’s actually really good advice, John B.”

“Don’t sound so surprised, kook.” He clinks his glass against yours, promptly throwing the entire drink back as you watch and laugh. “That’s another tip. Drink whenever you can.”

“I’m familiar with that one.”

It's intimidating entering the event, a little after everyone else has arrived. Rafe told you that was by design—the Camerons could never be earlier than fashionably late. You always assumed you and Rafe were raised with similar pedigrees, but you're barely through the doors of the event before you realize that's not entirely true. Up until the last millisecond, Rose is fussing with Sarah and Wheezie's gowns, the older daughter making eye contact with you and rolling her eyes at her step-mother's antics. And Ward brushes Rafe's shoulders off more times than you can count, straightening his bow tie for him repeatedly. Rafe just places his hand on your back, leaning down to whisper into your ear. “You ready?”

You smile up at him, but your nerves are firmly settled in at this point. What you reply isn’t completely true. “Of course.”

—

You take John B’s advice, of course, and choose Kelce as your designated drinking buddy for the night. He was hard to keep up with, but you threw your inhibitions to the wind after you got meeting the Camerons out of the way. Plus, Rafe had more business to attend to than he’d let on, and you were getting pretty bored. Not too long ago he would’ve been right beside the rest of you, causing trouble and borderline embarrassing all of your parents. It was weird to see him walking around, shaking hands and rubbing elbows. He’d invited you into a few conversations, you trying your hardest not to simply watch him in awe.

You’re engaged in some strange dance battle with Kelce when he stacks his drink into yours, both empties at this point. “Your turn to get a round.”

“Boo,” you sigh, throwing your head back. “What d’you want?”

“Surprise me.”

“Aye aye.”

You’re turning on a shaky high heel, and you have to give yourself a little mental pep talk to straighten up. Of course you can, though.

“What can I get you, miss?” the barkeep asks.

“Vodka press, Tito’s, and a Jack and coke. Double Jack. Actually—single. Thanks,” you murmur, trying to fish a ten out of your clutch.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got the tip for this one,” a voice says next to you. Ward Cameron is sidling up next to you, sliding a fifty across the counter. Your eyes widen at the tip, trying not to be embarrassed as the bartender sets the drinks down in front of you.

“Oh, thank you, Mr. Cameron.”

“Ah, call me Ward.” He flicks his eyes back to the bartender, who quickly pockets the tip and makes himself scarce to give the two of you some privacy. You can’t help but think of John B’s warning: ‘he’s really only scary when it’s one-on-one.’ There’s no point in even trying seek out Rafe, you knowing full well you’re expected to stay rooted to the spot until Ward dismisses you. “Having a good time?”

“Yeah,” you nod. “It’s always fun to come back out here for this.”

“So, California to Georgia,” he whistles. “That’s probably a five hour flight, at least.”

“Yeah, um,” you take a minute to make sure your flower crown is perfectly in place. “It’s actually two.”

“Excuse me?”

“Two flights. From his school to mine. Rafe checked, he said there’s nothing direct,” you clarify.

Ward let’s out an indifferent chuckle. “Of course he did.”

Your eyebrow furrows because you don’t know what to say, turning to look at where your drinks are starting to melt. Kelce would be wondering where you are by now if he wasn’t three sheets to the wind. And where the hell was Rafe?

“Y/n, as far as I can tell, you are a nice girl. I just need to make sure we’re on the same page about one thing.”

Your heartbeat that hadn’t really settled since Ward approached you is picking up again, and you really wish Rafe had been the least bit more concerned about where you were at this moment.

“Um, I-I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”

“I'm don’t know how serious you two are, Y/n, but I know my son. He's clearly very invested in pursuing you.”

Your resolve crumbles a little at that, your heart warming, thinking about Ward noticing something like that.

“But Rafe needs to be committed to finishing this degree so he can come home and start learning the ropes next year. And in four years, Sarah will do the same. Then Louisa after her.”

“Wow, that’s so lucky for you—that they all want to go into the family business,” you praise, not really knowing what else to say. It must be the wrong thing, because Ward just quirks an eyebrow.

“In this family, our business will always come first. Before anything and anyone else. Do you see what I’m getting at?”

You swallow, catching on to where this is going for the first time. You still go for playing dumb.

“Ward, I really don't think I understand.”

“But you do, don't you? You know Rafe. He’s a bit emotional, he’s a ‘feeler,’” Ward says sarcastically, putting it in air quotes. All of the niceties you experienced earlier when you first greeted Rafe’s family were long gone. You can only gather that it was all an act for Rafe’s benefit. But you know the only option is to sit there and take it. “He thinks with his heart, never enough with his head. Sarah, for example—when it’s time for her to cut that pogue lose, which it will be soon enough, I know she will. Whether it’s my decision or her’s. I can count on that, because she’s just like me in that respect; she knows we have to make sacrifices. But Rafe—I don’t think I can make that same assumption about him.”

“Ward, with all due respect, Rafe is really focused on the business.”

“You're correct, and I’ve worked hard to get him there. Which is why I can't have him spending his senior year of college, when he should be buckled down, traveling back and forth from California and getting distracted from his future by some girl.”

“Mr. Cameron, I would never—”

“You know that it’s true. I can tell you’re bright. You come from a great family.” It’s a compliment and an insult all at once. He likes you because of your father’s business and your mother’s social status, not because of what you do for Rafe, or what you have to show for yourself. He continues like it was nothing but the highest praise. “But right now, you are across the country from him, and I can bet he’s determined to make that work, no matter what it takes. Which I obviously can’t have,” Ward sighs. “It’s just not the right time. You can understand that, can't you?”

You nod numbly and pick up your drinks, hoping he’ll get the signal to wrap this up soon. You’re at the point where you can’t listen to this anymore, liquid courage re-flooding your veins.

“I’m not asking you to stay away from him, because you’re both adults,” Ward says, stopping you with a hand on your shoulder. “But I’m asking you to think long and hard about what’s best for the both of you. Rafe already knows what’s expected of him. He’s always known.”

You look back towards the crowd under the gazebo, able to make out John B of all people. He sees you talking to Ward, shooting you the most subtle thumbs up he can muster. He has no idea. You don’t take the chance to nod at him, turning back to the bar.

“Say the two of you let it go for the school year,” Ward bulldozes, taking a step closer to you. “And you end up back here too, great. But even then Rafe’s going to be working all the time, the longest hours he ever will in his life. For the next few years, Y/n. You’re so young—are you really going to tie yourself down to a commitment like that? What about your future?”

In a tone you hope comes across as confident, you say, “I really appreciate your concern, Ward.”

Ward's perfectly white teeth are pulling into an even more perfect grin, and the sight makes you sick.

“Great. I'm glad we had this talk.” He pats you on the back, leaving first before you get the chance to.

You just shuffle through the crowd numbly, not even reacting when someone steps on your toe, taking it all in stride as you seek the comfort of your friends once again.

You were foolish to think Ward would warm up to you immediately, or at all. You had been way too confident in yourself, especially after witnessing the wear working for his father had on Rafe. ‘He’s not an easy man to please.’ How could you be so naive, thinking you could coast by on your charm?

You’re a few feet away when you notice that Topper had joined up with Kelce again, as had your boyfriend. He’s joking with them, amused at the way Topper is clearly almost done tolerating Kelce’s drunken antics, but you stand and watch for a bit as he scans the crowd, gaze flickering toward the bar you’d just been at. You realize he’s looking for you when he finally spots you, his face relaxing as the two of you make eye contact.

“There you are.” He pulls you in close, kissing your forehead. You want to cry. “Where’d you run off to? One of those for me?”

He’s gesturing to the drinks you’re holding, reaching for the darker of the two. But Kelce is swooping in, snatching it out of your hold quickly. “Nope,” he pops the ‘p.’ “This one’s all mine. Sorry Cameron. Thanks Y/n/n.”

Rafe just rolls his eyes at the two of you, eyes lingering on your face when he notices your fallen expression. He sets your other drink down on the high top table you’re all standing next to, pulling you in by your hips. “You okay?”

If you had a choice right now, about how to proceed with telling or not telling Rafe about what had just happened, your instincts compel you to bypass the decision process altogether; you paint a careful smile on your face, shaking your head slightly. “Yeah, all good. Just zoned out for a sec.”

He isn’t convinced. “Tired?”

“Maybe a little. Kinda drunk. Are we leaving soon?” you ask, melting into him. It’s a lot easier to handle his tone of voice when you don’t have to look him directly in the eye.

“I vote yes,” Topper says, gesturing towards Kelce, who is somehow sucking down his new drink at an alarming pace while continuing to dance to the oldies tunes they play at these things. “Like, right now. Rafe, you’re hanging back right?”

You look back up at your boyfriend in confusion. “You’re not coming with us?”

He bite his lip in contemplation, looking around the party. The twinkly lights reflect off of his pupils, making him look starry-eyed as he surveys the crowd. A sea of opportunities to prove himself to his father. Rafe looks resolved when he turns back to you.

“Well... I was gonna stay, wrap up some stuff,” he explains. His eyes flicker across your face, still not pleased with your expression. “But that’s okay, I’m good to go now.”

“No, Rafe,” you say immediately. You take a deep breath, rolling back your shoulders and painting on a smile that comes easily with years of experience at parties like this. “Stay, I’ll go ahead. How long will you be?”

“An hour, tops. Will you take her?” Rafe looks hesitant, still taking your green light anyway, already slowly extracting himself from your hold, Topper rolling his eyes but nodding and beginning to corral Kelce toward the exit.

“I can’t believe you’re making me babysit two of them.”

“Don’t let her drink too much.”

“Hey,” you protest, pushing him in his chest half heartedly. The push barely does anything, only proving your impaired motor skills further. Or that you're dating a tree. “What are you, a cop?”

“I’m your boyfriend, actually.”

“Really? When did that happen?” you decide to play along, picking up your drink again.

“‘Bout a month ago, Y/l/n,” he says softly. He can see right through you, can tell you're putting on a show for all of your friends but you're still not okay. You have to break eye contact.

“Hmm, for some reason I thought you were just this guy from middle school.”

“At least this time nobody spilled on your dress,” he teases half-heartedly, and the memory only hurts you more. “Not sure I’d wanna sacrifice this one.”

“Can you—you guys are the worst. Focus. We need to go now, before Kelce gets his entire family blacklisted from the club. You coming or not, Y/n/n?” Topper begs.

You’re nodding, leaning up to give Rafe one last kiss before you leave. He holds you close to him with a firm hand on your back, voice dropping to a whisper right next to your ear. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

The lump in your throat is growing, but you push through, lowering yourself back down to your feet as soon as you can. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. Focus on the rest of your night.”

Rafe still looks unsure, his hand resting on the nape of your neck as he kisses your forehead. “Y/n—”

“We’ll talk about it later, okay?” you finally admit. Rafe nods curtly, can tell you’re not going to let him leave with you right now. But he doesn’t know why. He doesn’t know that if you pull him away from his responsibilities right after that talk you had with Ward, it’s going to spell disaster for the two of you.

“Just some business stuff, alright?” he assures you. “I’ll see you soon. Forty-five minutes.”

“Promise?” you murmur, fiddling with his pocket square. He smiles down at you, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

“Promise. You look so pretty. Half an hour. Now go.”

Topper’s guiding you towards the parking lot with a polite hand on your back, but you have to watch Rafe as you leave. You watch him approach his dad, who gives him a smile and a pat on the back. Rafe preens under his gaze.

But Ward must have been watching you two from afar because his gaze is flickering back to you, and he fixes you with a hard stare. He raises his eyebrows, bringing his drink to his lips. Taking a leisurely sip, hint of a smirk on his face. You can practically hear his thoughts: ‘Rafe chose to stay here with me, with the business, and sent you off with his friends.’ It’s everything in you to not let the tears that have been building on your waterline spill over. But your friend isn’t easily fooled.

“Y’alright, Y/n?” Topper says from beside you, trusting Kelce enough to walk on his own as you all near the parking lot. He moves to follow your gaze but you stop him, quickening your pace towards his gray Jeep. “Did something happen?”

“Ward Cameron happened.”

———

tags: @moniamaybank @downbytheouterbanks @littlementalpolaroids

#rafe cameron #rafe x y/n #rafe fic #rafe x reader #rafe x you #rafe cameron imagine #outer banks #outer banks imagine #outer banks fanfiction #outer banks fic #obx fanfiction #she writes

719 notes · View notes

k1ng0fn0b0dy · 3 years

Text

Phasmophobia ❤

He/Him Pronouns

1400+ Words

Description: You plays Phasmophobia for the first time with Scott, Wilbur, and Jack. Wilbur teaches you how to play and then something extra. (WilburxReader)

A/N: This was at the start of me writing so it's like the only one in third person.

[Rest of the story under the cut]

Y/N spins leisurely, waiting for their computer to boot up. They hadn't been ready to stream today but Scott DM'ed them a few minutes ago and Y/N couldn't say no to their favorite cousin.

Opening discord, they shot Scott a quick message and then pulled up twitch on their second monitor. Y/N smiled as chat spammed "hello y/n!" as the 1-minute timer slowly ticked down

"Hello everyone!" Y/N exclaimed happily, giving a quick wave to the camera. "Today we're going to be streaming Phasmophobia with Scott, Jack Manifold, and Wilbur Soot."

They couldn't help but giggle as their chat flew by with excited proclamations. As usual, their lovely fans started spamming "Y/N CLOUT" and "Y/N SUPREMACY" until it was all theycould see. Laughing, Y/N started reading out donos and thanking subs.

They were in the middle of thanking a 5 gifted sub when Scott made a private DM group and started a call. Quickly joining, Y/N and Scott started their usual greeting.

"Scott!"

"Y/N!"

"Scott!!"

"Y/N!!"

"Scott!!!"

"Y/N!!!"

"Wilbur," A deep voice joined in. A startled laugh leaves them, making Scott and Wilbur join in.

"Ayup fellas." Jack Manifold startles Y/N again, his voice louder than either of their friend's voices. It's impossible to keep a straight face as they devolve into just the word "ayup".

When Y/N finally manages to load into the game, their characters face to face with Wilbur's. "Hello, Wil."

"Hello, Y/N," he says back, not moving. They keep stock still, looking straight into the camera like they assume Wilbur's doing. Actually, they pull up his stream on mute and barely manage to hide a grin when they realize he is. Taking a quick glance at his chat, Y/N can't help but giggle.

"BLUSHBUR"

"AWW WILBY IS RED"

"BLUSHBUR"

"I still prefer chadbur"

Wilbur breaks out into a giggle too, brushing his hair away from his eyes. It's odd being in proximity chat, but it's still funny to hear the distant noise of Scott and Jack arguing.

"Are you going to move?"

"Are you?"

Rolling their eyes, Y/N smiles as they move over to Jack, who's trying to throw the basketball at Scott. They devolve into "ayup" again as soon as Wilbur starts trying to talk to Scott.

Y/N shoots their webcam a quick grin and move towards the whiteboard where Scott's checking his items. With a totally innocent voice, they start bringing up last week's family party. (don't worry, covid doesn't exist in these au's unless I say so

"So, baby cousin, have you been drinking recently?”

"Oh no," he groans, instantly realizing his mistake in inviting Y/N.

"I mean, last week you were absolutely hammered and so I'm just worried." They coo, amping up their innocent tone until it sounds like they're speaking to a child. "Come on, sugar pea, tell your older cousin all your darkest secrets that I totally won't use for blackmail."

"Are you blackmailing Scott, Y/T/N?" Wilbur surprises you, his deep voice highly amused but also right next to you. They spin your avatar around, face to face, again, with Wilbur's.

They click their tongue, sighing dramatically. "I suppose I was trying to blackmail him until you came over, Wilbur Soot."

Glancing over at his stream, Y/N spots him grin mischievously at the camera. With a heavy voice, he utters four words that turn them bright red."Was I too distracting?"

"You're such a dick." They laugh.

"That's Scott's cousin you're flirting with," Jack Manifold cuts in with a mocking jeer. Y/N gratefully exit the situation and start setting up their items instead.

They can practically hear the mock annoyance in Scott's voice when they go back to bothering him. He loves Y/N though, despite the teasing.

{...}

Y/N realized after they arrived at the house that they've never played the game before.

"Scott," They start, putting their head in their hands. "How do you play?"

"Do you not know how?" Wilbur said incredulously. Jack was picking up stuff off the carts, crouching down by pressing buttons Y/N didn't know.

Y/N flushed, running a hand through their (h/l) hair. Chat both pities them and bullies them, exactly like they knew chat would. "Well, I've never played before."

"That's fine," Scott said, picking up his own gear and walking out of the van. "Wilbur can teach you. Right, Wil?"

"Sure?"

Scott didn't hear because he was already making his way into the house.

Awkwardly, they started talking. "So-? Uh, how do you pick things up?"

"You press E," Wilbur chuckled. "G is to drop things. C is crouch, J is for Journal which you'll fill out with info on the ghost, flashlight should be T."

Nodding along, Y/N started picking up things from the shelf. "What do all these things do?"

"Some of them are obvious, like Thermometer. But others are easier to explain as we go. You should pick up a camera, crucifix, and flashlight. I'll take the EMF, a camera, and a spirit box."

Wilbur's explanations weren't too hard to follow. The two of you stuck together as they wandered the house. It was two stories with a basement and the darkness was only slightly terrifying.

"Victoria Gonzales," Wilbur called out. They were about to leave the room when their flashlights started flickering. Y/N's thermometer was picking up freezing temperatures even if the room seemed safe. Their flashlights were still flickering, so Wilbur and Y/N huddled into a corner together, silently waiting.

Quietly, Wilbur started whispering to Y/N. "We can probably leave the room, right?"

"Isn't it still hunting?" They whispered back. Wilbur rolled his eyes, "C'mon, don't you trust me?"

Silently, Y/N thought about it. They did.

"Fine."They sighed. "But if anything happens I will blame you.'"

Wilbur grinned, "Absolutely nothing will happen to you, dear."

Y/N grumbled as they silently followed after Wilbur's character, pink dust scattered across their face. The halls were dark, grey walls plain and boring but not any less terrifying.

And unlike what Wilbur said, Y/N died 30 seconds later. It was far too quick for them to register what was even happening before the demon's hand was clawing their face out and their body was flat on the ground.

Wilbur was next, the demon opening the doors to the closet they were hiding in and instantly killing him. They stalked away, leaving two corpses

"Wow, I never thought you'd be stupid enough to try and do this." Wilbur deflects instantly. Y/N sighs, sadly watching their corpse just lay there.

"Well, you're here with me, so that makes you stupid too."

Wilbur rolled his eyes, grinning softly. Y/N looks over, their eyes soft and shining. [Am I doing semi-realism in this now? Whatever, go with it]

Reaching out, Wilbur held their hand in his. It wasn't the smoothest, but the callouses were beautiful to him. He could die happy (if he wasn't already dead) just holding Y/N's hand.

"You did good," Wilbur murmered, closing the distance between them. Smiling, Y/N lifted their hands and caressed Wilburs cheek. It was gentle. Safe.

"So did you."

Pressing their foreheads together, Wilbur sighed softly. "You know, there's something I haven't taught you yet."

"That is?" Y/N grinned.

Wilbur closed the gap completely, pressing their lips together. It was quick and sweet, their noses bumped together but when Y/N tilted their head it all just fit. They chased one kiss after another, tasting the sweet mix of Wilbur's cherry gum and Y/N's bubblegum ring pop.

Wilbur leaned back, his hands placed on their waist tightly. "I guess that's one thing you don't need to learn."

They breathed heavily, still gazing into each other's eyes. Wilbur smiled and then the world flipped.

{《☆》}

"I got it right, it was a demon," Scott bragged over Jack's defeated guess of a Wraith. Wilbur blinked and his chat was going crazy, full of the same thing.

Y/NBUR

Y/NXWILBUR

KINDA GAY KINDA POG

KISS KISS FALL IN LOVE

"Shut up chat," Y/N said, Wilbur glanced up, grinning. Maybe his chat wasn't the only one being annoying

{《☆》}

[Okay, guys. So I started writing this off of the second phasmophobia stream Wilbur had and halfway through he went live with another phasmophobia stream and it was the best and worst timing because I couldn't focus but also *Wilbur my beloved*]

[-L0v3, k1ng]

#wilbur soot x reader #wilbur soot x male reader #wilbur soot x nonbinary reader #x reader #x male reader #wilbur soot #scott smajor #jack manifold #wilbur soot dsmp #wilbur dsmp #jack manifold dsmp #dsmp x male reader #dsmp x nonbinary reader #mcyt x male reader #mcyt x nonbinary reader #dream smp x male reader #dream smp x nonbinary reader

570 notes · View notes

skiller0dani · 4 years

Text

Sinful | Spencer Reid

M A S T E R L I S T Criminal Minds Masterlist

smut | sub!spencer x bau!reader requests info summary | when spencer decides to let the witness flirt with him, you decide to have some fun of your own with derek. it becomes obvious that it's a mistake.

this was sitting in my drafts unedited!! I'm still trying to finish up Amortentia part 2 & the Ethan AU. They'll be up I promise, until then.. enjoy Sub!Spencer! This is my first real stab at a dom reader so I hope I did okay. I've read fics about face slapping as a kink and I just wanna let you guys know that I am not comfortable writing that so I probably never will include that.

Also I hate saliva so I probably wont write about spitting either. Sorry lololol

thanks @imagining-in-the-margins for the inspiration! (was totally inspired by "messy lessons" if you guys haven't read it...you should!)

At first you doubted he knew what he was even doing.

At first.

Maybe he wasn't trying to get in her pants, and maybe he wasn't trying to lead her on. But he was still letting her shamelessly flirt with him. You'd been with the FBI for years and made the silly mistake of assuming that working in the same department as your boyfriend would make things easier on you. Being able to see him everyday is a definite plus, seeing him in danger every time you're in the field is definitely not a plus. Watching a busty blonde witness flirt with him is certainly not a plus, especially when he lets her throw herself into his chest. Supposedly "distraught" but you see the cheeky smile peeking at the corner of her lips.

You see the thing about Spencer that nobody except for you knows, is that deep down he's a very naughty boy. The little mischievous glint in his eyes when his eyes meet yours from across the interrogation room proved that. You were professional however, so you were forced to stand by and watch him comfort her. Bitch.

"C-Could you get me some water?" Her voice was shaky, you still didn't buy it.

"Sure, Doctor-"

"Agent Y/L/N if you wouldn't mind?" Spencer's much more dominating voice cut through yours. Your eyebrows flew up as you shared a millisecond stare down with him. You could see the playful look in his eyes, flashed by the brattiest smile you'd ever seen grace his lips. Your lips stretched in a tight smile before you nodded and turned out of the room.

When JJ joined you near the kitchenette she opened her mouth to say something, but once she'd noticed you white knuckle gripping the faucet handle she changed her mind. She continued with whatever she was doing, not looking at you. It was a tense few minutes until she turned out of the room. While everyone in the BAU knew you and Spencer were together, it was easy for them to forget seeing as you never acted as a couple at work. For obvious reasons. Only in moments of danger, like when Spencer's helicopter went down and there were panicked tears streaming down your cheeks did they remember that you were in fact, together.

Apparently your usually good boy seems to have forgotten who he belongs to as well. The sight you returned to left tendrils of anger licking at the pit of your stomach.

"Oh really, that is so cool! I'll bet you're so strong!" The witness had perked up considerably since you'd left the room. Her hand reached up to curl at his bicep, and he didn't stop her. What a brat. Spencer sat next to her rather than across from her at the table, presumably to console her. Spencer beamed at her praise, an action you did not miss.

"Yeah, actually FBI agents are required to pass a variety of physical exams to insure they're physically healthy enough to chase down an unsub if need be-"

"Here's your water." Your voice was tense and you had to resist the urge to "accidentally" spill the water on her as you set the glass down. You didn't meet Spencer's eye as he stood to follow you out of the room. You could see the naughty façade fading as soon as he'd left the room.

"Y/N?" His voice was soft and his big brown eyes wide when you turned to glance at him. Your heart melted at the sight of those sad puppy dog eyes but you're not going to give in when baby boy broke so many rules.

"Shush." Is all you say, your voice sharp. You're not going to hide the fact that you're mad at him. And you're going to stay mad at him, no matter how cute he is.

"Yes ma'am." Spencer mumbles as he follows you towards the room Hotch is waiting in with the whiteboard. You try your hardest to focus on whatever Hotch is saying but all you can think about is that stupid witness pressing her chest up against Spencer, and the fact that he was practically bathing in the attention she gave him. You hated the fact that Spencer was getting exactly what he wants, he lives for your punishments. In a way, punishing him was also rewarding him but it was rewarding for you too.

After vaguely remembering Hotch asking for Spencer, you watched him scramble forward. You don't miss the fact that he nearly stops to ask for your permission to do so, you have him trained so well. A smile quirks at the corner of your mouth and you almost feel like forgiving him until Hotch speaks again.

"Reid, I want you to take Allison Calloway home..." he lists off where the rest of you will go but at that point you're no longer listening. You hear Hotch pair your name with Derek, which sparks a wicked idea in your head. He's having Spencer take the witness home? Is the world punishing you? You see Spencer steal one nervous glance at you before rushing to get Allison. You tongue your cheek before reluctantly following Derek out of the precinct.

You and Derek were apparently instructed by Hotch to go investigate the second crime scene, where a young man with his hands missing was found earlier this morning. You peek at Derek out of the corner of your eye, Derek is one of your close friends and he knows more than he should about yours and Spencer's...extracurricular activities. He seems to be in a good mood today, and he's unlikely to think anything of it. He'll definitely tell Spencer about it, which is sort of what you're hoping for. While this is hardly the place for you to "come on" to Derek, you're willing to do it. Spencer needs a taste of his own medicine.

"Odd, that the unsub removes the hands but repositions the watch around the victims ankle." Derek muses, his hand coming up to scratch at the stubble on his chin. Luckily the officers sent to patrol the crime scene are nowhere nearby. You circle Derek, trying to formulate the perfect sentence in your mind. It can't be too much, but definitely enough for him to inform Spencer. Derek is used to more lewd phrases coming from yours and Penelope's mouth, so surprising him enough to tattle to your boyfriend will be a challenge.

It can't be anything that would hurt Spencer however.

Derek views Spencer as his little brother and would never hurt him, and you wouldn't want to hurt Spencer either this is all in good filthy fun. It has to be a little risky, but not so risky that Derek would prefer keeping it from Spencer to protect him. If its too much Derek will approach you directly about it which would be humiliating and would entirely miss the point. This is a very delicate operation.

"Oh Derek, have you been working out?" You decide to take the easy route, adding a dash of sultry to your tone.

"Occasionally." Derek doesn't turn his head towards you, you haven't quite captured his attention yet.

"Firm is a good look on you." You tease, you'll need to ease him into it because he's going to have the wind knocked out of him when you finally lay it on him.

"Easy girly, you're venturing into dangerous territory." You hear the lilt to his tone letting you know that he's joking. You need to push it further.

"No I'm serious," you need to tread very carefully. You don't want to ruin a friendship you still want to keep, "it's a really good look on you."

Derek turns to you then, an eyebrow raised as he watches you trail your eyes down his body. While Derek isn't a bad looking guy, he doesn't even come close to comparing to your beautiful boy. Spencer is easily the cutest and sexiest man you've ever had the privilege of standing in the same room with.

"What's with you?" He asks, keeping the smile on his face so he doesn't alert you that he's concerned. You're on the right track but if you leave it here Derek will let it go. You need to drop that mini bomb on him, just a little more. You trail a finger down his shoulder, towards his bicep.

"Nothing, just admiring the view. The big, strong, sexy, view. What I wouldn't give to have you in bed Derek Morgan." There's the bomb. Your words have an immediate effect over him. The half-lidded sultry look in your eyes is enough for him to raise his eyebrows in surprise. Usually he can tell if you're joking but now he really can't tell. He's speechless, which doesn't happen to Derek Morgan very often.

"Y/N..."

"Call me if you wanna take me up on my offer." You send a wink at him before turning to head towards the black SUV. That should be enough for him to tattle.

When you return to the precinct, you watch with pleased eyes as Derek immediately pulls Spencer into a side room. Derek briefly glances at you, and you send him a smile but do not receive on in return. You don't think anything of it, Derek will get over it eventually with an explanation. You watch carefully as Derek begins to speak and an unreadable expression crosses onto Spencer's face, you expect he's just absorbing what Derek is telling him. Any minute now that look will cross onto his face, those dark eyes that warn you that you've officially annoyed him.

Derek keeps speaking, you can see his lips moving. What are they talking about? It shouldn't be taking this long. You're too far away to really make out their faces, so you subtly sneak closer when Spencer's eyes flash to meet yours and you gasp. There is no anger on his face, no playful annoyance, instead you see pain. Hurt. Betrayal. Derek tries to reach out to grab Spencer but the door to that side room opens and Spencer comes rushing out of it. Not bothering a side glance at you as he makes his hasty exit.

"I was only kidding." You explain quickly as Derek emerges. He doesn't look amused.

"It was too far Y/N. He's crushed." Derek snaps, brushing past you. Immediately you turn and exit the precinct, quickly finding Spencer tucked away in a secluded corner. He's sitting against the building, his head tucked into his knees and the absolute worst part is the fact that he's softly crying. You kneel in front of him in an instant, although you're not sure what to even say.

"Oh baby boy, I was only kidding. I didn't mean it, I said it because you flirted with that blonde witness!" You explain in a hurry, trying to reach out to take him in your arms. Spencer resists, instead lifting his head to look at you. His eyes are glossy and red rimmed, "kidding?"

"Yes precious, I was kidding."

"But Derek is more...attractive then I am." Spencer whimpers softly. You reach forward to firmly grasp Spencer's chin, ensuring he looks at you.

"Spencer Walter Reid you look at me," You order, and hesitantly Spencer lifts his watery eyes to meet yours. "There is not a single person who is more attractive then you are, you are flawless."

"But deep down you want Derek-"

"I was kidding Spencer. I only want you, my good boy." You purr, and you see a shiver run down his spine. You lean forward to press your lips to his before your thumbs come up to swipe away your tears.

"I'm not a good boy, I don't deserve it." Spencer whimpers once you help him stand up. Even though you're looking up at him, it's still very clear that you're the one in charge. "I flirted with Allison."

"You're right, you haven't been very good have you? I'm sure you'll make it up to me in the hotel room." You smile pressing a kiss to his flushed cheek. He nods immediately, it warms your heart.

"I love you." Spencer whispers after he catches your hand as you're about to open the door. You press a kiss to his palm, "I love you precious."

You could feel the nerves rolling off of him when you opened the door to your shared hotel room. The door shut with a soft click as you kicked off your shoes. Spencer remained at the hotel room door curled in on himself and wringing his hands together. You have to hide the smile as you shed your jacket from your shoulders, beginning to reach for your jeans when you pause. You take a seat on the bed, watching Spencer eye you carefully from his spot by the door.

"Come here." There isn't a question in your tone, it's more of an order. An order Spencer hastily obeys as he scrambles to stand before you.

"Undress me." You instruct, and Spencer kneels immediately to grab at the hem of your shirt. He carefully lifts the fabric off your body and tosses it aside before reaching around your body to unclip your bra. "No touching baby boy, you were naughty remember?" You snapped, and you saw him turn his head down in shame before turning his attention towards your pants. He unbuttons your jeans and helps pull them down your legs. Spencer's breath gets caught in his throat when his eyes land on your clothed pussy.

"Like what you see precious? Maybe if you were a good boy and didn't let that woman run her hands all over you, maybe I'd let you touch." You purr watching the disdain in his eyes when he realizes what his punishment is going to be.

"Tell me the truth baby boy, did you let her touch you in the car?"

He nods, but that's not good enough for you. You reach down to roughly palm him through his slacks.

"I said did you let her touch you?" You punctuate every word with a gentle squeeze around his cock. Finally, Spencer seems to find his voice.

"Y-Yes!"

"Where? Show me where she marked what's mine." You hiss, not even attempting to disguise your frustration. Spencer lifts one hand to his chest and trails it down his stomach, dangerously close to the hem of his pants before thankfully he stops.

"You let her touch you, this close to your cock?" You snap, tearing your hand away from him.

"I-I'm sorry!" He stammers, his eyes wide and his hands resting on the tops of his thighs. Boy does he look pretty on his knees before you. Not pretty enough for mercy however. There's a pleading look in his eyes, and a desperation. A desperation to please you.

"Make it up to me." You snap and as soon as the words leave your lips, Spencer's fingers are curling around the waistband of your underwear and tearing them off your body.

"Y-Yes ma'am." You lean back on your elbows as Spencer lowers his head between your legs, his eyes flickering to yours briefly. With a nod of your head, Spencer is delving between your legs with the enthusiasm of sex deprived teenager. Your head tosses back immediately as you feel his tongue licking thick stripes over your entrance. He continues to lap at you, his tongue teasing your entrance before he returns to his heavy licking. You moan softly, your fingers digging into his curls and pulling his head closer.

"Just like that, you're being such a good boy." You praise through breathy moans, and Spencer can feel his chest swell with pride. He loves being your good boy. But he isn't your baby boy all the time, sometimes, with a bit of coaxing, he becomes daddy. Spencer reaches up to prod a finger at your entrance before he's sinking in knuckle deep, his mouth curling around your clit. Spencer pumps on finger, to stretch you a little before slowly working a second finger into your suffocatingly tight heat.

"Yes Spencer, don't stop." You beg, feeling yourself climbing closer to reaching the peak, especially when his tongue flicks expertly against your clit while his fingers pump steadily into you. "Oh God, my good boy-" You praise again, and this time Spencer moans against you. Your toes curl as the vibrations send a course of pleasure through you, you've got to make him do that again.

"Do you like being my good boy Spencer? My good, obedient boy. So eager to please me, to make me feel good. And you do, you make me feel so good because you're such a good, good, boy." Your heavy praise causes Spencer to release a low groan, and the feeling is enough to launch you over the edge. Spencer keeps pumping is fingers into you, his tongue swirling soft circles over your clit to help you through your orgasm. Once your body has stopped jerking, you finally pull him off you.

"I forgive you precious, but unfortunately I still have to punish you." You inform him as you pull him back up to his feet. You hear him whine as you push his chest to lay him back against the bed.

"Do you have to?"

"Are you talking back to me baby boy?"

"N-No!" He squeaks instantly, his cheeks painted red. You stand over him, laying beneath you and you can't fight the soft moan that escapes your lips upon seeing him. His hair is disheveled from you raking your fingers through his, his brown eyes are wide and innocent as he looks up at you, and his cheeks are dusted such a beautiful shade of pink.

"Take off your clothes precious, I want to see all of you." You instruct, and you love the shy look on his face as he reaches up to remove his shirt. You let your eyes shamelessly roam his body as he slowly exposes more skin to you. Despite having been together for a few years now, Spencer is still incredibly insecure. Deep down he's worried you'll grow tired of him. Worried that you'll seek out other men despite being with him. Spencer is worried he's not enough to keep you interested. Which is wildly untrue, it's already been over 3 years and if anything you become more interested as time goes on.

"So beautiful baby boy, your body is a work of art." You breathe under your breath. Spencer blushes even deeper then he was before as he nervously fidgets underneath. You swing your legs on either side of his waist, your palms on the bed next to his head. "Your punishment, precious boy," your hands drift to his that are resting on your hips, "is that you can't touch me." You finish, moving his hands to the bed.

Spencer's eyes widen as his head drops back. A whine escapes his lips, but like a good boy, he grasps tightly at the sheets. You reach between your bodies to grasp his cock, pressing the head against your entrance before you teasingly lower onto him. Spencer's eyes squeeze shut at the feeling of your velvety walls around him- it's almost too much for the poor boy. It doesn't help that it's been a few weeks since you two last had sex, meaning you're tighter then you normally are. In fact you're so tight that Spencer can't even breathe properly while he's stretching you open.

"Oh baby boy, you feel absolutely wonderful. Your cock stretches me open so good." You purr, your hands landing on his chest for leverage so you can bounce on him faster. Spencer whimpers softly, the feeling is overwhelming, you can tell he's struggling to contain himself. Your hair drifts down your back when you throw your head back, his cock hitting places deep inside you.

"Getting close," You moan and Spencer knows that's his cue to reach down and begin rubbing circles over your clit. As soon as his thumb makes contact you're moaning loudly, your free hand digging into his hair to hold onto tightly. "Yes Spencer, yes." The phrase becomes a chant you repeat in your head over and over again. Spencer continues to rub you, desperate to help you find your release. When you slam down on him again, his cock hits the place deep inside you that makes your toes curl. You cum instantaneously, your body nearly falling top of Spencer's from the sheer force of it. Spencer's arms come up to steady you, offering shallow thrusts into you to chase his own release.

"Y/N...c-can I?" His voice is wrought, and you smile weakly.

"Yes precious, you can cum." As soon as you give him permission, he's cumming in hot gushes into you, his face buried in your neck. You run your hand down his back as his heart rate slows back to normal, and Spencer's arms stay curled around your waist.

"Spence?"

"Hm?" You can hear the lazy drawl in his voice that lets you know he's getting very sleepy.

"Don't ever break my rules again, or your punishment will be much worse."

"Yes ma'am." You press a kiss to his lips before pulling off him, and curling yourself into his side.

#spencer reid #spencer reid smut #spencer x y/n #criminal minds #bau #sub!spencer #dom!reader #criminal minds smut #mdlb relationship

617 notes · View notes

samuel-de-champagne-problems · 3 years

Text

It's Delicate: PART I

CHAPTER MASTERLIST

Summary: Spencer Reid finds himself at a gas station at 2:00 am, thinking he’s only leaving with a cup of crappy coffee. But something taped to the door catches his eye. Spencer leaves the gas station with more than he intended: the chance at a friend, and maybe something more along the way.

Word Count: 2.8 K

Content Warnings: Mention of NA meeting, some case talk, mild language

Author's Note: This is my first chapter fic! I've only written one shots before, so bear with me. I truly do appreciate all reblogs, likes, and comments. Thank you!!

It's Delicate

Spencer doesn’t really care for gas station coffee, but at 2:00 am it’s the only thing that’s open. He pulls into the parking spot and turns off his Volvo. The check engine light is on, he needs to get into a mechanic, but between his NA meetings and work, it’s difficult to even catch his breath.

So that’s what Spencer does. In the middle of the gas station parking lot at 2:00 am, Spencer sits in his blue Volvo and breathes. He takes deep breaths, the ones that he uses when he has to calm down victims when they’re rescued. It’s grounding, breathing like this he thinks. It’s the kind of breath that Spencer takes when his head is fuzzy from sleeplessness and the only thing that can keep his eyes from drooping is a steady stream of coffee.

He unbuckles his seat belt and gets out of his car. Shutting the door, Spencer surveys the rest of the parking lot. He sees a couple other cars in the lot, he supposes it’s the gas station attendants, but he feels his shoulders tense at the thought of trouble. The bell attached to the door rings as Spencer opens the door. It's a small convenience store, one that Spencer has been frequently at odd hours after the BAU’s jet lands. He’s grown to know the owner, Jeff, who for the past 4 years hasn’t been around all too often.

“I’ll take a regular coffee,” Spencer asks the young man behind the counter. He doesn’t say anything in return, but nods his head in understanding as Spencer hands him a $5 bill and tells him to keep the change.

“Night,” Spencer tells the man, who he’s never seen before, when he hands him his coffee. Again, the young man doesn’t answer. Spencer tries to salvage the awkward encounter by chalking up the man’s coldness by it being so late.

As Spencer pushes against the door with the sleeve covered part of his arm, a poster that’s eye level catches his eye. It’s one of those posters where you can rip off the phone number and contact the person. But instead of a 20-something looking for a roommate, it’s a book club advertisement.

Spencer, quickly for a normal person, but slowly for himself, reads over the sign. The book club is hosted at the local bookstore, Hooked on Books, that Spencer has always meant to check out. From what he can gather, the list of numbers are from people looking for what the poster refers to as “book buddies”. Spencer’s eyes scan the list. There aren't any names attached to the numbers, Spencer supposes that the idea behind that is so bias won’t come into play.

It almost seems like the perfect trap: rip off one of these little pieces of paper with a phone number and call that person with the intention of being their book buddy. It’s something that Spencer knows deep in his bones he’s meant to avoid. But it’s like there’s an invisible string pulling at him to rip the third piece of paper from the group and stuff it carefully into the safety of his wallet.

It’s been five days since Spencer visited the cold man at the gas station and took the number from the poster. In those five days, Spencer slept for two and was back on plane to the middle of Montana for the next three.

After a long day in the sun, Spencer relishes in the cold water from the hotel shower. Even though he had to crouch slightly, Spencer still appreciated the way the chilly water seems to wash him anew. He never sleeps well when the team is on a case, it’s like his mind can’t rest. Well, his mind can never really rest, since it’s technically always growing and changing, especially during sleep.

Spencer’s thoughts travel from his messed up circadian rhythm to the piece of paper that burns a hole in his wallet. He steps out of the shower and dresses in his pajamas. It’s cold in the hotel run, as JJ likes to sleep in the coldest temperature humanly possible. Spencer knows that she finds the weight of blankets comforting. He makes a mental note to put some of his pillows on JJ’s bed, so she can pretend it’s her boys and Will in the bed with her. Spencer can’t help but wonder what’s like to have a child or a partner that misses you. It must be so bittersweet: the promise of coming home, but the threat of having to leave them all behind at moments notice.

Letting his hair air dry, Spencer unlocks the door and enters his and JJ’s hotel room. Out of the whole team, Spencer likes sharing with JJ the best. She’s the most organized and usually, they’ll spend the night on FaceTime with the boys and Will watching a movie, depending on the time.

“You’re all good, JJ. Thanks for letting me get in first,” Spencer says, flopping down on his bed. He shuts off his light, essentially telling JJ that he doesn’t want to talk about the case, or Henry, or anything really.

“Good night, Spence,” JJ says, before shutting off the rest of the lights and heading into the bathroom.

For a couple of minutes, Spencer lays in the all consuming dark. He tries the breathing exercise that’s scientifically proven to make you fall asleep. He counts, one, two, three, four breaths in and holds for one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and let's go for one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

He tries it for a couple of rounds, but suspects thinking about numbers makes him think about the phone number. Spencer can’t exactly pinpoint why he’s nervous to reach out to the number. Maybe it’s his constant fear of judgement or fear of not being enough, he can’t tell.

Knowing that sleep is probably not coming anytime soon, Spencer rolls on his side so he faces the window overlooking the hotel parking lot. He can’t stop thinking about the case. The way the victim’s mother and father walk around the precinct with a lifeless look in their eyes, staying villgiant no matter how many times JJ tells them to go home and rest.

Spencer doesn’t want to think about the case, so his mind flits to another subject: Hooked on Books Book Buddies. He can’t really pinpoint why he didn’t reach out to his book buddy. But laying there in the bed, Spencer feels strongly compelled to do anything to get his mind off the case, so he climbs out of bed to reach for his phone.

It’s tucked away neatly in his go bag, unlike JJ, Spencer doesn’t have anyone that’s waiting for him at home. Sure he has his mother, but if she needed him, the home would wait until 8 am to call Spencer. He unlocks it and the blue light illuminates the room. Somehow, Garcia had convinced him to get an updated phone. Spencer hardly uses it, but does appreciate being able to get pictures of JJ’s boys and his mother.

He memorized the number in the ten seconds or so it took him to rip the little slip of paper from the poster and put it away in his wallet. Spencer punches the numbers into a new contact, but hesitates when he’s prompted to give a name. He doesn’t know the first thing about this person. Seriously, this is like FBI 101 on the do not listen, he thinks.

Spencer pushes the thoughts of serial killers, for what feels like the first time in ten years, from his mind when he hits the button to message his mysterious book buddy. He types out a message a couple of times, but ends up deleting them because he sounds so incredibly stupid.

Spencer: Hello. I do apologize for my late message. I work odd hours, but I came across your number at the gas station on the corner of Richmond Street and Connor Avenue in Woodbridge. If you are interested, perhaps we can have a conversation about Hooked on Books’ Book Club?

Spencer, realizing that the message he wrote is going to be as good as it gets, hits the little arrow for “send”. He watches as his message turns blue and the little gray delivered pops up. He doesn’t expect the person to send a message back yet. He’s all the way in Montana and they’re in Woodbridge, Virginia, presumably. If it’s 2:30 am in Montana, it’s 4:30 back at home. That’s a little too late for someone with a normal 9 to 5 to be up for work and a little too late for a person that’s joining a book club to haven’t gone to sleep yet.

Don’t profile them, Spencer.

“What’s got you glued to the phone, Reid?” JJ says, with a smirk as she walks out from the bathroom and climbs into her bed. She came in so quietly, or rather, Spencer was staring so intensely at his phone that he didn’t realize.

“Something with my mother, JJ,” he lies, and he doesn’t even know what he can’t tell her the truth.

“Okay, Spence. I just want to make sure you’re all good,” JJ says quietly, her back must be facing Spencer because her voice is muffled a little bit.

“Thanks, JJ, uh good night, now,” Spencer says, effectively ending the conversation.

JJ doesn’t say anything after that, perhaps she just understands that Spencer doesn’t want to talk. Spencer rests flat on his back and tries a couple more rounds of the breathing exercise, but nothing seems to make his brain shut off. Despite the way his eyelids droop and the way it’s almost painful to continue to think, Spencer can’t seem to fall asleep.

He thinks about his Book Buddy, whoever they might be. Spencer hopes that they are around his age. He can’t remember a time that he had a friend his age that wasn’t through work. He has people. JJ is the closest thing to a sister that he’ll ever get and he knows that Derek loves him like a brother, despite his teasing. Emily and Penelope are Spencer’s rock. And then there’s Tara, Matt, and Luke, though Spencer has really gotten a chance to know them all too well, he knows that they’re a team.

But Spencer has always dreamt of having a friend. As a little kid, he used to make up imaginary friends that would listen to his science facts and perform chemistry experiments from him. When he got to high school, his dreams were occupied by someone who’d reach for his hand after he’d been beaten down or strung to a football post. Sure he had Ethan, but that was something charged and electric that left Spencer longing for someone again.

Spencer hadn’t had dreams about a friend in a long time, but tonight he dreamt of coffee and books in a small café and a faceless stranger that would listen to him and laugh with him.

Even though he fell asleep relatively shortly after thinking about his Book Buddy, Spencer did not feel well rested. He turns around in his bed and notices that JJ’s bed is already neatly made. The bathroom is empty, so Spencer reckons that JJ and Emily must already be at the police station.

He wants to savor the last couple of minutes in bed, maybe chase a dream or two of strangers swapping books and making memories over expensive coffee and scones. But reality calls him back home. Spencer checks his phones for work updates (and maybe a message or two from his Book Buddy), but the only notifications on his phone is a Forbes article and a couple emails from Georgetown.

Spencer, heading to the bathroom, gets interrupted by a loud and persistent knock on his hotel room door. He opens the door, revealing an equally tired looking Luke. He waves Spencer good morning before slumping down in the desk chair in the corner of the hotel room.

“I’ve been sent by JJ to get you, she thinks you’re acting weird,” Luke says, expecting Spencer to explain himself.

Awkwardly, Spencer makes something in between a grimace and a frown. He rolls his eyes, but plays along with what he thinks Luke’s little game.

“Well I’m always weird, it would be weird if I wasn’t being weird,” Spencer says, heading into the bathroom with a pile of work clothes. He shuts the door, both literally on Luke and metaphorically on their conversation.

In the bathroom, Spencer dresses out of his pajamas and into a pair of well worn pants and a light purple button up. He forgot his contacts at his apartment, but luckily had a back up pair of glasses in his go bag. Spencer, looking in the mirror, never particularly carried for the reflection that looks back at him. It always seems like his hair is too messy, or his collar is all twisted, or his eyebags are too prominent.

At least the glasses can kind of cover up his eye bags, Spencer thinks as he shuts off the light and closes the bathroom door behind him. Luke, who still is slouched in the chair, looks at his phone.

“Waiting for Penelope to send you a picture of Sergio or something?” Spencer asks, the snark in his voice isn’t missed by Luke.

“You’re one to talk, JJ was telling me how you’re being kind of secretive for the last couple of weeks,” Luke counters.

“Yeah, that’s my work mandated therapist, Luke. You know from the time I was in jail,” Spencer shoots back a little harder than he intended. The look that Luke gives him is something akin to a hurt puppy and Spencer can’t help but feel a little bad for snapping at Luke’s teasing.

“Sorry, man,” Luke says, putting a hand on Spencer’s shoulder, “I get it, and you know I’m here for you, Reid. We might not be as close as you and Penny or you and JJ, but I’m here to listen to you,” Luke says, his hand on Spencer, who’s usually so hesitant to touch, is something Spencer never thought he would find comforting.

“Thank you,” is all Spencer can manage and somehow, Luke just gets it. They walk quietly to the parking lot where the SUVs are. The silence continues as they drive to the police station.

It’s still early, only 7:13 am. Spencer can only hope that they catch the unsub in the next couple of hours, so they can file the paperwork and be on their way to Quantico by 8:00 pm. Luke’s steady driving threatens to lull Spencer to sleep. His quiet presence, however, is interrupted with a buzz. Luke’s eyes dart to his phone that navigates them to the police station. He refuses to take direction from Spencer, who has a habit of being a terrible co-pilot.

“Check that for me,” Luke says, “it’s probably Penelope,”

Spencer raises his eyebrows and attempts to suppress a smirk at Luke’s blatant transparency.

“You know with updates about the case and whatnot,” Luke says, brushing Spencer’s teasing off and putting his attention back to the road.

“It’s not Garcia and for what it’s worth, Luke, I don’t see how she’d say no,” Spencer offers, genuinely wanting to see his two friends, who are so perfect for each other it’s almost ridiculous, get together.

Luke shuffles in his seat uncomfortably and pulls into the station. He shoots Spencer a lot, as if to say drop it. The last thing Luke wants is Tara and Matt to get wind of his excitement at Penelope texting him.

Spencer, who’s phone lights up alerting him that he has an unread message, feels a sudden surge in his heart. He’s so used to only getting messages from JJ about the cases or pictures of her boys, that a text not related to his work or his family leaves a smile to his face.

Spencer tries to not profile the message, but to just read it like a normal friend would.

Book Buddy (Y/N): Hey there😊! I can’t believe someone actually grabbed my number...I’m glad you’re interested in this. I’m Y/N and I don’t think you mentioned your name, I don’t make it a habit to meet up with strangers before not knowing their name.

Reading the message twice to make sure he can recite without any hesitation, Spencer’s face falls as he realizes that he forgot to tell them his own name. How could you be so clueless, Spencer, he thinks.

Quickly, because he knows that the rest of the team is waiting inside the police station, that is like a portal to the past, Spencer types out another message.

Spencer: My name is Spencer.

Spencer: I tend to be away for work quite often, so I do apologize for the late message. And for hiding my identity-- not that that was on purpose. Is it okay if we plan something when I get back to Virginia?

Spencer doesn’t expect a message right away, but he can tell that there’s going to be something Pavlovian about the way that little swoosh sound makes his fingers reach for his phone.

Thank You!! I love and appreciate all and every comments, likes, and reblogs. I love knowing what you think!!

--Taglist--

@shemarmooresfedora

@april-14-blog

@willowrose99

@calm-and-doctor

@spideygenius

@nomajdetective

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x reader fluff #dr spencer reid #spencer reid x fem!reader #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds fic #criminal minds #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid smut #spencer reid x you #spencer reid imagine #criminal minds reader #spencer reid x yn

168 notes · View notes

amjustagirl · 4 years

Text

Chapters: one. ~ two. ~ three. ~ four. ~ five. ~ six. ~ seven. ~ eight.

Word Count: 2.3k

Summary: Being with Miya Atsumu is like chasing a storm - equal parts exhilaration and danger. After all, it’s impossible to tame a storm.

Notes: Multipart fic, slow burn. Updates to come soon (and dw, fic’s completed, so you won’t be left hanging ^^)

Masterlist here

AO3 Link here

‘You sure you want the job?’ Miya Osamu asks her when she turns up at his shop, application in hand, responding to the advertisement in Onigiri Miya’s window for part time staff - general help needed, ability to ride a scooter a plus point - it had read.

There are only fifteen seats in Onigiri Miya, and hardly any space for her to fit her backpack between her knees, but sunlight streams in invitingly from the glass shop front and there is a faint smell of grilled rice and fried fish that reminds her of weekly lunches at her grandparents’ home.

‘Yes’, she answers, gesturing with her thumb at her scooter parked outside the shop. ‘I think I’m a good fit for this job’. The corner of Miya Osamu’s mouth lifts ever so slightly, and he leans forward in his seat, hand extended to her.

‘Welcome to Onigiri Miya then’, he says before proceeding to brisk walk her through the ins and outs of the shop, the scope of her responsibilities, work schedule and (most importantly) her wage, leaving her head spinning at the end of the impromptu briefing. Miya Osamu seems passionate about his craft, his face brightening up with enthusiasm when he talks her through the various onigiris he sells, the type of rice he buys (from a boutique rice farmer in Hyogo, apparently), and he’s generous enough to offer her a decent wage, more than what she could be making working in a combini.

She stands by her bike on the roadside, tilting her face to the setting sun. There is the faintest smell of rain in the air.

She soon falls into the rhythm of Onigiri Miya.

Osamu is strangely territorial over food preparation, so her tasks in the kitchen are mainly limited to washing rice (thrice in clean water, drained thoroughly) and doling out cups of tea and bowls of soup. When he finds out that she’s studying accountancy at Osaka University, he immediately places her in charge of the cash register (and later, in charge of their books). Her scooter comes in handy when he needs her to do urgent stock runs or deliveries to customers.

She learns the name of their regular customers - Abe-san, who only ever orders salmon onigiris with a side of pork bone soup. Kawasaki-san, who spends half her meal complaining about her aches and pains to a sympathetic Osamu. Mina-san, who turns up every day for breakfast after Osamu includes spam onigiri on his menu after he overhears that she misses her hometown of Okinawa.

Osamu calls her over at the end of her shift on a busy Saturday night. ‘I’ve a large order for an old customer of mine. D’you think you could help deliver it?’

There is a gleam in his eye that she does not quite like.

‘You sound like you’re sending me out to slaughter’ she comments half-jokingly, to which he responds with an amused shrug of his shoulder. She considers whether it’s bad form to throw her shoe at her boss’s head, but decides not to waste her time. So she shoulders the large sack of food, heading off on her scooter to a neat apartment building in a quiet neighbourhood.

Well – it would have been a quiet neighbourhood but for the music blasted from the top floor of her destination. She has to cover her ears the minute the elevator opens and wonders if their neighbours are deaf or dead because there is no way otherwise the apartment wouldn’t have copped a noise complaint. Grimacing at the tape over the doorbell, she knocks politely on the door.

There is no response.

She knocks once more, less politely this time, but still the door does not open. ‘Hello, your delivery is here!’ she calls firmly, slamming her fist down on the sturdy wooden door.

There is still no response.

She’s about to turn around when the door crashes open and a blonde head pops out. Her jaw falls open because standing before her is the spitting image of her boss that just sent her out with this order, albeit blonde and ever so slightly broader.

‘You’re not ‘Samu, but you’re pretty’, he leers, leaning against the doorway.

She’s tempted to deck him but she’s pretty sure that would mean losing her job. So reminding herself that all that’s standing between her and her bed is this delivery, she bites her tongue and extends the bag of food to him. ‘Your order, sir. Payment please.’

‘Didn’t ‘Samu mention that I don’t need to pay?’ The blonde Osamu replica tugs the bag of food towards him, frowning when she refuses to let go.

‘Not that I know of - and I can’t let you have your order unless you pay for it’, she answers firmly, foot against the door.

He straightens into his height in a thinly veiled attempt to intimidate her - and while he’s at least six foot of solid muscle from what she can see, it’s thanks to years of working in her father’s shop with men at least a full head taller and broader than her that she’s not afraid to tip her chin up at him with her widest, sharpest grin until he looks away to draw out a couple of thousand yen bills from his pocket, enough to cover the bill.

‘Fine, fine - tell ‘Samu he wins’, he grumbles, slamming the door in her face.

She waits until she’s back at her scooter and a good distance away from the apartment before she dials Osamu’s number.

‘What was that?’ she asks without preamble when he picks up.

‘What was what?’ Osamu answers, sounding uncharacteristically amused.

‘Don’t play cute with me! Did you just make me deliver food to your brother?’

‘My twin actually’, and he ignores her squawk of indignation. ’Did he pay up?’

‘What do you take me for - of course! I didn’t let go of the food until he did.’

‘Huh’, Osamu responds, sounding surprised. ‘That’s the first time he actually gave in’. And with that, he laughs merrily and hangs up on her.

She shrugs it off as one of her boss’s weird quirks.

Except it doesn’t stop as being a weird quirk but turns into an annoying habit.

Atsumu quickly becomes a regular customer (she learns during one of the twins’ many bickering sessions that he’s back in Osaka after several competitions), and Osamu latches on pretty fast that she’s far better than he is at forcing Atsumu to pay for the food he eats, so he sics her on Atsumu every time the blonde setter shows up at the shop for a meal.

‘Pay up’ she orders Atsumu for the fourth time this week. Her tone gives no berth for refusal so Atsumu reaches for his pockets even as he grumbles his complaints about ‘cowardly scrubs’ and ‘ crazy bitches’ at a grinning Osamu.

‘You should give me a raise for managing your brother’, she complains to Osamu later, and though he raises an eyebrow at her, to her surprise, he does exactly that.

Osamu proceeds to take advantage of said raise to send her to man their stand at MSBY’s first match of the season, armed with a few hundred onigiris. Business is brisk, but she finds her attention diverted by the sheer speed of the plays and the way the players all seem to have wings in their feet.

Atsumu in particular catches her eye. Osamu explained to her over a slow day at work about volleyball positions and basic plays, and he boasted about Atsumu’s talent as a setter, how ‘he always takes the best care of his spikers’. Watching him now, even to her untrained eye, she can see how much thought he puts into each of his plays - the way he tricks the blockers to let his spikers fly high above them, the quick side stepping of increasingly frustrated attackers, the dump shots at the most unexpected of times.

She’s impressed, though she doesn’t want to admit it - because Atsumu has the personality of a puddle of muddy rainwater, and she's fairly sure he'd never let her hear the end of it if he ever finds out.

So it isn’t surprising when she spots him being hassled by a large gaggle of his fan girls outside the sports hall. They’re hanging off his arms begging him for autographs - and probably something much less innocent from the way his eyes are bugging out of his head. It’s tempting to walk away from him – it’s not as if he’s been particularly nice to her after all, but a few of the more rabid fan girls seem to get a little too close for comfort and she figures even he doesn’t deserve that . Plus he probably can’t just shove them off because that might cause yet another PR debacle that she and Osamu have become accustomed seeing in the news, so she breathes a sigh through her nose, cursing her conscience.

‘Oi asshat, your ride’s here’, she shouts as loudly as she can, shouldering her way to the center of the crowd. His fan girls stare in stunned silence, but Atsumu catches on after she shoves her spare helmet into his chest, and grabbing her wrist for dear life, they sprint all the way to her scooter.

‘Don’t tell me you’ve never ridden before’, she snaps as he fiddles helplessly at his helmet.

‘Of course, I have, what d’you take me for, some scrub?’ he retorts when he manages to strap his it on to his head. Her scooter groans under his weight.

Yes - she itches to retort, because he’s clearly lying. He fights to keep upright as she loops her way through bends on the road and maintains a white knuckled grip on the back of his seat until she comes to a stop two streets away where his fan girls are unlikely to see him.

‘So, where to?’ she asks him as he wheezes, trying to catch his breath. ‘I could let you off here, or we could grab some food - your choice.’

‘Eh… Could we drop by 7-11?’ he chuckles sheepishly.

‘Really? You want me to take you to a combini when your brother literally owns a restaurant?’

‘I’m cravin’ an egg mayo sandwich, what’s wrong with that?!’ he yells as she revs off, and she laughs when he squeaks and clings on to her waist.

They end up at a combini anyway. Atsumu buys his egg mayo sandwich. And a bucket load of oden. And a bagful of karaage. And two pudding cups (singly packed, none of the triple cup kind for him thank you very much). At least he steers clear of the onigiri section, because Osamu might explode otherwise if he ever finds out.

‘You’re paying the fine if my bike gets impounded’ she tells him sourly.

‘Relax - it’ll be fine’, he waves his hand airily at her. ‘’Sides, what’s a girl like you doing with a bike?’

‘A girl like me?’ she echoes, tilting her head in confusion.

‘Y’know - kinda square and all? I assumed so, since ‘Samu mentioned you’re studying to be an accountant’, he clarifies through a mouthful of food.

‘Square?! ’ she mouths at him, outraged, and he grins unrepentantly back at her, crunching on karaage. She abandons her annoyance to scoot back to avoid the ensuing spray of crumbs.

‘Do you want me to answer seriously, or was that a rhetorical question, gross pig?’

‘Please, I’m always serious, darlin’, he drawls.

She steals a fishcake from him in retaliation and he tries to rap her knuckles with his sandwich. They only settle down when the combini staff glare at them mildly in reproof.

‘I’ve always wanted to ride a bike ‘cos it seemed like it allowed its rider to be free’, she says, shooting a fond look through the window at her own scooter, rusty and old it may be.

‘I mean it allows you to get from one place to another, what’s so special about that?’ he asks, cocking his head in confusion.

‘Mm…well, not just that. You see, when I was younger, I used to be so jealous of my older brothers getting to ride their motorbikes. They refused to let me borrow it, so I stole it one day when they weren’t looking and took off - but because I was so excited, I hit the thrusters so hard on the way up a hill that I ended up crashing on the way down. But right before I crashed, there was a moment when I was on the top of the world with the wind in my face - it was the first time I truly felt alive .’

She closes her eyes at the memory, her mouth lifting into a smile. ‘And that’s what I become addicted to - chasing that feeling of being completely unfettered from the world, like a bird in the sky.

He stares at her meditatively, as though she’s a puzzle he can’t quite solve.

‘What!’ she exclaims, the tips of her ears flushing pink, suddenly self-conscious.

‘Nothin’, darlin’. Just thought that you’re more interesting than I thought’. Ignoring her indignant ‘ what?!’ , he stands up, brushing the crumbs off his lap. ‘Shall we get goin’? It’s about to rain.’

The ride back to his apartment passes in a blur of streetlights and gathering rain clouds, but thankfully it’s not as unpleasant as it was before as Atsumu eases into his seat, moving with her when she drops into a bend, loosening his hands on her waist. Still, she suspects it’s all bravado, as he stumbles stiff legged off the bike when they reach his apartment.

But as to be expected from a seasoned athlete used to the spotlight, he manages to plaster on a grin, cocky and charming enough to make her blush.

‘Thanks for the ride’, he says. ‘I wouldn’t mind coming out again with you for a ride sometime’.

Then he smiles at her, and it’s soft, shorn of the sharp edges she’s used to seeing. It plants an unfamiliar seed of warmth in her core that survives her race home against the storm.

775 notes · View notes