#which gives me some time to give proper notice to my job and save up some money

[dragons-and-yellow-roses]

Yippee, might have a place to live, don't want to jinx it but if anyone wants to hope or pray for me I'll take it! Wanted to share cuz I'm excited!!

[hannieehaee]

TOO MUCH

18+ / mdi

summary: after a few weeks of constant overtime work slouching over a desk, you feel as if your back is about to give out on you. fortunately for you, your best friend seungcheol is a professional masseuse! unfortunately for you, you're unsure of how you'll keep your crush on your best friend at bay while on his massage bed, ass up and oiled up.

content: masseuse!seungcheol, friends to lovers, pining (act surprised), touch-starved reader, inexperienced reader, very uninformed view of what being a masseuse is like oops, afab reader, smut, fingering, oil is involved, oral (f receiving), penetrative sex, etc.

wc: 7.9k

a/n: as someone who's had horrible back pain ever since i was a child, this is based on mostly real events </3 also not 100% proofread

masterlist

support me through a one-time tip! <3

Your back was killing you.

It had been weeks since you'd gotten some proper rest, having made the terrible decision to take on some overtime at work, not knowing that your supervisor would get so used to the extra help she would continue to schedule you more hours week after week, thus destroying your back in the process. You knew that you could simply say no, but the extra money was helpful. You had wanted to start saving up a little more so you could finally move out of your shitty neighborhood, so the situation kind of worked out. The money would also go to paying your student loans, meaning you really couldn't miss this chance for an increase in income. It was kind of a win-win situation, except your poor back was the sole loser.

Your job didn't involve too much movement, no. It was mostly office work, which required you to sit on your hunched back for 10 hours per day, only allotting yourself for three quick 15-minute breaks and a 30 lunch break in which you would still be hunched over as you ate. You knew it was a bad habit, but sitting there for so many hours, you'd forget to sit up straight as you looked into the computer screen, and even if you fixed your posture while working, your back was just not built for standing still for such long periods of time. There was really no saving your back from its stiff fate at this point. These work hours also didn't allow you time to even work out or stretch in order to keep your body at least a little active and maybe prevent your pain a tiny bit.

Your best friend Seungcheol constantly scolded you over your bad posture. It wasn't like you actually had bad posture, okay? You weren't constantly hunched over, nor were you carrying all your weight on your shoulders. This was a recent development resulting directly from your increased work hours. But Seungcheol, being a masseuse, always noticed the slightest changes in your physique, claiming he could spot a sore back from a mile away, with yours being a very obvious case. He could notice your head standing a little lower, digging into your shoulders more and more as the days went by. He also took notice of your constant wincing and your futile attempts at rubbing your own shoulders whenever the soreness got too annoying.

He pitied you, really. He hated seeing you in pain. Being your best friend, he felt it as his duty to try and relieve it in any way he could. On top of having most of your free time being taken over by work, he hated to think that you were also in pain during the few hours you spent away from the office. He had communicated all these concerns to you over the past few weeks, trying to convince you to let him give you a massage in order to relieve the pain, but you'd consistently refused. He was unsure as to why, and being denied a proper reason made him want to keep on insisting until you finally allowed him to rid you of your discomfort.

"One massage won't fix my issues," you'd argued over and over again. To which he simply responded by saying he could just give you a standing appointment every week! He was very insistent on helping you, wanting to relieve you of at least some of the pain. But you were even more insistent in denying him. You were too busy to use up the little bit of free time you had going to the spa Seungcheol worked at. You also didn't think a massage would really be the ultimate solution, despite how badly your sore shoulders begged for relief. Yeah, sure, a massage might alleviate the pain for a bit, but it would simply come back after another week at the office. That, and the fact that the spa Seungcheol worked at was only open during your work hours, meaning you'd have to either haul ass over there during your thirty minute lunch, or take time off. Both were huge no's to you. There were just far too many reasons as to why not take him up on his offer, you argued both to him and yourself. But you knew these were simply excuses. Your main reason had been something you'd kept deep within yourself. You were starving for his touch, but scared of how your body would react to it.

You were generally an averagely touchy person with friends and family. Not overly touchy, but arguably an appropriate amount. It had only been a little over a year or so since you'd begun to feel a bit strange at the lack of intimate touch you'd experienced thus far in your life. While all your friends had experimented and had fun during college, you were a little shier and more reserved, rendering you a bit behind the rest of the herd in that area. It wasn't very noticeable to all. It wasn't like your friends were aware about how sexually frustrated you'd grown over the years due to your lack of experience, but you'd still tried to keep it a secret how unaccustomed you were to more intimate forms of physical touch. Even something as innocent as a massage from a friend. You'd be as touchy as any friend would expect, but still felt a slightly strange sensation when it came to any mention of more intimate activities. You'd somehow grown used to a lack of touch, despite being best friends with the touchiest person alive. You usually avoided being too physically affectionate with Seuncheol anyways, having harbored a small crush on him when you'd first met and wanting to avoid any of your emotions getting in the way of a friendship you treasured so much. You'd known that a massage from the man would be a huge nono, all things considered, which was where all your denials stemmed from.

You had been friends with Seungcheol since college. You had both shared a major, meaning that you kept bumping into each other day after day, attending almost all the same classes freshman year. You had taken a quick liking to each other, befriending one another almost immediately. Despite having had a crush on the man at first sight, you were content with the friendship that had blossomed instead. You'd even ended up joining Seungcheol's little friend group, being friends with most of them even to this day. This unexpected closeness during your first year led you to coordinate your schedules the following three years, thus seeing each other literally every day you were on campus. Even now, having recently graduated college, you were still best friends, meeting up constantly. Despite sharing a major, you both had ended up in drastically different places after college. You had gone for the corporate route while Seungcheol suddenly developed a passion for physical therapy, eventually becoming a massage therapist. At the time, however, he worked at a luxury spa downtown, being known as one of their best masseuses and singlehandedly earning the establishment an increase from a four-star rating to five stars just from the quality of his work alone.

You had visited Seungcheol's work before, quickly deciding it just wasn't your vibe. The place was nice and perfectly polished, but upon seeing a few of the masseuses' skills in action, you realized it'd be better for your friendship if you avoided such intimate contact with one another. Yes, you knew massages were not inherently intimate, but being oiled up and felt up by someone who was as close to you as Seungcheol just didn't ring like a good idea to you. It also didn't help that the massive crush you had on the man in college seemed to be resurfacing as of late. You believed to have gotten over it a few months into senior year, but you didn't want to risk reviving it under any circumstances.

However, despite your constant rejections, Seungcheol continued to beg you to let him take care of your problem, and denying him was something that pained both you and your back. So you now found yourself with two issues; back pain, and a very pouty Seungcheol.

"Fuck, my back is killing me," you repeated for the millionth time in the past five hours since you had woken up. You had intended to enjoy your rare day off, even waking up a little earlier than intended so you could make plans with your roommates, but your plans quickly died on you as soon as you woke up, body stiff as a rock and your soreness worse than ever.

"We get it! You're in pain. So go do something about it!", whined your friend Seungkwan in return, not even bothering to look at you from his phone, "It's bad enough I had to cancel my plans to stay here and take care of you. Just go get oiled up by Cheol and stop making this my problem!"

If there was anything Seungkwan was, it was direct. He was right. Your pain was getting out of hand. And the longer you waited, the worse it would get. Except he didn't know about your calamity to its full extent.

"Listen, I don't even have the money to afford his fancy spa. Have you been there? One day is worth a whole day's pay!"

"Please. It's Seungcheol. He'll get you in for free. Hell, he'll even pay you to go."

"I don't have time to go!", another excuse. A few more and Seungkwan might even begin to crack the code behind your insistent refusal.

He suddenly straightened up from his laid-back position, staring directly in your direction, "All the solutions are there. You're the problem. It's like you want to be in pain! I could literally call him up right now and he'd drop work to come help you. Just get the damn massage!"

This is how a lot of your conversations went lately. Well, the very few conversations you could have nowadays due to your heavy workload. You'd occasionally even have to bring work home even after having been there for half the day. Your eight hours of sleep a night were not even pleasurable anymore, as you felt stiff as a rock the moment you attempted to lay down. The only comfortable stance, ironically, was hunched over in front of a computer. It was like you'd frozen into that pose, feeling immeasurable pain any time you attempted to move any other way. You'd tried pilates, stretches, yoga. Nothing worked. Maybe Cheol's massage really was the only solution, but it'd been so long since you began denying him you now felt a little silly going back on your word. That, and your other obvious issues.

"I'll be fine, Kwan! Just leave. You don't have to take care of me, I just need to lay for a bit."

"You'll lay there all day, I know you. Your life's become a constant state of sleep and work. Maybe you should just quit," he suggested, seemingly moving on from the Cheol topic. Finally.

"Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how much debt I have to pay off? I don't wanna be paying this off for the rest of my life. I'd rather suffer for a few years now and just get it out of the way," you reasoned, although not sounding very reasonable even to yourself. What's the rush?, a voice in the back of your head would sometimes whisper, but you'd just ignore it.

"Fine," he tsk'd. "Rot in your own misery, I'm going out with Kyeom and Soonie. If I come back and you've morphed into a rock, don't say I didn't warn you," and with that, he announced his departure, going forward with the plans you had made with your friends before your back had gotten in the way.

You knew your friend was kidding, but the unbearable pain would sometimes have you wonder. Should you just go to Cheol? What was the worst that could happen of you just let him touch you? His touch would be purely platonic, you were sure of that. But you feared that it would rekindle your feelings even more, and maybe that your high-strung self would not be able to handle such touch from him without finally snapping.

You were weak. This wasn't much of a secret among your friend group, or anyone really. Which is why you now found yourself walking through the doors of Seungcheol's spa. You had spent about an hour rotting in your own misery, as Seungkwan had put it, before deciding to power through your pain and drive down to where you knew Seungcheol was currently working a shift. You hadn't called him, not wanting to give him the wrong impression. You weren't planning on booking a massage today, no. You couldn't have even if you wanted, knowing that the spa Seungcheol worked at was a bit renown in town and that their bookings went weeks back. You had just wanted to give it another try. Maybe visual learning would convince your stubborn self to accept Cheol's help for once.

You entered the establishment, already knowing exactly where to go to find out about Seungcheol's whereabouts. You walked to the receptionist, opening your mouth to ask for assistance before being rudely interrupted.

"Sorry. We're booked for the day. Our next open bookings begin in December. Try again then," the conversation had ended before it began, causing you to close your mouth right back up.

Once more, you opened your mouth to speak, maybe respond in equally passive aggressive tone as the girl had, but you were rudely interrupted once again, except this time it was by a warmer, more welcoming voice.

"Y/N? What are you doing here?", you could not see him from your angle, needing to turn around to face the source of the sound, but you could instantly hear the smile in his voice, clearly both happy and shocked to find you here of all people.

You turned around, now facing the boy. He was wearing his usual 'uniform', which really just consisted of some tight black slacks and a matching black short-sleeve top tucked into his pants. You'd forgotten how well his uniform fit him. It must've been one of the reasons why his massages were rated so high, you thought.

"Hey, Cheol ..." you smiled awkwardly, having been caught off guard by the man. You'd meant to surprise him, not the other way around.

"I wasn't expecting you. Did you call? Did you make an appointment?!", his eyes widened at the possibility, looking past you and at the receptionist as if to confirm his inquiry.

"No, Cheol. I told you I didn't want a massage. I came to see you, actually," well that was half true. You had wanted to see your friend in his element, maybe even convince yourself of finally taking him up on his offer. You had just wanted to see if you could handle that type of touch from your best friend considering your situation (re: a recovering case of touch starvation with a mixture of 'I might kind of maybe still have a bit of a crush on my bff').

To be completely honest, you were somewhat afraid. You'd hadn't felt any form of intimate touch in a long while or, well, ever. And to have it come from your best friend would only open up a can of worms you had wanted to keep under lock and key ever since meeting the man. Every excuse you'd given thus far to reject him bad been true, but had also been just that; an excuse. You knew that Seungcheol's treatment would help you lessen an issue that had now grown past your own personal ability to manage on your own. Which is why you were now here, willing to give it a try. You had self control, right? What was the worst that could happen if you let your best friend get his hands on you, your bare back as he rubbed it with oil? You'd deal with the logistics later, now you just wanted to see exactly what your friend was offering you.

"Me? What's up?", he had begun to walk you towards his rest area, away from the mean receptionist as he continued conversation with you.

"Well, I, uh, I was thinking about your offer ..."

"Really?! You wanna do it? I can clear up my schedule! Just let me talk to Stacy real quick and-"

"Cheol!", you had to physically hold him back from walking back to the reception to rearrange his day. He seemed way too excited to help you out.

"I haven't decided yet, Cheol. I was just thinking, well, wondering if it'd be okay for me to maybe shadow you for a while or something? Just to see what it'd be like?"

To any outsider you must've sounded like an idiot, somehow worrying over something that was arguably the most relaxing experience a person could possibly have. Ironically. What people didn't understand was the effect Seungcheol could have on a person. Specially a touch-starved, heavily emotionally invested, weak individual such as yourself. Denying your crush on Seungcheol was really the only defense you had left at this point. You could admit to your fears of being touched by Cheol, chalking it up to your lack of experience at being touched in general, but you could not even admit that your crush had maybe, perhaps, possibly, creeped back up a while back. It didn't help that no one you knew was aware of your sensitive state when it came to intimate contact. This was intel you hadn't even let your best friend in on. Maybe if it had been someone else, you would've accepted the massage already. You knew it didn't have to be an intimate interaction, it was just the fact that Cheol would be doing it that made it seem that way to you. But you knew his feelings would be hurt if you denied him and went to someone else. You'd dragged it out for far too long, making such a simple thing way too complicated.

~

Cheol easily agreed to your request, seemingly excited to even have you around his workplace at all. It was cute, really. He let you know that his next booking would start in ten minutes or so, so you waited with him during his break. Despite not receiving a massage for yourself, he provided you with a robe to change into due to the humidity most of their rooms tended to have during a session.

"Are you sure it's okay that I'm here? Won't the client mind?"

"Nah. She's a regular, she tends to forget her own name five minutes in," he winked at you. Well, that was reassuring ..

The massage began soon after. The woman, probably in her early 40's, walked in, gave Seungcheol a friendly greeting and proceeded to lay down, barely even acknowledging your presence in the back of the room. Cheol gave some weak excuse of 'she's in training, just showing her the ropes' to justify your presence, earning an uninterested hum in acknowledgment from the woman before she had begun taking off her robe and gotten on the bed in preparation for her awaited session. She was't fully naked but had very thin underwear on, meaning you could practically see every detail from her back. Her face-down position gave you a perfect angle to her almost-bare ass as Seungcheol prepared the oils he had set on the table beside him. There was also some incense burning in the room, along with some steam to help with ambience.

The massage began very slowly, allowing Seungcheol to deliver very soft touches as he spread the oil around her back. He even went as far as the back of her legs and ass, reaching as far as her feet. The first few minutes simply consisted of him spreading the oil around. You hadn't known Seungcheol gave full body massages til now. Before having started the session, Cheol had told you 'Pay close attention. This is what I'll do to you when you agree.' Had he meant he'd be running his hands up and down your entire body? The thought made you shudder, almost missing the show in front of you.

His next movements were harsher, but in a clearly pleasurable way. He began to knead roughly at the woman's shoulders, making her groan at the pleasurable pain. He did this for a while, clearly having found a point of tension in that area. His thumbs focused on specific areas of tension that you were familiar with; the same areas you'd known your back had knots in. Even just seeing it made the sore parts of your back beg for release of tension. When he moved on, he targeted the upper center of her back, just below where her breasts were located on the opposite side of her body. He rubbed at the sides, sliding his hands up and down the length of her back as he massaged expertly. He continually used the extra strength of his thumbs to pressure and rub at the sore spots. He didn't even have to ask where it hurt, it seemed like he could just detect it on his own. This was clearly exerting the woman, as she moaned and sighed at the feeling of Seungcheol's hands on her. It was clearly exerting Seungcheol too, who was letting out groans from his own efforts.

You imagined yourself in her position, wanting to be the sole receiver of his touches and sounds. You felt ashamed, but the act was making your body heat up. You knew it was purely innocent, and with the purpose of relaxation, but you couldn't help yourself. You wanted to blame the humidity in the room, or maybe the cozy material of your robe, but there was only one culprit; Choi Seungcheol. You had been right to believe that his touch would be your undoing. Simply hearing him was enough to make you lightheaded. You had lost track of where the massage had went, only thinking about the man in the room now. You cursed your vivid imagination for the images it was putting in your head just at the mere sounds coming from your friend.

The massage continued for a while, eventually sending the woman into a deep slumber. Cheol kept re-applying oil to her back throughout the session, even lowering his hands all the way to knead at her ass and the back of her legs during some points. That made you extra lightheaded. Not just at the thought of Seungcheol touching you in the same way, but knowing he'd have the magic touch able to release the tension trapped all over your back. You couldn't blame the woman for the sounds she made or the way she fell asleep due to the pleasure. You could only imagine your own reaction at Seungcheol doing the same to you. Even just seeing the way he rubbed at the skin had your back aching for the same release of pressure from the tightest spots on your back.

You were still slightly affected by the time the woman had woken up and left, leaving you and Cheol alone in the room, promising Seungcheol she'd be back soon as she exited. He approached you with a smile, clearly proud of having shown you his skills in action.

"So, what did you think?"

"I, uh, you're really good, Cheol. I'm surprised."

"Surprised? I've been telling you I'm the best for months! C'mon, there's no way you don't want a massage after seeing that," he rebutted, smirking with confidence.

You remained silent for a second, pondering as to whether or not you should move forward with this. He was right. He was clearly talented at it, and he really just wanted to help. Your aching back was begging for it, and so were the other aching parts of your body. But you didn't know if you could hold back without embarrassing yourself at your best friend's hands on you in such an intimate way.

Your best friend must've taken notice of your silence, speaking up again, but in a more serious yet sympathetic manner.

"Listen. I know you can be a bit .. shy about these things. If it helps, we can just set up at my apartment? I have a massage bed there too! It would just be the two of us. C'mon, what do you say?", he gave you puppy eyes as he usually did when asking for something.

He was always hard to deny. And in this vulnerable moment, with your back begging for relief and your body aching for his touch, you weren't surprised when you found yourself muttering a 'yes' in affirmation.

A few days passed. You and Cheol ended up having to coordinate your days off. It had actually been almost a full week until you were able to see each other again, which for you meant yet another week of grueling pain you had to put up with. You were really beginning to consider putting an end to the overtime you'd been working. Maybe after the massage you could begin to work less hours in order to lessen the pain. Maybe even take Cheol up on his offer of getting a standing appointment to lessen the pain more and more and prevent it from coming back again. It was something to think about. But now you had better things to worry about. Those things taking form in the man standing on the opposite side of the door in front of you.

You had agreed on today, a Saturday night, in order for you to come to his apartment and receive the dreaded massage. Cheol had worked all day today, which made you feel a bit bad about making him basically step back into his work duties but this time at home. He reassured you it was more than fine, reasoning that you'd worked all week and he had just wanted to work around your busy schedule. You appreciated his efforts to work with you, having always known Cheol to put your comfort before anything else. Which was yet another reason why you felt badly at receiving this favor from him. To anyone else it might've just been a massage, but you knew that to Cheol this was a service he was used to getting paid for, a talent which he put effort into. You felt like both like a leech and like a source of annoyance due to this whole ordeal.

You put all your thoughts aside and knocked on the door, knowing it was now time to forget about all your worries and just let Seungcheol take care of you. He opened the door almost immediately, almost as if he'd been waiting on the other side of it, ear against the door while your internal monologue went off in your head.

"You're here!", he smiled widely at you, ushering you in.

"You invited me, Cheol. I wasn't about to ditch you."

"But you thought about it, didn't you?", he kinda had you there. You did consider it, but you knew your best friend would've tracked you down sooner or later anyways.

"Listen, I know you're nervous, but there's nothing to be nervous about! I'll take care of you. It won't be awkward, I swear," despite having never told him of your lack of experience with touch, you always assumed he had some idea of it. He didn't know the full story, though. Not about the fact that your issue with the massage was being touched by him; the former source of your desires.

"It's .. it's fine, Cheol. I'm not nervous, I promise. Just don't know what to expect, that's all."

"I'll guide you through it. I set out the massage table for you in my room. I have the oils ready too. Oh! Did you bring a bikini to change into?"

Right. Last time you spoke he had asked you to bring either a bikini or some comfortable underwear. He's said something about needing your body as nude as possible ('within your comfort zone!', he'd quickly added) in order to give you a full massage. He also said the oils he used had a tendency of staining and leaving their strong fragrance on most fabrics. It was usually spa policy to provide customers with robes and such for their sessions, but being located in his home at the moment, he'd asked you to just bring your bikini directly.

You didn't feel any type of way about this, surprisingly. Having known Seungcheol for years, he'd seen you in a bikini as many times as you'd seen him shirtless and in very tiny swim trunks. The one thing, however, was the thought of him touching your bare skin, but it was too late to back out - not that you wanted to anyways.

"Y-yeah, it's in my bag. Did you wanna start right away or ..?"

"Yeah! Go get ready and I'll start preparing the oils for you. I'll also light some incense for ambience," and with that, he left you alone in the living room so that you could change without interruption. He went into his room to prepare things, closing the door to allow you some privacy.

You had chosen your skimpiest bikini. Not for any inferior motives! But because you knew Cheol needed access to your bare skin as much as possible. Your lower lower back had been killing you lately. Even more so than your shoulders, due to sitting all day every day. So you wanted to give him room to take care of that without any clothing getting in the way. You hastily got changed, deciding that you'd already waited long enough and that it was time to get this over with.

'Are you ready?", you heard Cheol ask from his room a few minutes later.

Ok, it was time. Anyone else would've been ecstatic at the thought of their crush rubbing all over their body, or at the idea of a free full-body massage. But you were too high-strung for your own good, which only increased your anxiety over the whole thing. However, you were now here, almost in the nude, only one door away from the man who would rid you of your pain and replace it with pleasure.

You stepped into the room without verbalizing a response, immediately meeting eyes with an expectant Cheol, who was organizing his oils as he awaited your arrival. He'd outdone himself, really. He had lowered the lighting in the room, lighting a few candles and some incense in order to turn up the spa ambience. The place smelled divine, and even the temperature was perfect. You could already feel yourself getting relaxed.

"Cheol, holy shit. This is too much. You didn't have to go so out of your way. This looks like an actual spa!"

"Only the best for my best friend," he gave his gummy smile in return, eyeing you as he directed you towards the massage table that was standing in the middle of the room. "You ready?"

"Yeah," you breathed out, accepting his stretched hand as he helped position you on the table.

He laid you face down on the table, but with your head turned to the side, as to not squish your features against the flat surface, "Try not to think too much, yeah? It'll feel so good, I promise. I'm gonna get rid of all tension in your body," the way he'd said it sounded promising, almost hinting at something more.

Without much warning, he began to softly run his hands up and down your body, going from your shoulders all the way down to your calves, almost as if sizing you up in order to come up with a game plan for your massage. Even that feather-like touch had you flinching a little. You'd never been caressed like this before.

"Shit, you're very high-strung. Even more than I thought," he chuckled in response to your body's reaction to such light touch.

"Cheol ..." you whined.

"Sorry. I'll start now, okay? You're gonna feel a little warm in a second. I'm gonna oil you up so it's easier for me to massage you, yeah? I picked my favorite scented oils for you."

You were thankful for the warning, because the warmth you felt immediately after made you swoon internally. You almost moaned out loud at the feeling of his hands lightly rubbing the oil all over your body. You were already affected and he hadn't even begun. It didn't take him long to actually start, however. He began with your neck, almost wrapping his hands all around it, but not closing them in on it. His thumbs were focusing on the lower part of the back of your neck, rubbing at spots you hadn't even realized were that sore.

"You're so tense, Jesus Christ," he was right. You could feel instant relief at his touch, pressing your body further into the soft material of the cushion of the table in pure relaxation.

He rubbed that area for a while, seemingly trying to target the knots located there. He then moved onto your shoulders, beginning to rub a little harder. He began to dig his thumbs into the problem areas, going extra hard at any points of tension. With this extra strength, also came his vocalization of his efforts. His groans of exertion began to fill the room, making you feel even more lightheaded than the massage itself.

"Shit, Baby. You're so fucking tight here."

The wording itself was killing you, but the way he touched you while doing it made you melt into the table, afraid you'd begin to vocalize your pleasure through the form of moans or whines. So far you'd been able to get away with soft breaths and maybe a gasp or two. But you knew that the moment you let go, you wouldn't be able to control the way your body would react to his touch. You were slightly terrified of what would come the lower he went down your body.

Then he threw you yet another curveball.

He leaned down, halting his movements for a moment, and put his mouth a few inches from your ear, "I can feel you tensing up. It's okay, I'll take care of you. You can relax for me."

You saw that as a green light to let go, whining a tiny 'uh huh' in response as he continued his movements.

He went lower and lower, now rubbing your lower back; the area right before the slope of your ass began, but he was quickly approaching it. Every area he had touched so far, he had undone. You felt like your back had been liberated of the huge weight it had been carrying for years. You were whining and moaning at the pleasure he was giving you, and also at the feel of his hands on your body. You felt yourself get wetter by the minute, having started to feel moisture down there from the moment he began massaging you. You were ashamed, but his touch so close to your biggest point of tension was driving you insane. You wanted him to forget about the massage and just flip you over.

"Okay, baby. Now I'm gonna do your ass, okay? Trust me, I know it sounds dumb, but a lot of people carry a lot of tension here"

He was right once again. As he massaged the muscle, you felt tension you didn't even know you had finally unwind. He repositioned you a bit, asking you to lift one of your legs to the side and let it hang a bit off of the side of the table. This angle lifted up your ass a bit, and disconnected your crotch from the table. You were slightly embarrassed, knowing that if he looked through a certain angle he'd be able to see you glisten with desire for him, but you chose to ignore it and hope for the best. Cheol was already helping you so much.

He continued for a few moments, occasionally going down and rubbing lightly at the back of your thighs and calves before coming back up to your lower back and butt. But he suddenly stopped at some point. You could've sworn you heard an intake of breath.

"Hey .. I'm gonna try a special technique. Is that okay?"

You were almost completely gone in pleasure by then, eyes becoming heavier by the minute. You didn't even have to think before saying yes.

You felt him lean his body more over the table, and also a bit over the lower half of your body. He was still just massaging your lower back with one hand, while making you bend your leg a little higher than before. You weren't sure what he meant by special technique, but you were down for anything had in mind. Except you hadn't expected what he would do next.

Having bent your leg forward, he had given himself the perfect angle of your pussy from behind, deciding to let his hand slip between your legs and run his fingers lightly over your folds. You gasped at this, repositioning yourself a bit to give him even more access. He took this as a welcoming sign, starting to run his hands up and down your pussy, stopping once in a while to rub at your swollen clit.

"Baby .. You're so tense here .. Let me help you? Yeah?" He said this as he continued to increase the intensity of his movements, rubbing more and more at your clit.

"Y-yes. Fuck. Please, Cheol ..." you whined, giving him permission to do whatever he wanted to you.

You yelped at his next movements. He had shoved his fingers inside with no warning, leaning down to kiss softly at your ass while he fingered you. The speed of his fingers wasn't too fast, but it was deep and calculated, dragging across all the places you needed him most. He was right, you did feel tense there, but his movements were relaxing you like nothing else could.

"Is it working, baby? Am I making you feel good?"

You'd buried your face into one of your arms, but still managed to squeak out a "yes!" in affirmation.

"Just 'yes', baby? We can do better than that, don't you think? I think I have something to rid you of all your tension ..." you could hear the smirk in his voice as he said this, feeling him finally remove the tiny piece of fabric between your legs.

He positioned his body a little further over the lower half of the table, lowering his face to the space between your cheeks in order to get his tongue on your pussy. He began to lick and suck softly, keeping a pace similar to that of his fingers just a few seconds ago. The pleasure was blinding you, causing you to lightly grind against his face, wanting as much pleasure as you could milk out of him. He seemed to like this, as he lifted his hands and placed them on your hips, guiding your grinding against him and taking on an even better angle.

All that could be heard were the moist sounds of his tongue on your heat and your cries of pleasure. The massage had been fully forgotten. All you could think about was your best friend's tongue and the way his groans against your pussy were making you lose your mind. It seemed like this was bringing him as much satisfaction as it did you.

"Ch-Cheollie! Right there! Fuck!", he'd begun to suckle at your clit, wanting you to finally reach your high and bring you as much pleasure as imaginable.

"Cum all ove' my face baby! wann' taste that pretty pussy," his words were muffled. He seemed physically incapable of separating himself from you.

You came almost immediately, loving the vibrations of his groans against you. You fell completely limp, being rendered a shell of yourself. The whole thing had felt like an out of body experience. From the massage to the life-changing orgasm. You were convinced there was no greater pleasure than what you'd felt in the past half hour. But Seungcheol seemed to disagree, instantly pulling you towards him and sitting you on the table, your body now facing his.

He had untied your bikini top earlier into the massage, which you hadn't minded since you were facing down and away from his view anyways, but now you were grateful he had. He was making direct eye contact with your tits, almost as if pondering as to what to do with them. He seemed to reach a decision, however, and attacked them with his lips with intense fervor, licking and biting at your swollen buds. He had you moaning out in pleasure again. It was as if he'd studied your body without you knowing, being an expert in all your weak spots.

He made out with your tits for a while, making your eyes roll back at the feeling of his tongue against your sensitive nipples. When he pulled away, he instantly began undressing himself at record speed. He had just been wearing shorts and a loose top, which made the process pretty quick. Immediately after getting himself nude, he positioned you so that you could wrap your legs around his waist from your position sitting on the table. He dragged you as close to him as possible by your legs, pressing your chests together.

He looked down at you while running his hands up and down your back, which was still slightly sticky with oil. He seemed to be in a trance, just looking at you with an endeared expression in his eyes, "You're so beautiful. Your body's so ... fuck. Can't believe you've been in pain for so long, baby. When I could've been taking care of you all this time," he had began to kiss along your neck and clavicles as he said this.

"Cheollie .." you breathed out, tilting your neck to the side to allow him extra space to kiss.

"Can I take care of you, baby? Let me get rid of all your tension?", he'd started grinding his bare hips against yours, having pushed open your legs in order to allow himself to drag his dick against your cunt.

Even just the weight of his cock against you had you whining, burying your face in his neck, not knowing how to react at the stimulation. You'd already felt the most pleasure when Cheol buried his tongue in your cunt, or so you'd thought. But that did not hold a candle to the feeling of his fat head as it nudged against your folds. You began to whine and writhe against him, hands digging into his arms as he ground against you. Until he nudged your head away from his neck, wanting to face you. He halted his movements altogether and looked into your eyes for a few moments, a small smile gracing his lips. His eyes began to lower, now staring directly at your lips. Your eyes mirrored his. It was a tender moment in the midst of what had just now been a mess of grinding bodies and oil. When he finally kissed you was when you truly felt relief. No massage could have compared to the bliss you felt with your best friend's lips against your own. The softness of the kiss didn't last much, however, as the movements of his hips picked back up and the kiss began to become more moist by the second.

Cheol took advantage of your soft gasps at the feeling of his cock against your cunt to slip his tongue in your mouth, expertly massaging yours with his. This went on for a bit, allowing for Cheol to stimulate you with some kissing and dry humping, further preparing you to take him free of pain. He was a little larger in size than average, and with the very limited experience he had asserted you to have, he wanted to prevent you from feeling any pain. He had wanted tonight to be nothing but pleasure for you, knowing how badly you've been needing some relaxation, and maybe with the slight ulterior motive of finally getting with his pretty bestie.

He unglued himself from your lips, chuckling at the way you whined as your lips followed his, "Baby, I'm gonna fuck you now, yeah? Wanna see you fully relaxed. That okay?"

"Mhm. Yes, Cheollie. Do anything you want. Trust you," you mumbled in response, head filled with air as you barely caught your breath from the overload of pleasure you'd felt tonight.

With that, he began to enter you, bulbous head showing a bit of a fight in entering your tight walls. You both let out a moan of relief when he finally bottomed out, almost as if you'd both been craving this for a while. He fucked you with a passion only someone who wanted you the way you wanted him would. You'd thought you'd reached the utmost pleasure when Cheol had you cumming against his tongue, but nothing could ever compare to being full of him as he praised you through every thrust, calling you every possible adjective to describe your beauty.

"B-baby! So fucking good. So pretty for me .. Gonna fuck you all night. Gonna fuck you to sleep. All mine now," he began canting in and out of you with even more intensity now, making sure to hit that spot with every thrust.

"Cheollie!"

"I know, baby. Gonna cum for me? Gonna let me fill that pussy up, aren't you, pretty?"

It didn't take long for you to cum, already feeling an overwhelming amount of emotions at every type of pleasure Seungcheol had delivered to you tonight. He followed soon after you, yelling out your name at the tightening of your walls around him. He breathed heavily as he leaned against you for a minute or two, only then moving away from you in order to get a towel and begin to clean you up.

"Sorry .. was that too much?", he smiled sheepishly as you seemed to wince when he attempted to clean you up between your thighs.

"No! It was perfect, just ... not really used to it, that's all."

"Okay, baby. If you say so. Now let me take you to bed!", with no warning, he picked you up and brought you over to his bed, completely ignoring the mess he'd caused on his massage table after having fucked you on it. He laid you down, cocooning you into his blankets before rushing to the other side of the bed and holding you in his arms.

He turned to look at you as he cradled your body against his, "Do you feel better now? Still sore?", the question seemed genuine.

"No, Cheollie. I feel amazing. I've never felt this good before, actually."

"That good, huh? I told you I was the best! But don't worry, baby. Gonna keep your appointment every week like I promised. Gonna keep you in my bed every time you're feeling sore, yeah, baby? Don't even have to ask, I'll be waiting for you," he chuckled at himself as he said this, but being completely serious.

"Will you give me your special treatment again?," you giggled against his lips.

"That's for you and you only, baby," he replied as he closed the gap between you once more.

a/n: ok i mightve made reader a lil extra overdramatic this time but u guys have to understand. my back hurts like hell. so pls sympathize w reader bc shes lowkey my soul sister in that area 😭

[nofomogirl]

We need to talk about body snatching

I'm not a massive fan of the 1827 minisode - if you're curious why it bothers me, I've explained it in my post about two GO canons - but there's no denying it does an amazing job at exploring the complexity of morality and moral choices. It starts with a very black-and-white two-dimensional image and gradually adds shading and perspective, making it harder and harder to judge as we go along.

I think it's worth digging into (pun not intended but I'll take it).

Layer 1: body snatching bad

We learn someone did something

It's those first few seconds where we see a person robbing a grave, and since we know that robbing graves is a crime and generally not a good thing to do, we can quickly form a tentative conclusion that this is wrong.

Okay, in this exact instance, we immediately get enough context clues to see that this kind of judgment would be oversimplistic and superficial. Only Aziraphale, who for some reason acts as if it was his first day on Earth after a thorough memory wipe, is ready to condemn Elspeth based on just that.

Nevertheless, this is the first layer - the deed itself with no context.

Layer 2: body snatching acceptable

We learn about the person who did the thing

That's the whole journey with the first dug-up body where we get to know Elspeth and become privy to her circumstances - she's desperately poor, she has another person depending on her, she robs graves to survive. Aziraphale's suggestions that she might earn her living by selling books, weaving or farming just serve to prove how inaccessible more honest and dignified professions are to her. In turn, her comment about how she's not hurting anybody who isn't already dead hints that from the realistically available options, Elspeth could have chosen something much worse.

Technically this layer is a significant step up from layer 1 but it still isn't really challenging. Things are spelt out really loud for us, and most importantly everything we learn about Elspeth is just attenuating circumstances. To top it off both she and Wee Morag are immediately endearing. The takeaway is that sometimes things that in theory are bad can be excused which is important but the verdict still comes without any second thoughts.

Layer 3: body snatching complicated

We learn the larger context around the thing

This mostly happens when Aziraphale and Crowley discuss body snatching with Mr Dalrymple. We learn that the stolen corpses are used for a medical study that can advance human knowledge and make it possible to save living people and that surgeons have no legal means to obtain enough of them for their research - hence their need to buy them from body snatchers.

At first glance it's just more of what we got in layer 2 - more agruments in favour of body snatching that aren't all that nuanced and don't really give us any pause - just from a larger perspective, beyond Elspeth's individual experience. But if you glance more than once you'll notice this is when things stop being straightforward and easy to judge.

The moment we enter a proper grey area is when Aziraphale asks why Mr Dalrymple doesn't acquire the bodies himself. This is a very valid question - while we might easily agree that studying the human body to further medical knowledge is a good thing, and with just the slightest hesitation admit that it's acceptable to resort to using stolen bodies if that is the only way the research may continue, it's not as easy to excuse taking advantage of the poor and the desperate to do the actual stealing that we know is very dangerous.

The moment we know without a doubt we are in a proper grey area is when Mr Dalrymple laughs at Aziraphale's concern.

Objectively, the surgeon is right that it's more effective if he doesn't risk his own life in the graveyard and uses his time on actual research, teaching students and saving lives. But it's also clear he doesn't exactly see people like Elspeth as actual human beings and feels he has every right to use them. On the one hand, he is paying, on the other, he happily benefits from the cruel class system and is not even one bit remorseful about it. On the one hand, he takes risks too, on the other he has a chance of rewards Elspeth will not benefit from. It's not the poorest whose lives will get bettered by the progress of medicine, even though they're the ones who pay with their lives for that progress. And if Mr Dalrymple gets lucky and is knighted for his work (we know he wasn't in the end but it was a possibility), the poor still won't be pardoned for stealing for him. Nevertheless, he has no issue with that.

As I said, things get nuanced.

Layer 4: it's different when it's someone you know

The thing actually happens in your life

I think you'll all agree that the turning point of the minisode is when Elspeth decides to sell Wee Morag's still warm body. This is what finally leaves us speechless.

That's because up until now we've been approaching the issue intellectually. It's not that we didn't care about the characters, but we were allowed to keep a safe distance. The whole thing was like a problem to be solved - "Is body snatching right or wrong? Discuss in 500-1000 words" - and everything we've learned so far was data for this assignment. I believe that one of the reasons why this detachment came naturally was that there was a very thick line between people involved in body snatching and the bodies that were being snatched. The former were, well, people, obviously. The latter were inanimate objects.

It isn't until Wee Morag is to be sold that we are forced to see a person in a dead body. This is also when real emotions enter the equation.

This shift forces us to question our judgment for the first time. It was easy to justify Elspeth when she was selling a nameless corpse. But the fact that she decided to sell her closest companion - and most likely lover - shocks us. Something inside us strongly objects to how quickly she makes the decision.

And then there's the transaction, and it is also different when it's someone we know. The fact that we knew Wee Morag fully exposes Mr Dalrymple for the heartless jerk that he is. The way he treats Elspeth is the absolute worst and if you haven't realized he was a hypocrite earlier, you should be disillusioned by now.

But at least Elspeth is not a hypocrite, right? It may seem cold that she sold Wee Morag but it just proves she simply believed it's all right to sell a dead body, doesn't it?

Well, about that...

Layer 5: it's different when it's you

You are forced to face the thing happening to you

This layer is reached when Elspeth plans her suicide and asks Aziraphale and Crowley to bury her "somewhere where no ghouls will ever dig her back up again".

It turns out Elspeth McKinnon really was a filthy liar.

Not long ago she was insisting that body snatching doesn't hurt anyone who isn't already dead, and asking why she should let Wee Morag rot in the ground when she starves. But she wants to make sure it doesn't happen to her own body. The idea that someone might dig her up terrifies her and she calls people who do it ghouls. So why was digging up other people okay again? Why should she rot in the ground while other people suffer? There were other people living in the street where she and Wee Morag hid. Why not ask Aziraphale to give the money to them? Or just anybody in need? Why not ask to sell her body as well and use the earnings the same way?

Also, if you look at it from a certain perspective, Elspeth betrayed Wee Morag in the worst possible way. Wee Morag believed that if someone's body gets cut, that person's soul cannot enter Heaven. Yet Elspeth sold her to Mr Dalrymple, claiming that Wee Morag would have wanted her to have the means to survive. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps Wee Morag would have made that sacrifice. But then Elspeth decided to kill herself and use the money she got for Wee Morag's body for her own funeral.

But does it make Elspeth wicked? Certainly not. She's simply torn by grief. I seriously doubt she's been planning to commit suicide when she was taking Wee Morag to Mr Dalrymple. She might have genuinely tried to carry on but the reality of what happened caught up to her. Mr Dalrymple's cruel words certainly didn't help her cope with a personal tragedy. I even suspect one of the reasons she sold her friend was that she had no idea what else to do with a dead body.

Does this excuse her actions? Kind of, but not really.

Elspeth was a tragic character, not an innocent lamb with a heart of gold.

The point is - can any of us really judge her?

Which, coincidentally, is a question that the original Good Omens book toyed with quite a lot.

If you've reached this far, thank you for reading!

[samgelina-jolie]

It all started a week ago. Steve had come along to The Hideout, decked in his darkest polo shirt. It was the first gig he'd come to since him and Eddie had officially- as Robin put it- 'got their shit together'.

Steve had met the band plenty of times already, and while they'd been pretty standoffish at first, he liked to think he got along with them pretty well. Jeff actually shared a similar taste in music (even admitting to liking ABBA because it reminded him of his mother) and he'd known enough about Star Wars and a mix of Dustin's interests to win over Seth. It was harder to read Gareth, but Steve had assumed they were at least acquaintances.

That was until Steve had walked up to the bar where Gareth was talking to some girl, and then Gareth had said the meanest thing imaginable.

"He's my buddy's boyfriend."

Eddie hadn't seen what the big deal was. But Steve understood the importance of befriending your partner's best friend.

Well, back in high school, Steve had never really bothered with his girlfriend's friends. He'd focused on putting in effort with the girls he found attractive, wooing them with flowers and gifts. The girls who he wanted to like him did, he didn't really care how much the other girls didn't. The only job the best friend really had in his mind was picking up the pieces after he left those girls in the dust.

That was all before Nancy, of course. She'd been so adamant about him making an impression on Barb, so he'd tried. He invited her to parties, kept Carol and Tommy off her back, even tried to back her up once or twice when Barb and Nancy were bickering.

And it worked out... kind of. Barb had still rolled her eyes whenever Steve opened his mouth, but she was also the one who pulled him aside and saved him a whole lot of embarrassment and heartache.

"I'm telling you this because I would want to know, and because I guess you're not the worst person in the world. Nancy has been hanging out with Jonathan a lot lately... I just think maybe you should pay a bit more attention to it."

But besides him and Nancy as a couple not working out, he'd realised how important being on good terms with the person you're dating's friends is to being a good boyfriend. Which is why it was integral that he became proper friends with Eddie's best friend.

--

"What are you wearing?"

Steve had just walked into the Munson trailer. He'd spent nearly an hour trying to perfect his hair, so he's mildly offended that his outfit is the first thing his boyfriend noticed. Steve glanced down at his shirt with the huge Green Day logo printed onto it. He wasn't sure why Eddie looked so appalled, it wasn't dirty or anything.

"Oh, Gareth let me borrow it. Cute right?" Eddie's nose scrunched up even further, full on glaring at the offensive item.

"I can't let you into my room with that shirt on."

"Well hopefully once we get to your room neither of us will have our shirts on" Steve chuckled, leaning in for a kiss but Eddie turned his head.

"I'm serious, big boy. The polos and tight jeans, you're whole hot preppy look actually, that all really does it for me and you know it. But this?" He pulled at the fabric of the shirt. "This is the one piece of clothing I never want to see you in."

Steve scoffed. Eddie pushed him gently away with a shake of his head.

"I'm turning off the benefits."

"What benefits?"

"The sex benefits, no more sex until you admit you're not a Green Day fan and we burn that shirt."

"Eddie this is my in with Gareth! He's finally starting to warm up to me." Steve whined. "Besides, you can't just, like, turn off us having sex!"

"Oh yes I can. All I have to do is think about you in this abominable outfit and my boner just-" He whistles, imitating his finger deflating. Steve pouted. He knew rationally he could just give Gareth back the shirt, but that would mean embarrassingly admitting he didn't like Green Day to Gareth and then trying to find another in with him.

So no, Eddie was just being unreasonable.

Anyway, he was totally bluffing about the sex. Steve hoped.

--

"It's been five days Robin! I mean, we haven't gone that long without having sex since.. since we started having sex!" Steve cried, following the woman around as she restocked the shelves. Even though he couldn't see her face he could tell she was rolling her eyes.

It was a serious situation though, at least in Steve's opinion. He and Eddie hung out all the time, and while he obviously enjoyed doing other things with his boyfriend, he wished the other man would at least have the decency to not be so sexy while performing daily tasks. Steve had been this close to jumping him in the frozen food section of the grocery store yesterday.

And he knew he wasn't the only desperate one, Eddie was suffering too. Obviously he'd assumed Steve would cave after a day, because he'd been all jumpy and grouchy for nearly a week. And he kept making that face that Steve recognised all too well whenever Steve did anything even slightly suggestive. Like when he'd bent down to put his laundry in the dryer, and when he turned back around Eddie was beet red and avoiding eye contact.

"Have you tried breaking out the old Harrington seduction techniques yet?" Robin shrugged, obviously not bothered by the fact her best friend was on the verge of death due to lack-of-sex-with-his-really-hot-boyfriend disease.

The thing was, he had tried his old methods. He tried wearing tighter shirts, that strained around his arms and showed off his midriff (but always making sure he was wearing some kind of Green Day memorabilia, because damn him if he wasn't going to be right about this). He'd invited Eddie along to his and Lucas' basketball game. He even tried straight up begging, knowing how much that usually gets Eddie worked up.

And nothing!

Although, there was still one move he hadn't tried yet...

--

"You want to what?" Eddie shot him an incredulous look.

"Help you study, of course. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't help you with your problems? Besides I have this really neat method to help you revise." Steve let himself into the trailer and Eddie's room. He wasn't wearing a Green Day shirt today, but he did have a wristband, something he knew Eddie had spotted already as he walked into the room with his arms crossed.

"Right. And what method would this be?"

"Every time you get an answer right, I take off a item of clothing, and vice versa." Steve plopped himself down on the unmade bed, which he'd missed dearly. Eddie hadn't even let them take naps together in his room, insisting 'spooning almost always leads to sex with you'.

Eddie considered his offer carefully, before nodding with a shit eating grin. Steve cheered internally.

"Great!" Steve smiled before adding "Your rings all count as one item by the way." He tried not to look too smug at the way Eddie's confident grin faltered.

The game reached its boiling point very quick. Eddie had known more about Geography then Steve had expected, which reflected in the fact he only had his boxers and one sock left on. Eddie, however, wasn't doing too much better, sat in only his jeans (and Steve suspected no underwear underneath).

He's not sure who kissed who first, but suddenly Steve was pressed against the mattress, Eddie's thigh between his legs. Excitement coursed through him, his body so receptive to Eddie's touch after so long he wasn't even embarrassed at the noises he was letting out. His hips bucked up, causing Eddie to groan into his mouth.

"So the Green Day thing?" Eddie mumbled between kisses down Steve's neck. The noise Steve made was loud and high pitched, almost drowning out the man's next words. "It's over then?"

Steve paused, the hand that had been trailing down his boyfriend's chest pushed firmly against him as he pulled away.

"Over because you've let it go, right?" He mumbled. Eddie pulled back, his lips red and glossy.

"No, over because you let it go?" Steve huffed, sitting up and pulling his clothes back on. He tugged his jeans on in annoyance, storming out of the bedroom.

"You know what, I'm turning off the benefits now! No sex until you admit Green Day are better than... than Dio!" Steve yelled. He was irritated and extremely worked up but he was also incredibly stubborn. He heard a squawk of protest from behind him as he made his way outside.

"That wasn't even the rule!" Eddie called out, but Steve ignored him. He was not loosing this fight.

--

Listen, Metal music was fine, Steve endured listening to it with Eddie like he endured watching sports games with Steve. He was content in the knowledge that not loving every single one of each other's interest didn't mean they didn't love each other.

Punk was fine too, it still wasn't Steve's thing really, but it was okay and while Steve couldn't tell the difference, according to Gareth there was one. A huge one, if the way he'd been ranting about it for the past hour was anything to go by.

But between fighting with his boyfriend (because it was a genuine fight at this point), not having any sex for nearly two weeks, and being stuck listening to someone talk about something you have no interest in for hours, Steve couldn't take it anymore.

"I don't like punk music! I listen to Queen and Cyndi Lauper and sometimes Madonna and happy music that I can dance to without thinking about America's political landscape!" He blurted out. Gareth stopped his rambling about how Rob Harper was a better drummer than Pete Something, flashing Steve a confused expression.

"Then why were you pretending to?" He asked.

"I... I just didn't want you to just see me as 'Eddie's boyfriend'. I wanted to be your friend and Jeff told me you like punk music so I brought it up and..."

"Look, you are Eddie's boyfriend. Yeah, you're an okay dude, but I can acknowledge that without us having to do the whole friendship thing too, you know?" Gareth shrugged. Steve deflated.

"Right." He said, quickly making an excuse and leaving. Gareth shrugged off the weird feeling the guy's sad puppy dog eyed had given him, grabbing Steve's fries.

He felt kind of embarrassed that he'd been talking for ages with someone who didn't even care. He supposed it was nice of Steve to make the effort, Gareth wasn't aware he'd been trying so hard honestly. Jeff and Seth had warmed up to him pretty quickly but he thought that was just because they were just softies that were no immune to the 'Harrington Charm'.

"Steve?!" A loud yell startled him out of his thoughts.

Eddie stormed into the bar, wearing- holy shit, Gareth felt like he must have hit his head and started hallucinating. This day had taken such a weird turn, because there Eddie Munson stood before him decked out in a 'I heart Green Day' shirt. He also looked like it was taking every ounce of self control not to rip it off his body like it burned.

"Finally come around on the punk scene, Munson?" Gareth chortled. Eddie threw a fry at his face.

"Shut your trap, I need to find Steve before one of the gremlins sees me in this, they're too impressionable." He muttered, taking a seat as he looked around the bar.

"If this is a Steve thing you can stop anyway man, he admitted he doesn't really like them that much. It's kind of weird I mean, who lies about being into something to get someone to like them?"

"Dude, I spent the whole summer eating ice cream as a lactose intolerant person because Steve worked at Scoops Ahoy. He was just trying to find something for you to be friends about." Eddie shot him an unimpressed look, which Gareth thought was a bit high-and-mighty considering he just admitted to basically poisoning himself on a weekly basis for a guy he'd thought was straight at the time.

"Why exactly?"

"I don't know, Steve likes being close to people? He's basically besties with his ex girlfriend, man. Why are you so adamant he can't be yours?" Gareth considered this.

He remembered when Eddie had first told the band he was dating Steve Harrington. They'd all thought he was kidding, but there he was at their next rehearsal, cheering them on and spending his breaks holding Eddie's hand.

Gareth thought maybe it was a joke to Steve. Messing with the guy who likes men by making him think he has a shot with the former prom king. He thought it would end with Eddie in tears, and that had probably made him a bit more defensive than he needed to be. Maybe there was a small part of him, no matter how great Steve seemed, that still believed the guy was setting his best friend up for heartbreak.

"Look, I get that you might have reservations about him. But all I'm saying is- and I've got about a dozen preschoolers and multiple full grown adults that would back me up- Steve Harrington is a pretty great friend to have. So if he offers you friendship, you should take it." Eddie snatched a handful of fries as he got up, leaving Gareth alone at the bar.

--

Steve was half way out the door, wearing nothing but Eddie's Dio vest and grey sweatpants when he saw Eddie. He was standing in front of him, eyeing Steve like a starved man presented with a stake. Steve guessed he probably had a similar look, smiling at the Green Day shirt the man was wearing.

"Oh my god take your pants off." Eddie basically growled, slamming the front door to Steve's house shut as he stalked towards him. He pulled Steve into a ferocious kiss, hands quickly travelling down to his ass.

"Leave the shirt on." Steve gasped out. Eddie let out a muffled groan into his neck. They ran to the bedroom, loosing the vest and both of their pants on the way.

--

"Steve? You home, man?" Gareth heard a loud noise inside, followed by hopping, then Steve opened the door slightly. He was sweaty and shirtless, and his hair was a mess. He'd probably just been working out or whatever jocks did in their spare time.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what I said at the bar. You're a cool guy, I'd like for us to be friends, really. I even thought of something we could bond over; haircare. I've actually been meaning to ask you for some tips anyway." He admitted. Steve beamed, Gareth was almost scared the incredibly sweaty man was about to pull him into a hug. He didn't, he just kept smiling.

"That's real nice for you two, maybe next he'll ask you to prom!" Eddie's voice rang out from somewhere behind the door. Steve flushed a little and hushed him. Gareth was kind of confused as to why Eddie voice sounded so coarse and breathless, he didn't think Eddie had ever voluntarily exercised in his life.

"I would really like that, Gareth. I'll tell you everything you need to know, come by anytime. Except right now." He smiled again before slamming the door. Gareth heard more noises inside, wondering what the fuck they were up to until he heard a loud moan. Oh God, Gareth started running.

Still, he couldn't help but smile. It was always nice to make more friends.

[muxshwriting]

this is killing me

kaz brekker x reader

summary: you can't let your past stop you from giving your friend a proper goodbye and vice versa || warnings: reader has some issues with touch, implied past abuse, touch starved reader, Jordie mentioned || word count: 1046 || masterlist

The first time you met Kaz Brekker, you were both just children. There’d been a scuffle in the market, a boy in the centre of it being tossed around by sellers before being abandoned. You’d watched as he crawled into the closest alleyway and sunk into the ground like he wished it would swallow him up. You glanced around you, checking if anyone was watching as you made your way over to him.

“Hello.”

The boy looked up, his face healing from scars by the Lady’s plague by the looks of it. He’s cradling his leg, looking ready to get up and start running at a moments notice.

“I’m Y/N.”

“Kaz.” He introduced himself and seemed to relax slightly when you sat across the alley from him, far enough away to not enter his space.

“What happened?”

“I tripped and fell into a stall, the seller wasn’t too pleased with me.”

“Is your leg alright?”

He pulled it closer to him and hid the wince on his face. “It’s fine.”

“Okay…” You meet his eyes and see the true pain hiding underneath his gaze. You mean to say more but an angered shout of your name has you quickly standing. “I have to go! I’ll see you around?”

Kaz doesn’t reply but you keep meeting him in Ketterdam’s streets. More often than not, you’re sporting bumps and bruises from your father which you try to hide. If Kaz notices, he doesn’t say anything.

As time goes on, there’s an unspoken bond between you two, a connection that started in that dank alleyway and sprouted ever since.

Dirtyhands rose to infamy in the worst parts of Ketterdam and as his rule impacted your father’s operations, the bruises only worsened. Kaz noticed in the beginning, but this time he can do something about it.

You aren’t sure what happened. But Kaz had all your things moved to the Crow Club, got you a job as a barmaid downstairs and made sure your father would never bother you again. It was quite possible that Kaz Brekker had saved your life.

It’s armed with that knowledge that you enter Kaz’s office with a guilt conscience. He doesn’t look up as you enter, focused on his work. “What do you need?”

“I’m sorry…”

That had him looking up, frowning. “Why are you sorry?”

“I- I‘m leaving Ketterdam, perhaps for good.”

“Oh. When?”

”…Today. That’s why I’m sorry.” The tears threaten to fall but you refuse to let them.

He speaks your name in a whisper. “I don’t want you to feel guilty.” Kaz confessed.

“Guilty?”

“For leaving.” He replied. “I commend anyone who can get out of this forsaken place.”

Kaz peeled his gloves from his skin. It was if he was peeling a layer of himself way, a layer he had to create long ago to block out the grimmest and darkest parts of the world. Over the years he released he wasn’t blocking out the darkest parts of the world, he wasn’t keeping in the darkest parts of himself. But he couldn’t hide the darkest parts of himself from you.

To others, his guard was a solid wall, an immovable object that couldn’t be removed. But to you, Kaz’s guard was like glass, a protection, yes, but a fragile and visible layer.

You took a step back at the sight of his gloves not covering his hands. “Kaz-“

There was a vulnerability dripping through his voice. “No! Please… I- I’ve known you almost all my life, I will not refuse you a proper goodbye.”

“Kaz, I’m not going to ask you to-“

“You shouldn’t have to.”

It was a simple declaration that rang through the air. He was silently apologising that he couldn’t be what you needed. But what you needed was him, no matter how broken or scarred he was.

Jordie’s voice would often ring through his mind in moments like this, taunting him and asking why he couldn’t just be like everyone else. But in this moment, you hand inches from his as he breathed in your presence, his brother’s voice was unusually absent. Perhaps it was because, in this moment, he was normal.

Hesitantly, you take a step forward, into his space. His breath hitches as the water swirls around his ankles but doesn’t rise further. You’re heart feels like it’s beating out of your chest as you ignore the echoes of screams and dying in your mind. They could wait, for once in your life, they could wait. This was far more important.

“I need to do this.” Kaz muttered under his breath. “I want to do this for you because you deserve much more than you got.”

“We both deserved better than we got.” You agree, your hand travelling on its own, reaching for his.

Your fingers brush and you both have to take a breath of air. But then again, his touch feels like a breath of fresh air. You can’t remember the last time someone’s touch didn’t mean pain and Kaz couldn’t remember the last time someone’s touch didn’t feel like a rising tide.

His skin was smooth from all the years under the gloves, brushing yours ever so gently, like a feather in the wind. He took the care to take time with you, knowing how often you’d been discarded. You were warm beneath him, a physical reminder that he wasn’t in frigid water but touching a living, breathing person.

You’d never known how much you craved human contact until you had it after a lack of it. It gave you a feeling you hadn’t felt in decades, a feeling you now chased with fervour. Neither wanted to let go, but the longer you stayed, the more that blissful feeling was being tarnished by time.

As you reluctantly let go, the pain returned in full force as the reality crashed down on you. This could be the last time you ever see Kaz, the last time you can feel his presence, the last (and first) time you got to touch him. Life was so fleeting, it was the moments like this that made you truly realise that fact.

“Thank you.”

Kaz nodded jerkily, reaching for his gloves and he put his walls back up and returned to be Dirtyhands once more.

[dorayakichan]

I love your writing and that you're doing wind breaker content!! Would you please write more content for Joker? Man's is beautiful and I headcanon he's a sweetheart with the right people 🫶

Joker(being a lovely boyfriend) x gn!reader (Fluffy, slight angst)

“Does falling in love make the world a better place?” you had once asked yourself while watching another one of those cute romance kdramas where the female lead and the male lead were able to save everyone and have a happy ending. Yet, for as long as you had lived which I would say wasn’t that much you had not been able to give a proper answer to that question until you met him.

Joker wasn’t the normal type of bad guy you had more than once encountered in your life. He worked hard, he was ruthless. To add to that he surrounded himself with the worst kind of people, yet that wasn’t enough to define him. How could such a background define the man you had fallen for anyway?

If it was true then you wouldn’t have even thrown a glance at him the first time you both met. You wouldn’t have rushed to help him when you once saw him bruised after beating down some guys who had tried to ambush him. You wouldn’t have smiled at him so sweetly, giving sweet words of encouragement every time you encountered each-other in the streets and you noticed his lifeless expression.

Maybe it was you who had given life to his once dull world. Maybe it was the warmth your eyes expressed when you gazed at him. You were not sure. But one thing was for sure Joker was nothing but the softest when it came to you.

“Can I come with you today?” You had asked him once as he was living for his job. That was when he found out how you entirely dominated his soul and body with your existence. It was hard for him to say no to you, not because he couldn’t but because the glimmer in your eyes, the sweet melody of your voice, the electricity of your touch, was able to enchant him to a point where he knew he couldn’t go back from anymore.

He didn’t want to anyway.

And even though he was worried, he had no doubt, that if even a wrong look was thrown at you he would beat down to a pulp anyone who dared. He was ready to protect you, even if it wasn’t the best idea even if it wasn’t safe he knew he would do anything so he could keep that smile on your face.

Even if it meant going against Wooin he would in a heartbeat for you. That’s why he had tried so much to keep you as far away from him as possible even when he got to know about your existence. It all was going well until that one day. As he had beat another opponent he was about to open the door of his changing room when he heard Wooin’s voice coming from inside.

“You know he is not on the same level as you. None of this is on your level anyway. This place, this lifestyle, and your boyfriend too.” “Speak clearly, what do you want? And what do you mean not on my level?” he heard your anger filled voice asking Wooin.

“Can’t you see that you are a good girl, with a good family, a good life, and a promising future? Yet, you follow Joker around. Can’t you see you are way above him? Way better than him?”

“First off, what does our background have to do with me dating him? And why are you even telling me this?"

“Cuz it looks like you’re playing with him and it’s not like I care much about that fact. You can do anything you want. But because of you he has become softer and can’t do his job right.”

“What do you mean by playing with him? Why would you even say that? In fact, I don’t care what you think or say I’m not breaking up with him or listening to whatever you’re spewing out of that mouth of yours. So get out!”

“Hah, you really…” But Wooin was unable to finish his sentence as Joker opened the door right that instant. Both of you stopped talking as he entered inside.

“And here he comes,”

Wooin smirked, noticing Joker’s facial expression. A thud was heard, startling both you and Wooin as your eyes fell on the wall, smashed by Joker’s powerful hit. Blood started gushing out of it, as you gasped.

“Get out!”

Joker’s words were demanding and concise, filled with rage as he walked past Wooin sitting on one of the stools, in the changing room.

“GET OUT!”

he shouted with a scary expression on his face as he glared at Wooin. “HAH…sure sure! Have it your way!” The man went out leaving both of you two as complete silence reigned over the room.

“Your hand.”

Your trembling voice was the first to break the silence. His previously lowered head didn’t move as he let out a sigh. “I...I don't know if you heard everything or not but I would never play with you.” You continued. “I...I love being with you, you are important to me you know that.” Still no response, as your eyes welled up.

“I..” the broken sound that came out of your mouth was what made him raise his head, wide eyes staring at your teary face.

He came rushing to you, engulfing you in a hug. “Shhh, don’t cry!” “I know, I know I have never doubted you.” You stilled, hearing those words.

“Then why are you…” “Because he is right, I’m not good for you. You deserve way more than me.” You pushed him a bit coming face to face with Joker. “What do you mean you are not good for me? You are perfect, there is no one better than you for me.”

“I can’t make you always smile, I can’t give you whatever you want. I don’t have enough money to take you to expensive places when we go on dates. I don’t even have enough time for us to date. I can’t make you as happy as you deserve to be…” he clenched his jaw, throwing his gaze at the floor unable to stare into your eyes.

“I understand.”

His heart stopped hearing those words for a second afraid of what was to come next.

“I understand how you may feel but haven’t you realized it yet?” His eyes fell back on yours.

“Realize what?”

“The efforts, the thoughts and determination to make me happy, the way how you’re changing, slowly showing more of yourself as you can see that I like that. Don’t you realize that what you are doing makes you already a perfect boyfriend? The most perfect boyfriend out there! Materials, wealth we can work on that part slowly together. You don’t have to be well off for me to be good enough. Because for me you already are.” He couldn’t say anything as each and every single word of yours made his heart beat faster and faster. You were his blessing, the greatest blessing of his life!

“I love you!” He told you as he proceeded to kiss you. 

And you finally found the answer to that question you had asked once a long time ago.

Falling in love didn’t precisely make a better place, but falling in love made a person's point of view about the world change for the better. And that was all both of you needed.

[ginnysgraffiti]

heya ! i really love your writing, it’s so intimate and earnest and absorbing ;was wondering if you’d ever consider writing about taylor russell or even maren? i feel like this is a totally untapped concept on here which is so odd to me considering her unflinching beauty and loveliness

heyyy!! i'm so touched by your comment, it's so heart warming to know that someone likes my (horrible) writing style TT

also, i definitely adore your request! taylor's my favourite actress and i'm so glad she has been receiving the recognition she deserves lately! plus, maren has always been my favourite character and i couldn't wait to write about her <33

i tried to arrange something, but i'll definitely write more about her or taylor directly.

reader as lee from bones and all

&. MAREN YEARLY x yn.

you loved her since the very first day.

you found yourself falling for the way her jacket sleeves covered half her hands, how her curls moved with the wind when she let your pick-up window down, how she clumsily cleaned herself after feeding and you always had to give her a hand.

she often preferred to spend time with your sister, chatting nonsense just to make time pass or go for an ice-cream.

maren wasn't your first love, she was your first everything.

words couldn't express the gratefulness you had towards her for being an eater, for understanding you, for not making you feel like the monster you were.

however, time seemed to slip through your fingers.

you always dedicate yourself to feeding, reassuring your sister that everything was going in the right way in some phone booth outside the city, gathering the little money you could and protecting you both constantly.

that evening, you could notice a blanket of darkness covered the sky from your pick-up window as you waited for maren to return from feeding. the occasional engine noises and leaves bustling from the gentle breeze filled the night outside. a faint glow of silver moonlight caught your attention for half a second, when the passenger door opened and maren jumped in.

she had surprisingly cleaned herself already, but a light smell of iron and mud made its way into the car.

she kept silent, like most of the times where one of you had gone feeding and you're too vulnerable or self-conscious to put up a proper conversation.

your eyes travelled down, her little hands were nervously teasing the hem of her white sweatshirt, as to silently ask the fabric to hide her little frame completely.

she suddenly looked so small, fragile and broken.

without sharing a word, you drove towards a nearby motel.

you were actually proud of the fact you managed to put up a decent nest egg of savings earned from part-time jobs or feedings victims' wallets, so you were aiming to a comfortable room.

as soon as you turned off the engine you gave maren a few seconds to look around.

you could tell she had got used to the idea of sleeping in your truck, even if you also shared the bed at your aunt's house in the past and she never seemed uncomfortable with it.

maybe because you two never got intimate, maybe because she was completely oblivious of the turmoil that was taking control of you and the butterflies you were feeling all inside.

talking about love wasn't on the agenda, at all, especially since you talked often about your unconventional habits and past experiences that ended up ruining both your moods.

maren was a girl of many words. she spoke with you every single time, every single second to ask stupid questions you always found yourself smiling at, and you loved it. how would it feel to open up to her and talk about your feelings?

as you stepped in, you already knew that she was not gonna waste any more time before entering the shower. rightfully so. it was good to take advantage of the small benefits when you could afford it - or better, when you could do so without feeling bad about it.

you sat down on a small wood chair near the double bed, wondering how such a twisted eater like you would have been able to become a damn hopeless romantic.

the way her curly hair as black as pitch bounced on her shoulder in the truck, the way she insisted on ordering milk and cereal at every diner, many little and useless things that got you on your knees for her.

when the chair revealed uncomfortable, you decided to stay with your tanktop and jeans and lay on the mattress, waiting for her without moving a single muscle.

your mind was still thinking about how you couldn't bring yourself to make a clear move on her when maren got out of the bathroom, holding onto her bathrobe fabric.

her hair was as dry as before, all curly and arranged in a clearly-self-made chignon.

"all clean?" you asked, putting up a reassuring smile.

she nodded, and you asked yourself why she hadn't dressed herself in the bathroom directly.

your pulse quickened terribly when she dragged her slippers on the floor, climbing shyly on the bed.

such a fool you were making of yourself, being all worked up and blushing when she suddenly reached your body, spreading on top like a sleepy animal. her hair looked so full and her skin soft as she rubbed your cheek against your collarbone.

her little little hands slowly searched for your waist, allowing herself to straddle you better.

you couldn't tell what was going on in her mind, either what her intentions were, but you just hoped it could be a nice beginning of the relationship you always dreamed of.

"can i sleep like this...?" her barely-awake tone asked.

"sure you can." you quickly replied, kissing her head. she smelled like vanilla body wash the natural skin scent you loved.

[the-unrelated-theorist]

Noble Vs. Ignoble Bosses

Please note that I am only referencing UTY to highlight my train of thought. I am NOT trying to suggest any connections between UTY and UTDR.

I try not to draw too heavily from AU's, but I noticed a pattern in UTY that made me realize something about UTDR. So, in UTY, almost all of the bosses become op simply to defend their own pride:

Decibat fights us to shut us up so he can go back to sleep. We don't even meet him in Genocide.

Dalv has some hidden power that we never see- he says at the end of a Pacifist that he "held back," which would make us think he would be difficult in Genocide, but he's not. He just assumes he's imagining us and the whole battle plays out exactly the same as in Pacifist.

El Bailador isn't even trying to fight, he just wants to dance, and we get hurt in the process. He doesn't appear in Genocide; presumably, he fled with the other monsters.

The Feisty Four only attack in Pacifist/Neutral because they're mad at Star and taking it out on you. We never even see them in Geno.

Starlo is difficult in Pacifist because he's defending his wounded ego, he's mad at himself but taking it out on you, but we don't even get a real battle in Genocide.

Axis is always following the instructions programmed into him by a monster with a deep-seated hatred of humans.

Ceroba is ridiculously hard in Pacifist because she loathes herself and is taking it out on you, but doesn't even get a proper second phase in Geno.

In all of these cases, the only one they are protecting in Pacifist is themselves (except Axis, who is strictly following programming). When it comes down to facing a Genocidal murderer, they just can't muster enough fighting spirit to do much of anything. Heck, Ceroba is only difficult in Geno because of revenge and pure rage. She says she's protecting monsters from us, but the only real reason she's fighting is because she's pissed at us for killing Starlo.

And... we actually see a similar pattern in UTDR:

Toriel fights us under the pretense of "protecting" us (which never made much sense to me, tbh), and she can muster almost no fighting spirit. It's very difficult to force her to kill you. And we one-hit her in Geno, she does no damage, she has no defense.

Maddie is semi-difficult in Pacifist/Neutral because they claim to be taking revenge for their cousin, but she can't even remember their name, and she flees as soon as Blookie starts crying on her. In Geno, Maddie stops caring about their cousin as soon as they merge with their dummy and become Gladdie. We don't even get a proper Maddie fight in Geno.

Muffet is semi-difficult even after a couple of playthrus, and what's her reasoning? Partly to save the spiders, but her motivation is mostly money- she was paid to kill us. She doesn't give a fig about other monsters at all, just spiders. We don't even encounter Muffet in Geno.

Mettaton. What's his reason for fighting us in Pacifist/Neutral? Purely selfish: he wants to be the star, not just in the Underground, but on the surface. Killing us and giving our SOUL to Asgore is just his way of accomplishing that. He doesn't give up until: a) we blow his arms and legs off so that he can't be much of a star at all anymore; and b) he gets a call from Blookie. Remembering what actually matters in life is what makes him end the fight. And in Geno, MTT becomes a literal one-hit wonder. When he has to fight to try to SAVE the world, he just isn't cut out for the job.

Asgore. Yeah, he puts up a fight in Neutral. He doesn't want to, tho. He's tired of fighting. He's tired of killing. He doesn't really want to go to war against humanity on the surface. So we can beat him. And in Geno? Where tf was he when his entire kingdom was being decimated??? We get to the throne room and he just offers us tea!

Flowey/Asriel, doesn't matter what name he goes by, every time we fight him, he's trying to defend his position as a wannabe god and keep playing with Chara forever. He fights because he has nothing left in the world to live for. He fights because that's the only thing he can still feel, the rage and the joy of killing. As soon as we remove that feeling from Asriel, he becomes a child's ghost, and then back to a flower, but a helpless and innocent one that can't fight at all anymore.

Lancer's first battle is the only time he poses any kind of a threat, because he's fighting for the right to become "son of the month." (And even I haven't ever died to him.) He's really not a threat in the fight against him and Susie, and he starts missing in the battle between him and Susie. He was never really out to hurt us at all.

Clover isn't too difficult because she's basically just fighting with herself and we got in the middle of it.

K. Round is never a threat, either, because they never wanted to fight, they were forced into it.

Susie (when we fight her alongside Lancer) is about as difficult as one would expect by the time the fight happens. She's fighting to maintain her persona as a bully and a bad person. In all actuality, tho... she's not as tough as we would expect from someone who keeps threatening to bite people's faces off.

Jevil is clinically insane, fighting and killing for the sheer fun of it, and is crazy hard.

Spade King is difficult, and his motivation is purely selfish. He doesn't care about his people- I mean, he wanted to throw his own son off a 5-story roof! He only cares about the Knight that put him into power, about maintaining that power status, and about revenge against the Lightners that sealed him away and never returned. His difficulty in battle is fueled by rage, revenge, and a lust for power.

Sweet Cap'n Cakes claim to be on a crusade, but they really only seem to be interested in having fun and making music without restrictions. Their battle is only difficult because all three of them attack at pretty much the same time and cannot be killed. Getting all of them to dance at the same time ends the battle. Their shop in the city disappears completely in a Snowgrave.

Rouxls is... um, can we even call that a battle? You know what, let's just not even try to analyze him right now....

Spamton. His only reason for fighting, in either Normal or Snowgrave, is to become a [[BIG SHOT]]. And we know how difficult Spammy is. In reality, he's no harder in Snowgrave than in a Normal Route. It just seems harder because there's only one hero character to fight him with.

There are only 3 characters between UTY and UTDR that are more difficult in a No Mercy route than in a Normal route:

Martlet is the last boss that is highly unlikely to kill you at all in Pacifist/Neutral. She turns into sans of UTY in a Geno- and that's her second battle. She's pretty OP when we encounter her in Snowdin, too.

Undyne is difficult enough in Pacifist/Neutral, but we have the option to flee. Her reasoning is that, since she is the Captain of the Royal Guard and Monsterkind's Hero, it is her duty to take our SOUL. But in Genocide, she changes completely. Her Determination, which causes her to melt in a Neutral, suddenly gives her the power to completely transform into a god-like character. And why? Because she is the only thing that stands between us and the world. Because she can see that we aren't just a human- we're some kind of demon that will destroy everything. She's not just fighting for monsters, but for humans, as well.

sans fights us for the same reason, albeit far too late to save the monsters. But he realizes that we will tear down the rest of the world if we keep going, and something inside him decides that he can't allow that. We actually don't know why he suddenly decides to care so much, but he does. He uses every ability he has, from karma, to Gaster blasters, to bone attacks, to teleportation, to even sleeping, just to make us quit. Because he knows we'll kill Asgore. And then there will be nothing to keep us from destroying the rest of the world. We NEVER fight sans in a Pacifist/Neutral, only in Geno. So this weird little guy with only 1 HP left to his name stands up to us, knowing full well that one day we will kill him, but he is literally the ONLY thing left to stop us from destroying the entire world. He may be too late, but when he finally steps up, it's for the right reason. There is no more selfishness in his battle than there is in Undyne's. Both sans and Undyne have no interest in personal gain or glory, but in saving the world.

And then there are 3 anomalies, all of them in UTDR:

Berdly is, to my knowledge, the only character to be no more and no less difficult in Snowgrave than in Normal. (Well, maybe a little easier in Snowgrave, but that's just because of Noelle's spells, not because Berdly himself changed.) He puts up the best fight that he possibly can, no matter whether he is protecting himself, or trying to save Noelle. This, to me, suggests 2 possibilities: a) he cares just as much about Noelle as he does about himself; or b) he really was fighting for Noelle in both routes. I don't think the second option is entirely true, since in a Normal fight, he does "hit [Noelle] in the face with a tornado," and talks more about himself and how superior he is to everyone else than he does about Noelle. But even so, I think she always was a big part of his reason for fighting.

Queen is the only character to have a difficult battle (with multiple phases, no less) in a Normal Route, and no battle at all in Genocide, who is not doing it for purely selfish reasons. Granted, it seems likely that she would want to preserve her comfortable, regal lifestyle, but not only does she never cite this as a reason for fighting, she doesn't even balk at having to leave her mansion and move into Ralsei's castle. The only reason she ever gives for fighting is trying to help the Lightners (the exact opposite of her ex-husband).

I say this all the time: Papyrus CANNOT kill you. Not without the player seriously breaking the game. And as I understand, at Undertale's initial release, he could kill you, accidentally, if certain conditions were met; but this happened very rarely and has since been entirely patched out. So. For all intents and purposes, he CANNOT kill you. So the fact that there is no real Papyrus battle in Genocide is kind of a moot point, since he was never going to kill you, anyway. And, as many people have pointed out, Papyrus should be able to kill you, probably even one-hit you no matter your LV, in a Pacifist/Neutral route. But he breaks the game to make sure that doesn't ever happen, whether by lowering his own stats, moving the final large bone in his "really cool regular attack," etc.

Anyway. I said all this just to make some points about the characters: that most of them pretty well parallel real life. Truth is, most people don't give their all for the right reasons. Most people do only fight to protect themselves and their egos, and not to protect others.

[theprismyyy]

THINK WITH ME!!!! A Yellowjackets Au in the best OuterBanks style😭😭

Imagine dying near the beach, going surfing, taking trips on some old boat like the one the troupe had, living most of the time in Natalie's old house which would definitely be like JJ... that said:

Natalie: Natalie would live with her parents in that old house that quickly became the group's hangout, which is amazing and makes her life a little less shitty. Her father spends half the day out drinking and doing his own thing, while her mother just sleeps in that old armchair and doesn't even notice the teenagers.

Lottie, Jackie and Shauna: I mean...Lottie and Jackie are definitely Kooks, but Shauna makes me wonder a little more about it, maybe she could be considered one too, like she's not exactly rich, but she lives in a nice neighborhood and in a nice house and her parents have good jobs that definitely don't demand everything from them and provide their daughter with a good life, all that added to the fact that she's Jackie's best friend...yeah I think Shauna would be more inclined to be a Kook.

Taissa: Urgg Taissa would definitely be like Pope, but not as "scared and proper" as Pope from the first season. Anyway, she's super Pogue and wants to do everything she can to really get a good scholarship and give her parents a better life :)) Just like Pope, she helps her father with the sales deliveries (and just like him, she sometimes does stupid things to help her friends😭)

Van: 100% Pogue with all her heart and soul, also Natalie's best friend and the two loved taking her boat to go diving, fishing and stuff, they both probably ended up sleeping on this old boat and woke up full of mosquito bites more times than they can count <3 surf queens too Van always makes fun of Natalie when she gets hit by a particularly big wave. This girl is completely in love with Taissa and always freezes around her, like a complete and blushing mess because imagine Van going to get something from Tai's family's store and running into her, then she's like: 😲😃🥴

Laura Lee: Do I really need to say? She's a total Kook, her parents are rich and super religious, her dad is a really prestigious priest (and involved in local politics🙄). Her parents always tell her not to get involved with Pogues, claiming that they're troublemakers, delinquents and just cause problems :(( But how could she when Lottie is friends with so many of them and she follows her around like a puppy? They've also always treated her so well and are so nice, so she really can't understand why her dad would hate them so much, they're just people😭 she would be a sweetheart, but she's already a sweetheart with everyone anyway.

Misty: I'm inclined to say she'd be a Kook...but not the traditional kind, like her parents are well-off and all, but she's not really a popular person who hangs out with the other Kooks and does Kook things. She's a total outcast, an outcast among those in her social class and those who aren't in her class as well (the Pogues)😭. She's tried to make friends with both sides, but the Kooks think she's...weird and totally out of the ordinary, while the Pogues...let's just say she always says something wrong that makes her look like a complete clueless idiot :(( poor baby, but she later manages to become part of the club, maybe she'll end up saving the group's skin when they get into trouble by helping them hide or something, after all no one would really suspect a Kook.

@before-it-felt-like-a-sin @lacyscabinet @jellyb3annn

© 2024 theprismyyy — please do not copy, translate or repost any of my works without my permission.

[ravenwolfie97]

okay i have to talk about this because it's been really bothering me lately and i need to say something before i explode

so lately i've been noticing on many videos, shortform or otherwise, that they include subtitles! awesome! super helpful and cool

but idk if it's always been a problem and i'm only noticing it now, or if it's gotten particularly bad lately, but... recently a lot of those subtitles are really really bad

slight tangential anecdote: i used to do some freelance captioning work in between real job hunting, and it was a good experience. i was already interested in doing it, obviously, but i was coached on proper captioning etiquette and guidelines to make it look as nice and readable as possible while also transcribing the audio as best as i could before my superiors would touch it up. so i do know a thing or two about proper subtitling, but even if you didn't you would Know that there are some serious problems right now

i'll give a few non-specific examples (bc i'm too lazy to hunt them down to show you). there is a pretty popular (i think) youtube shorts personality who mostly does reaction-based videos, like i think it's actually mostly tiktok stitches reuploaded to yt shorts. but anyway this person, along with most other tiktok people who have subtitles for their lil internet rambles, are probably only basing off of their voice, like there's some kind of auto-caption that gets most of the words right, save for a couple small ones. i can understand that especially for the reaction/vlog crowd who are just trying to pump out videos, but like. i also follow john and hank green. they also reupload their tiktok stitches to yt shorts and have subtitles. and guess what? they're flawless. immaculate. you Can change them. or maybe they just talk better idk my point still stands that there is issue here stemming from having the computer do it with minimal to no touch-up. which leads me to my next example

one of the first nails in the coffin recently was this one pokemon youtube shorts guy i kept getting where he'd look into old game saves. all of the videos are subtitled, but similar to the tiktoks, it appears to be transcribing the voice on its own. what's worse and the most important here is that - remember - this is a series of pokemon videos. saying a pokemon name and expecting an AI to understand what that is out the gate is insane. and it doesn't. any time a pokemon's name is said, it just spews out words that are vaguely similar-sounding standard english words. and it's never the same each time too, which is fun. this is where taking the time to edit or even give a smidge of a damn to the craft of your video really would mean a lot, because for as many as i've seen it turns me even more off every time i see those shitty subtitles. but unfortunately that's not the worst i've seen in the last few days

the one that hurt me so much i physically could not stand it, to the point that i left a Comment on how bad it was, was an edit of a streamer's twitch VOD. normally, this streamer uploads snippets of their streams to yt shorts and has really good and well-edited captions there! i usually have nothing to complain about from this guy. but this one particular video... i don't know if it's because it's an older VOD and someone's just been holding on to it for months, or if it was a huge rush job, or What. but this video had literally the worst captions i had ever seen. they were just slapped down in chunks, not even lining up with the people who were talking, a negligible amount of punctuation, literally the barest minimum of effort. but that's not all! let's not forget that this is an edited clipshow, and there are Effects and Transitions for not only the video itself but the text as well! so SOME amount of effort was put into this because it got actually edited into a decent-sized video instead of just being a small clip. it's literally makes me sick i am so unhappy about it

main point, TL;DR, moral of the story: for the love of all that is holy, please remember that captioning is literally an accessibility feature. some people cannot hear or are unable to listen to videos sometimes, and i can't imagine what a hearing-impaired person who relies on subtitles to engage with videos would think watching either of my last two examples. what makes it worse, too, is that i can't even tell these people to hire someone to do it for them, because oftentimes they DO have people to do that work for them. and they still fuck it up. and then they continue on, to churn out more content. ugh just take a moment to remember that captions are not just for engagement. they're a tool, and some people can use only those as their guide through your video. don't make it impossible to parse. the purpose of them is to be read and understood. and you can't do that if the sentences are in overlapping chunks or if your words are too non-standard to be translated by a computer

[bridge-supplies]

#9: All I Want For Christmas Is A Renewed Sense Of Love & Appreciation For My Fellow Humans

You may have noticed that Bridge Supplies has been a bit quieter than usual the last few weeks. As it turns out, I caught a bit of the Bug of Christmas Cheer: I designed a sewable set of vibe-catalyzing Sprites, and made a bunch of them as gifts for friends and family.

Recently I remembered an idea for a sewable ball-shaped critter that I had wanted to sew for all my friends back when I was in high school. The idea involved each of my friends receiving a soft furry creature that would match something about themselves, like a favorite color. Unfortunately, my ambitions at the time greatly exceeded my capabilities (and attention span), but I did end up sewing a few creative animal gifts for friends over the following years in college.

This year, I've been blessed with nearly unlimited free time and no time-consuming full-time job for the first time in my adult life, so I decided to use it. Some of the outlets of my newfound free time have been this site, the KMP Compose Foundation project, refactoring my Adepticadian and Archetypist Law of One apps, and planning future KMP app collabs for 2025.

My other outlet, apparently, has been to rediscover my love of crafting something physical with my hands, as opposed to digital interactions and writing code. So, here are my latest creations, what I am calling the Christmas Sprites.

Meet Puff, a Cloud Sprite. He was my first test subject as I refined the production process for making a lot of these critters with minimal resource usage & complications.

I landed on this trapezoidal-ish shape, which was then folded to have the far sides meet, like this.

First, I'd invert the fabric, and then stitch the "spine" and the angle leading up to the top of the "head". Then I'd stitch across the top to form the points for the "ears".

After that, I'd un-invert the fabric, stuff with a bit of stuffing (making sure the ears had some squish), and sewed a square of black foam to the bottom hole to make a "foot" for it to stand on. Finally, I added the appropriate set of googly eyes to capture the Sprites personality.

Once I'd landed on my ideal shape, I realized that it would perfectly fit inside these neat little yogurt cups I'd been saving to potentially plant seedlings in. The idea naturally progressed, and I had soon decided to add a fabric top, hemp string tie, and a label card with proper care instructions.

After colors had been decided for every recipient (by me either choosing what fit them myself, or asking for what they wanted if I wasn't sure), I began classifying each Sprite, giving them names and instructions on where to place them in your space for their proper growth and development.

Soon, I had a veritable Army of Christmas Sprites: Cloud, Shade, Water, Fire, Royal, Sun, Soft, Bear, Earth, and Sand. Fifteen of the twenty Sprites were given the special container setup. While putting them together, I realized that the glass cup could also be repurposed into a candle holder, using the hemp string as a wick and the fabric top as a sort of insulated coaster. I'll let recipients know this upon receipt, in case they're feeling extra crafty themselves.

One of the Shade Sprites, Mote, has already found a lovely new home with one of his own kin. The rest shall be distributed to specific family and friends in the coming days, spreading the reach of the protective golden shield offered by all hand-crafted expressions of love.

Now that this project has been officially completed, I feel content and energized. Making something tangible has always been a way for me to remind myself about what I'm capable of doing: a physical representation of my ambitions, identity, and creative spirit that not even I can take away from myself.

As I look to the remaining days of 2024, I think I've learned a lot about myself and others that I never anticipated 365 days ago. Here's to continually creating, loving, and sharing our collective magic in 2025.

[gadgetrevive]

xiaomi 14 ultra better than samsung. This is xiaomI's brand new 14 ultra and after almost 14 years of xiaomi phones having the same old mui software. This is where they reinvent themselves. The phone spec sheet is absolutely jacked. It's got new ai features, some of them genuinely mindblowing. It's got their nextgen, hyper os operating system and it's arguably also the most decked out camera system on the planet. So in the 2024 smartphone market, how does xiaomI's best compare to samsung's best the phone that I've been using every day since launch the galaxy s 24 ultra? Well. For starters, the unboxing experience is just leagues ahead for three reasons, so we got an insert on top, which has the sim ejector tool but, more importantly, one a frosted plastic hard. Shell case. It's nothing fancy, but it's functional. Assuming that you're going to buy a decent quality case for your phone online anyways, then it's a $ 20 saving and, ironically, better for the environment. You got the phone obviously, and a cable like every phone comes with, but this also has number two a 90 w charging. That's two times the maximum power that samsung is able to charge with, and the final thing is well when you peel the phone. You will also notice a preinstalled screen protector which, as with the chargers samsung, does not come with, I mean don't get me wrong, screen protectors, extremely cheap, but the main benefit from it being preinstalled. Is that, let's be honest, the company are going to do a better job than we are and we're not actually done yet. There's a whole separate photography kit, which is this pretty indul package, containing a nicer looking textured case. This one is leather, with a specific coating that highly resists bacteria and dirt. It's got a mount that allows you to attach physical filters, and that also looks like a slot for a lanyard. It's all a bit excessive for most people, but I can't deny it's cool. Like these two are just decorative camera rings to style your weird phone camera hybrid, as you please, and then this is a grip for that case, which plugs into your usbc port. To give you proper hardware, camera controls, as well as three very cool features which will get to and then oh there's the lanyard, but even putting all this photography kit stuff aside cuz, it is a separate purchase. Just the core package contents of the xiaomi do wipe the floor with what the samsung comes with. So that's one point to no points, but then, as soon as I picked the xiaomi up, I i started laughing. Don't get me wrong. There is absolutely merit to xiaomI's design. I really like these leatherlike finishes. It feels clean and grippy and hasslefree, and also having a central, symmetrical camera is nice and practical for using the thing on a flat surface. However, these cameras have become so big, so deep and so weighty that it feels like they've started to invade the core phone experience to the point where most of the people I've handed this to it's the first thing they notice and they are completely put off by It especially compared to the samsung, which is so great for brighthued, almost any position and still avoid the cameras to quote joseph in my team here. It feels like you're holding holding a piece of tech stuck onto a piece of tech, and, while I can tolerate it, you know I'm always someone who wants to make sure I'm using the best tech. There is, and I'm willing to be a little bit uncomfortable to do so. This right here is my issue. This phone is so topheavy. I genuinely feel like I'm having to exert extra grip strength just to keep it in my hands. You feel the urge every single time you pick it up to hold it higher up than usual to balance out that weight distribution. But you can't do that because the camera protrude so much and takes up half the phone, and so you just end up with this continuous sense of dredge, knowing that at any time one wrong hand over and it's a vista. It gets in the way of wireless charging. The camera

lifts the phone up so high that in quite a few situations it no longer makes proper contact with the charger or the phone that you're trying to charge with it. If you're reverse wireless charging, I really needed this thing last week to save my dying samsung. While I was out traveling and about an hour into delicately fiddling with these two phones trying to perfectly match the coils to actually get charge from here to here, while avoiding this massive camera module the size of the moon. I just wanted to chop the thing off. Also this bezel on the back. I hate it clearly, this whole thin on the top thick on the sides. Thing is a purposeful decision that xia's made, but I just don't understand why cuz to me, it just looks like they took this leather strip and misapplied it. So pretty clear point for samsung with the build and the usability which makes it 1 one so far, but then you turn the phones over and you'll see that xiaomI's done something pretty unique with the screen. A long running complaint that I've had with their past phones is they've, always had this thicker bottom bezel, and these weird bunny rabbit looking corners, but in one phone they have fixed both of those things and taken it further. They're calling this an allaround liquid display, which is indicative of well a how companies are running out of ways to describe glass and pixels but b, how the panel kind of melts into the edges and the corners equally in all directions. It's subtle, but I think it's a really aesthetic effect. It's kind of like how, 10 years ago we used to sketch out what we'd imagine our future phones would look like, and it's definitely cooler than samsung's flat display it's more unique and it's more interesting, but that doesn't make it better. Both are top of their game. In most aspects, bright, a high refresh rate that can fully adapt on the fly and ultra high resolution, but I would actually side slightly with samsung for this one, because for gestures, you have to use the very edges of the screen and that ends up being on The curve for xiaomi, so it doesn't register quite as reliably two that even though samsung's max brightness is technically rated lower in all the lighting conditions, I've tested it in it seems to be brighter. Brightness is a weird stat these days and then what seals it for me is this antireflective coating that samy slipped onto the s24 ultra. It is so good that you almost forget about the surrounding light, and that makes your screen experience way more legible, as if you had even higher brightness, but without the extra battery drain. That comes with that which leads us to a score of 1 2 now. But we all know that more and more every single year, the battle for the best smartphone, it's a software battle way more than it is a hardware battle. So let's talk about that and because it's such a massive category now we're splitting it into three user interface. Software support and ai okay, you might remember xiaomI's mii. It's the software skin they've had on every phone ever since the company first started, but I'm guessing that since mI's reputation was always fairly mid and potentially holding their hero, flagship phones back. They finally decided that it's time for a redo, a new skin called hyper os with a ton of new features, new animations, greater efficiency and built to work, particularly well with other xiaomi products. So yeah we're talking about the first full software remake from a company whose entire foundation was based on its software. Now that sounds awesome, which is why I was slightly underwhelmed when I booted it up for the first time and realized well. That just looks like my last xiaomi phone and that's okay. I've never hated the way that xiaomI's os looks, but it is also far from my favorite right now. It very much feels like it's trying to be ios, but just without the attention to detail or the consistency of ios, and I particularly do not appreciate the builtin adverts cuz, you would almost

assume, given that hyper oss is meant to be xiaomI's, big breakaway from mii And its advert filled reputation that this would be the opposite their way to overcorrect and to make it right, but that does not appear to be the case like the mus have recommend mended apps, that it shows you before you go to xiaomI's app store, how it Takes just one swipe from your lock screen and you're in an ad, it calls itself a wallpaper carousel, but really it's an ad in disguise cuz. As soon as you click on anything, you will be taken to a page with so many popups it genuinely makes you want to throw up even on the home screen. One swipe and you see news, but it's news in like the worst possible way to consume news with two large banner ads on screen at any point in time, and that's on top of the fact that you already have the google news feed with which actually does Take you to the sites that you want to go to, oh, but the worst is the notifications. Why why on earth does the mi browser need to specifically ping me to tell me I need to see this random article again with about 40 adverts baked in now. Of course, these are all easy to avoid and you can disable almost all instances of advertising in the phone. So I don't think it's a reason to not buy it, but I just don't like the feeling that, clearly to shia me, I am as well as the customer, I'm also the product that they can sell to their advertisers. Okay, so that was my pretty bleak. First impression of the software, but the more I've used it, the better. It has got it for starters, you realize that hyper os is ultra lightweight, like just, for example, samsung's os takes up around 17 gb of your data. This is less than 10 and within that there is still a little bit of blow wear, but the good news is, you now have complete control over it. Basically, anything on the phone is uninstallable. The lock screen customization has now opened up, and it not just allows you to in instantly nail one type of look really well, but like a whole, suite of very different aesthetics, with also room to add your own personal touches to them. It reminds me of the kind of variation that would have previously required you to use third party apps and workarounds, but it's built in, and that makes it work so much smoother, but it is still lacking on the lock screen. Widgets front they've cleaned up the control center when you swipe down just like ios they've got rid of all the text. That tells you what each icon is, which means it takes a little bit of getting used to, but once you're used to it, it feels clean. Now you can fit more icons on screen and instead of swiping between pages you just scroll down now, there's new animations and the whole thing is really fluid. I only really clocked this on, like my third full day of using the phone, but it was a sudden moment of realization of wait a sec. Have I had a single bit of lag in my entire experience? No, it feels reliably almost unbreakables and you expect it to stutter a little bit. Nothing or like this is the camera app relative to most camera apps. This is slick. There's new gallery features like some very quirky portrait mode effects, probably a little too quirky for me, but they're, fun, oh and also cutout, which can instantly just chop your background out or swap it for something else. Hyper os also has this dynamic island like feature on top for little things like charging and silent mode, and I actually think it's done pretty well because of the screen's ability to portray deep blacks. It genuinely feels like your phone bezel itself, is extending down to create this separate area within your screen. It's a convincing illusion, but it is also early days. Something like this is only useful in so much as there are apps that support it and well not many apps support it. So yeah hyper os is a good step in the right direction. It is better than the mii it's replacing, but I still prefer using samsung's 1ui. I think this new version of samsung's os. It feels like a really good balance of playful, but mature.

I like how you can swipe your notifications away both ways as opposed to xiaomI's. One way or how you can expand those notifications in all cases, with a little swipe down that feels so intuitive to me, the customization is absolutely absurd. Thanks to samsung's goodlock suite of apps - and you can do it all without any need to get into the nittygritty of installing custom firmware and the vibrations samsung's vibration motor is so good that you forget there is a vibration motor. It almost fuses the hardware and the software, so that typing, for example, feels really tactile, and you don't even immediately know why. Now that is not quite the case with xiaomi, so I wouldn't call this a landslide win for samsung. Both phones will absolutely do everything you need them to do and more, but it's just I think, samsung has improved this generation more than xiaomi has with hyper os, even though xiaomi is supposedly the one who's had the big rebrand and the whole thing with the ads. In the software, while it isn't a deal breaker for me, it does leave a bad taste in the mouth, but hey I've waited through them for the last 2 weeks to make this video, so a sub to the channel would wow me: okay, here's the thing with Xiaomi though one of the biggest complaints - that's often leveled at them, is the software support. In recent years, samsung has massively revamped theirs. They went from promising 2 years of major android updates to 4 years and now 7 years on this phone, this s24 ultra will get updates until android version 21 and that's not a cheap thing to do. I was actually talking to someone I know in the phone industry, someone who actually makes the decisions for how many updates their phones get, and they were telling me that they spend an average of a million per major update per model of phone. They want to get those updates for, and this is where xiaomi does save a bit of cost, there's a fair few of their flagship phones in the past that they have completely just left high and dry, which was extremely sad. It's better now they're offering four full years, which not that long ago, to be fair, would have seemed incredible, but hey I mean the benchmark keeps moving and xiaomi is consistently catching up. So this one goes to samsung too. Let's talk artificial intelligence with the launch of the s24 ultra, it felt like one of those mic drop. Ai is here moments. There's around 10 different ai features, all weaved into various parts of the software and all available on day. One I'd say about: half of them are gimmicks like fun party tricks that are cool to try, but you won't really use after the first week, and half of them are either already game changers or they have a good chance to become game changers in one way Way, the entirety of hyper os is built around the ability to use ai like there's this big incoming feature called hypermind, which apparently uses ai to understand your needs and then execute things automatically across all your xiaomi products, but hyperm mind is coming in a few weeks. Apparently, as of right now at this point in time, there aren't nearly as many discrete ai features on the xiaomi as samsung, but that doesn't mean there aren't any I mean for one hidden away in the gallery is an absolutely enormous ai feature called video effects. You pick a clip and then you just tap and hold on whatever effects you want to apply to that clip and it automatically tracks them to that person. In that footage, there was a time not very long ago at all where this would have to be drawn in by hand, and it would take like a full day just to edit a 30 second video. So the fact that I can now completely without internet literally tap and hold my screen to edit an effect into the video for, however long I want feels like I have just been granted a superpower, and if I was a little better at the robot, this would Look absolutely awesome. I tried okay, it can even use its awareness of where you are to place text behind you, which

is a complex effect that, if you're doing it manually with a traditional video editing program, it takes way longer and requires much more skill than it does here. On your smartphone, there are some ai features baked into the camera too, but I'll get to the camera separately. For this ai category, I would say: samsung still takes it just for the sheer breadth of ai features, but the fact that what xiaomi has done they have done so well, it does get me excited for what might be next, oh dear, the scorecard is not looking Very good for xiaomi right now, but how does the performance measure up well? Both phones have the snapdragon 8 gen 3 processor, with samsung's advantage being that they always get custommade versions just for them that are slightly overclocked and specifically optimized and xiaomI's perk that this goes up to 16 gb of ram instead of samsung 12. So if we're talking numbers samsung is a little higher on cpu and a pretty decent amount higher on graphics, xiaomi is going to be able to keep a few more apps suspended without having to force close them. But I tell you the much starker difference between these two is. The thermals thermals, I would say, are even more important than a bit of extra ram or a chip being made for galaxy, because in theory it only matters if your phone is powerful. If it can be powerful, while staying cool and xiaomi does not seem to be very good at doing that check this out, so this is the wildlife extreme stress test. It basically puts the phones through 30 minutes of pure pain and in that samsung's internal temperature goes up to 44°. Xia's 52° samsung feels way cooler too on the outside, whereas this especially on these metal rails on the sides, it feels like you could cook an egg on there. Here's the really weird part of it, though I have run four of these tests now and every single time xiaomi, while always getting hotter, also manages to keep its performance higher, there's way less of a drop off after long strain, which is good. But considering that I can see - and I can absolutely feel that it's getting hotter is also unusual and maybe not good the way I'm interpreting that result - it's it's almost like xiaomi is being less conservative with protecting the chip and the battery in the long term, like Allowing the phone to go full throttle and stay at full throttle, even if potentially reducing its lifespan, so I'll give performance a draw just because who wins really depends on what you're prioritizing, but where I think you feel this looser power management more directly is battery everything About xiaomI's battery experience sounds like it should be better. I mean both phones have 5000 mah batteries, but xiaomI's wired charging is 90 w of power versus samsung's 45 xiaomI's wireless charging is 80 ws versus samsung's, 15 and xiaomI's ability to reverse charge. Other phones is 10. W versus samsung's, 45 and yet samsung still takes it for me for the simple fact that the lasts longer and not even by an arbitrary amount, it's a full 10 to 15 % difference. So for the way that I use my phone I charge overnight, and then I want my phone to last all day. Samsung has enough of the battery life improvement that honestly, none of xiaomI's, fast charging chops can win this point back. But if there's one redeeming factor of the 14 ultra one thing that could still make it worth it, even though it's down bad on number of categories, one, it's got to be the camera right. I mean the thing is massive: it feels like it weighs more than me, and this is the key area where all of these ai features are focused. So every single camera on the back here is a 50 megap camera and, more importantly than resolution. The reason that these cameras are so much bigger than these cameras is sensor sizers. These phones have the exact same combination of camera types, but every camera on the xiaomi is bigger than the respective camera on the samsung, and that's a good thing. That should mean that providing the software is as good.

This will wipe the floor with samy over here. So does it do that? Well, it's got really good fundamentals like look how smoothly you can transition between your lenses and most impressively with zero color shifting this phone? Really understands your scene and, yes, your photos aren't 100 % true to life of color because of this leica collaboration that xiaomI's doing leica definitely has a style, and you definitely notice it appearing in your shots, but I don't mind it here. What bothers me is when phones get colors wrong because they don't know. What's right, we had something pretty much like this with the oneplus 12, whereas here you have the confidence that the phone gets it, but it's just choosing a style, and that makes it fun to shoot with the filters and the automatic vignette. That's applied the huge camera sensors, meaning that, whether you use your main camera, your three time, zoom camera or your five time, zoom camera - you are getting mive natural cinematic background, blur much more than samsung. It makes me feel like such a hipster, and I actually find myself using the camera way more on this phone. Just for the pure thrill of it. Stylewise xiaomi goes for to smooth images. Meanwhile, samsung goes for vibrant sharpened images. Both are good, but the soft old film style look of xiaomi, combined with its high power optics, is a really cool combo, because it specifically makes photos, look like they were shot on a big proper like a camera and by comparison samsung shots more often than not. They still feel to me like phone photos, great phone photos but phone photos and what I'm really glad to see is xiaomI's video performance. The phone is a pretty clear demonstration that they know how to take good video video, that's detailed, video, that's color, accurate video! That's pretty good at keeping noise levels in check now. One thing that I will hand to samsung is that their focusing is better than xia's and that's really starting to matter when you've got big sensors, which will blur anything that isn't immediately in focus, but the xiaomi 14 ultra's camera is just too cool to not give The point to them like it's, got four microphones instead of three, which gives it one more channel to both pick up better audio and also remove background noise. It's got a variable aperture, so you can manually restrict light intake. This camera grip for a certain kind of user is the best for three reasons: one it's also a battery. It gives the phone an extra 1500 mah hours of juice, taking the phone's total capacity with it to an eye watering 65k milliamp hours. It funnily enough, actually improves the phone's weight distribution and makes it more ergonomic, and then three is the accompanying software. This is not just a slapon accessory they've, clearly thought about the different things, things that you might want to use it for. The final addition, then, is the ai, and it's mostly used in the background on xiaomi. You don't really see it, except when you zoom in as soon as you get beyond 30 times magnification. You know when most phones start to look like potato cameras. That's where you see this little red icon come up. You see that, and you know that you're about to see magic, because after capturing that photo, your phone isn't just going to do what it can with what it has it's using extremely powerful ai ai, sophisticated enough that you can take photo. Is it even something stupid? Like 120 time zoom and the phone turns it into a legible result, this blew me away and when it works, it is by far the most detailed zoom camera I've ever used, but yeah. I do have to caveat it because the ai upscaling it doesn't always activate it, raises questions like given that detail here isn't being extracted, it's actually being invented. Is that even photography, and also it can make some photos? Look a bit weird like in the process of inventing that detail. You'll find yourself with shots that a decent amount of the time. Don't quite have the texture that you know they should.

There is also a movie mode on xiaomi, which is great cuz. The core video quality is so high and this mode specifically it nails the fundamentals of cinema, but who shoots a movie in 1920x 800 resolution. Let's probably talk again when it can do 4k, like the other phones can. Overall, though I would say, cameras are a win for sham, which leaves us with a score of 3 seven. Obviously, not all categories are going to matter the same amount. So the reason we've done this graphic is so that it's an easy way for you to decide. What's important to you and prioritize that but yeah, I do think that in the battle for the 2024 flagship, samsung is ahead. Unless you really want the xiaomi camera experience and you're happy to sacrifice to get it. ``

[alinacapellabooks]

Thanks for the tag! It took a lot to get through this, but I think I covered everything well enough ^_^

When did you first start writing?

I was born in front of a laptop with a plot outline in my hand. I’m kidding, but point is, I’ve been doing it since I was a very small child.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

Not at all. It wouldn’t make sense to write romance and fantasy if I didn’t enjoy both of those genres.

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

I don’t particularly want to emulate anyone except for Ai Yazawa, but only because her ability to create human characters is unmatched. She is the only writer I have ever read who is able to perfectly translate the thoughts and feelings of real people into fiction. I want to be able to do that too.

As for who I’m compared to…When I found The Tengu And The Angel on romance.io (I don’t know why it’s there, I didn’t put it on there), the site recommended that people read Alice Oseman because her books are similar to mine. Which, I’m not gonna lie, I find that to be quite the compliment.

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

Living room, on the couch. I’m always most productive after I’ve cooked and eaten a proper meal. I love to cook, even though I don’t always have the spoons for it, but something about the cooking process helps the writing process.

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

Read some of whichever book I’m currently reading. I live by Stephen King’s principle of, ‘If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.’

Did the place you grew up in influence the people/places you write about?

No. I take most of my inspiration from the people I’ve met, or from places I either have visited, or want to visit. My hometown has never factored into my writing.

Which of your characters would you want to be friends with in real life?

Nathaniel and Solana. I’d definitely vibe the most with them.

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them in real life?

Brooklyn Steadman, and I didn’t even have to think about an answer to this one. The fact that men like him exist in real life sickens me, and I enjoyed writing him so that I could give someone like him the punishment he deserves.

Tell me the process of coming up with your characters

My recipe for an OC goes as follows:

1 cup of personality traits

1 cup of backstory (I prefer tragic, but any kind works)

A pinch of things I personally think are cool

Do you notice any recurring themes among your characters?

I’ve spotted two so far. 1.) Being either on the aromantic or asexual spectrum (I’m a big believer in doing a job myself if I want it done right, I’m aro ace and I write characters who are on both spectrums because there needs to be more aro ace representation), and 2.) Traumatised people with mommy issues who are angry with the world and use unhealthy coping mechanisms. I’m looking at you, Kunio and Solana…

How do you picture them?

Short answer: I can’t. I have a mild form of aphantasia and I cannot picture things in my head in detail, which sucks. I often look for real-life reference images for my characters, and then use those to give to artists to create concept art of them. I found the perfect reference image for Nathaniel when I was making an aesthetic board for him, like, it was as if he’d somehow jumped off of the page and found his way into real life, and I wish I could find reference images that perfect for all of my OCs. Kunio was way harder to come up with a reference image for, and really the closest I could get was an old photo of Haruma Miura. He was the only person I could find who looked anything like what I envisioned for Kunio.

What’s your reason for writing?

I write because I want to save people from reality. Reality sucks, and fiction provides an escape from reality. Fiction is a place where people can be happy, and free from their problems. When reality has you broken, bleeding, and backed against the wall, let my works be your refuge.

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

I live for detailed, in-depth reviews. If someone tells me specifically which parts of the book they liked best, I’ll know that I’ve made an impact on them. If someone tells me that a certain character or event resonated with them, or brought them comfort and hope, I’ll know that I’ll have successfully saved someone from reality.

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who “gets” the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.)

I want to be someone who is able to save people from reality. I want people to read my books knowing that they will give them the things that reality cannot offer them.

What do you think is your greatest strength as a writer?

Characterisation. I pour as much humanity into my characters as possible, and a lot of the behavioral patterns of my characters are ones that I’ve witnessed firsthand in real life. Real people aren’t perfect—They make excuses for people who don’t deserve their forgiveness, they hurt without meaning to, and they bottle their emotions up until they explode and make a mess of everything around them, and I make sure to reflect that in my characters.

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

Again, characterisation. Kunio is by far my most popular character, and for good reason. (He’s also one of my personal favorites because he’s really fun to write ^_^)

How do you feel about your own writing?

As it stands, I’m proud of my abilities as a writer, but I know that I can always do better, and I’m always looking for ways to improve my craft. If you’re satisfied with staying where you are, you’ll never go any further.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

If that were the case, I would paint my stories on a wall or carve them into stone in the hopes that some alien civilisation will discover them after I’m gone. Even with the absence of humanity, I don’t want to be forgotten, and if only one record of my existence survives, I want it to be my writing.

Are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading?

I have to admit, it’s a bit of both. I’ll only write a book if I have a story I want to tell, but at the same time, I want my books to sell well, and I will look for specific gaps in the market that I want to fill. I have never seen any mainstream publisher put out a book with a demiromantic main character—I’ve seen a few aromantic characters, but the rest of the aromantic spectrum seems to be largely ignored by mainstream publishers, which is part of what lead to my decision to make Nathaniel demiromantic.

Leaving this tag open!

Writerly Questionnaire

The very lovely @sableglass tagged me in this one. (I absolutely relate to your love of escapist romances to read alongside the beach 💖✨)

I’ll answer the best I can. Bear in mind I’m a little bit of a chaos gremlin :)

About Me

When did you first start writing?

About 12 years old. I always took a liking to Disney animated classics, which have inspired me to write and draw similar to the style.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

Actually, the two are very similar. What I love to write is what I love to read. I’ve taken more of a fancy to writing romances now as opposed to a decade ago, though :)

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

Not that I’m aware of. Everyone has taken a little bit of inspiration from different sources, whether knowingly or unknowingly, so there are probably some authors or writers that I share similarities with. I know for a FACT that a lot of my stories draw heavy inspiration from Disney, which has influenced my art and storytelling styles ✨

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

Ahhh, yes. Couch, coffee table, writing laptop, coffee. Soft throw draped across my lap as I get perpetually cold. Thankfully, it’s nice and quiet in this writing space and it allows me to let me do string-of-thought writing for hours. The only thing is sometimes I lose track of time this way, so I have to set an alarm for breaks and meals.

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

Watching movies, listening in on my friends’ DnD campaigns, or reading stories from friends and mutuals :)

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Not really. I keep my personal life and writing life pretty separate. After all, a great thing about writing fantasy is that it doesn’t HAVE to tie in to the real world, or personal life. It can be whatever I want it to be ✨

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Recurring themes? You bet. I either write a high fantasy BL Romance, or low fantasy slice-of life RomCom. My favorite writing tropes are Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn, Found Families, Romantic Comedy, Magic in the Mundane, Slice of Life, Call to Action/Prophecy, and Absurdism.

Do they surprise me? Absolutely. I can have a beautiful plot all planned out, and then my characters say, “okay I see the route, but what if we take a sliiiiight detour? :)” and then soon enough I’m on a totally unique and unexplored path in my writing….and that’s exciting. An adventure all on its own ✨

My Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

I fear if I don’t say Peter here, he’s gonna kill me. In my current WIP, my favorite character is Ali because he’s a lovable goofball genie that wants the best for Noah. Overall currently (side eying) Peter because he’s a chaotic-neutral, anti-establishment, insane pirate captain that makes my life entertaining 😂

Which of your characters do you think you’d be friends with in real life?

Ali. Hands down. Dude gets along with just about everyone.

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

Any of the villains I wrote, but going off of main OCs? Gosh that’s tough….probably Tyr because he’s really angry all the time (for good reason, but too much of that is toxic)

Tell me about the process of coming up with of one, all, or any of your characters.

Oh boy. That’s a big one. Let’s see….

Character building kinda happens simultaneously to Plot Planning; it’s a bit hard to describe, as there’s no “right order” to my world building. But usually it’s: “Okay, who is my protagonist? Who is the antagonist? What do they look like? Is the protag a hero, or villain? Is the antag a hero, or villain? What is their ‘general moral alignment?’ What are their characteristics? What are their strengths? What are their flaws? What are their goals and aspirations? Etc.” I do this for each major character. Then, secondary and supporting characters, who get a little less polish but still enough to be human (or relatable) in nature, start getting fleshed out.

Once I get the Core Plots and characters made and planned out, I start piecing the events in chronological order in the story. This becomes my “roadmap” that helps drive the narrative. Then….well, the rest just kinda falls into place. Once I have a “Plan of Events,” all that’s left is writing the story around the plan. And, as I’m writing, new ideas may come, and I get to explore that a little further during the writing phase.

tl;dr: I do the “Tree Approach.” Characters are the foundational trunk. Branches are the Core Plots. Twigs are the Conflicts. Leaves are the little details of each conflict (i.e. how characters react, where the conflict is set, what this means for each character’s aspirations, etc.)

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

Yep :)

How do you picture them? (As real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc.)

Like this:

My Writing

What’s your reason for writing?

Personal enjoyment, mainly. And how far I can stretch and challenge my creative mind ✨

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

Any story reactions and positive engagement is always appreciated. Just don’t be a dick and you’re good 👍

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who “gets” the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.)

I loathe this question. As long as people enjoy my stories, that’s what matters. I’m just one silly little guy writing stories for my own enjoyment. The fact that other people can enjoy my wild ideas as well is a blessing in of itself.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Comedy and Dialogue. And comedic timing.

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

Same as above. Also have been told that I have wildly entertaining and outlandishly creative ideas portrayed in “insane, chaotic, and ballsy ways.” Coolio 🤙

How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question.)

I’m proud of it. I’ve successfully written stories that I wanted to read, and reading back through my stories is really entertaining and motivating :)

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

I’ve already been writing stories on my own for well over a decade, nearly two. It was my husband and friends who finally pushed me to go public, and I’m very glad I did :)

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

I write solely for my entertainment, and my personal opinion is that’s the best way to do it, honestly. If I write stories that I want to read, I enjoy them, I spend more effort on them because I WANT to, not to please anyone other than myself. I don’t inhibit myself or censor myself, allowing me creative freedom to write wherever my heart takes me….which has led to some WILDLY entertaining plots. Even if writing is a career to some, if you find yourself enjoying what you write, you’re gonna motivate yourself beyond your wildest imaginations ✨

Man, that was a lot! Thank you @davycoquette for starting the chain, and thank you again Sable for tagging me!

I will gently and no pressure tag the following people as well as my tag list: @nczaversnick , @lavender-gloom , @cowboybrunch , @noblebs , @words-after-midnight , @saturnine-saturneight , @marlowethelibrarian , @coffeexafterxmidnight , @astramachina , @justabigoldnerd , @pippinoftheshire , +open tag! 💛✨

✨👇Tag list for writing tidbits below. DM me if you’d like to be added 👇✨

Tag List for writing tidbits (lmk if you want + or -)

@autism-purgatory , @talesofsorrowandofruin , @sunglasses-in-the-bentley , @glasshouses-and-stones , @alinacapellabooks , @gioiaalbanoart , @fortunatetragedy , @deanwax , @dyrewrites , @honeybewrites , @drchenquill , @paeliae-occasionally , @thatuselesshuman , @kaylinalexanderbooks , @katenewmanwrites , @fantasy-things-and-such , @billybatsonmylove , @madi-konrad , @houseplantblank , @far-cry-from-finality , @froggy-pposto , @fractured-shield , @avaseofpeonies , @topazadine , @thecoolerlucky , @theaistired , @willtheweaver , @rivenantiqnerd @somethingclevermahogony , @noxxytocin , @leahnardo-da-veggie , @addicted2coke-theothercoke , @illarian-rambling , @mysticstarlightduck , @the-letterbox-archives , @theink-stainedfolk , @ominous-feychild

[moontale-official]

Holy shit it’s new Moontale content what the fuck is going on--

This lil’ idea for a fic had been brewing up in my noggin since January-- and so when my brand new PC that drained me of almost all my life’s savings (which had the files for the next fucking update) took to the shitter so hard the motherboard had to be replaced, it gave me the perfect opportunity to get this idea properly fleshed out. 

(I don’t have a proper name for this fic and idk If I’ll remember to come up with one but I just sorta call it the Undyne Fic because that’s the POV character for this story whoopee) But alas, enjoy. (For Context: this is a prequel story before the main events of the comic, about a year or so after the Wingdings of this au died (NOT shattered into time and space) and all that fun jazz.)

“I--… Well, before anything else I honestly have to apologize that it took this long to meet up again.” Papyrus raises a bony hand to gesture to himself and his sibling, a polite yet apologetic smile lifting his cheekbones, “we’ve just been rather occupied  these past weeks and… well, with that we never had much time to properly sit down.”

Undyne sits opposite to the two skeletons, body loose as she allows herself the simplistic comfort of the sofa’s cushions, settling down into the living room of the two skeletons. The cup of oolong she held emitted a gentle steam, delicately condensing upon contact with the multicolored scales of her chin and cheeks. She lets out a huff, “Look- you're fine. I know you’re busy n’ all so it ain’t no sweat off my back. We’re here now.”

She takes a gulp of her drink, “What’s it you wanted to say, anyhow?”

A relieved chuckle bubbles up Papyrus’ chest without sound, never fully escaping him. With gentle strides Papyrus attends to a new pot of simmering water on the stove. With a lift he pours the pot into two cups holding bags stuffed with white tea leaves, allowing himself a moment to articulate his request. “So… me and Ivis have been talking something over for some time, now that he’s shown that he can start working again…”

Ivis averts their gaze, focused on the floor as their brother brings them up. Undyne leans forward, focus pinned on her friend as he faces her again, attention pulling from the tea as he waits for it to steep.

“Applying him for guard duty. There’s a shortage around our area, is there not?”

There’s a slight wince from Ivis after the remark is made, their fingers digging into their thighs. Though it swiftly ceases before their brother has a chance to take notice. Undyne doesn’t take notice either-- her puzzled eyes squarely set on Papyrus; not for the request he made, but for the one he didn’t, “of all people who wanted to apply-- I thought you would be first in line.”

“Oh-- no, no… It’s… a little unrealistic for me. I’m more comfortable where I am now.”

“Handling paperwork for the rest of us?”

“Which is a good job that I am perfectly content with,” he lifts himself up and strides over to the kitchen, scooping out the steeped leaves and coming back with two steaming cups. “I’m sure my brother would be better suited.”

Undyne opens her mouth to protest, but ultimately sinks back into her seat. She forces herself to focus on the one who was actually applying.

“I mean-” Undyne takes a pause to scan Ivis, focusing her attention to them.  Her brow furrows at their shaken nature; the way they try to take up as little space as possible on the sofa, or even the constant, uneasy shifting and fidgeting every other moment. “You think you’re ready for that?”

“It would help keep his mind off things,” Papyrus places the tea down on the table in front of him and his sibling, “to give him a new path forward.”

Another couple winces- the older skeleton’s bulky hands grip the sofa, hidden enough for those not looking for it to not notice. Their gaze sticks to the floor, shifting from one spot to another: avoidant, especially of the eyes of others. Undyne averts her gaze to her own drink, deep in thought. 

“Sure, yeah. We’ve been needing new guards, and there’s not much for patrols out in the forest area. I’m sure you’ll do best without a crowd around.”

Papyrus nods. The corners of his weary eyes lift, a gentle and polite smile forming, “well of course he--” 

“Not talking to you.”  Undyne’s eyes focus directly on the older skeleton, who -after taking a moment to realize such- is gently startled into returning eye contact. She repeats herself, “you’ll do good without a crowd?”

Their bulky frame stiffens tighter the longer the attention weighed on them. Lips purse, before parting ever so slightly.

“...Yeah.”

She can’t help but let the corner of her mouth curl up to a smirk, shoulders slouching while Ivis’ own lower an inch, maybe two, the slight strain on their expression easing for a moment. Papyrus smile falters, just for a moment, returning almost as soon as it stumbled. 

“Yes-- yes, very good. Of course he would need to be more eased into it; starting small, with nothing too complicated,” the younger skeleton’s lanky hands perform brief, minute gestures as he articulates, rebounding from Undyne’s interruption. “A post closer to home would be most preferred, in case I ever needed to check up on him for any reason.”

Undyne’s lips purse, fighting the urge to interrupt a second time. “Sure, maybe. I’ll have to see.”

A moment of stillness passes, Papyrus examining Undyne’s features. He lets out a small chuckle to release some of the tension, “well, now that we have… that settled, I just need to give you all the applications we filled out and that should be more than enough business for one night.” He makes a gentle glance down at Ivis, placing a hand on the shoulder of his sibling, “I’ll just be a few minutes, okay?”

With an adverted glance, they gently nod their head. Papyrus lifts himself off of the sofa, striding to and up the stairs until disappearing from view. Both Ivis and Undyne pause; all is quiet for a good moment, maybe two. The air takes a pause as the tallest skeleton leaves up the stairs, uncertainty brewing between the two as they sat alone. The moment Papyrus leaves her sight, Undyne’s gaze falls back on Ivis, the realization that -for the first time in god knows how long- she has a small window with them without any interception.

Undyne clasps her hands together, letting out a huff, “so, you uh-- ready for your life to get back on track again?”

For a fraction of a second Ivis’ gaze lifts to meet Undyne’s, lips coming millimeters from parting, but they bail out last second. Another complacent nod. Undyne’s brows knit with discontent, “do you know how long it might take for you to get used to that again? Or even just-- being a guard, that gritty… day-to-day heat that comes with it?”

 The skeleton’s gaze wavers some, one hand slowly shifting up their lower arm to give it a gentle squeeze, “mhm...”

Her lips purse, undoing her clasped hands to gesture for them to elaborate, but they don’t catch onto it; instead staring down at the mats on the floor beneath, visibly anxious. Undyne takes note of this, deciding to shift the topic-- hoping to get more of a response on something Ivis was more focused on… whatever that was. 

“What’s eating you, huh?” Undyne leans in, peering closer at the bulky skeleton as the tense air continued to settle between them. Ivis’ nerved gaze shoots up, almost startled by the sudden remark. Once again, their lips hesitate to part, beads of sweat forming on their neck-- body tightening, subconsciously attempting to appear smaller despite their burly frame.

“I. I’m…”

Undyne leans in closer, gaze tightening. Hearing the clash of that deep set voice that seemed to do everything in it’s power to seem as meek as possible -intentional or not- it somehow never ceased to pull her attention in closer, even if it might've been only due to how sparsely they used it.

“I-- I-I don’t… I-I-I’m not sure if I’m--. I. I-I’m…” their posture tightens furthermore, the fearful hesitation wriggling it’s way onto their surface. Ivis shrinks back down, a hint of visible regret beginning to cloud their eyes-- to which they don’t seem to realize how visibly that feeling was adorned until the moment they see Undyne staring directly into them like a hawk.

“Yes?” Everything else going in the background seemed to fade out, even if only slightly. Undyne’s full attention was on Ivis; something was up. Some piece missing that only they knew, which she simply could not let pass by. Something that she must have needed to know-- especially when Papyrus wasn’t around? That detail alone making Undyne’s head spin with possibilities that needed to be confirmed one way or another. 

Ivis’ chest tightens, the tension churning in their stomach. The words weren’t coming out. Undyne’s expression tightens evermore. “What are you not sure of?”

No real response; the more the skeleton squirms under her questions, the more Undyne presses on.  “Do you not think you’re cut out for this?” she couldn’t hep but let that inquisitive tone further leap out of her. Every second that passed by only served to pique that borderline upsetting intrigue-- though perhaps she couldn’t help but pounce the moment she got something confirming her own biases. 

“N-no-- I-’m-- it’s not--”

“Well then what?”

The skeleton grips their hands together, trying to quell their own shaking, “I’m just-- I’ve-- I-I-I’m just-- It’s-- I-I-I shouldn’t have brought--…” their voice trails off into incoherent murmuring, beads of sweat forming and trickling from their clenched hands.

She has to keep herself from throwing her hands up, an exasperated cry escaping her. “Shit man, just spit it out! You’re just making it harder for yourself!”

It is at this moment the situation goes from bad to worse.

Everything that was building up pressure in the bulky skeleton starts to leak, almost literally. It was clear they were aware of just how humiliating it was, shrinking more and doing everything in their power to hide it, keeping as quiet as possible and wiping as many tears away, but none of it sufficed. Their stuttered half sentences soon devolved into complete incoherency, the overwhelming bouts of distress robbing any remaining semblance of a sentence. 

Before Undyne can even have a chance to react, the gentle footed steps come back down the stairs.

“Hey-- hey-- What’s going on???” Papyrus’ footsteps hasten the moment he catches glance of the situation. His gaze repeatedly switches between their distressed sibling -who only shrunk the more attention shone onto them- and Undyne, falling on her a borderline accusatory look that wanted answers.

Undyne, still reeling from the sudden twist of the situation, lets out a scoff, “what?? I was just trying to have a conversation!”

“You know you have to be gentle with him--”

“Wh-- I barely said anything! He wanted to say something -for once- and I was just trying to help him man up!”

“Man up?” 

“Yes! And he’s going to need that,” she feels her voice raise the further she spoke, “not whatever this constant sheltering thing is you're doing!”

He holds back a scoff, “does it look like what you said made anything better?”

“It’s what he needs! Do you want him to just keep cowering away the moment he gets a teeny bit of pressure put on him?”

Papyrus winces, sparing a small glance down at Ivis as they further shrivel into themselves, hiding their face behind their knees. “You are not helping right now.”

“Yeah-- because treating him like a child is working so much better right now-- I mean like what happened to you?? Since when did you start acting like this???” She tries to keep herself from choking on her words, “you used to be so much… so much bolder? You always went into everything headfirst and--”

“You are not helping.” Papyrus’ tone stiffens as he rubs circles along the back of his sibling. “If you could just give us some space, because clearly you’re doing nothing but making this whole situation worse--”

“He’s not ready.”

There’s a moment of pause as Papyrus’ gaze sits on Undyne. 

“I’m serious. If he even wants to think -and I mean think- about being a guard he’s gonna have to learn to toughen up because he is not--” her eyes lower to the bulky skeleton, the gesture of her hand pausing on Ivis as she locks her gaze on them; seeing the slightest hint of their dual coloured eyelights peek out from their curled up position. She zeroes in on it. Gives them one last chance. Maybe -just maybe- they’d finally say something; whatever was in their mind behind that hesitant stare. But the moments passes without so much as a peep from them.

“Just take a few minutes outside. Alright?” Papyrus cracks, the half moons under his sockets showing darker than they have been the whole evening. Undyne purses her lips, watching her former friend turn back to his sibling. She opens her mouth to protest, pauses, only to then storm past the two and out the sliding doors behind them. 

. . .

Undyne leans against the porch fence’s banister as she presses her fingers against the scales of her forehead, reeling back from the evening’s outburst. Downing the last of her tea -which at that point had chilled as much as the surrounding air- she clenches the cup within the tips of her fingers, her index tracing the chilled stone of the rim. Her sigh rang coarse and dry. 

It seemed to have quieted down back inside. She couldn’t hear Papyrus’ voice anymore; maybe he went back upstairs, or even taking his sibling up too? It was a surprise, to say the least, that he hadn’t come back to tell her to leave after the half hour that passed-- did he assume she already left? Should she have left? 

Side glancing her empty cup, she turns back around to the sliding doors-- only to choke on her own saliva. Ivis stands just outside the doorway, their frame tense as they silently watch Undyne, gently fiddling with a folded sheet of paper in their hands. Undyne stares back, scraping up the humility she had to try and apologize for the scene from earlier, but only one word comes out.

“...Hey.” 

She doesn’t get much of a response; instead, Ivis hesitantly walks over beside Undyne on the small wooden balcony, gently placing the folded sheet on the banister beside her, along with a small stone to keep the paper from blowing away in the light breeze. The bulky skeleton gives Undyne one last look before stepping away and heading back inside, leaving her alone.

Her eyes lead down to the paper beside her, sliding the rock aside to grab the sheet underneath. She opens it, only seeing a small set of words written on the center. 

‘I’m not a boy.’

Undyne stares hard at the words for a long moment, before looking back up at the now closed doorway where Ivis had been.

[ponyam]

terms of endearment ♡

prompt: terms of endearment/pet names i think some genshin characters would use

characters: kaeya, beidou, eula, albedo

fluff!

a/n: i will be working on requests shortly, so hang tight! just wanted to get this one out there <3

kaeya

sweetness, love, angel

frequently uses pet names; probably more often than your actual name, so be prepared

a huge tease; will often use these to get a rise out of you

might get a lil handsy with you in public which, if you've been dating long enough, is a stunt you're fairly used to

but he's not gonna let you ignore him, no, he will get a reaction out of you

this menace will lean in real close--and i mean real close--and seductively whisper in your ear, "you're blushing, love"

save yourself

once he's gets the reaction he wants, he'll go even further by lovingly poking fun at you, much to your embarrassment

might get even more handsy if he's feeling especially flirty, or he'll simply coo at you, saying something along the lines of, "look at my angel, getting all worked up for me"

and yes, you're his angel, and yes, he will remind you

as coy as he can be, kaeya also has his softer moments in which he is more tender and sincere, but he'll usually still carry hints of his flirtatious tone

when he notices you're a bit down, or is just looking for some extra affection, he'll sometimes beckon you into his arms by saying, "come over here, sweetness"

get comfortable; you won't be going anywhere for a while

beidou

gorgeous, baby, hun

she isn't quite as openly flirty as a certain someone, but she will use these as a way to express her affections

as captain, she does have the tendency to be away at sea for a while, so cute little reunions with her are fairly common

expect to be met with a bone-crushing hug and a, "archons, i missed you so much, baby" upon her arrival

she loves you very much, and will want to be around you as much as possible once she gets back

while she does usually have business to attend to with several merchants, nothing will stop her from actively seeking you out throughout the day

when she does find you, or if you decide to visit her, beidou's face will very visibly light up before pulling you close and greeting you with a kiss and a "there you are, gorgeous"

now, while she does have to leave your side often, there is always the occasional sea excursion in which you are fortunate enough to tag along

and because she cares about you very much, she will constantly be looking out for you even if she seems focused on something else

especially in poor weather conditions, she'll check up on you more frequently

she can be very doting when she wants to be, and is the type to say something like "be careful, hun, the deck is slippery" when she sees you emerge from below deck just after a rainstorm

god, she's just so smitten with you

eula

darling, sunshine, beloved

despite her serious demeanor and sometimes morbid sense of humor, eula uses very sweet nicknames for you

even as a lawrence who is only infiltrating the knights of favonius to enact vengeance, she does take her job very seriously, and will fight for you when and if it is necessary

but even if there is no immediate danger, eula will be constantly looking out for you regardless

she's subtle about it though, and may just use excuses like, "take my hand, darling. i can't have you getting lost now, can i?" to get closer to you

her reason being, that standing near her is safer than anywhere else and totally not just because she really likes holding your hand

she also has the tendency to wake up very early to get a head start on the day, but has no problem if you wish to sleep in

on work days, she's usually gone by the time you get up, but occasionally on her days off, she'll be waiting for you in the kitchen, usually fully dressed, before she gets up to greet you with a sweet kiss and a "good morning, sunshine. did you sleep alright?"

she's also willing to give you dance lessons, if you're open, and won't complain if you step on her toes a few times she actually finds it quite cute

and on nights when it's just the two of you, she might spontaneously ask you to dance with her, usually by offering you her hand and saying, "care to dance, beloved?"

she can be quite the romantic when it comes to you

albedo

honey, sweetheart, starlight

honestly is a total sweetheart himself, and he's not shy about it

you're often the subject of many of his artworks, so try not to freak out too much if you catch him staring at you intensely with a pencil in hand

he just wants to get your proportions right! that and he's totally enamored with you

albedo finds everything about you to be beautiful, and will constantly praise you for looking "absolutely ethereal" (his words)

even if all you've done was pose for him for about thirty minutes, a never-ending stream of praise and words of encouragement will continue to fall from his lips

once he's finished he'll sit back to look at his work, smile, get up, walk over to you, and hit you with a, "thank you, starlight. you always know how to inspire me" and a soft kiss to your cheek

enjoys having you with him to keep him company in his lab at the favonius headquarters, and will often ask for your insight or assistance

and don't be surprised if that request for assistance comes in the form of, "honey, have you seen my crucible?"

he also appreciates having you accompany him on research expeditions in dragonspine, but will become insistent that you bring the proper clothes and warming potions with you at all times

as passionate as he is about his studies, he will check in with you frequently to see how you're doing

will typically ask, "are you sure you aren't cold, sweetheart?" while waiting for a set of test results to come through

you will have to reassure him frequently that yes, you are fine, but if you show the slightest indication of being tired or cold, suddenly he's whipping out everything you could possibly need from his satchel and inspecting you like he would a test subject

he means well though, and will offer to hold you close if that is something you'd prefer

overall, albedo would probably be the most doting lover out of everyone on this list; there, i said it

[hikari-kaitou]

Capcom’s Official AA Fanclub Surveys - Main Series Edition

Naturally, Capcom’s official AA fanclub site didn't only post surveys about the DGS characters; they published far more of them about the main series characters. It makes sense, as they started the trend before the DGS series had even been conceived.

Back in the old days, they used to hold a survey on Capcom’s official AA fansite every few months where they’d write about the seasonal activities of a handful of characters and ask fans to vote for the funniest/most pleasant/strangest/etc answer.

They stopped doing them in like… 2016? 2017? The original text is lost for good as far as I can tell. Even the wayback machine couldn’t help because the content was password locked and you can’t get past the password wall while remaining in the archived version.

Fortunately, I saved some of my translations of them so I thought I’d share them. Unfortunately, I was doing these translations very casually and only intended to share them with two of my close friends at the time when I did them, so some of them are just summaries rather than proper translations, and I tended to only focus on characters that we personally were interested in or scenarios that we thought were funny or interesting. That means there are parts missing, and because I didn't expect the original text to be wiped off the site I didn't save it so I could go back and fill in the blanks. Sorry about that...

Cut for length!

"Spring is on its way and each of the AA cast members spent their day off in different ways. Who's way of spending their day off sounds the most pleasant?"

Phoenix- he finished unpacking his moving boxes and sorting his seasonal clothing. While he was packing away his ugly pink sweater and such, he happened across the complete works of Shakespeare at the bottom of one of the boxes, got completely absorbed in reading, and ended up abandoning his unpacking.

Mia- She went shopping at a department store for a new summer suit. On her way, she coincidentally ran into Maya, who was on her way to the agency to hang out, but then at some point Maya vanished. Mia tried calling her cell phone but she didn't answer. "Don't tell me she's lost at her age," Mia thought, and began to search for her. She found Maya transfixed by a rooftop Steel Samurai show. It seems that she was both exasperated and relieved.

Maya- she tagged along on Mia's shopping trip, but the second she spied a poster for a rooftop Steel Samurai show, she made a beeline for the roof. She got into a cheering battle with a mean-looking elementary school boy and really enjoyed the show. When the show was over, she reunited with an exasperated looking Mia. She gleefully led Mia to a burger restaurant so they could eat some burgers together.

Edgeworth- he treated himself to a drive along the coast in his red sports car... Well, that was the plan, but then he was pushed by his mentor Von Karma into being the driver for his shopping trip. As a reward for his service, he received a brand new Von Karma style, stylish and flashy summer suit.

Then there's Larry, who dragged Phoenix to a café to hit on its hot owner, and the judge who bought a wig.

"Apollo, Fulbright, Edgeworth, Klavier and Kristoph made visits to a nursery school near the courthouse. Which of them did the most pleasant activity with the children?"

Apollo acted out the story of the “Crying Red Ogre” for the children. Phoenix played the part of the blue ogre, and Apollo was the red ogre, and Apollo’s wailing moved the children to tears too. In a panic over all the crying, they got Trucy to cheer them up with a magic trick in which she made Apollo disappear.

Fulbright: He came dressed in a blinding white costume to teach the children about justice and put on a play. The children gave him thunderous applause... But when Jinxie, who had been forced to play the part of the heroine, saw Fulbright, she thought he was the ghost of an army general, got scared, and slapped a charm on his face.

Edgeworth and Gumshoe: He and Gumshoe were going to reenact the story of Kintarou (an old Japanese fairytale). Franziska handed Edgeworth the Kintarou costume she’d designed (If you've seen Ghibli's Spirited Away, recall what Bou, the giant baby, wears. That's what we're talking about here). Edgeworth fearfully asked “You... expect me to wear this...?” Gumshoe, who had painted his whole body black to play the role of a bear, told him “Of course, sir! It doesn’t fit me!” and shoved Edgeworth out on stage in it. Edgeworth quickly began to reconsider Gumshoe’s salary for next month.

Klavier and Kristoph: Kristoph started giving a boring lecture on the importance of law, and the kids were getting antsy. Seeing this, Klavier came over with his guitar to liven things up, performing a rock style arrangement of the “The Bear Went Over The Mountain". But then he threw in the unnecessary comment of “If any of you scratch the frets of my guitar, I’ll be suing for damage of property, ok?” And they both ended up getting kicked out.

"This survey is about who knows how to enjoy a sunny day at Gourd Lake the best"

Simon: To give Taka some exercise, Blackquill took him and Fulbright (who was on guard duty) out for some falconry. Things were going well until Taka heard something about this mysterious creature “Gourdy,” freaked out, flew into the little shop selling Gourdy merchandise and started making a huge mess. Blackquill and Fulbright gathered Taka up in a panic and hightailed it out of there as fast as they could.

Edgeworth had seen Phoenix home and on his way back passed by Gourd Lake. Just as he was starting to get bad flashbacks... he happened to hear Larry in the middle of a flirting attempt and got dragged in. The woman he was trying to put the moves on was a foreigner, and she and Edgeworth started chatting in her native language. Larry couldn’t understand and was annoyed that Edgeworth was apparently moving in on his target, so he sulked and blew up at Edgeworth.

Athena tried to play matchmaker for Apollo and Juniper, so she told them to meet her in the forest near Gourd Lake so that they would run into each other there and hopefully hit it off. Juniper got there first, expecting to find Athena, but when Apollo showed up, she panicked and hid behind a tree. While she was trying to gather her nerve to go talk to him, he wandered off and she lost sight of him.

Phoenix was at the park and he got caught by Larry who was doing his part time job of selling Samurai Dogs. Larry saw a pretty lady that he wanted to flirt with so he asked Phoenix to mind the shop while he was gone. Business was slow, so he called in all the WAA members to put their full range of skills to use. They seem to have managed to sell them all!

Gumshoe took Missile for a walk in the park. They stopped for a rest and Gumshoe fell asleep, so Missile slipped out of his collar and ran over to where the Samurai Dogs were being sold. He ate them all without Phoenix noticing. Phoenix handed things back over to Larry when he got back and Larry got in huge trouble for losing so much product.

"This survey is talking about how the cast spent their Valentines Day"

Trucy gave Polly chocolate for himself and some for Klavier and asked Apollo to give it to him for her. Klavier wasn’t in court when Apollo went to look for him, though, so he and Phoenix went to the prosecutors’ office together with their chocolate. On their way, though, Apollo found himself getting a lot of strange looks from Themis Legal Academy students.

Ema gave some chocolates to Phoenix to give to Edgeworth because she suddenly got called to a crime scene. Phoenix headed over to the prosecutors’ office but Edgeworth was in court and wasn’t there, so Phoenix waited out in front of the prosecutors’ office with this flashy, girly looking bag of chocolates. Edgeworth’s trial ended up going a long time and Phoenix got a lot of stares as he waited.

Edgeworth was hit by a pollen-filled spring breeze on his way back to the office and suddenly his eyes got all red and itchy and he was left sneezing and sniffling. Phoenix came to talk to him and got quite a surprise when he saw the state Edgeworth’s face was in. The chocolates Ema gave him were in the shape of the Steel Samurai and they made Edgeworth so pleased that it seemed to ease his suffering a little.

Flower Viewing:

Phoenix and Apollo go to the park early to hold flower viewing spots for the WAA members. They see some people from around town that they know who ask them to hold their spots while they go and grab this or that. Phoenix and Apollo do their best to hold those people’s spots and in the process lose their own. They end up begging Edgeworth to let them share his and Klavier’s spot.

White Day:

Because of his painful memories about Valentine’s Day from elementary school, he doesn’t like Valentine’s Day or White Day that much. As a return gift to his beloved daughter, he gave her painstakingly handmade magic panty shaped chocolates. Apparently he forced the ones that didn’t turn out on Edgeworth...

Klavier was holding a ladies only concert, which he invited Trucy to. Phoenix was worried about letting Trucy be out at night by herself, so he sent Apollo along in disguise (as a woman!!). But Klavier saw through Apollo’s disguise easily and to Apollo’s horror, called him up on stage.

Autumn/Moon Viewing:

Phoenix, Edgeworth and Larry went to collect chestnuts together. Larry was too focused on looking for chestnuts and not watching where he was going and fell down the mountain slope. Phoenix had tried to catch Larry but he ended up falling too and spraining his ankle slightly. Edgeworth had to carry Phoenix on his back down the mountain.

Apollo went moon viewing with the rest of the WAA. It turned out into kind of an office party and Apollo had drink after drink while assuring everyone that “I’m fine!” but ended up getting pretty hammered. He proceeded to pass out and Phoenix took care of him.

Obon Festival:

Klavier performed a bonfire festival dance version of the Guitar’s Serenade at the summer festival and Apollo provided the taiko drum backup. He filled the gaps in the taiko drumming with his chords of steel, and it was a very energetic bonfire dance.

Edgeworth noticed the festival going on on his way home from work and decided to have a look. He saw Phoenix selling Samurai Dogs and desperately wanted one, but couldn’t bear the thought of Phoenix finding out that he was a Steel Samurai fan. He hemmed and hawed in front of the festival stall, trying to decide whether to buy one, but they sold out before he could make up his mind.

Phoenix went to the festival with Maya. Larry, who was working the Samurai Dog stand, called them over and forced them to watch the stand while he made a booty call. Phoenix and Maya’s manzai comedy duo style vocal advertising was so successful that they quickly sold out.

Christmas:

Phoenix, Trucy, Athena, Apollo and Pearl all spent the night at the office after their party wrapped up. Phoenix put presents next to the kids' pillows during the night.

Edgeworth grumbled about having to play Santa but dressed up anyway and snuck in at night to bring the younger ones at Phoenix's office some presents. He accidentally ends up sneaking into Phoenix’s room instead.

Apollo wanted to be a good big brother to Trucy and Pearl, so he snuck into their rooms to leave gifts but tripped over something, let out a Chords of Steel volume shout as he fell and ruined the surprise/

Klavier, as a favor to Trucy, snuck in dressed as a Visual Kei style Santa, but he announced his arrival with a rock arrangement of Santa Claus is Coming to Town and got caught and kicked out.

Blackquill had to make a jailbreak in order to play Santa, was chased down and Phoenix woke to find the police surrounding his office.

DGS Edition