#you can mess up easily if you aren't keeping track of everything (like i did many times)

[steakout-05]

cool epic guide on how to unlock Barry in DTM for free without needing other people to download the game!!!!

exactly what it says on the tin, a little step-by-step guide on how to unlock the goober himself without having to harass five friends (and then lose five friends) to download the game!!!

what you need:

two mobile devices that can run DTM (both can be real phones or one or both of them can be emulated; either will work as they function exactly the same). one of them will be your main device that you want to unlock Barry on, while the other will function as your "friend"'s device.

at least five separate gmail addresses that do not have any Google Play Games data related to DTM (protip: you can just keep making as many new gmail addresses on your main mobile device through the Google app as you need without it eventually asking for your phone number)

DTM on your main device

(oh and make sure you're logged onto your Google Play Games account on your main device before you do this. also: this guide only works with Android devices. i don't have an ios device to test this out with im sorry apple users)

step one: open your "friend" device and create a new Google Play Games account using one of the five gmail accounts you made before doing the process. make sure that you set it so that account can be searched via its associated email (meatball menu -> settings -> "Let others find your profile using your email address" under Profile and Privacy). on your main device, open the Google Play Games app, tap on your profile, search up the email address of the friend GPG account (located under your tag) and send that account a friend request.

step two: on your main device, tap on Barry in the character selection menu, tap the "OR GET IT FOR FREE" button on the purchase popup, tap the "INVITE NOW" button on the invite popup, then tap the "INVITE WITH EMAIL" button on that popup. it should directly open to gmail for you to send a referral link to your "friend" account (if it doesn't, the "MORE" button should let you open gmail there). send that email and hope it finds your "friend" well.

step three (very important): on your "friend" device, open up gmail and install the game directly using that link. it won't work if you install the game from google play without clicking that link. wait for it to install and make sure to sign in with your GPG account before doing anything in the app. if all is well and you're signed in, play through the prologue in its entirety.

step four: if this works correctly, you should be able to open DTM on your main device and see that you have received the King's Goon reward.

step five (also very important): on your "friend" device, exit out of DTM and go into the GPG app, go to your profile settings and delete all of your data associated with Dan The Man, then uninstall it. you can delete your data from GPG's settings. the reason this is necessary is to prevent any data fuckery with the game thinking you've already done the prologue even if you're signed in on another account, as that data is also stored locally on your device. delete the game and its data, and then log out of that GPG account as it will not be needed from now on. you can also delete that account too if you want to, but it's not super necessary.

step six: go all the way back to step one and create a new Google Play Games account, this time using another email that hasn't been used for this before. repeat this process until you receive Barry Steakfries on your main device. if you mess up, create a new gmail address and delete all your DTM data on the "friend account".

this process is kinda long and tedious, but it works really well and is pretty much the only way i can think of getting Barry for free without needing 5 other people and having to rely on a modded apk that doesn't even work when you install it anyway. this SHOULD be all the steps needed.

[petrichor-idyllic]

Hello! I am obsessed w ur Maze runner fics omgggg. could I request a Gally x female reader where shes autistic and the gladers think shes just a little strange but he thinks her quirkiness is cute!! love you 😇

FINALLY I get to write for my boy Gally.

I'd like to preface this by saying I am probably neurodivergent myself, but I am not diagnosed or an expert and I have researched into autistic traits in girls for this piece. I am sorry for any inaccuracies.

A BIT DIFFERENT PT. 1

MASTERLIST | GALLY MASTERLIST

PART 1 | PART 2

SUMMARY: See above. Track-hoe! Fem! Autistic! Reader x Gally. Takes place before the arrival of Thomas.

WARNINGS: Inappropriate language, some of the Gladers acting like dicks, my potentially slightly inaccurate depiction of autism. That's it.

You aren't quite like the other Gladers.

Well, the obvious is that you're a girl- a very rare occurrence in the Glade since you're the only one.

Though, you're not the kind of girl the Gladers expected (*cough* wanted *cough*). Based off of their very limited and slightly stereotypical knowledge of women.

Obviously.

When you came up in the Box, you panicked more than most. Which can easily be because you were a girl surrounded by a dozen boys. Which is terrifying.

But then you didn't speak.

The emotions and stress of it all led to you becoming completely non-verbal. It wasn't that you didn't want to speak, but it was like every time you tried, no words came out.

Most of the boys tried talking to you at least once, but they have no understanding of personal space and you hated how loud they spoke all the time.

A lot of them gave up after a while.

They thought you were weird. You avoided eye contact, weren't really sure how to read their emotions and hated the boisterous nature of the majority of the population.

Even when you did regain your voice, you took little interest in their conversations and they took your blank state as being rude. But you weren't being rude; you would listen and nod but you didn't take interest in them, so you didn't act like you did.

Things got better when you got a job as a Track-hoe. You found an affinity for plants and very quickly gave Zart a run for his money in the Gardens. Through experience and writing down all your findings in a small notebook Minho gave you during your first week or so when you wouldn't speak- you now know everything about the Gardens.

All of the plants name, their ideal growing conditions, all the uses they possess and even how to cook them properly. Frypan's veg stew has greatly improved since your arrival.

You could spend hours talking about the Gardens, though most of the boys don't really care about that.

A lot of the boys find you strange, like I previously said. There are a few that keep an eye on you and extend their kindness. Newt and Frypan amongst that crowd with Minho turning a blind eye to the robbery of his Map supplies so you can use them for your notes. It keeps your interactions brief and it means he doesn't have to endorce your plant rambles. The man is far too busy.

Though, not all the Gladers are simply being polite.

The first time you met Gally was when one of the boys stole your book and was teasing you about it. He punched him squared in the jaw, scaring the shit out of you and landing Gally a twenty-four hour hold in the Slammer.

You decided to approach him at his work after that, thanking him for looking out for you.

And you actually kind of became friends after that.

You held back at first, but when Gally started asking you about your job, you started telling him everything.

He actually genuinely enjoys hearing what you have to say. And he finds your blunt and occasionally out of pocket comments amusing.

He thinks it's cute. He doesn't really know when he started crushing on you. But your quirks and mannerisms always bring a smile to his face.

He also becomes your guard dog. Absolutely no one is going to mess with you, especially when the machine that is Gally is glaring at them from a few feet away.

You don't like Bonfire nights. Sure, it's great that you have another boy to add to the population, but you don't enjoy the celebrations. They're loud and the fires burn bright and everyone is touching or fighting. It makes your chest feel tight and you can hear the blood pumping around your skull. You hate it.

So, you sit away from the commotion, your legs crossed as you doodle another sketch of a plant, labelling the different parts.

"Yo, Green-thumb," you look up to find Gally approaching, two glasses of his suspicious liquid in hand. "Fancy a drink?"

Green-thumb is something he called you jokingly once, and now it's kind of stuck.

"Sure," you smile at him as he sits down next to you, passing you a drink. "Wouldn't you rather be enjoying the Bonfire?"

"Nah, I've kicked enough Greenie butt for one day." You scoff, putting your book down for a second to take a sip.

You visibly cringe at the harsh taste. You don't like the drink, but Gally's made it, so some small part of you is determined to drink it.

"Whatcha writing about today?" He picks up your book, admiring your handwork. "Yarrow, eh?"

"Mhm," you nod, fiddling with your pencil. "It's good for headaches and sickness. It's a wildflower I found in the Deadheads and moved some here so the Medjacks have easy access to it. It'll probably be useful in the morning if everything keeps drinking this klunk." You swill the drink around the jar and Gally chuckles.

"You don't have to drink it."

"I know," you unintentionally snap, "I want to. You made it."

Gally's heart flutters at this comment, even if it is just plain honesty to you. He looks away, blinking as he looks at your perfectly organised Gardens.

"What?" You ask.

"What what?"

"You look flustered."

"I'm not."

"Okay."

He hesitates, deciding to finally ask a question he's been meaning to ask. He clears his throat. "Would you, uh, would you ever consider dating someone?"

You tilt you head, looking at him whilst he avoids eye contact. "In the Glade?"

"Uh, yeah, if someone's caught your eye?"

You shrug. "Maybe. But you're the only person here I like."

There's a pause as Gally processes that. He knows you well enough by now that you don't mean it that way; you're just blunt.

"Yeah, but you like me as a friend, right?"

Now, you pause. Honestly, you're not really sure. You think Gally is attractive, but it's not like you're friends with many people to compare how you feel about Gally to how you feel about other friends.

So, you shrug.

The line of questioning is starting to make you panic, though.

Gally raises his eyebrow. "You... don't know?"

"Yeah, I don't know." He doesn't know what to say to this. "But it doesn't really matter, right?"

Friendships and relationships aren't that different. It's just a close friendship with some physical attributes.

That's it, really.

Gally knows you. But he's still learning to see things how you see them.

"Yeah, I guess."

This is the conversation that plagued Gally's mind for a long time.

He didn't mean to start acting like a dick. But Gally is Gally, and he isn't the best at expressing his emotions in a healthy way.

So, he unintentionally starts avoiding you.

Somehow, saying you don't know if you like him is worse than flat out rejecting him. And he'd rather go without.

You, however, are taking this horrendously.

It's been days now and safe far you've thrown a trowel at someone and ripped some fiddly vines off of one of the support growers.

The Glade is starting to notice your rise in temper, which ends up resulting in a confrontation.

You don't like confrontation, but it's been a week and you don't know what you've done wrong.

"Did I do something?" You ask Gally.

He's in the middle of his work, fixing one off the old shacks with a couple of other boys.

They all freeze.

It's rare for you to be away from the Gardens in the middle of the day, and they don't want to see why.

"Uh, give us a moment," Gally instructs his colleagues and they don't hesitate to listen. "Look, (Y/N)-"

"What did I do? Are you mad at me?"

"Wha- no." He sighs. "I'm not mad at you."

"Then what's wrong? Why are you avoiding me?" He goes silent for a moment. "Gally, what did I do? Do you not like me, anymore? Did I-"

"I like you."

You're perplexed. "I like you, too? So, why are you being a dick?"

"No," he scoffs, throwing his head back. "I like like you. Like, I wanna go on dates and klunk. A-and you said you didn't know how you felt about me and it was like you didn't even care."

You stand there, blinking at him.

In his absence, you realised that you do like Gally. You didn't think you'd miss talking to someone, you definitely don't care when don't hear from Newt or Frypan for weeks.

But you missed Gally.

He opens his mouth again to speak, but he doesn't get the chance when you rush towards him. Throwing your arms around him, you hug him, which completely startles him and knocks him backwards.

You've never hugged him before.

"I think I like you, too," you mumble as his arms come to loosely hang around your waist. You pull back slightly, looking at him.

He grins. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," you nod.

His eyes flicker to your lips and you do the same before meeting his gaze again. "Can I kiss you?" You ask, forward as always.

He chuckles. "Please."

You lean forward, not quite sure what you're doing but it's a peck that sparks a fire inside you.

You pull away, resting your foreheads against each other, enjoying the peaceful moment.

"Oi," Alby makes you both jump from a few feet away, "get back to work, shanks. The shuck are you doing?"

You awkwardly step back, feeling heat rush to your face as you sheepishly look at the floor.

Gally, however, is grinning from ear to ear.

You like him.

And that's more than enough for him.

First Gally fic done. A bit shorter than some others but I wasn't quite sure what else to do with this.

I hope you enjoyed anyway :))

[embersofhope-if]

46 with Creon, please? 👀

46: “ Can I kiss you right now? ”

Wordcount: 1.09k

I did write this for a relatively possessive Mc but other than that there aren't any trigger warnings

Escaping to the balcony does almost nothing to relieve the mounting headache that I can already tell is going to leave me sick for the rest of the night. It’s too much. The music, the shouting, the expensive perfumes that mix with the smell of the food; it’s all so nauseating.  

I want to leave. I just want to go back to my room and curl up under the covers and forget where I am. I’d pretend I’m back home; warm and safe in my own bed with Hope lying next to me. I’d pretend that I have no worries, and tomorrow would be full of nothing but school and stopping by the bakery to grab some bread. I’d pretend that people back home like me more than anyone here does. It’s not true, but if I’m going to play pretend, I might as well make the daydream as nice as it can get.  

I’m half tempted to just stay out here till the night is over. There are only two people in this entire city that would notice I’m gone, and I haven’t seen either of them since the night began. Uncle Keyon is probably off playing nice with some important person that I’ll never get the chance to meet, and Creon is off becoming the new politician that everyone is desperate to have a conversation with. I got a quick hello with them early in the night, but I haven’t had the chance to track them down again.  

They’re constantly moving; making sure that everyone is chasing them instead of them being the one forced to chase. It seems so exhausting, but they somehow manage to make it look easy. I should be proud of them; they’re making their dreams come true, but every time I watch them smile and laugh, I feel like I’m going to choke on my jealousy.  

Maybe that’s why I hate these parties so much. Every minute I’m forced to socialize with these people, I am constantly reminded that Creon Levesque will always belong to the Capitol and not me.  

I hate it. I hate everything here. The only thing about the Capitol that I don’t hate is Creon and they will forever be just out of my reach. There is no world where we could ever really be with each other despite what they try to tell me, and I’m forced to be okay with that.  

The fact that I can so easily be worked up over this might be what I hate the most. How am I supposed to prove to these people that I’m worth their time if I’m on the brink of tears whenever I think about Creon and me too long. Honestly, it’s incredibly embarrassing.  

I have to pull myself together.  

I take several breaths and lean onto the balcony trying to think about anything that isn’t the Capitol.  

Ash. Hope. Calliope. Home. Creon. 

Surprisingly it works. I’m able to take a deep breath without feeling like I’m drowning. The air is crisper than it is back home but it's close enough for me to pretend. I keep my eyes shut and lean farther onto the balcony as I continue to breathe; completely missing the fact that somebody has joined me. 

“It’s honestly impressive just how easily you manage to vanish.” 

 I open my eyes abruptly, startled by the familiar voice that breaks through my thoughts. Creon stands beside me, their gaze fixated on the city lights. A weak smile tugs at my lips. “I wasn’t trying to vanish; I just needed a moment.” 

Creon chuckles softly. “Well, I’m glad I found you. It’s overwhelming in there, isn’t it?” 

I nod in agreement, grateful for their understanding. “Yeah, it’s a bit much.” 

They lean on the railing beside me, their presence comforting. “You know, sometimes I feel the same way. All of this, it can get suffocating.” 

I meet their eyes, surprised by their admission. “Really?” 

Creon gives me a genuine smile. “Yeah, really. I mean I enjoy it but sometimes I get tired of everyone watching me; waiting for me to mess up.” 

Their vulnerability surprises me. Creon, of all people being tired of attention really isn’t something I expected. They’ve always seemed to thrive in the spotlight. Like they were made to be looked at and listened to, but that’s what they want everyone to see isn’t it? It’s so easy to believe it even when I know that’s not who Creon truly is. 

Their gaze shifts from the city lights to meet my eyes, and a fleeting emotion passes between us. “It’s all fake everybody knows it, yet we still do it anyways. I still do it anyways.” 

“Why do you do all of this if you know its fake?��� I ask, only realizing how rude it sounded after I said it out loud. 

“Because it’s what I was made to do. It's who I am,” They respond contemplatively. They’re still staring at me and I feel like I can almost see the gears turning in their head. They want to say something else I can tell, but after a moment they shake their head apparently deciding that it wasn’t important.  

We both just stand there staring at each other. Their gaze so intense I think they might be trying to memorize every feature on my face, then they take another step closer, their hand grazing mine on the railing. “Can I ask you something?” 

I hold their gaze, my heart racing at the anticipation in the air. “Of course.” 

A soft smile graces Creon’s lips, their voice dropping to a gentle whisper. “Can I kiss you right now?” 

My heart skips a beat, and for a moment, the world seems to hold its breath. This is a distraction I can tell. Whatever they decided not to say is still racking their brain and half of me wants to stop and force them to tell me. But the other half of me is trapped in their eyes making it impossible to resist. With a mixture of nerves and excitement, I give a hesitant but eager nod. 

As Creon’s lips meet mine, the world around us fades into the background. It's as if all the doubts and worries melt away in that single, electrifying moment. The touch of their lips against mine feels like the culmination of all those unspoken words. For one heavenly moment Creon Levesque is here and they are completely and totally mine. 

[moe-broey]

Was there a particular moment where the characters of FEH really sunk their claws in for you?

For me personally was the half a body, half a mind page from the silly little side comic (aka where Robin asks Kiran if Alfonse is their other half and they chose to interpret that very literally). The revelation that Alfonse and Kiran’s dynamic switches who has the braincell in the prince/tactician dynamic was eye opening. And then the follow up of Sharena being fucking gobsmacked that local introvert prince managed to S rank Kiran was beautiful 10/10 makes me both happy and sad. And from then on the brain rot has been STRONG. No thoughts head empty only these lil guys.

Oughgh I'VE. BEEN RUMINATING ON THIS.... (which is. Why it took so long for me to respond to LMFAOO)

BUT.... first of all YOUR INTERPRETATION. OF THE "Half a body, half a mind" bit is HUGE. Like you're so right, there is a lot of symbolism there even if it's silly!!! And esppp Sharena's reaction to Alfonse making a close friend, so easily in her eyes... that absolutely would be a sleeper agent thing for me actually. Like. I wouldn't consider it until Much later, and when I did it just never left my mind.

And I think that's the thing!! I've actually been having a lot of trouble, trying to pinpoint exactly Where each took such a strong hold on me LMFAO. I think, because it's this gradual and constant process of taking in information, noticing something Odd, re-examining, re-contextualizing, and gaining new perspective.

It def happened quicker w Alfonse though, cause he's actually much easier to read. Immediately you can tell his words and actions aren't matching up, and through that you can tell his feelings aren't matching his words either. You also see the clear reason Why he's Like That, on. Several different levels.

I think.... the lines of dialogue that always stick with me. His entire level 40 convo. I'm always thinking about it. I'll often revisit it. And, a lot of his lines to or about the summoner: "Please, remain with us, [summoner]?", "Or... is it that reality has been reshaped by my fear of having lost [summoner]?"

BUT, I think. What really got me was actually his Forging Bonds with Dieck. Like at this point I was already in way too deep LMFAO BUT. Dieck's fucking dialogue fucked me up SO much actually

I AM LITERALLY ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT THIS FUCKING DIALOGUE ‼️‼️‼️‼️It REALLY opened my eyes AND put words to something that was Constantly nagging at me. How Alfonse, from the very start, will say one thing, and then. Directly contradict himself. Not because he's disingenuous -- but because he's so split in two.

AND. AUGHHGH!! THAT'S!!!! You think he's so reserved, and he is. But he wears his heart on his sleeve and will talk openly with anyone who will listen. You think he's the cool and collected type, he OFTEN leaves people with that impression. But SO many times he acts rashly, with little regard for himself. He claims, he can't be driven by emotion because those driven by emotion cannot rule. BUT HE. IS. SUCH A PAINFULLY EMOTIONAL CHARACTER. Almost EVERYTHING he does is driven by his emotions -- I absolutely think so much about how he has a bit of a temper on him, and I think about all the little ways he so clearly and deeply loves Sharena, I think about how much of a mess he is over Bruno, I think about just how quickly he warmed up to the summoner despite insisting upon keeping his distance. Hell, you think he's like. This very serious guy. And he is! Aaand then next thing you know he's dug a ditch and he's thrown himself into it and he's covered in mud. AND. THE WILDEST PART OF THAT. Is the Way he does it, the reason Why, it. Tracks. Like yeah. He would do that. That's actually not out of character for him.

(ALSO as a side his Forging Bonds w f!Alear also live in my head rent free -- another instance of, taking a step back and re-evaluating. It was actually so refreshing in a way? You get used to just how warm he is with the summoner, that you forget just how cold he can be too. That's ALSO something I'm so not normal about. The asshole tendencies. The coldness, and the ruthlessness. It's subtle, but There. He does have a harsher side to him.)

AND ALL OF THIS....... still only feels like the tip of the iceberg. But literally I will never shut up about it LMFAOOO I GOTTA. BECAUSE. SHARENA‼️‼️‼️

I think actually I have an easier time pinning down where I started having Thoughts about her. Because, I made the same mistake a lot of charas in-universe make, even Alfonse, himself. Assuming, that just because she's outgoing and friendly, that she has an easier time making friends. When like. Really, it's been present the whole time actually -- from that FEH comic, to the Paralogues featuring Katarina, like. She doesn't. She struggles just as much, if not more.

But I think, the exact point I actually internalized this was in her Forging Bonds w f!Byleth. Like. Those convos REALLY make it clear, so much so I felt stupid for not even seeing that sooner. And, it helped me re-contextualize her level 40 convo also! When I first got that dialogue, I really didn't know what to make of it. LIKE. ABSOLUTELY she's so sweet and I love her. But. I really had no idea what to make of it! Until like. It became clear to me, ohhhhhhhh I. Fell for the front she puts up as a defense mechanism. You can be cheerful and silly and deeply hurt and have just as many interpersonal issues as someone who like. Shows clearer signs of having those issues. Okay! Got it 🫡 SHKAHSJSHJAJ

And then I think that's when I became just deeply unwell about her too LMFAOOOOOOO

[daceydeath]

A Working Proposal (part 1)

Pairings: Chan x Reader (each chapter will contain different pairings)

Genre: Smut

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: 18+, minors dni, sex contracts, swearing, unprotected sex (always be safe), creampie, vaginal sex, oral sex (f & m receiving)

You had been working with Stray Kids for a while now and after a long day at work turns into a very unexpected but intriguing proposal. Will this change your world or end your career?

Chan arranged for you to come by his studio to finish going over the schedule and confirm the costuming for the next music video an shoot, which you knew from the get go was a ploy but you scheduled it into the official diary for the team so there would be no interruptions. He had told you after each of them had taken their time kissing you until your head was spinning that he would explain everything and you could make a proper decision then when you weren't getting groped, kissed and teased. You had to admit you had been pretty willing to continue your morning activities but you needed to be careful and as soon as your phone rang you stopped them quickly switched back into business mode, which amazed at least Minho and Chan who were impressed that you could switch from whimpering mess to politely capable manager in a second.

You arrived looking every bit the on track Artist Manager, tablet tucked under your arm and drinks in hand as you knocked and waited for Chan to let you in, which he did with an adorable grin on his face.

"Grab a seat and we can get started" he stepped aside keeping the charade in place until his door was closed and locked. You placed his drink on his desk and sat on his couch hoping that you didn't look too nervous.

"I'm not going to bite you" he joked smirking as he sat in his desk chair, licking your lips you shifted to sit more comfortably. "I thought you probably would like an explanation then you can ask anything you want if that's cool"

"Yeah that's probably a good way to start because I have no idea what I'm doing in this scenario" you admitted with a shy laugh as you looked him in the eye finally.

"Well our arrangement is whatever you are comfortable with mainly but it's to our advantage. We will meet up usually here for Bin, Han or me and the dance studio for the others, but since you're on staff you can easily meet us at the dorms too, we have sex and then we go on like everything is normal while we work. It's not a daily thing it's not even necessarily a weekly thing it's just when we need it" Chan explained slowly trying to make it as easy to follow as possible "We won't be paying you for this, you aren't a hooker, but some of will probably buy you things if you let us and we will always look out for you make sure your safe"

"Alright, is it all eight of you or just the six from this morning?" Your voice sounded a little breathy but you knew Chan wasn't going to judge you for it.

"Seungmin and Jeongin don't often join in, but they might want to once they know it's you, and of course if it is alright with you" Chan smiled affectionately.

"So I can choose who and how? As long as I agree to it, that is a very open ended deal Chan, what happens if I say no?" you asked slightly skeptically.

"We are never going to force you to do anything, if you show up and are happy to just make out with us, let us touch you that can be enough, but if you start saying no too often we will end the arrangement because you obviously aren't interested anymore" Chan reassured you moving to sit beside you on the couch and taking you hand in his.

"Will there be other arrangements going on at the same time?"

"Never, it is one at a time to prevent any sort of mess. There have only been four before you three of them were other idols and one was another staffer. We will ask you to sign a contract saying that you will never talk about what happened between" Chan sighed softly shifting a little closer to you.

"If we stop it goes back to how it was? I get to stay on the team?" you whispered as you realised how close you now were his hot breath fanning across your skin.

"Uhuh we're not letting you go, you're too good to us already" Chan murmured against your lips before once again pulling you into a head spinning kiss, his plump lips sliding against yours softly allowing you time to pull away, when your hand moved up his arm towards his shoulder his kiss turned fiery pulling you to him roughly to place you in his lap your hands instantly finding themselves in his hair pulling it gently. Chan groaned into your mouth as you slipped your tongue between his lips and fought for dominance with his only to lose as he pulled you harshly down against the hard on staining in his jeans.

"Fuck Chan" you gasped pulling away from his lips "Wait it's still working hours" you moaned as he kissed and nipped at your neck.

"Sorry, you're right, got too excited" he laughed airily stilling his movements allowing you to climb off his lap. "We still haven't worked out which of us your happy to do this with or what you want for your safety" he panted grinning widely

"Oh um all of you and safety?" you panted trying to calm yourself down and clear your head.

"Do you want us wearing condoms? are you on birth control? are you happy with us just pulling out?" Chan chuckled at your dazed expression as you tried to get your breathing back to normal.

"I have an implant, if you guys are all clean then I don't mind if you use condoms or not" You blinked feeling more cautious about what this was all going to mean for everyone.

"Did you want to start slow? you said you weren't too experienced so we don't want to overwhelm you" Chan smiled seductively at you making you long for him all over again.

"Yes that would be good" you nodded feeling like a deer in headlights under his heated gaze.

"Come to the our dorm tonight about 9 it will be just you and me" Chan reached forward to cup your face.

"What about whoever it was you had last night?" you blurted out without meaning to watching Chan's eyes dim slightly at the mention of the whole thing.

"We ended it after you left. I didn't want her and she never made it to the dance room because Felix freaked out after he thought he had hurt you" Chan murmured "We joined the boys in the studio to help calm Felix down and decided that it would be a good time to ask you if you wanted to join instead" He sighed gently trying to make sure you understand and you do if you agree to see Chan later tonight it's official they get to do what they want with you, when they want as long as it won't interfere with work.

"I can do 9" you whisper staring into his eyes hoping he knows how much you want this even if it's only a short thing.

"Here take this with you now and bring it with you tonight baby" Chan smirks again standing up and pulling an envelope from his bag on the floor beside his desk. "And whatever I needed to sign off on to get you here is fine"

You smile shyly in return and go to leave his studio your meeting time now over and your phone already buzzing with incoming messages and schedule information. Chan followed you the few steps to the door stopping to kiss you softly as he unlocked the door for you allowing you to leave and return to work as though you hadn't just been in his lap being kissed senseless only ten minutes earlier. Walking down the hallway you smiled sweetly as you passed Changbin and Han who both notice the envelope grasped in your hand behind your tablet as you flicked between messages their eyebrows raising in interest but not saying a word.

You opened the dance studio door and slid onto the couch pretending not to notice the glances between the boys and then at the envelope still in your hands the only people who didn't seem to notice it were the manager that you had joined on the couch and Seungmin and Jeongin who were trying to follow Minho's instructions as he counted through the eight beats of arm movements slowly for them.

"I just need to borrow Jeongin and Seungmin for about 5 minutes if that's ok" you smiled loading up the costuming work that had yet to be approved. Minho smirked allowing the boys to stop and go over to meet with you.

"Do any of you need anything?" the manager asked as he got up to leave waving as the boys gave a various chorus of no thank you he shut the door behind him.

"I just need you two to approve the costuming and then the music video can be scheduled" you grinned as each of them looked over what was planned for them.

"What's this?" Jeongin asked picking up the envelope that was now sitting uncovered on the couch beside you turning it over in his fingers slowly.

"Just something for me to go over later" you waved it off hoping he wasn't about to open it considering you hadn't even laid eyes on it yet.

"Is it from Chan Hyung?" Seungmin asked looking you straight in the eye.

"Yes" you nodded simply not wishing to lie you them but also because you could almost feel Hyunjin and Felix itching to ask you about it.

"Is it one of our agreements?" Jeongin asked shyly still looking intently at the tablet trying to hide the faint pink staining his cheeks.

"It is. Will that be a problem?" you replied softly hoping that you weren't about to upset anyone.

"No, no not a problem at all" Seungmin smirked meeting your eyes before looking and Jeongin for a moment "Hopefully your alright with all eight of us though". You felt heat flood your face and neck at his words.

"Aw do you two want a taste too?" Minho teased giggling "She tastes like sunshine I can assure you"

"Hold on you already started? When?" Jeogin gaped at Minho and Hyunjin who were laughing heartily at their reactions then back to you.

"This morning and we only kissed her don't worry you haven't missed out" Felix sighed already looking so done as the two younger ones pouted and the two older ones roared laughing.

"If you are all quite done, I need to get back to finishing the music video prep" You rolled your eyes mildly annoyed that they were being so flippant with the whole thing. You slipped the contract and tablet from Jeongin's fingers before standing up to leave the room the sounds of them dramatically teasing each other followed you until you shut the studio doors.

Your day had flown mainly due to how hectic organizing eight men who occasionally act like kindergarten kids can be, but that had helped you keep your nerves in check. Chan had texted you saying none of the others knew that you were seeing him that night and he had managed to get the others out of the dorm on the pretense of meetings with the higher up management.

Knocking on the front door of the dorm at three to nine you played with your fingers until you heard Chan turning the lock to let you in, he had already washed up his hair fluffy and soft looking and wearing only a shirt and shorts, making you feel a little self conscious that you had put in perhaps too much effort seeing that you were still in makeup and casual but still pretty clothes. Ushering you into the hallway he wasted no time pressing you back to the wall hands gripping your hips, kissing you deeply while you whimpered softly. under his touch.

"I'm glad you didn't cancel" he smiled pulling away from you and giving you a little space "I wasn't sure if you really wanted to start so quickly or if you were just trying to keep me and the kids happy" he admitted leading you further into the dorm.

"I want to do this, I can't pretend that I don't find you all incredibly attractive, I'm just nervous" you confessed right back hoping that airing your feelings to Chan would make it feel a little more natural and a little less transactional. You sat on their couch as Chan moved to the kitchen to get you both a drink coming back with two glasses and a bottle of wine.

"Despite the fact we ask you to sign a contract none of us view you as anything less than what you already are to us, we aren't going to start treating you like you are our whore or some kind of toy. Like I said this hasn't happened many times and it has never been all eight of us interested, so you are special to us" Chis dimples shone as he smiled genuinely at you pouring you a glass as you placed the envelope on the coffee table in front of you both, he seemed to ignore and rather looked at you affectionately.

"Even though Seungmin and Jeongin spoke about it in the studio today I didn't think they were serious, I thought it was just teasing like you guys always do" your weren't sure how it was going to all work but you believed Chan when he told you that it wouldn't change your work life and they would continue to respect you.

"This might be the one thing none of us joke about" Chan chuckled softly taking your hand in his caressing the back of your hand with his fingers. You felt as though he was doing his best to relax you but also be honest with you which did help to put you slightly at ease.

"Can I kiss you again?" he whispered almost innocently making your heart begin to race all over again, nodding slowly he took the glass from you and cupped your face in his large hands so carefully it was almost too sweet. Pressing his lips to yours his first kiss was chaste and soft like the first tentative kiss on a date, as you relaxed into him his pace picked up his tongue gently swiping your bottom lips asking for entrance as you both slowly let your hands begin to wander the others body.

"Should we take this to your room rather than the lounge?" you breathed against his lips when you broke away for air.

"Abso -fucking-lutely" he groaned against you getting to his feet and pulling you with him, turning you both he walked you backwards into the hall stopping you colliding with anything as you continued devouring each other. Finally reaching his bedroom door which he pressed you against kissing down your jaw and down your neck finally biting the skin at the junction of your shoulder and neck making your knees weak.

"Fuck Chan" you gasped as he laved over his bite mark with his tongue, already feeling yourself grow wetter than you had been in possibly your whole life.

"That's exactly what your going to do baby" he smirked finally getting you into his room and stripping you of your shirt. "Fuck, you are pretty in lace baby" he groaned at the partially sheer lace number you had decided to wear for him. His hands roamed your body squeezing and kneading the soft curves of your hips, arse and tits making you groan into his mouth. Moving you backwards until the back of your knees hit his bed frame before gently pushing you backwards onto his sheets.

"Open your mouth pretty girl" he instructed as he rid himself of his own clothes, his cock bouncing to attention as he stood before you, you did as you were told opening your mouth as letting your tongue stick out making him groan again.

"Fuck you might be the best one we have had yet" he grinned seductively gently tapping the tip of his dick against you tongue which you instantly slid as far into your mouth as you could making him grab your hair.

You ran your tongue along the underside as you took him into your throat, one hand moving to cup his balls and roll them in your hand alternating between gentle tugs and squeezes making Chan carefully begin fucking your throat.

"Fuck your mouth is heaven" he moaned pushing your head back slowly to watch himself sliding in between you lips as drool began collecting at the corners of your mouth "So good yet so dirty sucking your boss' cock like you were made for it" his words were making you even hotter and you couldn't help the muffled mewl that escaped your throat making him hiss in pleasure. Chan pulled you off his dick leaning down to kiss you softly and he pushed you backwards to do away with your jeans, climbing over you

"I'll be gentle with you baby, I know it's all fairly new to you" He muttered against the skin just below your ear and he mouthed at your neck.

"Chan" you panted feeling like your body was already aflame even though he hadn't even touched you "please".

"So needy baby and all mine" his voice sending sparking through your skin and he skimmed his hands down your sides to undo your pants. Pulling back from you he removed your jeans in one hard tug throwing them to the floor somewhere to be found later. covering your body again with his he placed wet kisses from your throat down your chest stopping only to tease a nipple with his tongue through the lace of your bra.

"Fuck" you gasped breathily arching into him as he pulled the lace aside to properly suck it into his mouth his tongue laving around it painfully slowly, watching your face the entire time.

"I going to make you feel so good baby" he chuckled darkly restarting the trial of kisses down your body until he came to the top of your underwear, toying with the waist band as he kissed his way to the top of your thighs making you unconsciously spread them further for him. You almost yelped as he buried his nose in your clothed core inhaling deeply and groaning "You smell like heaven I bet you taste better don't you baby"

"Please" you mewled again need him to actually touch you.

"Patience baby let me taste you before I fuck you yeah?" Chan's voice had turned far deeper than you ever imagined it could making you even wetter.

"Anything you want Chan, anything" you panted desperately

Once again he chuckled darky before pulling the lace aside and taking his first taste of you, his tongue taking one long languid lick from your entrance to your clit and back again making you almost scream, keeping his eyes on your already fucked out face he began eating you out messily varying between sucking you clit between his plump lips almost harshly and circling it with his tongue. Your head was light from the pleasure he was already given you and he had only started, moaning wantonly he took your noises as encouragement giving you clit another sharp suck before pushing his tongue into your entrance working the muscle against your desperate walls and he held your hips down now that you were bucking beneath him.

"Never been eaten properly then? We will fix that baby" he cooed softly pulling himself away from you causing you to whimper in protest "But after earlier today I have to fuck you"

Sliding your underwear off your legs, Chan again teased you by sliding the head of his cock through your wet folds rubbing your clit then back down until your moans got the better of him still sitting on his knees he slid himself into your aching core bottoming out in one slow thrust causing your eyes to roll back into your head. Grunting in pleasure he lazily started thrusting his thumb coming down to press onto your clit causing you to tighten around him instantly.

"Shit baby keep clenching like that and this time is going to be quick" he groaned picking up his pace slightly as his other hand clamped around your thigh.

"Chan oh god, Chan" your moans were loud in the empty house as you let him fuck you how he wanted, each moan of his name making him speed up until his hips were slapping against you as his cock rubbed against your walls perfectly. You weren't going to last long and you knew it but neither was Chan his grip on your leg and the rubbing of his thumb against your clit increasing every time your walls spasmed around his length.

"Baby where do you want it?" he moaned feeling his climax beginning to approach as yours sped towards you like lightening.

"Inside. Please Chan, inside" your voice was breathy and high as you struggled to make the words come out.

"Fuck so hot" he grunted viscously ponding into you faster as he lent his head forward and a large drop of saliva dripped from his lips to your clit causing you to convulse in pleasure, he grinned watching as you arched your back moaning again. Moments later you felt the knot inside you snap causing your vision to turn white as your walls clamped down on his dick and pulsed with your orgasm. Chan followed you over the threshold unable to control himself as your walls milked every last drop of cum he emptied into your tight little hole. Lowering himself onto you he gathered you into his arms holding you while you came down from your high, kissing you sweetly while still buried inside you.

Minutes passed and instead of slipping out of you and getting dressed Chan simply rolled onto his side and gathered you into him tucking your head under his chin as you panted softly.

"You ok?" his voice sounded amused and you were sure he was smirking.

"So much better than ok" you murmured still coming off your high.

"Good, I didn't hurt you did I? I didn't want to be too rough with you since you know.." Chan was gently rubbing your back making you relax against him.

"No I loved it" you admitted embarrassed that you were just freely telling him everything about you.

"You want to go again then?" He was definitely smirking this time.

A/N: Thank you for reading, as I said at the start this series will be updated sporadically but any reblogs, comments or criticisms are appreciated greatly xx

Taglist (open): @christopher-bangnaldoskzz, @symptoms-of-moonlight, @septicrebel, @ayoitschannie, @krishatumblernow,

[angelamajiki]

PARINGS: Shouta Aizawa x Reader

CW: yandere, stalking, rape/noncon, pain kink, pain play, mild scent kink, home invasion, gags, restraints, virginity kink, scumbag aizawa, pet play, humiliation, cum stuffing, fingerings, snowballing, voice kink

SYNOPSIS: You have been calling the same phone sex operator for months, creating stalker and CNC fantasies. What happens when he rings true to his words?

AN: this is very dark, be warned! just had to make a fic out of the little idea I had <3

It’s always you who requests him. He can tell you're a virgin, the way your voice wavers when you feel like responding to him. Sometimes you don’t, letting your breathy moans do the talking for you.

“Good little girl.”

“Getting off to a phone call from your stalker? What a whore.”

“Cum for me, pretty girl.”

”Do you like that, pretty little kitty?”

He never had a knack for giving nicknames, but he had to make it known that he remembers you. Remembers that voice. Hopefully, he’ll be able to remember your body one day.

Tracking you down was easy enough; you didn't bother to block your number and public records was just calling his name. God did he love untouched girls like yourself. So wet and pliant, so easily manipulated, so naive to believe everyone had good intentions.

Cameras were placed around your house so he could watch you when he couldn't hear you. If it was a stalker you wanted, he was going to give it to you.

You called often and asked for him always—such an obedient girl. The live feed from your bedroom streamed in front of him whenever you rang, but he was tired of playing games this week.

“Just look at the way you’re kneading yourself; you like to tease yourself. Don't you, kitty?”

Your breath hitched, but he knew it wasn't from pleasure. Looking around, he chuckled at your confused expression.

“You got a real cute face, you know that kitty? I can't wait to fuck it one day.”

Be rational, you told yourself. Its all part of the fantasy, right? He can’t actually see you.

“That’s a cute bed spread you got there, I didn’t take you for the type who liked lilies. You always keep roses in your kitchen vase.”

Okay, he was definitely listening to you now.

“Say, you live on 14th Street, don't you? Why don't I come down and give you an in person session?”

“What do you say, kitty? Or should I just break in like I always tell you I would?”

The phone hung up after that comment. Sure, you were up to the fantasy of being stalked and raped; that’s why you called him. It was too embarrassing to tell a partner your fantasies, not like you had one. Or roommates for that matter.

His voice is what soothed you after a hard day, but now it kept ringing in your ears. Listening to his breathy chuckles sent shivers down your spine, but you never expected to feel them there.

Three raps came from your bedroom door before it opened. You were buried in your sheets, hopelessly, desperately attempting to be asleep. Like that would stop him.

“I know you're awake.”

An “ah” of realization came from him.

“Unless you sleeping peacefully is part of the fantasy. This is new, but I can indulge you in that kitty.”

The bed dipped and creaked with his weight, fear sinking into your heart further as a hand smoothed itself over your shoulders.

“So tense.” He tutted. “I’ve got something that can help you relax.”

His tongue lapped at the outer shell of your ear; arm slung over your blanketed body.

“Such a naughty girl. Tell me, how many times did you get off to the sound of my voice telling you I was going to take your virginity by force.”

A hand snaked its way up to your throat, squeezing gently enough not to cause pain but enough to cut off part of your air.

“Tell me you want me to rape you, here and now. Or I’ll take you out to the alley and make a display of it.”

His voice barely reached above of a whisper the entire time, the same soft sound he used over the phone. Hot breaths tickled your ear and neck as you squirmed, gasping at straws for air.

“I promise to be gentle; I know you like a tender man who takes what he wants.”

Your throat restricted even more under the hand to the point where you felt light-headed.

“Please!” You gasped, using your nails to scratch at his wrapped fingers. The pressure withdrew.

“Please what, kitty? C’mon, you can do it.”

“P-Please rape me.”

A sharp laugh came from behind you.

“Is that any way to address me? I thought we were using special nicknames here.”

He let you have your moment, apparently amused to see you choke for air as he stroked your back.

“Please rape me...sir.”

“Atta girl.”

The hand made its way back to your throat, only resting there as the thumb stroked over your tender flesh. The other one snuck under the blanket and groped at your chest.

“You're a virgin, aren't you, kitty? Don't worry; your owner is going to talk you through it. Nice and slow so you feel everything I'm giving you.”

Fingers wiggled their way under your bra and began pinching at your nipples, tugging and pulling at the hardening nubs.

“Stop squirming, or I’ll have to tie you up. You'll get your treat soon enough, kitty.”

You yelped after a particularly rough tug, tears springing in your eyes. His one hand managed to rip your bra apart, giving better access to his perverted fingers.

“I know you like it, the way I knead your pretty little breasts. Come, take your clothes off. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

Everything came off before he instructed you to stand at the edge of the bed for him. He circled you like a predator, making inspections.

“I have to make sure my kitty is well-groomed and taking care of herself.”

The weight of his hot breath on your skin weighed down on you, pulling you further under his spell. He lifted your arms and smelled your scent.

“Lavender deodorant? What a shame; I wished I could have smelled your natural musk.”

Humiliation flushed your face hot. Disgusting pervert, it seemed he was into everything as long as it wasn't consensual.

“Sit down on the bed, legs spread.”

The baritone of his voice shook you to your core, but not in the pleasurable way you're used to.

“Don't make me ask twice, pet.”

His command was hard to ignore after following them for such a long time; it was practically instinctual to do as you were told. Shaking legs spread as you turned your head to the side. Another tut rolled off his tongue as he gripped your cheeks with one hand.

“Don't turn away from me. I want to see the look in yours when I take you and make you mine.”

You hadn't even realized before that he had brought a bag with him. From it, he took a bar spreader, rope, and a spider gag, all of which he put on you. The gag made your mouth uncomfortably wide, leaving nothing to his imagination.

Rough fingers pull you tongue from your mouth, his own coming down to lick at before spitting down the back of your throat.

“Swallow.”

You did.

“Good kitty.”

The name didn't comfort you anymore. Nothing about him comforted you anymore. Not his voice, not his nickname, and certainly not his breath, which you felt like was burning all over your body.

“I’m going to be nice and leave your throat alone today. However, if I give you a treat, you will swallow it. Do I make myself clear?”

You nodded, terrified at the notion that he intended to come back after tonight. Crouching down in front of you, he inspected your wet pussy before spitting on it as well. Gingerly moving your lips, he circled your tight hole and stood up.

“That should do.”

Watching him undress himself seemed to make time move slower, knowing that he was about to take your virginity within minutes. His hard cock sprung out from his boxers and hit his happy trail, bobbing slightly against his abs. Not only was this man toned, but he was also huge.

“In we go, kitty.”

Not even taking the courtesy to gather some slick from you, he pushed in, taking his sweet time as he locked eyes with you. He went agonizing slow, grinning as you wailed in pain.

“Hurts, doesn't it? Let's see how painful we can make this.”

You were hardly prepped, only having wetness left behind from your previous phone call. It stung, and it stung bad. Your eyes wept as you looked up at him with a pleading gaze, hoping he would take mercy on you. He did no such thing, pinching your clit between his fingers and rolling it with intense pressure. Moaning, he watched as you convulsed and twitched in pain beneath him.

“Being such a good girl for me, kitty.”

Another glob of spit landed in the back of your throat, making you gasp and choke on your sobs. He loved that you were an ugly, messy crier. It only served to make his dick harder.

Once he bottomed out, he stayed there for a while, letting you feel the fullness of his thick cock.

“The name’s Shouta, by the way. I'm sure you must have been curious.”

He spoke so casually, so calmly. It made you furious how collected he was while you were a whimpering, sniffling mess.

“Don't worry; we’ll have all the time in the world once we’re done to get to know me.”

Goddamn, that voice. That hypnotizing, nauseating voice. It's the reason you're stuck here underneath a fucking phone sex operator that turned out to be your stalker. What a mess.

A tap to the temple pulled you back to the present.

“Keep your focus here, kitty.”

Hips drew back and snapped into you, not letting you take a moment to adjust as he set a brutal speed.

Oh, how you wished you could leave your body, but if anything, your senses were all the more enhanced, taking in every last drop of your surroundings. The sounds of the bed creaking under his pounding, his grunts and breaths, the skin slapping against skin, your own cries of misery. The feeling of his breath, how your once silk sheets now felt like sandpaper across your skin, the metal of your binds, and the burn of your rope. Everything and nothing all at once.

The minutes seemed to draw themselves out into hours as he continued his assault. He, or Shouta, you supposed, wasn't lasting very long. It didn't suit him; he seemed like a man of stamina. Maybe it was because he played out a sick fantasy of his that made him cum in minutes.

Unprotected, he came deep inside you before sliding out, giving your pussy a slap as he made his exit.

“Such a tight little kitty you've got there.”

Fingers at the ready, he stuffed his cum back inside you, toying with your clit all the while. He was quick to make you cum, making you see stars at the intensity of your orgasm.

“Don’t worry; I'll make you cum on my cock next time. I have plenty of games planned for us when I take you home.”

Pulling his fingers out, he pushed them down your throat to clean them before getting up and dressed again. He left you there, tied up and gone without a word.

In reality, he was just getting his car ready for you, but who was he to deny himself the pleasure of seeing your panicked face when he came back?

You were going to make a fine pet for him.

[piccolina-mina]

The entire One Chicago franchise is a mess when it comes to the romantic components of the series. But Chicago PD continues to be the most uninspired, boring, and redundant mess when it comes to their romantic ships and how they display them.

It's as if someone holds a gun to their head and says "let's choose the most basic, young, white heteronormative relationships and smack a cutesy name on them. Fandom will eat it up!" And without fail, fandom always does.

It's bad enough that half the Intelligence Unit thinks they can only date or sleep with each other. It's also bad enough that it further contributes to Chicago PD's ongoing issue with rarely knowing what to do with its female characters beyond specific plots I've come to call the "traditionally feminine womanly plots" and tying them in with a male character where everything about them hinges on their connection to a male. And also that "there can only be one" issue where only one of the female characters can serve as the primary one while the others duke it out for screentime, plot, and relevancy (congrats on always winning Lindsay and Hailey).

But they recycle the same things ad nauseum. For eight seasons, they would rather devote all of their time cooking up romantic subplots that exclusively feature a constant rotation of Ruzek and Halstead. I get it, they're attractive, hell, I'm no stranger to thirsting over Ruz myself, but they're the lotharios of the unit as if only they can be desirable, and it's gotten so old. My God.

They would rather give us these two involved with mostly young and white women, especially their squad mates, then devote screentime to literally any alternative couple.

I mean they have SHARED a love interest. Why? The only ships they have ever devoted significant screentime or development to: Halstead and Erin, Halstead and Upton, Ruzek and Burgess, Ruzek and Upton, Burgess and Roman. Qwhite shocking, I know.

Trudy and Mouch have one of the sweetest crossover romances from the franchise, and it's so refreshing to see a middle-aged couple find love, and yet, they've all but cooled off showing them, rarely give that ship screentime, and it tends to stay in the peripheral compared to the big ships.

Dawson had a romance with Brett from Chicago Fire (another character who gets passed around to the point of absurdity), but they did very little with it, and most of THAT even took place on CF.

They gave Dawson something troubling with another law enforcement officer or whatever for like a single episode, but hell, they still devoted more time and actual arcs to the two or three times where they put Halsted in similar relationships because of course they did.

Never forget that the first relationship that dates pre-series was Chicago Fire's Gabby with *spins wheel* you guessed it, Jay Halstead.

And of course there was Erin and Severide. So pretty. So ... basic.

Yet they never attempted to give us more of Dawson and his wife or Olinsky and his. The women were barely characters on the series. It would've been something.

I don't mind Burzek. Out of all the ships, I enjoy them most more often than not, but it has been eight seasons of will they/won't they bullcrap that they've drawn out. All of these ups and downs. The one non-cop related romance Burgess had lasted all of a second and ended in tragedy because heaven forbid they DON'T put that woman through endless pain.

But they've always remained the second place ship of the series, and it's just... enough. Meanwhile, we started the series with Erin and Halstead monopolizing screentime with their romantic situationship drama, and instead of giving it a rest and changing things up when she left, they switched it out with the Halstead and Hailey will they/won't they. Why?

Heaven forbid Halstead or Ruzek don't have a piece of ass.

Ruzek was even Trudy's choice for a relationship ruse to dupe her father.

In the meantime, one of the most outlandish and unrealistic parts of this series is that Kevin Atwater-- young, smart, just as hot as Chicago PD's golden, pretty, white boys hasn't had a real, significant romantic storyline in the eight years this series has been on air.

In what universe does that make sense? Single, eligible, employed, decent black man? Da faq?

Pardon my bluntness but Kevin Atwater should be seeing more ass than a toilet seat. The fact that he isn't batting folks off with a stick is ludicrous.

He had ONE fkd up romantic storyline in his one "very special black Kevin" episode in season SIX and that's it. Pardon me? Do you know how many of those Jay has had? Twice or more than Kevin.

On a series that pairs up colleagues like it's their mission, they never once even considered taking the Burgess and Atwater relationship in any other direction beyond platonic (and even that is underused these days). I'm not even saying I would've wanted that. I'm just pointing out that it made no sense given their track record to not even tease it. But Kevin is only good for platonic purposes, I suppose.

The fact that they put all their eggs in a potential Atwater and Rojas ship, that never even came to fruition, in season SEVEN of a series Atwater has been in since the beginning when characters like Adam and Jay have already had two relationships or more under their belts by then is ridiculous.

And then there's Voight. He's the lead character and never once had a romantic storyline. If he were younger, you already know they would've went there a few times over.

Yet the closest Hank has come to one is an ambiguous scene with him talking to a sex worker in a hotel room back in, like, season two. Are we to believe that he has never once developed feelings for or even had sex with anyone else since his wife died? He's never moved on after that?

They could easily allude to him being on an ace or demi spectrum if they want, even if I would side eye them for choosing the older character to do it, but if that's the case, they should do something with that.

Even a storyline with a widowed, middle- aged hardass finding love or getting some would be infinitely more interesting and at the very least something different than the same old same old Ruzek & Halstead merry-go-round. Damn, the 50 and over crowd need love too.

And yet Chicago PD keeps feeding us the same bland diet repackaged.

Fine. Burzek has been a thing from the beginning. But after Jay and Erin WHY did they need Hailey and Jay? And if they were going to do Jay and Hailey, why in the mother loving fk did we need Hailey and Adam?

The good sis bagged not one but both of the coveted white boys.

I mean, just for variety, Dawson was right there. Kevin was right there. I wouldn't have been a fan, but hell, it would at least be something different. Much better than acting as if Halstead and Ruzek are the only viable romantic options.

Why subject her to that?

Isn't it bad enough that she's more often than not reduced to being Lindsay Lite anyway? They struggle to give her a presence that deviates and distinguishes her from Erin as is. From her troubled past, and her stage of being mini- Voight and challenging his authority, to this thing with Jay.

Hell, they even repeated a whole job offer thing.

Mind you, don't get me started on how they missed what should've been the obvious chance to make Hailey queer. If I'm stepping on toes, my bad, but everything about Hailey screamed bi or lesbian. She radiated queer energy, but INSTEAD they chose to pair her with not one but both of CPD's romantic male leads.

Why beat this well-tread path yet again?

Of all the possibilities, and all the different avenues they can explore, they just keep dipping into that same well, and it's so tiresome. It's so unoriginal and uninspired. Yes, it's just so basic. I'm talking 20th century shipping... CPD is so outdated with this and it makes it hard to invest or care about any of them, especially if you already aren't inclined to ship within the series as is.

Shock me. Thrill me. Intrigue me. Bloody hell.

[unprofessional-bard]

Out of Touch

Pairing: Jacob Frye x Reader

Warnings: Jacob being Jacob (aka a lot of teasing/flirting), just some grabbing around (nothing to explicit), angsty at first but ends with a slightly heated fluff.

Summary: Jacob has been your bodyguard for the past month under strict orders from poor Evie who had been dealing with your father's unnecessary worrying. Jacob is a rough, reckless man who killed and you were the daughter of a man who had taught you manners and raised you as if you were royalty. Two complete opposites... right?

Author's Note: Okay nsjdjdjdsjns this is basically a Han/Leia AU... I've watched the originals again and wanted to write a fic with their chemistry: a scoundrel and a princess - Jacob and my lovely readers 😚 And of course a big thank you to @marshmallow--3 for helping me when I got stuck while writing 😊💘

This fic is for readers of all genders! If I've written anything that says otherwise please please please let me know!

Enjoy!

"Ugh!" You huffed for the umpteenth time that day because of the boredom eating away at you. All you had been doing for the past month was to sit on your armchair in the library with a hawk watching over you. Or should you say, a rook?

A rather handsome rook at that.

"What is it now, your highness?" Your supposed bodyguard groaned at you.

"Would you stop calling me that?" You snarled at him as you pushed the wood in the fireplace around with the steel poker. The poker was dirtier than you imagined, which annoyed you even more as your hands got covered in ash and dust. "This whole being stuck at home thing is really getting on my nerves..."

Jacob gave you an offended look: "You've been stuck in a big, empty house with the most handsome man in all of London for the longest time, yet you still complain - unbelievable..."

You didn't bother looking at him as you walked to the door. If it were your first week with Jacob, you'd be gasping, throwing a book his way, yelling at him to shut up with his infuriating flirting; but you were used to it by now and chose to ignore him for the sake of your nerves.

You were born in London, but your family moved to Paris when you were younger and now, ten years later, you were back in London -not as settlers but as guests- with your father. Your mother had passed before you could begin your assassin training and it wounded your father deeply, leading him to cancel your training and keep you out of the "assassin" business. It didn't anger you before because you didn't care, grieving and moving on from your mother's passing took a toll on you and it took too long. When you turned 16 however, you started realising what a great opportunity your father had taken away from you and so you've been upset with him ever since. Five years had passed and here you were, stuck with a reckless assassin named Jacob, who's father was friends with your own for a long time until his recent passing.

The reason you were stuck in the house with the said assassin was nothing but for your own safety, at least that's what you've been told by a variety of people. How hard was it to put you in a carriage and let you sail back to France?

Too hard apparently. You didn't even really know why your father was in London in the first place. He kept saying "assassin business" and hid things from you, why did he even bother bringing you along in the first place?

"Remind me, for how long more will I be stuck with you?" You walked to the living room, Jacob right behind you.

"Two more weeks," he shrugged. "Why, bored of me already, your worshipfulness?"

You sighed loudly in irritation, to which he replied: "I bet I can get you to make those sounds with my-"

"Will you shut your gob?!" You turned around, eyes and arms wide open, shouting at him. "The audacity you have, if you were half the person your sister was-"

"Oh don't bother," Jacob spoke suddenly with a tone you haven't heard before. "I'm too 'wild' and 'vulgar' and 'rebellious' for the likes of you people, I know. Spare me the lecture."

Your anger cooled down and you almost felt sorry for him, thinking about how upsetting it must be to always being compared to someone, not better than him, but different. He didn't look you in the eye as he turned around to leave.

"I just wish that you'd cut it out when you're told to cut it out," you said quietly, not wanting to start up a fight with him. "Anyways... I am going out."

That made him halt in his tracks and turn around: "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me." You said, determined. "I am going out and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Oh, trust me, you don't want to know the amount of ways I can stop you from taking another step," he said, still shocked.

"Well, I don't care. You either come with me or stay out of my way because I am going ou-" Just as you were reaching for the door handle, you felt your body being pulled backwards and pressed harshly against the wall.

"Good lord-" you gasped involuntarily. He was pressing against your body from behind, your face trapped between the wall and his face which was only inches apart from yours. "You make it so difficult sometimes."

"I do, I really do..." Jacob nodded as he held you in place but he wasn't hurting you . "You could be a little nicer though. Eh, admit it, sometimes you think I'm bearable."

A moment of silence settled between you as you pushed him off yourself and turned around, still leaning against the wall, rubbing your wrist: "Occasionally- maybe, when you're not acting like a rotter."

"Rotter?" He raised a brow at you. "Rotter..." he repeated as he very slowly closed the space between you two and gently grabbed your wrist. He smirked like the rascal he was as he carefully massaged your wrist - you both knew it wasn't hurt at all. "I like the sound of that."

It took you a short moment to realise what he was doing: "Stop that."

"Stop what?" He asked, confused.

"Stop that," you repeated, trying to pull your wrist away from his big hands; "my hands are dirty."

"My hands happen to be dirty too, your majesty. What are you afraid of?" His voice was low and it couldn't have been deeper.

"Afraid?" You tried to act confused as you felt the distance between you close even more.

"You're trembling..." he pointed out.

"I'm not trembling," you tried to chuckle but instead your voice trailed off.

At this point, he was towering over you: "You like me because I am a rotter... There aren't enough 'rotter's in your life."

"I happen to like polite men-"

"I am a polite person," his nose brushed against yours and it was then, you realised, he almost had you.

Just before he could close the little distance between you entirely, you pushed him off with little force and immediately went out the door.

Jacob was absolutely stunned at your sudden act and followed you out: "Oi!"

You smirked to yourself as you skipped around the streets amongst the throng of people, thinking that Jacob will have a hard time finding you and dragging you back home. Ten minutes were all you needed and before he knew it, you'd be back as if you hadn't stepped outside at all.

Well, you were wrong.

Just after three minutes of walking around the streets you finally took a turn and stopped to rest on an empty alley, but only after 20 seconds of freedom and starting to feel joyful because of finally being by yourself, you were harshly grabbed by your waist and shoulders once more and were pulled into a small cabinet behind you.

You yelped but a big, familiar hand muffled the sound as it closed over your mouth.

After you stopped moving and stood still, Jacob dropped his hand onto your shoulder and the other remained around your waist. Your back was, once more, pressed tightly against him; his breathing on your neck sending involuntary shivers down your spine.

"Let go," you demanded quietly.

"Sshh-" Jacob ignored you. You weren't exactly sure what he was up to, but it was starting to become suffocating in there.

"Let go, please..." you asked, softer this time. Although he wasn't pressing you down entirely and you could easily move out of his hold like you did minutes ago, Jacob noticed how you weren't really fighting to get out of there but decided to reply anyway.

"Don't get excited now," He whispered half arrogantly and half disturbed.

"Well, Mr. Frye, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited."

But your reply seemed to excite him: "I'm sorry love, but we haven't really got the time to do anything else at the moment."

Jacob let go of you just in time as some nasty looking Blighters finished passing by and stepped out of the cabin with you.

You straightened your clothing as Jacob growled: "Do you have a death wish? What were you thinking?!"

"Perhaps I do," you replied angrily but you didn't raise your voice at him. "What do you care? Other than getting an earful from Evie and your little gang of assassins?"

"Your father-"

"Of course," you sighed. "But you needn't worry, Jacob. If he cared about me even in the slightest, he would've respected my choices and left me back in Paris instead of getting me into this mess."

"But he does care about you, a lot in fact."

"Really?" You asked, smiling bitterly. "If he had cared from the beginning, I would've been an assassin now and we both wouldn't have been stuck in that cursed house for weeks! Maybe if he didn't wail as he does with everything and lost himself in his assassin business and actually cared for me, then he would've made sure I could take care of myself instead of 'protecting me from the dangers of the world!'"

You didn't realise the tears rolling down your face as you finished yelling at the once more stunned Jacob. After a moment of quiet, you began sobbing and broke down, falling onto your knees.

Jacob calmly approached you and kneeled down beside you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders and putting his hands on them.

"Please take me home," you sobbed quietly as you leaned in to rest your head on his chest. He didn't move while you cried a little more and thought about how hard it must've been for you. He couldn't imagine what he'd do if he wasn't an assassin and he understood your frustrations with your father.

He gently moved and picked you up bridal style. You had neither the energy nor the state of mind to fight him about it and let him carry you, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and burying his head in the crook of his neck.

"Hmph," Jacob hummed thoughtfully as he aimed his rope launcher to the edge of a roof. "Hold on tight love."

"What do you me-" you began but got interrupted when you heard a thwip, then a far away clang from above you; and just as you felt Jacob's arm tightening its grip, with a whoosh, you suddenly gasped.

In a matter of seconds, you were launched in the air and landed on a rooftop in Jacob's strong hold. How did we not fall?! you thought.

"Jacob!"

He switched your position from his arms to his back: "If this doesn't excite you, I don't know what will." he said smugly and just as you hugged his back tighter, he repeated the motion with the rope launcher and down you went.

You were surprised at how strong both Jacob and the rope was as it carried you across the sky, downwards to your house. It took maybe a little over a minute but it felt like more - and it certainly did pump some adrenaline through your veins. You shouted and laughed all the way through which put a different kind of smile on Jacob's lips.

You both almost fell over when you landed, but Jacob grabbed your legs and found his balance. You were right in front of your door, which made you sad as you had the most splendid time in a long while. When he let go of your legs, you only grabbed onto him tighter.

"What's this then?" Jacob smirked as he tried to turn his head around when you didn't let go. He could feel your heart beating on his back and it was still beating like crazy.

"Your grace demands that you carry them into their chambers," you demanded in an exaggerated way and smirked backed. "You asked for this, I told you to stop calling me those names."

"Very well," he sighed in defeat and adjusted your form on his back, then went to open the door. If this was all it took to make you smile, then so be it.

Jacob carried you all the way upstairs to your room but instead of dropping you on your bed right away, he somehow effortlessly switched back to the bridal hold.

Your smirk dropped from your lips as you noticed that you were trapped in his hold. He gazed at you for a while -your disheveled hair, your beautiful eyes, crimson cheeks that matched your perfect lips- and then slowly lowered you onto your bed, but as he did, he carefully climbed on top of you; he gave you enough time and space to tell him to stop or push him off, but you didn't.

Jacob moved closer until your noses touched and quietly asked: "May I have my kiss now?"

Without hesitation, but slowly, you lifted your head up and connected your lips with his in a soft, passionate kiss; he, however, immediately grabbed your face and pressed you back onto the bed.

Incredible was one way to put it, arousing was another, but you truly couldn't find the words to explain how utterly delicious that kiss was. Your hands were quick to find their place, cupping his face, his beard an absolute delight to feel on your fingertips.

Just as everything was getting more heated, however, there was a calling of your name along with Jacob's from downstairs.

"Damn..." you cursed, breathless.

"We'll continue this darling... later." Jacob smirked devilishly, he was as out of breath as you were. He quickly jumped off you while you called your father.

You both quickly fixed your attire and went out of your room to greet your father. A sour expression settled on your face, which Jacob noticed. He quickly but gently pushed you against a wall and gave you another toe curling kiss.

"Thank you, Jacob..." you managed to say when he detached his lips from yours. "For today- for everything, really. Much as you infuriated me, you also made this past month more bearable."

"My my, is this a confession?" Jacob said with a brow up.

"Don't get cocky," you pushed him off and went downstairs.

Maybe it was a confession, maybe it wasn't, nevertheless it would be better if you kept it to yourself, for you'll be on your way back to Paris in two weeks.

... But then again, you could make your last two weeks more interesting. He said it himself, you two weren't done yet - it wouldn't hurt to have a little fun and make this a memorable trip, right?

[dieahoe1]

When their jealous

Sakamaki's x reader

Shu:

This lazy boi right here rarely gets jealous. He's asleep most of the time when you aren't around so he doesn't really care unless he smells a scent on you that isn't his or your own.

Especially if it was Reiji.

If you even breath in his direction.

Jealous.

Instantly.

He'll fuck you in different parts of the mansion and not clean up afterwards.

Just to get on Reiji's nerves.

He wouldn't go easy on you either, relentlessly teasing you until your begging, and finally gives you what you want.

Not that you mind, if that what it takes to make Shu give you more attention your down for it.

Reiji:

This "gentle man" is not the type to easily get jealous either. He stays mature about it, he wasn't going to show the world that he was jealous.

Don't even says Shu's name.

If you do you better hope Reiji isn't around.

He'll 'punish' you behind closed doors.

He's ready to give you some rough training until you remember who you belong to.

Ayato:

Um, he's the definition of a jealous man?

He gets jealous of your puppy. The puppy you adopted and call your child.

He wants your attention 24/7.

He doesn't give a fuck if you gotta do homework.

He doesn't give a fuck if you gotta do laundry. (He'd prefer you naked anyway)

He doesn't give a fuck if you don't give a fuck.

He'll demand for your attention anywhere and everywhere at all times.

Except for when your in the bathroom.

You almost killed him. Literally.

That's the only place you got space for yourself.

He'll brag to anyone he's talking to about how good of a fuck you are to acknowledge the fact that you.

Belong. To. Him. Only.

"A-ayato, have you seen y/n?"

"She's still recovering from our long and hard fuck in her room. So don't go disturbing her Pancake."

If you let him he'll fuck you right where your standing if no one is around.

And not give a fuck who walks in.

Kanato:

Personal space wut?

What's that?

Oh yeah it doesn't exist unless your in the bathroom and if your boyfriend is a yandere.

This child is the most dangerous out of all of them when it comes to jealousy.

He doesn't want you talking to his brothers.

And you don't unless you want to live and not be turned into a wax doll.

Like Ayato he wants your attention 24/7.

He doesn't like it when people talk to you that isn't him.

He'll cuss them out then and burn their house down later.

It's insane that you've survived living with him despite him making you get down on your knees before him.

Your his princess but you have to take a bow before him if you value your life.

He'll make you beg for him until he's satisfied before he starts thrusting himself down you throat.

If your asleep and he wants you. Kanato would fuck you in sleep and doesn't care if you wake up. He'll keep going.

He won't even stop even when someone walks in and probably kill them later.

"Y-y/n?" Yui's says opening the door to your room.

"GET OUT! I'LL KILL YOU!" Kanato was serious about it but doesn't. For obvious reasons.

Tea parties? More like se- parties.

"Your still thristy y/n? I have a load just for you. And your going to drink it all before I get a taste of you." Kanato would tilt his head creepily.

He killed all your friends and you didn't dare stop him if you didn't want to be punished.

But secretly attended their funerals.

Laito:

Because your boujee, bad and thicc. You gain a lot of attraction in front of guys. Girls even, some are envious or some could be fans.

Laito doesn't mind the idea of sharing you occasionally if you find a guy hot and include him inside the bedroom.

But he doesn't like it when they mark you. That's his thing. So he'll punish you if you let someone do that.

Even though you both are open about having other guests in the bed room, there's limits to how much can be shared.

Daddy Laito is the only one that could fuh that puh.(-dashiegames)

If any other guy tries to stick it in, he's a dead man.

And he'll continue to fuck you over the guys dead body like nothing even happened.

Which is disturbing on your end.

Did I ever mention semi-public sex? He'll try that and not give a fuck who's watching while he fingers you in class.

Unless the teacher kicks you both out of class.

Then he'll just fuck you against the lockers outside the classroom if your that horny to let him.

Your relationship might not be healthiest since you both still fuck other people, but it works out since he's your Daddy and your his little girl. Always and forever.

Subaru:

Aww, who knew cars could get jealous?

This one can, but he decides not to show it.

He'll deny it anytime you mention it, becoming a fustrated blushing mess that destroys stuff.

If you continue to provoke him though, He'll make you scream while he's fucking you.

Then everyone knows who your doing and who you belong to.

Angry sex is the best sex with him.

Someone he doesn't like talking to you in school. Only one look says everything.

Run.

Unless they want their ass beat.

Subaru loves you but doesn't say it often but he doesn't want to lose you to anyone that isn't worth any of your love.

Kino:

Videogames is life, who has time to be on their girlfriend's ass all the time when he ain't tapping it?

Kino is possessive believe that. He installed a tracking device in your phone when you weren't paying attention.

He knows everything to happens to you.

Normally he would hack into the person he is jealous of and send them videos of him fucking you from behind. Something you still don't know about.

Your famous on social media and you got hella guys trying to hollar at you.

Whenever you take a cute ass selfie of yourself. The comments and likes are never ending, so your phone is always on silent for that reason.

It doesn't go unnoticed by Kino though, he's pretty famous on social media as well. And the public knows your a couple due to the sexy & cute photos you two took together.

He gets hate from other people about he's gotten to be with a beauty girl like you, that he doesn't deserve you, etc.

Every so often Kino would record you while your mouthing him off or either you riding him while moaning his name.

All censored or you wearing a blindfold and sends it to the haters that DM him, in which case they don't know how to respond which is a victory in his case.

Kino cherishes you and hates it when others try to seduce you but fails miserably cause you love your phone addict boyfriend.

You often wear his favorite lingerie and post pictures of yourself in with a caption that says "Kino's property",etc.

Some pictures of you by yourself and the rest is with him with his hands on your body.

Which turns into something steamy afterwards since his hands go where they aren't suppose to be.

[atiyasnake]

Sleep deprivation is still shitty even when you're someone who sometimes doesn't even need to breathe. Danny can attest to this. There have already been a number of 'incidents' his lovely friends and sister keep track of and use against him when they think it time for him to take a nap. The incidents 27 and 56 are particularly notable but Danny thinks this new incident, number 62 might take the cake.

After all, Dani would have let him know of they were in the same city, much less Gotham with how much Dani would have wanted to visit some spooky places with him. But the sleep-deprived brain running on an odd combination of coffee and some expired soda that had a kick didn't seem to take that into account as he walked down a street at the odd 3:27am hours in Gotham.

No, instead Danny's beautiful space and ghost inclined brain saw a short teen with black hair and making threats of bodily harm and instantly came to the conclusion that: yes this was Dani his sister/cousin. And therefore, Danny did the only reasonable thing. He walked over, managing not to trip on himself and snatched the back of Dani's shirt and lifted her up. While also emitting a calming ghost aura because for some reason she was very irritated and her threats were a bit more bloody than usual.

"Dani," he said, letting his exhaustion peek through as he could barely keep his eyes open. "I know that you've seen a lot of different cultures in your travels, but threatening to run someone through with a sword still isn't the socially accepted thing to do. Especially since they could actually die from that and we really don't need more ghosts. You could do that with Johnny and Kitty if ya want, since they are always game to mess around. But I'm pretty sure the two dudes you're threatning aren't them."

Then Danny waited for Dani's response because eusally by then she was giving him the famous Fenton sass, but for some odd reason she was silent. Along with the fact that her aura didn't feel the same Danny started to worry.

"Dani? Dani are you okay?" He asked finally opening his eyes and turning Dani around to face him, still hanging from his secure grip.

The face he saw before him did not belong to his sister/cousin. Instead it was the face of a teen boy with green eyes. Danny stared at him.

"Oh you're not Dani," he said softly still emitting a calming ghost aura cause dammit he might have just freaked out a ghost kid. "Sorry about that little one."

Finally he set the ghost kid down, straightning out their shirt. "Still you shouldn't threaten to kill people," he said because he really didn't want to have to fight a ghost kid or one as young as this one seemed to be. "The offer with Johnny and Kitty stills stands. Anyways it's getting late little one and the barrier is getting a bit stronger so it's time for you to get going alright." And Danny patted the ghost kid's head as one last goodbye before walking away, taking the silence as a sign that the ghost kid went back to the zone.

His sleep deprived brain seemingly having forgotten about the two humans and how the ghost kid didn't actually look or fully feel like a ghost child from the zone.

___

Tim and Dick are frozen in awe and pure confusion at what just happened and how Damian did not react like a feral cat. Also everything about that stranger was confusing, from the way they would lift a kid up so easily, from what he said, and then even calling Damian 'Little One ' and surviving.

And there Damian stood still, his hair still messed up from the head ruffle looking at a complete loss himself. Unbeknownst to them, Damian was very confused but oddly comforted deem inside. From the very instant the stranger had lifted him up and even when they straighten out his clothes he felt his irritation calmed. Even the nickname did not inspire disgust like those from his confounded brothers and Damian wanted to know why.

All three Wayne children went home with a new puzzle for their family to solve.

Danny mistaking damian for Dani and picking him up by the scruff.

Dick thinks he's about to witness a murder but damians ectoplasm is giving him the best vibes so he's just hanging there, relaxed.

[moiraineswife]

>> Apocalypse!Au Nessian. (but only if you aren't being overwhelmed with a sea of requests...You're awesome!)

I do indeed have a sea of requests but you may have any flavour of Nessian you want, Nicole, yes you may. Okay. Let me see what I can do... 

Apocalypse!AU Nessian: So I’m unoriginal and fall easily into tropes so this is indeed going down the zombie path but...I’m twisting the origins a bit to make it fit canon more. (This got kind of...half headcanony/half drabbley? I would like everyone to know that I have no idea what I’m doing or wtf this is. You are so patient. ) 

Nesta was right. 

When the walls tumbled down and the drums of war beat once more the mortal queens abandoned them. Further twisted by the Cauldron’s influence they took their ships, their wealth, their estates and abandoned their people in Prythian. They argued that it was for the greater good. Better to lose these few than all of their realms. Nesta still cursed their names and swore damnation upon them.  

She and Cassian were in the mortal realm together when the world ended. 

Nesta had volunteered to liaise with the human realm on behalf of the Night Court and its allies. No. Nesta had demanded to liaise with the human realm. She wouldn’t forget where she had come from, what she had once been, what she had left behind. She would remember them. And she would fight for them. 

Cassian went with her. He needed something to do, something to stop him from going out of his mind at the loss of his wings and commanding an aerial force was out of the question. He laid the groundwork of their strategy, discussed tactics with Rhys, helped him appoint the best replacements then went elsewhere to make himself useful. Because he was not going to sit back and let other people fight this war while he did nothing but ‘recover’ from the amputation. He needed purpose. And he had a promise to keep. 

Neither of them could know what was happening a world away. The Wall had fallen long ago when Hybern’s troops had invaded and most of Prythian was an active war-zone. Communication was different and the plan that ruined everything was hasty, barely thought out. In an act of desperation words that should have been forgotten centuries ago were whispered in the heartbeats before devastation; two halves were once again made whole; and what she had hoped would be salvation had resulted in the destruction of all things instead. 

The world ended and it made the war seem trivial. Boundaries were shattered. Uniforms and standards meant nothing. Hybern, or Prythian, Night Court or Spring Court, or Winter made no difference. In the face of what Feyre Cursemaker, Herald of Death, Princess of Carrion, unleashed upon them all. 

All that mattered was whether you were alive or whether you were dead. 

Feyre called for help. The dead answered. The dead rose. The dead sought to bring the peace of their own oblivion to the shattered, war-torn living world. She had summoned them but she couldn’t control them, couldn’t return them and the recently lost victims of this war were dragged back to fight again in an army of their own this time. 

Cassian and Nesta had gone to the human world to help, to protect, to fulfil promises they had made to themselves and each other - to protect those who could not protect themselves. When the world ended that meant everyone. They tried, tried to organise, tried to help, tried to protect, but it soon became clear that this was beyond their ability to change - not even with Cassian’s burning gold heart or Nesta’s fiery steel will. All they could do was survive. 

They began the long fight to return home. To find their families, their homes, their places in this broken world and see what remained of them. They’re stranded, isolated, alone, in a confused part of the world whose people never asked for any of this but are dying in droves for it with no way of contacting those they love and nothing to help them survive what should have been a simple, two day trip which has turned into a nightmare. 

All they have is each other. That’s enough. 

Humans, Cassian learns as he experiences this among them, are good at surviving. Surviving against all odds. Surviving in the face of things he would expect to destroy them, frail and mortal as they are. Surviving at any cost. He had thought the High Fae brutal and cut-throat. He had thought that, in all his years, in Illyrian war camps, on battlefields where thousands were slaughtered with a whisper of thought and a flicker of magic, through the bloody, tangled years of politics - assassinations, alliances and betrayals that he understood the will to survive, to thrive, to conquer. When the world ends in the mortal realms Cassian realises he knew nothing of it at all and that he and Nesta may well be in the most dangerous place in all of Prythian. 

Trust becomes a far rarer and more valuable commodity than gold or jewels ever were and it’s in short supply in this raw, broken new world of theirs. Cassian and Nesta both soon realise that the only people they truly trust are each other, no-one else. Especially themselves.

Cassian teaches Nesta how to survive the way he learned how. (though he does admit she was doing a very good job herself) But wit and cunning and logic only get them so far now - they both sleep a lot better knowing she can correctly hold a knife and duck a punch. He shows her the things that were a mystery to her in the cabin - things that Feyre seemed to find so easy. He shows her how to start fire, how to track game- and other, more sinister things- how to hunt, how to fight, how to kill. The lessons that kept him alive all those years ago in those camps where they abandoned him - a bastard child without a home or a name or a family who gave a damn if he lived or died. he teaches her how to accept the parts of herself that seem so monstrous - because he was told he was filled with killing power but learned how to shape it into shields. She can too. 

Nesta teaches Cassian how to survive the way she learned how. She teaches him how to live with himself when he feels like he’s failed everyone he loved - that he’s only destined to do nothing but fail them - as she felt. She teaches him how to survive when everything he had, everything he was, everything that felt real and right and made him him is taken from him - as it was taken from her. She teaches him that there is more to life than a pair of wings - the expectations others place upon you because of what you are. She was only a child when she lost everything, her mother, her life, her future, even herself, but she clawed her way out of that pit and found her purpose, found herself. He can too. 

They drag each other kicking and screaming and stumbling through this mess because I am not losing you now, not after everything, don’t you dare die on me. Along the way they teach each other to live again as well - something they’d stopped doing that day in Hybern when he lost his wings and she lost her humanity and they both lost themselves. Ironic, they consider later, that neither of them were reborn until the world ended - that they too were dead and climbed out of their graves along with the others. 

They learn how to laugh again, how to find meaning in the small moments, how to cherish the memories that are glazed with the sheen of tears of hysteria that line Nesta eyes, echoing with the boom of Cassian’s laughter. They learn how to feel again, how to open themselves up and hand another their broken hearts. They learn that when despair closes in the kiss of a lover can banish it. They learn that when death threatens the sound of their name upon another’s lips is sometimes all that’s needed to save lives and heal scars. 

They learn the other’s taste and feel and scent and what it’s truly like to be joined as one a night when rain batters against the cave they’ve settled in on the border between courts and can no longer resist the song that hums in their blood and whispers mates to their hearts. They had been afraid, so afraid, of what it might be like to forge such an unbreakable bond only to feel it shatter in this fragile, perilous world that they’re slowly starting to call theirs. They learn that night that some things are worth the risk.

 They already knew that some things were worth dying for - to protect, to save, to preserve. They learn that some things are worth living for too. That this is worth living for. That they would rather have one moment of this even if it’s snuffed out like a candle before a hurricane the next day than to never know what it is to be mated, to be joined, to belong. That the moment of life they snatch in one another’s arms is worth it all. If death thinks to take them now they’re joined it would be wiser to run. 

As mates, as one, they learn how to hope, how to love, how to dream again. They live through death. 

 In the aftermath, when they look at one another, both knows that if they had been alone they would not have survived. If they had been with any other they would not have survived. But together....Together they made it. Together they survived. Together they lived. 

[velveteenau-blog1]

5 Reasons Why Your Mixes Aren't Sounding The Way You Want

Reading Time: 8-10 Minutes

Hey guys! It's Brad Simons here today, and I'm gonna today's post is going to be about 5 reasons why your mixes aren't sounding as good as you want them to. There is an infinite number of reasons that your mixes aren't quite there, but the following are some of the common ones that I encounter. Check 'em out!

1) Bad Sounds At The Source

You've heard it before, and I'm gonna say it again. From a mountaintop. You can't make a great mix out of garbage sounds. It's just not possible. You may be able to make it sound better than it did before you started mixing, but it's never going to be world class. So, make sure you get great tones and performances in tracking! If you didn't track the music, then maybe have a chat with the tracking engineer and suggest some revisions.

Now having said that, there are a lot of things these days that you can do to ensure that you get good sounds. One common one is to supplement your drum tones with drum samples. In fact, I would argue that most "real" drum recordings that you hear on the radio are sampled up. This can help provide consistency, control and punch to your drum tones. I suggest making your own sample library from your recordings, but you can also use packs like Superior Drummer, Slate Drums, Native Instruments Abbey Road, to name a few. Second, grab as many DI tracks as you can, especially on instruments like electric guitar and bass. You can then use that DI signal to re-amp if you need to get a new tone.

2) Muddy Bottom End

I struggle with this one, as I think a lot of engineers do. Getting the bottom end (and the lower mids) just right is really tough. But if you don't get it right, your mix will either sound thin and weak, or it will be woofy and unfocused. 

A good place to start is to put a hi-pass filter on every single instrument with exception of the kick drum and the bass. I like to start at about 100 Hz, and then work from there. What this will do is provide the room needed to let the kick and bass come through cleanly. These are generally the two instruments that will make that low end just right.

You also need to make a decision how the bass and kick are sitting together. I typically like to keep the kick in the sub frequency range and cut some of the bass off with a hi-pass filter. Some mixers like to go the opposite way, cutting some of the kick off to give the bass more room. My opinion is to let the genre and the song dictate that. For instance, if you're mixing a trap song, you'll want the bass to have TONS of sub frequency (although it may be a pitched 808), so maybe let the kick give the thump up a little higher. If you're mixing a rock track, typically you'll want to trim up the bass a bit and let the kick drive the song. Not hard fast rules at all, but some guidelines.

Think about the lower midrange in the same way. I look at the lower mids as the 200 Hz to 500 Hz area. Try muting instruments in the mix and see what's clogging up that area. If your mix is sounding muddy, try muting various instruments until you find what's doing so. Then try cutting some of that mid-range until you find the clarity you're looking for. Some common ones for me are pads, synths, keys, and guitars. Again, I struggle with this one a lot, it's tough to really make it work. 

Another thing you can do is trim a bit of midrange on the mix bus. I like to use a UAD MEQ 5 at the end of my mix bus chain to trim a bit of mids out if needed. As I've said in a previous post, if I need to cut more than 1 dB, I'm probably going to head back into the tracks causing the problem first. 

3) Too Much FX

Maybe it's just me, but I LOVE using reverbs and delays. I love a roomy, ambient mix, with elements that are up close to the speakers, and elements that sound as though they are a hundred feet away. Gives the mix alot of depth. However, this can easily lead to an accumulation of mids and general cloudiness in your mix. So this somewhat ties into what we mentioned in the previous point. 

So one place to start is to hi-pass filter all of your reverb and delay channels. This will prevent delay repeats and reverb decay create an accumulation of bottom end and muddy mid range. I typically like to do around 250 Hz, but that's a matter of taste. There are instances where I want to hear some more rumble from the verb, but this is a general starting point.

Second and more importantly, be selective in which instruments you put reverb and delay on. And also be selective of what style of each. Give each instrument needing reverb a different depth and algorithm. Same with delay, avoid overuse of the same delay, as it can create a mess. Some things I like to do are find lead elements and make them pretty wet, and push them back. By contrast, I like using slap delays on vocals.

Experiment with different elements and be selective! Don't overdo it!

4) Overuse of Compression

I think overusing compression is a pretty dang easy trap to fall into. Sometimes as engineers, we get in the mindset that we "have" to do certain things. For instance, if we want a punchy mix, we think we need compression. And then furthermore, if we want everything to be punchy, we need compression on everything! This is certainly not the case. 

Remember, the initial point of compression is volume control. And yes, you can certainly use it to get more punch and as an effect. Not disputing that. But maybe a hi-gain guitar tone just doesn't need any compression. Why is that? Because it is already naturally compressed! Ask questions on each track. Does this instrument need compression? If so, why is that? How am I expecting it to sound? Is this the right way of accomplishing this?

A lot of plugin compressors come with a factory default setting that has some makeup gain already engaged. So the moment you add the plugin, the volume may increase by 2 dB. That's an easy way to be fooled into thinking it sounds better. An easy way to remain objective is to adjust the volume of the plugin to match the bypassed level. That way you can bypass and un-bypass the plugin, going back and forth to truly hear what the plugin is doing to the sound. 

Also, don't overcompress your mix bus! This can easily make your mix painful to listen to, pumpy and awkward. Let me be the first to say that mix bus compression is a vital part of my mix process, but it has to be done with taste and caution. It can easily ruin your mix!

Just like reverb and delay, be selective with compression and don't overdo it!

5) Bad Frequencies

Bad frequencies can make your life a nightmare. Yikes. This one can be tough to hear and tough to iron out. Sometimes it takes a lot of searching to find where your problems are. 

Let's say you hear a certain frequency ringing out in the mix. Try muting instruments until you find the one that contains the bad frequency. Now if only it were always that simple. Sometimes there are multiple instruments contributing to a bad frequency, and you need to cut that from all of them!

So once you do find the track(s) that are causing the problem, pull out an EQ. We like to use the FabFilter Pro Q 2 and use the bandpass mode to isolate that frequency. Then cut it out! Use your own judgment on how much you want to cut out, and how wide the Q is on that frequency band. If the cut is starting to affect the general tone of the instrument, then consider tightening the Q or cutting just slightly less.

You can also apply this technique on busses, from instrument busses to the mix bus in general. I like to be a little more cautious when applying corrective EQ to busses, as you're starting to make changes to many instruments at once. 

 And that's it for this post. Hope that helps you find faults in your mix, and therefore improve the quality of future mixes. Please comment below if you have any problems you've encountered and how you overcame them.

If you like what we're doing here, please signup for our email list, follow us on social, and join our Facebook group!

Cheers!

Brad Velveteen Audio

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Brad is the owner/founder of Velveteen Audio and it's record label counterpart Velveteen Records. He engineers, produces, plays in his own project called Optics, and has a YouTube Channel on music and business.

RECENT POSTS

CATEGORIES

FEATURED PRODUCT

/*<![CDATA[*/ (function () { var scriptURL = 'https://sdks.shopifycdn.com/buy-button/latest/buy-button-storefront.min.js'; if (window.ShopifyBuy) { if (window.ShopifyBuy.UI) { ShopifyBuyInit(); } else { loadScript(); } } else { loadScript(); } function loadScript() { var script = document.createElement('script'); script.async = true; script.src = scriptURL; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(script); script.onload = ShopifyBuyInit; } function ShopifyBuyInit() { var client = ShopifyBuy.buildClient({ domain: 'velveteen-records.myshopify.com', apiKey: 'cc53683ffd4600673ee3da831ba4f3b3', appId: '6', }); ShopifyBuy.UI.onReady(client).then(function (ui) { ui.createComponent('product', { id: [10867501059], node: document.getElementById('product-component-33f0bad97d4'), moneyFormat: '%24%7B%7Bamount%7D%7D', options: { "product": { "variantId": "all", "width": "240px", "contents": { "imgWithCarousel": false, "variantTitle": false, "description": false, "buttonWithQuantity": false, "quantity": false }, "styles": { "product": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "max-width": "100%", "margin-left": "0", "margin-bottom": "50px" } }, "button": { "background-color": "#861891", ":hover": { "background-color": "#791683" }, ":focus": { "background-color": "#791683" } }, "variantTitle": { "color": "#ffffff" }, "title": { "color": "#ffffff" }, "description": { "color": "#ffffff" }, "price": { "color": "#ffffff" }, "compareAt": { "font-size": "12px", "color": "#ffffff" } } }, "cart": { "contents": { "button": true }, "styles": { "button": { "background-color": "#861891", ":hover": { "background-color": "#791683" }, ":focus": { "background-color": "#791683" } }, "footer": { "background-color": "#ffffff" } } }, "modalProduct": { "contents": { "img": false, "imgWithCarousel": true, "variantTitle": false, "buttonWithQuantity": true, "button": false, "quantity": false }, "styles": { "product": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "max-width": "100%", "margin-left": "0px", "margin-bottom": "0px" } }, "button": { "background-color": "#861891", ":hover": { "background-color": "#791683" }, ":focus": { "background-color": "#791683" } } } }, "toggle": { "styles": { "toggle": { "background-color": "#861891", ":hover": { "background-color": "#791683" }, ":focus": { "background-color": "#791683" } }, "count": { "color": "#ffffff", ":hover": { "color": "#ffffff" } }, "iconPath": { "fill": "#ffffff" } } }, "productSet": { "styles": { "products": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "margin-left": "-20px" } } } } } }); }); } })(); /*]]>*/ (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});