#I played the first bad end that is automatic and a sort of true end

[miyakuli]

Buried Stars

As a fan of psychological thrillers such as the Nonary games saga or Danganronpa, I was quite easily attracted to Buried Stars after watching its trailer, which really seemed to be in the same vein (murders, investigations, paranoia, etc.).

I don't know if I'd set too many expectations on it, but I found myself rather disappointed with my experience, despite the interesting premise.

❤ Overall, the game design is rather beautiful and polished, juggling still images and high-quality animations. ❤ Mature, realistic themes: harassment on social networks, psychological control in the workplace, the media's untimely intrusion into the private sphere, etc… ❤ The music is decent, and the dubbing is good (Korean or Japanese).

+/- The characters are quite endearing, and you shouldn't trust your first impressions, because as the revelations about their past unfold, they appear much more complex and mature…..but dammit, they make the worst decisions all the time, I felt like I was in a bad horror movie! +/- The game features a mental health gauge and a level of affinity with each character, which can influence the story's outcome, depending on the dialogues chosen….the problem is that there's no way of knowing which dialogues will increase these stats, so it's often pure chance (except in the case of new game plus).

✖ The investigation system is repetitive and boring. It mostly boils down to consulting the game's "sort of twitter" feed to obtain information, discussing these topics with each character one after the other and then cross-checking the information with each other. Over and over again. With a few variations at times, of course, but after several hours, it's just tiresome. In addition, I find that the staging lacks punch during the conclusion of investigations and big revelations. ✖ The English adaptation is not very good. There are a lot of confusing moments in the way sentences are phrased, making us misinterpret certain dialogue choices. ✖ TOO MUCH predictable (even if the game wants to blur the lines, but frankly it's too blatant). ✖ There's no skip function for text that's already been read, so you either skip and risk missing unread text, or reread the whole thing. For a game that has to be played several times, this is not convenient at all! ✖ You can't save at any point you want, which is really stupid, because if you want to unlock new routes, you have to go over the same scenes again and again, instead of being able to save at a specific turning point…

In conclusion, the game suffers from a flagrant lack of pacing in its investigative part, as well as from the essential options for a multi-routes visual novel. It's a pity, because in terms of story, Buried Stars remains intriguing, with some rather well-written characters, but it never really takes off due to its overly repetitive nature. Sorry for the surviving candidates, but you're not getting my vote on this one ;)

➡ My personal VN ranking (in french) ➡ My Steam page

#buried stars #I played the first bad end that is automatic and a sort of true end #but I really don't feel the need to unlock more routes...I'm just satisfied to know who the guilty is lol (guessed it super quickly though) #really didn't enjoy it that much ;v;)" #Lola plays games #personal #Youtube

[performing-personhood]

I learned a kind of funny thing and I need to tell you bc it's important, cmere. Lean in so the others can't hear okay?

Ok so like

I know that the reason we are the way we are is because at some point we took up some space - as people do - and someone turned to us and went "whoa, excuse you! What do you think you're doing" or something, right? And they were, like, surprised and offended that we took up space and told us to stay real small and subservient? And we were pretty young, you and me, and we didn't really grok Peopling yet and so we assumed that everyone else was going to have that expectation too?

Okay I just learned: that isn't true at all, that person was just an asshole.

Babe. BABE. This is big.

Ok do you realize ??? that most people when they're around someone - anyone, this is important, it's an unconscious reflex and happens rather automatically - and that person is like "I have an opinion and desires and also some needs and I am going to express them openly" Did you realize, because I didn't, that most people completely intuitively go "oh! There's another person here! Lemme just scootch over so they fit better :)" PEOPLE MAKE ROOM FOR YOU.

People don't ignore us, when we're silently having wants and needs and waiting our turn to be noticed, they just have similar very loud brains and have no idea because beung corporeal is Distracting™️. Not only do people just need a reminder that you're there, they're totally happy to accomodate. In a distinctly "ope! My bad, lemme just- here-" sort of way.

My spouse has a loud brain and drowns it out with Mario Kart. I've spent most of my life quietly entertaining myself in all of these instances, because at some point someone told me I was supposed to "go play" and nobody wanted to play with me so I entertained myself right? Okay. Well I recently had a sea change and decided I was gonna pop my headphones in and watch TV on my tablet when he was doing his Mario Karting. Because the boy will easily go for four hours and I just spontaneously realized that it would actually be ridiculous if he got butthurt at me for putting some quiet tv on for myself instead of watching a grown man play the same video game for hours.

You know what happened? Not only did nobody's feelings get hurt, but I have never made it more than twenty minutes into a show before he ends a match and switches the console off. And I have never asked him to do so. When I'm over there doing my own thing with my own TV show like a person instead of just scrolling on my phone trying real hard not to exist, somewhere in his unconscious he goes "there's a whole other human being on the other end of the sofa from me. I want to turn this off and engage with that person!"

Okay do you understand what I am telling you??

When you behave like a human person and treat yourself like a human person, other people also instinctively treat you like a human person and they're happy to be reminded that they get to engage with you. The person in our past that reacted differently and got mad at us for being a person, plainly and simply: they were just being an asshole to us.

The people we love want to engage with us. Almost all of them!!! And not only that?? Most other human beings feel the same way.

Huge. Big huge.

Don't take my word for it baby cakes okay, take a sec and muster up the courage (it'll be scary the first time, but the thinking about it is always scarier than doing it I swear) and then get back out there and practice being your very own human person occupying human people space, around someone who loves you, and just... watch what happens. The first time someone warmly, graciously, voluntarily accommodates you is the greatest feeling a corporeal being can experience, and you deserve it too.

#recovering people pleaser #recovering from abuse #recovering from trauma #recovering codependent #recovering from cptsd #cptsd recovery #actually cptsd #just neurodivergent things #actually neurodivergent #mental illness #things I learned in therapy #therapy works

[uchiha-7thsingularity]

Touchstarved is a new addition to my fandom found family

(After playing the demo and listening to behind the scenes with the devs interview)

I'm glad they are getting the love and support they deserve on their own creation...they legally own now. 😤😍

I will be buying merch from them! And donating because I want this game to be developed as soon as possible.

Mhin will be my seventh emo child I adopt after Felix (last legacy), minato (p3), Virgil(sanders sides), levi(obey me), rory(lucifer), and idia(tw). They're the embodiment of "don't touch me I'm lethal and will use it to my advantage." Like a feral kitten with zoomies trying to get their prized toys which is a decent conversation with someone. A hunter that is welcome to hunt me down to get their cloak back.

Kuras got me on my knees with his healing touch. *not sexually* I mean he lit a fire in me to the point I want to see him go feral every time I toss and turn to see his true colors. His design screams "I'm the sun your a speck of dust not sit and let me observe you." Kind but aloof. Gentle but stern. Calm but will be feral if necessary. Another reason to follow him till the end of time.

Vere is THAT asshole, dick of a friend. Best friend? Frenemy?! Doesn't matter his deal I want to rile him up. Make his fur stand on end when he feels my MC's presence walk into the same room he's in just to say nothing to him and walk out. I want to fight him. Lovingly where he respects me to some degree to which were on first name basis. Bark or hiss at him at random to throw him off. Vibes are "I'll throw you across this room if you don't stop grabbing for my tail."

Ais is a hot pepper. You look at his whole design and see "Stop looking or be my guest I could care less." A man who gives you no second glance. Tames beasts. Punches a dirtbag for you because he felt like it. Named a dog demon princess.....I would like to buy him a drink. Will physically cling to him to ask him how his day went. Would make him laugh by tripping and falling to just see his reaction. Yep, that's what I was hoping for and I want more.

Leander is a wannabe hero figure/leader sort of. A man of taste in magical affairs. Could standoff as a "great smile just don't fall for the shine." Lends you a firm hand but is smooth like butter. Hype man. Heavy drinker and fighter. He a wingman but in the wrong way to where he ends up with the person we wanted to woo. Up to all kinds of shenanigans unless rent paid then he parties. I need his good luck charms to earn a lucky night out with him. Tell me everything!

Still will wait two years for this game. Want the devs to go at their own pace to not be overwhelmed. Have to redraw my oc. Love the story and how the devs said all the characters are doomed either way no matter the bad or good endings. All five individuals will be chaos. It's a case of will I make them worse or better.Instead the alternative is to make them realize you will never leave their side no matter what. Lots of death and gore. Finally! Finally!! Like a villain (mainly monsters) story where we have toxic characters and don't automatically make them good just because but actually dive into the lore and help them break a curse or live with it. Redemption? Possibly?! Althouh, I want to help them show their true colors and what their capable of even if it leads directly to a dead end. These five have no idea what's coming for them...I've ranted enough for today. Bye!

#touch starved #mhin touchstarved #kuras touchstarved #leander touchstarved #vere touchstarved #ais touchstarved #demo game #rants n rambles #personal chaos

[kchasm]

Ryu Number: Risto Mejide

Risto Mejide is a Spanish music producer, known also for his appearance as a judge on a number of reality talent shows. He's known for his harsh and caustic criticism, making him something like a Spanish Simon Cowell—

Okay, listen. I'm going to cop to this: I didn't know who Risto Mejide was a week ago and I still mostly have no idea. Everything in that last paragraph I got off a couple of Wikipedia pages. No, the reason you're seeing this Ryu Number post is because I played History Warriors, and by gum, I am going to wring this utterly minuscule drop of value out of that arid desert stone. I can't have suffered for nothing, right?

History Warriors is not a good game.

History Warriors is a fighting game in the sense that I Spy is a competitive activity—yes, that's true, but if it's the highlight of your local tourney it's a sign that something has gone terribly wrong.

The plot of the game is as follows: After the fall of Nazi Germany, Hitler was secretly tucked away into some sort of suspended storage. Now he's awake, and he's gotten access to time travel technology, which he's used to pull a number of famous historical characters (William Shakespeare, Cleopatra, Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc, Che Guevara, Shaka, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Napoleon) to the present day with the end goal of irreversibly mucking up the timeline. Not exactly high lit, but as far as an excuse to get a bunch of disparate characters at each other's throats, it's at least more creative than another martial arts tournament.

Unfortunately, History Warriors—and I've said this already but it bears repeating—is not a good game. It's a bunch of free-to-low-cost assets compressed into a weeping mass by a developer, "Clipstories, Inc.," which is almost certainly just a handful of folks in Spain who know each other. Characters all have the same standard attacks—a high punch, a low punch, a high kick, and a low kick. There are special projectile moves but attempting to view the manual from the Steam page redirects to the game's official site (as much as anything about this game can be called "official"), which... doesn't exist anymore.

The computer-controlled characters do know how to use the projectiles, of course. The projectiles are, incidentally, completely unavoidable, too large to jump and too low to duck. Can you block? You can block. The input for blocking is also the input for backing up, which is a fighting game norm, except that in History Warriors when your character is moving backward they aren't automatically blocking, as far as I can tell, so effectively what happens when you press back is that your characters blocks for a second and then starts walking backward defenselessly.

(I freely admit I might be slightly wrong there, but like hell I'm going to go back and analyze the mechanics.)

When two characters' attacks meet—two characters hit each other at the same time, in other words—rather than the attacks canceling each other out, they both go through. This means that the victor of the round is essentially decided by which character has the longest limbs (balance is a thing that happens to other fighting games). A further hampering comes in the form of hitboxes that have been placed, to put it charitably, unpredictably. Often floating an appreciatable length off from the end of a fighter's limb, in fact.

My main strategy in beating this game was to get in my opponent's space first thing before they could start throwing their impossible-to-avoid projectiles and spam a kicking to the shins. It barely worked, but it worked enough that I could get through each playable characters' lineup of opponents... after a lot of game overs, anyway (you don't have to start from the beginning if you lose—thank goodness for small favors).

The worst offense, though, after all this, is that the game isn't even entertainingly bad. Sure, on the surface—and especially with its awfully silly concept—History Warriors seems like the type of Bad Video Game that'd be perfect for some streamer to make fun of playing for a couple hours. But with every character essentially an identical fighter save for reach and the quickness with which strategy devolves into slurry, the whole damn thing is just a slog.

To wrap up this thesis: History Warriors is a bad game, and I think I've made that as clear as I can. But this is the internet, and the internet is chock full of productions of terrible quality that don't deserve a critical haranguing, stories and games and songs and videos that might accurately be called flawed or even subpar, but which were put together by creators who, for what skill they lacked, worked with sincerity and a motivation sourced from the joy of creation. I firmly believe that that's admirable in its own way—that it's behavior that ought to be encouraged, even through the stinkers.

That said—

There is no universe where this was worth fifteen dollars.

...Oh, right, Ryu Numbers. Uh, when you beat the game with a character it turns out they can't go back to their original time, so you get a still image showing what they're up to in the present day. Lincoln runs for President again, Napoleon streams video games, Che's at Occupy Wall Street—it's all very uninspired. When you beat the game as Mozart, he ends up on a talent show with an MS Paint mic.

Copyright infringement is a thing that happens to other developers, so the judges are clearly identifiable as being from Got Talent España, the Spanish version in the Got Talent franchise. From the fourth season, it seems.

See? Same digs.

Admittedly, my knowledge of the Spanish language begins and ends at "biblioteca," but Wikipedia tells me that this judge lineup consisted of Risto Mejide, Edurne, Eva Isanta, and Paz Padilla, so barring it turning out, I don't know, this particular episode had a guest replacing him and I couldn't tell because I'm garbage at facial recognition or something, Risto Mejide has a Ryu Number of 2, or 3 if you don't like Minecraft.

You know what's worse? This is probably the quickest way to get to Che Guevara, too.

#Ryu Number #minecraft #minecraft (bedrock ed.) #cleopatra #history warriors #risto mejide #super smash bros. ultimate #mario #mario's time machine #mario's time machine (pc ver.) #wolfgang amadeus mozart

[smartycvnt]

mutual fans

pairing: rhea ripley x reader

summary: when you were asked to write and sing a song for a wwe superstar, you never imagined it could end like this.

You had been a lifelong wrestling fan. There were references to wrestlers from way before you'd even been alive in many of your songs. With your music gaining more traction, it only made sense for the WWE to reach out to you. You had expected the email from Stephanie McMahon to be about making an appearance at a show taping or something, not for you to write one of their superstar's new theme songs. To make it a little more challenging, she hadn't disclosed who the song was for, just the general theme that she was looking for.

And so, for weeks you had worked on writing the song and music to fit what she had described. You were no stranger to adversity or being seen as the bad guy. Being a woman in the music scene that you had dove into wasn't exactly an easy task. Most people were past the whole woman thing, but there were quite a few big names whose outdated ideas hadn't exactly helped you gain traction. Still, you had excelled and if the rumors were true, your debut album was in the talks for an award or two.

"Y/n, there's someone to see you." You weren't used to being interrupted while brainstorming, but something told you that this particular producer's assistant had a good reason. You set your guitar on its rack and followed him out of the little room where you'd been trying to write the first single for your new EP. It was hard having to immediately start working on new music after finishing up a tour, but you were glad to get studio time.

"Holy shit, you're Rhea Ripley," you said automatically. There had been absolutely no thought put into whether or not you should have said it, the words just slipped out. Rhea chuckled at that and extended her hand towards you to shake. "I'm Y/n. Can I ask why you're here to see me?"

"You wrote my new theme, and I just wanted to let you know it's awesome. I was a bit sad to let the Ash Costello one go, but she'll understand," Rhea said. Your eyes widened as you realized what she had told you. Stephanie McMahon had you write Rhea a new theme, replacing the one that one of your greatest inspirations musically had written. "Do you have a minute to sit and chat?"

"Oh yeah, we can hang in this room. Don't mind the mess, brainstorming always gets a little hectic," you told her. Rhea seemed almost giddy at the idea of being in the same room as you while you were writing new music. "So, what prompted the theme change?"

"They're pushing a new gimmick for my return. They change all sorts of stuff all the time," Rhea told you. You understood what she meant, the entertainment industry in general was a little bit sporadic. "I'm pretty honored you accepted, it might sound lame, but I am a huge fan."

"Y-you're a fan of me?" You didn't mean to sound so surprised, but you couldn't help it. Rhea nodded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, thank you. I'm a fan of yours too. If I wasn't such a baby, I'd love to try what you do in the ring one day."

"I know a couple people with access to wrestling rings if you're ever in Florida. I don't mind taking an afternoon or two to teach you some basics. Once you get started, don't blame me when you get addicted to it though," Rhea said, shooting you a wink. You looked away from her, blushing slightly. "But you gotta teach me something too. It's only fair."

"Alright, no problem. Wait here." You stood up from your seat and grabbed a bass guitar from the rack. Rhea looked a little surprised when you placed it in her lap. It wasn't much, but you spent about an hour teaching Rhea how to play the bass riff and solo for one of your most popular songs. "If I can find a studio to record in, I could probably spend a whole week in Florida."

"Give me a call when you're thinking of flying out," Rhea told you. The two of you exchanged numbers before you went your separate ways.

#wwe #wwe x reader #wwe imagine #wwe imagines #rhea ripley imagines #rhea ripley imagine #rhea ripley x reader #rhea ripley

[tiny-buzz]

Regis Philbin Teaches Computers In His New Book.

"So the first time I got on the computer, my niece was showing me how to set up an e-mail, back in the 90s, this must have been 1996, 1997. And I thought, great, saves me a stamp. But she said, Uncle Regis, it's so much more than just e-mail. You can look up stock quotes. You can order flowers. You can research the rainforest. So I thought, heck, that's not bad. And I can do all this, through my phone line? She said, just you wait. One day, you won’t even need a phone. She’s always been so sharp, my niece.”

"I remember when I discovered chat rooms. I went in one under my screen name, BIG_PHRANCIS_X, totally pseudonymous, and I thought, wow, this is true freedom. The World Wide Web, at my fingertips, and no expectations, no one knows its me. I can surf anywhere. I can say anything. I had a great discussion with some folks that first time, talking about video games, which was better, the Sega or the Nintendo. I didn’t have an opinion. No idea! Then a man sent me some sexual chats, talking about his power tools and so on, and so I skedaddled.”

“My first webpage I visited was a hoot. The way it worked was, you put in your name at the top, or any name, I suppose, and it generated a fake doctor’s excuse for you. Really outrageous stuff — “acute case of Sunday hangover,” or “Got bit by a llama,” that kind of nonsense. Who comes up with this stuff? I would go to that site, every day for about a month, first thing, right with my morning coffee.”

“Eventually, I went to a second webpage, website, whatever. It was a repository of stories that this man, a European I believe, had written. Long, really detailed fiction, lots of plots, but the general recurring theme was that a woman would end up sitting on him, or rather, the main character, who always seemed to be about the same type of European male, and the woman would use the main character as a chair, of sorts. Sometimes a stool, sometimes a bench. The women varied — tall, short, mean, kind, fat, thin, all sorts of women just using this guy as a chair. Sometimes they’d be drinking wine, sometimes reading a book. I didn’t realize it at the time but I think this guy really got his jollies from it. I guess that’s one of the purposes of fiction, to let us imagine the world as it could be, and this guy, I guess, he just wished he had been born as a chair.”

“Eventually I started racking up the pages. Dozens of web pages, hundreds even. I ordered more flowers, that first year, than Joy knew what to do with. “Reg,” she’d say, “more flowers?!” hollering back to the computer room whenever the delivery guy would show up. I also learned a whole lot about the rain forest, information I still rely on to this day.”

“But then, one night, I couldn’t sleep, and I was up, surfing the web. And I found a new web page I’d never seen before. It was written in riddles, long, recursive sentences, and when I’d go back to read the opening part, I swore it was changing.”

“The topic was vague, hard to understand. It touched on many things — pain, loss, love, triumph, fear, sex, death, the ego, the id — there was embedded music, a haunting leitmotiv played on an electric keyboard — it was a winding narrative, water down an escarpment, and the water came from a machine, an automatic author, a robot of sorts, it seemed mournful, a helper looking for someone it had lost, another script, another automaton, knowing only how to describe the world through its medium, maybe it was telling me the story as I read it.”

“I scrolled, and read, and scrolled, and read, and there, at the bottom of the page, I met God. I could recognize God, as a word, of sorts. God was a series of letter forms, glyphic, immutable, conveying nothing, conveying everything. God was a cursor. God was a scroll bar. God was script that helped track my visit. God was a broken image link. God was the embedded song that played on loop. God was the banner ad, loading at the bottom. God was offering a chance for me to click here for a free iPod, years before the advent of the iPod. God was not dissuading me, God was not encouraging me. I do not know if I have free will, I do not know if I am forsaken. I did not click to try to win that iPod.”

"Do you believe that? Do you believe God is at the bottom of a website? I believed it then, and I still do.”

Regis Weekend Has Been Extended Through Saturday, September 16.

#regis weekend #honor the man #web regis #life as a chair

[dailyunstableeve]

Under the Spell

Chapter (6/9)

Miguel O'Hara x My oc (Eve)

°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .

A week has passed since the event.

Miguel turned back into that stone cold person again.

The person he love, gone in front of his eyes again.

At least this time he gets to host a funeral that has the body. Unlike her daughter.

Miguel continued his work, a tragedy happened but it didn't stop him from keeping the multiverse safe.

Ding~

An email was sent to Miguel, but he didn't even want to open it.

At the end, the email opened itself, taking over the whole screen. Miguel tries to turn it off but it wouldn't.

"Miguel."

Miguel was stunned, he was about to call for Lyla but the familiar voice stopped him from thinking anything else.

"Don't call Lyla okay? I just want to tell you something, just yourself."

Eve's face is playing on the screen, the look of her face, she's stressed, panicked.

"When the email is sent to you, it'll sort of insert a temporary virus, a program that I've made myself, once this message is done playing, the virus would disappear itself too," Eve starts to explain.

"Mi Amor," Miguel looked at her face, the happy moment with Eve, appearing in his mind.

"I'm not from this universe Miguel, you could be asking if I weren't from here, why didn't I glitch? I'm actually thinking the same thing too, but I came up with a theory, it's because my magic allows me to not glitch, here are the cell images I managed to get when I was getting tested."

Images appeared, there's no cells glitching, in fact they were protected by something, maybe it's the magic.

"I was from the universe you destroy, back in my universe, I was a test subject, projected to kill with the winter soldier, no one knows my true identity, not even my family. That day I was heading back home after a mission, it was my birthday, I was supposed to get a day off after that night but I didn't."

Eve took a long sigh, she looked at the camera, she's thinking back that day, the day she lost her family.

"I got home, the candles were lit, but the moment I blew it, everyone disappeared. I panicked at first because my wish was to be forever with my family, but now they're gone, puff, disappeared. I rushed out of my house, knocking on the neighborhood's door, no one responded at all. Everyone, including my family is gone, the whole universe, only left me. I slowly realized that I was surrounded by darkness, a void. No echoes, no light, I can't even see my hands unless I use my magic."

"I was devastated, I had questions but there's no answers, so I asked my magic to bring me somewhere, that I could see my family again. When I see the light again, I rush my way towards my house, but when I get there, it's a graveyard? So I took a scroll around the graveyard, and found my family's name, on the tombstones. They are indeed here, but just not alive anymore. I was lost, so lost."

Eve starts to cry, Miguel tries to reach towards it to wipe her tears but it's just a screen, he can't do anything.

"So I turn to the group of people who created me, the Red Room and Hydra. Of course this universe they don't know me, the Ashby in this world, doesn't have me, so I gave them the offer, put my name in this universe Ashby's, I'll do all the dirty work for them. Everything changed, the moment they told me my mission is you, they believe you have some information that could be their new weapon to conquer the world, the knowledge of the Multiverse."

"I didn't bring them that the whole time but tomorrow, which is our one year, they will make me get it. Once an obedient dog stops obeying, they would use their cruel ways to let the dog obey again. So, if tomorrow anything bad happens, forgive me for that. And the Mafia gangs, they are just the underlings for the Red Room and Hydra, they fail their job and it'll automatically become my mission to end them. Just as you're watching this, all data about Hydra and the Red Room will be sent everywhere, they won't even have the time to defend themselves or get away from it. Here's a request from me, it's alright if you can't do it but, once Hydra and the Red Room are down, go find those victims that were used for their experiment, I'll have the list attached to this email. Help them, they are victims like me, once it's down, they have nowhere to go."

"Even if this whole year was a mission, I can't help it to really fall in love with you Miguel. Your face really made me skip a beat when I look at it, because gosh, I have never seen such a handsome face before. Behind that handsome face is also a gentleman. If there were other woman sees your face, I bet they would want you like I did as well, well not in the mission type, just the crush type," Eve chuckled, "and the reason I started to show up more at the HQ, wasn't for what I'll do tomorrow, I just want to spend time with you, and during that period of time, I did talk to them that I wanted out and they told me tomorrow will be my last mission, after tomorrow, I'll be free."

"I'm sorry Miguel, for everything I'll do tomorrow. Since you got this email, I guess it didn't end well then. I love you Miguel, thank you for everything."

The video ended with Eve smiling, and Miguel has his control back over his system. News about Hydra and the Red Room pops up everywhere, the whole world is talking about it. On the American news channel, Eve's face is on it. On the news, they thank Eve for helping them destroy their world's greatest enemy, and let the world continue with Peace.

Miguel looked at Eve's face once more, put on his Spider Man suit, and finally walked out of his office.

"No, that's not how it should be."

°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .•°:. *₊ ° . ° .

Prev~

Next~

#spiderman #atsv #spiderman across the spiderverse #astv miguel #miguel o'hara #miguel x oc #miguel fanfic #miguel spiderman #atsv miguel #miguel o'hara fanfiction #miguel spiderverse #miguel #under the spell

[harley-sunday]

North Star [04]

Summary: “We were never bad, Charles, we just lost each other somewhere along the way.” It’s been two years since you and Charles broke up and you have been trying to find your way ever since. Will seeing him again make you find your true north?

Pairings: Pierre Gasly x reader (best friends) | Charles Leclerc x reader

Warnings: Mentions death of a parent/parents. Mentions Anthoine Hubert and Jules Bianchi. Please see masterlist for general warnings. Language.

Word count: 6.8k

AN: This is it, bb’s. Well, sort of anyway, because there’s an epilogue waiting to happen but for now, this is where it ends. I hope you’ll like it. 

[Flashbacks in italics]

Masterlist

Les Côtes, December 31, 2021

The first thing you notice when you wake up is how quiet it is and for a moment you let yourself enjoy it, knowing it will only be a matter of time before the house comes back to life again. Turning around you spot the glass of water and paracetamol Pierre left for you on the nightstand and flashes of last night start coming back to you even though you don’t remember anything after Pierre told you to go to sleep. 

It’s still early but you don’t really want to stay in bed any longer and so you get up, changing into your sweatpants and the Alpha Tauri hoodie Pierre gave you a few years ago. When you open the curtains you’re not surprised to see it’s snowing, the world outside already covered in a thick blanket of fluffy white snowflakes.

As you make your way downstairs you find yourself walking to the kitchen almost automatically, a little surprised to see the lights are already on and even more so when instead of Pascale you find Charles’ mom there. “Salut Pasa,” you tell her as you walk up to her, pressing a kiss to her cheek in greeting.

“Good morning, ma cocotte,” she puts her hand on your arm and gives it a gentle squeeze, “sleep well?”

“I did,” you admit easily enough, a little glad that you seemed to have been spared a hangover. “Can I help with anything?” 

“Oh no,” she shakes her head, “that’s ok. I couldn’t really sleep anymore so I figured I’d start breakfast a little early, but there’s no rush. Everyone else is still sleeping, no?”

“Yeah, I think so.” You take out a mug from the cabinet and help yourself to some coffee before refilling Pascale’s cup. Leaning against the counter you cradle the mug between your hands, enjoying the warmth that starts to radiate through your body, and watch Charles’ mom as she drops eggs into a boiling pot of water, one by one. There’s soft music playing in the background and you feel yourself getting a little lost in the memories of all the times you spent in the kitchen with your mom, Pascale, and Pasa starting to surface and bringing a smile to your face.

“He misses you, you know-”

Her voice interrupts your thoughts and her words are so similar to what Pierre said to you a few days ago that for a moment you feel a little overwhelmed. When you look up at her you find her giving you a kind smile and so you can’t help but be honest, your voice barely above a whisper when you say, “I miss him too.” 

“I know it’s not my place-” Charles’ mom starts but you dismiss her statement with a wave of your hand, letting her know it’s ok, “-but I really do hope you two find your way back to each other. Not as-” She shakes her head, “Even if it’s just as friends. Before this happened you two had such a beautiful friendship, I would-” she clears her throat and it’s only then you notice her eyes are a little glossed over, “I would hate for both of you to miss out on having that. You two have come too far for this to be where it ends.”

You just nod, not trusting your own voice right now. It’s not because you’re angry or because you feel attacked. It’s because she’s right. Charles has been in your life for so long already and, like Pierre, together you have gone through so much that it would be a shame to let it end the way it did. 

As Pascale’s words settle down a bit more something else starts to dawn on you. And at first it’s too abstract, almost like a fleeting thought or a pulsating star in the night sky that you can’t really see until you look slightly away, but then it becomes more clear and you can feel the realisation start to set in.

No one blames you.

Not Pascale, not Pierre, no one. Not even Charles. Only you.

It’s almost as if they all want you to know that, as far as they are concerned, not all is lost and that they are still rooting for you. And while you don’t want to get your hopes up, don’t want to let yourself believe in the possibility of something more just yet, not when there’s still so much left unsaid between you and Charles, there’s no denying the renewed pull you have felt between the two of you over these past two days. 

It’s not that you have been avoiding him, not necessarily anyway, but you haven’t really made an effort either and with only a little over two days left here it seems like maybe it’s time to try a little harder. Going over the planning in your head you try to figure out if you’ll be able to have some time alone with him before the party tonight but you know from past experience that it’s highly unlikely. Everyone’s on a tight schedule today and you know Pierre’s mom will want to make sure no one’s slacking. Maybe you’ll have a better chance after midnight, you think, the symbolism of the new year offering new chances not entirely lost on you.  

“I’m sorry,” Pascale puts her hand on your arm again, probably taking your silence for something it’s not. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I don’t want to-”

“It’s ok,” you whisper because it is. It is. 

Before you have a chance to say anything else you hear people coming down the stairs and so you press another kiss to Pascale’s cheek and quietly tell her, “Thank you.” 

XXX

After breakfast there’s a quick get together with all of the adults, with Pierre’s mom reminding everyone of their tasks for today and the four o’clock deadline she’s set for everything to be done so there will be enough time to relax and get changed before dinner starts at seven. 

Pierre, Charles, Arthur, and Jean-Jacques are responsible for entertaining the kids for at least a couple of hours and so they decide to head outside to play in the snow. You think you hear something about building a snow fort and maybe a snowball fight, but by then you’re already too busy trying to locate the table decorations you know have to be around somewhere. 

You’re paired up with Katerina and in charge of setting the table and so here you are, in the dining room, struggling to get the long dark blue table runner on and keeping it centred. 

“What exactly are we doing tonight?” Katerina asks from across the room where she’s busy folding the napkins into a pyramid shape. “Pierre said something about Le Réveillon?”

“Yeah, Le Réveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre," you nod. “That’s what we call dinner on New Year’s Eve. I think we’re only doing four courses this year, so dessert will probably be served at eleven or something.” You can’t help but smile when you see Katerina looking at you with wide eyes, “It’s a long affair for sure, but time flies, believe me. And then just before midnight we all gather in the living room and countdown to the New Year.”

“Isn’t there some mistletoe involved at some point?”

You let out a laugh, realising that particular tradition might seem a bit odd to someone who isn’t from France, “Yeah, I think that box over there has a few bunches of fake mistletoe in it,” you nod to somewhere on your right. “You grab one and then you just stand close to whoever you want to kiss at midnight.” 

Katerina raises her eyebrows at you, the unspoken question coming through loud and clear even though she doesn’t say anything.

“I might,” you reply with a smile, feeling the heat rise to your cheeks.

“Good,” she agrees with a playful smile. ‘’Any other traditions I should know about?”

“I don’t think so,” you tell her as you start placing candle holders on the table. “There’s usually a bit of a party happening after midnight though, so once we’re done here we have to make some room in the living room so people can dance if they want to.” 

XXX

Rouen, February 7 2017

“Pierre?”

He looks up and can’t help the smile that tugs on the corners of his mouth when he sees her walking towards him, two glasses of champagne in one hand and a small box in the other. She tells him to scoot over with a nod of her head and sits down next to him once he does, the package placed carefully in her lap before she hands him a glass. 

“Thank you,” he tells her as he clinks his glass against hers and takes a sip, watching her as she does the same. “Did maman send you to get me?”

“No,” she shakes her head and nudges his shoulder with hers, “she’s too busy supervising your Dad shucking the oysters.”

He chuckles and nods in understanding, “Quality control, huh?”

“Yep,” she nods, letting out a small giggle herself before she straightens up and looks at him, “If I have to do all the work myself, Pierre, I am not doing a good job.” 

He lets out a laugh, not surprised that she sounds exactly like his mom, and holds up his glass of champagne in reply, “Amen.” 

For a moment they sit together in silence on the wooden bench that’s tucked away in what he’s always considered to be their corner of the backyard. It was here he fell from a tree when they were four or five years old, here they spent endless afternoons playing hide and seek, and here they’d hide out whenever their parents were mad or wanted them to do chores they tried to avoid. It was here, on this bench, he told her he would go to boarding school in Le Mans after summer break, the same bench on which she confessed she was thinking about quitting karting a few years later and he encouraged her to follow her heart, and it was this exact spot he would so often find her in, drowning in her grief and wanting to escape the real world, after her parents passed away and his parents took her in like she was one of their own. She was, of course.

No, he silently corrects himself, she still is.

And it’s always been the two of them against the world. They don’t keep any secrets from each other, know better than to put up a front, and never shy away from always being honest even when the truth hurts sometimes. He’s the one who grounds her when she threatens to lose herself in the heartbreak, just as she’s never afraid to call him out on his bullshit and pretty much the only one he’ll listen to whenever he gets in one of his moods. They’ve seen each other at their lowest of lows and highest of highs and they’re as close as two people can be without being that, because above all, more than anything, she is his best friend and he is hers. Always.

“I have something for you,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper as if she knows he was a little lost in thoughts. When he looks up at her to let her know he’s heard her she puts her glass down and takes the box from her lap before she stands up and holds out her hands to him. He lets her pull him to her feet and into a hug, smiling when she presses a kiss to his cheek and tells him, “Happy twenty-first birthday.”

When he lets go he isn’t surprised to find her eyes a little glossed over and so he throws her a wink to let her know he understands. Birthdays have always been special but even more so now, a weight behind growing older neither of them is quite yet ready to take on. 

She hands him the neatly wrapped gift then and sits back down again, waiting for him to do the same. 

He does and tears away the paper carefully before opening the box he’s unwrapped, a quiet, “Oh,” escaping him when he sees what’s inside. 

“If you don’t like it-”

“Flo,” he puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close, pressing a kiss to her temple, “stop it. I love it.” 

“Good.” She gestures at the box as if what’s she going to say is no big deal but he can tell from the way she bounces her leg that it is, “I just want you to be safe, Pierre, and I don’t know-” she shrugs, a sad smile playing on her lips, “I hope this helps.”

He knows better than to try and reassure her nothing will ever happen to him, knows better than to make promises he's not sure he can keep, knows better than to betray her in the worst way possible by believing he’s invincible and doesn’t need protection, and so he quietly tells her, “It will.” He takes out the necklace then, admiring the delicate gold chain and the gold cross hanging from it, a modest design that he knows will always remind him of her. “I love it,” he tells her again as he puts it on. 

Then, with his hand over the cross, he sends up a silent prayer, asking not only for his protection but for hers as well.

XXX

You finish your task with about fifteen minutes to spare and so you check in with Pascale to see if there’s anything else you can help with but she dismisses you with a quick wave of her hand, telling her they’re almost done in the kitchen as well. 

Most kids have come back inside by now, a bunch of them watching a movie in the TV room while the others are playing a board game in the living room, joined by Charles and Arthur. You watch the game for a while, smiling when you see Charles helping Léah beat Arthur by secretly handing her some extra money under the table. When he looks up at you he shrugs, almost apologetically and so you throw him a wink to let him know it’s fine and you won’t tell on him. 

Before he has a chance to say anything you remember there’s a reason you came here and so you turn around and walk to the glass door cabinet that’s in the corner of the living room. Taking the frames holding pictures of your parents, Charles’ Dad, Jules, and Anthoine you make your way over to the dining room and carefully place the picture frames on a side table that you’ve emptied from its usual decorations earlier today. You put a candle holder next to every picture and drop a tea light, which you will light once dinner starts, in each of them. 

A sad smile forms on your lips as you look at the familiar pictures, the one of your parents a snapshot of them slow-dancing together in the living room here many years ago, lovingly looking at each other as if they were the only two people there. It’s your favourite picture of them and so of course you have a larger copy of it at home. 

Just as your eyes move to the picture of Anthoine, taken at the party celebrating his 2018 GP3 championship, you feel someone standing next to you, not surprised it’s Pierre who puts his arm around your shoulders and presses a kiss to your temple, “You ok?”

“Yeah,” you say as you lean into him, your own arm finding its way around his waist. “You?”

He nods, “Yeah.” Pulling you a little closer then, he says, “I meant what I said earlier though. I really hope we get to spend some more time together next year. I- I’ve missed having you around, Flo.” 

“I know,” you whisper back, the lump in your throat suddenly making it difficult to speak because you know this isn’t just about him missing his best friend. It’s about so much more. You moving across the country in a futile attempt to escape the heartbreak you were experiencing, his busy schedule and all the restrictions still in place not allowing him to come see you when it mattered most, not being able to celebrate his podium in Azerbaijan together or to comfort him after a race he had to retire from due to no fault of his own. You have spent more time apart these past two years than you have ever done before, even when he was away at boarding school, and you silently vow to never let it happen again.

Someone clears their throat then and when you look up you see Charles standing in the doorway and so, with a nod of your head, you tell him it’s ok to join you. He stands on the other side of you but doesn’t say anything and looks at the pictures as well. For a while all three of you stay silent, a little lost in your own thoughts no doubt, until you feel Charles take your hand, his fingers intertwined with yours like they have been so many times before and his thumb rubbing soothing circles on the inside of your wrist. 

With Charles holding your hand and Pierre’s arm still around your shoulders you take a moment to count your blessings, forever grateful you are lucky enough to still have both of them in your life. 

It’s then you hear Charles’ name being called from somewhere in the living room and next to you Charles responds with a, “Yes?”

“Maman is looking for you,” Arthur calls back.

“I’m coming,” Charles replies, letting go of your hand then and giving you an apologetic smile as he walks away.

Both Pierre and you watch him disappear into the hall and when it’s just the two of you again Pierre asks, “Do you remember what you told me last night? Right before you went to sleep?” 

You shake your head because if you’re honest you don’t remember much after losing that last game of beer pong.

“You told me you loved me,” Pierre starts and so you’re a little confused because you tell him that all the time but before you have time to try and understand what he’s getting at he continues, “and after that you asked me, ‘You know who else I love?’”

You’re still not sure where he’s going with this although the way he lets the question hang in the air makes you a little nervous and so you look up at him, a little surprised when instead of the wicked grin you were expecting, the one that would tell you he’s just messing with you, you find him looking back at you with a kind smile that makes you even more worried. 

When you don't answer, he does, “Charles.”

You don’t say anything, just nod, letting your eyes fall to your feet as you feel the heat rise to your cheeks. 

“Will you promise me one thing?” Pierre drops his arm and turns towards you, his hand under your chin to make you look up at him. He waits until you nod again before he continues, “Follow your heart next year, Flo. Please.” 

“Gas-” you start, but you’re not sure what to say next and so you just shrug, hoping that he’ll understand it’s both exciting and scary at the same time and that you’re still trying to figure out if that’s a good or a bad thing. What if you mess it up again? What if what happened before will always linger somewhere in the back of Charles’ mind? What if-

“I know,” he says, interrupting your thoughts. “Believe me, I know, but you deserve this. So much.” When he sees you hesitate he continues, “Either you want this or you don’t, there’s no maybe, right?” You nod and he gently flicks your cheek like he always does when he wants you to really listen, “You are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for, I mean, look at what you’ve overcome already-” he nods to the pictures in front of you, “Every day I am amazed by your strength, Flo, you have no idea. Whenever I have a bad quali or a shitty race I always think of you and the way you always keep going.” 

He holds up his hand when you start to protest, “I know-” he gives you a kind smile, “-I know that after Anthoine it was different, that you sort of came to a full stop, but fuck, who wouldn’t? You have experienced more heartache in the past seven-and-a-half years than most people deal with in their life and yet you are still here and you are still you. Always looking after others, always having my back, always putting others first. You give so much love to everyone else but you hardly accept any of it back from people other than me and my family but-. You have got to start letting other people in, Flo, all the way,” he taps your chest with his finger to emphasise his words. “I think Charles almost made it last time but then-” he shakes his head, “If you really want to make things right and have a shot at having everything with Charles you have got to let him have all of you too.” 

XXX

You wake up from a short nap just before six, feeling a little nervous at the possibilities tonight might bring even though you know you’re the one in control of what happens. For the most part, at least. Trying to calm your nerves somewhat you take a nice hot shower before you sit down to do your hair and makeup. New Year’s Eve has always been a big deal and for as long as you can remember there’s always been a somewhat formal dress code with the men more often than not opting for tuxedos while the women wear beautiful dresses. It’s why you went shopping with Katerina a few days ago, needing a new dress for this year’s party, not wanting to wear the same one you wore three years ago.

Getting the dress on proves a little more difficult now that you don’t have anyone around to help you with the zipper but after a few tries you manage to get it up and when you catch a glimpse of yourself in the floor length mirror that’s in the corner of your room you can’t help but admire the way it looks. You’ve kept your hair and makeup simple, the long dress drawing enough attention on its own, even more so when, after you slip into the gold ankle strap heels that are your go-to shoes for these sorts of events, you stand up a little straighter. 

It’s almost seven then and you make your way downstairs shortly after, but not before, as a final touch, you spray on some of your favourite perfume, the one you only keep for special occasions. The house seems to have come alive since this afternoon, with soft music playing somewhere and a lot of chatter coming from where everyone’s gathered in the dining room. There’s a table filled with champagne glasses to your left and so you take one before you join everyone else.

It’s Pierre who spots you first, letting out a low whistle as he bumps his shoulder against yours, “Tu t’es mis sur ton 31, quoi?” 

“Not looking too shabby yourself,” you reply with a smile, admiring the dark blue tux he’s wearing. When you spot Katerina next to him you let out a gasp, “Oh, you look beautiful!” 

“Thank you.” She smiles and leans into Pierre, her short gold sequin dress complimenting the colour of his tuxedo perfectly.

A quick look around the room tells you everyone is absolutely dressed to the nines and really made an effort, something you’ve always loved about the Gasly’s and the Leclercs. And your own family too, remembering the way your parents used to dress up for New Year’s Eve with a fond smile. You make your way over to the side table then and take the box of matches you hid behind one of the frames earlier so you can light the tea lights you put there this afternoon.

When all five candles are burning you feel a hand on the small of your back and a shiver runs down your spine when you hear Charles whisper a quiet, “You look beautiful, ma belle,” into your ear. Your breath actually hitches in your throat when you turn towards him and see him standing there, his fitted black tuxedo almost making him look like a modern-day prince straight out of a fairytale. There’s a smile tugging on the corner of his lips as he takes you in and you wonder if he notices. 

Of course he does, “This looks like the dress you wore that night in Versailles.” 

You nod, not really trusting your voice right now. 

He moves his hand to your hip then and lets it rest there, stepping a little closer to you, and you think you hear him mutter a quiet, “T’es autre chose, tu le sais?” but before you have time to decide if you’ve heard him correctly the music is cut off and Jean-Jacques clears his throat to get everyone’s attention before nodding towards his wife who’s standing next to him.

“Dinner is ready,” Pascale says with a smile. “Please everyone, take a seat so we can get started.” 

Charles’ hand finds its way to the small of your back again as he escorts you to the table, both of you taking your regular spot next to each other at the far end. As he slides the chair back for you, you whisper a quiet, “Thank you,” before you sit down. 

XXX

Once the main course has been served, about an hour later, Jean-Jacques taps the back of his knife against his glass, standing up when he does. Looking around the table he waits until the conversation has quieted down before he starts his speech, “First of all I would like to tell you how happy I am to have everyone back here again-” his eyes linger on yours for just a second or so but it’s enough to make you tear up a little, “-and all in good health too.” 

You’ve heard this speech many times before but it’s always a little emotional and so you find yourself looking at your hands, the fingers of your left once again nervously playing with the ring on your right. Charles must know too because you feel him put his arm on the back of your chair, moving a little closer to you as he slowly rubs his thumb up and down your upper arm in a way to let you know you’re not alone.

“It’s with a heavy heart, as always, that I want to take a moment to remember those who aren’t with us tonight,” Jean-Jacques says, his voice a little more strained when he says the names of your parents and he has to clear his throat before he continues, “Jules, Hervé-”

Next to you Charles starts bouncing his right foot and without thinking you reach out and gently put your hand on Charles’ knee to both stop him from doing so and to let him know you’re there for him just as much as he is for you.

“-and Anthoine.”

You look down at where your hand is still on Charles’ knee, your vision going a little blurry when a tear slides down your cheek but you make no attempt to wipe it away. It’s ok to be sad. It’s ok to miss them. It’s ok. 

When, after thirty seconds or so, Jean-Jacques continues and you look up you find Pierre looking at you, his eyes a little glossed over as well and so you give him what you hope is a comforting smile, nudging his foot with yours under the table to let him know you’re there for him if needed. 

“We miss you,” Jean-Jacques simply states, looking up towards the ceiling, “but rest assured, we think about you every day. And while we grieve not having you here with us anymore, we treasure the many memories we have made together with you over the years.” He raises his glass then, “A toast to those who we have lost but who are never forgotten.” 

As you raise your glass you feel Charles press a soft kiss to your temple before he joins in the toast. 

When Jean-Jacques sits down again and tells everyone to enjoy their meal you turn towards Charles, leaning into him a little when you ask, “Can we talk later?”

XXX

By the time everyone has finished their dessert it’s almost eleven-thirty and so you’re still very much on schedule as far as Pascale is concerned and you can’t help but smile when you see her enjoying her glass of wine, looking a lot more relaxed now than she did at the start of the dinner. As always after the main course, a handful of people got asked by Pascale to switch seats and so you now find yourself with Charles’ mom next to you and Pierre’s mom sitting across from you. The conversation flows easily enough, with Pascale trying to convince you to take up Zumba classes with her once you’re back in Rouen and Pasa edging her on. Katerina tries to tell Pascale that Zumba isn’t really a thing anymore these days, but Pierre’s mom doesn’t want to hear about it and instead continues to pressure you into joining her. 

Around you the people on dishwashing duty are busy clearing away plates and silverware and to the untrained eye it might look very chaotic but it’s actually very well-organised and very much up to par to what Pascale envisioned when she made her schedule for this week. As you let your eyes wander across the room you find Charles looking at you from where he’s sitting next to Nicolas, a wink thrown your way when you smile at him. Both Pasa and Pascale act as if they didn’t see the exchange but you can tell from the way they raise their eyebrows at each other that it hasn’t gone unnoticed and so you look at Katerina, a little desperate no doubt, hoping she can provide a distraction of sorts before the two older women start to ask questions you don’t necessarily want to answer.

When she does, asking Pascale to tell her more about the mistletoe tradition even though you already explained it to her this afternoon, you mouth a quiet, “Thank you.” 

Pascale is almost done with her explanation when Victoria, who, together with some of the other kids, has been watching TV in the living room ever since they finished their main course, comes running into the dining room, “Mamie! Mamie, I think the countdown is about to begin!” 

Yet another very well-orchestrated chaos unfolds, with a few people heading towards the kitchen to get the champagne and glasses, Pascale handing out the bunches of mistletoe, and everyone else on their way to the living room. When you pass Pascale and she hands you the plastic branches she gives your hand a little squeeze and tells you, “Put it to good use, ma petite.” 

Biting your lip you nod before you make your way through the crowd to where Charles is standing next to the fireplace, a nervous smile playing on your lips until he holds out his hand for you to take. When you do and stand next to him he gives it a little squeeze and it’s at that moment, about twenty seconds before the start of the new year, you feel more connected to him than you’ve ever felt before. 

The countdown begins shortly after, starting at ten, and it’s almost as if time slows down, almost as if your mind wants to make sure you’re going to remember this moment and every single detail of it forever.

Nine, the butterflies that have been fluttering around in your stomach all evening become even more rampant.

Eight, Charles' thumb circles the inside of your wrist, making you look up at him.

Seven, he smiles at you and turns around so he’s facing you.

Six, it’s like everything and everyone around you fades into the background and if the two of you were the main characters of a romantic movie the camera would circle around you, focusing only on you and Charles.

Five, his eyes meet yours and even in the dimly lit room you feel yourself getting lost in them.

Four, your eyes drop to his mouth, watching him lick his lips and you think your heart might actually skip a beat at the promise of what is coming next.

Three, you take a step closer to him as he lets go of your hand and instead cups your face with his.

Two, putting one hand on his chest you slowly start to raise the mistletoe with the other.

One, he raises his eyebrows in a silent question that you answer with a nod because yes, you are very sure about this.

“Happy New Year, ma belle,” he says before he dips his head and brushes his lips against yours just as you hold the mistletoe over your heads.

You smile into the kiss, allowing yourself to enjoy the moment, until a loud cheer from Pierre somewhere behind you brings you back to reality and makes you pull back, heat rising to your cheeks when you see a lot of smiling faces looking your way. 

“I’ll find you later, ma belle,” Charles promises with a wink before he turns around and gives Lorenzo a hug, wishing his brother a happy new year and taking the attention away from you two. 

Someone’s tugging on your arm then and when you turn around you are met by Pierre and his shit-eating grin, “Fuckin’ finally.” 

“Oh, shut up,” you counter with a grin as you step into his outspread arms and kiss his cheek before you rest your head on his shoulder. “Happy new year, Gas. Love you.” 

“Love you too, Flo,” he says, pulling you closer. “Happy new year.”

XXX

Les Côtes, January 1, 2022

It takes you a while to make your way around the room and wish everyone a happy new year and by then you’ve lost Charles somewhere in the crowd and so you find yourself back with Pierre and Katerina, who are watching Pascale and Jean-Jacques slow dance in the middle of the living room. The song, an old favourite of not only Pierre’s parents but yours as well, brings back a lot of memories and so you’re a little lost in thoughts when all of a sudden you see Charles walking towards you.

He doesn’t say anything but nods towards the library as he passes you, not waiting to see if you’ll follow him.

Before you have a chance to excuse yourself Pierre’s already giving you a gentle push in the right direction, “Allez, on with it, Flo.”

You throw him a look that you know will tell him just exactly how nervous you are because you can see his expression change to something more kind. He taps your chest again and raises his eyebrows, “All the way, ok?” 

You nod.

With a stomach full of butterflies and a heart that feels like it’s about to beat out of your chest you make your way to the library, not surprised to find Charles sitting at the piano again. He’s playing something you don’t recognize but you take an immediate liking to, the soft dark notes slowly changing into something more happier and light as he continues playing. Unlike yesterday you don’t wait for him to finish and instead sit down next to him before the song is even finished, hoping it will give you some time to try and figure out what you want to say. 

The songs ends soon after though and so, without a clear plan on where to go from here, you simply tell him, “That was beautiful,”

He starts to say something at the same time as you turn towards him, “Charles-”

“You first,” he tells you with a smile.

Taking a deep breath you decide to just go for it, decide to take Pierre’s words to heart and let Charles have all of you, “I’m sorry. For everything.” 

“It’s ok-”

“It’s not, it’s-”

Charles looks at you with a comforting smile, “I know,” 

“Charles,” you whisper, turning towards him as you do and putting your hand on his, “you’ve got to let me say it. Please?” You wait until he nods before you continue, “What I did was so incredibly unfair and I- I thought I could somehow justify making that decision for us, because I was arrogant enough to think I knew what was best for me. And for you. I never even gave you the chance to try.” You shake your head and scoff, “I was so guarded, so desperately trying to convince you and everyone else that I was fine when I wasn’t. I hadn’t been for a long time. And then when Anthoine- I didn’t- I realised then that I needed help but instead of reaching out to you I pushed you away because by then I’d convinced myself that the only one who could- Who wanted to help me was me.” 

You look up at him, “I gave you some bullshit excuse about feeling lost and needing to find my way but- Not being with you, I- God, I missed you so much.” Tears have started to form in your eyes but you don’t even try to wipe them away, “The truth is, I never feel more lost than when I’m not with you-” 

“Oh, ma belle,” Charles cups your face and gently runs his thumbs underneath your eyes before he makes you look at him, “I am right here.”

You try to smile through your tears but fail and so instead you tell him, “I never stopped loving you, Charles, and I know-” a sob escapes you then, “I know it’s not fair to tell you that now but-”

“Can I say something?” 

You nod.

He drops his hands to take yours in his, both of his thumbs rubbing circles on the inside of your wrists when he says, “That night when you- When you asked me to let you go?” He squeezes your hands to make you look up at him, “I think I always knew we would find our way back to each other, but even more so when you told me you still loved me. For me it was never the end of our story. We just-” he smiles, “We were at a crossroads and each of us went in a different direction for a while but I think- I hope it’s time for you to come back to me, ma belle.” He leans in then and brushes his lips against yours, “Let me show you the way.” 

A wave of relief washes over you and so you deepen the kiss, your hands in his hair now so you can pull him closer and kiss him. And kiss him. 

And kiss him.

XXX

You can still hear the music coming from the living room even inside the library and you know you’re going to have to make your way back there soon before people start looking for you, but for now you’re happy right where you are. Your head is resting on Charles’ shoulder, both of you still trying to catch your breath after that kiss, the promise of a new start almost tangible in the air. 

Next to you Charles gently touches the keys of the piano again and so you ask, “Play me that piece again?”

“Which one?”

“The one you were playing just before,” you reply quietly. “I don’t know what it’s called.”

“I composed it when- After we broke up.” Charles shrugs, “I never found the right name for it.”

You listen to him play, really listen, and even though it starts out rather dark and gloomy and the notes rather disconnected, which you suppose represents the first few weeks or maybe even months after your breakup, it ends much lighter, the notes now complimenting each other and the tune almost hopeful.

“If it’s about us,” you start, leaning in and resting your chin on his shoulder, “then it sounds like you. Like you’re helping me find my way back.” 

“Hmm,” he agrees quietly, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

You let out a content sigh and softly whisper, “I think you should call it North Star.” 

===

Notes Se mettre sur son 31 = Dressing to the nines T’es autre chose, tu le sais? = You are something else, you know that?

#Charles Leclerc x reader #Pierre Gasly x reader #Charles Leclerc fanfic #F1 Fanfic #F1 imagine #CL16 #PG10 #Harley Sunday x Charles Leclerc

[cheesey-rice]

Theory on the Soul in Deltarune. (Warning for spoilers on all routes.)

In case you didn't know already, there are two routes in the new Deltarune chapter. I think each one gives us a different perspective on Kris's motivations and their relationship with the soul that inhabits them.

I think the important thing that underpins my take on the game is assuming that the two other lighters who accompany you in the game, Noelle and Susie, are used to voice perspectives that Kris as a silent protagonist might share but be unable to express. This is a common tool used in silent protagonist RPGs, but if you don't agree with it my take might not hold much water for you.

I'll start out by talking about a fairly regular pacifist playthrough of this part. The main scene I'd like to discuss is the one at the end, where it is discussed that opening a dark fountain could bring about the Roaring.

Because it's pretty obvious that we are to think Kris is the "Knight" sneaking off to create these dark fountains with their knife, some people think that they intend to bring about the Roaring. I think their intentions are far less malicious than such a theory assumes.

Because the main thing is that we know that Kris as a character cares about the people in their life. They have a loving relationship with their family and take care of their friends automatically without us prompting them. When Susie consistently alludes to wanting to stay friends with Kris throughout the pacifist rounds, I assume these feelings are reciprocated. I also assume that most of the feelings Susie expresses about the dark world, that it's cool and fun and easier than the real world, are also feelings felt by Kris.

There's also another layer we can see to Kris's feelings about the dark world that comes from their own reactions. We know that Kris is a weird kid in real life, a lonely kid who looks up to their older brother and doesn't have any trophies on their wall like he does. In the dark world, Kris does get trophies on their wall in the room Ralsei makes for them. In the dark world, Kris is a confident, accomplished leader who can make as many friends as they want to thanks to help and guidance from a goat who is very similar to their older brother who they can't contact because of the internet currently.

It isn't really a ground breaking conclusion to say that Kris probably likes the dark world just as much as Susie does, as she talks only of how she wants to go back and have another adventure. Because Kris is the one making the dark fountains, one can see that the worlds are made for them. Made for their adventure with friends in a world makebelieved out of all their childhood toys and imaginings.

We also know that Kris has the ability to walk around, slash tires, eat pies, and make dark fountains without any input from us at all. They don't need us for that and have the ability to take us out whenever they want.

So if the theory that they resent the soul that controls their actions held true, why would we still be in control? Why would they choose to let us do that?

This is where it's important to consider Noelle in the alternate route, whose inner feelings we are often privy to due to Kris's strong understanding of her from childhood.

The alternate route is activated by forcing Noelle to kill people in the dark world. At one point, Noelle asks herself why she's following Kris's commands when they're asking her to do such awful things. The conclusion that she draws is, "but I keep getting stronger... They're just trying to make me stronger."

If this is the reason Noelle obeys Kris, then perhaps in turn we can extrapolate that this is the reason Kris obeys us.

Because we get results.

No matter which ending you get, Kris had an adventure, became stronger, defeated enemies it would have been impossible to go up against without us.

We also see that in scenes where we don't help Kris, where we aren't in control, they often suffer at the hands of these enemies. How Susie hit then against the locker in the first game, howthe King almost strikes them down after they help Susie, how Spamton would have killed them all alone in the basement if their friends hadn't interceded.

Kris wants to be cool and strong and have a fun adventure. For that reason, they are relying on another, external force to make their choices for them. To make choices that will matter.

In the Pacifist run, Kris gets their wish. A fun adventure with their friends where no one has to get hurt. Kris can just sit back and enjoy as a friendly dark power holds their hand through the whole thing.

In the alternate route, however, we see the start of a darker path. One where the dark power with hold over Kris makes malevolent choices that make them question themselves. Is this really the right thing?

We see this hesitation in how other characters react to Kris in this route. After Kris and Noelle kill Bertly, Susie notes that Kris's expression seems to be off some how. That something seems wrong with them, even offering to heal them because of it. Later on, Noelle notes that she sees some other voice coming out of Kris, something scary that she needs to investigate, foreshadowing a continuation of this plot in later chapters.

Kris experiences some amount of turmoil due to the actions of the player. But they still open the dark fountain and put the soul back into themselves later.

How do they justify that to themselves?

Think about Yoshi. If you talk to Garrison's descendent at his grave, they tell you that Kris drops Yoshi into the pit on purpose to complete a level in the video game. In video games Kris is already the kind of player that can distance themselves from necessary sacrifices.

Maybe they justify it to themselves the same way Noelle does at first. It's in the dark world, things are different there, it doesn't matter, it's not real. I'm still getting stronger. Isn't this what I wanted? Who cares if Berdley is dead, he sucked anyway, let's close our eyes and not even look so toby doesn't have to draw the sprite when we hide his body in the wire closet.

Perhaps the resign themselves to it, acclimate to it, become numb to the traumatic event in order to justify carrying on, like Flower or Chara in Undertale might be assumed to on a genocide run.

Because that's what having the soul allows them to do. It allows them to carry on.

On the notion of Noelle carrying on her investigation, it would be interesting to me if the endgame of deltarune turned out to be a fight where all the friends whose levels you raised by killing turn on you and try to either a) save Kris from you, or b) stop a Kris who is too far gone into apathy. That ending would seem sort of karmic to me so I would enjoy seeing it. I think a battle where you play as Kris but try to make them lose to their friends in a pacifist run ending might be interesting too seeing as they are the "knight" and all and are being set up as the big bad.

So basically my actual theorizing boils down to a) on pacifist run you're like Kris's replacement older sibling cajoling them into making friends on a little video game adventure and they're trying so hard to make you stay, or b) you take the alternate route and are just kind of traumatizing Kris into thinking murder is ok if they get to be cool and have fun adventures.

I also have some things to say about how Ralsei takes on Asriel's place of influencing Kris to experience empathy and when you follow those actions Kris is reminded of their big brother who they love and how the alternate route makes Kris cut themselves off from that empathetic power as part of maintaining their own self justifications but I should just make a different post if I'm gonna talk about that.

TLDR; Kris just wants to have a fun adventure like everyone else, I don't think they resent our control but are instead actively seeking it out to make their life easier.

#deltarune spoilers #deltarune #kris dreemurr #noelle deltarune #deltarune theory #deltarune meta #Feel free to add on/disagree with me im in the mood to chat about this

[rainydaydream-gal18]

(The Bad Batch) Camping: Crosshair’s Ending

  Intro

    “I guess I’ll follow Crosshair,” you said.  The sharpshooter hadn’t heard your statement.  He was already on his way toward the edge of the clearing, crossing over into the woods.  

   Omega nudged you with her elbow.  “You’d better hurry, or you’ll miss him!”

   You hesitated.  “I don’t know.  He didn’t wait around for anyone to go with.  Maybe he wants to be alone.”

   “No,” she insisted with a shake of her head, blonde locks waving.  “Trust me, he won’t mind you going.  He likes your company.”

   You had to admit that he wasn’t as abrasive with you as he once had been.  Over time, the sudden snaps and sarcastic comments had died down.  He even showed subtle signs that he cared for you as a member of the team and family in his own little way.  Your feelings for him had grown beyond what you could have imagined in that time.  You didn’t expect for them to be returned, but at the very least, Crosshair didn’t seem to mind you.

   “Hurry!”  Omega urged again, giving you another nudge.  Crosshair had already disappeared into the forest, but he most likely hadn’t gotten far.  You shrugged at Omega before taking off for the edge of the clearing.

   “Here goes nothing,” you muttered to yourself.  A twig snapped beneath your shoe as you stepped out of the bright open clearing and into the shady, cool woods.  It was beautiful.  The trees above created a sort of canopy, only allowing for smaller patches of sunlight to shine through.  Everything was so green, and the air smelled so sweet.  The brush was thick and difficult to get through even though you were following Crosshair’s trail.

   You looked straight ahead to see him standing there several feet away, twisted around to peer at you over his shoulder.  You offered a smile and waved despite the fact that your leg was caught in a bush.  If he was surprised to see you, he didn’t show it.  His gaze swept over you for a moment before he approached.

   “Hey,” you greeted.

   Crosshair’s eyes met yours briefly.  “Hey.”  He extended his hand and pulled you forward so that you could remove your leg from the brush.  It was done swiftly and with ease.  Once you were free, you dusted yourself off and looked up at him.

   “Thanks.  Do you mind if I walk with you?”

   Crosshair turned his body in the direction he’d been walking in before, peering at you over his shoulder once more.  “Do what you want.”  It was well known that he wasn’t the most wordy or expressive.  That phrase was his way of an open invitation.

   You were watching where you walked, but your gaze was also drawn to the one who led the way through the dense woods.  You studied him as if somehow it would give you insight to what was going on in that mind of his.  He didn’t speak for some time.  Your eyes rested on the back of his head of silver hair, traveling down his form and pausing at his arms.  They were left exposed by his sleeveless blue shirt that faded into darker blue further down the torso.  He definitely wasn’t built like Wrecker, but his arms weren’t noodles either.  His lean form held an impressive strength.  You’d witnessed it on the battlefield many times, and even more recently, he demonstrated it when he had snapped the tent pieces back into place in front of you and handed them back.  It had been done swiftly and with ease, whereas it had taken you and Omega both to do it the first time.

   “What?”

   You snapped out of your train of thought at his question.  “Uh, what?”

   “You were staring.”

   Of course, those keen eyes of his didn’t miss a thing.  It was handy when it came to taking out droids, but at that moment, it was unfortunate.

   “Sorry.  I was just thinking.”

   He stepped over a bush and paused, turning to hold out an open hand towards you.  You hesitantly took it, and he helped you over the plant.  “About what?” he asked.  It wasn’t meant to be nosy or demanding.  It seemed he was trying to start a conversation, which was a rare but not entirely unheard of occurrence for him.  At least, not with you these days.

   Your heart was thumping erratically at that point, racking your brain for something to say other than “I was thinking about you.”  Although, you didn’t want to lie either.  “I was just thinking how nice the sights are here.”  It was true.  Crosshair just happened to be one of the sights that you admired.

   “It is nice,” he agreed, pausing to cast an admiring glance at the canopy of trees above.  The leaves created lovely patterned shadows on his face.  You followed his gaze and sighed at how your chest swelled with happiness.  The air was warm, but not quite as blistering hot as it was in the sunny clearing.  The shade held a different kind of quiet intensity, a tension that was still so beautiful to you.

   Your eyes fell back to Crosshair.  The corner of his mouth was turned up in a half-smile at the view.  He noticed then that you were watching him, and he turned his head to look back at you fully.

   “Have you and the squad done this before?” you asked.  “Gone camping?”

   “We’ve camped out for missions,” he replied.  “Never did it for fun.”

  “Technically, Hunter originally told us that this was for team-building.”

   “Funny, he’s the one who let everyone wander off in separate directions.”

   You chuckled at the realization.  “That’s true.  Well, maybe this is part of team-building in the end.  We negotiated an effective way for everyone to do what they want.  I’d say that was a good problem-solving exercise.”

   Crosshair shook his head.  “Good one.”

   The two of you continued through the forest, talking a little along the way.  It wasn’t exactly a chatter-filled walk, but it was probably the most you and Crosshair had opened up to each other.  He told you a few stories about the squad’s past experiences camping out.  There was one in particular about how Wrecker heaved a rock and accidentally knocked over a hive of bees that Crosshair even smirked at.  Fortunately, Wrecker had escaped without getting stung, but he had run off yelling and swatting his hands around.

   You weren’t sure how long you and Crosshair had been out, but it was definitely past lunchtime.  You hardly noticed.  You were having such a nice time with him that the time flew.

   “We should turn around,” you spoke up.  “The others are probably having lunch now.”  Crosshair paused and nodded before turning straight around and heading back the way you came.

   Even as late as it was, It still seemed a little too early for the sky behind the trees to be darkening as much as it did.  The air had grown humid, and the bird chirping had ceased.  The woods had gone from delightfully shady to nearly sunless and dreary.  You walked closer to the sharpshooter, though not so close that you’d step on his heels by accident.

   Then, you heard the pitter-patter of rain beginning to fall on the greenery around you.  It started off as a trickle before gradually morphing into a downpour.  It was so heavy that even the trees didn’t shield you from the drops that soaked your clothes.

   You felt a hand take yours, and you squinted through the rain to see Crosshair urging you to follow.  You let him lead you toward a large tree that had been uprooted.  It leaned against another tree, creating a spot beneath it untouched by the rainfall.

   You rested your back against the upright trunk, panting from the sudden dash.  Crosshair ran a hand through his damp hair and shook some drops from his face.

   “When it lets up, we’ll keep going,” he said.  Both of you stared out into the rainy haze in silence.  You wondered how long it would be before it would subside.  You were glad to have a shelter of sorts, but you were starting to shiver in your soaked clothes.  Crosshair’s eyes locked on you.  He gazed at you, and despite your chill, your face grew warm under his quiet scrutiny.  Finally, he walked over to stand right in front of you.

   “Cold?” he drawled.

   Your words abandoned you at the proximity, so you merely gave a short nod.  Crosshair was just as soaked as you were, but the arm that slipped around you still provided some comfort.  You automatically leaned into him, pressing your face against his bare shoulder which was already warming back up.  His other arm wrapped around your form, and you breathed a sigh as you sank into the contact even more.

   You lost yourself in the rise and fall of his chest as well as the steady thrum of his heart.  It was a melody that you were sure would play itself over and over in your mind after the encounter.  You didn’t even want to think about the after.  You didn’t want this to end.  Your arms had slipped around his waist, and his breath hitched.  You lifted your head to meet his gaze, concerned that perhaps you’d overstepped, but then his eyes locked on yours.

   It was like the bug caught in a spider’s web that caught your eye earlier as you passed through the forest.  You were trapped by those piercing eyes as his face grew closer, though you didn’t feel like the prey you’d seen before.  You weren’t struggling to escape.  You were drawn in.

   And suddenly, his warm lips were pressed to your own.  His grip on you tightened, and you felt like you’d melt into a puddle if it weren’t for his arms holding you.  All at once, something exploded in your chest, and your lips pulled away only to unite again in a more heated dance.  Your back hit the tree trunk behind you, and Crosshair grunted an apology.  His lips met yours again before he pulled away altogether, eyes glinting.

   “Rain stopped,” he said, running a thumb along your jaw.  You didn’t tear your eyes from his to confirm, only noted that the sound had subsided.

   “We’d better head back then,” you replied.

   Neither of you moved for several seconds.  Eventually, both of you were able to pull away, though his hand didn’t let go of yours, and continued your trek back to the campsite.  The walk back was quiet, though you found yourself meeting Crosshair’s gaze many times.  There wasn’t room for embarrassment because he was almost always staring at you first.  Even though there was a bit of a hurry to get back to the campsite before it rained again, you enjoyed every second.

#bad batch #bad batch crosshair x reader #crosshair x reader #crosshair x y/n #crosshair reader insert #bad batch reader insert #bad batch crosshair reader insert #bad batch crosshair #crosshair imagine #crosshair x you #bad batch x reader #bad batch fanfiction #the bad batch #star wars the bad batch reader insert #crosshair

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Please Fix the Story pt 26 - The Higher Realm

The Higher realm continues. So close to the end!

Master post linked here

Enjoy!

______________________________

Time passed, but it was difficult to tell how much. Time worked so differently in the different realms. How long did we really spend trying to save one lower realm? Minutes? Decades? It felt like no time and forever. Adonis and I traveled to lower realm after lower realm, fixing the stories, stabilizing the world before heading back to the higher realm.

Some lower realms were easy, if a bit annoying, such as the high school dramas. In those I would often play the “average” new girl at a school. I would meet new people, and was supposed to go on to have romance, betrayals and coming of age realizations. I quickly realized that befriending all my supposed romantic leads instead of dating them, reconciling with my rivals instead of humiliating them, and pushing towards success all together was a much more satisfying strategy. Fortunately, graduating valedictorian with a happy and psychologically healthy group of teenagers often stabilized worlds that had been torn apart by half-baked character design or infighting between rivals.

I took calculus so many times that I could recite lessons in my sleep, but at least the worlds were saved. Despite our success, however, Adonis was often frustrated. He had his own vision of how we were to save these realms. His plans almost always involved us dating, making the high school romance “successful”.

I refused.

He had been a lot more likable since our first meeting, and I was able to consider him a close friend and ally… but I felt uncomfortable at the idea of even pretending to have a romantic relationship. It was definitely a more difficult route to stabilize the world without a romance, but I chose it every time. Adonis pouted and complained, but couldn’t argue with success, and I was successful.

Some lower realms were more difficult. In particular, zombie apocalypse stories were my least favorites. The worlds often couldn’t be stabilized until a cure was found or humanity’s survival was assured. This meant that Adonis and I sometimes spent decades within these realms, working to build armies, or teams of scientists. There was hardly ever any running water, which meant showering was few and far between.

My unwashed self was made even filthier by my absolute failure at using anything with range. Bow and arrow, guns… anything that would keep me out of the gore, I couldn’t hit even the largest of monsters. Fortunately I picked up a sword with relative ease, which allowed me to fight… but this also meant I got covered in rotten blood and guts.

I hated zombie worlds the most.

Realm after realm. We worked constantly, spending very little time in between in the higher realms. Adonis would often try to use those moments to push his ideas regarding fate and the higher realm’s story, but as soon as I rejected him, which I did every time, he would simply scowl and pull us into the next lower realm to save.

It was getting old.

“How many lower realms are there?” I asked one evening as we recovered from our latest mission, rubbing my sore shoulder where I had taken a blow in the last sci-fi alien battle. The wounds disappeared with the realm traveling, but my mind still could feel the wound, projecting the pain long after I had left that form behind.

Adonis leaned back in his chair, his grin a little too bitter to be a natural expression. “How many unfinished stories are there? Infinite, Bel. There are infinite lower realms. We will never be able to save them all. Not like this.”

“It’s not like there’s a lot of options.”

“There are options. You just don’t want to hear them.”

“What, this fate you keep talking about?” I sighed, closing my eyes, tired. “ It sounds like a terrible idea.”

“It’s not.” His voice was quiet, but the intensity shown through all the same. “It’s our duty. Everyone’s survival depends on it.”

“But what you’re saying is: we follow along some sort of script…”

“Fate.”

“…fate… here, in the higher realm. And that is somehow supposed to fix the lower realms?”

He chuckled. “You’re oversimplifying it, but pretty much. We follow our fate, and the heroes of the lower realms will find their happiness tied to ours.”

“What if they don’t want that ending? What if they don’t want that happiness?”

“Of course they do! Everyone wants a happily ever after with their destined one.” He snapped. My eyes flickered open to study his enraged expression.

“I don’t.”

“You’re selfish!”

I shrugged. “Am I? If you’re right, we submit to fate here, everyone in the lower realms gets an automatic happy ending… but most of those worlds aren’t breaking because they don’t have a happy ending. They need a wider world, different ideas… and what about the side characters, even the villains… what about their happiness?”

“They don’t matter.”

“Why not?” I raised an eyebrow. “Just because they’re the villains?”

“They’re evil.” He stood up, trying to tower over me. An intimidation tactic, one that might have worked before we’d spent countless years fighting in life-or-death battles together.

“Have you met the heroes and heroines of some of these realms?” I laughed. “They’re not much better. I don’t think these roles are as clear as you would like them to be. And I don’t think you and I having a happy ending together, and forcing a simplistic ‘and they lived happily ever after’ on all the lower realms will actually fix them. In fact…” I stood up, and he stepped back slightly at the danger in my tone. “I bet we would break them all the more. Are you really so foolish as to think that saving a universe of worlds would be so simple?”

“…” Adonis was gritting his teeth, his hands clenched so tightly the knuckles were white. But I didn’t back down. Didn’t step back. I knew he wouldn’t hit me. He wouldn’t dare step out of the role he imagined himself to be in. Wouldn’t dare cross a line that might ruin his chances at the happy ending he seemed to crave so desperately.

“…” The silence stretched on between us. We were at an impasse. He wanted to follow fate. He wanted clearly defined roles and rules to follow. And I?

I wanted freedom.

*** Soul transfer 11% complete. ***

It’s been forever since I last saw those words… I thought it had disappeared. For some reason, I felt a deep sense of relief at the glowing blue sentence. Something within me had frozen during these many trips to the lower realms, but finally it was growing again.

“The next world is waiting.” Adonis spoke up, his tone flat. I noticed an odd shifting of his gaze, a reluctance to meet my own, and felt a sense of unease.

I won’t like this next world. I cracked my knuckles and gave him a thumbs up. Well, no sense running from a challenge.

We left.

______________________________

I woke up in a luxurious canopy bed. Staring up at the fabric , I raised my arms and have a cheer.

“YES! NOT A ZOMBIE WORLD!”

On the downside, the setting appeared to be a more primitive era, medieval at best, which meant no running water, but at least I appeared to be noble or wealthy.

At least if I suffer, I’ll be clean while I do it!

“Princess?” A young woman dressed as a servant entered the room, seeming very confused. “Are you all right? I heard you yelling.”

I smiled brightly at her. “No worries. It was just a nightmare.”

She visibly relaxed. “Even so, you seem in a much better mood, if I may say so.”

“Really?”

“Yes, you haven’t broken a single thing this morning.” She, unfortunately did not seem to be kidding. “I’m so glad you’ve accepted your father’s decision.

I didn’t have my character’s memories yet. I needed to accept the mission first. In the meantime, acting too out of character could destabilize an already poorly functional world.

“I’m still… thinking it over.” I spoke up cautiously.

“It’s not so bad, your highness.” She smiled at me. “Most young girls feel a little uneasy when their father arranges their husband. But you’ll be happy. I just know it.”

Arranged marriage?

“After all, Prince Harold is reported to be a true gentleman, a might warrior, and a handsome young man!” She sighed dreamily. “Any woman would be thrilled for a chance to be his bride.”

“I’m. Sure.” I spoke through gritted teeth, the satin sheets crumpling in my grip. Adonis, when I find you, I’m going to make you regret every life decision you’ve ever made… and the ones you’ve only considered making. What kind of lower realm did you land us in? As I plotted my revenge, the mission screen popped up.

**** NEW WORLD: A Divided Kingdom****

This is a romance fantasy story featuring a prince and a princess from different kingdoms, putting aside their differences to save the world.

“I already don’t like this.” I muttered.

The Princess Alaire of the Yenlar Kingdom was a clever, independent woman, horrified at the idea of an arranged marriage. Prince Harold of the Bestion Kingdom felt differently. He fell in love at first sight and vowed to woo the young maiden. The couple was different in almost every way, and seemed destined to bicker and fight.

“Then how about we don’t get married?”

But fate had other plans…

“Of course it did!”

A terrifying beast threatened to destroy both their kingdoms, and to survive, the political marriage had to go forward. Uniting the kingdoms, and therefore their armed forces, was the only way to save their people.

However, despite the happy ending, the first book was not well received by readers and the trilogy was abandoned due to poor sales. The reason given was that the romance was “forced” and unbelievable.

Your mission is to bring a satisfying end to the story, while making ensuring the survival of both kingdoms.

**** DO YOU ACCEPT THIS MISSION? ****

YES? NO?

“Quick question.” I spoke quietly to the glowing words in front of me. “Do I have to marry the prince to ensure an ending?”

The kingdoms will not unite without the political marriage.

“That wasn’t what I asked. I asked if I HAVE to marry the prince. What if I can save both kingdoms without a political marriage?”

The stability of the world is all that matters.

“No lecture on the necessity of fate?”

**** DO YOU ACCEPT THIS MISSION? ****

YES? NO?

I grinned. “Sure. Let’s do it.”

As the words faded away, I jumped out of bed. My head spun slightly as I accepted the memories from the poor princess of the original story.

She had not been happy.

She had dreams, ambitions. The Kingdom of Yenlar allowed for women to inherit the throne, and as the firstborn she was ready to take over from her father, to rule her nation. She had spent her entire life preparing. Studying law, economics, warfare…

And all of it had meant nothing in the end.

She had begged for a political treaty. One that did not involve marriage. The Kingdom of Bestion had refused to even discuss it. They stated that there was too much distrust between the kingdoms to move forward without some sort of permanent assurance. Even the threat of annihilation from the ancient beast of legend wasn’t enough to have them reconsider. That wasn’t the full story, though.

Later she discovered that Prince Harold had seen her at a party. He had supposedly fallen in love with her at first sight, and became determined to marry her. He had learned of her plans to marry a minor noble, one who would support her position on the throne without causing an imbalance of power within the nobility. He had no chance, as far as she was concerned. The threatened destruction of their people was just the perfect opportunity to force the matter.

She had lost all power. Becoming a figurehead, a beautiful statue beside the true king, Harold. He ruled over both nations with an iron fist, treating her own people more harshly, much to the approval of his staff. She slowly became bitter and deranged, watching the destruction of the people and the nation she loved so dearly.

Beyond the end of the first book, when the realm’s story ended, she had attempted to poison him and failed. Harold had been disappointed, but felt that she still had use as a figurehead. They faked a stroke, and kept her mute and weak with poisons. A lovely doll. A perfect figurehead.

…is this a fantasy or a horror? Sheesh, no wonder the trilogy wasn’t going to sell. I shuddered, still standing awkwardly next to the beautiful bed that had belonged to a lovely young woman.

I will change this story. I spoke silently to the memories, feeling a sense of relief that didn’t belong to me as I did so.

First, let’s try to reason with Adonis. He and I had worked together in multiple realms, side by side. We were friends. We may not see eye to eye when it came to our approach towards fate and the lower realms, but he had never forced me to do something I didn’t want. He had always respected me and backed off when I said no, even if it made him unhappy.

Hopefully this time will be the same. I thought uneasily. Hopefully he will listen.

______________________________

“No.” His tone was gleeful, but his face was calm, towing with a silver goblet rather than meeting my gaze.

“Are you joking?” I leaned forward, keeping a gentle smile on my face to fool the guards and our fathers who sat on the other end of the enormous dining table.

“I’m perfectly serious, Princess Alaire. Our kingdoms face certain doom at the hands of the ancient beast. The only way to survive is to work together. We can only work together if we trust each other. The only way the Kingdom of Bestion will trust the Kingdom of Yenlar is with a marriage alliance. It’s out of my hands.”

I reached forward and took the cup from his hands, forcing him to look at me. “Why are you forcing this, Adonis? You know it didn’t work out so well for the originals.”

“Careful Princess.” His eyes glanced over at the nearby guards. “You don’t want anything to destabilize the situation further, now do you? Better to act as a proper princess should.”

“Answer the question. This plan already failed. Why do you think it will work?”

“Simple.” He leaned forward and plucked the goblet back from my hands. “We’re different. You may not want to admit it, but we have spent lifetimes at each other’s side. Growing up, going to school, facing enemies, fighting together… we could make this work. It would be a wonderful ending.”

“You know what happened to Alaire after the first book.”

“I would never do that to you.”

“But you are.” I growled, wishing I could punch him. “You are trying to make me a beautiful figurehead, just like Harold did to Alaira.”

“We would rule side by side.”

“What use is that promise, if you are already ignoring my wishes and forcing me to do this in the first place?”

He shook his head. “You have to trust me. This is the only way we can defeat the monster, and stabilize this realm. We’ll save this world. Together.” He smiled. “It’s our fate.”

I threw a plate at him, forcing him to fling himself on the floor to avoid injury. Walking out, I ignored my father’s shouts of rage. Picking up a bag I had packed ahead of time, just in case, I changed into some light armor, grabbed a sword, and headed out into the forest.

If I couldn’t win by a political alliance, I was going to find another way to save the world.

I was going monster hunting.

I searched Princess Alaira’s memories of the legends and stories, going out in a northern direction towards the area known as Death Valley.

As I marched onward, my thoughts wandered over the time I had spent since I had woken up in the Higher Realm. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed with Adonis. He might truly think that he was saving the world by insisting on going through with the marriage, but his lack of willingness to even consider other options was frustrating. He was the only person consistently by my side through every one of these worlds, someone I considered a friend, and being unable to rely on him served to make me feel all the lonelier.

My mind briefly touched on the assassin of the first realm, Liam. I had thought with his comments and actions that he had known about my mission… that he might be from the higher realm too. But no matter how much I looked for him, no matter how much I hoped to see him again, I never did.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he was someone from the lower realm, and I’ll never have the chance to see him, to thank him.

I felt a sense of despair. How long can I keep doing this? Is this why Adonis preaches following our fate so much? Is he as tired of traveling, tired of the missions and the different lives? Is he just hoping to end all this?

I sighed, keeping moving. I’m not that tired, not tired enough to sacrifice my freedom. Not yet, anyways.

It took several days of traveling. Fortunately from my years of experience in zombie worlds, I was well prepared to survival in the wilderness. At least here the rivers were clean, allowing me to bathe occasionally. Finally I was at the entrance of the valley, staring up at the pillars on either side.

There were ominous words carved deeply into the stone.

Only death lies ahead.

I stared at the words silently for a few moments, and then shrugged.

“Still better than marrying Adonis.”

I moved forward.

______________________________

The valley was dark, a deep fog settled in permanently, apparently unaffected by the weather beyond its borders. Dark twisted purple trees rose all around me, their roots tearing through the earth desperate searching for nutrients. The valley was quiet, suffocating in an unsettling silence. My presence there felt like an intrusion, my instincts screaming at me to run away, to escape.

I kept moving.

There were no other signs of life. But I knew at least one other being lived here, the reason why nothing else dared to.

The Ancient beast.

There were no descriptions of it in the legends. Just that it was deadly, enough to take on entire armies. And that it was terrifying.

I feel like I should have seen something by now, if it was so large. I sighed, sitting on one of the trees, staring up at the mountain ahead of me. Shouldn’t it be easier to find an enormous beast that terrified an entire world?

…

Wait.

I looked up, struggling to see the top of the mountain in front of me.

I’m in a valley…

The mountain moved up and down, with regular motions.

There shouldn’t be a mountain here.

It was breathing.

I drew my sword, inwardly despairing. I had underestimated the sheer scale of the monster. I had thought it would be the size of a house, an elephant. Instead it towered stories above me, unimaginably large.

I was doomed.

There was a rumble as the beast in front of me shifted. I couldn’t tell the shape, just an impression of scales and spikes. Slowly, something lowered down in front of me, stretching forward in all directions, filling my vision. I saw teeth larger than my own body, the white of them contrasting with the dark fog around us. As I prepared myself for my death, an eye opened to stare at me.

It was a beautiful dark blue.

“…”

Suddenly, I felt relief. It was incomprehensible. I was standing in front of an ancient beast, enormous and terrifying, and instead of fear and dread… I felt safe.

I raised a hand, almost despite myself. “Hello there.”

The eye blinked. I comforted myself that it hadn’t eaten me yet.

“I think you look awesome. I’m Princess Alaira from the nearby kingdom of Yenlar. I actually came here to kill you, to protect my people… but now I realize that you could crush me like an ant, and that was a bad plan.”

The eye blinked twice. It seemed more confused than anything.

“I have a much better plan, if you would be willing to listen to me.” I let out a laugh, slightly startled at how… villainous it sounded.

*** Soul transfer 20% complete. ***

The creature let out a sound like thunder. I felt that it was laughing too.

______________________________

The wedding was this morning.

I was surprised as I drew near to see the party going. You would think that after I disappeared, they might have canceled or delayed it. I assumed that Adonis had felt sure that I would agree with him in the end. That I wouldn’t be able to let the world end just because I didn’t want to marry him.

Well too bad, buddy. This princess has a different plan in mind!

I could see him, standing on the elevated stage before two thrones, waiting. I couldn’t see his expression from this distance, but I imagine he was barely hiding his worry. Alaire’s father and Harold’s father were also waiting on the platform, their postures betraying their impatience.

“Let’s get this party started!” I yelled.

ROOOOOOOAAAAAAR!

The ancient beast let out a triumphant roar as he flew closer and lowered his head, letting me jump down onto the platform before landing behind me, a large, threatening mountain of a creature.

“Alaire?” The king called out, confused. “What are you doing?”

“Hello, Father.” I also nodded to Adonis, who stared back.

“What is this?”

“Your daughter is a witch!” The King of Bestion shouted, drawing his ceremonial sword. “She betrayed us!”

“Hold on, father.” Adonis held out his hand, stopping his attack. “I’m sure it’s not what it looks like.”

I grinned.

“Nope. It’s exactly what it looks like. I’ve teamed up with the Ancient being. We’re friends now.” I gestured at the monster high above us, who let out a grim chuckle, shaking the ground. “So now I make the rules, got it?”

“…”

“I’ll take everyone’s stunned silence as happy agreement! Now, first rule: Wedding canceled.”

“What?”

“What?”

“You can’t do this!”

The three other royals on stage shouted simultaneously. I simply pointed again at the enormous creature.

“I can do whatever I want. The big scary monster behind me says so. Next, the kingdom of Bestion will surrender to me, as will the kingdom of Yenlar.”

“You want to rule the world?” Adonis’s gaze was… disappointed. I grinned shamelessly. “Nope. But here’s the thing: Our kingdoms face certain doom at the hands of the ancient beast. The only way to survive is to convince the monster not to kill us. The monster only trusts me. So I have to rule both kingdoms.” I shrugged. “It’s out of my hands.”

I threw his words from earlier back at him, and felt satisfied as he winced in recognition.

“We… surrender.” His words were quiet, defeated.

“You unruly child!” My father tried to shout, but a roar from the monster above us silenced him. He quickly surrendered too. I accepted both surrenders, quickly organizing the meetings to bring our governments together under one rule. Fortunately, the princess’s years of study served me well, guiding me smoothly through the process.

______________________________

I had one more confrontation with Adonis, the night before the coronation. He was escorted to my rooms by guards, saying he had a request. I hesitated briefly, but allowed him in, waving the guards behind the door so we could speak freely.

“What was that?” He shouted as soon as they had left.

I stayed sitting, forcing myself to be calm. “I fixed the story.”

“You ruined everything! Even if it stabilizes this world, it will ruin it in the long run.”

“Says you.”

“Trust me.” He threw up his hands as he paced back and forth. “Everything will go a lot smoother if you STOP CHANGING THE STORY.”

“I thought that was why we were here, though?” I sighed, leaning back in my chair and cleaning my nails with a blade. “To fix the lower realms, to save these worlds? That requires change, right?”

He paused in his movements, glaring at me. “Stop acting stupid. These worlds are broken because they didn’t follow the rules. We have to follow them perfectly.”

“I don’t want to though.” I shuddered. “No offense, but if the story is going to require us to have a romantic relationship, I’m finding an alternate solution.”

“That’s what the story requires, you have your role to play. You know the consequences of not playing the right part.”

I sighed. “No, there’s always different paths to take. You’re a good friend, and I’m glad to have you by my side, but that’s different than love.”

“…”

“You clearly don’t love me either, so why are you making such a fuss about this? As long as we complete what we came here to do, that’s all that matters, right?”

“…”

“Right?”

Adonis stepped closer to me, his atmosphere slightly threatening. “Why are you so different from what you are supposed to be?”

“What are you…?”

“Why can’t you just accept.”

His hand grabbed my wrist, the grip painful.

“your.”

He pulled me closer until our faces were inches apart. His bright blue eyes were blazing with anger as they stared into my own.

“fate.”

Letting me go, he walked away, putting some distance between us, before turning back to face me.

“This lower realm is stabilized. We should return.” His smile was cold. “The next mission is a little different from our previous ones. We’ll talk about it later.”

“…”

“And next time…?” He laughed, a bitter sound. “You’ll play your part whether you want to or not.”

THUD.

The blade in my hand threw through the air, stabbing into the wall inches from his face. I smiled cheerfully as he looked back at me, shocked.

“Try touching me again, and I’ll cut off something you’ll miss. We’ll discuss missions and roles again in the higher realm, but for now?” I rang a bell and guards came in, escorting him out. “I have a coronation to plan.”

______________________________

My coronation was held outside so that the Ancient beast could stand behind me. It seemed cheerful, letting out victorious roars and swaying from side to side. The people cheered as well, seeming a lot happier than I expected them to be. I guess they’re relieved that they won’t be eaten by the giant monster? I wondered idly how I was going to incorporate the creature into the day to day life of a monarch. For an odd reason I had very little doubt that the monster would stick around.

However, all my plans came to nothing. As the crown was placed on my head, bright blue words formed in the air in front of me:

100% complete.

**** You have finished the mission! ****

It was time to go.

At little sad, I looked up at the ancient monster above me. “Thank you, friend for your help. I wish I could stay with you longer.”

A mournful cry echoed through the world. It seemed to understand that I was leaving. Before I could say anything more to reassure it, the world around me shimmered and disappeared.

Only to reveal a furious Adonis standing in front of me.

“Happy now, Your Majesty?” He sneered.

“Oof, someone’s still a little angry that I used an ancient monster conquer the world. Believe it or not, I’m sorry that I’ve hurt you. But you know why I did what I did. Let’s talk about it in the morning.”

I walked away, feeling his glare on my back long after I was out of sight.

______________________________

When I woke up, I realized that I couldn't move.

I panicked, struggling to move my arms and legs, only managing to turn my head slightly. Enough to see Adonis’s smug expression as he sat by my bed.

“It’s time for our story to progress, Bel.” His smile was strange, twisted. I couldn’t talk back, I shook my head slightly side to side.

“I’m the hero, you are the heroine. If the relationship between us can’t be advanced by working together, than it must be forged in adversity." He reached down and picked me up, carrying me out of the small cottage I had arranged for myself and into the castle courtyard. Whatever drug he had injected me with was slowly wearing off, and I struggled in his arms, finally able to shout.

“Put me down!”

To my surprise he did, and although I struggled to stay upright, I kept my balance and glared at him.

“What are you planning?”

He sighed quietly. “I’m tired of always being the one to compromise. It’s time for you to make a sacrifice, Bel. I’ve avoided this so far, worried that progressing our story this way would kill you, but it seems that it is our fate that we take this risk. It’s… unfortunate. I do very much hope you don’t die.” He paused, trying to smile at me. “Don’t worry. It’s only temporary. I’ll come and rescue you soon.”

“A sacrifice?” I felt cold, even as I stood in the warm afternoon sun. My thoughts were slow to form, possibly a side effect of the medication. “Why?”

He shrugged. “There’s an order to everything. Rules. Law. They are all that stand between us and pure chaos. No one can ignore them. Not you. Not even me.”

“Then sacrifice yourself, asshole! Why send me?”

He shrugged. “It’s your role to play, not mine. Your fate.”

“Screw fate! I don’t care if you say it’s temporary or not! Friends don’t sacrifice friends!” I was furious, still weak and feeling helpless.

His hand reached out and brushed my cheek, the touch freezing my skin. I wanted to move away but I could still barely move, only managing to glare at him. “Don’t look at me with those eyes. It’s not my fault. If you want to blame anyone, blame the story.”

“Ad…”

“Sorry, you must accept your fate.” I felt a pinch in my arm, the stick of a needle as he injected something into the muscle. Immediately darkness overwhelmed me.

“We all do.”

Everything faded into darkness.

______________________________

When I woke up, I was in a strange world, surrounded by forest. I lay on my back, still feeling weak, fury coursing through my veins.

Adonis and I had worked well together, despite arguing multiple times in the past. But now… any goodwill I had towards him was gone. He had betrayed me. Knocked me out and sent me to somewhere dangerous, somewhere I could be killed, just to follow his precious fate. To get the story he wanted.

“Are you lost?

I looked over at the source of the voice. It was a tall young man with dark hair, wearing grey, non-descript clothing. He kneeled down next to me, and I found myself staring into dark blue eyes.

“Seems a good description for my current situation.” I smiled despite the dizziness. “Nice to meet you, Stranger.”

He grinned, reaching out a hand to help me up. “Call me Liam.”

Liam? Could he be…?

“…Nice to meet you, Liam.” I laughed. “Or should I say: nice to see you again?”

*** Soul transfer 25% complete. ***

#writing #please fix the story #fantasy #fate #next part will be fun #world hopping

[bukojuiice]

blue lagoon — gojo satoru

ೃ pairing: gojo satoru x fem! reader

ೃ  tags: smut 18+ (the rest of the tags are below the cut!)

ೃ  warnings: nsfw

ೃ wc: 2771 words

ೃ  Gojo Satoru’s high profile sorcerer life is plagued by malicious and good for nothing rumors that describe and entail him as a pompous casanova. To finally debunk said rumors, he comes to you, his loving girlfriend, for advice on how to publicly announce your relationship with him. all it takes is some loving and some teasing from you to finally gain the courage and come to his senses.

additional tags: teasing, bathroom sex, and overstimulation (enjoy!)

A skirt-chaser, womanizer, and possibly a gallivanter who jumps from woman to woman.

That’s mostly the perception that people have about him.

He was just too good to be true.

They didn’t dare to think that Gojo Satoru would be a perfect man on his own.

There should always be a catch.

Handsome, possibly the strongest sorcerer known to man, charming, tall, and sexy, and not to mention, a bad-ass.

No one could just act that part casually and nonchalantly without hiding some skeletons in the closet, right?

Even his three first-year students, who had some assumptions and have heard some rumors that maybe their beloved teacher was a ladies’ man who could possibly never just have one significant other in his life.

They were wrong. All of them are wrong.

There was you.

The first woman he fell in love with and the woman he would come back home to after a tiring day.

He met you when you were casually roaming about the blinding lights district that was Shinjuku, catching the next train ride home.

Just a small-town girl… living in a lonely world... she took the midnight train going anywhere…

The moment he saw you, he was entranced.

He stopped in his tracks, taking in your beauty as you continuously walk farther and farther away from him.

Gojo knew he had to find you again.

And as fate would have it, the two of you end up catching the same train, a week later. Engaged in small talk, some laughs and giggles, and you were automatically charmed by his personality and looks. The two of you then went on some casual dates before taking a few steps further, and now, here you are. It’s been a year and a half since you two started dating.

The white-haired man needed to shut down these rumors, once and for all.

He wants to proudly tell everybody that there was only one woman in his life and this woman is one worth spending the rest of his life with.

So, as he meets with you tonight in your apartment like he always does, he wants to ask you for advice on how to do so.

Only problem is, how can he be honest with you like this?

What if you react differently and be taken aback over the fact that the two of you aren’t necessarily considered as official yet on his side of things?

You bob your head up at the sound of your apartment door unlocking. Your captivating boyfriend enters inside, a soft and loving smile appearing on his face as soon as he sees you.

“Sorry if I’m a bit late today.” He pardons himself but you shake your head as you stood up from your seat to run towards him, enveloping him in an amorous hug. “It’s alright babe. Have you had dinner already?” You ask innocently, tiptoeing just a little bit to give him a greeting peck on the lips.

“Yup.” He says popping the p, trying his best to emanate his usual playful and energetic aura, As the two of you break free from the hug. He begins to stretch his arms and shoulders, groaning in the process. “I’m a bit soar though. Is it alright if I take a bath?”

“Of course, love! The water’s ready actually. I just poured in some hot water in the bath for my nightly wash, thinking you won’t arrive tonight.”

“A-aaaah! I’m sorry for making you wait!” He pulls you in for another hug, peppering kisses on your cheek, giggling as he does so. “What can I possibly do to cheer you up my mistress!?”

“Pfft. Like I said, It’s alright, my love. Just get in the tub, ‘Toru.” You laugh, pushing him away playfully as he heads for your bathroom. But before he completely enters, he steps back a little, turning to you dramatically.

“Oh, my woman, why must you wound me?”

You laugh once again at his little dramatic quip as you shoo him away.

Whilst waiting for Satoru to finish by waiting for him at the door, you feel as if there’s a strange air between the two of you. Like he was hiding something. You had to get him to talk and bare his heart to you and as your mind begins to think up ideas faster speed of light, you feel a lightbulb light up in your head.

What if you went inside the bathroom and surprise him? After all, despite his very tall yet alluring height, the two of you would fit perfectly in the Japanese tub you recently just bought with him in during your monthly IKEA.

It was perfect.

You quickly make loose of your clothes, dashing into the bathroom and make a beeline towards Gojo who was chilling in the tub, head most probably in the clouds, aimlessly playing with the bubbles in the tub.

Just from looking at him like this, you know something was up.

After you wet yourself down, you hop into the tub with Gojo.  As soon as he sees you dip in, he snaps back into reality, slightly bewildered and mouth agape at the sight of your beauty as you sit comfortably in front of him.

“(Y/N)!” He slightly jerks up from his position, but quickly recovers by pulling a playful pout. “I didn’t expect you to just barge in on me like this…” His fingers trace circles around your shoulder and then around the base of your neck, earning whimpers from you.

You lean back against him, and you feel him tense up even more at the touch of your bodies. “Toru… is there something up? Something you’re not telling me? You’ve been down in the dumps today…” You continue to lounge in the water, letting out a content yet exasperated sigh. Behind you, Gojo smiles half-heartedly.

If only he could tell you these conflicted emotions he’s been feeling recently.

“Everything’s fine love. Don’t worry.” He says in his usual cheeky and smug tone. He licks his lips seductively; lust fills his ethereal azure eyes as you feel Satoru’s hard cock against your ass. You perk up and push back against it slightly to get a better feel.

Gojo doesn’t react, but you hear him gulp down a lump on his throat, so you quietly reach your hand until-

“Not in the bathtub missy.” He teases you playfully, combing his hand through your mildly wet hair. “Wait just a l-little bit moree.”

Why does this man have to play with you like this?

You turn to him, the water rippling with you, shooting him an indignant stare as you lift your hands out of the water to show him you’ll behave. He sighs skittishly at the disappointed look you just gave him right now, getting goosebumps as you feel his breath against the back of your neck.

Gojo’s natural scent mixes with the bath’s hot steam. Somehow, it calms you down and gets you excited at the same time. He notices you shiver a bit as the cold breeze of wind passes by the two of you. This gives him another chance to tease you again.

“Keep your shoulders under the water so that you stay warm. It’ll help soothe away your fatigue. You had a long day today, after all~”

You roll your eyes, turning to him once more, cupping his cheek. “Pleaseeeee. You’ve had an even more draining day than I did as always.”

Gojo scoops up some bathwater, and began pouring it over your shoulders. Resulting in you relaxing even further in his arms.

Here you were right in front of him.

Completely bare and naked. Waiting for him to ravage you.

He just couldn’t help it. The teasing didn’t satisfy him enough, and now that the two of you are lying comfortably in this huge-ass bathtub, might as well use it all to your advantage, right?

Satoru’s carnal instincts kick in and all of a sudden, before you could even react probably, he grabs your boobs. Gently squeezing them and flicking your now perked up nipples. You mewl at his every touch, his touch feeling a bit more intense when it’s wet.

He pauses for a moment… and then,

“Shall we continue?”

“T-toru please… yes.” You say in between moans as he squeezes your breasts a little tighter, digging his fingers in.

“A-ah… that feels so good.”

Your white-haired lover smirks, pinching your nipples once more, steamy warmth radiating from his hands.

“They’re extra smooth and squishy today.” He teases once again, giving them an extra squeeze, earning giggles from you as his hands wander south. You practically twitch as a result of the combined stimulations that Satoru was giving you, as water flows out of the tub.

Meanwhile, you can feel that Gojo’s cock is at full mast now.

You scoot backwards a bit, spreading your legs wide so that you can get a good look at it.

Just then, Gojo’s hand comes into view as he reaches down to play with your clit. You continue to lull your head back, your bodies pressing even more than before as you feel a different sort of wetness between your legs, so you keep letting him do his thing.

“’Toru… put it in me.” You whisper in between your moans once more, the rush of sudden arousal and excitement coursing through your veins.

“Sure, I could do that, but… is it safe to have sex underwater?” He chuckles to his own joke, slightly ruining the momentum. You were about to react and shoot him a glare again but you knew that this was your time to get back at him.

You reach down and stroke the underside of his huge cock. Gojo moans softly at your sudden gesture, and he immediately bites down on your earlobe, almost reflexively.

“(Y/N)… who gave you the right to be this damn beautiful?” He licks and nibbles your neck carefully, making sure not to leave any obvious marks, making you shiver with anticipation and desire.

Your loud and his soft moans mix together like a harmonious tune, Satoru knew that he had to take this a step further now, holding you by the waist, and tracing circles on your stomach to try and ease you before hie makes his big move.

“I’m going to put it in now, okay? So, take a deep breath and just relax… stay right there and I’ll do the rest~” He whispers to your ear softly as you assume the position and Gojo slides his cock inside of you.

You mewl and cover your mouth as soon you feel his huge throbbing cock penetrate your insides. Your mind goes hazy for a moment as you feel all the ecstasy and excitement circulate around your body all at the same time, as you continue to stay in position for him to continue his full entrance.

“A-ah.. I f-feel it!” You murmur, your hand still covering your mouth.

“(Y/N)! You’re so tight!” Maybe it’s just the water, but Gojo’s cock feel way warmer than usual. Was it the stimulation or the fact that this was your first time doing it in the tub of all places?

The two of you pause for a moment to let your bodies adjust… then Gojo bounces you on his cock like you were a ragdoll.

“(Y/N)… if this hurts, please tell me alright? I’ll stop if you say so.” He says in between hitched breaths as he continues to bounce you up and down, each movement eliciting a loud and hot moan from you, you shake your head from side to side to let him know that it’s alright and he can keep going.

Over and over, he slams into your deepest parts, and before long you can’t feel your legs anymore from all this excitement and energy you were releasing.

“T-toru! Fuck me harder!” You finally scream out on the top of your lungs, and you notice Gojo slow his movements for just a second to process what you had just said as he continues.

With each motion, the bathwater ripples and rocks, loudly splashing over the edge and onto the floor. As Satoru continues to thrust, he wraps his arms around you from behind, holding you tight.

“(Y/N)!”

Gojo presses his face against your shoulder, kissing and nibbling every soft spot he could find. Your mind becomes blank again and you couldn’t do anything but continue bucking your hips to the rhythm, riding out the ecstasy.

Your pussy has become a revolving door of cock-water-cock-water. The heat making your brain all fuzzy.

“(Y/N)! I love you! This feels incredible… I’m a-about to!”

“I-I love you too…” You breathe heavily, your thighs slap together with increasing frequency, climax right around the corner.

“(Y/N)! I’m cumming!”

“A-ah! M-me too!”

His cock swells up inside of you, filling you with liquid even hotter than the bathwater. Your mind melts to mush as you achieve an absolutely transcendent orgasm.

Gojo continues to hold you in place as he empties all his load inside of you. You rest your weight against him as you come down from the climax, his cum trickling out of you and mixing with the bathwater.

“T-that was amazing…” You giggle, still trying to catch your breath as your boyfriend laughs along with you.

“I feel like I kinda lost control there.” says Gojo, who was trying to catch his breath just as much as you were.

“N-no… it’s alright.” You turn your head to him once again, cupping his cheek. Even after the orgasm, his cock is still hard enough to stay inside you.

“I think we spent too much time here.” Gojo whispers, resting his head on your shoulder. “The water’s getting cold and we can’t just sit here foreverrrr.” He pouts and you pat his head. You honestly bet he still enjoys the way your bodies are still perfectly connected, but alas, it was time to clean up.

“Alright. Alright. Let’s get out of here.”

Desperately suppressing the urge to keep fooling around, you get out of the tub. Gojo follows you out and the two of you have a quick shower. The two of you walk back to your room, hand in hand, with nothing but a towel before retreating to your room.

This is where he finally pops the question.

Waiting for you to finish drying your hair up, Gojo is laying down on your bed with newly laundered clothes he leaves at your apartment for whenever he sleeps over. He stares up at the ceiling, waiting for you to spark up a conversation. He takes a deep breath and sits up from the bed, watching you lovingly as you blow dry your hair.

“I need to tell you something…” He finally speaks up, fiddling with his hands as he says so. “The people in Jujutsu High don’t know we’re an item? Like- They have no idea that I have an absolutely amazing girlfriend and they think that I’m this shitty womanizer who only puts up a front-“

“Woah… calm down love.” You approach him, sitting beside him on the bed, a bit sad that your boyfriend fumbling with his words which was very unlikely and out of character for him. “Look, if you think it’s the right and appropriate time to tell them, then tell them. I’ll always be here to support you through every step of the way. I know it’s tough and I know they’ll relentlessly continue their shitty assumptions about you, but, I’m here now okay? I’ll be here for you.” You stand up from the bed, planting a kiss on his forehead. “I love you. You’re the best sorcerer out there and the most confident and loving man I know- let the haters hate.”

He looks up at you, his cerulean eyes sparkling in the dim bedroom light.

“I love you too.” He replies, finally, a soft and genuine smile appears on his face for the very first time tonight. “I guess I gotta get new haters since the old ones are starting to like me huh?”

“Now, let’s get to bed.”

“Awee. Shall we go for another round?”

“Toru… no.”

“Phah! Says the girl who literally went inside the tub with me like it was nothing!”

“My legs feel like jelly already… no.”

attempted to write this faster than the speed of light as soon as i finished watching jjk!!

#jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x reader #jjk smut #jujutsu kaisen smut #gojo satoru x reader #gojo x reader #gojo satoru smut #gojo satoru x reader smut

[vannybarber]

The Prenup: Final Chapter

Summary: After four years of being together and finally being engaged, Chris wants you to sign a prenup.

Chris Evans x Reader

Warnings: angst, swearing, chris getting his ass handed to him, a lot of pain.

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four

You lied.

You didn't come back the day after. Or the next day. In fact, you stayed at the hotel for almost a week. You didn't stay in the same clothes of course. You went out to buy everything you needed. Clothes, hygiene products, prenatal vitamins. You were the saddest and most ridiculous thing to walk this earth.

Lisa and Scott eventually came over with your permission of course. You couldn't say no to them. You weren't upset with them.

"How've you been, sweetie?" They both look for your answer, trying to read your face.

"To tell you the truth, I actually feel like an asshole. I honestly realize how immature I was. Chris definitely was, but I was stooping to that level myself. But I won't admit to him just yet. I want him to recognize how immature he was too."

It was crazy to even hear it from your own mouth. But you had time to think it over. You recognized how stupid you looked living in a hotel because you couldn't put your immaturity aside.

"Well this might be a shock to you, but I had a talk with him also and it might've did something." You make eye contact with her and your eyebrows jump. Indeed, you were surprised. She continues.

"I know you guys will be able to resolve this. But you need to try. You've have been together too long to let this get in between you two. I think he finally understands." She sets her hand on yours, which was placed in your lap.

He finally understood? You had to see this for yourself. You hoped to everything that she was right. You actually wanted to fix this and he needed to be on board and feel the same way.

It occurred to you after some time that his points were actually valid. It was just the way he came across is all. You were in your own feelings and took it really personal, which was understandable, but you got stubborn. Even though he got a prenup for his own reasons, you felt as if he didn't love you as much as you love him.

This could all be fixed, but he needed to set some boundaries with Megan. He had no choice. Wait till she finds out about the baby. Evidently none of the other Evans' knew about the baby because it was never brought up. You secretly thank Chris for keeping that between you guys, even though he was most likely still upset that you weren't gonna tell him about the baby right away.

You both are grown ass adults and you're having a child together. This bullshit needed to end.

"Oh my gosh this is great !! All my shit talking did some good." Lisa clears her throat at him. "Along with Ma's great advice of course." You just laugh. You loved your family.

"I think I'm ready to see him. Scratch that. I am ready to see him. I want my fianceé back." You smile and grasp your hands together. You don't think you've ever seen them smile so hard.

"Oh yeah we know you're pregnant." You stop smiling and stare at Scott like you've been caught in the cookie jar. "You know Chris can't keep his big mouth shut." Well that's a Gemini for you.

"Now its really important that you solve this. You're bringing another life into the world!" Lisa exclaims. "Plus I'm gonna have another grandbaby!!"

You giggle and shake your head. "Well we need to head over there right now then!"

Little did you know Chris was on the exact same page as you. Down to every line and every word.

He has always been indecisive and this situation really forced him to take some responsibility and rethink his behavior. You had all the reason to feel the way you did, his intentions clearly being missed by you. Whatever they even were.

He also decided that he was going to set Megan straight about his personal life and respecting you. You were his future wife. And now that you're bringing a baby into the world, she definitely needed to be put in check. He can't even believe how he allowed her to disrespect you like this.

Now he only hoped that you'd want to sort this out and forgive him. He needed you no matter what he said. He did make up excuses because your relationship was too good to be true. He's never had a connection like this before. He never allowed it, but clearly it was for a reason because it give you a chance to come in his life and completely change it for the better.

When he had gotten home from visiting you, his feelings were all over the place. Upset that you didn't come back with him and guilty for making you feel the way you did. He just felt like he was doing the right thing because Megan told him to. Deep down inside, he really didn't even want to get the stupid prenup anyway.

"So where's Y/N? Is she okay?" Shanna asked for everyone. They all expected you to come back too. They didn't know you were this stubborn.

"She's alright. She said she wasn't ready to come back just yet. Which I completely understand. But I feel like a failed once again." He slumps on the couch and lies back. "I don't deserve her at all."

"Now Chris, you know what you have. And what you have is good. Better than anything you had before. You two were made for each other. You're a hard head and I know you're not giving up this easily" Lisa says to him, taking a seat to his right.

"You know she's pregnant." He really shouldn't have said that and he knows it, but he can't keep a secret to save his own life. Everyone in the room gasps. "I found the tests in the bathroom. If I didn't go in there and discover them myself, she wasn't planning on telling me yet."

"Well she probably wanted to fix this before adding more on top of it." Scott adds. And he was absolutely correct.

"Well I'm happy for you! But I you still have this going on." Lisa's voice goes from excited to monotone. She's super happy, but she wished this could have been evented at a much better time.

"Well this could've made things better...or worse." Chris throws his NASA cap on the couch angrily.

Carly speaks up.

"You and Scott should go visit her. I doubt she'll turn it down."

"Yeah Ma. We should see where her heads at. Maybe her mind will change with our advice" Scott agrees. He loves you as a sister. Anything threatening that would have to be put to death immediately.

"Guys, I don't know about that. She seemed pretty definite on how she felt." Chris didn't want to make it worse than what it was, but he always found a way to do that anyway.

"Chris come on" Scott drags out. "We have to try."

"Y/N is a smart girl. She knows what she needs to do and it will come to her. I know it'll work out. And when it does, you'll realize your love is inevitable." Lisa smiles knowing she is absolutely right.

Now she just waits for it all to fall in place.

You were currently outside in the driveway of your house. You drove back there in your car with Lisa and Scott behind you. When you arrived, you hopped in her car to discuss how this was going to go.

Looking at the property, you admit missed your place, but you allowed your infantilism to get in the way.

"Okay he's in there, but he doesn't know you're coming back." Scott speaks lowly from the back seat.

"Wait you didn't tell him?" You snap around mystified. Why did they not tell him?

"Because we wanted it to be a surprise. Well I wanted it to be a surprise." He corrects himself when Lisa throws him a look through the rear view mirror.

"Well um okay. Then this just has to play out itself. Hopefully he's happy to see me..?" You were unsure yourself. The little intimate moment you had before he left couldn't dictate how he'd feel now.

"I'm positive he is, but you won't know unless you get up in there. Go ahead! We'll get your stuff," Lisa encourages. You think she's more excited than anyone. You thank her with a kiss on the cheek and high five Scott then head out of the car. You walk up the driveway to the front door. You didn't get the key out your bag so you rang the doorbell.

A few moments, the door is jerked open. You automatically know he didn't even look through the peephole before he opened the door. He needs to stop doing that.

You appear in his vision and he pauses.

"Y/N? Baby?" Incredulity is all in his voice.

"Yes, that is my name." You giggle. "Can I come in?"

"Uh of course! You live here, ya know." He steps back so you can walk inside. Walking through the threshold, you look around the house as if it was foreign to you. For whatever reason, you expected some dramatic changes. One thing that didn't change is his shoes in the middle of the floor. His bad habit.

"Chris what did I say about your shoes in the walkway?" You scold him and move them to the corner with his others. You can't count how many times you've almost fell face first because of his shoes in the way and truthfully, you not watching where you're going.

"Sorry I forget a lot" he says sheepishly with a tiny smile on his face stopping behind you. This makes your corners turn up as well.

You stand facing him and him facing you. Neither of you say anything. You can't tell if it is because you don't know what to say or that you just really missed each other's faces. Before you do speak, Lisa and Scott are inside with your things.

"Oh guys just put that stuff on the couch. Thank you again!" You point to the sofa, absentmindedly moving closer to Chris.

"We need to talk." Turning back to him, you nod. You remember why you're here in the first place. You needed to put an end to this.

"Right. Patio?" You always go out there to have conversations or just to chill with each other. He nods his head and turns to his family.

"We're gonna go outside and talk for a bit. Okay?"

"Oh yes take all the time you need," Lisa exclaims, shooing you both off. Scott is grinning himself. You just smile and walk to the back door onto the patio. Chris follows quickly behind.

Once you both get outside, you sit down. You wouldn't say it was awkward, but there was definitely some tension. You decide to break it.

"I'm really sorry, Chris."

"Baby I'm so sorry."

Guess he wanted to as well. You were about to talk, but he spoke up first.

"I want to apologize first. I was completely wrong here. I was being an asshole and I deserved everything you said to me. And everything Scott said to me as well." He rolls his eyes at that part. You could only imagine the dragging Scott was giving him. "I allowed Megan to disrespect you and that was a dick move. No one should allow their partner to be treated like that. You're were going to my wife and I stooped that low. I'm truly sorry." He searches in your eyes for something to let him know that you forgave him, knew that he was really sorry at least.

You look away about to let the flood come like Noah and the Arc. You've been waiting to hear that for a while and you knew he meant every word. But now it was your turn. Clearing your throat and wiping your eyes, you speak up.

"This isn't completely your fault, baby." You take his hands in yours. "I am also guilty as well. I acted so immature and didn't even truly try to resolve this because I wanted to victimize myself the whole time. Although you were acting like a huge dick, I still played a part. I am so sorry for not planning on telling you about the baby. That was unfair of me. I know that you love me and that I am important to you, so if you still want me to sign the prenup, I'll do it."

Hearing the words come from your mouth surprised you both. He didn't think you'd ever give in and you sure as hell were making sure you wouldn't. But here you are agreeing to it because you love him that much and wanted to make him happy. Your relationship would work so it would never come to be used. You had strong faith in that.

"That's another thing." He shakes his head and you're now confused. "I don't want you to sign a prenup. We're not doing that. I already plan on talking to Megan about it. And I'm going to address her on knowing her place working for me. Since you know that I love you, so fucking much, I don't need to worry about money. Nor a divorce. Like Ma said, we were made for each other and I'll be damned if I let you get away from me."

"So no prenup?" You needed to hear it again.

"No prenup, love." He grins at you, squeezing your hands. You pull from his grip and jump up busting out random dance moves. His mouth is ajar.

"No prenup! Ain't signing no prenup! Lalalalalaaaaa! No prenup!" After your little dance number, you sit back down with no shame. You needed that.

"I'm glad that you finally came to your senses, Christopher. Your mother taught you well" you say in a pompous manner. He just can't help but laugh. You truly were something else.

"We have a little one coming soon and we have to be out best selves for them. Pinky promise each other that we never ever argue and not fix it in a matter of 25 minutes ever again?" He holds out his pinky finger waiting for yours.

"I promise." You wrap yours around his and grin. "So we're good?"

"Well there is one more thing." He stands up and reaches in his pocket. He pulls out your engagement ring and gets on one knee. Just when you had no tears left to cry.

"Y/N, baby, will you be my fianceé again?" You laugh breathlessly and nod your head.

"Yes, you meatball!" He slips the ring back on your finger and you jump in his arms. Almost knocking him over, he grabs your face and kisses you. You wasted zero time kissing him back because you needed it. It had been so long.

Finally pulling away and balancing your breaths like you just ran a 5k, you both make eye contact and burst out into laughter.

"Come on. Let's go tell them." He grabs your hands and you rush inside the house. Heading into the living room you see them both watching with anticipation.

"So?" Scott speaks and they both stand up.

"Guess who's getting married ?!"

HELP-😌 im so proud of myself. i decided to end this with a nice fluff. it was well deserved. i read you guy's comments and it influenced how i wrote it. some of you mentioned immaturity in y/n and that was really valid. and the point about the prenup making sense.

thank you so much for reading. i am honestly so grateful that you guys liked it. i didn't expect it to blow up like it did. im crying now so bye ✌🏽🤧❤

tags:

@mayafatimakhan @attitude-times @shawn-youth @traceyaudette @kyraroseficreblogs33 @radi0active-thoughts @youthought-iwasa-nicegirl @ohbarracuda @katelyneannxo @jennamarieee623 @craycraycraic @ilikeurdad @captainson-of-coul @joanne-stan @ilovetheeagles @cristinagronk16 @kelbabyblue @onyourgoddamnleft @jessycatth @misz-adrii @geminievans1 @saltyflowermakertaco @a-moment-captured @harrysthiccthighss @dauntless2022 @allboutdatmarvel @ineedpineapple @illyrianprincess @ladycumberbatchofcamelot @thesecretlifeofdaydreamss @marianas-studyblr @obliviatevamps @thevelvetseries @coffeebooksandfandom @shamelessfangirl-3 @quietmyfearswith @kissme-hs @lvgllre @arabescapr @careless-intuition @lady-x-red @donutloverxo @princess-evans-addict

#cevans #chris evans #avengers #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans x reader #andy barber smut #steve rogers smut #captain america #chris evans fluff #chris evans smut

[teddyduchampsglasses]

@duxpuella

Same as the last one, quick PSA, I know I usually keep these gender neutral but I’ve decided for this ask to be fem so I hope that doesn’t offend anyone. And if it does, I’m sorry and feel free to send in an ask asking for a gender neutral version of this if you’d like, because I’d be glad to write one, or you could change the pronouns to your preferred ones as you’re reading. What ever works best for you :)

Also this isn’t my best work so yeah, sorry about that lmao.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first time Meeks ever laid his eyes on you, his whole world seemed to stop. You quite literally rendered him speechless, from the way you walked, talked, the way your hair flowed and more. You were absolutely show stopping in his eyes and he immediately knew that he wanted you.

When he finally got the nerves to ask you out, his worst nightmare came true. You felt really bad but in your mind, a relationship between the two of you would go south, and you didn’t want to end up hurting him. You did think he was cute, smart and kinda funny. And you did go to your dorm and day dream about the ginger a lot, but you didn’t want to waste your time on a relationship that was destined to fail. Or so you thought it would. But Mr. Meeks ended up suggesting that you to just give it a try, and you reluctantly agreed. “Just a week, and we’ll work things out then.” “Yeah, deal.” Yeah, you guys’ relationship ended up lasting more than just a week, that’s for sure. And you will never regret giving Steven Meeks a chance.

Steven usually went for the more nerdy and passive type. Quiet and sweet girls. But you were totally different. You were strong and totally a fighter. So when he started chasing after you, it not only surprised him, all the dead poets but you too. He just seemed to surprise everyone.

Meeks honestly only had one, logical guess and explanation as to why he fell for you the way that he did. Because he liked being told what to do, being put in his place and bossed around. That may sound weird but, hear me out, why else would he close the door the way he did after Charlie demanded it of him?

Easy, because he loved a women that was in charge, took a stand and held some sort of power. He liked having a confident and strong girlfriend. So, what I’m trying to say is, boss him around a little? Don’t worry, he enjoys it.

Meeks is one of the only people who knows how to accurately and sufficiently calm you down. And he’s one of the only people who actually succeeds at it. Your mad at one of the poets? Someone get Meeks. Blew a fuse with a stranger? Quick, someone find Steven. Many teachers have even started calling poor Stevie into their classes when you get into one of your “moods”. “Do you want me to play with your hair while we cuddle?” “I don’t want to cuddle at all.” “Sure you do, come on.” He would say before dragging you away. And once you two returned to the real world, it was like you were a whole new person.

You don’t often get mad at him. He never does anything to upset or annoy you, and he’s actually very gental with you. Pitts could piss you off, but five minutes later, Meeks could do the same exact thing Gerard had done and you wouldn’t feel a thing. He’s the only person who listens when you’re upset or angry, he understands that you’re just feeling a lot of emotions in that moment. And all anyone wants is someone who will understand and listen. So on the rare occasions that you do get mad at him, you automatically feel horrible, apologizing one million times, because he most likely didn’t do anything wrong. Meeks is just way too perfect, he’s always way too understanding, sometimes to the point where you just wished he would get mad at you. It’s hard to tell if he’s being serious or not, it’s always a worry of yours that “What if he actually is upset or hurt and just he won’t admit it.”

Meeks often tutors you, or the two of you work together, and you get easily frustrated or mad with your work. Usually, he attempts to help you continue working, using sweet, nice and encouraging words to calm you down, but if that doesn’t work, he just lets you go on a long rampage, letting out all your steam, before he pulls you into a nice, comforting hug.

When ever you blow a fuse with someone, especially if it’s someone you don’t really know, or someone you don’t know at all, Meeks is always the one to discretely apologize on your end. If you yell at someone on the streets, he’ll always quietly whisper “Sorry.” As the two of you walk past.

Meeks is a very calming person to be around, and you’re so happy that he’s your boyfriend for that reason. You often need someone to calm or relax you, and some how, everything about Steven just does that for you. The way he smells, his soft hair, his nice hugs. Everything. He’s just an all around soothing person. And with a personality like yours, you need someone in your life like that. Someone who’s always gonna be there to calm you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For some odd reason, this one was a lot more complicated to write then the Charlie one, but I still hope you like it.

#Steven Meeks simps unite #the 80s #dead poets society #dps #80s movies #1989 #1959 #steven meeks #steven meeks x reader #Steven Meeks headcanons #Steven Meeks x reader headcanons #allelon ruggiero #dps fandom

[i-want-my-iwtv]

I hope the rumours of Louis being a brothel owner aren't true, but if they are I can sort of see why they're going for this route? I mean, with a black Louis they can't have him being a slaver anymore, so maybe they're trying to find something that is also morally reprehensible for him to be.

TL;DR: My kneejerk reaction was to be saddened, and I don’t like that this is starting up, and will continue to fuel, fandom drama. Ultimately, if we want peace, we’ll embrace the fact that the existence of this adaptation doesn’t take away from the existence of the books, and it also doesn't mean we have to acknowledge it.

It makes me wonder whether AMC wants us to make a storm about this. We’ll see...

After all, what makes this adaptation any more important than the graphic novels of the ’90s, the graphic novel Claudia’s Story, movie!IWTV, or movie!QOTD? In fact, many fans here on tumblr consider VC to be a trilogy only!!! and don’t accept the majority of the PUBLISHED CANON so what makes anyone think we have any obligation to swallow this AMC adaptation as some kind of gospel?

I see movie!QOTD as a buffet of ideas carried in an official fanfiction work, and I don’t accept as my headcanon the various things it changed about the books that I didn’t particularly like, such as merging Magnus and Marius (which, IMO, effectively made both characters more morally reprehensible). I accepted the things I did enjoy, like casting a Black/POC actress to play Akasha. I see this AMC adaptation as a buffet of ideas, some can be taken, and some not, it’s just another official fanfiction work.

[Anon, I need to catch other ppl up on the information, too.]

Deadline.com informs us that in the AMC adaptation for Interview with the Vampire, Jacob Anderson has been cast as Louis. I'm not familiar with him, but it looks like he’s a successful actor, from Game of Thrones and other things, he’s also joining Series 13 of Doctor Who. I’ll have to check him out from an acting standpoint!

Aside from his talent as an actor, this is by far the most controversial thing that's happened in VC fandom recently. I've been thinking about this for a few months now, talking about it privately online and offline, still gathering my thoughts. So this post is not engraved in stone, it’s initial thoughts on this.

I’m glad to see ppl talking about it and I’m sure we’ll have more public discussions. I’m trying to discuss it very carefully, but also, this is an entertainment blog, my opinions are mine alone, and I’m not looking for dogpiling on anyone, I have no obligation to respond publicly or privately to anything. Plenty of other ppl have differing opinions on this. So take all of the following with more than a grain of salt, I’m not being salty, I’m providing the links to the little info we’ve seen pulicly, I’m giving my initial thoughts, and I’m also trying to add a little levity because ultimately, again, this is an entertainment blog, and I try to add a little humor to help with such serious topics, humor can help ppl talk about controversial things.

-----

The casting of a POC/Black actor (I’m sorry I don't know the preferred terminology, let me know if you know what Anderson prefers) confirms at least one part of theilluminerdi articles that stated that Louis’ race will be different from the books. I didn’t post about these before bc I wasn’t sure how reliable theilluminerdi’s sources are (and I'm still not sure), but this was one major aspect that theilluminerdi announced before Deadline did, so now seems to be the right time to share those articles. For now, you can go check them out yourselves rather than have my reposting of the information, trigger warning: mentions of sex workers and race in the changes to the canon story of Interview with the Vampire.

>>>theilluminerdi articles from May 21, 2021 and July 15, 2021:

www.theilluminerdi.com/2021/05/21/interview-with-the-vampire-amc

www.theilluminerdi.com/2021/07/15/interview-with-the-vampire-amc-2

^Meme of Dr. Ian Malcom from Jurassic Park reads: “Your writers were so preoccupied with whether they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

I’m using that meme with a little levity here, clearly an AMC adaptation of vampires in which the producers/writers have chosen to change the race of a main character (arguably the original protagonist of the series) isn’t in the same VICINITY as the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park that broke out of containment and killed visitors to the park, but John Hammond’s intention for the creation of that park was very good, as I assume this race change was intended. Time will tell.

“But with this place, I wanted to show them something that wasn't an illusion. Something that was real, something that they could see and touch. An aim not devoid of merit.”

“Creation is an act of sheer will.” 

- John Hammond, Jurassic Park

Race is a more complicated subject than ever, so for AMC to make this bold change, I hope they have POC and Black writers on staff and are handling this very carefully. Even then, no racial group, including POC and Black people, are a hivemind, disagreements are bound to happen in the writing room, whether in good faith or bad. People have different intentions and motives, compromises will probably be made with the story in many ways, we all know how it goes with collaborations; the end product is a shared vision among multiple creators. This could be a potentially controversial adaptation, I don’t know whether they’re aiming for that or not, but with the elements it has so far, it seems to be headed that way.

Here's a comment by "Angellus" on the 5/21 article. It's undeniable that there's going to be the accusation of racism thrown at anyone who has any negative view of this change, regardless of their reasons. I find it unfair and narrow-minded that any negative response is automatically assumed to be coming from a racist point of view. To say that changing Louis' race is unequivocally an improvement fails to take into account how that change has a Domino effect on all of the other parts of the story. Not the least of which is that, if he is still a slaver/slave holder/plantation owner/(insert your preferred term) that adds a whole new racist element to his owning Black/POC people, even though, apparently there were Black/POC plantation owners. 

Not the least of which: How will this change impact his relationship with Lestat? Particularly when Lestat has the added issue of being described in those articles as having “mind control abilities” and “insistent that he gets what he wants and when facing rejection,” a terrible combination in terms of consent, even in a relationship of the same race, let alone invoking Caucasian/white dominance over Black/POC people, AND Lestat being the catalyst to Louis’ questioning his sexuality:

Lestat is insistent that he gets what he wants and when facing rejection, petulance can quickly turn to ruthless rage which causes frenzied acts of horrifically brutal violence. Lestat also has mind control abilities. Lestat initially infuriates Louis, but this soon turns to fascination which leads Louis to question his religion and sexuality. 

^Screencap reads: "I love how racist everyone is in the damn comments, this doesn’t pervert the story you’re all racist and it’s disgusting. I’m looking forward to it, I hope you keep crying your salty racist tears asswipes."

It makes me question whether Angellus truly believes what they wrote, if this is an ideology, or a troll. I would suggest their use of the term “pervert” is correct though, pervert means: “alter (something) from its original course, meaning, or state to a distortion or corruption of what was first intended.” That’s what this race change does, factually. Although, in this context, “distortion or corruption” carries a negative connotation. It would take a lot to show how this change does not meet the definition or “to pervert,” though.

I hope the rumours of Louis being a brothel owner aren't true

I agree 1,000%, I was hoping that these were just rumors. But, aside from the race change, if this were the only change, I find Louis being a brothel owner to be equivalently morally reprehensible to being a slaver/slave holder/plantation owner/(insert your preferred term). Ideally, they’d change his career to something that doesn’t involve benefiting from the bodies/labor of others in any morally reprehensible manner.

I mean, with a black Louis they can't have him being a slaver anymore, so maybe they're trying to find something that is also morally reprehensible for him to be.

He might still be a slaver. Who knows. Being morally reprehensible as a mortal man didn’t seem to me to be crucial to the story, but they still could have chosen something better. It seems to me like they want a brothel so they can have eye candy for an audience who want to see sex workers, maybe full frontal nudity. 

-----

What also gets my attention is that Anne and Christopher Rice have not yet posted publicly about it, which leads me to believe that this change wasn’t their choice. They take every chance to brag when they’re proud of something, every chance to crowdsource about casting ideas or which VC books Anne’s fans liked best, etc., and in this case, as of Aug. 31, 2021, (and to be fair, maybe I missed it), I haven’t seen either of them post about this on the official VC FB, Anne Rice’s FB, Annerice.com, Christopher Rice’s FB, or christopherricebooks.com. If it had been their choice, I think they would have gladly trumpeted their credit by now, but maybe they’re waiting to do it in a specific venue. Time will tell.

#vampire chronicles #interview with the vampire #louis de pointe du lac #race #racism #tw race #tw racism #tw sex worker #jurassic park #memeything #ian malcolm #anon #ask #anne rice #christopher rice #long post #iwantmyiwtv has opinions #Jacob Anderson #vc casting

[joontier]

Subliminal in Scrubs | V2; report xii 

pairings: dr. jeon jungkook x female reader

chapter rating: PG-15 | genre: humor, workplace relationships

warnings: none to note

word count: 2.6k

g/n: jungkook is a brat wbk; also,,, hoseok here is supposedly as old as seokjin heh i had an internal debate whether or not i should include two other scenes but aslkdfjkasljfas but i ended up with this instead skjff hope yall enjoy!! 

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Subliminal in Scrubs (the records) |  navi. | m.list

The orientation went by like a breeze with Ms. Narae’s quick run throughs of Woocheon’s clinical processes and systems, training programs, hospital expectations, and the explanation of the rest of the map of the hospital you weren’t able to cover during your tour earlier. Before she wraps up, she retrieves your IDs from underneath the table and places them on top of the desk for everyone to get later.  She dismisses the orientation exactly ten minutes before twelve, requesting everyone to head straight to their department’s on-call room after the break.

Soomin, who you’ve recently discovered to have her own Youtube channel, takes out her phone and records a video. You watch from the side as Soomin does her thing, until she tries to call you all over and officially introduce you as good friends turned work colleagues to all her subscribers. 

You hadn’t really expected this whole vlogger thing from her, especially when Soomin was a bit reserved when you were first acquainted with each other, but then again, as your friendship grew, you realized that she had a bit of Chohee in her as well and you thought that’s what caused you to gravitate towards her naturally. 

“Anybody up for lunch?” Soomin asks, rubbing her hands together after she finishes her short recording and tucks her phone back in her pocket. “Yeah, I’m starving...” you murmur, placing a hand on your belly as you hear your stomach grumble its complaint. 

“I heard Woocheon is known to have the best hospital food in Korea. Ever.” Jungkook says, looking around. You’re starting to get skeptical about how Jungkook is lingering around Jimin...Or was it the other way around now? “Shall we?” With Jungkook’s undeniable proposition, Soomin briefly glances at your reluctant face, her own lips pursing with your reaction. “Fine,” you sigh. 

There’s no getting rid of Jungkook now. 

Woocheon’s cafeteria...does not look like a cafeteria at all. 

You weren’t expecting an...urban haven of some sort, a portion of the hospital that you had least envisioned to what seems to be the warmest part of Woocheon. The laminated flooring, faux wooden grain wall panels, along with the suspended lights from this wave-like uneven wooden ceiling - it was as picturesque as a spread on an interior design magazine. 

The interior could easily outrival any other kitchen in the city. “Are you sure this is not some hotel we just walked into?” Jimin questions as he marvels over the sleek urban design of the cafeteria. There’s even a café - which you recognize holds the same logo as Good Day café. You ought to confirm this with Jimin later. 

As you near the serving area, the unmistakable aroma of roast beef fills your senses, making you hungrier than you were just seconds before. “Please don’t tell me Woocheon is actually serving roast beef...” 

You practically salivate at the sight of the food in the counters, a lot of which you realized were influenced by western food culture. There were three different kinds of salad to choose from, baked potatoes, burgers, seafood stew, stir-fried meat, as well as the Korean classic side dishes that you’d never miss in a meal.  And, true to your trusty sense of smell, roast beef was at the end of the line up in all its roasted glory.  

“Yeap,” Soomin says as she turns to face you, “You have three options for the sauce too: mushroom gravy, pepper sauce, or truffle sauce,” Soomin replies matter-of-factly, pointing at the farther end of the food counter. 

“Oh I love this place already!” Exclaims Jimin who’s undecided between eating to his heart’s content and risking a stomachache on the first day of work, or sacrifice half of the dishes for a later time in your stay at Woocheon. Thankfully, Jimin decides on the former. 

“Make sure you have your IDs ready,” Jungkook announces as he joins the line after you. “You’ll have to tap it against this tiny device then they will automatically deduct the total amount of the food you got from your account.”  

Jimin’s face falls instantly at the realization. Jungkook claps the other man’s back, face crumpled as he keeps his laughter in. “Still love this place, Jimin-ssi? Don’t worry now, the three of us can pretend we didn’t hear anything at all.” 

With features forlorn, Soomin makes a hilarious attempt to appease Jimin’s disappointment by stating facts - “Jimin-ah. Hospital food isn’t free.” 

“Yeah. I realize that now,” Jimin replies, an ingenuine smile playing on his lips. 

“Cheer up though! Ms. Narae did mention faculty and staff get a five percent discount on all hospital services...just so happened that they included the cafeteria there as well.” 

Albeit reluctant about the price, Soomin manages to convince your entire group to try out the roast beef for once (and probably your last too. Figures.) “Oh, and by the way, there is one thing that’s free actually. It’s the drink of the day - free for all staff. One each, and available during lunch only.” 

Your eyes travel to the end of the counter straight away at Soomin’s reminder. Calculating the number of cartons left and the people left in the queue, you’re beyond pleased at the fact that you’ll be able to get a free 250ML carton of banana milk today, and also the last person to do so. 

Unfortunately for you, a staff member returns to the counter and retrieves a tetra pack, claiming it was for a senior doctor who forgot to claim the drink. Much to your dismay, a middle-aged man in a white coat was waving to the counter, with his other hand pointing to his tray to prove that he really wasn’t able to take any milk with him. You can’t hide the scowl that creeps on your face. 

Through your peripheral vision, you notice Jungkook closely monitoring the milk as well, the same look of disappointment evident on his face. Maybe losing the milk wasn’t that bad. After all, if you couldn’t one, Jungkook wouldn’t be able to score one either. 

While Jimin checks out his food, one of the kitchen staff suddenly retrieves another carton from the other side of the counter, mumbling about how it must’ve fallen over earlier. You were just about to grab it when the lady at the till calls you next, and you’re forced to move your tray sideward so she can calculate the total amount of your order.  

When you look up to grab your free drink, Jungkook reaches out at the same time and manages to snatch the milk quicker than you. “Hey!” Jungkook simply shrugs his shoulders at your indignant tone. “Sorry darling, finders keepers.” 

You stare at him in disbelief, until the lady calls for Jungkook next, a little too loud for your liking. Your eyeroll comes almost involuntarily, and you shake your head as you follow where Jimin and Soomin were headed to as they look for a seat. 

Jungkook arrives shortly after you do, so you immediately lose the chance to rant about your annoyance towards the latter. He decides to sit across you and you don’t have the chance to complain about it either when he sticks the straw in his milk while he smirks at you. 

What an actual kid. 

You promised yourself you won’t let him get to you, choosing inner peace over fighting with a brat. Besides, two can play at this game, and it’s going to take more than a small carton of milk for him to truly vex you, so you simply smile at him back, returning the favor (of course, while secretly wishing he might choke on his banana milk too).  

“Would you guys mind if I recorded a little bit?” Murmurs of agreement are heard across the table. “Alrightey then,” says Soomin, “This time, none of you boys will be able to escape the camera this time around.” Just as you’d expected, Jimin and Jungkook whine in chorus, vocally expressing their petulance towards Soomin’s ‘vloggering’. 

“Hey! For all you know, you two might even bring more subscribers when I put you two as my thumbnail!” 

“I’m shy…” Jimin argues as he poorly covers his face with his small ID, yet continues to peek through the small gap between the card and the lanyard. 

Soomin rolls her eyes at their childishness and records her food first, praising how surprisingly appetizing the hospital food is. She proceeds to pan the camera towards you as you say hi for the second time today. As Soomin moves onto Jimin, he instantly puts his ID down and waves at the camera sporting a cute smile. “Everyone, this is what ‘camera shy’ looks like nowadays.” 

On the other hand, Jungkook, shameless as ever, pretends to not pay any regard to the camera but he decides to chew on his food with much suave, jaw tightening with every bite of the beef. Soomin calls on Jungkook to say hi, to which he responds by introducing himself and punctuating his statement with a flirty wink. 

For some reason, you feel your stomach drop at the action, causing you to look away momentarily while Soomin instantaneously switches back to her front camera, “Okay, everyone, let’s just pretend these two weren’t flirting with the camera just now.” Soomin shakes her head at the two, deciding that was enough content about lunch at the hospital cafeteria. 

“Shame the camera couldn’t handle it,” Jimin says, pouting as he places a hand over his chest. 

“Maybe it was the lady behind the camera that couldn’t,” adds Jungkook who continues to wink, alternating both his eyes before making a weird face. 

“Okay Jeon. I think that’s enough winking for today.” 

Jungkook wouldn’t stop though and Soomin finally looks at you for help, “Diagnosis: winkitis, ophthalmologist recommends immediate enucleation.”

“Of course! How could I forget? A wink for this young lady over here too.” Jungkook turns to you now but you simply squint your eyes at him as you fake choking on thin air, “I think I might have lost my appetite altogether.” 

As the three of you head back to the locker rooms to retrieve your stuff before going to the surgery department, another hospital staff stops briefly on their way to greet Soomin. It’s the third time in ten minutes and you’re starting to think Soomin knows not just ‘someone’ from the hospital. Strangely enough, they all seemed like they came from different departments too. This particular person must be of high authority or someone really famous to have people greet her as often as this. 

When you round the corner, at the end of the corridor is a lady in formal attire, sporting the same ID as yours  and it’s Soomin who approaches this person this time. As she pulls the person aside, she urges the three of you to go ahead, telling you she’ll catch up in a moment, leaving you sandwiched between Jimin and Jungkook who tower over you easily. 

“Jimin, do you happen to know who it is exactly she knows here?” 

The blond shakes his head no. “She’s never mentioned anybody in particular...all I know too is that she knows somebody here.” 

“Some relatives perhaps? Maybe she’s a family member of a renowned doctor here?” 

“How about her Youtube channel? Maybe she’s famous then? How many followers does she have?” 

You quickly tap on Youtube on your phone with Jungkook’s prodding, looking up her channel on the app. “It says here she’s got quite the following actually... “ you tilt the screen for them to see, “six thousand followers…” 

“That can’t be it. The second one who greeted her was at least in his mid-fifties...Boomers couldn’t have possibly been following...what does she vlog about again? Um… a day in the life of a med student…” 

From behind you, you faintly hear a ‘goodbye’ and you clear your throat, alerting the two of Soomin’s return. “What were you guys going on about here?” 

Jungkook chuckles, smoothly making up an alibi as he takes your phone in his hands, “Hope you don’t mind us checking out your channel…” Surely enough, your screen was showing a video of Soomin studying for her finals. 

“As long as you subscribe, it’s fine with me.” She gives you all a thumbs up. “It’s been a while since I posted anything though...Maybe if we get to the on-call room early, maybe I could film a few shots too! Come on!”  Soomin hooks your arm in hers and drags you to the locker rooms, leaving the two boys standing there in the middle of the hallway.

You figure the four of you were the first interns to arrive, as most of the doctors lounging around were either in their scrubs or heading out for lunch. “Soomin,” Jungkook seemingly deep in thought, taps the girl’s shoulder. 

“Hmm?” 

“Remember when you bumped into me on the day of our graduation...you were with someone right? Um...Jung...Ho...I can’t quite remember his name…” 

“Oh you mean Jung Hoseok? He’s my cousin.” 

As Jungkook opens his mouth to reply, someone calls Soomin from the other side of the room. “Soomin! You’re here!” You spot the surgeons you’ve met during the hospital tour earlier this morning - Dr. Min Yoongi, Dr. Kim Seokjin, and Dr. Kim Namjoon. You all bow promptly as soon as they stand up. 

“I didn’t really have that much of a choice,” Soomin grumbles as she gets squished with each of the doctors’ hugs. “Come on! You’re saying that as if Woocheon isn’t any good at all!” 

The three of you stand awkwardly in the corner while Soomin and the other doctors mingle with each other. You nudge Jungkook’s elbow, “Hey what’s with Soomin’s cous--?” 

“Oh right! These are my friends - ________, Park Jimin, and Jeon Jungkook.  We’re all under your care now.” The three doctors call you over, extending their arms out for a handshake, “Ready to lose your social life?” Dr. Min asks, his bright tone contrasting his drift. 

“It’s an honor to meet you Dr. Min, Dr. Kim, and Dr. Kim.” You bow curtly. “Oh doctor? It's too much! Call us sunbae instead. Oppa is cool too when we’re not working.” Dr. Seokjin’s handshake lingers a little longer than usual and you feel your cheeks start to heat up. “Besides, I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time.” 

Yoongi visibly grimaces at Seokjin’s words, while Namjoon covers his face with his hands, mumbling, “Hyung.... For the love of god, please make sure the patients never ever hear that…” 

Namjoon’s reaction elicits laughter from the whole group, but someone’s laugh stands out above all and it’s coming from the other side of the door. Soomin seems to recognize the voice instantly. “He’s here!” 

“Soooommmiiiiiinnn!!!” A loud voice echoes throughout the room. He hugs Soomin briefly, and addresses the rest of you. “Wassup bros?” The newcomer gives each of the surgeons a dap in greeting then turns to greet you three. 

“The whole gang's here!” He says, rubbing his chin, “Let me guess...Jeon Jungkook, _________, and Park Jimin, right?” 

Eyes wide in surprise, you nod slowly. “Soomin here has told me all about you!” Soomin is behind the man, drawing a hand across her throat. “My name’s Jung Hoseok, by the way. Nice to finally meet you all.” 

“He’s the next chairman of the Woocheon Medical City,” Seokjin whispers as he winks in your direction. Hoseok elbows him in the ribs. “No I’m not.” 

“Ah yes. Correction. Not yet.” Seokjin mumbles, massaging his sides. You, Jimin, and Jungkook look at each other with knowing gazes. So that’s the ‘someone’ Soomin knows. 

Woocheon ought to be...interesting.

© joontier 2021

#jungkook x reader #btswritingcafe #bangtanarmynet #btsghostie #jeon jungkook #bts aus #bts fic #jeon jungkook x reader #jungkook fluff #doctors au