#Apple's Notebook Sh | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

soulwillower · 4 years

Text

if you’re too shy • richie tozier

(richie tozier x cam girl!reader smut)

[based off the song if you’re too shy (let me know) by the 1975.]

requested: i can't find it lol BUT 🤍anon (i think) requested a fic based off of the 1975′s new song, if you’re too shy let me know !!

warnings: swearing, alcohol use, switch!richie kinda, smut, unprotected sex, a tiny bit of cumplay i guess, mentions of phone sex, oral sex (female receiving), face sitting, a bit of dirty talking, UNEDITED as always

also i wrote this in a different style than usual and idk if i like it much but u can let me know what u guys think,, if its weird i can go in and change the povs since its 3rd person richie

[losers + reader are 21+ in this.]

7.4k words lol

♡

i see her online all the time i'm trying not to stare down there while she talks about her tough time

"h-hey, man, who's that?" the voice from right next to richie makes him damn near leap out of his seat. it makes beverly chuckle a bit as she takes a bite of her apple, shaking her head. "it’s nobody." richie says quickly as he tilts his phone towards his chest and shoots a toothy grin to bill. his friend raises his full eyebrows, "wh-what, so n-nobody was sending you n-nudes?"

"something like that." richie mutters, stomach fluttering as the image flashes in his mind’s eye - the curves, the dark red lace, the plush skin painting a perfect scene in richie’s vivid imagination.

richie looks back down at the photo. his his thumbs hover over the profile picture; he'd found her originally on his instagram explore page, the photos teasing and immediately he had to know more. y/n.

and then a few days later, he'd subscribed to her only fans, which he never quite thought he'd do with anyone, but he couldn't help it. she was so enticing, so perfect and so alluring. it was the playfulness that pulled him in; and he swears he's never lusted after somebody like he has with her. it was kind of starting to freak him out.

"is that o-onlyfans?" bill says and richie shoves bill's nosy face off his shoulder with a panicked grunt. "fuck off, mushmouth."

bill laughs and stan and bev perk up from across the table, staring at the two, interests suddenly piqued. "did you subscribe to a girl's onlyfans, rich?" stan says with a grin, setting his pen down on his notebook.

richie just smirks and wiggles his brows a bit, enough to confirm his question. bill chuckles from next to richie.

"let me see." bev says, wiggling her manicured nails in a "gimme" motion. richie hands his phone over with red cheeks. normally he wouldn't care about his friends discovering he's paid money just to see a hot chick's bod, but this was different. for some reason, he felt connected to her. god, that thought made him want to slam his head against a brick wall. she doesn't even know him, for all he knows she could live in the middle of.... montana, or like, ohio.

bev whistles and stan nods, "if i looked like that," bev mumbles as she tosses richie's phone back towards him, "i'd do that too. mad props."

noises of agreement fill the table but richie's just looking at the small smirk that peeks from the corner of one of the photos and he can't help but wonder what her eyes are like in real life. he wishes he could meet her.

girl of your dreams, you know what i mean there's something 'bout her stare that makes you nervous and you say things that you don't mean

it's a cold day when bill and richie find themselves stumbling in to the coffee shop for a drink. bill's muttering about some girl in his creative writing class that gave him head when richie's eyes catch a figure so familiar yet foreign that he stops dead in his tracks. bill turns to him, face confused. "r-richie, what's wrong w-with you?"

richie shakes his head, stammering in disbelief, "that-that's her, bill. the girl, from onlyfans. y/n." he whispers, gesturing with his eyes towards the girl working the register.

bill’s jaw goes slack, green eyes raking over her form and igniting richie’s stomach with boiling rage. as if bill’s doing something that only richie is allowed to do – as if they're not both being total creeps.

“h-holy sh-shit. she’s b-beautiful.” bill mumbles. richie elbows him in the ribs, shooting him a glare that prompts an eye-roll from his auburn haired friend.

richie swallows and watches, his throat feeling like sandpaper as she laughs at something the customer in front of them said. bill nudges richie, "i-i'm gonna get a s-seat. t-talk to her."

he winks and grins as he walks away, leaving richie with his reckless self. he thinks he's sweating through his sweater as he walks up, finding himself face-to-face with her. "hi, how can i help you?" she asks, giving him a smile

holyshitholyshitholyshit.

he might've just came right then and there. okay, he's gotta say something cool, something smooth. don't be a dumbass, tozier.

"howdy, sugar. i'll have my coffee like i like my women." his mouth blurts as his brain sirens go off, PUT ON THE BRAKES, RICH – "a hot shock to the lap.”

she glares at him, cheeks light pink and eyebrows pulled together in annoyance and yep, richie's probably going to get hard because of that look but he's also probably going to toss his body off a bridge because what the fuck, tozier?

he can hear bill laughing quietly from a ways away and he quickly shakes his head, muttering quietly, "jail. jail, richard."

"funny." she deadpans, clearly not amused. because of course she isn't.

"sorry, i'll have a black coffee, y/n." he mutters, eyes widening to himself when he realizes she was not wearing a goddamn name tag and he just said her name.

this is a disaster. she gives him a bewildered, slightly creeped out look and if richie wasn't panicking, he'd gape at how she still managed to be effortlessly gorgeous even now.

he sighs, shaking his head, the door of the cafe opening and blowing a gust of frigid air through the warm room. fitting - douche chill.

"look, toots, i don't want this to be weird. i- um, i recognize you." he says, cheeks aflame. she raises a brow, face straight for a few moments, unsure what he means.

it's not long after when recognition flashes over her own face - must have ruled out coffee shop, university and her local gym - and she nods with a tight, almost uncomfortable smile.

he tries not to think of the livestream he watched last night where she showed all her new gifts and modeled lingerie, and how he’d spent his time to himself with his left hand immediately after watching. his cheeks are red with shame.

"okay." is all she says, writing down a scribbled order on the coffee cup. her eyes shoot back up and give richie a once-over that really makes his fingers itch - god, why did he have to be this way?

he almost runs his fingers through his curls but decides against it, eyes opting to focus on her own gorgeous eyes as they meet him. "i'm impressed i have a fan who looks like you, i must say. even if you are a complete jack ass." she purrs and his jaw nearly smacks the floor at its velocity as it flies open.

"what's that supposed to mean?" he asks then with a small grin, flattered at the tiniest of compliments that just barely, in his mind, eclipsed the insult that he so very much deserved.

"i'm saying you're kind of a dick. it's too bad, because you're real cute." she says casually, handing him his change. his stomach flips and butterflies release in his chest, a feeling that he's not felt in almost five years.

but damn, of course he messed up - he got the chance to talk to the hottest girl on earth and he started it by saying an awful joke that wasn't funny at all. of course she though he was a dick, he is one.

he's shocked, though, as he waits for his coffee with bill, who is still snickering into his hand every few moments, to find his coffee cup with extra sharpie scribbled on the white paper. a name.

y/n. and below it is a phone number with a small heart scribbled, and richie can't tell if it's a seven or a one but he figures he'd try every phone number in the damn state if it meant he could fucking text her. holy fuck.

"maybe i would like you better if you took off your clothes i'm not playing with you, baby i think that you should give it a go" she said, "maybe i would like you better if you took off your clothes i wanna see, and stop thinking if you're too shy, then let me too shy, then let me know"

he didn't text her for two days and three hours. yes, he counted it. no, he won't think about why he was obsessing over the numbers - but since the time he'd finally had found the courage to text her today, things have escalated proficiently.

she'd just mentioned how hot it was in her apartment since her heater had gone haywire - even though the winter winds were cold, she'd claimed she was burning up in what she was wearing.

and the mere mention of her clothing had sent richie into somewhat of a spiral, spending at least seven minutes glued to his phone and scrolling through the saved album he had of those photos of her that she'd posted; his sweatpants getting increasingly tight and his palm suddenly aching to slip through the fabric and find some release.

but, in true trashmouth fashion, he apparently needed that sweet, sweet rejection from a hot cam girl he'd somehow weaseled into getting the number of in order to wank off properly, so he types out a text and hits send immediately.

what are you wearing?

and then he almost vomits in embarrassment – what was she going to think? did he just royally fuck up? oh god, he’s going to have to shave his head and move to canada.

his phone buzzes and he nearly passes out when he lays his eyes upon the image attached – there her body is again, curvy and full and beautiful, her skin glowing in the fading light of what he assumes is her bedroom. and with it:

this. what are you wearing, rich?

and then he pulls his gaze from his phone and stands, breathing heavily because holy shit.

he's gotten nudes before, but.... none from someone like her. holy shit.

he walks to his bathroom, splashing water on his beet-red cheeks. he swallows, staring at himself in the mirror. fuck.

he slaps his cheek once, then winking at himself in attempt to muster any sliver of confidence. and then he snaps a picture, only in his boxers.

and then he has to physically refrain from making a joke about wearing the same lingerie set as her, instead sending a flirty text that he knows any other woman would blush at. he just doesn’t know with y/n, and maybe that’s why he loves it so much. she's keeping him on his toes.

you like what you see?

he sends that one afterwards, shaking his head because oh my god, she's going to respond with "no" and then bill him $40 for the nude she sent him. not that he wouldn't pay, but...

his phone dings and he nearly breaks an ankle running to his desk.

yeah, i do. but maybe i'd like you better without any clothes on.

he almost yells out loud at this, but he has a feeling that waking up stan in the middle of the night would not be optimal after their 'roommate agreement' they'd made that explicitly states richie cannot scream between 1am - 9am. so instead he smirks to himself, face turning red.

he's getting harder by the moment, and as he stares at that picture she'd sent earlier, he lets out a breathy groan. the lace....

we could face time yk

or we don't have to.

he reads her words in live time, watching the thought bubble appear again and watching it like a hawk. he can just imagine her sitting there with a small smirk as another text comes in and he almost groans as his dick twitches.

like, if you're too shy or something ;)

he stares at the screen for two seconds at that sinful photo she'd sent just before those texts and then sighs, shaking his head and pressing the green face-time call button.

i've been wearing nothing every time i call you and i'm starting to feel weird about it sometimes it's better if you think about it this time, i think i'm gonna drink through it

three days later, richie was undeniably and unequivocally drunk. but, as he's just explained about three times to mike, he knows that it is just easier to not think right, especially about her, right now - and the best way to do that is by getting so piss drunk that even if he tried to "hit her line," as he so eloquently put it, his dick would be too whiskey'd out to make a full appearance.

it's for the best. mike had fake gagged at richie’s cadence with a laugh, but richie was dead serious because he was starting to think he had a real issue.

it was obviously just a fun thing to do between two near-strangers, but he'd found that he was starting to almost pavlov-style condition himself into getting turned on every time the name y/n came across his recent texts or face times, and it was getting to be too much.

especially when her post notification popped up and he cracked a fatty in the middle of his econ lecture. christ, the point of elasticity of markers in the u.s. was not something he pictured when he usually had to quell a pitch in his tent. so yeah, it's too much.

because yes, he loves her fucking body and wants nothing more than her, but in truth he longs for the feeling of her skin against his; to touch her, to kiss her, to make her his. all the time.

but yet, it was just a good way to get off without all the strings and ribbons and yarn and whatever the fuck her soft-looking knit bra is made from attached.

so much for not thinking about her.

but i see her online (and don't think that i should be calling) all the time (i just wanted a happy ending) and i'm pretending i don't care about her stare while she's giving me a tough time

it’s noon the next day and he's laying in (for some reason) stan's bed instead of his own with a blinding, mind-splitting headache and an insatiable craving for a cheeseburger, eyes squinting in lust and something akin to shame as he watches the livestream y/n had just started. she’s in a slip – a very thin, silk and see through slip and it makes him more frustrated than he’s willing to admit.

as he stares at her smooth skin and wonders how it'd be to touch it all, her eyes catch something in the chat and she smiles coyly. "hi, rich." she purrs and richie almost chokes - holy shit, she saw him join.

"do you like my gift i just got?" she asks coyly, snapping the straps of her bra with a small smile and he stiffens almost instantly, thinking of how many times he'd seen her skin in videos and photos that were just for him.

how she'd moaned his name two nights ago on face time, her fingers buried inside herself slightly off-camera. and oh, how he wishes he could see all of her, but they'd not crossed that line yet - anything they'd done hadn't been yet proven visually, only from facial expressions, noises, and the brutal honestly of being together through face time.

he wants her so fucking bad, he needs her like he needs water to drink and air to breathe and it's murdering him as he watches her react to the chat of her livestream, playing with the hem of her black lace panties.

god, he needs a cold shower or something if he's going to get anything done today.

and then he's calling her an a few hours after her stream ends because he just can't wait - he feels his stomach twist with shame as he realizes he should not be doing such a certainly a terrible idea. but she answers after three rings. "richie." her siren voice purrs and he literally feels himself fall deeper into the pit.

"hi there, toots. got any coffee in the pot for me?" he asks, sounding surprisingly eloquent compared to how she normally makes him feel.

she hums in fake thought, and it makes richie grin. she's fucking adorable. "come to the shop, i have my break in ten." and then she hangs up. he sighs, rubbing his face with his hand as he shakes his head. he's utterly fucked.

he's there in record time, a smirk plastered on his face as he walks in and sees her sitting at a table, lookin' all pretty. just for him.

"what made you think of calling?" she says in loo of a greeting. he sits across from her and wills his eyes to meet hers. "nothin' toots." he says with a half shrug, taking a sip of the coffee placed in front of him that has the the name 'dick' written on it in her handwriting. he rolls his eyes affectionately.

"oh, so it wasn't anything to do with my livestream this morning?" she asks with a look, eyeing him. her eyes are swimmable, they hold so many stories and secrets and maybe richie's just hungover, but he's feeling very flustered.

"we-w, uh, no. what... what are you talking about?" he rolls his eyes at himself inwardly, cursing stuttering bill and his contagious speech patterns. "-i don't know what you're talking about, sugar." he recovers fairly smoothly, if he may toot his own horn. and honestly, he can pretend not to care as long as he doesn't look into that goddamn stare of hers.

he chuckles awkwardly, cheeks aflame as she stares at him with a bored look and a small hum. she still looks perfect and he's even more nervous now, because oh god, oh fuck, he's gonna get slapped in the face by y/n.

it was pretty unspoken since they'd started doing... stuff... that richie probably still watched her content online, but she'd never fully addressed it until today during the livestream in front of a thousand others.

he's choking on his spit in shame but then a smile splits her face and richie's sure he's suffocated on his own saliva and gone to a sinner's heaven. or maybe hell.

"oh, richie, i'm just teasing you. look at your face!" she says with an airy laugh, pinching his cheeks and making him want to shrivel up as he turns even redder. what the fuck? "-so cute. alright, i've got to get back to work. i'll see you around, rich." she says with a wink, taking her coffee and tossing it into the trash bin as she stalks towards the employee back room.

he gapes as he watches her leave and then gets up and makes his way to the exit, clutching the coffee like it was trying to jump out of his grasp and make a run for it. god, she's too much.

"maybe i would like you better if you took off your clothes i'm not playing with you, baby i think that you should give it a go" she said, "maybe i would like you better if you took off your clothes i wanna see, and stop thinking If you're too shy, then let me too shy, then let me know"

"-babe, you'll have to try harder than that." richie says with a chuckle, watching his phone screen as the beautiful girl on face time gives him a sly, challenging look. she's in a green lace bra, one richie's not seen yet and he can feel himself stiffen as she absently trails her fingers over her chest.

they'd been much closer over the last week since he last saw her in person, enough so that in the three-is weeks of knowing her, he's positive he's head over ass for her in a way that he shouldn't be. and yet, she still comes back every time, still texts him and answers those face time calls. he's baffled, honestly.

"i know you hate me because i'm right." he adds, not even totally remembering what point he's trying to prove as y/n shifts back a bit and more of her body is revealed, her hair glowing dimly in the soft lighting of her room. his eyes run over her curves, her full thighs and stomach and hips that fill over her panties and he almost groans.

"whatever, maybe i'd like you better if you took off your clothes." she says coyly. and richie's half flattered, as usual, but the more he thinks of it the more deflated he feels. he kind of thought they were growing something more than just getting each other off over face time like horny fifteen year olds. he grins nonetheless.

"you say that a lot, you know." richie says breathlessly as he stares at her. she tilts her head ever so slightly and grins, biting her lip as her eyes move around her screen with a conflicted look. "-why?" he adds.

she hums again.

"well. okay, so there's the visual world - like, the internet, onlyfans, instagram- it tells us that everything is amazing. and we should want everything. and it makes us yearn for everything that we don’t have and everything that’s unobtainable. you know, love, a relationship beyond physical. and even physical, it's different when it's online."

her words confuse him much more than they aid him. "you think... that because of the internet, love is unattainable?" he asks with furrowed brows, unsure how somebody so perfect and, quite frankly, lovable, would think that.

"it is for me." she says it with a small sense of forlorning but mostly it's whispered. enough that richie's heart skips a beat and he's, for the first time, not having a hard time keeping his eyes on her face instead of her body.

"what?" he asks dumbly. she just laughs, shaking her head and he stares at her on his tiny phone screen in the dark.

"that’s something that, you know. in real life, person to person, it has a lot of connotations of... trust and vulnerability and connection. doing what i do- and what we're doing… on the internet - it has the opposite of those connotations. like, before you, i didn't- i didn't really do this, i just was selling stuff. because guys don't want to fuck the girl who sells her body online. and you know now, i want to..." she trails off and richie doesn't dare interrupt her because he thinks she's about to say something he's wanted to tell her for a while now.

"i don't know, i guess. exploring someone's body in physical presence isn't seen at all as voyeuristic, or anything apart from...like, an intimate exchange." she says it casually, brushing hair from her face and shit, richie's swooning. he's in fucking love, he knows it, because y/n is so smart and intelligent and he's so fucking trashed for her. as she speaks, her hands move and distract him slightly from her body, doused in blue light from the screen and splayed out for him and only him on her phone camera.

the soft lace on her hips and chest make his body stiffen and it causes him to suppress a groan as she sighs, but richie knows he can’t screenshot this heavenly sight because she’ll definitely notice and she can probably already tell he’s having a hard time not staring at her alluring figure as she talks.

"-whereas, you know. as soon as it happens on the internet, it becomes kinky and cam-girly. and, you know, that's fine. i love doing it. it's just, i'm not sure where the authentic communication even is now. or if i get to have a happy ending." she says and he finally sees her blush for the first time.

he wishes he was there with her, he wishes that he could touch the redness on her cheeks and caress her curvy body and taste her skin on his tongue. he wants to feel himself inside her, he wants to be with her and kiss her lips and yet he can't, so he sighs and shifts in his position, moving to turn up the brightness of his phone so he can see better.

"shouldn't you get to be the one to decide that, doll?" is all he adds. because he feels kind of lost and just as confused as y/n is with this.

he's starting to feel weird about it, because... is this authentic? what makes things like hookups or whatever the hell they've been doing authentic? shouldn't this be easy? it's just phone sex, phone sex with a really hot girl.

a girl who is complex and alive and full of sincerity and richie is definitely falling harder than he should.

she just sighs but makes no other comment. and then they just stare at each other, richie's face illuminated in his dark room by the phone's reflection.

well, i found a motel it looked like the bins i think there'd been a murder so we couldn't get in i need to get back i've gotta see the girl on the screen

"come over and watch a movie with me." he says into the phone, biting his lip. the silence from the other end of the line is deafening as she makes her decision, because they both know she's not about to come over just to watch the shining or psycho.

they've never done that before, and richie knows if she does come over, then whatever they have will crash down in a fiery mess. and he hates how excited that makes him as he waits in silence for her to drop the ball. so to speak.

"okay." she says, sounding shocked herself, and richie can't contain the excited grin from eclipsing his face. "yeah?" he asks breathlessly, and she's quiet for a little longer. "yeah. text me your address."

she hangs up after that, and richie's thumbs shake as he types his address and sprints out to where stan, mike, ben, and bill are playing video games in he and stan's living room, wheezing at all of them to get out because someone fucking unbelievable is about to walk through that door.

she's there about an hour later, cheeks flushed when richie opens his door, looking just as nervous and flustered. "hi, chee." she says breathlessly, staring up at him with those goddamn eyes, the eyes that pulled him in the first time. his stomach flips in affection at her nickname and he offers her a drink as she takes in his shitty apartment. he wonders briefly if stan ended up buying that rosé that he'd given him shit for considering, and then prays that stan will stay the night elsewhere.

she's already pouring out glasses of wine when he snaps back to reality, and he grins at her, mumbling in thanks as she passes him a glass that's certainly poured almost to the brim.

"what are we watching, then?" she asks coyly, lifting a brow at him. his cheeks are red, but he tugs her arm down the hall towards his room with a grin, their wine sloshing from their glasses as they move erratically.

"we're watching psycho, y/n/n." he says as he pulls her into his room, glancing back to see she's already swallowed down almost half her glass, a lipstick stain on the side of it. faintly he knows stan will be frustrated if richie doesn't clean that off, but he's more distracted by her lips.

"i like psycho." she says with a nod and a cheeky grin, "the whole 'voyeuristic gaze' thing with hitchcock." she mumbles, and richie recalls faintly learning about that in one of his film classes freshman year and he grins as he takes a hefty gulp of his rosé, figuring he's already given himself away and if she's going to do that, he can too.

he hums, setting down his glass and grabbing hers to set it besides his on the bedside table. he turns around, intending on grabbing his laptop so they could watch the film, but she's so much closer that he'd expected and her hands fall onto his shoulders and he almost shits himself.

unpleasant, but honest. just richie's style.

"can i try something?" she asks with a grin, and richie nods, knowing that she could do anything to him and he'd gladly let it happen and most likely pay out of pocket for the damages afterwards.

and then she's pulling him from her grip on his shoulders, her lips sliding against his and making him grip her hips. his mind almost explodes at with y/n-sensory-overload because he feels her everywhere - on his lips, against his hands, on his shoulders, and pressing against his front.

her lips taste like chamomile and rosé.

she thinks his lips taste like vanilla and cigarette smoke, just as she'd always imagined. he feels so real, pressed against her lips and his body against hers, and she sighs as her tongue slips into his mouth because god, she's needed him for so long. and now she has him.

his hands move, touching every inch of her as their tongues fight for dominance. she pulls back, smirking as she gently pushes him onto his mattress, sliding onto his lap smoothly afterwards, grinding her hips against his slowly.

the moan he emits is heavenly and she could cry because she finally gets to hear it in person and not through the crackling static frequency of the phone.

so she grinds down on him again, eager to feel all of him. he's hardening against her core and she whimpers into his mouth in need as his fingers slip under her top, rubbing circles on her bare skin and making her shiver. she's noticed to this gentleness; it was rare when she did get to enjoy the comfort of another body with her own, and when she did they were hardly half as loving or caring as him.

she's desperate now, she needs to feel him inside her after all these weeks of teasing and waiting, so her hand snakes down to palm him through his sweats. he lets out a small groan into her mouth, biting her lip as he pulls back slightly. their eyes meet and his are hooded with lust, lips parted as she pumps him slowly from outside his sweats. his hips buck up lightly into her palm and she smiles gently, kissing him slowly.

"let me make you feel good, y/n." he mutters, eyes pleading as he stares up at her. her stomach flutters with butterflies and she nods, shocked that he wants to pleasure her.

he gently pulls her off his lap until she's laying on his mattress and he stares down at her, biting his lip as he takes her in. he can't fucking believe she's really here. she slowly pulls off her top, leaving her in her bra and jeans as she stares up at him with a wry, seductive smile. then she unzips her jeans and slides them off, leaving her in his favorite set of hers - black, lacy, and revealing. she looks utterly stunning and he groans, his hands falling to run over the skin, tracing the lace on her breasts. her cheeks are red as she gazes up at him.

"touch me, richie." she orders and he almost groans as he drags his lips over the valley of her breasts, sucking on the soft flesh and admiring the splashes of budding purple and pink that he's created. her heartbeat is quick under his fingertips and he moves to unclip her bra, kissing her skin as the fabric falls away.

she's slightly cold in his room, and goosebumps appear over her flesh as richie leans to catch a nipple in her mouth, flicking his tongue over the sensitive bud. she lets out a quiet whine that has richie rutting into the mattress next to her, his fingers trailing down to dance at the waistline of her underwear.

and then he's pulling aside her panties, his fingers running up and down her slick folds and making her jump in lust. he can't wait, just like her, and he's rubbing her clit teasingly as she pleads, "chee, please." her eyes are eyes closed in bliss as his finger slips inside her, crooking slightly as he moves it. he presses his lips to the skin of her breast, pumping his finger and then soon adding another, crooking them both in a way that makes her let out guttural moans of pleasure. he marks her breasts with littered pink and red marks, smiling to himself at her figure.

she can't help but swoon as she watches him, his hair in his face slightly until she brushes it back, his fingers curling inside her and making her gasp, pleasure coursing through her body. his thumb softly comes up to rub her neglected clit and she grabs his shoulders to steady herself, the pleasure almost too much.

she's honestly slightly shocked - knowing richie as little as she really does outside of the literal booty calls at two in the morning and the accumulative forty five minutes they'd spent in person, she'd expected him to be... well, good. just good. because there's no way someone so funny, caring, and smart could also be that good in the sheets.

but right now, he's making her see goddamn stars.

"i've been wanting to touch you for so long, sugar." he mutters, eyes raking over her figure as her breath comes in stuttering gasps. she watches him with blown-wide eyes as his demeanor changes right before her, making her fall apart at his fingertips.

"that feel good, honey?" he asks, smirking as she whimpers, clenching around his fingers. "yes, god you feel so good." she utters, making him groan in approval from where he's sat back, watching her face contort in pleasure. she lets out another moan and richie stares at her body, watching his fingers as they fuck into her. he can't take it, then.

"will you sit on my face, doll?" he blurts, and she nearly yelps out as his fingers leave her. it's abrupt, but she's started to notice that this is how he operates - impulsivity is his second nature. and she loves it.

her face burns as she nods, the thought of richie under her making her whimper with anticipation. "yes, richie, please." she moans out again and he's grinning, laying back on the mattress with a wink. "c'mere, need to taste that pretty little pussy." he mutters and she feels herself clench around nothing, desperate for him as she swings a leg around to straddle his head.

immediately, his hands wrap around her thighs, thumbs smoothing over her stretch marks as he stares up at her, eyes glinting with desire. slowly, his finger pulls the seat of her lace panties to the side and his breath hits her bare, throbbing pussy, making her breath hitch. she cards her fingers through his hair and lowers herself slightly, gasping in shock as his tongue darts out to lick a bold stripe up from her entrance to her clit.

"chee," she moans out, tightening her grip in his hair and sending a groan through his body that reverberates and makes her shiver. his lips attach to her clit and fiery pleasure snakes through her body making her legs shake, a moan escaping her lips immediately. he sucks lightly before releasing to swirl his tongue, her moans making richie impossibly harder through his sweats.

"so good, rich." she mutters and he groans, tongue spreading her wet folds and slowly prodding at her entrance, dipping in slowly before pulling out, teasing her.

she can't help but grind down slightly, making richie grip her tightly, tongue sliding into her again and making her yelp. "you taste so good, baby." he mutters lowly before slowly reattaching himself to her heat, her eyes rolling slightly at the sensation as he fucks his tongue into her. one of his hands snakes up to her ass, gripping it tightly and then slapping it, the stinging pleasure making her buck her hips against him, emitting a hiss from her.

"rich, i-" she cuts herself off with a sharp gasp, the pleasure from richie's mouth making it increasingly harder to speak. her toes curl and her head tilts back as his tongue flicks over her clit, teeth grazing it slightly and making her buck.

she's embarrassingly close already, and judging by the way richie's smirking under her, he can tell. "please, please." she mutters, hips rocking on him as his tongue swirls, nipping softly at her clit and making her cry out. "please, make me cum, 'chee." she mutters and his tongue moves quicker, hand slapping her ass again.

and then she's clenching her thighs on either side of him and grinding down as she hits her peak, moaning quietly as she shakes in pleasure on top of him. he rides through her high, lapping at her and pulling away with a grin as she moans his name dejectedly. she's worn out from the best orgasm she's ever had and he gently nudges her so he slides in between her thighs, her back now on the mattress. he kisses her cheek and she keens quietly.

"fuck me, richie." she mutters, eyes still closed. his eyes snap to hers, surprised at the dominance in her voice after how she was two seconds ago.

he moans quietly, kissing her deeply as he ruts against her and relishes in the feeling. he's pulling off his sweats and boxers in record time and then he's pumping himself as he grips her hips, turning her so she's on her stomach, ass propped up slightly. his hand runs over the smooth skin of her ass, snapping the elastic of her panties and making her moan quietly.

then he's lining up her hips with his, pulling aside the lacy seat of her underwear to press against her entrance. he waits a moment as he leans to press a soft kiss to her spine, slowly easing into her. she moans loudly as he eases in, her face pressing against the pillows. she smiles as she smells the scent she'd just recently come to know as his, his cock stretching her and filling her up fully as he buries himself to the hilt inside her.

"so tight, sugar." he mutters and she whimpers, getting antsy as she adjusts to his size. "richie, please, need it so bad." she mutters, bucking her hips back against him in need.

"say that again." he mutters, sounding strangled, and she grins into the sheets. "please fuck me, richie. need it so bad, need to feel you ruin me." she whimpers, chest fluttering in anticipation. his hands grip her hips as he pulls out of her slowly, almost as slowly as he entered, before stopping almost all the way out. she moans loudly in pleasure as he pushes back in, snapping his hips against hers and filling her completely.

she briefly thanks god that his roommate seemed to be out for the night as she moans his name loud enough for the neighbors to hear.

he sets a brutal pace, his cock thick as it fills her up and makes her toes curl. he pushes her hair away from her neck and presses kisses to it as he hits a spot inside her that makes her scream his name. his fingers move to pinch her nipples, rolling them as he fucks into her.

she's completely blissed out at the feeling of him inside her, so glad that he invited her over and that they finally get to touch each other. "rich, oh my god." she emits, eyes squinted shut in complete pleasure.

"fuck, toots, takin' me so well, aren't you?" he asks, hands kneading her ass before slapping her right ass cheek harshly, making her arch her back. at the new angle they both let out a groan and richie knows he'll fucking cum too soon if they stay like this, so without warning he pulls out completely.

y/n whines, breathing heavily as his hands come to flip her around. now on her back, they make eye contact and she bites her lip, pulling him in for a searing kiss that knocks the wind out of both of them. images of richie in his room alone, snaps and late-night face times play through her mind as he grips her and slides her hips down towards him on the mattress and lines himself to her again, pulling her legs up so they're against his chest before pushing in.

he gives no time to adjust to this angle and it makes her moan loudly as he hits a spot deep inside her that pulls her closer and closer to her second orgasm.

his name leaves her cherry lips like a mantra and he can't stop staring at her as he fucks her into the mattress - the way her tits bounce with his brutal pace, the way her face is twisted in pleasure, the way she clenches and spasms around his cock.

one hand grips her breast, rubbing her nipple with his thumb and forefinger as he kisses her again, addicted to her taste as he feels himself coming closer and closer to the edge.

"chee, fuck, right there." she moans out and he groans in pleasure, the feeling of her walls clenching around him making his hips stutter. he keeps his thrusts up, though, as her fingernails rake down his back leaving small trails of burning pleasure in their wake.

her skin is covered with a sheen line of sweat as she looks up at him, hair wild and lips kiss-bruised. "god, don't stop, 'm gonna cum." she mutters and he snaps his hips harder, eager to make her cum so hard all she can think of is his name.

he moves a hand down to rub at her clit and he moans into her neck as she clenches hard around him, her hips bucking spastically. he can tell she's about to cum, and after a hard thrust, she does for the second time, spasming around him and sending waves of pleasure up his body. she's moaning his name, pulling him closer in bliss as she becomes sensitive and god damn it, she's so fucking beautiful.

"please cum, richie." she whispers against his lips, "please." and then at her will, he's spilling into her, hips stuttering as he pushes as deep into her as he can, loving how she clenches in sensitivity around him. he stays inside her for a moment as they breathe, coming down from their highs and eyes closed as they take in what just happened.

"holy shit." he says because yeah, that's like all he can say right now because he just got to fuck y/n and she's kissing his fucking collarbones right now and its making him blush and his heart flutter.

"that was...incredible." she whispers against his skin and he can feel her smile against his skin. it makes him feel all soft inside as he pulls out of her and flops next to her, kissing her forehead.

his fingers flutter over her sensitive core, smiling as he sees how wrecked she is, some cum dripping down her leg. he then soothes over the lace panties, patting her lightly and kissing her red cheek.

"rich?" she asks, making him look up at her. he hums in question, pushing some of her hair back. "can we still watch the movie?"

his heart swells and he grins, kissing her softly. "of course, doll. you're too cute." he says with a wink, making her roll her eyes. he hands her his shirt and then pulls sweats on himself, mumbling "stay here" and padding out to the kitchen to get her water and snacks, then returning minutes later to see her holding his phone in her clutch with a smirk.

"what're you doing?" he asks with a smile, but she shakes her head, making grabby hands for him and the snacks. so he laughs, cuddling up with the girl of his dreams and watching a flick, falling sleep with tangled limbs and a lipstick-stained neck.

and after she leaves the next morning with a kiss and a wink, he checks his phone and smirks to himself as he notices the lock screen she'd apparently made last night while he was making snacks.

a photo of her in his bed, wearing his shirt, a soft smirk on her face, neck littered in budding hickeys and a hand between her thighs next to her black lace panties.

god, she's going to be the absolute death of him.

//tag list: @gabiatthedisco @blisshemmings @simplesammyx @dickology64 @clownsloveyou @emnotm @moon-shine-baby @toziershmozier @daughter-of-the-stars11 @lets-vibe-bro @trashedfortozier @oceandog13 @beauregard-s@finnskindofwoman @kait-tozier @upamongthestarss \\

#richie tozier x reader #richie tozier smut #richie has adhd #losers x reader #losers club x reader

302 notes · View notes

surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

Text

Survey #350

“let’s play a love game, play a love game / do you want love, or you want fame? / are you in the game?”

Who was your first good kiss with? Jason. Would you kiss this person again? I know I fucking would and I hate it more than I could possibly express. Name something that is on your bedroom wall? Lots of artwork, mostly of meerkats. What accessory do you want in your bedroom? I need another desk to put stuff on. If you could paint your walls any color what would it be? Something pastel. Maybe like, peach. Soft and warm and would really bring light to the room. What does your phone case look like? It's just this boring purple one that came with the phone. What do you take the most pictures of? My camera roll says my pets, hahaha. What is the point of Twitter for you? Liking Mark's shit lmao. What does your planner look like? I don’t have one. If you get into an argument what is it usually about? My anxiety, I think. What are you always in the mood for? Ummm probably a car ride where I can control the music in the passenger seat. It is very, very rare I'll turn that opportunity down. What’s the last emergency you dealt with? I don't really know; I'm thankfully not in these situations very much, especially when you're cooped up at home. I probably haven't been actually engaged in an emergency since I had to call 911 for my mom before she found out about her cancer. She was basically immobile from agony in her abdomen. Do you have a son? I'm perfectly happy without a son, or kids period. Are you married? No. Have you ever worn a suit? I haven't. Have you ever had to call 911? Twice for Mom. How many keys are on your key-ring? Just one for the house. What’s the last thing you created? An RP post would count as art creation, I'd say. Who are your closest friends? Sara, Girt, and uh... Well, they might be it as far as friends I consider truly close to me. I have a few other people I consider good friends, but we're just not like... on that "close" level, you know? Lisa is maybe another, and Lyndsey perhaps, both WoW friends. Are you ready to have a family? I hate that "have a family" tends to mean get married and have kids, which I'm guessing is what you're implying. If that's the case, no, given I don't want kids and am not fit to get married right now. I'm not even with anyone. I'm content right now with just living with my mom and my two pets, who are children well enough to me. Have you ever taken a DNA test? No. Do you have a family cemetery? No. Would you say you have a high sex drive or not so much? *shrugs* I think it's pretty normal. How do you feel about swallowing pills? What do you mean how do I "feel" about it? I just do it if I need to. What animal is the scariest in your opinion? Some kind of bug, probably. Giant centipedes creep me the fuck out, for one, and I've heard their bite is incredibly painful. I've also always been very afraid of Australia's funnel web spiders since watching some show on Animal Planet when I was younger; I think it scarred me for life, aha. And let's not forget the murder hornets. No thnx, rather die. :') Have you ever questioned your sanity? Way more than once, my friend. How do you feel about people wearing fur coats? Are you for or against it? I am VIOLENTLY against it unless it is for survival in extreme climates and you don't have access to other material. That aside, there is NO way you could possibly convince me that it's okay to wear the fur of something once living on yourself for ~fashion~. What’s the worst thing a friend has either done or said to you? Let's not go here. What’s fake about you? Like extensions, fake nails, botox etc. Nothing. If you got the chance, would you audition for a reality show? No. Have you ever gotten into a Facebook fight? Haha, yeah. Favorite flavor of jelly bean? Probably watermelon or strawberry. I'm not a massive jellybean fan. Do you use Tinder? If yes, have you ever met up with someone you matched? I've never tried it, no. What book/movie has made you cry the hardest? Either The Notebook or Titanic. Something you feared as a kid but don’t anymore? Thunderstorms. What’s your skincare routine? I don't really have one. Just wash it with water in the shower and then use a washcloth when I feel the need. Would you rather have a snake or a tarantula as a pet? I want both, but I prefer snakes. What is something you are NOT looking forward to? I both am and am not looking forward to my second Covid vaccine because it's notoriously worse than the first; the only bright side to it is that after the potential side effects blow over, I'm job hunting. What do you usually do right when you wake up? Check the time on my phone. Would you rather eat your pizza cold or hot? Hot, but I like both. Who taught you how to swim? Dad, I think? Can you do push-ups? No. Do you like Doritos? Yesssss. Who is the closest friend that you live by? I don't know. Have you ever banged your head against something? I've had two concussions before, so, y'know. Have you ever jumped on a trampoline? Yeah, I loved that as a kid. Do you like watching scary movies? Yeah. Has anyone ever told you that you have a big butt? No, considering I have like no ass, rip. Has one of your friends ever tried to "hook you up?" Ugh, yes. Do you prefer landmarks or street names when being given directions? Landmarks, by a mile. Although, I'm super bad with directions, so it probably wouldn't really matter much. Do you read the prologues in the beginnings of books? Yeah, you got to. Does your house have more than one fireplace? No. What was your favourite gym class moment? The one and only thing I liked about gym as a kid was when you took one of those rainbow tarps and made like, an air bubble underneath to make this awesome dome everyone sat in. Ya missed out if you didn't do that. Do you think that ocean boardwalks are fun? Yeah. Do you dread when people ask you to sign their yearbooks? Not at all; I was always flattered, knowing they cared enough to want mine. Apple Jacks: yay or nay? I looove those. Do you have a favorite Scooby-Doo movie? Haha yeah, I think it's the second one? Such iconic scenes. It's the one with the Mary Jane girl that Shaggy liked... oh, jokes that went over your head as a kid. Who were your last 3 Facebook messages from and what do they say? I'm too lazy to list the convos themselves, but the people involved are my friends Chelsea and Ian, as well as a friend's mother. Do you turn your phone off at night when you go to sleep? No. It's always on vibrate, and I just turn the brightness way down. What is the sexual orientation of the last person you talked to? She's straight. What’s your favourite hairstyle on the opposite sex? Don't you fucking dare laugh, emo hair is A++. Has anyone ever played a prank on you? What happened? Not a big one, no. Do you like the Silent Hill movies? Do I?! I love the first one (though for a while I wasn't very happy they swapped the lead role from Harry to his wife), and while the second is literal trash story-wise and it's ALL over the damn place, I still enjoy it with just how much I adore SH as a whole. What movie scared you the most out of any other movies? The Rite, because the concept of being raped and impregnated by a demon is fucking horrifying to me. Have you ever wanted to be on American Idol? When was this? Nah. Name 5 things you don’t believe in. 1.) "Everything happens for a reason;" 2.) karma; 3.) destiny/fate; 4.) psychics, fortune tellers, all that; and 5.) luck, at least in the sense of someone having set "good" or "bad" luck. If you could have any friend that you’ve lost back, who would you pick? Probably Megan. If you have pets, who normally puts food and water in their dish? Me for both of them. Do you organize the pictures on your computer into different folders or are they all just under “My Pictures”? I have folders. Do you think if someone is in a relationship, that it is acceptable to have sleepovers with other people of their preferred sex? Eh, nah, that feels a bit far to me. I am very firmly for friends still being able to hang out even if they're each other's preferred gender, but a sleepover sounds a bit too intimate, even without sharing a bed. Would you shoot a gun if given the chance? If you’ve shot a gun before, how many different types of guns have you shot? No. I'm very intimidated by guns and nearly shook when I merely handed a friend his (not for anything bad, he just carried it with him when he goes out), and I've got noooo plans of holding one again unless my life depends on it. Do you feel uncomfortable sharing things like artwork or poetry you’ve written? Is it because you don’t think it’s good enough to show off or because it’s too personal? You. Have. Zero. Idea. It's for both reasons, and it's far more severe in person. Online, I actually don't mind much, oddly enough... I can't quite pin down why. Do you have any siblings you absolutely despise? Why do you despise them? No. Do knives scare you? Is it from watching scary movies? Knives scare me like five times more than guns. Scary movies have nothing to do with it, though. They're just so sharp and the idea of being stabbed by one is terrifying. As someone with a history of self-mutilation too (not with knives, but I've thought about it and once planned to slit my throat with one, but Mom stopped me), they just make me incredibly uncomfortable to the point I can barely hold a "real" knife to just slice food. Have you ever climbed a chain-link fence? Many times. What is your LEAST favorite Disney animated movie? That I've seen, uhhhhh... I don't know man, there are way too many Disney movies lmao. Who was the last person’s house you went to besides your own? My sister's. On YouTube, who are two people you find hilarious? I'm just counting GameGrumps as one, and then you can't forget Shane Dawson, regardless of the controversy. He probably made me laugh more than any other YouTuber. Do you shave your pits? Yeah. Do you know anyone who has been on life support, and survived? I don't think so. Besides the USA, what is your favorite country? I'm not nearly informed enough about foreign countries' politics and laws and mannerisms to have a favorite. Would you rather go to Europe or Asia? Europe. Would you rather go to Africa or Australia? Africa. Would you rather go to Mexico or Canada? Canada. Do you think emo/scene hair is attractive? I love emo and scene hair, don't @ me, it's cute as fuck. Have you ever seen a ghost orb picture? Lots, actually, at one of my old houses that I totally know was haunted. Do you think abortion should be illegal? NO. You would NOT end abortions. You would end SAFE abortions. Do any of your pets have strange habits? Explain? Venus, my ball python, is extremely odd with food to the point I sometimes worry about her, but she's always been this way and is healthy, so I guess it's nothing really worth fretting over. Anyway, when I place her rat in her terrarium, she gets excited first and will pretty much frantically examine her surroundings, like slithering around everywhere, and even when she has clearly found the rat (she'll even prod it with her snout), she usually won't immediately eat. She just like... sits there and has to continue to verify for ten minutes that it's food. I know it's thawed perfectly, btw. So anyway, THAT'S weird... As for Roman, dear god, that cat's just weird, lmao. Especially in the morning, he's very hyper and will bolt around the house sometimes, he "plays" with nothing all the time, he "meerkat"s at nothing that I can nothing, etc. etc. etc. He's a weirdo lol. Have you ever told an extremely inappropriate joke? Oh god, I said something really inapprops once when my friend Chelsea startled me. I won't be repeating it lmao. Who in life have you felt the strongest need to protect? Sara, I think. Who have you most feared in your life? My dad. He doesn't scare me anymore, but he did. What was the quickest friendship you ever made? Oh idk. What is the worst word anyone ever used to describe you? "Martyr." And not the kind that dies for their beliefs. It hurt me so badly to know someone thought of me that way, and I'll probably never let it go. If you have any pets, were they adopted from the humane society? No. Roman is one of the billion kittens born to the cats my sister's in-laws have, and Venus is from a ball python breeding business in Florida called The Gourmet Rodent (they sell f/t rodents too, obvs) Do you like home design, like picking out paint colors and furniture? Not really. My grandmother though, whew, that was her calling for sure. Have you seen any of the old James Bond movies? Nope. List all of your features that you have ever gotten compliments on: My hair, my eyes, my tattoos, my hands, I think my nose, my dimples, my smile, and my boobs lmao. Have you ever been in a hot air balloon? And if not, would you ever want to go in one? I haven't. I think it'd be kinda cool, but they seem too easy to fall out of, and I'm afraid of heights. I'd probably go in one if given the opportunity. Do you have any stains on your shirt currently? No, but there are two small rips. It's just an old tank top. Do you listen to local bands? No. Not that I'm opposed, I just don't know of any I really enjoy. Do you watch YouTube videos often? Many, many daily. Do your parents fight? Do they even talk at all? They're divorced; they used to fight a lot when they were together. Now they only talk if they have reason to. Have you ever watched a movie that's in a complete different language, so you had to read sub-titles? No. Do people with yellow teeth disgust you? Dude, fuck off, no. My teeth are kinda yellow, and I'm extremely self-conscious about it, so seriously fuck this question. You never know for sure why someone's teeth may seem yellowish. Do you drink alcohol on New Year’s Eve? Usually a drink or two. Do you wear rings? I always have two on, yeah. Are you hungry right now? No, I literally just ate a breakfast bowl. Have you ever tried smoking a cigarette? No; I haven't the slightest interest in doing so.

#survey #surveys #questions #lyrics: ''lovegame'' by lady gaga

3 notes · View notes

btaffy02 · 4 years

Text

“Friends”

This is a draco x reader fanfiction. I used she/her pronouns and nothing too “serious” happens. I hope you like it! Sorry for incorrect grammar and also italic writing is your thoughts.

“y/n?” You turn to your right so see draco greeting you. You're kind of caught off guard by how handsome he's gotten. He's a bit taller and his hair sits almost perfectly. “Hey! I see you've lost the hair gel. It took you long enough.” You say. He pulls you in by your right sleeve for a hug. “Haha very funny y/l/n.” Draco has been your best friend for as long as you can remember. Your families were always close so you two kind of grew up together. He's always had a special place in your heart but you can never determine if the feeling is romantic or if it's just because you care for him. He pulls out his schedule so you two can compare and see how many classes you have together. He rolls his finger down the papers and counts, “1, 2, 3… I guess thats it. Three classes together. I suppose it better than none.” You nod in agreement. You guys head into the great hall so the first years can get sorted and you can all feast. Of course, you sit beside Draco. He's kind of your anchor. You just follow his lead mainly because you're socially anxious but you also just want to stay out of things. You don't want to be the center of attention.

You've never really been the talkative type ever. You're just average. Your grades are fine, your looks are fine (though you'd never admit it outloud), your parents are still together, you only have a few friends. There's not really anything special about you, but you have something they don't, him. After dinner you say goodnight and head your separate ways.

A COUPLE OF WEEKS HAVE PASSED

As much as you hate to admit it you've found yourself staring at Draco frequently. And for the most part, no ones noticed, until today that is. “Miss y/l/n am i a bore to you?” Professor Snape slams a book shut.

Uh oh.

“Ye- i mean no sir.” You respond in panic. “Oh I am? Well maybe detention will be less boring.”

Ugh youve got to be kidding me. Detention? I'll miss my only free time with Draco.

You frown. Draco snickers in the distance and Snape turns to him. “You too Malfoy.” He continues teaching. Draco smiles at you. You finish the day and go to detention like you were ordered to.

IN DETENTION

Lucky for you detention is pretty relaxed and you're hardly monitored or checked on. You sit down and whip out your herbology homework. It's easily your favorite subject and you're very good at it. It's actually introduced you to Neville Longbottom who has taken a liking to herbology studies. You consider him your friend but you aren't close. Your thoughts are interrupted when you notice feet walking up in front of you. You look up from your book to see Draco in his typical black turtleneck. “I know why you have detention.” He says. “Uhm yeah i wasn't paying attention in class.” You say confused.

Oh god did he see me staring at him?

“Yeah right, you were staring at me.” “What? Full of yourself much?” You joke with him.

I didn't think he could see me.

“I mean what's not to love.” He raises his brows. “Omg, in your dreams.” You give him a little shove. “No, but im in yours.” He winks at you and smiles. You both laugh it off. The conversation is innocent but it actually means something to you. You love little flirty jokes and whatnot and no one does it better than Malfoy. The rest of detention is pretty boring and you guys make small talk and he helps you with potions and spells but nothing else really happens. When you're dismissed he walks you to your common room and says goodnight like usual. You're pretty restless because you don't know what to think

Do i have feelings for Draco Malfoy? Do i even have a chance? I mean he knows pretty much everything about me and i know everything about him. I could never tell him how I feel though, I don't want to make things awkward.

You stay up an hour later than usual but decide your thoughts can wait till morning.

WEEKS PASS

It's been weeks since detention and ever since then things have been different. You see a different side of Draco and he's a bit more “friendly” to you. You don't really think much of it and just wait for things to play out.

Most people think Draco is snobby and closed off. I beg to differ. He puts up this like barrier between his feelings and the world so he doesn't seem weak. I blame Lucius for that, I've honestly never liked him. He's a bit strange and expects too much of Draco.

You can 100% say you have feelings for him now. Though it pains you to say it's true. Day by day your feelings have grown stronger and so have his. Or at least you think, you can't really speak for him but he is more flirty than usual and less pissy in general. Tomorrow is October first, it marks 10 years of friendship with Draco.

Yes, I remember the date and everything. Not that he would remember because it probably doesn't mean much to him if he even remembers the day you became friends.

But it doesn't matter because this is something for you to celebrate and keep to yourself. Whether he notices or not you know you will be happy.

OCTOBER 1ST

You wake up to the scent of your roommate's apple cinnamon candle slowly burning.

Today is a good day.

You think to yourself.

Nothing could make this day bad.

Well you were wrong. In all today was not a good day. Nothing super bad happened, it's just little things kept going wrong. You failed a test, you tripped on multiple occasions, and one of your only friends, neville, got sick. You don't come out and say that today has been a bad day because you so desperately wanted it to be a good one. School has finished so you head to your room to chill out for a bit. You grab a notebook and begin a sketch to take your mind off of things. You hear a knock from the door and get up to see who it is. You're a bit shocked to see Draco standing outside your door. “Bloody hell- shhh what are you doing here you could get into trouble.” “I need to talk to you about something.” He says. “Is it that urgent? Im not really in the mood.” You look around to make sure no one sees you two. “Yes it is. Let's go somewhere that I don't have to look behind my shoulder every five seconds.” He grabs your hand and you walk to the stairs to get some privacy.

What's going on? Is he in some sort of trouble or does he just want to gossip? It's probably something to deal with Potter. He absolutely despises him.

“What's wrong?” You're actually a bit worried. “Uhm- nothing. There's something I need to tell- give you.” “All right. What is it?” He's never given you a gift before. Not even on your birthday. He pulls out a small box from his pocket and gives it to you. You smile at him. “Happy friendaversary loser.” He says while he smiles back at you.

He remembered. He actually remembered. I'm so happy I could scream. But he didn't have to give me a gift. I feel bad, maybe i should've gotten him one too i just didn't think he would remember it.

You untie the bow on top of the box and open it. Inside the small box was a bunch of extremely small flowers and a necklace in the middle.

I'm not the type to usually like the whole necklace cliche but for some reason with him it's different. I'm grateful for anything he could give me.

The necklace has one single charm of a serpent with a small diamond flower attached. “Thank you!” You fling into his arms and he wraps his arms around your waist. You're absolutely ecstatic and a bit shocked all at the same time. You were expecting maybe a chocolate of the sorts but not a necklace.

What does this mean?

“Do you like it?” He asks you. “Oh absolutely! It's beautiful, and wicked, and I love it.” He looks a bit nervous but you can see some relief when you answer yes to his question. You stare at the necklace for a bit before you actually pick it up. “Here I'll put it on for you.” He takes the necklace out of your hands. He moves your hair out of the way. His hands are cold, but you find them comforting somehow. He wraps the necklace around you and hooks it into place. “Thanks.” You turn around and smile at him. You're so close you think you can smell his cologne. “Y/n can i confess something?” He looks into your eyes.

Blimey does he feel the same way? I'm nervous, what if he tries to kiss me, am i ready for that? I need to stop freaking myself out. It's not going to help anything.

“Sure, what's on your mind?” He takes his eyes off of you and looks around the room. “I like you.” You're a bit confused on how he means it so you say, “Well i like you too.” He looks a bit annoyed, “No I like you. A lot. I have all school year. I don't know what made me realize it but I did. You're so beautiful and confident-”

I'm really not but I won't interrupt.

“-and you light up every room you walk into. You know me better than anyone and i don't know if this is overwhelming but i just had to say it. I understand if you don't like me back i just-”

Is he serious right now. Of course I like him back. I more than like him.

Before you can even let him finish or gather your thoughts you put your right hand on his face and pull him in by his shirt with your left. He's a bit shocked but then puts his icy hands on your waist. The kiss is good. A long time in the making but good.

Holy Sh*t! Did I seriously just do that? Wow who would've thought I could do that. I never want the kiss to end. I could kiss him a million times again and again.

When your lips finally part he makes a funny face by lifting his eyebrows and widening his eyes. You laugh. “I like you too.” You don't even notice you've been smiling for the past five minutes and you don't think you could stop smiling. “Bloody hell i hope so.” He puts his hands in his pockets and smiles at you. It's one of the few times you've seen him genuinely smile in a really long time. You finally got what you've always wanted, to make him happy.

-thank you for reading <3 sorry it was so short.

#draco malfoy #draco x reader #harry potter #hogwarts #fanfiction

14 notes · View notes

embyrinitalics · 4 years

Text

—Antumbra—

Part Five Word count: ~1500 Rating: T Premise: Sheikah!Link AU, Zelink Previous | Next | FFN | ao3

—

Serving the princess was becoming a game of compromise. And the princess didn’t much care for compromise.

He preferred the dark, but she needed the heat. So he lit the fireplace, and she put up the screen. He wasn’t supposed to speak, but she liked the sound of his voice. So she took to hiding all her notebooks and inks in locked drawers and pocketed the keys, and he talked. Which wasn’t so much compromise as it was capitulation.

She seemed to like capitulation much better.

It was the winter solstice, and while this had most of the world in high spirits, Link had taken to grumbling. But the sun had gone down, and the snow flurries blanketing town were catching the lantern light, and Zelda just couldn’t see his point of view.

“It’s the shortest day of the year,” she reasoned, fastening the clasps at the front of her cloak. “It’s pitch black outside and it isn’t even supper time. I would think a Shadow would be celebrating.”

“It’s nice for now,” he groused. “But what’s there to look forward to? Longer and longer days until the equinox, and then a gradual descent into imprisonment until the dead of summer, when the sun only goes down for a handful of hours—”

“Won’t it be glorious?” she beamed, pulling her hood back and shaking her hair free. She turned back to the room with something between a scowl and a smile twisting at her lips, and for just a moment the bleak future that awaited him was forgotten. “Come on, Link. Celebrate with me tonight.”

Her heart was speeding in his chest, betraying her excitement, and he could hardly say no to that. But he made a point of sighing loudly.

“Fine.”

She leapt to her feet with what was very nearly a squeal and dashed for the door.

The streets were lined with lanterns, perched prettily atop the snow and casting rings of candlelight and shadow every few feet like a parade of bobbing, sunset-colored fairies. The square was full of bonfires, figuratively chasing away the night. There was hot cider and hot chocolate with Goron spice, sugarmakers pouring syrup over the snow and twisting it into taffy candies, and the smell of hot buttered apples wafting from cooking pots set up around the fountain. There were games to play, and when a familiar voice from amidst the throng of onlookers would urge her to throw now or aim for the red one, she always listened.

But the princess didn’t spend much time there. She knew it was too bright for him to stay close.

She followed the trail of lanterns up the hill again, lingering near the edge of the street instead of near its middle, where the lights and shadows crisscrossed and shuddered in patterns and colors she was convinced only ever existed on this night. She stepped off the road and leaned her shoulder into the brick of a quiet corner shop, closed a long time ago so its purveyor could secure a good spot in the square, and watched the festival twinkle below. She had two syrup taffies in her hands.

“Isn’t it lovely?”

“There’s a lot of shadows,” he admitted grudgingly.

“Eat your taffy,” she scoffed, tossing one into the shadows and then dutifully turning her back so he could retrieve it. She listened for him, but he never made a sound, even in the snow. It was gone when she finally checked again, and he hadn’t left so much as a footprint. “It’s lovely, and even you can’t stay grumpy forever.”

Link perched himself on the roof of the adjacent building, where the awning was casting a perfect veil for him, and tasted syrup taffy for the first time. It was strangely earthy and far too sweet.

“I don’t understand this festival,” he finally decided, rolling the taffy on the teeth.

“It’s about banding together. Driving back the night. Celebrating longer days.”

“Aren’t you all getting a bit ahead of yourselves?”

She turned to smirk at him through the shadows, and though she couldn’t have known, she met his eyes. It made his heart stammer.

“What about you?” she asked, green eyes sparkling in the snow and lantern light. “What would you like to do, on this shortest of days?”

“Exactly I am doing,” he answered quietly. “Watching you.”

“Babysitting me, more like,” she scoffed. “Take a day off.”

“You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“I guess I don’t.” Wind snaked up the thoroughfare, spiraling in white trails of snow and stardust and pulling at her hood. She didn’t right it when it slipped off her head. “Do you want some cider?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never had cider.”

A smirk was playing on her lips again. “I’m going to get you some.”

Link sprang nimbly from rooftop to rooftop as she moved, shadowing her back towards the square, and watched from a distance as she meandered back into the lights. The fires blazed hot and bright, ringing her with orange light until all he could make out was her silhouette, reaching with willowy hands to take a steaming mug from a stallkeeper and dropping rupees into his hand. He stared after her when she left; starstruck, no doubt, or something like it. It wasn’t every day the princess of Hyrule visited your shop, adorned with rosy cheeks and snow instead of her tiara, and asked to buy some cider.

She brought the cup to her mouth and breathed in the steam and spices as she left the square behind, the fires and lanterns dappling behind her like a spray of flickering stars, and he let himself get caught up in staring. She was cast in full antumbra. And it was lovely. It was the loveliest thing he had ever seen.

And then her breath yanked out of his chest, and her pulse spiked so hard he choked on it, and the cider spilled all over the snow. Another silhouette grappled with hers, pulling where he had her at the wrist and then at the throat of her cloak. Another shadow. The noise from the festival drowned out her cry, leaving only a few who turned at the sound, and they were too far away to be of any real assistance. But none of that was what truly pulled him from his hiding place. It was the fact that her scream had been his name.

Link was diving for her before he could think, before he could breathe, unsheathing his eightfold blade and shivering when it caught the firelight and gleamed in his hands.

An instant later there was blood spilled over the snow along with the cider, and he grabbed her hand and fled the bloom of the firelight. He dragged her through the alleys, through shadows and shadows and shadows until he found something deep enough to hide them both, and melted into it and pulled her back against him, gasping.

Both their hearts galloped in his chest. Her hands were clasped around his forearm where he was holding her across the shoulders, and he had his face pressed into the back of her neck, taking solace in more than her breathing and her heartbeat as he tried to catch his breath—taking solace in the feel of her in his hands, in the taste of her cool skin brushing his lips.

He couldn’t stop shaking. Not just from the adrenaline of the battle, or the fact that his own lack of focus had put her in so much danger. But from the fact that he had broken the last binding rule, surged headlong into light and let himself be seen, and now touched and held and felt, and if she turned in his arms she would see more than they had seen, more than a blur of shadow rippling through a hazy bloom of firelight.

But she held still, her breath and her pulse calming long before his. For the first time in a long time, his breath, his heart, threatened to drown her out. He dropped his hands, suddenly, panicking, remembering himself, realizing what he had done. And she was stone still, giving him time to hide.

But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He couldn’t bring himself to leave her, to deny himself the assurance that she was fine and she was here, by stepping away. And then, realizing her hadn’t gone and curious, electrified, burning to know his face, she steeled herself with a breath and slowly turned around.

Their eyes met in the dark, his two shades darker than blood, and hers the glittering emerald of a forest. Her fingers, still warm from the mug of cider, lifted to trace the scar on his left eye, the triangles etched into his brow and the teardrop beneath. If she could see the terror in them, she didn’t say.

She whispered, “Link.”

He never thought he would run from anyone, least of all her.

But he ran from her then.

#Zelink #Legend of Zelda #BotW #Sheikah!Link #Antumbra #fanfiction #my writing #embyr writes

52 notes · View notes

crystalwillow · 4 years

Text

Choices – Stories You Play Merch. A Review

I was talking with a friend about the merch that Pixelberry Studios have recently released, for their stories on the Choices app. That conversation got me expressing how I feel about the merch, and one feeling that seemed mutual was that it seems very rushed. Let me explain why.

I personally feel there is too much High School Story and The Royal Romance stuff on the first launch when it could have been more diverse and included all of the books in some way.

The Apparel (T-shirts) – The designs themselves are okay. What I feel iffy about here is the colour selections, for each design.

· Liam & Drake & Hana & Maxwell Shirt – With this shirt you get an option of two colours, but they are both shades of blue. Royal blue and Light blue.

· TRR Logo/Title Shirt – This only comes in one colour. Navy blue.

· Corgi Shirt – This is only currently available in one colour as well, which is red.

· TRR Book 3 Cover Shirt – Only available in a deep purple right now.

· TC&TF Title and character names Shirt – There are currently 2 t-shirts for The Crown & The Flame on the website right now. The title logo and one that reads ‘Kenna & Don & Val & Raydan’. Both of these shirts only currently available in red.

· HSS Shirt #1 – Again there are two colour options with this design. Red and Kelly (A green colour.)

· HHS Shirt #2 – This shirt has the cover of the first high school story book on it and comes in 2 colours again. This time a muted, sort of mustardy yellow colour and heather mint, a pastel green.

· AME Shirt – This comes with the cover of the first book printed on it and is currently only available in a light blue colour

· The Elementalists Shirts – The first shirt has the books title with the attunement symbols underneath printed across the chest. This one is available in purple with white text or grey with black text. The 2nd shirt for this book however is only available in purple and has the cover of the first book printed on the front.

· BB Shirt: Has the cover of the first book in it’s series printed on the chest area and is only available in red.

· Pixelberry Shirt – This shirt comes with the Pixelberry logo printed on the chest and is available in black or heather mint (pastel green.)

· “Don’t Talk To Me” Shirt – Again is available in just 2 different shades of blue. Navy or Light.

· Desire & Decorum Shirt – Is basically the title of the book printed onto either a grey shirt with black text or a royal type of blue shirt with white text.

· Choices Shirt #1 – is the choices logo w/ wording printed across the chest in white text on a blue shirt.

· Choices Shirt #2 – Is just the book logo of the app printed again, on the chest on the shirt in black.

So as you can probably tell by now, the colour choice here is very poor. You have 1 black t-shirt option for 15 shirts. The main colours are Blue, Purple, Red, Green and Yellow. So if you dislike these colours or they don’t suit your skin tone and you’re a fan of these books wanting a shirt, you won’t be able to get one just yet. You will be waiting until possible future upgrades to their store. But I will digress as we move onto the next section of the store, where we will start with...

Phone Cases

Personally, I feel like there is quite a bit that could change here. When a new merch launch happens, it is expected for there to be limited designs. Especially when you ae launching multiple items at once in your first launch. In the phone case section you have 8 case designs to choose from.

· 1 x BloodBound

· 2 X Blades of Light & Shadow

· TRR Corgi

· TF Zig jersey No.

· HSS

· 2 x Pixelberry designs

To my personal self, 7/8 of the designs are okay. I’m not satisfied with the bloodbound phone case. Adrian Raines, is a customizable Love Interest (Li) in the book, yet the only version of the art for the case that is available is that of the white version of him. What about those players who customized him to be Hispanic or Black? They’re being sh*t on again by not having the option to have the artwork for those two versions of Adrian, that PB already have, on the case. That case is literally just for white Adrian fans.

Coffee Mugs

Again, with this product there are 8 options. They are as follows.

· Open Heart, Edenbrook Logo

· BloodBound

· TRR Cordonian Apple

· 2 x The Freshman

· 3 x HHS

I feel like by this point things are getting a little repetitive. I understand that TF, HSS & TRR are some of their first projects and they want to cater to the people/fans who were there for that and may want merch for those series but there is such a thing as over catering, to certain things. As it stands today Pixelberry Studios have 45 series for their platform, 5 of which are not yet released. So far in the store, we’ve been in 3 sections where there’s been 15 shirts, 8 phone cases and 8 mugs. Yet only 10 series have been made into some form of merchandise so far. Now yes, I understand not ALL the shirts are series from the platform there is some standard PB merch included there and with the phone cases but that doesn’t take away from the fact the series/books such as Hero and Most Wanted could also have been put onto some for of merch too.

Water Bottles

With the water bottles you only get 6 designs.

· 1 x BloodBound design

· Liam & Drake & Hana & Maxell design

· HSS Notebook design

· Hartfeld logo

· PB Studios design

· HSS Crest design

I haven’t got much critique for this product, except there could be 2 more designs of series that have not yet been made into merch as they are mainly just the title logo on an aluminium bottle with a screw top lid.

Pin Buttons/Badges & Stickers

All these products come individually and all retail for 3.99 apiece. There are currently 26 pin buttons and 6 stickers on the site. I want to just say that this. These sections could have been made so much better if PB would have brought out packs, for each series instead of doing it separately. Also in the BloodBound series there are 2 Li’s that later became members of the council. Whether it was officially done or not. They were part of the council by the end of the series, yet they don’t get their brands or sector logos on a pin badge like the rest of the council members did in this merch launch. That is just wrong and should have been done without a second thought from the merch teams on PB’s end, when talking about this concept for pin buttons. As far as stickers are concerned? The selection is poor. You have the 3 familiars from The Elementalists, Threep the Nesper from Blades of Light and Shadow, a Cordonian apple and Maxwell Beaumont’s hippo tattoo. Again, if packs had been made with all the characters, including the characters that are customizable in ethnicity, and retailed at around the 10.99-12.99 mark, depending on how many characters are in the pack, then it would have been a better investment. Of course some series only have 2-5/6 main characters and hardly any consistent side characters that are relevant to the stories plot so you could either add all the characters wearing different expressions and a group sticker and retail the packs for the same price as those with loads more characters or just retail them for half the price, only putting one of each character in wearing one expression.

Posters

These posters come in 3 different sizes/measurements. 8x10in, 12x16in and 18x24in. There are currently 8 of them in the store after the first initial launch of the merch store.

· TC & TF Poster, Signed by the PB Team. This one if 15.99 for that reason

The other 7 all retail at 10.99 as they are not signed. Which begs the question in my mind of “How are they justified 5 for some signatures?” Anyway the other posters are,

· The Elementalists 1 & 2 Book Covers

· Open Heart 1 Book Cover

· The Freshman 3 Book Cover

· BloodBound 1 Book Cover

· The Royal Romance 1 & 3 Book Covers

So now you’re probably wondering, “What’s wrong with that?” well let me tell where I kind of have an issue with this. Yes, there is a selection but it’s very limited. They have 30+ book covers to have chosen from and they choose 8 which they already have some kind of merchandise for. They could have chosen to do a Hero or Most Wanted signed poster and then which ever they didn’t choose to do put that on in as part of the 7 unsigned posters along with other posters of book covers such as A Courtesan of Rome, Endless Summer, The Haunting of Braidwood Manor etc. and then put in 2 newer book cover posters.

After reading all of this in full, some of you are probably thinking that I’ve been way too harsh here because you have to think of cost of making the products and then the amount shipping out all the orders will cost that don’t have free shipping attached to them. But I am fully aware there is so much more that goes into making merchandise than just putting the final product out there. I just feel like this was very rushed and not given the proper thought and attention it needed and deserved, some of the examples would be the colour range with the t-shirts, it’s very limited. Again with the coffee mug and water bottle designs, they are good but some different titles other than HSS & TF could have been used and the poster like I explained at the end of the paragraph for that section, could have had different book covers chosen for them. Now this is not me saying to hate the merch and not buy it and protest about it, starting arguments online over it. I’m not doing that at all. This is simply just my review of things after I took a first look at the website and found myself disappointed in the range of book diversity there is here. I get that money is an aspect that has to be thought of here, I get that they would go broke if they were to do certain things and the app, stories, all of that would stop. But yet again, it comes back to the point of things getting repetitive. The only section BloodBound is not included in, is the stickers. It’s in every other section. Same for a couple of other book titles. They have some amazing books, who’s titles they could have made into merch but for some reason they chose not to. Whether that’s because they thought it “wouldn’t sell” to which I say what the heck?! Are you serious?? There are people who are fans of just one certain book and would most likely buy that merch if they’re to hear about the merch shop somehow. Ultimately, I just feel like this store was a rush job. And like my friend said a way for them to make more money, as it looks like hardly any deep thought process went into this at all. Just like with their books, there was so much potential here, but it wasn’t met. I don’t know I honestly just think that if more thought, time and effort was put into this, then It would have been so much better. For example like I mentioned, if they had added Jax Matsuo and Lily Spencer pin buttons and made the pin buttons and sticker into packs and done 10 books for pin buttons as packs and 6 books for sticker packs, that would have been a better marketing viewpoint to approach from.

I would like to end this by saying, even though by my review it may seem like I hate the merch store for choices, I don’t. I just dislike certain parts of it and can see where there is potential for there to be so much more done with it. I really don’t know though... I guess I do just feel upset with the lack of book diversity on the store when really, they already have the resources to make merch with different book titles from everything they’ve released over the past, almost 4 years now.

#playchoices #choices merch #pixelberry studios

4 notes · View notes

piccolina-mina · 4 years

Text

The Taste of Ink

Fandom: Roswell, New Mexico

Characters: Alex Manes, Max Evans

Pairing: Manevans

A/N: *long sighs* You know, it’s not cool how you found a tiny hole and now poke the squishy part just to get what you want because you know you’ll usually get it. Anyway, to mischief makers @faithtrustaliendust, @suzteel, and @queenrikki on this Manevans Monday.

Because our multishipping arses have had a soft spot for an emo punk vet and a soft nerdy cowboy since they exchanged one look in high school. #ManevansRights If they don’t give us Manevans scenes next season, we riot!

Warning: so much sh!tty poetry. Teen poet Max is not good, but Teen Emo Alex is weak for him anyway.

Anyway, enjoy, or not.

—-

He slammed his locker shut, music blaring in his ears and drowning out the chaotic energy of the halls of Roswell High.

I’ll be your number one with a bullet A loaded God complex, cock it and pull it

If he could make it through his last class, he could hit the music room and retrieve his guitar, maybe work out a melody that had been scratching in the recesses of his mind, dying to get out.

He sighed at the Letterman jackets closing in, a sense of dread over which pea-brained jock would start shit today.

He wasn’t in the mood.

They swerved him, which was fine until one rammed into Max Evans knocking his books down and throwing that stupid baseball cap he always wore to the floor.

Admittedly, Austin Farrell stomping the hell out of the thing was him doing Max a favor, but the rest was just uncalled for.

Max was an odd one. On the surface, he was tall and fit enough to be a jock, and if he had anything that resembled coordination, he would have made a hell of a basketball player.

But he had P.E with him last year and quickly realized Max and sports didn’t mix.

He was tall, a bit dopey, and walked around hunched over and hiding behind books and baseball caps.

He always wondered why Max carried himself like he was afraid to take up space. Like he was too big, and the world was too small. Deep down, he knew what it felt like to want to hide –blend into the background and be left alone. So could he really judge him?

The jocks watched Max scramble to retrieve his things, one of them snatching up an opened notebook and scanning its contents.

“A shared glance, ephemeral, unlike the all-consuming inferno within for you. Relentless, like the curve of your smile – Oh shit, Shakespeare here is writing love letters!” Farrell crowed.

More mocking ensued, and by then, Max’s cheeks flushed crimson. A tuft of hair fell in his eyes as the notebook landed on the heap with the rest of his belongings.

He knelt down and helped Max gather his books, and nodded in acknowledgment of Max’s bashful smile.

But then he felt someone shove him from behind. He rose to his feet, turned and narrowed his eyes at Farrell. He could tell the brute was attempting to taunt him, but he refused to take his earbuds out to hear it.

He signaled at his ears, flashed a “f*ck you” smile, and waited for Farrell and his crew of nimrods to get out the way.

Some days, he discovered not giving them anything to work with bored them. Fortunately, it was one of those days.

He still had the opened notebook in his hands and couldn’t help scanning over the rest, his interest semi-piqued.

“Hey, could you…” Max’s embarrassment was transparent as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other and reached for the worn, leather-bound notebook.

He flashed him a sympathetic smile. The last bell sounded, and they stood outside their final class: study hall.

The prospect of spending the next 45 minutes in a room with Kyle and his friends wasn’t appealing, but something else definitely was.

He pulled his earphones out of his ear, cocked his head to the side studying the awkward boy in front of him, and made a decision.

“You wanna get outta here?” He asked.

Max was startled, or maybe he was too focused staring moony-eyed through the window.

“You– Me? You’re talking to me?” He stammered, pressing a large hand to his chest in askance. “Blow off study hall?”

Alex shook his head and snorted softly to himself. He jerked his head in the direction of the class.

“Or you could spend the next hour imagining that’s you slobbering on Liz’s neck and not Kyle. I’m out either way.”

“I wasn’t–” Max protested. “I was going to work on chemistry.”

“I bet you were,” he deadpanned.

“Actually, yeah,” Max tightened the single strap over his shoulder and stepped closer to him. “I’m quite flexible.”

He raised a brow – watched Max’s reaction when his own statement landed and his face flushed again.

“I meant, um, with my schedule,” Max stammered. “I, yeah, just,” he scratched at the back of his neck and ducked his head down awkward and shy as ever.

He was starting to wonder if that cap Max wore had some mystical abilities that made the guy less of a puppy. At the very least it rendered him capable of basic forms of communication and a latent ability for prose.

Max released a puff of air and flashed a smile that Alex found endearing. “Um, just, after you…”

He felt Max’s presence behind him as they walked down the hall. For someone so tall he was light on his feet. He wasn’t taller than him by much, but with close proximity came a comfort he hadn’t felt in some time.

Not since Cutter, who ironically, had a gift for words too. He had a gift for a few things.

Their makeshift band fell apart around the time Cutter moved away, and he hadn’t been able to get the gang to agree on much of anything ever since.

He didn’t have too many sanctuaries at Roswell High, but the music room was one of them. He slipped in with ease, wrapped his hands around his guitar and relished the feel of it in his hands.

It was like an extension of him. He hopped onto a desk and begin strumming away, trying to chase the melody that had been taunting him for hours.

Max wandered around the room gently gliding his hands across instruments and staring around.

“You play?” He studied Max as he played.

“Nah,” Max snorted. He held his hands up as if they were answer enough. “My br-best friend tried to teach me, but I have big, clumsy hands. No technique.”

“Somehow I doubt with hands like those you lack technique,” he tossed out.

Admittedly, he got a kick out of making Max blush. He made it so easy. Max turned away, fiddled with the cap in his hands, and sighed knowing it was ruined.

“It’s for the best,” he teased staring pointedly at the cap. “If it’s any consolation, you look better without it.”

Another shade. He really was having too much fun.

“Hey, it’s part of my style just like you and your …” Max waved at Alex before deciding on. “Septum ring.”

“You’d look good with one, too. I can get you a deal,” he leaned on the desk next to Max.

Max scoffed. “I can’t pull it off like you. I would look ridiculous.”

“Ridiculously hot,” Alex quipped with a shrug. “Who knows? Maybe it would get Liz’s attention.”

Max sunk further onto the desk. Falling back into that habit of making himself small with shitty posture.

“It’s that obvious, huh?”

“Evans, they can see it from the moon, man.”

“I didn’t realize I was that obvious. I’m usually better at hiding,” he dug his fingers into the leatherbound notebook and sighed.

“You’re a poet,” he said bluntly, cutting to the chase.

“I’m really not,” Max contested. “I like writing, but I’m not a writer.”

“Max, that’s the definition of a writer.”

“I’m not, like, good. I just…” his voice trailed off as if he didn’t know what else to say.

“Is everything you write about her?” He went back to strumming the same couple of notes.

Max shrugged.

“You mind?” He asked. His hand enclosed around Max’s as hoping Max would relinquish the book.

Max was hesitant. He felt him squirm beside him likely terrified of sharing such a vulnerable part of himself.

He tried to give his best reassuring look, squeezed Max’s hand in comfort. “I promise,” he whispered softly. “I won’t laugh.”

Max swallowed, his prominent Adam’s apple he still hadn’t grown into bobbing. He gave a brief nod.

He pried the book from Max’s grip and flashed a sincere smile. Max closed his eyes falling back until he was sprawled across a couple of desks as if he was trying to disappear into the furniture.

He pegged him for a sensitive type, but the melodrama caught him off guard.

He thumbed through the book, worn pages filled with scratchy notes and fanciful words.

Spilled ink and a bared soul, nearly as intimate as a diary. He hummed to himself, words painting pictures in his mind and pictures becoming sounds in his head.

A specific line caught him, and he twirled it around in his head. His hands were clutching the guitar again, his fingers gripping the guitar pick firm as his sounds playing in his head came through his fingers.

He sang quietly, hauntingly a tale of lost love, the ache of being peered through in a busy hallway and not gazed at. A soft brushing of fingers, accidental in lab, and a half-smile. He sang of deep, profound loneliness, and an aching for something unattainable.

He sang Max’s words, his own half-grin forming when Max opened his eyes, stared at him with a dropped jaw their eyes locked in the familiar way that they do when something inexplicable clicks into place.

The last chord died out in the room, and silence replaced it. Max stared, awed.

“That was good.”

“That was you,” he replied. “Like I said, you’re a poet. Even better, you’re a songwriter. I could use one of those.”

“You want me to write songs with you?”

“Only if you’re up for it,” he shrugged noncommittally.

“I suppose it’s better than pining,” Max muttered.

“It’s still pining, just with kickass music behind it,” he smirked.

The final bell of the day sounded, and Alex hopped off the desk and gathered his things.

“But, we don’t listen to the same things,” Max slung his backpack over his shoulder and gripped his notebook like a lifeline. “At least, I’m assuming we don’t.”

“You got something to say about my look, Evans?”

“What? No, I, think you look nice…”

He really had to stop amusing himself by getting Max flustered.

“Music is universal, Max. If you keep writing, I’ll keep playing.” He shoved his earbuds in his ears. “I think we could make some killer music together.

—

If you’d have told him Max Evans would become one of his closest friends, he would have snorted in disbelief.

They were different, at least, he assumed they were, but in reality, they were more alike than the surface implied.

He had grown used to the notes Max slipped in his locker. Sometimes it was a full poem, and others it was only a line or two.

Sometimes Max would slide them across his desk – scribbled notes on frayed pages, Max’s script delicate and neat.

He kept them in a box in the shed – piled them up, scraps and whole pages of prose.

He’d pass Max in the hall, and Max would give him that dopey grin that made him smile. He tried not to, he did, but somehow, Evans always pulled a small one out of him anyway.

Max was non-judgmental. He didn’t understand some things, but it didn’t stop him from trying to, with rapt and genuine interest and attention.

He would cautiously wander to the bleachers sometimes, visibly wary of Alex’s friends, not sure how he would be received among the mishmash of metalheads and burnouts, a few stoners, and drama geeks, and a goth or two.

His musical taste was questionable, devoid of any real identity that set him apart from anyone like he was going along to get along.

He often wondered why Max was so determined to disappear into the background.

He was funny, kind, and personable. He was easily someone who others would gravitate to if they ever got the chance to know him, but Max Evans didn’t make himself known. Not really.

He showed people what he wanted them to see, a small peek into who he was, just enough to appear non-threatening but not enough to lure people in.

Yet, that’s precisely what made Max so alluring to him. He knew a chameleon when he saw one – a kindred, someone adaptable when they had to be.

Max seemed genuinely surprised by how easy he was welcomed into their mix, and it was nothing for him to hang out with the group sometimes if only to show his sister he did, in fact, have friends.

Study halls they would spend in the music room jamming out.

He introduced him to My Chemical Romance and was pleasantly surprised that Max dabbled with Green Day and Fallout Boy.

They shared a mutual appreciation for Johnny Cash, which is something he wouldn’t cop to in public. But they wore out his cover of Nine Inch Nail’s "Hurt” like it was an anthem.

Max was expressive. Far more than him, but still subdued enough to not be overwhelming.

They’d sit side by side, an earbud between them, Max’s eyes closed when a particular song struck a chord with him.

For Max, the music was about the words. Lyrics spoke to him more than anything else. He learned to predict which songs would speak to Max most.

He taught Max a thing or two with the guitar.

Max had a natural ability for percussion, which surprised him, and the way his eyes lit up when he pulled off a minute drum solo actually made him laugh.

He wasn’t used to that kind of enthusiasm. But Max’s quiet darkness spoke to him more.

He spent enough time around him to pick up on how Max would slip away into the dark caverns of his mind, introspective and deep.

His eyes would get stormy then like he was fighting battles that would never reach the light of day.

If he was honest with himself, he liked that Max best. There was a story there itching to be told, but he better than anyone understood untold stories and secrets, so he’d never pry. Maybe that’s why Max came back to him time and again too.

He saw more of Max than most, but he didn’t push. He’s pretty certain Max saw him too. They held entire conversations with a single loaded look.

Some weekends they’d go for a drive, hit the desert, and fuck around with music until dusk.

Max’s lip would curl up in that half-smile as he drove, peeking over on occasion as if wondering if Alex was actually enjoying his company.

Max was proud of himself for blaring “Jesus of Suburbia,” which had become one of his latest obsessions, and he admittedly was impressed that he did, in fact, know the entire song from start to finish.

They’d hang until dusk and went their separate ways after grabbing a bite at the Crashdown.

On those days, he figured Max needed to lay eyes on his muse.

One weekend they drove a town over, he hit the stage during amateur night at some underground coffee shop, and for five minutes their joint efforts came to life on stage.

He’s not much of a singer, but the feeling was right. It was worth it just to see Max’s face light up as he beamed with pride and breathed about making something so beautiful.

Some days Max was absent. He’d get caught up in something with his sister or Guerin, but if he worked on something, he would slip that leatherbound notebook in Alex’s hands like he was entrusting him with his life.

Maybe in some way he was.

They didn’t talk, but then, they never needed to … there was something about their silence that was comfortable.

But sometimes his curiosity got the best of him.

They sat on the hood of Max’s jeep, stretched out, takeout between them after he hitched a ride with Max to the record store to meet up with his friends – their friends. He supposed they were Max’s too now.

He couldn’t help stealing a few glances Max’s way. The guy was a bit of a pushover, and Roni spent two hours making him her latest project.

She stole that godforsaken baseball cap and left him with wind tousled dark hair that kept slipping into his eyes because he hadn’t cut it in a while.

He faults himself for that. He told him it looked good longer, and shockingly, Max took it to heart.

Smudged black eyeliner made Max look a bit edgier. The silver choker around his neck did too, but fortunately, Roni reined it in.

To him, Max still looked like a puppy, with sad Bassett hound eyes, but that’s how he liked him.

Galaxies behind every gaze and a black hole heart.

It was something Max alluded to in the latest scrap of paper he left inside his locker.

Months later, and he already could tell he had an influence on him. His prose lost some of the flowery edges and shifted into something darker, caustic but no less beautiful.

“You ever think of telling her?” He took a long pull of his soda and squinted into the distance.

He felt Max’s gaze on him.“What?”

“You ever think about actually sharing the things you write with the person it’s about?”

Max ducked his head down, that familiar demure action that Alex had grown fond of.

“Who says I haven’t?” He answered after a while.

He scoffed. He knew Liz well enough to know if she had known for a second about half the things Max wrote about her, he’d have heard about it.

Even if she let Max down gently, she would have had quite the reaction.

“I’m pretty observant, Evans,” he shook his head. “I would’ve noticed.”

“You sure about that,” Max muttered under his breath.

At least, it’s what it sounded like he said. He knew Max had a snarky streak, but it was rarely directed at him.

Max wouldn’t look at him, but he bore an unreadable expression. He slurped the last of his drink more out of habit than need, but then reached for Alex’s too.

He handed it over with a frown, Max’s large hand wrapping around his briefly before he sucked down the rest of Alex’s drink, too.

“Are you embarrassed?” He asked after a while.

The silence between then had stretched on for a bit, however, it wasn’t their comfortable kind. It was something else, something tenser, and he could only guess bringing up Liz was a sore spot.

He knew what it was like to have feelings for someone without them being reciprocated.

He hopped off the truck and reached into the passenger seat. He rummaged through his bag until he pulled out the box he kept all of Max’s poetry– his lyrics.

He climbed back on the truck, holding the box in his hand grateful he brought it along for the day.

He didn’t miss the small smile on Max’s face at the box in his hand, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Putting yourself out there sucks,” he shrugged. “I know better than anyone.”

Max didn’t say anything. Between the two of them, he was used to Max being the one to fill the silence, or at least respond when he talked to him. If he didn’t know any better, he would swear Max was channeling him.

“I’m not the best at … feelings,” he struggled even uttering the word.

“But you are. Have you read your work? All these bits and pieces – I know Liz, and if she just knew… if she read these … ”

He went through the most recent scraps on the top and felt Max tense up beside him.

“There are galaxies behind your eyes, infinite and wise all the things you hide.

"The darker you are the more I see what if we were meant to be something more…

"Short desert nights and long silence just you and me next to you is where I’m free

My name a low melody on your lips I wonder if you should know. How I dream of taking the risk. A shot at true bliss in kissing you hello,” his mind raced as he dug through more.

“You helped me see me the way that you do if only you saw how I do the same for you”

“I"ll follow you through the dark because you’re the light”

“Over the edge, but I’ve never been afraid of falling only that you won’t be there, you’ll disappear when I do”

“Jagged smiles that don’t come easily, each one burned in my memory, my pulse races staccato, breath caught you saved one for me, just maybe … ” he felt like he was punched in the gut.

He sneaked a glance at Max, a strong profile, hunched forward. The only giveaway that his nerves got the better of him was how he wrung his large hands, ink-stained and trembling.

“These aren’t about Liz,” his voice caught in his throat, and her name came out like a whisper.

"Who says I haven’t?”

“You sure about that?“

Full smiles in the hallway. The way Max’s eyes crinkled in the corner when he laughed, how they deepened when he made Alex laugh too.

The way Max stood by his side, solid, warm, close all-consuming making him feel small but also safe.

Brushed knuckles while playing guitar. Late-night phone calls, and long desert drives. Study notes and tutoring, long days at the record store.

Grabbing a bite to eat and rotating who paid, stolen fries and shared drinks. Notes, every other day.

He looked down at the treasure chest of spilled ink."Shit.”

He played back snippets of the past few months, saw them through a different lens.

Max stopped staring at Liz months ago, but he never stopped looking at –“Shit. These aren’t about Liz.”

“They’re not about Liz,” Max agreed his voice low and husky.

“They’re about –”

“You,” Max supplied. “You’re not that observant, Manes,” Max joked softly. “You’ll see a dozen different angles however obscure but miss what’s directly in front of you.” Max chuckled low and deep.

He sat in stunned silence, and Max, the bastard, let him. He gave him the time to process, not that his proximity helped, warm, solid, pressed against him from shoulder to pinkies a ghost of an interlock as the hood of Max’s truck suddenly felt too small.

He never had anyone write about him before, write for him, and he didn’t realize that confession slipped from his lips another on top of the others until Max responded just as quietly.

“You should,” Max whispered. Max looked down at his hands as if sparing himself the heat of Alex’s gaze.

“You deserve songs written about you, Alex. You’re,” he exhaled resigned. “You’re amazing, and any guy who doesn’t see it doesn’t deserve you.”

Max turned the full force of his gaze on Alex, heated and open, vulnerability laid bare for Alex to see.

How could he have not seen it before?

“You wrote me poetry,” he breathed. He opened and shut his mouth feeling like a guppy.

Max shrugged, a sad half-smile. “You sang me songs,” he countered.

Max peeked down at him beneath lashes, bashful and sweet.

“They made you happy, ” Max whispered into the night air, trusting the wind would carry his words for him.

“They made you happy, and that made me happy. I liked surprising you, the way the curve of your lip turns up,” Max whispered, eyes slipping to Alex’s mouth for a brief moment. “And your eyes,” he reached his hand out as if to touch Alex’s face but caught himself.

His breath hitched in anticipation that quickly became a disappointment. He felt the loss of a touch that never reached him.

“It’s OK, though” Max murmured softly in that voice that haunted his dreams at night.

“Max,” he pushed past the lump in his throat and cursed this tall, dopey, adorable boy for drinking the last of his soda.

“I don’t expect anything, Alex,” Max breathed out, nervous energy tinging his voice. “Nothing has to change.”

Determined brown eyes fell upon him and he knew just how much Max meant that.

“It’s OK,” Max continued, and he couldn’t tell if the desperation in Max’s voice was an attempt to convince himself or him.

“Max–”

“I promise, Alex,” Max’s voice was desperate but sincere. “Everything this is, I – it’s more than enough, I swear. I –I’m really good at pining.”

He let out a startled laugh.

“You’re laughing at me,” a flash of hurt crossed Max’s eyes but he schooled his expression.

“No,” he breathed. “Yes, I mean,” he exhaled long and slow reaching out to grab Max’s hand in reassurance.

His mouth worked, open and closed as he struggled with what he wanted to say, how much of himself was he willing to give in that moment?

“I–” he squinted out in the distance, pinks fading into the blue. He shivered and wished he could only blame it on the cool evening air.

“I–,” he tangled his hand with Max’s, slightly callused, warm, comforting. He looked up, smiled a little at Max’s expression as he stared at their entwined fingers. “Why would I settle for enough, when you’re telling me I can have more?”

He watched Max’s head slowly lift, his expression openly hopeful. No half-measure. He felt it and felt it fully, openly. It’s what Max always gave to him.

He wasn’t used to letting others see him like that, but Max understood that, didn’t seem to hold it against him. He found ways to slip through the cracks.

He swallowed as Max’s thumb rubbed circles into his skin driving him crazy without even realizing it. Quintessential Max.

“I’m really good at pining too,” he muttered. He thought the confession would cost him something, but it left him lighter, freer.

It gave him something instead, that spark in Max’s eye, darkened pupils, goofy grin becoming something far more alluring, sexier. His breath caught.

“I really want to kiss you,” Max murmured, his face closing in, eyes slipping to Alex’s lips before meeting his eyes. It wasn’t until they were a couple of centimeters apart before he breathed. “But only if you want me t–”

He surged forward, capturing Max’s lips with his. He was urgent, needy, but Max’s hand cupped the back of his neck, pulling him closer, slowing them down.

Long, lazy, languid kisses dizzying in their delivery. Max’s tongue warm and wet was on the verge of driving him insane.

“Fuck,” he gasped. He clutched Max’s hair, moaned as Max trailed kisses down his jawline and neck, suckled at sensitive spots he didn’t know existed.

Max pulled away, the pads of his thumbs feather-light against Alex’s cheeks.

“Sorry,” Max stammered. “Am I not doing this right?”

For a moment he was gobsmacked, the only thing more shocking than the soft-spoken, awkward poet being such an incredible kisser was him thinking for a second that the sweet torture he inflicted on Alex was anything other than just fucking right.

Max flashed a crooked smile – a glint of mischief in his eye confirmed Max was screwing with him.

“You’re such a shit,” he smirked.

He rested his forehead against Max’s sighed when Max pulled them back until he was hovering over Max.

“You gonna write about this?” He ran his nose along the side of Max’s jawline, nipped along the bone before pulling back.

Their hands entwined rested on Max’s chest, a tangle of black fingernails, silver rings, and ink-stained skin.

The intensity of the adoration in Max’s eyes scared the shit out of him. But it was a fear he could get used to.

Max’s hand slipped to the back of his neck, fingers carding through his hair pulling him forward, chasing his lips.

“I’m gonna dream about this,” Max whispered against his lips.

“Me fucking too,” he panted breathlessly as they made out beneath the stars.

–Fin–

#roswell new mexico #roswell new mexico fic #manevans #max evans #I'm soft for manevans but omg this is terrible but I tried #LOL #*flings fic into the universe and scurries away*

36 notes · View notes

omgkatsudonplease · 5 years

Note

恭喜发财 Maybe a Wangxian + Sizhui domestic fic :3c

more aggressively socal au :3c chinglish ahoy

“So you have to put an s if there’s more than one thing,” A-Yuan is saying as Wei Wuxian enters the kitchen. He and Lan Wangji are bent over a notebook, Lan Wangji determinedly holding his mechanical pencil like a calligraphy brush. “So you say one apple, and two apples. And one bear, and two bears.”

“One boy,” says Lan Wangji. “Two boys.”

“Yeah. Okay, I’m going to write some words and you make them more than one.” He starts to write, childish scribble going through the lines. Wei Wuxian can’t help but smile at how dedicated he seems to be to teaching Wangji-叔叔 English, despite his young age. A-Yuan had always been quite proficient at reading, often borrowing books from the library miles above his grade level.

“One bat,” says Lan Wangji. “Two bats. One s – one s –”

“Sword,” offers A-Yuan.

“Sword,” repeats Lan Wangji. “Bichen?”

“Mmhmm! So two of Bichen is?”

“Two swor-d-s.”

“Swords,” corrects A-Yuan.

“Swords,” agrees Lan Wangji. “How… how if many? Three swords?”

“Yeah. Everything that’s more than one has an s on the end. Except words like fish.”

“No fish-s?”

“Fishes. You add e and then an s.”

“Just fish?”

“If it has the sh sound usually it’s e and s,” says A-Yuan, frowning. “Yeah, English is weird.”

“Englishes?”

A-Yuan bursts into laughter. “I guess?”

“That would depend on if you were talking about English as a language, or the English people,” Wei Wuxian cuts in, taking a seat at the table as well. Lan Wangji’s eyes light up at seeing him, making his heart skip a beat. “Though even then it’s a bit weird to say Englishes when you could say English dialects.”

“Dialects,” says A-Yuan seriously. “Like… the Southern accent?”

Wei Wuxian shrugs. “I wouldn’t know,” he admits. “Ningning-叔叔 was the English major, not me.” He pauses. “I guess he’d say it’s probably more like… Mandarin versus, say, 苏州话.” He looks at Lan Wangji, who seems to be intent on practicing his letters. They are as precise and boxy as his Chinese characters.

“He writes like Uncle Frank,” says A-Yuan. “And Auntie Rachel.”

“Because they came from the Mainland,” replies Wei Wuxian.

“You came from the Mainland, too,” points out A-Yuan, “and you write like a chicken.”

“Chicken scratch, but I get your point.” Wei Wuxian ruffles A-Yuan’s hair, checks his phone. “I came over just early enough to forget how to write Chinese. Anyway, it’s past your bedtime, you should be going.”

“Tomorrow’s no school,” whines A-Yuan.

“You still need to sleep,” retorts Wei Wuxian. “Trust me when you grow up all you’ll ever want to do is sleep.”

“Sounds fake,” says A-Yuan, but he closes his workbooks and stuffs his folders and pencil bag into his backpack anyway. “I’ll make up my piano tomorrow.”

“Hang on, you didn’t practice piano today?”

A-Yuan shakes his head. “I had to help Wangji-叔叔 with dinner. He says to tell you we need to go get more vegetables.”

“Which ones?”

“Uhhh. 胡萝卜, 菠菜, 大白菜.” A-Yuan’s face screws up. “Also he likes the 养乐多 you put in my lunch, so we have to get more.”

“Okay, well, that’s two hours of practice tomorrow, then,” says Wei Wuxian. “And I’ll tell Wangji-叔叔 to time you.”

A-Yuan pouts, but he acquiesces nonetheless, briefly hugging both of them before heading upstairs to bed. Wei Wuxian turns to Lan Wangji then, raising an eyebrow.

“He seems to be teaching you well,” he says slowly. Lan Wangji nods.

“Good,” he agrees. “Learning much.”

“Okay.” Wei Wuxian’s not sure who’s been sucking the air out of the room, but the longer he watches Lan Wangji’s face in the dimmed kitchen light, the more breathless he feels. Just the hint of light glancing off of Lan Wangji’s lips makes him wants to lean forward and kiss it. “Well,” he says, feigning a yawn as he stretches and rises from the chair, “it’s getting late. We should sleep.”

“Bed,” agrees Lan Wangji.

Briefly, their fingers brush. Wei Wuxian’s heart nearly stops.

“Good night?” he offers.

“Good night,” echoes Lan Wangji, already heading towards the downstairs guest room.

Wei Wuxian stares at the door long after it closes, longing coiled tight in his chest.

苏州话 - Suzhou dialect. Gusu is the old name for Suzhou, so ;)

胡萝卜 , 菠菜, 大白菜 - carrots, spinach, napa cabbage

养乐多 - probiotic drink, usually the Yakult brand. addicting as fuck. please try it frozen. you’ll thank me later.

Frank and Rachel - Jiang Fengmian and Madam Yu, respectively. Rachel is actually a nickname for Arachne sjfkfjdjs

#魔道祖师 #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #lily's dabbles #red envelope ficlets #aggressively socal au #liloloveyou024 #ask

26 notes · View notes

iwroteinapastlife · 5 years

Text

Different

We’re finally back with more Honey I’m Home! I had to completely scrap and rewrite this chapter three times because it just would not work with me, so please take it away from me.

“I thought you were getting donuts.”

All around them, the room was bustling with serving staff running around trying to keep up with the tests Georgia and the rest of the family were throwing at them, but there in the center of the room, Nathaniel stood still with Chloé as she frowned at the apple in his hand.

“We did get donuts,” he affirmed, “and you can have one after you eat something healthy for breakfast.”

“But I did eat something healthy for breakfast!” she complained, looking up to pout at him. A second later, the look was gone, blue eyes darting back down to the apple. That guilt swam circles in his stomach.

“Eating half of a granola bar while playing Ultimate Mecha Strike doesn’t count.”

Usually, Nathaniel would expect her to argue further, probably jabbing at his own inconsistent meals and bringing up the time he had gone a whole day without eating because he got too sucked into a painting.

Instead, she rolled her eyes with an annoyed sigh, feigning normalcy. All he saw was a mask. “Fine, but you better save a donut for me.” And without waiting for a response, she plucked the apple from his palm—taking care not to touch his hand in the process—turned, and left. Still no eye contact and still wearing a mask.

His shoulders slumped as he watched her walk away. He didn’t know what to do. Their interactions had been like that all day—awkward and strained but pretending they weren’t, tiptoeing around the elephant in the room. Chloé could hardly look him in the eye for more than a second at a time, and when she did, it was different—and not in a good way. It was an act—her best attempt to make it look like nothing was wrong when in reality there was no doubt a storm raging in her mind. It was so unlike her it hurt. Avoidance was not Chloé’s usual strategy, especially not with eye contact. She was one of the most confrontational people he had ever met, and she fought the bulk of her battles with staring contest. He had gotten used to that, he was familiar with that. This he was not familiar with. He had no idea how to deal with this.

“Something wrong?” Nathaniel snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Nick’s voice. He was still just standing in the center of the room staring at Chloé as she spoke with one of the serving staff—eating the apple, thankfully. Nick followed his gaze before he could speak. “Uh oh. Lover’s quarrel?”

He was biting his cheek again. He forced himself to stop with a frown. “Yeah, I guess.” Tearing his eyes away from her, Nathaniel turned to look at Nick. “What do you do when Renee avoids talking about something?”

He was already shaking his head before the whole question was out. “Nope. Chloé and Renee are two very different people. You’ve gotta approach this from a Chloé angle, not a Renee one.”

His frown only deepened, that guilty pit in his stomach dropping with the added weight of helplessness. “This is just so different from usual. I’ve never seen Chloé act like this before. I don’t know what to do.”

“No, come on now. You’ve known her a long time, even if you didn’t always get along. You must have seen her like this at least once before. Think.”

He drew his cheek between his teeth again as he thought. A time when Chloé avoided eye contact?

“I guess…” he pushed a hand back through his hair, “there was one time.”

Nathaniel yawned as he scrolled through his Twitter feed, desperately clinging to consciousness as he waited for the caffeine to kick in. His empty coffee cup still sat on the desk in front of him. He told himself he would get up and throw it away before class started, but he knew it was just going to inhabit his workspace throughout lab. Maybe it would annoy Chloé. That was a nice thought.

Having stayed up through the night finishing an art history paper, Nathaniel had had nothing better to do that morning than shower and show up to class ridiculously early. He had managed to stay alert enough to write the paper, but now he could feel his system crashing. He would have skipped class if missing lab wasn’t an automatic 5% grade reduction. He just had to get through the next few hours, and then he could take a nap. An 11 hour nap.

He paused his mindless scrolling to watch the news coverage of yesterday’s akuma attack. The clip showed a guy dressed up in medieval gear going toe to toe with Queen Bee. The queen was untouchable; she was far too fast for him to land a single hit, especially in such heavy armor. She dodged every attack with ease, doing nothing more than just flitting around him—he assumed to stall until the others could get there.

That ended when the akuma suddenly turned from her to focus his attention on a civilian. She managed to intercept him before his sword could come down on the crying child, but that move left an opening for him and suddenly Queen Bee was caught in a choke hold.

The camera zoomed in closer and, as frightening as the image was, Nathaniel couldn’t help but admire the fierce determination in her eyes. The armored guy had her neck in a fist and held her half a meter off the ground, yet she still glared at him with that utter wrath and fearlessness that she always wore. She was incredible.

“God, can you watch literally anything else?”

Nathaniel jumped as Chloé suddenly appeared over his shoulder, slamming her textbook down on the desk. Queen Bee was just escaping from the akuma’s hold, so he didn’t have to worry. He closed Twitter and checked the time. It was still insanely early, but he supposed that made sense for someone as high strung as Chloé.

“What’s wrong? I thought you liked superheroes.”

She immediately grabbed the coffee cup and went to throw it away. His eyes followed her across the room and back, waiting expectantly, but as she sat down next to him, he realized he probably wasn’t going to get a response.

He was just about to go back to his phone when something caught his eye.

“You should use yellow concealer,” he said, the words escaping his mouth before his stupid tired brain could tell him it was a bad idea. “It’ll correct the color better.”

She turned to him in a mixture of confusion and indignation. “Excuse me?”

“Or just tell your partner not to go so hard if you don’t want anyone seeing them,” he went on with a shrug, “that would probably work too.”

The crease between her brows only deepened. “What the fuck are you talking about? You’re my partner.”

She really didn’t know what he was referring to. An amused smile taking to his lips, Nathaniel pointed to his neck, tapping the exact spot where on her, four dark bruises peeked out from under a thick layer of makeup.

That confusion remained on her face a few more seconds before it was replaced with ice cold realization. The color drained from her face and she smacked a hand down over the marks, eyes blown wide in horror.

He dropped his playful demeanor, suddenly worried; that was far from any reaction he was expecting. Without a word, Chloé grabbed her bag and practically ran out of the room.

The rest of the students were starting to trickle in when she finally returned. She had put a fresh layer of powder on, the bruises hardly visible now.

“Hey,” he said carefully as she sat down again. She wasn’t looking at him. She did her best to make it look like she hadn’t even heard him as she got her class materials out, but he could see her shifting nervously. That didn’t sit right. He had seen her irritated—at him no less—any number of times, but he had never seen her like this. Chloé Bourgeois was not the type to avoid eye contact; if anything, it was her weapon of choice. To see her like this—anxious and trying her best to hide it while refusing to look at him—it felt wrong. “It’s no big deal, you know.” Still nothing. He leaned forward and dropped his voice. “When I have hickeys, I wear them with pride.”

That seemed to give her pause. She watched him warily out of the corner of her eye. He gave her what he hoped was a peaceful smile.

“Yeah, well,” she finally said, looking back at her notebook, “your father isn’t the mayor.”

He laughed, more out of relief than amusement as that worry finally abandoned her eyes, returning them to the cold, stinging blue that he knew.

“Fair enough.”

“There you go,” Nick continued, thankfully not asking for any details. “So how did you solve it last time?”

Nathaniel was still biting the inside of his cheek, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop. He had no idea what was even going on back then. He didn’t know that the bruises weren’t hickeys and he didn’t know that her worry was of him finding out about her identity, not some partner.

His gaze had gravitated back to Chloé, as it seemed it always would. This and that were completely different issues, but at the same time, if he was able to mend things back then—when he didn’t know anything about her and she still absolutely hated him—he really ought to be able to mend things now. At the very least, he wanted her to look him in the eye again.

He blew out a long sigh and thought hard. No doubt, her relief that day had come from the realization that he had no clue who she was—that her identity was completely safe. “I guess I just…made her feel like she had nothing to worry about.” So maybe that’s what he needed to do; make her feel safe again, let her know that she didn’t have to worry.

“Perfect.” He looked up again as Nick’s palm landed on his shoulder. He was giving him that encouraging, comforting smile again. “Do that. Reassure her; make her feel secure.”

Nathaniel was starting to understand why Chloé’s grandparents had one of the best relationships he’d ever heard of. “Thank you, Nick.”

“Anytime. Now go talk to her; you don’t want to let this sit.”

He nodded and, with a deep breath, walked away. As if on cue, Chloé’s conversation ended and the other person left right as he approached. She didn’t notice him as she wrote something down on her clipboard, holding the apple with her teeth. Out of habit, he set his hand gently on her back.

She immediately stiffened, drawing in a short breath of surprise, and that same look took to her face that she’d been wearing around him all day—the act that nothing was wrong. Fuck.

He stuffed both hands in his pockets. “How is everything going?”

She finished scribbling down a note before reaching up and replying around a bite of apple, “Good.” Even as she looked up from the clipboard though, she still didn’t look at him—electing instead to watch Georgia do something across the room.

“Chloé?”

“Hm?”

Nathaniel shifted awkwardly. He didn’t know how to start—or even what he wanted to say exactly—but he needed to say something.

And it was on that thought that he blurted out, “I don’t care about last night.”

He paused briefly to try and get a bearing on what he was saying. Chloé visibly slowed mid-bite as that statement sank in. “And I don’t care what happens moving forward,” he continued, surprising himself with how true the words were. “Things can go on how they always have if you want.” It would be the feat of a lifetime for him to get over her, but he would do that if she wanted him to; he knew he would. Her eyes finally found his and the mask was gone, leaving only that worry and hesitation he knew she had been shouldering all day. Breathing a small sigh of relief for at least having her eyes again, he looked back with a soft gaze. “You’re my best friend, Chloé. Whatever happens, I just want that to stay true.”

She held his gaze, looking back and forth between his eyes as she seemed to process his words. He definitely hadn’t phrased it as well as he could have, but there it was; he could only hope she received it well.

You’re safe, he said in his mind. You can think as long as you want and no matter what you decide, I’ll still be here.

In that blue he could see a storm of unease and deliberation, but the longer she watched him, the more her expression melted into a certain tenderness—an understanding and appreciation, and finally, a warm relief.

“You’re my best friend too, Nathaniel,” she finally said, voice soft, but not weak. A tiny smirk threatened the corner of her mouth and she added, “Don’t tell Sabrina.” He could feel a wide grin slowly spreading across his cheeks as a familiar warmth bloomed in his stomach, that pit finally dissolving. Her own smile grew and she rolled her eyes, already looking so much more like herself. “Don’t let it go to your head, tomato. I’m still not ready to forgive you for making me eat an apple.” As if to punctuate that statement, she took a bite.

He laughed, probably a little too hard, but he couldn’t help it with this intense relief washing over him at having his Chloé back. She was eyeing him quizzically with that sassy smirk of hers and all he could do was beam back at her.

“Yes, your highness.”

#chlonath #miraculous ladybug #fake dating au #honey i'm home

16 notes · View notes

dailytechnologynews · 5 years

Photo

Is there really not a perfect 11.5-13.5" Windows tablet choice?!

Hello guys. For the past week i've been researching to find the perfect windows tablet choice for my specific application need. However it seems there isn't even one device that doesn't have some type of throwback. I'm not asking for everything, but it seems it is either hit or miss, even if you take into account overpriced products. Please hear me out and let me know your thoughts.

I am essentially looking for a WINDOWS TABLET which its primary purpose is to be fitted to my car as a secondary "dash" per say so i can use it to interact with my aftermarket motorsports ecu. It will function as a monitoring dash for the most of the time, but can be used to datalog (aka record data) or for direct tuning (so i don't have to bring my laptop everytime i need to make changes to my engine calibration). I wouldn't mind using it at home as well since i will have it, but mostly will work as a travel/trip companion since i have a PC at home. It has to be a WINDOWS tablet as the software that interfaces with the ecu is only windows based.

After thinking and revising my requirements several times after getting disappointed by what is available here is the break down:

Dimensions: Height needs to be around ~205mm +10mm max so the tablet can be secured in the glove box when not in use. Ideally height should be maximized so that the display area is maximized as well. Length larger than 300mm is not a problem but would get annoying to fit to the car since it will extend more towards the passenger side. This effectively limits me to ~11.8-13.3" tablets, so Microsoft Surface Pro can be used as a reference design (since i haven't seen bezel-less windows tablets yet) Display: This is the most important attribute of the tablet. 1080p absolute minimum resolution, 2K ideally, 3K is probably not gonna be noticeable at the usage distance. Here is a screenshot from my 1080p laptop so you can see the ECU software in datalog mode (slightly cropped but so you can get an idea: http://content.invisioncic.com/r260425/monthly_2017_09/fuel_pressure_link.png.bc827c0a96fe120632f1d7c168e66a64.png However let's not forget brightness and contrast. Brightness should be ~400nits or better for a glossy display, and contrast should be considered over color accuracy. Viewing angle in the length span should be at least 150deg but i think it is hard nowadays to find such a bad display panel. Finally a fully laminated panel is recommended. Physical interfaces: I essentially need a single full size USB port so i can connect my ECU to the tablet. After my research i decided to allow for USB-C assuming that i can get a dongle that will allow me to interface without any issues; but it's best not to allow for that route due to possible incompatibility issues (like what happened when usb3.0 was released). Extra USB ports, USB-C that allows charging and data, video output port, headphone jack, m.2 expansion slot, sd card slot are all pluses. Wireless interfaces: Min wifi and bluetooth. 802.11AC and bluetooth v4.2 or better all pluses. CPU/GPU performance: Generally something better than N3450 (tested my brother's CHUWI surbook mini) and more recent will help, GPU performance is irrelevant for the task so the majority of intergrated GPU's will do fine. RAM: 4GB absolute minimum, 8gb ideal Cooling: I prefer passive cooling, but usually the cooling solution used is sh*t. At least in some cases it can be modded (i'm experienced and willing to do) Battery: 4 hours light use with full display brightness as minimum. If charging is performed over USB-C i hope it is not the stupid kind of power->battery->device like in phones and can work like in laptops where the battery is not used when power is supplied to the laptop. This way you don't wear out the battery since the device will be connected to power most of the time it is operated. Storage: 64gb absolute min, ideal min should be 128gb, speed is relative but i think at least m.2 sata interface ssd; NVME huge + Others: Pen support and attachable keyboard are pluses, but i plan on using a good bluetooth keyboard with backlight (required) so it makes them irrelevant if the tablet is good, Thunderbolt 3 is a +, unlocked bios +, kickstand should work on a lap without cutting your pants off and stay in one place, sd card reader + Reliability: From what i read most chinese tablets are pretty bad with both hardware and software issues out of the box. Backcover should be metal to act as heatsink and be stiff enough, weight and thickness is not that important Condition: New or used. I believe some products offer better value when bought used and others because have been discontinued Pricing: My budget is flexible but depending on the features lots of them are overpriced especially bought new. I would say ~500eur for a new tablet with min features required and 1000eur for one with better hardware. Considering i'm building a 7nm PC in a couple of months the market pricing is really unacceptable for most windows tablets. Blame Apple for it, but i'm not a rich consumer neither i am a sheep. Performance to value is what i always look for.

I literally checked every windows tablet and 2-in-1 i believe. Here some potential picks and what i didn't like.

Microsoft Surface Pro (4 - 5 - 6): At first glance it is a good base candidate..but..really Microsoft? It's 2019 and no USB-C? Proprietary connector and overpriced hardware? Questionable reliability? Get the f*ck out of here. Unless you find a good used deal i don't think it would be worth it. Another Apple wannabe. Eve-tech EVE V: This is one tablet that hits all the boxes, kinda, since by now it is almost obsolete in terms of CPU performance..sadly while i'm greek-cypriot i would go with the stereotypical view for greeks because the CEO is a "malakas" and i'm really sorry to all the people that were scammed. On the other hand i believe there is some truth to the Paypal issues he had since my friend had similar issues (because of not much experience) and even I couldn't help him get them fixed as Paypal is run by assholes as well which need a punch to the face (their excuse it is the system and they can't do anything about it - like wtf). I still use it but the time a different payment system reaches similar adoption i would gladly switch. Chuwi Surbook: Slow CPU, screen is not fully laminated, mediocre specs but was good price at some time ago. Maybe the announced "surbook pro" would fair better? Voyo Vbook i5/i7 Plus: Nice screen, fair pricing? Not the most quality build, shitty battery, i7 model throttles? Teclast X6 Pro: A slightly better vbook i5? No full detailed reviews yet, and i wasn't that impressed from the previous X5 review Alldocube Knote 8: Seems good on paper, but no type-A usb ports Jumper EZpad 6: Possibly the only windows tablet in stock with a good value, however i need something with a better and larger display Acer Switch 3/5: Mediocre screens, single type-A port on the right side (since my car is RHD and the ecu is on the left side i would prefer it on the left side), shitty battery performance, a little overpriced Dell XPS 12 9290/Latitude 5290/Latitude 7285: Great displays, powerful, only 5290 has type-A port, mediocre battery life, overpriced but there are good used deals Asus Transformer 3 Pro T303UA/T304UA: Premium specs but discontinued, expensive, only 1 type-A port and it is on the right side (again), T304 is a huge step backwards even though newer (what the heck Asus, are you drunk?) Lenovo ThinkPad X1: Overpriced, no type-A ports, Gen3 is too big and has display coating issues, Gen2 is more suitable due to size and type-a interface but older and screen brightness not that good - all too tall Lenovo MIIX series: new 630 uses an ARM processor so no go (since i can't force the software developpers to re-compile), 720 rates very high in the features i need, 2 usb type-A ports, nice display, etc. 520 is a little newer with weaker hardware but still good for its price HP Pro X2/Envy X2/Elite X2 1012: HP's other offerings like the Elite X2 1013 are too tall for my needs, and while they have good displays and good build quality i am not font of their design decisions. I have a Zbook 17 G5 workstation at work we bought new and not even 6 months passed and the CPU fan now rattles like crazy..here's my 1st day rant about it: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/Note-to-HP-Zbook-17-G5-design-engineers-Please-read-and/td-p/6914797 Also they are overpriced like crazy. I wouldn't ever think of buying again from them. Also the power supply is proprietary as some of the internal hardware. F*ck HP Huawei MateBook E: Aside the lack of ports it is a pretty good designed device, display is perfect but slightly smaller than the biggest i can fit - depending on price it might be a good consideration assuming i can run a USB-C dock i can charge within the car Samsung Galaxy Book 12: Similar to the Huawei above, just a little faster but with a worse display, extra usb-C port. Older and more expensive than the Huawei Toshiba Portege X30T and others: Ports are on the keyboard and not on the tablet, won't work for me.

I think i've covered 99% of the options but i may could have missed 1 or 2. To be honest i won't need this tablet for another 3-6months i would guess but at least i've done my research so i will be prepared when the time comes to buy one. What do you think? I know i went a little crazy but i'm that type of person that never regrets his purchasing choices because i don't buy blindly.

#hardware #Computer #Technology #Tech #News

1 note · View note