#do you know how many things would have to have gone wrong for this to matter?

[fixyourwritinghabits]

How to Handle Critique

I’ve got to admit, I wish I was one of those beatific saints that could take critique with a grateful smile. Instead, I am constantly suppressing a horrible little gremlin at the back of my head hissing at anything from legit plot critiques to grammar corrections. I’m well aware I used that comma wrong, GOD.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very good at suppressing that gremlin, but the little bastard is still there. He exists because even though your brain knows critique can help, it also knows you worked damn hard on the thing being critiqued, and goddamnit, isn’t that enough???

Anyway, here are some tips on getting that gremlin to shut the hell up.

It is okay to be upset. You worked really hard on this thing, and now someone’s gone and pointed out all the things that suck about it. You cannot control how you feel about one thing or another, but you can allow yourself to feel that way and let it pass through you. Let your critique partner you’re taking time to reflect on it, and go for a walk. Do something else. Let those feelings pass through you before you get back to the page.

Give yourself time. Don’t feel like you need to correct things right away (unless they are minimal grammar tweaks). Some pieces of feedback might take awhile to sink in, especially when you’ve got a whole novel to wrestle through. Set it aside, think about something else for a week or so, and get back to it when you’ve reset.

Get a second opinion and/or ducky friend. It can be very hard to tell the difference between good and bad feedback sometimes. Someone who means very well could give feedback that just doesn’t work for you, and someone who doesn’t give two shits could have spotted that fatal flaw right away. You can bring in a real third party or just make use of the old rubber duck technique, where you talk through the issue with a friend or a Naruto poster telling you to Believe it. Working it out out-loud is a really effective technique to figure out what needs fixing and what doesn’t.

Guide critique-givers toward the feedback you want. I, a person who prefers straightforward fantasy and sci-fi, cannot give the fine-tooth points on how a romance novel should work. However, I can give feedback on what works for me and what doesn’t story-wise. Giving your beta reader or critique partner a list of questions to look for will help avoid vague feedback based on how they don’t like the genre. There are many ways to do this, but consider using the following as a base to tailor your own questions:

Did you get a good sense of the setting? Did the worldbuilding make sense to you?

Was this story clear? Where there any parts that seemed confusing?

What characters did you like and why? What characters didn’t you like?

Did any parts of the story feel slow or repetitive?

Did the beginning draw you in? Did the middle keep you engaged? Did the ending feel satisfying?

If you were to write [insert plot point here], what would you do differently?

Again, all of the above questions are up for debate depending on your goal, but we are rarely taught how to give good feedback, and a guided feedback session would work better for you than a free-for-all.

Figure out what kind of advice doesn’t work for you. It is really hard to give good feedback sometimes, even with guided questions. It can also be really hard to figure out why some feedback doesn’t click with you, and that’s a matter of digging deep to figure out what you really want. You may lean toward characters who are horrible fuck-ups, but your partner prefers more steady characters who always strive to do the right thing. Your characters, therefore, may never click with this person, no matter how much they want to help you. And that’s okay! Figuring out where your critique partner is coming from can help you figure out what parts of their feedback isn’t working for you. Sometimes the only thing you can do is thank them and move on, but you might also want to guide them to focus more on the plot or the worldbuilding when looking at your work.

And last, don’t focus on grammar. It’s great if they point that out, but if you end up changing everything, trying to fix that first is a waste of your time. Grammar tweaks last, plot points first.

And, I dunno, give yourself a treat to get that horrible little mind gremlin something else to focus on. Sometimes patting those bad feelings on the head and sending them away can help way more than ignoring them.

#writing feedback #writing advice #telling yourself this feels bad and I don't like it is okay! #even if you asked for that advice it can still hurt! #just let it pass and you'll be okay

[briardoll]

The Obey Me! Characters react to an MC who talks to themselves!

Lucifer actually thinks it’s kind of cute, but worries you may be lonely, or quite possibly mentally ill. He may ask why you talk to yourself so much so please assure him that you’re fine!!

Mammon thinks you’re crazy, “who likes talkin’ to themselves??” Maybe it’s a weird human thing, or maybe you’re just a weird human. Either way he’s gonna bust in and ask why you’re so passionate in your hatred for modern art. (<- defo isn’t something I’M passionately hateful about (¬_¬))

Levi understands completely what it’s like to have to converse with yourself because you know nobody else understands/cares about what you’re saying. Comes in and tries his best to listen and understand your thoughts!

Satan stands outside and eavesdrops on what you’re saying, uses the information he earns to one-up his brothers by knowing what you like/dislike without ever having asked or being told directly. It creeps you out until you come out of your room unexpectedly and catch him spying.

Asmo will originally think that your live-streaming something and check all your socials, (why would you stream without telling him!? He wants to watch every second you know!) when there are no lives to be found, he comes in and asks to help film the deviltube video with you, realizing there’s no video to film either he decides to get in on the conversation and even agrees with what you’re saying! He never knew you had that much in common before!!

Beel thinks you must be hallucinating, it’s because you haven’t eaten enough of course!! He brings you your favorite meals, drinks, and snacks so that you can regain your mental stability. You tell him that you just talk to yourself to get your thoughts out somewhere and it confuses him, he’s a man of not too many words, and if it’s not about food he’s doesn’t usually pay enough attention to form an opinion. Eats snacks with you and listens to what you have to say.

Belphie thinks you talk way too much about things that aren’t important. Does laugh when he hears about the time a cicada flew in your mouth one summer as a child. “So you’ve never known how to keep your mouth shut, huh?” Whoops, gave himself away, now you know he’s there!!! (Definitely never happened to me and I’m definitely NOT speaking from experience! Actually… yes it did. I’m scared of cicadas TO. THIS. DAY.)

Diavolo thinks you talk to yourself because he doesn’t make enough time for you! He feels bad that you feel the need to talk to yourself because he’s made you so lonely! Please promise him that he did nothing wrong! He’ll still deploy a little D. To be your conversation partner when he’s busy with paperwork.

Barbatos only requests that you speak to yourself quietly, the young lord is working you know! At least now he knows your likes and dislikes better and can better cater to your needs. (him and Satan have similar mindsets in this regard)

Simeon wonders in you’re recording some kind of podcast. He’s never found it online, but it doesn’t bother him because he can listen from right outside your door. Is always excited to know what the next episode is about!

Luke comes in and asks you if you’re sick, when you tell him no, he asks if you’re lonely. You could’ve just asked him to talk! Baked some sweets and shares them with you while you talk about your common interests.

Solomon responds randomly to your rhetorical questions from outside the door. You tell him to go away and that you weren’t talking to him, just when you think he’s gone he answers you again and laughs, it’s now a fun game for him to play when he visits you.

Thirteen plays pranks on you while you do it, knocks on the door really hard and then hides so that when you open it nobody’s there! Will go to the electrical breaker in the house and switch the lights in your room on and off to hear you scream in terror.

Raphael thinks a curse might’ve been placed on you, asks if he needs to rain spears onto the person who did this to you, you tell him that no, you weren’t cursed, you’re just like this. He now thinks you are very odd and may possibly need some kind of mental help.

Mephisto will not tolerate your stupidity. If there is nobody in the room, you simply don’t speak, you aren’t filming a video, you aren’t talking on the phone, and you’re certainly not normal for acting like this! Cease it at once!

#obey me #obey me headcanons #obey me nightbringer #obey me shall we date #obey me hcs #obey me simeon #obey me asmodeus #obey me belphegor #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me boys #obey me beel #obey me mephisto #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos #obey me thirteen #obey me raphael #obey me solomon #obey me luke

[madneywedding]

Eddie takes a deep breath. “So, if one day, if something happens to me — if there’s ever a day when I don’t come home at the end of the day to my son, Buck will gain custody of him. Buck will be the one to raise him.” 

His father stares at him, face inscrutable. His mother opens her mouth once, twice, and then closes it again. Eddie closes his eyes and waits for the inevitable. 

“Eddie, I don’t…I don’t understand. Is this because of how we treated you? Did you do this to prove a point? We made mistakes with you — I know you were forced to do a lot of things you shouldn’t have had to do, but we’ve — we’ve learned from that. We know it was wrong, Eddie, but it — it doesn’t mean we don’t deserve to be a part of our grandson’s life. You can’t cut us out like this.”

Eddie buries his face in his hands. “No, Mom. No — I’m telling you this now because I love you both, and because I want you to be a part of Christopher’s life. I'm not cutting you out, even if I’m not here — you’re family, and I — I don’t want you to fight with Buck. I want you to help him. I want you to help him in the way that he needs. I want you to trust him to raise Chris the way that I want him to be raised.”

“We can raise Chris how you want him to be raised, if you would just tell us how —” 

“Buck already knows how, Mom! He’s been in Christopher’s life since he was seven years old, and —”

“There’s no reason why Buck can’t visit us in Texas. Or — or we could move out to Los Angeles, if you insist on having your son stay here. Buck can visit him whenever he likes. There's no reason why he needs to be separated from his family!"

"Buck is family, how many times do I have to tell you —"

"He's your friend, Eddie, don't act like that's the same thing —"

"Yeah, it's not the same thing — he's the only one who's actually been here for Chris, who's been here for me —"

"You're not being rational here, Eddie, if you would just listen —"

“Helena, may I?” Ramon interjects. Eddie’s mother falls silent and nods once. Ramon takes a deep breath. 

“You know, Eddie…you have done a wonderful job with Christopher. You — you do so much for him. I see the way he is with you at home. He’s so happy here, so carefree. The way you should have been at home with me.” Ramon sighs, scrubbing at his face. “I failed you so many times when you were a little boy. You needed me, and I failed you. But I don’t want to fail you again. I will do whatever it is you need from me.” 

Helena turns her head sharply, and Ramon rubs her wrist placatingly. “I trust you, mijo,” he says. 

“So — what? You understand?” Eddie says, perplexed. “Just like that?”

Ramon exhales. “It’s not ideal,” he says. “Any world with you gone is not okay with me, and it would be harder not having Christopher with us if it comes to that. But Christopher is your son, not mine. You have raised him, not me. The least I can do now is trust you to know what’s best for him. And I do, Eddito. You say Buck is the one you trust most to raise him? I will respect you. I will respect him.” 

#a scrapped scene from buck meets the diazes. if anyone is interested #rae writes #buddie #911 #rae.txt

[clementine-thedestroyer]

Omega!Gaz x Omega!reader x Alpha!Price….

Gaz has a pussy here, you’ve been warned. Either male omegas have cunts or he’s trans, pick whichever you prefer because I sure as hell don’t explain shit.

Omega-Omega couples were rare… but not unheard of.

You and Gaz were one of the rare examples of a pair of mated Omegas, and while it had been hard in the beginning (not for the reasons anyone assumes. Heats were, if anything, easier with another Omega) people around you would cite you two as an example of a perfect couple- just two people who loved each other more than anything else.

Gaz had worked hard to get where he was- to prove he could serve and hold his own right alongside betas and alphas without being a liability. It’d been hard, the military wasn’t exactly always the most progressive place, but Price had welcomed him into the 141 with open arms, treating him like he would any other soldier.

He’d felt accepted in the 141- at home, and after a while, he’d eventually decided to introduce you to his team, figuring you had a right to know the men who kept him from coming back home in a box and trusting Price to be accepting and respectful of your relationship (and also to keep the less socially-adept members of the team from making any off comments)

And it had been great- Price stood up to shake your hand as Gaz introduced you two, treating you like any other even when you fumbled the greeting and extended the wrong hand. He’d sat across from you and Gaz in the circular booth the group had claimed in the pub, giving the two of you kind smiles as he asked occasional, respectful questions about your relationship.

The night had nearly gone sideways when Soap had started to ask “So- like, the two of you, how does that work for your, you know.. hea-“ only to be immediately shut down with a stern glare from Price and the man Gaz had introduced as “Ghost” smacking him on the back of the neck.

You and Gaz had never considered opening up your relationship to an Alpha or beta. One too many insensitive comments (not unlike Soap’s, though at least his didn’t come from a place of malicious intent) and Alphas taking the first chance to trample over your relationship just because you were omegas has put you both off the subject as a whole.

But, Price’s protective demeanor, the scent of whiskey, smoke, and something distinctly him hanging off of him, the way he’d clap Gaz on the back or shoulder, treating him just like he would Ghost or Soap, the small, U-shaped smile he seemed to only give the two of you- and that was all it took for your resolve to crumble.

And Price? Well, he was just happy to have the two prettiest, sweetest omegas he’d ever met dropped right onto his lap.

All this time, he’d been keeping his emotions and desires under wraps- resisting the urge to shove his pretty new sergeant down on his cock until he choked and gagged, painstakingly applying the sticky, annoying little white patches over his scent glands so Gaz wouldn’t find his scent overwhelming or obnoxious and wouldn’t be able to tell when his scent got heavier after staring at Gaz’s ass a moment too long.

And then to find out his sergeant was mated? To another omega?? Oh the things that ran through his mind. The two of you would think him derange if you’d known the things he wanted to do to the two of you.

And of course, when he meets you, he’s only down worse. Seeing his sergeant and his precious girl he’d talk about so fondly- and he could blame him, you were a sight. A pretty girl like you for a pretty boy like Kyle, it was fitting.

That entire night at the pub, he’d been chanting don’t be a prick don't be a prick don't be a prick in his head like a mantra, desperately trying to stay professional and respectful. He was digging his nails into his thigh so hard trying to ground himself that he was half concerned he’d break skin.

Only to then, afterwards, find out that you two were pinning over him almost as bad as he was for you? To find out that the pair of omegas he wanted nothing more than to absolutely destroy were practically offering themselves up on a silver platter?

Oh, he was ecstatic.

When Price first gets the two of you into bed, he’s mean, sitting back in his chair and lighting one of his fancier cigars and smirking as he makes you two scissor and grind your clits together for him- not letting the two of you stop until he’s done with his cigar and both of you have cum.

He’s content to sit back and enjoy the sight, watching you cry and writhe under Gaz in over stimulation from already coming as he holds you tight and grinds his clit against yours desperately, panting out pleading, breathy apologies over not being able to cum faster.

Price likes to have the two of you kiss too- especially sweet kisses shared between the two of you that devolve into desperate, needy make out sessions all under Price’s watchful eyes.

He just likes to watch his omegas love on eachother- giving the two of you occasional instructions to give her a hickey for me, Gaz. Mark her all up for us. Love, how about you help our boy get out of those jeans? Good girl, good job.

He’ll give you or Gaz permission to hump the other’s thigh, only to take it away right as you're about to cum and laugh at the desperate, strangled plea he gets in return.

He’ll pull the two of you to your knees in front of him, having the two of you make out around and worship his cock. One of you will take him as far as you can in your mouth, while the other sucks and kisses at what doesn’t fit and at his heavy balls.

And fucking the two of you is an ordeal with how needy you can be- Price usually ends up with three fingers buried in one of your cunts and his cock stuffed deep in the other, trying desperately to keep pace and keep it together even with two whining, needy omegas under him.

#fem!reader #smut #John price x Kyle gaz Garrick x reader #john price x reader #kyle gaz garrick x reader #john price #fem reader #john price x y/n #john price x you #john price x f!reader #captain john price #kyle gaz garrick x y/n #kyle gaz garrick x female reader #kyle garrick smut #kyle gaz garrick x you #kyle gaz garrick #141 x reader #john price x fem!reader #John price x Kyle gaz Garrick

[sashaisready]

This Must Be The Place: Chapter 5 - I feel numb

Biker!Bucky x Femme Reader

Back at your beloved late grandmother's home to pack up her house, you have a run-in with the town's biker gang 'The Howling Commandos' and find yourself entangled with the metal armed President.

Series Masterlist

Warnings: Bucky is a dick in this one. Angst! Jealousy! Idiots who don't communicate!! But I’m loving Steve...He’s moving in a different direction than planned but I’m enjoying it.

Surprise chapter drop! This came outta nowhere lol. Thanks again for all your reblogs and comments, I truly can’t emphasise enough how much they mean to me.

You had whiplash after the kiss with Bucky in the office. It all happened so fast, so fast you didn’t even really think about it. Not that you needed to, your body thought and spoke for you. Every feeling you had for him was poured into that kiss. Every stolen glance, every secret second of pining. Kissing him felt like the most natural thing in the world. As if you were meant to be doing this. A tiny part of you had almost hoped that if you ever did manage to kiss him, that it would be bad…or worse - uneventful. Then maybe the mediocrity would snap you out of your infatuation and allow you to move forward, finally stop you crushing on a man who you knew would be no good for you.

Alas, no. It had only stoked the embers, the fire for him burning brighter than ever before.

That night you had driven home, Clint riding alongside you on his bike until you were safely behind the front door. That was sweet. You had insisted you were fine and apologised to him for the waste of gas, but he was nonplussed. A loyal soldier doing his duty.

You had laid awake in Granny’s old bed that night, wondering what exactly had led Bucky to make a move. Yes, there had been a bit of flirtation between you both, but you’d got the impression he was like that with women generally – especially if his interactions with Amber and co were anything to go by. You’d met many flirts in your time, and you knew better than to pin hopes and feelings on a bit of banter. Some flirts treated it like a sport, getting girls to fall for them with a few sweet words and well-timed winks just to see if they could. Others just did it to pass the time, enjoying the buzz of the exchanges but never really intending it to go further. You didn’t know which category Bucky fell into, but you were smart enough to keep your wits about you. Or at least try to...

He seemed genuinely shaken up by the incident with the customer, angry that he hadn’t been there to save the day and keep his employees out of harm’s way. Was he worried about you? Or was it a bit of a macho display to save face in front of the MC? Someone had caused trouble on his turf, after all. You didn’t know. Why had he even hired you? Did he like you, or were you just a bit of fun that he knew had an expiration date when you sold the house? Did he feel the same way you did, or just think you were a good time girl who would serve him beer and maybe let him into your pants for a few quickies after hours? You didn’t know. But a glimmer of optimism was blooming.

And just how far would the kiss have gone if Sam hadn’t interrupted? You definitely didn’t know that. All you knew was the dizzying feeling you’d felt when he’d kissed you…and just how down bad you were.

Ugh.

To your disappointment, and possibly helping to confirm where Bucky stood, you didn’t hear from him over the next few days. Only a cursory text from Steve to confirm your next shift. You weren’t sure what you expected, but making out with your boss in the back office wasn’t a regular work activity for you – you at least thought he’d text or something. But maybe that’s where you were going wrong. Maybe that was a typical Sunday night at the bar for him.

You pulled up into the parking lot of The Snake Pit on Wednesday evening to begin your shift. As you wandered in, various members of the MC greeted you and asked about your injuries. You smiled and amiably chatted back, reassuring them all was fine. Nat gave you a wave over by the jukebox before berating Sam about his song choice. Just another regular shift. If anyone knew about your little tryst with Bucky, nobody gave anything away to suggest it.

As you got to the bar, Steve was leaning across it and meticulously inspecting a CCTV camera he must’ve unscrewed from the ceiling. You said hi to Tom who was already working, his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he acknowledged you while very carefully cutting up some lemons.

“Still playing up, huh?” you asked Steve as you started putting clean glasses away.  

“Yep,” he replied without looking up. “I thought the connection was loose, but I can’t see any problems with it – so I think it’s something with the individual cameras”.

A couple of the cameras had been on the blink for a week or so, leaving surveillance blindspots in the bar. Bucky was very blasé about it all, but Steve was clearly nervous.

“Want me to call the repair guy?” you asked as you worked around him.

Steve grimaced. “Not yet…I’m just gonna have a play around and see if I can figure it out”.

You poured him a beer as he pulled a screwdriver from his pocket and began opening up the camera’s case.

“Thanks,” he mumbled as you placed the glass in front of him. He hadn’t looked up at you the whole time you’d been there. It would’ve bothered you when you first started here, but you knew now that was just how he was.

“How’s the arm?” he asked suddenly, his eyes still locked on the task in front of him.

“All good, thanks. Bandage was off the next day”.

“Good. And the head?”

“Also good. Just had a bit of a fetching goose egg on my head for a few days”.

“Eh, a look you pulled off, I’m sure”.

You smiled. Steve may have been a man of few words, but he did listen. He did care.

“And don’t worry about that guy. He wouldn’t dream of coming back here. Trust me”.

“Thanks, Steve”.

“Mmm. Y‘welcome” he muttered.

He went quiet again, and you knew that meant the conversation was finished for now so you continued working.

You were just re-stocking the bottle fridges when you realised you hadn’t seen Bucky around yet. You did a quick scan of the room when the front door suddenly flew open.

You couldn’t help the wave of nausea that rushed through as you watched Bucky sweep into the bar, Amber glued to his side as she giggled hysterically at whatever he’d just said. He’d never been that funny, you thought.

Some of the MC members called out to him and he hollered back. Amber was clinging to him, grinning like a Cheshire cat. He dashed by the bar and his eyes caught yours as he walked. He seemed to give you a double take as he stopped.

“You’re working tonight?” he asked, pointing at you accusingly. “I thought you were in tomorrow”.

“Well, hello to you too,” you mumbled back, a little grouchier than planned. But you couldn’t deny that you were expecting a warmer reception.

“I scheduled her,” Steve replied gruffly. “You know those guys from the manufacturing plant are in here Wednesday nights after their shift. We need all hands on deck”.

As if on cue, Tom stumbled behind you and nearly dropped the liquor bottles he was holding.

“Yeah. Guess you’re right,” Bucky replied unconvincingly.

“Buuuucky,” wailed Amber as she tugged on his kutte. “C’moooon…”

Bucky huffed. “Alright…”

He looked at you for a split second, but then they moved over to the other side of the bar. You finally exhaled. You felt stupid. What did you expect? He was going to sweep you up and continue kissing you in front of everyone? You hadn’t even heard from him. God, you thought you’d grown out of this type of thing. Your embarrassment curdled into anger.

As you seethed silently, Steve spoke up again. Well, it was more like a growl than anything as you couldn’t make out what he said.

“Sorry, what did you say?” you asked.

“I said,” and his blue eyes flickered to finally look at you, “Don’t believe everything you see”.

You frowned. “Cryptic…”

“You heard me”.

You watched as he turned and pointedly looked over at Bucky and Amber. Bucky was chatting away to Nat as Amber held onto his metal arm with a vice grip, holding court with the other girls. She was showing Bucky off like a prize.

You felt your face flush. Did…he know? Did Bucky tell him about what happened between the two of you? And what was he inferring about Bucky and Amber?

You went to question him further, but he slipped off the bar stool without another word, zipping off across the room to reattach the CCTV camera.

*

The shift was a particularly painful one. You had to stand and watch as Amber was all over Bucky like a bad rash. He wasn’t necessarily reciprocating her attention – moving through the group drinking, chatting, but equally he wasn’t shaking her off, either. He seemed perfectly happy to have an Amber-shaped appendage, occasionally giving her breadcrumbs in the form of a smile or a wink which she happily devoured. He hadn’t acknowledged you since his admission of surprise that you were here.

Ugh.

Fortunately for you, Steve’s prediction about the plant guys keeping things busy was entirely correct. You and Tom would have bursts of activity as the group all seemed to go in for another round at once, then moments of quiet as they guzzled their drinks back at the tables. You were grateful for the distraction.

The hours clicked by towards the end of the night, and you were tired. Tired of being on your feet all evening. Tired of picking up the slack for Tom. Tired of keeping up with the plant guys who seemed to have bottomless pits inside them that no amount of beer could fill. Tired of how embarrassed you felt by Bucky’s rejection. Tired, tired. Your tank was empty.

The bar had emptied out with only a few stragglers left alongside the MC, so you started cleaning up and closing. You were just stacking some dirty glasses when the high-pitched giggle cut through the air.

You and Tom both turned to see Amber sitting rather unashamedly in Bucky’s lap, giggling as she ran her finger across his chin. He looked back at her with amusement, grinning like a fool.

You squeezed the glass you were holding so tightly that it was a miracle it didn’t break. All the feelings you’d been suppressing suddenly bubbled up, your stomach a nauseating soup of fatigue and hurt. And some rage thrown in for good measure.

“Oh man, she’s so hot…” Tom practically drooled.

That didn’t help.

“I’m just gonna change the Bud barrel,” you muttered in reply, your voice monotonous.

You slipped out through the door behind the bar and quickly rushed down the stairs to the quiet basement where the barrels and stock were kept. Grateful for the privacy, you threw your hands flat against the concrete wall and bent your head towards the floor, exhaling. It took you a moment, but you managed to compose yourself. God, you were stupid.

You unhooked the old barrel and got to work replacing it with the new one, relieved to be doing something with your hands. You berated yourself for getting to this point. A brief make-out session with your boss was hardly a binding contract. It didn’t mean anything. Nothing. Bucky probably got up to more mayhem before 10am most weekdays with his little harem of women. You were just another skirt to him. Jesus. How silly you’d been. You realised maybe you’d let yourself to be caught up in this crush to distract yourself from your Granny and the house. And it was a welcome distraction. But here you were, hiding in the basement at your job and feeling like a high schooler whose crush had invited someone else to prom.

Enough.

You inhaled and finished the task, standing back up and wiping your hands on your jeans.

You straightened up your back and shook your limbs out as you climbed back up the stairs. Time to do what you did best. After all, the only way is through.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x you #james bucky barnes #this must be the place fic #biker!bucky #motorcycle club au bucky

[rvb-canon-tuckington]

here are some "quick" rvb restoration thoughts before i go to bed that i may expand upon later, in no particular order:

this movie was ABOUT tucker but tucker is not in it. there is a tucker sized hole. we see tucker only a little bit more than we see donut, but tucker is still there the whole time!!! at the beginning, i was excited for the tucker whump, but does it count if not a single character reacts to the truly horrifying news that their friend has been controlled for a few months by eight or nine ais, at least two of which have tried to kill him and everyone you love before? like even if they had retconned red and blue teams being friends (which they didn't), you're telling me that we never get to see wash's reaction to this news? carolina's? two people who lost a different friend to this exact gruesome process of de-personing? no one ever tells carolina that tucker is in there and no one objects when tex goes to fucking decapitate him? like i get that caboose was the only person to see that tucker was actually still in there, and he can't really be trusted to communicate things clearly, but they could have even just included some sort of discussion where they decide that they think that tucker would rather be dead than be dragged along in this parody of life (and with the way the ais were torturing him, he probably would have agreed.)

speaking of caboose knowing that tucker is still in there - grif and simmons abandoning caboose rubbed me SO wrong. usually if a character is trying not to involve themselves, they'll "run away" to the nearest place to hide, not GET ON A SHIP TO FLY AWAY LEAVING CABOOSE TO DIE AT POSSESSED TUCKER'S HANDS. i get why they (the writers) did it, but that doesn't mean i have to like it lol

why weren't they FRIENDS ANYMORE

where was donut

what was that wash b-plot. what did the wash b-plot add?? what it did: make me feel weird about dr. grey's character, kill doc off screen, and make wash useless in the main plot. what it did not do: make sense. when did wash get injured post chorus? why is he hallucinating, period? why was he institutionalized? (and why is the room number the same as his prison number?) why did they spend so much time on it for it to have no real conclusion? they didn't need to have this weird "wash is hanging onto the past via doc" plot to have the carolina-wash-freelancer ghost heart-to-heart. (also i have never laughed so hard as when i saw the post pointing out that they left wyoming out bc neither my friend or i noticed lol) why wouldn't he know there was a manual way to activate the recovery beacon since he was LITERALLY recovery one? so many questions, no answers. what have you done to my boy, burnie.

the pacing was ATROCIOUS. nothing happened for the first half of the movie, a bunch of stuff happened in the second half, and none of it felt resolved.

where was donut

why was everyone separated at the beginning? why was no one worried about it? where was donut? where was carolina? why was no one worried about where tucker was? had caboose been the lone blue for the few months that tucker was gone and wash was hospitalized? genuinely, my friend and i thought that the reds and caboose had been mind wiped and dropped into their undisclosed locations without knowing why, and the plot was gonna be them all reuniting and piecing together what had happened and getting tucker back. alas.

it felt like it was the grif-simmons-caboose show, which was interesting because that's not a problem i feel like i've had before with this show. even if i saw less of a particular character than i wanted to. they usually have a pretty good balance of characters and this movie felt like they suddenly Realized how many characters they had and fumbled it.

i did actually really like the tex reveal that was BOSS i LOVED IT

i have more thoughts but this is far too long already so i'll save it for later lmao

#my brain is collapsing with the number of thoughts i have #they're not all negative #its just that the negative ones are longer and more fun to talk about lol #most of these are tuckington focused bc. cmon guys. its on the tin #the no long term consequences for tucker also was weird #the man was tortured for A LITERAL DECADE #if you have tucker using the same language about ais and hallucination doc and wash then there should be similar consequences #rvb #rvb restoration #rvb restoration spoilers #red vs blue

[theonceandfuturequeenoftarts]

Harry doesn’t handle it very well, the first day he and Voldemort spend apart.

When he wakes that morning, Voldemort is up and putting on robes much more elegant than any he’s worn since their capture. He’s going to meet with his Death Eaters – he says as much, but Harry had already guessed. No need to dress up and stand on ceremony with someone who’s seen you piss in a bucket.

Harry follows him silently to the library Floo. Voldemort grabs a handful of powder and looks as though he will leave just like that, but at the last minute he goes still.

Facing away from Harry, voice neutral and even, he says, “I will return.”

Harry nods, then makes some vague sound of assent when he realises Voldemort can’t see him. And then the Dark Lord is gone.

He should do one of the many things he’d thought of doing while they were in that cell. Write to Ron and Hermione or other friends and Order members. Go outside and enjoy the sunshine (well, what sunshine there is on a grey autumn day) and fresh air. Eat and drink whatever and as much as he likes.

He drops into a nearby chair and stares at the empty fireplace, hugging his legs to his chest.

*

It’s fine, he’s fine, Voldemort’s probably fine.

Probably.

Harry tries to remind himself that he’d known whenever Voldemort was being tortured – he could feel echoes through their connection. He would know if something was wrong. The only things he can feel through the bond are mild irritation (which Harry, having dealt with the Death Eaters before, can fully understand) and satisfaction (Nagini, his mind whispers).

Nothing to worry about there.

Harry starts plucking at the chair’s upholstery.

*

When Voldemort returns later that afternoon, he nearly trips over Harry as he exits the fireplace. 

To save the chair from his anxious destruction, Harry had eventually trekked to the kitchen and baked enough bread to feed an army. Channelling his stress into the dough had helped keep him somewhat calm, but he’s pretty sure he overworked a few loaves. That had occupied a few hours, but he’d been too wound up to eat anything, so he’d returned empty-stomached to the library to wait. 

And that’s where Voldemort finds him, seated on the hearth, dusted with flour and soot, halfheartedly pretending to read a book and about ready to storm Malfoy Manor or wherever the Death Eaters gather to make sure the Dark Lord is all right. 

Which – Harry squints up at him consideringly – he is. 

The look on Voldemort’s face is… actually quite funny, were Harry not as strung out as an addict kept from their substance of choice. He’d be more upset about that if Voldemort didn’t look as though their separation had strained him, too. 

“Welcome back,” Harry says as he dusts himself off. Might as well sweep the past few hours of losing his mind under the rug and ignore their many, many issues – they’ll be there whenever he’s forced to confront them.

Voldemort is on board for pretending they’re functioning human beings, thankfully. “I’ve brought Nagini.”

And so he has. The four-metre long snake, wrapped around the older man’s torso, peeks her head up from his shoulder at her name.

Harry only hopes his words come out in Parseltongue. “Hello there.”

She rears back slightly, apparently not expecting him to speak her language. “Hatchling. Master says I’m not to eat you anymore.”

“How kind of him,” he says dryly. She hisses in agreement, not catching the sarcasm. 

Voldemort unwinds her and sets her on the floor next to Harry. “I’ll leave you two to become acquainted,” he says as he heads towards the library door. “No biting.”

“You would bite Nagini?” she asks warily, coiling away from him. Dammit, Voldemort.

“I wouldn’t dare,” he attempts to reassure. “Your scales are, uh, much too beautiful for me to want to damage them.”

Appeased, she wriggles proudly. “Aren’t they?”

She shifts closer to him, butting her head into his hand. “You should express more appreciation for Nagini’s beautiful scales.”

He’s not entirely sure, but he thinks the giant murder snake is telling him to pet her. He rubs gently along Nagini’s chin and body, drawing contented noises from her. He murmurs some nonsense about how lovely her colouring is and she somehow manoeuvres the majority of her body into his lap and around him, praising him for his warmth. It’s, unexpectedly, really nice.

“Why,” Voldemort calls from the doorway, sounding just the tiniest bit perplexed. “Are there two dozen loaves of bread?”

Whoops.

(A long, hard road)

#codependent trauma buddies #harry potter #voldemort #harrymort #nagini #fic snippet #ALHR #post-VII

[dira333]

A plush for a lover - Oikawa x Reader

Angsty fluff, trying something new

Haikyuu taglist: @lees-chaotic-brain

"Oh," Tooru pauses at the little display behind the Couch, "You've got plushies."

"Yes, I..." You're obviously flustered by his comment, yet you did not put them away before he came over, "They mean a lot to me."

"Really?" He picks one up, admires its soft fur and cute features, "It fits, you know?"

"You think so?" You step a little closer, your warmth seeping into him. Is he allowed to pull you in? Or would that be too forward of him?

"Yeah." He turns the plush so that you're face to face. "It's cute. Like you."

-

"I don't have to put it up," he claims, but your smile tells him that you don't believe him. Okay, fine, he wants his trophies where people can actually see them. So what? He worked hard for them.

"We could put them on Display over there," you gesture toward the wall. "So that everyone can see them when they walk in."

"Next to the plushies?" He asks and you halt, only for a second, but it's there, he saw it.

"I wasn't..." You start but he tuts as gently as he can.

"Nonsense. They've been a part of your life longer than I am. Not that I'm jealous or anything..." You giggle and he can't help but join. "But you should showcase them. They mean a lot to you, right?"

"Yeah." You fiddle with the hem of your shirt, an unusual sign of shyness.

"You never sleep with them, though," Tooru can't help but comment. "Why is that?"

"Oh, I do..." You confess, face turned away, "But only when I feel lonely."

-

He's not surprised to find you curled up when he gets home. He's even less surprised to find you hugging a certain plush. It reminds you of your mom, you told him once, because it used to belong to her.

Tooru lets you sleep, knows you need it. It's never easy to have a loved one in the hospital, even less when you're too far away to help in the way you want to.

"Hey," he mumbles softly when he sees you blink an hour later, "I made you something to eat."

"Did someone call?" You ask, voice raspy from sleep and emotions.

"No." His hand cards through your hair, trying to take the anxiety from you in any way possible. "But no news is good news too, right?"

-

The Missus: Hey, I'm on my way home, what do you want for Dinner?

Tooru❤: Shit, sorry, I had my phone on silent. I only got out of training now. Did you wait up?

The Missus: Honey, Hajime called to ask about our next trip. Can you call me back?

The Missus: Hey, I'm sure you're training hard. Don't forget to eat.

The Missus: Love you, going to bed now. Sleep tight.

...

Tooru barely manages to catch the door before it falls shut. The apartment is dark and the cars driving by give barely any light. He finds the light switch blind, a testament to too many nights spent coming home late. Something's wrong, but he can't really put a finger on it as he slips out of his shoes, hangs his jacket where it belongs.

He's tired and hungry, but too tired to eat. Still, he prepares a protein shake, watches the hands of the clock above the TV move as he drinks.

In a minute, he will get ready for bed. In a minute, he will slip into the bedroom as quietly as he can. But he needs a break, just for a second, where he doesn't have to think.

His eyes move around the room, looking for the one thing that's out of order, the one thing that keeps bugging him.

The plants are where they're supposed to be. Even the throw blankets are perfectly folded and placed away. He switches to his trophies, counts the numbers, and - there it is. The ugly little stuffed pig he won you at a festival, a sweet little fellow you named "Oinkawa" and called your favorite - it's gone.

He puts his half-empty shake down and tiptoes toward the bedroom. His heart thuds awkwardly in his chest as if it knows how guilty it should feel.

But when he opens the door, allows a sliver of light to fall in, you're not curled up around a certain pig. You're stretched out, back turned to his side, his own sheets untouched. It looks so foreign, all of a sudden like he's only just realizing that this isn't how it's supposed to be.

He opens the door a little more, eyes widening when he spots a lump on the floor. Oinkawa, he finds, hasn't made it into bed. Or he has, but the little pig has tried to make its escape... only to get hurt on the way.

Tooru picks up the plush. He wonders when you've last had to sleep with it. Was it during his last away game? No, that was last season and you told him on the phone each night that you were cuddling one of his shirts. Was it- He thinks of you, curled up around your mother's plush, and his throat closes up.

This isn't how it's supposed to be.

"Baby?" He asks, his voice a fragile thing in the dark room. You don't move.

"Baby?" He asks again, a little louder this time, grasping for your body. You wake with a shudder and a groan.

"Tooru?" You ask, confusion audible in your voice. "What's going on?"

"Don't leave me, okay?" He begs, "I'm an idiot, but I love you."

He presses his face against your neck and you, merciful as you are, pull him in. Maybe in the morning, you will cry, when the fog of sleep has lifted.

But as for now he gladly takes everything that you're willing to give.

#my writing #oikawa x reader #oikawa tooru #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu fluff #oikawa fluff #oikawa #oikawa angst #haikyuu angst #haikyuu x you #haikyuu x y/n

[clemblog]

Caine’s Lesson - Part 3

•••

Pomni had slowly started to recognise her surroundings. If she had to guess, she’d say she was around twenty minutes away from the Candy Kingdom!

“H-Huh, guess I’m not so useless out here after all!” She hummed, quietly to herself with the ghost of a smile on her face. Everything was going pretty well, considering the circumstances in her opinion!

But then of course, because we love dramatic irony, it wasn’t.

Pomni heard a low growl. She spun around quickly to find what looked to be a mix between a gummy and chocolate wolf. Several of them, as a matter of fact! One thing she knew for sure, is that they didn’t look healthy… And they definitely weren’t pleased to see her walking around out in the open. It kind of reminded her of how Kaufmo had looked when he abstracted-

Just, uh, a lot stickier-

So, it looks like she’d be running now.

She wasn’t sure how many where behind her, but their was no way in [——] she was slowing down to have a look. Those things would bite and it would 100% hurt.

Just keep going Pomni.

Just keep going.

You’ve got this.

Just keep going.

If you don’t… it’s back to the circus.

Luckily, she could see the Candy Kingdom on the horizon. The gates were wide open, so she had a clear shot! Hopefully, someone would let her inside to hide from these weird… wolf type things. Hopefully.

The Candy Kingdom was deathly quiet. The crowds of adoring citizens were long gone. The hustle and bustle gone. Something was wrong. She skidded to a stop, turning to face the pack of wolves. The creatures followed suit, back to growling at her.

“I- Uh… Go! Go on! Get out of here!” Yelled Pomni, doing her best to sound intimidating.

A shadow loomed over her, causing the creatures to start to cower and back away with scared whimpers and whines.

Pomni really didn’t want to look behind her, but she had a hunch about who was behind her.

“MORE CANDY?!” Exclaimed the fudge monster, lunging for the pack of creatures.

Pomni squeaked at such, taking the opportunity to run and hide. The kingdom was in disrepair. The parts of candy mannequins lay around everywhere.

“Jax, you [——————]!” Hissed Pomni, diving into the rubble of a nearby cottage. It was better than nothing.

Unfortunately, she inadvertently clipped through the floor in the process. Luckily, there was no creepy asset room. Only a boarded up basement.

She groaned, rubbing her face as she sat up.

•

“Caine?! Caine? Where are you? Don’t you think Pomni should come back now? Caine?” Yelled Ragatha, pacing the main floor of the circus.

“Ughhh… Dollface, what part of their being no answer you not understand?” Snapped Jax, rolling his eyes. “You can’t make Caine bring her back. Besides, don’t you think the quiet is nice~?”

“No I don’t Jax! Because our friend is [———] god knows where! On her own! When she’s only been here for two days!”

The group went quiet.

“Wow, haven’t heard that kinda language from you in a long time Rags.” Grinned Jax.

“Oh, I’m gonna kill you-“ Seethed Ragatha.

“AARGH!” Exclaimed Kinger, managing to shut up the pair.

“Thank you Kinger.” Sighed Zooble.

“Why? What did I do?” He hummed, looking to them curiously.

She groaned, rubbing her forehead at this.

“Right- Ragatha, you’re not helping anyone by yelling at the AI who does as he pleases. Jax, stop being a [————] [——]. Ragatha is allowed to worry.” Spoke Zooble.

“Oh I’m hurt Zooby~ How could you say such a thing!”

“Don’t act like a [——] if you don’t want me to call you such.”

“Y-Yeah! Jax! Don’t be so cruel to Ragatha, she’s just being n-nice!!” Nodded Gangle.

Zooble gave her an approving smile at this, nudging her with what she assumed was her elbow in a playful manor. Gangle reciprocated said smile.

“That was pathetic.” Mused Jax.

“Oh, I’ll show you pathetic-“

Things were going wonderfully in the circus.

•

Pomni had only taken a few steps into the basement, glancing around at the boarded up room. There wasn’t much down here, but it was safe.

“A-Are you the hero our god sent to us?” Spoke a shy, familiar voice.

Pomni turned around and came face to with Princess Lou.

Her dress and crown were noticeably missing. She wore only her corset and her undergarment pants, alongside some boots Pomni assumed she had had under her dress. She looked exhausted.

“I-I don’t understand how you’d have found me otherwise- So… You’ve got to be the one.” She whispered, softly. “He sent us knights… a few weeks back, to deal with some bandits… But he must’ve misplaced his trust in them… They… let that thing into my kingdom… And. Everything. Is. Ruined.”

Pomni felt awful. So…

“Yes, I’m here to help. But your god didn’t send me. I came on my own accord. Because I want to help.”

“O-Oh! That’s wonderful! I’m so glad, you can call me Lou. …That thing outside is the fudge monster… He used to be one of my citizens… but I was naive. I let a monster into my kingdom walls. I turned a blind eye, I’d hoped he’d change, that one day I’d wake up and he’d stop eating people. But he never did. We managed to get him to leave the kingdom… And we would’ve been fine… Until those stupid knights…”

She paused, taking a deep breath.

“Sorry. Chocolate is just… everything awful in this world, everyone knows that. I don’t understand why one of those knights would give the key to the gates to him…”

‘Probably cause said knight is a [———] idiot.’ Thought Pomni, to herself. She looked back to Lou.

“That sounds a-awful. I’m so sorry… Can I ask… what makes chocolate so bad?”

“Y-You don’t know the story?” Gasped Lou. “Alright, listen here. It’s a long story but I’ll be quick.”

“A long time ago, in the beginning of everything our beloved god created Candy and it was perfect. However, with the creation of Candy, came Chocolate.

And it was everything Candy wasn’t. Hard. Bitter. Unforgiving. Violent.

My great great great grandfather, King Chews The Third spoke to god, on one lucky day. He asked for guidance, help. As a king he wanted to protect his kingdom, but as a Candy it was practically impossible to face the wrath of chocolate.

So they struck a deal, God would send us savours in our times of need and in return we would build our society surrounding him. We’d praise his name and devote everything to him. As centuries went by, with the help from our saviours who’d appear and disappear as time went on, we’d have a kingdom. A safe place. For all of the good Candy kind to thrive in.” She sighed, wistfully. “And then that brings us to now. Everything is ruined, because of some stupid, stupid knights. I should’ve never trusted them..”

Pomni hesitantly put a hand on Lou’s shoulder, standing on her tippy toes to do so.

“I’m so sorry Lou… I-I don’t blame you for trusting them! They’d been trustworthy all those centuries before! Why wouldn’t they be now? I-I’ll get you out of here.. Promise! T-Then we can start a new kingdom! One that’s self sufficient and isn’t reliant on any silly old god!”

Lou was quiet at this but nodded.

“He… has helped a lot… But.. his saviours tend to cause as many problems as they solve… So, I think I’d like to try something new! What’s your name, saviour?”

“Oh- Yeah! It’s Pomni… That’s the name the god gave me….”

“Huh. Well, Pomni is a lovely name, but if we’re pulling away from God… How about I give you a nickname?”

“O-Oh. I didn’t think about that- Only if you want too- I-I don’t mind going by Pomni-“

“How about Poms! Think about it: Poms, Saviour of Candy Kind!”

Pomni did her best not to snicker at this. Poms was a little silly but she liked it nonetheless.

“Sure, Poms it is Lou.”

Part 4

#tadc gummigoo #tadc fanfiction #tadc au #tadc #tadc gangle #tadc ragatha #tadc jax #tadc caine #tadc pomni #tadc kinger #the amazing digital circus gummigoo #gummigoo x pomni #pomni x gummigoo #gummigoo #fanfiction #the amazing digital circus pomni #the amazing digital circus #hehehehe #I hope you guys like this part #it was so fun to write #ao3 #archive of our own #Princess lou #she’s here now #tdac pomni #tdac #tdac jax #tdac caine #tdac ragatha #caine’s lesson

[quin-ns]

The blue III (JJ Maybank x Reader)

Series summary: JJ has a secret, and he doesn’t know how much longer he can hold onto it. He discovers his breaking point when his best friend starts to show interest in you, his step sister, who he’s already fallen hard for

Series tags: step brother!jj, dual pov, jealousy, one sided john b x reader, drinking, inappropriate relationship, public sex, oral sex (f receiving)

Series masterlist + OBX masterlist

JJ got over his admittedly smug satisfaction of getting you to himself for the rest of the night when he woke up in the morning.

As he stretched out in the chair, sleep slipping away as he extended his sore limbs, he recalled how he got there in the first place.

He looked over to you and noticed you smiling lazily, but it wasn’t at him.

“I just finished cooking, if you guys are hungry,” John B announced, having appeared in the doorway.

John B gave him a smile, and JJ glowered in response. He wasn’t awake enough to hide his real feelings yet.

John B’s smile faltered and JJ knew his friend wasn’t all that deserving of his contempt as the other boy disappeared back inside.

“You hungry?” you asked, throwing a glance his way as you got up from the couch.

JJ didn’t hesitate to follow you into the house.

Days later, he still felt that nasty twinge of jealousy in his gut.

Since that morning he’d done his best to keep it in. And it was working, for the most part. If John B noticed before, he didn’t bring it up. JJ was grateful for that because his friend definitely did notice.

If he had asked JJ what was wrong, JJ wasn’t sure he knew how to answer.

I don’t want you to try and date my step sister because I’m jealous that I can’t didn’t sound like an acceptable explanation. Even sitting by himself with his thoughts couldn’t help JJ become that delusional.

Even if he wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable lounging in the chair on his porch, JJ hated being at home alone. The only thing worse was being home with his dad. Sure, he could’ve gone to the Chateau, but he wanted to pick you up from work on time. He also thought about just showing up and hanging out with you, but the Carreras treated him like a seagull—convinced his only purpose was to steal food and pester their daughter.

The buzzing of his phone pulled him from his thoughts. He almost opened the message right away, as he usually did, but he read the preview and disappointment stuck. He decided against it.

Y/N: hey, kie’s gonna drive me tonight just lyk

When it started getting dark, JJ hopped on his bike and set off towards The Wreck anyway. You’d woken up earlier than him so he hadn’t seen you all day, he didn’t want to wait.

Was it cheesy of him to think he missed you already? Probably, but JJ didn’t care.

He came to a stop in the parking lot, near Kie’s jeep so you couldn’t miss him. JJ didn’t mind waiting however many minutes he did, when you stepped out with a hint of surprise on your face, it was worth it.

The light from the restaurant lit up your features, and he was certain the expression on your face said you were pleased to see him.

He couldn’t help but smirk. He was about to open his mouth to shoot a joke your way, but Kiara stopped across from him at your side and spoke up first.

“What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t think you’d still be here,” JJ lied with ease. He stepped away from his bike. He reminded himself to keep it simple, stuffing his hands into his pocket so he wouldn’t fidget with them.

He looked at you as you said, “I texted you she was gonna give me a ride.”

The slight doubt on your face was cute. He almost wondered if you were gonna take out your phone and check—but he’d covered his bases with that, the text would still say ‘delivered’ and not ‘read’.

JJ shrugged it off. “I didn’t see it. You wanna ride with me to the Chateau then? Since I detoured all the way here,” he said with a mix of sarcasm and guilt-tripping.

You rolled your eyes and it made him smile to himself when you looked away to Kiara.

“I’ll see you there,” you told the other girl. JJ knew you weren’t going to say no. You were already climbing onto the bike before he could say anything else. “Come on, since you’re in such a rush.”

Your voice held the same teasing his had.

“You’re so bossy.”

JJ was aware how flirtatious it sounded, but you didn’t react. He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not. He climbed onto the bike and told you to hold on. Your arms slid under his, locking together around him. Your chest pressed to his back, and JJ felt a flutter of excitement as he sped off away from the restaurant.

He would have driven faster, but he was much more cautious when you were riding with him. The last thing he wanted to do was lose control with you on board.

Even still, he could feel your heart pounding against his back. His own heart rate picked up when you held him tighter. It didn’t matter how many times the two of you had been in this position, it always thrilled him in a way that would just make him long for you later when you parted from him.

Concern crept in and he slowed down a little, making sure you could hear him when he asked you if you were alright.

“All good,” you replied with what was hopefully the truth.

“I’ve never crashed this thing,” JJ called back to you. He didn’t want you to be genuinely worried. “You can trust me.”

“I know,” you told him without hesitation. It made him release a breath, relieved. He sped up a little again, aware that Kiara was driving behind and wouldn’t like the slow pace. As he did that, he heard your voice one more time as you declared, “I do!”

JJ laughed a little to himself, hearing the squeak in your voice due to him speeding up right as you spoke.

He got you two to the Chateau pretty quick after that, and when he pulled into the yard and stopped the bike, JJ felt you relax against his back.

He climbed off the bike first, reluctantly making you separate from him, but he made up for it by offering his hand. It was a simple gesture but as you hopped off, you looked like you appreciated the extra balance.

“Thanks,” you said softly, eyes going past his.

JJ followed your gaze and spotted Pope and John B already seated around a small fire. They waved, and JJ held your hand a little tighter.

“Campfire, nice,” he muttered, not wanting to let you go.

So, he took a risk, and didn’t. It was small enough that he could get away with it—he had a list in his mind of what he could play off if you asked what the hell he was doing, and what he’d have no excuse for.

Holding your hand? Sorry, he didn’t notice he still was. Why was he standing so close? He could ask you the same thing. Why was he staring at you? He wasn’t, he just zoned out.

You never asked him these questions, but he still liked having the answers ready, knowing he had a tendency to push things.

JJ led the way further into the yard, bringing you along behind him. You didn’t let go or pull away from him, which JJ was sure he’d obsessed about later.

For now, he put on his best attitude to try and enjoy the night. He didn’t want to be a buzzkill, that was the last thing JJ thought of himself as.

“Where’s Kie?” Pope asked first, looking between JJ and you, wondering where the last member of the group was.

“Nice to see you too, Pope,” JJ sassed.

He had a feeling Pope might be crushing on Kie, but he wasn’t going to give him too hard of a time about it. At least he liked someone outside of his own house.

“She was right behind us,” you pointed out.

You turned your body to face where the jeep had parked, spotting Kie as she climbed out of her car. Not just that, but you dropped his hand. Were you just looking for an excuse to do so? Or was it just an afterthought?

JJ bit back his disappointment, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Let’s get this party started,” you declared, finding the chair closest to you.

JJ sat beside you, which happened to be next to John B. His friend handed him a beer as a silent greeting, and JJ accepted the gesture with a nod. They were cool, everything was fine. Beers got passed around as soon as Kie joined the group and everyone began to unwind.

“I swear, we get the dumbest customers,” Kiara complained about work, shooting you a knowing look. “That lady today with the tattoo of Garfield on her arm?”

“Oh god,” you groaned and tilted your head back, as if just the memory gave you a migraine. “She walked up to the counter and was super rude to me, and then with a completely serious face asked how to get to The Wreck.”

“What’d you say?” John B wondered, raising his brows in curiosity.

“I told her it was a mile down the road.”

JJ chuckled alongside everyone else, appreciating the deviousness.

“Then what happened?” John B asked.

“She left,” you concluded, proud of yourself.

John B laughed hard.

You lifted your head a little to give him a look, but he just kept laughing. JJ saw the way a smile worked its way onto your face.

Okay, that was… fine. JJ didn’t want to be in a bad mood, so he angled himself to focus on you. It made him feel better. You always did.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Kie told you in a teasing tone. “Common sense and decency are both necessary life skills.”

The two of you clicked your bottles together at that.

“You think that’s bad?” Pope started what was surely a story of his own. “Try working grocery delivery for Kooks. The amount of people who ask for stuff they never ordered like I can just make it appear is crazy…”

And so that set everyone off on another tangent, but JJ noticed the subtle way you kept flicking your eyes to John B. JJ kept his back to the other boy, suspecting he wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut if he saw John B shooting you that flirty smile he used on Tourons.

They hadn’t explicitly had the conversation, but John B had to know you were off limits. Not just due to the whole ‘no Pogue on Pogue macking’ rule for the group, but also because of your connection to JJ. He didn’t see you as a sister, he never had. You were like a best friend who happened to live with him. But no one else knew that, so John B should take your relationship at face value and know a sibling of any kind was off limits.

And that was all aside from the fact that JJ was hopelessly into you.

It was ironic, really, because if you were any other girl that JJ was into, and John B knew that, he would’ve backed off. Especially because JJ actually liking a girl for more than just a night had never happened before. But you weren’t any other girl, and JJ couldn’t let John B know. Even more than that, he didn’t want you to know. The two of you had something incredible he couldn’t risk destroying. That knowledge didn’t stop him from wanting to take that risk, but fear did.

So it made it hard when John B didn’t let up on flirting with you. If it was obvious to him, it was obvious to everyone else. JJ observed you every time John B went out of his way to make you laugh, or the way you’d send witty comments his way. He couldn’t quite read you as well as he wished he could. It was hard to tell if you were truly reciprocating or just playing along. Although, he liked to think it was the latter.

Every once in a while, JJ would say something, and you’d look his way. The frustration he’d feel bubbling up at John B would simmer down when you focused solely on him, even for a short period. Listening to what he said, chuckling in response. No one had ever quite had that effect on JJ before you.

Suddenly, you let out a sound of amusement. It looked like it surprised you, snapping you out of your own head. It brought JJ back to reality too, unsure of what other conversation had been carrying on around him.

“What’s on your mind?” John B asked you before JJ could get a word out.

You shrugged, clearly having been zoned out too. “What’s on yours?”

“If El Dorado is real.”

Very funny, how clever. JJ kept back the sarcastic comment to himself.

“It’s definitely not,” Pope interjected, making JJ want to shake his head.

“You don’t dream of good and riches, Pope?” he asked the boy across from him. JJ got an eye roll in response, which was pretty on brand for Pope.

John B brushed past it, no doubt zeroed in on you. They had that in common recently.

“Your turn.”

You hummed, and JJ could see the way you fought back a teasing grin. “Where I’m gonna go on vacation. What do you think—Cancun or Bali?”

“Cancun is closer. What kind of room are you booking?” John B was quick to play along. “Ocean view would be nice.”

JJ felt a familiar twinge of jealousy. He shifted in his chair.

Then, you asked, “Why, do you wanna come with?” and JJ’s mouth felt dry.

“I don’t know, do you want the company?”

It didn’t matter if the scenario was fake, JJ was begging you to say no. Please no.

To shut himself up, JJ grabbed his beer and downed it.

“Maybe I do,” you replied, and JJ stifled a coughing fit.

You weren’t trying to hurt him but god did it burn. It was John B’s fault, baiting you into this, trying to make you… what, like him?

He needed to back off, that’s what he needed to do.

Just as JJ was about to say something, Kie swooped in and did it for him.

“Can you two quit it? All the flirting is making me nauseous.”

Same here, JJ thought to himself.

“Aw, don’t be jealous, Kie,” John B said smugly. “You can come with.”

Kiara rolled her eyes and so did JJ. John B sounded really full of himself right now and the thought crept in that someone should put him in his place.

“Barring the fact that this vacation is hypothetical, I’d also like to be invited,” Pope commented.

Seriously? Even Pope was endorsing this? Despite being last to speak, your eyes didn’t stay on him for more than a second, maybe. JJ counted.

A gnawing feeling struck in his gut as he finally looked to John B, knowing that’s who your eyes were on. The envy he’d smothered before boiled over all of the sudden. He wanted to blame it on the beer, but he wasn’t sure he could.

“‘Course you’re goin’, Pope!” The words burst out before JJ could stop himself, a strained laugh never even making its way out. It came out more hostile than he had intended, even if it really was what he felt. He dropped his hand to John B’s shoulder, fingers gripping a little too tight as he forced a smile. His teeth were clenched together behind a closed lipped smile as he locked eyes with John B. He looked startled. Good, JJ thought. “You got room for the rest of us? Or were you just gonna steal Y/N and take off?”

An uncontrollable bitterness had seeped into his voice by now. His fingers pressed in harder as no response came. It wasn’t a hypothetical question, he wanted an answer.

JJ wondered if John B would fess up, because it certainly seemed like that’s what he wanted to do.

John B looked… concerned. It made JJ falter for a moment. It made him question if he’d somehow fooled himself into seeing things differently.

“No one’s stealing anyone,” he replied carefully. JJ blinked. He became very aware of how silent the group had become. He nearly looked over to you, but John B wasn’t done. “You know that, right?”

JJ took a moment, eyes narrowing slightly, examining John B’s face and replaying the words. Was it an apology without the exact words? Or an attempt to get him to back down?

“It’s not like we’re actually going anywhere,” Kiara interjected, a subduing tone to her voice.

“Right,” JJ said slowly. He detached himself from John B, feeling the pressure of all eyes on him. Usually, he wouldn’t mind, but he was used to being the comic relief when that happened. He found his bottle and stared down at it as he held it tight in his hand. “Maybe some other time, when we find El Dorado,” he tried to joke, but it came out tense.

The silence that followed was louder than if anyone had laughed.

The focus on him made JJ want to crawl out of his skin. He couldn’t bring himself to look at you, because he knew he might break under your questioning gaze.

Blaming John B seemed like the easiest out in his mind, but he couldn’t get on a soapbox and point fingers now. He couldn’t even be certain you even liked the other boy, but just that thought made his head spin in the worst way possible. He tried to lift his beer and drink what was left, but nothing remained. Great. JJ looked at the bottle with spite. He wanted to throw it, but resolved to drop it and stand instead.

“I’m gonna get another, you guys want anything?” he asked in a mutter, walking off to the house.

When he got inside, JJ gripped the counter and bowed his head, catching his breath. He didn’t realize how he’d held it until he stopped for a moment to try and consciously breathe.

He needed to get control of himself, he was all over the place tonight. If he could just take a minute and let himself get settled, he could plaster on a smile and walk back out with a beer in hand and get drunk enough to ease his nerves.

Just when he pulled himself together enough that he thought he could walk back out, John B appeared in the doorway.

“You wanna tell me what that was?” John B questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.

JJ scoffed. He didn’t receive being cornered very well. Never had.

“Not sure what you mean.”

“Can’t exactly lie when I was right there,” John B countered. “Is this about Y/N?” JJ’s jaw clenched at the mention of you. That was answer enough. “I don’t know what you think is going on, but we were just messing around. Don’t be mad at Y/N,” John B requested, like he was some kind of knight who was protecting your honor.

“I’m not,” JJ replied.

“But you’re mad at me?”

JJ didn’t answer fast enough, but that was an answer in itself.

“I know what you’re thinking, okay?” John B paused in a way that sent a strike of fear through JJ. Had he figured it out somehow? Was he privy to JJ’s most shameful thoughts? “I don’t even know if she likes me back, but I would never hurt her,” John B continued, and air returned to his lungs. Fear switched back to anger. “You know I wouldn’t.”

JJ scoffed, and he couldn’t help the laugh that followed. Not only of relief, but with a sharp mocking for him getting it so wrong.

In addition, JJ’s suspicions being confirmed wasn’t something he was exactly happy about either.

“Okay, whatever you say,” JJ dismissed, trying to shove past him. John B stepped back in front of him, not letting him get away that easily. JJ’s face hardened as he was forced back into the house. “Are you trying to piss me off?”

John B looked taken aback. “So you don’t want to talk about this at all? Clearly it bothers you.”

“Have some sob fest and talk about my feelings with you? No, John B, I don’t,” JJ snapped. “And you and Y/N? Not gonna happen, so quit while you’re ahead.”

“Why?” John B challenged, squaring his shoulders. “Because you said so?”

JJ clenched his fists and his frown deepened.

“Yeah,” he decided. “Because I said so.”

John B seemed like he hadn’t expected pure honesty, and JJ took the opportunity to shove past him and escape out the door.

He kept his eyes forward, opting to go for his motorbike, knowing sticking around would only make this worse.

He heard John B behind him. “Seriously, JJ!?” JJ kept going, putting distance between the two of them. “Why are you making such a big deal about this?”

JJ ignored him, instead doing the safe thing and getting on his bike once he crossed the yard. He didn’t dare look anywhere but forward. He sped off before he could even think about it, all he knew was he couldn’t be here anymore.

Arriving at home wasn’t much better. In fact, it was worse. He threw his bike down in the yard and charged inside, and the way that he slammed the door behind him pissed his dad off. He’d been sleeping on the couch and the noise woke him up.

“With the way you’re storming in here you’d think you owned the place,” his dad berated, getting to his feet.

His dad got one strike to his cheek before JJ wised up and retreated. His father didn’t chase after him, behaving as if JJ was just a pest he had to swat away from his presence.

The pain in his cheek stung, and so did the tears in his eyes.

At that moment, JJ wished you were here. You’d cup his face and make sure he was okay. He’d pretend he didn’t need it, but you’d hug him anyway and tell him he didn’t deserve what happened, and that you were sorry, even though it wasn’t your fault.

Longing brought him to your room. With the way JJ took off, he guessed he probably wouldn’t be seeing you for a while. You’d stay at the Chateau and talk about it with the others. He felt awful for leaving you behind, but if he stayed for a second longer things would’ve gotten worse.

So here he was, making himself at home in your room. He didn’t bother to turn the light on, JJ simply sat down on the edge of your bed, thinking to himself.

He wondered what you were thinking about him leaving. He hoped you wouldn’t assume he was mad at you, although he wasn’t even sure what he wanted you to think. Maybe John B would tell you, and things would be awkward when you got back—if you came back tonight.

The thought of you spending the night alone with John B made JJ want to jump back on his bike, but he’d already screwed up a lot tonight.

JJ hated the way things were happening. It’s not like he wanted to be angry or even fighting with one of his best friends. John B didn’t know why what he was doing was so wrong, but JJ hoped his friend would still heed his warning and back off of you.

It was a waking nightmare, imagining you and John B as a happy couple, unknowingly rubbing in his face what he wanted with you but couldn’t have.

He reminded himself the two of you weren’t related, but it didn’t change how his anxiety told him his friends would look at him, or worse, what you’d think of him. JJ feared that you’d feel betrayed, that you’d judge him as if he presented himself as one thing while having an ulterior motive. What if he lost your trust? What if you could only ever see him as a brother?

It wasn’t his plan, it really wasn’t. He wasn’t planning on falling for you, it just happened and now he couldn’t stop it.

His entire body felt heavy, like all the thoughts piling up in his head were weighing the rest of him down.

What would you think of him?

JJ’s head hit your pillow and he inhaled deeply. Your scent still lingered, and it soothed the stinging in his cheek when it made contact with the cool fabric.

He shifted around until he got comfortable, his feet hanging off the bed because he knew you’d say something if he got his boots on the bed. He should’ve kicked them off, but he didn’t have the energy to.

Sleep never came, so JJ just laid still in the quiet, heart thumping against his ribcage with his chest pressed to the mattress, tracing his finger along the area within reach, pondering what the hell to say, or what he should’ve said, or not said at all.

Pope was pretty smart, maybe he’d have some good ideas about how to build a time machine. But even that wouldn’t solve all his problems. JJ would still be desperately in love with you and had not a clue what to do about it. He doubted Pope or anyone could help him with that.

He was long past fixing, this was just another item to add to the running list of screwed up things about JJ Maybank.

The sound of your bedroom door opening came a while later, but still sooner than he’d expected. Maybe an hour? Or less? JJ figured you would’ve hung out with the others later into the night.

He could feel your eyes on him, even if the dark didn’t allow him to see you all that clearly. JJ only shifted his gaze to your figure in the doorway, remaining still.

Then you went for your bedside lamp and clicked it on. Light filled the room and even if he was going to pretend he was asleep, that was no longer an option. You caught his eyes open.

“That really wasn’t cool,” you started. “Fighting with John B then storming off like that.”

JJ didn’t know how to respond to that. He glanced up at you still, looking over your form. He could tell you were upset, that much was for sure.

It still came as a surprise when you ripped the pillow out from under his head.

This wasn’t going to go away, apparently. Maybe he should’ve just put aside his instincts to seek out comfort from you and gone to his own room.

JJ sat up, full of regret. “Thanks, I’ll remember that next time.”

He saw the moment you noticed the new injury to his cheek. Your face shifted and he swallowed, jaw tightening.

“Don’t. It’s fine.”

You watched him for a moment, just as stubborn as he was. He wanted your comfort, not pity. You were frustrated with him, he’d fall apart if you still showed him kindness, maybe even held his face in your delicate hands. It was tempting, but every time you held him, his secrets threatened to spill out. It took everything he had to keep it in, but it was a losing battle.

“There’s not gonna be a next time, you need to fix this,” you stated firmly instead of trying to soothe him.

JJ scoffed, shaking his head. Couldn’t you just be on his side?

“Funny how you seem to think you’re the boss of me,” he grumbled, not wanting to talk about this with you. If he wanted this to stop, he had to get mean, and he’d never done that with you. But he felt as if he were on the precipice of something. “Why does it matter anyway? Can you just stay out of it?”

JJ recognized the defiant look of your face as you said, “Well, if you weren’t all weird and hadn’t ditched me, maybe I wouldn’t be involved.”

Yeah, he deserved that. God, why was he such a mess? His gaze fell to the ground, unable to meet your eyes.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized, and he meant it, too. “I shouldn’t have left you.”

He heard you sigh. “It’s fine, I got a ride with Kie.” Your voice held less annoyance than it had before. It was replaced by curiosity as you tried to decipher what went down. “Did you and John B fight about me?”

JJ tried to settle the panic that threatened to arise and he looked up.

He had to make the words come out as he got to his feet. “Is that what he said?”

JJ had to know.

“Not in those exact words, but he told me he liked me and that you weren’t happy about it.”

JJ tried to control the emotion on his face. He didn’t know what to say to that. He was trying to come up with the correct thing to say, to fix this without having to explain himself. He didn’t want you to be mad, but he needed you to stop asking questions before he slipped up and gave you an answer he could never come back from.

Instead of something thoughtful, or something clever, what came out was, “Don’t worry about it,” in a tone that made him wince internally.

You looked hurt, and then mad. JJ supposed he had earned that but it didn’t make it any better.

“How about you don’t worry about it? If I like him or not, it’s my choice,” you spat. “Not yours.” You poked him accusingly in the chest.

The fire in your eyes made JJ weak. He considered himself to be strong willed but if he thought you wouldn’t be mortified he’d drop to his knees and beg you to forgive him.

His mind went blank as he tried to gather what to say, but apparently he was going 0 out of 2 for proper responses.

“You can’t,” he rushed out, his true feelings getting the better of him.

He cursed internally.

The frown on your face didn’t come as a surprise as you repeated, “Can’t? Okay, JJ.”

It was 0 out of 3 now.

He could hear the mocking in your tone and something about that got to him. Were you actually considering getting with John B? Would you really do that to him? You’d never shown interest in John B before but now all the sudden you’d pick him over JJ?

“I’m serious,” JJ insisted, digging himself in deeper. “You just can’t,” he continued, voice wavering. He screwed up, he knew it.

You looked… confused, maybe?

“Why?”

JJ needed this conversation to be over before he fucked up even worse. He needed to stop talking but some stupid part of his mind wouldn't let him just shut his mouth.

“Can you just drop it?” he asked, trying to keep his voice steady, running a stressed hand through his hair. His hand paused, maybe if he applied enough pressure to his brain it would start working how he wanted it to.

“No, not when you made it a thing,” you replied sternly. “Just tell me what is going on.”

JJ’s scalp stung as his hand tightened. He wanted to—he really did. His eyes flicked to the doorway behind you, wanting to make a break for it.

“Can you not ask me that?” He let his hand fall to the side, trying to not actually hurt himself. Besides, you’d already accomplished that by laughing in his face. He felt his expression fall further and he decided to just end this now, “I don’t want to talk about this with you.”

You blocked him when he tried to walk out. If he wanted to, JJ could’ve shoved you out of the way and continued on. Maybe he should’ve. But when you looked up at him, forcing him to meet your gaze, he was stuck in place.

It didn’t matter how irritated with him you looked, JJ couldn’t help but admire you. His eyes fell to your lips, and he pressed his own together subtly, scolding himself for the urge to kiss you.

What if he did? What if he just went for it? At least he would know if he had a chance or not, or maybe you’d at least feel bad and not date John B. Maybe in this case he did want your pity.

Or you would be repulsed by him and he’d ruin one of the only good things he had.

“Can you just answer the question?” You watched him so intensely JJ thought he would crumble beneath your gaze. “You’re not a coward, JJ.” That got under his skin, rarely were you harsh with him. “You always speak your mind—so do it.”

Do it.

The words repeated in his mind over and over. Rationality told him that you didn’t mean it in the way he so badly wanted to interpret it, but impulse raced through his veins. His body began to move, despite the way his mind screamed at him to stop.

He didn't say anything.

It was incredibly foolish, but JJ gave in and did exactly what he wanted.

He kissed you.

The moment his lips pressed to yours, it was like it all clicked into place. His eyes fluttered shut but everything seemed more clear. His hands rose to lightly cup your face, needing to touch you.

JJ swore he wasn’t imagining it when you kissed him back. It was subtle, the way you allowed your lips to meld with his. JJ jumped at the opportunity, moving a hand to the back of your neck as he deepened the kiss.

Then, you parted from him with a gasp. JJ’s eyes snapped open and his heart dropped.

Oh fuck. What did he just do?

You looked like a deer in headlights. Which was funny, because JJ was the one who felt like he’d just been run over.

He opened his mouth, then shut it. He swallowed, scanning your face, waiting for the anger or betrayal to morph your features.

Thing was, neither did.

“Your face…” you said suddenly, softly. JJ furrowed his brows, not sure if he heard you right. Then you reached for him, fingers hovering over the new bruise he had forced you to ignore before. “You never said before—are you okay? Actually okay?”

JJ grabbed your hand and held it in his. He fought the urge to press it to his chest and pull you close, but instead held it between the two of you.

“I’m fine,” he muttered, but he wasn’t. He really, really wasn’t.

You nodded slowly, eyes turning to the ground as you stepped back and away from him. Your hand flinched up as you wiped your lips with the back of your hand.

That felt like a punch to the gut if JJ was being honest.

“I need to get some sleep,” you started, mind sounding distant. “So can you…”

“I’ll go,” JJ said in nearly a whisper. His feet felt like weights as he went for the door. You made no attempt to stop him this time. I’m sorry, he thought, but said, “Goodnight,” in a mumble instead.

He pulled your door shut behind him, only to collapse back against it. JJ buried his face into his palms then dragged his hands up through his hair.

He was such an idiot. Why the fuck did he do that? Out of everything he could’ve done, JJ just had to go and kiss you.

The full reality still hadn’t set in and he was already an anxious mess. He was on a precipice, alright. Only, he didn’t step over the edge of that cliff, he jumped. Without a parachute.

JJ locked himself in his room and only had the energy to kick off his shoes and strip down to his boxers before hiding beneath his covers, cursing himself the entire time. He ruined everything. After all this time trying to avoid his feelings for you, trying to make sure no one else found out, he went and blew everything up himself.

Classic JJ move.

Had interest shown in a taglist for this series so I’m starting one! If you’d like to be added just reply or send an ask 🫶

The blue taglist: @empath-bunny

#jj maybank x reader #jj maybank x you #jj maybank #step brother!jj maybank #step brother!!jj maybank x reader #stepbrother!jj maybank #step bro!jj maybank #outer banks #obx #the blue #quin-ns writing

[vasito-de-leche]

I have some thoughts in my mind lately in the Self aware au R1999 (I'm invested so badly), I was wondering are there any arcanist that resented the player maybe at first or still having resentment on them? Because if the player wasn't there they would be " free " (which I would doubt since there are many players and it would still happen nonetheless but just speaking from there perspective) did they just helplessly or casually got over it after some time and accepted the fact it was a game I mean they were levelled up by the player,the player was the reason why they were getting stronger and winning every battle but I have a feeling some arcanist would have some doubt in them since everything was just a script in the first place all the things that happened to them were meant to happen for the plot, I don't about how to reach when they find out that the player was a human though.. But just like earlier if the player never was here then they would be " free ",they wouldn't know it was just some game (they gonna go bree since they wouldn't exist)(RAHHH I might have wronged what I said in this😭 I just have a thought in my mind about them doubting, feeling frustrated and all...Btw I am badly down bad for your writing 💜💜💜 I admire it so well.. 🥹🫶🫶 can I get a hello Please.. ?💜🥹💜 I'd go crazy being noticed on a writer I admire)

hiiii helloooo hola bonjour and many other greetings o7 really glad you like my writing!

your question is very broad, so I can only make a quick list to categorize all the characters and how I think they'd feel overall towards the Player within this AU! since you only mentioned arcanist, I assume you mean the playable characters only, so that's also the group I'll be tackling

I don't have a good grasp on every single character, so some of these are subject to change as I learn more about them too o7

It's very, very complicated.

Vertin. Door. Mesmer Jr. Bkornblume. I consider these characters to be "outliers" in terms of how they perceive the Player--in the sense that their opinion fluctuates and varies a lot, so they cannot be easily labeled in any of the other categories. They're contradicting or find themselves at odds with themselves, seeing the figure of the Player and everything the Player represents as positive and negative influences simultaneously. To them, you're a close friend and a distant stranger, a saviour and a harbinger of ruin, a source of knowledge and the end of everything--you're all of these, all at once.

as for the rest, I only described the opposite ends of the spectrum and the neutral category!

Extremely resentful and hateful

Desert Flannel. Erick. Mondlicht. Oliver Fog. Pavia. Sonetto. Sweetheart. This one is pretty straightforward--these are the characters who are defensive, who feel like your mere existence is mocking them, who have gone through so much and feel humiliated to know you're casually looking at them from above, so out of reach and superior and unbothered by their pain. But also characters who are combative or quick to identify you as a threat, such as Pavia and Sonetto, because you go against everything they believe in.

Stressed, requires a lot of time to get over it

AliEn T. Bette. Bunny Bunny. Charlie. Ezra. Kanjira. Matilda. Pickles. Ulu.

Mostly troubled, but open to change

6. Mr. APPLe. Darley Clatter. Diggers. Druvis III. La Source. Lilya. Melania. Ms. Moissan. Poltergeist. Zima

Neutral, indifferent and/or unaffected

Baby Blue. Click. Dikke. Jessica. John Titor. Rabies. Sputnik. Tennant. Tooth Fairy. Twins Sleep. These characters remain neutral, but do not confuse their indifference or lack of reaction for ignorance. Some of them aren't quite lucid, conscious or old enough to fully understand their surrounding, such as Rabies and Twins Sleep, but I would say the rest are grounded enough as to not let a figure such as the Player affect them in any intense or extreme way. Some of them simply don't care because this entire reveal doesn't exactly change their routine nor perception of the world. Some are choosing to remain neutral until they gather more information to form a solid opinion.

Mostly curious, but open to change

A Knight. Cristallo. Kaalaa Baunaa. Ms. NewBabel. Necrologist. Satsuki. Spathodea. Voyager.

Eager to learn, requires a lot of stress to be affected

37. An-an Lee. Centurion. Eagle. Horropedia. Leilani. Nick Bottom. Shamane. Sotheby. X.

Extremely intrigued

Eternity. Medicine Pocket. Ms. Radio. ONiON. Regulus. TTT. The Fool. Regardless of how your existence affects these characters, their curiosity and the new opportunities and possibilities you bring along are much more important to them. These are characters who seek to profit from you in some way, who see you as a fascinating subject to study, who may even relate in a way to the role you play as the Player, who may pity you.

#reverse 1999 #reverse: 1999 #reverse 1999 x reader #self aware au

[annwrites]

i already have ♰˳⸙;;

— pairing: shane walsh x fem!reader (gn! in this post, but fem! in other installments i have/will post(ed))

— type: ficlet

— summary: you & shane share your beliefs in a short conversation in a church

— tags: talking

— tw: suicidal ideation, religion

— word count: 930

— a/n: find my other posts concerning shane, which take place after & before this, here | the views reader expresses towards going to church are my own. if you don't like it, don't read

You stare up at the crucifix before you, feeling devoid of anything.

No.

Not anything.

Hopelessness is the one thing you do feel.

One dead-end after another. That's the only thing you all do seem able to find.

The CDC and Jenner had had no answers. Not with his wife being gone.

The highway and Dale's RV blowing a radiator hose had left all of you stranded in the middle of nowhere.

And now you were here.

You'd all felt so hopeful to hear that bell ringing. You'd prayed to a God who clearly wasn't listening—if he ever had—for it to lead you toward something. To Sophia.

She'd never been here in the first place.

You glance to Carol and can practically feel the grief and desperation rolling off of her. You don't want to believe that Sophia is gone. Or worse: being out there alone in the woods...

If the wrong people—the wrong men—came across her... You don't want to think about how she'd never have a chance.

Death would be kinder.

So you stare at Him—crying tears of blood—and wonder how His father, who knows what it is to lose a child, could allow such a thing?

The wooden bench creaks as Shane sets down beside you. "Didn't know you were religious."

He says it softly, his tone anything but mocking, even if he himself doesn't believe. Doesn't understand how you can—if you indeed do, that is. But if you do—have some sort of faith, something to believe in—he'll just be glad if it finally turns out that you have something that may perhaps help to keep you going.

"I'm not."

The thought of the possibility of you taking comfort in something more, even if you can't see it, quickly disappears. He leans back, resting him arm behind you, all thoughts of encouraging you to take a Bible with you when you all leave now gone.

You're quiet for a moment, then, "Are you?"

He shrugs. "Not really. Never was my thing, I guess. Hard to believe when you're witness to the shit I was as a cop." He looks at you. "Were you ever?"

You shrug then as well. "My parents made me go to church when I was little. Like a lot of kids, especially in the south. I never liked it. The getting up early, and being forced into uncomfortable clothes, and the way my mom did my hair. I didn't like how the other kids were mean to me, or how I would sit on those uncomfortable wooden pews and stare up at a preacher yelling words and passages at me that I couldn't understand. I didn't like how judgmental so many in the congregation seemed to be, even toward each other. Once I was old enough to make the decision not to go anymore, I stopped attending. I didn't regret it."

You look at him and his head is now resting atop his fist as he simply looks at you. You're unsure of the soft look in his eyes.

"So what'd you start believin' in instead? If anythin'."

You glance down to your lap. "Nothing in particular, I guess. I just...I suppose I tried to just see the beauty in nature instead. In the plants and trees, insects and animals, fresh air and clear water. Occasionally even people." You look up to him. "The way I am now—who I am now—is nothing like the way I was before. I didn't need to look for a reason to live, because I didn't need one. Because I didn't want to die."

He uses his other hand that isn't propping his head up to reach out and take your right hand, holding it firmly—comfortingly—in his grip.

"What if that reason was another person?" He looks at you from under his lashes.

You look down to your hand that's in his, watching as his thumb rubs soothing circles on the back of yours. "I don't know how to make you realize you're wasting your time-"

He cuts you off, taking his other hand and lacing it between strands of your hair at the back of your head, gently massaging. "I don't know how to make you realize the only waste would be your life being cut so damn short."

You think back to the things he'd said to you that night in the RV—I refuse to just let you slip through my fingers—he made it sound like...like you were something he'd finally found after having looked for you for so long.

You can't keep doing this to him: insisting that you want to be left alone to die. You'd done it twice now. And while what happened on the highway had been an accident...had he not had his eye on you— not seen you pass out—you may've slipped away right there in the middle of the road. So, he had saved you a third time. And even now he was still trying to talk you into staying...alive.

Giving up was easy. The thought of trying to hold on? It feels near-impossible now. Like lifting a giant boulder and carrying it with you every step of the way.

"Do you believe we'll find her?"

He studies you for a moment. "I hope so."

"Do you believe we'll find...something, or somewhere worth living for?"

He leans toward you, gently pressing his forehead to yours, closing his eyes. "I already have," he says in a whisper, before pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead.

#fic: twd (shane walsh x reader) #shane walsh x y/n #shane walsh x reader #shane walsh imagine #twd x y/n #twd x you #twd x reader

[shivasdarknight]

@koopytron

Forgive my ignorance, but doesn't a set like this help expose people to cultures that they might not have known about? What about players that live in that country and want to dress up in their traditional clothes, are they not allowed to?

I’m responding over here mostly because my reply got a bit long.

First off, I’m no authority on the Sámi.  I want to make that very clear - I’m just echoing what has been said so far by people who have a vested interest in this gear’s removal.  And again, I want to reiterate by pointing out that for information your best bets are the initial letter to Square Enix, as well as this thread by a Sámi player.

The argument for exposure looks nice on paper, but usually isn’t ever executed well - especially in the case of the Far Northern attire.  FFXIV isn’t set up to teach people about cultures (unless it’s Stormblood and the two different fantasy Japans), it’s set up to use cultures as an aesthetic to give each nation a bit of flavor.  Thavnair is India, Ul’dah is your typical desert city, the elves are French, Ala Mhigans are Kurdish and Armenian, Xaela are Mongolian etc etc.  And how much care that goes into representing and educating players about these cultures varies depending on who it is and if Square cares about them.  And every instance of an indigenous culture has been the exact opposite.  Even their treatment of the Xaela and Ala Mhigans are extremely demeaning, but that’s a different topic altogether.

If Square had any interest in exposing people to Sámi culture, they would have contacted the tribe for a collaboration and make them have more of a presence in game than just a glam item that costs $18USD.  They would’ve also done research into what gákti actually look like, and maybe named each piece appropriately.  Instead, we have an offensive caricature that costs $18USD, doesn’t have any cultural presence in the game, and is nothing but a disconnected costume meant to line their paychecks.  And as a reminder: the Sámi were never contacted, Square has not reached out after this demand, and they’ve received no money for Square using their material culture for profit.  What’s sad is Disney did better than them after Frozen, as they similarly appropriated their regalia and even took their music.  Frozen 2 saw them collaborating and the film was even released in one of the Sámi languages, though I’m not entirely sure if they ever saw any amount of the film’s revenue - if someone happens to see this and they know, feel free to correct me.

I think the more important thing here is: do we even want Square to be exposing players to Sámi culture?  Because they do not have a good track record when it concerns portraying indigenous cultures.  Anyone can feel free to add in stuff I’ve missed, but there are plenty examples through the entire Final Fantasy franchise - including, but not limited to: including monsters that have roots in nativist imagery (anthropophage) but naming them after a particular spirit in Algonquin folklore that people keep asking to not be named or included in media; the entirety of Red XIII’s character (even the name he’s introduced by, despite him actually being named Nanaki); the initial portrayal of the Ronso in X (that then got “sophisticated” into the suddenly Icelandic Hrothgar); and the palewashing of Viera (mesoamerican indigenous coded in XII) in the jump to XIV by only focusing on the palest of individuals and making most of them white-looking.

And then there’s the stuff in XIV.  Most of the Tribes (which up until recently were literally known as beast tribes) up until Stormblood are based in some racist depiction of indigenous peoples - like Square did all of their research through racist American movies from the past century.  Many speak in the stilted English you’d see in racist advertisements and media (eg. the Vanu Vanu, and the yoda-like speak of the Ixal), they’re all anthropomorphized animals to some degree and not at all...y’know, human; you spend a significant amount of the game hunting them and being rewarded for doing so (especially if you do daily Clan Centurio marks), many are based on real cultures (Ixal are clearly meso-/south american, Vanu Vanu literally have totems and everything), and the Amalj’aa embody the entire Noble Savage trope to a T (only source for this is unfortunately Wikipedia because everything else was paywalled or didn’t touch on how racist this is).  We only saw this shift in not calling them “beast” tribes anymore around Stormblood because we suddenly got the Kojin (respected merchants based on Kappa), and the Namazu - techincally also the Lupin, but the shared factor is that they’re all predominant Japanese cultures that they’d never bastardize because the entire Doma half of Stormblood is them drinking the Japanese Imperialism kool-aid (again, another topic altogether and best discussed by someone like the journalist, Kazuma Hashimoto - who goes into it a lot on streams).  After that, we saw a deemphasis on indigenous cultures in the tribe quests and the removal of the name once Dwarves, Pixies, Arkosodara, Loporrits, and Omicrons were added.  Qitari are loosely here because they are the First equivalent of the Qiqirn, but they’d still “fit” in the old category by Square’s measure.

And then of course the Whalaqee, the entire New World nonsense, how they portray the Mamool’ja (who are from the “New World”), and the entire racist premise of the BLU questline.  Which is literally just “White Savior is the only one who can save this dying native tribe from evil oil ceruleum barons who brought diseases over, and your main reps are two animal looking guys and a very pale native boy like the tropes from the old movies”.  And yes, this is where the racist New World gear comes in, because that’s the clothing every single member of the Whalaqee wear despite it being a disgusting caricature of ceremonial gear with the war bonnet and everything.  The Mamool’ja are also frequently depicted as unintelligent and only suited for war, and are extremely sexual and there’s a fate where one gets kicked out of the Camp Bronze Lake baths for being too sexual.  Which again: nativist stereotypes that don’t just apply to indigenous tribes of the Americas, but also Japan’s own indigenous peoples - especially the Ryuukyuuan!

The New World gear wasn’t put in there to expose players to indigenous cultures.  They included a racist caricature so people could play dress up with those pieces, and locking their (racist) context behind a side quest most people skip or ignore.  And what ends up happening is whenever I do see players wearing it, it’s almost never people of those cultures doing it “for their own sake” - as it’s a racist caricature and not actually their cultural clothing or what they’d wear - it’s instead people playing out the racist caricatures.  I’ve seen white catgirls with neon pink war bonnets and bikinis, I’ve seen literal red-skinned players in the full get up, and many other offensive costumes that’s come as a result of this set being in the game.

But that set is obtainable through normal gameplay.  The Far Northern set is paywalled, making this especially egregious that it’s a racist caricature of Sámi regalia that they’re making a load of money off of.

There is no in game “Far Northern” culture - it’s just a racist costume for players (and they’re designing this for the majority white, and Yamato Japanese player base) to play dress up with.  They design the game with dominant cultures in mind (hence why everything is so heavy handed with European and Japanese aesthetics and gear, but there’s a suspicious lack of Korean and SWANA names, material culture, etc. when both exist in the game in their own ways through “Far Eastern” attire and Ala Mhigan stuff).  If they’d had any intention on exposing the players to Sámi culture, they would’ve contacted the Sámi for sensitivity or even just copyright issues.

But they didn’t.

Exposing and teaching other people about cultures varies depending on who you’re talking about.  It’s especially sensitive when you have a matter of appropriating not only a minority culture, but one that’s being suffocated by colonization and majority culture appropriation.  It’s why it’s not really an issue that places like Ishgard are a few mixes of European stuff, or that Hingashi is based in Japan pre-border opening, but it’s a major issue for them to bastardize Mongolian, Armenian, Kurdish, and the various indigenous cultures that they have in their inclusion through the Xaela (described as barbaric, and “will eventually be their own extinction” according to the Namazu quests), the Ala Mhigans (who are not treated with the same level of dignity or respect as the Domans, and are portrayed as aggressive and lower class), and the ARR-HVW tribe quests + the Whalaqee (see the above).

It’s fine to want to expose people to other cultures.  You just have to do it on the terms of the cultures themselves.  And going behind the backs of the Sámi people and creating a racist costume that costs $18USD isn’t exposing anyone to their culture (if they did, it’s through discourse like this); it’s just Square making money off of a racist costume so people can play dress up with regalia that isn’t theirs.

#cultural appropriation #sámi #saami #ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #ff #final fantasy #racism #legitimately im very open to criticism if i got something wrong #so please feel free to point stuff out if someone sees something #but the end of the day its just #respect the people you're basing your stuff on and do things as they would #get in contact with them #and if they say Don't then DON'T #The point of my posting the letter was just trying to get the word out that the Sámi council has explicitly stated #that they do not want Square to continue to profit off this outfit #yes I know this is an NGO but it still represents a significant amount of interest from the Sámi people #+ someone tried to use that as a gotcha but do you know how many tribal groups are considered NGOs due to colonial governments refusing to #acknowledge their existence? im staring directly at california and the 300+ tribes they will not federally recognize. #AGAIN: if square cared they wouldn't have gone this route to begin with #this is not exposing people to Sámi culture #it's just exposing them to the same old tired racist shit that we already have #if you're not familiar with that then you may be familiar with laplander imagery #thats the exact same thing and laplander is an older and bad term for the Sámi people #the region is called Sápmi and they are Sámi #but you wouldnt know that if you only bought the outfit from the Mogstation. #original #long #long post

[wren-kitchens]

something I Hate is when i’ve told someone that I don’t know what you’re feeling unless you tell me, I don’t know what tone you’re conveying half the time unless you tell me, then that someone getting annoyed because I didn’t know they were upset/didn’t know they were being sarcastic and acting like I should have known despite me telling them specifically on multiple occasions

#an irl friend was saying a couple weeks ago how she wanted to audition for a drama thing but didn’t wanna get rejected #so we were like ‘you don’t have to go if you don’t wanna’ and she was like ‘but I wanna go’ so we told her to go #‘but I don’t wanna get rejected’ so don’t go! #it sorta went back and forth for a little bit before she got mad and walked off and later was annoyed at me for not knowing she was upset #and for saying the wrong thing #I have told you??? so many times??? that I do not know when people are upset??? #she didn’t even like tell me what I should have said #I found out from a friend that I should have told her she wouldn’t get rejected but like. that’s always an option #it’s unlikely in this case but that’s not like a definite thing that’s not gonna happen #and ik from like past experiences she would be more upset if we’d gone ‘no you’ll def get in’ and she didn’t because it’d be like we lied #and I don’t wanna make her upset! #but I mean like. I did #idk i’m just very bad when it comes to helping people #it’s really annoying #and I didn’t even know she was upset! like I couldn’t tell so I didn’t try to make her feel better because I didn’t know she felt bad! #I don’t understand emotion! I can’t figure out my own half the time and i’m the one experiencing them! #idk it was like a couple weeks ago but i’m still kinda mad #because I *keep* telling her that I don’t know what to say when ppl are upset I don’t know how people are feeling unless they say #and she just acts like I *do* know and am just being a dick on purpose #idk it annoys me a lot #autism #actually autistic #vent cw #cw vent #vent tw #tw vent

[automatic-midnight]

My biased, really unpopular take is that I think rit/su/maya is an objectively boring ship.

#just to be clear I don’t hate it there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the ship it’s just such a nothing burger to me #like ok yes without a doubt Maya has a crush on Ritusko absolutely this is backed up by canon material #but from Ritsukos side the most the viewer comes away with is that Ritsuko holds mayas skills in decently high regard #a few moments of friendly chit chat and that’s it #it would be one thing if we actually saw Ritsukos more personal opinions on Maya but we never see that so fandom has to fill in the blanks #and now barring that all aside it’s just a ship dynamic even when fleshed out in fanon that im not intrigued by #in a show where the characters are so messy and terrible the ship feels so out of place #ohhhh Maya could fix Ritsuko NO she could not #the only way I could find the ship interesting is if you get weird with it #like focus on the inherent power imbalance of a boss and an employee how would they deal with that? #how would things change as the show progresses and Maya realizes Rituskos blurred morals #how would the ship work with Gendo in the picture? how would Maya actually help ritusko overcome her issues and deep rooted problems #and even with all that being said it’s just not interesting to me #Maya doesn’t have enough going as a character for me to care to ship her with Ritsuko #this is partly why I like misaritsu so much #you know so much about their individual characters and their dynamics that it’s easy to expand it further into hypothesizing #their relationship in a romantic light #evangelion #like misato and Ritsuko are individually super well written fleshed our characters and on top of that put in moments like the elevator scene #or Ritsukos flashback to talking about when Misato hooked up with Kaji for a week #or just every time Ritsuko looks at Misato if you really want to reach #there so many moments of good characterization between them that it’s so easy to ship them #the point I’ll give to ritsu/Maya is that the one sided crush is 100% intentional and implied in canon #Misato and Ritsukos relationship (as far as I’m aware) was never intended to be romantic or queer coded or anything like that #i’m not delusional #I don’t think anno or sadamoto was writing subtextual nuclear toxic yuri when they were thinking about Misato and ritsukos relationship #no one was in the writing room saying “oh boy I can’t wait to write subtext about how comphet Ritsuko is in unrequited love with Misato” #I’m not that far gone but purely from a potential ship perspective misaritsu has so much more going for it #asu/rei too that’s another super interesting f/f ship that people ignore #asurei isn’t my do or die ship but that’s a ship that’s genuinely super interesting to think about as a potential romantic relationship

[osaemu]

GOJO SATORU: ONE FOR THE MONEY, TWO FOR THE SHOW

✩ ‧ ˚. synopsis: you and satoru, your fake boyfriend, have awards to accept and places to be. so how'd you two end up fucking in a bathroom? NSFW

contents: fem!reader. semi-public sex, p –> v, blowjob, unprotected sex, creampie, praise, you two get walked in on at the end (kinda). references hungry for more. not proofread, ignore any minor mistakes. 3.5K words.

“you two are so cute together,” the interviewer sighs, looking at you and satoru in turn. “please, tell us more about your relationship!”

satoru laughs, resting his hand on your back and pulling you into his side. you put on a smile and instinctually put a hand on his chest, pretending not to notice the way he stiffens up at the contact. “where do i even begin?” satoru asks dryly, turning and looking down at you affectionately, and he’s almost a good enough actor for you to believe there’s any real emotion behind those cold blue eyes.

two weeks ago, satoru’s media team came to you with a request for you two to start dating as a way of gaining more attention from your fans. naturally, you declined—it’s not like you’d gain anything from the deal but the burden of being paraded around on the arm of the man you hated—satoru gojo, the cocky son of some famous actor in the 90’s. but after multiple increases in the amount of money satoru’s team was willing to throw at you, you finally agreed under the condition that this arrangement would end the second you wanted it to.

“i’m sure you’ve seen our latest movie on netflix,” satoru starts, looking back up at the interviewer, whose eyes have practically turned into hearts. “the one with the serial killer, yeah? well, it started from there and just grew into more.”

“i guess you could say the attraction on the screen wasn’t all acting,” you add with a knowing smile. good thing you were a decent enough actor to pretend as if you weren’t just lying through your teeth, otherwise the millions of dollars in your bank account would all be gone. 

the interviewer laughs and turns to the camera, saying something about how the chemistry between you and satoru was what really made the movie a hit—in fact, it might even be the reason you’re both getting nominated for best actor and actress.

“well, if you’d excuse us, i think we should get back to the party,” satoru jumps in, nodding his head at the interviewer in thanks. he removes his hand from your back as you follow him to the main area, weaving through crowds of fans and interviewers on his way there. you walk at his side, heels clacking against the freshly polished floor. satoru dips his head and whispers, “hold my hand.”

you scrunch up your nose and shake your head. “no thanks, it’s not like anyone’s watching right now. it’s way too crowded.”

“just do it,” satoru mutters, grabbing your hand anyways. when you start to pull away, he fixes you with a stern look and adds, “they’ll think something’s wrong if you don’t.”

“ugh, fine.”

two hours pass, filled with other actors’ remarks on how good you and satoru make as a couple. suguru geto, one of satoru’s close friends who had played a cult leader in a recent documentary even said that you might be the girl who could fix satoru. yeah, right.

“so, when do awards start?” you ask satoru, swirling your drink and relishing the sound of the ice clacking against the side of the glass. he shrugs and takes a swig from his own cup, which looks suspiciously like apple cider disguised as champagne. “really? you’re nominated for like, four awards, and you don’t even know when you’re getting them?”

satoru laughs carelessly and looks you up and down, eyes lingering on the short cut of your dress. “at this point, i’ve got so many awards that it doesn’t even matter anymore. and by the way, you look really good in that dress. oh, wait, didn’t i buy it for you?”

“you’re not smooth.”

“then why am i nominated for best actor, huh?”

“because the system’s absolute shit, obviously. otherwise toji would win every time.”

satoru groans and drinks the last couple sips of his drink, rolling his eyes. “don’t even mention that piece of shit.” you shrug in response, hiding your smile behind your glass. a couple years back, satoru had lost a role to toji and to his despair, the movie did really well, despite what he’d promised to the producers who had turned him down. and it looks like he’s still bitter over that, and all of a sudden, the perfect plan to piss satoru off appears in your head.

“look, it’s toji right there!” you gasp, setting down your drink and hopping off your seat, walking over to toji while ignoring satoru’s warnings. “oh, hi, i’m a big fan,” you say to the tall, well-built man, smiling bashfully. toji turns and looks down at you, raising an eyebrow and smiling.

“hey, pretty, you’re the girl in that movie with the serial killer, yeah?” he asks, crossing his arms. you nod and internally marvel at how tall he is—especially compared to satoru, who, by any standards, is pretty damn tall. toji looks you up and down, taking his sweet time drinking in the way your dress hugs your figure. “that scene in the alley was really fuckin’ good,” toji adds conversationally. “you’re definitely winnin’ best actress for that.”

anyone who’s watched the movie knows that the scene he’s referring to is the one where you get fucked by satoru against a dark alley wall—and you’ve seen enough edits of the scene to know exactly why it’s getting all the hype.

“aw, thanks,” you say coyly, resting a hand on your hip and tilting your head. “y’know, i’ve always wanted to star in a movie with you,” you continue, hearing satoru come up behind you in the background. you ignore the sickeningly obvious way he clears his throat and flutter your eyelashes at toji, who’s eying you with interest.

“i’d like that. i can probably pull some strings,” toji replies with a smirk. his dark eyes flicker from you to satoru and his smile turns almost patronizing. “and who’s this?”

“her boyfriend. and i really hate to interrupt this friendly chat, but she’s not up for grabs,” satoru snaps, wrapping an arm around your waist and dragging you back to your spot at the bar. you shoot satoru an indignant glare, but receive no reply besides his tightening jaw. toji laughs and waves you off, mouthing “call me” at you when you turn back apologetically. 

satoru drags you by the hand to one of the bathrooms, shoving open the door with the side of his arm and pulling you inside. there’s a long, shiny counter, which you become very familiar with once your fake boyfriend hoists you up and sits you on it. “the fuck was that?” satoru hisses, narrowing his eyes accusingly.

“what, we were just talki—”

“i don’t like the way he was looking at you,” satoru interrupts, crossing his arms tensely. he fixes you with a cold stare and you fidget uncomfortably with the hem of your dress, which you now realize is rather short. 

“okay, and?” you reply irritably, starting to get annoyed by the way satoru keeps patronizing you. “it’s not like we’re even dating, gojo,” you snap, emphasizing the use of his last name.

“yeah? well, i don’t need my ‘girlfriend’ slutting herself out to the guy everyone knows i hate,” satoru fires back, taking a step forward. his palms rest on the counter on either side of your exposed legs, and you suddenly notice how red satoru’s face is. the flush in his cheeks wasn’t as noticeable underneath the bar’s dim lights, but here, it’s rather obvious.

“are you jealous?” you ask incredulously, unable to suppress the cheeky smile that finds itself on your face. satoru’s jaw slackens and his eyes widen, and that’s enough of a sign for you to confirm it—satoru gojo, your fake boyfriend, is jealous. he doesn’t reply immediately, so you laugh, throwing back your head and giggling at the way satoru’s petty rivalry seems to be only one of the reasons he was so eager to get you away from toji. “aw, that’s so cute, but we aren’t even dating, sweetheart,” you coo, reaching out and caressing the side of satoru’s face.

he instantly swats your hand away, rolling his eyes at your laughter. “well, we still have to act like it, you idiot,” he mutters, leaning over you and eying the low neckline of your dress. you instinctively cross your arms and glare at him, and satoru only cocks an eyebrow in return. “so, if we were actually dating, do y’know what i’d be doing right now?”

“what?” you decide to humor him.

satoru’s demeanor completely changes at your question, going from pissed and flushed red to almost playful.

“this.” 

and just like that, satoru slips his slender fingers underneath the bottom of your dress and pulls it up, exposing your black, lacy panties. 

“gojo, what the—”

“shh, it’s all for the show,” he whispers teasingly, brushing one finger against the warm skin of your thigh. you involuntarily shiver from his touch, and against all rational impulse, find yourself wanting more.

in the acting community, satoru was well-known for being a stuck-up brat, and when you two had first announced your relationship, plenty of actors doubted it. after all, how could you, the classy it-girl of the movie industry, date an asshole like satoru? but even you were surprised at how easily people started to believe it when you two interacted in front of them. you’ve been told that you two had a rather unexpected burst of chemistry together, and that your relationship might actually make it.

what a shame.

satoru hooks his fingers underneath the waistband of your panties and tugs them down, raising an eyebrow when you don’t protest. he maintains eye contact with you as he slides your panties down your thighs, exposing your embarrassingly-wet cunt. satoru looks almost as surprised as you do at how soaked you are, even as he runs two fingers over your slit before sliding them in. you hate how good it feels—it’s been a while since you got a chance to sleep with another man, especially since you’ve been stuck with satoru for the past two weeks. 

“shit, you’re so fuckin’ wet,” satoru murmurs, scoffing in mild disbelief as he meets your eyes and smiles. he curls his fingers upwards, causing your thighs to reflexively close before satoru reopens them. “so, wanna explain, sweetheart?” he tsks, tapping your thigh with his other hand.

you make a face and look away, cheeks heating up the longer satoru waits for a response. “it’s probably from toji,” you snap back after a moment. satoru laughs sarcastically, shaking his head almost condescendingly and pulling out his fingers.

“nice try, hon,” he says sweetly, lifting his fingers to his mouth and licking off your slick in one smooth motion. satoru exhales heavily and swallows, taking his time in doing so. “want me to go grab toji to join us?” satoru asks, forcing a smile on his lips. “i’m sure he’d love to watch you beg—”

“shut it, gojo,” you interrupt, swatting away his hand, which somehow found its way back in between your thighs. “we have an award show to get to, there’s not enough time for this bullshi—”

that was a mistake. satoru instantly lifts you off the counter and, ignoring the rather wide range of curse words you throw at him, sets you on the ground and starts unzipping his pants. “shh, we got all the time in the world. they can’t give an award to someone who isn’t there, right?” satoru cooes, threading one of his hands through your hair and pulling you closer to him. his other hand finishes unzipping his pants, freeing his already-hard dick.

you look up at satoru, forcing yourself to act unimpressed—even though you know damn well he can see through your half-hearted attempt at hiding your real feelings. “s’ that all?” you ask, hating yourself for the crack in your voice when satoru laughs at you. 

“ah, i think it’ll be more than enough for your pretty face to handle. now c’mon, open nice n’ wide for me,” satoru instructs you, reaching down and tilting up your chin as he guides his dick into your mouth. against all rational impulse, you let him, all while glaring daggers at him from below. 

you run your tongue over his flushed red tip, and satoru sucks in a harsh breath, chest tensing as you continue kitten-licking him. his hand moves from your chin to the top of your head, and he pushes your mouth farther onto his dick, jaw tightening the more your tongue laps at him. 

sure, maybe you shouldn’t be sucking off your fake boyfriend in a bathroom where anyone could walk in at any time, but it’s the first time you’ve felt this way in too long, and you weren’t ready to let this feeling go just yet. so you humor satoru and moan, smiling when you feel the way his whole body loosen up at the soft vibration. “f-fuck, didn’t think you’d actually know how to give a man a good time,” satoru mutters through gritted teeth. 

“really?” you ask, pulling away from his dick for a moment to catch a breath. “we fucked for that movie, though, and you seemed pretty damn satisfied then, didn’t you?” you say in-between heaving breaths. satoru scoffs and shakes his head, pushing your mouth back onto his dick.

“yeah, but that was for a movie. this isn’t,” he clarifies, eyes fixed on the mix of spit and pre-cum dribbling down your chin as you continue sucking him off. “fuck, why are you good at this?” he hisses, almost incredulously—it’s as if he was hoping you wouldn’t be this good for him for some reason, but now’s not the time to reason through it or wonder what’s going on in his mind.

satoru shudders around you, and you feel the hair threaded through your hair tighten. it’s not enough to be painful, but his grip still makes you whine from the increased pressure. his breathing becomes more shallow as you run your tongue over his length, and his foot starts to bounce on the floor as he gets closer to cumming down your throat. “shit, baby, m’ close,” satoru confirms a moment later, tilting his chin back and glaring at the ceiling. 

“fuckin’ hell, i—” he cuts himself off with a loud, lengthy groan, pushing your head even farther on his dick and tensing as the full force of satoru’s orgasm hits him. he lets loose a flurry of curse words as he cums in your mouth, filling you up to the point where it starts dripping down the side of your face. it’s hot and salty, two sensations that you normally wouldn’t put together, but in this moment it’s all you can think about as you slide one hand downwards towards your throbbing pussy.

still reeling from his surprisingly quick orgasm, satoru leans back onto the counter and pants for air. as for you, you’re starting to want some of his pleasure for yourself—so you slip two fingers inside your cunt and pulse them back and forth, needy moans slipping out of your lips at every thrust. “gojo,” you call, looking up at him and licking his cum off your lips. the sight of you kneeling in front of him, cum dripping down your lips and fingers knuckle-deep in your cunt is enough for satoru to cum again, but he forces himself to maintain some level of control.

“jus’ call me satoru,” he murmurs, reaching down and tugging you up to your feet. it’s hard to stand while your legs are trembling, but thankfully, satoru does most of the work for you by positioning you against the wall, back facing him as he aligns his still-hard dick in front of your dripping pussy. “say it,” satoru mutters in your ear, resting one hand on your waist and the other on the wall just above your shoulder. “say my name f’me, sweetheart.”

“s-satoru,” you breathe, and a moment later, your fake boyfriend—who doesn’t feel so fake anymore—shoves himself inside of your welcoming cunt. you’re already wet enough to the point where he doesn’t really need to prep you at all, but you’re still just tight enough so that every thrust feels like he’s breaking you down in the best way possible. 

“y’feel so good,” satoru groans, resting his chin on your shoulder and snapping his hips back and forth, setting a steady yet harsh pace. you stutter out satoru’s name again and again as your vision goes blurry, with your only thoughts revolving around the dick shoved up inside you and the man praising you in your ear. 

satoru curses when he feels your walls clench around him, breaths growing shallower with every thrust. “arch your back for me, princess,” he mutters, eyes fluttering rapidly as he squeezes your waist. “yeah, jus’ like that,” satoru praises, breath brushing against the side of your face as he continues thrusting into you. “how’re you feeling, pretty? s’ this all right with you?”

you nod shakily in response, swollen lips hanging wide open as you gasp for air. satoru clicks his tongue and slows his pace, dipping his chin and studying your face. “gonna need you to use your words, angel.”

“m' good, i wanna cum,” you mumble, a loud moan slipping through your lips when satoru laughs and resumes fucking you a millisecond after you answer. 

“i’m gonna fill you up, baby, i promise,” satoru whispers, and his words are barely audible over the lewd, sticky sounds coming from everywhere. all your senses are directed at satoru—the man you really shouldn’t be fucking right now, but all your inhibitions fade away as you feel your stomach start to tighten as you approach your orgasm.

“fuck, satoru, m’ close,” you whimper, arching your back even more and clenching your teeth shut. satoru sucks in a sharp breath as he confirms that he’s also about to cum, and his thrusts grow sloppier the closer he gets. “don’t stop, please, i—”

from there on, your words mix themselves together, with the only understandable word being satoru’s name. your fake boyfriend spills into you first, cum leaking from his tip and mixing with yours as you both chase your releases. and it hits you hard—if it wasn’t for satoru, you would’ve crumbled to the ground from the sheer force of your orgasm. all you can see is white as satoru finishes emptying his load inside of you, and the sticky, viscous liquid trails down the warm skin of your thighs as it overflows from your abused hole.

“shit,” satoru mutters, stumbling backwards and eyeing his now-soiled clothes. “this was a couple thousand dollars, damn it.”

you exhale a breathy laugh and turn around, leaning against the wall and meeting his half-lidded eyes. “you kidding? my dress was way more than that, and there’s no way i can wear that out now.”

satoru grins, running a hand through his ruffled hair and walking back towards you, touching your waist and sliding a finger over your dripping cunt. “you were so good f’me, baby. what were we arguing about again?”

“i have no idea,” you mumble, watching satoru lick his finger clean. he’s shameless—even as clarity returns to both of your minds, he still insists on dragging the moment on. not that you mind—that was the best sex you’d had in a while, even if it was too fast and in a bathroom.

“we should get back to the ceremony,” you say distractedly, pulling down your dress and frowning at the new wrinkles. “can i wear your suitjacket? i don’t want people to see this.”

satoru sticks out his bottom lip and pouts, looking you up and down. “but i like it. you look like you just got fucked by a really hot guy. oh, wait, that’s me!”

“you’re an asshole.”

before satoru can reply, the bathroom door opens, and you both jump out of your skins. thankfully, satoru had time to pull his pants on, otherwise it would’ve been significantly more embarrassing. suguru pokes his head in the bathroom and rolls his eyes when he sees you and satoru, and an exasperated sigh slips out of his lips when he sees your fucked-out states. 

“are you two seriously fucking during the awards?” suguru snaps, amber eyes glittering with dry amusement. you look away bashfully, tugging down your dress even farther out of embarrassment. satoru shrugs nonchalantly and walks over to suguru, offering his hand in search of a fistbump. 

suguru eyes him dubiously and crosses his arms. “did you wash your hands?”

“heh, no, not yet.”

ignoring satoru’s smug grin, suguru swats his arm away with the back of his hand, disgust evident all over his face. “gross, fuck off.” he turns to you and arches an eyebrow, looking you up and down disapprovingly. “you two should clean up before coming outside, otherwise they’ll probably take away your awards,” suguru adds, wrinkling his nose. “i’ll tell them you’re on your way.” 

“okay, thanks,” you mutter, face warmer than ever. suguru nods in response and leaves, and when you and satoru finally return to the awards ceremony, there’s plenty of whispers about you two, and most of them aren’t very family-friendly.

well, at the very least, nobody’s gonna doubt that you two were a couple now!

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