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#i just fucking voted wrong on my own poll
in-sufficientdata · 8 months
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wolfjackle-creates · 2 months
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Bring Me Home Arc 3 Part 2
Happy WIP Wednesday. Bring Me Home won last week's poll. But it was a close one! If you want a say in what I post next week, be sure to vote in this week's poll. ^.^
Story Summary: Danny's parents find out his secret. It doesn't go well. But he's not alone. His friend Tim Drake, better known as Red Robin, and the Young Justice will not let him suffer.
We switch to Tim's POV for this part.
Warnings: Aftermath of torture
Arc 1: AO3
Arc 2: First, Last
Previous
Word Count: 1.7k
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The instant Kon got the door to the lab open, Tim sprinted down the stairs. The first thing he saw was Jack and Maddie standing over a table, green ectoplasm, blood covering everything.
Then his eyes fixed on Danny. Danny, cut open and bleeding with a muzzle on while his parents looked at his insides.
He rushed forward, tackling Maddie and tearing her away from Danny. She screamed and fought back, landing one punch before Tim kicked her back a step. Then he pulled out his staff and landed a hard blow across her chest, forcing her further back.
Next to him, Cassie was taking care of Jack. He exchanged a quick glance with her and the two began herding the pair towards the wall. Away from Danny.
Behind him, Tim could hear Sam call out for Kon then a cry of pain.
“He’s still alive!” called out Kon. “I can hear both his core and heart.”
Tim couldn’t relax. Alive didn’t mean much. He put more force on his next swing of his staff, aiming for Maddie’s shoulder. But she ducked and twisted just right to get under the swing and move closer.
She slashed back with a scalpel, one still covered in Danny’s blood. Tim growled as he blocked it with his arm, the armor of his suit preventing it from reaching skin. He swung his staff again, getting her in the side hard then jerking up to hit her in the armpit.
He smiled in satisfaction when he dislocated her shoulder, causing her to drop the scalpel.
“You’ve got this all wrong!” she protested as she held her shoulder. “Jack and I are the good guys here. The ghosts, they’re all evil!”
Tim snarled. “The only evil I see here are the two so-called scientists who were torturing their own son!”
Maddie tensed at his words. “Don’t you dare say that. I’m trying to save my son from the monster that took his body.”
Tim swung again, aiming for her feet. Already distracted by the pain in her shoulder, the hit landed and she fell. He hit again and he felt her ankle break. Good, she wouldn’t be getting away.
“Why don’t you just shut the fuck up,” growled Tim.
Jack landed on the ground next to his wife, taken out by a punch from Cassie. Tim took the time to swing at him, too.
Again and again and again, he brought his staff down on them. Not stopping as they cried out in pain or as he felt more bones break under his blows. Until the time when he tried to swing down, but his staff refused to move.
He spun around, scowling, to come face to face with Cassie who had his staff firmly in her own grip.
“That’s enough, Rob. They’re down and they won’t be moving. Impulse and I will make sure of it. You need to go with the others.”
Behind her, Tim could see Sam fussing over Danny, still on the table. Bart and Tucker were at the computers trying to download as much information as they could. And Kon was staring right at him.
“Transport?” asked Tim.
Kon pulled out his phone to check. “Just arrived. Let’s go, Rob.”
Tim nodded. “Fine.” To Cassie, he said, “I want them in custody.”
She nodded. “Obviously. We all do. Impulse, Tucker, and I will take care of things here.”
“Then let’s go.” Tim stalked away from Jack and Maddie, refusing to look back. He wasn’t sure he could stop a second time.
Someone must have found a blanket and gotten it under Danny. All Kon had to do was touch the blanket, and it lifted up. Danny was held completely straight in the make-shift stretcher as Kon single-handedly used his TTK to carry him, Sam leading the way out of the lab.
The doors opened for them on the way out, Kon’s TTK again. And sure enough there by the curb was a nondescript van, engine still running.
Jazz got out the driver’s seat the instant Kon appeared in the doorway to open the back of the van.
“Bring him in here! I’ve got a bed set up,” she said.
Kon, of course, went first. But Tim and Sam were only steps behind him. Inside the van, the bench on one side had been fitted with a futon mattress to form a makeshift bed. Overhead, lights had been fitted to make sure the area was bright enough to see. Kon carefully laid Danny down then backed up so Sam and Jazz could move in.
“Keys are in the ignition,” said Jazz. “Get us away from the house, then let Sam and I patch him up.”
“You’ve got it,” said Kon who took his spot behind the wheel.
Tim shut the doors to the van and stood against the opposite side of the van. This was his first good look at Danny.
His friend was still in his Phantom form, but his jumpsuit had been torn and peeled away from his body. His chest was covered in so much blood he could barely see the wound, but the tell-tale y-incision was unmistakable.
Jazz and Sam were carefully wiping away the blood as best they could, using towels that had been neatly stacked in a box next to the cot.
Tim looked around until he saw an empty bucket. He pushed it towards the two girls. “Put the dirty ones in here.”
Kon pulled away from the Fenton house, aiming for their local out-of-town-limits rendezvous spot. “I can keep Danny from being jostled by the road. Don’t know if I can do the same for the rest of you if you’re moving, though.”
“Let’s not test it right now,” said Tim. “But we will be practicing that later. Never know when we might need it again.”
Jazz dropped her first towel and grabbed another. Her hands were shaking.
Tim knelt by her side and placed a hand on her wrist. “Let me. Right now we’re just trying to hold him together and I can do that as well as you can. He’s going to be just fine, I’ll make sure of it.”
“But I’m the one who trained with Frostbite.” Her voice cracked on a sob.
Tim grabbed the towel from her hands and used it to put pressure on Danny’s wound. “And I don’t need specialized training for this part of it.”
Jazz hesitated a moment longer, but with a last look at her brother, she spun and ran to the other side of the van. Tim listened to her muffled cries as he held the towel to Danny’s chest.
Sam shifted until their shoulders were pressed together and he leaned slightly into the touch. Neither said anything.
Soon enough, Kon was pulling off the road and the van came to a stop. The instant it did, Jazz was pushing her way into his place, two boxes in her hand. She opened one to reveal a large first aid kit, as well stocked as anything he had in his most-used safe house.
Tim took up a position at the foot of the bench and pulled out a small camera he had in his belt. He took careful pictures of all the visible wounds. Kon came up besides him and put an arm around his shoulder.
Jazz opened the second case, letting out a hiss of cold air and frost. Without hesitating, she put on two heavy duty gloves and lifted out what looked to be an ice cube.
Sam, meanwhile, was measuring out enough glowing green thread to cover Danny’s wound. Tim took another picture.
Jazz placed four ice cubes into the injury—one at the end of each cut and one where the lines intersected. Then Sam laid the thread over the wound. She muttered something and it phased into Danny’s skin without the use of a needle and pulled the injury together.
The glow faded slightly and if he didn’t know better, Tim would’ve thought they were regular stitches.
From there, they focused on cleaning off the remaining blood. The van was mostly silent—Sam and Jazz only communicating the bare minimum necessary to care for Danny. Even Tim’s camera was entirely silent, designed as it was for stealth.
As Danny was wiped clean, more and more injuries were revealed. Only years of bat training kept Tim standing and taking pictures. But his grip on the camera was much tighter than it needed to be. Kon’s fingers were digging into his shoulder almost painfully, but Tim didn’t say anything. Sam and Jazz were forcibly holding themselves together, but the odd hitch in their breath or tremble in their fingers gave them away, too.
A nasty burn spanning Danny’s left side was revealed. Tim clicked the camera, and Sam applied an ectoplasm-based ointment to it. Then Jazz covered the injury with a bandage.
The process was repeated time and again for each injury they discovered. But eventually, all the wounds were tended to. Once Jazz did a final look, she nodded with grim satisfaction.
“Superboy, could you use your powers to wrap his chest?”
“Of course!” Kon left Tim’s side to grab a roll of gauze and took up his own place at Danny’s side. All he had to do, though, was place the roll on the bed and his powers took care of everything else.
Tim wished he could do something half so useful. Next time Danny managed to get to the Realms, he was so joining him and getting his own lessons directly from Frostbite.
“Just one more thing to do,” said Jazz. She reached into the first aid kit and pulled out a small box. Inside sat a syringe filled with ectoplasm. She jammed it into Danny’s thigh and pressed the plunger.
Danny’s eyes flew opened and he let out a yell as his back arched off the bed.
Sam was already hovering over him. “Danny? How are you feeling?”
Danny panted for breath, but looked at her with a wry smile. “Pretty much the worse I’ve ever felt.” He looked from Sam to Jazz to Kon before meeting Tim’s eyes. “You came.”
“I always will,” said Tim.
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I'm not an expert on emergency medicine, so I figured why not go the magical route?
Tim wishes he could help in a more hands-on way, but documenting injuries is important if you want to bring them up in court. No one knows yet if Danny will want that, but this way they have them in case they're necessary.
Tucker, Bart, and Cassie are remaining behind to bring the Fentons to JL holding cells. Tucker is the one who knows the Fenton computers best after Danny, after all.
All ready we can see some major changes from my original version. What else will change? And, more importantly, what will stay the same?
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Round 2
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Baseball has sponsorships, right? If not maybe Blaseball does.
Propaganda Under The Cut
Jaylen Hotdogfingers:
The greatest came-back-wrong character ever. She's the mayor of Seattle. She's was the best pitcher in the league. She was murdered by an umpire in an act of divine retribution for the fanbase's transgression. The fanbase exploited game mechanics to bring her back to life. Immediately she murdered 12 people. She died again and got revived a second time as part of a team of undead players that killed god. She's a really awful batter. She has, like, 16 songs written about her and they're all really good. I thought about her every single day for a period of six consecutive months. I love her.
I'll be real. I'm an outsider to the Blaseball fandom. I don't understand it. I think they've crowdfunded characters from fictionalized fucked-up Baseball stats and a dream. I love seeing what the fuck they're doing in their eldritch sandbox just so much.
Simon Laurent:
I love him so much! Yay! Yippie! he got what he deserved tho
have i submitted him yet? if yes here he is again. what did you do to my French man, now he has anxiety, and maybe 50 other things. i can fix him, but it would require a lot of time travel and a complete lack of trains. as i can't do that, he instead gets his very own tumblr poll submission. one vote for train man is one dollar towards the invention of the simon-specific time machine. (your other guys cant come unless they have the same name sorry) its for a good cause
imagine: youre in the trolley situation. well an oh-so-kind tumblr user decided to give everyone who submits this character a get-out-of-a-train-free ticket! use that ticket, and you're no longer responsible for the death of someone (or you are no longer fated to die)!
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ugly-pickle · 4 months
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you will always come first ☆ ayato
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CHARACTERS: ayato x gn!reader
SYNOPSIS: you start to think that he values his duties more than you… but you are proven wrong
GENRE: fluff 💿
W/C: 0.5k
C/W: kissing, physical touch, cussing, and if you squint your eyes you can see some neglect (if theres anything ive missed please let me know!)
A/N: i finished my scara angst at 4:30am… it is currently 7am and i have JUST voted on my own poll……… i have not slept yet. not proofread!
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it’s been a while since youve went on a date, or at least do something romantic with ayato. i mean, you both have many duties, with your husband being the head of the kamisato clan, and you being his wife.
today, you both have your day off, but ayato still decides to do paperwork on his rest day, and his only break days comes in once a blue moon. youve been hinting at him, youve been sighing a little too loud and pointing out the lovely couples that come to the estate just to drop off MORE paperwork.
even after your attempts to try to let him know, he still doesnt get it! and now hes talking to an official so you cant even talk to him… youre sick and tired of how dense the head of the kamisato clan can be! it breaks your heart not being able to have some one on one time with your beloved.
you head to your shared bedroom, while walking there you see ayaka and thoma, “oh hello y/n,” says ayaka, “hello ayaka, hello thoma” you say, your tone being obviously depressed. “are you okay y/n?” thoma asks you with a worried face. “well… it’s been a while since ive been on a date with ayato and…” you look up to see ayaka giggling, “w-whats so funny?” youre a bit offended, youve just told the two about your troubles and now ayaka is giggling? “oh youll see,” thoma tells you before he walks away with ayaka.
what the fuck just happened. whats going on? maybe hes finally gonna take you out? “y/n?” you you jumped a bit at the sudden surprise, but you quickly regain your composure, “oh hi babe!” he puts a hand on your shoulder, “are you okay y/n? youve been acting strange all day, have i done something wrong?”
you feel guilty for making your beloved feel sad, “well, uhm… look ayato, it’s been ages since we been on a date together and i kinda feel like you forgot about…” you advert your eyes from his, he puts his fingers under your chin and lifts your head. "of course i didnt forget our anniversary, thats what i was planning all day, im sorry for not planning it earlier."
what.
oh shit, that was today? youve been so focused on going on a date with ayato that the thought of your anniversary was completely forgotten. ayato sees the slight panic in your eyes, "i dont need a gift, just being with you is the greatest present ive ever received." you feel a your shoulders relax but can still feel a tinge of guilt.
ayato presses a kiss on your temple and says "no matter if it's my day off or if im drowned in work, you will always come first my love."
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A/N: all of my brain juices were out by the time i started writing this. very very cringe but i didnt know what to write ૮ ⸝⸝o̴̶̷᷄ ·̭ o̴̶̷̥᷅⸝⸝ ྀིა
@justaxiaosimp @mommykukki @xdrin @midnight-pluto @boomie-123 @scaramochies @dnsuhwr874y @hopefulceladon @yukinenikora @akusiapaakudimana @mai-yay @uhfhfhfhf @petitte-writer
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reasonsforhope · 6 months
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Do you have any advice for dealing with election anxiety?
I think/hope so!
First, a couple caveats:
I'm from the US, so US perspective, and about US 2024 elections
I know more about politics/follow them more than like, at least 85% of US Americans? But I am not an expert.
Environment/climate news and climate hope are science-based and can be measured/predicted empirically wayyyyy more than politics can, because People
I'm not getting into the trenches around Democrats vs. the Left vs. Liberals vs. Progressives. In this post, we're all in one big venn diagram of mostly interchangeable terms
So, first off, maybe my biggest piece of advice is this: The antidote to anxiety is action.
Find something you can do to help - anything. Anxiety is like fear - it's part of your brain's alarm system. It's part of your brain's mechanism for telling you that you need to do something
So if you listen to that alarm and do something, your brain won't feel the same need to desperately escalate the alarm system
You can look up and sign up for actions, protests, petitions, letter-writing campaigns, phone banking, canvassing, and more for candidates near you at Mobilize.us (no Repubs on here I promise). They also work with Swing Left a lot - a group that helps voters look up and focus on helping the nearest race that is actually competitive (because most of them aren't!)
Again, that's Mobilize.us and Swing Left as two of the best places to find out how and where to help, and sign up to do so
Other than that, I don't have advice specifically so much as I have "some useful and more hopeful ways to think about the coming US election" and to a lesser extent democracy in general
1. The media is going to underreport how well the Left and/or Democrats are doing, basically no matter what.
So, although we can't get cocky about it, this is something absolutely worth remembering when you see just about any polling or predictions about the 2024 elections.
Here's why:
Poling is weird and often inaccurate and skews in a lot of ways and is inherently biased, and it's less accurate the further you are from an election. Also, the electoral college is a huge complication here
This skewing is built into both the interpretation of the poll and the design of the poll itself - how many people do they sample? Demographic spread? Polls try to go for "likely voters," but how well can you predict that, especially as voting rates for young people and marginalized groups are rising, often dramatically?
Right now, those biases are all skewing most to all polls and predictions to the right. Including from basically all pollsters, as well as left-wing media and news outlets.
Now, THAT'S NOT INHERENTLY A BAD THING. It's not because they don't want the Left to win. It's because in 2016, basically all mainstream media, including left-leaning media, said that there was a very low chance Trump was going to win. They said that Hillary Clinton had it in the bag. So they're all correcting for the huge inaccuracy in the 2016 (and 2020 and 2022 tbh) elections
Not only were they catastrophically and humiliatingly wrong about that, they then had to deal with the fact that that very reporting was part of why Clinton lost in 2016 - voters heard she was probably going to win, so they felt safe staying home instead of voting
And then the 2020 election polls were also super wrong, mostly in the other direction
Polling as a field is undergoing a massive shakeup around this, trying to figure out how to not fuck up that badly again, but they haven't figured it out yet, so right now they're skewing things to compensate
That's for the sake of both their own credibility and, you know, the part where just about no one in either left-wing or mainstream media or mainstream polling orgs wants Trump to win
So they're going to underreport Democratic chances on purpose to a) compensate for the bias skewing things toward Democrats in their models, and b) to make sure that they don't accidentally help Trump win again
Sources: x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x
Reasons the Republicans are in more trouble than a lot of people think
Democrats are largely closing ranks hard around Biden, because no matter what they think of Biden, they know a Repub victory would be a thousand times worse
Republicans, however, are absolutely NOT unifying around a candidate. And they're also the ones who go around saying a ton of awful and offensive and wildly untrue things about their opponents. Meaning that the Republican primary is about to get fucking messy, and probably all of their candidates will be tarred in the process
So, basically, the Republican candidates are all going to be busy smearing the fuck out of each other - while Biden mostly doesn't have to deal with that level of negative campaigning against him for months and months
As studies show, in politics, "a negative frame is much more persistent, or “stickier,” than a positive one. If you come at an issue negatively, but are later reminded of the policy's positive aspects, you will still think it's a bust."
Also, Biden is gonna get basically all presidential-race left-wing big-name donor money, while the Right will have that money split a bunch of ways and blow through it hard on infighting, creating a probable funding gap
Trump's campaign contributions are all going to pay his legal fees. Like, to the extent that last month, his main PAC had just $4 million in cash on hand - because they siphoned over $101 million to pay his legal fees (muahahaha)
Sources: x, x, x, x, x, x, x
Other hopeful things to consider
Yes, Trump's indictments and trials are, unfortunately, boosting his numbers among his supporters. However, that's only with the hard right wing - and you can't win a general election with just the far right. He needs to appeal to independent voters and moderate Repubs - and every indictment and trial hurts his chances with them. x, x
In 2022, literally everyone was predicting a "red tsunami." And they were wrong: it never happened. Instead, Democrats picked up a seat in the senate, lost a third or less of the seats in the House that they were expected to, and won a number of statewide races. x, x, x, x, x
DeSantis's decision to go to war with Disney stands to do him a lot of fucking hard. Disney isn't just powerful in general - it's an unbelievably powerful force and employer in DeSantis's home state of Florida. Disney has already pulled a $1 billion project from Florida due to the feud, is responsible for "half" of FL's tourism industry, and and is branding DeSantis as "anti-corporation" and "anti-business" - dangerous charges in the right wing. x, x, x, x, x, x
Abortion is an issue that gets voters to the polls. This is an issue on which politicians are wildly out of step with voters: Numbers change depending on how you break it down, but generally 60% to 70% of Americans think abortion should be legal - which is, in election terms, is a landslide. For years, that momentum has been with Republicans. Well, now it's with us, and so far pro-choice candidates and ballot propositions have done way better than expected. To quote Vox, in 2022, "abortion rights won in all six states with abortion ballot measures, including in red states like Kentucky and Montana that otherwise elected Republican lawmakers." x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x
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katieaki · 5 months
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My ✨ post-apocalyptic Lesbian Cowgirl Mailman choose-your-own adventure✨ has just updated! Read it here for free on my Patreon and vote in the poll! There is a summary of the first part, here, and second part, here. They have everything you need to know about Lou, her requited-but-complicated love, the religious assassin who just beat the tar out of her, the worst person she's ever met, and the ill-advised journey she is on! You know when someone is like, soooo mean to you & everyone else is like "I'm sure it's not that bad, I'm sure she's fine, maybe you just caught them on a bad day" and then they encounter them, too, and you can see the light go out in their eyes in an instant? You know that feeling? Well. So does Lou, now.
Read it for free on my patreon! Excerpt below the cut.
“Where did you learn to fight? That knee thing was practiced,” Artie said as she dragged Lou along. “I thought the Pony Express was a reputable institution, not some rough and tumble gang.”
“I got a bad temper and I’m small,” Lou said. She twisted her wrist back and forth, trying to get out of Artie’s grasp to no avail. “People always think they can just pick me up in a fight. I had to learn how to get them to put me down. Usually, people fall down when I do that.”
Artie clicked her tongue and held her free hand out in an exaggerated cockiness. “What can I say,” she said. “I’m fucking good.”
Lou wondered if she could still manage to bite her after all, just because she was annoying. Artie wouldn’t be expecting it anymore. She might be able to get a good chomp in. She dug her boot heels into the dirt a little and made Artie have to pull her harder, which she did without comment.
“You took it really well though, the other night,” Artie said as she continued on unbitten. “You fought good.”
“No, you cleaned my plow. I was groveling and crying in the dirt for you to spare my life,” Lou said. She hated that she hadn’t been able to be tougher. Maybe she would have been hurt worse, but at least she would have had her dignity. 
“Listen, please don’t take this the wrong way, but that’s spoken like somebody who doesn’t regularly have people groveling and crying in the dirt for you to spare their lives,” Artie said. She stopped tugging on Lou’s arm to allow her to skirt around a clump of taller brush before pulling her forward again. “First off, of course you were. And, second, you weren’t, really. You got some real good licks in on me, cowgirl. I was impressed. You should be proud of yourself.”
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Here's the summary I almost went with.
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calcja · 10 months
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SAINT OR SLUT
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DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A 18+ POST W SOME NSFW THEMES READ AT YOUR OWN RISK ⚠️
Sypnosis: Here's what i think abt whether bonten characters r virgins or nahhh (ofc they're not minors here)
author's note: EXPECT wrong grammars and spellings bc english is not my first languange but i will try my best 😤 and also
❗️pictures are not mine. Credits to the rightful owners❗️
❗️ this doesnt follow the manga ❗️
• MANJIRO SANO
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• Personally, i'm 50/50 whether if Mikey is a virgin or not, but i'm sure home boi flirts w girls
• Bro is literally stressed out w his life ever since he was a kid and we are all aware that he lost lots of people during his teenage years that led him into becoming a person that he is right now
• He would go to clubs for work or when he's stressed out, looking for some hot chicks to comfort his lonely ass then make out with them later on but it actually depends though if he would be in the mood to do it with someone, he might be "too tired" to have sex or if ever he did it, he would most likely do it just to feel something
• HARUCHIYO SANZU
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• Now come on now
•He's a slut. like a literal slut. the slut of them all. the one and only babygirl.
• He's the guy that when you first look at him, you will say ti yourself immediately that "oh he's a slut" "oh that guy is definitely not a virgin" "he definitely fuck bunch of girls"
• Especially when he's high? oh my god. One thing u expect when this guy is high is hes at the club fucking some girls or getting his dick sucked.
• He doest want makeouts w gropings, home boi always wants a good fuck
•But regardless of being a fuck boy, Sanzu doesnt just easily goes to clubs on his daily basis, when he has work to do especially when it an order from mikey, he would do that first.
• Overall, he's the type of guy who do his works first and surprisingly do it well before he gets his ballsack empty!
• KAKUCHO
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• hmmmm this guy is a.... virgin.
• He's voted for being the best boyfriend at the poll one time so i guess this guy is actually sweet irl or in fanfics (EVERYBODY LOVES THIS GUY HE SOLOS ALL UR FAVES IF UR A HATER OF THIS MAN THEN J ALSO HATE U)
•Moving on, Kakucho goes to clubs only just for work and nothing more. Sure he might get some drinks then that's it. • Unfortunately, it's very rare for someone to come up to him to flirt, not bcs of his scary face but bcs of his calm yet cold personality, voice and aura.
• I think he prefers to train more than having sex when he's stressed
• I just imagine him during his day off in his apartment or house or wherever the fuck he lives to have a calm life, taking care of some plants, relaxing while watching tv, reading books, drinking coffee, training and overall just enjoying little things in life.
• ANYWAYS BUT WHY DO I THINK ABT HIM PLAYING A GUITAR (Izana's old guitar)?!?!???! AND HE LEARNED PLAYING THE GUITAR FOR IZANA???
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artists-ally · 7 months
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{Flatline} Harvey x OFC {Pt. 3)
Uh ohhhh guys it’s Pt. 3 🤭🤭🤭 I am so excited for this. It’s honestly one of my favorite things I’ve written and I hope you all agree. There is a poll at the end so make sure to vote for that <3 enjooyyyyy p.s. I hope this does good justice for this series.
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Pt. 1 Pt. 2 Character Playlist
Word Count: 12,795
Warnings: language, angst, anxious thoughts, one singular mention of sexual h*r*ssm*nt in regards to Harvey’s actions with Claudia, smut 18+, the tiniest bit of food play, dom/sub dynamics, praise kink go brrr
***Italic sections indicate flashbacks***
Summary: The aftermath of Harvey breaking his promise to Claudia.
Tagging: @rosedpetal @maxdamax @ashcosmo
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HARVEY'S POV
My legs were numb. That sort of numbness when something happens that you can’t explain. It felt like my life just flashed before my eyes. That image of Claudia’s shaking lip… hearing her broken voice… I don’t think I’ll ever get it out of my fucking head. 
“Harvey, I requested those trades be made an hour ago. Do you wanna tell me why… Harvey?”
I could see Jessica in front of me, but I couldn’t hear a damn thing she said. 
“Harvey, what’s going on?” She closed the door, and I put a hand out to steady myself so I wouldn’t fall on the floor. “What happened?” “I fucked up,” I whispered. 
“Yeah, no shit. You tanked our only opportunity to get a leg up on this Gustoson case. You’re damn right you fucked up-”
“No no,” I sat on the arm of the chair. My hands began to shake so I folded them together. Jessica saw. 
“What the hell did you do?”
“I yelled at Claudia…”
She just blinked at me. “Is that seriously what you’re concerned about? Yelling at an associate? Okay, you yelled at an associate, what’s new? That might as well be in your job description.”
“No no no I didn’t just yell at her I threatened to do the one thing that I promised I would never do and now she’s gone. She left. I can’t- I don’t- I never meant to hurt her but she suggested that we file a motion to dismiss and I got so caught up in my anger about her accusing me of using her that I lost my-”
“Using her? Harvey, what is going on?” “I’ll tell you what’s going on,” Donna barged in. 
“Donna please don’t-”
“Harvey and Claudia have been ‘working together’ for the last month and a half, when in reality he has been a selfish, lying, arrogant brat who has crossed so many lines it’s beginning to look like a Rorschach Test.”
“You know?” I felt my heart suffocate myself. I thought I was gonna throw up.
“In all honesty Harvey, no I didn’t. Not until Claudia just broke down in the elevator and told me everything. I cannot believe that you would use her like that. For your own personal satisfaction are you out of your fucking mind?” “Harvey, what the hell is she talking about?” Jessica’s voice was full of hostility. 
“He thought that it would be a good idea to boost Claudia’s confidence by getting into her pants.”
“Donna it wasn’t-”
Jessica scoffed, covering her face. “What the hell is wrong with you? This has got sexual harassment written all over it, Havrey. Could you really be that delusional?”
“For fucks sake it wasn’t like that!” I screamed. Genuinely screamed and paced around. “I didn’t use her, not intentionally. God dammit I haven't been able to think clearly since the first day that I saw Claudia. She is an incredible lawyer and all I wanted to do was give her something else to focus on because she was afraid to be in a room with me. I just- all I wanted to do was help her find a little bit of confidence and oh my god this sounds so much worse when I say it outloud.”
Donna and Jessica exchanged a look while I slowly felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest and stomped on the floor with cleats. 
“Okay Harvey, sit down and tell us what happened,” Donna steered me away from putting a hole in the wall to my desk.
“I don’t even know, Donna.” “Well while you two enjoy going down memory lane, I’ll be fighting for our firm's life. If you two don’t get your shit together, and by you two I mean Harvey, then… I don’t even know then.”
She all but slammed the door on her way out, patrons on the other side sending worried glances our way. I turned my chair so they wouldn’t see me. 
“How long has this been going on?” Donna asked. 
I dug my nails into my skin. “Almost two months.”
“Two months? Harvey, how could you not tell me?” “Because I didn’t want to,” I admitted. “And partly because I kind of thought you already knew. You know, the whole ‘Donna superpower’ shit you do.”
“I know I can’t believe I missed it,” she took the chair in front of me. I glared at her so hard I thought I’d light that hair of hers on fire. “Okay bad time for a joke. So, bachelor, why don’t you start from the beginning. And please, I don’t need to know the dirty details, despite my curiosity. Claudia is like a little sister to me and I really don’t want to picture you and her and oh my god I already am. Ugh, please start talking so I don’t have to be tortured.”
So dramatic. I was good looking, and so was Claudia. Why wouldn’t anyone want to picture us together? Then my eyes snapped to the chair she was sitting on. Oh god. Donna was in the chair that I was the first time Claudia and I-
“Get up,” I blurted out, reaching for her and placing her in my desk chair. God dammit we used that one too. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.
We sat down on the couch and I rubbed my strained eyes. Here goes nothing. 
“When Sheila first sent over the recruits from Harvard, I interviewed all of them. Except for one. There were thirteen associates but I only had twelve meetings set up. So I asked Louis if he was interviewing any of the newbies and he said just one. Obviously this person was some sort of idiot to be going to Louis instead of me, so I popped in.”
“Well, Claudia I think that you have some unbelievable potential at this firm and I’d just like to- Harvey, what are you doing here I am in the middle of an interview.”
“Oh I know, I just wanted to drop by and see how it was going.”
In front of Louis was this warm, chestnut brown head of sleek, silk like hair. She was wearing a lavender blouse and a black maxi skirt with a slit to the knee. She had on these black flats with pearls on them. Summer had just ended, and there was some remaining sunburn on her nose and cheeks. Her eyes were surrounded by prominent lashes and eyebrows, a fine line of makeup between the two; lavender, to match the top. 
“It’s going great, now will you get the hell out and tend to your own interviews and stop barging in on my only one?”
“Harvey Specter,” I introduced, sticking out my hand. She looked from it over to Louis, who was just shooting me daggers. 
“You just can’t help yourself, can you?”“Louis, I’m not trying to woo your associate, I’m just introducing myself to her. We are kind of name partners, you know. It’s the courteous thing to do.”
Again, all she did was look at my hand before slowly standing up. I didn’t miss the way she tried to subtly wipe her hand on her skirt. 
“I’m Claudia. Claudia Martin.”
God dammit that was a pretty name. It sounded so sophisticated, so mature and would sound really nice next to mine. Or with mine. Harvey Specter and Claudia Martin. I don’t know why I thought of hearing or seeing ‘Claudia Specter’ one day, but I did. And I didn’t hate the way it sounded. 
“Welcome to Pearson Specter Litt,” I gave a nice smile. It was clear she was already intimidated to be here, I didn’t need to add to that fire. She barely looked me in the eye for two seconds, but those two seconds made my head spin. 
She had the most gorgeous eyes I think I’ve ever seen in my life. They were amber in the middle but had this ring of hazel around the outer rim. It was just… not something I’ve ever seen before. I didn’t want her to look away because I just wanted to keep looking at them.
And that blush… that I knew wasn’t her sunburn. Not the way it creeped up the side of her face, or at the base of her neck. 
Jesus Harvey, stop staring at her. You’re probably giving off major stalker vibes.
“Well I’ll be around if you need anything, Claudia. Don’t be shy,” I smiled, the best charming one I could. Her full lips were in a tight line, her fingers picking at each other before she sat back down with Louis.
“Okay so you sabotaged Louis’ meeting with Claudia and thought she was beautiful? Why didn’t you just say that?” Donna interrupted. 
“Didn’t you ask me to start from the beginning?” She snapped her lips closed. “So let me tell the goddamn story. Yes, I thought she was stunning. I mean, no one in their right mind would think otherwise. She is so pretty and so smart and twice the person I wish I could be. There is just something about her that I can’t shake from my memory.”
“Yeah we get it, you’re head over heels for Claudia. Now on with it I don’t have all day.”
I rolled my eyes. 
“That was the first time I met her. It wasn’t long after that she started working here when I talked to her again. She was just sitting at her desk, Griffin and whoever else crowded around the opposite end of the bullpen. She was excluded and it made me feel bad.”
I’ve always thought Griffin would be at the top of my list for top associates. He was like me; only shorter, not as good looking, and had blue eyes instead of brown. Did I mention he wasn’t as good looking? Anyway, I had only one intention: get Claudia alone so I could talk to her.
Every day since she started a few weeks ago, I have watched her get off the elevator, walk through the office, and disappear around the corner. It wasn’t fair that she got to look like that, walk like that, and no one was around to appreciate it. 
She was so fucking eye catching. And I didn’t want the other slobs at this firm to get to her before I could.
“Claudia, do you mind helping me with something for a few minutes?” I asked, voice just loud enough for Griffin to hear. 
She looked up, pen cap between her rosy lips, and blinked. That flush creeped onto her cheeks. I tried not to smile. 
“Sure,” she nodded once and stood up, following me out. 
I was not so subtle with the look that I gave Griffin, and he wasn’t so subtle with the way he spoke.
“Is there something you need, Harvey? Claudia is in the middle of a very important depo documentation. I’d hate for her to fall behind.”
What a dick. “No, Griffin. It seems like you’ve got more important things to do with your book club than working on whatever Louis assigned you, so Claudia will work just fine. I prefer an actually hard working associate to someone who’s discussing whatever mediocre steak dinner you had at Texas Roadhouse last Wednesday.”
“Griffin’s eyes simmered and shot daggers into Claudia. But he didn’t open his mouth. I thought about punching him in the face for looking at her like that, and that’s when I realized I was fucked. That I was willing to do that for Claudia when it was literally the second time I’ve ever talked to her.”
“I’ll say,” Donna huffed. “What happened next?” “I just had her deliver some letters for me to the courthouse. I asked her something about Griffin, if they were ever acquainted with each other.”
“And what did she say?”
“She told me that Griffin was a total douchebag and tried to use his social status to get a leg up on her in class discussions, cutting corners to discredit her. It was so unfair and I just-”
Donna put a hand on my knee. “Relax, Harvey. Griffin isn’t here, stop looking like you want to put him through a wall.” “Well, Donna, I do want to put him through a wall because he has been an asshole to Claudia for no other reason than she was good at her job. It makes me sick.”
“When did you start becoming so protective of her? I’ve never seen you like this with anyone other than Mike, Louis, Jessica and myself. You must… really really care about her.”
“I think it was during the mock trial. She was always off to the side, always attentive, but never spoke up. I couldn’t stop myself from glancing over at her every once and a while to see if she wanted to be included. But she never did.”
“This case may seem simple, but the husband is a grade A asshole. He has done everything to cover his tracks and is gonna come at us with everything he’s got. Find me some evidence and make it good.”
They all branched off, heading this way and that. Claudia went to the only logical place, right to me.
“Hi, Mr. Specter-sir. I just have one question about-about the case if you’ve got a minute. If you have somewhere to be I understand and I can ask later,” she said quickly.
“Of course, what do you want to know?” I couldn’t help but think her stuttering was cute. I knew she was nervous, specifically around me; she always seemed so tense with me, so I made sure to always speak quietly and calmly with her. 
“Was Mr. Saros the one who paid off that investment banker? Did the money come from his account directly or a different one?”
God she was so good. “It came from him and his wife’s joint account.”
Claudia had a slight grin to her lips, and she nodded before striding away. She was going to crack this wide open. I just knew it. 
I went back to my office to wait it out, to see if any one could come up with an idea before Claudia. Before I knew it, it was three o'clock and I had a meeting to go to for another case Mike and I were working on. When we got in the car, Mike was looking at me with a knowing smile. 
“What?” 
He shook his head, “Nothing, just wondering how long you’re going to pretend you’re not in love with Claudia Martin.”
“The first year associate?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know who she is. I see you watch her like a starving animal every time she comes into the office. And every time she leaves. And every time she asks Donna something.”
Uh oh.
“Oh please, I have far better things to do than get involved with a first year.”
“You didn’t deny that you were in love with her.”
“Do you want to get smacked? Or I could kick you out of this car at sixty miles per hour, see how you like the taste of asphalt.” Mike did not know when to stop pushing my buttons. 
“I think you just proved my theory.”
“What theory?”
“That you are in love and you are incredibly protective of Claudia. I heard about what you said to Griffin when he offered his help because Claudia was ‘too busy’. You know he pawned that work off to her, right?”
My eyes narrowed and my jaw clenched, as well as my fists. I fixed my gaze out the window and took some deep breaths. Jesus… he had a point. A huge point. God dammit I’m in trouble.
“Mike knew before I did?” Donna sounded mildly offended. 
“Well, not really. I never told him what we were doing. But I did tell him that I liked her. And when he told me that Griffin was pawning off his work to Caudia it sent me into a spiral. Shit, Donna… I am in so deep with Claudia. I really fucked up. I mean really bad. I made a promise to her that I wouldn’t treat her like the other associates because she wasn’t like the other associates. She was Claudia. And Claudia was- is- so much better than the rest of them.” “Why would you make a promise like that if you knew you wouldn’t be able to keep it?” “I had every intention of keeping it, but then all the shit with started happening when Louis found out about Mike being a fraud and he took that fucking case with Gerard and I couldn’t hold it together.” “Why did you even make it in the first place?” Donna asked, but I really didn’t want to tell this story.
I sighed, the type of sigh that fills your whole body.
“I was going off on Griffin one day, for being an asshole to some of the other associates, about pawning off his work to Claudia and she saw.”
“Griffin, I don’t care whose idea it was. You were the one to destroy his work, so you’re going to face the consequences.”
“It was just a prank, the entire document wasn’t supposed to be deleted.”
“You think tampering with another associate’s work is a prank? I hope when you go home tonight you think long and hard about who you wanna be as a man because as of right now, there isn’t going to be anything for you to come back to tomorrow. And you better pray to whatever you believe in because if there’s one person you don’t want to make an enemy out of, it’s me. Do you understand that?”
He clenched his jax, shoving his hands in his pockets. “yes.”
“You are going to be Louis’ personal associate.”“No, no way you can make me work for that man. He’s a total airhead.”“Yes, he is, now you two have something to talk about. You can bond over your selfish, outrageous egotistical behavior, it’ll be just like looking in a mirror.”
“Harvey I’m-”
“I don’t care what you are Griffin. You have no right to treat the other associates like that, especially Claudia. If I ever catch wind of you throwing your work load on her again so help me God I will make sure it is the last thing you do at this firm.”
If my point wasn’t clear enough by my words, the look I gave him would certainly do. He left my office without another word and I followed his movements all the way. But my eyes met Claudia’s. And they were wide and panicked. She quickly scurried away, head down and steps fast. She looked so afraid. 
She wasn’t afraid of me was she? I mean, all I had done was rip Griffin a new one for being an asshole. And he deserved it, Claudia would never do something to deserve that kind of lashing. 
“And so I promised her. I fucking promised her that I would never flip out on her and then I went and did exactly. God Donna… I am so fucked up.”
Her slim hand rubbed up and down my shoulder, but I only wanted it to be Claudia’s. I wanted her right next to me so I could go through all of this with her and explain that it wasn’t just some fling. Not to me. Never to me. I never wanted it to be temporary, she was… she’s it for me. 
The familiar prick crept into my eyes, my nose, and the tears fell. Donna has only seen me cry a handful of times, but never over a girl.
But Claudia wasn’t just some girl. She wasn’t just some hookup or some prize to be won. She was Claudia Martin. My Claudia. The quiet, shy first year associate I had worked so hard to get out of her shell. It wasn’t just for my pleasure, I truly didn’t want to see her fall behind just because she couldn’t ask me a question.
I saw that look in her eye; hunger and determination. Just like mine. I wanted it to shine brighter than her smile. Which was equally as devastating as her work in the courtroom. But I just wanted her to feel comfortable around me and I didn’t know what else to do. She was like a frightened baby deer around me. A constant nervous wreck at the drop of my name. I didn’t want her to be afraid of me, I wanted nothing more than to be a safe space for her. 
And maybe it’s just because I’m an idiot, but I’m realizing now that maybe I’m the one who needed the safe place. To just have someone to go to all the time. To share all of my proud moments and sneak little kisses and touches here and there. 
I need Claudia. I need her.
Maybe I took it too far. Started at the wrong place. I should’ve offered to take her out to dinner instead of inviting her up for a drink in my office after her first case. I shouldn’t have done it so backwards, and it kills me that I’m only drawing that connection now. Why couldn’t I have thought of that earlier? She would’ve been so much better off without all the backwards, fucked up shit that I did.
But it was so nice. To finally have the one thing I have been craving for so long. She was so soft, and she was so sweet under my touch and I couldn’t help myself. As soon as I first kissed her it was end game. I didn’t want to kiss anyone else. I wouldn’t ever kiss anyone again, not the way I kissed Claudia. More than lust. More than just a desire. 
Her lips on mine made my head go blank. I had an awful habit of having work thoughts creep their way into my head every once in a while. But never with her. Even when we were only talking about work, I couldn’t think about it. I only thought about her. About how brilliant she was, about how soft and warm and perfect her lips were on mine. About how she always made me feel at ease and comforted. I doubt she could ever make anyone afraid. Except maybe an opposing counsel. 
If I ever had to face her in court… I know I’d lose. For one, I’d give her anything she wanted simply because she could put me on my knees with a single look. And normally I’d hate to let a woman have that much control over me, but for Claudia… I’d let her do whatever she wanted. And Second, she knows what to do. All the time. She never misses a beat, and is always listening. Even when you think she isn’t.
I am so in love with Claudia. I felt my heart crack open. My voice more or less does the same. 
“Harvey…” “I am in love with her, Donna. And I think I have been for a long time.”
She was quiet, and a throat cleared. Mike was there in front of me, his hands in his pockets, a look of worry on his face. “Is everything alright?”
I saw Donna shake her head out of the corner of my eye. She didn’t say anything, but I knew she wanted to. 
“I broke my promise to Claudia.” That was all I said. I heard his sharp inhale, and he came and sat in front of us. “God dammit Mike… I really messed up. I hurt the one person I couldn’t afford to and- and I don’t know what to do.”
“Go talk to her,” Mike said. “If you’re serious about how you feel about Claudia, then you need to go tell her that it was never… whatever you were doing before. She has anxiety, Harvey. She is going to let her brain tell her things about you that aren’t true. And you need to be there to soothe the fire before it does irreversible damage.” “Well, what do you and Rachel do when you get into an argument?” 
“Harvey,” Donna said, “You aren’t Mike, and Claudia isn’t Rachel. Whatever they do might not work for you. You need to do what feels right for you and your relationship.” “I don’t know if you know this Donna, but I haven’t done something like this before. I don’t know how to talk to her. How to not make her anxious around me.” “We’ll help you,” Mike nods, as well as Donna. “We can come up with a plan but right now we’ve got a bigger problem on our hands.” What could be more devastating than hurting Claudia? 
Nothing. The answer was nothing.
____
CLAUDIA’S POV
I toed off my shoes, leaving them in the growing pile by my front door. I sighed at it. Why couldn’t they just put themselves away? 
My splitting headache was doing nothing to help either. 
Before I could even get a thought about what I could cook for dinner, the doorbell rang. I swear to god if Greg was here asking me about those flowers on my wreath again I was going to smack him with it, throw it over his head and shove him back inside his apartment and-
“Claudia, it’s Mike. I know you’re here, can we talk?”
Mike? What the hell is he doing here? 
I seriously debated giving my best housekeeper impression and deadbolting the door. But it was Mike, and he hadn’t done anything to deserve a cold shoulder. Oh god, what if Harvey was with him and I was getting set up? Oh shit.
“No, Harvey isn’t with me. I promise.”
I stalked to the door, pulling it open and glaring up at Mike. “The last time someone made me a promise I regretted it.” He just pressed his lips in a flat line. “What are you doing here, Mike?”
“I’m here on behalf of Harvey.” “Why?” “Because he’s worried about you.” Why is he worried about me? He made it very clear he didn’t give a shit about me. “He’s beating himself up over what he did.”
“Good,” that I didn’t restrain. 
“Claudia, he is really shaken up right now. He didn’t mean to do what he did. Now, I’m not going to stand here and pretend I know all the details about what he did but-” “He used me, Mike. Plain and simple.” All I got was a raised eyebrow. “He told me he wanted to ‘build my confidence’ which I was actually naive enough to believe, and it led to my worst fucking nightmare. But he just got what he wanted, to get his dick wet and then was done with me.”
“Claudia, trust me, it wasn’t like that. Harvey would never use you like that. He wouldn’t dream of it, trust me.”
“Are you sure because it seems like that’s exactly what he did. He saw that I was hard working, manipulated me into working with him, and treated me like shit when I was just trying to find a solution to his goddamn problem. I have more self respect than that. To let him continue to get away with that.”
“Can I ask what he did?”
My throat closed, and my palms began to sweat. I knew my annoying blush was there by the way his eyes dipped to my neck. 
“After I won my first case with him, he invited me up to his office for some drinks. Said something along the lines of wanting to get to know each other so I didn’t have to feel so nervous. So I went up, and one thing led to another and… I don’t know why I let it happen. I knew it would end badly. I can’t believe I let myself believe that he would be into me beyond anything other than his pure primal satisfaction. But he seemed so genuine and so caring. Like he genuinely wanted to help me, and some part of me obviously thought it was a good idea because it happened again. And again. And again. God, I sound like the biggest loser right now.” “No you don’t,” Mike gave me a soft smile. “If it means anything, those feelings weren’t one sided. I know it doesn’t mean much of anything coming from me but… Harvey is really really fucking sorry about what he did.”
I was physically shaking. Through my trembles, I managed to speak, despite my thoughts trying to shut me down. “It hurt so bad, Mike. I really like Harvey, and I thought he might feel the same way. I guess I was wrong. So… so wrong.”
“No, Claudia you’re not wrong. Harvey is a grade A asshole but he wouldn’t-”
“If there is any chance of Harvey sorting this out, you need to tell him to grow a set and tell me himself,” I have no idea where this confidence came from. “He needs to stop getting other people to do his job for him. If he can’t recognize that now, of all times, then… then I don’t think he deserves me.”
Mike blinked long, rubbing his fingers over his mouth. “Harvey didn’t ask me to come here.” “What?” What? 
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I knew Harvey wouldn’t come tonight. I’m not sure he’ll come at all but… Claudia, he talks about you like I’ve never seen him talk before. He gushes over you to the point where it’s annoying. And when I went to go and talk to him about what our next move was for this case… Claudia, he was crying. He was sobbing with Donna in his office and-”
Good, I wanted to say. But it kind of crushed my soul. Harvey was crying over what he did to me. 
“I’ve never seen him cry before,” Mike looked hurt, too. “He regrets what he said. I know he does.”
“I believe you.”
“Good,” he nods. “I don’t want to do his job for him and I think-”
“But that doesn’t mean I will forgive him for what he said,” and with that, I closed the door, locking it for the night.
_____
Saturday and Sunday were so agonizing. The last thing I wanted to do was go into an office after a weekend of anything but rest and relaxation. I was tired and hadn’t showered and needed some restful sleep. Not to be woken up three times a night by dreams of Harvey touching me. Those certainly didn’t help. 
My mind kept replaying our first time together. Specifically when he said 'Oh, Claudia, you really are that innocent, aren’t you?’ Innocent and naive… just like he said that night. Who was I to think that Harvey would take any interest in me besides the fact that I was good at being a lawyer? I wasn’t special in any way, I think he just knew that I was easy to manipulate into doing what he needed. 
There was no way in hell I’d ever do another thing for Havrey, the all powerful jackass, Specter again.
As I set my stuff on my desk, Griffin walked up. Great. Just great, what did this prick want?
“Hey umm… Hi Claudia,” he rubbed the back of his head. “I just- I’m sorry. About all the things I’ve done to you. You didn’t deserve it and I want you to know that you have always been six-times the lawyer I wish I could be. I was jealous and took it out on you. And I shouldn’t have so… I’m sorry.”
Did I just hear that right? Did Griffin Harper just apologize to me? What the fuck is going on?
“Oh,” great way to start, idiot. “Thank you, Griffin.”
He just gave me a short nod before scurrying away. Well, that was… unexpected. Certainly I couldn’t ever let us be friends, but it was nice to know he wasn’t my mortal enemy any longer. 
I went about my business, plagued with thoughts and reminders of Harvey ever which way I went. Louis and Jessica sent me an email with some files to print out so I scanned them, proofed them, and sent them to the printing room. 
God it sent a shiver down my spine to be back in here after he… don’t finish the thought don’t finish the thought-
“Hey, Claudia,” Donna snapped me out of my heated thoughts. “How are you?” “You can cut the bullshit now, Donna.”
She sighed, “it was a genuine question.” “And that was a genuine answer. I’m not in the mood.”
“Claudia-” “No, Donna. What Harvey did wasn’t okay, and I’m not going to stand here and pretend like what he did didn't hurt. Because it did and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it ever since. I don’t need you here to remind me.”
“Have you ever considered that Harvey may want to fix it?”
“No, Donna. I haven’t. And I’m not going to,” I stood my ground, squaring off my freshly printed papers before making more copies for Louis. 
“What are you talking about?”
I scoffed. “Do you really think that I wouldn’t figure out what was going on?” “Again, what are you-” “I know Harvey just thinks that I am gullible and naive and easy to push around because he makes me nervous. And it’s true. Whenever I am near him I can’t keep myself composed and I’m sick and tired of being walked all over. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to let myself see otherwise, but I’m even more upset that you didn’t come clean and tell me.” “Claudia, no one is walking over you. And I didn’t know about any of this until you told me on Friday. Harvey came to you because he knew can rely on you and your abilities to get things accomplished. He wanted the chance to work with you and get you to trust him a little. You have to know that by now,” Donna was standing right next to me, blocking my way out. 
“Maybe I do, but that doesn’t mean that I believe it. Donna, I am not some corporate power house that is gonna bring firms to their knees. Not like he does.” “Nobody does what Harvey does.” “And that’s my point,” I grit my teeth. “Harvey was trying to make me into a mini version of him, just like he did with Mike and it’s not what I want to be. Donna, I am not assertive. I am not reckless and willing to go behind peoples backs to get the job done. I like rules and regulations and the law. They are there so people abide by them, and Harvey, more often than not, doesn’t do that. Yes, I look up to him as a role model because I admire his tenacity. But that doesn’t mean I like or agree with the things he does.”
“And you think that I like it when he goes and cuts someone’s legs out from under them?”
“I didn’t say that. But that means you know how I feel. I can’t- I don’t… I don’t want to be around someone like that. It makes me feel like I’m suffocating. And worst of all he gave me his word that he wouldn’t lash out and treat me like the other associates. I cant believe that I was stupid enough to believe that Harvey would-“
Both of us stopped as someone pushed through the door. 
Harvey…
“Donna,” Harvey’s mouth was pressed in a flat line. He jerked his head over his shoulder. Donna gave me a sympathetic look and turned on her heel. Where was she going?
“Wait, Donna don’t-” I whispered.
“You’ll be fine,” she gave me a firm look, patting my shoulder as she walked around Harvey. Oh my god… she set me up.
My heart felt like it was ripping out of my fucking chest. The last thing I needed right now was to be in an enclosed space with Harvey.
He stared at me, fussing with the cufflink on his shirt. “Claudia.” “I’m sorry, Mr. Specter, but I have to get these to Louis.” I tried to go around him, like Donna had, but he just let his body fall against the wall. Blocking the way. I couldn’t bring myself to look up at him and ask him to let me go. 
“I want you to listen to me.” His voice was stern, in a demanding way, but not in a pissed off way. 
“No, I am in a rush. Now if you’ll excuse me-”
“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “Come on, Claudia. Please just talk to me. I tried to call you but you didn’t answer and-.”
“I know, but I don’t want to talk to you. I want you to get out of my way so I can go do my job.” 
“A little feisty today, aren’t we?” He pushed off his shoulder, taking a step towards me, I took one back. And another as he took one. 
“No, I need to-” “Get those copies to Louis, I heard you,” Harvey acknowledged, but didn’t stop walking closer to me. My back eventually hit a copier and I almost fell over, but Harveys arms came to either side of my body, blocking me in. “And I don’t care.”
His face was inches from mine, chest inches from mine. I felt desperate for a breath. I forgot how to think, how to appear unphased. Everything he’s taught me has vanished from my mind. His eyes, much darker in this low over-head light, seemed to pierce my soul. 
“What… What are you doing?” My voice was barely audible. 
“I want you to know that I wouldn’t ever, ever, take advantage of you like that. I can’t even believe that you would think that. You think I enjoy making you a nervous wreck? Well, I don’t. It honestly makes me sick that even after all this time, you can’t trust me.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”
“Then what is it? Because clearly I am not understanding,” his tone deepened, voice scratching in his throat. 
I couldn’t- I didn’t know how to admit to him-
“I- I umm… Mr. Specter I can’t-”
“Stop calling me that, please, Claudia. Stop seeing me as your boss for one second and see me as literally anything else.”
I swallowed. Nothing went down. “Harvey… you are… you scare me more than anyone else I’ve ever met.” “Why?” his brows knit together. “What is it about me that makes you so afraid of me?”
“Everything.” I was shaking, visibly shaking in front of him. I looked anywhere but his eyes because I knew if I did I’d crack open and bleed my heart all over him. 
His exhale was sharp enough to rustle the small hairs framing my face. “Claudia just-”
“I can’t be around you without feeling like I’m gonna drown in your presence.” 
He was stunned silent for a beat too long. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Harvey I told you I didn’t want to-”
“Please, Claudia, tell me why you are so afraid of me.” He was begging. Begging for me to explain.
“Because I know that if I let myself think for one fucking second that you actually like working with me I’ll drop my guard around you. And I cannot afford to do that because there are things I keep locked inside that I would rather take to my grave than ever let someone know.”
“And what, you don’t think I’m equally as terrified to have these feelings for you?” “Not like mine.” Harvey gave me a very concerned glance. “There, you asked me to tell you. Please just let me go.”
“No, not until you tell me what is haunting you so much you’re willing to let it eat you alive rather than just let it out for once in your life. Look, I get that you’re a private person, and it’s hard for you to trust people, but that doesn’t mean you need to keep everything bottled inside and let it rot you from the inside out-”
“For the love of guard Harvey it’s you,” I shouted, far louder than I meant to. “It is you that is driving me insane. I cannot go a single moment of my day without thinking about you. I am terrified that you are going to see right through me and figure out that every thought that goes on inside my head has to do with you because for some reason, known only by some sick and twisted higher power, I want you to see me the way I see you. I want you to want me as much as I want you and-”
I stopped because I ran out of air. And then it hit me so hard I saw stars. What the fuck have I just done? My vision began to black out, my heart beating too fast for my lungs to keep up with. 
Harvey had backed up a step, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. 
I was going to throw up, I was sure of it. I tried to speak, but my mind had melted and oozed out of my ears. 
I ran, I left the copies on the floor; at some point I dropped them. And ran. His hand caught my elbow and I shrieked, whipping around just as Harvey slammed the door closed, pinning me, yet again. 
“You do not get to drop that ball and run away,” his voice had a darkness I’ve never heard. “Claudia, in what way do you want me?”
Frozen. My mind was utterly dysfunctional and useless. I couldn’t think, I’m surprised I remembered how to breathe. God his eyes…
“Claudia, please answer me.” Now his voice was tender, filled with warmth. His fingers tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “You have to tell me in what way now or I’m… you have to tell me.”
“Why does it matter? I've already ruined everything I’ve had going for me.” I was meek with my words. Wimpy. Cowardice. 
“Because it matters to me.”
“I want you, I want Harvey.”
“As in you want me, and not as your boss, Claudia?” He clarified. I had to shut my eyes, to turn my cheek to him so I wouldn’t see his reaction when I nodded in confirmation. “Fucking hell…”
“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. Just… just let me go and I can hand Jessica my letter of resignation right now and you never have to see me again-”
“Are you out of your mind?” Harvey’s caramel eyes were wide. “Claudia, I don’t want you to go. Not for one fucking second. Why do you even have a letter drafted?”
“But I just-” 
His fingers gripped my chin, forcing me to look up at him when I spoke. God dammit… Harvey’s thump caressed my lip, pulling it down and watching it spring up. Slowly, ever so slowly, he dipped it inside my mouth. I couldn’t help the soft noise that startled out of me. 
“Claudia… you have no idea how much I have been praying to hear you say those words. I have been driving myself out of my mind with what to say. How to say it and I- I don’t know how to tell you everything I’ve been wanting to. For weeks now.
“I have been thinking of you nonstop. I keep making up excuses and things to come see you during the day. I want nothing more than to get the chance to treat you right, and I want you to want it too. I promised myself I wouldn’t make a move unless you made one first because I knew how petrified you were of me. I can’t- I won’t have you be afraid of me if we do this.
“But I fucked up. I got ahead of myself and I didn’t go in the direction that I should've. I should've just asked you out to dinner, been a true gentleman rather than selfish. You have no idea how long I have been practicing what to say. I just made everything so much worse. And I wish like hell I could take it all back and do it all again because I am so so so fucking sorry for breaking my promise.”
I stared up at him, at the tears spilling over his lashes, and the flush on his cheeks. His lip quivered. He looked so vulnerable. So open and honest. Every part of me wanted to take it to heart, but that voice in the back of my head was telling me not to believe it.
“Harvey I-”
“Please, Claudia,” Harvey knelt to the ground, sitting back on his heels. “I will do whatever you want to gain your trust back. Anything… anything. But I can’t let you walk away from me. I want a real chance to make you happy, to give you every part of me. I will do or say or answer whatever you want but please do not leave me. If you truly don’t want me, tell me, and we never have to talk again. I will make it like I was never here in the first place if you told me to, but I don't think you want that. And I don’t want it either.”
Harvey was on his knees. Begging me to open my heart up to him. 
“Please don’t make me regret this, Harvey…”
He let out a breath, and a smile accompanied the tears that fell down his face. He reached for my hand, and I let him grab it. His fingers were warm and smooth in mine, familiar and comforting as he gently tugged me towards him. 
“I'm so sorry, Claudia. I will regret nothing more than the words I said to you. But I want to fix it, I want to be better. Not just for you, but for myself. But you are what makes me want to be better. I need to learn to control myself and take a page out of my own book to make that happen.”
Harvey rested his head on my stomach, and I let my fingers thread through his spiky hair. 
“But I don’t want you to be afraid of me anymore. I can’t- I won’t let you be afraid to ask me a question. I want to be there for you, work related or not, but I can’t do it if you don’t meet me halfway. I do remember you making me a promise back, to not see me as a monster.”
My hand stopped, and he looked up. I wanted to agree, but I was still upset, and he must’ve seen that. 
“Okay, that was a bad time to bring that up.”
“Yup.” 
Harvey huffed a laugh, standing back up. His smile was sweet, his finger gentle as it swept some hair away from my face. 
“You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, Claudia Olivia Martin.”
“How did you find out my middle name?”
“Donna,” he smiled wider. I just rolled my eyes. “I don’t really know how to do any of this, so I asked her for some help. I knew I had to do it myself. I just didn’t really know where to start and she’s… well, she’s Donna.” “Yes, she is Donna,” I smiled up at him. “But it’s gonna take me more than that to convince me.”
“Oh I have like seven other things lined up and ready to go. If you'd like to hear them. First, you are the most stunning, breathtaking, gorgeous woman I have ever met in my life. Second, I admire every part of you. All your good habits, your bad, your anxious thoughts and brave approach to life. Because they all make you you. Three, I am the biggest fucking idiot. For starting all of this off wrong, for yelling at you. For leading you to believe that I just wanted to get in your pants.”
“You’re also an asshole. A bit of a coward and a bitch. Did I say that you were an asshole?”
“Okay okay,” he placed his hands on my hips and I let him, doing nothing to hide the giggle that bubbled out. “Yes, I am all of those things. And, for the record, I did want to get in your pants, just not that way.”
“Of course you did, who could resist all of this?” My heart sped up when he looked at me over, a huge grin spreading his cheeks wide and bright. 
“Looks like you’ve gained a little confidence, huh?”
“Well, I did have a not so awful teacher. That was before he betrayed me.” “Are you gonna stop rubbing salt into the wound?”
I faked a ponder, “Nope.”
“Claudia,” he pressed a tentative kiss to my cheek, then gauged my response before placing one on the other. “Olivia,” another kiss. “Martin.” He kissed my forehead, then the tip of my nose. “I will never be able to take back what I said, but I hope you find it in your heart to give me a second chance. Even good people are great at making bad decisions. I know I can be a better man, and I know you know that too. Just one,” a kiss to my left cheek, “More,” right cheek, “Chance.”
His lips hovered over mine, waiting for permission before he pressed them into mine. My heart was beating so fast. So strong, all because of him. All for him. 
My eyes met his, “Okay, Harvey.”
Those devastating eyes ignited. His smile grew so wide I got lost in it with my own. I was pressed flat to him, my hands on his shoulders, his hands on my lower back. My ears were buzzing with my pulse and I hoped he felt how fast it was. Who knew Harvey had such a way with words? I wondered how long he practiced all of this in the mirror. Who knows, maybe he was secretly a hopeless romantic and-
“Claudia,” Harvey snapped me out of my daydream. 
“Hmm?” “Please tell me I can kiss you.”
Oh. Right. 
“And what if I say no?”
“Then I won’t.”
“And if I say yes?” “I’ll make sure it is the best damn kiss you’ve ever and will ever have.”
Sounds pretty good to me. I pressed up on my toes, arms wrapping around his neck, and finally let our lips say hello. It had been too long, It felt so right, so perfect. And I realized it felt like all the other times we’ve kissed; I didn’t want to kiss anyone else. I wanted to kiss Harvey. Harvey goddamn Specter. 
I should find out what his middle name is from Donna to surprise him. 
“Come over tonight,” he blurted out.
“What?” “Come over, let me cook something for you. We can make it our first date. A real date. Let me start this off on the right foot. Unless tonight is too soon and you need more time to heal and process or-”
“Just stop talking,” I literally put my fingers over his mouth. “I’d love to come over for dinner, Harvey.”
If I hadn’t been in his arms I’m sure he’d jump up and down out of excitement. He kissed me again, and again, and again. The slight stubble on his chin tickled my neck enough for me to tuck down into my shoulders when he kissed below my ear. 
“Hey, Claudia, I just want to make sure- oh. Well, this seems to be going well,” Donna had a proud smile on her face, arms crossed over her chest.
“It is,” Harvey beamed down, never taking his eyes off of me. 
“Good, I’m glad to hear it.”
“How much of this was your idea?” I asked. 
“I suggested he get a horse and carriage to surprise you on your way out but he knew you wouldn’t want a grand gesture,” She said. “So I think that should say it well enough as to who came up with all the ideas.” When I looked back at him, he had a flush to his cheeks, and hid his grin. 
“Wow, Harvey, I’m impressed.” “Well,” he shrugged. “I don’t know… I wanted it to be authentic and special. Something that you would take to heart and genuinely appreciate. So it’s the best I could come up with over the weekend because if I didn’t do it soon I was going to explode.”
“Seriously, Claudia. This idiot wouldn’t leave my house for two days. I had to kick him out so he could get a shower and change. Did you even sleep?” “You haven’t slept?” He shook his head. “Harvey, what- okay. We need to do our dinner another day because if you try to cook you might set your house on fire and that would-” “Nope, too bad. I’m fine, really Claudia. I can handle making dinner. I’ll leave early and take a nap if that would make you feel better.” “Yes, it would,” I sighed out, looking back at Donna who had a look that meant trouble. “What?” “You guys are adorable.”
I blushed. “Oh, wait! Before you go, what’s Harvey’s middle name? I mean, he went to you for mine so it’s only fair…”
“Don’t you dare,” Harvey pointed at Donna who all but melted the Wicked Witch of the West with her smirk.
“Reginald.”
“Reginald?” I repeated. “Seriously?”
“It’s a family name, alright?” He defended. “Now, if you two will excuse me I have a very important dinner to plan for an even more important girl. Donna, can you-” “Already cleared your schedule.”
“Remind me to give you a raise.” “Oh I’ve already written a bonus check, it just needs your signature.” “I’m surprised you didn’t forge it,” I snickered. 
“I would’ve but having Harvey do it makes it that much more satisfying.”
Harvey just shook his head, but smiled at us both. “I’ll see you tonight, is seven good?” “Sounds perfect,” I nodded, relishing in his warmth as he pressed one more kiss to the top of my head before leaving. 
“So,” Donna swayed on her feet. “I take it that things went well?” “Yeah, yeah it did. I was surprised, today has been so weird. Even Griffin apologized to me.” “Griffin? Really?” “Yeah,” I followed in step behind her towards the bullpen. “He genuinely apologized to me. It was so unexpected. Now this… I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dreading this happening. But it turned out way better than I expected so I can’t complain. I need to stop expecting the worst case scenario all the time and believe that I can handle anything that comes at me.”
“Now that sounds like true growth and confidence,” Donna slung her arm over my shoulder. “And definitely something Harvey couldn’t have taught you.” “No, he didn’t. That was all on my own.”
___
As I packed up to head home for the day, my stomach was on fire with nerves about tonight. Not nerves, excitement. 
“Hey, Claudia,” Griffin caught up to me right before the elevator closed. “Do you want to join us for drinks tonight?”
I just smirked. “Sorry, Griffin. I can’t, I have a date with Harvey Specter.” And I let the door shut before he could get on.
____
This building. For fucks sake his front door cost more than what I make in a year, probably. The door man had given me a bit of a side eye when I asked to be let up to Harvey. Well, here I was. 
The bottle of wine in my hand wasn’t getting any colder as I paced outside of his apartment. Was I making this a bigger deal than it needed it to be? Most definitely. 
I knocked. 
Harvey opened it a few moments later, a smug look on his face. “I was wondering how long you were going to just stand there.”
God dammit. The heat rose up my neck and I looked away. “Just shut up and take the wine.”
He chuckled, plucking it from my grasp before stepping aside to let me in. I gazed up and into his hallway, following it down to the kitchen. Woah… holy windows. The already set sun lit up the sky with blues and purples, making all of this feel very cinematic. 
“You didn’t need to bring this, Claudia,” Harvey smiled nonetheless. 
“I just- I don’t know, isn't that what people do when they’re invited over?”
“Why are you still so nervous?” 
Right to it, I guess. “What makes you say that?” “Well,” he sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. He was wearing all black. He looked… too good for his own good. Or mine for that matter of fact. “For starters, you’ve clearly been running your fingers through your hair. Second, I’ve watched you fiddle with that string on your sleeve at least four times now.”
My fingers ceased their motion. I had been toying with it. “I like to keep my hands busy.”
“I call it a nervous habit.”
“Did you invite me here for dinner or just to pick on me for being anxious?” 
“You have no reason to be anxious here,” he crept closer, taking my hand in his. Harvey gently kissed the back of my fingers. “There is no one here to watch, no prying eyes to hide from. It’s just me, Claudia.”
“And that is precisely what makes me nervous,” I did let a laugh bubble up. “But, you’re right. I guess there is no reason to be so… terrified.”
“Good,” he smiled, placing his hands on my hips. I let mine fall around his shoulders. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.” I turned to look behind me, a few pots and a pan of vegetables on the stove. Harvey’s hands still lingered on my sides as I peered over to look inside.
“I didn’t know the great Harvey Specter could cook,” I jabbed, making him roll his eyes playfully. “It looks lovely, thank you.”
“Told you, there’s more to the name than the title it comes with.”
From the table, I watched him plate the stir fry dish and bring it over. I was starving, and I made sure to eat my lunch a little later so I wouldn’t be ravenous by the time this dinner rolled around. I wasted no time taking a forkful and practically inhaling it. 
“I’ll take that as a good sign?” 
I nodded, “It’s amazing. Where did you learn to cook like this?” “Here and there. My brother owns a bar and restaurant back home, we used to like to cook together all the time.” “I didn’t know you had a brother,” I tilted my head. “That’s amazing, though. Glad you put those skills to good use.”
“Do you have any siblings?”
I hummed, “Yeah I have two brothers. I’m the baby of the family.”
“Am I going to have to win their trust one day?” 
My laugh echoed through the spacious dining room, “No, they’re pretty cool. Vince, my oldest brother, is married, has two kids who are in college. My other brother, Caleb, is the one you’ve gotta watch out for. He’s my twin and very vocal about the men in my life, especially when he doesn’t think they’re good enough for me.”
“I see,” Harvey gave me a look I knew all too well. 
“Yeah, he can be a pain in my ass sometimes. But I love him, he always stood up for me when I was too afraid. Whether someone was picking on me in school or tried to get one up on me at a bar, he was always there. He’s just protective of me, they both are, but Caleb… he’s always had my back.” “It’s good to have those types of people on your side,” Harvey’s smile was so bright. 
For about an hour we ate and had dessert. I don’t know how, he probably asked Donna, but he had my absolute favorite chocolate cake. Coated in a thick butter cream, it practically melted in my mouth. I wasn’t shy about telling him how delicious it was. 
“I could marry this cake,” I knew I was being dramatic, but I didn’t care. “If I could take this cake, and mold it in the shape of a man, I would.”
Harvey grinned, looking from the cake on his plate, back up to me as I spooned another mouthful. He dipped his finger in the frosting and swiped it across his cheek. I blushed, so hard, and he just laughed and laughed. 
“You think you’re funny, huh?” I had to put my face in my hands. 
“I do, actually. Why don’t you come over here and clean it off for me,” Harvey spoke dangerous words. I raised my eyebrow in question, but he merely scooted his chair back in response, palms turned upward. 
Now or never, I thought. 
I stood, my bare feet padding quietly to Harvey. This is where I had confidence. Could use his own game against him. Because up until this point, all Harvey knows about me is that I am a nervous wreck in front of him. 
The cards have no longer been dealt in his favor. 
I swung my leg over his, perching on his thigh. I took my thumb and ran it across his face, collecting the decorative icing off his cheek, licking my thumb clean. His eyes tracked my movements, especially when I stuck out my tongue and showed him the mess.
His throat bobbed, and his eyes darkened. 
“Where did that shy, blushing Claudia go?” Harvey’s voice sent a chill down my spine. 
“Away, for now,” I smirked. “There are plenty of versions of Claudia you haven’t met before.”
“And who exactly is this version?” He asked.
“That depends,” I huffed. “Are you going to let me have what I want or are you going to make me earn it?”
Harvey’s hands crept up my thighs, cupping my ass gently. “You’re gonna let me choose?”
“You better choose carefully.”
“And why is that?”
“Because,” I said. “You can either let me take what I want, or try to take what you want. But I’ll let it be known, that isn’t possible. You won’t be able to resist me long enough to uphold that promise.”
“Oh, you think I’m that easy?” Harvey countered, tightening his hold on my body. I let out a whine, enticing him into my game further. 
“I don’t know, Harvey.” I ran my hand down his chest, grinding back and forth on his thigh. I leaned close to his ear, “I can be your every fantasy or your worst nightmare.”
I pulled away from his body, taking a few steps back and towards another hallway. I assumed that’s where his bedroom was, and judging by the screeching of the chair against the floor, I was heading in the right direction. 
The first door I pushed open was, thankfully, the right room. His clothes were hung up neatly in the closet on the opposite side of the room, the city below shining onto the walls. Harvey shut the door quickly, turning on a lamp beside his bed. 
Harvey grinned like the devil and crushed his mouth to mine. I didn’t waste any time letting his tongue tangle with mine. Harvey kissed like the god he was, like a true emperor. He tasted like pure sin, like the cake we were just sharing.
My hands went to the buttons on his shirt, fitting them through the tiny holes and pushing it off his shoulders. 
“Mmm wait, sweetheart,” Harvey broke our lips apart. “I don’t wanna do it this way tonight. Let me take care of you. Please.”
Well, when he sounded like that, who was I to resist him? I let him lay me down, his body between my legs as he placed the most tender kiss on my lips. He moved down my chest, slowly lifting my shirt and placing his mark on my stomach. Up my chest, and my neck. 
“You are so beautiful, Claudia. And I can’t believe I get to have all of you to myself. I can’t wait to make you feel so good.”
I sighed out, letting my eyes close as he explored my body. He was forward with his choices, but he wasn’t ever harsh. He was so soft. So loving and so caring. No one had ever made me feel equally nervous or excited as Harvey did. But now… I wasn’t afraid of him. I don’t think I could ever again. 
“Is it okay if I take these off?” “I wasn’t sure you knew how to ask for permission,” I giggled. He just scowled, but I nodded. “Of course, Harvey. Do whatever you want.” “Don’t-” he swallowed. “Don’t say things like that when I am trying to be sweet and nice to you.”
“I think you’re forgetting that I like it when you manhandle me,” I smiled up to the ceiling before looking at him between my legs. “Sorry, carry on.”
He laid a not so gentle tap to the inside of my thigh before removing my skirt. The chill of the air spread goosebumps across my skin, even more when he placed kisses from my ankle to my hips bone. 
“God I could spend all day between your legs. They’re so perfect,” he praised, spreading them wide so he could fit his torso between them. “You’re so fucking hot, Claudia.” I flushed, beet red, and turned away from him. But his fingers brought me right back. 
“You don’t get to be shy now, sweetheart. Not tonight, let me see all of you.”
“I’m all yours Harvey.” Our eyes locked, and the sparks flew. His lips were on mine, hurried, but not starving. It was intense and passionate and everything I could’ve asked it to be. He lifted my shirt over my head and slipped off my bra from behind. Thankfully his chest was warm against mine.
From one second to the next, Harvey swooped me on top of him and rolled, tugging the sheet with him. When they were freed, he laid me back down and put them over his body. 
“Oh, guess I should get these off,” he grinned, pushing his jeans down his thighs, his briefs going with them. Man… what a sight to behold. Harvey wasn’t shredded, but it was clear his boxing habits kept him in good shape. 
There was something about him that just made me want to crumble and fold. 
Harvey’s lips were hot as they moved all over me, nipping and biting and leaving tiny marks here and there. Before he could lose all his resolve, he reached over to his bedside table and plucked a foil packet from a little jar. Classy. 
“Doing okay, sweetheart?” He smoothed down my hair. 
“Yes, Harvey. I’d be better if…” I locked my legs around his middle, pulling him to me. “You just got on with it.” “Such an impatient little thing,” his grin gave away his facade. 
“Oh please, don’t act like you’re not craving this as much as I am.” “You’re right,” he smirked, lining up and pushing all the way in. a low groan escaped his flushed lips. “But I know you can’t get enough of this.”
I breathed heavily, clinging to him. His hips stirred, slowly pulling back, and sinking all the way in. Harvey rested his head on my shoulder, tongue making patterns on my ignited skin. I tugged at his hair, lips working on their own to find all his sweet spots. 
I raked my nails up his back, not missing when his hips slowed and he moaned. So I did it again. His thumb found its way between my legs and circled around where I wanted it most. He wasn’t kidding when he said he was going to take care of me. 
Harvey took his time, making sure that I was feeling good and got what I wanted. This was so different from the feverish moments we’ve had in the office. But it was somehow way better. Well, it could use one thing.
As he laced our fingers together, I moved our hands up. He stopped kissing me for a moment to give me a puzzled look. But I slipped his grip from mine and placed his hand on my throat. 
“I don’t need you to go all ‘sir’ on me tonight, but just give me this. Please.” I did the best I could with my eyes to lure him in, and it worked. It tightened, but it was never tight. It was just there, a reminder of the part of him I was going to get to see whenever I wanted. 
He started to let his control slip, and I knew it was hard for him to be so gentle. But I appreciated it so much. I let some of my control slip as well, just because I wanted to rile him up. His breath quickened, and so did his hips. His thumb was relentless between my legs and I could feel my high approaching.
“Come on, sweetheart, let go. Make yourself feel so good for me.” There it was, the Harvey that kept me up at night. That has plagued my dreams for the past few days. 
I met his hips with mine, and my release crashed over me when I wasn’t expecting it. I shook in his arms as he continued to move, chasing his own time. 
“Fuck, Harvey,” I gasped. “Let go for me, you did such a good job making me feel good.”
He cursed, tucking his head down momentarily before crushing his mouth to mine, not shy about how I was making him feel. His body went rigid, and the praise streamed out of his mouth.
“Fuck fuck Claudia… god you feel so good. You are so perfect for me. So soft and warm.”
My lips would surely be bruised tomorrow morning, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was being here with Harvey. About carrying him through the aftershocks of his release. I rubbed at his back, kissed his neck and cheeks. When he lifted his head, he had this dreamy look on his face. 
“You look so hot,” he ran his thumb across my cheek, bringing me in for another kiss. “Thank you for giving me a second chance.”
“I’m glad I decided to do it. I can’t decide which Harvey I like more. This one or the one who calls me sweetheart.”
“Did I not call you sweetheart tonight?” “You did, but not the way you do when I call you ‘sir’.”
“Ahh, I see,” he smirked. “As much as I would like to think that I could flip a switch right now, I don’t want to spoil this moment with you.”
“If you don’t want to spoil it, then you should take us into the shower.”
And then I was in the shower. Hot water streaming between us from the rain shower head. His hands were soft as he kneaded my body; they particularly felt nice on my ass, especially when he added his lips to the mix. 
“You are so amazing, Claudia. I cannot stress that enough.” “You’re doing an amazing job,” I smiled, kissing him. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“I know,” he grinned, smacking my ass before lathering up his hands and running them through my hair. It was hard to not fall asleep standing up. “Sweetheart, if you keep making those noises it is going to be very very hard to not take you right here.”
My eyes flew open, his very apparent arousal pressing into my backside. Well, alright then. Go Claudia, you sexy son of a bitch!
“And who’s to say that I wouldn’t want that?” “I am trying to hold back, you know. I wanted tonight to be different, to be special. I didn’t want it to be heated and rough and-”
“Harvey,” I turned, pressing a hand to his chest. “I know.” “I wanted to ‘make love’ or whatever they call it in those cheesy romance books you read.”
I laughed out loud, picturing Harvey curled up on the couch with a book in his hand, a fire in the fireplace. “Nobody says ‘making love’ any more, babe.” “Babe?” “Yeah, babe. I figured you wouldn’t like sugar, or honey bun, or baby for that matter.”
“Don’t make me sound older than I am, please. For fucks sake I passed the Bar when you were in highschool.”
“It doesn’t bother me all that much anymore,” I admitted, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I thought it would, but it doesn’t really make a difference to me.”
“Good, I’m glad it doesn’t freak you out,” he smiled. “And, for the record, I hope it doesn’t freak your folks out.”
“It won’t.”
He lifted up a brow, “How could you know?” “Because I already told them about you.” I felt him go tight. “Relax. They knew who you were already and they couldn’t have been more excited that I found a caring, respectful, well respected man.”
He let out a sigh, “and your brothers?” “They don’t know yet, but don’t worry about them, either. It will be okay.”
“When did you become the consoling one? It’s weird.” “I know, right?” I giggled. When I looked into his eyes, there was a fondness to his gaze. He was looking at my body, but not in a way he had before. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Harvey shrugged, “I just love you so much, Claudia. And I am so proud of how far you’ve come in just these first couple of months.”
My heart hitched in my chest, then beat so wildly I wasn’t entirely sure it didn’t burst through my skin and land in his hands. I froze. Mike had been right. Harvey wasn’t just some cock, high strung New York attorney that couldn’t decipher his own feelings. He seemed incredibly in tune with his emotions and that couldn’t be more attractive. 
I just kissed him. I didn’t know what else to do other than kiss him. He had to take a step back to support our combined weight. Harvey’s arms were strong around my waist, his lips reassuring and just as firm as his grip. 
“I love you too, Harvey. So fucking much.”
____
The comforters pulled tight, Harvey's body pressed behind mine… I couldn’t think of a more relaxing way to end the night. Especially after I slipped to my knees in the shower and showed him just how much I loved him. 
“You don’t know how long I’ve been dreaming about having you in my arms one night. All night long.”
I hummed, scooting back so his chest met my back, his legs molding with mine. “I may have fantasized about it once or twice as well.” “Have you now?” “Again, there are several versions of Claudia you haven’t met before.” “And I look forward to coaxing every single one of them out with my mouth… my tongue… my hands… my-”
“Tomorrow,” I whispered, letting my eyes lull shut. “We can do it all again tomorrow. On the table, on the counter, on the couch-” “You’re not helping the situation here, you know,” he tugged at my half-dried hair. “Don’t get me started, sweetheart. I just might not let you get any sleep tonight.”
I clenched my thighs together. This was going to be such a sweet, tortuous game to play. And I got to play it every day. Every night, if I wanted. He wouldn’t be able to resist me. I had a secret weapon.
“Whatever you say, sir.”
His hand was wrapped around my throat, forcing my head to turn back to look at him. He clicked his tongue, eyes more awake than they had been a few minutes ago. “Oh sweet, innocent little Claudia. I guess you haven’t learned your lesson yet. It’s okay, I’d be happy to give you more instruction. I think I recall saying that eventually I would break you down over and over again until all you could remember was my name and how to breathe. Well, sweetheart. What do you think? Because I think you can still form coherent thoughts. I think it’s time we change that, don’t you?” I nodded, “Yes.”
His grip tightened and tightened and tightened. “Yes what?”
I smirked, climbing into his lap and taking him into my hand. “Yes, sir.”
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PROPAGANDA
ALEX DEWITT (DC COMICS)
1.) The term “fridging” is literally based on Alex and what happened to her. She was killed off violently by a bad guy trying to get at her boyfriend only a couple issues after she was introduced (making it obvious they only brought her in to kill her off for shock value). Her death did very little to the narrative other than hurt her boyfriend Kyle and was done in an exceedingly horrifying and violent way. (Bad guy came to the door with flowers and threatening note, broke in and attacked her, choking her to death, before [off panel] chopping her body up and sticking it in the refrigerator as a “surprise” for her boyfriend. This obviously is really fucked up and she deserves better and should win this actually (a vote for Alex is a vote for all fridging victims [in spirit])
2.) It doesn’t get much worse than being the character whose death originated the “fridging” trope. In Green Lantern Vol. 3 #54, Kyle Rayner comes home to find that Alexandra, his girlfriend, has been killed by the villain Major Force and stuffed into the refrigerator.
Alexandra DeWitt is the character whose misogynistic treatment coined the term where a character, usually female, is killed off purely to make the main character, usually male, feel bad. Even if there are other characters who have been subjected to similar levels of misogyny, Alexandra DeWitt’s treatment has been essentially immortalized.
3.) I know she’s not going to win but shout out to my home girl, literally the trope namer for women shoved in fridges. All anyone ever knows about her is that she was Kyle’s girlfriend and got murdered for his character development, even though she had plenty of potential to be her own character.
MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG (MIRACULOUS LADYBUG) (CW: Racism)
1.) First, her creator has it as a hard Canon rule that every single episode she has to be wrong about something, even if it doesn’t make sense for her to be. She got to be with a boy who liked who she was and not the fact that she was a hero, who is much better suited for her as a partner than the one she is constantly shoved with. Her superhero partner constantly pushes past her romantic boundaries and is actively encouraged by everyone else in canon around him, even when she states multiple times that she doesn’t want to date him and they are not a couple. He’s always trying to take away from the fight, and several times when he is turned down he will take it out on her. The creator of the show describes him as flawless. Her suits are awful, they’re literally just decorative spandex on her body, giving her no structure or support.
2.) victim of both the crew’s misogyny and racism the show literally cannot be normal about her i submitted her to the character massacre poll so im gonna repeat some of the stuff i said from there shes a 14 year old girl n a rule of the show’s bible is that marinette must always be the one to learn a lesson so shes always wrong according to the narrative even when she actually isnt in the wrong one of her main character traits is that she has a crush on adrien and cause shes a teenage girl shes of course portrayed as obsessive and stalkerish for… having pictures of her fashion model crush in her room n knowing his schedule even though hes super busy n it would be reasonable for her to keep track of his schedule so she n his other friends could actually hang out with him despite being half chinese and (from what i remember) her mom being a first generation immigrant she has no actual connection to it for all intents and purposes her being half chinese is almost irrelevant for her character unless the show feels like being weird about it such as having her white crush be more knowledgeable about chinese culture than her n her parents being based off of the creator and an ex girlfriend of his (his tweet about that is still up btw) which leads into the next thing of marinette is weirdly sexualized by the show she has the most blatantly body paint suit of the girls (cause all of them have body suits seriously pretty much all of the women n girls in this show could be submitted which is bad considering its a girl power show for kids) the camera frequently frames itself on the lower half of her body in one of the comics after she detransforms shes left naked (an issue entirely invented for this comic) and has to wear a box as clothes n there was a scandal about a member of the crew drawing her naked which the show’s creator defended (remember this guy said marinette was like his virtual child) shes not winning in her love life either so both marinette and adrien are superheroes with secrect identities n neither of them know who the other person is under the mask marinette likes adrien who is chat noir’s civilian identity and adrien likes ladybug who is marinette’s superhero identity hes not into marinette n marinette’s not into chat noir however chat noir constantly flirts with ladybug (usually instead of actually helping her) ignores her rejections of his romantic advances n throws a hissy fit whenever she doesnt priortize him (such as not helping her defeat the baddie thats frozen all of paris cause last night she didnt show up for a date he set up when she told him she couldnt go on a date cause she already had plans with friends threatening to quit when most of paris was underwater due to a different villain cause marinette got trusted with an important secret n he didnt and attempting to use cataclysm (his ability to destory anything) on marinette’s best friend when marinette had her use the ladybug miraculous in her stead) while her own pursuit of adrien only ever ends in her own humiliation cause the crew just thinks its so funny for a teenage girl to get repeatedly humiliated for the crime of wanting to ask her crush out n then yank her back when she tries to move on with a guy who openly has a crush on her respects her n is very supportive of her which is something they literally wrote her to do n pressured by pretty much everyone to ask out adrien (as a civilian) n date chat noir (as a hero) cause the show doesnt know how to properly develop a romance for their main couple beyond having everyone say theyre meant to be and then also this is more of like the show’s general misogyny and double standards but when girls crush on the same guy theyre all catty bitches to eachother (n then also two of them are irredeemably evil cause the show hates teenage girls n thinks the show’s main villain (who only isnt a child abuser if you dont considering neglect n emotional abuse real abuse) is more redeemable than two cartoony mean teen girls) while guys crushing on the same girl are chill n buddies with eachother
3.) We’ve seen time and time again she’s capable and smart and creative and can really do anything she puts her mind to-but canon forces her to fall for a guy after he halfass apologizes (never actually says sorry and lies about never having friends when in the same episode he keeps saying he’s this persons friend) about a misunderstanding because ooh white boy go hard I guess and thus for multiple seasons have her go stupid around and simply because of this boy. This same boy but now hero form she’s doesn’t know, gets to trying and flirt with her over and over even after she tells him very nicely that she doesn’t like him like that, thought they were just bantering, and that she likes someone else. The narrative punishes her when she does anything that the boy doesn’t like, either by him not helping her as a hero in fights or scolding her in both forms. Additionally, her character is through the ringer when ever it comes to him because “she’s boy crazy” like teaming up with her bully to ruin this girls dress because she is attending an event with him- which goes way off base for her character- and this happens only whenever he’s involved. They have her be weird around him like sniffed his pillow once and took a hair from what she thought was a statue of him and also have her never function normally around him-which fine that can be true to life cause she’s 13-but when she falls for this other boy who makes her relaxed and helps her to be who she is happily-the narrative pulls a 180 once they date showing she can’t forget about the first boy and putting her pictures she took of the first boy back in her room when they were previously removed. Last thing because I think this is getting way too long sorry, but they sexualize the hell out of the female hero: from their poses and shots focusing on their chest, butts, or movements of them, but also the male heros costumes are way more intricate and detailed where as the main character for three plus seasons only had a red bodysuit with black neck and black spots while the male hero had a black suit detailed with a golden bell, leather belt as a tail, black ears, green cat eyes, and more. I just can’t with this show doing girls dirty and then claiming “girl power”
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aita-blorbos · 8 months
Note
AITA for not doing my job?
I know this sounds a little bit bad, but… I dunno.
I (34NB) work at an office. Or, I guess, I’m expected to work at an office. I applied to be— well, I don’t even remember anymore, but the job they have me doing isn’t the job I signed up for.
I say ‘have me doing’ as if I’m actually doing it, but the problem is I can’t.
I know that’s such an office worker thing to say, ugh, I can’t do my job anymore, it’s boring, et cetera, but I actually mean that I can’t.
They want me to be sharpening pencils as a job. For my coworkers? I guess? And they GAVE me a pencil sharpener, but… they didn’t give me any pencils to sharpen. If it was the beginning of my job, I’d pass it off as them forgetting, but this has been going on for, um… two years. I think.
It’s… been a lot. I’ve tried to contact management and HR and hell, even the big boss, but nobody will respond to me about it. The only sort of response I’ve gotten is asking me why I’m not at my desk doing my job!
And I know that’s… probably not on me, right? But I just… really can’t help but feel like this is all my fault. My coworkers all give me dirty looks when I do anything, if I’m up and walking around they all stare at me like I’m the one broken cog in a machine that would otherwise work if it didn’t have… well, me.
And to make it all worse, everybody ELSE gets to use pencils. All the coworkers around me have their own pencils and everything, and it’s just ME who they didn’t give pencils to! And they won’t SHARE! I can ask them for a pencil to do my fucking JOB and they just give me a LOOK and they STARE at me as they take one of their own goddamn pencils out and whenever I think they’re finally going to be a DECENT PERSON they just take out a sheet of paper and make a note on it and then put the pencil AWAY. As if they’re trying to TAUNT me with it! And I’m so fucking SICK and TIRED of—
…Sorry. I, uh… didn’t really mean to get so upset. It’s just… a lot to deal with. It’s starting to weigh on me, a bit, because I can’t tell if I’m the problem or not.
I just don’t understand. Did I do something to offend them all? Is there something wrong with me? Am I doing this on purpose and just not realizing? I don’t even know at this point and I ju st w ish ICOULDDDO M YyY
———
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LOADING…
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———
Woah, there. That got a little bit out of hand.
Don’t worry about that guy. I’m sure they ended up getting out of that disaster just fine.
(…Maybe 9 years later than they should have, but that’s a little beside the point…)
I mean, you can still vote if you want. I’m not going to stop you.
Honestly, I’m also kind of interested in hearing your opinion about that whole mess. Not for any particular reason, I just think data collection is nice.
Here, I’ll even pull up the poll for you!
Were they the asshole?
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blocksruinedme · 1 year
Text
Flower Husband crumbs + Jimmy being told about my empires sexyman poll. And Scott being Scott about it.
youtube
"tumblr really made a rigged compensation poll for you huh" - scott smajor
"you’re the sexiest tumblr man ever" - scott s smajor
"if i could have a husband who was also a flower, it would be you" - scott fucking smajor, who says he does this because he enjoys torturing us
Part 1: In chat, @joyrose-fandomer tells Jimmy there was an empires tumblr sexyman poll (that he won) and Scott is Scott about it. Repeatedly.
Part 2: (02:06) Cupid!Bek makes Jimmy fall in love with Scott, or something, I can't really summarize this one.
The part I didn't mention in the youtube description was the "Scott Major is DIRECTLY coming for SOLELY ME" part, cause when he says "tumblr" made a poll just for Jimmy, it was literally only me doing it after "nominations" on a discord. I... I don't even know if he's entirely wrong that it was for Jimmy??? At this point I honestly don't remember my motivations super well.
I did no rigging, I don't know of anyone doing voter fraud. We got <50 votes on some early polls, it just wasn't a big thing. But it was being primarily advertised by a Jimmy fanatic, to their own generally pro-Jimmy followers. Which I couldn't really do anything about!
I yell at Scott a lot when I'm clipping, but this was the most by far. Leave me ALONE Scott, I can't handle this so soon after the whole "lusting for a wet paper bag of a man" thing.
/lh
Anyone can feel free to send me asks/dms if you have suggestions for similar clips to put up, but i need at least a 5 minute range time stamp.
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No Place In Heaven (MIKA)
For every love I had to hide/And every tear I ever cried/I’m down on my knees/I’m begging You, please-/There’s no place in Heaven for someone like me/Won’t You open the door and try me once more?/Cause there’s no place in Heaven for someone like me./There’s no place in Heaven.
“Ugh horrible I am literally crying while typing those lyrics ho1w embarrassing. My Diocese voted five years ago to acknowledge the status of and bless same-sex marriages. I’ve been a Christian my whole life and am heavily involved in service roles in the church, and our vicar at the time was a colossal homophobe. He was so ghastly about the whole thing that even congregants who were uncomfortable with same-sex marriage thought he handled it poorly. I’m very queer, but unintentionally very stealth about it, and I got engaged to my partner during all this: despite him also being queer we’re a straight passing relationship, and I had to sit with the discomfort of the fact that people were ~thrilled~ for us... because we looked right. But by everything we were being lectured on at the time (and said vicar’s rhetoric was honestly that of an aspiring cult leader) our relationship was wrong even as it stood, let alone if we’d been the same gender (which is something we’ve discussed a lot both because of my own loose relationship with gender and because his prenatal scans were misinterpreted and his parents were told he was girl). And knowing that people weren’t happy for *us*, they were happy for what they thought we represented made us gag. But we couldn’t say anything openly because the vicar was stomping on open dissent to his views (despite the fact that the WIDER church DID disagree with him). I heard this song for the first time during that. I don’t even remember where. But it was SO cathartic to sing along to, and I actually don’t cry easily but this song let me get so many of those ugly tears out. The story has a relatively happy ending btw: same-sex marriages CAN be blessed, that vicar threw a tantrum, left and DID set up his own cult, and we now have a priest who is a lot more compassionate and accepting and is actively working to heal the pain and mistrust the first guy caused.”
Poll Runner: So many of you have left beautiful, personal descriptions of these songs and how much they mean to you, and honestly I love them all, but this one is honest to god my favourite. It’s just so raw and real and made me feel so many feelings (I’m queer and grew up in a fairly homophobic community). The submitter didn’t want their url on the poll post for privacy reasons, but they told me that if anyone reading this wants to reach out to them over being a queer Christian, then they can message me (the poll runner) to get their url.
A Boy And His Frog (Tom Smith)
What can I say without you there to guide me?/How else am I supposed to give?/How can I sing without you there beside me?/How else am I supposed to live/You could never just do the expected/I was just an idea in a bog/But you sewed up your dream and we made quite a team/Jim and Kermit, a boy and his frog
“Tender, Muppet-y devastation.”
Poll Runner: No celebrity death has fucked me up as badly as Jim Henson’s, and I wasn’t even alive for it.
A Boy and His Frog submitted by @sub-ignis
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grison-in-space · 3 months
Note
I see you're travelling, so absolutely no rush to answer. I just wanted to say that I voted motor initiation on the poll, because that is one that I struggle with most on a day to day basis (and I guess long term planning, but less doing it and more not feeling the urgency of it?), but emotional dysregulation... It doesn't cause problems very often, but when it does, it really fucks me up.
Ain't that a mood. I actually struggle quite a lot with--let's say task initiation, in the hopes that I remember to use the correct teminology more often... but also with attentional inhibition (which added about 40min to my "getting up and out the door" routine this morning, which I know because I set half-hour timers but foolishly haven't attuned Matilda to them yet), cognitive flexibility (god I hate being interrupted despite being a major source of interruptions in others), working memory (pretty sure this is why I often use a slightly wrong word choice which is a great new feature of the brain), and most of the other stuff on the list also.
like, these are all stuff that tend to vary together, and they all have different levels of being able to compensate with modern technology too. it's not surprising that these are things folks are struggling with right now either; stress also interferes with executive function and so does trauma (which is what happens when stress sticks around and leaves a mark).
emotional dysregulation is... yeah I feel that so much. there's a reason I've been extremely clear with my psych that my most "please do not fuck with this under any circumstances" med is the clonidine alpha-agonist that helps blunt big emotional threat reactions, that's the thing that lets me go around as if I've got skin instead of a great big mess of exposed nerves and muscle, you know? I'm very, very good at disconnecting my emotional state and my actual actions--perhaps too good, hey dissociation coping mechanisms how 'bout that--but even that will fuck my shit up badly if I don't actually listen to and comprehend my own emotions and take care of them.
losing the ability to choose to be invisibly disabled because the disabilities build on each other and worsen if you don't take care of yourself right until they can no longer be masked suuuuuuuuucks amirite?
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butmakeitgayblog · 1 year
Note
Whatever, the only writers I Care about are my lovely Clexa ficwriters❤️
I say this with all the kindness toward you in the world, but I do not like this at all. At all.
Not to be holier than thou but you should care. I mean they are human beings who are just asking to be paid a reasonable amount for their work. And tbh I'm not sure if a lot of people outside the US (even in the US and just aren't directly effected by it) understand exactly what's going on here. The truth is we're being driven to a fucking breaking point. The cost of everything, EVERYTHING, is going up all the time and we're not being paid enough to match it. These fat cat corporations and greedy fucking billionaires are quite literally making it so people can't afford food and rent. This strike, while its been a long time coming, is just a very visible and tangible example of something that's wrong across the board. These people are driving force behind a global money making industry and they even aren't getting paid enough for their work to live and eat. And that's the same work which we fanfic writers then use as inspiration to write our own fics for free in between working and struggling ourselves.
They'd not asking to become millionaires, they're just asking to be paid even remotely fairly. And they're being told no because a handful of people who are already richer than you or I will ever be say they simply can't afford it. Bullshit. It's all bullshit. It's just another excuse to keep workers impoverished and a slave to their job. It's yet another example of this country's elite taking advantage of the working persons labor.
And this is just a sidenote not even directly aimed at you anon, so don't take it personally because it's not, but I kindly want to nudge people to really evaluate the assumption that if this turns ugly and drags on forever and all tv and movies turn to shit, that they'll be able to just turn to fanfic. The problem there is every day more and more fanfic writers and artists stop creating because of how little support they get. I'm lucky because so many of you guys interact with me and I love it, I do and that's what keeps me going. But I'm also not blind to the fact that on a long ask/answer post I made, the accidental poll attached has 30+ votes, but only about 20 notes and not even 5 reblogs. Fanfic writers get burned out too. Especially when it feels like they're pumping out work and getting barely anything in return. Smaller creators especially, but even with bigger accounts there's only so much they can do.
So please, support those writers that are striking. Support your fanfic writers who use their work as a building block. Support your artists who take these concepts and then turn them into masterpieces. Because all of them are just people trying do what they love while still being able to feel valued for their time.
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hetalia-club · 10 months
Note
Russia won because multiple big named artists in this fandom was sharing the posts on Twitter and other sites. You even said sabotage was allowed? Why you mad?
pay attention please....you could easily find your answer if you scroll down just a little to read but you clearly can't do that so I will again repeat myself so there is no confusion.
I'm MAD because people were saying they would kill/harm themselves if certain characters didn't win leaving me in a bad position. also mad is not the word. Disappointed/annoyed is a better word I am not someone who gets 'mad'.
Also as I said when I said sabotage was allowed creating thousands of fake accounts was not what i had in mind. 1 or 2 sure but hundreds just defeats the purpose and destroys the fun of actually seeing who people like more. if it's just a few people battling it out on who can make the most accounts faster is dumb. Idk what you say it's just stupid. Maybe it would be Russia maybe it wouldn't we'll never know now because teh voting was thrown off by people making a ton of fake accounts
there was mass fake blog making on BOTH sides. Not just Russia OR Romano's side. just a few hours I watched it go from 51% Russia 52% Romano 52%russia and back to 51% Russia that is over 500 votes in like 3 hours. it is just not possible idk what you say. How the votes would be mass and sway so heavily one side at a time is just not possible. Sure a few votes here and there is possible but not hundreds and hundreds back and forth. As I said I had the annons admitting they rigged it i have admission from both sides from multiple annons.(I did clean out my inbox because there was a ton in there but they were there) Once I mentioned I was disappointed by the mass rigging the votes stopped completely. I know what I am talking about. you can think I'm stupid and disagree if you want but i know what I'm talking bout.
i don't give a fuck if Russia would have beaten Romano fairly. To think Romano would have taken the whole thing fairly on his own is a long shot. I said in the tags when I posted this round 'the king had a good run but i don't think he could pull this one off'. i said the only person i didn't want beating Romano was Spain but that is for a personal vendetta.
you can ask people I DM with in private messages I said "hey I would love Romano to win he has my vote but I really don't think he can do it realistically." I told people I DM NOT to make a bunch of accounts and to just let it be fair.
I still don't know what I am going to do about the results. I do wish people would think about ME. i am not just a faceless account I am a real person you are demanding answers from as if you know me at all or know what I've been dealing with in my ask box.
if you have been following this poll you would know that I did not disqualify Spain when 1 person was sending me dozens of hate mail every day for about 2 months.
maybe I'll change my mind when I get over it. like I said IDK what I'll do but sending me asks saying 'why you mad bro' is not helping me epically when I have stated like 15 times 'why I'm mad bro'
also don't fucking blame Ironic-Orange OR Grims for this they have no control what their followers do just like how I don't. They didn't tell everyone to go make hundreds of mass fake accounts and spend actual real life hours swaying votes. The didn't tell their followers to send me asks implying they would hurt themselves if the polls did not go the way they wanted. They did NOTHING WRONG. I don't want another person in my asks or tags saying other wise I have already deleted several. I'm not upset with them at all I blame them for nothing! That would be dumb. All they did was promote and say they would draw art if they won. Which GREAT! i love that! Now you get your art! everyone wins. Everyone should be happy. Idk why you aren't unless you were one of the ones spamming new accounts and you feel invalidated. Which you shouldn't because you won! congrats!
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emilyblame · 1 year
Text
Waterparks: The Ultimate Poll (2023) Results
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ok, kiddos! this is it. we've got a total of 120 votes and just in case you all forgot what this was about because it's been a week, i'm here to remind you that i made you vote your one (1) favorite song from each Parx release. just to see where we're at, since we have a new release and a bunch of newcomers.
so, first of all: thank you to all who participated. these things are always fun to do to me and it's also a nice picture of where the fandom is at at this exact moment and compare it with the past and see how things shift in the future.
not having a lot to explain here, it was a pretty straightforward poll, i'm just gonna get right to it. but before that really quick, i wanna say that i based my predictions in previous polls and comments i see on here and social media and i'm glad to admit that in some cases i was wrong by like, one vote. but the one i was wrong about that surprised me the most were 'Airplane Conversations' and 'Cluster'.
Airplane Conversations
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so, my prediction here was that I Was Hiding... was gonna take the podium (like it did in the Deep Cuts vs Single poll), but Silver just went for it, getting 16 votes over it. and honestly, i'm pretty surprised about how well balanced the rest of the songs are. like, we're all over the place here, guys. personally, i'm a Bones Of '92 girl.
Black Light
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this one was pretty obvious. everybody loves I'm A Natural Blue and it's objectively the best song in the EP.
Cluster
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would you look at that. is it because of the whole sell-out-Houston-i-put-Crave-on-the-setlist thing? or...? i'm amazed. i was sure Pink was gonna take this one. i'm always hopeful for No Capes because she's my baby, but even though a lot of people love it, No Capes is never he winner. :sadface: so, i'm sorry for Pink, but we're all Geoff stans now (as we always should have been since day one.)
Double Dare
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my predictions here were Gloom Boys or WWDFF. well, they're both eating It Follows dust, son! maybe i should do a poll without Candy and WWDFF, because they're technically not in the album. 'Double Dare' has always been a little all over the place when it comes to favorites. and it's no surprise, every song in this album is brilliant. even Made In America got a vote this year, which is nice. i don't know when we collectively decided that it was going to be nobody's favorite song, but it's always the one that people are more indifferent towards. and, honestly, i felt the same way for a long time until recently when i kind of re-discovered it and realized i liked it way more than i thought i did (that solo at the end. yes.) still, i'm a woman of simple taste and Royal made me her bitch the first day i heard it five years ago, so... whatcha gonna do?
Entertainment
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'Entertainment' is a very well put together album, but there's no doubt. at. all. that everyone's favorite song is Not Warriors. across every single poll that i've made and even in the discography battle, people were crying over having to cut it out of competition. it's just such a good song. and this entire album is perfect. all the songs here a fucking bangers. i mean, you see the rest of them are pretty much the same, but Not Warriors has between 13-18 more votes than the other most voted. it's insane. we love this song too much, Awsten put it back on the setlist challenge.
FANDOM
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i love, and i mean LOVE, the way we keep proving Awsten wrong when he said that one time that IFYWWM was never going to be anyone's favorite song. i had also predicted Telephone and War Crimes. this triad were the most voted as deep cuts. still, IFYWWM took over 20% of the total votes. i'm kinda surprise seeing Dream Boy lurking in there. and whoever picked Cherry Red: i see you, you are very right, but Never Bloom Again owns my soul.
1 (A COLLECTION OF UNRELEASED HOME DEMOS, THIS IS NOT G, OR EVEN AN ALBUM, SHUT UP ENJOY)
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once again... obvious choice. Glitter Times should've been in an album, i'll never forget Awsten for keeping her out. Noise used to be a fan favorite (actually, last time i included de demo album back in 2020 it tied with Glitter Times), i don't know what happened. also, why is Lemonade your favorite song? are you okay? i'm kidding, you're are absolutely allowed and entitled to make whatever song you like your favorite. especially the person who chose LIFE IS PUKE. same, my friend, i too love to hear Awsten talk and cough into my ears. it's a fucking symphony. still... Glitter Times.
Greatest Hits
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i mean... no brainer. Fuzzy should've been a single, i don't know what the fuck they were thinking. it's the best song in the album. actually, the best songs in this album are deep cuts, like, wtf. i was once again undecided between Magnetic and Crying Over It All, but went with Magnetic. it's good to know that we're collectively undecided about them.
Intellectual Property
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i see everyone everywhere fuzzing over Ritual so i thought, This is it. It has to win. my face when A Night Out On Earth took the lead. i gaped. and i'm so fucking happy for her, she should be the fan's favorite, it's the best song in the album (not my favorite tho, Closer has my heart in her clutches). the whole thing is a spectacle. lyrics are good, it ends with a bang. i mean, the entire build up from the acoustic breakdown down to the end of the song is —and i don't say this lightly— *chef's kiss*. i also find it hilarious that Fuck About It got ZERO votes. hahaha aahh, i'm sorry. i mean, i like it, but... yeah.
all that said! i guess i’ll see you guys after the next release. or next year. or maybe we get lucky and there's a demo album 2 in our immediate future...? i'm looking at you, Awsten, i want Sad Game.
remember that my inbox is open for questions and comments as long as you’re nice about it. and once again, thank you for participating if you did! this was really fun :)
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