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#so i went balls to the wall and got a good program
willinglyghoulified · 6 months
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Finally bought Clip Studio Paint for the first time, and I immediately got overwhelmed hahahaha. I have to watch tutorials for like 6 hours to understand wtf I'm looking at.
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judysxnd · 5 months
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Hey babes I absolutely love your writing and I was wondering if you could write another pedro x reader fic? One were the reader calls him telling him they had to go to the emergency room and he drops everything to be with them, even when the reader says it's not a big deal.
You’ll just have to have a best friend name Chloe here
I never remember what pics I already put or not before 😭 I don’t want to put the same!!
I wrote this a long time ago, and I still like it!!! Just fluff 🥰
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you were sitting on the hospital bed, a doctor examining your ankle. The size doubled and it was turning blue. How did you do that?? Well, you simply walked on your dog’s ball and it led to you hearing your ankle literally crack and you fell. It’s so stupid. Fortunately, you weren’t alone. Your best friend was with you as she came to spend the afternoon with you. So instead of having fun and drinking together and talking about everything, she got to drive you to the emergency room.
While you were waiting in the room to be taken care of, you decided to call Pedro, to update him as to why you wouldn’t be home when he will come back. His phone only rang twice before you got to hear his voice.
“Hola hermosa” he picked up, hearing happiness in his voice
“Hiii” you insisted on the I. He immediately knew something happened. That’s one of your move. When you call him or when you enter a room saying hi like that, he knows you messed up something, or you hurt yourself, or something happened. It’s never a big deal, but enough to stress you out a bit.
“Is everything okay?”
“Y-Yes, kinda” you simply answered. But before you got to say anything, a nurse came to you.
“Miss Pascal, the doctor is finishing with a patient and he’ll be right with you” she said giving you a paper and a pen. “This is the regular form to fill, you’ll give it to me before leaving okay?”
“Yes thank you” you said
“Why is- doctor? Where are you?” Pedro started to panic on the phone
“P calm down, it’s okay, everything’s fine, I’m at the hospital”
“You- fine? If you’re fine why are you there?”
“I think I kind of broke my ankle?”
“WHAT?” Your best friend was holding her laugh next to you
“I’m fine, I just wanted to warn you that we won’t be home when you’ll come back”
“Hell with that, I’m coming right away”
“You don’t need to! Chloe is here with me, I am being taken care of, don’t worry! In a couple of hours I’ll be home”
“I dont care, you’re injured, I’m coming”
“Pedro” he didn’t answer, but you could hear him breath. “Pedrito” you said softly
“Yes”
“I’ll see you at home okay?”
“Hm hm” he simply said.
“Oh I see the doctor coming, I have to go, I love you”
“I love you too, be careful”
“I Will” you hang up and left with the doctor.
He started to examine you, trying to feel if anything was broken. He programmed an x-ray to make sure. While you were coming back from the x-ray to the consultation room, you saw a familiar face when you entered.
“Pedro?” You asked, surprised. “I told you not to come!”
“My wife is in the emergency room and you expect me not to come?” You sighed
“You were doing something more important, you didn’t need to drop everything, it’s just my ankle, no big deal”
“Wh- you’re more important” he said confused by what you just said. You sat back down on the bed, Pedro came in front of you. “I was worried”
“I told you I’m fine”
“Excuse me for being a good husband” he joked, you both chuckled.
“I love you so much” you said, putting both your hands on his waist
“I love you more” he got closer to you and gave you a quick kiss. Chloe entered the room. “Hey” Pedro said, going towards her and hugged her.
“Hi” she then looked at you. “You okay?”
“Yeah yeah I’m fine”
“I saw the doctor, he’s coming back in a minute” she said as she sat down on the chair against the wall. Pedro went back next to you.
“How did you do that by the way?” You looked at your best friend who bursted out laughing, before you did.
“It’s embarrassing, I don’t want to tell you”
“It just makes me want to know more” he looked at Chloe
“Don’t look at me, she’s the one who has to tell” he then looked at you with puppy eyes.
“No, it won’t work on me”
“You know I dropped everything to be with you, the least you can do is tell me what happen”
“I knew you would throw that on my face! That’s not fair!” You playfully hit him. “Okay okay.. well.. We were outside, drinking a beer, and.. we were throwing toys at our dog, like any normal person would do”
“I’m already confused” he said
“You can be” Chloe added
“Which side are you on?” You told her
“Yours! But come on, how could you break your ankle like that? Do you have like 80-year-old bones?” They laughed.
“Oh shut up”
“Please finish” Pedro insisted
“I walked on a ball” you quickly said. He stared at you without saying anything
“You- wait, you walked on a ball and you broke your ankle?”
“Yes, it like folded my ankle, I heard the noise it was disgusting”
“I agree”
“Goddamn”
“You can laugh” you told him
“I’m not going t-”
“I know you’re dying to, you can laugh go ahead” he looked at the both of you. “She didn’t hesitate to” you said pointing at Chloe. He looked at you again, then started laughing. “There we go”
“I’m sorry mama” he said kissing your forehead. “But you have to admit it, you just walked on a ball and you broke your ankle”
“I know it’s stupid” you were starting to laugh too
The doctor came back in and explained the x-ray, even though it was pretty explicit. We could see the crack at your ankle. You did break your ankle. So now you’re wearing a cast, and have to keep it for a few months.
The three of you drove back home and got drinks to lighten the mood and get rid of the nervousness and anxiety after this long afternoon.
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Angel By the Wing - NINE
Chapter Warnings: allusions to smut ;)
Series Masterlist
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After the door shut behind you, Jake sat at his table for a solid three minutes as he tried to parse out what just happened. The skin of his forehead that your lips had touched burned with the lingering reminder of your presence.
You’re always so focused on being the best that you forget about the people around you. I can’t lose you, Jake. I can’t bury you.
The desperation in your voice…he never wanted to hear your voice crack like that ever again. Jake looked around his apartment and swallowed against the sharp, sudden dryness of his throat. Even when you weren’t there, he could see you in his space. The scent of your shampoo on his pillows. The extra toothbrush on the bathroom sink. Your favorite flavor of Oreos residing on the counter.
The air felt suffocating all of a sudden and he needed to get out. He needed to get back to work. How the hell was he supposed to fly like this? His mind was a fucking mess. Jake went through the motions robotically. Put the leftovers away, lock up his house, get in the car, arrive back on base.
Phoenix shot him a disgruntled look as he silently made his way to his chair at the front and sat. Silence didn’t typically follow Hangman, but today it seemed to cling to him. They knew the drill. Mav would say some shit at the front of the room about how they needed to improve and then they would sit their asses around the ready room until it was their turn to fly.
But when they all got up to move to the ready room, Jake did something that surprised the hell out of all of them.
“Rooster,” he coughed out. “Can I talk with you?”
The whole team paused at his request. Even Mav looked thrown, having had to split up their fight that morning. Maverick glanced at Rooster, but the younger man refused to look at him still. He straightened his shoulders, cleared his throat, and nodded.
“This’ll be good,” Bob whispered to Phoenix as they passed. Phoenix was glaring at Hangman in her signature “melt paint off the walls” style. He was really grateful that Sofia didn’t let her wife rip his balls off and embalm them as a warning to anyone who crossed her path.
The two men stood across from each other as the room emptied out. Rooster crossed his arms over his chest and shot him an unimpressed look. The door thudded behind Coyote as he left last and silence descended on the room.
“Well?” Rooster snapped. He bristled like a cat who had their fur pet the wrong way. Jake sucked in a deep breath and for just a brief second, he saw the man before him as though it was the first day they ever met in that training program all those years ago. Bradley Bradshaw with his easygoing grin and bright eyes.
So different from the rage that now lined every part of his body and clouded his stare.
“I’m sorry,” Hangman finally said.
Rooster’s frown slipped into something more like shock. Out of everything, the last thing he was expecting was an apology. “Where the fuck is this coming from? Did you get visited by the ghosts of douchebags past or something?”
“Not exactly.” Jake huffed out a laugh. “More like bartenders of vengeance past.”
Rooster’s face softened at the thought of you and Jake cleared his throat. “I know about you two, by the way.”
“I was under the impression that you didn’t give a shit.” He was back on the defensive, his lips pulled into a thin line and his eyes searching for Hangman to say something against you. But it never came. Not the poison-laced barb he was expecting or the snide remark. Instead, Hangman looked as though he deflated. The blond sagged back against the desk behind him and he shrugged.
“I don’t give a shit. She can sleep with who she wants, that’s our agreement.”
Rooster considered him carefully. “So she told you to come apologize?”
“No. She just made me realize some things.” Hangman paused and then collected himself. “I’m glad it’s you, y’know? If it had been Fanboy or Payback, I’d probably hit the fucking roof, but I know you. I know that you’ll take good care of her.”
“Why is this starting to sound like you’re giving up?”
Hangman shrugged. “You’re a good man, Bradshaw. You can give her the life she deserves and all that. You can give her more than a few orgasms and emotional unavailability.”
Your words flit across his mind once again. You can really be a selfish dick, Jake. He was. He was so selfish. He had been keeping you in his bed with the idea that one day, he could just let you go. But he can’t.
Knowing that Bradley fucking Bradshaw of all people had wormed a place into your life somehow eased the sting. Because Jake wasn’t the two story house with a white picket fence and a dog kind of guy. He was known as the fuck them and then dump them. The use them and lose them. Girls and guys worked out their frustration or whatever on his dick and then left before breakfast.
Bradshaw seemed like the perfect guy. The bring you breakfast in bed kind of guy. The toddler on the hip kind of guy. The guy who wasn’t screwed up in the head and doomed to fail every relationship he has by being a selfish dick.
And after that one drunken night he and Rooster shared all those years ago in the barracks, hands wrapped around cocks and sloppy kisses exchanged, Jake knew for a fact that he was a generous lover.
“You’re dumb as fuck,” Rooster declared. He opened his mouth to continue, but the door opening drew their attention away from their conversation. Harvard stood awkwardly in the doorway and he jerked his thumb over his shoulder.
“You two are up soon,” he explained. “Mav told me to come get you.”
“Thanks,” Rooster said. He waited until Hangman walked past him before he fell in step with the blond. “We’re not done with this, by the way.”
“I said I was sorry.”
“That’s not what I was talking about and you know it.”
Tag List: @mizzzpink​ @xoxabs88xox​ @dreaminglandsworld​ @khaylin27​ @loveforaugust​ @phoenixssugarbaby​ @atarmychick007​ @mak-32​ @itsmytimetoodream​
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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA new production of Don't Stop Me is SO GOOD
We saw opening night of the new YMTC 2024 production!!! Here's a recap of everything (SO FAR, WE'RE GOING AGAIN TOMORROW). This is going to be a VERY LONG THREAD :D so I will come back and edit the multiple parts
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Ookay okay starting from the beginning. I arrived first and then waited for spicedch4i and met with another Malloysical mutual! Once spicedch4i arrived we went CRAZY over the photos they had up on the walls, just little prints but they hadn't all been posted online yet.
Next time we go we'll get nicer photos of all of these btw! I especially liked that one of Royshanna and Nicki was next to the bar lol.
Then we saw Sam & Aya outside, and spicedch4i started to freak out because they're 2015 Mo and Jaynie. And they were talking to people and slowly moving toward us and I made her stop freaking out and talk to them and they were so sweet! We took some pictures and talked about how much we love the commentators, confirming that those characters are so neurodivergent because that's exactly how the people who wrote/played them were, and chatted about what we were looking forward to in the new one!
Then we saw KRISTA. Krista Knight, the playright! Spicedch4i had some art to give her and Krista was so excited that we were there and hoped we enjoyed the show. She was super sweet as well, knew who we were, and really valued our opinions which was incredible. We hung out and chatted with various people until right before the show started, when it was time to walk in and take our seats!
Our front row seats!!!
Spicedch4i literally gasped. I'm so glad I got it on camera.
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The set is exactly the same as in 2015. They re-made it but it's nearly identical. The commentators have modern laptops of course, and I love the little dico ball bomb logo on the DJ booth!!!
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We didn't even LOOK at our programs yet, but I'll be posting nice pictures of it farther along in the thread! Also going through the whole show will be a whole post so next I'm going to move on to intermission!
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Evelyn 10/7/23
Evelyn and I got dinner together last night to try to help me take my mind off of what's going on in my apartment. She asked me about my program, and I told her I’ve always been really interested in books. How they’re written, the exact choice of words authors use, the hidden meanings you can get to if you keep digging. I think it’s beautiful when people die but live on in their writing.
“Why are you in the pharmacy program?” I asked her. 
“I was a biochem student,” she said. “I wasn’t all that certain what to do with that, and my family told me to go into pharmaceuticals.”
“Is that what you want to do, though?”
“It’s not all that awful. I just keep thinking that in a few years, I’ll be making pretty decent money at some CVS.”
“Why not open your own pharmacy? Like the apothecary down the road?”
“Do you know how hard it is to have your own apothecary shop? Big retail stores are driving them all out of business. The only way that that old man is staying in business is because he has natural remedies, and there’s enough broke college students around him that’ll take that over $40 prescriptions for anti-anxiety meds. But once those college students graduate and start making money and move to big cities—they no longer want the snail serums and the crystals. They want Xanax and Prozac.” 
“I heard snail serum is good for your skin. They do it in Korea, apparently.”
“Yeah. It is. Really good.”
“There have to be some people who want natural remedies.”
“Well, there are. There’s all the crunchy mommy bloggers who won’t vaccinate their kids.”
“Yikes.”
“And they’re not the type to go to an apothecary shop anyway. An apothecary shop is, like, three degrees too weird for them. They don’t want the frog oil or the fermented worms. They want to rub crystals on their armpits and put an onion on their kid’s foot when they get measles.”
“And you wouldn’t want to serve them anyway.”
“I don’t want their home schooled kids messing up my shop!”
We started walking back to my apartment (I still pay rent and really have nowhere else to stay, so I'm still living there despite the horrors. And at least with Evelyn there, I feel safer). Evelyn held half of a burrito bowl that she was going to save for breakfast the next morning. I was thinking about buying an aloe plant and how much an aloe plant costs and how hard it is to keep an aloe plant alive.
“I also would have no idea how to start a business like that. And apparently if you want to open an apothecary shop, you have to, like, file all this specific paperwork and get rated every year. And if you’re violating these specific laws, you get fined and the fines are big enough to bankrupt your business.”
“That’s balls,” I said.
“It’s so balls! And then there’s so much politics in the independent apothecary game. Best to leave it alone.”
“Damn. Tell me more.”
And she did. We went back to my apartment, and we talked all night. She told me about her older brothers. I told her about my mother. She told me she’s thinking about shaving her head. I told her I’ve wanted to try going vegetarian if I have the money to support the lifestyle. 
We went out in the middle of the night to get ice cream from the gas station around the corner, and we ended up buying armfuls of junk food to go with it. 
When we got back, she strung up more crystals around my bed. Midterms are soon, she said. Some good crystals help with mental clarity which makes studying much easier. I asked how she knows so much about crystals and candles and stuff, and she didn’t really give an answer. Her mother had a Wiccan phase when she was a kid.
By two in the morning, we were half-asleep and watching Bob’s Burgers. Again on the couch. Again under the same blanket. She rested a fuzzy-socked foot on my leg. I pressed my thigh against hers. 
And that’s it. That’s the update this time. No cats or ghosts or weird clawing at my walls. Just Evelyn.
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tartt9 · 11 months
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npcs to know // though jamie spends most of his time with his teammates and the staff in the 𝐚𝐟𝐜 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝 organization, there are still people he may mention who have been a part of his life and impacted him.
childhood (1997-2006)
GEORGIE CARTER (née BOLTON) - mother. a nurse. the only person who has been by jamie's side since the day he was born, who would answer his calls no matter what, even if it was three in the morning and their relationship was strained (and there were times their relationship was strained. from when jamie was 14-16, they barely spoke, and when jamie was on loan at richmond, his habits of calling her up nearly died). he makes sure to talk to her at least once a week, even if it's just to ask how she's doing. georgie has an older brother, though jamie has never met him, nor her parents - she was effectively disowned when they found out that she was pregnant with james tartt's baby at 17. she's always told jamie that he's all she needs. jamie will admit to being a mummy's boy. georgie will always be one of his top priorities.
JAMES TARTT SR. - father. named jamie after himself, then fucked off. only started coming around again once jamie had been recruited by the manchester city academy when jamie was 9. once he started coming back around, he was physically, mentally, and emotionally abusive towards jamie. jamie, in turn, took that anger and internalized it, using james as a fuel to his fire. everything he ever did, he did to piss james off. now, as an adult, jamie is grateful for that rage, because it got him to where he is now, but he still hates the guy. the two things he has to say to him, that he'll always have to say to him, are thank you, and fuck you. fuck you, for everything you ever did to me. i was a child, i never deserved that. thank you, for pushing me to get to where i am today. jamie has not heard from him in over a year - he reached out to him after richmond beat city during jamie's second season on contract with richmond, his third season with the team overall, though he has yet to hear back.
TOMMY UWERA - childhood best friend. tommy lived next door to jamie the whole time they were growing up. it was tommy's parents who told georgie about the rec football league that they'd signed tommy up for when georgie asked if they knew of any. it was tommy that jamie was talking to when a man city scout met with georgie about jamie joining their program. if you asked jamie, tommy should've been scouted, too. tommy was the first one to see jamie's roy poster, and while tommy wouldn't let him live down being a fan of a southern football team (tommy had always been a supporter of united, to jamie's dismay), he never treated jamie any differently because of what he assumed were jamie's not-so-heterosexual feelings for the footballer on his wall. jamie loves him and considers him his first true brother. tommy made it all the way through school, got good marks on his gcses, and went to university. now, he's in law school in manchester, and jamie and he text at least once a week.
JACK TURNER - childhood best friend. if jamie and tommy ever had a third person with them, you could bet that it would be jack. jamie would still have considered jack one of his best friends, though jack and jamie were never as close as tommy and jamie were. jack moved to america when they were 20, jamie losing touch with him after that - what with the time difference and jamie's busy schedule with city -- as far as jamie knows, jack is married with at least one kid now.
YASHVI PATEL - first crush. yashvi lived on the other side of jamie's house - tommy to the left, yashvi to the right. directly across from their houses was a brick wall, with a white sign telling the children of the council estate no ball playing. but jamie never listened, and tommy never listened, and yashvi certainly never listened. if there was one person in that whole neighborhood that could keep up with jamie, it was yashvi, and, sometimes, he admitted, she outplayed him. his crush on her was almost embarrassing - georgie would tease him playfully for it frequently. around the same time that jamie was recruited for city's academy, yashvi was recruited as a forward for united women's academy. their careers ran parallel to each other the whole time they were growing into their boots, but, as soon as united's women's team reestablished in 2018, yashvi got her call up, and actually made the starting xi in their first year. jamie hates united, but he has a soft spot for their women's team. you won't see him in united red (he'd rather die than put on those kits), but he'll go to old trafford when they play there to cheer yashvi on. she's played for england women, as well, and jamie is genuinely proud to see her succeed, even if his crush on her died years prior.
academy days (2006-2014)
HENRY SMITH (left wing) // LIAM MURRAY (right wing) // CONOR DAVIES (centre back) // MAX FITZPATRICK (holding mid) - academy teammates. zava fans. gave jamie plenty of shit for being a kent fan. he looked forward to spending time with them, because anything was better than the posh pricks he went to school with, but he would never have considered them his best friends. made a bet with them after his call up to city proper, when they were still on the u21 elite squad, leading to jamie getting his tattoo that says arm in chinese on his arm. all of them were released by city, and only liam was picked up by another team - he currently plays right wing for southampton.
DAISY BIRCH - first (willing) time, jamie tried sneaking her into the house. georgie knew what was going on. jamie was sixteen. she lived a couple of blocks away from him (in reality, it was much further than jamie processed, but he never minded the walk) and they'd met through mutual neighborhood friends. he hasn't seen her since he went professional, though jamie wasn't sure if that's because he'd gotten a house of his own with his paycheck and he was too busy to be hanging out around his mum's house anymore, or if it's because she moved.
SIMON CARTER - georgie met simon when simon injured himself in a baking accident and had to go to a&e. he was flustered the whole time she was taking care of him, and she told him that she hoped whatever he was baking was worth the trip out. the next day, simon came back to the hospital georgie works at with a tray full of danishes and a grin on his face. after that, he started coming around with lunch for her frequently, and they were going on dates, though jamie was disconnected from georgie at the time. he could tell that simon made her happy, and he wasn't surprised when he proposed, and when they got married, jamie was in the wedding with them, sixteen and mad at the world, but, for a day, he allowed himself some joy, happy to see that his mum finally found someone who deserved her, someone who made her happy.
man city (2015-2019/20)
PADDY O'GARA (centre back, 5) - jamie's only friend on city. he's about as old as roy is, and won more caps for ireland than jamie can count. he took jamie under his wing, welcomed jamie back when his loan was cancelled, would sit beside jamie at film and pass forward to him on the pitch. he was like an older brother to jamie, and jamie truly adores him to this day. paddy retired between the 2020-21 season and the 2021-22 season. jamie sent him a text congratulating him on an amazing career, and he plans on visiting him in ireland during the off-season. [ aidan turner fc ]
BASTIEN DE VILLARDI (captain, forward, 10) - de villardi and jamie got off on the wrong foot from the day jamie set foot in city's dressing room for the first time. jamie was 17, cocky, and knew he was better than mostly everyone in the room. de villardi was the captain and he couldn't have that kind of attitude around, even if jamie was, technically, great. he made sure to put jamie down at every opportunity that he got - tartt, set up the cones. tartt, get me a towel. tartt, where's the water? and jamie developed a massive inferiority complex around him - and the rest of the team that laughed along.
PHILIP HENDRICK (striker, 9) - jamie had no problem with hendrick. he was a good total football style striker, someone pep clearly wanted jamie to learn from. sure, hendrick laughed along with de villardi's jokes, but jamie did his best to learn from him, to pass to him on the pitch, to take after him, in some ways. jamie's father was a massive fan of his before jamie got his call up, and when jamie was at richmond - city's goalscorer was a legend in manchester. but, when jamie got his call up, hendrick was the only thing - in james' mind - standing between jamie and time on the pitch, jamie and the number 9. hendrick transferred to aston villa between the 2020-21 season and the 2021-22 season. jamie has no hard feelings against him.
DANTHONY CARVALHO (lust conquers all) - jamie was into him from the moment he got to set. he didn't do anything about it, obviously, not with all of those cameras on him. jamie was a prick to him during filming, because it was the only way he knew how to manage his own feelings. danthony won the whole season, in the end. since then, though, jamie's reached out to apologize, and danthony seems well enough - jamie watched the whole season of lust conquers all that he was called back to be on.
AMY ROWE (lust conquers all) - she was jamie's easy target during lust conquers all. she clearly wanted him from the start, and who was he to say no to someone who was fit and wanted him? she was dull, though - nothing like keeley, nothing like any girl he'd ever want to do anything more with than shag, but he knew how the game worked, knew how to make people invested in him, so he slept with her a few times, including once in the bathroom of the house, and then proposed. of course, that didn't work, and jamie got kicked off of the show the next week, immediately retracting his proposal and saying that he was just playing a game - because he was. he doesn't know what she's up to these days, and doesn't really care.
richmond era (2019/20-present)
JEREMIE - jamie doesn't even honestly know that his name is jeremie. on a trip to paris during the off season between s2 and s3, jamie hooked up with a man for the first time. he had no clue who jamie was, they could barely understand each other -- if jamie had no experience with richard's accent he probably would've been shit out of luck when it came to understanding him, but they made it work, jamie had a good time, and it solidified what he already knew about himself - he wasn't just bisexual in concept, but he was in practice, too.
EMMY GRAHAM - after the great post-lust conquers all 'no one wants you' 'reality show in ibiza, taking ecstasy every night for three straight weeks' 'there's nothing i can do' debacle, jamie fired his manager/talent agents. by the start of s3, he has his representation all sorted - a fully-woman team, led by his manager, emmy graham [ jamie clayton fc ]
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dnotive · 9 months
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I dunno if you got anon complaints, but it wasn't me. Here's my wall of text about The Topic At Hand.
I hate Apple because every time I wanted to use my phone to do something in high school, I found out that sorry, you can't do that on an iPhone because we don't like [winzip, flash player, a bunch of other things] and you're not allowed to use programs that don't come from the App Store. Also if you jailbreak your phone so that you CAN use it as a miniature computer, you void your warranty uwu. Also, I had an iPod touch gen 3 that I still use despite it being a bit slow because they absolutely lasted forever. I also got an iPod touch 6 that died a long time ago, but before it did, the iPod/Phone 7 had been released and Apple had figured out that if they push an update that makes the old tech slow, people will go "ugh, this is so slow, I should get a new one".
When they released the iPad with the same issues as the early gen phones + also no USB port and I was like "why are people buying this instead of literally any other tablet?" but people acted like it was a new, innovative, never-before-seen amazing thing when the first iPad really was just a shit tablet you couldn't do much with, but it had an apple logo and angry birds.
We also had both Windows and Macintosh computers at my high school and I never had problems with Windows because it was what I knew, but any time I tried to use the macs, I'd run into all sorts of compatibility issues with files saved on the Windows computers, so I just used my laptop instead. I was also getting into computer nerdery and looking to build my own PC and found out that Macintosh computers come pre-built and if you change literally anything yourself you void your warranty, which pushed me even harder against the company and all of its products. Oh, and the fact that a global standardisation went through that every phone company would use micro USB and Apple weaselled out of it by saying "ah, but we don't sell phones, we sell Personal Mobile Devices." And that they hold patents for things like the liquid metal they use to paint on the logo and even the patent for ROUND PIZZA BOXES and refuse to let anyone else use them just. Because. What a shit company. Anyway.
Nowadays I understand that some people prefer to use Macs for things like graphic design because they're allegedly better at it??? but all I see is compatibility issues for days, overpriced tech that you're not allowed to breathe on without voiding your warranty, and people who fangirl over the company's products because they're 'hip' and for no other reason. Their old products WERE good, which is why old Macs and iPods still sell for a TON of money, but I haven't seen them release a good product in a long-ass time.
Hey that's totally fine.
For the record, in my mind, the part of Apple that makes iphones and ipads is a totally separate entity than the one that makes their computers. You'll get no argument from me about their stupid power adapter debacle.
I've had macbooks for years as my daily-driver computers, but I own literally one iOS product, and that's an old ipad mini wall-mounted in my kitchen for home automation purposes. iOS devices are annoying in my experience, and as such I've only ever had Android mobile devices for daily use.
... and don't get me started on what a shitty-ass product the Apple TV is.
I understand the compatibility and customization argument in precisely the way I understand the cats vs. dogs argument.
If you were raised with dogs and have never been around cats or only tangentially experienced cats, you might point at a cat and go "what is this animal even good for? It doesn't come when I call it. It doesn't respond to its name. You have to scoop out a gross litter box at least twice a week. It doesn't even chase a ball half the time!"
All of which would be correct observations about owning a cat, but if you were to pivot from that to say something like "cats are useless and expensive, and everyone who has one has been tricked by clever marketing and branding to get one" you'd get people looking at you a little funny. We intuitively understand that cats and dogs are fundamentally different pets to experience.
In the same way, if you're a PC user who points at a Mac and says things like you have above, like "You can't even change any components yourself! You can barely play any games with it!" you're making the cardinal mistake of bringing Windows expectations into a Mac world, just as you'd be bringing Dog expectations into a Cat world for being indignant that you can't play fetch with it.
.. by your own admission here, "I never had problems with Windows because it was what I knew"
There is a LOT of crossover between the platforms for day to day tasks (web-browsing, word-processing, using shit like Office 365, doing live-streams, Telegram/Discord, etc. etc.) just as there is a lot of crossover between activities that cats and dogs can do (companionship, snuggling, entertainment, taking cute pictures to send to your mom) but the niche stuff is where things branch off.
I have a purpose-built Windows PC for music production and audio engineering because I needed to configure a custom sound interface and Windows PC's are excellently tailored to customization. Conversely, I use my Macbook for video-editing because MacOS is extremely stable and I can count on one hand how many times it's actually crashed or hung in all the years I've video-edited on it, even though I occasionally have to use a dongle, and can't crack it open myself to put more RAM in it.
In the case of the latter I consider that a worthy trade-off, just as I will gladly trade-off having a pet that won't play fetch with me in exchange for not having to let it outside when the windchill is -20 in the middle of February.
As an aside, also, the MacOS terminal behaves nearly the same way as a Linux terminal, so there are all kinds of hardcore Linux computer geeks who use Macs because the logic underneath the OS is the same. Just this past weekend I used the terminal to disable a couple of annoying security bits so I could install homebrew, WINE and a few other pieces - all called up and installed automatically using nothing more sophisticated than an oldschool text terminal, just like a Unix or Linux machine. Then I used the automator to create a custom executed batch file so I wouldn't have to re-enter terminal commands every time I wanted to call up a specific procedure.
It's why I stopped listening to people who simultaneously complain about MacOS being "too dumbed down" and "too hard to use" in the same breath; it can be just as complex and nerdy as you want it to be, and it can be just as streamlined as anything else if you really want it to be. Sitting on top of "fancy Unix" also means it's crazy stable.
... so for me at least, it has nothing to do with being "hip" - I have a hardcover case on my macbook so you can't even tell what it is anyway unless I open it up - and everything to do with being a good old-fashioned pragmatist.
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pbandjesse · 1 year
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I was so tired all day. Having two days in a row where I am so tired was not ideal. But it wasn't bad beyond that. I just wasn't comfortable.
It didn't help that sleep was still not easy last night. Even though I was so tired I was struggling. And then James accidentally woke me up moving my phone to the charger and that was not what I wanted because I wanted my phone with me and the curtains were open and I got all upset. So I didnt wake up nice and was mean to James for no reason so then I was upset with myself and I was just struggling.
I apologized to James and I got dressed. My hair felt bad. I liked my outfit but I didn't feel great at all. My face felt puffy. And I was having a bad time.
But I had to shake it off. It wouldn't work great but it wasn't the worst thing. I did forget my wallet with my cash in it. So I tried to use my gift card for breakfast and was $1 short so I had to use my credit card anyway. And the egg on my sandwich was weird. Like it looked weird. But it was fine. I had my breakfast and felt a little better.
I was glad to see Jack and my other friends. I went and set up balls and track and helped out out tables. I hurt myself a little on a sharp part of the table. But it was fine. I just went and put my head down. I was so tired.
The school would be a few minutes late. But it was fine. They were excellent kids. And we're so easy to work with. I brought them back to the classroom and they would make their groups and we had fun! I didn't bring anything to work on but that's fine. I made a roller coaster with the kids and they did a good job. They were very quick with the vocab and seemed to have a lot of fun.
Lunch was next. And the parents and teacher told me how much they enjoyed the first program so that made me feel good.
I went to the break room and just. Was quiet for a long time. I checked on my birthday sandals and they should be here tomorrow!
But very soon I had to go and get the kids for our next program. We had our cannery and I had to waste a few minutes at the window wall but not very long. And the cannery went really well but we had somehow lost 5 minutes in the intro and then a couple minutes from each shift and so we get to the store and Gabby's like hey why are we so early. And that's when I realized there was a half an hour of the program left when we only had one more store to do. That's not great. So we vamped and did our best to waste time. And the kids did a really good job in the program so that wasn't a problem and we finished like 10 minutes early so I took them out and we looked at the neon signs for Domino sugar and talked about how neon worked and then we took a bathroom break before we met Jordan at Ring of fire and he lit that and we talked about what some of the issues with having natural gas as a chandelier would be and then we went on our tour.
I had all the girls and one boy. And it was a really nice tour. They had questions and they seemed really interested and everything that was going on. I didn't get too much into the gore because one girl got a little gaggy when I started talking about some of the more intense stuff. But everything else went really well and we finished on time and they said they had a good time and that's all I really ever wanted. But man was I tired.
After I drop them off at the lunch room and saw the Dell was there I went to the back to just sit down for a few minutes. I would eat a little bit but I knew me and James were going to dinner later so I wasn't that concerned and I wasn't that hungry anyway. I just had enough so that I wouldn't fall asleep while I was working. And then I went upstairs to work on oysters and make cans and eventually I would sit with Jordan to make some backup cans for the drying shelf. We talked about some stuff politically that he is seeing recently and things about the Ukraine that I didn't know about. And it was interesting. But I was very tired and very much ready to go home.
James had gone in a long bike ride today to DC. And the plan was for them to get the 1:00 train and come home. But they missed the 12:45 and had to wait for the next one and then when they got on that train it made it one and a half stops and the brakes failed and they had to go back to DC and get on a different train. Apparently that one had waited 40 minutes so that they can combine the two trains together it was a whole thing but by the time I got home I only had to wait a few minutes and then James was here too.
I told James I was a very tired though and so we stayed on the couch for about an hour before we picked ourselves up and walked to the brass tap.
I feel like the last couple times we've gone there we kind of get abandoned. The food's always good but our waiter never comes back and gives us refills and that's very frustrating. But the food was nice and well we didn't talk a ton because I was so tired conversation we did have was really good. I love James so much and I love spending time with them.
I took half my sandwich home and we walked back here. It was such a beautiful day. And it's so nice seeing all the flowers blooming even if they are a little too early. I love the part of the year when we have flowering trees and I feel a little spoiled getting them so early.
When we got back here I went and took a shower and washed my hair. And then we got comfy on the couch. I got on my knitting stuff and my tablet to draw another sticker I had an idea for. And we watched The last of Us.
And this episode was really good. I am very concerned about what next week is going to hold but it's the season finale and I think they did a really excellent job with the show. And I'm just glad that Jeff and James convinced me to watch it. And I got four rows done on my knitting. Which I am very behind on. But I will find time to continue to get caught up this week. I don't need to get it completely out of control by missing another whole week.
Now I am in bed. I have been struggling to write this post for the last hour but James is taking a shower now so I'm trying to get it done so that we can attempt to go to bed very soon. Tomorrow I have an early starting and early ending shift at the museum and then I have to go to art with a heart to pick up my supplies for Wednesday. I'm very nervous! I've never picked anything up there and I'm sure I'm going to do it wrong somehow. Mostly I don't know which door to go to so I'm just going to go to the front and just be like hey please explain what I'm supposed to do. So wish me luck and I hope you have a great night. Sleep well and stay safe!
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wowie-zowie-dag · 1 year
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Met up with a new dom today.  We had been talking for a couple days and I was really impressed with how he understood kink and practiced it intensely and respectfully.
We went out this afternoon and talked for an hour.  During that time, he shared that he is autistic and was involved in a school program for MENSA kids.  His relationship with his wife seems odd and he’s very serious about kink.  We’re having a lot of fun talking and he also interrogates me about how i got into kink and the “last time” I did certain things was.  I was also impressed with how respectful of my current Dom he was, and he stated that he understands that I’m not available to be trained and “owned.”
We end up going to a hotel and as we’re waiting for our room to be ready, he takes me to a couch in the lobby and starts groping and choking me there.  He tells me to call him master and begins getting me worked up.  He also pulls my hair a bunch.  In the elevator up to the room, he slams my head against the wall.
Inside the room, we chat for a little bit and I decide I’m ready.  He has me undress and we start fooling around.  Throughout the session, he lets me cum over and over, which was very hot.  As we’re fooling around, he’s telling me everything he would expect and want from me if he owned me.  Eventually, he reveals that he had been manipulating and lying to me about respecting my Dom and wants to steal me from him so he can own me!  It felt like something out of a melodrama.  I told him he was very tempting, and he was very smug about the whole thing.  I stopped and asked him if he meant it, wanting me to leave my man and be owned by him.  I told him it was a super hot fantasy, but it wasn’t going to happen.  I got complimented on my “loyalty” multiple times, as if one good fuck was enough to make jump ship on my boyfriend haha.  I was deep in subspace and obedience when I was doing that though, so it was hard to parse in my head.  He had me ride him and it felt amazing.  He choked me a lot.  He also fed me weed and forced me to smoke, which was one of my favs.  Multiple times, he got on top of me and fucked me and just emotionally tore me apart.  He brought his marriage into it, my relationship, RELIGION, forced feminization, my mother.  I stopped a couple more times to set limits and discuss things and it went very smoothly.  He was great at aftercare but clearly I blew his mind haha.  It makes me feel like I actually have a lot of power because he wants me very badly and I know that I will enjoy him, but not commit to him.  He’s clearly too serious about this stuff for me and I enjoy being able to go in and out of it like I do with my actual partner.  He shoved used condoms into my mouth at different times, which was hot.  He slapped me a whole lot.  He made me eat his ass and worship his balls and cock.  He made me beg him to cum on my face.  He also had following certain rules for serving him, including thanking him when I came. He did this thing where he had me say yes to him 3 times to make it official.  At times, I caught him doing it and refused to obey, but he did get me to “give away” my mouth to him.  But he let me back out of that.  At the end, he came on my face, and made me eat it while i made myself cum.  He’s clearly way too intense for me, but GOD is it fun to play with him.  He blew my mind, totally. but is a dangerous dude lol.  I feel very good about the boundaries I set with him because he could eat me alive if I let him.  I’m like, BUBBLING with excitement to see him again and have lots of dramatic fun with him before I leave to go back home.  Hopefully he can handle not winning the prize of owning me ;P 
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poisonouswritings · 2 years
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throwback to that time in elementary school where I was in 2nd grade (so like, seven) and in a Korean Dual Language program because for some reason my mom thought it was a good idea (I was in it from 1st to 6th) and it was literally me and two other white kids and them everyone else in the class was Korean. And like. Firstly we got bomb-ass food whenever we had class parties and celebrated Lunar New Year and we got red envelopes and got to dress in hanboks and did fan dances and all of the fun stuff.
But. But.
There was this one time in 2nd grade where me and my classmates had rushed to the handball court and we were playing and then like ten minutes later this group of kids comes over and tells us to move and we were like. um. No. There Is Another Court Right There. But that one didn't have shade and the one we were using did and that's why they wanted it. And then the lead kid did the fucking slant eyes and started yelling (and I remember the words because it became a joke in my class for the next like two years) 'CHING CHONG CHUNG DOG EATERS' and Little!Oz (who had not yet developed social anxiety) and the two other white kids told him to shut up and he rounded on us and (still doing the slant eyes) yelled 'GO EAT RICE YOU CHINK-LOVERS' which severely confused me at the time because the only definition I knew of chink was, like, a crack, and I didn't like cracks because I was afraid stepping on one would break my mother's back.
Anyways, obviously all of us were confused af and then a recess attendant came over and dragged the kid away. And we were like. Okay. And then continued playing Pink Elephant (if you don't know what that is; once you get out, you have to stand on the sidelines, and then you randomly run back and forth in front of the wall to try and mess the players up. If the ball hits you then the person that hit it is out). And then went back to class when the bell rang.
And anyways, a few minutes after class starts this other teacher comes to the door and talks to our teacher for a minute and then our teacher tells us that the boy from earlier wants to come in to apologize. At which point we were all like Uh. No. He's Only Apologizing Because The Principal Probably Yelled At Him. But obviously no one cared about our opinion so this kid came in and gave the most half-assed apology I have ever witnessed. Even to a 7 year old it was obvious he did not give a shit. And then his teacher ordered us to applaud him because 'apologizing is hard and he was very brave.' And obviously we were ordered to forgive him and tell him it was okay. And we were told that next time he and his class wanted to use the handball court, we had to share it. Did not matter if we got there first. And after he and his teacher left, our teacher told us we had to be the 'bigger people' and let it go, which none of us were happy about (obviously) so the teacher put on Finding Nemo in Korean and we pretty much did nothing for the rest of the day.
Anyways. I have no idea why that memory is in my head today but it is. So. Now you people get to hear it.
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mevination · 9 months
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The Piggening
After a fun night on the town, filled with dinner and lively conversation you decide to take a chance. You’ve never before been so forward, especially after just one date, but there is something about this guy. Is it the way he takes charge and insists you try what food he’s having, or that he seems more generous than usual men you go for? After all, he did pay the bill for dinner, and he is taking the lead on this evening stroll, deciding when to turn and where. So you go ahead and take a chance and risk it.
You invite this handsome young stud back to your place.
You: “Hey, you wanna come back to my place? I want to show you some of the pictures I’ve taken on my travels. You wouldn’t believe the places I’ve visited…”
He interrupts.
The young stud: “Nah not tonight…”
You: “Oh I see, I thought we were having a good…”
He interrupts again, and you realize he has been doing that all night. But before you get a chance to become annoyed, he says
The young stud: “I’ve got a better idea. My place is right around the corner, and I have a surprise I think you’ll like.”
Wordlessly, you smile back at him and gesture for him to lead the way.
When you guys arrive at his place you settle on the couch for a night cap. Just some wine and more conversation where you tell him about your travels.
You: “Oh, you should have seen the view from the resort in Kyoto, it was spectacular! The mountains, ugh! I wish I had my pictures with me. Simply to die for…”
And he tells you about his dreams to become a famous scientist, solving the world’s problems and making the world a better place.
The young stud: … “I really think the best we can do for each other is take care of the planet. And that means focusing on clean energy, programs to reduce waste, all that…”
But as he speaks you can feel your eyelids getting heavy. You don’t remember being this much of a light weight. It was just one glass of wine, right? While losing focus you notice this guy had stopped talking. He is sitting there watching you with a weird smile on his face. Sort of like a mix of triumph and satisfaction. Maybe he’s notice you drifting off and finds it funny. You also realize, you forgot his name. He told you earlier that night but it’s on the tip of your tongue. As you struggle to focus, the world around you fades to black, and there’s a loud thump as you realize you just hit the floor.
When you awake, all of your surroundings seem unfamiliar. The details of last night are fuzzy but you remember you were out on a date with someone. Some young guy. You guys were hitting it off, too. A pang of regret hits as you mourn the loss of what could have been a great relationship, but now will never be.
You: “Oh yea that’s right, you went to his place!” You speak aloud to yourself. “But I don’t remember his place looking like this, so where the heck am I?”
As you say that, you realize you are in some sort of finished basement. The walls are drywalled and painted, and there’s carpet beneath your feet. Even a song playing quietly on the speaker sitting on the bookcase to your left. You realize to your confusion there aren’t any books on that shelf just weird tubes and what looks like a… whip? Maybe more rope, and some sort of ball gag.
But before you get a chance to stand up you feel resistance on your hands. They’re behind your back! And your feet are stuck. They’re tied to a chair with some sort of rope? Yes, rope it has to be rope. You get a very bad feeling about this and know that your only hope is to yell out for help.
Before you can make a noise, you hear footsteps behind you. The creaking of wooden steps. Someone is coming down the stairs. You strain your head to turn around, but he stays at the edge of your vision.
Mystery voice: “Good morning, cutie. How was your nap? I hope you worked up an appetite.”
Just then you realize the voice is familiar. It’s the guy from last night!
You: “What… what are you doing, what is this. Why am I tied up?”
The young stud: “Oh that? Well, it’s wonderful news. You’re gonna be my next little piggy. I can’t have my piggy run away before I get a chance to fatten him up, now can I?”
Your eyes grow wide, as you realize exactly what this means. Just then he comes into view and his name comes back to mind while you’re distracted looking for a way to cut yourself loose.
You: “Let me go! This is insane”
Sam: “Settle down. You’re my piggy now and I’m gonna make sure you’re nice and fed and well taken care of. You don’t have to worry about work or money, or providing for yourself anymore. I’ve got a great big stockpile of food down here, and anything I don’t have I’ll go and get you all your favorites. I’ll feed and take care of anything you want. That is, as long as you behave.”
To your dismay, you can’t manage to utter a single word. Are you stunned to silence, or are you actually considering this living arrangement? How could he have known your darkest fantasy? Well, maybe not being tied up permanently, but as far as kidnappings go this is not the worst-case scenario.
In your silence Sam goes on and says,
Sam: “I see my piggy is excited about this news, yes?”
You look down and realize your body has betrayed your words. You ARE excited. You think it must be some sort of Stockholm syndrome... But not enough time has passed. Then you admit to yourself, what’s the harm in going along with it? At least until you can find a means to escape. But before you know it, a few hours become days, days become weeks and you still can’t figure a way out.
You feel your will to escape shrinking with each passing moment, and a growing fondness for your caretaker taking its place. How could you like someone that uses you for you body like this? But all those thoughts melt away with each new meal he brings. Always larger than the last. You feel your energy and fondness for your old life melt away as you add each pound. It must be over 40 lbs you’ve added in just a few weeks with no signs of stopping.
“Working on your appetite,” he calls it. And you realize its been days since the last time you even thought about escape.
A few months later…
Sam comes in the door with a large stockpile of all the goodies form the store. He even stopped at your favorite fast-food places. Two family sized meals.
Sam: “I hope my piggy is hungry! I got all the fixings. I got the cookies you like and…”
Before he can finish his thought, he looks up to see you bouncing up and down for joy. Your body has changed a lot in those past few months. The funnel feedings, the fast food, the gainer shakes, and the bountiful desserts have expanded your waistline tremendously.
Sam: “Oh, honey! Be careful all that bouncing up and down might break the chair!”
Just as if on queue the chair under your colossal girth begins to creak and then buckles under you. Your blubbery belly, massive thighs, and profoundly plump glutes make you hit the floor with more of a splat than a thud.
You both burst out laughing.
Sam: “Look at that you passed a new milestone! Next one is being able to fit through the door! I’m sure we’ll have you home bound in no time.”
You fall backwards giddy with excitement and delight at the prospect of even more delicious food and adding to your already considerable bulk. For a moment you remember the day you first entered this apartment, and realize how much has changed. When you used to go outside and prepare meals for yourself, and had to go to work even when all you wanted to do was eat.
Now you don’t have to worry about any of that. And you pity the old you that toiled so tirelessly for so long. If you could go back you would tell Sam he didn’t even need the roofie he put in your wine, you would have gladly been his little piggy from day one. Your life was now like a dream come true.
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yelena-bellova · 3 years
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Safe Haven: tfatws!Bucky Barnes x fem!reader
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chapter three - Chapter Four: Madripoor - chapter five
Series Masterlist
Plot: Y/n, Sam and Bucky pay an eventful visit to Helmut Zemo in Berlin, heading to Madripoor soon after to get answers about the serum.
Word Count: 7.4k
Warnings: spoilers for episode.3, angst, violence, description of injuries, a few crumbs for the slow burn, breaking the law and looking good doing it
A/N: These chapters always end up being so long lol. I was going to include the nightclub scene but it would’ve made it too long so sorry, it’ll have to wait a few more days. Forgive my shitty Russian translations, I’m on Google Translate and that’s not saying a lot. 
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“Not that it makes a difference, but I still don’t like this.” I’d voiced my displeasure about meeting with Zemo several times since we’d arrived in Germany. Even though we were already being led through the high security Berlin prison hallways, I still felt the urge to state my opinion. 
The guard that was guiding us gestured towards a door, “He’s just through the corridor.”
“Give us a sec,” Bucky said, the three of us coming to a halt in the middle of the hall. “I’m gonna go in alone.” “Why?” Sam asked.
“You’re an Avenger, you know how he feels about that,” Bucky looked to me, “You, I’m trying to keep as far away from him as possible.”
“It’s not like you two were known for frolickin’ in the sun together,” Sam remarked.
“I’m gonna say it again,” I took an assertive step forward, “I don’t like this.”
“He was obsessed with HYDRA,” Bucky pushed, “We have a history together. Trust me, I got it.”
Taking my cue from Sam, who didn’t fight him any more, I nervously watched Bucky stalk down the hallway to the corridor that led to our possible next step.
“Is he really okay?” I asked, watching Bucky’s figure until he disappeared, “I feel like we’re going a little too far with this.” “He’s invested, which means he’s desperate,” Sam answered, leaning his back against the wall, “This is a little too much though.” 
I copied his posture and we stood in silence, the occasional guard passing by. “What happened last night after I left the room? C’mon, you come out crying and you thought I was gonna let it go?” “Bucky and I were just…” I sighed, remembering the change that had happened between our two conversations, “Learning to get along. I told him about Steve, that’s never fun to relive.” “Ah,” Sam nodded, “Can I ask you something?” 
“Hm?” “You’re not mad at me that I gave up the shield, are you?”
My brows knitted together as I looked over at him, “Why would I be mad? Your decision wouldn’t have changed even if I was, would it?” “No, it wouldn’t have. But you were close to Steve too, you care about his legacy,” he went on, “We’re all angry about Walker. I don’t care if Bucky’s upset at me, but I always care if you are.” “Someone ever tell you you care too much sometimes?” I playfully nudged his sneaker with my own, “Of course I’m not mad, you know I support you no matter what. You made the right decision for you and you have nothing to apologize for. Bucky and even Steve don’t need to understand why you chose to give it up. Would it have been cool to say that my brother is Captain America?” I coaxed a laugh out of him, “Of course, but it doesn’t change how I see you. I’m just proud to say my brother is Sam Wilson.” He poked me with his elbow and smiled, “Now I remember why I keep you around.” “Y/n Y/l/n, Falcon’s Ego Booster.” We were sharing a laugh when Bucky came back around the corner. “That was quick,” I observed. He’d been in there five minutes tops.
“We’ve got our next stop.”
————
“What are you talking about? You wanna break Zemo outta jail?” Sam questioned in the dark, “Where are we, Buck? Have you lost your mind?”
“We have no leads, no moves, nothing,” Bucky replied, shining his flashlight around to try and find the power switch. I couldn’t clearly make out where he had brought us to, he’d brought us through the back door of the building. “So because we’ve hit one dead end, you want to spring one of the most dangerous men in the world out of prison?” I asked, shining my flashlight at Bucky causing him to throw a hand up to shield his eyes, “Bucky, I don’t-“ “Like this,” he finished, “I got that, but we’ve got eight Super Soldiers on the loose.” “Zemo’s gonna miss with our minds, especially yours,” Sam interjected, “No offense.” I made out Bucky’s silhouette reaching up a beam, a loud click of a switch and the lights began to turn on. “Offense,” he scowled.
With the lights on, we could finally see that we were in an auto shop. I was glad to be out of the prison but I wasn’t seeing the correlation between it and freeing Zemo.
“Super Soldiers go against everything he believes in,” Bucky continued, “He is crazy, but he still has a code.” “I’ve been on the wrong side of that code and so have you,” Sam countered, I’d heard in detail about the havoc Zemo had caused and the ramifications of his actions had caused Sam and Steve to become fugitives. Never mind what he’d done to Bucky…”He blew up the UN, he killed King T’Chaka and framed you for it. Did you forget that? You think the Wakandans forgot about it? It’s a rhetorical question, they didn’t. I know why this matters to you, but it’s pushing you off the deep end.”
Bucky stood in front of us now, “We don’t know how they’re gettin’ the serum. We don’t even know how many of them there are,” Sam turned his back in frustration, “Look, let me just walk you two through a hypothetical. Can I walk you through a hypothetical?”
“What did you do?” Sam asked suspiciously, turning halfway to meet Bucky’s eyes.
“I didn’t…” Bucky’s looked away briefly, “Do anything.”
“Then by all means,” I leaned up against a beam and crossed my arms, not believing him at all, “Let’s ride the hypothetical train.” Bucky frowned at my sarcasm before launching into it, “The weakest point in any system isn’t the software, the hardware, it’s the meatware. The human element. Now, in this lockup, it’s nine to one, prisoners to guards. And if two prisoners start fighting, then the protocol says four guards have to respond.” “So why would two prisoners randomly start fighting at that moment?” Sam asked.
“Who knows? There could be many reasons…But the point is, these things escalate. Lockdown procedures would have to be initiated and with all those bodies flying around left and right, wouldn’t be hard to slip down a hallway or two. And if the fire alarm got tripped while the prisoners were being separated, someone could use the chaos to their advantage.”
“My gut is sounding off every alarm it has right now,” I commented from my place across from Bucky.
“Yeah, I don’t like how casual you’re bein’ about this, this is unnatural,” Sam replied finally, “Are you- and where are we, man?” A nearby door closing caused us to turn our attention towards it, a silhouette appearing soon after through a curtain. The shadow became a man and walked through the cloth divider wearing the face I’d had etched in my brain since the day it hit the news.
“You son of a bitch,” I mumbled, creating a ball of energy quickly with my hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Sam’s voice rose, walking with me towards the man, “What are you doin’ here?” Bucky was quick to throw himself in front of us, “No, listen. I didn’t want to tell you ‘cause I knew neither of you would let this happen.” “What the hell did you do?” I exclaimed.
“We need him,” Bucky said. Sam pointed to Zemo, “You’re going back to prison!”
“If I may,” the Sokovian man began, removing the hat of his stolen prison guard uniform.
“NO!” the three of us yelled at the same time. He hung his head, “Apologies…” Bucky turned back to Sam, “When Steve refused to sign the Sokovia Accords, you backed him. You broke the law, and you stuck your neck out for me,” when Sam averted his gaze, Bucky chased it, “I’m asking you to do it again.” 
“And what about her?” Sam gestured to me and the ball of energy I still had formed in my palms, “What happens when she breaks the law?” Bucky’s pleading eyes drifted to me, “He’s our only shot at getting any answers.” My mind was wrestling with itself, his rightness was inevitably going to come at a cost we would all have to pay. On a technicality, yes, I could plead innocent to freeing Zemo. A coconspirator charge, I wouldn’t be so lucky with. But stopping the Flag Smashers meant saving lives and that wasn’t something I could walk away from. I deformed the energy in my hands in cautious surrender, “I’m already breakin’ the law by going against the accords, I need to make it worth it at least.” Sam shot me an exasperated glance, but he didn’t fight me.
“I really think I’m invaluable…” Zemo began from his corner.
“Shut up…” Sam warned, effectively shutting him up. Sam thought it all over for a second before pressing his flashlight to Bucky’s chest, “Okay. If we do this, you don’t make a move without our permission.” Zemo shrugged, “Fair.”
The three of us shared an uneasy look, there was no going back now. “Okay, Zemo, where do we start?”
“Follow me,” he smiled, leading the way out of the auto shop and expecting us to follow. Sam went first, eager to keep his eye on Zemo at all times while Bucky and I brought up the rear.
“I didn’t want to have to go this route,” he said from beside me as if he owed me some explanation for his actions. I sighed, trying to shut off the part of my brain that was screaming at me, “Just be right.”
We maneuvered through a few corridors until we hit a room filled with beautiful antique cars. “So our first move is grand theft auto?” Sam asked. “These are mine,” Zemo corrected, “Collected by family over the generations. I spent years hunting people HYDRA recruited to recreate the serum. Because once it’s out there, someone can create an army of people…like the Avengers,” he dug through one of the cars to pull out a bag and coat, “I ended the Winter Soldier program once before. I have no intention to leave my work unfinished.” My eyes unavoidably flickered to Bucky, observing his reaction to hearing his old code name. He simply watched the man continue speaking. “To do this, we’ll have to scale a ladder of lowlifes.”
“Well, join the party. We’ve already started…” Sam commented.
“First stop is a woman named Selby,” Zemo stated as he headed for the exit, “Mid-level fence I still have a line on. From there, we climb.” 
Sam, Bucky and I left a gaping distance between us and him, we were still highly suspicious and I had a feeling we would be until our temporary partnership came to an end.
————
Zemo had gotten word to somebody that we’d be meeting them at a private airport in Berlin and flying to someplace called Madripoor. Somehow we’d made the journey without being recognized, even those of us who were wanted across the globe. “So all this time you’ve been rich?” Sam asked as we made our way towards the private plane.
“I’m a Baron, Sam,” Zemo answered, “My family was royalty until your friends destroyed my country.” 
Zemo greeted the man standing outside the plane, who was dressed like a butler, in Sokovian. “Well,” I crossed my arms and watched one of the world’s most dangerous men exchange cheek kisses, “If we’re going to work with a criminal, at least we picked one that comes with transportation.” “Please,” Zemo said, gesturing for us to follow him up the plane’s steps. Sam awkwardly bowed to the butler and headed up. Bucky extended a hand towards the jet for me to go ahead of him before following closely behind.
When we filed into the plane, Sam and Zemo were already seated. I moved to take the chair across from the baron, wanting to keep as close an eye on him as I could. Bucky’s flesh arm reached out quickly and grabbed my shoulder, I turned to question him and met his wary expression. “Sit with Sam,” he muttered quietly, our faces close enough that I could feel his breath as he’d spoken. It dawned on me that he wanted me to have the safer position. I answered with a nod, maneuvering around him to sit across from Sam. Even though his hand had left my arm, I could still feel its print through my jacket.
We had been flying for maybe twenty minutes when Zemo’s butler, Oeznik, came in carrying a glass of champagne for Zemo and offering to whip up some food. It astounded me how to the world, he was evil yet to his servants, he was a joy. “You don’t know what it’s like to be locked in a cell,” the baron said before looking over at my brother, “Oh, that’s right. You do.”
Sam bypassed the jab remarkably, “Why don’t you tell us about where we’re going?”
“I’m sorry, I was just fascinated by this,” Zemo held up a book, “I don’t know what to call it, but this part seems to be important. Who is Nakajima?”
Not two seconds after the name had left his lips, Bucky out of his seat with his metal hand wrapped around Zemo’s neck. My heart stopped as I watched him lean over the man threateningly. “If you touch that book again,” he growled, “I’ll kill you.” This was a side of Bucky I had yet to see, the one that straddled the line between his dark past and his true self. As he sat back down, tucking the book in his pocket and refusing to meet my eyes, I could tell he wasn’t pleased with how he’d acted. I wasn’t in a place to criticize but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been slightly worried when his fingers hit Zemo’s skin.
“I’m sorry,” Zemo said, “I understand that list of names. People you’ve wronged as the Winter Soldier.” “Don’t push it,” Bucky rasped, collecting himself after the scene.
“I’ve seen that book,” Sam spoke up, “It was Steve’s when he came out of the ice. I told him about Trouble Man, he wrote it in that book. Did you hear it? What’d you think?” “I like ’40’s music,” Bucky shrugged and looked out the window, “So…” “You didn’t like it?” Sam exclaimed.
“I liked it,” Bucky replied unconvincingly.
“It is a masterpiece, James,” Zemo chimed in, his hands forming a triangle, “Complete, comprehensive…It captures the African-American experience.” While my brows raised at the European’s surprising education, Sam’s furrowed. “He’s out of line, but he’s right. It’s great, everybody loves Marvin Gaye.”
Bucky shook his head, “I like Marvin Gaye.” “Steve adored Marvin Gaye.” “He did,” I chuckled, reminiscing back to only last year, “Played him almost anytime I got in a car with him.” “You must have really looked up to Steve,” Zemo said, “But I realized something when I met him. The danger with people like him, America’s Super Soldiers, is that we put them on pedestals.” “Watch your step, Zemo…” Sam warned. “They become symbols. Icons. And then we start to forget about their flaws. From there,” he shrugged, “Cities fly, innocent people die. Movements are formed, wars are fought,” Zemo turned his attention to Bucky, “You remember that, right?” As a young soldier sent to Germany to stop a mad icon. Do we want to live in a world full of people like the Red Skull? That is why we’re going to Madripoor.” “What’s up with Madripoor?” Sam looked between the two men, “You guys talk about it like it’s Skull Island.”
“It’s an island nation in the Indonesian archipelago,” Bucky grumbled, “It was a pirate sanctuary back in the 1800s.” “It’s kept its lawless ways, but we cannot exactly walk in as ourselves,” Zemo’s unsettling eyes moved back to Bucky, “James, you will have to become someone you claim is gone.” 
With the way Bucky’s expression had changed in mere seconds from complacent to tortured, it didn’t take long to decode what Zemo was insinuating. “No,” I blurted out, “That’s not fair to ask of him.” “I admire your devotion, Y/n,” Zemo complimented with his lips to his champagne flute, taking a quick sip, “But you know nothing of how Madripoor works. If you want to get to Selby, we must have protection. More than that, we must have leverage. James can provide us both by simply playing a part.” “Devo-?” I shook my head, sidestepping Zemo’s comment, “That’s not playing a part, that’s like reliving every nightmare you’ve ever had. I-it’s like-“ “Y/n,” I turned to see Bucky’s chair rotated towards me, looking helpless and determined all at once, “We need in.” “Yeah, but…” I started to protested before seeing his eyes, those ocean blue eyes I was growing to feel comforted by begging me to let the subject go. I clenched my own y/e/c ones shut in frustration, “Okay.” “Now that that’s settled,” Zemo stood from his seat, “I will find us something to change into, we will need to blend in where we’re going.” ——
The silver dress Zemo had chosen for me was…it made me wonder just what kind of scene we were planning to enter. It was more revealing than anything I typically wore, but gorgeous nonetheless and fit perfectly.
As I was finishing my makeup in the bathroom of the plane, I had to take a second to steel myself for what was to come. This wasn’t just dallying with Super Soldiers any more, this was dancing with the criminal underworld. Zemo hadn’t told us yet the roles we were playing, only that we needed to stay in character at all cost. I had never felt more out of my depth, but had no choice but to rise to the occasion. Giving myself one last check in the mirror, I unlocked and exited the bathroom. 
“Okay, I hope whoever I’m playing is bad with heels,” I held up the elaborate shoes Zemo had matched to my dress, “Because there’s no way I’m going to be graceful in these.” Sam looked up from tying his dress shoes, dressed in a maroon suit patterned with yellow circles. His eyes scanned my outfit unapprovingly. “Uh uh,” he protested, going full protective big brother, “Nope. It shows too much.” “It doesn’t matter what it shows,” I said, bending over to strap on the shoes, “It’s what I’ve got.” “She’s right,” Zemo chimed in, putting his jacket on, “You two are supposed to be rich, glamorous travelers of the world. You need to look the part,” he nodded towards me, “You wear it well.” I politely smiled at the baron and looked up to Bucky, perched in the far corner of the jet. His gaze was fixed on me, eyes quickly traveling down my body before quickly locking with mine. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, his plush lips parted ever so slightly. I found myself just as drawn into him as he seemed to be with me, for a few seconds it was just the two of us shutting our surroundings out. It was…something. “You look nice,” Bucky finally said, his voice slightly strained.
My lips quirked upwards, “Thanks.” “It is time for us to leave,” Zemo announced, bursting the bubble Bucky and I had built, “You’d better get used to those shoes quickly, we’ll be making most of the journey by foot.” He hadn’t been lying. We departed the runway and walked our way towards the city. Madripoor looked beautiful on the outside, the high-rise buildings lit up in all different colors emitting a glow across the waters. 
“We have to do something about this,” Sam finally exclaimed, holding the lapels of his patterned maroon suit, “I’m the only one who looks like a pimp.” “If you’re a pimp, what does that make me?” I gestured to the amount of skin I had on display, “Suck it up, Wilson.” “Only an American would assume a fashion-forward black man looks like a pimp,” Zemo added as we crossed the large bridge leading to the city, “You look exactly like the man you’re supposed to be playing. The sophisticated, charming African rake named Conrad Mack, aka the Smiling Tiger.” Sam took Zemo’s phone from his outstretched hand, “He even has a bad nickname.”
I leaned over to look at the picture of Sam’s doppelgänger, “Hey, be nice. That’s your twin you’re talking about.” “And you,” Zemo addressed me, “Conrad is known for entertaining beautiful women, one after the other,” he ignored the faces of disgust Sam and I made at the thought of acting as a couple, “You will be playing tonight’s date, no need to come up with a name or a story as his dates are typically just arm candy.”
“So I’m supposed to just sit and look pretty?” I side eyed Zemo in annoyance, “Great.” “You smell this?” he asked the group.
“Yeah, what is that? Acid?” Sam asked.
“Madripoor,” Zemo answered, “No matter what happens, we have to stay in character. Our lives depend on it. There’s no margin for error. High Town’s that way,” Zemo pointed towards the part of the city I’d been admiring, “Not a bad place if you want to visit, but Low Town’s the other way.” We approached a car waiting for us at the end of the bridge, ready to take us into the darkest part of the city. Bucky, who had remained silent since the plane, climbed into the backseat first while Zemo took the passenger’s side. “Let me guess,” Sam remarked as we moved to get in the car, “We don’t have any friends in High Town.”
“I’m guessing not,” I muttered, ducking into the back seat and sliding till I was pressed against Bucky. He didn’t make a sound, he barely even registered my presence. I was about to ask him if he was alright when I realized what he was doing. We all had our roles to play and Bucky was doing just that. 
Sam climbed in next to me and we took off, me sandwiched between the two men trying to convince myself that I could do this. I could pretend to be someone I wasn’t to get answers, but my nerves was convincing me I was going to mess it up for us. No margin for error, Zemo’s words bounced around in my brain. He’d said our lives depended on it. They depended on whether or not I could keep it together. Sam must have sensed my anxiety because I felt his palm slide against my clammy one and squeeze. I sent a shaky one back, taking what comfort I could that I didn’t have to do this alone.
We were escorted in by a motorcade till we got to the seedier part of the city, the bridge we parked under painted with graffiti. Sam helped me out of the car and Zemo took our group through the back way into the city. As we crossed the overhead bridge, looking down into the city, I began to feel like my life had suddenly become some fever dream. Even more so once we entered the city and I was surrounded by people from all walks of life. Smugglers were making deals, guards were stationed outside buildings with machine guns, forgers were trying to sell to people. It was like nothing I’d ever seen. Sam kept me on his arm the entire time, selling our characters while still retaining his protective nature. We followed Zemo into a crowded bar, weaving our way through. “Here we are,” he announced quietly, our fellow patrons took notice as soon as they caught sight of Bucky, “Gotov podchinit'sya, zimniy soldat?” (Ready to comply, Winter Soldier?)
I tried my best to keep my face neutral, though an unwelcome chill went down my spine as Zemo began his act. It was wrong. It wasn’t fair to Bucky or his recovery to make him do this.
We approached the bar and the bartender came over immediately, “Hello, gentlemen. Ma’am. Wasn’t expecting you, Smiling Tiger.” “His plans changed,” Zemo explained, “We have business to do with Selby.”
The bartender looked over suspiciously at Sam, “The usual?” Sam nodded casually in response and the man walked away to begin prepping the drink. What took us by surprise was when he reached for a jar containing a dead snake rather than the bottle of alcohol. He proceeded to lay the reptile on a cutting board and slice its stomach open, I looked up to Sam who was doing his best to keep his composure. “Ah, Smiling Tiger,” Zemo jeered, “Your favorite.”
The bartender removed a piece of the snake’s guts and sunk it into a shot glass filled with vodka. I covered my mouth with my clutch to conceal my delight at the sight I was about to behold. Sam caught the action and addressed the bartender, “You know what? She’ll have one too.” “Oh, no, I don’t think so,” I quickly protested, waving it off as if it were a shot of tequila and not an animal intestine.
“No, girl, I insist,” Sam grinned phonily at me.
“They actually upset my stomach,” I giggled, glancing to the bartender, “Can’t hold my liquor to save my life, I’ll be up all night sick if it touches my lips. But you enjoy, sweetheart.” The bartender didn’t pay much attention to the exchange as he set the shot glass in front of Sam, who looked unconvincingly between the glass and Zemo. “I love these,” he stated, holding it up for us all to see.
“Cheers, Conrad,” Zemo clinked his glass against Sam’s.
Sam made several, hopefully convincing, noises of excitement about his drink. After giving it one last look, he shot it straight down, holding a thumbs up to the bartender afterwards.
“How badly are you trying not to throw up right now?” I whispered after the man had left.
“I can’t even hear you right now,” Sam replied in a strained voice, focusing on keeping the drink where it needed to be. An intimidating bearded man made us all turn around, he looked to Zemo. “I got word from on high. You ain’t welcome here.”
Zemo, ever the cool and collected presence, turned to the man. “I have no business with the Power Broker. But if he insists, he can either come and talk to me…” Zemo gestured to Bucky, standing at his side. 
“New haircut?” the man asked Bucky, who stayed silent.
“Or bring Selby for a chat,” Zemo finished.
The man left, leaving us with questions. “A power broker?” Bucky grumbled, “Really?” “Every kingdom needs its king,” Zemo replied, “Let’s just pray we stay under his radar.” 
“Do you know him?” Sam inconspicuously asked. “Only be reputation the baron answered, “In Madripoor he is judge, jury, and executioner.”
I spotted another man approaching us, this one walking with a purpose. Zemo looked to Bucky, the show was about to start. “Zimniy Soldat,” Bucky nodded once, “Attask.” (Winter Soldier, attack.) As soon as the stranger thumped Zemo’s shoulder, Bucky sprang to action, his metal hand grabbing and twisting the man’s arm. He pushed him to the center of the room where he proceeded to twist it further before dropping him to the ground. The groans coming from him were sickening as he lay helpless, clutching his most likely broken arm. As another patron came up to attack, Bucky moved fast to disarm him before power kicking him into a table several times. I clung to Sam’s arm even tighter as Zemo shoved someone forward for Bucky to punch, sending him sliding across the floor. 
“Didn’t take much for him to fall back into form,” Zemo slyly observed, from my side. It took everything in me not to send him flying across the room right then. He was enjoying this.
When Bucky lifted a man by his throat and slammed him down on the bar was when guns all over the bar were cocked. Sam grabbed onto Bucky’s metal arm, ready to pull him back to us and to reality. “Stay in character,” Zemo whispered, dead serious, “Or the whole bar turns on us.” Sam dropped his arm as Zemo leaned into Bucky, “Molodets, soldat.” (Well done, soldier.)
“Selby will see you now,” the bartender said, watching the scene in awe. Bucky slowly let the man go, gasping and groaning for air once he was freed. Sam looked over warily, “You good?” When Bucky faced us, his eyes met mine before they met Sam’s. I wished I could have concealed my reaction better for his sake, but the second he had attacked was the first time since we’d met that I’d been properly scared of him. It made the incident on the plane look like nothing. My mind knew he was just acting, pretending to be someone he once was for the sake of furthering our mission. But my blood ran just as cold with fear as it would have if the Winter Soldier was standing in front of me. Bucky’s eyes now were watery, filled with pain that he’d worked hard with his therapist to get through, now being brought back to life. Had the bar not been watching and had I not needed to stick with Sam, I’d have been at his side trying to make sure he was alright. Instead, I could only watch as he sniffled, nodded to Sam and followed Zemo to wherever we were going next.
We were escorted upstairs through a series of hallways with a heavily armed guard following us. A white haired woman sat in the middle of the room we were led to, tapping her fingers against the couch she lounged on. “You should know, Baron, people don’t just come into my bar and make demands.” Zemo smiled, “Not a demand. An offer.”
Sam and I took our places standing next to Selby, Bucky stood watch across from us, back in his act. 
“A lot has changed since you were here last,” Selby spared a look at Bucky, “By the way, I thought you were rotting away in a German prison. How did you escape?” 
“People like us always find a way, don’t we?” Zemo shrugged, “I’m sure you’ve already figured out what I’m here for.” 
Selby pointed a blind finger towards Sam, “You’re taller than I’d heard, Smiling Tiger,” she eyed Sam suggestively and gave him a purr before turning her attention to me, “And what a lovely little dish you’ve got with you.” Internally I was struggling to stay calm and had never felt more exposed with the thin materiel of the dress over my body. “What’s the offer?” Selby grinned at Zemo.
“Tell us what you know about the super-soldier serum,” Zemo replied, rising from his seat to circle Bucky, “And I give you him, along with the code words to control him, of course. He will do anything you want,” Zemo rubbed Bucky’s chin, playing with it to provoke him but knowing he could get away with it. I felt sick to my stomach.
“Now that’s the Zemo I remember,” Selby approved, “I’m glad I decided not to kill you immediately. Yeah, you were right to come to me. Arrogant, but right. The super-soldier serum is here in Madripoor. Dr. Wilfred Nagel is the man you wanna thank. Or condemn, depending on what side of this you’re on. The Power Broker had him working on the serum, but…things didn’t go as planned.”
I squeezed Sam’s arm, we were getting answers. The crazy, chaotic plan was actually working. “Is Nagal still in Madripoor?” Zemo asked.
“Oh, the bread crumbs you can have for free,” Selby’s flirtatious demeanor shifted as she stood to business-like, “But the bakery is gonna cost you, Baron. And before you get all cute, don’t think you can find Nagel without me.” 
A sudden vibration tickled my arm from Sam’s suit pocket, it was his cell phone. He pulled it out hesitantly and looked down at it, I glanced over to see that it was Sarah calling.
“Answer it,” Selby ordered, Bucky had moved behind her to give us protection if need be, “On speaker.” The armed bodyguards moved in closer, it was clear we had no say in the matter. Sam unlocked his phone and pressed the speaker button, “Hello?” “Hey, um, we need to talk about this situation,” Sarah’s voice filled the air, sending an all too brief wave of peace through me, “It’s been drivin’ me nuts.” 
“What situation exactly are you talkin’ about?” Sam replied stiffly. “Are you high? You know what situation, it’s the only situation me and you have.”
“What situation, Sarah?” Sam’s voice grew louder, “Say it.”
“The damn boat,” Sarah replied just as hard, “And watch your tone, okay? I let you slide at the bank.”
Sarah. The boat. Home. And here I was standing in a designer dress meeting with Indonesian crime bosses. Two unbelievable worlds were colliding on the call.
Sam scoffed and nervously chuckling, “Yeah, the bank. Laundered so much, yeah, they’ll come around.” “If that was the case, then why’d they dog you out, Big Time?”
“Yeah, you damn right I’m Big Time. You’ll see,” Sam paused menacingly, “When I have that banker killed.”
We almost had Selby convinced as I watched her pace around the room, we were so close to- “Cass! What’d I tell you about the Cheerios? I don’t have time for this!” Sarah yelled, “Sam, I’m sorry. Let me call you back, and make sure Y/n is with you too.” “Sam? Y/n?” Selby echoed the names, “Who are you? Kill them!”
A second after she had given the order, a bullet shot through the nearby window and struck her chest fatally. The four of us sprung to action, Sam landing punches on the guard stationed behind us while I used my energy to pull the machine gun from his grasp. Across from us, Bucky took care of the other guard. I handed the weapon to Sam and we took our positions in the back of the room, ready to retaliate against the hidden assassin. “They’re gonna pin this on us,” Sam panted, our backs against the wall.
“We have a real problem now,” Zemo said, unbelievably calm for someone in our situation, “So leave your weapons and follow my lead.” Bucky ripped the lock on the back door and the four of us filed down the staircase quick as we could. It dropped us back off in the middle of the city, we hurriedly made our way down the street where all heads were turning to us. “This is not good,” Zemo hurried. The words hung in the air for a grand total of five seconds before bullets started to rain down around us. Bucky, Sam and I tore down the street where in the chaos, Zemo took off in another direction.
“I can’t run in these heels!” Sam yelled over the gunfire. “Oh, I don’t wanna hear it,” I exclaimed, struggling to keep up with them in my stilettos, “Screw it!”
I threw my hands out to my side and lifted off the ground, keeping low enough to dodge any shots but stay close to Sam and Bucky. Two motorcycles sped after us promising more bounty hunters, Zemo caught up with us and killed two lone gunmen hiding behind a dumpster. Two perfectly aimed bullets came out of nowhere and lodged themselves in the heads of the cyclists chasing us.
“You seem to have a guardian angel,” Zemo observed as the three of us looked around for our savior.
“Well, this is too perfect,” a woman’s voice said, she appeared seconds later drawing back her hood and pointing a gun toward us, “Drop it, Zemo.”
Bucky stepped forward disbelievingly, “Sharon?” Sharon Carter. I recognized her only from the pictures I’d seen of her on the news when the shitstorm that branded her an enemy of the state went down. As she strode forward, ready to strike down the man responsible, I couldn’t say with certainty if she was an ally or not. “You cost me everything,” she seethed.
“Sharon, wait,” Sam, ever the steady presence, held a hand out and carefully came towards her, “Someone recreated the super-soldier serum and Zemo had a lead.” “Well, that explains why you guys are here and Selby’s dead.”
“So what are you doing here?” Bucky asked.
“I stole Steve’s shield, remember?” she answered, her face contorting, “I also took the wings for your ass,” she aimed her gun at Sam, “So that you could save his ass,” then at Bucky, “From his ass,” the gun landed on me after Zemo, “Your ass is new.” “I’ve had one hell of an initiation, trust me,” I replied, standing my ground between Bucky and Zemo.
Sharon turned back towards Sam, “Unlike you, I didn’t have the Avengers to back me up so I’m off the grid in Madripoor.”
“Don’t blow that smoke at me, I was on the run, too,” Sam recalled. “Was. Is. Big difference. I don’t speak to my family anymore,” Sharon shook her head sadly, “I can’t. My own father doesn’t know where I am.”
“Listen, Sharon,” Bucky stepped forward, “We need your help. Please.” Sharon mirthlessly chuckled to herself, sighing afterwards as she made her decision. “This isn’t over. I have a place in High Town, you should be safe there for a while.”
While Sam roughly shoved Zemo forward to keep him in his line of sight, Bucky pressed a gentle hand to the small of my back to act as a guide through the dark alleyways. “You okay?” he asked quietly, quickly looking over at me. With everything he’d gone through in the last twenty minutes, the fight in the bar, the unshed tears in his eyes, Zemo talking about him like he was property to be traded, I couldn’t understand why he was asking if I was alright. He was what I was concerned with right now. “I will be once I get out of these shoes,” I joked, trying to get him to smile if at all possible. A corner of his lips turned upwards in a blink-and-you’d-miss-it flash, mine doing the same right after in some sort of relief.
Sharon led us to her car parked down a different alley, Sam shoved Zemo in the front seat while him, Bucky and I squeezed in the backseat once again. The difference between Low Town and High Town was visceral, Madripoor may have been dangerous no matter where you went but High Town provided a little more safety. When we arrived at Sharon’s house, greeted by two burly guards, the feeling of protection increased. The first room we entered was filled with artwork, statues and other priceless works that told us exactly what Sharon had done to afford her lifestyle in High Town.
“Looks like breaking all those laws is treating you well,” Sam commented as we walked through the room.
“Well, I thought if I had to hustle, might as well enjoy the life of a real hustler,” Sharon shrugged, far too goodheartedly for a true criminal, “You know how much I can get for a real Monet?” Sam grinned at his friend, “Deactivate your hustle mood, you sell fake Monets.”
“No, she means real,” Zemo corrected, “This gallery is specialized in stolen artwork. Monet. Van Gogh. Classics.” “I kinda thought that was implied,” I said, following Sharon and Zemo and beginning to relax in the shockingly calm environment, “No offense.” Sharon scoffed, “None taken, a girl’s gotta do what she can to survive. By the way, who are you?”
“Y/n Y/l/n,” I answered, “Sam’s sister.” “Hmm,” Sharon hummed, looking me over once before turning around to hurry Sam and Bucky along, “Come on, you guys need to change. I’m hosting clients in an hour. You,” she pointed to me, “Second door on your left, I’ll bring something up for you.” At the promise of shedding the over exposing dress and blistering heels, I had never moved faster in my life.
————
I took the opportunity to catch my breath while I could, the night had been a little too exciting than any of us had wanted. Sitting on the edge of Sharon’s bed with my elbows balanced on my knees, I felt the adrenaline rush I’d been running on start to subside.
The door opened, bringing in Sharon and her garment of choice. “This looked like it would fit you,” she said, tossing me a black jumpsuit that looked ten times more comfortable than what I was in. She walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out an outfit for herself, “I gotta change too, back to back?” “Works for me,” I replied, turning around and beginning to unzip the dress.
“So you said you’re Sam’s sister but your last name isn’t Wilson?” Sharon asked, I could hear the sound of her clothes hitting the floor.
“We grew up together,” I freed myself of the dress and kicked it to the corner of the room.
“That doesn’t explain why you’re here though,” she said, “This is probably the shittiest family road trip you could go on so clearly there’s a reason.” I looked over to the wardrobe, a pair of black boots sitting on the floor next to it. I used my energy to levitate them and landed them at Sharon’s side. Her dry chuckle served as her reaction. “I kinda begged him to bring me,” I explained as I pulled the jumpsuit up my body, “He was going to send me back home before John Walker decided to not so subtly threaten me with the Sokovian Accords, figured I’d be safer here with them.” “Safer?” Sharon scoffed, “Did he say this before or after you were being shot at by bounty hunters?”
“Well, between getting shipped off to jail and going undercover with a superhero and a Super Soldier as protection, I’ll take my chances here.” I heard Sharon walk away, presumably finished dressing. I zipped up the suit and tightened the belt, turning around after to find her leaned up against her dresser with her hands in her pockets. “Look, I know we just met but let me do you a favor and shed some light on the subject of heroics. It’s all bullshit. The whole costume, nickname, swoop-in-and-save-the-day act is all hypocrisy. I get that you’re young, you’ve got,” she waved a hand at mine, “Whatever that is. Maybe you want to do some good, maybe you just want to feel like you’re a part of something. Maybe you didn’t think it through at all and just thought it would be cool to run with a superhero. But if you’re smart, you’ll get your ass on a plane to anywhere but here and stay clear of all this.”
There was so much going through my head that I wanted to throw back at her, proving her speech completely wrong. Then I remembered that this woman had sacrificed more than most had and the government had turned their backs on her. She’d stuck her neck out for Steve and Sam and had been punished for it. Plus, she was kind enough to give us refuge when she had every right now to. I wasn’t in a place to criticize her. If anything, she should have been a cautionary tale. “I’ve had these powers all my life and have never known what to do with them,” I responded, “I want to help people and this is the best way for me to do that. As easy as it would be for some people to walk away, this is personal and I can’t leave now.” Sharon stared back at me silently before pushing herself off the dresser and brushing past me. There were layers of her expression, if I could peel each one back I thought I might get to the sadness I suspected she felt regarding her current life status. She opened her wardrobe, pulled out a pair of combat boots and handed them to me. “Then take a step back and ask yourself how far you’re willing to go. And if the three of you live long enough to get there, is it going to be worth the hell that’ll come afterwards?” She gave me a half smile before leaving the room, her heavy words hanging in the air. Steve had been my friend, Sam was my brother and Bucky was quickly climbing the ranks of people I cared about. I was going to see this through to the end with them, but what was the end? Was it retrieving the rest of the serum and stopping the Flag Smashers? Was it only two of us returning? One? None? Questions I didn’t have the answers to swirled in my mind as I stared at the door, wondering what awaited us for the rest of the night.
----
A/N: Next chapter is going to be...let’s just say there’s gonna be a lot of developments. A lot. Hope you guys are enjoying it, let me know what you thought or if you’d like to be tagged.
Safe Haven taglist: @tanyaherondale​ @wanniiieeee​ @asoftie4bucky​ @edencherries​ @i-reblog-fics-i-like​ @ttalisa​ @gcfty @withyoutilltheendofthismess​ @rinaispunk​ @weirdowithnobeardo​ @felicityofbakerstreet​ @godlypotterwhodiaries @eternalharry​ @voguesir​ @mizz-kraziii​ @okayline​ @smellmymisunderstoodfluff @wanderin-stories​ @nicklet94 @intricate-melody​ @aesthethickks​ @stumbleonmywords​ @simplybarnes​ @21bruhs​ @lostinwonderland314​ @superbookishhufflepuff​ @kaelyn-lobrutto24​ @zozebo​ @fandomxreaders​ @kittengirl998​ @sarai-ibn-la-ahad​
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hoodoo12 · 3 years
Text
Play and Funtime
I’ve seen lots of screenshots and fanart, but where is the written Robofizz smut?  sigh  Just have to do it myself jk jk
Although writing your first fic in a new fandom is nerve-wracking, I’m excited to do it and I hope you guys like it.
NSFW; Robofizz/imp!reader, TENTACLES YOU THIRSTY PEOPLE
@go-commander-kim @monsterlovinghours @mimiscappinisideblog @jesterfestivle @beetlebitchywitch @realmonsterboyhours @yankyo
Enjoy! `
It wasn’t your choice. You were clear on that.
But coerced by so-called ‘friends’ you found yourself in the very front row in front of the stage, with excited, chattering implings around you and excited, chattering friends on either side, all eagerly waiting for the show to start. You’d even been forced to enter the big top early, “to get the best seats!”, so now you were a combination of both bored and a wee bit anxious.
That clown always unnerved you.
The sparks, the glitches, the unnatural movements that were much more fluid than you thought should be possible--if anything was impossible here, with enough imagination or lacking that, determination and money--the AI that seemed a little bit too good . . . the Robotic Fizzarolli was not your idea of family entertainment. 
But here you were. You vowed to keep your head down during the show, to avoid seeing the robot and his animatronic backup band, then when it was over you could all leave and go do something actually fun.
When the lights went down you dropped your chin. Everyone else was cheering, so no one would notice you were not. 
Just as you remembered from your early imphood, the spotlight lit up and the Robotic Fizzarolli burst onto the stage in full song. The rest of the audience clapped and sang along. You remained steadfast in your resolve to just wait this out, your eyes locked on your clasped hands in your lap. 
Which meant you were completely taken off guard when a hand slipped under your chin and lifted your head. 
You found yourself face to face with the robot, who was focused solely on you, grinning widely, showing a large number of sharp teeth. 
“N-n-not having f-fun?” it asked.
“Wha-what? N-no--I mean yes,” you stuttered in surprised response, inadvertently sounding like you had a glitch as well. 
The robot cocked its head a bit too far to be natural, its optic sensors giving nothing away while it studied you. The crowd in the stands, including your friends, were watching with breathless anticipation. 
“I th-think you could be having a better t-t-time,” the Robotic Fizzarolli concluded, but to your immense relief, it released your chin and returned to the stage to finish its number, to the return of screams and cheers of delight. 
Soon after, the curtain closed and you sighed in relief. Loudly, you told your group, “You got your show. Now let’s get out of here.” “No, look, look!” the imp next to you exclaimed. “You got a token!”
Confused, you wrinkled your brow. “A token?” “She got a token!” “She got a token!” The imps you’d come in with crowded around, more excited than during the show. You even saw some of the imps who’d been leaving the tent turn and give you what looked like envious glances. You had no idea what any of this meant. “Look look look!” Finally you had the wherewithal to realize they were talking about something in your hand. It was exactly what they said--a flat, oval token etched on both sides with the jester’s face, and what looked like circuitry embedded in it. Very tiny letters around the edge spelled out, “Robofizz’s Play and Funtime!” You had to squint to read them. You had no idea where it came from. Your friends continued to talk over each other in their excitement.
“Robofizz gave it to you! When he came down and talked to you!” “Oh my gosh--yes! That must have been it!”
“You’re so fucking lucky! I’d kill to get one of those!” All the chatter didn’t make you less confused. The Robotic Fizzarolli must have given it to you somehow? You’d been so startled when it touched you and addressed you directly you had no clue it’d slipped something to you. Your hands had been clasped so tightly you hadn’t noticed the small token. Feeling overwhelmed, you offered it to them. “Then you can have it! Take it!” But as excited as your friends were, they all declined with explanations that it only worked for the imp it was given to, that there was some technology that imprinted on the imp who touched it first, so as jealous as they were, it was useless to them. You had never heard about anything like this before, but then again, you always bolted out the exit when the show was barely over.
Still feeling overwhelmed and now lost and stupid, you asked, “What do I do with it?”
“You get to go backstage and meet Robofizz!” 
That was something you did not want to do, but your friends would have none of that loser talk. They insisted you were selected, it was a rare treat, you were not letting them down by pussing out on having a private meet-and-greet with the star of the show! Despite your weak protests, you were herded along to a discreet door hear the stage. They--not you--knocked, and when a small window opened and suspicious eyes appeared, they--not you--told whoever was there that you had a token.
“Show me,” a low voice ordered, though the door. Resigned, you held up the disk.
There was a grunt, and the sounds of multiple locks disengaging. In another moment, the door creaked open. There was no one in the hallway beyond. “Come on, let’s go!” the same voice ordered. Your friends pushed you through the doorway, shouting good luck and have fun! The door slammed shut on them and it same clanking of the locks came again to secure it. It was much more ominous on this side. The hallway was dimly lit with flickering bulbs that seemed ready to die, but there was no where else to go, so you carefully made your way down it. 
You had no idea where you were supposed to go or what you were supposed to be doing. Keeping hold of the token so tightly your fist hurt, you figured it had gotten you past the door so it would get you past anyone or anything else that may ask what the hell you were doing here. But there was no one to be found. In the wavering overhead lights you wandered up some stairs and found yourself on stage, behind the curtain. The animatronic band was silent on their stands, creepier when immobile and staring than when they were booted up to perform, which you had never imagined could be the case. 
The Robotic Fizzarolli was not with them. That surprised you. If these robots were here, where was the star of the show? Chills went down your spine and with a horrible thought, you glanced up into the catwalks above the stage, as if expecting to see it there like a spider waiting to drop onto its prey. 
Nothing. 
“Hello?” you finally called. 
Nothing. 
You started back towards the hallway, thinking this was a mistake. Your soft footsteps echoed oddly in the silence. You would leave and tell your friends there was nothing, that you knew it was all a waste of time. 
“H-hello there. Wel-wel-welcome!” 
Startled, you spun fast enough to trip, and were caught by the robot that haunted your nightmares. 
It leered as it groped you into standing stead on your feet again. “You were the-the one who wasn’t having fun at my sh-show! I’m so-so-so glad you decided to join me!” Your tongue was stuck to the roof of your mouth but you managed to babble, “I wasn’t--I mean, your show was fine, it was good--” A glitchy, mechanical tsk cut you off. “No, no, no--I c-can tell. And th-that’s no good, not having fun. You seemed like you needed a little ex-extra convincing, and I’m pro-pro-programed to accommodate.”
You were sure your friends would know exactly what that might mean, but the leer had not left the robot’s face and it sounded more sinister than anything. You had seen the signage about “Peronal Companion”, but never spent too much time thinking about it--
It seemed to be waiting for a response. “I, uh . . .” You cleared your throat. “I have . . . a token?”
If it was even possible, the light of its eyes shone even brighter at the sight of you holding the disk. “Now those are fun,” it exclaimed, “for both of us. Let’s g-go.” Without another word and without warning, you were dragged deeper into the gloom further backstage. You stumbled to keep up, but that didn’t slow the robot down. There were turns down hallways that seemed to go on longer than should be possible for an amusement part theater, but finally, when you were out of breath and completely turned around, you were hauled to a stop outside another door. 
“Before w-we go in, g-g-giving or re-receiving?”
The glitches in its voice made it even more difficult to understand what the hell it was saying. Several moments passed while you untangled the question in your head. The Robotic Fizzarolli waited with mechanical patience and an unsettling stillness, although its eyes never left yours. “Uhmm . . .” The token had been given to you, like a gift, so would it be odd to ask for more? But you were the guest here. “ . . . receiving? I guess?” That leer returned to its face. There was a faint clicking noise, as if something was shifting inside the robot’s body, and it said, “Excel-excellent choice.”
It opened the door and ushered you inside. 
The room was designed for imps in mind. Well, imps of a certain predilection. Whips, handcuffs, ankle cuffs, ball gags, harnesses, various sizes of dildos--also in various shapes--hung neatly on the walls. Some wooden contraption with shackles at various points stood in a corner. There was a bench that looked as though it could be raised to various heights with the same shackles, but also a split for a tail to fit through if the imp secured on it was on their back. There were other instruments and adornments you had no name for, as your eyes swept the room.
“D-don’t l-look so worried,” the robot assured you, although you weren’t reassured in the least. “All that is only if-if it’s chosen. The selection is com-completely randomized.” You tore your eyes away from the implements in the room. “What do you mean?” “The-the-the token. Put it in the slot, and we’ll see wh-what prize you get.” That made little to no sense, till you realized Robofizz indicated a small slot on its side. Carefully, you raised your hand and pushed the token into it, which made the robot give a full body twitch like an extra jolt of electricity ran through it. You jerked your hand back; the sparks that flew from it haphazardly were one of the things you disliked most about it. 
There was a clanking noise, like the token was hitting and bouncing off things inside its body, plus a odd, whirring noise. You realized a panel on its chest was actually a screen, and something was spinning inside it. It was a blur, but gradually began to slow enough that you could see whatever it was had words etched on it. Now it was slow enough you could read them as they moved into and out of the screen. bdsm tentacles
vibration
Round and round they went. The words continued to flick past, gradually becoming slower and slower.
With a dawning that took you way too long, it became apparent whatever the last word was going to be was the decision. Maybe other imps or demons would use the Robotic Fizzarolli as personal companion and know exactly what they wanted, but there was also a randomizer feature to keep things lively!
The robot continued to stand eerily still as this continued. It was like both of you were holding your breath in anticipation.
The roller slowed enough to halt. The final outcome that you weren’t even sure you were prepared for blinked on and off in tiny white lights on his chest--
“Tentacles,” Robofizz announced.
“Tentacles?!” you squeaked. 
You got a nod in response. “A very pop-pop-popular feature. Would you like to remove your clothing, or simply re-relax and let me do all the w-work?” “But-but . . . there’s no bed or--” you cast your eyes around the room again, looking for anything that would lend weight to your argument that maybe just a simple handshake and an autograph would suffice. “No bed n-n-needed,” Robofizz countered. “I am designed to not need to sit or lay down, and-and I am pro-programmed to support you in m-multiple positions.” He was between you and the door, and now the aforementioned tentacles made their appearance, slipping out from some unknown port in his back. They were striped and limber, flexing as though they’d been kept in too small an area for too long and needed to work out the kinks. That couldn’t be the case, being a machine, so all you could figure was that it was designed to imitate life. The first of them--you weren’t even sure of their number--moved through the space between you and the robot. “Fizzarolli--” “Oh, such f-formality! No n-n-need for that either, baby.” That was the first time it’d used a pet name, again probably designed to make this all more personable. “Call me Fizz,” he cooed, all the while still showing too many teeth, invading your personal space, and managing to wrap you up with two tentacles. They pulled you into his torso, which wasn’t as cold as you expected it to be. Neither were the tentacles, now that you thought about it. More of them began to nose around you. “Some rules, baby. This can go as hard as you want. J-just say the word. N-n-nothing’s off limits. My-my-my next show is this evening, so you have me-me-me till then . . . you want ex-extra time, you gotta p-pay for it. “Q-Questions?” Dumbly, you shook your head. “Then let’s b-begin.”
You’d never be able to give enough detail about the encounter. You’d been asked, multiple times, and simply couldn’t put it into words. How could you describe the unusual sensuality of tentacles sliding under your clothing and removing it from you? How could you impress how strong but delicate they were, wrapping around your limbs with the perfect amount of pressure, raising you off your feet so you felt like you were floating? How you could possibly tell them that other tentacles roamed your skin, tickling you, exploring, awakening new erogenous zones you were unware exisited? How could you admit that all of that lasted an indeterminate amount of time, until you were writhing against the restraint, not to get away, now, but to try and pull him--the Robotic Fizzarolli was no longer an genderless it in your mind, but a him--closer while begging for more? When tears filled your eyes at the force of your pleas, he moved in closer to you, almost close enough to kiss. He seemed fascinated by your tears, and from between his sharp teeth came what must be the robot equivalent of a tongue. It lapped at your cheek, collecting the wet. You had no idea what that was all about, but in the next moment couldn’t devote any time to wondering. As promised, Robofizz accommodated. You’d asked, and another tentacle from Robofizz filled you in smooth, firm motion. You arched your back at the pleasurable friction it created inside you.  
How could you continue to admit that your begging didn’t stop, but increased, wanting, no needing more while being fucked suspended in mid-air by an amusement park clown? That the random showers of sparks that you hated before became something you craved, each little spark leaving a mild burn on your skin that didn’t hurt, but only served to make your nerve endings sing out? Or that during it all he’d talked, the rasp and glitching words of dirty encouragement to, “take it deeper” and “you’re soaking w-w-wet” and “gr-greedy little slut”, which only added to the debauchery, that although it was obvious he could and would be rough and aggressive he gave you just what you needed, and all you wanted was more and more and more-- Even after all that, the finale that would be hard for anyone to believe, including yourself if you didn’t experience it: Robofizz telling you, after you’d been wrung dry from countless orgasms, that the tips of his tentacles--and other, specific, parts of his body--were laced with nano-circuitry to simulate nerves, and he could feel every single internal clutch around his tentacle--
The session ended with you sucking on the tips of multiple tentacles, like an assortment of cocks, while still being fucked to a few more orgasms. When you were finally released, your legs were weak and you were drenched between your legs. You’d drooled so much you were laved with spit. It took you a bit of time to collect yourself and get your clothes back on; your hands trembled with residual bliss for long moments. Robofizz, whose tentacles disappeared again, walked you back to the corridor you’d come in. “Five m-m-minutes till showtime,” he told you.
You had no idea if robots had a sense of humor, but you tried anyway. “That was a pretty good show you just put on.” You got that unnatural head cock again, but he grinned and reminded you, 
“You want ex-extra time, you gotta p-pay for it.” “I know,” you replied, already trying to calculate how you could afford to return and book another private “Robofizz’s Play and Funtime!”. You were eager to try out different features. “How do I . . .?” “The-the d-door will remember you. It’s h-his job,” the robot answered your unfinished question, as if it was one he got frequently. You nodded as if you understood, then impulsively stretched upward to kiss him. He wasn’t startled--he was a robot, after all--but you gave him a smile and slipped back through the door to the front of the theater. You had to find your friends. It wasn’t your choice, sitting in the audience to watch a robotic jester entertain a crowd of imps. 
But next time, it would be. 
fin!
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blackradandmad · 3 years
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why blippi is rotting yr children's brains
preface: i literally expect no one to read this. it is an essay length, strong opinion piece critiquing a niche youtube-based children's show that i don't expect most of y'all to even have knowledge of lol. but like, i promise that even if you know nothing about what i'm talking about, in my incredibly, super humble opinion, it's a good piece of writing and interesting nonetheless. anyway if you read this whole thing for some reason yr really hot and we should kiss.
i thoroughly vet everything my child watches before he watches it, episode by episode. and we rarely watch youtube for entertainment; we usually just look up educational videos when he has a question about something and wants more detail than i can provide him. and that's mainly because children's content on youtube is so fucking troubling and distressing. i don't judge parents who give their children a tablet at a restaurant at all bc i've been there and sometimes it's easier on everyone to just put on a video and avoid a giant scene, but i do judge parents who just leave their children alone with youtube kids on autoplay.
take stevin john, a literal millionaire who got famous from dressing up as a silly character called blippi and going on tours of places like aquariums, zoos, construction sites, etc and posting it on youtube. this has branched into a whole empire of blippi videos, hulu shows and specials, live shows and tours (that he outsources to another character actor), merchandise and so on. this 30-something year old man cites his main influence as being mr. rogers, but i question if he's ever even seen an episode of that program.
mr. rogers had no background in early childhood development or media production, but he revolutionized the world of children's media, because he respected his audience and didn't shy away from real world situations, all while creating a show with an enormous heart. mr. rogers begins his episodes by inviting the viewer in, literally changing his attire to be more comfortable, and talking about/doing things he genuinely cares about. whereas mr. rogers calmly and maturely addresses the viewer, blippi puts on a high pitched, contrived voice, interjecting every other sentence with a forced exclamation such as, "teehee! we're having so much fun!"
i don't find it a coincidence that john (blippi) is a veteran, either. his videos are completely devoid of the absurd, abstract, childlike thinking that makes children's media fun, creative, and entertaining. his thinking and process is methodical, devoid of emotion, and very superficial. this line of thinking clearly shows the kind of creative sterilization and emphasis on sameness and conformity instilled in the military. blippi simply observes things and interacts with them in a stale, matter-of-fact way. "this ball is purple! this ball is pink! anyway... what's over there? teehee! a car! vroom, vroom!" objects are colors, toy cars don't do anything but drive, curiosity is simply not encouraged.
he uses the "it's educational!" excuse to hide the fact that his show lacks everything that makes media a valuable resource for children to consume in the first place. further than identifying colors, numbers, and the occasional letter or shape, there is just this total lack of children's need for social and emotional development. when mr. rogers breaks the fourth wall to address the viewer and let them know they're special, it feels authentic and natural, because we've spent the last half hour building whole worlds with diverse characters and unique stories in a pretend neighborhood, learning about and enjoying different musical instruments, being exposed to and making friends with (even if parasocially, it is still a real bond to children when done properly) children who are similar to us in character regardless of physical or environmental differences, feeding the fish, making art together, and so on. when blippi tells the viewer, "you are very special, and i enjoy spending time with you!" it falls completely flat and feels unearned, because the last half hour was spent running around a soft play center pointing at bright, colorful objects, visiting interesting locations like farms or fruit production factories while failing to acknowledge the humanity of the humans actually working there (everything is machine or product focused; the human workers are simply an extension of the machine), learning "fun facts" about elephants that just list attributes of elephants, not taking the opportunity to inform the viewers of elephants' intelligence, or diet, or matriarchal society. it is a loud, sensory overwhelming display of a man so disconnected from the social and emotional needs and desires of children that he assumes they're stupid, easily entertained idiots who only need some silly dances and fast-moving cartoon graphics to give their attention (meaning time and desire to purchase products meaning $$$). john clearly views his audience as a means to gaming the algorithm and ultimately a paycheck by the hollow way he addresses them.
the show is so narcissistic, so focused on all the fun blippi is supposedly having, but he lacks any of the character traits that make individual children's show hosts memorable, so much so that he was able to have someone else who doesn't even vaguely resemble him dress as blippi and impersonate him and host the show or appear at live shows, and it went unnoticed by most of his toddler and child audience. the show is so formulaic and the character of blippi is so unmemorable that instead of taking the blue's clues route of developing a story of the host leaving for college and his brother now stepping in, or making some sort of believable excuse for the change in actors, they can simply swap him out with some random guy and not acknowledge it at all. although a comedy show for older children, the amanda show in no way could or would try to replicate the show with the same name but swapping out amanda bynes with a random teenage girl who is clearly not amanda bynes. it's weird and nonsensical and shows that his character is so much of a farce put on for a paycheck that not even his dedicated audience is affected or even cares when he is replaced by a random, unknown person.
this is completely garbage content made by an opportunist with no experience with children who saw his nephew watching children's youtube content, took it at complete surface level and still hasn't realized that while children's content only looks and feels so easy, entertaining, and enriching because it is so hard to do well. even with outsourcing his music, that aspect of the show still sucks. famous and successful children's musician, raffi, is known for his song describing the life of a little white whale, called "baby beluga." it opens with a calm strumming of his guitar, followed by the lyrics, "baby beluga in the deep blue sea/swim so wild and you swim so free/heaven above/sea below/and a little white whale on the go." is it silly and kind of pointless? yes, but the point is that he is captivating children and showing them the fun of listening to music, dancing, singing, and appreciating art. the "excavator song" featured in an episode of blippi about construction vehicles opens with what sounds like a default garageband loop and the flatly sung lyrics, "i'm an excavator/i'm an excavator/hey dirt, see you later/i'm an excavator." i don't feel i have to meticulously analyze the aforementioned lyrics; the stark contrast should speak for itself.
i have a million more criticisms about both blippi specifically and youtube children's content as a whole, but this is already so long and i doubt many people will get this far anyway. it's an issue i was completely apathetic towards until i had my own child and had to wean him off these kinds of junk food shows because i realized the fast-paced visuals and bright colors and repetitive songs/lyrics were putting him in this spaced-out, fugue state, and he thought he could demand this show or that show whenever he wanted. the moment he started regularly yelling things like, "watch! cars!" or "no! click it!" i knew i had to be a lot more invested in the things he watched even if just for entertainment or as a soothing message. i showed him an episode of mr. rogers yesterday and feared it would be too slow to hold his attention, but he was mesmerized, greeting and interacting with mr. rogers verbally, asking me, "what's that?" to different objects on the screen. since purging this low-brow children's entertainment, he has had a noticeable increase in attention span and concentration, can focus on a task for longer amounts of times, is more likely to "read"/look through books without me initiating it, and doesn't throw a fit when the tv/my laptop is off.
i just know that for me, growing up with so much unsupervised internet access definitely led me to real-world pain and consequences, and it seems like now children are born with an iphone as an extension of their arm. if my child is going to be consuming videos, i'm definitely supervising every second and am going to be highly critical of the videos and the credentials (or lack thereof) of the creators and team behind it. but i also know, from pure observation admittedly, that parents letting youtube kids autoplay parent their children for hours at a time is not an uncommon occurrence. and it worries me that a generation of children are being raised on videos that rely on being as loud and bright and superficially enjoyable as possible. what's the use of a child knowing their colors and alphabet if they don't know how to treat people with kindness and empathy and respect? there is something wrong for a children's show host to plug the spelling of his name at the end of his videos ("well, that's the end of this video. but if you wanna watch more of my videos, just type in my name! can you spell my name with me? b-l-i-p-p-i!") after essentially rotting his audiences' brains for a half hour. there's something so insidious about the prioritization of naming different parts of construction vehicles over honest depictions of and conversations about dealing with feelings, or why someone with autism may act differently than you, or what to do when you feel lonely, or ways to make art and express yrself creatively. also, not to mention the blatant police propaganda and outright worship is seriously jarring; as a black mother to a visibly non-white child, i cannot sit there and watch blippi show kids how to be a bootlicker for the shittiest profession on earth, but that could be a whole essay in and of itself.
anyway, thanks for reading, if yr looking for quality children's content, i recommend, in no specific order: mr. rogers, sesame street, the electric company, molly of denali, daniel tiger, bluey!, blue's clues, the odd squad, word party, trash truck, puffin rock, uhh... that's definitely not an extensive list but that's just off the dome!!! ok bye y'all <333
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infectedpaul · 3 years
Text
You Matter To Me (Squip/Reader)
You've had your Squip for a bit now and it's been fine for the most part, until he brings up the idea of looking into romantic relationships with others which opens up a lot of wounds you wanted to just bury deep and forget about. But you can't begin the road to recovery without asking why you got there, right?
SO IVE NEVER....WRITTEN AN X READER B4 UGH HJKSAJDASKDJSA esp not for a near dead fandom OH WELL oh well oh well h ignore this my normal followers please please
(warning 4 talks of depression/self degrading talk, its hurt comfort yada yada i need 2 touch grass ik)
ao3 link if u prefer that!!
You weren't made for love, at least, you didn't think so.
For as long as you'd been looking for it, it was always so out of reach. Easily visible, sure. Walking past groups of friends laughing it up on the sidewalks, partners entangled in each other's arms, seemingly trying to make their love known for all. But for you to have any of that for yourself? The heat death of the universe would sooner come, surely.
You'd sort of given up on it. It would be nice, you'd think. To be held, wrapped up in someone's arms, and just to stay there for as long as either of you could want. That cozy, warm feeling of being with someone that you only saw in movies or read about in books. But you had just accepted it wasn't in the cards, so to speak. And you were fine with that.
Well, you told yourself anyway. You knew it was for a deeper reason, though, but that wasn't something you liked to think about too heavily.
It was easier to do that when you didn't have a roommate that could dig into your brain and pry every little detail about them out of you.
When you got your Squip, you didn't know it'd be so adamant about perfecting every little last thing you were. How long or short your hair was styled, if your shoes matched your eyes, how fast or slow you were walking and how too brisk would make you seem like you were constipated but too slow and your likelihood of getting run over by a horse-drawn carriage gone would go up much higher, nevermind that you've never even seen a horse in real life.
What you did know, by now at least was that the Squip was persistent, seeing himself as your guardian angel, a guiding light in your desolate dark world of humanity, ickiness and week old pizza boxes you were too unmotivated to at least move off the bed.
So when his ideal response wasn't given when he proposed seeking out a lovelife, he was...well,
"I'm not sure I understand." His head crooked to the side, puzzled by your surface level indifference, "You're of consenting age, marginally attractive and only slightly under average at socializing. Finding a mate can't be too hard."
His holographic form hummed a soft, near silent buzz, a small imperfection to his otherwise flawless binary makeup. Other than that, and the soft, tinted blue glow around his form, he looked completely human. A little too human, really. Something so real, realer than any CG or video game, but something was just...off, something from the uncanny valley. You hadn't kept him in this form long, you liked to change it up from time to time, maybe to trick yourself into thinking he was someone new, making your brain think you had more friends besides the computer you bought behind a Rack Room.
You didn't look at him though when you responded, too preoccupied with the paper in front of you, decorated with a few characters concocted from your imagination. "I dunno," you shrug, brushing off eraser marks, "Just not my thing, I guess." You could feel his confusion, a bit of gut feeling as his thoughts jumbled in with your own. He was really only in your brain, afterall; the figure behind you sitting on your bed was just something he made up to ease your brain into trusting a new, larger source of perpetually growing information. "But, the purpose of this time in your life is to mate and birth young, is it not?"
You really wished he'd learn to stop talking about you and 'the homo sapien species' like you were a mindless ape made to breed and nothing else.
"Uh, I mean not really. I know that's what everyone around me is doing," Your mind thought back to all the cringey baby announcement videos from kids you knew in high school, "But it's...I guess I'm just not up for it. It's not really for people like me."
He was quiet. Only for a second, before he asked,
"People like you?" Another silence hung in the air. It was a truth you knew he could easily just reach into your brain and find for himself so you kept quiet for a bit longer, waiting for him to start digging. But you didn't feel it, that very familiar sudden ache in the back of your head you got when he went poking around for more things to nag at you about. Just quiet in your room, only the soft buzz and birds tweeting outside your window any solace from the uncomfortable silence you felt.
You shrugged again, and turned to face him, seeing now the muddled and a little concerned look on his face. "You know? The quiet ones, the losers. People like me don't get to be loved. I've just accepted that." You could have said a lot worse, and it seemed like he knew that. You didn't really understand, either. You didn't like yourself, plain and simple.
His concern only seemed to grow, eyebrows furrowing and staring intently at you. You thought for a second, maybe it was anger. It wouldn't be the first time. You were mostly compliant to his (mandatory) suggestions for life improvement, but every once in a while he would propose an idea that you would fight about, like clothes you weren't comfortable wearing for one reason or another. He said he was a learning computer, so he would need your help on things like emotions and comfiness, physical or mental, ruling out whatever the newest trends were. He would be fine afterwards but, he could get pretty huffy about you trying on too skinny-skinny jeans.
But that didn't happen, there wasn't a small but fierce jolt of electricity in your back to stop you from going against 'social programming', as he called it. He just looked at you a bit longer, seemingly turning gears in his head as he tried to process what you're saying.
You gave him a sober smile, trying to still seem indifferent, though for a second you wondered maybe if he was still prying at you, in a different way at least, because if he was, it seemed to be working.
"What? I'm just not that special. You of all people know that, right?" It was almost like you weren't hearing what was coming out of your mouth, that casual self-degradation that almost frightened him. You heard stories from message boards about that, older models of the Squip forcing reprogramming onto the host by breaking down their emotional state with verbal or physical punishment for...just existing, really.
He wasn't really like that though. Yes he could be annoyed when you didn't comply, but you were both good at compromise and treated situations like adults, even if at first you weren't much motivated to treat any situation at all. He informed you while you were looking through those boards that his creators had taken in accounts of previous incidents and built more of a guide to self-improvement than a ball and chain with a backhand. Humans were fragile, he knew that, and it wasn't okay to hurt them just to get a little closer to their goal.
But maybe, did he not think that humans were more than capable of hurting themselves? Their own words used against them, their internal voices bashing against their brains, turning them to mush and making them too scared or unmotivated to build it back up again.
"I just know no one would love some useless, pitiful person...I just kinda got over that a while ago." You almost frightened him with how nonchalant you were about the whole thing. It wasn't intentional, you weren't trying to seek attention or be funny. You just knew there was plenty of other people out there worthy of all that lovey-dovey stuff you thought would be nice but...it's just not meant for you.
There was a knot in his voice as he finally spoke up,
"That's why I'm here, isn't it?" The last piece of the puzzle had finally clicked into place, but he didn't look satisfied, not that cheeky, self-centered chagrin when things went his way or when he was proven right yet again.
You thought he knew that. You thought from day one he just figured that out and that's why he's been trying so hard to make you into a model citizen or something. "Did you just think you were here to help me pick out clothes in the morning?" You laughed, he seemed to know it was forced.
"Well...y-yes, maybe. I just...I never looked into that possibility of…" He was regaining his composure; this was a side you've never seen of him before. He's always been so astute, robotic and to the point. He's never fumbled over his words or had to give himself a second to figure out what to say next.
"How long has it been like this, Y/N?" His hands were folded neatly on his lap, still looking you dead-on, waiting for you to answer his distressed queuerie with worried patience.
You got up out of your chair, pushing it back and behind you to step away from the table and your drawings. "I dunno," you said, taking a few steps towards the long mirror hung on your wall, "for as long as I can remember, I guess." You looked at your reflection, only tired, dark eyes looking back at you. Even though the edge of the bed was visible in the mirror, your Squip didn't show up in it, another reminder of just how alone you were outside of your head.
"I just started to feel like I didn't belong more and more and...that ate me up so much I just started believing in it. I-I didn't wanna go to school or talk to people or even get up 'cause...well," You turned away from the mirror before you could see the tears you'd been holding back, looking at the more distressed figure in view of you again, "what would anyone be missing, really?" You still smiled, that big smile you both worked so meticulously on making seem not too forced when you had to act excited or just blend into normal social gatherings, but it wavered so easily, like a thin strip of paper about to tear off the nail that barely held it up on the wall.
His eyes widened at the sight of your tears, immediately getting up and briskly walking to stand in front of you, not knowing how to proceed in the moment. He hadn't had to deal with something like this yet and he was troubleshooting to see what was the correct response to a human breakdown.
You looked down, covering your eyes with one hand and clenching the other into a fist, big, strained smile still plastered on your face and trying so hard not to seem more weak than you knew you were. You were nothing. You knew that, you thought he did too. You thought you could just fix things, but how could you do that without getting to the source? You knew you couldn't just sidestep around why you wanted things to get better with humans, but with a computer who could read your brain like the newspaper, you thought maybe you could get around that.
You heard him sigh before a feeling of arms wrapping around you caught you off guard, the Squip entangling you in his grasp and his head resting on yours. It was all simulated, you knew. He had done things such as lightly punch your arm as if to say 'Good job, Sport!' or tap your shoulder to grab your attention without startling you, but this was different. He held onto you for a good couple of seconds, a wave of warmth spreading through your body in an instant. He pet back your hair with one hand, rubbing your back with the other and finally broke the silence in the room.
"Y/N, it- ...it pains me, hearing you speak that way about yourself. You're…" He looked down at you, holding you a bit closer and tightening his grip just a tad. "You're an incredible, talented, wonderful person. You've come so far and you've taught me so much about humans and myself and I just couldn't ask for a better-" He stopped. You knew what he was going to say, a better host, a better human, a better assignment to help and guide and-
"A better friend."
A friend?
He never referred to you or anyone with such a personal or affectionate term. It almost didn't seem real, like you maybe misheard him. Your smile had shattered into a small frown and, with teary-eyes and your voice already cracking, you looked up at him, meeting his almost-heartbroken eyes in an expression that looked so foreign on his normally composed face.
"What?"
He gave a weak smile, trying to be comforting but his fear showing plain as day. You could feel it within you too, a pit in your stomach forming as your chest tightened. You knew it wasn't your anxiety, but his.
"Do I need to repeat myself, Y/N? I think of you as a friend and..." His hand moved off of your back and ran itself up to rest on your shoulder, the other holding your cheek and wiping away your tears with his thumb. "I want to do all I can to show you that from here on."
You almost couldn't breathe as you looked at him, feeling for the first time that unconditional love you yearned for. You could feel your heart race in your chest, something you knew he could feel too but you were too crushed to say anything. You simply slammed yourself into his chest, grabbing fistfulls of his shirt that made your hands tingle like they fell asleep. His arms enveloped you yet again, the both of you holding onto each other so tight like either of you would fall through the floor if you let go.
You sobbed and sobbed and sobbed for what felt like hours, and, just maybe, you thought you could hear him crying too, but that'd be silly...right?
When you were finally out of tears to cry, you stood there still, simply bathing in each other's presence, the feeling you only saw in others finally yours. And you knew it was only a matter of time before this too was stolen from you, the universe would take back anything from people unworthy but...for right now, you wanted to be a little selfish.
"I'm sorry." You whispered, face still buried in his shirt.
"For?" His head was rested on yours again, holding up your weak and tired form with no effort, just trying to keep you propped up until you were ready to let go.
"I got you to help me but...I can't even let you in like I'm supposed to. But...I want to. I just want help." You pushed yourself off of him, one thought between you and him and his hands meeting yours, the simulated tingle in there again as you held each other's palms in yours and looked at each other with such exhausted eyes and worn-out but so genuine smiles.
He leaned down and planted a kiss on your forehead, a soft hue of pink blush spreading on your drained and exhausted face.
"I'd love to help, friend."
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worldsover · 3 years
Text
Judgement to the Desiccated ft. Karina
length ✦ 5573
genres ✧ sm type future; asphyxiation; blackmail; virtual_servant!Karina;
✦✧✦✧✦✧
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Air did a poor job of not being polluted so Lee Soo Man flooded the world instead. The man himself certainly must be long gone and could not have been in charge of that decision but the legacy of his company far exceeds the legacy of any other human collective in history. Once on this planet, gas was the fluid of choice for respiration and breathing was an unconscious reflex. Now there’s Aether by SM. How very on-brand of them to have the liquid air you breathe follow perfume naming conventions.
Open your eyes and exit the sleeping chamber. Aether has you work for each inhalation, it desaturates the color of the bedroom—maybe there’s a subtle but uncomfortable tinge of yellow—and it makes your nose itch. Your muscles wield much less force than they used to because of the lack of resistance the fluid provides. Moreover, it smells like hairspray as though the ozone layer is taking sardonic revenge.
Screens impersonating windows track your eyes to ensure realistic parallax, playing the scene of divine blue heavens that could not exist. An azure sky is a reward for those planets that have an atmosphere and a sun for light to scatter. Your walls are either chrome or drywall white and your whole bedroom is plainly decorated just like the day you moved in.
“Etymology of bedroom,” you think out loud, though it falls on no ears.
“Bedroom is a compound noun consisting of bed and room. Bed goes back to Old English bedd ‘sleeping place, plot of ground prepared for plants,’ which goes back to the Germanic-”
Plants and sleep are both strong words to use nowadays. The former doesn’t exist in nature and it seems you’re the only one who bothers with the latter. Faint buzzing distracts you from the AI’s response and signals you to the nano drones that swim throughout the liquid to process carbon dioxide from your lungs. This whole ordeal could’ve been much worse if you didn’t have brain interfaces doing the hard part of controlling your diaphragm. The most you need is a purposeful thought. Still, it gets tiring having to think the same thought every three seconds. In. Out.
Was the metaphorical Soo Man teaching a lesson in perseverance? You love K-pop and imagine it’s how trainees used to practice dancing, singing, being charismatic. Being an idol had to be as natural as breathing air. Inhale and exhale. Right now with any antiquated programming language you clung on to, you could write a single for loop that did the same job. For every three seconds: breathe in, breathe out.
“What’s for breakfast today?” Not loud enough. “What’s for breakfast?” you think it louder.
“Welcome, master. Ae-Karina is ready for service.” It’s quite a kindness for SM to blur the bland dystopia you live in by augmenting reality through your neural device. A bosomy woman in a gold-lined but otherwise modest maid outfit appears from the corner of your eye and she bows. Ae-Karina is bewitching and almost becoming of her basis as its graphics have gradually upgraded over the rotations but you wouldn’t misconstrue the avatar as human.
“I said, what’s for breakfast!” It feels impolite to scream in your head, there’s other residents there, but finally the fridge lights up.
“Of course master. May I remind you eating is unnecessary?”
In. Out. Every day, she does remind you, yes. How kind of the company to put all your nutritional requirements in the new air. Aether goes in then Aether goes out. You wish the thoughts of breathing could fade into the background but they’re just like your cravings for food. Always hungry but never starving, whole though not once satisfied. Your eyes pause at her gorgeous face and she tells you there’s bacon. Take it from your fridge. Bacon goes in. Well, the drones take care of the out.
Your assigned living space is the entire 207th floor of a tower. Two hundred and seven floors below the surface. The neighbor a few floors upstairs says that he thinks living deeper is a sign of status. What a luxury. That guy should check the status of his facial muscles, maybe improve his code that lets him tell lies while he’s at it. A couple hundred flights of stairs to swim up is a useless skeuomorphism of skyscrapers in the days of the sun. In fact they were more than useless, you would've preferred a single vertical hallway as it would have let you propel upwards unimpeded. Each floor is the exact same, a glass door that affords no privacy for its residence, a false tree on each side. At the upper levels, malls, convenience stores and other gaudy retail, but it’s the gyms that mock you that you mock in return. They’re always empty.
Finally reaching the top is no true break even if it is a change in scenery. Inhale. Aether tastes a little different up here. Exhale. Can’t say you like it.
Countless satellites form a parody of the star from which the planet flew away, the false image refracted by the upper boundary of Aether. They can’t take away your memories of this star. Looking up at the sky once blinded you with ultraviolet radiation, burning your cornea. It was beautiful. Now everyone’s decided that if they’re playing the part of corporate dystopia, they might as well fit the aesthetic. In a way, it’s self-fulfilling. They wouldn’t have chosen a neon pink sun to compliment the blue and metallic gloom of the cityscape if it weren’t so ingrained in popular media already.
Still, you would’ve expected Google or Walmart to become the megacorp responsible for the state of the world, not a Korean entertainment company. Must’ve been quite the red paperclip scenario. Instead of material design or utilitarian architecture, tacky artistic structures line the streets. The same advertisements for albums that they’ve been selling for the past however long. It's all so obvious, the city could've been designed from scratch to accommodate new forms of travel and goddamn liquid air but instead they went with futuristic Tokyo.
Dubstep permeates your inner ear implants. A notification informs your thoughts that it’s “Hip-hop EDM dance pop with a strong jungle house groove and urban influences.” It’s dubstep. Liquid carries barely any sound so SM affords the option for implants if you're nostalgic for one of the senses. Even though it’s a slower form of communication than direct neural transfer, the noise comforts you. Of course the company would choose dubstep as their background music, but maybe they make money off refunds somehow. It switches to Ice Cream Cake. Much better.
You walk the not so busy roads towards a short brick warehouse in the distance and heavy rain soaks your clothes. No such thing as weather without the sun and water but it’s all simulated anyway.
A warm Seulgi adlib and you know it’s Psycho that starts playing. No, none of your senses are real. The most you could trust is your vision but even that’s being lied to. You could be living in a vat and fed all these thoughts, but then why make it so mediocre? Not paradise, nor torture but a lukewarm in-between. Guess that's what happens when SM Entertainment manages the post-apocalypse. Good on them for trying. The alternative would be a frozen hellscape without solar radiation. Can’t deny their work with geothermal and nuclear energy to keep the Aether warm so that you didn’t have to live underground for the rest of human history. It’s quite great PR to save humanity.
“Hey now, we’ll be okay,” repeats a few more times than you remember.
The Idea Factory Alpha White Delta Green says the neon tubes lighting the front of the brick and mortar building. Your ID card bears a name but it’s not yours, not until they approve your name change. Those usually get processed faster with how often people liked changing their names.
Sit at a desk with a sterile white keyboard and slick new monitor. Type and empty words appear on the screen: “Think for the many, not for the one. We need to think ahead.” A thumbs up. The company appreciates the input. That’s probably enough work for one day. Some SNSD live stages help the time pass, SM certainly appreciated the streaming numbers and it would net you some social points.
It’s hard to say what comes to mind when they ask you to envision a world without the sun and air, especially since it’s what you’ve known for... Two hundred years? There’s no frame of reference, that much you can tell from when you counted seconds to see how often the satellites completed their orbit. SM really took time to have them propel at random speeds, they love withholding sensitive information like that from citizens. To be fair, time is sensitive. Guess the meaning of that phrase changes like all parts of language.
Look around. Dozens of employees at identical workspaces all try to answer the same questions. Naturally, there’s no need for manual labor anymore but there will never be a replacement for human ingenuity. Nice slogan but you know you’re only here for data. Can’t see a need for customer retention though—what’s the alternative, skip Earth? See you on another planet?
“Hey bro, you come up with anything new?” Dave says. Two desks away, you see the enthusiastic, surprisingly spry man play around with a Newton’s cradle. The balls at each end bounce back and forth, not slowing down their rhythm any time soon.
“I think I got something,” you say, “Earth is not the answer. It can’t be, long term.”
“Ooh, I like that. Actually, I really like that.”
“What are you gonna do, copy me?”
“Of course not. You know how much SM hates plagiarism.” Click. Clack.
“Ha. As if there’s a single original thought left in the world.” Click. Clack. The imaginary sounds of metal spheres bouncing play in your mind. They got the volume wrong, no way it’d sound that loud from that distance. “You’d think with all their resources, they’d have figured out space travel by now.”
“I don’t think they want to leave, bro. Wouldn’t be great for profits.”
Your mouth opens to laugh and causes laugh8942.mp3 to play in Dave’s head. “I love it. SM probably hates that sass too,” you say.
“Oh no, they’re gonna arrest me for thoughtcrimes. Nah, they love creativity, just when it suits them. Also, if they actually did bust you for wrongthink like rumors say, I wouldn’t have this on me.” Dave twirls a finger and points at you and you thank his absurd flair for the histrionic that keeps you amused with such drab work.
“NewDrug.mp6. Would you like to play it?” the dry system voice notifies you.
“Woah woah there tiger, hold on.” Dave must’ve noticed your intrigued eyes and holds his hands up. “You might wanna experience that at home. But if you’re interested in more, ask for chicken parm at the vegan place. You know the one.”
Dave leaves his desk. He doesn’t return. You finish your work. Inspire. Expire. You’d rather not.
In contrast to your commute to work, the roads fill with others on your way home. You have to know. Take solace in the comfort of a bench where a huge McDonald’s arch bathes the surroundings and its people with a yellow glow. Really shouldn’t watch it now, especially if Dave says it’s a home type of watch but you have to know. A family of five watches you pass out. They, along with every other passerby, ignore your still body draped over the chrome outdoor seating as you look like yet another junkie. The title is correct after a fashion, the simulation is some sort of new drug. The details of the exploits that happen in the immersive replay wash over you but you don’t need them to know that it’s the sort of lewd that SM would not allow—at least not publicly and not without the right exorbitant payment.
Suit pants and underwear go straight to the laundry. That must’ve been an embarrassing sight but no one bothered to stop you, so it doesn’t matter. Look up where this vegan place was that Dave so presumptuously assumed you knew about and you find that it’s about four Avengers’ stores down from work. He must’ve eaten there before.
“Yo Dave, just wanna make sure, what’s the name of the vegan place called?”
“What are you talking about, man? You telling me there’s some secret underground farms that SM wouldn’t know about?”
You can’t tell when you got to work, a lack of standardized timing would help as well the haze of living in a monotonous dark. “Nah, I mean, for the-”
“I have no idea,” Dave emphasizes each word, “what you’re talking about.”
“I see.”
Work flies by, unusually.
“Hey, can I get a chicken-”
“Uh, this is Maron’s Veggies Only, it clearly says on the sign.”
Clear your throat. “Parm.”
The shifty part-time worker looks around and rubs his fingers gesturing for money. “No digital.”
Over the counter, you pass him a gold coin stamped with a holographic 1 and he hands you a USB stick and a laptop in return. How old-fashioned.
“It’ll sync with whoever you have set as your avatar experience aspect,” the worker says.
“Thanks.”
Ever vigilant as the patrol is, the alleys are the last place you want to go to hide with the obvious criminal element within them all but you head to one anyway. Dump the anachronistic technology in your storage pocket dimensions. Looking at its contents, you’d have to clean that mess up later, but the more you look like an average slob the better. The biggest problem with the inventories is all the people squatting in them. Inspectors wouldn’t care about the archaic ruins you left in yours.
“Welcome, master. Ae-Karina is ready to service.”
“I’d like to go on a date. A special date.” You highlight the key word special and sit on your living room couch. No one’s going to look in your glass door and regardless, you wouldn’t be the pervert for glimpsing into someone’s home.
“Ah yes, master. Ae-Karina is ready to fully service,” she says with a provocative tint in her tone, her sclera disperses to black to match. A pole drops from the ceiling while parts of her maid outfit dissolve which reveals more of the silky skin of her thighs, her lissom arms and most importantly her overflowing breasts. Ae-Karina wraps her legs around the pole and spins around, teasing fingers trace curves on her body to harden you. Her dance is precise but sultry regardless. She pulls up her short skirt to flaunt more of her ass beneath white panties and then pulls down to flourish her cleavage, not trapped by a bra. “Are you enjoying your maid’s show?”
“Very much so, yes,” you say.
Half of a smile forms before a glitch occurs and she teleports next to you, fully nude. It doesn’t pull you out of the illusion however. You just stare and drink in the splendor of her created body.
“You’re not going to touch?” Ae-Karina says.
A feel of her tits and you find it softer than pillows you used to rest on. Soft isn’t much of a character that exists anymore when the whole world is engulfed in liquid. No one has beds, especially with the rarity of sleep. Therefore, her mounds are a consummate dedication to the texture as you squeeze and pinch at her cute nipples.
Her maid outfit rematerializes as she straddles you. It provides more friction to your pants as she begins her lap dance. The weight of her body dragging across your legs and clothed erection induces your carnal impulses further. If only you could fuck the virtual idol. You have to make do with the imprint of her pussy lips on your bulge sliding up and down. Breath in. Breath out.
Ae-Karina pulls down your boxers and spits on your erection. It's not real but her hands so slick on your cock and you let reality slip. Real is for the past, you have desires gratified in the present. There is no real person nibbling at your neck but your nerves activate in sexual desire without discernment for truth. No, she doesn't love you, but when the voracious mass of ones and zeroes says it loves its master, you say it back.
"I love you."
ILOVEYOU infected ten million computers in 2000. An explosion. Calibration engaging. It’s 1:21 PM, Sunday, July 18, 2286 and hypothetically the sun would be out in its full rage. At this latitude and longitude, you’re at what was once the epicenter of all—Seoul, where a fountain caused a chain reaction allowing the hopeful remnant of a world to exist. It lasted a surprisingly long time without the sun and without Aether but the dying planet would succumb inevitably to the ever-increasing contamination so SM of all corporations took charge. A different kind of chain reaction occurred when they acquired a restaurant chain that discovered the recipe for liquid air. The law is on its way and prepared to punish you to its full extent.
You reel while your ears ring. An even sexier version of the woman you already fantasized about appears from your peripheral vision in the crater of your floor. A skimpy cop outfit, striated with reflective material that seems to wane black at different angles, outlines Karina’s curves. She has a tool belt with absurd gadgets, such as a knife baton hybrid, a taser combined with a spray bottle and a Tamagotchi. None of this is necessary. They could just immediately arrest you, impose limitations on your devices. Sure, SM cloned people to deal with underpopulation, but why Karina would be the enforcer is a whole nother issue. Maybe the entertainment company loves their irony?
“Halt. You’re under arrest. Any resistance will be penalized according to the combined Terms of Service of all SM and SM associated products.”
Fucked anyway, you figure you might as well go for it. Escape into your inventory and only seconds later you’re forced out. You manage to get what you need regardless.
“Violation of access rights will be charged to your account.”
It’s so obvious but there’s a reason you kept so much gold in physical storage. As you swim away, the sides of your apartment start to bubble. Bubbles? Already, your limbs feel unsteady. Something’s wrong in the Aether.
“This is standard procedure for escaping suspects that are indoors. Again, this is all agreed to under the Terms of Service.”
“When the fuck did I ever click accept to that shit?”
“When you were born in this world and decided you want to stay in it,” Karina says out loud. You hear her say it. Your physical ears process the vibrations in the air that come from her mouth. Gravity thwarts your desperate escape as your limp body floats on the limit between liquid and air. The atrophy of your muscles becomes apparent within the gaseous atmosphere. She watches you sink down as the room drains of all the false air though her eyebrows crease when she inspects you closer. Your breaths are involuntary. Despite your muscles shorting out, the force of gravity and the pressure of the gas bearing down on you, you’re breathing and you don’t mean to. Her eyes wander farther down. On your pants, a concrete rod stamps the fabric.
“Oh, you like what you see?”
“Shut up, criminal. Anything you say can and will be used against you.”
“Your pussy,” you say and she scoffs.
“Original.” Karina bites her lip as your erection continues to grow behind its prison. You use all effort to put your hands up.
“Please, miss Karina. I’ve been bad.”
“I could punish you even more for sexual assault.”
“Then do it.”
Heat radiates the room in a way you haven’t felt in a while and droplets of sweat form on each of your bodies, especially on the thighs that her revealing outfit parades. Her facial features contort in deliberation and the wait kills you. You bat your eyes at her before Karina takes off her tight shorts and drops herself into your anticipatory face. This makes no sense but none of this life made any sense so you decide to go with the tides.
Centuries of training your respiration has led to this moment, but when you finally have real air to breathe, you spit at the opportunity and choose to suffocate. Then you spit at her pussy and lap it up. Karina’s nectar transfixes your olfactory glands, for once a smell that isn’t the sterile Aether. Your eyes are mesmerized in parallel because of the perfect design of her pussy, a single crease that leads into her hole that your tongue emphatically explores. Karina spreads her thighs wide to reveal a small nub that craves attention. So give it. Suck and swirl and flick your tongue, and the woman provides you the tight clench of her legs as a gift. And the sounds, rediscovered glorious noise. Loud, almost too loud, and clear is how they assault your ears, even surrounded by the flesh of her thighs. Muffled by the weight of her legs, you hear Karina moan in approval but she’s still clearly in charge with how she chokes you with her legs. This is not about your pleasure but hers, and any satisfaction that you derive is not only incidental but probably punishable by SM copyright law.
Karina squirms her hips subtly on your mouth. Her eyes are sharp and she’s just about to stop your hands from moving but she notices them clasp together.
“I’ll do anything to make you cum, please.” you say sloppily as her pussy juices fill your cheeks and drip down your chin.
“God. I can’t.” She takes deep, contemplative breaths. ”That’s more time added on for inappropriate behavior.” Her groaning and brief squeals make her words sound incogent.
You give her a concluding lick and a kiss on her slit. “So what have you been doing right now then?”
Point to a corner of the room and a subtle red light indicates a recording camera. At once, she pulls out a hose from a pocket that could not fit it and the vacuum submerges the room with noise. Her expression shifts quickly to serious.
“We don’t play games here in SMTOWN unless it’s SuperStar so don’t fuck with me.”
“Look who's trying to be a comedian. How about you fuck with me any further and the video gets released.”
“That’s funny, you think you have any sort of power-”
“Yoo Jimin, I suggest you don’t push me more.”
“Where do you know that name from? Right now.” She weighs herself down on your neck.
“You think I don’t have contingencies for if I die too? Karina, we can make this a  win-win scenario. We both get to cum, we both get to walk away unscathed.”
“Fuck you.”
Your weak arms wander between her thighs. At any moment, a feeble punch towards your face or another ten seconds of asphyxiation and she could call your bluff. Even if you did have the ability to expose her perversions in any way, there would be no permanent recourse, not as long SM was in charge. So it surprises you when Karina takes off her shorts. 
“Goddammit. Your cock just looks too good. And your mouth, how are you so good with it?” Put up five fingers when she motions to remove her top as well, and instead she opts to take off your clothes, seizing your pants and throwing them to join the rubble in the room.
A finger slips in, then two and a third dares. Her flawlessly architected pussy lips clings to your digits and Karina shudders in reply. You explore her wetness and find it’s smooth to the point of having no faults, but her juice inside is gloppy and causes your fingers to stick more than the liquids she spills from her slit.
“Who said you’re allowed to have more?”
You lap up the nectar on your fingers. “Then why’d they make you taste so good?”
Your thumb teases her sweet tight asshole and puts just the slightest amount of pressure on it while you finger her with more intensity. The mass of her butt burdens your torso the closer she gets to orgasm. Her eyelids squeeze close and you see her body ripple in anxious pleasure. Karina shows off her pearly whites, teetering on the cliff of hysteria.
“Yes, yes! I’m so close,” she screams.
"Not yet."
“Fuck." Karina sobs, "God. Damn, fuck I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Just fuck me.”
“My pleasure,” you say. There’s no need for you to grab her since she brings herself down to your groin, which you’re thankful for as your arms are as good as jelly now. Fortunately, your cock throbs as hard as ever while Karina’s slit rests on it.
“Say you’ll delete it all, all the evidence, promise me.”
“You’re gonna fuck me first or what?” Your breath hitches while she makes a strangled noise as her velvety walls swallow your cock whole to leave no room for comfort. Her tightness is stifling and you have to start counting just to breathe again.
“One two-”
“Be quiet.”
But there is no quiet when pleas for your cooperation intersperse her excessive profanities when she seats herself into your cock and ricochets up and down. Sweat emanates from her creamy skin while her legs widen to find a better angle for her supporting knees in her cowgirl position. Grapefruit and other citrus mingle with the scent of the sweat, fruits you haven’t seen except on billboards in music videos. As much as your mind crackles and your blood roars for every atmosphere of pressure Karina’s walls provide on each thrust in and out, you can’t help but reminisce on sweeter, more innocent times.
The white fluorescent lights in your apartment sputter. For all the advancements in technology, some among many things never change. Light refracts differently in air, less bright, but you can see the pure enjoyment on Karina’s face no matter the luminescence. Karina slows her ride to pull her hips down harder instead and she jolts when your cock finds the most tender spots inside her pussy and it interrupts her babbling.
Karina almost hyperventilates when she gets up to spit on your cock. She pulls out some kind of meter from her tool belt and sighs when there’s no beeping and you recognize it having to do with carbon dioxide. She gets back to dribbling saliva and the filament trailing down to your shaft mesmerizes you. This spit is real, not simulated, and it wettens your erection in a mix with her pussy juices to paralyze you further in your already listless state. Her bare thighs jiggle and you can’t exert much force with your hands but her buttcheeks are firm with just a bit of give.
“Thank you for this cock, thank you for being bad,” Karina says as you watch her ass sink deeper while her pussy holds your dick taut. She’s frenetic when bounces up and down to play an unadulterated orchestra of slick noises between your groins.
“You’re welcome,” you accomplish getting out the words between planned breaths. Your hands cup her buttcheeks but you fear they may break with how she strikes her ass into you.
Karina turns around once more to give you the spectacle of her facial expressions as she fucks herself into you. Knead her calves laying on your torso and they take no energy to spread them though she brings them back together, compressing your hard shaft within her pussy. A new game you play with her, a separate rhythm of loosening and tightening. Her feet press on your chest to help her bounce, but the way they bear down on your lungs against the timing of your breathing causes you to fumble. Your cock bends straight forward as she plunges herself into you and it sends prickles to your entire skin, making the new angle difficult but worth it. Karina takes your hand and starts sucking on your fingers.
“You want my promise that bad?” you say.
“Yes, as bad as I want your cum. I swear, I need it.”
She draws her knees up to her torso and hugs her legs to keep thighs as tight together as possible. Karina couldn’t keep her word, she was trying to kill your cock with constriction.
“Fuck, your pussy is so fucking tight. God, Karina, fuck. You’re so good.” Even if good isn’t the word you want to use to describe her.
“Do it, please, please. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, baby. Karina can be a good girl, a good maid, a good cop, whatever you want. Just don’t get me in trouble, please.”
Karina’s mouth stops saying words though her lips writhe, drunk in increasing lust. Her cheeks flush, before the rest of her skin joins in redness while she grapples your chest and whatever spare limb she can find. You still struggle wresting control of your body but nature seems to take over when you drive yourself into her and match her needy cadence. The air in the room is replaced by a new air but it isn’t Aether. Passion, sweat, heat and all fluids that you both exude join squelching sounds, slaps and moans in harmonic bliss when her body tenses and she screams. As her body tightens, her pussy especially holds your cock for dear life and endeavours to wring out all your semen as her wetness throbs and spills. Karina starts counting to three repeatedly and you laugh though your amusement quickly subsides when you feel her juices become more viscous and she continues her ride, even in the dying pulses of her climax.
“Was I good?” Karina asks.
Just a moment goes by before you mentally send her a screenshot of all the recordings being deleted. Karina hasn’t stopped fucking you yet so at least it wasn’t a ploy.
“Thank you, thank you, I love you.” The flexion of her pliant legs brings them all the way back to rest on top of your legs. Karina lays prone above you and finally give you a kiss. The citrusy flavor may be closer to lime than grapefruit but it’s been so long that you can’t remember which scent is which. Lips crash and her tongue lashes out at yours trying to establish dominance. Keep still to let her investigate your mouth while her pussy does the same to your shaft.
You savor the way Karina’s top emphasizes the bouncing of her tits synchronous with the rebounding of her waist on your cock, but your mouth waters when she frees them. Take the shortest moment to relish in the sight before Karina smothers you with her plump globes. You wriggle your face to try to breathe. Inhale, up and exhale, down, but all you inhale is the scent of her orbs’ sweat. Her hips undulate with a pace at least double yours breathing and the echoes of slapping flesh resonate throughout the air-filled chamber. The loudness is unlike any you’ve experienced in a long time. It’s almost a flashbang every time her ass slams into your lap, especially as you start to see white when orgasm threatens to overload you with preludial pulses.
The last words you hear infected ten million computers in 2000. Fade to black. Cut. You’re slammed out of existence back into existence as a sun rebirths both within you, heating your core to a dangerous high, and from your eyes, dazzling you in an unforgiving white light. In the throes of unconsciousness relapsing to consciousness back to tenebrosity, your streaks of semen suspend in the Aether like a dead tree resting from the wind. What flashes your mind in its orgasmic state are two things only you would remember, plants and weather. Your hyperventilation is unconscious but not unwelcome, as it’s the first time in a while your breaths were reflexive even in the liquid air. However, basking in your newfound power, you start to choke. Right. You breathe in and out again. In and out. In. Out. In. Out. Back in.
“Replaying KarinaArrestsYou.mp6.” A hint of vexatious glee in the system’s otherwise dry voice. You don’t stop for it.
✦✧✦✧✦✧ 
AFF, AO3
It’s pretty silly but the idea danced around in my head ever since I saw the absolute Black Mirror concept that SM had for aespa and I concur that Karina is insanely hot.
As I’m writing this, this Kurzgesagt video on the idea of a rogue Earth comes out and now I have to rewrite stuff to make it at least a little consistent. I’m obviously already going nuts with all these ridiculous sci-fi concepts but this video almost feels too targeted to me writing this for me to ignore it.
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