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#which takes me out of the game's immersion
zombeebunnie · 2 days
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Trembling Essence:💙Script progress + Updates💙
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Hello and welcome new followers, long time no see! I was very busy most of this month, but I am back and ready to continue from where I left off on the game! This game development post might be a bit long but I tried to condense everything! :]
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"How are things going so far?":
It's going slow and steady! I haven't been able to do too much these past few weeks, however, I wrote a few parts out before I got too busy and couldn't do anything else.
I want to be very careful when it comes to spoilers but, based on your choices, some of these areas will give off immersive cozy/homelike vibes that really express Noah and the player(Y/N)'s view towards each other. In the old 2023 script I was very new to writing so the small semi-hints of romance weren't the entire focus compared to the horror aspect but there's a better balance between both genres now and I'm still aiming for a meaningful slow burn versus it just being all over the place. :] I liked writing them a whole bunch which lead to a lot of these taking place in the mid/end of Day 4+, they just need to be placed in specific areas that call for it. With that being said, it felt really comfy adding key details about Noah and creating meaningful sections in the game. I was even going to draw out some of the unseen script/scenes but I believe the best thing to do is give deeper lore from the [Extended Demo] first. Even though my writing style has improved I still have to fix the multiple pacing issues I wrote last year.
"Playtester's advice":
I wanted to continue working through Noah's backstory but I kept having moments where I'd get sidetracked into wanting to fix up the start of the game again. Eventually, I talked to my play testers about it and they gave me a few encouraging pointers.
To help keep my process at ease, I will fix the beginning of the game when I take breaks from writing up Noah's backstory. :]
I talked about this during early 2024 but the start of the game that leads up to the cabin is still getting reworked. I was able to get some of it fixed for the [Extended Demo] but I wasn't done. Things are still up in the air but, I will say that I have a better view of everything than I did before. :] Another priority that needs fixing are the backgrounds! I've improved a lot on drawing and they need to be optimized. When you first start up the game, you wake up in a holed out tree in the swamp with the choice to leave this area and possibly end up in the forest. I was going for a very immersive form of symbolism that only a few noticed but, I believe I can do a better job about this. Unfortunately I don't have any new backgrounds to show right now but maybe next week I'll have some finished up! :]
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"Art process/Noah's sprite sheets":
As far as Noah sprite sheet goes, it's still in sketch mode.
I didn't draw anything since I was gone so I need to do a few warm ups before I get to them. There are some old drawing prompts I wrote down and old sketches that I never got a chance to doodle so hopefully I can get to them at some point with some attached lore. :,]
My Q&A / Ask box has been reset!
Thank you to those who have sent in asks in the past, unfortunately they all disappeared except for 1 while I was gone. I have no idea what happened but I can only guess it just got reset.
If you have any questions about Trembling Essence/Noah feel free to ask or resend them in here please. This makes it easier for me to see and answer accordingly! I would really like to hear from you guys!
This is all I have to share so far, Thank you to everyone for the continued support and patience while I was gone! I was ready to accept the interest for this game to fade out and coming back to see that it didn't happen makes me happy, I really appreciate it. :,]
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timewontwait · 5 months
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sonic forces drives me crazy. cool ass concepts that didn't feel executed as good as they could have been and some odd narrative choices (classic sonic just doesn't exist in that game to me I'm sorry fhsjdhd)
would have loved it if it had better narrative story telling, imo. also would have loved to see more showing of how the war affected everyone.
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room215 · 2 years
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Hotel Dusk or Last Window? :3c
oooh good one…. i’ve seen people before say that last window is better than its predecessor and i do very much get where that’s coming from- specifically in regards to the slightly upped stakes- and i think that both are very good, don’t get me wrong, but hotel dusk is unbeatable for me tbh. everyone in the cast is so well-rounded and human and the writing is super tight and the atmosphere is unlike anything else. story-wise i think that the only subplot that felt a little out of place for me was the stuff going on with summer and helen but thematically they still worked pretty well; thematically EVERYONE worked really well but i could go on and on about the characters (and… just about everything else) forever if i don’t stop myself here. play hotel dusk if you’re reading this and haven’t already.
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ghoul-haunted · 1 year
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honestly we would not be here re: cullen if I did not read hellblazer at 13
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orcelito · 1 year
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Maybe. I could try to draw Dohalim
......later
#speculation nation#like im better at writing than i am at drawing. aka why i pursue it more#but writing is such a commitment for me. and requires a Lot of immersion.#it would take a lot of time for something i doubt many people would even read#so. when the matter is whating to see him More. i could maybe draw him.#listen im following his tag now and theres like one new post a day If Even. & not necessarily art either#i just wanna see him 😭 i need to be prepared for when i run out of video game#what to do when a character shunts himself up towards the top of my fav characters Ever list#but barely anyone within my general sphere of the internet cares about him...#like. i dont think i can say i love him more than akechi. not with how much time ive put into appreciating akechi.#but at the same time it's a different kind of love. akechi is sonboy. dohalim is . hdjskfjdkfjd#dohalim makes my brain putty. probably more so than yuri lowell by this point. which is saying something.#oh i dont know what to doooooooo#and i keep thinking like 'i already have clung to a nearly completely unknown character for the past 7 years'#but it's just DIFFERENT. im okay with no new orcelito content bc ive stolen his identity. he is me.#but dohalim????? i want to SEE him!!!!!!!! i want to talk about him!!!!!! and i cant do that like i can with akechi#not for lack of trying tho. i have several ppl ive been rambling about this game with hfmshfjd#if it gets even One of them into the game with me... it'll have been worth it...#idk. idk idk idk. im too tired to draw rn but i will probably try to draw. soon.
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recklessmatt · 30 days
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motive - m.s
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PAIRING: matt sturniolo x fem!reader
WORD COUNT: 2.1K
GENRE(S): smut hehe
SUMMARY: you invite matt over since he was assigned to tutor you but things take a twist when you’re the one doing the tutoring
WARNINGS: smut [virgin sub matt! (reader LOWKEY got a corruption kink), unprotected sex, oral (male receiving), slight overstimulation, praise kink, breeding]
“matt did you finish the page?” you ask sitting with your legs crossed on the chair at your desk. turning your head to look at the boy sitting on your bed with a book in hand, he looks up at you and shakes his head. you pout slightly and continue to turn your focus to your work in front of you. you and matt are the complete opposite, he always got excellent grades, teachers loved him, always so polite to everyone. you on the otherhand, had decent barely passing grades, teachers despised you, and you just didn���t care. the way you two were so different made you so intrigued by him. once you found out that matt was assigned to tutor you, you felt shots of anticipation and excitement spreading across your body.
you two sit in silence for a couple minutes, but then you get bored. you turn your attention to matt again and you were about to speak but you noticed how immersed he was in his book. you take the opportunity to take in all his features, how his nose scrunches slightly, his brunette locks covering his vision slightly, the frames that sit on his nose perfectly, and those pink pouty lips that you wanna kiss so bad.
“hey matt, let’s play a quick game.” you say. matt looks up shyly through his glasses and says quietly “we’re supposed to be reading our books.” oh he’s so adorable. “i knowww but we’ve been reading forever let’s take a quick break.” you say shutting your laptop.
“what are we playing?” matt asks you slightly tilting his head. “mmmm, 20 questions.” matt nods. “alright matty, first question. have you ever kissed a girl?” you ask. his eyes widen and he looks down. “i don’t wanna play anymore…” he says quietly, causing you to pout. “i won’t tell anyone, i promise matty.” you assure him. he slowly raises his head and lets out a sigh. “no i haven’t.” he murmurs so quietly you almost missed it. “are you a virgin?” you ask, he nods shyly. you suddenly clench your thighs at the thought of him being so innocent. you lift yourself off the chair you were on to move onto the bed sitting next to him.
“do you wanna learn how to kiss?” you ask lowly placing your hand on his thigh which causes matt to slightly flinch from the contact. he looks at you with those big blue eyes, not knowing what to say. he nods very slowly. you lean in barely making contact with his lips.
“i need words baby.” you whisper to him. matt lets out a shaky breath “yes please.” “just follow my lead alright?”
you close the space between you two and matt lets out a surprised yelp. you start slow, molding your lips together, moving in sync. you bit his bottom lip causing him to moan lowly in your mouth. you take the opportunity to slip your tongue in, dancing around with his tongue which makes both of you moan.
you then slowy start to move your hand up his thigh to his clothed member, giving it a slight squeeze making matt let out a higher pitched moan. you continue to your movements starting to rub him through his pants. every second that passes makes matt crave for more. you then pull your lips away.
“have you ever touched yourself baby?” you ask against his lips still palming him, matt lets out a whimper “s-sometimes.” he says shakily. “w-wait we have to study.” matt stutters out. “i know hun, we’re gonna try something okay? you’re gonna trust me on this okay?” you say. “o-okay.” you give him a quick peck on the lips.
“lay back on the bed baby.” you say slightly pushing him away. matt lays back down on the bed still holding onto his book. “i want you to read your book out loud for me baby okay?” you look at him. matt widens his eyes then shyly nods at you. “s-she turned to Mrs. Mckee and…” he reads out loud and once he started reading you crawled down enough to where your face was in line with his clothed member. you started to rub him through his pants, unbuckling his pants and slowly undoing his pants which causes matt to stop reading. “wait what are you doing?” he questions. “shhh keep reading baby don’t mind what i’m doing.” you pull his pants down just enough for you to have access to his member.
“i-it was n-nine-o-clock…” matt continues on, stuttering through his words which makes you smirk. you freed his member and it was already dripping with pre cum which causes you to salivate. he was big; thick enough to stretch you out perfectly. you hum in approval and wrap your fingers around him, looking back up at matt and you can see him struggling to keep his eyes open, stumbling over his words, heavy breathing. it turned you on so much just to see the boy in front of you crumble just from the feeling of your soft hand wrapped tightly around his member. you slowly start to pump your hand up and down his shaft which causes matt to let out a loud groan.
“mmmm, i ca-i can’t keep reading.” he stutters out, eyes closed and head thrown back. you pause your movements. “keep reading or i’m gonna stop.” you strictly say, hand loosening. “no! no, i’ll keep reading!” matt quickly picks up his book and starts to read again. “t-the little dog was…” hearing the words pass through his lips causes you to smirk at how desperate he was.
your thumb flicked against his slit as it spread the leaking precum from the tip to the base, you glance up and see matt trying his best to distract himself from the feeling of your hand pumping him up and down. you use this opportunity to flatten your tongue and lick him from his base all the way to his tip. lips wrapping around his tip, you swirl your tongue around it and this causes matt to let out a whimper. the noise he let out brings you to clench your thighs for some sort of relief.
you continue to swirl your tongue around his tip before lowering your mouth taking him deeper. whimpers continue to leave matt’s mouth as you continue to bob your head up and down. you then realize that it’s silent and all you can hear are matt’s moans and groans. you take your mouth off him and look at him. he looks so fuckable right now. hair sticking to his forehead, out of breath, bottom lip between his teeth, glasses keep slipping off due to how sweaty he is.
“what did i say?” you ask pumping him with your hand. “mmm, i-i’m sorry it f-feels too good.” he says throwing his head back. “pick up your book baby.” matt sighs and starts reading again.
you lower your mouth back onto him and suck on him like your life depended on it. you can feel matt already getting close and you continue to bop your head up and down, your hand stroking what couldn’t fit in your mouth. you feel his dick start to twitch and that makes you go even faster wanting him to finish. “oh my god i th-think im gonna come.” matt whines breathlessly using the book he has in his hand to cover his mouth as a way to quiet down his noises. as you continue to suck him off, matt lets out a loud groan and you feel a thick warm layer of cum filling your mouth.
you swallow every drop of him not leaving any mess behind. you look up at him and see matt breathless, chest heaving and eyes squinted behind his glasses. the sight of that makes you even more drenched. you crawl ontop of him tossing his book aside.
“did that feel good baby boy?” you ask running your manicured fingers along his face. he nods shyly looking down slightly embarrassed for finishing quickly. you push his hair back and lift his chin up making him look at you, those damn doe eyes. “don’t be embarrassed baby. you did so good for me.”
biting your lip, you leaned in to kiss his, feeling his plump, soft pink lips against yours. a moan escaped your mouth at the sweet taste of his tongue, fighting against yours desperately. you bite down on his bottom lip which makes matt moan in your mouth. you pull away removing your top and your bra. matt doesn’t know what to do except stare at your breasts with his hands glued to his side. you let out a low chuckle and grab his hands placing them on your tits. you take the initiative to have his hands squeeze them causing you to let out a moan and roll your hips along his hard on. matt feels his eyes almost closing once again and mind going blank.
“w-wait it hurts” matt stutters out. oh my god he’s so cute. “aww, you’re just a little overstimulated baby. i’ll make it better” you say leaning in to give him a peck. “you trust me right?” you ask. he nods. “i need words baby.” you say firmly. “i trust you.” he quietly says. you smile and give him another peck.
slightly raising yourself over his lap and lifting your skirt up, you used one of your hands to position the tip of his cock against your entrance and the other to pull your panties to the side. a soft groan escaped matt’s lips as he felt the wetness of your core against his cock. you slowly lowered yourself on him and pulling him in for a kiss to muffle his moans and groans. once you have finally bottomed out, you began moving your hips, having both of you get used to the feeling, the friction made him pull you closer, face buried in the crook of your neck while small whimpers left his lips, going straight to your core. your walls clenched around him tightly, drawing a loud groan from his chest, eyes rolling to the back of his head.
he fit inside you so perfect. he felt so good filling you up. “oh my god baby you feel so good stretching me out. fit so perfectly inside me.” you praise him running your fingers through his brunette locks. this praising causes matt to let a whimper out.
“oh you like that baby? you like being told how you’re such a good boy for me. how you fuck me so good?” you start to bounce on his cock. “uh huh” he lets out a higher pitched moan. “w-wait im gonna cum.” matt throws his head back, hands around your waist. “yeah? you wanna fill me up with your cum? you wanna cum inside my tight little pussy baby?” you hummed against his ear. this earned you a whimper falling from his lips and hands tightening against your waist. “what a naughty boy, who would’ve guessed that perfect student matthew sturniolo is such a filthy slut” you whispered in his ear moving your hips faster. “please please please im so close” he moans out. “you wanna fill me up so bad don’t you huh” you say moaning out, picking up your pace, gripping onto his shoulders. “yes yes yes” matt pleads with glassy eyes and hot tears threatening to spill from the overwhelming pleasure making him dizzy. his hands gripping your waist trying to bring you closer causing a moan to escape from your lips making him more desperate. you felt matt lift his hips to meet yours, the tip of his cock hitting your most sensitive spot as he tried to match your fast pace making you let out a loud moan “yes, you’re doing so good for me matt i’m so close.” you throw your head back feeling his cock thrust into you deeply.
you pull matt in for a heated kiss, sloppily moving your mouths and tongues together. you clench around him causing him to moan in your mouth. “please let me cum please please please.” matt begs so desperately against your lips. “cum for me baby boy.” and that’s all that took for matt to reach his high, hips stuttering, and body trembling. feeling him shoot his warm load paint your walls and hearing the sob matt let out as he came had your walls tightening and clenching around him milking him dry.
after taking a moment to breathe you raised yourself to get off of him, matt wincing from the slight oversensitivity. you lay back down on your bed right next to him, he looks at you breathlessly. you smile at him in exhaustion and give him a kiss on the cheek.
“ready to tutor me?” you ask cheekily with a smile. matt turns to you with a look causing both of you guys to laugh out loud.
gotta tag bae @luverboychris and @thesturniolos
author's note: hi i am SO sorry i lacked on writing AND i changed the title 😭 this story was lowkey kinda long IN MY OPINION at least, only bc im used to writing like 500 words tbh but i hope you guys like it. but i alr have another request in the inbox so another matt smut will be up next ;) enjoyyy, fanks for reading. <3
REQUEST:
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sincerelyyycece · 24 days
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hey, are u still there?...good.
Y/N inevitably finds themselves settling into James's backburner.
note: modern au, inspired by niki's song, "backburner.", lily evans is briefly mentioned, here's what i promised you guys mwa mwa!
sincerelyyycece © ─ all rights reserved. please do not repost/translate/copy any of my work.
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Y/N had always been the "backburner," the second choice, especially James’s second choice. She was the one he turned to when his first plans fell through—the one who was always there but never the priority. She was used to it and had grown comfortable in the role.
Right now, she's sent at least 15 messages to him.
Hey?
Can we meet up? I have some great news to tell you.
Hellooo.
You're probably busy. Text me when you can.
James?  Did something happen?
Nevermind, I'm probably overthinking it.
I'll just tell you here.
I got the internship :)
Delivered. Gazing at her screen, she sighed with a sense of familiarity. This repetitive pattern felt more like a routine or a game to her. The 'How long till he talks to me again?' Game, as she calls it. Setting her phone aside, she sought distraction from the mundane task of doing laundry.
A moment later, her phone chimed, drawing her attention. With a swift motion, she turned towards it. Hastily, she wiped her damp hands and cleared her throat before uttering, "Hello?" On the other end, she could hear faint shuffling before a familiar voice greeted her, "Hey, Angel." The affectionate nickname warmed her heart. "Just got your text. Congratulations!" he exclaimed. A soft "thank you" escaped her lips in response. His greeting sent a wave of warmth through her. "Apologies for not replying sooner. I was with..." He paused, clearing his throat. Her mood dimmed at the mention of another name. "With someone. I was with someone.”
Lily, always the first choice, James's top priority, the standard against which she measures herself. "Yeah, sure," she responded, lacking enthusiasm. "Mm-hmm," he trailed off. "So, do you want to celebrate? We could go out to eat or stay in and watch a movie," he suggested. "I'm not really feeling up to it right now. I'm pretty tired." There was a rustling sound on the phone once more. "Look, if this is about earlier, I apologize, alright?" he said. "Lily had some things going on and wanted to meet up, so we did." There it was again. Everything revolves around Lily.
"Um, yeah, I understand," she stuttered, trying to articulate her thoughts. "It's not that, James. I'm just exhausted from chores," she explained, glancing subtly at her unfinished laundry pile. "Y/N, come on. Let me make it up to you," he pleaded earnestly. "Pretty please," he persisted. She shook her head, amused, and relented, saying, "Okay, okay." Through the phone, she could hear his small yet enthusiastic 'yes.' "Order some takeout. We'll have a cosy night in with a movie," she suggested. "Yes, ma'am. I'm on my way," he joked lightly. "Take care." With that, she hung up and returned immediately to her laundry task.
Following that day, they continued hanging out. She pondered over the abrupt shift in their dynamic. It was uncharacteristic for her, yet she relished every moment spent with him. He delighted her by taking her to places she longed to visit and presenting her with gifts tailored to her preferences. He seemed to be doing everything right. However, as she prepared for a movie night tonight, a disheartening text message appeared on her phone. Hey, something came up. I have to reschedule. Sorry. She sighed, feeling a tinge of disappointment. Perhaps she should have anticipated this turn of events.
Sure, we can reschedule. she replied, her eyes brimming with tears. As they cascaded down her cheeks that night, she found herself immersed in a sea of sorrow. The following morning, she anticipated a message from him, but none arrived. Disheartened once more, she resolved not to reach out again. Days turned into weeks, with silence echoing his absence. It seemed as though he had vanished from her world. Or so she believed. Suddenly, her phone interrupted her reading, and without lifting her gaze from the book, she answered, "Hello?”
"Hey, are you still there?” echoed the familiar voice in her ears. Pausing, she glanced at the caller's ID. 'James :)' flashed on the screen. With a soft hum, she replied. His sigh reached her ears before he responded, "Good." Once more, she felt relegated to the sidelines in his priorities or had she truly ever moved from that place? Despite the familiar sting of disappointment, Y/N responded, "Yeah, I'm still here, James." His sigh of relief was almost audible across the line, and for a fleeting moment, she felt herself soften.
"I'm sorry, Angel," he murmured, his voice laced with a mixture of regret and something else she couldn't quite place. "I've been...busy." Busy, always busy. But she knew what that meant. Lily. Yet, she found herself replying, "It's okay, James. I understand." She knew she was settling for less, allowing herself to be on the backburner once again. But the truth was, she couldn't help it. She was drawn to him, like a moth to a flame, willingly choosing to dance on the edges of his life, even if it meant getting burned time and time again.
So, she swallowed back the hurt and disappointment, offering him a smile he couldn't see. "We can catch up soon, okay?" She suggested, her voice steady. There was a brief silence before he answered, "Yeah, that sounds good. I'll see you soon, Angel." With that, the call ended, leaving her with the familiar echoes of his promises. She sat alone in the silence of her room, her heart heavy yet hopeful. As she closed her eyes, she knew, deep down, that she was still James's second choice, his backburner. But for now, for better or worse, that was a role she was willing to play.
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0cta9on · 2 months
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FFF2+4
length: +2k words
Genre: Smut
Le Sserafim Sakura x Male Reader
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【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★
Your hand lazily inserts the key into your apartment and unlocks the door. You want to slam it behind you in anger, but you’re too tired to even manage that. Working at the convenience store was supposed to be easy, just a little side hustle you can do to make some cash while you go through school. However, you failed to anticipate the long and arduous days of being yelled at by customers over things you have no power over, all for minimum wage. Your piece of shit manager doesn’t make things easier as all she does is sit on her phone while you’re the one that has to run around like a dog just to maintain the store. With a heavy sigh, you collapse face-first into the couch, just barely fighting the urge to suffocate in between the cushions and end your suffering once and for all.
“You good?”
You turn your attention to your roommate Sakura, who’s sitting on the floor, immersed in a fighting game on the TV. Sakura seldom talks and has a bit of an unnerving air about her, but she always kept the common areas clean and upheld her side of the chores so you considered her to be the perfect roommate in your book. You’ve managed to warm up to each other a little bit over the years, yet she always remained as sort of an enigma to you. You rarely talked due to always being busy with work or school, but whenever you did see her, she was always playing some kind of video game. Supposedly she makes money from streaming herself playing these games to thousands of people. You didn’t really understand, but you didn’t really need to anyway.
Your body slides off the couch onto the floor next to her, your eyes glazing over the flashing colors on the screen. “I’m fine,” you utter. “What are you playing?”
“Tekken 8,” she answers, her eyes never leaving the screen. “You wanna play?”
“I think I’ll stick to watching you.” Video games were never really your thing, but you could admire how skillful Sakura looked with the way her slender fingers quickly pressed the right buttons at the right time, her eyes glaring with focus. The blue light of the TV reflects off of her pale skin, making her look ethereal despite wearing a simple crop top and a pale blue tracksuit. Since when did Sakura look so attractive?
Before you knew it, you were suddenly face to face with the back of Sakura’s blonde head, your legs splayed out on either side of her. She was too focused on the game to notice you pressing up against her, which you took as a sign to take things further. Maybe it was the exhaustion and the stress seeping its way into your brain, but you needed some kind of release and Sakura just happened to be at the right place at the right time. 
Your hands slowly snake their way up her toned abs, grazing her soft skin with your fingertips and stopping at the hem of her top. Sakura hasn’t made any move to stop you, you wonder if she even noticed you at all. You lift up her top, pleasantly surprised to see her wearing no bra underneath. Her breasts are the perfect size and shape to fit into the palms of your hands, soft yet firm like a stress ball. With each gentle squeeze, all the stress you procured over the day begins to drain from your body, and your erection starts to strain against your pants, pressing into Sakura’s lower back. Lust takes over your body as your breath gets heavier and your heart pounds in your chest. Your lips latch onto the back of her exposed neck, kissing and licking her porcelain skin.
“You’re gonna make me lose,” she says, her voice monotone. You momentarily pause to chuckle at her nonchalance. Her body was being ravished by her roommate, yet all she cared about was winning her little game. You found it oddly cute in a weird way.
“Sorry,” you chuckle, punctuating your sentence with a kiss on her neck. “How about this? If you win while I play with your body, I’ll give you $10.”
“Make it $20 and I’ll let you fuck me afterward.”
“Deal.” Almost immediately, your hand lunges into the waistband of her pants while your other hand pinches Sakura’s nipples. To your surprise, her panties had a sizable wet spot on them - despite her lack of a reaction, she was way into this. As you apply pressure against the wet spot, you hear her breath hitch in her throat, her body shivering upon contact. You had her right where you wanted her.
As much as you would love to take your time to make her feel good, you also didn’t want to easily give up the $20 you worked so hard for. You move her panties to the side to give you easier access to the honey pot lying underneath. Her lips were already coated in her slick juices as you teased her hole with your digits. A small groan escapes her mouth right as she wins the first round with a sliver of health left.
“Ooooh, that was a close one, Kkura,” you tease, chuckling into her ear. “Maybe this’ll be easier than I thought.”
Sakura stays quiet, her focus on the game unwavering. Right as the second round starts, you shove two fingers deep inside her hot, velvety core, eliciting a cute moan from the Japanese girl. The slickness of her arousal coats your fingers, allowing you to thrust in and out of her with ease. The texture of her inner walls is like silk wrapped around steel - soft and smooth, yet firm and unyielding. You watch with enjoyment as Sakura slowly becomes undone. Lustful moans continued to escape her lips, and her fingers began to spaz out with each thrust of your hand, causing her character to lose health. Her grip on the controller tightened with frustration but quickly dissipates as you continue to finger her pussy. Miraculously, she somehow managed to win the second round, albeit with a smaller margin than before.
“Hmm, I guess I should start trying now, huh?” You quicken the pace of your hand while your thumb rubs against her clit, sending shockwaves of pleasure through Sakura’s body. Her breathy moans fill the air as she tries desperately to ignore the lust threatening to take over her body. The walls of her pussy tighten around your fingers as she grows closer to her orgasm, her hips rocking subtly with each thrust, inadvertently rubbing her butt against your erection. Your breath grew heavy with excitement, but you didn’t want to end the fun just yet. Right when you think she’s about to cum, you remove your hand from her heat, denying her the satisfaction of a release. Sakura turns to you with a fire in her eyes, causing her to lose her first round.
You chuckle in her face. “What’s with that look?” you ask, taunting her with a sly smirk. From all your years of knowing her, this is the most emotion you have ever seen her display. You couldn’t help but find it cute how much she wanted to cum.
“Whatever…” She grumbles in annoyance before turning back to the screen. You place a gentle kiss on the back of her neck, a symbol of your apology. However, you aren’t apologizing for not taking her all the way. In fact, this is an apology made in advance - you’re about to make things so much more difficult for her.
Instead of pulling the trigger and assaulting her wetness like she wants you to, you decide to tease her by gently rubbing your fingers over the cloth of her crotch, applying just enough pressure for her to feel it but not enough for her to get off. Your other hand traces gentle circles on her breasts, tickling her skin with your fingernails. Sakura lets out a huff of irritation. She so badly wanted to feel your fingers inside of her, but unfortunately for her, her pride was stronger than her lust, and throwing the game for her own pleasure was just not a viable option. Her sexual frustration gets the better of her and the poor girl ends up losing the round in a complete stomp, leaving just one more round to decide whether or not you would be out $20.
“Ugh…” She groans while pinching the bridge of her nose.
“What’s the matter? Just one more win and you get $20, easy as pie,” you say, smirking mischievously. Sakura simply shrugged it off, putting all her attention into the game, but little did she know how dirty you planned on playing the final round.
Right as the in-game announcer starts the final round, you push Sakura forward so that she’s now on all fours, her perfect ass in the air. Despite the compromising change in position, she kept her grip on her controller and her focus on winning. You didn’t let her stay comfortable for long as you grabbed the waistband of her velvet sweatpants and pulled it down along with her panties, exposing her plump cheeks in one fell swoop. Her pussy stains her thighs with her sweet nectar, ready for you to ravish her hole. All your patience is about to pay off as you free your erection from its prison, lining it up with Sakura’s core. With one thrust, you completely bottom out inside of her, causing a high-pitched moan to come out of her mouth. Your fingers sink into the plush flesh of her hips, pulling her towards you with each thrust. The sight of her modest yet plump ass vibrating with an audible slap of skin against skin is worth way more than $20, yet here you are, enjoying it all for free. Sakura’s pussy squeezes your cock with her slick walls, her climax quickly approaching thanks to the work of your fingers earlier.  At this point, your roommate was a complete mess in front of you, dropping her controller and letting her opponent knock out her character without any fight. Right as the big red “DEFEAT” pops up on the screen, Sakura lets out a long moan, announcing her orgasm. You hold her hips down on the base of your cock as her body shakes with pleasure, her juices spilling down your legs and staining your work pants.
Sakura collapses onto the ground as you pull out of her, giving you a moment to catch your breath. As much as you would love to dump your entire load into her pretty pussy, you decide to show her mercy in this instance. Games aren’t fun if you win them right away.
Slowly, Sakura props herself up. Her chest rises and falls with each heavy breath and you can’t help but become mesmerized by her breasts. In turn, she stares at your dick, still glistening with her nectar. She discards her disheveled clothing, and like a kitten stalking its prey, she crawls towards you with unblinking eyes. Normally, her face void of emotion would be hard to read, but at this moment, you knew exactly what she was thinking. Her lips hungrily latch onto yours as she straddles your lap, grasping onto your cock to line it up with her dripping cunt. Your hands automatically gravitate towards her hips as you pull her down onto your lap, forcing her to take all of you at once. Sakura groans into your mouth, wrapping her arms around your head and pulling you deeper into the sloppy kiss. 
As she bounces on your dick, you completely forget about all the shit you faced at work. Hell, you would gladly work at the shit hole if it meant getting to fuck your cute roommate every day. The thought gets you more excited as you meet Sakura’s hips with thrusts of your own, simultaneously breaking the kiss to suckle on her perfect bouncing tits. Her shrill moans and the slaps of your skin against hers fill your ears, driving you closer to the edge.
“S-Sakura… I’m about to c-cum…” You warn her, breathless.
“I-inside… C-cum inside me…”
With your grip tightened on her waist, you slam her down onto your cock, forcing your entire length inside as you shoot ropes of your semen into her cunt. Sakura meets your orgasm with one of her own, her pussy pulsating and milking your cock. Her body collapses onto you as both of you catch your breath.
“Well, that was something,” you say to fill the empty space. Sakura answers with a hot shaky breath against your neck. Five minutes pass before her breathing finally comes back to normal. “Soooo… Same time tomorrow?” You ask, half-jokingly. Sakura gets up from your neck with the same blank expression as always. 
“Don’t keep me waiting.”
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romanarose · 2 months
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Scars
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Pre-Outbreak!Joel Miller x pale!fem!reader (see immersivity warnings)
Join my taglist : Masterlist
Summary: You and Joel are taking things slow, really slow. You find that he's easy to open up to about your depression, but you find it's hard to tell him the full extent.
Warnings: Talk of depression and self harm, self harm scars, descriptions of said scars (healed, not bleeding or recent) piv sex, oral f!recieving. Comfort sex. first time between couple, not loss of virginity.
Immersivity: Reader is fem, no specified age. This is a fic i started last year when i was doing very, very poorly and relapsing. I wanted to write something for myself. I usually really try to make things as inclusive as I can but the descriptions of scars are detailed and they are detailed to my skin, which is pale. I'm sorry, but I wanted to write this for myself. I support people writing fics specific to themselves, their skin tone, their hair type, their wieght etc, as long as it's labled right. @fandxmslxt69 said i could do it and said if anyone has a problem, come to her <3
***************
"And the scars remind us that the past is real" Scars, Papa Roach
Joel hadn’t minded when you said you wanted to take things slow. He didn’t mind one bit. Being a dad of a preteen , albeit an easy one, didn’t leave him with much opportunity to move fast. He was busy. In fact, he hadn’t really intended to date at all, at least until Sarah was in college if that… but you had sparkled your way into his life accidentally, and he was trying his best to balance it all. You were understanding, patient, you didn't get mad if he had to rearrange plans or cancel because something with Sarah or work came up, and he thought things were going well. You were beautiful, fun, and the few times you’d briefly met Sarah, she seemed to like you. That was a necessity. Joel absolutely refuses to date someone that made Sarah unhappy, but Sarah had made a few references to him and dating before he met you anyway, so she seemed okay with it. It wasn’t like he had a relationship with her mom, as much as Joel had tried to foster something… her mom hadn’t been interested.
Tommy was a lifesaver. When he noticed Joel had been struggling, Tommy sat him down and asked to help him. Tommy asked Joel. 
“You deserve a life.” Tommy had insisted.
“Sarah is my life.”
“Joel, you deserve m-”
“Don’t say I deserve more, Tommy. Sarah is enough. I don’t need more.”
Tommy sighed. “I know, brother, but can I at least help you out a bit? Give you a little free time to see that pretty girl of yours?”
Tommy had only met you once, but he liked you too. Joel acquiesced, letting Tommy take care of taking her to soccer practices (but he would NOT miss a game). This did end up being a big help and Joel had more and more time to see you… and when Tommy took Sarah out for a movie or she had plans with friends, he found more and more time alone in the evening with you.
Joel didn’t want to take his hands off your body the first time you and him made out on his couch, but when his hand went to feel up your breasts, you noticeably tensed. Fearing he overstepped, Joel quickly pulled back and apologized. Both of you nervous messes, it took a moment before you and Joel got full sentences out.
“Shit, I’m sorry-”
“No no it’s okay!”
“I just thought-”
“And I want too-!”
“No, I didn’t mean for anything tonight-”
“Oh, uh, right-”
“Not that I don’t want to!”
“Me too!”
Eventually, Joel clarified he was just enjoying feeling you, he didn’t want you to feel pressured into anything ‘like that’, and you explained he can touch you like that, you just wanted to wait a little bit… You sat back, nervous, but figured now was as good a time as any. 
“Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about, if we could…” You shuffle on the couch.
Joel looks nervous, but open. He wants to know you, good and bad, and if something was bothering you, he wanted to know. “Of course, I’m all ears.”
You take a deep breath. “Do you know what depression is?”
“Oh. Uh, yeah, I have an aunt with it but we don’t really talk about it much… Sometimes Sarah’s school sends her home with pamphlets… so I know a little, I guess.” That’s not what he was expecting.
“Well… I have it.”
“Oh.” He says again, dumbly. “I'm sorry. Or… am I not supposed to say that?”
You can’t help laughing a little. He was sweet, and he was trying. “It’s okay, Joel, and thank you. Well, about 6 months ago I started therapy and started taking an antidepressant, and things have been a lot better but… I need you to understand, things can get really dark for me sometimes and… it can be a lot for other people to deal with. I promise, it’s nothing dangerous to others!” You quickly add when you see his confused face. “It’s just, sometimes I’m not myself… and, if that’s not something you can handle, I want you to know that’s okay.”
Joel sat there for a moment, looking at you. He wasn’t stupid, he knew what depression was… but in the South, it wasn’t like they talked about that sort of thing much. Still, he liked you… he liked you a lot, actually, and he wanted to be there to support you. He couldn’t just run away from difficult times, not when he had a preteen. It would mean he wasn’t fit to be there for Sarah…
“I wanna be there for you.” Joel assured you, to your growing smile. “I may not know how to, but I wanna try my best.”
You smile more, and scoot up next to him, in turn Joel lays an arm around you. “Thank you, Joel”
Still, you were nervous… because Joel hasn’t seen you without sleeves… nonetheless without clothes. 
*
In the end, it was almost 4 months before you had sex. Physically, you’d taken things slow, but emotionally you hadn’t at all. You were in love, and you’d both told each other as much. Tommy had given Joel shit for committing to a girlfriend without having sex, but Joel had told Tommy he could talk after he got an actual girlfriend, not hookups. Still, Tommy wanted to provide a good opportunity for Joel to fuck you the way Joel would want to. Sappy and romantic. So, when Sarah’s favorite band Halican Drops was coming to Housten, Tommy offered to pay for them to go and for a hotel. 
Joel had tried to protest, saying it was too expensive, saying he wasn’t sure he wanted Sarah that far away, and that he should just come, but Tommy smacked him on the head.
“Dumbass, I’m giving you a night with your girlfriend!”
When Tommy promised not to have a single drop of alcohol, text every hour, not let her stand by any men, call when they leave the venue and get to the hotel ETC, Joel allowed it to happen. Sarah was ECSTATIC, being the first concert she’d ever been to, and although a teeny bopper band wasn’t exactly on Tommy’s dream list, he was excited to be a cool uncle. Also, Joel needed to get laid. He was getting cranky at work.
The night itself was a lot of fun. Joel took you to a nice restaurant, and after you came back to his place and changed into more comfortable clothes, you’d spent the night watching American Idol. Joel was very critical.
As the night progressed, your nerves grew as you knew where the natural progression of the night would take you. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to fuck Joel; you really, really wanted to. And you weren’t nervous about him. You knew Joel would stop if you said stop. What you were nervous about was your body. Joel looked good, but he had a bit of a stomach himself so you didn’t think he’d be worried about your shape or small imperfections… Joel was a gentle soul, kind, loving. Yeah, that wasn’t the worry. The worry had been on your skin.
In the middle of winter, you’d managed to not show much skin around him, with jackets and long sleeves and pants… but it was inevitable. Joel had been a wonderful support to you these 4 months, holding your hand, listening to you when you cried. Slowly you opened up to him about the circumstances that meant you needed extra help, and he was everything you could ask for. 
But how would he react to this?
Joel had you laid out on the bed, both of you still dressed and his pajama covered pants grinding into your warm cunt. Joel sure liked to take his time. 
“We don’t gotta do noth’n, you know that right?” Joel muttered into your neck, drunk on you but still being respectful like the gentle man he was.
“I know”
He pulled back. “Then why’dya seem so nervous?”
You look up at him, wide eyed and nervous, but you needed this… you needed to tell him the truth. “Joel…”
He got off you, standing up at the edge of the bed. The massive, rock hard erection in his pants couldn’t have been comfortable, but his willingness to stop anyway meant a lot. It was a low bar but it was there.
“We can stop, I’m sorry-”
You sit up on your elbows. “It’s not you, it’s just um… I should tell you something before we start…”
“Okay.” He was few on words, but he looked receptive.
You weren’t sure how to do this, how to open up that conversation… so you decided just to show him. Lights still on, you begin to take off your shirt.
Joel tried to stop you. “Hey, hey, no, let’s talk.”
You smile at him. “We will, Joel, just… let me show you…” After the shirt was off, you slid off your pants and laid on the bed, spread out and close to naked in a bra and underwear.
“Jesus, darl’n…” Joel mumbled, taking in the sight before him. 
Scars littered your body.
It wasn’t a few, it was a lot, and the coverage was significant. Joel’s eyes roamed your body, cock softening quickly despite your near-nakedness and took in the expanse of the scaring. Your thighs were the most noticeable, pink slaves across your skin from the hips to mid-thigh. His hand reached out instinctively, but pulled back. You noticed.
Your voice was soft, reassuring. You knew he was confused and curious. “You can touch me, it’s okay.”
He does. Joel’s fingers a feather light across your skin, feeling the way the scars dipped and raised depending on severity. There there cuts, but also burn mark; small circles from cigarettes twisting up the patterns more. It was all over, reaching back to the curve of your ass. His eyes followed the trail up and the cuts became less in intensity and number, but never stopping over your hip bone and to your stomach. These were lighter; less that split open the skin but the silver lines were still raised over the belly fat as his fingers touched you. Your bra-line showed more burns, and he stopped short of the cloth. 
You take his hands and guide Joel to reach behind you to unclasp the bra, allowing him to pull it up and reveal your breasts. His eyes water as he sees the scars never stopped, marring your breasts, although not nearly the horrific amount on your thighs.
“I don’t understand…” He mumbles, sadness and distress clear in his eyes. “You did this to yourself?” Joel takes your hand in his, examining the scars making a ring around your wrist. He kissed the inside, eyes threatening to pool over.
You nod. “Yeah…”
His voice cracks. “But… why?”
“Sometimes…” You start, overcome with emotions at the clear pain on his face. He loved you so much, the thought of you in this much pain hurt him as well. “It was all I could do to cope.”
He didn’t seem like he understood, but he wasn’t judging you. He didn’t look at you like a freak like so many others did. He just knew he didn’t want you to feel this way again. 
“I havn’t done it in a while.” You give him a smile. “You make things easier. I mean, I’m still… yeah… but you do make things much better.” He did. Having someone who held you, listened to you, helped pick up the pieces… it wasn’t going to cure you, but it was amazing how much support helped with the addition of meds and therapy. 
Joel relaxed at that, a relieved and gentle smile on his face. “I’m glad, darl’n…” He held you hand to his face, chapped lips nuzzling against your damaged skin. “”M here to take care of you now, okay? I wanna help.”
“You do.” You assure him, pulling his face down to you again and taking his mouth in yours. “You mean so much to me Joel, you make me so happy…” His body covers yours once more, his warm encasing you as he protectively holds you.
“You’re safe with me.” Joel mutters against your mouth, fingers digging into your soft flesh.
You pull him closer to you, grinding yourself up against him, enticing him again. “Still want you tonight, please? I can’t wait any longer.” It’s had been a long 4 months and fuck, fuck you wanted him, badly. 
“Always gonna take care of you, princesa.” Joel grinds his jeans-clothed cock against the soft fabric of your underwear, making you shutter. “Gonna take care of my pretty girl, always.”
And god, did he.
Joel’s mouth was sloppy, wet, hot between your legs. His tongue fucked into your hole, prodding you open and his hips bucking against the bed. Insatiable. Arms locked around your legs, his nose nudged against your clit as it seemed he was trying push himself as strongly against your body as he could, to devour you, to bring you and him the most absolute pleasure he could.
You tug at his hair, soft waves in between your fingers as you draw him closer to you. Warmth pooling in your stomach, you felt that pressure grow with every moan, every vibration, every sluuuuuuuuuurp! of your juices, christ he was incredible. You felt elevated, devoted too and adorned in affection the way you had always wanted to be. He was everything in this moment. Joel’s tongue slid up in a swift swipe, mouth and that pouty lower lip latching onto your clit with his fingers pumped into you.
“JOEL! J-ohhhhhh” Your cry for his name melted into moans as you came on his mouth and fingers, crushing his head between thighs as your legs bent. The power of your orgasm caused you to tense and then melt into the bed. You give a low hum as he kisses your inner thighs. As you come to reality again, you register Joel’s sweet kisses all over your legs. He’s kissing the trail of your scars. Joel kisses over the scars on your right thigh and up the crease at your inner hip.
“What are you doing?” You mutter, never for a moment fully let go of his hair.
“Appreciating every inch of you.”
Joel kissed his way up your torso, over the scars under your tits and over the mounds. Latching onto your nipple, he swirled his tongue around the sensitive skin. You can feel him smile against your skin when your back arches off the bed.
“Fuck, Joel, your fucking mouth…” You whimper, and when his mouth lets go his hands never do. Softly, he touches you in all the scarred, squishy parts of you you were trained for so long to hate. 
He kissed you tenderly, gentle hands a contrast to his hungry mouth. That tongue, that goddamn tongue…
When he slides in, your eyes can’t help but roll back; your chest rises up against his broad expanse. He filled you so perfectly, fucking deep inside you and filling you up. You never felt so full. Your heart, your life, your stretched out cunt… every part of you was full and euphoric.
“My sweet, perfect girl…” Joel grunts as he pumps into you, hand braced against the headboard and towering over you. You gazed up at him, the yellow lighting of the ceiling fan created a halo around him. Joel looked positively angelic. 
Fitting, as he was your angel.
You were aware how he was perceived in his culésac. Joel was highly respected; kind, hard working if a bit disorganized. A good southern man who raised his brother and daughter well, helped the elderly neighbors, bailed his brother out of pinches and would use his truck to help anyone move. Yeah, people liked Joel. But they wouldn’t call him gentle, like how you feel his hands over your stomach. They wouldn’t call him soft like you felt his stomach against yours. They wouldn’t call him angelic, but that was all you could say as you came on his cock.
They certainly would not call him warm, but that was all you felt as you pulled out and sprayed ropes of cum on your stomach. 
You dozed off to sleep as he spread his cum around your scarred skin.
You vaguely register him cleaning you up, tired and content, and wait for him to join you again. His body felt perfect against your, fitting so well against your body like two puzzle pieces so close together. You had mumbled a request to be dressed, just in case Sarah and Tommy came home early, so you were both cuddled up in sweats under a thick blanket.
Everything with Joel felt safe and warm.
"Scars remind us where we've been. They don't have to dictate where we're going" -David Rossi, Criminal Minds.
******************
So, there we are. I'm very frustrated by the new bought of scars that are quite noticable that I have to wait to fade again but I refuse to be ashamed the way I used to. My scars are just scars from my trauma and illness. It's a moral failing of the people who have and continue to harm me, not mine.
Thank you all for reading, this was quite a venerable piece for me but I see a light at te end of the tunnel, and things will be getting better, I know it <3
@fandxmslxt69 @runa-falls @k-ra @ahookedheroespureheart @mikaelak @littlenosoul @stevenandmarcslove @pikapuff-316 @del-ightfulling @faretheeoscar @harriedandharassed @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @campingwiththecharmings @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @milly-louise @casa-boiardi @joeldjarin @mrs-oharaxx @pedge-page @readingiskeepingmegoing @survivingandenduring @yorksgirl
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The Alcott
James Potter x fem!reader
Summary: You love James but he loves Lily. It's simple… until it isn't so simple anymore.
Genre: Angst (happy ending)
Warnings: James x Lily mentioned, "unrequited" love, idiots in love, swearing, violence, harassment, crying, arguments, protective!james, jealous!james, stupid!james, Lily isn't a villain (pls i love her!)
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You know two things for certain—
You're head over heels in love with James. 
He's head over heels in love with Lily.  
In the beginning, you saw the entire situation as some messy game of cat & mouse, and you'd been determined to win. You had foolishly been convinced Lily didn't like James in any way. It never seemed like she had any interest in him. 
And James? Well, James adored your attention. It very clearly sparked his already enormous ego, and you couldn't deny you liked the thrill of him liking your shameless flirting. 
It was fun and harmless while it lasted and it seemed like there was a mutual understanding to both pretend you didn't notice the stolen looks, or shy smiles, the feel of his hand brushing yours in the hallway, the small written notes in class, or the letters he'd sent over the summer…and of course the present he'd left you for your 17th birthday; a small, necklace with expensive tiny rubies. 
It felt surreal. 
It was surreal because the moment you find out James has been dating Lily since Christmas break you feel sick. "Lily? Lily Evans?" You ask your friends, almost choking on your scrambled eggs. 
"Yeah. Apparently, Marls said that Lily kissed James in the Common Room after his practice yesterday," Mary says, immersed in the gossip, "Either way, I heard from Sirius Black that they've been inseparable ever since New Year. He says it's rather annoying."
You hear her muffle a yelp as Pandora kicks her shin from underneath the table. "Oh, I forgot you like James, Y/n," Mary says and sends you a sympathetic smile. 
You feel crushed inside but you force a smile, "Me? Oh, please. I can find so much better than Potter. He was just a silly crush," you swat your hand in the air, "I'm already over him," you say.
Pandora doesn't look like she believes you but she doesn't say anything. Instead, she and Mary let you sit in silence and pretend not to know you're unintentionally staring at James and his friends from across the dining hall. 
James is laughing and your chest tightens. He seems over the moon as he has his arm around Lily's shoulder and she looks at him with a look you've never seen her wear. She actually looks like she's enjoying his jokes now. 
You can't help yourself as you start to compare yourself to Lily. You chew on your nails as you start to remember every insecurity you've ever had and you feel miserable.
You aren't really supposed to feel miserable, you reason, deep down you knew James wasn't yours. He was always hers. He was just waiting for her to claim him and you were a silly distraction.
You pry your eyes away from James and Lily when he stands up. You think he sees you for a moment because you can feel his stare. However, when you lift your head and make eye contact for a moment. James's expression is unreadable and he's the first to turn his head. He grins and continues his conversation with Lily as you're frozen in time.
"Y/n?" Mary calls your name and time resumes.
"Yeah?" you whisper, composing yourself and crossing your arms on the table. 
"Here," she hands you a crumpled-up note and points behind her, "It's from Danny."
You take the note from Mary and tilt your head to see Danny Dulac staring at you from the Slytherin table. Danny Dulac is the Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. He's tall, extremely smart, and has the silkiest blond hair. 
Danny sends you a smile and motions toward the paper in your hand which reads:
~I heard Potter is out of the picture now. Does this mean you're free for a Butterbeer on Saturday?~
You think it's a joke but when you look up, Danny looks dead serious. Mary leans over and when she sees the note over your shoulder, she exclaims, "Oh my Merlin, Danny just asked you out!" she pushes on your shoulder excitedly and you shush her. 
You stare at the cursive and your mind races. You spent so many years liking James that it had never even crossed your mind that you could like other boys, or that they could like you. 
"Well? Answer him," Pandora insists and makes a little circle motion with her hand. 
Once you find a quill from inside your book-bag, you reply with a small, enthusiastic, 
~Yes!~
* * *
Over the week leading up to Saturday, you try to pretend James and Lily don't exist. 
It's much easier than you imagined because you have Danny's to pay attention to now. Turns out Danny Dulac is a gentleman who carries your books in the hallway and compliments you whenever he has the chance. 
You don't feel the loss you felt when you found out James and Lily kissed—at least not when James isn't staring at you from afar. You knew James wasn't that fond of Danny—being the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and all—but ever since Danny has been hanging around you it seems like James can't stand the guy. 
It's confusing, especially because James hasn't made any attempts to talk to you since his relationship with Lily became public. 
You sit in Potions next to Marlene when Remus Lupin comes up to you. "Y/n?" he asks in a quiet voice and you look up at him, "It's from James," he shows you the note in his hand and you stare at it like it's one of James's stupid pranks. 
You thank Remus and open it anyway, 
~Meet me at Hogsmeade on Saturday?~
Without a word to Remus, you scribble an answer, 
~I have a date~
You fold the torn parchment and hand it to Remus. You watch him walk back to James and Sirius. When James sees you've actually written him a response, his eyes sparkle and he hides a smile. However, his smile disappears once he reads the contents and you’ve never seen him so perturbed. 
He starts to scribble on the paper and, with his eyes focused on you, hands it to Remus. 
Remus shakes his head adamantly so James then tries to hand it to Sirius, who also shakes his head. James's last option is Peter but the poor boy has fallen asleep on his Potions book. 
You smile. Your attention is pulled from them when you see Danny next to you.
"Hi," he smiles.
"Hi," you answer and the last thing that could possibly be on your mind is James Potter. 
* * *
You pull at the hem of your dress and adjust your jumper nervously. Danny has just made the same joke he made a few hours earlier and you really try and force out another chuckle. 
"You ok? You look a little warm," Danny says foam from the beer lays across his upper lip.
You blink. You like him, you try to convince yourself, he's smart and super handsome and he carries your books for Merlin's sake— 
"I'm completely fine, continue?" you smile sweetly and lean in towards him from across the table. You want to look interested.
Danny smirks and looks around. "Wanna go somewhere quieter?" 
No, you want to say. You won't want to go anywhere with him because that means you have to listen to him some more and he's oh so boring.
Only you don't say no, you say, "Sure," and allow him to take your hand.
Once you've found a small, empty corner of The Three Broomsticks, Danny pushes you to the wall. His hand is resting near your forehead and he leans in as if he wants to kiss you. You panic and push him away, "Oh I'm super warm actually. One second," You turn and your hands tremble as you pull your jumper over your head and let it slide down your arms. 
Danny looks a little annoyed when you turn back around. His eyes lower and he frowns, "Pretty' necklace. Who's it from?" he points out and you look down. 
James's necklace.
"Oh. A friend," you say dismissively and rush to unclip it as it falls into your hands.
"A friend huh?" Danny crosses his arms, "Is it from Potter?"
You feel your cheeks become warm. Why would he ask that? You aren't sure what expression you're making but it cannot be a normal one.
"No!" you say and Danny yanks the necklace from your hands. Your heart sinks as you try to take it back instantly.
Danny holds it away from you, making you feel small, "You can't keep this." 
"Why not? It's mine," your lip wobbles.
"Because it's from him and he has a girl. It's completely inappropriate." 
You lower your arm and your heart hurts. Is Danny right? Maybe you have thrown away the necklace as soon as you found out about James and Lily? Why are you still wearing it? 
"Plus, if you want to be my girl you'll throw away this dirty necklace," Danny snarls as he runs his fingers along the silver chain. You freeze. 
"What?" you can't believe he just said that. 
"What?" Danny counters. He seems confused at your sudden shift in tone. 
"I am not your girl. I don't want to be your girl."
"Bullshit, Y/n," Danny rolls his eyes and stuffs your necklace into his robe. He walks closer, this time menacingly, and you feel stuck. Your hands press against the wall and you look at him. Your eyes brim with tears, mostly in hopes he'll leave you alone when he sees them. Danny just raises his hand and harshly brushes them away with his thumb, "You should feel lucky someone like me even likes you," he smirks. 
You feel like someone just punched you in the gut and you stutter, "Get away from me."
"No," Danny says and leans in. Only, he's suddenly ripped from in front of you and you inhale, surprised. You blink as Danny stumbles when someone seizes his collar. You feel someone else's hand on your shoulder and you turn to look at them. 
"Are you okay?" Kind, considerate, Lily Evans whispers, concerned at your tears.
"What the fuck?!" You hear a loud crack as Danny groans in pain. You look towards the sound and see James Potter take Danny's collar again, his knuckles already stained a little crimson. James looks furious. 
"Did you hurt her?" he hisses and shakes Danny like it's nothing.
Lily soothes you by rubbing your shoulders and she calls James's name as a warning.
"Hurt her? We're on a date, Potter. She wanted it," Danny snarls and you wince. You didn't want it. James looks at you and Lily from the corner of his eye and his heart breaks when he sees your expression.
"Fucking nutter!" James exclaims and punches Danny in the stomach. This time, Danny doesn't just take the hit. Instead, he tackles James and they trip onto the ground. Lily screams at her boyfriend and you scream Danny's name. 
You try to pull Danny away from James but it's only when you hear a loud crack as Danny lands on his left thigh that he pauses. You gasp, covering your mouth with your hands, which makes James pause and he looks confused as Danny pulls out your necklace from inside his robe. The small rubies have shattered and when Danny opens his hand, the chain and the shards drop onto the ground. 
He stands and taunts, "Some gift, huh Potter?" James's expression falls. 
 You crouch down, scooping the, now completely ruined, necklace into your palms. You try to hold in your tears and the world around you turns silent as you look at your present. "Shut it," You hear Lily snap at Danny and she doesn't hesitate to help you stand. Her arm holds yours and she looks almost as furious as James. 
"She's crying because of you, you prat! Does that make you feel good about yourself, huh?" James points out with frustration.
You know he means well, but it doesn't help that he basically announced to the entirety of The Three Broomsticks that you're in tears. You sniffle and look at Danny. His blue eyes shine with a mixture of embarrassment, pity, shame, and resentment.
"Whatever," he just snarls, "She's not worth it. She never was," he says as if you aren't standing directly in front of him. 
"You piece of shit," James hisses but Lily interrupts him.
"James. No," she scolds like a mother and James whips his head around to glare at her.
Instead, he makes eye contact with you and his face falls once more. His posture softens and, to your surprise, he doesn't move when Danny bumps his shoulder to leave. 
"I'm sorry, James," you say sadly, still holding his present. 
He looks confused and tilts his head as walks closer to you. Murmurs drift around the room as students continue to watch the scene. Lily looks around, seemingly just as uncomfortable as you, and James does the same. 
He gestures to the door and raises one of his eyebrows in a question. Lily nods. Quietly, you follow them outside and as you walk.
James and Lily somehow find their way next to each other. It's almost automatic for them and your heart breaks. Lily whispers into James's ear and his eyes glance at you. You look away, insecurities burning your chest. 
"You okay?" Lily asks, turning around when you start to fall back behind them.
You hum and pick at your nails, "I- I'm gonna go," you mutter. Lily wants to protest but, without a word, you stand before James and let the broken necklace fall into his open hands.
He looks at you with wide eyes and then clutches his hand around the necklace so fiercely. He shakes his head and your name leaves his lip but you don't wait for him to continue. You turn to leave—what can he possibly say now that will make you feel better?
"I like you!" His voice resonates in your ears as your breath leaves you. You turn around, almost hurting your neck. You couldn't have heard him correctly. Your eyes bounce to Lily but she doesn't look hurt. She doesn't even look surprised. Instead, she sends you a small smile.
You blink, "Pardon me?" You walk a little closer to James, "You like me? As in romantically or as a person?"
James starts to stutter, "R-romantically."
You look towards Lily, bewildered. "But, you're dating her!" 
  James turns to look at Lily just as she speaks up, "No, we broke up. We didn't even last more than maybe two weeks, Y/n." She laughs, "You two should really talk—" 
James nods at her and then turns to you once more. His arms stretch out as if he wants to make sure you won't run away from him. "Please, Y/n. Hear me out." He sounds so small and for someone with such a big personality, you're suddenly afraid.
You find yourself nodding slowly and let him lead you behind The Three Broomsticks. James lets you lean against the wall and then he nervously runs a hand in his hair.
"James, I don't understand," you say quietly, "You like Lily. You have always liked Lily—I was always just some girl you entertained because you liked the attention. I've always known that."
James's face falls as he listens to you and you see his hands hesitate towards you. "You were never just some girl," he says adamantly.
You frown, "Yes, I was."
"No, you weren't," His voice rises and you press your back against the wall, staring at him as he explains, "Listen, I ended things with Lily. It was my decision. I realized I couldn't stay with her and do you want to know why?" 
You shake your head instantly but he tells you anyway. 
"Because she wasn't you. She didn't make me feel as full as you always do. When she laughed, I never had the same butterflies in my stomach," James pressed his hand to his chest, "My heart didn't feel compressed in my chest whenever I looked at her. I didn't blush at her compliments like I would yours, or want her to smile only because of me. Just like you used to. Bloody hell, I thought of you when I kissed her."
Your entire body feels warm as embarrassment washes over you. "Why did you then?" your voice breaks, "Why did you put me through that? You knew what I felt for you and you chose Lily anyway. How can I trust you now, James?"
You watch his lip tremble as he looks at you with his doleful brown eyes and your heart shatters for the fourth time this hour alone. 
"I don't know," he buries his face in his hands, making an exasperated sound, " I know that answer isn't good enough for you, and I know I can't take back the pain you felt when you saw me with her. I do know that." 
You don't know what to answer. 
James runs a hand over his jaw and looks at you, "I suppose I couldn't let the fantasy go," he admits in a whisper. 
You turn your head away, "Y-yeah—Lily Evans, the fantasy. I understand." 
"W-what? No, that isn't what I meant!" James assures you, "I've been stuck on Lily for years. I know I didn't see you, but—but I see you now."
You stare at him. He looks so upset that your anger turns into pity, "James—"
"Y/n, please don't reject me. I can't bear it," his voice breaks as his eyes water. He walks closer and drops the broken necklace he'd given you in your palm. Your hand closes around it without thinking. "I've been such an idiot but I can't imagine losing you like this."
"You lost me the moment I saw you with Lily. You don't deserve to have me—not like this, and definitely not anymore," you say sternly and watch as you break the heart of the boy you're madly in love with. 
"James, you strung me along for months and months, and then threw me away without hesitation for her. If you liked me, you would have never let me cry over you for weeks," your voice becomes louder. 
James's hurt expression twists and his eyes darken, "You spent your days with Danny Dulac for fucks sake! What the hell was I supposed to do?" he also raises his voice.
"You aren't allowed to be jealous!" you say and push your index into his chest, tears streaming down your cheeks, "You ruined this," your voice dies as your hand flattens on his chest and he grasps it in his. James pulls you closer and leans his head onto yours. 
For a moment, you let it rest there, but then you pull away. "I can't do this," you mutter, "you only want what you can't have, James," you whisper and you know your words would hurt him but you don't care. You hear him call your name as you walk away from him.
* * *
Over the next few months, it's as if you and James never existed. 
You don't speak in class and when James wants to talk outside of classes, you ignore him. Eventually, he stops trying. He doesn't go back to Lily like you'd expected him to. Instead, time goes by, you both graduate, and it isn't until Marlene's 21st birthday that you see James Potter again.
He's in the middle of a small crowd: his smile as bright and wide as you remember. He's laughing like he would in school and you stand to the side of the room, suddenly unsure what to do with yourself.  
When James sees you, his smile falters for a moment. He looks you up and down and when his eyes land on the necklace you're wearing, his heart thumps in his chest and he can't help but wander over to you. You almost run from him, but enough time has passed for you to stay still.
"Hi," James says, looking into your eyes. 
You look up, your voice merely a whisper, "Hi." 
Weirdly, conversation flows easily. You talk about work, hobbies, and eventually you land on relationships. Somehow you've found each other in a secluded side of the room, you're leaning against the wall as James's arm rests near your head. It isn't confrontational—no, instead you feel safe caged in his strong arms. Your eyes train on the muscles of his arm—of course he plays Professional Quidditch now. You need to remind yourself to pay more attention to Quidditch from now on. 
"You seeing anyone?" James hums, his eyes flickering to your necklace again. You fiddle with it subconsciously and shake your head. 
"You?" 
James shakes his head too and he finally asks the question that's been burning his lips, "You fixed it," he raises his arm and his thumb skims the rubies. 
You hum and nod. "I did."
"Why?"
You laugh and look at James. "Because I love this necklace," you pause a moment and you whisper, "And it reminds me of someone."
   James seems surprised and he runs a hand in his curls. He looks at you and leans in a little. "C-can I?" he asks and a part of you wants to shake your head…tell him to fuck off. But, this is James Potter. He's the only boy you've ever loved—no matter who came after him. You nod and James's hand cups your cheeks as his lips press against yours. 
"I've been thinking of doing this for years," he says breathlessly through his kisses. 
I have too, you want to say but instead you just pull him closer. 
"I love you," James says suddenly and pulls away. He looks flustered as he tries to explain himself. "I- I never stopped."
You look at him and utter three words James didn't think he'd ever hear, "Neither did I." 
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publiccollectors · 3 months
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Wurstelprater in October New Public Collectors publication! Available for $9.00 here. Public Collectors publication #81 takes a trip to an amusement park in Vienna just days before many of the attractions closed for the season. From the back cover:
When the Vienna Art Book Fair’s Director Marlene Obermayer invited the publishing imprint I co-run, Half Letter Press, to participate in the 2023 edition of the event, she generously booked a hotel room for me. Last time the fair was held in 2019, the hotel was a short stroll to the fair. This time it was about a 25 minute walk. She explained, “Its not the same like last time but also a really nice one (next to the famous PRATER).” I wondered why I had never heard of the Prater and meant to look it up before my trip. In the frenzy of packing books, I never got around to that. Instead I found out when I arrived. 
Founded in 1766, the Prater includes a massive amusement park (Wurstelprater) filled with dozens of garish rides, an enormous Ferris wheel, tests of strength and skill, bizarre sculptures and gnarly ride facades covering every surface, and a variety of restaurants and other delights. You don’t have to pay to get in—there’s just a fee for whatever rides and games you want to enjoy. You can walk through the park any time, including before it opens, which I did on the way to and from the fair every morning and evening. At night it’s a whole other reality with dazzling lights, pounding music, and rides whipping bodies in every direction, testing any visitor’s ability to hold in their wurst. As one YouTube video-maker commented, the Prater “feels like a carnival on steroids.”
These photos were taken in the third week of October, just days before most of the rides would shut down for the season. The Wurstelprater is a fully immersive experience that could never be fully documented in all of its countless details. Anyone thinking this booklet might ruin the surprise of visiting for the first time should know that I have barely scratched the surface. 
— Marc Fischer / Public Collectors
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yuusishi · 9 months
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. . . a shell gift
pairings : Neuvillette x gn!mermaid!reader
genre : fluff , written before 4.0 release
cws/tws : none
a/n : haha. do tou guys get it. a shell gift…a swell gift… also I should rlly start making the genshin masterlist but I’m like…so lazy rn
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Neuvillette !!
“And…what is this supposed to be?” Neuvillette asked, holding the pink clam shell adorned with minuscule pearls and pieces of ribbon glued on.
As if rehearsed, a little white otter popped up beside you from the water, “Look at this tiny guy, don’t you think you look like him? He even has a pink clam shell too!” Neuvillette furrowed his brows and his gaze land on the creature next to you, its white fur and dark blue highlights reminiscent of the man in front of you.
“You called me all the way to the sea to compare me to an otter?” He said, it sounds mean but you know he bears no ill will, “C’mon, Neuvi, you’re always working nowadays. It’s nice to take a break, y’know?”.
Neuvi.
You were right, it has been a long time since he’s got to fully immerse himself in the sea, to the point he felt that it’s been too long since he’s heard you call him by that nickname. He doesn’t even know when you started calling him that.
Neuvillette sighed and looked at you “You can come join me if you want, I’m definitely not going to stop you” you smiled, another sight he felt he’s gone too long without seeing. He knew he had to go to work already, he knew he has Focalors waiting at the Court of Fontaine, but what is he if not weak towards the temptation that’s you.
Slowly stepping into the waters, he relieved himself of the clothes tailored for his human form and let him breathe in the fresh waters in his original form, one built for the seas. He breathes out a satisfied sigh, like getting in bed after a long day, it’s also been too long since he’s dived back into the water.
He looks back at you and you’re once again smiling brightly at him, your gaze warm.
“Welcome home, Neuvi”.
Once again, he’s back in his office, the stuffy feeling filling up his senses and he felt unusually distracted by it all when he thought he got used to it already. He opened his desk’s drawer and takes out the pink shell that you gave him earlier that day, what was supposed to be just a ten minute visit turned into the entire afternoon being spent swimming around and playing games with you which earned him overtiming late into the night.
But he doesn’t regret it, he felt grateful you basically forced him out of the suffocating environment around him and took him back home. Neuvillette inspects your gift closer, it was hard to see that you even put glitter on the shell and waterproof stickers behind it, were you planning to tempt him to swim with you from the start?
A rare smile makes its way into Neuvillette’s usually stoic face as he sets the gift beside his desk lamp, he felt like it was wrong to hide something so precious to him.
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papiliotao · 11 months
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꒰ 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕 ✩࿐
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pairings: kazuha, scaramouche, and xiao x gn!reader (separate)
content: fluff, kissing, mutual pining, pocky game
summary: in which you convince your best friend to play the pocky game with you.
a/n: i don't know why i've suddenly developed an obsession with kissing. either way, please enjoy reading!
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“I’m sorry. I must have heard you incorrectly,” KAZUHA says with a smile. A slight dusting of rose pink tints his cheeks a hue reminiscent of bygone sunsets as he shyly glances away from you. “But if I wasn’t mistaken, then I wouldn’t be opposed to your idea,” he whispers.
Your heart skips a beat.
Kazuha is charming beyond measure. His words flow like the autumn breeze, and the way he acts around you never fails to make your heart flutter.
“Let’s play the Pocky game,” you repeat yourself.
Kazuha’s grin widens. “So my ears weren’t deceiving me,” he says, trailing off towards the end. He meets your gaze, and as you look into his eyes, you swear you can see molten ruby glints of adoration glittering in their depths. However, you don’t want to get your hopes up, so you brush it off as nothing more than your imagination playing tricks on you.
Kazuha gently reaches out for the pack of Pocky you’re holding and opens it. He takes one stick out and sets the rest of the pack down on a nearby table.
“Shall we?” he asks.
He lifts the Pocky up to your lips, and you bite down. You immediately notice that he ended up giving you the side that you prefer. It shocks you how well he remembers the little things. Even though you’re best friends, you didn’t expect Kazuha to recall such an obscure intricacy. It was just something you had offhandedly mentioned once, yet in Kazuha’s mind, it was a statement that remained vivid and bright, akin to the most picturesque of memories.
He must really care about you.
Kazuha bites the other end, and as he does, you feel your skin heating up. He’s so close. It feels like your brain is short-circuiting. Why does your best friend have to be so undeniably handsome? Up close, it is impossible for you to miss his snowy hair, reminiscent of dazzling glacial glimmers of winter, as well as eyes filled with flurries of autumn maple leaves dancing about, mingling with flecks of stardust.
The two of you nibble at your respective ends of the Pocky stick. To your slight dismay, Kazuha takes his time, savouring the moment instead of trying to rush things. You feel yourself getting more flustered by the second. While he had initially appeared slightly shy, he’s now completely calm and composed, and in stark contrast to him, you’re an absolute mess on the inside.
Before you know it, your lips are practically touching Kazuha’s. He’s so close. You can feel his breath fanning your face, and soft strands of platinum hair tickle your skin.
You freeze up. Now your brain has really stopped functioning. You can’t do anything while Kazuha is this close to you, and you doubt you’ll be able to make another move before Kazuha does something. Why did you think this was a good idea again?
Luckily for you, Kazuha takes the initiative of snapping you out of your trance by taking the last bite. Your lips meet for just a split second before both of you pull away, looking anywhere but each other as you immerse yourselves in the afterglow of your actions.
A silence hangs in the atmosphere for what feels like an eternity before Kazuha speaks.
“I’m sorry if I was a bit too bold with my advances,” Kazuha says apologetically. He manages to muster the courage to look at you, and as you scan his face, you notice a whole plethora of emotions swimming through his expression. Your best friend smiles at you sheepishly.
Your heart melts upon seeing his grin.
You shake your head. “No, don’t worry. I actually kind of enjoyed it, even the part where we kissed…” you admit shyly.
Kazuha breathes out a sigh of relief. He seems strangely happy.
“Then in that case, please allow me to request a favour,” Kazuha says. He waits for you to nod before continuing. “This may be a bit presumptuous of me, but please kiss me again — properly, this time.”
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“You can’t be serious,” your best friend says without a hint of hesitation lacing his words. SCARAMOUCHE’s eyes narrow as he reciprocates your stare.
“But I am,” you reiterate.
He shakes his head and crosses his arms in front of his chest. Strands of hair spun of the midnight sky fall in front of his eyes as he moves, and his breath hitches for just a moment when he realizes you’re not kidding.
“This is ridiculous,” he mumbles before he takes a packet of Pocky off his bedside table. With a few tugs, the silvery wrapping tears apart. He takes out a singular stick of the sweet treat.
“Will you shut up if I do this for you?” he asks.
“I will,” you promise, although you have no intention of adhering to your agreement.
Scaramouche always acts as if he’s irritated by you, but you know he enjoys your company. On occasions as rare as an appearance of the northern lights, he admits that he cares for you, making your heart glow up with all the colours of the brilliant Aurora Borealis.
You know him better than anyone, but what you’re not sure of is how he’ll react to playing the Pocky game with you. Most of the time, he’s quite stoic — apathetic despite the sentiments and colours of the world that flow on the wind.
But no one would be able to maintain a calm demeanour when they’re practically kissing their best friend, right?
It’s time to find out.
“You can have the side dipped in chocolate,” Scaramouche says. “And don’t you dare think I’m doing this for you. I just happen to hate sweets.”
You giggle. “Sure,” you say playfully. You know that Scaramouche is telling the truth, but it’s always fun to tease him because it elicits the best reactions.
However this time, Scaramouche just groans and holds up a stick of Pocky.
“Get to it before I change my mind,” he tells you.
Scaramouche lifts the treat up to his lips and sinks his teeth into the plain end. He stares at you expectantly, waiting for you to make a move. You bite down on your end, and you feel your face heat up. You’re too flustered by your proximity to your best friend to notice the sweet taste of chocolate bursting in your mouth.
Gradually, you nibble at the chocolate-coated snack while Scaramouche does the same. It seems like neither of you are feeling too bold at the moment; however, you still inch closer and closer with every passing second.
It’s painfully slow, and as time drags on, the rate of your heartbeat only starts increasing. Each excruciating second undergoes a metamorphosis into a century as your best friend’s blush-tinted face draws closer to your own.
And finally, when only a few centimetres remain between the two of you, he stops. You’re frozen in place too, and as you gaze into his eyes, everything around you becomes irrelevant — mere specks of fading supernovas in a galaxy of wonders.
Your breath hitches.
In all your years of knowing Scaramouche, he has never appeared this shy before. It’s endearing, heart-warming. Who knew that this adorable side to him existed?
One second…
Two seconds…
And three seconds pass.
Before Scaramouche finally decides to make a move. He leans in. Closer and closer.
You tense up, but at the same time, you feel yourself melt into an amalgamation of giddiness. You’re ready for whatever will happen next.
You feel the urge to squeeze your eyes shut, almost anticipating a kiss, but thankfully, your hopes aren’t too high. Because just when Scaramouche’s lips barely ghost yours, causing your heart to flutter like maple leaves in autumn wind, he pulls back, snapping off the last bit of Pocky.
“I win,” Scaramouche says after swallowing the final piece. His face is adorned with a smirk and a proud expression that you just know you’ll be seeing for the next few days.
“I guess so,” you sigh, admitting defeat. “But don’t act like you weren’t blushing like crazy a few seconds ago!”
Scaramouche freezes for a second before crossing his arms. “I did no such thing.”
“Oh, really?” you question.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he groans. He narrows his eyes at you, refusing to admit that he had allowed you to glimpse into his heart and learn the true nature of his feelings.
However, as your conversation continues, shades of sunset begin to dust his cheeks once more, dawning on his pale complexion like the most serene instances of carefree days bleeding into vivid nightfalls.
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“This is foolish,” XIAO says bluntly, staring at you intently with eyes full of honeyed sunlight as you open a pack of Pocky.
He’s not impressed, and you can tell. However, you know that even though Xiao acts as though he’s unwilling to partake in the little game you proposed, he’s not actually against it. After all, you know him. He’s your best friend, and after years of growing up together, you’re sure that he’ll do anything to make you happy, especially if it’s something as trivial as this.
“I know,” you respond nonchalantly. You’ve learned how to deal with Xiao’s tough-on-the-outside attitude by now. Deep down, you know that first of all, as a more reserved person, he doesn’t have the most profound understanding of others, so he might find some of their games rather absurd. Secondly, he’s not great at expressing his emotions, so even though he sounds angry or irritated at times, you understand him well enough to read him like a book.
Xiao merely sighs quietly in response. “Let’s get this over with.” He looks down at the ground, and for a second, you swear you can see the beginnings of a blush coming to life on his face.
You nod and take out a stick of Pocky. You put one end in your mouth and soon enough, Xiao follows your lead.
At first, he stares at you with uncertainty swimming within the daffodil hues of his irises. He’s a little confused, and you don’t blame him. Xiao isn’t someone who usually spends a lot of time with others, so he’s not familiar with things like the latest trends and popular games.
However, he quickly picks up on what he’s supposed to do when you take a bite of the chocolate-coated treat. Xiao follows in your lead, and although each nibble he takes seems slightly hesitant, you note that he’s still trying his best for you. It nearly makes your heart melt into an amalgamation of butterflies.
Xiao seems to be getting more and more flustered by the second. As you inch closer to him, you almost feel as though you can sense the rapid beating of his heart sending reverberations through the air, creating echoes that tell tales of unspoken emotions and unexplored sentiments.
And before you know it, his face is barely an inch away from yours. You can feel his breath tickling your skin and the heat radiating off his face.
The sight of Xiao acting endearingly shy is something you barely ever see. Sure he’s proven to you that he cares for you multiple times, but he’s never been this flustered before. Most of the time, you’re the one who ends up like that around him. Whether it’s a situation where Xiao walks by the side of the road, keeping you as far away from danger as possible whenever you go out for strolls or a scenario where he awkwardly hugs you after a bad day, you can’t help but blush in his presence.
This time, things are the same yet so, so, different. As always, your heart feels as though it’s reeling and on the verge of exploding due to your proximity to Xiao. The only thing that’s changed is the look on Xiao’s face — eyes shining with affection and cheeks tinted with a hue reminiscent of cherry blossoms in the spring divulge feelings that you have long been waiting to see.
The world around you freezes, and for a paradoxical second in a universe where time is infinite, Xiao is the only one in your thoughts, and you’re sure that it’s the same on his end. Everything is nonsensical for a moment, and you don’t know who makes the first move, but soon enough, your lips meet, shattering the perfect dimension you and Xiao have crafted.
For a brief flash of time, you feel yourself kissing Xiao. It’s everything you had imagined and more. Your heart skips a beat, and stars seem to illuminate your world as you relish in the soft feelings that spring from the contact. But to your dismay, the whole experience is over just as quickly as it had begun.
Both you and Xiao pull away when you realize what you’ve done. You both avoid eye contact, shyly averting your gazes so that you can’t see the other. For a few awkward moments, silence hangs in the air.
“Let’s never talk about this again,” you say, mustering up the courage to take a peek at Xiao.
He nods in agreement, looking back at you.
But deep down, the two of you know that there’s nothing you long for more than another kiss.
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thank you for reading! i'm sorry if this wasn’t that good. i’ve been really busy with finals and assignments, so i don’t have quite as much time to write. please consider commenting/reblogging if you enjoyed this!
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indierpgnewsletter · 2 months
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There's Other Kinds Of GM Advice: Theatricality versus Transparency
(This first appeared on the Indie RPG Newsletter)
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I find that broadly there are at least two kinds of GM advice – and they have a very different philosophy underpinning them.
The first kind of advice aims at all costs to maintain verisimilitude. It’s a solution that you can implement without breaking the players’ immersion in their characters. This can just be stuff like Matt Colville explaining that if your players are taking too long discussing plans, guess what, orcs attack! We’ve all probably played a game where people were going in circles and not able to decide what to do. If it looks like we’re not able to decide, we’re probably going to be relieved if the GM makes something happen to break the deadlock and prompt us back into the action.
(Historically, this kind of thing was taken to egregious lengths like Gary Gygax saying if players start acting uppity, have a rock fall on their head. It’s mostly gone now but reddit tells me that Cyberpunk Red which came out relatively recently still says something similar.)
The second flavor of advice involves breaking character and talking to your players directly. I know “talk to your players” is a mantra repeated so often that autocorrect suggests it as soon as you type the letter t. At its worst, this advice is vague and unhelpful. We’ve all considered talking frankly to people in our lives, we just find it awkward and hard and annoying. But, but, but – at its best, just describing the problem as you see it and escalating it from a character discussion to a player discussion will make it go away instantly. Like magic. (If you’re not sure what that means: In a previous issue, I discussed Jason Tocci’s excellent advice on escalating conversation in this way.)
And since the theatrical flavour of advice has the weight of history on its side and transparent advice keeps getting boiled down to mantra form, I thought I’d write down some examples of situations and some alternative ways to handle them:
Situation 1: The players are marines discussing whether to dive into the alien lair and recover their stolen engine (their main goal) or go and see if another missing team of marines is okay. There is only 45 minutes left and this is a one shot.
Theatrical: The other marines suddenly come on the radio and say, “hey we’re okay, please complete the mission.”
Transparent: “Hey, folks. There’s 45 minutes left. If we don’t do the alien lair now, we won’t be able to do it at all. Is that fine?”
Situation 2: The players are low-level fantasy nobodies who have a famous wizard friend. They’re about to tangle with some medium-level bad guy and decide to call in their wizard friend.
Theatrical: When the players try to contact her via a telepathic phone call / spell, she sounds breathless and says she’s busy doing something way more important like fighting a dragon.
Transparent: “Hey, folks. If we get the wizard in, she’ll absolutely make this fight a cakewalk. We won’t even need to roll initiative really. Is that what you want? Or would we rather have a fun fight?”
Situation 3: The players were having fun exploring when they meet a cool NPC (an android! an elf! an android elf!) who has this interesting backstory with an urgent, earth-shattering hook. They go along with the android elf because it seems more important but immediately look like they’re having less fun.
Theatrical: Narrate how the android elf meets a group of other android elves and have the elf say, “Hey, now that I have these folks helping me, you can leave it you want!”
Transparent: “Hey, folks. Talking to you as players here, do we want to stick with this whole android elf plot here? It does mean that we won’t do any open-ended exploration. Which would you prefer?” If they want to ditch the elf plot, you could just retcon it entirely or do the theatrical solution.
All of these situations have happened at my table. They’re all relatively low stakes and I think whichever way you handle it, it’ll probably be fine. But that said, some situations absolutely work better when done transparently so if you’ve never tried the transparent way, give it a shot. If immersion matters a lot to you, try it at the end of the session.
/End
PS. The theatrical options often still require the players to willingly suspend their disbelief and go with it. If a player didn’t play along, they might just say “I thought their radios weren’t working, otherwise we could’ve just contacted them before. Why can they suddenly contact us now?” or “Oh, the wizard is fighting a dragon right now. We can totally wait. There’s no reason we need to fight the bad guy right now.” And sometimes I can’t shut off that part of my brain either so I won’t judge. But if there’s a way to sidestep that situation even coming up, I’m going to take it every time.
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vmpiires · 4 months
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𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐎 𝐊𝐀𝐌𝐎
„𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄”
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: ̗̀➛ FLUFF CONTENT!!!
: ̗̀➛ afab!reader, no sex, all fluff and the cute stuff. not proofread so i apologize in advance for any mistakes if they’re made.
: ̗̀➛ art creds by;; currently unknown. dividers are not mine, if you own these, you may claim them in comments.
: ̗̀➛ WORD COUNT;; 1.42K
* dark mode recommended
* do not copy this plot. i’m perfectly fine with inspirations but give creds. if this plot his stolen in any way, the post will be taken down and you will be blocked.
𝐃𝐀𝐊𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 ✉️🖇️;; taking a break from smut. finna make sum cute for the ones that need it
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“choso!” you threw your arm around choso. the 5’11 male would groan tiredly. you and him were pretty close friends…even closer now that the two of you lived together. you were his ball of sunshine when he just wanted to curl up in a pit of darkness. his tired eyes made their way up to yours and he’d smile a little.
you and him were…something. your relationship wasn’t made official or anything you but it definitely felt like it was. the two of you shared hugs that lasted longer than it should’ve. you were always doing something thoughtful for him like buying him new clothes or even food…to which choso couldn’t help but throw on his awkward crooked smile.
though, choso was a pretty serious guy, you couldn’t help but laugh when he was being dead serious with you. the way he said certain things made you giggle even though there wasn’t anything to laugh at in particular.
he couldn’t lie and say it didn’t make him smile.
“hey…” choso cleared his throat. “what’re you doing up?”
“um..choso, it’s four in the afternoon.” you correct him in your soft and bubbly voice, your face never changing from your excited smile. if you smiled any longer, you were sure that your cheeks would start to hurt.
“huh?” choso glanced up at the clock on the wall in the kitchen that was pretty visible from the living room. his pupils retracted and his eyes widened, shocked about the time. he sighed and slumped back against the cushions of the couch.
“why didn’t you tell me? i was supposed to hang out with itadori today…” he sighed again, now rubbing his eyes. “i’m probably the worst brother ever.”
“you aren’t the worst, cho,” you smile at the curse, trying to reassure him. “you can still hang out with him. he knows how tired you can be.”
“yes, but i promised him i wouldn’t fall asleep and forget about him.” choso continued his moping, covering himself with his robe out of embarrassment…then it was quiet.
he went to sleep again.
you wondered why and how choso could just fall asleep so easily in the middle of conversations like that. his logic was also a bit confusing. he was so worried about yuji’s feelings but now he’s asleep as if he hadn’t been freaking out over it.
later that day, you were in your room playing roblox horror game on your playstation with yuji on the phone while choso was in the shower. you were waiting for him to get out so you can shower. you had to make sure you got that out of the way before you went to bed.
as you played your game, you remembered how dark the room was. you enjoyed being immersed in these games. turning up your volume as loud as possible. closing your door. turning off all the lights and even closing your curtains. you lived for the thrill of being scared.
you heard a click and a screech as your door opened, making you let out a loud gasp, saving yourself from tearing your vocal cords from screaming so much. 
choso was standing in your doorway, shirtless and his hair down. completely different from the twintails he usually wore…or his hair tied back, leaving his bangs to hang around in his face.
“you can go in now…” his low adverb voice spoke. “and why’re you screaming so much? is it that game?”
“oh, yeah, sorry.” you chuckled, finally calming your nerves. you were about to say something else until you heard yuji talking again. “oh…yeah, he’s right here. he was talking about you earlier.”
choso raised his eyebrows. you noticed he was doing that thing with his face…that nervous but excited smile. that was the most you seen him smile all day besides earlier today. he would quickly take your phone and put it up to his ear.
“uh…what do i say?” he asked. you just shrug, gesturing him to just say whatever was on his mind. he’d take your advice and walk out of your room, excitedly talking to yuji, starting with an apology.
you just smile at choso’s excitement and patiently wait until he returned with your phone.
that night, you had suddenly woken up after you fell asleep. your tv was off and your blankets were sliding off the bed. you seemed to be sleeping peacefully until you felt someone tapping you. you’d jolt awake and look up to see choso.
“your phone died,” he said, gently placing it beside you. he must’ve had your phone for a while or he just didn’t know when to come and wake you up. you were half asleep and you just nod, not really hearing much of what he said even though he didn’t say much.
“thanks, cho,” you say sleepily before lying down again. soon enough, you felt one side of your bed weigh down. choso was lying down next to you now.
“can i sleep in here with you?” he suddenly asked. “i don’t really wanna sleep by myself.”
that was a first. choso never asked to sleep in the same bed as you. you were too tired to question the curse’s actions and you agree to let him stay with you.
your eyes drift closed again, making yourself comfortable on the bed. soon enough, you felt a pair of arms snake around you.
“i gotta tell you something…um..don’t hate me.” choso began. “i mean, i doubt that you will but just in case.”
choso obviously seemed like a nervous wreck talking to you so closely to your ear. as you fight to keep your eyes open and listen to what choso had to say, you avert your eyes to look at him.
“why would i hate you?” you ask. choso’s cheeks visibly flushed a red color and he’d sigh, struggling to find the correct words to you so the conversation can go on smoothly.
“i…” you hear him pause. “i didn’t mean to fall in love with you like i did. you’re just so beautiful…and sweet. i don’t really know what i’d do without you here with me.”
you lay there processing what he had just said to you. a love confession? you couldn’t even fathom the words coming from your roommate’s lips.
“you don’t have to say yes if you don’t want to, i understand. i just wanted to ask you if you wanted to be my—” choso stopped again as if he were trying to remember something. a word. “do you wanna be my girlfriend?”
a tired smile stretched across your lips, “did you learn that from yuji or did you learn it yourself?”
“when i was talking to yuji on your phone…i asked him what it meant to have a crush on someone…and what it meant to be in a relationship. i mentioned to him that i felt like i’d die around you—that’s a good thing, i promise.” choso explained. “he tells me that it’s fine and that i should tell you how i feel.”
“well…yes, choso. i’ll be your girlfriend.” you say, your drowsiness still evident in your tone. choso released his grip from your body and sat up quickly.
“seriously?” he raised his eyebrows. he seemed unsure if he should’ve been excited. “um..this is good, right? yuji isn’t messing with me, right?”
you just laughed at him. something about his reactions were the cutest thing you could experience. it was like watching a cat play with a new toy.
“yes, seriously.”
“i have to tell yuji,” choso grabbed your phone and attempted to turn it on but it wasn’t working. it was still dead and you didn’t even bother to wake up and put it on the charger.
“tomorrow, cho. tell him tomorrow.”
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒
“yuji,” choso whispered into the phone. you were still asleep in your room while choso had sat in the living room, trying to charge your phone. it took him a second to understand the concept of how long it can take to charge but he was patient until your phone reached a sufficient number so he could use it to make a call.
“i did it. i told her.”
“oh, you did? that’s awesome!” if your phone was any louder, you’d be able to hear yuji cheering over the phone for his big brother since the audio was on speaker. “well, now all you gotta do is be a cool boyfriend and a cool big brother.”
“i think i can do that,” choso smiled.
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intynidad · 11 months
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Yes sir ma’am sir
Yandere otome au: the DLC
Tw: yandere stuff, suggestive in some parts tell me if I miss anything please
Tag: @pollypocketblog03u thanks for ur request love! <3
As time went on, you noticed something peculiar: despite the approaching "final day" of the game, the heroine had not yet locked a route. It struck you as quite unusual, but you dismissed the notion that it had anything to do with you. Perhaps the game mechanics were different in this "real life" version. Through some trial and error, you managed to discover a sort of "pause menu." However, it didn't prove particularly helpful. It wasn't like you could literally pause time, but it provided you with information about the characters, which you were determined to use to your advantage. Strangely enough, when you examined the character sheets, you found that some of them were either blank or marked with a ??? symbol.
Then, it dawned on you that the final day wouldn't be triggered until the heroine had met all the love interests. Recalling the main cast, you were certain there were only three: the childhood friend, the family friend, and the loner (excluding yourself as the rival and the heroine).
Nevertheless, you were positive that the heroine had interacted with all of them, as you had observed her engaging in (not so friendly) conversations with each.
That’s until you remembered…you had installed the “more love” dlc!
Okay... This is actually pretty perfect, to be honest.
If you manage to meet all the new love interests and make them your friends, or even prevent the heroine from meeting them at all, the "final day" won't trigger, and the heroine won't take revenge on you! This is perfect. What could go wrong?
You honestly had no idea who the new love interest would be and the whole “praying for your life” thing made you exhausted, you needed a way out.
So there were you moving through the game map to a new location exclusive of the dlc, “the obsidian stardust”
The bass reverberates through every fiber of your being, as bodies move in sync with the hypnotic melodies. The dance floor is a mosaic of swaying figures, their movements fluid and uninhibited. The atmosphere is alive with an aura of liberation, a temporary escape from the mundane.
It was just what you needed
With your newfound knowledge of the current route and the realization that the "final day" was yet to come, a sense of relief washed over you, and you felt a wave of relaxation. Tonight, you were determined to forget about everything and simply enjoy yourself on the dance floor, immersing yourself in the music and letting loose.
Lost in your own little world, you accidentally bumped into someone. "Ah, sorry, my ba..." you began to apologize, but before you could finish, the stranger took hold of your hand and pulled you into a dance.
Well, this wasn't exactly what you had envisioned, but it was a club after all, and people often bumped into each other. Perhaps this person simply assumed you wanted to dance, and you decided to go with the flow, embracing the unexpected twist of the evening.
Both of you danced and danced until it was time to go home.
You were outside the club either debating to call one of your friends or just pick up a taxi when you felt a tab on your shoulder.
“You really know how to move, ain’t ya’” this stranger looked at you with half lidded eyes
“Let me tell you something” he got a step closer “my place is a couple of streets away, so what do you say”
“No thanks”
“Perfect, let me just grab my car and we ca-wait what?”
“I said no thanks” you repeated yourself a little bit louder
The stranger was frozen in place while you walked your merry way into a taxi and left
Did?- did he just got rejected??
THE PLAYBOY
This dude is a player, he loves to sleep around and break hearts. He knows he is handsome and is willing to use it in his favor to get what he wants.
Used to sleeping around and breaking Hearts but totally not used to being rejected, so when you do it is like if somebody dropped a bucket full of ice water on top of him.
But when he recovers from the initial shock he sees this as a test, a challenge to test his charm and ability to woo people.
So he tracks you down and starts to shamelessly flirt with you and being very vocal on wanting to sleep with you.
And you just??? Say No? To him??? Who does that!!?
So he tries and tries again, his friends telling him to give it up and to just move to another pray, that any other boy or girl would be in line to get on their knees for him.
But no, he doesn’t want anybody. He.wants.you.
This becomes something personal,he needs to make you his.
This starts to slowly spiral into an obsession but he is delusional, you are just crazy about him! You are just playing hard to get!
He ends up convincing himself that you are completely in love with him and that you are just or too shy or too bratty to accept his- i mean your feelings
Is not until he is fucking another person that he realizes that it doesn’t make him feel good anymore,at least not the way it was before.
His worst fear had materialized before his very eyes: he had succumbed to the allure of love.
The echoes of his past deeds reverberated through his being, fueling a resolute determination to never subject himself to the heartbreak he had once inflicted on his victims.
You will be his,and that’s final
The delinquent
With your newfound understanding of the city's layout, you found yourself strolling through its vibrant streets more frequently (purely coincidental, of course, and certainly not a clever tactic to evade the relentless presence of the heroine and the rest of the love interests). On one eventful day, as you ventured downtown, a disturbing scene unfolded before your eyes. A group of individuals, driven by an inexplicable rage, were beating the absolute crap of some random unfortunate soul.
you and what you assume was the leader made eye contact and you did what was the most logic course of action.
Averting your eyes, your pace quickened, silently signaling your intent to distance yourself from the impending chaos.
What?.you weren’t gonna risk yourself like that!
It was best to mind your own affairs and leave the role of the valiant hero to others.
You thought that that would be the end of the interaction, that until you were in a local bookstore,mostly to pass the time, that’s until you were passing through the cooking section that your eyes meet with the same guy was beating the random person the other day!
He looked well, cleaner?(with less blood you mean) and you could swear that they took out some of their piercings.
The eyes of the ringleader flashed with recognized and panic, and started to speed walk and corner you into an mostly empty part of the bookstore
Long story short, you were threatened with staying quiet with the leader’s apparently-secret-hobby of baking
After that you started to bump into him more often.
He even one day gave you some muffins on the (totally not excuse) of needing a taste tester.
After that you two started to hang out around, his menacing aura was enough to make people move off the way.
He even started to give you more of your favorite pastries (even though you don’t remember telling them about your preferences)
What you didn't know is that the delinquent grew really attached to you because you didn't judge him about his “secret hobby”.
He might or might not started to mix the pastries with…some special ingredients
A thirst was just a little bit of his saliva, just to pretend you guys shared an indirect kiss, then it moved to…other stuff.
Watching you stuff your mouth with something he made, made his mind wander on what that mouth of yours could do.
When some underling of his made the comment of him going soft for somebody, he crushed his skull with a metal bar until probably not even their family would be able to recognize them.
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