#def will be less than last year when they counted pretty much the most ever...

[biffhofosho]

Another Year Wilder | Part One

Fandom: Monsta X

Genre: Smut, natch.

Word Count: 12k (The whole thing is about 30k, but I don’t love the idea of posting a oneshot that long, so it’s two parts.)

Pairing: OT7 x OC (you read that right)

Trope: Coworkers to lovers

Synopsis: At 36, things haven’t exactly panned out the way Jordana had hoped. Sure, she has a great job with a great group of guys, but her personal life is a disaster area. Of course, it wasn’t like she’d planned on wasting the prime of her youth on a crappy ex who left her in the lurch, but she had. Now, birthdays feel like a jab in the gut as she realizes she’s still single and aging out of all her prospects. Lucky for her, her seven adoring coworkers are here to remind her she’s still got it.

Part One | Part Two

The Vibe: Gamer nerd/entrepreneur Monsta X, New York state of mind with Brazilian flavor, OC’s feeling pretty sorry for herself and needs a pick-me-up, supportive coworker friends with secret crushes swoop in to the rescue, spoiled on her birthday, after-hours partying at the office, lighthearted humor with loads of innuendo, inappropriate games, lots of hidden agendas, romance under layers of raunchy smut, guys who won’t quit until they make a woman incandescently happy, devious Minhyuk always, Shownu and Kihyun are forever in control (or are they?), respect, adoration, love love love, shared power, new experiences, and a look to the future we’d all die to have.

A/N: WARNING! THIS FIC IS NOT SAFE FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. THIS IS UTTER TRASH AND IS MEANT ONLY FOR TRASH TROLLS LIKE MYSELF. (If that’s you, hi! Let’s be friends!) 

It’s probably the kind of fic people like on their side blogs with the likes hidden so you don’t have to admit to being so damn thirsty on main. :D

This is all @starlightfantasy​‘s fault. She makes one damned spicy comment, and the next thing I know, I’ve got tens of thousands of words on the page and sky-high blood pressure. 

I’m not going to try and dress this one up with nonsense words like “eightsome” or whatever makes it seem less seedy—sometimes a garbage scow is just a garbage scow. This is a good ol’ fashioned, wildly irresponsible, completely unbelievable office gangbang. Or maybe more aptly, a gangbang with feelings? IDK, whatever you want to call this mess other than just de-fucking-praved. Like, no one should probably ever read it, it’s such dumpster fire.

Too much fucking insanity for the tags so let’s gooooooo: group sex/gangbang, boss(es)/employee relations, nothing but unprotected sex, blindfolds, spitroasting, blowjobs, facials, handjobs, fingering, multiple multiple creampies, just generally showered in cum omgwhy, dumbification, competitive fucking because why the fuck not, exhibitionism and voyeurism elements, manhandling, dom/sub elements, orgasm denial, possessiveness, sir kink, restrained by others (but most def not dubcon), so much fucking dirty talk, so so so much fucking praise, mild self-inflicted degradation lol, body worship, the loveliest aftercare (hey, she works fucking hard in this—she deserves it), probably other stuff because this is a shitshow.

Jordana prodded the chocolate curly-cue on the top of the cupcake in front of her before Hoseok jabbed a candle into it. She recoiled with a scowl and tsked. “Tell me again why you people are making me celebrate today.”

“Because it’s your birthday?” Jooheon reminded with a roll of his eyes. “Happens every year on this day, you know.”

“I know, smartass. Every year for 36 years. I wish you wouldn’t remind me.”

As Hoseok dug for the matches in the breakroom drawer, Kihyun stared at the sulking woman across from him. “What’s the matter, Jordana? You’ve never had a problem with your birthday before.”

“Maybe because the last 35 didn’t remind me that I’m old, single, and likely to stay that way forever.” She poked the frosting again, and this time when her finger came back with a hunk of chocolate on it, she smeared a streak on an unsuspecting Jooheon beside her, who blustered and snarled while Changkyun chuckled.

“Thirty-six’s a little young to be throwing in the towel, don’t you think?” Hyunwoo chastised from his lean against the counter. “Since when is that old?”

“Yeah, if 36’s old, a few of us will be knocking on Death’s door soon, too,” Hoseok observed before he found the matches and thrust them in the air with a victorious fist.

Jordana pursed her thick lips and challenged the company president with her sharpest glower, though Hyunwoo only quirked an eyebrow. “It’s old since I started working for a bunch of baby-faced entrepreneurs. I could have rocked all your cradles, you know.”

“Settle down and blow out your candle,” admonished Kihyun.

Someone flicked off the lights in the breakroom before a chorus of seven voices broke into a spirited round of “Happy Birthday,” with Minhyuk belting his usual over-the-top flourish of “AND MANY MORE!” at the end. Jordana puffed out the candle, and the light came back on along with a round of cheers.

“Did you make a wish?” asked Minhyuk.

“Yeah, for seven new coworkers who don’t make me celebrate my birthday anymore,” she retorted.

Jooheon nudged her shoulder with his, and when she looked over, she found that obnoxiously handsome tiger’s grin bracketed by two of the deepest dimples known to man. “You told us your wish. Now, it won’t come true, and you’re stuck with us.”

“Damnit,” she grumbled.

“Oh, eat your cupcake and be grateful,” Kihyun said as he dug into his own.

Changkyun tugged out a chair and kicked back, his spindly legs stretched out to showcase the huge holes in his designer ripped jeans and his toned thighs tensing beneath them. It might have stuck out as unprofessional if Jooheon wasn’t also sporting a similar pair while Hoseok flaunted his hard-earned upper body in a far-too-revealing compression crew and Minhyuk and Hyungwon cozied up in hoodies. The only professionally dressed people in the office on any given day were the president and vice president. Hyunwoo and Kihyun sported their usual button-ups and slacks, and if Jordana hadn’t been working for them for the last five years, looking around, she would have thought this was some kind of survey group picked at random off the street.

Of course, if she had started a gaming company with friends, too, she supposed she would have had the guts to wear her favorite hoody to work. As it was, she’d been a necessary hire, so she was dressed in business casual as usual since that’s what the bosses wore. It felt too weird to dress down even if she’d been told a hundred times she was allowed.

“Are you eating your cupcake, Hyungwon, or are you inhaling it?” scolded Kihyun as he watched the tallest employee open his mouth like some deep-sea monster and shove the dessert in with a few desperate gasps for air around it.

Through a mouth full of crumbs, Hyungwon garbled, “The day I let Yoo Kihyun tell me how to eat is the day I die. You want a knife and fork for yours, Grandma?”

Jordana couldn’t hide her smile at the pair of frenemies’ latest round of bickering while Jooheon leaned close to her ear. “Enjoying yourself a little now?”

She did her best to shrug indifferently while she peeled off her cupcake wrapper. “The chocolate helps.”

“Are you really serious about this whole anti-birthday agenda?” asked Hoseok.

Jordana picked the wrong time to look at him. The raven-haired beast of a man was sucking his fingertips clean of frosting one-by-one, and it wasn’t an easy image to ignore. She forced her attention back to her birthday treat instead and said, “You’re just worried about getting one less cake out of a year.”

“Hey, you know I like cake, but I like you more, and we all really love celebrating the girl who takes care of all of us all year long.”

“It’s true,” echoed Minhyuk from behind her. Jordana jumped, not realizing he had snuck up beside her other ear.

She sighed and abandoned her cupcake to slouch in her chair. “Listen, guys, I appreciate you always going out of your way to do such nice things for me, seriously, but I don’t know—I’m kind of over it. Guess I’m just going through some shit—stuff. Sorry, boss.”

Even though they were all off the clock at this point in the evening, Jordana targeted her apology for the curse word to Hyunwoo, but the big man was as unflappable as ever. He polished off the last of his dessert and brushed his hands over the meat of his thighs, and she returned her attention to rolling and unrolling her cupcake wrapper.

“At least you guys didn’t go overboard like last year,” she said. Hyungwon and Hoseok exchanged looks, and Jordana groaned. “What did you do?”

Hoseok offered a sheepish grin and nodded toward the corridor. “It’s better if you just see it.”

Everyone filed into the hallway, with Kihyun taking point and Hyunwoo bringing up the rear as usual, as the vice president led them into the conference room. On any normal day, it was a cool, austere space featuring an oversized table with a dozen high-end gaming chairs, three huge screens, and a water cooler, but today wasn’t a normal day.

Tacky cardboard birthday banners drooped across the ceiling, and someone (she suspected Hoseok) had hung copious amounts of metallic fringe around the entire perimeter of the room. Someone else (Jooheon, she thought) had put a party hat on the water cooler. Meanwhile, each screen cycled through picture after picture of Jordana’s toothy smile, umber skin, and sloppy brown bun almost always pierced with a pen.

Most of the shots had at least one or two of the boys in it, too, although the middle screen was a solo headshot of hers, up close and spontaneous, just like Minhyuk liked to take them. She vaguely remembered him surprising her in the parking lot one day to take the shot. Her smile was lopsided, her eyes were pinched high in laughter, and her hair flung loose mid-spin.

“Oh my god, you guys didn’t,” Jordana groaned.

“Oh, yes, we did,” sing-songed Minhyuk as he jiggled several bottles of beer in his hand before adding them to the line of liquor on the table. “So, enjoy it and get plastered with us. Uber’s on us.”

He shoved a bottle of her favorite IPA into her face, and Jordana had no choice but to take a deep swig. Before she knew it, she’d downed the bottle as the boys stared wide-eyed at her.

“Seriously, what’s up with you and this birthday?” Changkyun probed as he took a seat and crossed his arms. His trademark intense stare penetrated even Jordana’s thick hide, and she relented.

She sank onto the edge of the table and cracked open another beer as uncomfortable emotions swirled with the booze in her stomach. “Ugh, you’re making a bigger deal of this than it is. I mean, you guys know I broke up with Carlos last year, so that wasn’t awesome…”

“What are you talking about!” interjected Jooheon. “He was the worst.”

“The actual worst,” echoed Hyungwon.

“Yeah, well, he was somebody. For five years, he was somebody, and for at least four of those years, I figured he’d be the somebody. And since then, nobody, not even a bite. I can’t even get a blind date—blind! I mean, I’m not ugly, right? I don’t think I am at least? So it’s got to be how old I’m getting. Unless maybe I am ugly…”

Hoseok was at her side in a second, his body glued along hers as his arm wrapped around her shoulder and cemented her even tighter to him. His strength was astounding, his muscles warm but his eyes stern. “Don’t ever say things like that. Ever.”

“O-okay.”

She hadn’t been fishing for compliments, more like confessing her very real feelings, but the look he was giving her bordered on outraged, and even Jordana’s sassy side cowered a little. But Hoseok’s fury disappeared with her concession, and his broad, beaming smile turned his face boyish again. “Good. Glad you agree. And as for all those losers, they’re just too afraid of a woman like you.”

Jordana laughed, feeling less and less anxious with his arm around her shoulder, like he was her weighted blanket back at home. “Oh, so they’re afraid?”

“Terrified.”

“Because I have Resting Bitch Face?”

“Because you can break a man’s heart with one word.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Vegetarian?”

“No,” Hoseok said simply, ignoring her joke. “The word is ‘no.’ You’re out of every guy’s league, and they know it.”

Jordana turned to scoff at him, but Hoseok was looking at her so sincerely that her rebuttal fell dead on her lips. When she finally remembered where she was, she glanced around the room, but every other man was just as silent and sincere as his friend. She cleared her throat and reached for another beer, relishing the way the cap resounded like a gunshot and startled her coworkers out of their weird intensity.

“Hey, look, guys, I’m not looking for pity. I just want everyone to forget my birthday entirely. Cool?”

Hyungwon frowned and crossed his arms. “No, not cool. Nobody here pities you, YoYo. That’s not what this is.”

“Oh, so it’s an intervention?” she retorted around the mouth of her beer bottle, realizing the irony too late.

Her lanky coworker threw his hands in the air and turned to his nearest neighbor, Changkyun. “She doesn’t get it.”

“None of us are dating either,” Changkyun reminded her.

“That’s not because you couldn’t. That’s because you’re too wrapped up in your work,” she replied.

“Not Minhyuk,” laughed Hyungwon.

“No, he’s too wrapped up in himself,” Jordana teased.

“Hey!” the caramel-haired man shouted.

“What about me?” asked Kihyun. “What’s my excuse?”

Jordana brought a finger to her lips and considered for a moment. “You don’t trust anybody.”

“That’s not true,” the vice president protested. “You think I would give these guys an equal share in the company if I didn’t trust them?”

“No, but you came up with everybody here. I’ve known you for years, and you still won’t let me proofread your pitches even though my degree’s in public relations.”

Kihyun looked wounded, his strong cheeks softened by downturned eyes. “That’s not because I don’t trust you.”

Jordana hummed. “You’re right. That’s the wrong word here. I guess it’s that you like all the control.”

“You’re making me out to be one of those BDSM guys.”

She quirked an eyebrow and hid behind the lip of her bottle. “I always assumed you were.”

Minhyuk and Hyungwon laughed, but Kihyun stared back at her blankly.

When the vice president’s gaze got too intense, Jordana cleared her throat. “Look, guys, let’s just forget the whole thing, okay? This is all really great, and you guys are great, so let’s just hang out. Deal?”

Jooheon raised one charismatic eyebrow. “Beer’s already hitting you, isn’t it?”

“Shut up, Lee,” she volleyed back, and they both laughed.

Jordana could hold her liquor like a champ—she’d had enough practice, especially the last several months post-Carlos—but there was no denying that warm buzz radiating from her stomach and tickling her fingers and toes. With the help of seven handsome faces and teasing smiles, the alcohol had singed off the edges of creeping doom, and once again, she was feeling more like herself.

Feeling cocky, she said, “So, where’s my present?”

“What makes you think you get one?” challenged Kihyun.

“Other than the fact that you guys give me one every year? Well, for starters, Hoseok just said I take care of you all year long. I think that warrants something.”

“Way to go, Buffbunny,” clucked Hyungwon, using Hoseok’s gamer handle. “Now we have to get her something.”

Hoseok pretended to pout as Jooheon and Minhyuk shoved him out the door, the dimpled blonde shouting after him, “Steal something from the boss’s office. She’ll never know.”

Jooheon turned and shot a wink to Minhyuk, who didn’t even try to hide his sly fox smile.

“You guys are so extra,” Jordana said. Her legs swung freely over the edge of the conference table. It was safe to say she was leaning into her buzz, and she was grateful she wasn’t doing it alone again on her crappy couch.

While Hyungwon livened up the party with a little music, Hoseok trotted back in, hiding his face behind an opened Amazon box. He peeked around the edge, his eyes pinched up into little slashes, before he thrust it into her hands and grinned at the others from ear to ear.

Jordana glanced at the box with a smirk. Another year, another present with no wrapping paper except the bubble wrap it came in. Boys, she thought with a laugh.

It only took a second to unspool the wrapping and find a stapler—a dented, chipped, circa 1992 stapler. Confused, she looked around the sea of eager faces and said, “Wow, you really did go shopping in Hyunwoo’s office.”

“You don't know that,” teased Minhyuk.

“Uh, yeah, I do. You don't forget a hunk of junk like this.”

“Hey,” the president objected, “that's a perfectly functional hunk of junk.”

“I thought we agreed on the tape dispenser?” Kihyun snapped.

Hoseok shrugged. “She doesn't need a tape dispenser. She said she needs a stapler.”

“That’s sweet,” Jordana said with a hand on the shoulder of the hard-bodied but soft-hearted gamer, “but not this World War I cannon that thunders next to my office all day.”

“You blew our cover,” scolded Jooheon.

“And the tape dispenser would have been funnier how?” Hoseok said.

“It ruined the joke!” Kihyun exclaimed. “Everybody knows that stupid stapler.”

“I repeat: hey,” Shownu grumbled in his ever-hushed voice.

“I didn't ruin anything,” persisted Hoseok. “I enhanced it while simultaneously showing I listen to YoYo.”

“Lay off Hoseok,” Hyungwon said. “It's even funnier now because everyone hates Hyunwoo’s stapler.”

The president’s thick lips pursed while the buff bunny slung his arm around his tall friend’s shoulder. “Thanks, man.”

Changkyun rolled his eyes. “If you don't finish laying it on so thick, you're going to miss it.”

“I resent—” started Hoseok before he was cut off by a high-pitched squeal.

Everyone turned to the girl in the center of the room who was now holding a bouquet of long-stemmed orchids in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. Her brown eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open.

“You guys,” Jordana said quietly, “this is a ticket to IZA.”

Hyunwoo shook his head. “Actually, those are two tickets to IZA.”

“One for you and one for your sister,” interjected Minhyuk.

“You said you wanted to take her because that’s her favorite singer, right?” Jooheon echoed, his elbow propped on Minhyuk’s shoulder.

“But—but they only had floor seats left,” Jordana insisted, her brain barely comprehending the paper in her hand. Then her eyebrows ticked up a few notches. “These are floor seats! Guys, they're so expensive!”

“Not if we all chipped in,” Hoseok said with another one of his thousand-watt grins.

Kihyun, the young flexer of the office, added, “And we did, especially your very generous bosses.”

Jordana looked at her friends still just as shocked as when she’d found the flowers and paper hidden behind her on the table, no doubt slipped there when Hoseok and his squabbling coworkers had commanded all her attention. “Porra! I can’t believe I’ll be able to take Adriana to see her. You don’t even know—this is going to land me Sister-of-the-Year.”

“The way it’s landed us Coworkers-of-the-Year?” suggested Hyungwon.

“Coworkers-of-the-Century, honestly. I don’t even know what to say. Seriously, I’m— Just… thanks for making this birthday worth celebrating, guys. I mean it. This is awesome. You’re awesome. I can’t believe I get to work here with people that care this much about me.”

“We definitely do,” Hyunwoo reinforced, and Jordana bit her lip.

The boys looked at one another with proud smiles, exchanging pats on the back and fist bumps, and it shook some sense back into her.

“Don’t go getting big heads now. You’ve just set a bar for the rest of the time I work here. Good luck topping this.” Hands sagged and grins drooped before she belted out a long laugh. “Just teasing. Maybe.”

Changkyun jumped up on the table beside her, swinging his legs in sync with hers. He toyed with one of the orchid stems, brushing the velvety petals along her jaw. “What about the flowers, huh? They’re nice, right?”

Jordana laughed. “Gorgeous. Did you pick them?”

“I did, after a lot of research.”

“Hey!” barked Jooheon. “I helped, too.”

“Not that much. You just picked them up.”

Jooheon sported his best scowl before Minhyuk swooped in to rub his back.

Jordana turned her attention back to the vibrant pink petals and thumbed a few of them idly. She bumped Changkyun’s shoulder with hers and said, “Okay, let’s test how much research you’ve done. Why orchids?”

“Because they would remind you of home?”

“You sound like you’re second-guessing yourself, Kyun…” she teased.

“I’m not,” he declared though he stole a glance at Jooheon.

The dimpled man put his hands on his hips and shook his head at his friend. “Don’t look at me. You already took all the credit. You’re on your own.”

The youngest of her coworkers looked betrayed, but Jordana was in too good a mood now to let him suffer long. “You’re right, it’s Brazil’s national flower, not quite like these beauties but close. So, in all this very extensive research you did all by yourself, did you come across what they symbolize?”

“Friendship?”

Jordana looked down at the magenta blooms bursting forth like butterflies ready to take flight, and somehow, she felt them fluttering in her stomach. She kept her eyes trained on the petals so the guys couldn’t catch the rush of color at her cheeks. “My mother always said each flower represents a kiss. See the lips here?”

With the tip of her finger, she traced the long, dark mouth of the bloom, and she could feel every pair of eyes on her. Her finger felt heavy, and she dropped it to her lap along with the bouquet.

“So,” Jordana said, clearing her throat, “maybe next year get your coworker something a little less…”

What? Expensive? Colorful?

No. Romantic, she realized. These flowers were too romantic. They were on all the girls’ wrists when dances and date nights came. They were in wedding bouquets and tucked behind ears as ladies sashayed in tight dresses through the streets at Carnival.

“A little more,” she corrected, “coworker-y.”

“You don’t like them?” asked Changkyun. She thought he’d sound disappointed or even annoyed, but instead, he sounded amused.

“Of course, I like them! I love them. That’s not what I’m saying.”

“Ah,” Kihyun said, his cheeks high and smug, “she’s saying she doesn’t want us to give her kisses.”

Flustered, Jordana hid behind the bouquet as she pretended to inspect it. “You’re so annoying, Ki.”

“Is that any way to talk to the Boss-of-the-Century?”

She sighed. “I knew that was going to come back to bite me.”

Minhyuk, however, was grinning like a Cheshire cat. There was a reason his gamer handle was DemonicJester, and just from the way his eyes narrowed, Jordana knew he was coming out to play. His tongue poked the corner of his lips as he appraised her before he said, “So is something else you said earlier...”

The liquid courage bubbling in her stomach brought the challenge to her gaze as the pair squared off. “Yeah? What’s that?”

“When you were bragging how well you knew all of us.”

“About the girlfriend thing? That wasn’t bragging, that was just observation. I spend half my life with you guys. I think I’ve picked up a few things over the years. I know who’s coming down the hall by footsteps alone, I know everybody’s laugh, and I know all your poker tells, especially yours, Min.” Jordana mimicked his head-thrown-back laugh, which she’d seen dozens of times in games he knew he’d win.

“She knows a lot, doesn’t she?” Kihyun said, but there was something else in his voice—something she couldn’t place—a textured darkness that she wasn’t afraid of but enticed by.

The tissue paper crinkled loudly as she clutched her flowers a little tighter.

Minhyuk grinned, his eyes shifting from coworker to coworker. His confidence was as endearing as it was annoying. “Let’s liven up this party, what do you say? Want to put YoYo’s knowledge to the test, guys?”

“What does that mean?” asked Hoseok.

“Yeah, what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Jordana demanded.

Minhyuk smiled. “Seems to me you think you’ve got us all figured out.”

Kihyun had been staring hard at her, but now those sharp black eyes narrowed as his chin tipped up. “It does seem that way.”

She was suddenly keenly aware of how close Changkyun was next to her, how broad Hoseok’s shoulders were, and how imposing Hyunwoo looked with his arms crossed over his chest. “Look, guys, I didn’t mean to offend anyone—”

But Minhyuk just cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy. “Now, who said anything about that? I’m just talking about a game. Those are meant to be fun, aren’t they? And didn’t you just get done complaining about how you don’t have any fun anymore?”

“Excuse me if I don’t trust you, Min. Maybe I know that part of you too well.”

The room erupted into a symphony of bark-laughs and cackles, but Minhyuk weathered them all as though he hadn’t heard any of them in the first place. He was too preoccupied with his mischievous showdown with Jordana.

“You’ve got your scheming face on,” she warned.

“This is my game face. So, what do you say? Wanna play with me?”

“Ugh, you’re such a perv.”

Minhyuk just waggled his eyebrows.

Jordana looked to the others for help, but there was no clear consensus in the room. Some looked confused, others as wary as she was, and still others were simply amused. Then there was Hyunwoo, who waited stock still on the edge of the group with a perfectly blank expression. She let out a very long sigh and said, “What’s the game?”

Minhyuk’s warm hair tossed as he bounded between her swinging legs and clapped his hands. He was well inside her personal bubble, but that was nothing new with Minhyuk as everyone in the office could attest. Almost every lunch ended with him feeding someone, and most of the time, when they were gaming, he was thigh-to-thigh with someone on a couch or even wedged in the same chair. It was as much a part of who he was as it was a disarming tactic, and it always fucking worked, just like it was working now.

“All right, picture this,” he said, his hands flailing dramatically, “you claim to know us all by sight, sound, and smell, but—and stick with me on this—what about taste and touch?”

Jordana raised one finely sculpted eyebrow. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Min—” Hyungwon started with this hand on his eager friend’s shoulder, but Minhyuk shook him off without breaking eye contact with Jordana for a second.

“A kiss contest!” the troublemaker declared with his hand in the air. “You close your eyes, and we each give you a kiss, and you see if you can guess who’s who. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?”

Jordana’s stomach dropped into her feet.

“Sounds like a sexual harassment lawsuit,” Kihyun deadpanned.

But Minhyuk blew a raspberry and shook his head. “Nah! Not if YoYo agrees. It’s all in the name of birthday fun and bragging rights. Besides, it’s not like any of you are going to turn down this chance.”

Minhyuk received a few death glares from Kihyun and Jooheon, but none of it shook his unbridled enthusiasm.

“How much have you had to drink, you chucklehead?” grumbled Changkyun. His arms were tightly stacked across his chest, but his sharp eyes were studying Jordana’s profile now, and she could sense them at her lips before they darted away.

“You can’t just obligate all the other guys to something like that,” Jordana spluttered, her wide brown eyes ping-ponging between the rest of her officemates. “They don’t want to pity-kiss their coworker.”

“Sure, we will! We talk all the time about—”

Hyungwon elbowed Hoseok in the ribs, and the big guy yowled like a surprised cat.

“Talk about what?” she demanded, but Jooheon dove across the room to cover Hoseok’s mouth while Minhyuk tipped forward so the only thing she could see was his handsome, candid face.

“It’s hardly a pity-kiss, YoYo. It’s a game, and we all want to play with you.”

Jordana squinted at him, trying to find the jokester under that imp mask he was sporting, but his charm armor was too strong.

When she didn’t answer, Minhyuk pushed gently, “Don’t you want to play with us?”

“I’m—too old to play these kinds of games.”

Now it was Changkyun, leaning close enough that their shoulders touched while his mouth only hovered a few inches from her ear.

“Enough with that,” he admonished, “seriously. If I ever see that asshole Carlos again, I’ll break his nose.”

“Changkyun!” Jordana said, honestly surprised. Even during his most intense Fortnite runs, she’d never seen the youngest gamer so serious.

“What? I’m not the only one. Hoseok and Jooheon are already honing their Fight Club skills, look.”

She glanced over Minhyuk’s shoulder to where the two friends were punching the air and snarling. She wanted to laugh and just appreciate her coworkers for looking out for her, but Jordana felt weirdly self-conscious about the whole thing.

She waved everybody off and said, “Guys, forget Carlos. Forget my age. Forget I brought any of it up. Let’s just go back to hanging out.”

“Done!” said Minhyuk, but he didn’t step back. Instead, he propped an elbow on her knee and stooped awkwardly against it, all without losing his upbeat grin. “Doesn’t change the game at all though. I still want to play and win.”

“Minhyuk, no.”

“Why not?” he whined.

“For starters, you’d lose. You’d all lose. So there’s no point in playing.”

All at once, all eyes were focused solely on her. These men were gamers to their very core, not just profiting off their own games and accessories but running their own Twitch streams and, more importantly, facing off against each other every minute they could. Jordana knew exactly what she was doing in challenging them, but she also knew she was 100% right. She’d recognize these crazy boys anywhere.

Hoseok smiled and glided over to her free side. She could tell from the way his arms were puffed up by his chest that he was flexing while still trying to look casual, and she braced for his bravado. “Sounds to me like you’re just afraid of the competition, YoYo. Easier to say you’ll win before you have.”

“It does sound like that,” Hyungwon agreed.

“Come on, another year older, another year wilder,” Minhyuk egged on.

Jordana rolled her eyes. “Pretty sure that’s ‘wiser,’ not ‘wilder.’”

“Nah, Min’s definitely right,” agreed Jooheon.

“You’re just saying that because you want a kiss.”

Minhyuk turned and pinched his friend’s cheek as he said, “Aw, don’t give Honey a hard time.”

“What about the hard time he’s giving me!” she wailed.

Jooheon had already wriggled out of Minhyuk’s grip to bully Hoseok out of the way so he could sidle up to Jordana’s side and offer her a flirty smile. He smelled like cedar and leather, like a bad boy with an angel’s grin, and she struggled to look unaffected. “Am I giving you a hard time?”

“Shut up,” she grumbled and chugged the last of her beer.

“Then there’s no problem,” Kihyun clarified from across the room. He stepped forward, looking extra impressive with his hands in his suit pants and his eyes expressionless. “If we’re all in agreement, how about one round, and we’ll see just how good you are.”

Jordana’s skin was bristling now, like the room was charged with static electricity. Her legs automatically tightened, but Minhyuk was still standing between them, and he smiled when her thighs gripped his hips. His fingers brushed lightly against her bare knee as he gauged her expression, but when she didn’t cringe or yelp, he gripped it and pushed it open just enough for him to slip out—and just enough to send a sharp pulse to her core.

“Everybody’s in, right?” the handsome troublemaker trumpeted to the room.

The yeses rolled in fast and furious, and it deepened the color at Jordana’s cheeks as well as the skin at her collar. More than anything, she was shocked when both Hyunwoo and Kihyun joined in the chorus, too.

“This… doesn’t feel like a good idea,” she hedged.

“Why not?” Jooheon complained.

“Because we all have to work together tomorrow?”

“So?” said Hyungwon.

“So, things will be different.”

“Will they?” he pushed.

“Won’t they?”

Maybe it was the self-deprecating headspace she'd already been wallowing in, but now Jordana was just annoyed at the fact that none of them seemed to care that they were going to kiss her. They were making it all about the game, yet it made her want to make them care, and that was a whole other recipe for disaster.

Jordana blew a long raspberry and glanced around the rest of the conference room in a hurry for anything to distract from the number of eyes all trained on her. “Fine, fine, but I need a shot first. We got any soju around here?”

Hyunwoo was quick to pour one for her, and she downed it just as fast, blanching as the liquor stung her throat.

“Beer before liquor, never been sicker,” Changkyun tutted beside her.

“That’s just an urban legend,” Kihyun informed. “They’ve done studies to prove—”

“Oh my god!” Hyungwon griped, covering his ears. “You’re ruining the party vibe.”

Kihyun glowered at his friend but stuffed his diatribe while Jordana polished off the last of Changkyun’s beer, too.

It was Jooheon’s turn to glower. “I’m starting to get a little offended that you need all this booze just to kiss us.”

“It’s a couple of beers and a shot. I can handle a lot more than that. Besides, I do my best work tipsy. It’ll make my gloating celebrations that much more elaborate. I’m fixing to bring Carnival-level festivities in here when I embarrass you all.”

“That’s putting the cart before the horse, don’t you think? First, we have to set some rules,” Kihyun reminded.

Hyungwon elbowed Hoseok and grumbled, “Here he goes with rules now. Wake me up in twenty.”

Kihyun shot a glare over his shoulder but only for a second before he returned his full attention to the brown-skinned woman literally on the edge of her seat. Even with music playing, things felt far too quiet.

Her boss took a step closer, just shy of the gap between her knees where Minhyuk had just stood. “For starters, you'll be blindfolded.”

“Is the blindfold really necessary, Ki?” Jordana asked dramatically, hoping it would cover the quaver in her voice.

“Uh, yeah,” answered Hyungwon. “You’re a total cheater, YoYo. You’ll peek.”

“What the hell are you talking about? When have I ever cheated?”

“Seems to me someone forgot the time we played Overwatch, and you threw on an aimbot and massacred everyone here in seconds.”

Jordana pouted. “That was just for fun.”

“So is this,” said the president from across the conference room in a voice far too deep to be safe. Hyunwoo unspooled his tie from his collar and presented the shimmering silk to his vice president.

Jordana couldn’t take her eyes off limp material draped over Kihyun’s elegant fingers. Somehow, she could already feel its cool kiss against her eyelids, and she shivered.

“If you don't like that rule, you definitely won't like this one,” Kihyun continued. “We can touch you, but you can't touch us.”

“Why the hell not?” she demanded.

Changkyun bumped her shoulder, and she turned to him just in time to catch that cute, close-lipped smile he always did when he was holding something back. Before she had a chance to wonder what it could be, he said, “Because then it won't be the kiss you focus on. You know what each of us is wearing, so you'll know instantly who’s who.”

“I guess that’s fair. Any more rules you tyrants want to impose on the birthday girl?”

Hoseok laughed. “A few minutes ago, she didn’t want anybody saying the word ‘birthday’, and now she wants special consideration. How cute is that?”

“Last rule,” said Kihyun. “One kiss, one guess. You get it wrong—”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that,” Jordana said with a smug smile, and someone in the room made a low growl. She couldn’t tell who, but it set her nerves on edge. Suddenly, her smugness evaporated.

“All the same,” the vice president continued, “if you guess wrong, you have to be that guy’s office assistant exclusively for a week until you get to know him backwards and forwards.”

It didn’t seem terribly unreasonable, though something about it smacked of duplicity. Still, Jordana agreed and Kihyun presented the tie. Hoseok was quick to snatch it from the vice president’s hands despite a very noisy gripe, and the next thing she knew, silk encircled her eyes as Hoseok’s muscles encircled her head to firmly tie the scrap of fabric. Her face was practically buried in his thick neck, and this close to his skin, she could still pick up a whiff almond and warm wood and, under both, a hint of natural masculinity. If she had any less willpower, she might have licked that warm juncture at his shoulder.

Before Hoseok pulled back, his thumb coasted over her cheekbone, and in the new darkness, it blazed bright like fireworks. Jordana couldn’t help it, she exhaled long and low. She heard several rumbles and whispers, but no one said anything to her.

With nothing else to focus on and no one left beside her, the room felt ten degrees colder. The feeling of being watched itched all over her skin, and she stowed her arms tightly across her chest to feel a little more comfortable. Jordana cleared her throat and said, “I can’t win if you don’t play the game, guys.”

“Somebody’s impatient,” Minhyuk sing-songed. “This is almost more fun than the game.”

“I seriously doubt that,” Changkyun said darkly, and a fresh wave of goosebumps blistered across her arms and legs.

“Would somebody just kiss me already?” she barked.

Hoseok laughed. “So damned impatient!”

“All right, everybody, let’s give the lady what she wants,” Kihyun said. “Sudden death kai-bai-bo, winner goes first. No hints, no cheers, no arguing. In fact, I don’t want to hear any commentary at all, Minhyuk.”

“Hey! I can handle myself! This was my great idea anyway. You can all thank me later.”

“Already he can’t shut up,” chided Changkyun before Hyunwoo cleared his throat, and everyone listened again.

There was some shuffling, some light slaps or punches—Jordana couldn’t tell which—and then the muffled sounds of hands flying. Only a minute later, a pair of lips fluttered against hers so fast, her head barely had time to process what had happened.

“I can't tell anything from just a peck!” she shouted.

“I know,” laughed Minhyuk from directly in front of her. “That was just for me. Now, let's make room for the first player.”

“Spread your legs wider now,” Kihyun commanded, and an intense, unexpected tingle surged through her body, settling insistently in her most secret recess.

Jordana’s heart was hammering in her chest so loudly she thought the others might hear it over the soft R&B that now trickled through the stereo (no doubt Changkyun’s playlist now). She scooted to the edge of the table and parted her legs a bit further, blindly fumbling with her skirt to tuck it chastely over the waves of heat radiating from between them.

“You remember my rules, right?” the vice president continued. “You can lean back on your hands or tuck them under your thighs, but if you touch, you’re disqualified from that round, and the consequence still stands.”

Her brow furrowed under Hyunwoo’s tie. “What if I lose my balance?”

“We’ll take care of you, YoYo,” Jooheon promised.

She bit her lip, but someone’s thumb pried it free before soothing the plumped skin.

“Ready?” Hyunwoo asked.

Jordana summoned the last of her bravado and said, “Bring it.”

Fabric brushed between her exposed knees as the first player stepped into their shelter. Her breath ramped up immediately, her rabbit heart thrashing in her ribcage. She thought he would just dive in quick as Minhyuk’s kiss had, but instead, she languished in a pregnant pause filled only by fabric ruffling and short, steady breaths.

Two hands framed the outside of her thighs, applying just enough pressure to remind her that there was a man looming over her. Jordana braced on her wrists as she fought the urge to grab the guy and slam her against her mouth so she could get this over with. Whoever it was, he was taking his sweet time.

At last, she felt the delicious first glaze of freshly balmed lips against her own. They were luscious and broad, matching her full lips with plenty to spare. The pressure was gentle at first, as though ready to recoil at her slightest hesitance, but Jordana had none. She needed him to kiss her harder—she wanted him to. When she didn’t pull away, he moved in, his wrists pressing more firmly against her thighs as he pushed in against her lips. A moment later, they parted, and she felt the tentative gloss of his tongue against the tip of hers.

This, too, was slow and deliberate, chased with a malty tinge of beer and a hint of sweetness from a cupcake. There was something intoxicating about the darkness she now found herself encased in, which gave her the ability to taste and feel this man all the more acutely. She tried to imagine the face on the other side of the blindfold, but it was hard to keep her focus when his tongue was back and deeper in her mouth now, caressing hers as one of his hands now caressed her cheek.

Jordana couldn’t help it: when his mouth pulled back for a breath, hers followed, her tongue sinking between his lips and drawing a surprised sigh from him.

“Hyungwon,” she murmured, and a raucous chorus of groans shattered the moment.

“You idiot!” shouted Kihyun. “You gave it away.”

Hyungwon pulled back much to Jordana’s dismay and left her cold and open-mouthed on the table as he snapped back at his friend, “It’s not as easy as you think, Tin Man. She put her tongue in my mouth!”

A few surprised “oh’s” bubbled around the room, and there was something about the way they said them that made Jordana’s skin charge.

“YoYo’s playing dirty,” Jooheon remarked, and she could hear the hook of his grin.

“I am not! You guys gave me a challenge. I’m just going along with it,” she said. “Nobody said I couldn’t kiss back.”

“She’s right,” Hyunwoo agreed.

“Thanks, boss. And anyway, I would have known that was Hyungwon even if he didn’t make a noise.”

Jordana heard the tall man’s amused laugh before he said, “Yeah?”

“Well, yeah.” She could feel her cheeks blazing, and she wished she had a way to hide them. “You’ve got those great lips and skinny hips, and you kiss lazy, too.”

The boys erupted into laughter, and she could hear the beanpole being jostled around as his friends roughed him up to a chorus of “Lazy! Lazy!”

“Hey, that’s not a bad thing!” Jordana added. “I liked it. It’s really sensual. Made me feel, um, savored…”

Suddenly, it was dead silent. Before she had time to regret her own words, hands were on her again, but this time, instead of chaste, one slid around the small of her back and the other around her neck as another man settled between her legs. He lifted her up as his mouth came down in a clash of teeth and lips. There was no hesitation as he slid his tongue into her mouth and tangled with hers.

His breaths were fast, and hers rose to meet them. There was so much quickness and power in his kiss that it startled her. All his heat rushed into her until her body flushed, too. Jordana could feel the heat of desire creeping above her collar even before the hand at the back of her neck crept under the fabric there, his short nails scratching just enough to tease a hint of possession.

Just when Jordana was running out of breath, he switched direction, puffy lips racing over hers before he dove back in. Unlike Hyungwon’s surprise when she’d returned the favor and tasted his mouth, this man seemed to expect it, and she could feel his desperation in the knot of her shirt at her back. He urged her body tighter against his, and she lost her grip on the table below her. To steady herself, she wrapped her legs around his hips, which brought an unexpected hardness pressing at her through her skirt.

He grunted, and she shouted, “Jooheon!”

She wasn’t sure if she was calling out an answer or her own expectation.

Reluctantly, his fingers unraveled from her hair, and the usually-loudmouthed player stepped back on uneven footing dead silent. Instead of a round of jeers for his inappropriate sound effect, the room remained quiet, too.

“A-aren’t you going to ask me how I knew?” Jordana said through heavy breaths. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and waited for an answer, but none came. The silence was so intense, she felt spotlighted by it, and since anything else was better than that, she added, “You’re all about fire, Jooheon, and that was fiery.”

She could still only hear her heaving breaths, and it was starting to get very annoying. She was trussed up like a chicken letting her imagination run absolutely wild, which was only making the increasingly uncomfortable tingles on her lips and between her legs that much more noticeable. She reached for the blindfold as she said, “So, you guys give up already, I take it? Probably for the best.”

Not a second later, the emphatic clack of dress shoes thundered toward her. Jordana felt another body slip between her knees, and she smiled.

“I recognized your footsteps, Ki, sorry,” she admitted, but hands cupped her face all the same as hot breath feathered over her lips.

“I don’t care.”

Kihyun tilted up her chin, so her bottom lip jutted forward, and he captured it immediately, suckling it into his mouth to run his tongue over it. The sensation was like a shockwave, and the tremor continued all the way down Jordana’s body. Her hands shot up to steady herself on the sleeves of his dress shirt only to find he’d rolled them up. Instead, her nails dug into bare skin, and the rumble of her boss’s purr traveled through his mouth and into hers.

He guided her face in every direction he needed to in order to better access the warm recesses of her mouth. There was a dominance to every sweep of his tongue that had her offering herself up to him immediately. Everything he wanted, he took, and this time she did not help herself to him. If he wanted something from her, she knew he’d tell her.

When he was done making his commanding impression, Kihyun pulled back only far enough so she could feel the ghost of his smirk on her mouth.

“If I hadn't given myself away, would you still know it was me?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

His voice was low and perilous. “Tell me how.”

“You're always in control, remember?”

“Hm, you know what? You may be right.”

Kihyun released her face and stepped back, and Jordana struggled to regain her senses. Was it still a game? It didn't feel like they were playing even though she definitely felt like she was losing.

“Next!” Kihyun ordered, shattering her peace, and Jordana tensed.

“Wait!” she said.

Minhyuk laughed. “Giving up so soon?”

“Please. I just—”

“Need a minute?” Kihyun said cockily from somewhere still far too close to her.

“Damn it.” Jordana adjusted herself on the table and grumbled, “Fine, fine, who’s next to lose?”

The music turned up just a touch, more chill RnB rhythms piping through the surround sound and effectively drowning out any footsteps. Unfortunately, when two thumbs curled inside her knees and spread her legs a little wider, it wasn’t loud enough to cover her throaty gasp.

Jordana felt warm breath on her neck, the skirt of a nose along her jaw, and then finally, a kiss at the corner of her mouth. The soft musk of rose and patchouli enveloped the couple as lips languidly dragged over lips. The bitter tang of soju swapped between breaths as the tips of their tongues met. He knew just the right angle to taste her while inviting her to return the favor.

Something about the moment made Jordana want to wrap her arms around his neck and hold him tighter. Where she had been the one holding back in her first kiss with Hyungwon, this time, this man was holding back, and she longed to truly open him up. She tried to push into his mouth, but he wouldn’t allow it and spent his time, instead, focusing on tasting her. Just before the intensity could sweep both of them away, he pulled back and waited, his hands still resting on her knees.

“Hi, Changkyun,” she teased with a smile, and he kissed the other corner of her mouth to even her out.

“Good girl,” was all he said in his luscious baritone before he disappeared. He didn’t ask for her explanation, but she hadn’t expected a man like him to either.

Jordana needed the next contestant to step forward before feelings could overwhelm her. She cracked her neck to loosen herself up and proclaimed, “Four for four. You’re running out of time to stump me, boys.”

A light chuckle passed amongst her coworkers as though there were a joke she wasn’t let in on, and her nerves got the better of her again until the next man stepped forward.

“No touching,” reminded Kihyun, and thank God he did considering the man who came next.

Jordana should have known from his deep inhale what was to come, yet she was unprepared for two strong arms to sweep around her and lift her like a doll up toward a plump and expectant mouth. A moment later, he sat her back on the table even as he held her vice-tight, and she had to sit on her hands to keep from clawing at his back.

He kissed harder than anyone else, almost as though he was trying to steal her breath from her. His lips did most of the work with just tantalizing brushes of his tongue to underscore how fucking good he was at making her feel like a woman. His head pivoted from one side to another to make sure he didn’t miss any of her, but with his body pressed this closely, there was no way he could have.

Their chests crushed together along with their hips, and it was such an easy fit, Jordana forgot this wasn’t her lover but her coworker. Before sense could ruin everything though, his hands wandered up and down her back until a few rogue fingers caught on her shirt hem and slipped along her skin. She gasped and arched into him, offering up whatever else he wanted to explore.

“Hyunwoo…” she mewled, and he stopped, though he didn’t let her go.

“How did you know?” he whispered gruffly against her lips.

Jordana cleared her throat and tried to regain any of her faculties, but they were too wrapped up in the taste of waxy lip balm and the spice of clove and vetiver swirling around her head. “I, um, your smell—it’s that damned Boy Toy cologne you always wear.”

“Toy Boy,” Hyunwoo corrected.

“Oh, um,” Jordana stumbled as utter horror washed over her at her Freudian slip, “yeah. Whatever, that—yeah.”

“That’s the only way you could tell?”

Why did he sound disappointed?

“No, no! Not just that, of course not. You, um—” God, she sounded like a total moron in front of her boss, no less. This was mortifying. “You kiss with a lot of power.”

“I do?” There was that hint of a smile in his voice now, coloring his masculine tone with reassuring warmth.

Jordana nodded. “Yeah.”

“Hm.”

With that, Hyunwoo stepped back. Only a few more boys were left in the wings, and she was already lamenting the end of their game.

She recognized her next coworker just from the way his fingers walked up her shoulder to her neck, but she didn’t feel like spoiling his fun—or hers—so soon. His first two kisses were quick, like a middle-school boy stealing them from a girl he has a crush on, but when he centered himself before her and locked one hand in her curly hair and one in the small of her back, things changed dramatically.

He was surprisingly tender, his forehead bumping against Jordana’s, as his lips meshed with hers. He had a playful rhythm of long sweeps and hints of tongue before he switched again to something hungrier and much more intense. The hand in her hair tightened, raising little hills with the electricity it generated. At the same time, the hand at her back moved to her wrist and twisted it behind her enough to make her gasp, and the moment she did, his tongue flooded her mouth in earnest.

The higher he hitched her arm, the higher Jordana’s breath hitched until a moan came out instead. He stopped for a second, his lips poised at hers until her body felt like it was on fire with embarrassment. But he didn’t leave. He just held her like that, wrist high, head tipped back, mouth open and puffing frantic breaths into him until he returned with one final thrust of his tongue against hers. Two more little pecks sealed his turn, and he released her.

Jordana crumpled into herself and shook her head. “You’re a real son-of-a-bitch, Min.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah, but you knew that.”

He laughed. “I also knew you recognized me right away. Thanks for letting me have my fun anyway.”

“Brat,” she spat. “That’s how I knew it was you, you little tease.”

“You have no idea,” he said darkly.

“You realize I’m going to make everyone here pay for this torture later.”

“We’re counting on it,” challenged Jooheon to a score of chuckles.

“So…” she started, clearing her throat. “Does this mean I won the game?”

“You didn’t guess Hoseok,” Hyungwon reminded.

“Process of elimination means I didn’t have to.”

Hoseok huffed. “That doesn’t seem very fair, does it?”

Jordana unleashed a long laugh. When the muscular juggernaut was jealous, he had the saltiest pout of any of her coworkers. “Fine, bring it in, mystery man.”

She opened her arms and spread her knees a little wider in anticipation of the last man with the thick thighs. Only a second later, lips crashed into hers, and right away, she shoved the player back.

“Get out of here, Min!” she scolded to his gleeful cackle at stealing one more kiss. “Selfish ass!”

“Very,” Minhyuk laughed as he stumbled back toward what sounded like a couple of high-fives from her traitorous coworkers. “Too clever for her good, isn’t she?”

“Don’t give her a bigger head,” Changkyun admonished.

“Bad enough as it is,” agreed Hyungwon.

Jordana scowled. “Would everyone shut up and let Hoseok have his turn? You’re very annoying, and I’m getting tired of this blindfold.”

“Sounds like she’s the one with the control issues, eh, Ki?” Minhyuk whispered, and her scowl deepened.

“Heightened senses, remember? Shut up, Minnie, or you’ll find your office rearranged come tomorrow.”

Jordana beckoned Hoseok forward again, and a second later, there was no doubt she had the right man nestled between her thighs. His muscles were rock hard beneath his sweatpants, and his chest was a slab of granite as it crashed against her.

“I was hoping you didn’t forget about me,” he mumbled against her ear lobe, and she shivered, grating her hard nipples against his pecs.

“Never,” she promised with a snarky grin, but that vanished instantly.

The next thing she knew, three quick kisses christened her lips. She beamed against him and decided she’d had enough rules for one night. She flung her arms around his sturdy neck and brought her lips up to meet his. Even with the blindfold, it was easy to tell he was smiling through the kiss until her tongue ventured forward for a real taste, and gone was the sweet, giddy office prankster.

Hoseok pushed back forcefully, nearly sending them onto the table before he caught them just in time. His arms were so strong around her, squeezing her tighter than he no doubt realized, and Jordana had never felt smaller. His excitement overwhelmed as his mouth moved hungrily and his chest squashed hers.

Hoseok was fond of teasing her with his tongue, running it over her bottom lip or massaging all the soft parts of her he could explore, but he wasn’t sloppy. He was sampling her, and as the tip of that determined pink muscle grazed the sensitive roof of her mouth, Jordana couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of it working other forbidden corners of her body.

At last, Hoseok helped her up and straightened out her shirt and skirt before backing off with a chaste pat on her knee like nothing untoward had happened.

“Aw, look, guys!” shouted Jooheon. “Have you ever seen anything cuter than YoYo blushing?”

She pressed her hands against her cheeks, hoping to cool the lush carnelian there, but they were still burning with the feeling of Hoseok’s skin. Instead, she reached for the tie on the blindfold until a couple of the guys shouted, and her brow furrowed. “What the fuck?”

“Ah, hold on, hold on, hold on!” Jooheon said.

Hyungwon echoed his friend’s outburst. “It’s still your birthday.”

Jordana cocked a brow over the tie. “Yeah, so?”

“So,” Changkyun retorted, “we’ve got to keep the party rolling.”

“Can I at least use the bathroom first?”

“You promise to come back?” said Hoseok.

“Uh, yeah, it’s not like I planned on storming out or anything.”

“Because the kisses were good?” Jooheon pressed.

Jordana wrinkled her nose. This was not a discussion she’d ever expected to have with her coworkers. Sheepishly, she admitted, “Yeah, they were good. So can I go to the bathroom now?”

A few of the guys laughed, and Jordana took off the tie from her eyes. She had expected smirks and shit-eating grins, but she didn’t expect seven pairs of very dark eyes and seven sets of swollen lips, not to mention more than a few unexpectedly tight-looking pants.

Jordana cleared her throat and made a beeline for the bathroom, where she liberally splashed her face and neck and cleaned up the very uncomfortable mess between her legs. There wasn’t much she could do about dampness in her underwear, and she cringed when she pulled them back on. Hopefully, the guys didn’t turn this into a dance party because even the slightest friction was sending electric shocks through her core.

Back in the conference room, the guys were waiting quietly for her return. As Jordana took her seat back on the table, Hyungwon offered her a water, which she gratefully downed. She’d thought things were moving back to normal until she saw how intently each man studied her, and she almost choked.

“What?” she demanded, more than a little annoyed.

Hyunwoo held out his tie again, and Jordana scowled.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” he asked.

“No?”

“You said you wanted to keep the party moving,” reminded Hoseok who grabbed the tie from his friend and brought it back to Jordana’s eyes.

She sighed but let him plunge her back into darkness. “Okay, but why do I still need the blindfold?”

“You’re so good at guessing, let’s experiment some more,” suggested Minhyuk as he always did—the man had the most problematic brain of the group. They could always count on the little devil to up every ante. “There are so many more things you could guess.”

A prickle was slowly making its way down Jordana’s spine to where there was already a fresh set of butterflies deep in her belly.

“Like your colognes?” Jordana asked. “I think I’ve already nailed those. Besides, none of your kisses stumped me, like, even a little, guys. Oh god, wait! Please don’t make me do a taste test of food you’ve cooked. Hyungwon’s might kill me.”

“Hey!” the string bean balked.

Kihyun’s voice hushed any more chuckles at once. “No, beautiful, we’re not trying to kill you. We’re just trying to get everyone a little win here.”

The room was silent except for the unmistakable heavy breaths of everyone in it.

Her throat was bone dry. The nickname was jarring, but the unexpected innuendo had her nearly falling off the edge of the table. Jordana struggled to get her next words out. “What does that mean?”

“You know how competitive all your coworkers are, don’t you?” the vice president continued, his voice as heavy as a teacher’s, and she sat up a little straighter.

“Sure, yeah. I mean, we’re gamers.”

“We are. We don’t like to lose.”

Kihyun’s words were tangled in the birthday pennants fluttering in the air conditioning overhead.

Jordana had to be reading this vibe all wrong. Yeah, they’d all just traded a little spit, but it wasn’t anything she hadn’t done in middle school. Okay, so maybe it was a little more advanced than Spin the Bottle in Fernanda’s basement, but the guys said it was a game, so why should she take it so seriously? Usually, when the boys started getting ultra-competitive in their Overwatch campaigns, humor helped, so she shifted gears.

“Then you better switch games because my record is seven and O.”

She heard a round of chuckles before she heard Kihyun’s silken voice: “I couldn’t agree more.”

“Uh, what—what were you thinking?” asked Jordana with a hard swallow.

“You guessed all our kisses too easily,” Minhyuk interjected. His voice was surprisingly throaty, not at all like the spritely tease he was around the office. Coupled with the husk in Kihyun’s, it was doing all kinds of unfair things to her overwrought mind. “You should guess something else now.”

The breathing was louder now, but Jordana’s heart drowned it all out as blood rushed between her ears and her legs. All she had to do was say no and call an Uber. She could sleep off the booze greasing her lips and the lust greasing her sex, and tomorrow, she could come back to work in sunglasses, a turtleneck, and mom jeans, and they could all forget the fact that her knees were still wide open and her skirt was too high and her nipples were jutting without regard for her demi bra and blouse.

“Okay...”

Did she really just say that! Did she really just further her descent into insanity? Was she this desperate for attention that she would jeopardize her job for this?

Almost as though he could read her mind, Hyunwoo was at her side, his heavy paw on her shoulder. “Jordana, you don’t have to play if you don’t want to. It’s your birthday, and nothing changes here if you don’t want it to.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” she grumbled. “You run the place. You’re all friends, and you’ve been friends forever. Me, you can just get rid of.”

Hyunwoo cleared his throat in that soft, subtle way he always did when he was puzzling over financials or sales statistics but was determined to conquer them. Something about the sound had always thrilled her; it was no different now.

“Take it,” he said quietly to someone, and the next thing Jordana knew, her boss’s lips were smothering hers again, this time with one finger coiling under her chin as his hand grabbed the blindfold knot and finished jerking her head back. All too quickly, the fiery brand of his lips left her mouth singed and aching.

One corner of her blindfold peeled up, and Jordana found the lights dimmed as they often were for gaming sessions. Emerging from darkness into the twilight made it easy to spot the seven slack-jawed but handsome faces all trained on her, but in the end, her attention fell to the glowing beacon in Minhyuk’s hand. He held up her cell phone with the picture he’d just taken.

It looked exactly as it had felt—fierce and overwhelming—with her body limp under her boss as five other faces watched their kiss with narrowed eyes and pressed lips. For all intents and purposes, in the photo, they had total control of their subordinate.

A second later, Minhyuk closed the app, and her lock screen returned.

“No way to delete the incriminating evidence now,” Hyunwoo said with a half-smirk. “Feel free to bring down the whole company if you ever feel like we’re mistreating you.”

“You’re a part of us, Jordana,” Kihyun reassured. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“So, do you still want to play?”

Jordana looked from her two bosses to her five other coworkers behind them. The darkness in their eyes had tempered with sincerity, and there wasn’t a shred of doubt. She trusted them completely. How could she not? She knew everything about them—even their hearts—she’d just proven that. There was no reason to question that now.

Slowly, she nodded. “I do.”

“Okay,” Hyunwoo said with one last wisp of a smile before he pulled his tie back down over her eyes, and already she missed the sight of them. “Not here though.”

“Take care of it, Hoseok,” Kihyun ordered.

Before Jordana’s breath could even catch, she was scooped up, her little yelp puncturing the tension. Strong arms cradled her shoulders and knees like a basket as her arms shot to her muscular taxi’s neck. Just as she knew the men like the back of her hand, so, too, did she know the office. Past four doors on the left and four on the right, they’d come to The Crash Pad, as the boys called it, a rec room made specifically for those late-night coding sessions or intense gaming campaigns. It sported a couple of televisions, of course, and all the usual consoles, but this was ultimately where the guys could zonk out when it was too late to head home. The highlights were the matching twin beds and a pull-out couch.

It was like a library here with just Hoseok and Jordana and their very loud, in-sync breathing. His arms tightened around her as hers responded reflexively around him.

“Want to get a head start on the game?” he asked, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

“I don’t even know what it is yet, Hoseok.”

“I’ll be more than happy to show you the rules.” His thumb stroked the side of her calf, and Jordana wriggled in his grip.

Just then, something dawned on her that made her hands sag from his neck to his chest. “How… How do you all know the rules already when the game hasn’t even been announced?”

“I— You know, maybe it’s best if we wait for the others after all,” Hoseok replied, his lisp more pronounced than usual. He deposited Jordana on the couch and sat beside her.

She didn’t have the benefit of time without sight of a clock, but it felt like it had stretched like putty in the short jaunt down the hall. “Where are the others?”

“Cleaning up, I guess,” he answered. “Don’t worry, none of them can wait much longer either.”

Jordana’s mind was spinning so hard, she was thankful she was already sitting. It felt like there were so many things under the surface, like a whole new world but still shifting and distorted and out of reach.

“HoHo?” she asked, her voice small.

“Yes, YoYo?” he returned, and she swore she could see his grin shining even through the blindfold.

“Is this a good idea?”

He considered for only moment before he pecked her cheek and whispered, “No, it’s the best idea.”

“Hey!” shouted Jooheon from the doorway. “No fair! No head-starts. I’ll tell Kihyun.”

“Tattletale,” Hoseok retorted.

The office’s most competitive employee wheedled in between the pair to loop his arm around Jordana’s shoulder. She nudged Jooheon’s chest and chided, “There’s nothing to tell, Honey, I promise.”

“Knew you should have had a chaperone,” he grumbled anyway as he snuggled her against him.

Jordana sniffed the air and found a fresh scent of mint she didn’t recognize from earlier. She laughed. “Jooheon, did you brush your teeth?”

“What’s the big deal?” he returned, but she’d been flustered enough herself this evening to recognize the same in one of her coworkers.

“Oh nothing, just an observation.”

“Hey, that’s a good idea,” Hoseok said, and she felt him lift from the couch. “Tell them I’ll be just a sec.”

The big guy disappeared, but a moment later, she heard lots of noisy feet replace him. The room felt different now, down to the heaviness of the scent—like warm blankets of musk wrapping around her and dulling her other senses so all she could focus on was a smell as rough and primal as fucking on a cave floor.

“So, um, why are we here?” Jordana asked.

“You’ll be more comfortable here,” Hyunwoo answered.

Posts scraped across the carpet as furniture was moved, and Jordana tried to piece out what they could be moving and why. What exactly did they expect of her?

“Back!” trumpeted Hoseok, and she could smell his fresh breath from her seat. “Oh, that’s smart. Should make things a lot easier.”

“What things? What’s smart?” she begged.

Minhyuk thumbed her puffed bottom lip and chuckled. “Lord, you’re cute when you’re frustrated. So promising.”

“You guys, I’m dying here! Can we please get this game show on the road? Did it ever occur to you I might have plans tonight?”

“Do you?” asked Hyungwon.

“No, but that’s not the point.”

Someone let out a relieved breath.

“That’s not nice, YoYo,” Jooheon scolded, his hand tightening on her shoulder. “You got us all worked up thinking you had a date.”

“That’s not what I was trying to do,” she protested, but it was half-hearted. She was already getting spoiled, and the moment she had felt their attentions fade, her chest had started to pang. She should have been more guarded. It was too easy falling into their charms just as she had their mouths, but this was a game, and she had to start treating it like one.

“Jordana’s right,” Kihyun announced. “We’re burning through the evening. It’s time to put our birthday girl to the real test. Let’s go over the game, shall we?”

Minhyuk let out a small laugh. “I’ve got a better idea.”

“Don’t you always?” groaned Hyungwon.

“Why doesn’t YoYo tell us what she thinks the game is?”

Jordana froze under Jooheon’s arm. It was one thing to be told what they wanted to do with her, but it was another to voice it herself. Her brain was already overreacting in tandem with her libido. If she guessed based off the ache in her sex and she was wrong, she’d be equal parts humiliated and disappointed. It would be easier to hide those things if she’d never been the one to put them on the table.

“I don’t want to, Min,” she protested.

“She doesn’t—”

“Shh, Wonnie,” the charismatic instigator continued. “She knows what it is. She just doesn’t want to say it.”

Jordana bit her bottom lip. Someone grunted. In her sweetest voice, she asked, “Could I at least have a hint?”

“Now who’s not playing fair,” Minhyuk complained. “Who could say no to that face? Go on, Honey, give her a hint.”

Jooheon’s hand moved from her shoulder, the back of his knuckles gliding down her arm to her fingers knotted in her lap. He unspooled one of her hands and placed it on his thigh. Slowly, he slid their hands higher like a planchette on a Ouija board creeping closer and closer toward “yes”. As their hands scudded over the holes in his jeans, Jordana fought the urge to burrow into them and rove about the tender skin there. It was bad enough the way he sucked in gulps of air at every hint of contact. At last, he stopped at the juncture of his legs, leaving her fingertips frozen at the elusive secret she’d already developed a craving for during their kiss.

“What’s your guess, love?” asked Hoseok. His voice was higher, breathier too.

Jordana’s voice matched his identically, but with far more stuttering. “Y-you want me t-to guess the guy based off a part of the body?”

“That’s true,” Minhyuk agreed, “to an extent. But it’s the same part on every guy.”

Her heart was racing. Her mouth was full of cotton.

“His thigh?” she squeaked.

“Honey, she’s being intentionally difficult. If that’s the way she wants to play, then let her go,” Minhyuk said. Jooheon started to balk, but his friend continued, “We all have to be equally committed to the game.”

Reluctantly, Jordana’s seatmate removed his hand from hers, and before she could think, she shouted, “No!”

Kihyun sniffed a laugh, and she heard a clap on a back. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but good work, Minhyuk.”

“What’s your real answer then, YoYo?” pushed the gamemaster.

“Say it or we’ll end this,” Kihyun underscored.

“Your cocks!” Jordana declared and immediately raced to cover her shame. “Minha nossa Senhora! I’m sorry!”

Jooheon pried her hands from her face and held them in his. His voice was gentle, but she could hear the amusement in it. “Why are you sorry? You got it right.”

She couldn’t see, but she jerked her head around the room all the same as though she were looking for confirmation from each and every man. “What?”

“You got it right,” Hyunwoo repeated.

“You guessed who was kissing you,” said Hyungwon.

“Now, let’s see if you can guess who’s fucking you,” finished Changkyun.

#monsta x smut #shownu smut #wonho smut #minhyuk smut #kihyun smut #hyungwon smut #jooheon smut #changkyun smut #oneshot #office smut #coworkers to lovers #sleeping with the whole damn office #flimsy premise #worshipping a woman because she deserves it

[looooooooomis]

F I N A L  G I R L  |  F O U R

You were his final girl.  And there was no chance in hell that anyone or anything was going to mess that up.

p a r t   f o u r  |  k e y s

masterlist here

pairing: Billy Loomis x f!reader word count: 4.4k warnings: angst, s m u t, some more s m u t, teasing, finger-licking good billy boy, implied/referenced cheating, def not a healthy, functioning relationship (but like eh we persevere), some more s m u t. 

Despite your best efforts, the last few days had been miserable without Billy.

You hadn’t realized just how much of a routine he’d become over the last seven months, how much you’d both come to rely on each other and, fuck, did you miss him. You missed his smell, you missed that small little cheeky grin of his, you missed curling up beside him and feeling him over every inch of your skin. Your body craved for him in an almost primal way but, while you could live with denying your body its needs, it was your heart that hurt the most.

What was supposed to be a quick release for the two of you had never been that easy. You’d been in love with the idiot since freshman year, seen him through his various ups and downs and he’d seen yours, too. Which was precisely what made this entire situation that much harder. Not only were you dealing with your own heartache, but you were witnessing his, too.

Billy’s grief was more or less a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sort of thing. Ever the stoic silent type, you hadn’t expected to see much of what he was feeling splayed out on that handsome face of his, but shocking even you, his regret was palpable. And each and every time those brown eyes met yours, that grief that was as clear as day struck you blind.

You’d tried telling yourself that it was for the best because, in all honesty, it was but that didn’t make the pain go away. Nor did it make you miss him any less. You were trapped in a vicious cycle of missing Billy, sticking to your guns, and worrying about him all at once.

God, you’d really fucked up with this one.

“You sure you’re okay?” Tatum asked, narrowing her eyes at you as you shoved a handful of books into your locker. “You’ve been scatterbrained all week.”

“I’m fine,” you shrugged, “why wouldn’t I be?”

“You tell me,” she leaned her hip against the locker. “Is this about Steve?”

You blinked as the question played on loop in your head. “Steve?” You asked, giving the strawberry blonde your full attention. “First of all, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart: ew. Secondly, huh?”

Tatum smirked. “Don’t play dumb, you’ve been acting all weird since Billy went psycho on his ass last week.”

“No, I haven’t,” you hoped your laugh didn’t sound as fake as it felt. “Also, Steve’s an asshole. If the day ever comes when I am interested in that big oaf, feel free to euthanize me.”

“Promise,” she made a motion of crossing her heart, “but in the meantime, you swear nothing is up?”

“Cross my heart,” you mimicked the gesture and shut your locker. “What are you up to after practice tonight? Want to go see that new Brad Pitt movie?”

Her shoulders fell. “Can’t, Stu’s coming over,” she unwrapped a lollipop and shoved it in her mouth. “I’d say ask Sid, but she got into it with Billy last night so she’s in a mood.”

You tried not to care, you really did, but her words hit you like a freight train. “They did?” You asked, hoping beyond hope that your voice didn’t sound quite as high pitched as it sounded in your head. “What happened?”

“Who knows,” Tatum shrugged, “Billy’s always been a little intense and Sid’s been a little cagey since…well, you know – so, it’s bound to happen.”

You swallowed hard and continued to nod along to Tatum’s words. Were you nodding too frequently? Did you appear too interested all of the sudden? Catching yourself, you focused on the leftover gum on the locker just behind your friend’s head and cleared your throat. “That’s shitty.”

“Relationships,” Tatum waved off, “they’re all pretty shitty sometimes.”

Before you could finish putting your foot in your mouth any further, the third bell rang out signaling your next class. Your most dreaded class: Biology. With a groan you tossed your bag over your shoulder and frowned across at Tatum. “See you at practice?”

With a nod, Tatum took off towards her class as you slowly sauntered towards your own. You were halfway down the hall when you heard a set of heavy footfalls running towards you from behind. Glancing over your shoulder, you barely had time to register Stu’s smiling face before he threw an arm around your shoulders. “How ya doing, pal?”

“Peachy,” you scraped your eyes along his profile and blinked. “If you’re about to play the rule of dutiful henchman for you know who, I’ve got a class to flunk.”

“Harsh,” Stu beamed, “I see why our boy’s so smitten.”

With a roll of your eyes, you glanced around at the people around you and glowered up at him. “Stu,” you warned, “I’m not in the mood for this.”

“For what?” He feigned innocence. “I haven’t said a word.”

“But you want to,” you mused. “And I don’t want to hear it.”

Stu chuckled. “All I was going to say is, like, I get it.”

You shouldn’t have taken his bait. What you should have done was push him off of you and continue on your merry way to class. That would have been the smart thing to do, the responsible thing to do.

Too bad you were neither of those two things.

Roped in, you sighed in defeat. “Get what?”

“I’ll be the first to admit,” he began, “when Bill told me that you and him were…you know, I laughed. I mean, two broads, man? I can barely handle the one how’s he going to deal with two of you?”

“I’m hoping there’s a point coming,” you groused.

“Right,” he laughed again, “my point is that I get it. I get why you two work. Why he’s knee deep in this big fucking mess because of it. You two work.”

“Stu,” you threw your head back and glared at the ceiling. “Stop.”

“What?” He asked. “Am I wrong?”

You gently pushed him away from you and dropped your voice into a whisper. “That’s not the point. He’s with Sid.”

“So?” Stu made a face. “Her mom just died, what do you want him to do? Dump her and break her heart? Her mom just died, that’d callous, man.”

“We’re breaking her heart either way, whether she knows it or not.”

Stu stopped walking and there was a compassion in his stare that left you reeling. For as long as you’d known him, Stu Macher had always been the goof. The reckless, chaotic idiot that seemed to fit just perfectly into your little mish mash of a group. But the sincerity in his blue eyes as the two of you stood in the emptying hallway was a look you’d never seen before.

“And by doing this, you’re breaking yours.” He limply shrugged. “Billy’s, too.”

Your shoulders fell as the weight of Stu’s words sank in. You couldn’t exactly say much in terms of a rebuttal, naturally, because he was right. There were no happy endings for either of you at this point in the charade. Sid had still been lied to and cheated on, Billy was still trapped in a relationship he no longer wished to be in in fear of hurting the girl he once loved and you were stuck in the middle, watching two people you cared for fall to bits while having to remain stoic in fear of showing your hand.

What a fucking mess.

After another minute of silence, Stu wriggled his eyebrows and squeezed your shoulder reassuringly. “Just something to think about.”

Taking off down the hall, Stu left you to your own devices as you stood in the middle of an empty hallway with far too much on your mind. In an almost zombie-like trance, you took off in the direction of your biology class, not quite caring that you were about to be marked as tardy for the third time that week. But, before you got to that god-forsaken class, you heard the click of a door not far off before a pair of arms encircled around your middle, yanking you into the nearest classroom. A surprise yelp tore out of your mouth, but the full-fledged scream died in your throat as soon as you realized just who it was who had grabbed you.

“Jesus, Billy, you scared the hell out of me.” You grasped your chest and took in the dark, empty classroom around you. He was still holding you against the nearest wall, you could feel the heat of those large hands through your thin shirt. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Sorry,” despite the desperation in those brown eyes, his voice never wavered. It was still as calm and collected as ever. “I’d go to your house, but it’s been like Fort Knox for the last week or so.”

You chewed on your lip for a moment before averting your eyes to the ground, not quite being able to stomach the weight of his stare just yet. “Billy, unless anything’s changed, I—”

“In case anything’s changed?” He reiterated with raised brows. “Everything’s changed. I miss you, Y/N, more than you can even comprehend. I know I’ve fucked up, I know that, but I need you. The last nine days without being able to really see you or feel you or kiss you or—”

“I get it,” you held your hands up and gently pushed him away. “And it’s been hard on me, too, Billy. But it doesn’t change anything.”

For a few, long, agonizing moments, Billy remained still as a thousand different emotions splayed out across his face. There was anger and grief, sadness and desperation. But the look you got as he dropped to his knees in front of you was pure, unadulterated fear. “I promise you, Y/N, the second I can, when the time is right, Sid and I will be no more. But me and you are it, sweetheart,” his hands gently circled around your hips before embracing you around your middle. “I’m so fucking sorry that this is how it has to be right now. And I’m sorry that I’m too fucking selfish to let this go, but I can’t. I need you. I need us. You’re everything good in my life and I know I need to start proving that to you.”

Still, you remained quiet. Your fingers itched to reach out and run your fingers through that slightly greasy, unruly mop of hair, but instead you kept them pinned down at your side as you considered his words. There was no doubt in your mind that he meant them, the desperation on his face said as much, but you had your reservations. Taking your silence in stride, however, Billy simply reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box.

Your heart nearly stopped.

“Oh, jesus,” you grumbled, burying your head in your hands. “You better not be doing what I think you’re fucking doing.”

“Open the box, Y/N.”

“No,” you held your hands up. “Not if it’s…that.”

Billy sighed. The muscle in his cheek twitched. “It’s not a fucking engagement ring.”

Somewhat relieved, you continued to stare down at the box in slight disdain. “So, what is it?”

Billy sighed. “Fucking open it and you’ll see.”

“Buying the ‘other woman’ jewelry, Billy?” You shook your head. “You’re like a walking cliché at this point.”

“Shut-up and open the goddamn box.” Standing up to his full height, he continued to hold the box out towards you and breathed out a quiet laugh when you remained unwavering. “It’s not a fucking bomb, Y/N, open it.”

With a sigh, you snatched the box out of his hand and, rather unceremoniously, opened it up to reveal a key. Not a fancy skeleton key or a charm in the shape of a key but a regular, run of the mill house key. You blinked, mildly surprised. “Okay, I’ll give you a point for creativity with the box,” you pulled the key out and observed it. “But what is it?”

“It’s a key,” Billy said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“I see that,” a small smile pulled at your lips as you looked across at him. “What’s it for?”

“It’s a key to my parents’ cabin.”

If you were meant to understand the significance, the story was lost on you. Looking back down at the key, you surveyed its tiny ridges briefly before nodding. “And what’s that have to do with me?”

He took a step towards you and grabbed the hand still clutching onto the key. “My dad doesn’t go up there much ever since my mother left and I figure we could both use a place where we can just…be.” His raked his thumbnail along your knuckles. “No Sid, no anyone. Just you and me.”

You were trying to remain unfazed by the sentiment, to remain icy and cool to the man you were supposed to be pulling away from, but between the softness in those warm brown eyes and the weight of the key still clutched in your hand, you could feel your defenses waning. “You expect Sid to just not care that you��re disappearing up north every once in a while?”

“I’ll make it work,” he shrugged it off. “And, to be honest, I don’t care what she thinks.”

Your answer came in the form of a long, drawn out sigh. “Billy,” you began, but before you could dive into the rest of your speech, his large hands slid up your arms and neck to cradle your face.

Slowly, he backed you into a nearby desk and traced the apple of your cheek with his thumb. “We can sneak up there whenever we want. Spend a whole weekend up there, just the two of us. I can worship this fucking body of yours in every square inch of that cabin. I can go into town and hold your fucking hand in public. We can do whatever the hell it is we want to do up there, whenever we want, without worrying about any of our idiot friends seeing us.”

Your pulse quickened at the thought of being able to parade around like a normal couple in a town where not a single soul knew who you were. You swallowed, trying to steady your excitement with a dose of realism. “It’s still not fair to Sidney.”

“Fuck Sidney!” Billy’s voice echoed out around the vast, empty classroom, alarming you with just how angry he sounded. His chest heaved with a white-hot rage that you couldn’t fully comprehend, and his jaw was wound shut as his nostrils flared with each and every heavy, uneven breath he took. You swallowed hard and watched the man steady his nerves, unsure of your next move. You’d seen Billy angry before, but that level of emotion was definitely new.

You weren’t sure whether to be terrified or turned on by the sudden outburst.

But, just as quickly as it happened, Billy’s eyes slowly opened to reveal those molasses coloured eyes again. “Sorry, sweetheart,” he appeased. “But I can’t have her stand in the way of this. I won’t.”

You remained silent as you shimmied on top of the desk that had been poking into your ass for the last few seconds and tried not to focus on the way your body seemed to melt into Billy’s as he stepped in between your legs, still looking at you with all the intensity of the world.

“If we do this,” you found yourself muttering, “there’s going to be some ground rules.”

A sense of hope blossomed in Billy’s chest as he vigorously nodded his head. “Anything you want,” sliding his hands up the sides your stomach, he gently held your waist and gave it a small squeeze. “You name it.”

“When we go up to the aforementioned cabin, we go out.” You told him. “While I’m more than happy to blow you in the living room without worrying about your dad walking in, it would be nice to go on an actual fucking date.”

Billy nodded and, with his hands still on your waist, he tried not to focus on the thin cotton of your shirt bunching between his fingers as his thumb danced along your ribcage. There was so little between you in the empty classroom, barely any space as the two of you were practically nose to nose. And between that short little skirt you had on and your pert nipples beneath your thin tank top, it was enough to make his cock twitch inside of his pants. “Anything else?” He asked, his voice husky as he nudged his nose against yours.

“Yeah,” you ran your tongue along your now parched lips as you sat with Billy standing between your thighs, holding you in place as his thumb traced agonizingly close to your tit. Were you even breathing? It didn’t feel like it. You were wet, too, which made his inhumanly close proximity almost too much to bear. “Lock the fucking door this time.”

A roguish grin enveloped his features as he stepped out from between your legs. Crossing the threshold of the classroom in two seconds flat, Billy locked the door and made his way back to you with that same mischievous glimmer in his eye. His eyes were hungry and, as his hands shifted down to your ass, he tugged you even closer to the edge of the desk. Closer to him. With your legs still open and on either side of his hips, you just about died when your clit managed to rub against the zipper of his jeans.

A quiet, low moan tore out of your throat from the sensation.

“Anything else?” He asked, leaning his forehead against yours.

“Yeah,” your breathing was ragged as Billy’s slow, methodical fingers, trailed up the side of your stomach. He was being extraordinarily temperate and slow to further tease you but, despite knowing how risky this was, you were putty in his hands. “Touch me.”

His nose brushed against yours again as he shifted his hips just enough for the zipper of his jeans to rub against your clit again. The bastard knew what he was doing.

“This feel good?” He asked as his hips toiled into you again.  

You were practically dry fucking against the desk, you could have been caught any second. But, fuck, when he pulled you in a little more and slowly gyrated his jean-clad pelvis against your clit again, you couldn’t care less. “Mhmm,” you hummed.

Slowly, Billy’s dept fingers slid up from your waist towards your breasts. Raking his thumb against the swollen bud, he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on the side of your neck.

He knew his jeans were rubbing against your clit and, as he looked down and saw the visible wet patch on your blue thong, he wanted nothing more than to rip them off of you and bury his face in between your legs. “God, I’ve fucking missed you.”

When his hand squeezed your breast, you arched into his grasp. “I bet you did.”

Billy smirked and rolled your nipples between his fingers through the fabric of your shirt. With every roll of your hips, the strap of your shirt slipped down just enough to expose your breast. Without missing a beat, Billy leaned into your chest and allowed his mouth to consume your nipple, swirling his tongue around it expertly before biting down. You hissed as a combination of both pain and pleasure ripped through your body.

Your fingers curled around the hair along the nape of his neck and gave it a firm tug as is hands held you firmly in place. “Fuck, Billy” you moaned, breathless.

He released your nipple slowly, nipping at it one final time before leaning his forehead against yours again. You wanted like hell to close the distance between you. You wanted to feel his lips on yours. Feel the tickle of his stubble along your upper lip and have that expert tongue brush against yours.

But you also wanted to make him sweat a little.  

You weren’t sure what had come over you as you slid your hand down your torso. Maybe it was adrenaline of being caught or the relief of having Billy in your arms again but as you allowed your fingers to dip beneath the hem of your exposed thong, the look on Billy’s face made it all worth it.

“What are you doing?” His Adams apple bobbed up and down as he watched you touch yourself. You were in an awkward angle, but as your finger circled your clit and you watched the bulge in his pants grow, you were coasting high.

“What’s it look like I’m doing?” You hummed, feigning innocence. “When I say touch me, I mean it, Billy. I’m taking matters into my own hands.” You pinched your clit and arched your naked chest into him. “Fuck.”

You heard him swear under his breath as his lips ghosted over yours. “You’re doing my head in, woman,” he growled, sliding his fingers beneath your panties. You gasped when his thumb began to circle your clit. And when he slid two fingers inside of you, you nearly saw stars.

His mouth found yours, mid-moan. Reaching the hand that had just been down the waistband of your shorts, you ran your fingers through his hair as his tongue coaxed yours. Everything about this man was electric. His fingers quickened their pace and before you knew it, you were thrusting into his hand. Placing sloppy kisses down from your mouth and along your jaw, Billy nipped at your ear. “How’s this for touching you, sweetheart?” He hissed, licking and biting his way across your neck.

Your breathing was rampant as you felt yourself edging closer and closer. “It’s alright,” you teased with a cloudy grin.

“So stubborn,” he laughed into your neck and curled his fingers so that he hit an area inside you that felt almost primal. The moan he got in return made him bite down on your collarbone. He curled his fingers again and you nearly choked. “You sure?”

Pulling his hair, you steered his face back to yours and crashed your lips against his. “Fuck me.” You mumbled into his mouth.

He applied the smallest bit of pressure to your clit and flicked his fingers one final time, sending you over the cliff. With a long, shaky moan, you bucked your hips uncontrollably as you came into his hand. Every inch of you felt as though it was on fire as Billy made you ride out your orgasm, not for a second easing up on your clit as you writhed beneath him.

“Play with your tits,” he barked out through hooded eyes.

“You play with them,” you argued, but the resolve in your voice was gone. You weren’t entirely sure if you knew your name at that point. All you could focus on was the feeling of his finger pinching your highly sensitive clit and that was it. Everything else was a blur.

“God, you’re so fucking stubborn.”

You were so wet and so turned on you could barely think straight. “Billy,” you pleaded, your entire body heating up almost unbearably so. When he ignored you and instead continued his attack on your clit, you whimpered. “I need you to fuck me.”

With a bruising kiss, Billy released your clit and, in seconds flat, tugged his jeans far enough down his hips before slipping inside of you. The moan that escaped your lips was undeniable as he pumped into you. Reaching up, he grabbed your tit and squeezed as he bit down on your exposed neck. It was a sensory overload coming from all angles.

“Fuck,” Billy’s hoarse voice was in your ear as he pumped into you. “You feel so fucking good, Y/N.” He reached for your face and tilted your chin up towards him, meeting you halfway with a sloppy kiss. Moaning into his mouth, you managed lose yourself in that instance.

Gone was the room around you.

Hell, gone was everything up until this point.

All you could focus on was the feeling of Billy inside of you. Biting down on his lip, you tugged it back as he rolled his hips in a way that made you quiver. He was thrusting, hard, in an almost animalistic that made your entire body shake with the velocity of every desperate push. He moved between kissing your lips, to biting them to suckling your neck as he continued to rail into you with all of passion in the world. He was a man, unhinged, and you weren’t sure if you’d ever seen him so sexy.

Not surprising in the least, it didn’t take him long to come. You’d riled him up to the point of no return and, as you felt him come inside of you, you all but laughed when his forehead dramatically fell against your own.

For a few minutes, neither of you moved, simply just remained still and firmly pressed against one another. But, as the weight of your current whereabouts slowly dawned on either of you, you both slowly pulled away from each other, both wearing a small smile as you re-dressed yourselves.

Once his pants were done up, Billy stepped into you once again and placed a kiss on your forehead. “Cabin this weekend, okay?”

You nodded and hopped down from the desk. “Yeah, maybe,” you teased, fixing your skirt.

Billy’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, maybe, eh?”

“Yeah,” you winked, “I’ll think about it.”

“Smart ass,” Billy smirked. “That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one of these days.”

“I’m counting on it.” Once you were both fixed up, you nodded towards his hand which was still slicked with your juices. You laughed. “Oops.”

But Billy didn’t seem fazed. Instead, your breath hitched in your throat when he raised his hand to his lips and licked your slick clear off, relishing in the taste of it with a knowing smirk on his face. “This weekend.” He reiterated, driving the point home.

“This weekend,” you agreed, walking towards the door. Ensuring nobody saw the two of you leave an empty classroom together, you unlocked the door and gave Billy a small, knowing smile. “See you at lunch, lover boy.”

#billy loomis #Billy Loomis x reader #Billy Loomis x you #Billy Loomis x fem!reader #skeet ulrich #Skeet Ulrich x reader #Skeet Ulrich x you #scream #scream 1996 #scream film #scream movie #horror movies #slasher movies #horror movies x you #scream x you #scream x reader #scream x oc #ghostface #stu macher #stu scream #scream stu #scream billy #billy scream #Billy Loomis scream #slasher film

[ri-ahhh]

for the win

After dealing with a lifetime of insecurities, Winnie Walker finally gets the courage to pursue her dreams, with a few bumps along the way. But that confidence may not carry over when it comes to a certain hazel-eyed football player who’s had her attention for much too long.

A/N: this was a random inspo that hit me out of nowhere a while ago and I was gonna make it an epic oneshot, but I think I’ll just break it into parts instead. So, hence, this is part one. Hopefully you like it enough for it to be even worth posting more.

warnings: none yet, other than this is def gonna be as cheesy as you think it is

***

Winnie Walker has always considered herself an enigma. Not in that annoying, ‘I’m so cute and quirky’ type of way, but rather in the way that made her someone who never quite fit into one defined space. The kind perfected by years of self doubt, an emotionally distant mother, and the random ebb and flow of confidences and insecurities that always helps her remember that she is, in fact, perfectly un-extraordinary: her face is too round, but she’s always been called pretty; her personality is dry enough that she finds it challenging making female friends, but she fits in well with the boys; and she has a penchant for being the last one to talk about anything she might be feeling until she puts a pen to paper and speaks through the mouths of others.

Sports and writing were her main passions, but it still took until her senior year of high school to decide that she wanted to be a sports journalist. Not just a journalist, though -- more than anything, she dreamed of stepping out into the light as a broadcaster. Shy by nature but an athlete at heart, it once again put her in that enigmatic grey space where she wasn’t sure what the hell she was thinking.

But it’s what her heart was calling for her to do. For the first time in her life, Winnie Walker felt sure about something despite everyone’s doubts -- including her own. She grew up an athlete, and some of her fondest memories as a child were caught between either being in her dad’s man cave with all of his friends, cheering on their team of choice for whatever sport was on, discussing heatedly what plays should or shouldn’t have taken place. Or, on the volleyball court. 

The full ride offer from USC that was presented but never came to fruition because of a devastating knee injury in one of her last club tournaments haunted Winnie in the months leading up to her high school graduation. 

Her mother, Dahlia, was not-so-secretly thrilled. A stage mother through and through, she had always supported her daughter as she made headway in her sport as a star player, but it was an open point of contention that Winnie planned to follow her passion for it all the way to college. She wanted her middle daughter to attend the local university, get a nice marketing degree, and settle into a high rise in downtown Dallas, where she could point at during brunch with her friends and brag about the pretty penny her kid made with her perfectly nice degree she attained in her perfectly nice hometown. 

That’s not Winnie, though, and everyone except Dahlia knew it. No one was all too surprised that she still wanted to escape to California (again, except her mother), even if they were slightly shocked about her decision for a major. The reactions from her friends and sisters and dad had her even more excited as she scanned the email of her academic acceptance into USC. It finally gave her the courage to spill the beans to her mother as well.

Dahlia Walker very much scoffed in the face of her quiet, introverted, hopeful daughter sitting across the kitchen island while she scrubbed at the dishes from dinner.

“Winona, sweetie, you refused to even speak at your sister’s wedding as the maid of honor, and you want to be on TV? With all those... men?”

Winnie cringed a little bit and rolled her eyes at the slightly far-off look on her mother’s face as she no doubt started imagining the sweaty athletes the reporters would stand next to post-game.

“You don’t think I could do it?” she asked flatly, flicking a chip of her nail polish off her finger so it flew across the otherwise spotless granite — her mom hated when she did that. 

Dahlia’s hands picked up their pace again in the suds, slowed down by whatever middle-aged fantasy was going on in her mind. She shook her head, the highlights in her perfectly styled blonde bob shifting under the recessed lights.

“The girls who do that are just so bouncy. Friendly. They curl their hair.”

Winnie bit her lip. She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. Her body felt deflated. “I knew I could count on you to be supportive.”

“Oh honey, I’m just trying to be realistic with you,” her mother said dismissively. Like she didn’t realize the pang her words caused to spread in Winnie’s chest; it should have been be all-too familiar by then, but the sting was never weakened with age or predictability. “And California? Are you really ready to be so far from home? You hardly ever even leave your room.”

It had taken everything in Winnie to hold back the open scoff she longed to throw at her mother; instead, she just stood up and left the kitchen, along with any childish hope that Dahlia might ever make an effort to really know her middle daughter.

Because anyone that knew Winona Elle Walker could predict just how much she would thrive in California. In the persistent sunshine that never quite reached the peak of being too hot for very long, unlike the nearly six months of 90 and 100-plus degree days of summer she knew so well in Texas. Within close proximity to a beach that didn’t have swamp-colored water washing ashore.

In a place well over a thousand miles away from Dahlia.

And that’s exactly how Winnie found herself in LA: thriving. She made friends easily, enjoyed life on the USC campus while she studied the exact major she had set out for the first day she sat down in her first class -- Navigating News in the Digital Age class -- and it was a relatively cheap flight home if she ever missed it too much. Winnie started feeling less like an enigma, and more like someone whose quirks were becoming more of a benefit to her success than she could have ever imagined.

Now, as a woman in her senior year, nearly 22 and set to graduate in only a few months time, she’s finally up for the most coveted position in her major: being the prime time student reporter at the biggest sporting events of the school’s entire athletic program — the Trojan football games. Reporting at football games was a job always reserved for seniors, and she had been driving her roommate — and best friend in California — Naomi crazy all summer prepping for the spot’s audition.

“Winnie, babe, you know the plays backwards and forwards. You’ve understood more about the rules of football since you were a kid than I’ll ever know as a grown woman. You have all the key players’ and coaches’ names and numbers memorized. You couldn’t be any more prepared,” she smiles, good-natured irritation clear in her eyes and behind the blinding smile that shone from her mocha-colored skin.

It softens some when Winnie stood from the couch, and Naomi reaches over and slaps her retreating ass just hard enough to make Winnie yelp and giggle. “Not to mention those squats are paying off big time, bitch. You’re gonna kill it.”

Winnie rolls her eyes and continues to make her way to the kitchen to refill her wine glass. “The camera won’t see my ass, but thanks.”

Naomi winks. “No. But Grayson Dolan might.”

Grayson Dolan — the walk-on that had stunned everyone when he was thrown into a game his freshman year after two of the starting tight ends had become injured on two consecutive plays. Now a senior himself, he’s led the team ever since in receiving yards, receptions, and TD’s, and is a clear prospect for the NFL in the coming months.

He also happens to be the player Winnie had drunkenly admitted she had a crush on during a girls night last year, and her friends have yet to let her live it down. She had felt ridiculous saying she had a crush as a 21 year-old, but that’s really all it was; he was hot, an extremely talented player, and she barely knew him beyond that one time he had spilled a drink on her at a frat party, and the rather interesting reputation that followed him around campus. There was nothing more to it.

Even if her attraction to him hasn’t died down in the passing time.

Winnie only blushes and pours herself a little extra, blaming the Maison No. 9 when Naomi throws her head back with a cackle and calls out the matching pink in her cheeks.

The morning of her audition, a mere two weeks into her fall semester, Winnie has butterflies fluttering madly in the pit of her belly. Her truer nature of being somewhat shy and timid in these situations has never left, always flaring up in moments of self-doubt and unpredictability. Undoubtedly, however, this audition deserves all the nerves; it’s a clear stepping stone into network broadcasting, and would almost guarantee her a spot as an intern at FOX Sports next semester.

She stares at herself in the mirror for a moment, silently urging herself to get her shit together, and takes a deep breath before eyeing Naomi’s curling iron plugged in by the sink adjacent to her own.

Winnie hasn’t curled her hair once in the nearly four years she’d been in LA. Not for nights out, or auditions, or even a date. A brief moment of madness overtakes her as she stands there staring at the metal device, her hand starting to reach out as words that should be long forgotten ring loud and clear in her head. For a second, the pale beige paint of her apartment bathroom turns the light blue and grey color scheme of her childhood one. Her mom had ‘surprised’ her with the the renovation one year when she decided to redecorate the house while Winnie was at volleyball camp, insisting she had chosen Winnie’s favorite colors, when in reality it simply matched the rest of the monotone suburban house that Winnie secretly couldn’t stand. It was boring, and typical, and...stuck, despite its relative newness.

With that, the fog clears as quickly as it had come, and she sets her jaw determinedly. She hasn’t let Dahlia psych her out for this long; she isn’t about to let now be the first time since she’s been out here on her own.

And maybe Naomi was right. Maybe she’d catch a certain tight end’s eye with a tight end of her own, after all.

The nausea suddenly returns as she shakes her head and reaches for her straightener instead, flicking it on before sectioning off her hair.

“No wonder you’re so fucking single, Win.”

#dolan twins #grayson dolan #blurb #g blurb #why am i posting this in the height of everyone elses amazing oc’s #stupid

[sword-of-summer]

All of them answer every question fuck you

ahahaha no i respectfully deny your "fuck you" and i accept the ask and so-

i am 5'10", and i don't wish to be taller or shorter- i am the perfect height for hugs and messy hair, and yep, i like it here-

dream pet would be a mix of golden retriver and a husky called Holly and a chonky cat called Loki- yes ofcourse my future kids have names everyone should name their future pets-

ripped jeans/black pants with a Darth Vader tshirt or a Ethnic Fusion Kurta with black sneakers/artificial leather slip-ons, and if it's cold, a black jacket open obviously- and a black wristwatch i love my black wristwatch.

favourite video game was Clash of Clans and going even back, GTA Vice City and, the og- MARIIOOOO

three things/people are Oreos, Nutella and Pizza. The Holy Trinity-

"Beware me my fingers are smeared with chicken popcorn grease"

you didn't mention an opinion, @chunkybirb, so imma give my opinion on Vanilla ice cream and Nutella- ANYONE WHO HADN'T COMBINED THESE TWO COMBINE THESE TWO THEY ARE FUCKING AWESOME

im either phlegmatic or melancholic bruh idk maybe ik or maybe not

im v v v v ticklish

not an allergy, but an intense hatred for ketchup- i vomit if it gets too close to me fuck you ketchup

im heterosexual

any between tea and coffee but full milk coffee (ik, kill me), never had cocoa- but i love a chocolate or nutella milkshake

both. both is good. (cat and dog)

i would be an elf cause hell yeah, knowledge and wisdom

favourite youtuber is Samay Raina, a stand up comedian turned youtuber who is just awesome-

as i mentioned in 1., i am 5'10"

i would not change my name cause it's the coolest fucking name ever, i am Tanay, and Tanay in Hindi means Son, and my parents literally named their son Son, and hell yeah i like it

i forgot how much i weigh- last i checked it was 75 kilos, but ive gained weight since 2019 so yep, gotta walk in the mornings

yes i believe in metaphysicality cause one- it seems cool- second- me and @theclassyghost discussed a metaphysical life theory that i really really like and metaphysicality gives preservation of knowledge so i believe in spirits

SPACE. SPACE. SPACE.

im not that religious, no

pet peeves no well nah not really

nocturnal def nocturnal i sleep at 4.50 anyway hehehehe

fav constellation is Cassiopeia

fav star is Sirius tho

what the fuck are ball jointed dolls

i do have a fear of losing people that's just anxiety i guess

yep, global warming is real

never thought that much about reincarnation tbh but maybe, i do

fav movie is Spider Man : Into The SpiderVerse and Inception and The Dark Knight Rises and Revenge of The Sith and yes, for my indian gang, 3 Idiots and Gully Boy

yep i get scared v v v easily

i have had no pets but i plan to once i grow up

@chunkybirb 's blog is fucking cool awesome and *chef's kiss* a masterpiece

blue calms me. i love blue.

live in Norway cause pretty lights, snow, and less people than this overpopulated country i am in

born in Mumbai, India

v v v dark brown like it's almost black but no it's dark brown

introvert

horoscopes and zodiacs, i do read them, never believed that much tbh-

HUGS I LOVE HUGS

i really wanna visit my brother i haven't met him in a long time i really wanna play cricket w him just like old times

my sister- she's annoying but well i care for her

nah

tattoos idk bruh im okay idk may get one or may not get one

nope, smoking is ewwww *vomits*

ah my crush- she's cool [ if she exists

when the chalk doesn't write on the board but goes iiiiiieeee I HATE THAT

a sound i love is rain pitter pattering i just hhhhhh sends me into happiness

nope fatass here

nope fatass here

favourite actors have to be eddie redmayne, oscar issac and pedro pascal- and margot robbie and winona ryder in the actresses section also yes, elliot page

bruh already answered in 30.

im okayish!! spotify and tumblr, cool combo-

my hair are okay being black for me

yesterday, monday, from 6.40 to 6.50

music

uhhh naah not that i know of

well in Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase books, the sword of Frey aka Sumarbrander TALKS and demands to be called Jack, so here i am

bakwaas, music and comfy

yep, i believe in evolution

unfollow on hate and when they dm me sending nsfw pics ugh why are people like that

follow, well, i like people and they seem cool, so i follow them

fav kind of person is the one who'll sit with me for hours not even talking and just vibing to music

fav animals are beavers, doggos and cats

three fav blogs are @chunkybirb, @theclassyghost, @little-boats-on-a-lake, @aredhel-of-gondolin, @sue-me-imbadass, @alleenkaas, @my-ackerman, @brrrrrrrrrrzone

fav emoticon has to be ☹ this me seeing my stupidity outrank others

fav meme has to be Butternut is a master of psychological manipulation

INTP

Libraaa let's go

no dog, i have

black darth vader tshirt, black pants, black sneakers and black wrist watch

i have no selfies my phone has no cameras i live in eternal darkness

what the fuck are platform shoes

i, uhhh, i remember weird things like what i drew in class in 3rd while i was supposed to be doing english

lazy ass here, no front flips possible

i like birds they fly

nope i don't Iike swimming i like blankets

wrapped up in blankets reading books sounds better than both

ketchup

hyperspace travel

nope none

reading writing eating sleeping

my friend

tumblr seems cool

i have around 60-70 idk

yes i can run but why

yes they do but what's the fun in that

nope I'd fall over

sapphire let's go

koala bear or panda

sunflower or the one on a lemon tree

ketchup store

one cup of coffee is enough, tysm

read minds that sounds cool cool yeaaahh

nope never wore it a black clothes guy here BatMan

winter winter all year long

i don't know and i don't wanna try

i don't know and i don't wanna know

everyone cause they are better than me

bookstores cause bookstores any bookstores

sneakers, black onez

apparently some gas bitches mixed up to form a planet

non vegetarian but i partake meat just twice or thrice in two weeks

i don't know they don't seem like liking

naaaaaaaah

bugs ew

spiders ew

about the fact that i come off as arrogant and overconfident while in reality it's just that my communication skills suck

i can draw averagely whenever im in a mood

this thing im answering but i like answering it

uhhhhhhh brain freeze- idk bruh questions are good they give knowledge

yep, while sleeping

ahh yes calming, they are

cloudy days cause fucking cool vibes

hehehe wouldn't you like to know, weatherboy

CumuloNimbus i really like it's name yknow nimBUS

dark blue, dark blue always or black

naaaah no freckles

fav thing is when they laugh and it's just happy and we're both laughing like shitheads but who cares we're rebelling against depressing life and we laugh

both. both is good [ fruits and vegetables

sleep but i have to answer 170 questions cause @chunkybirb

sky sky sky it's my blog's header duh uh sKy

sweet and sour candy. SWEET AND SOUR CANDY.

dim lights it makes me feel cool

ahhh so here we go- Mooncalfs, Thunderbirds, Phoenixes, Sphinxes, Dragons that seem to be Space Nebulae, and more and more and more

i really feel like a boomer sometimes

i love everything about this site/app it makes me feel happy cause i like the people and the posts

uhhhhh i think too much about everything cause i just do. i like thinking

"He's dead, guys. For the sake of The Force, please watch Star Wars now he wanted to discuss it with you" actually no i would just say "A big shoutout to Garlic Bread he loved Garlic Bread"

myself cause i should be sleeping but sleep is for the weak and i am the weak and the strong i am a paradox-

that i obsess too much on things and try involving people it never works out

nope. had braces for 4 years, that beat out teeth showing smiles

i prefer computer-tv ahahahahaha

never tried them, so IDK

naaaaah not motion sickness- never travelled by sea so idk seasickness

lobed ears

yep i believe that deeds do count in life and beyond

idk bruh i don't believe in physical attraction too much- bodies are fake- mentally/metaphysically tho, im a 7

ahhhhh many many Stupid Genius, Tani, Tanu, Tanya

i still do-

i really want to talk to a therapist. converse. and discover.

im both, i am both.

10:1 is the ratio- giving 10, receiving 1

uhhh nothing just when i am right and people use the old "disrespect" argument

3, Hindi, Marathi, English

girls

uhh no i am not

my hair i love them everyone says things about my hair but i love them

knowledge vibes i give, someone tells me- and that's all i ever wanted

anyone i know tbh, my mutuals, my friends, my discord friends

ahhh no i wouldn't but i wish i was born 20 years earlier

bleh bloo, neither like nor dislike

i don't know if i have one

i don't know, haven't had physical contact in a long long long time in a galaxy far far away

the above point stands but i would like to ig

anything i write, 3 hours later, i instantly hate just idk why

anything i write

that i am normal no i am not and i am not okay hahahahaha

65-70 ish people

somewhere around-

many many many don't ask please but okay if you do ask

somewhat

uhhhhh idr exactly but i won't tell in public duh uh

mediummm hairrrr

last year lockdown i became harry potter

i don't know buddy i seriously don't know

yep i do cause knowledge i like knowledge

naaah never tried

no i definitely cannot stand on my hands or my head for more than 30 seconds

yep, im pretty sure i answered most of them correctly-

og link-

#personal #ask #tumblr

[gophergal]

ASK ABOUT YOUR FIC?! I CAN DO THAT! SO! I am so fucking curious about your Myers fic and Jane. What was your inspo for starting the fic? Is there anything you do to get in the right headspace or vibe for writing it? I am very curious about Jane and anything else you wanna tell that you haven't yet would be so cool. I am also wondering what you like in particular about them being together, I know that we haven't gotten there in the fic but anything you are willing to share now!

HDBGCISVXYN HEY THANKS BEX

Wow, where to start!

(that's your warning that the post got away from me a bit)

Well, for one, this is actually the second iteration of the same basic fic from nearly two years ago! I've probably mentioned that before. The old one is from 2019, and can still be found on my AO3, though it's not as good. I've had a lot of improvement since I wrote it. I'm actually almost caught up to the old one plot wise while also nearly surpassing it in word count. Which is fucking hilarious to me

I started the original almost immediately after I joined the fandom in August 2019. I realized that my interpretation of Michael is a bit in the middle of the two major fanon Michaels.

At the time, I saw most people would do

A.) Cute Bishounen Michael Did Nothing Wrong UwU

Or

B.) This Man Sucks, He's Absolutely Evil, And He Will Stab You After You Fuck

Which are both valid! Both fun!

But neither really fit what I was looking for. My interpretation revolves around exploring Michael's abuse by Dr Loomis and his actual motivation for killing Judith because those don't seem to be explored very often. Which, also valid!

(Sometimes you just want to see him as a big murder hunk and that's cool)

Which means I kinda have to go on a tangent about my tinhat idea of what goes on in Michael's thick skull

I always thought that his first murder was very much the action of a young child experiencing jealousy (Judith hadn't been spending time with him anymore) and expressing it in a very extreme way. He didn't understand how badly he'd hurt his sister, only that he wanted to make her hurt too. That's admittedly a lot of projection on my part, but stay with me.

I don't think he ever got a chance to work through his feelings of jealousy or the sudden loss of his sister. Sure, Loomis "helped", but it's more or less confirmed that he saw a young boy suffering from mental illness, and become obsessed. There's a part in the novelization where Loomis confirms that he was obsessed when he first saw Michael and heard of the case. And then he called the boy evil.

Loomis said that he tried to help for years, but considering how other staff react to him and how he treats Michael, we can tell that his heavy sedation of a man he's meant to be treating is not a new development. Besides, mental health care in the 1960's-70's was... not great to put it lightly.

So I wanted to write a story which explored that through the lens of romance. I wanted someone to knock a hole through his walls and find the scared child inside, then I wanted her to spiral into a deeply unhealthy and fucked up relationship with him.

Jean's not exactly the peak of mental health herself. She's also got a bit of my experience in her (wow how shocking), and struggles with building relationships, asking for help, and making decisions overall. She's a bit of a shell of who she could be. And she's clingy. She's lost many people in her life and that causes her to latch on to any semblance of normalcy.

I believe I mentioned on my Gophercast that she was the result of a teen pregnancy and her father dipped out on her mom. Her Grandpa, however, was very supportive and helped raise her while her mom went to college. Her mom passed away from a sudden illness when Jean was a young teen and her grandpa continued to raise her after that. At the start of the story, it's been about three ish years since he passed away.

She projects onto Michael, aware of the danger of him, but unable to tear herself away. He's whatever she wants him to be. A blank slate. When that doesn't work for her, she gets angry, which puts her in danger.

I think Michael has two reasons for keeping her alive: she's useful, and she's new. He's not really interacted with someone like her before, but then again, he's never really had the chance to interact with anyone.

But that's enough of that lol. That pretty much explains why I like Jean and Michael together anyway. It's more of a thought exercise lol.

To get in the headspace to write this, I read the last chapter I published of it, then listen to a playlist I've made. I won't drop the whole thing, but most of the songs on it are obsessive and dark. I really enjoy songs sung from the pov of a stalker for this. I might list a few songs later if anyone's interested

Other than that, I just put some long winded and boring video/podcast on in the background and start writing. I might sample other folks' fanfic while taking a break, but I try not to steal their ideas

Anywho, I think I'll end that here for now since this is so wordy lol. I'll def talk about it more if anyone wants to know about anything else!

#gopher rambles #I'm not lonely

[werezmastarbucks]

neighboring

enzo x reader

request! looks like we’re having a mini series on our hands.

word count: 2291

warnings: mentions of torture (probably not in this chapter, but then on will def do)

You were thrown into the cell, concrete floor meeting you with its hard substance. It didn’t hurt. What bothered you was the vervain in you which made you dizzy and slow. You thought you recovered pretty quick, jumping back up on all fours, but the walls swayed, and you only saw bleak, dirty golden of the weak lamp in the corridor ceiling.

Ever since you became a vampire, you’ve felt invincible. A fatal mistake, perhaps, but the feeling is so justified. As a human, you were considered feeble. All the more satisfaction was drawn when it turned out you didn’t need to sweat anymore to punch someone back.

Because you liked getting into fights.

Now, all your senses were deceived. The sound of the closing cage door was probably the most horrifying sound you’ve ever heard in your life. Clang. And you couldn’t even see properly, but every inch of your now agile and perceptive body knew what it meant. And it paralyzed you with fear.

For about twenty minutes.

You could feel someone in the next cage, feet from you, lying on the floor and prepped against the wall. But they were in the dark and did not speak. You could feel their eyes on you, like vampires always do, opaque black and unblinking. You didn’t pay attention at first. Slowly recovering from the burning sensation in your veins, you first sat up, keeping a mantra in your head. Do not lay down and die. You’re an invincible vampire, and iron bars are nothing for a creature like you.

After, you tried to stand up, your hand on the wall, skin irrtated by old harsh stone. Cold.

You went towards the bars and tried them, pulled and pushed, and as soon as your voice returned to you, you started yelling, calling names, kicking and shaking the cage, although it didn’t seem to notice you.

You refused to just allow that. That, the reality of where you were. You were a free person, and then you were an even freer vampire, and nobody had a right to just catch you like a rat and put you under the ground.

“Stop. Stop”, the voice said. He had to shout a little to outyell you. You twitched, remembering your quiet neighbor; his voice seemed weak, hungry. You’d never heard a voice of a starving vampire before, and now you felt little shivers crawling down your spine. You stepped to the side of your cage, swaying, still intoxicated. The darkness went bursting with green spots, and you sat yourself on the foor, holding on the bars.

“If you keep screaming, they’ll come to quiet you down, and from what I saw about you, you won’t like it even worse”, he said, with a thick English accent, so exquisite he sounded like a person from another time. You shifted, trying to see him better, but even with your vampire eyes, still vervained, all you saw were outlines of his body, spread on the floor, at the far wall.

“How long have you been here?” you asked, scared to death to hear what he says.

He took a minute to gather energy.

“Long enough to know how this place works”.

“No, tell me how long”, you pressed, your heart pumping in your temples. One thing you carried with you into the undeath was your high level of anxiety. Which, obviously, hightened so greatly sometimes you could feel your heart in your throat, literally.

“What year is it?” he asked, finally.

“Two thousand and nine”.

“Oh, doll”, he muttered, and then there was silence.

“Hey?”

It looked like he blacked out.

___________________________________________________________

He was out all night. You couldn’t see the skies, but your inner clock ticked well. Pretty soon, you became sleepy yourself, but hunger wouldn’t let you sleep.

You fidgeted and crawled about, then, when you were able to walk, you started walking around the cage like a jaguar.

First signs of captivity coping started showing themselves.

This is all a mistake. Yes, they have captured me and put me here because they have confused me with somebody else. Pretty soon they’ll realize that they made a mistake and let me go.

But your mind was sharper now. If you really believed that you would’ve called them. The sleeping silhouette at the far wall unnerved you. Being in enclosed space, in the matter of hours, has set a new dimension to your seeing of the world. You hated that guy. Smug, although he was almost dead. Thinking he knows what you are. Gathering information about you, almost smirking and refusing to answer questions. Grumpy old man.

You finally dozed off closer to the morning, when the natural gravitation of the sunlight demanded you to. Windows or no windows, you served the changes of day and night and the instincts were strong.

That’s when they came for you for the first time. Without a single word, they vervained you again, causing pain in all your body. Your mouth gaped open as you tried to keep your eyes open, feeling their hands dragging you on the floor.

“Mistake, mistake, mistake”, you heard yourself whisper.

“Be quiet”, the neighbor said. Or maybe you imagined that.

___________________________________________________________

“Hey, loud one”.

You were laying face down, trying to block everything out, pain swarming in your body in miriads of black worms. Your brain could not comprehend what’s just happened and how long it took. Just like that, the order of day was broken, and, being paralyzed with pain and indignation, you couldn’t tell what time it was anymore. You couldn’t understand how a bunch of mortals managed to stripe you down and mutilate you, and get you back together, in such a short time.

The darkness was pricky, full of thorns, as your body went aching, and your mind, it was bursting with blood.

“Hey”, it felt like he threw a pebble at you, or something small.

You growled, not getting your head up.

“You alive”, he noted. His voice sounded way better. Suddenly, there was a faint trace of blood, maybe carried by a draft from the corridor, or with his breathing, and your whole body convulsed, longing for nourishment. You twitched, painfully, and found yourself laying on your back now. You were in hell.

“Did they feed you?” he asked. You couldn’t move your mouth, fangs aching with hunger, tongue heavy and blue-ish.

“You’re a new vampire”, he said. It wasn’t a question this time. He was just making observations. You tried to move your head to take a look at him but all you saw was your own ceiling.

“The first couple of times are the worst, but you’ll get used to it. Learning to fight thirst is the more serious problem”.

He kept talking to you, saying something you couldn’t even grasp exactly. He said, when they inject you with poison, it’s useful to hold your breath, because that way it hurts just a wee bit less; he was talking like an old, old English gentleman, using all the old-fashined words, and for a moment there you thought, even if you stood up to look at him, you wouldn’t see a man, because he was merely a ghost.

His chatting put you to feverish, heavy sleep that lasted for many hours until you woke up again.

_____________________________________________________________

You did not realize you were crying in your sleep.

A bag of blood was thrown into your cell, and your weak limbs clutched it, last vigorous spring of exhausting young vampire, and started drinking.

Once you were done with the bag, you fought off the desire to lick the plastic to clean off all blood. Your eyes were seeing better now, you all of you felt almost okay. Having slept, with a healthy dose of warm blood in your veins, sending your mind in overdrive. You felt anxious, energetic, and before a new wave of horror kicked in, you crawled carefully to the bars separating your cage from your neighbor’s.

You could finally see him. He was not what you expected. A young man, not more than twenty-five, was looking back at you with pitch-black careful eyes. Not dusty, not faded with mist of years spent inside this prison, smelling like a vampire should smell; apparently, he’s just eaten, too. His slim arms were laying on his sides as he prepped himself against the far wall, sitting. There was something Italian about him, but that just might have been the dark hair and the way he cocked his head. Maybe not Italian, just... different. You haven’t seen faces like this except in the book illustrations. He had a strong forehead and a hidden plan inside of his gaze. And he was looking directly at you.

“Feeling better?” he asked in his eerie accent.

Your throat was still contracting, the taste of blood arousing all your senses in vain, because you weren’t going anywhere.

“What is this place?”

“They call it Augustine”, he said slowly, “it’s a place where vampires come to lose hope”.

“What century are you from?” you winced. It seemingly entertained him but he abstained from commenting on your face. You had no idea what you looked like and whether you had blood on your skin.

“Last one”.

“Beginning of it?”

He leaned on the wall, looking up, and yet another shock of despair stung your insides. He had the look. The look that people get, who are held captive for a long time. Sometimes you’re put away for such a long time you learn to live again, you learn to get used to the conditions and the place, and eventually you deal with the idea of staying forever.

It’s much worse for vampires than for humans because humans eventually grow old and die. But you can keep a vampire for eternity.

He was looking on the ceiling and imagining the sky. You could see it right through his dark eyes.

“Hey!”

He slowly lowered his face.

“How long have you been alone?” you asked quietly.

“For about sixty years”.

Breath got stuck in your throat. His snake-like smirk creeped onto his face, making him look like a textbook vampyr.

“And yes”.

“Yes to what?”

“To what you’re thinking. You’ll stay here, too”.

All kind of expression escaped him. He turned, facing the corridor and started looking at a fly circling the lamp in the ceiling. You could hear its ringing buzz and the sound it made when it hit the warm glass. You could feel and hear everything. The smell of dust in the lines on the floor. Water dripping somewhere above your heads, on the first floor. The vampire breathing very queitly, and his heart, beating with such fatigue as if he was a plant growing out of this concrete. You could smell people who left sweet traces of their bodies after they passed down the corridor. The inviting scent from your bag. You took it and threw outside, into the corridor, and your neighbor whistled musingly.

“You could use some time to get used to here”.

You couldn’t believe it was happening.

____________________________________________________________

The next time you saw him, looked at him, he was taking your place. The people - the mortals - one tall woman with dark-red hair and very sweaty armpits, and a short man with a face like a piece of wood - came and took him away. You still didn’t know his name. You were calling him Neighbor in your own thoughts, but he still didn’t ask you for yours, although it’s been... two days? Three days and a night? No idea.

He left with them on his own, walking between them, and they didn’t have to vervain him. You sat on the floor, asking yourself, why he let them do that to him. You couldn’t even think about what you had to go through in that laboratory; an obvious thought was scratching your mind, but you pushed it away. Leaning on the wall, you closed your eyes, trying not to listen to what was going on on the first floor. You were trying to think objectively. If Neighbor went to the lab on his own, shoulder to shoulder with those monsters, he has completely come to terms with it. You were dreading a state in which a being is completely at peace with being tortured. But he spent so many years here... his face looked like he was from another world. Pairing yourself with someone was the last thing you’d think about here, but you could see the features of his face, although worn out and blank, could be considered handsome. Interesting how little things were still as clear as big things.

The fly was still alive, circling the lamp for warmth pointlessly, almost blindly.

You still didn’t know Neighbor’s name.

Hunger came in waves and the blood they gave you was generally fresh and female, and you wondered who it came from.

You did not want companionship. You did not want to converse with him. Or listen to him share his wisdom of living here. All those things would mean you’re assimilating, and you had no intention to do so. You’d resist. You’d fight...

After they brought him back, exhausted and pale, you asked yourself if this vampire was telling himself those same things about not staying here, about the longevity of human spirit. You were young enough of a vampire to remember what a human spirit is. You looked at their faces, the tall woman with big brown eyes, and the scared, cautious coward. They were just like you, at the end of the day. You all came from the same species, and yet...

As if humans ever stop waging brutality on each other.

#enzo st. john #enzo st john imagine #enzo st john x reader #slowburn #vampire diaries imagine #enzo

[mytwitterisdogtoast1]

Pokken is probably the biggest Pokemon let down in the history of Pokemon let downs.

I'm a passionate guy. I love and hate things pretty hard for many reasons and those reasons usually run deep even if they are only a few words. However, sometimes I'll have a passion so deep that it is specifically against the common consensus and will be viewed as "flawed" or "wrong" or "stupid" or "something I should get over". The point is this is one of those things that every time I explain it to my friends who like Pokken that they get defensive and tell me I'm wrong. Thankfully most of the times opinions can't really be wrong now can they? Firstly I would like to express I am not a game designer in any way and my opinions are just that. My opinion and if you don't like it that is fair. We can all live in the same space and not have to come to blows over these things. So why is Pokken the biggest let down at least for me in the world of Pokemon games? That's because Pokken is not what I expected and what it could have been. When I say it could have been better and possibly better than almost every single fighting game known to man as well better than even Smash than you can only assume my expectations were so high on this game that you could say it is my fault for putting them on the highest level and then being sad when the game doesn't even come to half of what I wanted. Let me take you back to the first time I saw a Pokemon fighting game. For many of you, you already know or have seen the game but maybe don't know the name. That game is Pokemon: Type Wild. Type Wild is basically like every single other fighting game in that you get a roster (9) of different fighters who all fight in their own style. Simple enough to get where anyone can pick it up but few could master. It is a simple game that strikes desire into the heart of fighting game lovers. Which I happen to love fighting games. I may not play the greatest amount of them but I am ungodly at Bloody Roar 3 to a point where picking up a controller is like riding a bike. Short side story. My first time drinking I played a drinking game with friends where if you win you take a shot of hard liquor. We had 4 different types of hard liquor such as Sake, Vodka, Whiskey, and something else I can't remember. Eventually I had won so many games that not only was I shit face to the point of barely able to sit up straight, but I drank so much alcohol that by the time I was half way through the roster people quit because I was still winning and they haven't even felt a buzz yet. We ran out of liquor that day. Point is I love fighting games so I for years hoped that we would get a solid fighting game either like a 2d styles Street Fighter or a 2.5d style in the styles of Tekken or Bloody Roar. Instead we got Pokken. So I'm sure you would ask "what is wrong with the game. I like it." and that is just fine. You can like whatever you want and we can again have different opinions. Hell even if you like a thing people think is bad or a guilty pleasure that's also fine. I love infomercials and they are stupid as hell. You are allowed to like bad things. Let's be honest though. Pokken even if a good game does have flaws. It's not perfect by far and in those flaws I find that I don't for its own merits actually like the game. This again does not make it bad. Here are the things I find bad with the game in no particular order. Fights are too short I hate the switch style of fighting and it tends to make certain characters like machamp unrealistic in that he now needs a ranged attack like everyone else thus he becomes like everyone else. This is bad because you have no choice when it'll switch styles as it sometimes happens randomly (or so I assume, it has been a hot minute since I played but I'm pretty positive it happened without me "triggering anything) It's all style and no real substance. It looks pretty but it is kind of just a flash in the pan when you've seen all the moves over and over and over again. As stated before, all the characters are pretty much the same. What I mean by that is all have a long ranged move and basically feel the same. Yes there is some rock

paper scissors but when machamp needs a long ranged move and you just make it punches then it feels more tacked on and the characters don't really shine much. The roster looks alright at best but since there are 2 mewtwos and 2 pikachus it just feels lack luster. Also the dog and the chandelier don't seem to fit. The little support Pokemon don't seem like they add that much. Lastly and the most important part is that the game seems to lack real actual depth like Pokemon games do. That's the real problem for me. You have the biggest franchise in the world and finally make the biggest spin off for it and you make it lack substance? You might be thinking "well what would you do to make the game better?" and I'm glad you hypothetically asked in this scenario I just made up and forced upon you. There are 2 ways to make a good Pokemon fighting game. One is a rip off and the other is my own creation so to speak. The first is simple. Just make another smash. Make the Kanto region its own smash areas with instead of pokeballs and items and so on (you could cut down on all the extra stuff) and focus on making a pokemon with its own move sets. You could give them each their own moves and just make them fight like they would in smash. Is it a unique game? No, but the roster would be gigantic and it would look dope having a person fight as magikarp against a giant group of people. Also think of the amount of Amiibos they could make. The game wouldn't end there. It would get DLC for each region with new pokemon every time. The problem with this is the roster would be 1000 large and counting. So making this, as fun as it would be, seems unrealistic. So let's instead go with my idea. My idea is more or less the same as the actual game but with fighting in it. What that means is you would take every main important mechanic and throw it into this game. Then you would take the game and make it into a fighting game with those mechanics. Let's start small. First we need a story to get the game rolling right? Let's make it simple. It is a fighting tournament where fighting types can come together and fight in the arena. You know, like the episode of where Ash had primeape fight a bunch of dudes. Instead of in general fighting in a ring, they would have a stage where fights would be held. The story is this is where whoever shows up wants to be the best. Let's say each character is going to also be it's own "person" with it's own personality. That way we can have entry comments when they start the fight because they are talking to each other. You can make rivalries happen, you can also in general say these are the best fighters of their kinds. You have options to make this into a grander stage than the original did by making this the first ever tournament of its kind. That's the setting but we need a roster to fill the game out. So the game could start small in that it generally would have a roster specifically of only fighting types. This means that at most we would if only using final evolutions have without different forms, and megas about 32 different characters. Suddenly we now have a larger roster compared to the actual one we got. sure it is only fighting types but if we only have fighting types no one can complain about not getting their favorite. However, I'm not gonna lie, the roster looks like it lacks main villains and leaving out legends kind of ruins the whole every fighting type and lastly, with what happened to dexit I'm sure people would be mad if they can't use megas as well. So let's instead change that roster to have EVERY single fighting type in the game. (only last evolutions though. Don't need no babies and first forms in here) Now we have a total of 52. Let's also say for fairness sakes that some characters have non fighting forms. Let's add those in if they are before a mega evolution changes them. That's 3 more for a total of 55 in the roster. Now let's also have to force a couple more in there for "reasons" such as it is Pikachu who has to be in every single game. So now it is 56 total and since in general

arceus can every type the roster would be a total of 57 characters at the end of the entire thing. That puts the current roster to shame. Sure we miss out on fan favorites but in the end 57 unique characters? That is one hell of a difference. Yeah they are all fighting types but still. It is 100% better than what we currently have. Also this can be done. There are fighting games with over 60 characters and I'm not talking about a roster of "forms" like in dragonball z games where you can change your move set that is basically the same as other peoples. I'm talking about games such as smash with 58, tekken tag tournament 2 with 59, mortal kombat armageddion with 62, def jam fight for ny with 72, naruto ultimate ninja storm with 119. Suddenly you're up there with the big boys. (at least numbers wise) Some people might say that the game would probably have bad graphics and to that I say it has a simply solution. Make the game 2d. Many people would probably say that the best thing about Pokken is that it looks "tight as fuck" or something in that regard but we all know that 3d doesn't make everything better. Old school Street fighter games look pretty good with smooth animations and also fantastic backgrounds and a lot like anime compared to now which just doesn't look the same. Good in its own ways but different. You can have more things in a game with less "graphics" while looking super great while doing so. It wouldn't lessen the game and would make future versions of the game able to add more into the game as well. It would also add for many more things to be added as well. Which is really good since in general the game is supposed to be deep and not taking the game to look amazing means you can add more into it and allow for more cool things. Let's not get into the nitty gritty just yet because there are a few things I'd like to add. Let's take a step back to the roster. Let's say that they started off with just the first gen leading us to have a total of 9 different characters on the roster. That's not bad. This leaves us open to a ton of DLC and also alternate "costumes" to make our characters look better and more in line with who they want to be. The rosters itself would also have 9 unique characters with different strengths and weaknesses compared to a generic roster who is small but also kind of the same. You could also allow for a stage for every single type to shine through aesthetically. Sure we got some nice looking stages but imagine if we had one based on each type. A normal stage on a beach where it is sandy and has a nice tropical sunny feel to it. The only thing that would make that better is if the beach had some interaction to it. What matters in the game is the style of play. Pokken allows for arena battles as well as side to side battles. Both are fine but would make you have to specifically have one main style of art and dimensions. I think that side to side is better in 2d while arena I believe can only be in 3d. This to me means that we would have a side to side fighter but if for example we did get a 3d arena match then we would get hazards on the field. There was a play at doing so in the actual game where there would be spots where vines and other explosions pop up from the ground but imagine an actual 3d arena where you can get thrown into trees, or walk on hot lava spots or something akin to that. Imagine all the actual things you can do with moves such as spikes, or actual entry hazards. The game would take on more depth and allow for cooler fights. Even then having things in 2d isn't that bad. Having the ability to actually fight in a beautiful place with the character you want there allows for better visuals. The real shame is we could have gotten a battle area for every single type of Pokemon as well as a call back to the ???? typing where it would randomly choose a place to fight. This is all visual things that would make the game pretty but the real depth of it comes from how the game is constructed. That is by it being like actual normal main stream games. So what does it mean to

be a main stream game? Let's quantify to some degree what Pokemon is. It's a jrpg with the largest party roster ever. It's a simple one on one battle style but in essence you got the fighter, the ninja, the mage, and probably a few other things. They just sometimes look like eggs or a dinosaur. Either way roster is huge. The second thing is the simplicity of type matchess and even added abilities. Stats are also a part of the game while equipment and moves that you can customize out of a set list are also there. Personalities and breeding make their way into the game. There are so many things that you can do with normal Pokemon that just allows for the most unique playthrough of the game in any way you want and matches against real people have strategies and styles you might not find everywhere else. That is unless you're not playing random children and are playing adults who use the same stuff over and over except that one guy who used pachirisu but that guy is a maverick. So how would all this work? Simple. Just do the stuff they already do. Let's look at Pokken itself real quick. You have the attack and defense stats that in general make you deal or take less damage. You have your ultimate gauge and your support gauge. Pretty lack luster stuff seeing as we get more in the regular stats of Pokemon compared to it. We have special and regular attack. Special and regular defense. Speed and Lastly HP. That's where Pokken ends in customization. Lackluster in comparison as well when you look at all the stuff you can do in regular Pokemon to build a bond with it. So how do we build into the ultimate experience that we never got but wanted? Easily. Again just do like the game. Pokemon has a couple things that it does for you to customize your single little buddy to take on anyone. Let's look at those things. You have levels, types, items, breeding, evs/ivs, abilities, unique movesets, specific stats. That doesn't seem like much but having 8 different things to do with their own large amount of things is huge. To start with lets go with levels. Levels will be exactly that. They will increase the more you use a specific Pokemon. Not to say that the character would change and then have you start at a lower level, but in general you have the 100 levels and the stats on the character would grow to be that of what you finally get. You would also in PVP be matched up to an enemy of an equal level since you would have played that character and at least that long for that level to exist on the character you are using. This means that stats would also come into play. Stats would act like they normally do however moves would dictate that thing. Normal attacks would work with attack strength while special moves that you add onto your character would use the special stat. Not moves that are special attacks but any and every move. So extreme speed and thunderbolt would both use the special stat while a normal punch or kick would be your attack. This would make moves matter and make you want to make the move set how you would like it. Moves and customized move sets would be next on the list. This would allow for you to actually help your character and yeah this would mean that some characters are more optimal in some ways. If you wanted a move based machamp over an attacker than you have the choice and sure, some characters would be horrible with special attack but in the end all moves are special and would allow certain characters who are long range attackers such as Sirfetch'd who has a sword have to get closer to a machamp who uses focus blast to hit. This would allow for actual move customization too so that things such as toxicroak who uses poison moves to really shine since if we are making the moves than we would in general also wanna add the typings into the game as well. Types would allow for certain Pokemon to shine through more. Yes ghost fighting types would be busted, but thankfully there is only one and that would mean that you would want some anti ghost stuff on your character or it would make for you to have to actually

do normal attacks with a special attacker as they are even if named normal attacks not normal type. As in regular punches and kicks. Things like typing would also come into effect because that means the moves would be of the type and you can get added bonuses such as poisoning people and flinching and so on. Which means that abilities would be handy to fight certain people. If you play toxicroak then you are going to poison people with poison point. Which would go back to typing as an important thing since lucario is part steel. You could slow the opponent with electric moves. You could flinch enemies and so on. You have so many abilities to disrupt the enemy. This will make people go and make a huge deal on trying to perfect their roster of dudes they like to not only get skilled at them but also in general make them better. This is good because items and breeding are going to be a thing in the game. If ev's and iv's are in the game with breeding then that means you can actively max out a pokemon in ways you like. You can get points by winning fights and throw them onto a pokemon and just have like levels unlocked points for that pokemon. That way when you get good stuff for the process of breeding a new version of the character you get it in a way that actually benefits you when you choose a new nature and instead of having to grind even more each time you can just in general work hard while reasonably doing so. How would you get these items? That's simple. Either through constant grind which you are already doing or through mini games. Like the ones they had back in Pokemon stadium. People have wanted those again for such a long time. Even if they are small ones where it is training based it would be something fun to do to set off the monotony of grinding a better character all the time. So since everything is unique in that way how would the roster themselves work? It's big and it seems like we wouldn't be able to make them all 100% unique and as true as that is there is one thing to set them apart like you would in a normal fighting game compared to what it seems Pokken does. EVERY POKEMON HAS A UNIQUE FIGHTING STYLE BECAUSE THEY ARE FIGHTING TYPES. If we looked at the roster some of them are going to be in general a little strange but take it from the guy who is passionate about this idea that I can in some ways write down a style for each of them and that's just what I'm gonna do. Pikachu - Let's get the first and most obvious one out of the way and the most blatant problem in the only fighting type roster. Let's just say Pikachu libre was raised by some fighting types. Hawlucha to be exact and it got let in as an honorary member. It would be a fast attacker and have some good jump attacks. Primeape - A berserker style fighter who attacks very well but lacks real use of the special moves. It can still do them, but it may be open to failing. Like the trip mechanic in Smash cause fuck you it's funny. Poliwrath - A heavy hitter who does big attacks. Poliwrath doesn't have a style so much is just a big beefy dude. Would probably make him a little better at doing specials because of his lack of finesse and real inability to kick well. Machamp - Based on body builders and "able to know every fighting style" kinda makes machamp a little bit of an "eh" choice. Instead of making him fully aggressive and E Honda someone with 1000 punches we could also make him have special button inputs to pose and get power ups. This would make him actually stronger on specials if you wanted to do a special attacker or something else of the like. Hitmonlee - A kick boxer style where he would hardly use his hands. He would still be able to do special moves like the punches but in general this would mostly mean he would just kick normally and have extra blocks with his arms. Hitmonchan - If they can make steve fox do dodges with his feet then they can make hitmonchan the exact same way. Galarian Zapdos - Look, it's stupid that it is a fighting type but it is what it is. So let's just roll with it and say he does a lot of kicks.

Like can't really punch but would use his beak for pecks. They wouldn't be flying attacks but in general would allow for a little long range. Mewtwo - Our first non fighting type (not pikachu) to hit the scene and a real boss. See as much as Zapdos is a boss, Mewtwo would also in general be like the larger boss at the end. A real contender for difficult since his stats would push him a little over. The real threat is when you look at his mega form which would not require an item on the boss in the game and would allow him to not be stopped from this form. He also has a different move set meaning he is just in general a different fighter as well. You could also have it to where they don't even need the players to need to mega evolve and they just choose him. Heracross - This would be a little tricky as beetles generally just fling their enemy. He would probably have moves that did that while also being able to grapple well. His mega form would allow him to hit better like he normally does with multi hit moves and would probably have a better grab based move set. Hitmontop - Being short is its own special thing since he would be harder to hit with high attacks but he also has capoera style. Blaziken - Blaziken seems like it would be another strong boss in that it literally gets faster as the battle goes on and his mega does the same thing. It also has muay thai style fighting. Breloom - It's literally a kangaroo. It punches, it kickes really hard with its tail as support. It's a kangaroo. Hariyama - Besides Ehonda strikes it is also a sumo wrestler. So throws would be a thing it can do. Medicham - One of the more difficult to place styles. Its mega form would allow for also easy punch combos but I think this would be one of the more wonky styles of fighting. Each fighting game has a yoshimitsu style of fighter and I'm sure this would be it. Infernape - Monkey style kung fu. Loppuny - Loppuny is strange in that it is not a fighter. So it should have a generic not that strong looking style of fighting but when it mega evolves it learns Tai Bo and generic defense class style. Lucario - Also strange to place but could have something like Tai Chi or something of the like. Toxicroak - A dirty fighter and probably like that of a yakuza. Gallade - Would be really good at counters and uses a gentlemans style of fighting. Arceus - I don't know man, it's a horse. The people making the game would figure it out. Just steal the horse style from the JOJO fighting game or something. Emboar - Based on chinese symbols and also wrestling. This could be a grappler as well with a greco roman style and theme. Conkeldurr - This would have range over most of the others as well as strength, it would be slow moving but could swing fast. It also uses centripital force. Throh - It knows judo and would be good at grapples and blocks. Sawk - It knows karate and would be really good at strikes and counters. Scrafty - Would use headbutts and kicks. Nothing other than what it says since inner city youth generally don't have a fighting style. Mienshao - Shaolin style kung fu. Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion - Each would have the same style of fighting. The difference being is Cobalion would have average speed and attack while terrakion and virizion would be slower or faster while weaker and stronger. Keldeo - Would have a style like the others but with some variations to it. It would be kind of bad in comparison as it is not as old and skilled but it's resolute form would make the style come together and make it better. Meloetta - Would have a buff system like Machamp but could also change style to allow it to do better at fighting but lose the ability to make buffs Chesnaught - It's a noble knight. Give it a graceful style that doesn't fit its huge armor or make it a power house. The choices are up to the developer at that point. Pangoro - Big punches and wild swings. Like Poliwrath but handles different. Hawlucha - Luchadore style wrestling, but has a high jump allowing for aerial attacks. Crabominable - Just punches. It

can't do anything else but it should have strong hard to stop punches. Bewear - Based on bear wrestling and bear hugs. It is your modern wrestler. Since we won't have incineroar in the game this would be the closest we get to WWE style of wrestling. Passimian - Tackles and moving. It's a football player. What else would it do? Kommo-o - Honestly this one eludes me since it just is a fighting type and I don't think it was inspired type wise by anything. Buzzwole - Just like Pangoro and Poliwrath. Would just be a big buff fighter. Pheromosa - Would be a kick fighter like Jenny from Bloody Roar 3. Marshadow - Since it mimics it would just be the random fighter each time. Grapploct - A grappler. Sirfetch'd - Uses his spear/sword for doing long range styles of poke. Shield would help block better. Also is small. Falinks - What could it do? I have no idea. Zamazenta - It has a normal non shield form, and it has a shield form. It could be slower in non shield mode but also when in shield mode be harder to hurt. Urshifu - Urshifu has 2 forms. One which would be single strike which is precise and accurate trying to end the fight in as few hits as possible meaning dealing more damage or something like that while rapid strike form could just be an unending combo like Maxi does in Soul Calibur 2. The real thing to know is that in general certain pokemon could have unique abilities not explained. Such as better blocks where they take less damage to no damage compared to other fighters or even more damage even if at the same number or other things like that, This would also make the boss battles more unique. That's mostly how the game would be made. At the end of the day we lost out on what could be the most deep fighter ever made. What saddens me more is that had we gotten this game it would have probably made Nintendo do better with their online services. Either way we will never know what truly could have been.

#pokken tournament #fighting games #nintendo #video games #gaming

[starrypawz]

🍒 📙 and ⭐️ for Lark and/or Ronan? ✨

Jumbo Ask Game

What kind of things do they expect from their relationships? Does this differ between platonic relationships and romantic ones? Is your OC “demanding” or a door mat? What kinds of things do people expect from them in a relationship?

Both of them tbh are generally unused to relationships in any form?

Lark has more of a general distrust of people and ‘idk why anyone would genuinely want to be around me without wanting something from me or having some sort of other ulterior motive’ kind of vibe going on so tends to always have up a bit of a wall between them and others. It takes a lot for them to like willingly be open with someone. Lark is also used to not necessarily having much chance to form long lasting relationships with people so they don’t expect people to really stick around so why bother in the first place.

Ronan isn’t actually as distrusting as people would expect after what they’ve been through. Some of it is Ronan consciously trying to still cling to some ‘well people aren’t inherently horrible?’ mindset with a bit of ‘hope for the best expect the worst’. They’re also not really used to being like properly open and vulnerable with people and they’re just I think a bit unused to really being in relationships as a whole rather than having been burned in the past.

What kind of subjects (of conversation, of discussion, in school or whatever) does your OC find interesting or engaging or that they can talk for hours about? What kind of stuff do they just find fun?

What things bore your OC to tears and they couldn’t care less about? Why?

Ronan: answered already

Lark is a bit harder to get to engage in like in depth conversations, but they can end up being a bit of a ‘hidden depths’ sort.

It’s a bit of an old ingrained self defence device from years past where like in some situations being seen as being invested in something or seen as ‘trying to be smart’ was like you know a bad thing.  Lark is actually more likely to express said things through writing or has been known to in the past.

Lark’s topics of interest include history, horror movies, music, a fair smattering of information about zoology and the environment and knows quite a bit about space and tbh assorted potentially sort of morbid topics. Like expect Lark to point out a flower and then explain how it can be used as a horrible poison.

They have a few pet causes, they’re mainly invested in environmental issues and like human rights stuff in general that they try to keep invested. Lark probably would’ve fared well on a school debate team if they could’ve been convinced to try that out basically.

In terms of topics Lark is less invested in I would say a lot of like ‘mainstream society’ adjacent topics, like celebrity gossip, sports and the like.

Like Lark isn’t going to be all hipster/superior about it it’s just they’ve always had other stuff to focus on and then tbh I think they’ve become so slightly removed from like the mainstream it’s a bit like ‘what the heck even is this stuff anyway’

 What is your OC afraid of? Any crippling phobias or some such? How do they act when scared and what helps them calm down? Does anyone ever find your OC scary? Why?

putting under a cut due to the nature of this question, since it fears into general phobias and like mental health stuff

Lark tends to honestly act as if they’re pretty detached and unshakeable, it’s true to some extent. I’m not sure if Lark has anything that would necessarily count as a notable phobia,  it’s more a generalised discomfort and general expectation of ‘it’s not will shit hit the fan it’s WHEN’ they’re generally just uncomfortable being seen as vulnerable as a whole. On a more mundane level, Lark doesn’t find dolls as a whole scary but doesn’t trust ones with soundboxes, finds the voices creepy.

Lark is still very prone to panic attacks and like generally disassociating as a whole. As to what brings them back most of the time it is just like waiting it out until they get their head back together they’ve gotten a bit better at not lashing out in these moments either on themself or the room around them. Like I said they don’t like being seen as vulnerable so they seldom actively ask for help in these moments. If it’s a less severe like just attack of the heebie jeebies moment they often find listening to some music helps out or reciting random facts in their head.

Lark has def been seen as scary at points. Not so much these days but when they were younger they def had points they ended up intentionally or not leaning into the kind of ‘fuck around and find out’ sort of vibe. And has been known to be a bit volatile.

Ronan understandably does have a fair few things they’re scared of/highly concerned by. A lot of what it is comes under like general fears of loss and of failure, like a pressing one currently has been ‘what if I’ve done all this and then it’s all for nothing’. Ronan has found also they’ve become incredibly uneasy around very large windows, especially if said windows are high up, crowds are sometimes not fun and like they’re uneasy around heights, they didn’t used to be and it does bum Ronan out a bit as back in the day they did like parkour/freerun a lot, they’ve also got way more of a starle reflex than they used to so they have actually been scared by the toaster in recent times amongst other things

Ronan tbh can be quite good at compartmentalising fear in the moment and then tends to have a freak out in private once the situation is over. They’re prone to essentially just totally collapsing until it passes, they’ve been developing some better coping mechanisms since that don’t involve ‘im just gonna hop into the puppet for a bit nbd’

Ronan, i think has only been like seen as scary when they’ve been actively trying to do so adjacent to their villain persona or when in situations of grave danger. It’s not really been Ronan’s favoured tactic outside of that.

#heartbrreak #greenwarden lark samson #sidestep ronan brown

[mimiswitchywrites]

Not A Burden: Chapter 10

TW: SH references, attempted s****de and references, child/s***al a**se references (not graphic but enough that could be triggering).

period typical h***ph*bia

Master list or read on AO3

2.7k words

I refuse to proof read this chapter after spending four days on it so apologies for the inevitable errors you'll find.

If you want to be added to my taglist, message me or comment!

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Gwen liked to think that, after serving families from a young age, she was hard to surprise. That was, of course, until the enigma that was Miriam showed up. The girl, the woman was just so… SO. She was so pretty, so smart, so kind, so funny and so right for Gwen.

And Gwen, foolishly, thought Miri felt the same way. When she had admitted she was glad Merlin had interrupted her and Lancelot, her heart soared. The face Miriam had made upon hearing Gwen and Lancelot had once had relations practically confirmed that, her body draped in loving warmth.

But it was quickly shoved into the depths of ice as Miriam said those scathing words: “something so vile.” Was that truly what she thought? Was she pretending? Maybe so Gwen wouldn’t get the wrong idea and think she had a chance with the beautiful girl? It felt like Morgana all over again – she had found someone that she felt truly comfortable with and they ran off, leaving her to pick up the pieces of her broken soul alone.

But still, Gwen plastered on the servants smile that she had mastered over the years, and made her way about her duties, pretending everything was fine. Because everything was fine. It wasn’t like anything had happened or ever would happen and sure, Gwen had had a momentary lapse in judgement where she thought she could be truly happy with someone, but she would use this as a learning opportunity and would file it away as something to never allow to happen again. And if a tear slipped from her glassy eyes, well, good thing there was no one around to notice.

She breathed a sigh of relief upon finding Elyan’s note on the table: “I shall be spending the night with Gwaine, hopefully talking some sense into him. See you tomorrow dear sister, be well.” She loved him but the idea of explaining why she was in such a state was not something she favoured.

She sat on the creaky stool with a huff, pulling her shawl tighter around her shoulders, face burrowing into the fabric as if it were hugging her. At least something was. She stayed that way until the sun set, rocking back and forth very gently.

It was the way Miriam had said it that bothered her the most. She seemed to genuinely believe that a woman laying with another woman was disgusting, maybe even worth condemning by the god’s around them, and yet she was the one that suggested it. Why would she think of such things if she hated them? And yet, she had said that she had had a long day in the kitchens so maybe it was as she had said and she was just tired.

Gwen stood, pacing the length of her small hut.

She felt the need to apologise. To assure the girl that she had done no wrong and that it was Gwen that should have held her tongue. She probably shouldn’t have shared that she had been with Lancelot – especially not sharing a little of their more intimate relations – but there was something in her that told her it needed to be said. Maybe she wanted to put Miri off him. Was that selfish? Yes. And yet, it felt so right. There was a hint of relief in Miriam’s eyes, as if she was glad to have a reason to reject him.

Her heart fluttered again; Gwen pinched herself to force it to calm. She had no right seeing that as an opening for herself. What if Miri was uncomfortable with the situation with Lancelot? He was an honourable man, and he would back off immediately if he saw any sign of discomfort, but he was also passionate and that blinded him at times. Was it up to Gwen to step in? She should talk to Miriam. Yes, just to make sure that she understood where her courting could lead.

Gwen stopped in front of the wash bowl, splashing the chilled water on her face and neck. The cold was refreshing on her boiling skin – complicated emotions always made her warm. She took a moment to watch out the window and look up at the castle. She loved the way the candles flickered in the stained-glass window, creating beautiful colourful blobs that flittered about with the gentle breeze that would inevitably get into each room. The whole citadel was quiet tonight, as if giving Gwen peace to think. She hated it.

With yet another sigh, she forced herself to light the fire and heat the soup from the previous night. She hummed as she worked, determined to keep her thoughts in check with songs of Bears and Maidens.

As night set in, belly now full, Gwen prepared herself for bed. Her mind once again circled back to the beautiful girl as she put on her sleeping gown. She knew from the moment she saw Miri that there was something there, something that she was drawn to. She had to give her something, some reason to talk more, and so she had volunteered up a few old gowns for the girl to wear (Gwen did her best to ignore the image of the bloody dress in the bucket, soaking, as she recalled her first memory with her) and it had worked – they had spoken gently almost every day since then.

And now, Gwen thought, we may never again.

With that, Gwen curled up in a ball, pulling the itchy blanket over her head, and fell into a restless sleep.

--

When she woke, eyes caked shut with dried tears, Gwen made a plan. Sure, she felt like she was wearing a shops worth of armour – heart too heavy for her to move properly – but she was nothing if not efficient and a do-er and so her mind set to work.

Miriam was a good person, she had a pure soul – Gwen was sure of it – and so, saying something as… horrible as that must have been a lie. She was new to Camelot, brain in loops from her night in the woods and so she must not know the cities views on such relationships. Although, as she thought about it, Gwen realised that there wasn’t really much to prove Camelot had positive views on such things. There was Merlin and Arthur, of course, but not everyone saw them as she could and so why would someone new assume they would be okay with it? Maybe Gwen could talk to them, get them to tell Miri of their thoughts on the matter and prove her wrong? Show her that it wasn’t shameful and that such things were allowed to be talked about here?

And then what? It was foolish of Gwen to get her hopes up, to think that sharing this would make Miri like her. Like her.

Once again, Gwen’s heart fell.

As she looked in the mirror, tightening her floral corset that people always complimented her on, she imagined Miriam stood next to her. She could see the girl’s dark black hair cascading down her back, their eyes level – Miri was barely taller than Gwen – and they were smiling at each other. Gwen had noticed through stolen glances, that Miriam had three main ways of smiling. The first was her most frequent one: when she pretended she was doing well for people, such as Gaius who would question her on her emotional wellbeing daily. She could see the way it exhausted her to plaster such a look – ends of her mouth curled upwards – but she understood why she did such things. To admit her true feelings (Gwen didn’t pretend to know what they were, just that they were unlikely to be positive) would lead to her being stuck in the physicians chambers for longer, she wouldn’t be able to work in the kitchens and Gwen could tell that brought her true joy.

The smile she saw after meeting the girl the day before was the best smile she had seen in all her twenty-something years. Her eyes practically sparkled, singing her hearts joy, and the apples of her cheeks were full. She was light in her step, as if floating with happiness. The feeling was infectious.

The third smile was the one solely reserved for Gwen. It was the one she saw in the corner of her eye when busy, pottering around the room and clearing up after Gaius. She would pretend to be occupied, just so she could catch glimpses of it. She may not know why Miriam smiled like that, just for her, or why her cheeks glowed red each time she was caught looking, but she did know that it did wonderful things to the butterflies residing in her stomach.

That was the smile she imagined now, looking at the faux reflection of the girl next to her.

She sighed, pulling on her shawl.

--

By the time she had finished work that day, doing little jobs for whoever needed a helping hand, the sun was hiding behind the woods. She popped her head into Gaius’ chambers, asking where Miriam’s quarters were, before slowly setting off towards the servants’ lodgings. She was glad to have never needed to sleep within the castle – she found that living in the lower town, no matter how many drunkards would wake her with their shouts outside, created a much-needed gap between work and home life. They were kept well, there were plenty of people proficient at cleaning in this area of the castle, but Gwen noticed how much colder the stone felt without the fires being kept alight as they were in the parts of the castle that high born’s inhabited.

Gwen slowed her pace further as the end of the corridor came into view. Gaius said Miriam was in the room one from the end, on the left. She played over what she wanted to say, trying to form some sort of structure to the conversation but falling short. You should talk to Merlin and Arthur and Camelot is a kind Kingdom with accepting inhabitants and even if you do truly think people like that are vile, I cannot agree with you and I hope you accept that. She was less sure on that last point. It didn’t feel as if Miriam would think that but what if she did? Would Gwen even wish to stay friends with someone like that? Would it be safe for Merlin and Arthur to be friend with someone like that? She wasn’t so sure Arthur counted as her friend – she had heard conflicting reports on his thoughts towards the girl – but Merlin would definitely be affected by views such as that.

She stopped, the door within reach now. Her heart was racing, mind spinning. Despite trying to organise her thoughts for an entire day and night now, she was no closer to knowing what to say, not properly. How does one even broach the subject? She had to also be careful of the girls mental state – it was clear she did not want people walking on hot coals around her, but she couldn’t allow herself to be angry at the girl for what that could do.

She took a deep breath and listened, trying to ground herself.

There were voices inside. Although muffled, Gwen could make out the distinct, beautiful, melody of Miriam and, listening closer, Merlin.

Merlin. That was good. Maybe, if she knocked now, he could stay. That way, she would have someone to back her up that she knew would agree. Having him, she selfishly thought, also meant she wouldn’t have to bring her own feelings into the mix. She wouldn’t have to mention Morgana if someone that felt towards those of the same sex as was expected of the opposite was there.

She took a final breath of fresh air, pushing away the thoughts telling her to run and hide under her blanket.

She knocked.

And then again, just to be sure they would hear.

“Hello?” It was Miriam and, Gwen noticed, her voice was off – as if she were upset. That did not bode well.

“Miri?” She called, anxiety flowing through her whole body, “Can we talk?”

There was a pause and Gwen almost considered leaving, apologising for the interruption, and packing a bag. Maybe she could visit Ealdor and stay with Merlin’s mother for some time. Cleaning pig pens sounded far better than this—

The door opened and there she stood; eye’s glassy but still smiling hesitantly at Gwen. How did she still look so perfect when upset? Gwen’s nerves fluttered once again but, with a heavy swallow, she began, “Hi.” Her voice was quiet, but it brought Miri’s lips up more, evolving into that smile.

“Hi.”

“Hello Gwen.” Came Merlin’s voice from inside the room. Miriam opened the door up further, allowing Gwen to peer into the chamber. It was small – smaller than Gwen’s room – but, judging by the one bed, it was all for Miriam which was a rare occurrence from what Gwen understood. Miri stepped back, gesturing for Gwen to come in.

“Are you alright?” Miriam asked, face softening in concern as she noticed the way Gwen was wringing her hands with worry. She nodded, once again trying to form the introduction to the conversation.

“I wanted to talk. About yesterday. And my thoughts on that.” Gwen caught the way Merlin and Miriam’s eyes locked – clearly, he was aware of the situation which would make asking him to stay a lot easier, hopefully. “You can stay, Merlin.” She turned to him, eyes practically pleading. He nodded, sitting on the seat behind him.

Miriam sat on her bed (which creaked in protest) and patted the space next to her. With yet another deep breath, Gwen gathered her dress and sat – keeping a bit of distance between them.

“I’m sorry—”

“I don’t understand—” They started at the same time, breaking off with nervous giggles, heat rising in each of their cheeks. Merlin’s eyes darted between the two.

Gwen nodded for Miriam to start.

She took a second, eye’s tracing the serving girls soft features, and began, “I am sorry for how I reacted yesterday. I shouldn’t have said such things – both suggesting you should… consider other options, and for saying it is an unnatural passion.” She picked at her nail, stopping before it bled. “I should have kept quiet, I have no right to interfere in your personal life, and I most certainly shouldn’t have said anything about exploring it like that.”

Gwen’s stomach dropped. Did she still think it was wrong? Why must the girl be such an enigma?

“I can’t wrap my head around you. You are such a kind, pure hearted woman – I am sure of it – and yet you seem to truly be disgusted by the idea of woman laying with woman and man with man. Why is this so wrong? Is it not part of life to be pleasured? If one finds the person that fulfils that part of them, should they turn them away purely for how they were born?” Out the corner of her eye, Gwen noticed Merlin bite his lip and look down at his hands. She had no intention of raising her voice, but she was just so confused, and she needed answers.

“That’s not it, I just, I –” Miriam stood, wrapping her arms tight around her waist and pacing, “I am sorry that I am not the kind of person you thought I was.” Her face was dark, eyes blank and brows pulled tight. Merlin was looking at her with a curious expression, head tilted to the side as if that wasn’t what he had expected her to say either.

“Oh.” Gwen couldn’t form any other words, world busy crashing down around her. She was so sure that Miriam was a good person. That she was just putting up a front. That she meant something with the soft touches of her shoulder and back. That she did actually have a smile reserved just for Gwen, and that the blush meant something more.

But maybe Gwen was wrong: she clearly had been with Morgana.

“Well, I am sorry to have bothered you. Goodnight Merlin.” Her voice cracked but she kept her head high, taking her leave. Her hands shook – whether with anger or sadness, she couldn’t be sure – and so she balled her fists as she made the long walk home.

#not a burden #mimiswitchywrites

[purplesurveys]

724

From Head to Toe

What kind of shampoo and conditioner do you use? My shampoo is Dove and my conditioner is a local brand. What's your favorite color and brand of eyeshadow? I don’t do eyeshadow. I don’t know the first thing about makeup so whenever someone puts eyeshadow on me I just tell them to go with whatever shade they think would suit me, and thankfully they’ve always made good judgment calls lol. Ever use tinted mascara? I don’t think so. Do you think liquid eyeliner is too much or just right? Man, there’s more to head to toe than just makeup :/ I love liquid eyeliner, it’s the only piece of makeup I was ever invested in and had several of at one point. Lipstick or lip gloss? Lip gloss. I find lipstick too bold and the few times I wore it didn’t feel right for me.

One cosmetic product you can't live without is: Couldn’t care less, honestly. What lotion would you want to have a lifetime supply of? Am not a lotion girl either. The only reason I constantly have lotion is because everyone gives them as gifts, so with me it’s like while I use lotion regularly, I don’t have a go-to brand because I have various kinds haha. Innie or outie? Am an innie. Where is your biggest birthmark? The one behind my left shoulder is the most noticeable one. Are your toenails painted? No, they aren’t. Are your feet ticklish? The back of my feet used to be but through the years other parts of my body have become more ticklish.

Yummy in the Tummy

What's your position on sushi? Love them. Love all seafood. With sushi, the more unfamiliar the fish the better – I always love trying out new kinds. I do think sashimi is a tad bit better though. What about mushrooms? I can’t call myself a mushroom connoisseur haha I know so little about them cause they aren’t really a part of our cuisine. Is truffle a kind of mushroom? I like that, but that’s about it for my mushroom appreciation. Spicy food? You’re not Asian if you can’t handle spicy food and we’ve all been raised to enjoy them. I know only a handful of people who don’t like spicy food, but they’re picky enough eaters as it is so they don’t really count. Johnny Depp is taking you out! What restaurant do you choose? Idk, I’ll let him take me wherever he wants to eat. He deserves that after the shitfest that was Amber Heard. Favorite drink to order at the bar? Like I said in a previous survey, I’ll flock to the Long Island Iced Tea if they have it on the menu. I forgot my back-up whether it’s Screw Driver or Cosmopolitan, but it’s def one of those. For cheaper, more relaxed bars, I’d get a Zombie. Favorite wine? Hate wine. Favorite beer? I hate beer for the most part but we had had to cross paths in the past because some bars I’ve been to only served beer, blech. That said, I found myself enjoying Red Horse the most, followed by Pale Pilsen.

Favorite drink to cool off with? Just good old ice-cold water. Favorite drink to sip by the fire? I don’t really do that. Favorite midnight snack? Mi Goreng instant noodles. What's a food both you and your animal companion enjoy? Burgers. Filipino dogs or askals are accustomed to eating human food with no negative consequences because it’s how they’ve always gotten by, living on the streets; and since my dog is part askal he also loves his human food and started shunning dog food at a super early age.

Favorite snack when you're watching rented movies? I don’t rent movies but uhhhh I like having Potato Corner with me when I’m watching in the cinema, but I don’t typically eat anything if I’m only watching from home. What do you cook well? Nothing. Favorite food at a BBQ? Thanks, Tumblr; today I learned BBQ can refer to an event. Haha seriously though, I just learned that now because we don’t do that here.   Favorite soda when you were a kid? Always hated soda. Dessert you're craving right now? Red velvet cookie sandwiches sound so fucking good right now. Favorite fruit to put in a smoothie? It’s a big nope for me on smoothies, sir.

Good Times

Who do you know that gives the best hugs? Laurice. I don’t even have to think about this. She hugs everyone that enters Skywalk so she’s pretty much a master at the craft. Who took you on your most romantic date? I’ve only had dates with Gabie. Who do you know that can give a good back rub? I dunno. I’m ticklish, so I don’t like the idea of being massaged anywhere. I feel like I’d just flinch the second I feel someone’s hand on me. What's a song you and all your friends sing along with? Does it have to be sing? Super Bass is universally memorized as far as I know hahahaha. But if we’re going with sing, Edge of Glory is very well-loved too. When it's just you and the girls/guys, what movie do you put in? My friends and I don’t really do movie days/nights because we’re constantly busy with academics. The one time we watched a film, though, it was The Devil Wears Prada. Best party you ever threw? I’ve never thrown a party for myself. My best big party remains to be my 7th; my parents really pulled out all the stops for that and it’s still memorable for me until today. 7th birthdays are a bit of a big deal in Philippine tradition (I never really knew why lol) so my party was organized in a way an 18th birthday would be, but some parts were obviously tweaked to be fitting for a 7 year old – it was held at a ballroom in Makati Shang, my mom used plush flowers for my 7 roses, all the kids that were invited had to be in gowns, etc.

Who was with you on the coolest road trip ever? I haven’t had a cool road trip yet. The few road trips I’ve had with friends I was the sole driver, and I was always left feeling completely pooped at the end of the day -__- Who was with you on the coolest camping trip ever? I’ve never camped before. Who would you take with you on a luxury cruise? My girlfriend, but you knew that already. I suppose going on a cruise with my college friend group would be chaotic fun too haha. Who was with you the last time you got into trouble? I got in trouble in a PE class, so I was with my classmates. Who's got your back in a fight? The top three people I can think of are Gabie, Angela, and Andrew. Who makes you feel gorgeous on a bad day? Also my girlfriend. Who makes you laugh until you cough blood? That’s...graphic lmao, but I’d go with either Aya or Jum. Who would you take with you as a date to your sister's wedding? Again, Gabie. Name the first five friends that come to mind. ^ Her, Kate, Laurice, Andrew, Angela.

Hobbies and Interests

What keeps your mind and hands busy when you're not at work? If I don’t have to be doing any work you can usually find me lounging with my phone or laptop. What bars or clubs would we expect to find you at? Nothing you know. I typically go to the bars along the street where my university is since they’re close enough, it’s a lively and popular hub for college kids, and the drinks are cheap. I’ll sometimes go to BGC for drinks but that is extremely random; I probably go there twice or thrice a year. What magazines do you or would you subscribe to? Haven’t thought about magazines in a looong time. If you started a book club, what genre would you be covering? Anything nonfiction I suppose. The only time I’ll cover fiction is if a book is historical fiction. If you could be president of a club or organization, what would it be? My own org’s. I had the opportunity to be president this year but I passed up the chance since I didn’t want my senior year to become too hectic, especially since I was running for honors and I had joined another organization. I went for a certain vice presidency position instead. What causes would we see you protesting on behalf of? Anything to do with women’s rights, anything anti-Duterte or anti-Marcos, anything to support the working class if they are being abused. Do you like to shop for clothes by yourself or with friends? I like having a second opinion. Yoga at home or at the gym? No yoga. Where would you want to work, if you could? WWE.

Odds & Ends

Did you wish on the last shooting star you saw? That hasn’t happened in a very long time. I would though, just to feel like a kid again. Are you a fabulous host? I haven’t held the responsibility of being a host yet hahaha I’m too scared to start. I’d rather hand the job to my friends who I know can do an exponentially better job than I would. Why won't jeans ever go out of style? Because they aren’t limiting and are incredibly versatile – mom jeans, ripped jeans, bell bottoms, skinny jeans, what have you – so it’s been easy to have them adjust to whatever style is trendy any time, any decade. Is the truth really out there? Ugh, get out philosophy questions it is 3:07 AM. Assuming you ever have kids, what will you name your daughter? Your son? Olivia for a girl. Still clueless about boy names. Has anyone ever crossed oceans of time to find you? No? Admit it, you loved Dirty Dancing. I’ve never even seen it.

The Name Game

Who's the first friend you call when you wanna go out? Laurice or Angela, depending on who is free or what I wanna do – if it’s to have drinks I call Angela, if it’s to get a lunch at Area 2, Laurice. Who's the first friend you call when you wanna hang in for the night? I don’t do that. If I have plans to hang in the evening I have to have every detail mapped out – who I’ll be with, what we’ll do, whose house we’ll be staying at – days in advance because my mom is strict and because I’m Asian lmaooooo Who do you call when you're freaking out? Gabie, always. Only she knows how to calm me down. If Gabie’s the one I’m having issues with, I go to Angela. Who do you call to try something new with you? Anyone who’s down to try the new thing, honestly. Who do you call when you need bail money? Myyyyyyy dad, probs. My mom would kill me. Who would kick someone's ass for you? My girlfriend. Who would lie to keep you out of trouble? ANGELA. Sometimes when I’m at home I’ll get a text from her saying, “If my mom calls you, tell her I’m with you studying” even if she’s somewhere either drinking or hanging at Hans’ condo. I’ve pulled the same shit with her too whenever I’m at Gabie’s place. Who would make you go to the gym, even if you're too tired? I don’t think anyone would be able to pull that off. If I’m too tired already, don’t force me to do anything. Who would come take care of you if you were sick? Realistically my dad. But I wish Gab can do it, too. Who would help you host a posh dinner party? Jofab probably. The guy can cook. If we were any closer, I’d recruit him to make some damn good steak and pick out the music to play. I’d also ask Laurice to come up with the decor, since she’s good at that stuff. Who would help you clean your house before you had houseguests? Out of all the people I know, only my mom could make an area completely spotless. Who would enjoy watching Disney movies with you? Gabie. But really, how are you? I’m doing okay, but I really must head to bed after this survey lol. Did you make sure to get in some "you" time today? I’ve had tons of that this whole month. I gotta say I’ve been needing it and it feels really good. How many loved ones did you get to talk to today? I think 11? – four in my immediate family, my dog, my lola, Tito Rocky, Gab, Angela, Andrew, Leigh. Gonna treat yourself to something tonight? Sleep. What would you like to dream about tonight? I’m not hoping for anything but my recent dreams HAVE been part odd and part hilarious so I’m kinda excited to see what my mind has in store for tonight. Did anyone hurt your feelings today? Nope. Do you have a furry companion to cuddle up and read a book with tonight? I have a furry companion but he hates staying on beds, so I’m ruling out cuddling.

Before we part...

What's your name? Robyn. What's your sign? Zodiac? Taurus. Ever had Chicken Guadalahara? No, I’ve never even heard of it. Always willing to try, though. Daquaris or Margaritas? Margaritas, but only because I don’t think I’ve tried the first one before. Ceasar's or Bloody Mary's? Neither. I’ve never tried Ceasar’s and Bloody Mary is just so fucking nasty to me. Mexican food or Italian food? Italian. I very rarely crave Mexican, but Gab and I will often have dates at Mama Lou’s, our go-to Italian restaurant. Ocean, lake, or river? Ocean.

Cabin in the woods or beachfront home? Beachfront, for sure. I don’t think I could ever get tired of the beach/sea/ocean. Karaoke or dancing? Neither if I’m sober, both if I’m drunk. All or nothing? All.

#survey #surveys

[newhopegeorgie]

reunited I r.b

(hello! i’ve been away on vacation but i’m finally back with another one shot. this one was based on a request from the very kind @wallows-spring. i hope you enjoy it! if it isn’t exactly what you wanted or envisioned then feel free to send in another request with some more details and i’d be happy to rewrite it for you! anyways, hope you all like it, feedback is always appreciated and requests are open if you’d like to send one in <3)

When New Hope Club announced that they were finally doing a show in your home country you were ecstatic. You’d been following the band since the beginning and only been able to see them perform live once. That was a year ago. You’d begged your mom to let you travel to a different country to go see their show and thankfully she decided to let you. Of course, you’d interacted with the boys on social media, they even followed you, but it wasn’t anywhere near the same as seeing them in person, and you really missed them.

But they’d just released some new tour dates and finally, your country was one of them. It took you no time at all to secure your tickets, making sure you were going to the meet and greet as well. You posted a screenshot on Twitter, tagging the boys and expressing your excitement for the show.

A few minutes later your phone dinged. You didn’t really think anything of it until it started blowing up with notifications. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion and went to see what was going on. Your mentions on Twitter were going insane with your followers and some friends congratulating you. You wondered what it was you did that warranted congratulations, but then you realized. A few minutes ago, Reece had replied to your tweet about your tickets.

@ NewHopeReece: So happy you’re excited love. Can’t wait to see you it’s been so long xx

You’d be lying if you said your heart didn’t jump as you read his tweet. You were surprised by his message, definitely not thinking he’d ever remembered having met you before. The butterflies in your stomach were going crazy and you only felt more excited to meet the boys, despite your show being about two months away.

As the day got closer you posted updates on Twitter, not being able to contain yourself. Every few days you’d send out ‘29 more days!’ or an ‘only 2 weeks left !!’. And every time, without fail, Reece would like your tweet. He almost seemed more excited than you were, not that you were complaining. 

Your show was the next day and you felt bits of your excitement turn to nerves. You’re overthinking had taken up most of the space in your brain, meaning to have posted a ‘tomorrow!’ update on Twitter but completely forgetting. A notification on your phone broke through your loud thoughts and you went to see what it was. A new tweet from Reece.

@ NewHopeReece: one more day! @ yourtwitter x

You swore felt your heart stop for a second. Had he been counting down too? You quickly retweeted it and sent it to your friends, being met back with ‘he’s def in love w you’ and ‘you guys are my faves’. You laughed softly at their responses before continuing on with your day. Your mentions were full of other fans saying how cute they thought it was or how they couldn’t wait to see videos of you and Reece meeting. All the kind words made you smile.

That night you couldn’t sleep. You were way too excited to shut your eyes for more than 2 minutes, let alone enough time for you to actually drift off. You’d already spent much of your time procrastinating sleeping. You’d picked out what you were going to wear, practiced your hair and your makeup. Hell you’d even practiced faces to make in your pictures with the boys, you told yourself it was so you didn’t have to worry about not liking your pictures, so you felt less silly about the whole thing. You really didn’t want to be tired though, so you willed your body to sleep despite your racing thoughts trying to keep you up.

•••

The next morning was kind of a blur. You were practically on autopilot as you got ready. All your brain could seem to do was theorize every possible way you could screw this up. You tried not to dwell on it but the thoughts kept nagging you at the back of your mind. You friends had come over not too long ago to get ready with you, as you were all going to the show together. They’d helped put your mind at ease, telling you Reece was probably even more nervous than you, making you chuckle a bit.

“Seriously Y/N, I’m pretty sure you have nothing to worry about,” one of them reassured you.

“Yeah, literally listen to what he just tweeted. ‘@ yourtwitter todays the day x’. Even he’s counting down,” another said with a laugh. Their words made you feel a bit better about the situation and you decided to stop worrying and just let yourself enjoy the night. 

After everyone was finished getting ready, you all headed out. The meet and greet didn’t even start for a few hours so you and your friends decided to go get lunch first. You took a picture of your meal, and your friends sitting across the table from you and posted it to Twitter. 

@ yourtwitter: concert pregame with these girlies lol

A few minutes later you got a notification. And, yet again, Reece responded to you.

@ NewHopeReece: Didn’t even invite me? I’m hurt @ yourtwitter

You gaped at his message, quickly turning your phone to show your friends what he’d said. “What am I supposed to say?” you asked them. Your friend took your phone from your hands, typing out a response and sending it before handing your phone back to you.

@ yourtwitter: haha i’ll bring you something i promise xx @ NewHopeReece

You laughed at her message, thinking it was funny and that’d be the end of the conversation. But not even a minute later Reece tweeted at you again.

@ NewHopeReece: I’m holding you too that ;) @ yourtwitter

“I was kidding when I put that but now you really have to get him something,” your friend said laughing. You rolled your eyes at her, making a mental note to buy him a cookie on your way out of the cafe.

It was finally time for the meet and greet and you and your friends had just entered the venue. You definitely weren’t the first ones there but you also weren’t too far back in line so you were happy. You felt your excitement rising as you waited, gradually moving closer to the boys. You chatted happily with your group, the cookie you’d bought for Reece held in your hands. The boys were stood in order of George, then Blake, and Reece at the end so you were going to meet him last.

As you got to the front of the line your friends hastily pushed you forward to go first. You approached George with a wide smile on your face. He welcomed you with open arms, saying hello to you. You hugged him tightly and asked him for a picture together. He was incredibly sweet just as you’d expected. The two of you got to talk for about a minute before you were ushered to move on.

When you got to Blake it went about the same as with George. Hugs and pictures and getting to chat for a bit. “Reece is very excited to see you,” he said, handing your phone to you after getting a couple pictures. You let out a giddy laugh, “Seriously?” you asked him. He nodded his head quickly at you. “Hasn’t stopped talking about it. You might wanna go say hi before he shouts at me for taking up all your time.” He said lightheartedly. He gave you one last hug before sending you on your way towards Reece.

His face brightened as he saw you, immediately scooping you up into a tight embrace. “Reunited at last!” he shouted. A few fans that were in line laughed at your little reunion. “It's been so long, I’ve missed you, love!” He let you out of his hug and held your arms, keeping you close as he spoke to you.

“I know, it's been forever!”

“Do you want a picture?” he asked, gesturing to your phone. You nodded and he took it from your grasp, throwing his arm around your waist to take a few photos with you. You thanked him once he was done, shoving your phone into your pocket. “Now if I’m not mistaken, you promised me something earlier.” He said in a teasing tone. 

“I did promise you something,” you laughed. You handed him the cookie that you’d gotten for him, “I don’t break promises Bibby,” you said, teasing him back. His face lit up as he took it from you.

“I thought you were joking! Wow, you really are the best,” he said to you, pulling you into his side for another hug. You smiled brightly at him, gladly accepting his warm embrace.

“I’m kind of sad, I don’t want to wait another year to see you again,” you frowned, a half-hearted laugh escaping your lips. Reece placed the cookie on a table not too far from him, frowning at your statement.

“Awe, love I don’t either. I promise we’ll figure something out, I won’t make you wait long.”He looked you in the eyes and for some reason, you trusted that he meant it. One of the event coordinators was trying to move you along, saying you were out of time. Reece hugged you one last time before you had to leave. “The boys and I have a free day tomorrow before we leave, I’ll dm you,” he whispered to you. The coordinator was now rushing you off, getting impatient. You smiled at him, saying goodbye as you left, not before seeing Reece send you a subtle wink.

After the meet and greet you got to enjoy the concert. It was amazing, exceeding all your expectations. It went by far too quickly for your liking and before you knew it, you and your friends were leaving the venue. You all talked a mile a minute, recounting everything that's gone on the past few hours. Your Twitter was flooded yet again and you wondered what's happened.

You opened the app to find countless videos of your interaction with Reece. People were tagging you and him, saying how they shipped you two or thought you guys were adorable. You smiled at the messages, liking and retweeting a few that made you laugh. You wondered to yourself if Reece was actually serious about dming you like he said he would. Of course, you wanted nothing more than to receive a message from him, but then again he was Reece Bibby so you didn’t get your hopes up.

•••

 The next day you woke up to the sun shining in your eyes. You smiled to yourself, replaying the previous day over in your mind. You rolled over in bed to go through your phone, much like you did every morning. You’d gone through most of your social media, tapping on the Twitter icon last, opening up the app. You saw a dm notification and furrowed your eyebrows, confused. When you clicked on it you felt your heart jump to your throat, not believing what you had just read.

From @ NewHopeReece: Hey love, it’s Reece. You busy today? x

#reece bibby #reece bibby imagine #reece bibby one shot #reece bibby fluff #blake richardson #george smith #new hope club #new hope club one shot #x reader #reece bibby x reader #request

[artificialqueens]

afraid (aristique) - melody

Summary: Plastique and Ariel couldn’t be happier, their love was a cherry blossom in a warm spring afternoon: flourishing and flourishing. It flourished and flourished, until somehow challenging nature thorns started to grow in the twigs. It was time to meet Plastique’s parents, that thing itself made Ariel go crazy. Read on ao3 / writing blog /main blog

A/N: Hello! I’m melody, formerly mai as some of you might know me (or even as uranus trash sjfdhjfggjkhgjkf), and I decided to change my pen name because of some stuff so I hope you like this new brand <3 This is part of the feelings are chemicals!verse such as “chemistry” and “falling in love in a coffee shop”, so if you wanna catch up feel more than welcome <3. Hope you like this piece, as always thanks to the amazing @ artificialmeggie for beta reading this, I’ll be eternally grateful  for having her in my life <3  My new url on the writing blog is “artificiallymelody” so feel free to follow!

Me:  I can’t do this, I’m not going.

Ariel sighed, in the middle of her heavy tears as she typed the short sentence and threw her phone away in the bed - she was so messed up that she didn’t care if it was going to break or anything. That simple message revealed a lot of fear. She didn’t even care about what Vanessa - her best friend - would say. Vanije wasn’t the kind of girl who judged, but she knew she was persistent and would try to convince her at every cost.

Well, unfortunately her phone didn’t break, because it wouldn’t stop beeping. This time it wasn’t Vanessa, but her girlfriend, probably very worried about her. The same girlfriend she was going to let down, and who planned that whole night for them, who was the sweetest thing in the world. Ariel being such a coward probably hurt Plastique, and while Ariel had no sensibility when hurting other people, hurting her girlfriend made her want to punch herself in the face.

Princess plastique 🎀✨💞:  C’mon Ariel… I already said I’m sorry

I know my parents are scary but please… You’re really making me sad by ignoring my texts

…I love you

If they ever hurt you I swear I’ll fight, you know I’d do anything for you babyyyyy

Just… Please

Ariel?

We can eat pizza at my place if you want, cancel all this stuff, I was excited and planned it with my heart but… I really care about you, just please answer my texts

You don’t need to go if you don’t want to

Guess I’ll have dinner alone with my parents then.

I really love you :( please don’t give up on me, on us… We’ve come so far

They’ve come so far… It was true. Ariel used to be very negative, she used to not be in touch with her feelings - hiding them, just as she was doing right now - and Plastique caught her attention since the first minute she saw her walking in the hallways of the Fashion Institute of Technology. They shared a very boring class in the course they were doing, and Plastique was the only thing that made her attend that class without fail.

It didn’t take long until they started flirting and having a fling. But it never was more than a fling because Ariel had ugly actions - pretty on the outside, ugly on the inside - that made her sad. When she saw that girl that gave her palpitations in the heart get away from her, she knew she needed to change, that she needed to stop being such a coward. She did it for Plastique, and for herself, and it worked: their love now was a cherry blossom in a warm spring afternoon.

It flourished and flourished, until somehow challenging nature thorns started to grow in the twigs. It was time to meet Plastique’s parents, that thing itself made Ariel go crazy. They both came from wealthy families, but Ariel’s was more liberal than anything. They never minded their daughter liking girls - her mother was biseuxal, actually - and were the kind of bohemian rich family; traditionality was a thing she never knew. She liked that, that her mom was the boss and that her dad was her business partner, that they were a team, that they raised Ariel and incentives her to choose the path she wanted in her life - and ironically, to match her uncertain last name, she chose fashion.  

Her surname was Versace, but she didn’t have a connection with the actual Versace family at all - what everyone mistook. She heard from her parents that her dad was a very distant bastard cousin from one of the Versaces and that was they preferred to have the name - it was pretty fancy after all. But her family’s wealth was concentrated on her parents company - that obviously didn’t take the Versace name, but used ‘’Neel’’ instead. That was her mom’s name.

Plastique’s family was a traditional family. The Edwards were pretty reserved, and if Plastique was shy, quiet, and polite nowadays it was because of the many etiquette classes she told Ariel her parents made her do. They weren’t very happy with her studying Fashion - they wanted the perfect Patricia Edwards to be a doctor or something - and Ariel was sure they would explode if they knew she was a lesbian.

It seemed like Plastique knew it too, because she told her parents Ariel was a boy. That was the reason she was a mess in first place; if meeting Ariel’s parents was already stressing, now it was impossible. She got to control herself thanks to Vanessa to meet her parents, and to find the perfect dress - Ariel’s dresses were ‘’too slutty’’ for Plastique’s parents fancy noses, but now all the control she had was falling apart.

Ariel just wanted to run away.

Vanije 👯‍♀️:

Bitch, put yourself together! I’ll be there in a minute, I love you

Well, she couldn’t, because nothing would stop Vanessa now. She knew the girl since they were dumb middle school girls, she knew she wouldn’t give up easily. Neither would Ariel.

Vanessa Vanije Matteo was what you called the most persuasive person in the world. She entered Ariel’s apartment determined, like solving Ariel’s mess depended on her life. Ariel cursed herself for giving her extra keys. Great, now it cost her peace and safe crying space. Vanije was like hurricane in her speech; she talked so fast that Ariel could swear she almost got thrown to the other side of the room.

‘’Bitch I’m here, get out of this bed right now! I’m here to-’’

As a defense mechanism to avoid that, she began to sing. She always sang when she was nervous or just trying to shake off the bad feelings, she knew that would distract Vanessa - and herself.

‘’ Bitch, I’m here to fuck you up,’’ Ariel sang, trying to clean up her tears and make some fun. ‘’Wanna make your bottle pop, ooh nah’’

‘’Ariel, my hoe, this isn’t time for Charli, you know how much I love her but I’m being serious-’’

‘’I’m ‘bout to drop!’’ Ariel yelled in Vanessa’s ears. ‘’Looking like wow.’’  Vanessa sighed: ‘’Are you really doing this, bitch? Are you testing me?’’

‘’We spending ‘cause we got this.’’

Vanessa rolled her eyes in redemption to Ariel’s loudly yelling: ‘’ These dollars all in my pockets’’

‘’I’m like a diamond in the sky, so high.’’  And they laughed, that was enough to make Ariel’s rough heart warmer, and less worried with everything and anything. There was a time where it was all laughs, no worries, just a warm friendship. Three years ago, when they were still in high school, Trophy came out and it automatically became the duo’s song to jam to. Ariel had lost the count of how many times they danced to it electrically at multiple parties.

But it was time for the laughs to go away, and the tears to take place. Ariel knew Vanije was persuasive, but she also felt so comfortable venting to her. She sobbed her heart out telling how much she loved Plastique, that her parents thought Ariel was a boy and when they found out the truth she would never see Plastique again. Even if they accepted her as a lesbian - which was hard - they would think their daughter was too good for her…

‘’Look at me.’’ Vanessa cleaned the black trails of mascara on Ariel’s face; it was dramatic - like she was a movie star.

‘’I can’t-’’

Her phone beeped again:

Princess plastique 🎀✨💞:

Ariel I swear to god, they are waiting for you, they are excited to meet you

A billion of angry replies passed on Ariel’s mind.

Me:  Oh are they excited to meet me Patricia? Or are they excited to meet Ariel Versace the heterosexual boy?

Princess plastique 🎀✨💞:  Hey you have all the right to be angry baby. Yes I know I screwed up, but I’m willing to tell them, we’ve got this… It’s all about our love. if hey ever hurt you I swear to god I’ll hurt them back.

Me:  But dolly, you are baby you can’t hurt a fly

Princess plastique 🎀✨💞  For you I would kill a lot of flies >:(

No jk I wouldn’t kill the poor things :(, but I’d def fight my shitty parents

Ariel smiled to the phone, Vanessa placed a hand on her shoulder: ‘’You know she loves you, you love her. Are you going to stay here and cry? Watch a dumb girl movie with your best friend and eat more pizza than your diet allows?’’

It was one of Vanessa’s pep talks, and they always made Ariel laugh hard.

‘’…Or are you going to fight for her? Fight for Miss Patricia, she loves you! I’ve known you for an annoying amount of time, and I know Ariel motherfucking Versace doesn’t give up on anything!’’

It was true, Ariel would never give up on the girl who made her heart warm, or held her hand when she felt Ariel was scared - Ariel would never say she was, but Plastique knew. They would fight it together, she was Ariel, Versace or Neel. Her family never gave up, she would never give up… Now she had a face to redo, and a Vanije in the room putting on their old high school playlist.

‘’Let’s go lesbians’’

[…]

Looking flawless was a matter that Ariel mastered easily, so in a few minutes she looked like a goddess. Her white turtleneck dress wasn’t that short, and her makeup skills made her go from crying mess to dressed to impress. In theory she was constantly trying to remember herself - now in Vanessa’s voice - that she was enough, and that she and Plastique had this. But in practice she was tempted to start biting her nails - even if she just painted them.

The drive to the restaurant was chaotic for the very least to be said. Ariel wasn’t the best driver in the world - her parents surely were way too liberal, they gave her a car even if she was a disaster driving that - and now that she was nervous she was sure that she would have her car crashed and die - in fact, she almost did. What was she doing again when she was taking the driving lessons from her family’s chauffeur? Oh yeah, she remembered: she was reading fashion magazines instead, but in her defense if that car was a dress she would one hundred percent know how to make that cute with sneakers instead of heels.

With no car crashings - for her luck - and an impression eating fast timing, Ariel was in the restaurant. One of the fanciest restaurants of New York, the pressure was high. Plastique’s parents were really invested in knowing who her daughter was dating. Ariel went there before, so it wasn’t a problem for her; she liked the atmosphere of fancy restaurants a lot. She was scared, walking through the tables like a small fish in an ocean full of sharks - until she found the table of sharks she looked for so much.

Plastique’s parents were for the very least, classy, in an old school way - her dad wore a monocle, a monocle for world’s sake. Her mom had the biggest pearl necklace Ariel had ever seen, and a big beauty queen blonde her that was a big contrast with her bright blue eyes. She imagined them to be serious and rigid, Plastique’s dad surely seemed to be, but her mom talked loudly and witty about something - she seemed to be such a fun figure.

Ariel stopped observing, and in five steps that seemed to be five steps to her death, she shuttered a bunch of words she didn’t even processed right: ‘’G-goodnight’’

Plastique smiled in surprise to see her girlfriend, and blinked to her. Suddenly Ariel remembered why she had to do everything right: she would fight for her girl, you could be sure of that.

‘’Oh who’s this beauty darling?’’ Alyssa turned her head to Ariel with a friendly look. ‘’Aren’t you the bastard Versace children? I know your dad from college, honey we used to smoke pot together.’’

Plastique’s dad, an old serious Vietnamese man looked at Alyssa with the coldest look.

‘’What?! It was in college, stop being so grumpy’’

‘’Who are you? Are you Patricia’s friend? We were waiting for her boyfriend Ariel, we didn’t knew her friend was coming too.’’ Her dad split the words on Ariel’s face harshly, but it didn’t take Ariel down.

‘’In fact…’’ She smiled ‘’I’m Ariel, nice to meet you’’

The old man seemed like he was having a stroke; he literally choked on his drink with Ariel’s speech, while Alyssa had a kind of playful glow in her eyes. Plastique had a worried semblance, looking at her parents and to Ariel awkwardly.

‘’B-baby why don’t you sit?’’ Plastique shuttered.

‘’Baby? Are you kidding me, Patricia?’’ her dad yelled as Ariel took a seat beside Plastique.

‘’Look my dear, let the girl explain herself,’’ Alyssa intervened. ‘’Hi Ariel, we are excited to meet you aren’t we?’’

‘’…I’m not.’’ her dad looked at Ariel like he wanted to kill her. ‘’I’m not okay with the fact my daughter is a dyke, I’m sorry Alyssa but this won’t happen.’

‘’Dad, we didn’t even order…’’ Plastique seemed like she wanted to cry.

Damn, damn, damn. Ariel just wanted to hold her, she held her hand under the table, Plastique’s weak fingers squeezing Ariel’s in a cry for comfort. Ariel rubbed her thumb on Plastique’s hand, telling her everything was okay as they always did, it was such an intimate gesture in the middle of that whole hurricane.

She wanted the peace, the love, the healing they always felt when they were together. That moment was one thing, chaotic, and the poor fragile Plastique was in the middle of that. If she could, she would… She would fight her dad, but Ariel was paralyzed, she didn’t know how to react, just to hold Plastique’s hand as strong as she could.

‘’Do you even listen to yourself, Patricia? We raised you to be our heir, our treasure, you would marry a rich man and be an influential woman in high society… And if you marry… This girl, what will they think of you? She’s a bastard, and a girl! Do you think high society will accept you? Are you a lesbian now? Do you think a lesbian has success in her life?’’

Tears started to go down Plastique’s face. No, no, no… Ariel wanted to play with her hair until she calmed down, to kiss her forehead and make her the chamomile tea she knew she enjoyed that so much. Ariel wanted to be there for her, to fall asleep with her in her arms, the world would be a safe place. But now she could only rub her thumb on Plastique’s hand trying to give her the bare minimum of comfort she could at that moment.

‘’Well I am, but you never listened to me did you dad? Did you ever pay attention? And this girl here is the best thing that ever happened to me. She’s kind, she’s lovely, she has personality, and her arms are safer than any of your expensive security equipment could be. I love her!’’

‘’You don’t love her, we don’t approve this!’’

‘’I do, look at us, we are in love.’’ Plastique raised Ariel’s hand holding hers over the table, now it was visible - not just to her parents, but the whole restaurant was looking at them.

‘’Darling…’’

‘’Don’t interrupt me, Alyssa… Well, you can live without our money and with… this.’’ He looked at Ariel with the most disgusted face. ‘’Or fucking be normal and end this lesbian bullshit, right now’’

Violently crying, Plastique left the table and the restaurant, like a princess running away from her abusive, sick, and homophobic tower. Ariel’s first instinct was to go find her, outside the restaurant, sitting by the fountain, crying her soul out. She looked so weak, unprotected, now it was the right time to hold her. Ariel loved that girl so much… Usually, she made people cry, but seeing Plastique cry was like experiencing a thunderstorm.

‘’Baby…’’ she held her, she held her as tightly as she ever had Plastique sobbed even more. ‘’Shh, shh, I’m here, it’s okay.’’ She kissed her forehead.

‘’Don’t look at me I’m pathetic, I’m so sorry… This was such a dumb idea… I just thought they would change, that they loved me.’’

‘’No it wasn’t, you’re perfect Patricia, they are bullshit. Fuck it if they disown you, I have money, I can afford a pretty comfortable life for both of us baby, my parents would love you… God they would never stop talking about you, in fact I think they would like you more than they like me.‘’

‘’I don’t wanna be a weight for you Ariel, I’m such a failure…’’

‘’No you aren’t’’ Alyssa’s voice was irreplaceable. ‘’My daughter is everything but a failure, and I know that since I saw her stupid cute face after long hours of labor.’’

‘’Mom, what are you doing here?’’ Plastique asked surprised, cleaning her tears.

‘’Do you think I was going to support your father on his bullshit?’’

‘’Well…’’

“Sweetheart, I love you, and I’m sure Miss Thing here is as lovely as she seems. I see that in the way she looks at you, in the way she holds your hand, calms you down…’’ Alyssa looked at them fondly ‘’I always knew you were gay, since you spied the neighbor because she went to a preparatory school and that skirts were… Well…’’

Plastique blushed, Alyssa placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘’And it’s okay, I’m gonna change his mind I promise, I always do.’’

This fond moment meant so much for Ariel because she saw Plastique smile again. Her radiant smile was more precious than the diamond necklace she wore, more beautiful than all her dresses put together - Plastique was art, the most beautiful thing in the world, nothing could be ever compared. Ariel wondered if she knew how beautiful she was, how she made her heart skip a bit every time she smiled, how much everything she did meant for her.

So enamored, they were hugging each other. After all they got this, Plastique wasn’t lying at all - they were stronger with that, even if they didn’t have Alyssa’s support, they would get over this. Because they were so powerful, their love was a rose with a lot of thorns, but that thorns made them stronger to the world. Alyssa gave her a weird comfortable feeling, holding Ariel’s hands and looking directly to her eyes: ‘’You have my blessing, please take good care of her, she’s so fragile…’’

‘’I’m not a fragile thing needing to be protected!’’ Plastique crossed her arms.

‘’Baby I would love to agree with you but last week you cried when I showed you a kitty video.’’

‘’That kitty was so cute! It made me emotional.’’ Plastique complained ‘’I’m not fragile hmph’’

‘’Okay sweetheart you aren’t’’ Alyssa patted her head.

‘’Thank you mom.’’

‘’I’m lying, she’s such a baby and if you hurt her I’ll kill you bitch.’’

‘’Mom!’’ Plastique seemed mad ‘’Ariel don’t listen to her.’’

‘’You look so cute when you’re grumpy princess.’’

‘’No, not cute. Dangerous. I’m dangerous.’’ Plastique pouted.

Ariel kissed her pout: ‘’A dangerous cutie’’

To make Ariel’s heart burst into an explosion one more time, Plastique smiled, and she smiled back kissing her forehead. They didn’t even care if they were in front of Alyssa, but they got the woman sobbing.

‘’I can’t with you two, I’m so happy for you, truly.’’ Alyssa smiled to the fond moment ‘’…Now I have to get in again, what are you doing tonight?’’ she sighed.

‘’I promised Miss Versace some pizza at my place if it all went wrong, I guess we are watching a movie too. I don’t know.’’

‘’Yes babe Mean Girls and cuddle.’’ Ariel blinked.

Alyssa looked at both sides: ‘’Can I go with you? I don’t wanna bear Mr. Edwards and his bullshit tonight, to be fair honest I love him, but sometimes…’’

‘’Yes mom of course!’’ Plastique seemed electric as a child on a playground. ‘’It will be so fun, I didn’t see it coming, I know a very good pizza place. We can get delivery-’’

‘’Shhh Patricia, I know you’re excited’’ Alyssa patted her head. ‘’I hope I’m not third wheeling, and I want your hands in a place I can see them.’’

Plastique blushed so hard, Ariel cracked and couldn’t stop laughing. ‘’Bold of you to think you will even see them.’’

‘’Ariel! No mom isn’t true don’t worry.’’

‘’Patricia it’s okay people fuck, how do you think you were born?’’

Now Plastique was red as Alyssa’s lipstick.

And the following events were full of fond laughter and blushed cheeks - full of family. Plastique fell asleep in Ariel’s arms, and even in the dark she could swear she was the cutest thing in the world. Alyssa could too, she looked at them like she just saw the same kitty video that made Plastique cry from joy.

#rpdr fanfiction #ariel versace #plastique tiara #aristique #vanessa vanjie mateo #alyssa edwards #fluff #rare pair #hurt/comfort #angst with a happy ending #lesbian au #college au #s11 #melody #tw homophobia #tw slurs against lesbians #concrit welcome #submission

[caatws]

how to understand tv ratings (so you’ll be prepared for cancellation/renewal announcements)

as most of you know, i had an internship last semester where one of my duties for the company was tracking and analyzing tv ratings. while i’m no expert on this yet, i worked with way more knowledgeable ppl than me on this and learned a couple things about ratings that i definitely didn’t know before, so i thought i’d share some of it now that b99 is back on and we def don’t want a repeat of last year’s debacle.

(also, i’ll be tracking and analyzing b99′s ratings over on @b99bythenumbers this season, so if you’re at all interested in any of this stuff pls check it out! that blog is still under construction and stuff but as this season gets the ball rolling, that blog will come to life heheh)

ok, so i’m gonna break this up into sections to keep it as organized/straightforward as possible, so we gonna cover:

what are nielsen ratings & how do they work? (aka what do numbers like 1.2/5 mean)

b99′s ratings & viewership

nbc’s ratings & viewership

ratings as the be-all end-all for shows? (other ways to support b99) (esp if you can’t access american cable)

what are nielsen ratings & how do they work?

so nielsen media research is a company that’s been measuring data for entertainment for just over 70 years now. tho they got a start in radio, they’re arguably most known in the modern day for their measurement of american television programming, as the data they gather from these measurements (the infamous “nielsen ratings”) strongly influence broadcast networks (abc, nbc, cbs, fox, & the cw) and channels in their decisions to renew or cancel certain programs.

the way nielsen measures this data is through selecting various households with tv’s across the u.s. to monitor what they watch, who’s watching, how often they watch, etc. so it’s not something everyone in the u.s. gets to do, like they might just randomly hit you up and ask if they can use your data. if you say yes, they have to install a bunch of stuff to monitor all tv’s in your household. (if you find this at all kinda interesting, i’d recommend reading this interview with a nielsen family bc it’s kinda wild)

so, now onto the numbers. i’ll use b99′s initial ratings for 6x01 last night as an example

the rating is the 1.2/5 number. the first number, 1.2, means that 1.2% of the 119.6 million households nielsen estimates to have television watched b99 (1.2% of households, not individual people). the second number, 5, is referred to as the “share”, and means that 5% of households watching tv at that time watched b99.

these numbers are “live + same day”, meaning they only include households that actually watched b99 live as it was on tv last night and people who watched it from their DVR the day it was aired live. (for example, i got home after the ep started last night but had set it to record, so i watched my recording as the ep was ending so if i was in a nielsen family, me watching b99 on my DVR the same night it aired would still count for their measurement of an L+SD rating.)

additionally, tho nielsen records a lot of data about different demographics and people of what age are watching what shows, the standard demographic used for these ratings is people aged 18-49, all genders.

the 3.56 is the total viewership in millions (aka the actual individual viewers).

my source for ratings: tv by the numbers (specifically above, their initial thursday 1/10 ratings)

b99′s ratings & viewership

back on fox, b99 had a pretty solid run for the first two or three seasons, until the ratings started taking a pretty steep nosedive in recent years that (unfortunately) kinda predicted and ultimately led to their cancellation. it’s important to look back on their past ratings as a show, because stability & improvement are major factors at play when networks are deciding to renew or cancel shows.

season 1 (2013-2014) ratings

b99 had a rly solid series premiere, tho it pretty quickly couldn’t retain its rating, as the difference between 1x01 and 1x02′s ratings is pretty major. it got its big 6.89 rating (!!!) in february 2014 bc it aired after the super bowl. this season ended with way less viewers than it started out with, which isn’t Great.

season 2 (2014-2015) ratings

overall, pretty similar numbers to s1, especially in the total season average. it had a few ratings above 2.0 which is Good, but those numbers didn’t hold steady. again, the season ended with way less viewers than it began.

season 3 (2015-2016) ratings

b99 dipped under 1.0 for a large portion of this season. that’s Big Yikes. cancellation becomes Very Real Possibility.

season 4 (2016-2017) ratings

this season’s average was less than 1.0.....cancellation is Very, Very Real Possibility.

season 5 (2017-2018) ratings

nothing above 1.0 for an entire season....this show is Doomed, and i honestly can’t blame fox for canceling it from a numbers and business standpoint, considering this was just a continuation of the trend established in s4 with the consistently lower ratings. it’s....kind of totally rational that fox did what they did, especially when you see how b99 compared (in ratings) to other fox shows in the 2017-2018 season:

as you can see fox just kinda took like the bottom half of its shows by rating and cancelled all of them...anything averaging under a 1.0 on fox just isn’t safe!!!

comparing to other shows (esp other sitcoms) on its network is another big factor in renewing/cancelling. tho there aren’t any other sitcoms suuuper similar to b99 on fox, enough comedies did better that b99 got the axe. which means we should probably look at

nbc’s ratings & viewership

and here’s their 2017-2018 season (in which they had the most viewers out of all the broadcast networks for the first time since like 2001 actually!!):

already, b99 is off to a good start, its 1.2 initial rating pretty high for nbc, but what’ll rly matter is if they can hold this rating for the rest of season 6. like i said, stability and improvement are everything in tv world! if b99 can continue like this for the rest of this season, i think we’ll be in pretty good shape.

and, honestly, nbc rly is a good network fit for b99, with its history of popular and acclaimed sitcoms (seinfeld, friends, will & grace, etc.) and its long-running and popular crime procedurals (aka any law & order series ever), and b99 is basically a combination of the two.

ratings as the be-all end-all for shows? (other ways to support b99)

while ratings are of the utmost importance to networks and channels, it’s not the sole deciding factor.

another thing networks and channels look at, as we live in the digital age, is BUZZ. this basically is industry-speak for how much people are talking about and movies! the most visible example of this is getting a show trending on social media when it airs.

a good example of a show like this is the good place. tgp hasn’t gotten stellar ratings this season, but has already been renewed...because a lot of people talk about it on social media! it’s usually trending on twitter when a new episode airs, and its objectively high quality writing has won over a lot of industry folks’ hearts, so it gets a lot of buzz in hollywood as well (hint hint similar to how the “guardians of the nine-nine” contributed to the fight to save b99 last year).

so, here are some tips on how to maximize b99′s ratings & overall potential for renewal:

WATCH. IT. LIVE. or DVR it and watch it ASAP, as final ratings come out within 24 hours after new episodes air. obvi this only applies to amercans with access to cable/tv but clearly these are the people not showing up for b99 since the ratings were so low while the fandom was so big and loud

forgot to record it but still live in the u.s.? watch it on your cable provider’s “on demand” services (if they offer it), hulu, or nbc.com as soon as the new episode comes out the next day!!! while these numbers won’t be reflected in the actual ratings, it’ll still tell the network you care.

are you a young adult who attends college away from home aka your family’s cable? look into your family’s cable provider’s online services! my family’s cable allows me to access our DVR away from home and even watch some things on demand, which has been a lifesaver while i’ve been away at college the past couple years. if you can access your DVR remotely through your cable provider’s website, use it to record b99 and watch it ASAP!

TWEET ABOUT IT. tumblr is cool and valid and all, but let’s be real - everyone’s looking at twitter, because most industry professionals don’t know how the fuck to use tumblr. twitter is straightforward and straight to the point; they want to see it trending there. so pls tweet using #brooklyn99 when the episode is on live!!! you have 3 major chances to do this: 9 pm est (u.s. east coast), 9 pm mountain time (2 hours after east coast), and 9 pm pst (3 hours after east coast) every thursday night.

talk about it in real life! get friends to watch it! again, may not contribute to the actual ratings, but it’s still nice to get more and more people into the show to watch it in other ways and talk about it with other people they know.

i know a lot of these methods are mostly applicable to people in the u.s. and/or americans with cable, but it’s rly important that those of us who fall into those categories do our parts!! fellow americans, let’s yeet this wheat!!!! all b99 fans from all over the world, i believe in all of us!!!!!!

#b99 #tv ratings #nielsen ratings #madison.txt

[makochosena]

anonymous asked: can we get one of all of them on the mun meme

mun related

✮ ━ top three favorite muses that you’ve played

Nozomi Yumehara

Rikki Chadwick

Nagisa Furukawa

i’ve been playing nozomi longer than i’ve been playing rikki. even though my activity on rikki has been way more consistent and just overall better than nozomi, my best experiences have come from nozomi. so even though I barely write anything on nozomi, she has a very special place in my heart. 

♫ ━ a small playlist for a muse of your choice

here’s a link to the playlist I’ve made for rikki !  but if you don’t feel like going through it, here’s 3 songs from it:

gasoline - halsey 

that’s my girl - fifth harmony

just a girl - no doubt

ღ ━ favorite canon ships for your muse(s). are there any you dislike?

there’s only one “canon” ship for rikki and that’s with zane. and that’s probably my favorite ship with her of all time. the canon insinuates something between rikki and will during season 3, and i think there’s chemistry, so i would’ve been very okay with them getting together.

there aren’t any ships I dislike. i ship rikki with just about everyone in the show—lewis, cleo, emma, will, and bella. they’re all great.

✄ ━ do you have any artistic abilities? If so, what can you do?

does writing count as an artistic ability ?  that’s the closest i can get haha, which isn’t much. i used to be able to draw pretty well when i was in middle school, but def not anymore. i def don’t have any performing abilities either. i do paint a little. every semester i did a paddle exchange with my fraternity and i was pretty satisfied with most of the paddles i’ve made over the past years.

☀ ━ how long have you been roleplaying? how did you get into it?

answered here ! 

❤ ━ do you have any crackships for your muse?

WEOUFHSDAKSJK TONS !  if crossover ships count !  i’ve shipped rikki with olive.r qu.een, ba.rry al.len, da.nny fen.ton, cai.tlin sn.ow, m.isty from pok.emon, di.ana prince, etc !  and plus tons of ocs too ! !  i mean, the h2.o fandom is tiny, so almost all of my ships have come from crossovers. and i  LOVE LOVE LOVE each and every one of them ! 

♕ ━ which fictional characters are your favorites?

i have sooo many !  you’ll have to specify fandoms for me but here’s three:·  

Dinah Laurel Lance (DC Co.mics/A.rrow)

Aqua (Kingdo.m Hear.ts)

Captain Raymond Holt (Brook.lyn 99)

回 ━ what are your top four favorite shows?

i also don’t have a “top four” but here are four shows that I love:

Go.lden G.irls

Park.s and Recr.eation

H2O: Jus.t Ad.d Wa.ter (obvi)

Av.atar: The L.ast Airbe.nder 

◈  ━ share some headcanons that you have for a muse of your choosing

here’s one: rikki is actually pretty handy when it comes to tools and mechanics. doesn’t matter the vehicle--car, boat, motorcycle--you name it, she’s worked on it, and she knows her way around it. 

↓ ━ have you had any bad experiences with roleplaying?

i try to stay away from drama. it gives me a headache. but i’ve still had my fair share of bad experiences, especially when i was first starting out with rikki and nozomi. 

you’ve prollie heard this story already because it is one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had: when i had my first rikki blog, someone made a rikki blog because i ~inspired~ them. and then they copied everything from me. but they’d take some headcanons and do the EXACT opposite of whatever it was to prove that we were ~different.~ and then they tried to get exclusive with all the (three) h.2o blogs there were, so they’d be the only rikki blog in the fandom. when i confronted them, they told me that I’M giving THEM anxiety. 

but I’ve had other bad experiences too. like on the same original rikki blog, i had somebody hellbent on shipping with me before we even interacted. i asked them if they read my rules, they said yes, and i told them they had their answer. but the conversation went in circles. they clearly didn’t read my rules and they said to me, “are you going to ship with me or not ? ” and i said not and blocked them. i also used to be friends with a huge bully in the rpc and that made me feel really sick for a long time. and i used to be friends with someone who was soooooo clingy that it drove everyone away. that also made me feel sick for a really long time. AND i also used to consider myself friends with people, and i’d write with them and plot with them and then they’d totally drop me like it was nothing. THAT’S the worst feeling rip. 

☾ ━ how many pets do you own? if none, what kind of animals do you like?

just one !  her name is molly and she’s a cinnamon-colored lab mix. i love molly to pieces but molly couldn’t care less about me lmao. when I grow up (lmao) i want to own two dogs and one cat. i love all animals and i can’t imagine myself ever living anywhere without one. 

♣ ━ share five random facts about yourself

I can lucid dream.

I have a useless degree in history.

I hoard dvds.

I have a little sister. 

I was in a co-ed service fraternity all four years of college. Those are where my best memories came from.

#[ thanks for asking! ] #outofwater. #answered asks.

[maternalcube]

i did an art summary so now im doing a fic summary. i was tagged by @jamthedingus also!! ive never done one of these before!! lets go!!!

Rest (13106)

Keith & Lance's Island Adventure (20631)

Atlantis (10014 words)

The Way to a Man’s Heart (6858 words)

nobody's business (2096 words)

leave, and take (557 words)

dead girl walking (1661 words)

the course of fate (1039 words)

who ya gonna call (465 words)

come here often? (806 words)

til kingdom come (1950 words)

stars in the sky (pt 2) (5404 words)

a song of falling (630 words)

Eyes to the Sky (3683 words)

Feet on the Ground (4050 words)

Divergence (6669 words)

homecoming (1426 words)

Window of Opportunity (11144 words)

along that wilderness of glass (3801 words)

string theory (2327 words)

Katt Week (1062 words)

The Pining-Plant (3860 words)

at the end of many worlds (21684 words)

you're my home (19646 words)

Believe Me (3177 words)

Starchild (3568 words)

Summer Heat (2285 words)

third time's the charm (5349 words)

Blackbird (59546 words)

The Sixth Planet (9444 words)

all the infinite realities (1197 words)

Total Fics: 31! (plus one i posted anonymously lmao) Total Words: 229999! (except parts of string theory and the sixth planet were actually posted last year... but still, what a number)

more under the cut!

Ship/character breakdown: i didnt filter out my prompt collection or abandoned wips here so /shrug Ship breakdown:

klance - 6 sheith - 5 shance - 5 katt - 4 heith - 3 pallura - 2 and one each of plance, kallura, allurance, shatt, shkatt, kidge, kidgance, and shunk. and keiths parents lol. let it never be said i am not a multishipper.

and i know gen isnt a ship but it tied with klance at 6 (plus whatevers in the prompt collection) which was a surprise

Character breakdown: man if theres a way to get ao3 to show me ALL the stats, i dont know it. but.

keith - 25 (shocker) shiro - 23 lance - 21 pidge - 17 hunk - 16 allura - 12 matt - 12 and then coran and sam are at 4, and zarkon ats 3 and presumably many others are at 3 or less

Characters that had the main focus: well ~9 were from keiths pov, and ~5 each from shiro and lances povs. i think i also had ~5 from multiple points of view. its safe to say that keith has my heart tho lol

Specifics:

Best/worst title? Best title: i still like “at the end of many worlds.” i weirdly still like “Blackbird” too even if it has nothing to do with anything... Worst title: “Rest.” :/ also like all of the abandoned wips bc i didnt care. and “Keith & Lance's Island Adventure.″ some of my zine fic titles were also... bad. im bad at titles.

Best/worst first line?

Best: Keith & Lance's Island Adventure. ok the title is bad but this line? this really sets the tone for whole fic. you know what youre getting yourself into here.

When Pidge invited Keith to a fully-funded graduation party aboard the Holt family boat (“the smaller one, anyway,” she’d said), this is not exactly what he'd pictured: three of them standing on a wobbly dock, packed bags at their feet, sky cloudy and gray, while the Holt siblings stand on a little ledge off the back of the boat and deny entry.

Worst: ive got two for this lol

at the end of many worlds: even i have to read this a couple times to figure out what i was trying to say. at least you know youre in for pain...

Keith’s mother shows up to interrupt movie night often enough that, this time, Keith almost doesn’t realize anything’s wrong. Almost, because she’s silhouetted by the movie, but she’s clutching her arm and panting for breath, and in the thin edge of light around her he sees a wet and vibrant red.

Divergence: because all your friends being dead is EXACTLY like losing at dodgeball. yeah, theres a reason i abandoned this one.

Hunk always hated playing dodgeball. Not because he was bad at it--though he was--but because he always ended up the last one standing, and therefore the only target for the entire other team. It was due to a tendency to hang unnoticed in the back, he knew, but that didn't change the sickening, empty feeling of looking around and realizing there's no one left but him, and there's no way he can win. Only wait for the inevitable.

This, Hunk decides, is a lot like that, only, like, a billion times worse.

Best/worst last line?

Best: The Pining-Plant. there are a few others that were cute too but this one is also good out of context so

And then the pod swishes open and he's scrambling to catch Pidge as she stumbles out. She clings to his arms to steady herself and his heart swells.

"Falling for me again, huh?" he asks, and she groans loudly.

"Let me go, I'm getting back in the pod," she says, and he laughs. He doesn't let go, and neither does she.

Worst: if im bad at titles, im worse at endings. most are bad. i suspect the ending to “Rest” is terrible but i cant bring myself to even open that shit again so: Believe Me. if weather were a recurring theme in this fic, itd be fine, but as is its just... a weird note to end the fic on lmao

Hunk rocks back on his heels. "We aren't counting this as our official first date, right?"

"I dunno," Keith says, and now he smiles at the rain instead of frowning. It shows no sign of easing up, but whatever—they're soaked anyway. "This seems pretty good to me."

“...All right.” If nothing else, it’ll make a good story. And, Hunk had to admit—he’s pretty happy with how it’s turned out, rain and all.

But next time, he's double-checking the forecast, just in case.

General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

more than i expected! considering ive been in grad school all year!! i wrote about the same amount wordcount-wise in 2017 which i spent only half in school so. idk how i managed it.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

the anonymous fic was a surprise but im not gonna talk about that lol. otherwise... nah, its all been my usual stuff.

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

blackbird, probably. i like working on that one. summer heat was also fun, id sort of forgotten about it bc it was a zine fic but coming back to it, i really liked it. likewise with third time’s the charm. and i like t6p a lot even if i kinda hate drawing for it :’)

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

depends on your metric. window of opportunity has the most kudos, keith and lance’s island adventure has the most hits, and t6p has the most comments and subscriptions. 

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

AT THE END OF MANY WORLDS. oh man i killed myself over that fic. it was important to me. but i think the mcd scared everyone off :’)

Story that could have been better?

i realize “all of them” is kind of a cop out answer but like

Sexiest story?

i have written nothing sexy, ever, in my whole life

Saddest story?

i mean, ateomw. considering all the death. blackbird def has its moments too.

Most fun?

i feel like i answered this in the favorite story q lmao. you’re my home also gets a shoutout, that thing was,, super self-indulgent lmao. and id be lying if i said i didnt have fun with parts of ateomw, even if its mostly sad.

Story with single sweetest moment?

man i write a lot of fluff but so much of you’re my home is just tooth-rotting. heres part of the proposal scene lmao

"Lance!" Keith yelps, barely rescuing the ring from falling into the sand with them. Lance pushes himself up on his arms, silhouetted by the sun and glowing with it.

"Really?" he asks breathlessly.

"Yeah," Keith says, and maybe he should've prepared something to say, that's a thing people do, right? Hell, he's winging it. "I know we can't stay here on Earth forever, 'cause we're paladins, and there's still stuff out there we gotta do. And I know you probably want to stay because this is your home—but you're my home, and if we gotta go, at least you'll have me, good or bad." He grins crookedly. "Or rocket science. Whatever happens, I'll be there."

Hardest story to write?

well t6p gets a shoutout, but its not the writing thats the hard part for that. uhhh ive struggled with parts of blackbird. i remember k&l’s island adventure giving me a LOT of trouble, i think i posted late lol

Easiest/most fun story to write?

anything short uhhh for all the infinite realities, i kind of just sat down the other day (actually i was in bed but) and was like “im gonna write this” and then in the morning i just sat down and wrote it in one go. i dunno if id call it fun, but it was easy. t6p is super fun to write but, as mentioned, drawing it sucks.

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

no... my perceptions probably have shifted but not due to anything i wrote in particular. i did talk myself into liking allurance with a prompt fill, though, but im not sure that was 2018...

Most overdue story?

all the infinite realities lmao. at the end of many worlds needed that happy ending. and another shoutout to t6p, because thats been going on over a year and im still nowhere.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

does posting my abandoned wips count? ive still got some of those hanging around... blackbird was a bit of a risk bc my last longfic was written while i was unemployed and out of school, so like i had the time for it, and now i kinda dont. still chugging tho. ateomw b/c of all the death but it turns out i really like writing whump woops. and writing any sort of kissing always feels like a risk bc i suck at it but im getting better lol... i hope...

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

write more! finish things! do more sheith! i really want to work on this sheith longfic i came up with the other day... but i want to get blackbird over with first.

Tagging: eh! do it if you want to!

#i need a fic tag #HOO BOY

[foxsoulcourt]

Tag game

I was tagged by @fuzzballsheltiepants . Thanks for your patience love! (Never did get the f*%!ing spacing all ironed out)

LAST

drink: Green tea phone call: Grad school mate + former co-worker Katie about her resume + possible next steps text message: My husband saying he just finished his 8 hour drive to Montana song you listened to:  Can I get a Witness - Marvin Gaye time you cried: Last night over an intense episode of Madame Secretary (S01 E16/Tamerlane)

  EVER

dated someone twice: Yep. Still friends w/them kissed someone and regretted it: No

been cheated on: Nope. But, ummmm, I ended one of my first really serious relationships by making out w/someone else while she was away. I know, that’s a horrible a thing to do. It’s a long story.

lost someone special: You bet gotten drunk and thrown up: No, I HATE throwing up! And a big night out is 2, maybe 3 glasses of wine

fave colours? Lime green, teal, turquoise, deep purple

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE I?

made new friends:  Yes, including a few dear ones here in this Tumblr world

fallen out of love: With ideas + patterns of behaviour; very few people

laughed until you cried: Frequently; more customary is my Laugh + Clap™

found out someone was talking about you: Ugh, yes. At previous job 

met someone who changed you: Several

found out who your friends are: Yes, in several lovely ways

kissed someone on your Facebook friends list: On the cheek, yes    

GENERAL

how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: Been off FB for 6+ mos, but if I logged back on...hmmmm...3/4?  do you have any pets: None in the house right now; there’s a humingbird who hangs around when I’m outside. Yes, it’s the same one. do you want to change your name: No, I love it what did you do for your last birthday: Oh, this year was a fun one! Both daughters were home from far away. Dinner out the night before where I def laughed until I cried! Woke up really early that day to find a most wonderful fanfic surprise: FOUR, count them FOUR (!!!!) chapters of @spanglebangle ‘s Doe & Josten: Deductionists . They were particularly enjoyable because that’s where this beautiful sloooow burn started to heat up for real. Finished the chapters in between hanging out w/daughter H, cosplaying Delirium w/a crew at ECCC. Oh yeah, AND I had my pic taken w/Andrew + Neil at that same con! What a day. what time did you wake up today: 7:30 am what were you doing last night at midnight: Turning on the dishwasher before I went to sleep what is something you can’t wait for:  Figure out what exactly I will negotiate people to pay me for in my next professional step. (OK, I CAN wait, but/and I’m low key excited about it.) what are you listening to right now: All Blues radio show have you ever talked to a person named Tom: All the time; he’s one of my besties; infrequently with the bro-in-law version (He’s kinda mean) something that gets on your nerves: Fast, agressive drivers, particularly male  most visited website: Tumblr, AO3 hair colour: Is it brown? Dark blond?  long or short hair: Short-ish + textured; I guess it’s a 21st century shag what do you like about yourself: I am unbound by age + enjoy making connections from wee ones to elders

want any piercings: Nope, I’m content

blood type: I don’t remember. I KNOW I should know, but all I know is it’s not unusual

nicknames: Ms de Milo relationship status: Married zodiac sign: Pisces, Leo rising pronouns: She/her fave tv show: Madame Secretary. Cannot get enough of that salty, open-hearted, badass boss lady + her family + staff tattoos: two - tiny constellation of three HP stars + a small stalk of forget-me-not flowers right or left handed: right-handed ever had surgery: Yes, each related to bringing children into the world + the after effects piercings: Ears + left nostril sports: Sports? No. Activities? Yes! Yoga, walking, bike riding, swimming, hiking vacation: We’re in the ‘visit kids at college + older parents’ phase in life, so trips more than vacations. However, there’s a glimmering possibility of London for spring 2019.  trainers: New Balance eating: Right this minute yogurt + nuts + one of the last tasty in-season peaches drinking: still water i’m about to watch:  Drama Actresses Roundtable The Hollywood Reporter + finish up season 1 of (all together now) Madame Secretary waiting for: A thoughtful, productive next step in the US Supreme Court Justice nomination process want: finish retooling + living out my definition of success at this point in my life

get married: already decades into that adventure; now refining the experience for the next chapter career: I help people + the organisations they are in effectively navigate change. It’s kind of like organisational therapy to be honest. hugs or kisses: It depends on who; cheek/cheek kiss + hugs w/family + close friends lips or eyes: Eyes shorter or taller: Taller older or younger: Depends nice arms or stomach: Yes  hookup or relationship: Relationship; my brain + body shut down at the mere idea of a hookup troublemaker or hesitant: Yes. My modus operandi is watch first + then either ask the question no one else wants to ask or make an observation which stirs the pot. (It’s part of my professional tool kit)

HAVE I EVER?

kissed a stranger: Not so much drank hard liquor: Yes lost glasses: No turned someone down: Yes sex on the first date: Nope, not even close broken someone’s heart: Yes had your heart broken: Yes, in both love + work been arrested: No cried when someone died: Yes fallen for a friend: Yes

DO I BELIVE IN?

yourself: In many ways, most of the time; a little dodgy right now in the professional capacity miracles: Absolutely. Well, not those goopy fantastical ones. More along the lines of everyday small wonders, y’know like that quote attributed to Einstein, “There are only two ways to live your your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

love at first sight: Not really, although I think if your intuition is finely tuned you know pretty quickly whether it’s going to work out or not. kiss on the first date: Depends on the person + the date angels: Less in the Hallmark movie sense, more in ancestors watching out for us sense.

OTHER

best friend’s name: Four because no one person should ever have to shoulder that much responsibility - Bill (husband), Libby (since childhood), Tom + Rob (met in adulthood) eye colour: Some kind of greenish-hazel business fave movie: The most current one which sparks social commentary. Right now: RBG; looking forward to Captain Marvel. favourite actor: If I absolutely have to choose one, then Frances McDormand favourite food: Artichokes

extrovert or introvert: Gregarious introvert. When I need to facilitate groups I’m on; the rest of the time solitude or similar please favourite flower: Forget-me-nots, zinnias, lavender  favourite hello kitty character? No idea

Tagging @higgins5 @i-h8-u-no-u-dont + @andreaminyard because they tagged me on similar thingies a reallllly long time ago + @sig66 because I want to get to know you better.

#personal #long #tag game #get to know your mutuals #thanks for asking