#one day I'll learn how to add text nicely but not today

[snek-panini]

It's been a few weeks since I had new books to share, but I finally got photos taken of the newest ones so today's the day. Here, have a book:

This is Across Tides and Currents, a Good Omens siren AU by Sodium_Azide and @doorwaytoparadise (hi. I hope I tagged you right). My favorite thing about this AU is that, at its heart, it's about learning to communicate with someone who is so different from you that you can't even physically speak each other's language, and yet you've still got so much common ground that you find a way. It's way lighter and more fun than that description makes it sound, though, so go read it if that's your thing.

The cover on this is Lineco book cloth, scrapbook paper printed to look like leather, and blue foil htv. The foil was actually a nightmare to do. The first time I applied it, it wouldn't stick no matter what I did, and the bits that did stick peeled off as soon as I touched them. I had to peel them up very carefully, cut a new image, and try again. Thankfully it worked the second time but I don't know that I'll be using the foil type again unless there's no other way to get the color I want. The non-foil metallic was so much easier to work with.

More book photos under the cut!

I went with a coptic bind for this one for a few reasons. The first was that I wanted to try one on a quarto-size book to see if I could. I also wanted to try the mitered corners thing I did when I bound Strange Moons, and see if I could have the same effect on the interior. (That bit didn't work out so well; the front is fine but I mismeasured the inside and the lines didn't match up, so I trimmed some pieces of cardstock to cover that up. I really like the layered look though, so that's fine. It's quirky.) The third reason is that not long before I decided to bind this one, the authors published a new chapter after two years of no updates. That's the best possible reason to have to change plans, and the glueless bind means that if they ever do that again I can just redo the stitching to add more pages. Win-win.

Getting whimsical with title pages here. This took way longer than I thought it would, probably because I don't like graphic design and I did it in Word where I do the rest of my typesetting. Usually what I do is grab an image and put text around it or on top of it and then just play with fonts and sizes, but this time I drew the lines and then made the text follow them. This is the first time I've used the word art feature since...probably 2009? I'd forgotten how. I have no doubt there are better ways to do this but if I'd had to learn a new program at that point I'd have quit. And I do think it was worth it--it's cute and fun and looks about how I imagined it.

Couple of photos of the inside. Sorry the first one's blurry, I had someone trying to get my attention when I took these. The section break image came from rawpixel, I just made it gray instead of black so it's more subtle. The fic has very nice illustrations that I specifically got the artist's permission to print and then I failed to get any photos of them when I did my little photo shoot. They look very nice, though. I swear.

The last image is something I've started including in my latest books. I'm calling them "A Note from the Bookbinder" and it's basically just me talking about why I chose that story, the experience of reading it for the first time, stuff that's going on in the fandom, stuff about the process like the new chapter coming out as I was preparing to print. It's kind of...like marginalia? Part of fanbinding is preservation and that's linked to archival work, and something I know archivists love is marginalia and diaries. I don't like writing in my books and I've never found any fun in journaling, but sometimes that kind of context is important so I'm trying to add it. Someday, decades from now, I may not remember all the details, so I'm trying to preserve them. IDK, this got philosophical on me. Go read about mermaids now. Promise it's a good time.

#bookbinding #fanbinding #snek makes books #good omens #fic rec #i wanted to do this as a mermay project #that did not happen #i finished it in october #happy mertober

[bowandcurtsey]

First dates with the boys (Haikyuu) 

Well, I got carried away at the last post of the confession because Bokuto is just so cute. haha But I have this in my drafts so take it as a continuation hehe. But I'll add in more of the boys too. <3

Yuji Terushima is so underrated we need more of this cutie ):

Characters: Bokuto, Kuroo, Yuuji x f! reader Tw: unchecked works, fluffy.

Bokuto Koutarou

He picked you up waaaaay earlier than your agreed time, luckily you guys were going to the amusement park so you didn't need long to dress up.

He drove because "we can reach there faster and spend more time playing rides!!"

And indeed he does. He plays ALL of the fast and cool rides except the kids ones. But if you want to, he'll definitely go with you on the spinning teacups. And he'll definitely go on the merry go round and ferris wheel with you because "That's what all couples in shows do!!"

He holds your hand and takes pictures of you on the merry go round and posts it on his social media. "I want to

He's also pretty good in all the games so he wins you some stuffed toys as well, he tries he very best to as well. When he doesn't win, you can see he'll start to get a little emo and pouty and you have to tell him that's it's okay, else he might really find somewhere to hide under and pout.

You have to show him that you're REALLY appreciative and happy with what you have, and convince him you REALLY don't need that huge duck anymore.

He goes to the hunted house and he tries to act all macho but he's a little spooked too. In the end you both held hands and ran for the exit.

He then brings you to a nice cafe with milkshakes and ice cream because "that's the way to end an amusement park date!" Gets you everything you want to eat, "don't worry y/n, I'll finish what you can't!"

Sends you home all the way to your doorstep before 12 midnight, and juts his cheeks out, asking you for a peck on the cheeks. Of course you give it to him, he's been nothing but a gentleman the entire day. And he floats all the way back to his car with a goofy grin on his face.

Kuroo Tetsuro

He reached 1 hour early but was worried you might think he's overly eager so he waited somewhere until it was 15 mins to your agreed time and knocked on your door.

He dressed casually but neat at the same time, making it look like he didn't really put much effort but in fact he thought of what to wear for 2 DAYS. He also tried to tame his hair for a good hour prior to meeting you.

He brought you on a mini road trip, had a little mini picnic at the back of his rover on the way to the destination, then you explored the other city a little. To surprise you, he brought you to a little mini event of (something you loved). Like a little pop-up store, or a museum or some small carnival that was being held.

He watches your face light up and he smirks his shit eating smirk, "thought you might like it,"

He holds your hand and let you walk him through the entire thing, telling him about what was your favourite and letting you talk non stop about it. He's a real good listener too and will ask serious questions to learn about whatever you liked.

He then asks you to join him in a volleyball event in the near future and bam, this smooth man gets his second date all ready.

Buys a little souvenir so the both of you can have a "couple" thing.

Brings you to a nice restaurant that he's researched about in that city and pays the bills. Kuroo has sparred no expense on this date with you.

Drives you home and sends you to your doorstep, and gives you a kiss to your forehead. "I had a really good time today, and I already miss you."

Yuuji Terushima

Texts you "I just woke up, are you awake?" before heading over to pick you. This boy looks like he doesn't really sweat it when it comes to first date but in fact he was nervous. He checked himself in the mirror TONS of times even though he was just wearing jeans and t shirt.

Brought you to mall with nice food that wasn't too over the top. And pays the bill because "how can I let a pretty angel pay on her first date with me"

He then brings you to the arcade where he's absolutely thrashing all the high scores there. Basketball, whack a mole, shooting, he even wins in mario kart. He doesn't give in to you even if you're his date.

He wins lots of tickets and he lets you exchange them for anything you'd like.

He's also cool on letting you drag him into those instant photo booths and he draws and decorates your faces in funny stickers. He places it in his wallet's photo holder or the back of his transparent phone cover immediately.

Brings you to watch a live game. Baseball, basketball, volleyball anything that was on that day. This boy knows a lot of sport and he would teach you the rules and could tell who was good and not.

He's all up for impromptu things because after the game, there was a good movie screening when you walked past and he just bought the tickets and off you went for a movie.

It was already late when the movie ended and he just laughed it off saying, "time flies when I'm with a pretty lady."

You were both a little hungry so he made you call home to tell them that you'll be late and he brought you for supper at a place he frequents. It was a nice chill bar and you both had some drinks but he made sure not to let you drink too much.

Gave you his jacket and flagged a cab for the both of you and sent you back home. "I hope you had lotsa fun today, I hope I deserve another date after today," he smirks and kisses your temples.

He then flags another cab home himself.

#kuroo x reader #kuroo tetsuro x reader #kuroo scenarios #kuroo tetsurou fluff #kuroo tetsuro headcanons #bokuto x reader #bokuto koutaro x reader #bokuto koutaro fluff #bokuto headcanons #bokuto hcs #yuji terushima x reader #yuuji terushima x reader #yuji terushima headcanons #yuji terushima scenarios #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu x reader

[ladylooch]

Letters in Your Last Name - Chapter 10

A/N: Okay I love this one too!! I know I got off my posting once a day train. I'll do better and learn how to do a figure out the que soon 🤪 K love you, thanks for reading my two favs, and bye.

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: Bullying, Swearing, lil angsty

When I awake the next morning, the weak winter sun is streaming into the windows of Kevin’s bedroom. I rub at my face, feeling the dryness in my eyes and want desperately to stay in bed all day. I glance at the clock on my phone, seeing a message from Felicia.

My parents are coming to spend the day with the kids, so I won’t need you today. See you at the event tonight!

Well, that works for me. I quickly text a response, then roll onto my back and begin my morning routine of checking social media. I notice instantly that I have over 20 messages from my friends to filter through on Instagram. That’s certainly not normal. I glance over at Kevin, seeing him on his stomach, pillow crunched in his arms as he sleeps. His breathing is lightly even and his 5 o clock shadow has seemingly filled his jaw line overnight. I reach out and lightly run my hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face. God, he is gorgeous. With one last smile, I return my focus to Instagram. 

I open the most recent message from my high school best friend, Rachel. 

Are you okay? These comments are uncalled for.

My eyebrows furrow at her words, having no idea what she is talking about. I scroll to the next one from Lauren, Ryan Hartman’s girlfriend.

Ignore the comments on that picture of you and Kevin. People are jealous and want what you have. Don’t let it get to you.

The next one is from Danielle Spurgeon.

Girl, these fan girls just get worse every year. You’re gorgeous. Tune them out!

“Um, what the fuck?” I whisper, navigating out of messages and heading to the picture Kevin posted of our date night yesterday. I smile as the picture of Kevin sweetly kissing my cheek pops up. Damn, we look good. Last night was pure magic- filled with carbs and some good loving. Our faces perfectly reflect the wonderful night we had.

I click on view all comments and begin to scroll. The first few scrolls are nice- full of heart emojis, bless hands, and heart eyes. I see a few comments from our friends, Wild teammates and their ladies. I smile at their recognition, but know there must be more to have so many messages. I get to the first one and my eyebrows furrow.

Noooooooo. He could do so much better than this girl.

I mean, no one asked for your opinion wildhockeygurl22, but okay. I shake it off and keep going. 

Something about her face just isn’t right.

I wrinkle my nose. What kind of comment is that? That’s just mean. I keep going though, determined to see what other comments there are. I should learn to leave well enough alone.

Holy shit, this girl is fat as fuck 🐋

Ick, you should be with me instead, Kev

When are you going to tell her about us?

Ew. 

I don’t approve.

This girl is the worst kind of puck bunny: ugly and trashy.

He could have any girl in the world and he picks that? Disappointing.

When you’re ready to upgrade, DM me.

My glow from last night is instantly popped. Tears prick my eyes and I throw my phone down onto the bed. What the fuck? Why are people so mean? I’m a human being and these comments are treating me like less than because I’m dating their favorite player. I swallow the lump in my throat as two tears splash out. I wipe them away quickly as Kevin begins to stir next to me. His arms release his pillow and reach for me. He pulls himself into my lap, moving my hand to his hair. I mindlessly run my fingers through his brown locks. The comments replay like a movie in my head and I frown.

“I think you might want to take that picture of us off Instagram.” I say quietly. He flips over and looks into my face. 

“Why? What’s wrong?” He asks me, his hand wraps around my wrist resting it on his chest.

“I guess the world doesn’t approve.” I shrug and laugh, trying to add humor even though the situation feels like anything but funny. 

“Oh, did the fan girls come out?” The way he says it is so nonchalant and expected.

“You could say that.”

“What did they say?”

“Oh, just the typical trash about how unworthy I am for you.” I roll my eyes and give him a small smile. I’m trying to play it off like it isn’t bothering me, but I’m not sure if it’s convincing to me or Kevin. He is quiet for a minute before he slowly rises, reaching for his phone. He wipes the sleep from his eyes as the app loads.

I watch his face as he scrolls through the comments. His scowl gets deeper the longer he goes. 

“What the fuck.” Kevin whispers. “I’m sorry, babe. I’m not sure why they are being so mean. Geez, why do they act like they know anything about either of us?” He shakes his head. “Are you okay?” He wonders, looking concerned.

“Yeah!” I lie brightly. “They’re just trolling to get your attention.” I shrug. “If anything, it’s probably best to ignore them.” I nod. Again, I wonder who I’m trying to convince with these words. Because it feels like more than that to me. Maybe they’re seeing something about me that I can’t. What if they are right? What if they know I’m an imposter in this life of his?

“Sam��” Kevin begins but trails off. I give him a sparkling smile that is meant to be reassuring. His brown eyes watch me for a few breaths and I resist the urge to squirm under his gaze. Everything is fine. And even if it isn’t right now, it will be. I’ll grow thick skin. I’ll delete my Instagram. I’ll ask Kevin to never post another picture of us again. All normal, manageable things while I hide from the deep insecurity blooming within my heart. 

“Come here.” Kevin finally says, pulling me into his bare chest. He grabs his iPhone, flipping it to selfie mode. I close my eyes and bury my face as much as I can into him while trying to seem cute. His lips connect with my hair and regardless of how it looks, it feels reassuring. He snaps the picture and shows it to me for approval. I nod my head that it looks okay. Actually, it looks better than okay. He looks hopelessly in love with me.

“You really don’t have to post that.” I tell him.

“Do you not want me to?” He asks sincerely. “I’m going to post it to my story. No one will be able to comment.” I think about that, figuring if the comments are the worst part of it, maybe it is okay.

“Okay.” I say to him. He begins typing then posts the picture for all the nasty trolls to see. When it’s out into the world, he gives me his phone to look at what he said. 

The only one for me.

A small smile makes its way onto my face as he pulls me in for a sweet kiss.

“That should end things.” He kisses my nose. “Now let’s get breakfast going so I can get to practice on time. I don’t need your brother up my ass again about why I’m late.” He winks and crawls out of bed. 

“Okay.” I say to him as he disappears down the hall to the kitchen. I go to his Instagram app again, looking at the story he just posted. The warm bubble returns to my chest and I feel the insecurity slowly easing away. Then, a notification banner pops down of a DM from a follower. 

Kev, she ain’t it.🤮 Let’s meet up next time you’re in New York.

Fuck.

- - - 

The moment we walk into the Wild Meet The Fans event later, all eyes seemingly turn to us. Kevin holds my hand as we begin to wade into the crowd. His teammates, fans, team officials greet us warmly. After Kevin’s recent play, his popularity within Minnesota has grown significantly. I force a smile on my face even as the discomfort washes over me every time someone stops us for a picture with him. My brother is an NHL player and has been for awhile, I can count on both hands the amount of times someone has stopped us to ask for a picture. Now, with Kevin, it seems to be a daily occurrence. Even though it’s an event for the team to mingle with the fans, this is still so weird.

“Can you take our picture?” A tall, redhead asks me, handing me her gold and glittery iPhone. I look down at it, then at Kevin. He gives me a knowing smile and then his eyes dip to my cleavage suggestively.

“Sure!” I exclaim, not entirely positive that I really have a choice in the matter either way. 

I watch as the redhead slides up close to him. He wraps an arm around her and smiles this gorgeous, wide smile that has my knees weak, even though I’m the one who came here with him. I click the button a few times, then hand it back to her. She is warm and delighted as she skips away from us and back to her friends.

“I think you just made her entire month.” I smile at Kevin, trying to keep it light even as my skin tightens in response. 

“Well, you know I love to please.” He winks at me, placing his hand on the small of my back as we continued to push into the crowd. 

I spot my brother across the room with Felicia. He tips his beer at us in acknowledgement, then continues his conversation with Zach and Alisha Parise. We find ourselves immersed in a group with younger Wild players- Ryan Hartman, Matt Dumba, and Carson Soucy. We reach the group as Lauren, Blair, and Shyla, their respective girlfriends, are leaving. They give me a quick wave and yell that they’re going to get drinks. 

“They’re already lit and they’ve only been here for an hour.” Lauren laughs as she pauses before joining them. “Do you want something?”

“Ah, no I’m okay.” I assure her. She nods and heads off with the other girls. 

“Kevin Fiala.” A  light, female voice comes from behind us. We both turn in acknowledgement. Our eyes fall on a gorgeous blonde in a shimmery pink dress who looks like she literally just walked off the runway at New York Fashion week. “ich bin ein großer fan von dir.”

Kevin’s face breaks out into a big smile as he responds to her in German. She extends her hand to him and he shakes it enthusiastically. The music changes from a slower song to a high energy beat and Kevin steps away from me towards the blonde. Likely to hear better, but my brain takes it as a slight. I cross my arms over my chest. I can feel myself beginning to overreact to the situation. But I’m already in a fragile state after this morning and right now, it’s hard for me to not feel like the dumb American who wishes she had given a little more crap about foreign language classes in high school. Why did I pick Spanish anyway?

High school aside, German is nothing like Spanish and I don’t even try to figure out what they’re talking about. Instead, I focus on the universal human language: body. His smile is bright, his tone is warm, and they’re close. Too close for a guy who came here with someone else. The blonde is loving his attention, laughing at all the right moments, fluttering her long lashes that frame her beautiful blue eyes. And her dress. Gah. Why did I put jeans on today? I should have worn a dress. Never mind that the weather is cooler than normal tonight. I look down at my burgundy top, shrugging because at least my boobs look great. 

The conversation seems to last hours, but was truthfully maybe 2 minutes. Finally, the blonde slides away but not before asking me to take a picture with my boyfriend. She tosses the phone to me like I’m his assistant, not his girlfriend. I grit my teeth against the unkind words threatening to spill out. After the picture, she reaches her hand out for the phone without even looking at me and continues her conversation with him. After one last flirtatious smile, she wanders off to the other German speaker on the team, Nico Sturm. Kevin, still smiling, walks back over to me. His smile drops when he takes in the scowl on my face and crossed arms.

“What?” He asks me, reaching out and rubbing my arm. 

“What was that?” I ask, voice rising a bit at the end.

“A… conversation… in German.. with a fan?” He shrugs his shoulders, shaking his head inquisitively.

“Looked like more than that to me.” Kevin sighs exasperatedly and runs a hand through his hair.

“Sam, it wasn’t anything more than that. We were talking about hockey.”

“Whatever. Now, I need a drink.”

I move around him and weave my way between the clusters of people. The bartender finds me immediately and I ask for a vodka soda. That should help calm my nerves. Or at the very least, suffocate this feeling of unworthiness inside of me until tomorrow. How could we have had such a great night yesterday, where I felt so loved and wanted by Kevin, only to have it all go to shit this morning?

I can feel the heat of Kevin before he touches me. He places his hands on either side of me on top of the bar, then gently uses his hips to push me against it. I close my eyes as I feel his strong chest against my back then his growing erection pressing into my butt. His lips come close to my ear, making a slight, delightful shiver roll down my spine. 

“You’re the only one who’s getting any of this tonight. Those jeans make your ass look so damn good.”

He pulls my ear lobe into his mouth, sucking slightly as he moves my hair away. I resist the urge to moan and force a sigh out of my mouth. Kevin, slides a hand up my stomach and pulls me tighter against him, moving his hips slightly against my butt.

“Baby.” Kevin tries again as the bartender places the vodka in front of me.

I grab it, sucking down a gulp as quickly as I can. I turn in his arms, looking into his liquid brown eyes. He wants me. I can see it, I can feel it, yet the insecurity has taken over me. The blonde just now didn’t even glance in my direction. That’s how plain I am. Kevin walks into a room and commands attention. What business do I have with this smoke show of a man? A hockey player who is coming into his prime more and more every day.  His superstar potential is within his grasp and I feel inadequate for this role being thrusted upon me.

Kev, she ain’t it. 🤮 Let’s meet up next time you’re in New York.

“This is harder than I thought it would be.” I blurt out to him. His shoulders tighten a bit as he pulls his hands back.

“What is?”

“Being an NHL Player’s girlfriend. I never would have picked this life for myself, Kev. I just fell into it and after those comments.. I just.. feel like I don’t belong.”

He tilts his head to the side as I speak, shifting his weight from side to side. He blows out a sigh.

“I get it. It’s a lot.” He agrees with me, which makes me feel worse. “But the place that you belong the most in this world is next to me."

“It feels like everyone wants a piece of you right now. They’re falling all over themselves to get to you. I don’t know how to compete with that.”

“You don’t need to, Sam. You’ve already got me. And I think it’s an exaggeration that everyone wants me. There are plenty of guys out there too.”

I roll my eyes at him, looking away from him. He brings my face back to his, brushing my lips briefly. 

“What about the girls in your Instagram DMs?” My eyebrows pull together in pain.

“What about them? I don’t read them. I’m not interested when I have you in my bed.” He gives me a large grin, trying to ease the tension between us. I respond by shaking my head and looking away again.

“Hey… as far as I’m concerned, you’re the only person in here tonight. I know the comments on Instagram hurt, but the only opinions that matter in this relationship are yours and mine. You’ll learn to tune them out.”

“Why should I have to get used to women throwing themselves at you?” 

“I don’t mean that. I mean the entire concept of… fan girls. I’m not saying that it’s fair. I’m just saying that it’s a shitty part of being with me. I’m sorry it is that way. I know it’s frustrating to take the high road, but it’s the reality of being in the spotlight.” His tone is gentle and he grabs my hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of it.

I glance around at the other women close to us. All glossy, put together, and vivacious and despite my extra effort tonight, I feel so lacking compared to them. I think of the stupid message from earlier in the day and I can’t help the tears that fill my eyes. And that was only one message. How many more does he get like that? I swallow hard, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat. God, this is so embarrassingly needy and pathetic. I’m not this girl. I hate how insecure I feel.

“Sam,” Kevin calls me back to him, turning my face. “Look at me.” He stares into my eyes with sweet brown pools that are willing me to listen. “You are everything to me. I don’t need anyone else in this bar, or this country, or the rest of the world for that matter. I have what I need right here in my arms. Fuck everyone else.” He leans down and captures my lips in his. His tongue instantly tangles with mine and I feel all the worries of the last few hours melt away into his mouth. Nothing matters anymore but the connection of our lips. I moan softly into his mouth. I feel him smile against me as he pulls me in tighter. He slowly drags back, placing several soft kisses as he goes.

“There she is.” He whispers as I smile with my eyes still closed. I open them, my body tingling from the connection. The look in his eyes makes my stomach twist in anticipation. 

“Holy shit, Sam, your tits look hot as hell tonight. Kev better be touching those later!”

I whip my head to the left and burst out laughing at Shyla, Carson Soucy’s girlfriend.

“Wow, Shy.” I say, shaking my head in embarrassment. I look around at the people next to us, glad they seem immersed in their own conversations. 

“It may have been crazy, but it worked.” She grins, poking my shoulder. “That sour puss look is gone from your face.” She grabs her drink from the bartender, saluting him with it before taking a pull. “Plus, Kevin was totally thinking that during your kiss just now.” I laugh, looking back at Kevin.

“She’s not wrong.” He shrugs innocently.

“Oh my god.” I laugh, putting my hands on my cheeks which I’m sure are extremely red at this point.

“Have a good night you two.” She winks as she saunters off back to Carson.

My eyes find Kevin and I grin at the look on his face. He looks as guilty as Shyla insinuated. I bite my lip and suck in a deep breath, trying to steady myself. Kevin grabs my hand again and tugs me from leaning against the bar and into his arms. His face lowers to mine, but he pauses a breath between my lips.

“I’m sorry this is hard, but I won’t be sorry that you fell in love with me.” He whispers against my lips, tugging my bottom lip in his mouth. His hands dip from the small of my back and enter into the back pocket of my jeans. He gives my ass a tight squeeze. His chest rumbles with a moan that has my scalp tingling. Damn, I want him. I’m convinced I’ll never get enough of him. We pull apart for air, gazing into each others eyes with a fierce need that has the entire event fading from reality.

Then, my brother appears.

Alex slaps Kevin on the back and firmly grips his shoulder as he slides up to the bar next to us. I clear my throat and look at a point beyond Kevin’s head, trying desperately to not appear guilty.

“Woah.” Kevin exhales quickly and pulls his hands from my back pockets.

“Just wanted you to know that I am here, Kev. Watching you grab handfuls of my sister’s ass. Thinking of all the different ways I can make it look like I accidentally knocked you out next practice. Have a good night.” He toasts us with his Budweiser and walks away with a smug smile on his face. I giggle as Kevin shakes his head and blows out a puff of air.

“Funny, you never imagined this life, and I never imagined being afraid of a goalie.” I tilt my head back and laugh. When I righten my head again, Kevin’s lips find mine. “We should be considerate of your brother and take this home.” He whispers to me. “The team doesn’t need me like you do tonight.”

“Okay.” I tell him. Kevin grabs my hand and we weave our way through the crowded bar to the door. Several people reach out for Kevin, but his only focus is on me. He pushes us through and gives polite smiles, but doesn’t slow or stop for further interaction. The cool, winter air hits our faces when Kevin opens the door and I feel instant relief at being alone with him now.

I smile to myself as we begin to walk hand in hand to his car, knowing tonight, in our bed, will be anything but cold.

#letters in your last name au #kevin fiala #Kevin Fiala Fic #los angeles kings #my writing #hockey fan fiction #hockey writing #NHL writing

[murmur-utdr-au]

Happy Birthday, Kao! A little late but there you go!

A father-son dance in dresses!

Insans @tatatale

Condoriano is mine

#shipchicken #Condoriano #Insans #Kao Birthday #Gift Art #Ruffles are hard #This hurt me on a spiritual level but it was worth it #Shading is hard #I must have leveled up after this #one day I'll learn how to add text nicely but not today #pain #suffering #friendship

[thedarkcoven]

Mangled Secrets-Enjoy the Show | Part 2

Warning: Blood/gore, murder (no major character death), violence, cussing, alcohol use, tobacco use, PTSD, anxiety, protective!Bucky, Sam, and Steve. ~~For these amazing lovies @silentkiller2374 @turbolisedcomet If you wish to be tagged please let me know :D ---Also sorry if this one is a bit short (will maybe add more to this part later)

Somehow the atmosphere felt different to you today. Something felt off and the air felt heavy. You shook it off as overreacting since you weren't used to good things happening to you. You never thought you deserved it. You texted Bucky telling him you were gonna shower and eat breakfast right quick before heading to campus. You were grateful that you lived only a couple blocks from it. A giggle fell from your lips when he sent you a selfie of himself smiling. Bucky waited at the water fountain that was beside the library, his leather jacket resting in his lap as he smoked a cigarette. Once his icy blue eyes landed on you he smiled big and waved at you to get your attention from the crowd. You rushed over and smiled big, blushing once he placed his jacket over your shoulders and walked with you. You were excited to start the day with him. He, Steve, and Sam were the main things you were excited about. "What class ya got today, doll?" "Criminal studies and then a short class which is a history class. What about you?" He smiled and looked down at you. You never really fully realized how much taller and bigger he was until you were up close to him and you took in his height. He had to be about 6'3" at least. "Criminal Studies as well. It's interesting to me and I wanna learn what makes serial killers' brains tick." "Oh my god. Me too. It's so fascinating. I also want to go into it in hopes to help solve cases. One of my friends was murdered when we were younger and I want to go into this for her." Bucky gave a soft smile and you felt his fingers brush against yours. You slid your hand into his and looked away shyly. "Lead the way." Bucky couldn't keep his eyes off from you while you wrote down your notes. You looked so beautiful as you concentrated. He smiled to himself then went back to writing his notes. Once the class was done you and him headed to meet up with Sam and Steve for lunch at the cafeteria. "Shit. Hey Buck I have to go grab my book my apartment. I might be a little late for lunch. I'll meet up with you guys." He nodded and waved bye to you, going his own way to meet up with the other two. Once you returned to campus you noticed a familiar face. It was a guy from the college group who introduced himself as Alik. He smiled and waved at you, walking over and gave you a hug. "Hi! It's so nice to finally meet you. Hey, I have to head to my class but I am in a gaming club here on campus after school if you want to join. I'll send you the information later." You smiled big and nodded, waving bye to him. You noticed Bucky glaring at Alik when he walked up to you so her could walk with you to the dining hall. You swallowed hard and grabbed his hand in hopes to calm him. He smiled and squeezed your hand. "Come on. The guys are waitin' for us." You nodded and smiled, heading to the hall with him. Your apartment was quiet as you skimmed through Netflix, looking for movies to watch. You decided to watch a classic. Scream. It had always been one of your favorites. It was about twenty minutes into the movie when you jumped from your phone ringing loudly. Unknown number. You sighed and hung up only to have it call you back immediately. "Hello?" You sounded irritated. "He-Help me. Please. Help. Y/N, please." The person on the other end was sobbing. "Who's this? And stop with the prank call." "Hi, Y/N." A dark and creepy voice spoke. "Your friend Alik here is so pathetic. You gonna help him out?" The person laughed and you shook as the line went dead. Your phone then dinged. It was a video. You felt your blood run cold as you watched a person in all black gripped Alik's hair and yanked his head back only to then drag the sharp edge of a combat-hunting knife against his flesh. Red spurting out and all you could hear was the sound of Alik choking on his own blood. A sob fell from your lips as your hands shook while dialing Bucky's number. It took him a bit to answer but when he did he sounded like he just woke from a nap. "Hi, doll. What's up?"

"Ca-Can you please come get me? I'm scared, James. I don't want to be alone. Please hurry. I-I need you and there's this video. Someone killed Alik and sent it to me." "What?! Y/N. Lock your doors and windows and grab a knife or something until I get there. I'll be there shortly. Send me your address. And please. If someone shows up that you don't know and they break in... call me and fight for me. Okay?" "O-Okay, Buck. Please hurry." You hung up and struggled to type your address, sending it to him. The words were blurred from your watering eyes and the light from your phone making them hard to read. It took Bucky about twenty minutes to make it to your house. Once you knew it was him you opened the door and ran to him, hugging him tightly. All you could do was sob. He lead you inside and locked the door so he could call the police. Once you and Bucky were done answering questions, you gave the police your phone for evidence and rested against Buck, sniffling. He offered for you to crash at his place and you agreed He helped you pack a bag with clothes, hygiene products, and your laptop. Being at his and Steve's apartment was soothing. It made you feel safe and at ease. Sam was even staying the night so he could help keep you protected. You four decided to drink a bit to help calm your nerves. All you could think about was the video. You sat, leaning against Bucky as he smoked and took a drink of your alcoholic beverage. Once you felt calm enough you placed the bottle onto the table and let out a yawn. "Come on. Let's get you to bed. I can sleep on the couch." Bucky offered, grabbing your hand. "No. Lay with me. Please?" He paused for a second then nodded, holding you close, rubbing your back. "Of course. Come now. You need rest. You look exhausted." The next day was hell. Yes classes were canceled for a weak but you started receiving death threats and were called names; accused of having someone murder Alik just for the hell of it. Bucky wasn't having it and took your laptop away to keep you from reading the bullshit while Steve and Sam were out working. You could help the feeling of guilt as yous at there with Bucky as he tried to make you smile. No matter what he did all you could do was stare blankly at him, the images of the video along with the hateful words played in your head over and over again like a record player. What did you do to deserve such a shitty thing amidst this good? Alik didn't deserve that and you didn't deserve to become this empty shell. You had to get to the bottom of this with or without help. It's what you were training and learning to become through your classes. Why not use it to your advantage? No. Your mind was too fogged with this chaos. You wouldn't be able to concentrate properly. But you were still determined to figure out who was behind this. Maybe it was the same person who killed your friends years ago... then the thoughts flooded your mind. What if they tried to take Bucky, Steve, and Sam away from you? All of a sudden you felt lips against yours. You froze as Bucky pulled you into his lap and kissed you softly, pulling away before looking away from you shyly. "Yo-You were panicking. I didn't know what else to do. I'm sorry. That was so stupid of me." "It's okay. I just wasn't expecting it is all." Bucky and I froze when his phone dinged. It was a video from an unknown number. It was Sam. No... no, please... "Ple-Please stop. Please. Bucky help me please! Ge-Get Y/N away from the town. Please." I covered my mouth as tears fell. The video stopped before I could see if he was murdered or not. Bucky held me close, rubbing my back as he called 911. They came and questioned more. They offered the both of you to stay at a hotel and they'd keep it guarded so you both agreed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Unknown POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She was so beautiful. One of the most beautiful people I have ever met. It wasn't fair that those boys got to touch her and keep her to themselves. It wasn't fair at all. I should

teach whoever touches her a lesson. She belongs to me and me only. "Oh, Y/N. You will be mine soon enough. Just waiting for the right time, pumpkin. What am I saying? You ARE mine." He chuckled darkly to himself, his fingers running over the screen of his laptop of a picture of you. Since the first time, they laid eyes on you in the group chat they just knew they had to have you in their life and never let you go. No matter what they had to do or who they had to kill. They had to be careful though so they wouldn't get caught. They wanted to wait until the time was right until they could show you who they really were. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bucky was in the shower when he got a call from a number you were unsure of so you answered. It was the hospital. Your heart felt like it was to explode from the good news. Sam was going to be okay and he was beaten pretty bad but he is safe now. You thanked them and were too caught up in the excitement that it didn't click in your head what you were doing until your eyes fell on a naked and wet Bucky. You swallowed hard and looked away, your face turning red. "Sa-Sam is okay. He's in the hospital." You gasped and tripped, falling onto your ass as Bucky walked toward you. You covered your mouth and closed your eyes tightly when he stopped right in front of you. "Thats good. Did your parents teach you manners?" You whined as he gripped your hair softly and made you look up at him. "Are you a virgin, Y/N?" You nodded and took in the size of all of him. He chuckled and helped you up by grabbing your arms softly. "I'm just fuckin with ya and how? You're pretty." "I-I am not." You chuckled a bit, looking away from him. "You want some food? I-I'm starving." He nodded and walked over to the bed, grabbing his phone.

#sam wilson au #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes #steve rogers au #steve rogers #sam wilson #marvel au #bucky barnes x reader #alternative!bucky #artsy!steve #nerdy!sam #suspense #horror

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen (chapt. 2)

[Donnie x fem reader]

Sfw, part 1 here

Intellectually, Donnie was the best matchup for their leader as today was sparring day. He'd gone against his oldest brother many times, sometimes even coming out the victor himself, but today was just not his day.

He held his staff with that iron grip of his and waited for Leo to come at him. Donnie was more on the defensive than any of his brothers; he had to be. Out of all he was weakest physically but superior in calculations, but he was missing range in this matchup. Leo had a hard time disarming him as his katana could sometimes get lodged in the solid wood staff, giving Donnie leverage to perform the finisher in the short time it took him to dislodge his sword. He thought this time would be how that would happen.

"You're slow today, Donnie," Leo said as he lunged at his brother with a swing of his katana, forcing Donnie to step back. He was too focused on blocking Leo's rapid succession of attacks to respond.

Leo reeled back to swing his blade again but Donnie parried and struck his arm with his staff, shoving it aside. For a split second, Leo actually thought he was fixing to go down by this move if Donnie could hit him again quick enough. But his brother hesitated in thought, and without any reluctance himself, he used his other katana to put him in a compromising position. The match was over and Donnie was forced to stand down.

"Why did you hesitate?" Leo questioned him, lowering his blade. Raph watched from the sidelines with Mikey as they prepared to go up next. Since Leo was the winner, it was Raph's turn next to spar in his younger brother's place.

Donnie huffed and dropped his stance, putting his staff away. "It's just an off day," he replied. Splinter wasn't there to dictate today's training session and tournament, so Donnie was already on his way out to go to his lab by the time Raph stepped up to spar. But Leo sheathed his sword and put a hand on Donnie's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"You've been pretty eager to run back to your lab lately," Leo said matter-of-factly. He was wondering what was going on, why Donnie seemed weirdly distant the last couple of weeks. He had gone through a very withdrawn phase in earlier times upon entering his teenage years, but now, he was legitimately making everyone guess. He didn't snap at his brothers, and he wasn't any more impatient than usual. But something was different. He'd been spending a lot more time holed up in his lab, which everyone began to notice. Leo wanted to know what was wrong.

Donnie shifted and shrugged, "Like I said, I've been busy with some projects. Also, it's not like I have much to do out here beside training and patrol."

Leo opened his mouth to speak, but Mikey jumped on between them. "You missed game night last week! You never miss it," he butted in. Both Donnie and Leo gave him a look as if to say really? and he added in, "Well, uh...not usually."

Gently moving Mikey aside, Leo wanted to continue, but he saw Donnie staring at him expecting a follow-up when he didn't really have one. Whatever this was, Leo knew that coming at Donnie with questions was not the way to go about it. So he stepped back and gave his brother some space.

"We all have off days," Leo said finally after an awkward moment of silence. "Just work on your speed, Don."

"Got it."

With that, Donnie turned to leave, and Raph entered the ring to go against Leo in the last match of the night.

Once Donnie was gone, Leo got ready to spar with Raph. As they got into position, he contemplated bringing this recent development up with the other two, but decided against it in the end. He didn't want to incriminate Donnie, especially with Raph's assertive approach to handling things. Donnie could be somewhat flighty at times when it came to resolving matters of emotion, at times a little too introspective, but Leo couldn't fault him—he had his own struggles with that very thing, too.

Done, finally, Donnie thought as he skirted into his lab and started up the game. He was late to the party quite literally; training lasted longer than he'd thought, and he was disappointed to see that his newest friend was online, but not responding to his invite. Did everyone get together and play without him? After a few minutes, he almost decided on giving up. The instance made him contemplate whether he even wanted to continue this. Perhaps he'd been too eager.

He sighed. And then the menu pinged, and he was there reading the message in an instant.

Hey, sorry I partied up without you, I just didn't know if you were gonna be on or not :/

Without even thinking, he licked his lips typed back, repeatedly deleting and retyping his message to make sure it was casual but not too casual, apologetic but not desperate—

It's okay, don't worry about it

Likewise sorry it took me so long to get here.

That would do. He'd be lying to say he wasn't feeling that flutter in his stomach; the excitement of something new got to him in a way that only a discovery in his research did, or how he felt when he mastered a new technique in his training.

Let's get started then :)

They started the game, and this time he kept the mic on, as she did. They talked back and forth as they fought creatures and enemies and looted things, eventually coming to learn that she herself was in New York City. He was surprised; suddenly, the world felt a lot smaller, and he couldn't concentrate on just playing after that. The time they spent became more of an opportunity to converse than to play a mundane game for hours on end.

At some point, she switched the topic to his whereabouts. Donnie's breath hitched.

"I'm...not anywhere near. So it doesn't really matter," he told her, cringing. If the guys found out—if Splinter found out—he would be in such trouble.

"Oh," she paused for a moment, trying to find something to say. "That's alright, I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me, you know?"

He'd muted his mic to release a deep breath. He got lost in thought thinking about how in that moment, he wanted to be human. If he weren't a giant mutant turtle, he could actually form a connection with someone. It was a very "Mikey" thing to think, he reckoned, but at times he wanted friends just like his brother did.

"Yeah, sorry, I just…"

"It's really no problem, dude."

He felt as though he could hear the smile in her voice. What did she look like, he wondered. He wanted to see her, but he couldn't ask for that when he could never do the same. If he could get her name, he'd be in the clear to do some preliminary lookups on this person, but so far, she'd been dodgy about sharing info about herself as well. He couldn't blame her. They were two strangers online, one with a huge secret and the other completely in the dark about who he truly was. For all she knew, he could have been a creep, looking to stalk her online and perhaps do even worse. The thought made him feel almost nauseous, how she could be considering that about him as a possibility as they spoke. But she seemed comfortable enough. Unlike him, who was still slightly skeptical of the entire thing, because after spending his whole life in practical isolation, he was at a loss as to what to say or do after a certain point. The conversation died off and both of them thought simultaneously about how weird the sudden silence between them felt.

She hummed, as if searching for something to bring up. When she spoke, he was taken aback—"Hey, I'm gonna be honest, I really like talking to you but this game is getting boring. Do you wanna chat somewhere else?"

"Uh…" he trailed off, mind shooting blanks. Oh, was it just a horrible idea. He couldn't keep the jig up forever; the truth was bound to get revealed somewhere down the line. He was fixing to reject the proposition, tell her that he didn't want to take it that far. She could be anyone. The likelihood of it being a clever ruse on account of the Foot Clan was slim, but the paranoia still worked ambiently in the background noise of his mind. But his other doubt stopped him—when would he ever have a chance at this again? He wanted to have the strength to say no and leave it at that. The loneliness that crept up on him from time to time had something else to say.

"Yeah," he answered after a terribly long pause of mumbling, fighting with himself all the way as she told him where to add her. He could have kicked himself had it not been for the fact that he knew how to encrypt data, and that as long as he didn't leak a word about his inner circle or life, it would be okay. It didn't feel okay, though.

"Nice! I'll text you, see you later, Bo. I had a lot of fun tonight," she chirped.

Before he could respond, she was gone from the party, and the mic went silent. It happened so fast. He was barely caught up with the fact that he was now receiving messages and prompts to talk, but he couldn't bring himself to answer right away. He had to refocus his logic; how could this be used by the enemy as a way to get to them? Could they have somehow anticipated he'd download this game and find this random on there? The more the thought about it, the more glaringly obvious it was that it was not the case. It was just too improbable.

"The probability of the Foot being able to simulate such a specific scenario in order to get intel on us is so slim, it is practically non-existent," he told himself as he finally pulled up the messages. He read through them. "Approximately a zero-point-zero-zero-zero..."

My name is (Y/N), by the way :)

Well, that was easier than expected. He figured that somehow, the name suited you—a fitting name for such a personality. But it also gave him a glimmer of hope. It made him want to ask why you appeared to trust him, as he could be anyone on the Earth over the screen, not his benevolent self. Which she had no way of proving, technically. But he soon came to realize the screen painted him in a whole new light that it casted on him. It hit then that he could be anyone. He didn't have to be himself; not necessarily. She'd never have to know, as he could wear a human mask and she'd be none the wiser. Problem was, the lying made him feel guilty, and slowly would develop to be the thorn in his side.

Donnie thoughtfully stared at the screen. Now that he was here, some of his anxiety began to fade. He found himself actually able to talk, someone to listen to his tangents and even build upon them. They spent hours texting back and forth about anything and everything until it was almost time for him to put the phone down to leave for patrol. He felt giddy, like a kid, all over again.

________________________________________

Had you ever been able to talk to someone this easily?

You asked yourself that question as you exchanged with the faceless and nameless stranger over your screen, chatting from afternoon to night. Time flew by in an instant, with him, and you loved every minute. He was someone intellectual, but funny and so easy to talk to that it was as though the conversation carried itself. After some time he came out about his age after you revealed yours. Oftentimes, he'd just present to you a random question when the subject tapered off and run with it, like now:

What do you think of reptiles?

Puzzled, you took a second to reply. Odd question.

Why do you ask? Do you have one?

I was just curious

What do you think of them?

The chat indicator flip-flopped between "typing" and "idle" a few times before a message finally popped up, and you smiled. You'd learned over this short time that he was a dork in a cute way.

Well...I think they're pretty cool.

They've got natural armor and you would be surprised to know just how fast a turtle can be

You laughed a little to yourself. It was such a random thing to bring up, yet you were endeared. Deciding you'd go along with it, you asked him what else he knew about turtles.

Well...

__________________________________________________

Donnie was wondering what he was talking about just as much as she probably was. Stupid, he thought, facepalming. His first time really speaking with a human as an equal and he starts talking about turtles. Of course he knew a lot about them, he was one himself—but for some reason he found himself wanting to dispel myths and misunderstandings about turtles as if they reflected on him, when as far as she knew, he was just a human guy like herself.

He groaned lightly and typed, thinking up a fact that wasn't too conspicuous.

Red eared sliders are semi-aquatic.

As he typed the next part, he caught himself writing "we" instead of "they", to his dismay. He quickly fixed the error and continued, feeling weirdly exposed as it was almost as though in sharing this information, he was putting himself under a microscope for her to inspect.

They can hold their breath for up to thirty minutes, usually

Holding his breath was something he'd tested numerous times before. He and his brothers had actually made a game out of it on a few occasions, with Leo leading at thirty-three minutes, Donnie in second at thirty-one. Raph broke at twenty-nine minutes and Mikey followed behind in last at just twenty-seven. The ability could be trained, nonetheless.

That's interesting, I wonder what it's like to be able to go underwater so long?

It's kind of cool, you should try sometime

For THIRTY MINUTES?

Shit. He promptly replied:

No—not like I can hold my breath that long, I just mean you should try to see sometime I guess

I tested it just for the fun of it.

Looking up how long humans could hold their breath on average (between thirty seconds and two minutes), he bumped the number up a little bit and added:

Personally, I'm at two minutes and forty-five seconds

He was embarrassed, partially covering his face as he waited for a response. Such a foolish slip-up; he couldn't afford to say anything cryptic. But he still was fairly sure that he had recovered that alright. He couldn't help but think about how awkward or weird he seemed to her. Who talked about this?

I don't think I could hold my breath for more than a minute, kudos to you haha

Anyway, sorry to switch gears all of a sudden but if you don't mind me asking, what's up with your family? You have any siblings?

He told her no. He would not bring his brothers into this, lest it be the slim chance of a ploy, after all. He said his family situation was unconventional and left it at that.

With that, he said to her goodnight and put his phone away, getting up to go get geared for patrol. It was only then he noticed the figure leaning against the doorway.

Chapter 3

#tmnt #donatello #tmnt donnie x reader #donatello x reader #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2016 #tmnt bayverse #tmnt fanfiction #sfw #fanfiction #romance #writing

[jamestrmtx]

Fairytale Complex - [Undertale | Sans x Reader]

[Gender Neutral, Frisk's Parent Reader | Slow Burn]

Chapter Four | Nyeh Heh Heh! (Part 2 of 2)

[First] | [Previous] | [Next]

There's a time and place for everything, but not now.

You remind yourself of that and quite bluntly suck it up. 

All weaknesses are forced back down and corked shut, establishing a path for you to finish what you started. You went all the way out of the city just to meet up with Papyrus, and you were here to bring some sort of closure as to how you could approach him after concluding with your first meeting. Still, that's no excuse for you to be rude or break any of your hospitality rules, so you smile at the skeleton and thank him for the letter, it's contents you assume’s money judging by how thick and heavy the envelope is.

"This means a lot, but… Are you sure it's okay for me to accept this?"

"Of course it is! Alphys would be glad to fix your phone and even upgrade it for you!"

Now that makes more sense.

But that still doesn't explain why it's that thick and heavy. Whatever contents there are inside it remain a mystery as you wonder how that's possible and why it's even necessary to carry in an envelope what you assume is simply Alphys's contact information. Nonetheless, you store it away with the rest of your belongings and continue on walking until you make it out of the mall.

"I apologize for not, well… doing what we were meant to do today, but thank you for understanding," you say, keeping up with his pace.

"Of course. Communication is key, (miss/mister)!" He smiles back at you and slows down to a full halt when you both make it to the bus stop. "We can discuss all these matters later on, but wouldn't it be better for you to get a check up with your doctor first?" He almost seems to realize something’s off with his question and adds, "Not that your appearance is unpleasant, but that you simply do not look as healthy as the pictures Frisk showed me of you! You look... rather fatigued, if I’m to be honest."

"I'll…" You trail off when you notice you're beginning to compare both Papyrus and his brother's actions with Jerry's.

Jerry didn't notice how different you looked back at your meeting with Sans; rather, he only noticed you were with someone new, and nothing else.

He didn't demonstrate the same level of insight as Sans did.

And he didn't show as much concern as Papyrus did, either.

Jerry didn't-

"I'll keep that in mind." You shove all that aside and step inside the bus, Papyrus following after you. It's jam packed, so you're led to hold onto the nearest hand railing before it takes off.

While you wait for an opening to continue talking with him, more thoughts return to your mind, these about last week and how Jerry wouldn’t stop texting you information about the monsters no matter how much you ignored it all. The only messages you’d opened were the ones about who Sans was, and -- considering in what state that left both you and your phone screen in -- you’ve now established it upon yourself to not look at any other message Jerry's sent. If he wanted to warn you and Frisk about anything else, then he had to gather the wits to apologize for ditching his child for so long and actually reveal some sort of positive change in him.

Hell. When was the last time you saw him -- last December, maybe?

You let all those frustrations out through a huff and loosen your grip on the railing when you notice you've become too carried away with your thoughts. There's no reason for you to be thinking about him anymore. You were over Jerry’s bull crap a long, long time ago, and having him text you again after almost a whole year of complete and utter silence from his part couldn't possibly be enough for you to begin thinking about him again.

"I forgot to mention there's another thing from Sans inside that envelope," Papyrus says, serving as a necessary distraction from your overthinking mind. "He thinks it's useful for what you will be dealing with soon, now that you've made it your goal to learn more about Frisk's monster friends." The doors hiss as the first stop arrives. People begin to stand up and exit, leaving a few seats empty for both you and your companion, as well as those who were also left to stand and hold on. “How was your meeting with him, by the way?” 

“It was fine,” you reply, assessing his question and the change of tone that goes along with it. His once amiable tone changes for curiosity, almost as if he’d no prior knowledge of how your meeting with his brother went despite having proven the contrary back at the food court. It's sudden but subtle, though as much as you try to understand what it's caused by, you come out short of possibilities. “And he was nice. I wanted to pay for at least my part of the lunch we had, but he covered for it… And now you did the same today, too.” You chuckle at that thought and look up at the monster with a smile. “You’re both just as hospitable, I’d say.”

He sighs, a sound marked by relief. His face shows that same emotion based on how his gaze loosens up and how contentment returns to his expression, once clouded by that earlier one caught with his change in tone, still unknown to you. “It is not my intent to persuade you into anything, but… I was hoping you would both get along better. At first, it was for how worried I was that he would not adjust well to the Surface, but it looks like you could both benefit off getting along with each other!”

It becomes clearer now as to what his intentions are.

He was worried as any caring sibling would be for the other sibling’s well-being. It made sense despite how outgoing both skeletons appeared to be. The elder one looked to be the type to keep to himself more based on the sole, first impression you had of him. He knew when and where to joke around, he knew how to strike up a conversation, and he was thoughtful to a noticeable extent, but all that still didn’t cover up how he approached certain topics with you, even if he was still barely acquainted to you. Even if he was honest and even if he’d been earnest enough to confess his faults to you right on your first meeting, there remained something about him that told he was still keeping certain feelings to himself, such as that of a different weakness found beyond his mistakes. Papyrus showed that quality plenty both in subtle and blatant ways, such as when he admitted when he felt that he’d failed his friendship with Frisk and how he cried when talking with you earlier ago. Sans, on the other hand, didn’t quite reveal having any emotional bond in him when talking about how he’d failed his promise and Frisk in the process. Not that it meant that he didn’t feel any repentance over his actions, but that he simply seemed to take his job as a judge for the Underground into his real-life relationships -- using that mindset even outside the Judgment Hall. 

But, of course, you hardly knew him, so that could just be you overthinking the weight and significance of the situation and misinterpreting what could be a hint of introversion in the monster when compared with his younger brother.

Over-analysis aside, you consider yet another perspective regarding what Papyrus meant when he said he hoped for you and Sans to get along.

Was it really possible he meant that as simply friendship?

Or was he throwing subtle remarks about a possible set up?

“Do you…” A mild sense of guilt overcomes you at the mere consideration of that possibility, though it doesn’t stop your stressed mind from doing what it wants. “As friends, you mean?”

Notwithstanding his seemingly innocent character, Papyrus’s gaze widens and he looks away for a split second, cheekbones burning red. “Yes,” he replies, followed by, “I apologize if that made you think a different way. I just want him to have new friends and open up some more! Though now that you mention it, he..." He trails off and frowns. "He is a bit different from most of our friends. He is almost the same age as Undyne and Alphys, and yet he still hasn’t dated anyone to this day! That, and he always rejects the advances he gets from a few people he knows from Grillby’s bar.”

“Maybe he’s aromantic or something similar?” you suggest, quirking a brow and smiling at the sight of Papyrus's flustered state. “That’s normal, if so. It could just mean he’s not interested in a romantic relationship and stuff like that.”

“But I’m still worried about him -- He’s just like this for making new friends, too! And he’s been acting strange since the Barrier broke.”

Your smile grows the further Papyrus talks, and it’s almost a challenge for you not to burst out a laugh; not in a mocking sort of sense, but for the sheer worry he expresses both through his words and body language. It’s almost as if your personalities have switched, making it now his turn to show his own set of stresses, but in a far more composed way compared to your previously anxious state. He sighs and places a hand over his forehead, expressing his troubled thoughts yet again through the rub of his temples. “If anything, I hope it’s that… And that he’s not keeping stuff to himself!” He looks at you with a small smile and adds, “Could you…” He hesitates, though he recovers with a breath in and a harrumph. “Could you ask him about that one day? I do not know much about these topics myself, but… In the meantime, I was hoping if…”

He trails off for a second time.

At that chance, you intervene, saying, “Sure.” You let out a laugh, a simple sound that seems to be sufficient for the skeleton to relax again. “You both paid for lunch, and you’re here with me after I said I needed to talk with you about the whole situation at the Underground, so…” You take a pause as your smile grows. “It’s only fair I try to pay some of that forward, don’t you think? I’m sure I can find a way to ask him without being blunt about it.”

Tears return to Papyrus’s eye sockets as sudden as thunder on a clear, sunny day. At that sight, you offer him a hug, one he accepts just as quickly. His arms squeeze you tight, similar to that of a child hugging their favourite stuffed animal after a fright, and he nearly sobs into your shoulder afterwards, the emergence of that action incrementing his grip on you. “You are too kind, (miss/mister)!” he exclaims, capturing the attention of the few passengers still remaining in the train. “I will make sure the rest of us you have left to meet are just as cooperative with you!”

You release a quiet gasp, in needful search for air when he lets you go, and chuckle when you see his gaze is as hopeful as someone with a lottery ticket. Were you both not sitting and still waiting for your stop, you would imagine he would’ve hugged you for longer or further showed his gratitude through a bow. “It’s alright,” you say, shaking your head. “Maybe I’m a little weak right now, but as soon as I go visit the doctor and get things cleared out, just say the word and I’ll do what I can to help you guys get settled up here.”

Papyrus sniffles into the third tissue you’ve offered him today and trembles after recovering. He then looks at you with a clearer gaze and a fonder smile, both of these enhanced by the late afternoon sunlight beginning to shine through the train’s large windows. “E- Even if you… consider some of us as enemies by the end of it?”

“It would all depend on how it goes, but…” You rub the back of your neck and allow a pensive frown to take over for a moment. “Based on what I know so far, I doubt I won’t be able to help out. Even if some of you hurt Frisk, I... I still have to acknowledge how much you offered and did for them after you learned they weren’t an enemy.”

His hopeful gaze almost drives into a pitfall and a trace of guilt flickers on his visage.

All other surroundings and people present besides the chair you sit on, his presence, and yourself shift to a sudden blur as you can only concentrate on that change, too abrupt for your liking.

“About that…” he speaks up, hesitating. “There’s something I believe neither Frisk nor any of us have told you about, and that is-”a

Your destined stop finally arrives, interrupting whatever closely-hidden confession the skeleton was about to direct at you.

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#sans x reader #undertale x reader #lgbt #lgbt themes #gender neutral reader #male reader #female reader #mother reader #father reader #parent reader #chubby reader #long fic #romcom #adventure #mystery #platonic relationships #slow burn

[datingintampafails]

Chapter 30: Richard*

Let me start by saying, nothing is wrong with Richard*. I match with Richard* right as the nightmare that is “the microwave” has come to a close. Now that I am mere days away from being fully vaccinated, I break the rules a little bit to give myself a headstart before I am able to actually go on the dates. I figure, what is the harm in working on getting back out there? I send a “Like” to him on Hinge, inquiring about a prompt that mentions he had broken both of his arms. The next morning, I get a reply with the story. After discussing that series of events briefly, he goes on to ask more about me and the video games I play. I step on my soapbox for a time. He tells me that he plays a video game called League of Legends, which has a reputation for having some of the most toxic players online. I ask him half-jokingly if that is his way of telling me he is toxic. He swears by his alibi of not having his microphone on when he plays with strangers, so as to not be tempted. We reminisce about Runescape, and he tells me more about some of the games he plays.

We get into the topic of pets, where he says my dog seems nice. I ask him if he has any pets where I am surprised to learn he has two snakes. We talk briefly about what it’s like having snakes, and we segue onto a conversation about television shows due to my dog having a character’s name in a show he watches, which then segued into a conversation about having coronavirus, and travel, and my changes in taste since aforementioned COVID-19.

I narrate to him a conversation I’m having with my best friend about the show of the moment, “Bridgerton,” on Netflix. Pretty randomly, he officially asks me out for drinks. I tell him I have a caveat, that it needs to be next week, as at this time I am still technically not supposed to be dating yet since I am awaiting my second COVID-19 vaccination. I make a joke that I bet he thought I was going to say I had a penis. He jokes back that he was hoping I would. I continue a joke saying I am pretty sure I don’t have one, but if I do have one it’s extremely small. We learn that we have opposing schedules, “we suck” is how I put it. I offer that in the meantime, we can text/call/video chat in order to continue getting to know each other. He sends me his number though offers that we can talk with a “different method.” Being the jester I am, I turn this into a joke of seeing how many alternate methods I can think of. A good sport, he plays along and adds a few of his own, ending in “Mongolian throat singing.” Despite the ingenious ideas we come up with, I opt to stick to contact him via text message.

Upon texting him and seeing my area code, he recognizes it as his cousins lived in that area. He grew up a couple of hours away in rural Maryland. It is late, so our transition to text is brief for now. In the morning I challenge him regarding who woke up the earliest; I win this challenge due to having a call in at work at four in the morning. We then bond over the legendary Mountain Dew Game Fuel, Citrus Cherry, that would come out at game releases; once my favorite drink, being reminded of its existence brought me anger and sadness, which I expressed I was feeling to him. We are getting along so famously, that I decided maybe I can make an exception to seeing him before my vaccine. He says he is fine either way. We start to plan our date and settle on a brewery I like near me.

Much of our texts are light-hearted jabs at each other, nothing super deep. He compliments my quirks often. He often makes jokes about having a smooth brain and sends me many diagrams. He tells me about his major in college. I then realize I don’t know what he does for a living. I ask him what his job is, that’s when he tells me he is in the Army. The stereotype for men in the military is that they usually get engaged quickly, without knowing a person for very long. Being the jokester I am, I take this opportunity to jab at him. My response to his career is, “oh sorry I don’t want to get married next month.” He says that that is why he doesn't have his job in his profile, because of the stereotypes. I joke that I have been misled to believe he had been a chill down to earth guy.

When it is the day of the date, I jokingly keep saying I am going to wear an evening gown; I mention it a couple times. When I arrive, in my skirt and crop top, I see he’s actually dressed pretty nicely and is sitting outside, wearing long khaki pants and a dress shirt. It is a decently warm day, so I hope he's okay. I compliment him, saying he looks nice and he didn't need to dress up for me. He admits that because I kept talking about the evening gown, that he thought I might have been serious, so he wanted to match my formality. I do notice over the course of the date though that he is sweating through his shirt, especially at the underarms; not the most attractive, but a person cannot help these things.

The conversation goes well, we have a nice time and I regale him with the drama in my video game community and just talk about random things. I have a couple drinks and although we weren't planning on eating dinner there, he ends up eating a burger and I opt to just "steal some fries" since I had a late lunch. He is craving dessert so we walk a block to a local ice cream place and get some ice cream as well. When we return back to where the cars were, I realize that he had Ubered there, because another joke of mine was taken seriously regarding getting super drunk. I feel bad and offer to drive him home. We get in my car and I have him put in his address into Google Maps. I drive him there and when approaching his apartment, I see a lot of construction. He instructs me where I can drop him off and suggests that I turn around in a certain lot. He gives me a hug goodbye and I drive off.

I get completely confused and lost in the construction, between closed streets and cones blocking lanes, so I get stuck in the vicinity of his apartment for five minutes before being able to find my way back to the main road. I let him know of my troubles driving, and also when I got home. He thanks me for going out and says he had a great time. Whereas I also had a good time, I found it strange he made no moves whatsoever during the night and I didn't really feel a romantic urge with him.

I get my second COVID-19 Vaccine and take a day off to recover. We still talk at least daily while he is away on his trip; while he is gone I focus a little more on the other guy I am chatting with, John*. I've told my mom of my predicament between the two men, and between her and I, I decided I'll go out with Richard* again, give him another chance. If things still aren't progressing or feelings startup, I will end it and entirely focus on John*.

Richard* asks me when he can see me again and offers to cook for me. I give him my Friday night, which is a day after I am seeing John* again as well. On Thursday, he texts me to verify, saying "I'd like to see you tomorrow, did you still want to do dinner?" I told him I meant to confirm that day. We don't talk besides that, which is good for me because I don't have to worry about getting texts from him when I'm with someone else. The day of my second date with Richard*, I text him to ask for his address again and ask for suggestions on parking, since the construction was such a fiasco for me, I'm still traumatized lightly. He tells me and after a few hours, I get some complicated news regarding my gaming community, so I ask Richard* if I can reschedule to tomorrow, Saturday. He says it is fine and so we just chat for the rest of the day.

On the day our date will actually happen, he again seems to verify the date, asking me if I'm planning on coming over "today." I snarkily replied, "yeah I don't bail, you said 730." He asks me what I want to drink, as he must be grocery shopping. I panic and say seltzers. I take a quick nap and then let him know I am headed to his apartment. When I arrive, I try to follow his parking suggestions but get confused and don't see anything. After driving around for over five minutes, I start to panic as I don't see anything. I find a random gravel lot that is in earshot of where I had dropped him off on the first date, and I call to admit defeat. I send him a photo as well to show where I am. He comes out to find me and almost walks past my car. I flash my high beams at him to indicate it's me and he hops in the car. We drive around a few minutes and luck upon a spot that is close to one of the side entrances to his apartment complex.

I follow him to his apartment, he is again dressed nicely, and I am wearing more comfortable clothes. He is wearing a nice shirt, but with jeans. We get to his apartment and it is slightly better than a typical bachelor pad, but definitely not overly showy. He is still finishing up dinner, chicken pad thai, and he gets me out a white claw to drink. We chat briefly but he starts acting weird, just off. I just sit in his gaming chair and spin around, look at his one snake, and stay quiet. In a way, I am fine with the silence, as it solidifies my unease about this going anywhere. He eventually speaks up, saying he just got a killer headache and isn't feeling well. Due to his travels, I joke about him having coronavirus.

When the food is ready, I let him serve me, I tell him to go light as I don't eat much. He had talked a lot of game regarding his pad thai being good, and unfortunately, it was pretty disappointing. He used chicken thighs, which I am not a huge fan of, and the noodles seemed almost soggy. Richard* was aware of this, however, and commented that this wasn't his best dish and had used a new kind of noodles. I don't like and say that it's just alright, at least palatable. We watch some Brooklyn 99 and eat on his couch, sitting on opposite sides of the couch. After dinner, I get an official introduction to the snakes and get to pet them, it is bizarre, but kind of cool. Definitely not as fun as playing with, say, a dog. Shortly after that, I say it's getting late and I should probably go home. He walks me back to my car, which is a need since his complex is a maze. Again, he makes no moves and gives me a hug goodbye. For me, it's easy to see that something isn't quite right here. We chat briefly, for the next few days, as I'm not ready to immediately break his heart.

When he texts me four days after our date, explicitly saying the following, I see it is a perfect opportunity to come clean:

He took things very well, and I didn't hear from him again. I commend myself for being a real human and telling people how I feel, rather than ghosting and not giving others closure. I wish more conversations could go this way. I feel bad for the guy. It isn’t his fault that I ended up “playing the game” and doing what you’re supposed to do when you’re dating, which is, not to get stuck on one person and date around. It just so happens, he ended up being the one I obviously didn’t like as much and had to sacrifice for his own good. It’s possible that only due to my extreme attraction to the other guy, that he never had a chance as it was shadowed by my feelings for someone else.

#dating #relationships #tampa #tampabay #hinge #tinder #bumble #stpete #clearwater

[judgement-free-sideblog]

Dancing lessons

Barry Berkman x reader

Summary: Barry is finally cast in a feature, the problem? He said he could dance and now he can either disappoint Sally or found a way to learn some steps.

Warnings: Swearing, blood, violence, guns, cheating, drinking.

Part 1 ● Part 2 ● Part 3 ● Part 4 ● Part 5 ● Part 6 ● Part 7 ● Part 8 ● Epilogue

Part 6

The rumor of sheets moving and the muffled steps on the carpet didn't wake you up, the clock in your nightstand said 02:00 pm and you have been sleeping for about half an hour after your spontaneous marital responsibilities, and you were still tired for the sleepless night; it was the sudden loneliness in the bed that felt wrong enough to make you incorporate in the bed.

"I thought the main purpose of getting married was that the guy will no longer leave in a hurry barely putting on his clothes" you told him and he gave you an strange look that made you feel uncomfortable with your nudity and search for a robe to cover yourself.

"I'm sorry honey, there is already trouble with the merge of the new company" He said putting on his pants and searching for a clean shirt on the closet "I had to head for the office, but I'll be home by 9, and we can have dinner"

"I can cook if you want" you said approaching him and helping him with his tie "Your favorite maybe?" You gave him a sad smile knowing too well what by 9 meant.

"Oh no, you should rest, we can go out or order something" There it was, like always an empty promise to hide the fact that he would stay until 10 or 11 pm at the office, and avoiding trouble at home by not making you put on any effort.

"Sure, there is new place a couple blocks from here I want to try" You said now following the lie "Is an Italian place L'angolo delle delizie maybe you could make reservations" You followed him out of the room and gave him the suitcase he left on the ground.

"Sounds great" He said putting on his jacket, he smiled the way both of you knew it meant we are not doing that "Italian sounds great, specially since you eat a lot of Chinese last night" He add completely innocently, but it light all the alarms in your head and protectively grab your phone, even when he was not looking at it.

"I was just hungry" You lied and he gave you a kiss on the cheek before walking away, the steps down the stairs became distant and one final door closed downstairs and then silence.

And like a stupid little child you started to cry holding yourself, until your legs won't hold you anymore and you feel into the floor, tired and angry at yourself, still holding the phone, you opened to see a text from Barry, one hour after the one you sent.

Sorry, I was filming. Doctor said you can't drink, but I'll bring the money. Meet you at 5.

The fact that he was still concerned about your well being made you smile, and then you were angry for smiling so you throw the phone against the wall and screamed in pain.

It was wrong, you felt guilty without doing anything, and the reason was now completely clear, you wanted to, you wanted for him to make a move on you, since you were too much of a coward to do it yourself.

But he wouldn't, he had a beautiful girlfriend, you saw her face popping up in random tv shows and commercials now an then, and you knew the mere reason you have met was to make her happy. He loved his Sally, with a devotion that was longer lost from you and Alan.

You stand up and picked the phone, then you look at your wedding picture, Juntos para toda la vida Together for life, a nice thing Alan Spanish grandma said on your wedding day, and now it felt more like a sentence.

You repressed the urge to cry again and instead change your clothes for something you could dance with. At least exhausted and covered in sweat you could silence your conscience.

After three hours of miserably following the rythm and two close calls to hit the floor again you lie on the floor completely tired. But maybe a little more peaceful, then Macy's figure came inside and blocked the light before giving you a hand to stan up.

"The four year olds keep giving you a hard time?" She asked once you were on your feet.

"No, I actually cancel class today, I forgot to tell you" You said and pointed at your head "I suffered a minor accident last night"

"And why are you doing this then?" She pointed at your clothes and then the record player "The last time you did that was because you were stressed out about your grandma having her hysterectomy"

You let go a tired sigh and not quite sure why start telling her the whole story, about how things were bad with Alan, about the feelings you had for Barry about how you weren't sure if you were doing something wrong, and she sit there with you listen patiently, maybe because at some point you have done the same for her or maybe just to be a decent human being.

"Berkman huh?" She said finally and then smiled at you "I mean I get it, he can't dance to save his life but he is kinda cute. Remember that rich guy who always sent you flowers after class even when he saw Alan coming home every day? He was hot, you should have chosen him" She said and both of you laughed, somehow talking about it that naturally and without judgment does made you feel better.

"Yeah, I remember, but I was too busy with Alan being promoted and the business here growing I didn't have time to that kind of stuff" you said and she gave you a serious look.

"I don't think you have time now either, but that was 3 year ago and you were deeply in love with him, so no other men seem important, he was as forgetful and workaholic as he is now, you just didn't care, and now Barry Berkman is just a clumsy student who is being polite as midwesterners are" She said, and you appreciate her being direct, but it felt wrong to face the facts like that "And you act like he has shaken your marriage like an earthquake, but the truth is that he hasn't. You have to ask yourself, do you like him or do you simply don't love your husband anymore?"

"I love Alan" You said almost too quickly "But I know what you mean, and you are right maybe Barry is just and excuse to project the little stability my husband and I have, but what can I do?" You ask her and she pointed at the door.

"Thinking quickly because the devil is calling" She said since he was opening the door with a lost look on his eyes and holding another board game under his arm.

***

Y/N I have something to tell you Barry keep rehearsing how to bring up the sensitive information, and yet he was dying to avoid the conversation with her.

"Hey there!" Macy and give her the perfect excuse to not say anything, at least not at the moment.

It all started with Sally's invitation to eat after he finished filming for the day, he pretended Y/N text didn't exist to avoid thinking about her, but he finally give in and spend the rest of the session smiling like a child, thinking about how much he was waiting for 5:00 to meet her again, he even went to a toy store to bought a The office Clue special edition since she had said she love that show, obviously just as a get well present, he said to himself.

He drove to the restaurant, and inside there were already Sally and her friend Monique from the movie she was filming, and he asume her boyfriend, a handsome man in a suit and he looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't place from where.

"Babe you made it!" Sally said happy and gave him a quick kiss making room in the booth for him to sit. "We were about to order without you." She said and then pointed at her friend, "You remember Monique, and this is her boyfriend Alan, he is a commercial lawyer, and works for a big company" She said and the man extended his hand with a incredibly white smile.

And he could see briefly see a discolored line where a wedding band should be, and he remembered that same smile in a wedding picture he had been seeing with guilt that morning.

"Boyfriend? So you are not married?" He said without thinking and the man laughed nervously

"Barry!" Sally said and gave him a playfully look meaning shut up.

"Oh I'm sorry, but you have been talking so much about Monique and how great she is I assume she was already taken" He lied, but the woman felt delighted.

"Oh is too soon to talk about that, we have been dating for, how much sweety? A year? More or less?" She said and Barry smiled trying to pretend he was not hearing any of that.

"Yeah, like a year" He said politely "We should order, I'm starving"

"Oh yeah, honey, he was telling us how he just came back from Dallas, making a big merge with an oil company" Sally said completely unaware of how Barry's fists were clenched on his lap wanting to blow up the smile from that man's face.

The worst part was that he was charming and polite, and a total gentleman with the woman, making the idea of Y/N alone at home waiting for him the more infuriating, after the meal he and Monique left together so Barry had to drive Sally home.

"They were nice right?" She said once they were on the road "I mean she is amazing but they together are really nice people"

"Well..." He started not sure of what he should said "He is fine for her, I mean he was a bit pretentious"

"I mean yeah, but you know he is a very busy and important guy, anyway how was your day? When are you going to let me go with you to one of your classes?" She asked genuinely interested.

"Oh you don't really want to go, I'm still not ready, but it was a good day at the studio, we are almost done" He said and then unable to still silent he ask "Hey if you knew that someone is cheating someone close to you, would you tell them? Or would you prefer to never know?"

"OMG who is cheating?" She asked opening her eyes widely "Jermaine is cheating on Natalie? I knew they wouldn't last" She said putting both of her hands on her face "She is going to be crushed"

"What? No!! I mean I don't know, last time they were fine, is more like an hypothetical question" He said now concerned that maybe Jermaine was in fact cheating on Natalie.

"I don't know, I mean if this person doesn't tell me may be to protect me" She started, after a long pause "But if they are my friends and they didn't tell me I would feel betrayed for them letting me be a fool for so long while someone is making fun of me, on the other hand what if it's a just one time thing and we are having a happy relationship and this only ruined it? I would blame my friends, but how could we be happy if the guy is cheating?? No definitely I would rather know" She said and then gave him a concerned look at Barry "are you sure you are okay?"

"Yeah, totally fine, hey do you wanna go to the movies? I can skip class today" He said with a tight knot on his throat finding a way to avoid Y/N.

"Oh I will love to , but I have a lot of lines to read and prepare for tomorrow" She said and he simply drove her home to later return at the dance studio. Thinking about how will he deliver such terrible news to her friend and that they might not be friends at all after he did.

"Is that The Office special edition of clue?" She asked excited once he was close, getting him out of his thoughts

"Yeah, it is" Barry responded giving her the box "How is your head?"

"Better, I'm just concerned about the hair, are you ready to loose some money?" She smile at him, and he returned the smile, both ignoring Macy rolling her eyes.

"I wanna play too" She said "The more the merrier right? Let's go I wanna take your money"

Things work out better than he expected since Macy's presence was distracting enough so he forgot what he was supposed to tell her, but after a couple hours and a few beers she left, leaving the two of them in an awkward silence.

"How was your day?" She break the silence first picking up the games while he help her clean te table.

"It was fun, after I left I had to make a few errands" He lied "And I was late to shooting, so Andre scream at me, is weird since he is about 1 foot shorter than me, but the movie is going great"

"Maybe he feels threatened by a handsome actor who can dance, and what was the other thing? Speak fluent Italian?" She laughed and he had to stop his mind to fantasize about how this was the perfect domestic life he wanted with her.

"And French" he smirked "I should've put Russian, you could have taught me that two" He said and the smile she gave him completely trusting remind him that he had something else to say. But then a ring went off in the other room and she run to answer.

"No it's okay, yeah I get it, say hi to Tom and Claudia for me ok? We can celebrate tomorrow" She said on the phone and then she hung up violently.

"Everything okay?" He said approaching cautiously.

"Yeah, Alan is working late, and he is going to spend the night with a partner of his firm, apparently they have some issues that were not completely solved in Dallas" She said looking at the floor.

"So he is already in LA?" Barry asked and his curiosity took her by surprise.

"Yeah, he came back in the morning, but he had to leave in a rush in the afternoon" She said and then look at the clock "You know what? Let's go out, let's get drunk, I haven't left the house since last night and honestly I'm perfectly fine"

And before he could argue with her she was already in her room changing to a pair of jeans and a bright blouse, while he keep thinking about the right way to tell her, but apparently that would have to wait, since at the moment she was concerned in putting the most possible amount of alcohol in her system.

"You shouldn't do this" He tried to convince her one last time without success.

"Come on, there is a bar around the corner, I can come back home walking, you either come with me or I'll go alone, what do you say?" She had an special talent to make him say yes and he could only follow her.

"Fine, but just a couple drinks ok?" He said finally walking behind her.

"You wanna do shots?" She said after she have drink three glasses of wine while he was still on the first one.

"Not really" he said.

"Hey gorgeous, 4 shots of my friend Jose" She call the bartender who gave him a judging look at him before serving them. "Ok, let's do this" She said and he look down at the shot glass "No, no, you have to look at me or it doesn't count" she said taking his face on her hand, and that spontaneous touch and intimate look that she gave him was enough for him to loose his mind and drink the burning and delicious liquid without any hesitation.

Two became four and by the sixth round the bartender simply let the bottle and they were more than happy to finish it. He no longer care about what he knew about his moron rich husband, all he care was that she wanted to dance and now he finally feel like he knew how.

They walk together, back to the studio, not caring to walk straight, and with no respect for personal space since they were holding on each other shamelessly.

Once inside she put his rehearsing piece on the record player and before she finish taking of her shoes he took her by the waist, more personal and closer than ever, they move roughly at first but after a few minutes he was following the music perfectly l, with his eyes never leaving hers.

"Well that's the secret" she said once the song was about to end "We should get you drunk before your big scene" The son ended but he did let go of her nor she set his hand free.

"I think is more about the partner" He said pressing her more to his chest.

"Well sadly they want young and beautiful actresses, even they have terrible technique" she said quietly.

"You are young and beautiful" he lowered his face to be a few inches from her mouth.

"I'm also married Barry" She answered, without any will to walk away and move herself closer to him.

"I don't care"

.

Tag list:

@l0ve-0f-my-life

#barry hbo #barry berkman edit #barry fanfiction #barry berkman fanfiction #barry berkman x you #barry berkman x reader #barry block #barry berkman #bill hader fanfiction #bill hader kiss #bill hader #tango #romance #cheating #drinking #cheap tequila

[frogsandfries]

It's been kinda a sleepy day

I'm absolutely dripping sweat right now. We got up super early--personally, I crashed early after yesterday. I'm not entirely opposed to re-learning to wake up super early.

We got a call at like three, half past, or so, saying, hook up your utilities and we'll give your keys, so we had like ninety minutes to do that, so I spent like forty minutes scrambling to throw the entire kitchen into what I thought would be bags but turned out to be one large box. I got the largest part of the perishables into our insulated bag, and the rest wrapped up into two shopping bags.

I'm really glad I wrapped up the most part of the packing last night, to keep myself from going to bed too early. I thought I'd have tomorrow to at least throw part of the upstairs laundry into the wash, and maybe even do the rest of the vacuuming.

I'm also incredibly grateful for our low move-in cost. That gives us some wiggle room to get some of the things we'll need, like tissues.......... and dammit......I left our dish soap. It also leaves room for bus passes and laundry.

I guess I'll call my former workplace tomorrow and give them a forwarding address and let them know I won't be able to get that in person.

I'm a little nervous about the job, but I think I will be even for the first couple weeks. I'm just so excited to have our own space. I opted for a six-month lease, just in case of anything. I'm nervous about keeping this job. I almost always intend to keep my job, but it's incredibly hard to stay motivated when I don't feel like my time is being respected. I hope this pay, and the determination to make things work, will add up. Plus, I keep looking for a job to settle down with. I'm about as tired of the process of looking for and obtaining work, as I am tired of constantly moving.

I didn't choose six months because I want to anticipate wanting to move that quickly; I chose six months because I want to figure out if I can make it work. This is a really nice apartment complex. It's in a nice neighborhood. The job is really nice. This is what every millennial hopes against hope for: To move up in life. I'll be crushed if the job falls through. We'll have nothing if the job falls through, so I'm so worried that I haven't heard anything today or yesterday. I know I have around two weeks before the training even begins; I don't know if I'll need the computer by then, or not till later. I'm entering a field that is completely unfamiliar to me. I don't have the same certainty about the job process that I have about manufacturing or retail.

This is going to work.

I'm just going to need a lot of caffeine. That's how I got through my asscrack-of-dawn job in Tucson.

A thought has just occurred to me.

We can have celebratory sushi sooner than planned. Or pay movers. Or my phone bill. I dunno, we can't get too carried away until we pay next month's rent on the first.

Realistically, I've done nothing to jinx the job. Except maybe not message her when I finished the second task she had assigned for me. I think I did acceptably on the tipping assessment, my background is good, and my drug test shouldn't have anything in it. It's been almost a year since I regularly consumed marijuana. Damn, when I get a car though. You can't smell my preferred method of consumption, so there's no reason to test me on that basis. I'm not stupid or inexperienced enough to consume enough to green out for so long, I couldn't be fully recovered in time to get to work. No red eyes and everybody is thirsty in the desert.

Actually on that thread of thought, I'll probably have more than enough money by the time I should be getting on the floor at work, I should be able to afford a massive drinking container--and of course some stickers to go with it!

As I write this, my partner went up the corner to get an acceptable form of payment. It feels like he's taking foooooorrrrreeeeeeevvvvvveeeeeeerrrrrrrr and my phone is currently down, so I can't even text him, let alone my friend, who has disappeared from Facebook

Conclusion:

We got moved in. The guy whose house we've been occupying had to be muscle man and move a whole box by himself. Maybe I've just gotten soft, but I think those boxes were rather fucking heavy.

We're getting dinner and I'll probably do some unpacking tomorrow. We'll see.

[pumpk1n-h34d]

Hello internet void, how are you doing tonight? It's late right now, at the time of writing this. I got finals tomorrow that I couldn't study for, I had the time but just couldn't bring myself to put in the effort. It's strangely frustrating, the task isn't difficult, there are study guides and youtube videos and all that shit to help students out, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Though if there's one thing I can say I put effort in today, its the silly little character I drew in my profile.

I don't know. Truthfully I've never been able to study, I either memorize everything in class or I don't. School was a breeze for a while, online learning kinda fucked me up. I'm sure there's people out there who can relate.

I don't know why I'm writing this, I had an idea for something actually. I'm real bad at committing to ideas though unfortunately, the worse part is most of my ideas seem to be pretty good too. At least, when I mention them to friends and stuff they seem to always like them. I'm a waste of ideas haha, its a damn shame.

Right but anyways, I love internet mysteries and rabbit holes. The weird side of things we don't get to see much on the usual side of trending tweets and pretty pictures and internet drama that serves as my daily entertainment at least. It's easy to consume, I think. Right on the surface and interesting enough. But for me at least, I want to take time investigating the weird or creepy. Honestly im on the internet so long every day anyways, might as well do research for fun and post about it here to look back on. So yeah, that was my idea. A little library of strange internet findings to place here. Not anything special but I'd figure it be good for me haha.

But again, consistency has never been my strong suit. Anyways, I guess I'll see. To whoever may be reading this, I wish you a nice night, or day or whatever time it may be. Thanks for reading stranger

Note: sorry for the huge block of text if this happened to appear for you, I forgot how to add read more on mobile

#im so tired #too tired #hello there #good night #ramblings #rambles #little talks #internet mysteries #SoundCloud

[citycfangels]

TEXT: charlie ⇄  raquel

Charlie: good morning, babe. how was your night?

Raquel: Morning baby. It was good. Just wish I would have woken up next to you.

Charlie: i wish it too, but that would be too suspicious

Charlie: are you alone or is he there with you? just curious

Raquel: True or I could just make sure to still be stealthy.

Raquel: You actually think I'd go home with him after him being that drunk? No he's not with me.

Charlie: i would be worried if you did. he was really wasted last night, so i'm glad you're okay

Charlie: so, what are you doing now?

Raquel: In the words of a great disney icon I'm a big tough girl. I tie my own sandals and everything.

Raquel: I was going to shower and then look at emails my agent sent me. What are your plans for the day?

Charlie: nice

Charlie: i wish i was in that shower with you, but we'd waste water, am i right?

Charlie: so far, i will make myself some coffee and keep reading this business book

Raquel: You could always come over and shower with me.

Raquel: YOU'RE READING A BUSINESS BOOK? How is it? Is it hard to read? Can I help?

Raquel: Have I mentioned how happy and proud of you I am lately?

Charlie: i'm tempted, i'm really tempted to go there

Charlie: why are you surprised?! not really, this one is easy to read. plus, i have internet

Charlie: you haven't, and same goes to you. you haven't given up and you're still trying, and i'm sure something will come up for you soon

Raquel: well actually now that i know you're reading and that it's no too dense you should stay home. I can always send you something when you tell me you've finished a chapter just to motivate you.

Raquel: well maybe not surprise but just excited that you are.

Raquel: Then I should definitely say it more often because I really am. I'm not supposed to give up. This is the part where me being stubborn actually comes in handy.

Charlie: oh really? because i'm almost done with this chapter, babe. it seems like i'm getting my motivation reward soon

Charlie: i'm excited about this too. it's ambitious, but i can't wait to get this going on and open a bar. my own bar.

Charlie: i know you won't, one of your best traits is the perseverance. you'll get something soon, i believe in you

Raquel: Really? Well I sure hope you actually are reading and not just skimming the pages.

Raquel: It is a little ambitious with licensing and more people needing to be involved but it's something that you can do and if you're letting me help then we can definitely do it together. I just can't wait until my man has his bar with his name on it and other people get to see just how smart you are.

Raquel: Thanks babe.

Charlie: i swear i'm actually reading them, i'm not a cheater

Charlie: true, but it's worth the damn. i'm pretty sure it'll be rewarding once it's up and ready. of course, you can help and this will be our thing, babe. i can't wait for it.

Charlie: i'm so proud of you, you know that?

Raquel: right. I know you aren't.

Raquel: I didn't know if this would be our thing or just me being the supportive woman behind you. I would be okay with either. I just don't want you to think that this isn't yours.

Raquel: I've hardly done anything yet, but I still really appreciate it. You know you're the only one in my life that actually believes in me and I don't think you know just how much that actually means to me.

Charlie: i didn't mean that, sorry

Charlie: i like both options, i would be okay with either of them. you being supportive of me on this means a lot.

Charlie: not even nathan? how is that possible?

Raquel: no, it's okay. I might as well get used to hearing it. I did cheat and there's no reason why you should censor your words.

Raquel: I'm always going to support you. No matter what. You're the person I want to spend the rest of my life with so supporting you is supporting us and our relationship.

Raquel: Don't do that. I mean it. You're my biggest and only supporter. Nathan probably likes the idea of having a girlfriend that's an actress more than actually supporting one. He's good for my career and he has shown me a few things about the world, but that doesn't mean he is supportive or that I feel like I can lean on him. He's a mistake.

Charlie: still, i should have used another expression. all i wanted to say is that i'm following the rules and doing an exhaustive reading of this

Charlie: i like having a supporter. i like all of that.

Charlie: still, that's something an asshole does. i can't believe he doesn't do that, although i like the idea of being your only fan and supporter. well, the first of many, i hope

Raquel: Babe you don't have to treat me with kid gloves just because you used the word cheater. I knew what you meant. I'm fine.

Raquel: well now you're stuck with one so you better get used to it.

Raquel: He's not an asshole I just think we both didn't really know what we wanted. I do now. Hopefully. i don't want to be one of those celebrities with just a few fans. I'd be like the Paris Hilton of actresses and no one wants that.

Charlie: okay

Charlie: being each other's supporters is so good, and one of the best parts is that it brings benefits

Charlie: i really hope he's not one. nah, you'll have more than a few, you deserve them and it's not the fanclub president talking right now

Raquel: Benefits you say? I just might think that's the best part. Not that that's the only reason to be supportive.

Raquel: He isn't but it doesn't matter. Eventually he'll make someone happy and what we had was good. I think it's the fan club president and the whole being my man thing that is talking but that doesn't take away from any of it.

Charlie: not the only reason but it's a very attractive one, yes. like i'm the only one who gets to fuck you, or the one who gets to get nudes from you, for example

Charlie: yeah, you're right. it doesn't matter. well, no matter who's talking, i'm proud of you and you deserve success

Raquel: Is that a hint? You're the only one i want to fuck me.

Raquel: http://68.media.tumblr.com/dcc484e9f8edbc6b5f841327d881d116/tumblr_inline_o54tpvLQQw1tph66c_500.jpg

Raquel: Keep reading.

Raquel: My success means noting if you're not successful with me.

Charlie: damn

Charlie: yes ma'am, i've just started another chapter

Charlie: you'd be successful anyways but that's a nice thought you have

Raquel: you're welcome.

Raquel: good boy. You could always be rewarded with a lot more than pics.

Raquel: Babe if I want a life with you. A future I don't want us both to be happy and successful. If not his is going to get hard. I don't want to wake up one day and realize that I've lost you because we've outgrown each other. I want us to grow together and build a life together. I said before that I didn't see a future for us and now I just want a future. That's all I want for us.

Charlie: oh yes? what do you have in mind for me, babe?

Charlie: i don't want that either. i'd feel empty if we parted ways after all this time, i don't know. i can't imagine a future where you're not in it, even if i ended up opening this.

Raquel: I could always come to you. You can show me everything you learned and jot figures on my clit with your tongue.

Raquel: I think that's the most romantic thing you've ever said to me. I can't picture anything without you so there isn't ever going to be an empty feeling.

Charlie: as long as you sit on my face, babe. i feel like having you ride my face today, i don't know why

Charlie: besides, you could totally blow me and help me with this boner i have from seeing your pic. i'm almost naked already

Charlie: i don't know when i started to say romantic shit but that's the truth. i'm glad you see it that way.

Raquel: can this be an every day mood because I think I could be okay with that.

Raquel: I plan on taking care of that. Good to know I can still turn you on.

Raquel: Hey, I like the romantic stuff. At least I'm not the only one being Nacho around here.

Charlie: you're not the only one who'd be okay about that, so

Charlie: good girl. it seems like i'm going from just wearing underwear and reading with a cup of coffee to completely naked as soon as you get here

Charlie: hey, i'm not cheesy. i'm hot and badass, with an special emphasis on hot

Raquel: so I can get my throne every day

Raquel: you just described the best day ever. And deprived me of seeing you read without a shirt so you're definitely going to have to pay for that one.

Raquel: so are you saying you can't be all of the above?

Charlie: you can sit in your throne whenever you want, babe

Charlie: oh really? what are you going to do to me?

Charlie: well, i feel most identified with 'hot' and 'badass' than with 'cheesy'

Raquel: well you can't say whenever because then I'll never want you to stop going down on me.

Raquel: I'm planning on kissing you from head to toe. Kissing the tip of your cock before blowing you so hard that you're going to want to cum inside my mouth. But before you can, I'm going to lay you down and ride you until I cum all over your cock.

Raquel: you can be all three and add in sexy and intelligent.

Charlie: oh, don't stop on my account. you know i love having your pussy on my face

Charlie: is that your idea of a punishment? because i can get behind that. as long as you let me cum too

Charlie: can we say you're the cheesy one and i'm the badass in this?

Raquel: and i love fucking your tongue almost as much as I love fucking your cock.

Raquel: sure is. I didn't mention letting you cum...

Raquel: I can be the badass. I'm totally a badass with a great ass.

Charlie: wasn't that the whole point of this? i read, i get informed of how a business works, you reward me for that

Charlie: we can be badass together, but you're the cheesy one on this

Raquel: Or I led you to believe that that's what the whole point of this was. It could have just been punishment all along for reading while I wasn't there to watch.

Raquel: I still don't accept it completely but I guess if we're together that's all that matters. And I'm aware that that was cheesy. Still doesn't prove your point.

Charlie: you're meaner than you let everyone think, babe. then there's no point on eating you out, unless i can make it up for it somehow

Charlie: true, it doesn't matter who's what in this. let's leave it at, well, we are hot and awesome. and very sexy.

Raquel: I'm absolutely evil, but you just said something about always wanting to go down on me so you can't take that back. You're locked in.

Raquel: I can agree to that one. Now let your sexy and hot girlfriend try to drive.

Charlie: i didn't know you could be that evil, babe. mmm, is there anything else i can do so you can let me cum

Charlie: good, my hot and sexy girlfriend can drive and she better arrive soon

Raquel: I can be even more evil. That was me being nice. I don't know. How about you try to give me some ideas.

Raquel: Your girlfriend will be there soon.

Charlie: nah, i really want to get laid, so no, no ideas for you

Charlie: be here soon, i finished a second chapter today and i want my reward

Raquel: well the ideas could actually help with you getting laid. Don't act like you don't have any.

Charlie: well, come up with any and tell me. or better, show me.

Raquel: hmmm you could always try fucking my ass seeing if that can make you cum. Bending me over and fucking me, or maybe even just putting me face down on your bed and having me take every bit of you. If not you can just try things and see what will make you feel better. I guess i can let you cum so long as you cum inside me.

Charlie: i miss fucking your ass

Charlie: don't get that shower babe, because a fuckfest is happening as soon as you get here. i hope you don't have anything to do later

Raquel: well you should have said it and it would have happened a lot sooner.

Raquel: guess I'll just have to shower with you later. Nope I have no errands and Nathan is on a boys trip out of town for the next three days and when he gets back we'll be over so it doesn't even mater.

Charlie: it seems like we're going to have three days to make up for the little time we had yesterday. except when we have to work, but three days are three days.

Charlie: we can do plenty of things in three days

Raquel: oh so you just want to monopolize my three days?

Raquel: I never said I was going to give you all three days. You'd probably break me before then.

Charlie: well, at least two of them.

Charlie: nah, i'm kidding

Charlie: i wasn't just talking about having sex like rabbits, but that's tempting

Raquel: I can deal with all three I was kidding. I'll be yours every day any day.

Raquel: as tempting as it is I think even we have to take a break sometimes. Speaking of breaks just know that you'll be doing all of the food breaks and going out to get us food.

Charlie: good, because we're having so much fun at my place. or yours, wherever you want

Charlie: why does it have to me be all the time, babe? can't we just take turns or something?

Raquel: i always like your place more than mine. I don't know why. It just feels more like home than mine does.

Raquel: Im going to pull the non feminist card and say that the man is supposed to do the "hunting" even if it is just going to go get our food.

Charlie: cheesy but nice. we both know you like my bed so much

Charlie: but think about this: you can go get food and find me reading and naked in bed, which is exactly what you missed earlier

Raquel: it's not just your bed but sure that is part of it.

Raquel: I thought about it and the whole point is to not miss any part of the reading not just come back to it so hard pass.

Charlie: unless we order food, i'll have to get up and cook something or go get take out food, so i wouldn't be reading then

Raquel: you going out to get our take out can be counted as your mental break. See I thought that one through.

Charlie: fuck, you really did

Charlie: well, i guess i'm in charge of the food, but what are you going to do for me instead?

Raquel: obviously I'm in charge of the mind blowing sex, back massages, random conversations and making you happy. Besides every time you go out you get to come back home to me which I think is always a bonus

Charlie: sounds like i'm in charge of the food, good sex and giving you sexy views then. sounds like a deal

Raquel: well good because that's the only deal you're getting 😜

Charlie: we'll see about that. now get your hot ass here so i can fuck you already

Raquel: Patience. It's a virtue you clearly don't have.

#text #text: charlie #all: charlie #ship: rarlie #text: 008 charlie