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#the fake dating game
ash-and-books · 5 months
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Rating: 4/5
Book Blurb:
“Game show antics, idiots in love, and a healthy dose of steam…this book is everything I want in a romance novel!” —Alison Cochrun, author of The Charm Offensive and Kiss Her Once for Me Ready. Set. Faux. Holden James picked the worst time to have a meltdown. His chance to audition for his favorite game show, Madcap Market, should have been a moment of triumph—a glorious, loving homage to his adored mom, who died six years ago. Instead, he’s destroying the minibar in a grim Los Angeles hotel room…recently dumped, partnerless and sliding into misery. But at least the hotel service is sublime. It even comes with an unfairly fit and sexy (smart-ass) concierge who arrives at the door with pizza, Monopoly and deliciously distracting forearms. All Holden knows about Leo Min is that he’s beautiful and unexpectedly sympathetic, and the chemistry between them is beyond. Maybe it’s even enough to convince everyone, including the show’s casting directors, that they’re a real couple. All they’d have to do is crush the competition, win the huge cash prize and all of Holden’s problems—his broken heart, his buried grief, his complete lack of money and direction—will be fixed. Of course, reality doesn’t quite work out that way. But love is an entirely different game… From showing up to glowing up, these characters are on the path to leading their best lives and finding sizzling romance along the way.
Review:
A game show to win, a fake boyfriend, and two guys falling in love. Holden James is about to ask his longtime boyfriend to join him in an audition for his favorite game show, Madcap Market, except his boyfriend dumps him and kicks him out... leading to Holden having a bit of a meltdown and destroying the minibar in a Los Angeles Hotel. Yet what Holden never expects is that the very hot concierge offers to grab pizza with him and maybe even a kiss. Cue, Leo Min, a gorgeous, funny guy who somehow worms his way into Holden's heart. Holden and Leo connect and when Leo gets fired, Holden asks him to be his partner in Madcap Market. The cash prize would help him and Holden would get the chance to be on the show he loved to share with his mom who had passed away. They both agree that they have enough chemistry to be a fake couple for the show... yet its beginning to feel very real. To his ultimate surprise, Holden discovers that his ex, who had dumped him and disliked the show, is now a contestant of the show and he wants to get revenge against Holden. Holden and Leo are now trying to win a competition but also figure out the very real feelings between them. This was a cute and steamy read featuring a game show. It was fun and overall a good time. Holden and Leo were a cute couple and this was a fast and easy read. I'd definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a quick steamy cute rom com.
*Thanks Netgalley and HARLEQUIN - Romance (U.S. & Canada), Afterglow Books by Harlequin for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
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alexsfictionaddiction · 3 months
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Review: The (Fake) Dating Game by Timothy Janovsky
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I love gameshows and I also love queer romances, so a combination of the two was a really exciting prospect for me. I am apparently in my Mills & Boon era, as this is my second read from them in just a week. I think I was a bit more prepared for the spice level this time though.
Holden James is ready to audition for Madcap Market, the supermarket themed gameshow that he watched with his beloved late mother. However, he needs a partner to audition with and his boyfriend has just decided to leave. Desperate and heartbroken, Holden decides to go to LA for the audition anyway but now he's wasting away in his hotel room. However, the concierge Leo is seriously hot and is apparently interested in cheering Holden up.
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I thought I was a gameshow fan until I 'met' Holden. I can't say I've ever recorded them and watched them again. However, I understood his reasons for doing so. The contestants aren't actors -they're real people. So, it's extra comforting to see real people who are like you on TV.
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As you might expect, the humour is very camp and it made me smile so much. I was very much rooting for Holden and even when he was feeling incredibly sorry for himself, I knew he'd find the strength to get out of it. Especially once he had Leo's support.
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It would have been easy to see Leo as a bit of flightly player but I really enjoyed him. I kind of wish he was straight because I definitely fancied him! He's respectful and loyal and exactly what Holden deserves. The romance does get pretty filthy in places, so that's something to be aware of, if you're not really into sex scenes.
The (Fake) Dating Game is a fun, queer romance that is sexy, cheeky and heartwarming all at the same time. Holden and Leo are great together and the unique backdrop of the gameshow gives it a little something different. I think I'd have enjoyed a bit more serious tension but if you take it as just a slice of fun, that's easy to get past.
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stardustandrockets · 3 months
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What's a release you're looking forward to for the first half of the year?
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There's more to the list than these ten books, but I tried to cut it down to my absolute must-haves.
Most anticipated of January-June:
• A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft (Jan 2)
• Don't Want You Like A Best Friend by Emma R. Alban (Jan 9)
• My Fair Brady by Brian D. Kennedy (Jan 23)
• The (Fake) Dating Game by Timothy Janovsky (Jan 23)
• ASAP by Axie Oh (Feb 6)
• Truthfully Yours by Caden Armstrong (Feb 6)
• Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew (Apr 2)
• Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun (Apr 2)
• A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston (June 25)
• Starfire by Kami Garcia & Gabriel Picolo (July 3)
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reegis · 5 months
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what if mechs dating sim…
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chiocchi · 7 days
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Dating sim but the only romantic options are seven versions of the same awful guy KLDKLFJSLD (Scarcrux and the harem ending being secret routes of course)
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foolishlovers · 4 months
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anything can be a good omens au if you’re unhinged enough
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giuliettagaltieri · 3 months
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Hunt for Glory
Pairing: Young!Coriolanus Snow x Capitol!Reader
Synopsis: After living under the shadow of legacy of your fathers, you and Coriolanus Snow decide it is time to climb to the top, to reclaim what was yours.  You are a convenient ally, a dangerous and sly woman, and to his luck, it seems your heart was tender for him, until it no longer was.
Warning: angst, unrequited love, mean Coriolanus Snow, academic rivalry, fake dating, politics, elitism, manipulation, greed, mentions of death, Capitol cruelty, shooting, blood, injuries, eventual smut, explicit sex, unprotected sex, spoilers
Disclaimer: The TBOSAS characters belong to their respective owners, reader is female. Skin tone and body type mentions were limited for better reading experience. If any characteristics of y/n bothers you, or if any of the warnings does not agree with you, I advise you not to proceed to read the story.
Chapter Count: 6
Status: Completed
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Masterlist
i. Fight for Carnage
ii. Duel of Knowledge
iii. Chase for Prestige
iv. Break the Bondage
v. Cry of Outrage
vi. Claim the Heritage
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Quest for Happiness
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humbuns · 1 year
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pretty in yellow
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glassshine · 4 months
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fish dating sim
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snixx · 8 months
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shoutout to parent-ified eldest kids who never ever ever no matter what take out their pain or trauma or bitterness on their younger siblings (or alternatively actively teach themselves not to even if their relationship with their parents is absolutely broken and it hurts like hell to try because their sibling's isn't) and instead do everything to make sure they never have to go through the same thing or repress their feelings and always have a built-in best friend. and maybe develop a little bit of a mom complex along the way all while doing everything in their power not to become their parents. gotta be one of my favourite genders
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sleipliir · 7 months
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Vampire Peter dating sim when? 👀✨🦇
Also Manchester Rylands Library BG found in Unsplash. Credit to Sam Barber. 👍✨
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Backwards reflection
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Summary: Coriolanus deals wiht the war inside his head. You might be too alike after all, but maybe that's why you need each other. Facing the ugly sides is a mirror you have grown to love.
Pairing: Sub!Coriolanus Snow x Dom!reader
Warnings: Coriolanus and reader (edge lords who are a bit fucked in the head), angst, making out, fighting, lots of inner angst and bad emotions for both parties, brief fight, kissing, technically some nudity(nothing happens just touch starvation)
A/N: this tired me out emotionally and physically but I live making this man pathetic. Part three will include smut.(finally)
Word count: 3.2k
[Part 1] [Masterlist]
Coriolanus Snow who never acted out after the incident. Sure there were times where your behavior got on his nerves but you'd grown familiar with his responses and moods so you soothed his anger with a loving touch and he as always gave in.
Coriolanus Snow who had never realized how good it felt to be spoiled. He had never allowed himself the thought of relinquishing his control in any way to someone, it was all he had during the harder days. But with you here? Sure you hadnt given him much of a choice in the beginning, but you cared for him in the transactional way he did for you.
You loved each other the only way you could, and most days that was enough.
Most of his time was still spent juggling the Academy and keeping his reputation pristine but there was no need to be as obsessed with it as before. He'd give himself a breather sit and smell the roses(literaly). He'd sit in parks and indulge in using the lavish Capitol public transport with the card you'd given him. He discovers how limited his world has been, it hadn't occurred to him to think about the spaces inbetween the Academy and his home. He visits parks and gardens, cafes and restaurants. He meets a lot of his classmates outside of school, albeit it involuntarily, but still he indulges in their company now that the look of their inherited riches doesn't make him sick. He strengthens his bonds and positions. He feels good.
☆Coriolanus Snow who enjoys life under your thumb. You are aware of everything he does, who he meets and where he goes, what he buys. He never asks from where you get your information, you never answer anyways. He is behaving himself for now, so you alow him to roam freely but both of you know you'll clip his wings faster than he could comprehend if it came down to it.
☆Coriolanus Snow who spends most of his free time with you. At first it felt obligatory to be seen with you but now seeing you, talking with you, eating praise at the palm of your hand it felt like second nature.
You'd attend parties together, matching clothes in reds and whites. At first you'd allowed for his tailored clothes to show the symbol of his family but slowly you'd started to incorporate the crest of your family on it instead. Soon enough he was walking around branded as yours.
☆Coriolanus Snow who on good days felt triumphant, like he had won the lottery with this deal. Who would beam at you as you'd eat in some fancy restaurant, intertwining your hands together and going as far as to feed you from his plate if he deemed the dish so good.
☆Coriolanus who nuzzles his cheek into yours and the tip of his cold nose brushed yours and he laughed. A pure and beautiful sound you don't hear too often, you'd buy it if you could, alas it was too priceless.
☆Coriolanus who viewed you as his in his own way. You had become the center of his universe(on purpose) and he enjoyed it. Always having a gentle soft hand on your lower back, not so much guiding you but holding onto you. Coriolanus who held you tightly on the new matress you'd bough together as a form of shopping date, like you were his personal stuffed toy. You wouldn't admit you enjoyed it. But you did.
☆Coriolanus Snow who on good days relishes into the feeling of being known wholly and still accepted. Who enjoyed walking around without the weight of a bravado or mask. Coriolanus Snow who loved you without fear.
✹Coriolanus Snow who on bad days lived in constant fear that he wouldn't live up to the transaction and you'd leave him. He'd seen hiw fast you cut other people, how fast and with no warning you left him when he stepped out of line.
He comforts himself with the thought that you'd spent way too much money on him to just dump him out of the blue, as long as he behaved. That you could fix him, mend him, shape him however you liked and he'd let you. He'd let you shatter him if it meant you'd continue to (love) support him.
✹Coriolanus Snow who on bad days would study and work hard even harder than before. A part of him hated hiw easily he had slipped into your trap. How vulnerable to your whims hr had become, how dependent he was. He was scared you'd pull the rug and all would fall apart underneath him, his last chance at a future outside of poverty.
His whole demeanor would be off and you could tell immediately that it was one of his bad days even before he answered your daily calls on the phone you bought him. When he got into his fits of studying out of misery he became almost unreachable, he knew you were the one calling. I mean, no one else could call him.
He'd answer eventually and you'd invite hik to dinner in your house. Sometimes when he really had to study for a test you wouldn't force him to come, you still wanted him to actually have good grades, its among the things you like most about him. But now you know by the tiredness and lack of emotion in his short answers that he was simply not in a good place.
And he'd come at the designated hour, politely knock and make small talk with your parents. They weren't fully aware of your deal, they could see the indent of the money in your bank account but also it was money they had given to you to use however you liked so they didn't ask too much questions. If all of you started poking your nose in each other's business your family would fall apart.
Your parents liked Coriolanus, that meant they didn't mind you spending time with him or spending money on him. They also didn't mind it when you excuse the both of you from dinner in the grand hall and lead Coriolanus up to your room where a small feast was organized.
You'd walk ahead even if Coriolanus knew the path by heart, he spent a lot of time here. While his apartment had gotten a few renovations it was still showing all the signs of his finances demise, how he truly didn't belong in the world he was trying to be in. His envy and pride had kept him going blindly for uears to come, it's not like he had much choice. It was that or giving up and letting all the two people he cared about die with him.
In all his years he hadn't allowed himself to stop, to weaver, to be shaken for long from his future position, almost like it was promised to him. His circumstances didn't allow for anything else. Now he had too much time to sit with his own thoughts. Too much time to reminiscent about how much he had taken from Tigris'es youth, to notice how old grandma'am had become. How fragile his little world was.
Coriolanus'es heavy monotony steps echo behind you, you walk with your chin high and fight the urge to turn around to look at him. You know he is there. But you still want to see if he is with you, or lost in his own self made prison by your doing.
You reach your room and Coriolanus goes to open it by muscle memory. His gaze is still unfocused and far away and the thin layer of skin around his eyes seems worn out and raw. It makes something stir inside you, anger. He is wearing one of the cotton shirts you had given him, plain and simple with some blue pants that reached hus ankles. The necklace you'd given him for your first supposed "anniversary" sat prettily on his collarbone. It was a simple rose gold chain with a small pendant of your family's crest: the version was simplified but the branches of the walnut trees that made up a circular frame and the small image of lion stood proudly in its middle, teeth bared. The chain wasn't long, and it made it accidentally(completely on purpose) seem like a collar. The sight puts you a bit at ease.
You both enter your spacious room, it smells faintly of the perfume you wear. On the large bed lay multiple trays with lavish dishes all unique, with different protein or no protein, depending on what the both of you would prefer. Corio rarely would turn up his nose at something, for reasons that were never spoken but understood. You watched him suffer through a bean based dish once and decided not to do it again.
Usually by this point the sight and smell of your signature scent, the warmth of your room and the aroma of food would calm his mind and bring some light back into him, but today he seemed too far gone.
Even as you both sat on the bed, the matress dipping under your weight, he ate a few bites and most of the time simply keep his gaze occupied with something else. It made some sort of anger rise in you. You tell you're you are angry because he isn't cooperating, that you've spent so much on him and he doesn't enjoy it, that he is being selfish. The soft metal of your fork seems entirely too bendable in your tight fist. You tell yourself you hate it when he isn't acting like you want him too, it's not being you hate your own powerlessness, that you can't fix this by throwing money. You could lie, but you don't.
The whirling of emotions claw its way from your gut through your lungs and throat, where it begs to be released in harsh words and imbalanced actions. Your mind grows dull of reason and your tongue sharpens. But you are better than this. You have self control. You have the control.
"I have not poisnoned the food, no need to check it."
You bite out as coldly as you can, if you don't you might burn him with your own powerlessness. His gaze momentarily shifts upwards and to you, his eyes have a yellowing touch to them and the veins are prominant and red, eyes glassy hopefully from reading and writting for so long.
"I never thought you had."
"Is there another reason you arent eating then? Perhaps the food is not up to par?"
You can hear the barely hidden venom in your voice. He can hear it too. The air feels tense and almost weavers as you both look at each other. Corio as always reads you as well as you read him and quickly becomes defensive from his own powerlessness.
"The food is lovely."
He spats back at you with a forced angry smile. This was it. You were getting tired of him and his leaching off of you. The same way the charm of a Christmas puppy would wear off after a month or two so had his own twisted charisma. He would be thrown out in the cold and left to starve, quite literally like a dog. The betrayal made his chest flare up, it set something ablaze.
Both of you stand there the embodiment of pride as all can be heard is the faint sound of the ambient music from downstairs piano and the sound of both of your breathing. That and the blood rushing through your ears. Both of you stoically and pridefully guard their response and face, force of habit from the years of play pretend.
This was the hard thing about this comrades, deal, relationship of yours, you were the same. This puzzle pieces etched from the same wood that fit together in a way no one else could. But once theatching ugly sides were facing you couldn't even be close.
His brows scrunch firtger together and he seems to be loosing the inner fight with his head just as you are. Emotions got the best of him. The best of you.
So you pulled him by the chain and smashed your lips against his.
The unspoken argument was still hot on his lips but so were your own as then mended together. His lips were as soft as you had imagined on one occasion. At first he didn't respond, not expecting for you to allow him to stay. He thought you'd finally force him to leave.
His lack of response doesn't stop you, you double down and place your hands on either side of his jaw, digging your short manicured nails into the warm flesh under where his ear and jaw meet. You were going to keep him here with you, not his stupid head, not his hatred and fear, not inside the prison of his mind, with you.
It seemed to snap Coriolanus back to life. In a flash his eyes close and his lips move against yours, the kiss is slow but very raw. His teeth brush against yours and his lips redden and glisten as they dance with yours. It's not a fight for dominance like you'd expect, it feels like you are trying to consume each other until you are one. His hands dig into the cotton material of your house clothes. They lacked the usual designer brand and rich material you usually sported, it made him feel a bit better, it made you feel barer.
His nails dig crescents into the skin of your lower back, his warm hands had found their anchor underneath your shirt and on your body.
You were warm, so so warm. And he felt like he was dying of the cold, in his apartment, in his bed, in his body. He felt cold. He wanted to be warmed by you, that's all he wanted.
You take a step closer and now your clotyed chest is against his, your hands have found their way in his hair and his own are resting in a tight embrace on your back underneath the cloth. You pull off of the kiss breathless and a bit hazy minded, you'd never done that before and judging by the disheveled boy woth dilated eyes and lips redden by your chapstick he was feeling the effect of making out for the first time.
It proved more addicting than you had expected and after quickly putting the trays with almsot untouched food on your vanity you quickly crawl on the bed to continue. It was head-spinning and electric, it made your body shiver as you got lost in it. Maybe a more rational part of you would have done things differently, made you the seductress, made you the one in control, but your hormones were raging and Coriolanus was kissing you like he's trying to fry his brain up and fill the black hole in his chest. You couldn't pull away, it felt like all the barriers set up by society, yourself, your image and even the physical form were blurring and evaporating, especially as Coriolanus's lips trailed lower and kissed and nipped at your jaw and neck.
The movements were desperate, like he was trying to crawl in your skin. You weren't much better as your hands skimmed up and down his back, underneath the layers to feel his hot back, he felt like a furnace against you.
"Coriolan-"
"Corio, please call me Corio"
He muttered into your neck, his body weight was almost fully on you, only held up by his knees on either side of your hips and one hand that squished the pillow next to your head. It made your brain go quiet for a few seconds but you didn't want that. This was all going wrong. You are supposed to be in control.
So you grab him by the neck, you nails leave pink marks on the sides of the sweaty flesh and you make him look in your eyes and stop lavishing your neck.
"Who do you belong to, Corio?"
Your voice didn't carry the same steelness to it as ususal but it came out as a threats hiss and that was enough for you. At first he didn't react his wide pupils made his eyes seem almost black. Then he opens his mouth and wrapped his lips around words he couldn't stomach before.
"Im yours, Im yours, y/n. Let me be yours, please"
It's whiny and desperate, a bit tearfully if you listened closely. It soothes something deep inside of you but your expression doesn't let up, scrunching into an deadly grimace, the hand at his neck tightens until you can feel his thriving heartbeat against your palm.
"If you think there is some way for you to escape from me you are wrong. No one can help you, no man, no woman. You are mine, and you will like it"
You gritt out and you can feel a vein pop on your face as you stare unforgiving at him, as if it will drill it in his head and keep him happy. Because you wanted him happy.
His lips are half open and his eyes are doe wide, maybe it's the fact this sick proclamation soothes him, or maybe it's the fact he sees the weakness inside of you that makes him feel better. He doesn't know. He hasn't been thinking straight since he crawled on your bed. He leans down and a stray curl of his blond hair coiled and brushed against your forearm. His lips meet with your wrist and he places such a delicate kiss there you almost believe he cares about you. It halts your bravado and gives him enough time to lift his gaze you and look at you through his lashes.
"You are all that matteres to me. You are everything that i have. Let me be yours."
He says and drops his hand down so his forehead lays at the back of your hand. His words and the shock from there seeming sincerely makes your hold loosen. His lips are at your knuckles and he holds your smaller hand in both of his like he is praying at deity. For all he cares, you are his religion and sacred salvation. The closest his soul will get to accending is when he is pressed so tightly against you he confuses what is his and what is yours.
"i love you the only way i know how to. I'll make it be enough for you. Ill be enough for you."
You don't know what to say. No response cokes and you are scare of what will come.ojt even if it did. You have no words for hik to soothe his longing, you don't know how. Your armor stands shining as he bears himself for you.
You press your lips to the crown of his head and keep them there, you envelope his head in your hands and bring him back to you. He eagerly let's you move him as you like and when he rests his head against your now bare chest It makes something click in his brain. He takes off his won shirt and lays back down with you.
You can't say if he simply clinging to you or the otger way around. All you know is that you feel warm. You feel good. The cold ess is gone and you are here with him. With Corio, with your Corio who you love, you don't know how or where to even begin to understand this twisted version of something supposedly innocent. All you know is you belong with him.
He belongs to you. He isn't going anywhere and judging by how comfortable he is underneath your heavy duvet and in your arms, nestled on the warm skin of your chest, he doesn't plan on going anywhere either.
In the end you got what you want.
Coriolanus wanted you willingly, even if this wasn't the path you thought it would take.
Doesn't matter, you always won in the end. Right?
(Im gonna make them both suffer yall)
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theminecraftbee · 1 month
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Just reread the whole scs tag and now I want to see Three's first meeting with Etho (Iirc the clip of Grian being scared of Etho sneaking around and then seeming to teleport outside the ice shop is Grian's first meeting with Etho? (And it was season 7.) And I think the "two nervous animals stare at each other" vibes could fit.)
Three is nervous.
It has heard of Etho before. Etho is very high on the threat rankings it had memorized; Etho is considered more of a threat than is currently worth taking out; Etho is, apparently, a legend even around Players who do not understand quite how much of a threat he is. There are standing orders and plans still programmed into Three on how to take him out in a way that would not make a martyr of him. Three thinks many of these plans are stupid.
Three--
Three is nervous. It has heard of Etho before, and it does not know if Etho would have heard of a Blade before, or if any of that would get in the way of it conversing with Etho. Three is relatively confident it could beat Etho in a fight. For all Etho is a threat, he is merely a Player, and Three is a Blade. That had never been why Etho is a threat. That had...
Mumbo had promised Etho was not mean. Three had asked Mumbo what that had to do with anything. Mumbo had mumbled something about how, well, if Three was worried about Etho yelling at it, then Etho wouldn't. Etho would actually also worry, Mumbo assured Three. Etho seems cool at first, but he's actually kind of awkward, Mumbo assured Three.
Three had commented that 'seeming cool at first but actually being kind of awkward' is, apparently, a common problem. It can understand why.
None of that really solves why Three is nervous, but going over the ways Etho is a threat, and the plans it has to mitigate that threat is... nice. It should not use them, because Mumbo has promised that Hermitcraft is safe. Three finds it does not want to be the reason it is not safe. Three will not mitigate the threat of Etho. Three should not have to mitigate the threat of Etho.
Three is nervous because it wants something from Etho, and doesn't have anything to offer in return.
It stands in the jungle and waits. It sees Etho arrive, because it is watching for him, but Etho seems surprised, backing away nervously on seeing Three.
"Oh. Um. Hello there. You're Mumbo's scary friend. The new one he brought here. That one. That needed help? Um, I'm Etho."
"I know. Does Mumbo describe me as scary?"
"Not usually?" Etho says.
"Oh," Three says. It does not give away its disappointment. Etho is not a handler and not another Watcher, but it is best not to give away emotions like disappointment when it wants something from him anyway.
"Is there a reason you're, uh, lurking in my base?"
Three does not fidget. It is too well-trained to. "I am here to ask a favor."
"Shoot, uh, I guess I can hear it," Etho says.
"You are making your base out of interiors, you said, in the meeting," Three says. "I--I want. I want to do that. I want--I want you to show me how to do that." The words are harder to pull out of its mouth than it thought they would be. "I do not have much to offer you. I could take care of one of your enemies, but Mumbo says Hermitcraft is safe, and I do not know if I want to do that, I just know that I want..."
Three trails off.
"Apologies. I am unclear. Will clarify," Three says.
Asking for things it wants is--hard. It's still hard. It is not good at reporting on what it wants. Etho is staring at it. Three stands perfectly still, because it is well-trained.
"Most builders aren't a big fan of interiors," Etho says slowly, "let alone a base entirely out of them. That's, uh, a big favor you're asking. Can I ask why?"
Beneath the mask, Three opens its mouth. It closes it again. It does not know how to say: because I am the thing that replaced someone who built big empty shells. Because I filled one of those empty shells. Because I could have been one of those empty shells. Because I do not want to leave behind empty shells. Because if I am gone, I want the things to leave to be knit socks and cozy rooms and laughter, not a big empty temple with a farm in the middle. Because I am Three, and I am a person, and I want the world to remember that.
What Three says instead is: "I can pay you back. I am useful."
Etho looks at Three. He rubs the back of his head. "You know, normally no one is dumb enough to give me an IOU this early in the season?" He laughs almost nervously. "Sure, man, I can teach you to make a base out of interiors. Why not."
"Thank you," Three says, and its shoulders do not slump, because it is well-trained.
"No problem. Say, what do you think about pranks?"
"I would like to learn to do those too," Three says promptly.
Etho also wears a mask. This does not stop Three from being able to tell the man is smirking.
"You know what? We're gonna get along just fine," he says. Strangely, Three believes him.
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miabrown007 · 2 months
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Adrien is so tired of the new wave of fangirls every time he makes it to the Vogue's most eligible bachelors list. so Marinette jokingly suggests this year he should date someone while the results are being complied, thus avoiding making the list.
but Adrien thinks, dragging an unwitting girl into this and dropping her the next week would just be cruel. and Marinette thinks, as Adrien's very good friend and achingly platonic superhero partner, she should have really shut up instead of offering to help.
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saltycryptid · 1 year
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Ghost’s head has always been too wise, but his heart is nothing but fire and ashes.
A page featuring a scene from the fanfic solemn prayer, poppy in my hair by @congee4lunch! Specifically from the fifth chapter because the prose haunts me to no end, genuinely so beautiful.
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iqueenlost · 9 months
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A little excerpt from a fake dating AU I wrote a while ago. Should I give it a go again?
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It was all Nicky’s fault.
Well, technically it was Andrew’s stupidity’s fault, but he was going to ignore it and blame Nicky anyway. They were at Nicky’s for Thanksgiving when the pest popped up the question he would ask every family gathering.
“So, Andrew…” he paused dramatically, because why wouldn’t he. “Are you still single?
And that had been it. Andrew was tired, he was working on a case that took a lot from him. A thirteen-years-old boy who had been raped by his stepbrother since he was seven and it was hitting way too close to home that it had given Andrew nightmare. He hadn’t had a good night of sleep for almost three weeks now. So he could be excused when his sleep deprived ass had blurted out. “Neil’s my boyfriend.”
His heart came to an abrupt stop the moment the words left his mouth. He felt his mask of indifference begin to crack as he looked across the table to where Neil was looking at him, a spoonful of mashed potatoes halfway to his open mouth.
Andrew was thoroughly fucked. Of all names he could have used to get Nicky off his back he had to have said Neil’s name. As if Nick didn’t know Neil for years, as if he hadn’t known Neil for years. Besides he had a crush on Neil since they met in his senior year of high school.
Neil carefully placed his spoon in his plate, a mischievous grin forming on his lips, his ice blue eyes glistening dangerously. Again: Andrew was fucked.
“I didn’t think we were going to tell everyone yet.” He said slowly, all fake innocence.
The table exploded.
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PART 1 of this AU if you want to read more
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