#Im back to working on this challenge more frequently

[jzprncess]

love language by sza

“help me understand how you speak your love language ”

pairing: Max Verstappen x Y/N reader

part 1/2 next part

word count: 2,823

summary: a girlfriend of a successful f1 driver decides to learn Dutch to better understand her boyfriends world—his culture, his emotions, and the language he speaks—hoping to connect more deeply and navigate the complexities of their high-speed, high-pressure relationship.

note: first time writing a fan fiction so be nice please! i don’t know how to work tumblr to the fullest so if you want to requests anything, message it to me! this will be in two parts! please leave comments so i know im doing something right!!

　　　　　　 ❛ ━━･♡❪ ❁ ❫♡･━━ ❜

Out of all the unexpected turns her life had taken, learning another language was never on Y/N's radar. Yet, here she was, grappling with the complexities of Dutch, staring at her laptop screen during a Zoom call with her tutor, Anne. They had been chatting frequently, especially while Max was off competing in a grueling triple-header race weekend.

Before he left, Y/N had noticed the shadow of frustration in Max's eyes, a rare shift from his usually upbeat demeanor. It wasn’t lost on her—or anyone, really. The weight of the season’s challenges had begun to press down on him, making his once confident posture seem a little more hunched, his usual optimism now clouded by self-doubt. Everyone could see it. With the way the season had started, Max had envisioned triumph. But now, in October, his hopes felt distant. He hadn’t clinched a victory since June, and every reminder of that fact only seemed to add to his frustration. Y/N wished she could lift that burden, even if just for a moment.

In an attempt to brighten his spirits, she decided to do something special for him—a gesture that would help him escape the pressure he was under. The very day he departed, Y/N found herself scouring the internet, searching for someone who could teach her some basic Dutch. Max, ever the romantic, had always whispered sweet phrases in his native tongue—whether it was giving her a compliment or simply wishing her a good morning. And though she often required translations, Y/N thought, Why not learn the language myself? It couldn’t be that difficult, right?

And so, here she was, earnestly trying to master the phrase “I love you, handsome” in Dutch, yet somehow fumbling over the words.

“Y/N, your pronunciation is getting better, but you need to keep practicing,” Anne encouraged from the other side of the screen, her fingers dancing over her keyboard. The rhythmic sound of her typing seemed to fill the space between them, as if punctuating her words with gentle encouragement. “Have you taken my advice and started watching shows in Dutch? Immersing yourself in the language will really help you improve, especially with those tricky pronunciations.”

Y/N leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms, and stared at the screen, her lips pressing together as she tried to hold back the exhaustion creeping in. She had been working hard at this—between the classes, the practice, the late nights watching Dutch shows, and the constant racing schedule with Max, it was all starting to feel like a lot. “Yeah, I’ve been talking to the TV like it’s my best friend,” she said with a small, self-deprecating chuckle, her voice sounding a bit weary. “The characters probably think I’m crazy by now. But, you know, I think I’m making progress? Or at least I hope I am.”

Anne’s eyebrows raised in an encouraging way. “Well, that’s the spirit! The more you immerse yourself, the more natural it will feel. Dutch can be tricky, especially with its sounds, but you’re not giving up, and that’s what matters.”

Y/N exhaled slowly, rubbing her temples. It had been one of those days—between working on the language and managing the quiet space Max left behind when he was away, the weight of it all was starting to wear on her. “I don’t know... I keep stumbling over the same words, Anne. Like, I feel like I’m so close to getting it, but then I hear myself speak Dutch, and it just sounds... off. I’m trying, but it’s hard to know if I’m really improving.”

Anne smiled gently from the screen, as though she understood exactly where Y/N was coming from. “That’s completely normal. Language learning isn’t a straight path. There are ups and downs, but the key is to be patient with yourself. Remember, it’s not about perfection—it’s about progress. You’re already doing so much more than most people would.”

“I guess so.” Y/N’s voice softened, her eyes drifting away for a moment, lost in thought. “I just wish I could see it, you know? Max always speaks so fluently, and when he says something sweet in Dutch, it sounds so effortless. I want to understand it all, to be able to speak with him like that without stumbling or needing translations.”

Anne nodded, her face sympathetic. “I get that. You want to connect with him in the language that’s so familiar to him, and that’s a beautiful thing. But don’t forget, language is just one part of communication. Max will appreciate your effort no matter where you are in your learning. It’s about the intention, the heart behind it. And besides, if you’re working hard at it, he’ll see that.”

Y/N let out a small sigh, leaning forward in her chair and running a hand through her hair. “I just want him to know how much I’m trying. I know it’s hard for him when the season gets tough, and I want to be able to understand him better, not just the words, but how he’s feeling... especially when he gets frustrated. I want to be able to share those moments with him in his language.” She looked back up at Anne, a mixture of fatigue and determination in her eyes. "But it's like I'm still learning a whole new world, Anne. It's a lot to take in."

Anne’s expression softened even more. “Learning a language is like learning a new way to see the world. And you’re doing it for the right reasons. Max will notice that. Even if you don’t think you’re where you want to be yet, he’s going to appreciate your effort, your commitment to him and to his language. And you’re already showing him that you care in ways most people wouldn’t.”

Y/N gave a faint smile, feeling the weight of Anne’s words settle into her. She took another deep breath, her gaze flickering back to the screen. “I hope so. I’m doing this for him, and... for me, too. It’s just hard to see the progress sometimes when you’re so deep in it.”

“Well, keep at it, Y/N,” Anne encouraged again, her voice gentle but firm. “The progress is there, even when you can’t see it. And remember, when Max comes back, you’ll have a whole new way of connecting. That’s something special. Now, how about we wrap up for today, and next time, we focus on a few of those tricky sounds you’ve been stumbling over?”

Y/N nodded, the exhaustion beginning to fade as she felt a renewed sense of determination wash over her. "Yeah, let’s do that. Thanks, Anne. Really."

Anne smiled warmly, her tone softening. “Good night, Y/N. You’re doing great. Keep going, and keep believing in yourself.”

With that, the call ended, leaving Y/N in the quiet of her room. As the screen went dark, she sat still for a moment, letting Anne’s words settle into her. She still had a long way to go with Dutch, but now, she felt a little less weighed down by it all. She stood up from the desk, stretched, and with a deep breath, made her way to the kitchen. There was more to learn, yes, but she could do it. For Max. And for herself

This had become her routine for the past few weeks—immersing herself in a new language while navigating the emotional ups and downs of Max's racing career. Each night flowed into the next, filled with lessons and the hope that her efforts would spark joy in him when he returned. In a way, she couldn’t help but feel that this small adventure might not only help her connect with him in a deeper way but also serve as a reminder that even in tough times, he had someone in his corner—someone ready to support him and learn alongside him.

Time passed, and soon enough, the hectic three-race weekend was behind them.

Y/N wasn’t exactly sure when Max would be home. The unpredictable nature of his F1 schedule made it hard to keep track of his exact arrival time. As the hours stretched on, she decided to make the most of the quiet afternoon. She started by tidying up the house, picking up scattered race memorabilia and smoothing out the couch cushions, which always seemed to get tossed around after a long weekend of travel. The kitchen was next—dishes stacked in the sink, a few crumbs left from breakfast, and the faint scent of coffee lingering in the air. She cleaned with a kind of absent-minded rhythm, her thoughts drifting between the tasks at hand and the excitement of his return.

Not wanting to spend the whole day indoors, Y/N grabbed her coat, slipped into her shoes, and decided to run a few errands to break the monotony. She mentally made a list of things she needed—a trip to the grocery store for fresh produce, perhaps a quick stop at the florist to pick up some flowers for the dining table. The gentle hum of the city as she walked outside felt like a welcome distraction. As she moved through the familiar streets, her mind kept drifting to Max—imagining his arrival later that evening and wondering how he would feel after the intense race weekend. With a small smile, she pushed the thought aside. There were errands to run, and time had a way of slipping by faster when you were busy.

After a while, Y/N decided it was time to head back home, the errands and quiet city stroll leaving her feeling a bit more tired than usual. The exhaustion crept up slowly, settling into her bones in the best way—a peaceful kind of tiredness that made the thought of being home all the more appealing. Once she stepped inside, she kicked off her shoes by the door and shrugged off her jacket, instantly feeling the comfort of her own space wrap around her.

She sank onto the couch, letting the weight of the day melt away, but it wasn’t long before she found herself wanting to do something—something simple and familiar to bring a sense of warmth and routine to the day. The kitchen seemed like the perfect place. She stepped into the kitchen, the warmth of the space a comforting contrast to the quiet of the house. Her mind immediately wandered to dessert—something sweet to fill the silence. Pulling out her phone, she swiped through a few recipe sites, curiosity leading her fingers. After a moment, she typed "Dutch desserts" into the search bar. Her eyes quickly landed on appeltaart, the iconic Dutch apple pie. The thought of the rich, spiced apples wrapped in buttery crust made her stomach rumble. It was exactly what the moment called for.

With a smile, she set the phone down and rolled up her sleeves. The comforting hum of her favorite playlist began to fill the room, chasing away the silence and replacing it with familiar tunes. As the music flowed through the speakers, she started pulling ingredients from the pantry—flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon. She paused for a moment, letting the soft beat of the song take over as she laid everything out on the counter. The scent of cinnamon already began to stir a feeling of warmth and anticipation.

With a deep breath, she moved into the rhythm of the recipe, the steady motion of measuring, mixing, and prepping grounding her. She could already picture the golden crust and warm, sweet filling that would soon fill the kitchen, and her heart swelled with a sense of simple joy.

As she hummed softly to the tune playing in the background, completely engrossed in the rhythm of her mixing and the warmth of the kitchen, she remained oblivious to Max stepping through the front door, his footsteps barely audible on the hardwood floor. Max paused for a moment, his eyes scanning the room before he crept quietly toward the kitchen, careful not to make a sound. He peeked around the corner, his gaze falling on you as you worked your magic, your movements fluid and focused. A smile tugged at his lips as the sweet scent of apple pie hit him, and he inhaled deeply, savoring the warm, comforting aroma that filled the air.

Max moved silently behind her, his steps light as he closed the distance between them. With a smile, he slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her close against him. He rested his chin on her shoulder for a moment, savoring the warmth of her presence, before pressing a tender kiss to her soft skin. As he inhaled the sweet scent of the kitchen, his lips brushed her shoulder, and he murmured in a low, appreciative voice, "Smells amazing."

The unexpected touch causes her to flinch, a small gasp escaping her as she instinctively tenses, but her body quickly relaxes when she turns to find Max standing there. A soft smile tugs at her lips as she meets his gaze. "I didn't hear you come in," she murmurs, her voice gentle and warm as she leans slightly into his embrace, feeling the comforting weight of his presence. She glances toward the counter, her hands still lightly dusted with flour, and then looks back at him, her eyes sparkling with a mix of affection and pride. "I made apple—" Her words falter for a brief moment, and she pauses, taking a breath before finishing with a playful smile, "Ik heb appeltaart gemaakt." (i made apple pie) She lets the Dutch phrase roll off her tongue with a touch of pride, her eyes lighting up as she anticipates his reaction to the homemade treat and at the sudden Dutch.

Max chuckles, the sound warm and teasing. "Oh, dus je spreekt nu Nederlands?" (Oh, so you speak Dutch now?) His eyes narrow playfully as he takes her in, studying her with a hint of disbelief, almost as if he couldn't quite believe what he'd just heard. It takes a moment for her to process his words, the surprise registering on her face before a grin tugs at her lips. She lets out a soft laugh, shaking her head slightly as she meets his gaze. “Leren voor jou,” she responds with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, her voice light and teasing as she repeats the phrase—"Learning for you."

Max hums contentedly into her skin, his voice soft but filled with affection. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" His words are a gentle murmur, as though he's savoring the moment. She chuckles, the sound warm and light, as she wipes her hands on a nearby towel. Without missing a beat, she spins around, her eyes sparkling, and wraps her arms around him in a tight embrace. "I've missed you," she whispers into his chest, her voice filled with sincerity, as if the distance between them had only made her feelings stronger.

He gently pulls away, his hands lingering at her waist as he looks down at her, his eyes soft with affection. There’s a quiet warmth in his gaze, a tenderness that makes his heart swell with emotion. "I've missed you too," he murmurs, his voice low and sincere, the words wrapped in a quiet vulnerability. He smiles, a soft, almost teasing glint in his eyes as he adds, "Mijntje," (my little one), his tone filled with both love and playfulness. With a tender sigh, he leans down, his face drawing closer to hers. As he lowers himself, he brushes his lips gently against hers, the kiss soft and lingering, a promise of everything he feels for her in that quiet, intimate moment. 

She pulls back just enough to look into his eyes, her breath catching in the space between them. Her heart races, each beat carrying the weight of everything she feels for him. Her hands rest gently on his chest as she searches his gaze, finding warmth, safety, and a quiet promise there. With a soft sigh, she leans in just a little closer, her lips barely brushing his as she whispers, her voice trembling with sincerity, "Ik hou van jou."

The words, though soft, are heavy with all the emotions she can't quite put into words—years of trust, laughter, passion, and quiet moments, all wrapped in those simple yet profound syllables. His breath hitches, and a smile plays on his lips as he leans in, closing the small space between them with a kiss that feels like both a promise and a beginning. There’s a warmth radiating between them, an unspoken yearning that lingers in the air, electrifying yet restrained. The kiss deepens, lingering just a moment longer, igniting a flutter of anticipation in her chest—a taste of what could be. As they pull away, their eyes lock, and in that shared gaze lies a world of possibilities, a silent acknowledgment of the passion that awaits them.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

tag list : @heluvsjappie

[mediumgayitalian]

Found this on YouTube and thought I send it to you :)

see this is interesting. ive heard this take before and im honestly not sure how i feel.

part of it is like.....i love percy. i have a very hard time criticizing him for much of PJO (although there are few choice things -- his treatment of annabeth and rachel in the later books, for one) because of the sheer amount of good he did, intentionally, while enduring so much active and hostile sabotage. like, nobody told percy SHIT. he was confused all the time in a way no one else was because no one told him anything ever. and when he asked he was ignored or, worse, mocked. percy is at the core of him a deeply kind and caring person who was given the worst possible hand in every possible way.

every time percy is framed as the villain i really just think of sea of monsters tbh. frequently the least favourite book in the series, somehow, but that whole novel was percy desperately trying to work with the information he had to keep the people he loved safe, while his peers and friends were actively turning against him. i think people forget that, for the vast majority of his time at camp, percy was NOT beloved. he had friends, and he liked it there. but people turned on him pretty easily! they blamed him for thalia's tree poisoning, they scapegoated him for the gods' bullshit, they made his quests harder and belittled his accomplishments. percy was and always has been expected to save everyone's ass and then expected to sit there and take it when people list all the ways he could have done a better fucking job. i don't buy it.

percy was friends with michael. he was hurt when he died. he was hurt when ALL his friends at camp half-blood died; he considered the deaths of even those he didn't like as personal failures. percy always TRIED to help, even people he couldn't fuckin' stand. think of how often he has saved clarisse's ass, even though she actively tries -- and, over time, he learned to like the challenge -- to make his life miserable. like, percy didn't personally kill michael yew. he didn't disregard his life. he watched his friend die, too. all while the closest person in his life was bleeding from a poisoned dagger she took to protect him. and while the living embodiment of the end of times was destroying his home and every person he loved in it.

maybe im missing something. was michael not the one to know his own death coming? did he not die laughing, having asked percy to put the events in motion, knowing the sacrifice he was making?

i went back and checked. before michael even died, there was this, from percy:

A hellhound lunged and I sidestepped. I could have stabbed it, but I hesitated. This is not Mrs O’Leary, I reminded myself. This is an untamed monster. It will kill me and all my friends.

and then, a few paragraphs later:

I tried to wound his men, not kill. That slowed me down, but these weren’t monsters. They were demigods who’d fallen under Kronos’s spell. I couldn’t see faces under their battle helmets, but some of them had probably been my friends.

and for michael's death -- i was right. he sacrificed HIMSELF. he was friends with percy, too, and he knew the goddamn cost of letting percy -- their forced savior -- die. michael made a CHOICE. read it for yourself, i'll emphasize some of the more important parts:

I got unsteadily to my feet. The remaining Apollo campers had almost made it to the end of the bridge – except for Michael Yew, who was perched on one of the suspension cables a few metres away from me. His last arrow was notched in his bow. ‘Michael, go!’ I screamed. ‘Percy, the bridge!’ he called. ‘It’s already weak!’ At first I didn’t understand. Then I looked down and saw fissures in the pavement. Patches of the road were half melted from Greek fire. The bridge had taken a beating from Kronos’s blast and the exploding arrows. ‘Break it!’ Michael yelled. ‘Use your powers!’ It was a desperate thought – no way it would work – but I stabbed Riptide into the bridge. The magic blade sank to its hilt in tarmac. Salt water shot from the crack like I’d hit a geyser. I pulled out my blade and the fissure grew. The bridge shook and began to crumble. Chunks the size of houses fell into the East River. Kronos’s demigods cried out in alarm and scrambled backwards. Some were knocked off their feet. Within a few seconds, a twenty-metre chasm opened in the Williamsburg Bridge between Kronos and me. The vibrations died. Kronos’s men crept to the edge and looked at the forty metre drop into the river. I didn’t feel safe, though. The suspension cables were still attached. The men could get across that way if they were brave enough. Or maybe Kronos had a magic way to span the gap. The Titan lord studied the problem. He looked behind him at the rising sun, then smiled across the chasm. He raised his scythe in a mock salute. ‘Until this evening, Jackson.’ He mounted his horse, whirled around and galloped back to Brooklyn followed by his warriors. I turned to thank Michael Yew, but the words died in my throat. Five metres away, a bow lay in the street. Its owner was nowhere to be seen. ‘No!’ I searched the wreckage on my side of the bridge. I stared down at the river. Nothing. I yelled in anger and frustration. The sound carried forever in the morning stillness.

like...i want to know every little detail about will solace as much as the next person. but this post is genuinely in direct ignorance of canon 😭😭 not only did percy stay to search for michael -- he was the FIRST to search. percy cared about him. and he recognised the depth of michael's sacrifice, the risk he undertook. he tried to stop him.

this is no one particular person's fault. i think as the percy jackson universe has gone on, percy, as a character, as been (ironically) kind of watered down. it has been easy for people to forget who he is, how kind he is. but i see it a lot. i see percy as this kind of apathetic, uncaring villain too often and it drives me insane. im BEGGING people to love the side characters and the barely-mentioned as much as i do, but to remember whose voice drew us in the first place.

[restlesspazzi04]

Love Island: A Pazzi Fic

Part 1: Day 3

Genre: I've somehow managed to think up a forbidden love/enemies to lovers/reformed player/slow burn love island fic all together so imma pat myself on the back bc ive been getting so many asks for all five

A/N:

This is just the introduction chapter to a series that will be very loosely updated as it's more of a fun project i'm working on but hope you guys enjoy because this is just me riding off the love island hyperfixation im in lol

Extra Note: this is will be on tumblr only mainly bc this series will be trash and purely for my self entertainment so idc as much. slow falling will remain on ao3 only :)

ik some people have difficulty reading on tumblr tho so if i get enough asks i will put this on ao3 if its easier

word count: 3.2k (this will fluctuate depending on my mood)

Format Clarification:

When the contestant name is in front of the text, that means it's a cutaway and not actually said in the villa!

anything in italics is to be read in Iain Stirling voice please i love him

-

Day 3:

It's day 3 and it's heating up in the villa! Will the current couples pass the test of temptation as two new bombshells enter for the ultimate challenge? Find out here on Love Island USA: WLW Sports Edition! 

When Paige first got the call that she was nominated for Love Island, she knew who put her name in the sea of women’s athletes picked for the show. With her social media agents wanting to get the “player” allegations away from her image to make herself more marketable, she was a shoo-in for the show. 

Paige was confident in her coupling. Ellie, the Olympic swimmer from Australia, was up her ally of girls: hot, brunette, and gay. They had been going strong for the first three days in the villa, with Ellie picking Paige on Day 1 coupling. In the mess of drama the other couples were whirlwind into, they had remained together as a voice of reason. 

“I’m just not really feeling her I don’t know,” Kate groans, slapping the ping pong ball back to Paige. 

“Bro it’s been three days and you’re already tired of your match? Couldn’t be me.” Paige responds, returning the ball. 

Kate and Paige being the only WNBA athletes in the villa naturally stuck together as close friends, being each other's confidants on Love Island. They had the common ground of basketball solidifying their sisterhood and frequently took each other's advice.

“It’s not that. I just feel like there’s no spark. Sarah is great and all, but I can’t imagine spending the rest of my villa time with her.”

“Why don’t you explore your options tonight if we recouple? That’ll start some crazy drama.” Paige laughs mischievously, wiggling her eyebrows at an unamused Kate Martin. 

“All the other couples are pretty locked in and I don’t wanna be a homewrecker… plus they’re probably bringing in new bombshells today if I got the formula right. Hopefully, they’re my type because I don’t think it’s working out for me and Sarah. ” 

“New bombshells? I mean none of them better be basketball players. That’s Ellie’s type to a T. It was hard enough fighting against you.” Paige jokes, slightly concerned at the idea of new people. It wasn’t like she and Ellie were completely locked in, but Paige knew she’d be at risk of getting kicked off the show if any of the new bombshells coupled up with Ellie.

“Ellie is not my type. She’s too nice. I need some passion in my girl." 

“I like nice. She’s sweet and brings me orange juice in the morning.” Paige says, dropping her paddle when Kate sends the ball flying past her head, "Drama stresses me out. That's why Ellie is perfect for me."

“Nah, I like a little fight. It’s hot when a girl is mad at you… you should know better than me ‘Miss Star Point Guard on the Golden State Valkyries’. Aren’t women always fighting over you?” 

“I already told you I’m not a player in the real world or the villa. Why does no one on the island believe me?” Paige exclaims, plopping down on the way-to-colorful couch in the Villa playroom. 

“I don’t know… maybe you’re insane eye contact with everyone you meet?” Kate says sarcastically, taking her seat next to Paige. 

“Blame my parents! They’re the ones who told me that eye contact is respectful." Paige argues before adding, "I can’t help I got beautiful eyes.” 

“Shut u-"

Kate is effectively cut off when KK Harvey starts screaming "I GOT A TEXT" throughout the entire villa, everyone making their way to the poolside where she was sitting.

"Islanders please gather at the fire pit for a surprise! #WatchOutCouples #Bout to drop a bomb!" KK reads loudly, the whole villa shouting in response.

"Welp, I guess this is your moment to find a new girl." Paige sighs, making her way over to the fire pit.

"Not yours?"

"Nope, I'm pretty happy with Ellie."

"You sure about that? Not even keeping an open eye?" Kate teased, ragging on Paige's loyalty.

"I'm definitely not re-coupling with some newcomer." Paige asserts firmly. 

"If you say so." 

-

As the Islanders all flock to the firepit, taking their seats next to their partners, they await for further instruction. 

“I GOT A TEXT!” Kate hoots out as the other islanders get excited, “It says ‘Get ready as your two new bombshells join you guys in the villa! #AreYouReady?’”

Paige looks over at Ellie, who’s already gripping tighter on Paige’s arm at the news of Bombshells. 

“I hope they’re not your type,” Ellie whispers shyly into Paige’s ear. It was a cute gesture, one that should’ve made Paige blush. Paige just gives her a reassuring squeeze on the arm, leaning in to whisper back. 

“I already got a beautiful girl, don’t worr-”

Paige is interrupted as shouting rings through the villa as two new girls make their way into the villa. 

“Bro, can you see her?” Kate says, pulling Paige up immediately as two figures appear in the distance. 

“Not with you jumping on my shoulders.” Paige retorts back, leaning up to get a better look, “They’re tall.”  

“Wait, I think I recognize one of them,” Kate says with her eyes squinted

Kate: You guys are ruthless in bringing my exact type. Fuck, I want to stay loyal to Sarah but I do still want to keep my options open, you know?

Paige has to brace herself for this entrance. She recognized the two bombshells immediately as they got closer. The WNBA world was small and both of these contestants were prominent figures in the league. Azzi Fudd and Nika Muhl, the star guards for the LA Sparks would be joining the girls on the island. 

“No way they brought in more girls from the league!” Kate whispers into Paige’s ear. 

“Did they run out of gays for other sports? Or is the league just super gay?” Paige responds in a nervous whisper. Ellie had literally told Paige on the first day that her type was basketball girls and it was one of the main reasons why Ellie had picked her. It was not to Paige’s advantage to have multiple girls chasing after her girl. 

“Wait, I know both of them. We worked out together at Kelsey Plum’s dawg class for a few days. She’s super hot not gonna lie.” Kate whispered lowly so Sarah wouldn’t hear. 

“Oh yeah, I’ve met them a few times. Did you know that they both were gonna come to UCONN but chose UCLA last minute?” Paige droned on, her eyes oddly trained on Azzi as they finally reached the fire pit. It suddenly dawned on Paige that she had never seen the younger girl in a bikini and it set an uncomfortable fire ablaze in her stomach. 

Azzi: Hi, my name is Azzi Fudd and I’m a 5’ 11” shooting guard for the Sparks. I wanted to come to Love Island to find my future wife and make a strong connection with someone. I have been in a lot of relationships and they don’t seem to go well for me, so I hope I find my match here!

Nika: I’m Nika Muhl and I’m a 6’ foo-

Azzi: 5’ 10” don’t lie Nika

Nika: Don’t cut me off! Anyway, I’m a point guard for the LA Sparks and I wanted to come to Love Island to finally find my love match and establish a strong connection. I’m super excited to meet the Islanders. 

Another text sound rings through the air, coming from Azzi’s hand. 

“Bombshell’s Azzi and Nika, Pick two people to go on dates with tomorrow before bed tonight. Have fun getting to know everyone tonight in the villa! #newcomers #shootyourshot!” Azzi read out, inciting excitement through the villa again. 

“Hey you’re Azzi and Nika, right? Guard’s on the Sparks?” Coco asks, making room for them around the fire pit to welcome them. 

“Yeah, we’re shocked they picked us to go together since we knew each other. You’re Coco Gauff. I’m a big fan.” Azzi gushes, hugging Coco. 

“Hey Kate,” Nika says, acknowledging the blonde in the crowd as she scans around, “How’s the island?” 

“Good. Surprised to see you guys here but I’m hyped. We need more basketball representation in here.” Kate jokes. 

“We get enough ‘basketball is the best sport’ debating from these two. Now we got more.” KK Harvey jokes, motioning to the two basketball blondes in the pit. 

“Basketball is amazing though, you gotta admit.” Azzi plays along, earning a few lighthearted groans from the rest of the villa. 

“Just promise you shut up Paige before she goes on a whole rant. Kate just eggs on that little pest.” Coco groans. 

“I’m never wrong Coco, don’t play with me. Tennis is fun but basketball is art.” Paige says, earning more groans from the group. “Do you guys know who you wanna pull for chats?” Ellie asks the two bombshells, jutting into the conversation. 

“Um, I have my eyes on a few people but I’m gonna see for the next few hours as I get to know more people on the island,” Nika responds. 

“We know you guys are in couples right now, but we just wanted to wait until we got to know more people’s vibes,” Azzi adds, looking around all the girls in the pit. A few couples had already gone off to different parts of the villa, but she was getting a good look at everyone left. There were a few people on her radar and a few people who weren’t. 

Azzi: Kate was making some pretty clear eye contact with me, but she’s on my “pulling for chats” roster.

The group spends the next few minutes getting to know each other and filling in the two on the island news. Paige tried to focus on Ellie squeezing her arm, but she was distracted by things she couldn’t comprehend. 

Things such as Azzi Fudd making flashing bouts of eye contact with her to no end. Paige was not one to falter at strong eye contact, but she couldn’t help but grow slightly nervous under the shooting guard's gaze. It wasn’t rare for Paige to catch the eye of someone. New people entering the villa the past few days had flocked to her, but she rejected them to no avail to remain loyal to Ellie. It was still fun flirting and making stable eye contact was one of her specialties. But Azzi Fudd seemed to be looking at her with a specific glint that Paige couldn’t pinpoint. 

Paige: Did you guys see the way she was looking at me? I can’t tell if she wants me in her bed or wants me dead.  

Annoyance? Lust? Hatred? C’mon Paige tell us what you see!

“So you guys want a little villa tour?” Kate asks suddenly while stepping slightly closer to Azzi, “It’s super nice.” 

The group makes their way around the villa, showing the two new islanders all the spots. Ellie and Paige stayed hand-in-hand as they walked, Ellie refusing to let go. Even when Paige got closer to Azzi coincidentally, the shooting guard would make it a point to take two steps away and it didn’t help that Ellie was pulling her in the other direction. They end up at the rooms as they finish off the night, the girls entering their assigned makeup rooms to get ready for bed. Azzi is put into Paige, Kate, Coco, and KK’s room, getting spilt up from Nika. 

“So Azzi, what do you think of the villa?” Coco asks while wiping her makeup off. 

“It’s nice, bigger than I expected. Soul ties are a lot more secretive than I thought.” Azzi answers, unpacking her bags. 

“Yeah, a lot of shit goes down there. If you go to soul ties at night we know you’re fucking or something.” KK laughs. 

“Do you know who you’re picking for your dates tomorrow? You get two right?” Paige asks, speaking up for the first time. 

“Yeah, two. I’m not sure who I’m picking yet. I think they’re asking me to pick in an hour so I have time to think in the shower.” 

“What’s your type?” Kate asks Azzi boldly, getting an approval look from Paige. 

“Uhh, I tend to focus a lot on personality. Just someone who can match my competitiveness and my energy. But if we’re talking looks, I tend to go for tall blondes.” Azzi says casually, immediately getting Kate to snap her eyes to Paige. 

Paige: Is Azzi flirting with me or Kate? If it’s me, I’m in trouble. Ellie is not going to be happy if I go on a date tomorrow. 

“Is there a separate shower room? I need to unpack my bottles.” Azzi says while standing up.

“Yeah, it’s down the hall to the left. That’s where our group showers.” Coco instructs, getting a nod of thank you before Azzi leaves. 

“Hold up, was she talking about me?” Kate polls the group the second Azzi safely leaves the room, “Or was she walking about the other two blondies?” 

“I think she was just stating her type buddy.” KK Harvey jokes, “Plus, she’s totally talking about me. She’s been giving me the eyes.”  

“Really?” Paige chimes in curiously, “Like slightly angry but confusingly hot?” 

“No, like she wanna look into my soul…What type of looks is she giving you?” KK questions. 

“Nothing… she wasn’t really looking at me, just wondering,” Paige adds quickly. She was probably just overthinking due to the reveal of her type. 

“Back off KK, you’re happy with Kylie. Sarah and I have been distant for days.” Kate playfully challenges. 

“Kylie’s great, but Azzi and Nika are hot, not going to lie. I kinda hope I get to go on the date with them. Don’t tell Kylie though, she might kill me.” 

“As long as you don’t tell Sarah. I wanna test my connection with the bombshells but I don’t want to blindside Sarah.” 

“You guys are acting like Azzi and Nika want you guys. She could be talking about girls in the other room.” Coco jokes, butting into the heated debate.

“Please, Coco. We get it. You and Paige are in happy little couples and don’t need to worry about recoupling. I would say Kylie would leave me the second another hockey girl comes in here.” KK says sarcastically before adding, “I’ve never gone for a basketball girl before.” 

“I have. And I know them better than you loser. Azzi said tall, that means basketball. She was clearly talking about me.” Kate argues back. 

“I’ll be right back,” Paige says suddenly, jumping from her makeup chair. 

“Where are you going?” Kate asks as Paige starts exiting the room. 

“Just going to chat with Azzi for a bit. Nothing serious. I’ll be back in 30 seconds.” Paige says quickly, ignoring any questioning she got from the group. 

Paige makes her way down the hall, knocking twice on the shower room door before it slowly squeaks open.

“It’s unlocked,” Azzi says simply, her composure even. 

“Oh. Some people are uncomfortable with people coming in during showers so I always knock. Wasn’t sure if you were showering.” 

“Nope, just unpacking,” Azzi says shortly, confusing Paige again, “Do you need to shower? I can leave.” 

“Oh, no. I actually wanted to talk to you real quick before you pick your dates for tomorrow.” Paige starts. 

“Sure, what did you want to talk about?” Azzi asks cautiously, continuing to organize her skincare on her shelf. 

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m in a pretty solid connection with Ellie and I don’t want you to waste your date on me because I’m mostly taken. You can still pick me, but I just want to be transparent from the beginning before we get to know each other.” Paige says while sitting up on the sink.

Azzi stood up from her packing, giving Paige a focused look of mild confusion. 

“What makes you think I’m picking you?” Azzi asks with an even tone, eyes unwavering from Paige’s. 

“Well, you said tall blondes are your type and that’s only me and Kate. So I assumed you’d use your two picks on us.” Paige says, slightly less confident.

Azzi steps closer to Paige, closing the gap between them. 

“Is it true that if you take off your top they can’t air it because it’s nudity?” Azzi whispers into Paige’s ear, pulling the blonde in. 

“Uh, yeah? They can’t air it. But they get kinda annoyed when we do it and talk about villa stuff.” Paige whispers shakily into Azzi’s ear. 

“Turn your head,” Azzi says as she takes two steps back, swiftly taking off her bikini top.

Paige had never swiveled so hard, almost falling off the sink counter. Paige turned her head halfway before she realized she could see Azzi in the mirror reflection, leading her to close her eyes as fast as possible.

“I know your reputation in the league, but I’m not trying to air out your business on TV, so I’m going to speak like this,” Azzi yells out before turning around, “You can turn around now, it’s just my back.” 

Paige opens her eyes to see Azzi’s long braids flowing down her bare back, the only article of clothing being her bottom bikini. Azzi turned her head to speak. 

“How are you going to judge me on my so-called reputation?” Paige questioned back, getting offended at the “Player” accusations she hated. 

“You ghosted one of my friends, so don’t act surprised I’m cautious of you. I came to the Villa to find love and take home the win.” 

“So did I. You haven’t seen me with Ellie. I have a lot of layers, you’d be surprised.” Paige says with a smirk, her voice growing bolder. 

“Layers? Yeah, ten layers of player. I know what you did to Alyssa.” 

“Alyssa? Who’s that?” Paige asks, racking her brain for possible Alyssa’s in her past.

“Jesus, you don’t even remember her. That’s crazy.” Azzi scoffs accusatorily, “Anyway, don’t worry. I won’t pick you for the date, I’m not going to intrude on you and Ellie. Seems like you guys are happy.” 

Paige watches as Azzi slips her bikini back on. Watching the muscles on her back contract as she pulls her top over her head. Her bare skin was addicting to look 

So addicting, Paige was caught red-handed admiring her as Azzi turned back around. 

“You sure you're happy with Ellie?” Azzi jokes dryly. 

“Very. She’s a great girl. Exactly my type.” Paige challenges back, leaning her body toward Azzi. 

“What is your type, Paige?” 

“Hot, Brunette, Pretty Eyes,” Paige says a little quieter as Azzi steps a little too close for comfort. 

“I see,” Azzi answers, nodding her head. 

“Don’t think I’m calling you my type. You just happen to fit it.” Paige adds weakly. 

“You saying I got pretty eyes? I know I'm the other two.” Azzi asks playfully, opening the door to the shower room. 

“Maybe. Let me look into them longer and I’ll decide.” Paige chirps back, a surge of confidence coursing through her. 

“In your dreams, Bueckers.” Azzi sings out with a laugh as she takes her exit, leaving a mildly dazed Paige on the sink. 

This was certainly going to be an interesting summer in the Villa for Paige. 

-

A/N: I apologize if this is shit, this is just funny for me.

[pinkaditty]

Who's Passing NNN? Tokyo Debunker

sigh

a/n: this is extremely low effort but in my defense im pretty sure i was drugged on halloween. *ahem* originally this was SUPPOSED to be low effort but clearly i got way too into it. anyways. i’ve been working a lot lately which is why i don’t have many works out rn! i work weekdays from 8 in the MORNING so it’s a lot going on but i use what little free time i have yk? ntm i have MULTIPLE projects im also working on 4 a different site so it’s a lot. i don’t think anyone’s gonna read this but im working on being a vtuber so its lots of prep lmfao! and with that, my weekends are mostly spent sleeping or with friends, but i really enjoy my work. ill be going back 2 school eventually so i need 2 figure out how the hell im gonna make that work, but i will. amen. pray 4 me y’all. oh also reqs r still being worked on i promise. just gotta get this fucking schedule under wraps.  anyways. this came 2 me on a random sunday (betraying the lord as usual) and i decided. lets write porn. i wanna do something silly bc my friends have been panicking abt climate change and its rubbing off on me. amen! quick disclaimer that i write these under the assumption the tokyo debunker boys are at least 18 years old. they appear to be present at a university considering there are professors and a chancellor. not to mention the boys drink, smoke, gamble, and refer to themselves as adults.

summary: who out of the tokyo debunker boys will pass nnn? who will fail? cliche i know but let me have this

cw: jerking off i guess. mc mentioned but no physical appearance described. MINORS DNI!!!!!!! Frostheim || Vagastrom || Jabberwock || Sinostra || Hotarubi || Obscuary || Mortkranken (before you ask vagastrom and jabberwock r already written jus not posted yet)

MINORS DNI AS PER USUAL TY FOR RESPECTING MY BOUNDARY!

Frostheim:

Jin Kamurai: Pass

Pretty touch and go with this guy. He’s never heard of it before, so when it’s a sudden trend around campus, he’s not visibly piqued, but he is… interested. Outwardly, he’d think it’s absolutely fucking ridiculous. Inwardly? He’d want to do it to prove something to himself. Of course, on the rare occasion he has an odd dream… well, he prioritizes his own pleasure over some pathetic game. 

He finally wakes up from a rather interesting he just had after lounging around and avoiding his work. You’re supposed to be coming soon to drop off some documents. Maybe that’s why you were in his dream. Hmph… What, he dreams of his… servants, now? Rolling over proves to be a challenge when his half-hard cock jumps at the slightest shift of his sheets. Now this? Well, he won’t hesitate to take care of it. A simple pillow will do the trick. In mere moments he’s humping into a large pillow, burying his face in one end and thrusting his hardening clothed cock in the other end. The friction more than satisfies his needs. He’s so focused on it that his vision swims, most of his body going slack except for his arms squeezing the pillow taut to his chest and his hips insistently searching deeper, warmer, and wishing for wetter, tighter. When it’s all over, and his focused expression melts into a slack-jawed, bleary-eyed one, he knows he’d much rather stay here, in his sheets. His warm, sticky release, however, will eventually turn uncomfortably cold, and he knew you were on your way. 

Tohma Ishibashi: Pass

He’s participating because he knows Jin is participating. That’s really all there is to it. He’s not interested in any clout or anything, just thinks it’s funny. He doesn’t do this too frequently, but often enough to keep his rocks off, you know? Sometimes, though, he doesn’t really get any free time for months cleaning up after Jin, so… It’s those times that are more interesting. 

He tries rather hard to go slow for the sake of savoring it, but fails miserably - it’s been months, after all. His uniform is much too hot to be doing this in, but god forbid he waits another minute. A sweaty collar and cum-stained slacks could be washed, anyway. Despite starting with slow strokes, before he knows it, his hand is wrapped around his dick, rubbing furiously like there’s no tomorrow. His other hand claws into the bedsheets beneath him, pulling them every which way. His face contorts into a number of different expressions: his jaw clenched tight and his eyes narrowed harshly, or his jaw slack with his tongue lolling out and his eyes rolling to the back of his skull, or even his lips pressed tight together to stifle moans with his eyes screwed shut just as well. Regardless, he’s enjoying himself and desperately trying to keep a hold of himself. Finally, when the wave of pleasure comes, he presses his face into his pillow, knowing it’s hopeless to attempt to keep quiet. He spills more than he intends every single time, and when he collapses on himself, feels his dampened body melt into his equally dampened sheets. His hair is disheveled, his uniform is sloppy, and his monocle slips off his face. Fuck. He’d have some washing to do. 

Lucas Errant: Pass

Do you think this guy masturbates? Like genuinely? I don’t doubt it but I think if he was challenged to go a month without it he’d manage fine. I think, at best, he does it when he’s so fucking exhausted from studying that he can’t focus. 

Like, he’s studying one night. An itch makes itself known, but it’s easily suppressed. He smoothly focuses on his work. The itch rises again. He ignores it again. His leg begins to twitch. He ignores it even more. His leg starts bouncing without him realizing it. He presses a hand down on his knee, purposely avoiding touching his thighs, and attempts once again to focus on his work. The itch spreads, reaching from his groin to his legs, slowly crawling up his back. He still stifles it and forces his eyes to absorb the words on the paper of the book in front of him. The itch reaches his neck, creeping up his spine to his face. Suddenly, he’s flushed, and he realizes that, despite his best efforts, here he sits: half-hard, not absorbing the information in the book, his breathing heavy and his vision swimming. Damn! He allows himself the slightest freedom, knowing that will lead him to the gates of release whether he wants that or not. When he’s covered in his own sticky release a few minutes later, clarity hits him at last. He bites his lip and suppresses a groan as he stuffs himself back into his pants, shaking his head to rid himself of the cloudy orgasmic feeling. Finally, back to work. 

That being said, November is a cinch… unless this happens. 

Kaito Fuji: Fail

I don’t need to explain myself I think lol! Horniest virgin on the face of the earth. Yes, he fails, to thoughts of you, at that! I’m even willing to bet the one time he tries, he fails accidentally via wet dream. Sucker! It’s surprising, though… When he puts his mind to it, he really can keep his hands off himself… for less than a month. 

It’s late at night and he’s not studying, rather rolling around in his bed, back and forth, trying to resist the insistence of his cock, pressing into the mattress at full mast. He huffs face first into his pillow, feeling his cock strain against his underwear. He could stand this for a little longer. Just a little longer… November just started, sure, but if he beat his record of one week, that’d be accomplishment enough for him. He has to resist the urge to whine as he rolls over again, his cock pressing and pressing and pressing against all things within reach. He rips the covers off of him, frustrated, feeling warm from the heat of his arousal anyway. He could get through this, right? His fingers grip his shirt collar, bunching it into his fist. His other hand gripped his phone, as though using it to ground himself. He shifted the screen to his face. Maybe he’d be able to find something to take his mind off of things. He opens WickChat and scrolls, searching for a distraction. However, the gods must be against him, because all he can do is open his chat with you, and pretend you’d sent him nudes. He tosses his phone back onto his bed, clenching his hand into another fist before it could drift any further towards his groin. He bites furiously on his fingernails, burying his face into his pillows. His cock continued to beg for attention. 

a/n: well, i hope u enjoyed! im so tired and i have work in 6 hours. goodnight lmfao!

note that i appreciate likes, comments, and reblogs!! im not open for reqs atm, but please feel free to just hop in 2 give little random thirsts or something, i don't mind!

[teagballs]

hello angel! I was wondering if you could write a Dennis Reynolds x fem!reader one shot where basically, reader is apart of the gang and has been for a while. Surprisingly, one time when Dennis was really angry, she calmed him down. Everyone was shocked the first, but slowly overtime got used to it. Dennis always ignored the warm feeling in his chest when she calmed him, but when he went on a date and got really mad and the girl tried to calm him down, he got even more angry than realised he liked reader??

sorry if it’s confusing 😭🫶

calmed | dennis reynolds x reader

read part 2 here!!

authors note: HEYOOO still alive. thank u sm for this prompt anon! tbh it was a bit of a challenge and i struggled 😭 i always struggle to write for dennis. i hope i did this idea justice cuz i love it. also this is my first iasip fic im publishing yayayay please send more requests for it im sooo deep into it rn. ive got a dee fic in the works rn.

cw: average dennis insanity ofc, swearing, mentions of D.E.N.N.I.S ing girls so yk, mentions of sex.

fic under the cut!

You can recall the first time you ever saw Dennis freak out.

"Idiots! Fucking idiots all of them!" Dennis ranted in his usual methodic tone. The gang wasn't phased, this sort of Dennis rant was something they'd become accustomed to. For you - the latest addition the gang - you had never witnessed one of Dennis' outbursts. It was probably that empathic nature or yours that made you want to act, to console him. And you did. Despite the gang's protests, once they noticed you about to leap into action. They knew it was better to just let Dennis ride out the anger and come down again. But you reached out and touched his arm. The gang collectively held their breath, expecting Dennis to bark out some obscenities in response, but it never came. The feeling of your hand on him made him turn to face you, to look at you.

"Dennis, it's okay, we'll fix this, I promise."

And he calmed. And took a deep breath.

"You know what? You're right. I can fix this." Dennis exhaled. Everyone was shocked,

"What the fuck just happened." Mac said blankly. In the whole time they had known him, Dennis had never been able to be pacified from one of these insane outbursts.

But then it became frequent, because Dennis's raging was frequent. Every time he would begin ranting and raving, you were able to calm him down. It was a voice of serene amidst the chaos. It went on for years like this, as you became part of the gang.

You were usually there hanging out with the gang when things would go wrong, and you'd be able to solve it and calm him down. But today, that wasn't the case. Today, Dennis was on a date.

Dennis was in the process of getting this woman to sleep with him, his stock procedure. But the date had been falling apart. It first started with his suit getting ruined. After dressing himself up in a nice blazer and shirt outfit, it was massacred by spaghetti after Mac spilt it on top of Dennis. Mac was haphazardly carrying it through their shared kitchen and failed to notice him.

"Christ Mac, what the hell are you doing!"

But that was okay. He could manage. He would just have to change. And although this did delay him, he could still D.E.N.N.I.S this girl. He could just say he was late because he was helping some old lady cross the street or looking after a stray kitten.

After successfully making it out of the door, he began to drive to the date. A cute restaurant not too far from his apartment, a picturesque rendezvous. But this was stalled even further by the lack of parking spaces available. Dennis groaned at threw his head back against the car headrest. After circling the block for what felt like the 100th time, Dennis decided to just park further away and book it to the restaurant. He settled for a tucked away corner of the city. Sure, it was far, but hey, at least it was a space.

Finally, after running to the entrance of the restaurant, he saw his date waiting, arms folded.

"Dennis! There you are! What took you so long?Are you.. okay? You look at a little out of sorts." Cadence spoke.

"Sorry. Sorry. Some old hags cat was- was trying to cross the road. I had to run from the other side of town." Dennis panted. He didn't expect the journey to have made him so debilitated. 'Not a perfect excuse, either. I might have messed up the wording..' he thought.

Dennis and his date, Cadence finally entered the restaurant. Dennis regained most of his breath and approached the host.

"Reynolds, table for two." He told the host.

The host scanned their notebook with a pen and searching eyes.

"Sorry, sir, I don't see anything for Reynolds here. Are you sure you booked for this restaurant?" The host replied. They lacked any kind of care for the situation, replying in a detached tone. Most likely years of working customer service had drained them.

"Am I sure I booked for- do you think I'm some kind of bumbling buffoon? Of course I fucking did!" Dennis snarled. Seemingly the frustrations from the evening were overflowing and spilling out.

"What do you take me for some kind of idiot!?" Dennis continued to bawl.

At this point, his date was getting embarrassed of his uncontrolled emotions. Cadence leaned in and touched his forearm. And maybe if it wasn't Dennis Reynolds she had performed this action on, it could have worked and soothed him.

"Dennis its okay, we can go eat somewhere else if you want?"

Immediately Dennis shook her grip off him.

"If I want? Why would I want to eat somewhere else when I made a fucking reservation here. What I want is to eat here!" He snapped, tapping his finger on the hosts notebook.

"Dennis, it's okay. We will do whatever you want." Cadence tried again.

"What I want? What I want is... well, what would you know about fixing shit! You're just..! Well, you're not.. not." Oh. And that's when it hit him.

What Dennis wanted now was not a reservation at this pseudo-rich restaurant. And he knew he certainly didn't want Cadence to try and comfort him. Her words didn't seem to hold any mindfulness or meaning... but yours did. She wasn't you. What he wanted was you. That's all he ever wanted. Everything else he had been doing for was a pathetic search to fill the void. The women he was trying to do, D.E.N.N.I.S, the dates he'd go on, the sex he would have, it all meant nothing.

All he wanted was you. A pure undivided love and something he had never felt before. Dennis had an unprofound realisation that he liked someone. Something most come to grips with in adolescents. But for him, that realisation was something he had never had. It made his heart ache and burn. He needed to act. He needed to call you and spill his heart out. Because no one was like you, and that's all he could think about as he turned on his heel and left the restaurant.

[milksuu]

Hello! What do you think about a scenario where Aphelios and reader meet in OSU or another game?

Like reader creates maps and uses songs that aphelios actually likes and so he ends up being the player that she always sees on her stat map charts with almost always being top 1. And one of them gets curious so they reach out on the app/netsite and they get to know each other?? Like kinda how they met and how their relationship would evolve over time. I'm not good with words but yeah!

❥ prompt: You were a revered OSU! map creator. He was a map farming legend. Especially your maps. He was always at the top of the stat charts. Praised or scrutinized, he was the daily hot topic in the /osu subforums. His username was the only thing you knew about him : m00ncake. You had no idea he would end up being Aphelios from the band Heartsteel. That's until he showed up at your job by accident, and you connecting the dots. Oh, did you forget to mention you worked at a maid café? ❥ content/warnings: fluffy fluff, mild hurt/comfort, minor angst (?) ❥ characters/pairings: Heartsteel!aphelios / f!reader

This was it. Your magnum opus! Once your song map hit the platform, thousands of players immediately clicked to dominate it. It wasn't going to be easy for them. You'd taken special care of making it more challenging than your previous maps....especially for one certain player.

m00ncake had a history of over-taking any map within the first try. After every song, there he was: placed at number one. With astronomical stats that would take days of practice for any top streamer to compete with. It's what made the whole scene that much more competitive.

But every gamer had their weakness. And you made this map specifically to exploit m00ncake. You had analyzed his replays. Over and over again. In the darkness of your room, till the desktop screen stung your eyes dry.

He was exceptionally good with rhythm, timing, and anything technical. If you could throw him off, even a little, you'd consider that a flawless victory. This time around you would delay the kick sliders, just by a fraction, before the uptick. The rhythm theoretically the same, but the minuscule margin of delay would throw any muscle memory built up from your previous maps alone.

You waited with baited breath. m00ncake played and finished your map. The stats were posted. Yet again, he proved to be the legend he was considered to be. Despite your best efforts. With the numbers alone, there was no way another player could possibly over-take him.

A few moments later, you received a direct message:

m00ncake: nice song. also fun map. can i ask a question?

You heart thumped inside your chest. Gulping, you allowed your fingers to type back:

mcreader: oh, thanks! and sure, go ahead. m00ncake: did you purposefully slow down the kick slider at certain parts? if you did, it was actually pretty challenging for me. i'm usually on auto-pilot so that kind of threw me off. haha

After that message, your friendship blossomed. Frequently messaging each other on the platform, to then adding each other on Discord. Whenever you posted a new map, m00ncake would call you, and have you listen to his insane key-board clicking sounds. The most intense ASMR one could experience, really.

It was always great to get feedback from him after he would finish. Being the professional OSU! player that he was, it was nice to get insight on possible map formations, songs, to just general technical suggestions. To no surprise, you both enjoyed the same style of music. It explained why his play history consisted of mostly your maps. Even your least popular ones.

But he never spoke. Not even a whisper. And you never pressed it. If he was just generally shy with speaking, you could understand. You didn't mind doing all of the talking, and him replying with short text, emojies or tts.

mcreader: i found a great song for a new map. but i have work now, so i'll probably do it later tonight. maybe post it if im not too sleepy. m00ncake: sounds good. i'm excited to play it when it comes out. i'm usually up at night so if you need some company, let me know. have a good day at work. ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

mcreader: will do! and tysm! have a good day too! ttyl! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

You pressed your phone to your lips. m00ncake was always so sweet, supportive, and always a treat to talk to (Well, text to). You just wished you knew his name. Or anything more about him, really. He was always very secretive. It made you wonder why.

When you made it to work, you dressed and fitted into your maid outfit along with the rest of the girls coming in for shift. You heard giggles and whispers, "Hey, did you see that guy that's at that one table? He looks just like Aphelios from Heartsteel!" Another girl wiggled excitedly, nodding her head. "Totally. But it's so hard to tell. He's got his mask on and has his hoodie up. No, there's no way it's not him. As a die-hard fan, I can tell!"

"That's enough, girls." The manager clapped her hands at attention. "Everyone already has their table assignments. And there will be no switching. Whether we have a special customer or not, we always provide excellence in our service. Understood?"

After learning your table assignments, you were ready for your shift. And looked like you were assigned the very table everyone seemed to want. Whines erupted around you. "How come she get's to serve Apehlios? I bet she doesn't even know who Heartsteel is." The mass of complaints silenced as the manager clapped her hands once more.

They were right. You weren't too knowledgeable on the up and coming band. But if they were right, then that made you all the more nervous. It wasn't everyday you served someone of musical prestige. You usually served single college guys, the occasional cute couple, or a group of high-school girls on a fun after school date.

"Welcome back, Master! It's an honor to serve you again today." You sang your rehearsed spiel at the customers table. 'Masters' were always treated as if they had come home from a long journey. "I'm glad you're back safely. You must be tired after being away from home so very long. Please, let me recharge you by taking your food and drink order."

What on earth? You almost broke character. You watched as the young man had his phone out, playing OSU! in the most casual way imaginable. He rolled his blood-moon eyes to acknowledge you, expression veiled. He placed his phone on the table, but his fingers continued to tap his screen while he scanned the heart-shaped menu.

D-Did he memorize the whole song!? The whole scene was out of this world. So distracted by this detail, you almost didn't realize he was trying to communicate. You looked down. He pointed and tapped a finger at his order. A lavender latte and dessert combo.

"Wonderful choice, Master. I'll let the fairy's know right away. Your dessert and drink will be out shortly."

You scurried away with the order. When you returned with a tray, you sought to investigate your customer a little more. It was customary to draw art on the latte foam. You smiled sweetly, drawing the shape of a rabbit. "I'm so happy you returned home, Master. I was so worried because it had been so long. Once I heard you were coming back, I couldn't help but be excited for today. The day when we would finally see each other again."

Honestly, you were just trying to ramble and waste time. He never bothered reacting to your whole gimmick. That gave you security to scan your eyes over his phone screen. Your breath hitched. His username...his username...his username...

m00ncake

You practically squirted the whole bottle of chocolate sauce on the table. Recovering with an innocent laugh, and wiped the table dry, and ran away to take cover in the employee's only section. You pulled out your phone and opened Discord:

mcreader: hey! super weird question, but um, what're you doing rn??????? m00ncake: ...me? just out and about. having something to eat. why ( ° - °) ??????? mcreader: i was just wondering, and im sorry if this is random but...is....is your name aphelios by chance?

After pressing send, you peeked around the corner. You watched as the young man tapped on his phone. After a pause, his eyes snapped wide. Panicked, he looked around the space. As if trying to find a proper response to your question.

It is you, you pressed your lips firmly together. You went back to his table and took his wrist, encouraging him to follow you. "Oh! Master, let me guide you to the restroom." You announced loudly, leading him away. You dragged him into the dressing room. Since next shift wasn't for a few more hours, no one would bother walking in.

"m00ncake, Aphelios--whoever you are. What're you doing here?" How embarrassing. If you ever decided to meet in person, you didn't want it to be like this. With you and your silly frilly outfit and cringey maid character (even though you did enjoy it). But this was way over the top than you imagined!

Aphelio's backed up slowly against a locker. He didn't say a word. Blinking wildly at your question. You pulled out your phone, revealing your Discord and OSU! conversations with him.

"You see this? That's you! And now I know that it's you...you're m00ncake...and Aphelio's from Heartsteel...and I-I'm..."

Why? Why? Why? Why couldn't he have been anyone else than a supposed famous idol star? Why couldn't he have been some normal guy with an obsession with online rhythm games? Someone weirdly normal, like you.

So why....why did you have to like someone so out of your league?

Girlish talk and laughter bounced outside the changing room door. Fearing the worst, you dragged you and Aphelio's into your clothing locker. You made shushing gestures to your lips, which was ironic, since you knew at this point he never said a word.

A couple of girls walked in, laughing to one another. "Wow, I can't believe I lost one of my hair ties. Thanks for letting me borrow yours." The other then replied, "No problem! I always keep spares in my bag. Hey, look. Whose headphones are these?"

In the frantic mess of your actions, Aphelio's lost his headphones. The pair continued to laugh and talk, wondering exactly where the headset even came from. You shifted your gaze upwards. And your heart squeezed horribly inside your chest.

Aphelio's had his eyes half-lided, almost closed. Breathing laboriously through his mask. He looked as if he was in pain. Flinching whenever one of the girls giggled too loudly, or the other raised their voice in excitement. In the condensed space, he had no room to move his arms and cover his ears.

Your eyes widened at the realization. This...this is all my fault. Carefully, you squeezed your arms up, cupping his ears in your hands. In this angle, your cheek condensed into his chest. You felt the erratic thumping of his heart. Slowly, it settled to a steady rhythm. The heaves of his chest dissipating to normal breaths.

When the girls finally left, you uncovered his ears, both slipping out of the locker. You picked up his headphones, adjusting them against his ears. You then fitted the hoodie over his head, wearing a sad smile, "I'm so sorry. About all that. About everything, really. Can...can you forget about today? And don't worry about paying for your meal. I'll cover it."

You didn't let him type or gesture a single word to you. Resuming character, you escorted him out of the maid café, with a take-home box in hand for his troubles.

Your shift dragged on. You didn't bother sending any messages to m00ncake. Or actually, Apehlios, you should say. And no messages came from him, either. Good...it's better this way. The two of you living in two separate worlds.

When end of shift came, the sky had darkened. With your dress bag slung over your shoulder, you left the café. When you stepped onto the sidewalk, someone familiar stood at the side.

"A-Aphelios, why did you..." before you finished, he messaged you on Discord. You opened the message:

m00ncake: i didn't want to forget about today. in fact, do you want to ride the train together?

You paused. A smile then formed across your lips. With a nod, you placed yourself at his side. In a comfortable silence, the two of you walked shoulder to shoulder. Your phone buzzed. Another ping:

m00ncake: i shouldn't probably say this but, i actually have a thing for girls in maid outfits. you can shove me in a locker and call me master anytime. (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

You blushed furiously, grabbing his arm and shaking it with a whine. Thinking maybe, just maybe, two totally different notes could be part of the same song.

an: omfg what a cute idea this was! honestly, im not versed in rhythm games, but i tried my best. maybe i went overboard too. thanks so much for the request @timetoeatthebread-blog!

[chlobliviate]

Wolfstar Microfics - Over 30 Years Old

Words: 795

@wolfstarmicrofic

***

“We’ll meet back here at 4:30,” Sirius said to the crowd of teenagers. “If you’re not back then, we’ll leave you to fend for yourself in Berlin forever and we all know your German isn’t good enough for that.”

Remus shook his head, “What Mr Black means is, be here for 4:15 to be safe. We have a flight to catch and we can’t be late.”

“Same difference,” Sirius said under his breath.

“Ok, you’re free to go. Bis später!” Remus had barely finished his sentence before the students dispersed noisily. He turned to Sirius, “I take issue with your assessment of their German skills.”

“You would say that. You teach them.” Sirius shrugged with a smug smile. “You think they’d be able to fend for themselves?”

“Oh, fuck no. But I’m allowed to say it. You’re not.” He looked down the street, “What are your plans for the day?”

“Are you asking me on a date, Mr Lupin?”

“I was thinking more, ‘Where should I avoid?’,” Remus chuckled as Sirius’ face dropped. “I was planning on going to the Museum der Dinge, the Museum of Things. They have all sorts of cool stuff.” He shrugged, “And then I was thinking I’d go over to the Tiergarten to the Denkmal für die im Nationalsozialismus verfolgten Homosexuellen.” He paused as Sirius looked baffled. “It’s a memorial for the gay people persecuted by the Nazis.”

Sirius’ brain had been letting him down frequently on this trip. Every time Remus spoke German his mind just went blank, and as Remus was a German teacher currently leading a school trip in Germany, he was spending a lot of time willing his brain to just do something. “Mind if I join you?”

“Worried about your ability to fend for yourself here?” He looked at Sirius fondly.

“Ja.” Sirius muttered, defeated.

“I’ll translate for you in the museum if you find me a decent cup of tea.” Remus said, “But you have to order it in German.”

Sirius blanched, “I never even took German at school, this is unfair.”

“I’ll teach you on the way, come on.” He pressed his hand to Sirius’ lower back, and Sirius was sure he'd melt into a puddle or disappear into a puff of smoke, some kind of state change for sure, until Remus guided them towards a small café down a sidestreet.

***

“Uh, Hallo.” Sirius started, knowing that Remus probably couldn’t hear him, but determined to do this. “Haben Sie Earl Grey?”

“Ja, eine Tasse oder eine Kanne?” The barista spoke slowly.

“Um, eine Tasse? Bitte?” He frowned, “Und ein großer Americano, bitte. Danke.”

He paid and grabbed milk and sugar for Remus. When he sat down the other man was smiling at him and the whole awkward transaction was suddenly worth it.

“I didn’t think you’d do it.”

“I like a challenge,” Sirius said, with a glint in his eye.

“Evidently.” Remus held his gaze. “What possessed you to chaperone this trip when you don’t speak German?”

“The drama trips are always so… dramatic.” He laughed, “So much teen angst. Plus, the other arts teachers are fairly dull.”

“And I’m not?”

“No, you’re fascinating.” Sirius wasn’t sure who was blushing more. “I mean— Oh, shit. I mean that I think you’re an interesting person.” Remus tilted his head, willing him to say more. “And you’re, y’know…” He gestured at Remus.

“A single, bisexual man in his thirties who wears oversized jumpers so he can pull the sleeves over his hands?” Remus grinned, “A grown-ass man who collects Lego?”

“You collect Lego?” Sirius laughed, “Why aren’t we going to the Lego Store then?”

“I figured students would be more likely to go there than a museum and a park.” Remus said quietly, “I figured you’d be tagging along.”

“You didn’t want students to see us together?” Sirius was slowly piecing things together but felt like he was maybe misreading, “I hate to tell you, but I think they know that we’re both on the trip.”

Remus shot him a withering look. “Arschgeige…”

Sirius suspected that wasn’t a compliment. “We could go to the Lego Store first and be super professional and then we can go to your museum and park, but…” He reached across the table, pulled back Remus’ sleeve, and put his hand over his, “You might need to hold my hand so you don’t lose me in the museum.”

Remus pressed his lips together, suppressing a laugh, willing his heart to stop pounding in his chest, “Smooth.” He laced his fingers into Sirius’, “That sounds nice. I’d like that.”

They hadn’t clocked the small group of Year 11 students sat in a booth, two of whom groaned as they reached for their phones to transfer money to the other two.

***

Translations 😬😬 they’re maybe right 😂

Bis später - See you later

Denkmal für die im Nationalsozialismus verfolgten Homosexuellen - Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism

Haben Sie Earl Grey? - Do you have Earl Grey?

Ja, eine Tasse oder eine Kanne? - Yes, a cup or a pot?

Um, eine Tasse? Bitte? Und ein großer Americano, bitte. Danke. - Um, a cup? Please? And a large Americano, please. Thanks.

Arschgeige - Arse violin

If you saw this before I deleted and reposted because I realised that Remus would never teach Sirius the informal way to ask for tea, no you didn’t. 🥲🥲🥲

[fishnapple]

hello! Good day! I have a question about synastry. What does sun square pluto and nodes mean?

The guy has a leo sun (in his 10th house) and i have a scorpio pluto (in my 8th house). My north node’s 8th house scorpio also and south node is in 2nd house taurus.

When i first saw him, i stared at him so bad because he looked so familiar but i cannot tell where/when/how i met him before BUT im pretty sure i havent met him before that event!!!!! Is this normal?? 🥲🥲 and he’s been stuck inside my head ever since (i even had dreams about him). Is this a one sided thing or not???

on a side note, all the other anons that asked about scorpio pluto and 8th houses + you also river!! hello there!!! Nice to see all scorpio 8th housers out here!! 🤗 🤗

Hello, fellow Scorpio 8th houser, hope you're having a wonderful holiday ✨️.

It's totally normal for a Pluto contact to feel a certain sense of familiarity, all the more when Node is involved. I'm a Leo sun myself and have the Pluto square with everyone around my age and many people had commented that I looked like somebody close to them or they had seen me somewhere before.

Sun square Pluto synastry

From my experience, Sun square Pluto synastry usually creates curiosity from the side of the Pluto person, to get closer to uncover whatever is hidden beneath the surface of the Sun person, yet, at the same time, feel wary and distrustful of the Sun person. If you look from the outside, you will see the Pluto person being very aware of the presence of the Sun person, looking at them frequently, or just staring, BUT, not approaching. While the Sun person will also become aware of Pluto's attention on them, they can choose to avoid or return the attention. Depend on the amount of familiarity a person has with Pluto in their own chart, this aspect can feel uncomfortable for both side, for Pluto, it's the pull and curiosity that make them uncomfortable, for Sun, it's the attention and hidden intention that make them uncomfortable. But if Pluto is no stranger to both then both people can feel attraction, the kind that's hidden and a bit taboo (as in someone shouldn't get under you skin so soon). One particular note is that Pluto will want to put Sun under control and Sun will want to rebel, it's a power struggle. I can't count how many times a person who had their Pluto square my Sun openly displayed "joy" or pleasure when I acted meek or obeyed them, then give me the silent treatment when I'm not. If two people can work around that issue then the bond can be very strong and loyal, with unavoidable feeling of possessiveness and jealousy (regardless of the nature of the connection).

Sun square North node synastry

The people who are close to you usually are those who have planets aspecting your Node. The square can feel like the planet person can both be your companion and your enemy on your road to reach your aspirations. The way they act can feel very familiar and comforting, but other times, the Node person feels like they're being challenged and held back by the planet person. This aspect makes me think of "loving family members who don't share similar values with you" kind of dynamic.

I don't know the details of your charts so I can't say it's one-sided or not, but I think it takes more to make a memorable impression, not just by Pluto synastry alone, because Pluto and the Nodes are pretty generational, you're bound to find many other people who will share that synastry with you, but not every single one will stay in your mind like that, right? There could be other aspects that instigate an attraction, and Pluto will amplify that attraction and make it stay longer in your mind.

You said he has Leo sun in 10H, so it's likely he has a Scorpio rising, and that rising is likely to be in your 8H, with his sun likely in your 5H or 4H (which can contribute to the feeling of familiarity). Your description seems more like 12H synastry tbh, especially the dreaming part, you should check if you share any with him.

[bunnydracula]

would love to hear your wisdom regarding creating likenesses in portraiture :) it’s something i always find evades me until i’m right up against it, so any ideas about how to get there reliably would be a big help, especially from you!

YAY........ well i mean i think this is kind of annoying advice but my best portrait insight is to just draw the shapes you see. like draw the actual shapes. and we quickly realize how difficult this is, esp when we're trying to infuse work with 1) opinions on the subject 2) assumptions about the subject and 3) demonstrations of our knowledge/skill. my biggest advice for any artists undertaking Anything is to be fucking vigilant especially about #3. the first two challenges suddenly become much more manageable when you are less inclined to prove to anyone (including yourself) that you Know How To Draw every single time you draw. skill level is the art-killer.

but like with these louis sketches (that i still need to scan LOL) i picked out two reference images that highlighted some things i wanted to capture about the way jacob anderson looks (the severity of his profile, especially that brow-to-nose indent and the forward positioning of his teeth relative to the line going from his forehead to his chin + the beautiful connecting line between his chin and neck). so here we see Opinions about the subject are kind of inescapable (like i have already selected these references with bias because my agenda is to communicate that jacob has a beautiful profile lol) but i always want to be careful not to let those ideas supersede what i'm actually seeing because it can quickly shut out room for surprise. like if i'm letting observations i made before i came to the page override what's happening from line choice to line choice, i might accidentally trap myself justifying a proportion i accidentally invented instead of *seeing* it. maybe i have an idea in my head that louis has a jutting nose and small ears, but what does that mean in the context of these portraits if i'm not primarily trying to observe what shapes this face is actually made of? re: assumptions i really frequently see people caught in the weeds with their own demonstration of anatomical shortcuts they have forgotten are shortcuts. ideas about what a jaw Should Like, for example, might prevent you from seeing something that makes a face unique. like louis is very slender but the line that connects his chin to his throat is not shooting straight back in the way many artists seem to be trained to convey thin features. the profile does not look like louis to me at all if the jaw is "sharp" in the wrong way; that's not how his skin actually connects! each time i see a face, tho i know im actually always carrying all of my practice with me, i try to see it totally anew. this makes me especially inclined to work off of reference for a show like iwtv with such spectacular use of shadow bc it's great for forcing myself not to cop-out on suggesting, say, an eye or a nostril. when something has been lit sooooo deliciously, it's much easier for me to focus exclusively on the shapes those shadows are making.

like that loumand drawing is one of my fav shots of the two of them because they're nothing But shapes and values. so if i'm not observing the distances right, it's just not gonna be them. we've removed all the other cartoon signifiers that might make you register fanart as being recognizable without the exercise having anything to do with capturing likeness. there's nothing *but* likeness in much of my art because that's what i'm studying. anyway needed to add my brother's commentary in this drawing as well bc rendering that much also makes me inclined to go towards the opposite extreme (Pure Cartoon Cats)

[kaeddehara]

TAKING A BREAK — NSFW DRABBLE

gepard x fem!reader

NOTES - sorry for my posting absence i promise you all i’ve been busy with school and work as well as taking care of my cats :(( i’ll be posting more frequently so if you have any specific requests please send them in im open and working on a few right now <33 thank youuu <3

“i appreciate this dear b-but—“

his voice trembled just at the feeling of you completely sat atop his lap. you leaned him and hummed at his unfinished sentence, urging him to finish.

“couldn’t we have found a more appropriate place to do this?”

“what? no one will find us—or come look for us at that. you’re on a break right?”

he nervously looked behind you and your surroundings, hands still carefully placed on your hips.

“yes but i’m just worried that—“

you quickly leaned in to place a gentle yet deep kiss onto his soft, pink lips before he even dare finish his sentence. after releasing yourself from his lips, you looked into those pretty blue eyes of his and felt nothing by admiration for gepard. his hands now shifting slightly up and down to ease you more into his lap. for someone who gets so flustered during a simple kiss, gepard can hold his nervousness even in a situation such as this one. such a predicament he found himself in constantly with you—always finding ways to tease him while he was at work.

you promptly stopped teasing his lips, just for a moment of course, while adjusting his belt to loosen up. doing it one handed was a bit of a challenge but you managed while still doing your best to be as silent as possible. gepard on the other hand was having trouble just keeping his breathing in check. his pretty flushed cheeks and fluffed up hair would give everything away if anyone were to look at him in his current state. lucky for you, that view was all for you to admire <3. finally unzipping his somewhat loose pants, you felt up his already hard cock which was just begging for any attention other than your constant grinding and teasing. reaching under his final layer, you wrapped your fingers gently around the sensitive tip heading gepard let out a rather breathy sigh of relief.

“you’ve been waiting for this haven’t you general?”

he turned he face to the side before responding as you continued to tease your fingertips over the sensitive glands.

“i don’t have much time you know, my men could be here any second”

you sat back fully on his thighs, frowning at his worried words while still maintaining a steady pace with your hand.

“so what? they get to see their superior and his pretty wife taking a break together—that simple.”

he wanted to roll his eyes at you ignoring the obvious issue with the current situation but with your hand picking up pace, it was quite hard to focus on forming any coherent sentences. taking your hips in his hands yet again, he pulled you in close, making your practically fall onto his hard, armored chest.

“at least you got the pretty wife part right now let’s make this quick.”

[kitsaystransrights]

It'sa me, Kit!

Woah, hey, you can make pinned posts! I totally didn't forget about this feature. I should probably do that, huh?

Weeeeell anyway, howdy! I'm Maddie, I go by Kit online sometimes, you can call me whichever you prefer. She/Her pronouns only, please. I'm a 22 year-old trans furry who is chronically online and geeky, so if you have a problem with that, I'm putting you in a box and then launching that box into the sun. I'm a YouTuber, Twitch streamer, filmmaker, and game dev, so I'm basically every stereotypical geeky trans-girl thing except for an artist. Can't draw to save my life.

On my YouTube, I usually make reviews or video essays about games I like, though I occasionally do stuff on other media as well. Currently, my big long-term projects are the "Splatoon 3 vs Splatoon 2" series, which is AAAAALMOST finished at the time of writing this, and my series on Leilani Wilson's Elancia Chronicles novels, (which are REALLY FREAKING GOOD and you should check them out!) I've linked a few of the videos I'm proudest of down below :)

I also stream pretty frequently on Twitch! I have a PNGtuber of my fursona, Stormy, with art done by EmmalemmaMewmew on Twitter. Stills of her will also start showing up in my YouTube videos eventually, hehe. Currently, the schedule is every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with each day being a different game. These streams always start at 7 PM Mountain Time (that's 9 PM Eastern and 6 PM Pacific) and go for around 4 hours. Sundays are Splatoon Sundays, currently the Anarchy Challenge, where I attempt to win an Anarchy Series with EVERY SINGLE WEAPON in Splatoon 3. It's hell lol. Then there's Triple-A Tuesdays, where I'm currently marathoning the Zelda series, and Indie Thursdays, where I work through my back catalog of indie games! There are also occasional bonus streams, usually around the releases of new games I'm interested in or events in ones I already play (like Splatfests!) Below is a link to my Twitch channel and my current stream schedule. I'll try to update this post as often as I can, but uh, no promises haha.

Last but not least, here's some of the other stuff I'm into/working on! Currently working on a Secret Game Project that I can't tell you about yet >:) But if you know, you know.

I'm a big fan of video games and animation (clearly), with some of my favorite stuff being, in no particular order... Sonic the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda, Persona, Fire Emblem, Pokemon, Elancia Chronicles, Super Lesbian Animal RPG, Splatoon, Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss, The Owl House, Gravity Falls, Amphibia, Steven Universe, Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Spider-Verse films, Dreamworks animation, Pixar animation, Insomniac's Spider-Man gams, Ratchet and Clank, aaaaaaaaaand that's all I could think of off the top of my head but I'm sure there's more junk buried in there somewhere lol.

Anyway, thanks for reading all the way to the bottom! You must really have nothing better to do with your life XD. Here's some links to my other socials, if you wanna follow me there. Here I'm mostly just be posting random rambling and updates for my YouTube and Twitch. See ya around!

https://www.instagram.com/kitthegoddess/

[self-loving-vampire]

the makeup thing is the result of people arguing that actually its "femininity" that is oppressed under patriarchy and not like being A Woman in general (igss bc what that even means is an uncomfortably grey subject for people regardless of where they fall, even tho its frequently the case that taxonomies dont describe something that cant be said to have an actual succinct definition or perhaps even exist in the first place but has a colloquially understood "you know it when you see it" type definition, not that thats great for subjects that arent immediately recognizable as that taxonomical category by most people tho, but i digress lol. the short version: people like easy answers, and people can actually point to things that are very concretely considered feminine, while also citing the reality that femininity in men or people who are understood at the time to be men is policed often violently to say that this hatred of femininity is the motivation for womens oppression even though like obviously women are constantly incentivized to be more feminine because thats what they're "supposed" to do which is different from what men are "supposed" to do. wow that wasnt shorter at all! sorry)

i think the thing the previous anon is tapping into is a pre-jezebellian (as in the website jezebel lmao) form of this prejudicial reading of girls who are not gender conforming-- before we had the feminist thinkpiece industry, gender nonconformity was still understood to be bad and require policing, but in what sense was not informed by an allegedly feminist set of beliefs. in an era after the brand of feminism™️ that put emphasis on the idea that femininity is what is derided under patriarchy as opposed to its enforcement being an aspect of the oppression of women themselves, along with the popularization of "feminist" and "progressive" as desirable identities for women to have amongst themselves and "open homophobe" became somewhat passé while STILL having unexamined biases against gender nonconforming women (especially as that feminist framework essentially worked to argue that masculinity is rewarded in all arenas of gender by arguing that femininity is derided in all arenas of gender) the notion that not performing femininity was now understood solely as a form of internalized misogyny and not simply as another way of being

i think that a lot of the motivation for this gender policing still comes from the same place, which is this kneejerk reaction to "having your lifestyle challenged" by the existence of women who do not put two hours of work into their hair and makeup and outfits where they feel as though, by not doing those things, the women who do not perform femininity to their standard (because a lot of the time, these women are not even masculine at all, they just like dont wear makeup lol) those women are trying to shame and embarrass them or act like they are "better" than the women who do. basically any time a female celebrity stops wearing makeup for whatever reason, the comments are inundated by women saying things like "omg youre special for not wearing makeup 😒" even though quite obviously they are in a world where a significant proportion of the population is compelled to wear makeup to such a degree that it becomes a part of their personality that they are extremely defensive about lmao. and for the record im not even anti-wearing makeup, i just think its goofy as hell to act like any woman is rewarded by anyone for not wearing makeup, let alone by men, which is what these people argue for now. i do think that a lot of women know in the back of their mind that wearing makeup is rewarded by the patriarchy and are largely invested in makeup because it is rewarded by the patriarchy but dont want it to be true because then they would be engaging in regressive behavior and so are extremely insecure about their participation in this activity, lol

of course, it doesnt help that in an absurdly gender segregated world, many men cannot even recognize that a woman is wearing makeup depending on the style, and so often prefer "natural" or "no makeup" looks that require a shitton of makeup, creating the illusion that not wearing makeup is preferable to men when honestly they still want women to wear makeup lol. this is also conflated with the "sexism is over!!!" style badass woman character who, while absolutely wearing a ton of makeup and being absurdly beautiful in the most normal heterosexual mans desire way, also knows how to do perhaps one traditionally masculine thing like fighting or working on cars (im picturing black widow or megan fox in the transformers movies for these examples.) all of this is flattened into an idea that this is the reason why a woman would "choose" to be gender nonconforming-- to impress men. it becomes the only reason they will accept as the truth regardless of what a gnc woman may say-- because obviously shes just lying about it to avoid criticism-- and prejudices their reaction to the mere sight of gnc women, leading to mistreatment, cruelty, and exclusion, which, ironically, may make the only viable, nonjudgmental social settings for those women to exist in to BE among primarily men who are relatively chill and see those women as "one of the boys" and to talk shit with those men about the absolutely horrid way women have treated them, thus completing the illusion that this was the purpose of the gender nonconformity in the first place. this cycle certainly existed prior to the feminist thinkpiece industry, but i dont think people conceptualized it as an act of antifeminism the way they do now, but rather a form of moral degeneration of another kind.

sorry this is so long feel free not to publish if you dont want lol. i just wanted to share my perspective as someone who has borne the brunt of a lot of these judgments for most of my life and has watched the way the judgments have morphed from being really based very strongly in the idea that gnc=not trying to be appealing to men= judging women for trying to appeal to men= bad into gnc=trying to appeal to men= hating other women= bad. ultimately its all just a posthoc justification for the insecure kneejerk reaction to what challenges status quo dressed up in social justice language now due to cultural shifts igss

"People are oppressed for displaying femininity rather than gender-nonconformity in general" is one of those takes that seem very common in some spheres but don't really hold up when you examine it.

For one, being GNC is used as a sign of being queer by a lot of people (including those who are not themselves cishet), and in much of the world being visibly queer is literally dangerous to your life.

But even aside from that, have you seen what religious conservatives actually preach on the matter? They unambiguously hate it when women are not feminine. They see it as a doomed effort to fight the divine natural order that will only leave said women and those around them miserable. A sign of a decaying civilization.

For example, the professional child abuse advocate and voice of christian homophobia James Dobson writes that not conforming arises from political brainwashing and corruption distorting the natural order of things:

He goes on to write that failing at this could also be a sign of "daddy issues", and the wording on this is maximally creepy.

These conservatives would much prefer if men were universally masculine and women were universally feminine, with punishments for any deviation.

[time-is-restored]

oh shit i forgot here's another one, this time its an old neal caffrey analysis rant (this one fueled by insomnia, and written much earlier into my first watch of white collar - i think early season 3??):

im gonna be weird about white collar but the thing is so many people are weird about white collar in the wrong direction

like woobifying neal to hell and back or inventing whole new personalities for el or . i don’t even know how to describe what they do to peter

like the thing about neal is he Is a magpie he’s just a surprisingly loyal one, he flits from shiny thing to person to ideal, sure, but certain classes of ppl can fully hold his attention

peter holds his attention bc he is good as in skilled (it’s borderline canon that no one else can catch him, or even really come close), and extremely principled w a cunning streak which neal basically approaches as like. a puzzle box, bc like none of their principles line up so he’s curious how the apparent closed system rube goldberg machine of his morals work LOL

then it becomes a dedication through loyalty, in that peter sticks his neck out multiple times due to faith in neal, and neal is EXTREMELY weak to loyalty/consistency (gestures at the mess of his childhood)

and due to generally low self image (morals wise, he kind of thinks he sucks? like he’s competent and cool and charming and everything, but he also tends to consider himself a nuisance, w how he’s disruptive to ‘normal’ / ‘good’ people) that dedication can become disproportionate

we see through kate (and later, adler) that the easiest way to con neal/get him acting against his own self interest IS to cultivate that loyalty

there’s an easy archetype to it, even, in that u present him with a competent, smart individual (bonus points if they’re a conventionally attractive woman), but have her off limits in some way (uninterested, taken, stand off ish, whatever), activate his thief urge to ‘take’ what he wants, then when they are friends/partners whatever, his inadvertent guilt over like. corrupting/endangering this person/tricking them about who he ‘really’ is will loop around into VERY strong loyalty, and a commitment to being whatever they want him to be x2, bc he Cannot handle being left behind LMAO

peter simultaneously feeds into + challenges this framework, bc he clearly has the least biased opinion about who neal is, even though he’s still wrong about a lot of things. and beyond that, he REALLY likes neal, thinks he’s interesting and funny, but at the start of the show can’t deal with even 0.01% of his chaotic neutral methods

WHICH IN TURN!! actually breaks through some of Neal’s shit bc:

peter picked him out of prison before neal had changed at all

he essentially sees his role, from as early as ep 1, as tactically breaking the law where peter can’t/won’t, in ways that help them close the case faster

after peter (more or less) gives a thumbs up the first time he does this, neals puzzle box brain goes ‘oh?? morally grey bestie??? CRIME BESTIE????’ and now he’s trying to ‘solve’ peter’s moral code

this is actually almost in complete opposition to elizabeth, who is compete open and clear about her affection and friendship w him basically since they meet, and apparently has no prerequisites for it. which, again, pointing to the low self esteem, triggers the ‘oh god what have i done to deserve this i haven’t even CONNED her yet’ so he’s low key more invested in + comitted to elizabeth in a specific. 'i want to be on good terms w this person' targeted way than he initially was w peter (since their mutual obsession manifests so fucking frequently as 'what, you're gonna hit me? you're gonna hit me with that big bat? better make it hurt. better kill me in one shot!' style antagonism)

HENCE the constant check ins w their relationship, reminding peter about anniversaries and dinner times etc, though that’s also due to a general fascination he has w stability + permanence

we learn in s2 he was seriously considering proposing to kate, and that he genuinely wanted to take the ‘true love’ way out of the conman life, even though he wasn’t quite sure whether it would stick, hence we see a lot in s2 his fascination w peter + els marriage, along with june (crime aunty <3)‘s relationship w her passed husband

a lot of his dedication to peter circa s2 is, by my reckoning, explicitly because peter is so determined to stick with Neal, and doesn’t give up on him/their deal even when it would be entirely reasonable (neal admits to crimes, gets put back in prison, constantly breaks rules and goes looking for kate) which is like. neal HATES being trapped, but he also REALLY values consistency + competency

hence the complexes, y'know?

[autisticlenaluthor]

are you still writing your supercorp fics or is yellowjackets your focus at the moment?

i have a few supergirl fics in progress i still intend on finishing.

i have a reigncorp oneshot i’m 90% of the way done with, that i’ll hopefully be posting soon - and im still working on the post crisis AU.

but for now - everything else is kind of on the back burner. i still do love supercorp and supergirl but yellowjackets is just… a breath of fresh air. it’s making me push myself and learn and write in different ways. it challenges me in ways that supercorp hasn’t in a while, just by nature of being something new, and i love that. as a result, writing supercorp just hasn’t felt very appealing recently.

so i will still write for supergirl - it will just be less frequently. and likely more on the reigncorp side

[sqlatoon]

Happy birthday! What are you hoping to see from splatoon as a franchise next?

thank you!!! in all honesty i want them to mostly keep the same format/genre of game, i fell in love with splatoon because of its simplicity. but i want them to slow content release schedule but more frequent weapon updates and events. the concepts in 3 are there, but the execution is really lacking. i couldnt play grand run because i was at a LAN, and now i have to wait 2 years to play on it again (if at all), and there are several challenges i never got to play it because i either didnt know they were happening or was working the day they were running. dont get me started on the people who had to wait 2 years for their weapons alternate kit to be released.

there are multiple badges/achievements for playing A LOT (lvl 999, gold grizzco badge, 5 starring weapons) but theres not really motivation to play that much unless youre really dedicated.

side order was an incredible concept! but the execution is really lacking. people were expecting an octo expansion 2, but theres no impactful lore (outside of if youre a pearlina/oth fan) and very little replay value besides a grind for a week for all the prlz and no hacks badge

like, you STILL cant play tricolors in pbs. or splatfest mode! i really hate the dripfeed content model because so many people i know are losing interest and will lose interest in the game before they ever implement these things. like, im glad theyre rerunning the big run trophies and adjusted the awards so theyre more accessible, but someone released the player count of either big run or eggstra work (i cant remember) and the player counts were down by at least a million

and also i dont want them to change salmon run except for bringing back exchange for money instead of chunks Pleaseeee please please i think having triumvirate give 3x scales and having a rotation for them every month fixes the scale rewards problem but not by much

[textingskeletons]

Been awhile since I’ve blogged. I’ve been trying to stay more positive, it’s been very challenging but I think I’ve came along away since my complete doomer mindset from just a few months ago!

I felt sooo cute today and I matched with my Swap Sans Ita bag!!! I def want to post it when it’s filled out more but aaa I love this photo I wanted to share!!

(More unrelated life update under the cut)

Been working on more animation and my portfolio, it hasn’t really reached my expectations but I’m trying not to beat myself up for it.

Moving back home wasn’t the mental break I honestly thought it was going to be :(. I haven’t really reconnected with my hometown friends which is partially my fault and partially them just being busy with life and living with my mom again….im not going to get into it in this post😭.

OCD obsessions and rituals have not slowed down but that’s to be expected with me tbh.

Not having a job is the one thing I’m not beating myself up over because just look at the state of this job market…look at it!!!

All in all I am definitely doing a hell of a lot better than I was a few months ago. I’m more emotionally stable and I have been using coping skills more frequently and accurately, I’m even looking forward to next semester this August!