#ALSO HAD SUCH A FUCKING HARD TIME PUTTING THIS POST TOGETHER IN THE EDITOR ON DESKTOP OH MY GOD

[mangekyuou]

Hii, can I have some fluffy hcs of Zoro, Sanji, & Katakuri's reaction to their gn! s/o proposing to them? :3 tysm!

⟡    ֺ   𓂂  headcanons  ,  being proposed to.

✸     characters! . . .  zoro, sanji & katakuri.

✸     cw(s)! . . .  n/a. no pronouns used. not proofread.

✸     notes! . . .  these are...definitely some words put together. but i tried lol. but thank you for requesting !! also small zoro headcanon that i didn't include !! i think that outside of his earrings, zoro doesn't particularly wear jewelry. he and his spouse would do a sword exchange at their wedding <3333

zoro has a very keen eye. he notices signs right away...

you being secretive, the way you and the other strawhats would become quiet when he walked by, you ask him about his taste in jewelry

he knows in his gut there's something you're going to tell him, but he has no idea what it could be

not until you popped open a black velvet box with a ring inside and said the words "zoro, will you marry me?"

he's surprised. he was speechless. never did he imagine this. of course, he wanted you by his side for the rest of his life. he couldn't even begin to imagine life without you, nor did he ever want to

but...you wanted to marry him? you wanted him to be your husband?

his silence worries you. did you misread everything? was he not ready? did he even want to get married? did you fuck this all up?

you don't know if he had finished processing your proposal or if he saw how your face had fallen.

"i will" he said yes. the weight of the world fell off of your shoulders, taking the ring out and placing it on his finger

it's been so long since you've seen him smile that big

sanji, like zoro, picks up on the signs. the being secretive, the hiding things, the changing the subject. however, he thinks you're mad at him

he's beating himself up, trying to think of what he could have possibly done to make you upset

he even asks the others if you said anything about him

you know he’s starting to catch on. when you ask him to meet you, he's planning for the worst. on the verge of tears thinking you're gonna break up with him

however, when he sees your bright smiling face already on one knee holding a blue velvet box with a ring inside, he could just faint

hand clasped over his mouth, tears welling up, he just couldn’t believe it

“a million times yes! there are no words i can even come up with to describe how happy i am”

marriage was something sanji thought a lot about. your future together constantly came up in conversation

never did he think he’d be the one being proposed to. always believing he would be the one to propose in a very extravagant manner

but this…this was better than any proposal he could have came up with himself

proposing to katakuri without making him suspicious that you were hiding something from him was proven to be very DIFFICULT

he has an unintentional habit of using his advanced kenbunshoku haki, even when he's spending time with you. he needs to be prepared for everything.

he's not one for surprises

how you even managed to get away with him not finding out on your moonlight picnic date in the countryside was a miracle within itself

with the sweet commander munching down on delicious donuts and tea, you start your speech that you wrote from the heart

he always blushes no matter how much you compliment him. your words always made him feel giddy on the inside. he'd never get tired of it

however, when you stood up, taking his large hands into your much smaller ones. staring lovingly into his crimson eyes that looked back at you with the same amount of love and care

"kata, will you marry me?"

"yes" his answer is immediate. he doesn't need a second to think

if you had asked him years prior if he wanted to get married, he wouldn't know the answer. but now that you are in the picture, there has never been a time in his life where he has been so sure

the rest of your moonlight picnic, you keep catching him looking down at the ring on his finger with stars in his eyes

© MANGEKYUOU  —  do not copy, repost, or translate my works.

[fandxmslxt69]

Writer Self-Rec Fics Ask Game

Rules: writers list your top 5 favorite fics of yours and then send this to 5 writers! :)

AH HI ROMANA <33333333333

okay this is hard cuz. cuz i dont know how I feel about most of them BUT OKAY. prepare for some rambling i guess lmao

Holidays With Them - This is a little Moon Knight drabble with all three boys. It's a sort of little list about how I envision they'd be like with a muslim!reader during holidays like Eid and Ramadan. Basically....horribly tooth-achingly sweet activities with our favourite boys during the Islamic holidays <3 I'm actually veryyy proud of this one cuz it took a lot of confidence to post it lmao. But yeah, for my muslim girlies out there who wanted a little cheer-me-up with the lack of muslim centered fanfics <3 and for. um. educational purposes.

Friendzoned - A little harmless prank on Jason ends up in a bit of angst and some mind blowing sex. AHAHAH so this was the first (and currently only) DC smut I've written. It's the first request I got and actually...I love it. I mean like, it's Jason Todd, it's possessive smut it's hot...how could you say no to hot sex with Jason Todd? Maybe I'll like. have time to write more for him cuz...cuz I love him a lot.

Royal Pleasures - After an awkward (and slightly upsetting) encounter with Loki at one of Tony's parties, he comes to make it up to you (he can;t communicate his feelings, he has a um sex dream and well. Yknow he's horny, he's Loki, you can't say no its LOKI.) OKAY this was the first um Loki smut I had ever written and it's special to me because its like a Royal AU and...it's special cuz..cuz I worked hard on it (Atlas did too yes) um...and it's got pretty decent amount of interactions (wish there were more) but yknow its LGG certified (its not, she simply reblogged it and I still think about it to this day feels like I got celebrity recognition omfg @lokisgoodgirl I love you dearly.) anyway yeah it's Loki sex. Loki. mmmm Loki...

Lesson Not Learnt - More Loki smut. Innocent flirting with your friend Matt puts Loki in a bit of a....teaching mood. AHHHHH THIS WAS SO. FUCKING self indulgent I went APESHIT with this thing like the idea ate at me for WEEKS and its. probably SO UNHINGED but like. idc. Its hot (in my opinion) like wow. MMMMMM.

5. Anything For You Here For You - Putting these two together cuz in my mind they're like. "in the same world" I guess. LITTLE COMFORT THINGS WITH JAKE <33 Purely fluffy cuz it's Jake and I LOOOOOVE him and I was feeling rather shitty around those times and they just <3 yeah. Jake <3333

ANYWAY THANKS ROMANA I ACTUALLY FORGOT HOW MUCH I ENJOYED SOME OF THESE LMAO

it also showed me that. I need to write a bit more other than. Loki smut. And...I need MK smut. I will ring my editor immediately about this problem lmao

MWAH MWAH <3

[genlossneg]

Oh my god I literally cannot convey to you that stumbling on this blog felt like seeing the sunlight again after being trapped underground for months. I thought I was crazy for finding fault with genloss because I have not seen any actual valid criticism anywhere and I thought I was losing my mind for not seeing the glory that is the, ‘next wave of indie horror content’.

Please.

There’s more horror in an average retail store on any given weekend than this entire series has in its three episodes.

Christ I don’t even know where to begin with this thing.

I’m not a film student but I’ve read the other film student anons’ posts and they are so incredibly right. There is so much about the series that felt hastily thrown together and I also loathe the phrase ‘intentionally bad’ when it’s something that’s been hyped up for as long as it has and yet, fell so incredibly flat. I have never been more bored, irritated, and confused watching a piece of media before, and have continued to feel this way as I watch diehard fans of Ranboo tout how great of a series it is?

Hey, Boobers- cmere, let me tell you a secret, genloss ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.

It’s a lukewarm, lackluster production at best, and if I didn’t know going in that this was supposed to be Ranboo’s passion project, it literally feels like a school assignment he had only the bare interest in putting together. God this thing has no soul. It has no spark. And it hurts so much to know that this is what this great incredibly hyped-up project became, because from how they talked about it, it's obvious Ranboo loves this thing, and I wanted to love it too.

But it ain’t good. And someone should’ve told him long before now it needs massive edits, and I get it, getting hard criticism is painful and isn't fun, but if it makes your end product better, your piece of entertainment content more enjoyable for the consumer, then you gotta listen and bare it.

I’m an author and I know they do it because they love me, but whenever my editors are like ‘ayo this shit is whack wtf you talking about’ it does hurt my pride but!!!! But!!!!!!!! I go back and take a harder look at that section and sometimes I stand by what I wrote, but other times I now see what was wrong with it and make the edits. Sometimes entire concepts have to get cut to trim down the story and make it more cohesive and that also sucks, but you just tuck those ideas away for later or another project, and tbh I do not feel like anyone did this with the genloss concept.

This entire story feels like it is stapled together and there is literally no through line!! It is a random bag of ideas mashed together to form what I imagine an AI would generate if you typed in ‘mall, horror, evil cooperation’. Fuck it hurts. It hurts so much to be someone that is so passionate about storytelling and writing to see genloss get the attention it has, and for Ranboo to be praised for their ‘excellent writing skills’.

I do understand this was probably their second real attempt at writing a story for public consumption (first being his character’s arc in the dsmp), and like, nothing anyone writes on their second attempt to tell a story is gonna be great. Mine wasn’t, no writer’s is, and that’s okay I really genuinely get that, my problem is how the production was hyped up, how the budget was apparently blown on so much wasteful crap, and then how no one with experience telling stories took a look at his concept before production began.

It makes me sick to know that box cost 18k. Do you know what I, and many other small creators, could do with that kinda money?

This was a few weeks ago? Maybe last week? But Ranboo said over here on the tumbles that they were thinking about genloss in written form, IE a book, and I think I literally blacked out I got so angry. I am also writing a book (hahahaha hi it is not easy!) and I honestly don’t think it's half bad, but I have still been fighting tooth and nail to get eyes on it and nothing makes me angrier than knowing Ranboo could slap some half-baked shit into a word doc, get whatever kind of fancy printing they wanted, and sell more copies than I likely ever will.

I don’t wish anything ill on the dude, he seems like a nice person and I hope he succeeds, but jesus christ, someone needs to be real with them on their writing and story construction. TBH I think a large part of the problem is how rabid his fanbase is, so any kind of criticism gets buried under threats and just, people blowing smoke up his ass, and that is not helpful to him as a creator!! Dude wants to grow and improve, stop telling them genloss is the best thing since sliced bread!!

Let him get his feelings hurt over this, let them take that and make it their drive, let him know he can do better.

If you keep settling for mediocrity, you never push yourself to do something great.

But that’s just my two cents. Thank you for letting me word vomit in your inbox, I have been going crazy and I will likely be back <3

-the author anon

this blog is collecting anons representing all the creative aspects of gen loss like pokemon. first film student anon. now author anon.

but in all seriousness i'm glad this blog is a breath of fresh air for you <3 you're right! my first couple attempts at writing (mostly fanfiction, some original) i am very glad they do not exist online. part of writing well is being kind of really bad at it for a bit. ive taken a writing class (in college) and the entire foundation of that class was "we will write and then your classmates will give you feedback" and it made a lot of my work so much better. feedback is like. how you get good and i feel like you're right, the fanbase does drown a lot of that out (hence me making a dedicated blog!)

i hadn't heard of the gen loss book concept before this but. i can't imagine it would be super great at the current form of gen loss is in. and writing is so much more than "here's the plot" like. establishing a good setting and sense of place and making us actually connect with the protagonist and. author anon that awakened something in me

Let him get his feelings hurt over this, let them take that and make it their drive, let him know he can do better. If you keep settling for mediocrity, you never push yourself to do something great.

anyways. great thoughts! reposting that quote for those in the back :)

[cxsmiicc]

a friend of mine the other day said that he didn't see editing as a real hobby because it had no deeper meaning. everything im about to say in this post i said to his face on this day. now this dude is like. classic snobby english student. turns his nose up at any book that isn't written in such a way that it takes a week to read. genuinely enjoys poetry and is forever trying to get me to like it too (i violently hate poetry, just not my thing no hate if u like it). we somehow got onto the topic of hobbies and i was talking about how i had a fair few, and i started listing some off of the top of my head. the few i mentioned were editing, writing, reading and crocheting. he offhandedly says that he doesn't think editing is a real hobby because it has no deeper meaning and the look i gave to this boy could have levelled cities. first and foremost, editors. work. fucking. hard. it is not easy to find clips, find audios, and put them all together to make something cohesive. shit takes hours every time. i have cried over edits countless times. i've seen people cry over my edits before and it feels amazing (sounds odd i know but you get it). my next point, a hobby BY DEFINITION is something you do for fun. to relax. to enjoy yourself. not in pursuit of some deep life lesson. hobbies are hobbies because they are something you do for enjoyment, in pursuit of some peace of fucking mind. my edits lately?? mostly lanfear, with a hot audio, and minimal transitions. and what do they mean? that i think she's hot. i still made it. that edit didn't spring fully formed from the void. time and effort went into it. editing is a real hobby, a real career if you're good enough, and an edit can have as deep a meaning as any novel or any song, or be as shallow as a fucking teaspoon. and someone still made it. someone still found the song, marked the beats, cut the clips, added their effects and transitions and colouring and watermark. just as a book can be self indulgent, so can an edit. obviously the two are different, and people can and will argue themselves blue about which is better, film or literature, the old versus the new. but for fucks sake don't be like him. he knows exactly how much time i spend on my edits, how much i agonise over the smallest details. it hurt when he said that so casually. he just threw a year of my life away, saying it doesn't qualify as a pastime because it doesn't teach me anything. okay. can he use after effects with the skill that i can? no. he didn't even know what an mp4 was until i explained this morning. having practical skills can only be an advantage. plus ofc doing anything for a long period of time will teach you these deep philosophical lessons he's oh so fond of. i met my favourite person in the world through editing. she's the reason i started my current editing account. ly babe if ur reading this. posting edits and being an active part of a niche fandom is also incredible for getting better at interacting with people. both the comments on my posts and the comments i leave on other peoples edits are so so supportive and sweet, and yeah. im losing steam with this post so imma leave it here bcs its 2:30am and i am most definitely rambling.

sorry for a long post but this is important to me and every other editor who has had people laugh when they mention what they do for fun

[wibble-wobbegong]

Quick! Tag your top favorite byler blogs (as many as you want) and tell my why you love them in one line to spread positivity on the dashboard and make someone's day!

oh my god man okay i’m gonna do this as fast as possible. love & kindness speedrun challenge

@madcleradin

super funny, super cool, great takes, one of the Michael understanders and just generally very fun to see on the dash + we’re best friends forever (we have never had a conversation. they agree) + i think she was actually my first mutual. she’s kinda required to follow actually

@heroesbyler

stav is one of the most girls of all time. she’s genuinely such a based person and she has same banger theories and analysis plus she’s great at making you feel welcomed in new communities :) also a grade a Michael understander

@smoosnoom

i start frothing at the mouth whenever i see a new smoosnoom fic get posted. literally one of my favorite writers ever and i have been reading fanfiction for like 8 years. everyone has to follow smoosnoom if you follow me, they’re a required byler blog

@gmaybe666

I LOVE GMAYBE ART SOOOOO MUCH. their art style just hits so hard and i adore every piece they make. it’s such a unique style from what i’ve seen and the coloring rewires my brain idk i can’t explain it but. HIGHLY recommend following gmaybe for some good art

@strangersynth

OH OH OH I love his videos about mike so fucking much. one of the og mike gets vecna-ed truthers if im remembering correctly. when i first watched his video about all the scenes of mike being stalked i swear to fuck my jaw hit the floor. it was so well put together and really nailed it in that mike is in danger. baller theorist + editor

@nancysglock

ALSO a required blog. she does such a fantastic job breaking scenes down from the perspective of the creators and understands the series really, really well so she’s able to create her own scripts that project a mini movie into your head rather than making you read. you’re reading them but it feels like you’re watching a scene from the show y’know?

@aemiron-main

i don’t know em too well yet but i will say that every time i’ve had the pleasure of interacting with him it’s been a great time!! ALSO THE MUSIC THEORIES ARE INSANE. my brain isn’t great at picking up those types of patterns so watching him make connections like that is SO cool

@new-ronantics

another great presence for the dash!!!! she’s funny, she makes great art, her tags are awesome, literally what else could you want?? there’s so much to say and yet it’s just like. she’s perfect, what else am i supposed to say?

just saw that you’re supposed to describe the blog in 1 line. No ❤️

[hoshomccreesh]

Arroyo...

At long last, Jose Pepe Arroyo’s book, SONGS OF DESPERATION AND REVENGE made its way into the world (and quickly sold out). Arroyo has been involved in the small press, both writing and also making beautiful woodcuts, for years now (he did some art for a couple of Ridgwell books, and TACO FAIRY), though he remains relatively unknown. If you enjoy my work, you may well enjoy his...so, if you don’t know him, here’s a small introduction.

We’re also hosting a giveaway right here on this very thread, so stay tuned!

7 QUESTIONS

Why should people give a shit about art?

Because it’s the only way. Politics and religion are confusing and misleading; art will always tell the truth. And also because society continues to idolize (and consequently bankroll the lavish lifestyles of ) the talentless while our great novelists, people that have been doing the work for decades, are on food stamps and Medi-Cal, it’s fucking pathetic.

I’m glad to see you’ve recently put together a website/store , why’d you put it off for so long?

Because I have ADD, haha, which, as it turns out, can be a good thing, but for the most part has been disastrous for me, especially when dealing with administrative stuff. Time management is tricky and reading boring ass instructions on something I don’t find interesting will instantly put me to sleep. The thing that motivated me was that in the past few months eBay raised their fees. I’ve been trafficking hats there since 2014 and was trying to figure out where else to do business when the editor who published my book suggested big cartel. At ten bucks a month you really can’t go wrong if you’re selling your art work or even just displaying it. I then decided to not only make it a place to hustle my hats but to display some of my other work as well. 

What's better: writing or woodcuts?

They’re both good for me in their own way but in the end, it’s all fruit that falls from the same tree. I also fuck around with junk art and I make hats and do air conditioning for a living. I say this because it gets complicated when it comes to presenting my work, say on instagram. I’m a terrible instagrammer and what I have noticed is that some people follow me for my writing stuff and then unfollow me because I post too many hats, and vice versa. lol.

Who’s your favorite artist that no one seems to know about?

I have a few. One of them is my friend Mario who I went to high school with. He wrote beautifully back then but he gave it up, kinda like Rimbaud, except in his case he became a contractor. Still, every time I am around him, I am treated to his poetry. He just talks it now, he’s a poet that doesn’t write. 

There’s this musician/poet named Fizzy Water.

He’s brilliant and has written some of the most heartbreaking lines… 

Lastly, my brother. He has this god-given gift. His paintings are so full of life. Hopefully, someday the world will get to see them.   

What's the funniest book you can think of?

A Confederacy of Dunces. Long live John Kennedy Toole. Some say it was the publishing houses that killed him, but I say they had an accomplice: his mom.

What mistake do new writers make?

Being their own editor. You know what they say, “If you are editing your own stuff, you got a fool for a fucking editor…” or something like that, haha. I’m not talking about editing as you go when you’re writing either. I’m talking about putting out your stuff without putting it through some critical process that doesn’t involve you. One of the things I learned from Gerald Locklin is to trust the wisdom of editors. 

What mistake do old writers make?

If you made it to old age and you’re still writing, I say make all the fucking mistakes you want. Hell, edit yourself even, that inner fool should have gained some hard-earned  wisdom by then.

Lastly — I heard, there was talk of a second printing in the works…but why wait? I just happen to have an extra first printing — and I’m giving it away to one lucky winner here! If you’d like to be in the running for it, just post a comment below. I’ll draw a winner in a week or so.

[ljxlj48]

My duty, as princess

epilogue

Jeno x fem reader

preview, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, epilogue

genre: arranged marriage au! royalty au!

warnings: explicit language, smut

Word count: 5k

authors note: THIS IS THE END GUYS KSDJFKDS I cant really believe this is the end and so many of you have enjoyed this. Credit to the new, amazing, absolutely wonderful, editor in chief of MDAP @urlocaltrash28 Love them oh so so much for helping out with this, please please show them some love. There will also be an about me post in the near future and the plans for MDAP, as well as the nanny. Hugs and kisses to anyone reading <3333

-----------------

The princess was pulled away from me towards the end of the reception, and I was left to walk back to our chambers with my father.

“Jeno, I don’t mean to be invasive but,” Father started off giving an awkward look, “it is important to ensure the line of succession.” Father finished off, giving me a look that I didn’t want to know the meaning behind.

“Line of succession?” I questioned. Is he really gonna go there?

“Yes, we want to make sure that the country will have a future king,” Father said, the chamber doors in sight.

“You want to make sure I fuck my wife?”

Father looked like his eyes were about to fall out of his head. “Jeno,” his scolding voice continued, “I did not raise you to use such language.”

“Yeah, and I didn’t think we still lived in the medieval era, Father,” I ended my conversation with him by entering the chambers leaving him in the hallway. I guess some traditions die hard. I opened the bedroom door to see the princess laying on the bed, asleep, dressed in white lingerie, makeup and hair still done.

I smiled to myself while seeing her like this. I walked into the closet pulling one of my hoodies off the hangers. I pulled it over the princess before moving her on the bed, under the covers. I walked into the bathroom, looking over the princess’ vanity, trying to find where the maids put her makeup wipes. Finally finding it, I went back to the princess, carefully taking off her makeup with the wipes, after pulling off the fake lashes. She stirred in her sleep trying to get more comfortable, and all I could do was smile down at her.

-

It had been a week into your marriage with Jeno, and it seemed as if the number of interviews you did was never-ending. When you both decided to push back the honeymoon, you thought it would do you guys good to show the people that the country came first. However, now as you sat in the third interview of the day, you regretted that decision so much.

When the interviewer paused for a break, Jeno laced your hands together. “Just a little longer,” he whispered to you. You nodded, wanting to go back to the first light of today, when it was just you and him laying in bed staring back at each other. “Actually,” Jeno interrupted your thoughts, stopping the interviewer from asking another question, “do you have enough for your article? The princess and I had a long day, and I was hoping we could wrap it up already.”

“Of course, your highness,” the interviewer said, “this is enough content, thank you for your time,” the interviewer stood bowing to both of you before exiting the room.

“Let’s go home,” Jeno said to you and you had never felt so much love for someone.

-

“Get lucky yet?” Jaemin asked me, as we sat together with Mark, Haechan, and Taeyong.

I laughed a little. “Honestly, no, the princess and I have been so busy that by the time we get to our chambers we’re fighting to stay awake while taking a shower.”

“Seriously nothing yet, Jen?” Haechan couldn’t believe my earlier statement.

“Serious,” I said, taking another bite of the food in front of me, “today is the first day since the wedding that we end our duties at four instead of eight.”

Jaemin’s question had me wondering how the princess felt, was she waiting for me to make a move, or was she just tired like me?

-

You were more frustrated than ever, it had been two weeks since the wedding and in the beginning, you were too tired to try anything but now you wanted Jeno more than ever. Your thoughts were far from innocent; you found yourself daydreaming about everything Jeno could do to you as you sat at the breakfast table.

Tonight you finally thought it was enough, you wanted, needed him. And you were gonna get exactly that.

-

Jeno sat on the bed, his back against the headboard, his hands on your waist, as you straddled his lap, your hands on his face, your lips against his. The air around the two of you becomes hot and heavy.

Jeno moved down your jaw, kissing at your neck, “Jeno,” he hummed against you, urging you to continue, “I,” you took a breath, knowing you had to say this, “I’m a virgin.”

Jeno pulled away now looking at you a little confused, “you are?”

You nodded your head unsure what he was thinking.

“I thought Chan would’ve been.”

“I asked him before, but he told me no, and I never asked again.”

“So no one has ever touched you here?” Jeno questioned while running his fingers against your clothed core, the action causing the breath to hitch in your throat. You shook your head. Jeno pulled at the hem of your nightgown, “take it off for me please?” You pulled at your nightgown, peeling it off of your body, before tossing it onto the floor. You heard Jeno mutter a ‘beautiful’ under his breath, as you were left sitting on his lap wearing only a pair of panties. “May I touch you, princess?”

You nodded your head, too shy to use your voice.

Jeno shook his head at you, “use your words, pretty girl, may I touch you?”

“Yes, you may,” after you replied, Jeno slipped his fingers in between your body and your panties, gliding them up and down your slit before going to make soft circles on your clit with his thumb. You felt the arousal beginning to leak out of you. Jeno watched as your face contorted with pleasure from his actions, finally pushing his finger inside of you, your eyes shooting up as you stared back at the prince. Jeno slowly moved the single digit, in and out. “Faster, please,” you whispered out, hoping Jeno heard you.

Finally having taken enough of this, Jeno pushed you back onto the bed, hovering over you as he pushed another finger inside, moving them both in and out, faster than before. He started to suck little hickeys down your neck and onto your chest. You felt Jeno pushing you closer to the edge, just needing a little more to go over. “Jeno,” you whispered out, Jeno hummed against your chest, sucking your breast, pulling at one of your nipples with his teeth. You were running out of breath, “close, so close,” you whispered.

Jeno hummed, continuing his ministrations on your breast. He pushed deeper inside of you, curling his fingers. “You gonna be a good girl and cum?” He asked with a cocky smirk as he pulled away, staring down at you. You nodded your head, your toes curling, so close to the edge. “Be my good girl and cum,” Jeno came down to whisper in your ear, as his fingers pushed further, hitting the exact spot you needed him to. Your body no longer listens to you, listening to Jeno. Jeno continued moving his fingers, riding out your high.

You watched as Jeno pulled his fingers from you, slipping them between his lips and sucking your juices off of them. “You taste sweet, like jelly,” Jeno smirks down at you as you hitch your breath. Jeno’s, now cleaned, fingers moved down, about to pull off your panties, before he stopped, looking at you. “May I?”

You nodded at him.

“Use your words, pretty girl.”

“You may,” the nickname he used made you clench your thighs together.

“Good girl,” Jeno smirked at you as he pulled your panties off, throwing them somewhere in the room. Jeno pulled his shirt off. Your eyes raked over his body. You wanted to reach out and touch him, taste him even. You raised your hand to touch, but decided not to, you dropped your hand looking away from Jeno. He picked up your hand by the wrist and placed your fingertips against his abdomen, “you may touch me too princess.”

Your breath hitched again as you felt up his body. Dragging your hand back down, you pulled at Jeno’s pants to signal him to take them off already. “Use your words,” his voice was more stern this time compared to the first two times he scolded you. His dominant energy had your mind reeling.

“Take them off please,” you felt small laying under Jeno like this.

“Good girl.” The praise had the arousal gushing out of you. Jeno slipped his pants and briefs off, leaving only himself left. As your eyes dragged down his body, the only thought in your mind was ‘it’s not gonna fit.’

“Princess?” Jeno grabbed your attention, making your eyes meet his. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s not gonna fit…” you say hesitantly.

Jeno chuckled a little at your statement. “I’ll go slow,” he moved back to hovering over you, “are you sure you want this? We can stop right now.”

You nod your head again, “I’m sure,” your hands went up to Jeno’s face, “I want this, Jeno,” you pulled him down for a kiss in which he returned.

Jeno grabbed your legs, wrapping them around his waist, taking his cock in his hand, lining it up with your entrance. You felt so much pressure when Jeno finally pushed in, stretching you wider than your fingers ever could. You felt tears brim your eyes.

“Just a little more princess,” Jeno whispered out, he pushed on further. Finally bottoming out, Jeno stopped. Tears escaped your eyes, even when you willed against it. “Good, good girl, my good girl,” Jeno whispered out, tucking a strand of loose hair behind your ear. He kissed away your small tears.

You took a deep breath, adjusting to his size for a moment. “Jeno, move, please.”

“Of course princess.” Jeno began to move, rocking his hips back and forth at a slow steady pace. The pleasure begins to take over and wash over you, you let out a moan that you had Jeno losing his mind. He buried his head into your neck, taking hold of your waist, trying to control himself. Your hands gripping at the sheets below you, your moans becoming more frequent and louder, you could feel the control slipping from Jeno’s grip.

“Jeno, faster please,” you felt Jeno bite down at the bottom of your neck, thrusting into you faster. He continued to go faster, almost at an inhumane pace. A pace that had your back arching, your hands gripping at the sheets, your toes curling, your moans louder. “God, fuck,” your breathed out, never having experienced this much pleasure in your entire life.

Everyone had told you that your first time would be the worst, but now you wondered if Jeno was considered bad in bed or you would just be considered incredibly lucky to have a man that could make you cum for your first time.

Jeno gripped at your cheeks, pulling you into a rough kiss as he moved back, now sitting on his knees. He pulled you by your waist to sit up as well. He turned you around, pushing your chest down against the bed, as he pulled your hips, putting your ass up in the air. Jeno entered back into you, setting the same pace as before. The new position had you feeling him deeper than before, moaning loudly from the pleasure, your cheek against the bed. One of Jeno’s hands was on your waist, keeping you in place, while the other pushed your head against the bed. His roughness had you moaning louder.

“Right there,” you nearly shouted when Jeno hit your g-spot.

“There?” Jeno hummed, sounding very content, hitting the same spot again, pushing you back into the plush bed, grabbing both of your hands, and pulling your back against this chest.

“There,” you confirm in a moan.

One hand gripped your face, making you turn your head to kiss him, while his other hand slid down your heat, finding your clit, rubbing rough circles. You practically moaned into the kiss; the amount of pleasure had your head spinning.

You had the most toe-curling, back-arching orgasm you’ve ever had. Jeno came soon after you. He slows down, gradually riding out both of your highs. He pulled out, watching his cum leak out of you as you lay on the bed, trying to catch your breath. He felt like he was having an erotic dream. Just before you could move, Jeno had flipped you into your back, lapping up at your core, causing you to throw your head back, your hands flying to his hair. His tongue was moving up and down, back and forth, in and out. You felt your legs closing around him from the overstimulation.

Jeno moved his hand pushing your legs apart for him. “Princess, be a good girl for me, okay?”

You swallowed hard, his dominance causing more arousal to gush out from you. “Okay.”

Jeno went back to your core, one hand on your thigh, the other pushing your waist down to prevent you from moving. Jeno starts to suck on your clit, shoving two fingers back inside of you, curling them hitting that exact sweet spot. Jeno looked you directly in the eyes, watching as you let moan after moan pour from your mouth. “Be a good girl and cum for me, princess.”

You felt the knot in your stomach finally explodes, the pleasure washing over you. You were definitely lucky; there was no way Jeno could be considered bad in bed, especially after making you come three different times, in three different ways. Jeno went back to licking up your juices, not being able to get enough of you. Only when Jeno was satisfied, did he allow you to push him away.

You felt so out of breath, Jeno pulled your body from the bed into his embrace. “You okay, princess?”

“Perfect,” you blush and Jeno smiled, “did I do good?”

“Yes, you were the best, my good girl,” Jeno answered, causing your heart to swell. You closed your eyes, feeling so content. “No no, princess, we still need to take another shower. You whined at the idea of having to leave the comfortable bed. Jeno pulled you up, holding you against him, as he made his way to the bathroom. There the two of you stood, in front of the shower, Jeno behind you, his arms wrapped around your waist, “plus… I’m not done with you yet.”

You turn around to scold him but he only grins mischievously and brings you back into a passionate kiss.

-

“Are you limping, my princess?” Chan had asked one morning as you made your way to breakfast. Jeno had left early, having to attend a morning meeting.

“Yes,” you answered shortly.

“Why are you limping?” you glared at Chan for even asking the question. He just raised a brow at you.

“I am limping because my leg is sore, and my leg is sore because the prince decided that going three rounds wasn’t enough for him,” Chan just laughed at your answer. “Shut up,” you laughed along with Chan.

“The prince is young; of course, he’s gonna have a high libido,” Chan responded back.

“I know, I really shouldn’t be complaining.”

“You shouldn’t, especially when you know you enjoy it so much,” Chan let out the loudest laugh as he finished his statement in which you could only respond with laughter. You were so happy that you and Chan were to remain such close friends; you wouldn’t even know how to continue living if Chan wasn’t present.

“Thank you,” you said.

“For?”

“Just for being here, with me.”

“Of course, my princess,” Chan smiled back as the two of you continued to make your way to breakfast.

-

It had been two months since the wedding and you were finally sending Chan, Hyunjin, Fei, and Mei back to Modia. You weren’t allowed to ride with them to the airport. The last time you were to see them was as they drove away from the palace.

“Call me, princess. Seriously whenever you want, just call and I’ll come right back,” Mei said as she hugged you goodbye, tears in her eyes. This would be the first time she would leave your side for longer than 24 hours.

“Goodbye, your royal highness,” Mei said to Jeno with a bow.

“Goodbye, Mei,” Jeno responded in kind with a bow as well.

“Princess (Y/n), it has been an honor to serve you,” Fei said as she bowed to you.

“The honor has been mine, I will miss you, Fei,” you bowed. Fei watched you before rushing in for a hug to which you gladly accepted.

“Take care of our princess, your highness,” Fei said to Jeno.

Jeno smiled, “I will.”

“Princess?” Hyunjin asked.

“Hyunjin,” you whined at the boy.

“I’m gonna miss you, (Y/n). Visit us sometime, yeah?” Hyunjin asks hopefully as he pulls you for a hug.

“Of course.”

“Thank you, your highness,” Hyunjin offered his hand out to Jeno. Jeno took his hand, giving a firm shake.

Now the hardest goodbye of all, Chan stood in front of you. “My princess,” Chan bowed, “it has been an honor to serve you.”

“The honor has been mine,” you bowed back to Chan. When you stood upright, Chan opened up his arms, you all but leaping forward to him.

“I’m gonna miss you, my princess,” Chan squeezed tighter.

“I’m gonna miss you, too, Chan.” He finally pulled away, leaving you to wipe up your fallen tears.

Chan now stood in front of the prince. There was no angry glare, no heated words, just a firm shake of hands, “thank you, your highness.”

Jeno nodded, just as Chan began to turn away, “Chan,” Jeno called out, gaining Chan and everyone else's attention. “If you ever change your mind, the position will be open for you.”

Chan nodded his head before turning back to make his way towards the car. You watched as your friends climbed into the car, going back home. Jeno came up to you, pulling you in his embrace to keep from the cold. The two of you waved bye to everyone else as they drove off.

-

You and Jeno are now in the second year of your guys' marriage. King Donghae had just stepped down from the throne a little over three months ago. Within the past three months, you and Jeno had been working tirelessly, managing different departments, meeting with different Lords and Ladies, planning the coronation, and it was all boiling down to one day. Tomorrow.

Jeno’s coronation was set to happen tomorrow, at exactly 4 pm, all the noble families will be in attendance. There is to be a ball after the coronation ceremony, held within the palace, to which you are the host. This was the first ball where you oversaw everything. The dinner menu, the decor, guest list, seating arrangements, entertainment, had you more exhausted than excited.

Jeno’s own nerves are not helping your own; as you guys approached the date of the coronation, Jeno’s fears and insecurities only seemed to grow. He had stopped eating full meals a week ago, had been tossing and turning in his sleep for the past month, and just yesterday he started to pick at his fingernails. Now as you sit here on your shared bed, watching your husband pace back and forth going over the schedule for tomorrow once again out loud.

“Jeno, come to bed please,” you say softly.

“I just feel like there’s something I need to do tomorrow that I’m not remembering,” Jeno said with this look of worry that was taking over him.

“You need to relax already.” You began to make your way off the bed, coming up to Jeno’s side, “rest already,” you wrapped your arms around his torso, your cheek pressed against the middle of his back.

There was a wave of heat that crawled down his bare back. “I can’t, tomorrow needs to be perfect,” Jeno pushed your hands away, going back into the closet to overlook his uniform for tomorrow.

You followed after him, coming up to stand right in front of him. “Your Majesty,” your hand walked up Jeno’s chest to his shoulder, you both watching the movements of your hand. Shifting your eyes to meet his, you looked at him with a hooded lust-filled gaze. “King Jeno,” you started, hearing the breath hitch in his throat, “let me help you relax.”

You pulled at Jeno’s hand, forcing him to follow you out of the closet back to the bedroom. As you stood in front of the bed, you brought Jeno to stand in front of you. You gently place your hands to his face, pulling him down to meet your lips. The kiss being slow and sensual, you felt Jeno’s hands gripping your waist, pulling you against him. You began to shift yourself, turning, putting Jeno in between you and the bed. Just when you got him in the position you want, you broke the kiss. Leaving Jeno needy for more, you pushed him just enough for him to fall back into a sitting position.

Placing both hands on Jeno’s knees, you slowly fell to the floor, on your knees for the king.

-

It had been exactly five years since the wedding. I had to make this night perfect for her.

“Do you think she’ll like it?” I asked Hades, showing him the gift I got for her. “Fuck it, why am I asking you in the first place?” I said looking back at the dog as he lay in his bed. I had the chef prepare Modian traditional food for tonight’s dinner. I began to make my way down to the ballroom, we had to be eating there, there was gonna be dancing tonight.

“There you are,” my wife said as soon as I came into view, “where have you been? Everyone is waiting for us.”

“Everyone?” What is going on? I thought it was only going to be us tonight? Who is everyone? What?

“Yes, do you not remember me reminding you this morning about the ball?” She looked at me more like she was at her wit’s end. I don’t recall anything about a ball? Is that why the butler had my dress uniform set out?

“What ball? I’m sorry, my queen.”

She sighed at my lack of knowledge, “your parents are having a ball for our anniversary, I reminded you about this before you went to your morning meetings. Everyone is waiting for us to make our entrance.”

“Oh,” was all I could say. I still had my gift for her in my hand. I tossed the gift to one of my butlers just before the doors opened, allowing us to make our entrance.

-

After the anniversary ball, Jeno was knocked out before you. You had just come out of the shower to see Jeno peacefully asleep, under the covers. You smiled to yourself, wondering how this complete goof was the country's leader.

You came up to your side of the bed, noticing a gift box on the night. The tag read; To: my wife, the love of my life, From: your husband.

Opening the gift to see a new chapstick, you couldn’t help but laugh just a little. You had spent the past week complaining that you couldn’t find your favorite lip balm, and it was just bugging you. The small little cheap gift warmed your heart more than ever. To anyone in the world, it wouldn’t mean much. But to you it showed that Jeno listened to you, he paid attention, he loves you. You turned to kiss Jeno’s cheek before getting comfortable under the sheets to sleep.

-

You and Jeno had been married for seven years now, and it seemed as if the topic of kids was just recurring more often than not. Queen Jaeyeon had been bringing up the idea of her being a grandmother almost every time you saw her. It didn’t help when Taeyong brought home his own son; Queen Jaeyeon just began to push harder about the fact that you and Jeno had been married for seven years and were still without a child.

Even now, when all of you gathered for family dinners, King Donghae, Queen Jaeyeon, Taeyong, his wife, and their son, Mark and his wife, along with Haechan and his new girlfriend.

“(Y/n), dear, have you given any more thought to you and Jeno having any kids?” asked Queen Jaeyeon, staring directly into your soul.

“Your Majesty, I assure you that when the time comes, we will have our own kids,” you tried your best to answer as calmly as possible.

“Yes, but when is that time?” Queen Jaeyeon pushed further on. You tried to answer her but she continued to say, “you and Jeno have been married for nearly seven years, almost going on eight, are you gonna wait until you are barren and cannot have any kids at all?” Her words struck a nerve, having kids with Jeno wasn’t an issue for you, it was an issue for Jeno. He felt that the two of you were forced into a marriage neither of you wanted in the beginning, he didn’t want to force you to stay in the marriage because of a child. He wanted to make sure that if you guys were gonna have a kid, that it was because that’s what you both wanted, not because that’s what the council needed.

“Damn it, mother,” Jeno slammed his fist down on the table, rattling all the dishes, “can you leave (Y/n) alone about this already?” Jeno’s tone was rough. He was being rude, disrespectful, not at all how he should speak to his mother. “If you must know, I said no to having a child right now.” Jeno stood from his seat, throwing the napkin down on his plate, walking away from the dinner table.

“I,” Queen Jaeyeon opened her mouth to speak, but all you did was stare at the door that Jeno left through, “I didn’t know.”

“If you’ll excuse me,” you paid no mind to Jeno’s mother or the others as you left the table, trying to track down your husband.

After a bit of wandering and asking the maids if they had seen the king, only then did you find your husband at the gym that lay under the palace. There he stood, shirtless, boxing gloves on, hitting the punching bag. You walked closer to him, careful not to startle him. “Your Majesty,” you spoke softly, almost a whisper. Jeno stopped, taking a step back, he was only away from your sight for, at most, thirty minutes but that was enough time to work up a sweat. His breathing was heavy, his hair sticking to his forehead, the shine of sweat down his back; the sight was one of a fantasy.

“I’m sorry for causing a scene,” Jeno spoke breathlessly, looking at the punching bag instead of at you.

“You don't need to apologize to me.”

Jeno finally turned to look at you. “She shouldn’t be prying into our life like that, she doesn’t have the right to treat you like that.” Jeno was getting more heated as he thought about the scene at the table. “And how dare she speak to you like that, should that have been anyone else besides my mother I would have thrown them from the palace.” Jeno took a deep breath trying to calm himself down, his eyes turning sad, “I’m sorry for putting you through that, it’s my fault that we don’t have a child.”

“It’s not,” you came up to Jeno, cupping his face, “we’re young, we don’t need to have children right away, and you just wanted us to be happy for a while. I am so grateful to you every day that I breathe, for suggesting that we wait. The more time passes the more my love for you grows and the more that I am just grateful to you.”

Jeno took a deep breath, finally calming himself down completely, “well then, my queen, how do you feel about finally trying?” Jeno grinned, the kind of smile that reached his eyes.

“I would be delighted to start trying,” you smiled back at Jeno, as he wrapped his arms around you, lifting you in the air. The two of you share a laugh.

-

10 years into my marriage and here I stood in the doorway, watching my wife and our daughter. I watched as she pulled the little girl into her lap to tell her a bedtime story.

“Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was this beautiful, perfect little princess and she met the most stubborn, cold-hearted prince in all the lands.”

“I don’t think that's how the story goes,” I said, making my presence known.

“Daddy doesn’t know what he’s saying,” my wife spoke, “the princess warmed the heart of the prince, causing him to fall madly in love with her. The prince moved mountains, broke oaths, and ended wars just to earn the princess’ love.”

“And he would do it again and again.” There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her, I would risk it all for her.

“And he did, he did again, over and over again, just to prove to the princess how much he loved her.”

“Does she love him too, mommy?”

“Yes she does, Jia. The princess fell madly in love with the prince; she fell in love with his confidence, with his kindness, with his bravery, she fell in love with every single part of him.”

“And to show just how much the princess loved the prince, she gave him someone else to love too,” I said, going to tickle Jia, the little girl laughing at my antics.

“And she’s gonna do it again,” (Y/n) said, looking at me now, with an indescribable amount of love.

“What?” I questioned.

“It’s early, but she’s going to do it again, should all go well.”

“You are?”

She nodded her head at me and I felt too overjoyed with the whole thing. Picking her and Jia in my arms for a big hug, all of us sharing a laugh. I felt too much love at this moment, and to think this, her, was just supposed to be my duty, as prince.

——————————————

Taglist: @floweronacloud @cookydream @nctstrawberrycow @marklexleaf @jvjsssnaa @thejeongjaehyun @thejungjaehyun @jackyeongljin @terjeno @tyongf-sunflower99 @tgnctzen131 @gooreumic

[omg-im-such-a-masochist]

ILLICITUS: CHAPTER 9

Prompt: Y/N is a respectful narcotics agent, she worked hard to have her work recognized in a prominently male work field. She’s assigned to the most important case of her whole career: investigate and apprehend the biggest drug dealer of U.S.A. The only thing she didn’t count on, was for the bastard to be so damn charming.

Word count: Long-ish

Pairing: Mob!Roman Reigns x Reader x Seth Rollins

Warnings: +18, cursing, conspiracy, secrets.

Editor: @thenightmareismyreality

Tags: @ziasaph , @marlananicole17 , @akiko-tanaka , @nicolewoo , @theworldofotps , @mindofasagittaruis , @reigns-5sos , @wickedsunfire , @drewmcintyrekoccsrocbwdgfan , @sassymox , @auawdo , @lilred91 , @aerynscrichton , @starwithaheart , @bayley-no-friends , @babydee17 , @banks4life , @pitlissa22 , @sophiewolfheart-blog , @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch , @sunnyyeoo

Notes: Long time no see, right? I know, it’s been an eternity since I posted anything Illicitus related, but I’m back now and I hope I can keep a nice schedule for this one, so fingers crossed 😂 To catch up with the previous chapters you can go to my Masterlist 😘

Roman’s POV

I was leaving Y/N’s house, it was already late in the night, when I heard his voice behind me.

“She’s something else, isn’t she?”

“Rollins” I sighed “What do you want?”

“Are you two having an affair or something?” He asked, almost amused

“Why do you care?”

“You should be careful, Roman...” He trailed off

“Are you threatening me, boy?” I moved closer to him

He chuckled ��Oh, I’m not the reason why you should feel threatened, baby”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh boy” Seth laughed loudly “You don’t have a clue, do you? Poor Roman! You’re sleeping with the enemy, brother” He smiled

“Wha-”

“Y/N! I’m warning you, man, she’s a wolf in disguise. She deceives you, makes you want her just so she can leave you hanging at the edge of the abyss. Trust me, I’ve been there”

I stared at him and he continued

“You should be very careful, Roman, Y/N is not what she seems to be” Seth smirked “At all...”

………………………………………………………..

Y/N’S POV

Somebody knocked on my front door, I looked over to the watch on the wall

*3:06 am, this doesn’t feel right* I thought to myself

Grabbing my gun, I looked through the peephole and sighed heavily when he waved

“What do you want?” I asked, as I opened the door

“You don’t mind if I come in for a minute, do you, sunshine?” Smiling, he entered without waiting for my answer

“Seth, do you know what time it is?”

“Yes, it’s time for us to have a little chit chat, babe” Grinning, he sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to him...

………………………………………………………..

After Seth left I only managed to get about three hours of sleep, before I woke up with noises coming from downstairs in the living room

Quickly grabbing my gun, I ran downstairs until I saw a broad man standing in my living room

“Put your hands behind your head and turn around slowly” I yelled

In my foggy slumber state I didn’t realize who it was, until he chuckled

“You’re gonna shoot me?” He turned around

“Fuck, Roman!” I sighed, and put my gun down on the dinner table “Don’t you ever do that again! I almost shot your ass!”

While still chuckling, he walked towards me, and as soon as he was within my reach, he quickly grabbed a handful of my hair and took his golden gun from behind his back. Placing the nozzle inside my mouth, he said

“Do I look dumb to you?” He smiled but his eyes were cold and distant. “Being a cuckold is not my style, Y/N. So you have five minutes to tell me why Rollins came back here at 03:06 am and left at 8:19 am?” He slid the nozzle further in my mouth “What did you do in those 5 hours, Y/N?” He pulled my hair so hard, it began to feel like my scalp was burning.

“Did he fuck you? Is that what you did? You sucked his cock?” He began to slide the nozzle in and out of my mouth “Is that what you used this pretty mouth for? To suck him off?”

“Cuckold, huh?” I mumbled “We’re not even together for you to be categorized as such, Reigns”

He cocked the gun “I’m not playing, Y/N! Tell me what he was doing here!”

The time seemed to stop. Was he really going to shoot me over Seth and a “relationship” we didn’t have? For a minute, for the first time in my life, I feared for my life so I could only mumble

“Roman”

Something in his eyes shifted and he took a step back, putting his gun back in the waistband of his jeans, as he turned around and ran his fingers through his tied hair while frustrated sounds left his lips

“He went back to tell me he had talked to you” I began explaining “He said I should be careful, that I didn’t know what you were capable of...That you could hurt me and if I thought my job was worth my life”

“So he spent 5 HOURS in your house JUST talking to you?” He turned around, looking at me with a cold expression on his face

I nodded

“You know that’s kinda hard to believe, right?”

“Yes...but it’s the truth. He talked about you, talked about our past at the orphanage and that he needed my help with something for his business”

“Help with what?”

“Covering up for a big lot of cocaine he’s about to receive” I whispered

“Nothing more?”

I shook my head

“Are you sure, Y/N?” He asked while coming closer to me

“I’m sure”

“Good” He nodded once and took my face in his hands “Don’t you ever lie or hide things from me again” He spoke as one would with a lover

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked, slightly confused

“You know exactly what’s wrong with me” He leaned down and kissed my lips

His hands quickly found my ass and he scooped me up in his arms. My legs instinctevely wrapped around his waist as he carried me to the black couch, where he placed me down to take his shirt off.

I licked my lips at the sight in front of me as I took my own shirt off. Roman Reigns was quite the man, he could make you stop what you were doing just to admire him walking by. He had this dangerous, cold aura around him and yet he could also be...soft? Passionate...and that’s a very dangerous combo.

Him pulling my shorts down along with his voice was what brought me back from my daydream

“Right?”

“I’m sorry, what?” I frowned

His body covered mine, skin to skin...he was always so warm, so inviting…it felt somewhat familiar...like home…

“I said Rollins could never have you back, right?”

What I saw in his eyes scared me, it was certainty mixed with...fear. He was scared of my answer

“I don’t belong to anyone, Mr.Reigns”

Aiming his tip against my entrance, he slowly slid in “I’m sure we can change your mind”

His pace was merciless, pounding in me with such hate but passion at the same time.

As he kept whispering how I belonged to him, I couldn’t help but think…

What the fuck was I doing? And how was I supposed to get out of this?

TO BE CONTINUED ...

Please, if you’re comfortable with it, let me know your thoughts on this? Feedbacks are always appreciated 🥰😘

[rumblelibrary]

Hello, it's me again, your friendly neighborhood... Hungarian?!...👀❤️

Can I request a Sebastian Zöllner fic, where he is a coworker of Reader, and there's an obvious sexual tension, attraction in the office, they sit opposite each other, legs touching sometimes, hands touching... Idunno... Things like this 👀🔥 but nothing happened... Yet...🔥🔥

Never an Enemy [Sebastian Zöllner x Fem!Reader]

Word count: 5k

Warnings: A bad mouthed journalist with strong opinions about art and performance that might offend

Author’s note: Did I let this idea simmer in me for ages? Yes. Did I ever stopped thinking about it? NO.

You hummed softly while the music blasted in your headphones as you made your way up the stairs to the headquarters of the Art Tribune, the art focused magazine you worked for since over a year.

You liked the job even if to deal with artists was hard and the pay check could really deserve an improvement, it was stimulating and surely kept you on the edge. That morning in particular you needed to revise some background stories and just loads of reading to do to work on a new article for an upcoming exhibition. Just the usual fact checking, but you just couldn’t do it at home the day before so you decided to come early and enjoy some peace and quiet at the office.

You arrived at the top of the stairs of the fourth floor with a groan, you told yourself you had to do the stairs because you spent 70% of your life sitting in front of a computer, kind of self care, but brutal. You groaned lightly going straight toward the little kitchen installed for the team when you noticed something in the empty shared room full of desks. It was actually a really nice place with big industrial style windows that let lots of light inside, a very smart environment to work in, with areas where you could relax, free Wifi and loads of facilities. Usually people were put in big desks together, facing each other, trying to push a sort of ‘community feeling’.

Inevitably most of the people created barricades with books, and pictures of their dogs or even empty coffee cups. Yes, all cute and artistic, but do not talk to me.

That’s what also the attitude of the man you shared your desk with on your first day. He whined like a child for twenty minutes, complained he was happy to work alone, followed the assistant of the editor around the office and created a barricade of catalogues between the two of you so thick that you wondered if it was also bulletproof, only to rest his elbows over it half an hour asking if you had the change for the vending machine. Yes, that random man was you colleague and friend, Sebastian Zöllner.

The same that you are witnessing now asleep on the desk, head resting on his crossed arms while a stand of saliva went down on his shirt, wild hair and shoes taken off.

He could be considered an attractive man if he wasn’t a bloody nightmare of a person. You actually worked a lot with him and enjoyed his presence most of the days, your characters folded nicely and you would bounce off his attitude. He was strong on biographies and annoying the shit out of others, so he was always nagging at someone, you included.

You smirked slowly tracing his hair with your fingers, he never looked so innocent and you were always surprised to learn how those messy hair were so soft. It wasn’t the first time you did that gesture, sometimes he did lean his head like this only to be touched like an annoying mewling cat that needs attentions. “Kaffee” He mumbled making you chuckle, such a an annoying brat and he didn’t even open his eyes.

You carried on walking to the little kitchen room to prepare some coffee for you and your desk partner. You shook your head aimlessly as you started wondering why the man is here at this hour and if it was really a good idea to wake him up. To have him awake means to be able to do little to zero.

You watched the coffee get ready, the comforting tune of your morning playlist getting you still on the good side of your mood as you poured the coffee in your mug.

Then you saw it, an arm sneaking in front of you and taking the mug from your hand, you jump scared in a second almost pouring the rest of the coffee on the whole kitchen counter only to encounter Sebastian sleepy figure behind you bringing the mug close to his nose and inhaling deeply the aroma before having a gulp, you stared at him as his jaw clenched, his eyes got a bit teary. “Fucking hot” he whined making you chuckle, he deserved it for stealing it, luckily you were already doing some more for him so he stole your favourite mug but you had some coffee for you left.

You pulled off your headphones leaning them on your neck “No idea you’d be sleeping at the office, weren’t you off on some interview ?”

He shrugged “yeah, well me neither, but interviewing sculptors is always annoying as shit and those are always supersensitive” he said opening the freezer and pulling out some ice cubes from their box and putting them in the coffee mug. “Scheiße!” He cursed as the ice cube landing in the mug caused the coffee to spill onto his white shirt. You pressed your lips tight against each other not to laugh into his face, but he was already pissed off and it wasn’t even proper work time. You watched him lean over the sink trying to wash it off somehow without even bothering to take it off, just adding chaos on chaos.

“Y/N! Do not laugh and try to help me! Beside, the heck are you doing here at this hour?” You rolled your eyes at that comment, but you didn’t indulge him in that request.

“I was just looking for silence”

He nodded like he didn’t believe a single word of it, he was just an asshole and you had to deal with it like it or not. You almost hated how he was so freaking good at writing and that’s probably why many people indulged him. Even you knew his pieces on the magazine and didn’t expect to find out he was so…so Sebastian.

You let out a breathy chuckle taking your mug and making your way to your joined desk letting him wrestle his balance over the kitchen sink trying to get the stain wet and not shower himself in the meanwhile.

You sat down at your spot leaning the mug on side, hands covering your face trying to keep a clear mind letting out a big breath “okay, let’s do this”

You turned on the lamplight on your desk pulling out your laptop from your backpack. As the computer was ‘waking up’ you stared at Sebastian side of the desk compared to yours.

You had like a little citadel of books around you, but it was pretty neat, a little succulent gifted by your friend for your first day at work with the name tag ‘Danny’ on it sitting beside the lamp, lots of pencils and pens of different colours and notebooks to no end. If you had something in common with that beast of a man was that you both still relied on paper for sketching ideas and write down impressions in the moment, then onto the typing.

His side, however, was like a contemporary artwork in itself. Half empty cigarettes packages everywhere, the ashtray filled up, paper inside books and books filled with more papers. Notes everywhere, the damn king of neon yellow post-its, stains of coffee and crumbles of food invert corner, his red laptop showing off like a punch in the eye and his satchel bag always hang or thrown around.

You often wondered if the cleaning stuff just gave up on him. Your lucky guess was that he would probably throw a fit if anything was moved, so everyone just played the blind eye.

He was good at throwing fits.

You watched him come back sitting in front of you, half of his shirt soaked in the attempt to clean it up, he licked his lips picking one empty package of cigarettes looking in it and throwing it away until he found one with still something in it and he lighted his cigarette as he turned on his laptop. You sighed opening the window to let the fresh air not getting you intoxicated.

You went back to sip your coffee and stare at the screen quietly, every now and then your eyes falling onto the little cloud of smoke in front of you.

Sebastian was an attractive man, that was undeniable and you were sure that made him also a successful interviewer even though he was so random and chaotic, when he was silent and collected in thoughts he was indeed a sight to be seen. The dark hair framing his face like he was some cherub, his deep eyes staring into the void of his own words as he typed. He had a sort of decadent look on him.

Slowly the office begun to get filled, people coming here and there to tease Seb about coming early and he just waving his cigarette around asking for silence.

“Zöllner””

The chief editor shouted getting into his office without even turning around. Seb rolled his eyes looking at you as he pushed the cigarette in the ashtray waving his hand around to dissipate the smoke around him before standing up.

“I wonder how he managed to survive few days without shouting my name” he smirked.

You looked at him and mimicked his smirk.

What a chaotic man.

You had finished your reading by then and started to make a first draft of the article you were meant to work on.

“Y/N!!!” Sebastian voice rang through the office making you jump on your seat and he gestured at you to go with him with a big wave of his arm.

You looked at your screen with an helpless sigh, it seems like you will not write that article anytime soon, you’d better just have slept an hour more.

You stood up following that incessant wave as Seb put his hand on your back to get you in a bit quicker.

“Good morning”

You said as the chief editor nodded quietly “Look Y/N, it is a big favour I have to ask you” he begun frankly as you were beginning to get worried “you did your time with silly articles, so I thought it could be interesting to pair you up with Sebastian to go to tonight’s exhibition of Evita Schnecke”

Your eyes went wide as you looked at Sebastian shrug his shoulders.

“I need somebody to keep the horse with tight rains” Mr Megelbach continued gesturing with his pen at Sebastian and then at you “and you will dip your toes in those big time artists environment, but we really need to make sure Sebastian won’t hurt anyone’s sensibility, her interview has been obtained with lots of hard work”

“Yeah, we all know that hard work” Sebastian whispered in your ear earning a glare from Mr Megelbach who handed you a couple of catalogues from that artist and the invitation.

“So, put on hold your current article for today, make a plan with this train wreck and please make sure he doesn’t show up dressed like that”

“That was unneeded”

“All precautions are always needed with you, and now get out of my office the both of you”

You nodded moving out of the office, you were a bit anxious. Those artists were unpredictable just as Sebastian.

You made your way back to your desk with him as you sat down looking at the invitation. “So, it begins at 9 pm” you said almost understanding why Sebastian shouldn’t be allowed to go unescorted because the invitation on the dress code had: Wear something that talks about your soul. Only that could bring Sebastian to have an aneurism.

“I hate that bitch”

“Seb, that’s not a good start for an article”

He smirked as you said so but shrugged

“I mean it, this woman was born into privilege, she portrayed herself to be this underground rebel, but her simple black dress was a Chanel and her everyday boot Balenciaga, so I don’t trust her for a reason”

You smirked as you could agree with that and showed him the two catalogues the boss gave you

“Choose your fighter”

He groaned so loud he could have stabbed his toe and he leaned over his side of the desk picking one from your hand giving a light pinch on your side “teacher’s pet”. You chuckled softly as he always said that.

“Tell me if you read something that it is not about the performer’s way of life” he mumbled opening it in front of him.

You begun your reading and it was indeed the hell pit of a vey spoiled kid who was told to be the greatest since the first day of life, you picked your notebook and opened it taking notes on things that you could ask about.

Sebastian in the meanwhile lighted up another cigarette rolling it between his fingers mindlessly, his eyes looking above the paper at you every now and then among the little curses in German about the stupid things written there.

After some time it was becoming really a torture to read and you leaned your back on your chair stretching your legs forward for Seb to catch one of them among his.

You smirked as you often joked to him he was like some bear trap with those legs always catching yours.

He put his hand under the table bringing your leg up onto his thigh as you shifted even lower on your seat, his hand touching your ankle mindlessly as he had a talent for little massages like that. He did it the first time a while aback, a summer day where it was so hot and humid that you couldn’t feel your own legs.

So it became a little ritual among the two of you. You had many of those rituals, it was like an unspoken collection of attentions. Like you making the coffee in the morning because he was a grumpy ass. Or him always buying you some chewing gum or little treat when he went to buy cigarettes.

“I guess I am not the only one that needs a restyle”

He said bringing you away by the tenderness those little actions brought to you when he pushed his finger in your Vans shoe deepening a hole that you were trying to ignore from months.

“Seb, don’t do it, I wanted to make them last another season”

“Another season? These can’t last the end of the month, no doubt why your sex life is a train wreck”

You frowned at him taking your ankle off his hand to push on his chair making him roll back thanks to the little wheels underneath it, but he held on the desk and pulled himself closer again.

“What do you even know about it”

He looked at you, eyebrows raising up on his forehead

“Y/N, if I was your boyfriend I wouldn’t allow you to leave the bed that early in the morning to go to the office and that’s a fact”

“Oh, and how on heaven could you detain my passion for this job?” “Well, I can write you a list about it, you can consider it a to do list on your next date” His smirk was so wide, he enjoyed to tease you like that, the bastard, he knew to be an hottie and he always acted like half of the world was up to fuck with him.

“Oh please, do it, I want to see”

You teased him and he leaned in elbows on the table staring at you.

Oh the sexual tension with him was too much, you always went down on this hurricane of remarks, always him mentioning how you need more orgasms or implying it, or even implying how good he is at giving them.

“But be careful, because any act should be performed and not only lived”

You said quoting the artist you were reading about and he whined so hard like you really stomped your foot on his balls.

“Horrid witch”

“Me?” “No, that one”

He huffed and puffed picking another cigarette. Sometimes cigarettes just died on his fingers as he forgot to actually enjoy them more than waving them around.

The artist herself wasn’t remarkable, she used themes seen over and over before, she had a background as performer/dancer and she added painting to that, but more than talent she had an amazing marketing squad. You read her story and her commentaries about living like in a poem, which always sounds pretty easy with a big bank account.

You did all you could to stay neutral even if Seb was going down to massacre the woman, you two shared a bundle of two sandwiches (or better say, your brought a package of two and he was skipping his lunch so you just handed it to him) until you decided to get parted and go get ready at home.

That evening you were waiting for him in front of your apartment, when a taxi stopped in front of you and his figure appeared waving at you to come in on the back. His eyes widened in surprise “Well, well, well, look who got all fancy here”

He smirked as his eyes travelled on you shamelessly, the dress was actually one of those you brought ages ago and never used, also to wear heels felt like new, last time you went to a fancy event almost hard to recollect.

“Just move and let me in”

You said chuckling as you looked at him being so elegant when you noticed it, the price tag on his shirt.

“Seb, did you just buy this shirt?”

“Yes, and I am going to take it back tomorrow”

You looked at him puzzled

“What?” He groaned “I suck at ironing stuff”

You looked at him as a little laugh escaped your lips as he told you not to, but it was too late for that, you shifted closer to him anyway helping him to hide that price tag better behind his neck. Nevertheless the white shirt was really fancy and fitted him perfectly.

As you arrived in front of the gallery you sighed and made your way inside.

The place wasn’t crowded but few eyes turned as you got in.

“Would you like some champagne?” A waiter asked and Seb picked two flutes immediately downing one in a gulp on his own as the other was still in his other hand, he put the empty glass on the tray and then picked a third one handing it to you.

“Drink Y/N or you won’t make it to the end of the evening”

You smirked as he was always over dramatic, but indeed the evening seemed to be made for posh people to show off how cool they are.

You spotted the artist pretty quickly wearing a Valentino bright red dress, she surely had the dancer figure and gestures which gave her some kind of an edge.

"She is all yours"

You looked at Sebastian already half way through his drink, giving you that cheshire cat smirk.

"Are you sure?"

"You know I will insult her in a second if she names her dancing background one more time, I saw the videos, she looked like a three ready to collapse on the ground" he chuckled as you smirked shaking your head at his metaphor, but he is probably right, he is too much biased.

"I didn't notice the open back before" he said referring to your dress as he caressed over your skin with his fingertips making goosebumps raise up your spine.

"What? Am I too sexy for your own good?"

"Probably" he commented not losing a beat to answer you. You were taken aback from a moment, his eyes still down on his hand touching your back before raising up to find yours.

Then he took his hand away and pressed the cold champagne glass against it making you hiss "Now go, I'll check this bourgeois art"

You frowned but you just moved away from him. He always did it, he teased you and then made it a joke. You gave it back to him too, it was your relationship, that's how you balanced it.

"Good evening " you said to her with a smile holding your glass in your left hand before offering your right hand to her "I am Y/N, from the Art Tribune"

She went from neutral to smiling in a second

"Oh, I was waiting to meet you" she said leaning to kiss your cheek, surely she was a woman with charm, with a degree of boldness that made her charming and also, you noticed, extremely touchy-feely with everyone.

"We can define this a sort of retrospective of your previous works, I liked to see the evolution of it" you lied, because you just saw the catalogue.

But that was fair enough to have her go on about her, guess what? Past as a dancer, about how she needed to express herself, how she was her own muse and all the stuff you already read.

"What is next for you then?"

"I want to follow my dream, I have always wanted to found a space with my name where people could rent the rooms to perform dances and arts"

You stared at her. For real? Like there weren't other hundreds in the whole city?

"What will keep you apart from all the others that did this before you?"

"Nobody is me" she smirked like it was clear and obvious.

You asked few more questions, but you were sad to admit Sebastian was right. There wasn't art there, there was just profit, selling a name, a brand.

This saddened you because you met many artists that had less than a chance to make it but double the talent of Miss Valentino Dress.

"Y/N" Sebastian warm hand was on your back as you were downing the last bit of champagne "Come, come ,come quick" he said pushing you away as the artist clearly recognised him but he dismissed her with some insult or whatever he just mumbled.

"Seb, I was working, what the hell?"

"Elke is here"

You still didn't understand, you were puzzled as the reason of that anxiety was still unknown to you.

"Like your girlfriend Elke?"

"Put an ex in front of it" he said looking around frantically

"Oh, I am sorry, I didn't know"

"No, me neither, I thought she was just bashing around, she always did" his arm sneaked around your waist pulling you closer "please, act sexy for once"

You were one second from hitting his guts with your elbow when Elke herself approached.

"Oh, I didn't expect to see you here" she said waving her glass around

"Yeah, well I work for an important Art journal if you remember"

"How could I forget?" she groaned looking at you then as Sebastian's hand rested onto your hip. Really? Was he acting like you were his date?

"Hi, I am Y/N"

You said politely to her and she chuckled "Run when you can, this man is a leech and you don't even know it"

She mentioned it almost casually, but you could feel all the poison implied on your skin, Sebastian's hand giving you a soft squeeze, you had never seen him like this before. He looked like a dog that just got kicked, his back hunched over you lightly both trying to protect you and for protection.

"Well, thank you for your advice, I must be a real torment too because we actually have lot of fun together, I like his unpredictability"

You said it from your heart, you didn't want to insult her or anything, but you felt bad for him. Even if he probably deserved it, to be humiliated like this must be hard in any circumstance, in particular in a place where he is supposed to work and being known.

He looked at you a bit surprised, he leaned slowly pressing a kiss on your temple and you smiled because of that gesture so enveloped in that feeling of tenderness.

"Your shot" Elke said clearly a bit annoyed that you as she just moved along followed by a man that must be her date.

"Lets go out"

You suggested as Seb nodded and just followed for once, he held your hand as you guided him and for once he wasn't talking or commenting anything.

As you went out he sat down on the sidewalk pulling out his package of cigarettes taking out one immediately.

"Hey stand up" you said to him as he looked up at you and you snatched that cigarette off his lips "let's go away"

"Where? Don't we have to stay until she gets naked to dance?"

You smirked "No, we have all the material we need"

You took his cigarette away offering him your hand as he picked it and you guided him.

He was silent, which is rare, when he was silent it meant he was upset in some way, he always had a nice comeback line for everything usually.

His head leaned on side like a scolded child as he slowly laced your fingers together.

You walked across few streets, your heels clicking on the cement until you made it to your final location pulling him inside.

"Constatinopole?"

Seb asked looking at the sign, it was a kebab place, your favourite by the way.

"I am hungry" you just said making him lower his head and smile like a kid with cue breathy chuckles.

You ordered for the two of you as he went to sat down putting another cigarette between his lips when the man behind the counter glared at him and he just put it back in the package.

He sat down slouching as you did some small talks with the guys there, you clearly knew them. The soft music from the radio holding the place into a sort of magical aura as his eyes travelled over your naked back once more, the need for a cigarette becoming even more urgent.

You two dressed so elegantly really were so noticeable in the bright lightend place, he smiled to himself thinking it could be a nice painting by Hopper.

You came back offering him his kebab with a soft drink, very thoughtful because he was indeed already a bit high on champagne.

You ate quietly together, it wasn't uncomfortable, your silences were happening often at work and always filled with a sense of common understanding, you leaned your leg up like you always did at the office and rested it on his thigh as you sat sideways beside him. His hand flying naturally on your ankle to give his usual massage, his thumb tracing your skin with imaginary patterns as his other hand held the kebab close to his mouth.

The speaker at the radio announcing next song as Rocket Man by Elton John filled the room with a melancholic vibe. You couldn't help but think the song suited perfectly Sebastian, his being out of this word, out of control.

"Thank you" he said at some point as he tried his best not to ruin his shirt, you looked up at him as he was staring, his eyes telling you something on their own "You have been the best girlfriend I have ever had"

He added with a bitter smile diverting once more his gaze, you smiled back at him, he looked so resigned. Maybe it was the alcohol, but you have never seen him so fragile before.

"I could be"

His eyes darted up to you, his surprise evident as he put down the kebab, the soothing voice of the British singer still giving a dream edge to the moment as he moved closer. You slowly shifted your leg to give him room of movement as his right arm sneaked to rest on the back of your chair closing the space between the two of you.

His lips tasted still a bit of champagne as he pressed them against yours, you kissed him back slowly as his left hand travelled on your thigh pulling you closer to him probably staining your dress because of his greasy hand.

He pulled back almost immediately before leaning onto you again titling his head on the other side. This second time the kiss was more deep, more intense. Your hands slowly cradling his face before pulling back yourself.

He smiled against your lips and you smiled back.

Maybe tomorrow you will regret it like Elke said, maybe not.

Tagged @cazzyimagines @lieutenantn @handmaiden-of-mischief@thesunflowersutra @zemomybeloved@fictionlandslanddreams@charistory @greeneyedblondie44@apparrio @hb8301@whatawildone @rhymerhymerhyme  @thehuiabird @lilith-blackrose @unbeatablecurlgirl@obsidianlaszlo@alindeluce@zemosimp05 @baronesszemo-blackwood @nocapesdahlingLet me know if you want to get tagged to my publications too <3

[where-our-stories-start]

How to Write Dialogue, Part 2: Formatting and Dialogue Tags, or Being Clear About Who’s Talking

So, we’ve all struggled with dialogue tags. In short, they’re a headache. We need them to tell our readers who the hell is talking, but it’s easy to get bogged down in exactly what verb you want, where to put the tag, etc. Do you use ‘said’ over and over? Do you vary it up with ‘exclaimed’ and ‘shouted’ and ‘inquired’? Do you just say fuck it and leave them out altogether?

I’m going to write a second post about how to effectively make decisions about your dialogue tags, but for this post, let’s just tackle formatting.

1. Placement and punctuation of tags

Dialogue tags can go before or after the spoken text; it’s largely a matter of preference and style. They can also go in the middle of a longer quote.

If the tag comes at the beginning, it should be separated from the quote by a comma.

If the tag comes at the end, it should be separated from the quote by a comma unless the quote ends with something other than a period, like a question mark or an exclamation point.

If the tag is in the middle of a single spoken sentence, there should be commas before and after it. The first letter of the resumed quote should be lowercase.

If the tag is between two spoken sentences, there should be a comma before it and a period after it. The first letter of the resumed quote should be capitalized.

So, some examples of correctly formatted tags:

Shanti said, “I can’t wait for school tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait for school tomorrow,” Shanti said.

“I can’t wait for school tomorrow!” Shanti said.

“I can’t wait for school tomorrow,” Shanti said, “but I know you’re nervous.”

“I can’t wait for school tomorrow!” Shanti said. “My presentation will be awesome.”

Remember that you should only put a tag in the middle of a quote if the character is taking a beat there, because it will break up the speech for your reader. Take a look at these two examples:

“Do you want to join the staff baseball team?” Fred asked. “I think you’d like it.”

“Do you want,” Fred asked, “to join the staff baseball team? I think you’d like it.”

In the first example, the dialogue tag is placed correctly. It falls in the gap between the two sentences, where Fred would naturally take a breath. In the second example, we’ve got an unnatural pause in the middle of Fred’s first sentence, and it makes the line feel clunky. That doesn’t mean there’s a hard and fast rule about breaking in an unusual place, but you should do it deliberately, when your character is actually pausing for emphasis.

At that moment, Sonya came running into the room. In her arms, she held the biggest, hairiest, ugliest cat her friends had ever seen.

“What,” Simon said, “do you call that?”

In this case, Simon is actually pausing after just one word. Putting the dialogue tag where it is helps convey his tone.

2. You can use actions as dialogue tags

One of the ways to avoid the dreaded “I feel like I’ve used ‘said’ a million times” problems is to use actions as dialogue tags. Basically, this means that instead of specifically saying the character said/asked/exclaimed/etc. the text, you simply place their action next to the dialogue. This can also happen before, after, or in the middle of their spoken text, but unlike an actual dialogue tag, it should always be treated as its own sentence. Where you put it depends on both your style and on whether your character acts before speaking, after speaking, or while speaking.

Pedro grinned and slung his backpack over his shoulder. “Oh, this is gonna be awesome. I cannot wait.”

“Oh, this is gonna be awesome. I cannot wait.” Pedro grinned and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

“Oh, this is gonna be awesome.” Pedro grinned and slung his backpack over this shoulder. “I cannot wait.”

3. Each new speaker/actor gets a new paragraph

This is one you probably vaguely remember learning in elementary school, but it’s a lot simpler when your characters all speak one at a time in basic [subject-verb-object] sentences.When you’re writing complex conversations, it’s easy to get muddied up.

Basically, every time we switch focus to a new character, they get a new paragraph. Mostly this means when they speak, but it also includes nonverbal forms of communication. For example:

“Are you coming to the movie?” David asked.

“I think so,” Shaun said, “but I have to double check with my dad.”

David frowned and said, “He can’t still be mad about your math grade, can he?”

Shaun shrugged.

“Whatever, man,” David continued. “We’ll help you figure it out somehow.”

Notice that Shaun gets his own paragraph even when he’s just shrugging. If we put that action in the middle of David’s speech, our reader has a hard time keeping track of who they’re “watching” at any given moment. With more complicated actions, they might even get confused about who’s acting and/or talking.

So what happens if a more complex action comes from a character who’s also talking? Well, it kind of depends. If the speech and action are pretty interspersed, you can put them all together:

“I don’t know why you listen to her,” Naomi said. She put the phone on speaker and set it on the counter as she began to unpack her groceries. “It’s not like it’s any of her business.”

“I know, but she just won’t quit calling,” Tina answered.

This works, because Naomi is talking while moving around, so we want to experience both together. If she pauses, however, or if the action gets too unwieldy in our paragraph, we can give it its own paragraph.

“I don’t know why you listen to her,” Naomi said. “It’s not like it’s any of her business.”

She put the phone on speaker and set it on the counter as she began to unpack her groceries.

“I know, but she just won’t quit calling,” Tina answered.

When written this way, Naomi speaks to Tina and then moves on to unpacking the groceries, rather than doing both at the same time.

One thing to be wary of: your reader will expect focus to shift back and forth with each paragraph. That’s not a hard-and-fast rule--you can see above that Naomi gets two paragraphs in a row--but it does mean you have to be careful about splitting up a single character’s actions. A character can have two or more consecutive paragraphs if they’re carrying most of the conversation, but one character should never speak in two consecutive paragraphs. Dialogue in separate paragraphs must always be split by action. Consider this example, and note the confusion we run into:

Kiara bounced the basketball a few times and then tossed it to her sister. “I just don’t know if I want to be the editor, you know? I mean, I’ve liked writing for the newspaper, but editor’s a big responsibility.”

“You’d get to work with Alexa, though,” Alicia argued. She shot at the hoop, missed, and passed the ball back to Kiara.

“Yeah, I mean, I guess,” Kiara said. She raised her eyebrows at her sister in a challenge. Dodging Alicia easily, Kiara dribbled up to the hoop and sunk the ball through it.

“I guess I could say yes,” Kiara decided.

Alicia shrugged. “Just think about it is all I’m saying.”

See how after Kiara sinks the basketball, we expect the next statement to come from Alicia? It’s jarring when Kiara speaks again, because we’ve used the format to indicate we’re shifting perspective, but then we don’t actually shift away from her. Instead, we should either put it all in one paragraph, or give the action between her two statements its own paragraph.

Next time, I’ll get into how to choose your dialogue tags and what your different options do for you. Full series of these can be found here. I hope people find them helpful!

[sodrippy]

hey im so sorry but i didnt understand this post the article, like why are they doing it? whats the actual reason, i tried to read but i couldnt

hi! thats ok bud, i hope i can briefly explain it a little bit for you! (i also had trouble reading the full article so my answer here wont cover Everything that was written there, but i know these things are 100% happening)

theres different factors that go into it, and every production is different etc etc but some of the main points are:

a. lack of respect for the sound department. on lots of film sets sound is seen as less important than other departments, and this often means they get the least accommodations.

a common example of this is after a take is filmed, a sound recordist might need a redo for them to get a better quality sound recording, but theyre denied due to time constraints; or the boom mic (the ones attached to the end of a long pole thats held out of frame) wasnt able to get close enough for clean audio, or other such things. (a kind of infamous thing with this is the way soundies have to fight for their fucking lives to be able to record one minutes room tone(ambient noise to put under dialogue so it sounds more real) on set with the whole crew silent)

b. sound is unfortunately victim to the "fix it in post" hellscape, where if its impossible or simply annoying to get a good recording on set, higher ups will just push the problems outlined above onto the sound editors in post production. so lots of times editors are starting out with poor quality material to work with

this has become perhaps a bigger problem in recent years with advancements in audio technology, which means that sound editors can do a lot more nowadays than they could 10 years ago. think of how photo editing was hugely advanced by the invention of photoshop, and what sorts of things you can remove and add from images now. similarly with sound editing, theres lots more options for fixing audio now, and a lot of times sound editors have to cobble together passable edits from audio files that arent clean.

c. still on technology, sound needs to be put together AND played in specific ways for different places in order to have the best quality. there are specific settings for cinemas and different ones for streaming direct to tv, and there is sometimes a gap between how sound is mixed and how its played. the article talks about certain cinema chains who play the sound at a lower level than the industry standard, which greatly affects how its heard

d. a really big one recently is creative direction. in recent years the creative "vision" so to speak has really changed and this affects both how directors want sound to be mixed (including extremely loud ambient noise or music, which makes it harder to hear dialogue) and also how actors are delivering their lines. the article talks about a type of delivery style thats becoming a lot more popular recently where actors speak in much quieter or breathier voices which is much harder to cleanly record.

sometimes this is just a personal style choice by the director, or to serve the story, but generally speaking its part of a trend moving towards more "realistic" cinema. similar to how actors have less "visible" makeup or less glamorized styling, theres been a shift towards more realistic audio, trying to better replicate the real world. in my opinion thats incredibly stupid and to hide it behind "creative choices" by a director is a sign that you dont know how to make a well made film.

im sorry this became a VERY long post, and i apologize if its just as hard to read as the article itself but i hope this made sense and helped u to understand the topic a bit more! if u want clarification on anything send me another msg and ill do my best!!

[meruz]

Aforementioned long ask post please excuse me while i try to figure out tumblr's new text editor. I’ll get into the art meme questions first and then the rest at the end.

Ok first of all thank you all for sending in questions! Giving me an excuse to talk hehe. I’ll address these in number order. Here’s a link to the ask meme for reference but also I’ll restate the question for ease of reading.

1. When did you get into art?

Super cliche answer but I don’t remember a time where I WASN’T the weird art kid! I started keeping a dedicated sketchbook when I was about 12? But here’s a page from my kindergarten journal about what I want to be when I grow up.

2. What art-related sites have you ever signed up for? 

LOL this is a weird question. Not sure why so many people want to know. Anyways I definitely had a dA. more than one dA account. I used to browse oekakis when I was a kid but I think I was only signed up to some small ones that internet friends owned. What else...? Mangabullet,Tegakie, Paintberri, iscribble back when that was a thing, instagram if that COUNTs, I used to post art on livejournal and dreamwidth too. Patreon, I guess. Gumroad, inprnt, bigcartel, storenvy all for selling stuff.

In terms of resources.. I have a schoolism account that I’m sharing with friends. Used to take classes on coursera for free. I signed up to textures.com for work recently haha. I can’t remember if I ever had an account on posemaniacs. Did they have accounts...? I definitely used to visit all the time.

3. Show us your oldest piece of art you have on hand.

Alright here’s me actually logging into my old deviantart account. These are from September 2008 So I was 13 years old. I don’t have a deviantart account from before then because 13 was the required age for having an account and I didn’t want to lie about my age because I wanted people to be impressed by how young yet clearly incredible at art I was LOL.

4. What defines your artistic style?

You guys are probably more equipped to answer this than me but uh... I wanna say... Focus on colors. And... a slightly heavy hand? Like confident... not always well-considered mark making HAH...

Also I think I have a pretty healthy mix of american comics/manga influences. I feel like people who are into american comics always think my art is too manga and people who are into anime/manga always think my art is too american. And I’m taking that as a good sign.

5. Do you practice other styles/have you tried other styles in the past?

I like to think I switch it up a bunch! I mean, these are pretty different, right?

I think I’ve mentioned this before but one thing I really took away from art school is that, for an illustrator at least, art style shouldn’t be consistent. Your greatest weapon is changing the aspects of your style based on the task, the emotions and message you want to illustrate etc. So depending on the project I’m working on, the fandom I’m drawing for, whether I want something to be funny or serious or dramatic, I’ll change things about my style all the time.

One thing I don’t rly post on here is really tight polished work and that’s because I do that for my day job haha. If you’re not paying me... I’m probably not gonna color in the lines.

6. What levels of artistic education have you had?

I have a whole ass diploma LOL. Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. from the Rhode Island School of Design. And I had a great college experience tbh. Besides the student loans. If any of you guys are thinking about art school feel free to e-mail or message me questions or concerns, I’ll be happy to help. Be as honest as I can be.

7. Show us at least one picture you drew or sketched recently that you did not put on a public site.

heres the wandavision kids. Uhh what else do I have...I feel like I’m rummaging for loose change here...

assorted valentines prep doodles

8. What is your favourite piece that you have done?

Well, obviously this is gonna change all the time and generally it’s gonna be my most recent piece LOL. So yeah, why the hell not. I’ll say it’s this one. I have a pretty short memory which I count as a blessing for an artist. I don’t dwell that long on older work and it keeps me moving forward.

10. What do you like most about your art?

I like that it’s something that only I would make! I had this thought fairly recently and I wrote it down in my sketchbook, it’s pretty cheesy and rambling but it felt revolutionary at the time:

So yeah. I like my art best when it’s the most me and for me. And I like it least when it feels like I’m just making something for social media or for other people’s expectations or whatever.

14. What do you like drawing the most?

Kids in baggy clothing are like my go-to LOL idk if that’s obvious. but also I like being challenged so lately I’ve really loved drawing multi-character compositions, environments, weird angles, etc.

oh i LOVE drawing the underside of shoes lol. And bandages. People that are kinda beat up.. I think it comes from getting a bunch of cuts all the time. I’m always patching myself up and I want to patch characters up too.

15. What do you like drawing the least?

mmm I try to find something to like in every drawing but lets see... I don’t like doing commissions of people’s dogs. Just because it’s normally like... a family friend and my mom volunteered me without my consent and I don’t even really know what they’re expecting me to draw and I don’t even get to meet the dog. Also I’m not that great at dog anatomy. Trying to learn though.

18. What is your purpose for drawing?

This could have a million answers! Uhhh to GIT GOOD??? But also to express myself... and also to make money... I mean it depends on what the drawing IS. I draw fanart mostly to connect to people in the fandom so if you ever see me drawing fanart please take it as like an open invitation to talk to me about the character haha. 

20. How would you rank your art? (poor, mediocre, good, etc.)

Good!!! I have a lot of self-confidence primarily born out of ignorance and a short attention span. If I don’t think too hard about how many other artists are mindblowingly unfathombly good... its easy to think I’m good too! LOL

In all seriousness though, I think the opinion a person has of their art is like a crazy balancing act, right? Like you have to think you suck enough to want to get better but also you have to think you’re good enough to not want to give up. I think we’re all walking that line, I know I am! But also I’m a glass half-full type of person so. Most of the time I feel good about it.

22. List at least one of your “artspirations.”

This is a good question because I’ve been trying and failing to put together one of those “influence map” memes for like a full month now. What’s giving me a hard time is I feel like none of these are actually really obvious “““influences”““ in my art? Like it’s hard to see a lot of them in the work I make...? But idk maybe you guys’ll see what I can’t.

And these are just a couple! God there’s so many more. I could talk about other artists for ages, from all different genres of art. Daumier, Rockwell like every illustrator out there, Dana Gibson, Alex Toth, Hiroshi Yoshida, a lot of the Brandywine School. Lots of current working artists too, Karl Kerschl, frikkin Masashi Kishimoto lol, Jake Wyatt, Richie Pope, Edouard Caplain, Matt Cook, Sachin Teng, - lots of big internet artists, Sophie Li, Freddy Carrasco, Milliofish, Angela Sung... like all my friends from art school too. I could just keep going but I’ll stop for now lol.

24. Do you have a shameful art past? (recolour sprite comics, tracing art, etc.)

I mean if that’s how we’re defining shameful?? sure LOL. It’s not sprite comics but I used to do pokemon sprite recolors all the time. And I used to trace manga panels and color them... Granted this was all when I was like under 12 yrs old so it’s not even embarrassing. Can you really call it shameful when a 7 year old wets the bed or whatever? Not really. In fact some of these are cool as fuck. Look

25. Draw a picture!

Man I’m so tired now but here.

I used to get a lot of compliments for drawing people smiling lol but I don’t think I’ve drawn a lot of smiling lately.. here’s proof I’ve still got it.

OK MEME DONE. onto the rest.

I read this ask first thing when i opened my computer in the morning and it made me really emotional.. I’m so glad my sketches could help you!!

I think a lot of artists on social media talk about the struggle of making art but imo not enough people talk about the joy! Like I know it’s corny but. I really meant what I said at the beginning of that sketchbook about re-contextualizing art around process and progress > product and perfection. I think its super important..! The strength of messy, unfinished, and energetic art! For the feeling of it, for the love it!

That's crazy!!! I hope you like 'em. The whole line of x-books is really good rn imo.

Hi! I totally have the answer for digital stuff on my faq lol. But in terms of drawing on paper.. it varies! I tend to use sketchbooking and any on-paper doodling I do as a way to loosen up/warm-up or experiment. But right now my go-to aresenal is:

from top > bottom

- kuretake no.55 doublesided brush pen

- tombow fudenosuke

- muji 0.38 ballpoint

- medium size poscas

- grey tombow double brush pens

- good ol bic mechanical pencil

not EXACTly sure which inking you referring to from my sketchbook but if I had to take a guess it'd probably be the kuretake no55. That's been my main inker, lately. Great for sketching with the thin end too.

You can print out and eat my art if you like. Just please don't mass produce or re-sell. <3

Thanks! I've come to accept that my art is always gonna be sort of gestural and painty naturally. It's getting it to tighten up enough to be legible that's hard lol...

uh yeah lol I agree actually. I think yolei is great.

I assume these asks are related? LOL

1) Yeah totally true. I love David.

2) I don’t take requests, sorry! But if you want to commission me to draw Legion i would be MORE than happy to. Just e-mail me at isellhotdogs@gmail.com.

<33333333333333333333333333

[nintendousimp]

Train of Thought...

Part:1 Getting Caught

Master 👉Next

Pairing: Akaashi Keiji x Reader, Miya Atsumux Reader.

Character: Gender Neutral! or I want to everyone to feel comfortable so any pronouns welcomed for this story.

Warnings: 18+ NSFW, Some angst and colorful language, mentions of cheating and getting caught in the action, mentions of also thinking to forgive unfaithful partner, some grammar errors 😅 ( I need to emphasize this by saying that English is not my first language and although my English is great I still have a lot of trouble so constructive criticism is welcomed 🥰)

Word Count: 2k

Released date: January 19th 2021

I feel like I need to emphasize that all of the characters in this story are aged up! I’m not comfortable with talking about sexual topics if the characters are still in high school and are underage so,this is a timeskip!😅

Before we go any further into the story, I plan to post part 2 of this! Part 2 will take me a bit longer to post due to personal matters but it will be posted!

Enjoy my first ever Haikyuu x Reader Fic!!!

——————————————————————-

You’ve been working late into the night for the past few months so he must’ve thought that this would be your same routine from your previous nights. He's always been a careful person. He knows you have your location on. He always knows where you are but not just for your safety but to also bring her over.

He knows this is wrong. He loves you and knows he could've talked to you about maybe spending less time at work and maybe make a bit more time for him. Atsumu knows that your work is important and he's not gonna take advantage of you like that, especially when you come home from work tired, and with his volleyball schedule and his career you guys barely got to spend time with each other.

He wants to stop this but his need never stops. He knows what he has with her is just something done out of lust and that’s it. Atsumu only wants her around just to make his cock feel good and that’s it. He's already made it very clear he does not plan to leave you and to not get any crazy ideas.

He thought that tonight would be just like any other. He couldn’t have known that you were on your way home. He couldn’t have possibly remembered that today of all days was the release day of your book that you've put months of work into. Who knew that by mistake you left your phone at the office. All he knew at that moment was that your best friend's pussy takes him so well.

As you were driving your way home all you could think about is to hug your husband and yell to the world that you've finally finished your first written work! You felt such accomplishment that this book that you've put all your heart, sweat, and tears into was finally released! So many people believed in your dream but you felt you really couldn’t have done it without the love and support from your husband.

There have been many times where you felt like you haven't been given Atsumu much attention. You've been working long hours and at times late into the night to get this book out before the deadline you've been given. All those hours of hard work you felt paid off, now all that’s left to do is celebrate and who to celebrate better than your husband. After all, he's the inspiration behind your book.

You get out of your car making your way towards the entrance of your house. You notice a car that you've seen before but you can't remember where, so you just brush it off and make your way to the door. As you're unlocking the main entrance door, you don’t notice anything out of the ordinary. The house is dark and there's no one in the living area, I mean what did you expect its one in the morning. You were going about your routine trying to not wake Atsumu up when you hear some strange noises coming from your shared master.

As you're approaching the hallway that leads to your room, you've noticed the noises are starting to sound a lot more like sexual moans. Your first thought would've been that Atsumu might've fallen asleep while watching porn, and you'd believe that. But these moans sounded too real to be coming from the tv in your shared bedroom. You can see from the small gap underneath the door that the lights are still on.

You're getting ready to enter your room when you notice that the door is slightly open. If only someone were to prepare you for what you were about to see. As you enter the room you see what no woman ever wants to go through. Your husband Atsumu on top of another woman.

"I can never see myself with anyone that wasn’t my husband," you said.

Who would’ve thought that my marriage was falling apart… not me right?

Have I been so oblivious this whole time?

How long has this been going on? The question I proceeded to ask myself...

How did I not see this coming?

But now that you saw everything with your own eyes, you realized you’ve put all the pieces to a puzzle you didn’t even know you were solving.

Today was publishing day and you were gonna surprise Tsumu by coming home after the book release, you would have called but your phone may have been misplaced somewhere in your office. You didn’t have time to go back to the office, you’ve been missing Tsumu a lot. But the surprise you got when you entered your shared bedroom and watched as your husband was on top of another woman was not something you ever expected to happen.

As you stood there watching your husband fuck another woman and not just any woman but your best friend all you could think about was, Atsumu the man that promised to be with you for the rest of your life was in your bed fucking your best friend. You want to be angry, you want to run and scream at them, you want to ask why they did it. Not that any explanation would fix anything, you just couldn’t say anything. As you stood there for what felt like a lifetime. Did you lose your train of thought? Did you forget how to talk?

He finally notices that you’ve been standing there. He panics and gets off your best friend as he tries making his way towards you.  All you could think to do at that moment was to just close the door and run out of the house towards your car and make your way out of there. You started driving with no destination in mind, you just wanted to be anywhere away from this bomb. As you're driving, you end up taking the route that leads you to Akaashi’s place. You get out of the car and make your way towards his door.

It’s like you came here out of instinct.

How can you not when you guys have been working on this project for the past several months. He’s a great editor and a great friend too! He appreciates your hard work! You remember when you told him that you wanted to give writing another try and had an idea for a book he immediately offered his services as an editor. He’s always offered his help to you. Even goes out of his way to help you research some titles or genres that you could find interest in writing. He’s a great guy and you’ve grown very close to him.

Now you’re at Keijis place late in the hours of the night. You decided that you couldn’t do this by yourself so you knock on his door.

“Y/N are you alright, What are you doing out so late?” He asks.

You shake your head no. How were you gonna tell Akaashi your world was falling apart. He’s your editor, he shouldn’t need to know that your husband just cheated on you with your best friend.

“Would you like to come in? We can talk about whatever is troubling you?”

He doesn’t give you a second to answer before he grabs your hand and guides you to the living room. He has you sit on his sofa while he makes you both some tea. Some time has passed since you arrived at Akaashi’s, you’re telling him everything that happened an hour prior to being there. Akaashi is tracing small circles on your back. He tells you that this wasn’t your fault and you're not one to blame here and that

“Hey Y/N?”

“Did you say something Keiji?” Y/N says looking up from his shoulder. He can tell they’ve been crying. Akaashi hated seeing them like this. These past several months, he got to know Y/N as a very kind and goal-minded person. He saw someone who only strived to make her and other’s visions come to reality. The months Akaashi spent with Y/N were by far the best few months of his life. He would never tell Y/N that.t He hates that the book is done because now they won’t get to spend as much time together as they used to.

The months he’s been with her he got to spend a lot of time getting to know her world. He observed the way she would get when she had writer’s block. The number of times he’s watched her get frustrated at how she didn’t like the ending of a chapter for the book. He saw how countless nights she felt helpless and wanted to quit. She would fall into a negative state where she convinced herself she wasn’t a good writer. He also saw the nights where she would vent to him about Atsumu becoming distant once again. NIghts where they would drown themselves with work just so they didn’t think about crying.

He saw all of that. Nights where y/n needed Atsumu. Late nights where he was fucking his wife’s best friend.

“What’s your next move?” Akaashi asked.

“I think the best thing right now is for me to go home and get an explanation”

Your expression is giving regret all over it. How were you gonna go back home and look Atsumu in the face? What more could he explain that you don’t already know? You keep going back and forth between blaming yourself more than blaming him. You want to put this in your head as if it was your fault. But you know deep down that if Atsumu really loves you like he says he does he wouldn’t have cheated. At the end of the day, he cheated on you, not the other way around.

“I think I'm gonna call Yachi and see if she’s okay with me spending a few nights at her place just until I figure out what I’m gonna do. In the meantime, I gotta get back home.”

You sigh, you're getting ready to get up when Akaashi takes a hold of your hand

“Wait Before you go, I have a suggestion for tonight if you’d like to hear”

Akaashi doesn’t want you going alone but he also feels as if he’s overstepping his boundaries. He knows this is none of his business but why does he feel like it is?

“How about we go get some of your things and you spend the night here?”

It was a nice offer from Keiji, but you already feel like a burden. He’s been so kind as to listen to you, you just don’t wanna cause him any more trouble.  

“ I appreciate the offer Keiji but I don’t wanna wrap you up in my troubles.”

“ Y/N you’re no trouble, I just want you to know that you’re more than welcomed to stay here.” Akaashi knew you’d reject his invitation. He knows you’re not the type of person to rely on others' help, you’re a giver not a taker after all.

“Can you promise me if you don’t wanna be there with Atsumu you’ll call me and come here?” Akaashi the overthinker, always worrying about others.

“ I promise I’ll call you Keiji, if anything happens I promise to come back here.” The answer appeases him, he lets your hand go.

“Thank you Y/N Can I walk you out?” You nod and make your way towards the entrance door.

“Thank you for having me over at this time of night..” before you could finish your sentence, you were pulled into Akaashi’s arms.

“You don’t have to thank me Y/N, I’m glad you trust me enough to open up about what happened.”

You don’t know why but his words are making you feel safe. You trust Keiji, he’s not the type of guy to hurt anybody.

You thank Akaashi again as he walks you to your car “ Can I check on you tomorrow?”

You reply with a nod “ See you tomorrow Keiji.”

Both of you say your goodbyes. As you’re leaving Akaashi’s house, you can’t help but feel nervous about the conversation you were about to have with your husband. What was gonna happen with your marriage? Can this be forgiven? Questions that kept plaguing your head. Only one question stuck out more than the others…

Do I wanna divorce Atsumu?

Summary:

L/N F/N a young adult working on their first ever book with the help of editor and friend (Akaashi). Discovers that their husband has been cheating on them for the past few months that they’ve  been working nonstop. Heartbroken y/n decides to drown herself in their work. Will they be able to Forgive their cheating husband from his infidelity or will they approach the man who fell in love with them while working on their book?

© All fiction rights of the story belong to @nintendousimp​

Characters belong to the Haruichi Furudate.

[whoslaurapalmer]

okay so like. i feel like i should come to terms with my ‘4 seasons of the daily punctilio as the office’ because while i came up with GREAT episode descriptions, and also spent like two months of my life dissecting sitcom structure (which was, admittedly, a lot of fun), it would take the Longest to write and the Longest to post, which is terrible, not ideal at all, so 

the highlights, which might make it into my current vague incarnation of ‘modern AU where vfd is a book club in some way’ -- 

-eleanora poe is the managing editor of the punctilio, and she won possession of the paper in a card game from the previous owner (who was vfd-adjacent)  -moxie is city desk editor, lemony is copyeditor, and then jacques does fashion and ramona does finances -they work the night shift, 4pm-12am  -geraldine is hired in the third episode as the theater critic to great distress of the entire staff 

it’s honestly easier to just, post how i wrote out the episode descriptions to show the vague plot i had mapped out, especially because i’m very proud of them regardless -- 

i hadn’t figured out a and b plots for all of them, so i left the ones i had written down -- 

s1, e1 – the punctilio – eleanora wants to take the punctilio in a new direction.

-a plot – the staff gets used to working with a documentary crew as eleanora tries to push the punctilio in a more honest direction.

s1, e2 – the article – the staff works overtime in an attempt to get their articles done.

-a plot – demeaned by the staff’s antics, eleanora has them work overtime to finish articles.

s1, e3 – the new kid – geraldine julienne is hired as the new theater critic.

-a plot – geraldine wants to prove herself, so she decides to do all her work herself.

s1, e4 – the book club – geraldine finds out the other staff members have a book club and tries to get in.

-a plot – geraldine wants to fit in, so she tries to join the book club.

s1, e5 – the ribbon – lemony and moxie try to find a replacement typewriter ribbon.

-a plot – lemony wants to fix his friendship with moxie, so he asks her to help him get new ribbons.

s1, e6 – the finances – ramona uncovers a filing error.

s1, e7 – the straight man – the staff tries to make jacques laugh.

-a plot – concerned at jacques’s steady impassiveness, the staff tries to make him laugh.

-b plot – lemony and the rewrite crew deal with geraldine’s articles?

s1, e8 – the actress – lemony’s girlfriend visits the punctilio offices and creates a stir.

s2, e1 – the theater night – the staff spends an evening at the theater.

-a plot – because the staff doesn’t understand his relationship with beatrice, lemony invites them to the theater.

-b plot – to prove her position, geraldine tries to get esme’s attention at the theater.

s2, e2 – the banker – the staff encounters eleanora’s brother, who comes to audit the office.

-a plot – the staff, hostile to anyone disrupting the paper, does not take well to arthur poe.

-b plot – ramona fields calls from her mother about replanning the garden.

s2, e3 – the sunglasses – eleanora deals with a theft.

s2, e4 – the pigeon – geraldine inadvertently scares the pigeons.

-a plot – attempting to assert her position and knowledge, geraldine accidentally scares lemony’s pigeons off the fire escape.

s2, e5 – the 3rd annual esme squalor fan club dinner party and salad bar – geraldine tries to bring the staff together.

-a plot – geraldine wants to show she’s sophisticated, and involves the staff in the planning of the dinner.

-b plot – lemony wants revenge on geraldine for the pigeons, and sabotages the dinner.

s2, e6 – the inheritance – ramona returns to winnipeg after her mother has an accident.

-a plot – lemony gets updates from winnipeg as ramona helps her mother.

s2, e7 – the kansas city shuffle – eleanora considers some staffing changes.

-a plot – lemony and eleanora engage in mind games as eleanora shuffles the staff around in ramona’s absence and lemony tries to keep his job.

s2, e8 – the intern – the punctilio picks up a new intern.

-a plot – because he misses ramona, and other personal reasons, lemony shuns the new intern. (bertrand. the intern is bertrand.)

s2, e9 – the replacement – eleanora cements her staffing changes.

s2, e10 – the reunion – ramona returns to the punctilio.

-a plot – not wanting to desert her post and colleagues, ramona returns to the punctilio and has to deal with the changes eleanora made.

s2, e11 – the rival – moxie, geraldine, and eleanora meet someone from jacques, lemony, and ramona’s childhood.

-a plot – desperate not to be upstaged or embarrassed by the appearance of olaf, lemony, jacques, and ramona decide to upstage him?

-b plot – eleanora and moxie, feeling left out, try to figure out what olaf’s deal is.

s2, e12 – the salmon – the staff get together to review a new restaurant.

a plot – in pairs, the staff goes to review cafe salmonella.

b plot – eleanora, allergic to salmon and disappointed she can’t go, fields phone calls.

s2, e13 – the framing, part one – on the tail of a big story that might finally get her on the wall of Best Articles, geraldine accidentally frames lemony for a series of crimes.

-b plot – geraldine wants to be on the wall so badly that she digs too hard into an article. (I had an idea it was about like, since she’s fashion editor, eye tattoos???? hmm hmm hmm!)

s3, e1 – the framing, part two – the staff scramble to clear lemony’s name. (fuck the cold open is like, lemony saying once again, “do I have any regrets? several. …. I left the tea kettle in our apartment on.”) (god the sheer beautiful absurdity of lemony on the run…..followed by a camera crew I’m dying)

-a plot – moxie takes the lead on trying to clear lemony of false accusations.

s3, e2 – the assignment – lemony encounters the punctilio’s previous intern.

-a plot – when lemony runs into bertrand again, he wants to make amends.

-b plot – jacques and geraldine get put on assignment together.

s3, e3 – the costume party – beatrice holds a costume party.

-a plot – lemony is nervous about the party and bertrand, and hides the whole time.

s3, e4 – the trivia night – the staff attend trivia night at a local cafe.

-a plot – jacques is nervous about talking to jerome, and asks lemony to accompany him to trivia night – the whole staff follows.

-b plot – geraldine wants to impress people, and studies up for the trivia night.

s3, e5 – the blues (I guess that’s why they call it) – jacques takes a day off.

-a plot – to cope with being denied by jerome, jacques takes a day off.

-b plot – lemony struggles with his feelings and takes it out on the staff. moxie retaliates.

s3, e6 – the moonlighting – geraldine has a hard time keeping lemony’s second job a secret. 

-a plot – torn between wanting to keep a secret and wanting to tell people bc reporter, geraldine goes to great lengths to try and keep lemony’s playwright job a secret.

s3, e7 – the summer camp gang – moxie and lemony hang out with their summer camp friends. (the sbts crew)

s3, e8 – the book club, part 2 – things escalate in the book club.

-a plot – at the monthly ‘book club’ meeting, things get out of hand when the punctilio is brought up.

s3, e9 – the telegram – eleanora gets a telegram from an old friend.

-a plot – eleanora receives a telegram from the previous owner of the punctilio and her old boss.

-b plot – jacques and ramona wait for a different telegram.

s3, e10 – the game – a flashback to eight years previously, when eleanora got the punctilio.

-a plot – eleanora, much like her employees in the present, wants to prove herself, and engages in a battle of wits to get a newspaper of her own.

s3, e11 – the librarian – moxie gets involved in a dispute between the snickets and a librarian. (dewey.)

s3, e12 – the hustle – after being picked up at the city jail, lemony tells ramona what happened at the pool hall.

-a plot – having called ramona because she’d be the least embarrassing, lemony talks about how pride was his downfall at the pool hall.

-b plot – moxie and jacques get involved in a game of Hell Chess.

s3, e13 – the siblings snicket – jacques and lemony’s sister returns to town.

-a plot – worried about lemony and jacques, their sister, kit, visits the punctilio to check on them.

-b plot – moxie and geraldine become determined to find out about the person who runs the presses.

s4, e1 – the feint – the staff investigates the local mystery of the feint family.

s4, e2 – the cat – ellington and the staff butt heads.

s4, e3 – the anniversary – geraldine’s three year hiring anniversary is derailed.

s4, e4 – the train – the staff finds themselves trapped on a train.

s4, e5 – the candlestick maker – the investigation takes a turn.

s4, e6 – and all of them out to sea – the investigation into the feints comes to an unexpected end.

s4, e7 – the lunch – lemony tries to meet someone for lunch.

s4, e8 – the soda – geraldine gets an offer.

-a plot – geraldine is torn between her love and devotion to the punctilio and her still-there desire to prove herself, especially to esme, when esme offers her a job.

s4, e9 – the reckoning – moxie makes a decision.

-a plot – moxie is startled to find herself upset about geraldine’s offer.

s4, e10 – the fire – eleanora’s telegram from last season comes back to haunt the punctilio.

s4, e11 – the end – lemony, jacques, and ramona reach an understanding.

s4, e12 – the caveat – eleanora fights for her employees.

s4, e13 – the volunteers – geraldine and lemony talk.

-a plot – scared that the punctilio and her friends are breaking up, geraldine seeks out lemony for advice. 

s4, e14 – the punctilio, part 2 – once again, the punctilio takes a new direction. 

-b plot – the cameraman is finally revealed.

[egcdeath]

a blip in the reader-verse

chapter 6: extra! extra! read all about it

series summary: a minor mistake causes a shift in the multiverse that only you have the capacity to fix.

chapter summary: you kept your friends close, and your enemy even closer.

pairing: politician!andy barber x journalist!reader, steve rogers x reader

word count: 4k

warnings: american politics, fake dating/marriage, angst at the end, heavy codependent behavior at the end

author’s note: i saw @jtargaryen18 post about politician!steve a while ago and must’ve internalized it because this chapter pretty much wrote itself. just a heads up: all of my political knowledge comes from political sitcoms, so sorry in advance if i get some things wrong. another warning is that there are still some very unhealthy relationship dynamics at play here, so promise me you won’t be like reader okay?

previous chapter / series masterlist

Is Andy Barber Really the Best for Our Nation’s Future?

Opinion

by Y/N L/N

Feb 7, 2021, 4:36 PM ET

After tonight’s debate, the question that’s begged is if Andrew Barber is truly fit to run our country. Although he’s clearly a front runner for his party’s nomination, he’s shown time and time again that he may actually be our weakest candidate.

His weaknesses were highlighted during the debate, with his dodged questions and vague answers. At this point in time, it’s hard to tell if Barber has a platform at all.

With Super Tuesday just around the corner, I ask you to reevaluate your support for Barber. Though a charming candidate, it seems that that’s all he has, his charm. His policies are weak, and borderline impossible, and he certainly isn’t the right person to become the most powerful man in the world.

—-

When you became conscious, you were no better than unconscious. Your eyes opened and were immediately met with a harshness from the sun peeking through a window. You shifted away from the brightness, body sinking into a memory foam mattress while your nude form rubbed against similarly soft sheets. You sleepily rubbed your eyes before they flitted throughout the room you were in. Observing an oddly clean, generic looking area, you’d quickly connected the dots that you were in a hotel room. A rather fancy one at that. 

Soft breathing came from next to you, and as you turned your head a bit more, you were met with the back of a fluffy and dark haired man. You weren’t completely sure, but judging by your history of finding your way to Steve, you’d assumed that it was some alternate form of your partner.

The man in bed next to you yawned, and haphazardly threw an arm in your direction, before rolling over to greet you, “morning sunshine,” he slurred sleepily.

The beard was a bit of a surprise to you. Though you’d begged and begged your Steve to keep it, he often refused for one reason or another. Seeing the man next to you who (what was now much clearer to you) a version of your boyfriend, was a rather pleasant surprise. 

“Morning,” you responded in an equally sleepy manner, ignoring the rhythmic vibration coming from your night stand.

“Mm, you should get that,” he mumbled, pressing a disoriented peck to the side of your head while you reached over to grab your phone, which you could now see was the perpetrator of the vibrations.

“Hello?” you asked into the phone.

“Are you dumb? Or are you fucking stupid?” Aaliyah’s voice scolded through the phone. “Do you know what kind of position you’ve put me in? This is a fucking mess, Y/N. All for some dick? How could you be so careless?! Jesus!”

“What are you talking about?” You glanced over at Andy, and sat up a bit, pulling the crisp blankets over your body in an attempt to retain some form of modesty.

“Don’t play dumb with me. You’re fucking Andy Barber, but you’re writing articles about him like you just watched him kill your dog. You realize that this puts all of us at risk, right? You’re gonna lose your job, I’m gonna lose my job since I decided to edit and publish your shit, and you and I will lose any sort of journalistic integrity we’ve ever had, or will have, for the rest of goddamn time! Seriously, you could’ve had anyone, but Andy Barber? Andrew fucking Barber?” she groaned over the line.

“Uh, I’ll uh, call you back,” you whispered.

“You’re joking right? Are you with him right now?”

“Aaliyah!”

“Oh my god, you’re with him right now. You’re a fucking mess,” she huffed before hanging up.

Why did the universe have to send you off to such a shitshow?

You rolled out of bed, and sulked into the bathroom, desperate to find out what was going on. While sitting on the toilet, you scrolled through the wall of notifications; tweets directed at you, messages from confused friends begging you to call them when you had a chance, and even the occasional concerned email. 

You grimaced as you read through each one of them, eventually clicking on the article that many seemed to be referencing, which included a paparazzi photo of you and this Andy Barber character entering a hotel together sometime in the late night to early morning, partnered with an article or two of your own criticizing him. At first, you wondered if he was some sort of celebrity, but what you ultimately found out was much worse. 

He was a politician. A senator who was running to be president.

You screamed into your hands, before tossing your phone aside, and starting a warm shower for yourself. Perhaps the shower could help jog your memory a bit. 

Stepping into the steamy chamber, and letting the water pelt down onto you did do wonders for you, and it gave you a moment of focus. With both your memories from this universe, along with the information you’d been given through your phone, you were able to piece a few aspects of the universe together.

You were a journalist, a popular one at that, Andy was Steve, but not Steve, and also a presidential candidate. Aaliyah was your editor, and a higher-up at the Times, and you were about to have your ass handed to you over an affair. At least Andy wasn’t married.

Your shower must’ve taken longer than you’d expected, as there was a soft knock on the door after some time. 

“Everything okay in there?” a slightly muffled voice asked.

“Yeah. Just peachy. Why aren’t you more worried about this?” you called back.

“I have a good publicist. And campaign manager. I just have a good team,” Andy paused briefly. “When you’re ready, room service is ready.”

----

Over aggressive mouthfuls of fresh fruit and bitter coffee, you conversed with Andy.

“How are we gonna fix this?” You questioned while setting down your fork.

“Well, it’s simple. We just have to find some kind of spin to this whole story. Maybe you were just interviewing me, or getting a soundbite from me.” “Why would you agree to get a soundbite from someone who clearly has it out for you?” You set your fork down, and crossed your arms over your white robe clad chest. 

“That’s a good question,” Andy nodded a bit, “a good question for someone else to answer.”

“Why don’t we let your publicist figure out how to play this?”

“I’d say I’m a bit of an expert at this at this point, but I’ll call my team.”

“You do that, I need to assess the damage to my career,” you huffed, moving to sit on the bed so that you could aggressively scroll on your phone in peace.

Andy called someone, and you patiently waited while he chatted with them. 

“Okay, Y/N. We can’t leave through the front, so my guy’s gonna pick us up in the garage. We have like, half an hour,” he tossed his phone aside, then maneuvered himself to get in bed with you, setting both hands down on either side of you, and placing a soft kiss on your lips. He slowly began to inch down your body, untying the belt of your robe as he did so, when you interrupted him.

“What do you think you’re doing, Andrew?”

“We have time.” He looked up at you.

“We are not doing this. What do you think got us into this mess in the first place?” you frowned, moving one of his hands so you could slide away from him. 

“Are you serious?”

“Yes! Why aren’t you taking this seriously! Do you realize that both of our careers are at stake here? I don’t want to lose my job because I’m having an affair with you. You shouldn’t want to lose a shot at office for a woman you’re not even with.”

“Come on, we’ve been doing this for almost a year, and you only have a problem with it now?”

“Yes! The public had no idea before! They’re going batshit now! And the worst part is that I’m the one taking the most heat,” you sighed, and Andy gave you a frown. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N. You know I didn’t want this to happen.”

“It’s kinda too late for sorries now.” 

——

You stepped out of your suite about five minutes after Andy left, suitcase in tow, blocky sunglasses on your face, and a heathered grey peacoat draped over your shoulders. Although you were stressed from the controversy you’d found yourself in, you couldn’t help but feel the buzz of excitement from having to hide from the paparazzi. At the same time, you felt quite bad for this version of yourself.

When you finally got out to the designated Cadillac, you asked for his driver to roll up the partition, like you’d done a million times before, then looked out of the tinted windows. The ride was pretty awkward, considering you were in no mood to talk to Andy, and Andy felt bad about the issues he’d imposed on you from his own carelessness. He set a cautious hand on top of yours, and though you were agitated, it did brighten your mood the slightest bit. 

After what felt like forever, you arrived at his campaign building, and you were ushered into a small, soundproof space, with a large and round pine table in the center of it. Surrounding the table was a very tired looking Aaliyah, and… Tony Stark? 

“How’s everyone’s weekend been?” Tony asked, breaking the ice as you and Andy settled into your seats.

“Are we really doing small talk right now?” Aaliyah deadpanned, “sorry, that was uncalled for.”

“Alright, straight to the elephant in the room then. You two were out spotted, big deal, happens all the time to politicians and their mistresses-“

“I’m not his mistress! You know this, Tony,” you huffed.

“Tony knew and not me?” Aaliyah gasped.

“Well-“ you began. 

“Save it.”

“It was on a very need-to-know basis,” you muttered.

“Back to what I was saying. I suggest that we don’t address it, unless addressed.”

“I don’t know if you’re dense, or what, but that’s the exact opposite of what we need to do. We have to get on top of this story before the story is that you,” Aaliyah gestured at you, “are packing your shit at the Times.”

The door shot open, and quickly closed. A slightly flustered blonde man stumbled through. “Sorry to interrupt,” he began.

Aaliyah rolled her eyes at this notion, muttering a ‘sure you are’ to herself. 

“We just finished polling numbers, and Andy, you’re up?” He projected the screen of his iPad onto a TV in the room, then passed the device over to Andy on his way to sit down.

“Thanks, Vis,” he gave him a curt nod.

“Why would our candidate allegedly hooking up with someone who hates him boost him in the polls?” Tony asked.

“Middle America loves a family man, you know that,” Vision said in a matter of faculty manner. “Andy has had a hard time connecting with that demographic because when they see him, they see an Elitist East-coaster.”

“Hooking up with a hot reporter does not make you a family man,” Aaliyah retorted.

“That brings me to my next point. If you don’t mind, I’d like to add a proposal of my own,” Vision stated, and received a shrug from the rest of the room. “Well, if we need to put a spin on this, the obvious choice is to explain that they’ve been seeing each other the whole time. Under wraps, of course. The photos the paparazzi received are not damning by any means, and look more romantic than sexual, to be quite frank. Y/N wrote those articles to throw the public off her scent, and she didn’t really believe anything she said, and Andy? He’s just a good, all American man who was tired of keeping his relationship under wraps. Everything’s to gain from this plan.”

“Well, I lose my journalistic integrity. That’s a pretty big loss to me. I may never work again,” you rubbed your forehead in a distraught manner.

“You won’t have to worry about working when you’re the First Lady. Think about it, if we can get votes from the swing states, we’ve secured enough electoral votes to have a Barber win. All over a little character rebrand.”

“Excuse me, the First Lady?” You nervously glanced between Vision and Aaliyah while you attempted to pick your jaw up from the floor.

“Well, yes. We can’t exactly get the full ‘family man’ look without Mr. Barber being a real husband.“

“Are we talking, real wedding?” Aaliyah questioned.

“Yes. You just have to be legally bound together for around four years, eight years tops. About twelve would be preferable, but I understand that not everything works out.”

“I don’t object to that,” Andy winked and nudged you a bit.

What a mess.

“Back to what I was saying, we’ll probably need about a two week PR period before we do a press briefing announcing the engagement. Give or take. During that time, we could have your publicist arrange all sorts of good photo ops for you two.”

“Either way, my career is ruined,” you sighed, and Andy set his hand on your back.

“Sorry, sweetheart.”

“You don’t have to do that. We’re not currently standing in front of 30 cameras.”

“Well, we should prepare for when we are in front of 30 cameras.”

“Is it though?” Vision interjected, bringing you and Andy back from your aside. “We can just deflect, maybe have a few of your friends make articles about how what you did wasn’t all that bad.”

“Is it not a valid criticism of me that I was sleeping around with the person who I was also slandering?”

“Is it not possible to criticize someone you care about? In fact, helping someone learn how to improve can be very romantic,” Vision shrugged. 

There was a brief silence throughout the bunch while everyone pondered a counter argument. 

“That right there, that kind of insight is why we call you the Vision,” Tony shook his head and proudly clapped the man on his back.

“So it’s settled then? We’re really doing this?” You glanced around at your peers while Aaliyah spoke. “Any objections, love birds?”

Andy shrugged, “I’d be happy to spend the rest of my life with her.”

You, on the other hand, weren’t so sure. 

——

Barber and his Greatest Critic Break Bread Together on Friday

read more

Y/N L/N Announces She’s Not Resigning from Senior Position, and That She’s Been Seeing Barber!

read more

BREAKING! Barber Announces Relationship with Critic Y/N L/N

read more

Is L/Nber the Ship that Shows us How Relationships Are More Powerful than Politics?

read more

Our New Favorite Political Power Couple Showed Up Together at a Rally, and We Couldn’t Be More Excited.

read more

Barber 7 Points Ahead in the Polls, Leaving Loguidice and Kline Trailing Far Behind

read more

Was Y/N Really in the Wrong?

read more 

“L/Nber” Celebrate Valentine’s Day Together 

read more

These L/Nber House Hunting Photos Are Giving Us Life!

read more

This was your reality for the next two weeks. The news cycle was filled with a plethora of articles about you, some criticizing you, some criticizing Andy, but most, supporting the two of you in your romantic endeavors. Unsurprisingly, the world loved a good story about two attractive people getting together. 

During this period, you didn’t particularly feel like leaving, though the thought had certainly crossed your mind. You just weren’t sure that you wanted to be dealing with those terrible symptoms again in the midst of an already stressful stage of your life. At the same time, it seemed like the universe was not going to be fair with your time in this reality. You were convinced that you were here for the long haul, or at least, until Andy proposed to you. 

Although it was a bit annoying, cameras around every corner, a watchful eye on everything that you or Andy even considered doing, you found yourself growing on Andy. In some ways, he was a bit more intense than Steve, whose personality had mellowed out a bit since the Snap.

This had been the first time in all of your travels where you felt like ‘Steve’ was the one pursuing you, and in all honesty, it made you feel good. Even if everything the two of you did had an aftertaste of artificiality.

You spent more and more time with him every day, staying together with him in hotels across the country, visiting local businesses with him to get the perfect photo op, and attending galas with donors. It seemed like in every candid photo of Andy, you weren’t too far behind. By the time the day of your proposal arrived, you weren’t even all that opposed to the marriage. 

When the proposal finally arrived, the two of you were sat inside a rather fancy restaurant, finishing up your meal when Andy settled on one knee in front of you, “Y/N,” he began, and you felt the all too familiar tremble of your watch on your wrist. 

You almost had to restrain yourself from exclaiming out loud. It’s not that you didn’t like Andy or anything, he’d genuinely grown on you. In the least cheesy way, it wasn’t him, but you. Being somewhere so unfamiliar for so long had begun to create a cumulative exhaustion that wore a bit more on you every day. Feeling homesick was an understatement.

You brought your hands up to your face, and gasped dramatically, squeezing your eyes shut to see if you could possibly produce a few tears, while mobile cameras and a few professional flashes were directed towards you. A few warm droplets slipped down your face, and for a moment you weren’t even sure how fake they were. It seemed like once they started, they couldn’t stop.

You missed Steve, your Steve, the man you’d fallen in love with. You missed your friends, teammates, and family. You missed the stability of knowing what the world held for you next. 

In the midst of Andy’s proposal, in what should’ve been the happiest moment of your life, all you could focus on was your overwhelming desire to have a sense of normalcy in your life once again. 

——

You woke up in a cold sweat, heart racing in your chest, and shaking your ribcage. You looked up to the ceiling of what you had grown to know was your room in the Compound, your real room, and felt your eyes well up in tears that stung you. 

You sat up, and took as deep of a breath as you could manage, when you noticed Wanda sitting by your bedside.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” she said softly, coming closer to you, offering you a glass of water before sitting at the foot of your bed. 

“Where’s Steve?” you asked, trying to gauge where you were. 

“Honey,” she sighed softly. “I’m so sorry. He’s still missing.”

Your lip trembled as you took a sip. You really were back home. 

“I know you’re hurting, but when you feel a little better, we’re going to Medbay. Banner decided that we should probably keep an eye on your vitals, but you were gone before we even had the chance to get you there.”

You gulped down the water, then set it on your bedside table, “so was that all just a dream or something? Why isn’t Steve back?” you huffed frustratedly.

“I don’t know why he isn’t back, but I don’t think you were dreaming. I was trying to watch your dreams, but I couldn’t read you, or your thoughts at all.”

“Hmm,” you mumbled, throwing your legs over the side of the bed, “let’s go.”

As you settled into the cold, and sterile medical facility you were hooked up to a plethora of monitors, and a cacophony of devices beeped as they read your physical state. 

You tuned out the words being spoken around you, zoning out and looking forward to your vital signs monitor. Your mind wandered to your last few thoughts in your previous reality, the desperation to come back, to see your estranged lover again. You couldn’t help but to feel disappointed, lamenting the fact that you’d found your way home, yet felt the ever present void in your heart where your Steve used to be.

“Y/N?” a voice asked you, and you glanced in its general direction. “What happened while you were out? What did you see? Did it work?” Bruce pelted you with questions.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to talk about it yet,” you sighed softly, bringing a hand up to your neck and rubbing it. “The watch worked though, I was definitely in other universes. I just couldn’t reach him. Bring him home. I failed.”

“Do you think he’s really out there?” Bruce whispered to Wanda hoping that you might not pick up on it.

“I’m… I don’t know. I just don’t know how likely it is that we’ll manage to find him,” she responded in a hushed tone. You bit back tears as she spoke, resuming your empty gaze on the pixelated green text of your heart rate on the monitor.

“I’m sorry, guys. I have to go back,” you interrupted. “I can’t give up on Steve yet. I know he wouldn’t give up on me.”

“Y/N, you could be gone for centuries before you find him, then return back here with no time passed at all, and possibly no Steve. You don’t deserve to take on all of that pain,” Wanda set a hand on your shoulder. “Steve would’ve wanted you to move on from him. To find happiness without him.”

“I can’t do that, Wanda. Without him I don’t even know who I am,” your voice trembled as you spoke. “He’s literally been my only tether through all of this.”

“I just don’t know that this is the best thing we could be doing. Sure, you’re physically fine, but it almost seems like you’re doing worse emotionally than you were before you left,” Bruce added.

“I’m not!” you sniffled before continuing. “I’m just tired from going to all those new places.”

Bruce and Wanda didn’t seem too convinced. “Don’t you guys believe in me? When have I let you down on a mission before? I’m gonna find him, okay? I’ll find him if it’s the last fucking thing I do,” you blubbered.

Wanda’s hand slid down your shoulder, and to the watch that was currently on your wrist.

“Don’t,” you uttered, swinging your opposite hand to grab onto your own wrist. You were aware that there was absolutely no way you could overpower her in taking the watch from you, but even in your minor hysterics, you were able to think fast enough to press the round button before the watch was able to be taken off of you.

You, and your wrist shook. Wrist shaking from the watch, and promise of sending you elsewhere, and you from a mixture of sobs and adrenaline. Though not the most ideal exit, it was an exit nonetheless.

You weren’t even sure if you cared that you were on good terms with your teammates anymore. 

You just needed to be with Steve again.

[thecandlesticksfromlesmis]

My sister's college's theater group decided to FILM their musical one person at a time and edit it together(!!) and I'm in engineering grad school, and am aware that art school is a v v different experience but this made me think: how are you guys doing this? Are you ok? How do you learn to direct if there can't be two people on screen together? Is it like the Tom Holland thing where he didnt know who was in scenes with him? Are the editing students happy about this? If you dont want to answer I totally get it but I'm asking because engineering not in person kills me so I just. Can't fathom what you're doing. I wish you the best 💙

HEY omg yeah it’s a mess. It’s been a mess since this all started and I think it will continue to be a mess for the rest of this year. 

Rest of post under the cut cause I’m just ranting.

So when everything first hit, all filmmaking was stopped completely, which for me as a screenwriter was fine because I am not required to be on set unless I wrote the script (or have been bamboozled into script supervising ugh) anyway. But I know it hurt literally every other discipline, especially cinematographers because they need to touch cameras in order to learn and the school provides all their tech. 

Towards the end of last year, the school started back up with productions, making it mandatory for all the films to be shot on our big sound stages (usually we have free rein of all of LA and a little outside it in shoot in) and to include a COVID safety supervisor. Our sound stages were upgraded with new air ventilation systems and the school also rented out other stages to accommodate the huge number of shorts that needed to be shot. 

In order to be on set you had to have proof of a negative COVID test and have isolated in your home for two weeks before shooting. On set was a big production of face shields and masks and sanitizer and staying six feet away from each other---except for the actors. The actors could be in scenes together, provided they did all the steps above and agreed to be close to someone in a scene.

No one is happy lmao. It’s pushed back thesis schedule SO MUCH, that lots of people in my class will still be having to shoot and finish thesis after we technically graduate this year. Technically, I’m still responsible for writing a script for a project that was cancelled and removed from the “you need to do this to graduate” list. It’s been rescheduled to shoot in August when I will be rigorously prepping for the huge event where I pitch all my project to industry execs. I don’t wanna do it, but my whole team still wants to so ya know 🤷🏼‍♂️

I have no clue how the fuck the production designers are functioning. I hope they’re still able to go to the school to access the building stations and literally all their materials. Editors have to go into the school to do their work because AVID costs so much money and no one is gonna buy it personally and that’s what they edit on! Directors are being dramatic as usual (lol I love some of them but goooood the shit they’ve put writers through y’all). 

Basically, it’s all around absolutely NOT what we signed up for to earn our masters. This school’s big selling point is hands on, collaborative work, and it’s really tough to do that now. Writers have less to deal with, but what I wouldn’t give to be sitting in workshop, giving notes to people in conversation form, rather than trying to have a natural dialogue over zoom. It sucks! And I miss my friends. 

There was this beautiful room on campus, that was a “no talking zone” in the library, that I used to work in every day. It was a room full of screenplays--like stacked shelves top to bottom of bound screenplays, some original behind glass doors, some signed by writers. It was really good place for me to focus on what I came here to do. I really really miss it. It made me feel a part of something! I have barely left my house for a year and now all the words I’ve written are trapping in our one bedroom apartment and it’s so stifling. The stories are blending together and GOD I can’t wait to get a break. 

I’m burnt out and tired of the one thing I know how to do. 

But I’m going to end this on a bright note! Mike and I are getting our second shot soon, we’re working on a film project right now, I’m finishing drafts of stories I’ve been working on for so long. If everything was the way it was before all this, the things I’m accomplishing would feel so small and not impressive. But now I’m realizing just how hard they really are to finish, and I should be less hard on myself in the future! 

Anyway, thanks for asking! Hope engineering grad school is going well. I’m sure it’s hard with all this going on too! Wishing you the best 💚