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starcrossedxwriter · 1 year

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Wicked Fantasies Part 4 (MBJ x Black OC)

Warnings: mentions of grief and death… NSFW, public sex, name calling, BDSM themes

A/N: lol remember when I said this was gonna be two parts? Well I finished both so I said why not lol long chapter ahead but I hope you enjoy!

***

“It’s really insane when you think about it,” she laughed. “I mean God, these people are saying shit I wouldn’t dare breathe out loud… to a complete stranger. Do your DMs always look like this?”

Michael nodded, causing Raven to shake her head in complete disbelief. “I don’t see most of ‘em but my team likes to share the wildest ones sometimes. The people are mad creative.”

“You don’t ever feel objectified by it?” Raven asked, her nails tapping quietly against her screen as she deleted DM after DM.

“Sometimes but it’s par the course in my world. And they do it to all celebrities. It’s also not like me and my team don’t play into that shit. So it’s kinda hard to get mad. When you get branded as a sex symbol, people treat you like one. And generally, people don’t mean any harm by it. As long as people, you know, keep that shit on social, I don’t get bothered.”

“Fair. People need to like get offline and touch grass. The amount of women in my DMs insulting me for ‘stealing you?’ You’d think I wrecked their fantasy home. It’s kinda disturbing, not gonna lie.”

Despite the rise in explicit DMs, Raven was pleasantly surprised at how little her life had changed since she became the public girlfriend of a mega movie star. She had never seen so many follow requests in her life and the cameras swarmed the library for the first few days. However, other than that and one or two articles detailing the sparse details of her life that were available, things were pretty much exactly the same. It also helped that there was a major celebrity scandal each week so their relationship had quickly become old news. But they were the new “it couple” on the block. The world bought their act hook, line, and sinker. A few more months of this and the debacle of their first date would be a funny passing joke on SNL or Late Night tv and nothing more.

“I feel bad dragging you to this shit on your birthday,” Michael mumbled apologetically.

Raven scoffed. “It’s a dinner party at Ryan Coogler’s with the cast of my favorite superhero movie of all time,” she exclaimed, a bit of her fan girl side slipping out. “Hardly a punishment. We got our photo so you can post something cute and sappy for the gram and I get to do something fun completely unrelated to my birthday. Win, win.” She assured him with a smile.

Michael still did not understand her aversion to her birthday, it was one of the many things about her that were a big question mark. He thought she was just being modest when she told him so when Ryan invited the couple to dinner at his spot, he felt bad for even asking her to give up her special day for a work event. However, she said yes immediately, clearly thankful for a work obligation to fill up her evening.

Her phone rang, interrupting Michael’s response. She rolled her eyes when she saw her sister’s name pop up. She had been dodging her and her dad’s calls left and right since she and Michael’s first date weeks ago. She knew her sister would find out from social media and would tell their dad, and she knew they both were just calling with their hands outstretched. She could tolerate them asking for her money and the money she did not have yet, she always found it and, even if she complained, she would give it. But she would not entertain requests for money that was not hers to give away, nor would she give Michael the impression she was a gold digger trying to bleed him dry. He was upholding his end of the bargain, she would not milk him for anymore than that. She let it go to voicemail, however, soon the car filled with the constant dings of her texts.

“You gotta take that?”

“Umm… yea,” Michael could feel her entire mood sour at the idea. “It’s just my sister. She’ll never stop calling if I don’t. You mind? Sorry,” her tone was apologetic, knowing how frustrating it would be to listen to half a conversation in a car you can’t escape from.

She held the phone to her ear and waited for her to pick up, making sure to turn the volume down as low as possible in hopes Michael would hear as little of whatever insanity her sister would spew. She knew she was not calling to merely offer happy birthday wishes, if she even acknowledged the day at all.

“Raven! I’ve been calling you for days. What the fuck?” Kiara’s voice filled her ears.

“Hi Kiara. Sorry, I’ve been a little busy. How are you?”

“I’m fine.” She responded shortly without asking Raven the same. “And yea, a little busy all over the fuckin’ ShadeRoom. You know how fuckin’ embarrassing it is to find out you’re dating MY celebrity crush on Insta?? You didn’t even like that nigga or his movies.”

Not true, Raven wanted to yell into the phone. She and her sister were not close enough to know each other’s favorite movies or actors, hell even favorite colors, let alone gossip about their relationships together. So she was not sure why Kiara even expected to know about her relationship, even if it hadn’t been a complete farce.

“You have me out here lookin’ stupid as shit to my friends.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize how it would impact you.” There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice, which she could tell Michael picked up on as he choked back a laugh. However, she knew Kiara was too self absorbed to notice.

“When are you gonna bring him here for us to meet him? The girls want to meet him too.”

“You and dad are always welcome to come to LA and meet him. O-Or just, you know, visit me?” she threw him an apologetic shrug that just made him laugh. She wished she could laugh at how quickly her family’s tune had changed about seeing her. She had invited them to LA countless times before everything fell apart but they couldn’t have cared less about her life and how she was doing. And when she tried to visit them, they made excuse after excuse about why it was not a “good time.” But now that she had a famous boyfriend, it was “when are you coming to visit?” As if the invitation had always been open. She had not seen her family in two years. “Don’t think either of us have time to come to y’all with his schedule. He’s going out of town soon for his new movie.”

“Maybe I can convince dad if you can get us tickets to the premiere of that movie…. What’s the name? I don’t remember. The girls would love that shit. Or… oh! He has to be invited to the new Black Panther premiere next month too. Maybe we can go to that? I don’t know what that shit’s about but it’s Black Panther so you know hella celebs will be there. He’s gotta be a brand ambassador for some fancy shit. Can you get us some Birkins or something?”

Raven clenched her eyes shut as her sister outlined her laundry list of impossible wants from her “boyfriend.” She knew she could never and would never ask Michael for a fraction of these things. And if she was going to ask him for something out of their contractual obligations, she doubted whether it would be to benefit Kiara of all people. She would do it on behalf of someone who would actually appreciate it.

“I’ll ask him. But maybe for now, you can settle for an autograph? Look, we are actually headed out on a date. Did you or dad need something?”

“Oh yea… I need money for a lawyer for that charge from a couple weeks ago. You know that fuck ass bar is suing us for damages? But that shit wasn’t even our fault.”

Raven’s head lazily fell to the side as she half-listened to her sister complain for several minutes, drowning on with details from the fight that made Raven think the bar was well within their rights to demand payment. But accountability was not Kiara’s strong suit. She offered lame “ohs” and “wows” to give the impression that she was truly paying attention. She was just waiting for the ask, there always was one and everything before it was pointless. She finally tuned back in when her sister demanded cash.

“I gave dad the rest of my savings to bail you and your boyfriend out of jail. And I already sent money for the mortgage and dad’s car. I’m tapped out this month.”

“Fuck you mean tapped out? You’re living like a fuckin’ big shot in LA with a millionaire for a boyfriend and you can’t slide me money for a lawyer? That’s fuckin’ foul, Raven.”

Raven clenched her eyes shut. It had already been hard enough to keep up the appearances that she had a thriving career in LA. Adding a fake relationship to the house of lies she existed in did not help matters. Her family had no idea how much she was struggling now and while she knew she could tell them, she did not want to deal with their reactions, which she knew would likely be to blame her. She felt enough guilt and blame for her situation as it was.

“I can’t just make money I don’t have materialize, Kiara.” She lowered her voice though she knew there was no way Michael was not listening. “You know just because I let you and dad treat me like an ATM, doesn’t mean I do that to other people. I don’t have the money right now but I can pay the bar in installments when I come into more in a couple weeks and just pay off the damages for you.”

“No, we aren’t payin’ the fuckin’ bar cause we didn’t do shit. And wow… God. You’re so fuckin’ selfish, running off to LA and abandoning us here to make all that money with your fancy degrees and shit.”

“Did I run off and abandon you or did you make it impossible to stay?” Raven asked, her exhaustion at constantly being the villain of her family’s story getting the better of her.

“Poor Raven. Always the fuckin’ victim as if everything that’s wrong in this family isn’t your fault. And to pull that card today of all days when you know it’s the anniversary of mom’s death. If it weren’t for you…” Kiara started to say before Raven cut her off, tears welling up in her eyes as she already could hear her sister and father’s voice finishing that sentence.

“I’ll figure it out and send the money, ok?” She called out, cutting her sister’s words off completely. “I’m getting an advance from my next book in a couple weeks. Find a couple lawyers, meet with them and get their rates and I’ll pay for it. No one crazy expensive, Ki.”

She knew lying was wrong but she did not have any other option. She couldn’t tell her family where the money would be really coming from. Michael had a whole list of things for her for the next two weeks before he went on his press tour, which meant she would easily make enough to pay her sister’s legal fees and pass it off as an advance.

“This is me and Jay’s lives, Raven. It’s not like you don’t have the money or access to itto pay for the best.”

Raven focused her eyes on the ceiling of the car, a sorry attempt to stop tears of guilt and frustration from falling. She felt a tidal wave of shame hit her knowing Michael was seeing her like this. “Whatever you need. But once my advance money is gone, I’m tapped out for a while. Seriously, Kiara.”

“Yea yea yea. I gotta go. I’ll call you in two weeks about the lawyer. Bye.”

Raven clenched her phone in her hand with a fist, her entire body turning away from Michael as a small frustrated sob escaped her that she couldn’t quite keep in. She tossed her phone down on the seat and wiped her eyes.

She had hoped to make it through today, the annual reminder of the worst day of her life, without thinking too much about it. But there her sister was, picking at the threads of her composure, forcing her to unravel.

The worst part of all of it was she could not even be mad at her sister or her father and how they treated her. She deserved it and she knew it. She had ruined their lives and this was her atonement. So she endured it, every slight, every barb, every wound because she - perhaps foolishly - hoped that if she kept reaching out her hand and kept giving, one day they would reach back and not expect something in it. They would forgive her and she would have a real family again.

It did not matter how they spoke to her or treated her, she just repeated the same mantra over and over and over again.

Keep reaching out your hand, she reminded herself as she took a few deep breaths.

“You good? We can drive around for a bit longer if you need a minute.”

“Yea, yea.” She sniffled and cleared her throat. “Just stupid family shit. One day we’ll have a date without me crying o-or having a panic attack,” she let out a watery laugh as she forced a smile onto her lips.

The smile was wide, and Michael knew, to a stranger, it would likely seem authentic and bright. It would certainly be enough to fool everyone at dinner tonight. But he could see its inauthenticity in her eyes, that’s where all of her emotions shown through. And her eyes? They were void of even the minuscule amounts of light and joy he typically saw and that were present moments before that phone rang. Now, she just looked torn down. And this version of her did not have enough energy to do more than put on that facade and pray no one looked too closely. But when it came to Raven, Michael always looked too closely… and he knew that was the problem.

Michael slumped back in his seat for a few moments, the wheels turning in his mind as he studied her. He knew he could continue with their plan for the night, that she would play her part and play it well. However, he could not, in good faith, allow that. All their dates thus far had been about him. She deserved for the one day to celebrate her to be all about her. He pulled out his phone and went to Google. After a few minutes of searching, he closed that and opened his call log.

“Hey Coog.” His voice filled the car, Raven glancing over to him as she continued trying to reign in her emotions so she could play her part. “My bad, man but we ain’t gon’ make it tonight. Send my apologies to the rest of the team and your wife.”

Raven’s head whipped to the side as she listened to his words. She could hear the faint accent of Ryan Coogler asking if everything was ok. She immediately turned to him and threw an expression at Michael before mouthing, “What are you doing??”

Michael merely winked at her before answering Ryan. “Yea yea. Just somethin’ came up I gotta take care of.” Michael chuckled. “Aight, ‘preciate you, brah. I’ll make it up to you. Talk to you later.”

As soon as he hung up the phone, Raven immediately spoke up. “What was that? Why aren’t we going to dinner?”

Michael ignored her and directed his next statement to Allen. “New plan, Allen. Just sent you the address.”

“Yes, sir.”

He continued to avoid her confused and wide eyes. He could not sit at a dinner party, regardless of how fun it was going to be to see the entire cast, knowing Raven was in pain. And even if he did not know or understand the extent of it, he could empathize and recognize she needed a night of someone caring for her, not the other way around.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

When Allen finally stopped, Michael helped Raven out and handed one of the cards out of his wallet to Allen, whispering something in his ear that Raven could not hear. With that, Allen sped off, leaving the two behind. Michael placed his hand on the small of Raven’s back and directed her down the block.

“What about your dinner party?”

“That nigga hosts a dinner party for everythin’. My role in the movie ain’t that big. Just settin’ up future shit so they won’t miss me. He’ll host another after the premiere next month and at the end of the award season if it gets nominated. Trust me, we ain’t missing shit.”

“But you’re paying me to go to work events with you?” Raven hated that once again, he felt the need to cater to her and her emotions. “I don’t need to be coddled. O-or for you to rearrange shit to celebrate a day I don’t even want to celebrate. You’re paying me to do a job, let me do it.”

“Yea and now I’m paying you to have a relaxin’ evening with me. This’ll be more fun anyway. We can still pretend it ain’t your birthday if you want.”

“Relaxing… at a rage room?” She glanced up and gestured toward the sign outside of the building they were standing in front of. It was quiet, no one but a front desk attendant gawking at them. But she was not surprised it was quiet for a Wednesday night.

“You tellin’ me you don’t have some rage you wanna exercise a bit, ma?”

She chewed on her lip, she had more than enough rage to get out, but she needed to fix that on her own time, not his. “I do… we all do, I’m sure but… then you shouldn’t pay me for the night. This isn’t work. You’re just doing this to make me feel better and I’m good. We really should go to that party. You can’t just blow off work obligations because your fake girlfriend’s having a bad day.”

Michael closed the distance between them and used his fingers to pry her lip out from between her teeth. He wanted to smile at how she rolled her eyes and pouted a bit, clearly resisting the urge to draw her lip back where it was.

“You aren’t ‘good.’ I don’t know you that well but I do know that much. Just because this ain’t real doesn’t mean I want to watch you suffer on the one day of the year that’s supposed to be about you. A dinner party isn’t what you need. You need fun, seems like you get little of that shit anyway. So since I’m payin’ for your time, I’m tellin’ you not to worry about my shit. And I’m tellin’ you that your only job today is to have fun. And I don’t like having my money wasted, baby girl.” His voice dropped to his commanding tone, a tone that let her know he’d pull out the flogger again if she did waste his time.

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Fine. But this really isn’t necessary.”

“It’s my money. Let me decide what’s necessary and what’s not. Now come on.” He pulled her in the door, using his award winning smile to get them into the largest room that was clearly meant for more than two people.

The attendant got them set up in their protective gear and closed the door behind them, locking them in the room for an hour.

“So what do we do?” Raven muttered as she glanced around, quietly giggling at their absurd bee-keeper style gear. The room was filled with breakable items, bats and golf clubs and other makeshift weapons. There were holes in the walls and punching bags and dummies and stacks of plates.

He picked up a vase and chucked it at the wall, the glass shattering against the wall. Then he picked up another one and handed it to her.

His hand pressed into her chest, right above her heart. “Every negative thing you feel in here? Destroy everythin’ in this room til it doesn’t feel like you’re drownin’ in it.”

She grabbed the vase from his hand and held it for a moment before she threw it as hard as she could at the same spot on the wall. Lacking his strength, it did not make it to the wall but she did enjoy the rush of adrenaline and satisfying crash it made as it shattered to the ground. She did not even need further prompting as she picked up the discarded baseball bat near her and started using it to break everything she could see that was breakable.

Michael spent most of the hour cheering her on as she released every bit of pent up frustration and anger and pain and shame she felt. She was so tightly wound all of the time, never letting any of it show so she could never let any of it go. But this was a cathartic release that she did not even know she needed. She knew she would feel it all again tomorrow but every crash, every piece of glass shattered, every dent she made into the walls of that room felt like a small bit of everything she kept in started to vanish piece by piece.

By the time the buzzer rang, signaling the end of their session, she was exhausted, her arms tired but she had never felt lighter.

“That was…” she breathed heavily as they walked out toward Michael’s SUV. “Amazing. I didn’t know I needed that. Thank you.”

“See? You gotta trust me more, baby girl. I know more than just what your body needs.” He winked at her as he closed the door behind him. “And now, we have one more stop.”

They spent the entire drive recapping their favorite things to break in the rage room, which “weapons” caused the most damage.

“Remind me never to piss you off,” Michael joked as Allen pulled off onto an overlook.

“What do you mean??”

“You were downright terrifyin’ with that damn bat. Can’t have you goin’ all Jazmine Sullivan or Carrie Underwood on my car.”

“Whatchu know about Before He Cheats?”

He let out a barking laugh. “Enough to know niggas go up for that song, me included.” He admitted. “But if you try to sell that to a gossip site, I’ll deny it.”

“Wow, learning something new about you every day. And please, I’m sure there are more effective ways to hurt you if you pissed me off,” she teased. “You’d have a new car before I even finished taking a bat to the old one.”

“You might be right about that.”

“Where are we?” She asked as Michael helped her out of the car and she followed him around to the back of the SUV. He opened the trunk and laid out a picnic blanket and soft pillows that Allen had purchased while they were raging and jogged up to the front to grab the box of Prince St. Pizza that had made Raven’s stomach growl the entire ride and a bottle of white wine.

“Overlook by the Hollywood sign. Perfect view of the city with my favorite white wine and favorite pizza.”

Raven smiled as he helped her climb into the back of the SUV, both of them leaning on the back as they looked out over the city. The silence was comforting, both of them eating their way through the giant pepperoni pizza and several glasses of wine. When they finished one bottle, Allen just produced another from the front seat and handed it back to them.

“Thank you… for tonight,” Raven smiled as he poured her another glass of wine. “I… did really need this. And you didn’t have to.”

“Don’t mention it. Seemed like you needed this more than I needed a dinner party.” He paused. “So your sister… did she even say happy birthday to you?”

Raven let out a cold laugh as she took a long sip from her glass. “Nope. But I didn’t expect her to. Told you,” she whispered as her fingers played with the strings on the edge of their blanket. “Just another day.

“So that’s why you don’t celebrate your birthday? Your mom?” At her startled expression, he shrugged apologetically. “I didn’t hear everythin’ but your sister was talkin’ loud as fuck toward the end. When’d she die?”

Raven sighed. “She died in labor. Had some condition, doctors told her no more kids… she got pregnant by accident. My dad wanted her to have an abortion, she refused. She gave birth and died a couple hours later.”

“I’m sorry,” he offered quietly, his hand rubbing her thigh. He had tuned out most of their conversation, not wanting to eavesdrop. But the moment he heard frustration and pain in Raven’s voice, he could no longer block it out. He heard every word her sister hurled at her and he hated that they treated her so callously. “And they blame you?”

She wiped her tears for a moment before muttering. “I blame me.”

“You were a baby, didn’t ask to be born. How is her choice your fault?” Michael reasoned, hating that she blamed herself for something so out of her control. But he also knew grief was not the most logical of emotions, particularly grief as deep seeded as this.

“My dad could barely look at me as a kid, wanted nothing to do with me beyond keeping me clothed and fed. The only person who didn’t blame me was my grandma, she basically raised me until she passed when I was in middle school. And I get it,” her voice broke slightly with her grief. “If it weren’t for me, my dad would still have his wife and my sister would have a mom. So yea… I was born and she died for that… not much worth celebrating in my book… or anyone’s really.” Her voice trailed off to a soft whisper before she shook her head and rolled her shoulders back as if she could shake out the negative emotions. “But you didn’t bring me to this gorgeous spot to trade childhood trauma. Thank you for helping me take my mind off all that for a bit.” He could tell by her tone that she did not want to discuss it anymore. “I don’t know why you’re so nice to me,” she mumbled as she took another bite of pizza.

He wrinkled his nose. “Am I not supposed to be?”

“No, no. I just… still waiting for you to be what I’d thought you’d be, I guess. What Tasha warned me you’d be.”

“And what was that?”

“An asshole,” she answered bluntly, Michael chuckling as he bowed his head.

“I am… an asshole,” he admitted. “I’ll never deny that. Couple bad decisions after a bad break up and Hollywood bad boy became the image so I leaned into it. Self-centered, arrogant, cold… Aside from my family, that’s the version of me people see.”

“But that’s not you.”

He raised an eyebrow. “How you know? We just met a month ago.”

She examined him with a soft smile before sitting up a bit straighter. “Because a self centered, arrogant asshole doesn’t do half the things you’ve done for me. You don’t treat me like a body or a business transaction. You treat me like… a friend? Even when you have no reason to. You may be a jerk but hell, plenty of niggas are jerks. You may even be a little selfish, not shocking when the world caters to you. But I think the real you is kind and thoughtful. I don’t know why you don’t want to show the world the side of you I see.”

“Cause that nigga gets taken advantage of, gets heartbroken.”

She nodded, she knew more than a thing or two about being taken advantage of.

“Who was it then?”

“Hm?”

“The girl that broke your heart and created this version of you?”

He let out a humorless chuckle and placed his hand on her knee. “One day, I’ll tell you.” He paused, glancing at her. “I treat you like a friend because I think we are… friends?”

He wanted to be so much more than friends. Every date, every moment with her he realized that more and more. However, if friends was as intimate as their relationship could ever truly be, he would settle for it. Anything, just to have her nearby.

The small smile on her face turned brighter. “I think we’re friends too.”

With the declaration of their friendship, both of them laid back against the pillows on their backs so they could stare out of the sunroof at the midnight sky. The sky was so perfectly clear, she could see endless stretches of stars.

“What made you decide to be a writer?” Michael asked as they laid there.

“I used to dream of being anywhere but where I was,” she admitted. “Still do most of the time. And when I was a kid, books, particularly fantasy books, were just the one place I could always escape to. Other worlds and lives so vivid so I could leave this one behind for a short while. And they always gave me hope that things could get better, maybe. I wouldn’t get saved by a dazzling prince or whatever. But they made me think things could turn around somehow. But when I was young, so few books had characters who looked like me or were written by women who looked like me.”

“‘If there’s a book you wanna read, but it hasn’t been written, then you have to write it,’” he quoted the quote she had above her desk in her room.

“Exactly.”

“Why’d you stop after one book?”

She clenched her eyes shut. “Didn’t have much of a choice. A… misunderstanding,” she muttered the word bitterly, “with my editor at my publishing house… and they dropped me, wasn’t able to find another. So I got the job at the library to tide me over till I figured shit out. That was… about a year and a half ago? Haven’t been able to write much since.”

“A misunderstanding?” He repeated, glancing over at her, his question clear even though he did not explicitly ask it. However, when he felt her body shift uncomfortably next to him, he quickly backtracked. She had already rehashed so much that she did not need to tonight, there was no need to unearth anything else. She kept giving him more puzzle pieces but the picture remained a mystery. However, he could tell that it was one that held as much darkness as it did beauty.

His hand grasped hers and squeezed. “You ain’t gotta tell me. Add it to the one day list?”

Her eyes were still closed but he felt her squeeze back. “Thanks.”

Silence fell over them as they laid there. Michael rarely just laid and did nothing like this. It was contemplative and nice, to simply exist beside her. He spent so much time being on, playing a part or an image. But he liked that he did not have to do that with Raven when they were alone. She let him be Bakari… the version of him that was only safe with his family and closest friends.

“Tonight… I needed it too,” he offered, ending the silent reprieve. “So thank you for indulgin’ me.”

Raven turned and propped her head up on her hand, turning her body to face his profile. He looked different bathed in the moonlight. He was gorgeous, anyone with eyes could see that. But he seemed more youthful to her, his features more relaxed than they typically were when they were on dates. His jaw was relaxed, his lips settled into a smile that was effortless… not his movie star smile, which she had seen enough times to recognize the nuances that signaled its inauthenticity. This one though, his real smile,… it made him heartbreakingly gorgeous.

“Thank you for caring about me a-and for today. Haven’t had anyone do that in a long time,” she admitted before settling back on her pillows.

He knew she had that void in her life but hearing her admit it out loud broke his heart in places he was not expecting.

“What about right now?”

“What about right now?” She asked, her tone filled with confusion.

“Do you wish you were anywhere else but here right now?” He asked.

She tilted her head to glance at him, finding his eyes trained on her and not on the sky above. She let out a deep breath as she studied him.

“No, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

He smiled. “Good.”

They turned back toward the sunroof, content smiles on both of their faces. They did not talk much beyond that, both of them enjoying the silence and each other’s company.

She did not even know how much time had passed when something finally broke that precious silence, the buzzing of Michael’s phone. Instinctively, she glanced over and caught a glimpse of his bright screen. Tasha’s name scrolled across, Michael sighing a bit as he sent the call to voicemail.

Suddenly, Raven felt overwhelmed with discomfort. He was still seeing Tasha… why did that upset her so much? He had never promised not to, at least not to her. So she knew she had no reason to be mad. But she could stop the claws of jealousy from sinking their talons into her heart and soul. And when that subsided, all she felt was inadequacy. Another moment where she was not enough for someone.

She cleared her throat. “It’s… um kinda late?” she glanced down at her watch before sitting up and sliding out of the back of the car. “L-Looks like you’ve got plans?” She tried to hide the bitterness in her voice but she knew she failed, knew Michael could see all of it.

Michael shook his head. “Nah, it’s not wh-”

Raven cut him off. “I have an early shift tomorrow… would hate to oversleep. Mind taking me home?” She did not know why she lied, her shift was not until noon. However, she knew it was an excuse he could not argue with.

Raven started to walk around to the car door when she felt Michael’s grip around her arm, halting her movements. Michael hated that she saw that. Similar to her, but for entirely different reasons, he had been dodging Tasha’s calls like they were the plague. Usually he reached out to her to set up dates but when two weeks passed with radio silence from her best and most frequent customer, she started calling more often. He met up with her once, an act he regretted the morning after when he woke up. But she had promised discretion, if anyone knew how much of a farce he and Raven’s relationship was, it was Tasha. But he did not even enjoy it in the same way, he felt like he was just going through the motions. So when she reached back out earlier that week to set up another date, he ignored it. And ignored all the subsequent messages. He could not avoid her forever, but he knew he needed to put her on pause until Raven was out of his life and out of his system. While he was drugged up on her, no other fix was as worthy or quite as right.

But he did not know how to explain that to Raven. He had not promised her exclusivity but it had most certainly been implied. He would not be pleased if he found out another man she had fucked was calling her.

“Tasha and I aren’t…” he started to say but Raven pressed her hand to his chest to stop him.

“You don’t gotta lie to me. You’re allowed to sleep with other women, Michael. This isn’t real, we’re just friends at the end of the day. All good. I’m really tired though and need to get up early.”

With that, she gently maneuvered her arm out of his grasp and slid into her seat in the car. She was thankful with every passing mile that took her closer to her apartment and out of his presence. She did not have a right to be upset but she could not change the fact that she was. She enjoyed being his only and she wasn’t, and she was wholly unprepared for how that would make her feel. But that’s what she got, for thinking his feelings for her extended past their business relationship. He was kind but she had signed up to be used and he was getting what he wanted. She had to accept that.

“Thanks for the ride, Allen,” she said as she opened the door. She fixed her face and offered him a smile that was a bit forced but, despite the end to the night, still was partially genuine. “Thanks for tonight, seriously. I had fun.” His phone buzzed again, causing her to grimace. “And have fun with Tasha. Night, Michael.” She did not let him respond before she let the car door slam shut and she raced inside as fast her legs in her heels could carry her.

Michael groaned, his head thudding back against the headrest as he looked at his phone screen.

“I fucked that up, didn’t I?”

“Wasn’t your shining moment with her, sir.”

He clenched his hand into a fist before answering the phone. He never wanted to see that look on Raven’s face again and truthfully, he did not care to frequent Tasha anymore. He knew Raven and he had a shelf life that would expire but even when it did, he was not sure he could go back to fucking Tasha like Raven never existed. She had infiltrated every aspect of his being in the last two week and tonight had only made him fall deeper for her, made him want to give her everything she did not have. It was strange to feel this emotion again, to long for someone like he did her. Even if it could not be something long term, he wanted to savor it while he had her.

But that was not something he was truly ready to admit to himself, let alone to Tasha. So he decided to take the easy road out and blame it on something else: the image and his manager. Tasha would have to respect that, right? And he would spin some lie about seeing her after Raven and he broke up, even though he was not sure if he had the desire for dispassionate, unattached sex in him anymore.

“Hey Tash,” he muttered coldly into the phone.

“Hey baby… wanted to see if you wanted to meet up tonight? I miss you,” her voice was sultry and inviting, a voice that, once upon a time, would have had him racing through LA to get to a hotel with her. But today, it did nothing. “And a little birdie told me you were headed to Paris in two weeks for press. Should I pack a bag?”

Michael rolled his eyes. That was his own fault. He flew her out once last year to Cannes Film Festival and now she thought she was invited on every trip. There was only one person he wanted to take on this trip with him and after tonight, he was not even sure she’d say yes.

“Yea… listen Tash. You know how I feel about you. But I can’t see you anymore… just for a few months.”

“What?? Why?”

He rolled his eyes, she knew why. “Well, you know… I got this relationship with Raven that is really important for my career and I can’t be seen with other women. We’re gonna have an amicable split in a few months and then I’m all yours again. But until then, we gotta keep our distance.”

He could hear the frustration and bitterness in her voice, though she tried and failed to hide it. “You’re my best customer, Michael. You can’t just… drop me outta nowhere.”

“It’s just temporary. Just a couple months. And I’ll send you some money to tide you over till you get a new client. Also means no Paris. Sorry, I just really gotta focus on cleaning up the image over the next few months. You understand, don’t you? You know you’ll always be my favorite girl.”

There was a long pause that made Michael check to ensure the call had not been disconnected.

“Yea I understand. Just a few months though, right? Then you’re droppin’ the new girl?”

Michael rolled his eyes before nodding, though she could not see him. “Of course, baby. Just a couple months and then she’s gone. Promise.”

They shared a few pleasantries before Michael hung up and prayed she did not call him again for a while. His fingers itched to text or call Raven and explain. But something stopped him, the part of him that still adamantly rejected his feelings toward her roaring. He did not owe her an explanation, he did not owe her anything but the money he paid for her dates. She did not ask for an explanation either so why would he volunteer one? Those two parts of him battled until he threw his phone to the side in frustration.

He sighed and took a deep breath as Allen pulled up in front of his family home in the hills, his oasis, Raven’s perfume still lingering in the car… that hint of lavender danced on his nose. He fell asleep with that phantom smell haunting him, Raven finding ways to pop up in every dream he had that night, leaving him no escape from her or his feelings for her.

***

“Here you go.” Michael handed her an envelope filled with cash. “I’ll be gone by the time you wake up.”

Raven nodded and stored it in her overnight bag before grabbing her clutch. They were finally alone after being poked and prodded all afternoon by his stylist and glam teams to get ready for the premiere. They had ten minutes before the car would be there to take them. And then Michael would be jetting off at an ungodly hour to New York and then Paris for press. Raven was actually a bit sad to see him go.

Though they never discussed the Tasha debacle from her birthday two weeks prior, she and Michael were slowly but surely getting closer and closer each day. They had had an event or something to go to almost every night, Raven was shocked at the amount of money she had been able to make in such a short window of time. Even helping her sister with her lawyer, she felt as if she could actually breathe easy for the first time in a while. And on the nights they were not together, they generally texted or talked on the phone at some point. They hadn’t had sex again, Raven finding any and all excuses to avoid that since he was still seeing Tasha. He never pushed or seemed angry, albeit a bit disappointed when every date ended with her asking Allen to take her home. It was petty she knew it but she did not care. She had no interest in competing with Tasha, she knew who would win every time.

“Thanks.”

“You sure you’re gonna be good while I’m gone?”

Raven glanced at him and rolled her eyes as she threw her lipstick in her clutch. She did not quite understand how the small bag was even functional, it did not even fit her ID. But Michael’s stylist said it fit the look so she did not question it. “Don’t flatter yourself, Mr. Jordan. I’ll be just fine without you for a few weeks.”

Michael came up behind her and laughed. “You ain’t gotta pretend like you ain’t gon’ miss me, baby girl. I mean… you know, financially. I’m in New York for a week then Paris for a week. That’s a while without dates. I can slide you some extra if you need it.”

Raven bristled at the idea, she did not want him to view her as a charity case.

“No,” she responded shortly, immediately regretting the sharp edge in her tone as his face fell. “S-Sorry. No, thank you but I’m good.”

“Even after your sister’s legal shit or whatever?”

She let out a small huff. “Yea… she managed to pick the most expensive lawyer below the damn Mason Dixon line but I got it covered, I think. And with this,” she gestured toward her bag. “I’m good on the other stuff too. Seriously, you shouldn’t worry yourself about my finances. I always figure it out.”

He grabbed her wrist to stop her from walking away from him.

“It ain't charity or worry. Don’t want you stressin’ and shit while I’m gone. And I like to know my friends and everyone on my team are good. You’re both… why would I treat you any differently?”

“I just don’t want you to feel like you have to take care of me. Or fix my problems.”

“You’re here fixin’ my problems. I can’t return the favor?”

“Because… that’s not what we agreed to. This is a job, you pay me… we go out. That’s it. My family shit has no part in this and isn’t your concern. I’ll deal with them.”

“Why do you?” At her raised eyebrow, he added, “Deal with that?”

“You don’t give up on your family. You reach out your hand even when they swat it away. And one day, they’ll see all I’ve done for them and how much I love them and they’ll come around.”

“Seems to me that you let them bleed you dry as if it’ll pay whatever debt you think you owe them. And they seem content with lettin’ you bleed out in the street.”

She chuckled mirthlessly. “They’re all I got… so I don’t have much of a choice. It’ll pay off. All of it,” she forced more conviction in her voice. “One day.”

“You really believe that?”

She turned to look at him. He could tell there was genuine hope in her eyes, true belief that things would get better. A dreamer, indeed.

“Yea… I have to.”

“I dunno... There’s gotta be better out there for you… you certainly deserve better.” There was a not-so-small part of him, a part that grew with every moment he spent with her, that desperately wanted to be that more for her.

“This world is filled with people who deserve better, Michael. But we’re stuck with the hand we’re dealt until better comes along. And I don’t see any better hands coming my way. Just a long game of this shitty hand,” she whispered the last part under her breath as she checked herself in the mirror once more. She grabbed her clutch and started toward the door. “You ready? Car should be here, right?”

He hated how resigned she was to her fate and treatment. He had more than enough money to give his family and friends, more than enough for them to take advantage of if they chose and none of them did. Raven had none of that and still gave her last to people that clearly did not appreciate it. And to know, she had every intention of doing it under some misguided belief they would thank her for it later broke his heart. It reminded him of how pure and kind-hearted she was but he knew her efforts would likely be wasted. But he would have loved to be proven wrong.

He did not know her family so he knew it was wrong to judge them but all he felt was red hot anger. Quite frankly, the only benefit he saw to the reality that this arrangement was fake was that he would not have to meet her family himself. He did not know if he could even sit in the same room with them.

“Before we go… got somethin’ for you.”

Raven raised an eyebrow, “I don’t need a gift. It’s your special night.”

“Yea but wanted to give you somethin’ to remember me by. It benefits both of us, don’t worry.” His face was a sly smirk that told her the gift was not a normal one. “But first, Tasha and I aren’t hookin’ up anymore.”

“Michael… you don’t have to…”

He shook his head and interrupted her. “Nope. You didn’t let me finish that night and you’ve been weird about it ever since. So now, I’m talkin’ and you’re gonna listen. It’s ok to be annoyed. We should be exclusive. I called her and put that shit on pause until our arrangement is done. We’ve only hooked up once since we started dating and it was early on. But either way, you don’t gotta worry about her callin’ or me seein’ her while I’m with you. I got my hands full with you anyway,” he winked at her.

Raven tried to limit the smile that wanted to blossom at his words. She was happy to hear she was not “competing” with Tasha as she thought. It was a narrative her own insecurities and anxieties created and fueled, a narrative that now seemed foolish. She still did not know why it mattered so much to her. Or rather, she knew, but she would never admit it out loud.

“So we’re good?”

“Y-Yea we’re good. Wasn’t worried,” she lied, trying to make her voice sound aloof and unbothered. She did not know why she bothered, she supposed she did not want her pride to be anymore damaged than it already was.

Michael merely pursed his lips and chuckled before nodding toward the bed. “So you ready to be my slut again or am I still on pause?”

Raven smiled. “I’m all yours.”

“Good. Lay down for me, panties to the side.”

Raven laid back on the bed, hiking up her dress to her waist so she could part her legs. She pulled her thong to the side, Michael licking his lips as he took in the mess between her thighs.

“Already so wet for me. You missed me too, huh? This is gonna be fun,” he muttered to himself as he pulled a gold vibrator out of his pocket before sitting on the bed beside her, careful not to ruffle his perfectly-tailored tuxedo.

He wasted no time sliding the vibrator inside her, Raven moaning lightly at the intrusion, the way his finger brushed against her clit. She wanted more, desperately. Her hips rolled to find his touch, his hand, her body begging for more action. But he denied her. His other hand fiddled with something small that looked like a remote control.

“Know what this is?”

“No, sir.”

“It’s the controller. Tonight, you’re gonna keep that in you and I’m gonna have a little fun with this.”

Raven let out a shaky breath. “Y-You expect me to keep this in… while we’re at a movie premiere? No way.”

He nodded, a mischievous grin in his eye. “I recall you wanting to explore some fantasies. You tellin’ me sex in public ain’t one you’ve had?”

She bit her lip as she contemplated it. The idea was certainly an intriguing one… but the risks??

“When would you use that?”

“Whenever I want. That’s the fun part… for me anyway. And you’re gonna spend the night making sure that sexy ass face when you cum isn’t plastered across TMZ tomorrow.”

Raven shook her head. “I dunno, Michael. I’m all for risk but this seems insane.”

He let out an exaggerated sigh, his voice playful and teasing. “I thought you’d be up for it, thought you wanted to have fun but I understand if you’re too scared.”

She heard the challenge in his voice. He was testing her, trying to see if she was really up for anything. She could not deny that the idea was intriguing. Having her orgasms at his mercy in public? Per usual with him, she knew she could say no. But as she ran over the risks, all she could think of was the thrill of it. She wanted it. She hated that she wanted it and hated that he knew she wanted it. But she did.

She sat up and swung her legs off the bed. She clenched her muscles to ensure the new addition to her ensemble stayed tucked where it needed to be and she shimmied the delicate fabric of her gown back down to its proper place.

“Car’s waiting,” she offered with a smirk as she grabbed her purse and walked out of his bedroom, deciding then and there that she would win whatever game he was playing tonight, and would show him that she was indeed up for any and everything.

Michael watched her ass sway as she exited and smiled.

“Gonna have a lot of fun with this.”

***

Raven was so overwhelmed by the screaming fans and reporters and flashing lights that she almost forgot about the “gift” nestled in her core. She kept her smile bright as she and Michael started down the red carpet, his arm tightly wrapped around her waist.

He looked down at her like the perfect image of a doting boyfriend, with love and protection in his eyes. He played the role so well, Raven almost caught herself falling for the act. But she supposed that was a good thing because it made her glances back at him more genuine. She knew they looked like the picture perfect couple, every gossip site raved about them after every date. She knew tonight would be no different.

She was so focused on keeping her smile intact and her eyes from blinking too much as they stood on the red carpet that she failed to notice Michael slip his hand into his pocket. Her smile faltered for just a second as she felt the device come alive, sending shock waves directly against her g-spot. It was a steady soft buzz, just enough to make her feel it, causing the heat to rise throughout her body. But it was not enough to overwhelm her.

Once she got over the initial surprise of the vibration, she was able to recompose herself with ease. She played off the change in her expression by adjusting something on her dress and continued posing with him.

Minutes passed and the vibration continued at its low pace, Raven enjoying the small jolts of pleasure. This was what she was supposed to be worried about? This was a piece of cake.

She leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek before turning her head from the cameras and whispering in his ear, “This is easier than I thought it’d be.”

Michael let out a deep laugh as if she had told a funny joke and pecked her sweetly on the nose, continuing their slow march down the carpet.

Raven genuinely felt like she could deal with that all night as she listened to Michael give an interview. She remained tucked at his side with a smile on her face. The interviewer did not really ask her any questions, thank God. So she just smiled and concentrated on keeping her thighs together.

“So Raven, I have to say, you look gorgeous. Who are you wearing?”

“Th-” her words were cut short as the vibration pattern changed, this time a long vibration that steady increased before pulsing against her g-spot and starting over again. She coughed awkwardly, pretending as if she had swallowed wrong before saying. “T-thanks. V-versace.”

Her answer was clipped and short, afraid her words would betray her if she opened her mouth. This was far different, this was ecstasy. Each vibration felt like the slowest, most tantalizing march up a mountain before someone pushed her back toward the bottom to do it all over again. And that pulse at the top? It sent a shockwave through her that made her see stars. Each time, she felt her fingers grip the fabric of Michael’s tuxedo jacket harder. The longer it droned on, the more her legs started to shake.

“You ok, baby?” he asked sweetly, kissing her on the cheek innocently.

“Y-Yea, of course.”

“You two are so cute. Thanks for chatting with me and I can’t wait to see the film.”

Michael said his goodbyes to the interviewer before guiding Raven away.

“What’s harder?” he whispered in her ear as they walked inside the venue. He stopped her in the corner of the giant atrium before they walked into the screening room and tucked her against a wall in a corner. Only official photographers were allowed at this point. To anyone passing by, they just looked like a couple having a sweet moment.

“W-what?” She found even such a simple word laborious to get out and it sounded more like a moan than a word. With him mostly covering her body from view, she could not stop the way her hips rolled as the setting changed again. The pattern was the same but the cycle was faster, the intensity overwhelming as he increased it to the next setting.

“What’s harder?” he leaned in and whispered in her ear so lowly she almost could not hear her. “Keepin’ that pretty smile on your face when all you wanna do is close your eyes and bite your lip while you cum? Hidin’ your moans so no one here knows you’re a loud filthy slut? Or stoppin’ yourself from beggin’ me to fuck you in the bathroom over there?”

She felt as if her entire body was in a frenzy. It was not just the vibrator, it was his hands gently pressing her to the wall innocently, it was the courses of people walking by them having no clue that she was on the cusp of the greatest pleasure of her life, it was that she could not stop it or him if he decided he wanted her to cum right then and there in front of everyone.

“A-all… of it,” she whispered, her face burying itself in the nook of his neck, which helped hide the pleasure swimming in her eyes but only increased it as she took in his scent. His signature cologne had become intoxicating to her.

“You wanna cum for daddy, baby?” His words were a light whisper that they knew could not be heard over the conversations and music playing throughout the hallway.

It was taking everything in her not to collapse in front of him, his arm around her waist was the only thing keeping her standing. Her legs were pure jello, every inch of her body was on fire, boiling with pleasure and humiliation at being brought to orgasm at the nicest event she’d ever been to in her life. All she wanted to do was cum but she did not trust herself to hide it.

“P-Please…” she whispered. She did not know if that please was to stop or to keep going.

Michael smirked as he felt her hips buck against his again. She was so close, he could see it in her eyes, feel it in the way her hips ground against nothing but air. It was subtle, not obvious to anyone else from the angle they stood at but he could feel it.

“Beg.” He demanded.

She clenched her eyes closed. All she wanted was to fall over this particular edge, right then and right now. She was so close, so close, it was almost agonizing to hold it in until he gave her permission. She glanced down as his finger hovered over the button to increase the setting again, knowing that she could not will him to hit that button. She would have to give him exactly what he wanted, what he always wanted. Submission.

“P-Please… m-make me cum,” she muttered in his ear. “I-I need… it… p-please.” Tears stung in her eyes as she struggled to fight the urge to let go right then and there, hearing her own needy voice in the space.

“Hm.” he offered quietly. “I don’t think you deserve it.” And with that, the vibration stopped completely.

Raven could not stop the groan that escaped her lips as he stole her orgasm, her body screaming and protesting at her in pain at the sudden loss of pleasure.

She let out a soft gasp as she glanced up at him. “You mother-”

He leaned forward and kissed her deeply, completely silencing her. Raven’s entire body fell into his as they kissed, she could hear the soft snapping of a camera nearby on her right side.

He offered her the sweetest smile before leaning to her left so the camera could not catch what he was saying.

“If you wanna cum at all tonight, I wouldn’t finish that sentence.” He straightened up and pressed his lips to her forehead, his arm still around her waist. His voice returned to a normal volume as he fixed her hair and ran his hand over the front of her dress. He looked like he was helping her adjust herself but he also wanted to make sure there was no evidence of their crimes. “It’s time for us to go to our seats. You ready?”

Raven felt like she had whiplash from the last 5 minutes. He was good, far better than she gave him credit for at these games. She thought this was just going to be a fun experiment. But Michael never did anything small. And she was foolish to underestimate him. 24 hours ago, she would have never thought she would enjoy something like this. But now? She could play this game all night long, even though she was losing miserably.

She peeled herself off the wall, her own hands running against the bodice of her dress. Her legs still felt a bit wobbly so she wrapped her arm in Michael’s to steady herself. She nodded and allowed him to lead her into the theater.

She barely paid attention to the movie as she spent the entire two hours watching Michael like a hawk. Every time he shifted in his seat or moved one of his hands, she wondered if he was going to turn the vibrator back on. Halfway through the film, she realized it was not because she was dreading it. She wanted him to. She was internally willing him to turn the stupid thing back on, even if it was only at its lowest setting. Because even at the lowest setting, she knew she was sensitive enough to get where she wanted to be. She wanted to feel the tidal wave of pleasure, she wanted to drown in and bask in it and feel the adrenaline of doing so in public. Besides, the dark theater seemed like the perfect time if he truly wanted to push her completely over the edge. When she wasn’t praying to God that he would turn it on, she was wishing it was his fingers or his dick filling her and not a toy.

She needed him so bad and truth be told, would have begged him to fuck her right then and there if they weren’t surrounded by hundreds of people.

However, nothing happened. He paid her no attention throughout the entire film except for the hand that rested on her thigh. The minutes ticked on and on and on as the cast went up on stage to say a few words when the film ended. By the time they finally finished and were in the car to the afterparty, she was a horny, disgruntled mess.

She kept her eyes trained on the window, even though it was tinted, when she felt Michael slide into the seat next to her. Two could play the ignoring game, she decided.

His hand slid into the slit of her dress, pushing the expensive material to the side so he could have full access. When she did not part her legs for him immediately, he let out a disgruntled growl that was meant to be a command. She pretended she did not hear him and ignored it.

He merely shook his head and laughed. “Aight, baby girl.” He pushed her knees apart with his hands, it took everything in her not to moan and keep her face stoic.

His fingers immediately slid into her panties, the heat of her arousal hiting his skin before he even made contact with her body. He caressed soft circles into her clit. She gave him nothing, no moans, no humping into his hand. Nothing. So he upped the ante and turned the device on to the highest setting it had available.

“Fuck!” She cried out, unable to keep it in as her body was assaulted with pleasure. The vibrator was more than enough to make her cum but adding his thumb against her clit was just simply unfair in her opinion.

His free hand grasped her chin, firmly but loose enough that it was not painful and forced her eyes on him. Her breathing was heavy as she felt pleasure building fast in her core. Tears pricked her eyes, not from pain, but overwhelming, soul shattering pleasure, “You wanted me to make you cum in that theater, didn't you? In front of all those people like the filthy whore you are? Didn’t you? Upset that I ignored you? But guess what, baby girl?” he switched the setting to a lower one to keep her on the cusp of pleasure without sending her over.

She let out a soft sob of agony as he held her there, suspended right at the cusp of her orgasm. This was more tortuous than him stopping cold turkey because she was so close she could taste it. And he kept it just out of reach. Every pulse, every caress of his finger was so much and overwhelming but still was not enough. And there was nothing she could do to force him to give her more.

“Your body is mine, your pleasure is mine. And I decide when to fuck you, when you cum, when you suck my dick… I decide when you’ve been good… when you’ve been bad and what to do about it. It’s all mine. You can ignore me all you want but see how quickly you fell apart? You can’t win against me, baby girl. Daddy always wins. You understand?”

She nodded rapidly, her body shaking lightly as she teetered on the edge, pleasure was consuming her every cell. She could barely think of anything but the raging inferno in her core. “I-I understand. P-Please…” her voice broke. She felt as if she would quite literally perish if she did not come soon. He had never kept her on edge this long, a few seconds sure. But time was stretching into minutes.

“You think you deserve it?”

She didn’t deserve it, she knew the answer he wanted. “N-No, no… I’ve b-been bad, a bad girl. I d-deserve to be punished b-but I’m begging you… l-let me cum. I c-can’t… P-please,” her voice begged him for mercy.

Deciding that she would pass out if he continued this game any farther, he pressed the button to return it to its highest setting. Her scream was nearly inaudible as she came on his fingers, her body shook as she gripped the door handle, shuddering through an intense orgasm.

“That’s it, cum for me,” he whispered in her ear. “That’s a good girl…”

“Thank you, t-thank you,” she babbled back to him as he talked her through her orgasm. He turned the vibrator off completely, finally giving her a break.

“Allen, circle the block a few times.”

“Yes, sir.”

At the sound of Allen’s voice, Raven’s eyes flew open and shock and humiliation set in. She had just cum… with another person in the car. And she had completely forgotten he was there. Once Michael had started going, the presence of another human being in their vicinity had completely vanished. She glanced up, surprised to find the limo divider up. She didn't even know when that happened. However, she knew that that barrier was not sound proof. However, instead of being utterly turned off by that idea, it just turned her on more.

“You like knowing Allen heard you?” Michael whispered in her ear.

“No,” she shot back as she fixed her dress and used the compact mirror she had stored in the limo before the premiere to fix her makeup. Thankfully she still looked pristine, despite feeling physically depleted. She did not know how she and Michael went round after round when one orgasm made her want to cuddle up under the covers and fall asleep.

“I keep tellin’ you how much I hate lies. But you never listen. Might think because we have a long night and I got an early mornin’ that you’ll escape punishment. But you won’t. Means I have a couple weeks to think of the perfect punishment for such… insubordination.”

“Don't threaten me with a good time,” she offered with a sweet smile and a wink that made him laugh.

He did not get a chance to retort when Allen pulled up at the venue of the after party. He gave Raven a once over before getting out of the limo and grasping her hand. He longed to bury himself inside her but he knew he did not have time, at least not enough time to satisfy the urges he had. And while he would toy with public sex, this was not the venue or event to be caught fucking in the bathroom, as much as he wanted to.

No, he supposed he would just deal with cold showers for two weeks until he could fuck her again, and spank her until she begged for mercy. Her pleas had done something to him, sweet music to his ears. The perfect orchestra. And he would use every free moment of the next few weeks to think of ways to get that sound again.

***

Michael rubbed his eyes as he scrolled through his email. He knew he would sleep well on the plane. He hated the first thing in the morning flights but he knew they were the only way to keep up with his crazy press schedule.

“We’ve arrived, Mr. Jordan,” Allen called from the front seat, Michael immediately hopping out. Allen grabbed his sea of bags as he waved at his castmates who were also just arriving to the tarmac.

“Thanks, man. See you when I get back. Make sure Rae gets home ok today, aight? Then enjoy your time off.”

“Thank you, sir,” Allen responded as he handed off his bags to the baggage attendants who would ensure they made it onto the plane.

Michael started to walk away and head to the flight when he heard his name behind him.

“Mr. Jordan!” Allen called after him, causing Michael to turn around. The older man jogged up to him. “A word of advice? If I am not overstepping my bounds?”

Michael nodded, allowing the man to continue. Allen rarely spoke, he was the type who liked to do his job quietly and fade into the background. And he preferred to keep it professional with Michael though there were a few topics they could shoot the shit over while in the car like basketball and the like. But Michael knew that meant Allen likely knew more about him than anyone else on this planet, which meant he would have been a fool not to hear him out.

“Avoiding love and companionship, even when it is right there waiting for you to take it, will never bring you happiness. And some would say such an ill-guided venture was foolish and selfish, particularly when the world is filled with people like Ms. Turner who love and seek out love with their whole souls and it's denied to them at every turn. And you may be a bit selfish, Mr. Jordan,” Allen admitted. “But I never pegged you as foolish.”

“What’re you sayin’?”

“I’m saying that it does not matter how this whole thing between the two of you started. It only matters how you end it. And whether you are brave enough to admit to her and yourself that perhaps you don’t want it to end at all.” Allen patted him on the arm before taking a step back. “There’s no reward for loneliness, Mr. Jordan… no Oscar to win for denying yourself more when you know you want it. The only prize those actions will give you is a lifetime of regret. And I believe you’re living a life too bright to have it dimmed by regrets.” he paused. “I hope I have not overstepped too much. But… well, there was a time a decade or two ago when I would’ve liked someone to overstep and tell me that.”

Michael stared at him for a few moments before he nodded. After his last very public and embarrassing breakup, he vowed never to fall in love again. Years of women warming his bed before he kicked them out before sunrise. He got what he wanted and gave nothing of himself… to any of them. But Raven… from the moment he watched her staring out that window, he gave without even realizing how much he had given. And now, he felt things for her that he had not felt for a woman in so long. Hell, he wondered if he had ever felt this strongly for another person in his entire life. He wanted more… not a contract or a business dealing. He wanted her. Was he being utterly foolish by pretending that was not the case?

“You did… overstep.” His tone was a bit cold but he was unsurprised at how Allen did not backtrack or shrink. He said his piece, called him out and was willing to accept whatever the consequences of that were. “But maybe I need more people to do that. Will you do me a couple favors when you go back to the penthouse to pick up Raven?”

“Anything, sir.”

***

Raven groaned as she turned over in Michael’s soft bed. She had fallen asleep in his master bedroom alone, as she always did when they slept here. He always took the guest room. She wondered if she should be more sad that they slept separately but she agreed that that was not intimacy either one of them truly needed. She groped around the bed for her phone, groaning when she realized it was already 11 a.m. Thankfully, she had another two hours before her shift but she knew she needed to hurry up so she could get home and change into her real clothes, not the fancy designer ones she kept there.

She pulled herself out of bed and stretched, part of her sad that Michael opted to go to sleep instead of fucking her. She understood he had an early day but she could not deny that all she wanted was for him to bend her into a pretzel after that orgasm in the car. But last night was, for the most part, strictly work. They did not get home and go to bed until 3 am and he had to get up shortly thereafter to catch his flight. And now she was left with nothing but a vibrator and fantasies of him to occupy her until he returned. But he had succeeded in giving her something to remember him by. She walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, rubbing her eyes as she dragged her feet across the hardwood floors.

Michael gave her free reign of his penthouse, even when he was not there. She did not spend the night there often but she had started to learn her way around, figure out where the sparse things he kept there were. A few dishes, a couple glasses, a fridge filled with coconut water and little food. When she slept there, so did he. But she had never really stopped to wonder where he spent the rest of his time. She guessed he had some giant mansion in the hills like every other star. But she wondered if that one was just as cold as this one, just as void of comfort and love, just as sterile.

She guessed it was not. Otherwise, he would have her come there. No, that one was the sanctuary for the real him, she imagined it was warm and overflowing with his favorite things. Japanese anime artifacts and art and memorabilia and his awards and family photos and all the things that meant something to him. And this one was merely for his image, sterile and artificial.

She blinked a couple of times, shocked to find a neat and perfectly packaged gift bag waiting on the counter with a long envelope sitting up against it.

She sucked her teeth and chuckled, “This nigga. I thought I said no gifts,” she muttered to herself as she grabbed a glass of water and sat at the barstool. Part of her contemplated not opening it. What had he even given her a gift for? Her birthday was weeks ago. But her desire to know what he got her won out.

She went to the envelope first, her name written in handwriting far too nice to be Michael’s on the front. She flipped it over and smiled as the person had written on the back: Open me last :)

“On the other side of the damn country and still giving commands.”

And you’re still following them, she imagined his voice shooting back at her as she placed the thick envelope to the side and reached into the bag. She made quick work of discarding the multi-colored gift bag paper to reveal two books. She pulled the first one out.

“Whoa,” she muttered as she took in a first edition copy of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She turned it over in her hands, mouth agape as she studied it. It was beautiful and she knew it cost a pretty penny.

Her hand reached into the bag and pulled out a book she knew all too well. Her own. An odd gift, she thought, though she supposed it was sweet that he went looking for it in the first place. She wondered how he found it as she published under a pseudonym but she imagined a man with his resources could find out almost anything he wanted with time.

She flipped it open as she sat back down on her bed, a smaller envelope the size of a card falling out of it. He had stuck it in on the acknowledgements page, which read: From one dreamer to another.

She opened Michael’s card and took in his handwriting.

Thank you for sharing what you did with me on your birthday. I know the day isn’t easy. And apologies that this gift was so late - but I figured this was a loophole in the no gifts rule if you got it weeks later? And it took some time to track down your book. You didn’t make it easy. I’m looking forward to reading it on my flight. I generally agree with everything you say but I would disagree with one thing you said that night. The first time we met, you said Maya Angelou’s book saved you and gave you hope. I’m sure somewhere in this world, a young girl is reading your book and it’s doing the same for her. That’s something good that came out of October 15: the world got you. And that’s worth celebrating in my opinion.

I hope, one day, you see that too.

Happy Birthday

Michael

Raven let the tears that streamed down her face fall, one of them splashing against the glossy cover of her book. She wiped it away before rereading his card over and over again. She hated how he seemed to see her, really see her, and everything she truly needed. There he was again, caring more than anyone else, more than he should have, even when she was mad at him. It just made her want him for every reason she shouldn’t. She should want to fuck him… she should want his money… That was all she signed up to get. A few months of cash and to let him dick her down better than she ever had been before. All her problems and loneliness solved, at least temporarily.

Instead, her heart and soul were slipping deep into dangerous territory, he was dangerous territory. She still tried to force herself to resist it, her body hanging by a rope that was fraying at the middle as if an invisible force was taking an ax to it. And she did not know if she wanted to scramble back onto the ledge or let herself fall.

After a few minutes, she picked up the other envelope and slid the folded up pieces of paper out of it. The first one made her gasp… a flight confirmation for a first class ticket to Paris dated for one week from today. The second page was a short list of the things she should pack. And the third was her hotel confirmation, a suite at a hotel she could not even pronounce but one quick google search let her know it was one of the nicest and most expensive hotels the city had to offer.

The last page only contained two sentences in Michael’s handwriting.

I hope you have a passport. See you in one week.

Raven spread the pages out on the counter, her face paralyzed in shock.

“What the actual fuck?” She examined all of them, rereading as if the information on them would vanish or change right before her eyes. But the flight confirmation had her name on it, the hotel room… her name. It was all there in black and white. He was inviting her to Paris.

“I should say no…” she spoke to herself, a false ring of conviction in her voice. “I can’t accept this.” Her internal debate raged as she paced up and down by the kitchen island, her eyes studying the papers with each pass.

You know you want to, the devil on her shoulder reasoned. And fuck, did she want to. It’s fun… when’s the last time we took a trip or did anything fun?

She had never wanted to accept anything as badly as she wanted to accept this. She chewed on her lip so hard she was surprised she did not draw blood as she debated and debated. Until her phone buzzed with a text from Mr. Surprises himself.

Michael: damn you sleep late as hell.

Michael: Am I gonna see you in Paris in a week?

Raven: This was a huge gamble… What if I didn’t have a passport? 🤔

Michael: It was a huge gamble but not because of the passport. Consider it PTO… Come live a little.

Michael: So did my gamble pay off or nah?

She read through the papers one more time, deciding then and there that she was 100% going to Paris. Even her pride could not allow her to deny herself this experience. However, she decided to make him sweat a little, though she doubted he actually would.

Raven: I guess you’ll find out in seven days. Thanks for the gift.

Raven locked her phone before chuckling to herself. She grabbed her phone and the itinerary page and let out an excited squeal and did a happy dance before she raced off to her closet. She had a trip to pack for.

Tag list: @readinghere2023 @blackerthings @prettyisasprettydoes1306 @physicxal @purplehairgawdess @miyuhpapayuh @rueruesclues @geemamii @certifiedlesbianbaddie @pipsqueak-98 @nyifly22 @destinio1 @twocentaur @gopaperless @musicisme333@roguekiki @majesticbrownjawn @taurusqueen83 @mysteryuz @miamormilan @itsknor-thedeep @naj-ay444 @mads-grace4 @nayaesworld @kholdkill @msniaimani @nccu-rnc

***

A/N: Wellllllllll… a lot happened! A little angst, a little fluff, a little smut lol just gave y'all the full spectrum of things. And it wouldn't be one of my fics if I didn't give you a character or two to despise along the way lol

Next chapter, we go to Paris, which not gonna lie… that wasn't in the OG outline of this haha but inspiration struck and now I'm very excited lol Drop a comment and let me know all your thoughts lol Thanks for reading!

#black writers #michael b jordan #michael b jordan x oc #mbjordanedit #michael b jordan x reader #black panther #michael b jordan fanfic #creed 3 #adonis creed #creed iii

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mrsstruggle · 4 months

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Update + New Stories [Repost]

[This was posted a week ago but something ended up being wrong with my account and it was like I was shadowbanned. So this is a repost of that post and hopefully people can finally see it!]

Hello! It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I’ve come back with some (hopefully) exciting news.

I’ve gotten my ‘creative’ spark back so I’ve come back to write some more. I’ve got two new stories (one is a continuation) that I will start posting very soon and they will be on a posting schedule (so I don’t leave you waiting again for months for a new chapter). These stories have been (mostly) written in advance to stay on top of posting. I don’t have a posting schedule for them yet, but I will let you know when I do.

On Monday, I will finally be posting the extra smutty chapter for The Lost Child.

Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed my work and I hope you enjoy these as well! Also, thank you to everyone who has commented on my work or messaged me privately! I really enjoy reading your messages whether it’s something simple as shock over twist, asking how I’m doing, or letting me know that you like what you’re reading.

I will post another update next week as to what the posting schedule will look like for my two new works and when I will start posting those (very soon I promise).

Here’s what you have to look forward to:

[Monday (6/10/24) at 8PM] The Lost Child: Smutty Bonas Chapter

[Soon] The Beast of War: In the aftermath of discovering her true identity and reuniting with her long-lost family, Y/N Stilinski finds herself adjusting to a new chapter of her life in Beacon Hills. With her brother and his friends in their senior year at High School, the town faces a fresh new threat. Y/N must navigate the complexities of her new life while confronting the looming threat that threatens to hurt her and the people she loves.

Note: ‘Book 2’ of the Shadow Wolf Series happens between the end of the last chapter of The Lost Child and the Epilogue.

[Soon] All The Good Girls Go To Hell: It’s been a year since the war ended. Cedric Diggory is found dead—and in debt to The Damnation. His sister, Y/N Diggory, offers to take her brother’s place in The Damnation to pay off his debt, but things become complicated when she starts to develop feelings for the two handsome leaders.

Pairing: Y/N Diggory x Fred Weasley, Y/N Diggory x George Weasley (separately, not together because I will not write that)

Note: The OC version will be posted on Wattpad. This is a Harry Potter AU that will be very smutty! ;)

Let me know what you'd like to tagged in! :)

@vicmc624 @freyathehuntress @fheresm @taketimeandappreciate @youralphawolf72

@shedsblood @ts1mp0ne @beautifulgrungekid @emily-roberts @itmejado

@iv3t @james-bucky-barnes-bitch @learning-howto-be-myselfx3 @darkenwolfie @inyourmomsworld

@lokiandbuckywife @xx-narcissa @elite4cekalyma @thecrazytealady @ladyjenjay

@misshale21 @cevans-winchester @fayhay14 @wtfcas @spencerreidsbookclub

@hinata7346 @randomhoex @mirakeul @n1ght5h4d3-24 @pepelachanel

@dark-night-sky-99 @missnyxsblog @xoxoloverb @ilearnedthatfromethepizzaman @kingshitonly

@isnt-itstrange @twsssmlmaa @navs-bhat @zealouspostwitch @saahmi

@distantsighs @jayxxace @a--1--1--3 @cutelittlepurplesouls @mermaid--dreamer-blog @maliagurl

@kneelforloki @teenybean @small-town-wayward-daughter @labellapeaky @dabria14

@geeksareunique @emma-is-a-nerd @burn1ngw00d @esposadomd @natashamea18

@alexandralibbre @wonderland2425 @ukeptmelikeasecret

#avengers x reader #derek hale x reader #derek hale x stark!reader #teen wolf x reader #avengers au #teen wolf au #fred weasly x reader #george wealsey x reader #mrsstruggle #the lost child

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garu-rufftor · 4 months

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Looking for RP partner [M4M] preferably.

Hobby style, no need to be overly serious or professional, I'm quite a newbie myself. I just want to have fun with RP again.

Hellooo!! Would anyone want to be my RP partner? I'm quite a newbie so don't expect much from me please! I've only done not professional 1x1 but should there be more people (if there's anyone at all) I'd be open on trying. No age rules but if you're young I expect some level of maturity, not like I'm the most mature but yeah, and if you're an adult let you know I'm 15 soon 16 years old, don't do weird stuff.

I try to adapt writing styles to people, so no worries! I'm from Spain, so my grammar and use of English aren't always on check.

I would personally enjoy more of a MxM (not necessarily romantic) if possible and no smut/nsfw please. Also I personally tend to roleplay as a trans masc character.

I'm leaving some brainstorming here, feel free to pick. I'm open to brainstorming because creativity and along with another person is so cool. I'm fine with RP with already existing characters if it's from a fandom but using oc's would be so cool too!!

Fandoms

1.- Keroro. Not too known but I really enjoy this anime and I always wanted to do something around it, you'll know from where the "Garu" in my nick comes from should you have seen it, haha.

2.- Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Another old one but it really for my heart too.

3.- Vocaloid + PJSK/Colorful Stage. I'm not extremely fond of everyone for the record.

4.- Countryhumans like stuff. For this one I'd enjoy more OC's since I don't want any dramas, I'm open for the classic Countryhumans style or a more humanised less political stuff.

There's more but I'm kinda lazy, feel free to ask me for anything too! No promises but there may be a chance.

Dynamics

A list of dynamics that interest me should it help. I really like military stuff btw.

a) Boss/subordinate but they've been working together for so long they're very close friends.

b) Barely reacts to anything/enjoys teasing him.

c) School friends and recently people began gossiping about a lot of fake rumours about one of them.

As said these are just some ideas, feel free to contribute into ideas! I enjoy active back and forth and communication is a key too, if at some point you don't enjoy/feel comfortable anymore even if we're half through a roleplay please inform me.

That being said thank you very much should you have read it!

You can contact me through Discord since I'm not that active here -> al_35

Currently I'm going through the last week of exams before my evaluation for this course ends so I may be busier and more low in energy, for the record!

See you~ (I hope this goes well plz) 🌌🌠🌌

#roleplay #looking for rp #roleplay partner search #roleplay partner ad #mxm rp #fandoms #sgt keroro #katekyo hitman reborn #countryhumans #brainstorm #brain rot #etc #not the best english

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static-errorcode · 10 months

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but I love them both part 2

this takes place a day or two after the last part so enjoy

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Fives pov:

I was sitting next under a tree (the tree nine was under in your cool no matter what) practicing my power ( their powers are like witchy magic)

Y: hi five

I jumped a bit to see Y

I started to blush a little after seeing them, I have liked her for a while but I knew six liked her too

Y: what are you doing

Five: just practicing my spells

Y: cool can I see some spells

I blushed a bit more, Y was more into science then magic, so the fact that they wanted to see my spells made me a little surprised

Five: why are you so interested in my spells all the sudden?

Y: well since I haven't gotten a order for my recovery centers for a week or two I thought It would be interesting to see some of your powers. If that's alright

My faced turned fully amethyst (if its a color)

Five: sure

After an hour of showing Y my spells I noticed someone in the distance I tried to get a better view to realize it was six

six pov:

I looked at Y and five hanging out making me jealous

I couldn't stand thinking of Y ending up with someone like five

I walked away when I saw five look at me

I knew Y was Seven and X's older sibling, but I couldn't help falling for the creative inventor. I've known five has also liked her the same way I felt about her, which is why we hate eachother

As I got home, I flopped on the couch, and sighed

Six: I hope Y doesn't pick her over me

Tbc

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Man this has so many words it's so shocking

So what do you guys think so far

Next chapter I'll add your algebralien ocs if you send them to me with their asset (p.s) I might change them a little bit so just letting yall know)

See you in my next post

#object oc #Fanfic #Bfdi fan fiction #Bfdi six #Bfdi five

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archivalofsins · 6 months

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Was tagged by @qrevo on my main blog and I think I answered on their but I don't really remember. Either way thought it would be nice to do it over and put it up here too.

1. Are you named after anyone?

Yes, my first name is after my aunt. My mom planned on naming me lee if I was born a boy but I wasn't so she had to find some way to fit that into a girls name. Regardless of gender my mom's planned to take inspiration from my aunts name when naming me. My middle name is my grandmother on my dad's side first name. Plus my last name is just my father's families name for generations so technically every name in my name is due to someone.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Probably last week. It's been a rough year.

3. Do you have kids?

Do ocs counts- I'm kidding. They do and I have many. Still kidding no I don't have kids I do want to have them in the future or adopt.

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

I did ballet as a really young kid according to my mom. However, since I had really bad asthma during most of my childhood I wasn't really permitted to do a lot of sports. I did do swim classes in high school but not competitively or anything. I tend to like walking and I'd like biking again once I get another bike.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Often. Very often. I think it's good at expressing certain feelings or just keep the mood light. Though I tend to be straight forward in serious conversation.

6. What's the first thing you notice about someone?

What they're doing. After that usually their face and build.

7. Eye color?

Brown.

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

I like scary movies because I've watched them since I was pretty young. My dad is into horror stuff such as books and when I was a kid a lot of the books he read were being made into or had movies of them.

9. Any talents?

I guess writing. Though not really since everyone in my family does that. I'm mostly told by family that I give good advice and should go back to school for psychology. So, probably that.

10. Where were you born?

The midwest of the United States. Where I grew up and have been most of my life.

11. Hobbies?

I'm getting into writing again. My hobbies since elementary school have consistently been writing all forms of it with a focus on media analysis and creative writing, music listening to it and analyzing it, and video games. Some nights I sit on my apartment balcony and listen to music. I also enjoy being near plants but I'm not that good at taking care of them and I am allergic to a lot of them.

12. Any pets?

Two cats Angel (going on 14) and Luco (going on 2 this month).

13. Height?

Around five feet and four inches.

14. Favorite school subject?

Science focus on biology. I really enjoyed that and history in college. During one of my college classes we got to dissect a pigs head and looking at stuff under a microscope was rather enjoyable.

15. Dream job?

This is why I remembered answering this before because I'm pretty sure I said writer but now that occupations could be better described as influencer and I'd rather not be that available to the public. Though admittedly when I was younger i wanted to be a school psychologist and write on the side. Right now my dream job has simply become whatever helps people think of things in a way different from how they usually would and make the world a more empathetic place. Which is why I discuss Milgram as much as I do. Though a part of me is also like whatever would actually bring some money ya know but this is good too.

I don't know if this reply is really late or I accidentally replied to it twice but thanks for tagging me! I hope you're having a sweet day!

#gunsli rambles

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purplefeathersandblackleather · 2 years

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Gentles and ladymen, it's time for an important update for all of you as well as a couple of questions. This includes requests.

On December 15th, I will be making preparations for a personal holiday that I call called Gahan Nidra. This particular holiday lasts from the 21st of this month until the 20th of March 2023, and I will be ceasing all drawings, writings and videos until the holiday is over. If you are a creator of any kind, I implore you to try and take at least some time off as well because like everything else, our minds need rest.

During Graham Nidra, though I do no new media, I look back on all of the media I did that I consider to be successful. Each week, I will select something I have done and write out the Seven Stages:

What Inspired Me

What I Learned From It

When It Went from Inspiration to Idea

When I Realized It Was A Piece I Love

Why It Feels Successful

Why I Enjoyed Working On It

What I'd Do To Improve It

And that now leads me to the questions I would like to ask all of you.

Would you be interested in seeing my thoughts on my works across this holiday? It would make me happy to share this personal time with all of you, but only if you want to see it.

I still have a week left before my preparations for Gahan Nidra begins which means I still have some time for creativity to flow. I am looking for fulfillment of giving people what they'd like to see in this community. OCs, more Doctor Strange, BBC Sherlock, whatever. If you have a request, please put it through my inbox.

For your reading pleasure, I will also include my current projects and what I hope to have done before the end of this week. Thank you all so much for empowering me on this journey and I look forward to continuing on it next year. I will still be around, just not ina creative manner.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and have a Beautiful New Year!

💜 The Last Four 💜

They Say I'm Seeking Out the Danger

Doctor Strange Fall Sunrise Sketch

Beauty's Christmas Gift

Defender Strange's Dress

#public service announcement #personal holiday #community #my art #my video #my writing #commission request #writing prompts #art prompts

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deitiesofduat · 2 years

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DEITIES Update -- October 2022

Hi All! Time for a kinda-spontaneous-but-not-really Project Update, along with the current events of this month -- which is a DEITIES themed OC_Tober + and upcoming Askbox Session!

I understand if this all kinda came out of nowhere, so I'll use this short update to share my plans and any additional context, and I hope it's something to look forward to! More information is under the cut!

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OC_TOBER 2022 PLANS PART 1 of 2 -- DEITIES CAST LINEUP & PROFILES

The gist of my OC_Tober plan this month will be sharing separate profiles and featured art each weekday in a thematic order for the DEITIES Project -- 5 per week, 20 total. These will likely debut on my art twitter first, and then be mirrored on tumblr later the same day.

This is my minimum goal, but I'll gauge my free time if I have the bandwidth to do some extra things for fun -- like any additional new art, meme templates, blog posts on the website, or other nostalgia trips.

The character profiles for tumblr, twitter, and my other media accounts will use a new format that I'm still preparing. Meanwhile, anyone who feels like learning more about the deities can view their full profiles on the project site -- https://deitiesproject.com/characters

Fullbody Lineup (Tumblr) -- https://deitiesofduat.tumblr.com/post/696945815967694848/hi-everyone-its-been-a-while-d-so-heres

Higher quality + Full-size Images -- https://sta.sh/21y4noqrsk91 (These are best seen on desktop admittedly, tumblr’s version is is better for mobile viewing!)

For those who feel like viewing / sharing on other social media:

Twitter Version -- https://twitter.com/ColaCanvas/status/1576316256982302721

IG Version -- https://www.instagram.com/p/CjMe683Ds4w/

Artfol Version -- https://www.artfol.me/a/xAk0tvl

(( NOTE: I'll probably revisit this update to add more quick links as well, once I finish organizing what I need this weekend. ))

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OC_TOBER 2022 PLANS PART 2 of 2 -- MONTH-LONG ASKBOX SESSION (Upcoming!!)

In addition to the character profiles, I'll also reopen my tumblr Askbox to answer as many project questions as I can -- albeit gradually, likely to share on the weekends. It'll also help me gauge how much volume I can manage, and whether it something I can keep open or at least re-open more regularly.

As of now the Askbox is still closed -- I was aiming to open it by the start of the month, but needed to put all my energy into completing the lineup before the end of September 😂 Please give me at least another day to rest and prepare before I reopen it, I promise I'll give you all another heads up once it's ready.

In the meantime, you'll find some updated guidelines and FAQs here on the main site -- https://deitiesproject.com/faqs/

(FWIW: I've been working on a site alternative of the askbox for anyone who doesn't have a tumblr, but it'll need to wait a bit longer before it's ready to launch. This shouldn't affect anyone following this tumblr already though, so it's business as usual for anyone who wants to submit questions here -- just please be sure to read the updated guidelines and FAQs first, thank you!)

——————————

ADDITIONAL CONTEXT

I've established in the site's Introduction page how development for DEITIES Project is still ongoing. But I've been having to balance it next to other tasks that require my attention, hence why it's felt a bit slow on tumblr and elsewhere.

Fortunately, some good friends convinced me to participate in this year's Artfight this past summer. Drawing each other's OCs renewed my creative energy, and I enjoyed the encouragement from my peers + the sheer enthusiasm for each others' OCs, it was a great experience with everyone!

From there, I felt re-energized to revisit DEITIES Project and see what next steps and WIPs I could tackle, and I could see that it sorely needed a full lineup sheet for some time. This was especially given how some characters were lacking clear visual references, or had some that were heavily outdated!

This years OC_tober felt like a good opportunity to address this massive to-do, and to re-introduce some of the cast along the way. I had to wait until it was basically finished before I could give you all the heads up, but hopefully it's something to look forward to this month!

——————————

I'll wrap up this update here for now -- if I do add anything more it'll be minor things or edits over the next few days. Anything important (like the Askbox reopening) will be given a heads up on the main blog. With that said, I look forward to sharing more DEITIES Project this month, and hope you all enjoy!

#// I'll swing back to update to edit any new links and text later; meanwhile give me another day or so to reopen that askbox #// I also admittedly need a day to rest before I set up more profiles + I want to indulge in hyping my friends' OC_tober runs as well!#// vibrates excitedly for this month I can't wait!!#DEITIES Project #DEITIES Updates #DEITIES text

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spaceyflowerswriting · 2 years

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Not a request just a question out of curiosity. How did you feel when you first started out writing fanfics for a particular fandom? Have you always been passionate about writing? What is your method to know a character better so as to make your works seem close to their original personality?

I love your works, they genuinely make my day and would love to write for lookism one day as well and you're my biggest inspiration ❤️ hope you have a wonderful day :)

[Don't have to reply if you don't feel like it]

i got REALLY wordy so things are under a cut!

anyways can i just say this is such a sweet message 😭😭💓💕💓💕💞💖💞💕💓💖💞💘

thank u so much for sending this ask !! it always means the world to me when ppl express care and curiosity about other's creativity journeys :'] 💖

this goes for u, too, anon; if ur comfortable sharing, i'd love to hear ur own answers to ur questions! <33

how did you feel when you first started out writing fanfics for a particular fandom?

i started when i was around 9 and was very excited to share so thats what i did :] but over time i grew insecure and felt my old stuff was stupid lmao so i deleted it all off the web and then writing became a private thing for me for a very, very long time (writing like 40k, 38 chapters worth of stuff just for me 😭). i've wanted to share during my last few fandoms but never got the courage to until i got into lookism/viral hit !

(well, actually, i did share some writing during my "obey me!" phase but it was just text convos lol)

naturally, i was nervous putting my writing out in the world again esp bc the last time i did was when i like 11-12, and i was 16 when i wanted go public with my writing again 😔 im very glad i pushed myself to tho, bc its basically been a year now and i've had a blast!

i never imagined so many people would like my silly writing, enough to send in requests T_T 💕💖

have you always been passionate about writing?

kind of,,? i really only got into it because of fanfiction lol but i did consider becoming an author for like. a week of my life sjdhwhdj so really it's just a hobby i do since im the walking definition of "speaks little but thinks a lot"

gotta put thoughts down somewhere yknow? and at the end of the day, writing to me is just what art is to me; it's for fun and to express myself. sure, i wanna get better at both, but if my stuff turns out "objectively" bad, at least i know i had fun with it :'D

(that's my philosophy with art in general; make "bad" art!! have fun!!! enjoy life!!! i hate comparison/competitive things!!!! lets all just have a nice time being kind to each other!!!!!)

creative writing is very cool tho and i have a bunch of ocs i'd love to write stories for, but the artist in me is saying i want to do them webtoon style ;_;

what is your method to know a character better so as to make your works seem close to their original personality?

going to be honest, im not the best person to ask for this 😭 im the world's most casual writer and i take my "just have fun with ur art" thing very seriously;;

i.e. i just keep note of how a character acts throughout a story, characterize them along the way, and then use that as my base for any writing i do of them 😭

um. i also (re)read fandomwiki pages of them, if any, to double check for stuff 😭😭😭 occasionally i rewatch/reread moments of them in their stories when i want to look for something specific but otherwise it's just me going "hm would this character do this?", comparing it to my base, and reacting accordingly!

other times i straight up go "yeah they probably wouldnt do this BUT it would be cute so im going to do it 😍"

so, if nothing works, just let urself be self indulgent <3 unless u do want to take ur writing more seriously than i do, then uh yeah it would be much better for u to look up advice from people who take their writing more seriously ^_^"

final notes

thank u for liking my stuff, im very happy to hear they make ur day ;__; 💖💕💓💞 plus saying im ur biggest inspiration too is so,, ueueuueu,,,, ;;__;; 💞💘💞💞💘💕💖💘

i really hope u get around to writing for lookism or any other fandoms/original works!!! i wish u the absolute best with you and your writing journey, and feel free to tag/dm me with anything u write!! i'd be happy to support :]

hope you're having a wonderful day, too 💖💖

#answers

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decadentrot · 2 years

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2023 🎉🎉🎉

Ok new year and I thought since this blog is basically an archive of my fandom art, I'd also archive some "milestone" art and archive my reflection for the last year. Basically, I love art and I've always wanted to one day publish my own original comic/graphic novel and I've had this dream art school that I've always wanted to go to and then senior year rolled around and... I didnt submit my portfolio. Partially due to financial reasons, but mostly because I just hated my art (like most artist) and so I decided to take a "gap year" to take online courses and "fix" my art, but then I just didnt have enough money to even finish the courses so i just really gave up yk. I got very demoralized about school in general and thought art would just be a hobby and I should consider getting a "real job" as many of my family members would say, it didnt help that all of my friends were leaving for college and I was stuck at home. And so in my loneliness, I then created this blog because I still wanted someway to do art and be creative and share stupid ideas about my favorite characters and honestly I really really really enjoyed making fandom art. And after getting out of my slump and getting much encouragement from my friends/dad and lots of nights staying up with my anxiety as company, I decided I really should just do it and submit the portfolio and if I get in I get in and I should not be afraid to get loans and not let my financial problems get in the way of my happiness and wants. So I talked to the admission counselor and finally submitted my Illustration (Entertainment Arts Track) portfolio to ✨Art Center: College of Design✨ and a couple months later I actually got accepted woooo

So I'm sharing my accepted ACCD portfolio to by no means flex my art, I mean the anatomy and perspective still needs a lot of work and my traditional art in general isnt the cleanest, but when talking to the admission counselor, she definitely did see my faults but she also pointed out how even if my technical work isn't as polished, thats exactly what school is for: to learn and get better! And to be surrounded by likeminded people who also have a passion for art (and make those industry connections!) And something more eye opening I learned from her was that art isnt suppose to be perfect and "realistic," especially in the entertainment arts industry, what matters more is telling the story and making compelling characters. While knowing every muscle of the human anatomy is useful, as long as you get the message and purpose across, its good! (I mean look at the origins of one punch man).

Corny message aside, for as much as I was stressed during the beginning of this year, I ended up really enjoying it after all. I'm still improving my art and I still have to worry about my financial issues and college, but overall I spent these last couple days with family/friends and doing personal art projects and I'm relatively happy with my art and my OCs. My SumRec comic will probably be postponed by like a week maybe cause I've been busy with family and friends and obviously I haven't been posting a lot of my fandom art due to RL stuff, but when I actually have alone time to work on it and im satisfied, then it will be posted !! So for anyone who read through this post, I hope you maybe get some enjoyment from my art portfolio and also enjoyed last year and I hope this new year will be even better !! (And if your an artist, keep going and creating !!) 🎉

Bonus: Not part of my portfolio, but during my junior year of high school, I wanted to actually complete an animation instead of a bunch of animatics, so I did! Its incredibly rushed and my old art is cringe, but it was my first completed animation of some very old OCs and their potential intro sequence if they had a TV showヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ:

#new years #accd #art center college of design #art center #accepted art portfolio #animation #thank you guys btw for the art support #you guys actually make tumblr quite comfy #have a good year!!

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yelena-bellova · 2 years

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UNLUCKY: A STRANGER THINGS STORY (OC) - CHAPTER THREE

Chapter Three: Jonathan, Nancy and Steve

Series Masterlist l OC Profile

Plot: Christine seeks shelter with Nancy and Jonathan, and the three of them come up with a plan to catch a monster.

Word Count: 4.4k

Warnings: language, violence, blood, bullying, insinuation of sex

A/N: First off, just want to say thanks to everyone who has been reading along and commenting such nice things! It makes me so happy that people are enjoying this weird idea I had in my head. Secondly, because I've been getting asked this, there is no set schedule for when I post pics. It's all dependent on work/personal life/health. I'm aiming to get out one chapter a week but there's also other fics I have to work on so it's pretty fluid. However, I'm really enjoying working on this so I'm trying to make time in my schedule for it. Hope you enjoy this one! We finally get to meet a certain someone 😉

UPDATE: Two years later, I’ve converted this to an OC story vs. x reader. All chapters are being rewritten ☺️

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

Jonathan ended up driving us back to Nancy’s house. Nancy had offered to sneak me in and let me stay the night. We were all a little too wrapped up in the same story, splitting up didn’t seem right.

The only catch was we had to scale the side of her house.

It was only a problem for Jonathan, who wasn’t very athletic. Years on the streets had made me quite good at creative escapes.

“How are you so good at that?” Jonathan grunted as he pulled himself over the windowsill.

“You don’t want to know,” I brushed some dirt off my palms.

I was stunned by Nancy’s room. It had a beautiful white bed with blankets that looked much less scratchy than shelter ones. The pink and white striped wallpaper reminded me of candy canes. There were pictures of flowers and photographs hung everywhere. It was big enough that you didn’t feel squished but small enough to feel cozy.

I smiled sadly as I looked around. If I had a bedroom, I’d want it to look similar.

Nancy came in then, having entered through the front door to make it look like she came home alone. The more time that had passed in the car, the quieter she’d gotten. She was barely able to move, hand still resting on the doorknob as she shut it.

Jonathan was holding himself back, clearly wanting to stay as close as possible to her. Instead, he guided Nancy to the edge of her bed, softly assuring her that she was safe and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders.

Feeling more out of place than ever, I awkwardly settled on the floor near Nancy’s feet. It was doubtful she wanted me too close, but I wanted to help in some way.

“You need to tell us what you know,” she muttered, meeting my eyes eventually, “All that you can.”

“Are you in trouble or something? Jonathan asked.

I ran my hand over my face. How was I supposed to explain myself without telling them everything? I had to protect Eleven and I without even knowing what we’d stumbled into.

“It’s complicated,” I started, “Really complicated. I don’t think I know anymore than you, in fact, you probably know more than me. But I don’t think you two are crazy. I know you aren’t.”

They kept listening, a good sign.

“I don’t know how to find my sister,” I struggled to keep my tears hidden, “I don’t know if she’s safe or taken by a monster in a tree. I need to find her,” I looked to Jonathan, “The same way you need to find your brother,” then to Nancy, “And your friend. And I’ll do whatever I can to help you find them.”

They thought it over to themselves in silence. Yet it still felt like they were somehow communicating.

“Okay,” Nancy finally spoke, her voice was tired. “I trust you.”

Jonathan nodded, “Yeah.”

My chest unclenched, I hadn’t even realized I was holding it so tight. I wasn’t about to be thrown out into the night.

“I need to take a shower,” Nancy said softly. She dropped the blanket and slowly, as if the monster was still close by, made her way out of the room.

Jonathan and I stayed where we were.

“Did you call the police about your sister?” He asked, “They could-“

“No,” I said firmly. “No police.”

He looked like he had more questions, but it fell under ‘complicated’ so he stopped himself.

“Do you know where she might go?”

I didn’t. Eleven had never been outside the lab. She had zero knowledge of anything outside it. She wouldn’t know a dangerous place from a safe one. My only hope was that she’d returned to Mike’s house.

“No. But as long as she’s not in the woods,” I breathed, “As long as she’s as far away from that…thing…she may be safe. And you’re sure your brother’s in there? Wherever Nancy was?”

Jonathan rested his elbows on his knees and rubbed a hand over his face. He seemed like one of those people that acted much older than they were. “After tonight,” he paused before nodding, “Yeah.”

I hugged my knees and rested my chin on them. “So how do we rescue them?” I asked. It was an obvious, but necessary question.  “I don’t know,” Jonathan replied shakily. He rose and started looking around the room for something, “We need to get some sleep, figure things out in the morning…” he turned to me, “I know that sucks.”

“I guess we’re no good if we get attacked,” I shrugged and stood up. As much as I hated making sense.

“Your sister,” Jonathan said, “How old is she?”

I did the math in my head. “She’s twelve.”

Jonathan gave the same sad smile that could only come from an older sibling, “Same as Will.”  Feeling a wave of compassion, I reached forward and held Jonathan’s wrist. “I meant what I said. I’m going to do everything I can to help get him home.”

Tears came to Jonathan’s eyes. He did the sniffle most men did when they didn’t want anyone to see them cry. “Thank you,” he gulped, “And I promise I’ll help you find your sister.”

I squeezed his hand and tried to smile, tried not to panic at the faith I was putting in someone I didn’t know. But that seemed to be the theme of the day. And Jonathan and Nancy had the same honesty to them that the boys had. I was fairly certain I was in safe hands.

 “I can turn around or something,” Jonathan offered, “If you need to get changed.”

“Oh, right,” I said, grabbing my backpack and pulling out the single pair of pajamas I kept for myself, “I’ll just go in here.”

I opened Nancy’s closet doors, scrunched down to fit inside and shimmied into my clothes. The dark helped nothing and I was fairly certain I’d put my sweater on backwards, but it would have to do. As I came out, Jonathan peeked past me and grabbed a floral sleeping bag, rolling it out on the ground.

Nancy came back in, clean but moving just as slow as she’d been before. Jonathan and I looked up at her expectantly, “Better?”  She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest, “Yeah.”

“Is this okay?” Jonathan asked, “Uh, I found it in the closet. I can go home,” he stammered, “I just figured—“

“Yeah, no,” Nancy shook her head, “I…I don’t wanna be alone.”  There was a change in the air the moment the two of them were near one another. Jonathan became nervous, almost like he wanted to crawl out of his own skin. I couldn’t quite figure Nancy out yet, but it was clear that there was…something between them.

I cleared my throat and gestured to the cushioned seat at Nancy’s window, “Is here okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nancy nodded, “That’s fine. Uh, do you need anything?”

“No, I’m fine,” I assured her. She was trying her best but I just wanted her to be okay.

The three of us retired to our separate corners of the room. Even with the small space, the cushions were more comfortable than anywhere I’d been in a while. That was more likely because I was in an actual home. The faint smell of laundry detergent, the warm air coming from the ceiling vents. I’d never felt this safe.

 “Do you want the lights off or—“ Jonathan asked from his spot on the floor.

“On,” Nancy cut him off.

A moment of uncomfortable silence passed. It felt like there was more to say.

“Can you just come up here?”

No one needed to ask who Nancy was talking to. Jonathan got up from the floor and quickly settled on the other side of her bed. I tried to ignore the tension.

“You know, it can’t get us in here,” Jonathan said quietly.  Nancy took a breath and said what we were all thinking, “We don’t know that.”

Shutting my eyes, I tucked my hands under one of Nancy’s pillows and told myself all the lies I needed to get a little bit of sleep. Eleven was safe. She was at Mike’s house. She was in his basement being fed Eggos and was perfectly fine. I’d be alive in the morning, I’d find her with the boys in the morning and then we could continue trying to help find Will…

We would be fine. We would be fine because we had to be.

—————————

The sunlight hitting my face woke me up.

I scrunched my eyes open and shut, trying to adjust to the brightness. The heat warmed me through my clothes so deeply, I could have been lulled back to sleep. But the sound of pages flipping got my attention.

Nancy was up, sitting up in her bed turning through a book.

“Hi,” I mumbled.

“Hey,” she replied without looking up, “Did I wake you up?”

“No,” I slowly sat up, rubbing at one of my eyes, “Did you sleep at all?”

She shook her head, “Every time I close my eyes, I just…keep seeing that…thing. Wherever I was, that place…I think that it lives there. It was feeding there, on a dying deer we found. That means that if…” she inhaled, “If Will and my friend Barb…”

I wanted so badly to comfort her, but how could you comfort someone when you were just as afraid? Clearly whoever crossed the creature’s path suffered a terrible ending. It was unbearable to think about.

“Hey,” Jonathan’s voice startled me. I hadn’t noticed him wake up. “My mom said she talked to Will. If he’s alive, there’s a chance Barbara is, too.”

“Wait, your mom talked to your brother?” I asked, “How?”

Jonathan’s lips turned up a little, “It’s a little crazy.”

“I think we’re way past crazy,” I nearly laughed.

“She said that…she could hear him through the walls. And on the phone. A-and that he was speaking through the lights flickering,” he explained, “I don’t know how it works but…she says it happened.”

He was right. It did sound crazy. But so did everything up until now.

“That means that Barb’s trapped, in that place…” Nancy paused, “We have to find it again.”  “You wanna go back out there?”  “She’s right. It’s the only way,” I added my voice to the mix, “Even if you two don’t come, I’m going.”

“Maybe we don’t have to,” Nancy adjusted, “When I saw it, it was feeding on that deer. Meaning it’s-it’s a predator, right?”

 “Right,” Jonathan nodded. I agreed as if I knew what the word ‘predator’ meant.

“And it seems to hunt at night, like a…” Nancy flipped a page, “A lion or a coyote. But it doesn’t hunt in packs like them. It’s always alone, like…like a bear. But remember at Steve’s, when Barb cut herself?”  I got up and came to join them, kneeling beside Nancy’s bed.

“Then, last night, the deer…” Nancy looked to Jonathan.

“It was bleeding too,” he finished.

“So it’s like a shark?” I said, hoping I didn’t sound too stupid, “They like blood, right?”

 “Exactly,” Nancy agreed, flipping a few pages in the book till she found the chapter about sea creatures, “Sharks can detect blood in one part per million. That’s one drop of blood in a million, and they can smell it from a quarter mile away.”  The pieces were starting to come together. “So you’re saying it can detect blood?” Jonathan asked.

“It’s just a theory,” Nancy’s voice dropped.  “But a good one,” I said.  “We could test it,” Jonathan shrugged slightly, “But if it works…”  It would attack.

“At least we’ll know it’s coming,” Nancy finished.

Suddenly it was like I wasn’t there. The air had changed again as soon as Nancy and Jonathan had locked eyes. I’d have thought I was crazy if I hadn’t been watching their hands slowly crawl towards one another until they were clasped.

The sudden turning of the door knob made all three of us jump.

“Honey, are you up?” a female voice called.

“Yeah, I’m…” Nancy shouted, “I’m getting dressed.”

“I, uh, made some blueberry pancakes.”  “I’ll be down in a second,” Nancy winced.

I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to calm my heartbeat down. Nobody was coming for me, nobody was going to force their way through the door and take me. It was just a mom taking care of their daughter.

“Your mom doesn’t knock?” Jonathan joked, bringing a small smile to Nancy’s face.

“I need to get out of here if she’s going to keep coming up,” I stood up and went to find my clothes from the night before.

The three of us quickly moved around the room, Jonathan throwing on his sweater and Nancy and I grabbing our clothes. She took my hand and pulled me to the door, “Stay quiet.”  Peeking out the door and finding the hall empty, she led me the short distance to her bathroom.

Nancy locked the door and turned her back to me, “We have to be fast. We’ve only got maybe two more minutes before she comes back up.” 

“Got it,” I stripped off my pants, “Hey, thank you for letting me stay here. You really didn’t have to.”  “No, it’s fine,” she said, our backs bumping as we moved. “It’s really unfair people have to live like that.”

She didn’t even know the half of it. I was so tempted to tell her, or Jonathan, something. Anything. I couldn’t even tell why, just that I felt I could trust them. “Well, it was really nice of you. I won’t forget it.”

“How could you?” she replied, “I don’t think I’d forget pulling someone out of a tree either.”

The two of us shared a shy laugh as we finished dressing, sneaking back into her room after.

Jonathan was ready to go, already opening the window so we could make our escape. He tossed Nancy the bat he’d been carrying the night before while I slung my backpack over my shoulders. I slipped out the window first, holding onto the drain pipe for dear life as I took careful steps down the roof. Sitting down once I couldn’t go any further, I clutched the edge before swinging over and landing gracefully on the grass. Nancy threw me down the bat and followed, Jonathan brought up the rear.

The car was parked a few houses down so Nancy’s family wouldn’t see it.

“So are we just going back into the woods?” I asked from the backseat.

Judging by Jonathan and Nancy’s faces, they had thought it out about as far as I had.

“We need more than this,” Nancy looked at the bat.

Jonathan’s hands fidgeted against the wheel. “So…the store?”

“What are we gonna get there?” Nancy asked.

“Bait? Bullets?” He suggested. It was all guessing at this point.

“Anything’s better than nothing,” I agreed.

“Okay,” Jonathan started the car, “Store it is.”

I settled into the seat and shut my eyes. Things were moving so fast. I tried my hardest to focus and search for Eleven’s mind. With every bit of hope I had, I sent a thought out into the void.

If you’re still there, I’m coming. Just hang on.

—————————

Driving through downtown Hawkins was incredible.

I’d spent the last four years hiding in shelters and under bridges, only slipping into restaurants and grocery stores when necessary and never lingering. As Jonathan drove past different shops and businesses, passing people of all ages living all sorts of lives, I couldn’t help but smile. I was part of it all, even just for a little while.

Jonathan parked outside a store he said sold all the supplies we’d need to construct the trap him and Nancy planned on the drive. I didn’t understand half the names they called out so I just sat quietly, watching the sights pass me by and agreed where I could. I felt painfully stupid as I followed them around the store.

When we got to the checkout counter, the worker raised both his eyebrows at our pile of items.

“And I’ll have four boxes of the .38s,” Jonathan added.

Finally, I got tired of my own ignorance and leaned over to Nancy. If I wanted to start knowing, I had to start asking. “What are .38s?”

“Bullets,” Jonathan mumbled as the guy handed over the small boxes.

“What’re you kids doin’ with all this?” he asked.

Nancy, Jonathan and I shared a look. “Monster hunting,” Nancy answered, a shockingly acceptable answer for the clerk. Three stupid kids doing stupid things.

We left with our arms full. “‘Monster hunting…’” I repeated as we loaded up the car, “Does Hawkins get a lot of that?”  Nancy chuckled, staring off into the distance after. “You know, last week I was shopping for a new top I thought Steve might like. It took me and Barb all weekend,” she mused as we packed, “It seemed life or death, you know? And…and now—“ 

“You’re shopping for bear traps with Jonathan Byers,” he finished.

“Yeah.”

“What’s the weirdest part? Me or the bear trap?”

“You,” Nancy smiled, the air was changing again. “Definitely you.”

“I’m usually the weirdest part of any story,” I smiled.  They both laughed. “Not this time,” Jonathan replied.

A car honked loudly as it passed us, “Hey, Nancy! Can’t wait to see your movie.”

“What the hell was that?” Jonathan asked as the driver sped off.

“I don’t know,” Nancy muttered. She turned around, eyes widening at something I couldn’t see.

“Nancy?” I asked, but she was already walking off. Jonathan and I trailed after her, “Nancy, what’s wrong?”

Her walk turned to a run and soon, we were chasing her. “Nancy, wait!” he yelled.

She led us across the road till she was stopped in front of the movie theater. The board above that announced what they were showing had spray painted letters across it reading ’Starring Nancy The Slut Wheeler’ below ‘All The Right Moves.’

“Wait…what does that mean? ‘Slut?’” I looked to Jonathan.

“Nothing good.”

There was a hissing sound nearby that went hand in hand with the graffiti. Nancy ran towards the noise, Jonathan and I calling for her as we followed. Jonathan, not that great of a runner, definitely couldn’t keep up with her. I was probably faster than both of them and was able to catch up to her first.

In an alleyway, Nancy walked up to a group of teenagers, one of them holding the spray paint can. I stopped in my tracks when she walked up to one of them and slapped him across the face.

“What is wrong with you?” she yelled.

“What’s wrong with me?” He repeated, “What’s wrong with you? I was worried about you. I can’t believe that I was worried about you.”  “What are you talking about?”  “I wouldn’t lie if I were you,” one of the girls said, “You wouldn’t want to be known as the lying slut now, do you?” 

“Hey,” I stared her down as I came beside Nancy, “There’s no need for that.”  The girl laughed at me, turning back to her friends as if I wasn’t real. “Wow, Little Miss Priss. Didn’t think you had it in you.”

Everything they were saying was foreign to me. “Speak of the devil,” one of the guys Nancy hadn’t slapped said. Jonathan had finally caught up.

“You came by last night?” Nancy asked the one in front of her.

“Ding! Ding! Ding!” the one who’d mocked Nancy and I continued, “Does she get a prize?”

Nancy took a hurried breath, “Look, I don’t know what you think you saw, but it wasn’t like that.”  “What, you just let him into your room to…” the slapped brunette glared towards Jonathan, “Study? Or for another pervy photo session?” 

I didn’t know who he was or what he meant to Nancy, but he kept taking it one step further than it needed to go. I was struggling to stay quiet.

“We were just—“ Nancy began to argue.

“You were just what?” the guy interrupted her, “Finish the sentence.”

He took a step forward and inched towards Nancy’s face, “Finish the sentence.”

Nancy stood there, chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to collect herself. The guy looked her up and down before scoffing, “Go to hell, Nancy.”

“Come on, Nancy,” Jonathan pulled her arm, “Let’s just leave.”

I helped move Nancy away from the group while Jonathan tried to block the guy she’d slapped from getting any closer.

“You know what, Byers? I’m actually kind of impressed. I always took you for a queer,” he shoved Jonathan’s back, “But I guess you’re just a little screw-up like your father.”

“You need to stop,” I held up a warning hand to the guy.

I might as well have not been there. He continued to push Jonathan, even as I let go of Nancy and tried to pull him away. “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That house is full of screw-ups. You know, I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised. A bunch of screw-ups in your family.”  “Jonathan,” Nancy urged, he’d stopped walking, “Leave it.”

“I mean, your mom…” the brunette continued, “I’m not even surprised what happened to your brother-“

Without a second thought, I spun around and cut him off mid-sentence with a firm punch to the chin. His friends cried out as he stumbled backwards, cradling his face.

“I warned you,” I seethed, making sure to lock eyes with whoever he was. I turned to Nancy and Jonathan, “Let’s go.”

“Oh, that makes perfect sense,” the brunette kept going, he wasn’t any less determined, “Have a girl fight your fights for you, Byers. Can’t even do it yourself. It makes total sense! I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you, but the Byers, their family is a disgrace to the entire—“

That was it. Jonathan punched the guy so hard he fell into some nearby railing. After realizing what had just happened, he lunged at Jonathan and tackled him to a car hood before throwing him to the ground.  “Jonathan!” I cried.  “Steve!” Nancy yelled at the same time, finally naming the asshole.

Jonathan gained the upper hand and flipped Steve over, trying to land a blow that Steve was able to wiggle out of it. Jonathan was finally able to get one hit in that sent Steve stumbling.  “Get in there,” one of the girls shouted their friend, “He’s going to hurt himself!”

Just as the other guy was reaching for Jonathan, I stepped forward and landed a kick to his stomach. He was thrown back.

“Don’t,” I warned.

 “Hey! Hey! Get out of here!” Steve pulled his friend away from Jonathan and I, “Get out of here! Get out of here!”

Jonathan took a swing that Steve easily dodged, who in turn threw a punch that sent Jonathan spinning. I braced him so he wouldn’t go down and he threw himself back in.

“Jonathan! Stop!” Nancy cried, “You’re going to hurt him!”  But he was too far gone, pushed too far. Jonathan punched Steve again before kneeling on him and getting in as many hits as he could.

Once police sirens could be heard, I knew the fight needed to end immediately or else we were all in danger.

“Jonathan, we need to leave!” I shouted only to be ignored.

“Guys!” Nancy tried once more, “Jonathan, get off of him! Stop it!”

“Cops!” Steve’s friend shouted, “Come on!”

“Jonathan! You have to stop!” Nancy tried to grab Jonathan’s arm, “Stop it!”

“Hey, he’s had enough, man!” Steve’s friend tugged at Jonathan, “I said he’s had enough!”

Jonathan shoved at the other guy and went back to attacking Steve. The cop car finally pulled up behind us and two men got out. They both reached for Jonathan, trying to pull him off Steve causing Jonathan to jerk backwards, accidentally hitting one of the officers. He fell back onto the other car, clutching his nose.

“Shit,” I whispered through my hands.  Jonathan was yanked off of Steve by the uninjured cop and thrown against the hood of the car while Steve’s friend pulled him to safety. Their group made a run for it, the cop with the bloody nose chased after them.

Nancy and I stood in the middle of it all, panic wrapping around my throat as I realized what would happen if the cop saw my bruised knuckles. Nancy looked panicked herself watching Jonathan get handcuffed. We blindly reached for each other’s hand.

Jonathan’s rights were read to him before the cop dragged him off to their vehicle. His keys fell out of his pocket just before the door slammed shut.

Nancy kneeled down to grab them, “Come on, we need to follow him.”

“To the station?” I squeaked.

“Yes,” she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “Come on!”

The car pulled out of the alleyway with Nancy already on the run. I stood frozen, my streak of courage had left as soon as it had come. For one split second, I wondered if I should run. If it would be safer to leave now and find Eleven on my own.

“Christine! Come on!”

I couldn’t even bring myself to take the first step. Instead, I ran towards Nancy’s voice.

“Are you okay?” I asked once we’d reached the car.

“No,” she climbed in the front seat, “I can’t believe that just happened.”  It was clear that Nancy had never been violent in her life. I’d witnessed all too much, between the lab and fighting to survive on my own. Both had taught me how to throw a punch.

“Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” I lied. The pain was starting to spread through my hand. We pulled out from the storefront and drove in the direction of sirens. “So…that was Steve?”  Nancy sighed, “Yeah.”  “Steve that you were shopping for tops for all last weekend?”

“Yeah.”

I hummed in reply, “I’m not sure he’s worth it.”  Nancy chuckled sadly, “You shouldn’t have hit him.”  “What was I supposed to do?” I rubbed my wrist, “He was insulting you! And Jonathan.” 

The quiet noise from the radio filled the silence as we drove. After a moment, Nancy spoke up. “Thank you.”

My smile was small, but very much there. “You’re welcome.”

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

Taglist is open!

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington series #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #stranger things series

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jeonggukieverse · 3 years

Note

Hii I would love to request a established relationship jk fic/Drabble in which jk and oc are married and oc is pregnant, she is in a sensitive period and gets tired and angry easily and although jk at first doesn’t seem to understand her but after figuring it out he tried to be there for her, comforts her and all that stuff

I’m not that articulate but I also found these in your promt list and thought it go well with what I’m trying to convey in my own words lol

1. “Why are you yelling at me?”

2. “I didn’t mean it! I swear!”

3. “You’re so fucking hot when you’re mad”

if u prefer it you can add smut !!

Jjajangmyeon Tuesdays

Pairing: Jungkook x Female reader

Genre: Husband AU

Warnings: language, over dramatic reader (again), implied smut, Y/N is a little mean :(

Word count: 1.5k+

Summery: The one thing you look forward to it your husbands famous Jjajangmyeon on a Tuesday evening. But Jungkook will soon come to find out hormones, dissapointment and a hangry wife aren't a a good combo

A/N: This was just a quick I thought id do while im still feeling creative~ Hope enjoy it

Also, Fun fact! This is the same pairing as in my Office Buddies story. So in a way, this story is kind of a sequel

——————————————————————————————-

Not to be dramatic but this was the worst day of your entire life. Nothing can compare to how crappy you feel right now.

There you were in all your pregnant glory sat at a bus stop at 3pm in the pouring rain. You had not only just missed the bus and had to wait 35 minutes for the next one to arrive.

During your wait: three cars had splashed you, the old man next to you had commented that he thought you were just fat before he realised you were pregnant AND you had forgotten to buy the thing you came out for.

But there was one thing keeping you going. There was one tiny spark of light at the end of the tunnel: today was Tuesday.

Now, to anybody else, Tuesday is just a regular degular day but Tuesdays were your favourite days because it was the only day of the week that Jungkook had a half day at work and he would every Tuesday without fail, make you his moms famous Jjajangmyeon for dinner. And we’re not talking ordinary store bought Jjajangmyeon, oh no. This one was homemade with love and tasted as if God herself had hand crafted each and every tiny granule of flavour in that dish. The sauce was to die for and the thought of taking the first bite of those noodles made you want to cry. Plus, baby jeon seemed to like it too. Every Tuesday as you munched down on your favourite meal, baby Jeon kicked around in your tummy like they wanted to break free and eat it for themselves. The thought made you smile. You hoped baby Jeon would like it themselves when they tried it. You hope they liked all of Jungkook’s cooking.

Lately Jungkook had become quite the little chef indeed. Ever since he found out you were pregnant; he’s been so tender and gentle with you. Ensuring you had everything you need, making sure you felt safe and loved. His protectiveness had gotten completely out of hand. Like a few months ago, you went to lunch with your friend without telling him, only to have him call you in the middle of your meal to scold you as if you were a child! It was then that you had to have a firm chat with him. You let him now that even though you were pregnant you were still Y/N and Y/N had a life of her own outside of this baby that she was going to continue to live. You fought for your independence but you forgot that that meant you had to then BE independent. That’s how you got in this predicament. He had wanted to drive you to the store. He offered a million times but, no! You were adamant you could do it on your own. Now look at you. Cold, wet, insulted and swollen. Great.

But you kept your chin up cause you knew there would be Jjajangmyeon waiting for you.

1 hour and a sudden downpour later you trudged yourself up to your driveway resembling a sad wet cat. Shopping bags in hand you felt like you had reached the finish line of some kind of assault course. You chuckled as you placed your hand on the door, proud of your small victory. It was a shit day but you made it and your grand prize of your handsome husband and his famous Jjajangmyeon was waiting for you just on the other side of the door.

You pushed the door open ready to be greeted by the sweet aroma of black bean sauce and freshly cooked noodles but:

Nothing.

You couldn’t smell anything…

Okay, maybe he just has the kitchen door closed?

You walked through to your home past the living room. Your destination was the kitchen. You marched with purpose to see if your theory was correct and it was! The kitchen door was firmly closed.

You breathed a sigh of relief and headed upstairs.

You began to set your plan of action as you walked to your bedroom. You were going run yourself a nice bubble bath before indulging in the delightful meal you knew you were going to annihilate. Then maybe after dinner Jungkook would mind rubbing your feet cause it felt as if you were walking on 2 water balloons. You tried to look down at your feet to inspect the damage but you were met with the sight of this giant belly. God you were huge. You loved and hated being pregnant at the same time. You loved interacting with baby jeon already, you loved them more than life itself but you would be a big fat liar if you said that having this massive pregnancy bump wasn’t inconvenient and sometimes downright painful.

“Damn babe, are you okay? You should have called me before you left the mall! I would have come and picked you up. And I know, I know you’re gonna complain about your ‘independence’ but am I wrong for not wanting the love of my life and the mother of my child to walk home in the pouring rain”

As you stepped inside your room your thoughts were interrupted by your husbands barrage of words. The only thing you really caught was the sarcastic was he said ‘independence’ and that only soured your mood even further.

“Have you already finished making the Jjajangmyeon?” you asked, jumping strait to your main concern.

“Oh yeah, I forgot it was Tuesday hahah it completely slipped my mind. We can just order in tonight” he chirped with amusement lacing his tone.

He thought this was fucking funny?! Was he fucking serious!

“Jeon Jungkook are you kidding?! Your actually fucking joking, right?!” You yelled.

The amusement in his eyes switched to fear faster than you thought humanly possible. He could tell. He knew, you were enraged.

“Oop, using my full government name, that can’t be good” he joked attempting to lighten the mood but you were having none of it.

“You’re such a fucking asshole, do you know that! Today has been the worst fucking day of my life and your sat here laughing about the one thing that would have redeemed it. You don’t care about me at all, do you? God you are so useless, I ask you to do one thing and you cant even do that. The only fucking thing you seem to listen to is ‘don’t pull out’. Clearly you didn’t have a problem with that instruction”

“Why are you yelling at me?” he questioned attempting to understand where your sudden outburst had come from.

“Because the reason I’m in this mess is because of you! You’re the reason im swollen and in constant pain! You’re the reason people think I look like a whale. I hate you and I hate what you’ve done to my body!”

And soon as the last sentence left your lips you wished you could take them back. You had never said anything like that to him before. Your hands clasped over your mouth as if that could erase from the universe the cruel outburst that had just escaped your body,

Your glassy eyes looked into Jungkook’s eyes as he stared back into yours not even uttering a word but communicating to you how much that hurt him.

“Kookie I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean it! I swear!”

“I know you didn’t” he said in a hushed tone and this was enough to set you off.

Your barrier of rage crumble and the tears finally released themselves from your eyes. You sobbed out all of the frustration and pain you felt in this exact moment and in all the moment you felt this same way but kept it bottled inside.

Damn these hormones

Flood of tears streamed down your face and you felt familiar arms wrap around you and you melted into his embrace. You knew he had forgiven you but that can never excuse what you allowed yourself to say. Especially cause it wasn’t true, nothing you said about him was true. He was loving and attentive and caring. He was your Jungkook and he had kept his promise to be there for you during anything and everything and you loved him.

You stayed silently in his arms for what felt like forever. You wished it was.

“I love you kookie”

“I love you too Y/N”

Jungkook interrupted silent pause

“Also, can I just add, you’re so fucking hot when you’re mad”

You let out a bellowing laugh and gave him a light slap on his chest

“Im serious Y/N, ‘the only fucking thing you seem to listen to is ‘don’t pull out’ has to be the hottest thing you’ve ever said to me. And it made me want to laugh because you’re acting like it was just an impulsive request but we both know you were BEGGING me to cum inside you”

“Jungkook!” You said incredulously.

Honestly, that’s all you could say because…it wasn’t like he was lying.

——————————————————————————————

That was fun! i really enjoyed writing that 🤍 forgive any spelling and or grammar mistakes, i literally wrote this at 3am 😂

- Ryeon （＾∇＾）

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mmmleckerlecker · 3 years

Text

where do we go from here?

hello everyone! if you are reading this, I hope you have read the latest and final chapter of Heart Pangs!

first I wanna start off by saying thank you to… literally everyone. Heart Pangs started off as a fun little idea in my head that I kept thinking about until it became several fun little ideas all smooshed together. I never really intended to write it out as a full novel. I just have a really hard time keeping my ideas (that I like) to myself and ended up typing a good portion of what I had come up with to my friend. at that point, I decided I might as well start typing everything out in full. I ended up being quite pleased with what I was writing, and from there, I figured… I have a vore blog, might as well share it there.

over the course of nearly a year and a half, this blog went from a place where I quietly reblogged content I liked to being a hub for people taking interest in my story and the world I had created. I began receiving asks and pm’s from people reaching out to tell me how they enjoyed my story. many took an interest in the world building. every once in awhile someone would tell me that new chapters every Friday were what would get them through the week. each of these interactions meant the world to me. I knew a vore novel was never really going to get madly popular, but the amount of attention HP has gotten becomes honestly mind-blowing when I start thinking about it too much.

when I made the quiet decision to post Chapter 1 late one October night of 2020, the year from hell, little did I know what sort of snowball effect I was starting. I went from just somewhat lurking on this site and in this community, to meeting so many new people and making so many new friends. I’ve learned so many new things and made connections that I never would have thought possible a year ago.

one of my dreams in life has always been to be an inspiration to someone, particularly though my stories. now I look at all that Heart Pangs has inspired and am filled with joy and pride. so much artwork, fanfictions, edits, and even a few memes. it’s even managed to inspire some others to start their own vore blogs and post their own original content. seeing all the creativity blossom this last year or so has truly been a pleasure.

but enough about all that. what about the question everyone probably came here looking for an answer to? where do we go from here?

well, definitely not very far. the world and characters of HP are firmly lodged in my brain. I have ideas for bonus chapters, one-shots, AU’s, you name it, all floating around in my head. I also have ideas for exploring other stories within this world, particularly in another time period. I think it would be fun to explore a century where the relationship between preds and prey is much different than in HP. I’m not sure how many ideas will be put into written word, but rest assured, there will probably be a few posted in the future.

also! I plan to post an rp my friend and I did way back when featuring Lux and a prey OC of theirs. it just… needs some cleaning up. I think maybe some of y’all will like it tho! we did it pretty early on and it really helped me figure out Lux as a character. it’s also the origin of the grocery store, Sprockets, which is mentioned off-handly twice within the text of HP. BUT ALSO, more importantly, it’s the place of origin for one Cecil Scarberry. so I hope that piques some people’s interest.

surprisingly, however, I do actually have ideas completely unrelated to HP that would be relevant to this blog. now that I have more time on my hands, I might actually get to write and post them. not sure if they’ll ever be able to match up to the attention I’ve gotten with HP, but if you like the themes I included there, some of y’all might be interested in some of my other ideas.

AND FINALLY! I have been spending a lot of time contemplating self-publishing Heart Pangs. more for me than anything. I would be quite happy to have a solid copy of this story to put on my shelf. but, of course, in case anyone else is interested, I will make sure to keep this blog updated with info on that. this probably won’t be a fully realized thing for awhile, however. I would like to spend extra time proofreading, editing, and even re-writing parts of all 70 chapters of this novel before I put it permanently put on page. but I really, really would like to make it happen, so we’ll see.

thank you all so much for the love and support these past 70 weeks. y’all are the real reason I was able to make it this far. and now… I must rest for a time. when I emerge from my slumber, I’ll hopefully be refreshed and ready to go with more of that sweet, sweet content

Ado!

#is this post unnecessarily long?#yes yes of course #y’all should know by now that Very Long is simply The Lecker Way #but! I hope some of y’all read and feel my love and joy <33

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space-blue · 3 years

Note

hey! first things first, I love your writing. the way you manage to keep every single characterization consistent is just *chefs kiss* and I really like your writing style! seeing you've updated always makes me smile:)

and second, I was wondering whether it would be okay to borrow some of your arcane related ocs, (like Talia and Mek and others you mention in your stories) and write about them or include them in my stories? (crediting you as their creator of course)

Thank you so much for your appreciation! Don't mind me being weird, I don't get that many cute anons complimenting my writing. It's a real joy to see so many people enjoying the story that started as a way to heal from the gut-wrenching experience Arcane season 1 was. Gives me the feeling sometimes that I'm some kind of modern day shaman, that my early followers have all joined in order to run away from canon and benefit from this healing ritual where everything will be just a little better, just a little less like a kick in the spiritual balls.

I hope you enjoy where the story goes!

As for OCs, of course! First off, Mek isn't a real OC

He's got a model and a presence, more so than most henchmen. If you want to adopt the name Mek, you have more than my blessing, you have my benediction. Having the fandom adopt the name you made for a character is bananas levels of giddy satisfaction.

IDK who first called Dooku in Star Wars "Yan", but I bet they still feel a blissful glow whenever they read a fic with "Yan Dooku" in it (I wonder if this mighty Senpai read mine?) I'd love to be them, stumble on a fic that gives Mek the time of day. I'd cackle and preen, most likely, and give my flatmate a hard time.

If you want to depict him as I do in my fics, you're also more than welcome to! I'm not hung up on such details. I feel like being part of fandom means that we're all playing with the same toys. Since we're already using someone else's to begin with, it'd be in bad taste if I took offense when people use the ones I create!

This being said, I'm not done working with Mek, and he gets a twist reveal on his role in Silco's gang that I'm looking forward to sprinkle in a couple of different stories, but won't hit F&D for another month.

That brings me to my point : you should feel free to make them your OC too. Mek doesn't have to be Silco's oldest follower, and he doesn't have to be his spy master. That's just my take on him. You're welcome to call him Mek and make him a bruiser.

As for Talia... Again, you're welcome to make Sevika's older sis Talia, and credit would be lovely.

But she's supposed to get fleshed out in the (future, upcoming, I swear) chapters of Son of Zaun. In the meantime she's a total nobody. Maybe I can try to do an OC ask game or something to flesh her out, if that'd be interesting to you... But in general I make my OCs the same way I write :

I'm a hardcore pantser, so my creative process is very much staring at a blank Ulysses page and letting the words flow out. I write dialogue like a conversation I'm overhearing in the back of my mind. I don't like defining OCs ahead of time the same way I don't like planning or plotting. It makes me feel trapped and rigid. It makes me lose interest. Less so with OCs but... Let's say I'm not actually curious about them.

I don't have a desire of understanding them better. I get to know them when I put them in a situation in my story and they just... react a certain way. It's more like they reveal themselves.

If my writing process were a car, it would be like this :

So, basically, what I'm trying to say... Is that Talia is a nobody now, but in a week she might end up being this very detailed person, with weird hobbies and relationship to Silco, and turn out to be nothing like the OC you've made. You have to be OK with that, because as you can see above, I'm not driving the car.

Make Talia her own person! Or wait for me to make something more of her. Up to you! Either way I'm delighted to see you loving my OCs, and happy for them to be adopted.

We're all just playing on the endless sand pit of fandom. If you wanna play with my toys I'd love to gift them to you!

#ask #anon #arcane #fanfic

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somerandomdutchfangirl · 3 years

Text

Hetalia Family Week - Day 1: Hobbies

This is my entry for @hetafamilyweek day 1 - hobbies (and hugs)

Summary: They didn't have time for family hangouts often, with them being nations and all that, but whenever they did, it was safe to say it was the most fun any of them would have that week.

Sometimes, they would just go for a coffee or lunch or have a picnic. Other times, they would binge-watch a series while cuddling on the couch. And then, there were times like this.

This has also been posted to my a03!

Disclaimer: the opinions of the characters aren’t necessarily the authors opinion. Also, some of the sentences have been translated with Google Translate. If there is any mistake, please let me know and I'll fix as soon as possible! The translations are at the end.

Names used:

Willem = Netherlands

Femke = Belgium

Laurent = Luxembourg

Antonio = Spain

Matthew = Canada

Abel = Holland, @starflight-blog oc

Sjoerd = Friesland, @starflight-blog oc

Lieke = Groningen, @starflight-blog oc

Relevant headcanons time!

- Femke owns a cat named Mika

- Matthew and Willem are married (see end notes for more info)

- Matthew uses he/they pronouns

:readmore:

They didn't have time for family hangouts often, with them being nations and all that, but whenever they did, it was safe to say it was the most fun any of them would have that week.

Sometimes, they would just go for a coffee or lunch or have a picnic. Other times, they would binge-watch a series while cuddling on the couch. And then, there were times like this.

"Can't you two sit still for like five minutes? If you want this painting to actually look good, you're gonna have to let me actually have time to paint you!"

"What if we want it to look like Picasso?"

"Laurent, hoepel een eind op, Picasso sucks and so do his paintings."

"Don't let Antonio hear you say that."

"Antonio can go fuck himself."

"Guys, let's keep this fun, alright? I want to enjoy this day," Femke chimed in. Willem huffed but didn't complain further. Laurent grinned and continued composing a piece for the harp standing next to him.

(When Laurent had led them towards his "inspiration room" as he liked to call it, which was just a room filled with instruments, art supplies and more, both siblings had been filled with dread at the thought of Laurent playing the tuba, or god forbid, the trombone. Willem had said: "Laurent, I swear to god, if you're going to play the tuba or the trombone, I'm going to throw both you and the instrument out of the nearest window." To which Laurent had been a smartass and replied, "Can you even lift all that weight though?" That had ended up in a chase through the house that ended when Femke tackle-hugged both.)

The comfortable silence continued for a while, broken only by the occasional sigh from one of the siblings or Laurent trying the piece on the harp.

"Hey, Fem," Laurent walked up to her while he was taking a quick break, "What're you making?"

"Well, I'm trying to embroider our pets, but this stitch just won't work, godverdomme-"

"Maybe you should take a break and come back to it later? It's getting late anyway, we should eat dinner soon," Laurent suggested. Femke nodded. When no conformation came from Willem, they turned to him.

"Hey, earth to Willem! Did you hear what we just said?" Laurent asked, walking up to him and quickly stopping next to him. "Nondikass!" He exclaimed. "Willem, that looks amazing! How'd you do that in such a short time?!"

Femke, now curious, walked up to her brothers and peeked over their shoulders. "What the fuck, Willem," she gaped at the painting in front of her. It was clearly her and Laurent doing their respective hobbies, with beautiful lighting and background. The vibrant colours of the front of the painting was a stark contrast to the background, which had much softer tones. "You told us you were rusty! What part of this is rusty?!"

Willem, who was now looking more like a tomato, opened his mouth, no doubt to point out all the things that were wrong with it, but Laurent cut him off. "Nope, Mr. Perfectionist, you're not pointing out all the imperfections of this, and that's final. This is a masterpiece, seriously. Don't give me that look!"

"You know," Femke mused, "I might actually hang this in my house once it's dry."

"Guys," Willem said, flustered, "It's not that good. Really. Thanks for the compliments, but-"

"No buts!" Femke exclaimed at the same time Laurent yelled: "Not that good?!"

"Yeah, it's... the colour's off, the perspective is weird, and-"

"I am this close to actually strangling you with your scarf, Willem," Femke cut him off, her hands on her hips. "So what if it isn't perfect? That doesn't make it look any less amazing! I'll tell you what, we're gonna take a break, then we're going to come back here, and you'll see how amazing this actually looks."

Willem looked at her for a few seconds before sighing. "Fine..."

"Now don't go around brooding like that, it's no fun," Laurent said while shooting Femke a quick thumbs-up. Femke grinned.

"Now, come on! I'll make waffles!"

---

"Hey, Matthew replied!" Laurent exclaimed, effectively cutting off Willems' story on the antics of Abel and Sjoerd.

(Apparently, they had gotten into a fight over who had the most creative curse words. This had ended in Abel singing along to the curse word song in Dutch, until Lieke walked in. Sjoerd had promptly slapped a hand over Abel's mouth to stop him from ‘tainting Lieke's innocence’. It was weird.)

"What do you mean?" Willem asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, dearest brother of mine," Laurent replied with a shit-eating grin, which did absolutely nothing to ease Willem's worries. "Because you didn't seem too convinced by us literally shouting how amazing your painting was, we decided to send a picture to Matthew-"

"You what?!"

"-to see what he thinks of it," Laurent continued, unfazed. "Since, you know, you seem to care a lot about what they think, about as much as you care about what we think? I mean I would hope so, considering we're your siblings, but-"

"You're getting off track, Laurent," Femke cut him off. "Anyway, we figured that if anyone other than us would manage to convince you that your painting is amazing, it's gonna be Matthew."

"I-"

"Don't even try to deny it. We went to your wedding, remember? We know how much you care about him. Which is a good thing, by the way. So, Laurent, what did they say?"

"Well, there's an all-caps keysmash, followed by an all-caps 'what?!'. Scratch that, basically everything is in caps. So, the general train of thought is 'what the fuck, this is beautiful, how the fuck did he do this, he calls this rusty?!' And finally, 'I love it 10/10 would hang in my living room and/or show off to my family and friends. It's beautiful and I'll physically fight him on that.'"

"Awww, that's so sweet! See, Willy, your painting truly is amazing!" Femke, sporting a somehow genuine but shit-eating grin, patted her brother on the back. Said brother had his head in his hands and may or may not be crying.

"I hate you two," came the muffled reply with no real heat behind it. Femke and Laurens laughed.

"We love you too, you softie! Now come on, who's ready to spend more time together!" Femke cheered, already halfway across the room.

---

"Jezus Christus, Femke, that looks amazing!" Willem said, looking at the embroidery his sister had made. It pictured their pets, Pelutze, Mika, and Nijntje.

"Aww, thanks Willem!"

"Wait, let me see- wow, sis, this is really good! I love it!"

"Thank you, Lau! By the way, is your composition nearly finished? I want to hear it!"

"Me too, actually."

"Well, it's not done yet, but I can play what I have so far?"

"Yes please!" Femke smiled.

Laurent sat down and started playing the piece of music he had written on the harp. Moving his fingers delicately along the strings, the beautiful melody carried along the room. Once he was done, he looked up.

"So... what did you think- Femke are you okay?!"

"Yeah, sorry, it's just... it's so beautiful!" Femke cried, flinging herself at Laurent and crushing him in a hug.

"I agree with Femke, it was wonderful," Willem chimed in, walking over to his siblings. Femke quickly included him in the hug.

"You two are so talented, what the hell!"

"Fem, you're crushing me," Laurent gasped. "And don't you dare exclude yourself, have you seen what you just made?!"

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts, remember," Willem said, parroting her words back to her with a smirk.

"Why are you like this?"

Willem laughed at this. "You still love me despite it, though!"

"That's not an answer!"

"Is it not?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Guys, please stop. This is a stupid argument," Laurent rolled his eyes.

"Rolling your eyes at us? How rude, Lau," Willem said, locking him in a headlock and ruffling his hair.

"Hey, let me go!"

"Hmmm, let's see... Nope."

"Oh, come on! Fem, help me out here!"

Femke just laughed in response.

"Betrayal!" Laurent screeched, struggling to get out of his brother's headlock. Femke just laughed harder in response, almost falling over.

"You know, you could always just say the magic word to get out."

"The magic- What am I, five?"

"You certainly act like it sometimes."

"Fëck dech."

"Real mature, Laurent."

"Oh, like asking for the magic word is so mature."

"Absolutely. I haven't heard it yet, by the way. Femke, are you doing alright?" Willem asked, as his sister was now lying on the floor, tears streaming down her face. Gasping for air, she shook no.

"Seems like you'd better let me go before we make Femke choke," Laurent commented. Willem tsk-ed.

"Fine, fine. Fem, get up," he said, letting Laurent out of the headlock and extending a hand towards Femke.

"Give- give me a... minute," she said, still gasping for air. After she managed to get enough air in her lungs and not burst out laughing after she saw her brothers standing in front of her with worried (albeit semi-irritated) looks, she finally took Willem's offered hand.

"You two are utter morons."

Willem gasped. "Are you hearing this, Laurent? Slander, complete and utter slander!"

"Well, she's right about one of us, and it isn't me."

"Laurent, ik tyf je de Noordzee in als je niet ophoudt-"

"Try me, old man-"

"Who're you calling old you little-"

''Oh for- hou uw bakkes! If this becomes another argument, I will smother both of you!''

''You wouldn't dare,'' Willem said. After a beat of silence and a fierce glare from Femke, he added: ''Would you?''

''I don't know, why don't you find out?''

''Fem, you're scaring me a bit here,'' Laurent said nervously. Femke hummed. Laurent looked at Willem, wide-eyed. Willem just looked back and shrugged.

''Could you even reach me though?'' Willem, who apparently had a death wish, asked.

Femke whipped around, glaring at her brother. Willem just glared back.

''Guys, no, no one's getting killed today,'' Laurent interjected. ''This is supposed to be a fun family meeting, remember? If there's any way anyone's going down,'' he added on, a devilish grin on his face as he slowly inched closer to his still glaring siblings, ''It's going to be this way!'' he yelled as he quickly poked Willem in his side, who immediately yelped and tried to get away. To no avail, because Femke quickly latched onto his arm and started poking him in his side too.

''No, Fem, wait- What did I do to deserve this?!''

''Well, uh... you took the last waffle?''

''Are you asking me, or-'' Willem started to ask, then yelped again as his siblings started to tickle him.

''No! Please, mercy!''

''Hmmm, Lau, what do you think? Should we stop?'' Femke asked, looking at her younger brother.

''I don’t know, Fem,'' Laurent answered back, devilish grin still on his face. ''He hasn’t said the magic word yet.''

''Godverdomme, natuurlijk is dat het antwoord. Kut! Laurens, stop!''

''Hmm, let me think. Nee.''

Femke snickered. ''He looks like a worm, wiggling like that.''

''How the fuck-''

''Oh my god you're so right,'' Laurent said. ''Willem the worm,'' he started to say, but burst out laughing halfway through. Femke laid on top of Willem, wheezing. Willem, meanwhile, looked absolutely mortified.

''You two are so immature,'' he said.

''Says the guy currently laying on the floor because he's ticklish.''

''I will strangle you,'' Willem threatened.

''Try me, bit- Hey!'' Laurent started to say, before Willem had reached forward and pulled him besides him.

''You know, this is actually surprisingly comfortable,'' Femke commented after a beat of silence.

''No, you're heavy. Get off me- Lau don't you dare lay on top of Femke or I swear- oof!''

''Hmm? What was that?''

''I'll kill you.''

''Aw, we love you too!''

''... Ugh, fine, if I say it, will you get off?''

''Maybe!''

''You two are gremlins, oh my god. Fine, I love you too.''

''He said it! Lau, he said it!''

''Yeah yeah, we all heard it. Now get off me.''

''I mean... technically I never promised I'd get off-''

''Off. Now. Or I'll never bring you stroopwafels again.''

This earned him a scandalized gasp from both of his siblings.

''You’re so mean! How dare you deprive us of stroopwafels?!''

''You can't do that!''

''You two are impossible. I said off,'' Willem complained, trying to sit up. Which was hard, considering Femke was literally laying on top of him.

''Say the magic word first.''

''Are you serious right now? Femke, we are not five.''

''So?''

''... Fine. Femke, can you please get the fuck off me?''

''Fine, close enough,'' she said as she got off Willem, who immediately took a deep breath.

''Finally, oh sweet air how much I've missed you.''

''You’re so weird. Anyway,'' Femke said, turning towards Laurent. ''You recorded the whole thing, right?''

Laurent laughed and rolled his eyes. ''Like you had to ask.''

Willem gaped at them, before jumping up. ''Godver- Laurent give that camera here, right now!''

''No, I don’t want to. I must say this is great blackmail material.''

''Laurent, als je nu niet die camera hier geeft, dan-''

''Du muss mech als éischt fänken!''

Needless to say, Willem ended up chasing Laurent through the house, Femke following closely behind. In the end, all three of them ended up in a dogpile on the couch, laughing. Yeah, family meetings were fun indeed.

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

Translations:

Hoepel een eind op (Dutch) = a nice(ish) way of saying ‘fuck off’ or ‘go away’

Godverdomme (Dutch, Flemish) = goddammit

Nondikass (Luxembourgish) = used as an exclaimation, meaning something like ‘damn’.

Jezus Christus (Dutch) = Jesus Christ

Fëck dech (Luxembourgish) = Screw you

Ik tyf je de Noordzee in als je niet ophoudt (Dutch) = I will throw you into the North Sea if you don't stop. (The word ‘tyf’ is pretty rude though, albeit used by a lot of teens in my experience, so I would not recommend going around actually saying this.)

Hou uw bakkes (Flemish) = shut up

Godverdomme, natuurlijk is dat het antwoord. Kut! (Dutch) = ‘Goddammit, of course that's the answer. Fuck!’ (even though the word 'kut’ doesn’t mean ‘fuck’, it's used as a replacement pretty often. The more accurate translation would be ‘vagina’, as that is literally what it means, but it's used as a curse word more often than not.)

Nee (Dutch, Flemish, Luxembourgish) = No

Laurent, als je nu niet die camera hier geeft, dan- = Laurent, if you don't give me the camera right now, then-

Du muss mech als éischt fänken! (Luxembourgish) = youre gonna have to catch me first!

Stroopwafels are a Dutch delicacy, I love them so much. Basically, they’re waffles with syrup in between. Google them for examples and probably a better explanation.

I am physically incapable of not adding in a sprinkle of NedCan. I'm sorry (but actually not really,, as stated, Willem and Matthew are married so technically Matthew is family- *gets smacked*)

The ending is more crack and longer than I intended because I have no self-control. Sue me.

Moral of the story: don't anger short ppl. They’re angrier cuz they’re closer to hell-

Yes Willem is ticklish, I said what I said.

Bonus scene: ''Wait, so if Willem is a worm, would Matthew be like... a moose?''

''I am begging you two to stop. Laurent, stop laughing!''

#hetafamilyweek2021 #aph benelux #aph netherlands #aph belgium #aph luxembourg #hetalia #hws netherlands #hws belgium #hws luxembourg #aph friesland #aph holland #aph groningen #fanfic #fanfiction #fluff #sibling banter #somerandomdutchfangirl #somerandomdutchartist

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