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punkshort · 2 months

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Swept Away | Chapter 4: Tropical Heat

Pairing: sugardaddy!Joel Miller x f!reader

Chapter Summary: The first day on Glenn's yacht is much more dramatic than you originally expect.

Chapter Warnings: language, slow burn, sugar daddy/baby vibes, food and alcohol consumption, intoxication, reader gets drunk and snippy, mentions of past infidelity, flirting, sexual tension, jealousy, one tiny daddy reference, nausea/vomiting, joel gets mean but he makes up for it (he sucks at feelings)

WC: 8.5K

Series Masterlist

"I'm so excited for tomorrow. Glenn's yacht is supposed to be massive. Like, full crew, multiple levels. The type you'd usually charter but he actually owns it." Zoe sighed dreamily next to you at the hotel salon. You were listening but your eyes were pinned on your nails, watching as the technician managed to make your hands look like they were out of a catalogue in less than an hour.

"Yeah, that - it sounds really cool," you replied. "Should be fun. Joel said there's some tiny islands we might check out or something."

Zoe nodded excitedly. "Zach said there's one called Monu Island. We're supposed to have dinner there the first night."

"Dinner? How?" you asked. She looked at you like you had two heads.

"The crew brings the stuff to shore for us and cooks?" she said as if she were explaining how to ride a bike. Shit. You probably should have known something like that if you were pretending to be in the upper, upper class.

"Oh, yeah, I knew that," you said with a nervous laugh, "I meant how are they going to get us off that yacht? The more I keep hearing about it, the harder it's going to be to pull me away from it."

Zoe giggled and you inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Maybe you can convince Joel buy one for yourselves. He can certainly afford it," she told you with a wink.

"Yeah, and Zach can't?"

She shrugged, smile still stretched across her face but you could see something shifting in her eyes. "Can I tell you something?"

You nodded and leaned a little closer.

"I don't think Zach's doing very well. Business-wise."

Your eyes widened, encouraging her to continue.

"I don't know for sure, but I have overheard a few conversations and I get the feeling if he doesn't win this bid, his hotel chain is done for."

"Oh, no," you breathed, brows crinkling with concern. "Zoe, I'm so sorry."

She gave you a confused look but quickly recovered. "Oh, thanks. It's no big deal, you know. I'll be just fine."

What did that mean? Zoe would be just fine if Zach went bankrupt? How?

You wanted to press her further but you could tell the door closed. She was looking down at her freshly manicured nails with a huge smile then held them up to your face and wiggled them around.

"What do you think?"

She had picked a white nail polish with a faint hint of sparkle. The color did look very nice against her tanned skin and you told her so right when your technician released your hands, announcing you were all set. Pulling your fingers from the blue light, you admired them up close.

"Alright, I'll admit it. I questioned your color choice before but damn, that looks so pretty on you," Zoe said enviously as she examined your hot pink nails with a glitter top coat.

"Thanks," you gushed, hardly able to tear your eyes away after you left the salon and headed for the elevators. You could count on one hand how many times you ever got your nails done in the past and it was always for a special occasion: prom, a wedding... maybe once when someone got you a gift certificate for Christmas. It felt like such a treat and it gave you a nice little confidence boost.

You waved to Zoe when she got off on her floor, vowing to see each other in the morning bright and early on the dock, then rode the elevator the rest of the way to your floor.

It was difficult to contain your excitement when you entered the room, but you remained quiet because you heard Joel's voice carrying from the living room. He had someone on speaker who was discussing budgets and employee turnover so you snuck past him and headed towards your room to pack.

How much does one person need for two days? Not a lot, probably. But you weren't very clear on the dress code. Was this going to be casual? You already noticed if Glenn organizes the parties, the vibe is much more relaxed but Mary tends to make it a little more formal when she handles things.

After packing a swimsuit, two coverups, one set of pajamas (which you agonized over when you remembered you would be sharing a bed with Joel), and three different options for daytime wear, you went back out into the living room to see if Joel would know what you should pack for the evenings.

"Joel?" you asked softly when you spotted him sitting quietly on the couch with his eyes closed. He tilted his head to the side and slowly opened his eyes. "Are you okay?" you asked. He nodded and stood with a groan.

"Just tired," he said right when his laptop chirped with two new emails. He began to walk towards the table but you were closer. You bravely closed his laptop with two fingers and he froze.

"C'mon, what're you doin'?" he asked, taking another step, but you shook your head and leaned forward, resting your weight on the arm that was holding his computer closed.

"You need to take a break," you told him firmly. He scowled and crossed his arms.

"I'll be takin' a break when we're on the damn yacht."

"Taking a break on the weekend is a given. You work around the clock, Joel, you need to slow down."

"I don't got time for this," he told you with a shake of his head. "I'm busy, I got a company to run."

"Well that's just too bad because I have dresses to try on and I need help picking ones to pack," you told him just as sternly. His eyes flickered up to yours and you could practically see the gears in his head turning. "I think that's far more important than some emails, don't you think?"

His mouth twitched and you could see his face soften and you knew you had him.

"Fine. Ten minutes," he relented. You grinned and skipped off to your room, and only when your back was turned did he allow himself to smile.

Joel sat patiently on your bed while you tried on the handful of dresses you grabbed and put in the bathroom, waltzing back into your room every few minutes with a new one to show him.

"Darlin', I already told you. You look good in all of these."

"Yeah, but which ones are your favorites?" you pressed, doing a little twirl so he could see the back of the pink dress you were currently wearing. "And what will we be doing? Like, how formal are these evenings going to be?"

He shook his head, his eyes glued to the curve of your back when you spun around again. "Not that formal. One night we'll be on the beach, the other night just on the deck."

You nodded and tapped your chin with your finger. Any of the dresses you had would do now that he told you it wasn't that formal, but you were pushing twenty minutes of no laptop or cell phone useage and you really wanted him to take a longer break from work, so you had an idea.

"Okay, just one more. I'll be right back," you told him, scurrying off to the bathroom to slip into a deep purple dress that just so happened to be the shortest one in the bunch by a mile. You weren't sure what Joel's assistant was thinking buying you something so short and tight. When you looked in the mirror, the fabric clung to your curves, leaving very little to the imagination with only two thin spaghetti straps to hold it up.

Obviously it was too inappropriate to wear on the yacht, but that didn't stop you from taking a deep, nervous breath and strolling back into your bedroom with what you hoped was an air of innocence.

He was leaning back on his elbows when you walked in, eyes drifting around your room and taking note of the items you kept on your nightstand, but when he saw what you were wearing he straightened right up.

"What do you think?" you asked as you twirled, but that time you made sure to take it slow.

"It's, uh..." his throat when dry when he saw how perfectly the dress hugged your ass and he had to clear his throat. "Nice," he finally managed to say. You fought back a smirk when you heard the strain in his voice.

"Yeah?" you asked, looking down at the dress. "I don't know, the material is a little rough."

Joel swallowed when you ran your hands slowly down the fabric, your palms traversing over your soft curves, making his fingers twitch.

As if you read his mind, you looked back up at him with a little pout and asked, "you wanna feel?"

Without hesitation, he spread his knees and beckoned you over with two fingers. You grinned and stepped forward, stopping when you stood between his legs, his mouth mere inches away from your stomach.

You could feel his hot breath through the dress and you had to suppress a tingle down your spine, but when he lifted his hands to cup the backs of your bare thighs, you couldn't hide your reaction that time. You made a little noise in the back of your throat when his fingers squeezed your legs and he looked up at you, eyes so dark and filled with lust that it took your breath away.

"This okay?"

"Mhmm," you hummed, your hands coming up to his shoulders so you could balance yourself. His fingers inched up your legs slowly, tentatively exploring without giving into his deepest desires. But fuck... if he wanted to, you would have let him.

He slid his hands up the sides of your thighs, his fingers catching a bit on the hem of your dress before reaching your hips. He caressed the material there with both hands, each of you still pretending as if the fabric of the dress was any concern.

"See what I mean?" you whispered. Slowly, he nodded, but his eyes remained pinned on your body, his gaze drinking in every inch of you, committing you to memory.

"Fuck, you look good," he murmured as if it pained him, letting the facade slip for a moment. Your heart fluttered in your chest and you began to play with the curls on the back of his head. He tilted his chin to look up at you, his lips parted and his cheeks a little flushed. Nothing else had happened since that afternoon in the ocean when he kissed you other than leaving you completely confused about the nature of your relationship. But in that moment, you couldn't care less. All you wanted was to feel his lips on yours again, to feel that spark of electricity over your skin, so you leaned down a fraction, your gaze flicking from his eyes to his lips, making your intention crystal clear.

Just as you were about to brush your lips against his, he pulled his head away and dropped his hands. Immediately, you straightened back up, embarrassment warming your face while you tried to figure out what you did wrong.

"We can't," was all he said, eyes drifting to look everywhere except at you. You nodded and quickly stepped back, shame coursing through your veins.

"I'm sorry," you said, your voice cracking a bit. You cleared your throat and repeated yourself then hurried out of the room to get changed.

Joel called your name, asking you to come back, but you were too ashamed. Instead, you slipped back into the bathroom and practically ripped the purple dress off out of anger, vowing to tuck it way back into the depths of your closet so you wouldn't have to look at it the entire rest of the trip.

By the following morning, you forced yourself to brush off the awkwardness with Joel from the day before. You had three more weeks to spend with him pretending to be his fianceé and you refused to let one uncomfortable situation dictate the rest of your time there. So you plastered on a big smile for him the next morning when you exited your room with your bags in each hand. You could tell he wasn't sure how to react. He tiptoed lightly around you, making sure he didn't even accidentally touch you as you both moved around the hotel room collecting everything you would need.

In the elevator ride down to the lobby, he tried to bring it up but you cut him off before he could even finish his sentence.

"Did you remember your seasick medication?"

He floundered for a moment, scanning your face for any sign of bitterness, but he found none. If you wanted to pretend it never happened, that was fine by him.

"Yeah," he finally said, and you nodded before turning to stare straight ahead at the closed elevator doors.

He didn't try to mention it again.

When you arrived at the dock with the sun just beginning to peek over the water, casting the ocean in a beautiful golden hue, you felt your mood instantly improve. You were in fucking paradise and nothing was going to ruin that for you.

The crew was loading up your belongings and you were chatting with Glenn and Mary about how excited you were when Glenn's phone pinged in his hand.

He tugged his glasses out of his shirt pocket so he could read the text and he let out a disappointed groan.

"Ian's got food poisoning, Harry says," he told the three of you, "they can't make it. That's a damn shame."

"Oh, that's terrible. I hope it's not too serious," Mary said sympathetically.

You heard the telltale sound of heels tapping on the wooden planks behind you and you turned around to see the rest of the couples, along with Trevor and Brooks, arriving. The crew hurried past to assist with their bags and for the first time all day, Joel wrapped an arm around your waist. Your muscles stiffened at first and he felt it. Guilt washed over him before he cleared his throat and lifted his other hand in greeting. Zoe spotted you and waved excitedly, her energy just as infectious in the early morning hours.

When you spotted Tammy a few yards behind Zoe, your smile faltered a bit. You still hadn't brought up what you learned to Joel. Did you even have a right to know about his past with Tammy? You thought you did given how it could blow your cover, but maybe it was just gossip.

Still, it got under your skin.

When Zoe greeted you with a hug, you caught the look of distaste Tammy shot to Lynne before turning her head to gaze out over the ocean. It couldn't just be in your head at this point. There was definitely something going on with these women that you were not privy to yet.

Joel took your hand and lead you aboard the yacht, once again feeling the discomfort at his touch radiating off you.

He handled everything all wrong, he knew that almost immediately. It was all his fault. He was weak that day in the ocean and couldn't stop himself from kissing you, and now you were confused and hurt, but there was a reason he didn't want a traditional sugar baby agreement. He needed to keep his eye on the prize and stay focused, not standing there pretending to admire the lavish sitting room Glenn was showing everyone while wondering if you were wearing the lingerie he purchased for you.

How the hell did you manage to weave your way into his psyche so fast?

After the tour of the yacht, which was luxurious and had three levels, you were shown your private rooms, all of which included your own bathroom and a window so you could admire the sea from bed.

Joel ticked his jaw to the side as he looked around while you began to unpack a few of your things.

"I can sleep on the floor," he said. Your back was to him but he saw your hands freeze inside your bag before you took a deep breath and continued to pull out your toiletries.

"Don't be ridiculous. We can manage two nights in the same bed."

Even though you couldn't see him, he nodded anyway. He should just say it. Say he's sorry. Sorry for all of it. Sorry for leading you on, sorry for hurting your feelings, sorry for staring at your legs and wondering what they would feel like wrapped around his head.

The guests slowly made their way into the indoor sitting area once they settled in. If there wasn't an entire wall made of glass so you could look out the back of the yacht, you would have thought you were in another mansion. The carpet was plush and white under your feet. When you saw how pristine it was, you almost wanted to ask if you should take your sandals off, but instead you took Joel's lead and left them on.

There were three long, white couches that formed a U shape around a large, cherry wood coffee table. Above your heads the ceiling was dotted and lined with soft lights, giving the whole room a very warm and inviting glow. Abstract art hung on the walls but there wasn't much space: any wall that bordered the sea was made of glass. And across from the couches, built up against an interior wall was a bar that appeared to be stocked with every liquor and mixer known to man.

The crew had poured glasses of champagne and mimosas and left them on the bar. They were standing at attention against the wall near the kitchen, waiting to jump into action if need be.

Joel picked up two mimosas and handed you one. You nearly declined when you noted the early hour but decided to take it anyway with a quiet thanks.

"Meant to tell you, I like your nails," Joel said, pointing to your fingers wrapped around your glass. You gave him a small smile before looking back down at your glittery, hot pink nails.

"Thanks," you said, wishing you felt as excited about them as you were yesterday.

Glenn clapped his hands loudly, commanding the attention of the room. He let everyone know breakfast would be served on the dining room on the deck in ten minutes and encouraged people to grab a drink before heading out.

The moment the glass doors were opened, your senses were overcome with fresh, sea-salt air and an occasional fine mist that was being vented above the partially enclosed area.

Everyone found a seat around the square table that was already set with beautiful white plates trimmed in gold with matching bowls and mugs. When the crew began to place trays of fruit, baked goods, meats, eggs, and yogurt on the table, you leaned into Joel and tapped his shoulder.

"Did you take your medicine?" you whispered.

He smiled and put his glass down so he could fish the bottle of pills from his pocket.

"Thank you. That woulda been ugly," he joked, making you giggle before reaching for the tray of fruit. His chest warmed at the sound, pleased to see you smiling again but damn near giddy that he was the one to make you laugh.

You weren't terribly hungry but you nibbled at some fruit and yogurt, knowing you should at least try to eat something if you were expected to keep up with the way the group drank.

After about an hour at the table where you nursed the same mimosa Joel had given you earlier, Glenn stood up and suggested the men go to the top floor for cigars and poker.

"Looks like it's just us, ladies," Mary said gleefully when all the men began to place their cloth napkins on the table and, collecting their own drinks, stood to follow Glenn up the stairs.

"You good?" Joel asked softly before he left. You quickly nodded and shooed him off. You were still feeling rather vulnerable from being shot down the day before but you could feel yourself coming around. Maybe some distance and distraction would help.

If only you knew what the day had in store.

By noon the sun was blazing, the heat seared your skin as you laid out on your lounge chair with the other women. You could smell the faint hint of cigar smoke and hear the laughter from the men up above, but you couldn't see them from where you were. Occasionally you would hear Joel's voice, his southern twang becoming deeper and louder the more he drank and you found yourself smiling.

You were at least three drinks deep and you felt completely relaxed. All your concerns drifted away, getting twisted in the breeze and floating over the water. You even managed to find Tammy somewhat tolerable as you listened to her tell the group about her teenage son and a girl he was dating.

Maybe Zoe was wrong. Maybe it was just a rumor. Tammy seemed to be happy and fulfilled. She had what appeared to be a very strong marriage with Scott and they had two boys. By all accounts, they appeared to be a very happy family.

"I think I'm gonna take a break in the shade," Zoe announced, fanning herself while she picked up her things.

"Okay, dear. There should be chilled bottles of water out but if not, just ask the bartender. He can get you whatever you need," Mary told her while she adjusted her enormous sun hat.

"I think I'll join you," you said, suddenly feeling like your mouth was coated in sand. You couldn't even remember drinking any water since the hotel that morning.

The three other women waved politely when you stood and followed Zoe back inside where the air conditioning embraced you like an old friend.

"Oh, god, that feels nice," you groaned. The room was empty except for one bartender who was taking stock of the liquor with a clipboard. He quickly set it aside when Zoe approached and asked for two waters. You picked a couch and set your things down next to you with a sigh, then thanked Zoe when she handed you a frosted glass bottle of water.

Both of you practically chugged your respective drinks in under a minute, then giggled when you realized how crazy you must have looked.

"We gotta pace ourselves," Zoe said with a grin and a shake of her head. "It's gonna be a long night. Zach said we aren't supposed to reach the island til six, and with the time it will take for the crew to set up and cook, we'll be eating dinner late."

"That means we'll be getting back here even later," you said, finishing her thought.

She nodded and tossed her hair over her shoulder, her eyes a little glassy and her cheeks a little pink, either from the sun or alcohol or both. But based on the way she couldn't stop laughing at the smallest thing, you suspected alcohol was the bigger reason. When she glanced at you and erupted into a fit of giggles again without having to say a word, you knew for sure she was a little past tipsy.

"What?" you laughed, her silly mood too contagious to resist.

"Nothing, nothing," she said with a wave, then seemed to think about it for a second before giving you a mischievous grin and leaned forward, cupping her hand around her mouth in an attempt to muffle her voice, but it didn't work.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

You shrugged and nodded. "Sure."

She giggled again, slapping her palm over her mouth and tucking her chin against her chest. You frowned and laughed at how ridiculous she was acting and wondered what on earth she was about to say.

She cupped her hand over her mouth again and whispered loudly, "how is Joel in bed?"

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise at her question. Instantly, images and daydreams of what you thought Joel would be like in bed flashed across your mind. What the weight of his body would feel like pressed against yours, pushing you into the mattress. How his lips would feel wrapped around your nipple, his teeth teasing and pinching your skin. Would he kiss you slow and deep or passionate and needy? Would he groan your name when he buried his cock deep inside you? What was his favorite position?

All these things and more you had found yourself wondering more times than you could count since a few days ago in the ocean. He had completely taken over your mind to the point where you could hardly remember the girl you were when you first met, sitting in his office ready to storm out because of his abrupt and seemingly unpleasant nature.

You cleared your throat as you bought some time to scrounge up a lie.

"He's... good. Really good," you added. She nodded excitedly and rolled her wrist, urging you to continue. "He's attentive and... he doesn't rush." You could feel your cheeks heating up when you realized you were just telling her what you wished he was like, what you wished any of the men you had been with were like, only to always fall short in some way or another. "I'm not saying he can't be-" you glanced over your shoulder before lowering your voice, "rougher, because he can. There's been times I can hardly move after," you giggled and she gasped enthusiastically. "But he's always so sweet when we're done. He takes such good care of me, gets me whatever I need, tells me how beautiful I am." You swallowed, feeling only slightly pathetic at how you were turning yourself on with your own lies.

"How about Zach? What's he like?" you asked, changing the subject. Her face fell and she waved you off before taking another sip of water.

"Girl, c'mon, you know the answer to that."

Now it was your turn to gasp but the corners of your mouth twitched into a playful smile.

"What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes at you and sighed. "You've seen him. He's not hiding anything spectacular, I promise you that."

Zach was significantly older than Zoe. Their age difference especially showed when he stood after sitting for a while, groaning deeply and usually needing a hand to steady himself, or when his phone alarm went off at various times during the day, volume practically maxed out, reminding him to take some pill. But you never got the impression Zoe was unhappy until now.

"So why are you with him?" you asked. Of course, you had to assume his money had something to do with it, but her answer was still not what you expected.

"Can you keep a secret?" she asked conspiratorially. You nodded and leaned forward. Zoe glanced around to make sure nobody else snuck into the massive sitting room before she whispered, "I'm a sugar baby."

"Y-you're... what?" you asked, your voice wavering. Fuck, you really wished you didn't have that last mojito. You were trying to keep your cool but your vision was swimming and your mind was buzzing.

"I think Tammy and Lynne suspect something. I think that's why they don't like me," she said, leaning back and gazing out to the ocean. "Nobody knows for sure, you can't say a word," she said, fear suddenly gripping her. "If Glenn found out, it would be over for Zach. Glenn holds way too much weight on family shit. He already isn't thrilled with our age difference," she sighed, gazing down at her freshly manicured nails. "But between you and me, I hope he doesn't get this land. He wouldn't be able to afford me anymore. Like, I want what's best for him and I want him to be happy, but this relationship is running its course, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah," you breathed, "wow, I had no idea."

She shrugged and picked up her phone. "It's really not a bad gig, but it would be a hell of a lot better if the guys looked like Joel instead of Zach," she giggled.

You laughed softly and took another sip of your water, your mind reeling. The pressure to pull off this little stint was mounting. Joel wasn't the only one who noticed Glenn was a man with family values and tried to do the exact same thing, and now more than ever Joel's alleged affair with Tammy seemed like a huge loose end that could jeopardize your whole lie.

Your nerves got the best of you. Looking back on it, you should have realized that before having two more drinks with lunch, but Zoe's bombshell left you rattled and you got carried away.

Around four in the afternoon, the men returned from the upper deck with their skin pink and their shirts a little damp from sweat, but they were all smiles when they stepped out onto the deck to find their partners with the exception of Glenn's sons, who came by themselves.

Joel didn't notice at first how tipsy you were because you did your best to hide behind a pair of sunglasses and a large hat. He sat down on the lounge chair near yours, looking like he had a couple drinks himself but not nearly as many as you. He appeared relaxed and at ease, no doubt pleased by whatever progress he made with Glenn in the past few hours.

"How's everythin' goin' down here?" he asked, his eyes scanning around the crowd of people who were beginning to mingle.

"Good," you said, "I found out some very interesting information that-" you hiccupped and covered your mouth, "that you would find interesting."

He raised an eyebrow at you and smirked. "Interesting information that I would find interesting?"

"Mhmm," you said, nodding vigorously this time. "I will tell you later," you added, unnecessarily enunciating each word, "when we're alone," you whispered, not realizing your voice was still rather loud. It didn't matter anyway, nobody could overhear you when the guests were all breaking up into groups and talking over each other, but still.

He grinned and glanced around the deck, "Alright, then," he replied. He was about to say more when his eyes landed on someone over your shoulder and he stiffened. You were too slow on the uptake to see what Tammy was mouthing to him, but when he subtly nodded and stood up, you glanced behind you to see her walking discreetly into the yacht, leaving her clueless husband behind.

"I'll be right back," he said to you, and before you could say anything to stop him, he strolled off in her wake, leaving you all alone.

You could blame the alcohol and pretend you weren't jealous, but you were absolutely fuming. Zoe had to be right. How could he be so careless? Did he really think nobody would notice? How could he not tell you about his history with Tammy when it could all blow up in your faces?

Then something occurred to you that made your stomach roll and you had to take a few deep breaths to fight back the wave of nausea.

What if they were still having an affair?

Is that why he didn't want to take things further with you? We can't, he had said. Was he fucking another man's wife this entire time?

You never felt so stupid in your life. Of course, that's what it was. No wonder he put a clause in your contract stating that sex was not to be part of the agreement. How fucking pathetic of him to act so faithful to another man's wife.

What if he was fucking her right now?

You stood up too quickly and lost your balance, but fortunately an arm shot out to steady you.

"Hey, you okay?"

You glanced up over your sunglasses to find Brooks, one of Glenn's sons, standing there with his hand wrapped around your arm looking concerned.

Quickly, you shook your head and forced a smile. "Yeah, the sun got to me, I think," you told him, then after another moment you realized his grip around your bicep hadn't loosened. Your eyes slowly drifted down to his hand and you gave your arm a little tug. Finally, he released you and you gave him a polite chuckle before fixing your cover up so you would feel less exposed in your bikini under his gaze.

"My dad says we should be reaching the island soon," he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his board shorts. They were neon blue and hung low on his hips. Almost too low, as if he were trying to draw your attention to it.

"Yeah, it sounds great. Should be fun," you mumbled, glancing around the deck, still not finding Joel or Tammy.

"Ever been here before?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. You shook your head.

"To Fiji? No," you answered.

"I'm surprised. It's a pretty common vacation spot for people in Joel's circle," Brooks said. If you were a little less distracted you might have picked up on the fact that he said Joel's circle and not your circle, but you didn't. You were too fixated on your anger and you were fueled by one too many drinks.

"Yeah - would you excuse me? I need to use the restroom," you said, gathering your things in your arms.

"Sure thing," he said, taking a step back so you could brush past him. "See you at dinner."

You gave him what you hoped was a polite wave before storming towards the glass doors that led into the yacht, but just when you were a few feet away, the door swung open and Tammy stepped out. It could have been your paranoia, but you thought she had a little smirk on her face when she passed by you and after that, all you saw was red.

You breezed through the sitting room. The only other people around were two servers who were quietly packing up dishware to take to the beach, then Joel suddenly appeared in the entryway that led back to your room wearing a different shirt than before and you clenched your teeth.

"Hey, was just comin' to get you," he said, not yet picking up on your anger. "You should get ready for dinner, we'll be there soon."

You narrowed your eyes at him and crossed your arms, uncaring that you could be overheard when you spat, "whatever you say, daddy," your tone clipped and dripping with disdain.

The muscles in his jaw twitched and his nostrils flared when he finally sensed your energy. He looked up, catching the eye of one of the crew members, who quickly averted his gaze and pretended not to have overheard what you said, then grabbed your arm.

You had the presence of mind not to fight him and cause a scene, but once he hauled you halfway down the hallway towards some privacy, you wrenched your arm out of his hold.

"The hell's the matter with you?" he seethed. "Are you fuckin' drunk?"

You rolled your shoulder, trying to fix your coverup that slipped down your arm while staring daggers at him.

"What's the matter with me?" you repeated, "what about you? What are you doing? Do you really think nobody sees what's going on?"

He furrowed his brow in confusion and made a face. "What are you talkin' 'bout?"

You took a menacing step forward and lowered your voice. "I'm talking about Tammy, Joel."

His eyes flashed with something you couldn't identify and you hardly had a chance to react before he grabbed your arm again and practically dragged you the rest of the way down the hall towards your room. Once you were safely inside, he slammed the door behind him and stalked over to you, making you stumble backwards in surprise.

"What the hell do you know 'bout that?"

You scoffed and rolled your eyes, trying to push down the wave of envy that bubbled up. "So it is true."

"Answer my fuckin' question," he growled, his eyes steely and his breath coming in quick. You shrugged and tried your best not to look nervous while being the target of his wrath.

"That you're having an affair," you said simply.

He stared down at you for what felt like hours before he exhaled and stepped back. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head before murmuring, "who told you?"

"Zoe," you sneered, taking one step backwards so you could rest your head against the wall. "Guess that means Zach knows, too."

"Fuck," he grumbled, then dragged his palms down his face in agony. "Fuck!" he said again, but shouted it that time and pounded his fist on top of a dresser.

You watched him nervously as he paced around the room, his anger beginning to sober you up a bit.

"You should have told me," you snapped. He swiveled around to look at you, his jaw so tight he could have cracked a tooth. "You could have ruined this entire thing but you're lucky I was quick on my feet and covered for you."

"You only need to know what I say you need to know," he said darkly, sending a shiver down your spine. "You were hired to do a job, so fuckin' do it."

You swallowed the lump in your throat when you saw the look in his eye.

"I'm trying, but you-"

"No," he said, cutting you off and closing the distance between you. "You were hired to look pretty and act like you're in love with me. That's fuckin' it. Everythin' else is none of your goddamn business."

You were just digging your own grave at that point so you figured there was no harm in tossing one more barb his way.

"Suppose it would have been too much to ask for you to at least tell me why you left sex out of our arrangement, but at least I know now it's not me. It's 'cause you're getting it somewhere else."

He inhaled sharply, his scowl cutting you in half.

"That's what this is 'bout?" he asked, stepping even closer. "You got your feelin's hurt yesterday?" His tone implied insincere pity and it sent a jolt of embarrassment through you but you remained quiet and held his gaze. He somehow had managed to cage you in against the wall, his arms bracing around your head as he leaned in closer. You could now smell a hint of toothpaste on his breath from when he came in earlier, without you, and you couldn't stop your next words from tumbling out.

"Did you bring her back here and fuck her in the bed I'm going to sleep in tonight?"

He smirked. He fucking smirked and you never in your life wanted to slap someone more.

"Jealous, baby?" he cooed. You shook your head but he just continued to give you that smug look. "Oh, I think you are. And you know what else?" He was taunting you now and you should have pushed him away but you just couldn't bring yourself to do it. He leaned in so his lips brushed against your ear when he whispered, "I think you would let me fuck you right now, if I wanted to."

Tears sprung up in your eyes unexpectedly so you quickly slid them shut. You refused to let him have the satisfaction of your humiliation.

Finally, he pushed himself off the wall and gave you space so you could breathe. With your eyes still closed, he spoke again from the other side of the room.

"I was gone ten minutes. Gimme some credit. I ain't fuckin' anyone in ten minutes."

You heard him yank open the closet and you managed to crack open your eyelids with a pathetic sniffle, watching as he tossed a black dress onto the bed.

"Get ready. We'll be leavin' for the island soon." Then disappeared through the door.

It only took about five minutes before Joel calmed down when the guilt crept in again. Once more he handled another situation with you as poorly as possible and to top it off, he was fairly certain he brought you to tears when he left.

He was so fucking stupid. He should have just told you the truth. He should have told you he hadn't slept with Tammy in over a year and what they had was over, but he just had to keep pushing and pushing. How did he keep making mistake after mistake? You weren't wrong. He should have given you a heads up about Tammy, but he never thought anyone else knew. And instead of admitting it, he lashed out, taking his anger out on you when it wasn't even your fault to begin with. It was his, for being careless and stupid enough for others to find out.

When you emerged from your shared room looking refreshed and fucking stunning in the dress he had rudely thrown onto the bed, he almost apologized. He wanted to, but one look at you told him you were not at all ready to hear it, so he swallowed his words and gave you some space. Well, as much space as he could allow when you were surrounded by ten other people on a deserted beach at sunset eating dinner.

He resisted the urge to drape his arm around the back of your chair or brush his fingers against yours where they rested on the table. Please forgive me, I'm sorry, he kept thinking every time he glanced your way, but you avoided all eye contact and focused on the conversation around you.

During dinner, he noticed you had not one but two more drinks and hardly touched a thing on your plate. He wanted to say something, he wanted to encourage you to at least eat a little more, but he couldn't risk setting you off again, especially in front of everyone. So he bit his tongue and smiled politely when he needed to but mentally he was scrambling to come up with a way to make things up to you.

You stretched your neck with a sigh at one point, drawing his attention, his eyes lingering on the way your fingers trailed down your throat, then watched when you pressed two fingertips into a sore spot on the base of your neck.

How could you ever think he wouldn't want you? Of course, he wanted you. Anyone in their right mind would want you. The second he laid eyes on you it was all he could think about. How could you not see that?

Fortunately, the entire group seemed to be tired so nobody really noticed or cared that you and Joel were not very talkative. On the boat ride back, he instinctively reached for your hand when the boat swayed a little in the choppy waters, but you quickly pulled your arm out of reach and turned away.

It was past ten and the waves were rockier than earlier. He wanted to thank you again for reminding him to take his motion sickness pill but he refrained. Fuck, what he wouldn't give to go back to that part of the day and do everything over.

When the boat reached the yacht, you practically leapt off and jogged back inside, his heart sinking in his chest at your retreating form. He offered his good nights and slowly followed you with his head hung low and his hands shoved in his pockets, but when he finally reached your room he realized the real reason you had been in such a hurry.

The moment he opened the door he could hear you retching in the bathroom and his eyes widened. He closed the door behind him quickly and he rushed to the bathroom, pausing on the other side of the door, unsure what to do or say.

"Are you alright?" he finally asked.

"Does it sound like I'm alright?" you shot back before gagging once again. He winced.

"I'll get you some ginger ale and crackers," he said, spinning around the room until he found a mini refrigerator stocked with a few necessities. As expected, some seasick items were supplied, and he picked out a few things he thought might help. Setting them down on your end table, he turned around and scratched his chin.

While he waited for you to emerge, he got himself changed into more comfortable clothes and then went in search of your own pajamas to lay out for you when you were ready. In one of the drawers he found a few motion sickness bags and he left one out for you when an idea struck. Quickly, he rummaged through his pants from earlier and triumphantly pulled out a little plastic bottle of pills.

When was the last time he ever tried this hard for a woman?

Just as he was about to call out to you again, you swung open the door. Your face looked pale and your eyes were red but you remained defiant and refused to glance his way. You spotted the clothes he laid out for you, and then the items on your bedside, and he thought he saw a flicker of affection in your eyes before you blinked and it was gone.

"Here," he said, holding out the bottle for you. "Take one of these, it'll help."

You stared at it for a few moments as you weighed your options, then begrudgingly snatched it from his hand and tapped one out into your palm. Tossing the bottle onto his side of the bed, you swallowed the pill with the water he set out for you and picked up your pajamas before retreating back into the bathroom for some privacy.

By the time you had changed, Joel had already switched the television on low to some bright sitcom he thought you might like and had turned down the bed. He sat on his side of the mattress, shamefully staring down at his fingers laced together in his lap, then glanced up when he heard the door open and the light turn off.

"Thank you," you murmured before sliding into bed and pulling the covers up to your chin.

"You're welcome," he said softly. He watched you silently for a few minutes while the corners of your mouth twitched occasionally at something that was said on the television, then he cleared his throat, warning you he was about to speak.

"I'm sorry," he said, brows pinching together. You looked up at him in surprise but said nothing, so he continued. "I shoulda told you 'bout Tammy. You were right. And I shouldn't've said... that other stuff," he added weakly, looking down at his hands again. "I ain't any good at this," he continued, pursing his lips in thought. "I push people away, I say all the wrong shit, always have, and now I'm doin' it to you. And it's... it ain't right."

You scanned his face, your resolve crumbling when you saw the sincerity behind his eyes.

"It's okay," you finally said, your voice sounding so small from underneath the plush comforter.

He shook his head. "No, it ain't."

"No, but I forgive you, anyway."

He finally dragged his eyes up to meet yours and smiled. "Thank you, darlin'."

You sighed and readjusted a bit under the covers. "I'm sorry, too."

"Nothin' for you to be sorry for."

"I got too drunk and embarrassed you. It won't happen again."

He scoffed and gave you a look of disbelief. "Half the people on this boat got just as drunk as you. These people are borderline alcoholics," he said, making you giggle a little. He grinned, his heart soaring when he heard the sound. "None of 'em probably even remember we went to dinner."

You laughed a little louder at that and he joined in with a chuckle under his breath. He could feel his muscles relaxing, his nerves settling. He may have just salvaged things yet.

Joel leaned back and tucked his legs under the covers, watching the sitcom but not really absorbing anything. In the past, when he let his mind wander, it was not exactly the way he pictured being in bed with you, but it was still nice.

"Things are over with me 'n her, by the way," he said after a long, comfortable silence. Your body stiffened and you tipped your head in his direction.

"Why didn't you just tell me that to begin with?"

He grinned and shrugged. "Maybe I liked it when you got jealous."

Your cheeks flared with heat and you pulled the bedding up tighter around you.

"Asshole," you muttered. He laughed, making you smile.

"I deserved that."

He could tell when you began to drift off. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw your head tilt towards your shoulder and your perfect lips part ever so slightly. You began to snore so softly, it almost seemed fake. No one looked and sounded that beautiful when they slept. Especially after being sick. But of course, you did. He should have known.

Joel reached over and flicked the lights off, washing the room in the television's glow, then slid deeper underneath the covers. Quietly, he turned the TV off and waited until his eyes adjusted to the darkness before rolling his head to the side to look at you.

What the hell were you doing to him?

It had only been a week and he could already feel himself falling, already doing things out of character and feeling more at ease in general.

So what was one more thing?

Carefully, so as not to wake you, he inched forward and wrapped one arm around your middle, pausing to see if you would stir. When your breath remained steady and even, he got a little closer and pulled.

You took a deep breath and sighed, then rolled onto your side. He closed the remaining space between you and tucked you against his chest while snaking one arm under your pillow, the other still around your waist.

The last thing he remembered thinking was how your hair smelled like coconut and vanilla, a comforting scent he wanted to wrap himself in that was so soft and addicting, it put him right to sleep.

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#joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #joel the last of us #joel miller fanfic #joel miller tlou #joel x reader #joel x you #joel miller au #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x you #the last of us hbo #the last of us fanfiction #the last of us fic #the last of us au #swept away fic

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seventeenreasonswhy · 1 month

Text

Same Team! A YJH Office Romance Pt. 3

Idol!Jeonghan x ProductionStaff!Reader

You’re serious about your job, but not as serious as Yoon Jeonghan is about flirting.

~1.4k words

Read Part 1 and Part 2

Series Content: slooowwwwww burn, fluff!, cute flirting!, will-they-won’t-they vibes!, tension!!, office crushes, office romance, appearances by all of the members, reader is shy and gets flustered easily!, jeonghan is jeonghan-ing!

My Masterlist

Author’s Note: Thank you all for reading! I’m having so much fun writing this. MC is so shy, and Jeonghan is so direct! My favorite dynamic!! Also, Jiyeon and Daein are completely fictional/not based on any idols! Jiyeon is kind of a stock mean-girl character, sorry! I’m looking forward to writing steamier interactions between Jeonghan and MC soon! <3

Taglist: @yeoberryx (lmk if you want to be added to my taglist!)

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

“Y/N-shi.” One of the producers in the room said your name, bringing you out of your daydreaming.

You were in a scheduling meeting to arrange staff for several of the members’ upcoming overseas commitments. You were hopeful that you’d get to travel, though you doubted it. You weren’t exactly experienced, but you did have the fluent-in-English thing going for you. You’d mentioned that you could get by with pretty decent French and Italian, too. So, of course, you were imagining a... business trip with Jeonghan...

“Yes!” you said quickly.

“How do you feel about traveling?”

“Traveling where?”

“Paris.”

“I feel good about it!” You answered politely—and super eagerly, eliciting some chuckles from the room.

“She’s so cute,” Daein said. You and Daein had gotten to know each other better, and when she wasn’t around Jiyeon she was much nicer to you. Still, you felt embarrassed for being overly eager.

“We wanted someone who could speak English and French well,” the producer added, “It’s Fashion Week.”

“Who’s attending this year?” someone asked.

“Mingyu-shi, Jun-shi, Joshua-shi,” another producer at the other end of the room looked through her list, “and Jeonghan-shi.”

You felt your face start to flush immediately.

“Mingyu-shi, Joshua-shi, and Jeonghan-shi will be booked on the same flight,” someone said, your heart pounding harder each time his name was mentioned, “Jun-shi will fly separately, directly from China.”

As the staff continued to fill you in on details... where you’d meet, what time you needed to be there, what to expect from CARATs gathered at the airport...

“The talent will have their own security,” another staff member assured you, “There’ll be a separate security check for us—to get to the gate faster. Most of the fans are perfectly respectful, but don’t hesitate to alert security if anything rings alarms or makes you uncomfortable.”

“Thank you,” you replied politely. “I’ll do my best.”

It had only taken a couple of months working with SEVENTEEN to really hit home that being famous was actually quite difficult. Everywhere they went, their fans seemed to be waiting. Even shoot locations that you knew weren’t made public—a few of them would show up no matter what. The members seemed to handle it graciously. At least, more graciously than you would have been in their position. Some of the fans were pretty intense, and didn’t seem to respect the members’ privacy. But it was a very small number. You’d only seen or heard any of the members get slightly annoyed at most, and only a handful of times.

But if Mingyu was on your flight, you knew the airport was going to be chaotic. He was very popular. And you understood why. He was extremely tall, gorgeous, not to mention very personable. He was easy to talk to, even though you were slightly intimidated at first. He enjoyed speaking English with you, which was nice.

“Y/N-shi,” the head coordinator was assigning details to each member, “you’ll be with Jeonghan-shi.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’ll be on his team of staff—each member will have their manager with them, two other staff for extra footage or vlog shooting, and their own security. You’ll be with Jeonghan-ah’s crew. Understood?”

“Yes!”

...What the hell? Was this really happening? Had you performed some saintly act in a past life? Why were you being bestowed with this kind of luck!?

“Great, we’ll send a car to pick you up at 4:00 AM that Thursday,” the coordinator in charge continued, “be sure you have your passport and at least two cocktail dresses—you’ll be attending the Yves Saint Laurent opening event on Friday, plus the runway show and afterparty on Saturday, so you’ll need appropriate attire. We can offer you a stipend to rent something when you get there if you don’t have anything.”

“Thank you!” and you bowed deeply. The other staff in the room chuckled.

“We’re counting on you,” the coordinator smiled at you.

The weeks seemed to drag on. You were so anxious and excited about the trip to Paris that you could hardly concentrate on anything else. You carried out your tasks with your usual efficiency, but your colleagues could tell you were just excited about getting to go to Fashion Week.

“I can’t understand why someone with such poor taste is going on this trip,” Jiyeon sneered as you were packing up equipment in the practice room. The members were gathering their things, sweaty from filming a dance practice video. Some of them were off in various corners doing other TikTok challenges. You were amazed at how quickly they could pick up choreography. You’d worked in entertainment for a long time, but it never stopped amazing you how fast good dancers were at that kind of thing. You hardly took notice of Jiyeon’s tone; you were so busy fantasizing about getting to spend so much time with Jeonghan.

“Hey!” she raised her voice just enough to get your attention, but not so much that it registered with the other staff or the members. You turned to her, trying to focus on whatever it is she needed to say, but still unable to contain your giddiness.

“Ugh,” she said, giving you a disgusted look, “don’t let Jeonghan-shi see you being so weird about this.”

“I don’t think she’s being weird.”

There he was, standing right behind Jiyeon. How had he gotten over here? Were you seriously so wrapped up in your own thoughts you hadn’t even seen him walk over to where you and Jiyeon were packing up?

Jiyeon looked like she was about to pass out, and you froze on the spot. Jeonghan was looking right at you, as always. His gaze never wavered when he was looking at you. You always loved it, even though it flustered you, but right now you were so ecstatic that he’d overheard her that it felt like you were floating above the ground.

“Ah! Jeonghan-shi!” Jiyeon put on her best smile, laughing off his remark. “Y/N-shi is always a little weird, we were just joking! Right, Y/N-shi?” You noted that it was the first time she’d bothered using honorifics with you. You didn’t really care, since honorifics weren’t really a thing at the companies you’d worked for in the past, and just not a huge deal in the U.S. at all. But you knew that her dropping them was technically a slight toward you.

“Right,” you said, putting on your best polite smile. You didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. Jiyeon was rude, but she wasn’t anything you couldn’t handle. Also, maybe you were being too weird about this trip. It was purely business... you were probably getting a little carried away. You couldn’t help but look down, worried now that you would creep him out.

“I’d never want to work with someone who wasn’t at least as weird as nuna,” Jeonghan said straightforwardly.

Your heart jumped into your throat.

“Ah, that’s Jeonghan-shi for you!” Jiyeon let out a strained laugh and went back to helping move the equipment, being sure to send you a pointed glare on her way toward the door.

You were left standing there with Jeonghan. You paused, and then bowed toward him.

“Thank you for saying that,” you said in the most formal voice possible. You were so flustered; you didn’t know what to say.

“What are you doing after this?” he asked. His voice was low and direct.

“What?”

“Are you free right now?”

“...What?”

“I thought your Korean was supposed to be good, nuna.”

You stared at him. He was smiling softly. His gaze was gentle, but there was something mischievous in it. You felt as if your brain had force quit on you.

“Sorry, I... I don’t...” you were lost for words.

“Well, if you’re free after this, Joshua, Dino, and I are going to get some dinner,” he said, running a hand through his long hair. You imagined what it would feel like to run your own hand through it. While peeking up to look at his hair up close—a thing you rarely did, even though you’d had plenty of opportunities by now—your eyes met for a second, and for some reason you steeled yourself and held his gaze.

“Do you want to come?”

“Yes.” You said it without thinking, but the smile on his face nearly knocked you out.

“Good.”

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slightly-gay-pogohammer · 6 months

Note

I haven't played less of p, but can keep asking questions!

Do you have any propaganda for playing the game?

hi welcome to the lies of p propaganda

literally a mix of bloodborne and american mcgee's alice when it comes to aesthetic, vibes, themes and battle systems. if you liked either of them and are upset that bloodborne won't get a port and alice won't get a sequel this is a good alternative

the devs confirmed a sequel and a dlc btw. and they're indie so they shouldn't have many problems

INCREDIBLE soundtrack, and here's some examples of my favorites because i need to share quixotic, memory of beach, shattered memories, hall of fame and arche abbey everywhere

the boss fights are difficult, but most of them are very fair and easy to learn the patterns of. while some are clearly fodder... anyone who played a soulsborne game know that every now and then you have to deal with a curse-rotted greatwood or a witch of hemwick if it means you can have a pontiff sulyvan or a lady maria in return!! if you don't mind spoilers i highly recommend checking out the battles with the king of puppets or with champion victor

tackles themes of overcoming grief, different ways to deal with it, rebirth, what it means to be human, being your own person and honestly and lies, with the latter especially being the most prominent one and heavily implying that even if honesty is good, sometimes a lie is a much better option for everyone

INCREDIBLE visuals hello

i need to talk about how good the monsters design is because body and mechanical horror fans rise UP

you can actually mix-n-match every single weapons you can find around, not including very overpowered boss weapons, and you can have a cannon arm?? like yes it's far from being the fastest weapon but consider: i can either hit and dash or i can make the boss explode

Your Choices Matter you know when a game promises you that they don't. well they do they DOOO literally every single choice starting with your very first one matter HEAVILY in the end

i can't stress enough how good the characters are, they're all full of life and energy and Love. you get a puppet in love, a beautiful charismatic old woman, a spunky young mechanic, whatever the fuck venigni my dad venigni has going on, an actually pretty fun version of the cricket and even pinocchio, who like most soulsborne seems to have little to no personality, is way more human from the get-go, with a lot of characters noting that he's so easily annoyed by their bigger-than-life personality and dramatique

this game made me cry SO many times between the music the lore and the incredible writing and voice acting. it's weird to say i didn't expect that much from it, like when the first trailer arrived we all went haha bishounen pinocchio bloodborne game, but the various npcs and even some bosses feel so human that inevitably seeing them going through situation destroyed me fr fr

but seriously the small details fuck me up so bad. the fact that pinocchio starts by making heavy mechanical noises whenever he moves and occasionally twitches and makes no noise when he attacks and the more "good ending" choices you make the less mechanical noises he makes and the more he occasionally grunts whenever he's hit is so nice?? they literally change every single one of his animation if you aim for that ending and it's so!!!!! aaaa

and also you can play fashionsouls the clothes have no effect other than being fancy so you can literally wear whatever the fuck you want and i, personally, find it very fun. big fan of the workshop master clothes btw that was my main until i unlocked the white clothes

i could go on but it would fall in spoilers territory fnasdmg point is. play lies of p

#gio replies #lies of p

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icallhimjoey · 2 years

Text

All Goes South

♥ ♥ Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader

Summary: Joe is overworked, tired, exhausted and just... he needs a break. Everyone knows it, too. None of it is really exciting to him anymore. Then, he meets you, and something reignites within him.

CW / disclaimer: 18+, language, drinking, rpf, fem!reader

Author’s note: Here's part 2! I know this might be going from 0 to 100 a bit fast, but listen, you're very intriguing and it's very difficult not to become completely obsessed with you, you know? Enjoy! :)

Wordcount: 4.1K

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five

“So, what do they make you do?”

Joe coughed into his drink, getting some of it onto the table. You immediately moved in and offered hands that didn’t really do much instead of hover in space in front of him as beer dripped down Joe’s chin.

“You make it sound like I’m forced into labour,”

“Well, are you?”

Joe wiped his chin with his forearm before using both his hands to grab onto yours for a small squeeze, thanking you for the useless bit of help as they clearly weren’t needed. You gave a small smile, but Joe frowned as he went on to answer.

“I’m not, it’s just...” he trailed off, sighed, thought for a second, and then squared his shoulders. “You know what,” he sat up the straightest he could sit up. “Let’s not talk about work.”

“All right.”

Not all right. Not talking about work swiped every single topic you thought you could talk to him about off the table. Great.

“What about you? Do you work at that restaurant?”

It was your turn to hesitate to answer.

“You just said, let’s not talk about work,” you challenged, a small smirk playing your face.

“Oh, right,”

“But, I used to. Was there to grab a quick bite, they never turn me away. I ate stood in the kitchen, and then had a quick drink behind the bar... that’s when I noticed whatever you had going on at your table.”

Joe nodded, took another sip. An awkward silence took over. It dawned on you how stupid of a situation you’d placed Joe in, and you realised that Joe probably was thinking the same thing.

“Did I overstep? I don’t want to prod, but you looked functionally depressed back there,”

Joe sat back in his seat, looked at you a second, then said, “You did overstep, actually. But I went with you, didn’t I?”

He couldn’t really explain why either. But he had done. And now he was here, and Joe took in that he also could’ve gone home. You lead him through that kitchen out into that alleyway, and he could’ve just gone home. Crawled back into bed, like he’d wanted to do when he had been staring at himself in the bathroom for a couple of minutes at that restaurant. He could’ve gone home, but he hadn’t, and now he didn’t really want to anymore.

“I’m sorry,” you said, but Joe’s face was sort of... beaming, so you smirked, your apology definitely not sincere.

“Nope, not good enough,” Joe spoke into his drink before he had another sip, eyes on you as he drank. If Joe thought it hid his smile, he was wrong.

“Ah, man. I was afraid of that,” you giggled. “How will I ever make it up to you?” you asked, and when Joe didn’t answer fast enough, you added, “I got the first round,” implying it had to count for something. Because you wanted there to be- hoped there’d be more rounds. Many more rounds.

“You did, but this is only going to get me in more trouble, I’m afraid,”

A small silence fell where you both smiled at each other, each of you narrowing your eyes. It was playful in a way Joe hadn’t encountered before, not in a good while anyway, and although a little suspicious of it all, Joe was kind of into it. This whole flirtatious vibe he had going with a pretty stranger he somehow was now having drinks with. Instead, he was meant to be listening to people tell him about the upcoming three months of work right now... but this was definitely more fun.

Joe noticed that whenever he’d take a sip, you’d take one. He took a huge gulp to check, and when you copied him, he laughed. In silence, he raised his eyebrows at you, challengingly so, before he put his glass back to his lips.

Oh shit, you thought, he’s not going to down it, is he?

But of course, he fucking was.

And now so were you, taking down big gulps of lager as you held eye contact, eyes growing larger with each swallow because, surely, he wasn’t going to really finish the full full pint?

Joe slammed his empty glass down, releasing a loud guttural grumble as he exhaled loudly, clearly struggling as he caught his breath. You weren’t even halfway down your drink yet.

“No, you don’t have to–” Joe laughed, but you persisted. “Oh, yep... no, you’re doing it,”

Seconds later, with your face contorted like you were in actual pain, you too set down an empty glass with a shaky hand and were met with a set of admiring eyes. Joe seemed impressed, a little.

“Okay,�� your voice came out all constricted, barely there, face all scrunched up. “Another one?”

And before Joe could complain about you getting the next round too, you’d already stood up and made your way over to the bar. Two more pints, two more tequila shots.

In a bid to get to know each other better, Joe said he was going to ask you five questions you had to answer truthfully, alcohol absolutely fueling the conversation.

After three kind of normal questions about the best meal you’d ever had, if you preferred baths over showers and what your favourite thing about your mum was, Joe cleared his throat loudly and rubbed a thumb over the condensation of his glass. He seemed to stall a little, shifted in his seat, and then went and asked anyway.

“You know who I am... how?”

“Stranger Things, of course,”

“Of course,” Joe raised his glass as if to cheers you before he took another sip.

“But I must admit, I just... I only really watched it because Steve, he’s just... Steve’s very– Steve’s very Steve.” You sighed, sort of lovestruck, and perched your elbow onto the table, your chin then planted into your palm.

Joe’s face broke into a smile slowly as he eyed you over his glass.

“You know?” you asked for confirmation and got it immediately.

“Oh no, yea,” Joe furrowed his brow as he nodded, agreeing. “Steve is very Steve, you’re right.”

You grinned at each other, and you asked if you could ask him a question now, if it was your turn yet. But Joe said he had one more. Arguably the most important one.

“And be honest... all right, Steve or Eddie?”

“Steve.”

You said that entirely too quickly. Too definitively. Didn’t even leave a fraction of a second to pretend that you had to think about that.

Joe was shocked and gasped loudly as he clasped a hand over his heart. Couldn’t believe it. Made a whole show of it, face contorting in fake cries, a sleeve pulled over his hand to wipe away fake tears.

“Do you need my reasons?”

“No, no,” Joe was instantly laughing. “No, I’ve seen him. I get it, I suppose.”

“Sorry,” you scrunched up your nose.

“No, s’fine,” Joe pretended to be hurt still, looked down at his glass as he took a deep breath with big eyes. “I’m so fine,”

“Do you need a moment?”

“Please,” Joe fake sobbed, and it had you giggling away until Joe also broke.

There was something about Joe that completely pulled you in. You tried to figure out what it was, and concluded that alcohol was probably half of it. The other half, perhaps... his charm? Joe was very cute when he giggled. Little handsome, too. Okay, but maybe... maybe a lot handsome, actually.

You couldn't really think about it too long, because you would turn shy if you did.

Anyway. It was your turn now.

“Come on, have at it. Shoot!” Joe beckoned you with both his hands. You took a moment to think about what you should ask. Couldn’t be about work, like you’d agreed upon earlier. You shifted in your seat and sat up a little when you thought of something.

“Okay, here’s the question, have you ever killed anybody, be honest.”

Joe was lucky he’d just swallowed a sip down as a chuckle immediately ruptured from his throat.

“Even on accident. Tell me the truth, right now.”

But then his own spit seemed enough, and Joe kind of nearly choked on it, coughing and laughing at the same time. You carried on.

“Okay, no, do you want a real question?”

All red-faced and voice strained from the coughing, Joe answered, “Yes.”

“Here’s a real question. Do you, okay... If you...” you narrowed your eyes up at the ceiling.

“Yea?”

“What is...? All right,” you shifted in your seat, pretended to know where you were going with this but very clearly, you didn’t have a fucking clue.

“Here we go,” Joe rubbed his hands together in anticipation, absolutely wholly aware that you had no idea what question you were about to formulate.

“If you could have– what if you could have... okay, wait. So, if you took... all right,”

Joe could barely keep it together, his face reddening as he tried to hold back his giggles. This was fucking hilarious, and anyone listening in thinking otherwise could fuck off, Joe thought.

“If you knew, if you knew for sure... that no one would ever, ever, ever find out, would you...”

You looked at Joe, laughter escaping you now too.

“Would you?” You finished. None of it made sense, which was exactly the point.

Joe raised a hand, palm up and made big eyes.

“I probably would.”

“Yea?”

“I think so.”

“Same.”

You eyed each other for a moment, nodding, before you burst out laughing.

Briefly, you felt drunk on this joy between the two of you. It was addictive in its nature, and you knew that things like this never really lasted, that maybe you should reel back a little, pace yourselves... but you really didn't want to. You felt too greedy for it, needed more of it, and when you saw Joe's face very suddenly drain of all delight as he looked behind you, it shocked your system a little.

It was only for a second, because just as quick as Joe's face read utter doom, it flooded with sheer relief right after.

You looked over your shoulder and saw that people had come in. Saw the type, and realised Joe must've thought they were members of his team. You'd forgotten that he was on the run, still. Hiding from the people that wanted to cage him back up. That was probably more dramatic than what was actually going on, but that was what it felt like, anyway.

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t really know what to ask you,” you said, speaking in truth as you returned to your conversation.

“I have another one for you,” Joe finished his beer. “Where to next?”

You checked the time on your phone. You could definitely still get a slot in, make it in time, but you would have to leave right now.

“Ever heard of this place called Swingers?”

Joe cocked an eyebrow, gave you a face that read, Swingers?! We've only just met!

“Perfect. You haven’t. Let’s go!”

Like children afraid of their parents catching them whilst sneaking out of the house, you snuck out of the pub, hunched over and bent into each other, laughing as you made your way to a main road to stop a cab.

You kept darting your eyes around, scanning the streets, as if there were still people after you. Logically, you both understood that there probably weren't, but it was fun to pretend.

Getting out of the car, not even 10 minutes later, Joe eyed the neon sign in the window and looked at you a little suspiciously.

“What am I about to walk into?”

You just smirked, grabbed hold of him by the sleeve and pulled him inside.

Nothing really gave away what kind of place you were dealing with until you were fully inside, and got a good look around.

“How's your swing?” you grinned at Joe as he let his eyes scan the room. There was a lot to see.

“Clever,” Joe said, his face reading that he kind of fell for it a little. But who wouldn't have? From the outside, nothing about the location gave away that there were four full 9-hole crazy golf courses inside.

You had to wait a little bit, got to have more drinks as you did, and watched from the side lines a little. You were definitely selling the idea that you were amazing at golf. That Joe was going to have to come in hot from the start if he wanted a chance at winning. Joe silently took in all of your boasting, your bragging, and the lack of retaliation would've usually made you simmer down a bit, but not this time. You kind of took it even further, started saying things like you were a record holder here at Swingers, that's how good you were. In fact, maybe it'd be best to just leave all together because Joe wasn't going to have any fun losing to you. You were unstoppable in your bigmouthing, but only because it very much was all complete lies.

You fucking sucked at crazy golf.

Joe found out soon enough, when you hit your first ball way too hard, launching it from the course entirely.

“See? I'm fucking fantastic at this game,” you joked sarcastically and made Joe laugh.

It took you 8 hits for your first hole, which was meant to be the easiest one. Joe got it in 2.

You made your way through the holes, and Joe was annoyingly quite good at the game. He even got a hole-in-one, entirely unexpected, proven by the way he cheered for himself. You looked around, yelled, “Ref! Ref!” at a non-existent referee and tried to secretly give Joe a higher score on your little form which Joe wrestled from your hands to make sure you wouldn't.

The both of you seemed determined to be present in one another's space a bit too much. Be a little closer than normal people would be, than even friends would be. You literally only met a few hours ago, but you gravitated towards each other like the moon and the earth did. Joe thought you kind of controlled his tides like the moon controlled the earth's too.

He wasn't complaining. All of it was actually rather exciting.

When you got to a particular difficult looking course, Joe suggested he'd help you. To teach you his ways, Joe said, like he was in fact a professional whilst, quite clearly, he was mediocre at best.

“Come here, you've... there's a system you've got to understand,” Joe beckoned you to step into his arms a little, and in one of the most stupidly cliché moves ever, Joe swung his arms around you and placed his hands over yours so you were both holding your small crazy golf club.

With his head on your shoulder and his breath hot in your neck, Joe lowered his voice.

“See, there's a tunnel... and it goes up a bit, so we can't hit it too gently, it needs a little speed to make it up there, but,” Joe guided your arms back a little more, ready to make the hit. “If we don't aim correctly, it'll bounce back,”

Joe moved slow. Too slow. Stretching the moment of being pressed up against you. You swung the club back and forth a couple of times, each time nearly touching the ball in a bid to level your eye-hand coordination. You heard Joe inhale deeply, sniffing up your scent, and it was followed by a shuddery exhale. Then Joe turned your whole body with his, swung back more and hit the ball.

It clanged loudly against the side and bounced back immediately, making the both of you snicker silently.

That was definitely done badly on purpose.

“It's okay, we've all got our talents,” you quipped, suggesting that this just wasn't one of yours. You shrugged and smiled as you went to get the ball back into place.

“No one saw that try, come on, we can do this,”

You bit back a smile at how painfully obvious Joe's moves were. Joe wanted you back in his arms and wasn't being particularly secretive about it.

Every shot for your turn you took after that, you took together.

And then when Joe messed up on the last course, you stepped in. Threw Joe's moves back into his face when you went to stand behind him, arms curled around his waist, blindly patting around to find his hands on his club. “You see, there's a system,” you said, your cheek pressed tightly against his back as you did your best to take charge, to lead Joe's movements.

Joe didn't help. Didn't crouch down. Didn't try to make himself smaller for your sake, so you ended up snaking your head around him on the side, making him lift an arm to then help you see. You couldn't even hit the ball like this, completely missing it as you swung.

This playful flirtatious behaviour was the type of shit that could make Joe fold. Make him fall to his knees, be entirely at your mercy, weak for your attention and even weaker for the giggles he could pull out of you with a single stupid move. A stupid joke. A stupid face. The whole thing was so stupid, but you were laughing and touching and it was perfect.

When you were done, Joe, who was in charge of the score, added everything up and then, after a drumroll on the bar, declared you the winner.

“You have way more points than I do,” Joe beamed, completely ignoring that in crazy golf, the lowest score won.

“Told you. I'm undefeated,” you were well aware you lost, but if Joe said you'd won, you'd won.

It was nearing in on midnight, and stepping out back onto the street with Joe, one thing kept repeating in your brain.

Let's keep going. Let's keep going. Let's keep going.

“So, where to next?” you said, peering down the street.

Please don't say home, please don't say home.

“I think...” Joe narrowed his eyes in thought.

Please don't fucking stop the night now, we're having too much fun, don't stop this, please don't stop this.

“I think I know a cool place,”

Oh, thank fuck.

“Are you afraid of heights?”

You cocked an eyebrow, just like Joe had when you'd asked him if he'd ever heard of Swingers, gave him a face that read, heights? Why is that relevant?

“Perfect. You're not. Let’s go!” Joe reached for your hand, pulled you to the kerb and hailed a cab.

You drove east, made a joke about birds usually flying south, and Joe commented about how he'd show you south, but from up high, like actual birds would do.

The further east you went, the higher the office buildings became, and down from inside the taxi, you looked up at them through the window. Tall, shiny buildings, with so many lights still on, no matter that it was past midnight now. It was sort of mesmerising, and it fit the night perfectly. But after being touched so easily and frequently at Swingers, sitting in the cab at either side of the backseat almost felt like you were suddenly very distant. And you didn't like that. Didn't want to be so distanced from Joe.

Your touches had been fine within context, all easy to be explained, to be excused. All accidental. Somewhat inadvertent. All fitting within the context of everything.

Sitting in the back of a black cab? There seemed no real excuse, no matter how much you, or Joe, thought of reasons to reach out––

Oh.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a hand that wrapped fingers around the back of your neck and scratched up into your hair a little. You had to work hard to not let any noises slip out when you released a contented sigh.

“Nearly there,” Joe spoke softly, barely above a whisper.

You turned your head to look at him, and saw Joe lazily smile at you. He had his arm fully outstretched in order to reach you, and your eyes panned down to the middle seat.

Fuck it.

You unbuckled your seatbelt – dangerous, you were just turning a bend – and slid down the seat until your thigh pressed up against Joe's. It gave his arm enough room to now fully wrap around both your shoulders as you buckled up again. Joe looked at you with a grin and eyes that sort of couldn't believe you, but then pulled you more towards him and let you snuggle up a little.

It was fine. Not weird at all. You were nearly there anyway.

You pulled up outside of a tall building that had an elevator located on the outside of the building, all glass, all brightly lit with colourful lights that went all the way up to the top.

“Are you ready to be torpedoed up into the sky?”

“How high are we talking, little bird?”

“Duck & Waffle is on the 40th floor. Come on,”

The lift was a ride. It went so fast, you felt a little dizzy after, and your ears needed popping. But the view was... the view was something else entirely.

You were lead into the bar where you got seated. You were shown your table, and you both thanked the host, but then before you sat down, you stepped towards the windows. The floor-to-ceiling windows gave an incredible view of London at night. You stared past your own reflection, and looked down at the Gherkin. Right behind it, saw the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, The Shard... it all seemed a bit tiny. Much less intimidating from up here.

“Oh my God,” you thought maybe you were too drunk to really process the view.

“I know,”

“This is gorgeous,”

“It is,”

You heard Joe inhale sharply.

“It really is,” he then said more softly, and you let your eyes focus on Joe's reflection next to you and saw he was staring at you. It made you bump your shoulder into him, making him chuckle slightly.

Duck & Waffle was amazing. You had cocktails, tried fancy sounding drinks Joe suggested, and then suggested your own weird concoction to a waitress that you made Joe try. It was awful. So very, very bad. But Joe drank it anyway, insisted that it was actually amazing because he was a trooper like that.

You pointed in different directions and asked each other, if you'd ever had a weird experience somewhere that way, guessed if you grew up somewhere that way, dared each other to soon go somewhere that way and to share a picture as proof. It made you exchange numbers which took so much fucking longer than it should have, because Joe had a lot of missed calls and messages he did his best to ignore, and then you added your phone numbers into your contact lists manually, and were both, well, drunk.

Joe was touching you near constantly, hands finding your arms to grasp, your shoulders to sling around, and even at one point, your thigh to rest on. He was being unbearably affectionate for a famous guy out with a girl he didn't know, but you leant into it.

Loved it.

Invited more of it through body language Joe seemed to pick up on immediately.

The tides, the moon, birds with flapping wings, gravity - all of it wrapped in sugary sweet drinks and silly flirting. It made your cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

There was a moment when Joe'd pointed in a direction and said, I live there somewhere. He had to lean in close a little to be able to see it from where you were sitting, and it was close enough for you to lean forward and kiss him. You noses almost touched, and that's exactly why Joe did it. You knew that was why, because he lingered. Pretended to look real hard into the distance of slightly reflective windows and hovered in front of you, the air charged, making your eyes flutter, until you pointed a finger in front, said you lived that way, somewhere.

It was just after 2AM when you stepped out, back onto the pavement again.

“So, are we going to your place? It was this direction, was it?” Joe jokingly pretended to start walking, but you scoffed loudly.

“My place?”

Joe looked at you a little sheepishly.

“Seriously? You think I'm going to invite a... random guy-” Joe frowned at that, “-I just met and invite them over to my place? So he'll then know where I live? Have my actual address? Where we'll then be alone? That's insane. That's not safe. That's how people literally get murdered.”

Joe waited until you stopped rambling, then looked you up and down, shrugged and said,

“All right... my place it is, then.”

---

The Taglisted:

@ghostinthebackofyourhead @dirtyeddietini @jasminearondottir @josephquinned @cancankiki @sidthedollface2 @dylanmunson @munsonsgirl71 @alana4610 @emmamooney @sadbitchfangirl @thatonefan-girl @paola-carter @figmentofquinn @haylaansmi @thewondernanazombie @munsonmunster @kellysimagines @mybffjoe @chaoticgood-munson @harringtonfan4 @sherrylyn628 @bdpst-massacre @05secondsofsexgods @lovelyblueness @adoreyouusugar @nadixq @prozacandnicotine @munsonswhore86 @alwayslindie @thefemininemystiquee @hauntingbastille @eddie-joe-munson @ali-in-w0nderland @pepperstories @phyllosilicate-s @thebellenouvelle @luvrsbian @joesquinns @choke-me-joey @alizztor @thelostmoonofpooosh @did-it-work @capricornrisingsstuff @quinnsbower @frogers @kennedy-brooke @daleyeahson @eddielives1986

(taglist currently full, sorry)

#Joe Quinn #Joseph Quinn #Joe Quinn x You #Joseph Quinn x You #Joe Quinn x Reader #Joseph Quinn x Reader #Joe Quinn Fanfic #Joe Quinn fanfiction #Joseph Quinn Fanfic #Joseph Quinn Fanfiction #rpf #all goes south #icallhimjoey #part 2

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mrs-johansson · 5 months

Text

Escape from LA - Lisa Manobal x Fem!Depp!Reader

Part 4:

A few articles were written about Blackpink coming to see my shows in LA and how Lisa and I had dinner but nothing serious.

A couple of weeks went by as the tour kept going, visiting cities all around the US. I loved every minute of being on stage finally and seeing my fans sing the new songs.

Lisa and I talked every day. With the time difference, it was a little difficult to keep our conversation going but we managed most of the time. I did a little digging because I wanted to know who she was involved with, who this said boyfriend was, and dude… She could do so much better. Yeah, he was awfully rich and influential in France but damn.

I started writing some songs in my free time, being inspired by a lot of things lately and it’s always relaxing to me when I can write.

It was already the end of March when the tour reached New York. And since I’ll have 15 shows in Madison Square Garden, we’ll be here for a while.

“So when are you leaving New York?” Lisa asked over the phone as I walked around the arena. “On the 15th. I have two off days,” I said. “Two? Isn’t that way too few?” “I’ll be fine. How was the show yesterday?” I asked as I sat down at the back of the arena staring right at the already built stage. “It was so fun. Such a good vibe from everyone, I loved it. I can’t wait for you to see it,” Lisa’s excited voice made me smile from ear to ear. “Ah me too, I'm already looking for dates when I can just run off to a show.” “Summer is still so far, you sure you won't have any free days sooner?” “I don’t think so but I’ll check again later. When’s your next show by the way?” I asked. “8th of April. Tokyo, I haven’t been there in so long.” “It seems like I’ll only reach Asia in years, but it’s just a couple of months.” “Yeah, your tour is so long, I don’t know how you do it.” “I will lay in bed for a whole year after this tour ends,” I said and Lisa chuckled which made me smile. She has such a good aura all the time, it’s so energizing.

We talked for a little while then I had to go to rehearsal so we hung up. I got my mic and the dancers arrived soon too. Went through the whole show with everyone, checking the speakers and mics and instruments then I got into hair and makeup before finally sitting down to have an early dinner.

***

“Okay, your favorite part of the show… Reading signs. These get crazier with every day so let’s see…” I walked around the stage looking at different signs that people were trying to rise higher and higher. I spotted the first interesting one before lifting the mic to my mouth and pointing at the girl who held the sign. “Hello there, do you mind me reading your sign out loud?” I asked and she said go for it. “Alright your sign says, I’ve bought a ticket to all of your MSG shows hoping you’ll sing ‘I’m yours’ at one of them,” I said and the crowd cheered loudly which made me laugh. “But that’s unreleased and old,” I said to her and everyone around her screamed that it’s a good song. “Maybe we’ll do that song, who knows?” I spread my arm out before moving to another part of the stage looking for more signs. Then I saw one and the word Blackpink grabbed my attention quickly. “Collab with Blackpink?” I read it out and the audience literally erupted. I let my head hang as I laughed. “Guys, I literally just met them. But wouldn’t that be cool? They are so nice,” I said with a smile. “Okay okay, one more then we’ll continue the singing,” I spoke into the microphone and searched for the last sign. When I found the one I went down to one of my knees to get a better look. “With this one, don’t be weird,” I looked at the whole crowd then back at the sign and its owner. “Hi, what’s your name?” I pointed at the girl. “Hannah,” she screamed and I was surprised how loud she was. “Hi Hannah, you have a very interesting sign there,” I said and she laughed. “But it’s true!” She said. “Well, can I read it?” I asked and she nodded enthusiastically. “So the sign has… a picture of me and an Englishman…” I said and the audience screamed. I chuckled, holding my head not knowing how crazy it would make the crowd. “Saying… I’m a child of divorce,” I said but the last word muffled into a laugh. “But we’re friends guys, there’s no trouble for you all,” I stood up and spread my arm, trying to make it into a joke. “Okay now, should we sing some more?” I asked and the crowd cheered. The music started in seconds and the show went on.

“Thanks, guys, great job,” I walked through backstage as I got rid of my mic and walked back to my dressing room to get changed. My phone rang as soon as I opened the door and saw the picture of my best friend on the screen. “Hey dude, what’s up?” I put the call on speaker. “I just wanted to tell you I just landed in the city, we can go out to dinner,” spoke Hailee from the other side of the call. “Sure thing, I’ll change and I’m ready. Where are you?” I picked some clothes and started to change while I waited for Hailee’s answer. “I’m on the way to the venue, I’ll be there in like 10 minutes,” she said. “Okay, tell the driver to come into the venue, I’ll let them know you’re coming.” “Cool, see you.”

Soon Hailee arrived and after I spoke to a couple of people, I made my way to the car. “What’s uuuup?” I opened the car door and Hailee looked up from her phone and smiled. “Hey, bro!” We hugged and I got in the car and we got on the road to the restaurant.

“How was the show?” Asked Haiz. “Really fun. It’s crazy that there’s 14 more here, I could basically move in,” I said then a text popped up on my phone.

Lisa💋

“What’s that?” Asked Hailee from across me and I just closed my phone shaking my head. “No one,” I shrugged and she raised her eyebrow. “Who are you texting with?” She asked, leaning a bit forward. “Just my sister,” I put my phone in my lap, trying to move it further from her. “I know you, who is it?” She asked more aggressively and she reached for my phone. “Nobody!” I took hold of my phone and held it far from Hailee so she couldn’t reach it. “Dude, just tell me!” She grabbed my arm and took my phone. “Okay! I’ll tell you if you give my phone back,” I said and she stopped for a second. “Tell me and I’ll give it back,” she said, holding the phone protectively. “You know Blackpink,” I started and Haiz nodded. “They came to the shows in LA since Lily is friends with Jennie and the girls came along and stuff-“ “Which one of them?” Hailee interrupted my speech and got to the main thing. “It’s Lisa. We kinda had a moment and we’ve been talking since,” I explained and she had a growing smile on her face. “Ooh, that’s juicy. Why didn’t you tell me?” She handed my phone back. “Well she kinda has a boyfriend but it’s also PR so it’s tricky but also not. But she’s so fun… and hot and sweet,” I leaned my head back to the seat. “And what kind of moment did you have?” She asked with a smirk. “We kissed. Then had a very short make-out sess. Dude, it was so good. It was hot and exciting and also sweet, I haven’t felt that in a long time. She gave me adrenaline and we met for two days,” I explained and Hailee smiled. “So what’s up with this boyfriend? Is he famous?” She asked and I searched him up on Google and gave her the phone. “Oh… yeah he is uhm… he has some money,” she cleared her throat and handed the phone back. “Is he competition though?” Hailee raised an eyebrow. “She said they tried dating but it didn’t work out but I’m not sure about that,” I said. “Well, what did she text?” Asked Hailee and I went to my messages and then read her text out loud. “‘I just got your gift! Thank you so much, I love it!’ With lots of heart emojis.” “Ooh, what did you send her?” “Yellow roses, those are her favorite.” “That’s cute.”

We soon arrived at the restaurant and we had a great dinner and caught up on recent events. The paparazzi were there once again even though we tried to keep it low-key.

***

As the shows passed by, I started to feel really comfortable on stage in New York and I had lots of fun. The fans didn’t lose their energy even at the fifth and sixth show which was so good to see. I was enjoying every minute and it felt so electric to be there that I never wanted to stop.

When the 10th show rolled around I started to feel a little tired so I was happy to have an off day tomorrow.

Lisa and the girls will have another show tomorrow in Tokyo before they have a two-week break and as I know she’s going to Paris for a little then they go to Vegas to prepare for Coachella. She said she would try to come but won’t promise anything. Not gonna lie I was hoping she would show up even just for a day.

I was back on stage in just a blink of an eye. My off day just flew away as I slept kind of the whole day.

“So we have 4 more shows left to go here in New York. How was it so far?” I walked along the stage, trying to see more of everyone. The crowd cheered loudly, and I just couldn’t contain my smile. “Aw, it’s so nice to hear this. You know when we started I was a little afraid of how my stamina would be but so far you guys give me so much energy and I am so thankful that you keep coming to the shows. I’m forever grateful for your love,” I spoke into the mic and I slightly bowed as the audience expressed their love. “This will be my longest-running tour and I honestly can’t wait to see more of you all around the world. I’m excited for what’s yet to come and I love how dedicated you guys are, coming to multiple shows and camping outside the arenas. I will thank you for this for the rest of my life and more!” I spoke so honestly because today I felt extra special because of the fans and the amazing things they do for me. “And now… for the next bit, we’re gonna slow things down…” I walked back to the mic stand at the main part of the stage. “This is Pretty Boy.”

***

“Hey pretty girl,” I picked up Lisa’s call. It was late at night by the time she called. I was just sitting on the balcony having some wine and writing a little.

Lisa chuckled over the phone and I instantly smiled as I heard. “Hey 아름다운(beautiful),” she said and I stopped for a second. “Ooh, what does that mean?” I asked, clearly still not picking up on Korean. “It means beautiful,” said Lisa, and I felt heat fill my cheeks and I just chuckled. “You really need to teach me some basic Korean, I need to know what you are all talking about when you put me on speaker. Every time you do that I just hear yelling,” I said and Lisa laughed. “I will teach you, but you’ll have to prepare yourself, it’s hard.” “You speak 6 languages and I speak two. If it’s hard for you I will pass out by just learning.” “Nooo, you’ll be great at it,” she encouraged. “Hopefully. How’s Paris by the way?” I asked, then sipped my wine. “I haven’t done anything yet. I’ve been in the hotel since yesterday.” “And any plans while you’re there? Or just relaxing?” “No plans just hanging around. How was your day off? Did you sleep enough?” Asked Lisa. “Yeah, basically slept all day. It was so nice, I barely got out of bed,” I said. “You need to have breaks more often or do something for your health, your schedule is terrible,” Lisa spoke and I smiled at how cute it was that she looked after me. “I know, but I’m doing great. I sleep, eat, and train so I can keep up with the shows, no need to worry.” “Yeah yeah. The girls have been missing you,” said Lisa, and I smiled. “Aw I miss them too, can’t wait to see all of you,” I said and there was silence for a couple of seconds. “I miss you, it’s been boring here,” Lisa’s now softer tone reached my ear. “I miss you too… Can’t wait to kiss you,” I said a little shy and nervous about her reaction. “Ugh don’t tempt me to just get on a plane and fly there,” Lisa groaned and I chuckled. “Would it be so bad?” I smirked as I moved my things inside. “No, but at least we will be in the same country in a couple of days,” she said. “Yeah, just a couple hours away then, that's an improvement. How’s Coachella coming together?” I asked while I got under the cover of my bed. Only left one light on by the bed and just laid there, listening to Lisa talk. She was telling me all about their prep for Coachella and how exciting it was for them but the only thing I could focus on was how husky her voice sounded and how I wish we were in the same place. “Did you fall asleep?” The question brought me back to focus. “No, I’m here. I just… nothing. I hope I’ll make it in time for the show, I’m just way too excited to see you perform. Although I will probably blend in with the fans because I’ll be screaming every song and jumping around,” I smiled knowing that something like that would happen but maybe I exaggerated a little. “I will notice you, I’m sure.” My smile grew even more and I think I blushed even. This back-and-forth flirting was fun not gonna lie.

#gxg #lalisa manoban #lalisa manobal #lalisa #lisa x female reader #lisa manobal #lisa x reader #blackpink lisa #lisa manoban #blackpink #blackpink x reader #blackpink x you #wlw

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mollywog · 3 months

Note

i have regency!lark questions!

how is the writing process different from other fics (for example, canon-compliant or in-Panem AUs)? how much research goes into it?

do you feel immersed in the world that their mannerisms, speech patterns, etc come easily to you? or does it take conscious effort to regency-fy these things? (as a non-native English speaker, this is the thing i am always curious about when reading historical AUs!)

what are your non-fan media recs for someone who knows next to nothing about regency era? (sorry if you shared something like this and i missed it!)

thank you!

Hey!!!

Thank you for the ask @thesunpersists!!

Oof! My husband jokes that the only history I know, I learned from American Girl Doll books, which is some what accurate: I absorb history best when it’s the backdrop of fiction (especially a romance)

A few years back I went on a ‘classic’ author binge. I would read/listen to a book and follow along with the shmoop/cliff notes/spark notes, then finish off by watching any screen adaptations I could find. (I wish I had known about tumblr then *stares wistfully off into the distance*)

With that in mind, I’m not sure I have a full grasp of what each time period is… Regency is more a vibe than a historically accurate set of dates in my mind; An amalgamation of the things I read and watched and very light research… Idk I don’t want to take the fun out of storytelling by getting too caught up in that stuff, which I understand may not be for everyone.

Anyways…

I’ve enjoyed a lot of adaptations of old books. If we’re talking specifically Regency - in addition to the novels, Pride and Prejudice 95, Emma 09, Persuasion 95 are my favorites! I also love Lily James and Matt Smith so Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was fun!

I know you said non fandom but I’m going to mention cwmilton because I adore their Emma FanFiction so so much!

I think War and Peace is technically Regency Era though not set in England. I slogged through the novel and there were parts I enjoyed, but not enough to do it again. Again my love for Lily James and James Norton had me watching the 16 BBC adaptation and enjoyed it for them and the costumes.

I’d like to check out and Tom Jones is on my list thanks to @wildwren and Mr. Malcom’s List is another I hope to read/watch!

I went through Dickens, Brontë, Hardy, Gaskell so if anyone wants to talk adaptations!

Okay. So I’m not sure I’ve answered your questions 😳… so I would say: usually my desire to write a historical AU comes from recently consuming a peice of media from that period - So I’ve already got the vibe fresh in my mind. But also yes - I do think it’s difficult to write and stay in that time periods speaking pattern and vocabulary.

Anyways, feel free to send an ask or DM if you want to talk fics or historical fiction, or adaptations or whatever!!!

#ask #thank you for the ask!!#Regencylark #regency AU #this was fun!!#I sort of went overboard #whoops!

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sincerely-sofie · 6 months

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I love seeing your voice claims! It's so entertaining to hear how you would envision someone's voice, even if it isn't perfect!

But now i'm curious if you have any 'themes' for the characters. Like, something that would fit while playing in the background during a scene that focuses on them.

If you don't know what im thinking about (I REALLY hope that doesn't sound condescending) Thinking of your interpenetration of Skuntank makes Groose's theme from Skyward Sword play in my head. Something like that?

:00000 !!!! A FELLOW GROOSE’S THEME SKUNTANK IMAGINER!!!

Thank you so much! I catch your drift, and it wasn’t condescending at all! I have such a hard time choosing themes for characters because I have a very specific vibe for them all in my head, but its hard to find pre-existing songs out there that check all the boxes. I tried to pick songs (specifically instrumental songs because if I went into songs with lyrics we’d be here all day) that encompassed the general “feel” of the characters well enough. However, I’ll include some notes on what I’d try to include for the characters’ themes of if I were to make them from the ground up!

Also going to hide all the links and stuff under a cut because this post got big hehe

Twig

youtube

Twig's theme would be light and peppy for the most part— a fast, jaunty tune that would be difficult to play in real life. There'd be points in it where it sounds like the musicians are struggling to keep up the pace and would fail to play the same notes as previously used— giving it a desperate element, like she's struggling to keep up with her own happy appearance. I think she'd have an acoustic guitar or mandolin as a major part of her theme, and maybe one of those toy pianos that give a very chaotic, enthusiastic vibe to songs? She'd have a stretch in her personal leitmotif that would form a beautiful melody when paired with Kip's.

Kip

youtube

Kip would have a generally happy sounding song that incorporates the ukulele and maybe ocarina. He'd have a stretch in his personal leitmotif that would form a beautiful melody when paired with Twig's.

Sen

youtube

Otherworldly voices harmonizing are a must for her, as are audio glitches disrupting and changing the flow of the melody that they're harmonizing in.

Dusknoir

youtube

Dusknoir's theme would start off proud and almost boastful sounding when he's first introduced, then turn dark and intense when he's revealed as a villain, and would finally mellow out into something mournful yet soothing to listen to. I think he'd have cellos as a major piece of it.

Celebi

youtube

Celebi’s theme would be very light and peppy— almost bouncy in sound, and definitely extremely cutesy. I can see the hum of insect wings or cicadas singing being used as a kind of atypical instrument that could be used.

Grovyle

youtube

I'm not sure about instruments for him, but he'd have a very distinct leitmotif that would start off very aggressive and erratic sounding, then be slowed and softened in a way that makes it sound almost nostalgic later on.

Ark

youtube

His theme’s instrumentation evades me— maybe a violin or clarinet? A harp? It would need to be an instrument that isn’t typically played alone. Either way, it would have several points where it would go oddly quiet and mournful. It’d be an all around very mellow, vaguely sad tune.

Cresselia

youtube

Her theme would comprise of a piano— an instrument that is largely seen as a standalone in most compositions— and would layer perfectly over Ark's to make a complete song, the quiet parts of their individual themes allowing the other to stand out when they step back.

Opal

youtube

She'd have music box-esque instrumentation for sure, and twist her parents' themes on their heads in a way that they become something unique— Twig's frantically happy notes would change key in such a way that they'd sound genuine, and Ark's quieter, melancholy stretches would be filled in by a lighter accompaniment.

This was such a fun ask hehe. I’ve always loved making pretend OSTs for my projects out of pre-existing songs, complete with alternate titles that would replace the original if the soundtrack were real— I should get back into that hobby and make a full one for TPiaG!

#shadow baby au #the present is a gift au #pokemon mystery dungeon #pokémon mystery dungeon #pmd explorers #pmd sky #pmd eos #pmd2 #pmd #sofie answers asks #pmd darkrai #pmd dusknoir #pmd grovyle #pmd celebi #pmd2 partner #pmd cresselia #music #fan ost

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monsterofmyown · 1 month

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3, 4, 5, 9, 12

3. Who is/are your favorite main character(s)?

Reese is my absolute favorite, to the surprise of no one I'm sure haha. Love him so much ;0;. And bonus points to the fact he's a monster. I also really like Tabitha! Was pretty neutral on her at first, but the more I found out about her the more she grew on me.

4. Who is/are your least favorite main character(s)?

Ah, that's a bit of a tough one as I don't dislike any of the main characters. If I really had to pick, it would most likely be Oscar only because I haven't spent as much time with him than the others. But like I said, I don't actually dislike any of them!

5. Who's your favorite side character(s)? Your least favorite side character(s)?

My favorite side character as of right now is Bo! He's a super nice guy and I really hope he'll be around more when we go to check on Julius.

Least favorite is Joan. She lost all my respect when trying to explain how poisoning and gaslighting her son was actually a good idea because he might be dangerous to others.

9. What difficult game changing choice was the hardest for you to make?

Hmmm, I'd have to say the dilemma for chapter 2 was the hardest. I actually went with leaving the kids during some of my earliest main playthroughs before deciding to see what would happen if I went back for them. And although I've made going back for them canon in my main playthrough at the moment, I'm honestly not sure if it'll stay canon. Been very indecisive about that one!

12. What's your favorite ship(s)? What's your least favorite ship(s)?

Obviously my favorite ship is Clementine x Reese and no I'm not being biased in any way ;)

In all seriousness though, as far as ships between canon characters go, my favorite is definitely Tabitha x Stella. I feel so bad for the both of them. Gonna do my best to get them back together in my main playthrough!

I'm also starting to grow fond of Avery x Wayne and Kaneeka x Bo, both of which started out as silly "haha what-if's" for me lol. They're fun to think about.

I don't really have a least favorite ship, but admittedly I don't really vibe with rival ships (more so for Stabby than the other two).

#scarlet hollow #answered asks #thank you for more asks! :D

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copperbadge · 2 years

Text

WELL everyone has a lot of feelings about visual imagination. :D

I went through the reblogs and comments on the two main posts I made about it and I decided not to respond to the reblogs mainly because the tags sometimes addressed me but most of the reblogs were offering personal accounts, which were very interesting to read but I don’t think really needed input from me. The same held true for a lot of the comments, but I found a few I wanted to answer.

I did want to say that I want us to be careful when we talk about visual imagination and visual thinking, or lack thereof -- the word “hallucination” came up occasionally (mainly in terms of “someone else said this” or in terms of self-description, which is a personal prerogative) and hallucination generally implies that you can’t control or discern the reality of what you’re perceiving, plus it carries negative/pejorative implications a lot of the time. I’d like to keep this discussion neutral and also make sure we refrain from stigmatizing hallucination, either, so just be cautious in how you discuss all of this. People shouldn’t feel belittled for the way in which they perceive the world, whatever that perception might be. You guys have actually been really great about this but it’s always good to vocalize those boundaries.

gallusrostromegalus

If you tell me to picture an apple, i can imagine several apples, with different sizes, weights, textures and colors, and how the internal structure of the fruit develops from the bud like a time-lapse movie. It's wild to me that people CANNOT do this- though hilariously, it affects my writing in that I straight-up don't put descriptions in because my brain auto-generates scenes and appearences for me and I think i kind of assume everyone else's brain does too

Which is especially bananas because I don’t put in descriptions because I don’t see the point, like why would anyone want a bunch of irrelevant words, get to the important words! Two ends of a weird-ass range, I suppose.

akela-nakamura

I very much see a picture when I'm writing/reading. In fact I sometimes get frustrated when I'm writing because I can't -quite- get the right words to describe what's in my head. It's not like, All of the time but I visualize things often and it usually doesn't get in my way. It's just...there lol

A bunch of people said that often when they write they’re describing the pictures in their head, which does sound incredibly frustrating and tedious at times, as a practice -- trying to get the right word to evoke a mental image does seem much harder than just picking a fun word that indicates the vibe, which is what I do. They’re difficult in different ways but yeah it does sound very annoying.

taketheshot21

Brains are fascinating. Question, is it the same for voices? Do you 'hear' characters own voices in your head when you read/write or not?

It seems as though some people who don’t get visual do get audio, but I don’t get either. If I want to know how something sounds, I have to say it out loud myself -- often before I publish something I’ll read it out loud to myself to check for flow. Occasionally if I’m writing a scene in the Shivadhverse where I’m not sure of the speech patterns, I’ll go listen to people speaking in Welsh accents on YouTube to fix the accent in my mind for a bit so that I can write it properly, but it needs refreshing every time I do it.

Like, in Twelve Points there’s a scene where Noah says something surprising to most of the family, and there’s a beat of silence before Michaelis starts to laugh -- and I know exactly how to evoke a sense of his reaction, but I don’t hear any of it in my mind, or see him sitting at the dinner table laughing. I have some sense of how most of the adults sound, but I’m around teenagers so rarely that I don’t really hear Noah’s voice at all -- but writing him as a twentysomething in a later story, I have a much better sense of what his fully-adult voice would sound like.

byteduchess

I don't get mental IMAGES but I will experience phantom sensations sometimes especially with certain gory/painful descriptions which is. Fun.

This is why I assumed horror was such a popular genre for fiction podcasts, because it’s a “safe” way of experiencing horror stories without having to deal with the visuals or the jumpscares. It’s very perplexing to me now to know that some people absolutely still get the visuals, with horror podcasts. Although I suppose it still offers a higher level of control.

svollga

People in dreams have faces...

Yeah, that must have sounded kind of creepy, I forget most people who dream in visuals do see faces. I knew that I was a bit unusual for not seeing them in dreams but it’s not like I see blank heads, I just never see anyone from the neck up, or if I do their face is in shadow.

snazzy-hats-and-adhd

Hrm. Well now I kinda want to go and do a close reading of some of your stuff specifically looking for visual imagery to see if I can quantify an opinion on it, but since I've been following you since before I realized you had actual books published, it's probably a moot point. I hope your potato pancakes were delicious. 💜

They were! I do wonder how my books must read to people with visual imaginations, but comments seem to indicate I’m not bad at it (and thank you to those who said that, it was very reassuring), so my writing to evoke feeling and their reading to inspire seeing/hearing must mesh pretty well. It’s definitely something I’m going to keep in mind going forward, the fact that people will actually see what I describe, but I think also that might be why my fanfic is reasonably popular -- I leave a lot of scope for peoples’ minds to fill in the blanks, which we already want in fandom a lot of the time.

thebibliosphere

Yeah, I am in the same boat and I get pissed off being told to "describe more things" and I'm like "why? That's just clunky." When I read and write I'm enjoying the formation and rhythm of the words, not the images in my head, because I do not have any. I can't even do it when I focus really hard and do nothing else. It's like a dream I can't reach. According to my psych person that's aphantasia but *shrug*. I've never known any different.

It really is bonkers. I’ve never known any different either, at least that I know of, and I don’t know that I get annoyed with it but I did used to be a bit confused as to why people wanted more description, it just always felt like padding to me. I once got into it with someone about how Sam Vimes is never described fully in the Discworld books, and I was like “Why would you? Pterry gets away with it, I should be able to” (which is rather arrogant of me admittedly) and they were like BECAUSE IT’S REALLY ANNOYING NOT TO HAVE A DESCRIPTION. And now I get why! Poor Sam Vimes was just a blur in their head!

I don’t want to go into therapy but I’m reaching a point where I’m like “If I wait any longer, no therapist is going to take me” :D

br-nz

This is fascinating to me because i have a very rich visual inner world. I write fic too and i literally see the stories play out in my head, like a movie. It’s how i put myself to sleep at night, i lie there and plot out more scenes.

I mean, I do that too, I just don’t see the scenes visually. I think about situations and interactions, and sometimes I take notes if I come up with a really good turn of phrase, but it’s literally Telling Myself, there’s no showing :D

delphinidin4

I would love to read your source on ~40% of people don't visualize when they read! I'm really interested in psychology and the imagination.

I actually got the stat reversed so apologies for that, but the research comes from the Wiki on Visual Thinking, so less reading in specific than just cognition in general:

Research by child development theorist Linda Kreger Silverman suggests that less than 30% of the population strongly uses visual/spatial thinking, another 45% uses both visual/spatial thinking and thinking in the form of words, and 25% thinks exclusively in words.

laurabwrites

This is where the phrase 'in the mind's eye' comes from btw. Lots and lots of people picture things visually in the mind. As with everything there's a range of how detailed the visualizations are/can be. This website might be helpful to you: https://aphantasia.com/vviq/

Oh that test was really interesting and also extremely frustrating to take, lol. :D

#an aphantasia fantasia

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thewertsearch · 2 years

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Asks Compilation 11/12

I never considered that Aradia could be feeling sincere gratitude towards Equius - that's a good point, and might partially explain her flushed feelings for him. Similarly, I never thought about how difficult and impractical a relationship would be for Equius, given he has this kind of strength paired with this kind of dexterity.

Anyway, I half-agree with your thesis. I can imagine a hypothetical kismesissitude between an older, more mature Equius and Aradia, and I think that relationship could potentially be healthy, for the reasons you describe.

But the one we're getting is doomed from the start - Equius's mind-control shenanigans have pretty much torpedoed the whole thing. I don't think he can have a healthy relationship until he figures out why that was wrong.

I'll give you a freebie right now - most of the Jojo villains would fit right in with the Felt!

Yeah, it's not like romantic rivalry is a new idea. Really, the more I think about it, the more I think Hussie's riffing on real relationship tropes with all the quadrants.

Hell, I could probably list some fictional characters that work pretty well as Moirails - and I'm not just talking about The Locked Tomb!

[ sent when you posted your troll ranking! - C ]

She's the best, she's the worst, and she's destined for great terrible things.

Sorry Eridan - someone had to nab last place!

He does have a great design. The cape and scarf work well together - I can see how he'd be easy and fun to cosplay.

We have two opposing views here, and they both make good arguments. Aristocrats do tend to be egotistical by nature - but Alternia would expect him to act that way, even if it wasn't his natural tendency.

I personally don't think Eridan ever intended to exterminate the land-dwellers, but I'm not sure he ever realized that himself.

Don't forget Insane Clown Hussie, which is when your webcomic author keeps putting more harlequins in their story.

Toby, what are you doing back in my ask box? Get outta here, you scamp!

Ayy!

It's funny, I never considered that many people are reading through the liveblog/chrono/ tag. I'm almost never on my blog's page; I see it through the dashboard!

Happy belated birthdays, Jade, Dave, and, Rose!

Odd. It really looks like John's birthday should be December 2nd. Maybe something went wrong with his meteor.

The Newtonverse is a corruption of Homestuck, but Homestuck is already a parody of a million other things. It's one layer too deep, and feels 'wrong' as a result.

Unless Cool and New Webcomic is a similar style of parody, in which case, who knows? Maybe the Newtonverse is simply real, and trying to break into our reality.

Yeah, that makes sense. She certainly looks like a classic eldritch monster.

I can't see the commentary - I assume because some of it contains spoilers. For comments that don't spoil anything, feel free to send them along.

It's always very tempting to check out other livebloggers so I can compare and contrast. I won't, though - quite aside from any worries about spoilers, I just don't want to influence my own opinions!

This has always been a blind spot with me, and it always will be. Try as I might, I will never recognize the difference between Rouge and Rouge.

I knew the comic had about 8000 pages, but it's good to know it clocks in at 8128.

It annoys me more than it should that it's not 2^13, or 8192. It would have been a nice round number to finish on!

Thank you, and welcome!

Eridan's beliefs don't really make sense - but it makes sense that they don't. It's bigotry, after all.

He knows trolls like Kanaya, and can clearly see that there's nothing inferior about her - but he can't let go of what he's been taught, so he just doesn't address it, and continues on as normal.

This comic is damn long, so it's a fun reference to make.

I'd probably pick one. No special reason - I just sort of vibe with the number, and it's the closest to something kooky like zero, or a negative number.

I would have picked the cueball, but I don't think I want Scratch as a rival...

Ok, that's fair, actually.

I love how she's trying to 'cull' them.

It's a good bit. I wonder if this means Hussie's trollsona is a green-blood, like Kanaya?

Read it!

It's not intended to! The others all link to the post where the work was recommended to me, but Con Air wasn't recommended - it's just a movie slightly relevant to Homestuck. I have it up there for completeness, and it's underlined for consistency.

#asks #full liveblog #act 5

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ask-utayaboy · 5 days

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thought abt it more and I feel like u would have a hatterene that could just. vibe check you whenever u do smth u don't actually want to or when u need to eat or rest or smth and maybe u don't even realize...love how they'll just smack anyone who doesn't pass the vibe check, but I could see u raising a timid hattena so maybe they'll be nicer abt it...?

an audino can sense what ppl are feeling too with their...feelers and one could probably make u feel better. in conclusion these pokemon would definitely make sure u get the rest u need and that u regain ur strength!!!

(can kabru take care of himself? theoretically yes. will he tho, of his own volition? very debatable...tbh I get it tho I often forget to take care of my own needs when I get distracted enough...)

and YES pokemon do work and get along w ppl often!!! it's kinda weird cause some honestly just look and act like ppl and then some ppl straight up turn into pokemon? and humans also evolved from pokemon...? so it's kinda all over the place tbh but it's fun you'll see them just...working like, normal jobs alongside ppl and out and about???

we gotta build u a full team frfr so far I think I've mentioned lapras, lucario, chatot, hattena/hatterene, audino..? hmmmm I feel like it'd be funny if one of ur pokemon were particularly difficult. oh there's the dragon types and everything too!!! idk I feel like there's def a lot of other pokemon that would fit for u too

(ok but does kabru know pokemon is a fictional series or does he just think pokemon are real somewhere now...wait does he know we're like, from another world...?! ALSO STOPPPP i love pokemon too it's my most consistent and long-lasting hyperfixation omg literally ever since I could remember <3 if these asks are too long just lmk I went off before I even knew it 💔)

- 🥣 anon

This was a long read but definitely an interesting one!! I don't have much to say on it other than I'm glad you came back to update me on my hypothetical 'team' !!

Though I'd for sure be iffy on all this if it were real, it's not all that bad given they seem to be fictional. Thank you, 🥣 Anon!

#dungeon meshi rp #ask blog #ask #anon 🥣#mod: SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO GET TO THIS ONE I READ IT OVER LIKE 5 TIMES AND GOT TOO EXCITED

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saturdaymournings · 2 months

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Anon asked me this and I accidentally sent a private answer prematurely so I can’t answer properly I’m making a post because I feel like I owe it to them and this is a very fun question! I got asked what my favourite vegan alternatives are so I’m going to list them and what I think of them! sausages imo are literally the easiest thing to substitute and as a family (even tho I am the only vegan everyone else picks up a bit on different things I eat) we have a few different types of sausages depending on vibes. My personal faves are these:

The caramelised onion ones specifically because I’m a little weirdo. These are like the meatiest tasting fake sausage which I’ve always liked a quite meaty tasting alternative but I know a lot of people aren’t big fans. I think it might be because I went straight from eating meat to being vegan but also like duh because eating vegan is an ethics thing not a taste thing. These are best like with mash and gravy imo

These are like our all rounder. Have them with basically anything. I mostly have them with a roast dinner because I hate mushrooms and every single roast dinner specific alternative I see is like mushroom city it scares me. They have about as much meat in them as a regular Richmond sausage ie none and they’re a crowd pleaser in my family my former poultry farming grandparents eat these

These are amazing, they’re more of a lighter deal I think. We normally have these with carrots and broccoli and some fancy boiled spuds or regular ol fried spud. Crowd pleaser with my friends when they come over for tea lol my buddy still remembers these from when we were like 15 playing buzz on my ps2

I don’t eat these on their own we cut them up and put them in pasta and it’s delicious. Linda McCartney stuff is great because it feels a bit more like eating something healthy it’s all vegetable-y and shit but it still tastes amazing

for burgers I used to love the bean burgers in asda but they put the price up and I was so salty about it that now the only time I eat burgers is when I can get cheap beyond burgers

These fuckers taste like dreams to me they are my religion I live by them so long as I don’t have to pay any more than £2.50 for a pack and that’s a real stretch. Had them reduced in Sainsbury’s last week a pack for £1.19 felt pretty pleased with myself. The Asda bean burgers I still do recommend tho if you’re a beany type of person because they’re not like expensive at least last time I checked I don’t really go to Asda unless I’m buying cider lollies lol

Bacon alternatives I’m gonna get real with you. This shit does not taste like bacon. This shit will never taste like bacon. Luckily because it’s not a dead pig I don’t really give a shit what it tastes like so we’re balling. It’s just like something fancy to put in a sandwich as a treat when I’m having lunch at home

These are my two bacon alternatives that I’ll go for. I’d say they’re the same in terms of quality and taste and all that but I prefer la vie purely because their vegan ham packets can be cut up and turned into a 3d sunglasses wearing pig. I appreciate that way too much I will not lie I am easily deceived by packaging I bulk buy minor figures oat milk when it’s cheap just because I like the lady in the duck costume on the front lmaoooo

these ones the only thing they have in common is I put them in pitta breads. I put the other stuff in categories and now I feel obligated to lol

this also goes in pastas for us, in fact it does for the most part. It can be pricey here and difficult to find basically anywhere but it’s so worth it I love this stuff. It’s also used in that pans place in Spain and when I went there and had their vegan baguette it fucked so hard. I miss pans we need that shit here

I literally just got a Tesco order with four packets of this shit on it because I love putting it in a pitta bread with avocado. Such an insanely delicious and cheap meal to put this stuff in a wholemeal pitta bread with some avocado and vegan mayo. I could actually cry just thinking about it. I’m attaching a picture below

Freezer food is generally easy. I try not to live off of it now because it makes me feel like shit so I’ve swapped the potato stars (or whatever shape I’m eating that week because only basic bitches eat chips) for savoury rice which feels better lol. These are still so amazing though and next week when Lidl gets the vegan shit in I’m going to buy enough nuggets to last me until next veganuary

THESE ARE THW BEST NUGGETS. HANDS DOWN. I dont care about any of the fancy nuggets these own my heart. The only thing I have ever disliked about them is the weird sweet chilli dip that comes with them like nobody eats that and it looks so weird when you just have a frozen McDonald’s style pack of dip hanging about??? But oh my god my beloveds nothing else matters to me

These are just fun I would recommend anything from fry’s really they haven’t had any flops yet from what I’ve tried

and lastly I have a couple wild cards

Juicy marbles will always fuck so hard literally taste amazing unfortunately they will also always be £9 a box unless you get them on a fancy Valentine’s Day meal deal or something. To be fair tho the meat equivalent costs like the same

And these are my second roast dinner alternative they take ages to cook ask if you let your dad cook them he will give you it with a bottom that is still made of whole ass dough and you’ll eat it out of politeness what do you mean this isn’t hyper specific. They’re worth it though if you ask me they’re not for everyone but I love them

thanks for asking though anon this makes me so happy!!!! I hope this helped out. If you need any specifics in terms of recommendations or info I’ll be glad to give it!!!! :)))))))

#Vegan #veganism #what vegans eat

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peace-coast-island · 6 months

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Diary of a Junebug

Exploring the shops of Skybelle Mall and taking a class in dyeing yarn

It’s happening - once I went down the rabbit hole of knitting garments I was exposed to the world of yarn. They really weren’t kidding when they say that getting into fiber arts can get dangerous! To be honest though, I don’t think it’s something I’ll be doing often because of how much work goes into it, not to mention how expensive the supplies are - still, it was a lot of fun and now I have a sweater quantity of lovely hand dyed yarn!

The Skybelle Mall is the center of Skybelle City, literally and figuratively. Even though it’s a mall, it feels more like a classy resort. There’s a lot of shops and restaurants obviously, but the general vibes of all these places feel homey. While visitors come here to shop, the locals come here to unwind and socialize. It’s almost like a little town within the city.

Along with checking out the shops and classes they have to offer, Arabella invited us over to check out the community college that’s right next to it. The location happens to be convenient as a lot of the students at Fortuna Community College also work at the shops around here either part-time or under an internship or apprenticeship. Most of the shop keepers and instructors are actually graduates from Fortuna, and for a lot of them, the lives they’re living right now was considered impossible or improbable had they not come here.

What makes Fortuna unique is that over half their students come here for a new start. Their circumstances vary from growing up in a place where education was inaccessible, refugees, former criminals, abuse victims - all sorts of situations that require a clean break. Since a lot of these people likely have little to no support, the purpose of Fortuna’s Special Circumstances Program is to help them out every step of the way.

The program’s been around for almost 30 years and has a high success rate. Of course, it’s not perfect, though most who fail or drop out are more likely those who don’t put the effort in and expect an easy way out, which is not how the program works. Along with providing a good education and giving out GEDs, they also offer various services like counseling, healthcare, help with employment, programs to support those with families, housing - it’s really comprehensive.

One of Arabella’s friends from college, Kara, is now part of the English department over there. She teaches a traditional undergrad course as well as a basic literacy course in the Fortuna program. Getting a position as a faculty member in the Fortuna program isn’t an easy process because while a job like that would be fulfilling for those who truly have a passion to teach, it is by far an easy one. Because a lot of the students come from special circumstances that often require a lot of one-on-one interactions, that kind of thing obviously isn’t for everyone, especially when dealing with students who are dealing with so much that in most places, they’d simply be written off as “problematic” or “uncooperative.”

In other words, if you aren’t equipped to deal with difficult people because you don’t have the patience or it takes too much out of you, then this kind of position wouldn’t be a good fit. There’s a reason why the staffing over there is so selective because it’s understandable why some people, despite having very good qualifications, won’t last long here. And as Kara said, that’s not entirely a bad thing, but it’s one of those places where you really have to consider, “Am I willing to put in the time and effort to work with people like them?” Part of the reason why Fortuna has been successful is because they really take the time to make sure the faculty is on top of things so that they can follow through on their promises. For those at a huge disadvantage, having a strong support system really makes a difference.

Kara first heard of the Fortuna during high school through a friend whose distant cousin got their GED through there and later went on to become a physician. The cousin was from a branch of the family that was estranged, and so her whereabouts went unknown for years until by chance, a relative found her and took her in. Basically, she was kidnapped by her father when she was young, a fact that she was unaware of until he abandoned her when she was around her mid-teens, forcing her to live out on the streets for a time before her aunt was able to confirm her identity.

While exploring Skybelle, we got to meet a couple students from the Fortuna program. Aina and Saku are in Kara’s basic literacy class, both studying to get their GEDs. They’re a young married couple who left their homeland when a civil war broke out. They kinda played an indirect role in that because of their connection to the main village and the former chief’s family. The way Saku put it, there was already a lot of political instability that had been brewing for decades, so it didn’t take long for rebels like them to topple it.

They pretty much lucked out because Saku is affiliated with a former general and her comrades, who are all under protection from an outside faction that serves to help refugees like themselves. What that basically means is that they’ve pretty much severed their ties to their homeland, which in turn prevents them from being targets of retaliation by enemies who intend to bring them back by force without severe consequences. In other words, they came from an isolated nation where it was designed to keep foreigners from entering, as well as prevent those born there from leaving.

Before the war, Saku and Aina attempted to leave and were nearly executed. In fact, it was that incident that led Saku to get a pardon that involved a mission that was supposed to be impossible to complete as the officials assumed that he wouldn’t survive. Well, they were wrong. The trial proved to be difficult, even for a trained assassin like Saku, and considering what little options he had, as well as the fact that it wasn’t just his life that was on the line, he did whatever he could to complete the objective. However, he never expected to kick off a civil war in the end, even if it was inevitable.

As for the connection they have with the main village, it turns out that Aina was the illegitimate daughter of the chief. She was labeled as a punishment who should be hidden away, and she credits that to how she became different from the rest of the family as their neglect left her to her own devices. The scar on her face that blinded her right eye is a mark she wears proudly as it was the chief’s failed attempt to shut her down after she spoke back to him one too many times.

The more he tried to shackle her, the sneakier she became - that’s how it usually works in these kinds of situations. Apparently, he thought by wedding her to Saku, his most loyal weapon at the time - yikes - he assumed that Saku would be able to tie her down. Instead, the opposite happened - Aina influenced Saku to break out of that mentality of seeing himself as a mere weapon whose sole purpose was to bring destruction to maintain order, which ended up saving his life.

The arrangement started out awkward at first since they were strangers despite being raised by the same family, but over time it evolved into genuine love and devotion that made them even more determined to leave their homeland. Aina managed to get glimpses of the outside world through things like social media, which was heavily censored over there. Since she struggled with reading due to a learning disability that went undiagnosed until recently, a lot of her knowledge of the outside came from vlogs and video essays. Knowledge really can be a weapon.

Eventually, her influence began to rub off on Saku, who came to realize that there is life outside of accepting orders and taking the lives of those who don’t follow the rules. The nation basically trained children to become assassins, objects that authority figures used for their own convenience and benefit. These figures thrive on ignorance and blind obedience, so these assassins are raised to think they are nothing but killing machines.

Not surprisingly, they’re desensitized to violence and death, which contributes to how the public sees them as inhuman. To think that Saku was well on his way to becoming just another disposable tool - it’s a good thing that Aina managed to get through to him. It’s hard to break out of a mindset that’s been ingrained into you since you were born, but that doesn’t mean that people can’t change.

Of course, in order to make any meaningful change, it’s up to the other person to decide. In Saku’s case, he made the conscious decision to question the way he was raised after getting a glimpse of the outside world through Aina. He said he was also intrigued by Aina’s insistence for normality with little things like expressing gratitude, living in the moment - things that have nothing to do with bloodshed and violence. It wasn’t long before he began questioning every aspect of his life, which naturally made him an enemy as he was no longer a convenient tool for them. Again, they’re the kind of people who prey on ignorance, so anyone who questions their word is automatically considered an enemy.

Along with Aina, Saku also credits Kaori, the former general who accompanied him on his mission, for saving his life by ensuring his survival. Like him, she had long grown disillusioned with the higher authority, and so when she realized that he could be a potential ally, she encouraged him to defy fate by accomplishing the mission. Neither one ever thought something like that would set off a domino effect kind of thing, which they admit they still don’t fully understand themselves. Sometimes things just work out like that.

Basically, because of Kaori’s rank and status, she was able to use her authority to protect as many civilians as she could from the impending storm. She wishes she could do a lot more, but what little she was able to manage made a huge difference, something Saku and Aina emphasized. It was her connections that allowed a lot of people such as themselves to leave the nation safely and seek refuge in other lands.

Saku and Aina spent a couple years in a refugee camp working odd jobs so they can settle down somewhere, ultimately choosing Skybelle City because of its location as well as the Fortuna program. Kaori spent about a year in the same camp before going off traveling with her partner, a former shinobi who also accompanied Saku on his mission. The two are on the road a lot, though since Saku and Aina have a place of their own now, they stop by the city often when they’re nearby.

While she plans to keep on traveling, Kaori’s looking for a place in the city so she can be closer to the couple now that she’s gonna be a godmother to their kids. It’s still a surprise to them that in the summer they’ll be having twins, so they’re excited and kinda nervous. Aina’s glad that they’ll be summer babies as it won’t disrupt her schooling too much since they’ll be on break by the time they come. Now that she’ll be a mother, she’s more determined than ever to get her GED to set a good example to her kids. Saku felt the same - he admitted to being a bit indifferent about getting a degree until he realized what it really meant for his future.

After hearing about what Aina, Saku, and Kaori have been through, I’m glad that their lives have taken a turn for the better. Even though it’s been a couple years since they moved here, Aina says it still feels like an impossible dream that she never wants to wake up from. To think that living a mundane and ordinary life seems like a luxury to some people…

Another one of Kara’s students in the Fortuna program, Barbara, also joined us. Her story isn’t as harrowing like most of her peers as she had a cushy upbringing, something she admits to having mixed feelings about. She came from a well-off family, so she considers herself as sort of spoiled and sheltered - not in a bad way, more like that’s kinda the norm where she’s from. The best way she can explain her hometown is that life is pretty relaxed over there, which is not a totally bad thing, but it can feel kinda shallow and stifling.

Like Aina, Saku, and Kaori, Barbara’s homeland is kinda isolated and cut off from most of the world, though in her case, it’s more because of the location than politics. Back home, she was a party girl - and she still kinda is, though obviously her studies come first. Her main priorities at the time was having fun and keeping up with fashion trends, so a very materialistic type of lifestyle. That’s just how the people are over there - not exactly superficial, just really sheltered and cushioned.

Then stuff happened and Barbara got a glimpse of the outside world. Seeing how complicated and confusing the world really was, she ended up going through multiple existential crises. I imagine that it would be such a shock to her, stepping into a world where everything’s so different. Even though it scared her, she became intrigued by the complexities of life, especially after meeting some people who were patient enough to deal with her naivety, which often got her into a lot of trouble at first.

She eventually went back home, but found it stifling and unfulfilling. Her friends tried to help her, except they didn’t know how because she herself didn’t understand why she felt so restless. Then that led to another existential crisis where she tries something, putting in a lot of time and investment in it, only to get bored and jump on to the next new thing that attracted her attention. That whole act got old soon and Barbara decided that she really needed to take action by do something drastic. So she contacted her friends from Sunnyville to explore the possibility of her moving there.

For now, Barbara’s living with Rita, who she calls her hero as she was the one who helped her out so much that she’s indecisive on how to repay her. Since Rita’s birthday is coming up, she signed up for the yarn dyeing class so she can crochet something for her. Right now she’s busy adjusting to life over here as well as keeping up with classes, but when the semester ends, Barbara hopes to get a part-time job or internship at Skybelle. Once she’s saved up enough money, she plans to move into her own place, already having a neighborhood in mind that’s not too far from Rita’s. And in a couple years when she graduates from Fortuna, she plans to continue to her bachelor’s, and maybe master’s too. Sounds like she’s got a good idea of what she wants for her future - good for her!

The yarn dyeing class was a lot of fun, though potentially dangerous if I decide to pick this up more. Barbara plans to use her pink pastel yarn to crochet a throw blanket for Rita. Aina wants to knit more baby stuff, so she managed to convince Saku and Kaori to join the class too since that means she’ll get more yarn to work with. Arabella and Kara dyed a bunch of mini skeins so they can make small accessories to give as gifts. Daisy Jane went for a sweater quantity like me for a future project.

I went for a warm orangey reddish brown because I want a sweater in that color after seeing someone’s else hand knitted sweater they nicknamed the pumpkin spice sweater. Also, I don’t really have that many reds and oranges in my wardrobe, especially with my me-made knitwear. I know for sure that this will be perfect for the fall and I already have a pattern in mind that’s perfect for this yarn.

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#animal crossing pocket camp #animal crossing #headcanon ramble #diary of a junebug

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