#getting out of a funk with simple pieces

[ittybittyone]

Give that girl a burger

[lawchwan]

you look pretty when you cry (zoro, law, sanji)

summary: how they would react when they see you cry requested: @somethingsaladsomething reader: gn!reader disclaimer: nsfw with sanji, use of safeword, (although the sex is consensual, sanji’s can be a bit triggering so if you don’t want to deal with the whole thing, i suggest you skip it), implied physical harassment with zoro, while this is gn! reader was refered as wife in zoro’s part, implied depression or anxiousness with law (although i suffer from both, the piece is not the most accurate rep so take it as you will), rushed work, just one piece characters being sweeties genre: headcanon, fluff, suggestive a/n: my first request !!! i hope i don't disappoint here :) sorry i took forever though

crossposted on ao3

Law

Now I don't want to sit in the chat and say Law’s emotionally unintelligent, because he is not but he definitely has his moments where he needs to read the room before he acts. bare with him, he's just learning with you on how a relationship should work. he’s the type to leave you alone when you’re upset because thats his usual instinct that when one’s upset, they want to be left alone. he kinda has to learn the hard way that that’s not always the case…

You woke up in a funk and just did not feel alright. You were stressed and burned out and all you wanted was the comfort of your big hunk of a boyfriend, a simple cuddle with no exchange of words would've sufficed for your case.

Unfortunately, that's not how life works and it can be pretty unfair. Law’s been too preoccupied with whatever he's doing. With what? you don't know and don't care, what could he be doing that's more important than comforting you on your worst days? Furthermore, it didn't help that when you woke up, he wasn't even next to you in bed before he up and left.

Loneliness consumed you as your intrusive thoughts began to take their toll on you and start inhabiting your psyche. You knew they were irrational, you knew that Law wasn't going to leave you, you knew that he has the terrible habit of Irish Goodbye-ing his way out of a situation, you KNEW that you mean so much to him.

But his lack of communication is a flaw that you never think will challenge you as you thought you already what was coming. Law was a man with little words, so you can’t expect much from him, right?

You began tearing up as you start to grasp onto the pillow that Law once laid in, getting any ounce of remnants of him that can act as a source of comfort. Sure, it contained his manly scent that makes swoon and the pillow was soft, however it didn’t contain his usually cold beating heart that you enjoyed listening while holding him. You needed him badly as you began sobbing into the plush.

Unbeknownst to you, Law walked in, completely unbothered as he placed his kikoku to the side and closed the door. It didn’t register until he heard sniffles and the muffled sobbing that made Law furrow his brows in confusion. You began shaking as you almost screamed into the pillow Law would usually sleep in.

Law looked around the room in an almost panicked manner, almost like he’s trying to find the source on who made you cry before he leaned in to the bed and began shaking you.

“hey, hey, (y/n), what happened?!” Law hastily spoke. He was not the best at emotions but he will surely go kill someone that made you feel this way.

You lifted your face from the pillow, finally looking up at the person who has been in your mind the whole time he was gone. He’s studying your face while your lips quivered before you tackled his body by wrapping your whole body into his, your face on his neck. Law threw one arm behind him for support while the other arm instinctively wrapped around your midriff.

As you two settled, Law held your head as the other began stroking your back. He didn’t know what resulted in you acting this way, so he began speaking.

“(y/n), is there any—“

“Shut up, Law,” you interrupted as you spoke into his skin which made Law taken aback, “I just want you in my arms…”

Law’s tensed body relaxed as you grasped onto him like he was about to fade away from your arms. He is usually very awkward about physical touch and emotional confrontation, but he knew he can’t simply walk away from you and leave you be whenever you you’re not feeling the greatest.

he realizes that that it’s okay to remain, and if you wanted to be left alone, you’ll tell him. For now, however, all you both need is to be in each other’s arms to ease each other up.

“It’s okay, (y/n)… I’m here now”

Zoro

another awkward man who doesn’t know how to deal with emotions. he, like law, will go after someone who tries to harm his loved ones, he’s not here to play around.

You were running for the life of you, panting as you picked up the speed as someone was chasing you down. Everything was happening so fast, one second you were just eyeing at beautiful and intricate jewelry at bazaar near town, in awe of the sheer beauty and how colorful these gems gleamed in center. It was in the pricier side, which is what you expected, but you couldn’t help but gawk at the shiny gemstone that was practically calling your name.

A man stood by you, observing how you were eyeing at the jewel, took the opportunity to introduce himself and insist on buying this beautiful gem. You’ve naturally rejected his offer…

And next thing you knew, he was harassing you and chasing you down, demanding your hand in marriage. You ran away before he caught you—thanks to Zoro’s training in speed—but that’s all you could manage to do. You began finding a spot to hide, bumping into locals as you proceed to run while the man was calling out for you.

Once you find a crevice you can hide in, you kneeled as you began to wrap your arms around your legs as your breath began to shake in fear. Tears started to well up as you silently began calling out your boyfriend, hoping he can save you from this.

“(y/n)?” you hear a familiar voice, making your head jolt up at the man standing in front of you. It was Zoro, your boyfriend whom you prayed will show up. You only shook as you began stuttering and standing up to hold him.

You began sobbing onto his chest, meanwhile he froze in place, clueless on what to do. Your intention of hiding was shown to be futile, as your sobs echoed in the market, drawing unwanted attention while Zoro was looking around to see what happened, what lead to you in this mess.

“(y/n), I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on—” Zoro sternly yet worriedly spoke before he was interrupted by a roar.

“You get your filthy hands out of my future wife!”

Your blood ran cold as you heard that deep voice that struck fear into you. Once Zoro felt the stiffness and looked at the man who stood in front of the two of you, he already connected the puzzle pieces together.

So that’s the bastard that made you cry in fear…

“Your future wife, you say,” Zoro smirked that iconic devilish smirk before he rubbed your back, silently telling you to release him, which you did. That’s who Zoro was, a man with not many words, but you understood his language better than anyone could. You stood back while Zoro crossed his arms with a straight stand as he eyes at the man who’s ready attack him.

“That’s right! I even got her the jewel she wanted!” The harasser yelled as he grabbed hold of the jewel. You once admired that ring he was holding, now that it was in his hands, he absolutely tainted it. But Zoro couldn’t careless, he gathered both of his swords out, making the man jump in fear.

“Oh, I see, you got her that ring, how romantic…” Zoro taunted, enjoying the sight of the cowardly man standing in front of him. You only gulped at the sight, you knew Zoro will kill him, and he could only spare him if the man just ran away. Zoro simply walked up to him only for the man to walk backwards, legs shaking.

“Stand back! O-or I will kil—“

“Would like to see you try.” Zoro harshly spoke, which made the man ran before Zoro intimidatedly raised his sword at him.

“Coward,” he mumbled to himself before he placed his swords back to their case. Before he turned, he looked at the gleaming ring on the ground. He walked up to the source and picked it up to examine it, that was the ring that the man was holding earlier.

He turned to you, hugging yourself in the corner, not wanting your boyfriend to see your crying face. He smiled at you as he showcased the ring in his palm, “is this the ring that you were admiring?”

You only pursed your lips as you nodded. As much as you wanted to hate the ring for what that man did, you still had to admit that that ring was the most beautiful jewel you’ve ever laid your eyes on.

Zoro held your hand gently, and placed the ring in your ring finger. You looked at him in awe, only for him to smirk at you.

“I may not have bought the ring, which is a shame, but you deserve it…” He’s not the most romantic, but he always means well, which made you giggle when he tried to be one. He smiled at you as he held your face, rubbing away the remaining tear on your face.

”i got you, okay? just remember that…”

Sanji

out of the three of them, Sanji’s definitely the more in tune of emotions. He may not be the vulnerable one in the relationship, but he definitely allows himself to be emotional when he wants to with you and this man will do anything that will make that frown upside down.

It was a long night after a stressful day for the two of you. You thought you needed that destress but I guess your body asked for something different.

It was like any other regular session, Sanji gave you the foreplay that you needed before he laid on top of you, thrusting in and out of you letting out the sweetest of moans and whimpers.

He praises you and repeatedly tells you how good you feel, all the thibgs that typically turns you on, yet you feel like you’re in pain.

You don’t know what’s wrong, but you just didn’t feel good while Sanji attempts on pleasuring you. Instead there was this sharp pain in between your legs, the stretch of his cock went from the usual pleasurable sensation to discomfort.

“S-sanji… please…” you moaned out, but it wasn’t of arousal. Unfortunately, it sounded too similar to your pleasured state, thus Sanji thought you were just in pleasure, so he went in a pace much painful than you expected.

“fuck, c’mon, baby, c’mon, you’re doing so good~”

There was no use, you were in so much pain and you felt your tears welling up and started to sob at the sharp that your boyfriend has no idea of. You simply cannot take it anymore.

”BUTTERSQUASH!”

once you yelped out the safeword, Sanji’s blissed closed eyes shot open as he halted his movement. He was looking at the headboard until he heard you sob. His heart sank as he pulled away from you and backed away slightly, far to give you space but close enough to be able to check on you.

“baby, are you okay?” He looked at you with concern in his eyes, his blue eyes glimmer in worry, guilt written all across his face, “I am so sorry, darling, I should’ve guessed that you weren’t comfortable…”

You reached out for his hand and shook your head as you got closer to him, “don’t apologize, I thought I also needed this, but I guess I don’t”

That didn’t reassured his guilty self one bit, so you began stroking his face and placed your forehead on his.

“It’s okay, Sanji, I’m okay.”

Sanji just pulled you in to his embrace and you hugged him back as you relax onto his arms.

“I’ll never hurt you, nor will I allow anyone to hurt you… You’re too precious to be hurt…”

characters are owned by oda. i will not tolerate nor accept translation, reposts on other websites, or plagiarism. divider made by mmadeinheavenn.

[ch0wen]

Well, since you asked... I'd like to know how are you?? Also... some fluffy sexy time Tangerine x reader after reader had a partcularly bad day? Only if you want!

Hiya! Sorry for the delay but I am doing so so well! I truly appreciate everyone's feedback and interactions with my fics. It just feels so nice logging in every day and seeing that people simply are reading my stories. I also am so happy you reached out with this request. I hope I created something you like 🤗

Tangerine x Reader warnings: 18+ (minors dni) & oral m receiving

“T?”

Your arms are pulling off your coat before the front door could swing fully closed. A pause to check out your features in the hallway mirror, while you hung your snow-spattered coat onto the hook. Your frowning lips form into a pout.

Dark under eyes contrast with your pale skin. The texture of your hands feels dry from the frigid weather, and your bones are achy from overexertion. Also, your hair could do for a brushing. You look exhausted. It doesn’t help that for the past two days you’ve been called in to work on your arranged time off. But how could you say no? Your boss needed the extra help. It also means more money coming in. And you’re a people pleaser. Those are all valid reasons as to why you’ve come home looking like absolute shit today.

“I’m in the den!”

With his name just on the tip of your tongue; Tangerine is calling back from deeper within the apartment. You run your fingers through your hair to subdue some flyaways before following the sound of his voice.

Tangerine glances over the book he’s holding to greet you with a warm smile. It feels as if your body sags heavier with a wave of relief washing through you. He brings you so much comfort without saying a word. Being in his presence is enough to relax a racing mind or post-work funk.

He’s sat in his softest pair of black sweatpants and a simple white T-shirt. Tangerine is known to be a classy man with a great fashion sense. Hell, he dresses up in three-piece pinstripe suits just for his hits with Lemon. Yet you would argue he always has looked his best in his pajamas, or naked. Because it means he’s home with you. With no looming threats, except for the faux argument over who has to wash the dishes after dinner. These are the moments of silence he gets to enjoy when the second he walks out of the building for work the tensions rise. You love that for him. You’re always the happiest knowing he gets times like these for himself, or when he wants to share them with you.

He leans in to close the space between you both to place a couple pecks to your lips. After, you throw yourself onto the couch cushions next to him. Your body squirms to lay on your side with your cheek propped on his lap.

“Tough day then, hm?”

Your groan into his sweatpants is enough of a confirmation for his question. His body rumbles with a chuckle at your antics and you feel a hand squeeze your shoulder.

“Tell me about it, baby. Maybe venting will help?”

“God, no. They’re all insufferable. I don’t want to spoil my mood even more.”

His hand trails up your neck and into your hair. He’s carding his fingers through as he probably goes back to reading his novel. You close your eyes and hum softly in appreciation of this soothing method. His hand smooths over your head. Running his fingers through your hair and squeezing a small fistful to try to be comforting. Which in turn, makes you instinctively whine a bit. He clearly gets entertained by that and repeats the pattern.

“Instead of me talking about my coworkers. I feel like I have a better idea with what I can do to occupy my mouth.”

You move your head slightly to get out of the path of your creeping hand; Gliding past his knee, over this thigh, only to rest to cup his bulge. You mimic his actions by giving him a soft squeeze. The sound of Tangerine abruptly closing his book almost muffled his weak moan. A smile spread across your face while propping yourself up on your elbows to look at him.

“Shouldn’t I be the one helping you relax?”

“This will," you reassure him.

It’s too late for all that back and forth now when his cock is betraying him by standing tall in his sweats. You could almost nestle your face into the tight fabric around his crotch, but you want to make him feel good not torture him with slow foreplay.

You push down his pants and boxers; bunching them up around his thighs. Moving them away from the target just enough for it to have the ability to spring free. You lick your lips before moving ever so slightly to repeat the action on his raging red tip. Little licks - once, twice, three times before you bob your head down teasingly. Moving back up to focus your ministrations on his head again.

Tangerine lulls his head back to the feeling of the sticky heat from your mouth tightly suckling on his swollen tip. Then, without warning, you're taking the entirety of him into your wet mouth. He lets out a grunting shout of pleasure.

It's hot, and he's perfectly happy to let you know how much he appreciates this with his hearty groans. His hand which was resting in your hair tightens into a fist. Not as gentle as before but not demanding either. Right now, he was using his grip to urge you down without pushing you too far past your limits. You found his touch soothing; grounding even. And although the act you're performing is sinful, there is a hint of tranquility in this whole situation.

Your act is bringing him comfort. Warmth spreads in your belly as you're reminded you're currently sharing some of those fleeting, precious moments with him. It's a bit cheesy to be thinking all this sappy shit with his cock in your mouth but it's a physical confirmation he's safe out of harm's way at home with you.

[certifiedlovergirlsstuff]

i have a request! can u write a fic where r just feels like crap like she has no motivation to do any work or study for uni and maybe steve just helps her out? ly <33

i’ve been in these similar situations where depression or a funk is soooooo bad i just rotted in bed in the dark. if you’re ever feeling alone you could always come into my inbox/dms to talk.

steve harrington x gn!reader

masterlist

everything feels drab. draining. grey. there’s not an ounce of energy in your body to even lift your head from your pillow. the little shimmers of light filtering through your shut blinds felt blinding on your heavy eyes.

work sucks, taking every single piece of your soul everyday. school is stressful, having a breakdown after a three hour study session in the library. you want to drop out, you want to be unemployed- you just want to barely exist.

there was a gentle knock on your bedroom door, you couldn’t even mange a simple hum or “come in”, you just stayed silent. a faint creak of hinges signaled that your guest was peeking into your room.

“honey?” it was steve. his tone was soft, not wanting to disturb, “you awake?” you just did a light shuffle, moving your head from under your blanket. a nonverbal invitation to enter further.

steve closed the door behind him and made his way to your curled in side, the bed dipping with his weight. his palm rested on your covered hip, a comforting back and forth swiping. “how we feeling today?” a question steve asked when you were in a funk.

left cheek pressed into your pillow caused your lips to pucker and butcher your answer. steve leans in closer, asking for you to repeat yourself. even that felt like too much work.

“empty.” the one word pushed from your mouth, heavy on your tongue. eyes staring a hole into your wall, smile and laughing faces mocking you.

steve rubbed a line over your hip, “okay.” said in a tone a sad mother uses on their kid. you felt like you just disappointed steve. it’s not like you want to be down, it just happens and is a bitch to deal with.

a blur started to cover your sight, “i’m sorry.” throat getting choked by the oncoming tears. you wanted to bury yourself away.

“hey, no, no. it’s okay to feel this way. everyone feels this way at times.” hand leaving your hip to caress at your cheek, wiping away the few tears beginning to drop.

“it’s- it’s different.” “i now.” you both know that’s not the whole truth.

steve tucked a few greasy hair strands behind your ear, “why don’t we get a bath? feeling clean is always a nice step for a better mind. i could change your bedding as well, also make a snack to eat. what you say?” his thumb a simple weight on your cheek, his fingers pressing lightly into your neck.

a bath does sound nice. you were starting to feel the oil clogging your pores and you had a inkling that your room was starting to develop a smell that you were ignoring. you know what they say, a clean space helps a clean mind, or something like that.

“that… that sounds nice.” making eye contact with steve for the first time today.

his smile was beautiful. “okay, i’ll get it ready then come back.” before leaving he pressed a love filled kiss to your forehead and another before walking to the bathroom down the hall.

less than five minutes later steve reappears in your doorframe, a new glow following him. “your bath, ma’lady.” standing before you with a hand stretched out in waiting.

“will you stay with me?” pushing your comforter away and swinging your feet to the floor. steve took your hand, holding you delicately like glass. “for a little. i gotta do my other stuff. i can wash your hair if you want.”

“please?” already feeling your shoulders loosen at the feel of steve’s fingers messaging your scalp. he smiled, sickly sweet before presenting a kiss into your crown, “anything for you.”

[roomsofangel]

GROWING PAINS . . . # CHAPTER FIVE !

synopsis you hated christmas. simple. this year was no different, the only thing changing was the scenery when you decide to let your older brother, yunho convince you to visit your grandmother who neither of you had met but hoped it would do some good. everything was still the same — writer’s block, the winter loneliness, the way yunho won’t stop singing jingle bell rock, yeah, everything was the same. at least, until a certain blonde haired boy made it his mission to melt your iced heart.

warnings none that i can think of

wc 1.6k

if you’d like to be added to the taglist please either send an ask in my inbox or leave a comment to be added to the taglist! reblogs and comments are also very appreciated! ^_^

okay, maybe this was a bad idea. but would you admit it out loud and your defeat? that was never going to happen and you stayed next to the catering, helping yourself to the appetizers and knick knacks that your grandmother’s neighbor had put out for the guests. the only good thing about these things were the food, and you hoped your brother would come back soon.

the music made you scowl, god, you felt like the grinch except you didn’t want to steal christmas, you wanted nothing to do witn it. maybe spiting your grandmother was more beneficial for her than it was for you this time, shoving some chips and salsa into your mouth in hopes of getting yourself out of the funk you were in. the dress you wore felt too snug, the red, despite complimenting your skin and the makeup you wore, suffocated you in every way that you didn’t even know was possible until now.

where was yunho? he swore he’d be by your side all night, and it made you feel small. yuyu never broke his promises.

frowning, you took another chocolate chip cookie and broke it in half out of habit, setting one piece to the side and began chewing the other, eyes scoping the room in silence.

“here by yourself?” you heard a familiar voice, head turning to the direction it came from and there was your delicate stranger who adorned a smile to greet you

he wore a nice suit, which made you both want to tease him for but also has your cheeks redder than your dress. for a christmas party, it seemed more as if you were being courted for royalty and wow, san looked like a prince.

realizing you hadn’t responded yet, you covered your mouth that was filled with your sweet treat and nodded once in acknowledgment, “waiting for my brother,” your voice slightly muffled before swallowing your food fully, “he said he’d be back soon.”

san nodded, taking the spot next to you and looked around the room, holding a glass of fruit punch in his hand which made your lips curl up, “what about you?” you asked

humming, san glanced towards you, expression soft before be laughed quietly, “well it is my house so,” he amused lightly

your eyes rounded at the information given to you, this was san’s house?

noticing your reaction, san only smiled more, “my mom really likes christmas so i decided to do this for her.” his voice reminding you of a sweet melancholy, you nodded along. that’s sweet of him.

you couldn’t remember a time where you would go out of your way to do something like this for your parents, or a time where they did for you and yunho and the feeling in your chest that came with the thoughts only reminded you more of the ache. “that’s sweet of you.” you swallowed back the hurt, it wasn’t san’s fault and you didn’t need to take it out on him. it wouldn’t be fair.

plus, you admired the gesture. you could see how close he and his mother were.

“what about you?” he asked, lips pressed against his glass before he took sips from his drink, “fan of christmas?”

pressing your lips together, you shook your head while finishing the cookie you were eating, “i’m more of the grinch who rather leave christmas alone than steal it.”

in response, san laughed and shook his head with amusement. his dimples were more prominent this time and your stomach was filled yet again with that feeling you never could reconginze, a feeling you never had a chance to feel until san made his way into your life slowly, “that’s a good one.”

you looked at him with your head tilted, “do you like christmas?”

san shrugged, “yes and no, but i’m starting to like it more this year.” he smiled to himself, glancing towards you before his eyes went to the guests that were talking amongst each other.

chewing on your lip, you turned to take the other half of the cookie meant for yunho and handed it to san, “here,” you smiled

brows furrowed for a moment, san looked at your hands than at you, “are you sure?” he asked gently and you nodded, reassuring him by pushing the treat more towards his direction and into his hands

“i don’t think he’s coming anytime soon.” you frowned, attempting to mask the ache in your chest

tonight was the first night yunho broke a promise, and tonight was the first night san made up for it

you can’t recall how much time had passed when you found yourself sitting outside on the balcony in san’s house, hearing the party that was still very much active while you shuddered in the cold. you hugged your body for warmth, hoping yunho would pop up soon and you both could go home and you could curl up in your blankets after a warm shower and meal. where was he? he would have told you, you tell each other everything.

wiping the tear that began to roll down your rosy cheeks, you looked at the night sky that held the crescent moon, light snowflakes enveloping in your vision. some of the stars twinkled next to each other, your lips curling up slightly while admiring the stars and the moon that brought warmth in your chest. “i knew i’d probably find you here, i didn’t see you go home.”

tensing at the sudden voice, you glanced behind you from over your shoulder, catching a glimpse of san who walked towards you with a blanket, draping it over your shoulders while you mumbled a soft thank you before he took a seat next to you, “not a party person?” he asked

you held the blanket tightly, warming yourself up while looking at san with a thin lipped smile, “not really..” you mumbled

looking back at the sky, you listened to the music downstairs and the laughter, san clearing his throat before apeaking again, “did you ever find your brother?”

frowning, you shook your head, “but hopefully he’ll turn up.”

“you’re shivering,” his voice was soft and gentle, leaning to fix the blanket on your body and you looked up to him with doe eyes, “come on..” standing and holding his hand out

your head tilted, wanting to ask where he would be taking you but no words came out, mouth lightly agape and waiting for the words to flow out but never did. you sighed, standing and taking his hand into yours and noticed his was just as cold as yours — why did he sit out here with you without a blanket if he was just as freezing?

without another word or hesitation, san lead you back inside and down the hall into his bedroom where you swallowed the lump in your throat. you were in san’s room.

it looked like him, resembled him in a way and your lips curled up again, hearing the door shut quietly while you moved to sit on his bed, holding the blanket to make sure it didn’t drop off your body.

you watched san’s movements, he rummaged through his drawers and you noticed him pulling out a tee shirt and sweatpants, turning back to where you were and placed them by your side, “change into something more comfortable, i’ll be right back.”

before you could object or ask questions, san gave you a kind smile and left the room.

you sat there for a moment, wondering what to do next. your eyes glanced at the clothes he placed next to you, deciding to stand and regard your dress that you pulled the straps off your shoulders first to start with first, pulling down the attire until it dropped to your ankles. you didn’t want to waste time, unsure when san would be back and pulled on the sweatpants first

the shirt san had picked out for you was a simple black tee shirt, picking it up to pull over your head and smooth it out before climbing back into his bed.

you sat there for a few minutes, was san coming back? did he leave you here?

first yuyu, now sa—

“are you changing?” a muffled voice interrupted your thoughts, lifting your head to see it was coming from the other side of the door, you replied back that it was okay to come in and you watched the door open and san coming in with two mugs, both having whipcream and marshmallows

you noticed his small grin while he closed the door and sat down next to you, “i, uh, got us hot chocolate,” the blush on his cheeks evident

“how sweet..” you mumbled, though, your voice was gentle and you hoped you didn’t sound gloomy again. you smiled, taking the white mug he had given you

he nodded, “everyone’s starting to leave so i took advantage of what we had left in the kitchen,” he mentioned softly

everyone is leaving already?

“did you..” you spoke before you were ready, your words abrupt which caused san’s head to instantly turn to you, “did you see yunho?”

san paused for a moment, before his features went from confusion to as if he had just realized yunho was your brother, and he frowned slightly, “i’m sorry, i didn’t.”

mumbling a soft its okay, you sipped your hot chocolate, the whipped cream getting slightly on the tip of your nose that made san laugh, his thumb moving to wipe it off.

“i’m sorry if i’m intruding,” you looked at the mug that rested now in your lap

“i invited you, i promise you’re not,” he chuckled before standing, putting his mug on his night stand, “i have to say goodbye to the guests but.. make yourself at home.” he smiled, making his way back to the door

you watched him walk away, holding onto your mug tightly while nodding with a small smile, “thank you..”

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taglist (open) @myonlyloveseungmin @itsvxlentine @rockstarsanie @brown88 @barbielibra @vixensss

[sharedramblings]

Icy Problem

Summary: You are cold. Miranda has a jacket. You don't want to take it. Problem created.

Author's note: I think my attempt at crawling out of the funk is doing well. So here, take this thing that I did. It's yours now.

—-—-

Your stubbornness, most of the time, proves to be a great quality of yours. You don't put your foot down when you really really want something, not easily deterred when things don't go your way the first few tries. Once you set your sights on something, you're determined to have it, work for it, stand by it, simply fueled by your own stubbornness.

But pair it with your inattentiveness for the simple little facts that makes you you... then you suffer from situations like the one you currently found yourself in.

You're easily cold, prone to immediately feeling the low temperature creeping under your skin when you stay in an air conditioned room for a long time. Or even when the night falls deeper and the air becomes cooler. Or when you finish a tall cup of an iced drink, the amount of liquid more than you can normally consume. It's simply a fact of life for you— you easily feel cold. You easily get cold.

Yet you don't automatically bring a jacket with you, or any other piece of clothing that could help warm you up. Why would you, really, when every time you tremble from the cold, you can power through it? Until the worst of it passes, until your body can finally regulate your body temperature. So long as you can endure and survive around it, that fact simply doesn't matter that much to you. Like you have no recall for these kind of things, paying them little attention, even when the time comes that it matters most.

The intervention for this idiotic combination of yours comes in the shape of one tall constable, with her short blonde hair and milky white skin. Your girlfriend. Miranda Hilmarson.

The woman is observant, her eyes almost always roaming around when she's in a new, unfamiliar place. Attentive when in the presence of someone she only met. Always curious. Quite clumsy, but at the same time mindful. Especially when it comes to you.

It becomes her personal task to always grab you a jacket once the weather slowly leans on the colder side, aware of your susceptibility to the cold after months of being together. When the telltale signs that come in the form of goosebumps and slight shivers takes place, she promptly drapes the piece of clothing on your shoulders, which, truthfully, doesn't take that long to happen.

This time, however, she doesn't have one of your jackets with her, seeing as you two decided to meet here since she was on duty.

So here you are, standing under the cold night sky in the well-lit night market with your stomach full of mouthwatering street foods, visibly shaking as you listen to the street performer sing. Finishing that chocolate fudge brownie ice cream down to the last bite was a wrong decision. A delicious, chilly, wrong decision.

Beside you was your girlfriend, wearing dark pants with a white shirt underneath her gray zip-up hoodie, looking warm and cozy. Miranda has noticed your state, even before the full on trembling that you're trying so hard but absolutely failing to contain. She has offered you her hoodie then, unzipping the garment, but you refused and told her you're alright. Her cerulean orbs then did a quick sweep over your form before deciding to let it go.

The next time she brought it up, your arms were crossed in your chest, trying to preserve the body heat you still have. You can feel the quivering of your knees, the motions definitely out of your control.

"Here, take my jacket" she said, and still you shook your head.

"It's not that cold" is what you reasoned. You experienced far worse than this.

Miranda sighed, knowing you won't easily back down. But she also won't, more than willing to match your stubbornness.

"You're literally trembling from the cold." She stated the obvious, eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Besides, I've been wearing this since I got here."

"Mir, baby, no. I'm fine, p-promise." You reassured, which didn't go exactly as planned, seeing as your teeth decided it was time to chatter, making your voice shaky. The cold was truly biting your ass, seemingly enjoying the way you tremble in place.

"At least take my hand? And move closer to me." There wasn't any room for argument as Miranda was quick to hold your hand in hers, feeling how icy your palm has become. She pulled you closer afterwards, becoming more conscious of the tremors that took over you.

Unconsciously, you leaned in, drawn by the warmth from her side. You squeezed her hand, laying your head on her upper arm, squishing your cheeks on the soft material of her hoodie which is a size slightly larger than her frame.

The little compromise made way for enjoying the performance in front of you. It was nice, the singer's voice was pleasant to hear, and she was truly enjoying each song she sings, which adds a lot more flavor.

And then the wind picks up. If you weren't in such a state, you're sure it was just a gentle, cool breeze, blowing through the night and over into the open space. A breeze you think you'd enjoy any other time. But you are cold, and it feels like a harsh, frigid air as it moves to get to you. As a result then, a violent and totally irrepressible shudder jerked down your spine as the wind made contact, and you have no time to cover it up, even with a miserable try.

"Okay, that's it. You're wearing this whether you like it or not." Miranda lets go of your hand as she tried to remove her hoodie as quickly as she could, failing to swiftly do it in her haste. That gave you the chance to stop her movements by holding the zipper adjacent to her chest closer to her.

"No, I wo-won't! I can't have my girlfriend feeling c-chilly" You argued back with a more trembling voice, unrelenting still. Miranda's cheeks were already tinted pink, and you're pretty sure that the low temperature has something to do with it. You weren't keen, more now than ever, on the idea of wearing her jacket just because you don't have yours.

"Well, I can't watch my hardheaded girlfriend freeze to death!" She yelled back, mirroring your use of words, exclaiming and emphasizing the last word.

"Freezing to death is a bit absurd, M-mir."

"Not when you haven't stopped shaking!" The scowl in the blonde's face was enough to silence you, a show of the mixture of the worry and annoyance she feels towards you. Deep down you knew she was right, and instead of acknowledging it, you figured it's better that you don't retaliate, also taking into account the fact that your stammering helps further prove her point.

"Five minutes. You'll either take my hoodie or we'll go home." She said with finality, taking your hand in hers again before going back to watching, the furrow in her eyebrows not letting up.

You two decided to stay longer when you were both eating each of your ice creams, as it has been too long since the last time you two were mindless about the time, simply enjoying the peacefulness of not always hurrying to do errands. And that was about to get cut short because of your carelessness.

Despite the tiny disagreement, Miranda hasn't let go of your hand. Rubbing at the skin of your knuckles while her attention is divided on you and the performance. She was gracious with time, letting the second song finish first, the last note ringing before going to the concern at hand.

Before she can speak, however, you step to her front, maneuvering her arms up sideward, arms snaking beneath the jacket and effectively slotting and snuggly fitting yourself in the space between the piece of clothing and her shirt, hugging her. That was the choice. You don't want to end the night prematurely, wanting to spend more time with her outside the apartment.

Miranda's face was flushed from the cold then, but the rosiness on the apple of her cheeks spread more and deepened in color at your actions, the split-second confusion melting to give way to a giddy, soft smile before securing you in her arms, rubbing the side of your arms to help warm you up faster. What a smart choice it was, simultaneously dealing with the problem at hand while subtly apologizing, using Miranda's love for hugs to your advantage. Not to say that you aren't craving to be in her embrace, just that it was a double win situation.

"Can we stay longer now?" You ask, looking up at her. You let the short-haired blonde envelop you in her warmth, almost being covered in her gray jacket.

"So long as you're no longer cold." She said softly with a hint of inquiry, checking if you're starting to get warm and comfortable.

You nod then, swaying you both in the tune of the next song, changing position a few minutes later so you too could face and watch the street performer. Miranda's arms were on either side of your head, resting on your abdomen while she rests her chin on the crown of your head, both of you warm and shielded from anymore trembling.

—-—-

Additional note: This was entirely fueled by a prompt I've seen in passing (months ago) of sharing clothes with a character, and what better way than sharing a jacket with Miranda?

[rainroses45]

(Sully family x daughter reader)

description: you are Neteyam’s twin sister and you always try to please your father

a/n: I honestly need some sad fanfic right now so i decided to do it myself…(not edited)

song inspiration: Cherry-colored funk

You were twins, two of the same people. You shared a birth, a home, a face, everything. Neteyam and you were the eldest of the family. Dad expected the both of you to be the role models. The co-captains of the ‘squad’. A role not chosen, but forced upon by the lectures and trainings throughout your childhood. You felt like a misplaced puzzle piece, constantly being shoved into different spots of a picture you weren’t apart of. They tried, oh how they tried to make you be the perfect fit. They cut you apart, shaved off your links that belonged to another puzzle piece, but it was no use, you were an outcast. Not only by your blood, but by your abilities.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

You thought back on today as you stared at the sky. The world was seeping in with your thoughts to the point you couldn’t tell where the crashing sound was coming from. Each wave came harder than the last, its current was strong and frightful, you wanted to make peace with it but weren’t quite sure how to confront it.

Today was a rough day, it wasn’t just how you failed to fit in with the clan, but you got into a fight with the chief’s son. Once again it wasn’t your fault, but it made your dad’s life so much easier to just place the blame on you. No matter how hard you tried to explain yourself, how hard you tried to defend your sister’s honor, nothing was ever put to justice with him in rule. He was the general and you were merely a soldier who served nothing more than another number, another responsibility, another disappointment.

His words still echoed through your thick skull. Its memory brought back the deep waves of depression and hopelessness. The liquid falling from your eyes wasn’t from the ocean, it physically pained you to be associated always as the disappointment of the family.

“I asked you all for one thing! One thing, and you guys completely disregarded it!” Your dad yelled at you, Lo’ak, and Neteyam, his fury rolled off of him in red waves. His tone and volume made you feel unsafe.

“Sir I take full blame,” Neteyam butted into the lecture, again trying to take the fall. I glared at him, he needs to stop doing that.

“Neteyam you need to stop taking the blame for your siblings. Go, I will talk to you later.” Neteyam sighed nodding back in acceptance, he looked at me in sadness and walked out the mauri. Lo’ak began to also leave thinking he was going to get away lecture free, but was soon shut down.

“Don’t think I don’t see you Lo’ak, I will talk to you next.” Your father stated with his arms crossed in disapproval. Lo’ak looked down grumbling, then left leaving me alone with my father.

“I asked for one thing Y/n. One simple order, and you completely disregard it!” Your father turned his attention towards you.

“But sir-“ You tried to explain yourself hoping it would ease the tension. Once news of the fight was heard, he kicked everyone out except you and your brothers, so much for your siblings right now. No one dared to argue back except your mother, but she was quickly distracted by Tuk’s calls.

“No more excuses Y/n! I’m tired of hearing your excuses.” He interrupted you, his words getting harsher and harsher.

“But sir Kiri-“ You tried once again to explain your reasoning, but you were shut down by your father.

“Do you even care about this family?” He glared at you letting his hands form into fists. His death glare cause you to tremble in anger and fear.

“What?” You looked at your father in shocked. How could he ask such a thing? You would die for this family. You would give up anything for your family. “Of course I do sir.” Your voice was shaky and dry while your hands sweat from nervousness.

“Then why are you acting so selfish? Why can’t you be like Neteyam and listen to me?” He asked you with his arms lazily open, waiting patiently for your ‘excuse’. His words hit you deep. Why couldn’t you be like Neteyam?

“I do dad! I try dad- I mean sir, I truly do try.” You looked everywhere until you finally met your father’s gaze once more. At this point tears threaten to fall from your eyes.

“Stop lying!” He screamed, you slowly began to move back from your spot. Your dad looked down to let out a sigh then looked back at you with his hands on his hips. “You’re dismissed, I don’t want to see you right now.”

With that final response you left the area and went to the isolated beach. It wasn’t suppose to end like that.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

“Guys,” you softly yelled as you swam towards a nearby rock. Your wounds began to ache more and more. The adrenaline was wearing out and you felt yourself slowly give up. You put your everything during the battle, taking down the sky people left and right, protecting the Metkayina and your family from harm.

Your lungs began to burn, but you couldn’t stop now; you picked your head up to see if anyone was on the rock or near by. Smiling you see your brother laying on the rock, you called out to him. “Neteyam!” The pure joy in your voice was so true and loud. “Neteyam!” You yelled once again, your spirit blossomed giving you the energy to swim towards the rock. During the short distance, you thought nothing of the silence or how your twin never responded back to your calls.

“Neteyam,” you said as you climbed the rock slowly, being careful to not cause any more damage to your open wounds. You touched your brother’s shoulder - it was cold. Your eyes widen at the blood staining your brother’s skin. He’s dead.

You drop your head down, letting your tears fall at the sudden loss, and then looked up to the sky screaming. Screaming for the loss of your twin. Screaming for the pain of not saving him. Screaming because you have only yourself to blame. It was always your fault. One of the only people who stood up for you, who truly loved you for you. He was gone. You didn’t get to say thank you, and you never will.

You slowly laid down next to your brother as sobs escaped. The pain of your wounds was soon forgotten and replaced with the loss of your brother. This is who the both of you are, a product of war. A product that stood no chance in the current. Loving any of us was a death sentence, wasn’t it? If you put everything into perspective, he fell but hit the ground; you fell and there nothing was there to catch you.

You looked back at all your memories, you wouldn’t apologize for your actions, nor would you regret what you have done, but you were truly sorry for the ending of it all. You didn’t know that you too would fill the ocean, and still not leave a permanent mark behind.

You watched the stars as the sky grew hazy and blissful. The pain was too much to bare, it was torturous. Rivers of red issued from your veins to be greeted by the sweet air. Your body ’s temperature dropped every second making it harder to fight off the breeze. You wished to go home and lay in the green moss. You wished you could visit the spirt tree, you wished you could talk to your older brother once more.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•

“Dad where is Y/n?” Kiri asked as they swam away from the drowning ship. Everyone was rescued and the sky people were finally taken care of. It wasn’t until this question was asked that a new problem arose.

“Lo’ak where did you leave your little sister?”Neytiri asked holding on to Tuk who was trying to free herself from her mother’s iron grip.

“She was fighting off one of the sky people, before I left.” He tried to recall back everything the has happened, but it was too blurry. Memories seemed to fade or be miss sequenced in his mind.

“Mama!” Tuk called out pointing towards the rock where Neteyam laid. “Mama look!” She demanded trying to grab her mother’s attention.

“What is it my sweet daughter?” The family turned around to face where the young child was pointing at. It was the rock where Neteyam rested, but there appears to be another body laying there. Quickly your family began to swim, hoping it was you on the rock.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

“Is it okay if i give up?” You asked to the darkness. Not knowing your family was nearby; they all began to swim faster trying to reach you. Your body was so tired, oh so very tired. The loss of blood and hope took a role on your body. You felt lethargic and on fire, like a ragged doll being burned alive. You were on the verge of closing your eyes when the sound of splashing and gasps were heard.

“My sweet daughter, oh my sweet daughter,” your mother wailed as she grasped your head into her arms. Your family saw your condition and they knew, oh they knew.

Your father climbed up the rock quickly after seeing how much blood you lost. “No, no, hold on there baby. I got you, I got you.” Your dad whispered as he turned you around to check your wounds. Two bullet holes were seen on your adoniminal , it was a full sweep.

“Be careful with her head,” you cried out in pain at the sudden movement. They shifted you back to the rock, you were still holding loosely to your brother’s hand.

“I am so sorry sweetheart,” your dad cried as he held your other hand. Kiri held Tuk as she looked around confused as to why everyone was crying. Lo’ak couldn’t even look at you, he stared off into the ocean.

“GREAT MOTHER PLEASE, OH GREAT MOTHER PLEASE,” your mother begged, for what you do not know. The sky was getting darker and you felt more heavy.

“I- I want to go home dad,” you sneered out in pain. You turned your head to the side and let out a cough filled with blood.

“I know baby, I know, we are going home, but you have to stay with us babygirl. Stay with us.” He wiped the blood away from your mouth as more tear began to fall from your eyes.

“Dad I am sorry-“ He quickly silenced you before you could finish apologizing.

“No, I am sorry baby. I am so sorry. If I could take back everything I would.” He promised with a sad smile. You were his baby. His little girl, how could he fail his one job. He was a father he was suppose to protect that is what gave it meaning, but right now he felt like that title should be ripped away from him. He lost his children. His reason to protect, how could he such a disappointment.

“Dad I-“ You never did finish your sentence that night. Your eyes rolled back and you let out your last breathe in vain. Goodbye world, you tried and that’s all that matters.

[exoahgasebby]

Kinktober Day 3 : Punishment - Connie Springer

Pairing: Connie Springer x fem!reader

Word Count: 2.1K

Summary: You decide to punish your boyfriend Connie for ignoring your needs.

Warnings: Minors/Ageless blogs DNI 18+, explicit language, cockwarming

Masterlist : AO3 : Wattpad

⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ✿ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹

“I’m gonna get online and play with Jean and Eren, baby.”

As badly as you wanted to protest, you gave in. You had to remind yourself daily that the move to Marley left Connie feeling a little lonely sometimes. He had left all of his remaining friends behind, following you when you got an opportunity to work at your dream job.

With him recently enrolling back into school, the two of you had gotten less time together and it was starting to take a toll on your relationship. You tried to plan date nights every week, but most of them would end up with Connie forgetting all about them, him being too deep in studying for whatever exam he had that week.

Your sex life with your boyfriend was almost nonexistent at this point. It had to have been over a month since the last time he initiated sex, and even then it was just a quickie since the boys wanted him to get online right after. You remember how you felt that night, crying yourself to sleep because you were tired of feeling like his second priority.

Glancing at the clock on the tv, the big white letters read 1:30 AM. You roll your eyes in annoyance, shutting your laptop loudly as you stand up from the couch.

“I’m gonna play games with the boys tonight, baby,” you mutter in a mocking tone. “Fucking six hours later though? So fucking stupid.” 

Your legs take you to your shared bedroom, stopping outside of the office along the way to listen to Connie play his game. 

“Dude! What the fuck! Jaeger you’re so fucking bad at this!”

Connie was never a quiet man when it came to anything. A giggle emits from your mouth as a memory comes to your thoughts of the time he almost got the two of you evicted back in Paradis. What had started out as a simple game of Uno between your friend group had ended in Jean and Connie screaming in each others’ faces claiming each other to be the biggest cheater in the game. At the time, you were absolutely mortified at the thought of being almost evicted, but now you can stand in the hallway of your 3 bedroom house and laugh about it.

As you walk away from the door, Connie continues his rant about how Eren is the worst Call of Duty player he’s ever seen, making you laugh the rest of the way to your bedroom. Connie would normally be waiting for you in bed by the time you got there, but all that greets you is a dark quiet room. You sigh to yourself as you sit on the edge of the bed.

Your eyes find the mirror that was placed at the foot of the bed. Immediately your brain starts to pick apart the little imperfections that you see - your eye bags make it look like you haven’t slept in weeks, your thighs look bigger than normal, etc. You know it’s not healthy to think this way, but when Connie is ignoring you it’s easy to think the worst of yourself.

“What the fuck am I even doing?” you mutter to yourself, trying to kick yourself out of your funk.

You glance in the direction of your closet, an idea forming as you see a red lace two piece set peaking out from the row of clothes. Your feet move in that direction without hesitation, your brain deciding to make Connie regret ignoring you as much as he had been recently.

Clothes are quickly discarded on the floor as you slip the garment onto your body. As you tighten the corset and strap the leggings to the bottoms, you find yourself staring at yourself in the mirror again - this time your brain is not picking apart your body.

“Time to make him regret being such a dick.”

As you make your way down the hall to the office, you attempt to put yourself into your dominant space. It was so easy for you to submit to Connie and his ways, but tonight that wouldn’t be happening.

Connie’s yelling filters into the hallway as you open the door revealing the mostly dark room, the only light coming from the computer screen in front of him. His headset volume is turned up to max volume, making him completely unaware that you’ve made your way over to him. Your hands caress his shoulders, making him jump from the unexpected contact.

“What the fuck, y/n!” he yells, muting his headset and turning in your direction.

His eyes go wide when he sees the two-piece you’ve picked out, a small smirk showing on your face when you see his reaction. You trail your hands down his clothed chest as his hands find your waist.

“I miss you,” you say quietly, hoping he would get the hint.

“I know baby,” he says nonchalantly, trailing his hands along the sides of your body. “Just let me finish this game and I’ll get off, okay?”

“Can I sit on your lap and just cuddle, please?” you ask seductively while batting your eyelashes.

He pats his lap, expecting you to sit down facing the computer screen. A shocked expression crosses his features as you climb onto him, your chests touching and you wrap your arms around his neck. His hand instinctively finds its way to your ass, grabbing a handful and squeezing it lightly. Your face finds the crook of his neck, trying to hide the whimper that escapes your mouth when he squeezes you.

“Don’t distract daddy,” he says low in your ear, turning his chair around to face the game. “If you can’t cooperate, I won’t reward you later.”

Hearing his commanding tone made it difficult to not submit to him instantly, but you mentally told yourself to stay strong. This was his punishment, not yours. If you had to, you could easily pretend to be falling for his shit - and that was a risk you were willing to take.

“Jean, you’re such a fucking dumbass,” he says as he turns his mic back on.

You wait patiently to mess with him even though it’s torture for you as well. Occasionally, Connie’s hand squeezes your ass, knowing it drives you crazy.

After making an impressive kill, he smacks your ass hard in celebration. The slight bit of movement gives you your opportunity to nestle your pussy right on top of his cock. Your clit rubs against his sweats, giving you the friction you need to begin your punishment for him.

Your lips pepper his neck with light kisses as you slowly move yourself along his length, sighing at the feeling. Connie’s jaw clenches as he tries to fight the urge to moan, keeping his eyes glued to the game in front of him. He knows if he even glances at you that he’ll break completely.

“You really that needy?” he says, muting his mic so Jean and Eren don’t hear. “Such a little slut. Can’t even wait 10 more minutes.”

Words that would normally have you falling apart at the seams have you feeling even more angry at him. He dared to call you a slut when he hasn’t touched you sexually in over a month. Of course you were needy - that’s what happens when you’re ignored daily.

You quicken your pace, the wetness from you coating his sweatpants. He moves his character to a spot on the map where he won’t be seen clearly, grabbing your ass roughly with his hands when it’s hidden completely. His hands help you move along his length, quiet moans falling from your mouth as you feel yourself reaching your climax.

“You gonna cum, baby?” 

You nod your head quickly, feeling your orgasm approaching quickly.

Just as you’re about to reach your peak, Connie’s hands pull you off his lap. As you stand above him you whimper at the loss of contact, seeing a sinister smirk come to his face. His hands slide down his sweatpants and boxers, making his hard cock spring free. You can feel yourself practically salivating at the sight as his hands make their way to your hips. He brings your body closer to his, one of his hands snaking to your pussy. A finger trails along the wet folds, making him realize you chose the one set that was crotchless.

“Since you wanna be such a fucking needy slut,” he says, rubbing his finger lightly on your clit. “How about you have a seat on daddy’s cock.”

Your brain doesn’t comprehend the words that fall from his mouth as he brings his hands back to your hips, gripping them tightly as he shoves you down onto his cock. 

“Connie!”

A mixture of pain and pleasure overwhelms you as you try to adjust to his size quickly. You try to move yourself along his length, but his hands hold you in your place.

“Don’t fucking move,” he says harshly. “This is your punishment since you don’t want to fucking listen. Now sit here like the good girl you are, and wait until I’m done with the next game.”

Connie thinks he has you in the palm of his hand, a smirk showing proudly on his face. The sound of gunfire continues as you sit patiently waiting for your moment for payback. His cock fills you to the brim, making the urge to move hard to fight. He can’t hear your quiet whimpers over his friends and the gunfire, but he can feel you resisting the urge to squeeze him every time his cock twitches inside you.

“Shit guys, there’s a whole fucking team heading our way!” Eren yells through the headset.

Perfect timing, you think to yourself. You trail your hand up Connie’s chest, letting it rest at the base of his neck.

“Y/N, what the fuck are you -”

“No, you listen to me, Connie,” you say harshly, grabbing the sides of his neck. “I’m tired of being fucking ignored, so this is your punishment. You need to just sit there and play your game while I get myself off on your cock.”

“Oh shit!” Jean yells through the headset.

“Don’t you dare mute that fucking mic,” you say, smacking his hand away from the headset. “Since you want to be such a fucking prick, your friends can listen to me fuck you. Don’t fucking move, and don’t you dare fucking die - or I won’t reward you later.”

Connie nods his head quickly, making you smirk in satisfaction. Your hips begin to move, sliding up his cock until you’re satisfied enough to slam yourself back down onto him. You squeeze the sides of his neck harder, earning a low whimper from him. 

His cock hits your sweet spot with every thrust onto him, making you moan loudly. Connie’s eyes struggle to stay on the game, the scene of you fucking yourself on his cock hotter than he could’ve ever imagined. He resists the urge to reach out and grab your tits that are almost begging to be released from the garment in front of him. His name falling from your mouth like a chant has him losing focus as he feels your hand fall from his neck. The edge of his shirt rubs onto your clit, creating that little bit of friction needed to send you over the edge. You squeeze around his cock hard, finally causing him to moan loudly. “Fuck! Gonna cum!” you moan loudly.

“Holy fucking shit dude,” Eren says loudly in the speaker.

“This is hot as fuck,” Jean says in agreement with Eren.

“C’mon baby,” Connie moans, desperate to feel you cum around his cock. 

Your walls squeeze him tightly as your orgasm hits you like a wave. Gunfire sounds stop completely as the wet sound of your pussy taking him fills the room. The moans falling from your mouth are a mixture of Connie’s name and curse words as you continue to fuck yourself through it. Connie finally brings a hand down to your ass, squeezing it roughly as he helps you move along his length.

Your head falls onto his shoulder as your orgasm finally stops. Connie’s cock twitches inside you practically begging you for release. You whimper at the feeling, your own body wanting to feel another orgasm crash over it. 

“Holy fucking shit baby,” Connie says as his hands make their way to your hips. 

His lips kiss your cheek lightly as they trail down to your neck, earning a quiet moan from your lips. Your hips move your pussy along his length making him hiss in satisfaction.

“Connie, please fuck me,” you beg. 

“You better fuck her before I come over there and do it,” Eren’s cocky voice sounds through the headset, making you giggle.

“In your fucking dreams, Jaeger.” Connie says, removing his headset and shutting off the game for the night.

[gxbtx]

The Internet - A Retrospective on the Odd Future Splinter Project

In the early 2010s, Tyler Okonma, or ‘The Creator,’ banded together an experimental hip-hop group of young black artists, naming the group ‘Odd Future.’ While the brand is highly recognizable and respected in today’s world, it was not always this way. This new sound of black artists creating art tailored to the (at the time) dominantly white skate culture led the group to face the discrimination of being called ‘weird’ and ‘gay.’ However, this group persisted in committing to being themselves, serving as an incubation period for many reputable artists we know today. Tracks such as ‘Oldie’ and ‘White’ introduced many of the popular music artists in today’s musical landscape. Odd Future curated the talent for the likes of Tyler, The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, and of course, Frank Ocean.

In 2011, OF members Syd ‘tha Kyd’ and Matt Martians ventured off to create the splinter project dubbed ‘The Internet,’ introducing their discography with the album “Purple Naked Ladies.” Two years later, “Feel Good” introduced Patrick Paige II as the bassist and Christopher Smith as the drummer, tailoring new elements to the foundational sound PNL created. In honing their signature style, they experimented with Raliegh Ritchie in a few remixes such as “Free Fall” and “Stronger than Ever.” Syd stepped up confidently to the role of lead singer, reaping the soothing vocals that represented her undeniable swagger; additionally, her assistance in engineering early 2010s albums such as Goblin by Tyler, the Creator, Doris by Earl Sweatshirt, and Ali by Mike G built up her reputation as a talented music engineer. Paired with Patrick’s admirable bass skills and Matt Martian’s dreamy keyboard presence, the band would come to put out projects establishing their contribution to the new sounds of R&B.

LOVE SONG - 1

This short, simple ballad of a break-up holds a steady beat throughout the piece, with a short verse delivered by Syd. Syd’s soft, yearnful analysis of the state of her affair represents a common struggle of figuring out when to give up on the relationship. What is uncommon about this piece is the signature dreamy keyboard harmony, notably introducing a signature element that would come to identify this new band in future projects to come.

STRONGER THAN EVER - THE INTERNET REMIX

In a remix of several tracks from the Game of Thrones actor Raliegh Ritchie, The Internet brings an electronic buzz to the table that electrifies the heartfelt lyrics of resilience. The echoing of every verse resonates with the notion that the hardships associated with the constant strive to succeed can feel like shouting into a tunnel that lacks a response. Towards the end, Ritchie raises his tone and intensity, reaching a breaking point of feeling lost and alone, revealing he is driven mad by the implication of no resolution. However, the melody, “I fall but when I rise I’ll be stronger than ever,” is repeated to remind him of his resilience that will allow him to persevere. I connect to this song as I too have felt the struggles of reaching success, and like the melody, I have to remind myself what I am capable of to drive myself to succeed.

In 2015, Steve Lacy joined the group as the leading guitarist, graduating high school that same year. Steve’s relationship with the strings represented an incredible symbol of talent, taking inspiration from artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Thundercat, and the Neptunes. Combining these elements into the artistry of The Internet led to the production of the critically acclaimed “Ego Death,” breaking through the R&B world with unheard combinations of funk, jazz, indie rock, and R&B. Tracks such as Get Away and Girl challenged the very idea of what R&B can offer, with Tyler’s feature at the end reminding us of the humble beginnings. Rightfully so, the album was nominated for Best Contemporary Urban Album in 2016, as well as winning two BET awards.

GET AWAY

Lowering the tone to a deep bass sound, this provocative track begins Ego Death with a new concept of what The Internet can produce. Syd’s lyrics make the track portray themes of ostentation, calling on her same-sex affairs to create a unique singing dynamic about a girl in the articulation of an R&B woman singer. The low and slow beat still contains those dreamy elements in every Internet song, with Steve Lacy strumming a soft and light riff during the melody. The bittersweet theme is found in the lyrics of using drugs to escape the worries of committing to a relationship and is reflected accordingly in the instrumentals.

SPECIAL AFFAIR

This irreverent track mimics the sounds of nature; the dark and tense motif continues the character of a heartbreaker embodied by Syd. Syd’s soothing confidence creates a comfortable environment for the listener, while the deep bass lines and light, dreamy elements of Steve Lacy’s riffs continue throughout the track. The lead singer’s presence endures privilege, as the lyrics signify that she’s purely interested in intimacy without feelings. This provocative piece uses the sounds of nature to enhance the track’s tenderness, serving as an excellent nocturnal sound to accompany night drives.

GIRL (w/ KAYTRANADA)

The Internet continues to provide impressive collaborations, as Kaytranada's role of electronic/house producer registers a mesmerizing track that pulses a vibe unheard of. Kaytranada’s trippy yet tender sound paired with Syd’s vocals creates a gentle presence that makes the listener feel at ease. The lully track serves as a testament to the themes of yearning Syd creates, which can be misleading as conceived in previous tracks. The pulsing of the guitar riff alternating in and out of the beat, along with the small balance of bass, comes together to form a contemporary jazz track that few can pull off.

PALACE/CURSE (w/ TYLER, the CREATOR)

Palace/Curse ends Ego Death on a chill note, with Tyler’s accompaniment creating a whimsical ode to the girl. In Palace, a crowd is present to create an atmosphere that gets the listener hyped as if they’re actually in the crowd. The metaphoric Palace Syd sings about refers to the idea of seducing someone into her life of luxury, in accordance to the theme of the album. Transitioning into the low and slow “Curse” creates a feeling of daze, allowing the daydreamy elements of this band to shine. In the repetition of Steve Lacy’s repeating melody, ‘Baby I’m under your curse,’ and Matt Martian’s hypnotizing keyboard element to end the album on a jazzy note, this track entails as the perfect wrap-up of the incredible work that is Ego Death.

In 2018, the band created their last studio album under the name The Internet, dubbed ‘Hive Mind.’ More coverage of talent that Steve Lacy obtained peeked through, allowing the development of a new audience for his solo career. Before the release of this album, several members put out their own solo projects, such as Stevy Lacy’s ‘Demos’ and Syd’s ‘Fin’, alluding to the direction the band would go after the album. This final album serves as a more conscious reflection on the growth of the members throughout the years and the effect that music had on the process.

LA DI DA

Launching with his groovy guitar riffs, La Di Da allows Steve Lacy to shine through his vocals on the melody. Elements of the band’s signature style persist throughout this track, with added elements of funk. The fresh sound transforms into a softer jazz improvisation with a saxophone ending the track.

IT GET’S BETTER (WITH TIME)

If you’ve ever heard the track from Lil Uzi Vert, ‘The Way Life Goes,’ you’ll definitely be reminded of the same message Uzi presented to the listener. This tender track uses a bendy guitar riff to interact with a steady foundation of percussion, to which Syd’s lyricism provides a hopeful message of healing through hard times. Syd’s higher register in this track creates a satisfying comfort to the intended audience and is accompanied by an unexpected conscious verse from ‘Big Rube.’ His message of ‘The easy path rarely leads to what the heart truly desires’ comments on the discomfort required towards the pursuit of happiness. The track ends with a sunny jazz background to accompany a story from bassist Patrick Paige, who ardently explains his struggle with alcoholism and how he persevered through what seemed like a never-ending battle.

Overall, The Internet left an impact on the R&B world leaving a lasting impression. The contemporary elements the unique members contributed honed a signature sound of lulling comfort accompanying passionate and tender lyricism. This splinter project created an outstanding representation of the talent Odd Future would end up making, shaping these artists to be highly respected members of the musical community. While the band may no longer be together, their core values of passion for music bleed through the discography of The Internet, leaving the listener with a concept of how we can use music to truly create an emotional atmosphere.

[torasteals]

Tora Steals Things Volume 3: Contract Complete

A Guild Wars 2 fan comic/novel

Ebook out now! Checkout here

Completing the Tora Steals Things series, here is the final book: Contract Complete! As the final book, our titular sylvari thief returns to goofier antics: joining golem tournaments, getting caught by pirates, crashing ritzy human noble parties, and taking on a job to steal back a strange amulet. 

It’s not all fun and games though, Tora struggles with unemployment and homelessness throughout, and many of his adventures bring new and old unforeseen troubles. How can he join a golem tournament when he’s banned from Rata Sum? He’s saved from pirates by Blu Funk, but who’ll save him from her? How can he keep a low profile at the noble party when he won���t stop making a show of himself? And can he get back the amulet of Bolli before its hidden past endangers everyone? 

He just wanted to pay rent—what’s a simple thief to do?

Volume 3: Contract Complete features:

Standard Edition features: 86 comic pages, 89 pages of illustrated prose, and 4 pages of extra art pieces.

Deluxe Edition features: all of the above, along with 9 pages of concept and design work/notes, author commentary throughout, and 24 pages summarizing all the unused content I had originally planned for the series!

If you’re familiar with Tora Steals Things, you may be surprised to hear this is the last book. The series ended with the episode Amulet Of Bolli, which was one of the most ambitious stories I made for it. I didn’t originally intend for it to end here however, and had planned to continue the series for roughly 16 more stories/jokes. While I still feel I made the right decision in ending it here, I wanted to let those of you curious on what was left to have the option to see for yourself. Thus, the deluxe version of book 3 has summaries for every last idea I originally intended to make.

If you’re not familiar with Tora Steals Things, and you’re a fan of Guild Wars 2 with an interest in reading stories within the world of Tyria unrelated to the Commander, this may be up your alley. Consider reading Volume 1: Swift and Steady first or checking out the official website: www.ToraStealsThings.com

Did you miss volume 1 and 2? They’re available for purchase here

Highly recommend reading Volume 1 and 2 before Volume 3 as, although the many episodes are relatively stand-alone, they do heavily reference past stories and characters.

[gerogerigaogaigar]

Another aspect of hip-hop music that is often unfairly maligned is the instrumentals. The common complaint that hip-hop instrumentals are just boring rudimentary drum loops is simply untrue. Provided in the following playlist is a series of beats that show off the creative range in hip-hop. There's funk grooves, some scratching, psychedelic influence, and incredible sampling across the board. Some of these beats are legendary, some are really different and interesting, and others are ones I just think yall might really enjoy.

What Is A Booty Passin' Me By Who Am I (What's My Name)? The first three tracks here are examples of funk influenced beats. What Is a Booty? and Who Am I (What's My Name)? pay direct homage to George Clinton of P-Funk fame, while Passin' Me By has a solid jazz backbone. all three have catchy basslines.

Diamonds From Sierra Leone I'm not here to talk about who he is nowadays. Kanye West used to be one of the best beatmakers ever. The Diamonds Are Forever sample is incredibly integrated and the simple synth line that counterpoints it is pure sex. Diamonds Of Sierra Leone has one of my favorite beats period.

Dance in the Water Danny Brown has some really wild beat and this one is so rowdy. the bass is barely holding the shouting and drumming in line. It barely sounds like hip-hop and is clearly a bit punk influenced.

SICKO MODE This song was memetic when it dropped so you might be aware of it. SICKO MODE switches it's beat up throughout giving an unstable effect. Fitting for music that is supposed to have the vibes of being on lean and xanax. The whole of ASTROWORLD has psychedelic influence and it really brought an interesting sound to the then stagnating trap scene.

Go Go Pop Afrikaa Bambataa was influenced by German electronic group Kraftwerk when he made the album Planet Rock. The result is a hip-hop album that doesn't sound like anything before or after. Go Go Pop in particular is the track that feels the least dated. it still sounds pretty corny mind, but I like corny.

Workinonit J Dilla was the best beatmaker ever. Dilla didn't just flip a sample he would mutilate it. Workinonit also shows that hip-hop isn't just rap, there are instrumental hip-hop songs out there. If you find yourself enjoying the beats, but are still having trouble with the rapping then J Dilla's iconic album Donuts might be for you.

Eric B. Is On The Cut I couldn't talk beats without getting some turntablism in there. Eric B. shows of his scratch skills on this instrumental piece that is meant just to show off his technique.

Prophets Of Rage The last track is a bit more turntablism. Public Enemy's production team The Bomb Squad pretty much defined the sound of late 80's-early 90's hip-hop. And The interplay between the beats and Terminator X's turntables could have made everything else about the track an afterthought if Chuck D wasn't also at his absolute peak here.

To Be Continued ===> Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

[mywifeleftme]

340: Various Artists // Two Tribes

Two Tribes Various Artists 2019, Agogo (Bandcamp)

A double-LP mixtape/compilation from Hannover electronic label Agogo Records, Two Tribes “makes an effort to give insight in how [sic] musicians living in Europe today incorporate and transfer musical traditions particularly from the African continent into their oeuvre” (per the liner notes). Ostensibly, everyone here is either a musician living in Europe with African roots of some kind, or is a European musician collaborating with Africans, though in some cases what you get is just a Euro DJ using a few “tribal” sounding drum stems.

I had a lot of fun listening to the most ‘70s sounding funk stuff here and trying to guess how white the musicians were, but I was underprepared for the intensity of unpasteurized Funky Continental Guyness I was exposed to. Winners included guitarist Petri Kautto of Finnish-Beninese Afro-jazz combo Trio Toffa (pretty good), who strongly resembles Bill Nighy wearing a bucket hat with fake dreads attached to it, and Berlin’s slavishly authentic Afro-funk group Onom Agemo and the Disco Jumpers, who look like the S-Bahn Bloodhound Gang.

Petri Kauto of Trio Toffa

Onom Agemo and the Disco Jumpers

The compilation has what strikes me as a downright quaint (and very German) attitude towards the notion of cultural exchange that runs the risk of being pilloried for appropriation, but I’m sympathetic to it. Certainly, a collaboration like that between Zimbabwean mbira player Jacob Mafuleni and French DJ Gary Gritness that is neither explicitly “African” or “European” is by nature a more truly cross-cultural enterprise than Onom Agemo’s reverent homage or German DJ Elias “Agogo” Foerster’s vaguely Books-ish chops of African beat and vocal samples, but whatever. Influence is impossible to strictly regulate, and I don’t know that it’s even desirable to. White guys nerding out and riffing on the music of the cultures their governments currently oppress isn’t a problem—that their governments are oppressing those cultures, and that the scenes they operate within often have the taint of trickled down racism despite their utopian values, is. One hopes that Agogo and these musicians are cognizant of these challenges, even as they radiate a genuine and laudable affection for African music.

It’s worth noting that, while the European club sounds represented range from ‘90s style techno and 2-step to more modern forms of minimal house and bass music, the African face of the coin is almost exclusively defined by the funky ‘70s and ‘80s sounds that drive record collectors into quasi-sexual spasms. Being one of those guys, I don’t mind it aesthetically, but it’s interesting that the most contemporary-sounding piece is the 15-minute minimal house track “Just in a Moment to Find a Way to Sun Day” by Ivorian-born Hamburg DJ Raoul K. The centrepiece of K’s track sounds to me like a synthesized mbira, but he doesn’t feel the need to flag his music as African—perhaps because he actually is a young guy of African descent. Instead, he puts on a master class in using simple shifts in rhythm and dynamics to keep a room vibing in near perpetuity.

Anyway, as a mix, Two Tribes contains a lot of fine music and flows nicely. I dig Andrea Benini’s Francis Bebey-esque “Jawa” and the K track in particular, but nothing aside from Selma Uamusse’s anime-sounding “Mozambique (Ao Sul Do Mundo)” actively irks me. I’ve listened to Two Tribes a lot more than many other records in my collection that dig deeper, or make more powerful statements, because in the end, I just like the way it sounds.

340/365

[randomvarious]

Today’s mix:

The New York Beat: New York's Hottest Club Hits by David Phillips 1987 Freestyle / Dance-Pop

God, it must've been such a fuckin' vibe to pop something like this into your tape deck back in 1987 on a late, balmy New York City night and just cruise down the streets blasting it with your windows rolled all the way down 😎. When done right, freestyle music can be *so* good, man. You load a piece of a vocal into a sampler, chop up a Latin-tinged, pitch-shifted melody out of it, and then lay that melody over some layers of synths and drums and then I'm all yours 🥰.

And you happen to briefly get a couple of those sublime moments in the instrumental portions of the final track on this mix, "I Won't Stop Loving You," by C-Bank featuring Diamond Eyes. C-Bank is an electro and freestyle project that has actually belonged to a handful of producers over the years. In fact, the other C-Bank track that's on this mix appears to have been produced by a guy named John Robie, who had previously crafted some classic old school electro-hip hop jams for Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force—namely, "Looking for the Perfect Beat" and "Renegades of Funk"—and he also plays synthesizer on the group's most famous hit, "Planet Rock." But Robie's C-Bank song, I think, pales in comparison to the other one on here, which appears to have been co-produced by a pair of rookies named Elvin Molina and Mickey Garcia, who'd both go on to make a lot more freestyle tracks after they released this one. And the version that's on this tape actually sounds a bit different than the version that's on YouTube, which I'll provide here.

Because of those instrumental bits with the melodic vocal stabs, that C-Bank track is my favorite tune on here. But the one that precedes it by Bronx trio Sweet Sensation is a pretty quintessential 80s dance tune too; it was their debut single and it hit #64 on Billboard's Hot 100.

But outside of those two tracks, nothing else on this mix really seems all that special. And some of these tunes were actually pretty big hits in their day, like Sicilian singer Nocera's "Summertime, Summertime," which hit #2 on the Billboard dance chart in 1986. But looking back, a lot of these tunes actually just sound kinda simple, formulaic, and cheap 🤷‍♂️.

However, despite the overall lackluster selection, the mixing on this tape is still pretty damn good. And according to Discogs, this appears to be the only mix that this David Phillips guy ever made. Prior to this mix—if it is indeed the same guy—he did an updated 1986 dance remix of pre-Monkees Micky Dolenz's 1967 blues-rock single, "Don't Do It," which he front-ended with a coked-out, uptempo, hypnotically surfy hi-NRG beat. And I gotta say, it's really... something 😅; worth a listen just for the sheer novelty of it.

Really was not expecting this dancy freestyle mix to have just one degree of separation from Micky Dolenz, but there you have it! 😄

Now, I don’t have any links to this full mix, but I managed to record it with one of those cheap cassette-to-mp3 converters, so if you *really* want to hear it, feel free to get at me.

And here’s a short Spotify playlist of some personal freestyle faves of mine; nothing out of the ordinary, but some absolute bangers that span from the early 80s to mid-90s 😌.

Highlights:

Sweet Sensation - "Hooked On You" C-Bank Featuring Diamond Eyes - "I Won't Stop Loving You"

[dont-offend-the-bees]

The Elusive 80s AU? 👀

The Elusive 80s AU is my BABY, or more accurately mine and @kieren-fucking-walker's baby. She hails from the peak of my Dirk Gently days, and she WILL be finished one day because she deserves to spread her wings and fly.

Essentially, it's a year — September to September, 1986 to '87 — in the life of Todd Brotzman; a very grouchy and jaded little trans dude, currently and for the last several years working as a bartender in a grotty lil gay bar in New York (owned by 80s Farah in her power suits *blows kiss* for the lesbians). He's content enough with his lot in life and his scrappy little circle of queers, but he's also worn down by life and the endless day-to-day of it all. But '86/7 might just be the year that gets him out of his funk, because he's about to get one major life shake-up in the form of fresh-out-of-the-closet Dirk Gently, who stumbles into the Electric Rhino with with wide eyes and boundless enthusiasm and is gonna suck Todd — and probably most of his little club family, too — into his chaotic vortex of self-discovery whether they like it or not.

I've written *checks notes* two and a half chapters? And there'll be 12/13 plus an epilogue. All the rest are planned out, I just have to knuckle down and write! I'm probably gonna turn my attention to it next time I do a DGHDA rewatch! It's gonna be mostly on the hopeful/upbeat side but with a lot of sadness kinda underneath in the bones, given the time period and some of the backstories and the abundance of not-actually-unrequited love. So, SO much pining, a STUNNING lack of communication, and wall-to-wall Vibes: currently the plan is that when we feel ready enough to go with the chapters, we'll start posting one a month in the month they take place, with accompanying blogs and playlists curated by Kieren — who's also doing the buttload of research into this thing that helped me take it from a few scattered paragraphs of ideas into a full story with a fleshed-out world!

I have no idea when it's gonna be ready, but y'all won't be.

Ask me about my WIPS!

Pretty sure I've posted bits and pieces before, but here's a lil snippet from chapter one! ⬇

He’d just resolved to go track down Estevez when the empty stretch of bar in front of him was, suddenly and enthusiastically, very much occupied.

Todd flinched in surprise, blinking at the guy who’d come seemingly out of nowhere. “Uh. Hi.”

The guy grinned at him. He was average height- which is to say annoyingly taller than Todd- and slim, and he had floppy reddish brown hair that he kept pushing out of his eyes with restless hands (when they weren’t drowning in the sleeves of his huge mustard turtleneck). 

Then, bewilderingly, he forewent a hello and greeted Todd with a simple, chirpy: “I’m gay!”

“...Okay,” Todd said, almost as slow as his answering nod. “Cool. I mean, this is a gay club, so…”

“I know — it’s just so nice to finally say it!” the guy said, giving Todd a better preview of his accent — British. Incredibly so. He dropped onto a vacant barstool and thrust his hand out across the counter. “Dirk Gently!”

Huh. Was this, like… a thing in England? Did they just walk into bars and stores and shake everyone’s hands? Todd took the hand without thinking, giving it one or two confused shakes. “Uh. Todd.”

“Nice to meet you, Todd,” Dirk said, drawing out his name like he was trying out the feel of it. He didn’t seem to be about to let go of Todd’s hand any time soon. “I like your make-up!”

“...Thanks?” It wasn’t anything special, just a bit of smokey eye. That he ‘put on’ largely out of convenience because he couldn’t be bothered to wash off last night’s eyeliner. He looked down at his hand. Still being rhythmically pumped up and down. “Um. Can I have that back?”

“Oh! Of course, yes,” Dirk said, releasing him sheepishly, and folding his hands on the bar. “Sorry. Bit excited. This is my first time at one of these!”

“You don’t say,” Todd smirked, shaking his head. He hadn’t seen anyone pass through here with that wide-eyed wonder in quite some time. “Congrats on coming out. How long’s it been?”

“Just a week, give or take,” Dirk said, fiddling with his hair again. He seemed to have an almost compulsive habit of tucking it behind his ears. “Didn’t go down very well, I’m afraid, but such is life! Anyway, I’m here now and that’s what matters, so if you don’t mind, good barkeep — I’d like the gayest drink you have to offer!”

“Right,” Todd said bemusedly, throwing down his cloth. “Coming right up.”

He hesitated a moment. There was obviously no point in asking the guy to be more specific- he’d be surprised if he knew any cocktails by name at all, let alone by ‘gayness’. But he was new to the scene, and probably not difficult to please. Something pink would probably do the trick. Todd set about making him a cosmopolitan while Dirk chattered on, seemingly unconcerned with whether Todd was actually listening or not.

“You know, this is the third club I’ve been in tonight? First time I’ve actually had a chance to sit down, though, the others were rather busy — and, I must say, decidedly less welcoming. I understand there’s a lot of, well, unpleasantness about at the moment but that’s no excuse for rudeness! Well, perhaps it wasn’t all rudeness — I am a bit new to this scene, after all, so, um, perhaps this sort of thing is standard fare for… our sort? Or my sort, sorry, I suppose I didn’t even ask about your — well, I mean, I assume you’re somewhere —? Nevermind. Anyway, yes, very strange. I’m not sure, I was always told it was uncouth to grab at a woman’s bottom without her consent — not that I ever wanted to grab at a woman’s bottom, but my parents always seemed to think that might be something I’d take an interest in, but I digress — and I’d have thought the same would go for men but perhaps I was mistaken? I can’t say I cared for it — I’m not averse to arse-grabbing, per se, but I would much rather experience it on my own terms. I think. Actually, I’m not sure what my feelings are towards a lot of things, seeing as I’ve not had much call to experience them first hand — but I can’t wait to find out!”

Todd snorted, shaking his head. Man, this guy could talk. He seemed like the type to just vocalise every thought that passed through his head, regardless of relevance to the topic of conversation. He may need to work on that; there were certain things about their lives that they didn’t want to be sharing with the general public. But Todd decided to let him have his fun for now. After all, it was his first night. He’d learn all the hard stuff soon enough. “Here you go,” he said, putting the glass down in front of Dirk — with just a slight flourish, for his sake, obviously. Might as well give him the full experience. He considered the half-question buried in Dirk’s monologue, and decided to offer up a half-answer. “And I’m bi, by the way.”

Dirk’s brow furrowed. “‘Bye-bye’? Are you going somewhere?”

“No, I’m… I’m bi. Y’know. Bisexual?”

“Oh!” Dirk sighed, sounding weirdly relieved. “Oh, well good! I wouldn’t want you to leave on my account — truth be told, Todd, you’re the friendliest face I’ve seen all night!”

Todd blinked. That… was not something he got very often. “Uh… thanks?”

But Dirk wasn’t listening — he was immersed in admiring his pretty pink cosmo with lots of ooh-ing and ahh-ing that, on anyone else, would have looked ridiculous and patronising. On Dirk, though… well, it was still ridiculous. But it was also sincere, and that was something Todd didn’t see too much round here. It was kinda refreshing.

Maybe that’s what moved Todd to smile, gesture to the drink and say, gruffly: “Drink up; it’s on the house.”

Yeah, he probably couldn’t afford to be slinging free drinks at random nerds on their first night out. But he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t worth it for the luminous smile he got in return. 

Too bad he couldn’t pay his bills with smiles. What a nice world that would be.

Who was he kidding, he’d still be broke as shit.

[dustedmagazine]

Maxine Funke — River Said (Disciples)

River Said by maxine funke

Maxine Funke has been making hushed and lovely songs with guitar and voice for more than a decade. Her songs are the dictionary definition of “less is more.” She strips elusive imagery to pencil-drawn simplicity. A whisper carries soft melodies over translucent lattices of acoustic picking, so that both voice and guitar nestle gently in your ear. And yet these songs are far from slight or ephemeral. They grow gnarly roots in your subconscious slyly and before you’ve really noticed it. Said Doug Mosurock in Dusted of the 2012 disc, Felt, “This is one of those records you’ll have a hard time shaking.”

This latest missive delivers the soft but faintly disturbing songs you’ve come to expect from Funke on one side and some intriguing long-form instrumental play on the other. The two halves of River Said are different but complementary, both water-pure reflections of the natural world (and an adjacent spiritual world), but in different timbres.

The song structured side starts with “Willow White,” a murmured beauty of soft intimations and fluid picking, a serene and bucolic piece with ghosts in the shadows. “A trifle early is the spring/whisper willow whispering,” Funke intones in lucid simplicity, conjuring a riverbank world in sunshine. Yet there are darker, fairy tale elements hovering in the margins, sleepwalkers and nightmare wakers and power lines droning overhead like a beast. Beauty coexists with unsettling archetypes. Later, “River Said,” unleashes eddies and swirls of guitar sound that seem to mimic the motion of water running downhill. An elliptical sketch of a picnic takes shape. Bottles are uncorked, beer is sipped, feet are dabbled in the stream. There is something so clear and simple about the song, and yet it slips in and out of focus.

These are solitary songs, and Funke sings and performs them by herself. “Call on You,” adds an overdubbed vocal counterpart, Funke answering Funke in a delicately gorgeous call and response, “I’m gonna call,” she trills, and then, fainter, like a mountain echo, comes the reply, “Call you.” The beauty of the songs comes in their purity and spareness, yet just this once, you see how ornamentation could fill them out and expand them.

Funke interspersed some instrumental intervals into Silk, layering keyboards and electronics and field recordings in abstract squiggles between verse-chorus songs. Here she explores similar un-song-like textures in two long tracks at the end of the album. You can almost smell the salt air in “Long Beach,” an extended meditation on surf and birdsong that Funke embellishes with subtle clicks and rattles of percussion and long crystalline organ tones that roll in and recede like the waves. “Oblivion” natters and scrapes with bowed tones, a cello apparently, but mussed and scratched to illegibility. Slowly a rhythm emerges in quick, overlapping swipes, and birds twitter, en masse, in the rafters. Funke adds some vocals in the second half of the cut, first intoning, then singing fragile lines about obsidian and sea lions. It is quite beautiful, in a shadowy, dream-haunted way, though you can never really get a firm grip on what it signifies.

Both the songs and the noise compositions have their merits—though I prefer the songs—and both distill natural energies into unruffled reflecting pools of sound. Both will calm you down, but also, if you let them, disturb you. These are gorgeous landscapes with sketched in trolls and demons in the margins, hard to see but showing their teeth.

Jennifer Kelly

[itspdameronthings]

Inside The Head Of Santiago Oscar Garcia

Summary: Here you go Santi fans. Thought i do a piece for @writer-wednesday . Deals what Santi is writing in his journal. which focuses on the one that got away.and meeting someone new! enjoy!

Sitting in my favorite spot at my local hangout. Place where I can think. Zone out the world around me. On that account , it's raining outside.  Matches my current mood. Others who write in journals do so in the privacy of their own homes. Me? I'm in the presence of my family.  Place I'm at is my mom's shop. Best Colombian eats in the city. Other family members work here too. Nestled in my own chair near the window.  Looking out every now and then. Seeing people passing by.Till out of the corner of my eye. See a familiar face. No! It can't be! After all this time! Lilly.  Oh how I wished we never parted.  My stupidity as usual. Never had any meaning or last relationships since then. 

Day two: 

Dreamed about her last night. Dreamed about how happy we were.  We completed one another.  Knows what to do when I have my emotional breakdown.  Remember her touches on me. Moment turned into shit till I remember the moment after I left her. No note nada! I ran to another country. A mission that she wouldn't understand.  Why didn't I tell her? Simple. Putting her in danger. Yes she knows the danger. She was in the delta force.  Not with the rest of us.  Looking at the rain outside still affects me. Others told me I need to move on. I fucking cant!

Seen her again. Arms around another guy. Of course she must have moved on. Happy look on her beautiful face. Mama told me that she heard that she is happy.  Planning to wed soon. Thanks for the info mama!  I needed to hear that.  

Lily stops by the shop. Ordering her usual. Iced coffee and an apple empanada.  Taking a deep breath. Walked up to her to chat. One look from her confirmed one thing. She is either shocked or sad. Asked her what happened.  She tells me to back off! I'm not his concern anymore.  How can I not stop ! I know something isn't right! Have to know!

After getting info about the dude she is " in love " confirmed my suspicion.  He is a bad guy.  Had to tell her ! Remember reading about the nuptials in the paper. Time to rush over to save the day. 

Dateline few days later: 

Hola from the comforts of my apartment bed. Window opened to let the rainy air in. Nursing my gunshot . Yeah I was involved in a bang bang shooting up at the wedding.  Comes to find out he was in the right! Wtf! Lily was the one who was the bad guy! Turned out that she wasn't in the army! The dude was an undercover FBI agent! She was the one that planted the false information on him! Reason why I got shot? Shooting thugs. Not before getting shot on the left side.  Yes, another scar on that side. 

After being rushed to the hospital.  Though I heard voices. Of my brother at arms. Was in and out of consciousness.  Woke up to a beautiful face. An angelic face of a woman. So beautiful.  Watching her taking vitals.  How I wanted to touch her. Being hooked up to machines.  Heard her say that he needs to reconsider being on desk duty. Sorry sweetheart. I need to be out on the field. That made her laugh.

When I  was finally released from the hospital.  My mama stayed with me so I could heal. Told me not to dwell on the past.  Move on. Find someone new. Better yet.  Retire.  Help her out at the cafe since I'm always there . Haha! 

Heeding mama's advice.  I'm working at the cafe. After a busy day.  Finally I can relax.  Put my feet up and write my thoughts and feelings.  To say finally at long last.  I'm in a relationship with someone.  She understands me. We have lots in common.  While I'm in my old world. Didn't feel a pair of soft hands around my waist. My guardian angel. Nurse who I dreamed about while I was in the hospital.  So glad she is here. Made me get out of this funk that caused me to beat myself up on my past issues.  Did I mention that she is the Millers' older sister? Imagine that.  Still have the habit of writing here. Now? Might change that habit. Now I'm in a happy place. Time to find a stopping point. My lady and I have a date.