#i did my best to not look at anyone elses' designs before

[pshaven]

APPLE CIDER lee heeseung ౨ৎ

synopsis! your new roommate, heeseung, seems to underestimate just how naive you really are when you catch him in a compromising situation. wc! 5k cw! perv!hee, switch!heeseung & switch!reader but make it competitive, voyeurism(??), size kink if u squint, male masturbation, degradation, praising, oral (m!receiving), grinding, riding, no protection (Plz wrap it), hee a FREAAKKK, creampie, unspoken aftercare but like barely??, hee calls reader baby, good girl, slut, i think that's it lmk if i missed any!

BREAK THE SKIN M.LST

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“jay, i do not have time for a party right now!” you complain, getting dragged by your best friend into some frat party. he’s been urging you to get your mind off of your living situation, as it seems like it’s all you can think about these past few weeks. 

thanks to your idiot landlord, he’s made some overlap in the house you’re supposed to be living in for the next school year, thus leaving you in the dust since the other tenant had a better credit score than you (you can thank your impulse purchases for that). so you’ve been crashing at jay’s place for a bit and you’re starting to get sick of the boy house smell, and have been wanting to get out as soon as possible. 

unfortunately, the odds seem to not be in your favor as it seems like everyone you know doesn’t know anyone else who’s been looking for a roommate. 

“yeah, but you said it yourself! you’re sick of… the ‘boy’ smell at my place. you’re not smelling it anymore, right?” he teases, using air quotes as the both of you arrive at the front door and exchanging a nod with the frat boy at the front before walking inside. you huff out a sigh, releasing your wrist from jay’s grip. he is right in some way.. you’ve been looking nonstop for some place to stay at and you do need a break at some point. 

you hear someone call jay’s name, approaching the two of you. “hey, jay, nice to see you!” they greet, and you excuse yourself because you refuse to stand there awkwardly as the two of them catch up. you make your way to the kitchen, seeing the multiple bottles of different alcohol brands lined up on the island and you scrunch your nose. you and jay never talked about who’s being the designated driver tonight, so you decide to be safe and just have something else. 

you find a cooler beside the counter on the floor, hoping there’s something for you to drink. bending down and opening the cooler, another hand invades your view of your options and you see that they’ve grabbed the last bottle of apple juice. you frown a bit, searching through the ice cubes to only find gatorade and lemonade left.

you stand up, shutting the cooler with a hefty sigh, a clear pout on your face that doesn’t go unnoticed by the culprit who stole the last apple juice. “oh, oops. did you want this?” he asks, tearing the straw from the carton and poking it in. as if he’s taunting you, he’s slightly shaking the juice in his hand. 

“oh, it’s alright. i’m sure i can just have something else…” you mumble, but offer a smile to him anyway since he was nice enough to offer it to you. 

he nods, “good. i wasn’t gonna give it up anyway.” he gives you a boyish grin, sipping the juice in front of you like he’s doing it on purpose, in the most menacing way possible. his words have you choking your thoughts, eyes narrowing at this ridiculous(ly handsome) boy in front of you, innocently sipping at his apple juice. 

“wh- you dick??” you gape, brows furrowing in frustration. your hands think on their own, reaching up for his juice carton and squeezing at the sides so that the juice goes to spill all over his clothes. and it’s his turn to gape at you, eyes wide and mouth open in shock as he comprehends what you just did. 

“morning,” you hear a grumble from behind you, a sleepy heeseung clad in plaid pajama pants and a teen titans t-shirt making loud footsteps towards you in the kitchen. you raise your brow at him as you turn around, holding a cup of apple juice in your hands.

“umm, don’t you have a ten am class today? it’s eleven,” you inform him curiously, watching his eyes still try to blink open from sleep as he’s opening the fridge in haste. he throws his head back, groaning loudly and proceeds to stomp on the ground like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

“you finished the apple juice?!” heeseung whines, lips forming a pout like you did that night at the party, turning his head over his shoulder to look at you. you roll your eyes, setting your half-finished cup of juice on the counter and sliding it towards him as if it’s your nth time dealing with this (it is. it happens every time at the end of the week). 

he gratefully takes your cup, chugging down the apple juice before licking his lips in satisfaction. he completely ignores your question, passing you to get to the sink to wash the mug. you turn your body to look at him again, head tilted to the side curiously as you watch his lazy hands scrubbing the soap sloppily on the cup. 

he’s extra sleepy this morning, and he’s usually not the type to skip his classes (surprisingly), especially not his important classes that impact his major. “are you okay?” you ask him once he finishes, setting the cup upside down to dry. 

heeseung pauses in his tracks a bit, blinking blankly before meeting eyes with you. “oh… yeah. don’t worry about me. just had a rough night i guess…” he mumbles, sheepishly rubbing the nape of his neck awkwardly. 

it’s a habit you notice that he does every time he’s nervous or when he’s hiding something. although the two of you have been roommates for over four months now and have a good friendship, bonding over your love for anything apple juice or apple cider, you wouldn’t think he would be the type to confide in you. 

“it’s all that gaming you do,” you reprimand him like you’re his mother, patting him on his shoulder before walking back into your room. he releases a breath he doesn’t realize he’s been holding once your door shut, leaving him alone in the kitchen. 

rubbing a hand over his face, heeseung does his best to recollect himself but his lower half seems to have a mind of his own, creating a clear imprint of his hardon through his pajama pants. he shuffles his way to his own bedroom, hurriedly shutting the door as he lays himself down on his bed. “fuck,” he huffs out, eyes screwing shut. not his fault, he tells himself; you just look too pretty in the morning, slightly ruffled up hair and not to mention your cute pajamas.

but he thinks nothing beats the outfit you wore to the party the night he met you.

all dolled up, putting in effort to the way you look but not trying too hard. he blesses jake for convincing him into going that night, or else he probably would never get a pretty roommate like you. you were so cute to him, eyes widening in shock at your own action when you had sprayed the juice all over him. sure, the stain never got out of his favorite shirt but you definitely made it up to him that same night. 

his cock restrained in his pajama pants only feel tighter the more he resists, a grumbly groan leaving his lips as he shamefully fishes his cock out. his hand begins to slowly move up and down, hips lifting off the bed from being impatient as he needily thrusts up into his fist. 

his breath starts to pick up when he hears you humming on the other side of the wall, presumably with your headphones on as you study or do homework. so cute, so innocent, you have no idea that he fucks his hand to you every night.

“god–” he gasps, fist speeding up as he pretends you’re doing it for him; soft and pliant hands wrapping around his thick girth– you probably can’t even fully wrap your hand around him. the thought sends him into a needier state, letting a whine slip from his lips before he captures his bottom lip between his teeth to quiet down. 

he reminisces about your pretty party outfit, simple yet effective enough to get him worked up. your small hands immediately reaching for his chest in a terrible attempt to clean him up, still shocked about what you had just done. the mere size difference of his broad chest compared to your hand has him reeling, imagining that you’re on top of him and discovering his body. 

he pretends his hand is yours, his free hand going underneath his t-shirt and scratching at his stomach but his dull nails are nothing compared to your pretty, manicured nails. he licks his drying lips, fist tightening around his cock as he feels himself get close. he muffles his voice again, having a bad habit of being too loud when he’s approaching his high. 

he moans into his hand, hips twitching and still slightly thrusting up to get the last bit of satisfying overstimulation. his cum spread all over his hand and shirt, he lets out a sigh, one of relief and shame.

he feels so dirty, so gross and perverted– what was meant to just be two people temporarily taking advantage of each other’s situation is going on for too long. 

“oh god, i’m so sorry!” you quickly apologize, hands wiping at his clothed chest to get rid of the juice but you realize you’re only making it worse. “fuck, i’m sorry,” you mumble another apology, but the man in front of you only laughs. you cock a brow, thinking he’s laughing at you. maybe you don’t regret squeezing the juice box all over him. 

“no, sorry, i–” he breaks out into another fit of laughter, slightly hunching over and you just don’t get what is so funny. you cross your arms across your chest, brows furrowing as you watch him collect himself once more. “damn. i don’t know someone who takes apple juice this seriously.”

you frown, “i’m not. sorry, i’m just stressed cause no one has a free space for me to live in temporarily, and all i wanted was a sweet box of apple juice but someone took the last one!” you say pointedly, eyeing him up and down with narrow eyes (in a judgemental manner… totally not checking him out). 

he raises his hands up in surrender, shoulders shrugging. “whoops! well you should’ve just told me that. then i would’ve offered to share,” he hums, flashing you another boyish grin. you think he’s lucky he’s attractive, because if he wasn’t, you would’ve been long gone out of this conversation. 

“wow, just ‘share’? that’s how you’re gonna treat me while i’m in a crisis?!” you exaggerate, eyes wide with sarcasm as you scoff at him. 

he giggles at you, enjoying how expressive you are.  “you do know you’re not the only one experiencing a crisis, right?” he raises a brow at you, grin still remaining on his face. 

the rest seemed to be history, him explaining to you that his dickhead old roommate just stopped paying rent and was kicked out so now he’s paying the entire floor and is in dire need for a roommate to fill in. 

it was all too convenient, it seemed too good to be true. 

heeseung is a good roommate. you had your doubts about living with a guy, especially after staying with jay for a while, you were worried the boy stench would apply to living with heeseung too. but since it was just him, it wasn’t overwhelming as long as you didn’t step foot into his man cave. 

he does his fair share of chores, like doing the dishes and taking out the trash. he’s clean in the shared space and has yet to ever make you uncomfortable or doubt living with him. but of course, jay has his own reservations about you living with heeseung. 

“what?” jay’s voice pierces your ears, his tone of disbelief and disappointment at the same time making you a bit wary. you shrug, giving your best friend a sheepish smile before you try to defend yourself. 

“come on! it’s a win-win situation? i’ve been looking for weeks! i need a place to stay!” you plead your case, folding your hands like you’re praying (for jay to not kill you). 

he scoffs, eyes rolling. “you do have a place to stay. here! safe! and not with a stranger!” jay reprimands you, finger pointing down to the couch the two of you are sitting on. 

you sigh in return, “he’s not a stranger! plus, aren’t you guys friends?” you suddenly question, brow raising up at him and he seems to be appalled at your accusation. 

“huh?? where did you get that from? me and heeseung are not friends. i don’t like him. he’s weird for asking you to live with him,” jay mumbles in the last sentence, eyes peeling off of you for a second as he looks at his fiddling hands. 

you find his sudden change in attitude strange, your best friend usually never gets shy around you to say what’s on his mind. nor does he ever get this heated about a choice you’ve made. “okay, geez. i just thought you guys hung out with the same crowd…” you frown, your fingers now nervously playing with the hem of your shirt.

jay makes you nervous. despite being your bestest and longest friend, he seems to always have certain reserves around you and it’s difficult for you to point out sometimes. you know he cares for you and vice versa– that will never change. but it’s hard to understand what he’s feeling if it’s not already written all over his face. that means it’s already too late, he’s been feeling that way for a long time. 

nonetheless, through all his protests and complaining that you should absolutely not move in with heeseung, he still helped you move in the next week. 

heeseung’s been nothing but good. 

until you decide to skip class one day, holed up in your room because you weren’t feeling well that day. you don’t have heeseung’s schedule memorized yet, since it’s only been three weeks since you first moved in. but you hear shuffling from outside your room, and if there’s one thing you discovered, it’s that heeseung is a loud walker.

the footsteps stop, but then a few minutes later, you hear faint moaning. it’s so quiet that you think you imagined it, but now your ears are perked up to try and perceive what you’re hearing. you swear the sounds go up a decimal higher, and you can pick up high-pitched squeals and moans from outside your room. 

your eyes widen, half of your face hidden underneath your blanket as you piece together the scenario. is he really watching porn out in the living room? it’s not that you’re judging him for watching porn, but out in the shared space that the two of you have movie nights and eat dinner together feels… dirty. 

but you suppose you’re not any better. the fact that heeseung is a few feet away from you, horny and doing god knows what in an intimate space that the two of you share.. your thighs squeeze together under your bed sheets. 

you secretly wish that the living room was closer to your room since it’s hard for you to really hear anything other than the porn playing. but then it suddenly stops, the sound from the video no longer masking the pants and moans of your roommate. he doesn’t seem to be shy given how vocal he is, probably because he thought he was alone. 

you can’t help but feel a little guilty, thighs rubbing together as your heated face stares up at the ceiling, trying to get rid of the visual your brain presents of heeseung stroking his cock, probably manspreading with his head thrown back and eyes squeezed shut with pleasure.

you didn’t regret moving in with heeseung at first. now that you know his secret, you regret it a little bit. 

either heeseung has no shame or he’s really good at hiding it. he doesn’t seem to be affected when sitting on the couch together, indulged in whatever movie he had picked while you two ate dinner. you were a bit awkward at first, eyes wandering around the couch to look for stains, shifting as if you’re impatient to the point that heeseung had to ask if you were okay.

he’s impressively well at keeping things casual with you, like he’s the most innocent man in the world. you suppose you’re doing the same– you’re not exactly in the clear, listening in on him when you could’ve easily thrown on some headphones for the sake of his privacy. 

this went on for months, and now that you’re on month four of living together, you’ve almost forgotten about that incident… or perhaps you just pushed it to the back of your mind to not distract you. 

and while you think heeseung might be unintentionally a freaky pervert, he’s really quite the opposite. getting off to the mere thought of you possibly hearing him gets him worked up, and your innocent conversations you have with him the next day only gets him hot and bothered. 

the thought of you possibly knowing his “habit” has crossed his mind more than a few times, but he highly doubts it since you’re able to sit down and have dinner with him on the very same couch that he had just cleaned cum off of an hour ago. you just seem too sweet, too distracted with your difficult classes to even bother with him. 

but he likes to indulge himself, always imagining you walking in on him. perhaps your class ended early, and you open the door to find him jerking off on the couch with a picture of you from  your instagram on his phone screen. 

until the imagination falls short, and he hears your voice. his eyes open, hand halting to a stop on his hard cock and he’s faced with the sight of you standing in front of him, between his thighs. his throat goes dry, pupils enlarging as he cranes his neck to look up at you. 

his eyes follow your gaze– you’re not even looking at his face, instead you’re looking at his thick length, accompanied by his large hand and he thinks you’ve fallen into some sort of trance. but heeseung, too horny to even comprehend this situation, manspreads wider than usual on the couch to allow you some room. 

“go ahead,” he speaks after some silence, your eyes finally meeting his as he directs you to look back at his neglected, throbbing cock. you feel unsure, you feel like you’re possessed, maybe your horny spirit finally letting you indulge in your secret crush on your roommate, but you drop  to your knees, your hands going over heeseung’s own hand still on his cock. 

the size difference of yours on top of his is enough to make his dick twitch, his hips lifting off the couch with need. “fuck, c’mon, you’re looking at it like you need it. good girls like you always get what they want, right?” he says through gritted teeth, nudging his cock towards your mouth. 

his praise goes straight into your head, making your brain and lower stomach feel fuzzy. your mouth opens, tongue shyly going past your bottom lip and heeseung takes this opportunity to rest his tip on your peeked tongue, instantly hissing at the wetness. “s’cute, now take as much as you want, okay?” he praises, slowly guiding you down his cock with your hands still on top of his own. 

your lips envelope around the head of his cock, taking it deeper and doing as he says. your hands stay on his hand, starting to go deeper until your lips meet his finger. heeseung groans, resisting on bucking his hips into your warm and wet mouth. 

“shit, coulda’ just said you wanted all of me,” he mumbles, watching you start to get used to the feeling of him inside your mouth. “fuck– just like that, y/n,” he whines, barely keeping his eyes open but forcing himself so he can keep looking at you, cheeks puffed out and drool slipping from the corner of your lips already. 

you try to whine in protest from his words, but it only gets muffled with your mouth stuffed full of your roommate’s dick. he chuckles at you, his free hand resting on top of your head. “roomie,” he teases as your brows furrow together but he only thinks you look cuter like this, “don’t you know to not talk with your mouth full? where’s your manners?” he tsks, but gets shortly cut off by his own moans, your tongue working at his sensitive tip. 

heeseung curses under his breath, his hand on your head starting to push you down more. “since– hah– someone forgot their manners… i feel like i need to teach you a few things,” he hums, low-lidded eyes peering down at you. he suddenly pulls you off, strings of saliva attached from his cock to your wet lips. 

truth be told, he was getting impossibly close but he didn’t wait four months just to cum inside your mouth. 

he grabs you by your waist, hoisting you up onto the couch and laying you on your back. “now lemme just see how wet you got from sucking my cock,” he grins, but it’s different from his usual boyish smiles, it’s one that speaks he’s getting more than just a ‘look’. 

heeseung tugs your bottoms off, throwing them onto the floor beside the couch. he moans at the sight of a wet spot through your white panties, soaked to the point where he could see the outline of your pussy. “shit,” he groans, index finger prodding at your covered entrance. he leans in closer, tongue slipping past his lips and pressing against your panties.

his hot breath is enough to rip a shaky moan out of you, your hands unsure of what to do as you grab at a random couch pillow. he looks up at you through his lashes, pressing his tongue more against your clothed pussy to add pressure. you whine, a pout forming at your lips, “fuck! you’re so annoying,” you huff.

you pull your hips away from him, and he gives you a confused look until he understands that you’re just pulling your panties down in a hurry. he chuckles at you, amused in your rush to get fucked by him. he grabs at your thighs, pulling you back down closer to him. “what? you want me that bad or you just desperate for some dick like a slut?”

his words have your eyes widening, look at him still in between your legs. “the fuck?” you curse at him, and heeseung only laughs mockingly some more. “i think you’re the slut, no? jacking off in our shared space where i could walk in anytime,” you scoff, shuffling as you sit up on your elbows, “you wanted me to see you like this, right?” you taunt, your hand now pushing at his chest to lay him down on his back. 

“you’re the one desperate for some pussy like a slut,” you whisper, cunt hovering over his cock that’s laid hard on his stomach. you lower your hips, pussy meeting the thick veins of his cock as you begin to rock your hips against him. he gasps at the contact, hands flying to your waist as he looks down at where the two of you meet. 

“fuck–” he hisses, his own hips bucking up to meet your slow grinds but he feels even more desperate, feeling his cock twitch against his stomach and your wet cunt. it’s your turn to grin down at him, your hands on his chest keeping you up. “now you got nothing to say? not even a sorry for acting so innocent when you’re not?” you hum, beginning to grind faster on him. 

heeseung whines at the sloppy noises from your cunt grinding on him, the sounds so sticky and lewd that only makes him feel like he’s going to cum faster. “i’m–” he moans loud, his hands on your waist gripping tighter. “i’m sorry! fuck, stop, i’m close–!” he whines and begs, desperate to not cum like this on his own stomach.

you giggle as you lift your hips up, away from his cock as you watch him catch his breath, chest heaving up and down. you pout at him, a hand reaching to cup at his jaw as your thumb rubs soothingly at his cheek. “i dunno, i think you liked th–at!” you begin to speak, but your voice breaks when you feel a sudden intrusion at your entrance.

“fuckkk,” heeseung moans, his hands on your hips reaching down to your ass as he slowly guides you down his cock, “you’re so fucking hot talking to me like that,” he chuckles breathlessly, staring at your shocked expression as you feel the stretch of your pussy from his cock. 

you whine at the pressure of him pushing his cock into you, your chest meeting his after your arms felt too weak to keep you up. “oh my fuck!” you squeal, eyes squeezing shut as he keeps on going deeper slowly, inch by inch that makes you feel like passing out. 

“so good,” he breathes out, a hand leaving your ass but to grab at the nape of your neck to pull you into a kiss, a messy and sloppy one, but it also feels like he’s been waiting to do this since the day he met you. you whine into the kiss, tongues meeting and sliding against each other and he takes this as his opportunity to bottom out on you.

he swallows your moans, inhaling your scent, your lips, your everything as he stays still to let you adjust to the feeling of him inside you. you whimper as you pull away from him, barely catching your breath as you begin to rock your hips impatiently on him, causing him to moan out your name.

“fuck, hahh~! feels so good,” you slur, biting your lower lip as you grind on him, feeling your clit meet his pelvic bone each time that only makes your stomach tighten. he leans back more, his arms wrapping around your entire body before he snaps his hips up into you, making you take it as he maneuvers your body. 

you cry out, your cunt barely able to accommodate his size but the burning stretch makes your head feel blank as you bury your face into his neck, your moans sounding muffled out. heeseung groans with each thrust, your wet pussy making his lower stomach messy as your juices slap against his balls. 

“shit, you’re so fucking hot,” he moans out, hips beginning to get sloppy but it only turns you on more to see him become desperate for you. you put in effort to lift your head up, meeting your lips with his and the two of you moan and whine into each other's mouths, the entire living room echoing of wet skin slapping and sloppy kisses.

“ah– don’t stop! pleaseee,” you beg, your nails scratching at his shoulder blade and chest as you feel the knot in your lower belly tighten, threatening to snap. “fuck–shit, me too, baby, g’na cum too!” heeseung moans out, leaving wet, open mouthed kisses at your sensitive lower jaw and neck that only sends shivers down your spine, leaving you shaking as you reach your orgasm over his cock. 

“fuck, fuck fuck, y/n,” he whimpers, lips releasing from your neck as he throws his head back in pleasure. your walls contracting and pulsating against his twitching cock pushes him further into his high, his hips sporadically delivering you deep and fast thrusts that have you hiccuping as you moan. 

the two of you catch your breath, your forehead meeting his chest as you both breathe in silence, chests heaving up and down. he stays still inside you, his softening cock making his cum leak down the inside of your thighs. neither of you say anything, despite the soothing back rubs that heeseung gives you and your hand in his hair that is gently massaging at his scalp. 

the buzzing of your phone on the coffee table reaches both of your ears, and you shoot up from heeseung’s chest, sitting up straight and still on his cock. the both of you wince at your sudden movement from being too sensitive. “sorry…” you say quietly, bending slightly to get your phone. 

jake (project partner): hey. are you on your way yet?

you curse underneath your breath, slapping your hand against your forehead as you had forgotten about your project with jake. heeseung gives you a curious raised brow, “is everything alright…?”

you purse your lips before giving him a sheepish smile as you carefully lift your hips off of him, slightly wincing at the uncomfortable feeling of his cum slipping out even more. “uh… i actually got a project to do right now.. so…” you trail off, meeting his eyes and the two of you look at each other in silence for a good ten seconds. 

you slowly bend down awkwardly, grabbing your discarded bottoms and giving your roommate (that you just fucked) a small wave goodbye before rushing to the bathroom to wash up.

heeseung opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out as he watches your bare butt with his cum dripping out of your cunt go into the bathroom. he sighs, awkwardly shuffling his pants back on as he tries to pretend that it’s normal to fuck his roommate.

it’s normal, right?

[tapwater118]

Has anyone ever heard of “Battle for Dream Island” (1990) before? Really obscure NES game, doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page (or hell, even a mention in one).

From what little I can find about it on the internet, Battle for Dream Island was an NES game released on January 1st, 1990, apparently made entirely by a pair of independent American developers. Never made all that many sales, but eventually it garnered a rather niche following on an obscure gaming forum, though it had long since dissipated. Unfortunately, seemingly nothing from the forum threads was archived, so all I have to go on are a few vague threads titles from a navigation page.

I, rather cliched like, bought this BfDI cartridge from a sleazy old guy at a flea market (along with Puzznic and Wario’s Woods for a bargain deal). I dumped the ROM and booted it up on an emulator to take some screencaps.

Upon pressing start, you are prompted to “Choose Contestant,” and have a choice between any of 20 playable characters (who are all everyday objects, for some reason). Each contestant has their own stats, and while you can feel the difference while playing, the overall impact of character choice is pretty negligible. (Also some of these guys don’t even have arms?? Weird design choice but okay.)

Two screencaps of the character select screen. I went with Pin for my first playthrough cause idk she seemed kinda cute. I’m almost sure the stats are “Strength,” “Speed,” “Jump,” and “Skill.”

(Continued under cut)

While touting itself as a game show, BfDI is essentially a glorified minigame collection. The gameplay loop is as follows: You and the 19 other contestants play a minigame (referred to as “challenges”) to earn points based on how well you do (though I’m fairly certain the computer contestants just get a random amount of points for each challenge). Most of the challenges are various platforming segments, though some others fall more into puzzle game territory.

Two of the challenges. The green “Win Tokens” can be collected for bonus points. LEFT: A horizontal platformer level. The grey wall in the middle of the screencap moves up and down. RIGHT: A challenge about climbing ladders while avoiding “acid spitballs.” The game pauses to scroll vertically a la Super Mario Bros. 2.

After each challenge, this speaker thing shows up (pretty sure he’s supposed to be like a game show host?) and tallies up everyone’s score. The contestant with the least score gets “eliminated” and removed from the game.

The results screen. Leafy did rather poor on the last challenge, so she’s out of the game.

The game continues like this until you lose (have the least amount of points) and get booted to the game over screen, or until you are the last one left, in which case you win Dream Island! (Though of course in reality you just get booted back to the title screen. No Dream Island for you.)

The victory screen, with the gates to Dream Island in sight. Feels more like the gates to hell given how Pin’s staring at me.

It’s a fairly easy game for NES standards (I won on my first try). Took me about 80 minutes on my first playthrough, though subsequent ones could take less than an hour as I knew what I was doing. The brevity and the fact it saves your high score gives BfDI a nice sense of replayability (though this is probably best done sporadically, as the challenges tend to get a bit samey after a couple of back-to-back playthroughs).

So yeah, just wanted to share this in case anybody else has heard of it. I’ll probably rip the sprites and upload them sometime later cause it doesn’t look like anybody’s done that yet.

[lightbluetown]

i saw some people say ed and zheng are master strategists while stede is just some guy with ridiculous luck, but i think that's unfair. sure stede's ideas are insane, but they fit the looney tunes ass universe of ofmd perfectly. they're mostly well-thought-out, well-executed and they showcase stede's strengths and growth! so allow me to talk about them:

1- ghost of the forest - 1x02

a fuckery™ before stede even knows what a fuckery™ is! this is amateurish and stupid in every way. he's not even threatening izzy with a real dagger-- that's a letter opener. does izzy actually believe that stede has a huge crew hiding behind the bushes? doubt it! but this weird little act is enough to establish stede as a (ridiculous) pirate figure to the legendary izzy hands and to accomplish his goal of taking a hostage back

2- lighthouse - 1x04

imagine coming up with the exact same idea at the exact same time as the most brilliant tactician of the seven seas! we don't know who came up with which parts of the plan (honestly it was probably mostly ed) but this is still bloody impressive

3- stark revelations - 1x05

stede's first big success! he uses his knowledge of the aristocratic world to get a shipful of rich assholes to destroy each other, but he's also showcasing what sets him apart from them: this plan only comes to fruition because stede talks to frenchie, olu and abshir as equals. as people he can learn from, as sources of inspiration

4- duel with izzy - 1x06

this one was absolutely unhinged, but its success was far from dumb luck. only stede could think of using a brazillian cherry wood mast and ed's weird stabbing lesson to win a duel, and that's what makes this plan so undeniably stede and brilliant

5- faking his death - 1x10

i love that he just had to "die" in the most dramatic way possible. a heroic fight (tiger), a realistic accident (carriage) and the most cartoony death in the book (piano)... not only is his triple-death able to convince everyone in barbados that he's dead for good, it also allows him to have closure with his family. it's filled with stede's ridiculous unique flair, but it's designed to be a fuckery™ through and through. ed would be SO proud

6- stealing jackie's indigo dye - 2x01

quick little stealth mission. did ricky manipulate stede into trying this out? sure. did ricky also ruin it? absolutely. but it was working until then! the swede isn't part of stede's crew at this point, but his respect for stede is what gets him to cooperate and risk his relationship with his beautiful wife. also, it's thanks to his love for fine things that stede immediately recognizes the value of "blue dirt"

7- prison break - 2x03

in my eyes no scene depicts stede's growth better than this one. knocking zheng's entire crew out with tea is the most stede thing out there, and this plan uses the cherry wood mast as well! this plan relies on stede's (unrealistic) tea knowledge, overly-fancy ship and ability to coordinate his crew. what makes it breathtaking is that he secretly sets this plan into motion while actively mourning the "death" of the love of his life. he's putting his life on the line to rescue ed's "killers" because he's emotionally mature enough to look at things from their perspective and forgive them

8- inciting a mutiny - 2x06

yet another brilliant plan that could only be executed by stede. this entire episode revolves around his idea of "turning poison into positivity" and here he, well, fights poison with positivity. stede captains his pirates with respect and care (best he can) which just so happens to be the opposite of ned. he exploits this and gently gets ned's crew to turn on him. he singlehandedly saves himself and his entire crew from a notorious pirate! oh he also literally invents walking the plank right after this

9- "it's only suicide if we die" - 2x08

okay, yes, this one didn't go that well (sorry iz). but it's not like ed, zheng or anyone else had any other ideas! stede's weird suicide mission, for the most part, worked. they needed to get through british soldiers to reach their ship and they did exactly that. if only they'd remembered to check if ricky had his gun... oh well, you live and you learn

sure, ed and zheng are legends and stede is a silly newbie with wild luck. but he's also quick-witted, creative, confident and brave! he's a damn good captain and he deserves to be recognized as a good strategist!

[disneyprincemuke]

santa baby * ls2

it's never fun feeling like an outsider, so you'd sworn that nobody would ever feel the way you did all those years ago

pairings: logan sargeant x platonic!femdriver

notes: hi i know i took forever to write this but uh what r u gonna do? ik u love me B)

| "wanna hang out?" | driver's parade | american burgers | american football | the thanksgiving incident | another williams adoptee | beating the heat | you’re embarrassing me | santa baby | the favourite driver | the situationship | it's nice to have a friend |

you hum, whirling around at the camera crew settling right by the front of the mercedes racing home. “ah, it’s that time of years again, isn’t it?”

“yes! are you excited?”

you nod with a smile as you see a box being pulled out of the cart they’ve been lugging around in the paddocks for the video. “have you seen the present? got any hints for me?”

“aw, we can’t do that,” she giggles. “where’s the fun in that?”

secret santa is the yearly affair that you find yourself looking forward to as the year progresses. it’s always the santa hat and the fun of guessing who’s gotten you what this year. what used to be a silly game of gag gifts when you first started out, is now an endearing event filled with thoughtful gifts that you keep on your shelf for years to come.

last year, max had gotten your name. he is very thoughtful with his presents. his present sits at the top of your shelf: a paper mache trophy he admitted that he made with penelope (you’ve met her and she loves you) deeming you his toughest competitor in 2022.

you’re curious to see who drew your name this year.

“oh! do i get to keep this one?” you giggle as she hands you a santa hat. you pull it over your head snuggly and clap your hands. “where is it?”

“here.”

a box is handed to you, wrapped neatly in a mercedes green paper. you squeal as you take it into your hands and carefully unwrap it. there is something about wrapping paper that is so incredibly delicate and worth keeping.

you carefully tear at the tape holding the seams and edges of the box.

“any guesses who it could be right off the bat?”

“it could be anyone at this point,” you sigh, shaking your head. “could it be max again? hopefully it’s not charles — who knows what he will give me.” you look up to the camera. “in secret santa terms, of course. he is actually a good gift giver.”

you tear off the wrapping paper, folding it up neatly before pinning it between your body and elbow. “okay. truth time.”

you pull the cover off the box and tilt your head at the array of presents sitting comfortably in mercedes’ coloured confetti.

“what did you get?”

“a ‘best mum’ mug?” you say, coming out in a slight question as you lift up the pastel green mug to the camera. “am i pregnant and somehow it’s passed me?”

you hear a chorus of laughter as you venture further, each of the presents somehow getting weirder by the second. “and a christmas card? seriously?”

you graze your fingers over the 3d design on the card with a small smile, reading ‘merry christmas!’ with a cute doodle of a christmas tree in the centre. “we’ve been instructed to tell you to read that after you get all the presents and guess him correctly.”

your eyes trail to the gold plate in the shape of a star.

“another trophy!” you shriek. you squint your eyes to read the inscription on the plate. you sigh and press your lips together into a thin line. you hold it up. “best grid mum. the spelling alone gives it away!”

you step forward and let the camera zoom into it, the inscription reading “best grid mom”. “logan’s my secret santa?”

“ah, rookie mistake with the spelling there, wasn’t it?” she laughs. “there’s one more gift. he told us to give it to you when you figure it out.”

somebody else reaches out with a frame in their hands. you take it into your hands and smile, a picture of you and logan sitting right outside the mercedes home together for lunch sits tightly behind the glass.

“this is so sweet!” you coo, one hand covering your red cheeks. “do you want me to read the card?” she nods. you open the folded card and read as you speak. “thanks for welcoming me this year to the grid. you’re the best ever. hope i get to race with you longer than just this season. love, your secret santa.”

you look up as tears well in your eyes, looking into the camera. “aw, you’re the sweetest, logan. don’t worry, i’ve already got a present for him this christmas.”

you point to the lens of the camera. “can i grab this thing real quick for dramatic effect?” he nods. you grab the frame of the lens and take a step forward. “james vowles, if you do not re-sign logan hunter sargeant, i know where to find you.”

@cashtons-wife

[heartsforhavik]

yandere kung lao I’m begginf,,,,

self aware! yandere kung lao x reader pt.1

warnings: mk1 story mode spoilers, obsessiveness, gender neutral reader, ooc kung lao, self aware kung lao

summary: kung lao is aware he is in a video game, and he just loves you so much. he just wishes he didn’t have to be behind a screen.

a/n: anon im so sorry it took me a bit to get to this, anyways i decided to mix it up and make kung lao self aware bc i thought my yandere hcs were getting too repetitive and i am also a diehard SAGAU fan. (also sorry for my mini break, finals week is crazy man.)

part 2

- kung lao *hated* being stuck behind a screen. behind a stupid wall. away from you.

- you were just a regular mortal kombat fan. when mortal kombat 1 was announced, you were just so excited to get your hands on the game.

- you watched playthroughs before you could buy the game, and you were so happy when you found out that you could play as kung lao in the first chapter of story mode.

- when you got your hands on the game, you noticed that every time he had a funny one-liner in the story mode, he would look at the camera and wink. that’s weird… he didn’t do that in the playthroughs you watched… but oh well, it’s probably nothing.

- in the final battle you even chose to play as kung lao out of all the fighters. he was surprisingly easy to use, and his moves seemed to hit even harder than usual and the fights would be over in a blink of an eye. maybe he was buffed just for the fights?

- and when you finished the story mode and checked out all the skins and rewards you got, you noticed that you somehow had all of kung lao’s stuff unlocked. all of his palettes, skins, brutalities, etc. everything. you owned all of it. even the ones that weren’t out yet.

- you thought it was just a glitch, so you shut your device down and restarted it. but when you opened it again, his stuff was still there.

- and it got even weirder. when you tried to practice, the game only let you use kung lao. for some reason, you couldn’t use any other fighter. you couldn’t even use any kameo other than kung lao.

- he was still your favorite character and all, but that was weird. you tried to exit out of the game and restart it again, but it wouldn’t shut down. the game stayed on. it was frozen on kung lao. and he seemed to just stare at you. as if he knew you were there.

- you were starting to get creeped out, so you completely powered off your device and decided to leave it disconnected overnight.

- but over that little period of time, even though it was only a few hours to you, it felt like an eternity for kung lao.

- he felt hurt. a bit betrayed, even. did you not like him anymore? was he not enough for you? he gave you everything he could. he did everything he could to show his love for you, since he cannot communicate any other way.

- without you playing the game, he felt nothing. he couldn’t feel your warmth. it was nothing but a cold, dark space. he needed you. he needed you to always be with him. even if he couldn’t communicate with you, he’d figure something out.

- that’s why he was changing the coding of the game. he had to always be on your screen, or at least give you hints that he was self aware. he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if you weren’t looking at him. if you weren’t using him all the time.

- what do you mean you want to main johnny cage? or raiden? or even syzoth? what do they have that kung lao doesn’t?

- you liked the powerful fighters? no worries, he can just nerf everyone else and completely manipulate the coding of the game so he has the best damage.

- you thought the other fighters were more attractive than him? he’ll change the game so their designs were ruined and less pleasing to your eye.

- he would mend himself to your liking. he just needed you to use him. please make him feel important and useful. make him feel worthy of being your main. your favorite.

- if anyone became your favorite instead of him, he would go ballistic. he would rethink his entire existence. he’s so strong, and funny, and easy to use. so why would you choose anyone else? what’s wrong with him? is he not enough for you?

- if kung lao found out you wanted to start using a different fighter, he would erase them from the game. they would be nowhere to be found. their image in the game would be warped into a bunch of blurry pixels.

- if he has to erase the entire kast of fighters, he will. he needs your love. he needs your attention. if he isn’t your favorite, then what is the point of his existence in the game?

- kung lao needs you. and you need him too. why can’t you see that? he’s done everything he could to gain your approval. he was already so great, but he changed himself for you. accept him. please.

- the last thing he would resort to is bringing you in the game with him. what better way to stay by your side, than force you into the world of mortal kombat?

- at first, he didn’t exactly like the thought of taking away your freedom, but the more he thought about it the more he craved your company. why stay behind your screen when he can just bring you with him? now, you don’t have to turn your device on and off! he’s not going anywhere. and you aren’t either.

[mutfruit-salad]

read your criticism and have a genuine question about your thoughts on the branding scene. i completely understand how max's branding is inherently tied to a racist history, and it always will be, but i dont feel like the scene itself was written with that bias/intent. thaddeus also gets branded in later episodes and it's implied to happen to every aspirant upon their promotion. at what point in writing are black characters morally barred from specific story points because of their similarities to a history that's not directly related? sort of similar with barb, at what point can black characters not do bad things at all, especially in a story where there are near a dozen non-black characters who do worse things? also considering it's implied (at least, i understood it as) she's sticking to vault-tec to protect her family?

I am not in the best position to comment on this, because I am not black. I will do my best to add what I can, but this is a space for others to chime in.

Barb is interesting because she's essentially become the person who did the most heinous crime in the entire setting- by far and away worse than anything anyone has ever done. There really aren't white characters who did worse things- because all the crimes of Caesar or the Enclave or whoever else pale in comparison to being the one who literally set into motion the total annihilation of all nations on Earth. (This is setting aside her willing participation in the inception of the vault experiments- which is an entirely separate also horrific crime.)

The issue is they've created a setting that is, as presented, colorblind. Race is invisible to the writers, who did not consider it meaningfully while producing the show- as is often the case with white creatives putting characters of color into their stories. Colorblindness does not always produce entirely racist results- and when done with tact and intentionality it can even be revolutionary. Look at the relative inclusivity of star trek as an example, and the radical depiction of Uhura in the original series.

The thing that makes Fallout different from Star Trek however is that it is not depicting its colorblind future with tact and intentionality. This is a show that is intensely concerned with depicting the specific brand of nationalistic American politics of the 1950s and the Cold War- and they've reproduced that system for the show but with a black woman at the head. That's where the issue comes up.

This was a system that had racism baked into it by design. It still does. American Nationalism and corporate violence are built on racism against black people and other minorities. And this show desperately wants to depict these things, but they've decided to put a black woman at the head of them. They're depicting systems that are, by their nature, violently racist- but they've decided to portray them as being run by a black housewife.

Fallout 3 does a similar thing with how it depicts every major slaver as a black person. Eulogy Jones, the slave buyer at Paradise Falls, the head slaver in the Abe Lincoln memorial, Ashur in The Pitt. Hell Mothership Zeta adds in a black woman from the wasteland and even SHE'S revealed to have been a slaver. This is something Bethesda consistently does- depicting ideologies and practices with a deep history of racialized violence- and then showing black people at the head of them, seemingly to try to avoid actually addressing any aspect of racism in their stories outside of hamfisted metaphors like synths and ghouls. (I use Fallout 3 as an example but Fallout 4 does many of these same things.)

Thaddeus does also get branded, and he does also get treated to the same demeaning servanthood as Maximus. The difference, quite frankly, is that Thaddeus is white. There are just some things that are straight up inappropriate to depict happening to black characters without appropriate thoughtfulness and context. Never before this series has the Brotherhood ever done brandings- and yet this show opens with it in the first episode and introduces this brand new jarring concept with the visceral image of a black man being branded by faceless fascist cultists.

It's also important to note that even if they didn't intend the scene as racist, it still is. Like I don't think the scriptwriter sat down and said "oh I'm gonna do a racism" cuz intent just doesn't matter here. The scene was intended as a way of showing the severity of the brotherhood- but it also thoughtlessly reproduces images of historic black violence.

@orange-coloredsky I know you've been talking about this stuff all day, and your initial posts about the antiblack racism in the series were what prompted me to write my thoughts today- which is what this ask is in response to. I was curious if you have any other input with all this.

I'd also be more than happy to have any additional input from people better suited to answer these questions.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Hello Clan, I was wondering if you could do the glams (including Bonnie and Foxy) and the daycare attendents learning that a worker reader has hearing aids that are usually hidden by their hair or a hat and that the hearing aid has a sticker themed around them, for example: a lightning bolt for Freddy, a checkered flag for Roxy, a cupcake for Chica, a music note or maybe golf clubs for Monty, a bowling pin for Bonnie, a skull for Foxy, a star for Moon, and a cloud for Sun.

I understand if you can't do all of them

No worries! But I couldn't figure out anything for Foxy, sorry-

I did my best research on writing for characters w/ hearing aids, so if there's anything I missed/got wrong I apologize!

......

Glamrock Freddy

He's seen you around the pizzaplex over the past month, although at times he gets confused when you don't respond to his greetings unless he's standing right in front of you.

But he assumes you're just busy and doesn't mind it much.

When you're assigned as his handler to help him keep up with all the events lined up this week (photo-ops, meet and greets, performances, birthdays, etc.), he finally gets to know you on a more personal level.

One evening, you're removing confetti strips and candy wrappers from his stomach hatch (in summary, the pinata's string got caught in the mechanisms during transport and ripped apart when the hatch opened), briefly removing your hat to wipe the sweat from your forehead.

Freddy takes notice of the little devices in/around your ears, and suddenly it all clicks.

"[Y/n], if I may ask...are those your hearing aids?" The curious bear points to his own ears.

"Yep, glad you finally noticed." You chuckled, but he didn't catch your sarcasm.

"My apologies for sounding intrusive. I've just never seen them before."

"Oh you're okay, Freddy. I don't like to make a big deal out of them...unless some guest calls me "deaf" as an insult." You muttered, about to put your hat back on when you notice him still staring at you. "What's up?"

"Are those...blue lightning bolt stickers?" He gasps. "They look just like mine."

"...that's because they are." You smile, turning your head to show him the designs.

His heart is thoroughly touched.

"Aww..you themed them after me? Your favorite bear?" He coos, to which you huff and hide them with your hat.

"Yeah, yeah..I'll admit you're my favorite. Now don't go bragging about it to everyone else."

Roxanne Wolf

Working at the raceway was sometimes sensory hell for you, with your hearing aids constantly absorbing the sounds of noisy karts or screaming kids.

The worst was the construction work.

So you switch them off sometimes when you're busy with a task, as hearing gets tiring--especially in these parts of the pizzaplex.

One day, however, Roxy walked over to ask if you could supervise Cassie's birthday party...only to see you blatantly ignoring her.

She would've been annoyed, had her eyes not seen the aids hidden by your hat/hair.

Oddly enough she never noticed them before...

She just taps your shoulder politely, getting your attention as you turn them back on. "Oh hey, Roxy. What's up?"

She repeats her question, but you still struggle to hear her, so you both go somewhere outside the raceway to talk.

Once you understand what she's asking, you head to the atrium to assist with any final preparations, but along the way she inquires about the aids.

"Oh! There's something I've been meaning to show you." You reveal the checkered flag stickers, surprising the wolf. And you smile at her growing grin. "Yeah, I knew you'd love 'em."

"They're really cool. So I guess you can just..tune out all the ruckus of the raceway whenever you want?"

"It does get overwhelming at times, so yeah..I had them off. Sorry if it seemed like I was ignoring you-"

"Nah, I understand now. But listen, if anyone gives you trouble over them, you let me know. Alright?"

"..I will. Thank you, Roxy."

"Of course. It's the least I can do for my favorite human worker." She chuckles.

Glamrock Chica

The incident where Chica's upgraded voicebox horribly malfunctioned would have surely overloaded your already sensitive hearing.

You were supervising her performance, but at the first sign something was wrong you took your aids out and dodged the chaos that followed, leaving to file an incident report.

As a lead tech, however, you're summoned to run diagnostics on her voicebox in parts and services (as apparently nobody else wanted to do it).

You kept your aids off in case things go awry again, but when Chica wakes up, she's 100% convinced that she broke them and you're angry at her.

She was informed that you use them, though she's never actually seen them.

Plus you were closest to her when it happened. If her voice could damage that many STAFF bots...then surely your aids weren't spared, either.

"Well, Chica..the good news is that we don't have to replace any of your speaking components." You explain, not realizing her sadness at first. "But I recommend you don't sing for a while and stick to the guitar. Just to play it safe."

"Oh, okay....I-I'm sorry....I really am..." She sulks in the chair.

"It's not your fault. I kept telling them not to rush the upgrade, but no one ever listens to-"

"BWAK?!!" Then she jumps, surprised. "You can hear me! I-I didn't break them..?"

"Huh? Oh..no, no, no. They're fine, Chica." You reassure her softly. "They're totally fine. See?"

Taking one aid out, you show her the cupcake sticker you put on it in hopes of cheering her up, watching the relieved smile return to her beak.

Montgomery Gator

If any place in the pizzaplex is loud (besides Roxy's Raceway), it's Gator Golf.

Should the ambience or the bass of Monty's instrument be too noisy for your hearing aids to handle, you can easily take them out or switch them off.

You can always hear his voice given how he talks in general, but if he's speaking directly to you, you'll have to put them back on.

The first time this happens, however, he sees them for a split second before they're hidden by your hat/hair and immediately assumes they're earbuds for music.

In his eyes, you suddenly decided to ignore him and he's not happy.

"So that's how it is, huh?" He snarls, already being in a bad mood as is. "I ain't fun to talk to anymore? You'd rather listen to your stupid human music than mine!?"

"Monty, what on earth are you talking about?" You blink in bewilderment. His hostility usually didn't come out of nowhere like this. "I don't have any music in-"

"Then what didja just stick in your ears?!" He points, glaring at you over his glasses.

"..my hearing aids?"

There's a long, awkward pause.

"...y'know, the things that let me hear you?"

"Ohhh..that's what they are? How long have ya had those for?"

"Most of my life." You smile apologetically, seeing him fumble and backtrack whatever he said before. "It's okay, Monty. I should've told you about them before....you wanna see something cool?"

Showing him your aids, he sees the golf club stickers on them and grins, no longer as grumpy as before. "Awh yeah!! Wait....did ya put those there 'cuz you like golf..or me?"

"I chose this design because of you, big guy." You chuckle.

Glamrock Bonnie

You were Bonnie's main handler, so you two have spent nearly every moment of your shift together.

He's been aware of your hearing aids since day one, complimenting the cute little bowling pin stickers you plastered on them and chastising any person who gave you a hard time about wearing them.

Sadly you never got closure on what exactly happened after he went "missing"...only to discover his shattered body stowed behind Bonnie Bowl months later.

He had claw marks inconsistent with what Monty's hands could have possibly done (not that you believed the gator was ever guilty of attacking him despite the rumors).

You fought tooth and nail to get approval from management to repair him, working tirelessly in parts and services--even doing overtime just to bring him back.

When Bonnie finally reactivated after weeks of trial and error, he nearly looked good as new.

Except...he doesn't remember you, and there's corruption in his memory files from the night he left his green room and went into Gator Golf.

He insists he was following somebody's orders, but can't specify anything beyond that.

"I'm sorry..I'm not much help, am I?"

"No, but...I suppose you should know that Monty's taken your place in the band in your absence." You regrettably inform him, seeing how sad he looks. "But if it's any help...you're still my favorite."

Taking off your hat, you show him the now faded bowling pin stickers that remained on your aids, and he stares for a while.

Then you see his eyes flicker with recognition as a smile grows on his face.

"[Y/n]...thank goodness you're still here! I-Is Freddy okay?"

Sun

He's definitely had deaf kids (both with and without hearing aids) come into the daycare, and he tries his best to give them a fun and accommodating experience during their stay.

So right off the bat, he knows you wear aids and often tries communicating with you in sign language.

Whether you're well-versed in that or still learning, you appreciate his efforts.

But you sometimes have to remind him that you can still talk to him as you normally would.

You show him the stickers on your aids--a cloud covering a sun, to be more precise--and he's totally ecstatic.

And I mean "jumping up and down cheering" ecstatic bc now he knows you picked those stickers because of him!! Because he's your favorite!!

Physically he's there but mentally he's the "yippee" autism creature

Sometimes you gotta lower the volume on your aids with how loud he accidentally can be, and he notices this fast.

"Oh! I'm sorry, sorry, sorry!! So sorry!!" He fumbles. "Can I add something to the stickers maybe??? Googly eyes??? Glitter glue to make them shimmer and shine???"

"Thank you, Sun..but they're fine this way." You insist. "I don't want any glue dripping into my ears."

"Right! O-Of course!! We wouldn't want that now, would we? No glitter glue going into your brain!!"

Moon

The lunar animatronic, on the other hand, takes a bit longer to notice your hearing aids (considering how dark the daycare gets during the night cycle, he doesn't notice much).

When he does, he'll ask you some questions.

Like how long you've had them, how well they tune out background noise, etc.

It's all out of genuine curiosity, and you tell him whatever you knew, taking one of the aids out to show it to him.

And only then he examines the star-shaped stickers on them, staring for a while.

At first he automatically assumes they're themed after one of the Glamrocks...until you mentioned how similar they are to the stars on his hat and pants.

Finally, the gears in his mind click together.

"So you're saying....my outfit inspired you when you picked out these stickers?"

"Yep."

"How sweet of you, [y/n]...they look very nice. Glad I could be your muse." He snickers.

You never see it, but he's gonna be gushing over this every time you're working in the daycare now.

None of your coworkers paid any mind to Moon. They usually called him creepy or avoid conversing with him should they absolutely have to cross paths.

But you go out of your way to see him whenever possible; and the stickers are just a subtle yet sweet way of reminding him that he's always gonna be your favorite.

[papipedroo]

Newcomer (Joel Miller x Reader)

Part Two of Whiskey Tears.

Rated: Angst | Violence | Fluff | Suggestive | Age Gap | Mentions of Assault | Language

Summary: You, Joel, and Ellie have been a trio from the start. You were a family, but you find your relationship with Joel withering when he starts to pull away. Now a new comer makes her way into Jackson and into Joel’s heart…

You were the first one up. It has always been that way with your quiet steps and peaceful mornings filled with silence.

Your favorite part of your new home was your kitchen free from broken cabinets and rusted faucets. Curtesy to Joel of course. It wasn’t terribly warn down when we first moved in, some dusty bedding, peeled wallpaper throughout the house, but the kitchen had it worse. You mentioned it once to Joel, wondering how the two of you could bring this kitchen to life. A place where you felt most at peace. You were contempt with what you had of course, working around it as you cooked for your family.

Until one day you walked into your house to find Joel replacing them with ones the he had carved and pieced together himself.

You remember crying and him telling you not to. But how could you not? When the man you hopelessly love does something like that for you?

Joel only knew how to bqq something and Ellie was too impatient to follow directions and so since the beginning you were the designated cook and you were proud of it too.

So to find someone in your kitchen banging your precious cabinets and disrupting the system you had made… Well your ears were practically turn red and you swore if anyone would look close enough there would be steam coming out.

But you were an adult person and an adult handles everything with a sense of calm… Right?

“I’m sorry but what are you doing?” You asked as you stood in front of the island counter to keep yourself from pouncing on her.

Heather turned around with a startled jump, “Oh! Good morning! Don’t mind me, I’m just making breakfast.”

“Breakfast is my thing. Cooking for my family is my thing.” You stated clearly with a sense of calm.

I think Joel would be impressed that I haven’t stabbed this lady yet. I’m being an adult. That’s what he wanted right?

“Well I think I can handle the cooking today. It’s the least I can do.” She stated with an edge to her tone.

Stay calm. Be an adult.

You took in a sharp breath and smile, “Being as you are a guest in my home, the least you can do is take a seat and let me cook in my kitchen.”

You watched the way she dug her nails into her skin before giving you a sharp nod, “Alright. Then cook.”

“Gladly.” You muttered before making yourself at home and cooking Joel and Ellie’s favorites.

Pancakes for Ellie and scrambled eggs with deer bacon for Joel. You didn’t have pigs for regular bacon and so this was the next best thing in the apocalypse, that and Joel’s famous deer jerky.

You easily fell into your routine, humming a tune that you created for Ellie one night when she was scared. You didn’t care how Heather sat at the island and watched you like a hawk. You did what you did best. You provided for your family.

While the last bits of deer bacon was frying, you started on making the coffee before set the table with the plates and food already prepared. You also made sure to add an extra plate even if you didn’t want to.

But you were going to prove to Joel that you were an adult.

The last item left in the kitchen was the deer bacon and as you piled it on a plate you heard Joel’s drawl muttering a good morning and Ellie’s loud yawn in the dining room.

You smiled and filled a mug of coffee for Joel, holding it in one hand while you held the plate of deer bacon in the other.

“You made this?” Joel asked looking at Heather.

“I did! I wasn’t sure what you usually eat for breakfast so I asked your other daughter and she told me pancakes, eggs, and deer bacon is the perfect morning breakfast for everyone.” Heather explained as if it actually happened, she would be convincing to anyone else… Anyone who wasn’t Ellie that is.

Ellie’s brows furrowed as she stared at the table. It was plated exactly how you would plate it for them each morning. It didn’t look new and Ellie knew that…

“She did?” Ellie finally asked skeptically.

“Yep!” Heather smiled without a hint of guilt.

The way that Heather said such a lie with ease made your blood boil as you stepped into the dining room with a glare directed towards the officially unwelcome newcomer.

“Oh! Thank you for being a dear and getting those for me, I couldn’t carry everything here on my own.” A sweet smile was planted on Heather’s face, on that made you scowl.

Who says I have to be calm to be an adult?

You took three steps to the table, standing directly between where she was sitting in your seat once again. You tossed the plate of deer bacon down in front of Joel with a thud before slamming your hand down resonating a loud smack against the wood, coffee mug held tightly in the other hand.

“What the hell.” Joel exasperated at watching you loose your temper.

You didn’t care about Joel’s opinion of you. Not right now and not with this conniving witch in front of you. Your fury was centered around the horrid lies spilling out of the temptress mouth.

“First of all, I am Not his daughter.” I seethed lowly, “Second. You better tell them the truth before I cram these pieces of deer bacon that I cooked not you, down your throat you lying piece of—”

“Enough!” Joel’s voice boomed causing you to steady your hand to keep from spilling his coffee.

Your heater gaze quickly flickered to Joel who seemed angry, but not at the person you thought he would be angry with… No. his anger was directed towards you.

“Who gives a fuck who made breakfast. Will you stop causing a scene so early in the morning and just sit down?” Joel sighed.

His sigh was clearly directed towards you and you were angry that he couldn’t see whatever game Heather was trying to play.

“Are you serious? She is clearly lying to you. How are you not more pissed off about this?” You yelled.

“I don’t know what I did wrong, but I’m sorry if I caused any trouble. If it will make you feel better, I won’t make breakfast again from now on.” Heather’s voice sounded so fragile that you wanted to smother her with a pillow.

“Oh piss off!” You turned towards her, ready to give her a piece of your mind.

“Excuse me? I much older than you—” She began and you cut her off.

“Clearly.” You scoffed.

“Dear I’m just trying to help. Maybe your too young to understand that respecting your elders is important so please— Ouch!” She yelled out in pain.

It all happened so fast. One minute she was talking and the next second you felt a sharp pain in your ankle causing you to spill Joel’s coffee on her arm.

Ellie’s eyes widened, “Shit.”

“Are you kidding me right now!” Joel’s voice boomed as got up from his chair.

“I—” You didn’t know what to say and apparently Joel didn’t want to hear it because he roughly shoved you out of the way to check on Heather.

His shoved made you spill the rest of the coffee over your hands causing you to hiss out in pain.

“Are you okay?” Ellie quickly jumped out of her seat to check on me.

“Yes… Yes. I’m fine. I— I don’t know what happened.” You said quickly as Ellie took the cup from you, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I’m going to go get some ice.” She said as she quickly rushed off into the kitchen.

“Ow! Ow ow ow. It hurts Joel.” Heather had tears in her eyes and he cleaned off her arm with a towel.

“I’m sorry… I really didn’t.” You weren’t even sure why you were apologizing, but you felt that Joel would be even more pissed at you if your didn’t.

“You— I can’t believe you— you reckless over excessive little girl.” Joel seethed at you, “Did you know she was constantly burned by the raiders that held her hostage? No. Of course you fucking didn’t.”

Ellie stepped in at the moment with ice wrapped in a towel. Joel took it out of her hands and motioned to the door.

“Tommy’s waiting for you by the barn to talk you about your new job Ellie.” Joel grunted yet his glare never left your face, “You should go.”

Ellie looked over to you in concern, “But—”

You shook your head, “It’s okay, go. I’m fine. I promise.”

Ellie left soon after and an unnerving silence between you and Joel filled the air. Your hands welre turning red because the ice that you needed was currently being used for Heather’s arm. You felt too ashamed to get another one and too scared to wonder if she had actually kicked you.

You watched Joel, an aching feeling settling in your chest at the way he was attentive to her. The way he held her gently and asked her if her arm was still hurting while you stood behind him cradling your own wounded hands. That made tears draw to your eyes.

“Joel—” You tried to call out to him, but he didn’t want to hear any of it.

“You can’t just throw a fucking tantrum whenever you want… God… I didn’t think you were this much of a brat.” He shook his head.

That left a sharp feeling in your chest as your eyes casted down to the floor in shame.

“Leave.” Joel muttered and when you didn’t move he raised his voice, “Fucking get out of my sight right now!”

That had you running up the stairs and slamming the door to his room. Sobs wracked through your body as you slid to the floor, your blistering hands long forgot as tried to calm yourself down.

“He thinks I did all of this on purpose? How could he believe her over me? …Why won’t he believe me?” You whispered into the silence.

That sinking feeling however didn’t leave your chest. The deep hatred that you felt towards a woman you’ve barely known for two days was beginning to boil and you just knew she was up to something.

You angrily wiped away your tears and changed into some warmer clothes. You didn’t care about the puffiness under your eyes or your red nose, you could blame that on the weather. After you finished getting ready you went downstairs to leave the house and start your day at work.

It was your turn to help string up some lights anyways so that made it easier to get out of the house. You could only hope that things would change before the upcoming holiday, Winter’s Hollow. A day that everyone could celebrate.

“Where you going?” Joel’s asked from behind you.

You ignored him as you slipped in your boots.

“Your hands are red…” He continued and you turned away from him so he couldn’t see them anymore.

He let out a deep sigh, “Firefly please.”

“Don’t call me that.” You finally grumbled, “Not right now.”

“You’re hurt.” He pressed.

You looked up at him with a glare as you slipped on some gloves, “Like you care. You’re the one who did it.”

“I…” He looked directly at you, “Didn’t realize I hurt you.”

His expression was one of worry and guilt. Two emotions that were very rarely shown on Joel’s face in front of anyone except for you, Ellie, or Tommy. You almost crumbled… Almost.

“Joel!” Heather called from the dining room and his head immediately turned towards her direction.

You rolled your eyes and grabbed your jacket remembering why you were leaving in the first place.

“Have fun with your new girl.” You swung the door open and left.

***

“Morning.” Maria waved you over to her.

She stood by a box of lights and a lamp post.

“I was wondering when you’d show up.” She teased and usually she would get a snarky reply and a smile from you, but when you remained quiet she began to worry.

“Hey… Are you okay?” She asked and placed a hand on your arm and when you fully looked at her she knew, “You’re definitely not okay. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” You tried to say, but she gave you an unimpressed look.

She raised an eyebrow as she looked at you, “Something is. Your nose is red and you’ve clearly been crying.”

“It’s just the cold, I’m fine.” You tried to explain, but she wasn’t having any of it.

Maria rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, “Like hell you are.”

You sighed, “Joel and I got into an argument.”

“Over what?” Maria asked.

She was concerned of course. In the three months that you and Joel have lived here she has never heard you and Joel argue.

“Heather.” You said her name as if it were poison.

“Oh…” She nodded her head slowly, now beginning to understand the story, “It’s going that bad huh?”

“He’s been taking her side over everything these past two days and he lets her kiss his cheek and I don’t… Fuck I hate it. And she lied this morning about cooking breakfast and I swear she kicked me or something. I didn’t mean to spill coffee on her and Joel got… He got so angry.” Tears welled up in your eyes, “I didn’t mean to make him angry.” You cried.

Maria pulled you into a hug and you clung to her like a lifeline. She was slowly starting to grow on you as these past couple of months passed by.

“I’m sorry, that must be so stressful.” Maria tried her best to calm you down.

“I was so worried about him when he disappeared. I couldn’t even sleep without checking the driveway every hour to see if he was walking up those damn steps and now it hasn’t even been a week and it’s like he replaced me.” You sobbed.

“I didn’t realize they were that close…” Maria’s voice trailed off. She didn’t want to loose you, you were the closest thing to a sister-in-law she’s ever had, “I’ll talk to Tommy. See if there’s a house available that she can live in. Maybe it’s just a savior complex thing and he feels like because he saved her, now he’s indebted to her or something.”

You sniffled into her shoulder, “Thanks.” Your voice was muffled in her jacket, “I don’t want to be that person, but I think she’s a real bitch.”

Maria chuckled, “Seems like Joel is too.”

You pulled away from her hug, “He said it was because of our age… That it wasn’t right to be together.”

“Well that’s bullshit otherwise he wouldn’t have been with you in the first place.” Maria scoffed.

“Do you think there’s more to what he’s telling me?” You wondered and honestly you wouldn’t put it against Joel if he was.

“It’s Joel we’re talking about, of course there is.” Maria shook her head and you watched as she reached down to grab some of the lights, “The Miller brothers are as hard to get close too. I swear there one of those endless jawbreakers.”

“Jawbreakers?” You asked her in confusion.

“It’s like a candy that you have to continuously lick until you reach the center. I’ll find one for you one day.” She said and you couldn’t help, but snicker.

“That’s quite an analogy.” Your snicker grew into a laugh and Maria joined you.

She nudged your arm, “Oh shut up and help this pregnant woman with these lights.”

“Yes ma’am.” You laughed as you reached into the box.

Maria made it easy for you to take your mind off Joel. It was as if she had a secret spell to make you forget your worries. I guess that’s what all good friends do.

“Phew!” Maria wiped her hands in her jeans as you finished hanging up a few more lights, “I think it’s about time for dinner, don’t you think?”

You nodded your head as you stepped down from the ladder, “I’m pretty sure I can eat an entire pot of stew right now.” You said causing Maria to laugh.

“Well as long as you share then I’m cool with that. Lets go.” She said and the two of you made your way to the lodge to grab some lunch.

“You know what I’m really craving?” Maria said as the two of you stepped into the small restaurant bar, “Pickles and ice cream.”

You raised an eyebrow at her in question, “Pickles and ice cream? That sounds…”

“Absolutely amazing I know.” She was practically drooling at the craving, “One day we’ll have ice cream and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.”

“Over here!” You suddenly heard Ellie yell and the two of you turned to find her, Tommy, and Joel already sitting down at a booth.

You were relieved to not see Heather with them. You don’t think you’re ready to see her coming up to Joel right now. The two of you quickly made your way over.

Before you can even say hello Maria smacked Joel on the back of his head.

“Ow…” He grumbled as he rubbed his head, “What was that for?”

“You know what.” She said before taking her designated seat beside her husband.

Tommy gave his wife a confused look to which she said, “I’ll tell you later.”

You then took your designated seat beside Joel, a small smile on your face from Maria’s protective side.

Maria sat by Tommy on one side of the booth with you by Joel with Ellie on his right, closest to the window on the other side of the booth.

“Well it took you girls long enough to get here.” Tommy joked as he wrapped an arm around Maria to warm her up, “We were waiting to surprise you both with dinner.”

“Hey the lights can’t hang themselves.” Maria replied, but fell into his embrace, “But thank you for waiting for us.”

You watched the two with longing wishing that Joel would treat you that way, but all you received was his arm pressing into yours.

“Tell them about the horses Ellie. I swear this girl is going to be a cowgirl one day.” Tommy chuckled.

“You would not believe the day I have had!” Ellie practically shouted as she launched into her story.

You listened, laughing at most parts as her story slowly became over exaggerated, but you loved every second of it.

It was halfway through her story about how she threw herself over a fence when you felt the warmth of his hand slide over yours. Your breath quickened at his touch and the way you were suddenly hyper aware of his breath hot on your ear.

“How is your hand?” He asked barely above a whisper as to not draw attention to the both of you.

“I think I’m safe from amputation.” You jokingly said to slow the way your heart was racing.

He ran his thumb along the back of your hand muttering a, “Hm..”

The moment was nice, something that you have missed deeply from him these past few months.

“Joel…” You spoke his name softly and when his attention was solely on you, you spoke up, “I—”

“Sorry I’m late!” A shrill voice made your entire body cringe.

You didn’t turn to greet her as Maria and Tommy spoke light hello’s and Joel said no worries.

“I didn’t know you were invited.” Ellie stated with that attitude of hers and it made you snort in amusement.

“Joel invited me. To celebrate my first day at work here.” Heather explained with a smile that you knew was directed towards Joel.

“Um… Where can I sit?” She asked and her gaze fell on Joel’s again as if he would immediately get up.

As if you would let him.

You squeezed his hand just as he was about to respond. Maria saw the desperation in your eyes and she quickly spoke up instead.

“You can sit on our side.” Maria said as she nudged Tommy to scoot down the booth before she follow suit.

Heather looked less than pleased at not being able to sit by Joel, but accepted the off nonetheless with a warm smile.

Ellie carried on with her interrupted story with Maria listening intently. Your hand relaxed its grip on Joel’s while his grip in turn tightened around your hand. You knew he felt awful about this morning and he was trying to apologize in his own Joel way.

You leaned into him as your gaze read the menu that sat in front of him. It was a paper with big hand writing that contained half of what a normal menu would with only two meal options for tonight. Rabbit stew or potatoes, beans, and vegetables.

You glanced up at Joel, “What did you order?”

“The potatoes.” He answered.

You could feel Heather’s heated stare on you, but at this moment you didn’t care. You were going to fight for Joel and show her that he’s yours.

A grin pulled at your lips, “Of course you got the potatoes.” You leaned back from the menu and made yourself comfortable into his side, “I’ll get the stew then and we can share.”

His brow furrowed, “Who says I’m sharing my potatoes?”

You scoffed in mock defense, “You always share your food with me. I am irresistible.” You joked.

Joel shook his head as he chuckled deeply in amusement.

“How have you been settling in?” Tommy asked, pulling Heather away from the conversation that only you and Joel were having.

“Quite well actually, this place is lovely. I can see that you all take very good care of it.” She answered.

It was then that Lily walked to the table with three more glasses of water for Maria, Heather, and I. She then pulled a small pad of paper and a pencil out of her pocket.

She pushed her short blonde hair out of her face as she smiled, “What can I get started for you tonight?”

It was potatoes for Joel and Tommy and stew for you, Ellie, Maria, and Heather.

“Coming right up.” Lily smiled before walking away.

“You never guess what happened.” Maria quickly leaned into the table to spill some gossip, gossip that you knew very well and were more than happy to indulge in.

“What?” Ellie asked already intrigued.

“Well.” You started with a low tone to keep anyone outside from snooping in on your conversation.

“Here we go.” Tommy joked with an exagerated sigh.

“Might as well get comfortable.” Joel said to his brother, the two of them holding back their grins.

Tommy and Joel settled back into their seats, letting the girls gossiped while being interested in the gossip as well… Silently of course.

“I heard from Lorraine at the town meeting last week that…” Maria started to which you finished.

“Apparently Lily has been hooking up with the preachers daughter.” You stated matter of fact, remembering the night Maria knocked on your door right after she was told to keep it a secret.

“No!” Ellie gasped, “But isn’t that like blasphemy or something? Hooking up with a preachers kid?” She asked.

You thought for a moment before shrugging, “I don’t see how it could be.” You turned to Joel, “Is it blasphemy?”

“How should I know?” He grumbled back.

“Well…” You motioned your hand towards him, “I figured if anyone would know it would be you.”

He huffed and pinched your side causing you to squeal, “Funny.” He muttered.

“I’ve been around long enough to know that marrying someone who is related to a pastor isn’t blasphemous. I think the only thing that would be a large age gap between two especially when one is so young with their life ahead of them.” Heather mused as she took a sip of her water.

You felt Joel’s hand tense against yours before it slipped away, moving to rest behind on you the booth. This left an aching feeling in your chest that you couldn’t quite shake off especially at how specific Heather’s words were as if she were directly speaking about you and Joel.

You looked directly at Heather, “I think when they are both consenting adults then age shouldn’t matter. Love should.” You stated.

“And that is why you are still too young to understand dear.” She smiled as if she almost felt bad for you.

The booth was quiet for a moment before Maria spoke up to ease the tension.

“All I know is that they may or may not be secretly eloping.” Maria cheered.

“That seems wonderful.” Heather agreed quickly, “I don’t know them very well personally, but I wish them all the best.”

“Aww, I’m really happy for them.” You leaned back in the booth, trying to stay in the conversation and not have your mood ruined, “I can’t wait till my Ellie gets married.” You sighed happily at the thought, “It’ll be such a cute wedding and I hope my daughter-in-law will be as nice as Lily.”

“Excuse me?” Joel raised an eyebrow as he looked down at you, “She is not getting married. Ever.”

“Hey who says that I can’t?” Ellie leaned over to look at the both of you, “Not that to want to or anything, but still.”

“I say you can’t and it don’t matter if ya want to or not. It’s not happening.” Joel said gruffly.

Joel’s dad mode made everyone laugh while the food was being served. The booth once again fell into a calm atmosphere and you felt your body release some tension the moment you got warm food in your belly.

You were eating your soup peaceful. At times you would place rabbit meat on Joel’s plate while stealing a potato as payment. He didn’t seem to mind and the small chatter and clinking silverware against dishes was heard throughout our small group.

This was how it used to be and a sense of calm washed over you…

Until Heather tried to do the unthinkable.

“Can I try yours Joel?” She asked and began to reach over when Joel nodded, but you were not going to allow that.

Only I can eat off of Joel’s plate and of course Ellie too, but not Heather. Especially after what happened this morning. You thought. I haven’t forgiven her and why should I? She hasn’t even tried to apologize to me after lying to everyone.

You blocked her spoon with yours just as she reach Joel’s plate. Sharing food was your thing with Joel and no one else’s.

“No.” You said without a second thought.

“And why can’t I? It’s just food dear.” Heather had a condescending tone to her voice, another thing that you didn’t like.

You glared at her, “You have your own food.”

“And so do you.” She rolled her eyes.

You were about to say something when Joel squeezed your thigh as a warning.

He gave you a stern look, “It’s fine.” He said as he pushed his plate towards Heather.

You could only look up at him in confusion. He never shares his food with anyone. It was only ever you and Ellie.

“It’s just food.” He said as if it was the most simplistic thing in the world as he took his hand from your thigh.

It’s just food. You scoffed softly at his answer as you glared at Heather.

And maybe it was. Maybe you were over exaggerating, but being together on the road for months with barely any food, it was more than just food to you. It was the silent care that was shown between your little family as you shared the small amounts of food you had.

“Wow! This is delicious! I think I like yours better Joel.” Heather complimented.

“You can have more if you’d like.” He responded with a casual smile, one that had Heather glancing at you with a little smirk.

That made you grind your teeth in humiliation and anger.

It’s your food now and then you later. Why can’t you see that Joel?

You glanced down at your soup with a defeated look.

Do you even want to see it?

[yagirlraee]

PRADA BABY

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: satoru is a model famous for his gorgeously unique beauty. while you are an infamously well-known fashion designer known for your award-winning designs and style. but what will happen when his manager contacts you?

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏

"miss, there is someone at the door for you." your assistant says, rushing into your office.

you look up from whatever sketch you were working on, placing your pencil down.

"let them in," you shrug. 

your assistant nods, turns on her heel, and struts out your office.

a few minutes later, a tall man with glasses and a tracksuit walks in. you stand up and walk around your desk, leaning on it.

"i'm yaga, masamichi yaga," he says reaching a hand out.

you firmly grasp onto his hand and shake it. he already knows who you are, so you don't have to introduce yourself.

"i have a model who i think would do amazing in one of your shows, his name is satoru gojo."

you nod while thinking about your schedule.

"well, i'd have to meet him first, how does thursday sound?" you say.

yaga nods immediately, "thursday is perfect, thank you so much miss."

he politely bows before turning around and exiting your office.

your assistant scurries in after he leaves.

"so? what did you say?"

you look at her, furrowing your eyebrows.

"what do you mean..?"

"well, obviously the only reason mr. yaga would stop by is to offer one of his models. and being you're the best fashion designer out, it only makes sense that he gives you his best model." she rambles on.

you laugh and look down, "yeah, i said yes. i mean how could i not? it's a huge business opportunity."

she squeals in excitement before jumping onto you, enforcing a hug.

"i'm so excited!! we get to meet the satoru gojo!!

you scoff, "he's not that great."

she stops her celebration and looks at you.

you clear your throat, "i mean, is he?"

"yes!! HE IS!!" she shakes you back and forth, squeezing your shoulders. "and WE get to meet him!"

you laugh, "well, i have a meeting with him on thursday if you'd like to come with."

this offer causes her to jump even more, you're surprised she hasn't fainted yet.

"yes!! oh my goodness! i have to get ready!" she yells.

"it isn't till thursday?" you laugh.

"yeah but still. i have to look perfect if i want him to at least glance at me."

that much was true, satoru gojo was one conceited model of a man. he rarely ever looked at anyone unless it was himself. he always said nobody "deserved" his beautiful blue orbs. what a man he was indeed. you nod and send her off so she can get ready, and you let out this breath you didn't even know you were holding.

were you nervous? nah. you might be deep down inside, but for goodness sake you were the hottest fashion designer out right now. there is no way you should be nervous around him, having him in your show could earn you millions, and maybe something else.

you sigh as you start to pack up your sketches and art supplies. you decided to go home early to cool off all your nerves, which were on fire.

when you arrive home, and settle into your pajamas. you start texting a number which is yaga, according to your assistant, while sitting down on your sofa.

YOU: hey where would you like to meet on thursday?

YAGA: hello miss, how does the diner on 5th avenue sound?

YOU: that sounds great, i hope u don't mind but i invited my assistant.

YAGA: i don't mind at all, see you two there.

you put a heart on his message and click your phone off. thursday wasn't far away at all, it was only tuesday. you get up from your couch and head to your room, laying down and tucking yourself in for the night.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐

loading..

[jenchan-writingmultis]

This was for the best, right? (Vil x Fem Reader)

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Genre: Heavy angst/ No comfort

Pairing: Vil x Fem Reader & One-sided Rook x Fem Reader

A/n: Hi! So do you guys recall the idea I had with Vil x Reader angst? So this is it! If you want to know about it first, I’ll link it (here) I hope you like this one, I gave my best effort on this, hopefully, it fits Vil, I love him so much.

Credits: The design was made by me in Canva and the art that was used is all from the Official Twisted Wonderland Cards. The line breakers are from Kaomoji dividers!

Warning: This is ANGST NO COMFORT! Panic Attacks on Vil’s side, Breakups no reconciliation, misunderstanding and Insecure Vil, relapses of Trauma on Vil’s side, talking bad about Reader’s appearance, although vague it still is there.

!PROCEED WITH CAUTION! Masterlist

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Sypnosis: Your face got leaked throughout social media when you went to have a date with your boyfriend Vil. It made him hate his reputation; he would understand if people bashed him instead, after all, he wouldn't let those words affect him, he's more worried about you, you're not used to the media watching you, having you be seen with him by paparazzi. He kept thinking of ending things with you to protect you from the backlash. ⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

He is usually unbothered by the fact that he gains hate often, he plays villainous roles, having to only reach till halfway or even before the story’s conclusion. It was normal for people to threaten him just because his character did something horrible to the main character. At least he is aware of how well he performed in acting by how despised he was. However, what he wasn’t prepared for was you being the one gaining hate. 

People are hypocrites, they cuss him out and throw the worst insults they could think of towards him, and at the same time, they view him as a perfect human who deserves someone “better for him”. He didn’t expect that his selfishness would get in the way of his relationship with you just because he wants one normal date outside of school but when one of his paparazzi caught a picture of him with you out on a simple date in Pyroxene. The picture showed your face fully without any filters, those uncouth journalists milking his fame with their horrendous illegal articles; anything to gain a higher footing in their industry than anyone else.

When he found out about the article, you two were cuddling in Pomefiore in his bedroom. He had a separate, massive bedroom since he was the housewarden, watching the film that he was recently cast in. As usual, he was given the role of a villain, it was the same old same old, except this time, the villain won, and it was satisfying to see him reach the end. He didn’t tell you though, so while you lay your head on his shoulder, watching; complimenting his looks and joking about how you’d date him even if he was that crazy.

He loves your little antics, you’re the only one who had an odd mind falling for the roles he has. “You have a peculiar taste for characters sweetheart” He wrapped his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer while you giggled. 

“Funny how I’m dating you” You cuddled closer to him, what you said earned you a playful glare. He was about to tickle you as punishment, but his phone suddenly vibrated, showing the name of his manager, he went to kiss your forehead before he untangled himself off you; “Give me a second, I’ll take this call real quick” he informed you which you gave a nod, letting him out of the bedroom and to his bathroom. 

"What is it?"He examined himself in the mirror, fixing his hair while his manager spoke, "Vil, check what I sent you, it's a link." Vil glanced at his phone and clicked on the article, wondering what it was, he waited for a bit, and as soon as it finished loading his heart drops.

“Famous actor Vil Schoenheit caught dating!” It was a stupid title, but he didn’t give any thought about It, fearing for the worst he scrolled further, finding your face unblurred on it. “What is the meaning of this?” he frowned, gripping his phone before his manager answered. 

“I’m not sure how they found out about the café you and your lover frequent but I’m trying to track down the owner of the article and threaten them with a lawsuit, but with how the media eats up everything, I’m afraid the damage has been done” Vil could hear rustling from the other end his manager taking out which he thinks is paperwork, most likely about the process of lawsuit, he was growing restless as he looked at how many comments and likes did the article gain. He didn’t even notice that his Magicam was being blown up by “fans” questioning him for his taste, and criticizing you. 

He was starting to feel chills around his body when he continued to investigate the whole thing, Vil was close to having a panic attack, gripping the edge of the sink. He tried to calm himself down, remembering what his father taught him. 

“Deep breath in, deep breath out” he recalled, causing him to loosen his grip a bit and relax. A knock on his door snapped him out of his thoughts when he faintly hears you from outside. 

“Vil? Are you okay? You’re taking a while there” you asked which he straightened himself up, composing himself before looking at his phone, who still had his manager on call. “I’ll have you deal with this; I need to go.” He walked to the door opening it after his manager agreed and ended the call.

“Sorry, it was just a minor nuisance at work” He smiled at you, he was a good actor but when it comes to you sometimes, he can’t seem to lie. “Are you sure? You sounded pretty agitated when I went to check on you” You touched his hand, entangling your fingers with his, which made him sigh. 

“it’s…” he hesitated for a moment; does he tell you? He can’t drag you into all of this, he was planning to have it stay hidden till the article was gone, but at the same time, you’re bound to know about it once your friends find out and question you about it.

“Can we talk?” He finally caved in, gazing at you with a mixture of worry in his eyes; how could you say no to that? 

When you found out about the article, Vil was worried that you’d be upset at him, not once did your expression change when he was explaining it. He didn’t expect you to smile and kiss his cheek, telling him that “it’s okay, the media will die down on it, at least if they found out, they won’t bat an eye if we go on dates more publicly, right?” you told him.

He was amazed with how well you handled the news; what about the possibility of receiving backlash? No, actually you both were receiving backlash already. “You’ll have to stop using social media for a while and deactivate it just to be safe” he warned you, looking at you for any signs of distress, he was concerned that you were just hiding it, you’re not someone who’s made to handle the eyes of strangers, he thinks you might not even understand what it means to have your face be doxed by media. 

"Darling," he said, enveloping you in his embrace, which you gladly returned. He said, "Listen, this is the media we're talking about," stepping back to look directly into your eyes. You'll be receiving insults left and right, and I worry that if your friends choose to drop you because of our reputation, it will negatively impact you. I'm capable of managing myself and safeguarding you from the public eye, but what if this also concerns your friends?" he knew that the possibility of your close friends dropping you for something trivial like this was unlikely to happen but there’s still a possibility. 

“If they drop me for something so stupid, I guess they don’t deserve to be my friend,” you said firmly, “Vil, I don’t mind this," You replied firmly, "but it seems like you’re bothered by it” You pointed out, touching his face, it was true, he is bothered by it, he’s scared of the outcome, he’s afraid that every day when you go out in public, people will try to hurt you or coerce you into doing something you don’t like.

“Once the article is down, it’ll fizzle out” You comforted him, noticing that his breathing started getting a bit ragged. Was it really going to stop once that article was taken down? There might be people who saved that article and reposted it. 

In the next few days, you two would often just stay within school grounds, Night Raven College is big enough for you two to roam around and have your usual dates; Despite his frequent work schedule and dormitory maintenance, he still made time to have meals with you. During those times, everyone seemed to keep testing his patience, when he was on set, his unprofessional coworkers kept festering him about you, and when outside, he felt restricted, not being able to walk freely without eyes catching him, so he was advised by his manager to use his car to go back to school and work. He kept his social media muted as well; he couldn’t scroll around Magicam cause every article in those past few days has been nothing but hatred towards you.

“That woman looks so average, what the hell did Vil see in her?”

“Honestly, I would even accept if he’s gay for Neige, whenever those two are together they look so cute!”

“She looks like an extra://” 

Comment after comment of users trashing your looks, your whole being even without knowing you.

It angers him, so for the sake of his mental health and yours, he made sure that you also kept your social media muted, although often, he saw you scrolling on it, reading the comments, or just chatting with your friends. 

He doesn’t understand why you do it, it frustrates him a bit when you do, but he couldn’t tell you to just delete social media entirely, he’s not toxic.  

During lunchtime, he was late to meet you, rushing through the cafeteria, he found you with Deuce and Ace, chatting away. He was going to greet you till he heard what Ace said.

“Hey, aren’t you gonna stop this act?” he munched on his egg sandwich while Deuce looked at Ace like he had just grown a second head. 

“What the hell are you talking about Ace” Deuce said before Ace glared back at him. “I mean! Being unbothered by whatever nonsense Magicam’s got on. You have your face everywhere and people are talking smack about it!” He pointed out in which, Vil couldn’t even see what your expression was right now. "If I were you, I’d confront him about why his agency hasn't gotten to the bottom of this." Deuce wanted to hit Ace that time, but it was true, both your friends were confused as to why it continued to circulate. 

“You don’t have to listen to Ace” Deuce paused, not knowing where this could possibly lead to what he meant. “It’s okay, I understand the concern.” You voiced out, placing the fork down, fiddling with your fingers, “It does affect me, but It’s not Vil’s fault that It got way out of hand.” 

Vil frowned, hearing that, so it did affect you, why didn’t you tell him? Was it because of his incompetence? He thought about how many times you told him that it was okay, that you didn’t mind it. He knew that the article was stupid, but the evidence was evidence to journalists, and that caused you to be in the middle of the crossfire between him and his “fans”. 

Was it worth sacrificing your peace dating him? He smiled bitterly to himself, how stupid of him to have these kinds of thoughts. He looked at his phone, he was going to send you a message that he was in the cafeteria but decided to go against it. 

“I don’t think I can make it. You can go eat.” He sent the message before leaving the cafeteria and going back to the dormitory, he needed some time for himself. 

When he reached his living quarters, he sat down on his bed, noticing the way the curtains were covering any light coming inside. It was like the state of his mind currently, he didn’t feel like doing his daily routine today, which is funny, if he didn’t push himself to keep a perfect image, he would be nothing but average; but if he did look average, would that give both of you the pleasure of living a normal life? 

He scoffed to himself, he can’t just throw his career away, he needs it for your future; both your futures, he stood up, grabbing all the necessary cream, face powder, and other stuff for his face, but the moment he saw himself, looking tired, he stiffened up. Will there be a future where the two of you would be together?

Vil didn’t realize that he started to avoid you. His bedroom was inaccessible, you would knock on his door, but he wouldn’t confront you. Staying silent and just waiting till the knocking subsided and you were out. 

He still showed up to needed House warden meetings, or event planning, he did his duties as usual, he just didn’t do his duties being your boyfriend. 

It was as if his insecurities when he was younger were relapsing whenever he thought of talking with you, was it okay to talk to you right now? He still thinks it’s not the right timing. He isn’t his usual self right now and he doesn’t want to risk doing anything bad. 

However, it breaks his heart to see the sorrow in your eyes when you meet him and to see him neglect you. He was aware that the distance between you and his unwillingness to communicate about the situation was making your relationship unstable. 

After three days of no contact, he was on top of Pomefiore’s garden, he missed you dearly, he gazed down to see his dormmates having tea under the recently renovated garden, then he noticed someone familiar within the garden, focusing his eyes on it, it was you! You looked… happy? 

That was the smile that you usually only reserve for him, what’s going on? Vil thought to himself, confused as he ripped his eyes off you, only to notice Rook Hunt, touching you the way you would with a lover, giving you a gaze he never saw from Rook, but he knew what that was.

Rook liked you, both of them did, but he decided to step down in favor of letting Vil court you. He knew that feelings would never fade that easily but he didn't expect to see this sight. You two looked so perfect for each other, his hand touching yours as if you were having the time of your life, even without him. He clawed the railing of the balcony, not feeling his fingernails scrape the paint off of it, his eyes blurring as he walked away, fearing that he might fall if he ever passed out. His heartbeats were the only sound he could hear, aside from the static his ears were hearing. 

“Breathe.” 

He fell back into his bedroom, feeling his whole body shiver as he grips on his arm, numb to the pain that his nails were digging into his flesh. Cold sweat trickled down his face, he didn’t know if he was even breathing or not, his brain foggy, like an impending doom was going to happen if he once tried to “breathe.”

Vil ended up passing out, and unfortunately, the moment he woke up, it was already 5 am, he jolted awake, standing up, hearing a continuous knock from his door, He flinched as his head throbbed, touching it gently to try to ease his headache, he moved to the door, opening it, not expecting to see the person he least wants to see.

“Roi de Poison” Rook greets him, smiling brightly at him, Irritating. “I noticed you haven’t gotten up and gone to work yet, did you take a sick leave?” Rook continued, his voice filled with worry, he was about to fix the hair covering Vil’s face when he got his hand slapped away, startling him, he noticed the way Vil’s eyes darkened a bit.

“I’m fine” Vil affirmed, groaning a bit, he pinched the bridge of his nose as another headache hit his head again. “I’ll get ready, for the meantime, please take care of the dorm in my absence” He continued, replying curtly as he slammed the door shut before Rook could even say anything, He was sure that Rook would do as he says, if he didn’t, he’ll find a new vice housewarden. 

Vil was already late for work, his disheveled look was barely noticeable but his manager noticed the slight imperfection in it. She walked up to him, fixing the sleeves of his outfit. “You’re late Mr. Schoenheit” She buttoned the sleeves, waiting for a response from Vil, who just sighed, “I apologize, something came up, can we start?”

You were getting worried, Rook went to your dorm, telling you about the state of Vil and that he was worse for wear, you decided that this time, you were going to visit and you were going to talk to him even if he didn't want to. It’s been dragging on for too long—the avoidance of your lover and the media is hurting you. You need to do something before your relationship reaches a breaking point.

When you arrived at the modeling agency where Vil works, you were graciously allowed in. You were familiar to those at the agency; some supported you, while others did not. However, the only support you needed was Vil's.

The moment you stepped inside the photoshoot, you saw Vil, working with another model, he looked gorgeous as always, although it seemed that he was tired; it was unusual for him to be in a state where it was obvious.

The manager noticed you before she ushered you further in, just to get nearer where Vil could see you, and Vil froze, stopping the shooting when he saw your face. 

“I’m going to take a break,” he said to the crew members, seeing you, his gaze remained unfazed, “Let’s talk on the lounge” he murmured, walking past you.

You didn’t know what else to do but follow him, understanding that Vil wasn’t feeling well. The moment the two of you were alone, he went to give you apple juice, the one that Epel’s family sells, you give a gentle smile to him, but he didn’t reciprocate. It made your heart ache. 

“What do you need?” he asked, sitting down on the opposite side of you. Reluctant to look at him, you fixed your gaze on the apple juice. “Are you feeling alright?” you asked, which made Vil chuckle, “That’s a funny question Y/n” 

“I just wanted to know, You’ve been avoiding me for a while and-“You were cut off by Vil who placed the half-empty apple juice on the table. “I just needed some time to think, plus we agreed to lay low” He answered, which frustrated you “Vil, I heard from Rook that you turned up late during work" you were feeling nervous, and for the first time, your lover made you uneasy. "that never happened before,” you said, wanting to touch his hand, but he pulled it away, his eyes showing a trace of betrayal.

“What?” he asked, heart breaking as he looked at you, “Rook told you?”

“Of course he did, he’s a close friend of yours!” you protested, feeling a sense of desperation when Vil kept rejecting you, for the past few weeks, or months? You don’t know, but it’s been so long since you two last saw each other and stared at each other for more than just a glance, now you’re on the receiving end of his glare?

“You…” Vil murmured, before he finally let his body relax, his expression turning soft. “I think we should break things off.”

“What?” you gasped, gripping on the apple juice a little bit too hard, “Vil- “

“Why?” 

Why? Vil wanted to answer why, there were plenty of reasons why, you two were just way too different, and the fact that if he pursued this relationship further, it’d hurt both of you more. It was clear that Rook liked you and you liked Rook, what is there to continue this relationship? Plus, the media will continue to see you as inferior, this will continue for a lifetime, and no matter what he can’t see why and how your relationship with him will continue without it getting toxic. He finally understood that he is way too much for you, his feelings would slowly wrap you around vines that contain poison, HIS poison. He was thinking of the future, and he can’t see it going beyond the challenges you two face. 

He eventually responded, "I lost interest, I’m sorry, we both should focus on our careers first” He lied, not looking at you as well, you both were too hurt to even gaze at each other. You didn’t move or talk, so he decided to stand up, fixing his attire and looking cold. “I’ll be leaving now, hopefully, we can put this all behind us, I’ll have a taxi be ready to get you home when you’re ready.” he said, his heart aching, he wanted to hold you, but he stopped himself, “Just talk to the manager when you plan to leave” he continued, turning around before leaving the lounge.  

The moment you left, the manager went up to him excitedly, he didn’t feel like celebrating at all when he found out that they tracked down who the journalist is and are now filing a lawsuit against them; at least on a positive note, you were out of the picture, out of the prying eyes of the media. 

This was for the best, he thought to himself, feeling numb while he felt his chest tighten when he went back to work.

Word Count: 3418

[knmaskitten]

Love me back ⊹ ♡

Pairing: Kageyama Tobio/ afab!reader.

Summary: inspired by love me back by fromis_9. You moved to your new house thanks to college, and one day, as you were preparing to deliver a gift to your neighbour, you encountered said person, Kageyama Tobio. After that, you keep longing to bump into him and slowly get him to correspond to your feelings. But when that does not happen, you plan a scheme with your best friend as the ultimate test to see if Tobio likes you or not.

warnings/tags: afab!fem reader. No use of y/n. Neighbours to lovers. Kageyama really is bad at expressing love. Reader is head over heels. A little bit of physical descriptions but nothing specific like hair color, length, etc. You use Oikawa Tooru to make Kageyama jealous. Oikawa is your best friend.

notes: I wanted to write this since so long ago, Kageyama is one of my favorite boys. As always, this was not proof read so I apologize for any bad grammar. Not necessary but english is my second language so have that in mind while reading. As always my AO3 is here (I post there first).

wc: 2,500

It was so utterly frustrating having to look at him all day long, knowing how your heart wanted to escape your ribcage every time you exchanged glances with his dark ocean eyes. You longed to see him every day, whether the sun was at its highest or lowest. You wanted to see him. For him to notice you and to exchange more than just “Hi” or “How are you?”. You’re sure you would have a stroke if he ever said something related to your outfits, which you carefully picked whenever you were going to “accidentally” bump into him.

Being neighbours with Kageyama was going to be the death of you. Your anxiety went through the roof when you thought about him, which was no bueno. Your cortisol levels were so high that your therapist advised you to finally blurt out a confession to him so you could be let out of this misery. But no, you were not that kind of girl anymore. All your life, you were the one who always had to confess to everybody, and you hated not being the one being confessed to. This had a huge impact on your self-esteem and made you doubt if you were loveable enough to be even considered a lover.

You were a nice lover, you thought. It isn’t like you haven’t dated anyone before this crush. Your first boyfriend, Marco, was a nice guy™ and you two had a very nice relationship. The thing is, your first relationship was just nice—not passionate, not vehement, not ardent, not fervent—nothing. Just nice. And it was rare to feel what you felt towards Kageyama; you were sure it wasn’t just infatuation; you could already feel what it really was and what it really meant. 

You were Kageyama’s right-side neighbour. You moved by yourself, next to where he lived, a few years ago because of college. You met him on your second day in your new home. He was returning from practise; he looked sweaty and tired. He had a jacket that said “Japan” on it, a volleyball ball on his right hand, and his sports bag on his shoulder. His hair was dark and messy, giving him a certain kind of freshness. You were casually walking towards his house, a friendly gift on your hands, hoping to form good bonds with your neighbours.

He observed you carefully and analyzed you, as if he were searching for something else behind your clear intentions. He did not smile at you, but he did stop walking to face you fully, silently questioning you. So you nervously replied:

“I’m…I’m your new neighbour!” You tried not to yell, but your words came out a lot louder than you intended to. This made you feel wobbly, with the tray in your hands threatening to fall to the ground. “I made some strawberry shortcake for you.” You pointed with your head towards the tray; it was a cute, soft pink platter with a ribbon design. It was trembling slightly thanks to your jitters.

“Thank you.” He bowed towards you, his hair moving with its movements. You paid attention to how his muscles flexed and then relaxed, creating wrinkles in his jacket and sports shorts. “I’m sorry, I don’t have anything for you.”

“That’s not necessary; this was just a small gesture. You dont have to give me anything, really.” You blurted your verbiage out without thinking. What was going on? You usually weren’t this awkward with people. You had confidence, which you slowly but surely cultivated through the years, and it was really hard for your ego to accept that a mere boy could have this impact on you.

He was a handsome boy with knowing eyes; his eyes were hungry to analyze the world around him, and the profound, dark blue ocean that his eyes were had you wanting to explore every nook and cranny in them. He was taller than you—almost 20 centimeters taller, giving him a certain kind of power over you. He had a toned and muscular figure, which coincided with the fact that he was a volleyball player, which you admired. You guessed he played in the Japanese volleyball league, making him a professional at what he did. And that was so interesting.

It just occurred to you that he perfectly could have rejected your dessert, given the fact that he needs to eat well and your shortcake was considered junk food. This fact struck your heart like lightning, making you feel butterflies in your stomach. He looked at you expectantly, waiting for you to pass him the tray. It seems you were in awe for too long because he gave you a frown.

“Right, sorry, here you go.” 

"Later.” He said while walking towards his house, leaving you perplexed.

That was the first time you two had any interaction. You took every opportunity you had to talk to him: sometimes you needed sugar, other times you needed a kitchen supply he had, and one time you needed help grabbing something from the top of your kitchen cabinets that you couldn’t reach. Other times you nonchalantly waited outside your home, seemingly sweeping your entrance, while you knew he would return from practise around this hour.

One particular time, he looked strangely dazed and out of tune, which you knew (by observing him so much) was weird. You had your broom on your hand, and the leaves in the cement were in a little pile right to your feet. You kept looking at him without a care in the world, scrutinizing him. This did not go unnoticed by him.

“Do I have something in my face?” He straightforwardly said, making eye contact with you. His back was ever so slightly arched and his hair was sticking to his forehead. His blue eyes were lit up with annoyance.

“Kageyama-kun, are you alright? You look out of it.” Worry seeped out of your words, a tender breeze brushing your hair.

“N—no! I mean, yes! I’m fine” He replied a little bit flustered, like he didn’t expect you to read him so well.

You left your broom on the side of your fence and you started walking towards him until you faced him. Face to face, he had to arch his back a little bit more to look at your eyes, which were full of a weird determination.

“Kageyama-kun I know I’m not your friend, but I can help you if you desire; I’m right next to you, and I swear I will do my best.” You stated that you were dead set on helping him out; even if he rejected your offer, you wanted to let him know you were worried about him. The sun shone on the right side of his face, highlighting his skin in a dance of light and shadows. This made time slow down around you, leaving just the two of you in this odd bubble you created.

“I…” He pouted, averting his gaze from yours as he frowned. “I just had a bad practise, that’s all.” He reluctantly said it in a mumble.

With all the will and courage you could possibly muster up, you walked even closer to him and gave him a big, tight hug, mumbling in a low and serene tone, “You’re still an amazing player.”

He trembled and then squished out of your hug, flustered. “I know!” he yelled, pointing to you with his index finger. ”I won’t lose!”

Kageyama was never socially good, and he was even less good with friends. So he did what he knew best: yell and challenge. You stood still, thinking you fucked up, your feelings bubbling in the pit of your stomach as anxiety started to gain a strong presence in you.

“S—sorry.” You muttered before walking rapidly towards your home, obviously not before taking your broom with you. You stopped on your heels, turned towards him and gave him a bow “Excuse me!” You yelled, leaving him there.

And after that, you both exchanged conversations that tacitly had something behind them. You sometimes thought Kageyama hated you and other times that he merely had to stand your presence, but once you thought he saw you as something else. You wanted him to look at you the way you looked at him, to long for your presence like you did his, to analyze your figure and eyes like you did his. To invite you on a damn date! If he didn’t hurry, you were going to finally accept the advances of a guy at your college.

In the battle of egos, you were not going to lose; you had a strong resolve, and that was: Kageyama had to confess to you. And it is not like you didn’t do anything to achieve this; you kept giving him gifts and kept advising him when he looked troubled. You secretly loved when he gave you attention, even if it was just crumbs. You had the opportunity to know a little bit more about him in every exchange you guys had, craving every chance you had of getting his attention. The feeling of his eyes on you, looking at only you with a certain kind of intent.

This went on for about six months—six long months of crumbs. And you were so not having it that you managed to get Kageyama’s phone number and his socials (you always waited for him to text or call you, but he never did, so you reluctantly had to be the one to initiate the conversation), but even then, you were not certain as to what he felt for you. Did he love you as well? Did he hate you? You were so nervous, uncertainty filling your body to the brim.

So, you decided to do a scheme with your best friend, Oikawa Tooru. This was evil in many ways, as you knew the rivalry Tobio had with your best friend. You met Tooru on a trip to your aunt’s house in Miyagi, and after a weirdly funny encounter, you two hit it off as best friends. You rarely met, but this was no excuse for how close you two grew together. It really was a coincidence that the “stupid setter from Karasuno” that Oikawa often talked about turned out to be Kageyama, which was stupidly funny.

You definitely were not the type to do these type of schemes, but you were desperate. You needed at least a glance that said I love you—a lovingly full of attention glance. And this fact also ashamed you; a guy had you craving attention; he had you in the palm of his hand, and he was so oblivious to it. This simply made you furious; you were not one to give into a guy this easily, and it made you angry that he didn’t show any signs.

So, you decided to carry out your plan. You called Oikawa and discussed with him:

“Tooru-chan, accept, please.” You pleaded.

“Using me! Huh! And to make Tobio-chan jealous! Him, of all people!” He said, frustrated and a little bit offended. “Why him, dear? Why him?”

“Please, Tooru, he means a lot to me.”

“But he is an idiot if you have to go to these lengths to get his attention.” He scolded you.

“But, Tooru, I love him!” You cried over the phone.

There was a brief silence on the other line; you could only hear the faint sound of static.

“You are lucky I’m in Japan right now.” He said, resigning to your plan.

“I love you, Tooru! You’re amazing!” 

Happily, you hung up the phone. The plan was as follows: he was going to pick you up for a “date” at the time Tobio arrived home from practise, and then you two were actually going to go out because Oikawa asked to at least have some real time with his best friend. So you texted him with the date and time he had to be at your front door. You insisted on him looking extra handsome that day and reacted with, “I’m always extra handsome! >:c” .

When the day came, you decided to pamper yourself. You wore makeup today; you wore a light pink eyeshadow that highlighted your eyes, applying a little bit of glitter at the center of your lid. You carefully placed your blush to make you look naturally flushed. You did your winged liner and used mascara. You successfully enhanced your natural beauty. You left your hair down, as it was what you were most comfortable with. You wanted to look cute, so you picked a white, flowy dress that made you shine. You paired it with black Mary Jane shoes and white socks, as well as a pearly necklace with a purple gem. 

At six thirty, your door bell rang and a text bubble appeared on the screen of your phone: “Open the door, dummy.” . And so you hurried up. You put your phone in your black purse and grabbed a black jacket to pair your dress with. You ran downstairs towards the door and opened it very happily.

“Tooru!” you exclaimed, excited. As you hugged your friend tightly, you peeked over his shoulder and saw Kageyama’s figure approaching. You whispered, "Ok, Tooru, let’s do it. Kageyama’s coming”

You knew you were going to get a reaction from him, but not this one. He stopped, looking between you and Oikawa; he got the clue instantly as he saw you both well dressed. You could swear you saw fire coming out of him.

“Oikawa.” He said it in a low tone, angrily.

“Tobio-chan!” He cheerfully replied.

“What are you doing with her? How do you know her?” He blurted out, arching his brow, walking closer to you.

“Going on a date. Not that its any of your business.” Oikawa gave him an annoyed smile.

“No, you’re not.” You swear you and Oikawa are still in your places, surprised by this. Your heart started to race. 

“You’re not fair!” You yelled at him, feeling overwhelmed. “You ignore me, then forbid me from going on a date?”

“I…its just…I." He started.

“You what?”

He then walked towards you fully, and taking you by the shoulders, he kissed you passionately. His hands were not moving, and you were so stunned that it took you a second to correspond with him. Oikawa stood still, a little awkward. He decided to slowly walk towards your door and leave you two to it. He was still going to have his time with you nonetheless.

“Oikawa is not the right guy for you. I am. I think I love you. I want you.”

You didn’t say anything, as those words were the one thing you wanted to hear the most, for the longest of times. And you had it now, and it felt amazingly odd; it was a new feeling that meant your love was reciprocated. 

“Oikawa is my best friend. I love you, idiot.”

And then you hugged him, and this time he hugged you back.

Thank you for reading <3

masterlist and more.

[russellsppttemplates]

Max teasing graphic designer!reader and Lando because it took them so long to admit they liked eachother

"And the worst thing is that he was so obvious about it and you didn't see any of it!", Max yelled as the four of you sat in the gaming room, you and Pietra spending most of the stream talking to eachother and keeping away from the camera, but your social understanding abilities were being questioned and you had to defend yourself.

"It wasn't that bad, Max", you tried to reason as Lando adjusted your body on his lap, kissing your shoulder before looking at his bestfriend.

"Lando couldn't care less about the accounting as much as he's concerned that Quadrant doesn't go bankrupt, it's as simple as that", Max stated as your boyfriend nodded before he hid his face on your neck, knowing the story he was bringing up, "Lando was not planning to attend the finance and budget meeting, but when you asked if you could be there because you were curious about how it all worked, that guy was the first to go to the meeting room and make sure everyone else sat together and you could sit right in front of him and in the meeting, he started talking about percentages and tax names he had never even heard of before - why's that? Because he wanted to impress you, Y/N!", Max concluded.

"No - c'mon, you're exaggerating", you looked at Max before noticing your boyfriend's blushed cheeks, "really, Lan?", you wondered.

"From the beggining, I knew you wouldn't be swooned by flashy dates or fancy gifts, so I had to really show you I was serious about you and, I don't know, like I was someone worth your interest? You can't imagine rollercoaster of emotions I felt in that meeting, I was so confident at the start and by the time you suggested something about a system I don't remember, I was ready to curl up and cry because I thought I didn't have a shot with you", Lando pouted.

"It's true, Y/N - he went home with Max that day while I was there and he was having a full on meltdown", Pietra complimented the story, "what was it you said? Oh I remember - he was slumped over the sofa like this", he mimicked, "and he was going on about how you'd never look at him the way he looked at you and that he was miserable - he actually said he was miserable", she chuckled.

You gasped at the information before turning around to face your boyfriend, looking for his eyes as he whispered "It's true" before you cupped his handsome face in your hands, "Oh, baby, little did you know I was falling for you by then", you cooed, "I didn't think you'd feel like that for me, though - you could have anyone you wanted and I didn't think Quadrant's most recent hire for the graphic design team would be on your radar", you shrugged your shoulders, kissing his pout, "I wouldn't say I was miserable", you giggled, "but I was quite sad and just tried my best to not show it", it was your turn to blush.

Max cackled loudly as his girlfriend followed along, "Y/N! You had to sew the button on his shirt and I have never ever been in a room with so much tension - you were eating him with your eyes! And your hands were so shaky I was worried you'd poke him! And that time where Lando helped a mother with her child - do you remember? The little one was so fussy and Lando asked if she wanted him to rock the buggy because she needed to take something from her bag! You, Y/N, you looked at him like he was the love of your life, that moment you were not hiding it!", he reasoned.

"Seems we were not as subtle as we thought we were", Lando chuckled, kissing your cheek and pulling you closet to him, "chat also seems to agree that we were pining for eachother for a while, someone says the friendship bracelets video - guys, that was an easy one, why do you think I wanted to do that video so much?", your boyfriend joked as you flicked his ear.

"You said you liked them", you mumbled on his ear, "not as much as I liked getting a proper sniff of your perfume, pretty girl".

(Thank you for sending this in ✨️)

[causenessus]

new grounds

part 0.12. SECOND TIME'S THE CHARM . . . 2.14.2024

PLAYING IN THE CAFE . . . valentine by laufey

prev. | m.list | next

extras <3

i literally did not want to write a valentines day chapter because it felt stupid but also i did this to myself because i decided to follow a timeline for this smau and i knew i couldn't just skip over it but hey it worked out ok i think

hinata calls like 80% of the "council meetings" and they're usually for something stupid

hinata and tsukki love each other they just show it by verbally berating each other

bokuto did in fact make cute little cards filled with hearts made of wildflower seed paper for his best friends and the entire volleyball team <3

the freeloaders were texting kageyama about valentines day on tuesday, the day before valentines day when kags was working with y/n and he was so terrified she'd look at his phone and see they were texting about her

bokuto was the only person who saw kageyama drop off the flowers. who else would be up at 5 am and somehow look out the peephole of their door at the exact right moment

keiji woke up when, in his completely dark room, bokuto started shaking his bed frame going "AKAASHI WAKE UP IT'S IMPORTANT" and he literally thought someone was breaking in

kageyama's heart dropped when he accidentally said he was already interested in someone right in front of y/n he thought he had just ruined every chance with her or given himself away

bokuto did show up to join the girl talk <3 yachi wasn't able to again because of school she was devastated

did anyone's elementary school do that thing where on valentine's day everyone brought in a box they had decorated for other kids to drop their candy into? that's basically what was happening in yamaguchi's class except for half the kids had designed their box to be like those little mechanical coin boxes where you put the coin on a plate and like a cat paw comes out to take it (linked an 8 second youtube video clip of what i'm talking about because i couldn't describe this thing to save my life) TLDR; engineer majors are sleep deprived crazed nerds.

taglist: @ncitygreen @lvrlamp @cherrypieyourface @mimi3lover @lees-chaotic-brain @frootloopscos @0moonii @cr4yolaas @eggyrocks @pinkiscool @httpakkeiji @localgaytrainwreck @lunaviee @kitty-m30w @lixie-phoria @aliruuiz @corvid007 @iluv-ace @yvjitadori @k8nicole @ryeyeyer @thechaosoflonging @kettlepop @r0seandth0rns @rinheartshyunlix @lucky-chars @par4disee @vixx-22 @luvkvni @does-directions (form to be added to taglist! <3)

[in1-nutshell]

Hey, with Soundwave now having an opposite personality daughter, could you do Shockwave with an opposite personality daughter?

Already thinking of a name for her, it will be on the CANON NAME LIST as soon as I figure it out.

Hope you enjoy!

Shockwave with a daughter with the opposite personality

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Cybertronian reader

TFP

Shockwave met Buddy while he was still a senator.

Her parents were fellow senators who hosted a party that night.

The family unit was famously known through the Senate for having many sparklings under their care.

Shockwave felt sorry for most of them, it was clear most of them were going to be used as pawns in their parents’ plan to keep their influence in the government.

Buddy was one of the eldest younglings in the group and often ignored by her parents.

Shockwave had heard her voice more than once in the halls asking archivist and elders questions.

A curious little thing, sadly many didn’t have the patience to deal with.

Shockwave spots Buddy in one of the corners of the room. He walks up to her. She looks up in surprise. Buddy straightens her backstruts: “Senator Shockwave, sir!” Shockwave smiles: “At ease, Buddy.” Buddy looks at him shocked: “You know my designation?” Shockwave: “Of course I do. You’ve made quite a name for yourself with your questions around the Halls.” Buddy’s helm looks down a bit. Shockwave: “Its not bad to ask questions you know. It shows a bot wanting more knowledge, a smart one too.” Buddy shyly looks at him: “You think I’m smart?” Shockwave looks around: “How about we sneak into the Halls for a while? I believe I can answer some of your questions, if not we can always go into the records and look for it.” Buddy’s optics widen in surprise and excitement: “Really! I’d love—I mean—I’d greatly appreciate it Senator Shockwave, but what about my unit?” Shockwave: “Hmm… if anyone asks, you’re my assistant.” Buddy stifles a giggle and nods following the Senator out the door.

Buddy’s parents didn’t even notice one of their sparklings had left the party, they were too busy showing off their favorite sparkling to the crowd.

Meanwhile, Buddy was having a blast asking questions left and right.

Shockwave did his best in answering them all to the best of his abilities.

They did eventually return to the party just in time for the parents to start leaving.

Shockwave was happy to give this youngling a moment of happiness.

What surprised him was Buddy returning to his office the next day asking if she could hang out in his office with him.

The pair soon enough fell into a comfortable routine.

Everyday Buddy would arrive at Shockwave’s office, they would quietly work on whatever they had on hand, have refueling time together and have the rest of the day to do whatever they wanted.

Shockwave loved having this bright optic youngling around, definitely better than the corrupt senators.

Her parents never questioned where Buddy went off to.

Shockwave eventually introduced Buddy to Megatron and Soundwave.

Shockwave: “Buddy this is Megatron and Soundwave, these are some of the bots that want to help Orion and I restore balance in the Senate.” Buddy immediately shakes servos with both the mechs. Buddy: “Its nice to meet you! I’ve read all your works! They truly are inspiring Megatron! Have you ever thought of writing something else for—never mind that was rude of me, how was your day?” Megatron blinking trying to process this little ball of energy. Megatron: “I am doing quite well.” Soundwave nods in agreement. Buddy just smiles wider holding Shockwave’s servo. Megatron: “So this is your sparkling Shockwave?” Shockwave: “Oh, Buddy isn’t—” Buddy: “He’s not my—” Megatron and Soundwave share a look as the two try and explain their ‘not father/daughter relationship’.

Things were going great

Until Buddy didn’t come to his office one day.

She had never been late before, and it was worrying him.

Suddenly the door flew open and shut just as quickly as they closed.

Buddy was panting hard and heavily.

Shockwave was immediately on his pedes and ran towards her asking what was wrong.

Before she could respond, someone kicked in the door.

Shockwave immediately takes her in his arms and away from the mech.

The mech had blasters out and pointed at the pair.

There was no way the security was going to arrive.

When the blasters clicked, Shockwave shielded the youngling with his frame.

Only hoping that none of the blast hit her.

She screamed as the blast sounded.

But the blast never hit them.

The three shots were floating in front of them.

All three bots looked at them in disbelief.

The mech clicked his blaster again, this time Buddy stared at him hard, and the blasts suddenly went to him knocking him unconscious

When the guards arrived, Shockwave was holding a sobbing Buddy in his arms.

It was found out that Buddy was an Outlier with telekinesis.

It scared her badly.

Buddy sniffling in her seat pulling her pedes closer to her frame. Shockwave quietly sat by her side. Buddy fearfully scootched farther away from him. Buddy: “I don’t want to hurt you! Stay away!” Shockwave just offers her his servo. She hesitates but shakingly holds it. Slowly she gravitates to his side. He carefully pulls her into his lap, Buddy curls slightly on it. Buddy: “… Are you going to leave me too?” Shockwave looks at her surprised. Shockwave: “Why would you say that?” Buddy roughly wipes the incoming tears from her face. Buddy: “THEY left me as soon as I showed them… this.” Shockwave buries the anger in his chassis and gives Buddy a good squeeze. Shockwave: “Well… they just gave up an intelligent, energetic youngling with a special gift.” Buddy: “A gift?” Shockwave: “Yes Buddy, your powers are a gift. Imagine all the good you can do with a bit of practice.” Buddy stares at him for a bit. Buddy: “You’re… you’re really not going to leave me?” Shockwave gently rocks her back and forth. Shockwave: “I’d be a down right fool to leave my daughter because of who she was.” Buddy starts full on sobbing holding him tightly. The pair levitates a bit off the ground, but they are too busy hugging to notice.

Shockwave was the one who stood by her side and convinced that this was a gift and not a curse.

This would lead to Shockwave trying to create an academy for Outliers to learn who to control their powers.

Buddy and Shockwave only grew closer as he helped her control her powers and use them.

Life finally seemed to be turning around for the best.

…Until Shockwave was taken.

Buddy was frantic trying to find where he had gone.

Even going to Megatron and Soundwave for help to find the Senator.

She didn’t trust the guards or police.

When Shockwave was released from the empurata procedure, Buddy’s spark broke seeing him like this.

So emotionless and cold.

Shockwave didn’t understand why this youngling was crying over him, but he couldn’t find it to remove her off his frame.

Shockwave stood stiff as the youngling clung onto his frame. Buddy: “I-I-I’m so sorry! I’m so-so sorry!” Shockwave: “…That is illogical.” Buddy turned to look at his singular optic. Shockwave: “You have nothing to do with my frame. It is illogical to say you had a say in this.” Buddy stares at him and once again hugs him tightly. Buddy: “I’m never leaving you alone again. Never again…Dad…” Shockwave: “… Illogical.”

When Shockwave defected to the Decepticons Buddy was right by his side.

She vowed to never leave his side as long as she could help it.

Her powers only grew stronger.

From being able to redirect little blasts, to being able to throw back bots several miles back, to completely taking control of certain parts in a bot’s frame.

Shockwave constantly scheduled tests and experiments for her.

Somewhat… a bit more painful and caused some sickness at times, but she tried her best not to complain.

He had been there for her at her lowest, it was only right to sit with him through his.

Buddy soon earned a reputation amongst the Autobot and Decepticon ranks.

A strange ally for the Decepticons.

A terrifying monster for the Autobots.

The Autobots knew many unspoken things about the war.

One being to never interfere with Optimus and Megatron when they fought.

Another, if Shockwave was nearby, his little Monster was close by.

  Sadly, for her, she would get separated from Shockwave during the fall of Cybertron.

It had taken Megatron knocking her out to avoid the destruction of the Nemesis.

She mourned for her father for a while.

Soon enough, after Megatron’s disappearance, Buddy would become the Chief scientist on the Nemesis.

She didn’t display her powers too much, only using them whenever Soundwave brought her out to train.

The more time passed in this ‘stalemate’ the more Buddy let loose.

She started getting to know more about her fellow Vechicons.

They all grew to love the bot.

She was nice company and empathetic, something that was rare to see now a days.

Knockout and Breakdown walking into one of the hallways. They both stop. Knockout: “Er… what is going on?” Buddy was smiling using her powers to make some of the Vechicons fly around the halls. Breakdown: “Let’s not question it. No harms being done unlike last lab visit.” Knockout cringes a bit. Knockout: “It took me weeks to get that slime out of my vents.”

Knockout is almost always about to blow a fuse with Buddy.

Not because she is a bad kid, far from that.

It’s just ever since Buddy found some paint and a mop, she had been doodling or taking notes down on her frame.

It’s not uncommon to see Knockout dragging Buddy by a piece of her kibble to the medbay to clean her paintjob.

Breakdown makes sure that any important notes get replicated on a data pad before Knockout gets the hose.

Knockout: “What in Primus’s name possessed you to use that horrific color to do notes on your frame!” Buddy looking at the neon yellow paint. Buddy: “It looked nice.” Knockout about to have a stroke. Breakdown: “I have all the notes on the data pad.” Knockout: “Good.” The medic puts the giant hose on the Jet setting. Knockout: “Now hold still…”

Starscream sees Buddy as a threat no matter how well she treats him.

Already has several plans to eliminate Buddy, but there are two things stopping him right now.

Soundwave and Lazerbeak.

Lazerbeak was often seen hovering in areas Buddy would normally hang out.

Soundwave had taken up the role of being Buddy’s guardian in the absence of Shockwave.

He could never replace Shockwave, but Buddy was grateful to have him by her side.

Buddy is ready to bash some bots helm the second she finds out they are back.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Deborah Kerr (Bonjour Tristesse, An Affair to Remember, The King and I)— For several decades she held the record for most Oscar nominations without a win (6 in total), and she was a prolific leading lady throughout the 40s and 50s. She's best known today for the romance An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant, and as the governess in The King and I. Many people have this erroneous perception of her as extremely prim, proper, and virginal, but this could not be further from the truth. When she first came to Hollywood under MGM she was typecast into boring decorative roles, but broke sexual boundaries for herself and Hollywood generally in From Here to Eternity, when she made out (horizontally!) with Burt Lancaster (on top of him!) in the famous Beach Scene. She went on to play many sexually conflicted women, a character type that would define most of her post- Eternity work. She continued to break Hays Code boundaries with Tea and Sympathy, which addresses homosexuality/homophobia head-on, and even did a topless scene in The Gypsy Moths 1969!! One of the only classic stars to do so. She deserves a more nuanced and frankly a hotter legacy than she currently has!!!

Devika Rani (Achhut Kanya)—She was grandniece of Rabindranath Tagore (laureate). She was sent to boarding school in England at age nine and grew up there. After completing her schooling, she joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the Royal Academy of Music to study acting and music, at a time when aristocratic women did not enter showbiz. She studied filmmaking in Berlin. It is well known that she underwent training at the UFA Studios in the art and technique of acting under Eric Pommer, and other aspects of film production including costume and set designing and make-up, under eminent directors like GW Pabst, Fritz Lang, Emil Jannings and Josef von Sternberg. She is also reported to have worked with Marlene Dietrich. She had a multi-faceted personality and took on many responsibilities of film production at Bombay Talkies, a studio that she co-founded with Himanshu Rai in Mumbai in 1934. She often took care of hair and make up, supervised set design and editing, scouted for new talent and mentored them. She was the face of Bombay Talkies, and also the reason behind the political and financial backing the studio received, at a time when even women from red light districts refused to work as actresses. She was the first recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, when it was instituted in 1970.

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Deborah Kerr:

I think she was one of my first crushes before I realised I was bi in The King and I when I watched it as a kid honestly. The kissing scene in From Here to Eternity is iconic for a reason. Actually tried to learn the accents for the characters she was playing if they weren't English which is more than pretty much anyone else was doing then. Played very restrained characters who frequently seemed to be desperate not to be so restrained. Did horror movies without venturing into hagsploitation tropes. Gave Marni Nixon the credit she deserved for her share of the singing in The King and I.

Anne Larsen is a peak late 1950s bisexual with big MILF energy. Have you seen the behind the scenes pics of her wearing a suit?? Have you????? Vote Deb as Anne Larsen.

Nominated for an Oscar six (6) times and never won, but besides her having actual talent (hot), and besides her looking Like That (very hot, also beautiful), she was always playing women who are, like, crazy repressed. Which makes it fun and easy for me to read these characters as queer. Icon!!!! You know what's hot? Playing ambiguously gay in vintage Hollywood.

Her face and talent and body, yes, ofc, duh. But also!!! Her HANDS!!!! I may be but a simple lesbian, but she is the best hactor (hand actor) that ever lived and that's HOT! For propriety's sake I feel I must redact a large portion of my commentary on this subject. Anyway. She's hot in her most famous roles (mentioned above), and also some of her sexiest hacting is on display in An Affair to Remember (her hand on the bannister when Cary Grant kisses her off-screen??? HELLO???), Tea and Sympathy (when she's trying to persuade Tom not to go out and she keeps flexing her hands like she wants to reach out to him but can't??? ALLY BEHAVIOR! WE STAN!), and The Innocents (which opens and closes with extended shots of her hands bc director Jack Clayton was also an ally and he did that for ME). Much of her appeal also lies in the fact that she often played deeply repressed characters and you know what's hot? When those uptight characters finally unravel. It's sexy. It's cathartic. It's erotic. Plus, she's beautiful to look at in both black & white and technicolor, and the more of her films you see, the more you can't help but fall in love!

Literally is in thee most famously sexy scene of all time (or maybe just during the hays code era which is what we're talking about HELLO), which is the beach scene with Burt Lancaster in from here to eternity. To quote a tumblr post of a screen capture of a tweet of a video of joy behar on the view: "y'know, there used to be movies where they were kissing on the beach... From Here to Eternity. They're kissing-- Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr are Kissing on the Beach and then the WAVES crash!! You know exactly what they did!"

She might have a reputation of being chaste and virginal or whatever, but we all know it's the quiet ones who are certifiable FREAKS

Devika Rani:

Achhut Kanya (1936) is the only one of hers I've seen but hot DAMN

[eddiezpaghetti]

Okay, so my experience with Stranger Things is a weird one.

I didn't care when it first came out, started to watch it out of "might as well" in 2020, wasn't interested in it enough to make it past S2, forgot about it outside of going "oh, hey, cool, there's a lesbian in it now, I guess," in S3, got really annoyed when "Running Up That Hill" got popular from it because it was a song I listened to on fucking loop after one of my best friends died in high school and I fully expected its appearance in the show to ignore the whole survivor's guilt theme of the song (and was very happy to learn later that it did the exact opposite of ignoring the lyrics), saw people drawing Eddie, suddenly got a lot more interested, watched just the fourth season like a fucking psychopath because I was seriously only there for Eddie, then got interested enough to start the show over properly, having mostly forgotten what I did watch of the show before.

And let me tell you something from the perspective of someone who started with the complete fourth season, who wasn't there from the start, who wasn't tainted by ship goggles or this internal battle of hope and despair, who wasn't theorizing about what the painting could be or expecting Mike and Will to kiss when Volume 2 happened or rooting for Mike and Eleven's relationship to go down in flames or whatever the fuck. Just someone who went blind into Season 4.

It's really fucking obvious that Will and Mike are gonna be endgame.

Like holy fuck. It's so fucking blatant I don't even know why people are nervous.

No sane fucking person would shoot this scene this way if they wanted the audience to care about El and Mike as a couple. Despite being all blurry in the background, Will's reaction to what's happening here is smackdab in the fucking middle, clearly showing that the important part is what's going through his head here. What he's feeling. It's like the opposite of that scene from Kingdom Hearts II where Sora and Riku reunite and Kairi just fucking vanishes into the aether while it's happening because, despite the fact that she was standing between them when the scene began, she doesn't matter to the scene, so she's just kind of gone when the camera angle changes. Will could have been behind one of their heads, or so far in the distance he blends in with the background, but he's not. He's so obvious that despite being massively blurred out, he's still the first goddamn thing you look at. What, you think that's an accident? You think he's in the middle of this dramatic fucking scene because of a mistake? He basically has a big flashing neon arrow pointing at him with "THIS IS THE POINT" being screamed through a megaphone.

And then this?

They're paired up like they're taking fucking prom pictures. Each one of these pairs is so fucking close to one another and so fucking far from everyone else. It's not, "Oh, they're standing vaguely near each other in a group shot," it's fucking Noah's Ark out here. Again, there's no way to take this as an accident. It's not just a framing issue. If they wanted to make the shot look balanced while still not hiding anyone else behind El, they would have scattered people around much more naturally. Even if they wanted to keep Nancy with Jonathan and Hopper with Joyce, there's so much room on that hill for three people to stand on El's left and three on her right. But they didn't do that. They put Mike and Will together on purpose in the most obvious way possible.

Like I get that coming up with crackpot theories is fun in and of itself and I'm not blaming anyone for having fun. I totally get the appeal of arguing a point and reaching for every stupid little thing to pull into it because it's like a game, okay? I've done that. But if you're trying to actually convince someone (whether it's someone who wants to believe or someone who's pissed at the very idea that Mike and Will could be in love), stay away from blue and yellow lights, stay away from costume design, stay away from the existence of closets in backgrounds. And don't worry about whether Mike's gay or bi when he's in love with Will either way. I'll give you a little tip about persuasion: You're only as strong as your weakest argument. Even if you've got strong stuff in there, too, the person you're trying to convince is going to dismiss anything you say as complete insanity the second you start going on an entire tangent about the shape of a character's fucking pocket.

Sometimes, clothes are just clothes. Sometimes, there's a closet in the background because it helps establish that a character is in a bedroom. Sometimes, blue and yellow are just a couple of colors that look nice together. And sure, it might be set designers and costume designers and cinematographers smirking and winking at the audience from behind the camera. But if the show was just those things, instead of those things in the context of everything else, they wouldn't be saying anything of note.

But this?

This tells a story all on its own. Someone with no context can look at this and automatically assume that each paired person is standing with someone they care about deeply, seeking comfort as they watch some sort of disaster unfold. And yeah, romantic couples usually come in twos, and we live in an amatonormative society, so that's going to be the first association anyone makes seeing a bunch of people paired off.

It's the same reason you look at this

And go, "Oh..."

"Those two are probably a couple."

And I genuinely don't understand how people could have watched S4 Vol. 2 and gotten scared. Because as someone who went in with no investment whatsoever, I just looked at these two--

--and went, "Oh, those two are a couple. Good for them." And I moved on. Shut up about the trees for five seconds and just see the forest for what it is.

Oh, and if you're still nervous? Little thing from a storyteller here: You don't leave a hanging thread like "Will confessed his romantic feelings for Mike by projecting them onto El, but Mike either didn't understand or at least didn't say he understood," without coming back to that later. That's Chekov's gun hanging on the wall, babes. It's gonna fire at some point. If Mike was going to reject Will's feelings, if they weren't relevant, they would have had that discussion in Argyle's van. There'd be no reason to leave you in suspense.