#i wanna build a custom keyboard next

[peonypyxels]

slowly but surely the office is coming along 🌟

[wonlouvre]

Hii can I ask for boyfie!Mingyu x reader where he just wants to spoil you because HE JUST LOVE YOU SO FREAKING MUCH AND THAT READER DESERVES THE WHOLE WORLD! 🔥🔥However, reader dont wanna receive it because she’s independent. Idk how to escalate the story from here, imma leave it to you, my fav author. PLS MAKE IT AS FLUFFY SMOOCHY FLUFF AS POSSIBLE! 🥺🥺🥺🥺

p/s: DRINK LOTS OF WATER AND DONT SKIP YOUR MEALS! Pls take care of yourself, and have a good day!🥰🥰🥰💝

In/dependent

pairing: non-idol!mingyu x non-idol!g.n. reader genre: fluff!! warnings: none (please tell me if i missed anything!) word count: 936

💌: “my fav author” (ಥ﹏ಥ) thank you so much! i hope you like this one anon, also don’t forget to drink your water and eat your meals <3 i’m going to finish requests soon and hopefully post a drabble/oneshot of all my love in between :’)

Being in a relationship with Mingyu makes you often ask if it is really possible to love someone so much. It’s not because you’re questioning your love for him or his love for you. You just can’t help but look for the answers on how lucky you are to finally be with someone that loves you and your stubborn and independent personality. 

You met Mingyu at a photography contest as a spectator. You got free tickets from your company and it piqued your interest plus you don’t have anything to do on a Friday evening anyway, so off you went. Mingyu was a contestant and his exhibit caught most of your attention. His entries were mostly photos of different men hanging out, eating, drinking and going crazy at karaoke night. You assumed that they may be the photographer’s friends. You liked the photos though. You agree with their title “Friendship” because it did capture the meaning. 

Mingyu approached you with a question of what you thought and when you gave him your answer, the conversation naturally began and continued until he found his way to your heart.

Mingyu didn’t win the contest but he could care less because he got you instead, the best prize he could ever ask for. You told him it sounded objectifying, but he just shushed you with a kiss on the cheek. 

These days, Mingyu has been spending an awful lot of time with you. You have been working from home because the company’s building is under renovation and it won’t be done for another two weeks. You only visit or stop by when needed but other than that, you’re currently home based. Your boyfriend was the happiest when he found out that you’d be home all day and everyday. 

You’re not sure why you’re surprised by his affection and babying. He has been like this from the very beginning and although you’re not used to it, he makes it work like a piece of cake. Maybe he got sulky and upset one time because you hissed at his touchy hands, but that never made him stop, especially when you apologized and finally relented when you showered his face with kisses. 

“Baby, this is not due for another week,” Mingyu grumbles against your shoulder as he latches on to you, big and toned arms around your waist. “Take a break.”

Needless to say, Mingyu is not surprised that you're glued to your laptop while a bunch of papers and folders surround your supposed dining table. But he’s a man with conviction and he sticks to his principles and that includes taking care of you. He brought you breakfast when he arrived, your favorite bread and tea from the bakery nearby. And yes, he also brought you flowers which he placed on a vase, throwing the wilted ones away from yesterday. 

You glance at him before patting his puffing cheek softly. “I’ll be done in a minute. What do you want to do after?”

“I want to cook and eat lunch with you,” he whines when your eyes go back to the keyboard. “I even bought the ingredients because I’m sure you don’t have any inside your fridge or cabinets. We’re going grocery shopping tonight by the way and I’m not taking no for an answer.”

You didn’t have the chance to refuse because he’s already staring down right at you. You narrow your eyes at him and he just smiles innocently. Your head shakes in disbelief, a smile looming its way back to your lips as well. But you jump when he suddenly plants a kiss on your cheek, making your heart skip a beat. You ignore him and just continue with what you’re doing. 

But Mingyu is relentless and lets his lips continue its way down to your jaw, neck, ear, shoulder and any form of bare skin he can reach (you should have worn a sweatshirt instead of tank top). Not a second later, he’s nipping on your shoulder, making you gasp. 

“Stop it,” you groan and fail an attempt to push him away. 

“No, you stop working.”

You’re not saying you’re not a big fan of affection, especially his for you. You love it actually. What you’re not used to is him running his way around to take care of you and do almost everything for you. Once, he brought you lunch at work, making everyone at your department know that you’re taken. The next one, he fixed your window sill because cracks were already forming because of how old the wood is. Another one, which almost made you fight him but didn’t because you knew you were falling in love with him, was when he bought you an expensive custom made mattress because he remembered you mentioning once how your back hurts. 

That’s why you ask how can you love Mingyu so much when it’s impossible because you think what you’re giving is not enough compared with what he gives and does for you. 

You sigh defeatedly and shut your laptop close. Mingyu’s face brightens evidently with how wide his grin is and giggles. You face him and he tugs your arms to make you sit on his lap. 

You smile when he rests his face on your neck, his nose tracing the skin. You wrap your arm around his neck and let your fingers gently play with his hair. He breathes out a contented sigh and wraps his arms tightly around your hips and waist. 

“I thought we’re going to cook lunch?” You ask.

Mingyu just hums. “Later. I just want to hold you right now.”

---

inbox is closed for requests!

[beyondspaceandstars]

While You Sleep

Chapter 11

Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Reader Warnings: nothing (i think?) Summary: Soulmate!AU - Throughout life, you’re given glimpses of your soulmate through dreams. As you sleep, memories flash in your mind showing you the life your soulmate has lived. Everyone around you raves about how their soulmate reads great books or volunteers in their spare time. But you can’t relate as your dreams end up being more like nightmares. Through initial images of death and violence, you come to learn your soulmate is the Winter Soldier.

a/n: hi all please be patient I am having some writers block/lack of motivation lately for writing so this series may be a bit on a pause (hopefully not) but I am working to get out more drabbles to maybe just get some inspo or something!

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Waking up in Bucky’s arms felt just too good to be true. You were sure it was a dream, a nice, new dream Fate had blessed you with, but when Bucky shifted beside you and you felt every sensation, you knew you were truly awake. 

It also helped tremendously that you had a pleasant dream about him. It feels like centuries since you were shaken awake by the actions of The Winter Soldier. You couldn’t even consider any of it the actions of him next to you, feeling like the person in your dreams was and wasn’t the man in this bed. Everything felt like it intertwined dangerously, vines running through your mind. But, truthfully, you didn’t wanna think too much about it. You were finally getting your chance at the real soulmate experience, dates and dreams and all, and that was too priceless to spend time dwelling over much else.

Bucky awoke slowly, his normally rough eyes met yours in the softest manner. You two were tangled comfortably, still in most of last night's clothing, minus your panties and Bucky’s sweater which he must’ve ditched in the middle of the night. But none of that bothered you for a second. You were just too glad to be in this bed with your soulmate, cocooned lovingly in the sheets.

Bucky’s hoarse morning voice broke the silence, “Good morning.”

You smirked. “Good morning.” You shifted on your side and Bucky removed his arm from your waist, letting you get comfortable. The other arm around your shoulder stayed put. Quite surprisingly, it was his metal one. You could see Bucky’s torso completely now, the light from the sun hitting him in just the right way. Your eyes traveled from his arm to his shoulder, looking curiously. He was a fascinating phenomenon that you couldn’t believe was yours.

Thankfully, Bucky didn’t shiver away at the interest you were taking again in his arm and instead, indulged in your curiosity. “What’s going on in that pretty brain of yours?”

Your eyes snapped back to Bucky’s face. Your cheeks heated up from the question, feeling like you were caught doing something wrong. But Bucky didn’t look at all upset. Slowly, your eyes drifted back down and your hand came up to caress the base of his neck, just barely skimming his shoulder. He shuddered under the feeling.

“Does it… Does it hurt or anything?” You asked, suddenly feeling very stupid the second the words left your mouth. You bit your lip, trying to find the words to peddle back, but Bucky didn’t seem very bothered by it.

“No,” he shook his head. “I guess I don’t think much about it now. It’s just part of me. Obviously.”

You nodded, still letting your hand trace invisible patterns on his skin. “And you use it to fight bad guys?”

Bucky chuckled. “You’re still on that, huh?” You smirked and shrugged, wordlessly asking him to continue. “I… I help where I can. Don’t think it’s much to get excited about it but I like to think I have a hand in making the world better. It’s the least I could do since…” His words trailed off, leaving a kind of heaviness in the conversation. Bucky’s eyes lost their softness. They were beginning to water up but before any tear could escape, he spoke again. “You know, I actually am glad you brought this up. I have a mission soon.”

Your brows furrowed. “What?” 

He nodded and sat up in the bed, untangling you two. You followed his motions, gripping the blanket to you as you now sat side-by-side. 

“Should just be for a day or so. Mainly just gathering intel, nothing really crazy from the looks of it, but I still wanted to let you know.”

“W-When?”

“Tomorrow.”

Your jaw went slack. “You have a mission to leave for tomorrow and I’m just now hearing about it?”

Despite your rising anger, you let Bucky take your hand in his. He rubbed soft circles on your skin. “Doll, I promise, I didn’t know about it until yesterday morning.”

“Were you going to tell me?” You were a bit surprised by how softly your words came out, just barely making it above a whisper. Your heart was pounding loudly in your ears, worry and uncertainty course through you. You didn’t know what these missions could really entail. Could they really just be intel gathering? What if stuff goes wrong? Stuff goes wrong all the time, right? Your head was swimming and all you really knew was that you were losing your soulmate for a bit. Sure, you had gone your entire life without him (and he went without you much longer) but now you two were connected. It was practically set in stone. The situation had changed drastically and now he was leaving to do God knows what…

Bucky let out a sigh, the noise forcing you out of your worried thoughts. He spoke gently as if sensing the uneasiness within you, “Yes, I planned to, doll, I just didn’t know how to bring it up. When you asked about my job again, I just jumped on the opportunity, okay? I swear, I wasn’t going to just disappear.”

You wrapped your arm around his, leaning closer to rest your head in the crook of his neck. He shifted to welcome the touch. 

“You can’t disappear,” you whispered. “After what happened that night on the phone…” It flashed back. The dial tone in your ear, the thought of Bucky gone in the night. You didn’t want to remember those feelings, really. “You gotta promise me you’re going to be safe.”

Bucky let out a soft chuckle and you possibly would’ve found it comical, it was actually quite funny asking an ex-assassin to be safe, but thanks to the bond, there wasn’t anything funny about anything. You couldn’t imagine even having to put a bandaid on him. 

“I’ll be safe, doll,” he said. “Try not to worry.”

You scoffed. “Impossible.”

A moment passed before Bucky reached to cup the side of your face. Instinctively, you brought your face up to meet his. His expression as he stared back with a true whirlwind of emotions. Sadness, appreciation, love… But he didn’t express anything outwardly, and instead just placed his lips on yours. His body pressed into you as the kiss deepened, slowly pushing you back to the bed. You two fell back once again into the entanglement of one another. 

***

“You’re going to be okay, right?” 

“Yes, sweetheart, I’ll be fine.”

You tried giving an understanding nod but still, all you felt was worry as you and Bucky stood outside your apartment building saying your goodbyes. It was early and he had made sure to stop by before you had to leave for work. You thought you two had said your goodbyes in more ways than one yesterday but he wasn’t leaving so easily and you were secretly glad.

“I’m just making sure,” you sighed and reached to grab his hand. He accepted, intertwining your fingers.

“I know,” he nodded. “Are you going to be okay?”

You raised your brows. “Me?” You let out a small laugh. “I’m not the one going on a mission to do who knows what in God knows where.”

Bucky shook his head, a small smirk on his lips. “No, but I still have to make sure you’re safe here.”

“Bucky, I’ve spent a lot of time alone. I’m going to be just fine.”

Bucky’s expression morphed into something unsettling. He looked quite distressed at your comment, which you hadn’t truly expected, but hearing it out loud, you wanted to cringe at the statement. It was probably the most uncomfortable reminder but Bucky didn’t mention anything about it.

“I’m just making sure.” He repeated your words as a teasing remark, making you let out a small sigh of relief.

In a quick last-minute move, you pulled him closer to place a loving kiss on his lips. He smiled into it as his other hand came up to caress your cheek. Warmth raced through you as he broke the kiss.

“Have a good day at work, doll.”

“Have a good mission, Buck.”

***

You thanked your lucky stars that work today was ridiculously slow. It was almost the weekend but the usual rush of morning folks had dwindled pretty fast. Truly, though, this was a best-case scenario in your eyes because in between the fleeting customers and out of the watchful gaze of your boss, you took time to send Bucky some texts. While, yes, you knew he hated texting (who could blame him with the T9 keyboard he was working with) but you still thought they would be nice for him to read. 

I’m sure you’re high off in the sky getting briefed on your task but I wanted to wish you luck. You hit send with a goofy grin feeling a bit silly and a bit… concerned. Your worry for Bucky hadn’t stopped and you knew most likely it was consequences of being separated from your soulmate but you wished the gnawing at your soul would quit it. Still, though, a part of you felt giddy being able to send him cute little things while he was gone.

Your coworker took notice of your behavior quite quickly. As she came around the counter  restocking the syrups, she asked, “What’s got you all lovestruck?”

You bit your lip, trying to suppress your smile. “Bucky’s gone for a bit and I was just sending him a little love note.”

Your coworker chuckled. “A love note. Oh, how far you two have come.” With that sentiment, she went back to her restocking, leaving you to stare at your phone. You nodded to yourself realizing, yeah, you and Bucky had come far. You didn’t know if all relationships hit the gas pedal but there had always been an urgency with you even before ever looking at Bucky. You had wanted this for a while, always unsure if you would get it thanks to what the nightmares showed, but now it was real. It was as Bucky said, if it felt right to you two, then it must be.

Thinking of you. You sent off another little message before sliding your phone back into your pocket. You waited the rest of your shift but never received anything back, not that you really expected it, though. You figured if he had time to call, he was going to wait for that opportunity. 

Eventually, the clock hit quitting time and you exited the coffee shop, waving a brief goodbye to your coworker. Standing on the sidewalk, you half expected to maybe see Bucky eager to walk you home or take you to dinner but the street was gravely empty. You shook off the unusual thought and began your journey home. 

It was a fairly quiet night and you were thankful for that. It gave you a chance to just be with yourself for a second after a whirlwind of days and nights with Bucky by your side. Maybe this distance would be good, you thought. The distance creates a need and your reunion would be unlike anything you had ever felt before. You blushed at the thought.

You made your way into your apartment building and up the stairs. Unlocking your door, you threw down your items and began getting ready for bed. The softness of it was just begging for you. While you would’ve loved to be back in Bucky’s, you were dying for a bit of sleep to maybe ease your hyperactive thoughts of your soulmate and his mission. 

After taking off your make-up and getting on your pajamas, you crawled under the covers. Sleep hit you almost immediately, a new occurrence you were getting used to. You never really recalled a time when you were welcoming sleep with open arms.

But maybe you were counting your blessings too soon. Tonight ended up not being how it had been for the past few days. The nightmares came back in a sudden rush, way too fast for you to even think about what the hell was going on. You felt so lost, being pushed so many steps back in your progress, as scenes of fighting and guns blazing flashed in and out without any warning. The emotions came back as well. Need and anger were swelling in your heart as you fought and fought within the nightmares. Everything began feeling…so real. The nightmares felt strong as your body felt it had a mind of its own, tossing around your bed in panic as your brain filled with the images and… yells?

You were shaking now. You didn’t remember hearing sounds in your nightmares before but everything can be suppressed if you’re traumatized enough, you figured. But there was just something within you that didn’t feel right. Granted, nothing was right about the nightmares but this was different… these sounds felt real and sudden… Your brain was screaming. What the...

Something cold hit your back. At first, you had thought your blanket fell off but when you went to grab it, you found your hands were bound together. Real panic, nothing of the dream kind, raced through you. Your eyes bolted open. 

You didn't find your blanket because it wasn’t there. You weren’t in your bed. Hell, you weren’t even in your apartment. You were alone, shoved into a dark cell, your back pressed against a cold, metal wall. The panic was settling in but you couldn’t find the strength to react besides staring around frantically in the dark. You couldn’t make out anything, barely able to even see your own body. It was deadly silent.

You began praying to whatever was out there that this was just a dream, that you just really couldn't wake up, you had only thought you woke up. But that just wasn’t the case and a sad part of you really knew it. Nightmares suddenly weren’t just reserved for bedtime.

[shimmeringclouds]

Chapter 4

The train journey was excruciatingly long, just as they remembered it to be. Karatsugu peered out the window beside him, his eyes stuck to the darkening sky above, which was also tinted a slight shade darker due to him wearing his large aviator sunglasses. He watched as the scenery outside gradually changed from strictly endless waves of tall green grass and trees to small buildings in the far distance and flat earth.

Across from him, Hajime sat silently, slouching in his seat as he clutched his large backpack to his chest to rest his chin atop it, his eyes shut as he slept quietly. A small smile came to Karatsugu's lips before he yawned, covering his mouth with the back of his hand whilst his other arm stretched up above his head. He let it fall down onto his lap lazily as he went back to staring out the window, his leg jumping up and down lightly as he inwardly became impatient.

It had been quite a while since he had last come to Akashika District; a year, to be exact. He still remembered the first time he had visited that place like it was only yesterday, as well as the interesting adventure he and his newfound brothers took part in. Karatsugu smiled fondly at the memory, wondering just what else they would be getting up to this time.

He was quickly snapped out of his daydreams as a voice spoke over the intercom, and although it sounded very fuzzy and full of static, he could just about make out what the voice said:

'We are now arriving at Akashika Station. This is the train's final stop. Please ensure you have all your items of belonging before leaving the train. We are now arriving at...'

The voice repeated itself several more times before it fell silent, and Karatsugu could feel the train begin to slow down. He carefully, and very cautiously, leaned forward to nudge Hajime's knee, attempting to rouse him from his nap.

"Hajime... You need to wake up now, we're here..." he mumbled, gently calling for his younger brother. He could feel a bead of sweat beginning to accumulate on his temple as Hajime didn't stir, prompting him to nudge a tad bit harder whilst also bearing in mind to not push his own luck, lest he want a fist to the face.

Thankfully, that didn't happen, and Hajime grumbled against his backpack as his eyes sluggishly cracked open. His dark gaze landed on Karatsugu for a moment before it wandered around the train compartment, shifting slightly in his seat and raising his head. He rubbed a hand against the back of his neck, wincing at the soreness from the awkward position he had fallen asleep in.

"... We're here?" he mumbled, barely audible over the ruckus of the train still moving against the tracks. Karatsugu nodded, taking his phone out of his pocket whilst Hajime stretched his arms. Karatsugu swiped through the group chat one of his brothers had created, skimming over his unread messages from hours ago to begin tapping away at his screen.

── SEX🤤🍆tuplets

12:24

[Chorosuke💐🌹] Who changed the group chat name?

[Takashi🍰🍬🍭] Who do u think lol

[Ozo🍺🚖] its gr8 right! sexxxxxxxxxxxx tuplets HAHAH

[Chorosuke💐🌹] Please shut up.

[Ozo🍺🚖] ur alwas so booooooring chorosuk e lolol anyway! karatsugu n hajime! wya?

[Hajime🐈‍⬛🐾] train

That is correct burazzas!~~😎😎✨✨ Our travels have only barely just begun!💫💫 We will be arriving later tonight! I'm sure you are all very excited for our arrival, hmm~~? 🥀🥀🥀🥀😎😎😎😎

[Takashi🍰🍬🍭] We get it plz stop with those ugly ass emojis

[Jyushimatsu🌻🌼☀️] KARAMATSU NIISAN ICHIMATSU NIISAN HIHHIHUHIHUU!!!!! HIRRY UP I WANNA PLAY!!!!!!

[Chorosuke💐🌹] I don't want to kick you out again, Jyushimatsu. Please don't spam.

── SEX🤤🍆tuplets 19:03

[72 unread messages]

We are arriving at the station!✨✨ Ozo, burazza, would you be so kind as to give us a lift?😎😎😎

[Ozo🍺🚖] sureeee its abt time u guys got here!

[Jyushimatsu🌻🌼☀️] YAYYYYAYA!!! YOUR HERE YOURH ERE!!! OSOMATSU NIISAN CAN I CUM A SWELL????!!!!

[Takashi🍰🍬🍭] oh my god eww

[Ozo🍺🚖] Yh! the more the happier as they say

[Chorosuke💐🌹] It's: 'The more, the merrier.' Honestly, how do you not know?

[Ozo🍺🚖] I ain't no nerd anyway ill be there in 10!

──

Satisfied with Ozo's response, Karatsugu put away his phone and stood up, reaching up to the overhang and carefully sliding his suitcase out and onto the floor. He also did the same for Hajime's suitcase, having a sneaking suspicion that the man wouldn't get it himself, but he wasn't bothered by it.

They waited for the train to pull to a stop, the metal wheels against the tracks squeaking and groaning loudly into the air. The voice over the intercom spoke again, signalling that all passengers were now allowed to leave.

So, with their suitcases in hand and their backpacks slung over their shoulders, the two brothers exited the train and stepped onto the same barren and quiet platform. The warm evening air pushed into their faces, the heat a lot tamer than it would be during the day. Hajime looked up towards the sky for a moment, witnessing the final shreds of sunlight melt away into the night as a dark blanket covered the sky.

"We should head outside," Karatsugu spoke up, his baritone voice echoing around the area, "they could be here any minute, now." He had already begun walking towards the exit, and after a few seconds, he heard his brother's footsteps shuffling along the concrete ground, following him from behind.

Karatsugu stepped out first, taking a deep breath of fresh air as a soft breeze picked up around him briefly before it died down. He smiled at the scenery, already feeling at home with his excitement growing by the second.

"Karamatsu-niisan."

The man screamed, jumping on the spot and tripping over his own feet as he tumbled to the ground, his mouth agape and sunglasses askew on his face, eyes darting around to see where that sudden voice came from, only to find a man standing to his right with a brown paper bag over his head and the roughly cut holes where his eyes should be dark and devoid of life.

Hajime stepped out next, taking one good look at Karatsugu on the ground and raising his brow before looking over to the paper bag man. He barely reacted, only giving a slight nod and saying:

"Long time no see, Jyushimatsu."

"Aha! Same here, Ichimatsu-niisan!" Jyushimatsu laughed, rocking back and forth on his heels giddily. Karatsugu, still on the ground, gradually collected himself and cupped his chin with this thumb and forefinger, smirking as if he hadn't just screamed like he had seen a ghost.

"Heh! Jyushimatsu! It has been some time since we last spoke in person!" Unsurprisingly, Karatsugu went ignored as the other headed towards a car that was parked a little further down the road, with the engine still running and the lights beaming down onto the gravelled path. Karatsugu only hummed amusedly, standing up and brushing himself off, making sure to readjust his glasses before grabbing his things and following behind them, listening in on their conversation.

"A lot of things have changed around here since you last visited, you know!" Jyushimatsu swung his arms back and forth as he walked, the smile in his voice heard through his words.

"Yeah? Like what?" Hajime readjusted his backpack on his shoulder, throwing a side glance towards Jyushimatsu. The paper bag man only giggled, his head now swaying side to side, as if nodding along to some unheard tune.

"Things!" Was all he said as they reached the car. The trio paused as the driver's door opened, and out clambered a grinning Ozo with a beer can in hand.

"Finally! I thought you guys were never gonna show up!" He complained, though there was no bite behind his words. Hajime shook his head as he watched Ozo take a large swig from his can.

"You couldn't wait until we got to that otaku's house to start drinking? I don't want to die because of your shitty driving..." he shuffled over to the car, opening the trunk and pushing his suitcase in there as Jyushimatsu sat in the back seats.

"I'm not a lightweight! I can handle more than one can, y'know!" Ozo sat back down in his seat, and Karatsugu also went over to place his suitcase in the trunk before closing it. Hajime sat in the back with Jyushimatsu, leaving the passenger seat up front available. Once they were all settled in the car, Ozo manoeuvred the car out of its parked position and back onto the road.

"Let's chuck your stuff at that guy's place, and then we can go drinking!" Ozo cheered, Jyushimatsu matching his excitement. Karatsugu couldn't help but laugh, and even Hajime couldn't control the small smirk that crept its way onto his face, which he quickly hid behind his backpack.

It was nice to be back.

»»-----　♔　-----««

You sighed softly as you wiped down the bar top with the slightly damp cloth in your palm. Glancing at the small clock on the wall behind you, you took note of how it had been just over an hour since your shift at Bang Bang Chicken Bar had started and, as per usual, barely anyone had entered the bar. There was that one regular customer who had already came and went — a man with very large front teeth who asked for the same drink every other night, attempted to flirt with you, then would leave with the promise of coming back as a rich French man... whatever that means.

Another sigh escaped you. It was now just past nine o'clock, and you had a strong feeling that the hours were going to slip by a lot slower than you would like. That, and coupled with the fact that you would be the only one working at the bar at this hour (aside from your boss, who would be cooped up in his office until early hours of the morning), you knew it would be yet another boring night ahead.

Well, maybe not entirely boring.

The sound of drums suddenly filled the silence in the bar, which was soon followed by the sound of heavy strums of electric guitars and keyboards. A woman's voice began belting lyrics into the microphone. You watched the band, Killer Fish, perform on the raised platform in the centre of the room, the seven women on stage lost in their own world of death metal music as their heads nodded along violently to the beat.

When you had first started working at Bang Bang Chicken Bar — an obscure bar at the end of a long, winding and empty road on the outskirts of Akatsuka Village — you did not expect the seven quiet and well-dressed women on the stage to start singing death metal. It scared you half to death the first time you heard the screech of guitar strings echoing through the desolate bar. Even the lead singer, Totoko, dressed in a formal Japanese yukata with her hair styled up in an old-fashioned bun, her face stoic and serious, shocked you with her booming voice and scratchy vocals of a true death metal singer.

It was all so unexpected, and the tremors of the music had left you slightly shaky once the first performance was over. Now, though, you had become used to the music, and although it wasn't your preferred choice of music, you began to enjoy the performances. It made the whole bar feel so much more alive.

By the time you snapped out of your thoughts, the performance was over and the group was setting themselves up for another song. You, with nothing better to do, decided you would turn to the shelves stacked with all kinds of alcoholic drinks behind you and sort through them again, making sure they were presented with their labels faced towards the patrons and that they were organised neatly, despite the fact that you had already done this. Three times.

Whilst you mindlessly traced your fingers along the glass bottles, the music started up again, drowning out the sound of the door to the bar opening.

In walked six men, each dressed in black suits, and each of them boisterous and excited to begin their night of drinking. They awed at the group on stage for a moment before one of them took charge and pushed them over to an empty table in the middle of the room. They took their seats and began conversing with each other, laughing at some joke someone made or at another's crazy antics.

Eventually, two of them stood up from their seats, one seemingly more casual with his hands tucked into his pockets whilst the other, donning a black yukata, seemed more uptight with an annoyed frown pressed onto his upturned lips. The two began making their way over to the bar, where you were stood with your back still turned, oblivious of what was happening behind you until your ears picked up the sound of two men conversing.

You tilted your head slightly, squinting your eyes as if it would help with figuring out whether you were hearing things or not, but as the voices grew closer, your eyes widened as you realised no, this wasn't your imagination, and there were actually other customers in the bar.

Turning on your heel, you physically felt your brain fizzle and pop like an old lightbulb at the sight of the two men coming closer towards you, their faces still fresh in your mind from the first time you had encountered them on separate occasions.

"Come on, Chorosuke! You're loaded! A couple of drinks with your money won't hurt anyone!" It was that taxi driver from the other day who was talking, that same sleazy grin displayed proudly on his face as he poked fun at the man next time him; that man from the store who had given you that watermelon, which actually was sweet.

"You and I both know you won't be having 'a couple of drinks!' And you have your own money! Pay for yourself!" He shouted over the music, his eyes narrowing in frustration as he knew all too well that he would inevitably be paying for the drinks. You could only stand in silence as they grew closer and closer, neither of them truly paying attention to your presence as they continued to bicker back and forth until they were stood right in front of you.

Ozo turned to you first, his mouth opening to make his request until his half-lidded eyes locked onto your face. He frowned for a split-second before his eyes widened, the smirk on his lips stretching into an excited grin as he instantly recognised you. Chorosuke, confused by his brother's odd reaction, turned to you as well, only for his expression to fall into a look of horror, his pale cheeks flushing a bright crimson.

"It's you!" They exclaimed together, their tones completely opposite to one another. Pausing, they whipped their heads to look at each other confusedly. "Wait, what?" they questioned in unison.

"How do you know her?" Chorosuke quickly demanded, his eyes flitting between your nervous form and the man beside him.

"I told you, I met a pretty girl yesterday!" Ozo reminded him, "And what about you?"

"I-I, well... We bumped into each other at the market the other day..." Chorosuke's voice trailed off, secretly hoping you would remember him so that he wouldn't be humiliated in front of the one man who wouldn't let something like this go. Lucky for him, you did remember. You remembered that interaction all too well.

"Really?! Wow! Small world, right?" Ozo turned to you, leaning against the bar top with one arm as he gave you a quick once over, a flirtatious look in his eyes that only served to make you shrink into yourself. "Do you remember me? I dropped you off yesterday! Man, if I knew you worked here, I would come by more often!"

They seemed to be waiting for some kind of reaction from you, so you took a minute step back from the countertop and chuckled nervously, an odd smile on your face that probably didn't look like a smile at all.

"Aha... Yeah! Hi... again..."

This was going to be a long, long night.

[briandastoryteller]

Little detective I might start making, Tell me if you people wanna see more.

                                                               INSPIRED BY SHERLOCK HOLMES IF ITS TO SIMILIR SORRY ALSO NO HATE PLEASE IVE JUST STARTING MAKING THIS KIND OF STUFF                                                                

It was May 16 2021, A very uneventful day at Grinder cafe the only things that were happening were. A barista waiting boredly for more customers to come in. A man in the corner clicking on his keyboard with a coffee in his hand. And lastly big thumping upstairs that sounded like someone was stomping on the floor. The guy stopping on the floor next door is me. Frustrated in a case that is so bilwindering I don't even know if the person who gave it to me is just trolling me. I would rather be bored as always than doing this. The barista comes up stairs “ Brad, what's all the racket this is the fifth time this week!” “Sorry Mrs Farrell.” And just like that she walks down stairs to the cafe to wait for more people.

If you haven't caught on already. Im a private detective. The name is Brad Skinner, Feid's work as a police officer is too boring. To many things that you have to do before that happens. Then when you get to the top it's pretty much generic cases that anyone can solve. As a private detective you can get the easiest cases and the most bizzare out of this world cases. On the first floor is the home of a grinder cafe. A small but pleasant cafe. The next floor has 3 apartment rooms. I own the lowest apartment on the second floor. The neighbor above me is a police officer. Yeah sometimes I had to help him out of sticky situations because of the riots in 2020. But that's already gone so it's pretty nice. The highest floor just holds a nobody and really shouldn't be cared about.  Although he has a weird obsession in anime and stuff like that he's a college student basing on his clothes what he eats, (He walks around the building eating ramen all the time)  So he's a weeb that attends a college not too far away about 2 miles called Evergreen University. It's called that because of how green and lush it is in the spring. The case that has been frustrating me has been the “Case Of The Missing Son” . I know it sounds generic but these ones are always the best to solve. Amanda had been kissing their sons goodbye as they left for school. Shortly after the telephone rings. Ring, Ring! “Yes?” Amanda asks. The telephone operator on the other side says. ”Ma’am your son never arrived at school. He is missing”So far the case makes almost no sense. There are four suspects.

Caleb Rylison

Conner Davidson

Jordan Athenswell

Kyle Smith

92 HOURS EARLIER. 11 A.M*Knock Knock*      “What is it barren?” Says Brad groggily.  “Well, I've gotten you a case. Why would the police give me a case? Because for the last time in all of history we need help. No one understands this case and soon you'll know why. Huh? Why would I want to know. Because you're a detective, that's what you do. Well I'm not gonna take the case. “You won't say that after you hear what the case is..  20 MINUTES LATER “You've peaked my interest. I'll take it.” Says Brad  “Alright good luck. You're gonna need it.”

P.S Sorry for short and cliff hanger I have school an home work but next part if you want it its coming next week Thanks for reading this far!

[artificialqueens]

A romance for the books, chapter 1: Easy as A, B, C (branjie) - writworm42

A/N: A holiday gift for Holtz, who is the best ever. I’m putting it up now cause I got a lot of other projects going–because it’s multichap, this one will likely go into the new year. LOVE U HOLTZ <3

Thank you so, so much to Athena for beta-ing and helping me brainstorm!!! You’re the best and without your inside scoop on being a librarian, this fic never would have come to be! <3

It takes about thirty seconds for Brooke to spot her next perfect target.

It’s usually about simple math, a quick judge of character. Who sticks out just enough that it’s apparent they don’t come often, but not so much that they know it and would call Brooke out. Someone who knows the rough norms, but doesn’t care enough to follow them. Someone who’ll be just in and out , or who goes to the library solely as a place to pass time, not because they want to be there.

And this girl, well, this girl fits the bill to a T.

The girl is in shorts and a tank top–given that it’s about thirty-five degrees outside, and this is a neighbourhood where most apartments don’t have AC, it means the girl is probably one of those people looking for a cool place to go in the summer. Second, she comes in popping her gum and with music blasting through her earphones, meaning she either doesn’t know or doesn’t care for library etiquette. And when she walks up to the counter, she plunks down about five thin books, which likely means she reads to kill time, and probably doesn’t care too much for returning individual books before their due dates, as opposed to piling them up for whenever it’s convenient.

“I’d like to return these, please.” the girl smiles and bats her eyelashes, and Brooke smiles back warmly.

“Of course. Can I get your library card?”

It’s a shame; the girl is pretty, really pretty. Dazzlingly white teeth, round, dimples, and wide, friendly eyes all look back at Brooke, their owner looking at her expectantly, trustingly, even. But sometimes, the sweetest patrons make the easiest marks.

She grabs her scanner, scans the girl’s card, and begins to check in the books, her routine underway.

Check, click, beep, no problem.

The trick to a good con is to be unnoticeable. That’s why she started in the library–she’d been working there five years already, had her own system, designated scanner, computer, and accounts. She was so integrated into it, there was no way she could stick out in it.

Check, click, beep, no problem.

Take only little bits at a time. That was how it started, and that was the hardest thing to turn into a system; how much to take, from whom. How not to get caught. Every librarian on staff pockets late fees from time to time; when you’re a couple dollars short for lunch or you’ve forgotten your phone at home and need change for the payphone, the cashbox at the back of the customer service area is a tempting reserve. But that didn’t mean you could get greedy–you had to be sneaky, had to be covert. A target who wouldn’t fight, who would believe the late fees were theirs, in an amount that the til wouldn’t miss. Not too often, or people would suspect something. No, it was all a balancing game, one that took keen practice and cautious judgement.

Check, click–alarm.

Be quick with your hand. Brooke likes to use her own scanner, one she had outfitted with a trick button to trigger the flagging noise. She’d claimed the computer at the end of the line as her preferred one, making sure no one could see her screen. She wears long sleeves to pocket the change in. When she flags someone’s book, she mashes buttons on her keyboard quickly, programs in a believable, yet still somewhat inflated amount for the fine. Two, three dollars maybe, and put a small portion of that in the cashbox just to ward off suspicion.

Check, click–alarm.

Same thing, over and over, and then she moves on. That’s the most important rule, after all.

Never stay on one target too long.

Check, click, beep, no problem.

“So it looks like you have two fines.” Brooke puts down her scanner in its place right next to her computer, always within her view, handle down so and back to her so that no one can see the trick alarm button on it. “Late fees.”

“Late fees?” the woman’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, her voice pointed. “What you talkin’ ‘bout, Mary?”

“Two of your books are late. These two.” she turns her computer and points at the two books, looking back at the woman smugly, and that’s when she realizes her mistake.

“I took those out only a week ago. Your computer’s broke,” the woman crosses her arms stubbornly. “‘Cause I should have three weeks to return them.”

Oh, fuck. Brooke turns the monitor back towards herself and takes a sharp breath in, trying to swallow the panic that’s quickly bubbling up in her chest, making her heart beat faster. The woman–Vanessa, Brooke sees when she glances down at the woman’s library card to see who she’s dealing with–is right. The books were only taken out a week ago. Brooke had underestimated her and gotten cocky.

It’s alright; it’s alright. She’s been caught like this before. She’s been challenged like this before. That’s the advantage of her system; if things go south, she can always blame the computer.

“Okay, I’ll strike the fees.” she forces her voice to stay light despite herself, despite the adrenaline coursing through her that’s making her whole body buzz. “Sorry about that; the computer must be off.”

“Yeah.” Vanessa eyes Brooke up and down, but there’s no suspicion in her eyes, only amusement. “That’s alright.”

Vanessa swipes her card back, then turns around to leave, and Brooke breathes out, thinking it’s over, when suddenly, the smaller girl turns back around.

“Say, what’s your name, Mary?”

“Lynn.” Brooke lies.

“No it’s not.” Vanessa grins, the amusement in her eyes turning into a full-blown, mischievous sparkle.

“It’s not.” Brooke admits, chuckling a little despite herself. As terrifying as it is, God, this woman is good.

“I’m not askin’ ‘cause I’m gonna tell.” Vanessa shakes her head, her voice barely above a whisper as she leans in conspiratorially. “I’m askin’ ‘cause I wanna know for personal reasons.” she winks, and that’s when Brooke understands. She’s not dealing with anyone right now. No, she’s dealing with a professional.  

Fuck.

“Brooke.” she admits, “My name is Brooke.”

“Alright, miss Brooke.” Vanessa nods, “I’m Vanessa, but you already knew that, ain’t you?”

Brooke doesn’t say anything else, only nods, feeling her mouth go dry.

It’s only after Vanessa flounces away that Brooke looks down on the counter and realizes that Vanessa’s left a scrap of paper behind.

A due date reminder slip for the two books Brooke had flagged, with a phone number scrawled on the back.

–

Vanessa has had her eye on Brooke for a while. She’s not the typical mark–she works in a library, for God’s sake, that’s not exactly big-bucks material. But she’s tall, and blonde, and there’s something about her that says she’s got more going on than Vanessa realizes.

Which means that at the very least, she’s someone that Vanessa can have fun with, if not draw in and use.

Vanessa’s by no means an amateur at this game. She’s been going in and out of it since she was in college, ever since she had bills to pay for the first time and job interviews she’d need fancy clothes for. After that, well, it was a bit of a habit–she’d acquired a taste for luxury, and a need for adrenaline, and her modus operandi suited both.

Find a girl who was just barely upper-class–not so rich she’d be suspicious, not so poor she’d be seriously impacted by Vanessa’s scam, and take her out for a few drinks. Get to know her. Play the bimbo. Forget her wallet a few times, just as a test to see how the girl would react. Then start asking for library late fees. A few dollars here and there, maybe once per month, just enough to pad her pockets for a few extra splurges at the mall when the mood struck. Then the bigger things–after enough late fees, enough time building up her image as a bookworm, the girls would usually start just buying her books, telling her this way she wouldn’t have to worry about fees. Not the most extravagant gifts, but ones that she could sell for a decent turnaround to college students looking to complete their class reading lists. That was the game, after all; never taking enough to raise suspicion, but just enough that she could walk into Pandora after each breakup and buy herself something nice for her troubles.

Besides, there was usually some decent sex to be had out of it, too.

So when she saunters up to Brooke after a week of watching unnoticed, ready to figure out the woman’s secret, find something she can exploit, she’s even more surprised than she thought she’d be.

Brooke’s skills are rough, that’s for sure. But she has potential. And Vanessa could use some potential on her team.

It’s only about two hours before she gets the text she’s been waiting for.

Hey, it’s Brooke.

She saves the number immediately, grinning to herself.

V: well hey miss Brooke

V: how u doin?

B: lol

B: I’m fine, thanks, you?

V: peachy.

There’s a pause, and Vanessa can’t help but wonder what Brooke is thinking, what her next move is going to be.

B: so why did you pick me?

Vanessa whistles, her grin widening further. Maybe she had underestimated Brooke after all; smarts aside, this chick is bold.

V: I like a girl who can stay on my level.

Another pause, and Vanessa holds her breath, her confidence dimming just a little.

B: I’ve seen Focus already. I know what you’re trying to do.  

B: I work alone and you’re not getting any cut.  

Vanessa’s grin fades completely, cockiness replaced with frustration and, she has to admit, just a tinge of anger. If it’s going to be like that, then it’s going to be like that–but she’ll be damned if she lets anyone call her out on shit, especially shit she had only half-planned to pull.

V: Fine.  

V: But if you’re gonna work alone, at least don’t try to judge a mark by the length of their shorts. It’s the middle of August, bitch. IQ don’t come with air conditioning.  

She tosses her phone onto her kitchen table and rockets up to grab herself a glass of water, still fuming once she settles down and grabs the book across from her, hoping an old favourite like Coraline will get Brooke out of her head.

It doesn’t, and so before she can even finish her chapter, she’s picked up her phone again, staring at the message on the screen in disbelief.

B: Fair point

B: Thanks for the tip.  

–

Brooke is three beers deep at a coworker’s birthday party about a week later when she sees Vanessa stalking towards her from across the bar.

“This coincidence, or are you some kind of mastermind?” she sneers as Vanessa sidles up next to her, but the shorter woman only rolls her eyes.

“Coincidence, bitch. You ain’t that special.” her voice has a drunken lilt to it, and Brooke can tell she’s tipsy, that she’s got a good amount of liquid courage under her belt. That’s fine; so does does she. “Just wanted to say hi.”

“Hi.” Brooke snorts, and Vanessa rolls her eyes.

“Oh, Christ.” Vanessa sighs exasperatedly. “Look, Brooke, I barely suggested anything to you. You ain’t want it. Whatever. I ain’t out here to try and steal your thunder, we still run in different circles and your gig don’t have to be mine.”

“So why did you come over here, then?” Brooke eyes the shorter woman up and down, unconvinced. Vanessa wouldn’t have stuck her neck out like that if she wasn’t serious, if there wasn’t something motivating, something absolutely irresistible in it for her.

“‘Cause you may not want to work together, but you still sexy, mami.” Vanessa cocks an eyebrow, and Brooke can’t help but laugh.

“So let me get this straight. You wanted to work with me, now you want to sleep with me?” for all Brooke’s incredulity, though, Vanessa doesn’t seem even remotely shaken.

“I told you, I like a girl who can stay on my level.”

“Well, level yourself.” Brooke rolls her eyes. She’s just about to get up, just about to walk away, when a hand on her wrist stops her.

“Look, mami, I know I fucked up. I know I look like some kinda ass. But I seen the way you look at me. I know we got chemistry, and I know we both lookin’ for somethin’ better to do tonight than sitting here drinking lukewarm beer.”

Vanessa’s right; Brooke had been thinking of leaving, and truth be told, the longer Vanessa sits in front of her, the more seriously she’s considering Vanessa’s offer. It can’t be helped, not really–Vanessa’s smart , and bold, the exact kind of challenge that Brooke likes in a woman. She can tell she’s going to be a fun time already, and that’s before Brooke gets a good look at her, before she trails her eyes over Vanessa’s body one more time and sees everything that she failed to pay proper attention to the first time she saw her in the library. High cheekbones; dazzling teeth. A waist that has to be cinched, there’s no other explanation for how nice it is. And a bemused, plump-lipped smile that says that Vanessa knows exactly what Brooke is thinking, exactly what she’s about to say, and can’t wait to hear it.

She says a quick goodbye to her coworkers and rushes out of the bar on Vanessa’s heels, her stomach doing flip-flops and her body pulsing with a new sort of adrenaline and urgency that rivals even the thrill of getting away with a particularly hefty con.

–

Vanessa takes Brooke back to her place, mostly because Brooke insists on it—even with her tongue down Vanessa’s throat, she makes a show of her mistrust, whispering against Vanessa’s jawline that she’d better not try to steal anything.

It’s not like you’d have anything to steal. Vanessa bites back the retort, forces herself not to break whatever fragile, frenzied game they’ve got going. It’s a task that proves easier than Vanessa thought it would; all it takes is a couple of soft, sucking kisses to the nape of Brooke’s neck and the blonde melts, unable to form any words beyond more, more, Vanessa, please, more.

That’s more like it. Vanessa moves her hands slowly up Brooke’s body, taking her time to feel out every spot that makes her gasp, shiver, or whine, or all of the above, in the case of when Vanessa moves a hand up to Brooke’s neck, positions her grip in a V shape and presses down just lightly, just enough to make Brooke feel Vanessa right against her carotid arteries. Not enough to choke; just enough to command, to show her who’s in charge.

By the time they reach Vanessa’s apartment, scrambling to the elevator and hitting the wall to continue kissing and stroking and rutting against each other, Brooke is incoherent, and Vanessa is almost disappointed; she had really expected Brooke to challenge her a little more, try to talk back or regain control. Instead, Brooke is putty in her hands, flushed and breathless by the time the elevator arrives on Vanessa’s floor and they’re stumbling towards her door.

It’s only after Vanessa’s led Brooke towards the bedroom, though, that she remembers that Brooke is full of surprises.

“Whoops!” Brooke flips them around right as they’re about to fall onto the bed, throwing her weight enough so that Vanessa doesn’t have time to correct their positions before she hits the mattress, Brooke following on top of her.

“That’s more like it.” Brooke grins. She kisses Vanessa quickly on the lips, then starts to work her way down over Vanessa’s neck, marking it up with her teeth in a way that almost makes Vanessa forget everything around her except the feeling of Brooke’s mouth on her skin, licking and sucking and moving towards her collarbone. She brings a hand up to Brooke’s back, rakes her nails over it hard enough that she knows the blonde will feel it through her shirt, and it’s only when Brooke lets out an almost pitiful gasp at the sensation that Vanessa remembers who she is, what she’s doing, what she really wants.

Really, it’s Brooke’s fault for forgetting to pin Vanessa down; or maybe she’s just so used to winning, it’s never occurred to her. Either way, when Brooke’s mouth lifts from Vanessa’s chest, the smaller woman takes her chance to push her off and over onto the bed, once again flipping their positions. She’s careful to pin down Brooke’s wrists and box her in with her legs, scanning the older woman’s face for any signs of displeasure or worse, distress, but Brooke only smiles, relaxing a little, and Vanessa realizes that that’s exactly the reaction Brooke was trying to get all along.

“Brat.” Vanessa laughs, nipping Brooke’s neck and smiling at Brooke’s surprised yelp. “Your parents ain’t teach you to just ask for things you want?”

“If they did, then we wouldn’t have met.” Brooke smirks, and Vanessa has to hand it to her; she has a point.

“Cheeky bitch.” she hums before capturing Brooke’s lips in a kiss, one that finally melts any remaining tension between them, becoming soft and slow and thorough, almost exploratory. Vanessa lets go of Brooke’s wrists in favour of cupping her face, and this time, Brooke doesn’t fight–only lets her hands roam up Vanessa’s legs, over her thighs, coming to cup and squeeze the flesh of her ass over her skirt.

“You should take this off.” she breathes into Vanessa’s lips, and she’s right, it’s too damn hot, too damn uncomfortable, too damn in the way. They separate only long enough for Vanessa to shimmy out of her skirt and take her shirt off before coming back together, Vanessa’s hands stopping Brooke from pulling off her own dress.

“Let me do it.” she whispers, tracing her fingers over the hem, and this time, Brooke doesn’t fight. She only nods, lifting her arms to allow Vanessa to take her dress off and then ease her back on the bed, their bodies warm and pressed together.

After one last kiss, soft and sweet against Brooke’s jaw, Vanessa leans back, traces her eyes over every inch of Brooke’s body in an attempt to decide where she should start. It’s a task that proves incredibly difficult; truth be told, there isn’t an inch of Brooke that Vanessa doesn’t want to worship, not a single detail about her that isn’t worth extra attention. So Vanessa starts with a hand in her hair, not pulling but holding, feeling, letting the soft strands tickle against her fingers as she traces her other hand over the soft, sweat-sheened skin of Brooke’s chest, grabbing and kneading her breast through her bra.

“I, um–I actually–Sorry, but–” Brooke starts, and Vanessa rockets up, hands away, heart pounding.

“Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Do you want to stop?”

“No.” Brooke shakes her head, and to Vanessa’s relief, she smiles, her eyes sparkling. “It’s just that this bra isn’t great for that, the underwire’s kinda stiff. Can you give me a sec to take it off?”

That’s it? Vanessa gives a relieved laugh, lifting herself off of Brooke long enough for the other woman to shimmy out of her bra. “Jesus, I was afraid I hurt you or something.”

“Hey, don’t laugh!” Brooke whines, swatting at Vanessa’s stomach playfully. It’s a gesture that earns her two hands on her wrists, pinning her down again as Vanessa grins.

“Listen, don’t worry about that, okay?” Vanessa kisses Brooke again, soft and reassuring. “I know plenty other ways to make you feel good.”

“Then show me.” Brooke’s eyes are hooded, her pupils wide with need. It’s tantalizing, but it doesn’t mean that Vanessa will just give things up–no, that would be to easy, not nearly enough fun.

“Only if you’re patient.” she smirks, and before Brooke can protest, she’s kissing her way down the blonde’s body again, stroking the inside of her thighs and smiling into Brooke’s skin when the older woman squirms.

“You want my hands or my mouth?” she asks, when she reaches the waistband of Brooke’s underwear, running a single finger down Brooke’s slit and shivering at how easily it glides, how slick and wet Brooke is even through the far-too-thick cotton fabric.

“Mouth, please…” she pants, and Vanessa doesn’t hold back any longer.

“Get up,” she instructs, licking her lips, “And take those off. I want you to sit on my face.”

Brooke doesn’t argue or make a show of stripping–only rushes to peel off her underwear before clambouring on top of Vanessa and eases down where Vanessa’s hands guide her to go, gasping with relief as Vanessa finally brings her mouth home, licking a stripe up Brooke’s slit all the way to her clit. It doesn’t take long–only a few minutes of licking, sucking, and grazing with her teeth, and soon, Brooke’s moans are becoming shorter, more high pitched, more desperate and frequent, and then she’s coming, barely keeping herself up as Vanessa continues to suck down on her clit through her orgasm. By the time she’s finally collapsing down next to Vanessa, still shaking, still breathless, Vanessa can tell she’s completely spent and sated, ready to sleep rather than go for a second round.

If it were anyone else, Vanessa would have been pissed, felt like it was unfair; but now, cradling Brooke in her arms, kissing her forehead like it’s familiar territory she’s kissed hundreds of times before, she finds herself completely satisfied.

[hearteyes-for-killmonger]

Say Something

Erik watched intrigued as his four-year-old godson Nasir, completely ignored his favorite show playing on the iPhone in favor of pretending to fix a customer's iMac that was sitting on the table. He was pushing the power button like it would do something. The computer was unplugged and even if it weren't, it had crashed.

"I'll fix this one and you fix that one," he instructed in his small voice with confidence.

"Oh you gone help me fix the graphics card," Erik teased watching the boy click the same button and stare at the dark screen before hitting keys on the attached keyboard. "I might have to hire you.. Aight, you work on that one. I'll leave it to you."

Erik was in the process of diagnosing a Dell laptop when his phone rang, muting the show.

"Nooo," Nasir complained.

"Hello?.. Yeah I do smartphones, is it an iPhone?.. Bring it by I can take a look at it." Erik hung up returning the phone to its previous position next to Nasir, letting the boy press play and turn up the volume. It was amazing to him how quickly kids caught on to technology. His attention switched to the glass front door as it opened triggering the bell overhead. Customers.

"How can I help you today?" Erik noticed the macbook in the black kid's hand.

"It stopped working and my essay is on it. I don't care what you gotta do I need this shit back up as soon as possible. My paper due Wednesday," he stressed. Erik counted. That was four days. "Sir, my teacher will fail me if I don't turn in this essay on time. She don't give a fuck about broken.."

Typically he'd have to let the customer know he'd need more time since he's always working on at least three different things at once and he's only one person.. the fixer, the receptionist, the accountant, and the boss. However, this black kid seemed to be in a true bind and if Erik had the power to help break down a barrier in a kid's education, he'd be damned if he didn't use it.

"I got you," he said taking the macbook. "The diagnosis is free. You'll get a quote once I find out what's wrong with it, but this type of thing happens all the time especially with Mac computers.. I'll have it up for you by Tuesday."

With folded hands, the boy bowed in gratitude. "THANK you." It felt good to help a young black man up.

Setting the macbook aside, he made eye contact with the young black woman who stepped up with a cracked cell phone screen wanting it replaced. Easy work. She snickered and he followed her eyes looking to see his godson grinning at her with all of his eighteen baby teeth. It must've been her shirt. She had on a graphic tee with the Avengers and Captain America was his favorite character, hands down.

"Captain America," he grinned approaching her breathily, his fingers in his mouth. Here we go.

"Yesss! You like Avengers," she smiled stretching her shirt for him to see more clearly.

"Captain America..," Nasir clarified quietly, "...I wanna marry him."

"Oh really," the girl gasped. "That's so cute, you just might!"

That was the first time Erik thought that his godson might be gay. He didn't know what to say in that moment, so he didn't say anything at all. He simply took the girl's phone and gave her the option to wait or come back. She decided to wait.

Two Years Later

Erik carried his gift through the group of kids who scattered around his calves running outside. There must've been fifteen children in the house and ten outside in the backyard. Parents gathered in various Avengers decorated rooms and out in the yard to chaperone and eat from the table of food provided by his mans Leon and his mans' wife Tori. They both greeted Erik immediately tasking him with the job of watching kids in the living room. Paw Patrol was on, of course, and Nala had just run into the room, cheesing when she saw him. He noticed immediately that she wore a Happy Birthday tiara with a blue denim shirt, blue jeans, a rainbow tutu and sneakers.

"ERIIIIIIIK!" She yelled rushing over to hang onto him tightly, dropping her weight. He picked her up and swung her in a full circle placing her back on her feet ignoring her silent plead for him to do it again.

"I just put your gift on the table with the rest. You got a lot of presents and a big cake mama."

"Look at my nails! Momma did it," she yelled jumping excitedly, showing off sparkly pink nails on her small hand.

"It's pretty!" Erik smiled feeling her joy. It was contagious. The simplest things made her ecstatic. Add that to the joy kids tend to feel simply because it's their birthday and she was definitely the happiest kid at the party.

His ears perked suddenly, hearing a certain slur he'd come to loathe just in the past two years. It was almost like a trigger now. The word was nearly inaudible since it was a whisper not intended to be heard, yet he'd heard it and to him it was unacceptable. Thankfully, Nala didn't hear it. Not that she'd fully understand it if she did, but she'd understand it one day and that day didn't need to come today on her sixth birthday. Hopefully by the time she was old enough to truly understand, the world would be a different, safer, and more accepting place.

He decided to let it slide since it was a birthday party and he didn't want to be the one to cause a scene. It was a talk he'd received a lot from his mans and Tori.. 'Don't cause a scene.. Let it go.. They're not worth it..' Time and time again, Erik had been seconds from snapping on ignorant muhfukkas in the name of his little goddaughter but held back like a pitbull on a chain.. with Leon and Tori selflessly holding said chain. Why anyone gave a damn about what a six-year-old wore or called themselves was a mystery to him. On top of that, Leon and Tori were the best and most loving parents he knew other than his own, so for anyone to insult their parenting style... he took it personally.

Still, their words echoed in his mind. 'Erik, let it go.'

The party progressed with kids running wild, high off sugar like miniature crackheads. The time came to gather around the Avengers themed cake with Happy Birthday Nala written in pink icing. Tori started singing and the kids joined in along with a few parents.

"Happy Birthday to youuu. Happy birthday to youuu!"

Erik chewed on swedish meatballs listening closely for variations while watching the adults.

"Happy Birthday dear Nas-Nalaaaa!"

A few kids got it wrong, but fixed it. It wasn't intentional... so close enough.

"Happy Birthday to youuu!!!"

Nala happily blew out the candles and started started clapping. It was time for cake.. as if the baby crackheads needed anything else sweet. He watched Tori wipe up frosting and sweep crumbs, not complaining once. She was a damned saint. That same voice cut above the others in Erik's ear again. His eyes zoned in on two black men.. fathers of a couple of the children in attendance, he presumed. He made eye contact and one nodded like shit was cool. It wasn't, but Erik would stay silent like he'd been asked to in the past. Or at least, that was what he planned to do until he overhead them talking shit again. He couldn't just do nothing. He started his walk toward the two men, stopping short when a young black woman stepped in front of them.

"Y'all should be ashamed of y'allselves," she whispered angrily as they stared at her unperturbed. "That is a child! How would you feel if someone talked about your blackass kids like that? The only reason Tori hasn't kicked y'all out of her house is because she doesn't want to punish the kids for their parents' ignorant behavior which says a lot that children behave better than you!"

She moved on and switched up their conversation, but it wasn't good enough for Erik. When they left, they'd say the same shit. Their kids would eventually pick up their toxic ideas and repeat the cycle. 'There's nothing we can do about it," Leon had said once when Erik was especially furious. "People will be cruel and think what they want to think," he said and Erik could feel the pain in his words.

"Our job is to love Nasir and build him up as best as we can so that he's ready for the world," Tori added. That was before Nasir decided that he preferred to be she and that she wanted her new name to be Nala like on Lion King. In respect of their child, Leon and Tori agreed and it'd been that way ever since.

Finally, it was time to open the gifts. There were a variety of toys, big and small, some with a lot of little pieces. It was a six-year-old's dream. When she unwrapped the Captain America figurine and kid-sized shield Erik had bought, she about lost her mind.

"Happy Birthday," he smiled.

The next gift was a bratz doll from a little girl who looked excited for Nala to see it. Nala grinned giving the girl a hug as cameras flashed capturing the moment.

"--Child abuse.. It's a boy. Putting a skirt on him doesn't change that," the voice whispered again and Erik looked at Nala. It didn't look like she'd heard but he knew for a fact that other parents had.. maybe some of the kids as well. Looking at Leon, he'd definitely heard and the Oakland neega looked to be on the verge of jumping out of him. When they made eye contact, Erik gave him the look. Just say the word, he thought, ready to cut loose, though he knew his friend. His friend was one of them good, wholesome niggas who believed in chances. He'd never drop the leash.

But Erik was getting sick of these niggas.. and now they were ruining his goddaughter's party? He had to do something. They had to go. He couldn't live with it if he didn't at least say something.

The kids who were still at the house moved into the living room sitting everywhere. The couch, the floor. Paw Patrol was still on, a marathon apparently and it brought the room of six year olds under control like they were being hypnotized.

Seeing his chance to speak up without making a scene, he decided to go over calmly and just talk to them. He made his way to the two men in the room, standing next to them with his red plastic cup of soda before they could make another ignorant comment. He'd spotted their kids and they were glued to the screen just like the others.

"Ay," he whispered getting the men's attention. "What's y'all issue with my goddaughter? Y'all really pissin me off."

"Nigga. That's a boy. You can't give him a girl name and expect him to be a girl, that's still a boy," the second guy whispered back as if Erik wasn't understanding.

"Nah, this nigga probably...," the first man tilted his hand back and forth, "That's why that boy ended up that way," he balked dismissing Erik with his eyes. Now they were flipping it on him. He had to laugh. These niggas had the nerve.. and he trying to be patient.

"Niggas think 'cause I'm soft with kids I'm pussy," he smirked staring at the screen up ahead. "I'll kill y'all both after Paw Patrol." They looked at him like he was tripping until he flashed a glimpse of his piece and they straightened up quick. He walked back to his original position, eyes meeting theirs.

Like the model parent she was, Tori made sure each kid got a gift bag before leaving the house, including the kids of those two men who ain't say shit about Nala for the rest of the party, which was a short time in comparison to their string of bullshit, but still. Erik's only regret was that he'd done what he did sooner.

"Aight," he said hugging Leon goodbye and shaking Tori's hand out of respect. Nala had crashed and was knocked out on the couch. There were only two kids still there and it was because the moms were talking. "Good party. I'll see you."

"Aight man, take care. Be safe," Leon said closing the door as Erik walked his car holding two full plates of food.

"Wait, wait, wait.. whew," a voice called after him. He turned. It was one of the moms from inside.. the same one who'd spoken up before he had. She'd come dashing out after him. "Glad I caught you," she smiled stopping a foot away from him and his car. "I actually.. I saw what you did in there. I wish more people the guts to say something."

He shrugged. "You were quicker."

"Perhaps. But you got the job done."

He looked her over. He wasn't gonna shoot his shot out of respect because it was Nala's party and she was there with her kid, but she was fine.

"I gotta get my kid," she said suddenly backing toward the house again before turning to walk back to the door.

"Ay," he called watching her stall and turn slightly, just enough to see his face.

"..You.. you like bowling?" Bowling, wtf? He didn't bowl.

"Bowling?" Her tone echoed his thoughts, but she smiled and that smile told him he'd done right by stopping her. "Yeah, my daughter and I like bowling," she stressed. He smiled. He could already tell she was a good mom.

"Maybe I could take you both sometime."

"Maybe...," she grinned. "You know Tori?"

"Leon's my nigga. Nala's my godchild," he nodded. That seemed to impress her.

Just then, they looked up at the same time to see a little girl running from the house.

"Mommy," she called running to the women's side and looking to Erik.

"I've gotta go," the woman said heading to a black car.

"Wait," he called after her, setting the plates on his hood to follow her. "What's your name?" He watched as she secured the small girl in a car seat.

"Shamidi," she said standing to face them. He nodded before facing the little girl who was still watching him. She had two thick puffs and looked just like her momma. "And what's your name, cocoa puffs?"

"Imani," she whispered. He was sold. Beautiful mom. Cute kid. "Do you mind if I take you and your mom bowling," he asked. Her face lit up.

"That's cheating," Shamidi sighed, humoured.

"Maybe," he shrugged playfully. "It got the job done."

"Clever," she smirked opening her car door. He watched as she got in, started the car, and began to pull off with a smile on her face.

"Hold up. What's your number," he yelled. She pulled out slowly and he followed the car as she got onto the street. He kissed his teeth when it looked like she really planned on leaving like that. Then she rolled down the window, the car never stopping.

"I gotta go! Get it from Tori," she yelled driving away. He watched as the car disappeared around the corner. He didn't expect this to happen. He came for a six-year-old's birthday party, not to play stepfather for a woman and her child.

However.. he wasn't mad at it.

Tucking the plates into the passenger seat of his car, he walked back to the house to find Tori.

The End

A/N: If these names are familiar to you that's because Shamidi and Imani are characters in Crowning Glory, another fic I wrote. This is kinda like a prequel.

@muse-of-mbaku @imaginewhoever @goddessofthundathighs @panthergoddessbast @thadelightfulone @misspooh @marvelmaree @youreadthatright @theunsweetenedtruth @bidibidibombaclaat @myboyfriendgiriboy @dameshaemonique @blackpantherimagine   @vikkidc @hidden-treasures21 @mysidefanting @hold-me-like-a-heart-beat @syndrlla97 @winteroflife @thotyana-in-this-hoe   @texasbama @gingerylimonte @princessstevens   @magic-madness-heavensin @wawakanda-btch @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade @wakanda-inspired @blackgirloneshots @thegucciwaffle @thiccdaddy-mbaku   @drsunshine97 @purplehairgawdess @trevantesbrat @indigoxsummers @cccccx1   @dynastylnoire @iamrheaspeaks @blowmymbackout @fonville-designs @they-call-me-le @theblulife   @raysunshine78 @sheisexcellent

[mysynthfetish]

The Lair, Ludicrousness, & Life.

So here's the current incarnation of The Lair of Nefarious Machinery. The only things not in the photo are the VT-4 I recently hot-rodded and a controller keyboard to go with it, the HS-80 I chop-shopped, a second EP-11 (trying to get one working unit out of two semi-broken ones, then mod it), and an effects processor or three. Oh and the Alisa. I don't know what to do with that one. I need shitloads more time than I already don't have to properly deal with bringing that one back to life. Oh and an HR-16B I'm not sure what to do with.

Recent fun is as follows. First, this guy joined the family.

Ok how can you not like a synth that has a preset patch called Death? Hehehe. It does live up to its name, it's a bona-fide fuckin' freak. I've only explored two of the oscillator engines and already I'm really impressed. I've got it run through a BOSS DD-3 delay then a Digitech Polara reverb and wow do those put the icing on the cake. Understandably, for a synth you can pick up for less than $300, you won't be getting any built-in effects. Pedals to the rescue! In any case, I wanna spend more time with this thing. One little irk I have with it is that in the manual it says you can power it over USB, even with one of those portable power brick thingies I see all the chinese tourists powering their phones with, but they recommend you always use the supplied DC adapter, as it's a 3-prong, earthed deal, and the capacitive touch stuff can get wonky if the unit is not grounded. I did use the supplied adapter, and earthed it, and holy shit the NOISE that came through!? High-pitched digital whine from bog knows what part of this condo building, on top of the 60Hz hum that was going on. Jeez! Yanked that fucker right out and back in the box it went. Using a 10,000 mAh USB power brick now and guess what, NO noise or hum or anything, and the capacitive touch works fucking fine. No idea what the hell is up with that. Whatever works.

I put a lot of stuff up for sale on the auction, and am slowly getting bites. Gotta pay some shit off, and send $ back to the old man to help out with his caregiver lady thing. I may even reluctantly part with one of the Big Hitters in the setup (Virus, Polivox, ION) but that will be the end-of-the-line, last-ditch-effort, no-other-option scenario, and I hope it doesn't go that far. I had both MFBs listed, then had second thoughts about the 503. I think there's no drum machine as small as the 503 with as big of a sound, and as fully featured. The Drumbrute Impact caught my eye for a minute, then I saw that it doesn't store knob positions (or save the sounds you made for any particular pattern) with the pattern and that was a deal breaker. The 503 DOES this. And there are so many editable parameters per sound, it's more like a drum synth than a simple 909 clone. I do wish it had a rimshot though. Anyway.

I spent half an hour yesterday in full Sherlock Holmes mode, trying to hunt down the source of the 60Hz hum I could hear with everything turned on but nothing playing (turned the noise gate on the Compounder off for this). Oh speaking of the Compounder, for whatever reason, the channel one limiter LED stays lit all the time even when there's no signal present. Fuuuuck. I noticed that some weird shit was going on with the mix too, so I looked for a replacement and someone had one listed with a buy-it-now of about $100 so out of necessity I bought it. It works fine. I sent an email to Focusrite support asking for any advice on where to look to fix the problem. I had an issue with this Compounder a few years ago, and asked if schematics were available, so I had to sign an NDA and they sent them, and they pointed me in the right direction as to what I should look at and possibly replace to fix the issue I was having, and that did it. Fixed. Quite helpful, so hopefully I'll get the same this time.

Where was I? Oh yeah. Noise sleuthing. I'm using a Soundcraft Spirit Folio Lite as a sub-mixer for drum machines, with the main bus insert going to a BOSS NS-50 stereo noise suppressor, then into the Radius 3 Fat Man. When I dropped the channels on the main mixer that this mixer is being sent to, the noise went away. Ok, let's have a look. I undid then redid all the audio and power wiring for everything going into the mixer, then reset everything on every channel to zero and PFL'd the works. Looks like I was getting carried away with EQ and Gain settings there as time went by. MORE BASS!! LOUDER!! Heh. Anyway, zeroing out everything and starting over is probably a good thing to do every now and then.

And now for the Ludicrousness. I had the MC-505 stood up on its side, on the floor, just so it was out of the way and I could move shit around. I bumped into it and it fell over, so I tried to catch it and in the process the EFX knob, with the pot shaft in it, broke completely off. AAAARGH!!!! Same shit as the volume knob when I got the thing. Pain in the ass but a solderless fix. Took half and hour and I was swearing up such a foul storm my wife came in and was like "You ok? What happened?" I was so goddam pissed off. Silly, I know, but AAAAAAARGH already! In any case, the fucker works so that's all that's important.

And now for something completely different.

I love spicy food. Every time I return to the US, I make sure to bring back a few packages of different varieties of chili peppers, and this last time was no exception. I used to have a bag of Naga Jolokia, and those things were fucking hot. But I've used those all up, and wanted to try something a little different this year, so I went with Castabel, which I've never tried before but they looked cool, like little pumpkins or something, along with Morita (which are smoked, so they have a very interesting flavor and personality, different from the others) and the usual Habanero to make my own custom blend of oral agony inducing chili pepper flakes. After cutting them up a bit and removing the seeds, I noticed that the Moritas were still kinda pliant and not completely dried, so I thought I'd just set the whole works next to the large sliding glass door in the sun. After half an hour, the whole condo reeked like someone set off a can of pepper spray two doors down and the scent had wafted in on the breeze. Boy did I catch shit for that too! Hahahaha! Moved them to another room in the place, opened the windows and closed the door. Mischief managed!

[jaimistoryteller]

Jaimi’s Update

5/6/19 Update

Hi All

Thank you all for continuing to share Shelk’s GoFundMe, I really appreciate it and it’s been helping. Now on to that update I keep planning and not seeming to get to. 

This is a long post, so I will put it below a cut. 

About Me First

So March and April were both massively long and a more then a little painful, both physically and mentally. I had a depressive spiral because of something someone said, cause even though they hadn’t meant to set one off, their word choice did not help. I got it just about under control and someone else said something that sent it right back down. I finally got it under control again, back in the slow drag of getting out of it. Not that I know for a fact it will work or not. Life is never that easy. 

I spent way too much of the two months on the go, to the point where my body shut down a couple of different times and I was completely useless. At least I accomplished my goals though, even if I paid massively for them. 

I have a new therapist, she’s lovely but it’s frustrating, because I did not want to be changing therapists in the middle of shit going wrong, but alas it was a thing that had to happen since my previous one is officially retired for a variety of reasons (and I hope he enjoys it too!). 

Despite my best efforts, I am a foster fail again, and have a new cat, he is adorable and loveable. I’ve named him Silver for his chest and markings. 

[ID: Silver the cat laying partly on the laptop keyboard]

I’m trying to figure out how to pay my electric, it’s due on the 10th, I should have made a post on it, but I’ve been more focused on making sure my sister doesn’t lose her home. Plus I was under therapist orders not to think of anything money or work related for three days during this last weekend. 

Winston

[ID: Winston the rottweiler service pup laying on my lap while I pet him]

He’s doing perfect on his training, already has two of his tasks completely down, working on getting several more down. 

Unfortunately, there have been several problems with store peeps despite the fact I make sure he has his harness on and his leash on that says he is a service dog. They keep making a fit over the fact he’s a rottweiler, I even had one say it directly to my face. 

So I’ve ordered a bunch of business cards with the ADA online address on them, a copy of the two questions they can legally ask on the front:

Is that a service dog?

What tasks does your service dog perform for you?

On the back I put the four points people keep missing the most, copied directly from the ADA FAQ:

Staff are not allowed to request any documentation for the dog, require the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person’s disability.

The ADA does not require service animals to wear a vest, ID tag, or specific harness. 

Covered entities may not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal, as a condition for entry.

Michigan has a voluntary registration program but it is not required.

The last point is from the state ADA, rather then the Federal one. If I had more room, I would have included the fact it’s illegal to try and force a registration, but alas business cards aren’t that big. 

I knew when I got him there was going to be questions because he’s so big, I hadn’t realized how foolish peeps were going to be over his breed. 

Both his leash and harness say Service Dog on them, but because I didn’t go out and buy the specialized one, but a training harness which was a lot cheaper and works for our needs just as well, people like to question it often. To the point where I even had one person tell me to get out of the store because someone else’s dog acted up, so mine couldn’t really be a service dog. Seriously, then she tried to back it with the ADA, while breaking the first three points from the back, and then insisting that the Michigan registry is required. 

Seriously, she’s one of the reasons I made the cards, right after I reported her and her boss, since she was insisting she checked with her boss, and her boss agreed. I even stressed to both the ADA and her company I didn’t want either fired, I wanted them properly trained, it should not be the customer’s job to print off the law and bring it in to make a point, just to keep shopping. 

I refuse to go back to having days I can’t go to the store because others want to have a problem with my awesome boy. If they have a problem with another dog, that’s the other dog’s handlers problem, not mine. To take it out on me is unprofessional. 

Shelk & Lot Rent

All of you peeps who have shared it (particularly you awesome one @noregretsnotearsnoanxieties) are wonderful! I appreciate all of the help. Shelk is flabbergasted and thankful beyond words for all the help. 

Last month we were able to get $555 within the $3,600. The lot owner accepted that, which set the eviction notice back to the 15th of this month. 

Right now we are at $150 this month, which is great as we are trying to get to at least $300, as that would pay at least one month. Currently she owes $3,345 between past and current due. 

A wonderful peep has said they are going to try and do something mid-month after getting paid, so I am rather hopeful, and I will be continuing to share, with updates every time there is a donation. 

Unexpected Meeting Kickstarter

I know I have two digital rewards to finish, I have been working on them, they will be posted by the end of this month. 

I am also going to start ordering the stuff to send out to people, getting the bookmarks, magnets, posters, and other goodies ready while the book is being edited. I can happily report the first few chapters have been looked at, though I have not yet had a chance to check the edits, which is why I haven’t shared snippets yet. 

It didn’t help that one of the rewards got corrupted when my computer updated in the middle of a save. Anyways, I’m excited! So bloody excited! 

Converging Lives

I will hopefully be returning to updating my @converginglives blog this week, I miss being able to post stuff there plus I still have the Spring 2019 A to Z Event to finish. 

I am also working on an actual website for it, which will have pretty much everything from the tumblr blog but in an organized method as I am tired of arguing with tumblr about it when making sure it’s in website format. 

Fanfic

Seeking is DONE - again. This time I emailed myself the file as well as typing it in google docs. Then of course docs didn’t have the problems it had last time. After 18 months of not being able to work on it, my muse finally got on the game. I’m so bloody pleased with that. I posted one chapter tonight, next Monday I will post the last chapter. 

I plan on posting the last chapter of Challenge Accepted on Wednesday as it’s done and I just need post it. 

I’m planning on working on Advent, Playful Stress Relief, Blessed, and Learning to Live. Why those ones? 

Advent is rough drafted out, might as well finish it. Besides, I don’t like the fact my lovely and fluff filled thing is still stuck in limbo. 

Playful Stress Relief is nearly done, I think editing was all I had left on that particular last chapter to finish it, though don’t quote me. It’s been awhile since I checked it. 

Blessed is calling me, though only lightly, and I’m not even sure there are peeps waiting for it, but hey whatevers. 

Learning to Live got a lovely comment which made me smile, in the height of a massive episode. I am updating it for that person, hopefully it will let me get on a roll and finish my oldest fanfic. 

You wanna see one of the other ones updated? Leave a comment on it, not just a “update please” but something you like, or a question, or even a smile face. Update please doesn’t encourage me, but pretty much everything else does. 

Cosmos Market

This is still being worked on, for those who don’t know what the market is, here is a link to the last post made on it. I’ll probably be updating it sometime in the near future, but at this moment that is a pretty good definition of it. 

I want -- need -- to get the market off the ground so I can stop needing to ask for help as I will have at least a small and stable income going. 

I’m not planning on making a lot off of it, just enough to pay my base bills, which will not put me out of the poverty line. I do expect it to be a success, however I plan on putting money into my employees and building instead. My sister being one of those employees in order to help her stop needing to ask for help as well since she’s been struggling to find a job. 

The market isn’t the only thing on the planner for business, it’s just the one I am focused on right this moment, though I have been eyeing my second rather heavily lately too, as it would be a much more passive situation for me to deal with. 

Disability

A lot of you know that I’ve applied for it in the past and was turned down as “disabled but not disabled enough”. I have reapplied for it. Why? Because I am still disabled, and a lot of times, things are worse then they were the last time I applied. 

This time I have been sent to deal with so many new doctors it’s making me want to scream. I don’t deal well with new people. Yet I have to. A lot. It’s frustrating beyond words. Still, if it helps over all, I will do whatever I must. 

It’s seriously my hope to get to the point where I can put it on hold, and only use it when I have a really bad flare up. Yes, things have been closer to stable since I got Winston, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t problems going on. I had a depressive spiral that lasted five bloody weeks. Sometimes I was able to force myself to get stuff done, other times I couldn’t even get out of bed because of my mind. It’s hard to be stable with that situation going on. 

Knowing my bills will be dealt with even if I can’t get out of bed would help a great deal. Far more than I really want to admit. At last, that’s the way it goes. 

Links

Rather then put the links in this mess, I will make a post just for them and then add the link to it here for those who want to share it. Any sharing would be appreciated as it helps more than you would imagine. 

I know a lot of people don’t have money, and while money is needed, that is not what I am asking for, all I am asking for is you take the time to share. Just a few seconds, a couple of clicks, can make a world of difference. 

While a lot of the links are about me, not all of them are as I also put up links to others who have helped me and friends who are in different tight situations. I’m a firm believer in paying it forward in any way possible. 

Link to Links

Previous Updates

5/1/19 & 5/3/19 

4/24/19

3/9/19 & Links

3/1/19

2/14/19

1/24/19

1/16/19

1/5/19

12/27/17 & 12/28/18

12/22/18

12/19/18

12/6/18 & 12/8/18

[drabblemeister]

a Study in Red {4}

Read this chapter on Ao3! Pairing: JayTim Author’s Notes: I meant to post this last week but I got sick - boo! Sorry about that! Thank you for all of the kind comments, likes, and reblogs! You all are the absolute best. Hope you enjoy this next chapter! Chapter 4:

It was half past midnight when Roy slouched backwards against his chair, rolling his head back dramatically. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

It was enough to draw Tim’s attention from the couch, where he sat cradling one of Jason’s laptops. He’d borrowed it an hour or so earlier, intent on reading through all of the end-of-day reports he’d missed from WE.

“Too bad,” Jason replied, flinging the bow’s cracked cam piece at Roy’s unguarded chest. “It’s not going to fix itself.”

Even though Tim’s energy had been focused on stocks and upcoming company projects, he’d occasionally glanced over to the dining room table where Jason and Roy had decided to work. The night’s goal seemed to be re-wiring Roy’s bow, and due to the fact most of the replacement supplies were in the bay, they hadn’t made much progress.

“It ain’t gonna work even when it is fixed,” Roy said, tilting backwards in his chair. He’d caught the cam as it’d fallen to his lap, and now lifted his head in order to flick it back Jason’s direction. “Tension’s all wrong.”

Tim watched Jason catch the disk with both hands before setting it onto the table with a snap. A moment later, he kicked the leg of Roy’s chair, which sent Roy scrambling to keep his balance while yelling an offended, “Oi!” Jason’s direction.

Sliding an elbow forward and onto the table, Jason simply sighed before balancing his chin on the upturned palm of his hand. He delivered Roy a questioning smirk and said, “Don’t tell me it’s past your bedtime?”

For a moment, it looked like Roy might stay annoyed, but Jason’s slow smile seemed to give him life. “Why? You got somethin’ more fun to do?”

Tim filled the small gap of silence with loud clacking, his fingers dancing across the keyboard rhythmically. As the report came to life in front of him, he saw Jason’s gaze shoot his way in his peripheral vision. It only lingered for a moment, and that was because Roy made a sudden, sharp sound that evolved into a wistful sigh.

“I’d love to watch you restring my bow, Jaybird.”

Jason snorted. “As talented as these hands are, I don’t think they’re the solution to your problem.”

Without pausing in his typing, Tim said, “You should probably try a thicker gauge.”

The comment sat for a moment, drawing attention Tim’s way; even so, he continued on with his report. Roy’s tech was strikingly similar to a project he and Lucius had tackled a few years back, and so it was easy to see the gaps in what Roy had put together so far.

“If that wire snaps, my fingers go with it,” Roy finally said.

This time, Tim looked up, his typing slowing but not coming to a stop. “It won’t snap if you use a hard cam,” he commented before raising an eyebrow. “You’re probably using a round because it’s quieter, right?”

When Roy’s head tilted back, his hair fell loose across his cheek. “Can’t use a hard cam ‘cause it ruins the system. The shot ain’t reliable.”

Tim glanced at the bow, though he could only make out the bottom limb from where he was sitting.

“You’re using a hybrid?” he asked.

Roy nodded.

“Use a single. Custom doesn’t always have to mean more complicated. And if the sound is still an issue, switch out the arrester.”

Tim caught Jason staring at him with lidded eyes, wearing an expression he couldn’t quite place. It felt like one he should remember.

“Well, that settles it,” Roy slapped a hand onto the table just before pushing himself up. “You’re hired. It’s all yours.”

As Roy waved a hand across the entirety of the table, which was scattered with parts and pieces, Jason calmly caught his wrist. “Tim isn’t building your bow.”

“Ah, Jay,” Roy sighed, gently shaking his way out of Jason’s grip. “I wanna see if his hands are as talented as yours.”

Tim didn’t miss the unimpressed frown that tugged as Jason’s lips and Roy didn’t either, because his grin went wide as he glanced between them.

Roy said, “Maybe when he’s done, you can get him to polish your gun.”

Jason’s mouth opened, but Tim beat him to the chase.

“I have no intention of handling either of your malfunctioning weapons.”

Roy pressed his long fingers to his chest in feigned offense, looking lanky in the dim light.

In contrast, Jason slouched back lazily in his chair and rubbed his nose. “My weapon works just fine, thank you very much.”

“Hahaha!” Roy laughed. “Doesn’t mean Red here can’t help with the maintenance. Rumor has it you bats don’t get a lot of hands-on with pistols.”

Jason rolled his eyes and reached for his water bottle, which was tangled in cable wire.

Recognizing a challenge when he heard one, Tim sighed and swept section of hair behind his ear. When he spoke, his tone came languid; easy.

“You’re right,” he said, matter-of-fact. “Most of my hands-on involves my staff. It may not be much to you, but it’s long and gets more than eight rounds.”

Tim had expected a moment of quiet, one where he could hold Roy’s gaze in a silent dare to continue.

He did not expect Jason to spit up the water he’d been drinking in one, dramatic spray that soaked the entire table and it’s contents, threatening to kill the candle.

Roy didn’t bother looking at Jason; he simply kept his eyes on Tim, as if seeing him for the first time.

“Ohhh,” Roy drawled. “I like this one. Let’s keep him.”

Tim shifted in order to pull his phone from his back pocket. He hummed to himself as he said, “Opening calendar...right. Let this day be remembered as the one where I got the last word in against a certain Roy Harper.”

As his fingers poked at keys, Roy offered a dramatic bow of respect and tossed a smirk Jason’s way. And Jason - he responded by glaring from between his fingers, which he’d been using to shield his face, which had gone slightly red. He asked, “Weren’t you going to bed?”

Roy grinned like he’d won some unspoken battle, and gave Jason a significant waggle of his eyebrows. “You’re right.” Stretching his hands high, he took a few lofty steps away from the table and made a show of sitting on the edge of the couch. “Upsy-daisy. I’m sleeping here.”

Tim stared up at him. “What?”

Various pieces of Roy’s bow went clattering to the ground as Jason pushed up from the table, flicking a pointed finger Roy’s direction before tossing his thumb another, a clear and decisive demand for Roy to move it to the bedroom.

“Aw, but Jaybird,” Roy said. “You’re gonna make an injured kid sleep on the couch?”

At that, Tim felt offended. “Um, not a kid?”

“Roy,” Jason stated. “Get.”

As expected, Roy laughed, not at all intimidated. Tim watched him huff an amused sigh just before meandering down the hallway where he turned into the room Tim suspected housed an actual bed.

“I’m going to grab you some clothes,” Jason said, but Tim didn’t miss the grudging edge to his tone. He opened his mouth to tell Jason he was fine sleeping in what he had on, but the words didn’t make it to his lips.

He had class later, and wasn’t going to have time to run by his apartment. He’d have to make do wearing this outfit again. So, when Jason returned with a bundle, Tim simply set the laptop onto the coffee table, not bothering to close it.

Jason noticed.

“You need to get some rest,” he said.

The comment had the opposite effect. Instead of feeling any of his own exhaustion, Tim simply noticed the tired, darkened circles under Jason’s eyes and once again remembered the red-circled Friday on the calendar.

“You too,” he said, rising to his feet while holding out his hand for the clothes. He glanced down the hallway, distracted by the sound of Roy whistling. “You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

At the mention of the exam, Jason’s demeanor shifted; his gaze wandered and he seemed to remember that was a thing. He groaned, looking exhausted, and dragged a hand down his face.

“Ugh. Tomorrow is Friday.”

Tim thought that Jason’s anxiety had more to do with the significance of the diploma rather than his ability to actually get it.

“It’s only 2am. You have plenty of time,” Tim decided to say, just before giving Jason a questioning look. “Bathroom?”

There was only one, and it was a narrow space wedged at the end of the hall, just across from the bedroom. Tim got a modest glance at the space - saw a shape that resembled the foot of a bed and a square piece of furniture he assumed was a dresser.

The view was intercepted by Roy, who was dragging a heavy bag towards the door. When he caught sight of Tim, his lips folded to form a grin and he waggled his eyebrows in invitation.

Tim allowed his expression to fall flat with disinterest.

In the bathroom, one lone candle flickered, it’s wick burned to a hairsbreadth. Tim made quick work of changing, not entirely surprised when Jason’s loose, cotton sweat-shorts fell past his knees and hung loose on his hips. Less shocking was the size of Jason’s shirt; it’s wide neckline dipped low against Tim’s skin, not quite covering the smooth lines of his collar bones. It fell nearly halfway to his thighs, reminding Tim that Jason had a good seven inches on him.

When Tim ventured back to the living room, he watched as Jason returned his gun to its holster on the underside of the coffee table. When it was secure, Jason glanced up, only to look caught off guard.

“Yeah, I know,” Tim waved him off. “You should really take it easy on the protein bars.”

Jason’s eyes lifted until Tim caught them with his own. He expected a witty comeback. Instead, Tim watched Jason bite at his lower lip, as if whatever he had planned to say, he’d decided against it. Then, he was standing.

“Is there anything else that you need?”

Tim watched Jason’s eyes look everywhere but him. “Just your all clear to leave later,” he said, finally. “I have a class at eight.”

At that, Jason’s attention slid towards the bedroom. “If we haven’t been ambushed by now, I think we’re good.”

Tim agreed, but it felt like the right thing to get permission, seeing as to how it was Jason’s safehouse they were attempting to keep hidden.

Quiet stretched, one that felt strangely empty. Tim opened his mouth twice only to realize he wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted to say. Eventually, Jason drifted towards the table, picking up the bow parts he’d scattered earlier. Not too long after, Tim watched him disappear down the darkened hallway from above the screen of his laptop.

When his thoughts wandered too far, he pulled them back to his work. It was another hour before he finally decided to sleep.

***

By the time Tim’s alarm sounded, he was already awake. Jason had ventured out at some godawful early hour and Tim hadn’t bothered asking why; Roy’s cacophony of snores had woken him up as well.

He and Jason shared the couch, bookended and blearily dozing until Jason decided to do them both a favor and make coffee. It was the pick-me-up Tim needed, and within the half-hour he was dressed and ready to head out. When he confessed he would probably be about fifteen minutes early – a record, really – Jason shoved a protein shake at him and refused to disarm the premise until at least half of it was gone.

The bay looked the same as Tim remembered, and when Jason turned on the overhead lights, Tim blinked at the brightness. He was in the process of tugging on his helmet when Jason asked, “We on for tonight?”

It took Tim a moment to connect the dots, realizing tonight was Jason’s final opportunity to cram. He nodded. “My place?”

Jason tipped his head back to yawn and held his hand up, waving it no. When he could speak again, he managed a “Mine,” smacking his lips just before scratching at his scalp, sending his hair into a disheveled frenzy. “I’ve got a date with Ermanno Endrizzi tonight. Something tells me he’ll be wanting his breadsticks to go.”

Tim snorted as he righted his bike and took a heel to his kickstand. “Just text me. I’ve got two classes and a lab, and I should probably shower at some point.”

Jason looked impressed. “That’s it? By golly, that sounds like a light day.”

Tim said, “Whatever will I do?”

“Have dinner with me, apparently,” Jason replied. He took a moment to look smug about it, and Tim pulled his helmet down and over his face.

With a smirk, Jason raised the bay door and waved him off and Tim raced against time to make it to campus.

***

It was nearly evening when Tim left his lab, in dire need of both caffeine and answers. The former was easy enough to remedy, but the latter meant a quick trip to Wayne Enterprises. Since Tim had his own transportation today, he weaved inner-city rush-hour traffic and parked in an emptied, private lot.

This late, the building had mostly cleared out. Floor managers bustled in the lobby, overseeing registrars and receptionists as security shepherded their departure. His entrance meant undue attention and he wasn’t at all surprised when a manager came jogging after him in order to say, “I’m sorry, but the building is closing.”

The comment brought Tim to a halt; he’d nearly forgotten that he wasn’t dressed for the occasion. Fresh from classes, he was wearing faded denims, a graphic tee, and a jacket distressed more from wear than aesthetic. When he turned in acknowledgement, he threw his head a bit in order to slant his bangs sideways and out of his eyes.

“The internship program hours are nine-to-noon,” the manager went on to say, and Tim couldn’t help but be amused. The man was just like Bruce liked his floor-people: sour-faced and suspicious.

“Timothy Drake-Wayne,” Tim stated, holding out his hand. He’d long-mastered the art of standing his ground, and the look he delivered was enough to at least earn a pause. “I was hoping to catch Bruce before he left. Is he still around?”

When the floor-manager shook his hand, it was calculating. “Mr. Wayne wasn’t in today,” he said, and Tim felt slightly annoyed. Mostly it was because he couldn’t tell if he was being told the truth or being dismissed.

One of the elevators pinged, and since the lobby was nearly empty, the sound was loud enough to fill the space. A receptionist across the room scurried from behind her desk to greet whomever had descended and when Tim turned to see for himself, he bled a sigh of relief.

“Timmy?” Dick questioned, and he looked incredibly dapper in a suit he probably hadn’t worn in well over a year. His hair was artfully slicked back, and when his eyes danced up to the floor-manager, Tim found his hand immediately released.

“Hey,” Tim said, wondering what bet Dick had lost in order to be here, dressed like that. “Did I forget about an event?”

Dick laughed and it was perfectly charming. Since the receptionist had approached to ask if he needed anything else, he did the polite thing and told her she was free to leave for the evening – and while he did so, Tim delivered a smile to the floor manager that could have been interpreted a thousand ways. In the end, it got the manager to step aside, muttering a small apology before stepping aside, leaving Dick and Tim with due privacy.

“I thought you were sick,” Dick commented when he was close enough to give Tim a knowing look.

“I was,” Tim said, rolling his shoulder for show, “and thanks to modern medicine, I’m getting better. I just got out of class. I haven’t been able to get ahold of Bruce all day. Did he decide to go to the course?”

It was a code they’d used for forever, the course alluding to Justice League meetings, which typically came out of nowhere and meant no contact for days.

“Yeah,” Dick said. “You know how he likes to show off. He asked for me to drop by today since you’d be out. There’s a lot going on, you know?”

Tim nodded, not having to read between the lines. The extent of the cartel issue made more sense now that he knew the Triad was involved, and Tim suspected that Bruce had been reluctant to leave with so much up in the air.

“Walk you to valet?” Tim offered, and Dick looked pleased, giving a genuine smile at the invitation. There were less ears on their way to the curb, and Tim could still feel eyes on him - as if the late-shifters were attempting to memorize his appearance since he looked so different outside of starched material.

Together, they strided to the front door. Dick leaned forward to prop it open, leaving Tim to turn back and wave goodbye to the eyes that followed. When he was sure his words would go unheard, Tim asked, “Do you need me tonight?”

It had been two nights since his injury, which was more than enough time to be considered well enough to get back on the job. He hadn’t forgotten about Jason, but he knew this Endrizzi business would run late.

“If you could cover first patrol, you’d be saving a life,” Dick admitted with a wistful sigh. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast. By the time I realized I was hungry, this place had already sucked out my soul.”

Tim laughed. “Dramatic, much?”

“I dunno how you do it,” Dick replied. “That being said, Bruce won’t be in tomorrow. He wanted me to ask if you could fill in.”

As they rounded the corner to the valet desk and Dick retrieved his receipt from his wallet, Tim took the opportunity to dig his phone from his back pocket to navigate Bruce’s calendar.

Two hedge fund calls, an email reply to a state auditor, a new-hire tour and meet-and-greet. Nothing too taxing, though Tim wasn’t entirely sure what work he had to make up from missing both yesterday and today.

“So,” Dick said when he drifted back, digging hands in his pockets. He made an effort to watch the traffic beyond the lot, but only for a moment – and when his eyes found Tim’s, they were full of questions. “You and Jason, huh?”

Tim frowned. “Me and Jason what?”

Dick considered the question, searching Tim’s face before his lips folded to a smile. He abruptly seemed to decide the lot was more interesting. “Nothing.”

Dick’s car arrived before Tim could even feign curiosity and so he let the comment slide without a chase – immediately regretting it when Dick ruffled his hair, a habit he couldn’t seem to relinquish himself from.

“I’ll take over at 11. Sound good?” Dick asked, perfectly happy to let Tim jostle his hand away and take a cautious step back.

“Don’t be late,” Tim said, because he figured Jason would text by then. Dick straightened and saluted with all the seriousness he could muster, and then he was in his car and off to wherever he was staying while in town.

Tim watched traffic for a moment, debating on what he should eat before heading back to his apartment. In the garage, a white van drifted through, weaving other valet retrievals as if searching for an exit.

Tim watched, frowning.

In his hand, his phone buzzed, causing him to take a quick glance at the screen.

Might be finishing early, a text from Jason read.

In their line of work, early was relative.

Please, Tim texted. Take your time. I won’t be free until 11, and that’s if Dick’s not running late.

Boo, came Jason’s reply.

By the time Tim looked up again, the white van was gone. __________________________________________________________ A/N: Somewhere along the way, Roy became my fave character to write, LOL. I love how he picks on Jason, haha. Anywho, plot’s pickin’ up...

[it1776]

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- Hey, guys, this is Austin.

This is the brand new Series 2 Edition

of the Xbox Elite controller, which has got me thinking.

Kevin, what is the best controller that I can buy right now?

- Well, we got a different couple options to talk about here

so let's round 'em up and see.

(imitates music)

? Kevin Kenson music, Kevin Kenson music, ?

? Kevin Kenson music, do do doo ?

The benchmark that I compare every single controller to

is the current generation Xbox One.

Now, it's seen some updates over the last few years,

like Bluetooth and an audio jack,

you also have the Design Lab.

But this is always what I compare things to.

Kev, why am I wrong?

- I mean, look, the standard Xbox One controller

is a great controller.

When it comes to just the baseline models

that come with systems

this is honestly my my personal favorite as well.

- [Austin] Same, yeah.

- But there's a lot of room for improvement still

and there's a lot of things that have kind of become more

common and popular amongst pro controllers

that aren't necessarily feasible

in an affordable regular baseline like this one.

- Such as.

- Such as Microsoft's own Xbox One Elite 2.

Honestly, we could talk all day

about the special features and things.

I think the main kind of take away points

aside from just general build quality,

multiple sticks you can use, multiple D-pads, back paddles.

Which are pretty common across a lot of these ones.

The big stuff for this too though

is the unique customization features

that are in the Xbox Accessories app

where you can do things like button remapping,

adding a Shift button options, stick acceleration,

lots of crazy in depth stuff.

- And of course, this works across the Xbox

as well as the PC and those settings that you sync

will actually work across consoles as well.

Or across, did I just call PC a console?

I mean, across systems, across platforms.

- Identity crisis.

So aside from the Elite 2

the other one we have here is the Prestige.

Now, this is the newest one from Scuf

I'd mentioned earlier

and the main thing with this

is that this is a modified Xbox One controller

so it still has the same core base in it,

which is really cool actually

'cause that means you can use it with the Xbox One,

the upcoming Project Scarlet, PC, whatever,

if it works with Xbox controller it'll work with this.

One of the cool things about it

is how you can further modify it.

If you wanna change the sticks or anything

you actually just pop off the faceplate.

- That's cool.

- And this is how you can swap out the sticks.

You can also switch out the D-pad,

although I think you can just do that

from having this faceplate on as well.

So this one has four adjustable paddles,

you can take them off if you don't wanna use them.

- [Austin] The problem though

is that this is expensive, right?

this is actually around the same price

as the Elite controller?

- So, it's 20 bucks cheaper

if you just buy the base model unmodified.

But one of the big things about Scuf

is how you wanna customize it to make it your own design

so depending on if you want certain colors,

special designs, different sticks,

depending on all the things you modify and do to it

it can end up adding up to being quite more money.

- So I get that you're really excited

about your controllers and everything

but really everyone knows the superior way

to play any kind of game is using a mouse and keyboard.

Which I so helpfully have provided

with the Razer Turret.

- [Ken] You said this was controller video.

- This works with an Xbox, I can control my games with it,

I think that counts.

- [Ken] What is wrong with you?

- Can I bring in a racing wheel next then?

- There's a cursor inside the game.

It's almost as if I'm playing on a PC called the Xbox.

- Now to be clear, this is because the Xbox

actually does support keyboard and mouse,

it doesn't have to necessarily be the Turret

but the Turret is an awesome controller design

specifically for the Xbox in mind.

- 'Cause essentially you're getting

like a proper Razer keyboard

that's built into this little platform.

And then you have the mouse which is magnetic

so you can actually kind of.

You have a little like mousepad.

So if I was sitting.

- Come on, do it, yep.

Yeah, squat work out!

- This is the way all true gamers play.

So the Turret is certainly not cheap.

At $250 this is probably the most expensive thing here.

So the thing with the Turret is that

you really shouldn't use this

as purely like an Xbox controller.

I mean, you can use it like that, certainly.

But it sorta makes more sense

if you have like a PC and an Xbox

and you wanna have everything

kind of unified into one setup.

- Or if you just really love playing

just Fortnite all the time

and you wanna keyboard and mouse set up.

- And you don't wanna use a PC.

- And you don't wanna use a PC.

- Yeah, that's really popular.

Now over on the PlayStation side of things

we of course have the DualShock 4.

A perfectly respectable controller, it's good, fine,

but it's not really great, it's really super impressive

which is why I'm really curious,

especially to play with this Raiju.

- So actually, real quick before focusing in the Raiju,

I think something that's interesting about PlayStation

is that on Xbox you saw some similarities

with the two controllers we were trying,

they were both based on the standard Xbox design.

All three of these are very different.

All three pro controllers we're looking at

are very different approaches

of how to make a pro controller.

- This doesn't work.

- Does it not work or did you not log in properly to...

- You would be correct, I didn't log in correctly.

- There you go.

- Kevin Kenson, PlayStation expert.

- So the deal with the Raiju is that

at least out of the different pro controllers

we're looking at today,

it's the least physically customizable.

There's a little bit you can do,

you can swap out that D-pad, it does have some other sticks.

But the really heavy focus is on

just straight up the build quality.

- It's so sturdy, this to me out of all these controllers

is the only one that feels on par

with the Xbox Elite controllers

as far as just like, it's beefy, it feels heavy,

it feels like this is something I can throw across the room

in a fit of rage after I lose in Fortnite

and it'll be just fine.

- The table that it hits won't be, but yes,

the controller will survive.

- Now, you know, I totally get that customization is great

and for some people, especially with like the Scuf stuff

you can go really over the top.

But for me, I'm one of those guys

who wants to walk into Subway

and order the sandwich just as it comes.

When I go into Blaze Pizza I'm like,

I just want a pizza with pepperoni on it.

I get overwhelmed with too much choice and you know what,

this doesn't have too much choice.

I just pick up the controller, I'm like,

look, someone smarter than me designed this.

Sweet, I'm on board.

- Of the controllers we have out here today

I think this the only,

is this the only one that we're talking about?

- [Ken] Yeah.

- This is the only one we're talking about

that is actually not available normally in North America.

You can get it, you just have to import it

which also means you're probably gonna spend

a little more money than the actual MSRP lists.

- How much is it if I wasn't importing it,

like say if I'm in Europe,

how much does this controller cost?

- Well you know, that was something I planned on checking

when we weren't filming earlier and hold on a moment please.

- That's fine, I gotta kill some droids.

- Now the Scuf Vantage, really almost the opposite

of what the Raiju is.

While the Raiju is focused on minimal physical customization

but having lots of just high build quality,

the Vantage is all about modular design.

Kind of like what we saw with the Prestige,

you can take the faceplate off.

- That's cool.

- But on this one you can swap the sticks, the D-pad,

and even take out the rumble motors if you want.

Kinda like we were talking with the Prestige earlier,

with Scuf things are so customizable

there's not really one set price.

There's a starting price.

If you get a wired version of this it starts at 170.

If you get a wired wireless version it's 200.

- I will say that so far this is still my favorite.

- I will admit, personally, that's my top as well,

for the PlayStation at least.

And actually let's go ahead and talk about

this last guy then.

- [Austin] So, you need a screwdriver

to work on this guy I see.

- Yeah, so there's a faceplate that locks in,

it keeps all the modules, as they pop out.

So you can do things like, lets say you like offset sticks,

you can have this set up.

Or if you don't, take that off, swap 'em,

and now you have symmetrical.

But I like offset so I'm gonna put it back.

- [Austin] I'm afraid to ask,

how much does the Astro C40 cost?

- Well the C40 is $200 for the base design

and it does not include all the different swappable parts.

So if you wanna get all the different D-pads

and all the different sticks it's gonna be a little more.

We have fewer controllers to talk about for Switch

than we do for Xbox and PlayStation

so I came up with a solution, I got one more.

- Okay, I mean, you've done a video

on every like Switch controller ever so.

(electronic music)

What is this slime thing?

- That, my friend, you are holding the one, the only,

HORI Slime controller for Switch.

- [Ken] I love that!

- Why? - It's adorable.

- This is not meant for human hands!

- It is not comfortable but it is amazing.

I should note that I guess kinda like the Raiju

we were talking about earlier,

this is a Japanese exclusive so if you want one of these

you are gonna have to pay top dollar to import it.

- How much is this really?

How much did you pay for it?

- I wanna say I paid 80.

- Oh.

After these $200 stupid controllers

$80 for a joke is, well, it's actually wait,

no, that's still a joke.

Can we look at some real controllers now?

- How dare you, how dare you. - Insult me.

So for the Switch when it comes to pro controllers

I think the one that really comes closest

to kind of at least capturing the idea right now

is the SN30 Pro Plus from 8BitDo.

- That actually really surprises me

because it's obviously a Super Nintendo style controller

but it has the grips as well as you have the sticks.

And this also works with a pretty wide variety

of different devices, right?

It's not just a Switch controller.

- Yeah, so 8BitDo controllers are designed to work

with the Switch, with PC, Mac, and Android.

- But you said this is 50 bucks, right?

- I believe so, yeah.

- That's not bad, especially considering, I mean,

I've got like $1,000 worth of controllers

on the table right now.

- Yeah, and in terms of what

kind of makes it a pro controller versus say,

using the official pro controller from Nintendo

is that this does offer some of those

special features that people equate with pro controllers,

like you can do things like actually remapping

what all the buttons are.

So if for whatever reason you really want B

to actually be the right trigger button

you can set that up if you like.

- [Austin] Now, obviously this is not as full featured

as the proper pro controller

since you don't have NFC for Amiibo

and you don't have rumble, or do you?

- [Kevin] No, this does have rumble, that's right.

- [Austin] Oh, that's awesome, okay, cool.

- You do have motion controls though.

- Oh, that's cool, okay.

- So this is the Split Pad Pro from HORI

and it's meant to be an alternative to Joy-Cons.

Now, because it is a third party option

it doesn't actually have all the features

that you might get used to seeing in a Joy-Con.

You don't have rumble, you don't have the ability to use

Amiibo scanning, you do have the motion controls still.

But the big trade off for that

is that you actually have a longer--

- It fits your hands. - Yeah.

It's a longer controller that's actually designed

to fit in your hands.

- I mean, look at the difference, right,

it's not even close.

Now, that doesn't necessarily fit in a bag as well

or anything like that but these,

to me the Joy-Cons are fine for a quick game

or if you wanna do some like Just Dance or whatever

but this is not a super comfortable way,

especially when you're using them

even in like a Joy-Con grip.

It's not that great for long periods of time.

- Well, and especially being used in handheld mode

I gotta say that it's not just a matter of the size,

it's not just that the thing is simply bigger,

it's that it actually does have contoured grips

and is designed to fit in your hands a specific way.

It does have remappable buttons on the backside.

Because these are each individual units

you can only remap buttons that are on the same side.

But still, that's better than not having

any remappables at all.

And because it's a HORI controller it has a turbo function.

- Because turbo is what we need.

You can't non-turbo game.

- I mean, if you like turbo, the slime does it.

Wanna use that slime, it's got a turbo button.

- I'm good, you have at it.

Now, if you actually want to use some of these controllers

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You're also getting an integrated Dolby Digital 2.0 soundbar

with a full 40 watts of power.

Now of course, if you want you can connect it

to a full speaker set up,

but honestly just the way it comes,

it actually works really well

as an all in one entertainment center.

It also supports a variety of streaming services,

you have voice control using Google Home as well as Alexa

and you can also take advantage

of the Info Wall app to fully customize the experience.

If you're looking to up your home theater game

then you should definitely be sure

to check out the Optoma CinemaX P1

at the link in the description,

and again, huge shout out to Optoma

for sponsoring this video.

This excellent bit of consumer advice

has been brought to you by Kevin Kenson,

you can feel free to subscribe to his channel

at YouTube.com/KevinKenson.

Kev, can you please play us out with a little tune maybe,

a song and dance, perhaps an ode to the slime?

- [Kevin] I can set things on fire.

- That's a great alternative.

- [Kevin] Oh, this doesn't have

super reactive environment, I forgot.

- Are you complaining about the Witcher on Switch?

The greatest port of all time

according to everyone on YouTube?

- [Kevin] I mean, it does run great considering.

- It does look like Vaseline was smeared on my TV though.

[glaceontea]

Cheerleader pt.5

So.... Prinxiety date? It’s no where near as long as the last chapter, don’t worry :)

Thanks to jay and lisa for reading it and approving of it before I posted lmao

Tagged: @starlight-sanders, @sanspie122, @80s-addict, @watch-me-introvert, @princeyandanxiety, @imin-loveanon, @gaysonofjafar, @gotta-love-dem-sides, @just-a-random-word (If you want on or off the tag list, just send me an ask or a pm!)

Warnings: Swearing.

Ship: Logicality and Prinxiety (no logicality in this chapter though)

Previous Part | Masterpost | Next Part

They walked down the street, side by side, the gentle breeze kind to Roman's flushed skin. A date after an hour and a half of exercise wasn't ideal, but at least he didn't smell. Besides, he remembered to bring his cologne and deodorant, so he wasn't going to smell. In fact, he smelled really good.

Stop thinking about what you smell like, Roman.

The trees danced in the wind, their quiet rustling a welcome filler to the blissful silence. Roman could feel his heart racing, almost as if it were trying to escape his body. Despite this, he felt comfortable around Virgil. He shifted his gaze to the boy next to him. He seemed peaceful, and somehow even prettier in this setting. His freckles were clearly visible without makeup, and were well defined with natural light. His lips looked soft, the pretty shade of pink complimenting his pale features. His hair suited him, the dark brown curls making him so...

Virgil looked up at him, finding Roman's gaze on him. He blushed, looking away immediately.

He's so cute when he blushes.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Virgil muttered bitterly, though Roman could hear the smile in his voice. Roman wished he could take a picture, he'd kill to have another photo of Virgil on his phone. He'd post it on Instagram, just to show everyone how cute he was when he wasn't being a hot badass.

Their hands brushed, and Roman made a bold move. What did he have to lose?

He grabbed Virgil's hand gently and held it in his own, swinging them lightly. Roman noticed he was blushing even harder this time, making Roman smile. Virgil timidly looked up into Roman's eyes, giving a small, nervous, yet adorable smile.

"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you look when you blush?" Roman asked. His confidence had returned.

"This is stupid," Virgil muttered pessimistically. "How am I the blushing mess and you're the confident, suave guy? You're wearing a pastel pink skirt for fuck's sake!" Roman let out a hearty laugh.

"You're easy to flirt with when you don't act so intimidating."

"Um, I am very intimidating right now." Roman just shook his head, grinning. Virgil looked at the building ahead.

"That's the coffee shop we're looking for. Come on, hot stuff, we've got caffeine to consume."

They entered, and Roman's first thought was that this was a place Logan would love. The walls were covered in books, free for anyone to take as they sipped their coffee. It was a library-coffee shop hybrid, and considering how much of a caffeine-loving nerd Logan was, Roman wouldn't be surprised if he were in here at that very moment.

There were couches and tables scattered around the shop, with outlets for chargers, and lamps for the people who came at night. The light mostly came from the windows around the place, giving it a natural glow. Many types of flowers adorned coffee tables and normal tables. The counter showed off many baked goods, and the chalkboard above showed the many coffees and assorted drinks that customers could consume.

And of course, standing behind the counter with a big grin was Patton himself. No wonder there were flowers everywhere.

"Hey you two, what can I get for you?" Patton was beaming, obviously very pleased that the hand Roman was holding belonged to Emo Guy Virgil himself.

Both Roman and Virgil told Patton their orders, taking a seat on one of the couches.

Virgil had sat himself a small distance away from Roman, much to Roman's distaste. Though, he'd decided to let Virgil be for now, considering this was their first, unplanned date.

"So, how did you become friends with Logan?" Roman asked. Virgil smiled a little and started to talk about how he and Logan bonded over astronomy, something the two both found fascinating. Logan loved everything scientific, and Virgil just generally found it interesting.

Patton soon delivered their coffee and Roman's banana bread.

"So, uh, how'd you become Instagram famous?" Virgil asked, wanting to shift the focus of the conversation off of him.

"People just find me hot, I guess," Roman claimed with a shrug. Virgil rolled his eyes, punching Roman jokingly.

"You vain piece of shit. But I suppose I agree with them," he added with a wink. They continued chatting, and they quickly finished their food and drink.

"Wanna come back to mine?" Roman asked. Virgil just nodded and they left the shop, Roman receiving a hug from Patton on the way out.

-

The two were strewn across Roman's couch. Virgil had his head in Roman's lap and was staring up at him while Roman played with his hair. The pale boy looked almost sleepy, loving the feeling of fingers combing through his hair.

"You know," Roman began, "I think you're one of the coolest people I've ever met. Also you're adorable. And you're pretty darn smart for a bad boy." Virgil blushed and shook his head. "No, seriously, anyone would be lucky to have you."

"Are you kidding? I have, like, two friends. You and Logan. I can't even make friends with Patton," he sighed.

"Patton would love to be your friend," Roman assured him.

"Yeah, I'd love to be his friend too. He seems so... nice." Virgil started playing with his fingers again.

"He is! Hey, you know what I want? A boyfriend." Virgil looked up at him expectantly.

"We went on our first date just today, Roman."

"But-"

"But I don't really care, I've been crushing on you for quite some time and I'm impatient. So, wanna be my boyfriend?" Virgil asked. Roman looked annoyed.

"I'm supposed to be the one to ask," he sulked.

"I'll take that as a no then."

"No no no I'll be your boyfriend I'm joking oh my god," Roman blurted out. Virgil laughed as Roman smiled down at him and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I have to tell the others," he insisted, whipping his phone out of his pocket. Virgil sat up and planted himself, cross-legged, next to his now-boyfriend, peering over at his phone.

Roman opened up Snapchat.

"I didn't know you have Snapchat!" Roman just smiled and flipped the camera to front-facing.

"Are you okay with me taking this?" Roman asked. Virgil nodded an affirmation. Roman decided to press a kiss to his cheek, causing him to grin and blush. Roman saved it, adding the caption 'got him ;D', sending it to both Logan and Patton.

Patton immediately responded with a keyboard slam, and a couple of minutes afterward Logan said they look charming.

"Well, my friends approve, unsurprisingly. I always gush to them about you at lunch times." Virgil rolled his eyes.

Dork.

[kashmiresims]

Winner Takes All

First Post | Previous Post | Next Post

Reggie had never been so frustratingly angry before. To learn that he was being blacklisted from a fraternity that he had the right to be in, to know that the object of his affections wasn't any closer to reciprocating those feelings, and to know his robot could likely not make the cut to get into the collegiate robotic championship all weighed his mind down until his thoughts were nothing but a whirlpool of darkness.

He was still consumed with them by the next day but had at least gotten to work on his robot after meeting with his father. That was one step closer to solving the latter problem.

He went back to the engineering building Sunday afternoon. No surprise, Shane Calhoun was also there fiddling around with his pathetic luxury gardening robot. Who needed such a thing? Was there a demand for a service so dull?

Information was a commodity—the ability to gain knowledge and use it against your enemies or in your favor. Now that was worth something. Shane of course, didn't say anything to Reggie and vice versa; both young men were on chilly terms, especially now that the mayor's election was so close and their fathers were toe-to-toe in the polls.

They had been classmates, not close, but cordial enough in high school. Shane didn't exactly put himself out there but then again, Reggie wasn't the most social boy either. He briefly looked to Shane, who was ignoring him and tightening up his robot chassis, and still felt a pang of regret for snapping at Alanna and driving her away—and into helping Shane the previous night.

Shane eventually left, docked his robot in its stand and Reggie took the rest of Sunday, well into the evening to finish programming his spypot to accept audio feed. He tested a recording, it sounded faint, so he cracked open the robot and adjusted the microphone to be near the bottom. Alanna had been right about the sound being more clear from that point.

Now it was Monday; he stayed in his apartment all day, playing Rush Hour and grinding out wins like it was nothing. Every win would gain an amount of in-game credit he could use to purchase custom car parts and upgrade the racing vehicles he used. He hoped that Violet_Fire would return soon so he could show it off, and then if luck permitted, win a race against them again. They were the only one, it seemed, to be good enough to make a race interesting—because he never knew for sure if he'd win against them.

Then just like that there was a *ping* and a chat box appeared in the corner of his screen.

Violet_Fire: Wanna race?

MegaZoom: k if ya wanna lose : P

Violet_Fire: Keep dreaming you N00b ;)

Reggie smirked. They were just trying to shake him up before he began. He went to main screen and started up a co-op game. Violet_Fire immediately entered into the instance and picked a classic car with a high-ranked engine they must have bought through in-game credits. Reggie's custom racing car, was a sports car with an engine that had top speed stats. He had put together and, it was in his opinion, a perfect racing engine for this game.

Violet_Fire: what is this?!?!?!

MegaZoom: :D

He wondered if they would chicken out and withdraw but they stayed in the instance. Stubborn as usual.

Violet_Fire: lets race the valley map

MegaZoom: why, so you can make tighter turns and try to get past me?

Violet_Fire: I don't need tight turns to beat ur behiney ;)

There was that word again. Alanna had said it the other night. What were the chances...the cosmic chances of her being his Rush hour rival all along?

MegaZoom: Wanna bet?

Violet_Fire: I do ;P

That took him by surprise. He was only joking around but now he was intrigued...

MegaZoom: What do you want if happen you beat me? Not that it'll happen

The ‘Violet_Fire is typing’ notice seemed to last forever before their message was submitted.

Violet_Fire: I want your custom car

That was untoward. You could trade cars in the game but Reggie's custom car was worth hundreds of hours of grinding and racing randoms. What would be worth the equivalent? He still wondered if Violet_Fire could have been Alanna Thackery, but was that information worth the potential loss of his custom car?

MegaZoom: If I win, how about you get on the voice chat channel and trash talk me without hiding behind a wall of text?

Violet_Fire: Fine lets do this

Though, Reggie immediately had a flick of nervousness in his gut and dryness in his throat because on the off-chance Violet_Fire was Alanna, she would surely recognize his voice! Would she think he was stalking her all this time? He had gone to some length to find out her class schedule but that was only recently when he realized how much he still liked her and it was handy to know where she'd be on campus so he could conveniently 'bump' into her. Evelyn Jane had done stuff like that in the past and he always thought it was dishonest but he could see the merit in it now.

Another *ping* interrupted his thoughts, Violet_Fire was impatient to begin and told him to start the game already. So he did.

He selected the valley map, which had its roads through tunnels, across rivers and especially tight turns. It wasn't his favorite but he'd won races on it before. The trick was to drift on the corners and his custom car had a sweet drift, fine-tuned to withstand the sharp curves of the road.  

The screen counted down 3...2...1 and Reggie slammed the up arrow on his keyboard, dragging his mouse to the left. His car peeled out and was hair ahead of Violet_Fire's. The first bend was a corner but not the sharpest and he drifted around it with ease. Annoyingly, so did Violet_Fire.  

His heart sank a bit as they passed him and took the fork in the road that was a shortcut on the map, but had more perilous obstacles. He didn't ever take the shortcut because of them. So he relied on his speed-tacular engine to make up the time as he made up the distance.  

He came up behind Violet Fire's car and gave them a bump of warning, but not enough to send the off road into a crash. He managed to get ahead after passing the start line. They had two more laps to go.

He maintained first place all throughout the second lap but then the third the tides changed when Violet_Fire spun out and took him down as well. All momentum was lost and it was a scramble to get the cars pointed the right direction and the speed up again. That dirty move put them back into first place and Reggie couldn't lose! He just couldn't! He was tired of losing all the time!

So instead of taking the safe path, he was desperate enough to try the shortcut to make up the lost distance. He was already behind and so he took a calculated risk to see if it would pay off. He avoided getting stuck on a collapsed bridge and drove through a waterfall, finally a dark tunnel with no light until he turned a corner. He sometimes ran his cars into the tunnel walls when he took that map shortcut. Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel appeared and he hit his booster. His sports car nearly flew out of the shortcut and landed in front of Violet_Fire, who must have thought their win was inevitable since he was so far behind and therefore didn't bother taking it in the first place.

He nearly flipped his keyboard in excitement after zooming across the finish line in first place. He'd get to keep his custom car, and talk to his biggest racing nemesis voice-to-voice. To find out if they were who he suspected they were. He quickly typed in into the chat box.

MegaZoom: I'm on the RH05 channel.

He flipped his headset microphone to ‘on’ and had to swallow a few lumps in his throat. It was just a race in a video game but his adrenaline was high. A second later Violet_Fire's avatar popped up in the voice chat—it was of a purple flame. Plumbbobs, what was he going to say?

"H...h..hi there," he stuttered out but lowered the register of his voice significantly.

"I want a rematch," came the clear voice of Violet_Fire. Definitely female, definitely familiar and his heart seemed to stop beating and all the saliva in his mouth dried up entirely.

"Sore loser much?" he finally asked. It had seemed like minutes between when she spoke but in all-reality was only a few seconds. He would never speak in this way to Alanna face-to-face but it would just make her suspicious if his online persona suddenly started being super nice for no reason.

"I thought crashing into you would have pushed you far enough behind, and I never would have thought you'd take the shortcut on the valley map."

Reggie laughed, "I knew you wouldn't."

"Anyway, I got on chat like you wanted. What now? Want me to trash talk you like you asked?"

"I didn't ask you to trash talk me! I just figured it'd be interesting to hear you do it with your own voice."

It was kind of surreal, to hear her talk so candidly. It made him wonder how calculated her words were in a regular basis; he’d always assumed her kind words were the norm but she was really quite brash behind the mask of anonymity.

"So, you're a girl,"

"How observant of you," she snapped back before he could get to his point.

"No, I knew when you first talked but I'm wondering if I could ask your advice on something?"

She made a long, low sound that gave of the impression she was apprehensive or even inconvenienced, "Suuuuurrreee."

"What is your idea of a perfect date?"

"Why are you asking?" she teased.

If she only knew.

But he was glad he had the upper hand and she didn’t know who he really was.

"There's this girl I like and was going to ask her out but I haven't been on a date for years..."

There was nothing but silence, and he dreaded she recognized his voice or figured out his identity but after a few moments, her voice rang through with a suggestion--"Take her stargazing."

"Stargazing?"

"Yeah, like cuddling under the stars or something. I know it's pretty nerdy and all but I'm just kind of fascinated about the galaxy, are we the only ones out here? You know? I had a telescope when I was little, but my sister kept hogging it and we'd fight over it."

It was even more evident the person he was talking to was Alanna with that fact. He knew she had a sister, and her sister was kind of unpleasant and snide from what he remembered. He could feel for poor little Alanna being bullied away from her telescope and her suggestion and anecdote only made her more adorable.

"Hey, it's okay. I mean we do play a lot of video games so that makes us nerdy anyway, right?" he tried to reassure her.

"Speak for yourself, video games are the new cool!"

He laughed as did she and he felt more at ease, like he was talking to her normally as if they were chemistry partners in high school again. Well, all besides his lowered voice, which he had been careful to maintain the lowered tone as he talked as not to arouse suspicion.

"How long have you been playing Rush Hour? You're pretty damn good." Reggie asked.

"I started about a year ago. My brother gave me a link to download the free trial and it got me kind of hooked on it."

Reggie recalled that Alanna had a brother as well.

"How did you get into it?" she asked in turn.

"I saw it was a recommended play in a gaming magazine and so went out and bought a copy. I've been playing since I started college."

"What college?"

"Sim State. You?"

"I didn't say I went to college."

He inwardly cursed for giving away info that he knew more about her than she knew he would know.

"But do you?" He asked, covering over his blunder, “I mean you sound like you could be a student.”

"I do and I am."

"Where?"

"I think...I've given enough personal info for one day. Good luck on your date and let's race again soon, Zoom." she said then added, "That is, if you want to lose!"

With that, she disconnected and he wasn't even offended by her last needling comment.

How could it be that a girl he thought was perfect had somehow become even more so? What was more perfect than perfection? Divinity? Was Alanna Thackery, in fact, a goddess?

He stood to stretch his legs because he'd been sitting for a while at his computer. The lightness he felt at winning, and knowing that the girl of his dreams was his one and only gaming rival made him feel as though he could lift off the ground at any moment--happy enough to fly if he could. He only took a few steps back until he felt the bed frame behind his knees and fell onto his mattress with a heavy sense of satisfaction. Something, something had gone his way for once.

His imagination ran wild thinking of what other games she could have played, a fierce spark in her eyes as she raced, the determined smile between her lips when she was focused on winning. He fantasized about this side of Alanna he'd never seen—the competitive, sassy, unapologetically candid version of her.

Picturing her, in all her perfection behind closed eyelids--made him smile and hope that his plan to ask her out would work. He could plan her idea of a perfect date and then she’d have no reason not to fall for him.

A different *ping* sound suddenly went off--a faint little note coming out of his headphones which he had taken off before standing up. It was a chat box on a tab he’d left open on a web browser. He sat up, and curiously went to check it out.

The web page was sitting on the student profile site--a place he often visited to see if Alanna had added any new pictures or updates he could use as conversation fodder the next time he saw her. She hadn’t messaged him though. It was, to his very ultimate surprise--Marshall Cosgrove.

Marshall Cosgrove: Hey u there?

Reginald Orbinson: Yeah why? What do you want?

Marshall Cosgrove:  Meet me at the coffee shop on the east edge of campus.

Reggie felt himself frown. Why would the Hoh Fruhm President suddenly be interested in meeting with Reggie when the day before he had made it clear that Reggie was never going to be allowed in?

Reginald Orbinson: Why would I?

Marshall Cosgrove: Cuz I have a proposition that could get you in.

He didn’t have to specify as to what Reggie could get ‘in’ and Reggie felt like his luck was on a roll that evening. If he got into Hoh Fruhm, everything would be right in the world. 

It was downright chilly outside, and Reggie could feel himself shivering in his jacket even. There weren’t any cricket chirping which had been a constant for the past three seasons. The night felt kind of lonely as he made his way to the edge of campus. He was to meet Marshall Cosgorve at the same coffee shop where they had seen each other the day before. Reggie headed toward the entrance, eager to get out of the cold but a voice stopped him.

“Orbinson.”

He halted and looked to the right to see Cosgrove backed up against one of the decorative fences that contained a tree with his arms crossed. The front of the coffee shop was a charmingly landscaped area that he didn’t mind sitting in between classes when the weather was nice. 

“Cosgrove,” he nodded and approached, waiting to hear what Marshall had to say, “Why the change of heart?”

Marshall merely glowered, as if he didn’t want to be offering Reggie a way in but he had no other choice, “To put it plainly, I need you to get some information on someone--I can’t use any of the guys at Hoh Fruhm because we are all being watched rather closely after today.”

“Why, what happened today?” 

Whatever it was that was bothering Marshall, seemed to explode as he threw his arms out, “We got raided! The police showed up on an anonymous tip that illegal substances were being used at our parties. They found pills, and now the charter is in jeopardy--Hoh Fruhm is on probation!”

“But not double-secret probation?” Reggie asked with a smirk. Marshall wasn’t amused by the reference and he slumped back against the fence.

“I’m sure I know who tipped the police off; the guy that left the frat a week ago--and the entire Greek Society like he was better than us.”

“Okay but what do you want me to do about it?”

“I want you to get some dirt on him. I’ll use it to ruin him. If he thinks he can just walk away and then drag us through the mud afterward then he has another thing coming. You get this information on him and I will let you join the vacancy he left behind.”

Reggie felt himself shiver but wasn't sure if it was because of the cold or the absolute hatred and determination in Marshall's voice. Reggie’s cleared his throat, he didn't know who this person was yet but it was possible that it would be impossible to deliver what Marshall wanted, "What if I can’t find any dirt on him?”

Marshall let out a scornful laugh, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as far as the Calhouns are concerned. Nick’s dad is one of the slimiest son a bitches I’ve ever seen and you can probably agree since he’s running against yours in the election. So help me get dirt on Nick–he’ll go down like he should, and you get into the frat you've been wanting to all these years. It’s a win-win.”

Nicholas Calhoun.

Now there was a name that Reggie hadn’t heard for a long time. Reggie didn’t have to think long about the offer, because unbeknownst to Marshall, Nick and Reggie weren’t on friendly terms anyway. He had no emotional conflict in trying to cause Nick any embarrassment or hurt Marshall would have him suffer. It wasn’t like Nick Calhoun ever considered how much his words would affect young Reggie–getting every kid in school to laugh at him on a weekly basis when they were children.

But as much Reggie wouldn’t mind digging up dirt on Nick, he wanted more than what Marshall was offering for it.

“If I can get you the information you want to bury Nick, I want a position in the frat--vice president.”

Marshall nearly growled in response, “I can’t guarantee that, those positions are voted on by the members every semester...”

Reggie whirled around, a knowing frown plastered on his face, “The Calhouns aren’t the only slimy son of bitches in Kashmire--your father orchestrated the entire election between my dad and Elm Calhoun. You haven’t been fraternity president all these years because of your popularity, so don’t  tell me you can’t rig your own house elections.”

Marshall’s livid expression let up slightly at being called out, seeming to mull over Reggie’s demand. Reggie wasn’t naive, he knew Marshall would try to find a way to screw him over once he got what he wanted, especially now that he’d demanded a place of rank within Hoh Fruhm. He half expected Marshall to withdraw the offer but to his surprise, the blond straightened up and nodded.

“Okay, I’ll see what I can move around--but only if you get what I want. Nick Calhoun will pay for what he’s done.”

“Shake on it,” Reggie demanded and Marshall lifted his arm, extending his hand. Reggie took it in a firm grasp and they shook. It was a good thing Marshall came to him for this task--Cosgrove likely banked on Reggie’s desperation to join the Greek society as a sure way to obtain what he needed but Reggie could do one better. He had a spybot and that made all the difference between failure and victory.

[otomequeen]

Transfer Nightmare

This post ended up a lot longer that I intended. I needed to rant and get it off my chest, otherwise it would fester and get into my land of slumber. I would have nightmares about it and I just want peaceful sleep. 

For those of you that know I’m trying to restore my transfer data on Kissed by the Baddest Bidder. (make sure the stories I’ve purchased don’t ask me to buy them again) So I can take all of them to Love 365. 

Also a information nugget that some may or may not know, transfer data wasn’t a thing until I wanna say mid 2016. Because when it became announced I went through all my apps and sent the transfer data to myself and the earliest dates start somewhere in 2016. Before they got all cool and hip with emails and passwords, they used to send you two numbers. Well numbers with letters mixed in with them. Something like

App ID: 3kfc49df03kd Sub ID: 33kgfd9xzn3

Note those aren’t real. I literally just pushed keys at the same time on the keyboard. They are just examples of that it looked like

So the idea behind transfer ID is that if you don’t play the game for a while you can put in your id and get all your shit back. Which is cool. I never really worried about progress, I would always reread the stories to read the stories and get cgs back. But it was nice having the backup for my purchases. 

I’m an android user, and using google play if you purchased something and it asks you to buy it again and you click purchase. It will go black for a second as I assume it looks through your order history, and if you have already purchased it you can continue on your merry way without paying for anything else. I know that tech isn’t 100% full proof. So even through I didn’t care about my progress within the games, I cared about the purchases and got those transfer ID’s ready.

NOW

Kissed by the Baddest Bidder was released overseas in February of 2014. Cool. New game, sprites where you get their back, awesome. I try not to get super far into a game because I want to dip my toe into all the characters in all the games. I’m not made of money, so I stick to season 1 stuff. Main stories of course, pov if they have them. I’m not huge into epilogues, and rarely go into sequel territory. So between the day is was released and right now, after going through my history, I own 14 routes and 6 sub stories. If you are doing the math, and I can see how many epilogues/mains/etc there are. It’s roughly $60.00. 

Now that doesn’t seem like a large number. I could get food for a week with that amount. But it’s been small amounts that have been accumulated over the span of almost 4 years. And I’m ok with that. I planned my money and decided I have a few extra dollars here and there to spend each month and that’s exactly what I did. 

So Love 365 comes out, and you can now transfer all your shit from the stand alone apps to the super app. Cool. This will free up space on my memory card, all for it. But when I opened KBTBB none of my purchases were there. Guess it’s been a while since I’ve opened the app. Fair enough, I mean I moved half way across the world twice in the span of 7 months. I’ve been pretty busy I haven’t played much of anything. But putting in the transfer ID they had sent me wasn’t working. I kept getting an error message. I tried typing it in slowly, I tried seeing if maybe I was reading some of the zeros as ‘o’ and vice versa. I copied and pasted it in directly and it wouldn’t budge. So what do I do, obviously I send an email. I don’t want to lose my shit. 

And I know voltage has a bad rep for their customer service. I get that it’s a large company. I’m honestly impressed that I generally got a reply within a day. But instead of going, ‘huh, that’s odd. I don’t know why your code that we provided you isn’t working. Maybe there is a bug preventing it, lets see what we can do to fix it.’ They decided to go with. 

Dear , Thank you for contacting us. Same title apps can transfer your data from old app. Please take a look following steps: 1.) Go on the old app TOP page and tap news button 2.) There is a banner says "How to Transfer Data to Love 365" so tap it 3.) You can find your token IDs so please copy it 4.) Go to Love 365, you can find "Transfer from old apps" button on Start page or Transfer page as well *Please note that Token ID can be used only once. Also before use it, please make sure to restore your ALL purchases otherwise you will lose them. Please feel free to contact us again if we can be of any assistance.

I mean alright. I guess they are getting a lot of emails about transferring to love 365, and in my initial email they just saw the word transfer and assumed it was about that. So I replied along the lines of. ‘sorry no, that’s not what I meant. I want to get my transfer data back before I moved to 365 so I don’t lose any of my purchases’

I got a mixed response. Because for those that remember KBTBB didn’t have that coin system. It used to be old fashioned like the rest of them. So first they gave me a solution for if I made purchases with the coins. Which I appreciated the information. And then they told me that they really couldn’t do much about if it was before the system change. I would have to send them screenshots of my order history, showing proof I purchased stories and they would give them to me through the system. Manually. I don’t know how that end works. 

Alright fine. I’m okay with that. I had to do with with lovestruck and castaway love’s adventure because that just wasn’t working for me either. Not a stranger to extra work I opened up my history to hit a small problem. Looking on my computer I found that I couldn’t go further into my order history beyond January 2015. Now if you remember the game came out in February 2014. So on my laptop I couldn’t prove that I purchased anything between February 2014-January 2015. I sent the screenshots I could get and told them the same thing. The response was we can only give you what we see, which was 2 sub stories.

UM. WHAT.

There was no way I was going to settle for that. There had to be something. Anything that would work. I tried sending them my transfer info sent to me from the game when I registered to see if they could use that. Didn’t really get a response from that idea. So at this point I’m trying anything. Remember how I was looking on my laptop through my order history. I don’t know why but I decided to try my phone, or maybe my laptop was in the other room and I just wanted to mess around with settings to see if I could go further. Either way I ended up on my phone through my history and it went back! 

Huzzah!

Kinda. Even though it went back far enough and I could screenshot everything, it doesn’t show prices. Everything before January 2015 just has a big old 0 as the price. Great. Now I’m worried they are going to think I’ve edited an order history to fake receipts to get these routes. In the hopes they don’t think I’m trying to scam them I take a screenshot of where you can see this change take place. The top have shows prices next to everything and the bottom half shows 0.00. I also explained that in the email in hopes that it all goes well. 

I felt a small wave of relief when it looked like everything was going to be ok. I got an email saying they gave me the stories and if I was missing any just send them the name and a receipt of purchase and they will get them to me. That’s wonderful news. I mean I hate making people work more than they have to, but something wasn’t working right and I didn’t want to lose anything. They could understand that, right?

I checked the app to find that nothing has changed. Then I thought maybe they just meant the games where you can see the prices. So I went to the sub story section and they weren’t there either. Which is kind of what prompted this rant, and a few other things that have been slowly building. 

I’m slowly losing my patients. I have tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. Lots of changes, I’m sure lots of people are getting a hold of them all the time for different things. They are a big company after all, and I feel that the international market’s is low on their priority list. As far as happiness, customer service, not screwing us over by making us repurchase apps like Seduced in the Sleepless City (let’s all agree that was a hot mess. I can’t wait for round two when pirates join in) 

But for an app to glitch, and bug out with an error message that a code provided by the game doesn’t work. And then telling me it’s not the game, and they will only restore some of my purchases, and then not even restore those purchases saying they already have. That’s really pushing it for me. 

I sent an email with a full list of routes I have purchased, copies of my order history that show it (maybe they couldn’t read the names?), copies of my otome id email folder, showing emails from other games, and then from KBTBB. I provided my game name, my device information, the email linked to my account. Everything is now in their corner and depending on the response I really might just lose it. 

I don’t want to cut my losses but I feel like I’m talking to a wall. Nothing is getting through and I keep getting the same repeated copied and paste replies back. I don’t know what else to do other than give up if this turns up nothing. No way in hell will I be purchases routes I’ve already paid for again, so it might be it for me and the bidders. 

[meaeris]

So Far Away

Chap 1 | Chap 2 | Chap 3 | Chap 4 | Chap 5 Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Series - Fluff, Comedy, will get Angst

Summary: You are a happy-go-lucky rookie director, and you couldn’t know that your new job in a visual and design agency would bring you to directly work with the famous idol group “BTS”. You couldn’t neither imagine that you would grow fond of one of the members, the hot-headed and peculiar rapper Min Yoongi.

A/N: Third chapter, thank you for waiting. :) Please support!

CHAPTER 3 First Talk

(Yn) spent the rest of the day drawing sketches, ideas and storyboards as best as she could. Soon it got late and the office was now empty. She went back to her apartment too, but she didn't notice that a handbag containing her precious laptop was in danger of breaking apart.

The next morning, coming down the stairs, the bag fell apart and all the contents made a seven-meters fall. (Yn) felt the computer go in a thousand pieces, as did her heart. She did her best to pick up all the scattered pieces and turn on the device, but there was no longer sign of life in it. She had to find a solution. When she came to the office, she quickly explained the situation to Taewon.   - For the moment I can't afford a new laptop. Can I use your computers even in the evening? It's the moment of the day I'm more active... Taewon thought for a moment. - I fear it might be a problem, being a building with more agencies inside of it, we prefer not to leave anything open from a certain time. It's for general security. (Yn) sighed, grumbling. She had no idea what to do. It was only the second day and it sure looked great.   - But you could ask our customer for a study to work in.   - Do you mean BigHit?   - Yes, I think they would be more than happy to help you. After all, you're working for them. I'll talk to the boss, you go there today. She could breathe a sigh of relief again. She took her bag, excused herself and immediately went to the agency. Fortunately, she went across a member of the staff at the entrance.   - Could I talk to Bang PD-nim? I'm from H.C. and we have to discuss some details for work. The boy didn't seem very convinced, but he let her go. He gave her directions and (Yn) found the producer's studio. She knocked and opened the door. - Hello...?   - Oh, the rookie director? - he said, raising his head from the computer, - What brings you here today?   - Look, you see... (YN) reluctantly explained the situation in which she was and surprisingly, he laughed.   - As the second working day it must be disappointing.   - You have no idea. If I think of the money I will have to spend on a new laptop...  - All right, I'll let you use one of our studio. But you will have to pay something for it. (Yn) closed her lips together. - Uhm... actually... I was hoping to be able to count on this place because I have no mon- - I'm kidding! - the man exclaimed, satisfied with the prank, - Come on, I'll take you to the studios area.

That building was bigger than it looked from the outside. The long and white corridors seemed to be a path for paradise, sided by many doors. (Yn)'s eye fell on a couple of them.   - "Mon Studio", "Hope Room"? I imagine these being Namjoon and Hoseok's work area?   - Exactly. And that "Genius Lab" is Yoongi's. They came to a door without a nameplate and Bang PD opened it, revealing a small room filled with a desk, a computer, and probably too little oxygen. But a gift horse...   - It's the only free studio right now. It's not equipped with audio tools but I don't think you need them particularly.   - Oh, no. A couple of speakers will be enough. I'm really grateful, it's more than good.   - So when do you start?   - I'll arrive tonight after dinner.   - Perfect. At that time there should still be somebody around. For whatever you need, ask the staff. If you come across the boys, don't get involved too much. Especially Taehyung... that guy could take you busy for hours. (Yn) laughed - Actually I wouldn't mind, but I'll follow the advice. She left the area and returned to H.C. The company computers were fast and powerful, as she should have expected. It was a shame they couldn't use them all day. Moving on with her work, when the time came, she got off and walked fast to BigHit. As PD-nim had assured, there was still somebody around who handed her a couple of keys under his orders. She thanked him and went to the studio. Inside there was a strange smell of closure mixed with freshly-wiped paint. There were no windows, so she was forced to keep the light on all the time being already dark outside. Except for the ticking of the fingertips on the keyboard and the scribbling of the pencil on the papers, the room was silent. At some point (yn) felt knocking at the door that was opened before she could have answered. A familiar pair of eyes met hers. - Oh, so it's you? - Min Yoongi in flesh and bones asked, almost surprised - Aren't you going home? - Good evening! No, it's still early, I have to finish a few things.   - At eleven in the evening? (Yn) crossed her eyes and looked at the clock on the computer.   - Wow. Time flies when you have fun. She realized she hadn't even had dinner. Yoongi shrugged.   - What about you, are you still working? - I have to finish a couple of things, - he repeated, - Bye, then. The coldness he had left (Yn) a little disappointed.   - Goodbye! Don't strain yourself too much. The door closed before she could have had an answer. "What a friendly guy," (yn) thought, though she knew she had to be satisfied with it. Soon after, (yn) left the building, noticing the light still on coming from the so-called "Genius Lab".

YOONGI POV

The presence of an intruder wasn't much appreciated by the young artist. It was kind of distracting, especially around those hours when he knew he was the most productive. But in the end he had to adapt. When he noticed that her routine repeated almost every night, he was even more concerned about it. That night it was past ten when he heard knocks on his door. - Come in - he snarled, not moving his eyes from the screen. The young director put her head in the door with a wide smile.   - Min Yoongi-ssi, I made you coffee, I thought you needed it.   - Oh... thanks. Put it over there. She did as required but didn't leave. She stopped beside him watching the monitor. Yoongi's eyes fell on her boots and he noticed she was bouncing in place, nervous. Yoongi smiled a little.   - May I ask you what you are doing? - She asked suddenly, without erasing that smile from her face.   - I'm working on a song. Her mouth took a "o" shape.   - All by yourself? I bet it will come off great as always. Oh, my favorite Agust D song is "So Far Away". Yoongi, surprised, finally looked at her. - Did you listen to my music? That song is pretty old.  - Well... I did my research - she started lowering her voice, - Don't tell this to my colleagues, but I bought some of your albums... they're all amazing. You guys truly are awesome. - Are you a fan now? - Yoongi tried, raising an eyebrow. - No... not really. I never understood the meaning of screaming for a person you don't even know. But I just appreciate your work so I support you by buying the albums. Yoongi couldn't get it. - So... you're a fan. (Yn) seemed annoyed. - There is a big difference between a fan and a supporter.   - For example? Yoongi was now quite interested in the topic. It was the first time he heard such a thing.   - For example, a fan would give away their soul to meet you or even just attend a concert. However, as a supporter, I don't feel the need to, especially because I can't stand too noisy places. Or, a fan is familiar with all the news related to you, while the supporter has no priority for it. They're more into your work and support it from afar. Probably like all the people you work with. Yoongi nodded, satisfied. - I think I got it. Kinda. Then thanks, miss Supporter. She raised her thumb. - At your service. Must go now, I really wanna go home. The girl left the room murmuring something like "My coffee must be cold now." Yoongi sighed. It was refreshing to know new perspectives every now and then.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[jughead-jones-wuzhere]

Author’s Note: A super long first installment to a multi-chaptered but possibly non-linear story. My first Riverdale work.

The House of the Rising Sun : The First Night

Click Click Click Click The sound echoed in rapid succession.

“What do I say to her, though?”

Mid-rhythm the clicking stopped. Sea green eyes shifted from the blue light of the laptop screen before them. The redhead’s face was dotted with light patterns burned into his retinae from staring at the screen for too long. Maybe these things wouldn’t make him blind, but maybe there was something to this “It’ll ruin your eyes” narrative parents all over the nation had adopted so many years ago.

“Jug?”

“You’re still here?” his voice was slightly hoarse.

“I don’t know what to say.”

He arched a brow and his fingers continued to dance over the keyboard. The snark dripped from his words: “The truth’s probably a good place to start.”

“I don’t mean what, I mean how.”

“You literally said ‘what.’” He enunciated, “And anyways the only ‘how’ is with your words.”

The jock sighed, pursing his lips. Despite his best efforts, Jughead met his eyes and shrugged. “Just tell her, Arch. It doesn’t have to be a poem for the ages… I’m sure Betty’ll appreciate any explanation you can offer her.”  

“I just… don’t wanna hurt her.”

“It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?”

The look on his friend’s face instantly inspired regret. “Sorry.”

“No, you’re right.” Archie sighed, “I can’t expect this to be… clean.”

“Interesting choice of words.” Jughead furrowed his brow, “Arch, if there’s anyone in this entire town who’ll try to keep things… clean, it’s Betty. She’s your best friend. She’ll listen to whatever you have to say.”

Archie nodded, more to himself than anything else, the confidence building in his chest. Jughead leaned back in his booth.

“I’ll see you in school, Jug.” The jock pressed his lips together in what would have been a smile if he could muster the strength. His friend nodded, saluting the boy farewell. As the door shut behind him, the diner felt silent, save for the soft distant chords of some 50’s nostalgia track playing from the vintage jukebox at the other end of the diner.

Jughead folded his arms, staring blankly at the screen. His lip curled in and he bit down, eyes shifting from left to right over the words until they seemed to coalesce into one illiterate jumble of black text. With a sigh, the boy leaned his head back against the booth, closing his eyes.

The Moon belongs to everyone The best things in life are free…

The distant ambiance came into focus, the words of the record echoing against the diner walls. Whether he consciously willed it or not, his sneaker clad foot began to tap to the simple beat.

The flowers in spring And the robins that sing…

A half-sarcastic laugh escaped his lips. He opened his eyes. Staring down at the table.

The sunbeams that shine They’re yours they’re mine…

“It’s gettin’ late don’cha think?”

Jughead straightened in his seat, looking up to see the smiling labor-worn owner of the shop.

“Yeah, Pop. I should get going.”

“Don’t want you to be missin’ school on my account, now. Come on by tomorrow, I’ll give you a milkshake on the house.”

And love can come to everyone…

“You sure it’s not more of a frequent customer deal?” his lip curved in a gentle smirk.

And so it shall always be…

The man laughed, placing a warm hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I’ll be seein’ you tomorrow, Night Hawk.”

The best things in life are free…

**********

Jughead slung his backpack over one shoulder as the door swung shut behind him. Through the glass, the jukebox continued on to the next record, muffled by the glass.

If you said goodbye to me tonight There would still be music left to write…

The cool summer air blew through what short strands of his black curls hung loose from his beanie. With slow, heavy steps, the boy began his departure from the chock’lit shoppe.

What else could I do I’m so inspired by you…

The song, clear and loud, stopped him in his tracks. Perplexed, Jughead glanced around to the diner, no one but Pop Tate visible through the glass.

That hasn’t happened for the longest time…

The disembodied voice hummed to the muffled tune, pausing every now and then. He took another step forward, this time towards the street. The humming grew steadily louder.

Once I thought my innocence was gone Now I know that happiness goes on….

Louder still, the raven-haired boy walked slow and steady, cautious of revealing himself too soon.

That’s where you found me…

The voice- She, he assumed from the pitch- paused and sang quickly through the lyrics she’d fallen behind on.

When you put your arms around me…

Around the corner of the chock’lit shoppe, she stood, rocking back and forth on her heels to the tune of the song.

I haven’t been there for the longest time…

Her arms floated in the air in a sort of intoxicated dance. A cigarette burned between her fingers.

“Woah-oh-ohh-ohhh for the longest time” she sung into the empty street, stopping to take a puff of the cancer stick.

“I had second thoughts at the st—oh shit that’s not right.” She stopped rocking on her heels. Jughead scoffed, unable to entirely stifle his laugh. In an instant she turned around, her dark eyes making contact with his. She brought the cigarette to her lips. Inhaled. Squinted her eyes. Parted her lips, and exhaled.

“You here for the bus too?”

The boy glanced at the vacant street and shrugged, “I don’t think where you’re standing’s a bus stop…. And no.”

She scrutinized him, her gaze wandering from his shoes to the trademark beanie. The lack of conversation—along with her conspicuous image— prompted him to do the same. Her sneakers and distressed shirt screamed “out of town,” but it was her jacket – of the black leather variety—which indicated exactly where. Jughead took another step forward, tilting his head in hopes of catching a hint of the back of her jacket.

“You know, you don’t look right.”

Momentarily distracted, the raven-haired boy furrowed his brow. She smiled and laughed.

“No, no not like that. I just mean you don’t look like the rest of the people around here. Less… Pleasantville and more… Batman, I guess.”

“I look like Batman?” he arched a brow.

“Of course not,” she rolled her eyes, “You know what I mean. Like, Gotham and shit.”

“Yeah, well, every bell curve’s got an outlier.”

She shrugged and nodded, taking another hit of the cigarette. “That’s true. But in Gotham you’d be right there in the middle. What’s that called? The middle?”

“The normal distribution?”

“Yeah, that.” She grinned, “You’d be part of the normal distribution. Isn’t that funny?”

“I’m not entirely sure I follow.”

“Well it’s all about location, location, location. Have you ever thought about that? In Pleasantville you’re always gonna be the odd one out. But in a place like Gotham, where everyone’s the odd one out, you’re just another digit in the consensus.”

“So no one’s special, it’s just a matter of where you are.” He took another step forward. She leaned against the pole of a street lamp and watched him, cigarette burning in her fingers. Jughead pursed his lips. “That’s kind of Nihilistic, don’t you think?”

She knitted her brow, contemplating the question before shaking her head. She took another puff and blew the smoke out of her lungs as she responded, “No, I don’t think it is. It’s just the facts.”

“But what it does say,” she pushed herself off the street lamp, flicking the butt of the cigarette to the floor, “Is that you’re one smart son of a bitch.”

Her sneaker crushed the ashes into the cement. “You can stay in Pleasantville for the rest of your life, Batman, and you’re not gonna ever be part of the normal distribution.”

Jughead frowned. “How does that make me ‘smart’?”

Her smile stretched, but the wrinkles around her eyes seemed to disappear. “Well doesn’t that mean you’ll always be special?”

He didn’t respond. She pressed her lips together, stuffing her hands in her jacket pockets as her shoe continued to grind the cigarette into the sidewalk. Jughead mirrored her posture, hiding his hands in his own denim jacket and watched her. Pop’s jukebox hummed quietly in the distance.

Wind me up, I really walk Wind me up, I really talk Wind me up and I’ll come straight to you

“It’s Peggy March.”

He turned to face her. She shrugged.

“You looked like you were listening to it. It’s Peggy March. “Wind up doll.””

When he didn’t say anything, she reached into her pocket, pulling out another cigarette and a pack of matches.

“How long does the bus take to get here usually?” he asked, looking around for any sign that the area was, in fact, a bus stop.

She removed the cigarette from her lips and shrugged, “Shouldn’t you know, Pleasantville? This is your neck of the woods.”

“Yeah?” he took another step forward. She was hardly an arm’s length away, “And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Where’s your neck of the woods?”

“Not here.” She scoffed.

Jughead’s frown deepened. He turned to face the street, nose pinching at the smoke reaching his nostrils.

“You know there’s a murderer on the loose, right?”

She leaned her head against the street light post. “Is that right?”

“Yeah. It is.” He turned to look at her, catching the uninterested expression on her face. “You know anything about it?”

“Yeah,” she smirked, “It was me, Mr. Wayne. The mastermind behind it all.”

She flicked the ashes off her cigarette onto the street. “Is that what you wanna hear?”

“No.” his voice softened just slightly. He hadn’t noticed when the cutting tone entered his words. “I’ve just… never seen you here before.”

“So I’m a suspect, then?”

“That’s not the point.” He rolled his eyes. She took a puff of her cancer stick and stared at him silently. Feeling her eyes on him, he looked her way. She smiled, lips parted just slightly as if to say something when her eyes shifted to look behind him.

“Ah,” she tossed the half-finished cigarette.

“Don’t litter—“

“Looks like the bus is here.”

He turned around to catch the distant glow of two headlights.

“You wanna know where I’m from, Pleasantville?”

He turned back to face her, the smirk twitching at the corner of her lips. The bus engine roared like a motorcycle as is it sped towards them, growing louder and louder. She took a step closer. And another. And another. Her hands slid into her pockets and she spoke quietly, hardly a few inches from his face.

“I’m a Gotham native.” She breathed a laugh, “You should come visit sometime, Dark Knight. Maybe you’ll find it more pleasant than Pleasantville.”

The bus—a 1970 convertible Chevelle—screeched to a halt before the lamp post. A broad shouldered brunette sat at the wheel, his tattoo clad arm resting on the head rest of the passenger seat. Behind him sat two equally grungy, equally lean boys, and a small blonde in a dress.

“Hey love,” the driver said, leaning forward as if to see through a window that wasn’t there, “Ready?”

Jughead scrutinized the boy, who returned the favor. Although his demeanor gave off the impression of a real hard ass, his expression felt somehow somber.

“Well,” the girl sighed, “I’ll see you around, Batman.”

And without waiting for a response, she hopped over the door and into the passenger seat, where the tattooed brunette kissed her on the cheek. His hand came down from the seat to switch gears as he mumbled, not quietly enough, “Who’s he?”

“Oh, him?”

She turned to spare one last glance at the beanie headed boy, a wide smile lifting her lips. “He’s here to save us all. Isn’t that right?”

Before he could open his mouth, the car sped off, turning sharply around the corner and disappearing out of sight. Jughead stood under the street light and watched until the hum of the engine faded into the distance. He then turned on his heel, and headed back the way he came, stepping over the half-finished cigarette on the sidewalk as the jukebox sung faintly over the wind.

Unforgettable… That’s what you are…