#if I missed any other scenes from the anime let me know!

[thesublemon]

best picture

For the first time in a long time, I watched all of the movies nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars this year. Partly on a whim, partly for a piece I’ve been working on for a while about what is going wrong in contemporary artmarking. I cannot say that the experience made me feel any better or worse about contemporary movies than I already felt, which was pretty bad. But sometimes to write about a hot stove, you gotta put your hand on one. So. The nominees for coldest stove are:

Poor Things. Did not like enough to finish. I always want to like something that is making an effort at originality, strangeness, or style. Unfortunately, the execution of those things in this movie felt somehow dull and thin. Hard to explain how. Maybe the movie’s motif of things mashed together (baby-woman, duck-dog, etc) is representative. People have been mashing things together since griffins, medleys, Avatar the Last Airbender’s animals, Nickelodeon’s Catdog, etc. Thing + thing is elementary-level weird. And while there’s nothing wrong with a simple, or well-worn premise, there is a greater burden on an artist to do something interesting with it, if they go that route. And Poor Things does not. Its themes are obvious and belabored (the difficulty of self-actualization in a world that violently infantilizes you) and do not elevate the premise. There’s a fine line between the archetypal and the hackish, and this movie falls on the wrong side of it. It made me miss Crimes of the Future (2022), a recent Cronenberg that was authentically original and strange, with the execution to match.

Anatomy of a Fall. Solid, but not stunning. The baseline level of what a ‘good’ movie should be. It was written coherently and economically, despite its length. It told a story that drew you along. I wanted to know what happened, which is the least you can ask from storytelling. It had some compelling scenes that required a command of character and drama to write—particularly the big argument scene. The cinematography was not interesting, but it was not annoying either. It did its job. This was not, however, a transcendent movie.

Oppenheimer. Did not like enough to finish. But later forced myself to, just so no one could accuse me of not knowing what I was talking about when I said I disliked it. I felt like I was being pranked. The Marvel idea of what a prestige biopic should be. Like Poor Things, it telegraphed its artsiness and themes and has raked in accolades for its trouble. But obviousness is not the same as goodness and this movie is not good. The imagery is painfully literal. A character mentions something? Cut to a shot of it! No irony or nuance added by such images—just the artistry of a book report. The dialogue pathologically tells instead of shows. It constantly, cutely references things you might have heard of, the kind of desperate audience fellation you see in soulless franchise movies. Which is a particularly jarring choice given the movie’s subject matter. ‘Why didn’t you get Einstein for the Manhattan project’ Strauss asks, as if he’s saying ‘Why didn’t you get Superman for the Avengers?’ If any of this referentiality was an attempt to say something about mythologization, it failed—badly. The movie is stuffed with famous and talented actors, but it might as well not have been, given how fake every word out of their mouths sounded. Every scene felt like it had been written to sound good in a trailer, rather than to tell a damn story. All climax and no cattle.

Barbie. Did not like enough to finish. It had slightly more solidity in its execution than I was afraid it would have, so I will give it that. If people want this to be their entertainment I will let them have it. But if they want this to be their high cinema I will have to kill myself. Barbie being on this list reminds me of the midcentury decades of annual movie musical nominations for Best Picture. Sometimes deservingly. Other times, less so. The Music Man is great, but it’s not better than 8 1/2  or The Great Escape, neither of which were nominated in 1963. Musicals tend to appeal to more popular emotions, which ticket-buyers and award-givers tend to like, and critics tend to dislike. I remember how much Pauline Kael and Joan Didion hated The Sound of Music (which won in 1966), and have to ask myself if in twenty years I’ll think of my reaction to Barbie the same way that I think of those reviews: justified, but perhaps beside the point of other merits. Thing is. Say what you want about musicals, but that genre was alive back then. It was vital. Bursting with creativity. For all Kael’s bile, even she acknowledged that The Sound of Music was “well done for what it is.” [1] Contemporary cinema lacks such vitality, and Barbie is laden with symptoms of the malaise. It repeatedly falls back on references to past aesthetic successes (2001: A Space Odyssey, Singin’ in the Rain, etc) in order to have aesthetic heft. It has a car commercial in the middle. It’s about a toy from 60 years ago and politics from 10 years ago. It tries to wring some energy and meaning from all of that but not enough to cover the stench of death. I’d prefer an old musical any day.

American Fiction. Was okay. It tried to be clever about politics, but ended up being clomping about politics. At the end of the day, it just wasn’t any more interesting than any other ‘intellectual has a mid-life crisis’ story, even with the ‘twist’ of it being from a black American perspective. Even with it being somewhat self-aware of this. But it could have been a worse mid-life crisis story. The cinematography was terrible. It was shot like a sitcom. Much of the dialogue was sitcom-y too. I liked the soundtrack, what I could hear of it. The attempts at style and meta (the characters coming to life, the multiple endings) felt underdeveloped. Mostly because they were only used a couple times. In all, it felt like a first draft of a potentially more interesting movie. 

The Zone of Interest.Wanted to like it more than I did. Unfortunately, you get the point within about five minutes. If you’ve seen the promotional image of the people in the garden, backgrounded by the walls of Auschwitz, then you’ve already seen the movie. Which means that all the rest of the movie ends up feeling like pretentious excess instead of moving elaboration. It seemed very aware of itself as an Important Movie and rested on those laurels, cinematically speaking, in a frustrating way. It reminded me of video art. I felt like I had stepped through a black velvet drape into the side room of a gallery, wondering at what point the video started over. And video art has its place, but it is a different medium. Moreover video art at its best, like a movie at its best, takes only the time it needs to say what it needs to say. 

Past Lives. I’m a human being, and I respond to romance. I appreciate the pathos of sweet yearning and missed chances. And I understand how the romance in this movie is a synecdoche for ambivalent feelings about many kinds of life choices, particularly the choice to be an immigrant and choose one culture over another. The immigrant experience framing literalizes the way any choice can make one foreign to a past version of oneself, or the people one used to know, even if in another sense one is still the same person. So, I appreciate the emotional core of what (I believe) this movie was going for, and do think it succeeded in some respects. And yet…I was very irritated by most of its artistic choices. I found the three principal characters bland and therefore difficult to care about, sketched with only basic traits besides things like Striving and Being In Love. Why care who they’d be in another life if they have no personalities in this one? It’s fine to make characters symbols instead of humans if the symbolic tapestry of a movie is interesting and rich, but the symbolic tapestry of this movie was quite simple and straightforward. Not that that last sentence even matters much, since the movie clearly wanted you to feel for the characters as human beings, not just symbols. Visually, the cinematography was dull and diffuse, with composition that was either boring or as subtle as a hammer to the head.

Maestro. Did not like enough to finish. Something strange and wrong about this movie. It attempts to perform aesthetic mimicry with impressive precision—age makeup, accents, period cinematography—but this does not make the movie a better movie. At most it creates spectacle, at worst it creates uncanny valleys. It puts one on the lookout for irregularities, instead of allowing one to disappear into whatever the movie is doing. Something amateurishly pretentious in the execution. And not in the fun, respectable way, like a good student film. (My go-to example for a movie that has an art-school vibe in a pleasant way is The Reflecting Skin). There’s something desperate about it instead. It has the same disease as Oppenheimer, of attempting to do a biopic in a ‘stylish’ way without working on the basics first. Fat Man and Little Boy is a less overtly stylish rendition of the same subject as Oppenheimer, but far more cinematically successful to me, because it understands those basics. I would prefer to see the Fat Man and Little Boy of Leonard Bernstein’s life unless a filmmaker proves that they can do something with style beyond mimicry and flash.

The Holdovers. Did not like enough to finish. It tries to be vintage, but outside of a few moments, it does not succeed either at capturing what was good about the aesthetic it references, or at using the aesthetic in some other interesting way. The cinematography apes the tropes of movies and TV from the story’s time period, but doesn't have interesting composition in its own right. It lacks the solidity that comes from original seeing. (Contrast with something like Planet Terror, in which joyous pastiche complements the original elements.) The acting is badly directed. Too much actorliness is permitted. Much fakeness in general between the acting, writing, and visual language. If a movie with this same premise was made in the UK in the 60’s or 70's it would probably be good. As-is the movie just serves to make me sad that the ability to make such movies is apparently lost and can only be hollowly gestured at. That said, the woman who won best supporting actress did a good job. She was the only one who seemed to be actually acting.

Killers of the Flower Moon. The only possible winner. It is not my favorite of Scorsese’s movies, but compared to the rest of the lineup it wins simply by virtue of being a movie at all. How to define ‘being a movie’? Lots of things I could say that Killers of the Flower Moon has and does would also be superficially true of other movies in this cohort. Things like: it tells a story, with developed characters who drive that story. Or: it uses its medium (visuals, sound) to support its story and its themes. The difference comes down to richness, specificity, control, and a je ne sais quois that is beyond me to describe at the moment. Compare the way Killers of the Flower Moon uses a bygone cinematic style (the silent movie) to the way that Maestro and The Holdovers do. Killers of the Flower Moon uses a newsreel in its opening briefly and specifically. The sequence sets the scene historically, and gives you the necessary background with the added panache of confident cuts and music. It’s useful to the story and it’s satisfying to watch. Basics. But the movie doesn’t limit itself to that, because it’s a good movie. The sequence also sets up ideas that will be continuously developed over the course of the movie.* And here’s the kicker—the movie doesn’t linger on this sequence. You get the idea, and it moves on to even more ideas. Also compare this kind of ideating to American Fiction’s. When I said that American Fiction’s moments of style felt underdeveloped, I was thinking of movies like Killers of the Flower Moon, which weave and evolve their stylistic ideas throughout the entire runtime.

*(Visually, it places the Osage within a historical medium that the audience probably does not associate with Native Americans, or the Osage in particular. Which has a couple of different effects. First, it acts as a continuation of the gushing oil from the previous scene. It’s an interruption. A false promise. Seeming belonging and power, but framed all the while by a foreign culture. Meanwhile potentially from the perspective of that culture, it’s an intrusion on ‘their’ medium. And of course, this promise quickly decays into tragedy and death. The energy of the sequence isn’t just for its own sake—it sets up a contrast. But on a second, meta level it establishes the movie’s complicated relationship to media and storytelling. Newsreels, photos, myths, histories, police interviews, and a radio play all occur over the course of the movie. And there’s the movie Killers of the Flower Moon itself. Other people’s frames are contrasted with Mollie’s narration. There’s a repeated tension between communication as a method of knowing others and a method of controlling them—or the narrative of them—which plays out in both history and personal relationships.)

Or here’s another example: When Mollie and Ernest meet and he drives her home for the first time, we see their conversation via the car’s rearview mirrors. This is a bit of cinematic language that has its origins in mystery and paranoia. You see it in things like Hitchcock or The X-Files or film noir. By framing the scene with this convention, the movie turns what is superficially a romantic meet-cute (to quote a friend) into something bubbling with uneasiness and dread. This is not nostalgia—this is just using visuals to create effects. It doesn’t matter if you’ve seen anything that uses the convention before, although knowing the pedigree might add to your enjoyment. The watchfulness suggested by the mirrors and Ernest’s cut-off face will still add an ominous effect. It works for the same reason it works in those other things. Like the newsreel, it is a specific and concise stylistic choice, and it results in a scene that is doing more than just one thing.

In general, the common thread I noticed as I watched these nominees, was the tendency to have the ‘idea’ of theme or style, and then stop there. It’s not that the movies had nothing in them. There were ideas, there was use of the medium, there was meaning to extract. There were lots of individually good moments. But they tended to feel singular, or repetitive, or tacked on. Meanwhile contemporary viewers are apparently so impressed by the mere existence of theme or style, that being able to identify it in a movie is enough to convince many that the movie is also good at those things. The problem with this tendency—in both artists and audiences—is that theme and style are not actually some extra, remarkable, inherently rarifying property of art. Theme emerges naturally from a story with any kind of coherence or perspective. And style emerges naturally from any kind of artistic attitude. They are as native as script, or narrative, or character. A movie’s theme and style might not be interesting, just like its story or dialogue might not be interesting, but if the movie is at all decent, they should exist. What makes a movie good or bad, then, is how it executes its component parts—including theme and style—in service of the whole. When theme is well-executed it is well-developed. Contemporary movies, unfortunately, seem to have confused ‘well-developed’ with ‘screamingly obvious.’ A theme does not become well-developed by repetition. It becomes well-developed by iterationand integration. Theme is like a melody. Simply repeating a single melody over and over does not result in the song becoming more interesting or entertaining. It becomes tedious. However, if you modify the melody each time you play it, or diverge from the melody and then return to it, that can get exciting. It results in different angles on the same idea, such that the idea becomes more complex over time, instead of simply louder.

Oppenheimer wasprobably the worst offender in this regard. Just repeat your water drops, crescendoing noise, or a line about ‘destroying the world’, and that’s the same as nuance, right? Split scenes into color and black and white and that’s the same as structure, right? That’s the same as actually conveying a difference between objectivity and interiority (or another dichotomy) via the drama or visual composition contained in the scenes, right? When I watched many of these movies, I kept thinking of a behind-the-scenes story from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The story goes that Joss Whedon was directing Sarah Michelle Gellar in some scene, and when the take was over he told her how great she was, and that he could see right where the music would come in. And Gellar replied that if he was thinking about the music, he clearly wasn’t getting enough from her acting alone. This conversation then supposedly informed Whedon’s approach to “The Body,” a depiction of the immediate aftermath of death that is considered one of the best episodes of television ever made, and which has no non-diegetic music whatsoever. Not to imply that music is necessarily a crutch, or to pretend that “The Body” is lacking in other forms of stylization (it is a very style-ish episode). But more to illustrate the way that it is easy to forget to make the most of all aspects of a medium, particularly the most fundamental ones, once one has gotten used to what a final product is supposed to feel like. 

And that’s why most of these movies don’t feel like movies. They create the gestalt of a movie or a ‘cinematic’ moment—often literally through direct vintage imitation—without a sense of the first principles. Or demonstrating a sense of them, anyway. Who needs AI when the supposedly highest level of human filmmakers are already cannibalistically cargo-culting the medium just fine.

[1] “The Sound of Money (The Sound of Music and The Singing Nun).” The Pauline Kael Reader. (This book contains the full text of the original review, rather than the abbreviated review that I linked earlier.) 

[wondrousmay]

One of the things that I really love about Anya is how empathetic she is. While she doesn’t really understand Yuri’s complicated thoughts, she knew he need comfort and she offered it to him in a way she knows how: giving pats.

She did the same with the cow, Yor and Franky too. I love Anya a lot!

[sirfrogsworth]

These folks watched a whole ass movie not realizing the main character was transgender and it was a 2 second kiss between men that made them lose their ever-loving minds.

It's amazing to me that if it weren't for those 2 seconds, many of these folks would have given this movie a 4 or 5 star review. But two seconds of the most vanilla, non-sexy, yet genuine and loving kiss somehow ruined every moment of enjoyment the previous 90 minutes brought them.

Imagine if they realized the trans allegory. I wish I had a way to tell them. I wish I had a way to make them realize they related to a trans character. That they rooted for them. That they accidentally empathized with a trans story.

This was a beautiful movie. In every sense. I really hope between this and Spider-Verse, we can have a moratorium on every 3D animated movie using this style of character design.

It's time to let go of the rubber toy look.

I love Toy Story, but its success kind of doomed 3D animation to never take any risks. I thought maybe it was just a limitation of the medium, and perhaps it was for a time... but after seeing Love Death + Robots and Arcane...

I realized they can make 3D animation look however the hell they want now.

The rubber people were just risk avoidance.

"That's what people are used to and so we're sticking with it."

But the real beauty of Nimona was the story. I won't spoil it but the plot is pretty much, "If you get to know a trans person, you probably won't hate them anymore."

Not knowing any trans people is one of the biggest factors in anti-trans bigotry. And so this movie uses allegory to let an audience get to know a trans person. And you get to experience someone slowly start to understand what it is to be trans from an outside perspective.

It's sad that will probably be lost on those folks above because all they will remember is the kiss. Seriously, it was such a harmless, mundane, blink-and-you-miss-it kiss. But I'm hoping that others will take the lesson of this movie to heart. That you should get to know people before you judge them.

Part of me does wish we could tell trans stories without allegory. That we could just have overt trans characters. But I think this is the best representation possible right now.

It's crazy that Supergirl was one of the bravest shows as far as modern trans representation. It wasn't an edgy HBO drama trying to push boundaries. It was a family-friendly superhero show and they were just like, "Here is a transgender woman with superpowers and it's fine." And I loved that it was part of the character but it wasn't all the character was. Though I think they just missed the manufactured "moral panic" window where that choice would have been extremely controversial causing boycotts of Warner Bros. and whatnot.

My only complaint about Nimona was a small penis joke. It went by very quickly and many may even miss it. But I was surprised to see it in this movie in particular. Especially since those jokes can have collateral damage toward trans folks. With all of the positive messages, wasting a joke on body shaming was a tad disappointing. I mean, it was a fairly lighthearted "Is it cold in here?" joke. I don't want to make it sound worse than it was. But it still registered on my Richter scale of things that bother me.

Anyway, I wholeheartedly give Nimona a 5 out of 5. It helped me understand my friends on a deeper level and it was warm and funny and entertaining. There was a scene at the end that was so beautiful and heart-wrenching and I was crying my eyes out. The animation and the symbolism and the acting were just so perfect.

It's a shame Disney tried to kill this movie. But I am so glad it was allowed to exist despite that.

[loaksky]

no thoughts other than professor!abby / coworker!abby and the holiday stocking ! this is like 80 percent backstory bc who am i to not blabber about my new favorite trope...full length fic abt them in the works oops! not proofread + no warnings other than language!

tlou masterlist | main masterlist

⋆.ೃ࿔ first let’s set the scene by establishing that abby’s probably a tenure-track professor in a hyper specific literature study or maybe cross-teaches a course or two in the women and gender studies department. you’re a new educator probably teaching english 101?

⋆.ೃ࿔ abby first sees you at the faculty meeting for her department during the late summer and is immediately enamored.

⋆.ೃ࿔ by some stroke of luck, she finds that she’s been assigned to your neighboring office and her final lecture is held in the hall across from yours.

⋆.ೃ࿔ abby’s usually pretty good about the timing of her lectures and she ends up finishing 10-15 minutes early every session. so sometimes she hears the tail end of your lessons and can’t help but think you’re so fucking brilliant.

⋆.ೃ࿔ the students are taken by you too, usually not paying any mind to professors that teach lower level classes, but you’re animated and hands-on, and abby realizes that maybe she should take a page from your book.

⋆.ೃ࿔ literally can’t work up the courage to say anything to you first and is so surprised when she’s having an internal warfare one day while she’s locking up the lecture hall and you slink past her.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “have a good weekend dr. anderson!”

⋆.ೃ࿔ nearly short circuits because how in the fuck do you know her name? (hint hint: you haven’t been able to get a grip after seeing her in the same faculty meeting she’d basically fallen head over heels for you at).

⋆.ೃ࿔ for the life of her, can’t get her shit together over the weekend. is so scatterbrained because the hot new professor knows her name?? practically spirals because that means that she’s been perceived and she has no idea if it’s a good or bad thing because what do you think of her ???

⋆.ೃ࿔ runs into you bright and early monday morning as she’s about to duck into her office and she wants to make a beeline for the safety of her ergonomic chair, but you look a little frazzled and she’s speaking before she can stop herself.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “everything alright?” she asks as you miss the slot for the keyhole a few times and blow out a shaky sigh.

⋆.ೃ࿔ notices you’re carrying a fuckton of things and is wordlessly grabbing your stack of folders and taking your heavy knapsack from you as you finally get the key in the keyhole.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “thank you so much,” you say, voice thick with unshed tears. “i just, fuck, shit, sorry, that wasn’t professional—”

⋆.ೃ࿔ and she could melt because you’re so cute.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “i don’t think i saved the form for midterm grades on my laptop and the battery just crapped out on me, and i’m pretty sure i just missed the deadline and—”

⋆.ೃ࿔ “hey, breathe, breathe,” abby says gently, hands involuntarily smoothing over your shoulders. “you’re okay, it’s okay. shit happens.”

⋆.ೃ࿔ “god, i’m such a idiot.” you scrub your hands down your face. “the upper level professors were right, i do suck—”

⋆.ೃ࿔ “whoa, whoa,” abby calls out sternly, expression horrified. “who said that?”

⋆.ೃ࿔ “it’s not important,” you whisper, blowing out another breath and squeezing your eyes shut as you shake your hands to try to calm yourself. “they’re not wrong.”

⋆.ೃ࿔ “who.” and abby is no longer asking, arms bulging in her oxford shirt as she crosses her arms over her chest and stares down at you.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “dr. paige and mr. ruiz,” you say quietly, fidgeting under such a steely gaze.

⋆.ೃ࿔ abby just makes a noise in her throat, uncrosses her arms and tilts her head towards your desktop computer.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “if you were working on the submission form on your faculty account, it automatically syncs to the cloud both on and offline,” she says. “there’s usually a grace period until the final scheduled lecture for the day which is in...” she glances at her wrist watch, “in about an hour.”

⋆.ೃ࿔ you’re rounding your desk, practically throwing yourself in your chair as you boot up the computer and log into your faculty portal. your cheeks are flushed warm and eyes wide as your gaze flits across the screen.

⋆.ೃ࿔ you deflate in relief after a few clicks to find that professor anderson’s absolutely correct, and there’s the form in all it’s glory, cursor blinking and ready to be completed and submitted.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “holy shit, thank you so much,” you whisper.

⋆.ೃ࿔ when you look up, she’s already stormed halfway out of your office.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “dr. paige and i would just like to extend a sincere apology for our words regarding your tenure here,” mr. ruiz says after they corner you in the staffroom a few mornings later.

⋆.ೃ࿔ your eyebrows are knitting together momentarily before it dawns on you like a splash of cold water.

⋆.ೃ࿔ it explains why professor anderson had been in such a hurry to leave your office after assisting you a few mornings ago.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “s’okay,” you shrug.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “it’s really not,” dr. paige says. “it was immature and uncalled for to make such comments, and such shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

⋆.ೃ࿔ a sudden movement outside of the window catches your eye, and you’re grinning when you see the familiar flash of dirty blonde.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “really, it’s no hard feelings,” you assure them. “now if you’ll excuse me.”

⋆.ೃ࿔ you’re breaking away from them to duck out of the staffroom and surprise surprise, abigail anderson is standing a few metres from the door, arms crossed over her chest.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “are you eavesdropping dr. anderson?” you tease.

⋆.ೃ࿔ she doesn’t even bother to hide it, answering with a firm and resounding, “yes.”

⋆.ೃ࿔ that earns a full-bellied laugh out of you and she realizes that she’s so fucking whipped.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “you’re a wonderful professor,” abby assures you. “your students love you and you’ve already accomplished such great things in the department.”

⋆.ೃ࿔ you can’t help but flush and an awkward but cute silence dawns the two of you after you murmur a quiet “thank you”

⋆.ೃ࿔ “where’s your next session?” dr. anderson breaks the ice. “i’ll walk you.”

⋆.ೃ࿔ the two of you end up getting a lot closer over the rest of the semester and abby starts to get a little frustrated with herself for waiting for so long to actually talk to you.

⋆.ೃ࿔ because you’re practically perfect; so sweet, insanely intelligent, and it’s just the icing on top that you’re probably one of the prettiest girls she’s ever seen and you’ve got an equally pretty ass to match (abby is an ass girl IDC !)

⋆.ೃ࿔ heart is in shambles because you’ve learned how she likes her coffee and frequently bring her one first thing before your string of lectures start.

⋆.ೃ࿔ also, more often than not, the two of you are spending lunch hours together whether you’re grabbing a quick bite from one of the dining halls, splurging a little to eat lunch at an actual establishment, or killing time at the nearby bookstore a few blocks from the campus center.

⋆.ೃ࿔ long story short, you and abby have been spending so much time together and she knows she really likes you, but she can’t find it in herself to say anything because she doesn’t wanna scare you off with such a strong bout of emotions.

⋆.ೃ࿔ but literally everyone sees it! and it’s not necessarily that you’re oblivious, but abby’s accomplished, a really well-loved professor by both the department and her students, and even if there isn’t a ring on her finger, you’re convinced that abby’s got to have someone special in her life...it’s literally you.

⋆.ೃ࿔ even the students see it! dr. anderson’s been lagging recently during her last time slot and it doesn’t take long for a few students who love her especially so to see the way it takes her a little while longer to pack up and how she lingers out in the hall as your class ends!

⋆.ೃ࿔ “have a good weekend dr. anderson!” her last two students chime as they part ways with her. one of them glances over his shoulder and sees you filing out with a group of students from the adjacent classroom. “good luck.”

⋆.ೃ࿔ and abby’s beet fucking red when you finally lock up and ask her what that was about.

⋆.ೃ࿔ fast forward to now, it’s the final week before students are set to go home for the holidays and she’s a little down in the dumps because not only will she not get to see you for almost a month, but she’s usually alone this time of year and it’s agonizing to think that maybe you’ll be going home to someone else.

⋆.ೃ࿔ unbeknownst to her, you’ve been really nervous because maybe you’d overheard her talking to an adjunct professor, owen, about how she’d never gotten a personalized stocking made for her in response to seeing the one hanging on his shelf that his wife and kid had made for him this year, and perhaps you’d watched a couple youtube videos on stocking decorating and went out to buy the supplies right after.

⋆.ೃ࿔ admittedly, the last few days, the two of you are distant, her because she’s sad, and you because you’re probably spending every waking moment trying to think of ways to make the stocking perfect and you’re so in your head that you don’t even notice her change in demeanor.

⋆.ೃ࿔ and you try to make it perfect, really want abby to love her gift, so you fiddle around with it until the last possible moment.

⋆.ೃ࿔ you’re also nervous as fuck as you peer over your shoulder thursday afternoon, hoping dr. anderson doesn’t catch you in the act of staging her gift because frankly you’re too shy to give it to her.

⋆.ೃ࿔ even though you and dr. anderson are on great terms, she’s still so intimidating and you don’t trust yourself to make an ass of yourself, so you relay your message through a pretty piece of cardstock and tuck it into the bag before you’re scurrying off for the end of the semester.

⋆.ೃ࿔ finally, it’s the final day that campus will be open and abby’s trudging up to her office, only really intending to gather the last of what she’ll need since the buildings will be locked throughout the duration of holiday break, but she’s stopped dead in her tracks when she sees the sizable gift bag hanging on her doorknob.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “what that—”

⋆.ೃ࿔ she’s carefully moving around the tissue paper and her heart catches in her throat when she sees a blue stocking bulging with different treats and even a book! with her name carefully stitched on the band.

⋆.ೃ࿔ her first knee jerk reaction is that maybe owen pitied her and made her one, but a matching blue envelope catches her eye and she’s fishing it out of the bag.

⋆.ೃ࿔ recognizes your handwriting from the whiteboards when she’s stealing peeks into your classroom.

⋆.ೃ࿔ cheeks are flaming and stomach is tying in knots as she reads your note.

⋆.ೃ࿔ Firstly, I’m really disappointed I couldn’t deliver this to you in person, but my flight leaves for home on Friday... :( Nonetheless, you’ve been such a wonderful office neighbor and even more wonderful colleague. I truly can’t string together an adequate way to express how grateful I am to work alongside someone as kind and thoughtful as you, Dr. Anderson. You’ve quickly become such a dear friend and I hope you have a wonderful holiday! See you next year! ˆ<3

⋆.ೃ࿔ the fucking heart...the fucking heart!!! literally it’s all abby can fixate on before she realizes that there’s an ass of things tucked in the stocking and not only did you take the time to handstitch onto the fabric, but you took the time to gather things she didn’t even realize you knew she liked.

⋆.ೃ࿔ is unlocking her office so that she can pour the contents of the stocking onto her desk and she nearly dissipates into a pile of goo right then and there because there’s a few packs of her favorite gum (wintergreen), a set of her absolute favorite ballpoint pens (because gel pens are too runny for her liking), a giftcard to her usual coffee shop (“since I won’t be there to bring you your order” according to the note scrawled on the holder), a thick pair of argyle socks in her favorite colorway, and finally, there’s an annotated version of this is how you lose the time war.

⋆.ೃ࿔ and it has to mean something; your book choice and how you raved about it weeks prior during an excursion with abby to the public library, and you’d pulled the copy off the shelf and asked her if she’d read it.

⋆.ೃ࿔ “no,” she answered simply. “never caught my eye.”

⋆.ೃ࿔ “you should read it,” you’d said quietly. “their love was beautiful.”

⋆.ೃ࿔ and she’d never admit it, but she’d checked it out the following morning and blew through the book so fast, heart pounding in her chest as she realized that it was about two women in love. and, god, this has to mean something, she’d continue to agonize, even until this current moment.

⋆.ೃ࿔ and here an annotated version sits, your thoughts and inner feelings inking the pages. it makrs abby bubble with equal parts hope and sadness. sadness because it seems like way too long until she’ll see you again, and hope because maybe this means something more for the two of you in the future.

⋆.ೃ࿔ who knows, really. but abby’s certain that this holiday will feel a little less lonelier with her heart a lot more fuller.

neng © 2023

[hopeluna]

𖦹 ׂ 𓈒 ⋆ ۪ — 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐵𝑂𝑌 𝐼𝑆 𝑀𝐼𝑁𝐸 (𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆'𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏)

✘ Part of the writing event by @carolmunson ! You can find the prompts n dialogue here, pls feel free to join in and write your own version <3

✘ the scene: a romantic night-in at the trailer. 

✘ CW: eddie munsson x fem!reader, very much rom com vibes cause come on it's me, first time writing for eddie pray for me, was tryna do fluff but turned into hurt/comfort, mentions of financial insecurity, eddie being the best bf material out there. 1k

The trailer door creaks on it's hinges like it's going to fall off any moment. It hardly registers in Eddie's brain, pulling the door more forcefully open with a beaming grin to let you in.

He's practically vibrating from the pent up anticipation. It's been a few days since you both have properly spent any time with each other. Between you being busy with college and him playing to a steadily growing crowd at The Hideout, the past few days consisted only of short kisses and exchanging i love you's in passing.

Eddie didn't really wanna pester you much either. Even though he missed you these days like a starved man, the relationship was fairly new and blooming and he didn't have the heart to somehow accidentally mess it up right from the get go.

"What brings you to the freak's humble abode, my fair lady?"

He gives you a toothy grin when he sees you telling him to silently shut up. You weren't a huge fan of the 'freak' title. "I come with gifts!", you hold up the small pastel paper box like a medal.

Eddie lets out a low whistle, with a whisper of 'gimme', making animated grabby hands till you place the box delicately in his outstretched hands. He immediately digs in with hurried but careful hands, cautious to not damage the paper cause he knows you probably took hours to get it just right.

A soft smile pulls his lips up at the small pastries. It looks absolutely delectable. Whispy vanilla frosting coated all over the soft sponge, the scent of vanilla bean hitting his nose, little flecks of edible glitter and sprinkles all tied with a plump strawberry at the top.

"You made these?"

"Mhm! We did chocolate last week and red velvet the week before that, so I thought we could go for a classic vanil-"

Giggles fill the quiet space of the trailer, Eddie placing light, ticklish kisses all over your lips. His grin only stretches more when you shriek his name to let you go, "if you don't stop, we're gonna have a problem!"

"Oh yeah, sweetheart? And what is that problem?"

"I will-" you push Eddie away enough so that only your noses are touching "- revoke your kiss license." You let out a soft snort at your boyfriend's devastated expression.

"You wouldn't!"

"I would, baby."

Eddie's huffing away with a quiet 'meanie' as you shake your head fondly at him, nudging him silently to open the pastries. He carefully sets two out, putting the others in the freezer for Wayne when you come back from the kitchen with two chipped mugs. Eddie's heart falls a little at the thought of you maybe judging him for this.

"Eddie."

"Mhm?"

You roll your eyes with a smile, "don't just stand there, open the damn thing!" You nudge the poorly made cat themed mug in his hands- his favourite. You watch with wrung fingers as he practically balances more than half the dessert on the fork to shove in his mouth, leaving flecks of whipped cream and frosting on the corners of his mouth.

"It's so....sweet."

You wince without meaning to, "and you like that?"

Eddie lets out a amused laugh at your anxiety ridden face. "Baby, that's probably the second best damn thing i've tasted." He shines a gleaming smile on you at your own grin of accomplishment.

"What's the first?"

"You." Eddie's loud laugh fills the silence at your disgusted but flustered expression.

His face falters a little when you shove the throw pillow on the couch behind you to get comfortable. Eyes follow your hands as you tighten your grip on your own mug, the handle chipped away from wear. Eddie's gaze flits around the trailer- the old video player, the less than impressive flooring, the comfy but worn out looking blanket that you've draped over yourself. It's definitely not the white picket fenced dream most want. He feels comfortable here but do you? Maybe you sometimes wished to hang out somewhere els-

"Hey."

Eddie snaps his gaze over to you, expression nervous and concerned. "Um- yeah." Clearing his throat, he shifts a little forward to pick his notebook from the table, mindlessly going through it in an effort to seem busy.

"I-uh, i ran out of like, nice cups,-" he briefly gestures to the one in your hand, "-is that okay?"

He would've found your furrowed, confused expression cute if it wasn't for the small ball of anxiety etched in his throat. "Yeah- i mean, of course it's okay." You look back at the cup in your hand, then to him and back at the cup again. "Are you okay?"

The curls on his head seem to bounce a bit as he nods frantically, twisting the cover of the notebook in his hand "it's just, you know, that thing isn't the nicest " he gestures vaguely with his hand around you, "i mean-none of this is-"

"Eddie."

"The place isn't the most romant-"

"Eddie." His eyes go from looking around in the trailer to you, you who inched closer to him without him realizing. "I like- I love the trailer."

"But-"

"No, don't be like that. That's not even true. Just because it's not a house with a big front yard and white roofs doesn't mean it's nothing. It's home." You smile as Eddie's eyes widen almost unnoticeably as you cup his face in your hands.

"It's home because it has you in it. And I wouldn't change that for anything."

A breathy chuckle escapes you, Eddie now burying his face in your chest with arms snaked around your waist firmly. His voice is muffled against your shirt that you have to strain to hear what he says, "sometimes, I feel like you being my girlfriend is a very detailed fever dream."

You feel his smile against you as you press a kiss on the top of his head. The silence stretches for a while before you break it, fingers making mindless circles on his back.

"I also come here for the trailer park cats."

The gasp Eddie lets out, finally releasing you from his hold, makes it hard for you to not burst out ugly laughing.

"You would choose the cats over me?!"

"Maybe."

© hopeluna. Do not copy, translate, modify or repost any of my work in this or any other site. Do not steal or modify my ideas/concepts either.

[simpcityy]

My Little Spawn Pt.3 (Dadstarion X Child!Reader)

Summary: Astarion was finally free from Cazador after being kidnapped by a mindflayer but he was stuck with one annoying task, you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Baldur's Gate 3 or any of its characters.

Word Count: 2.1k

Warnings: Use of (Y/N), Cazador, language, violence, spoilers for those who haven't gone far in the game, mentions of blood, animal death...Uhhh...I think that is all.

Authors Note: Thank you all so much for the support! I am so glad you are all loving this series so far! As always please, like, reblog and comment if you are loving this series and hopefully others would like it as well. Also...THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 500 FOLLOWERS. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST. Since we reached this number, I would do another father figure series because I feel I'm much better at that than a romance x reader version. Who should it be? Gale? Wyll? Rolan? Gortash? So many choices!

  Astarion leans against the rocky wall watching you get swarm by the female druids and Tieflings coddling you from how adorable you are. He lets out a small smile seeing you pout as the ladies coo at you. He thinks back to the discovery he found out 2 nights ago. Dhampir, when has Cazador ever been involved with a human. More importantly which dumb female wants to be in a relationship with Cazador. He looks at you seeing you trying to squirm away from the ladies. He sudden thinks back how protective Cazador was with you. Never letting you step out of the palace even at night….no…he wasn’t protecting you but rather himself. He’s raising you as a spawn to conceal the reality of your powers. What a bastard but then again Astarion is not surprised, it’s Cazador after all.  

 You finally had enough of this ladies and burst out crying “Astarion!” You wail feeling overwhelmed. He sighs and walks over “Excuse me Ladies, I think the little one has enough and I hate for them to get cranky.” He picks you up walking away from the pouting ladies. “Now, now, there is no need to cry” He sighs and rubs your back as you whimper clinging on to his armor. “Don’t like the attention or what?” He asked as you only kept quiet whimpering a couple times laying your head on his shoulder trying to relax. He leans his head back trying to look at you, “Are…you okay, so odd of you to be quiet.” He mutters trying to find the group in the grove. “I just miss home…I miss papa…and everyone else…” You mutter. He sighs “there, there but you have me no?” He hums walking through the grove enjoying this simple conversation with you. “I want to go home…my clothes don’t fit much…it hurts me and I miss my toys!” You whine. Astarion lets out a chuckle “Oh what a spoiled little spawn…well creature…eh, you’ll always be a little spawn to me.” He puts you down looking at you, it was true, he did notice you were an inch taller than yesterday and your clothes did look a bit tight. “Oh you weren’t kidding…” He thinks looking around “Dhampir do grow faster and mature faster….” He mutters to himself before going to a trader seeing if they have anything in stock, fabric even. 

As he was busy, you stray from him as you spotted a few tiefling children playing. You ran over smiling “Can I play!” You stood in front of them. “Sure! You’re from Baldur’s gate aren’t you by the way you talk and dress?” One of them smiles, “What games do you play at home?” One asked. You think carefully. Games, well you play ball by yourself, Cazador has you learn reading and writing. “I…um…I don’t know…usually papa has me studying and sends his people to play with me.” You held your hands behind your back and kick your feet in a shy manner. “Oh…you’re those kinds…Um….I think I heard my mom calling” They quickly left as the others give other excuses and leave you alone. You only look down and grab the ball they dropped bouncing it on your own. “What’s the matter?” Gale walks over seeing the scene. You look up, eye glossy trying not to let tears fall down. “Making friends is hard…” You whisper “Back home there is no other children playing with me…” Gale looks at you thinking back to himself as a young child. “It is isn’t it?” He smiles gently grabbing the ball from you and tossing it to you playing. You smile giggling and toss it back to him. “I don’t have any friends at home to play with, papa never lets me leave the big castle…” You catch the ball as it was tossed back. “Is that so? I know how it feels to be lonely…how about this.” He catches the ball and placed it down as he squats to your height. “(Y/N) would you like to be my friend?” He smiles as your eyes widen gasping. “You mean it!” Your little body bouncing with excitement. Gale nods waiting for your response. “Yes!” You bounce happily “ I have to tell Astarion!” You ran off to find the pale elf. Gale chuckles watching run off to bother Astarion with a big smile on your face.  

The next day You were told to stay in the grove. Shadowheart chuckles watching you pouting away eating whatever was given to you. “I want to go out too!” You look up at her. She only sighs “How do I deal with children…you want to go out you say? I guess we can outside the gates and collect some herbs. I know everyone is going to need healing after this battle.” Getting up, she held your hand and walked outside of the grove. You ran around happily collecting flowers for everyone. “What am I supposed to collect?” You asked her. She smiles fixing your hair “See this herb right there, that’s what we need.” She points as your eyes follow the direction she was pointing at. You ran over picking it up smiling and collected more. She only sits by the rock watching you over as you collected whatever caught your little eye. You hum the same tune Cazador would hum to you. Collecting flowers you stopped seeing a bunny hop around in the distance. Shadowheart was busy playing with the artifact like a rubik's cube only to look up hearing the poor bunny squeal in the distance. She panics not seeing you and gets up putting the artifact away. “(Y/N)!?” She follows the sound before going down a small path behind a rock wall seeing you drain the blood of the poor bunny. You look up at her blood soaking your shirt and your lips stained. “What…are you doing?” She slowly walks over to you and kneels by you. You look at him “I…I didn’t mean to…I wanted to play with the bunny but…” You began to wail feeling overwhelmed by these urges. “Oh please don’t cry.” Shadowheart panics looking around, not knowing what to do in this scenario. “Where is the Spawn when you need him…okay. Let’s clean you up and a nap will help” She holds your hand ignoring the blood and toss the rabbit on the side into a bush for a wolf or other animal to chow on. She walks to the river and makes you wash your hands. “Relax, everything is going to be okay.” She whispers as you whimper. She collects water into her palm and rubs off the blood from your shirt the best of her ability. She sighs seeing the shirt to be now discolored into the blood stain. “Your bag is in the grove….we can’t let them see you like this.” She wipes your cheeks clean as well. You look over hearing the bush rustle behind her. Shadowheart quickly picked you up and took out her mace. “Who goes there!” She glares. You cling to her only to tear up seeing Astarion walk out of the bush. 

“There you are, I thought I smelled blood near the gate.” He was out of breath and bruised from the battle they came back. His hair was all over the place and had a panicked look on his face. Shadowheart puts her mace away “Don’t scare me like that! I could’ve swing!” She scolds at him. He paid no attention to her as he walks over seeing your face stained in tears and a scared look. He noticed your clothes stained in blood. He took you from her arms and held you close, his hand on the back of your head. “What in the hells were you thinking?! I thought it was your blood I smelled all the way from the gates! I thought you got hurt!” He yells but not loudly knowing how much you hate it. You only laid your little head on his shoulder crying into his shoulder, your fist clinging on to him. He softens a bit feeling your little shoulders shake, you were scared. “What happened?” He looks at Shadowheart ready to pin this on her. “What did you do to them!” He glares at her. Hearing the commotion, Tav found them along with the others following. “What’s going on? Why is (Y/N) crying?” Tav walks over ready to stop Astarion seeing the murderous glare at the young woman. “What did you do!” He repeats to her, holding you close. “Their Dhampir side came out…” Shadowheart looks at him, feeling a bit speechless seeing him get this overprotective. She snaps out of it and points to the bunny in the bush. Gale walks over but turns around quickly “If you have a weak stomach…I suggest not looking” He covers his mouth. Tav walks over and looks at the bunny. “Gods…its in pieces….” They whisper. Hearing their comments made you tear up. They think your a monster, they won’t be your friends anymore…they won’t take you to see your home and papa anymore. You only hide your face more, letting out choked sobs. “Enough! Think before you speak.” Astarion held you close “We just hide the damn bunny and do our best to cheer them up…they are feeling overwhelmed and not themselves…gods do you people ever use your brain?” He walks off holding you close. 

  Night fell, you were in Astarion tent, in the corner. The pale elf walks in holding food, “Your still human…you need to eat this….we can start implementing human foods more than blood to control that urge.” He sits by you. You only look at the plate, hugging your knees and shake your head no. “(Y/N)...it was okay what you did…it’s in your nature…and I know your scared…I was too…when I first became a spawn….” He whispers softly and scoots closer only for you to scoot away. “ No…I don’t want to you…or anyone…like I did to Mr.Bunny..” You tear up. “Is that why mommy didn’t want me…am I a monster…they…probably won’t be my friends anymore” You whispers thinking back their reaction to the bunny. Astarion looks at you before grabbing your arm, you gasp and try to wiggle away, scared to hurt him only to feel a warm embrace. Astarion held you close, planting a kiss on the top of your head. “By hells, you are speaking nonsense little spawn.” He rubbed your back. “If they thought of us as monster, we wouldn’t be here now…they…are odd in their own ways you know so no one is perfect.” He grabbed the plate “Now eat up” He feed you a piece of fish and sat you on his lap, making sure you ate. You happily munched feeling slightly better. 

  After finishing your food, you laid your little head on Astarions chest as he held you close in one arm while the other was busy reading a book about Dhampir’s he found in a box. Your little doe eyes look up seeing everyone walk to Astarion’s tent. You cling to him feeling anxious only to calm down as Astarion rubs your little arm, “Relax, they come bearing gifts” He hums. Gale was the first one to talk “(Y/N), it was rude of me to…you know…having a weak stomach but you have nothing to worry about, I will always be your friend.” He smiles and leans down leaving down a purple wrapped gift on the ground for you smiling. He rubs your head “Sleep well” He whispers before being pushed back by Karlach, “Hey little soldier! Look what I got you” She smiles placing the small stuff bear in your arms which you happily accepted. “Thank you” You whisper shyly hugging the bear. Shadowheart smiles as it was her turn. “I got you some pretty flowers and made a couple of bracelets, we both have one. “ She shows off hers and place the other next to Gale’s gift. Tav walks over smiling and crouched next to you and Astarion. “Mine…you’ll have to wait because I promise…I will take you back home” They pat your head. Upon hearing this, you gasp. “You mean it! I get to see my papa soon!” You sat up. 

Astarion leans back watching you interact happily with everyone, that fear gone. He chuckles seeing you yawn and rub your eyes. “Alright little spawn time for sleep.” He looks at the others shooing them away from his tent and picks you up, fixing the bedroll and lays down, holding you close. He wasn’t going to let you go through this alone, not on his watch. You’re his little spawn after all.

[forbidden-sunlight]

yandere!Jax with gender-neutral!magician!reader headcanons

Warnings: obsessive behavior, implied bullying, spoilers for the pilot episode.

There may also be possible triggers in this story.

If you do not feel comfortable venturing any further, please hit the 'back' button on your mobile device or computer and read something much more pleasant than a possible series of unfortunate events.

You are responsible for your own Internet consumption!

Hey guys and welcome to my very first fic for the indie animation that has shaken up Youtube, The Amazing Digital Circus! If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it! :) Special thanks to @ceoofdabicorpsensfw for helping me figure out characterization and with a few scenes I was struggling with in this new writing style I am trying out. If you would like me to write more TADC content on here or on my other blog @an-idyllic-novelist please let me know!

So with that being said, sit back, relax, and let's see what's going today in the digital plane! :)

Whenever someone new arrives at the Amazing Digital Circus, it would fall on either Ragatha or Alakazam to get them all sorted out before they start to lose their mind. Alakazam, of course, would be Caine’s reference to you. You couldn’t remember your name and the ringmaster needed a magician. Tit for tat as they say, right?

The daily adventures around the digital plane provide stimulation and prevent everyone from losing what remaining insanity you all had left, especially since you couldn’t eat or sleep. A routine is also very good too, as you have suggested to Pomni. But she still insists on finding an exit. Just like what you all have tried to do when you first came here.

If there is one person who is seemingly unaffected by the situation, you would have to say it would be Jax. Either that, or the purple-furred rabbit just didn’t give a shit so long as he got some fun out of it. The guy’s existence would have been obsolete ages ago if he didn’t insult Kingler or ‘accidentally’ broke Gangle’s comedy mask for the nth time, which would lead you or Ragatha to calm her down long enough for it to be properly fixed for the next adventure.

What you did not realize, however, was that the pranks Jax pulled on you were actually much tamer compared to what he did to everyone else. Especially when one of them was getting more attention from you than he was receiving.

After all, there’s nowhere else in this place who can keep up with his sass and jokes and not get so bent out of shape over something small like popping a balloon right next to your ear. Maybe Ragatha, but she’s so boring~.

Not only would Jax be a possessive yandere who can get jealous easily, he’s also curious. He wants to know everything about you, down to the smallest detail about what you did today, yesterday, and the day before yesterday. Don’t be surprised if one of your items goes missing, only to have it suddenly turn up the following day. Actually, you might not wanna know why Jax took it and what he even did with it. If he took your journal or your playing cards, the last remaining building blocks of your sanity in this place…well, you must have done something to really piss him off.

Who knows? Maybe if you gave him the attention he craved for and even participated in a well-meaning, harmless prank, Jax might leave a love letter on your bed, written with a [Favorite Color] crayon inside the shape of a purple heart.

If you had a really bad day that led to your abstraction, Jax would also go insane. Because losing his darling, the most important person in his life, would finally push this childish jackass to his breaking point and just…let it go.

Taglist

@angelltheninth

@nunezs-stuff

@dragonempress18

@thejester0897

[jahayla-parker]

Hi!! I love your work SO much! I wanted to ask for a Jeremiah Fisher x Fem!Reader (established relationship) lengthy imagine. I want the skinny dipping scene from start to finish with the clothes stealing and stuff. I want the reader to call Jeremiah shaking, sniffling, with tears in her eyes. Then the brothers come and the girls get changed, Taylor and Belly go with Conrad and when they leave Reader has a pain attack and Jeremiah comforts her. Sorry if this is a lot to ask. Love ur writing! Ty!

Rescue Me : Jeremiah Fisher x Reader

Descr: 6.3k wc, y/n is with Belly and Taylor when the other Deb girls steal their clothes while everyone was skinny dipping, leaving her to rely on her boyfriend Jeremiah Fisher to come to her rescue. Hurt comfort, slight angst to fluff

Warnings: Skinny dipping, stealing clothes, fake/mean people, crying, anxiety, betrayal, mentions of being naked (no smut or spicy content), relationship components and such, & cursing. Let me know if I missed anything!

“Put a finger down if you've ever made out with two people within 24 hours of each other,” Taylor said, glancing around at the group of girls.

Gigi, Nicole, and Taylor all lowered a finger as instructed. The girls were circled around the deck of a large boat, hanging out and getting to know each other. It was fairly late but the warm summer weather kept the evening air at Hopper’s Cove still comfortable for now.

After she finished laughing, one of Belly’s debutante friends spoke up. “Okay, put a finger down if you've ever used a stuffed animal to...” she trailed off. “… you know,” the girl concluded boldly.

“His name was Harry Bear Styles,” Taylor defended, putting another finger down.

The girls all laughed as they debated if Taylor having had a name for the bear was normal.

Y/n leaned back against the side of the boat as she took in the way the moonlight reflected on the water beside them. It was a peaceful scene.

“Okay, put a finger down if you've ever had sex.”

“If you've ever been to third?”

“Put a finger down if you've ever gone to second.”

The questions came one after another, hardly enough time for anyone to even comply with the instructions for the first one before the next came. Y/n noticed the way they all seemed directed at Belly, each deb’s eyes staring at her to see if she was putting any down. It wasn’t a surprise to see the debutantes were more interested in Belly’s answers than each other’s; most of them knew each other thoroughly already, but Belly was new to the deb scene. It also came as no surprise that they didn’t seem to care about y/n or Taylor’s answers to their interrogation-like questions; they weren’t debs after all. As far as the girls saw it, Taylor and y/n weren’t even “true” Cousin’s Beach girls since they’d been invited rather than having grown up here.

Y/n and Taylor shared an empathetic expression as the questions weighed in the air. It was clear the debutantes were judging Belly for not having put a finger down to any of the questions. It wasn’t anything Belly should be concerned or ashamed about, much less made to feel that way over. Y/n tried to send the girls a silent look that would make it clear they needed to back off a bit. But, as expected, the debutantes were ignoring y/n completely.

When y/n turned back to look at Taylor, she noticed the look in her eyes. Y/n watched as Taylor silently mouthed “You and Jere?”. She instantly knew what she was getting at. The debutantes were known for having a thing for the Fisher boys; understandably. They also didn’t know y/n well and hadn’t been around her or her and Jeremiah much since they started dating. In fact, it was Belly’s suggestion that y/n get to know these girls better, ideally becoming friend with them, that brought y/n here. Outside of Taylor, the Fishers, and the Conklins, y/n didn’t know anyone in Cousin’s.

The awkward shuffling of Nicole’s feet against the deck of the boat helped y/n refocus on Taylor’s unspoken question. It would be a good change of topic, and Belly clearly could benefit from that. She nodded at Taylor, earning a smile in response.

Taylor smirked as she looked around the boat before side eyeing y/n teasingly. “Put a finger down if you've ever made out with Jeremiah Fisher,” she purred.

When y/n’s ring finger hit the base of her palm, the girls all gasped.

“Wait you two got together?” Dara, one of the debutantes asked, her eyes wide. She leaned forward, arms resting on her legs, visibly intrigued.

The plan had a worked.

“They have been together! Jeremiah has been in love with her for like forever,” Taylor commented happily. As a friend of y/n’s, she’d always been supportive of her healthy relationship with Jeremiah. She shifted her focus across the board and chuckled, “sorry Gigi”.

“No, it’s fine,” Gigi said. Yet, it was clear she was not pleased. She had a newly-present scowl of jealousy on her contoured face. It was no secret she’d long harbored unrequited feelings for the younger Fisher brother.

“I was wondering why he seemed so preoccupied this summer,” Marissa commented, a small smile on her lips.

“And it explains why he’s always staring off at the y/job/station,” Gigi acknowledged, forcing a kind expression to take over her face.

Y/n bashfully bit her lip as she gazed down at her lap. Y/job/station was where y/n had been working for the summer since she needed some extra income and everyone seemed to have some obligation to attend to. She knew her working there was the main reason her boyfriend Jeremiah had decided to actually work this summer instead of just relaxing. He’d said so himself when teasing her about how she wasn’t letting him skate by on his father’s finances anymore. But, had he really been staring over at her while she was working? There was no reason for Gigi to lie about it. And her jealousy about Jeremiah allegedly staring at y/n was blatantly obvious. So, it must be true.

The girls laughed loudly at y/n’s bashful reaction. “You’ve made out with him and this is what flusters you?” Marissa joked lightly, her polite smile showing that she was teasing. The question made y/n even more bashful, only igniting the innocent giggles further.

“So, you’re with Jeremiah?” Nicole asked, redirecting the conversation.

Y/n nodded with a proud smile. “Yeah, we’ve been together for awhile,” she answered softly.

Nicole hummed. She tilted her head as her eyes focused on y/n. “So, you’re probably pretty close to Conrad too then, yeah?” She inquired.

“We’ve all been friends for years,” Belly spoke up as y/n questioningly looked over at Taylor.

Nicole smiled sympathetically at Belly. “Right, but you can’t seem to get a solid answer out of him for me,” she pointed out, not knowing how badly it stung the newest debutante. Nicole shifted her attention back to y/n.

“I’m sorry?” Y/n asked, not caring for how drastically the tone had changed. Or the way Nicole’s interview of her prompted all the debutantes to silence as they visibly waited in anticipation for her answer. She felt Taylor shift closer to her, making her look her way briefly before facing Nicole again.

“Do you think he’s, Conrad, is actually into me,… or?” Nicole asked directly. Her face displayed her embarrassment over having to ask such a thing, especially to someone she barely knew. But, the hopeful look in her eyes simultaneously showed why she wanted to ask.

Y/n swallowed thickly as she mentally reminded herself not to look over at Belly instinctively. “Oh, uh.. I don’t..” she rambled. She slowly glanced at each of the girls and their eager eyes. “I’m sorry… “ she began in a soft shy tone. “I don’t really know those details of Conrad’s life,” y/n said, praying it was enough to stop further questioning.

“Conrad’s a closed book,” Taylor stated with a forced airy laugh.

Nicole signed but nodded.

“Enough about the Fisher boys,” Taylor decided. Her last topic change hadn’t gone the way she wanted. It was time to try again. “Put a finger down if you’ve ever been skinny dipping,” she instructed, lowering a finger as she met Nicole’s stare.

Y/n let out a tiny sigh of relief as the topic successfully changed, Nicole putting a finger down.

“Put a finger down if you've ever gone skinny-dipping at Hopper's Cove,” Nicole amended, holding eye contact with Taylor.

“Is that a dare?” Taylor laughed.

“Absolutely,” Nicole smirked playfully. She turned to see the water outside their boat. “Let’s go,” she hummed, rising from her seat.

“Oh, my God, I knew my boy'd rally!” Steven screamed when Jeremiah showed up to the party.

Jeremiah had been at home upset that y/n had chosen to go out with the girls instead of spending the night with him tonight. But, after thinking it through, and Susannah lovingly scolding him, he got over himself. And what better way to kill time than a party?!

Jeremiah cheered as he dried the dribble of alcohol on his lips. “It's an ice luge! Come try it! Steven, come on!”

“I was so worried it would be freezing,” y/n admitted. She tilted her head back to let the water soak her hair again. “But, it’s not that bad!” She laughed.

Nicole nodded and smiled at y/n. “I know, right?!” She agreed excitedly. “It feels nice actually,” the deb stated confidently.

Taylor stated her agreement and Belly simply nodded before splashing around. The girls’ laughter rang out through the moonlight atmosphere as they continued to enjoy their night.

Gigi jogged down the dock. She began removing her shirt as she laughed at Nicole’s shock of being hit by an unexpected splash from Taylor. “Hey, watch out for jellyfish,” Gigi commented, setting her top next to the other girls’ clothing a foot from the edge of the dock. “I do not want to have to pee on any of you guys.”

Belly laughed loudly. “Ewww,” she gushed, shaking her head.

“The other two girls missed out,” Taylor attested. Y/n nodded silently as she closed her eyes. She focused on the feeling of the water gently caressing her fully-exposed skin as it glided across her. She extended her neck and rested the back of her head against the top of the waves. Since she was nude under the water, she didn’t bring her body up to fully float on the surface. But, she let her legs and hips become slack, allowing the water to raise them slightly beneath the modesty of the water’s surface.

“I know,” Nicole scoffed. She looked over at Gigi as the girl began to remove her pants, wondering what was taking so long. “I figured Dara wouldn't, but Marissa?” She asked rhetorically.

“Yeah,” Taylor agreed. “That's what I thought,” she explained. She had tried to get a feel and understanding of each of Belly’s new friends. Her analysis lead her to the same expectation that Nicole stated having had.

“Nicole!” Gigi called out. She bent down to see the phone screen better after having heard it beep.

“Yeah?” Nicole replied, starting to swim over to her friend.

“Conrad's texting you,” Gigi informed Nicole after seeing his contact name on the screen.

“Okay, coming!” Nicole smiled. She quickened her strokes as she rushed over to see what the message said.

Y/n opened her eyes to look at Belly to see how she was doing over Conrad texting Nicole this late at night.

“This is so nice,” Belly said absentmindedly as she spun around in the water.

“Have to admit Belly, l like your new friends,” Taylor confessed, looking over at y/n for her feedback.

Y/n smiled softly towards Taylor. She wasn’t sure about the girls just yet. She didn’t care for the way Nicole and Belly were in love with the same guy. Not that it was either of their faults, or anyone’s fault per se. But, it felt pretty clear that if things went down, the girls would instantly side with Nicole over Belly. And y/n worried about that for Belly’s sake. But, she was at least happy Belly was still enjoying her night despite Conrad’s interruptive text.

“I knew you would,” Belly smirked smugly.

“They all seem to have moved on about pestering you about things with you and Conrad,” Taylor stated, having looked at the situation with Nicole much differently than y/n had.

Belly hummed carelessly as she spun back to Taylor and y/n. “Because there’s nothing to move on from, right?” She argued, trying to remind herself to resist getting feelings for Conrad again.

“Right,” Taylor nodded happily.

“They seemed supportive of you and Jeremiah too,” Belly stated, smiling at y/n hopefully. It was clear she wanted y/n to like her new friends the way Taylor did. And she hoped this act of support would encourage that.

“Even Gigi,” Taylor murmured quietly, knowing the girl was not too far behind them. “Whose veins just about exploded when she heard,” she added comically.

Y/n giggled and nodded, having seen Gigi’s comical reaction as well. She glanced over towards the dock to see where said girl was, only to not see anyone there. “Uh, guys…-,” y/n began quietly. However, she was cut off when the headlights from Nicole’s car flashed across the water the three of them were still in. She squinted and saw Nicole was driving and Gigi was in the passenger seat. The car had been started and before y/n could even find the words to communicate her observations, the car began to back out.

“I knew they were bitches!” Taylor huffed. She spun sharply, sending waves outwards from her body. She quickly began swimming to the dock.

“What's happening?” Belly asked cluelessly. Her head whipped between y/n and Taylor.

“No, no…. No,” Y/n mumbled, getting nervous.

“Taylor, what's going on?” Belly asked again.

“They took everything,” Taylor explained as she leaned her arm on the dock. “Except for your phone,” she noticed. She picked up the device and realized why Nicole and Gigi had abandoned them. “Which has a really incriminating text from Conrad.”

“Wait, what does it say?” Belly questioned, voice dripping with intrigue.

Y/n hurriedly swam over to the dock. Her wide eyes scanned around them to try to find something they could use to wear home. The girls may have taken all of their clothes and y/n’s phone, but that didn’t mean it was time to give up. There surely had to be a way out of this with some dignity still in tact.

"My mom did ask me to ask you to the ball, but that's not why I did it,” Taylor read aloud. The mocking tone of her voice expressed her sentiments over the text from Conrad. “I did it because I wanted to,” she finished, rolling her eyes.

“Oh my God,” Belly grinned, resting her forearms on the edge of the wooden dock.

“Belly, concentrate,” Taylor scolded. After having seen the look on y/n’s face from her position behind Belly, Taylor frowned. “Y/n, you good?” She asked worriedly.

“Mmmhm,” y/n hummed falsely. “Just thinking about how screwed we are,” she concluded with a loud sigh.

Belly distractedly giggled gleefully as she stared off into the dark sky.

Taylor huffed in annoyance and smacked Belly’s arm.

“What? What? Okay, okay okay, w-well wha-what do we do?” Belly asked after seeing Taylor’s scolding glare.

“I mean, we cannot walk home naked,” y/n pointed out. They were stuck. She couldn’t call anyone without her phone. And they couldn’t walk anywhere without even the tiniest scrap of clothing to wear.

“It could be worse,” Taylor argued hesitantly.

“Taylor,” Belly groaned as she and y/n stared at Taylor in disagreement.

“We’re going,” Taylor determined. She removed herself from the edge of the dock as she prepared to turn and swim to shore.

“What could be worse than this?” Belly rhetorically asked with a loud huff.

“Wait!” Y/n gasped, her eyes landing on a thin layer of material beside the boat they’d been on earlier. It wasn’t ideal, but the large fabric that had been used as a boat cover would make do. “W-what about that?” She asked, pointing over at the dirt covered material beside the abandoned boat.

“Noo,” Taylor whined in a high-pitched voice.

Belly shook her head. “It’s better than being naked,” she said in agreement with y/n. “Let’s do it”.

Y/n bit her lip anxiously when another loud dog began to bark as she, Belly, and Taylor wandered down the dimly lit street. At this point she’d lost count of how many dogs they’d encountered. Yet, each sudden noise had y/n’s nerves soaring.

The trio was huddled together under the dingy and slightly stinky boat cover. Thanks to Nicole and Gigi, they had to walk barefoot down the roughly paved road. The breeze from the late night air had managed to snake its way under and/or through their makeshift coverage so they had curled in on themselves along the way.

“This is so bad. This is bad,” Y/n mumured. She continued to scan the area in order to keep an eye out whatever might be happening around them in the dark.

“I knew those girls were shit,” Taylor complained.

“Okay enough,” Belly sighed. “Okay I get it, you were right”.

Taylor suddenly stopped walking, making y/n and Belly turn to face her. “Why can’t we just call Conrad?” She proposed. “He’s the one who got us into this mess,” Taylor commented.

“I agree,” Y/n said, absentmindedly picking at her cuticles. “We are seriously going to be like murdered or kidnapped or something at this rate,” she panicked.

“No,” Belly groaned dramatically. “Calling Conrad would be too much drama,” she argued.

“I can’t walk two more miles,” Taylor whined, trying to cover her shoulders more with the thin fabric.

“Taylor’s right, let me see your phone Belly,” y/n instructed, extending her hand beneath the curtain of material around her. “I’ll call,” she offered.

“No, you’re both going to have to suck it up,” Belly stated firmly.

“Oh my God!” Taylor whined. She shared an exasperated expression with y/n but trudged on.

Y/n’s frame began to shake. She knew it was a mix between her anxiety and the air hitting her wet skin. The other girls had been going on and on about Conrad being a disaster for playing with Belly and Nicole’s feelings. But y/n was focused solely on trying to keep her breathing and heart rate steady. It was getting to be an increasingly harder job as the sound of some angry man could be heard in background of the street they were.

“Belly,” Y/n pleaded. Her voice crackled, and she had to stifle a sob. When Taylor and Belly quickly looked her way, she sniffled. “Please let me call Jeremiah,” she requested. The desire to attempt to stop her oncoming anxiety attack helped her realize that while she didn’t have her own phone she could use Belly’s since she too had Jeremiah’s number saved.

Belly nodded silently and hurriedly passed y/n the phone.

Y/n walked a few steps to the side, unable to truly distance herself from the girls given they had to share the protection of the boat cover. She scrolled through Belly’s contacts until she found his entry and quickly pressed call. As she placed the phone to her ear to wait, her vision began to blur from the tears in them. This was a disaster.

“Wait, weren’t you out with y/n?” Jeremiah dared to ask the pissed-off-looking Nicole. He was tempted to let her just take his brother aside to talk like she commanded, but he had to know why she wasn’t with y/n and the others anymore.

“I was, she’s still with the girls,” Nicole answered simply. She signaled for Conrad to hurry up. “I just needed to talk to Conrad,” she explained.

Jeremiah sighed in relief now that he knew y/n was still fine and enjoying her night with the girls. He leaned back against the step behind him on the staircase. He tried not to smirk as he watched Conrad reluctantly follow Nicole like a kicked puppy. He loved his brother, but also knew from how much turmoil his brother had been causing Nicole and Belly lately; he had this talk coming.

Conrad and Nicole had just stepped out of the doorway when Jeremiah heard his phone ring as it began to vibrate against his thigh. He lazily reached into his pocket and checked the caller ID. Why was Belly calling? He clicked accept and answered, “hello?”

“J-J… Jere,” y/n whimpered.

Jeremiah’s chest tightened as he heard y/n’s sniffles through the phone. “Woah, babe! Babe, baby, what…” he rambled. He forced himself to take a breath so he could speak coherently. “W-what’s going on? Are you okay?” Jeremiah questioned worriedly.

“N-no,” y/n cried.

“What’s going on Y/n/n? Where are you?” Jeremiah inquired as he jumped up from the stairs and rushed to the door. As he worked his way through the crowd he thought over how much he had to drink. Fortunately had not consumed too much, not enough to keep him from driving safely without having to wait for Conrad -who was the official DD-.

“I…,” y/n choked up, sniffling loudly as she tried to wipe the free-flowing tears from her face. “Jere,” she whimpered, not having heard his voice in a few seconds and her mind too frantic to realize he’d asked her a question.

“I’m here baby,” Jeremiah soothed. “Talk to me, please,” he requested softly.

“I … I need you Jeremiah,” y/n begged. Her hand held the phone painfully tight as her chest shook.

“I’m already on my way to you, babe,” Jeremiah promised lovingly as he started his car. “Just tell me where you are,” he instructed tenderly as he began to back out of his parking spot.

“I… I don’t…,” y/n groaned faintly. “I don’t know,” she confessed shyly.

“O-okay, that’s uhhh.., that’s fine,” Jeremiah reassured as y/n sniffled. “Can you see anything recognizable around you, sweetheart?” He guided.

“N-no,” y/n answered, pointlessly shaking her head. “It… it’s dark,” she explained, her fear ringing out in her words.

“I know,” Jeremiah said as he frowned. The time of day had only added to his worry upon hearing y/n cry as soon he answered the phone. “Tell you what, can you turn location sharing on for Bell’s phone?”

Y/n paused for a moment as a weight in her chest sunk heavily. “Oh, okay, I will, thanks,” she mumbled.

Jeremiah sensed that y/n was planning on hanging up to do as he instructed. He sighed to himself. She clearly wasn’t thinking thoroughly. “Babe, stay on the phone with me, okay?” He advised quickly before she could hang up. “Just put me on speaker while you adjust the settings, yeah?”

“Oh… right,” y/n sniffled. “Duh,” she remarked harshly towards herself as she placed the call on speakerphone.

“Shh, you’re fine y/n/n,” Jeremiah cooed. “You’re doing great.” He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he kept himself from nervously tapping it as he waited. Y/n didn’t need him being in a panicked state as well. She was already struggling. But that was precisely what had Jeremiah so tense and on-edge. He needed to get to his girl.

Y/n could feel that Belly and Taylor had intentionally sat close to her on either side of her as they sat on the curb. No one said anything. After all, what was there to say? After she’d gotten off the phone with Jeremiah, Belly apologized. Y/n struggled to try to reassure her that it wasn’t Belly’s fault. Thankfully, Taylor caught on to y/n’s intentions and conveyed the message before suggesting they all sit as they waited for Jeremiah to arrive.

Y/n stared at the shrubbery and trees across the road from them. It was barely even visible at this hour. But she found their stillness was slightly calming. Plus, it gave her something to focus on rather than ruminating over the multitude of fears that were screaming inside her mind.

As Jeremiah turned onto the street that Belly’s GPS location showed the girls at, he searched the area that was now lit up by his headlights; in search of y/n. He choked on a gasp as his eyes found her. She was draped in a soiled boat cover, her soaked hair dripping down the front of it, her eyes distant and full of tears, and she was visibly trembling. Whether that was from the cold, her emotions, or something else, Jeremiah wasn’t certain. What he was certain of however was that he should’ve gotten here earlier. Sure y/n had Belly and Taylor with her still. But, she was the only one in tears, the only one shaking. They all looked defeated and embarrassed. Y/n was in far worse shape than they were though.

Jeremiah forced out a choppy exhale as he flung his car door open. He only spared Conrad a minimal glance when his car pulled up beside him. But then his eyes were back on his girl. His far too polite, sometimes overly-trusting, lovingly protective, and all around sweet girl. She didn’t deserve this.

“Shit,” Belly cursed under her breath as she and the other girls looked over to the two sets of headlights. “They’re both here?” She asked Y/n accusatorially.

Y/n shrugged and sniffled. She tried to compose herself enough to state her innocence in this change of events. “I…I only talked to Jere,” she defended weakly.

“Belly,” Taylor scolded sharply, elbowing the girl in the side. “Stop,” she sighed. She offered y/n an apologetic expression on behalf of Belly.

“Oh my God!” Jeremiah exclaimed as he sprinted over. “Y/n, sweetheart, are you okay?” He asked. He shook his head, realizing his mistake. Of course she wasn’t okay. “I.. I mean, of course…,” he sighed.

As Taylor and Belly helped y/n stand up with them, he smiled faintly in appreciation. Jeremiah wanted nothing more than to simply hold y/n. To protect her from any further embarrassment, hurt, worry, from anything. But the predicament with their clothing complicated things. The fact the three girls were all sharing a musty old boat cover prevented that from being a viable option right now. Jeremiah used the minimal light of his headlights to scan y/n as much as he could in the dark. He stepped closer and cupped her cheek, tenderly drying a few tears with his thumb.

“What are you doing here?” Taylor sassed. She squinted at Conrad as he approached with a bag of clothes in his right hand.

“Nicole…. Uhhh…” Conrad began cautiously. He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

Jeremiah moved his hands to y/n’s shoulders. He respectfully made sure his hands didn’t touch any of her exposed skin and instead remained on the loosely wrapped boat cover excess that pooled there. He searched her eyes worriedly as he watched her turn her gaze to Conrad, seemingly wanting to know his answer as well. Jeremiah hummed softly as he craned his neck to look over at his brother.

Conrad glanced around at everyone as they stared at him expectantly. “She told me about ummm…and…,” he mumbled as he waved his hand around towards the girls.

Jeremiah narrowed his eyes at Conrad in question. He still hadn’t heard why the girls were stranded. All y/n said when asking him to come was that she needed him. Even after vying a bit for more information on his drive here, she’d only mentioned their group went skinny dipping and the three of them lost their clothes. He didn’t know where the other girls were, if they’d had their clothes taken too, or what Conrad had to do with all of this. But, the fact Nicole had been so pissed when showing up at the party and the fact Conrad had a bag of what seemed to be the girls’ clothes was damning evidence of a plausible explanation. But Jeremiah couldn’t focus on that right now. He certainly would later. Whoever all was behind making y/n this distraught would certainly be in for it soon. But for now, he needed to simply be there for her.

Jeremiah frowned, his brows furrowed. Y/n’s eyes weren’t on Conrad anymore, but her gaze was distant again. Her shoulders shook under the boat cover beneath his hands. “Sweetheart,” he whispered, moving one hand to her cheek. “Can you look at me?” Not getting anything in response, he tried again. “Y/n, just focus on me okay? I need you to talk to me, please”.

Taylor sighed softly. “It’s been a long night, Jeremiah,” she informed him, not caring to jokingly mispronounce his name the way she normally would. “Can you both just…?” She asked, looking between the boys.

Jeremiah nodded in understanding. He accepted the corner of the cover that Belly passed his way. He nodded his head at Conrad to signal for him to do the same with the other corner. He tried to steady his breathing and calm his anger so that when y/n was done, he could be there for her. He heard the girls stumbling around behind him and Conrad as they tried to dress.

Conrad glanced nervously over at his brother with a shy remorseful expression. He nearly winced when he was met with a hesitant but sharp glare as Jeremiah shook his head.

“You’re so not going with Conrad, right?” Taylor quietly asked Belly, her tone coated in a manner that showed she was instructing Belly rather than asking.

“Taylor,” Belly whispered. When Taylor looked her way, she nodded her head towards y/n as the girl stumbled while she worked to dress herself with shaking hands and presumably cloudy vision from her tear-filled eyes.

Taylor frowned; she felt horrible for y/n. She knew how bad her anxiety had been tonight. She nodded. “Fine, Conrad it is,” Taylor agreed.

“Wh-what?” Y/n asked, feeling eyes on her.

“Nothing,” Taylor smiled softly. “Just saying we’re going with Conrad,” she answered, helping hold y/n steady as she tried putting her shoes on. “You just let your boy take care of you, yeah?” She encouraged.

“Th-tha-thank-,” y/n began, sniffling as she tried to paste on a small smile for her friend.

“‘Course, girl,” Taylor hummed as she squeezed y/n’s clothed shoulder supportively. Seeing that they were all dressed now, she smiled at the girls and nodded for them to turn around. “Okay,” she said, no longer whispering between the girls, this time intending for the boys to hear her so they knew they could lower the cover and face them again.

Jeremiah quickly dropped his side of the fabric and spun around. Once he was facing the girls, he brought his hands up and cupped y/n’s face tenderly. His thumbs delicately swiped away her falling tears as he listened closely to her breathing pattern. “You’re okay, you’re safe sweetheart,” he promised.

Taylor smiled softly. “Take good care of my girl, Fisher,” she encouraged as she and Belly walked towards Conrad’s car.

“C’mere baby girl,” Jeremiah cooed, lowering his hands and opening his arms up for y/n. He squinted when she didn’t move to enter his embrace. “Y/n/n?” He asked.

“Are you mad at me?” Y/n whimpered.

“What?” Jeremiah ask, voice ringing with the sound of his disbelief. “Why in the world would I be mad at you?”

Y/n didn’t respond. She just sniffled and stared at her feet. Her sternum bounced as she tried to keep from breaking into a crying fit.

“You know this isn’t your fault,” Jeremiah murmured, “right?”

Y/n slowly nodded. “B-but I.. I..,” she protested vaguely, her breathing becoming more erratic.

“Aye, aye, aye, breathe,” Jeremiah instructed softly, taking y/n’s shaking hands in his. “Take a breath, love”.

Y/n sniffled as she unconsciously squeezed Jeremiah’s hands as she tensed. “I.. chose to spend time with them instead of-,” she mumbled.

“Ahh,” Jeremiah whispered to himself in realization. She was worrying about how they had a small disagreement over their plans for tonight. “Nah, nah, no, shhh,” he soothed. He rubbed the backs of her hands with his thumbs. “That doesn’t matter,” Jeremiah promised warmly.

“Jere-,” y/n protested.

“No babe,” Jeremiah said as he shook his head. “You haven’t had much girl time lately, I just got jealous of sharing your time, and you,” he blushed.

Y/n smiled weakly but genuinely. “But…,” she continued, her racing thoughts having taken over her mind by now. “S-still I … I left to see them, and then had to interrupt your night, and-”.

Jeremiah curled the left corner of his mouth towards as he gazed lovingly at y/n. “You can interrupt my night any time y/n/n, you know that. I don’t mind,” he told her.

Y/n sniffled, her eyes slowly finding their way to meet Jeremiah’s gaze. “But I…, it was your day off too, and I,” she hiccuped. “I ruined your evening, and all because I was too naive to-”. .

“Shhh, no. You’re not naive, they’re just mean girls,” Jeremiah defended. He softly pulled y/n’s hands closer to him. “You got caught in Conrad’s mess. I’m so sorry for that, honey, I am,” he frowned.

“Jere, ‘s not your fault,” y/n murmured.

Jeremiah gave y/n a grateful faint smile. “I know, but still, I-” he began.

“No, Jere,” y/n argued. Her breathing picked back up. She didn’t mean to make Jeremiah feel bad over this. She sniffled as she felt her nose run. “It-it’s n-n-,” she rambled.

“Okay, okay,” Jeremiah nodded. He delicately pulled y/n’s shaking body to his chest. “Oh and by the way, Y/n,” he said, her name coated in love. “You could never ruin my evening,” he attested.

“That’s it,” Jeremiah encouraged. He stared down at y/n as she continued to cling to his shirt. “You’re doing great,” he whispered. They were still on the street that he’d driven to when trying to find her earlier. She’d slipped into a full-blown panic attack moments after the other girls were in Conrad’s car.

“N..no,” y/n argued in a hushed voice. Her grip on the fabric of Jeremiah’s shirt intensified as she tried to catch her breath. “I still c-can’t b-bre-”.

“Yes you can,” Jeremiah promised, brushing y/n’s hair back from her face. It was true. She was breathing… shallowly… but still, she was getting air into her lungs. It was the only positive thing Jeremiah was clinging onto right now. “I wouldn’t dare let you sit here with me like this if you weren’t,” he pointed out warmly.

“F-feel,” y/n whimpered. She shifted off Jeremiah’s lap, the grass under him tickling her leg as she moved. She took hold of one of his hands and lifted it up. She placed his palm over the fabric covering the left side of her upper chest.

Jeremiah frowned as he felt just how fast his girlfriend’s heart was racing. He obviously already knew it was beating faster than normal. But, feeling it himself and seeing how desperate y/n was to make him understand why she felt she couldn’t breathe was a whole other matter. He sighed sympathetically. “Oh baby,” he cooed.

“Just lean on me sweetheart,” Jeremiah instructed when y/n returned to his lap in order to hold onto him again. “I’m here,” he hummed, y/n’s head burying into the crook of his neck, “I’m here”. Jeremiah closed his arms around y/n’s back and held her to him. Maybe if he could hold her tight enough, she’d realize she was safe and secure. He needed her to know that. She didn’t need to be afraid anymore. He just wanted her to see that. To believe that.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jeremiah told y/n. He rested his chin on her shoulder, tucking her under him even more. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you baby, I promise,” he declared softly. “You’re safe, you’re safe, you’re safe,” Jeremiah echoed, listening to the way her breathing calmed in sync with his reassurances.

“What is it y/n/n?” Jeremiah questioned lovingly as he glanced over at her from the drivers seat. He’d felt her eyes on him and when he looked her way, he saw he’d been correct.

“Just.. Thank you,” y/n answered with a soft smile.

Jeremiah smiled and shook his head. He peaked back at the street to enter the long straight strip of road was still clear. As his eyes once again found y/n, he sighed fondly. “You don’t need to thank me”.

Y/n shrugged and chuckled quietly. She bit her lip bashfully when she saw the way her laugh brought out Jeremiah’s characteristic grin. “I’m thanking you for coming to rescue me, whether you accept it or not,” y/n stated.

Jeremiah chuckled as his eyes playfully widened before looking back at the road. “Was that a threat?” He teased and squeezed y/n’s hand.

“Mmm, if it needed to be,” y/n giggled in defense.

Jeremiah’s smile grew as he listened to y/n’s laughter. “I love you,” he vowed, looking her way as he pulled up to the last stop sign before they were home. He nibbled on his bottom lip with smug giddiness. He was pleased she was feeling much better. But he was truly proud he’d been able to turn her night around and make her smile so excitedly after everything she had been through tonight.

“I love you too, Jere,” y/n hummed, squeezing his hand tightly. “My handsome, bubbly, knight in shining armor,” she complimented, beaming proudly when he blushed. She rested her head calmly against the headrest with a tranquil sigh as Jeremiah pulled in the driveway.

“Let’s get you to bed so you can sleep, hmm?” Jeremiah suggested, putting the car into park. He quickly exited the car and rushed to the passenger side before y/n could exit. “Did you want to sleep in my room tonight?” He offered as he opened the door for her.

Y/n nodded gratefully and let Jeremiah help her out of his car. She leaned against him as he wrapped himself around her from the side to walk with her. She yawned and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Y/n smiled up at Jeremiah when she felt him kiss the top of her head as he opened the door to the beach house. She was home and safe. Not just because they’d made it back to Susannah’s house. But because she had Jeremiah, because she was in his arms, guarded by his protective love and affection.

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[ghostflowerhotpotch]

Hey hey, MIles gets jealous a lot in this movie, buuuuuut what if we talk about Gwen? 👀

Oh ho ho, I know there has been memes and stuff about that, but sure, let's talk about it.

I know we all mentioned jealousy coming from Miles, but I think is kind of poetic, but also hilarious, how quickly we go from Miles's jealousy to Gwen's.

Specially if we go with the fact that once again, while Gwen doesn't really own any explanations to Miles here, nor has she done anything wrong by being friends with Hobie.

(Also look at Hobie, I want you to remember that. Also he is amazing so he deserves the extra attention.)

Yet what is her reaction?

"Oh, not that many."

I swear, I am trying not to laugh.

See what I mean? Gwen is not only aware that Miles is jealous, she is still is trying to downplay it; even when she is convinced they can't work, she doesn't want Miles to misunderstand her feelings; which she has tried to hide, but I think at this point she knows she isn't doing a good job at it.

(The entire clock scene was very close to a confession let's be honest.)

Also, about Hobie, remember how I was bringing attention to him in the first image? Yeah I am still not sure what to do with it.

Let me be honest with you guys, to get these images I do a lot of slow-motion, which also helps to let certain frames sink better and be sure that I am not just making up what I am seeing; since a lot of these moments are things that last seconds. Very blink-it and you miss it.

And while looking at this particular part, I realized Hobie's expression when he was still were...interesting.

Look part of the reason looking at frames matter in animation is because in real life; an actor could had looked at one direction because he saw a crew member do a funny face, but in animation, when you need to recreate the scene for scratch and will probably be staring at this scene a lot to ensure is up to standard, things tend to have a bit more meaning.

That being said, if you look the scene to normal speed, is extremely fast. Maybe too much for the animators to intend for us to notice something.

So what I am trying to say is that I wonder if Hobie is purposely setting Miles off, and if he is doing so, I honestly think is just to mess with them a little.

Moving on!

If I am honest, you could almost believe Gwen just wants to move on because Miguel is waiting for them and the guy is already aggro, that was my first impression at least, until I re watched and realized that they are just seeing a demonstration before going to Miguel, so they are 1) Really giving Miles a tour, and 2) Stalling. Which doesn't match going straight to the boss.

Also Gwen's voice; the first time I saw this I remember being surprised that Gwen was asking to start moving because before this point she didn't seem to be worried. Her tone definitely sounds a bit exasperated, specially considering again how little they actually seem to care to get to Miguel.

So yeah, Gwen DEFINITELY was asking to keep moving because Miles' was attention was too much in somebody.

Let's rewind a bit because let's face it, I don't blame Gwen for being jealous.

I wish my computer had a way to render a little video without imploding because oh this takes a hot second and yep Miles definitely was looking at Margo a little awestruck.

Let me preface this saying I will not tolerate any Hate to Margo or to Flowerbyte or the shippers. She is great, and I will not tolerate ship wars here.

That being said, Miles definitely is looking a little too much at Margo; I partially thing Miles was a bit shocked because it has been a while since his spider sense got receptive to other spider (which happened a lot in the first movie, not so much in this one for meeting so many spiders.)

But again, I don't think is crazy to say she caught his attention.

No, I don't think Miles is doing anything wrong here, just like Gwen didn't do anything wrong before. They aren't dating, Gwen tried to shut that down, and is not like Miles is trying to upset Gwen or anything. He was just caught off-guard.

Regardless, just like I cannot blame Miles for being jealous of Hobie, I can't blame Gwen for being jealous of Margo.

She hides it better than Miles for sure, but like everything else she does, it comes back to the details and her actions.

Remember, they aren't particularly in a hurry, and she suddenly sounds exasperated out of nowhere. Hmm.

Now, the next moment is very blink and you miss it, I barely had the chance to notice while going in slow motion, but between Gwen telling Miles to move on, and Miles looking at Margo's avatar, this is Gwen's face.

Is very fast, probably the type of thing you don't pick up in theatres, but damn, I am cackling.

I guess she really wasn't expecting Margo to get such reaction out of Miles.

This a good moment to say, that while looking at this, you can see Gwen doesn't have any ill-will towards Margo.

Unlike the previous moment, this expression of her stays for a good moment; I remember that upon first stumbling with the confirmation that Gwen is jealous of Margo, I was shocked to see that expression on her, almost like she herself remembered that Margo situation is far from perfect.

I am SO thankful with the creators for making sure that neither from Miles nor Gwen, we get the plot line of one of them being jerks out of jealousy. Yeah Miles briefly tried to be spiteful towards Hobie, but didn't take long too change his tune, not to mention that Hobie really didn't mind.

And Gwen at any moment is shown to be bitter towards Margo, regardless if Miles was doing puppy eyes at her or not.

I just realized now, that Gwen is actually the first one to say they should go.

I really believe part of this was because the go-home-machine was looking a bit perverse. Even Margo looks a bit unsure of what to do of this, so it makes me wonder if is normal for it to look this painful.

(Sidenote, considering Miles and Gwen looked okay when they got out from this machine, I think Rhino was in pain because he was glitching at that moment. That would explain Margo looking like this if it was "normal.")

It doesn't escape me that Miles' reaction is the most shock one, no idea if Gwen could had picked on that being behind Miles, but maybe she realized Miles didn't particularly enjoy seeing that.

However, what happens next?

And here, I can only show it properly with this gif.

I want also to reiterate, that "Let's go!" Was from Hobie, I think he was trying to warn Miles.

Because Gwen didn't repeat herself, she deadass just sent a web and YANK HIM.

Again, wanting to go see Miguel my ass, you guys didn't seem particularly interested on that before. Not to mention that hey, you can see she isn't asking anymore and considering how she was looking at Miles from behind I don't think is because she doesn't want to be late.

Is a bit too small to take a proper capture, and hard to see, but yep, she looks mad.

I love how Margo laughs after this, like sure, Miles is endearing, but I also bet my left kidney she also clocked Gwen's crush extremely quickly because of this.

I almost expect Margo and Pavitr discuss who is crushing harder in the sequel.

Sorry for making this so freaking long and with so many sideways, but I think I needed to point out a few things, hope didn't bored anyone!

Keep suggesting moments!

[cycat4077]

Gator's room: foreshadowing & clues

I went back to take a look at the scene of Gator in his room. While the "flag", girly posters, blaring heavy metal and handcuffs were an immediate stand out to all of us, I wanted to have a look to see if there were any other clues to who Gator is.

First up, here's his room:

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT FOR EPISODES 1-8

Let's look a little closer at the obvious foreshadowing.

Based on the previews and the Instagram post from the makeup artist (along with the subtle nods to Oedipus), it appears Ole Munch is going to torture Gator. We see him holding a knife to his eyes, and in the original trailer, Gator is bloody and blindfolded while being led by a noose.

Gator's own posters, decor, and drawings seem to depict this fate.

#1 The poster immediately behind his shoulder depicts a man with no eyes - potentially gouged out.

#2 The drawing below it has the eyes blocked out in colours that suggest necrotic (dead) tissue.

#3 The animal skull on his wall obviously has no eyes.

The Oedipus parallel and removal of his peepers were foreshadowed right in Gator's room from episode 3.

Linda's fate (mommy issues)

We learned in the last episode that Linda is dead. Roy tells Dot that he can burry Dot right next to Linda. When Dot confronts Gator and tries to win him over via his mother, Gator gets visibly emotional and shaken. We see hope and heartache run through him simultaneously. I think Gator knows instinctively that his mother is dead, but some small part of him hopes she is still out there.

I also think Gator's drawings depict his mother.

#1 This drawing not only depicts a person with eyes blacked out, but the drawing is clearly of a woman - possibly a corpse. She has breasts and long hair but is drawn in purples, reds, and blues; colours that represent bruises, blood, and dying flesh.

#2 The other drawing with missing eyes is also of a woman. This drawing once again has long hair, but she is smiling.

Perhaps Gator accidentally saw his mother's dead body. He has a drawing that represents a scary corpse (reality) and one that represents an almost comical one. Maybe the smile is how he tries to remember Linda - dead but somehow still smiling for him.

Other little things

#1 Robbed of childhood innocence. Gator's room is filled with "tough boy" items: swimsuit model photos, car photos, alcohol, heavy metal posters, etc. But he also has children's toy cars. The hot rod photos are in direct contrast to the toy cars on his shelf. The boy trapped inside the man. A boy robbed of his childhood by abuse and traumatic events.

#2 Jack Skellington. I'm probably one of the only people on the planet who have not yet watched The Nightmare Before Christmas, but the Jack Skellington parallels go beyond just the mask Gator wore. To me, it looks like he also drew Jack - and yet another reference to death. The skull's mouth is sewn shut too, just like Gator is sworn to obey his father and not speak the truths about what Roy has done.

#3 Red or Blue Pill? Again, I have failed to watch yet another classic film: the Matrix. But this poster seems to be a clear reference to it, I think.

According to Google, "The red pill and blue pill represent a choice between the willingness to learn a potentially unsettling or life-changing truth by taking the red pill or remaining in the contented experience of ordinary reality with the blue pill."

And if there's anyone with the last name of Tillman who will be forced to see reality (and potentially change), it is Gator. Gator will likely be forced this "red pill" by Ole Munch, either finally seeing the reality of his father's ways, or by becoming the next sin eater.

Whatever the outcome, the poster must have some sort of meaning!

That's all for now 😊 But I really love all the subtleties in this show! It's fantastically written and acted, and Joe is doing such an exceptional job playing this mutli-layered and morally ambiguous character of Gator!

***EDIT***

A post by @familyfriendlyhoho got me thinking about the drawing on Gator's wall. I was thinking that his drawings represent his dead mother, Linda and that he may have accidentally seen her corpse. The post theorizes that:

"I feel like Gator knew Linda was dead. but worst, I feel like Roy showed it to him."

And I think that this is the most-likely scenario. Roy is sinister enough to do something like that to his own son. I can imaging Roy telling Gator to stop being a loser and become a winner and, to drive the point home, he could have led Gator to Linda's corpse warning "this is what happens to losers".

If so, Gator's drawings would depict the corpse he witnessed. Even here, before Gator gives himself the "I'm a winner" pep talk, we see him glance towards the drawing - a reminder of what happens to losers. He then feels the need to convince himself that he is not one, despite what his father says.

[rivalsforlife]

Ace Attorney 456 Tokyo Game Show Information Masterpost

Since I haven't seen all the information collected in one place, this post SHOULD be a comprehensive review of everything revealed today - though please let me know if I missed anything important.

New Trailer and Release Date

We got a new trailer for the 456 collection, which covers (most of) what I'm going to say in this post, and a release date of January 25, 2024!

New Features

Language Support: These games are now available in seven languages: Japanese, English, French, German, Korean, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese, along with voice dubs for each of these. These are some of the first times some of the games (in particular 5 and 6) are officially translated to many of these languages.

DLC: The previously DLC-exclusive cases Turnabout Reclaimed and Turnabout Time Traveler will be added to the game for free, along with previously DLC-exclusive costumes. You can dress up Phoenix in the Tigre outfit from the beginning!

QOL: As well, any of the quality of life features from the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles have been added to the 456 collection. This includes an episode/chapter select unlocked from the start, so you can skip straight to your favorite sections, autoplay and story mode, and a backlog/history to review recent text.

Art Gallery: The game will also include an "art gallery" which includes concept art for the games. This will also include special artworks commissioned exclusively for this collection, some of which are unlocked after beating each game and unlocking each trilogy.

Orchestra Hall: There is also an "orchestra hall" where you can listen to what seems to be the full soundtrack for all three games (though I haven't verified this), along with orchestral tracks from the 15th anniversary and 2019 orchestra concerts.

There are also two new "trilogy exclusive" songs: "Apollo Justice - A New Era Begins! 2024", and "Trucy's Theme - Bring It In, Everyone". The new "a new era begins" remix might possibly be what they're playing in the trailer. "Bring It In, Everyone" is distinct from Trucy's main theme, "Child of Magic" (listed earlier in the soundtrack list), so I have no idea what that one will be like.

Animation Studio: This new feature allows you to play around with character models, setting up different backgrounds and sprites and settings, to create whatever scene you want. This doesn't seem to have a text feature, so it just seems kind of like a worse objection.lol but with 3D sprites. (Although I'm sure the objection.lol people will find a way to rip the models in like... five minutes of the game's release)

Preorder Information

It seems we overseas people will only have the collection available digitally, but Japan seems to have physical copies along with a lot of preorder bonuses! You can find the official page here.

This includes the following:

Game Software: You can order this standalone, or with the other preorder goods, or seemingly just the goods on their own without the software included.

Original Drama CDs: Two new drama CDs are being developed for this collection! As far as I can tell, one involves the Gavinners attempting a one-night-only revival of the band (which goes poorly...), and the second involves Taka fleeing the courtroom.

Evidence and Items Set: This includes ten pieces of evidence available from the games, along with some original illustrations. As can be seen above, this includes things like the photo of Apollo and Clay from Dual Destinies, six ID photos of major characters, and a signed poster of Klavier.

As well, a new sleeve box drawn by Takuro Fuse, the character designer for 5 and 6.

That should cover everything, but please let me know if I missed any news!

[cheesemonky]

Chapter 2: Just Listen To Me!

pairing: fairy!felix x fairy!reader

Series Masterlist

Word count: 2k

summary: A fairy gets their wings once they're 13. A normal one at least. You're 23, and still without any. This leaves you without a mate, because who would love a wingless fairy? So when you decide to leave, it's quite the surprise to find a fairy with a wing missing…

warnings: swearing, a shitton of dialogue NOT PROOF READ lmk if i missed anything :3

You hesitated for a moment, taking in the sight of the injured fairy before you. His breathing was laboured, and his body lay still as if he were dead. Almost his entire back was bloodied, as well as the ground around him. How long had he been here like this? After some contemplation, you approached his body slowly. Crouching down, you managed to get a closer look at his wound. Someone or something had completely ripped out his left wing. There was no sign that any animals were recently in the area, nor any humans. Dread settled in the pit of your stomach as you examined the gruesome scene before you. The absence of any immediate threats allowed you to focus on him. Gulping down your unease, you carefully inspected the wound. It was a clean tear, as if someone deliberately removed the wing. The unnatural precision made shivers run down your spine.

“Who could have done this..?” You muttered to yourself. Broken wings weren’t a rare sight, but to have an entire one torn out was… more than unusual. Your fingers traced the edges of the wound, and the blood felt far from fresh. Suddenly, you heard the caws of birds overhead. You had to get him out of the open. Hooking your arms under his, you dragged him out towards a large tree. Propping him up against the trunk, you set down your backpack, rummaging through it to find a shirt. You ripped a long piece of cloth out of it and wrapped it around the wound and across his chest. He didn’t sustain any other injuries, as far as you could tell. Maybe… you could stay with him a while. Just to make sure he was okay when he woke up. So for hours you waited, waited for him to come to his senses.

Just as you began to doze off next to him, you heard his breath hitch. It was a few seconds until his eyes finally fluttered open, and god, were they the most perfect things you’ve ever seen. He looked over at you for a moment, confusion and pain evident in his gaze, before he shuffled away from you. His eyes widened as he took in his surroundings and the makeshift bandage on his back.

"Where... am I?" he rasped, his voice barely audible.

“Australia.”

“Yeah, well, I know that…”

“Then I don’t know what to tell you.”

“What state..?”

“Sydney. What, you not from around here?” He sighed deeply at your words, rubbing his temples partly in weariness and also in annoyance.

“I am but… this isn’t my home.”

“Where is it then?”

“Well, you see, I’m a fairy so I live in a village with other fa-”

“I know, idiot, but that’s not what I was asking.” He looked at you in confusion and a hint of hurt. You were coming off a lot harsher than you wanted to. Maybe so long without any interaction was the cause.

“Sorry- let’s try again. What’s your name?”

“Felix. You?”

“Y/N. You’re a fairy, right?”

“Yeah. What about you?” You fiddle with your hands a little, attempting to keep your voice steady. To be fair, it wasn’t his fault. You don’t have any wings, so how could he tell?

“A fairy…” You mumbled, hoping he would sense how uncomfortable you were and drop the question.

“Hm? What did you say?”

“A fairy.” You said, slightly louder and firmer this time. And once again, the now familiar face of confusion he seems to like bearing appears.

“Where are… what happened to your wings?”

“Does it really matter?”

“I’m just asking… did they take yours as well?” You felt a little bad for him, honestly. You were being so unpleasant to someone you had just met and saved the life of. 

“I never had any.”

“What?”

“Wings. I never had any wings. I never got mine.”

“I feel like you’re lying to me.” This time, instead of snapping at him, you turned your body to face him. You hadn’t noticed, but he was listening quite closely to everything you had been saying. Hands in his lap, head tilted to the side and his face was clearly focused on what was being said.

“I’m not. I just… never got wings.”

“How do I know you aren’t just a tiny human?”

“Have you ever seen a human this small?”

“... no.”

“Exactly.” For a while, he looked away and at the tree in contemplation, fiddling with some of the peeling bark. You weren’t sure if he believed you or not, especially with how unreal your story sounds to others. With the silence dragging on, you decided to raise a question that should’ve been asked at the start.

“So what happened to your wing?” His eyes widened as he realised that he in fact did have a problem with his wing. He turned his head to get a good look at the shiny piece of him that was laying a few metres from where he was before, still with ling

“I… don’t think you’d believe me if I told you.”

“I literally told you I was a fairy without wings.”

“Well-... okay, fine. In my village, I was part of this group called Stray Kids.” Strange name, but okay. Who were you to judge? Plus, the name sounded somewhat familiar.

“We’re… not really superheroes, but we did help in defeating the Sound Monster.”

“Wait, that was you? The news of you guys taking it down was going around everywhere! I heard it even reached parts of Korea, which is like, really far away. Maybe not superheroes, but definitely celebrities. Is that how you lost it?” Though you chose to believe it, you still had a few doubts. Was it really this sweet and adorable young man who helped kill it?

“Nah, it was too long ago for my back to be bleeding out now. You see, after we took it down I went back to just see if we missed anything. And we did. There were these strange pieces of… something that had formed after the battle. I picked one up and I felt more magic in that moment than I have in my whole life.” The story started to sound a little more unbelievable now, yet you continued to trust him on it.

“I hid it well for a while. I didn’t even tell my friends. Until I had to defend myself and some other against a human. I used a bit too much magic and someone from our council was there to see it. I had an entire court trial and everything! I didn’t realise having too much magic was a crime.”

“It isn’t. Not where I’m from.”

“Well, it was more “illegal possession of unidentified magic” and “dangerous use of magic”. But how was I supposed to know?”

“Okay, those sound more like things you could be arrested for. But the wing..?”

“Right. So, it turns out fairies are idiots and the only way that they know how to get rid of someone’s magic is to take away a wing or two.”

“So they just… ripped it out?”

“Basically.” You couldn’t help but feel bad for him. To have a part of you just taken away like that would mean immense pain, physically and mentally. And it makes sense now as to why the cut was so clean. 

“Did it work though?”

“A little too well. I lost that extra magic plus some of my own. I haven’t got much left anymore.”

“So what now? I mean, I could teach you a thing or two about living out here but I'm not letting you follow me around." Actually, you probably would. Even though you're glad that all those who hurt you are in the past, you still get lonely. Plus, he's kind of like you in a way, no? With a missing wing and all.

"Huh? What, no way! I need to get my magic back!" He said with a bit more cheeriness than necessary. It was your turn to be confused now.

"And how do you plan on doing that exactly?"

"Okay, now you won't believe me." Has this guy really not learnt anything? If an anomaly such as yourself can exist, you're sure that others could as well.

"Just tell me. It's not like my opinion will stop you anyways." Glancing at you once more, he took a deep breath and continued his story.

“Well, since I was young, my mother always told me this story about-”

“Wait, wait, you’re going off of a children’s story?”

“I-I mean, it’s pretty believable… Plus it's not a children’s story! There’s been a lot of people who’ve actually managed to do it…” You were starting to get a little suspicious with his story. You didn't want him to get into any unwanted trouble or danger.

"If you want me to be convinced, you should try a bit harder to make the story believable."

"Didn't you say it didn't matter what you thought?" You opened your mouth to respond, but you closed it straight after you realised you had no response. There wasn't anything you could say about that. You sighed, nodding once for him to continue.

“It’s been rumoured that somewhere deep in our Bush, the Heart of Eris is still there.”

“Eris… Eris as in the Goddess of Fairies?”

“Yes, that Eris. It’s the thing that sourced all fairy magic and the reason we still have it.”

“... please don’t say what I think you’re gonna say…”

“Look, just listen to me, yeah? I’m gonna try to find it!” You fucking knew it. He really did live up to the ‘dumb blonde’ name. What was he thinking, following the story of a children’s tale? And he didn’t even have a proper amount of magic!

“You are literally gonna die out there.”

“Then come with me.”

“...huh?” You stared at him a while, trying to see if he was being serious or not. You felt like you were the only one using any of their brain cells at that moment. He wants you, a fairy without wings or any magic, to go with him, an injured fairy who has barely any more magic than yourself, to find something that probably doesn’t even exist?

“No.”

“What- why?! Come on, maybe we could even get you a pair of wings!” For a moment, you were tempted. Even after learning to live without any, you’ve always known that you would be happier if you did have them. But wasting all of your hard work out here to go look for something that could get you killed? Not worth it.

“I said no. That’s it.”

“I-... fine then. It’s not like we’re friends anyways. I’ll go myself.” As he began to stand up, you grabbed his arm gently. You were a little surprised he didn’t put up more of a fight.

“At least rest for a while. You’re still injured.” He stood still for a moment, not facing you, before settling down back where he was before. You had to stop yourself from smiling at the small pout on his face as you grabbed some things from your bag. Pulling out a small blanket you had brought from your old home, you passed it to him while you grabbed a sweater for yourself. He mumbled a small thank you before turning to lay on the ground. You stayed up for a while, just until he fell asleep before falling into your own slumber. But your dreams were unexpected. They were those same nightmares. The ones you hadn’t had for ages now. They were back and they hurt so much more than last time. Though, there was someone in the background. You heard Felix’s voice, talking so sweetly about something or other. And then there were wings, and the Heart of Eris and everything he had talked about. Was this dream telling you something?

The next morning, you woke up early to find some berries or small nuts and seeds to eat. By the time you got back, Felix had woken up too and had folded your blanket for you. Holding out a seed for him to take, you packed your blanket back in.

“I’ll be going now. Thanks for the help though.” His smile was far too bright for you not to change your mind. Plus, that dream wasn’t any help.

“Let me help you more.”

“What?”

“I’m coming with you.”

taglist: @mumusreblogs @kai-lee08 @2minstan @painstakingly-juno @jinnie-ret @juskz @nvmkyuu @asp3ntr33 @cinnabunnyongbok send an ask to be on the taglist!!

leisel's note: helloo!!!! this is kinda of rushed and there is a lot more dialogue than i wanted but i cant help ittt im sorryyyy but yeah thanks for reading and reblogs are always appreciated :3

[neruro]

VOD 02 - at least give me pity donos!

first time chatter...? | scara x reader smau

He felt something strange at the sight.

Kazuha and Heizou playing with their (namely, Albedo and Kunikuzushi's) Switch on the floor, Albedo at the edge of the couch working on whatever illustration, and Kunikuzushi himself.

'Being next to someone again... I don't mind it.'

Kunikuzushi wasn't going to pretend he was familiar with any type of companionship. It was by sheer luck that he and Kazuha were paired up for a project together, and it was another dose of luck that he met long term friends because of it, (though Heizou and Kazuha agrees its from 'their intuition' and 'fate' respectively.)

Even as Albedo scolded Heizou for yelling at Kazuha about a blue shell, he burned the image in his memory. His companions... Or friends, some would say, they would be fleeting. Nothing lasts forever, after all. Eventually their paths would diverge.

To treasure the time before they abandon him.

Isn't that what his mother taught him?

Yes, if only he listened sooner... Then he wouldn't have been so distraught when he lost 'them.' And perhaps they never would have had to leave.

'I don't blame them,' he thought. 'The best I can do is hope I've grown enough.'

'So when that day comes... I can finally face them with my truest self.'

With a sigh and a last look at his friends, he went on his phone to open Twitch. Tartaglia and Barbatos were streaming, a couple thousand new followers (which were unfortunately, less than usual), but nothing he was particularly interested in.

Though he had a half a mind to...

He heard your voice almost immediately after, still as lively and sweet as last time. You started off with your usual greeting, wishing him a good day and starting off with informing him of what he missed.

"We just found the desert temple!" You said. "I'm glad you're here, actually– Me and Alatus found a mineshaft, and I could use you as a good luck charm!"

Right before he could hear your reaction or see if you got yourself killed again (dummyx5), Heizou punched his shoulder lightly, looking over at his phone. Somehow, they got Albedo away from his work to play with Kazuha, and they were both playing in silence.

"Kuni, partner!" Heizou said, leaning against his shoulder. "Why don't you join us? We got Albedo away from his tablet, that deserves some recognition, don't you think?"

"Doing something else," Kunikuzushi hummed, waving Heizou away. "You guys have fun."

"You're on Twitch," Heizou pointed out. "My guy, you're already living on Twitch every day."

"My streamer is streaming," He responded. "So shoo for a moment."

"I'm offended!" Heizou said, putting a hand to his heart in mock-hurt. "But alright, alright, just know you won't be choosing the game we play next time. Kazuha wants to play animal crossing with me so you'll take my place, partner!"

As Heizou walked back to the others, Kunikuzushi focused his attention back to his phone. Where 'his' streamer was now on the death screen again, from... Trying to swim in lava!

As you went on with how you were going to do better and not die next time (all while preciously trying to defend your honor) he couldn't help but let out a smile.

'It's always the smaller streamers...' He thought. 'Cute.'

first time chatter...?

masterlist || prev || next

✧˚ ·summary - tada! a new streamer (aka: you!) entered the scene! and what's this? your first regular chatter accompanying you to fame? great! and you're both becoming friends? even better! . .. eh? what... what do you mean he has over a million followers? and what does he mean by 'do you remember me!?'

taglist is open (thank you guys, bold means I can’t tag you!) - @maxineshearts @magica-ren @drmyday @haunts-gh0st @featuredtofu @yyyyiijhth @hiraethsdesires @mellowberrie @meigalaxy @idontevenknow129 @beriiov @sakiimeo @karma-gisa @raewrz @grrrhutao @itzblazekun @seternic @imdyeing @siasseltzers @lylovw @boxdisappeared @klanxii @moon4nge1 @layla240 @cante-lope @sketcheeee @hibiscy @saturnsapothecary @1l-ynn @pyrotechnics84 @eleutheriaah

author's note - chanel you are a carrot <3 thank you for reading!! be nice to yourself and others~

[chiibinomonodamon]

WHO WANTS TO HEAR ME RAMBLE ABOUT GAY FURRY DEMON SEX? XD

(damn, there's a sentence I never thought I'd say....)

Okay...so I see some Stolitz confusion and bashing online and I need to type up a defense here because I won't be able to sleep otherwise lol

I consider myself to be a Ship Critic and someone who takes shipping rather seriously.

What I mean by this is, I like to analyze and break down romantic relationships between fictional characters because it's just interesting to write for me. I especially take delight in friendly debating with opinions that I strongly do *not* agree with.

Let me start off by saying I am NOT a "this ship is awesome because gay furry sex lol" type of girl.

FAR from it. I'm generally more passionate about hetero ships between human characters (because I can relate to them more) among other reasons. So if you wanna dismiss my defense as "shallow fangirlism", you can forget about that lame excuse.

I fell in love with Hazbin Hotel when it was finally released in February and suffered waiting for each new two-parts per week. During that time, I decided to watch Helluva Boss as well, after a friend showed me a particularly soul-crushing clip (Moxxie's childhood trauma about his mother).

Yes, I like funny sex jokes as much as the next goofy adult but scenes like this, scenes that carry a very heavy emotional weight are what really get me in the end, even moreso when VERY little dialogue is exchanged. I knew I had to watch the entire episode run after seeing that the creators had a talent for this.

I saw people asking:

"How did Stolas go from using Blitz as a sex toy to being painfully in love with him?"

Oh I can tell you. I can tell you the EXACT moment this is revealed. But it's not spoon-fed to you; it's quite subtle actually and this is why lots of people miss it.

See, one of the strongest talents Vivenne has shown me is that she REALLY knows how to get her characters to communicate their feelings to the viewers JUST from their expressions and body language. These can be 'blink-and-miss-it' teeny little scenes and it may require a couple rewatches.

But since people demand time stamps for all information others post here, I'll rewatch a few scenes from S1 E7 'Ozzie's' as I'm typing this.

'Ozzie's' remains to be not just my favorite episode of HB...but probably my favorite episode of any adult-targeted animated show outside of Japan (aside from S2 E7's Mid-Season Special)

It has this huge reveal for both Blitzo and Stolas.

We'll first address Blitzo's irrational, stalkerish behavior of Moxxie and Millie.

He's obsessed with them. He finds both of them very attractive, fantasizes about threesomes with them and is constantly inserting himself into their personal lives.

Why?

Because they have everything that he badly badly wants for himself.

They have the perfect marriage and he is trying to live THROUGH them.

This was hilarious to me at the beginnning of the show but it's slowly revealed that it's one of the most tragic and depressing things I've ever seen. And it's scarily realistic too.

But you know this already so let's move on...

Blitzo follows the couple to Ozzie's but he can't get in without a date. So he calls up Stolas and yes, this is very low but he doesn't realize how much this means to Stolas (hell, I'm not sure even Stolas realizes it himself!) but the owl man is giddy with joy, he rushes over and they enter Ozzie's.

When Ozzie and Fizz mock Moxxie for being so sappy towards his wife, this strikes a chord with Blitzo (because they're his IDEAL relationship) and he speaks up to defend them.

NOW PAY CLOSE ATTENTION; THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART:

Fizz, still holding onto his past grudge turns on Blitzo to humilate him:

"Some nerve you got commenting on a relationship"

Time Stamp: 11:37

As Fizz says "-ship", Blitzo VERY QUICKLY makes eye contact with Stolas who has a look of panic on his face. Blitzo is seeking VALIDATION from Stolas in this sharp, subtle second of screentime, as if to ask

"Well, ARE we in one?"

And then what happens next...Stolas remains silent, Blitzo's ex joins in to announce how selfish Blitzo was in bed with her, tearing him down further. Stolas stands up like he's going to put a stop to it but then Ozzie notices him and interrogates him about sleeping with Blitzo.

Blitzo looks incredibly ashamed and guilty as Stolas blushes with similar feelings...and hides his face behind his menu; HIS BIGGEST MISTAKE IN THE SERIES SO FAR.

Time Stamp: 12:24

The look on Blitzo's face as he grits his teeth and darts his eyes away basically says

"Yeah, I should have known...boy am I an idiot for trusting him to stand up for me".

(look how SHOCKED he is...wow, this hurts fr ;_;)

This is a silent betrayal on Stolas's part. Afterall, his reputation is on the line, so if he were to defend Blitzo, it confirms they are in fact, dating. He chose his pride over Blitzo and Blitzo is crushed by this betrayal.

Moxxie finishes his song and kisses his wife tenderly. Stolas watches this and also wants to have an affectionate moment with Blitzo (who is rightfully glaring daggers at him) and tries to reach for his hand.

Blitzo rejects his touch and suggests they leave. As they do, Blitzo still looks furious and hurt. Stolas is now realizing how badly he screwed up with a "What have I done?" face (13:41)

He even looks disappointed with himself.

After Blitzo drops Stolas off, he thanks him and tries to smooth over the awkwardness with sweet talk but Blitzo just rolls his eyes in disgust and pulls on his face like "I don't want to hear this bullshit".

He responds coldly and curtly, "Yeah." Stolas makes more suggestions to spend time with him, which just makes him even angrier and he snaps

"I'm not fucking you tonight, okay!

I'm really just..." (14:28)

he pauses to wipe a tear because at this point he can barely hold it together (top notch voice acting and animation directing btw)

"...not in the mood, Stolas."

Stolas still tries to talk him into doing couple things unrelated to sex.

Blitzo's face switches back to anger and frustration because Stolas isn't getting the message so he goes for the blunt tactic;

"Stolas, don't act like what we have is anything but YOU wanting ME to fuck you, okay?"

(14:42)

"You make that really clear all the time."

(again his voice sounds like he's about to break down)

"But I-I just can't do it tonight, okay?"

(Finally meets his eye)

"...I'm sorry."

I believe this is code for "I'm sorry we're even in this situation and how your reputation got damaged. " Or, more painfully, "I'm sorry I'm such an embarrassment to you".

Stolas replies "Okay" and takes a deep breath to compose himself. They say goodnight and depart.

An important note here is that Stolas calls him "Blitzo" instead of "Blitzy" to show more respect.

As Blitzo zooms away coldly, Stolas looks up at the sky with tears in his eyes, surprised at how much it hurts.

He then sits down with his head in his hands in anguish...because he's getting that

"Oh...no. These feelings are real" epiphany.

And as if this wasn't enough angst, Blitzo collapses onto his couch at home, goes through the memories on his phone and starts sobbing.

I'm going to be real with you; this is the most heart-breaking shit I have ever seen in an adult show of this type. It's also the first time a show of this type got me to cry.

The last six minutes have revealed so much information without spoonfeeding it to the audience because the show RESPECTS its audience.

To recap:

*Blitzo takes Stolas on a first official date to use him

*Stolas is extremely happy about it

*Blitzo gets humilated and looks to Stolas for validation

*Stolas betrays him and breaks his heart

*Blitzo snaps that their relationship is nothing more than lust-driven sex

*Stolas realizes he's actually in love with Blitzo and it's a huge problem because (he believes) that it's unrequited.

*Blitzo breaks down because the ONE person whom he thought would protect him didn't do so.

So these two are convinced that neither one loves the other...while the irony is, it's quite the opposite.

Because if Blitzo REALLY didn't feel anything towards Stolas, he would not have gotten this emotional.

Yes, they are both lonely...but I really don't think that's all there is between them.

So..........we know WHEN they started falling...now the question is why;

I think the answer's quite simple; single-target affection.

It was mentioned in S2 that Stolas and Stella did sleep together ONE TIME...but Stolas didn't enjoy it at all. He is stuck with a wife who hates him so much that she put a HIT on him...and a daughter who thinks he's a loser. Blitzo is pretty much the one person in his life who is able to make him happy. That one small, bright spot. He enjoys the sex with him but he also simply enjoys his company, as shown in Ozzie's episode. He is thrilled to simply talk to him about his day...and do anything else that couples do. They're complete opposites. Stolas is an intellectual but naive and sheltered. Blitzo is poorly educated but cynical and street-smart. Opposites attract...though this is likely more from Stolas's POV than Blitzo's.

In other words, Stolas is into bad boys xD lmao

In Blitzo's case, Stolas is the only character who shows him physical affection which he desperately craves. He's pretty tsundere about it most of the time...but I think he actually does enjoy that attention...especially when he's always getting disrespected by Moxxie and Loona..and quite a lot of people around him. BUT he's too scared to get serious with anyone because of past trauma and he also believes that no one could possibly love him as a person. :(

Reasons I Think This Love is Real

Aside from what I pointed out in the Ozzie's episode...there's quite a lot of evidence, esp from Stolas's POV.

After he realizes he's in love, he goes to Asomodeous for an ALTERNATIVE method for Blitzo to use so they will no longer sleep together. He wants to set Blitzo free. Which means he DOES truly love him because love is about being generous to the other person. He COULD be totally selfish about it but he isn't.

Asomodeous mentions how against love potions he is and Stolas agrees. He thinks that's out of the question.

'Look My Way' music video. Lol I don't have to say anything more.

In S2 E6 OOPS

This exchange at 16:57

Fizz: Seems your taste has gotten more 'regal', lately?

Blitz: Yeah, well unlike you, I fuck who I want WHEN I want. I'm not gonna be tied down to some big blue-blood asshole.

Fizz: You coulda fooled me the way Prince was cozying up to you at Ozzie's.

Blitz (gets very defensive) HEY! Stolas only cares about have a rugged peasant raw-dog him into his mattress, okay!

It's nothing...(gets hesistant and looks away)...you know...

(Fizz gives him a 'bitch please' look xD)

"it's nothing else."

Fizz: Then why were you even there?

Blitz: OTHER very important reasons of course.

Fizz: Whatever. I don't actually care.

Blitz: Stolas is just a loud, thirsty BITCH!

(Fizz is rolling his eyes again)

Blitz: He loves feeling the thrill of getting dicked by the lower class.

It's a novelty to him.

Fizz: LITERALLY just said I don't care!

Blitz: And then he'll call me and try to see how my day was!

And he'll pretend to care about me and comment on my photos laugh at my jokes...

Fizz: (Smirking) OH! That's definitely your clue right there that it's all bullshit!

Blitz: I KNOW, RIGHT??

Fizz: (Making a 'What in idiot' expression, shaking his head)

Blitz: HE'S JUST A FAKE, PRIVELEDGED ASSHOLE...

Fizz: Sounds like you just hate him for being a prince!

No one (laughs) and I mean NO ONE pretends to care that much just for a cheap lay.

All right. IF ANYONE knows what real love is like, it's Fizzaroli...who is in a very HEALTHY relationship with Asomodeous. He recognizes the signs because he's IN that place. He sees it...and he's annoyed that Blitzo keeps denying it and brushing it off...yet clearly can NOT stop talking about Stolas (amusing irony)

To sum up (this freaking essay lol) 'Stolitz' ABSOLUTELY has the potential to be pure and true...these two just need to communicate...or Stolas has to PROVE to Blitzo that he's serious about his feelings in another way.

There is no doubt that this ship is 100% endgame and is a case of the 'Earn Your Happy Ending' Trope. I look forward to the rest of the journey. Ron is putting my feelings about Stolitz in a perfect phrase:

[justmediocrewriting]

Oh hello!! I read your koby writing and loved it!! You have a talent for writing 🩷 I was wondering if you could do a zoro x mermaid!reader who tries to lure them with a siren song but it only works on men so nami and robin fight back but not before reader can get her hands on zoro and steal him away! Maybe some steamy scenes back at her home/cave or something 😏😏

Lost In The Siren’s Song {r.z}

Summary: every creature has to eat. It’s the law of nature — and some creatures don’t have the most humane diets. You were more than aware of this, and even though you weren’t proud of what you had to do, you also knew it was a necessity, albeit one that was hard for you to stand — but it was made a bit more endurable when your prey was this alluring.

Genre: fantasy, smut, please do not read if you are not 18+!

Pairing: Zoro x fem!siren!reader

Word Count: 1.6k

Requested: ✅

Warnings: sexual content (fairly explicit), non-con elements, language, themes of violence and/or gore, please let me know if you noticed any that I missed

A/n: before diving into this, I first want to say thank you so much for this request nonnie! It was such a pleasure (wink wink) to write, and I’ve never actually written anything in a prospect of a creature that isn’t human, and the fantasy element was definitely a joy to indulge in! Also, in folklore, sirens are creatures that lure men, so in my mind (and for the ease of this fic), I decided that sirens as a species feed on the desire of human men (much like a succubus), and therefore do not need to kill men after feeding (most do, however). I did have the OPLA!Zoro in mind when writing this, but I tried to write the story in a way in which you can imagine it as his anime counterpart instead. I really had fun tweaking this around and creating the world for it, so again, thank you so much! I hope everyone can enjoy this ❤️❤️

{=================================}

You’d never before had a victim that was so receptive.

The swordsman was panting, soaked trousers clinging to the shape of his tenting dick, his tan skin flushed so prettily and pupils blown wide as he stared at you with something akin to reverence; it was truly a sight, and the lust pouring from his pores and seeping into yours was the warmest and most satiating you’d ever had.

The man’s expression wasn’t exactly one that you hadn’t seen before — nearly every man you’d lured to your cave wore the same one when under the entrancement of your voice, but somehow, the expression was just breathtaking on this man’s face, and it had your skin flaming in ways you’d never experienced before. Perhaps it was due to him being quite possibly the most attractive mortal you’d ever captured — his cropped green hair accentuated his tan skin, and his shoulders and chest were broad, leading down to slim but well muscled abdomen. The rather large cock standing straight at attention in his trousers was just a bonus.

You swallowed thickly as arousal stirred in your gut, the sensation throwing you slightly off-kilter; you’d fed many times, but that’s all it had ever been to you: feeding. A simple necessity for your survival, and one that you found rather unpleasant. Luring men from ships and dragging them all the way to your den (and the subsequent act of touching them to draw out the most lust you could) wasn’t the easiest thing, and this catch was much harder to retrieve, given that the swordsman’s crew had two women on board, which was not something you encountered often — being as they were resistant to your voice, it was difficult to snatch the man, but somehow you had managed and returned to your cave with minor wounds, just a few scratches and bruises to lick later.

“I won’t kill you,” you assured the man. Even though you knew he wouldn’t be able to truly decipher your words in his current state, nor would he feel anything other than burning need, you always made sure to promise your victims that their lives were not forfeit by you; unlike most of your kind, you knew that killing off the prey was not a necessity, so you didn’t indulge in it. The man simply blinked at you, eyes hazy and unfocused and swirling with arousal, never moving from your figure. Even as hazy and unfocused as they were, they practically seemed to pierce through you, and the onyx hue was entrancing in a way that you’d never seen a mortal possess.

Your hand twitched with the sudden urge to feel him, to roam over his body and pull the clothes off of his skin, and so you did — your scales were long gone by now, replaced instead by smooth, soft legs, which you used to shuffle yourself closer to the man. It was a little known fact about sirens, that you were not, in fact, stuck in one form; it changed, and after enough exposure to dry air you could easily pass as a human.

The swordsman sucked in a sharp breath when your fingers danced along his collar bone, and his hips thrust wildly into the air, a groan slipping past his lips as his hardened member grazed against the confines of his wet trousers. You felt a pang of sympathy for the man. Being under the effects of your song was akin to being under the effects of powerful aphrodisiacs, and you had no doubt that the poor man was in a lot of pain from it — especially since he wouldn’t be able to touch you, not unless you gave him explicit command to.

“Do you want me to touch you?” You whispered into the swordsman’s ear, fingers still trailing along the jut of his collarbone and just barely dipping into the collar of his shirt, and from your close proximity to him, you felt more than saw his eager nodding. His breathy little pants and desperate hip undulations were really beginning to affect you, your cunt feeling extremely wet and hot, and you were taken aback by the sheer amount of desperate want you felt coursing through your veins.

You’d never before wanted your prey so carnally.

“I’ll make it better, as long as you keep wanting me.” You purred into the man’s ear, finding that you were the labored rise and fall of his breaths beneath your fingertips as you used one of your sharp nails to slice through the fabric of his shirt, careful not to damage the taut skin beneath. As your hand slithered further down his torso, the lust being pumped into the air gradually increased, and the man let out small, breathy whimpers and pleas under his breath that had your hips tingling.

“Shh,” you cooed, half because you wanted to comfort him and half because hearing his voice was doing things, and it felt too dangerous for you — there was a sinking wonderment in your gut of who was more entranced by who.

When your hand finally enclosed around the damp bulge of the man’s dick, many things happened simultaneously — the man’s hips arched up in a desperate thrust, a loud, guttural groan slipping past his lips, and you gasped when your entire body flooded with warmth as lust filled you nearly to bursting, lighting your nerves in a way that made you feel as if you were feeling what the man was.

“Please, please, need you — so beautiful, need you so bad.” The man’s voice was hoarse and broken, and it was the first real sentence he’d said, and his voice sounded so beautiful, so tantalizing, and the way his lips curved around each word filled you with a desire that you’d never had before — and you were but a helpless victim to it.

Electricity skirted across every inch of your skin when you pressed your lips against the man’s in a hungry kiss, swallowing every groan and pant and moan down like a beast starved. Goaded and fueled by the lust swirling under your skin — lust that you recognized as the man’s, and even more frighteningly, your own — you swung a leg over him and clambered atop his lap, settling your overheated core directly on the bulge of his dick. You couldn’t help the moan that the sensation pulled from your chest, and the man drank it down like the sweetest nectar, and his tongue plunged into your mouth, seeking your own.

The sensation of his wet tongue wrestling with yours completely wiped away any coherent thoughts your brain would have managed as the lust brimming within your body hit a spilling point, and you began to gyrate your hips at a rapid pace. The drag of your clit against the fabric of his trousers was rough but rich with friction, and the heat of his clothed cock seemed to radiate into your lower half completely. With how fogged your mind and body was, it didn’t even occur to you to wonder how the man had somehow broken from his frozen state without your command when his hands bruised your hips in a vice grip — all you could think was that it felt good, and your entire lower half exploded with harsh tingles when he took control over your movement, dragging you down harshly against his cock in time with his own desperate thrusts.

“So good, so fucking good — gonna explode, gonna fucking blow—” the man’s voice was harsh and ragged against your lips, his words somewhat hard to understand due to his reluctance to disengage his lips from the dance they were performing with yours, but they went straight to your core anyway, flushing your entire body with excitement and eagerness.

“Cum, cum, I want you to cum.” You moaned into his mouth, tongue licking into the crevice, and the man reciprocated your eagerness by removing his hands from your hips and instead wrapping them around your shoulders for a better grip — before you could fully prepare yourself, the man was bucking his hips with abandon, the friction against your clit fast and unrelenting, and you threw your head back with a moan. The swordsman took advantage of the access to your throat, and he began licking and biting the tender flesh, the ministrations adding more fuel to the fire within your belly.

There was a foreign tightening within your gut, something akin to a coil being wound, and it was something you’d never felt before — it was frightening but exhilarating, and though unfamiliar, you just knew that the snapping would lead to something amazing. So you allowed your body to relax and fall limp in the man’s hold, eyes fluttering closed as you let yourself fall into the sensations abusing your body.

“Fuck, so good, you feel so fucking good — so warm and soft, fuck—” with every hot word panted into the flesh of your neck that coil wound tighter, and with a few more harsh thrusts your vision exploded with white stars as your entire body clenched up, your clit bursting with pleasure and throbbing as an orgasm — your first ever — was pulled from your body. The swordsman was quick to follow, a liquid that was even hotter than his cock coating the front of trousers and seeping through to melt into your skin, and the groan he released into your jugular was so filthy that it was nearly enough to rip another orgasm from you.

Your legs were a trembling cage around his thigh, and as you sit recovering from what was probably the most amazingly intense experience of your life, you debated going against your long standing moral code and keeping the man in your lair forever.

[slayfics]

Hey again! I've returned with another fanfic request :D

So, I've been rewatching mha, and I got to the kidnapping part, and that got me thinking for fic ideas!

The reader ended up getting kidnapped by the league (along with bakugo), and the rescue team went after them (all like in the anime). Could you do shoto's reaction to all of that and the Aftermath once they're all living in the dorms? It could be really sweet and fluffy with a little bit of angst (flashbacks from shoto's pov??)

I've said this before, and I'll say it again, I adore all of your work, and I will support you till the day I die!!

Shoto rescues you from the League of Villains.

Shoto sat on the train, his mind haunted by the last time he saw you. The League of Villains had kidnapped you along with Katuski, your face was painted with terror when they pulled you into the wrap gate. The rest of your classmates being unable to reach you or Katsuki in time.

"Hey man, don't look so worried. We will get them back." Eijiro spoke, sitting next to Shoto on the train. A few of your classmates had devised a plan to sneak out and try to rescue you and Katsuki.

"I know we'll try our best," Shoto said, looking out the window of the train, his expression reflected in the window giving Eijiro a mirrored image of his distress.

"I'm sure they are doing fine, they are tough. Plus Bakugo's there too and you know firsthand how strong he is," Eijiro said, still trying to soothe Shoto.

However, at Bakugo's name, Shoto's face gave a wince.

"Yeah," he replied.

Eijro's face fell a bit realizing he wasn't helping much at easing his friend's worries. The only thing stopping him from trying again was Momo going over a rescue plan with everyone on the train.

Shoto and the other students who had come on the secret rescue mission followed Momo's proposed plan. Even as far as disguising themselves in ridiculous outfits. Momo's plan included following her tracker that she had placed on one of the villains to check out and see if you or Katsuki were there or any other information leading to your whereabouts.

Following Momo's tracker had led them to a building just outside of town. Eijiro had come prepared with night vision goggles, allowing them all to get a better look inside the building. However, this only revealed the location of several stowed Nomo. You and Katsuki were nowhere in sight.

The next occurrence left all of your classmates shaking and paralyzed with fear. The villain All For One appeared just meters away from where everyone was hiding. Soon followed by the other League of Villains members, Katsuki, and you.

Not soon after All Might had appeared on the scene and began battling with All For One. Shoto and the rest of the classmates that came were frozen with fear, unable to move. While each of them knew something had to be done, it was unclear as to what.

Seeing Shoto's visceral reaction and instinctive drive to go to you, Tenya grabbed his arm and held him back. Tenya knew it was too dangerous to move in without a plan. Luckily Midoriya, like always, devised a plan that allowed for him, Eijiro, and Tenya to make it across the battlefield and rescue Katuki. This distraction leaving the villain dumbfounded watching their escape through the sky gave Shoto the perfect opening to call for you.

Stunned at seeing your classmates fly through the sky like a shooting star giving Katskui an escape, you almost missed Shoto calling for you to join him and Momo down the alleyway.

You ran to him quickly once you realized.

"This way!" Shoto yelled at you.

You ran to him and Shoto roughly grabbed your wrist, pulling you to run. The three of you ran until you were sure you were far enough away from the villains. You all stopped at the commotion in town watching the news broadcast of the fight. Your adrenaline began to run off after you were safe and you looked down to realize Shoto was still holding onto your wrist.

"Oh sorry," he said, noticing and letting go. A blush might have made its way to your face if you weren't so overwhelmed with the situation.

The rest of the events went by in a blur. Now you found yourself carrying your belongings inside the UA common room seeing the news broadcast replay in your mind. You all watched All Might take down One For All on the news broadcast in town that night before making it back to your homes safely. A few days later Aizawa made an appearance at your home proposing all the students move into dorms to keep them safe.

It took some convincing but you finally were here moving your things to your dorm room.

"That looks heavy, do you want help?" You heard a voice call. You turned around to see Shoto placing his own belongings on the floor.

"Uh sure," You responded, and Shoto picked up your oversized box of belongings. "Lead the way."

You walked with Shoto to the elevator pressing your floor level on the elevator.

"How have you been fleeing?" He asked as the elevator started its ascent.

"Ok, happy to be here at UA again," You said trying to keep a joyful smile. The truth was you had been having nightmares every night about the incident.

"Well, I'm happy you are safe and in good health," He responded.

The elevator door opened and you both stepped out as you led Shoto to your dorm.

"It's this one," You said, opening the door.

"If there are any other heavy boxes don't be afraid to come get me," He said, dropping the box on the floor.

"Thank you, I appreciate it... and um... thank you for coming to rescue me that night. I never did get a chance to tell you that," You replied.

"Of course, I was only able to because of Yaoyorozu. Back at the summer camp, she placed a tracker on one of the villains," Shoto explained.

"Oh," You exclaimed, feeling our stomach turn a bit at the sound of Shoto mentioning her name. "I'll be sure to thank her too," You said looking at the floor.

Shoto nodded, "You have been doing okay since then though? I know that must have been pretty traumatic being being kidnapped by villains," Shoto said, a worried expression plaguing his face.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Besides, it was hard to be scared with all of Bakugo's yelling about how he was going to murder every last one of them," You laughed and tried to brush off Shoto's concern.

Shoto having his own reaction to you mentioning Katsuki averted his gaze from you, "Right... well, let me know if you need any more help." He said as he made his way out of your room.

"Todoroki wait!" You called as he stepped into the hallway. Shoto turned back around with a curious look on his face.

"Um.. thank you again," You nervously spat out as you hurriedly stepped forward to wrap your arms around him bringing him into a hug. Your face buried in Shoto's chest kept you from seeing the bright red shade his face turned as he awkwardly wrapped his arms around you for just a moment before pulling away.

"Of course," he responded, voice deviating ever so silently from his usual cool tone. "Good luck with the rest of moving, don't over-exert yourself." He said as a soft smile spread on his lips before he swiftly exited unsure of how to process your sudden affection.

Thank you for the request and your continued support! My first time writing for Shoto- I tried to do my best! I hope you enjoy it~

Tags~

@unofficialmuilover