#it has been like. very flirtatious between my friend and i lately. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aspirationalpeony · 4 months

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Dark Horse

Summary: As a cameraperson on the Abbott documentary crew, you've always had a good working relationship with Melissa Schemmenti. One flirtatious night at her home sends you spinning as you try to figure out if this is really real—not to mention how everyone at Abbott seemed to know about Melissa's crush on you, long before you ever did. (See author's note at the end for prompt credit.) Content Warnings: Lots of smut, a bit of emotional confusion, and me having absolutely no idea how filming anything works. I just faked my way through it, very horribly. Oops! :) AO3 Link

It all starts with a late shoot.

It's just you and the mic guy and one other crew, and your camera trained on Melissa Schemmenti. She talks, in a way she's done rarely so far. A season and a half and she's always conscious of the stare of the lenses, quick to dart around a corner or cut herself off if she knows the opps are listening.

She takes big sips, almost gulps, from her wine glass. She leads you back and forth across her house, reaching over tables or pointing along walls to find a photo here, another there, and talks. "Me'n Kristen-Marie... This one—" pause for more wine—"from my college graduation." It's the two of them, almost mirror images of each other at that age, with a tall man whose lean face makes you think he has to be their father; on the other side of the girls is their Nana.

There's no trick in this photo: no wedding dress, no blood, no hint of drama between the sisters at all. They just look hopeful and desperately young. This feels private, that Melissa could have been so young—something that shouldn't be content for the show—and you feel an impulse to duck the camera away, hide her secret. When you look at Melissa again, she’s watching you; there’s a glitter in her green eyes you can’t interpret: not hostile, and not the look she gets when she’s hustling someone, either. The gaze she’s giving you is strangely soft.

“Whaddaya think?” she says, to you, not to the camera.

You swallow. Nothing you say will make it to the final cut, but the editors will hear your answer, so you can’t tell her she’s beautiful in that picture. “I think I’m lucky you’re showing me this,” you say at last.

Her eyes move over your face. You feel it almost like a touch, intimate and slow, and you aren’t making it up: her gaze stops at your mouth and hovers there. She bites her lower lip before she lifts her wine glass again for another pull. “Maybe I like ya,” she says. “Maybe you’ll get luckier.”

You’re still blushing when you wrap for the night. You sit on your couch at home—you’re always insomniac after shooting at night, your brain and body still buzzing with the work—and put on Netflix on low volume and you don’t watch, just feel your cheeks still burning, thinking about her lipstick on her wine glass.

Of course, the whole crew knows the story by the next morning. When you turn up, Pedro, your best friend on the crew, says, “Look at you! Dark horse!” and it makes your face sear with heat all over again. He lowers his voice, leans in and nudges you. “C’mon, nothing in the contract about that. You deserve a little fun. Let your Italian mama take care of you.”

You cringe. “Please,” you say, “never say ‘Italian mama’ to me again. Okay?”

“Just sayin’,” he says, and leaves it alone.

Of course, it doesn’t leave you alone. You’ve learned the best way to sneak up on a conversation with Melissa and Barbara is to come at it around a corner, so you’re hovering down the kindergarten hall, camera on the two women, when you hear your name, making you stiffen.

“You said that?” Barbara’s voice is incredulous, sharp. “What did she say?”

“Nothin’, really,” Melissa says, “she was on the clock, y’know.” The smile starts in her voice before it grows on her face. It’s a Cheshire smirk bigger and deeper than you’ve ever seen. “She got all flustered. It was cute. You think she knows I was shootin’ my shot?”

“I think you could have ‘shot your shot’ with a little more dignity,” Barbara says crisply. “Like an adult does. Politely. Pleasantly.”

“Soberly,” Melissa says. “Listen, if it works, it works. I just gotta find out if it did, y’know. Work. She’s kinda shy.”

“I didn’t know you cared for that.”

"What, the quiet ones?"

You have to pull away. You're going to miss the rest of the conversation, but your face is burning again, your heart is pounding, and you're grappling with the reality that Melissa and Barbara are talking about you, that you're subject enough between them to be chatted about so casually, that all this footage is... God, are you ever going to live this down?

You'll go shoot some Janine and Gregory. That's always a crowd-pleaser; the audience loves the sweet tension between them, the way the space between their bodies turns tangible the longer their eye contact holds. You try not to think about Melissa's gaze on yours last night. You try to do your job.

That goes as well as you might expect. Fifteen minutes into some uninspiring quiz-grading ("oh, I never fail anyone," Janine says, "I just give 'em a different colored star—they like the gold ones best, so—") Pedro comes to find you.

"Hey, listen," he says, "I need you to come take care of your Calabrian chili pepper."

"What?"

"You know, your spicy linguini. Your Italian ma—"

"Stop." Your head whips toward Janine at her desk and then back to Pedro. The only thing you can think of to say, your heart thumping all over again, is "She's Sicilian, not Calabrian."

"She's giving us nothing. You got to come do her talking head. She keeps trying to square up to Kai and he doesn't wanna fight her."

"What makes you think she won't fight me?"

He gives you a look over his glasses.

The change in Melissa is instant when she sees you approach. Those folded arms, her squared shoulders, her broad, foot-planted stance—it all melts. She leans into the wall, her head tipping, one booted foot lifting for her toe to play in idle lines along the floor, and, yeah. Whether you picked her or not, this is your Sicilian chili pepper, and you swallow hard as you approach.

"Heya, hon," she says, "who's this clown they got me workin' with? Don't they know I only do this with the professionals?"

You mumble a little as Kai looks between the two of you, rolls his eyes, and backs off.

"We were talking about her Friday night plans," Pedro says. "It's school game night and she's not going."

"Yeah, the kids are too easy to hustle," she says, "it ain't even fun. What, do I look like I wanna spend all Friday winnin' their, I dunno, their Yu-Gi-Oh cards?"

Now's when Pedro should prompt her, ask a question. You glance at him; he nods his permission. "Not sure those are a thing anymore," you say.

"Their Pokemon cards," she says. "Whatever. Point is, it'd be like taking candy from a... Jacob."

You don't look at her; you focus on the camera. It's easier than holding her green gaze. "Is that where you draw the line?"

"Gotta draw it somewhere," she says.

You can't help it. Cautiously you look up, try to make your voice neutral: "So how are you going to spend Friday night?"

She lolls her head to one side and looks at you. She sticks her tongue into her cheek. "Prob'ly practicing tricks," she says.

"Tricks?"

"Yeah," she says. "With my magic wand."

You don't really remember the rest of the interview. You sure you babble some other questions, and she gives you some smirking answers, but your head is full of white noise and a singular image: Melissa Schemmenti with a vibrator between her legs.

You're sure other things happen that day. Pedro definitely ribs you some more, you and Kai go get lunch and he complains for a while, Gregory and Janine have one of their not-flirting conversations where he draws up a tightly-plotted itinerary for game night, trying to prove it's possible to run a children's event without delays (it all goes back to his father, of course), at some point you go home and numbly resume your post on the couch in front of your TV screen, trying to make sense of it all.

That picture won't leave your head. You think of the look she gave you that night at her house—intimate, caressing—and how she'd look deep in her pleasure, drunk eyes half-open, her face pink, her hair wild. Does she get naked when she touches herself? She seems too impatient—more like a jeans around her thighs kind of woman—but for a night she's planning ahead—a night she's set aside, just for her pleasure...

Your head drops back and you shut your eyes to see her more clearly. You can imagine the scattering of freckles over her shoulders and chest, the shift of her heavy breasts and the hard peaks of her pink nipples—how does she like to be touched there? Maybe she grabs one breast while she uses the vibrator, plays with a nipple, imagining the rough, confident hand of a lover. You can see the soft field of her belly, the abundance of her hips, her thighs, picturing her cunt, the head of the vibrator against her clit—she doesn't tease, can't tease herself, you imagine, not Melissa.

You can almost smell her sex, you think, until you realize it's yourself you're smelling. Your cunt throbs. You could shove a hand into your underwear now and just take care of it, but...

Your small toy collection lives in a box under your bed. It's nothing fancy, but you do have a small wand vibrator. You peel off your trousers and underwear and drop onto your bed, back against the pillows, holding the purple toy in one hand. Does Melissa have one this size? Or a big, classic one, the kind that could buzz your clit right off? You click the toy on and draw it up your thigh. As it nears the sensitive crease between your leg and your sex, your thigh twitches without meaning to, your clit aching, and you think, okay, no foreplay.

You can't help but wonder as you delve the thrumming head between your folds: does she know you're doing this? Was that the idea—plant herself in your head, grow over everything, including your common sense and your inhibitions, until your whole world flowers Melissa? Could she be doing the same—getting a head start on Friday's plans—thinking of you, right now? You're normally quiet when you do this, but that makes you groan aloud. Your clit pulses.

How does she do this, on a school night, like tonight? Back to the image of her with her trousers halfway down her legs, her hand and her toy crammed into the space between the fabric and her body. You can't help but see her in the outfit from today, that green, clinging top, the black blazer discarded somewhere, slacks caught just above her knees, her hair mussed and tangling against the pillows as she works the vibrator over her clit. No playing games for her, either; just getting the job done, hard and fast.

You come, watching her in your head, her name on your lips; you hope she comes tonight, too, thinking of you, of what she’s doing to you.

The next day, Janine, Gregory, and Jacob are in hushed conversation by the supply closet. You pick an angle from just inside the nearest classroom and train your camera on the slight crack of the open door and you can hear them, even though they think they’re being quiet—classic them.

“I don’t know, what do you think?” Janine is saying. “I think it’s kind of nice.”

“I think,” Gregory says, “it’s like…” He pauses, picking his words. “Like watching a dog shake a chew toy.”

“I think it’s very brave of Melissa,” says Jacob, and your heart drops into your stomach. “Considering the historical era in which she grew up and started her teaching career, being openly bisexual in the workplace must be a very—”

“Please don’t let her hear you call her ‘historical’,” Gregory interjects.

“It’s cute she has a crush on the camera lady,” Janine says. (“Cameraperson,” Jacob corrects.) “I just want it to turn out nice. You know, the vending machine guy didn’t work out, so. And now he doesn’t stock Gushers anymore.”

“Maybe she’ll be a little more relaxed,” Jacob says. “A little more… Open, fun—”

“She’s not going to start liking you because she’s dating somebody.” Gregory, with characteristic bluntness.

“One can hope,” Jacob says.

“The camera lady—person—is so quiet, though,” Janine muses. “Melissa is so intense.”

“Bet that’s what she likes,” Mr. Johnson says, making them all jump. He steps out from the supply closet; he’s holding a Teachers Without Borders coffee mug you know has to be Jacob’s. He takes a long, slurping sip, making sure everybody sees the logo on the cup. “Melissa gets a sweet little thang to take care of. Camera lady gets an Italian mama.” He says it eye-talian. (Where is everybody getting this phrase from?)

“Please don’t say ‘Italian mama’ again,” Gregory says, giving you a little flush of vindication.

“Why not?” Mr. Johnson says. “When I was on tour in Rome—”

That’s enough for you. You decide the rest of the conversation can go unrecorded. You check the time and it’s nearly lunch—thank God, because you don’t want to make eye contact with any of them for a while; you don’t know how to feel about them all talking about you. You know it’s not you, really, they care about. It’s Melissa, her caginess at odds with how boldly, openly she’s been flirting with you, an attraction so obvious even the younger teachers that she’d never confide in can see it.

Something light and effervescent swirls in your stomach, but there’s a leaden weight there, too. Nerves. And desire. You let Pedro know you’re taking lunch and leave your camera behind, finding Kai a block down, away from the school, hitting his vape. He passes it to you and you take a pull, letting candy-scented vapor out of your nose. You don’t really smoke anymore, but anybody would need a little comfort under these circumstances, you think.

“So what are you going to do?” he asks.

“What?” You didn’t know Kai cared about that. “I mean, I guess I’ll talk to her, maybe give her my number, then see—”

“For lunch.”

“Oh.”

You get hoagies together, eating them over a public trash can, standing up. Back at the school you scrub your hands clean in the bathroom and duck Pedro and your camera and you find your way down the second-grade hall to the classroom that's usually the noisiest. It's quiet now: the kids are at the library doing a reading circle with the librarian. Maybe it says something that you know their schedule.

She's in there, glasses low on her nose, working. You pause just on the threshold of the open door. You try to piece together everything you know about her, to make it all fit into the person you see, just a small woman with a love of pleather and a never-ending supply of high-heeled boots, a baseball bat taped under her desk (you've seen it), a guitar propped in one corner of the classroom (does she ever play?), how now she's focused and reading with scrupulous intensity, doubling back on a sentence from time to time, her manicured hand coming up to twitch away a lock of red hair.

You knock on the open door. You see her hand pass under the desk toward the bat before she realizes who's standing there. She cracks a grin, lifting her glasses up to the top of her head. Her eyes travel up and down your body in another look that feels like a touch.

"I was wonderin' when you'd stop by," she says.

You give a little hum. You cross the room to lean against a student's desk, just opposite hers.

"No camera?"

"No," you say, "I wanted it to be just us."

"Huh." She taps her pen on her paper a few times. "You here to let me down easy?" She lifts her chin. The look she gives you isn't intimate now: it's far-removed and challenging, like the gaze of a duelist across a plain. You've seen this before, the way she starts closing herself off, armoring up.

You shake your head. There's a shift in her expression, but the walls don't quite come down. "I guess I wanted to ask what you want."

"That ain't obvious?"

"I mean..." Your arms come up, folding over your chest. "You know, I was here last season, when you were dating that guy... Hulk Hogan."

It surprises a laugh out of her. "Yeah, Gary."

"You asked him out and it was... Different. I mean..." You can't think of how to say it. At last, you say, "Do you take me seriously?" No, that's not it. "I mean, are you just trying to hook up with me? Because, I..." You're starting to burn up again. You rub the back of your neck. "That's not the kind of... Listen, you're beautiful, and sexy, but that's not what it would—I mean, to me, it—"

"You're so cute when you're all shy," Melissa says, sounding equally mystified and amused. She stands. "Look... Maybe I did this all wrong." She circles the desk. "Kinda treated you like a piece of meat."

"Just a little bit," you say.

"I take you serious, hon." She doesn't cross the gap between you two, but mirrors your pose, leaning on the edge of her desk, arms crossed over her chest. "Look, Gare was a nice guy. But he didn't have, you know... He didn't make me wanna..."

You think of Gregory's metaphor. "Shake him like a chew toy?"

Another laugh. "Yeah, that. And I guess I felt... You know, I'd kinda uncorked the bottle, datin' him, when I thought all that part of my life was done, and when you were at my place the other night, you just looked so good, and I just wanted..."

You smile, eyes down. The cold uncertainty is trickling away and there's warmth pouring into the spaces it's left behind. "Okay," you say.

"Okay?"

When you look up, she's moved a little closer. You can smell her perfume again, warmed on her skin over the course of a long day. You've had the privilege of seeing her in detail, so many times: the fine, thin skin around her eyes, the creases at the corners of her mouth that forecast her smile, the tiny hint of gray growing in at her temples, the mellow warmth of her green gaze, the slope of her nose crooking slightly to her left. It's different with no lens between the two of you, when you're close enough to touch.

"Yeah, okay," she says to whatever she sees in your eyes. She lifts her chin and drops her gaze to your mouth. It's a clear request.

You answer it. You dip your head; there's a moment where your noses nearly bump, but you change your angle, catch her lips with yours. There's a tackiness from her lip gloss and an incredible softness underneath. The warmth of her almost shocks you, vivid past your imagining. Her hand pets at your jaw; you feel the other curl into the collar of your shirt. She pulls you closer by the fabric and you gasp.

You renew the kiss, lips sliding over hers. Your hand rubs down her lower back. You can feel the divot in her spine where it meets her pelvis, just above the generous curve of her ass. Before you can overthink it, your palm is gliding over that curve, your fingers digging into its lushness, Melissa gasping against your mouth as you squeeze.

"Oh," she says faintly when the kiss is over and you're catching your breath. "Huh." Her look is glazed and a little bewildered.

"I, um, I don't want to send mixed messages," you say, "but about Friday..."

"Friday?" she echoes.

"Yeah." You bite down on your smile, watching her try to remember what the hell you're talking about. "I was thinking... I know a few magic tricks of my own."

"Oh," she says again. You watch her eyes spark with understanding, her smile appear slowly, then all at once. "I guess you could come over and show me your stuff." Her hands tighten in your shirt and pull you back in for another kiss.

"Hey, gimme your phone," she says, much, much later, when you're wearing more of her lip gloss than she is. "I want to give ya my number." You don't think before you're unlocking it and passing it into her hands. She lowers her glasses from the top of her head to the bridge of her nose and thumbs her way around your phone, creating a contact for herself.

You have a flash of nerves—what if she opens your Instagram and sees all the stupid accounts you follow? A vision comes of her seeing all the dog-using-buttons-to-talk videos you've liked, her libido instantly withering... Then she's giving you back your phone and smirking at you, wiping at your lip with her thumb. "Might wanna stop in the bathroom before you get back to work, hon," she says.

When you leave her classroom, it's like floating; you've never felt so light. You stop in the bathroom and you wipe all the lip gloss off your smiling mouth. You catch yourself humming as you and Kai catch some footage of Ava pretending to organize game night, Gregory trying to involve himself, Janine admitting to a little competitive streak.

Your phone buzzes, chimes. "Sorry," you say to Janine and Pedro, who's leading the interview. You wait until you can lower the camera lens to check the notification. You always keep it silenced during the day—did Melissa turn the ringer on?

Italian Mama iMessage

Your face burns. You take a corner away from Pedro and unlock the phone.

Italian Mama You made me real happy

Your blush intensifies; something flutters in your chest. The phone vibrates in your hand as another message comes.

Italian Mama Don't know how I'm going to wait until Friday

The echo of your own thought in her words makes your heart flutter again. You bite your lower lip and type back, Me neither. An electric spark of daring moves you, makes you send her, Maybe I'll practice some magic just to make sure I'm on top of my game.

Is that too much? You hope not. You've basically made a sex appointment with her for Friday—sex appointment, you think, and wince at yourself, your own awkwardness; it's a date—and you don't—your breath hitches as three dots appear on your screen, showing that she's typing.

Italian Mama Oh yeah?

Italian Mama Better practice hard

You feel a pulse low in your belly. You're ready to type a little more flirtation when another message arrives and makes you gasp aloud, quickly clamping your hand over your mouth before Pedro or somebody else can hear you.

She's sent you a photo. It's herself pulling down the scoop neck of the hot pink blouse she's wearing today. You can see just the tip of her nose, her chin, the proud line of her soft neck, her freckled sternum, and, holy shit. She's showing you her breasts cradled in a bra made of black lace. And you stare. And you stare.

Italian Mama Little incentive for you

Your mouth is watering. You can see the rosy shadows of her nipples against the lace. You barely register yourself typing back, You're perfect.

Italian Mama Thought you'd like em

You're typing before you can stop yourself. All I'll be able to think about now is what I'm going to do to you.

Three dots appear, then disappear. Appear, then disappear. Your confidence wavers.

Italian Mama I want you to tell me

You've never imagined you'd be turned on in the halls of Abbott Elementary, but suddenly you're so aware of your cunt, you can't stand it. You're throbbing. You peer around the corner; Pedro isn't even looking your way, he's talking something over about the schedule with another producer. You have time. You glance up and down the hall; nobody except an aide going into a room at the far end.

Your fingers fly over the keys. If you stop to think, you'll psych yourself out, so you blurt out every thought, the iMessage equivalent of babbling—what you'd be doing in Melissa's ear if you could have her right now, in your arms, again...

You're so fucking sexy

I've thought about you so much

I touched myself thinking about you the other night

I'm going to kiss you until you go crazy and you're so turned on you can't take it

I'm going to undress you and I'm going to kiss every fucking inch of you

I'm going to play with you until you're begging

Do you like it rough or gentle?

Three dots.

Italian Mama Little of both

You're typing again in a flurry. You can feel your heart pounding, your breath coming in harder. You probably only have a couple minutes left to really make her feel it.

I'm going to be so gentle with you until you beg me to be rough

I want to bite you

Do you like being bitten?

Italian Mama Yeah

I know you do

On your neck, on your breasts

I'm going to bite your thighs before I eat you out

"Homie, you coming?" Pedro says, with the best and worst timing—and phrasing—he could possibly have.

"Yeah, one sec," you say, and you're proud of how your voice doesn't wobble at all. "Let me just send this. Sorry."

I have to get back to work

Italian Mama Fuck you

Italian Mama How am I supposed to teach like this

Italian Mama Come here and finish what you fuckin started

You laugh, breathless and surprised. You text her, YOU started it! If she hadn't sent you that picture... You scroll back up and look again. In the bit of her face you can see, she's smirking, because of course she is. The luscious curve of her breasts—you can almost feel them, what it would be like to drag your nose down between them, mouth at the soft skin...

Pedro's waiting. You send her a bunch of blowing-kiss emojis and put your phone away again. You're still buzzing with arousal, but you feel a strange satisfaction, knowing that Melissa is a few halls away, squirming behind her desk, thinking about all the promises you've made.

The day passes, somehow. It's a strange mixture of slow, syrupy boredom and electric, frenetic activity as more preparations are made for game night, and your phone periodically buzzes with another message from Melissa. Thankfully (for your pussy—you think it might fall off if it keeps aching like that), the two of you leave the subject of sex, and just talk.

She asks you your birthday, your favorite food. Where did you grow up? What's your favorite color? Each one makes you smile. You feel like you're on the receiving end of a Schemmenti interrogation, a mob boss with her goons behind her. You get her answers back in turn: July 19. (You respond in shock, You're a water sign??? and you can almost hear her voice when she dryly responds, I got no clue what that means, hon.) Pasta con sarde. Grew up here in South. Pink.

Your heart flutters with every new thing you learn. Even though you go home (and rub one out) alone, she's a presence with you, not just in your fantasies; you find you're texting her until you fall asleep, phone sliding out of your hand onto the bedspread. And when you wake up the next day, preceding your alarm by a bit, you find a text from her waiting for you, just a few minutes ago: Good morning, baby.

You levitate all the way through Thursday. You spot Melissa a few times that day, but it's a packed day for her two classes, so mostly it's in the hall as she marches lines of students to and fro. She gets you back for yesterday, though: pauses in the doorway of her classroom as she's filing the kids in after lunch, and gives you an up-and-down look of such searing intensity that your body heats, scalp to toes. She smirks before she vanishes into her room.

She makes you crazy. God, she's incredible. You're texting her every chance you both can get, though she's sparser while she's with the kids; it's all light stuff. Get lunch here today, she tells you, Shanae made beef patties, and when Shanae slips you a couple of golden-crusted pastries, you bite into them, smelling warm, floral curry, savory beef on your tongue, and think of how Melissa it is, feeding you from a distance.

That afternoon, just after dismissal, she calls, "Hey," to you from her classroom door. You try not to jump to attention. "I gotta do a lot of work," she says, playing with the strap of her Apple Watch, "or I'd ask you over, but..." Strangely, her eyes drop. It's a hint of shyness and it makes your heart patter, tenderness and affection for her pouring into your chest. "I was thinkin', why don't we go out and get, like, food or a drink or somethin' tomorrow? You know, before you come over."

"Okay," you say. Her eyes flick up and as soon as she sees your goofy grin, her shyness melts away, turns back into the smirking self-assuredness you're more familiar with.

"You pick the place," she says, knocking the wind out of you at once.

Oh, crap. You remember what it was like with her and Gary: he tried to take her to a shitty spot for their first date, and she flicked him away from her like a bug. She's challenging you, you think, asking to be impressed.

You can do that. Dark horse, right? "Okay," you repeat. "I'll pick."

She leans back against the doorframe. All at once she's in that lolling, casual, flirtatious posture that she assumes for you and only you, her face tilted up, gaze intimate and a little sly. "You headin' out? I get a goodbye kiss, or what?"

"Okay," you say a third time, and you can barely kiss her, you're smiling so widely. You take your fill of her, in every sense, one more time before you leave for the day, nerves and excitement and that thread of arousal all tangling together, like a knot of live wires.

You're texting her later, because of course you're texting her later. Do you want it to be a surprise?

Italian Mama I dunno

Italian Mama Surprises never seem to work out for me

That gives you a little twinge. You find yourself running the tip of your finger up and down the side of your phone, the way you'd touch her hand or her cheek, if you could. How about just this one? you ask. And if you hate it, I'll never surprise you again?

You wish you could see her face. It would help you know if she's resigned or wary or scared. You don't want her to be antsy or nervous going into tomorrow; you want her to feel like she makes you feel: like you've got balloons and not bones, like a wind could catch you and carry you off, you're so light and so happy.

Italian Mama Ok

Italian Mama I'm gonna trust ya

It makes your heart do its now-familiar flutter in your chest. It's like there's a bird in there, some delicate fledgling thing eager to start flying. It wants to soar, holding its precious cargo: Melissa Schemmenti's trust.

The next day. Friday. Friday. Somehow, the school day rockets past you. Game night preparations have gone disastrously, and it's time for a patented Ava save, with the help of Janine and Gregory.

"Wow, who could've guessed," Kai mutters to you, and fidgets in the pocket you know holds his vape.

Your hand fidgets in your own pocket, around your phone. You and Mel exchanged good morning texts, a few kiss emojis, promises to meet up before dismissal to solidify your plans, but you haven't had a chance to see her at all.

"I don't know," you say, "I think they'll get it figured out."

"I think she's probably going to use it to mine Bitcoin somehow," Kai says.

Honestly, that sounds plausible. You shake your head anyway and make an excuse and scoot past Pedro. He's not encouraging Ava to stream game night live on Instagram, per se, but everybody knows that will guarantee some Coleman-style silliness, so he needs to get her there somehow. (Can you mine Bitcoin through Instagram?)

You don't need to send any directions to your feet; they're already walking you toward the second grade classrooms. Mel doesn't have lunchroom duty today, so you know she'll probably be catching up on two classes' worth of quizzes, or restocking art supplies, or prepping the next lesson's props and tools. Her door is shut and you peek in through the window.

She's writing on the whiteboard, looking back and forth from a worksheet in her hand, glasses on her nose. You knock. When she sees you, the narrow-eyed look of interrupted concentration melts away; she gives you a smile that shows her teeth, the kind that changes her whole face, turning her girlish, almost a little goofy. It makes your heart melt.

You open the door. "Hey," you say as she puts her glasses on top of her head and caps the marker. Being in the room with her, after not seeing her all morning, feels like coming out of the cold to a blazing fire. "Uh, hi. You look beautiful today." Then, for the third time, stupidly, adoringly, "Hi."

"You missed me, huh?" she says, putting down the marker and paper. "C'mere."

As soon as you're in grabbing distance, she takes two handfuls of your ass and pulls you in for a kiss. You're lost in it for long, long seconds.

She pulls back after giving your lower lip a bite that makes you squeak. She tucks her hands squarely in the back pockets of your jeans, holding you against her. "You look beautiful today too."

"Thanks," you say, barely registering the compliment, the way you're chasing more contact, kissing the corner of her mouth, nosing at her cheek. She's so warm in your arms. She's wearing one of her tough-girl outfits, a blazer and matching top in military green, and you sneak your hand under the jacket, finding a little stripe of bare skin between her shirt and her slacks. You touch her there with a teasing trace of your fingernail.

She shivers. Is she sensitive on her lower back? You file it away to investigate later tonight. The thought of being able to have her all to yourself tonight—hours and hours—sends sparks skipping through you. You have to kiss her again.

"You think it's unprofessional, doin' this at work?" Mel asks you breathlessly when you part again.

"I don't know," you say, "but whatever Gregory and Janine have been doing is worse, kind of."

"Yeah, that's for sure," Melissa says, and gives you a third kiss; this time, the delicate muscle of her tongue laps at you, little frissons of heat that go right between your legs.

"I came to talk about dinner," you say at last, when you think you can survive without kissing her.

"Oh, yeah," Mel says, "right. What am I wearin'?"

"Uh..." You hadn't considered it. You're just going in your usual date outfit—a button-up, a nice pair of trousers. "Business casual?"

"Okay, easy. Do I get a hint where we're goin'?" One eyebrow goes up. Her gaze acquires a competitive glint, one you've seen a hundred times through your camera. "I bet I can guess it."

"Here's your hint," you say, "it's not Italian."

"Smart cookie," Melissa says, which leads you both into another kiss, and then another. "It ain't a sandwich shop, is it?"

"No," you say, "I can't beat cousin Rocco."

"Soul food," she says.

"No. I'll come pick you up, is that okay?"

"Yeah, come, like, at five. I gotta change and do my face and stuff." She leans back, giving you a squint-eyed look of scrutiny. "Tell me it ain't French."

"It ain't," you promise, and seal it with a kiss. "I have to go. I'm pretending to be in the bathroom."

"Oh, shit," she says, eyes going wide, "we gotta catch up on this freakin' math unit and I forgot, I haven't peed in, like—"

"Go, go," you say with a laugh, letting her extract her hands from your pockets.

When you return, Kai narrows his eyes at you. You shrug at him and you're ready to get back to work, when he reaches across and plucks something off your shoulder: a single red hair. Crap.

"Damn," he says. "Dark horse."

"What's up?" Pedro glances over at you two. Fuck, you don't know if you can take his teasing today—you know he'll want all the details, and you love him, but you want to just get through work and get to Melissa...

"Nothing," Kai says, and drops the hair. He gives you a nod.

You nod back, warmth and gratitude making you smile. He doesn't smile back—you don't think you've ever seen him smile, actually—but you think you see the corner of his mouth curve up, just a little, as he peers into his camera.

Dismissal, a quick goodbye kiss with Melissa, home to get ready. You're normally an all-black kind of girl—it's just easy—but you pause in your closet and find a pink button-up. It's a mellow, soft shade, the same color as a silky blouse you've seen Melissa wear.

You put on your cologne, you style your hair. You look at yourself in the mirror. It’s funny: this is the same face you’ve always had, but three days of Melissa have done something to you. Your eyes look larger, softer; there’s a smile on your lips, small but persistent, that’s been there all day.

You haven’t always been lucky with women. You have love in your heart—God, a lot of it. Sometimes it feels like the water of an ancient lake, going down almost infinitely deep, and yet somehow about to overflow. You spent years going around offering it to anyone who would take it, and once they’d drunk their fill, they just moved on, satisfied, never giving a thought to you, never thinking you might want something back, even just gratitude.

So you pulled away. You just hurt too easily: keep them at arm’s length, never close enough to bruise. The quiet one, the shy one; that’s who you became over time, knowing that if you gave out of your abundance, you’d only be depleted. No one’s ever filled your cup.

You find yourself chewing your lip, staring at yourself. You want this to be different. You want this to be something else. Can it be?

You park your car in front of Melissa’s and find yourself wondering: text, or knock? You’re starting to get out of the car when the front door opens, and a rush of surprise and pleasure comes at the thought of Melissa waiting, watching for you. Then your breath catches hard in your throat.

She’s wearing a little red dress that… “Wow,” you say, before she’s even close enough to hear. The square neck of the dress is cut lower than her usual wear, and shows an abundance of skin that makes your mouth water. There’s a princessy quality to the cap sleeves, a delicate detail that’s perfect for Melissa: blazing, challenging red, with a hint of sweetness. The hem stops just above her knees. The fabric shows her body in intimate detail, the delicate rounding of her stomach and the flare of her hips, straining across the perfect shape of her thighs.

Her hair is down. Even late in the day it has a bit of curl. Her green eyes are like gemstones in the early evening light. Her heels have got to be four inches, but she walks with the steadiness of a queen. She’s the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen.

You circle the car to get the passenger side door. “Hey,” she says, surprised, coming closer, “it’s pink,” and touches your sleeve. It’s not even contact with your skin, barely contact, period, but it sends tingles up and down your arm. “That’s my favorite color.”

“Yeah, I know,” you say, grinning like a fool.

Her eyes drop—that hint of shyness again, that tenderness that makes your heart strain against your chest, trying to reach her—before they flick back up. “How do I look?”

“I could look at you for hours,” you tell her honestly.

"I'd kiss ya, but you'd mess up my face," she says. "Here, you get one." She turns and offers her cheek.

You're smiling as you lean down to kiss the offered skin. She's soft and warm, and you get the powdery scent of her makeup, the richness of her perfume.

"Now, c'mon, feed me," she says, and you laugh and open her door.

You drive. She's exactly the kind of passenger you expected: "Hey, check it," every time she sees a car nosing out past a stop sign, or "On your left," when you're trying to merge. "Hey," she barks when somebody cuts you off, a gesticulating, accusatory hand in the air, "cazzo, you wanna watch where you're fuckin' going?"

Melissa. Abrasive, loud, bossy, and you don't feel bulldozed at all. You feel charmed. The smile won't leave your face. You don't know if she could be more herself than right now, in your ancient Volvo, wearing the sexiest outfit you've ever seen on her, looking simultaneously bold and delicate and delicious, and hollering out the window like an angry truck driver.

She's checking her phone as you pull up outside the restaurant, and doesn't look up again until you're opening her door. "Oh," she says, surprised, looking at the place: it's a red brick building, no sign; just a single hanging red lantern beside a white door. You can see her trying to puzzle it out, glancing at you and back to the door.

"It's a bar," you explain. You open the door to your favorite izakaya. Low, golden light and warmth spill out with the Jrock playing over the speaker system.

Melissa cocks her head and looks at you curiously. You only notice that her hand's in her clutch purse when she draws it out again; you hear the rattle of her keys dropping back to the bottom. "Thought you might'a been about to take my other kidney," she says. "I was gonna fight ya."

You blink. It's one of those Melissa-isms, delivered in her dry voice, that you think might be a joke, but it might not be, either. "I wouldn't win if you did."

"You sure as hell wouldn't, baby," she says, and lets you hold the door for her as she steps inside.

You love this place. It feels a bit like your first apartment after you left home, a lot of exposed brick, shoddy white paneling creating an accent wall, and decor that's a little vintage, a little silly: a big, ornate mirror that might have once decorated a cheap theater, brass sconces for lights, Gojira posters in the style of classic ukiyo-e. There's booths on one side of the room and a mirrored bar on the other, with a wall of sake and Japanese whisky.

The hostess recognizes you, waves hi, gestures toward the room for you to seat yourself. It won't start filling up until a little later, so you have your pick of the booths; you take the side that puts your back to the door, letting Melissa have the sightline to the exit.

The low light flatters her. Any light flatters her, but there's something about the dim, intimate, golden warmth of it that makes you stare as she studies the menus, first the drinks, then the food; her eyelashes cast delicate shadows on her cheek, the curve of her lips carving lines there.

She looks up and catches you. The thoughtful twist of her mouth turns into a smirk. The question, though, isn't what you were expecting. "What made you pick here?"

Huh. "I..." You rub the back of your neck, dropping your gaze. "I really like it." That's a start, but not all of it. "I thought you might not have this kind of food all the time. I never see you eating it and I wanted you to have a nice change. And..."

"I come here alone a lot." You shrug. "I have... Good memories here." They are good memories: people-watching, trying new drinks and food, chats with the bartenders, a karaoke night where you fell in with a group of laughing, drunk women who all worked at the same office, who tried to persuade you to bar-hop with them until last call.

But it's always been you, alone; sometimes folded in with somebody else out of goodwill, sometimes noticed for your familiar face and your generous tips, spared a few more minutes of a busy mixologist's time, but always a separation, a glass wall between you and the rest of the room. No one's been on this side of it with you before.

"I wanted you to have a good memory," you say, finally. "I wanted to share it with you."

You glance at Melissa. She's watching you with a look you recognize. It's the one she gave you that night at her house—just earlier this week, but it feels like a lifetime ago. It's tender and intent. It's encouraging. Like she's watching a flower bloom.

"It's already a good memory for me, hon," Melissa says. Something nudges your ankle. It's her foot in its killer heel, gently insinuating between both of yours. You feel her knee against yours, your calves aligned together. She smiles at you. "We're here together."

Your heart does one of its aerial flips.

"You sure get shy for somebody who was talkin' about suckin' my tits before, though," she says.

You choke on nothing. Your face and ears burn. She laughs, her head dropping back, the light glinting on her saints' medals.

"Biting," you squeak, when you can get air. "We were talking about biting."

"Biting," she says, "right. How come you can say all that to me but you're nervous tellin' me you like a bar?"

It's not a bad question. You trace the grain of the wooden tabletop for a second or two, eyes down. "I'm used to giving other people what they like," you say. "I don't mean—it's not that I was lying or faking. No way. I meant it, I mean it, everything I say to you. So much, Melissa." You dart a look up to make sure she understands. "I mean, it's easy for me... For other people, I can express..."

Her hand finds yours on the table and stills it. Her manicured finger gently swipes along the curve below your thumb, down to the sensitive inner skin of your wrist, and traces slowly there, back and forth. She's giving you that look again, gentle and focused and intimate. "I get it," she says simply.

A rush of relief fills you, settling the rattle of your anxious nerves. You turn your hand over and hers settles into yours.

The server appears for your drink orders. You order the house sake, and Melissa says, "Yeah, me too." With your small glasses of sake, the two of you pore over the menu, picking a few things Melissa knows, a few things she's never had before.

The first few plates come out: shumai, hamachi, a bowl of spicy pickle. She gets pieces of toro, unagi, and salmon, and you get a roll and a plate of chashu buns. She gives those a look of pure lust.

"Take one," you say, and push the plate toward her.

She doesn't hesitate. At her first bite, she lets out a guttural moan that goes right between your thighs. You're suddenly much more aware of her ankle still caught between both of your own.

"You think I could get this recipe?" she says of the chashu after the bun has vanished.

"I think you can get whatever you want." Especially from you, especially if she keeps making those noises.

"I sure can," she says with a flirtatious bat of her eyelashes.

You've seen Melissa eat before, scraping the last bite of salad out of a tupperware or sipping from a Stanley Tucci mug, but it's different like this, sharing a meal. You love watching her small, plump hands with her chopsticks, her drinks; you love her expressive eyes, the way they widen or flutter shut at a perfect bite. Everything she tries she makes you try—insistent, "Here, you taste," like you're not the one who's had the whole menu before, and you oblige, trying to taste it for the first time, like her, letting each one blossom over your tongue, letting yourself fall under her spell.

The bar is packed by the time you're through and she's nibbled her way through a couple of frozen mochi. "We gotta come back here," she declares as the two of you leave, hand in hand. "I wanna try more. You got good taste."

"Yeah, I do," you say, looking at her. It's full dark now, but the streetlights and the moon illuminate her, outlining her red hair in silver, the shape of her hips.

"You gonna take me home now?" she says. She moves closer. "You made a lotta promises, you know."

"I know." Your hands settle on her hips. She tilts her head up; you catch her lips, tasting the plum wine you two shared. It's your first real kiss of the night, and she's mellow, soft, delicious. Still, you tell her, "We don't have to, tonight. I want to, but I don't want you to think..."

"I know," she says, and gives you another kiss. "If I thought you were buyin' dinner to make me put out, I would'a had way more food." Another kiss. "Come on, let's go. Or maybe you don't wanna get lucky?"

You drive back to Melissa's place, her hand on your thigh the whole way. Back over the welcome mat that reads GO AWAY, into the picture-lined place where it all started over a glass of wine.

Melissa takes your coat and her own and gives you her back, hanging them up in a closet by the front door. "I can get you another drink," she's saying, but all you can see is the back of her dress: the silver line of the zipper running from collar to hem, almost invisible.

You move closer and she stiffens when she feels you there, your chest to her back. You gather her hair, move it aside. Above the collar of the dress you can see the line of her nape and the muscle where her neck and her shoulder join. You lean down and kiss it.

Breathing in, you can smell her perfume again, her makeup again. Now, her skin. It's a scent you couldn't begin to describe, something living and animal and sensuous. And her hair: warm, intimate, a little bit of hairspray. You kiss the side of her neck.

"You have no idea," you say quietly. You nose against the shell of her ear. Its soft cartilage is cold from the night air outside, but warming quickly, flushing pink as you kiss it. "You have no idea how gorgeous you are. You don't know what you've been doing to me."

You lift your hands and find the tongue of the zipper. Her breath hitches. You slowly draw it down. The rasp of it is loud between your bodies.

The band of her bra. Red lace. Down her back to the luscious curvature of her hips. You're holding your breath. Her panties are red lace, too, a high-waisted thong that hugs her belly and hips but, oh, fuck: leaves her ass almost totally fucking bare. Of course, in that clinging dress. Couldn't risk panty lines.

"Jesus fucking Christ," you say, and slide the dress fully off her body. It's a puddle of red fabric on the floor. You push her chest-first against the closet door and drop to your knees.

"Oh my God," she says weakly as you hold her hips and kiss your way up the back of one thigh, then the other. The flesh here is dimpled with cellulite, a mark of her perfect abundance. You nose over the curve of her ass and bite one cheek and she squeaks and gives a weak, "Huh," afterward, like she'd surprised herself, and you bite the other cheek and her hips rock back into you.

She's still in her heels. You're starting to smell her sex. You think about having her bend over and put her hands against the door and let you eat her from behind until her knees shake and give out. Fuck, you want to, but you've been making promises; you have plans.

You straighten back up, brushing kisses up the line of her spine. "I want to see your bedroom."

"Fuck," she says dizzily. "Okay. Uh..." She starts to step away from the closet door and for the first time all night, she wobbles in her heels. She gives a little growl of frustration that's so Melissa you can't help but laugh, making her glower your way as she toes out of the shoes.

She leads you up to her bedroom. The big bed is made, but there are plenty of signs of life: the vanity against one wall, scattered with makeup; the bedside table with a dog-eared book and a pair of her glasses; there's a bra tossed over the cracked closet door.

She turns to face you, unself-conscious, and grabs you for another kiss, deep, dirty, her tongue licking into your mouth. "Can't believe you wore my favorite color," she says breathlessly, and starts fumbling with the buttons of your shirt. "God, you look so hot."

Your shirt's halfway open when you get your mouth on her neck. She groans, hands loosening on the fabric. Soft, right along the line of her jaw, under her chin, down her throat where you feel a moan vibrate through the skin. "Harder," she says.

You stay soft. The hollow of her throat, her clavicle. You nose one strap of her bra. She whines, "Harder," and grips your hair.

"I told you," you say. "I'm going to make you beg." She gasps. Your cunt pulses. You wonder if the same thing happened in her classroom that day, if she sat at her desk squirming, little hitches of her breath betraying her.

You squeeze her ass and she sways into you. Your hands shape her hips, up her sides, over her back, feeling the landscape of it, the valley of her spine. You trace the band of her bra. It's so pretty, you almost don't want to take it off.

"Where's your vibrator?" you ask.

"Huh?"

"Your vibrator," you patiently repeat, and lean back. You see in her eyes when it clicks. She leans away from you toward the nightstand, pulling open the top drawer. Inside, there's a pack of melatonin gummies, a lavender and chamomile room spray, a mini bottle of Jack Daniels, and a hot pink wand vibrator. Her sleep aid drawer, you realize.

You pick up the toy. It has a good weight, and the silicone is almost as soft as her skin. You find the power button, click it on, and cycle with a few presses through the three strength settings. You settle back on the first one and test it against the inside of your wrist, feeling the rumble against the sensitive skin there.

You look up again and Melissa's sitting on the edge of the bed. She's breathing hard, staring at you, and she's blushing.

"Lay back against the pillows for me, baby."

She scoots back, gives you a challenging look, and spreads her legs. You can really smell her, a thick, rich, saline scent that makes your mouth water. The drawer's still open and you spot a small bottle of lube; you take it out just in case, then slide the drawer shut.

"You gonna get naked?" she says as you join her on the bed.

"Not yet," you say and kiss her again. And again. The vibrator sits on the mattress, turned off, and you want to make her forget it's there. You take your time, licking at the serrated edge of her teeth, sucking on her lower lip until she's whimpering.

You couldn't have imagined that sound coming from Melissa Schemmenti. You chase it, have to have it again. Her lipstick is smeared, almost gone. She keeps tugging on your hair as you kiss her, starting to squirm beneath you, saying things like "More," and "Harder," but not please—not yet.

She slides down against the pillows, laying herself more fully under your body, and the motion makes the vibrator roll down the mattress to bump her side. Her breath speeds up all over again, and her eyes flick from it to you.

You pick up the toy and click it on. "Keep your legs spread."

"Oh, fuck yes," Melissa says, then whines aloud when you touch the vibrator not to her clothed pussy, but to the inner crease of her thigh. "Fuck, c'mon."

"C'mon, what?" You trail the vibrator up the inside of her thigh, toward her knee, and back down again.

"You know—" her breath stutters when you switch legs. "You know what I want."

"And you know what I want."

That makes her moan. Her head drops back, her chest heaving. You lean down to kiss her sternum, to finally nose against one perfect breast, the way you've hungered for it since that photo. The lace of her bra scratches your cheek. You can feel her nipple through the cup, taut against the fabric. You bring the vibrator up and tease its rumbling head over that peak, making her shudder, then replace it with your mouth, letting her feel the heat and wet, just barely, still separated from you by her bra.

"God, fuck," she says, "fuck you," and you switch breasts, teasing her other nipple to aching stiffness. You nuzzle the skin that her bra offers up, the plump perfect roundness of her breast, part your lips, drag your teeth over it. She's so soft here, so much, and it's perfect. Your hand drops with the vibrator and you trace it over her hip toward her sex, making her squirm, as you busy yourself with soft bites and sucks.

You change your angle a little, propping a hand against the pillows so you can lean over her. Your body casts a shadow and her green eyes look up at you from beneath it, somehow both pleading and mutinous. You idle the vibrator back up along the waistband of her underwear and then slowly down toward her cunt, playing it over the plumpness of her mons.

"Fuck," she says, "fucking fuck you, okay, please," and you smile. "Please, I said please, will you fucking please—"

You bring the wand down over her pussy. Her head rolls back and she groans, starting to squirm. "Pull down your bra for me," you say.

"What?" Her voice, face, are foggy and vague, but after a few seconds she understands, lifting her hands to tug down the bra's cups, showing you her perfect breasts. They're begging for your mouth, and you promised her you'd give her what she wanted when she begged, didn't you?

You drop your head. Kiss over one breast, then the other. Mouth at the flesh—so fucking soft, so good against your lips, sucked into the wetness of your mouth. The tops of her breasts have a small scattering of freckles that you have to dust in turn with adoring kisses. Her hard nipple brushes your cheek and you draw it past your lips as you trace the wand vibrator up and down, from her clit to the entrance of her cunt, back again, never letting it linger.

You switch to her other nipple, leaving her breast damp and reddened from your mouth. Her head tosses back and forth against the pillows as she whines, squirms, moans, says, "Fuck," and, voice breaking a little, "You're still fuckin' teasin' me—please, please, I said it, please—"

The words, her need, are electricity surging straight to your aching clit. Your voice is a rasp to match her own when you lift your head and breathe in her ear, "You sound so good like this, Melissa." She gives a broken whimper. "You're so perfect. I'll give you more. I promise. I'll take care of you. Take your panties off for me, sweetheart."

With a grateful sob she lifts her hips and shoves her underwear down her thighs, no further. You flash on that fantasy you had of her, getting off after a school day, slacks and panties around her knees as she fucked herself. Looks like you were right.

"You might need," she starts to say, but you're already reaching across to pick up the bottle of lube. You click off the vibrator and let her watch you drip the lube over your fingers, slicking them up. She's panting harder and harder just watching you.

With your other hand freed from the vibrator, you can pull the thong all the way off her legs, leaning back on your knees to do it. You push one thigh then the other wide apart. Her pussy is plump and gorgeous, red and swollen, her own wetness gleaming from between her spread labia. You add to it: the softest touch of your fingertips against her sex, trailing up and around the peak of her clit, not touching it directly.

She makes a noise you can barely describe, a groan of misery and arousal and desperation. Sliding your fingers back down toward the heat of her cunt, slipping one slowly inside, watching her as you do it. Her eyelashes flutter, her lips parting. Once you're sure she's wet enough, you add a second finger. The lube and her own gathering wetness makes a slick, dirty sound as you begin to stroke inside her, all delicacy, all torment.

"Oh, fuck," she says, "don't stop, Jesus Christ, please, don't stop, I need it, I, I..." Now she's babbling, the way she's made you do, one hand fisted in the bed covers, the other grabbing your wrist. "I need it so bad, I need you to fuck me, I've been waitin', please..."

"You've been waiting?" It occurs to you that this version of Melissa, already begging, might be willing to tell you some embarrassing truths. "How long?"

"Since we met," she gasps. "Since—oh, fuck..."

Since you met? That was the very first day of shooting—getting all the establishing shots, the very first moments and interviews. She intimidated you—her and Barbara both did—but Barbara, at least, gave a little, showed a bit of herself to the camera. You remember how Melissa was, arms folded over her chest, cool and hostile with Pedro as he tried to coax her out, get her to introduce herself.

Her eyes had moved from him to you, looking past the camera. "You Sicilian?" she'd asked you. She smiled at you that day and it transformed her sullen, cagey face, turned her, however momentarily, sweet. "Italian?" she'd continued, then her eyes darted from you to Pedro, over to the boom mic guy, trying to get a read on all of you. "You from South?" Her smile vanished. Her voice tightened up again: "Okay, you guys workin' with the cops? 'Cause you gotta tell me."

You reward her for the honesty with a press of your palm against her clit. Her hips jerk up. "I remember that day."

Her head drops back again, her eyes squeezing shut. The words leave her in a breathless rush: "You were so cute'n I hated the cameras but whenever you were there I would just—and you were always so, you were gentle, and—I always knew when you were lookin' at me—"

"I was looking at you every chance I got." You watch her face as you begin to ease a third finger inside her. This one has to burn a little; you can feel her body, resistant at first, starting to stretch to take it, and you don't push; you wait to see her eyes open again, their needy, yielding look. She lets go of the covers to grab one leg under her knee and pull it wider apart to help you. You add a little more lube, just in case, not wanting to hurt her.

"I was always looking at you, Melissa." She stares up at you. There's a crease between her brows, her swollen lips parted; she looks stunned, overwhelmed, face pink, as you slide that third finger inside her.

"I was always looking at you," you repeat, and begin to gently fuck her. Her cunt opens for you and desperately clenches against your fingers, grasping and irregular, trying to keep you. "You're so beautiful. I always wanted you. I thought you were the sexiest, meanest—" that surprises a panting laugh from her—"woman I'd ever seen. You were so smart, so funny—you protected everyone, and you took care of everybody—" her eyes squeeze shut. "Let me take care of you now."

You reach over and pick up the vibrator. You click it on. Her eyes open again at the sound of its buzz. You press the button again, then a third time, bringing it to its strongest setting. Melissa's eyes are huge. She's panting, staring, knowing what you're about to do, and the look of vulnerability and desire on her face, her smeared lipstick, her messy hair, she's perfect, so perfect, and you need to make her come now.

"I need it," you tell her, holding her gaze. "I need it. Let me feel it, Melissa." You bring the vibrator to her swollen, begging clit.

A moment of nothing but her breath caught in her chest and her wide-eyed gaze on yours. Her pussy clamps down around your fingers and you feel the ripples of her orgasm start before she drops her head back and gives a wounded, animal cry.

You chase the waves of her climax, fucking her through them, coaxing them toward you; you rub the head of the vibrator along her slippery clit. Her head tosses back and forth on the pillow like it's too much, but her hand still grasps your wrist, keeping you right where you are, and her hips are working, riding your fingers.

"I can't," she starts saying when she can heave a breath back into her lungs, "I can't, I can't, oh, please—" you click the vibrator off and throw it aside; it nearly rolls off the mattress. You spread the lips of her pussy wide and you lean down and bite one shaking thigh, then the other, then seal your lips over her swollen, tender clit.

Fuck the vibrator: this is your new favorite toy. You play with it and play with it and Melissa comes again, or keeps coming, you're not sure which. One leg goes over your shoulder and her hips twitch and writhe until you have to hold her down.

"Oh my G—oh my God, oh, baby," then, just chanting over and over again, like you could ever tell her no again, like you can deny her anything in the world: "Please, please, please..."

Anything she wants. The whole fucking world, if it were yours to give. You suck and lick at her cunt as her hands find your hair and yank.

How long can she go for? How many times can you make her come? You want to know. You want to fuck her until she faints. But that's not for tonight—not without planning, not without her consent—so when she starts making airy noises that are weak and almost pained, you ease off, slowing your mouth and fingers, letting her come down.

You rub her hips and thighs and her soft belly, and give light kisses to the mound of her pubis. She stops pulling on your hair, grip going slack at first; then, as she comes back into herself by slow degrees, she scratches her nails gently against your scalp.

Kisses for her stomach, her ribs. "Here, baby," you whisper, and reach under her body; she lifts up so you can unhook her bra, sticky fingers brushing her skin. You ease it off and drop it to wherever her panties went. She's nude under you now, flushed all over, body loose and relaxed against the mattress; you pet every inch of her you can reach.

You cup her cheek. Her head turns into the contact. There's sweat gleaming along her hairline and her upper lip. Her eyes, mascara and liner blurred, open to meet yours; her gaze is bleary at first, then sharpens.

You expect another fuck-you, or a joke, or even a "thanks, I needed that," but what she says is, "Now you sit on my face."

Your mind whites out. It's possible you forget the English language for a second or two. When you're back from wherever your soul departed to, she's pulling on the buttons of your shirt, brow knit and wearing an impatient little scowl, yanking the last ones open. "What?" you say weakly.

"I said," Melissa says, fully herself again, no longer the begging, needy, squirming creature of minutes ago, "now you sit on my face. C'mon. Get this off." She grabs the buckle of your belt and works the tongue out of it with a metallic clink.

"I," you say, "I," and she drags your trousers down your legs. You have to lean back off her to get them and your underwear all the way off. Your shirt still hangs open, showing your bra, your bare stomach. She leans up to kiss your sternum with an open mouth, tongue flickering hot against your skin.

"I told you," she growls against your neck, "to sit on my fuckin' face," and there's no more of anything in your world but her, you scrambling up onto your knees, spread wide, her sliding down the bed to get under your cunt.

You falter for a moment; she grabs your hips and yanks you down. There's no playing, no teasing. She drags the flat of her tongue up the folds of your pussy and takes your clit into her mouth and sucks. Her green eyes are open and staring up at you and you see your own dazed pleasure reflected in them.

It takes about five embarrassing seconds before you come in her mouth. She moans loudly against you and tries to hold you where you are, but your legs are shaking badly; imagine if you broke her nose the first night, God—you lift one knee so you can get off of her and drop onto your back.

She follows you. Clambers on top of you intently but unsteadily, still wobbling from her own orgasms, and kisses sloppily down your stomach to get back to your pussy.

"Melissa—" you're gasping, and she's putting her tongue inside you, angling her head to get it in as far as she can. She licks, sucks, wraps her arms around your hips and holds you against her as you try to buck away. The wet noises of her mouth against your cunt are obscene.

You come again, and maybe one more time, you're not sure; your mind blanks again. When you can think, feel, process again, she's giving little kitten licks to your sensitive sex that send shudders up your whole body.

"Okay," you say. Your throat hurts a little—how much noise were you making? You clear it. "Okay. You win." You tap out on the mattress like a boxer. She's wearing a look of supreme satisfaction as she lets you go, her face covered in slick wetness, her makeup a disaster, her hair a messy tangle. She's so beautiful. Your heart does a now-familiar backflip.

She crawls up your body and flops onto her side next to you, curling onto your chest. There's long minutes of just you two breathing, the sound filling the room, a tingling starting in your pussy that you know is the herald of after-sex soreness, her damp fingertips tracing idly on your skin.

You start to smooth out her hair. It'll take a shower and a comb to really fix—maybe you'll suggest it. You trail your fingers down and follow the freckled curve of her shoulder, the roll of flesh on her side along her ribs, the dip of her waist before it opens onto the perfect field of her hips and ass.

Her eyes flick up to yours. They're softer and happier than you've ever seen them; the look on her face is gentle and content. You bring your questing hand up to cup her cheek. She kisses your thumb.

"I'm hungry again," she declares.

A laugh bursts out of you, full of affection. "What?" she says, clearly about to be offended, but before she can go any further, you pull her fully into your arms, wrap around her and squeeze.

You press your face into her neck and inhale, smelling her sweat and skin and sex. "You're perfect for me," you say into that warm curve, muffled against her skin. "You're just perfect." You peck a kiss onto her jaw and lean back to touch her cheek again. "Should we make something? Do you want pasta?"

She grins at you. It's that big, Cheshire smile you saw on her face a few days ago, telling Barbara about how she shot her shot, full of preening satisfaction. She leans in and brushes your nose with hers.

"I knew I picked right," she says, simply, happily. She laces her fingers with yours. "Come on, I got a robe you could wear. You like carbonara?"

She leads you off the rumpled bed. You can see you've left a blurry pink bite mark on one cheek of her perfect ass. She brings you a fuzzy shortie robe ("I like your legs, baby, lemme see 'em") and puts on a silk one herself, and takes your hand again as she opens the bedroom door.

You feel good. You're happy. You realize as she brings you to the kitchen, to the very heart of her home, that you're not alone anymore.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Author's Note:

I received the following prompt from an anonymous reader on Tumblr:

"can you write some fluffy smut for Mel x reader where everyone thinks Mel would be in charge in the bedroom because she’s so tough and reader is so shy. but actually reader takes care of Mel."

Back when Season 2 was airing, I saw a few fan posts saying that Lisa Ann had suggested there was a cameraperson on the crew that Melissa thought was cute, which led to the rare scenes where Melissa opens up to the camera. I'm not sure if this is accurate to what she said, but that idea has stuck with me. When I received the above prompt, it went into a blender with that thought, and this is the smoothie that resulted.

I hope I've done justice to this lovely prompt!

#melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa schemmenti x you #melissa schemmenti #as an FYI: this is my longest fic yet and may be easiest to read on AO3 :)

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nightlyrayne · 2 months

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TW: Lying, Manipulation, Cheating, Gabe Hicks

I have spent the last few days debating on whether or not I should speak up about my own past relationship and experience the TTRPG Gabe Hicks otherwise known by his handle as GabeJamesGames. I've decided to do so, in hopes that I may reach anyone that dated him and believed the were exclusive be given the same chance to know the truth as I have been given.

I'm going to cut this as short as I possibly can, mostly because everything is still very much scrambled in my head and trying to go through our past conversations has already been incredibly painful and difficult. I'm also sorry if this is a bit of a mess, or doesn't make sense anywhere. I tried to go back through our messages to be as accurate as possible, as I know I have a poor memory and an even worse sense of time.

Gabe and I started talking around late July of 2020 after I made a TikTok duetting him in his Matt from Dream Daddy cosplay. Things quickly become very flirtatious and suggestive between us. It did not take very long after that, somewhere between August and September we decided to be exclusive without labeling. I had firmly believed us to only be talking romantically and sexually with each other and expressed interest in becoming "officially" boyfriend and girlfriend when we met each other in person. Gabe agreed to this. Expressing he only had an interest in me and was more than happy to be exclusive.

In mid October I flew from Arizona back to my home state of Pennsylvania to meet him in person. He rented an Airbnb, though I did visit his home to meet his mom, one of his sisters, and his dog Leo. At one point during my stay, I was present for a live stream by his side as we carved pumpkins. I received no introduction when the stream began. Not my name, who I was, or what I was to him. I was simply there. And as a shy person who also has social anxiety, I said nothing because I was too nervous and didn't want to make things awkward. Though it felt awkward nonetheless. And immediately after the stream ended, he himself brought up the fact that he forgot to mention me. In the moment my only thought was "Well, at least he realized". And let it drop because I didn't want to have a fight.

Going home was extremely rough for me. I am the type of person that when I fall, I fall hard. I become very attached. And leaving was heartbreaking. The only thing that has helped was that he'd given me one of his shirts and had spoken about the possibility of moving in together down the road.

After that, things remained steady for a few more months. Though the issue of him wanting to remain completely private bothered me greatly. I brought up the fact multiple times, already apologizing while bringing it up because I felt like I was being too needy. In a way, I suppose I was gaslight myself, which made it all the easier for him. Especially when all I had ever asked was for him to put he was in a relationship on his social medias to help ease my anxiety. I expressed that my confidence in relationships came from having a partner who at least expressed that they were in a relationship. I didn't ask for my name nor my social media to be given. Though a part of me had definitely wanted that has well. I asked him for a compromise of just having "Taken" or "In a relationship" on his social medias. But every time I brought it up, he would claim he was already compromising by letting me meet his family and having his friends know about me. (Though whether his friends actually knew about me is unknown, as I don't remember having met or spoken to anyone of them.) At one point he even told me he had a stalker in the Netherlands and was worried about possibly upsetting her and having her come after him or I.

Things got harder after he got his new apartment February. Messages got less and less. By March hadn't received any 'I loves you's or 'I miss you's since January. I was getting more anxious about his growing number of followers and flirtatious behavior online, so I was being up being slightly public more and more. Around late May, early June, I could tell he just was no longer interested. He wasn't pointing in any effort. And while I had desperately wanted to make it work, I could tell he did not want to make it work. So I suggested stepping down from being romantic to just being friends. We never spoke after that, but we remained mutuals on TikTok and I would occasionally see him liking me stuff. Which, unfortunately, gave me more hope that I still want something to him than I would have liked.

I believed he had truly cared about me at some point during our relationship. But on Wednesday, my friend sent me a reddit post about him. I spent the whole day going through everything I could remember and wondering if he had been cheating on me as well. I posted my timeline of dating him on the Reddit post and was unfortunately informed that my timeline over lapped with TWO other people. One of them being the person he had claimed to me was a stalker.

I tell my story, though I was clueless until now, in hopes that anyone else who was hurt knowingly or unknowingly will find my story. That if they didn't know what kind of person Gabe was, they do now. And if they had already found out and haven't been in contact with any of his other exes, please know you are not alone. Please, please, please feel free to message me. And I am so sorry for the pain he has caused you, myself, and who knows how many others.

#gabe hicks #gamejamesgames #lying #cheating #gaslighting #manipulation

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tarirose · 1 year

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From Best Friends To Lovers

Garreth Weasley x Reader

I’m also taking requests for Sebastian and Garreth so I can get more into writing. So feel free to send me some requests :)

Based on this request: Flirty Garreth trying to get the MC’s attention and him hinting that he likes them. But MC thinks that it’s just his dorky self. Because he’s just clumsy! He even went as far as mentioning Amortentia, hoping it would perk up their attention. Garreth and MC are best friends, but he always tries to hide away to cover his blushing face whenever he tries to flirt, or there’s any kind of physical affection. Until he finally gets what he has been trying so hard to do. And things get a little heated.

Warnings: Fluff and Smut. Characters are aged up.

Thank you for requesting this! I absolutely love Garreth! Your message made me super happy and I’m glad you enjoyed my last one. I’m still super nervous I’m not very good. But I really appreciate your message, I tried my best, and it may have gone in a bit of a different direction. I also hope you are doing well 🥹

Also @thedarkjotun I can finally tag you 🥰 I’ll tag you in any others I do!

You were sat in the library, head buried in between a book you had been studying for hours. Garreth had told you about a new potion he wanted to try, he wouldn’t tell you exactly what it was, but he needed your help with the ingredients.

Of course, he himself had accompanied you. He was always by your side. You two were always seen together, always paired up in the classes you shared, always sat near each other in the Great Hall. As you were both in the same house, he would always walk with you back to the dorm. He would leave you little notes, telling you what he has found, if he found something you like, or something new he wanted you both to try.

Over the past years of your time at Hogwarts, you and Garreth had become relatively close to one another. You would consider him as your best friend. You piqued his interest from the moment you shared the same level of excitement in potions as him. He had started to develop feelings for you, and quickly became attached to you. You were kind, funny, smart and beautiful.

Garreth was sat beside you, finding any way he possibly can to entertain himself whilst you were trying to find out more about the type of ingredients he needed for this mysterious concoction. Throwing you little notes, poking at you, making stupid flirtatious jokes was his way of trying to express his true feelings towards you. But in your mind, this was just Garreth being the dork he is.

“Are you sure you’re not tired?… Because you’ve been running through my mind all day.” He was terrible at this. It landed him a smack across the head with the book you were currently reading.

“Garreth, tell me why you would need Castor Oil and Gurdyroot? From what I’ve read about them, they’re used for love potions and stamina? Mind telling me the thought behind this?” You asked, eyebrows furrowed, as you were curious as to why he would possibly need them. There was also another ingredient, but that one you couldn’t find. Little did you know, it was a simple craving ingredient. Which would have the drinker taste of what they craved the most.

“Ah, can’t be telling you all my secrets now can I, Y/N? Garreth replied, a small smirk forming on his face, sending you a wink.

He had been trying for months, perhaps longer, trying to get your attention with things. Whether it was just simply getting your favourite sweets from Honeydukes. Giving you his robes if you were caught out in the rain. But you never took it as anything other than friendship.

It was getting late, the two of you had been in the library for what seemed like hours. There was a now comfortable silence between the two of you, you could feel your eyes getting heavier by the minute. Garreth took notice of this, he took the book from your hand, his hand ever so slightly brushing against yours. He quickly turned away to put the books back, trying his best to hide the embarrassment. His face turning as red as a tomato from the feel of your skin on his.

Garreth couldn’t sleep that night. He was wide awake, staring at the ceiling, thinking of you, thinking of your smile, your laugh, how beautiful you were. The man was in love, and you still hadn’t noticed. He has never felt this feeling before. Never been in love. Never been with someone. Before you came, he was alone. Yes he was popular, but more in a way where, he was only needed for laughs. You made him feel like he was wanted. He enjoyed your company, he loved how you had taken an interest in what he likes doing. He had to do something, anything that would indicate that he liked you.

The two of you made your way to the Great Hall for breakfast, he knew what you loved to eat, so he quickly filled your own plate up before his. A small smile forming on your face, it made his heart melt. He went to pour you some orange juice, but the thoughts in his head made him lose concentration on what he was doing-

“Garreth!” You spurted out, breaking out into a laughter that filled his ears and turned his attention to you and what he had done.

He had poured it all over you, your blouse was soaked and turning see through, your legs were left feeling sticky. The shock forming on his face, eyes wide open, realising what he has done, “Y/N, I am so sorry!”

Garreth was always, and had always been clumsy. He was always messing something up, blowing up his experimental potions, spilling stuff everywhere, setting off some kind of explosion. He always made a fool of himself, but you were never angry at him like most other students.

He noticed how see through your blouse was getting, and noticed you had nothing else to wear over it. He quickly removed his sweater and handed it to you. All whilst being careful and trying to hide the growth that was starting to appear in his pants.

He couldn’t help but stare at you wearing his clothes. You looked so cute, so perfect. A grin moulding onto his face, he quietly whispered in your ear, “It looks good on you.”

You returned the smile, “You’re just saying that” you gently gave him a slap on the arm, not understanding that he was generally complimenting you.

“No, you really do look good in my things.” He replied, taking your hand in his, he had to quickly turn away. The red-headed’s face was beginning to tinge that familiar rose colour he had become so accustomed to. Garreth felt like his heart was going to explode, was he really holding your hand under the table? Are you finally starting to take his hints?

You both had a free period, and what better way to spend it then brewing up some kind of potions, which you had no idea what they were, or what would happen. Of course, it was Garreth’s idea. You had shown him your Room Of Requirement back at the end of fifth year, so you two always had privacy. It was a haven for him, so many potion tables plotted about.

An explosion had begun to erupt, sparks flying everywhere around the room, foam and froth started pouring out of the cauldron, uncontrollably. You both had no idea what to do, but just stared at each other. Then all of a sudden, you were both covered in whatever was just in that pot. Smelling of ginger and oranges. You both just broke down in a complete fit of laughter.

“Well…. That went well.” You spoke up, completely baffled by what just happened.

“It went better than I expected!” He replied back.

“What was it you were expecting?”

“A fire, that’s what usually happens.” His reply made you giggle.

He always felt a sense of happiness knowing that he was the one to hear you giggle and laugh. It made his heart beat faster, and without thinking, he started to wipe you down, free of all the foam and froth that had covered you.

Garreth had always been a big flirt with you, but to his end, it never seemed to work. Was he just not very good at it? He was always complimenting you, at one point he straight up told you how beautiful you looked one night.

You couldn’t sleep, so you walked down into the common room, your hair dangling down, night robe on. You made your way to the fireplace to keep warm, and opted for reading a love story you had found. Garreth was also awake, quietly sat in another corner of the room, reading about Amortenia. He looked up and gazed at you, watching you silently, admiring how you looked. But you didn’t acknowledge he was there. Until he accidentally made a noise. He froze in place, you were staring straight at him, slightly embarrassed that he saw you like this.

“Oh! Garreth! I-I didn’t know you were there, what are you doing?” You said, trying to cover yourself up, as your nightrobe was a bit revealing and short.

He didn’t know what to say. He was taken back, he just glared right through you. Never taking his eyes off you.

You shifted in your seat, trying to look away and avoid this intense situation. “Garreth-“

“You look beautiful.” Is all he could say. His gaze was soon cut off by a pillow flying into his face. Now he had a reason to hide behind it. What did he just do? Had he ruined anything you had by telling you that? Why did he feel so shy whenever he made any kind of flirtatious interaction with you?

You made your way over to him, leaning over to see what he was reading.

“A love potion? Garreth! I didn’t take you as a romantic person.”

“I can be, with the right person.” He sent you a playful wink, then hiding back behind his book as a blush was appearing over his face, his ears beginning to heat up.

“I was wondering about it actually, to satisfy your curiosity, little miss nosey.” He peaked up, shoving a finger into your cheek.

You scooted your way next to him, resting your head on his shoulder, his body radiating heat onto you.

“What’s got you wondering about it? I heard it creates an obsession with whoever drinks it, and that each smell is different to what attracts you.”

“Correct.” He shyly responded, “It made me curious as to what I would smell, would it be what I really desired and desperately want?”

His face was mere inches away from yours, and you could feel his eyes melting into yours.

You both felt nervous, but in your mind, that was normal for Garreth. He was just playful. But to Garreth, it was more than the friendship you had cherished. All he wanted to do was lean into you, pull you close to him, feel your lips on his. But every time, he would shy away. Him being the idiot he was, instead of just telling you how he felt, he just pulled out the worst thing he could think of. “This might be cheesy, but you’re grate.”

He instantly recoiled, feeling ridiculous. But to his surprise, you let out a laugh, hitting him with another pillow to the face. “You’re absurd Garreth” your hands suddenly touching his face. You could feel his face heating up from your touch. He began leaning in to your touch, eyes closed. You moved your hands to his sides, he was extremely ticklish. You had him rolling around on the couch, and the pair of you fell to the floor, breaking out in laugher.

A moment of silence passed, and he was quick to see the position you were in. Lying trapped under his grip, his hands around your wrists. His face turned as red as his hair.

“Oh! Y/N, I am so sorry!!” He rushed to get himself up off you, not wanting to cause anymore embarrassment. He held his hand out for you to grab and get back on your feet.

You took his hand in yours, it was sweaty to grip, which suddenly made you topple back to the ground. But before your body could hit the cold floor, his hands were around your waist, and he pulled you back to your feet.

You tugged him into an embrace. Throwing your hands around his neck, his hands pulling you closer to him. He rested his head on your shoulder, letting out a sign. I guess this was the closest he would get to you.

You freed yourself from him and his grip, planting a kiss to his cheek, “Goodnight, Garreth Weasley.” You said to him, with a slight flirt to your tone.

His thoughts on that night were interrupted by the feel of bubbles being thrown into his face. He had completely forgot that he was currently with you, brewing failed potions. Now was his time, he wanted to kiss you.

You were so close to him in this moment. He took his chance. He grabbed your face, planted his lips on yours, but he swiftly pulled away. “That was stupid of me, I don’t know why I did that. We’re friends. I shouldn’t of assu-“

He was immediately cut off, by you throwing your arms around his neck, kissing him again, but only this time, deeper, more intense. He pulled you closer to him, holding you tight. Slipping one of his hands through your hair, one kept on your waist. He had waited years for this, he never wanted to let you go. He began to push his tongue into your mouth, your own licking around his, sending twisting motions as you both flicked around each other’s mouth.

You gently pulled back and broke his kiss. He was a worried mess. Did he push you away? We’re you going to tell him how wrong it felt?

You felt a tingly sensation roaming through you. You never realised before just how attractive he really was. His curly ginger locks, falling over his face. His green emerald eyes, you now found them stunning. It all came to you. All those times he had given you his clothes and let you keep them for the night. You remembered how they would always smell of him, and how you always kept them close to you. He had feelings for you. And only now, have you come to senses that everything he did, was to get your attention.

“Garreth, I never knew”

He let out a low laugh, “I thought I tried enough to show you, but obviously I wasn’t very good at showing it.” He sounded let down.

You took his hands in yours, intertwining your fingers with each other, and led him over to one of the couches you had conjured in the past. “Tell me everything. I want to know.”

He gently tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. “You’re beautiful Y/N. I’ve waited so long for you to notice, and I would of carried on waiting however long it would of took. I have wanted this for so long.” His hand reaches for your face, cupping your cheek.

“So that’s why you were reading about Amortenia.” Sending a playful smile his way.

Garreth returning the playful exchange with a seductive wink, “I could of used it on you, made you as obsessed with me as I am with you.”

You sent a playful smack his way. Once again pulling his body to yours and crashing your lips on his. He desperately increased the kiss, hungrily moving against you. You pulling at his robes. He pushed you back against the couch, tossing his body over yours. This time, not afraid to hide how he feels. He kisses you again, with so much love, it was sweet and gentle. He was compassionate, he wanted this to be right. Not rushed. He wanted to take his time. Make sure it felt right.

He moved his lips to your neck, your hands gripping into his curls. He could feel himself getting hard, just the touch of you on him sent him wild. He went back and fourth from your lips, to your jaw, your neck. Each time you let out a small moan. Your hands moved from his hair, to the back of his neck, pulling his body closer to you, closing the gap between you. He completely melted at the touch of you.

His free hand gracefully starting to make its way over your body, shyly making its way under your blouse, caressing every part of you. Moans becoming gradually louder and more frequent from your mouth, straight into his ear. It overwhelmed him, he was sweating out in nerves.

Your bodies heavily pressed together, moving against one another in a rhythm, one of his legs pressed tight in between your thighs. Which meant you could grind your hips around him. Your free hand roamed and explored his body, feeling his tense chest through his clothes. Your hands lowered and lingered around the bulge of his pants. Slowly starting to stroke it, waiting for his response.

He sank his head into the crook of your neck, letting out moans from your touch right into your ear. Your hand carrying on, slowly stroking the base of him, trying to remove his belt. He swiftly lifted himself up, looking you directly in your eyes.

“I-I’ve never done this before..” He admitted, feeling embarrassed that this was his first time.

“Don’t worry Garreth. Me too. But I want you.” You whispered into his ear.

“I want you too sweetheart. I really do.”

And that was all he needed to hear. His nerves slowly fading away. Removing your clothes, then removing his own. He was left stunned, looking down at you, taking in the view left under him.

Both of you exploring each other bodies, hands roaming over places he had only dreamed of before. Feeling every inch of each other’s skin. He wanted more. It wasn’t enough. Both of you were screaming for more.

He placed himself between your legs, right at your entrance and gently pushed himself into you. A sweet moan escaping your mouth, a sign of pleasure that he seemed to enjoy.

He took his time, gradually and slowly inserting his full self into you.

Once fully in, Garreth breathed straight into your neck. He started to thrust more and more, it was sloppy and clumsy. But it didn’t matter, you both had never done this before. You wanted him to enjoy it, and it was a celestial feeling. Each hit sent you into a sensation you both had never felt before. It had you arching your back, breathing heavily.

He started to pound faster, more rough, quickening up his pace as you could feel a tension flowing throughout your body. A wave of pleasure and emotion rushing over both of your bodies. Both of you shaking with pleasure and excitement. Sweat pouring from his curly red hair, dripping onto your face. He pulled out, catching his breathe as he pulled you back into his arms. One hand running through your hair, the other rubbing circles onto your back. You rested your head on his chest, feeling how fast his heart was beating.

Garreth kissed your forehead, never wanting to let go of you. He finally had you. And things were about to change between the two of you.

#garreth weasley #garreth weasley x reader #garreth weasley x imagine #hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy imagine #hogwarts legacy x reader

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immaturityofthomasastruc · 2 years

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The Love Square: How Did It Lose Support In the Fandom? (Late 1000 Follower Special)

One of the main selling points of Miraculous Ladybug has always been the Love Square. Let's be honest, while there have been a lot of “will they or won't they?” plotlines in TV, very few of them have really had a dynamic like this. The closest thing I can really think that comes to the Love Square is the growing relationship between Usagi and Mamoru in the first season of Sailor Moon, and even then, the only romance at first was between the two in their hero forms before we found out they were reincarnations of two lovers from thousands of years ago.

The point I'm trying to make is that every Miraculous fan at some point supported the Love Square, whether they continue to ship it to this day, or stopped shipping it after a while. But lately, more people have been turning on the Love Square and the romantic plotlines in Miraculous in general. So I want to dedicate this post to analyzing the Love Square across the past six years, the other romantic “rivals”, and how its all impacted the show.

I think I can summarize what changed in the way the Love Square was written and why it lost its charm, interestingly enough, in four points. So, let's kick off this Anti-Love Square with...

#1: The Lack of Interactions between Marinette and Adrien

Obviously the main draw of the Love Square for man was to see the ways Marinette and Adrien could interact with each other in their different identities. Adrienette, Ladynoir, Marichat, and Ladrien all have interesting setups for different interactions.

Most of the Ladrien episodes tend to show Ladybug and Adrien acting slightly nervous but excited to be around each other, which is an interesting idea in my opinion. It does a good job at representing that stage in your life when you're dating or developing feelings for someone for the first time, and you don't really see anything wrong with them.

Most of the Marichat episodes tend to show Marinette and Cat Noir talking casually while acting like they don't know each other, and is one of the more popular sides of the Square. From what little what we've gotten, Marienette and Cat Noir could be good friends if they got to spend more time together.

Most of the Ladynoir episodes tend to show more romantic tension between Ladybug and Cat Noir, with Cat Noir blatantly making romantic moves towards her, while she has to turn him down because she loves someone else, of course playing off the irony that Cat Noir is the someone else.

And most of the Adrienette episodes tend to show Marinette trying to admit her feelings to Adrien while Adrien remains blissfully unaware of her feelings, making Marinette doubt if he could ever see her that way.

Obviously, there's a lot of potential for interactions here, and we got some episodes in Season 1 that really took advantage of the Love Square.

Of course Ladynoir got the most focus in terms of interactions, but we also got “Stormy Weather”, “Lady Wifi”, and “Dark Cupid” for episodes that really put their relationship at the forefront by showing off their chemistry and dedication to each other, like Cat Noir respecting Ladybug's wishes to keep her identity a secret, and Ladybug having to kiss Cat Noir just to save him, despite how uncomfortable it was for both of them at the time.

We also got some Adrienette episodes in the form of “Kung Food” and “The Gamer”. As... questionable as the themes in the former were, we still got to see Adrien and Marinette interact like normal people with Adrien helping to explain some cultural touchstones to Marinette (I didn't say all the interactions were good, did I?) and Marinette simply talking with him in the park while they snack during the latter.

The big Marichat episode was “The Evillustrator”, with Cat Noir being told to look after Marinette as she goes on her date with an akumatized civilian, leading to a great scene where the two work together to escape a trap by the titular Akuma. It was decent to see how Adrien wanted to put on a flirtatious image around someone other than Marinette, showing how this is how he wants to be seen as Cat Noir, but it unfortunately doesn't go anywhere.

And the big Ladrien episode is “Simon Says”, where Ladybug has to look after Adrien when he and his father are targeted by the Akuma of that episode, which segues into some cute interactions between the two where they're both blushing messes, especially the shower scene.

Even putting all those aside, we still get small moments of all sides of the square, like Adrien asking for Marinette's autograph (Guitar Villain), Cat Noir looking out for Marinette and bantering with her briefly (The Gamer), Ladybug being torn up by Cat Noir's “death” (Timebreaker), and more. The first season generally does a good job building up every side of the square and making sure there's interaction between Marinette and Adrien outside of superhero stuff. We still got that stuff in early Season 2 with episodes like “Riposte”, “Gorizilla”, “Glaciator” (again, I didn't say these episodes were all good, just that they focused on a part of the square), and “Frightengale”, but something seemed to change later on.

In hindsight, there were several warning signs towards the end of Season 2, with episodes like “Troublemaker” and “Frozer”, where it seemed like Marinette was struggling to talk to Adrien more than usual, when she was shown to be able to hold a conversation with Adrien in earlier episodes (Kung Food, The Gamer). Coincidentally, Season 2 was when Astruc got more involved in the writing process. I wonder if there's a connection...

And then we got Season 3, where there were far less episodes focusing on different sides of the Love Square. On the one hand, I can understand because this was the season where there were far more plot-focused episodes, but even the episodes with subplots about Marinette doing a thing to impress Adrien started to lose their goodwill with the audience, like when she teamed up with Chloe to sabotage a potential rival for his feelings (Animaestro), sneaked into an all-guys party at Adrien's house (Party Crasher), tried to confess her feelings for him on the anniversary of his mother's not-death (Felix), and was shown to have already made gifts for Adrien's next 35 birthdays (Chrismaster). All of these happened while there were less episodes where Marinette and Adrien got to interact in their different forms outside of the Akuma fights.

While the more Adrienette-centric episode, “Startrain”, had a nice scene where the two slept together and the other kids in their class supported them, the Ladrien episode, “Desperada”, only served to highlight how unhealthy the way Ladybug and Adrien viewed each other was (which I'll talk about in a little bit), and the Marichat episode, “Weredad”, was basically dedicated to showing how much Astruc hates the pairing by having the two vehemently deny their feelings for each other while thinking having Plagg and Tikki acknowledge how frustrating the Love Square is at this point is a cute meta joke and not screwing with the audience by doing nothing about the Love Square. I'm not making this up when Astruc once said on Twitter that there can't be any Marichat scenes because of the “irony”.

Dude! This is the focal point of your show! I don't care if he's implying the irony that Marinette and Cat Noir don't know who the other is is what makes it a romantic moment when he's ignoring the potential idea of the two possibly developing feelings because the whole idea behind the Love Square is the two developing feelings for each other by interacting with their civilian and superhero identities respectively. Instead, he just said a side of the Love Square essentially doesn't matter because THIS IS WHAT THOMAS ASTRUC ACTUALLY BELIEVES.

Added to that, Season 3 showed Marinette struggling to spend time with Adrien, not just because the writers might think hearing Cristina Vee stumble over her dialogue is the funniest thing in the world, but because Adrien gets shoved into the background of some episodes and only gets a few lines before transforming into Cat Noir.

Like Season 3, the lack of exploration of the other sides of the Square in Season 4 can be explained due to the increased focus on the overarching story and the schism in Ladybug and Cat Noir's partnership, there were still way too many scenes exaggerating Marinette's weird behavior around Adrien, especially her stuttering. It's why “Mr. Pigeon 72” and “Glaciator 2” are really hard episodes to get through for me. And remember, this is supposed to be the season where Marinette steps up and embraces her newfound responsibility as Guardian, yet she still can't muster up the courage to talk to Adrien?

Like, how did they expect us to react to seeing the same joke being repeated over and over again? “DUDE, THOSE SCENES WHERE MARINETTE FAILS TO TALK TO ADRIEN ARE SO FUCKING FUNNY, THEY MAKE ME WANT TO MERGE WITHOUT LOOKING!” Then again, considering Astruc thinks “Backwarder”, an episode focused on Marinette humiliation, is one of the funniest ones, that might be an accurate statement.

It gets even more frustrating when even after four seasons, Marinette is STILL struggling to even hang out with Adrien on her own when they spent time together in other countries (the New York and Shanghai specials), while Adrien “Has Legions of Fangirls” Agreste doesn't even think Marinette is the slightest bit attracted to him. It's moments like this that are why he has the reputation of being an oblivious moron among the fandom. I get that they can't spend all of their time together, but you would think for the main pairing of the show, there would be more interactions between Marinette and Adrien, not helped by...

#2: The Fact That Both Marinette and Adrien Put Each Other on a Pedestal (And the Unhealthy Behavior It Causes)

When we're younger, we tend to view certain people and relationships in a different light than we do now. While it can be an issue at any age, it's especially prevalent as a teenager figuring out how this whole romance thing works. This is also true with the way both Marinette and Adrien view their crushes, but unfortunately, neither of them really learns the problem with this mentality.

With both Marinette and Adrien, they both tend to view the other in an ideal light that gives them the drive to keep pursuing the other, Marinette for Adrien and Cat Noir for Ladybug. While the idea of them showing a high level of admiration for the other is an interesting one, but more often than not, it does more to show how unhealthy this dynamic is.

Take Marinette's feelings for Adrien for example. While I can understand the idea of the show sort of exaggerating her crush on Adrien like a celebrity crush, more often than not, it becomes very creepy and unsettling to watch. Episodes like “Rogercop”, and “Desperada” show off how highly Marinette views Adrien, and how much of a bias she shows toward him, but she only gets called out on it so she can learn the moral for those two episodes, so the lesson on how to view Adrien never sticks. Other than that, there's also the countless times she manages to follow Adrien in an attempt to confess her feelings to him (Stormy Weather, Gamer, Volpina, Oni-Chan, Party Crasher, Mr. Pigeon 72, Glaciator 2, Simpleman), the times she's said she has his schedule memorized (Gigantitan, Shanghai Special), the times she's attempted to sabotage one of her potential rivals for his affection (Animaestro, Ikari Gozen) or the times she's taken her admiration for Adrien to uncomfortable levels by touching things associated with him (The Puppeteer 2, Cat Blanc).

This isn't funny or a charming quirk. It's uncomfortable to watch for a variety of reasons. Obviously, the fact that Marinette rarely gets called out for her behavior is a horrible lesson to teach anyone, no matter the age. Even after episodes where she talks to Adrien and gets to know him more, her attraction to him comes across more as a physical one, as if she's only head over heels for him because of how pretty he is, despite the show acting like she gets what he's really like. If this was actually part of a character arc for Marinette to go through where she learns to appreciate Adrien for more than his beauty like Astruc likes to claim, I'd get it. Instead, all we get are unfunny jokes about Marinette simping over Adrien and memorizing his schedule to the point where it's common for the fandom to label her as a stalker.

Because a majority of the Marinette storylines in the show revolve around her feelings for Adrien, it only puts her flawed view of him on full display. And do I even need to mention that Astruc himself thinks that Marinette's crush on Adrien counts as a personality trait?

THIS IS WHAT THOMAS ASTRUC ACTUALLY BELIEVES.

As for Adrien, he's obviously just as guilty of having a strange view of the girl he loves, Ladybug, only for different reasons. Adrien clearly has this idealized view of Ladybug ever since “Origins”, and like Marinette with her crush, sees it as an excuse to do whatever it takes to become an item with Ladybug. Throughout the show, Adrien has attempted to kiss Ladybug or confess his feelings to her as Cat Noir, has gotten turned down multiple times by Ladybug, yet still doesn't see anything wrong with his behavior (Stormy Weather, Rogercop, Prime Queen, Glaciator, Frozer, Weredad, Glaciator 2). He constantly violates Ladybug's personal boundaries, refuses to see the problem with this, and it could honestly qualify as sexual harassment with how often he does it. Hell, there have been episodes where he was supposedly turned down by Ladybug, and when he got pissy over it, he blamed her for his problems (Frozer, Glaciator 2). You can basically describe a lot of Cat Noir's behavior during the Ladynoir-centric episodes with this one quote with how entitled he feels he is to Ladybug's feelings.

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Of course, the one time he actually realized how uncomfortable Ladybug was in “Glaciator 2”, it was after she had to toss him into a trash can in the middle of a fight and scream how much they weren't an item, and even then, he went back to his old ways by the end of the episode.

And just like Marinette, we're supposed to see Cat Noir's obsession with Ladybug as a charming little quirk, as if we're supposed to encourage this behavior. “Lies” was an episode that really highlighted how immature Cat Noir is, as he was excited at the idea of someone getting akumatized because it meant he could see Ladybug, without understanding the amount of stress the girl he supposedly loves is under now that she's Guardian.

Yes, you can see Cat Noir can be loyal to Ladybug as a partner, but there are times where he fails to see how fallible of a person she really is, or will take the chance to revel at the slightest amount of encouragement. While Ladybug and Cat Noir kissed during “Dark Cupid” and “Oblivio”, even though the context for both instances was very specific, Adrien sees it as proof that they're meant to be, as if one kiss is all it takes to confirm their feelings for one another. Now, this could be an interesting idea to show how romance isn't as easy as fairy tales make it out to be (a deconstructive take Disney has experimented with in the past decade), but we never get told that what Adrien does is wrong, and because this is obviously the endgame ship, the show is pretty much saying this mentality is okay.

Adrien's entitlement can be especially bad in scenarios he really should have learned a lesson from. Take the infamous episode, “Ladybug”, which was where I lost a lot of my tolerance for Cat Noir before Season 4 showed me he could sink even lower than that. To recap, Mayura created a Sentimonster copy of Ladybug to covertly steal Cat Noir's Miraculous while supposedly confessing his love to him, but is stopped by Ladybug. This is a standard television cliche, where one character has to figure out who is the real person, and who is the impostor. You would think that for how much the show says Cat Noir understands Ladybug, he would realize that the ideal Ladybug who randomly confessed his love for him isn't real, right? NOPE! Instead, Cat Noir falls for the evil doppelganger, and is never called out on it. How the hell do you screw up one of the most standard conflicts in TV history, and not even give it any lasting consequences?

This really should have been a wake-up call for Adrien, or at least, a sign he needs to reevaluate his views on Ladybug. You're telling me we're still supposed to believe that he really understands Ladybug when he literally fell for an evil doppelganger who only “proved herself” because she gave him what he wanted? Again, if this was a flaw that Adrien needed to work on, I'd get it, but this betrayal of Ladybug's trust and the audience's common sense is never mentioned again, even in the episode. Because I guess it's more dramatic to see the evil clone's death than it is to see Ladybug lose faith in her partner, am I right? Also, remember how when something very similar happened in Season 4, and Marinette actually faced consequences for what happened? Funny how something bad happened to her in that situation, but Adrien got off scot-free in “Ladybug”.

And despite all of these examples, we're supposed to see Marinette and Adrien as being the only people who understand each other more than their other friends and family. With “Origins”, Marinette supposedly fell in love with Adrien because he showed her kindness and gave her his umbrella. A decent idea, but beyond that, not much is done to show how this affects Marinette, and what other qualities she likes in him. Ironically, it makes her seem just as shallow as Chloe and Lila with how often she gushes over his beauty. Adrien is slightly better, as he at least saw a more vulnerable side of Ladybug before she established herself as Paris' guardian, showing that while she is very courageous, she has a tender side. But like with Marinette's feelings for Adrien, Cat Noir's feelings for Ladybug just seem surface-level as he always has this idealized view of Ladybug in his head without really seeing how flawed she was in “Origins”.

The point I'm trying to make is that even though the show keeps saying Marinette and Adrien understand each other more than anyone else, the show rarely explores this bond, and as a result, does nothing to really get us invested in them as characters. Of course, the show keeps trying anyway, which leads to my next point...

#3: The Way We're Told to Ship Them and Not Shown

A hallmark of romantic stories is giving the audience reasons to support whatever pairing is being focused on in different ways, mainly through showing how compatible they are with each other. Obviously, this isn't what the show tries to do with the Love Square.

Now to be fair, there were some genuine attempts to show how similar Marinette and Adrien are. “The Gamer” and “Guitar Villain” were episodes that revealed that Marinette and Adrien shared some of the same interests and gave them some decent interactions where it felt like they got to know each other better. If we got more episodes like this, it would be a lot easier to see the two as a couple. Season 2 also showed Marinette and Adrien getting some more personal interactions, like the dance scene in “Despair Bear”, the semi-date they went on in “Gorizilla”, and the kiss at the end of “Heroes' Day”. It felt like after seeing Marinette all but show Adrien what her feelings for him were like with a kiss, Season 3 would be the turning point in their relationship when they started to grow closer and become an official couple. What did Season 3 actually do to progress the Love Square?

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Yeah, like a lot of stuff in this show, Season 3 was really where I lost my tolerance for dragging out the Love Square stuff. Not only did the show completely ignore the kiss at the end of Season 2, it really went out of its way to either distance Marinette from Adrien, play up her anxiety and erratic behavior around him, or generally humiliate her whenever she tries to get closer for her crush. Yes, her behavior when talking to/about Adrien in some episodes really wasn't acceptable (Animaestro, Desperada, Chris Master, Party Crasher, The Puppeteer 2, Cat Blanc, Felix), but other times, whenever Marinette tried to do the simple thing and try and figure out how to confess to him, she either got screwed over or humiliated in some way (Backwarder, Reflekdoll, Cat Blanc, Felix). Yes, this was done in earlier episodes (Stormy Weather, The Bubbler, Dark Cupid, Gigantitan, Glaciator, Troublemaker, Frozer), but those were early on into the show's run. Nobody expected Marinette and Adrien to get together by the end of the first or second season, but you can't say it's bad to be impatient when you're three seasons in and you can count the number of conversations Marinette has with Adrien without stuttering on one hand, with no sign of any meaningful development. The writers really wanted to maintain the status quo here, only it was to the detriment of the Love Square.

“Weredad” in particular was an episode that really highlighted how nonexistant Marinette and Adrien's chemestry was, and how the writers really didn't get the idea that part of the appeal of the Love Square was seeing the potential interactions from all four sides. Thanks to a misunderstanding, both Marinette and Cat Noir are mistaken as a couple by Tom, leading to a conflict of interest between Marinette and her parents. This could have lead to an interesting character study for both Marinette and Adrien, as this opened the possibility of the two starting to consider their other alter egos in a romantic light. Instead, neither of them think twice about giving this accidental relationship a chance, decide to break it off in an over the top fashion, all while the writers have the balls to make meta jokes about how ironic this is. “Isn't it funny how frustrating this plotline is? Are you laughing yet? If you aren't, we'll save the reveal for Season 11.” This could have worked, but rather than explore Marinette and Adrien's feelings for each other through the use of Marichat in this episode, they make it more about how bad Marinette's dad feels about the breakup instead of Marinette or Adrien. How does this show expect us to get invested in these two as a couple when they barely get to build chemistry together and interact like human beings?

It feels like the writers are subconsciously aware of this, as there are a lot of episodes where characters like Alya are leading the charge to get Marinette to confess

Other episodes try to make them seem like they're close friends, like “Riposte”, “The Puppeteer 2”, the New York Special, and “Psycomedian”. “Psycomedian” in particular tried to make the idea of Adrien laughing at Marinette's eccentric behavior, something she's deeply ashamed of, a heartwarming thing that makes it seem like he accepts her flaws... I think. And who can forget when Adrien claimed that Marinette was one of his best friends in “Ephemeral”? Seriously, outside of the whole humor thing established in “Psycomedian”, we don't get a lot of reasons as to why Adrien sees Marinette in such a good light. At least with Ladybug and Cat Noir, Ladybug is able to appreciate his humor and willingness to comfort her when things get tough, but we don't get that in their civilian lives. Sure, they try something like that towards the end of Season 4, but all Marinette did was talk to Adrien when he looked visibly upset while nobody thought to do the same thing. “Wow, you showed basic social awareness. You really understand Adrien more than anyone else, Marinette.” The show barely does anything to show how close Marinette and Adrien view each other, platonically or romantically.

But now, let's talk about the seven dirty words that even the ghost of George Carlin isn't willing to say: “Those two are made for each other”. While the phrase were a few passing mentions of it towards the end of the first season (Princess Fragrance, Origins), it got used more after the New York Special, as if the writers thought this would catch on as a meme like “She's just a friend” did. Not only did Aeon and Jessica, two people who didn't even know Marinette and Adrien, say it in that special, but Kagami said it at the end of “Mr. Pigeon 72”, and even Andre during “Glaciator 2”.

So many characters have to tell us how it's supposedly obvious that Marinette and Adrien are the perfect couple within five seconds of meeting them, instead of giving us a reason to actually care about them being a couple. Even their alter egos aren't immune to this mentality, as whenever there's a big report on Ladybug and Cat Noir kissing, everyone is willing to ignore the context and see it as proof that they're an item (Prime Queen, Oblivio, Glaciator 2). It gets to the point where the only people who aren't actively shipping Adrienette or Ladynoir are the villains. Remember how we were supposed to hate Kagami for supposedly being a roadblock for Marinette in her quest to get together with Adrien, even though she wasn't nearly as mean as Chloe or Lila were?

That's a pretty good way to summarize the way the writers view the audience's perception of the Love Square. As soon as anyone gets in the way, good or bad, they're automatically an enemy for daring to stop Marinette and Adrien (who are totally made for each other, you guys) from being together. It's especially rich when you remember all the times the writers have dragged out the plotline in ways that had nothing to do with Kagami, Chloe, or Lila, yet we're supposed to act like these three dragging out the plotline is far worse than any other episode that does nothing to progress Marinette and Adrien's relationship. And speaking of, let's get into our final point...

#4: The Lengths the Writers Will Go to Drag Out the Plotline (And Why It’s Ultimately Detrimental to Both Characters)

Look, I get that the Love Square is the main attraction according to the writers, and that the buildup to Marinette and Adrien getting together is one of the primary story arcs in the show, so we shouldn't expect them to get together by the end of the second season. The biggest problem I have with the Love Square isn't just how dragged out the dynamic is, but how the current situation with the Love Square harms both Marinette and Adrien as characters.

Something the show really wants to remind the audience of is how deep Marinette and Adrien's feelings for the other is, as a majority of the episodes throughout the entire series revolve around Marinette or Adrien attempting to make a move on the other in some way through whatever zany scheme they come up with (Stormy Weather, The Bubbler, Copycat, Mr. Pigeon, Dark Cupid, Horrificator, Kung Food, The Gamer, Reflekta, Volpina, Riposte, Gigantitan, Glaciator, Frozer, Heroes' Day, Animaestro, Backwarder, Reflekdoll, Weredad, Onichan, Desperada, Ikari Gozen, Party Crasher, The Puppeteer 2, Cat Blanc, Felix, Ladybug, New York Special, Shanghai Special, Mr. Pigeon 72, Psycomedian, Glaciator 2, Simpleman, Ephemeral, Kuro Neko, Risk). When the complicated relationship between Marinette and Adrien is put at the forefront with no signs of any character or plot development, it only serves to highlight how poor the overarching story is.

Most people were okay with some of the writing in Season 1, with episodes like “Copycat” and “Volpina” being starting points for Marinette and Adrien to grow more as characters and get to know each other. Unfortunately, as the show progressed, both of them essentially stayed the same, though Astruc will still claim Marinette being forced into becoming the Guardian somehow counts as character development.

THIS IS WHAT THOMAS ASTRUC ACTUALLY BELIEVES.

Yes, Astruc said he wanted to keep the characters consistent as a way for new views to ease into, but this makes it damn near impossible for any kind of development to happen. You can't have this both ways. You need to decide on making this a fun Saturday morning cartoon with no high stakes, or a serialized cartoon with shifting character dynamics and a changing status quo. If you want people to take the Love Square seriously, you need to focus on making the show as a whole the latter. Unfortunately, the show tends to lean more into the former, so Marinette and Adrien's perception of the other never really changes on any corner of the Love Square, even after four seasons. Again, Season 1 should have been a starting point. Nobody thought the dynamic between Marinette and Adrien would be almost exactly the same as it was, with the exception of them occasionally referring to the other as a friend for some reason.

And because so much focus goes into the Love Square, and the way both Marinette and Adrien act in the name of their respective crushes, they rarely get called out on their boundary-pushing behavior. Because I guess it's okay to do morally questionable things in the name of love, am I right? Marinette never gets called out for trying to steal Adrien's phone to delete a message (Copycat), trying to frame Adrien's bodyguard for a parking violation (Gigantitan), trying to humiliate Kagami in order to ruin her chances with Adrien (Animaestro), or trying to sabotage one of his photoshoots just so she has an excuse to talk to him (Simpleman). Meanwhile, Adrien never gets called out for lying about being in a relationship with Ladybug (Copycat), acting like he was stood up by Ladybug when she never confirmed she would be free for their “date” (Glaciator), trying to use a Miraculous he isn't familiar with just to get brownie points with Ladybug in his civilian life (Desperada), or refusing to realize Ladybug isn't interested in him even after getting beat up by her in frustration (Glaciator 2). It's been four seasons since this show started, both Marinette and Adrien have done terrible things, yet rather than use this as a point to show how they can grow like what Crazy Ex-Girlfriend did with its main character, the writers either gloss over this behavior, make jokes about how weird it is, or have other characters try to justify it.

This is a terrible way to portray any main character, and the fact that Astruc sees nothing wrong with either of them really shows how he doesn't understand the idea of writing romance.

But it seems like the writers weren't sure how else they could pad out the show's runtime, so they decided to introduce some more sides to make this Love Square a Love Hexagon in the form of Luka and Kagami. The main idea behind secondary love interests is to add drama to the current romantic subplot. Before Friends really started to run the Ross and Rachael subplot into the ground, Julie made for an interesting complication in the second season. Just as Rachel was coming to terms with her feelings for Ross, Ross himself was seemingly starting to move on from his feelings for Rachael through his relationship with Julie, leading into them eventually getting together for the first time. It's clear that Luka and Kagami were meant to fill the same role that Julie had, making Marinette and Adrien reevaluate their feelings for each other, but the problem was that their dynamic didn't really change as a result. Sure, there were some episodes where Marinette was conflicted on whether she really had feelings for Adrien or Luka (Captain Hardrock, Frozer, Silencer), but it wasn't enough to have much of an impact on her feelings for Adrien, which got a lot more focus in the second and third seasons. As for Kagami, she arguably got it worse because Adrien seemed less conflicted and seemed to care more for Ladybug than he did her, not helped by her focus episodes not doing much to build up her relationship with Adrien (Riposte, Onichan, Ikari Gozen).

But hey, maybe some time in a real relationship for the first time was what Marinette and Adrien needed to really learn what they need to do to make their romantic lives work, right? It's too bad the writers never considered that, because Lukanette and Adrigami ended as soon as they started. Sure, the idea of their breakups being explained away by their conflicting feelings mixed with the stress of being superheroes sounds interesting (funny how the writers never considered that could screw up Adrienette, isn't it?), but even if you aren't a hardcore shipper, it's hard to get invested in these relationships because we didn't get to see how their lives changed outside of a single episode.

While Ross and Julie broke up offscreen, there was still plenty of time dedicated to showing how genuine their bond was, and why it was so hard for Ross to choose between her and Rachael. Here, it feels like the writers had no idea how to write either pair, so they broke them up to make things easier and go back to the stuff they're comfortable with, the Love Square. This whole fiasco really shows how much time the writers are willing to waste if it means drawing out the Love Square, no matter how contrived the drama could be. It just leaves you asking what the point of focusing on these relationships was if they would ultimately amount to nothing?

And even if the writers try to build up the idea of how awesome these two would be as a couple, seeing how they're made for each other, they can't even do that right without showing how terrible things could be if Marinette and Adrien got together. It's pretty clear that “Cat Blanc” and “Ephemeral” were episodes meant to explain why it's too dangerous for Marinette and Adrien to get together and know each other's identity, but it ultimately gave people more reasons to not support them as a couple. Both episodes essentially followed the same premise: Marinette and Adrien learn each other's identity (in “Cat Blanc”, it's by accident, but in “Ephemeral”, it's on purpose), but as soon as Gabriel learned his son was Cat Noir, he decided to psychologically torment him and causes the end of the world.

We're meant to see this as a reason why it's too risky for Marinette and Adrien to be in a relationship, but the issue is the negative connotations that come with these episodes and how Astruc himself likes to explain them. With “Cat Blanc”, Marinette's plan to deliver a present for Adrien by sneaking into his room as Ladybug, as innocent as it was in concept (pillow sniffing aside), the episode said that the reason the world itself ended was because Marinette delivered said present to Adrien, which caused Gabriel to accidentally find out his identity and eventually akumatize him into Cat Blanc. They didn't say Gabriel, as in, the main villain who can brainwash anyone having a bad day, is the major reason as to why it's too dangerous for Marinette and Adrien to know each other's identites. Instead, they framed the simple act of Marinette trying to give Adrien a present and potentially confess her feeling to her with no intention of finding out he's really a superhero, as what ultimately caused the end of the world. Bunnix and Cat Blanc himself said that the act was caused it, not Gabriel for akumatizing Adrien in the first place. And don't forget when Astruc himself claimed that she caused the Blancpocalypse and billions of deaths for the unforgivable crime of wanting to give Adrien a hat.

THIS IS WHAT THOMAS ASTRUC ACTUALLY BELIEVES.

And while it isn't as bad in “Ephemeral”, as their relationship was only secondary to how they function as partners, when talking about the episode on Twitter, Astruc once again blamed Marinette for starting to date Adrien and once again caused the end of the world, according to his twisted logic.

THIS IS WHAT THOMAS ASTRUC ACTU—You know what? You get the point.

This is a terrible message to convey, as it states that Marinette doing something for Adrien, or even trying to take a risk by starting a relationship with him is a terrible idea, because both times we saw them become a couple, Gabriel exploited it through no fault of their own. I know it sounds like I'm only bringing up how this is bad for Marinette, but the point I'm trying to make is that in general, despite constantly telling the audience to advocate for Marinette and Adrien eventually becoming an item, whenever it's actually shown in canon, it leads to something bad. It ultimately paints the idea of Marinette and Adrien revealing their identities to each other as something we should dread, not something we should look forward to. If we're supposed to want Marinette and Adrien to get together, how come both times it's actually happened, it ends in tragedy, and said tragedy is blamed on their relationship?

Conclusion

I don't think anyone wanted to end up hating the Love Square as much as they do now. Like a lot of things in this show, there was clearly a lot of potential to use here, but unfortunately, it was squandered by a terrible execution. Marinette and Adrien have been shown to be a terrible match for each other because of their own behavior and personal issues. And of course, if you don't like the Love Square, you have no choice but to deal with this show's attempt to make us ship Adrienette, but only ends up making us hate the ship more than ever.

As of the time of this post (June 7th, 2022), Season 5 is about to premiere next week. Supposedly, the reveal will happen for real sometime this season, but it doesn't sound as exciting to me as it should be. Rather than be eager to see Marinette and Adrien realize their feelings for each other, I just want to see the show finally put this subplot to rest with them deciding to hook up as soon as they figure out each other's identities. It's pretty sad that this is the kind of mentality I have regarding the state of this subplot, isn't it?

#immaturity of thomas astruc #iota #thomas astruc #thomas astruc salt #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug salt #ml salt #love square salt #love square critical #anti love square #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #adrien agreste #cat noir #chat noir

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jwirecs · 2 years

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Recommended Misc Fics of June 2022💖

hello, hello! here are my recs for ateez, txt, seventeen & straykids of june! hopefully these beautiful stories get more recognition as well as the writes 💝

** anything in parentheses and bolded are my thoughts that can be disregarded if needed **

🔞smut || 💔angst || 💕fluff || ✅completed || 🔄ongoing || 💯favorite

HYBRID AU’S

Project Omen || @uhmingi🔞💕💔✅

↳ you’ve never been close to your father, so when he passes it doesn’t affect, aside from the residual business that you have to take care of in his absence. exploring his basement uncovers a sealed chamber in a hidden room, a man with what looks like a tail staring back at you.

MAFIA AU’S

Entropy || @in-san-ity 🔞💕💔✅💯

↳ things never went according to plan; career wise, family wise, relationship wise and especially not when you were suddenly saddled with an infant to raise but you learned to roll with the punches. except the next challenge you were about to face wasn’t a punch, it was a machine gun.

Tame || @cocobeanncteez🔞💕💔✅

↳ (no summary)

SOCIAL MEDIA AU’S

The Coffee House Diaries || @escapewriter💕💔🔄

↳ A world in which the students of KQ University frequently visit a well known coffee shop; The Coffee House Diaries. You would think it‘s for the coffee, which it is but in reality, it’s to be able to find love and be put on the love of fame.

SOCIAL MEDIA AU’S

Forelsket || @escapewriter💕💔✅

↳ a boring summer with you and your best friend led you both to do some dumb things, one being texting your number neighbor. however, things take a toll when your number neighbor isnt the person who they say they are.

Love Hard || @wondernus💕💔✅

↳ kwon soonyoung loves too hard and falls in love too quickly, accidentally building a (very false!!!) fuckboy image that he can’t seem to get rid of. when his friends talk him out of proposing to a girl he went on 2 dates with, he finally realizes he has a big problem with love. signing up to appear on his university’s most popular youtube talk show to unload his baggage and fix his image? what could possibly go wrong?

Midnight Train || @svtfilms💕💔🔄💯(ON PAUSE)

↳ befriending the cute boy on the train was only the first of your worries — can you handle his flirtatious behavior and oddly mysterious past? or in which taking the train late at night sometimes does have its perks.

The Kids Are Going To Be Alright || @wondernus💕💔✅💯💯

↳ when an unexpected accident leaves you and your blind date from five years ago to become caretakers of your mutual goddaughter, you are forced to learn how to navigate parenthood all while trying to balance work and social life.

WEREWOLF AU’S

Tales From The Pack || @gamerwoo 🔞💕💔🔄💯

↳ (no summary)

WRITTEN SERIES

My Daisy || @wonwoonlight💕💔✅

↳ when your cousin asks you to be her substitute at SVT Inc. as she takes her maternity leave, you’re pretty sure this wasn’t what you signed up for.

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice || @starlightxsvt 🔞💕💔✅💯

↳ Welcome to the Sugar and Spice website! Scroll below to find your ideal type of sugar daddy!

Terrifyingly Innocent || @twogyuu💕💔🔄💯

↳ Fearful of losing her, yet unwilling to leave; this agreement between Seungcheol and his best friend’s little sister was meant to be casual and temporary, yet he finds himself growing more attached to her day by day.

SOCIAL MEDIA AU’S

Face The Music || @0x1lovebot💕💔✅

↳ y/n runs an anonymous twitter fan account for the famous rap trio that goes to her school, 3racha and one day she professes her love and appreciation for bang chan on said account. now chan is on a mission to find out who it is.

Would I Lie To You? || @xiaotingluvs 💔✅

↳ with the sudden death of a student at jyp university, cops and detectives try to find the killer. at the same time, students who are new to the school find themselves in these events. can friendships, brotherhoods, lovers still stand strong despite the lies, complexities and secrets?

SOCIAL MEDIA AU’S

A Star Called You || @scintillasofbeomgyu💕💔✅

↳ yn and their friends run the campus radio for which yn is the host of the evening show “dear sputnik”, where they share stories and hope to create a healing space for all students— even though many don’t listen to it. little does yn know, their biggest fan, angel313, is choi beomgyu— the boy they’ve silently had a crush on for the past four years.

Do check out all of the other Group Fics that i have reblogged as well!!

** if there is any fics that you guys would like to recommend, please do! i am slowly running out of fics to read **

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unseemingowl · 4 months

Note

Howdy!! A long time ago you mentioned you were working on a sequel to It's Witchcraft, Baby and I know it’s not out and may never be which is totally fine, I get it. BUT I’m wondering if you’d be willing to share any bits and pieces you have of it? I just reread and love it so much. That nick and Sabrina are so flirty and spicy.

Hope you are doing well regardless. 😊😊

Hi there

Thank you for the question, it's very flattering to hear that there is still someone rereading my stories for caos when the fandom has pretty much become a ghost town as far as I can tell.

The Howling Heart, the sequel to It's Witchcraft, Baby, was a story that never really got that far beyond the notes stage though. I dug through my old docs to see what I could find. Just a short little snippet of them sort of flirting. Past the cut.

Hope you enjoy.

“Spellman!”

Sabrina nearly tripped over her feet when she saw who was heading up the path towards the mortuary, towards her. The cold made Nick’s cheeks redden, wind tousling his dark hair. It made it far too easy to remember what he had looked like the night he had spent in her room, flushed cheek pressed to her inner thigh, dark eyes watching her writhe under him.

“What are you doing here?” She said, suppressing a grimace at how squeaky her voice sounded as her belly tied itself into knots.

“I was doing some spellwork in the woods, thought I’d stop by, see how you were,” he said, cramming his hands into his pockets as he stopped in front of her.

Away from the desecrated church and alone with him it was a lot harder to be blasé about what they had done together. At the feast ceremony under the watchful eyes of Zelda and the coven the anxiety had felt like a lead weight in her belly, too much had been at stake for his presence to be a distraction. Now though… The way he looked her over in a way that would presumptuous from anyone else was definitely a distraction.

“How I am?”

“Yeah, you know after what went down in the desecrated church last night. You aunt got you out of there pretty quick after they… well, after they dug into Mildred.”

“Oh, right, that,” Sabrina replied, the bothersome hunger of her thoughts veering wildly off course and back into horror all over again.

"My tolerance for the grisly is pretty high, but that was a lot, even to me,” he said with a grimace. “I can only imagine what it was like for you.”

“Still processing,” she admitted, restlessly shifting her weight from one foot to the other, trying to find her footing with him, the casual way he wove back and forth between sincere and flirtatious. “Thank you though.”

“You’re headed somewhere?” Nick asked, gaze lingering on her heavy tote bag before flickering to her mouth on its way back to her eyes.

“Actually yeah, I’m spending the day with my mortal friends,” she said, giving him a nervous smile. “So while I appreciate the check up, I really need to go or I’ll be late.”

“I can walk you?”

“That’s nice, but I know the way,” she said, exhilarated by the way he obviously wanted to be closer to her. “But I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“We got plans that I don’t know about, Spellman?" He asked, one dark brow lifting in a way that was far more charming than such a little gesture had any right to be.

“At the academy,” Sabrina clarified, trying not to laugh, before turning around and heading down the path heading towards town.

“I'll be right where you need me."

When she looked back the first time, he was still standing where she had left him, raising his hand in goodbye with a cheeky grin, and Sabrina muttered a curse to herself at being busted, but when she darted a second glance over her shoulder, he was gone, and her smile faltered.

#nabrina #owl asks #caos

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lowcosmic · 5 months

Note

LETS GO REQUESTS R OPEN!!! can u plz make a oneshot out of rantaro w/ this song :3

youtu.be/El0AfTkxfyM?si=RoGYqdzonyQUrUWl

-🌐

—— killshot .

— 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮 : you’re in love with rantaro amami , so much that you feel his simple presence isn’t enough and that your heart can’t take the overwhelming need anymore.

— 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚 : fluff

— 𝙘𝙬 : none

— 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨 : a songfic of the song killshot !! ahh this was so bad i’m sorry

Something chronic Bit demonic I been on the late shift All alone, staring at my phone

↳ you , as a part time worker with not many customers , decided to kill time by browsing on your phone. just as you were skimming through a certain classmate’s posts , that very person opened the door to come inside.

→ rantaro amami. your favored classmate and best friend. but you wouldn’t mind taking it further with him , he was that charismatic.

Sin and tonic Stupid promise Something like a death wish All alone, stare into my soul

→ “ ah , hey! i had some free time , so i decided to visit. ” he smiled softly , walking over to you.

→ “ at nine o’ clock? ha , how flattering. ” you offered a smile back. “ i’m practically starving , so … wanna eat? ”

→ rantaro chuckled and agreed , stating that was the other reason why he was here.

→ you both sat down at a booth , eating away and talking by bits and pieces. you met his eye a few times before your face heated up , causing you to look away. but he definitely saw , sending a few subtle flirtatious remarks and gestures to you.

→ he was going to be the death of you.

If I wanna stay alive You should never cross my mind Yeah I knew it I been through it

→ he was different from all the others you’d fallen for. he was caring. he was kind. and you’d be so distraught if anything were to happen to him. he occupied your thoughts , much like a schoolgirl crush.

→ it was obvious to everyone else that there was chemistry between you both. but did he notice? being the person he’s known as , he probably did. but he sure didn’t say anything about it.

If I fall in every time Wicked love will leave me blind Yeah I knew it I been through it

Oh god Can you make my heart stop Hit me with your kill shot baby I mean it so serious ( repeats again )

→ “ do … you mind if i sit next to you? it’ll be easier to talk … ” when he slid next to you after your consent , you found it harder to talk normally with him so close by. and it didn’t help that he kept brushing his hand against yours or staring so deeply at you.

→ you just wished he could kiss you already.

Stolen nectar Misadventure Something like a death kiss Growing cold, under your control

Knowing better Twisted pleasure Got me feeling breathless Growing cold, will you let me go?

→ “ oh , it’s getting late … ” you had muttered. rantaro simply put his hand over yours.

→ you curled your hand with his , savoring the contact. “ do you want me to go? ” he asked.

→ “ no , ” you simply replied , letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

→ “ it’s an … unconventional place to say this , but … ”

If I wanna stay alive You should never cross my mind Yeah I knew it I been through it

If I fall in every time Wicked love will leave me blind Yeah I knew it I been through it

→ your heart swelled with excitement , opening your ears fully to whatever he was about to say.

→ “ i like you. a lot. do you want to be my girlfriend? ” he finished. it was one of the few times where you’d seen something related to anxiety in his eyes.

→ you wrapped your arms around him , hugging him before moving your head to kiss him.

Oh god Can you make my heart stop Hit me with your kill shot baby I mean it so serious God Can you make my heart stop Honey with your kill shot baby I mean it so serious

Come and get that honey Sweeter than I ever knew Tell me that you love me Love me till my lips turn blue

→ thankfully , no one walked in on you two kissing. you mumbled against his lips a small “ i love you , ” before diving in again till the both of you could barely breathe in the suffocating air.

→ he’d wrapped his arms around your waist , pulling you closer.

Oo ooo ooo ooo Walk into my bed like How long Got you in my head like How long, how long

→ “ we … we should get going , huh? ” you panted out afterwards. it was raining outside , and your house was a far way off. rantaro offered for you to stay at his , and you happily accepted.

please don’t repost , translate , or claim my works as your own.

#danganronpa #drv3 #danganronpa drv3 #danganronpa imagines #danganronpa v3 #drv3 killing harmony #gender neutral reader #gender neutral y/n #rantaro amami x reader #drv3 rantaro #amami rantaro #rantaro amami #rantarou amami #danganronpa rantaro #fluff #songfic #killshot #killing harmony #danganronpa killing harmony

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iheartchv · 2 months

Note

Hi! I was hoping to ask you for a match-up please.

I’m a 24-year-old Latina, half Dominican and half Mexican. Born in New York City and raised in Texas.

I’m 5’5” with brown eyes, tan skin, and long wavy dark brown-black hair that reaches my butt. I have a fluffy tummy, thick thighs, big boobs, and a decent ass. I wear glasses and I have a couple beauty marks near my mouth.

I’m an INFJ and a Capricorn. I’m bisexual.

I’m introverted. I have social anxiety and ADHD. I’m a loner.

I’m a Creative Writing major. I constantly have my headphones on with love songs blasting. I love dancing whenever I get the chance to at a family party or a school dance.

I love to bake. Chocolate chip cookies and vanilla cupcakes are my specialities.

My love languages are physical touch and quality time. I love to give cookies with cuddles and kisses and sweet words.

In public, I can come off standoffish, but when you get to know me, I’m actually just anxious, shy, and very sweet.

I love your writing! You deserve to have a great day and a lovely life! Thank you!

🤔 I'll match you with...

Johnny "Soap" MacTavish 🧼

I think Soap would be your match

He's the opposite of you

But you both still have some common interests that will instantly create a bond between you

I can see you and him dancing

Perhaps a dance contest could happen, if you're feeling competitive?

Soap thought you were cute and tried to get your attention by complimenting you without being too flirty

"You look great today." with a smile

"...Thanks" you reply with a tiny smile

That wasn't exactly what he was expecting

Maybe he should've said pretty or beautiful

But would you find that weird?

He had so many questions in his head

He knew about your anxiety and didn't want to make you uncomfortable

When that didn't work he tried to talk to you

He really wanted to get to know you

He'd pull/drag you away to a place of privacy

He wanted a one on one with you

"I know you're probably used to being a loner... but..."

His hand would gently squeeze your shoulder

"I just want you to know... that I'm here for you. Don't be afraid of coming to me for anything."

"I don't care what time it is or what you need, I'll be there for you."

"You've got me as a friend, and I've got your back"

Soap wanted to tell you so badly how much he thought of you and cared about you

But he'd wait for you, if that's what it took

🤍

As time went by, you found yourself wanting to be around Soap more

He listened to you rant or vent

He even listened to your brainstorming ideas for essay assignments

And even helped you out with some of your essays

He was fun to talk to

He knew how to make you laugh and smile

Loves your baking

Nothing like staying up real late with school work, cookies, and Soap being there for you/to help you out

You recently have been spacing out/dreaming with thoughts of Soap and you

Your heart now races when he gives you a smirk, a small wink

Even he's flirtatious compliments bring blush to your cheeks

You've fallen for him

When you were comfortable enough and knew that what you were feeling was real, you told him how you felt

He was ecstatic; he felt the same way for you

Has been for a long while

He's glad to have waited and gained your trust

And your heart

❤

This man here... oh he craves physical touch

He wants it too but will give it to you as well

Will use your thighs as a pillow

While staring up into your eyes

Loves it when you stroke his hair

It just feels good

He would also be a great kisser

Gives sweet kisses, to slow and lingering, and passionate/wild

Whatever you're in the mood for

Calls you princess, sweetheart, babygirl, every cute name under the sun

"I love you, baby. I'm never going to let you go"

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julie-finlay · 1 year

Text

Finlay Friday

12x21: "Dune and Gloom", script extracts. Meta under the cut.

Thoughts here instead of the tags because I ran on even by my own standards.

There isn't a lot of Finn in this episode, but the changes between the script and aired version are interesting to me!!

The first two gifs are cut dialogue over the scene as-aired, which is all science. The brother reference threw me because I’m sure the only time he's mentioned on-air is in "The Last Ride", right at the end of the run. But 16yo Finn somehow both trying to impress and briefly unaware she's being hit on by her older brother's friends is v cute???

The dialogue with Moreno only changes slightly, from “My place sounds good to me. […] You make the breakfast this time”, to “Okay, so we'll do it at your place tonight, and um, I'll call you if I'm going to be late”. It’s only a subtle shift, and the tone is still outrageously flirtatious, but it’s a degree less personal/more transactional, and I feel like it helps in establishing the nature of the relationship. We know from “Homecoming” that Finn is in a ‘sneaking-out-in-the-middle-of-the-night’, “it’s so much hotter when you don’t talk” place when it comes to relationships, and I just don't see her—at this point, anyway—as willingly inviting someone into her space and making them breakfast in the morning.

AND THEN THE HENRY SCENE. The difference here is:

Aired:

Finn: "Athrok the Conqueror". That dragon movie. You know it's not in theatres anymore, and I'm pretty sure it didn't come out on DVD because I wanted to see that. Henry: Wait, you-you like fantasy movies? Finn: Yeah! I saw Lord of the Rings like forty times. Henry: That's awesome.

Script:

Finn: "Athrok the Conqueror"? Cheesy fantasy movie, right? Not in theaters anymore. Not on DVD yet. (OFF Henry, admits) Guy I'm seeing digs dragons. And I dig him.

The whole tone is different, shifting from a reluctant admission that she's researched lame movies for a guy she's into, to genuine enthusiasm for something she's passionate and unashamed about. Love that for her!!

Finn being a fantasy nerd has been part of my understanding of who she is for so long, that to see that was originally written as 'liking Moreno so much she'll research dragon movies for him' FELT WRONG. It's only a few lines but it's such a cute scene and I'm very glad they changed it, for two reasons really. One being that Finn and Henry are adorable in s12??? This woman only moves to Vegas after 12x14, and by 12x20, she's spent every night for two weeks at the batting cages with Henry, helping him practice his swing. I ADORE HER. There's also a very sweet cut scripted scene in 12x15 that goes:

Henry: So you go by "Finn"? Finn: Yup. You go by "Hank"? Henry: No. But… (thinks about this). "Hank Andrews, DNA". I like that. […] Finn: Find me when you have a profile, Hank.

THEY'RE JUST CUTE OKAY. So yeah. In the aired version she's seen Lord of the Rings like 40 times, and Henry thinks that's awesome, AND SO DO I.

(Also, I think it just feeds in so much to Finn being a people-pleaser. She gives people these little parts of herself that appeal most to them, so with Henry she loves fantasy movies, with Super Dave it's like START THE ELITE CHEF GROUP CHAT RN, and with Sara she loves crossword puzzles!! And those are all true things, they're not invented for her audience, but they're also not all of her. Because it takes time and/or being Russell to get the Full Julie Finlay Experience.)

Anyway I've spent longer thinking about THREE MINOR SCRIPT CHANGES than Lisa spent filming her scenes for this episode, so that's super chill.

#CSI #CSI CBS #Julie Finlay #Finlay Friday #Morgan Brody #Henry Andrews #my gifs #script extracts #Dune and Gloom

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saltynsassy31 · 8 months

Note

WAHH ok ok late but here i’ll ask some random more specific questions! DX i’m not very good at coming up with them tho

what’s the relationship between Fishsticks & Hagi in specifics? :7

how did Skipper and his friends form a band again? i think i forgort

how did Emp & Skip realize they liked each other ;3? hehee

what was he like before? like before losing Marcy or getting outta the Octarian army

i’m happy to listen to anything about ur guys so if u feel like saying more please do :3

Oooooh yes! Okay that makes it easier for me to answer XD

Just- gimme a sec cuz it's gonna be LONG hope you don't mind XD

The two's relationship is kinda funny actually lol, it started as a joke as all things does with my fucking ocs lol

Hagi doesn't like Fishsticks, like, at all, and to better understand why I'll talk a little about Fishsticks

He started out as a villain in the story, he is more of an antagonist now? But isn't a full blown villain, but he still does a lot the same as before. He's bad, no doubt about it, his mindset is of that "as long as I am honest about my intentions, it isn't my fault if people decide to take on the offer"

He is honest with his work, he doesn't lie to get people working for him, brutally honest guy

He knows his work isn't good work, but it's honest work, he is a very respected man on his buisness, especially since he is willing to show mercy and care more for his workers than other bosses, which makes him attractive to work with, but just because he treats em better doesn't mean he's always a good boss either, he shows favouritism and isn't shy about it either, he still talks bad about some of them and isn't scared to show his disappointment, he doesn't punish them though, unless they try to conspire against each other or him.

He roped in Skipper in his lowest moment, he had been chasing the boy since they met and took the opportunity he was abandoned and alone to recruit him, he treated him better than his other boss after all, and he doesn't seem to notice that he took a liking to the boy a little more than he bargened for until much later.

Since the two first met, Hagi took a dislike de him, they were married and divorced the first second they met XD

They have this dynamic of annoyed X flirtatious, Fishsticks is head over heals for Hagi and loooooves to annoy him ever chance he gets and Hagi has never hated a man more (that's a lie, he hates Skipper's first boss more), he kinda begrudgingly hangs out with Fishsticks for his son, they do grow fonder over time, but he still doesn't like the work Fishsticks does, but has come around to help his lackies after a rough work day when he is called upon (being a doctor and all and the buisness they do putting them at risk if going to a public hospital)

Fishsticks recruit those in need, taking advantage of their vulnerable state, but Hagi can't deny he's also done good working considering how poor the Splatlands are and many needing work, Fishsticks determination to change the system and all, even through not so... favourable means

He's not good, but he's not bad either

As for Skipper and his friends, well, i think you already know Cherry, her being the first he met since she was working with their old boss way before he joined, she helped him a lot

The other two, El he met after Cherry "died", having been fond of their music, after they suddenly stopped producing music, with Skipper publishing a goodbye song visibly lacking his band mate, he went searching for answers. Now I don't know if he goes to Cherry or Skipper first, but I'm leaning on the idea that he met up with Skipper first, asking for him to start his band again and that he's willing to do Cherry's part, he refuses saying that no one can replace her. Some time later he finds Cherry and tells her she knows where Skipper is and reunites them, at that point he's willing to drop the band idea, but to his surprise they start up again and invite him in

He offers them protection and to help keep their anonymity being a very popular hacker in the underground community

Ame, she is found when they were looking for a drummer, no one auditioned except her, but because she was still a child they refused since they didn't want her getting involved in their work, but she persists and eventually they let her in, especially since she is good on the drums, it's inevitable she gets involved but they do their work to keep her as safe as possible

How they realised they had feelings? Honestly it keeps changing depending on what sad romance song I'm listening to XD

But for the most part, I'm pretty sure it's Skipper who does first, breaking their friendship once it starts getting a little too close after he realised that in his line of work, he'd get hurt, but he still longs for him, noticible in the type of song he writes

He still wishes for Emperor to love him regardless, he's created this version of him in his head that if Emperor knew the type of work he did, found out of what he has done, he'd leave him, he doesn't want to face that reality and leaves before any heartbreak on both ends

But Emperor chases him regardless, especially after finding out how much he truly loved the guy

But I also like the idea that Emepror loved first, and when he found out what Skipper does he is mad and they have a huge fight, making Skipper's worst fear come true and he leaves

After a while Emperor tries to forget him, they cross paths a lot, unknowing to him, and eventually get tangled up together and are forced to help each other out, still feeling bitter, but after a while, they actually talk it out and realise they still love each other, Skipper tries to part ways again once Emperor got hurt, but Emperor keeps chasing him regardless

Idk, I really like enemies to lovers and I've been trying to do that with them but it's a little hard, what I wrote is prone to change a lot, I'll be honest, I wish I had a little help with it but my friend that usually does help me with this stuff knows nothing bout splatoon lore and the manga, so it's a little hard-

And now for how he was like before? Well, he was still a very violent little thing XD he worked hard to be where he is now, my personal interpretation of splatoon is that females are the dominant species (which they are btw! It is stated several times by devs that the girls are stronger lol and even irl, female octo are the dominant ones, idk bout squids tho) as we can see being that there are only female octolings fighting

Of course there are exceptions, as we see with DJ Octavio, but I feel they have to work a lot harder to be in those positions

Which is the case for Skipper, for him to be a seaweed octoling at such a young age, he was basically a prodigy! And he loved it! He loves the adrenaline that comes with working as a soldier, he loves being seen as strong and doesn't like it when it is implied otherwise

Massive ego, but also pretty caring towards those he cares about, he wasn't afraid to show affection or show that he cared (which you can see isn't the case anymore as his old boss made him believe that showing he cared was a weakness, showing he cared for Cherry got her killed after all, and he already had some hesitancy as he had lost people he cared for, he was scared to get close again), he was pretty curious too and loved to learn about people's anatomy thanks to his dad being a doctor, as well as plants and sometimes alchemy, which led to him later be known as the guy with poison

He didn't change all that much besides being weary and depressed and having major PTSD lmao, personality wise, it's still mostly intact, he still likes to look and dress the way he does and still loves music

#salty rants #splatoon oc #this got so much longer than i thought #but it was fun! haha

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depressedcoffeeaholic · 1 year

Text

1. What music genre fits your tc the most?

Dad rock or 2014 pop, there is no in between with this man.

2. What's your favorite personality trait for your tc?

The way he actually cares about you and making sure you succeed 😌

3. Do you think they fit into a certain aesthetic or two? If so, which ones?

Dark Naturalism, and no I will not be providing context.

4. If you could, how would you comfort your tc? (Like if they seem to be having a rough day)

I would probably just make him take a nap or something because he seems super tired and stressed out lately.

5. What type of winter activity do you think is their favorite?

Staying inside to watch a movie while it snows for sure.

6. If you could (or have) what book or movie would you recommend to you tc?

Australia with Hugh Jackman

7. What's their sense of humor like? Is yours similar?

It's somewhat similar, for sure. I hardly ever made jokes with J last year because I was so shy, but light banter with him is always fun.

8. What's the nicest thing your tc has ever said to you?

Well, it's not necessarily a compliment but I really like it when he calls me darling and you can hear a slight accent to it. (I can't mention any actual compliment because my friends might find this...)

9. What wintery activity would you love to do with them?

I think it's be fun to go skiing if I wasn't so bad at it

10. What do you think your tc's love language is?

Words of Affirmation, he really strives toward trying to gain acceptance with people.

11. Do you have a quote or poem that you associate with them?

Poem: Age Difference by Lang Leav (please for the love of goodness's sake, check it out, you'll see why)

12. Do you prefer emailing them or talking in person?

Talking, because for whatever reason it may be, I hate sending emails.

13. Do they have a signature cologne or perfume?

I don't know what he wears but it smells like a mix of mint, coffee, mahogany and new leather.

14. Is your tc someone you can go to for support?

Yes, he really helped me out a lot last year and I'm very thankful for that

15. Have you ever pictured yourself with their last name or vice versa?

No, I actually haven't.

16. Is there anything you don't like about your tc?

He's a lot less personal than he used to be and he's not so talkative when other people around me are also trying to talk to him as well.

17. Have you ever seen them in a really bad mood?

Yes, he's been angry more times this year than I've seen him be like. And he's not a moody person at all-usually.

18. Does your tc ever laugh differently when they're with you?

He does! It's deeper, and he always looks me in the eyes when he's laughing at something I said.

19. What's your tc's staple drink? (If they have one)

Dark coffee

20. Is there anything that the two of you have in common? Is there a lot?

We both have a few things in common, and I remember one time when he mentioned how he noticed a few specks of blue in my eyes just like him (well his are blue and mine are dark green) and it was a really cute moment.

21. Have they ever targeted you directly in class or in the halls?

Definitely, especially because I'm easy to tease.

22. Have you ever said anything that might have given away your feelings?

He asked me if I thought he was funny and I said yes (except my voice had a very flirtatious tone that I did NOT mean to use.)

23. Do you dream about them often?

Not really

24. Is your tc more physically or verbally affectionate? Or not at all?

Verbally, for sure.

25. If you could, (or have) what would you get your tc for Christmas?

I saw this one really nice mug awhile back that I really regret not buying.

26. Do you like them in a romantic sense or in a more platonic way?

Definitely romantic now, but it did start platonically.

27. Are they a cozy sweater person?

No, he's a polo person.

28. What color looks best on them?

Grey and navy blue. Although he does occasionally look absolutely sinful when he wears a black shirt and jeans, I don't know why.

29. If you could see yourself the way they see you, would you take the chance?

Ummm, yes. Partially because of the amount of embarrassing things he's caught me doing.

30. What little habit they have is your absolute favorite?

I love it when he immediately waves and smiles at me the moment he sees me in the halls.

31. If it was legal, would you share a midnight kiss with them?

...yes. At the same time, only if he is was single. I do not support cheating nor do I support pedophilia.

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phanfictioncatalogue · 1 year

Text

Teen and Up Rated (2) Masterlist

part one

a delicate cycle (ao3) - phantasticworks

Summary: twelve years should be enough time to learn how to do laundry... right?

all of these small things (ao3) - possumdnp

Summary: It’s Dan’s first day back from his American tour, and Phil can’t believe how much he’s missed him.

and more still to come (ao3) - cityofphanchester

Summary: He wonders for half a second whether it was stupid to come here, whether he’ll have to go home tomorrow restless with worry over how much of Dan he actually knows.

“I’m starving,” Dan says, and it’s his regular familiar voice.

and the days after that (ao3) - cityofphanchester

Summary: He can hear Dan’s voice coming down the hall, laughing with someone from the crew, and it makes his breath stop in his chest.

(doomed tour usa, autumn 2022)

are you gay? - manchestereyes

Summary: The 5 times Dan denied he was gay (and the one time he didn’t.)

Beautiful Liar (ao3) - withawhimper

Summary: A devastating revelation from a cute stranger sitting in the bar where Dan is supposed to be meeting his boyfriend rocks Dan's world- but it turns out that might not be such a bad thing

Betta Late Than Never (ao3) - indistinct_echo

Summary: Dan hires Phil to therapize his betta. They get along swimmingly.

Burned Into My Soul (ao3) - Nefertiti1052 (Succubusphan)

Summary: "Sometimes you have to run into this head first," Dan always said. Ironically, that's exactly what he did.

By the way, I adore you. (ao3) - lxzyfangirl

Summary: Dan is very sick, and the future is not looking too bright for him, thankfully, he has Phil, his best friend, to accompany him through it all. But is Dan satisfied with being just friends?

Collector (ao3) - philsmeatylegss

Summary: Phil’s journey of being gay except it’s completely made up by me

dancing on the blades (you set my heart on fire) (ao3) - kishere

Summary: Dan Howell is an ice skater in England, a non power player in the world of competitive ice skating. Phil Lester is the greatest ice skater to come out of England in the past decade, part of a family legacy. When Dan is offered a spot at Phil's family gym, he learns what he was missing the most to be the best ice skater he could be.

Or: the yuri on ice inspired au

Decisions (ao3) - philsmeatylegss

Summary: Otherwise known as “I know we don’t know each other but my awful ex is here and I’m scared, please just pretend I’m your boyfriend.” And then more stuff happens that’s sweet

easy for you to say (ao3) - phantasticworks

Summary: Phil tries to convince Dan to throw away the grey shirt. Dan can’t do it.

Falling Flat - the-squirrel-queen

Summary: Dan is a pianist. A recent graduate from Juliard, he finds himself at a job playing music for school children. Phil is a music teacher at said school. They have a rather interesting relationship in class. A rather flirtatious relationship. The children see the interactions between the two and begin to wonder if they are in a relationship. Soon, a work relationship blooms into a romantic one through a love of music and each other.

Imaginary Friends - adorkablephil

Summary: Nothing’s AU ... except that Dan and Phil have been appearing in each other’s dreams since childhood without realizing it because they’re soulmates. Everything on the outside looks like the reality we’re used to irl.

Investigations (ao3) - philsmeatylegss

Summary: Obliviousness runs in the family

long-distance lads (ao3) - possumdnp

Summary: Dan worries that he’s going to miss Phil while on tour.

Keep My Head Above Water - paradisobound

Summary: Dan is the captain of his high school swim team and the sport means more than anything to him. He hopes to be recruited into college so he can continue to swim, however, his plan changes when he fails English. Being tutored by Phil, Dan soon sees that even though he still wants more than anything to continue to swim, he may also want something else too.

Kick Me While I'm Down (ao3) - jerseker

Summary: Dan and Phil meet in an adult kickball league. Phil is just there to make friends. Dan is - not.

Magi (ao3) - yikesola

Summary: Dan doesn’t know how he hadn't thought about a gift for Phil yet. Phil is still feeling a little weird about how much he spent on Dan’s gift.

A fic about coincidence and sacrifice.

(not a) boyfriend hoodie (ao3) - dizzy

Summary: Phil really likes cuddling up in Dan's new hoodie.

Which would be fine, if it were actually Dan's hoodie.

often and frequently (ao3) - dickiegreenleaf

Summary: It's ironic, really. Phil's just spent all this money on a new home when the only place he wants to spend his time is at his hot neighbour's place.

On The Road (ao3) - yikesola

Summary: Phil still isn’t quite used to it all being okay. He isn’t used to Dan not fearfully dissecting a tweet reply that called them queer icons. He isn’t used to things like what the two teenagers they bumped into at the airport said when they stuttered out, “I met my girlfriend because of you,” feeling only good. No twinge of bittersweet.

A fic about changes and landscape.

Project Poliwag (ao3) - natigail

Summary: Phil hadn't intended for his garden to become a haven for rescued Pokémon, but it had happened accidentally. This particular rescue wasn't that different, even though he had never rescued 117 Pokémon at once before. But he couldn't leave the Pokémon eggs to be destroyed, and he was willing to raise a whole army of Poliwag on his own if he must.

What Phil hadn't counted on was a stranger with a lost look in his eye turning up on his doorstep and offering to help with the project.

Send My Love (To Your New Lover) (ao3) - phantasticworks

Summary: Dan has some jealousy issues to deal with when he finds out Phil has had a run-in with someone from his past.

security! (ao3) - natigail

Summary: Dan comes home to Phil after tour rehearsals. They cook, kiss and banter. And Dan reflects on the word "security".

since i wrote you last (ao3) - dizzy

Summary: Dan and his letters to Santa over the years.

The city is so loud (but you drown out all the noise) (ao3) - natigail

Summary: Phil's pack might have kicked him out for mating with a human, but his love for Dan was much stronger than anything he'd ever experienced before. It wasn't easy to adjust to living with Dan in his - now their - small flat in London, but Phil would do it again in a heartbeat. With Dan by his side, Phil was sure he could get used to all the weird things humans did.

The Flowers Are For You - paradisobound

Summary: It’s Dan and Phil’s one month “anniversary” and Phil wants to get Dan flowers. The only catch is he has no idea what flowers to get Dan, or even if Dan will like them.

The River (ao3) - Portia331

Summary: Dan arrived in Melbourne two weeks ago with just one suitcase crammed with running gear, psychology textbooks, and a mere fraction of his wardrobe especially curated to fit both his aesthetic and the Melbourne weather.

He's about to start in the role of a lifetime on a 12 month contract, but he's barely ready for the Australian summer heat, let alone what the world is about to throw at him.

The X-Philes (ao3) - UnorthodoxSavvy

Summary: Phil is a psychic. Dan is a detective. When Phil is visited by the ghost of his brother, he knows something isn't right. Can he and Dan solve the case, or will they become the next victims?

To Dwell on Dreams (ao3) - carltzmann

Summary: "Taking in the whole image, though, it hardly hurt. Watching this perfect version of himself smile and wave and talk to his friends, bathing in success and appreciation, Dan suddenly started to believe that maybe all that was possible, even with the confirmation of a terrifying secret."

Dan and Phil meet at the Mirror of Erised.

Together Again (ao3) - LivingVicarioslyThroughDaydreams

Summary: This is Dan’s moment, and Phil is more than happy to let him have this time. So when Dan calls every night, gushing with energy and excitement, Phil doesn’t tell him how he wants to be with him, how he misses him so much. He only smiles and laughs along and tells Dan how proud of him he is.

But now Dan is coming home, back to him. He almost feels selfish with how excited he is. Today though, he’ll allow it. Dan has had his time to find himself, but today: today will be just for them. Together again.

(Phil's perspective on missing Dan and being reunited with him)

Weight on my Shoulders (ao3) - ByTheFire

Summary: When Phil starts getting some unexpected gifts from his dad he starts to worry if he knows something he is not ready to share. Thankfully Dan is there to make it all a bit less scary. All Phil can hope is his dad doesn't want to change who he truly is.

when we were younger. (ao3) - dylaesthetics

Summary: dan and phil go on holiday to wales (+ some freja feels)

___

OR dan is seriously in need of a breather after the difficult year he's had, and finds home in no one other than phil

winter winds (ao3) - dizzy

Summary: coffee shop au

Work That Rock (ao3) - adorkablephil

Summary: Phil has more confidence now, but sometimes he still feels awkward

#phanfictioncatalogue #phan #phanfic #phanfiction #masterlists #teenandup masterlist #teenandup

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captainsupernoodle · 2 years

Text

Oh hey it's saturday

It's been all stranger things all the time recently so here we gooooooo

Some multichaptered fic

I'm Wanted (Dead or Alive) - CaptainnAustralia - 68k

It’s the summer of 1987 and Edward Munson was just accused of murder.

Again.

Thank god there's a party of teenagers (some with superpowers), their babysitter, a cool lesbian, the babysitter’s gun wielding ex-girlfriend, her OTHER ex-boyfriend, and his stoned best friend on Eddie's side. What a relief.

There’s murders, mystery, mayhem — it is the late 80s, after all.

It's sweet, it's hot, it's a lovely lovely balance between the romance and the found family, it's a snappy murder mystery, it addresses the part where Dustin killed a Russian, Will and Nancy get to go a little feral, I want it on my shelf immediately.

the only way to my heart is with an axe - Themoondogs - 34k

No one has caught Steve Harrington’s eye in a while, and he’s not going to go looking. And with his tendency to get involved with interdimensional bullshit and the gaggle of teenagers that follows him around, it’s probably for the best. He quickly learns that the universe has other plans for him, and they come in the shape of a goofy, guitar-wielding nerd.

In which Steve is just trying to live his life but Eddie is essentially hitting him over the head with a very flirtatious hammer.

My bookmark note: *lying on the floor, crying* it's just so fucking CUTE. There's a kiss jar and a new "you lose/you win" board. Good fuzzy feelings all the way down!

rivers and roads - lesbianrobin - 38k

Jonathan,

Checking to see if I got the right address for you guys. Just in case, you know?

And I thought you'd want to know that even though the kids miss Will and El a lot they're getting by OK so far. Everybody is a little quieter but Mike isn't showing any signs of deppression which I know was like a legitimate concern. But you probably already hear about him from Nancy so I'm sure you already knew.

Anyways you don't have to write back if you just put a big check mark over this paper and do the "return to sender" thing or whatever that works and I'll know you got it.

Thanks,

Steve

An elusive non-steddie fic!! Some stonathan for spice, and an epistolary fic on top of that. I love the clear contrasts between how Steve and Jonathan write, and how what they really need and find in each other is someone they can just talk to, a way to be raw and honest. Very sweet.

Some oneshots

missouri loves company - Themoondogs - 8k

Eddie never thought that he would end up hanging out with Steve, let alone driving twelve hours across multiple state lines with him. He can't quite figure out why Steve offers to go, but he's pretty sure it's going to kill him.

***

This is quite simply an excuse to write eight thousand words of flirty banter because we didn't get enough of it in the show.

I love me a road trip in miniature. Eddie is chewing through his steering wheel in flustered confusion and I'm having a wonderful time.

the opposite of love - birthdaycandles - 5k

The weird thing about nights like tonight, though, is that they might be cursed but they’re also the only time Jonathan ever gets to see Steve Harrington without it being unforgivingly awkward. Even if seeing him involves being the one helping him onto a hospital exam table and then standing to the side to provide clumsy emotional support, Jonathan will take it.

Immediately post season three, Steve is having a moment about some needles and Jonathan is here to hold his hand

Some gen fic

smoke signals - plastiswafers - 2k

"I can't figure out your movie taste," Robin says.

"I see where you're going wrong," Steve says. "I don't have any taste."

Watching movies, navigating boundaries, and learning what it's like to be comfortable with a best friend

strange light in the sky - birthdaycandles - 8k

“I think all the demodogs dropped dead when El closed the gate, and if there was a fresh batch we’d know. Or Will would know, with his little brain sensor.” Steve shrugs, like it’s simple. “And I think if it’s a werewolf, we should leave ‘em alone. What if it’s like, Mr. Clarke?”

Nancy groans and brings a hand to her temple. Robin seems to be genuinely considering it, her mouth screwed up while she contemplates. Finally she shakes her head decisively. “I think it would conflict too much with his career. But we should make a suspect list.”

Sometimes there might be a werewolf but everything will be okay

A WIP

Water Closet - stillmadaboutpetra - 52k - gen (developing steddie in the bg)

Steve's heard that a lot of life changing conversations usually happen in the kitchen or on the porch, but in his experience, it's the bathroom.

5 conversations plus 1 that slowly put Steve, The Party, and their big mess of a family, back together.

I LOVE the Steve pov voice, it's unique and quite funny. Talk about those feelings, friends! The buried issues that this writer is digging up to beat out like a rug are ✨perfection✨

A series

Impossible Things and the Tin Can - GibbousLunation - 19k - WIP

Pacific Rim crossover

Steve’s Wishlist, as created by one of the only two Jaeger pilots stationed in the home away from home Californian outpost, (and if anyone asked certainly not a bucket list, unless the person asking was Robin):

- Attend Henderson’s graduation ceremony next week

- Don’t be late for dinner plans

- Pass Joyce’s exam

(At the top of the list, unwritten and constant, get the hell through the day.)

OOOOOOOOOH what do you do when you're loved already halfway in the grave fighting monsters. The first one shot is Steve pov and mostly steddie focused, but the second is all other povs. A very fun combo of the Kaiju and upside-down monsters that I'm looking forward to get more details about.

#weekend reads #fic recs #stranger things fic recs #theres a banner now :3

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queenoftheworldisdead · 3 years

Note

Could you maybe write something with dark dark Steve who has a huge size kink and crying kink and loves to humiliate?

School Days

Note: sorry it took so long. been kinda down. also hope i did OK with humiliation.

Summary: Co-worker makes you feel uncomfortable.

Warning: 18+Only, short reader, size kink, crying kink, humiliation kink, non consent, forced fingering and cock warming i think

Dark Coach Steve x Short Teacher Reader

📚

You had always had a love of teaching. Growing up your friends would always groan when it was your turn to pick what to play, because you always chose to play school.

You knew exactly what you wanted to do when you got to college. You wanted to shape young minds. It was fascinating watching them grow and learn right before your very eyes.

Shelby elementary hired you two years after you received all of your certificates. Replacing their beloved Mrs.Pepper Potts after she moved out of town with her husband.

You taught first graders. You preferred teaching the lower grades. The higher grades were a bit difficult. Competing for attention when most of the students where dealing with raging hormones proved an exhausting endeavor. Your short stature became a reoccurring issue too. During your student teacher days you realized the taller they got the more they seemed to not take you seriously.

At least working with the lower grades you were less likely to be confused as a student. You had lost track of how many times you were stopped in the hall by a colleague. With the lower grades you towered over your class and commanded respect with little effort.

📚

You felt exhausted. Your first parent teacher meeting was over. It was endearing and encouraging that so many parents had so many concerns about the development of their little ones. But their critiques on your credentials didn't fail to strike a nerve, an issue new teachers faced all the time. You smiled through it as you normally did. Letting them have their back handed remarks as you answered and waited out the clock.

When it was all over you needed a drink. You cleared up the mess they left for you, a preview of what to expect from their spawn.

When everything was in its place you tackled the blackboard. Taking out your stool you stood on tip toes erasing. You had the bright idea of outlining your curriculum on the board for all the parents to view. It was hard getting it all on the massive board, but with your step stool you got as high as you could go.

"Hey! Whoa you know that's dangerous." A voice rushed to your side as your stool tilted.

"Are you OK little one?" he asked helping you down.

God he's tall. You barely came eye to eye with his chest. You tensed in his arms and when he realized his mistake he released you.

"Oh sorry" he rubbed the back of his head slightly embarrassed. "I'm Steve Rogers." He reached out a hand for you to shake. You took it and introduced yourself. His firm grip swallowed your hand, when he squeezed you held in the hurt from the pressure.

Steve's presence was intimidating despite the smile he wore. When he released your hand, you took as step back, but he stepped forward.

He is just a close talker. Don't over analyze.

"Sorry again with your clothes I just assumed you were..." He motioned at your clothing.

Taking inspiration from Ms Frizz, your favorite animated teacher, you always wore colorful puffy skirts that depicted various things related to education or fairy tails. The look kept the attention of the youngsters, but it certainly didn't look childish.

"It's OK, but I am afraid you are a bit late for the meeting."

Spinning away you move to the other side of your desk to give yourself more space. "If you wouldn't mind filling in your information, encase of emergencies or special needs. I know you probably filled it out for the front office, but I like to have my own copy." You explained as you handed him a pen and the piece of construction paper with the other parents info.

He took it and filled it out. "I just erased the curriculum, but I can email you a copy."

"Did you also used to teach at Camdien?" Steve inquired, bending over your desk as he wrote. While you waited you packed up your belongings.

"Um yes I was a student teacher there. Did you have a child there too?"

"I coached there actually. Well was." He rose and approached you. Slipping your purse straps on your shoulder, you tried to remember if you seen his face before. You didn't recognize it. As striking as he was you doubted you would forget it.

But the athletic department lived in a world separate from the teachers. Their multiple championships brought in funding that went to their brand new athletic facility. The highly coveted building allowed them to live above the peasant class of the faculty. You had even heard a nonsensical rumor that they even had a Starbucks and onsite masseuse.

When he handed it back you reached out, but Steve pulled the paper just out of reach. Hovering it over your head like a bully playing keep away. You huff and frown after two attempts. You were not a child and would not be treated as such. Pursing your lips you made a move to leave. You would just go through the admin office to get the information.

"Aw don't pout, but I must say you do look adorable when you do." He smiled down at you as he blocked your retreat. His wholesome grin did not match the darkness in his eyes. There was a disconnect somewhere. You felt like a mouse before a lion. Were the other teachers like this? You were so eager to get started working you did little research in the school that so swiftly hired you. "Here you go."

Snatching the paper away you say, "thank you." It sounded slightly annoyed, but you did your best to choke down the edge.

Unhooking the lip of your bag you placed it with the others as his shadow clouded you. Ignoring it you side step him.

"Yeah I remember. I used to see you at Camdien." Steve recalled, blocking you once more. You stopped just short of bumping into him as you closed your bag. "Cute little thing, roaming the halls." Steve informed you, stepping closer once more, making you take a step back. The alarm bells blared in your head at that comment.

"Boy wasn't I relieved I wasn't crossing the line with all the thoughts I had." He chuckled as your back hit the chalkboard. You had to strain your neck to look him in the eye this close.

The principal was making his rounds soon. He wouldn't try anything right?

"Mr. Rogers-"

"Coach" he interrupted. He didn't touch you but that fact gave you very little relief. You felt your nails dig into your palm as you gripped the thin strap of your bag. Your arm the only barrier between you two. "Just call me Coach."

"Rogers!" Your saving grace, Principal Barnes, exclaimed from the door. Steve's body blocked you from James. "There you are. Nice to see your getting to know your colleagues."

"Yeah, just sharing stories from Camdien" Steve stepped aside to greet Principal James. His hand landed on the top of your head, messing your hair as he patted you playfully like a dog. You swallowed the discomfort as he moved to talk to James. You gathered the rest of your things as they focused their attention on each other.

"Oh yeah I forgot you both came from their."

You took that opportunity to make your exit. Walking fast mumbling a 'goodnight,' you bolted toward the door. They replied back, but you ignored it, allowing their chatter to fade the further down the hall you got.

📚

The first week of school was hectic. Lost students, late students, little accidents here and there, it ran the gambit. But nothing worried you more than P.E. period.

Steve was listed as your classes gym teacher and made the drop-off a chore. It surprised you how increasingly inappropriate he was becoming. Always stretching out your name flirtatiously in front of the children causing them to taunt you with 'OOO's, and pepper you with questions about the nonexistent relationship until you departed.

They stayed in line as you approached the double doors that led to the gymnasium. He was there, dressed in his sweat pants, gym shirt and the whistle dangled from his lips.

As you ushered them inside he caught site of you as he wrangled another group and smirked. It was unnerving especially when your students egged him on by making kissy noises loudly when they noticed him too. On one occasion he sent a note with one of your students asking you out. You ignored it.

You should've reported him you know, but what would they say 'Oh he was just being friendly' or any number of things to justify his behavior. You'd been in enough situations to know without evidence that met their standards nothing would happen.

📚

In the teachers lounge Steve made his presence known. You stared at your custom coffee mug as it sat high on the edge of the third shelf. You had half a mind to take and break his, as it taunted you from the first. You were growing more and more tired of his antics. This wasn't the first time and you knew it wouldn't be the last.

Two arms planted themselves on either side of you as something rested on your head.

It was him you knew it. Who else would it be?

"Need some help little one?" He hummed.

"God damn it Steve get off me" you barked You elbowed him, but the mountain of a man didn't budge.

"No need to be nasty."

You felt him push you into the counter, crushing you against it as he reached for your cup on the high shelf.

"Here you go" he said placing it daintily in front of you.

Calm down don't blow your lid he is doing this to fuck with you.

"Shouldn't you be watching my class?" You asked as you waited for him to move out of your way.

"Student teacher got me covered. You remember what that's like? Give them the work while we teachers kick back and relax."

He backed away allowing you to get the coffee, but stayed glued to your side. You ignored him, pulling out your phone and flopped on the couch, waiting for gym time to end.

Steve of course sat next to you crowding you into the corner. He boldly placed a hand on your thigh, you brushed it off, cursing at him to 'go away'. If you got up he would only follow so you crossed your legs and leaned into the arm of the couch. Don't let him get to you.

Steve stretched out his arm on the back of the couch. Even sitting next to you he towered over you. His arm wrapped around your shoulder, pulling you in snugly. Your head resting against his tone chest. "God your so adorable."

"Steve!" you almost shriek at him as his other hand slyly crept under your skirt. "Jesus Christ what the hell is wrong with you."

You try to stand suddenly, but get jerked back down. Landing in the same awkward situation as before.

"Fuck you let me go" you hissed at him. He only chuckled as you tried to stop his hand from advancing up your skirt again. You became panicked the further he got.

Clamping your thighs tightly together as he wedged between your crossed legs. Your eyes shifted to the door before you, the couch sat across from the only entrance. If anyone came in they surely would be under the wrong assumptions.

His arm refused to budge as you attempted to pry him away. Steve was nothing but muscle, struggling was getting you no where, each shift pressed him hard against your sensitive area.

📚

"You know I've been nothing, but nice to you" Steve sounded disappointed.

"Stop please" you sounded panicked and desperate. Your nails dug into his arm as you tried to fight back an ache that taunted you as he teased.

"But you always give me attitude." He stated casually.

You slapped him. The sound loud in the empty room. Your eyes blurred with tears of frustration. Your hit did nothing, only leaving his cheek red, but from the smile on his face he liked it.

"And violent too. Hope you don't act that way around your class" he tsked while poking hard at the growing wet spot. You felt your spine curve and breath become heavier, your toes curled in your shoes as he increased his friction.

"Oh look at you. You like that don't you" he teased rubbing circles after noticing the tension in your legs relax. You cocked back to slap him again, but stopped when you felt his other hand at the back of your neck. It squeezed softly, but it was a warning nonetheless. You felt defeated. Not only was Steve bigger than you, he was stronger. Tears of frustration finally fell as you lowered your hand and let him do as he pleased.

"God your even cuter when you cry." He preened. "Tell you what. Since we don't have that much time....Kiss me and I will stop." You bristled as you felt him peel your panties to the side.

He didn't wait for your reply. Steve crashed his lips on to yours without warning. You flinched expecting pain, but it was soft. It was so tender that with anyone else they would given and close their eyes, accept it, but you couldn't.

"Stop..Steve.. Please" You panted over his lips, pushing at his chest as his fingers pushed into you. He didn't stop, the kiss only embolden him to go further. You whimpered and moaned as he took from you.

"Give me your panties" he asked pulling away from you, but his fingers still curled inside. "You promised you'd stop" you remind him, wiping away tears.

He wasn't going to relent, you could tell by the determination in his eyes. You felt exposed and embarrassed. Anyone could walk in at any moment and he knew it. He would probably get a slap on the wrist while you would need to find employment else where to escape the shame.

"I promise this time" he said lowly. "No tricks."

Swallowing your pride you lifted in your seat, he moved just enough to let the fabric pass. Rolling them down your knees quickly you hand them over. His hands slipped from you as you pass it. He held them up to the light and examined the wetness he created. Wiping away tears, you stood and bolted toward the door, but stopped when Steve whistled loudly.

"I think you forgot something."

You turned to find him pointing at your discarded mug.

"If you leave it, I leave this in it", he waved your shame in the air.

"Don't forget to wash it....don't want it to leave a stain" he ordered from the couch. You walked back on edge. Snatching the mug from the other side of the table. You rushed to the sink and rinsed your cup. More tears fell as you felt the wetness between your legs. The mirror mounted above the sink allowed you to examine yourself. Your mascara bled a bit and lipstick smeared, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a dab of a napkin.

You swore to never step foot in the lounge ever again. If you needed to eat you would do it in your car or at your desk. This was supposed to be a magical time for you, but with Steve it had turned into a nightmare.

You sniffed as you blinked away the tears, forcing yourself to stop crying. Gym time was almost over and you needed to pull yourself together and collect your class.

"You know how often I wonder about you" Steve said rising from the couch, you watched him carefully from the mirror. You fumbled your mug, the water splashing back at you.

"Steve you promised" you said meekly, utterly defeated. He stared at you through the mirror, you felt his eyes watch your discomfort as you picked up the cup.

"What would the parents think if they knew their kids teacher walks around the class with no panties on" he tutted. You hung your head low and noticed your panties balled up in his hand as he rested it on the counter.

"I also wonder" He said pressing you into the sink. You felt his resolve through his sweat pants. "Do you fit?"

Fit?

Then it became clear. You felt his cock against your backside. You tried frantically to flea, but Steve caught you by the neck.

"I'm willing to bet you can't even fit half of me inside" he whispered in your ear as he bent you over the sink, crushing. "If I'm wrong I will let you go." Your eyes rounded as he hauled up your skirt. You whimpered as the cool air of the staff room tickled your exposed rear.

Steve was really going to fuck you in the staff room. These walls were paper thin and he knew it. Your head swirled in panic as you pleaded with him to stop. He only chuckled and shimmied down his sweat pants as you swatted back at him.

He angled and aligned himself as you sobbed. The tip slipped through your wet thighs, finding the target of its need.

You choked down a guttural moan as he breathed out 'good girl'. He watched your face as every inch stretched through your insides.

"Its is too much" you gasped out, trembling from the pressure, dancing on your tip toes as you adjusted around him.

"Its all inside" he praised the accomplishment. Forcing you to look at the mirror. "You fit me so good...see."

The mirror reflected your assault to your horror. "All cute holding me inside, taking everything I got" he said while stretching you.

Shooting pains radiated from your core as sharp breaths escaped you.

"Look at you" he taunted "coming apart just for me.... "

You heard the door to the room open and close quickly as you panted wildly. Steve didn't pull out, unabashed, letting whomever take in his pale ass as he continued to stuff you.

You didn't know who saw you, you only hoped his massive body hid you and your shame.

📚

#dark steve x reader #dark steve x black reader #dark!steve x reader #dark!steve x black!reader #black writer

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