#more new less déjà vu

[happywebdesign]

https://officeofoverview.com/

[calummss]

Do You Get Déjà Vu | Thomas Shelby

masterlist

summary: thomas doesn’t come to pick up his daughter. you decide to take her home only to find a man of a table with a bullet in his chest and a lot of deja vu

pairing: fem! reader x thomas shelby

words: 1.6k

a/n: just fluff and comedy tbh… not my usual angst i promise also, this takes place in 1919 because season 1 tommy has my heart. helena is around 9/10 years :)

How you disliked summer. Sweat pearls dripping simply sitting and breathing. Delicate fabric sticking to you like a bee and its honey. It was simply too hot for a woman to be wearing layers of modest clothing but here you were, sitting in front of your desk; no countertop in sight, too many different documents sprawled across the surface, each waiting on your eyes and conscious to scan it and then evaluate whatever category it fell into.

‘Miss Verys?’ Katie’s voice pulled you out of your slump, yet your heart skipped a beat when you saw her come closer with an arm full of newer papers that acquired your attention.

‘Please tell me you are joking…’

‘I fear not, Miss,’ she pressed her lips together as she placed them onto the right corner, the surface area with less than ten documents. ‘But these are all for the week.’ She smiled.

‘Finally some good fucking news,’ you huffed, ‘Sorry,’ you tilted your head when you realised Katie was taken aback by your choice of words.

‘Also I don’t wish to add more to your plate but Helena is still present. It seems Mr. Shelby has yet to pick her up. Do you want me to stay and wait with her?’

‘Katie you are truly an angel, really, I am so grateful but you are being paid to work on from eight to three, I couldn’t let you do that. Legally and from my heart.’ You curled your lips, fingers rubbing against the sheet of paper you were waiting to flip. ‘Just tell Helena to pack her things and to come to my office. Since I will be busy reading through all of these I might end up staying for quite a while.’

‘Of course. And thank you, Miss Verys, have a good day.’

‘You too.’

Katie left and you were stuck in front of an ocean of paper. If you had known that directing a school was so strenuous you might’ve thought about inaugurating a school twice. But it was a lovely institute. A school for girls with the most brightest and innovative minds, no runner up to men but competition with finest ideas.

Momentarily Helena came through the door and patiently stood at the door frame, her bag in her grip.

‘Hello Helena,’ you smiled at her. ‘Your father is not here yet?’

‘No.’

‘That’s okay, just wait here with me. I have much work and since we’re the only ones here I thought company would be nice, no? Sit,’ you pointed to the chair, Helena still standing at the entrance barely having moved.

Helena hummed in response.

‘So,’ you grabbed one of your quills to start signing documents that needed your signature. ‘What do you like to do when you’re not at school or doing homework? I am pretty sure you like horse riding?’

‘I do.’

‘Something else perhaps?’

‘Recently we bought a family car,’ Helena had sat down in the chair, laying her bag beside her as she relaxed into the seat. ‘When we got it we drove through the countryside…it was so thrilling. The wind on my face felt different to when I am riding. Daddy looked so happy too. I like cars.’

‘My my, what a riveting experience.’ You glanced at her from your work. ‘I remember my first time in a car. Felt exactly like how you described it.’

Helena beamed back you, her bright blue eyes gleaming with excitement, ‘My uncle Finn liked the car ride at first too but we had to stop because he got sick,’

‘And did you?’

‘No, I felt great. I love cars.’

‘I too think cars are the greatest innovation since the marvellous idea to roast and ferment cocoa beans to make chocolate.’ You let out a lighthearted laugh, infecting Helena with the same giggle.

‘I like chocolate.’

‘You do?’ Your lips curled. ‘Do you want one? I might have a bit stashed somewhere between all this energy-consuming work,’

‘I’ve only had it twice,’ Helena began another story, ‘It is very expensive and my father says it is bad for your teeth and that you mustn’t eat too much of it. He said that when he was visiting London he met a man outside of the sweet shop who became so round, simply for eating a lot of chocolate.’

‘Well best you have only one piece then,’ you put a piece into your mouth before giving her her piece. ‘This is my favourite. Got it from Cornwall. They make the best sweets.’

Taking the piece you handed her, she started eating it, her eyes in awe.

‘What about your father, Helena?’

‘What about him?’

‘What does he do for work?’ You asked, amusingly raising your eyebrows before taking the second heap of documents before you.

Helena hesitated. ‘I don’t think I can say.’

‘Why not?’

‘Family business…’

‘Family business?’ You looked up, Helena nodding her head in response. ‘I’m just curious that’s all. When you speak of him, you speak endearingly. You seem to have a very good relationship.’

‘We do.’ She ate the last bite, looking around the room. ‘If he wasn’t my father he would be my best friend.’

‘How sweet.’

With an easy lead conversation, time passed quicker than expected. But an hour later and Mr. Shelby still hadn’t come to pick up Helena.

With minutes passing you realised that Mr. Shelby wouldn’t show up anytime soon. It was also way past closing time so you had to start locking up the building. You thought it best to walk Helena home to see if anyone was there and if not you’d take her back to yours so she would have a safe place to stay until anyone got in touch.

‘Hello?’ You knocked against the door, the hard wooden door aching your knuckles as you repeatedly hit against it. ‘This is Miss Verys from Small Heath Institute for Girls. I have your daughter Helena with me as she has not been picked up yet.’ Your breath ricocheted off the door.

Seconds later you could hear the lock turning and were greeted by an older woman, her hair all over the place as her dark eyes burned into yours. Feeling as if she were about to take a jape at you, you quickly jumped back into your sentence. ‘I’m so sorry to intrude but I grew worried when Helena still hadn’t been picked up yet. I hope that all is well.’

Your eyes left her frame, seeing figures surrounding a table where there seemed to be a man laying down upon, quick huffs and puffs echoing from behind.

‘Arthur, shut up and just get this out of me.’

‘Drink this, Tommy. It’ll help with the pain.’

The unravelling scene before you had your full attention, completely forgetting the woman at the door.

‘I—oh no don’t do that!’ You raised your voice, pushing past her, now standing in the living room with three men staring at you. ‘I’m sorry to intrude but I was a nurse at the front and seeing you just stick your fingers inside his wound just rang my bells.’

The man on the table had blue eyes that protruded from the dim light within the room, his chest covered in dry and fresh blood, sweat dampening his skin and clothes. You overheard that his name was Thomas Shelby, Helena’s father.

You stepped closer and examined his wound. A bullet wound. Minimal surface damage and easily removed.

‘If someone could get me some bandages, an unopened bottle of alcohol and some tweezers with a bowl of warm water.’

‘I’ll get it.’ Helena walked past you to what seemed to be the kitchen.

‘The cheap one, Hallie,’ the light haired one yelled after her, his toothpick sitting between his lips. ‘If you open that rum from the Caribbean, I swear to you that I won’t give you any more sweets.’

‘You give her sweets?’ Thomas lifted his head.

‘Sometimes.’

‘Mr. Shelby if you could just relax for a short time longer. I will get that bullet out of you as swiftly as possible.’

Further taking in his naked chest you noticed his tattoo. Similar to sun rays just above his right chest. You had seen this tattoo before…

‘Mr. Shelby, can I ask you something?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you perhaps have a scar on your lower back? On your right just above your glutes?’

‘How do you know that?’ He stared up at you, holding your gaze as Helena came back with the supplies you needed.

‘Given it was a back injury you were transported to the tent on your stomach,’ you grabbed the alcohol to clean the wound, a hiss escaping him as you grabbed the tweezers, ready to pull out the metal embedded in his flesh. ‘I was the nurse that treated you. I was covered in ugly drapes and bloods, can’t say you could recognise me,’

Thomas winced as the ends of the tweezers dug around to grab the piece of metal, a small smirk on his lips. ‘You don’t say eh?’

‘I’m sure you’ll be having a déjà vu when I pull it out,’ you grabbed it and pulled it out, a loud growl escaping his lips as air pushed past his lips.

‘Thank you again.’

‘No problem, Mr. Shelby.’ You disposed of the bullet in a dish Arthur held out to you. ‘Next time Helena is not picked up I’ll bring her home and bring my first aid kit with me.’

‘That’s actually not a bad idea,’ he pulled himself up, grabbing a cigarette and lighting it. ‘Small Heath is starting you feel like a battlefield,’

‘Then I’ll be your nurse ready to care you to health.’

[animeomegas]

The Quest for a Second Life - Part 5 - 50 Shades of Audacity (1)

KAKASHI X ALPHA!READER

Summary: If suddenly waking up in an uncanny office had been bad, this time was worse, because you had a job interview, and the guy before you had just stormed out in tears. Why did you pick this world again? And why is your boss an asshole? And sexy? And with a nice voice? Fuck, this wasn't going to be good. GN!Dom!Alpha!Reader x Multiple

Word Count: 10.8k

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, sex while both parties are a little tipsy, workplace violations, questions about someone not eating lunch due to being a workaholic, and overuse of the world asshole as an adjective. All alphas have dicks, fyi.

A/N: Happy Holidays everyone! And a special happy holidays to those who guessed that our next omega was going to be Kakashi!!! December is well underway and I'm working hard to get all these chapters finished in time for the epilogue to be released on Christmas! The dynamic is different with this one, but I hope everyone enjoys nonetheless <333 I hope you enjoy the choice for the second character, @omeganronpa I'm honoured to call you my friend <333

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Epilogue

In the span of one blink, you went from standing in the library with James, to sitting on an uncomfortable chair in some kind of office waiting room. No matter how many times you jumped between realities, you swore you would never get used to the complete sensory change that happened in milliseconds. You had changed positions, clothes, company and scenery just like that.

Trying to gain your bearings, you tried to take in your new surroundings. Your first thought was that you had some serious déjà vu, as James’ uncanny valley of an office sprung to mind. Seriously, how many times were you going to suddenly gain consciousness in a soulless office?

At least this one was a lot less creepy, you admitted. It had doors and windows for starters, but the cavernous size of the room also helped diminish the claustrophobic feeling. Rather than beige, the room was decorated in a tasteful, modern, monochrome, boring but inoffensive, and better than too much beige in your opinion.

The copious amounts of soulless corporate art on every surface were the final touches that convinced you this was a real office and not set dressing for purgatory.

The waiting room was full of people though. You hadn’t seen this many people in one place since Itachi took you into town, and the general air of anxiety coming off them all was putting you on edge.

You fidgeted, uncomfortable at suddenly wearing formal business wear. The blue folder that was sitting on your lap shifted slightly, but you paid it no mind as you straightened everything out and readjusted yourself into a more comfortable position. To your left, what you could only describe as the combination of a modern water feature and grandfather clock chimed, signalling it as 09:00 AM.

‘James? Can you hear me?’

‘I can, human alpha.’

‘Great. Can you give me a run down of this pocket dimension please? It’s been like, two weeks since I read the blurb.’

‘Of course. ’50 Shades of Audacity’ follows MC, an alpha graduate student who lands the role of personal assistant to one of the most famous CEOs of the time, omega, Kakashi Hatake. MC discovers that Kakashi is hiding a submissive streak, and together, they explore their relationship while preparing for the yearly Autumn Company Party.’

You nodded idly as James explained it, vague memories coming back to you. The man next to you shot you a weird look, and you realised you were nodding at seemingly nothing. You cleared your throat and shifted awkwardly. Whoops.

Regardless, the blurb put your current situation into perspective. When you had chosen the book, you had expected to enter the world already working as a personal assistant, but you had a sneaking suspicion that this was the job interview and all the people sat with you were competition.

To confirm your suspicion, you opened the folder on your lap, and yep, it was filled with important documents, including your CV, degree certificate, and several references. Damn, for someone decently young, you seemed to be the perfect candidate. That did relieve some of the tension. The world was literally set up to push you into the role, and you were the perfect candidate, surely there was nothing to worry about. For now, you decided to try and relax. Job interviews were a pain in the ass, but this one hopefully wouldn’t be too bad. And you could always talk to James to pass the time.

‘James, I know you must be thinking something along the lines of, ‘what kind of human picks a life where they have a job, when they could choose to not have a job?’’

‘I have never had such a thought.’

‘But I’m playing the long game, James,’ you continued, ignoring her response. ‘This Hatake guy must be rolling in it, and so once we’re serious, there would be no reason for me to work anymore! And it’s not like we’d get divorced in an erotica novel, that wouldn’t make sense, so I just need this job to meet him, make him fall in love with me, and then, if I stay here, I’ll have a fancy CEO husband, and everything will work out great.’

‘I see. I believe humans term that strategy, ‘gold digging’.’

You were planning to argue back, but your outrage died on your lips when you realised that she was kind of right. You were only going to choose this omega if you actually loved him, of course, but you couldn’t deny that the main reason you had chosen this book in the first place was the money and possibility of a cushy life. And being able to retain access to the internet which was something you’d have to give up for a life with Itachi.

‘What backstory elements are set in stone here?’ you asked, realising that the amnesia trick wasn’t going to work a second time.

‘Primarily your qualifications and educational history. You also own both a flat and a car, although how you obtained those is up to you.’

Nice, that gave you a lot of freedom to work with. Also… was your flat nice? And what about your car? You hoped so, but even if they weren’t, you could get Hatake to pay for a nice upgrade.

A man with a clipboard walked out of the office door to your left and everyone in your vicinity snapped to attention. He had brown hair and intense, dark eyes that were a little unnerving. “The interviews for the personal assistant job have now begun. You will be called up one at a time. Ren Shimomura.”

The man who had given you a strange look earlier got up and walked into the office with a confident smile, his briefcase swinging gently by his side. When the door closed behind him, everyone relaxed a little and went back to their pointless busy tasks.

‘So, James, what can I expect from this job interview?’ you asked. You figured it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared, even if the universe was going to intervene for your success.

‘That question is more difficult to answer than you might think, human. Despite this pocket dimension being one of the most popular in the erotica category, no one has ever successfully passed the interview and obtained the personal assistant job.’

Your stomach dropped. What? That couldn’t be right, could it?

You laughed nervously, sure that you had misheard. ‘What? Surely the universe needs the person to get the job.’

‘Yes, it has been causing quite the issue. This world has been scheduled for removal for being too difficult to follow. You will be the last person from your realm to ever enter this one, whether you decide to stay or not.’

‘Thanks for warning me before I picked it,’ you ‘said’, your mental voice taking on a tinge of bitterness. So, you were pretty much doomed to failure here? Great.

‘I didn’t warn you, human.’

‘I know.’

Your mental conversation ended as the door to the office opened and the man, Ren, stormed out, looking like he was holding back angry tears. He exited the room swiftly, without so much of a glance back.

That certainly didn’t make you feel any better about your chances.

Neither did your name being called seconds later.

The man with the clipboard smiled at you as you stood, folder in hand. “Just in there, Mr. Hatake is waiting for you.”

You nodded and approached the door. Right, this was fine. You took a deep breath and reminded yourself of your situation. You didn’t need this job. You wouldn’t run out of money without it, you wouldn’t get blacklisted or arrested if something went wrong, you couldn’t die if something went very wrong. The very worst-case scenario was that you bungled this, spent the next two weeks enjoying some alone time in this world, and then returned to your beautiful witch.

So, really, what reason did you have to be nervous?

With that in mind, you took a fortifying breath and walked into the office with your head held high. This CEO couldn’t scare you.

The design of the office was much the same as the waiting room, with a monochrome colour scheme and minimal furniture. The entire back wall was glass, which bathed the office in natural light, but cast shadows around the impressive desk in the middle of the room. Behind the desk was an imposing desk chair that was currently faced away from you. The back of the chair was so high that you couldn’t technically tell if Hatake was sitting in it or not. In front of the desk was a much less impressive desk chair; presumably that chair was for you.

You walked towards your chair, marvelling at how cliché the whole ‘tall chair spin reveal’ thing was. What was he, a Bond villain? The main question though, was if he’d also be accidentally flashing his nipples at you. You stifled a laugh imagining a scary CEO turning around in his chair only for the buttons on his shirt to come flying off.

“Did I say that you could sit down?” The voice came from the highbacked chair, which was still facing away from you.

The CEO’s voice was hot, you couldn’t deny that, but his attitude was already ugly. What kind of high and mighty asshole spoke to people like that? Were you supposed to just stay standing until he offered the seat when he couldn’t even be bothered to face you? Fuck that.

Suddenly, what was remaining of your nervousness bled out of you, replaced by annoyance. Honestly, you had already accepted that you weren’t going to get this job or this omega as soon as James had explained the situation, but maybe you could still get something out of this. Like catharsis. You could berate Hatake on behalf of every shitty boss you couldn’t berate in the past and then this world would still be worth it.

“Unless you’re suffering from short term memory loss, there’s no need for me to answer that question.”

Finally, that seems to goad him into turning around. The chair swivelled, revealing Kakashi Hatake in all his glory. He was dressed in the exact kind of suit you expected for someone like him, expertly tailored, incredibly expensive, and in a tasteful blue colour. Just peeking out from his collar you noticed some clear scent patches, and you imagined you’d find the same ones on his wrists. He had grey-silver hair styled in a way that must have required a significant amount of hair wax, and equally grey eyes, one of which had a vertical scar running through it. He even had a frankly adorable beauty mark, what the fuck.

Fine. He was hot. That didn’t mean he wasn’t an asshole.

The look he was giving you was somehow both disparaging and uninterested, like he was looking at a badly painted wall.

“Why do you want this job?” he asked, voice bored and condescending. “You don’t seem like you’d be particularly good at it.”

You grit your teeth at his blatant disrespect, “Jobs provide the money which can be exchanged for goods and services required to facilitate survival, you see. Perhaps the silver spoon in your mouth prevented you from learning that dichotomy.” You missed your witch.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He held out a hand, and you wordlessly passed him your folder of documents. You were honestly surprised that he hadn’t just kicked you out already. His motivations became clear however, when he picked out your CV, ripped it in half, and then tossed it in the bin.

This asshole! You were furious.

Hatake pressed a button on a raised box on his desk and began to speak into it, presumably to dismiss you and ask for the next person to be sent in.

You didn’t need this job, you couldn’t get into any meaningful trouble, and this man was royally pissing you off. Something in you just snapped.

“Tenzou, send—”

You grabbed him by his boring, blue tie and stood, pulling him partially over the desk and towards you. He gasped in surprise, letting go of the button as both hands flew up to grab your wrist. You expected him to immediately pull you off him, but he didn’t. He was still, staring at you with wide eyes. For the first time since you’d walked into his office, it felt like he was properly looking at you.

“I am the best fucking personal assistant out of any of those people out there, and I will not have some bratty CEO talk down to me, understood?”

“I’ll call security,” he said quietly, voice strangely hoarse.

“Don’t bother.” You let him go and he fell back heavily into his ridiculous chair.

“Senpai?” The clipboard man’s voice floated through the speaker on the black box. “Is everything okay? You cut out.”

The man didn’t reply to the message, he only stared at you. His face was blank, but you had the feeling that there was a lot going on inside his head.

‘Remember the story, human.’

For a moment, you thought James was encouraging you to play nice for the sake of the story, but then you realised that she meant. Fuck, that’s right, Kakashi Hatake was a secret submissive. He was probably very turned on and very confused right now. You sent him a cocky grin.

“The job starts Monday, yes?” He nodded, dumbly. “I’ll see you then, 08:00 sharp. All my documents are in the folder.” You walked to the door confidently, and just as you reached it, you turned. “Have a good day, sir.”

You opened the door just as the clipboard man tried to do the same on the other side. You paid neither him nor any of the other candidates any mind, you just strode towards the exit, adrenaline rushing through your veins.

The fresh air and sun hit you as you stepped outside into the office’s car park.

‘James, oh my god, I grabbed him by his tie.’

‘I saw, human, it was very unexpected. No other human has attempted such a method.’

‘I would so be blacklisted if this were real, James. Did… Did I do a good job? It felt like I did at the time, playing up to his submissive side, but now I just feel like I was crazy and there’s no way he’d give me the job.’

‘Only time will tell, human, I do not have the answers.’

‘Time… I can do that.’ You gazed out over the sea of cars, all shimmering in the sun. ‘Now, James, which car is mine?’

…

Once you had successfully found your nicer than expected car, you headed to your mysterious flat. It took longer than you thought, but at least you’d learnt some more about James; she was terrible at giving directions and did not know what a roundabout was.

Your flat, much like your car, was nicer than you expected for a recent graduate that worked as a personal assistant. It was stylish and cosy, with lots of wood tones and warm, textured fabrics. It could have fallen out of an interior design magazine, right down to the perfectly placed bowls of fruit. The flat even had a guest room and a home office.

You were going to put this one down to porn logic again and figure out some sort of explanation for why you had the money for this in your backstory.

After doing some snooping around the flat, you flopped down on your bed, feeling strangely exhausted. You pulled out your phone (and how strange it was to have modern technology back!) and checked the date. It was Friday lunch time, and you didn’t have to go to the job, presuming you even got it, until Monday. That meant you had an entire weekend to do what you wanted. That was the best news you’d heard all day.

‘James, is the entire world, I guess, loaded, for want of a better word? Like, theoretically, if I travelled across the world to a random village, would the people there be real? Does the world function outside of the story?’

‘Once you choose to remain in a world, it functions exactly like the one you came from, yes, complete with up to billions of people who each have their own lives. Not everything is ah, loaded, in this demo though. I would recommend staying firmly within this city for the time being.”

‘Amazing! That’s so exciting, James!’

‘If you say so.’

Alongside modern technology, staying in this world would also give you more chance to travel. With Itachi, you would be mostly going on foot, perhaps on a horse if you were lucky, but here you could be on the other side of the world in a day.

That was for future you to weigh up though, right now you needed to find a bank statement of some kind, because you wanted to spend this weekend pampering yourself and you needed to know your budget. You could think about Kakashi Hatake and this world later, once you had your thoughts in order.

The weekend passed in a blur of bubble baths, food delivery apps, and films. You’d even gone for a dip in your complex’s pool. It had been nice to recharge. You had enjoyed spending time with Itachi immensely, but you’d had almost no proper alone time for over half a month, and it was sorely needed.

The only other thing of note happened on Saturday, when you received an email from Hatake’s company, which contained your new company account and login details.

…

Walking into work on Monday was a surreal feeling that you couldn’t put into words. No one acted like anything strange had happened. You were treated like a normal new hire, which you suspected meant Hatake had kept the details of your interview to himself.

Speaking of Hatake, he was apparently in meetings all morning and so you wouldn’t see him for a few hours. You didn’t know if you were irritated or relieved that your likely awkward reunion would be postponed.

“So, here is Kakashi’s calendar, which kind of functions like the core of your job,” Iruka, the man who was training you, said. “You’ll be in charge of organising his appointments and commitments and reminding him to attend them.” The last part was added with a tone that suggested Hatake had not always been the best at either being on time or showing up at all.

“Got it. No double bookings, and smack Hatake with a ruler if he tries to escape.”

Iruka snorted, but quickly smothered the laugh with a hand. “Pretty much. For today, I’ve gone through your inbox and marked the emails that require appointments as urgent. You just need to schedule them and add them to his calendar. It’s pretty busy at the moment because of the Autumn Company Party at the end of the month, so don’t worry if everything’s a bit much. My desk is over there, so you can ask for help at any time, okay?”

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” You grinned at him, and he smiled back.

“Good luck!” With that he was gone. That wasn’t the first time the Autumn Company Party had come up, but you still weren’t sure what that had to do with the plot of his pocket dimension. It certainly wasn’t as straight forward as ‘collect the potion ingredients’.

‘James, what’s the deal with this party? What’s going to happen at it?’

‘There are many, many ways the event can play out, human. Seeing that you are the first to make it past the interview, I cannot even tell you which outcomes are most likely.’

‘Damn. Well, thanks anyway.’

You ended up whizzing through your work. It was incredibly simple, which could have been because they were taking it easy on you for your first day, or because work in general was easier in porn universes. You finished before Hatake was freed from his morning meetings, so you decided to do a little googling on your new boss. As such a high-profile CEO, you were sure you could find some information on him.

You put his name into the search bar and scrolled through the top results.

There were mostly news articles and links to the company websites, but eventually his Wikipedia page popped up and you clicked on it, skimming down the paragraphs immediately. Your eyebrows kept rising up as you read. His father, the original founder of the company had committed suicide when Kakashi was four years old, leaving him an orphan. He had been immediately added to the company’s board of directors (at four years old?!), and when he’d turned eighteen and those overseeing the company didn’t seem keen to pass it back to him, Kakashi had staged a business coup and seized control by force.

Jeez, what a life story.

Closing the Wikipedia page, you opened a couple of articles instead. One was a gossip magazine speculating on his famous bachelorhood and why he hadn’t settled down yet. Another was talking about the large donations he had made to several dog and animal welfare charities. The third was just a listicle of pictures of him from various point throughout his life. Ha. He looked like he was such a cute, grumpy kid.

You had to admit that his character was perfectly set up to redeem him for being an asshole at your first meeting. Dead parents, a tragic backstory, betrayal from those supposed to look after him, an animal lover… You bet that he had been forced to supress his emotions to avoid being manipulated as a child, too. That was about as stereotypical as you could get. Were he a fictional character, his fans would easily excuse any rudeness and ruthlessly defend him online. And that was fine, but they weren’t the ones who had to be on the receiving end of his rudeness.

Ugh, you didn’t know what to do with him. On one hand, you were happy ignoring him for being mean to you in your interview, but on the other, you kind of wanted to get to know him to see what the story was about. Maybe you’d put in a bit of effort as a show of good faith, but if he insisted on rebuffing you, you’d give up and find some other way to enjoy yourself. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.

Dog lovers were your weakness, so you couldn’t give up on him completely, not just yet.

You closed the tabs and, checking the time, you realised you still had some leeway before Hatake was free. You needed to come up with your backstory sharpish, because you didn’t have amnesia this time, and people would likely start asking questions about you once lunch hit. Best get your story straight first.

You grabbed a post-it note and jotted down your favourite acronym, MLHH (Money, Love, Health, Happiness), to keep you on target.  

Loving parents, you definitely wanted those. Were they the ones you wanted funding your lifestyle? Hmm, no, how about a rich, eccentric aunt that sent money all the time? Yes, you’d always wanted a fun, rich uncle or aunt to spoil you. Perhaps she had been the one to buy you the house and car. You jotted it all down. You also crafted yourself two best friends and a couple of hobbies, just to enrich your life. As per James’ instructions, you left the academic stuff alone.

“Am I paying you to write details about your own life on post it notes?” A sudden voice from behind made you jump, smacking your knees on the underside of the desk with a bang.

You laughed awkwardly as you came face to face with the man of the hour, Kakashi Hatake, who had chosen a charcoal grey suit for today, giving him an overall monochrome vibe that matched the office building. He was staring at your post it note, unimpressed.

You snatched the note and put it in your pocket. Quick, find some way to change the subject!

“I’ve updated your calendar with more meetings and commitments. This afternoon you only have a phone call with a representative from a company that sells… custom dog bandanas?” You decided not to question it. “The rest of the afternoon is business as usual.”

He watched you for a moment before he nodded, and turned to enter his office door, which was only a few feet from your desk.

“Just so you know,” he said, turning to look at you over his shoulder, “more work is periodically added to your task list, you just need to refresh the page.”

The door slammed shut behind him. You made a frustrated noise. He was so rude, with his annoyingly hot face and perfect voice. God, he got on your nerves like no one else. Ugh, you already regretted deciding to give him a chance.

You refreshed the task list and watched it fill up with new tasks.

Why did you pick a world where you had a job again? Oh yeah, you were playing the long game. The long game sucked.

You spent the rest of the workday completing tasks and flip flopping on whether it was worth trying to chase the plot and romance Hatake. Instinctually you led towards no, but when you remembered how he’d responded to you in the interview, you wavered. Ultimately, your curiosity was too much to resist, so you hatched a plan to spend some time with him.

…

“Did you have someone sneak you lunch through the window, or have you not eaten yet today?” you asked, waltzing into Hatake’s office at exactly 17:05, coat and bag ready to leave.

Hatake finished whatever he was writing before putting down the pen and giving you a flat look. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business, and I’m certain I told you to knock before coming in.”

“Firstly, the workday ended five minutes ago so you’re not the boss of me anymore. Secondly, that was the clearest no I’ve ever heard. You should make time to eat lunch, you know, it’s good for you.”

“If you don’t have anything of use to say, then leave.” Ugh, why were you dealing with this asshole again?

“Actually, I do.” He raised an eyebrow at you, like he was already dismissing your message. “Get dinner with me.”

That actually seemed to catch him off guard, if only for a moment. You had honestly been wondering if the side of him you glimpsed in your interview was some kind of hallucination, but there was a flicker of that same man now. Unfortunately, although you could see that, you could also see the moment he shut down the reaction and returned to his flat, impassive stare.

“I’m busy this evening—”

“I already moved your appointment to tomorrow morning.”

He narrowed his eyes at you. You didn’t know if it was irritation at your messing with his schedule or at interrupting him, but you did know that you were getting on his nerves. Good.

“And I suppose, if you’re inviting me, then you’re paying?” he challenged. “Fair warning, I have expensive taste.”

‘James, quick, what’s the best restaurant in the area?’

‘Kakashi Hatake often visits a restaurant about two miles from here, called La Liaison. It’s French, and incredibly pricy.’

Right, you tried to remember what you’d seen you your bank details. You could definitely afford one fancy meal; it was affording everything else after that that was the problem.

Hatake’s smug face at your hesitation spurred you on. You wracked your brain for some kind of solution.

‘James, if I decide that my rich aunt sends me large lump sums of money every month, will my bank account automatically replenish by the end of this demo?’

‘Technically, yes, although it will only happen if you choose this dimension permanently, as your rich aunt does not yet exist. You must also remember to speak or write any information you want to be true for it to take effect.’

Perfect. You could wipe that smug look off Hatake’s face, live a bit more frugally for the rest of the demo, and if for some unknown reason you chose to stay here, you’d have your money automatically replenished. You just had to remember to write the details down after dinner tonight.

“Of course, it’ll be my treat,” you smiled, tips tight. “Do you like French food? I heard La Liaison is lovely.”

Kakashi studied you for a moment, like he was trying to figure out what game you were playing. Just as you thought you’d won the little verbal exchange, Hatake sent you a mocking eye smile. “And how are you planning on gaining a reservation at such short notice? The next available evening bookings are for two months from now.”

You tensed up like you’d been dealt a physical blow. Fuck, you forgot about bookings. There was no way you could allow him to win just like that, though. You took a deep breath, porn logic, I believe in you, please help me out, I’m trying to woo him, just as you wanted. Kind of.

“I’m sure it will all work out!” You voice was artificially chipper, and you could tell that Hatake was picking up on your anxiety. “Come on, what’s the harm? Let’s go!”

He watched you evenly. That was one thing you’d noticed about Hatake; he always thought before he spoke, choosing each action and word carefully. It made sense once you considered his childhood and was equal parts sad and irritating.

Just when you thought he was about to refuse and dismiss you, Hatake chuckled and stood, closing his computer and grabbing his suit jacket from the back of his ridiculously dramatic desk chair.

“I’ll have my chauffeur drop us off,” he said, walking to the door. You followed, kind of stunned that he had agreed at all. He locked the office door behind him. “There’s no parking available at this time of day in the town centre.”

You walked through the office side by side, watching your coworkers pack up or work late.

Everyone noticed you two, armed with bags and coats that made it obvious you were leaving together. There were gasps, there was gossiping, there were whispers. The man with the clipboard, who had introduced himself to you as Yamato, looked like he had seen a ghost. Was it really that strange to see this CEO leave work on time, or was it because he was with you?

Hatake paid them no mind, and you tried to do the same.

It was strange that he agreed to join you, but you didn’t get your hopes up that this meant he suddenly liked you. It was more likely that he was coming in order to force your hand. If you were humiliated by there being no tables, or not being able to afford the food you said you could, it would likely stop you from bothering him outside of work again.

You just really, really hoped there would somehow be a table.

Once you arrived at the car park, there was a sleek, black car waiting for you. You weren’t sure if Hatake had somehow called ahead without you noticing, or if his car was already ready for him, but it was very convenient. If the chauffeur was surprised that Hatake had a guest, he didn’t mention it.

The car was so obviously expensive that you felt a little uncomfortable sitting in it. You had never been so conscious of your hand placement in your life. The brat of a CEO didn’t seem to have the same problem, relaxing easily against the leather, looking right at home. He gave the driver the name of the restaurant, and you were off.

You took a moment to beg the pocket dimension that somehow you would be able to get a seat. ‘Porn logic, I’ve always loved and respected you, please pull through for me, just this once! I won’t be able to handle Hatake’s smug grin without punching him in the face.’

‘My name is James, human, and I cannot control these pocket dimensions.’

You snorted, ‘I wasn’t speaking to you James, sorry.’

“What’s so funny?” Hatake asked, breaking the silence. Oh, you had laughed out loud; you had to stop doing that. Were you also doing it when you were with Itachi, but there were just fewer people around to comment on it? Itachi seemed like the sort who would take a lot of weirdness in stride.

“Your face.”

Hatake let out an amused breath, “Are you always so childish?”

“What can I say? You bring out the worst in me.”

“Approximately five minutes until arrival, sir,” the chauffeur said, speaking through a speaker that connected the front and back sections of the car.

“Just Kakashi is fine,” he sighed. “I’ve told you that a hundred times.”

“If you say so, sir.” Hatake rolled his eyes but dropped the issue.

The final five minutes passed it silence.

…

La Liaison was a small modern building nestled at the very end of the high street, decorated in pastel blue and covered in artificial ivy. The whole building exuded a timeless elegance that made you glad your work dress code was formal. Stepping through the doors, you were welcomed by warm lighting, live piano music, and an impeccably dressed host. This was the exact kind of place you could see Hatake fitting right in.

“Good afternoon, and welcome to La Liaison. Can I take the name on your reservation, please?”

You could practically feel the amusement radiating off the smug asshole behind you as you were faced with the exact situation he had predicted. You just had to go for it. You believed in the porn logic!

(And if it didn’t work you were going to return to your flat with your tail between your legs, make James pull you out of this dimension early, and then ask Itachi for a potion that could remove memories instead of bringing them back.)

“Ah, well, we don’t technically have a reservation, but an acquaintance of mine mentioned that they just had to cancel theirs, so we were hoping there’d be a free table.”

Please work, please work, please work.

The two seconds between your request and the host’s response felt like an agonising eternity. Failure wasn’t an option; you couldn’t lose to your awful boss.

The relief you felt when the host’s face melted into a smile almost knocked you to your knees.

“Is that so? Yes, I just got off the phone with them, you’re lucky no one else has claimed the table yet. If you’ll pass my college your coats, I’ll take you to your table.”

Yes, yes, yes!! You loved porn logic so much. It seemed like anything was fair game as long as it pushed you and Mr. Smug together. Speaking of Mr. Smug, you mouthed ‘I told you so’, as you walked to your table. He did not respond.

The table was, unsurprisingly, very romantic. It was secluded away in the corner, pressed up against a window and yet sectioned from the rest of the restaurant by a divider. The table sat two people, and its white tablecloth was covered in candles and rose petals. Of course, the cancelled reservation was for a romantic date. You weren’t going to complain though; a table was a table.

You both sat down. You briefly debated pulling out the chair for Hatake, but you decided against it at the last minute. You were both handed menus and informed of the soup of the day before the waiter left you in peace. The illusion of privacy helped you relax, despite the stuffy atmosphere.

“An acquaintance, huh?” Kakashi asked, unfolding his napkin and laying it over his lap. He obviously didn’t believe your lie.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re incredibly annoying?” you said, instead of answering his question.

“Once or twice.”

“Well then,” you shot him a sarcastic smile, “I’m glad you have such honest people in your life.”

“As am I.” The eye smile he sent you this time seemed more genuine, and you had to hold back your laugh.

The conversation faded for a moment as the background chatter from the rest of the restaurant filled the space. It was weird to be here with him, and maybe you were still riding the high of getting a table, but you were already enjoying yourself.

“So… you come here often?” you asked, picking up the menu. You supressed a wince at the prices. “It seems like you’re right at home.”

“It makes for a convenient location to dazzle those who demand such treatment before they’ll sign anything.”

“Ugh, so this is where you take people to schmooze them? Gross.” You flipped over the menu to find the drinks section, only to belatedly realise that the drinks had their own menu already on the table. “I can’t imagine you doing that successfully; you’re so rude.”

“Maybe you just bring out the worst in me.”

The way he reused your words from earlier reluctantly brought a smile to your face. Okay fine. Fine! You’d admit that he was witty, and you had some good chemistry. And he was hot. But that was it! That didn’t mean you were going to fall in love with someone so annoying!

‘I believe you were also interested in his love for dogs, human alpha.’

‘James, I’m trying to live in denial here, and you’re ruining it.’

‘My apologies. Does that mean that I should also refrain from mentioning your obvious obsession with his beauty mark?’

Sometimes, you weren’t sure that James wasn’t an elaborate troll.

Scanning the menu, you decided the vegetarian pasta looked nice. And if it was also the cheapest thing on the menu, well that was just a coincidence. This better be one of the best meals of your life.

Kakashi left his menu completely untouched. Right, he’d been here countless of times to charm people into signing away their money. He was probably treating this dinner as something similar, but with you wanting something from him instead. You doubted he’d believe you if you said you were doing this out of curiosity. But the questioned remained, how could you make this feel different for him?

Suddenly, it hit you; he liked when other people took control. You had an idea.

‘James, can you tell me what Kakashi normally orders from here?’

‘He always orders one of the seafood dishes, accompanied by a white wine.’

Right. Perfect. What you were about to do would be so out of order in real life, but you had plot armour, and honestly you wanted to see what would happen.

When the waiter returned, he directed his, “Are you ready to order?”, towards Kakashi. He probably recognised him if he was a regular, and figured he was schmoozing another hapless soul.

That didn’t fit what you had in mind though.

“Yes, we are,” you said confidently, before Kakashi could speak. “We’ll have a bottle of the Chateau Sixtine Blanc and some still water for the table. For food, I’ll have the vegetarian pasta, and he’ll have the Coquilles Saint-Jacques.”

Kakashi’s stare was intense, but he didn’t intervene. The waiter seemed taken aback that you were ordering for the table, but when Kakashi made no move to dispute what you’d said, he nodded, collected your menus, and left. You expected to be admonished in some way, but Kakashi remained silent.

Drinks arrived quickly. The waiter poured you both a glass of the wine and some water before he was gone again. Kakashi picked up the wine glasses and swirled it dramatically before taking a sip.

When he spoke, you had expected a question about how you found out his usual order, or perhaps a comment on the wine, but no, instead, he was his usual blunt self.

“I wonder what it is you’re hoping to gain from this.”

“That’s fine, you can wonder all you like.”

He sent you a measured look, “Has anyone ever told you you’re incredibly annoying?”

You grinned, “Nope!”

“I see. Well, I hope you’ll be blessed with some honest people in your life soon, I’ve found having them around to be extraordinarily helpful.”

You snorted mid sip of wine, which probably didn’t look attractive. Coughing, you looked up, expecting a judgemental look for behaving such a way in a fancy restaurant, but Kakashi just looked amused.

“Can I ask you a question?” You dabbed your lips with your napkin to soak up any stray wine drops. “What was the deal with that interview? It didn’t seem like you even wanted any applicants there. Was it just some weird form of employment hazing?”

“Simple. I didn’t want an assistant; I work better alone.”

“Then why hold the interview at all?”

“The board of directors were very… persistent. I knew they’d only shut up if I scared off every personal assistant in the city.”

You sent him a searching look, “But you hired me.”

“I did.”

“Why?”

He shrugged, “You had comedy value.”

Comedy value!? This dick.

“Liar,” you shot back. “You just think I’m hot, admit it.”

You got another one of his infuriating eye smiles. “If you say so.” God, you wanted to punch him, and maybe kiss him. Fuck.

“Whatever, just know that it’s your turn to pay for dinner next time, an I’m ordering the most expensive thing I can find.”

“If we go out for dinner too often, people will talk.”

“As if they aren’t already,” you said, referencing the sate of the office you’d left behind. You’d bet that they’d all stayed late to swap theories. “Yamato looked at us like a child who’d just walked in on his parents having sex.”

Kakashi seemed amused, “He would not appreciate that description.”

“That doesn’t make it any less true.”

As the conversation flowed, so did the wine. You were surprised by how much fun you were having. Hatake was a great conversationalist and the rapid-fire banter had you laughing out loud more than once. The food was just as good as you’d hoped as well.

To your utter delight, Hatake’s face turned pink as he drank. So cute. You couldn’t stop yourself from reaching out to feel the warm skin. Kakashi leaned into the hand in an almost nuzzle. You did not expect him to reciprocate. Shocked, you froze, hand still on his cheek.

Hatake seemed surprised too because he suddenly wrenched himself away from you. You pulled your hand back like it’d been burnt.

You’d bet anything that he was touch starved.

“Sorry, Hatake, I don’t know why I—”

“Kakashi,” he muttered, “you can call me Kakashi. Everyone does.”

“Kakashi,” you repeated, sending him a small smile. Maybe he wasn’t so bad. You kind of wanted to lick his face.

Kakashi’s phone buzzed in his pocket, shattering the moment. Disappointingly, he immediately slipped it out of his pocket and checked the message.  You weren’t exactly surprised that he put checking his phone over your conversation, but it was still rude, whether you expected it or not.

Kakashi made an amused noise as he saw the expression on your face. “I only have audible notifications on for important people; I’m just checking to make sure nothing is wrong, there’s no need to look so offended.”

You sputtered, face heating up, “I’m not offended! I was just thinking it was rude to check your phone at dinner.”

“Ruder than ordering for someone else without their permission?”

“Whatever,” you mumbled, crossing your arms. “You liked it.”

Kakashi didn’t acknowledge you as he checked his messaged. You watched his eyes move from side to side as he read, before he eventually barked out a laugh and put the phone away.

“What’s funny?”

“One of my friends evidently found out that I was out to dinner. He has wished us luck on our youthful endeavours.”

You pulled a face at the weird phrasing. “He sounds… interesting.”

“You have no idea,” Kakashi said before emptying his wine glass.

“People seem so surprised about this. You don’t get out much then?”

Kakashi barked a laugh that sounded surprisingly bitter, and then didn’t elaborate. In true erotica love interest fashion, there was something brewing below the surface. Touch starved, orphaned, rich, but lonely, he was about as stereotypical as it got. You wondered if he’d also killed someone like Itachi? Hmm, probably not. This was a modern universe, and there were normally more severe consequences for things like that. It would have at least been mentioned on his wiki page.

By the time you had finished eating, the city outside the window had lit up in the darkness. The traffic had died down once rush hour ended, but the occasional car still passed by. You checked your phone and realised you’d been having dinner with Kakashi for almost two hours.

Your pride didn’t stop you from admitting that the time was flying because you were having fun.

Still, it was getting late, so you waved down a waiter and requested the bill. You were hoping that, seeing as you’d taken charge with ordering, that he would… yes! The waiter put the bill down in front of you instead of Kakashi.

You grinned at him smugly; you’d been assigned dom by wait staff.

He rolled his eyes at you, but you could see the smile on his face.

The bill wasn’t great, but it could have been worse. Clearly you hadn’t managed to keep your grimace supressed completely though because Kakashi noticed.

“Having second thoughts?” He was annoyingly observant.

You had never pulled out your card faster, grateful that you’d found your pin number written down in some old documents in your flat. Kakashi watched you pay, a strange glint in his eyes.

Did he assume you were going to dine and dash and make him pay or something? No… that wasn’t it. His ears had gone red too, and not from the alcohol.

He liked it, you realised gleefully. He liked that you ordered for him. He liked that you paid for him. He liked that you had decided on the place and time and dragged him along. It fit his reaction and it fit his character.

You were certain that most of his acquaintances either saw Kakashi as some kind of aloof, ‘didn’t believe in love’ character, or as a hard dom. And on the surface, sure, you could understand why they thought that, but how could anyone continue to think so once they spoke to him properly, when he was practically crying out for someone to take care of him?

Exhilaration ran through you. Maybe you were in this for more than just curiosity now.

“Come on,” you said, standing. “It’s getting late, and I still need to get my car—Shoot, I’m probably over the limit. I guess it’s a taxi for me then.”

“I can drop you home.” Kakashi stood as well, and you both walked to collect your coats. “It won’t be a problem.”

“Thanks,” you said relieved. You needed to at least try to budget after the amount you just spent on dinner.

Just as you were putting on your coats, Kakashi’s phone ran in his pocket. Remembering what he said about only having important people on vibrate, you remained silent as he took the call. You couldn’t quite make out the murmurs on the other side of the call, but Kakashi didn’t look pleased.

“Right… Okay… And there’s no alternate route? Of course… It can’t be helped, just meet me at the office.”

Did he have a last-minute work obligation perhaps?

“Yes, okay, I’ll see you soon.” He hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket. “Bad news, there’s been a minor accident on the road and my driver can’t get to us. We can get through on the pedestrian pathways just fine, so we’ll have to go back to the office on foot.”

“Oh, that’s not a big deal, it’s only about twenty minutes, right?” You didn’t understand why he seemed so serious about a minor hold up. Did he think you were going to be mad at him or something? Kakashi relaxed imperceptibly as it became clear that you didn’t mind.

It only occurred to you later, once you were well into the walk, that Kakashi was used to schmoozing a bunch of hoity toity rich people at La Liaison who probably would throw a fit at such a minor inconvenience. Those kinds of people were the worst.

“Why did you ask me to dinner tonight?” Kakashi asked. He spoke casually, but in a way that suggested the casualness was being used to disguise a more serious question.

You knew that he wouldn’t stop until he got an answer that satisfied him, and you didn’t want your relationship to be stained by doubts as to your intentions, so you decided to give him an answer as close to the truth as possible. If you started talking about erotic fiction, he’d probably call some kind of doctor.

“Because you seemed miserable, and I was curious about you. Figured this would kill two birds with one stone. Also, you piss me off, I won’t lie.”

“You took me to dinner because I piss you off?” Kakashi asked, a ghost of a smile on his face. “Is that some kind of fetish or is it a psychological defect?”

You squawked indignantly and tried to hit him on the arm. He dodged it, laughing.

“You’re one to talk! You hired me after I grabbed you by the tie in a job interview. That’s got to be a fetish and a psychological defect!” You shoved him on the shoulder, and he immediately shoved you back, and before you knew it, you were having a children’s battle on the street.

A random woman from across the street gave you a dirty look, you stuck your tongue out at her. Kakashi giggled, like, actually giggled, and that sent you into hysterics.

Maybe you’d had more to drink than you thought.

“You know,” you said, throwing your arm over his shoulder, “next time I take you out, we’re going to McDonald’s. It’s cheaper, and I think it’ll be funny to watch you sit there in your suit. Wait, have you ever been to a McDonald’s before?”

“I’m wealthy, I’m not an alien.” He rolled his eyes at you. He seemed to do that a lot. You couldn’t imagine him sitting in a McDonald’s. “I go every other week because my dogs like the carrot sticks from there.”

“You feed your dogs carrot sticks from McDonald’s?”

“Yep.”

“Have you ever considered, I don’t know, buying a pack of carrots?”

“No, because they like the ones from McDonald’s.”

You shook your head in disbelief. Rich people were crazy. “How many dogs do you have anyway?”

“Eight.”

“EIGHT?!”

…

Car parks at night, familiar or not, were unnerving in the way that liminal spaces always were. At least you were almost at the office doors, where Kakashi’s chauffeur was going to pick you both up. You were glad to finally get there, because as fun as the walk had been, the Autumn night was surprisingly chilly, and it was taking genuine effort to remember all of Kakashi’s dogs’ names. You were honestly surprised that the porn logic didn’t add any strange occurrences on the walk.

Naturally, the second that thought formed in your head, something happened.

As you passed round the side of a tall fence, your shirt got caught on a stray piece of metal. What would have been a minor inconvenience, barely a rip, in your old reality, was a complete pornographic disaster in this one, as every button on your shirt somehow ripped off, leaving your shirt hanging open.

The cold air hit your skin and goosebumps erupted all over your chest. Yelping, you dragged the pieces of shirt back together and held them firmly closed. Obviously, you weren’t fast enough to stop Kakashi from getting a look. The way he was pointedly looking away from you, rosy cheeked, said it all.

“Stupid fence,” you grumbled, giving it a dirty look. This wasn’t exactly the first time, or even the coldest time, that porn logic had decided to spontaneously strip someone, but it always managed to catch you off guard. Did the people who lived in erotica worlds always carry spare changes of clothes just in case?

“Are you hurt?” Kakashi asked. He sounded a little awkward, but ultimately sincere. It was nice that he’d decided to go for genuine concern over sarcasm, and you decided to do the same.

“I’m fine, it just caught me by surprise. At least it’s dark so no one caught an eye full.”

Kakashi coughed. Okay, no one apart from him.

“I’ll send a message to maintenance in the morning, but for now, I have a spare shirt in my office that you’re welcome to borrow for the evening.”

Huh, what do you know, people did keep spare clothes around. You were about to decline, citing the late hour and the fact that you were wearing a coat that you could do up, when you realised what was happening. You’d bet anything that something sexy would happen if you followed him up to his office.

“That would be great, thanks.” You weren’t going to let this slide from your grip when he was so pretty. And honestly, he was starting to seem like less of an asshole in general. He was fun, traumatised, and had eight dogs, if that wasn’t your type, you didn’t know what was.

…

Flickering the lights on in his office, Kakashi went into one of the cupboards to look for the shirt while you snooped at the ornaments he had on his shelves. Notably, there were no pictures. You picked up a weird ceramic circle statue and turned it over to see if it did anything cool.

You had passed a security guard on the way up to Kakashi’s office, that looked very intrigued as to why you two were together so late, and why your shirt was ripped open, so you resigned yourself to the rumour mill only getting worse by tomorrow.

“Are you nosy by nature or just interested in my office in particular?”

“Shut up.” You put back the ornament and turned to face him. He was holding the spare shirt in his hand. “You want to fuck me so bad, don’t deny it.”

You expected another eye roll.

“Oh, you have no idea,” he growled, watching you intensely. Oh, that wasn’t an eye roll.

One moment you were staring at him, unsure of what to say, and the next, you were crashing together, lips, tongue, and teeth, in a horny and aggressive kiss. You didn’t know which one of you moved first, you didn’t really care, you only knew that Kakashi was hot and infuriating, and you wanted to kiss him until he couldn’t make that smug face anymore.

Kissing Kakashi was giving you whiplash. He was different to Itachi in every way you could think of. He was confident, aggressive, he fought with you, clashed with you, and he seemed to determined to kiss you twice as hard as you kissed him.

It was obvious that Kakashi’s submission wouldn’t be freely given like Itachi’s, no, you would have to earn it. The challenge scratched at your instincts, and suddenly you wanted to prove to this omega that he could trust you. A good orgasm should lay the groundwork for that.

Both coats were quickly discarded as you kissed, and your ruined shirt fell off moments later.

You had been consciously avoiding his hair in fear of the amount of wax you figured he used to keep that hair style, but one weak moment, as Kakashi’s hips jolted forwards towards yours, you forgot, and ran you fingers through it.

To your surprise, your fingers glided through the soft strands easily. You were so shocked that you broke the kiss. You furrowed your eyebrows as you examined his hair.

“What are you doing?” he panted, confused.

“How the fuck does your hair stay up like that without any hairspray or wax?”

“What?” He sounded baffled. “This is just what my hair looks like. Does it matter?”

“I guess not.”

The kiss resumed, somehow more desperate and aggressive than before. Kakashi grabbed your waist so hard that you could feel the pin pricks from his nails digging into your skin. In return, you made use of your new found knowledge and grabbed a handful of Kakashi’s hair.

You pushed him backwards, never once breaking the rhythm of your kiss, until his upper thighs made contact with the front of his desk. His pot of pens fell as the desk jolted, scattering the expensive pens all over the ground. Neither of you paid it any mind.

When you finally pulled away for air, Kakashi wasted no time, immediately latching onto your neck with reckless abandon. There was something feral about him that was making you hot. He didn’t hold back. You could tell that he was experienced, and he was using every drop of that experience to his advantage.

While he was distracted, you worked on undoing his buttons. It was harder than it looked to remain focused while Kakashi was doing his best impression of a vampire on your neck.

“You have way too many fucking buttons on this shirt.”

“It’s a normal number of buttons,” he murmured against your skin.

“There is literally nothing normal about you.”

“And you say I’m the rude one.”

“That’s because you fucking are.”

Eventually, you managed to undo the last button. Your noise of triumph morphed into a moan as Kakashi nipped around your collar bone. You used his hair to tug him back before loosening his tie and pushing the shirt off his shoulders.

The way his torso looked, bare but with a loose tie hanging over it, unlocked a kink you didn’t know you had. In fact, everything about him was hot. As you dragged the shirt down his arms, you could feel his muscles flexing. Kakashi was strong and broad, and he wore it so well.

You didn’t bother pulling the shirt off all the way, instead letting it bunch at his wrists, acting as a semi-restraint. He tugged at it experimentally, and when he found it restricting his movement, his pupils dilated.

You cooed as you ran your hands all over his naked torse. That’s right, he was a forceful person, certainly, but any shows of dominance were likely performative or learnt behaviours, because this man was a giant sub at heart.

You grabbed his bottom lip between your teeth and pulled it lightly. Kakashi growled at you, but you knew what he was doing; he wasn’t telling you to stop, he was challenging you. You growled back, stronger, louder, and just as you thought, his growling stopped, and his scent took on a delicious hint of submission.

“God, you really are annoyingly hot,” you growled, biting along his jaw. “Emphasis on annoying.”

“Takes one to know one,” he fired back, squeezing your waits.

“Mutual handjob?” you whispered against his skin, already undoing his trousers, before doing the same with yours.

“That the first intelligent thing you’ve said all night.”

“Fuck you.”

You grabbed Kakashi’s muscular thighs and lifted him slightly until he was perched on his desk. A stack of papers tipped over and fluttered to the ground, but that wasn’t a problem for present you, so you happily ignored the chaos in favour of the panting omega in front of you.

You took your dick out from your pants and did the same for Kakashi. They bumped up against each other, searingly hot and unflinchingly hard. You let out a whistle of appreciation at his cock. It was big, bigger than most alphas you’d met, and certainly bigger than any omega’s cock you’d ever seen. In fact, just eyeballing it, he was roughly the same size as you. His shaft was as pale as the rest of him, but the head was an angry red. It was girthy too, and it felt hot and solid in your palm.

Purposefully, you thrust your hips forward, guiding your cock against his with both of your hands. Kakashi moaned, thrusting up to meet you. He could only watch, his hands restrained as they were.

You kept your hands around the dicks, keeping them aligned as you both started to rut against each other. Beads of pre cum quickly made their appearance, which only made everything else feel that much better.

There was something deeply satisfying about what you were doing, especially because you were both still half-dressed. It made it feel desperate, like you couldn’t wait long enough to get your clothes off, too desperately attracted to each other, and had instead chosen to rub off on each other like horny teenagers.

You made out messily while you grinded against each other. Maintaining a consistent pace was a little difficult, especially as things got wetter and wetter, but you managed. There was something sexy about the chaos. The increased sensitivity from being in the erotica world didn’t hurt either.

Your moans and groans increased in frequency as you got closer. If felt like every nerve ending you had was on fire, and Kakashi looked much like you felt, covered in a thin sheen of sweat that was obvious under the hard corporate lighting.

Technically, with it being so bright inside and so dark outside, anyone who happened to glance up would have got a glimpse of you, but you were both too far gone to care.

“You love having someone take control of you, don’t you Kakashi,” you moaned, pressing your lips against his. “You’re tired of always being in control, aren’t you? The big CEO, everyone’s relying on you, but who do you get to rely on? Who looks after you? You want someone to do that, don’t you? You’re a walking, talking CEO stereotype.”

“Who says I’m going to give control to you?” he panted, licking his lips. “Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?”

“Hmm, nope, I think I’m right on track,” you teased. Already picking up on his proclivity for biting, you gave a bite in return, just shy of where a mating mark might theoretically go. Kakashi gasped, his hands straining at the shirt that restrained them. “I’ll get you to submit to me properly, one day.”

“We’ll see.”

The alcohol and the increased sensitivity were mixing together to make this tryst shorter than expected, but Kakashi seemed to be in the same boat, so you couldn’t bring yourself to care. The banter ceased as the final stretch towards your orgasms started.

As your ending approached, you bent down and sealed your lips with Kakashi’s once more. Suddenly, everything crested, and pleasure flowed over you in waves. Your thrusts got sloppy, but neither of you cared. Kakashi came with a guttural moan. His stomach muscles flexing in a hypnotic dance.

The extra cum afforded by the porn logic soaked both your dicks and your hands, staining both pairs of trousers too. It dripped onto the carpet, and if the security guard didn’t spread a rumour about you and Kakashi hooking up, one of the cleaners probably would.

Some of Kakashi’s cum had even landed on the spare shirt, so you now had a choice between a torn shirt, or one covered in cum to match your stained trousers. Great. Why did horny you always make such bad decisions?

You and Kakashi remained leaning against each other for a while, just catching your breaths and marvelling at how fast your relationship had move. You wouldn’t have believed it if someone had told you during your interview that you’d end up grinding on that asshole’s desk a few days later.

‘I would have believed it.’

‘Thanks, James.’

Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, but the door to his office suddenly opened, cutting him off. You both stiffened, snapping up to face the intruder like a pair of deer in headlights.

There, standing in the doorway with the expression of a man who was entirely done with life, was Kakashi’s chauffeur. Instead of an apology of any kind, the man just sighed.

“The car is downstairs when you are ready. Please try and clean up before getting in, the leather won’t forget these kinds of smells easily.” With that, he left, shutting the door firmly behind him.

You and Kakashi looked at each other, then to the door, and then to each other, before you both burst out laughing.

What a way to end the night.

Next Chapter

[4w25-cc]

Perfect Perimeter Furniture Set

Started working on this set on November 24 and finished just now. The shadows I mentioned in the previous post turned out nice. I delivered.

I love low-poly modeling. Simulating and sculpting surely are awesome, but low-poly also covers my obsession with numbers. I can calculate exact coordinates for each face, and the only thing standing between me and perfection is -0.0000005 in the Transform field when something is moved to global 0. Man…

I meshed this cute set and adjusted it to the game's sizes. Tried something new with texture baking, approved the result. Visited Sims 4 Studio forum to read random tutorials and got a huge déjà vu feeling from witnessing someone trying to delete shadow groups. Does anybody still remember the apocalypse of glitching accessories in The Sims 2 caused by creators deleting lens group from cloned glasses instead of hiding it? Different year, same kind of tinkering. It was the first thing my best friend reminded me about when I was making my first ever ice cream earrings back in 2014, 9 years ago. They are lost and gone, just like my old content for The Sims 4, though. Speaking of it, I think a random person on the internet might have more of my files saved than I do.

The prices for these items are higher than usual because I added positive environment scores to all of them, which base game objects mostly don't have. This logic is a bit weird to me. You're buying an expensive piece of furniture, and it doesn't contribute to your mood? Guess I'll fix this for myself. The numbers are realistic, so you can still use this set in legacy challenges. You're paying extra for less comfort and more happiness, just like in real life.

I cloned objects with preferred tunings and removed occluders from them after reading about how problematic they are. All the items got their footprint and fading distance adjusted. I figured out logic for perfectly calculated slots, and I'm quite satisfied with it. The shelf is a functioning bookshelf with a bunch of slots.

Other than living room furniture, I want to create dining, kitchen, and bathroom sets. I do have pictures in my head already (I don't use references), so I just need to sit down and mesh them. Let's hope real life won't turn into yet another hell ride right after I post this. Actually, the ride never ended, I just got a grip.

There are the swatches and a detailed spreadsheet you can refer to to see what has been changed in the packages. My spreadsheet addiction from Genshin Impact kicked in at some point…

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[dragonnan]

Nightmare

May 15

This one was published back in 2021. While it isn't a dreaming type of nightmare, I think it still qualifies.

Please let me know if you'd prefer not to be tagged :)

He could have taken the helicopter but, quite frankly, he had needed the drive in order to structure what he would say to them. Though, even as he pulled the sleek vehicle into the drive; gravel snapping and popping beneath the narrow tyres, he was no more prepared than he'd been when he'd left London. After turning off the engine he hung back for a beat – hands gripped around the wheel.

Whatever gods exist please let them not be home...

The house door opened and Mycroft swallowed – eyes closing for just a moment.

Before they could step out into the yard, however, Mycroft schooled his face and exited his car; feet settling onto the dusty drive. He should have changed into something more fitting; his polished black shoes were going to be scuffed beyond recovery.

“It's been three days; we've heard nothing – not even from that assistant of yours...” Words trailed away as Mycroft neared the door – those keen grey eyes taking in his features. Then, finally, his mother swallowed. “I'll go fetch your father.”

He followed inside. The trappings of the holiday still bedecked the walls and tucked in corners – red and green and things that glittered. The ghost of that wretched holiday nearly enough to spin his gut. Had it really been just three days? Having hung back in the sitting room, surrounded by the ruin of Christmas, Mycroft waited until he heard the back door open and shut – until he heard the tread of work boots cross the floor and the hiss of the tap as his father washed up at the sink. He'd been out in his workshop, then.

When he eventually made his way into the kitchen, his mother was setting the kettle to boil. There was a rum cake on the table – a holdover from their broken celebrations. Mycroft was quite certain he would never again deign to eat another slice of rum cake.

He felt caught in a current – his limbs disconnected from the floor below as he watched his parents carry out familiar movements cast in the die of decades – repeated and worn into the shape of the spaces around him until the very molecules in the air had been carved to fit their steps. It was nearly a head-rush that would have staggered him had he not been clinging with one hand on the door jam – that sensation of events playing themselves out to infinity. That sickening slip of déjà vu that wanted him to carry out his own predetermined patterns. He had taken these steps before... sat at the table, unburdened dire news which would fracture their family with regards to the youngest of them... that pall of death that had followed Sherlock from the very first time Mycroft had forced air into his stilled lungs in a filthy doss house. Seventeen years old and ODed on a tainted dose of cocaine from a disreputable dealer. Had he been the one, then, to stay that boney specter – to demand favor that would, eventually, demand its due?

Was this to be the payment demanded? To stand to the side while the blade of the guillotine fell?

Or was he the one required to let slip the rope from his fingers?

“Mycroft?”

His father's voice and proximity sent a rush of inhaled air through Mycroft's nose – head jerking back a fraction until his dark musings returned him to the room he'd fled. The tea was ready and Mummy stood next to the table while his father was less than a foot away – concern on both of their faces.

He stiffened his shoulders and walked to the executioner's block.

Once sat, he took his cup in hand and even sipped the warmth – his body so cold that it felt like a blaze sliding down his throat. He was aware that he was handling this all very badly.

His mother, likely sensing the impasse holding his teeth together, finally spoke to life the fear wrapping them all.

“Sherlock will not be allowed to go free.”

Mycroft's eyes fluttered shut, then, and he shook his head.

“No.”

“But you did not travel for over an hour to tell us that. We knew there would be a punishment of some sort. It's worse than that. Isn't it.” Her own tea remained untouched. At the edge of his vision, Mycroft watched his father take hold of his mother's hand. When had their home ever been so silent?

“He is to be held in solitary until the week's end. He is to have no visitors; myself included. On Friday, Sherlock will be escorted to my private airfield. There he will board a jet, to be taken to a location, deemed by M16 to be of high-value, which I am not at liberty to disclose... even to you. Such is the nature of this mission that, upon successful completion, Sherlock's debts will be forgiven and his slate wiped clean.”

Throughout this Mycroft kept his eyes fixed on his cup – watching the surface steam as it dissipated above the rim. When he finished, he considered another sip before noting the tremor in his hands that were held gathered in his lap. He breathed, measured in a count of eight, until they stilled.

Mummy, however, dithered with the cup in her free hand – the porcelain skidding on the old tabletop. Her voice, when it came, was stripped to a jerking hush. “Will he...?” Whatever remained of her question locked up tight behind her throat and when Mycroft lifted his head it was to watch a tear seep down one pale cheek.

But, then, he knew what it was she was asking. And maybe his silence, in reply, was more than enough answer because she turned into Siger's embrace and, with shaking shoulders, began to weep.

Some time later, Mycroft was halfway through his third cigarette, while overlooking the back garden. The burning fag jutted from between two fingers where they rested on the black metal gate. How recently he stood in this very place.

It had grown quite chilly, the past several nights; dipping down as low as six degrees. There was even the chance of snow flurries in the morning.

Finishing the cigarette, Mycroft tapped the ash tip against the fence before tucking the butt in his pocket. It struck him, then, that he would never steal away for a smoke with his brother ever again.

He didn't remember when he moved. He only knew that he came to himself as he was pounding his fists against one of the rough stone posts that stood on either side of the gate. The blood in his ears was pumping so loudly that he could not hear what tore from his throat – could only feel it in the vibration of his vocal chords. In truth he would have remained lost in his rage far longer had not arms wrapped around him from behind. In that moment Mycroft knew his father's embrace.

He sagged, then, in those strong arms. Stronger than the older man appeared to anyone who didn't know him. He held his oldest child as Mycroft tipped his face down into his spread hands and began to sob. Rough, jagged pieces of glass that left behind bleeding wounds where they ripped through his chest.

How long they stood there was lost to time. Mycroft only knew that at some point his father had laid an arm across his shoulders and was guiding him inside with soft words while Mycroft had all he could do to place one foot before the other in a mostly straight path.

When next he was logging events it was to blink owlishly at the stout mug of something steaming and alcoholic resting on the coffee table, before him. He lifted it and took a sip. Ah – father's special hot toddy spiced with cardamom. He had taken several sips before finally taking in more of the room. His eyebrows lowered when he noticed that the only other person in the room was his father – the older man sitting in his favorite chair next to the fireplace. His face was haggard and eyes rimmed red. At Mycroft's glance, Siger tipped his head towards the hall.

“She's lying down. It was... it's too much. We almost lost him, so recently, and now...” his throat bobbed and he subsided – long fingers twisting together. Mycroft held the warm mug in his hands – his fingertips tapping against the rim. Only then did he feel the sting rising in his knuckles. Blood filled every crease – though it was obvious the injuries had been cleaned and treated with a topical ointment. His eyes closed and he felt the flash of burn from his dried out stare. He was aware of losing time repeatedly and, were he not so emotionally flattened, it would have been troubling.

He held the mug in his hands until it cooled – setting it aside once he finally noticed the absence of heat.

“I've failed him.”

The words whispered free before his mind had fully formed them. Yet, the moment they were voiced he knew the truth of them. He had failed. The only mission in his life which truly mattered and he had failed... abysmally.

And his brother would pay for that failure. And there was nothing he could do to repair this.

He expected no response from his father – what was there to say? He was aware of Siger looking towards the low flames in the fireplace. His eyes were wet.

And so they remained; each trapped in their own misery.

An hour later his father stood, approaching to rest a hand against his cheek, for a moment, before going off to bed.

He had only intended to deliver his news before returning home but Mycroft found he scarcely had the energy remaining to slip his shoes from his feet before curling on his side.

He was asleep before he even finished the mental note to call Anthea in the morning.

The following day was possibly worse than the evening which had preceded it. His mother was, by turns, furious and horribly silent. Even his father, normally a stoic man, had a tremble in his jaw and more than once wiped beneath his eyes. It was a journey through hell as Mycroft forewent breakfast in his urgency to flee.

There were six additional texts from John as well as two voicemails. Certainly no point in perusing them – it was readily apparent what the man had to say and Mycroft deleted them without bothering to listen. He had no answers for him and the ones he could have provided would be a disservice to his brother's friend. There were too few things he could do for Sherlock. This, at the least, was a mercy he could offer.

There were many affairs he had to put into order. As it was they were not entirely new – having been established the last time Sherlock had confronted a madman. The difference, of course, was that Mycroft's involvement, back then, was to provide the greatest assurance of his brother's survival. Now...

It struck him, all at once, in a sort of breathless fashion so strongly that he was forced to pull to the side of the road. His hands clasped on the steering wheel and he felt a wild pounding through his chest and it was some outer observation of himself that recognized panic. That part of him, though, was incapable of offering more and even his sense of time was wiped away until he finally, eventually, came back to himself layered in sweat that felt icy against his temples. His mouth was tacky and dry so he opened his door to walk around back to the boot where he had a cooler among other supplies. The water almost hurt when he first swallowed – his throat was so parched. In short order, however, he'd emptied it and screwed the cap back onto the depleted bottle – tossing it into the cooler before retrieving a second and taking it back to the driver's seat.

It was an additional ten minutes before Mycroft felt confident to drive. But as he pulled out onto the roadway it was with a hum of determination that had begun to build from the moment Sherlock had pulled the trigger to end Magnussen's miserable life. He would not allow Sherlock to face this alone. Not while blood still pumped though his veins. No, he may not be able to alter this fate. However, he still had the autonomy his position afforded.

Even if it meant walking with his brother into the flames.

His uncle would have accused him of excessive drama. Rudy, though, had long viewed sentiment as little more than a tool for manipulation. And, in that moment, Mycroft found he didn't care one whit what Rudy Vernet thought.

He needed to contact Anthea again – an adjustment to protocols which had been previously established. She would not thank him, once she became aware of his intentions. However, she would, he hoped, understand. There was no other way.

In three days he would watch his brother board a private jet.

An hour later, Mycroft would take a temporary leave – boarding a commercial flight under an alias known only to Anthea.

He was quite certain he would never see London again.

He found no regret in this choice. In fact, for the first time since Christmas, he felt peace.

He only had one last task to accomplish – something he had promised his brother before Sherlock was locked away in a private cell. Contact dialed on his mobile, Mycroft was unsurprised when it was picked up scarcely after a single ring.

“Mycroft – what the hell is going on? Where is Sherlock...?”

“John. My apologies. Sherlock has been detained and I'm afraid he has not been allowed contact. However I...” he licked his lips; suddenly aware of a dangerous tremble which he forced aside before it could slip into his speech, “I was able to procure... a moment.”

“Moment? What...”

“To say goodbye. John.” Not fully silent, on the other end, Mycroft was able to note the sudden deep breaths. One last mercy, perhaps. “As recompense for the shooting, Sherlock is to avail himself to MI6 as a field operative. It was deemed a far better fate than to waste away in a cell.”

The breathing caught as John composed himself. When his voice returned it was subdued.

“How long?”

Mycroft rubbed his thumbs against the steering wheel. “Indefinitely.”

He had no trouble imaging John's eyes shuttering closed. “I see.”

They disconnected shortly afterward.

As grayed hills gave way to London streets, Mycroft pulled the tatters of self back around his shoulders. This was for the best. After 6 months, John Watson would receive a substantial deposit into his bank account – more than enough to see to his child's upbringing and education. He would know only that Sherlock had arranged for the funds via his trust. He would wonder – likely assume, correctly, that Sherlock was no longer alive. He would mourn and he would move on. After all, he had done so, once before.

As to Mary; Mycroft would have her under watch. Anthea would see it through personally. Should the former assassin ever show any indication of returning to her former life... should she ever present a danger to John or their child... it would be handled. His parents...

And here Mycroft faltered in his manic plans.

And not only his parents. He had responsibilities that only he, and very few others, were aware existed.

He... he could not do as he desperately wished.

There was only a vast emptiness of winter pale hills beyond the windscreen. The promised flurries had begun to fall shortly after five that morning – the roadway gilded with sparking flakes that frosted the browned grass and clung to the branches of trees. As the flakes began to thicken, building into a proper snow, Mycroft switched on the fog lights in spite of the fact he shared the road with no other vehicles.

Before the weight of it all could drag him beneath the rising waves, Mycroft mentally took hold of himself. He had allowed emotion to wrest control of his faculties. He had... indulged a fantasy. But that was all it would ever be. It was over now. It was all over, now.

It was time to move forward.

His parents would never forgive him. This, though, was something he had been prepared to face. And it wouldn't be the first child he had taken from them.

Before his maudlin thoughts could overtake him, yet again, Mycroft dialed a number on his mobile once again. There was no sound of a ring and only moments passed before he heard the click of a connection. “Anthea. I need you to make arrangements. It's for John Watson... and Sherlock.” He licked his lips; moving into a lane that would take him into the city and on to Whitehall. He remembered, with sudden and breathtaking vibrancy, a tiny face with watery blue eyes, peering up at him from the folds of the blanket cradled in Mummy's arms. And he knew, as well, that he gave himself away with the tremble that broke in his voice.

“It's time to say goodbye.”

Comment on AO3

Tagging: @totallysilvergirl

[in1-nutshell]

I'm very sorry, but can i also request Buddy the terran who looks like Rumble ending up on Fearless Buddy Timeline?? If it isn’t to much.

So they arrive and everyone is taken aback about this kid. They don’t know each other, but Fearless feels kind of protective around them, so they became a Protector of Buddy. And Buddy protects Fearless as well.

There will be chaos and maybe Ravage will become a sibling for this kid. Buddy will feel safer around bots they know, like megs, and if Buddy explains the accident with shockwave and everyone realizes what the problem is and decide to tell Buddy about Rumble. What would happen??

Echo is back!

Fearless is adding another sibling on their list.

Hope you enjoy!

Echo meets Fearless on the Lost Light

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Cybertronian (Terran) reader, Human reader

TFE/MTMTE

After finding out about the groundbrigde, the rest of the Autobots and good members of G.H.O.S.T. had decided to repurpose it.

To use it for good as Mo said.

Echo honestly couldn’t care less about the groundbridge.

They were there for moral support for Nightshade and Hashtag.

Once it was time to test it out, Wheeljack flipped the switch.

The portal swirls were its normal colors and were stable… until they weren’t.

Echo holding onto some of the safety guard rails. Echo: “Hey guys? Is that normal?” The groundbrigde colors start to flux and change size. Nightshade and Hashtag holding on to the console for dear life. Hashtag and Nightshade: “NO!” Wheeljack holding on to the railing near the kill switch. Wheeljack: “Just hold on for a couple more nanoclicks and I’ll shut it down!” Agent Scholder: “AAAAAHHHHHHH!” The agent starts flying to the bridge. Echo: “Scholder!” They let go of the railing and start going after the flying human. Hashtag, Nightshade, and Wheeljack: “ECHO!” Echo grabs the human with one servo and launches him back to the others. They try grabbing the sides of the groundbrigde, but they narrowly miss and get pulled in as the portal closes.

  Meanwhile on the Lost Light… Fearless is walking down the halls with a mug of coffee in one hand and two energy drinks in the other. Fearless: “Finally! That super speed is as good as mine now!” The portal opens and Echo comes flying out. Fearless ducks and drops their concoction in the process. Fearless: “Great there goes my superhero origin story…”

Fearless was seriously thinking about having Magnus make them business cards for every bot or human from other universes visited the Lost Light.

That or have Brainstorm scan the multiverse and see why it is made of Swiss cheese.

It certainly was a trip between trying to explain the minibot (who had just realized their new fear of space) and trying to explain the portals/bridge works.

Echo was a bit hesitant to meet the rest of the crew members when Fearless brought the idea up, but ultimately relented.

Fearless and Echo walking side by side. Fearless noticing how tense the minibot was. Fearless: “There’s nothing to be scared about the crew. I mean, as long as we don’t get some bots mad.” Echo: “I’m not scared!” Fearless gives them a half teasing look. Fearless: “Its okay if you wanna hold my hand kiddo.” Echo: “… Are you serious?” Fearless without missing a beat grabs a hold of the minobots servo. They don’t let go.

Fearless brings them straight to Rodimus and Ultra Magnus.

Magnus feels a wave of déjà vu.

Rodimus happily greets the minibot to the ship.

Echo tries remembering some of the manners Mom had taught them and greeted them as politely as they could.

One pro about this universe was no ‘Rumble’ talks.

In comes in Megatron.

Echo nearly has whiplash seeing the giant grey mech. Rodimus and Magnus think that the bot is about to glitch. No one was prepared for them to sprint over to him with the happiest smile on their face. Echo: “Megatron! Finally, a familiar face!” Megatron gives Fearless a confused look. Fearless just shrugs. Megatron: “Hello? And you are?” Echo stands up straighter slightly puffing their chassis. Echo: “I’m Echo! I got shot out of a groundbride portal.” Megatron: “Ah! That makes sense.” Ravage shows up from behind. Echo immediately stands in front of Fearless glaring at the felicon. Ravage: “When did we get the new crewmate?” Echo: “YOU CAN TALK!?”

A crew meet and greet is called after 15 minutes of trying to convince Echo that Ravage wasn’t going to maul Fearless.

And an additional 10 minutes to convince Echo to let go of Fearless.

It comes to a compromise that Megatron and Fearless would always be nearby.

Fearless wasn’t blind seeing how Echo tensed seeing so many bots enter the room.

This was going to be eventful.

Magnus: “Number 3, you may ask your appropriate question.” Swerve: “What’s your alt mode and how did you get it?” Echo stands up and turns into their rover form before transforming back. Echo: “Dad calls it a ‘mini rover’ and got it from going through stuff in the barn.” Fearless raises and eyebrow but keeps quiet. Magnus: “Number 24." Nautica: “Who’s this ‘Dad’?” Echo smiles: “He’s the best dad in the world! He tells the best stories about the Great War and legends! Robbie and Mo sometimes voiceover the bots and cons when he’s ding the stories from the comics.” Murmur comes from the crowd. Magnus: “Number 15.” Drift: “Are your guardians humans?” Echo: “Yep! It’s Mom, Dad, Robbie, Mo, Me, Thrash, Twitch, Hashtag, Nightshade, and Jawbreaker. Then there’s the bots and some of the cons too, but they are like extended family.” Magnus: “Number 42.” Brainstorm: “When did you come online? Before, During, or after the war?” Echo: “Oh that’s easy! A little over a year ago.” Fearless spits out their orange juice and is in a coughing mess. Echo goes over and carefully pats their back, blissfully unaware of what they just unleashed in the crowd. Brainstorm: “Little over a year!?” Echo picks up Fearless, still rubbing small circles on their back, while going back to their seat. Echo: “Yeah? Technically I was the first one to come to consciousness...” Brainstorm: “What do you mean by that…?” Echo: “Well Robbie and Mo found some Emberstone, touched it and with the powers of I don’t remember, POOF! Me, Thrash and Twitch popped out of the cave water. Oh, and we need water to survive instead of that energon stuff. We can technically still drink it, but it burns faster—Woah! Is he okay?!” Brainstorm is on the floor twitching with Perceptor kneeling by also twitching.

Somewhere in the crowd… Whirl whispering to Cyclonus: “Do you know where Megs has those adoption paper?” Cyclonus raises his optic: “Why…” Whirl: “… I’m gonna steal that kid.” Cyclonus: “Whirl, no.” Whirl: “Whirl, yes!”

It took a while to get through the questions with the number of bots nearly short circuiting on the spot.

When they told them about Shockwave and what he had done, it just sealed the deal for the ‘Echo protection squad’.

They weren’t fond of the name but didn’t mind some bots looking after them either.

Megatron looked like he might have had a stroke when Echo mentioned Dot and that they shared history.

It’s a somber moment when Echo mentions Rumble to the crew, especially to the former Decepticons onboard.

None of them want to talk about it.

Fearless caught Ravage going to the communications hub.

They have an idea who he’s calling and leave him to it.

Speaking of Fearless…

As soon as Fearless got through Echo’s shell, the two were practically attached to the hip.

And CHAOS REIGNED.

The ship now belonged in the palms of their hands/servos.

Whirl has already begun his search for adoption papers and already dubbed little Echo as his kid.

No takes backies.

Magnus had to be taken to the med bay to get an IV of pure Common Sense attached to his frame after witnessing the shenanigans.

Another tearful goodbye was felt when Echo had to go back home.

Fearless chuckled to themselves as the portal closed.

Meanwhile in Echo’s universe…

Echo gets spat out into a pile of dirt. Echo standing up trying to shake and brush all the dirt. Echo: “Who leaves a pile of dirt in the middle—”

SLAM!

Jawbreaker slams into Echo in a fierce hug. Jawbreaker: “Echo you’re okay! You’re okay! You’re okay!” Echo wheezing feeling their frame dent but manages to pull an arm out to pat their younger sibling. Echo: “I’m here Jaws.” Rapid pedesteps start getting louder. Echo: “…This is how I’m gonna go out… drowned and squashed in my family’s hugs… Ha, bring it.”

[donutsupremacy]

Pocky Game (Pt. 2)

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Summary

"Hey, [Choice of Character]! Wanna try this new treat with me?"

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Warnings

Pocky Games and the rules are likely inaccurate lol

Male characters only

Included characters are the remaining (K-Z)

Organized from Region and alphabetical order

Mostly fluffy

I didn't specify the flavor, so feel free to pick ur desired flavor

Steamy ones marked with (⚠️)

Some cussing

I have ran out of scenarios for 70% :>

1000% Ooc

Written during 3.7

A/N: Iabxjnskxjei can't wait for Fontaine to meet my lovely sweetheart Lyney

Once again, YES I KNOW POCKY DOESN'T EXIST IN GENSHIN— yet.

For the sake of this imagine, just pretend the regional chefs made it

Remaining male characters included are (Not in order);

Kazuha/ Mika/ Pantalone/ Pierro/ Pulcillena (Yes)/ Razor/ Wanderer/ Heizou/ Thoma/ Tighnari/ Venti/ Xiao/ Xingqiu/ Zhongli

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Mondstadt

"When Sara created it, she also made a new based on it. She said that it would be best to play it with a partner, so... would you like to play a game with me?"

Mika

➷ My precious bby deserves better in this community.

➷ You'll likely find him somewhere busy remapping some areas that were recently revamped by everyone's favorite lil' terrorist Crimson Spark Knight

➷ You don't dare to jumpscare him, being in the Reconnaissance Company is already a tough enough of a job as it is. So, you loudly trampled across the grass, at least loud enough for him to hear.

➷ A little taken aback, he greets you meekly, all the while expertly marking the terrain on his map despite already looking away from it. (Maybe accidentally drawing a small heart on it once he saw you, mwehehehehe)

➷ You pecked his already blushing cheek, asking if he could take a break. He can multitask between mapping out the area while relaxing with you as being with you while doing cartography has always been his favorite type of 'break'.

➷ The two of you sat down on the grass, with you watching him work while he listens to you talking about whatever was going on in Mondstat. The gentle breeze brushing against your hair and his map.

➷ After finishing his work, you introduced him to the new treat Sara made and a new game.

➷ Mentioning the word 'Kiss' alone made him flustered. The two of you had been in a lovely relationship, but have yet to kiss on the lips. You reassure him there's no need to push it, but it's been a secret of his that he wonders just how your lips may feel on his.

➷ So he takes on the challenge, after all; He's the front-line surveyor of the Reconnaissance Company, he shouldn't be afraid of a kiss from his [S/O]!

➷ ...Maybe a bit more preparation was needed. As soon as your lips grazed across his own, locked together by the flavored stick, he attempts to kiss you properly by headbutting you on accident. Déjà Vu, amirite, Bennett from Part 1?

➷ "I-I'm alright! There's no need to worry... What about you? I didn't hurt you did I?... Huh? Y-You enjoyed the kiss? Me? O-Of course I enjoyed it! I'm just sorry our first kiss had to be... less romantic. Let me make it up to you! Follow me, I actually want to show you a place in Stormterror's Lair, I-I think you'll like it."

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Razor

➷ Oh shit he came from the trees

➷ Quite literally, he dropped down from the trees, greeting you with a small smile after your lovely scent reached him.

➷ You introduced him to the treat and as you had expected; He was skeptical at first, having his diet based on mostly meat.

➷ But, he's willing to try anything, especially when it comes from his beloved Lupical... even if you suck at cooking like me heueheuhwhshsbdkannfks

➷ Regardless of what flavour you chose, he reacts positively, stating that the taste isn't as bad as he initially thought. To be honest, he thought you brought something to poison him, he hasn't seen this treat before since his last visit to Mondstadt's City.

➷ It's still feels odd eating... 'Stick with flavour', as he calls it (He doesn't know how to pronounce Pocky properly). But then you place it between your lips, suggesting him to eat another one while sharing it at the same time with you.

➷ Innocent little Razor automatically agrees, seeing this as something romantic humans do; Sharing something they like with their partner. Of course it didn't take long for him to grow flustered at the lack of space between your lips and his.

➷ Out of instinct from seeing many couples in the city do this, he just lunges ahead and take a large chunk of the stick, his lips grazing against your gently enough to be called a kiss.

➷ He chews the stick silently in shame as you just stared at him out of surprise. He quietly mutters an apology as he assumed he something wrong, to which you reassured him that you enjoyed the kiss. That earned you another happy peck to the cheek.

➷ "Me too. Your lips... taste like treat. But also soft on mine... It is— very nice. I... like to kiss you. Can we try one more? I-If you want."

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Venti

➷ Booze flavoured Pocky?

➷ You'll be aware of Venti's true identity for this one. You are 'The Melody of Venti's Vocals' and/or vice versa, following him and creating a tune together that tugs the strings of the Mondstadters all around you.

➷ But at night, where life tends to retire for their slumber and secrets lay hiding within the shadows, you accompany the Archon (Unsurprisingly) to the bar. Telling tales of himself as he downs several shots of Dandelion Wine. And then later paying for his bills before dragging him to your home for some cuddles.

➷ On this particular night, you asked the bard to skip the drinking, much to his short-lived dismay.

➷ You drag him all the way back to your private abode, sitting on your porch and asking him to share the treat. He'll definitely agree to play the game as well, not skipping a beat to say 'Absolutely!'.

➷ It starts off cute, playing the game normally. Until halfway through when he holds both your cheeks, taking the rest of the stick in while giving you a biiiig smooch.

➷ You're flustered at first, before playfully pouting at him as he giggles and slyly winks at you. He then proceeds to ask you for one more round. One after another, each one you lose because he sucessfully kisses you. Though, you certainly didn't mind the slightest.

➷ At the strike of midnight, Venti sighs, licking his lips that hsd the taste of the stick's flavour and your own. He grins at you cheekily, as you fake pouted for not winning once.

➷ He chuckles, bringing you into his embrace, to which you lean against him, your feigned anger quelled in his arms. As you both stared at the moon above, he gazes softly into your eyes, his slim fingers caressing your cheek.

➷ "Exchanging tokens of love has always been a delight— for the spark between us to shine brighter than tonight's moonlight... Now, take my hand, dear Windblume— and allow me to proudly declare my everlasting love, to none other than you..."

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Liyue

"I know Xiangling's cooking can be... odd, but I promise; this one actually tastes amazing!... And, she even included a little game to it!"

Xiao

➷ "Xiao?" "U called?" "AAAAAAA—"

➷ Perched on the rooftop of Wangshu Inn, golden leaves raining from the tree above. As soon as you pulled out the box of Pocky, the Yaskha turns you down before you could utter a word.

➷ Obviously, He doesn't need food, it doesn't benefit him if he consumes them anyway. Well, except maybe Almont Tofu huehue

➷ It wasn't until you started fake whimpering, bringing out the puppy eyes did he finally cave in. He loathes the sound of your whimpers, it makes his heart ache painfully to comfort you. And your teary eyes? It hurts more to look at them than his karmic debt.

➷ He sighs before stating 'Only this once', causing your eyes to light up brighter than the star themselves. He may not enjoy food, but he finds comfort being with you. He's willing to tolerate anything when it comes to making you feel safe and happy.

➷ He asks what's the point of the game, to which you responded with 'It's a surprise!' casually. He rolls his eyes before taking the other end of the stick, the two of you taking turns chipping away at the treat.

➷ And then your noses touch.

➷ His piercing golden eyes widened, pupils trembling at the sight of how close your lips are to his own. It wasn't like neither of you have shared a kiss before, you always pecked his cheek as a greeting. But when he's supposedly suspended in place when your lips were right there, inches away for him to take... it's the sudden craving for your kiss that makes him feel— flustered.

➷ He's the one who broke the stick, reluctantly swallowing the treat while avoiding your eyes. He subtly glances at you, noticing the upset exoression as you silently chew on your end of the stick.

➷ It doesn't take long for the cogs in his brain to start spinning, before he asks if this was a ridiculously pointless plot for you to steal a kiss from him. In which you replied; "Yes :3"

➷ He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighed, the tip of his nose a rosy pink colour. He grabs your chin, turning you to face him before he leans in slowly, planting his lips on your own.

➷ It only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like an entire decade went by before he finally pulled away. His gloved hand cradling your face, thumb caressing your blushing cheeks as you gazed at him happily.

➷ "You humans truly love making things much more difficult for yourselves than it should. You're lucky i'll humour you today. Uhm, you... aren't afraid of asking me for something so simple and small— are you?... You're not? Oh. That's good... Next time, you can just ask, I won't decline... I promise."

Xingqiu

➷ *Proceeds to read out the entire story of Romeo and Juliet at your arrival*

➷ You see him occupied reading a book while on a bench, so you interrupt by slipping the box of treats in between the pages he was reading, cooing at him to lend you some time for a bit of fun.

➷ Amused, he closes the book and pecks your forehead, followed by the usual compliment of your lovely presence greeting him and pulling you closer to him.

➷ You asked him to play the Pocky Game with you, to which he narrows his eyes at the box, deep in thought. You were about to reassure that if he didn't want to, there was no need to, until he gleefully agrees to play. You could see flowers dancing around him, which already made you feel weary of him.

➷ Nonetheless, your happiness powered over your cautious side and you eagerly planted the stick between your lips. He leans foward biting the other side, the corner of his lips tugging into a sly but unnoticeable smirk. You've fallen into his trap, again~

➷ Your naivety wasn't aware of his eyes growing half-lidded, his head tilting a certain angle and his hand reaching out to your face. Halfway there, and your biggest mistake was looking up, locking eyes with his suddenly lustful amber eyes.

➷ his hands barely grazed your cheek, the faint moan of your name reaching your ear, eyes pleading for more than a simple kiss from you. That was when you instinctively snapped the stick apart, nearly falling over the bench you both sat on, covering your bright red face that felt like it was on fire.

➷ The male giggles slyly, watching you sit up with a bright red face that could rival the hair of a pyro wielding bartender in Mondstadt, an angry pout forming on your face.

➷ You punched him gently on the shoulder as you dragged yourself back on the bench, pretending to ignore him for tricking you.

➷ Of course, that didn't last long before he wraps his arms around you, kissing your still red cheek and whispering apologies into your ear.

➷ "My liege, why are you fretting over such a simple and intimate act? Are lovers not obliged to display affection for one another as a way to express their true feelings? Or perhaps... has something suggestive begun circulating in your thoughts? Hehehe~ I thank the Archons for blessing me with such a doting and endearing [S/O]~"

Zhongli (⚠️)

➷ Habsjsbdin i feel disgusting writing these

➷ You'll also know Zhongli's true identity in this one, I hc that if he found a lover, he'd reveal he's an archon some time in your relationship as to not make your... 'Parting' too difficult.

➷ Sad stuff out of the way, you slide yourself next to Zhongli, who was in the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's lobby having his afternoon tea.

➷ He greets you, poised and soft as ever. He pours you a cup of tea, offering it to you. The liquid cools your insides, a sigh of relief escaoing your lips as you thank him for the refreshment. Or if you dislike tea, he'll offer you just a glass of water, saying he predicted your arrival.

➷ You wasted no time in asking if he'd like to play the Pocky Game with you, waving the stick in front of him as you informed him of the rules. Amused at your offer, he agrees to try the oh-so-harmless game.

➷ It started off normal and innocent at first, the two of you playing the game as intended, with you going on a losing streak for breaking the treat too much, being too flustered because of Zhongli's face getting too close to yours. He looks so— gorgeous up close...

➷ You call for a break, frantically drinking your [cup of tea/glass of water] to try and cool down your body. All the while Zhongli was patiently watching you fan yourself as subtly as you could, which wasn't subtle at all.

➷ He thinks you're flustered for losing so much, so be wraps his arms around you, pulling you close to him as a way to comfort you. Which wasn't working, if anything, it made your face feel more hotter.

➷ He whispers sweet nothing into your ears, reassuring you for something you weren't upset about. And it gets worse when he pulls you into his lap, having you unintentionally straddle his hips.

➷ Mainly out of embarrassment, you squirmed around a little. Laughing sheepishly as you shyly explained you weren't upset, but flustered at how pretty he looked up close.

➷ Unfortunately, your words didn't reach his ears, distracted by you pressing down onto his clothed member. His hands trailed down your body slowly, effectively shutting you up and making you wriggle around more.

➷ He groans your name quietly, raspy voice echoing in your ears. Wanting to hear more, you experimentally rolled your hips against him, a small moan leaving your lips at his erection pressing against you.

➷ His gloved fingers dug into the flesh of your waist, pulling you downwards to feel himself throbbing against you, the tightening core in your abdoment aching for him.

➷ Lustful amber eyes met yours as he cradled your blushing cheek, leaning foward to lock lips with you. He lifts himself a little, now it was his turn to tease you. A moan escaping your intertwined lips, now joining him in his administrations.

➷ "My love... there's no need to tempt me, I understand your needs. Shall we take this somewhere more... private? Director Hu would not appreciate it if we... make love here. I wish to show you my passionate side that awaits you."

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Inazuma

"Anna asked if I could taste test it, but then she told me it would be more fun if I had a partner to try it out with... Why don't we have a bite or two together?"

Kazuha Kaedehara

➷ Beidou is his mom, now she's ur mom as well. I don't take no's for an awnser.

➷ You arrive on the Crux, crew members scurrying around the deck, attending to their duties. Your boyfriend no where to be seen, but you spot the captain gazing at the sea intently, presumably wondering what sort of adventures are there to come.

➷ Beidou greets you enthusiastically, an arm looped around your shoulder and pulling you in for a tight hug. You choked due to her strength, but returned with a shy greeting of your own. You gave her an extra Pocky box as a gift, knowing she and her crew were ready to set sail soon.

➷ You asked the Electro wielder where your beloved boyfriend was, to which she chuckled, before responding with a vague 'Ask him what's up!' and pointing somewhere.

➷ You followed her finger, directing your eyes to see what was behind and above you; Your amused boyfriend sitting on the roof, smiling down at you.

➷ The white haired male got up and jumped down, using his Anemo vision to assist him in his graceful landing. He greets you with his usual soft tone, taking your hand and planting a kiss on your knuckles.

➷ Beidou soon leaves with a hearty laugh and a 'Get a room, lovebirds!~', returning to assist her crew members. Meanwhile, you dragged your boyfriend over to a more secluded area of the ship while asking him about where his travels will bring him to next.

➷ Sitting near the edge of the ship, he awnsers all of your questions calmly, before asking if you wanted to play the game with him. He chuckles, admitting he heard your voice faintly in the wind talking to a friend about wanting to play the Pocky game with him before he leaves.

➷ Although embarrassed that he overheard your conversation, you nodded. You took one end of the treat and pointed at the other, which he happily took.

➷ Since he was about to leave soon, you were only able to sneak in a couple of rounds before Beidou's voice could be heard announcing the preparation for departure was completed. But you were still happy, as you had fun kissing your boyfriend on the lips, which you'll miss for a while.

➷ He cradles your face, his soft but captivating red eyes staring into yours. He plants his lips onto yours once more, pulling you closer to his chest, your arms wrapped around him.

➷ "Hearts intertwined, strings stretched apart but not once torn. We will never be seperated, for our connection is something that will last much more than eternity. I'll be back soon, [Name], my heart, mind, soul and body are yours forever."

Shikanoin Heizou (⚠️)

➷ Very self indulgent. Very very long and self indulgent :>

➷ You were visiting the Tenryou Comission, greeting many familiar faces while on the way to see a certain detective, who was likely about to take his break and waiting for your arrival.

➷ As you had correctly guessed, you entered his office, quietly so you wouldn't accidentally disturb the burgundy haired male seen busy sorting some files at his desk. His brows furrowed and olive eyes reading each label intently, you can't help but silently admire how pretty he looked when he was focused.

➷ You opted to help him finish his current task first, putting away the box and moving to his side to sort the remaining files. You've always assisted him with his work whenever you stopped by to see him, it helps him immensely when he was given a large workload. Sorting a couple of files according to their statuses was a walk in the park, you've done this many times.

➷ His eyes widened at your sudden appearance, but smiled fondly at you, his mood improving tenfold. Soon enough, the desk was neat and tidy in contrast to the pile of mess before you came in.

➷ He breathes a sigh of relief, pecking your cheek and asking you to take a seat next while he grabs you a glass of water. On the way, he locks the door, giving the two of you privacy. His eyes spot the box you've hidden, his velvety laughter reaching your ears.

➷ You thank him as he sits next to you, arms wrapped around your waist and pulling you close as you took your sweet time taking a sip. Meanwhile, he sneakily takes the box, examining it's peculiar design.

➷ When he asks you about it, you introduced him to the treat and told him about the game's rules, later asking if he could play a game with you. Of course, he accepts in a heartbeat, already handing you one stick.

➷ You bite down on it while he takes the other almost immediately, grinning at you slyly. The round proceeds smoothly, with you taking the victory after sucessfully kissing his lips, your cheeks tinted a pink hue.

➷ He blinks, a bit in shock while you happily chew your treat. He chuckles, pinching your cheek while calling you 'cute'. You offered to play another round, to which he gladly took. Unbeknownst to you, he's already planning something to... 'spice up' this competition.

➷ Each and every round, you ended up as the victor, unaware of why he seemed rather lazy to play, only smiling at you in amusement. It wasn't until he took the last stick, asking for one more round, you accepted, thinking nothing of it.

➷ While you were already half way there, he lunges foward, taking the remaining stick into his mouth and locking lips with you. You nearly fell off your chair, arms clinging onto his shirt while he grips your waist tightly.

➷ He pulls away, licking his lips and gazing into your eyes, olive eyes clouded with lust at how much your trembling from his lips alone. He doesn't let you speak, barely letting you register when he pulls you in for another kiss.

➷ He shifts himself to hover over you, one hand resting on your thigh while the other hold the back of your head, pushing you to deepen the kiss. You steady yourself by grabbing his shoulders, the chair tilted back slightly.

➷ He retreats, only to kiss your chin, slowly moving down to litter your collar bone with bright red marks for all to see. You choked back a moan, his hand on your thigh now moving closer to where you want him the most.

➷ "You're a needy one, aren't you? *Chuckles* how cute~ Did I rile you up too much? Do you need me badly? Don't be scared, even if they hear, then they'll know who you really belong to now~ Say the word, my [Pet Name], say it loud and clear to me... and i'll make you scream my name louder in return."

Thoma

➷ I'M RUNNING OUT OF SCENARIOS SO THIS IS THE PART WHERE I SHORTEN EVERYTHING AND BS MY THROUGH—

➷ While gathering feedback on the new treat for Anna, (The chef in Inazuma, the one in Ayaka's story quest) you accidentally rammed right into Thoma, dropping the box and falling onto your rear with a soft 'thud'.

➷ He apologises, helping you up and repeatedly asking if you were alright. You reassure him that you weren't hurt, although, you were a little upset that your snack was inedible now as the last few sticks were scattered on the ground.

➷ Nonetheless, you still hug Thoma as a proper greeting before peppering his face with a couple of kisses. He chuckles, returning with a sweet kiss on the nose.

➷ Suddenly, he pulls out the exact same box you had, asking if you were given the same task Anna gave to him. You can't help but chuckle at the coincidence, the two of you were doing the same thing and bumped right into eachother at the very end.

➷ He immediately offers to share the box with you, stating he was done with the job, adding that this is his way of repaying you for earlier.

➷ You gladly accepted, but asked to play a couple rounds of the game with you. He doesn't waste anytime in planting the stick in his lips, teasingly waving the stick at your face.

➷ You both finished the box, your game ending in a draw and full of kisses. Now, you were resting your head on his shoulder, happily rambling away about whatever came to your mind.

➷ He was staring fondly at you the entire time, though, his eyes trailed down to your lips. He's kissed you many, many times... But they're absolutely irresistible to him.

➷ He stops your rambling when he touches your cheek, causing you to flinch and look at him in confusion. He chuckles, apologising for disrupting you.

➷ "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you... You're adorable when you just babble on mindlessly. But I can't help noticing how... lonely your lips look. May I accompany it with my own?"

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Sumeru

"Lambad was asking if I could collect any feedback on this treat, he even made up a whole game about it... do you wanna kill two birds with one stone and play the game while tasting it?"

Wanderer (⚠️)

➷ "Hi, Nahida! Where's Don Sombrero?"

➷ He'd likely be wandering (heh) outside of Sumeru City in the middle of the night, his bored indigo eyes staring up at the moon.

➷ The sound of a twig snapping in half made his eyes widened in alert, turning around and swiftly sending a sharp wind blade towards the supossed stalker— You.

➷ He frorze in place staring at you in shock, while you just stood there awkwardly with a lopsided and confused smile, the blade barely missing you by a few inches. He clicks his tongue, lowering his hat to hide the worry in his eyes while he approaches you, reprimanding you for sneaking up on someone who could've ended you in one fell swoop.

➷ You apologise, offering to take a leisurely stroll with him, explaining that you couldn't sleep. He scoffs and begins to walk away, but doesn't decline. You jogged up to his side, not a single complaint leaving his lips.

➷ The two of you strolled around the forest that surrounded the city, basking in eachother's presence without having to share a word. Until he tries to slip his hand into yours, his way of showing his appreciation for you without using words.

➷ He ends up grabbing the box instead and asks what it is. You blurted out the true motive behind your decision to join his late night excursion; To play the Pocky game with him. He sighs, calling you childish but agrees to play since it'll make you happy.

➷ You two find a quiet and safe spot, settling down while admiring the view of Sumeru City at night. He says he'll only play a couple of rounds just to get this over with, so that the two of you can just cuddle relax in peace.

➷ He takes his hat off, in case it'll hit you by accident. You plant the stick between your lips and leaned in, allowing him to take the other end, albeit a little reluctantly. He would've just preferred to kiss you normally, but he'll humour you.

➷ Though it was frustrating when he was already prepared for a kiss, but you end up snapping the stick at the very last second. The moonlight did little to hide the blush on your face, you apologised profusely out of humiliation, admitting you broke it because of how pretty he looked close up.

➷ He scoffed, saying that was a ridiculous reason and stating it wasn't any different than the previous times you've kissed. But he doesn't want you to beat yourself up over something stupid, he wraps one arm around your waist and pulls you closer to get that kiss he's been waiting for.

➷ You wrapped your arms around his shoulder, tilting your head a little to lean in closer to his lips. His hand around your waist moves downwards, his touch caused a quiet moan to slip past your lips.

➷ Your hands glide across his chest, his fingers digging into your flesh from the ghostly touch if your fingertips.

➷ "Look at you, already falling apart at something so miniscule as a kiss that was meant to fulfill your desire. Or was it truly your desire to begin with? Perhaps you were craving for something much more than that? Lowly human... your soft pleads mean nothing to my ears. If you want something from me— beg for it."

Tighnari

➷ Srry gonna have to nerf u real quick

➷ You were treading through Avidya Forest, on the way to Gandharva ville. Though, you had injured one of your legs that was now in a cast, you didn't let the pain distract you from wanting to visit your part-canine boyfriend.

➷ You limped along the dirt road, oblivious to the pair of eyes stalking your every movement. You could see the village up ahead, your heart fluttering at the thought of greeting Tighnari, his bushy tail swaying back and forth at your visit.

➷ However, you were pulled out of your thoughts when you heard something heavy land right behind you. Startled, you spun around, only to trip over your own foot and fall onto the ground.

➷ Panic coursed through your blood when you were met face to face with a Rishbolang Tiger, whose eyes stared at you with hunger. It growls, the fur on it's back standing erect as it stalks closer to you, baring it's sharp teeth that were ready to sink into your flesh.

➷ You scrambled back onto your non-injured leg, but it was near impossible to outrun something as fast as a tiger. But lady luck was by your side when you heard a familiar voice call out your name, followed by something being hurled at the tiger behind you.

➷ The tiger was soon trapped in a field, it's dilated pupils darting everywhere in search of you. Out comes your boyfriend, running to your rescue before the field's taunting effects dispels.

➷ One Arm around your waist and the other hooked around his shoulder, he helps you to limp away from the distracted tiger. Despite being visibly unscathed, Tighnari proceeds to check you for any more injuries. All the while calling you an idiot for traversing in the jungle with an injured leg.

➷ He sighs, bringing you into his arms for a comforting hug, saying he was worried about what would've happened if he wasn't on patrol.

➷ You returned the embrace, saying you just wanted to visit— Aaand, you lost the Pocky box during your escape. You sighed sadly while he kissed you in reassurance, stating he could escort you back to Sumeru City and purchase another one.

➷ He asks what it is, to which you replied with a description and your desire to play the game with him. He scoffs, travelling all the way here with an injured leg just to play a kissing game with him? You're too cute for your own good.

➷ "There's no need to be upset over something small... especially when you were nearly devoured by a Rishboland Tiger. Regardless, you should refrain from adding more pressure on your leg. For the time being, you should recover here for a few hours before returning to Sumeru City... As for the 'game' you wanted to play, that's a ridiculous reason. You want a kiss? Then... oh, whatever, just come here..."

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[This section of characters may have innacurate personalities and responses, their parts will be shortened due to the lack of information present.]

Pantalone

➷ Russian Baizhu and I have officially ran out of ideas.

➷ The two of you rendezvous outside of the Fatui Harbinger's Headquarters, drops of snow dancing around the two of you.

➷ You fixed his coat, huffing about how cold it is outside while he enjoys how fussy you're being. Once done, the two of you strolled around Snezhnaya, hand in hand.

➷ Idk if there are travelling merchants in Snezhnaya, but we'll oretend there's one who'll introduce the treat to you. Hearing the instructions of the game, Baizhu Pantalone purchases it, giving you a sly smile.

➷ Eventually you two returned to the harbinger's headquarters, about to bid your beloved a farewell as he was about to resume his work. But then he stops you, asking to play the little game before you leave.

➷ You sighed, but really wanted to play the game with him.

➷ "Dear, your face seems red! Oh, my poor darling... Has the snow gotten to you? Or... did something else snuck it's way into that pretty little bead of yours, hm?~"

Pierro

➷ I struggled SO MUCH writing the last two fatui harbingers, having to add the dialouges at the end was fokin' T O R T U R E

➷ Tartaglia had sent over a box full of Pocky to you, with a note asking you to give one for each of his fellow comrades, with a little doodle of himself winking and a instructions on how to play the game.

➷ You saved the last one for your beloved master; Pierro. After you finish reporting the current affairs to him, he thanks you and allows you to take a small break, to which you ask if he could join.

➷ He responds that he was busy, saying he would have a meeting with the other Harbingers later, but states that he could still join you for a couple of minutes.

➷ It was good enough as you introduced him to box, adding that it came from Childe and he had included a little game you wanted to play with him, he sighed upon hearing the name. You sat on his lap, his arm holding your waist to balance you.

➷ You stuck one end of the treat in-between your lips, leaning foward for him to take the other, albeit a little hesitantly. The game was way too childish for him, but harmless nonetheless.

➷ I'll make this quick; He wins multiple rounds. You couldn't bear seeing his stoic, yet, gentle face that only you could witness, being so close to yours. He finds it amusing, but shows little to no change in expression.

➷ "I apologise for cutting this short, I will have to take my leave now... However, you may hold onto the last remaining sticks, I never said I wouldn't return to you. Let us rendezvous outside the headquarters once the meeting is over."

Pulcillena

➷ i'll make this as serious and short as possible srry

➷ As with most of the Fatui Harbingers, you find him giving instructions to the new batch of recruits on their first official duties and assignments.

➷ Once he was done and the skirmishers had dispersed, you wrapped your arms around him, greeting him with a kiss on his pointy nose.

➷ He returns the gesture with an affectionate nuzzle to your cheek, asking if there were any stray recruits he had yet to brief. You shook your head, only stating that you wanted to stay with him for a little bit before returning to work.

➷ Agreeing to your request, the two of you decided to take a leisurely walk around the building, chatting about whatever came to your minds. It was refreshing after having to deal with many injured recruits returning defeated by the Traveller.

➷ You brought out the box of treat, stating Tartaglia had sent this for the two of you and the rest of the Harbingers to try. He chuckles, saying he was given the same box that was meant for his family.

➷ The two of you decided to play a couple rounds, but it's difficult to play the game when your partner nearly poked your eyes out several times with his nose. He apologises, feeling insecure about his nose.

➷ You tossed the box aside, planting a reassuring kiss on his forehead, reminding him that the nose would never be enough to break the connection between the two of you.

➷ "Ah... How did I get so lucky to have you as my own? I wonder if you were my reward for pledging my loyalty to the Tsaritsa, the most perfect partner I could ever ask for, a truly one of a kind lover."

Aether

➷ Why not? I may have run out of scenarios, but one more for our best boi

➷ After tearing down several Hilichurl towers, the two of you flopped down on the ground to catch your breaths while Paimon levitates over to your side.

➷ You asked Paimon if she could scout the area, which left eventually you and Aether alone. Aether gazed at the grassy terrain of Mondstadt, his golden eyes sorrowful as two foxes danced around eachother happily. He misses his sister...

➷ Wanting to help distract him from his sorrow, you shook his shoulder gently, shaking a box of Pocky and asking if he'd like to take the time to try it out. His frown lifts into a smile, nodding in agreement.

➷ But that smile turned flustered when you placed one stick in your lips and leaned towards him expectantly, his cheeks tinted a faint pink hue. Although, a bit taken aback when you wanted to play the game, he doesn't refuse the offer.

➷ He bites down on the other end, but refuses to stare into your eyes, his gloved hands fidgeting with his cape.

➷ The two of you took turns inching closer, your heart pounding harshly against your chest when your lips and his are barely a few inches away.

➷ It was his turn now, but he freezes. You assume it was because he might be uncomfortable at the close proximity, so you prepare to break the stick, only to feel his hands reach up and touch your cheeks.

➷ He leans foward, now taking your lips as well. For brief moment, your brain paused to register his lips on your, before you melted. Eventually, you both pulled away, with you now shifting to lay your head on his lap, his hand caressing your cheek.

➷ "Thanks [Name]... It feels refreshing to just relax once in a while, travelling between nation to nation gets really exhausting... I'm glad I still have you by my side, you're my motivation to continue on with this journey."

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

A/N: Jabsiwbfihsdiiwd I actually wanted to add Lyney but decided against it. Lyney will be coming anyways, so i'll get to know his personality and quirks better. I know damn well i'm gonna be fawning over him once he gets his debut, his wink made my heart go uwu

[Part 1]

[sisterofficerlucychen]

OMG that episode!!

Chenford 6x01 + Lucy worries Tim will leave her after that fight

+ Chenford 6x01 + 'I thought we were always worth the effort + Chenford 6x01 + you walked away Tim! 

not me getting to this two episodes later alkdjfaskldf but hi bb ♡ so i ended up doing a variation of this request along with the two other prompt requests because i really wanted to write something but struggled to be able to come at it from that angle. the angst is still here though, pinky promise 👀 

p.s. i was 100% with tim in this episode but lucy’s feelings were also so valid and there’s so much to unpack??? hence me trying to unpack it a little bit here lol. 

He’s effectively a pain in her ass. Not that this is breaking news, he has been for years. Since the day she called him out on it and he smugly replied that it “was his job”. Except now he’s her pain in the ass, the one she’s hopelessly and irrevocably in love with, the one who just walked away leaving the last word bubbling at the edge of her lips.   She’s far too stunned as an eery sense of déjà vu washes over her and she has to stop herself from going back there again. Still it does nothing to alleviate the lump that rises in her throat, a sharp and prickly ache that makes it hard for her to breathe. Tears well in her eyes, it’s everything she’s been holding back, and they finally spill as he disappears back into the station.  It’s not enough to make her move as she remains frozen in place, her feet heavy as lead as she simply stands there. She’s trying to process it but it’s all too much all at once. How did they day start off so promising only for them to end here? Her biggest concern at the start of the day was the recent lack of time to study because she was putting in so much overtime that she had no free time; her biggest grievance less than five minutes ago was fuming over the fact that Tim had undermined her at the crime scene. Now? Now worry welcomes anger like an old friend, embracing in such a way that she struggles to let out a choppy gasp as the dam finally breaks.  It’s the tears that stream down her face that ultimately break the spell and she’s able to move once again because what she’s not about to do is cry outside the station’s parking lot and give her colleagues another reason to tease her. In seconds she’s within the safety of the confined space of her car and she lets go of the very little control she was holding onto. It pours out in a way Lucy hasn’t cried like in years but then again, it’s been a while since she’s felt this defeated.  She slumps over in her seat as her hands cover her face while she silently sobs. There’s a weight in her chest that drags her down and makes it almost impossible to gasp for air. Her body shakes as her breathing remains erratic, short, sharp breaths is as much as she’s able to take in. A whimper leaves her lips, heart aching as she starts to try to untangle the mess of thoughts and emotions she’s ended up with. 

READ MORE ON AO3

[nerdalmighty]

hi! i read your fic in one sitting and was bamboozled by how good, intuitive, and natural your writing is. i was therefore wondering if you work irl in the industry? in any case, thank you for blessing us with your writing.

Anon you have no idea how much this means to me!!! Thank you for taking the time to read and for sending me a message 🥰 I'm so glad you enjoyed my writing style! I know most fics are more descriptive and less dialogue heavy, but that's the kind of stuff I enjoy reading from time to time and it seems like others do too :) I'm also glad it sounds natural! You read the thing you've written a billion times and suddenly you're like "Oh wait, this actually sucks," so I'm glad that's not true 😅

As for my work in the industry, I'm still a little baby starting out and getting my foot in the door! It's the dream to eventually write on a show and eventually create my own show, but for now I'm chugging along on the production side of things! Everybody's gotta start somewhere 😊 I have a few pilots and specs (a script for a show that already exists to prove you can write in their style) and hopefully one day I'll get to expand on those!

Again, you are so sweet to send this message and I can't thank you enough!! It made my day!!!! Part 2 is coming soon, just waiting on my beta, and it should be up at some point next week!!! AH!!! I'M EXCITED!!!

If anyone is interested, I posted an 18+ Astarion x reader fic on my writing blog here. MDNI

I'm gonna use this opportunity to post a new snippet since I'm too excited lol - find it under the cut:

You were awoken some time later by a lick to the face. 

You shut your eyes tighter and groaned. “Gross, Astarion, I’m trying to sleep.” You threw an arm over your eyes, the sun now directly overhead. 

“Did you find them, boy?” A voice shouted from the distance.

Your eyes shot open and found Scratch panting above you, wagging his tail excitedly. 

You sat up quickly and immediately leaned over to shake Astarion who appeared to be trancing soundly. 

“Astarion,” you shook him anxiously. 

He scowled, his eyes still closed. He groaned lowly.

“Astarion, my dear, my sweet, my beloved,” you shook him harder and his eyes opened immediately. He sat up, fast as lightning.

“What’s happening? Where’s my knife?” He looked around frantically until his eyes landed on you. “Ah,” he said, calming, “déjà vu.” 

“They’re coming,” you hissed.

“Who?” Astarion narrowed his eyes, thoughts still foggy from his trance. 

“No FUCKING way!” Came Karlach’s voice from the treeline. 

You looked over and found her with an elated grin on her face and her hands on her knees. She started laughing loudly and you hid your face in your hands. 

“You guys did NOT,” she wheezed. 

“Hello Karlach,” Astarion’s voice sounded nonchalant beside you. “What brings you out to ruin our beauty sleep?” 

“Did you find them?” Shadowheart soon emerged from the forest and stopped in her tracks. She surveyed the area and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Astarion, tell me you didn’t.”

“Did what, darling?” He sounded smug and you looked over at him. His expression matched his tone. “You’ll have to be more specific.” He rested his chin on your shoulder.

“I fucking knew this would happen,” Karlach said, coming down from her laughing fit. “Soldier’s had her eye on you for a while now, Fangs.”

“Karlach!” You whisper-shouted.

“Oh, I’m aware,” you felt Astarion turn his head to look at you.

[vela-pulsars]

Skykid OCs :] More under the cut !

Abalone Season: The Little Prince A curious but shy skyfolk that loves nothing more than to explore ruins. Their flight is pretty mediocre, but they make up for it with efficient swimming. The dark plants growing from their body are a result of regularly diving through darkness a bit too often. They make their body heavier, a liability when flying, but useful when trying to dive deeper. Fortunately they are harmless in this state, simply growing on Abalone and not within. Still needs a regular trimming though, just in case. It’s unwise to play with darkness after all. Like a few other skyfolk, they sometimes have dreams about a past life. Likely an explanation to the feeling of déjà-vu they may feel in some parts of the kingdom... Something their travel companion, the Bird Keeper, can relate to, albeit for different reasons. The Bird Keeper Season: Flight A strange skyfolk, they are friendly but do not seem to be able or want to talk. They are uncannily great at mimicking birds and other light creatures... and that’s because they originaly were one. By a stroke of luck (for them), the shard that split a skyfolk named Vigil in two while descending back to the kingdom was where their memories (and thus significant fragments of their soul) were trapped. They ended up landing in the Wind Paths with just enough to take on the shape of a skyfolk, not even their true form but at least they were free. They are now looking for elder birds that could remain in the kingdom, so they are often found exploring with other skyfolk such as Abalone or Robin.

Robin Season: Dreams Talented musician, Robin enjoys travelling around the realms to play to any audience that might find them. They regularly show up in the Village Theater to improvise or be an extra, but when they find the crowds too tiring, they can also enjoy some solitude in scenic places such as their cosy little hideout in the Hermit Valley or the Starlight Desert. Oftentimes, they go back to the Prairie to visit Basil, an old friend, and the skykids that they are watching over. They keep themselves busy with music, but their meanderings often follow those of interesting characters as they like to know the latest findings, stories... or gossips if nothing interesting was uncovered below the parting clouds.

Basil Season: Sanctuary A very laidback skyfolk that seldom leaves the Prairie, often found under their tarp in the butterfly fields helping other skyfolks make flowers out of light offerings for the spirits. Their easygoing nature and relative ease to find often means a few younger skykids hang around them to play or ask advice to. They don’t really mind, though they appreciate when their friends come over to distract them. Especially Robin, who always has something new to bring from their travels, and enjoys quiet company when Basil is low on words. They gave up on finding Vigil, the one that took care of them when they were a moth themselves. Wake Season: Flight While the Bird Keeper fell in the Wind Paths, what remained of Vigil’s body crashed in the Isle with much less light than they should have... The trauma was so intense that they were left pretty weak from the experience. Mourning lost power and memories, they hide away in the Forest, ushering skykids and skyfolks through the rain as a distraction until they find out what to do to heal. For now, they’ll be the kind-hearted guide sharing what little light they have, that umbrella of theirs is big enough for two. Robin sometimes visits them to play duets and pass the time. They avoid the Bird Keeper.

[xamaxenta]

Just a thought;

Marco had known for a long time, his fruit was.. different. To be blunt there was a phoenix inside of him, a real phoenix. Marco was no more than a vessel, container. A puppet made of flesh in hopes of controlling the god. He had only spoken to it once, when the wretched fruit had been swallowed and his body destroyed itself from the inside out in as the phoenix made him into its new container. Every once in a while the phoenix would take over; during one of these episodes It had become very fond of Pops. Marco never asked what had happened. Usually when the phoenix would come out as it were, Marco or rather his subconscious would go into a sleeping state or black out as he was booted out of the drivers seat. Most knew to stay away when Marcos eyes changed from indigo to the colour of his flames (the only physical indication the phoenix was in charge).

Marco hadn’t been thinking, well he had but how he was supposed to predict this outcome he had no idea. He had been on deck when Ace started showing off with his fire; less attacks and more parlour tricks for the crew. Marco didn’t know what happened only that the fire had caught his eye, there was the strangest sensation of déjà vu and then he was moving without his permission. He stalked towards Ace a hunger roiling in his gut that he was almost certain was not his own. Ace had dropped his flames and was opening his mouth in greeting. When Marco pulled him into a deep kiss, well to be more exact Marcos body pulled him into a kiss. Marco himself was screaming (internally that is) because what the hell!?! Letting go, but keeping his hands on the younger man, a thumb stroking Aces cheek in a reverent manner. Marco spoke in something that could hardly constitute as his voice.

The phoenix purred, even as several tears escaped its eye. “I found you, My Eclipse.” Ace felt bamboozled a little turned on and for some reason sad. “Wha- who?” His flames roared through his body. Marco, or at least the man who looked like Marco; save the eyes gave a heartbreaking smile. Still stroking his cheek, “my love.” He murmured, “My Wild.”

Mera Mera; (eclipse) god of the wild, unrest and salvation.

Tori Tori; (phoenix) god of martyrs, eternal life and death

Idk I’ve had this in my head for like a week so I thought I’d share it and make it someone else’s problem.

Oh ill gladly take on this problem of yours

Its fucking beautiful, your imagery with words is so clear and strong and easy to envision

An eclipse, Ace being Marco’s—no the phoenix’s wild beloved its gorgeous

Ive been looking at alot of creature videos lately alot of raptors walking stalking, felines prowling and ive been thinking alot about Marco in association to these creatures, its perfect tbh

The “hunger roiling in his gut” i loveee this line so much the deep kiss, Ace more bewildered at how Marco hs addressed him more than the kiss

Marcos voice taking on a more ancient quality, something eerie and inhuman, but still coherent

And the colour of his eyes changing im such a slut for shit like this god

Ive got brainrot for days now bc of this thank you 🙏🏽

[batemanofficial]

i'm generally very skeptical of self-diagnosis/using webmd and the like to interpret symptomatology, but given the cesspool of medical info on the internet i understand why people fall down self-diagnosis and/or weird new age wellness rabbit holes so easily. like i had more or less pathological (i.e. daily) sensations of déjà rêvé (déjà vu sensation but applied from dreams to real life situations) in high school and according to the internet it's one of the following conditions: 1. temporal lobe epilepsy, 2. a completely benign indicator of good spatial memory, or 3. a curse derived from ancestral knowledge pools. i'm fairly certain i don't have epilepsy because ive never had a seizure in my life, and i don't believe in curses so i have to assume it's the second thing combined with my preexisting psychologic conditions - but those shouldn't be the most widely publicized diagnoses!! the two extremes of psychiatric raison d'être if you will shouldn't be fighting for dominion over the front page of google. psychiatry as a field is not without its faults and new age psychology is a whole nother can of worms, but people (especially people under duress/experiencing new and unfamiliar symptoms) shouldn't have to wade through eighty-nine line-items of sponsored content that are either poorly-vetted fearmongering or just straight up pseudoscience

[theroyalsims]

BREAKING: ELEANORE AND IBRAHIM ARE ENGAGED

What?! 

Talk about a major case of déjà vu!

This morning, everyone and their mother woke up to a surprise revelation courtesy of a new post via Royal Family’s official social media channels. The post officially announced the engagement of ex-royals (and ex-lovers) Ibrahim and Eleanore. The announcement, accompanied by a brand new photo of the newly-betrothed lovebirds, reads:

“Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness Prince Jacques are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Eleanore, to Mr. Ibrahim Fournierre. The couple will wed later this year.”

The very short and straight to the point announcement steered clear of the couple’s former titles, and referred to them simply as “Eleanore” and “Mr. Ibrahim Fournierre.” As earlier reported, following his departure from his post as Al-Simhara’s Crown Prince, Ibrahim had his name officially changed, and now goes by his late mother’s maiden surname.

The couple hit worldwide fame, and subsequently, notoriety, due to their earlier bombshell engagement. The “relationship” was revealed to be a fake orchestrated by the two, thanks to a series of leaked messages. Their previous engagement triggered a series of unfortunate events, that saw Eleanore being stripped of her titles and public grant, their engagement called off mere days before their supposed wedding, and of course, there’s no forgetting the public humiliation the two had to endure. 

(Above: A closer look at the photo reveals that Eleanore’s latest engagement ring is also an emerald and diamond piece.)

This time around, however, things are quite different. For starters, the announcement came from the Brindleton Royal Family, which means that the the two most likely informed Her Majesty and Their Royal Highnesses of their intention to wed, unlike before. Also, the Palace confirmed that the photo posted was a recent one, taken just days ago at one of the Palace’s many formal gardens, by none other than Princess Ingrid.

The lovebirds looked great in their brand new snap, with Ibrahim looking dapper in his three piece suit (sans tie), and his hair neatly slicked back. Eleanore, meanwhile, looked gorgeous as ever in a simple sleeveless blue dress, with her luxurious blonde locks styled in cascading waves. And then, there’s her new sparkler. Much like the last ring, Eleanore’s new engagement ring is an emerald and diamond piece, mounted on yellow gold. The ring looks to be a 5-stone design, with a large central emerald, flanked by two graduating stones on each side. Although less flashy and looks to be much more wearable, the ring still packs a punch fit for a Princess, err, ex-Princess. The emerald bauble is perhaps an obvious choice, since emeralds are said to be Eleanore’s favourites. 

Well, then! Congratulations are definitely in order! Eleanore and Ibrahim have been through a lot over the past year, and if anyone deserves happiness, it’s these two! 

It seems like it’s wedding season for our Brindleton Royals! First, Princess Alice nabs an Emperor, and now, Eleanore’s set to walk down the aisle, too! But based on the announcements, Eleanore will be heading off to the altar first, since Alice and Kenji’s wedding is scheduled in the Spring of next year. Either way, we’re super excited!

More details are expected to be revealed in the coming days, and we’ll definitely keep you posted!

[stay-curious]

(rwylm au)

could i request a smol blurb where nat helps r deal with imposter syndrome after r releases a new single or EP

A/N: Thank you anon for the request! I hope you like this. I got carried away so it's a bit longer than expected :))

series masterlist

650 words

warnings: self-doubt, pure fluff, comfort

Natasha arrives home later than usual, wanting nothing more than to have a nice, relaxing bath, a glass of wine, and, hopefully, cuddles if you are still up. Her manager had scheduled the whole week for interviews, photoshoots, etc. Something about ‘having more online presence’ and ‘feeding their fans’. She loves her job but squeezing a month's worth of workload into a week certainly was not the best idea. Now, her fans won’t have anything to complain about. She’s booked for two films that start filming in less than a month and the interviews are set to be released next week.

She leaves her belongings at the entry and makes her way to the kitchen to pour herself the long-waited glass of wine. As Nat marches towards the cabinet, she spots you sitting on the couch, nose deep in your phone, an emotionless expression on your face. She frowns and gets closer to you.

“Babe, is everything alright? It’s late, you should be in bed,” she asks worried by your unusual behavior. She hurriedly comes closer, standing in front of you.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Nat asks you as she bends down and holds your hands.

“I wanted to know what people thought about the new single, so I went to Twitter and search it,” she answers, her voice barely above a whisper, “I should’ve known better than releasing the song. I don’t know what went through my mind when I thought it would do just as good as the others. I should have stuck to the style. I shouldn’t.. i... I shouldn’t,” you struggle to form a response.

“Oh, honey. Listen to me very carefully. You are a successful and incredibly talented artist. You’ve won an insane number of awards. Hell, even a Grammy for best new artist! I’ve never met someone who works as hard as you and pours all their souls into their projects. I don’t come close; you know how hard I’ve worked my ass off,” she says while looking at you, eyes full of adoration.

“It’s different. This is the first song I’m releasing after the first album. There’s little to no resemblance to it. You know how much people criticize and scrutinize singers, female singers, for being too sappy and only writing about being in love or their relationships." You share what's been on your mind lately.

“Forget about them. You write about what you go through, your life, and what you experience. You fucking gave them an album full of raw emotions that was about your toxic ex and how that relationship messed you up. So what? You are at a new point in your life, a good one, dare I say it. If you want to write a pop song about it, do it. You have an essence, the way you write the lyrics, and how you create the melodies. That is you, not the genre you choose for a song or album.” She pauses to look at you and you nod for her to continue. “I know you feel like you don’t deserve all you’ve accomplished. And I know you’re the only one who can really make you change the way you see yourself. But I will remind you, every single day of my life if I have to,” she reassures you.

“I love you,” you say earnestly, your shoulders relaxing and a small smile appearing on your lips.

“I love you too, babe. Now how does a hot bath, and some cuddles sound, huh?”

“It sounds enticing.”

“That’s my girl. Come on I’ll draw us a bath.” She takes your hand and guides you to the bathroom. Needless to say, that was the best night of sleep you’ve had since you released the song.

Baby I, I know I met you in another life

You're unforgettable

It's like you're my dream, my déjà vu, a ghost

You'll be right there wherever I go, I

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The first item listed on this week’s House legislative schedule following the historically chaotic selection of a House Speaker and seating of members—including the scandal-plagued and apparently unpopular freshman George Santos (R-N.Y.)—is consideration of the ill-named Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act.

This Republican bill is ill-named because what it actually does is protect tax cheaters by repealing most of the new IRS funding set forth in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.

If any of you political junkies feel a touch of déjà vu, that’s understandable. Neutering the IRS was also a top priority for Republicans the last time they took over the House from the Democrats, in January 2011. And neuter the taxman they did. As I wrote previously:

“From 2010 to 2018, even as the IRS received 9% more tax returns, its annual budget was slashed by $2.9 billion—a 20% reduction that cost the agency more than one-fifth of its workforce. Investigations of non-filers plummeted and the amount of outstanding tax debt the IRS formally wrote off (based on the 10-year statute of limitations for collections) more than doubled—from less than $15 billion in 2010 to more than $34 billion in 2019.

Virtually no partnerships were audited in 2018. By then, with Donald Trump in the Oval Office, the kneecapped IRS was scrutinizing the individual returns of just 0.03% of those $10 million–plus taxpayers, down from a peak of 23 percent in 2010. Audits of the $5 million–to–$10 million filers fell from just under 15% to a scant 0.04%.

A fair subset of superwealthy Americans doesn’t even bother filing. The Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration reported in 2020 that nearly 880,000 ‘high income’ non-filers from 2014 through 2016 still owed $46 billion, and the IRS was in no condition, resource-wise, to collect. The 300 biggest delinquents owed about $33 million per head, on average. 15% of their cases had been closed without examination by IRS staffers, and another one-third weren’t even in line to be ‘worked.’”

The recently enacted IRS funding—$80 billion over 10 years—was meant to remedy this shameful state of affairs. The Congressional Research Service said the money would be used to modernize the tax agency’s decrepit systems, provide operations support, improve taxpayer services, and “monitor and enforce taxes on digital assets such as cryptocurrency.” Perhaps most importantly, it would bolster the agency’s ability to hire specialized enforcement agents—tax professionals with the expertise needed to decode the opaque and voluminous returns of sophisticated tax-avoiders like the Trumps, who have armies of tax lawyers and accountants on the payroll.

The projected return on investment, just from collecting taxes owed, is substantial. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that new enforcement measures alone would reap $204 billion over 10 years—about $4.50 per dollar spent on that aspect.

No matter. As the Inflation Reduction Act moved toward passage last August, Republican officials and Trump minions unleashed a barrage of lies on social media, falsely claiming the IRS would use the money to hire 87,000 new agents who would then come after ordinary taxpayers—people like you!

The House GOP seems inclined to double down on that fear-mongering. The nonprofit group Americans for Tax Fairness points out in a press release that the repeal legislation would rescind nearly $72 billion of the promised funding—90% of the total—including:

• $45.6 billion for tax enforcement activities to catch wealthy and corporate tax cheats

• $25.3 billion in operations support for tax enforcement programs and taxpayer services [including customer helplines and correspondence] critical for ensuring taxpayers get refunds on time and phone calls answered

• $403 million for the Inspector General for Tax Administration, which promotes the integrity, economy, and efficiency of the federal tax system

• $153 million to beef up the US Tax Court to resolve taxpayer and IRS disputes

• $15 million for the IRS to prepare a report on what it would take to create a free, government-run tax e-filing system that would make it much easier for taxpayers to file their tax returns without paying a private service to help them

“The richest 1% avoid paying $160 billion a year that they owe in taxes due to inadequate tax enforcement. Republicans are voting to let them keep on cheating the rest of us,” Frank Clemente, ATF’s founder, lamented in the release.

With the Democrats in control of the Senate, this particular vote may be largely performative. But Steve Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center and former staff lawyer for Congress’ nonpartisan Joint Taxation Committee, told me he suspects that IRS funding will be an ongoing issue in Senate battles and future congressional budget debates—including the upcoming debt ceiling fight.

Republican lawmakers, in any case, seem to have a fetish for performative votes on anti-tax bills written to benefit America’s wealthiest. As I pointed out in my book last year, after a Who’s Who of dynastic families spent millions lobbying for the repeal of inheritance taxes, congressional Republicans introduced no fewer than 44 bills in a decade aiming to do precisely that.

[katewalker]

little thoughts about 5 out of 11 demos i played for the steam neo fest:

viewfinder: did the demo a while ago and i loooove the concept, the game is pretty and there's not only one way to solve the puzzles, i want to know more about the little cute lore elements. still in the wishlist.

wargroove 2: i liked the story of wargroove 1 even if it wasn't anything groundbreaking, but i was way less enthusiastic about the gameplay which became boring and redundant real quick, unfortunately even if the new demo let's you play a new more challenging mode, the gameplay is the same and i got bored playing it again. too bad really because i really want to know the rest of the story, but i think i'll watch a yt let's play, still in the wishlist to support the devs, but yeah i probably won't get it.

firebird: french narrative game written by the gm of the french actual play i'm watching, the art is cute, the story and choices looks promising, the protagonists have potential and damn but the soundtrack slaps!! still in the wishlist.

stray gods, the roleplaying musical: ok so i didn't expect it to basically be a real musical in a interactive fiction format BUT i didn't dislike it, the characters' designs are cool, there's 4 songs in the demo i was really convinced by 2 of them, the entire cast reveal sounds cool tho i'm not well versed in brodaway or english voice acting world like i can be with the french one, and of course there's the l.bailey/a.williams/t.baker trio (and like i love ashley and laura and their song together is really great, but feels like déjà vu somehow). there's replayability potential as well so i think i'll play it. still in the wishlist.

en garde: another french game yay, and it is fun as hell!!! the writing is cute and the gameplay is sooo pleasant. if you wanna feel like puss in boots, definitely give this a go. still in the wishlist.