#on another note i was feeling weirdly out of sync all day at work and i only realised like an hour ago that it's bc the clocks went back

[journey-to-the-attic]

sdjbfkdshk i 4got that saying thot instead of thought isn't just an inside joke me n my friends have sorry 😭 ✋ i would never call you a thot (unless u wanted me too...)

that aside the angst is SOOOO good bro (gn). i was thinking actually that if ik is stained by the brothers' sins maybe she starts mirroring what they did when they had their sin stuff going on?? like bc levi went to hide in the lake maybe ik goes to there (and then levi has to fish her out before she drowns herself 😭)

i was acc thinking belphie would do the puttin to sleep part?? like he has special avatar of sloth magic. idk i was just imagining ik spiralling and he like hugs her and uses his magic to just sort of gently get her to rest...

can we get an amen for dadcifer though 🙏 he must be absolutely going thru it rn his poor daughter

no worries! i wouldn't really have minded either way, to be honest

that aside - these are really cute (and also really sad)!! i really like idea of belphie being the one to put her to sleep actually, he probably has some kind of special sloth magic that he'd use to watch over her dreams or something to keep her sleep peaceful :')

also yeah lucifer would be having such a bad time. he's been having a bad time since he first getting the whole pride flare-up thing, with only a brief period of relief between recovering and ik abruptly going off the deep end. he's probably blaming himself entirely for this happening (seeing the state ik was in before being put to sleep is probably one of the few things that could make him shed a tear)

i have been thinking on and off about how ik's whole situation would be resolved! and this is admittedly sorta similar to 'the long nightmare' in jtta, but the idea is that the brothers (+solomon bc i think his relationship with ik is especially important in this nightbringer situation) would enter her 'inner world' using some kind of ritual originating with sonno (ik's in deep sleep at this point, sonno's whole thing is dreams)

basically once in ik's own dreamscape (so to speak), she's been split into seven 'fragments', each holding and/or representing a piece of her soul - each brother encounters a fragment that's trapped in an empty memory of when she was trying to save each of them -asmo's is digging through the shattered remains of the glass coffin he was asleep in, satan's is wandering in the castle where he had his whole d&d showdown with his brothers, mammon's is hiding in the celestial realm's gardens

the idea is that the brothers have to do for the fragments as ik did for them at the time, thus removing the 'stain' of their sin. at that point the ik apparition disappears, and they're left with what i'm picturing as a sort of crystal piece? once each brother has recovered their fragment, solomon puts them back together - puts her 'soul' back together - which brings back their ik as they know her, without the sins affecting her, but still with her own personal anguish in tow

at that point i think solomon would reassure her (i can imagine ik would be afraid of waking up and facing everything again), lucifer in particular would probably have a moment to properly apologise. basically it's all very sappy and then the crystal pieces properly meld together - putting ik's 'heart' back together - at which point she wakes up

(i feel like there's a fnaf 'i will put you back together joke' to be made here)

[adamshallperish]

my rating of supernatural season 2

1 - in my time of dying

literally they were insane for starting a season off like this. it had everything. i appreciate in hindsight how well it set up the themes for the entire rest of the season, as well as genuinely threw me off and astonished me. i have such complicated feelings on john winchester, but jeffrey dean morgan infuses him with such sympathy that i couldn't help but feel for him. fredric lehene as azazel is also a highlight, i genuinely think he gave us one of the best performances of the season, and i wonder if we'll be seeing him back. emotionally i think this was my most evocative post of the liveblog. 10/10

2 - everybody loves a clown

while the monster in this didn't hit as hard for me, i think it did a great job of setting up the roadhouse as a central location for the show, as well as introducing us to ellen, jo, and ash (my beloved, may his memory be a fucking blessing). it was also really impactful to see sam and dean's separate ways of grieving john, as well as giving us a really interesting role reversal. showing dean as the one disillusioned with their father while sam is eager to carry on his work is very compelling, especially because it's evident (at least to me) that sam is far more like his father than dean is. i'm glad they resolved my stress about the impala because jesus christ. 8/10

3 - bloodlust

MAN this episode fucks. it has a lot of supernatural all time hits, like dean's coping mechanisms (bad), classic winchester codependency, wondering about the morality of judging all supernatural creatures as "monsters" to be exterminated, and starts setting up the tension of dean potentially having to kill his brother. unfortunately, it also introduces another kind of supernatural standard, which is its constant crimes against black people. gordon is an interesting and compelling character, but you can really tell he was the product of white writers and casting directors, because his complexities are not treated well. it's also worth noting that in this season, the majority of the recurring antagonists are black men, and the implications of that just. doesn't really sit well with me. beyond that though, the premise of the episode is really interesting. 7/10

4 - children shouldn't play with dead things

we have another like. weirdly sexually charged episode. which is par for the course in this show but it's always funny to witness wincest in its natural tongue-in-cheek habitat. i thought the monster in this was fun, and it sets up the revelation dean has about john dying for him very very well. the one sin is that y'all did not have an episode set in lawrence kansas without having the boys go visit missouri mosely? really? the disrespect. 8/10

5 - simon said

this episode did NOT have to go as hard as it did. this is like. peak supernatural. i really enjoyed andy as a character, and the further setup of the chosen children and their abilities is sick as hell. the parallels between sam & dean and andy & his brother were... appropriately bonkers. this is supernatural. we can't have a normal brotherly relationship. we got fell on black days. 10/10

6 - no exit

i have to admit that i really love jo and was glad to see her centered more in an episode, though i am begging her and dean just to get it over with and make out already. i also thought that making h. h. holmes the ghost was pretty badass. this season does a lot more with actual american folklore and history instead of just having generic monster of the week episodes, and as a huge nerd i thought that was great. the ellen and john backstory reveal was also particularly tragic. i had fun here. 7/10

7 - the usual suspects

okay this one was so much fun. this was one of the first episodes where they really shook up the formula and turned our expectations of it on its head. i also thought highlighting how in sync sam and dean are with each other through a prisoner's dilemma scenario was really clever. this show never really commits to an acab stance in a way i would have preferred, but this was the early aughts so like. it's whatever. they get close enough to it. 8/10

8 - crossroad blues

this episode excels in that it takes one of the most classic american folktales (selling your soul to the devil at the crossroads) and uses it as a fun monster premise as well as setting up the denouement. it also has a fun tribute to robert johnson, which i found pretty cool. demons seal deals with a kiss so i demand to know why the hell azazel and john didn't kiss. you know. for scientific purposes. 8/10

9 - croatoan

insane that this show managed to make a zombie apocalypse style episode without zombies or the apocalypse. it was pretty inventive, especially because i'm kind of tired of the white western idea of zombies. the conspiracies around the word croatoan are kind of funny to me because like. overwhelmingly the evidence points to the lost roanoke colony assimilating with the local american indian nations, but i'm here for a fun time not a technical time. this episode also sets up some insane lore for the end of the season with sam, as well as some classic winchester agonizing. 9/10

10 - hunted

gonna put a quick trigger warning for discussion of racism here.

this episode could have been perfect and then they dropped the ball so hard at the end that it was physically painful. it had two incredible soundtrack choices (white rabbit and supermassive black hole), what was maybe a twin peaks reference???, it girl katherine isabelle, and some really well done suspense where dean is essentially a trap baited for sam. however, the righteous justice for gordon being sam calling the cops on him so a bunch of cops roll up on a black man wildly shooting a gun into the night made me feel sick to my stomach. there's no real way to look at that as anything but racist and tone deaf. they could have handled gordon's character far better. at the time, i said that i was glad that the show didn't show its white protagonists shooting a black man in cold blood, but the last episode really negated that. ugh. i don't know if i feel good about rating this episode quite honestly, because it was really the best and worst of supernatural.

11 - playthings

HOLY FUCK. WHAT CAN I EVEN SAY THAT HASN'T ALREADY BEEN SAID. it's a homage to the shining and also like. thee wincest episode? how am i supposed to be normal about this. 100/10

12 - night shifter

i'm so glad they brought the shapeshifter mechanic back, but i don't think it was done as effectively as in skins 1x06, but maybe i just have a fixation on the erotic. anyway. i kind of struggled with the setup for this, because while it is cool, it doesn't feel as classically supernatural to me. calling sam dean's bonnie to his clyde? insane. 7/10

13 - houses of the holy

i don't really have anything coherent to say here except sam winchester prays every day. amen. 8/10

14 - born under a bad sign

ohhhh the concept of this fucked so hard, but the pacing was just really off. it felt like simultaneously this episode should have had more time with this story, but on the other hand i don't know if it should have lasted two episodes. lost time is one of my favorite tropes, and the tension that comes with demon!sam is fantastic. i just wish that this episode had hit harder for me. 7/10

15 - tall tales

i said in my liveblog that this episode felt like that one episode of merlin where gaius is possessed by a goblin, and i stand by that. honestly i understand the need for there to be lighter episodes with less heavy stakes, and it was fun to see how the brothers saw the same events from different points of view, but this episode was kind of a low point for me. it was fun, but nothing extraordinary. i did really like the detail of the trickster getting away at the end. that was fun. 6/10

16 - roadkill

okay i did not expect this episode to tear my heart out. i really liked this, i thought it was startlingly sweet and sad. mike flanagan wishes he could make ghosts realizing they're dead this good quite honestly. 10/10

17 - heart

what the fuck! 10/10

18 - hollywood babylon

this was a lot of fun! this show likes to play around with meta a lot, and i think this was probably the most well done example of it thus far. it felt like the showrunners were poking fun at themselves more than anything, which i found pretty neat. 7/10

19 - folsom prison blues

first of all. you can't fucking name your episode folsom prison blues and not even play a johnny cash song. that's not how that works. it has some genuinely fun stakes and doesn't handle the prison aspect totally awfully. we also got an alice in chains needle drop! rooster was completely misplaced contextually, but aic's one of my favorite bands and i'm just glad we got it. 7/10

20 - what is and what should never be

what the fuck part two. dean winchester breaks my heart. 8/10

21 - all hell breaks loose (part 1)

HI UH THIS IS PEAK TELEVISION. I FEEL. HUUUUUGH. they really did it! they spent the entire season telling us that sam was going to die and then the crazy sons of bitches did it! i also really genuinely enjoyed the premise, as well as the ava reveal (katherine isabelle carried), and ash and andy made me so sad. fredric lehne is pure ice as azazel. delicious episode. 10/10

22 - all hell breaks loose (part 2)

this episode made me want to commit atrocities and i'm fine. dean winchester's constant willingness to sacrifice for the ones he loves because he's so deeply convinced that he's let them down makes me want to gnaw off all my fingers. sam's maybe come back wrong? incredible. JOHN WINCHESTER WITH A STEEL CHAIR. i'm addicted to this show. 10/10

[isagisyoichi]

how do u think the boy would be in a party😈😈

NEW RULES!

SYNOPSIS: blue lock at a party

CHARACTERS INCLUDED: isagi, bachira, nagi, reo, rin, chigiri, naruhaya, niko, nanase, gagamaru, kunigami

WARNINGS: mentions of underage drinking and weed (but no one actually takes anything), swearing, mentions of throwing up and food, again pretend they're all friends and go to the same school because it's more fun to think that way. ooc rin maybe? idk i like pretending he's not as miserable as the manga makes him out to be 🤗 he deserves to have fun i think

A/N: no cause this was soooo fun to write tysm anon, i got through this in a flash cause i loved this suggestion sm :') literally one of the most fun requests i've ever gotten eeee!!!!! also this made me miss my irls bye corona can suck my balls fr

ISAGI YOICHI:

i feel like this would be his first big party aw lol, so he’s kind of nervous LMAO.

gets handed a beer by someone, has his first sip of it ever, and immediately spits it out. mutters “how the hell can anyone drink this?” and “discreetly” pours the rest into a bush.

mainly stays with nagi, chigiri, kunigami, and bachira and they just talk throughout the night

(bachira only sits down and talks after his energy dies down. i'll elaborate on this below the cut).

keeps asking nagi “what song is this?” throughout the night LOL. makes a mental note of what songs to add to his playlists.

slightly nods his head to the music, aw cute. goes a little harder and lip syncs/raps along when he really likes the song, though (i stand by my word when i said he loves “neon guts”)

does accidentally bump into someone, but isagi starts a convo with them after he apologizes, and they hit it off right away 🥰

but, the person left early and isagi, ever the dummy, forgets to ask for their number.

and he's actually so disappointed in himself when he realizes, too 😭

BACHIRA MEGURU:

not drunk or anything at all, but boy, the way he’s acting makes it seem like he is.

the self proclaimed “life of the party.”

can be found “dancing,” though i use that word generously because to classify whatever he’s doing as “dancing,” is a stretch, to every song, even if he doesn’t know the words LOL

really likes when throwbacks come on!!!! he does dance to the lyrics and not the beat sometimes, though 😭

but, bachira looks like he’s having so much fun, it’s so cute, he’s definitely been waiting for this moment his whole life 🥰

if you were dancing with him, bachira would 100% take you by the hand and spin you around

also forces gets isagi to dance with him but isagi’s so awkward 😭

bachira also ends up jumping in the pool sometime later that night. yells “cannonball!” and everything, like, okay michael phelps 😭

he doesn’t have extra clothes so reo has to give him some and they're so fucking big on him LOLLL

texts the groupchat “i was sooo crazy last night😂” in the morning LMAOO, okay babe calm down

KUNIGAMI RENSUKE:

takes it upon himself to make sure none of his friends die LOL

only drinks water and diet coke 👍

his mom calls in the middle of the party to ask how he's doing and bachira and nagi are doing stupid shit like yelling “pass the weed” and fake moaning 😭

isagi and chigiri tell him to tell her they say hi LOL

really likes when the dj puts on 90s/2000's r&b/hiphop songs (i'll die by my hc that kunigami's an oldies fan)

mostly sways side to side to the music, but he did also dance a little, per request of bachira, and ended up talking to a cute person a for little, too 🤗

offers to help clean up in the morning

CHIGIRI HYOUMA:

at least two drunk girls have mistaken him for their friend, and another four have asked to touch his hair.

tried to use one of reo’s many bathrooms, found a couple making out, outwardly said “gross,” and then left to find another one 😭

nods his head and taps his foot to the music, not much of a dancer.

also a people-watcher, and he points out things he sees are happening to his friends.

“guys, i think misa and her boyfriend are breaking up, look.” leave that poor girl alone bro 😭

finds himself laughing a lot that night because damn! his friends are funny, whether they try to be or not.

not really a party person, but chigiri actually had a lot of fun 🥰

NARUHAYA ASAHI:

also on the dancefloor! doesn’t really dance, per say, but he jumps up and down and does the fist pump thing 😭 he has the spirit, let's give him that.

drank a lot of soda, so he’s filled with energy. also pees in at least three of reo's bathrooms.

talks to his friends, but also makes new ones! also i feel like he takes a lot of pictures LOL. he needs the finsta content 😭

plays truth or dare, or something like that. ends up having to do some stupid shit like smack raichi’s ass and run away, but naruhaya did make out with the girl next to him, so fair trade, he thinks.

also ends up in the pool, but he’s playing chicken with gagamaru and some other people. does not win a single round, but he had fun 😇

leaves with like four plates of food and one of reo’s decorative towels for some reason???

GAGAMARU GIN:

goes through a bunch of reo's shit 😭 he's not taking anything, but he's just curious LOL

strikes up very, random conversations with a bunch of people out of nowhere, good for him!

weirdly good at darts, very good aim.

although one round, naruhaya accidentally distracted gagamaru and one of darts ended up in reo's wall 💔

“it's fine, he has the money to fix it,” naruhaya shrugs as he walks away from reo's now punctured, wall. so true bestie!

gagamaru somehow ends up giving some drunk stranger some “life-changing” advice. (whether it's good or not is debatable)

they thank gagamaru for changing their life and he never sees them again

NAGI SEISHIRO:

irritates the fuck out the dj because nagi keeps asking him to play one specific song over and over again.

it was good the first time, don't wear it out for the rest of us bae 😭

doesn't really dance, just nods his head, maybe raps along a little, too

when he talks to the girls that come up to him, nagi says stuff like “yeah, the host and i go way back, we’re best friends.”

“way back,” my ass, but whatever nagi 🤨

knocks out in one of reo’s guest rooms. someone finds him when they’re trying to look for the bathroom and they draw a mustache and a bunch of other stupid shit on him 😭

tries to leave before reo makes him help clean up in the morning. does not work 👍

dumbass also ended up losing his phone (reo bought him a new one so nagi doesn't really care)

RAICHI JINGO:

gasses himself up sooo much when he’s trying to hit on girls.

“yeah, i'm about to go D1 after high school, just wait on it,” yeah, okay raichi 🙄

also tries to show them his highlights, bye. babe, i mean this in the nicest possible way but, i do not care, can we just kiss 🙏

i feel like he’s one of those boys who likes to take his shirt off for no reason, so raichi most definitely ends up shirtless at some point of the night 😭

takes pictures with reo’s fancy cars in his garage to flex 💀 gets annoyed when reo says raichi can’t drive them. raichi doesn't even have his license 😑

plays pool and is actually not that bad. does almost accidentally blind isagi with his cue, though.

IMAMURA YUUDAI:

he's with some girls but, he’s a dummy and he didn’t know his other hoes would be there, so imamura had quite a few drinks spilled on him here and there.

still somehow leaves with like three new girls snaps, four numbers, and a bunch of lipstick stains. not even gonna lie, i respect his game.

actually a really good dancer, and he knows he looks good, too. knows the words to every drake song that comes on, argue with your mom.

lip-syncs the words to you when you dance together and it makes you more flustered than you would think 🙄

the type to pull you close and wraps his arms around your waist or around your neck

actually really fun to talk to. always in the loop with drama and stuff, so he's always got some interesting conversation topics. and he's funny 😭

MIKAGE REO:

obviously, the party’s at his house. what’s the point of having a rich teammate if you can’t exploit them for their possessions?

jokes, but reo did offer to throw it at his mansion house in the first place.

actually really likes throwing parties lmao, so he jumped at the opportunity.

posted on his snap, “party at my place su for address‼️” LOL

natural charm + raised with good manners = reo being an amazing host

but, reo does have a little group of girls following him around the entire night 👎

and it irritates the hell out of whoever reo’s trying to talk to because they’re all up on him, making it hard for reo to pay attention 😑

also doesn’t help that he entertains them and flirts back and dances with a couple of them, too

and looks good when he dances, too UGH!!!! he's the type to run his hands up and down your body while he dances with you 😣

i hate this man 👎 /j

ITOSHI RIN:

practicing. he didn’t come. sike! rin has a social life, too, come on now, y'all 🙄

talked a big game about how he wouldn’t show up then he still came anyways, like rin, what 😭??

super good at cup pong and he knows it. he keeps beating ryusei and if you look closely, rin has something reminiscent of a smirk on his face.

a foot-tapper, not a dancer, which sucks because he’s not even bad at dancing, either 👎

a couple of girls come up to rin to flirt, but rin doesn’t give them the time of day. no response or anything just a little side eye 😭

rin just talks to his friends and that’s it, really.

actually internally glad for the chance to kickback and relax for once, tbh.

but, he refuses to admit he had any semblance of fun. (he did, rin’s just a weenie 😒)

NIKO IKKI:

the team forced him to come 😭

niko’s already a homebody and he doesn’t like loud noises or large social scenes, so he wasn’t too jazzed about going somewhere where the both of those things combine.

also he's picky with music so LOL. does like that one remix to the pursuit of happiness, though

he’s a wall-stander, i hate to break it to y’all. just watched everything from a distance and didn't talk to anyone except for isagi and his friends.

bye, if you don’t get off the damn wall and dance (he'd dance with me i'm different 🥰🤗)

keeps opening and closing his phone so he looks busy but that mf is literally just going through the settings app 😭

called his mom to bring him home an hour and a half in 👎

NANASE NIJIROU:

i hate to admit it, but he’s the annoying first year that documents everything on snap bye

he’s just excited to be there but like, there is no reason for his story to be half an hour long.

i'm not watching all of that! sorry that happened to you or good for you 🤗

probably playing games like spin the bottle or seven minutes in heaven. is very proud of himself for kissing four people in one night #bigmoves 🥳

stays with his group of friends and they're sooo loud and rowdy LMAOO. #firstyearthings

you can literally hear them laughing over the music, but they're having fun, so it's fine (at least of those kids hits people when they laugh too)

also dances, too! has super good energy and a natural sense of rhythm surprisingly 🥰 also a good hypeman!!!!! honestly, he's just really fun to be around tbh

overall, has a lot of fun, as you can tell by his story 😇

[shotorozu]

hellooo,, i saw another tiktok video(and since ur like the elite on writing this type of reqs im requesting to you aha) https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSJYsk4CY/ for shoto, kaminari and monoma (if u write for him) ty 💕

‘bae lol’

(the greenscreen heart, then kiss tiktok trend)

character(s) : todoroki shouto, kaminari denki, monoma neito (bnha)

legend : [Y/N = your name] for monoma reader’s a part of class 1-A, they/them pronouns used, quirk’s not specific

headcanon type : fluff (x reader)

note(s) : oh, i absolutely love AND hate this trend, it’s mostly bc im single though :,) not like i can get a partner in the pandemic. anyways! i love your thinking, anon <3 also no proofread bc its like,, 2am here </3 will edit later!

»»————-　♡　————-««

todoroki shouto

he’s very aware of your tiktok antics, but out of all of the ones you’ve pulled on him, and asked him to do

he loves this one the most.

because shouto doesn’t have to get the lights scared out of him, and it doesn’t have a chance in ending terribly.

you brisk towards your room, knowing that shouto rests inside— “shou!” you call out to him, and he tilts his head up

“Y/N, tell me it’s not—”

“no, i swear!” you drop next to him on the bed, and you play the video. “this would be fun to do, right?”

he doesn’t say anything at first, but he definitely wants to do it, judging by the fact that he’s replaying the tiktok over and over again.

abruptly standing up, he tugs at your wrist “let’s do it.” he says with determination hinted in his voice

you’d think that he’d get the hang of doing tiktoks because of you but LMAO NO— the greenscreen failed you both multiple times in a span of 40 minutes.

the first take, the heart was blurry, the second take, the kiss was captured seconds before the kiss, and the third take— your phone fell 💀

plus, his movements were a little stiff the first few times, but after the third try— he definitely got the hang of it.

and,, he doesn’t understand tiktok effects, not even the slightest.

on the brighter note, he has more excuses to kiss you so,, it’s a win for him! he won’t get sick of doing any retakes :))

you knew the moment he focused on making the perfect heart, as he firmly pulled you close to kiss you

that, would be the perfect shot there. he almost forgot that there was a camera recording

shouto is seen replaying the filmed tiktok over and over again— and it might’ve looked odd to anyone else

but not to you, definitely. for you, it’s the norm to see him like that.

“do more trends where i could kiss you more.” he pecks you on the lips, before he leaves you be temporarily only to edit the tiktok, ofc

the tiktok itself blows up by a ton, gathering 2M likes, and 5M views, in a surprising amount of time, and you didn’t even notice how he placed his hand on your hip

until the comments pointed it out to him. which shouto replies with “i always do that. you just didn’t seem to notice.” it’s fine bc you do now

the comments consisted of “where can i find a guy like this 💔” “haha that’s so cool *blocks*” “okay but we sEE THOSE HANDS 👀”

nonetheless— please do more trends like that with him. don’t be afraid!

shouto rates the entire ordeal a ♾/10. can and will do it again. oh— and he saves his home and lockscreen as the final outcome from the tiktok. he did a screenshot it, and decides to keep it like that for a very long time

kaminari denki

again— this man is ALWAYS on tiktok, so he’s aware of most of the trends there. but that doesn’t make them any less scarier

but oh wow, he loves this trend. denki was just praying that you’d see it— and ask him to do it with you.

he was grateful that luck was on his side, since he was ecstatic when you skipped over to him— asking him to do a tiktok trend

“oh, what tiktok trend? wait— please tell me it doesn’t involve me breaking up with you for a week so you could listen to drivers licenses—”

“what? no— let me show you” and when you showed him the tiktok, he showed you this cheeky little smirk

“let’s do it! the sooner the better!” he says, and he seems more excited that you 💀

denki’s so enthusiastic, to the point that the first few takes are a total fail— as he makes you fall over your feet, as the result of quickly pulling you onto him for a kiss.

“denki— one of these days, you’re going to shatter my face”

“sorry, sorry!” he grins sheepishly. and it’s a miracle that he didn’t accidentally short circuit!

you guys try again, still persistent in getting at least a decent video, and this time— when he yanked you, causing you almost slip

he tightened his hold on you, a hand pressed against the small of your back and another hand dangerously close to your bank

the kiss is eager, passionate— and he holds you like you’re on the verge of death

and this flusters you because MAMDKWDK what happened to the goofiness 💀 i suppose that’s what happens when you have an eager denki kaminari.

you upload the video, thinking it would only get 5 likes at the very most— but it exceeds your expectations

though most people couldn’t get a clear view of your relationship dynamic with him, denki’s enthusiasm did attract the attention of 2.8M people

and in a good way, because the video did get 800k likes

the comments consisted of “when he caught you when you almost fell :,)” “damn he was EXCITED” “hey, have you told us where you got your boyfriend? i need the link to find someone like him NOW‼️‼️”

the bakusquad fawned over the video weirdly, but it quickly gets overplayed by denki— since that’s all he watched for a week or so 💀

monoma neito

bruh </3 as much as he loves you, you’re going to kill him with pranks one of these days.

he’s totally in on it if HE’S not the one being targeted, but most of the time,, neito’s the subject of your pranks

so he thinks it’s another silly prank, where you make him pick a number between 1-5 and ghost him for that many hours.

but when you show him the video one day, when you guys were chilling in your room— as per usual, he declined :,)

“sorry dear Y/N! but no. that’s my answer”

“but whyyy?? it’s so harmless!”

“the class is going to tease me for being a part with a silly tiktok like that.” and besides,, he’d be a hypocrite for participating in that kind of tiktok with someone from class 1-A.

in reality, he did want to do it. he wasn’t so sure on why he said no— but he does want to show that something so easy isn’t really a bother to him.

“oh- don’t be so sad about it! you know what?” he gently pulls you up, “let’s do it. i don’t care what those silly class 1-A kids will say anymore.”

“what? i thought you said you didn’t want to.”

“have you ever heard of a lie?” he clicks his tongue, but he’s glad that you’re feeling much better than you did 10 seconds ago.

when it comes to it, he’s actually really shy about it. not like a ‘i don’t want to be seen with you!’ more like ‘gosh, how many takes is this going to take? will i be able to kiss them properly?’

“what if i end up accidentally copying their quirk? neito— focus, damnit.” he thinks to himself, brushing the anxious feeling away.

he’s determined enough to stay focused— but man struggled a bit with cooperating with the heart shape.

“neito— not that heart!” “well, you said to make a heart, so i did!”

it takes a few tries for the greenscreen to cooperate, and for you guys to get in sync

and when he finally has to kiss you, he grins at you— a very obvious blush adorning his cheeks, as he smashes his lips with yours

then he remembers that he actually has to break free from you— and forces you guys apart, still trying to play it cool

“wow! i look awesome. only i could kiss you like that, right? i don’t need an answer, because i know it’s true!” he says with that proud laugh of his, but it immediately dissipates after the second replay

neito leaves you be, not only for you to upload the tiktok— but also because he needs to THINK WHAT JUST HAPPENED he’s running laps in his mind rn

you upload the tiktok, not worrying too much about it— as you wanted to let it sit for a while, before checking up on it

however— when you open your phone again, you get bombarded with multiple text messages from kendou, and the other class 1-b students.

“you and monoma went viral!” is what you can sum up about most of the messages, and you have to see for youself— wanting to know if the tiktok really did get 800k likes and 1.9M views in a short amount of time.

spoilers ‼️ — it did

the comments were mostly like “why can i smell the dynamic from a mile away 💔 i want that.” “he’s definitely annoying to everyone but you” “sHEESH the way he smirked before he kissed you 😩✋‼️‼️😔”

monoma flexes on a daily that he did that to your class— but he HATES how class 1-b wrecks havoc on him, by teasing him

in short— he does prefer this more than being scared. and! he didn’t have to verbally ask you for kisses 💀

»»————-　♡　————-««

likes and reblogs are appreciated, thanks for reading!

i do not own bnha/mha and it’s characters. boku no hero academia/my hero academia belongs to horikoshi kohei, i only own the writing and i do not profit off of my hobby

do not plagiarize, reupload, translate, or use my works for audio readings without permission

[hatsukeii]

hello! could you possibly do a scenario where tsukki has a secret passion for dancing, n one of his favs genres to listen to is like 80's music ?? i prefer it to be like raining n dark, just you two. i want tsukki n the girl to be like rly good friends, but tuskki lowkey likes her jus a bit n the girl is like totes in love with him, but they dont rly know about each other, until they like kiss after the songs stops. wkhsjdbf idk if this is too much but i love your writing sm!! thank you. 🥺❤

Okay that’s super cute so don’t worry lool

80s and indie music are SUPERIOR NO ONE TELL ME OTHERWISE.

I was looking through my playlist bc I have 80s songs but then I realised IT’S ALL ROCK LMFAO SO I HAD TO STEAL SONGS FROM MY FRIENDS JAHAHAH

Like I can’t make them dance to ACDC or like Guns n’ Roses wtf are they gonna do air guitars?

But then I realised I literally have a song called we can get together sooo👀👀👀👀

And I genuinely love it so much SOOOO👀👀

Earphones// Tsukishima Kei x Reader

Word count: 2000+

Warnings: None lol I’m not even gonna warn for swearing anymore if it’s just swearing then none

Summary: You randomly discover Tsukishima’s knack for dancing.

You always saw him as a calm, or sly person. He was witty, mean, sarcastic, an asshole in every way possible. He was that one person that would call everyone out for looking stupid while dancing at a party, or the one that would remind couples on Valentine's day that it was to celebrate the death of a tortured and beheaded saint. He was pretty much the most no-bullshit person you’ve ever met. It was as if he simply didn’t understand the meaning of enjoyment, and thrived to seek out every opportunity to ruin it for others as well. He rarely went to social events, never showed up at parties, and you don’t think you’ve ever seen him smile genuinely. Ever. 

Yet tonight, you witnessed something you never thought would happen.

You see, every night, you would take a good old stroll around your neighbourhood. Tonight was no different, except it was pouring, the constant pitter patter of your umbrella clouding out any other sound that was coherent. Sometimes you might run into street vendors, other times you would get a bowl of ramen to fulfil your midnight hunger.

Walking along the street to your favourite convenience store, instead of an eerily empty park, what you saw was Tsukishima Kei, the one person you were somehow close to, sitting in a park, with no headphones on. What a shocker.

Ever since you gave him those iconic white headphones, he has never gone anywhere without them. It was as if those headphones were a staple of your friendship, or more so, how much he meant to you. Just saying, those things were expensive. Like eighteen thousand yen expensive. You knew how much Tsukishima enjoyed listening to music, especially whilst doing work. You saved up for months, just to scrape together enough money to get him a brand new pair of headphones to replace his broken ones that only worked in one ear and had shitty quality. You would never admit it, but something in your heart clenched at the sight of the absence of those headphones you spent so much on. Many might have thought you were just sensitive, but they didn’t understand. In fact, no one would understand how insanely in love you were with him. 

“Hey, beanstalk.”

The blond looked up from his phone, his legs crossed on the bench.

“Well, would you look who’s here. It’s the infamous shorty.”

You approached his hunched-over figure, taking a seat next to him on the bench. “So, why are you here? It’s pretty late already.” Shoving your earphones into your ear, you hastily scrolled through your playlist, trying to hold off the urge to ask where his headphones were. “Lost my umbrella while going home from practise, it’s raining cats and dogs, I’m not looking to get soaked while going home, so I’m waiting for the rain to stop. Thank God I brought an extra sweater, my uniform is all wet and gross.” Chuckling, you punched him playfully, muttering a quick “Idiot,” before picking a song. You were very low-key about your feelings towards him. God knows how he would react if you ever told him. He would probably ignore you for the rest of your high school lives. Even worse, he might make fun of you for being childish and emotional. Just the thought of it sent shivers up your spine and a dark feeling towards your chest. Shaking your head, you tried your best to drown yourself in the terrifyingly loud music that was blasting through your earphones. From next to you, Tsukishima could hear every single note that was playing from the internal speakers. He scooted closer to you, much to your embarrassment. You grabbed your phone, pretending to scroll through it when in reality, you were just trying to hide the burning blush that was now painted on your cheeks. He paid attention to every little sound that came out of those tiny little earbuds, as if trying to figure out what song you were listening to was a fun game. Noticing the sudden absence of music in your left ear, you heard a tiny, almost breathy chuckle, followed by a pull on the earphone jack. “Pulp, hm? Nice taste you got there.” your eyes widened in surprise, mouth curling up into a wide smile. “Ahhh, never thought the great Tsukishima Kei would know them.” The blond smirked, shoving the rubber tip into his ear. “What do you mean? I have a playlist dedicated to this kind of stuff. 80s music will forever be superior.” You rolled your eyes, not falling for his shit. “Nonono, no way. Hand it over, I need to see for myself. I’m convinced you’re listening to raptor mating calls on a daily basis.” The blond shrugged, dropping his phone onto your lap. “See for yourself.” Opening up his Spotify, you were bombarded with a huge selection of his playlists. “Right there shorty, that’s the one you’re looking for?” Pointing his nimble finger at a specific one that was labeled “Old Stuff,” you scrolled through every single song, not believing what you’re seeing. “Holy shit, and I thought you would be into indie or EDM or something like that. This is some new information that I have to process.” Snatching his phone back, he wiped the screen with his sweater, turning it off. “That’s enough snooping for today. Come back at snooping hours again.”

It was at that moment, did the song decide to change. 

“Yeah, no. We’re skipping this shit.” You acted sad, fake pouting and huffing out. “But Tsukishima! All Star is God’s work, you can’t just skip it! Here, I’ll sing it for you!” The blond tried to look at you in disgust, but the smile he was holding back was clear as day, biting his lip as he tried not to laugh at your silly antics. “Oh God (Y/N) please no-” 

Too late.

“SomeBODY ONCE TOLD ME THE WORRRLD WAS GONNA ROLL ME, I AIN’T THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHEDDDD.”

“Absolutely not.” Laughing softly, Tsukishima managed to heave out.

Grabbing your phone and shoving it in front of your face, he unlocked it with ease, navigating his way through the five pages of otome games to find your Spotify. “Jesus Christ, never knew you were this desperate for a man.” The tips of his ears were red, one thought circling his mind. 

If she really wanted a boyfriend, would she pick him? 

Grabbing his arm, you begged for him to let you continue jamming to All Star. You were shaking him, trying to grab your phone, but nothing worked. “Nooo! Kei! Nooooo lemme listen to the Shrek sex anthem!” 

“No.” 

Scrolling through your usual playlist, his eyes landed on one particular song. “Hm? What’s this? You listen to Icehouse? Nice taste you got there.” Your grip on his arm loosened up as you looked up at him in shock. “You know them too! Yes! They’re very much adequate.” You stared in awe as the blond smiled from ear to ear, picking a song much to your dismay. “Yesss I love this song with my whole heart. My dinosaurs make way for this.” Hearing the similar synth, you instantly knew what he had picked. “Seriously? You like this song? It’s like cheesy as shit! This is so out of character for you oh my God Kei.” Tsukishima rolled his eyes, completely done with you. “It’s a good song, don’t come at me. Plus, if you think it’s so cheesy, then just delete it.” You frowned. You liked that it was cheesy. You always imagined someone singing it to you, most of the time this imaginary person being Tsukishima. “I like this song too, it’s fine.” The two of you sat in comfortable silence, your earphone jack being the only thing connecting you guys. The park felt weird. You felt weird. This whole situation was weirdly unreal. It was as if the two of you were stuck in a parallel universe, where you and Tsukishima were the only people that existed in that timeline. The silence was thick in the starry night sky, the streetlamps occasionally flickering as the song continued to play. Humming along to the addicting tune, you don’t even realise your body that’s starting to rock, arms swaying from side to side to the rhythm of the chorus. 

“We can get together,“

“Get up.”

A hand comes into your sight, willing for you to take it as you feel another tug on your earphones.

“What?”

“You wanna dance, don’t you?”

Never in a million years, would the thought of Tsukishima being able to dance even cross your mind.

 “What? It’s raining, I thought you said you didn’t wanna get soaked-”

“Just take my hand and dance with me.”

Hesitating a bit as you looked up at the blond, you raised a brow, grinning playfully as you let your hand fall into his, pulling yourself up and letting him take your other hand. You felt the cold droplets of water fall onto your skin and rolling off, the fabric of your shirt going damp.

“Just take one step forward,” he instructed, motioning for you to follow along with his dance moves. “Then take another step backwards. Everything else will come into place soon enough.” Lacing your fingers with his, the two of you danced in perfect sync, having the time of your lives. “I am learning so, so much about you right now and I’m all for it. Why’d you never tell me you could dance?” Tsukishima’s cheeks went a light pink, looking away bashfully. “It’s embarrassing.” Chuckling, you twirled yourself around, pulling on his arm as you forced his attention back onto you. “It’s not. I think it’s super cool. Do this with a girl and they’ll be head over heels for you in no time.” You mentally facepalmed yourself for saying that. His blush went from a light pink, to a dark red in no time, saturating his cheeks like paint. “Let’s test that theory out.” Mumbling to himself, he continued to guide you, twirling you around and hoisting you up at times.

“Baby we can get together, we can get together.”

The two of you were just jamming along now, not caring about your wet hair and soaked clothes. Tsukishima’s hair was now a damp mess, sticking to his forehead as he whipped his head from side to side, laughing as water droplets flew off his blond strands. Your hair was no better than his, (H/C) strands reflecting the light from the streetlamps as they hit your face with every sway of your head. The earphones were falling off at this point, but it didn’t matter. The two of you already memorised the entire song beforehand. All you wanted was to enjoy the short moment. Grabbing his wet hand again, you randomly started jumping to the beat, letting the blond follow along.

“Later sometime, you can buckle my shoes, you can pick up my sticks, why don't you open that door.”

You gasped in surprise as you felt a large hand spin you around one last time, before dipping you dangerously close to the floor, rainwater rolling off your face. The song came to an end with its final guitar chord, the reverb still ringing in the background. “So, what’d you think?” Tsukishima leaned down, his face dangerously close to yours. Feeling a Cheshire grin form on your face as your tried to raise your head up, you gave his nose a boop with your own, before falling back onto his hand. “That was amazing.” Giving you a cheeky grin, you could feel his breath on your face as he sighed contentedly. His breath smelled like mints, you couldn’t help but wonder how lips would taste too. “You good now, or do you wanna go home? I think the rain just stopped.

Still in that intimate position, you decided to finally ask him.

“Where are the headphones?”

“I didn’t want to get them wet, they’re too important to me. They’re in my bag.”

And that’s when your body decided to act on its own.

Your mind couldn’t even register what you were doing as you pressed a long, soft kiss on Tsukishima’s lips, feeling the heat radiating off of him.

“Now I’m good. Wanna go home?”

“Did you just-”

“Yes.”

Pushing you back up to a comfortable position, he stared at you for another ten seconds, face burning crimson as his mouth opened and shut repeatedly, trying to process what you just did. Finally snapping out of his thoughts, he awkwardly leaned towards you, before pulling himself back. After doing that a few times over, you were properly confused. Grabbing your shoulders, he pressed a firm kiss to your forehead, before grabbing his bag from the bench he was sitting on, pulling his headphones out and hanging them on his neck, handing you the earphones.

“Wanna do this again tomorrow shorty?”

“11pm sharp, don’t be late, and I expect another kiss.”

“Whatever you say cutie.”

Tags:

@tiger1719 @burnt-tomato @thirstyvolleyballhoe @agentvicinity @izzyphantomgamer @sunshines-and-tatertots @sakusasgarbage @trashcanweeb @kaylacinderella @talks-a-lot-of-stuff @random-fandomlover @bokutokoutarou @for-ests @mariechan123 @justachillgirl @ewfilthymundane @just-another-bored-writer @inlwlevi @tiredgr3mlin @itmekisuu

I’m gonna check over the tags again tmr so feel free to dm or comment if I missed you or if you wanna be in the taglist

Eyyyy this isn’t that great but I hope you like it and feel free to give me feedback both good and bad lol love you guys I’m going to sleep now baiiii

[tiliamericana]

Muay Thai: 1.10

“Does it taste okay?” asked Agatha, looking up at Nairi across the table. Her eyes looked different without the glasses, a little tireder, less focused.

“It’s really good,” said Nairi, swallowing a mouthful of her pasta. “I don’t really know what I’m doing in the kitchen, so any meal I don’t have to figure out myself is a good one, you know?”

“Well, thank you for the ringing praise,” said Agatha drily.

“I—sorry,” said Nairi, “it is good, I do mean it.”

Agatha’s mouth twitched up with a small smile. “I know. I was only teasing.”

“Oh, well, sorry for being stupid then,” said Nairi, smiling back at her.

Agatha laughed as she pushed herself up from the table, collecting their bowls. “You’re not stupid, Nairi.”

“Thanks,” said Nairi, shifting so that Agatha could move past her to get into the kitchen. Her apartment was cramped; a single bedroom tacked on to one living space, and her round kitchen table was crammed into the corner. Nairi’s legs were a little long for it. She hesitated, watching Agatha cross to the kitchen. “Do you want a hand with the dishes?”

Agatha smiled at her, running the sink. “No, I’ve got it, I’m fussy about how I wash them. I appreciate the company, though.”

Nairi nodded, getting out of the slightly too-low seat to join her by the sink, leaning awkwardly against the countertop and crossing her arms as the smell of dishwash detergent started to tickle her nose. Nairi watched her scrub the bowls and felt a slight tinge of self-judgement: she’d run her dishwasher to clean three mugs earlier in the week. “So, um, did you get much done today?” she asked instead of thinking too hard about it.

“Hardly anything,” said Agatha, rolling her eyes. “I was in two classes today. I hate dealing with freshmen so much—they’re only barelyenrolled by their own inclination.”

“You don’t like teaching much, do you?” said Nairi, fiddling with the cuff of her sleeve where it was tucked under her elbow.

“Not at all,” said Agatha, wrinkling her nose. “Especially now—I’m trying to finish prepping this article for peer review and journal submission and it’s absolutely nerve wracking. It’s only my second time trying to get published and the first paper went through two rounds of rejections before I got anywhere. How was your day? No classes for you, right?”

“No, closed on Tuesdays and Sundays,” said Nairi with a nod. “Weekends tend to be free for more people though, so if business picks up, I might change it.”

“You had a nice sleep in and a lazy veg day, then?” said Agatha, smiling as she rinsed a cup and set it on the rack.

Nairi shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I took some lunch over to Linden’s studio and we chatted.”

“Really?” said Agatha, and she paused. “Oh. That’s odd, Linden doesn’t really like taking people over there.”

“Yeah,” said Nairi slowly, trying to figure out the weird note in Agatha’s voice. “I think she wanted to talk about a painting she’s making me, she keeps telling me my living room is too boring.”

Agatha nodded, draining the sink. “That makes sense,” she said, reaching for a kitchen towel. “She’s very firm about art and atmosphere, your bare walls must offend her on principle.”

“I think so, yeah,” said Nairi, trying to keep her tone light. “She keeps telling me I’m going to go insane if all I have to look at is plaster and brick.”

Agatha laughed, stepping away from the sink. “She’s a bitch like that. Do you want to stay tonight? I don’t have to be on campus ‘til noon tomorrow, so I can promise not to rush you out in the morning.”

Oh, this was going to be a thing, wasn’t it. Nairi hesitated. “I’d like to,” she started, trying to pick out her words with care, “but I told Linden I’d stay up so she could check in after her job tonight, and she thinks it’ll be about one.”

“That’s okay,” said Agatha, smiling at her as she rehung the kitchen towel and stepped into Nairi’s personal space. “I sleep very solidly, so if you need to call her you can just step out, or, you know, wake me up if you need to sound the alarms.”

“Oh,” said Nairi, and she smiled awkwardly back at Agatha. “Cool. I guess that works out then.”

Agatha kissed her cheek. “Great. Do you want to watch something? I’m afraid I’m terribly boring—I recorded a documentary yesterday, it’s about giant squid.”

She was smiling as she said it though, and it wasn’t like Nairi found anything interesting when she turned her TV on. She’d gotten a DVD player with it, but she didn’t own any movies. She’d thought about it, but nothing really looked… interesting.

Agatha had a small shelf of DVDs next to her entertainment unit. She could always ask about it later.

“It sounds good,” she said, turning and following Agatha to the couch. “I’m afraid I’m terribly boring, I don’t know anything about giant squids.”

Agatha laughed as Nairi sat down, shifting closer to be next to her, leaning in against Nairi’s side. Nairi thought about it for a second, then wrapped her arm around Agatha’s shoulders. This seemed to be the right thing to do, Agatha kissing her cheek with a warm smile before turning her attention to the remote as she set the recorded program to play.

Nairi tried to pay attention to the show. The voice was soothing and passionate about the topic, well-informed as they tried to educate her on the probable facts about what was apparently a very controversial fish. Cephalopod? Apparently squid weren’t fish.

…Apparently squid weren’t the same as octopuses either.

Agatha’s hand was wrapped loosely around Nairi’s, her fingers a little too warm. Nairi thought about brushing her off, but her hand was really just hanging there, Agatha was the one holding it. Fuck, this was so much more to think about than it should have been. Agatha hummed as the narrator with the smooth transatlantic accent posed a question and laced her fingers more tightly with Nairi’s. Too late, damnit, how was she bad at sitting on a couch?

She’d always been bad at people, though. Staying away had been fine, she’d always been good at keeping people at arm’s length, how the fuckwas she supposed to let someone be close. She wanted this, didn’t she? It felt nice to be touched by people, without judgement, or grabbing. It didn’t hurt, and she missed it when they didn’t. Linden liked touching and being touched, Agatha did too, and god, she just felt lonely when she thought about it—

This was fine. It was fine.

Agatha’s thumb was rubbing a small circle on the back of her hand. Nairi squeezed it gently and rubbed her own thumb in return, making Agatha sigh and tuck her head into the crook of Nairi’s neck. Nairi shifted to let herself sink a little into the corner of her couch, bringing her legs up so that she and Agatha were lying almost parallel. It was comfortable. Agatha’s couch was squashy and good, and a thousand times better than the piece of shit in Linden’s studio. Not as wide as Nairi’s, but she’d just bought the most expensive couch that would fit in her apartment.

Agatha’s pulse against her fingers ticked up a notch and she shifted to lie against Nairi fully. This was actually good; the warm, reassuring pressure through their clothes, the presence of another person against her, soft and quiet. Like this she could pretty much ignore the too hot, moist sweatiness of Agatha’s hand in hers and focus on how nice it was to exist in the same space as her without being on guard.

She had no idea what the show was talking about now, the smooth accent was talking about depth and pressure units, the screen almost black with the ocean. She couldn’t hold onto the words; they slipped through her ears like she was in a dream. It felt like every breath she took was out of sync, a second behind the motion of her chest, like every normal movement was happening on a delay. Like she was just… visiting her own body. It wasn’t bad,necessarily, just… Odd.

“—ri? Are you okay?”

Nairi willed her head to move towards Agatha. It took far too long, but she got there eventually. She licked her lips, suddenly feeling like her mouth was too dry. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said.

Did she always sound like that? All distant and weirdly pitched?

Agatha didn’t seem perturbed by it, so maybe she did. She leaned in towards Nairi, her lips moving, she was saying something else but Nairi couldn’t tell what it was. She saw Agatha’s lips connect with hers before she felt them. This was fine.

Totally fine. Nairi couldn’t really focus on what she was doing; it was like she was swimming while still wearing her clothes, or that one time she’d had to wade through chest high mud. One metaphorical foot in front of the other, it was just moving, just touching, that was all she had to do, then eventually they’d stop, and she was going to get clean, and have warm clothes, and there’d be a dark, safe place where she could sleep.

Agatha was nice, nicer than her, and she couldn’t even feel how sweaty her bare skin was anymore, it wasn’t as good as through the clothes, but it was probably nice, still fine—

Soft laughter reached her ears, and Nairi muzzily turned her head, finding Agatha’s face, her glasses-less eyes unfocused and smiling. “Tired, night owl?”

Not really. Nairi nodded anyway. “I have to—” she started to say, but her words were coming too slowly. When had the documentary stopped?

“Check in with Lindy, I know,” said Agatha, kissing Nairi’s bare shoulder. “We should get some sleep first, you can set an alarm?”

Nairi tried to imagine climbing into an actual bed with another human being at that moment and her brain flipped sideways. “It’s okay, I’m not tired,” she said, pulling herself to sit upright. She just needed to clear her head, that was all. She was fine.

“Alright,” said Agatha, sounding faintly amused. She reached down and picked up Nairi’s shirt from where it had dropped, handing it back, and Nairi pulled it over her head, trying not to look too relieved. It was just cheap cotton, but it was like wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, removing some of the tension in her head and her hands. Agatha kept talking without her. “Do you want some tea? I’ve got a box somewhere, I think.”

“Yeah,” said Nairi, seeing an opportunity to get some space and clinging to it. “Thanks. I’m just gonna, wash up.”

“Of course,” said Agatha, leaning in and kissing Nairi’s cheek before she stood. “There’s fresh wash cloths and proper soap under the sink.”

“Thanks,” said Nairi, doing her best to stand up and cross the room at a normal pace.

The cold water was a blessing on her hands. She left the door open a crack so that she could hear Agatha bustling about the kitchen, and she splashed some water at her eyes as she heard the tell-tale clank of a stove top kettle being filled and the gas clicking on. Her face seemed to come into focus as she stared at herself in the mirror over the sink, and she let the water run for a moment, watching a droplet slowly climb down the side of her nose and onto her cheek.

She shook her head and turned the hot tap, letting the water warm as she opened the cupboard under the sink. There was a small selection of bottles too tall for the drawers, each labelled something like “face”, “hand soap refill”, “moisturiser: body”, in identical looking printed stickers. There was a small stack of wash cloths next to them.

Nairi hesitated and grabbed a bottle of face wash and the first wash cloth from the pile. It was soft, and the soap was gentler than hers, smelling of rose and something herbal. She washed her face and hands slowly, rinsing off afterwards. The cuffs on her shirt sleeves were damp, faintly scented once she finished, and Nairi tossed the cloth into the hamper before putting the soap bottle away. She didn’t know exactly why you’d bother to use separate soaps for your face and hands, but it felt nice.

A safe topic of conversation, probably.

It took more effort than she’d care to admit to make herself open the door and go back to the main room. She couldn’t stay in the bathroom all night though, and the window was too small to climb out of.

When she came back to the kitchen Agatha had changed into sleepwear and a robe, looking very cosy, and she handed Nairi a mug of grassy chamomile tea. The ceramic was almost too hot to touch, setting Nairi’s raw fingertips on fire as she took it. She took a burning sip, giving Agatha an awkward smile in thanks.

“It’s a little late for me,” said Agatha apologetically. “But I sleep fairly hard, so I promise not to stab you when you come in.”

Nairi forced a laugh, not sure how else to respond. “Thanks. Sleep well?”

Agatha nodded, smiling warmly at her. “I will. Tell Linden to get home safe for me?”

“Sure,” said Nairi.

Agatha leaned up on tiptoe and kissed her lightly before Nairi could say or do anything else, then padded across to the bedroom with a small wave.

Nairi watched her shadow move around in the space between the door frame and the floor for several minutes before the light shut off, leaving her alone in the main room of the apartment. She glanced at the couch, and turned on the spot, taking her tea over to the table and sitting in the chair in the corner. There was a stack of books on the counter next to her and she grabbed one at random. It was a well-worn paperback branding itself a ‘classic’, and the decidedly vintage style of writing with the cramped print demanded a high level of focus that Nairi threw herself into, determined not to think of anything else.

Between it and the chamomile her nerves eventually soothed, and by the time her phone chirped with Linden’s text her mug was empty and she was no longer hyper-aware of her own heartbeat. The quiet hum of Agatha’s electronics and the difficulty of parsing what was happening on the page kept her present and relaxed.

She set down the paperback, reading Linden’s dry check in.

Lind A: out safe omw home Lind A: very boring dude no danger except for warts :p Lind A: gonna bleach my feet lol grabbed a taxi no mugging i promise xox

Nairi tapped out a quick response.

Glad I don’t have to kill anyone. Agatha says get home safe.

Lind A: safe and comfy :) Lind A: tell her she’s a bitch lol Lind A: get some SLEEP!!

Will do.

Nairi waited a few moments, but there was no further response. She set the phone down and looked over to the dark door of Agatha’s bedroom, legs tensing a little with the shift to move to stand. She chewed her lip, staring, then picked up the book and leaned back in her chair again.

[thiswasinevitableid]

Rockstar (Indruck)

A friend on discord, @morganeashton, requested #28 of the meet ugly list for Indruck: I’m a famous singer and you’re the new techie who just tripped and pulled the plug out of my microphone mid-concert [extra awkward if they lip sync, extra badass if they keep singing and their voice is still on point]. This is NSFW.

A peril of high quality sound equipment is that when it goes out, it’s very obvious.

The mic goes, his guitar and Dani’s bass cut out, and the effects are gone. For a moment it’s total silence as the audience watches him. 

Then he picks up exactly where he left off, notes coming as easy as breath. After a moment Jake starts up quieter than usual on the drums, giving him rhythm. By the time he finishes, the mic and instruments are back on and the applause is deafening. He smiles to himself.

He’s still got it. 

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

Duck knocks on the dressing room door. 

He’s so fucking fired.

“Come in.”

Mr. Cold is sitting at a mirror, takes note of Duck’s reflection.

“Ah, Duck, I thought it might be you. Mama said you were the one who disconnected our sound tonight.”

“Yessir. I, uh, it was an accident, I was movin somethin in a tight space and caught my foot on the cord without noticin’. I’m, uh, I’m real sorry, and, uh, I’ll, uh-”

Mr. Cold holds up his hand and Duck shuts his mouth. The singer turns, in his chair, face now free of make-up. His features still have that alien edge to them, the strange mix of young and old that’s made his attractiveness the subject of much debate. Duck knows where he falls on it; anyone who thinks Indrid Cold is anything other than sex on legs should get their eyes checked. 

That won’t help him, he knows that.

Indrid leans back in his chair, “you don’t need to plead your case to me Duck, for two reasons. One is that I’m not the one in charge of hiring or firing the road crew. That falls to Mama and Joseph completely, and if I ever tried to toss someone out for an accident they’d put me in my place very quickly. But more importantly, I’m not angry with you for what happened. Quite the opposite.”

“You...wait, really?”

Mr. Cold counts off on his fingers, “The space was small, so everyone could still hear me. There’s been rumors I’ve been using a dub, so this ought to quell them nicely, and” he looks at Duck over his trademark red glasses, smile widening, “it was unexpected, something that’s rare for me these days. When you get to this level of fame, everyone is terrified of not having a flawlessly executed plan. But that is not how the world is; it’s not how art is. So it was nice to have the chance to show everyone that the unexpected can be invigorating. Thank you for that.”

“You’re, uh, you’re welcome?”

Mr. Cold  smiles as he stands up, “you should sit down, you look like you’re about to pass out.”

“It’s fine, uh-”

The singer simply rests a hand on his shoulder and gently pushes. Duck sits. 

“Would you, ah, like a drink? The hosts here left a very nice bottle of tequila.”

“Sure.” Duck tries not to stare as he bends over to retrieve a glass and a bottle, pouring Duck a shots worth of tequila that costs more than his rent. Duck mumbles a thank you when he hands it to him, then gawps when Mr. Cold sets the bottle aside and retrieves a Capri Sun from the mini-fridge.

“I can’t stand alcohol. Used to try for the sake of fitting in but” he makes a face like a disgusted cat, “eech. One moment, I need to change.” He disappears around a corner, leaving Duck to wonder what the fuck the polite thing to do is. Mr. Cold is always polite to his crew, but he keeps to himself much of the time. Not to mention Duck’s only been with them since the tour started a month ago. 

A photo on the table catches his eye, and he scoots his chair closer to get a look.

“Was, uh, was this an alternate cover or somethin?”

“Hmm? Oh” a light laugh, “no, though you’ve got a good eye; we shot it the same day we shot the cover image for The Cryptids. That was a shot that was nixed because we looked too silly, I think Vincent had said something funny and cracked Barclay up, who set me off. I bring it with me to every show, a sort of good luck charm mixed with a reminder of where I came from.” 

From the faded photo, nineteen year old Indrid Cold smiles at him. 

“I take it you’re a long time fan, then.” Mr. Cold reappears in a pink and yellow bathrobe, the last color scheme Duck would have assumed he owned. 

“Yeah, over a decade. I, uh, I was sixteen when The Cryptids released their first album. Scraped together fifteen bucks to buy the C.D and wore the damn thing out I listened to it so much. Never heard anything like it. That’s, uh,” he scratches the back of his neck, “that’s not why I took the job, though. Mama didn’t tell me who I’d be crewin’ for until after I accepted.”

“If you’re afraid of looking like a ‘fanboy,’ don’t be. Do you know how Joseph came to be our manager?”

“Uh, story I always heard was he came backstage during a show on your first tour and offered.”

Mr. Cold chuckles, “he did. But what very few people know is that he came back in his lovingly homemade  ‘Bigfoot’s Boy’ t-shirt and a a lot of glitter--remember, that was the E.T tour so everyone was space themed--clearly having left the house with the intent of trying to get into our bassist’s pants, and instead proceeded to tell us he’d seen how our manager operated through the night and we could so better and here’s how.”

“Jesus.”

“He was remarkably intimidating in spite of the glitter and his argument was airtight. So we fired Hayes and hired him. He did eventually bang our bassist, but that was perhaps obvious.”

“Given that they’ve been married for like five years, yeah. Still can’t believe Barclay went from beiin a rockstar to bein’ a chef.”

“He was always an ingenious cook. He once made breakfast using nothing but the still-hot engine of a mini-van.”

“AGH, god, why?”

“We were broke and hungry and there was nowhere to buy food.”

“That’s hardcore.”

“Mostly just oily.” Mr. Cold grabs another Capri Sun, sitting down across from him, “hmm, if you were sixteen when we started, did you ever get to see us?”

Duck shakes his head, “only kinda. Y’all mainly played twenty-one plus places even after you started gettin big, then you weren’t tourin nearby. When you announced the farewell tour, my friend Juno and I drove to Richmond to hear y’all play from outside the stadium. She’s still got a picture of us from that night somewhere, all geared out, tryin to look cool enough to be there.”

“You’ll have to let me see it, so I can determine if you pass muster.” Mr. Cold teases. 

“I ask if she can send me it. Christ, I remember bein’ so fuckin bummed when y’all announced The Cryptids were disbanding, then so fuckin relieved when you said you were gonna keep makin new stuff and performin just as Indrid Cold. Your voice is fuckin amazin.”

“That’s not always the word used.”

“So you don’t sound like Bruno Mars or some pop diva, big fuckin’ deal. You sing and people listen because they ain’t ever heard anyone like you. No one in the world sounds like Indrid Cold.”

The singer gives him an odd smile, “that’s very kind of you to say.”

“Sorry, guess there’s still some fanboy hidin’ out under the roadie.” His cheeks heat up as he finishes his drink.

“I think we should both get some rest.” Mr. Cold stands, ushering him to the door, “and that we should talk again sometime. And thank you again, Duck, for your happy accident.”

‘You’re welcome, Mr. Cold.”

A famous smile that’s never stopped being weirdly captivating, “please, call me Indrid.”

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

“You sure Indrid wants me on the bus and not just to, I dunno, load it?”

“Yes indeed.” Ned, Indrid’s publicity man, gestures grandly to the open door of the tour bus, “now kindly get yourself and your bag on it so we can get a move on.”

Duck climbs aboard, awkwardly sets his bag on the carrier shelf as he nods hello to Boyd, Indrid’s driver and part time bodyguard. 

Indrid is lounging on a black couch, but sits up when he sees Duck, “ah good, you decided to join me.”

“Yep. Uh, did you ask me for a reason or?”

“I like talking with you.” Indrid cocks his head, as if puzzled by the question. Duck wants to point out that the a god of the alt scene, a musical genius, who could have anyone he wanted for company, seeming to be excited by hanging out with a roadie is a bit confusing.

Indrid, meanwhile, is shoving drawings and notes aside so Duck can sit down, “mind you, I don’t expect you entertain me or something; I’m working on some poster art right now, for that fundraiser, so if you have things you like to do on the road, you’re welcome to do them. My room is that way if you want to nap, and it has a t.v as well if you want to watch something. Oh, and we have wi-fi, of course.”

He sounds like a college kid showing off his first apartment and it wrong-foots Duck enough that he just grabs his book from the pocket of his bag.

“Thanks, uh, think I’ll read for a bit.”

Indrid grins, goes back to his drawing, pen scratching hurriedly as the bus jolts to a start and pulls onto the road. 

After awhile, Indrid glances at him and asks mildly, “what was your favorite album? Of The Cryptids, I mean, not my solo stuff.”

Duck taps the spine of the book against the table as he thinks, “I mean The Cryptids  has that whole edge by bein’ the first, because there was nothin like hearin’ your sound for the first time. But I gotta say...Unsolved. Whole thing is fuckin amazin, but your vocals on “To a Flame” still give me fuckin chills.”

“I haven’t played that song in a long time.” Indrid says softly, smiling, “it was always a favorite. I wrote it about someone I could never have.”

“You can feel it. In, uh, in the way it’s arranged, the way you sing, gives this whole feelin of someone who’s decided to love someone completely even though they’ll never be loved back.”

Indrid looks at him a moment, that same odd, small smile quirking his lips, then returns to his drawing. When the road gets bumpier, they move to a couch in the middle of the bus with a low table nearby. Duck pulls out his laptop and plugs in his headphones, pulls up Planet Earth as Indrid’s head starts drooping. Two episodes in, the singer falls asleep, flopping sideways so his head is in Duck’s lap. 

He should move him, Indrid will probably think this is weird when he wakes up. Then again, he looks so cute like this. And it’d be rude to wake him up. 

Duck’s to the episode on jungles when a slender, tan hand reaches up and plucks his left earbud out. Startled, he looks down to find Indrid putting it on and adjusting his head in Duck’s lap, clearly engrossed in the carnivorous plants onscreen.

“Do you want me to just turn the normal sound on?”

“No” Indrid murmurs sleepily, “this is perfect.”

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

Duck assumes the bus will be a one-time event, but he’s ridden with Indrid each time since. Which is why, when his phone dings, Indrid is sitting right beside him. 

“Looks like Juno found the, uh, the photo.”

“Let me see” Indrid grabs the phone from him, cackling with delight when he sees the image, “you two were really the pair of cryptozoologists, weren’t you?”

“Told you we were tryin too hard.”

“On the contrary, I love it, it’s exactly the kind of weirdness we wanted to inspire in people. And if seems you did like to collect our merch, that shirt you’re wearing was a limited run.”

“I know. I, uh, I saved up for it, way I always did if something had art of yours on it.” He slaps his hand over his mouth, embarrassed by the admission.

“That’s very sweet.” Indrid smiles at him, then lifts his glasses for a better look, “what does the collar you’re wearing say?”

“I, uh, fuck, I don’t remember, got, uh, got amnesia, collar specific amnesia, fuck, uh-”

“C, O, L...you were wearing a collar with my name on it.” Indrid’s grin takes on a hungry edge, “someone was downplaying whose fanboy he was.”

“I, I didn’t want you thinkin I was creepy, or that I was just bein nice to you because of the crush I had on you in college.”

“I don’t, I promise, though I appreciate the consideration. Here” he hands the phone back, but as Duck takes it he leans in and whispers, “but you really should wear a collar more often.”

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

“Sooooo how’s it going with Indrid?” Aubrey, Indrid’s magician opening act, sits down next to Duck at dinner.

“Good. Wait, shit, are people talkin about us?”

“Kinda? I mean, Indrid hangs out with the band, and with me, plenty, but none of us get to be on that bus. Not like I’m complaining, Dani and I have our own sweet ride.”

“There ain’t anythin goin on between us. It just...Indrid seem like he likes bein’ friends with me.”

“That’s awesome!”

“Yeah” Duck sighs, wistfully, “y’know, it’s funny. Even after I started workin here, he was still Indrid Cold in my head, the guy who sang like he was diggin down in my head, who did wild shit like kiss his male bandmates on stage, who was always so fuckin cool. And now he’s Indrid, this guy who’s kinda awkward and wears way more pink than I assumed and flaps his hands when gets excited and somehow that’s even better.”

“Awww, someone has a cruuUUshh.”

“Had, Aubrey. Had.”

“Whatever you say, Duck” she winks at him, “whatever you say.”

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

“Are these yours?”

Duck shakes himself awake. They’ve been driving all evening and well into the night, and he must have nodded off and knocked his notebook over. Which is why Indrid is now holding several sheets of loose paper.

“Shit! I mean, uh, yeah, but they ain’t anythin special.”

“I didn’t know you wrote songs.” Indrid scans the pages with a critical eye.

“Sometimes. Like I said, they ain’t anythin to make a fuss over.” 

Indrid makes a noncommittal noise and picks up a nearby guitar, tuning it, “you can go back to sleep, I’m just going to fiddle about for a bit.”

Duck lays down on the couch, and falls asleep to the sound of Indrid’s hums.

He’s shaken awake two hours later, and is thoroughly confused to find Indrid in tight black pants and silvery shirt, black boots on his feet and a deep green on his lips; that’s his stagewear, not his pajamas.

“Put on your most punk-rock outfit, and make it fast.”

He manages to get an old Cryptids t-shirt on along with black jeans that, if he does say so himself, make his ass look good, and is tugging on his boots when the bus pulls into a dusty parking lot.

“It’s the only goth/gay bar in the county.” Indrid says by way of explanation as he pulls Duck out the door, Boyd following them as Ned stays behind to watch the van (“in case we need to make a hasty retreat”).

“Wait, holy fuck, I always thought that was a myth, that you would stop at random clubs and play.”

“Not in the least, though it’s been awhile. Ooh, whoever is already playing sounds very good.” He pushes open the door, the smell of smoke and stale beer and sweat pouring over them in waves as they enter. Indrid keeps to the side of the room, holding Duck’s hand all the while, and spots the tiny merch table with “The Hornets” painted on a yellow sign on the front. 

“Wait for me here.” He kisses Duck’s cheek and disappears into the crowd. When the band finishes the song, a youngish woman waves them over to the side of the stage, strangers in the crowd turning to each other to ask what the fuck is going on.

The guitarist and lead singer reappears, giant H on their shirt,  and grabs the mic, “y’all aren’t gonna believe this, but the Hornets have just acquired a new singer and it’s gonna blow your fucking minds. Give it up for one of the gods of horror-surf, the grinning man, the mothman himself, Indrid fucking Cold!” 

The crowd screams loud enough to shake an entire coat of dust from the walls as Indrid steps on stage, beaming and waving.

“Thank you very much, Hollis. I’ve got four songs for you tonight, including something very, very new. So, without further ado” he grabs the mic, flicks his hair, “let’s prowl.”

The Hornets launch into the opening notes of “on the prowl,” the crowd cheering and hooting and singing along with so much energy that Duck can’t hear Indrid’s voice until the last verse. He claps along with everyone else as Indrid takes the mic of the stand, “and here’s one I haven’t sung in far too long.”

The bass and guitar start in a minor key, half country swing and half horror sting.

“Always on the outs, always in the dark.” Indrid shuts his eyes as he croons, “always so hungry for one little spark. Always so willing to play your game. What can I say? I’m like a moth to flame.”

Duck knows the song by heart but he’s never heard Indrid sing it live, like there was someone in the room he was hoping would hear it and know it was for them. He doesn’t breathe until the song ends; he doesn’t want to miss a single note, miss the way Indrid’s voice curls around the room as if searching for him. 

As the crowd applauds at the end, Indrid crosses to Hollis, who hands him their guitar. He loops it over his shoulder, returns the mic to the stand. 

“Now, this next song is very special, it doesn’t have an arrangement yet, so you’ll have to live with just my melodious voice.” He picks the guitar, brow furrowed in concentration, and Duck gasps. 

He knows this song, he’s just never heard it played anywhere but inside his head. Indrid sings it flawlessly, the crowd swaying in time with him, and Duck realizes he must have practiced nonstop while he was asleep. 

The short song comes to a close and he tilts his head, “what did you think?”

The audience bursts out cheering and Indrid grins, “yes, that’s about how I feel too. I can’t take credit though, it was written by a friend.”

He returns the guitar, nods to the band, and purrs into the mic, “the sun goes down and the moon comes up.”

Shit how did he know? Does he know? He can’t know.

He can’t know this is the song Duck used to jack off to. A cover of a cover, a video where Indrid growls and purrs and nearly fucks the mic as he sings. 

“You better duck, when I show up, the goo goo muck” he writhes in time with the music, “I’m a nightmare, honey, looking for some head.”

God, fuck, how could he have forgotten just how Indrid sounds when he sings this, like the monster under the bed came to life, turned out to be hot, and really wants to fuck you. Indrid is on his knees now, working the front row, dragging his free hand across his body with moans between the words.

“He must really like you, mate.”

“Gahfuck, Boyd.” Duck jumps, but doesn’t take his eyes off the stage.

“I’m just sayin’, he’s never let anyone come to one of these before. I only do because Stern’ll kill us if we let him go without some kind of backup.” Boyd pats his shoulder, heading back towards the door. 

Indrid finishes the song panting, the Hornets looking harried from keeping up with his energy. As the crowd screams and claps he bows, and hurries off the stage. In cries for an encore and the darkened house, Indrid finds him again, grabbing his hand and sprinting outside.

“God I missed doing that!” He laughs as they run, “did you have fun?”

“Fuck yeah, Indrid, fuck, you really liked my song?”

“Of course. And it seems they did too.” The bus doors close behind them, but Indrid doesn;t stop moving, “we’re both very tired, going to bed now, goodnight!” 

Duck’s about to point out he sleeps on the pullout couch, not the bed, when the bedroom door slams shut and Indrid yanks him into a kiss, tongue in his mouth and hands in his back pockets, groping him with a growl. 

When Indrid breaks the kiss, Duck’s certain he has stars in his eyes. 

“Is this alright?”

“Hell fuckin yeah it is.”

“Good” Indrid shoves him backwards onto the bed, “shirt off.”

Duck obeys, Indrid stripping his own away and tossing it on the ground. As Duck fights with his jeans, Indrid retrieves a condom and something black from a box, setting them on the bed. He notices his struggle and shakes his head as he prowls on top of him, “ah ah, we don’t have time for that.”

“Butmmmmfff” Duck gasps and moans as Indrid kisses him again, demanding and messy.

“Get them low enough for me to fuck you.” He bites Duck’s lip and sits up, wiggling his own black pants down enough to free his cock. By the time he gets them free one leg and down to his knee on the other, Indrid has the condom on.

Indrid tosses away his glasses, gives him a long once over, licking his lips, “good boy.”

Then he’s on top of him again, cock inside him and fingers tangled in his hair.

“Oh fuck, you’re soaking, god, what got you so wound up, hm?”

“You, just you, watching you, Indrid, god please fuck me.”

“Gladly, goodness, fuck, that’s it sweetheart, you take me so well.” Indrid hammers into him again and again, kissing him each time he whimpers or moans. 

Duck wraps his legs around him, manages to get his head up enough to tease his tongue along Indrid’s nipple. 

“AH! Good boy, mmmm, I knew you’d be perfect to fuck.” He adjusts so he can run his hand up Duck’s throat. There’s no pressure in the gesture, but plenty of possession.

“What do you think, shall we get you a new collar?”

“Yes, yesyesyes, Indrid, god, fuck please.”

“Oh you like that, mmm” he switches to slow, deliberate thrusts, a counterpoint to Duck’s frantically jerking hips that makes them moan in tandem, “we could get you several, would you like that? I could put them on you according to my mood and what I wanted you to be that day.”

Duck means to say yes, whines instead, grinning breathlessly when Indrid strokes his cheek.

“Good. I’d like it, too. Nnnh, god I’m close.” He stops entirely, awkwardly shifts and pulls them until he’s on his knees with Ducks ass in his lap, “but I want you to cum first.”

“I, I can try.”

“It was an order.” He reaches down, revealing the black object from earlier; a vibrating wand.

“Oh fuck yeah, fuckFUCK” his legs thrash when the vibe presses against his dick, “Indrid, sugar, ohmyfuckinggod.”

Indrid grins, wide and wanton, and turns the toy up, eyes flicking between Ducks face and cock as he cries out and bucks his hips. 

“What a good boy, getting my cock so wet” he wiggles his hips with a moan, “you feel delightful when I use this on you, perhaps tomorrow I’ll have you sit on my cock and do the same thing over and over again, edge myself with the feeling of you needy and tightening around me.”

“Indrid, fuckplease, yes, yes, fuck, I’m so fuckin close darlin, ple-fuck, ‘Drid!” He cums with groan, whole body shaking as pleasure overloads his nerves. 

The vibrator thunks to the floor as Indrid lunges forward, pinning him to the bed and fucking him hard and fast, cock thudding into him in time with his purring groans. 

“So, so good, my Duck, so very good, god, yes, yesyes” he’s moving so violently Duck is now grunting from the force of the impact, “that’s it, good boy, take what I give youAHHnnn, Duck, Duck.” His hips slow as he groans, Duck drinking in the sight of him, orgasmic and loving above him.

Indrid pulls out, condom hitting what is hopefully the trash and not his guitar case, and immediately curls around Duck, kissing his neck and face.

“Thank you, thankyouthankyou.”

Duck giggles, kisses him back, “why are you thankin me? I’m the one who just got to fuck a rockstar. You got to fuck some regular dipshit.” He bumps their foreheads together to show he’s teasing. 

“Incorrect. I got to fuck you. You, who are funny and charming and to the point, and who has taught me a remarkable amount about plants.”

“S’important to have hobbies.” Duck mumbles into his shoulder. 

“Indeed. My point is, you make me happier than I’ve been in a long, long time. And while fucking you has been on my mind has been on my mind lately, it was not actually what I planned to do first. I, ah, I” he rests his head on Duck’s shoulder, hides his face in his neck, “I wanted to ask if you wanted to be my boyfriend.”

“Hell fuckin yeah.” Duck hugs him tight as he laughs with relief, “Indrid, I wanna be with you, the real you, not the one I had the crush on all those years ago. I wanna make you happy.”

“You do that just by existing, but I have some other ideas as well.”

“Oh yeah?” Duck kisses his nose.

“Well, for starters” Indrid’s eyes gleam as he looks up at him, “how would you like to write some music with me, boyfriend?”

“I think that sounds fuckin amazin. Boyfriend.”

[alounuitte]

what’s in a name

(i still remain the same)

A late night conversation between Pidge and Shiro, on names, identity, and people understanding each other. (An improved version of how Shiro tells Pidge he knows her name.) Oneshot, 1600 words. 

Check notes for AO3 mirror, or

She’s already found a hiding place for when she can’t sleep, where an alcove off some kind of big library leads to a sheltered balcony with a view of the stars.  It’s small, and quiet, and hard to see, and even if that Allura girl probably knows where it is, the more important thing is that Lance and Hunk don’t. 

She sets up her radio and puts on her headphones, but tonight she doesn’t pull up any of the reception data on her laptop screen, just listens to the quiet static of distant radio chatter in the far reaches of space and the low hum of EM waves rolling off of the next closest stars. Weirdly, even if now she knows what she does about these guys trying to conquer the universe, listening in on the diffused reflections of alien space communications has become a kind of comfort on the nights when she can’t stop thinking. At least it’s something to do, keep half an ear out for any hint of information that might be important, record what she does pick up so she can look back at it later and pinpoint any fragment that could be a clue. 

With a sigh, she closes her eyes and leans back against the cool stone wall, taking off her glasses to rub her face with one hand. It’s been kind of a harrowing day, which must be why she can’t get her thoughts to quiet down. Between training for combat and learning to pilot her lion, she’s exhausted, but all this team building work they keep doing has been putting her on edge, especially when she remembers that to form Voltron, they’re all supposed to be so in sync it’s like sharing each other’s thoughts. 

She hunches her shoulders and shoves her hands in the pockets of her sweatshirt, running her thumb along the edge of the photograph tucked in on one side. She’s been keeping it on her all the time now, since everyone seems to wanna see it so bad. She knows Hunk’s a great guy, and Keith and Shiro both seem pretty okay, but she doesn’t trust Lance not to go rifling through her stuff if he gets the idea in his head to spy on her. 

When she hears the knocking sound, at first she thinks it’s in her headphones, some kind of signal or stellar interference her receiver picks up as a dull tock-tock-tock. It’s not until she hears it a second time that she opens her eyes and sits up, hastily shoving her glasses back on her face as she looks over her shoulder to see Shiro standing in the open doorway, his hand still raised to tap on the wall again. 

“Oh,” she says, embarrassed, and takes off her headphones. “Uh, did - did you need me for something, sir?” 

“Just wanted to see how you were doing,” Shiro says, folding his hands behind his back. “Mind if I sit down?” 

“N-no, I, um, go ahead,” she says, moving her things to the side. “I mean, it’s not like it‘s just for me, or anything!” 

He sits down on the ground a few feet away from her. “You’re up late,” he says. “Trouble sleeping?” 

“Guess so,” she replies, and laughs nervously. 

“I don’t blame you,” he says. “I know there must be a lot on your mind.”

A moment passes in silence, and she swallows hard, watching Shiro out of the corner of her eye. She hasn’t really been sure how to act around their commander since she told him who her family was, doesn’t know if they would ever have mentioned her, let alone what they would have said, and she doesn’t want to let anything slip that the others might catch. 

“So, um,” she manages finally, “was there something you needed to talk to me about, or…?” 

Shiro frowns, his brows drawing tightly together. “Actually,” he says, “I wanted to ask you something.” 

She nods quickly, her heart pounding so hard in her throat she can’t form words to respond. 

He takes a deep breath and hesitates, bracing his arms across his knees as he looks over at her. Finally, he says, “Your dad and brother, they… never mentioned your name. Sam didn’t say he had another son.”

She hunches her shoulders, looking away so he can’t see the look on her face. 

“Talked a lot about his daughter, though,” Shiro continues. “Katie.”

The sound of her name feels like a punch in the chest, and she can’t stop herself from making a sound, choked off in her throat. 

“That’s you, right?” he asks. 

She nods, and opens her mouth to speak, but her voice comes out like a squeak. Her vision blurs and she blinks rapidly, willing the tears to disappear. She’s not gonna cry in front of her new commander like some stupid kid. She’s not. 

“I’m - sorry,” he says. “I don’t mean - I didn’t want to upset you. I just -“ 

“No, no,” she says, shaking her head, “it’s okay! It’s just - been a while since anyone called me that.” Her voice is shaking; she takes a deep breath to steady it, looking over at him with the best smile she can muster. “Well, a year isn’t really that long, I guess, but it sure feels like a while. A-And, I mean, it’s not like there’s anything wrong with the name Pidge! It’s fine, I don’t mind it, really! I wouldn’t have picked a name I didn’t like, it’s just - just -“ 

“You’re rambling,” Shiro says gently, his brows drawing together. 

She laughs weakly and swallows, a lump in her throat. “Y-Yeah, I guess I am, huh?” she manages, and feels a tear roll down the side of her nose. “Shhh - um, quiznak -“ she stammers, taking her glasses off to scrub at her eyes. “Sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t - know why -“ 

“It’s okay,” Shiro says, reaching out a hand, and then hesitates, his fingers hovering over her shoulder. “I didn’t mean to put any pressure on you, Pidge. I shouldn’t have pried.” 

“N-no, it’s okay,” she insists again. “I - I guess I shoulda known they would have - I mean, Matt and I were pretty close as kids, you know? Even if he was too busy having adventures up there to miss me, they must have told stories in your time off or something.” She sniffles and puts her glasses back on, looking down at her hands. “I probably shoulda told you sooner, but I figured you wouldn’t put the pieces together, I mean, until I said they’re my family, since I, I don’t really look much like a girl anymore now - now that I…” 

She trails off, rubbing the back of her neck, unsure how much she should say. Shiro opens his mouth and closes it again, letting his hand settle on her arm instead. 

“Sorry,” she says again, and bites her lip to keep it from trembling. 

“You don’t need to apologize,” Shiro says, and glances down, his mouth tightening as he thinks. “What… do you want me to call you now?”

“I don’t know,” she admits. “I mean, like I said, I don’t mind being called Pidge. And I - I don’t know if I want the others to know I’m…” She’s not sure how to finish, not sure what it is she’s so afraid of them knowing. Maybe they’d accept a girl being on the team - well, at least Hunk would, and probably Keith, too. But even back home, when everyone knew her as a girl, she didn’t exactly go around telling people she was trans.

“I won’t say anything to them,” Shiro says, unexpectedly solemn. “Coming out is a personal decision, and I don’t want to put you in a difficult position.”

She blinks at him, surprised. “But, to form Voltron…”

“We’ve already gotten a lot better at forming Voltron,” he reminds her with a faint smile. “I know it must be pretty scary, thinking of everyone being in your head, though.” He looks away with an awkward chuckle. “I guess for me, it helps to think that if we’re really so in sync that our minds are like one… maybe we can also understand each other a little better, and see past our differences to what we all share.”

“You really think so?” she asks, her voice trembling. 

“I can’t say I know how this works any more than you do,” he replies. “But I hope so. And if these lions really choose their pilots like our Altean friends say… well, I’d like to think maybe they know what they’re doing.”

She laughs at that, really laughs, and feels a little of the weight lift off from her shoulders. “Yeah,” she says, “I guess you’re right.”

“But don’t worry, Pidge,” he says as he gets to his feet. “Your secret’s safe with me. And if you ever decide you do want to tell the others, I’m right behind you.” 

“Thanks, Commander,” she says, grinning up at him. “That means a lot to me.” 

He nods and waves. “You should try to get some sleep,” he reminds her gently as he turns towards the door. “We’re going to have plenty of work to do tomorrow, and I need my team in top form.”

“Yes, sir,” she agrees, and starts to pack up her equipment. As the door opens, something else occurs to her, and she sits upright again, looking over her shoulder. “Hey, Shiro?”

“Hm?” he answers, looking back with a slight frown. 

She runs a hand through her uneven hair, looking away. “Um,” she manages, more to the ground than to him, “I just - wanted to say that, uh - you don’t have to, or anything, but when no one else is around, if - if you want to call me Katie, that’s - that’s okay, too.”

“Alright,” he agrees, his furrowed brow giving way to a smile. “I’ll see you in the morning, Katie.”

“Bright and early,” she agrees, and as she finishes putting her things in their cases and starts down the hall to her room, she thinks it’s the first time since she joined the academy she’s actually felt like herself.

[smygarding]

devil | Katakuri Charlotte x Male!Reader

General information:

Katakuri Charlotte (Dogtooth) x Male!Reader

warning(s): hurt&comfort - anxiety&depression reader info: the reader will go by he/him/his pronouns. word count: 2243 song inspiration: Devil by Shinedown other info: this work does not follow any plot in the anime, but it exists in the same universe. please note that this is also posted on my quotev and deviantart. this is not beta read, so please excuse me if you see any mistakes.

-

When Katakuri Charlotte opened his eyes after having woken up by the sun tickling him in his stitch littered face, he felt the way too familiar feeling fill up and bubble in his stomach. Glaring towards the heavy curtains who had let a tiny ray of light shine through, Katakuri bit down on his dry lip until he could taste the metallic flavour a bit too well. Yet he couldn’t make himself to leave the bed to close them completely.  

Ah, so it was one of those days.

All he wanted to do was to pull the heavy covers over his entire body and pretend as if he didn’t exist. Even if it was just for a couple of hours, minutes or seconds.

It hurt to think about his duties as the minister of flour, as a sweet general, as the second son and as the perfect son.

Katakuri rumbled with annoyance and wished nothing more than to sink into his huge bed and disappear. However, if he didn’t get out of bed someone was bound to knock on his door sooner or later.

Still, a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt, right?

Nobody could deny him a few more minutes where he didn’t have to feel the lump in his stomach form into something more grotesque and gruesome.

Nobody could deny him a few more minutes without any heavy burdens weighing down his shoulders.

Nobody could deny him a few more minutes without having to put on a persona, where he didn’t have to hide himself and his own face from his family.

With a sigh and a huff, he grabbed the numbing duvet with his huge and calloused hand to pull it over himself in an attempt to disappear for a little while longer.

It didn’t feel right.

No matter what Katakuri did, he couldn’t get his hammering heart to slow down.

Ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-,

No use in counting his breath either. The rasping sound of his laboured breath from his parted lips as he inhaled and exhaled only made his heart wince in pain as if someone tightened barbed wire around it.

Anxiety weighed his chest down followed by a stinging pain in his skull.

Of course… Katakuri thought. Just what I needed, a migraine.

Another groan escaped his sharp-toothed mouth and as he closed his eyes in pure nausea the throbbing pain ebbed slowly but surely away.

-

“…kuri.”

“Katakuri.”

Huffing in annoyance, Katakuri opened his eyes only to be met with your tall frame leaning over him and your face inches away from his own. If it hadn’t been for his eyes getting used to the light who now reached even the darkest and most dusty corners in his room, he could have taken in your flawless smooth (s/c) features and your amazing (e/c) eyes without you covering back in fear due to his intense stare.

“What?” His mouth felt dry and his tone fell flat.

Katakuri was not a man of many words and this day was no exception.

He liked to keep it simple and the less he had to open his mouth, the less he was reminded of why he wore his scarf. And the happier Mama gets… He thought bitterly.

“I tried to call your den den mushi for several times now,” your eyes bore into his own, and he felt unable to look away. For what reason exactly Katakuri didn’t know yet, but he felt himself being captured by your (e/c) eyes and frozen in time as you sought after answers to why he wasn’t doing his duties.

“And?” Another curt answer rumbled from his chest and up his throat which caused your own eyes to glance down at his naked torso- barely covered by the heavy duvet he knew you had tugged at. It was a brief look, but Katakuri still caught it and felt weirdly smug about it.

As your fiancé by contract, Katakuri knew he was allowed to feel cautious and wary around you, not to mention conflicted and curious.

Cautious and wary because he didn’t know you as a person, he didn’t know your intentions for agreeing to the political marriage (not that you could refuse it in reality) nor how you would act around his family. Neither knew he why you seemed to accept him despite his huge flaws. It was no huge secret that he frightened you. That he knew. The look of fear and shock painted etched onto your face when you saw the real himfor the first time wasn’t easy to forget. Though you never showed disgust. If you did, it must have been completely concealed.

Then came the conflicted and curious feelings. Because despite every reason he listed in his mind, despite every self-loathing feelings surfacing and despite most of his siblings being against his engagement, Katakuri still felt drawn towards you. You made him curious about the smallest things concerning yourself, such as the fact that you were only 150cm shorter than him. How was that possible? Then there was the fact that he felt happy whenever you looked at him or paid attention to him.

What are you doing to me?

“And…” You repeated, ready give him a list of good reasons only for them to die at the tip of your tongue. “And you know what, just fuck it.”

Katakuri was startled by your sudden outburst. He had never seen you like this, relaxed, tired and just completely done at the same time. You didn’t even give him a chance to think again before you suddenly ripped the duvet completely off his body, exposing more of his tattoo and ripped figure. The embarrassment couldn’t even creep up his neck in form of a flush as you proceeded to climb into his huge and soft bed, laying down beside him as your eyes continued to search after something on his face.

It made him uneasy.

How easily you had joined him in bed, how you didn’t even flinch once as you took in every detail of his features with your studying and curious eyes, and how the warmth from your body made his own tingle with anticipation.

“What are you doing?” The sudden question seemed to startle both himself and you.

“I’m joining you, what else does it look like?” You surprised the magenta-haired male by answering so straightforwardly and casually as if resting beside your arranged 509cm fiancé was the simplest thing in the world.

Katakuri narrowed his eyes in a suspicious glare. What were you trying to achieve by doing this?

“Why are you bothering?”

The clear shock both your expressions mirrored each other and Katakuri wished he hadn’t let his doubt taken over.

More than anything, it was how venomous and accusing his voice sounded that made Katakuri wince and deepen the bite on his chapped lips. Instant regret filled up within when he saw you falter in your movements and avert your intense yet oddly gentle eyes away from his.

Uncertainness, confusion and pure anxiety were the scapegoats in the picture, and Katakuri wished fervently that he wasn’t stuck in the sticky grip of theirs, so he could apologise without having to fear total rejection.

No apology came, and the tension grew bigger by each second that passed in silence.

Why can’t I apologise? Katakuri thought, frowning at himself at how pathetic he had become. Why was it that you, a foreign prince, managed to make even the smallest words halter and disappear at the tip of his tongue?

The mistake was made, and it was Katakuri’s own creation. By letting his anxiety, anger and insecurities seep out, only to let them loose on you was something he had feared and predicted yet tried to avoid at any cost.

The damage was done, and the words said, and yet, you managed to surprise the sharp-toothed man again.

A warm and soft hand- almost as big as his own yet lacking callouses and roughness from violence- reached out and touched his scarred face with the gentlest care he ever felt.

“Why are you so scared?”

Your words squeezed every last ounce of air out his lungs, leaving him breathless and terrified.

Another hand joined the first and cupped his flawed cheeks, drawing his head closer towards your own. This warmth was completely new to Katakuri, foreign and frightening, but he didn’t reject it. Instead, he welcomed it and let your gentle hands take control in their caress.

Katakuri felt his lashed dip and eyes flutter in sync with his beating heart. As he let himself relax into your touch, everything slowed down and the former doubts forming the tight wire around his entire being disappeared as his heartbeat evened out.

He let out a shaky breath and inhaled your cologne that smelled softly of (fave scent).

What exactly am I afraid of?

You?

No words were spoken, and he opened his eyes again.

You were still beside him, closer than ever, cupping his face with your untainted hands and gazing into his eyes with your own clear ones- free from any form of prejudice and judgement.

“You can’t exceed the heavy expectations they lay upon you, you know?”

Katakuri chuckled dryly, tired. “What do you know about that? You’re just…” The last words stopped and Katakuri was glad he didn’t have the courage to finish the sentence.

“I’m just what?”

He had expected a sharp tone, but you succeeded to perplex him another time with your curious and calm question.

“I’m just me?” You asked again, guessing the correct word he didn’t answer to.

“So, what if I’m just myself. You’re just you and we’re both humans. Titles and blood don’t matter, nor do they count when it comes to our humanity.”

Another set of chuckles rumbled through Katakuri’s chest as if your words simply humoured him.

“Human isn’t something I’ve had the pleasure of being described as.” He explained bitterly, not expecting you to understand. You didn’t understand the weight of his existence and you didn’t know how his family worked.

A frown etched itself into your usual soft features, but your hands refused to leave their place. “The expectations and duties laid upon our beings shouldn’t define us as a person, Katakuri.”

How you addressed him caught his interest and as the sweet general found you (e/c) orbs, he knew he was unable to look away again.

Just what are you doing to me?

“We can’t exceed impossible ultimatums we don’t have the capability to fulfil and that’s completely okay, you know?”

“Why?”

How one word could sound so broken and shattered surprised you and hadn’t it been for the anxiety making itself known again, Katakuri would have relished the fact that the tables were turned.

“Because we’re humans. Because sometimes we’re not meant to do the impossible and instead of using innumerable measures and strength reaching for the unobtainable, we should focus on the importance in the present.” You took a breath and removed one hand from Katakuri’s scarred skin to pull the duvet over your bodies. In that instant, Katakuri felt himself missing your touch and warmth. However, your hand found its place again – stroking his sharp features and rubbing your thumbs in circles on his cheeks – which made the sharp-toothed man almost purr in delight and relief.

“Do you have anything important to you, Katakuri? Anything close to your heart?”

“My family.” His reply was quick and confident, showing no hesitation.

“Then focus on your family, do what you know is the best for them and focus in taking a part of your own joy without letting them make their own dreams into yours.”  

Warmth spread through his body like rapid fire, but not from the duvet placed over his body, not from your comforting hands nor from your slim body pressing up against his – no, the comfort unfurling even in the darkest corners inside of him was purely due to your words.

Never in his lifetime had Katakuri been told that it was okay to not excel, okay to step back and okay to be flawed – to be human. Your words refreshed him in ways he never would have been able to imagine without you in the picture.

As he felt one of your hands move upwards to tousle and draw through his short hair in a slow motion, realisation dawned upon him and his ragged breath evened out.

“Thank you.”

If it hadn’t been for your heads being centimetres apart and your long limbs tangling, you wouldn’t have caught the small thankful murmur making its way between sharp canines and smooth inhales and exhales.

A smile tugged at your lips, but you chose to remain silent. You continued your ministrations and small affections until you his posture lost its tension and fell limp beside you. Though you didn’t stop, nor did you leave him. You had taken a certain choice – a choice that was made when you opened up your heart in front of a scared and scarred man.

From now and onwards you had decided to stick with the troubled man that was your husband to be, and even if it would start with the smallest things, you were determined to break down his shell in order to gain his affection. Great mountains caved to time and so would Katakuri.

Simple decisions such as wanting to wake up in your fiancé’s grip could eventually escalate and turn into a full-blown and fiery love.  

[matsbarzal]

Stay - Mat Barzal

Notes: the request asked for some angst with a lil happiness at the end so voila!! hope you guys enjoy! I'm slowly and steadily getting through what I wanted to get through (aka its easter weekend and I have no life!!) also a warning before you read this, I do not whatsoever condone cheating! its all completely fake so please don’t take it as anything else.

Requested: Yes | No

Up Next: Mitch Marner or Noah Hanifin 

You could really only count on one hand how many times you had met the Islanders forward. Each time either being at a family function, or whatever dinner that Jacob invited you too, that Mat just so happened to also be going to. You couldn’t deny that there was an obvious attraction between the two of you, and it was incredibly hard to resist the subtle advances he was trying to throw at you while you stood beside his cousin, arms looped together with your boyfriend.

You knew it was terrible, silently lusting after your boyfriend’s cousin, but you couldn’t help it, especially right now. Jake and you had gotten into a huge fight a few weeks prior, to the point that you kicked him out of your shared apartment for the week, citing that you needed space and him staying there wasn’t going to help. The both of you reconciled, with you agreeing to come to his Grandmother’s for Easter dinner, a sentiment to how much his family loved you.

“So, (Y/N), our little Jakey over here was telling us you’re going to New York for a week next month, are you excited?” Looking up at the mention of your name, you politely nodded your head at Jake’s uncle.

“Yeah, it’s work-oriented so it’s not like I’m going to be able to have too much fun. They want me to check out a few lots, send them information on real estate agents so they can decide what they’re going to do about their New York office.”

A voice piped up from across the table, startling you from your internal thoughts, “Where are you staying?”

Turning to the sound of the voice, you watched Mat’s eyebrow quirk questioningly, waiting for an answer.

“I uh… haven’t figured it out yet, probably just a hotel close to a few sites or something.”

“You can stay with me, I have the room and you’re basically family, not gonna make you spend five grand on a hotel for a week.”

A few people at the table looked at Mat in shock, he never offered to let anyone else in the family stay at his apartment, claiming it was ‘too small’ and that not everyone would fit. He apparently also didn’t enjoy setting up the guest room, but that’s just a second-hand rumour.

“Aw, Mathew, that’s so sweet of you.” Their grandma gushed at his words, affectionately grinning at her superstar grandson.

“I don’t wanna impose and mess up your mumbo-jumbo, Mat, its okay.”

“No, no, I insist. I’ll rarely even be there.”

“This is obviously the kitchen, it’s free to use whenever you want, but I can’t promise that there’s any food or spices or anything. I don’t really eat at home that much.” Mat began walking you through the house, pointing out the rooms you were most likely to use and the cabinets that had anything you needed in them.

“My rooms right here, laundry rooms beside it, and the guest rooms just across the hall from both. The thermostats right there, I don’t turn it on unless it’s super cold, or hot as fuck, but if you wanna turn it on, be my guest.”

Walking behind the Islanders forward, you listened to every word he said, occasionally allowing your gaze to move to a specific part of him. His biceps, face, and your gaze was also drawn to his butt, an easy feat when you were walking right behind him.

“There’s a likely chance I won’t be here that much during the day, we usually have an early morning practice and then one of the boys and I will go out and get food, but I’ll let you know if I do just in case you’re hungry and want me to bring you something to eat.”

Shaking your head, you smiled at the man in front of you, “It’s okay, really. I probably won’t be here much anyways, and you’re already going above and beyond for me, no need to go any further.”

“Nah, if I didn’t wanna go above and beyond for you I wouldn’t. Don’t stress about it, but I do have a favour to ask in return.” Turning to you, he gestured for you to follow him to the kitchen, a bright flyer lying on top of the glass table.

“So, there’s this… team party, I guess you could call it. The guys don’t know you’re staying with me, nor do they know who you are… and I need a date. How do you feel about it? No one has to know you’re Jake’s girl, and I won’t tell Jake about it. I just don’t want the guys harping on my ass all night about how I never bring a date.”

Laughing at his words, you cut him off with a nod, “I’m down. Is it casual or formal?”

“Formal, you’ll most likely need a dress. I’ll pay for it if you don’t have one with you.”

“Well, it’s your lucky day, Mr. Barzal. I was supposed to meet up with a business partner for dinner tomorrow, so I just so happen to have a very classy dress in my bag.” You gestured to your luggage that was still lying by the front door, a wicked grin on your lips.

“Perfect, (Y/N).”

Spending the first three days in awkward silence whenever the two of you came near one another was not how you expected this trip to go. Truthfully, you didn’t know what to expect when you accepted Mat’s offer to stay at his apartment during your time in New York, but it definitely wasn’t the complete avoidance and awkward silence of one another.

On the inside, you knew it all stemmed from the attraction you both felt for each other, not wanting to overstep either persons boundaries, in the hopes that whatever feeling would go away. But, unsurprisingly, it didn’t.

“Do you want me to uh… make dinner tonight? I don’t have any meetings with agents or partners, and I know you don’t have a game?”

Mat turned to you in shock, not expecting the words that came out of your mouth, really, not expecting you to talk at all. “You don’t have to.”

“I know I don’t have to, but you’re doing so much for me and I really haven’t done anything for you to make up for mooching off of you for a week.”

“Nah, you’re not Jake, you don’t mooch. You’re grateful about it, unlike that jackass.”

Raising an eyebrow at his words, he stood his ground, continuing to go on about why your boyfriend was a jackass, and why he was such a dick.

“Really, I don’t get why you’re dating him. Have you seen how the man dresses? He acts like he’s 45, not 21. It’s weird.”

Laughing, you tried to shake your head in denial at his words, but you couldn’t, knowing that there was no falseness to his rant. Jake really did dress like a 45 year old, which you usually didn’t care about because it truly wasn’t a big deal, but when Mat brought it up, it felt like it was.

“He’s a cool guy, I’ve known him for like… ever. It was kind of just expected that we’d get together, ya know?”

Reluctantly, the man in front of you nodded his head, choosing to change the topic of conversation after that. “So dinner?”

Dinner was a success; a line of conversation was easily picked up between the two of you as you chomped away at the veal parmigiana, Mat eagerly praising your cooking skills after every bite.

“I don’t mean to sound weird, but this feels and tastes like a fucking orgasm in my mouth.”

A small blush tinged your cheeks at his words, as you subconsciously rubbed your thighs together at the idea of an orgasm. You and Jake had been lacking in the sex department recently, with your relationship on the rocks and the fact that he was always ‘too tired’ to do anything. It didn’t help that the small noises coming out of Mat’ mouth every time he took a bite were slowly helping to turn you on.

When both of your plates were cleared, and the dishes washed, you were about to tell him that you were most likely going to bed until he interrupted your train of thought, “Did you wanna watch a movie with me? I’m not tired, and it’ll feel weird just watching a movie in the living room by myself.”

Contemplating his proposition, you nodded your head after a second, “Sure. I just have to do something real quick, and then I’ll meet you in the living room?”

Nodding his head in agreement, you walked towards the guest room with the intention of changing out of your current clothes and into more comfier, hopefully fluffier ones.

You shuffled through your clothes, pulling out a pair of fluffy pajamas and a long sleeve top. After pulling your shirt off your body, and unclipping your bra, the bedroom door slammed open to reveal a now-shocked looking Mat Barzal. You quickly covered your chest, the heat of your skin getting worse and worse with every passing second of silence.

Something was off about him. You couldn’t tell if it was the way he was now looking at you, or if it was the way he was slowly edging closer… and closer… and closer to you, until he was standing directly in front of you. You looked up at him, confusion evident on your face as you both stared at each other. Half a beat later and his lips were against yours, slowly moving, encouraging you to kiss him back. Your lips easily moved in sync, just as your brain started to rationalize what was going on, and when it did, you quickly pushed him away from you, a look of terror crossing your face.

“Oh my god.”

“Fuck. I’m so sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

The tension between you two could be cut with a knife. It was obvious to anyone who was truly paying attention, both of you sitting a distance away from one another, barely any words spoken, and it was obvious by the lack of matching tie and dress, there was a bit of a miscommunication between the two.

“Where’d you two meet?” Looking towards the voice, you made eye contact with John Tavares, a questioning look in his eyes.

“Mutual friends.”

“At a party.”

Both statements were said at the same time, all the other people who were at the table looking at the two of you weirdly.

“We were introduced at a party by mutual friends.” You easily corrected the lies told by one another, most of the people there still not entirely believing you, but they left it alone, joining in on other conversations surrounding them.

You didn’t notice Mat’s hand move until it was placed on the inside of your knee, where it gently began to rub up and down, the friction bringing a shiver to your body. You chose not to question it, instead joining in on the conversation that John’s girlfriend was having with one of the other girls. When he realized you were ignoring him, Mat moved his hand up your thigh a little bit more, edging to the spot that you knew was getting wetter and wetter with every movement.

You quickly grabbed his hand, pulling him up alongside you and asking to be excused for a moment. You pulled him along to the lobby of the banquet center you were currently at, internally glaring at the man behind you.

When you were away from any nosy ears and eyes, you turned to the Rangers forward, “What the hell was that?”

“What was what?”

“Oh, I don’t know… maybe you casually sliding your hand up my god damn thigh?”

Smirking at you, Mat once again moved himself into your personal space, “Why does it matter? It’s not like it affects you or anything.”

“Maybe it does affect me, you jackass.”

“How so?” Bending down to whisper in your ear, Mat began, “Is it affecting you because you want me to fuck you? Maybe it’s because little Jakey is just that, little and boring? Or is it because you want me to do so many things to you, you can’t put them into words without having to spray yourself with holy water after? I know you know what I’m talking about, (Y/N). Don’t act like I’m an idiot.”

Pressing you against the wall, he gently nosed again your neck, pressing tiny kisses against the exposed skin as he let his words go down through your body. “Jesus, Mat.”

Before he could react, you were pressing your lips against his which he eagerly responded to. He shoved you harder against the wall, wedging a leg between your thighs which allowed you to grind down, small whimpers leaving your mouth at every grind.

“Let me take you home, let me show you what it means to get properly fucked, not selfishly fucked.”

You didn’t deny him, instead allowing him to drag you away and towards the car, any idea of repercussions being pushed to the back of your head.

[lostinthe-pines-blog]

Olivia. Ch. 4 - A Country Run by Sex

A multi-chapter story that follows Liam and MC as they spend their first year ruling as King and Queen of Cordonia. As they rule together they realize their strongest ally is the one person from the one place their people have rejected. Questioning why Liam and MC still support Olivia and Lythikos they work together to restore her reputation.

Story-lines from The Royal Romance books have been altered slightly.

NOTE: This is a fictional story based on Pixelberry’s Choices App. *The Royal Romance books. I am not affiliated with Pixelberry nor do I own the rights to their original characters.

TAGS: @katurrade @emerald-bijou @speedyoperarascalparty @captain-kingliamsqueen @purplegreyshrimp @museofbooks

The sounds of rain are similar to that of static on an old television. The drops fall so hard and so fast you can barely see through them. From behind a glass window the sight would have been beautiful, safe, cozy even. But this was going to be one of those Cordonian storms that kept people inside their homes for days. Kept people watching the breathtaking sights from safety. The streets and hills were bare, everyone had found protection now, everyone except Drake and Olivia.  

This storm brought something more than rain with it. It brought the entire court into some kind of royal “funk”. MC could feel it on everyone. She’d never truly thought about how much pain her friends had been through in their life, each year these memories were brought up again because of this one celebration. She was determined to find a reason for them to look forward to this day from now on.

She stared out the window at the rain as she sat in front of a small burning fire. It was mid summer and she was freezing. Liam laid on the floor beside her, his sleeping head in her lap. He fell asleep comfortably due to her fingers running through his still wet hair.

After arriving from the rain she’d forced him into a shower, staying by his side for an hour in the hot stream of water. This wasn’t the shower people lust for in their erotic movies and books. She cared for him she let him cry and share his worries, listening to his stories and his fears for Olivia, Drake, the storm and the coming weekend.  She reassured him that while being King would never be easy, the one thing he was excellent at was supporting his friends, his allies and standing strong by his word. She helped him wash not only the grime form his skin but the pain from his mind. The pair of them would be inseparable in the coming weekend and she didn’t mind it at all. His touch still excited her as it had that night in front of the Statue of Liberty years ago.  

----

Drake and Olivia made it back to the palace and Drake placed a strong hand around her waist helping her walk in her emotional stumble. As he finally made it to her familiar bedroom in the East Wing he left her there at the door. He knew his place was not at Olivia Nevrakis’s side. Except for maybe tonight, for as he turned to leave his hand as jerked back, his eyes meeting Olivia’s.

“Please don’t go.” she begs refusing to break eye contact with him. Pleading for his company with every passing second.

Drake had only seen Olivia like this once before in her life. Drake and Olivia’s history was full of mocking and hate. But as they got older they both realized that the old tale that kids were mean to each other because they had ‘crushes’ might be completely true. At this moment staring into Olivia’s longing eyes his memories flashed through him.

“Liam! You must dance with Olivia tonight, she is your betrothed!” Regina, Liam’s newest mother called to him. Liam rolled his eyes in return, having just turned 17 the young boy of course cared for Olivia but his wandering eyes cared more for a few different girls around the ballroom that evening. “Liam I’m serious!” she demanded looking toward Liam’s older brother. “Leo danced with Madeleine even though he didn’t want too!” she declares.

“Leo’s also going to be king and has to do whatever his Queen Mother tells him..” Liam spits back before stepping away to join Maxwell, Drake and a party of young women he’d yet to meet.

As the night went on dance after dance the love struck Olivia sat in the corner waiting for Liam’s arms to wander to her, to embrace her. This was all she’d wanted even if it was forced. As the final dance of the night began Liam looked to Olivia catching her eyes for a moment before returning his gaze to a young blonde from Canada who was visiting for the celebration.

Olivia hadn’t danced all night, in fact she’d driven herself mad watching as Liam moved from girl to girl, but never to her. She was a cold and strong young woman as her mother had raised her to be, but in this moment she wanted to burst. Her head filled with thoughts of betrayal in their future as she sat assuming she’d be alone again for the final dance. As she looked down to her feet thinking through her terrifying thoughts a hand appeared to be reaching out to her.

“Come on Nevrakis, I know you want to dance. Swallow your pride and come with me.” Drake offered giving her an inviting smile, hoping his caring side could fall in line with hers for once.

Staring up at him Olivia wanted to laugh but for the first time she noticed the hint of green that traveled through Drake Walkers dark brown eyes. She saw him a little differently now; though she’d never thought of it before. She reached for his hand and almost jumped when she felt his fingers find a home at the small of her back pulling her close to him.

Dancing to a final song which neither of them would remember, they would both spend the following weeks trying to forget the shared conversation at the end of their time together.

“He’s just a teenage boy, it’s not an excuse, but he’s trying to explore.” Drake explains for his distant friend.

Olivia scoffs in return “Not like I care, the leggy blondes can have him now but I have him in marriage.” she chimes confidently, though Drake sees right through it.

“I know you care Olivia.” he calls her bluff “I know you care about a lot of things, and people. I’d say you even care for me on your best days.” Drake teases in return.

“I do not care for you Walker.” she spits rolling her eyes letting them fall on Liam crossed the room locking his lips with another girl. Her eyes look back to Drakes as disappointment falls to her face.

As Drake spins he sees what’s caused this look and he tightens his grip on her back hoping to show his support for her.

“Fine… I do care.” she says looking toward the ground still dancing in sync with him. “But don’t ever tell anyone or I’ll destroy you!” she says laying her head on his chest out of weakness.

 And for a brief moment the teenage stable boy’s heart skips a beat.

Olivia’s grip was tight on Drake's hand, he would be staying whether he wanted to or not. Ignoring the pain in his hand he started into her eyes seeing the same look he had as teenagers. “Alright” he responds stepping closer to her his chest almost touching her own.

As she looks up to him, her chest swells with confusion and lust. Her mind plays tricks as the boy she’d been repulsed by for years begins to become handsome through her stare. His stubble peaking through she reaches a hand to his caring face caressing the thick hairs. She wouldn’t remember the exact moves she made later but she would remember the result of them. She stands on her toes barely needed raise her face to his. Their eye contact doesn’t break as she gets closer and closer. In that moment her hand moves from his face to his neck and he closes the gaps pressing his lips longingly to hers. Their eyes close as Olivia returns the kiss, feeling him grip at her sopping wet riding clothes. She pulls away only for a moment and leads him into a room they’d both known as their guest room over the years.

Maxwell wanders down the familiar hallways having arrived in the afternoon he sees Drake’s body language moving close to Olivia before closing the door behind them. Odd behavior for the pair, Maxwell can’t believe what he’s just seen. “No way!” he says to himself running toward the Kings suite. Pounding on the door quickly he yells “MC! MC!” his laughter at his thoughts taking over him.

The pounding at the door wakes Liam in MC’s lap and their gaze turns to the heavy doors. Liam sits up quickly walking toward the loud knocking and opening it to see his boisterous friend. 

“Maxwell some people are trying to sleep.” he protests

“First Liam, you’re the king… you don’t sleep. And second it’s 4 pm bedtime is hours away! And Third! I just saw the strangest thing!” He exclaims looking toward the brunette still sitting on the ground.

Liam was proud of the friendships MC had created with his closest friends, it almost scared him that Maxwell was better friends with her now that he had ever been with Liam.  

MC stands to meet her husband and friend near the doorway. “What?” she asked curiously and quickly as Maxwell pushes his way into the private bedroom. The King and Queen both admired his lack of boundaries.

“Olivia and Drake are…” Maxwell’s eyes go wide as he begins to make obscene sexual gestures with his hands.

Liam playfully slaps down his hands with laughter “Yeah right, Beaumont. You did not see them doing that.” he calls his bluff.

“Okay I didn’t, but she basically pulled him into her room. With those longing and weirdly enticing Nevrakis eyes. Plus her red hair was almost like medusa wrapping around his body pulling him to her.” he continues to over dramatize the situation talking quickly.  

MC laughs twisting her fingers through Liam’s “Maxwell… you sure do have a way of explaining things” she chuckles. “But Drake and Olivia’s sexual exploits are theirs to have not ours. Please leave them alone.” she commands with a genuine tone. “Please.” she emphasizes again.

“Fine, whatever but if we end up with the pitter patter of Nevrakis-Walker babies on the floor of this palace before the sound of your own you’ll have an entire country to face.” Maxwell mocks again. 

In the past few weeks passing the year mark of their marriage the country had been in an uproar about the King and Queen producing an heir. Liam’s family bloodline had been trusted for centuries and he would be tasked with continuing it. Maxwell’s mocking was not the first time they’d been told they needed to procreate.

“Welcome to the palace” MC changes the subject, “I didn’t know you were here…” she says smoothly transitioning out of the awkward topic; knowing it wouldn't be long before Maxwell’s playful personality brought it back.

“Thanks!” he says uninvited jumping onto the unmade sheets of the large bed in the room. “When I got here you two were canoodling in the shower so I figured I’d get some work done in the offices. Ran into Regina and got to catching up!” he explains passing quickly over the topic of her rulers relationship.

Liam looked to MC questioning the last remark, “Regina?” he asked quickly not knowing his step mother was even in the palace today. She’d been spending most of her time at her own duchy with Madeleine and her family. Liam released his wife's fingers and nodded before heading out of the room. He knew if Regina was there she had business and she’d find him eventually.

Leaving MC alone with Maxwell, her regal side dropped and she hopped on the bed next to the man who’d slowly become one of her best friends. “So you’re really into other people sex lives today.” she says flatly “Care to talk about your own?” she mocks now making him regret his choices. “I see you’ve been visiting our dear friend Hana pretty frequently.” while she talks she nudges him playfully with a sense of encouragement. Though her intentions joking she didn’t expect them to be true.

Maxwells face turns flush red and his joking tone turns to nerves “Did she tell you?” he asks fearful

MC’s eyes go wide as she tried to hold back hysterical laughter. “NO! But you just did!”

“Shit.” Maxwell says looking down as his best friend laughs beside him.

----

Liam quickly finds Regina in the Kings office, “Regina?” he questions taking in her stance, she was getting older everyday, the emotions of losing her husband two years ago still taking its toll on her.

Regina looks to the son she inherited with her position. “Liam, glad to see your not in the storm, I was told you went out to the stables.” she exclaims. “I was hoping I’d find you.” she offers him a smile. “The celebration, I need you to seriously rethink Olivia’s role.” she speaks not wasting a moment.

“Absolutely not.” Liam says harshly back to her not matching her smile at all. “The Neverakis Family has turned on us and that is known to the public, but the one member of that family that still stands by us has just stepped into their highest power of leadership. I will not turn on her as her mother did on us. Cordonia cannot survive war set in a weapon masonry country.”

“Liam, do not spend your life fighting for a girl you didn't choose to marry.” Regina warns sternly. Liam didn’t feel anything but friendship for Olivia, he could barely think of a time that he had. He truly questions where that remark had come from.

“Excuse me?” he protests glaring at the woman he reluctantly called mother.

“This country has lost it’s trust, not in the Nevrakis family. But in you, your brother and your father.” she explains. “Your father held three marriages in his time as King. One for love, one for lust, and one for knowledge and power.” she says knowing she was brought into this family only for her position. “Your brother went through his entire courting season lusting for a commoner. His mistakes rubbed off on you when Maxwell brought MC here. You Liam were lucky that your commoner has some sense of poise in her.”

Liam feel himself getting angry now, this wasn’t about Olivia at all. This was about MC. “What are you saying Regina, MC and I aren’t trusted by our people? Thats no secret, and I work every day to change that. And MC works even harder to prove herself, though I see she’s truly yet to prove her self to you. Trust must be shown more than one way. My people must trust their Queen and I their King but trust my strongest and most powerful allies. Such as Olivia Nevrakis.” His tone angry now, he finally has more power than The Queen Mother and he will stand by it “I’m not a boy anymore, I know the consequences my choices have from now on. I appreciate your opinion but I will not adhere to it.”

“You be careful what steps you take, if the people even think for a moment you feel something for the girl from Lythikos it will be your end. Cordonia is done with your family running a country on the ideas of sex.” she spits in return.   

[tech-battery]

Huawei P40 Pro review: A new bar in camera performance

If there's one device that I look forward to every year, it's Huawei's P-series smartphones. It's the one where Huawei introduces its latest camera innovations, and the company has done some truly wonderful things.

The P20 Pro introduced the 40-megapixel main sensor, with a 3x zoom lens. It was the first real focus that we've seen on a high-resolution sensor and lossless zoom since the days of Nokia's Lumia 1020. I remember asking someone from Huawei how the firm could possibly improve upon that.

The P30 Pro didn't disappoint with a new RYYB camera sensor. Using yellow instead of green, the sensor allowed in 40% more light. Low-light performance was so amazing that it hasn't been matched by any non-Huawei smartphones in the past year.

And now we have the P40 series. The main sensor is larger with a higher resolution. The telephoto lens is still 5x, but now that sensor is RYYB just like the main sensor. The ultra-wide lens has been jacked up too at 40 megapixels.

Design

Huawei sent me the black model of the P40 Pro, which is obviously the most boring color of any smartphone. It comes in several other colors and finishes, and design is another area where Huawei has really gone above and beyond its competition over the last few years, introducing gradient colors and such. In fact, the Shenzhen firm has gone from emulating the design that other companies have used, to creating smartphone designs that other companies are emulating.

The device is a glass sandwich with a metal frame, as is the standard these days. The black model that Huawei sent me is so glossy and sort of mirrored that it actually reminds me of hematite.

The camera module is placed in the top-left corner, and there's a reason for this. In fact, you might have noticed that the P-series always has it in the top-left corner, while the Mate series has it in the center. It's because the P-series is meant to be more camera-centric, so the phone is meant to be held in landscape mode while taking a picture.

Huawei went for the rectangular with rounded corners camera module design, which is weirdly common over the past year. It's like everyone had the same idea at once. Apple, Google, Samsung, and Huawei are all doing it, although Apple's and Google's designs are square.

On the bottom of the device, there's a USB Type-C port that can charge the device with the included 40W charger. There's also a speaker grille. As you should expect at this point from any company that's not LG, there's no 3.5mm headphone jack.

There's also a dual-SIM slot on the bottom, so you can either use one SIM and an NM card, or two SIM cards. If you're unfamiliar with NM storage, I was too. It's Huawei's expandable storage solution. Think about it like a microSD card that's shaped like a nano-SIM card.

On the right side, there's a power button and a volume rocker. There's no dedicated button for a virtual assistant on this device, which is always nice. Normally, you could hold the power button to launch a virtual assistant, but since there aren't any Google services, there's no Google Assistant. It does feel strange though, because you still have to hold the power button for extra-long to power down the phone or to reboot.

Display

The Huawei P40 Pro has a 6.58-inch 2640x1200 OLED display, which is gorgeous. It has a 90Hz refresh rate, so everything feels a bit smoother. Smartphones with screens that have higher than the normal 60Hz refresh rate have become pretty common over the past year, and it's a welcome change.

Note that some are using 120Hz panels, such as with Samsung's Galaxy S20 series. I really think that 90Hz is the sweet spot here. Remember, just as with a higher resolution display, a higher refresh rate will take a toll on the battery. I don't think that there's enough of a visual distinction between 90Hz and 120Hz to make it worthwhile. The difference between 60Hz and 90Hz, on the other hand, is totally worth it.

The screen is curved on all four edges, and it's inspired by the surface tension of water. The curve is meant to be the same as a cup of water that's just about to overflow. Huawei is always fond of saying that its designs are inspired by nature, so that's the example for the P40 Pro series.

Another thing to note about the screen is that it's OLED, which is particularly meaningful on Huawei devices. With OLED, pixels can be turned off, which is why blacks are true blacks. Huawei actually limits some of its EMUI features to OLED displays, such as dark mode and the always-on display. Luckily, with the P40 Pro, you get both of those things.

The display uses a hole-punch cut-out for the front-facing camera and the depth sensor, and it's the first time we've seen this technique from a Huawei flagship. Once again, there's no speaker on the screen, as the sound during calls comes through the glass.

Camera

The camera on the P40 Pro is an evolution of the P30 Pro. If you want something more revolutionary, go for the P40 Pro+, which is where Huawei packed some crazy camera innovations. The Pro+ has two telephoto lenses, one of which is 3x and one of which is 10x.

As for the P40 Pro itself, several things have changed. For one thing, the main sensor is larger, and it offers a higher resolution at 50MP. It still uses the RYYB technology found in last year's P30 Pro, so it can still work that low-light magic. The telephoto lens is still 5x, but it's RYYB now with a higher 12MP resolution.

Finally, the ultra-wide lens is now 40 megapixels, which is a much higher resolution than before. It's not RYYB though. What's interesting is that with the Kirin 990 chipset, you can now record 4K 60fps video, and that works with all camera lenses, including the ultra-wide, or even the front-facing camera.

Huawei first introduced 4K 60fps video capture in the Mate 30 series, and it was the last to do so. Apple first had it on the iPhone 8/X, and Qualcomm introduced the feature in the Snapdragon 845. While Huawei was late on this, at least when it introduced the feature, it did it right, offering 4K 60fps video capture at all levels of zoom.

Gallery: Huawei P40 Pro samples

Most of the pictures that I took were at night, because I really wanted to try out the low-light photography on the P40 Pro. I want to note again that the main sensor can still take low-light pictures that show more than I can actually see.

The first time I went out at night, I took the P40 Pro to the darkest spot I could find in my apartment complex (yes, I am limited in where I can roam around thanks to COVID-19), which ended up being an area with a bunch of trees. You'll notice some clear inconsistencies between the main lens and when zoomed, as it's much darker at 5x zoom. This disappointed me, as I was really hoping that the RYYB sensor would make a big difference there.

I did notice some inconsistencies between how those photos were handled in the software though, which gives me hope that this can be resolved via a software update. Speaking of software, I did notice that the ultra-wide sensor does pretty well in low-light, and Huawei told me that it's using software to try and make the three lenses more consistent.

In the first few images, I did max out the zoom at 50x, just to see what it can do. It's not really any different than 50x zoom was on the P30 Pro. One thing I will say is that 30x zoom looks way better than it does on the Samsung Galaxy S20+. A lot of companies these days are boasting about the max zoom on their smartphone, but this still isn't meant to be something that you use regularly. There's never been a phone where max zoom looks good.

Ultimately, I still love Huawei's camera-making abilities. While I wish there was more consistency with the 5x zoom lens at night, this is still the best camera around, in my opinion. When I go on a trip, when I got married and went on my honeymoon, or any other time where I want to capture memories in the best possible images, I take a Huawei phone. They're the only phones where people comment on social media how good the pictures look.

But again, this is more or less an evolution of the P30 Pro. There are definitely improvements here, but both the P20 Pro and P30 Pro were mind-blowing improvements. If you want revolution, look to the P40 Pro+.

Huawei Mobile Services

As I'm sure you know, there are no Google services on Huawei devices, and Huawei is using its own Huawei Mobile Services. When I reviewed the Honor 9X Pro, the point that I made is that it's possible to live without Google services, but the hardware has to be good enough to be willing to deal with a few workarounds.

And when I say the hardware needs to be good enough, I'm actually talking about a Mate-series or P-series flagship. In this case, I absolutely do think that it's worth the workarounds, so let's break down how this can work.

There's no Google Play Store or Google apps. That means no Chrome, Gmail, Google Calendar, and so on.

As for the Google Play Store, you need an alternative. Huawei's AppGallery is there, but many of the apps you'll want are missing. There's no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on. Some Microsoft apps are there, which was a nice surprise, but I still installed the Amazon Appstore, where I found most of what I need.

You can also use Huawei's Phone Clone app. That will bring over most of your apps from another device, and it doesn't need to be a Huawei device either.

OK, you've got the bulk of your apps, and you might need to sideload a couple, but you're there. Now, on to things like Chrome, Gmail, Google Calendar, and YouTube. Huawei has its own browser, Opera is available from AppGallery, and I was able to use Edge just from bringing it over through Phone Clone. You won't have your synced data from Chrome, but that's all your missing out on.

There are tons of ways to use Gmail without a Gmail app. Huawei's stock Email app is fine, or you can use something like Outlook. You can even just pin the Gmail web app to your home screen. The same goes for Google Calendar and YouTube, although for some reason, the Google Calendar mobile website looks like it's a decade old. For Google Maps, you can use something like HERE WeGo, which is a fantastic navigation app.

Now for the last item, which is that some apps won't work correctly, such as Twitter notifications. I didn't have any problems, but I would also rather throw my phone against a brick wall than receive Twitter notifications. A friend of mine drives for DoorDash, and that's an app that wouldn't work because it relies on Google Maps.

It took me a day or so to get things just the way that I like them, but once I did, I was fine without Google services. For the apps that I actually use, and for how I use them, everything worked fine.

Performance and battery life

The Huawei P40 Pro uses the company's in-house HiSilicon Kirin 990 chipset, which first debuted in the Mate 30 series. All you really need to know is that it's a flagship chipset, which means that it gets the job done. It also comes with 8GB RAM, which is plenty, so it doesn't get choked up.

Battery life is phenomenal as well. At the end of the day, I never had less than 30% left, and that's with the high refresh rate and Smart Resolution turned on. Smart Resolution will automatically lower the screen resolution at times to save power. You can manually set it to 2460x1200 or 1760x800 if you'd like, and you can adjust the refresh rate between 60Hz or 90Hz. My setting of 90Hz and Smart Resolution is the default.

The P40 Pro comes with a 40W charger, so it charges really fast if you need it in a pinch. Note that if you get the regular P40, it only supports 22.5W charging. This device also gets you 27W wireless charging if you've got a Huawei SuperCharge Wireless Charger, and it's life-changing.

For benchmarks, I used Geekbench 4, AnTuTu, and GFXBench. First up is Geekbench 4, which tests the CPU.

Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 865 does come out on top of this. Samsung's Galaxy S20+ 5G scored 4,294 on single-core and 13,140 on multi-core. This isn't surprising though. Remember, Huawei's flagship chipsets launch in the fall while Qualcomm's launch in the spring, so there's going to be a back-and-forth. The Galaxy S10+ scored 3,520 and 11,177, respectively.

Next up is AnTuTu, which is an all-in-one test.

Both the iPhone 11 Pro and the Galaxy S20+ outperform the P40 Pro on the AnTuTu test, which again is no surprise. Finally, GFXBench tests the GPU.

Conclusion

The first Huawei phone that I got my hands on was the P10, and I fell in love with the Leica camera. It's been a love affair since then, especially with the P-series (although I do love the designs in the Mate series). The thing about smartphone cameras is that this isn't something that you'll be able to fix later on. You won't be able to go back in time and take a better picture.

So yes, when I'm going somewhere where I want to make sure that I take photos that I'll cherish forever, I bring a Huawei phone. To be perfectly honest, it would probably be a P40 Pro+ though, with its dual telephoto lenses.

The P40 Pro is an amazing device with an amazing camera. I do hope that a software update fixes some of the nighttime issues I had with the 5x zoom lens, but as it stands, this feels like mostly an incremental update from the P30 Pro. If you've got a P20 Pro, you should totally buy the P40 Pro. If you've already got a P30 Pro, you're probably good unless you go all out on the P40 Pro+.

But the P40 Pro is another winner from Huawei. The rest of the market still can't touch the low-light performance of last year's P30 Pro, let alone this year's model. This company is light years ahead of its competition, setting standards in camera technology and design.