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milkpup · 4 months

Text

｡⋆ʚ♡ throwing it back for the blue

‹𝟹 nsfw! 18+ oneshot

art creds: soy / twitter -> https://pin.it/6GKWjQW

ʚ ao3 ɞ / ʚ kofi ɞ / ʚ fic masterlist ɞ

by cafekitsune

›› toji fushiguro x reader ›› 18+! f!reader/m ›› date published: 12/8/23 ›› 3k words

‹𝟹 summary:You're tired from exams, hoping to rush home and take a quick shower and sleep. Unluckily for you, you get pulled over on your way home by Officer Toji Fushiguro.

‹𝟹 fandom: jjk , jujutsu kaisen

‹𝟹 genres/warnings: police au, insults, dubious consent, power imbalance, impact play

‹𝟹 tags: police au, police uniforms, uniform kink, cop toji, rough sex, manipulation, coercion, people pleaser, public sex, sex on a car, abuse of authority, au - no powers, dubious consent, being called a good girl, praise kink, degradation, choking, spit / spitting, spit kink, face slapping, slapping, spanking, vaginal sex, dry humping, cunnilingus, hair pulling, breeding, vaginal fingering, fingerfucking, name calling, pet names, dilf toji, toji is his own warning, toji has a big dick

‹𝟹 notes: this story is originally posted on my ao3! hope y'all like it here too! i just wanna say that this is all fantasy. i am actually against cops but ima be real.... i still got fantasies lmfao X_X enjoy!

Throwing it Back for the Blue by milkpup

It’s finals week at your college. You had your last final of the week, and it ended late at night. Yawning as you’re driving, you want to get home as soon as possible. You silently curse yourself for living off-campus, it would have been nice to live at the dorms and have a short walk back. You valued your independence and freedom, however, and that is why you opted for a more expensive off-campus living arrangement.

You look at the clock on the dash of your car: 10:43. You just want to hurry up and shower, snuggle in bed, and drift to sleep. It wasn’t worth it taking the main highways, there would probably be lots of traffic from people going out on a Friday night. You take a less-used road, it won’t add much more time, and you could honestly make up for it if you went a little faster. Plus, cops don’t usually care enough to check out back roads.

Toji specifically chose this intersection because it wasn’t used as frequently. He didn’t want to camp out on a main highway, that’s more work, and for what? He always lived by the motto of working smarter, not harder.

He’s backed up on a street, lights of his motorcycle turned off. The abundant foliage and trees add more darkness, and it doesn’t help there’s very few street lights on these roads. Toji wanted to just take a break, smoke a cigarette, and wait until his shift was over. He already met whatever “quota” for traffic citations he was tasked with, he just needed to wait until he was off at midnight and could make his way back to his apartment.

He leisurely sat upon his motorcycle, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. He exhaled and watched as the smoke dissipated in the cool air. He clicked his tongue. He was slightly ticked off he hadn’t taken a patrol car instead. He usually used the motorcycle, but the brisk fall air was not pleasant against his uniform. The black button up hugged his muscles and body, he was glad he at least chose the long sleeve today. Although he had a bad habit of rolling his sleeves up anyways, constantly creasing and wrinkling his uniform. Thick but tight black pants with a gold stripe running along the sides provided him minimal warmth, however. The long black leather boots all motorcycle patrols wore made up for the inadequate coverage on his legs.

He groaned, feeling the cool air start to affect him. His moment of complaint didn’t last long as he watched a car run right through the stop sign in front of him. He clicked his tongue again. Whatever, at least it gives me something to pass the time. He quickly dropped his cigarette and snuffed it out with his boot, before turning his headlights and sirens on.

As you flew past the intersection, you saw red and blue flashing lights appear not too far behind you, picking up speed and getting closer.

“Fuck.” You groaned out loud. You were sure no cops would be there; why would they ever be there? They never were before. “This fucking sucks. I definitely fucked up.” You pulled over to the side of the road soon after.

The first thing you see as the officer approaches your window is how built he is. How taut his clothes are against his skin. You gulp. You feel like a fucking pervert, thinking these kind of thoughts in this kind of situation.

“Good evening, miss,” the officer greets you as your window finishes rolling down. “Do you know why I pulled you over tonight?”

You try to gulp again, but your mouth is instantly dry. You feel like a deer caught in headlights. In a way, you are. “N-no… officer. I’m sorry I don’t know.” You’re looking everywhere but this officer. You have confrontation issues in general, and a person with authority absolutely kicks your anxiety into overdrive. You’re sweating so much, you once read in an article to act like you don’t know why you’re being pulled over.

Toji clicks his tongue. “Little miss, you were driving exceptionally over the speed limit, not to mention you completely flew past a stop sign before I pulled you over. Do you understand how reckless that is?” You can’t see into his face very well with his helmet covering his head. You chose to look at his abdomen, but that’s not much help either.

“I-I understand,” you meekly stumble out. Your cheeks are flush, and you feel like you’re about to cry. You don’t want to get in trouble; you’re instantly apologetic for not being more careful.

Toji smirks. “Very well, license, registration, and insurance please, little miss.”

You shuffle around, pulling your bag into your lap. Grabbing your license and insurance card out of your wallet before reaching into the glove compartment to retrieve your registration. Your shirt hikes up a bit as you lean over to grab your stuff, and Toji takes this time to observe the scene. At least, that’s what he says he’s doing. In reality, he’s looking at the exposed skin from your shirt lifting and your leggings that hug your body. He licks his lips, thinking of an idea.

You move back up, handing him the materials. “Thank you, darling. Wait here while I run your information.” He says as he retreats towards his motorcycle. He radios dispatch, giving them your plate number and other necessary information.

He’s flipping your ID back and forth in his hand. He shamelessly takes a picture of it. He wants to remember you and where you live. Is it an abuse of power? Yes. And he fucking loves it. Your record is clean, tags are up to date, and the only thing wrong was your reckless driving this one time. He might just be nice and let you off with a warning.

He returns to your car, handing your documents over. He places an arm against the door frame, leaning against it. “Miss Y/N. I can tell you’re tired, and it’s probably because you have finals at the local university. I sympathize with you, and I’ll let you off with a warning this time. You have a clean record, and seem like a good girl who means no harm.” Toji smirks while looking down at you. You meet his gaze, feeling a wave of relief come crashing against you. You’re about to sigh with relief, before Toji finishes his statement. “However, because I’m such a nice guy willing to overlook a careless mistake for you, I need you to do something for me.”

You’re momentarily confused, as he’s reaching above his head to take off his helmet. His inky locks fall into place as his helmet comes off. He has vibrant jade eyes, piercing right through you as he looks down at you. “If you resist detainment, I will have no other option to arrest you. And we both don’t want that. So be a good little bitch and listen to me.”

Your heart is pounding so loud you could barely hear him telling you to get out of your car. “Step out of the vehicle, now.” You do not want to fuck with this guy, and you’d do anything if it meant you would still have a clean record.

As you’re opening the door and about to step out, he grabs your wrist and flips you around to pin you against your car. You can’t see much in the darkness, the only lights around to illuminate the area were his bike’s headlights and your car’s. He’s pressed up behind you, holding your arms against your back. His muscular and rigid body felt warm against yours. You couldn’t help but feel yourself getting wet as you could feel his hot breath against your neck behind you.

Toji was taking in every feeling of your body that he could. He spread your legs apart with his thigh, pushing against your core. You whimper as his thigh pushes against your cunt. You could already feel your juices soaking through your thin layers. Your black leggings didn’t do much to provide any modesty, he could see every curve and dip. He felt moisture as his thigh pushed into you more, and he had a cocky grin plastered on his face.

“Are you really getting turned on from this? Such a fucking slut that getting pushed against your car by an officer has you dripping already?” Your mind started spinning as he started degrading you. Your only response was a pathetic moan as he bit your neck slightly. He was leaving a mark on his toy for the night. It wasn’t going to be the last one he makes.

Toji groped your ass through your tights, feeling how soft and plush they felt. He felt his cock start straining underneath his pants as he pressed against your ass. Toji picked up speed and pressure, increasing the friction as he dry humped your ass. Your pants and squirming under his touch was a sight he could barely handle.

“Will you be a good toy for me, Y/N? I don’t want to get you in trouble, doll.” He muttered out as he kept pushing against your ass.

“Yes, sir.” You barely get the words out as Toji grabs a fistful of your hair and pulls you up. He tilts your head towards him slightly.

“Open, bitch.” You comply immediately, your cunt gushing more everytime he insults you. You’ve been used to praise your whole life, people taking care of you and treating you gently. But this? This was new and exciting. He spat in your mouth before pushing you against the car again. “Good girl,” he hummed.

“Strip from the waist down but leave your panties on, sweetheart.” He moved away from you, allowing you space to take your leggings off. You quickly removed them, tossing them back into the car.

In the time you took your leggings off, Toji moved to the front of the car. You finished undressing stood in front of him before he pushed you down against the hood of the car. He lifted your leg by the thigh, leaving one to support you and pushing the other on top of the car.

He spit on his fingers, moving them towards your already dripping cunt. “Tell me how this feels, doll.” He coos as he pushes one thick finger into your needy hole, pushing your panties to the side. You shamelessly moan as he pushes deep inside with his index finger. Toji immediately feels how tight your little cunt already is with just one of his fingers. He licks his lips devilishly, excited at the idea of stretching you out with his thick cock.

He adds another finger, and you already feel like you can’t take much more than this. He’s relentlessly fingerfucking your cunt as you’re pushed against your car. Your juices are dripping down his hand, as you’re panting and feeling your body heat up more.

He snakes a hand towards your neck, choking you as he pulls you up. “Do you like this, you little slut?” He asks you as he continues fucking your tight hole with his thick fingers. You’re too lost in the sensations to answer, a pathetic whimper the most you can manage. He pulls you by the hair to again, forcing you to make eye contact. “I asked you a question, didn’t I bitch? Fucking answer me.” He grunts out as he spits onto your face.

“It feels sho good, sir…” You slur your words. He’s fucking you with his fingers than any of the men you were with could do with their cocks. You’re already hooked, and he isn’t even fucking you yet.

He pulls his fingers out, much to your disappointment and groan of protest, before he licks his fingers and tastes your cunt. Fuck, she tastes fucking amazing. Little whore has a cunt that is just begging me to eat it.

He lights your other leg and flips you over onto your back. You can finally meet his gaze where you notice he’s staring at you like you’re his prey. He smirks as he drops down to his knees to be at eye level with your cunt. He normally doesn’t care for eating out the women he fucks, he usually only care about his own pleasure. But your taste, your moans, your body… they’re all intoxicating. And he would never pass up an opportunity for a free meal.

You feel his breath against your cunt as he approaches. He starts by kissing your inner thighs before reaching your core, where he gives a teasing flick of his tongue.

He looks up at you as you react, grinning against your pussy. He moves his tongue up to your clit, swirling around it. Your body trembles under his touch. He kisses and sucks your button, before giving it a gentle nibble. He wants to see how your body reacts whenever he does anything. Toji moves back down towards your tight hole, before he pushes his tongue inside. He rubs your clit as he tongue fucks your cunt, causing you to buck your hips against his face.

He moves back up to your clit, not wanting it to feel left out. He pushes another finger in your hole as he sucks your button. You moan profusely, feeling something build between your legs. You grab his raven locks and push him against your cunt more. “Please! Ah! I’m close-“ you stumble out as you feel yourself approaching the edge of pleasure. “More! Please! Fuck!!” You can barely get even one-syllable words out between your moans.

Toji fingerfucks you harder and faster, trying to get you to cum on his mouth. You whimper and tremble as you feel yourself being pushed over the edge, causing quite a mess. Toji is surprised, he didn’t realize you would be a squirter, but he laps up every last drop of essence as you orgasm.

He moves away as he reaches to unbuckle his belt. “Good girl… now it’s my turn.” You’re practically panting as he frees his cock from his tight uniform pants.

He moves towards you, lining the tip up with your hole. “You’re gonna take this like a good slut for me, right?” He deviously smirks while looking down at you.

“Yes, si-“ you begin to say. But before you finish, he bottoms out and forces his whole length inside at once. You yelp in shock, and a bit of pain. He’s exceptionally big, and the thickness is not helping either. He grunts as he stretches your tight hole. He lifts both your legs above his shoulders, pushing his body against yours. He has you in a mating press, ready to fuck you until you can’t even move after.

“You’re so tight, Y/N. Tighter than any bitch I’ve ever had in my life.” His jade eyes look down at you as he says that. Your walls clamp around his thick cock at the compliment, you get high off of being praised.

“Open, sweetheart.” Toji commands you once again, before he spits into your mouth again. This time though, he follows it up with the most aggressive kiss you’ve ever felt. He’s forcing every part of his body against yours, tugging at your bottom lip and biting it. He tastes the metallic essence, and feels his cock throb. You moan against his forceful kiss, while he fucks you hard and deep.

He pulls back until just the tip remains, before slamming back into your hole at full force. You moan at the action, feeling his cock hit your cervix. You’re sure he’s going to bruise you, but you don’t care. You wrap your arms around his neck as he drills his cock into your cunt.

He pulls his lips from yours, and spits on you again. He moves a cock to your neck, applying pressure that makes your head dizzy. You can hardly breathe, your head feeling lightheaded as he fucks you dumb.

“Your cunt is amazing, sweetheart. It’s perfect for me.” He coos as he releases his grip around your throat and allows you to catch your breath. Your moment of respite is short-lived, as he slaps your cheek, leaving a red mark. “I might have to make you my bitch from now on. I can’t stand the idea of someone else fucking this tight hole.” He smacks you again, and you look up at him through half-lidded eyes.

You look like you’re enjoying every second this goes on, and Toji notices it. He moves his hand towards your cunt, lightly rubbing your clit. He fucks harder into you, causing your eyes to roll back. “You like being a good bitch for me, huh? I already knew you liked being praised, so I considered going soft on you. But you’re actually a dirty girl who likes being degraded and used, as long as I finish it off with a bit of praise, aren’t you? You’ve probably dreamt of someone having their way with you, roughing you up, and insulting you.” He spit on you again, and you clamped down around him tighter the moment he did so. He rubs your clit more, noticing you’re approaching the edge as well.

“Fuck, Y/N. I’m gonna cum soon. I’m going to fill you up with my cum. Be a good toy and cum with me, sweetheart.” He fucked into you harder, increasing speed and changing the angle to hit your sweet spot more. “I’m gonna knock you up, baby.” The moment his words rolled off his tongue you felt yourself cumming harder than you thought possible. You had a death grip around his cock as you clenched down, trembling and shaking under his weight. The added friction and pressure sent Toji over the edge as well, as he painted your insides white with his thick cum.

You were both panting, trying to catch your breaths. Toji lifted a hand to your cheek and caressed it before kissing your forehead. “That was amazing, doll.” He pulled out from inside of you, adjusting your panties so none of his seed could drip out. He wanted to make sure you stayed full until you got home.

Toji zips his pants and buckles them back up, before reaching inside your car to get your leggings. He hands then to you, watching you get dressed in front of him.

“So, as per our deal, you are let off with a warning. Please understand the consequences of your dangerous actions. There won’t always be someone nice like me to let you off and get you off,” He finished as he smirks. You blush after hearing his words.

“Thank you, officer. I really appreciate it.” You respond back to him, meeting his gaze once more.

“I’m going to follow you home, to make sure you get back safely.” He grins. You smile back at him and thank him, before getting into your car. You won’t speed away this time.

‹𝟹 end notes: i hope you enjoyed it! feedback is ALWAYS appreciated! originally posted on my ao3! i post there more consistently!

‹𝟹 notifs: @vvxxccaa @arylaa @navi-n0 @starshipxoxo @comicalgrievance

ʚ join my notifs ɞ

(･ω･)つ divider creds to @/cafekitsune and @/eloquentreverie

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babydollmarauders · 1 year

Text

MEDIA MANAGEMENT — JACK HUGHES (PART SIX)

one — two — three — four — five — 5.5 — six

notes: first photo was taken and sent to me by @/bellaxward on twitter, so creds to her! also, i’m sorry, i feel like this update isn’t the best but i’m running on like 3 hours of sleep and i was writing this bit by bit while super busy!

y/ndevils00

liked by tmeier96, ehaula, and 37,519 others

y/ndevils00 heyo! welcome back to my postgame boyfriend show! tonight the njdevils played against the spawns of satan (not trevor)! or.. i mean.. the new york rangers.

we start tonight’s recap off with a very cute picture i got of my boyfriend and his best friend (again; not trevor) talking about how much they love me during warmups!

we also have da sun showing me that the tooth fairy came to visit him awhile ago! i bet he got lots of money for his toofer, however i wouldn’t know because he’s stopped letting me steal his wallet.

our first goal of the night was a tip in by mr. haula at ya! followed up in the same period by a goal from timo time! notice how he made the post this time? that’s because unlike most of these idiots (i’m looking at you, marino 👀), timo takes me seriously!

however, immediately after timo’s goal, haulaback girl was placed in the sin bin for tripping. i was very disappointed and he got a very strict talking to during first intermission and assured me he wouldn’t get another penalty. he lied.

he got a penalty in second period for the exact same reason that he did in the first. i cannot promise i was as nice to him in the second intermission.

we got a few scrums in this game, but my personal favorite one was in third period and ended much too quickly for my liking. BOO, REFS!

and finally, we have some pictures of my gorgeous, talented, sometimes annoying babygirl… my boyfriend!

tagged jackhughes, dawson1417, ehaula, tmeier96, ryangraves27 and vitacz15

dawson1417 y/n, i never LET you steal my wallet. you would take it from my pocket and count my money and then give it back, like a thief that’s really bad at their job

y/ndevils00 i’m just a very curious person! i like to know everyone’s business, all the time. and you never told me to stop 🤷‍♀️

jackhughes if i remember correctly, dawson and i were actually discussing our plans for the off-season

y/ndevils00 you remember incorrectly

jackhughes did you just call me babygirl

y/ndevils00 you’re so babygirl

jackhughes thank you?

john.marino97 why does everyone else get normal penalty reactions but me?

user52 wait, did y/n ACTUALLY just talk to Haula?!

john.marino97 @/user52 yes!

user52 OH MY GOD JOHN ILY

y/ndevils00 because you’re my bff and i only want the best for you

john.marino97 every day i rethink why i decided to become one of your best friends

y/ndevils00 you love me

trevorzegras did you seriously just specify that you weren’t talking about me when you said spawn of satan?

y/ndevils00 i didn’t want anyone to get confused!

trevorzegras i don’t like you

y/ndevils00 wait really???

trevorzegras wait no y/n i’m sorry. i was just joking

y/ndevils00 📸 caught in 4k

trevorzegras i hope both sides of your pillow are hot tonight

tmeier96 i made the post!!

y/ndevils00 you did a good job with my demands 🫡 i love my blankie

ehaula second intermission… you’re scary

y/ndevils00 remember that.

ryangraves27 why did you have to do me like this?

y/ndevils00 idk what you mean 🤭

user6 y/n is a menace and i’m here for it

lhughes_06 do i get to be in these posts when i join?

y/ndevils00 moosey, you’ll replace jack as the star of the show

jackhughes now hold on! let’s not get ahead of ourselves here!

y/ndevils00 @/jackhughes i said what i said.

lhughes_06 @/jackhughes can we keep her?

jackhughes i intend to

nicohischier no feature for me tonight? i feel betrayed

y/ndevils00 i only have 9 picture slots bud, idk what to tell ya 🤷‍♀️

y/ndevils00 make a goal next time or something

nicohischier i’m gonna steal your cat

y/ndevils00 you wouldn’t!

nicohischier i probably wouldn’t even need to steal her. i bet jack would just give her to me.

y/ndevils00 @/jackhughes TELL HIM HE’S WRONG!

jackhughes …. no comment

y/ndevils00 @/jackhughes you’re sleeping on the couch

jackhughes @/y/ndevils00 that only hurts you babe. every time you say that, you end up dragging me in to the bed at like 2am because you can’t fall asleep without me

y/ndevils00 @/jackhughes you can’t cook broccoli.

jackhughes @/y/ndevils00 yes i can! i can now!

#media management series <3 #jack hughes #jack hughes x reader #jack hughes blurb #jack hughes fic #jack hughes imagine #nj devils #new jersey devils #dawson mercer #john marino #trevor zegras #luke hughes #ryan graves #nico hischier #nhl imagine #nhl blurb #nhl fic #faithlynn’s insta edits <3 #faithlynn’s writings <3

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namedr · 4 days

Note

What are your art inspirations?

Disclaimer: A LOT of RAMBLING

Honestly hard to answer, nowadays I don't really look at a lot of art anymore but mostly just movies.

Biggest inspiration over the years (from 2020 to 2022) would have to be Kan Liu. His painting style with mostly just the round brush and hard edges really spoke to me, especially when it came to lineart I was a massive fucking copycat lmao.

Around 2022 I also began falling in love with Sungmoo Heo. The perspectives and overall style just fucks so hard.

The most obvious inspo would have to be Seonhyeok Jeon though, who I still rip off blatantly.

In general I began taking art seriously around 2020, when I found Kan Liu, because I began training to compete in bodybuilding, which I did the next year. I began getting super interested in how the body and muscles work so I just drew those a fuck ton, and those anatomy studies ended up really helping my art skills in general.

Anyway! For animation... Hiroto Nagata and Q Kawa are big inspos.

This shit is so fucking RAW and HOLY SHIT when I look at how the perspective gets just in your face I always just think "what am I even doing man I have to PRACTICE". It's like watching a Zyzz or Ronny Coleman clip before doing a lift at the gym but for art, shit's motivational.

This cut in Ghost In the Shell as well is WOW, I think what speaks a lot to me is when an animation doesn't conform to what's standard in the medium and tries to push boundaries/be unique. Be it in this case through insane details, in the case of Mushoku Tensei through bg animation mixed with extreme foreshortening or just a crazy perspective and punchy movements in the Madoka clip.

Overall it's hard to say what else my inspirations are though. When it comes to manga and comics I can think of Batman Year One, The Climber by Shin-ichi Sakamoto, Ultra Heaven by Keichi Koike, Solo Leveling (big inspo in 2021) and Homunculus.

Also, even though everyone assumes it, I haven't played Cyberpunk 2077 or am that big a fan of the Blame! manga, I guess I just have a fairly similar artistic vision to both of those.

For animated fiction it'd be Spiderverse recently, Millennium Actress, Silent Voice and a million other anime I've forgotten the name of. Naoko Yamada's directing for Silent Voice or other anime like Hibike Euphonium and the Liz movie has always been amazing to me because she is able to express characters personalities through their body language, like they way they walk or stand, in a way I have never seen done before. Extremely recognizable and iconic style imo. A long time ago I used to be really into watching anime, but I don't care much for it anymore.

Other inspo would be this guy on twitter, his stuff is insanely cool https://twitter.com/be_myvu/status/1725069515107533178?s=46

It's like that Ralph Waldo Emerson quote - “I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” I think throughout the years I've been so obsessed with all kinds of artists that I've taken in inspiration from everywhere. I cannot recall them all anymore, but they have made me the artist I am today.

Currently, like I said, I would consider movies to be my biggest inspiration because I find it interesting how cinematographers are able to stylize real life, which I'm trying to get closer to. If I could direct a movie, I would probably stop making art right then and there, but I'm not really working towards that goal anyway lmao. One day, being able to make a short film in animation would be something I would like to do though.

I'm not deep enough into the movie scene to get the street cred of being called an expert but I love them a lot. Fallen Angels made me fall in love with fisheye back then for example. Fight Club and The Batman have a grit to them visually that I find inspiring, and movies like Persona and Heat also come to mind when I think of movies I just love. I could look up my letterboxd for a more thorough answer but I feel I've already been writing way too long.

For video games, I guess you can imagine that I would say Signalis lmao. Besides that I can think of Subahibi (vn), Muramasa (vn), and Va-11 Hall-a for inspirations

Lastly, I guess huge inspirations are also a fuck ton of music. I mostly listen to either metal or hard techno, but I think I'll refrain from any more yapping.

I feel that this isn't really a great answer to the question, but it's the one I consider the most correct, because it's never as simple as just mentioning one artist. With a lot of these you wouldn't see a visual resemblence to my art, but in all of these I recognize a feeling that I also find in my own art.

Thank you for the question!

#inspos

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blueeyedgeorgie · 3 years

Text

Scandalous(1)

An infamous Influencer that is known for getting into drama befriends ImAllexx, George doesn’t trust them one bit.

Gif cred. @sdmngifs

Pairing: George Memeulous x Reader

WC: 2.2k+

Pronouns: They/Them

____________

For the entire day, Alex seemed to constantly be on his feet. At first, George really didn't pay much attention to it, after all, sometimes people just have busy days. Usually for George, his days weren't anything special. He'd just wake up and lay around the house. He'd make sure to film a video every couple of days and could be found playing a bit of FIFA or COD.

George didn't have much of a reason to leave his shared flat. He'd usually go over to one of his friend's places to hang out or film a collab, every now and then he'd go out shopping to get a couple of things for a video or just the flat. Still, George wasn't the type of person to find reasons to rush around or try and get as many tasks done as possible, it was one of the many perks that came with being a YouTuber.

It was normal to see Alex running around once in a while. He'd like to go out and do things like playing football with a few of his mates or just going out and being around people. But today seemed different, as though he was planning for something important to happen.

At first, George didn't feel the need to ask his flatmate about what was going on. But while the day rolled on and Alex seemed to only go back and forth from making phone calls to typing away on his computer, George's curiosity had begun to eat himself up from inside.

As the afternoon rolled around, George found himself seated on the couch. He had been wasting a good portion of his day watching whatever he could find on the TV that was actually interesting. Earlier he had filmed a few videos for his second channel, he looked at the Reddit page for usual funny content and then proceeded to go on a Twitter page and look at nostalgic videos and photos for a second video.

Usually with some luck, George would be able to find something good to put on TV, but today just seemed like one of those days where you couldn't find anything good to watch. So as a final resort, he had turned on some Spongebob cartoons, it seemed like he only had enough luck to have the old cartoons from the early 2000's play.

While watching the yellow sponge on TV, George had checked a few of his social medias, wondering if there was anything else that was going on that could possibly hold his attention for longer than ten minutes.

Maybe he just needed a new hobby, something to keep attention for more than five minutes. FIFA was fun, but you could only play it so many times.

"Hey George?"

The sound of his flatmate's voice had pulled him out of his thoughts. Standing behind the couch, Alex was typing away on his iPhone. He had taken a quick look to make eye contact with George before returning to his text messages. Turning around, the brunette man gave his attention to his flatmate, "What's up?"

"I don't know if you remembered, but I'm having someone come out to the UK to spend a couple of days with me to film some collabs and just get to know each other," sliding his phone in his back pocket, Alex shoved his hands into his pockets. "Hopefully this turns out all good."

How did this slip his mind? Alex had been mentioning he was planning to do this with someone for the past couple of weeks. As the days rolled on, when he became busier and busier, it all made sense. Alex was only making sure everything was going to go smoothly when whoever was going to come to the UK.

"Shit, that totally slipped my mind, sorry," George brushed a hand through his hair with a short sigh. "Are they gonna stay with us or are they staying at a hotel? Maybe they're doing something completely different."

"Hotel," as he responded, Alex began to rock back and forth on the heels of his feet. "They're gonna get here in two days and when they show up me and a couple of our friends are gonna go out and get some drinks, just to get more comfortable with one another. You coming with us?"

"I don't see why not," giving a shrug, George leaned his head against the palm of his hand, supporting his head to sit at a certain angle. "Are you interested in this influencer or something, you keep saying you wanna get comfortable with them."

"Well, they aren't really my type. Also, they're gonna be hanging around us for a few days, so of course I wanna be comfortable around them."

"Who even is 'they'? Does this influencer have a name?" George let out another sigh as he looked up at his flatmate.

"They're Y/n L/n."

Y/n L/n, George had heard that name a few times in the influencer world. One thing he knew for sure, Y/n was much bigger than both Alex and George's channels combined. So why was Y/n planning to come and hang around them for a while?

That wasn't the only question rushing through George's mind, from what he had heard about Y/n (which was very little) he knew they were a very scandalous person. Having them around didn't seem like too bright of an idea, maybe Alex just wanted to collab with them to gain a bit more in subscribers... George knew it'd be smart to keep Y/n at arm's length while they'd be in the UK. After all, they'd only be here for a couple of days, so how hard could it be?

"Oh."

"Just 'oh'?" Alex raised a brow at his flatmate, "What is it?"

"Nothing, I just took me a moment to realize who they were," George turned back to face the TV, implying the conversation had come to an end.

"Alright, I'm gonna get back to making sure the flat isn't a typical mess," Alex sighed, taking a step back from the couch.

"Cool," George mumbled as he watching the yellow sponge on TV run beside a pink star.

If Y/n got Alex caught up in anymore drama, he'd have a fit. He had seen his flatmate come so far since the last time drama was in his life. There'd be a chance that would grow bigger and bigger everytime they hung out that Alex could get caught up in a scandal.

Even though Alex's a grown adult, sometimes he could make really stupid decisions. But that was the thing, Alex is a human being, he's allowed to make mistakes. All George wanted for this whole collab to into come back around and bite Alex in the ass. But it was too late, Y/n was going to be here soon and whatever happens, just happens. There wasn't much George could do besides distancing himself away from Y/n.

"Alright, I think I have enough shirts, I better go double-check to see if I have my toiletries all packed up," Y/n had mumbled under their breath in the midst of packing. Even though they were a big YouTuber and could simply pay someone to pack for them, Y/n had decided to pack for this one trip.

"Y/n, where the fuck are you?"

The sound of someone's voice had become louder, Y/n could tell their friend was entering their bedroom.

"I'm just in the bathroom, Bret!" They had responded while looking underneath their bathroom sink for a few more toiletries.

"Are you seriously leaving?" The one and only Bretman Rock stood in the doorway of the bathroom, looking down at his friend.

"Well yeah, I've been planning this trip for the past couple of weeks," Y/n looked up at the makeup influencer. Bretman and Y/n had been friends since forever, they had gone through so much together.

"You're gonna miss James's party next Saturday," he moved aside, letting the other influencer in the room past by.

"It's just one party," they had let out a short scoff while working on packaging their bathroom items properly. "James always throws parties, I'll go to the next one."

"Fine bitch," Bretman had tossed himself onto Y/n's bed, making their suitcase jump a little with everything else that had been laid out on Y/n's bed. "Why are you even going to London?"

"Well, I'm planning to meet up with a friend to make some videos together and just hang out," Y/n shrugged as they tucked away a few more items into their suitcase.

"Who?"

"He goes by ImAllexx on YouTube."

Bretman shook his head as he watched his friend, "I have absolutely never heard of them... ever."

"Yeah, his channel is smaller than either of ours."

"Lemme tell you now, if you're secretly doing some long-distance relationship with him and haven't bothered to tell me any tea yet, I will literally kill you," the raven-haired man laid on his back, beginning to fidget with the rings that sat on his fingers.

"I'm telling you now, Bret. Alex is only a friend, he's like a brother," they tsked at their friend as they zipped up their suitcase, finally finishing packing.

"Fine, but if I find out you end up hooking up with some British boys over there and don't tell me... like I said, you'll be dead bitch."

"Calm down, you know I can't keep secrets from you," Y/n flashed a cheeky grin at their friend while sliding the suitcase off of the bed. "I had two hours before I head to the airport, what do you wanna do?" For the past couple of weeks, Y/n had been counting down the days until they would leave for London. No doubt about it, they were excited. It wasn't often for them to make friends with other Influencers or people in general. So when they got the chance to make friends with a small commentary YouTuber that went by the name of ImAllexx, they had made sure to be as kind as possible.

At this point it was truly hard for Y/n to make friends, most people didn't like them based on the rumors that had spread about Y/n. Others that usually tried to be Y/n's friends were merely using them for money and fame. It became hard for Y/n to trust people and get close to them. So how did Alex pull off gaining Y/n's trust?

Y/n one day had been scrolling through YouTube, looking for something to watch. At this point, they had seen almost everything, vlogs, challenges, makeup, drama, and more. But one video had popped up into Y/n's recommended videos that had caught their eye.

'We Need to Stop Y/n L/n.'

It was normal for Y/n to see these types of videos, usually they'd come from Drama channels trying to cancel them. But this one had come from a YouTuber with the name, 'ImAllexx'. It was normal for Y/n to scroll when they came across these types of videos, but the video seemed a bit intriguing considering the thumbnail was only a simple picture of themself against a blue background. So of course, Y/n clicked on the video only to hear; "Hello everyone, I'm Alex..."

Y/n found the video quite funny, when they'd watch videos made on them, the videos were typically quite harsh and mean. With Alex, he seemed like the type of person to be able to take a joke. His whole video was on an Instagram post Y/n had made a week or two before Alex had posted his video, he had just been taking the piss out of the photo as a joke.

And after finishing that video and having a laugh, Y/n continued to watch more of Alex's videos, just to see if he was seemingly a decent guy. And somehow, they got hooked on Alex's videos. And by the end of the day, they had binged a good amount of his content.

A few days after discovering Alex and his content, Y/n had decided to check out a few of his social medias. That's when Y/n had found out he was already following them on both Instagram and Twitter.

When Alex checked Instagram a while later, he was surprised to find that @y/nl/n was now following him. Y/n was almost four times(if not more) the popularity size of Alex, so how had they noticed him? He was a bit nervous at first, why would someone like Y/n follow him?

Instead of anxiety getting the best of Alex, he had decided to do something to try and figure out why of all people, @y/nl/n had decided to follow him. So he had been careful with sliding into Y/n's DMS, only to ask why they had followed him. ANd moments later, Y/n responded to him.

'I've just been binge-watching your content lately and I thought that you were funny so I followed you. :)'

At first, Alex felt like it could possibly be a trap, but he continued to message back and forth with Y/n. After a while, Alex had realized that maybe Y/n wasn't as scandalous and dramatic as people made them out to be. As the days rolled on and they continued to talk, they had ended up developing a friendship.

After a couple of months of talking and coming closer and closer, Alex had asked if Y/n would want to fly out to the UK from LA to film a couple of collabs and hang out in person. Y/n had easily accepted his invitation, and just like that, A date was set for Y/n to fly out to London.

Taglist: @ivory-raptor @breakfast-cereal @snowcones404 @golden-hoax

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autumnsart22 · 3 years

Text

Drunk: Eren x reader ☁️

This definitely didn’t go in the direction I expected, but I’m not mad about it LMAO. Just a little Eren fluff for ya’ll. Lmk if you want a part 2 (which may or may not have smut hehehehe)

AGDASA this makes me drool

Art creds go to @suechimu on Twitter!

Your head was already pounding, and you had only been drunk for a few hours. Not a good omen for the morning; you were dreading the hangover that was soon to come.

The faint light of the camp by the sea swayed slightly as you stumbled down the path, heading for your own tent where you could finally pass out. You had been with Connie and Sasha for way longer than you intended, drinking far more than you probably should have after weeks of hard travel and planning. Connie had passed out on his bedroll after only three drinks, and Sasha had finally succumbed to the bread she had been storing, which left you alone on your walk.

The fresh ocean air felt nice on your face, and you breathed deeply as you stumbled along. The darkness made it difficult to tell where you were going, but most people had gone to sleep a while ago, which hopefully meant that you wouldn’t get caught this drunk wandering around.

Unfortunately, you spoke too soon.

“Y/n?” A low, familiar voice said from behind you, and you jolted, turning.

Eren stood a few feet away, his hands in his pockets and his hair pulled out of his face. His eyebrows were raised slightly as he took in your glazed eyes and unbalanced posture, but he didn’t say anything else.

“Eren,” you muttered, cursing soundly in your head. Of all the people you wanted to run into, Eren was probably at the bottom of the list. Eren, who you had been in love with since the day you met him when you were fifteen, who had broken your heart over and over without even knowing. Eren, who would never, ever know your true feelings.

“What are you doing out this late?” He took a step towards you, and it took every last sober thought to not sprint away from him at top speed. Or kiss him.

“Lost track of time,” you said, your words slurring slightly, and his green eyes flashed.

“Have you been drinking?”

Obviously. “What do you care?”

“I don’t.”

No, no he didn’t. Which was why you would never tell him of the painful, unconditional feelings you had for him. That, and there was also the issue of Mikasa. Your friend who had loved Eren since they were children and had protected him for years… you couldn’t just insert yourself between them like that. The only person you had ever told was Armin, and you made him swear to never tell a soul.

“I gotta go,” you said, swaying, and you didn’t look at Eren as you turned away. Unfortunately, you had less balance than you expected, and you began to tilt as your body rejected walking normally.

You didn’t even notice Eren lunging for you until he had you wrapped in his arms, holding you upright.

“You really shouldn’t be out like this,” he murmured in your ear, and you felt your whole body flush.

“I-I-” Your words were cut off as he lifted you into his arms, hugging you tightly to his chest as he began to stride through the camp.

“Hey wait!” You gasped. “Put me down!”

“You can’t even walk straight. I think it’s better if I carry you.”

You gritted your teeth, but he was right. You were barely sober enough to walk anymore, let alone make it across camp to your own tent.

But being this close to Eren…you knew you’d be up all night, playing his words over and over, picturing his face in the dim light, imagining his arms around you all the time—

No. No. You wouldn’t go down this road yet again. “Will you take me to Jean?”

Eren stiffened slightly, even as his face remained blank. “What?”

“Will you take me to—“

“I heard you the first time. Why?”

You and Jean had a…fine relationship. You loved one another as friends, but neither of you were IN love. You could distract each other, working off your physical needs every once and a while by spending a night in each other's tent. It wasn’t permanent, and it didn’t mean anything, but you were happy he was around. Especially at times like this, when you needed to pull your thoughts as far from Eren as possible.

“I want to…see him.”

Eren didn’t even look at you. “You’re too drunk to continue any… nightly activities.”

“What?” You gaped. He didn’t answer, and you wriggled in his arms. “Eren, what the hell!”

“You’re clearly exhausted. You seeing Jean won’t help you in the morning when we have to start training again.”

You glared at him, but your drunken mind was foggy. “Fuck you,” you muttered, but...you relaxed against his chest again.

Until you realized you weren’t going in the direction of your tent. “Where are you taking me?”

“My tent.”

You could have sworn something in your brain exploded. “Uh...what?”

Eren gave you an annoyed look. “I don’t trust that you won’t go wandering out again. You can just sleep on my mat for the night.”

You swallowed. Twice. “I-I mean--”

Eren stopped in the middle of the path, his face shadowed. “I won’t take you against your will, but I would like to make sure you’re ok.”

“Ok, fine,” you muttered, leaning your exhausted head back on his shoulder.

You closed your eyes for only a second, but when you opened them, you were curled inside a small, warm tent, a bundle of blankets over you and a bucket to the right.

A few feet away sat Eren, who shuffled through a stack of papers on a low table in front of him. You blinked blearily, rubbing your eyes, and Eren immediately snapped his attention to you.

“You’re awake?”

You groaned instead of answering, rubbing your temples. “What time is it?”

“It’s still the middle of the night. Go back to sleep.”

“But...what about you?” You had taken his bedroll.

“I’m fine.”

His eyes were intent on your face, but you avoided his gaze like your life depended on it. Those eyes… so pretty. They were why your favorite color was green.

You heard him shift, sliding towards you across the floor, and you almost jumped out of your skin as he gently grabbed your face.

“Why do you never look at me?” His voice was low and annoyed.

Your eyes immediately snapped to his, your breath coming out in a whoosh. “I do.”

He shook his head, leaning closer until his minty breath washed across your cheeks. “Don’t lie.”

A small sound came out of your mouth, and you were sure your feelings were written all over your face. Eren studied you carefully, his eyes sweeping up your reddening cheeks and down to your lips.

You weren’t sure you were breathing as he leaned forward, barely an inch away, and your eyes fluttered closed. Your heart was pounding loudly in your ears, and you just wanted to close the rest of the distance and kiss him…

But then the heat of his body was receding as he sat back, and you could only blink up at him in bleary, hurt confusion. “What was that?” You stuttered, your voice a little high pitched.

“I’m not going to do this when you’re drunk.”

“I don’t…” Did he mean he would kiss you when you were sober? You suddenly regretted ever even glancing in the direction of alcohol.

Eren could apparently see your confusion, because he looked smug. “When you’re mine, you’re going to be perfectly sober and coherent when I make you moan so the whole camp can hear.”

Your mouth fell open. Eren only grinned in a self satisfied way as he turned back to his papers. “Go back to sleep.”

Your still drunk mind swirled, and you couldn't be sure this wasn’t just a lucid dream.

Part 2 here!!

#eren #eren x reader #eren jeager #AoT #eren aot #attack on titan #anime #fanfiction #fandom #fluff

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freackthejester · 4 years

Text

A lot of the detransition discourse has moved over to Twitter, which is garbage.

And on there my absolute least favorite piece of discourse is women discussing what to think about all the young 'gay trans men' and how they are a bunch of "lgbt-cred and attention-seeking straight girls." And it pisses me off so much because I resemble that remark.

It has taken me a long time to get to peace with the idea that my "Identity” as such is mostly just Ugly Straight Girl. I resist labels, but gun to my head, that is the clearest explanation.

But there has been so much more to that. I still get read as Male, or at the very least read as a person to call "Sir," on the daily. My crushes, when they happen, are not on the kind of guys that most straight girls like. They end up being gay,or so, in the majority of cases.

I get it, I get it. Outsiders in your community, thinking they are so god-damn special because they have blue hair or something.

But I am homeless and it sucks.

#i say stuff #detransition

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mxnark · 4 years

Photo

mina’s animal crossing adventure on totaldrama island! (graphic cred!)

mina saved up a lot for this day. with each paycheck she received after she heard the news, she kept them in her savings for the faithful day dedicated to the new console, as well as the game that she had already preordered. so when the day finally came for her to start her island journey, she was more than prepared to get it.

when she gets the package for her console, she’s ecstatic. she opens the box hurriedly and pulls out the console before she retreats to her room to start her adventure. she didn’t want to wait for her dad to help her out with setting it up on the tv because she doesn’t want her parents to walk in as she’s playing her game. knowing her mother, she’ll probably complain about how she’s doing nothing in the house but play video games like she did when mina got new leaf.

after setting everything up, linking her nintendo account, she starts the game to be introduced to her favorite twin tanukis. to quote the most inaccurate, musical adaptation of a teenager’s high school experience that became a staple in western pop culture high school musical… this was going to be the start of something new.

she couldn’t help but be a little bummed out over the fact that she got an ugly, squirrel with ugly bangs and a unibrow as her uchi villager. but she definitely was ecstatic to see genji as her starter jock. she always did like jock villagers, even if all they did was talk about working out. she knew she’d have to warm up to hazel eventually, though. besides her, fuchsia, and cherry, she personally didn’t think all the other uchi villagers were… pretty.

the game starts off with the three tanukis and mina couldn’t help but miss her favorite blonde dog, isabelle, already. she knew the girl would show up soon, but she was perhaps the character she was most excited to see besides the other rumored new villagers for this lineup. nonetheless, she tells herself to stay patient with playing the game. if she were to time travel, she should do it later.

she looks around her island to see what her two items were before grabbing her phone to tweet it out to her followers: cherries and tulips. honestly, she would’ve preferred hyacinths or roses, but she was pretty satisfied with having cherries. they were better than pears that was for sure.

as she expected, there wasn’t that much to do on the second day. so when her mom calls her out for dinner, she quickly goes down with no arguments and no hesitation. it’s not like she’ll do that for when the next few days come. but… she does take longer as her island “totaldrama” grows.

...

she grabs her phone out to rant about her next three villagers.

“pate as my peppy villager is ok but i’d prefer someone like audie or cookie or bunnie :/ or maybe cheri bc bias LOL”

a few minutes later.

“omg pekoe as my normal villager? tea! i’m gonna put her next to genji on purpose hehe”

and minutes later after that.

“ugh broccolo as my lazy villager… i’d prefer erik or sherb over him smh”

a few days have passed since she’s started and she’s able to get not only isabelle, able’s, and her museum, but also a campsite! when she sees an announcement of how there’s a new camper on her island, she goes to the campsite tent to see a sight she had dreaded to see ever since she had gotten new leaf seven years ago.

the scream of agony she lets it rings through the house as her mom shouts at her to be quiet. she shouts back a “sorry!” before she grabs her phone to tweet about the repulsive, ugly turquoise hamster on her island that she sadly had to keep.

“i got fcking rodn-🤢 rod 🤢 r 🤢 i cant even say his name he’s so UGLY EWWW”

she adds to that tweet

“I CAN’T BELIEVE I GOT HIM… MY SMUG VILLAGER SHOULD’VE BEEN MARSHAL OR RAYMOND 😭 THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFEEE”

she watches as her mutuals clown her for the unfortunate addition to her island, to which she sulks and goes back on her game to invite him onto her island. the day after that, she goes to his plot of land and internally sobs as she sees the message:

“this spot reserved for rodney’s new home.

- nook inc.”

...

with two more spots left (the 7th being taken by murphy and 8th being taken by dom), she uses her one recently purchased nook mile ticket to go on a mystery island. all she had in mind was someone who she would think was cute and someone who was snooty. so when she goes on an island to see pink and blue bear cub ears in the distance, she stops and thinks to herself…. no… this can’t be.

again, she goes on her twitter to tweet her excitement.

“BITCH MY LUCK GOT ME AGAIN… FIRST DOM… AND NOW JUDY?!?!?!? THE BEAR W THE ANIME EYES AND THE PRETTY COLORS?!?!?!?”

“I WAS SO UPSET W RODNEY BUT HERE IS THIS QUEEN… OMG… MY LUCK… MY POWER.”

she puts her phone away as she makes her villager go up to the bear cub.

“well there’s a fresh face,” starts judy’s dialogue (in animal crossing language, of course). “are visiting from another island as well?”

click.

she displays the laugh reaction. “of course you are. well, my friends call me judy. and you are?”

click.

“mina! all the way from totaldrama, even! isn’t that fascinating.”

mina finds herself whispering to herself. “she’s so cute-”

“mina! come down for dinner!”

mina calls out to her mom. “give me five minutes! i’m doing something!”

“are you playing your video game?!”

“yes! but i’m almost done!! just give me five minutes!”

she looks back at her screen before she hits her a button again, her index finger pressing down on the r button at the top of her joycon so that the dialogue goes faster.

“well, we may only be here a short time, but i do hope we get to know each other better,” judy continues before mina clicks again. “you don’t know this about me yet, but i am ALWAYS down to dish, darling.”

and that ends the dialogue, but mina was not quite done yet. she makes her orange-haired villager go back to talk to judy again.

“spending time on an island like this is so relaxing. i feel like a movie star… off on on an exotic vacation!” glee reaction. “ah yes, i could easily spend the rest of my days basking in this sort of island life, myohmy.”

myohmy. the catchphrase is endearing to her. when she clicks on a, she doesn’t have time to think before her thumb presses for the “come to my island” response.

“what? are you quite serious?” judy asks, a little surprised. “if i remember right, you said you’re… from totaldrama?” thought reaction. “it would be quite the adventure… and, of course, you would be there…” and a happy reaction follows right after as she says “that settles it, then! i’ll move to totaldrama and start a new life there, myohmy.”

mina grins widely as she clicks a again and clicks on the option “best decision ever.”

glee reaction. “wonderful!” she sings. “i will start preparing to move right away!” thought reaction. “but… how to proceed, i wonder?” click. “ah, a simple call to this tom nook fellow from totaldrama should suffice?” she smiles. “that i can do.”

“mina!”

“give me a few more minutes!” she calls out before she clicks again.

judy uses the joy reaction. “i’m so glad i came here today!” then the exclamation reaction, to which mina snickers at the way judy’s anime eyes shrink just like an anime character’s. “who knew this one trip would change my everything?! life is funny like that.” her eyes return to normal as she uses the love reaction, a heart popping up above her head as she speaks. “sometimes it hands you a present out of the blue!”

and before mina can click on her save button as she finishes her conversation with the cub, all she can think is yes. life can hand someone a present out of the blue. and for her, that present… is judy.

#wc: 1411 ... i think #( * solo )#i had nothing else to post for stamina plus i thought tihs would be fun JFIWEOFJOI

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nicolewrites · 5 years

Text

heartstrings - i

hurray for writing motivation and late nights and realizing that this thing that started as a one-shot is entirely too long for that. so it’s a multichapter fic now though it’ll probably be max 3 parts.

Rating: T Genre: Romance Characters: [Vax’ildan and Keyleth] [Percival de Rolo and Vex’ahlia] Words: 6,979

Kiki @keylethashari has tagged you in a tweet: New Q&A up and we’re talking music! creds to @vexmachina @vaxmachina @burtreynoldsesq @thelumineers and others!! // CR1 Vaxleth+Perc’ahlia YouTuber/Musician/Celebrity AU

AO3

Vax had played guitar since he was seven years old. He had sung along back then too, his voice wavering at his young age while his sister’s voice drifted along clearly overtop. Through his whole life, music had stabilized him and had bound him so tightly to his sister that he did almost anything she asked.

In the end, it was Vax’s close friend Gilmore who insisted that the twins make a YouTube channel even if they just uploaded one video in the end. Vex was all for it, but she liked the spotlight. Vax hesitated, but, Vex and Gilmore were his favourite people, so when they ganged up on him, he caved.

Vex argued that they should use their names, Vex’ahlia and Vax’ildan, as the channel name, but it felt too personal, so Vax looked again to Gilmore. Gilmore suggested a play on words and the twins considered it. Three days later, Vax shook his sister awake with the name they would eagerly assign to the channel as they uploaded their first video.

They went simple for the first cover, choosing an Ed Sheeran song that basically broke the music industry. They sat side by side on Vex’s bed and Vax spent most of the video singing while staring at his hands as he played the guitar. Vex floated through the tune, smiling at the camera and her brother.

It took them a while to get the footage cut and to a reasonable sound quality, but as of March 3rd, Vox Machina’s YouTube channel went live with a single video: Thinking Out Loud.

Vex was quick to share it to her Twitter and Instagram, and Gilmore retweeted her tweet, and between them, they got a few hundred views and about 10 subscribers off of one single video.

Vax agreed to film another video when he saw how happy it was making his sister. He fiddled with chords and eventually they settled on a cover of Landslide that made them both happy. Vax let Vex sing while he played and just harmonized where it was appropriate.

This video got a few more views and the subscriber count on the channel jumped to around 200. Vex was giddy and dragged her keyboard in front of the camera and filmed one of her own covers. Vax was content with this as he headed off to work at the café he worked at.

After about a week, he found himself in front of the camera again as Vex insisted the duo act was more popular. Vax agreed on the condition that he picked the song and they did a stripped down version of House of the Rising Sun. This time, Vex pushed him into the lead and Vax sang, but he still restricted the amount of time he actually looked into the camera.

A few more months flicked by and the twins worked hard at their day jobs to support their tiny, crappy apartment. Any time not spent at work was spent practicing music, filming, and editing to make more music. It was a tough life, but the consistent presence of music made both Vex and Vax a lot happier than they had been in a long while.

Eventually, they had fifteen covers uploaded and around 300 subscribers, most of whom came from friends or people following Vex’ahlia and Gilmore on Twitter.

It’s a hot summer night when Vax couldn’t sleep and he rolled over to check the time. His screen was so clogged with notifications that it took him almost a full minute to process that something was happening. It was all notifications for his Twitter page and requests to follow his Instagram account.

Vax pulled his phone closer to his face and blinked at the screen in shock. He opened Twitter. He had almost 8 thousand followers compared to the 50 ish he had had the previous night. His notifications were clogged with people tagging both him and Vex in tweets sharing links to their videos, making song requests, and just generally complimenting them.

Vax’s brain short-circuited and he quit the Twitter app quickly. He had 17 unread texts and over 300 Instagram notifications. He ignored Instagram and opened the text app. A few were from work friends or mutual acquaintances that were questioning his sudden popularity explosion, but 9 of the messages were from Gilmore.

Vax scrolled through Gilmore’s messages to the first unread one and saw it’s a link to a YouTube video. He pressed it and was taken to the YouTube channel of one Scanlan Shorthalt, one of the biggest YouTube musicians on the platform. Vax knew that Scanlan released a video each month discussing good YouTube musicians that he’d found on the platform.

Vax skimmed quickly through the video before a clip of him and Vex appeared on the screen. They were currently ranked number one to watch for YouTube talent by Scanlan who praised their range and musicality despite low production costs.

Vax fumbled through his apps and pulled up Twitter again, doing a quick search for Scanlan Shorthalt. Scanlan’s page came up, and the words “follows you” stared Vax in the face.

He heard a shriek from down the hall and he realized that Vex must have just discovered the same thing he had. He rolled off his bed, phone in hand, and made it halfway to her room before she burst out of it, brandishing her phone in his face.

“We were number one of Burt Reynold’s Star Search!” she basically screeched. “We have seven thousand subscribers on YouTube and I’ve got twelve thousand Twitter followers.”

“I guess we should probably thank Mr. Shorthalt,” Vax muttered. “For the publicity.”

Vex’s eyes widened and she opened her Twitter app quickly.

Vex’ahlia @vexmachina • Just Now

Thank you from @vaxmachina and I to @burtreynoldsesq for the feature on Star Search! New music coming soon!! #voxmachina

Vax raised an eyebrow and his sister smirked. “I guess we’ve got a big thing going for us, brother dearest.”

Vax’s phone chimed in his hand as his notifications blew up from Vex’s tweet. “I guess so,” he mumbled.

Their popularity didn’t, to his surprise, taper off shortly after Scanlan’s video. Instead, their subscriber count climbed to 40 thousand and they had nearly 70 thousand Twitter followers between the two of them.

Gilmore took them out for drinks to celebrate the release of their next cover, Everything Has Changed, and Vax knew he hadn’t seen Vex this excited about anything in a long, long time. Gilmore tweeted a photo of the three of them, Kima, and Allura, two other friends, at a bar and immediately blew up on Twitter.

Kima found the whole thing hilarious and pushed the twins up to the karaoke machine the bar had. Neither twin was one to back down from a challenge and Gilmore tweeted out 4 videos of them singing while Allura recorded the whole thing for a future video.

Vax continued to allow Vex to drag him to her room to record music and he started to love the process of making the videos and picking the songs as much as he used to love just playing casually. Their popularity grew slowly and Scanlan featured them on his Star Search again the next month.

The internet seemed to have realized that Vax wasn’t a social media person because he only followed his sister, Gilmore, Kima, Allura, and a handful of others and hardly ever tweeted or posted. He would share the link to a new video when they posted, but not much else. He hovered around 30 thousand Twitter followers which was still completely insane.

Vex, on the other hand, easily cracked 100 thousand followers on her own as she promoted the channel, interacted with their fans, and teased new music and their personal lives. Vax was content to let Vex handle all the personal questions and he only really responded to tagged tweets when people got confused and named them as a couple instead of twin siblings.

Their growth was pretty steady and they could usually predict when their channel would hit the big milestones. They released 3 extra videos in honour of fifty thousand followers and were preparing a Q&A video for 100 thousand followers.

One day in October, Vex was sitting in the main part of the café where Vax worked part-time. He was wiping a counter nearby when he glanced over at her and she was staring slack-jawed at her phone. He stepped to her side quickly and she turned the screen towards him.

Their channel, which had previously been hovering around 89 thousand subscribers, had jumped almost straight to 150 thousand subscribers. Vax froze and swiped at the page to refresh it. The number increased to 180 thousand subscribers. He exchanged a shocked look with Vex.

“What the fuck just happened?”

Vex shook her head mutely and they both resumed staring at her screen until she got a Twitter notification.

Kiki @keylethashari has tagged you in a tweet: New Q&A up and we’re talking music! creds to @vexmachina @vaxmachina @burtreynoldsesq @thelumineers and others!!

Vex clicked on the notification and her phone jumped apps to Twitter. Vax hadn’t the slightest clue who this Kiki was, but the tweet was almost brand new and already had over a thousand likes and over 300 retweets.

Vex glanced at her brother. “Do you know who Keyleth is?” Her voice was giddy with excitement.

“Haven’t a clue,” he replied honestly.

Vex smacked him. “She’s one of the most popular vloggers on YouTube and the best part is, she’s actually really nice.”

Vex turned back to her phone and pulled up Keyleth’s Twitter page. Keyleth had 1.5 million followers and was following around a thousand accounts. Vax glanced briefly at the tiny bubbled icon and felt his heart skip a beat. Keyleth had fiery red hair, vibrant eyes, and freckle-covered skin.

She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he heard a heavy cough from behind the counter. His coworker was giving him an odd look. Vax flashed an apologetic smile and hurried back to the counter.

“Big news or something?” his co-worker asked. “Usually you and Vex can at least wait until after your shift to chat.”

Vax shrugged. “Got shouted out by a major YouTuber and may have accidentally jumped to fame, but we’ll see.”

He turned back to the espresso bar before he saw his co-worker's reaction.

Three hours later, Vax was staring at his Twitter feed. He had retweeted Keyleth’s tweet, as had Vex, and the vlogger’s response had been to follow both of them on the platform which had only increased the influx of followers he was gaining.

Vex had tweeted a sweet message out a while ago, and Vax was still dumbstruck. Vex was currently in the process of skimming through their channel’s email, looking at a couple of offers from producers which had appeared suddenly.

Swallowing tensely, Vax clicked on Keyleth’s profile and then clicked on the little mail icon, leading him to her DM inbox.

@vaxmachina: hey, i really don’t know what to say besides thank you for all the crazy publicity we’ve been getting. it means a lot to my sister and i.

He hit send before he could think better of it. He dropped his phone onto the couch beside him and looked over at Vex. She was scrolling through stuff on her laptop and looked up when she felt his gaze.

“We should write our own stuff,” Vex said as soon as they made eye contact.

Vax raised an eyebrow. “No more covers?”

Vex waved at him dismissively. “Fewer covers. Come on, I know we’ve both been writing lyrics for so long. We have all these offers of people who want to work with us, we have over 100 thousand YouTube subscribers out of nowhere, and we have a chance to get out of this dump.”

Vax smiled. “When we moved out to LA after mom died we found this dump, Sister, it’s been good to us.”

Vex returned his grin. “And now we can both quit our shitty day jobs and do what we’ve been meant to do all this time.”

Vax’s phone chimed before he could reply.

@keylethashari: Oh but of course! You guys have such a unique sound and range and I’ve loved everything I’ve heard since I found you through Scanlan.

@keylethashari: I’m eagerly awaiting new content from you guys too!!

Vax blinked at the quick reply and easy positivity from Keyleth that he’d received.

“Hello? Brother? Are you still there?” Vex demanded. Vax snapped his head up and she tipped hers, questioning, in response.

Vax waved his phone. “I DMed Keyleth to thank her and she’s awaiting new music, apparently.”

Vex gave an airy laugh. “This is crazy. Absolutely crazy.”

As it turns out, crazy had been an understatement. Keyleth’s video continued to provide them with fame, and Scanlan shouted them out for the third month in a row. Still, as it turned out, they weren’t the only big YouTubers taking note of Vox Machina.

“Vax,” Vex called from across the room.

Vax spun in his desk chair, looking away from the monitor where he had been editing their latest video, raising an eyebrow at Vex. “What?”

She waved her phone at him. “Check Twitter, you goof. We’ve gotten another big shoutout and I bet you know who these folks are better than I do.”

Vax blinked, but Vex turns away, back to the keyboard she had been playing a moment before. Vax minimized the video editor and pulled up Twitter. He had a bunch of new followers and a couple of new tags, but a quick search through Vex’s page gave him what he was looking for.

Pike @thetrickfootp • 1 hour ago

It’s that time again! Time for @barbariangrog and I to roast @burtreynoldsesq but at least he’s given us @vexmachina and @vaxmachina this time. youtube.com/watch?v=fTgqwhK

The tweet was fairly recent and Vex was right, he did know who it was from. Pike Trickfoot was a variety YouTuber who did a lot of gaming streams and videos along with the occasional vlog and workout video. Her channel, Major Monstahs, was a collab with her and her best friend Grog Strongjaw. One of their most notorious video series was the monthly roast video that they published to make fun of Scanlan, who was also a very good friend of theirs.

Vax clicked the link in the tweet and it brought him to the newest video on Major Monstahs. The video, titled September 2018, Scanlan FINALLY hits something good, started and Vax saw Pike and Grog sitting together on a couch, with a view of their TV edited over top of their lower bodies as they watched some of Scanlan’s more recent videos.

Pike and Grog were playful and teasing as they roasted Scanlan while also throwing the occasional backhanded compliment. He skimmed through it quickly and played it again as soon as he realized they were reviewing Star Search for the month.

“And well, the one thing Scanlan actually did that was good, was introduce me to Vox Machina! Man, their sound is so nice and they sound great together. Even Grog, who’s more of a heavy rock kind of guy likes them,” Pike said as she gestured animatedly.

Vax chuckled and paused the video. It had over 18,000 views and the channel has 2.3 million subscribers. Two clicks later and Vax was looking at the homepage for Vox Machina’s channel. They had 260 thousand subscribers now and the channel was looking better than ever.

Gilmore had taken some pretty professional shots of Vex and Vax posing so they finally had a good icon, and Allura had created a neat looking text banner for them that served as the channel background. They had invested in a better camera and a real microphone along with a better video editing software so even the videos were of a higher quality.

With all of their new equipment and the sudden burst of fame, both Vex and Vax had quit their part-time jobs and were in the process of packing all of their stuff to move to a better apartment in the better part of town. Their lives had completely turned around, and as Vax listened to Vex start to sing over by the piano, he didn’t regret any of it.

They had stuck to releasing covers on the channel so far, but they were working on more original stuff. Vex was polishing the instrumentals for a pair of songs she had written, and Vax was working on lyrics for a piece he was writing.

His phone chimed and he lifted it.

@keylethashari: hmmm, i like that verse a lot but maybe something about where you guys started. You were trying to be grounded, right?

Vax smiled when he saw the message. Since the first time Keyleth had tweeted at him and he had DMed her, they had been keeping a steady conversation over Twitter and had become decent friends. Vax has sent her a couple of lines of lyrics and asked for her opinion, and she was, naturally, teeming with useful advice. He quickly typed out his reply.

@vaxmachina: that’s pretty good! hm now I have an idea, thanks Kiki

It was only a minute before she replied.

@keylethashari: no prob!!

@keylethashari: also hey I saw the Monstahs shouted you guys out during their roast! That’s awesome!! :)

@vaxmachina: :) yeah, pretty cool

Vax placed his phone down and looked back at the editing he had been working on. Struck by a different sense of inspiration, he saved and jumped up from his desk, heading towards his room.

Though most everything was packed away in boxes, the guitar was leaning against the bedside table as it always was. He grabbed it and sat on the edge of his bed. He plucked a couple strings before moving into a C-F-A-G chord progression warm up.

He then played a soft melody and hummed under his breath. He repeated the pattern, changing the root chord and adding an inverted chord in for good measure. He went back to the original chord and let his mind whir.

“One day they’ll tell the story of the girl they left for dead,” he sang gently. Vex’s music stopped abruptly and he heard her walk in the direction of his room. Vax grinned. “Indomitable, unbeatable, unbreakable, she said,” he continued. He paused and strummed an A minor and a C arpeggio.

“She had fire, but he was the fuel,” Vex sang back, slipping through the door and leaning against the far wall. “Those who left them would soon be the fool.”

Vax nodded along with his sister before putting the guitar down. He pulled up his conversation with Keyleth. “From the ashes they arose, starving and broken, you know how it goes.”

Vex clapped excitedly. “Wow that’s really good,” she said. She crossed the room and peered over his shoulder at the phone screen. Her eyebrows shot up and she rested her elbow on the crook of his shoulder. “Advice from the girlfriend?”

Vax shook his shoulders, tossing her off. “Butt out Vex, it’s just a couple DMs. She’s nice.”

Vex rolled her eyes. “Yeah and the last person who you made heart eyes like that at was Gilmore and that was years ago. You like her.”

“Well it doesn’t matter much, does it? She’s a big shot, we’re just on the rise.”

Vex stepped away, pausing to look back at him. “Record her something exclusive,” she suggested. “A snippet or a preview or something. She’d love it.”

Vax looked contemplatively between his sister and his guitar. “I’ll think about it.”

He did end up sending Keyleth a small recording of the song that would eventually become Vax’s original song, Phoenix. Naturally, she loved it and had demanded he stop wasting time and finish it so that she could brag about how much she loved it.

The move to their new apartment was finally done and the place was high class. It had originally been far out of their price range, but the real estate agent had apparently seen some of their covers and Vex had charmed him into accepting a much lower price than originally agreed in exchange for some authentic autographs. The building was rich and apparently housed the places belonging to several other celebrities, both internet and from the film or music industries. Vax hadn’t seen anything to back up the rumour, but it was an interesting thought.

There was a coffee shop just around the corner that he liked to frequent: it reminded him just enough of his old job that he felt comfortable enough there to hum and tap out rhythms while he scrawled lyrics or edited videos. They’d recently released a cover of Just Give Me a Reason which, thanks to Keyleth using it in the background of one of her cooking tutorials, had quickly become their most viewed and most beloved videos.

Their Q&A video had become popular enough that they’d made it a monthly tradition and Vax was currently filtering through submitted questions to put together a good panel for variety. He was sorting through a whole slew of questions inquiring about the relationship status of both twins when the bell above the café door chimed. He allowed himself a cursory glance up out of curiosity, but the people he saw had him stop dead.

It was Pike Trickfoot with her blonde hair coiled into two twin buns atop her head and her smile as sunny as ever. At her side was Grog Strongjaw who was laughing loudly at something the third member of their party had said. Scanlan Shorthalt stood between Grog and Pike, smirking proudly.

Vax was frozen in his seat. He knew the three of them were close friends and that they were definitely in a more influencer-influenced area of L.A. now, but in the two weeks they’d been in their new place, he had never seen any of them around the small coffee shop. He found himself unable to tear his gaze from the trio as they approached the counter to order.

By chance, Pike glanced back at Grog and her gaze landed on Vax staring at her from nearby. Her lips parted in shock before curling back into her brilliant, sunny smile. Vax blinked and looked back at his computer, almost praying that she hadn’t recognized him. He stared blankly at the screen in front of him for a long moment before someone cleared their throat next to him.

Pike was standing right next to his table. “Hello, I’m a huge fan of you and your sister,” she said pleasantly. She slid into the seat across from him without asking and beamed at him. “I’m Pike, and you must be Vax, right?”

“Well, I’m definitely not Vex,” Vax replied. He was a little shocked that she was sitting with him, and as such, his brain couldn’t find more words.

“Wow, ever since Scanlan found you guys, I’ve been listening non-stop!” She glanced at the laptop before her. “Working hard, I see.”

Vax shrugged. “At least this type of work is fun.”

Pike laughed. “You should try streaming: all the fun of videos with almost none of the editing pressure.” Vax cracked a grin. Pike was definitely as charming and sweet as her videos made her out to be.

“Pike! You just disappeared on us!” A voice boomed and Vax and Pike both looked up sharply to see the hulking form of Grog above them.

Before anyone could say anything, Scanlan smoothly stepped around Grog and offered Pike a to-go cup with a flourish. “Your coffee, my lady,” he said teasingly.

Pike smiled and accepted the cup. She waved a hand between Grog, Scanlan, and Vax. “Grog, Scanlan, you’ll never believe who this is.”

Grog looked puzzled for a long moment, but recognition flashed on Scanlan’s face immediately. “Ah half of my new favourite music duo!”

“Nice to meet you,” Vax replied carefully.

Scanlan spun and snagged two chairs from the table next to them and dragged them to the table so the four of them were crammed around one small table. “Scanlan Shorthalt, at your service.”

“Vax. But, I guess you already knew that.”

Grog pointed at Vax. “There’s normally two of you.”

Vax smirked. “Vex’ahlia is currently at our apartment.”

Scanlan leaned forward conspiratorially. “So any insight on who you guys are considering signing with? I’ve heard a lot of offers are going your way.”

“I think last we discussed Whitestone Records was our first choice.”

Scanlan nodded sagely. “They’re great. I have an in there, so I can definitely shoot them a message.”

Pike elbowed Scanlan. “Or you know, just invite them tonight!”

Scanlan glanced at Pike. “Pike, you really are a genius.” He looked back at Vax. “My good sir, it would be an honour if you and your sister joined us and our friends tonight at my place. Going to be a small party, but it’s great for networking if you’re going to be into that kind of thing.”

Vax raised an eyebrow. “I should call Vex.”

Pike nodded. “Of course. Well, it was a pleasure to meet you Vax. I hope to see you tonight! Come on boys, let’s roll.” She stood up from the table and gave Vax one last sunny grin before she swept away. Grog and Scanlan both smiled and followed her out, leaving Vax alone with a racing mind.

It took a long moment for his thoughts to slow down enough to be decipherable, but just as he pulled out his phone to call Vex, it pinged with a new Twitter notification.

Pike @thetrickfootp • 48 seconds ago

They really exist, guys! @barbariangrog, @burtreynoldsesq, and I just had the immense pleasure of meeting @vaxmachina in person and now I absolutely must meet @vexmachina tonight! #voxmachinaisreal #voxmachina

Scanlan almost immediately retweeted the message, as did Grog and Vax chuckled. He liked it before replying to it with the side-eye emoji. His notifications dinged several times, but before he could check any of them, his phone buzzed as his sister’s photo filled the screen.

“Vex’ahlia, hello,” he said as he answered her call.

“You met Pike, Grog, and Scanlan?” she demanded, forgoing a greeting.

“I just had the pleasure. I did invite you to join me here today so it’s your loss.”

“Oh fuck off, Vax. What happened?”

Vax paused, thinking about the best way to drop the news on his sister. “What are you doing tonight?”

One DM to Scanlan and a twenty minute Uber ride later, the twins arrived at the Shorthalt mansion. The place was spectacular, as expected, and they could hear the music from the road. Vax was suddenly almost nervous. Vex linked her arm with his and tugged him up the driveway.

“Come on brother dearest, we have some socializing to do!”

The bouncer at the door barely even cast them a glance as he waved them inside. Light flashed through the room and people milled about exuberantly. Vax spun as he walked taking in the open foyer, glittering decorations and the dozens of people dancing and singing and talking. Scanlan really didn’t know the meaning of “small party”.

“You made it!”

Vax turned and saw Pike and Grog weaving towards them. Pike was grinning and wearing a sparkly cocktail dress with her hair still in her “fun-buns”. Grog was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but Vax wouldn’t be surprised if he was wearing that all the time. Vex smiled brilliantly at the pair and pulled Vax forward.

“So this is the famous Pike Trickfoot and Grog Strongjaw, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you both,” Vex greeted, her charm oozing from every word.

Grog laughed and waved his hand at both twins. “See! There are two of you.”

Vex laughed and Pike elbowed Grog. “You must be Vex’ahlia, then.”

“Just Vex is great.”

Vax smiled as Vex wrapped her arm through Pike's as the two women chatted pleasantly. Vax turned an eye to Grog who looked increasingly bored with the small talk. “Hey big guy, is there somewhere I can get a drink around here?”

Grog and Vex both perked up at the same time.

“A drink?” Grog asked.

“Something hard, preferably,” Vex chimed in, a smirk playing at her lips. “We’re going to need some courage for this night.”

“Then let’s go take shots!” Pike cheered. “I know where Scanlan keeps his best liquor. Plus, he’ll never get mad at us for drinking it if we say it was my idea.”

Several shots and a lot of hand-shaking later, the party was still in full-swing and Vax was fully buzzed. Vex had disappeared from his side an hour ago, sliding off to work her charms on an attractive guy with stark white hair who looked vaguely familiar. Knowing his sister, he would probably be headed home on his own tonight.

Scanlan, Pike, and Grog had all spoken with him at different times during the night, though the last he’d seen of Grog was him absolutely destroying the competition at a drinking game inside while Pike and Scanlan had disappeared onto the dance floor. Despite Pike’s insistence that the two were just friends, Vax had seen the identical grins they wore as they danced and sang along to the music.

He leaned back against the wall and sipped his drink. Rich people parties were definitely different from what he was used to. Not for the first time, Vax wished they had thought to invite Gilmore along with them. Gilmore was both a better social creature than Vax, but also an excellent networker, especially on behalf of Vox Machina since he was the closest thing the twins had to an agent or manager.

He was just considering slipping out of the party when a blaze of red hair along the side wall caught his attention. For a moment he wondered if it was possible that it could be Keyleth, but he forced himself not to get his hopes up. Most of the people who were at the party had tweeted about it at least once during the night and Keyleth’s Twitter had been notably dead. Still, he peeled himself off of his wall and headed to where he saw the brilliant flash of hair.

He slid between two dancers and ducked under the exuberant flailing arms of another. He twisted to get out of the way of two dashing figures and was rocked back on his heels trying to regain his balance when he stumbled back into someone. Quickly turning, he held his hands up and burst out an apology.

“Sorry!”

His eyes and brain finally caught up with the rest of him as he noticed who he had unceremoniously crashed into. It was a beautiful young woman with flaming red hair and fair skin that was dotted with freckles across her face and shoulders. She was wearing a strapless green cocktail dress that matched her eyes and was staring at him with wide eyes. Vax blinked and his brain short-circuited.

Keyleth was staring at him and he had just bumped into her like an absolute fool.

“Vax?” she asked carefully. The uncertainty in her tone was charming and her voice was as melodic as he recognized it to be from her videos.

“Yeah, and you must be Keyleth,” he replied.

She smiled at him and he swore it was the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen. “Wow, I had no idea you’d be here tonight! It’s amazing to finally meet you!”

Vax was about to offer her a hand in a handshake when she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. She was a tiny bit taller than him in her heeled shoes and her waist was slender. Her frame was much more willowy than Vex’s, but it suited her. He hugged her back, unsure of what else to do, and then Keyleth pulled back, still smiling.

She shuffled her feet and bit her lip, a charming blush darting across her cheekbones. “It’s almost weird to see you in person when all I’ve had before was your videos and our Twitter DMs.”

Vax lifted a hand and brushed back some of her fiery hair with a courage that came from God knows where. “You’re even prettier than I’d expected.”

Keyleth’s flush deepened and she stepped out of his personal space. “Thank you,” she said softly. She glanced around the crowded house where people were shouting and dancing. “Do you, by any chance, want to head somewhere quieter? This is all a bit overwhelming for me,” she admitted shyly.

Vax reached down and took her hand. “As long as we still get to hang out, I’m one hundred percent on board with that idea.”

Keyleth smiled brightly again. “Great!” She tugged on his hand and led him towards the front door.

They cut through the kitchen to get there faster, but as they were just about to leave the kitchen, Vax heard his sister’s familiar laugh. He paused, unintentionally pulling Keyleth to a stop, and looked around for his sister.

Vex was standing next to the window, pressed close to the same attractive young man with white hair from earlier. She was obviously flirting with him, and by the smug look on the young man’s face, it was definitely mutual, but Vax saw his sister sway gently and he knew what that meant. Vex was very excellent at pretending she was far soberer than she was, but the moment that swaying was involved, her night was almost over.

“Vax?” Keyleth questioned and he snapped his head back to her. She was looking between his face and their joined hands curiously.

He sighed. He really, really, wanted to get to know Keyleth and to hang out with her, but he needed to check on Vex. Just because she was handling the popularity better, didn’t mean that her mental state could cope with the fame.

“Kiki, I’m afraid I’m going to have to take a raincheck on this early morning adventure. I think my sister needs assistance getting home.” The nickname slipped out before he could stop it and he felt his ears burn gently.

Keyleth glanced past him and noticed Vex and the white-haired stranger. She smiled at him and laughed. “Of course, don’t worry at all. But,” she paused for a moment and disentangled their fingers. “Give me your phone. I’m giving you my number so we can actually reschedule this thing.”

“Hopefully not at two thirty in the morning,” Vax joked as he passed Keyleth his phone.

She giggled. “Maybe not, but if Scanlan invites you guys around again, you never know what could happen. Now, go help your sister, Vax, I’ll see you around.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek gently and for a brief moment, Vax wanted to abandon Vex and go on whatever adventures that Keyleth could dream up.

But then Keyleth was slipping away from him with one last playful wave and Vax was left in Scanlan’s kitchen with a few strangers, his sister, and his sister’s flirting partner. He sighed and strolled in their direction pointedly.

The white-haired man noticed his approach and inclined his head to meet Vax’s eyes. Vex turned to face him when she noticed that her new friend’s interest had been stolen from her. She smiled sweetly when she saw Vax.

“Brother! Isn’t this a great party?”

Vax shook his head at the obvious drunkenness of his twin. He looked again at the white-haired man. “Vax’ildan, Vex’s brother,” he introduced, holding his hand out.

“Percy,” the man replied, shaking his hand firmly. “You’re the other half of the dynamic Vox Machina then?” To Vax’s surprise, Percy had a British accent, one complementary to the lingering accent his sister held.

Vax nodded, shifting his gaze to his sister as he tried to gauge her level of drunkenness. “Yes, I guess she mentioned that.”

Percy shrugged in response. “Actually, I just recognize you both. I like your music.”

Vax’s eyebrows rose. Vex was notorious for finding easy prey at parties, but this guy actually seemed to be drunk enough to have low inhibitions but was still sharp enough to hold a fast-paced conversation.

“Well, thanks,” Vax replied. “I do need to steal my sister though, I need to get her home before she can’t walk.”

Percy chuckled. “Do you need a hand at all?”

Vax stepped closer to Vex and slid an arm around her waist. “No thanks, this is about normal for us.”

Percy shrugged and stepped away from Vex, giving her a look that Vax recognized carried some attraction. “Well, hopefully our paths can cross again another time.”

Vex laughed. “If you keep smiling at me like that, I don’t think they’re ever going to diverge,” she teased, flashing him a flirtatious smile.

Vax chuckled under his breath as Percy’s ears tinged red and he blinked, caught off guard by Vex’s forwardness. He nudged his sister towards the front door. “It was nice to meet you, Percy,” Vax said before he turned and escorted Vex out of the kitchen.

Vex stumbled along with him, but as they exited the mansion, he noticed she was pouting. “You always have to ruin all my fun, don’t you?”

Vax sighed. “And you always have to throw yourself at the ones who don’t know what to do with you, don’t you?”

Vex laughed loudly. “But he was so pretty and smart, so I really don’t know why you’re complaining about him.”

Vax nudged her towards the road, calling an Uber on his phone. “I’m not complaining about him. He actually seemed like a huge step above your type lately. I’m talking about you and this drinking obsession you’ve developed recently.”

Vex waved him off, stumbling a few steps away. “I’m not even drunk, Vax.”

“Yes, Stubby, you can barely walk, so you are drunk. Very. Just like you’ve been almost every night this week.”

She scowled at him. “Mind your own business.”

The Uber pulled up and Vex marched towards it, purposely not looking back at him. Vax sighed. “I wish I could.”

The next week, Vex and Vax had finally decided to meet with the owner of Whitestone Records about potentially signing onto the label. The very thought that the two of them could sign to a major recording label was absolutely mind-blowing and a few months back would have seemed incredibly unlikely.

The twins were in their Uber on the way to the fancy restaurant that Cassandra de Rolo, the owner of the label, had selected as the meeting place. Vex was fidgeting with the hem of her stylish black dress, but she was smiling nonetheless. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he slid it out, his lips twitching into a small smile when he saw the message.

[Keyleth] Good luck with your meeting with Whitestone!! I’ve heard nothing but good things about the label since it moved to LA from London!! You’re gonna kill it!

Since the night of Scanlan’s party, Vax hadn’t found a moment of spare time or confidence to reschedule his night with Keyleth, but they texted every day and he had been sending her snippets of the new song he was working on while she asked him if he had any suggestions for a DIY video she wanted to do.

[Vax] Thanks, Kiki. i’ll let you know how everything ends up.

[Keyleth] of course you will :P

The car pulled up to the restaurant and Vex basically dragged him out of the back as they threw quick ‘thank you’s’ to their driver. Vex raised an eyebrow at the phone he held in his hand as she adjusted the neckline of her dress again.

“Texting your girlfriend?”

Vax rolled his eyes. “She’s no more my girlfriend than Percy is your boyfriend.”

Vex shoved his shoulder. “Rude. I didn’t even manage to get his number or his last name so it’s not like I’ll ever see him again.”

Vax shrugged. “He has white hair, how hard can he be to find?”

“Not hard, apparently,” a familiar voice chimed in. Both twins turned to see another well-dressed pair behind them on the sidewalk. It was the man who had spoken. He had tousled white hair and sharp flint-blue eyes that were strikingly familiar. Vex’s brain put the pieces together faster as she did a double take.

“Percy?”

“Hello, Vex’ahlia, Vax’ildan,” he greeted politely, a smile playing at his lips.

The young woman at his side cleared her throat. “I’m Cassandra de Rolo, the one you’re actually here to meet. You apparently are already well acquainted with my brother, Percival de Rolo.”

Vax’s eyebrows shot up. Everything in his brain clicked as he glanced between the siblings, his brain aligning their similar bone structure and eyes. Cassandra was the owner of the recording label and notably, the younger sister to the actor, Percival de Rolo, who was the very same Percy that Vex’ahlia had flirted with ruthlessly at Scanlan’s party.

Cassandra smirked as she looked between the twins and her brother, all of whom seemed appropriately puzzled. “Let’s go in and talk music, shall we?”

Vex left the lunch with Percy’s number saved in her phone and a promise to meet for coffee sometime while Vox Machina left the meeting with a contract to look over about signing on with Whitestone Records.

As they walked along the sidewalk side by side, Vex elbowed Vax. “So if I actually manage to snag Mr. de Rolo despite his famous Hollywood status, does this mean you actually have to call Keyleth, because God knows you want to.”

Vax bumped their shoulders to push her back. “No promises.”

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bigskydreaming · 5 years

Text

@poebrey

#i was really just dumbfounded that even happened but it was at the very end of the panel#and the panelists handled it quite gracefully#kalen not to randomly tag you i just remembered that i had to stop myself from ranting the other week about how unfair it is#that ahem *certain* famous comic writers get a fuckton of attention for creating black characters#even though their writing sucks bc you were discussing how jeff davis somehow managed to create scott

Its okay, we both know exactly who you’re talking about and my chats open for that rant any time, any day. And that person in that panel is.....there’s so much bullshit echo-chambering that exact same complaint from white writers in the publishing sphere on twitter all the time, and it never stops being dumb as fuck and never will because its like....we live in a time when self-publishing is comparatively easy as hell. The specific reasons that some industry professionals are becoming less open to representing/buying manuscripts from white writers SPECIFICALLY about protagonists of color, is that YA authors of color have spent YEARS dragging industry attention to the fact that as much as the statistics on books featuring main characters of color have improved over the years, the needle on how many of them are written BY authors of color has barely budged.

Because publishing still acts like it has a damn quota when it comes to books about marginalized protagonists, and when they buy their ‘big fantasy book starring a character of color’ for the quarter, they’re like okay, check that box off, on to the next one...regardless of whether that book is BY an author of color or a white author. Because traditional publishing, actual publishing houses and imprints, ARE a finite game, in the sense that they have only so many books they publish a year, a finite number of slots they’re looking to fill each quarter.

So the vast majority of the hyped up books ‘celebrated’ for their diversity, the ones that hit the bestseller lists and get the movie deals, are still BY white authors, by and large, its white authors who are getting their platforms expanded by major marketing campaigns behind characters of color, and that’s bullshit, and people said so, and now industry pros are finally starting to listen, and like.....oh noes, white authors cry, however will we cope.

Like, just shut the hell up and sell traditional publishing your manuscripts about white protagonists with ensemble casts featuring characters of color as well as white characters, avoid treating your white lead as though they’re the lead because they’re ‘the most special’ rather than simply the author’s gateway into the narrative, and if you have other stories to tell that are genuinely about a protagonist of color rather than just USING a protagonist of color for Diversity Cred, like....self-publish those ones so you’re not taking or potentially taking away a slot from an author of color in that specific frame or context....because self-publishing HAS no finite spaces to fill and anyone and everyone can publish as much as they personally can find a way to release online, and ultimately its your own existing platform that’s responsible for pushing it.

Its not rocket science.

And I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess it was an LGBTQ+ white writer talking about how they identified with authors of color because of their own marginalization, but apparently couldn’t connect the dots to when this exact same kind of shit happens with stuff like Love Simon being hyped up and receiving all the critical acclaim and film rights and marketing perks, even though Albertalli openly identifies as straight and you’d think, you’d THINK, that other white LGBTQ+ writers would get that this thing WE complain about happening there, with straight writers getting boosted over our voices and their manuscripts getting picked as the Big Gay Book of the Season and profiting off our struggles in the closet and our tragic endings and all that fun stuff, like....one would THINK certain writers would buy a vowel there and see THAT as a source of commonality and a reason to be empathetic about this happening in the spheres of writers of color and characters of color, but nah, of course not. Blergh. Ugh.

(I mean maybe I’m wrong about that particular white person’s particular marginalization, but I’m betting I’m not because too many of the specific writers being annoying as hell about not getting this shit are white LGBTQ+ writers as well, so....)

Anyway, I responded to your other post while on mobile lol and then got my lazy ass off the bed and back on my computer to write this part because I discovered I had another rant in me and wasn’t done yet for the day. Ugh that’s so obnoxious after I’ve already laid down and taken my contacts out.

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sassycassie-s-series · 6 years

Text

All My Fault 7

By: SassyShoulderAngel319

Fandom/Character(s): DC, BatFam - Damian Wayne/Batman

Rating: PG

Notes: (Masterlist) Ooh now the internet’s getting involved. Everything isn’t quite going to Jason’s original plan, but the modifications make it better XD It was kinda fun coming up with everyone’s handles. Fun fact, this is the first time Cloudy’s first name is used/revealed!

Tag List (Open): @batboys-and-other-messes @welovegroot @nanna-the-batmum @probsjosh

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

^^^^^

Knock-knock!

I glanced up from where I was bandaging my bleeding knuckles after the first patrol I’d been on since I arrived in the future. “Who is it?” I called.

“Damian,” Damian’s voice replied.

“Come in,” I said.

The door to my bedroom creaked open. “You’re trending,” he said, stepping in.

“Huh?”

“The Instagram photo you shared to your Cloudburst account at the beginning of the night has gone absolutely viral.” Damian approached me. “Here. Let me wrap your right hand.” He took the bandages from me with one hand, and my right hand in his other one. Gently, he began to wrap the bandage around my bleeding knuckles that had split open again when I showered.

I grinned. I’d taken a photo of my boots standing on the edge of a skyscraper and captioned it, “It’s good to be home. #CloudburstsBack” and put it on my old verified @CloudburstofGotham Instagram account, also sharing it to my vigilante Twitter. “Thanks,” I said to Damian while I picked up my phone and opened Instagram—then Twitter. The hashtag #CloudburstsBack was trending on both platforms.

Every single vigilante and hero who knew me and had social media accounts for their hero personas had liked and commented on it. One was Clark Kent, though, on his personal account that he used for journalism. Asking if he could get an exclusive interview for the Daily Planet. Vicki Vale was asking the same, but for the Gotham Gazette. Part of me wanted to keep my city pride and accept Vale’s invitation over Clark’s, but the other that really didn’t like Vicki—she just rubbed me the wrong way—wanted to accept Clark’s. Also because he was a friend.

“Well, this is going to be interesting,” I said, setting my phone down. Damian tied off the bandages. “Thank you. If I’d done that on my own they’d be a mess. My left hand is so useless at refined motor control.”

He nodded in acknowledgment. “Did you… enjoy patrol?”

“Heck yeah. Two days in a future I don’t know but patrol is a constant. Felt almost like old times. You’re a lot taller to fight next to now, though,” I said. “I used to be able to throw stuff over your head. But I guess now it’s my turn to get stuff thrown over my head.”

Damian gave a little, “Hmm,” that sounded more like a laugh than a grunt. “I suppose it is,” he said. He set his hands on my shoulders. “It is unfamiliar to have you be so much smaller than I am.”

“We should spar tomorrow. Get used to the difference,” I suggested, sitting down on my bed with my hairbrush and combing through my wet hair. “Do a partner-up where we go against Jay, Dick, and Tim. I missed a lot and you and Tim growing taller is one of those things.”

“Drake only grew three extra inches,” Damian remarked, sitting in my desk chair on a gesture from me.

“Well yeah but five-eight to five-eleven is still significant,” I remarked. “Especially when you being six-three means Dick is now shorter than all of his younger brothers.”

Damian grunted and crossed one leg over the other. “Have you made a decision on the charity ball? Regarding your escort?”

“Not yet. Figure I can wait till at least after I as a civilian am discovered,” I said.

“If it would help your decision, I would like to accompany you. I remember you always insisted I dance with you at least once per event, despite how small I was compared to you and how reluctant I was to dance.”

“I said it was good for you,” I recalled with a smile. “Told you that dancing would help you loosen up.”

“‘I am as loose as I am required to be,’ I believe is what I said in response.”

“Yeah.” I chuckled. “Okay. I’ll go. But you have to promise to dance with me.”

“I have improved since the last gala you attended,” he said.

“I'm sure you have,” I agreed.

He contemplated me for a moment. “I am not usually in the business of making promises, but this one I can fulfill. I promise to dance with you.”

I grinned widely. “Great! I look forward to it.”

“As do I.” Damian got up and moved to leave.

“Damian!” I said, reaching out and then letting my hand drop, not sure why I was reaching. Damian turned, eyebrows raised expectantly. I glanced down at the gentle-but-firmly wrapped bandages on my right hand. “Thanks for this.” I showed him the bandages as an indication of what I meant.

He ducked his head in a nod. “Of course, McCloud. Get some rest,” he said before leaving my room.

I sighed as he shut the door and flopped backward, my head hitting the pile of pillows.

Staring at the ceiling in the dark, I scrunched my eyebrows. Why was I feeling so…conflicted? Like, I wanted to go to the charity ball and I wouldn’t mind going with Damian, but I felt a certain reservation about the whole idea that I couldn’t pinpoint.

Was it the media attention I knew we’d get? I could already see the trashy tabloid headline in all caps and yellow letters: BRUCE WAYNE’S SON DATING BRUCE WAYNE’S WARD?! And sixteen clickbait Buzzfeed articles coming across my social media feeds. Was that it? Was I worried about dealing with that or putting Damian in that position? Much as I hated to admit it, Jason was right: the paparazzi and media had always loved me.

But that didn’t feel like the source of my internal struggle. If Damian didn’t want the media attention he wouldn’t have said he wanted to go with me. He would have told me to let Jason escort me—under an alias since he was technically still dead.

I crawled under the covers. I’d figure it out in the morning. Maybe I was just confused and conflicted because I was tired after a long and difficult patrol.

Burrowing into my bed on my side, I rubbed my right-hand knuckles with my left palm, still feeling Damian’s warm, callused hand holding mine as he gently bandaged my bleeding knuckles. His touch was kinder, softer, and gentler than I’d ever felt it. Damian had never really had the word “soft” in his behavioral vocabulary when I knew him as a thirteen-year-old.

I liked it. Damian as an adult had loosened up a little and unwound. It was nice. Especially when I was eight years ahead of where I should have been and a heck-of-a-lot more scared than I was willing to admit out loud. Almost a decade was plenty enough time for things to change—for the better, for the worst, for the crazier—and I was thrown in the deep end. I didn’t even know who the president was anymore. Having Damian show me a little bit more heart when I was doing my best to hide how freaked out I felt was comforting.

I drifted off to sleep.

^^^^^

@RealSuperman: “Welcome back, @CloudburstofGotham! Good to see you’re back! You were sorely missed! #CloudburstsBack”

@WonderWomanOfficial: “The world welcomes the return of the great hero of Gotham, Cloudburst. #CloudburstsBack @CloudburstofGotham”

@RealArsenal: “Yo! Cloudburst! You’re back! Stop by Star City sometime and catch up, yeah? @CloudburstofGotham #CloudburstsBack”

@OfficialOutlawHood: “Huge welcome home to my favorite member of the Bat-family! @CloudburstofGotham has returned! #CloudburstsBack !”

@NightwingOFCL: “#CloudburstsBack! We missed you so much, @CloudburstofGotham! So happy you’re home! Love you, sister!”

@OfficialNewBatman: “@CloudburstofGotham, Warm salutations.”

@OfficialOutlawHood, replying to @OfficialNewBatman: “Dude, seriously? That’s the best you can do?”

@OfficialNewBatman, replying to @OfficialOutlawHood: “I have welcomed Cloudburst in person. I am acknowledging her return online for the sake of expectations.”

@OriginalBatman, replying to @OfficialNewBatman, @OfficialOutlawHood: “Boys, behave.”

@RedRobinVigilante: “ICYMI: #CloudburstsBack! My ‘sister’ has recently returned after having been missing for 8 years! Super excited! I missed you so much, @CloudburstofGotham!”

@ClarkKentDP: “@CloudburstofGotham would you like to do an exclusive interview for the Daily Planet? Tell everyone where you were and why you’re back? DM me if you’re interested! #CloudburstsBack”

@GGVickiVale: “@CloudburstofGotham How about an interview with the Gotham Gazette now that #CloudburstsBack?”

Damian scrolled through the top hits in the #CloudburstsBack trend over breakfast, sipping his breakfast tea and munching on an apple for starters. He was grateful for the attention being on Cloudburst because, in five days, Nora McCloud would return from being lost in the time stream. She’d be bruised and exhausted in torn clothing. McCloud had already agreed to get no sleep for a night or two beforehand and let her bruises from patrol show without bothering to hide them before turning up at the Gotham PD station.

And as long as Cloudburst had been established as being back first, no one would have to know that she and McCloud were the same person. Damian took another sip of his tea thoughtfully, scrolling down. He came across another Tweet that he hadn’t seen before.

It was Cloudburst’s own. A photo of she and Damian jumping off the edge of the building, Damian’s coat flaring out around him and her hair doing the same, and another one of the moment before, when they were both standing on the edge of the building, showing off how much taller than Cloudburst Damian had grown. In both pictures, their backs were to the camera.

The caption read, “Last time I saw Batman he was still Robin and more than half a foot shorter than me! What else did I miss? XD #CloudburstsBack @OfficialNewBatman” and a second Tweet that said, “Photo creds to @RedRobinVigilante! I missed you too, brother!”

Damian “liked” and “retweeted” it saying, “We will catch you up.” On his official Batman account.

Tim stumbled into the kitchen, tablet in his hand playing the local news’ livestream.

“—top story this morning is the return of the Gotham vigilante known as Cloudburst. The vigilante was last seen eight years ago when the android fleet known as the Time Bombs attacked for the first time. Since then there has been no trace of her until last night when she posted this image to Instagram and Twitter with the caption, ‘It’s good to be home. Hashtag-Cloudburst’s Back.’ The post quickly went viral and several citizens of Gotham Tweeted about sightings of her with the other members of the team of Gotham protectors commonly nicknamed the Bat-Family. She was seen with the younger Batman for most of the night, according to most sightings. She has yet to release an official statement about where she’s been, but we’re grateful to have a familiar pair of eyes watching our streets,” the lady was saying.

Tim sat at the breakfast bar and started to munch distractedly on a bagel, not even realizing it. Damian could have put a rotten tomato in its place and Tim probably wouldn’t even notice. He was too focused on his tablet. “They’re wrong,” he muttered. “The Time Bombs didn’t attack for the first time back then. It just seemed like that since they jumped back in time. Their first attack was now because they were made now…”

Damian didn’t say anything, just continued to eat his apple and look through the social media feed.

#All My Fault #All My Fault Chapter 7 #Chapter 7 #Damian Wayne #Damian Wayne Imagine #Damian Wayne FanFiction #Robin #Robin Imagine #Robin FanFiction #Batman #Batman Imagine #Batman FanFiction #BatFam #BatFam Imagine #BatFam FanFiction #DC #DC Imagine #DC FanFiction

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